Release (Festival) Athens opened their 2025 festival season with metal giants Avenged Sevenfold and Palaye Royale at Water Square. The pale-skinned metal heads braved the hot sun from all over Greece and nations beyond to experience Avenged Sevenfold’s first-ever performance in the country.

Over 10,000 fans show up to witness the Californian Metal giants perform some of their greatest hits and experience new songs from their latest album Life is But a Dream… in which the single “Mattel” was amongst the hits in the setlist.

The band’s performance was nothing short of lively, filled with amazing background graphics, and AI camera work that, when the cameras were on one of the musicians, the subject morphed into characters such as the grim reaper, and other ghoulish figures. Fans throughout the park were seen singing along to all the songs, mixed with some crowd surfing, especially when they played their heavy classic “Unholy Confessions.” The set closed with their biggest hit – “A Little Piece of Heaven.”

Set list from Athens Release Festival:|
Game Over
Mattel
Afterlife
Hail to the King
Buried Alive
The Stage
So Far Away (Dedication to The Rev)
Nobody
Nightmare
Bat Country
Unholy Confessions (with drum solo)
Cosmic
A Little Piece of Heaven

ReleaseAthens.gr is an annual event located at Water Square with this year’s acts featuring:

June 18 – Idles, Glass Beams, Sprints
June 21 – Pavlos Pavlidis, K Vita, Super Stereo
June 27 – Fontaines D.C., Boy Harsher, Shame
July 4 – The Prodigy, Pendulum, Bob Vylan
July 11 – London Grammar, Aurora, Klangphonics
July 16 – Morrissey, Supergrass, The Damned
July 18 – Kylie Minogue, Loreen
July 19 – Gojira, While She Sleeps, Lacuna Coil
July 23 – Dream Theater, Mastodon, Haken

Buy Avenged Sevenfold music and merch here:
https://amzn.to/44lTV8n

ANNIE ATLASMAN
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