Pathfinder MetalFest Weekend - Nov 5th & 6th - Atlanta!

Thanks for being honest Datis! I've only been singing for like 6 months, and only had a week and a half to learn those lyrics so the songs that sounded bad were probably the ones where I had to ad-lib the parts I forgot, or where I had to concentrate more on remembering the lyrics than actually singing them haha I'm constantly practicing and getting less and less sucky every day, so hopefully soon I'll be able to actually sing well haha

Plus power metal is kinda out of my vocal safety zone. I'm more comfortable with hair metal. I do a pretty good Vince Neil voice actually. ;)
 
Thanks Datis for the kind words, the diehard support and the thorough review of an amazing weekend of metal all made possible by Hoyt, Patrick and Pathfinder Promotions. My highlights were seeing the US Debut of Neverland (reminded me of MindFlow with more prog elements), an astounding performance by CIIC (Andy has to be the shreddiest shredder I have ever seen live), Merzah (for being unlike anything else I have seen before in a local band, an amazing operatic ethereal death metal band), getting to rock out on stage in front of the Crimson Glory ProgPower banner, experiencing the amazing power and comedy of Widow (really great musicians and truly nice guys too), Theocracy for their amazingly precise larger-than-life epicness (a true euro-metal act right here in GA), and of course watching Crimson Glory and Jeff Lord's incredible bass technique up close along with Todd LaTorre absolutlely killing it with his incredible range. If you missed this one, you truly missed rock history in the making in so many ways. Thanks again Hoyt!!
 
Thanks Datis for the kind words, the diehard support and the thorough review of an amazing weekend of metal all made possible by Hoyt, Patrick and Pathfinder Promotions. My highlights were seeing the US Debut of Neverland (reminded me of MindFlow with more prog elements), an astounding performance by CIIC (Andy has to be the shreddiest shredder I have ever seen live), Merzah (for being unlike anything else I have seen before in a local band, an amazing operatic ethereal death metal band), getting to rock out on stage in front of the Crimson Glory ProgPower banner, experiencing the amazing power and comedy of Widow (really great musicians and truly nice guys too), Theocracy for their amazingly precise larger-than-life epicness (a true euro-metal act right here in GA), and of course watching Crimson Glory and Jeff Lord's incredible bass technique up close along with Todd LaTorre absolutlely killing it with his incredible range. If you missed this one, you truly missed rock history in the making in so many ways. Thanks again Hoyt!!


And don't forget the wwwwwwwwooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Oh yeah, did anyone else have trouble hearing the keyboards during Crimson Glory's set? I don't think I heard them whatsoever.
 
Hoyt, thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you ... *breathe* thank you for introducing me to Crimson Glory. I'm spinning Transcendence, and I really wish I could go back to Saturday night and hear them again as a fan :facepalm:
 
I really want to see Crimson Glory comeback in a big way with a good singer and a good album,,, this time. But is milking the past going to help this in anyway? Perhaps saying "milking the past" is a bit strong but it could be seen that way.
The 'Transcendence' backdrop just does not seem to make any sense in 2010 with a new singer and basically a new birth of this band. I see it in a few ways, it seems kind of lame, distasteful to the memory of Midnight, but most of all it is selling Crimson Glory short, this band is way beyond good enough to recreate themselves.
I don't say this to be rude I say it because I am a Crimson Glory fan and have been for many years. I just don't want to see the band as one of those sad Clayton Moore situations where all they can do is shopping mall opening appearances wearing their masks.
I hope it will at least never go as far as putting the masks back on.
 
WOW! If you didn't make it out to last night's show, you REALLY missed out on a mind-blowing performance by Neverland. I was extremely surprised and impressed with how great they were.

Me, too. I was particularly impressed with the singer's voice. I'm seriously considering going to see them in Winder (!) this Thursday night.

