BW&BK Six Pack Weekend Thanks

[Narcosynthesys68]

I know this is not the perfect place but I see that Mark is hanging around here. Thanks a million for the great show this weekend. You and your posse (Tim) deserve a big round of applause for the great time! And double thank yous for bringing Death Angel!!! They fucking slayed!!!

 

[Narcosynthesys68]

Oh yeah, if Clear Channel wants to make a buck, put Death Angel, Testament, Flotsam, Kreator, Exodus, Overkill, and Slayer together for the second night of #4 and the place would be PACKED!!!

Like I am telling you something that you didn't know!

 

[eppst1]

I would also like to thank BWBK for another great weekend!

Keep them coming!

 

[metal71]

Hey BWBKr's-

Sorry I had to cancel this show at the last minute, I was really looking forward to the lineup this year. Wondering how the Canadian band Goathorn went over on Thursday?

 

[TheGraveDigger]

Another amazing metal weekend!

I arrived late afternoon on Thursday, checked in at the hotel and headed down to the ever so amazing Buffalo Wild Wings joint on the corner of where the venue is. Afterwards headed to the venue bought my warm up show tickets and waited for the event to begin.

Tim "Ripper" Owens was selling Beyond Fear t-shirts in the merchandise area. My cousin went over and chatted with him about his band Severed Hand which Ripper is familalir with and bought a shirt from him. After seeing Beyond Fear later that night I wish I would have bought a shirt from Ripper because they were great.

Malaki's Reign was the first band to go on. Their members stretch from New Jersey to Texas to California. They put on a good show and play some solid power metal. Their new lead singer delivers pretty well. I don't remember his name off hand but he's also in Crescent Shield. They ended their set with a pretty damn awesome cover of Lizzy Borden's "Hell is For Hero's" which will appear on an upcoming Lizzy Borden tribute album.

Mo Rage was next. Nothing inspiring or truly great here. They seemed to suffer from some sound issues. Not on the soundboard's part but on the bands part maybe not knowing what they were doing. The singer was pacing around and didn't seem to be frontman material when it came to the audience.

Eternal Legacy had a big buzz going on about them as they just recently opened for Sonata Arctica. This band ruled! Very young lads here playing some awesome heavier guitar mixed with keyboard styled power metal. Strong response. Really enjoyed these guys. I caught a copy of their demo they threw out into the audience. Can't wait to listen to it.

Wretch had a pretty devoted following. I enjoyed these guys. Played a nice traditional/thrashy set. Had my moving my head.

NDE was next. Worst band of the entire weekend. I don't know who booked these guys into a metal fest.

Goat Horn from Canada fucking slayed. I had heard of these guys but never heard their music. Fucking amazing! You can tell these guys live traditional metal a la Exciter, Maiden, Priest, Accept, Queensryche, King Diamond etc and they proudly play that traditional style of metal. Loved this set.

Beyond Fear just blew me away. Ripper has put together an awesome band. Dennis Hayes from Seven Witches was on bass. The new stuff is Sabbath meets Pantera and with Rippers vocals you get that old school Priest feel to it. He also threw in covers of "Metal Thrashing Mad" (Anthrax) and "War Pigs"/"Neon Knights" (Black Sabbath). Great way to kick off a weekend of metal Mr. Owens.

 

[TheGraveDigger]

Friday night!

Kept with the tradition of hitting up Buffalo Wild Wings before the event. The guys from Dark Tranquility were hanging out in there starting the beer drinking early.

Havochate kicked off the night. I was looking foward to them. Good thrash metal but I couldn't really get into the vocalist. I over all thought they were just ok.

Mnemic was next. Yuck. Next.

Hypocrisy! I have been meaning to get into this band for awhile but haven't had the chance to. Well my introduction was this performance and I was blown away. I was center stage, right next to the pit and it was a mind blowing experience. Everything these guys did was fucking awesome. I can't wait to start buying their albums. "Pleasure of Molestation", "Fire in the Sky", and "The Eraser" were just amazing. As soon as their set ended I ran and bought their US Tour 2005 t-shirt.

Dark Tranquility was next and I was really into them. I am a big fan of the latest album Character and those songs went over really well as well as the older classics. Great set.

Soilwork was next. The venue was packed the most it was all weekend for them but I wasn't a part of that. Neither me or my cousin gave them a second of our time.

Too bad the kids that were there for Soilwork did not stick around for EXCITER because they would have seen a real metal show. POUNDING METAL was what we got and I loved it. Awesome, loud and energetic set from the great Canadians. (During their set the drummer from Dark Tranquility very drunk came up to the photo pit and was banging his head and going insane. I am even pretty sure I saw him do some acid while up there. He was quite humorous).

Chris Caffery was up next to close out the evening and I was truly blown away by his solo performance. The entire set was Chris' solo stuff from Faces and God Damn War (now named W.A.R.P.E.D.) except for the second song into the set which was "Sirens" from Savatage and later on in the set he covered "War Pigs" by Sabbath. I love the solo stuff though. "Pisses Me Off" was great and when he yelled "Starbucks pisses me off" the whole crowd responded with "5 bucks a cup, WHAT THE FUCK" without Chris having to say a word. Chris ended the night with "Abandoned" which was my favorite song of his set. Chris put all his heart and energy into it and it was just amazing. Kudos to Mr Caffery. (Back to the Dark Tranquility drummer, he was back in the photo pit for Caffery's set going nuts, drinking more, probably doing more acid. He was dry humping one of the older security staff members and just having a ball. He had me cracking up.)

 

[TheGraveDigger]

Saturday night!

Started things off at you know it, Buffalo Wild Wings. The guys from Mors Principium Est were in there and I shook hands with them and told them how much I am looking foward to their set. They seemed very gracious over my words. While in there I played "Ain't Talkin Bout Love" by Van Halen, "Shout At The Devil" by Motley Crue, and "You've Got Another Thing Coming" by Judas Priest on the juke box which had a happy response from the other metal heads eating in there.

Arrived at the Odeon shortly into Deadly Blessing's set. God they were good. Played alot of Ascend from the Cauldron as well as some other unreleased stuff from over time. I really enjoyed their set and they had a decent sized audience there to check them out.

Raven was up next. They played an awesome set which I enjoyed. Towards the end they were running over their time so the house lights flashed on and off which was a hint to get the fuck off the stage. They didn't so the plug was slowly being pulled on them and their sound lessening. They got really pissed and ended their current song before it was over. Mark Gallagher was fuming. The drummer violently tossed one of his sticks into the crowd, smashed his other one off the drum set, stood up and punched one of his symbols and then the drummer came to the center on the stage and snotted on it. Who the fuck are these guys, they are in no position to act like rock stars. They aren't big any more and they should be happy they were even contacted and considered for such a glorious metal festival. Outside of this the only offers they get are playing for that scum bag Jack Koshik and his but buddy Rob Grohl. Seriously I love Raven's music but I am disgusted by what I witnessed. You are given a set time, then play that set time and don't go over it. Afterwards BWBL staff had posted signs all around saying Don't play more than your set time. Get off in style and get off on time. Damn right, fuck Raven.

Mors Principium Est was next and they were so good. I really hope they break through in America because they have what it takes. Awesome thrash/death metal with keyboards thrown into the mix. This band should be opening for Stratovarius on their fall tour. Very well done job from the Finland natives.

Jag Panzer was next and put on an incredible show like expected. Everything was played from 1984's Ample Destruction through the latest Casting the Stones. This band never disappoints and everytime I see them they more and more become one of my number one favorite bands.

God Dethroned was next to hit the stage. I have The Lair of the White Worms which I enjoy and I was looking foward to see them. However I ran into one of my buddies from the Ultimate Metal forums and meeting for the first time we were chit chatting and talking metal in the vendor area. I only caught a few of God Dethroned's songs. I did enjoy what I saw them and I hope they make it back to America soon.

Death Angel was next and was easily easily easily the highlite of the weekend. Many were stunned that they even showed up but they were there and kicked ass. The biggest crowd responce the entire weekend. A pretty wicked mosh pit, tons of headbanging, it was fucking classic. I will never forget seeing Death Angel on the 6 Pack Weekend and being that close to the stage. Afterwards Mark Groman got on stage and proudly said over the past year everyone has promised you Death Angel but BWBK is the only one who has brought you Death Angel. Damn right, kudos Mr Groman.

Trouble was next and the final band of the festival. They kicked alot of ass. It was my first time ever hearing them. Chris Caffery was in the crowd for their first few songs really getting into it. I stayed for their whole set and had a blast.

Sadly I slept through most of the Cooperstown acoustic set on Saturday. My allergies have been really bad and taking these nightime allergy pills after Friday's show they kept me asleep pretty late into the afternoon on Saturday and by the time I woke up I would have never made it down in time to catch it but I heard it was amazing.

This was my second BWBK. I didn't go to the first one but I was there last year. One thing I noticed different from last year is the bands were so accesible and walking around and bonding with the fans this year. I took pictures with Peter Tagtren from Hypocrisy, Broderick from Jag Panzer, the lead singer and one of the guitarists from Mors Principium Est and even got a shot which featured me, my cousin, Chris Caffery, and Ripper Owens.

