Night 1:
Manticora - was looking forward to these guys. "8 Deadly Sins" has never grabbed me the way it should. The vibe of the music is right up my alley; aggressive, dark, powerful, with cool vocals. However, for some reason, the songs just don't grab me. I was hoping that seeing the music performed live, might give me a new appreciation of the CD. It didn't. These guys really need to look into using tempo changes and they need a better sense of dynamics. There are bands I listen to that are much 10x heavier than Manticora (Blood Red Throne, Decapitated, etc.), but those bands change tempos much more frequently. In summary; great energy, bad songs.
Circus Maximus - though I've owned "The 1st Chapter" since it was first released, it never grabbed me... until I heard CM live. Fuuuuccckkk! These guys just slayed. Say what you will about a lack of stage presence, I could care less. I've have heard very few singers perform live, who have the control over their voice that Mike Eriksen does. If I put him head to head with some my favorite singers (Russell, Dane, Jorn, Khan, etc.), I'd say he's more technically proficient than any of them. Not only does he have amazing range and passion, he does what he does with complete ease. Mike Eriksen just joined my short list of truly elite vocalists; Barlow, Breed, Rosvald.
Orphaned Land - like most, I was blown away by Orphaned Land's "Mabool" and was excited about their PP appearance. However, my excitement was guarded, as I had doubts about how what they do, would translate live. I must say, I was very, very impressed. Great live band. Surprisingly good energy.
Conception - I, like most Prog fans, was giddy about the prospect of witnessing this reunion. However, I have to say, I was less than floored. Though Khan was much better than he was last year with Kamelot, their performance seemed very sterile. It was delivered proficiently and professionally, but without a great deal of passion or fun.
Angra - this was the band I was looking forward to most. They first came across my radar at the time of PPIII. And while I enjoyed "Rebirth", I took in their PPIII appearance with one eye on the band and the other on the bar. When "Temple of Shadows" blew my doors off, I was incredibly psyched to see them at PPVI. Unfortunately, Edu had a bad night... to say the least. Everything he did seemed like a struggle for him. Given that he sounded dead-on at PPIII, I'm willing to write this off as a bad night. The rest of the band was tight, but I bailed after four songs, based on the poor quality of the vocals.
Night 2:
Stride these guys totally kicked my ass at the PPIII pre-party. Theyre not usually my cup of tea, but their flawless musicianship was just jaw-dropping. Unfortunately, I hadnt heard any of their (just released) debut CD prior to their performance. I think its a detriment when youre not familiar with any of the music you're about to hear performed. They started strong. I really like Gary Belins voice. Hes got great control, and solid range. Unfortunately, they chose to break into back to back instrumentals, followed by back to back power ballads. In my estimation, this is a horrible move at a Metal show. We bailed half way through the second ballad.
Side Note - the keyboard player came to the front of the stage, with one of those strap on keyboards, during the second of the two instrumentals. So friggin lame. Keyboard players should be in the back, off to the left.
Symphorce until their most recent disc, Godspeed, I never saw the necessity for this band. They seemed like a watered-down version of Andy Francks other band, Brainstorm. That said, after his PPV performance, Id pay to see any Franck-fronted band. And this years performance did nothing to diminish his standing. I dont give a shit if you like Brutal Death or Jazz Fusion, this guy will get you banging your head. He was born to be a the frontman of a Metal band. Symphorce killed.
(this is where the heavy drinking begins)
Pink Cream 69 I was kind of interested to hear these guys. Given that their music is a bit of a throwback, I though theyd be a lot of fun live. I dont know if it was an overall lack of energy, having to follow Symphorce, or a combination thereof. Regardless, they bored me, and I left after 4 songs.
Therion + Stratovarius. No clue. Didnt see a second of either. I was chatting with way too many people, drinking too much Red Bull & Goose, and having too much fun to give a shit.
Great weekend. Especially Saturday night, drinking with the RC clan; JK, CheifB and Dark One. The after party was cool to. Got to bed at 6AM. Got up at 8AM to catch a flight. Fucking brutal!
Zod
Manticora - was looking forward to these guys. "8 Deadly Sins" has never grabbed me the way it should. The vibe of the music is right up my alley; aggressive, dark, powerful, with cool vocals. However, for some reason, the songs just don't grab me. I was hoping that seeing the music performed live, might give me a new appreciation of the CD. It didn't. These guys really need to look into using tempo changes and they need a better sense of dynamics. There are bands I listen to that are much 10x heavier than Manticora (Blood Red Throne, Decapitated, etc.), but those bands change tempos much more frequently. In summary; great energy, bad songs.
Circus Maximus - though I've owned "The 1st Chapter" since it was first released, it never grabbed me... until I heard CM live. Fuuuuccckkk! These guys just slayed. Say what you will about a lack of stage presence, I could care less. I've have heard very few singers perform live, who have the control over their voice that Mike Eriksen does. If I put him head to head with some my favorite singers (Russell, Dane, Jorn, Khan, etc.), I'd say he's more technically proficient than any of them. Not only does he have amazing range and passion, he does what he does with complete ease. Mike Eriksen just joined my short list of truly elite vocalists; Barlow, Breed, Rosvald.
Orphaned Land - like most, I was blown away by Orphaned Land's "Mabool" and was excited about their PP appearance. However, my excitement was guarded, as I had doubts about how what they do, would translate live. I must say, I was very, very impressed. Great live band. Surprisingly good energy.
Conception - I, like most Prog fans, was giddy about the prospect of witnessing this reunion. However, I have to say, I was less than floored. Though Khan was much better than he was last year with Kamelot, their performance seemed very sterile. It was delivered proficiently and professionally, but without a great deal of passion or fun.
Angra - this was the band I was looking forward to most. They first came across my radar at the time of PPIII. And while I enjoyed "Rebirth", I took in their PPIII appearance with one eye on the band and the other on the bar. When "Temple of Shadows" blew my doors off, I was incredibly psyched to see them at PPVI. Unfortunately, Edu had a bad night... to say the least. Everything he did seemed like a struggle for him. Given that he sounded dead-on at PPIII, I'm willing to write this off as a bad night. The rest of the band was tight, but I bailed after four songs, based on the poor quality of the vocals.
Night 2:
Stride these guys totally kicked my ass at the PPIII pre-party. Theyre not usually my cup of tea, but their flawless musicianship was just jaw-dropping. Unfortunately, I hadnt heard any of their (just released) debut CD prior to their performance. I think its a detriment when youre not familiar with any of the music you're about to hear performed. They started strong. I really like Gary Belins voice. Hes got great control, and solid range. Unfortunately, they chose to break into back to back instrumentals, followed by back to back power ballads. In my estimation, this is a horrible move at a Metal show. We bailed half way through the second ballad.
Side Note - the keyboard player came to the front of the stage, with one of those strap on keyboards, during the second of the two instrumentals. So friggin lame. Keyboard players should be in the back, off to the left.
Symphorce until their most recent disc, Godspeed, I never saw the necessity for this band. They seemed like a watered-down version of Andy Francks other band, Brainstorm. That said, after his PPV performance, Id pay to see any Franck-fronted band. And this years performance did nothing to diminish his standing. I dont give a shit if you like Brutal Death or Jazz Fusion, this guy will get you banging your head. He was born to be a the frontman of a Metal band. Symphorce killed.
(this is where the heavy drinking begins)
Pink Cream 69 I was kind of interested to hear these guys. Given that their music is a bit of a throwback, I though theyd be a lot of fun live. I dont know if it was an overall lack of energy, having to follow Symphorce, or a combination thereof. Regardless, they bored me, and I left after 4 songs.
Therion + Stratovarius. No clue. Didnt see a second of either. I was chatting with way too many people, drinking too much Red Bull & Goose, and having too much fun to give a shit.
Great weekend. Especially Saturday night, drinking with the RC clan; JK, CheifB and Dark One. The after party was cool to. Got to bed at 6AM. Got up at 8AM to catch a flight. Fucking brutal!
Zod