I was really disappointed that I didn't feel up to making it out on Saturday...I was feeling really nauseous and figured I'd be better off sticking close to the house. :(

I do NOT blame the food I had at Sidelines Friday night, either -- in fact, I was looking forward to getting something from the kitchen again on Saturday. Good and relatively cheap, too. :kickass:
 
Well, I am not much of a review writer, but I just wanted to say, Hoyt outdid himself this past weekend. Great show, very professional, definitely the most solid lineup I've seen in a long time. Not every band was my "thing" but they all sounded pretty good. Circle II Circle, Neverland, VOR, and Crimson Glory in particular sounded great IMO. If I hadn't just gotten back from a long trip, I'd be heading to Winder myself. Hell, who knows, maybe I will anyway. I was a little surprised by what seemed a sparse turnout to me, although I know several people had different reasons preventing them from coming. Y'all really missed out. Looking forward to seeing what's next. :)

Esa and Chris, good pics (as usual). Everyone, it was good seeing y'all and hanging out. Hoyt, Keith, Patrick, and everyone else who worked hard to make this happen, kudos and thank you. :)

Shaye
 
Looking forward to seeing what's next. :)

Hoyt, Keith, Patrick, and everyone else who worked hard to make this happen, kudos and thank you. :)

Shaye


Well I can't speak for my Dad about all this but in my personal opinion I don't think there will be a 'what's next' for a long time if at all.

- The caliber of the bands and the delivery of the performances were top notch through and through without a doubt and that part was a huge and perfect success.

- The turn out wasn't at all what we expected it might be with the amount of excitement Crimson Glory initially had being announced about playing our festival so we lost a lot on the Festival this year. We used everything we could to market this festival and make it appeal to the fans.

- But it was a pleasure working with most of the bands that were able to even make the festival this year. I had an overall great time being stage manager for this show and doing whatever I could to make sure the bands had what they needed and were taken care of to the best of our abilities.

---- Unfortunately Icarus Witch had vehicle problems and I know they were quite devastated they couldn't make it to the fest. We missed them, they're the greatest of guys.

---- Artizan wasn't able to make it due to a personal issue - and we wish them the best of luck. Can't wait for that full album to be released guys.

---- Merzah, this is the band that floored me the first time I ever saw them and I've been a huge fan since. I'm surprised they aren't bigger than they are because they are so incredible musically and personality wise. One of my top 3 favorite bands Pathfinder Promotions has had the privilege to work with over the past couple years.

---- VOR, you guys are awesome, its been an extreme pleasure working with you since you've been in the 'Pathfinder Family' of bands we've been able to promote.

---- Widow, all I can say is you guys are insane. You were incredibly cool, down to earth, and I couldn't have asked for a better experience during the festival than to work with you guys to make sure you were taken care of on stage.

---- Theocracy, you guys have come a long way since you performed the ProgPower Pre-Show. I might be partial being a previous member but Theocracy has always been amazing and the stage show has improved tremendously. With the addition of Val on lead and Matt being able to be free of guitar it has really boosted the energy on stage. As always Theocracy was a pleasure to work with.

---- Crimson Glory, it was great seeing John Zahner again - I've enjoyed talking to him ever since I was able to drive him around at ProgPowerUSA. Was also a great pleasure talking to Dana Burnell, he remembered me from PPUSA and was extremely nice the whole evening. He asked me a few times how I was doing - and I appreciated the fact that he took the time to just chat with me. He didn't have an ego and he was very outgoing. Ben Jackson and Jeff Lords - great on stage, wish I could have talked to them more but they seemed focused on preparation and it definitely showed on stage. Todd LaTore - what an amazing dude. Nice as can be and an amazing showman and vocalist. The band was tight and Todd did an amazing job. As a professional courtesy, with anything else I have on my mind I think I did enough venting to my dad over the weekend to spare putting anything on here.


