Now that I have had some time to digest the ProgPowerUSA show, I have come to a couple of conclusions......
Pagans Mind last Friday was the best live band I have ever seen in my life. They are also the most talented set of musicians in one band I have ever seen. Jorn Viggo Lofstat is the best guitarist I have ever heard play and Nils K. Rue is the best live vocalist I have ever heard sing. Stian Kristoffersen, (drums) Steiner Krokmo (bass) and Ronny Tegner (keys) are also closr to being the absolute best... if not THE best in my ears. Too much to digest really at one show......Of course I like to joke around here and there, but I wouldn't make statements like this without serious thought. Pagans Mind came to this festival to make a serious statement and they did.
Pagan's Mind brought their manager, sound man, as well as loads of merchandise to the show, learned twenty two songs for the All-Star jam from "Alone" by Heart and "Desperado" by The Eagles to "Symphony of Destruction" by Megadeth as well as playing 11 of theirs the night before. They played for over two hours on that set. Their freaking singer Nils, did a cover of "Welcome Home... (Grandma)" from King Diamond and hit EVERY note on the song, a few songs later he came out and nailed "Lady of Winter" by Crimson Glory, then one of the last songs of the jam he busted out with Queensryche's "Take Hold of the Flame" and sang it better than Geoff Tate EVER has when he was in top form.
During Pagan's Mind's set, they played three new songs from their soon to be released CD, one cover, "Hallo Spaceman" by David Bowie and the rest from their second and third discs. The tone of Viggo's guitar was INCREDIBLE !! They did not miss one note I could hear and Nils only missed two during their first song and he asked the soundman to turn up his monitor which solved the issue. They played an instrumental, which would normally run people away, but it floored everyone. This was the most professional band I have ever seen.
You could see Nils preparing for difficult vocal parts and he would pull on his chest with his left arm (like he was drawing back to punch someone or something) as well as do those great mouth techniques to get the perfect tone he was looking for. He made sure to freaking perfect vocal technique while still giving great expressions and doing some headbanging and stuff as well so as not to look robotic.
Viggo would make the "guitar faces" like many guitarists, but he is Mr. Cool also making sure his technique was absolutely up to par. I am a guitarist of 25 years and I did not hear ONE missed note. He was absolutely mind-blowing. He also would get active during some heavy parts of the song and was fun to watch. He absolutely put on a clinic on how to play guitar though. He is a monster.
Stian is the METAL guy of PM. His drumming sounded like a freaking machine gun at times and he always made the evil faces behind the kit and did the stick spins etc. but he was no less the perfectionist. He was the best drummer of the festival and one of the best I have ever heard. During the instrumental is where he shined. I would swear he has four arms. Incredible !!
Steiner is the personality guy of PM. He could not wipe the smile off of his face during the whole set and he played all six strings of his high dollar bass often harmonizing with fast riffs with Jorn. He also took care of the harmony vocals and did a wonderful job with that. He carried the energy of the band, but also made sure he was perfect in his sound.
Ronny had to be closer to the back of the stage and didn't try to be in the limelight, but aside from blazing harmonies with the guitar, the atmosphere he created on his keys were magical. Sometimes keys get in the way of metal bands...... not the case here. This guy is irreplaceable. He is a master.
The soundman..... don't know his name, but he deserves as much kudos as the band. Of course they were loud as this was a metal show, but they weren't deafening and even though I was standing in front of Viggo's amps, I could still hear all of the instruments with a great mix. He was outstanding especially considering most of this was not the band's equipment, but stuff that was rented and shared with all bands.
Last but not least..... the ProgpowerUSA crowd. Because the USA is large and spread out, we don't get quite the amount of festivals Europe does, but this is still a veteran crowd with an average age of about 35 I would say. This crowd knows quality when they hear it, yet though everyone had their own favorites they came to see...... you can tell by these links, Pagan's Mind came in to destroy America on Saturday Night and they absolutely blew the place away !!!!! In my six years attending ProgPowerUSA I have never seen a band so dominate...... and it wasn't due to the other bands not being good.
