Day 2 quick rundown

[Diabolik]

Day 2 had lots more people show up. This was good. The best part was that the sound issue was fixed. Wizard did a very extensive sound check and fixed lots of the bugs that were happening on friday.

The first band was Ancient Creation. They were decent. Nothing that really blew me away. Sorry Jeremy. The downside is that no one was really at the show yet so they played for an empty room. this is the one curse of being the first band at a longer show like this. People just show up later.

Voz was up next. I didnt really know what to expect. I was impressed. Prety powerful stuff. Nothing original but it reminded me a lot of The Ruffians and stuff in that vein. It is always cool to come across a good band when you least expect it.

Damien Thorne were up next. Loved the new vocalist. I was happy as hell they played "Face Reality". My favorite song by them. While not the most energetic band they were solid. Glad I got to see them. Hopefully now with a local singer they will play out more. I loved when they said that this free CD was for this girl and Pat grabbed it and everyone boo'ed him. Being a gentleman as I am took it upon myself to get the CD for the lady.

Stauter Xstroyes are a band who is talented and have a great vocalist but do zero for me. People really seem to like them. Just not me.

Skull Fist came on and blew everyone away. I can say that this was the band I told Mike to get. Begged him for days and he pulled it off. They were a fun band. You dont take them serious. They know how to perform and make thier act entertaining. The crowd ate it up. Wish they could have played a little longer.

Brocas Helm are a band I thought I would never see live. While not the great live band it was great to be lucky enough to have seen them. I know they didnt practice much before the show. This showed. Very sloppy but still entertaining. They played almost everything I wanted to hear so I was happy.

Wizard was the last band of the night. Most people left. They played like they were playing in front of 10,000 people. While I am not a huge fan they were really impressive to watch. It was great to see Mike and Chris come on stage and sing the last song with them.


The raffle was great. People had fun with it. I wa shappy that Pat won the Wizard picture disc LP. I like it when a fan gets something and not some guy who will just ebay it when they get home.

I was really glad that douchebag got tossed out of the show near the end....wish it was earlier.

I also wish there was more time to talk to everyone I wanted to. Time went by so fast it was really hard to make the rounds and watch all the bands. I didnt know I knew that many people.

Bummed that Brocas Helm didnt have shirts.

how about everyone else....thoughts?

 

[Justin G]

I thought that Ancient Creation sounded pretty good. It took me a while to get into their last album, but I do enjoy their overall style. It's a shame they travelled so far to play for almost nobody.

Voz was better than I expected. Their singer could probably pull off a decent Crimson Glory cover.

I liked Damien Thorne a lot. Kind of an Armored Saint vibe there.

Slauter Xtroyes was very solid. I need to check out some of their discs.

It was a cool festival overall, and I was glad to meet so many forum regulars.
Skull Fist ruled the fest for me. Pure '80s metal cheese in all its glory. You can't help but love their energy and showmanship, and come on, all of their songs are about metal!

Broca's Helm was really good. I don't know how I made it this long without ever hearing them.

Wizard had a great live energy and gave 100%. I just wish I wasn't so exhausted at that point.

 

[nomisofsiman]

Ancient Creation I enjoy on disc, but I felt at times during their set, that they weren't quite as in sync with each other. Granted, their stuff seems a bit more technical than most of the bands playing.

Voz was okay. The vocalist is good, I just felt it seemed like one very long song. Basically, I felt it was way too much of the same. The guy actually reminds me most of Ripper.

Beyond that, I pretty much agree with everything, though I'd say Wizard was the standout band of the night and while I enjoyed Skull Fist, I enjoyed Damien Thorne more; however, I also am more familiar with them.

 

[SteelFireRecs]

Ancient Creation - i have the Moonlight Monument cd, only because i got it for $6 and wanted to hear them before I went to the show. They didnt blow me away live but i did dig their technicality of their songs and solos.

Voz - never heard of them or heard their music but they were cool to see live. Morrie was a cool nice dude. I also agree with the Ripper statement, kind of reminds of him.

