Best Band at the Show

[chibitotoro]

Looks like I should have allowed people to select more than one choice for the poll. Oh well. I enjoyed Devin's performance because he had such an attitude on stage. He knew a lot of the people in the crowd didn't like what he was doing, and he didn't freaking care. He made me laugh out loud on several occasions. My vote for the worst is Reading Zero. Before the festival, they were the only band I actively disliked, and they didn't disappoint. I thought they were just awful, with most of the blame being placed on the singer, who couldn't properly hit a note if you put a gun to his head. For favorite band, it was a close call between Edguy and Angra, but I ultimately chose Angra, mostly because I knew most people would vote for Edguy.

 

[Antiharpist]

Edguy was great. Tobias had so much more energy and had a cool evil snobbish german/british sounding accent, very entertaining. That song that sounded like a Sammy Hagar era Van Halen (Painting On The Wall) really blew me away, I thought it was great. The youth of the whole band is probably what made them so exciting. Edguy was also the first band I felt had great sound. What was it with some of the bands? Edguy and Gamma Ray spent forever during their soundchecks to get the sound LOUD and clear, and it definitely made a difference. I was most impressed.

 

[Saruman]

Reading Zero really was pretty good. I least liked Silent Force. DC Cooper is great, but their music is very generic power metal. Edguy isn't much better. I would say the same for Gamma Ray, but they redeemed themselves with the Helloween at the end.

The thing about progressive music is that it's supposed to be innovative and PROGRESSive. Does Edguy's new one sound any different than their other ones? Maybe, but not to these ears. Pain of Salvation was by far the most skilled at playing the songs faithfully to the studio versions, and I might add that they probably had some of the most difficult material to play as well.

It seems to me like a good amount of the fans there were above all POWER METAL fans, which I think is a shame. Power metal is good, but is it really necessary to have FIVE power metal bands there? Especially having three in a row on the first day, and two in a row on the second. BG is of course not straight power metal, but they are definitely in that vein. The festival was excellent. In the future I would like to see more truly PROGRESSIVE bands, however. Zero Hour, Threshold, and POS were the only truly progressive bands, and only POS was given a headlining spot, and they were watched by fewer people than any other band.

 

[LucioArgento]

Originally posted by Saruman
Zero Hour, Threshold, and POS were the only truly progressive bands, and only POS was given a headlining spot, and they were watched by fewer people than any other band.

Agreed - the PoS spot should have been swapped with Edguy since they deserved to headline being the best band of the night. PoS were probably horrified at going on after Edguy AND Blind Guardian since they can't match the intensity.

 

[ricochet]

Pain of Salvation followed very closely by Devin Townsend. Two extremely different and extremely talented artists who put on amazing shows. It's a shame more people have not discovered the genius that both possess.

 

[Obyeybyeogone]

I also thought Pain of Salvation and Devy were best, followed by Blind Guardian of Threshhold.

I was amazed with both of these bands

 

[nightwish58]

"The thing about progressive music is that it's supposed to be innovative and PROGRESSive. Does Edguy's new one sound any different than their other ones? Maybe, but not to these ears. Pain of Salvation was by far the most skilled at playing the songs faithfully to the studio versions, and I might add that they probably had some of the most difficult material to play as well."

First off, Edguy is not PROGRESSive, so what's your point? They are a power metal band, and a damn great one at that.

As for your remarks about PoS, I couldn't agree more. I don't understand how they could execute their material live the way they do. Simply amazing. Again, what a shame that people couldn't stick around to see such an awesome band

 

[Stormer]

My vote goes to the masters Speed Metal... Gamma Ray!! Their set was awesome, they came out flying and never stopped. It was great to hear everyone singing along and keeping the bands energy up! Kai Hansen seemed to be smiling all through the set, I think he was blown away at the crowd response as well... Anyway, glad that they came and kicked ass.

I would put Edguy in a close second and Blind Guardian third. I have to give BG some credit because some of their songs are difficult to play live. Going to see them again on Sat. can't wait.

Hope everyone had a great time and here's to another ProgPower next year!!!

 

[SuperPhil]

I only went to day 2...the only band I was there to see...the whole reason I came all the way from Salt Lake.....to see GAMMA RAY!! And they didn't disappoint!

