Detritus
Issue #382
Week of September 25, 2006
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*
*** CAST OF CHARACTERS ***
*
Patrick Brower, Editor
patrickbrower@...

Sean P. Gahgan, Editor
lof@...

Tim Wadzinski, Owner
tsw512@...

Steve Shumake, Co-owner
vongoober@...
http://www.vongoober.com/

*
*** LET IT BE KNOWN ***
*
-So here's kind of a special issue. I say "special," you might say
"incomplete." Y'see, there be no press releases or new items in this
issue. But instead, check out a humdinger of a ProgPower USA report
from Sean, columns from Patrick and Neal, and a bevy of reviews from
the gang. (Both of my bosses chose to go on vacation this week leaving
me far beyond swamped here at work... I've had no time to collect
anything besides what our illustrious writers sent in!)

-Oh yeah, and Sean -- Wow. Congrats man. :) - Tim

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

-ProgPower USA VII: A Weekend I Will Never Forget

http://www.progpowerusa.com/

Wow... Where do I begin... This review of ProgPower VII, USA's premier
Metal festival, is very different than any review I have done before.
This was my fourth ProgPower and was by far the most memorable. Why
you ask? The reasons will become clear as the story unfolds... Please
read on.

Pre-Show Party
Thursday, September 14th
Center Stage, Atlanta GA.

For the first year ever the pre-show party was moved from the crappy
little stage in The Loft (upstairs bar from Center Stage) to the main
stage. The early sellout of tickets prompted the move as Circle II
Circle and Circus Maximus really pulled in a lot of people.

Theocracy
"Prelude," "Ichthus," "Mountain," "The Serpent's Kiss," "The Writing
In The Sand," "New Jerusalem," "Twist Of Fate"

Theocracy opened the pre-show party. I am not that familiar with there
music and thus can only comment on a few aspects of their performance.
Matt Smith (guitar/lead vocals) seemed to be enjoying himself on stage
but his second guitarist and bass player were very reserved, content
to stand in their spots and accompany Matt. Overall I was not that
impressed with them and Matt Smith's vocals were off key more than a
few times. The mix was pretty bad but that is expected for the first
band.

http://www.theocracymusic.com/

Circus Maximus
<new song>, "Sin," "Why Am I Here," "Prophecy," <new song>, "Glory Of
The Empire" "Silence From Angels Above," <new song>, "Imperial
Destruction," "Alive," "My Destiny" (new song)

Circus Maximus surprised a great deal of people last year gaining the
second slot on the opening night without even having an album out at
the time the lineup was announced. Their blend of progressive musical
passages with the incredibly melodic and beautiful voice of Michael
Eriksen won over a vast majority of the crowd, so much so that Shane
Dubose (pre-show party organizer) brought them back to play at the
pre-show this year. It was a wise choice as they had the floor packed
and by far the largest crowd of the night. The band played four new
songs, all of which upon first listen sounded very good. Two of them
were a little less progressive and very catchy with lots of back
ground vocals. On one of the songs Michael sounded very similar to
Tony Mills (Shy/TNT) which in my book is a great compliment. Speaking
of vocals, it is amazing after a year of performing together how much
the background vocals have improved. All five members sing and sing
incredibly well together; the backgrounds were awesome and by far the
best of the festival. I anxiously await the new CD as the songs I have
heard seem more focused, catchy, and memorable. Their over all
performance was great and they genuinely seemed happy to be up on
stage.

http://www.circusmaximussite.com/

Leatherwolf
"Thunder," "Dr. Wicked," "Street Ready," "The Calling," "Gypsies &
Thieves"

That is only a partial set list as I can't remember all of the songs
they performed. I did like Leatherwolf the most of all of three bands
at the Pre-Show Party. Wade Black did a kick ass job on vocals, sang
the old songs great, the new ones sounded better live than the samples
I have heard. The dual guitar leads were awesome; you just don't see
that kind of playing much these days. They were energetic and really
seem to be enjoying themselves on stage. The only thing that
disappointed me is that I expected Wade to rip it a little more than
he did. After his incredible performance on ASTRONOMICA by Crimson
Glory, I wanted to here him wail on some of these Leatherwolf songs
which he never did. Don't get me wrong, he sang the songs just fine, I
just expected a little more.

http://www.leatherwolfmusic.com/

Circle II Circle
"Lies," "Circle," "Open Season," "Hollow," "All That Remains,"
"Watching In Silence," "Edge Of Thorns," "Handful Of Rain,"
"Evermore," "Revelations," "Heal You," "Burden Of Truth," "Live As
One," "Sarajevo/This Is The Time"

Zak Stevens came out pumped up and ready to rip... The mix was not
that good with the drums drowning out most everything else. As much as
I was looking forward to seeing Circle II Circle, I just wasn't that
impressed. Both guitarists were playing Gibson SGs and I did not think
their guitar sound was that great. Granted this is all based upon the
first five songs as I left after that. Which I am kicking myself in
the ass for now as the one song I really wanted to hear, "Edge Of
Thorns," they played shortly thereafter. I was told the crowd, which
filled 3/4ths of the venue went nuts!!! Followed by "Handful Of Rain,"
a good friend of mine said Zak sounded the best on these two songs.
The crowd was really into these guys. The band was full of energy and
really got the crowd riled up.

http://www.circle2circle.net/

ProgPower Day 1
Friday, September 15th
Center Stage, Atlanta GA.