The vendors were great. I picked up "Aeronautics" by Masterplan (remastered edition with the Back for my Life Ep as the bonus tracks), Rob Rock's latest "Holy Hell", A Grave Digger chronicles t shirt, Hypocrisy's 2005 US tour shirt, and the BWBK 6 Pack Weekend 3 shirt.

Overall it was an amazing weekend. Thanks to BWBK for so much fun and putting on a very professional festival. I will be back next year. Keep it in Cleveland, at the Odeon, there is nothing like it!

 

[woosta]

I was shocked at how "deathy" Mors Principium attempted to be when in actuality they are very melodic. I think they didn't do themselves any favors by representing the music that way. I don't think a lot of people could tell that they fit in with DT, Soilwork and Hypocrisy in terms of sound.

 

[TheGraveDigger]

I ran into three of the Mors Principium Est guys in Buffalo Wild Wings and asked them if they were going to play Eternity's Child cause it's one of my favorite songs by them and they said no and to expect a very aggressive set. That's just what they did you are right, they did come across very deathy. Already being a fan and having the first album I didn't mind but you are right a new comer will not know how melodic they are.

 

[woosta]

I SO agree with you! When they announced "this is our last song" and it wasn't Eternity's Child, my jaw hit the floor. My girlfriend and I looked at each other like WTF??!?!? That is easily the band's best song for me/her and we sat in shock over that one. I don't get it.

 

[TheGraveDigger]

I think MPE may have it in their head that Americans are more into aggressive music than Europeans and thats why melodic metal is very big overseas and bands like their type rarely make it big here with the exception for a few. I am sure they will learn overtime that their other not as aggressive songs will go over well here and there is a following. While I was a fan of their set I also think their lead singer needs more charisma on stage as it was lacking. This band kicks ass though and I would love to see them get bigger here. I would be rather pleased if they ended up on tour with Stratovarius. I like Into Eternity but if I had to choose the Stratovarius openers it would be Mors Principium Est and Thunderstone.

 

[caex]

I just wanted to post that I was at the sow as well and add some stuff, like how the acoustic set was. First, most people on here might no like Soilwork, but I liked them a lot (about the kids comment, how the hell old do you consider a person to be to not be a kid?). Also, during Soilwork's set, two of the members of God Dethroned, The drummer and Bassist, were right in front of me going crazy for them. Chris' set was amazing and I loved it. After the show, Their keyboardist Paul was near the side, so i went over and talked with him, and he gave me his setlist and I was able to get the set list signed by the band .

On saturday morning, I got up at 8:00 a.m. in order to get to the Alice Cooperstown show early because I was told there would be a line early. I found out that I was staying right next door to Chris Caffery's band, the keyboardist and drummer in the room to the right of me, and the others across the hall. I went to Cooperstown and waited for it to open, talked to a guy in a metal university shirt about metal and things such as that, and finally we were let in to the area where the show was.

Siki Spacek was first up, and he was cool but I didn't stay because it was electric instead of acoustic. I went back to the hotel, and chatted with the singer and lead guitarist from God Dethroned (they were really nice and cool) about their home country and about what festivals in Europe I should go to were (they said that I should go to Summer Breeze).

I got back to Cooperstown in time to see Jacobs Dream and it was a cool set, and I liked what I heard. Chris Caffery was up next and they did acoustic versions of some of the songs from the night before, including War Pigs which was fun, and a reggae version of Savatage song Sirens where he changed the lyrics to be about strippers, which got the crowd to laugh.

He played two other Savatage songs, one being Edge of Thorns which he used a electric guitar for both of them. For Edge of Thorns, he called Tim Owens out from the audience to sing the song instead of himself and it was a really great suprise. The other song he played was Power of the Night, which was on the set list for Friday, but they didn't get the time to play it.

Next, Russel Allen came up to play songs from his new album, which was cool and was my first time hearing him live in person and he was great. Well, the other guy told you guys about the rest of the concert so that is all from me.

 

[TheGraveDigger]

I'm sorry I said what I did about Soilwork and the kid's comment. I am just not a fan of the band but I do realize others are. I am glad you enjoyed their set. I wish there was a way they could have divided that tour up on Friday night and maybe put a band like Exciter in between Hypocrisy and Dark Tranquility so some of the younger fans would be able to see one of the great bands of the past.

 

[caex]

I'm sorry I said what I did about Soilwork and the kid's comment. I am just not a fan of the band but I do realize others are. I am glad you enjoyed their set. I wish there was a way they could have divided that tour up on Friday night and maybe put a band like Exciter in between Hypocrisy and Dark Tranquility so some of the younger fans would be able to see one of the great bands of the past.

NP, and sorry if you thought I was rude or anything I wasn't trying to be. Also, I didn't see any kids except one person, I'm 19 if that is young enough to be considered a kid, but thought that Exciter was really good.