Of the other day 2 bands, I thought they all sounded good and played really well.

 

[Se7enChurches]

Originally posted by SuperPhil
I only went to day 2...the only band I was there to see...the whole reason I came all the way from Salt Lake.....to see GAMMA RAY!! And they didn't disappoint!

If you like Gamma Ray that much, you really should have checked out Edguy. Similar area of metal, and definitely equally impressive, and equally ass-kicking.

Ryan

 

[sh0kr0k]

Pain of Salvation

I was so blown away by the performances that I simply can not even believe that the festival even took place! I chose PoS because I was not very familiar with their material coming into the show but they majorly kicked my arse!! I can't even understand how they did what they did!

THRESHOLD is another favorite of mine! I've liked these guys for a while and I was so happy for them to see that they were well-recieved!

BG was awesome, I couldn't have asked for better! GR was unrelenting! ANGRA was simply an ethereal experience! And Edguy.. well.. they thoroughly dominated! Silent Force was quite a surprise too! I didn't stay for Devin, I was in line for Edguy autographs. The Zero bands were alright, but nothing overly special. Zero Hour looked awkward onstage, but I guess I would be too if I was opening the greatest show on earth!

I don't care when, where, how much, or who's playing - next year, I'm there!!

 

[beasleymachine]

I thought Edguy totally dominated the show with the best performance by far......and then Blind Guardian was highly disappointing, especially coming right after Edguy. They'll have a chance to redeem themselves when I see them again in Chicago in a few weeks....I thought Zero Hour was great, and they'll be even better when they get a better stage presence (which is rather hard to do because of the technicality of their music)

Does anyone else think Devin Townsend sounds way too much like nu-metal? He belongs at Ozzfest, not Progpower. I thought seeing him, his music, and his performance were the single three worst experiences of my life. I, also, wanted to kick him in the nuts right then and there. I stayed for about an hour of Pain of Salvation, until I couldn't stand it anymore.....I kinda liked them before the concert, but their performance made me decide I don't like them at all.......other than those two, everyone else totally rocked (especially Edguy!)

 

[Dustin]

Originally posted by SuperPhil
I only went to day 2...the only band I was there to see...the whole reason I came all the way from Salt Lake.....to see GAMMA RAY!! And they didn't disappoint!

Of the other day 2 bands, I thought they all sounded good and played really well.

ohhhh DUDE! I have to agree with Se7enChurches, you really missed out on Edguy! They brought the house down! They were a huge suprise for the festival!

I can't belive you flew all that way for just one day! We came from Salt Lake as well, but I'd be damned if I was going to miss even a second of the festival. Every band put on an excellent performance and I am totally looking forward to the next round of bludgeoning!

 

[nailbmb]

Originally posted by DaysOfPurgutory2
Edguy was the best!

Devin was the worst...i want to kick him in his nuts

hahahaa, i'm not trying to rip on you (or the other guy that said this) so don't take it the wrong way but why don't you kick Glenn in the nuts for inviting this guy to play? hell, i even saw him in front of the stage jamming out to 'Life' (which Devin played per Glenn's request). So it seems to me that Glenn is the real culprit here. People can make crappy music all they want but who is this guy to bring Devin and his shitty music to our immaculate prog/power festival, right???

everyone is entitled to their own opinion but that's taking it a bit further than just an opinion don't ya think?

BTW, i also thought Edguy had the best 'show'

 

[alexofbodom]

Devin Townsend was horrible IMO! It is one thing to not like the music, but the sound was just horrible! The only thing you could hear was his guitar.
Edguy was by far the most energetic band of the festival. Blind Guardian played beautifully, and Angra and Gamma Ray kicked some serious ass. All the other bands were very good as well, except for Devin Townsend.
Overall, this was by far the best festival I have ever been to in my entire life.
Glenn Harveston should be president!