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/progpower-usa/339270-best-friday-poll.html
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/progpower-usa/339745-un-official-pagans-mind-worship-thread.html
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/progpower-usa/339232-pagans-mind-slayed.html
Pagans Mind last Friday was the best live band I have ever seen in my life. They are also the most talented set of musicians in one band I have ever seen. Jorn Viggo Lofstat is the best guitarist I have ever heard play and Nils K. Rue is the best live vocalist I have ever heard sing. Stian Kristoffersen, (drums) Steiner Krokmo (bass) and Ronny Tegner (keys) are also closr to being the absolute best... if not THE best in my ears. Too much to digest really at one show......Of course I like to joke around here and there, but I wouldn't make statements like this without serious thought. Pagans Mind came to this festival to make a serious statement and they did.
Pagan's Mind brought their manager, sound man, as well as loads of merchandise to the show, learned twenty two songs for the All-Star jam from "Alone" by Heart and "Desperado" by The Eagles to "Symphony of Destruction" by Megadeth as well as playing 11 of theirs the night before. They played for over two hours on that set. Their freaking singer Nils, did a cover of "Welcome Home... (Grandma)" from King Diamond and hit EVERY note on the song, a few songs later he came out and nailed "Lady of Winter" by Crimson Glory, then one of the last songs of the jam he busted out with Queensryche's "Take Hold of the Flame" and sang it better than Geoff Tate EVER has when he was in top form.
During Pagan's Mind's set, they played three new songs from their soon to be released CD, one cover, "Hallo Spaceman" by David Bowie and the rest from their second and third discs. The tone of Viggo's guitar was INCREDIBLE !! They did not miss one note I could hear and Nils only missed two during their first song and he asked the soundman to turn up his monitor which solved the issue. They played an instrumental, which would normally run people away, but it floored everyone. This was the most professional band I have ever seen.
You could see Nils preparing for difficult vocal parts and he would pull on his chest with his left arm (like he was drawing back to punch someone or something) as well as do those great mouth techniques to get the perfect tone he was looking for. He made sure to freaking perfect vocal technique while still giving great expressions and doing some headbanging and stuff as well so as not to look robotic.
Viggo would make the "guitar faces" like many guitarists, but he is Mr. Cool also making sure his technique was absolutely up to par. I am a guitarist of 25 years and I did not hear ONE missed note. He was absolutely mind-blowing. He also would get active during some heavy parts of the song and was fun to watch. He absolutely put on a clinic on how to play guitar though. He is a monster.
Stian is the METAL guy of PM. His drumming sounded like a freaking machine gun at times and he always made the evil faces behind the kit and did the stick spins etc. but he was no less the perfectionist. He was the best drummer of the festival and one of the best I have ever heard. During the instrumental is where he shined. I would swear he has four arms. Incredible !!
Steiner is the personality guy of PM. He could not wipe the smile off of his face during the whole set and he played all six strings of his high dollar bass often harmonizing with fast riffs with Jorn. He also took care of the harmony vocals and did a wonderful job with that. He carried the energy of the band, but also made sure he was perfect in his sound.
Ronny had to be closer to the back of the stage and didn't try to be in the limelight, but aside from blazing harmonies with the guitar, the atmosphere he created on his keys were magical. Sometimes keys get in the way of metal bands...... not the case here. This guy is irreplaceable. He is a master.
The soundman..... don't know his name, but he deserves as much kudos as the band. Of course they were loud as this was a metal show, but they weren't deafening and even though I was standing in front of Viggo's amps, I could still hear all of the instruments with a great mix. He was outstanding especially considering most of this was not the band's equipment, but stuff that was rented and shared with all bands.
Last but not least..... the ProgpowerUSA crowd. Because the USA is large and spread out, we don't get quite the amount of festivals Europe does, but this is still a veteran crowd with an average age of about 35 I would say. This crowd knows quality when they hear it, yet though everyone had their own favorites they came to see...... you can tell by these links, Pagan's Mind came in to destroy America on Saturday Night and they absolutely blew the place away !!!!! In my six years attending ProgPowerUSA I have never seen a band so dominate...... and it wasn't due to the other bands not being good.
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/progpower-usa/339270-best-friday-poll.html
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/progpower-usa/339745-un-official-pagans-mind-worship-thread.html
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/progpower-usa/339232-pagans-mind-slayed.html
