In all the discussion of last years PP bands.... it almost seems like Thunderstone had the forgotten set. I'm not sure why. Perhaps because they just delivered and there wasn't any real controversy leading up to them? Or because they were inbetween Vision Divine and Epica? For me, they were one of the best bands of the weekend. They were spot on, had great sound, great melodies, the audience definitely seemed into them. Just something that I was thinking about this evening.
Thunderstone -- the forgotten set?
- Thread starter Cheiron
- Start date
Braxil
Member
They were my favorite performance at PPVII, doesn't seem like many people share the sentiment though.
General Zod
Ruler of Australia
I think the problem with Thunderstone is, they couldn't be more generic if they tried. They might actually be the least interesting band to ever play this or any other festival.
Zod
Zod
Harvester
The Promoter
Azrael LenGraden
Lake Of Fire
I thought Thunderstone was entertaining, though I could have done without the drum solo. I was unfamiliar with them before the show, but was told by many people they're a Stratovarius clone. I thought they were a lot more interesting than Strato was...
dt
dt
edgeofthorns
24 Hours Ago...
Thunderstone put on a great performance in my opinion. Let's put it this way, after seeing them live I became a fan! 
edgeofthorns
24 Hours Ago...
General Zod
Ruler of Australia
Sure... in his better moments, the vocalist reminds me of Jorn... who in and of himself is far from original (has he ever been sued by David Coverdale for Whitesnaking without a license?). The music is just generic. It lacks energy, aggression, inspiration and even a hint of originality. The guitar player does nothing for me with his rhythms, leads or tone. The lyrics hover somewhere between weak and uninteresting. There's nothing about this band that warrants their continued existence.
uke: LOL. No, I'm good. I just have no use for this band.
Zod
Harvester
The Promoter
It's moments like this that you should consider being the flagbearer for Royal Carnage.
Forth into the Fucking Black!
General Zod
Ruler of Australia
LOL. I just need to drag you, kicking and screaming, into that forum until this fest is Blackened ProgPower.
Just out of curiosity, has a Thunderstone disc ever cracked your Top 10?
Zod
booB
Señor Member
I'm not Glenn, but I wanted to throw my two cents in here: Tools of Destruction was my favorite album that I bought at ProgPower this year -- and that's coming from a HUGE Savatage Fan who also bought Jon Oliva's new cd. I have The Burning on order now. Tools of Destruction is the album that Helloween SHOULD have released, after The Dark Ride.
Regarding Thunderstone's set: I couldn't possibly speak more highly of them than I already have. I went into their set expecting nothing more than generic, bass drum driven power metal, based on samples and everyone else's Stratovarius-related comments. What I got was great DARK power metal with aggressive (not weenie) vocals and very engaging music. They were my second surprise band (after Freak Kitchen), my third favorite band of the entire weekend, and I liked them infinitely more than eith Vision Divine or Epica (I'm not a fan of either).
Harvester
The Promoter
There were a couple of awesome tracks on the first two releases, but I wouldn't consider either of the first two albums Top 10 worthy. However, "Tools of Destruction" took it to another level and away from the Strato style of the first two. It was a Top 20 disc of the year for me.
I'm curious as to if you didn't like their actual set or didn't bother with them because you didn't like the albums.
edgeofthorns
24 Hours Ago...
Sure... in his better moments, the vocalist reminds me of Jorn... who in and of himself is far from original (has he ever been sued by David Coverdale for Whitesnaking without a license?). The music is just generic. It lacks energy, aggression, inspiration and even a hint of originality. The guitar player does nothing for me with his rhythms, leads or tone. The lyrics hover somewhere between weak and uninteresting. There's nothing about this band that warrants their continued existence.
LOL. No, I'm good. I just have no use for this band.
Zod
I see. You and I are two different types of music fans then. I look at music as being a form of entertainment, so I'm not necessarily looking for everyone to break new ground. If a band is good at what they do and they make good, catchy music, then I like it.
In addition to my comment above, a band doesn't have to be flat out weird to be awarded any type of creativity or merit. Alot of people consider Freak Kitchen creative or different. Well, that's fine, but that's left up to the individual listening. Eventhough I thought FK was entertaining and had some killer riffs, I don't really view them as necessarily original. IMO FK's riffs remind me of some of the funk metal stuff of the early 90s like Electric Boys and Extreme. For those of you about to flame me for mentioning Freak Kitchen, I'm not putting the band down. Actually, I really liked what I heard out of the band, but I'm just using them to attempt to illustrate my point.
General Zod
Ruler of Australia
I didn't see a single second of their set. Same with Epica. There are bands whose sound or style can win me over in a live setting. However, when I actually dislike a band's music, that doesn't happen.
We're not so different, you and I...
I don't expect bands to break new ground. If I did, I'd buy two or three discs a year, not 100. However, a band needs some element in their music to draw me in.
This is where you and I differ on Thunderstone; I don't think they're good at what they do, I don't think they write good songs.
"Wierd" is not an element of music I seek out. As an example, here's my Top 10 from last year...
Nevermore "The Godless Endeavor"
Redemption "The Fullness of Time"
Primordial “The Gathering Wilderness”
Circus Maximus “The 1st Chapter”
Novembers Doom “The Pale Haunt Departure”
Riverside “Second Life Syndrome”
Kamelot “The Black Halo”
Dead Soul Tribe “The Dead Word”
Trivium “Ascendancy”
Grand Magnus “Wolf's Return”
I would say that very few of the artists on that list are breaking new ground and none of them qualify as "wierd". With each of them, it's about one simple thing... how much I enjoy the music.
Zod
It's interesting that not only has there been lack of posts re: Thunderstone's set, but also a notable lack of photos as compared to all the other bands.
I thought they were excellent, but they had two things working against them:
1. They were the most generic band to play ProgPower this year. They're good at what they do, but they do the same thing as dozens of other bands.
2. They followed Vision Divine who definately had the "Wow" factor this year. I feared that Thunderstone would get less of a response than they did after VD blew the audience away. That happened to Secret Sphere who had the misfortune of following Pagan's Mind at IV. But Thunderstone got a lot better reaction than I expected.
You could arguably add that they preceded Epica who certainly had the anticipation factor for the night. Between VD and Epica I think they just got eclipsed.
I thought they were excellent, but they had two things working against them:
1. They were the most generic band to play ProgPower this year. They're good at what they do, but they do the same thing as dozens of other bands.
2. They followed Vision Divine who definately had the "Wow" factor this year. I feared that Thunderstone would get less of a response than they did after VD blew the audience away. That happened to Secret Sphere who had the misfortune of following Pagan's Mind at IV. But Thunderstone got a lot better reaction than I expected.
You could arguably add that they preceded Epica who certainly had the anticipation factor for the night. Between VD and Epica I think they just got eclipsed.
edgeofthorns
24 Hours Ago...
LOL
I wasn't implying that you're weird or seek out weird music, but I was using that as an example. When I think about it, there are very few bands that actually broke any ground that I actually like. I guess there are few bands that have broken any ground when compared to the total number of bands. As far as your top ten list goes, it looks pretty darned good to me!
I'm actually surprised to see Trivium in there to be honest. Do you like their new one as well?Similar threads
