Jim LotFP said:
um, no. I actually thought they did a lot less of the extreme vocals than i thought they were going to. But you've seen me at enough extreme metal shows to know i would notice, right Jim?
Ryan
PP4 opinons
- Thread starter Creeps
- Start date
um, no. I actually thought they did a lot less of the extreme vocals than i thought they were going to. But you've seen me at enough extreme metal shows to know i would notice, right Jim?
Ryan
Wandrail said:
just so you know, I've been to all three of the Atlanta ProgPower shows, I love Deicide, and i was sitting down for Rage UNTIL the mosh pit happened, then ran to join it for a while. and no, i didn't push you or your girlfriend. I was the little guy in glasses who fell on his ass. I was quite thrilled to see a good, old-school mosh pit without a bunch of neo-nazis throwing kicks and elbows for once. so NYAAAAAAH!!!!
Wandrail said:
Some of us extreme metal fans are just as big a fans of prog and power as you are. live with it. but i'll pass on Dying Fetus, thanks. They are one of the modern champions of riff recycling (of other people's riffs), sharing the throne of that enterprise with Nile. give me Kreator any day, no matter how samey they might seem sometimes. there's a thought: KREATOR FOR PPV!!!!! just to make you happy.
Ryan
DrBell
Member
Brother of Slaughter
Member
:hotjump: hello everybody, im Jack and I love Progressive metal music. So when I hear about a Prog show, I looked into it. Decided to go to the show even. When I got their I was not impressed with what I got myself worked up about. That doesnt mean that I dont think it was very good but what I was expecting to hear was not really there. When I think progessive metal I think a lot more odd time sigs. Most of the bands that were their were very simplistic with there arrangments. Life is not a simple beat. It changes!
Kingo :Spin:
Kingo :Spin:
I wouldn't call most any Symphony X song a "simple arrangement." This is a progpower metal festival not a prog festival. This year most of the bands we had were cross over bands ( true progpower bands). Bands that change time signatures sometimes, but not too much. Bands that change time signatures constantly sometimes seem to forget that there is more to musical orchestration than showing off your technical abilities. There is pattern recognition and emotion too. Most of the bands we had at PP this year seem to have a good combination of techinicality, pattern recognition (aka catchyness), and emotion ( what I like to call umph!). That's why I loved this year's PP.
I would be curious to know what bands you do like since you obviously were unimpressed with PP.
Maybe you should find a technical metal festival.
I would be curious to know what bands you do like since you obviously were unimpressed with PP.
Maybe you should find a technical metal festival.
alexofbodom said:
Oh, i'm well aware. I certainly wouldn't complain though.
I still can't BELIEVE that Kreator is playing second fiddle to Nile on this tour that's going around... grrrrrrrr...
I know i heard a lot of people, even on this forum, raving about Nile when _In Their Darkened Shrines_ came out, but i just don't get it. they're mediocre live (as far as stage presence; they play their music fine i guess), and there's nothing they do that hasn't been done before, and better, by other bands, other than the egypt obsession.
Right, so that wasn't really related to progpower but whatever.
on the note of prog and change-ups, i also agree that some of the bands this year were definitely changing it up quite a bit, particularly Symphony X, and to some extent pagan's mind and vanden plas. i guess you should have been here last year for Zero Hour's excellent set, or possibly the year before for Spiral Architect, but they were my biggest ProgPower disappointment EVER... they sounded like absolute ass live, and I *LOVE* their CD.
Ryan
I for one, although I don't listen to either Nile or Kreator, would have to go with Kreator headlining just cause they've been around longer... but album sales are album sales and Nile would thin the metal ranks if they played before Kreator.
mgirishfan
Member
OK, I know a bunch of people have already posted reviews, so I am a bit tardy in getting this one up here...but I think I might have a little bit different take than a lot of you since I am not a hard core metal fan --- but I had a kick-ass time at ProgPower and can't wait till next year....read on to see why! 
Well, everybody, Im home!!! ProgPower IV is in the books! And here are my musings: from my first (but not my last!!!) ProgPower!! Pull up a chair and grab a drink, guys -- this is a mammoth post!
The Venue Earthlink Live!: Awesome place!! Great location, easy to get to, hotels within walking distance -- all very cool. The place itself is great - the actual hall has a ton of theatre-style raked seats on a big semi circle and there is a floor for standing, plus there is an outer lobby which is a good bit quieter a great set-up. Minuses were few it was mighty chilly in there -- next year Ill wear long sleeves, and it would be a good thing for them to install some little Christmas tree lights along the many steep stairs I saw lots of trips and stumbles in the dark! And it would be way cool if they fixed the sound system to stop that ear-piercing high pitched squeal that erupted a few times. Ouch!!!!! But I cant complain its a terrific venue, unlike anything I ever seen for this kind of show!!
The Vendors tons and tons and tons of CDs Inside Out was there, so was Century Media, so was the Lasers Edge (www.lasercd.com) and so was The End (www.theendrecords.com) along with a t-shirt booth with a bazillion shirts! The End actually had (and I snagged one!) the new Iron Maiden woo hooo! Plus I got a pic with Jon at the Circle II Circle table .it was a good day!
The People - Met a million of them, all very cool. Definite hellos to Glenn Harveston (god of ProgPower), Jaime, Jax, Bryant, Cindy, Chris, Anne Marie, Kathy, Britt and Brent and a bunch of other QR fans, the dude sitting next to us from Circle 9, the local dude sitting behind us for intelligent commentary, the Savafan dudes from the SymX lunch..... and although we didn't actually meet, "Karaoke Man" and Biffin, Everygrey's tech, made significant impressions! HOWEVER, I am seriously remiss if I forget to mention the dude who introduced me to ProgPower in the first place (and Enchant, for that matter) -- Dave! Thanks! Had a blast hanging with ya!
Now onto .the Show!!!
Day 1, Friday
Band 1 Redemption: Well, I have this CD and have listened to it a few times it is a very good CD but isnt in my heavy rotation. As it turns out, they did not equal the CD when they played live well, truth be told, the different vocalist had a lot to do with it. Corey couldnt quite handle the material. Still sporting that snazzy blue hair, though, Ray Alder came out mid way through and did Desperation II as he did on the disk, and he was great, but he couldnt carry it for the whole group. Their best number was their last a kick-ass, speedy cover of Synchronicity II!!! Loved that! Didnt think Id be hearing any Police at ProgPower but it was cool!!
Band 2 Mercenary: This German straight-up metal group (lots of Power, no Prog, LOL!) was technically very good but this stuff isnt my cup of tea. After a couple of songs I gave it the old college try, LOL I headed to the relative quiet of the lobby and stopped by IO and bought a Vanden Plas t-shirt. I thought they had a great lead guitarist, but I just cant get into the growling. They use two vocalists for that though, which I found interesting. The singer sings clean the bass player turn on the cookie monster vox. Just not my speed, no pun intended.
Came back in when they were done and went down to the floor to claim our spots for Vanden Plas. Well, while we were there, we happened to notice a dude who we affectionately named Karaoke Man ..no one we talked to knew what song (or even what band) was coming through the PA system right then (we do now - thanks!!!), but I think it was Karaoke Mans favorite song of all time!!!! He didnt make a sound, actually, but he had ALL the moves down and knew every word of that song it was very entertaining!! I wasnt the only one who snapped a picture of him!!!! Way to go, dude!!
Band 3 Vanden Plas: WOW!!!! I was really looking forward to seeing these guys, and they were even better than I thought theyd be!!!!! Andy Kuntz is an incredible, high energy, kick ass front man who knows how to play up to the crowd and Stephan Lill simply rules on guitar!! Totally AWESOME! They did stuff from all of their CDs, including I Can See, Soul Survives, Iodic Rain, Nightwalker, Cold Wind, and of course Rainmaker!!! (I know I missed some that isnt the complete set list! Sorry! I can rarely remember set lists unless I write them down and who had time for that!?!?!?!) A wonderful, moving, thrilling performance. They flew into first place on my personal hit list and I am thinking it is going to be tough to budge them .keep reading to see if they lasted out the rest of the show! If you dont know this band, hop online right now and get both Beyond Daylight and The God Thing. It was sooooooo cool to hear other people after the show and even still the next day commenting on how great Vanden Plas was, or how they didnt really know them, but ran out and got the CD right after they saw them, etc .I think that stuff is so cool! And SO WARRANTED!!!!
Band 4 Nightwish: Well, this is one interesting band. They have a huge following and the floor was packed 10 minutes before they came on, with the crowd shouting for them Well I lasted about three songs and then I headed back in to the lobby .I was still on a Vanden Plas high and frankly Nightwish really isnt my thing either. Their cover of Over the Hills and Far Away is one of the worst ever in life, LOL, and I didnt want to hear it. I did, however, want to hear Sleeping Sun, which is the only song of theirs I like and I dont just like it, I love it!! So there I was chit-chatting with Dave in the lobby, when I heard the first couple of notes .I shot up and bolted into the hall, ran down front and sat on the steps, watched, listened, LOVED IT, applauded like crazy, and then scooted back out. I hear they also did a version of Crazy Train?!?!?! Oh Gawd, I cant even imagine that, LOL! But Sleeping Sun was fabulous and Im soooo glad they played it!!! Vanden Plas is still solidly in #1.
Band 5 Symphony X: These guys are just great they are old pros at Prog Power now! Russell Allen has a killer voice and Michael Romeo is an incredibly gifted musician in general and guitarist in particular. They cranked up the volume (!!!) and did a terrific set, albeit they sounded a tad off like the mix wasnt quite right or something and they did old stuff and new stuff lots off The Odyssey of course. But, the scuttlebutt was that they were going to do the entire song The Odyssey, all 24+ minutes of it .well, they rocked on and the set rocked on, no sign of it Thank you and goodnight and they were off the stage .OK, now they came back for an encore .and voila there it was!!! They did it at about 1 am .24 glorious minutes! Killer!!!! They were great I really enjoyed them!!! COOL!!!! Vanden Plas is still #1 though!
After the show that night a couple of the VP faithful piled into Bryants hotel suite and had a few and talked about the day and listened to the new Lacuna Coil now THAT was cool!!! Finally got to bed abound 4:00am ouch!!!!
Day 2, Saturday
Lunch! Needless to say we all slept way past breakfast, LOL but were awake and hungry for the Sym X lunch on Saturday. It was a cool affair good food and good conversations with Sym X fans, of course and with Sym X! Thanks, Jax! Can't wait to see the group shot, LOL!
Managed to catch the abysmal first quarter of the Notre Dame game my Irish werent looking so good, as it was 12-0 Wash State when we left to return to Earthlink for .
Band 1 Pagans Mind: Well .this an interesting group. I have heard their CD once and lets just say they are heavily influenced by Dream Theater. So, then, I shouldnt have been surprised to see the lead singer run out onto the stage looking exactly like James LaBrie, now shouldnt I? LOL! These guys were good, no issues there and they were entertaining. Ill give their next CD a listen when it comes out, but honestly if I want to listen to Dream Theater I'll go for the real thing. No worries, Vanden Plas is still #1.
Band 2 Secret Sphere: WELL! I had done a little bit of reading on this group from Italy and had pretty high expectations for them. Oh well. Not much to say here. They didnt sound good and their songwriting, is a little odd, but Ill give them this their lead singer is a total riot! He was really funny too bad for them they werent at the Improv! NEXT!!!
Right after Secret Sphere finished I took a fast walk over to the Vinyl restaurant next door for the Vanden Plas signing .woo hoo! Bonjour, Andy, ca va? He looked pleasantly surprised Ah, oui!! Et vous, ca va? Cool! Bien sur, ca va bien, tres bien ici!! Got a chance to talk to everyone a bunch of cool guys who were so happy to playing at ProgPower!! Then I bolted back to the hall, and before I even got to the door, I heard ..
Band 3 Circle II Circle: WOW WOW WOW!!!! I opened the door and stopped for a second cool, thats Zak!!! and then tried to get onto the floor .it was packed to the gills even the stairs down to the floor were packed .I couldnt move and I could barely see. Alas, I slithered back up the stairs and back to the seats, deciding that hearing AND seeing the show was way more important than trying to jostle for some pics and indeed it was!!! These guys were incredible!!!! Ive had their Watching in Silence CD since it came out and have listened to it dozens of times .and for as great as it is, they blew the CD away live!!! They opened with Watching in Silence and next was (I think please dont quote me on the CIIC set list!!) (but, the one posted in the Setlist thread is way off - not even close!) Out of Reach .then they swapped off and on --- CIIC, then Savatage, then CIIC .so next up was quite a surprise when Matt LaPorte stepped forward, pointed to the sky, and then launched into a gorgeous rendition of Labyrinths which led right into Follow Me and as soon as the first note came out of Zaks mouth I was blown away --- Savatage!!!! With Zak!!!!! (I never got to see Zak with Savatage!) WOW! Then back to CIIC then back to Savatage --- Turns to Me .AWESOME!! Then back to CIIC .then Savatage - Taunting Cobras (Zak enjoyed our singing, LOL! "Glenn, you have a thousand acts fornext year right here!") then CIIC then .then .he looked stage left and said OK, now its YOUR turn and introduced Jon Oliva .who shouted hello to us all, took over at keys and immediately began Edge of Thorns .and when Zak sang it was stunning .then one more CIIC, then back to Savatage .none other than Gutter Ballet. Jon and Zak shared the vocals and it brought the house down the whole place was going insane!!!! Dave for one was in total shock when they were done and he was not alone there were a ton of people who were so stoked it was way cool!!! For the record, I think the other CIIC songs were Sea of White, Into the Wind, and Walls. But Im sorry, I couldnt get over the Savatage INCREDIBLE! Is Vanden Plas still #1??? Ummm .not sure stay tuned .
Band 4 Evergrey: Well honestly I felt a little sorry for these guys having to come on after Circle to Circle ..like Pagans Mind, I had heard one of their CDs before but it didnt register with me well .unlike PM, by the time they finished I knew who they were! AWESOME JOB!!!! These guys are giants among the metal community literally! They are huge!!! And when all three of them (sans the drummer) start headbanging it is quite a sight to see!!!! Toms hair must fly 10 in the air!!!! They guys were absolutely great I loved their set from beginning to end, hard stuff to quiet stuff and everything in between. The over the top song, though, was the 9 minute long Trilogy of the Damned .mostly just piano and vocals, with a short but beautiful guitar solo in the middle .and incredible song, done beautifully . Now, theres something nice in the middle of a metal show, huh! said Tom, after they finished that one .Oh yeah, Tom, it certainly was. When they were finished I ran out and got two of their CDs! They were definitely my surprise band and Im really glad I got to see them. An interesting thing to note about these guys --- they have one hell of a guitar tech. Ive never seen one like him before and I doubt I ever will again. He took great care of them. I just wish he had been wearing a shirt, though. LOL. Is Vanden Plas still #1? Not sure, not sure .Evergrey, for as much as I loved their set, didnt dislodge them. Jurys still out on CIIC did they edge out Vanden Plas?
And then, the AC was even colder .for the last band of ProgPowerIV .
Band 5 - Rage: German metal. Loud German metal. Deafeningly loud. Ear splitting, even. And the first and only - mosh pit of the event. Ive seen some other posts about it and I wasnt down on the floor and didnt see the dude they are calling Bandana Man but it seemed from the seats to be a polite one, as far as mosh pits go .they were slamming into each other for the first minute or so of the song, then theyd hang on each other and give the metal sign and watch the band. Then at the beginning of the next song, theyd mosh, then stop and watch. It must have been worse if you were on the floor it looked pretty harmless from the seats. There were also three guys at the back on the floor who were nearly the size of the Evergrey dudes, and with hair equally as long, who were headbanging in perfect symmetry .lots of hair flying!!! Anywho .well you notice how little Im saying about the band. Theres a reason for that. Mercenary wasnt my cup of tea and neither was Rage. No thanks. We left when the drum solo began. Should have left after Evergrey. Oh well!!!
And alas, it was over said a few goodbyes and thanked Glenn AGAIN (never enough!!) and headed out, back to the hotel .had an early flight Sunday morning .
A good morning though - woke up to find out the my Irish had come back form a 19-0 deficit to win the game 29-26 in OT!! GOOOO IRISH!
It was an incredible two days. I cant wait for next year .AWESOME! Some pics are forthcoming - I didn't shoot as many rolls as I thought - couldn't get on the floor for CIIC...but I shot 120+/- of Vanden Plas and another three rolls of other bands mostly from the seats...I'll post the good ones!
Ah yes ..Vanden Plas or Circle to Circle ..well they were both wonderful .and very different ..so finally .no, Circle to Circle didnt edge out Vanden Plas. They were still my number one. CIIC is more like 1-A than 2, but I have to put Vanden Plas first. Cant really explain why, but thats my story and Im sticking to it!
My take homes? Vanden Plas T, Circle to Circle long sleeve T, Iron Maiden - Dance of Death, Evergrey - Recreation Day, Evergrey - In Search of Truth, Superior - Younique, and Xen - 84000 Dharma Doors.
If you are still awake after reading this whole thing, my hats off to you!!!!!
Cheers everyone hope yall have a great weekend!
Well, everybody, Im home!!! ProgPower IV is in the books! And here are my musings: from my first (but not my last!!!) ProgPower!! Pull up a chair and grab a drink, guys -- this is a mammoth post!
The Venue Earthlink Live!: Awesome place!! Great location, easy to get to, hotels within walking distance -- all very cool. The place itself is great - the actual hall has a ton of theatre-style raked seats on a big semi circle and there is a floor for standing, plus there is an outer lobby which is a good bit quieter a great set-up. Minuses were few it was mighty chilly in there -- next year Ill wear long sleeves, and it would be a good thing for them to install some little Christmas tree lights along the many steep stairs I saw lots of trips and stumbles in the dark! And it would be way cool if they fixed the sound system to stop that ear-piercing high pitched squeal that erupted a few times. Ouch!!!!! But I cant complain its a terrific venue, unlike anything I ever seen for this kind of show!!
The Vendors tons and tons and tons of CDs Inside Out was there, so was Century Media, so was the Lasers Edge (www.lasercd.com) and so was The End (www.theendrecords.com) along with a t-shirt booth with a bazillion shirts! The End actually had (and I snagged one!) the new Iron Maiden woo hooo! Plus I got a pic with Jon at the Circle II Circle table .it was a good day!
The People - Met a million of them, all very cool. Definite hellos to Glenn Harveston (god of ProgPower), Jaime, Jax, Bryant, Cindy, Chris, Anne Marie, Kathy, Britt and Brent and a bunch of other QR fans, the dude sitting next to us from Circle 9, the local dude sitting behind us for intelligent commentary, the Savafan dudes from the SymX lunch..... and although we didn't actually meet, "Karaoke Man" and Biffin, Everygrey's tech, made significant impressions! HOWEVER, I am seriously remiss if I forget to mention the dude who introduced me to ProgPower in the first place (and Enchant, for that matter) -- Dave! Thanks! Had a blast hanging with ya!
Now onto .the Show!!!
Day 1, Friday
Band 1 Redemption: Well, I have this CD and have listened to it a few times it is a very good CD but isnt in my heavy rotation. As it turns out, they did not equal the CD when they played live well, truth be told, the different vocalist had a lot to do with it. Corey couldnt quite handle the material. Still sporting that snazzy blue hair, though, Ray Alder came out mid way through and did Desperation II as he did on the disk, and he was great, but he couldnt carry it for the whole group. Their best number was their last a kick-ass, speedy cover of Synchronicity II!!! Loved that! Didnt think Id be hearing any Police at ProgPower but it was cool!!
Band 2 Mercenary: This German straight-up metal group (lots of Power, no Prog, LOL!) was technically very good but this stuff isnt my cup of tea. After a couple of songs I gave it the old college try, LOL I headed to the relative quiet of the lobby and stopped by IO and bought a Vanden Plas t-shirt. I thought they had a great lead guitarist, but I just cant get into the growling. They use two vocalists for that though, which I found interesting. The singer sings clean the bass player turn on the cookie monster vox. Just not my speed, no pun intended.
Came back in when they were done and went down to the floor to claim our spots for Vanden Plas. Well, while we were there, we happened to notice a dude who we affectionately named Karaoke Man ..no one we talked to knew what song (or even what band) was coming through the PA system right then (we do now - thanks!!!), but I think it was Karaoke Mans favorite song of all time!!!! He didnt make a sound, actually, but he had ALL the moves down and knew every word of that song it was very entertaining!! I wasnt the only one who snapped a picture of him!!!! Way to go, dude!!
Band 3 Vanden Plas: WOW!!!! I was really looking forward to seeing these guys, and they were even better than I thought theyd be!!!!! Andy Kuntz is an incredible, high energy, kick ass front man who knows how to play up to the crowd and Stephan Lill simply rules on guitar!! Totally AWESOME! They did stuff from all of their CDs, including I Can See, Soul Survives, Iodic Rain, Nightwalker, Cold Wind, and of course Rainmaker!!! (I know I missed some that isnt the complete set list! Sorry! I can rarely remember set lists unless I write them down and who had time for that!?!?!?!) A wonderful, moving, thrilling performance. They flew into first place on my personal hit list and I am thinking it is going to be tough to budge them .keep reading to see if they lasted out the rest of the show! If you dont know this band, hop online right now and get both Beyond Daylight and The God Thing. It was sooooooo cool to hear other people after the show and even still the next day commenting on how great Vanden Plas was, or how they didnt really know them, but ran out and got the CD right after they saw them, etc .I think that stuff is so cool! And SO WARRANTED!!!!
Band 4 Nightwish: Well, this is one interesting band. They have a huge following and the floor was packed 10 minutes before they came on, with the crowd shouting for them Well I lasted about three songs and then I headed back in to the lobby .I was still on a Vanden Plas high and frankly Nightwish really isnt my thing either. Their cover of Over the Hills and Far Away is one of the worst ever in life, LOL, and I didnt want to hear it. I did, however, want to hear Sleeping Sun, which is the only song of theirs I like and I dont just like it, I love it!! So there I was chit-chatting with Dave in the lobby, when I heard the first couple of notes .I shot up and bolted into the hall, ran down front and sat on the steps, watched, listened, LOVED IT, applauded like crazy, and then scooted back out. I hear they also did a version of Crazy Train?!?!?! Oh Gawd, I cant even imagine that, LOL! But Sleeping Sun was fabulous and Im soooo glad they played it!!! Vanden Plas is still solidly in #1.
Band 5 Symphony X: These guys are just great they are old pros at Prog Power now! Russell Allen has a killer voice and Michael Romeo is an incredibly gifted musician in general and guitarist in particular. They cranked up the volume (!!!) and did a terrific set, albeit they sounded a tad off like the mix wasnt quite right or something and they did old stuff and new stuff lots off The Odyssey of course. But, the scuttlebutt was that they were going to do the entire song The Odyssey, all 24+ minutes of it .well, they rocked on and the set rocked on, no sign of it Thank you and goodnight and they were off the stage .OK, now they came back for an encore .and voila there it was!!! They did it at about 1 am .24 glorious minutes! Killer!!!! They were great I really enjoyed them!!! COOL!!!! Vanden Plas is still #1 though!
After the show that night a couple of the VP faithful piled into Bryants hotel suite and had a few and talked about the day and listened to the new Lacuna Coil now THAT was cool!!! Finally got to bed abound 4:00am ouch!!!!
Day 2, Saturday
Lunch! Needless to say we all slept way past breakfast, LOL but were awake and hungry for the Sym X lunch on Saturday. It was a cool affair good food and good conversations with Sym X fans, of course and with Sym X! Thanks, Jax! Can't wait to see the group shot, LOL!
Managed to catch the abysmal first quarter of the Notre Dame game my Irish werent looking so good, as it was 12-0 Wash State when we left to return to Earthlink for .
Band 1 Pagans Mind: Well .this an interesting group. I have heard their CD once and lets just say they are heavily influenced by Dream Theater. So, then, I shouldnt have been surprised to see the lead singer run out onto the stage looking exactly like James LaBrie, now shouldnt I? LOL! These guys were good, no issues there and they were entertaining. Ill give their next CD a listen when it comes out, but honestly if I want to listen to Dream Theater I'll go for the real thing. No worries, Vanden Plas is still #1.
Band 2 Secret Sphere: WELL! I had done a little bit of reading on this group from Italy and had pretty high expectations for them. Oh well. Not much to say here. They didnt sound good and their songwriting, is a little odd, but Ill give them this their lead singer is a total riot! He was really funny too bad for them they werent at the Improv! NEXT!!!
Right after Secret Sphere finished I took a fast walk over to the Vinyl restaurant next door for the Vanden Plas signing .woo hoo! Bonjour, Andy, ca va? He looked pleasantly surprised Ah, oui!! Et vous, ca va? Cool! Bien sur, ca va bien, tres bien ici!! Got a chance to talk to everyone a bunch of cool guys who were so happy to playing at ProgPower!! Then I bolted back to the hall, and before I even got to the door, I heard ..
Band 3 Circle II Circle: WOW WOW WOW!!!! I opened the door and stopped for a second cool, thats Zak!!! and then tried to get onto the floor .it was packed to the gills even the stairs down to the floor were packed .I couldnt move and I could barely see. Alas, I slithered back up the stairs and back to the seats, deciding that hearing AND seeing the show was way more important than trying to jostle for some pics and indeed it was!!! These guys were incredible!!!! Ive had their Watching in Silence CD since it came out and have listened to it dozens of times .and for as great as it is, they blew the CD away live!!! They opened with Watching in Silence and next was (I think please dont quote me on the CIIC set list!!) (but, the one posted in the Setlist thread is way off - not even close!) Out of Reach .then they swapped off and on --- CIIC, then Savatage, then CIIC .so next up was quite a surprise when Matt LaPorte stepped forward, pointed to the sky, and then launched into a gorgeous rendition of Labyrinths which led right into Follow Me and as soon as the first note came out of Zaks mouth I was blown away --- Savatage!!!! With Zak!!!!! (I never got to see Zak with Savatage!) WOW! Then back to CIIC then back to Savatage --- Turns to Me .AWESOME!! Then back to CIIC .then Savatage - Taunting Cobras (Zak enjoyed our singing, LOL! "Glenn, you have a thousand acts fornext year right here!") then CIIC then .then .he looked stage left and said OK, now its YOUR turn and introduced Jon Oliva .who shouted hello to us all, took over at keys and immediately began Edge of Thorns .and when Zak sang it was stunning .then one more CIIC, then back to Savatage .none other than Gutter Ballet. Jon and Zak shared the vocals and it brought the house down the whole place was going insane!!!! Dave for one was in total shock when they were done and he was not alone there were a ton of people who were so stoked it was way cool!!! For the record, I think the other CIIC songs were Sea of White, Into the Wind, and Walls. But Im sorry, I couldnt get over the Savatage INCREDIBLE! Is Vanden Plas still #1??? Ummm .not sure stay tuned .
Band 4 Evergrey: Well honestly I felt a little sorry for these guys having to come on after Circle to Circle ..like Pagans Mind, I had heard one of their CDs before but it didnt register with me well .unlike PM, by the time they finished I knew who they were! AWESOME JOB!!!! These guys are giants among the metal community literally! They are huge!!! And when all three of them (sans the drummer) start headbanging it is quite a sight to see!!!! Toms hair must fly 10 in the air!!!! They guys were absolutely great I loved their set from beginning to end, hard stuff to quiet stuff and everything in between. The over the top song, though, was the 9 minute long Trilogy of the Damned .mostly just piano and vocals, with a short but beautiful guitar solo in the middle .and incredible song, done beautifully . Now, theres something nice in the middle of a metal show, huh! said Tom, after they finished that one .Oh yeah, Tom, it certainly was. When they were finished I ran out and got two of their CDs! They were definitely my surprise band and Im really glad I got to see them. An interesting thing to note about these guys --- they have one hell of a guitar tech. Ive never seen one like him before and I doubt I ever will again. He took great care of them. I just wish he had been wearing a shirt, though. LOL. Is Vanden Plas still #1? Not sure, not sure .Evergrey, for as much as I loved their set, didnt dislodge them. Jurys still out on CIIC did they edge out Vanden Plas?
And then, the AC was even colder .for the last band of ProgPowerIV .
Band 5 - Rage: German metal. Loud German metal. Deafeningly loud. Ear splitting, even. And the first and only - mosh pit of the event. Ive seen some other posts about it and I wasnt down on the floor and didnt see the dude they are calling Bandana Man but it seemed from the seats to be a polite one, as far as mosh pits go .they were slamming into each other for the first minute or so of the song, then theyd hang on each other and give the metal sign and watch the band. Then at the beginning of the next song, theyd mosh, then stop and watch. It must have been worse if you were on the floor it looked pretty harmless from the seats. There were also three guys at the back on the floor who were nearly the size of the Evergrey dudes, and with hair equally as long, who were headbanging in perfect symmetry .lots of hair flying!!! Anywho .well you notice how little Im saying about the band. Theres a reason for that. Mercenary wasnt my cup of tea and neither was Rage. No thanks. We left when the drum solo began. Should have left after Evergrey. Oh well!!!
And alas, it was over said a few goodbyes and thanked Glenn AGAIN (never enough!!) and headed out, back to the hotel .had an early flight Sunday morning .
A good morning though - woke up to find out the my Irish had come back form a 19-0 deficit to win the game 29-26 in OT!! GOOOO IRISH!
It was an incredible two days. I cant wait for next year .AWESOME! Some pics are forthcoming - I didn't shoot as many rolls as I thought - couldn't get on the floor for CIIC...but I shot 120+/- of Vanden Plas and another three rolls of other bands mostly from the seats...I'll post the good ones!
Ah yes ..Vanden Plas or Circle to Circle ..well they were both wonderful .and very different ..so finally .no, Circle to Circle didnt edge out Vanden Plas. They were still my number one. CIIC is more like 1-A than 2, but I have to put Vanden Plas first. Cant really explain why, but thats my story and Im sticking to it!
My take homes? Vanden Plas T, Circle to Circle long sleeve T, Iron Maiden - Dance of Death, Evergrey - Recreation Day, Evergrey - In Search of Truth, Superior - Younique, and Xen - 84000 Dharma Doors.
If you are still awake after reading this whole thing, my hats off to you!!!!!
Cheers everyone hope yall have a great weekend!
mgirishfan said:
well, first off, glad to see you had fun. We apparently have quite different taste in music, but that's cool...
I really have to disagree with your Pagan's Mind assessment, though.
They sound almost NOTHING like Dream Theater to me. I actually would sooner accuse your boys Vanden Plas of being a Dream Theater clone than Pagan's Mind (though VP definitely came into their own from seeing them live). If there's one band i had to name that PM sound like, It would probably be Symphony X, though definitely not to the clone point.
To further the point, i have two roommmates who love (nearly worship) Dream Theater and had a really hard time getting into PM until seeing them live, and a girlfriend who loves Pagan's Mind and hates Dream Theater.
so all in all, I was a little boggled that they sounded so similar to you.
Ryan
Demonspell
cheating the polygraph
I agree that they aren't a DT clone, but they are a huge influence...one of the members of PM lists Images & Words as his favorite album of all time. And of course there's the song that borrows heavily from Learning To Live...
Agreed, PM is definitely influenced by DT. I don't think 7 churches meant that they weren't. However they seem to have more of a driving/ heavier sound to them then bands like DT and Vanden Plas. I just can't get into DT's studio stuff. Same with Vanden Plas: I loved their live set, but I just can't get into their studio sound. They sound too much like DT for me to like them, much more then PM does IMO. I love PM. But to each their own.Demonspell said:
Robin ( 7churches gf)
DrBell
Member
I do think Pagan's Mind takes some influence from images and words. But saying that their singer came out looking just like labrie got my attention, because I thought the same thing about Andy Kuntz!
mgirishfan
Member
LOL!!! Wow, this has sure gotten interesting! Funny how we all see things in our own eyes....DrBell said:
First, other than having long wavy hair, LOL (which alone certainly doesn't single out anyone in this genre!!!) I don't think Andy and James look anything alike! Andy's hair is about a foot longer (!!!) and it is much lighter than James'. And Andy doesn't do the trademark LaBrie "lean-forward-and-a-little-to-the-side-and-brush-my-hair-back-sideways-away-from-my-face" (kind of hard to describe but anyone who has seen DT live knows what I mean!) but Nils surely does.
Second, I was a huge DT fan before I ever heard of Vanden Plas...and before I heard of a lot of bands...the first two VP songs I heard were Garden of Stones and Crown of Thorns off of The God Thing. I was hooked immediately, and turned around and bought every CD of theirs I could find online right away...and honestly, I have never thought they sounded anything like DT -- but I know some other people that do! We all have our own ears too, in addition to our own eyes, huh?
To be fair, I would have to say almost every band in the prog-metal genre that has written music since 1993 is somehow influenced by DT, some more than others...
My friend Dave played PM's Celestial Entrance for me a couple of weeks ago in the car...."ok", I thought "sounds a bit like Dream Theater, but's it's good"....and he chuckled and said 'ok, keep listening, just wait'....and the CD went on till a track towards the end....the one Demonspell mentioned (sorry I don't know the title) where smack in the middle of the song they play the passage from Learning to Live, I believe it was this one:
The way your heart sounds makes all the difference
It's what decides if you'll endure the pain that we all feel
The way your heart beats makes all the difference
In learning to live
....theirs just had different words. This wasn't a passing similarity - this was Learning to Live with different words!
We even checked the liner notes for a credit --- nope!!!Ah well, so it goes....like I said, I like them, they did just great at PP --- and I will give their next CD a try when it comes out. But I'll still go for Images and Words over Celestial Entrance.
Back to you, Doc!
Wandrail said:
when i go to a metal show of a popular band or fest i always expect crowd surfing, mosh pits, and sqeezing and shoving, and jumping up and down for excitement fuckin we don't go to metal shows to sit around you know and do nothing. bands when they play ( cuz they are pouring thier heart out on stage ) want to see the fans being energetic or else they think the fans are bored plus, consider that maiden has also had pits before in their shows as well as priest. death/black metal fans are just as much as fans of prog or power metal . Why can't a fan of Suffocation, Deicide,ect. not also enjoy Dream Theater or Evergrey? Black/death metal fans are just as much entitled ( as much as you ) to like and attend shows of prog/power metal . FUCK this war of power metal vs. death metal. metal is metal and we all need to gather in this together !!!!! metal fans should look out for each other and stick together! FUCK anybody who complains about moshing!!! moshing is part of metal and i'm sure those same fans who moshed don't do it to be assholes. they do it cuz it's fun and is a part of being metal dumbfuck!!! i started a moshpit for lind gaurdian when they played here in fort lauderdale and i didn't get not one complaint about it!
If you aren't a fan of death metal well nobody is asking you to listen to it? what ever happend to ignoring stuff you don't like?
i'm a huge fan of Sonata Arctica, Rhapsody, Human Fortress, Angra, ect.. as much as i am a fan of Dark Funeral , Behemoth, Cannibal Corpse, Hate Eternal, ect.. according to you i guess i have no right to like both death and power metal at the same time do i? anyways fans ike you need to grow up!
If anything Glen ( the promotor ) should at least put 1 death metal band and 1 black metal band every year for a show of variety! Bands like Crytopsy, Vital Remains, Behemoth, Dimmu Borgir, Dissection, ect.. are either just as technical or melodic as the prog/power bands and i can see some prog/power fans listening to these bands as well. b
You seem to think that if people don't like/want to be in mosh pits then they must "sit around you know and do nothing" during concerts. I bet you are a descent sized guy because if you were me, you would definitely hate mosh pits.King666Diamond said:
I think sitting during a band you really like ( unless you have a good excuse) is pretty lame. I'm all for jumping up and down and being energetic at concerts. But mosh pits, when people start pushing and shoving, suck. I am a 5'2 female, and in a mosh pit or near a mosh pit I will get hurt or trampled.
I went to a slayer show a few years ago and had to go up to the balcony because I was getting smashed and elbowed. There is no way I can enjoy a concert with a mosh pit happening by me. I am planning on going to the CoB and Nevermore show in a month or so, and I am very worried about getting hurt. It is a good thing I'm not a death/black metal fan, or this would be a problem more often.
As for having death or black metal bands at prog power, Prog power is prog power for a reason. It allows the prog and power fans to hear their favorite bands which either don't play the States or don't tour fully. Death and Black metal have a US listening base. A lot of the bands you listed tour already ( like Crytopsy and Dimmu Borgir who have played or will be playing Atlanta recently). I am all for there being other metal festivals for black, death, or any other kind of metal, but PP should stay how it is. PP sold out in 3 days, so it's not like Glen needs to widen its market.
It is great that you like all kinds of metal, you can go to a lot more shows than those of us who don't. I'm sure a lot of black and Death metal fans would hate having to hear Prog and Power metal and vice versa. So for only a 10 band festival, 2 genres of metal is plenty.
ReaLM said:
I am currently 5'6 . The first time i saw slayer during the " divine intervention" tour i was 5'2 or 5'3 and yes i was beaten to death. I couldn't complain about cuz it was my fault for goin into the pit. I do agree that people during mosh pits shouldn't get seriously hurt cuz it's all about metal and fun. Then agian there will always be assholes out there trying to ruin things purposely for everybody else. I was in the pit for Slayer and in there were a bunch of nazi skinheads. Being that i'm hispanic and stuff they didn't like me too much so they easily took every shot on me they could. those are the types of moshers that go to shows to start trouble and hurt people. the moshers at prgopower i doubt were nazi skinheads! I don't like people who go into pits to hurt others! thats just not metal ! everytime i see a fellow metal head on the ground or when i see a female getting slammed in the pit i come and help them out becuz i can;t stand to see a fellowe metal head or female getting hurt! I'm not saying everybody at a metal show needs to mosh but they should show the bands that are on stage playing some emotion in return weather it's moshing, headbanging, jumping up and down, crowd surfing, ect.. All the people i mosh with at shows here know its all out of fun and not for the sake of hurting others. i'm sure the moshers at PP4 didn't mean any harm towards you. but if one guy is being a asshole just to start trouble then he should be the one to get hurt! I understand what you are saying though.
on the other topic
Glen had mercenary play this year and to me they are death metal influenced and the prog/power crowd liked them. I agree that death metal here in the states has a listening base. Black metal is not very popular here in the U.S. at all. The only BM bands i know from europe that tour the U.S. were Mayhem, Dark Funeral,Satyricon, immortal, Marduk, Cradle of filth, and Dimmu Borgir. Those Bm bands most of the time half to support a death metal band to tour here cuz the u.s. metal market is not very big on black metal. BM is more popular in europe just like prog/power is big in europe as well. I;m not saying Glen should widen his market but it would be nice if he did. cuz it doesn't matter if it's black,prog, thrash, death, power,ect.. it's all heavy metal. all the bands from these genres and us fans all come from ozzy, maiden, and priest. so i see no reasons why any fan of prog/power or death/black can't like every metal genre like myself. i like everything from old ozzy, def leppard, dying fetus, nevermore, dream theater, stratovarius, cannibal corpse, kreator, sodom, the haunted, slayer, white snake, evergrey, savatage, overkill, suffocation, deicide, maiden, Labyrith, dio, ect......
what i'm really saying is if we ( metal fans ) learn to accept other metal genres with respect then we would all go a long way and a step further to making metal a dominant force of music!
sh0kr0k
Active Member
What about showing respect for fellow audience members while in the pit? See, Wandrail & I (yes, I can speak for him here) don't mind mosh pits at all! That has become a mis-understanding on this thread. I don't mind moshpits, and I understand that they can be just fun and games, but keep them to yourself when it's clearly visible that some people do not want to be a part of it. That was the missing element with the mosh pit at PP. It was made entirely clear both verbally and phsyically that many people on the floor did not want anything to do with the pit, yet those wishes went ignored. Maybe moshing isn't everybody's way of showing emotion and enjoyment for a band that is onstage. Hell, it's certainly not mine but no one standing around me could argue that I wasn't showing support for the band! Some might say that we should have expected a mosh pit, since, afterall, we are at a metal concert. But you know, I've only had to worry about mosh pits and getting injured at shows like Slipknot, Rob Zombie, Mudvayne, and Static-X. Not Evergrey, GammaRay, Angra, Edguy. At those other shows, I should know that being in front of the crowd will automatically mean being injured or pushed, etc... Plenty of metal shows that I attend have ZERO shoving and pushing and jumping and moshing.. it's just not something that I've seen a lot of metalheads like to do (in my experience), so of course I shouldn't have to expect that at ProgPower. Besides, PP does not have a history of moshing issues anyways, and I'll be damned if I'm going to sit in the back during one of my favorite bands just because I'm tired of getting pushed around by big sweaty guys. I've spent too many years doing that at shows and that's pretty much the only reason I don't attend a lot of concerts anymore. The point is, have your mosh pit, but keep it to yourself.King666Diamond said:
~Sh0k~
