I already knew what to expect from Redemption and Symphony X (and in the case of Symphony X, they could have won my vote with more surprise songs), so I limited myself to one vote for the band I was seeing for the first time who impressed me the most: Serenity. The vocal harmonies between the main members were spot-on, the musicianship was top-notch, the singer nailed his parts beautifully, and their interaction with the audience was a lot of fun. The female vocals weren't bad, but I have to say that they were the weak link. Nonetheless, the main band's performance more than made up for that. Beyond The Bridge was a close second for me, but Serenity's ability to amp up the crowd gave them the edge.
Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert