Poll for Favorite Bands

Favorite band of PP13?

  • Sinbreed

    Votes: 11 7.8%
  • Kingcrow

    Votes: 13 9.2%
  • Amaranthe

    Votes: 20 14.2%
  • Serenity

    Votes: 50 35.5%
  • Primordial

    Votes: 26 18.4%
  • Redemption

    Votes: 25 17.7%
  • Epica

    Votes: 12 8.5%
  • Beyond the Bridge

    Votes: 24 17.0%
  • Lanfear

    Votes: 13 9.2%
  • Solution .45

    Votes: 15 10.6%
  • Mystic Prophecy

    Votes: 23 16.3%
  • Mayan

    Votes: 16 11.3%
  • Pretty Maids

    Votes: 37 26.2%
  • Symphony X

    Votes: 30 21.3%

  • Total voters
    141
I think the low votes for Epica can be explained by the fact that they were the only band that didn't bring anything special. The setlist was predictable, no special guests, nothing unique about the performance. Even Symphony X played a rare song, and Russell Allen brought more energy (and banter) than I've ever seen at their tour shows. A run-of-the-mill Epica show, while naturally awesome, can't compete with the shows you could only see at ProgPower. (For the record, I loved their show; I just can't put it at the very top).

Serenity was my favorite. I was most excited for them going in, but they exceeded all expectations. Best mix/sound, incredible singing from both Georg and Clémentine, flawless vocal harmonies, and they had humor and great rapport with the crowd. The bands which are approachable, gracious, and genuinely happy to be there always seem to have the best performances (Circus Maximus is my early favorite for 2013).
 
Serenity and Pretty Maids were hands down the performances of the show for me. I also thought Lanfear, Kingcrow, Sinbreed, Beyond the Bridge were fantastic.
Symphony X is in a class of thier own, I saw them a few months ago, and they would have been my #1 of the festival otherwise. I personally thought their set list was exceptionally good and
was glad it wasn't a repeat of a few months ago.
Redemption was good, and I have no complaints, they just didn't blow me away like I hoped.
Big surprises for me were 2 bands I just didn't care for before the show that flat out kicked ass and have changed my mind about them, Amaranthe and Mystic Prophecy.
Was a wonderful festival as usual. Nice to see there was atleast something for everyone to cheer about.
 
PP first-timer here. What a fantastic festival. The bands that knocked my socks off:

1. Symphony X
2. Serenity
3 (tie). Primordial
3 (tie). Beyond the Bridge
5. Sinbreed

Honorable mention: Nightwish - I'm not a big fan but they put on a great show

MVP: Herbie Langhans

Bands that would have made the list if their live sound had done justice to their excellent studio albums (at least from where I was standing near the rail): Kamelot, Redemption, Solution .45, Kingcrow

Band that would probably have made the list if I hadn't been too worn out to keep my eyes open (how do you guys do it?): Epica
 
Interesting that Epica (one of the headliners) got so few votes. I didn't see any of their set, as their music doesn't interest me. But I would have assumed they would have fared better in this poll.

I think it's one of those things where with headliners, people tend to know what to expect. I know the years I've gone, it's rare that the headliner for me is the best performance...with the exception of Therion last year (and even that was a dead heat with Ihsahn). I think the better performances tend to come from the lesser bands where people don't quite know what to expect.
 
I think this poll really supports how diverse and talented this line was. With Serenity's 35% being the highest, the distribution is relatively flat for a poll like this. I would say that it supports the fact that Glenn did a great job of finding consistly high quality bands and finding something for everyone.