EPICA - Atlanta Roll Call - Feb 28th (EGADS! tonight!)

[Rider of Theli]

I'm shocked no one else had started this thread, so I guess I'll be 'that guy'

Karen and I will be there around 7-7:30PM. Hoping to see a lot of the metro-ATL progpower regs at the show tonight. Please be sure to get there early to catch the two opening acts - local support from Tortus and Eclipsed By Sanity. I've preached enough on E.B.S. so I won't go there, except to say they have a dynamic new song that you do not want to miss.

But what I wanted to mention this time is the band who will be kicking off the show: Tortus. This young outfit is a groove metal act that will take you on a roller coaster through their songs. They are guaranteed to have you bouncing along to their tunes with everything ranging from co-lead male and female clean vocals to growls. They utilize keyboards and co-lead guitars in their music, and for their relatively young (18-20) age, these kids have some real talent. I could see them getting far at least within the ATL metal scene. Most of all, they just have as much FUN as possible on stage. LOL and you will too.

Regardless, we hope to see you and hang out with you all tonight for an EPIC night of metal!

~Hoyt.

 

[Palabra de Dios]

Does the show start at 8? I'm coming in, but I hope I'm not too late to miss the openers.

 

[Rider of Theli]

7:30, I think, Tortus kicks it off with a 25-30 minute set. E.B.S. on immediately after.

 

[Palabra de Dios]

Word up. I'll try to get there on time!

 

[The_Metal_Messiah]

I'll be there! I gotta get there kinda early, as to (hopefully) pick up pre-sale tickets for our March 31st show with Lazarus AD, Evile, and Kataklysm!

 

[SkiBumMSP]

I saw them a couple of weeks back at Jaxx. They did put on an excellent show.

 

[Kazi]

I'll be there. Masquerade site says the doors open at 7 and I bought one of the v.i.p. tickets so I plan on being there around 6. I can't wait for the show

 

[nailz]

I saw them a couple of weeks back at Jaxx. They did put on an excellent show.

They brought the house down in phoenix.

 

[7thSaviour]

So how was the show?

 

[Palabra de Dios]

Show review:

Arrived just in time to see Tortus. Did not know what to expect but I was extremely impressed given the average age of the band. They had a few technical hiccups, but their sound was well mixed and their performances (especially from their lead singer/guitar player) were great. I enjoyed their song compositions as well--they were a weird band in a very good way. What lyrics I could pick out were over the top and awesome and well written. Quite enjoyable. Also worth noting is that I was told this was their first time opening for national acts, and you could tell--they invited all of their friends and family and had a nice group just to see them. That has to be good for increasing ticket/door sales, which is nice for a band like Epica, where I was unsure of what they'd draw.

Eclipsed by Sanity played a shorter set than planned perhaps because of the aforementioned Tortus tech difficulties, but I must say they killed it. Big mosh pit in the first song (which allowed me to reach the rail ), and they brought the metal through their entire set. Patrick's voice was top notch and they were very tight. Good job guys.

Blackguard were better this time than when I saw them with Ensiferum. They still come off as a bit generic and not quite as EPIC as I think they'd like to think they are. They make up for it in energy; they are all over the place! Good guitar work, and they seemed to be having lots of fun. It was the last date on the tour, so the bands were pulling out all the stops on drinking tons of shots and beer on stage, and crazy antics that were goofy yet light hearted and fun.

Threat Signal. Do I have to say something nice? I guess they sounded tight. But they are not my kind of band. Pretty standard American metal in the vein of Killswitch Engage with less awesome vocals and more breakdowns than you can shake your skinny jeans to. Every now and then a good riff would come up, but the genericism is just too prevalent here and it just wasn't for me.

Then there was Epica. Third time seeing these guys (the 2nd time wasn't with Simone). They were great. I probably liked their ProgPower performance best b/c it was my first time and they were only playing stuff from Phantom Agony and Consign, but...details. A lot of new stuff, but they brought it. Simone was flawless. Beautiful of course, but her voice was sublime. She hit every note and handled the horny hecklers with surprising sass and composure. Wonderful. I wish they'd play maybe one or two more songs from Consign, as I still feel it's their best album. But the songs that they picked from the new album were some of the strongest so that's a minor complaint. The crowd response was wonderful, and I think that there being more women in the crowd made for a much more mature crowd experience. I am thankful for that.

All told, it was a good show.

 

[Magius]

Show review:
.....
All told, it was a good show.

I agree in entirety with your review of every band.

I would add the some of the end of tour antics were cool, but others were needless distractions. However, the cool stuff made the whole fiasco worth it.

 

[Rider of Theli]

Show review:

Arrived just in time to see Tortus. Did not know what to expect but I was extremely impressed given the average age of the band. They had a few technical hiccups, but their sound was well mixed and their performances (especially from their lead singer/guitar player) were great. I enjoyed their song compositions as well--they were a weird band in a very good way. What lyrics I could pick out were over the top and awesome and well written. Quite enjoyable. ...

Eclipsed by Sanity played a shorter set than planned perhaps because of the aforementioned Tortus tech difficulties, but I must say they killed it. Big mosh pit in the first song (which allowed me to reach the rail ), and they brought the metal through their entire set. Patrick's voice was top notch and they were very tight. Good job guys.

Thanks for including a review of the local support. We certainly appreciate it.

And in fact the Masquerade has a tendency to cut local acts short in order to keep the touring show running on time (usually due to road managers pushing their buttons). But that's cool, because at least the locals were able to share the stage with some of their musical heroes.

But going back to being cut... what's funny is that while the touring bands/managers may dictate how long local support may be given on stage, what they fail to realize is that a genuine full third of the crowd last night was there because of the opening acts. Damn skippy! Without the two local supporting acts, the 900 capacity room would have looked fairly empty. Between Eclipsed By Sanity and Tortus, an extra 110 tickets were sold. I estimate a solid 350 in attendance - not counting the occasional stragglers wandering up from the BobaFlex show in the downstairs (Hell) room.

So EPICA, Threat Signal, and Blackguard should appreciate local support no matter where they perform. Because without it, they wouldn't be making some extra money from merch sales and picking up a few new fans along the way.





(you're welcome)

 

[RagePSV]

Thanks for including a review of the local support. We certainly appreciate it.

And in fact the Masquerade has a tendency to cut local acts short in order to keep the touring show running on time (usually due to road managers pushing their buttons). But that's cool, because at least the locals were able to share the stage with some of their musical heroes.

But going back to being cut... what's funny is that while the touring bands/managers may dictate how long local support may be given on stage, what they fail to realize is that a genuine full third of the crowd last night was there because of the opening acts. Damn skippy! Without the two local supporting acts, the 900 capacity room would have looked fairly empty. Between Eclipsed By Sanity and Tortus, an extra 110 tickets were sold. I estimate a solid 350 in attendance - not counting the occasional stragglers wandering up from the BobaFlex show in the downstairs (Hell) room.

So EPICA, Threat Signal, and Blackguard should appreciate local support no matter where they perform. Because without it, they wouldn't be making some extra money from merch sales and picking up a few new fans along the way.





(you're welcome)

Yeah, it definetely looked like a smaller crowd after EBS played. Not a ton smaller, but noticeable.

 

[Pellaz]

I agree in entirety with your review of every band.

Me, too. Although in all honesty I can't speak about Threat Signal because I was downstairs in Purgatory getting off my aching feet.

I would add the some of the end of tour antics were cool, but others were needless distractions. However, the cool stuff made the whole fiasco worth it.

Yeah, the crowd-surfing by the tour-openers got pretty annoying at around the 4th or 5th time. Still, it was very clear that Epica and Blackguard, and to a lesser extent Threat Signal, had really built up a lot of camaraderie during the tour. It was cool seeing them have fun for themselves.

Hoyt, I didn't have a chance to pick up a Tortus CD or anything after the show since they were already packed up and gone, so please pass on my compliments. I thought they were pretty good, and their lead guitarist was stellar for being so young.

 

[Rider of Theli]

Yeah, it definetely looked like a smaller crowd after EBS played. Not a ton smaller, but noticeable.

actually I think the crowd started thinning after Blackguard played. It was certainly noticeable by the time EPICA went on (after Threat Signal).

 

[Pellaz]

actually I think the crowd started thinning after Blackguard played. It was certainly noticeable by the time EPICA went on (after Threat Signal).

Yep. I attributed this in part to the fact that it was a Sunday night, and some people had to be at work the next day. We left not long after Epica finished for similar reasons...normally I like to hang around awhile afterwards.

We noticed a sharp decrease in the crowd right after EBS' performance, but I think a lot of those people went downstairs to smoke or to the back to look at merch; in any event the floor filled in to almost the same crowd-size for Blackguard.

 

[Palabra de Dios]

Although in all honesty I can't speak about Threat Signal because I was downstairs in Purgatory getting off my aching feet.

Smart. You didn't miss much.