OT: Chicago Powerfest Quick Review!!!!

[Diabolik]

Just got home from the Saturday night part of the show. Didnt make it to the friday night show. First off Nocturnal Rites were amazing live. The turn out was OK, the only problem is that the club is way out in hicksville away from the city and all the major suburbs. So right there that is going to hurt attendence. It was a decent size crowd but there was still plenty of room. Mirror Black from Wisconsin started things out and they had a good sound but there songs went on way to long. Twelfth Gate played next and had a fill in singer and did this guy blow. He thought he was in Disturbed or something. It was very painful to watch. Ion Vein played next and did an amazing cover of Pain Killer. They really didnt do to much for me.
Nocturnal Rites played next and they were worth ticket price alone. They were so tight and sounded and played great. They really seemed to be having fun playing and they played pretty much everything I wanted to hear.
A quick set list not in order is....
Fools Never Die
Still Alive
Cuts Like A knife
Deliverence
Afterlife
New World Messia
Avalon
Shadowland
Wake Up Dead
and I cant think off hand the other 5 or 6 others. Seriously they were fantastic. Full of energy and the crowd was really getting into them.

Morgana Lefay played last and I was never really a fan and people kept hyping them up after last year's performance so I gave them a chance. They had some tech issues in the first three songs and they tried to humor the crowd and came across very very weird. My freind thinks they were stoned or on something. After all the hype.....they did nothing for me. People rave about them but I just dont get it. I think after an amazing Nocturnal Rites set it would be hard to outdo them.

some highlights....
SWORDLORD = funniest guy I have seen in months. This man has so much untapped comedy in him. After reading tons of his postings here I didnt know what to think.....after tonight I think he should just be a professional MC at shows. He reminds me of a non-steriod version of HHH the WWE wrestler. the best part was that he wasnt try to be goofy..he just was. That is the trickest part...some people who MC or get a mic in their hand at a show think they are funny and usually end up being not funny just embarrassing. Not this comedic genius. Plus he wasnt trying to get cheap applause by mentioning bands every second.

Another highlight was the great organization behind the show. Bands started on time and set ups were very fast. They didnt crank bad music between bands so you couldnt talk. Everyone was very freindly and no meat head security.

Sound was also very good.

the only negative things are that it was so far away they could have drawn more in the city. I know it would have costed more probably but you would have a larger crowd. Other than that there was one guy who almost got punched in the nose for swinging his arms around and knocking my glasses off.


Other than that it was a fun time. Sure 1 out of 5 bands were good but they were that good it made up for it. Cant wait till next year. Cant wait to see who they get.

 

[Mosquito]

Er...what about all the other bands? I thought this was a quick review

 

[Magius]

Er...what about all the other bands? I thought this was a quick review

I think he addressed those... sort of...
"Sure 1 out of 5 bands were good..."
Not exactly in depth or objective was it?

 

[Mosquito]

I think he addressed those... sort of...
"Sure 1 out of 5 bands were good..."
Not exactly in depth or objective was it?

He did not mention at least two of the bands there, Agent Steel or Biomechanical. I don't know if I would call this a review.

 

[Imagikafan]

He did not mention at least two of the bands there, Agent Steel or Biomechanical. I don't know if I would call this a review.

He wasn't there on Friday night.

 

[Tess]

Ion Vein was it for me. They rocked! Eldritch was awesome on Friday. Nocturnal Rites was bueno as well but Ion Vein was my favorite of the weekend. Great performance. Their singer is so good with the crowd.

Now, I sleep ...............................

 

[sh0kr0k]

Twelfth Gate played next and had a fill in singer and did this guy blow. He thought he was in Disturbed or something. It was very painful to watch. Ion Vein played next and did an amazing cover of Pain Killer. They really didnt do to much for me.

They had some tech issues in the first three songs and they tried to humor the crowd and came across very very weird. My freind thinks they were stoned or on something.

I couldn't DISAGREE more! I heard people talking poorly about Twelfth Gate's vocalist, Brent Erickson, but quite frankly he was great! Sure, it's not the typical power metal vocals and he didn't have hair down to his ass, but can't you see passed that to realize that he did a great job? There's also a way to tactfully say that you didn't enjoy someone's performance, but to outright say that they sucked just because YOU didn't like it doesn't give the reader of your review a fair outlook. So I'm here to say, FUCK THAT - I think he did an EXCELLENT job, especially for having to play to a bunch of people that aren't generally into the vocal style that they encorporate into their music. So people reading - it's not the consensus that Brent did a poor job. He was energetic, talented, and a very charismatic frontman. Bottom line. I met him breifly after the set to tell him he did a great job and was easily the most appreciative and humble performer I met all weekend. My only complaint about their set was the odd audio mix that left the guitars drowned out by the bass for nearly their entire performance. But that's not the band's fault.

Mirror Black played first for a sparse but eager crowd. I was busy greeting a lot of friends and catching up so I wasn't really focused on their performance to give it a fair review. I did find myself saying, "Wow, these guys are great! Why haven't I heard them before?!" at many points during their set. YardleyBates told me that their drummer is always promotiong the band at shows in Chicago, so if they out around that area, I'd recommend catching them live!

This was my second time seeing Ion Vein and it was fantastic! There was some new material played that sounded great and everyone on stage was so full of life and really looked like they enjoyed playing for us! I can't wait to see these guys again! Russ really is great with the audience and their songs are so well-crafted and rehearsed. You can tell these love what they do! Not to mention they are very personable, friendly people off-stage as well. Great guys, great music, great live show! Period.

Nocturnal Rites shocked the hell out of me, and after taking one look around the room, it was obvious they had captured our attention! I'm not familiar with their music because I heard a cd once and decided it wasn't for me. Lo and behold, they got a new singer and now they sound like a completely new band! Wow, what a set and what an incredible first U.S. appearance!! All the members where energetic beyond belief, especially the lead guitarist who furiously rocked out in his corner of the stage for the entire set with hardly a moment to rest! That was entertaining in itself! Their sound mix was very smooth and even, and a definate improvement over the previous acts. I don't know how long they ended up playing for but the crowd just would not let them leave the stage - we wanted more! I sure hope these guys come back around again very soon! If you haven't heard this band - run, don't walk - to your computer, and buy their albums on-line because you probably can't find metal this good at Best Buy!!

Morgana Lefay had a few technical issues, but they handled it well. I wouldn't say they come off as "weird" but more appropriate adjectives would be "humorous" "sarcastic" and even a bit "playful"... perhaps that can be confused with being stoned They played all the favorites that you pretty much knew they would, plus surprised us with some treats like, "Red Moon"! At one point during "Hollow" Charles had somehow cut his forearm and was bleeding for a while, though he didn't even seem to notice. Now that's metal! \m/ Their setlist had them scheduled for an encore but unfortunately Charles was pretty sick by the end of the set and just couldn't do it. So the rest of the band came out and the singer from Agent Steel joined them for a few covers songs including Panteram and Metallica hits.


I mised Friday as well but I hear that Biomechanical and Agent Steel were the showstoppers. Sure wish I didn't have to skip that...

Thanks again to everyone involved! Mad love to you!!

 

[Dolamite S. Biffle]

okay well Friday was unbeilevable!!!!!!!!!! Biomechanical stole the show easily!!!! I couldnt fucking believe how awesome they were, but unfornately they didnt play disintegration which is my fav track. I did talk with John, the singer, and he said they didnt bring their seven string guitars so they couldnt.

Withering Soul was ridiculous Black Metal is so funny to me. I dont really know what it is about it I just find the over the top BM to be really funny. The music wasnt very good though.

Gracepoint was awesome I was very surprised by them well because I couldnt find any info about them at all anywhere. Their can best be described as Train of Thought era Dream Theater.

Agent Steel was also awesome. They seriously played some of the best solos I have ever heard. But I would hate to be the older guitar player because he has to compete against the asian guy who was fucking amazing good jesus.

I didnt stay for Eldritch because well I was very tired from walking around all over downtown Chicago the previous day. According to what I heard from everyone else that it was too hard to follow Biomechanical so it was kind of hard to judge them.

Mirrorblack I enjoyed though I didnt find them anything extra special, sorry Matt Lee when and if you read this.

Twelfth Gate I also thought was great. I thought the singer did a just fine job. I also thought they came off a lot heavier in concert than on cd.

Nocturnal Rites gave the second best appearance of the weekend to Biomechanical. They played pretty much any song you could have wanted to hear them play. I was getting a little disappointed towards the end of the set because I didnt know if they were going to play "Cuts Like A Knife" my fav track. however they came through in the end playing it third to last and I was fucking drunk and fucking pumped up it was awesome.

Okay it was at this point I have technical difficulites. The previous day I didnt pre drink due to my friends band practice because it was at a member's parents house. So the second day my friend I dare you to be the drunkest person at Powerfest tonight, so I preceded to start drinking at 330 in the afternoon and I was already drunk when I got there. I also brought a bottle of Southern Comfort in the car so in between bands shots were taken. Basically I got way too drunk and we still had a 40 minute drive to Joliet to go and I had an early flight, so I went home. I really wanted to stay, but I just couldnt do it. I am pretty pissed off at myself, but I did think that I was probably the drunkest person there. My only question is where's my trophy?!?! LMAO!!

It was also nice to finally meet Regor, TammyZ, and Bryan 316. I also talked with J-dubya who said it was our first meeting, but clearly he forgot PP 6 but its all right we talked only briefly then. I also got to meet SwordLord who was ultra funny and possibly the nicest guy I have ever met. Then just as I was leaving I met booB who called me pussy for leaving, which I thought was pretty funny. Then I thought I saw General Zod, but I wasnt sure if it was him so I stayed away. Did you wear a Primordial shirt on Friday?

By the way of the people mentioned, do you think I deserve my award? Also Tammy what the hell was that pineapple drink you had me try? Sorry for the length. I will repost a more detailed one in the next 2 weeks for Metal Temple (see below).

 

[The Invisible Guest]

Zod wasn't there.

I enjoyed Nocturnal Rites the most of all the band. They put on the best show of the bunch ... hands down. Their energy level and very professional stage performance was a cut above the rest of the acts.

Eldritch, Biomechanical, also put on a pretty good show as well. Biomechanical was high energy, and their stuff somes across live better than it does on disc. Tha's just my opinion. Eldritch really picked up steam as the show went on, and ended up turning in a very good performance.

Ion Vein sounded good, but it was a tough set, because it was all new stuff. It's hard to rock out when you don't know the tunes. The new tunes sounded good, so that was very positive. They did the best rendition of Painkiller (Biomechanical also covered this) in my opinion. I never got to tell Russ personally, but I was totally impressed with his vocal work on that tune. The rest of the band was right on the mark as well during that cut.

Agent Steel also put on a pretty good show from what I can recall. Sorry I can't recall more ... lots of drinky going on at that point.

Twelfth Gate did about as good as they could. I actually found the set more interesting than I thought I would. The new singer is a huge change from the previous one, and he surely won't appeal to everyone, but I thought he brought some added energy to that band. I'm not sure how great of an overall fit he is for that kind of material, but I thought he gave a real strong effort out there.

I bailed half way thru Morgana Lefay. I think they are generally quite competent, but I'm not a big fan, and it was time for some shut-eye. They had a lot of technical problems early on, but after a couple songs they started to fire it up pretty good.

I didn't may much attention to Withering Soul, or Gracepoint. WS isn't my thing, but Gracepoint would have been something I probably would have liked. I got kind of chatty with folks, and before I knew it there were done. Oh well.

Mirror Black should be something I'd like, but they lack a few of my musts. I like hooks and good choruses, and they aren't big on either. As for pure playing they are pretty competent, but they lose me when it comes to the song writing. I feel similar about Twelfth Gate at times as well. Both bands kind of have the Nevermore thing going, but fellas, Nevermore uses good hooks and choruses. Different strokes for different folks , perhaps.

Swordlord(emcee) is a pretty good guy, but my god does he ramble on behind the mic. There were a few instances in which I didn't think he was going to stop. There is something to be said about brevity. He's all about the scene though, so I suppose he should be a applauded some for his entusiasm.

As for the venue I have mixed thoughts. I thought the sound was not so hot on Friday, but much improved on Saturday. The stage is good and high, so even shorter people like myself can make out the dudes on stage. I think the venue would be more that passable if they had an adjacent room off to the side where folks could escape to for small stretches. The design is that of one big box area, with a bar along the sidewall. It's all floor area with minimal seating, except some seats upstairs for the VIP riff raff.

All in all Powerfest is a well run event. Chris and Rob, and whoever else do a pretty good job with it. Things run well, and are on time. The bands always show up, and the quality of the roster is ever improving. I'd recommend Powerfest as a 2nd festival for those that are fond of Prog Power.

Britt

 

[J-Dubya 777]

It was also nice to finally meet Regor, TammyZ, and Bryan 316. I also talked with J-dubya who said it was our first meeting, but clearly he forgot PP 6 but its all right we talked only briefly then. I also got to meet SwordLord who was ultra funny and possibly the nicest guy I have ever met. Then just as I was leaving I met booB who called me pussy for leaving, which I thought was pretty funny.

Dude, I was pretty buzzed LONG before we got there!
I'll spill a beer on you at Prog Power.
I was just hoping you weren't going to spew on me!
You were the most drunk person I saw........

I obviously saw Nathan, but didn't get a chance to talk to him, our orbits never crossed. I was going to try to get a "Zilla!" chant going, but thought he MIGHT take it the wrong way. heee heheheehehehe Good job MC'ing, Nathan!

We got there FINALLY & saw the last 3 songs from Agent Steel, and REALLY missed NOT seeing their full set......Pre Party or 1st slot for a Prog Power in the future??? : )

BioMechanical kicked ass, and I really enjoyed seeing Eldritch. I felt bad for them, since they sincerely seemed to appreciate being there, and wanted us to have as much fun as they did. Crowd really thinned out before they started, I immediately thought of the Rage situation at Prog Power. Maybe that LAST slot each night isn't all that great. Morgana had a thin crowd too.

Saturday Night: Mirror Black - My homies from the land of Cheese! Really need to get to some of their local gigs. I think the best comparison I heard was Nvermore meets Racer-X. More solo trades & harmony solos please! Good job Matt! Even with the spinal tap / Mike Baitio moments!

Twelth Gate / Ion Vein - Seen both of them before on numerous occasions.
I wasn't too thrilled with the fill in vox for Twelvth Gate, but he wasn't bad for what he did. Ion Vein rocked as always, and vox were especially strong tonight. KILLER Painkiller cover too!

Nocturnal Rites - Glenn!!!!! Get these guys to the big show one of these days! IMO, these guys absolutely OWNED! Nice selection of material, band was excellent, and the singer was dead on PERFECT! I hope they appreciated their debut here as much as we did.

Morgana Lefay - First time seeing them, decent perfomance, good selection of tunes, and I really wish I would have stuck around for the encore. AFter waiting for what seemed to be forever, we split and went back to the hotel.
Figures we missed the cool encore with Bruce from Agent Steel. Crap!

Met some of the folks who frequent this board, and had a great time, cool crowd, great music.........Nice to have run into ya'll! See most if not all of you in September!

J-Dubya

p.s. Tess - Astros SUUUUUCckKk!

 

[Tess]

p.s. Tess - Astros SUUUUUCckKk!

You have NO idea how close you were to starting a bar fight! I turned around swinging ...... hehehehe

 

[woosta]

My review:

I didn't show up either night until "the big boys" were on. Friday night was horrific in every way for me. I caught about 5 Agent Steel songs. Traditional metal without any melody to remember anything. Then, BIOMECHANICAL. So THIS is what I'm fucking hearing about around here? I wanted to back my ass through a glass window and bleed myself to death via an ass artery. This was hands down a defining moment in metal for me; I will NEVER show up to a festival to see the early bands again. The singer was in the register of "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" on each song. They sounded muddled. They were boring. Their songs were boring and I was literally on the verge of breaking down from the grind of the set. It took everything I had in me to stay long enough to catch 4 or 5 Eldritch songs and I won't review them because I can't tell if they were good or not as I was so drained from Biomechanical. Jesus fucking christ almighty, that is just not something I can listen to.

Saturday I spent extra time in the city (thanks to learning my lesson Friday night). I got in just in time to see Nocturnal Rites demolish the place with clear sound, tight songs, melody, and a heavy setlist. If you thought this was the same "swords and dragons" bands from 1997, you missed out. GREAT fucking show!

Morgana was having a tough time at the onset with technicals, but by the end, they were grooving. Not as strong as last year, but still stronger than most bands out there today. If you don't get this, I question if you get melodic metal at all.

 

[Yippee38]

Here's what I thought FWIW.

The mix sucked on Friday! It was too loud and mostly sounded like crap.

Withering Soul - Black metal. It's hard for me to take them serious with that makeup on. I didn't care for their music. When the singer wasn't growling, it didn't seem like he could hold a note. I didn't like them.

Gracepoint - These guys really impressed me. They reminded me a bit of early Fates Warning.

Agent Steel - They rocked. Lots of energy. They sounded great and looked like they were having a blast.

Biomechanical - They were very good, just not my cup of tea. I had high hopes for them since so many people were hyping them. To me (just my opinion) their songs all sounded very similar and the vocals got on my nerves after a bit. They put on a good show though.

Eldritch - I thought they were very good. They weren't quite as high energy as Biomech. or Agent Steel, but their music was more to my liking.