Damien Thorne - Awesome seeing them live, the new vocalist was great. I was selling there cds and vinyls at the show (and still am through my webshop) and they put on a good live show.

Slauter Xstroyes - Never seen them live before but i loved it. There music is some of the weirdest i've ever heard in my life but soo good. These guys just know how to make it work and live they really bring it together. Although I wish the vocals wouldve been louder live so i could hear Steve's huge range better. And they were selling Tshirts for $5 and patches for $3, so naturally i bought 1 of each of those.

Skull Fist - Oh My God is all i have to say about these guys. They know how to put on a live show and get the crowd pumped. They layed a bunch of songs (if not all) off the Heavier Than Metal EP and destoryed. This was the most pumped I think I saw the crowd all weekend. Great showmanship and awe, especially the on the shoulders solos for No False Metal. Although they need to learn how to price their merch better. I really wanted to get Head of the Pack on cd but i am not paying $20 for it.

Brocas Helm - never thought i would see these guys live but they played their best songs. They had some great energy going on and i loved watching mr schumacker wander that stage with his unique thumbing technique of playing bass. Although that guitar solo last a bit too long for my liking.

Wizard - I dont even know what to say about them, they killed it! My favorite performance of the weekend. They played kickass songs and got the crowd (what was left of it anyways) involved in every song. They played to a fest of 10,000 when there was only 50 (if even that many). They called a guy in Germany to tell them that heavy metal is not dead and they were having a great time in Joliet at a "heavy metal party." If you left early and didnt stay for them shame on you, you missed one of the best performances ever, they are going in my tops list of all time. The sad thing is this will probably the last time i ever see them live as i dont see them ever coming back to the USA. I could go on and on about how awesome they were but ill end it with "Kill The Troll!"

 

[Justin G]

I had planned on picking up that Head of the Pack disc too, but $20 was ridiculous.

 

[J. Golden]

No audience, sound issues, and Ancient Creation were breaking in a new guitarist; I think all of this just kind of contributed to the delivery.
Brocas Helm were cool. Hard to believe the band had been apart for so long before this show. However the guitar solo was not needed, I hate guitar solos. And I could not think of a different choice for a set.
Skullfist took the weekend, this bands energy just can't be matched.
The rest was not bad, they all sounded fine. I think we left before the end of Wizard; I saw maybe two songs and well that was enough.

 

[Jasonic]

Not much more to say as I agree with most everyone's rundown.
Skull Fist killed live. That was a perfect selection for the Fest.

Wizard frickin killed! Thats exactly how you perform in the headlining slot of the Fest.

Though I am a fan, I have to say I am extremely ticked off at Brocas Helm's performance.
As a veteran band they should have been more prepared. Seems they didn't even rehearse for the show and obvious they didn't create a setlist. I am guessing they got paid very well. It didn't seem they were taking the gig very serious. They sounded ok and all but I was expecting to be blown away.

 

[FengisRipRider]

For the second day my two fovorite bands were Slaughter Xstroyes Damien Thorne and Brocas Helm, despite Brocas Helms unprofessional delivery I sort enjoyed the bickering and loose feel of their set, plus they are one of favorite old bands and I enver epected i would ever see them perform live. Skull Fist gave a very tight and energetic performance they won over alot of people at that show. Was not to into Wizard but they were great performers.

 

[SteelFireRecs]

Brocas Helm made their setlist while they were watching the first couple opening bands, i saw them writing it down

 

[Diabolik]

On friday Brocas Helm mentioned that they didnt practice and it should just all come back to them. Mike (Odin) looked like he was going to have a heart attack. I too actually enjoyed the bickering and stuff on stage. Sure it wasnt a tight performance but with all the vids I have seen this is how they are live.

