Up the Hammers: Call of the North report 15/3/2026

The North will never forget this one. 

Day two of one of the busiest weekends of the year so far, and let me tell you, it was something else. Thessaloniki doesn’t often get metal festivals, only shows that have what could be perceived as having too many acts for a single evening, but Up the Hammers – Call of the North was anything but that. Six bands, and a thoroughly reasonable starting time of 17:00, what else could one possibly ask for?

I haven’t been to a proper festival since the first iteration of the Release Festival back in 2019, and although I have always been of the opinion that I’d rather attend a show with 3 bands than a full-fledged festival, passing up the opportunity to see some of the bands who appeared here was inconceivable to me. What are the odds I’d be able to see Eternal Champion, Liege Lord, and Solitude Aeturnus on the same bill in my life? Sure, the lineup is nowhere near as stacked as the one that appeared over the course of 4 days down in Athens, but this is one hell of a highlight reel all the same. I would’ve casted unspeakable spells in order to make Ironsword show up in Thessaloniki, but unfortunately I don’t have the know-how to achieve that. Perhaps next time.

As was the case with the Havukruunu show the previous day, the Eightball started filling up early on, a quarter of the attendants already being in line to get in for Royal Altar, the first act of the day. You can always judge the health of a city’s

scene by whether they show up for a show’s opening acts, and while you can’t really expect them to hold a similar level of interest as they would for the headliners, seeing a respectable amount of people make their presence known for a local act is always heartwarming.

That being said, I’ve some choice words for Royal Altar, not all of them about the music itself. As I was doing “homework” in preparation for the show, I naturally went through all the bands on the bill, and looking through Royal Altar’s Metallum page revealed that they have made extensive use of generative AI for the covers of their singles and full-length debut. I haven’t touched upon the topic in the articles and reviews I’ve written thus far, but I have a no-AI policy for the art I interact with, as I feel that it undercuts the artistry of the music, and shows an intense lack of respect for a style of music where visual aesthetics are inextricably tied to the music itself. Further adding to that, I can’t help but feel that the use of this technology is intensely disrespectful to the people who do create covers for albums, especially when we have local artists such as Kage, who has not only created covers for a bunch of underground bands, but also handles the art direction of the Morbid Press zine, which is local to the city. While the argument of old age and ignorance of new technology could be made, old bands actually prove the opposite, since playing heavy metal in the 90s ought to make you have a more acute understanding of the importance of visual media within the context of the genre.

Anyways, the music itself was actually not that bad, even if the frustrations I outlined previously loomed large over their set. The band’s brand of heavy metal was primarily of a chest-thumping disposition, interlaced with some admittedly sick twin-guitar leads, as well as some faster gallops, as seen on the band’s namesake track, or “After the Gates”. Lots of marching rhythms that drove the music forward

at a steady pace without making it feel too lethargic, especially on the two tracks of the Ageless Wisdom demo, to which the band was paying tribute to. Truth be told, I do find it a little amusing to be doing that for a little demo that was all but forgotten by time, but perhaps my reaction to that should be an indicator of my needing to have my cult heavy metal credentials removed. But hey, as with any good traditional heavy metal band, the choruses across all the songs were easy to latch on, even if you were wholly unfamiliar with them, and it was hard not to shout “It’s still time for kings and heroes/It’s still time for warriors”.

There was a very strong Manilla Road undercurrent running through their music, perhaps unsurprising given the festival’s namesake and general stylistic tendencies, but it did result in them tucking in a very solid cover of “Divine Victim” off The Deluge partway through the set. It was a pleasant surprise, and arguably the closest I’ll get to hearing Manilla Road themselves live, discounting the tribute act that played on the last day of the main fest down in Athens. Sure, it’s not the real deal, but we can have fun with a tribute band every once in a while, as a treat.

Unfortunately, we continued treading lukewarm waters with the second band of the evening, Mega Colossus. The American quintet took us to speedier territory, stirring the crowd a little more than Royal Altar did. Notably, they were the other band exclusive to Thessaloniki for the fest, although they have proven to be semi-regular residents of the Athens version, and there was a good deal of people who showed up for them by travelling overnight from the capital, along with the other

bands who played. The communal spirit afforded to us through the music and the live experience was in full force, musicians recognising familiar faces they’d seen the night before, or in the case of Mega Colossus themselves, from previous times they’d played at Up the Hammers. It’s not often that you hear a band say that they’ve written a song such as “Halls of Mystikos” for a person who is in the audience, and with whom they’ve built a human connection years ago. It’s definitely me being a little sappy, but I’ve always found music to be a very human thing that’s meant to be shared, regardless of how much of a recluse the musician making it might be, and few things make that more apparent than live shows. It might be a bit of a stretch, but it’s not all that removed from the recitals of epics back in ancient times when you think about it. People congregating in order to bask in a singular experience and partake in the emotional excitement that it brings.

Back to Mega Colossus’ set, it was generally speedy, with an emphasis on their newest album, Watch Out!. Although I’m not too familiar with their oeuvre, I found myself enjoying some of the cuts off their older albums, such as “Fortune and

Most evil fit of the evening.