Pyramaze
"The Birth," "What Lies Beyond," "Sleepy Hollow," "Melancholy Beast,"
"Souls In Pain," "Legend," "The Bone Carver," "Ancient Words Within,"
"Power Of Imagination"

This was by far the largest crowd I have ever seen assembled for an
opening band at ProgPower. The floor was packed and the venue was over
3/4ths full for a band starting at 5:10 in the afternoon. To say that
Pyramaze was eagerly anticipated would be an understatement. The band
proved worthy as the blasted through an hour long set of songs from
their debut MELANCHOLY BEAST and their latest LEGEND OF THE BONE
CARVER. Being a longtime fan of Lance King's voice (ex-Balance Of
Power) I was curious to see how he sounded live. He did not
disappoint. Although they piped in background vocal tracks to mimic
what was performed in the studio, they were in the background and
Lance's live voice was the focal point. The rest of the band was
extremely tight for a group that has played limited gigs together over
the past few years. I was happy to hear "What Lies Beyond" and
"Ancient Words Within" which I feel are two of the strongest songs off
of their latest. "Legend" which is my favorite song off of MELENCOLY
BEAST was played and gave me chills. Lance really nailed this one
showing off his wide vocal range and the crowd loved it. As for the
mix I was disappointed in the kick drum, again, as it was overbearing,
especially during double bass parts and the rhythm guitars were barely
audible. Despite these shortcomings in the sound, Pyramaze did an
awesome job. As much as I loved Stride last year opening up on
Saturday night, Pyramaze just may be the best first slot band to have
ever played the fest.

http://www.pyramaze.com/

Savage Circus
"Evil Eyes," "Between The Devil And The Seas," "Waltz Of The Demon,"
"Tomorrowland," "It - The Gathering," "Beyond Reality," "When Hell
Awakes," "Ghost Story," "Born Again By The Night," "Ca Plane Pour Moi"
(Plastic Bertrand cover)

Only caught a little but of Savage Circus as I headed back to the
hotel for a much needed shower after Pyramaze. The band was tight and
received a good response. They didn't quite have the crowd that
Pyramaze had but the floor was jumping. I heard more than a few
disappointing comments on how the singer was reading the lyrics of the
floor stage for a part of the show.

http://www.savage-circus.com/

Freak Kitchen
"Silence!," "Rights To You," "Porno Daddy," "Speak When Spoken To,"
"Snap," "Taste My Fist / Chopstick Boogie," "Dildo Sing Along," "My
New Haircut," "Hateful Little People," "Vaseline Business/Samba,"
"Razor Flowers," "Propaganda Pie"

Wow...these guys were awesome. I didn't know what to expect but after
the epic songs of Pyramaze and the raw power of Savage Circus this was
exactly what the crowd needed. Mattias Eklundh is one of the most
entertaining front men/guitarists that I have ever seen. I laughed my
ass off at his comments and stage antics. Instead of the usual "How
the fuck are you" to the crowd he was running around yelling "Goody
goody" and the crowd was eating it up. The band was tight as can be
and really rocked. The guitar playing reminded me a little of Steve
Vai/Eddie Van Halen with all of the whammy bar/tapping things Mattias
played but this guy is much heavier and innovative. I have never seen
the aforementioned guitarists play a guitar solo with a dildo...that
was hysterical. He also sat down and played the guitar on his lap. He
was just outrageous without going overboard. For a power trio they
made a lot of noise. Freak Kitchen was perfect in the third slot. Many
of the people I talked to the next day were blown away by them.

http://www.freakkitchen.com/

Mercenary
"Redefine Me," "Year Of The Plague," "Firesoul," "World Hate Center,"
"Lost Reality," "Loneliness," "Soul Decision," "Simplicity Demand,"
"Seize The Night," "Cowboys From Hell," "11 Dreams"

This is probably the most rowdy the crowd got... No, there was no mosh
pit, but to say the crowd was enthusiastic would be an understatement.
What impressed me the most was that after an hour of singing, Mikkel
Sandager sounded just as strong, if not stronger than when he started.
To sing his style and remain that intense for that long...well he was
just outright awesome. The band was solid and blazed through a set
that the crowd responded well for. I personally can do with our the
death style vocals I so affectionately refer to as "Cookie Monster
Vocals" supplied by bassist Rene Pedersen, but I understand it's these
vocals mixed with the intensity of Mikkel singing that make up the
forefront of Mercenary. I was very impressed and thankful they ended
the show with my favorite, "11 Dreams."

http://www.mercenary.dk/

Evergrey
Act 1: "The Great Deceiver," "As I Lie Here Bleeding," "Obedience,"
"More Than Ever," "Watching The Skies," "Mark Of The Triangle,"
"Blinded," "In Remembrance," "Till Dagmar," "Still In The Water,"
"Monday Morning Apocalypse," "I'm Sorry"

Act 2: "When The Walls Go Down," "Recreation Day," "Solitude Within,"
"Nosferatu," "The Shocking Truth," "She Speaks To The Dead," "When The
River Calls"

Encore: "For Every Tear That Falls," "Touch Of Blessing," "The
Masterplan"

All right my friends, this is where it gets interesting... Please bear
with me on this as it may be a bit lengthy but I need to give you the
premise of the situation.

Evergrey is one of my favorite bands. I have been a fan ever since I
heard "For Every Tear That Falls" off of THE DARK DISCOVERY and fell
in love with Thomas S. Englund's overwhelmingly emotionally unique
voice. I have seen them every time they have played the Chicagoland
area and I also had the unique opportunity to see them film the A
NIGHT TO REMEMBER DVD in Goteborg, Sweden. I have interviewed Tom and
the band for Detritus as well as reviewing their CDs. On more than one
occasion I have had the opportunity to drink a beer with the guys and
have some good conversations. I feel like I have grown with this band
and they are truly a great bunch of people, thus I wish them all the
success they have and will receive.

