ProgPower USA XIII - Sept 12-15 - Theocracy fan gathering - FINAL DETAILS!

[SeaStorm]

I bought mine through Enter The Vault. They angered a lot of people when they put the Kamelot/Nightwish tickets on sale because, as the sales heated up, they kept jacking up the service fee in response. It started at like $4 per ticket and then went up $1-2 a day until it was in the neighborhood of $13. Thankfully, I bought when they were still $5-6. That said, they are advertising $5 service fees through the weekend (they've extended that 3 times now). Other than that, I haven't had any problems. I think the tickets are Will Call.

 

[SeaStorm]

Speaking of doing homework, ProgPower is just a month out and I am still woefully uninformed about most of the bands! I'd love some suggestions for songs/albums I should be checking out, taking into account what they're most likely to play at PP and what's most likely to be appealing to me (what are their "hits"?).

I have the following bands fully-covered: Nightwish, Kamelot, Epica, Amaranthe, and Sinbreed. I have all or most of their albums and I love these bands!

Here's my status on the other bands:

Redemption: I actually saw them at PP 8. I'm not a fan. I bought 'This Mortal Coil' this summer to force myself to get to know some of their music. Just kind of meh to my ears. I'm not particulary looking for more suggestions here.
Symphony X: I have 'The Odyssey' (and I know that I *love* the songs 'Of Sins and Shadows' and 'Out of the Ashes', though I don't have the album they are on); I'm interested to hear what I should check out next; there seem to be strong opinions about different parts of their catalog, as well as what they play live. This is one of the few "big bands" from our genres that I just have not gotten into much.
Serenity: I have 'Words Untold & Dreams Unlived', but only 'Engraved Within' has been compelling to me; I do enjoy their new song 'The Chevalier', which I've heard online; I have also heard each of their albums are VERY different. The singer definitely has an *amazing* voice \m/

Lanfear: I've heard a few songs over the years, but I essentially know nothing
Primordial: I know nothing
Kingcrow: I know nothing
Pretty Maids: I know nothing
Mayan: I know nothing
Mystic Prophecy: I know nothing
Solution .45: I know nothing
Beyond The Bridge: I know nothing

Help me prepare!

 

[M@RS]

MaYaN? That's Mark Jansen's side-project with several of the other Epica members.

 

[Verbum Lux]

I'm a big Symphony X fan, so I can give you some recommendations there. I consider them to have four essential albums - The Divine Wings of Tragedy, V: The New Mythology Suite, The Odyssey, and Paradise Lost. I don't know a whole lot about your tastes in metal, but from what I do know, I'm thinking V would be the most up your alley. It's really melodic and I think it's also the most progressive thing they've done. Divine Wings is my favorite album - it's the perfect blend of prog and power metal, lots of nice classical touches, and an awesome monster epic. Paradise Lost is heaver and more intense, but still retains the elements I liked from their earlier stuff.

Iconoclast is also good, if somewhat monotonous. Most of the songs are good, but there's not a whole lot of variety. I tend to listen to the tracks individually here and there rather than as a whole.

The rest of their stuff is inconsistent. Each of the three other albums has some good tracks, but also some bad and / or boring ones, so be warned.

I wish I could tell you what to expect at the show, but sadly I've never seen them live. I used to know someone who had seem them several times and said they put on a good show. They have a live album that would be a worth a listen, but it was recorded quite a while back, before the Odyssey, so I'm sure what they play has changed a lot since.

 

[SeaStorm]

Verbum, thanks for the background - I will put that to good use!

M@RS: as a little more background: I know the general info on the bands (I know MaYaN is Mark Jansen's other band), I'm looking for song/album suggestions. For all those bands I'm unfamiliar with, there are hundreds of songs on YouTube I can listen to. Rather than randomly do so and maybe get dismayed by the junk, I'm looking for their most appealing songs (many bands have a "gateway" song you should start with) or ones that are staples in concert. Just figured a little expertise from others can save me a ton of floundering around!

 

[Parched Earth]

I second Verbum's sentiments almost exactly. SeaStorm, the two songs you mentioned ('Of Sins and Shadows' and 'Out of the Ashes') are arguably two of my favorite by them (along with Sea of Lies), and I own their entire catalogue. V and Divine Wings are about tied for my fave Symphony X albums. Off of V, I really like 'The Bird-Serpent War / Cataclysm' if for nothing other than the awesome riffage in the intro.

I know you didn't ask for more Redemption recommendations, but since they are the only other band you mentioned that I am really familiar with, I'll comment briefly. Again, I have their entire catalogue, and I would probably say their second album "The Fullness of Time" is my favorite of theirs. Not sure that they would play songs from that far back or not. 'Sapphire' is a awesome song IMO. It's nearly 16 minutes, so your opinion would depend on how much you like epics. If you want, skip to the chorus at 4:48. Some more concise favorites would include 'The Death of Faith and Reason' and 'Another Day Dies' (with guest appearance by James LaBrie on vocals). As a disclaimer, I am a Ray Alder fanboy as I am a big Fates Warning fan.

 

[labarum]

Of the bands you've listed, Symphony X is the one I'd try first.
My favorite albums are the last two ... Paradise Lost and Iconoclast. Iconoclast is about the world being taken over by robots...doesn't get awesomer than that. I saw them earlier this year and essentially heard songs from both those 2 CDs. Michael Romeo (guitar) is amazing.

I have picked up the most recent CD's from Primordial, Serenity, Kingcrow, Mayan, and Redemption.

So far, not super impressed. Primordial's one song "no grave deep enough" is the only song I have liked by them so far, mostly due to their questionable lyrics (IMO of course)

I cannot seem to get into Kingcrow. Kind of Alice in Chainsy? Need to listen more.

Serenity is growing on me, but not fast. I think it's the accent, which normally isnt a problem..."New Horizons" is good.

Redemption's CD I think is pretty good. It has taken a few listens, but I like most of the songs, in particular Noonday Devil and Dreams From the Pit.

Mayan sounds like Epica, sans choirs/orchestrations, sans simone (she is on some of the songs). Just brutal.

I've been going to Last.Fm and finding all the band's recent live setlists (if they have them) and making playlist from those. You may want to check out Kamelots...they have added a couple of new songs ("Sacrimony" and "Season's End") from the upcoming album which you can either choose to partake of now or in person later

Everybody else I have not checked out.

 

[SeaStorm]

Right now I'm thinking the best way to do a gathering would be right before doors open, since some people have to travel into downtown for the show (my hotel is within walking distance, but I know not everyone's is).

I'm thinking maybe I'll pick an eatery near the venue and say either Thursday @5pm (doors at 7pm) or Friday at noon (doors at 2pm).

Any objections or strong preferences on which day/time?

 

[labarum]

Either way is fine with me... I am PSYCHED!

 

[robhudd]

Ahhhhhh; I'd LOVE to meet they guys of Theocracy!! Unfortunately I'm on the west coast in Northern California. I'd go to any concert in California, Oregon, Washington or Nevada. Please tell they guys to come to this side of the U.S. A.S.A.P.!!

~Rob

 

[SeaStorm]

OK, let's do this.

Vespucci's Pizza & Pastamore (1 block east of the venue)
1389 Peachtree Street Northeast
Atlanta, GA 30309

Let's meet there on Thursday @ 5pm (doors for Kamelot/Nightwish are at 7pm).

Wear a Theocracy shirt if you have one and we'll be easy to find.

As far as I know, no band members are going to ProgPower this year, so this will be a fan-only gathering (unless a band member wants to surprise us!).

I'll be wearing either a Wages of Sin shirt or ATWB shirt.

I look like this guy:

<snipped>

I'll PM everyone who expressed interest in this thread.

 

[SeaStorm]

I'd go to any concert in California, Oregon, Washington or Nevada. Please tell they guys to come to this side of the U.S. A.S.A.P.!!

Rob, the guys would love to tour out there. It's a question of finding promoters willing to book them. If you know of a promoter or venue willing to book them, let me know!

 

[prometheus7]

I look like this guy:

<snipped>

Wait, do you look like this guy, or ARE you this guy?

 

[JayArby]

well, technically that's his evil twin.

 

[SeaStorm]

You gotta leave a little mystery, right? I DO look like him, and maybe more...

BTW, I went to Vespucci's Pizza for lunch yesterday. It's sort of a "quickie" Italian place: not fast food, but certainly not a full formal dinner restaurant; you order at the front and they bring your food out when it's ready. It'll work for our purposes. The food is cheap, but good. Plenty of non-pizza Italian options. There is also a Subway right next door and they share the same outdoor seating area. I suspect we'll end up having to sit outside, as the inside of Vespucci's is smaller and likely to be crowded at 5pm.

Looking forward to seeing some of you in 5 hours!

BTW, I saw two Theocracy shirts at Kamelot/Nightwish last night: one ATWB and one of the original shirts from when the debut album came out! Nice! I didn't get a chance to say more than "nice Theocracy shirt" in passing to them.

 

[SeaStorm]

Great meet up last night with myself, Emil from Ulterium, Nathan (aka SwordLord), Josh (aka labarum) + friend, and Georgia (aka Georgia) + friend. Thanks to everyone who stopped by - it was really cool!

 

[Georgia]

Thanks to everybody at the fan gathering last night. My friend Sheila and I really enjoyed meeting every one. I know some of you were staying over for ProgPower this weekend. I hope you have a great time and safe travels home.

 

[labarum]

Yeah, meeting (and getting to rock with) you guys made the trip for me. The music was more than I could have hoped for, but meeting and seeing SO many people who share this same passion made it an unforgettable experience.
Going back to the daily life again is giving me a bad case of post-awesome-syndrome.

I did finally get to meet Matt in the crowd at the Serenity show. Thanks for the sig Matt.

I hope to see you guys again next turn of the globe or maybe sooner if we get some Theocracy tour news.