Additional commentary by “Metal” Tim Henderson and Sephora Henderson
As intimated in part one, each day of the cruise has its own personality. Day 2 is by far the most intense, occupying all four stages, from 10 AM to the following dawn. All total, 39 bands! Needless to say, it’s all but impossible to glean anything more than the tip of the musical iceberg. But have fun trying!
French Canadians dressed as Roman centurions? Yes, Ex Deo, fronted by Kataklysm voice Maurizio Iacono, christened the Pool Deck with some morning ferocity. There are musical similarities between the singer’s “day job” and this offshoot, albeit different lyrical approaches. Throughout the month, North American audiences will have the rare chance to see Ex Deo live on tour, so don’t miss it.
Speaking of must see, the first Trouble gig onboard. Wow! Long a fan (they played the first two BW&BK 6-Pack Weekend gigs), Exhorder frontman Kyle Thomas really has grown into the role nicely. Anyone who caught the impromptu jam/warm-up, in the theater, as they worked through technical issues, could hear the man’s rock knowledge and range.
Once the Chicago stalwarts hit the stage, it was a career spanning retrospective, mixing the classic heavy early material, with the more tripped out Def American releases. “Come Touch The Sky” sees the headband wearing Bruce Franklin squeeze, rattle and cajole all sorts of sounds from his guitar, without an effects rack. Old school!
Red lit “Assassin” has Rick Wartell move to the front of the stage and ultimately joined there, by Franklin. “At The End Of My Daze” begins under green lights, while “Memory Garden” forces Kyle and Bruce to share the same mic (the lead singer cannibalizing the backing mic, due to technical issues that initially delayed the show). Wartell and Franklin trade leads throughout the song, ultimately syncing up, for a tasty dual lead segment. Priceless.
The brutal bottom end of “Psalm 9” begins with Kyle’s spoken word soliloquy. That track laid out the template for the NOLA sludge sound, before it was a thing. Lumbering, like leaden footsteps, “The Tempter” sees the singer pantomime air guitar, as strobe flash between the alternating reds and greens.
If music had a viscosity, this would be “chunky”. There’s a rumor of more shows (beyond Milwaukee Metalfest). Avoid at your own peril!
Majestica (as the renamed ReinXeed is now known) have garnered attention as the band Tommy Johansson left Sabaton to reactivate. As such, he serves as both guitarist and singer. Needless to say, it’s the Tommy show, even though the other guitarist and bassist add backing vocals.
They opened with the title track from the then unreleased Power Train album (the artwork forming a backdrop, hanging from the rafters). Johansson claims “Night Call Girl” (which sounds somewhere between power metal, the retro synthwave and a movie soundtrack), “goes back to the beautiful ’80s,” and is about walking on Miami Beach. OK, but still strange hearing “The Ghost Of Marley”, off 2020’s A Christmas Carol (musical retelling of the classic Dickens tale), off the coast of Cuba, headed to Jamaica.
Outdoors, on the deck, Ihsahn produced a ferocious buzz, like a massive overturned hive, and then the technical issues hit. Guitar cutting out and (unintended) noisy disturbances that unfortunately detracted from the performance. Sephora moved away from the stage right tower of speakers, to hear a more cohesive sound. I headed in search of something else. Reappeared in time for an advertised party, with the costumed Finntroll, always good for photographers.
The next must-see event was Dirkschneider, currently employing former Accept band mate/bassist Peter Baltes. A great set of Teutonic classics was introduced by the familiar sing-song Tyrolean melody and scratched vinyl heralding a ripping “Fast As A Shark”. Yes! “Living For Tonite” is up next.
Guitarist Andrey Smirnov seems shot out of a cannon, right from the start, trying to get the photographers’ attention, or at least take the focus of the diminutive frontman Udo, for a few seconds. The rotund singer smiles widely, camped out center stage. It was quickly evident this was going to be a greatest hits songbook sing-along.
By “Midnight Mover”, Andrey moves towards the singer, who slings an arm around the guitarist’s shoulder. The titular chorus sees all three stringed instrumentalists offering backing vocals.
It’s four across the front of the stage, for the chugging heavy “Breaker”, all headbanging as they play, including Baltes. The ship is heading into a 42 mph headwind, which renders the smoke machine/fog effect useless, despite repeated (ineffective) tries. The guitars sway in synchronized moves and the ponytailed bassist kicks off the purple lit “London Leatherboys”.
By the locomotive “Flash Rocking Man”, Udo has ditched the sunglasses. More bobbling heads at the lip of the stage. Udo’s never been much of a talker, so it’s a virtually seamlessly segued string of hits. Cue “Metal Heart”, during which all vacate the stage, to allow Smirnov a solo spotlight. The a cappella crowd sings the well-known sing-song guitar melodies. Out of nowhere, the guitarist proposed to his girlfriend, between songs.
