A brief note on the roster...

I've said it all along: this truly is the most diverse line-up I've ever seen at PPUSA. Perhaps the most diverse line-up at any metal fest.

As you predicted when you announced the bands, I went, "Huh?" to a few of them. Amorphis was just one of many "Huh?" moments I had along the way.

But I learned long ago that there's more music out there that I don't know about than I do know about, which means more music to discover. And enjoy.

What I love about this line-up is that 60%-75% of it was unknown to me when it was announced. Instead of saying, "I'm outta here!" I thought, "Let me check out the bands I don't know."

Thank god for online sources like Nightmare Records, LaserCD and Amazon (especially Amazon Marketplace). Thanks to them, I've managed to acquire about 90% of the music from this line-up (Rob Rock and Amorphis have me playing catch-up, but that's okay). The depth and breadth of the music this time around is astounding. Seriously. The level of talent is unreal. I've been listening to Serenity, Pathosray, Elvenking, Volbeat, and Riverside all week. Whatever mind I had left has been blown.

I'm one of those music geeks who gets off on talent. And this year's ProgPower USA brims over with the stuff. I can't wait to talk to the bands! And it's likely the smile on my face the weekend of the festival will take years to fade.

Thank you, Glenn, for bringing new bands to my attention!

Cheers,

Bill

P.S. You know what I think is exciting? This is just the main stage line-up! Once Shane has worked his magic, the entire festival will be beyond killer. It'll go to 11! :)
 
If people want to see certain bands of their choosing at a festival they need to make their own damn festival and quit worrying about other people's masterpieces. I love the choices you make every year Glenn and if anyone has a problem with it I say "stfu and don't come to the festival"

That is a ridiculous statement
 
Sorry, that came out the wrong way. I did not mean to imply that you would.

As for the answer to my question, that explains a lot and gives me the proper frame of mind when reading your posts.
 
It's obvious the festival has changed and left me behind.

After two years in a row (and three of the last four) that were completely uninteresting to me, I thought it was obvious that *I* had changed and left the festival behind. But this year, it caught back up. Or the right mix of magic happened. Or something. Point is, even though you've grown apart now, you and the festival could always come back into alignment sometime in the future, possibly when you least expect it.

Not that I really need to tell you this, since it sounds like you aren't quite at the point of deleting your PPUSA-related bookmarks and burning your t-shirts anyway.

Neil
 
However, if you don't step outside the box just a bit & build some diversity, you will begin to stagnate

That's what I had thought you were up to. When you announced the majority of the bands at the conclusion of last year's PP, I said "WTF?" at most of the bands. Some of them were a no brainer, but most were "Where is Glenn coming from?"

Seven years ago, you managed start a revolution here in the US, bringing in bands who never in a million years would have thought of coming here. Now prog and power metal bands tour the US on a regular basis. There is a fan base here, and your festival has definately raised the awareness level. :worship:

That being said, I can see why you went out of the box this time around. I assume you really want to keep repeats as infrequent as possible except for the rare occasion. (How many times do we really need Edguy and Evergrey - not that they're bad bands, but they do tour the US somewhat frequently now). :err:

Time to get creative and bring in some new talent. From what I've read, Volbeat is your most controversial choice. Many will be skipping out on this band, but I for one am looking forward to seeing them. :headbang::kickass:

Of course, many (myself included) who have been to several ProgPowers is that the music is somewhat secondary to the overall extended weekend experience. This last year, my friend SkiBumMSP and I made it a point to meet some of the people on the forums. It is nice to meet people who are not only interested in the same style of music, but you don't have go explain what Prog and Power metal is!! :lol:

So kudos to you and hope you continue this for the forseeable future!

As the saying goes "You can only please some of the people some of the time, but not all the people all the time." Same goes with PP. Until I heard IE and Amorphis announced, I was not as enthusiastic as the previous two years. But now I'm more psyched for September. :)

p.s. Looking forward to sponsoring some bands for PP X! This time give us more time to put our sponsorships in!!
 
This post is in reply to RMS and Glenn and the fact that his age has anything to do with his maturity. im 18, and have been going to PPUSA for 3 years straight and im not stopping at that. i haven't had anyone complain, bitch, or question the quality or value of my posts. ever. in fact, most of my posts, and polls, roll over quite well in this forum. i also contribruted my own 2,000 something word review of CM's isolate in response to seeing how well Glenn's went. im not defending rms at all, im simply stating that age really doesn't imply immaturity or sure shouldn't negate anything. :rolleyes:
 
im not all that interested in starting a debate, but immature? Why? Because I said this lineup doesnt appeal to me? Fuck that
 
im not all that interested in starting a debate, but immature? Why? Because I said this lineup doesnt appeal to me? Fuck that

i hope you don't think i was trying to imply that you were immature. i was stating a general fact. i have no party or interest in whatever happened with you and Glenn in regard to your posts. i was just stating how i felt about the fact that he thought, that whatever he felt about you, was because of your age. thats all.
 
im not all that interested in starting a debate, but immature? Why? Because I said this lineup doesnt appeal to me? Fuck that[/quote

No, but that reply doesn't help your case in regards to the maturity aspect you just mentioned.

I refer to your "downloading" statements as if it is not a big deal and the lack of knowledge regarding bands such as Iron Maiden or many cover songs in the jam last year.

You are a different generation and I don't relate to many things you say, including critiques. That's not an insult, just a reality. You have the right to say them all you want.
 
im not all that interested in starting a debate, but immature? Why? Because I said this lineup doesnt appeal to me? Fuck that

No, but that reply doesn't help your case in regards to the maturity aspect you just mentioned.

I refer to your "downloading" statements as if it is not a big deal and the lack of knowledge regarding bands such as Iron Maiden or many cover songs in the jam last year.

You are a different generation and I don't relate to many things you say, including critiques. That's not an insult, just a reality. You have the right to say them all you want.

Im opinionated and never had a large interested in the 'leaders' of heavy metal, thats all :)
 
Im opinionated and never had a large interested in the 'leaders' of heavy metal, thats all :)

While I understand this statement, I feel it would be a huge loss on your part to dismiss Iron Maiden. There is a good reason why they're old, putting out good albums still, and well respected within the metal community still! Not many 20+ year old bands can say that. They are my favourite band of all time, and I am close to you in age (25). Just because a band is a 'leader' or even 'old', you shouldn't decide to ignore them just because of that.

I didn't recognize a few songs during the jam, and some of the songs I didn't really care for (as far as the song goes), but I still thought it was a lot of fun and am glad it happened.

Justin
 
I had Powerslave, while being a good album not made me feel like getting anything else. Enough about me now :)

How many spins did you give it? (I dont consider Powerslave their best anyhow...) I remember before I liked Maiden, I had Flight Of Icarus and one or two other songs on my computer. It took me awhile, I listened to it every now and then and just one day it clicked and I was like "holy shit!". While it just may end up not being your thing, I would give them more of a chance than just a few spins of Powerslave.