Glory”, “Kill More Better” (The grammatical incompetence displayed here is unacceptable coming from native English speakers, and no I do not care that it flows well in the chorus), or the rip-roaring “Razor City”, which closed the set off. The members, discounting vocalist Sean Buchanan, were also leaning really hard on making the performative aspect of being on stage engaging, indulging the crowd by pulling the occasional stunt at the edge of the stage, or just being lively and getting people pumped up.

I singled out Sean Buchanan in this because he really highlights how important it is to be energetic on stage if you’re just doing vocals. If you don’t have an instrument to hold you in place you have to be able to transmit the energy the music conjures up through physical movement, arguably a performance in its own right. You can’t 

 I have to admit he looks cool on this one.

just stand still and awkwardly shake your fist while holding the mic, or do an unnatural spin and a kick. Sure, on a technical level he was quite impressive, especially when he hit those wild falsettos on “Razor City”, but if I wanted to listen to good performances I could’ve just put their records on.

I’ll also go on yet another small side tangent here – which I should probably dedicate an actual article to – and say that I am very much over the nostalgic heavy metal aesthetic. Sure, battle jackets have been around since the 80s, but showing up with an unbuttoned animal print shirt and a headband feels like a caricature of the genre’s aesthetics from the time, more in line with what someone who only watches Stranger Things thinks the 80s were like rather than someone who’s been through the decade. And yes, I am well aware of the hypocrisy that comes with levying such accusations when I was born in the 21st century, but it doesn’t take a sleuth to see how the current “old school” aesthetic is the result of a weird melting pot that has levelled any and all cultural or stylistic barriers. Point is, while any sort of musical movement has aesthetics of its own, metal music’s ouroboric cannibalism and emulation of past glories has become distorted by decades’ worth of nostalgia.

Following that, we’re moving into the bands that I actually fully enjoy with nary a caveat to be found, and one of them was actually one of the biggest surprises of the night for me, the Chilean epic doomsters of Procession. Another band I was unacquainted with, and one that I regret not having had the chance to snag a record of, as I was on the barrier and unwilling to give up my position for anything.

I take some solace in knowing that their monstrously heavy and trudging riffs hit me right in the gut, because at the end of the day a record can be re-pressed, a show, not so much.

Given that we’re talking about a doom band, they cast an appropriately dour air over the venue, although not one lacking in energy, as songs like “When Doomsday Has Come” and “To Reap Heavens Apart” were appropriately thunderous in their momentum, and vocalist Felipe Plaza Kutzbach’s stentorian delivery really tied it all together. It’s nigh-on impossible not to be stirred by his gruff vocals on tracks like “Death and Judgement”, and personal favourite of mine from the setlist, “One By One They Died”. Although more measured in their approach, they received as much praise from the crowd as the bigger names here, an unsurprising feat given how into their music they seemed as they went through each song. It’s hard to really say much about them because their set was so lean and tight, not much in the way of stage banter or anything, as it might’ve detracted from the general ambience. There’s not much you can ask from a bunch of leather-clad dudes playing slow and nasty riffs. Just an absolute heater all around, no notes.

And now, if you’ll allow me to throw some sports metaphors into the mix, we enter the middle card of the festival, occupied solely by Eternal Champion. They were

Hype moments and aura.

actually the main reason I came to the fest, and were a band that I expected to see since August 2025. Without getting into too much detail, a coworker of mine was working at the Eightball, and was privy to some shows that were in the works. Lo and behold, he shows me that Solitude Aeturnus and Eternal Champion were to come at some point in March. At the time I didn’t know it was for a whole festival, but you never know what life will throw your way.

As you can imagine, my anticipation was at a fever pitch, so the moment the quintet hit the stage, Arthur Rizk in a Giannis Antetokounmpo jersey, and Jason Tarpey in his chainmail veil, and they started pounding the audience with “Skullseeker”. Obviously, that was the point I began shouting myself hoarse, as one does with a band as anthemic as this one. Following up with “I Am the Hammer” off the modern classic The Armour of Ire made for what might’ve been the strongest one-two punch of the entire night. Truth be told, Eternal Champion were a band that took its time to grow on me, but I found myself listening to their two full-lengths over and over since 2024. They really do just have a rustic, larger-than-life quality that you need to have developed an appreciation for. This is no-frills heavy metal, simple as.

The set was a riveting one, the band blazing through almost every track off their two albums, with the exception of “Sing a Last Song for Valdese” and regrettably enough, “Banners of Arhai”, my favourite song of theirs. But hey, I almost blew my

voice out partway through “Worms of the Earth”, and that was what, the third song of the night? It’s basically a case of me saying “My steak too juicy, my lobster too buttery”, especially when they played deep cuts like “Invoker” and “Coward’s Keep”.

Jason Tarpey also lies on the opposite end of the aura spectrum compared to Sean Buchanan, as he was active on stage, hopping from one sound monitor to the other, and actively engaging with the crowd, both during and between songs. There’s obviously the whole getup with the chainmail that simply looks cool, and baby you got a stew going. The rapport he established with the crowd by merely referring to grunting “OUGH” as a “common tongue” led to everyone just grunting in a call-and-response manner between almost every song. Obviously general banter and (well-deserved) niceties regarding the crowd’s energy continued, but that was a definite highlight for me. Damn shame he didn’t have the sword he brandishes at other shows.

