The Official First Impressions/Updates/Reviews of this year's ProgPower

[AngraRULES]

Hawkwind is not right for a fest that showcases prog?
Sure, they are not "prog metal" perse, but Glen has indicated through his actions and words every intention on trying to attract new fans to the fest.

I think a lot of Hawkwind fans, if the right mix of bands were on the bill, would come to something like this.

Hell, not even sure the last time they played the States.

I have no idea how expensive they would be, but I would guess in some markets they make a good paycheck.

Jason, I think in all fairness, ProgPower showcases more Prog Metal. I think Hawkwind is much better fit for Nearfest. The majority of fans of ProgPower are power metal/crossover fans. I can't see Hawkwind doing well at all. If anything, I can only see maybe 300 people sticking around to see them.

You gotta remember that power metal fans will tolerate sitting through prog metal bands in order to see the ones they want to see. The same can't be said about the prog fans. I doubt they would come and give the fest a chance.

 

[Jasonic]

Fair enough.
Never having attended the fest, I truly do not know all the kinds of metal or prog fans who show up.

 

[nomisofsiman]

Jason, I think in all fairness, ProgPower showcases more Prog Metal. I think Hawkwind is much better fit for Nearfest. The majority of fans of ProgPower are power metal/crossover fans. I can't see Hawkwind doing well at all. If anything, I can only see maybe 300 people sticking around to see them.

You gotta remember that power metal fans will tolerate sitting through prog metal bands in order to see the ones they want to see. The same can't be said about the prog fans. I doubt they would come and give the fest a chance.

Beat me to it. Pretty much what I was going to say. Also, Hawkwind is that space rock type of prog, which isn't quite the same type of prog that most of the prog bands that have played the fest have. I like the band, but like I said in the previous post they just don't fit here.

The thing to remember is that while Glenn is starting to reach towards different types of fans, he can't reach too far out of the realms of prog/power metal. Considering tickets are $120/60 (when they are sold individually), most people are not going to go for one single band. Sure, there are some that will go for individual bands, but the other acts have to be somewhat related/tolerable/intriguing to the average fan. Plus, usually the bands that are going to bring in extra fans are the oddball bands, and with the exception of the unknown band as of yet that's going to be announced for next year they usually arent' slotted high. So, at the end of the day you're looking for the oddball playing a maximum of 60-75 minutes.

 

[Magius]

Friday:
Illusion suite- Again, I'm not a Prog fan. They were good at what they do. It's just not for me.

Blackguard- Highest energy and lowest attendance of the night. Not surprising on either account. I've seem them before, and like their live show.

Leaves' Eyes- I've seen them before also. Same routine, but tighter than in the past. Crowd seemed to like them regardless of growl bias.

Seventh Wonder- See "Illusion Suite.

Tyr- Another 'seen before' band. They've picked up the pace with their new material. Good set. Crowd loved them.

Nocturnal Rites- Pretty good. Not the be-all-end-all one would have expected after all the Chicago Powerfest hype, but a solid set.

Kamelot- Kahn who? Michael Eriksen channels Kahn perfectly when he needs to. However, his voice is much stronger. He doesn't use any of the voice cracking camouflage Kahn does, like lowered volume mic. No pulling the mic away on the high notes either. They pulled out some older songs, which was cool. Unfortunately, songs from the new CD didn't impress me much.

 

[ApolloFC]

Friday first impressions:
Illusion Suite: Rely on pro tools much? (I was looking forward to these guys) and acted, to me like a bunch of, excuse my wording, but idiots on stage. There was one moment where I was finally impressed with the band and thats when the guitars/keyboardist had their little duet moment (photo taken but unsure if I should post it in this thread). I started clapping before everybody else because they actually sounded good for once and then I guess the band heard that and decided to get everybody else in it.

Blackguard: Skipped. nothing against them really

Leaves' Eyes: Was expecting an Evanesence (spelling?) like performance.. but I was blown away by Liv's voice and the rest of the group's energy. Not my style of music but they're excellent.

Seventh Wonder: came in late after getting Delain's autograph (Follow the dollar bill! (those of you involved shall understand)). I was looking forward to these guys the most and I was happily rewarded. Am hoping to get a group hug from all 5 of those guys they are so freakin talented.

Tyr: I enjoy Tyr's music, I just found the performance to be a bit boring and/or wanted to take a break. I watched the songs I wanted to see while waiting on Leaves' Eyes signing session.

Nocturnal Rites: wasn't impressed with the latest album so I decided ahead of time I'd skip them. I was happily rewarded by being able to take a picture of Jon Drenning and wife of Crimson Glory - I had lucked out cause I wasn't into to them much when they played last year and so didn't bother with them when I had a chance to get an autograph/pic - a year later, I freakin love CG.

Kamelot - i was mostly focusing on the drummer - the dude is insanely good. Am very pleased they played the show and also threw in older tunes. 2nd time I get to see Circus Maximus front man and again I'm quite pleased.

Can't wait for day 2

Edit: Oh yeah, wanted to see both Accept & Leprous, just couldn't afford the tickets. Band video: Friday night line up - I haven't heard any of the bands listed except for Mob Rules only because I guess I had downloaded them ages ago (when I used to do that sort of thing) and then deleted them off the hard drive. Saturday night i knew Red Circuit and up. Dream Evil will be a favorite for sure. I like therion's music but I recall watching a dvd of theirs a few years back and found their performance to be a bit boring.. not bad.. just boring.

 

[ApolloFC]

accidental double post

 

[Heavenly Call]

Illusion Suite - Great selection for opening band. Suprising amount of energy for a little-known prog band. Met the guitar player before the show and he was really nice and down to earth. Scarlet Skies and Ghost of the Past were phenomenal. Didn't "slay" the crowd, but turned in a strong performance. A good day's work.

Blackguard - Saw 4 songs. GREAT energy...wow! They have Children of Bodom syndrome for me - music sounded totally badass, can't get past the vocals.

Leave's Eyes - Gotta eat at some point.

Seventh Wonder - Very surprising for me. I bought two CDs when they were announced last year and gave each a couple of listens. Every time I thought "these guys are amazing songwriters, why are they ruining it with all this prog wankery." How much sweep picking and keyboard fireworks do prog-lovers want? Good god, enough already!!!! That said, I was impressed with their live show and "accidentally" watched the whole thing. Can't do the CDs though.

Tyr - Second time seeing them, never need to see them again. They are fun, but the chanting gets a bit tiresome in my opinion. If you like this kind of music though, they are very good at what they do. They had a fairly long delay during one part due to some drum issues. I'm always surprised bands don't have a go-to in this situation. They just kind of stand around and tell jokes and act akward. No softer songs? No solo? Crowd sing-along? Just thought it was weird.

Nocturnal Rites - Damn damn damn damn damn.....THIS will be one of my top 3 prog-power performances of all time! The fact that I sponsored them may disqualify all my ranting and raving, but I was on cloud fucking 9 the whole set. I love "2nd-era" Nocturnal Rites and that's pretty much what dominated the set. Strong Enough, Never Again, Shadowland all rocked my face off. The interaction between Johnny and the rest of the band was phenomenal and highly entertaining. The only negative was their encore got cut which is in my opinion only mildly disappointing. I HATE encores anyway and if one get's cut I think it's 50/50 blame. The band should tell the stage crew they are planning one AND the stage crew should ask when they see members leaving the stage but holding their instruments...uh...why might they be doing that???? Anyway, Nocturnal Rites ruled the night for me!

Kamelot - Very nice performance given the circumstances. I have a world of respect for Michael Erickson, even if he does fuck up Ghost Opera (ha ha...total joke, his words, not mine). I couldn't gauge the mood of the crowd at first, but by the end of set everyone was chanting and singing and if you had never seen Kamelot, you'd think Michael was the original singer! Fantastic, class act all around!

Video Announcement - Maybe expectations were too high? First time I've ever left ProgPower a little disappointed. Just got lots of homework to do for next year. Got DREAM EVIL though!!!!! Wooo hooo!

 

[vortex77]

Hi, Guys

I'm old Accept fan and I'm waiting for their shows in Europe with new album programm

All of you are luckies who saw this great band on stage in Atlanta

Would you like to say how many people was on show (approx.), is Wolf Hoffmann played his guitar solo (how long and when according to tracklist), how nice (or bad) was new singer Mark Tornillo?

 

[GoRillaBoy76]

The dude from Illusion Suite came half way around the world to do the robot on stage.

Yeah I thought it rocked.

 

[ZenKeys88]

Friday Night Impressions:

Illusion Suite: Pretty cool, great for an opener. Can't say its something I really go for.

Blackguard: I've seen them twice before, and they're still awesome. Unlike most of the crowd here, I actually love death vocals! I don't know of many bands that coordinate their headbanging and thrashing so well, I'm used to seeing one head up while another is down and the other guy is too focused on his bass to remember to move his head.

Leaves Eyes: WELL worth the wait. I heard it was either a laptop problem or a guitar problem that delayed them. I wasn't expecting such energy onstage, I guess most of the songs of theirs I have heard were slower and not so heavy. I got in line ASAP to get two of their CDs signed and a picture.

Seventh Wonder: I could see the appeal, but it just didn't click with me for some reason. I like the skydiving outfits, or whatever it was they were wearing. I gave them three songs, then determined I should probably eat, which became eat and spend money I don't have at the CD tables.

Tyr: Seen them twice before, caught a couple of songs while waiting for Leaves Eyes, a fun band to see live. They'll always be back, so I wasn't too irked about missing them.

Nocturnal Rites: I know one of the first metal albums I ever bought was by them, but I'm embarrassed to say I don't know WHAT album it was. All I remember is listening to it and thinking something to the effect of "Golly, I sure do like this Power Metal stuff." Very well done set as far as I could tell.

Kamelot: WOW. just... WOW. I have never seen such an incredible performance, regardless of the fact that they were down a member. I couldn't really tell whether I liked the new stuff as I had earplugs in, but I have a nine hour car journey ahead of me and a copy of the new album. I'll find time to check it out, I'm sure. Also dug the three-song encore, I'm used to getting maybe one or two.

Next Year Video: I've only heard of three of the bands (Sanctuary, Dream Evil and Therion) but I'm definitely coming back even if its just for those three. Most of the other bands sounded pretty cool, and the crowd seemed to appreciate the list. I think I'll put in for the time off from work as soon as I get home.

Looking forward to tonights lineup!!

 

[hoodaman]

everyone that I watched (all but the second band, in line for autographs) was great.

 

[adaher]

Illusion Suite- Quite solid, had a lot of fun on stage. They played all my favorite songs from the album.

Blackguard-I don't do death vocals.

Leave's Eyes- I'd actually intended to miss them as well. I planned to leave after Illusion Suite, head down to Peachtree to get some food, and be back in time for Seventh Wonder. I came back and they were still setting up Leave's Eyes. Glad they waited for me, because they were pretty awesome. So what happened? While I was gone, were they like, "Wait, we can't play until Adam gets back!"?

Seventh Wonder- Absolutely blew the roof off the place. I've never seen such a crowd response.

Tyr- Was what it was. I only like two Tyr songs(By the Sword in My Hand and Hold the Heathen Hammer High), and they played them, so I was satisfied. Fans were stoked, though.

Nocturnal Rites- Setlist seemed WAY short, I'm kinda pissed that time was made up at their expense. For the time they played though, they were incredible.

Kamelot- Eriksen gave us a once in a lifetime performance. I loved the setlist too. I was expecting overwhelmingly stuff from Ghost Opera and the new one, but it was a well-balanced set: two songs from Fourth Legacy, two from Karma, two from Black Halo, and the rest new stuff. Wow, again, not that many songs now that I think about it. Were they cut short too?

 

[hoodaman]

I was super happy that Kamelot played Edenecho. That's my favorite one from Ghost Opera.

 

[sh0kr0k]

Nocturnal Rites- Setlist seemed WAY short, I'm kinda pissed that time was made up at their expense. For the time they played though, they were incredible.

That's not quite what happened. Nocturnal Rites intended to play two more songs as an encore but there was some confusion about what they were doing (when have you seen a non-headliner get an encore at PP?) so the curtain was closed. They were allotted their entire time and they had two more songs on their set list, but their shorter set wasn't on purpose.

 

[nomisofsiman]

Friday first impressions:
Illusion Suite: Rely on pro tools much? (I was looking forward to these guys) and acted, to me like a bunch of, excuse my wording, but idiots on stage.

Care to elaborate on this?

 

[adaher]

They horsed around a lot. Which is cool, not sure why anyone would be put off by that. Must be one of those progheads who thinks prog is serious business.

 

[adaher]

BTW, do you know what the last two Nocturnal Rites songs were supposed to be?

 

[hoodaman]

I'm going to guess Avalon and Fools Never Die, probably in that order. They were both singles.

 

[ApolloFC]

Care to elaborate on this?

Aye sure... I'm assuming just on the pro tools bit right?, I thought the vocalist was out of tune for a few moments and I thought the guitarist could of been cleaner in his execution of the songs. I forget what song it was that had that awesome keyboard riff/intro, but I was hoping the keyboardist would play that live - that would of increased my excitement.. but I was disappointed that it was played back through a recording or whatever. I'd go a bit more into it but that basically covers it and i gotta get breakfast before tonight's show starts. So off I go, see you lot this afternoon.

 

[nomisofsiman]

Aye sure... I'm assuming just on the pro tools bit right?, I thought the vocalist was out of tune for a few moments and I thought the guitarist could of been cleaner in his execution of the songs. I forget what song it was that had that awesome keyboard riff/intro, but I was hoping the keyboardist would play that live - that would of increased my excitement.. but I was disappointed that it was played back through a recording or whatever. I'd go a bit more into it but that basically covers it and i gotta get breakfast before tonight's show starts. So off I go, see you lot this afternoon.

I meant that goofing part, but I think Adaher cleared that up. Interesting. I obviously wasn't there, but I hate that trend of having intros the band has played and that they don't actually play it. It was one of the few gripes I had with Metallica the last time I saw them and they did the recording of "And that was just your life" before playing the second half of it.