You can't say Pathfinder Promotions didn't try - its all about the people and as proud of we are of those that are endlessly thankful of our efforts we can't continue gettin hit with losses like this. For clarification - We never do it for the money, we do it for the love of true and talented metal music - any money we ever gained we put towards the next show. That being said...the future for anything of this magnitude again is dismal. Obviously it wasn't as appealing as the buzz indicated. In this business its gonna happen and I'm not at all complaining - just disappointed as any member of something like this would be in these circumstances.

I appreciate and thank all who attended and gave these bands the reception they deserve.
 
I had a great time there over the weekend. I was too shocked that it wasn't sold out. I thought with Crimson Glory and good support that place would be packed but I guess what can you do. I hope Hoyt doesn't give up at least for the smaller local shows but seeing how stressed he was , I wouldn't blame him at all though if he stopped but hope he continues trying.
 
I know what you mean Patrick but like I told your Dad, You'll initially be disappointed or bitter (take your pick, I opted for both after WOM Fest III), then you'll grieve and after about 6 months or so, you'll start planning for the next Fest ;)! We were hit with more than 2X your losses during Warriors Of Metal Fest III Open Air this past summer and we had to provide everything ourselves plus the insurance for the event (I don't know if y'all have to deal with that at all) AND contend with Mother Nature on top of everything which means due to a thunder cloud, we lost a good hour during which half the already sparse crowd left retreated to hotel rooms and we ended up even more off schedule which means we got slammed for that too. Now the really diehard folks, stuck around chatted with the ever outgoing George Call or with other musicians or fan hanging around and stayed to the end of the Fest but for the most part, that was pretty much it for us with still 5 bands to go including the headliners. But Widow voluntarily cut their set short as did Icarus Witch to help us out and ASKA & CAGE put on full sets without complaining or throwing a shit fit although they had every reason to do so! Not only that, they all praised our efforts to help the Metal scene and despite their experiences, had only good things to say about our Fest. That was the utmost mark of professionalism that I had witnessed, other than having sponsored Norway's Gaia Epicus as a headliner to play in Sweden in front of what turned out to be just 10 people! So with Pathfinder Metal Fest II, what y'all gonna get is nothing but good word of mouth from us fans. Unfortunately, I'm not just a fan either and despite having an incredible time, I was also feeling your Dad's pain on Saturday night because I've been there! I was so thankful that he booked WIDOW because as much of a new fan of theirs I am, I did not get to enjoy them at Warriors Of Metal Fest III especially since they cut their own set short, so I really really wanted to enjoy a full set of their at Pathfinder Metal Fest II and I did just that! If I only had some hair to headbang with :p! I hope Hoyt did enjoy their set too because I thought they were one of the brightest highlights of the Fest....other than that Swiss band nobody's heard of before ;) lol!

Now, you know better than me that ProgPower was not always a profitable venture either and like you guys, Warriors Of Metal is also going through our growing pains but at least you guys command more fans than we do and yes, as Mark Gromen has pointed out, the fans populating shows like Pathfinder, ProgPower and WOM Fest are NOT local folks, which is a shame! I really expected more of a turnout for Tetrarch and Theocracy! VOR seems to bring a good number of people through the door all the 2 times I have seen them Live at last year's Fest and this year's Fest! But hey, Lea and I realize the importance of what your Dad is doing because we're in the same boat, like it or not, so we'll always haul ass from Ohio to come and help out and this year I also managed to persuade Chris Duhan to come all the way from New York and Joel Wood and his girlfriend to come all the way from North East Pennsylvania! Those 3 are now fans y'all didn't have last year and they WILL be coming next year as well, so don't you go giving up on us! You'll be back as shall we! I hope to see you and Hoyt at WOM Fest IV Open Air. Yes, we took a big loss but we'll be back, one way or another and we hope you'll come to support us and have a great Metal time as well! It'll be like a family reunion, you know? I bet the guys from Zephaniah would be thrilled to see you there as would a certain other band from Florida with a cute vocalist ;)!!!!

Keep the faith, Keep the horns high and Keep It Metal \mm/! You guys RULE!

