- Review by Patrick Saad
Both opening acts Tristmoon and Weeping Willow played their short set (by comparison to the headliners) with energy which pleased the crowd of many nationalities. Still, I personally found the sound system to be a bit ‘confused’ at that time, perhaps a precaution to save its power for the international bands, a point that would always be unanswered at every event. These Lebanese bands showed a level of professionalism that earned them a spot in the festival in the first place, and a performance that was as good as they can deliver with such a sound.
Both To/Die/For and Anathema are really good when it comes to band/crowd interaction, and it showed from both of their long sets, Anathema eventually playing for more than 90 minutes, to please the fans (“Well we are trying to play you songs from every album, don’t worry it’s going to be a long night”). With an ‘enhanced’ sound, both bands showed great energy, spirit and impressive performance, especially Anathema with their set of most memorable songs, alongside a mesmerizing cover of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb”. All band members were quite pleased while playing, continually saying “Why we never came here before?!”, and “You’re beautiful, thank you for your hospitality, they really know how to make a show happen”.
Anathema’s live show is a great one, a spiritual journey of sentiments, and the crowd sang through the whole show. The light show was spectacular, really adding a special touch to the already electrifying musical performance. My personal favorite songs were “A Dying Wish”, “Comfortably Numb” and “Lost Control”. Overall, this was probably my favorite night of the 3 day festival, and I really admired the dedication of the crowd, some hailing from Syria, Jordan and other countries simply to attend this final day of the event. Looking forward to next year hopefully!
- Review by Jad Jawhari
The Anathema concert proved to be one of the best concerts ever, although there were some complications and a fight occurred. However, the evening was an amazing one. First off, Tristmoon didn’t fail to deliver their music to the crowd in a very amazing way, people were moshing and banging their heads and having a great time listening to them. Next came the famous Weeping Willow, this band is known to be one of the best brutal death metal bands in Lebanon. We have all been used to Willow’s destructive performances and the concert on Saturday wasn’t any different. To/Die/For were also good, even though many people didn’t understand their music.
They played their music perfectly and didn’t disappoint the crowd. Then comes the ALL FAMOUS ANATHEMA. Words can’t describe how they were. They exceeded perfection and they left the crowd with jaws dropped to the floor. For over one hour Anathema played their music in a hypnotizing way, not to forget that the chemistry between the band and the crowd was very impeccable. In the end Anathema covered the famous comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd and they gave us a show that will never ever be forgotten.
- Review By Serj Panossian
Anathema Rocked Forum de Beirut; off all the bands that lead the atmospheric rock genre today, Anathema remains underrated. The set list starts off slowly and gracefully with Sentient, an instrumental showcasing Anathema’s classical influences, and moves on to heavier/doomier music that introduces Vincent Cavanagh’s urgent vocals ending with an Encore – Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb”. WHAT A SHOW!
The second band out of the complete set was Weeping Willow. Now what can be said about this band that hasn’t been said before? Brutality, brutality, and yes you guessed it, brutality. One of their best performances to date and for those who were unable to attend, you guys missed a hell of a show, even though the sound was sadly different when the Lebanese bands played.
Tristmoon: The amazing atmosphere and the great composing were a blast for the Black Metal Fans! I would like to Salute Tony, Sako, Serge, Adel and Gary for an amazing show on the 14th of November.