Up next, “Princess Of The Dawn”. Apart from the closing “Balls”, it was the most fervent audience participation/sing-along. Center stage for “Up To The Limit”, Baltes shares a mic with Udo, then remains there, for most of the song. As usual, “Balls To The Wall” ends things, but man, what a run of songs (the next show would be radically different).
Sort of like a circus calliope, don’t necessarily need to know the tunes In Extremo churn out, but the unique instrumentation and generally upbeat, infectious rhythms make for a fun night. Frontman known as Das Letzte Einhorn (The Last Unicorn) is the master of ceremony for this three wing circus: German lyrics performed on medieval instruments, like ornate bag pipes, even harp, alongside traditional rock guitar and drums. He loses his fancy jacket by “Vollmond”. Truly something to experience once, in a lifetime. You might find you can never get enough, going back again, and again (like myself).
After dark, Stratovarius had to endure the strong winds, minus the sun. While some used to the warmest climes (including many of the ship’s tropical crew) donned jackets or hoodies, the temps were certainly warmer than late January in Finland, thus bassist Lauri Porra was shirtless, beneath his patch denim vest. Jens Johansson was perched on a riser, stage left as the wind whipped everyone’s hair.
Earlier in a set that opened with “Survive”, Timo Kotipelto announced that the proposed play-through of the Visions album would be delayed until the next day, when they were scheduled indoors. Wind-blown, they soldiered on. “Speed Of Light” received a huge response. “World On Fire” has Porra positioned in front of Jens’ riser, left foot on a wedge monitor, as he plucks the notes from his bass.
Strato slows the pace for green hued “4000 Rainy Nights”, then the red lit “Will The Sun Rise” enlivens the mood again. Lauri gets a brief solo and then I head downstairs, to catch a bit of Tankard (who overlap with the Finns by 15 minutes), thus missing “Hunting High And Low”.
In Studio B, the converted ice rink, the beer loving Germans have packed the room. Tankard sightings on North American shores (OK, we’re well at sea by this point, but humor me) are rare, so it’s many folks first opportunity to witness the band life. There’s a fan, on the barricade, with two pitchers of beer (for himself!), but purchased four Fosters oil cans (one for each band member) and has security place them between the two centrally located wedge monitors.
A lot of fun, but also with some biting social commentary within the lyrics (which DO deal in topics OTHER than brewed beverages), they will never go out-of-style. “One Foot In The Grave” (a tongue-in-cheek self-reflection on their longevity) sees Gerre, their super-sized frontman, repeatedly criss-cross the stage, careful to avoid the jumping antics of bassist Frank Thorwarth. Hell, the guys have it down to a science, having been in the band together for 43 years!
The only white light pendulums to/from the stage, offering just momentary glimpses of the pair and Andy Gutjahr. “The Morning After” is followed by the aptly entitled “Rapid Fire”. Speaking about targeting, “Ex-fluencer” relates the dangers of social media, offset by “Need Money For Beer”, describing the lengths some will go to fulfill their “addiction.”
They end strong, perhaps the two best known Tankard cuts: “Chemical Invasion” and sing-along “Empty Tankard” (OK, “Zombie Attack” is near the top of queue too). Never a dull moment.
Been a long time since I’d seen Symphony X live and was completely blown away by Russell Allen’s stage presence. The man has always had a commanding voice and was no slouch in the frontman game, but his time with TSO has only increased his poise and handling of the crowd (not cocky).
No offense, but that talent deserves a bigger band. Doesn’t hurt he’s a humble, easy to talk to individual (as he got reacquainted with the BraveWords team, the next afternoon, onshore at Margaritaville, in Ocho Rios). To his right, Michael Romeo blazing away on guitar, threatening to (as the songs says,) “Set The World On Fire”, seemingly unleashing all his pent up energy from their period of inactivity (although starting a European tour, soon after returning to port).
Stage left, when hot contorting in obtuse angles, the splay legged Mike Lepond pounded out the bass on the likes of “Nevermore” and “Inferno (Unleash The Fire)”. But honestly, the spectacle was Romeo’s playing, despite the wind repeatedly plastering hair to his face, and Allen standing tall, center stage, belting out oldies like concluding double shot: “Sea Of Lies” and “Of Sins And Shadows” finale, along with newer stuff (“To Hell And Back”) will equal aplomb. By the way, isn’t it time for a new album?
After a stop in the casino bar to chat with friends, old & new, BraveWords headed to check out a late night (relative term) set by corpse painted Norwegians, Mork. A two guitar foursome, they infuse changes in dynamics (fast/slow, heavy/light) within the typical black metal blast furnace. Nice departure.
Pictures from Day 2:
The post 70000 TONS OF METAL 2025 – Day 2: Full Steam Ahead! appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
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As intimated in part one, each day of the cruise has its own personality. Day 2 is by far the most intense, occupying all four stages, from 10 AM to the following dawn. All total, 39 bands! Needless to say, it’s all but impossible to glean anything more than the tip of the musical iceberg. But have fun trying!
French Canadians dressed as Roman centurions? Yes, Ex Deo, fronted by Kataklysm voice Maurizio Iacono, christened the Pool Deck with some morning ferocity. There are musical similarities between the singer’s “day job” and this offshoot, albeit different lyrical approaches. Throughout the month, North American audiences will have the rare chance to see Ex Deo live on tour, so don’t miss it.
Speaking of must see, the first Trouble gig onboard. Wow! Long a fan (they played the first two BW&BK 6-Pack Weekend gigs), Exhorder frontman Kyle Thomas really has grown into the role nicely. Anyone who caught the impromptu jam/warm-up, in the theater, as they worked through technical issues, could hear the man’s rock knowledge and range.
Once the Chicago stalwarts hit the stage, it was a career spanning retrospective, mixing the classic heavy early material, with the more tripped out Def American releases. “Come Touch The Sky” sees the headband wearing Bruce Franklin squeeze, rattle and cajole all sorts of sounds from his guitar, without an effects rack. Old school!
Red lit “Assassin” has Rick Wartell move to the front of the stage and ultimately joined there, by Franklin. “At The End Of My Daze” begins under green lights, while “Memory Garden” forces Kyle and Bruce to share the same mic (the lead singer cannibalizing the backing mic, due to technical issues that initially delayed the show). Wartell and Franklin trade leads throughout the song, ultimately syncing up, for a tasty dual lead segment. Priceless.
The brutal bottom end of “Psalm 9” begins with Kyle’s spoken word soliloquy. That track laid out the template for the NOLA sludge sound, before it was a thing. Lumbering, like leaden footsteps, “The Tempter” sees the singer pantomime air guitar, as strobe flash between the alternating reds and greens.
If music had a viscosity, this would be “chunky”. There’s a rumor of more shows (beyond Milwaukee Metalfest). Avoid at your own peril!
Majestica (as the renamed ReinXeed is now known) have garnered attention as the band Tommy Johansson left Sabaton to reactivate. As such, he serves as both guitarist and singer. Needless to say, it’s the Tommy show, even though the other guitarist and bassist add backing vocals.
They opened with the title track from the then unreleased Power Train album (the artwork forming a backdrop, hanging from the rafters). Johansson claims “Night Call Girl” (which sounds somewhere between power metal, the retro synthwave and a movie soundtrack), “goes back to the beautiful ’80s,” and is about walking on Miami Beach. OK, but still strange hearing “The Ghost Of Marley”, off 2020’s A Christmas Carol (musical retelling of the classic Dickens tale), off the coast of Cuba, headed to Jamaica.
Outdoors, on the deck, Ihsahn produced a ferocious buzz, like a massive overturned hive, and then the technical issues hit. Guitar cutting out and (unintended) noisy disturbances that unfortunately detracted from the performance. Sephora moved away from the stage right tower of speakers, to hear a more cohesive sound. I headed in search of something else. Reappeared in time for an advertised party, with the costumed Finntroll, always good for photographers.
The next must-see event was Dirkschneider, currently employing former Accept band mate/bassist Peter Baltes. A great set of Teutonic classics was introduced by the familiar sing-song Tyrolean melody and scratched vinyl heralding a ripping “Fast As A Shark”. Yes! “Living For Tonite” is up next.
Guitarist Andrey Smirnov seems shot out of a cannon, right from the start, trying to get the photographers’ attention, or at least take the focus of the diminutive frontman Udo, for a few seconds. The rotund singer smiles widely, camped out center stage. It was quickly evident this was going to be a greatest hits songbook sing-along.
By “Midnight Mover”, Andrey moves towards the singer, who slings an arm around the guitarist’s shoulder. The titular chorus sees all three stringed instrumentalists offering backing vocals.
It’s four across the front of the stage, for the chugging heavy “Breaker”, all headbanging as they play, including Baltes. The ship is heading into a 42 mph headwind, which renders the smoke machine/fog effect useless, despite repeated (ineffective) tries. The guitars sway in synchronized moves and the ponytailed bassist kicks off the purple lit “London Leatherboys”.
By the locomotive “Flash Rocking Man”, Udo has ditched the sunglasses. More bobbling heads at the lip of the stage. Udo’s never been much of a talker, so it’s a virtually seamlessly segued string of hits. Cue “Metal Heart”, during which all vacate the stage, to allow Smirnov a solo spotlight. The a cappella crowd sings the well-known sing-song guitar melodies. Out of nowhere, the guitarist proposed to his girlfriend, between songs.