Saturday the mix was much better and the volume was decent. As a result, all of the bands sounded better on Sat. than on Fri..

Mirror Black - After hearing their demo I thought they were a Nevermore rip-off band. I was very pleasantly surprised. Not one of their songs sounded like a Nevermore rip-off. They had a good amount of variety in their music. They also sounded pretty damn polished for a band with as little experience as they have. I liked them.

Twelfth Gate - I really loved their music, but hated their singer. He did what he did pretty well, and definately was working the crowd hard. It seemed like he was going for a MTV metal sound.

Nocturnal Rites - I thought these guys stole the show. They sounded awesome, were lively, and worked the crowd good. I heard a few people say they'd make a good 3rd slot at PP, and I agree.

Morgana Lefay - This was another band that I heard a lot about after last year. They were really good, just not my thing. I tried really hard to nail down what it was about them that I didn't care for, but wasn't able to.

We couldn't stay to see the end of the last band either night. That hour and a half drive home at 1am was brutal. Luckily, we didn't have any trouble witht he police.

Mr. Kelly's Music Box is a much better venue than J.J.Kelly's for seeing the bands. The stage was high enough so you could see the bands from anywhere in the club. It was quite a bit smaller than J.J.Kelly's (mainly because it doesn't have a second room), but it worked well. More bar stools would have worked though. The location sucks though.

Overall, it was a good show. It seemed well run. I look forward to next year.

 

[woosta]

And what's up with: no music dealer tables (or did I miss these?) and no Nocturnal Rites shirts? Hmm....

 

[AMBR]

I was getting ready to voice my opinion of each band but then Yippee said nearly exactly what I would have, except for Morgana LeFay. I think they were a little stronger last year, but they had a new release then which can really fire things up. Nothing new this year, but still a solid set and very enjoyable. Too bad the crowd thinned out so much. Have to confess, as much as I was enjoying them, I didn't make it to the end. Must have been the jet lag.

Postitive things about the new venue was the stage and it was a bit larger. I missed the atmosphere of the J.J. Kelly's, though, like the deck, more areas for merch and especially having the second room so we could chat. Meeting up with ProgPower/metal fans and making new ones is as much a part of the experience as the music. It was nearly impossible to talk and many of us lost our voices trying. Also missed being able to walk over from the Red Roof Inn, driving sucked, though I understand limo service was provided.

Absolute highlight of the whole event was Nocturnal Rites, but here's a few non-musical ones:
Listening to Bear standing outside my door at 6:00 a.m. laughing his ass off.
Peeling silly string off the door and tripping over that empty bottle of Yukkon Jack (Whose WAS that?!)
Hearing a tale at breakfast about drunks and cops in broken English from a band member. (What the hell happened on the 3rd floor Saturday night? I crashed again. )
Discovering Metal Haven. Another great music shop. Spent too much again.
Meeting new friends Karma and Erika, you girls rock!
Hanging with old friends Steph, Linda, Britt, Heather, Cristen and so many more. Can't wait to see you all again at Progpower!

 

[BlackenedDawn]

It sounds less of a Powerfest and more of a back to back metal shows kinda weekend. I still hate the fact that I missed Nocturnal Rites, but after reading reviews it doesn't seem like I missed a Progpower or anything. It also really sucks hearing about sound being bad for Friday and for some of Morgana Lefay. Nothing blows more than seeing a once in a lifetime set with sound problems . I hope those of you who did go had a fucking wonderful time and enjoyed all the beautiful bands this weekend ! Progpower will be here soon!! Cheers!

 

[metalprof]

(Cross-post from PM:X; 2 separate posts put together; obviously, I wrote more about night #2!)

Withering Soul wasn't impressive.

Gracepoint was incredible, even more so since they haven't played live in 4 years.

Agent Steel tore the place up, and they're a bunch of nice guys, too!

Biomechanical was excruciating. But others loved them.

Eldritch played a good mix of tunes from all their discs. The Gift, Scar, From Dusk To Dawn, Erase from Headquake and El Nino come to mind.

John Frank liked 3 of 5 bands, so everybody give him shit for it

Mike Blavins and Scott Stewart had the travel disaster from hell and didn't arrive until during Eldritch's set.

Powerfest shirts are in color this year!

Dr. Metal has Chimay.

The venue is great for watching bands, horrible for being able to talk to people. The beer selection sucks, but the bartenders are hot. Chris probably had something to do with that

It's really funny when a band tries and tries to get a pit started (Biomechanical) but no one moves.