After an hour of kicking ass, we’re reaching the part of the fest that could very well be dubbed “Unc the Hammers”, since the remaining bands have been kicking

since the 80s. Starting off with Liege Lord, who have cemented themselves as a recent favourite of mine, despite their only truly great record being Master Control. Their execution of the power/speed sound on that record is stupendous, and leaves little to be desired. As for the rest of their discography, it ranges from solid to forgettable. But hey, what’s there to complain about when I got to hear and sing along to 60% of Master Control? The title track, “Fear Itself” and “Rapture” are classics, and they were nothing short of exhilarating live. Joe Comeau sounds great for his age, and there were moments throughout the set where his voice sounded just like it did on the record, especially on the cover of “Kill the King”. He’s surprisingly energetic for a man in his early 60s, too.

The real showstealer though was guitarist Tony Truglio, who was not only playing, but performing circles around everyone on stage. It was the interactivity exhibited by the Mega Colossus guitarists, but channelled in a manner that tempered excitement with experience. Incredible showmanship and guitar wizardry on

Pogged off my gourd every time he came to the barrier.

display all around. Unfortunately it was cut off a little abruptly due to some technical issues that cropped up during “Feel the Blade”, which ground the set’s momentum to a halt, leading to a prolonged call-and-response section that denied us hearing “Fallout” as the encore. 

For reasons unbeknownst to me we did have enough time to hear one of the band’s new songs, titled “Hypocrisy”. A generic speed metal tune with a wretchedly simple chorus that lacks any and all flair you’d expect from a Liege Lord song. Even the tracks off Freedom’s Rise that were played, like “Wielding Iron Fists” and “Rage of Angels” have gripping choruses, despite their more simplistic character. That one though? In one ear and out the other. Even Joe’s enthusiasm couldn’t save it. “Fallout” was sacrificed for that and for “Speed of Sound”, it’s unfair.

As the fest drew to a close, I moved further back from the barrier. To anyone who has read my report on the Mortuary Drape show, I’m a firm believer that the barrier is for the true faithful, and the most committed fans of a band. The ones who are willing to bang their heads into oblivion and sing along to every song. Despite me lapsing into being a hypocrite every once in a while, I do like putting my money where my mouth is, and ultimately decided to give up my spot for someone who might be a bigger fan than I am. But hey, at least I ended up standing close to Athanasios Valtsanis, of Dead Congregation fame, who filled in for Procession as a live guitarist. It’s not often that you get to be near greatness, even if it’s in the position of a silent admirer.

The moment Solitude Aeturnus got on stage and kicked things off with “Opaque Divinity”, I became acutely aware of how big a mistake neglecting their discography was. I’ve had them sit in a “to listen” list since 2024, and even as the date approached, I found myself focusing on the bands that preceded them in the

festival. What a fool I was. They riff so goddamn hard, and their more muscular and energetic take on epic doom scratches a different itch compared to what Candlemass does. I could just start listing songs off, but like I said, I am not acquainted with their catalogue, and as such I will point you towards the direction of setlist.fm, for all your needs.

What I can do though is describe the experience, and it was crushing. The Texan quintet might’ve possessed the most devastating tones of the night, the attack on the six- and four-stringers being nothing short of pummelling. Monolithic doom riffs giving way to dexterous and soaring leadwork, all while maintaining a sense of desolation, further elevated by Rob Lowe’s delivery. I was already acquainted with him through his work with

They got grandpa at the aura farm.

Candlemass, but getting to see him live was something else. Although his vocal range is diminished, his voice straining to reach some higher notes on occasion, he was captivating through and through. Dubbed a “disciple of doom” by guitarist John Perez, I found him to be more akin to a priestly figure rather than a follower, his command of the crowd was impeccable during the set, and he carried himself in a most imperious fashion.

Like every band that played before them, they too were grateful for the reception they’ve had, and a lot of thanks were given out, notably by Perez and bassist Lyle Steadham, who might just be the most Texan man I’ve seen in my life (refer to the picture to understand what I’m talking about). Rob was quiet between songs,

Most Texan man alive.

presumably to avoid damaging his voice. Nevertheless, he too extended his gratitude towards the people present here. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t touched, even if they probably say things like that on every show. The connection becomes more genuine when the band-crowd rapport is there, even the most generic platitudes seem to have the weight of the world on them.

Man, what a show that was. It might be the only festival I attend for the year, but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t worth the trouble. Given the current state of Thessaloniki’s live scene, this was a near-historical event. Six bands giving it their all for a crowd that was more than ready to give that energy back to them. The city whose energy I lamented managed to prove that it’s alive and kicking, even if it was for genres that I wouldn’t consider to be my priority listening. If people care, the artists will too, and the cycle of negative feedback that we’ve been suffering through over the past few years might be broken. While as of right now I’d call this a “once in a lifetime” experience, I am holding out hope that history will repeat itself, and I’ll be able to bear witness to bands and shows that will eclipse this one. Here’s to a brighter future.