Up next, “Princess Of The Dawn”. Apart from the closing “Balls”, it was the most fervent audience participation/sing-along. Center stage for “Up To The Limit”, Baltes shares a mic with Udo, then remains there, for most of the song. As usual, “Balls To The Wall” ends things, but man, what a run of songs (the next show would be radically different).
Sort of like a circus calliope, don’t necessarily need to know the tunes In Extremo churn out, but the unique instrumentation and generally upbeat, infectious rhythms make for a fun night. Frontman known as Das Letzte Einhorn (The Last Unicorn) is the master of ceremony for this three wing circus: German lyrics performed on medieval instruments, like ornate bag pipes, even harp, alongside traditional rock guitar and drums. He loses his fancy jacket by “Vollmond”. Truly something to experience once, in a lifetime. You might find you can never get enough, going back again, and again (like myself).
After dark, Stratovarius had to endure the strong winds, minus the sun. While some used to the warmest climes (including many of the ship’s tropical crew) donned jackets or hoodies, the temps were certainly warmer than late January in Finland, thus bassist Lauri Porra was shirtless, beneath his patch denim vest. Jens Johansson was perched on a riser, stage left as the wind whipped everyone’s hair.
Earlier in a set that opened with “Survive”, Timo Kotipelto announced that the proposed play-through of the Visions album would be delayed until the next day, when they were scheduled indoors. Wind-blown, they soldiered on. “Speed Of Light” received a huge response. “World On Fire” has Porra positioned in front of Jens’ riser, left foot on a wedge monitor, as he plucks the notes from his bass.
Strato slows the pace for green hued “4000 Rainy Nights”, then the red lit “Will The Sun Rise” enlivens the mood again. Lauri gets a brief solo and then I head downstairs, to catch a bit of Tankard (who overlap with the Finns by 15 minutes), thus missing “Hunting High And Low”.
In Studio B, the converted ice rink, the beer loving Germans have packed the room. Tankard sightings on North American shores (OK, we’re well at sea by this point, but humor me) are rare, so it’s many folks first opportunity to witness the band life. There’s a fan, on the barricade, with two pitchers of beer (for himself!), but purchased four Fosters oil cans (one for each band member) and has security place them between the two centrally located wedge monitors.
A lot of fun, but also with some biting social commentary within the lyrics (which DO deal in topics OTHER than brewed beverages), they will never go out-of-style. “One Foot In The Grave” (a tongue-in-cheek self-reflection on their longevity) sees Gerre, their super-sized frontman, repeatedly criss-cross the stage, careful to avoid the jumping antics of bassist Frank Thorwarth. Hell, the guys have it down to a science, having been in the band together for 43 years!
The only white light pendulums to/from the stage, offering just momentary glimpses of the pair and Andy Gutjahr. “The Morning After” is followed by the aptly entitled “Rapid Fire”. Speaking about targeting, “Ex-fluencer” relates the dangers of social media, offset by “Need Money For Beer”, describing the lengths some will go to fulfill their “addiction.”
They end strong, perhaps the two best known Tankard cuts: “Chemical Invasion” and sing-along “Empty Tankard” (OK, “Zombie Attack” is near the top of queue too). Never a dull moment.
Been a long time since I’d seen Symphony X live and was completely blown away by Russell Allen’s stage presence. The man has always had a commanding voice and was no slouch in the frontman game, but his time with TSO has only increased his poise and handling of the crowd (not cocky).
No offense, but that talent deserves a bigger band. Doesn’t hurt he’s a humble, easy to talk to individual (as he got reacquainted with the BraveWords team, the next afternoon, onshore at Margaritaville, in Ocho Rios). To his right, Michael Romeo blazing away on guitar, threatening to (as the songs says,) “Set The World On Fire”, seemingly unleashing all his pent up energy from their period of inactivity (although starting a European tour, soon after returning to port).
Stage left, when hot contorting in obtuse angles, the splay legged Mike Lepond pounded out the bass on the likes of “Nevermore” and “Inferno (Unleash The Fire)”. But honestly, the spectacle was Romeo’s playing, despite the wind repeatedly plastering hair to his face, and Allen standing tall, center stage, belting out oldies like concluding double shot: “Sea Of Lies” and “Of Sins And Shadows” finale, along with newer stuff (“To Hell And Back”) will equal aplomb. By the way, isn’t it time for a new album?
After a stop in the casino bar to chat with friends, old & new, BraveWords headed to check out a late night (relative term) set by corpse painted Norwegians, Mork. A two guitar foursome, they infuse changes in dynamics (fast/slow, heavy/light) within the typical black metal blast furnace. Nice departure.
Pictures from Day 2:
7Ihsahn
10Dirkschneider
18Majestica
22Ihsahn
23InExtremo
The post 70000 TONS OF METAL 2025 – Day 2: Full Steam Ahead! appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
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