---------------------

Mirror Black impressed the hell out of me, mild mannered Matt Lee sure has some shred in him. If all you've heard of Mirror Black is the Nevermore-worship (albeit pretty good Nevermore worship!) of their song Blinded on an older ProgPower sampler, they're much more diverse now.

Twelfth Gate. Yeah, Twelfth Gate. Hmmm. Yeah. Scott's replacement Red was of the more hardcore variety. He was damn good at it, and he sang well when he was singing cleanly. Good stage presence and energy. And it also appeared that the Twelfth Gate songs fit very well with the new vocals with only minor tinkering as far as I could tell. If I liked that style, I think I would have gone apeshit for it. Unfortunately, that style doesn't agree with me so I missed Scott dearly. If this is a permanent thing, I'm happy for them that they have the sound they're shooting for. But the timing is awkward with their recent CD just having been released. People who know Twelfth Gate from their CDs and past performances will see them at a show and think "What the hell is that?!?!" People newly exposed to them at shows who like the aggro style will then get their new CD and think "What the hell is that?!?!" when they hear Scott. I'll be interested to see where this goes.

The quote of the night came from Albert (Met-al on the PP forums). He was wearing a Burger King hat and acting as the Metal King Saturday night. I guess he didn't know about the vocalist change, because as 12th Gate opened, he came up to me with a very distressed look on his face. I explained about Rob's posts regarding the switch, to which he said, "They did NOT run this by the King!" I guess you had to be there, but I almost blew Guinness out my nose.

Ion Vein - all new songs. I knew what to expect after seeing them open for Sonata Arctica, and I think they sounded even better this time. Probably due to getting used to the new stuff themselves, plus the addition of Andy from Talamasca.

BTW, we now have a new Powerfest tradition. At least one band each night must cover Painkiller, and at the end of the fest, we can have voting to decide who did the best cover.

Nocturnal Rites. Damn! These guys smoked. The singer was spot on, and I don't think the bass player stopped smiling the whole night. Infection fun and good tunes.

Morgana LeFay: didn't stay for them. Was wiped out and wanted to be home before 3am.

It was fun catching up with everyone again, and finally meeting some new people to put faces to names, like Patrick / Dr. Metal, coreystinson, and Tess.

 

[Heavenly Call]

Nocturnal Rites are the shit...'nuff said. I didn't go last year so I can't say one venue is better than the other. What I can say is I enjoyed this venue. Nice size stage and sound was good (particularly on Saturday night).

I'll also give a SERIOUS plug for Impulse Music! HOLY SHIT!!! I spent $368 in that store this weekend...

Ion Vein and Nocturnal Rites were by FAR the highlights of my weekend. I was very disappointed to have to leave without a Nocturnal Rites T-Shirt. Oh well...next time maybe.

Now begins the countdown to Progpower.

 

[Regor]

My review:

I didn't show up either night until "the big boys" were on. Friday night was horrific in every way for me. I caught about 5 Agent Steel songs. Traditional metal without any melody to remember anything. Then, BIOMECHANICAL. So THIS is what I'm fucking hearing about around here? I wanted to back my ass through a glass window and bleed myself to death via an ass artery. This was hands down a defining moment in metal for me; I will NEVER show up to a festival to see the early bands again. The singer was in the register of "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" on each song. They sounded muddled. They were boring. Their songs were boring and I was literally on the verge of breaking down from the grind of the set. It took everything I had in me to stay long enough to catch 4 or 5 Eldritch songs and I won't review them because I can't tell if they were good or not as I was so drained from Biomechanical. Jesus fucking christ almighty, that is just not something I can listen to.

Saturday I spent extra time in the city (thanks to learning my lesson Friday night). I got in just in time to see Nocturnal Rites demolish the place with clear sound, tight songs, melody, and a heavy setlist. If you thought this was the same "swords and dragons" bands from 1997, you missed out. GREAT fucking show!

Morgana was having a tough time at the onset with technicals, but by the end, they were grooving. Not as strong as last year, but still stronger than most bands out there today. If you don't get this, I question if you get melodic metal at all.

DISCLAIMER: This review was obviously posted by someone who doesn't care enough to show up and watch an entire weekend of metal bands, good or bad. Take this review with a grain of salt. We now return you to your regularly scheduled post.

 

[nightwish58]

Can anyone post a full set-list from Eldritch? Now that is a band I have been dying to see. I really hope Glenn brings them over next year ( a favorite of mine for years). Neighborhell smokes!!!