 

[sc]

Since i can only vote for once so i choose Edguy....but i would also add Angra as the best band at the show

 

[Saruman]

"First off, Edguy is not PROGRESSive, so what's your point? They are a power metal band, and a damn great one at that. "

I was under the impression that bands at progpower were supposed to be progressive. And believe me, there are those who think Edguy is prog/power metal. Last year, every band there was in some way progressive (except for Steel Prophet, who was added in at the end). This year the focus just shifted too much to fairly straightforward power metal. I like power metal, but one band per night would have been plenty. I just would have liked to see some more variety, perhaps some heavier progressive bands (Opeth, Therion, Borknagar, etc.) or lighter ones even (like last year's Nightingale) or more technical ones (like last year's Ark and Spiral Architect).

I suppose people are taking the name Progpower to mean that the bands there are either progressive or power metal. I took it to mean "the power of prog" or "prog's power". Anyway, it doesn't matter. But seriously, is it really necessary to have power metal bands playing from more or less 645 to 1130 the first day and 945 to 2 am the second ? Maybe you think so, but I was pretty burnt out on power metal by the time Angra came up.

 

[woosta]

Originally posted by Saruman
Reading Zero really was pretty good. I least liked Silent Force. DC Cooper is great, but their music is very generic power metal. Edguy isn't much better. I would say the same for Gamma Ray, but they redeemed themselves with the Helloween at the end.

The thing about progressive music is that it's supposed to be innovative and PROGRESSive. Does Edguy's new one sound any different than their other ones? Maybe, but not to these ears. Pain of Salvation was by far the most skilled at playing the songs faithfully to the studio versions, and I might add that they probably had some of the most difficult material to play as well.

It seems to me like a good amount of the fans there were above all POWER METAL fans, which I think is a shame. Power metal is good, but is it really necessary to have FIVE power metal bands there? Especially having three in a row on the first day, and two in a row on the second. BG is of course not straight power metal, but they are definitely in that vein. The festival was excellent. In the future I would like to see more truly PROGRESSIVE bands, however. Zero Hour, Threshold, and POS were the only truly progressive bands, and only POS was given a headlining spot, and they were watched by fewer people than any other band.

You're gonna say THAT after I sat through all those shitty Progressive bands last year? They should have had ZERO Prog bands. You say it's a shame that most people were Power metal fans above all. I say it's a shame that someone can sit and deny the energy, entertainment and skill of the most obvious entertaining acts due soley to the fact that they aren't Prog.

 

[Darrin]

Just to get back on the subject, my favorite bands of the show were (in no particular order) Pain of Salvation, Zero Hour, Edguy, Blind Guardian, Devin Townsend and Gamma Ray. I could not have wished for a better time than i had. Edguy gets my vote for the best "show" for obvious reasons to anyone who was there, but each band I listed certainly kicked my ass every which way.

Best show ever.

Darrin

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

Originally posted by Saruman
"First off, Edguy is not PROGRESSive, so what's your point? They are a power metal band, and a damn great one at that. "

I was under the impression that bands at progpower were supposed to be progressive. And believe me, there are those who think Edguy is prog/power metal. Last year, every band there was in some way progressive (except for Steel Prophet, who was added in at the end). This year the focus just shifted too much to fairly straightforward power metal. I like power metal, but one band per night would have been plenty. I just would have liked to see some more variety, perhaps some heavier progressive bands (Opeth, Therion, Borknagar, etc.) or lighter ones even (like last year's Nightingale) or more technical ones (like last year's Ark and Spiral Architect).

I suppose people are taking the name Progpower to mean that the bands there are either progressive or power metal. I took it to mean "the power of prog" or "prog's power". Anyway, it doesn't matter. But seriously, is it really necessary to have power metal bands playing from more or less 645 to 1130 the first day and 945 to 2 am the second ? Maybe you think so, but I was pretty burnt out on power metal by the time Angra came up.

You're 100% wrong. That's all there is to that. ProgPower stands for a COMBINATION of Prog and Power metal bands. Some prog, some power, and last I checked, this year was still fairly even. It's just the BIGGER bands were power metal. And to say that Angra and Blind Guardian aren't somewhat progressive is to simply display ignorance. Sure they're not going to be confused with Dream Theatre anytime soon, but it's not like this was 10 power metal bands. Reading Zero, Zero Hour, Threshold & Pain Of Salvation were purely prog metal acts. So relax.