quick day one recap.....

[Diabolik]

quick recap for people who missed out orjust lurk here.....

- great turnout...hard to tell numbers but better than last year and people got there early. People actually watched the bands. Wrath / Paradoxx got good crowds.

- Gatekrashor on the second stage had it packed in there for them. I honestly thought that the seconds stage would get stragglers here and there but Gatekrashor had it packed. Vanlade as well packed it great. Lots of people couldnt catch Innersige due to Ashbury and Tyrant's Reign playing against them. I know a few who watched Innersiege was were blown away. I was able to catch a few songs and they were tight as hell and deserve a bigger crowd.

- Dealers all did big numbers. Some did more than expected first day in. Mendyke did a great job organizing it.

- Ashbury won over everyone it seemed. There was not one person who had anything bad to say about thier set.

- I loved Tyrant's Reign.

- Omen were good but lacking something to bring it all together for me. Highlight was watching Dan from Gatekrashor get on stage and sing with them.

- crowd dwindled near the end but people stuck around which was great.

 

[modernwizardry]

It was a great first night. Nice to finally see a proper crowd.

Top bands:
Ashbury - They really rocked hard and played just about all of "Endless Skies" which was great. They seemed super humble and happy to be there. It was great to see them have a full room and great response.
Tyrant's Reign/Omen - really enjoyed both sets though I was getting tired towards the end of Omen.
Gatekrashor - They absolutely slayed. They had the music joint packed!!! Not sure how well there tunes transfer to studio. Reminded me of early Helloween or Running Wild...pure speed metal. The guitarist was doing some cool stuff. They should definitely be back for main stage next year. I think they are the Skull Fist of this year.

 

[DMR]

Omen killed!! That's all I have to say about that.

I think this year is already an enormous improvement over last year's fest. My only complaint is that the music played on the PA between bands is way too loud.

 

[SteelFireRecs]

It was a fantastic first night, all the bands slayed.

My highlights were Ashbury and Tyrant's Reign. Omen was good also, just didnt like the singer and his antics between songs.

All the vendors did great. There is just a great selection of everything. Any genre you can find. And then the good patch, pin, and shirt selection from Victor was cool.

I only wandered over to the second stage once to catch an Innersiege song and pick up their album that ive been waiting to get. Hopefully tonight i can make it over for at least one song from a few bands.

Greta first night, lets make 2 even better!

 

[nomisofsiman]

I think this year is already an enormous improvement over last year's fest. My only complaint is that the music played on the PA between bands is way too loud.

Yeah...that's Reggies. Part of the reason I didn't talk as much yesterday. I kept saying "what? What?"

 

[nomisofsiman]

Great first night. My highlights:

Wrath were fantastic. Wish they had more time.

Paradoxx: Solid too, but I'll be honest in that I didn't pay much attention as that's when I was doing the vendor tables.

Gatekrashor: Sorta hated what I heard on disc to be honest, but I did enjoy their set. Very energetic.

Vanlade: This one killed me. I loved the 2 1/2 songs I saw, but I was in fear of missing out on the beginning of Ashbury. This is one band that needs to be invited back but on the main stage. They would do really well there.

Ashbury and Tyrant's Reign: I'm putting them together as they're about equal for me in terms of performance, and they're so vastly different I can't really compare it. However, in terms of Ashbury really happy they got that good of a response as they are quite different than most at the fest.

Omen: I thought they were fantastic. I know the singer was a bit of an odd duck, but I felt the band in general were. However, when it came to performance I thought they were fantastic, and he did very well considering it was his first show. I never say this about a band, but they are one band that needs to work on their look/banter as it doesn't seem to fit the music. However, like I said when they played, they were fantastic.

Food: Never ate at Reggies before, but it was fantastic food.

Vendors: Great setup Mike. Reminded me of mini progpower in terms of the setup. Hopefully this is how it is every year and possibly even getting another quality vendor.

Disappointments:

Dark Mirror: As you guys know I was REALLY looking forward to their set. I have their "Portrait of Evil" album and loved it. However, yesterday I felt like I was watching a completely different band. Musically they might have been okay, but those vocals were not what I was expecting.

Band merch: Some bands did really well in bringing stuff, i.e. Wrath, Tyrant's Reign, Blood Feast and Ashbury (who probably should've brought more as they sold their shit out quick). Also, even though I didn't see them or go, it looked like Inner Siege had a pretty good setup. However, some bands didn't. As far as I know almost no bands from the second stage had anything outside of Inner Siege and Omen brought nothing. It always astounds me actually when headliners don't bring stuff as they probably would have done pretty well.

 

[Keir]

One word: AWESOME!

Ashbury were nothing short of magical and I was so pleased to see that they got an enthusiastic response.

Even though I missed the pre-show meet-and-greet, I got to talk to a bunch of guys like Rob Davis (Ashbury), Paradoxx an Wrath. They were all super cool.

 

[SteelFireRecs]

Dark Mirror has a new singer. The vocalist that was on Portrait of Evil left the band in early 2012 and formed a new band called Unity which slays. I have their cd in stock.

Gatekrashor had a bunch of merch up in the balcony but it was blended in with the vendors.

 

[Keir]

Dark Mirror was the only second stage band I caught (while i had a burger) and yah, the music was good but I did not like the singer.

 

[nomisofsiman]

Dark Mirror has a new singer. The vocalist that was on Portrait of Evil left the band in early 2012 and formed a new band called Unity which slays. I have their cd in stock.

Ah. That makes sense. Terrible choice of replacement then. I have liked what I've heard of Unity. You may tempt me sir.

 

[Element_man]

Hung over. Review later.

 

[Diabolik]

Hung over. Review later.

sorry I didn't stop back in to say bye at the hotel....Once I got my stuff from Jeremy's room I saw that it was almost 4 Am and knew I had to just get out before the vortex known as Gatekrashor pulled me back in. I literally thought Mendoza was going to kill dan for shooting him non stop. Plus it was hilarious when they ambushed him at the elevator.

Hopefully we can get Gatekeeper at the fest next year. I think now mike will listen to me.

 

[nomisofsiman]

One I forgot:

Eldritch: I'm a fan and they were amazing at Progpower, but this was not the right fest for them. Hardly anyone was in the room for them and it could be partly due to that that they didn't put on their best performance either. I would have thought actually they would have done some of their thrashier tunes for the fest, but at least the ones I listened to weren't. I felt bad for leaving, but it was just awkward after a while.

 

[Jasonic]

Tyrant's Reign and Ashbury stole the show.
Can't really pit one over the other as they are completely different types of bands.

TR were a TRUE old school type of metal performance.
I LOVED LOVED LOVED the use of the fog machine.
The band was tight as hell, and the singer put on a great performance.
They played all their best tunes too.
I really hope they keep it together!

Ashbury was simply mesmerizing!
Flawless from beginning to end.
We all had our concerns about how they would come off live and what the crowd would think.
One of the weekend's best moments was when Odin came up to me towards the end of their set as vulnerable as can be and says "I have cried four times already during their set"
I was so happy for the man!!!

Quick recap of the rest:
Paradoxx - Nice surprise. Set seemed a little disjointed musically but overall they did well

Wrath - AMAZING performance. Loved it. Put on a great show. Its a shame this vocalist came back only for a one off. I believe from what I have heard they are normally a lot more "Modern" sounding these days.

Eldritch - Seemed like they are truly a professional band. I have tried sampling their music and watched a few tunes live. Just didn't do much for me. Seemed like they appreciated being here which is really cool.

Blood Fest - Did not see at all

Omen - They have been on my top 5 MUST SEE list for MANY years. I know people, esp folks who have been IN bands with me HATE when I say this, but Omen PROVED my point that regardless of what ANYONE says, image is important, at least to a small degree. Before I get into specifics, let me say vocally, the new singer did a good job. Maybe a little to heavy on the lows, but that's fine. I could NOT get past his look. Sorry. You are in a "heavy metal" band. I look more metal when I mow my lawn. I was ready for him to blow a whistle and make the crowd do a few laps before their set. I mean, a solid back tshirt, dark jeans, and dark shoes would have made the world of difference. Their bassist looked and acted just like any middle ages California punk rocker. I guess maybe it sticks out more since Kenny Powell is pretty much "Keep It True" ready at any moment with his leather bands, hairstyle, etc. Their setlist choice was exactly what everyone wanted and expected. I am in the minority in being a fan of some of their later stuff though I wasn't expecting it live. For the record, I did enjoy their set and am very glad to have seen them. The visual aesthetic did detract a bit from the enjoyment.

As for the second stage bands, I really only caught a few tunes of each, aside from InnerSiege.
Honestly, I can pretty much say I echo everyone's opinion above so I will stop here.