 

[SteelFireRecs]

I definitely enjoyed their set and had fun watching them. It looked they were having a great time playing together. Love that i actually got to see them in their possible last ever performance, who knows. But like i said, i couldve done without that pointless 8 minute guitar solo

 

[Jasonic]

I am not saying I didnt enjoy it.

Bob makes a great point. I haven't seen many vids of their shows.
So, if that's how their sets usually are, then its nothing new.

Though considering this was being booked as a big reunion after breaking up after KIT, I would think at minimum they would have at least rehearsed once!!!!!

I guess that's the position a lot of bands are in now, where they are 100% inactive and will just come out when the cash is right.

 

[DMR]

I got there when Slauter Xstroyes was starting their set. I've never liked them much. Their songs don't really have any coherence. It seems like they just put every riff they come up with into a song. And they're just typical '80s metal riffs too. They might be more interesting if they had weird riffs like Atheist or Coroner.

Skull Fist bored the shit out of me. They're one of the stupidest metal bands around right now, and that's saying a lot. I understand why people like them but I can't figure out why people go crazy for them. I'll give them credit and say I didn't hate them as much as I thought I would.

Brocas Helm was the band I came to see, and I was not disappointed. My only complaints were the vocals weren't loud enough and the guitar solo was too long. Other than that, they were great. I'm very happy that two thirds of their set came from Defenders of the Crown, but fans of the older albums probably weren't thrilled.

I skipped Wizard because I had a really long drive home. I should have stayed for at least a few songs.

 

[Jasonic]

Skull Fist bored the shit out of me. They're one of the stupidest metal bands around right now, and that's saying a lot. I understand why people like them but I can't figure out why people go crazy for them. I'll give them credit and say I didn't hate them as much as I thought I would.

I will give you that lyrically they might be the stupidest band out there.
But live man, they brought it.
It was balls out fun and a perfect fit for the fest IMHO.

Let your hair down and party out!!!!!!

Maybe you just need to "Commit to Rock" more man....

 

[Justin G]

Maybe you just need to "Commit to Rock" more man....

We all do.

 

[Jasonic]

This is a song about a warrior and his sign.
This one's called Sign of the Warrior.

Yeah, maybe they should leave the introductions to their singer / guitarist.

 

[Diabolik]

This is a song about a warrior and his sign.
This one's called Sign of the Warrior.

Yeah, maybe they should leave the introductions to their singer / guitarist.

I loved thier banter....my favorite was....excuse me while I shred!

 

[Wizard_Junkie]

Wizard and Skull Fist were the definitely winners in my eyes. Skullfist was a total surprise, never heard of them. The only band I had actually heard of besides Wizard was Slauter Xstroyes and they were okay. None of the bands were terrible, just most of them gave me the reaction of, "yeah, they're okay". The long drawn out guitar solo was definite overkill but they did play the only song I checked out by them on youtube before the show, so that made things better. Regardless, I got my fix of Wizard and found another fun band.

 

[Diabolik]

Wizard and Skull Fist were the definitely winners in my eyes. Skullfist was a total surprise, never heard of them. The only band I had actually heard of besides Wizard was Slauter Xstroyes and they were okay. None of the bands were terrible, just most of them gave me the reaction of, "yeah, they're okay". The long drawn out guitar solo was definite overkill but they did play the only song I checked out by them on youtube before the show, so that made things better. Regardless, I got my fix of Wizard and found another fun band.

that is the cool part about fest like there.....you always come out finding out about another band that you may never have heard of before.

 

[DMR]

I will give you that lyrically they might be the stupidest band out there.
But live man, they brought it.
It was balls out fun and a perfect fit for the fest IMHO.

Let your hair down and party out!!!!!!

Maybe you just need to "Commit to Rock" more man....

That's the problem. Skull Fist are a rock 'n roll party band and I've never been a rock 'n roll party dude. I'm not saying there's no place for them in the scene, but they should have been the band to get the crowd pumped up and ready for the main event. Instead everyone says they were the stars of the show, and that bothers me. They're mindless fun and nothing else. That shouldn't be considered the best of metal.