With that said this is how their set unfolded. There was no doubt that
Evergrey was the band that the overwhelming majority of the fans came
to see. With the exception of the official ProgPower T-shirts,
Evergrey had more fans wearing their various T-shirts than any other
band. I was very happy to hear them open with "The Great Deceiver" and
not "Blinded." I love "Blinded" but the last five times I have seen
them, that was their opening song. Along with "As I Lie Here Bleeding"
this was a great one-two punch. Unfortunately, again the bass drums
were a little overwhelming, drowning out the rhythm guitar. This was
surprising as Evergrey had their own sound guy mixing for them. On the
contrary, the choir of Carina Englund, Tinna Karlsdotter, and Andy
Engberg were mixed very well and could always be heard. Also, the
keyboards of Rikard Zander were always audible and sat just right in
the mix providing the perfect ambiance within the songs as well as
some cool solo bridges from song to song. "Obedience" was the first
new song they played off of MONDAY MORNING APACOLYPSE and it was just
as heavy live as it is on the CD. It was obvious the crowd was not as
into this particular song as the more familiar ones. Their reaction
changed as they went into "More Than Ever" from THE INNER CIRCLE. The
band was firing on all cylinders at this time and the crowd was in
full swing. Towards the close of the first set they played four new
songs that all flowed very well from one to the next. "In Remembrance"
was awesome with the choir and rest of the band singing the ominous
chorus, very moving. The beautiful "Till Dagmar" piano solo was a
perfect segue way into "Still In The Water," which came off much
better live than I anticipated it. But the crowd blew up when they
went into "Monday Morning Apocalypse" -- it just plain crushed! The
ended the set with one of my favorite Evergrey songs, the cover
version of Dilba's "I'm Sorry" which was stunning, the desperation and
angst that Tom has in his voice just gives me goose bumps every time I
hear it...and in that live environment it was spectacular! After that
song, the curtain was drawn so that they could get set up for the
Atlanta String Quartet.

During this brief intermission I decided to take a washroom break as
did my girlfriend. I returned to my seat just in time to hear the
opening piano of "When The Walls Come Down." The crowd was chanting
"Sting quartet, string quartet" which is an odd thing to hear at a
metal show. With the curtain drawn back there was the string quartet
stage left. I noticed my girlfriend was not back from the washroom yet
and I became anxious as this is only the second time Evergrey has
every played live with a string quartet and I really wanted her to see
it. This song is so eerie and emotional with the two men speaking in
the background (this was pre-recorded). When Jonas kicks in with the
drums the crowd begins to cheer louder. As the voice speaks "We have
sinned" and the band crashed into the heavy rhythm all hell broke
loose as the crowd exploded. This is such an emotional song and there
is no singing! I began to get aggravated as my girlfriend had not yet
returned and I am thinking to myself, "DamN, she is missing the best
part of the show." The song ended and the band went into the title
track of 2003's RECREATION DAY. This song is so much heavier live than
on the CD...the beginning is crushingly heavy. Again...no girlfriend.
At this point I am beginning to think she is pissed at me and not
returning just because she knows how much I want her to see this part
of the show. As the band is more than halfway blazing through the song
all of a sudden the come to a screeching halt...they just stop on a
dime. From this moment on my memory is a bit fuzzy as I basically went
into a state of shock. Tom walks up to the microphone and says that
they are going to do something special right now and he would like to
invite a girl out on stage. So out walks the girl in a short black
dress and she starts to speak. I sat there and thought to myself, "Who
is this chick on stage...get on with the show" and then it hit me like
a ton of bricks -- THAT WAS MY GIRLFRIEND ON STAGE!!!! As soon as I
made the connection (one of my best friends was sitting right next to
me as well as my father, they said it took me 10 seconds to realize it
was her), I knew exactly what she was going to do. Tom handed her the
microphone and she said there was someone special in the audience that
she wanted to invite down to the stage. She said "Sean will you please
come to the stage?" As I got up and began to make my way to the stage
the 1,200 people in attendance started chanting my name..."Sean...
Sean...Sean..." I made my way through the sea of people on the floor
and made it to the side access to the stage. As I walked on stage the
crowd was still going crazy... I think they figured out what was going
on by then. I walked up to Tom whom was standing next to Angelia; I
shook his hand and pulled him in and said "Thank you for this." What
took place next is the most special thing anyone has ever done for me.

Angelia told Evergrey and the crowd how special the band is to me and
how it was the first concert that I ever took her to see. She then
said that guys don't get two rings, so instead of a ring she got me a
solid gold guitar pick inscribed with the words "I Pic U Forever." She
then asked me to marry her...on stage...with the guys in Evergrey
watching...as well as 1,200 people... To say I was overwhelmed would
not do the situation justice. I guess I was silent for a little too
long as Angelia said "This is the time that you would answer me." The
crowd found that very humorous. I then said "Yes, I will" and gave her
a big hug and kiss! I was still in a state of shock and Tom obviously
saw this so he led Angelia and I back to the drum riser, sat us down,
gave us each a can of Budweiser, turned around and just like that the
band blasted right back into "Recreation Day." It was as if I was in a
dream... Here I am sitting on the stage with Evergrey, the girl of my
dreams just asked me to marry her, the band is wailing away, 1,200
people are going bonkers...it was surreal. When the band finished the
song we stood up and I shook Tom's hand once again and thanked him for
allowing us to grace the stage during their biggest show ever in the
US.

The band kept playing as my Angelia and I stood backstage discussing
what just happened and the events leading up to it. I won't go into
all of the details as this is a ProgPower review and not an engagement
story, but let me just say that she spent over six months planning
this. The guys in Evergrey, as well as Glenn Harveston (ProgPower
promoter) bent over backwards to help her pull this off. They didn't
have to agree to this but they did and it goes to show you the kind of
people they are, I will forever be grateful to them.

I missed the rest of the second set for obvious reasons, but all who
witnessed said that it was phenomenal. "Nosferatu" and "Solitude
Within" went over well with the crowd as I heard those two songs
mentioned often in discussions with people. We made it back to our
seats for the encore as I wanted Angelia to hear "For Every Tear That
Falls" from the front of the stage and not from behind as it is her
favorite Evergrey song. Carina Englund's voice is so beautiful... To
witness her sing this song with Tom sends shivers down my spine --
absolutely stunning. "A Touch O Blessing" and the usally show closer
"Masterplan" ended the set. But, as the audience thought all the
surprises were over with, lo and behold the Evergrey boys had one more
surprise up their sleeve. Unbeknownst to anyone of us, Henrik
Danhage's girlfriend came out and asked him to marry her... I am not
making this up -- it was absolutely crazy!!! Tom brought a couple of
bottles of champaign out and they all toasted!!! Hey Tom... Why do
Angelia and I get a warm Budweiser and you guys get champaign??? Ha
Ha... Just kidding! Evergrey jammed "The Masterplan" chorus a few more
times and then ends the show.

What else can I say... I will never, ever forget this night!!! Those
guys have a special place in my heart as well as Glenn for helping my
beautiful fiancee pull this off.

http://www.evergrey.net/

ProgPower Day 2
Saturday, September 16th
Center Stage, Atlanta GA.

Zero Hour
No set list available

I got about a whole four hours of sleep on Friday night, actually
Saturday morning. I held our seats until our group showed up and then
went and took a shower during Zero Hour's set. My Dad thought they
were pretty good but unfortunately that is all I can say about them.

http://www.zerohourweb.com/

Vision Divine
"The Perfect Machine," "First Day Of A Never-ending Day," "Stream Of
Consciousness," "The Secret Of Life," "Colours Of My World," "The
Ancestor's Blood," "In The Light," "The Fallen Feather," "La Vita
Fugge," "Versions Of The Same," "God Is Dead"

This is one of the bands my father and I were most looking forward to
seeing. I was very curious to hear if Michele Luppi has as good a
voice live as he does in the studio, especially with all of the
background and harmonies he does with himself. Well guess what? He
sounds incredible live! He was flat out awesome and was the best
singer in my opinion all weekend. Vision Divine piped in a few
background and harmonies during their set but it in no way took away
from the power, range, and diversity that Michele displayed. Their set
contained all of the songs I wanted to hear minus "Send Me An Angel."
The sound was much improved over the previous night as the kicks were
not overbearing and cleaned the mix up a great deal. It also helped
that Vision Divine had their own mixer. One of the highlights of the
set was definitely "Colours Of My World." There is a passage after the
guitar and keyboard solo that Michele sings a very stirring melody
with a very high note -- he nailed the whole thing perfectly, just
incredible... The crowd loved it. The crowd got into this song heavily
as well as the show closer, "God Is Dead." I can't say enough good
things about Vision Divine. I was very disappointed when their set
ended as I truly wanted it to go on. This band is fabulous!

http://www.visiondivine.com/

Thunderstone
"Until We Touch The Burning Sky," "Without Wings," "Forth Into The
Black," "Eyes Of A Stranger," "Land Of Innocence," "Break The
Emotions," "Welcome To The Real," "Spire," "Tool Of The Devil"

Thunderstone was pretty good live. I like this band and have two of
their CDs. The songs are good although I think they are missing one
thing that is holding them back. I can't quite put my finger on it...
I don't know if it's their song arrangement or what -- something just
doesn't push them over the top for me. I really enjoyed them live, and
oddly they were the first band I wanted to hear when I got back. After
seeing Thunderstone live their recorded music sounds better to me. The
band sounded great.

http://www.thunderstone.org/

Epica
"Hunab K'U," "Dance Of Fate," "Sensorium," "Quietus," "Mother Of
Light," "Cry For The Moon," "Solitary Ground," "Crystal Mountain,"
"Seif Al Din," "Facade Of Reality," "The Last Crusade," "Consign To
Oblivion," "The Phantom Agony"

Besides Evergrey and Mercenary, Epica was definitely a crowd favorite.
I am not a big fan of theirs so I can only comment on what I heard.
Simone has a very beautiful voice and the band was tight and really
seemed to be having a good time. They also benefited from having their
own guy behind the mixing board. A lot of their orchestrations were
prerecorded and played over the sound system. The crowd loved the band
and they definitely went over well.

http://www.epica.nl/

Jorn
"We Brought The Angels Down," "Black Song," "Gonna Find The Sun" (The
Snakes), "Duke Of Love," "Are You Ready/Cold Sweat" (Thin Lizzy),
"Bridges Will Burn," "Out To Every Nation," "Straight Through The
Heart" (Dio), "Godless & Wicked" (Beyond Twilight), "Soulburn"
(Masterplan), "My Own Way Home" (Allen/Lande), "Perfect Strangers"
(Deep Purple), "Tungu Knivur/Noose" (Jorn/Ark), "Stormcrow" // medley:
"Come On," "Sweet Talker," "Crying In The Rain," "Here I Go Again,"
"Gimme All Your Love" (Whitesnake) // "Stars" (Hear 'N Aid) -
featuring more than 20 guests

I thought Jorn was awesome! He was not really progressive or power
metal, more like hard rock -- I think that lost part of the crowd as
it was only a little over 3/4ths full for his set. He definitely had
the overall best mix of any band! The guitars of Jorn-Viggo Lofstad
(Pagan's Mind) and Tore Moren were absolutely monstrous!!! Big,
chunky, and in your face. Jorn sounded like a million bucks on
everything that he sang. He had two different drummers and I don't
know if we needed a drum solo from both of them, but besides that he
played an awesome set considering all of the material he has to pull
from. His cover of "Straight Through The Heart" was flat out awesome
and "Perfect Strangers" was kick ass!!! His band was just so solid,
loud, and powerful...and his voice was flawless! The Whitesnake medley
was OK -- I closed my eyes and thought David Coverdale was on stage. I
could have done without "Here I Go Again"...if I never hear that song
again it will be too soon. Strange, when he did the Whitesnake medley
many people got up and left but the crowd on the floor got the most
excited.

I have to toot my own horn here as I guessed the "Stars" tribute would
be the all-star jam back in June when Glenn first announced it
(although I'm sure I am not the only one). Many singers came out
including Mike from Circus Maximus, Mikkel from Mercenary, Pasi
Rantanen from Thunderstone, Michele Luppi from Vision Divine, Zak
Stevens from Circle II Circle, Lance King from Pyramaze, Chris Salinas
from Zero Hour, and there were probably a few more that I didn't
catch. Mattias Eklundh from Freak Kitchen and I believe the fourth
guitarist was Martin Buus from Mercenary came out as well. Jorn
handled the Dio parts and the rest was kind of messy... A few of the
microphones on stage were not working so people were running around
trying to find a live mic, Jorn tried to hold it all together but it
was chaos... But you know what? It didn't matter... The 3/4ths
capacity crowd that was left made more noise than the full crowd did
at any other time during the fest. We all just loved it and sang our
hearts out. It was a metal bonding moment like no other. When it came
to the solos, what was real cool is that Jorn and Tore really tried to
stay true to the original solos,; they weren't dead on but they
sounded real close and the guitar work was not just a bunch of
improvised garbage. They even did the harmony guitar part like Adrian
Smith and Dave Murray did in the original version. Glenn Harveston
happen to be sitting right in front of us during this song so I shook
his hand and told him, "That was the coolest clusterfuck I have ever
seen," and we just laughed! And with that Jorn thanked the crowd and
the fest was over.

http://www.jornlande.com/

This was an amazing weekend and was probably the most diverse set of
bands Glenn has assembled yet. This festival is all about the music,
the bands, and the fans. It is the best festival in the US bar none,
and some might say the best in the world. The bands are so accessible
and there is not a bad seat at Center Stage (unless you were behind
the boom camera that was used for filming the DVD this year). How many
places can you go and hang out with 1,200 people that all have similar
tastes in music? How many places can you talk to people about bands
like Vanden Plas, Pagan's Mind, and Iced Earth, and the people know as
much about the band if not more than you do? It is just a great
environment and festival.

So... without further ado, I now present to you the annual Lake Of
Fire ProgPower Awards:

Stole The Show Award -- Freak Kitchen. I don't think most people
expected them to be as entertaining as they were, not to mention
fabulously talented musicians.

Fan Favorite Award -- Mercenary. No doubt about it, the crowd loved
them!

Best Singer Award -- Michele Luppi. Awesome singer who is just as good
live as in the studio.

Monster Guitarist Award -- Mattias "IA" Eklundh. Hey, what do you
expect from a guy who plays his guitar with a dildo?

Most Energetic Band Award -- Mercenary. The energy coming off the
stage clearly carried over into the crowd.

Coolest Gesture By A Band Member Award -- Evergrey and Glenn for
allowing my girlfriend to propose to me during their set in front of
the great fans of ProgPower.

Best Overall Band -- Evergrey. String quartet, three piece choir, need
I say more.

Most Popular Band T-shirt -- I saw more ProgPower T-shirts, past and
present than in any other year before. For the bands, Evergrey had
more people wearing there shirts than another. The second most
popular, believe it or not was Iron Maiden.

Love 'Em Or Leave 'Em Award -- Jorn, 3/4ths of the fans loved
him...the other 1/4th just left.

Best Moment Of The Festival -- The all-star jam of "Stars" -- to see
all of those musicians jamming and singing on stage was priceless!!!

*
*** AT THE ALTAR ***
*
by Patrick Brower (patrickbrower@...)

-Welcome, parishioners, to another dose of metal worship. I am ever
your humble (and legal) reverend/pastor/minister, and I am here to
help you atone for your sins. This week, dear followers, we enter
something I like to call "The Church Of Reader Mail."

-From Nick Davison: "Where you been, dude?"

Yeah, I know, I suck, right? I mean, how hard is it to type a few
paragraphs a week? Apparently too hard for me as this is my first
column since... January... Whoops. Do you really want my excuses? No.
Do you want false promises of a weekly column? No. I cannot lie to
you, I have no idea how frequently I'm able to do this. But rest
assured, Nick and everyone, you're never far from my thoughts. Miss
me? Yeah, I know you do, you little huddled masses; I know you do.

-From Jonathan Randich: "What's your favorite live show so far this
year?"

Timely question, Jon, as it was Queensryche two weeks ago at the House
Of Blues here in Chicago. A full three-hour set of both MINDCRIME and
MINDCRIME II back-to-back. I had some douche from Peoria next to me
yammering away about how Peoria is called Little Chicago and have I
really never been there? But aside from him, the show was awesome.
Just to make Tim feel like a shut-in, here are all the shows I've been
to so far in 2006: Lennon, Loudness, Ion Vein, Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re,
Stance Punks, PE'Z, Emeralds, Joe Jackson, Fiona Apple, Eric Johnson,
Sammy Hagar, Gary Numan, and Queensryche. [Ain't shit. - Tim] This
weekend is Kamelot and Epica and I have Paul Stanley lined up in
November. Not a huge list, I'm sure Sean puts me to shame, and some of
these bands are not hard rock, but I'm doing OK for the year... This
also doesn't count the dozens of rockabilly bands I see at Martyr's
each month at their Big C Jamboree.

-From Matt Streets: "What's up with Ion Vein?"

Beats me, man. Check out their Web site ( http://www.ionvein.com/ ) or
their MySpace site ( http://www.myspace.com/ionvein ) for info. Yes, I
did ask Chris Lotesto if they still needed a vocalist and, hey did you
want me to audition, but he shockingly hasn't gotten back to me yet.

-From Ryan Voss: "Anything new from you coming out soon?"

Funny you should ask. I had a slot reserved on BW&BK's KNUCKLETRACKS
#100 but the recording of said track didn't go as planned, or at all
for that matter, so that was a disappointing bust. And it was heavy,
too. I bought a new death metal petal for it and everything. Oh, well.
I should have another kick ass Christmas song up but December, though.

-From Patrick Brower: "Will Tim let you borrow that new Skid Row CD?"

Hmmm, excellent question. I believe so. But I STILL intend to buy it
when it becomes available. I just hate knowing someone else has access
to music I want to hear when I don't. [Betcha feel bad about ripping
on my concert non-attendance now, huh? :) - Tim]

-From Fallon McErlean: "Any trouble getting any CDs lately? I know how
hard it is to find metal these days."

Right you are, Fallon. Take for example Lennon's new disc DAMAGED
GOODS. Sure I could pre-order it from her Web site (
http://www.lennononline.com/ ) but I want to create demand in the
actual brick and mortar stores so they'll reorder it. Hopefully. That
and I don't like waiting if I don't have to (see above answer). So I
tried to get it at two different Borders and a Best Buy on the Tuesday
it came out. I work in downtown Chicago. What CAN'T I find there,
there being a major metropolitan area; one of the biggest cities in
the country? The answer is stuff I want on a regular basis. One of the
Borders even told me that the CD was not out yet and that when it was
coming out they were only getting one (!!) copy. I was able to track
it down at Tower Records on Wabash. They even had more than one.

-From W. Dal Bush: "Are these questions real?"

Um, only the ones not written by people I know, or my relatives.

And with that, we're out of room! Yes, I know that Detritus affords
its writers unlimited space, I'm just out of fake mail.

-What's Playing At The Altar: Paul Stanley – "Live To Win" CD single
(New Door), Jon Oliva's Pain – MANIACAL RENDERINGS (AFM), Blind
Guardian – A TWIST IN THE MYTH (Nuclear Blast), Lennon – DAMAGED GOODS
(John Galt).

*
*** REALM OF SHRED ***
*
by Neal Woodall (MysticX9@...)

-Well, another successful ProgPower USA is in the history books, and I
must say that this was one of the best shows of the past few years. I
won't do a detailed review because I know the newly engaged Sean
Gaghan (you'll read about it!) already covered that but let me point
out a few highlights. The Pre-Party was held in the main venue this
year and this really extended the event to a three day festival, with
Theocracy, Circus Maximus, Leatherwolf and Circle II Circle all
putting in killer performances. Highlights of the main festival for me
were Pyramaze, Lance King delivering an incredible vocal performance,
the energetic and humorous Freak Kitchen, conquering heroes Evergrey
with their awesome recreation of their A NIGHT TO REMEMBER DVD set,
Vision Divine with another incredible vocal performance, and Jorn with
some of the best old-school covers I've heard at ProgPower USA. All
the bands were good, however, even if some were not exactly my cup o'
tea. The festival has really become a family reunion of sorts and I
strongly encourage anyone who loves live performances of quality heavy
metal and the camaraderie of like-minded fans to attend next year --
it's gonna be another great one! Cheers to Glenn Harveston, his hard
working crew, the bands, sponsors and attendees for making each year
such a memorable event. Incredible... See http://www.progpowerusa.com/
for more.

*
*** REVIEWS ***
*
ELECTRIC OUTLET - ON! (A-) Lion Music, 2006
9 tracks, RT: 50:58
[ http://www.electric-outlet.com/ ]
[ http://www.tool-house.com/ ]
[ http://www.studio-4-stade.de/ ]
[ http://www.lionmusic.com/electricoutlet.htm ]
[ http://www.lionmusic.com/ ]
Man, what a cool addition to Lion's jazz-fusion department! Electric
Outlet is an amazing four-piece of accomplished musicians playing some
really smooth fusion which is technically adept but easy to listen to.
You've got to love an album that starts off with John Goodman (from
the movie "The Big Lebowski") saying "Aw fuck it dude, let's go
bowling!" This unique intro leads us into the high-energy jam
"Comprendes," reminding me of underrated fusion kings Gamelon. One of
the things you notice immediately is the positively awesome
production, with each instrument perfectly separated in the mix. Each
musician is at the top of his game, locking into an incredibly tight
groove on pieces like the Joe Satriani-meets-Saga funk of
"Propellerhead," and the Jeff Beck inspired "We Need A Plan." "Tekky"
takes us into more funky territory with some electrifying musicianship
and the album ends with the satisfying atmospherics of "Miles Away."
The only complaint I have is that a few of the segments meander a bit
but this is a small issue for such a gem as ON! If you are a fan of
'70s and '80s fusion or modern day combos such as CAB, you would be
well advised to hunt down a copy of ON! right away. Smokin'!
- Neal Woodall (MysticX9@...)

FROST – OUT IN THE COLD (C+) Screaming Ferret Wreckords, 2006
11 tracks, RT: 46:24
[ http://www.truemetal.org/jackfrost ]
[ http://www.sevenwitches.net/ ]
[ http://www.myspace.com/jackfrostsevenwitches ]
[ http://www.screamingferret.com/ ]
[ http://www.myspace.com/screamingferretwreckords ]
Does Jack Frost ever sleep? While keeping his full-time band (Seven
Witches) afloat, the New Jersey based guitarist has also found time to
take part in multitudes of other projects over the years (including
but not limited to Bronx Casket Company, Speeed, Metalium and
Savatage), and he's now released his second solo album to boot! OUT IN
THE COLD was released overseas last year but is now available in the
US thanks to Screaming Ferret Wreckords. I enjoyed Frost's last solo
outing (2004's RAISE YOUR FIST TO METAL) quite a bit, but
unfortunately I didn't find OUT IN THE COLD to be quite as impressive,
despite some shining moments. As he did on RAISE YOUR FIST TO METAL,
Jack has assembled an "all-star cast" of rotating musicians and
vocalists for OUT IN THE COLD (including Ted Poley of Danger Danger,
Mike LePond of Symphony X, Mike Duda of W.A.S.P., and Joey Vera of
Armored Saint, just to name a few) and the resulting 11 tracks are
sometimes killer, sometimes frustratingly half-baked. Where RAISE YOUR
FIST TO METAL was a virtual '80s metal smorgasbord from beginning to
end (barring the Kansas cover song that stuck out like a sore thumb),
OUT IN THE COLD starts off with its foot on the gas pedal but then
wanders off into late '70s/early '80s radio rock material a bit too
often by the end of the CD. Ted Poley kicks the album off with the
aggressive "Wasting Your Luv" (which has a nice chugging riff), and
current Seven Witches vocalist Alan Tecchio keeps the aggression
factor high on the thrashy "Hell Or High Water." Continuing down the
vintage metal trail, Frost taps original Anthrax vocalist Neil Turbin
(where the hell has HE been for the last 20 years?) for the heavy-as-
hell "Crucifixation." This track is let down somewhat by the
hilariously cheesy lyrics ("I am the crimson warrior on a mission from
Hell, spilling the blood of damnation...") but it does prove that
Turbin's pipes have aged well. XYZ vocalist Terry Ilous takes over for
the title track and Poley returns for a cover of the April Wine
chestnut "Sign Of The Gypsy Queen." This song has never been a
particular favorite of mine but Frost and crew do it justice. Judging
from the title, I'm assuming that "Peter And Me" (vocals by Dale Toth
of Rattlebone) is intended as a salute to Peter Frampton, especially
since there's a "talk box" solo in the middle that could've come off
of FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE. Badlands vocalist Jeff Martin contributes to
two songs, one being a smooth cover of the Foreigner classic "Cold As
Ice" (very well done, though not much different from the original if
you ask me) and a heavier track called "Covered In Blood" in which he
takes on a squeaky, high pitched shriek that sounds like a 12-year-old
kid trying to imitate King Diamond. Great riff work in this one (as
well as on the rest of the CD in fact) but the banshee vocals had me
reaching for the skip button after only a few spins. Frost himself
sings lead on the cover of .38 Special's "Hold On Loosely" (another FM
classic that I always found somewhat annoying), which brings the cover
tune count up to three, and that's before you even get to the closing
track, ANOTHER cover (though the label's promo sheet doesn't label it
as such) of The Babys' "Head First" (with Poley back on vocals again).
Four cover tunes (five if you count the lovely "Passage To The
Classical Side," which reworks a track from Seven Witches' 2003 album
PASSAGE TO THE OTHER SIDE) out of 11 total tracks does seem like an
awfully high ratio, doesn't it? I know that cover songs are a Frost
trademark, but maybe he should've held off on releasing another solo
CD until he had some more original material stockpiled. (Or maybe he
should've just damned the torpedoes and released an all-covers album!)
I know I'm probably sounding a bit harsh on Frost here, but I'm a fan
and I want to make clear that despite my bitching about the obvious
padding, I still found OUT IN THE COLD to be a decent listen and it
should keep Frost's fans occupied till the release of the next Seven
Witches disc.
- Keith Abt (KeithAbt@...)

JOURNEY INTO THE FOURTH DIMENSION (C-) Lion Music, 2006
12 tracks, RT: 58:45
[ http://www.lionmusic.com/fourthdimension.htm ]
[ http://www.lionmusic.com/ ]
Jose L. Del Rio is a young Chilean with the apparent mission to be the
fastest guitarist on the planet, a goal unfortunately shared by
virtually every shred-oriented guitarist at some point in their
career; I say unfortunately because in just about all cases where
speed is the primary objective, more important elements of quality
music get moved into the background or ignored completely. Journey
Into The Fourth Dimension's self-titled debut suffers in just this
way, as Jose plays one blindingly fast run after another at the
expense of precision, creativity and melody. One need look no further
than "Phantom Shadows" for a good example of this, as Jose takes off
at 100 mph with no discernible song to be heard, slowing down
momentarily to show he can play with feeling only to take back off
with a jumbled assortment of notes. Jose is a frustratingly
inconsistent guitarist, at times displaying strong technique
(especially on some of the acoustic parts) but often playing so fast
that the notes come out sloppy and random. Vitalij Kuprij's playing
here is characteristically excellent but his presence is curious, as I
would think he would be more selective about what projects he involves
himself in. Another problem is the production, which buries the rhythm
guitar while highlighting a tinty lead guitar mix, with drums often
kept at a one-dimensional breakneck pace. There are some bright spots,
however, as Jose integrates some dramatic segments in "Battlefields Of
Glory," steps away from the electric for some quiet acoustic moments
in "Dreams Of Wisdom & Prophecy," and is effectively mellow on the
well constructed "Psychophony," but this is short lived as we are
quickly overwhelmed by the overlong and often directionless title
track and the bonus track, a ridiculous version of "Flight Of The
Bumblebee." I know it's difficult to create good neoclassical albums,
as the bar has been raised to almost impossibly high standards by past
virtuosos such as Yngwie Malmsteen, James Byrd and Cacophony, but I
really believe players like Jose L. Del Rio should wait until they
have stronger material before releasing albums. I think Mr. Del Rio
has a good album in him, and I hope that is the case with his next
one, but JOURNEY INTO THE FOURTH DIMENSION is just too haphazard to
recommend to anyone but the most nescient shred fanatic.
- Neal Woodall (MysticX9@...)

MELIAH RAGE – THE DEEP AND DREAMLESS SLEEP (C+) Screaming Ferret
Wreckords, 2006
8 tracks, RT: 36:00
[ http://www.meliahrage.com/ ]
[ http://www.myspace.com/meliahrage ]
[ http://www.screamingferret.com/ ]
[ http://www.myspace.com/screamingferretwreckords ]
Meliah Rage's 15 minutes of fame came at the height of the late '80s/
early '90s thrash metal craze, when major labels were snapping up
every heavy band they could get their hands on in the hopes of
discovering the next Metallica or Megadeth. Their three albums on Epic
Records (1988's KILL TO SURVIVE, 1989's LIVE KILL and 1990's SOLITARY
SOLITUDE) earned them a small but devoted cult following, then the
Boston band disappeared as grunge reared its ugly head and bumped the
heavy stuff from major label rosters. They briefly resurfaced in the
mid-'90s with DEATH VALLEY DREAM and then made the jump back into full
time activity with 2004's BARELY HUMAN album. Now four-fifths of the
original lineup has returned (Paul Souzo takes over for original
vocalist Mike Munro) with THE DEEP AND DREAMLESS SLEEP. I've never
heard any of Meliah Rage's past releases so I obviously can't say how
this compares to their back catalog, but based on its own merits I'd
say that THE DEEP AND DREAMLESS SLEEP finds Meliah Rage attempting to
straddle the line between old school metal and current modern rock.
I've read a lot of reviews comparing Meliah Rage's past work to that
of Metal Church, and I can definitely hear those similarities in tunes
like the killer opening track "Permanently Damaged," the straight-up
thrash attack of "Cursed," and mid-paced crush of "Twisted Wreck."
Souzo's vocals are clear and powerful throughout, and the guitar team
of Anthony Nichols and Jim Koury can certainly lay down some powerful
riffs. However, when the aforementioned "modern rock" influences begin
to creep into the proceedings (witness the Alice In Chains worship on
the chorus of "God And Man," the dreary backing vox on the title
track, or the entirety of "Last Of The Wanted" and "Take What You
Want") some listeners hoping to hear the thrashing sounds of old may
find themselves confused or distracted. Could this phenomenon be
related to the fact that Godsmack vocalist Sully Erna briefly played
drums in Meliah Rage? ("Hey Sully, check our new stuff out! Take us on
tour with you, dude!") Whatever the cause, THE DEEP AND DREAMLESS
SLEEP seems a bit muddled and bi-polar in the end. This band can
obviously still play, but they need to decide which direction they
want to follow on future releases.
- Keith Abt (KeithAbt@...)

PAATOS - SILENCE OF ANOTHER KIND (B-) Inside Out Music, 2006
9 tracks, RT: 42:03
[ http://www.paatos.com/ ]
[ http://www.insideoutmusic.com/ ]
[ info@... ]
I put this one in and started listening to it proper when I returned
from ProgPower USA and I guess my ears were in the mood for something
mellow, as I seemed to enjoy this album more than Paatos' last disc
KALLOKAIN. Let me be succinct: this is not prog metal in any way,
shape, form or fashion. Actually Paatos have a lot more in common with
new agers such as Enya and quirky Scandinavian pop like Bjork than
with the likes of Dream Theater or Symphony X. SILENCE OF ANOTHER KIND
begins with the relatively dynamic "Shame" featuring a cool bassline
and some ethereal vocals from Petronella Nettermalm, then quickly
mellows out into some pleasant but decidedly sleepy background music.
Don't misunderstand, there are some really nice songs on here,
including "Falling," "Still Standing," and "There Will Be No
Miracles," but if you make it through "Not A Sound" without nodding
off you certainly posses more stamina for this type of thing than I
do. I can recommend SILENCE OF ANOTHER KIND to those partial to well
constructed but very subdued prog rock, just do not operate heavy
machinery under the influence of this album!
- Neal Woodall (MysticX9@...)

VICIOUS RUMORS - WARBALL (A) Mascot Records, 2006
10 tracks, RT: 42:57
[ http://www.viciousrumors.com/ ]
[ rumors@... ]
The ball is back, and it's badass! This new release seems poised to
answer every metalhead that lost faith when Mark McGee left the band
to pursue other avenues, every headbanger that laments the tragic,
untimely demise of Carl Albert, every afficionado who hasn't been
moved by anything the band has released since those distant Atlantic
Records years. Since those illustrious big-label days, Geoff Thorpe
and crew haven't had much success recapturing the magic of the early,
classic lineup output. I write here to ask you to keep an open mind,
because WARBALL might just fulfill those dreams you'd all but
abandoned. A couple of years back, things were looking somewhat shaky
with yet more lineup issues as co-lead guitarist, Ira Black left to
join Metal Church for a recent tour, then there was news that singer
Brian O'Connor had moved on, along with iconic bassist Cornbread.
Following these and other issues, a glimmer of hope: classic lineup
stalwarts Dave Starr (eight-string bass) and Larry "drumspank" Howe
had returned to rejoin the fray. After that, the completely
unbelievable tidbit that none other than Brad Gillis (Night Ranger,
Ozzy Osbourne) was going to join Geoff on guitar, as it turns out in a
special guest capacity. The final pièce de résistance: vocal duties
would be handled by another metal legend, James Rivera (Helstar,
Destiny's End, Flotsam And Jetsam, Seven Witches, etc). Geoff took
Vicious Rumors, mkX (who's counting?), also including newcomer Thaen
Rasmussen (Anvil Chorus) on guitars into Trident Studios under the
tutelage of Juan Urteaga, with whose skills I was not familiar
previously, to record what has turned out to be quite the "comeback"
effort. To preemptively answer the questions: Q1: But James Rivera has
been everywhere, and makes everyone sound like Helstar? A1: Curiously
enough, James sounds completely un-James-like on eight of the nine
tracks on which he sings lead. (Geoff does a truly impressive job
singing the remaining tune) Q2: Brad Gillis? A2: Yeah, Brad Gillis. He
plays trademark, whammy-filled leads on tracks #1-4 and 9. Q3: Michael
Rosen isn't producing? The album must suck! A3: All now bow to Juan
Urteaga! This disc sounds crisp, well-balanced, full, heavy, beefy and
completely stiffy-inducing. I really do think it's even better than
the slightly boomy production Rosen gave them for especially WORD OF
MOUTH. Your woofers won't clip when you crank it. Kudos maximi to
Geoff and Juan for doing it up right. Highlights include "Mr.
Miracle," "Dying Every Day," "Immortal," and "Crossthreaded," which
actually seems to have the most classic Vicious Rumors flavor on the
album, despite the aggressive vocals of Mr. Thorpe. If you've missed
them for the past decade, rest assured Vicious Rumors are back and the
warball is engaging battle. If you haven't heard of them before, don
your body armor, yank up your bootstraps and prepare to be drilled in
good old American power metal.
- Paul Lackey (mrnot@...)

*
*** OUT ***
*