Your fan and friend,

Datis
Farvahar Records LLC
VP, A&R and Promotions
Proud supporter of Pathfinder Metal Fest I (2009) & II (2010)
 
Still pissed I had to miss this. I was looking forward to seeing CG all week and then at the last minute couldn't make it due to going out of town suddenly.

To be honest, I don't know if I've ever heard of a fest that didn't lose money the first year. Don't think of it as an insult...it's a rite of passage. While I can't blame you if you decide not to do something of this scale again to do financial reasons (I certainly wouldn't, but then again I don't have the finances to put on a fest in the first place), Pathfinder's built enough of a reputation where I don't think future endeavors would be losses.
 
But this was NOT the first year. That's the whole point. It's not like people didn't know about it but admittedly Hoyt got very unlucky when firstly he lost his original headliner, John Oliva's Pain, and then had to move the date forward by two weeks so basically, the money he spent on the ProgPower program book advertisement was for nothing, if anybody even paid any attention to that. But as we have been learning the hard way ourselves with Warriors Of Metal Fest, one doesn't seem to be able to depend on the apathetic American audience to show up and support something unless it's literally in their backyard and even then they make excuses for not coming but boy do they bitch about nothing happening in the States! Well, it is happening and in most cases right under their noses but would they rather pay $30 to see 9 bands which include the US debut of a Swiss band, Circle II Circle and the legendary Crimson Glory after decades of absence or plump down $45 to go see Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer that they have already seen 3-4 times? Oh the latter, of course! God Forbid they might actually discover anything new because then they may actually have to pay attention than be on perpetual autopilot!!!
 
I had a great time there over the weekend. I was too shocked that it wasn't sold out. I thought with Crimson Glory and good support that place would be packed but I guess what can you do. I hope Hoyt doesn't give up at least for the smaller local shows but seeing how stressed he was , I wouldn't blame him at all though if he stopped but hope he continues trying.

Totally agree, it was a fantastic show and I was also very disappointed by the turnout, I know it is frustrating for Hoyt but I hope he continues with more shows next year, I'll definitely be attending anything like this, just incredible!!!
 
Interesting reading this and hearing about the turnout, this is a perfect example of why I'm so negative and bitter about the metal "scene" or lack thereof here in the U.S.. Seems others are starting to see things the same way.
I hate to hear of this though, I blame the metal fans honestly (well those who claim to be metal fans). How long can it go on that promoters, labels, and bands put themselves out there just to be rejected? Sure it is great to gain that one or to fans at each show or whatever but sadly it is not enough to keep things going, and passion only can go but so far. But what is the answer? Should we continue to beat a dead horse with the hopeless idea that it will eventually work?
Recently I did an interview with a European magazine and I was asked about metal in the U.S., I found myself dogging out America and the lack of interest here, but it is the truth. Bands tour onmly to play in front of crickets, the few good and honest promoters put on shows and people only make excuses not to be there, several good bands here and people only want imports. What the hell is wrong? Well thank the Gods there is Europe and Japan. HAHA
Hoyt I have always applauded you for you efforts no matter what issues we may have had, do have, and will have in the future; I just call it as I see it and I do think you do all you can. I can totally empathize with you because I basically deal with similar issues doing what I do and I see similar things everyday it seems. So I would totally understand if you gave it up, I think about doing that everyday. Still I raise my glass to you for what you do down there, GA. have no idea how lucky they are.
 
All I can say is, hoyt bro, you & pathfinder & all of your crew ALWAYS
give 110 %, if not more, for EVERY single show y'all do!!!! :D
We try to make it out to as many great & awesome Pathfinder shows as we can,
and wanna support the local Metal scene as well!!!! :D
So here's a BIG HUGE TWO HORNS held high & a GREAT BIG HUGE THANK YOU
for Pathfinder & all you do BRO!!!!! :D
WE SALUTE YOU!!!! :headbang: