Detritus
Mini-Issue #289.5 - October 1, 2004
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*** LET IT BE KNOWN ***
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-Here are another few press releases, but the main focus is Sean's
lengthy, in-depth ProgPower USA V report. I got really pissed off as I
read it... Why? Not because of Sean's writing, but because I wasn't
there!!!!!! - Tim

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*** PRESS RELEASE #1 ***
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-Broken Teeth @ Backroom With Big Balls This Friday!!!!

Hey you guys and chicks!

Time to rock the hell out -- Broken Teeth and Big Balls!!

This Friday, Oct. 1st, at the Backroom in Austin, Texas!

Be there or beware.

Drink specials, all rock, all night.

Check out http://www.brokenteeth.com/ for info on swag and tour dates.

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*** PRESS RELEASE #2 ***
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-Seattle Metal Festival Flyer Link

Seattle Metal Festival Flyer Link:
http://www.blackdevilrecords.com/SeattleMetalFest04.jpg

http://www.HIRAX.org/
METAL MUSIC

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*** PRESS RELEASE #3 ***
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-Nightmare-Records.com / NEW TITLES!

WE have a very nice new list of great CD's below, please take time to
check them all out, you'll be glad you did. ;)

JUST IN AT NIGHTMARE CD DISTRIBUTION....
(all contact info at bottom of page)

CEA SERIN SHIRTS (XL ONLY) $15.99

PYRAMAZE SHIRTS - (XL & LG sizes) $15.99

WHITE WILLOW - Storm Season / Release: September 21, 2004
Over the course of four albums their music has evolved from a soft,
pastoral sound based around female vocals, mellotron, woodwinds and
acoustic guitars, to a more gothic-tinged electric and rock-based
sound, with heavier guitars being especially prominent on the band's
new offering, the turbulent "Storm Season".
(description from Laser's edge) $12.99

ANTI-DEPRESSIVE DELIVERY - Feel. Melt. Release. Escape
Release: September 21, 2004
Once again we turn to Norway for a fresh take on an old sound. With
amps turned way up, Anti-Depressive Delivery blend classic progressive
rock with modern raw aggression. Mellotron, organ and synth clash with
frantic guitar leads underscoring this young band's appreciation for
prog and metal Gods past and present. The prog world may never be the
same...
(description from Laser's edge) $12.99

RIVERSIDE - Out of Myself / Release: September 21, 2004
Riverside is a way of expressing reflections, dreams and fantasies
through music. It is an idea for exposing emotions, for an escape from
the grey or unnaturally overcoloured reality. It is music inspired by
a time, a place, a thought and a word, a figment of their own and
other people's imagination. It is joy and sadness, a whisper and a
scream. This young Polish band has created an emotional musical
journey through dark and moody atmospheres that find kindred spirits
in Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Anathema, and Pink Floyd. With a sound that
encompasses prog, psychedelia, metal and even alternative rock,
Riverside is poised to break through to a wider audience. The gorgeous
full color booklet, designed by award winning digital artist/graphic
designer Travis Smith is the visual counterpart to Riverside's music,
perfectly capturing the mystical spirit of "Out Of Myself".
(description from Laser's edge) $12.99

MOONLIGHT COMEDY - The Life Inside
Moonlight Comedy is a melodic progressive metal band with killer
vocals and top notch production that will take them to the forefront
of this genre. A must have for all fans of Dream Theatre and similar
bands. $14.99

JOE STUMP - Speed Metal Massiah
The king of neoclassical shred guitar returns with his finest album to
date. Speed Metal Messiah is destined to become a classic album within
the instrumental genre. $14.99

EMPIRE - HYPNOTICA (A strictly limited digipak release with 3 NEW
bonus tracks)
Big Melodic hard rock from the metal masters....
Featuring: Neil Murray (ex Whitesnake), Don Airey (Black Sabbath,
Rainbow), Lance King (Pyramaze, Balance Of Power), Mark Boals (Ring of
Fire, Yngwie M.,), Anders Johansson (Hammerfall), Rolf Munkes and
Gerald Kloos... $15.99

FARAZ ANWAR - Abstract Point of View
Incredibly good guitarist unleashes his debut album filled with
instrumental progressive metal mixed with fusion. Truly one of the
best releases ever to come out on Lion Music! $13.99

PATRIK CARLSSON - PHRASEOLOGY
Patrik is the best guitarist to come out of Sweden since Yngwie!
Heavily influenced by Steve Vai but with a truly original style and a
good sense for writing quality songs. $13.99

KEVIN MARTIN & THE HIWATTS - The Possibility of being
If you are after a heavy dose of pure American Rock N Roll then look
no further than ex-CANDLEBOX vocalist Kevin Martin’s debut solo
offering The Possibility Of Being to get you in the mood. If you are a
fan of bands such as LIVE and latter day QUEENSRYCHE with a hint of
GUNS N ROSES Rawk attitude and a seasoning of LED ZEPPELIN then THE
HIWATTS are right up your alley! $13.99

FIRE ALLEY - SCORCER
A TRIUMPHANT RETURN FOR FIRE ALLEY WITH THIS, THEIR SECOND RELEASE.
Reaching deep into their hard rock and metal roots, Fire Alley perform
12 blazing tracks, which provide a perfect blend of radio-friendly
rockers and powerful ballads. Scorcher is filled with killer vocals,
lots of harmonies, and screaming guitar solos. Fire Alley...vocalist
James Welch, bassist Mark Blythe, guitarist Jack "Jaxxon" Schwarz,
along with the addition of drummer extraordinaire, Michael Scott
(previously with Prizoner and Vyper) have turned up the heat on this,
their second CD release. 13 tracks in all. $12.99

GLASS HAMMER - LEX LIVE DVD
Length: 8 Tracks/122 Minutes Plus Bonus Features
Chattanooga Tennessee based prog-rock band Glass Hammer has stepped to
the plate once again and pounded out a crowd-pleasing, cheer inducing
home run! The Glass Hammer: Lex Live DVD is an extraordinary treat for
new and existing Glass Hammer fans, and for fans of classic-style
progressive and symphonic rock. Lex Live contains several hours of
yummy audio and visual treats from an independent band that continues
to pleasantly surprise with each successive release. Released just a
few months after their latest superlative studio CD Shadowlands.
$18.99

SCAPELAND WISH - The Ghost of Autumn
The second release by the US prog rock trio SCAPELAND WISH whose first
album "Reason" back in 2000 simply gave me shivers as I listened. Boy
can these guys write, play and sing ! "The Ghost Of Autumn" is a
magical album full of dynamic musicianship, postive energy and
creative song writing. SCAPELAND WISH are Josh Ramirez (vocals and
drums), Mike Stiskal (drums, guitars and backing vocals) and Kevin
Forsberg (guitars).Musically hard to exactly peg down but with their
balanced focus on both progressive and rock tendencies end up
delivering a mesh of RUSH, STYX, ECHOLYN, CAMEL, DIXIE DREGS and
KANSAS all in one! For those love great vocals will simply kills for
this album!! $12.99

NEW EDEN - Stagnant Progression
Their third release with new member addition of Rick Mythiasin former
siren of STEEL PROPHET to the fold/still US Power Metal with opulent
melodic leads and insane vocals found in higher and highest regions,
slightly intricate as far as arrangements are concerned, complex
andwith a lot of substance, which ensures the recognizing value of the
material. Rick's vocals make this album a gourmet’s morsel for fans of
the genre! $12.99

HEATHEN - RECOVERED
If you don’t know Heathen, you must know that they were one of the
promising bands from the bay area. After two demo tapes [Pray for
Death in 1986 and a self-titled one wit Paul Baloff [ex-Exodus] on
vocals in 1989], one single [Set me Free in 1987] and two famous
albums Breaking The Silence [1987] and Victims Of Deception [1991] the
band supported Sepultura in Europe. Unfortunately, before the band
left the European continent, one of the musicians, Randy Laire, was
involved in a fatal car accident. After some line up changes, the band
wanted to record an album in homage of their band mate but
unfortunately this record was never finished at the time. Now, after a
break of 13 years, the band has come back to finish this unreleased
album with in addition to it, the four-songs demo (Opiate Of The
Masses) which includes tracks from (Victims Of Deception) album.
$12.99

PETER BLAST - Explode
CHICAGO veteran musician PETER BLAST has been getting some great
reviews out there on this, HIS SECOND solo album....EXPLODE GLITZINE
(England) says.....Each track could be in a Quentin Tarantion film
score! THE DYNAMITE says it has influences ofTHE STONES, NEW YORK
DOLLS and the BEATLES with Riffs and voice of KEITH RICHARDS and RON
WOOD. Peter has played with members of BAD FINGER,OFFF BROADWAY,
D'MOLLS, ENUFF Z NUFF, JAMES YOUNG GROUP (STYX FAME) and ALICE COOPER.
And has enlisted the likes of Chip Z Nuff to co write a tune on this
as well as had Mr. Johnny K., Chicagos Multi-Million Selling Producer
of (Disturbed) Produce songs on it. Peters new album EXPLODE, rocks!
In your Face vocals and heavy rhythms along with pop style melodies
and hooks give the listener an experience that is refreshing! This is
STRAIT FORWARD ROCK 'N ROLL with a vintage 70s vibe about it! $12.99

NIGHT CLOUD - DEFEATED BY THE INNOCENTS (adrenaline)
Yet another Progressive Metal band from Italy, NIGHT CLOUD sit at the
very high end of technical precision Prog which will appeal directly
to scholars of the mighty DREAM THEATER (of course!), SYMPHONY X,
VANDEN PLAS and a passing nod to RUSH along the way. RATED 9-10 BY the
METAL OBSERVER. $13.99

MYSTERY BLUE - METAL SLAVES (adrenaline records)
Metal Slaves - sounds a lot like 70s and 80s era Judas Priest. Chunky
riffs, and blistering razor-sharp leads, with powerful vocals - all
add up to a solid heavy metal experience. Female singer Nathalie
Geyer. is no Rob Halford, but, her unique vocal style is a very
successful cross between Halford and King Diamond (with a definite
feminine edge thrown in). $12.99

ILIUM - SIRENS OF THE STYX (2004 Adrenaline)
Epic/True Heavy Metal. Superbe twin-guitars work (really close to the
classic Maiden) and powerful vocal-lines. German Magazines (Metal
Hammer) and (Heavy Oder Was) gave it rave reviews! Sentinel Steel
professed it to be one of the best debut independent releases of the
last decade. Not one to be missed by True Power Metal fans! European
Import. $12.99

HENNING PAULY - 13 DAYS (prog rock)
After Chain - Reconstruct and Frameshift with James LaBrie Henning
Pauly started working on the second Chain album (chain.exe) and the
double CD rock opera Babysteps. Working on these two major projects in
parallel turned out to be overwhelming, so he decided to take 13 days
off and not think about progressive rock for a while and produce a
whole album during his time off. 13 songs in 13 days. He wanted to
create some straight forward rock music, so he limited himselfstrictly
to guitars, bass and drums. Anything he might want to achieve with
keyboards, he had to do with guitars and that was a welcomed
challenge. Who was to sing on it? Henning couldn't make up his mind so
he decided to ask all the great vocalists he knows to be involved. He
lined up 11 vocalists to sing the 13 songs, two of them each sing 2
songs. The songs didn't all turn out to be straight forward rock...the
album contains metal, blues, blues rock, alternative, pop and most
certainly some prog elements...he just couldn't get away from it. The
Vocalists on 13 Days are....
Jody Ashworth - Trans Siberian Orchestra / Babysteps
Adam Evers - Solo Artist, Joe Capraro - Elseworth / Endgam
Maya Haddi - Solo Artist / Babysteps, Edward Heppenstall - Solo Artist
Matt Cash - Solo Artist / Chain / Frameshift / Babysteps
Jason McSheehy - Endgam, Nik Guadagnoli - Frameshift
Victoria Trevithick - Solo Artist, Arthur Blume - Solo Artist
Charles Chemery - Julia Fly /$12.99

SALEM HILL - BE (prog rock)
National Review Online, (S. T. Karnick), called "Be" the album of the
year. A concept album with a virtual gambit of progressive styles tied
together by a common tread of the bands signature identity. Salem Hill
has produced an excellent album, "Be" offers a lot for a listener to
digest and enjoy; it certainly proves that there isn’t much that Salem
Hill can’t do. One thing I should warn you about, though: owing to its
fine production, "Be" is one of the LOUDEST albums to hit the market
in a long time! So "Be" careful when putting it in your player... you
might piss off your neighbors. ;) $12.99

FROGG CAFE' - CREATURES (prog rock)
The second release from New York's Frogg Café, Creatures, is a major
step forward for the band, and a big move into classy progressive rock
territory. While hints of the more fusion based sound that flowed
throughout the bands debut album still pop up, this new recording is a
complex and symphonic affair, filled with tons of offbeat melodies and
instrumental brilliance. $12.99

FROGG CAFE' - S/T Remastered with BONUS TRACK (prog rock)
This is an incredible sounding remaster of the exciting self-titled
first Frogg Cafe album. Not only is the sound quality greatly improved
but the band has added the live track "Candy Korn", over eight minutes
of vintage live Frogg Cafe that can't be found anywhere else. For fans
of the band, this is a "must have" for your collection, and if you
aren't a fan already, check it out and you soon will be.Within their
music, Frogg Cafe deftly blends elements from many sources such as
progressive rock, jazz, and even modern chamber music into a cohesive
whole. They pull off dazzling intricate written passages one minute,
and then take off into spacey improvs the next with a seamless
integration. Frogg Cafe follows their artistic impulses whilst
maintaining an incredible amount of musical integrity. With a
beautiful blending of vocal harmonies, colorful textures, unparalleled
lyricism and melodicism, uncharted and challenging improvisation with
both heavy and whimsical musical styles and grooves, the music of
Frogg Cafe is beyond description of words - it must be experienced
first hand. $12.99

MOON OF STEEL - Insignificant details (Digi)
Progressive, Power, Gothic Metal, with female vox. First on the Scene
in 1998 these metal maniacs are back with their long awaited come-back
album *Insignificant Details* The new opus shows the band's massive
potential, moving easily from powerful yet melodic compositions to
more intimate forays through thrashy rhythmic assaults. This new album
perfectly reflects Moon of Steel's new and modern direction,
introducing the listener to a great band with a glorious past and a
very promising future! No less than a Master-piece!!! $13.99

TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT - s/t (steelheart records)
My main problem is to really categorise this album, because we get
American Power Metal as well as a light neoclassical influences, some
Progressive Metal and regular Melodic Metal, to varying degrees,
Progressive, Powerful and yet still very accessible at the same time!
(steelheart records) IMPORT $12.99

JIMI HENDRIX TRIBUTE VOL. 2 (THE SPIRIT LIVES ON)
The music of Jimi Hendrix revisited.... Featuring inspiring
performances from some of todays best talents, Dave Martone / Tony
Hernando / Chris Poland / James Byrd / Torben Envoldsen / Baltimoore /
Winterlong / Lars Eric Mattsson $12.99

HOURGLASS - Subconscious
we're talking about a band that has one foot in the classic
progressive style, like Rush and Yes, and the other foot in the modern
progressive-metal style, more like Dream Theater and Spock's Beard.
Inbetween, they often sound like Styx, Queensryche, Kansas, and many
other classic and progressive rock bands that you know and love.
$12.99

AIRBORNE - Isolated
a mix of Prog Metal, pleasing Melodic hooks and a shot of melancholy
sounds create a pleasantly timeless and convincing piece with varied
songs, good melodies and alive dynamics. Picture PORCUPINE TREE shaken
and stired with THRESHOLD, or perhaps this comparison may describe it
well too..... SAGA swaping members with STAINED for and album? Either
way its very good and interesting. $12.99

IN-TENSION - FRAGMENTS
One could say that this album blends Neo-prog with a Violent guitars,
and some melancholic asmopheric keys They've produced a Debut with
beautiful tendencies, extremely well done, which never bores you!
Great Dutch progressive rock band with female vocals. In-Tension's
songs each evoke a unique atmosphere. Produced by Pieter Kop -sound
engineer at the live shows of Star One, Ayreon & Erik Norlander &
In-Tension of course! $12.99

NEW EDEN ORCHESTRA - Anyman
This their third release is a very entriging 18 track ROCK OPERA.
These songs run from a straight out rockers to a slightly strange
sounding music bordering on progressive heavy hooky songs. You will
find fun melodic music with clever writing, arrangements very good
lyrics. Some comparisons come to mind.....Salem Hill, Cryptic Vision
and Rocket Scientists. So if melodic progressive tunes are your
thing...This is what you want! $13.99

VENI DOMINE - THE Album of Labour
Finally the long awaited fourth album from the legendary band Veni
Domine is here! The band was formed 1987 and have since delivered
great doom and progressive metal. Apocalyptic message blended with the
signs seen today. Planned date of this great production, produced by
Torbjörn Weinesjö (Veni Domine & Divinefire) Don't miss your
opportunity to pick up this long awaited Masterpiece! $13.99

MICHAEL SADLER - CLEAR
Since 1978 Michael Sadler has fronted one of the most interesting and
enduring bands in prog, namely SAGA. As the *voice* of Saga, fans have
long hungered for a solo album for Michael, and in 1998 he put out
*Back Where You Belong* which was a very limited, online only release.
Now in 2004 Michael has finished his latest album *Clear* which has
him working with a variety of guests. Clear- is a combination of
revamped material from *Back Where You Belong* and newer songs, and is
a deeply personal work for Michael. There are songs here that will
resonate with you in a very personal way, and there are songs you will
want to sing along with. The music will appeal to fans of Saga, but
without sounding like another Saga album. You also get a chance to
hear Michael sings in ways he has not recorded before, like intimately
with a nylon Guitar, with very interesting vocal arrangements and
harmonies. This album has something for almost everyone, it has been a
long time in the making and should not be missed. $12.99

KICK AXE - IV
These Metal Masters have been around since the mid 80's, here is a
brand new metal offering from this Canadian band. New Album on MTM -
German Import $15.99

KINGDOM COME - Perpetual / Slip cover
New on Frontiers. Italian Import. LENNY WOLF RETURNS with a smokin new
Kingdom Come album! $14.99

ENERTIA - Force
ENERTIA's 4th brilliant release is Excellent indie US Power Metal.
Engineered and Produced by NEIL KERNON (Queensryche / Nevermore).
Mastered by Joe Gastwirt (Pearl Jam / Yes). 11 TRACKS. that will Blow
your speakers and your mind! $12.99

RESTOCKS!
JACK STARR's GUARDIANS OF THE FLAME - Under a Savage Sky
BOOK OF REFLECTIONS (Lion)
RANDY COVEN - Witch Way (Lion)
SILENCER - Found on the Sun (Steelheart)
BLACK STEEL - Destructor (Steelheart)
PROFOUND - Deep and Sincere (Steelheart)
HELLFIRE - Birth of the Nuclear Age
MORTIFIER - BLIND FAITH
MORTIFIER - IF TOMORROW COMES
TIMESCAPE - Strange (digi) on Adrenaline
VICIOUS CRUSADE - Forbidden Tunes
VICIOUS CRUSADE - THE UNBROKEN
EVIL WINGS "Colors of The New World"
EVIL WINGS - Kite - plus bonus trk
BYRON NEMETH GROUP - 100 WORLDS
BYRON NEMETH "2000"
SAINT - In The Battle (2004)
POWER OF OMENS - Rooms of Anquish
ASKA - Avenger - Special DIGI with 2 Bonus Video tracks
THRESHOLD - Subsurface (limited edition) on Insideout
PHIL VINCENT - Life is a Game
EMPIRE - TRADING SOULS
ELIAS VILJANEN - TAKING THE LEAD (Lion)
KELLY SIMONZ BLIND FAITH - THE RULE OF RIGHT (Lion)
JULLIET - PSYCHO BOYFRIEND (Metal Mayhem)
ADRIAN GALE - CRUNCH (2004) (Metal Mayhem)
7 HOURS LATER - It's About Time (Metal Mayhem)
WITHOUT LOVE "TROUBLE"
WESTWORLD - CYBERDREAMS

NIGHTMARE CD DISTRIBUTION
7751 GREENWOOD DRIVE, ST. PAUL, MN 55112 USA
Tel 763-784-9654
Fax 763-784-7914
Website (retail)
http://www.nightmare-records.com/
email Distro@...
or Sales@...

Payments accepted by PAYPAL, CREDIT CARD, Large Orders by wire
transfer if so inclined.

*
*** SPECIAL REPORT ***
*
by Sean P. Gahgan (lof@...)

-ProgPower USA V
September 16-18, 2004
Earthlink Live, Atlanta, GA

Glen Harveston's Progressive Power festival has blossomed into the
United States' best Metal festival over the past five years. He
continually brings in bands that the fans truly want to see. And that
is what this fest is all about, the fans! Many of these bands make
their debut on American soil at ProgPower. All the bands have meet and
greet/signing sessions, and many can be seen just walking around the
venue interacting with the fans, many play special sets just for just
for ProgPower, and there are often surprise guests appearing on stage.
As for the venue, Earthlink Live is great -- not a bad seat in the
house -- and hotels and transit access to the venue are all within
blocks of each other. Ninety dollars a ticket to see 10 bands, many of
which most of us will never get the opportunity to see, is the best
bargain out there. I always come out of this event hearing a band I
was not to familiar with and loving them. Overall ProgPower is an
awesome experience and I highly recommend it to all. So with that said
here is my experience of ProgPower USA V.

Thursday:

Unfortunately, thanks to Hurricane Ivan, our flight from Chicago to
Atlanta got canceled on Thursday morning and thus we missed the always
entertaining pre-show party. I heard that the show went on despite the
bad whether and a good time was had by all.

Friday:

On Friday afternoon I had the wonderful opportunity to talk to Chris
Caffery of Savatage/Trans-Siberian Orchestra fame about his new double
CD FACES/GOD DAMN WAR. We had a great conversation about Chris' first
solo effort, which is very good (I'll have a review shortly). I will
have the interview ready in the upcoming weeks. And I also had the
pleasure of talking to, for close to an hour, one of my all-time
favorite songwriters/musicians, Jon Oliva. He was gracious enough to
take time out after sound check to answer some questions for Neal
Woodall and myself. He was so openly honest, sincere, and frickin'
hilarious as only the Mountain King can be. I am looking forward to
transcribing our conversation so I can relive this simply amazing
interview.

The line to enter Earthlink Live was about 100 people long by 4 p.m.
and about 400 people long by the time the doors opened at 4:45 p.m.
(sound check ran late). If you have ever been to a festival like this
you should know that they often have the bands use common equipment.
This facilitates quick changeover between bands, which this year was
30 minutes. The drummers used one drum kit that would quickly be
reconfigured to fit their preference. Bass players used Ampeg heads
and bottoms. Guitarists chose from Peavey 5150, Line 6, or Mesa Boogie
Dual Rectifier heads and all used Marshall Bottoms. Musicians brought
their own guitars and basses and there were two Korg Tritons for the
keyboardists. I would assume that the guitarists got to choose the
amplifier they wished to use but for the life of me can't understand
why any of these bands chose to use the Line 6 amps. The few bands
that did had a very scratchy and tinty sound, unlike the smooth glassy
Boogie or the balls-out 5150.

Into Eternity (5:30 - 6:15)
I knew very little of Into Eternity and was busy perusing all of the
fine CDs that were available and did not catch most of their set. From
what I did hear they had some interesting vocals going on. The mix was
not very defined and a little muddy. Thus this is to be expected with
an opening band.

Dreamscape (6:45 - 7:30)
Clockwork / Short Time News / When Shadows Are Gone / The End Of Light
/ ???

I was really looking forward to seeing Dreamscape as I had heard many
good things about them. They had good support as many of their fans
were sporting Dreamscape shirts. Unfortunately the mix did not improve
and the bass was so muddy it made listening for the first couple of
songs unpleasant. Halfway through "When Shadows Are Gone" the mix
improved but the vocals were still too low in the mix. Roland Stoll
has a very distinct voice and needed to be more pronounced in the mix.
I was a little disappointed as he tended to shy away from some of the
higher notes he hits on the studio versions, but overall he sounded
pretty good. Musically the band sounded well and would have benefited
from a better mix.

Tad Morose (8:00 - 8:45)
??? / Cyberdome / Another Time Around / No Mercy / Ethereal Soul /
Sword Of Retribution / Take On The World / ??? / Matters Of The Dark /
Where The Sun Never Shines

Now this is when business picked up! By the time Tad Morose hit the
stage the floor was completely packed. The mix drastically improved
when these guys walked on stage and laid down some serious Power
Metal. This is the first time all weekend that the whole crowd was
banging away. Urban Breed sounded more powerful live than he does on
their CDs. He is energetic and has great stage presence. "Another Time
Around" was considerably faster live than on the CD but was just as
powerful. "No Mercy" had the crowd screaming and fists waving in the
air; they were eating this up! Tad Morose came across as a very
professional outfit. They played very tight, had excellent background
vocals and a very dominating stage presence. These guys quietly stole
the show much like Edguy did two years ago at ProgPower III. I
immediately went out and bought their latest CD, MODUS VIVENDI, and
have not stopped listening to it since! These guys ROCKED!

Kamelot (9:15 - 10:45)
Center Of The Universe / Wings Of Despair / Interlude I (Opiate Soul)
/ Edge Of Paradise / Nights Of Arabia / Fall From Grace / The Spell /
Wander / III Ways To Epica / Lost & Damned / guitar solo / Forever /
Call Of The Sea / Farewell // Karma

Now understand, in the past five years I have had a goal to see three
of my favorite bands -- Evergrey (three times), Primal Fear (two
times), and Kamelot (this is the first time) -- so this was the band I
was looking forward to seeing the most. I love and continually listen
to on regular bases EPICA, KARMA, and THE FOURTH LEGACY. The
production is phenomenal on these three CDs and thus my expectations
for them to sound incredible live was very high to say the least. But
how do you do reproduce live the phenomenal production and mix of
Sascha Paeth? What about the keyboards and orchestral arrangements of
Miro? The female background vocals of Mari? And most importantly, how
do you reproduce beautiful voice of Roy Khan Live? Well I'm about to
tell you because Kamelot was, hands down, in my humble opinion, the
best performance of the weekend. It was like a religious experience.
It moved me and brought my level of admiration for them to a new
level. There was no doubt about it, Kamelot was here to put on a show,
and you knew it from the moment the curtain drew back to reveal an
enormous backdrop with the Kamelot coat of arms, the two kick drum
heads were now sporting custom painted Kamelot artwork (only band of
the weekend to have this), and banners/backdrops were placed in front
of the amps. The backdrops were accented by the purple lights, which
seems to be Kamelot's color of choice. From the moment they blasted
into "Center Of The Universe" the sound was pristine and clear and the
mix was great... How did they accomplish this? By having their own FOH
(front of house) mixer. Before they came on stage I noticed that a
different guy had stepped behind the mixer board and imeadidatly
started dialing things in. Thomas Youngblood brought his own rack and
his guitar sound was identical to that of the records. While the
background vocals were a little low at first by the time they charged
into "Wings Of Despair" they were lush and full. Thomas in particular
was sounding great while singing harmonies. Roy Kan put on a vocal
clinic. His voice was in perfect pitch and projected the heartfelt
emotion and imagery that these songs carry. Hands down, he was the
best singer of the festival and one of the finest I have ever had the
pleasure of hearing. "Edge Of Paradise" was executed to perfection.
The bizarre moment of the set came during "Nights of Arabia":
Midnight, of Crimson Glory fame, came out to sing and never said a
word? Maybe it was a miscue or possibly the wrong song but it was kind
of funny. Another surprise, albeit a good one, came on "Fall From
Grace" (one of my favorite Kamelot songs). A woman (I apologize but I
could not confirm who it was, it could have been Thomas' wife) came
out, dressed as Helena, and performed the female vocals. She had an
absolutely stunning voice and complemented Roy so well; the two
singing together was magic. "The Spell" was next and by this time
Kamelot firmly had the capacity crowd in "a spell." Roy Khan really
let his talent shine through on "Wander," one of the two beautiful
ballads on EPICA. The slow, soothing, beautiful melody allowed Roy to
demonstrate his truly dynamic range. The beautiful and lush keyboards
were provided compliments of one of the best and most underrated
keyboard players around, Gunter Werno (Vanden Plas). Gunter's
keyboards were highlighted many times throughout the set and he ripped
off a very cool keyboard solo after "Wander." It was also Gunter's
birthday so the guys did a round of shots on stage with him. Next up
was a very special treat as Roy announced there were going to play a
song they never had played live before, "III Ways To Epica." This
being my favorite song off of EPICA, I was about ready to call it a
night after that as I didn't think anything there after could top it.
When Roy belted out the lyrics, "What if God took away the one thing I
wanted / Maybe God is a melody we all serenade" I just fell back into
my seat in awe of the power that Roy wielded. It was amazing. Helena
had also joined in singing on this song and was awesome -- absolutely
a phenomenal performance. Thomas did a short moody guitar solo and
towards the end started playing the melody from "Forever" which
brought out the cheers and screams from the enthusiastic crowd.
Naturally, "Forever" followed the solo. Next was take two for Midnight
as they performed "Call Of The Sea" from Kamelot's debut ETERNITY. Ben
Jackson (Crimson Glory) came out as well to accompany Thomas on
guitar. They paused in the middle for some crowd participation and
sing-a-long. Midnight sounded very good on this song and got a large
round of applause. There was some trading of solos between Ben and
Thomas which was also cool. They went through a quick introduction of
the band and then aptly ended the set with "Farwell." Upon finishing
and leaving the stage the audience immediately started a chant
"Kamelot...Kamelot...Kamelot" which prompted the band to come out for
an encore. The title track from 2001's release KARMA was played and
bestowed upon the crowd one last treasure before they were done for
the night. All in all Kamelot was the highlight of the weekend for me.
Never have I had such high expectations for a band and had them met
than I had with them. Simply brilliant!

Jon Oliva's Pain (11:15 - 12:00)
I'm Not Alone / Pain / Guardian Of Forever / Walk Alone / Father, Son,
Holy Ghost / Nowhere To Run / All The Time // Medley: Somewhere In
Time/When The Crowds Are Gone/A Little Too Far

Before the curtain was drawn back Jon was warming up and joking around
with the crowd, playing polkas and telling jokes, indicating we were
in for a fun night! When the curtain did draw back it revealed Jon set
up in the middle of the stage with a keyboard (Triton) and a mic. He
was joined by the rest of Jon Oliva's Pain (all ex-Circle II Circle
members). We were lucky enough to hear seven songs from their upcoming
CD entitled 'TAGE MAHAL, scheduled to be released October 25 in Europe
and October 26 in the US. The songs surprisingly sound a lot like
Savatage meets the Beatles. Believe it or not, the Beatles are Jon's
favorite and biggest influence. All the songs sounded great and they
were quite diverse. The song that stuck out the most was "Pain" as Jon
integrated song titles from his past into a story that was very
amusing. One thing that really stood out to me for never have heard
any of these songs previously, was the stellar sound and guitar
playing of Matt LaPorte. The solos he performed in these songs were
very tasteful and well constructed; Matt's style reminded me a good
blend of Chris Caffery and Al Pitrelli. There were some very cool dual
leads as well with the new seconnd guitarist (whose name I missed). I
was very impressed with the band and the new songs, and 'TAGE MAJAL is
going to be a fabulous release. Jon sounded good singing his new stuff
but struggled a bit on a few notes as the melodies on the new songs
seemed very challenging to pull off live. As Jon went into a medley of
Savatage's "Somewhere In Time," "When The Crowds Are Gone," and "A
Little Too Far" with just piano and himself singing he sounded the
best vocally. At this time the stage, drums, etc. were being
reconfigured for Weapons Of Mass Destruction. Jon was joking and
laughing the whole time emphasizing that this should be fun and that
they were going to pull out some real old stuff for the fans.

Weapons Of Mass Destruction (12:00 - 1:30)
City Beneath The Surface / The Dungeons Are Calling / Sirens /
Mentally Yours (intro) / New York City Don't Mean Nothing / Jesus
Saves / Hyde / Thorazine Shuffle / Tonight He Grins Again / Somewhere
In Time / Believe / Edge Of Thorns / Temptation Revelation / Gutter
Ballet // Power Of The Night // Hall Of The Mountain King

Note: Zak Stevens severely injured his hand and was not able to attend
ProgPower V as originally scheduled.

When Caffery, Doc Wacholz, and Kevin Rothney hit the stage Jon jumped
out from behind his keyboard and WOMD was unleashed on the audience
with a trifecta of early, classic Savatage. The crowd went ballistic
as the band blazed through "City Beneath The Surface," "The Dungeons
Are Calling," and "Sirens" with fists in the air and heads banging.
The screams on "Sirens" fell a little short but the rest of the vocals
on these three songs were just belted out with ease from Jon; he has
such a powerful voice. The intro to "Mentally Yours" led into "New
York City Don't Mean Nothing" which the crowd really seemed to enjoy.
"Jesus Saves" was well received and well sung by the crowd. Chris
Caffery just tore it up on guitar. He had a monster guitar sound that
simply wailed!!! I always admired how much he respected Criss Oliva's
playing and played his solos note for note, and now over time, he has
become a guitar hero himself -- he is much underrated. Next, Jon said
they would do a song they had never played live and they ripped out
"Hyde" from 1986's FIGHT FOR THE ROCK. This song sounded very good and
thanks to the stellar musicians playing with Jon, it sounded like they
had played it a 100 times before. "Believe" was definitely a crowd
favorite and Jon really put his heart and soul into this one, a very
touching song. Matt LaPorte came out at this time and joined in on
guitar. Jon said, "Surprise we're gonna let Caffery sing this one,"
and they led into "Edge Of Thorns" which prompted the crowd to erupt.
Now at this point, I had not heard Chris Caffery's solo CD so I did
not know what to expect, but let me tell you, he sounded damn good. I
would say he his voice resembles a slightly less powerful Zak Stevens.
Imagine that?!? (Now after listening to FACES and GOD DAMN WAR I would
say his vocal style is a cross between Zak and Jon Oliva, not
surprising when he has been surrounded by both for many years.) The
performance was great and the addition of the second guitar really
filled out the sound. The combination of "Temptation Revelation" and
"Gutter Ballet" rocked the crowd as well. Most thought that was the
end of the show as the band briefly departed the stage but the
capacity crowd beckoned them back for none other than "Power Of The
Night" which again found Caffery in front of the mic. Having warmed up
with one song already this one just seemed to flow out of him and made
me even more interested in hearing his solo release. With the dual
guitar attack still in place this song was presented much heavier than
it appeared on its original release. Again they briefly left stage but
we all knew the night would not be complete until Jon Oliva's
trademark bellowed through the Earthlink Live. Chris and Jon entered
back on to the stage and Chris played a brief, albeit, emotional solo
and then the Mountain King arose from behind the keyboards, they went
into "Hall Of The Mountain King," and the crowd went bonkers!!! The
whole crowd rose to its feet giving a standing ovation to a true Metal
Icon and his band of merry musicians. A fabulous performance and truly
special event that many have may have thought was a one-time event.
What do I mean by that? You will have to wait for my interview with
the Mountain King himself in the next couple weeks. ;-)

Saturday:

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday as we entered the Arena for day two
of ProgPower V. By the show of Edguy shirts, it was quite apparent who
everyone was there to see and absolutely no doubt who was headlining
tonight. Upon entering the venue it was hard not to notice the line
that had formed to meet the wild and crazy Germans in Edguy. A quick
count tallied up 250 people in line for their signing session that was
by far the most at any given time during the weekend. The Brainstorm
following was quite well represented as well with their fans sporting
T-shirts.

Adagio (5:30 - 6:15)
I'll be the first to admit that I knew little about Adagio going into
the show... All I knew was that David Readman (Pink Cream 69) had just
left the band and that they had a new singer. Adagio hit the stage
with enthusiasm but the mix was very muddy and it was hard to
distinguish the different instruments. There were some interesting
dual harmony leads between guitarist Stephan Forte and keyboardist
Kevin Codfert. I was not too impressed with new singer, Gus Monsanto.
Granted the mix was poor but he seemed to lack power and was not
always on key. It was enough to prompt me to go out and find that
latest Tad Morose CD.

Wuthering Heights (6:45 - 7:30)
I only caught the tail end of this set. Singer Nils Patrik Johansson
sounded strong and they had some interesting melodies going on but I
didn't see enough of them to make a fair assessment. The floor was
two-thirds full and the crowd definitely seemed to be into them.

Brainstorm (8:00 - 9:00)
Shiva's Tears / Blind Suffering / ??? / Doorway To Survive / Voices /
Hollow Hideaway / Fornever / The Leading / Highs Without Lows / Under
Lights / Amarillo

After only seeing three songs from Brainstorm in Cleveland at BW&BK's
6-Pack Weekend II, thanks to an unannounced rearranging of the time
slots, I was really looking forward to seeing this quintet from
Germany. The floor was completely packed when the house lights dimmed
and a familiar yet oddly out of place voice came over the P.A. Lo and
behold, it was Neil Diamond singing "Beautiful Noise." The song played
for about a minute and then the sound of a phonograph needle
scratching across vinyl pierced the arena (can you say "Fast As A
Shark"?). Brainstorm exploded onto the stage with "Shiva's Tears" and
was tight and heavy from the get-go. Andy B. Franck had a very strong
voice that was clear and powerful. My only complaint is that they were
using the Line 6 amplifiers and their guitar sound was very thin and
brittle at times. "Voices," one of my personal favorites, went over
extremely well and it was the first time they played it in nearly four
years. During this song Andy made the classiest move all weekend.
There was a fan in a wheelchair that couldn't get to close to the
stage so Andy jumped down into the crowd just to shake his hand --
that was cool. When asked about it later her said, "If the fans can't
come to me, I'll go to the fans." Since he was already on the floor he
made his way through the crowd across the front of the stage slapping
hands and giving high fives. Andy took a couple of pauses during the
set to say how excited and happy the band was to be at ProgPower V and
thanked the fans ever so much. During "Hollow Hideaway," the whole
crowd was a sea of banging heads; the fans were definitely getting
into Brainstorm! The harmony vocals sounded great all night and the
band was in a groove for the entire set. Andy nailed the high notes in
"The Leading" dead nut and came across as being in great condition as
he ran all over the stage. They ended the show with the somewhat goofy
"Amarillo," originally done by Tony Christie. The band hammed it up on
the song but it seemed out of place after their otherwise powerful
set. After seeing these guys live, their latest CD SOUL TEMPTATION is
even more appealing to me. More Brainstorm is on its way to The Lake
of Fire.

At this point in the show Glenn Harveston came on stage and gave out
thank-yous. A chant reminiscent of the Starbucks commercial --
"Glenn...Glenn, Glenn, Glenn" (to the tune of Survivor's "Eye Of The
Tiger") -- broke out and was hilarious! He got one of the biggest pops
of the weekend as well as a standing ovation...and he deserved it. He
said it was very special to have one of his idols and someone he
considers a legend play at ProgPower V, and Jon Oliva came out and
gave him a big hug. It was nice for all of the people that work so
hard and do such a great job get some recognition.

Pain Of Salvation (9:30 - 11:00)
I am not a big fan of this band but there definitely was a strong
contingent of Pain Of Salvation fans in attendance. The crowd thinned
out a bit, the arena was about two-thirds full, but those that did
stay to watch were loving every minute of their performance. I am not
familiar with a lot of their music but as musicians they were very
tight and the sound was good.

Edguy (11:30 - 1:30)
Freak Show / Navigator / Land Of The Miracle / Lavatory Love Machine /
Vain Glory Opera / ??? / Key To My Fate / ??? / drum solo / Fallen
Angels / ??? / guitar solo / The Piper Never Dies / King Of Fools //
Avantasia / Wake Up The King // Out Of Control

Man was this crowd jacked up to see Edguy, by far the most anticipated
band of the weekend. When the lights dimmed and Tobias Sammet's voice
came over the sound system and said, "Ladies and Gentleman welcome to
the Freak Show," that was it -- all hell broke loose! These Germans
ran out on stage and proceeded to tear the house down. They were loud,
tight and energetic. They definitely were enjoying themselves and
Tobias is one hell of a charismatic front man. The bass was a little
too loud in the mix during the first song but by the time they hit
"Navigator" everything was sounding fine. The background vocals were
stellar as everyone sang, minus drummer Felix Bohnke. "Land Of The
Miracle" went over extremely well live and had the whole crowd
singing. Tobias started a little "whoa whoa" chant with the crowd and
had the audience yelling at the top of its lungs when they went into
the fun loving "Lavatory Love Machine." I am not big into drum solos
but when Felix was left to bang one out, he played briefly by himself
and then pounded along with the "Imperial March" (John Williams/"Star
Wars") -- it was very stylish and cool, and the crowd ate it up. There
was a guitar solo played before "The Piper Never Dies," the longest
and one of the best tracks from Edguy's latest, HELLFIRE CLUB. This
epic piece was played to perfection and never dragged; again the
background vocals were just outstanding. I can't say enough about what
a great front man Tobias Sammet is -- the way he interacts with the
crowd is so personable he makes it feel as if he is talking right at
you. At this moment he said he was having a little trouble with his
voice but he was giving it his all as he was so happy to be here. This
was true as he wasn't hitting all of the high notes he normally would
but his overall performance was great. Anyone who had seen Edguy at
ProgPower III will remember his audience participation with the word
"F*#K" -- there is no way to describe it, just believe me when I say
the whole crowd was into it and laughing hysterically. The set ended
with "King Of Fools" which came off strong live. I was happy to hear
five new songs off of the very strong HELLFIRE CLUB. Immediately after
they left the stage the "Edguy" chants broke out and were the loudest
of the night. The band came back out and Tobias told the audience that
they have a very special surprise, and out came Rob Rock to sing
"Avantasia" with the band. Very cool harmonies and Rob integrated
himself into the song perfectly. The crowd loved this song and was
incredibly enthusiastic even though it was after 1:00 a.m. and most
had been there for over eight hours. After the song Rob took his bow
and exited stage right. Tobias, with that sly grin on his face asked
if we wanted more... The crowd responded with an overwhelming cry for
more, and he proceeded to tell us all that he had another surprise...
And out walked Timo Koltipelto (Stratovarius). Edguy proceeded to plow
through "Wake Up The King." What amazed me on this song was, for as
strong as Tobias's vocal performance was, when Timo sang, he flat-out
overpowered him. The projection of Timo's voice is amazing. He sang
effortlessly and oh so powerful. The two belted out the best harmonies
of the night by far. Again, the crowd just ate it up. Timo got a
standing ovation as he left the stage. Tobias thanked the crowd and
relayed Edguy's appreciation, just as he had done throughout the
night, before the last song of the night, "Out Of Control." They
pulled out all stops on this song running around and banging heads.
The crowd gave them a standing ovation as they took their bows. Edguy
was tight, powerful, and extremely entertaining, a top-notch
performance. After seeing this show my Edguy collection has started to
grow.

ProgPower V Awards

Coolest Gesture By A Band Member Award - Andy B. Franck from
Brainstorm for going above and beyond the call of duty to shake hands
with a fan in a wheelchair.

Stole The Show Award - Tad Morose. These guys gained a great deal of
new fans this weekend -- awesome live band.

Fan Favorite Award - Edguy, no doubt the band most people came to see.

Best Singer Award - Roy Khan from Kamelot. He put on a vocal clinic,
pure and simple, and his voice and vocal technique are in the upper
echelon of any singers regardless of style.

Monster Guitarist Award - Chris Caffery. Chris has really come into
his own in the last few years and his performance this year proved it.
His playing and sound this weekend were outstanding.

Love 'Em Or Leave 'Em Award - Pain Of Salvation. The crowd really
thinned out for these guys but the ones that did stick around were
fanatic and loved every minute of their set.

Most Energetic Band Award - Edguy

Relevant links:

Adagio
http://www.adagio-online.com/

Brainstorm
http://www.truemetal.org/brainstorm/

Chris Caffery
http://www.chriscaffery.com/

Circle II Circle
http://www.circle2circle.net/

Dreamscape
http://www.dreamscape.de/

Earthlink Live
http://www.earthlinklive.com/

Edguy
http://www.edguy.net/

Into Eternity
http://www.intoeternity.com/

Kamelot
http://www.kamelot.com/

Jon Oliva
http://www.jonoliva.net/

Pain Of Salvation
http://www.painofsalvation.com/

ProgPower USA
http://www.progpowerusa.com/

Tad Morose
http://www.tadmorose.com/

Wuthering Heights
http://www.wuthering-heights.dk/

*
*** OUT ***
*

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