ProgPower USA XI
- Thread starter Harvester
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mloanna
Member
Just got back from Atlanta and can't wait to go back next year. The lineup is great. Excited to see Kamelot, Hammerfall and Tarot especially. Interested in seeing what is up for Wednesday and Thursday nights.
I think that perhaps Anubis Gate will be one of the Showcase bands. I just picked up THE DETACHED, so I really hope they get added to the roster or get booked as a substitute if God forbid there are any cancellations/visa issues.
DTJeff
I Am My Nation
I've got my fingers crossed for Bloodbound for that, but Anubis Gate would be fantastic as well.
Basically, if Nocturnal Rites had to pull out of this, there would be absolutely no way I would make the trip. As it stands now though, I'm planning on it.
I looked at how the dates fall in August and September, and I've decided that maybe I can pull off PPUSA after all - the way it would have to work is I'd have to fly to Australia via Atlanta, and stop in for PPUSA on my way back. We'll see how the cost works out before I officially declare whether or not I'll be there.
I forgot over the last few years how much I freakin' love you people and I'm not sure I can stay away again. *grin*
I forgot over the last few years how much I freakin' love you people and I'm not sure I can stay away again. *grin*
booB
Señor Member
Nice to see all the positive comments regarding Tarot... they are definitely my favorite on the bill. Aki, you are definitely showing up next year! If Tarot can make it, so can you. 
Nocturnal Rites... I've seen 'em, and they will kick your ass hard, even if you're not a big power metal fan.
Hammerfall... all I can say is "it's about damn time". Between them, Stormwarrior, and Tyr, the sword-wielding members of this forum will be in high spirits. HAIL AND KILL!!!!!!
Illusion Suite, Delain, Oceans of Sadness, Seventh Wonder, DGM... I know little or none of their music, but they all sound like some tasty proggy goodness. Plus the Delain vocalist is... how shall I say this... HOT!
Kamelot... I have to admit something which is highly unpopular on this forum: I don't like Kamelot. *waits for exasperated sounds and grumbles to die down* Okay, okay, I liked them on Eternity and Dominion, and then the first three Khan discs just did not click with me at all. However, I love their live show, and I have to admit that a lot of their newer stuff has me intrigued as well... I just may have to revisit Kamelot in the near future.
As for Paradox... who says a band that vanished into obscurity in the early 90s can't come back with a monster vengeance???? THRAAAAAAASH!!!! (But the proggy kind. ) Anacrusis for Prog Power XII!
To the prog fans who are complaining about too much power metal... unless I'm incorrect (and I may very well be) in my assessment of the bands I don't know, I count pretty close to half-and-half (the emphasis is almost ALWAYS on power, anyway). Remember that Kamelot is edging ever closer to the prog end of the spectrum, and several of the other bands are either power-prog mix, or fairly complex power metal. Don't let the inclusion of three Manowarish bands throw you, just because of the lack of Dream Theater clones on the roster.
For me, there is not a single band listed who I'm not interested in seeing. This year, I actually caught part of EVERY band's set -- something I haven't done in years -- and I plan on doing the same thing next year.
Nocturnal Rites... I've seen 'em, and they will kick your ass hard, even if you're not a big power metal fan.
Hammerfall... all I can say is "it's about damn time".
Between them, Stormwarrior, and Tyr, the sword-wielding members of this forum will be in high spirits. HAIL AND KILL!!!!!!Illusion Suite, Delain, Oceans of Sadness, Seventh Wonder, DGM... I know little or none of their music, but they all sound like some tasty proggy goodness. Plus the Delain vocalist is... how shall I say this... HOT!
Kamelot... I have to admit something which is highly unpopular on this forum: I don't like Kamelot. *waits for exasperated sounds and grumbles to die down* Okay, okay, I liked them on Eternity and Dominion, and then the first three Khan discs just did not click with me at all. However, I love their live show, and I have to admit that a lot of their newer stuff has me intrigued as well... I just may have to revisit Kamelot in the near future.
As for Paradox... who says a band that vanished into obscurity in the early 90s can't come back with a monster vengeance???? THRAAAAAAASH!!!! (But the proggy kind.
) Anacrusis for Prog Power XII!To the prog fans who are complaining about too much power metal... unless I'm incorrect (and I may very well be) in my assessment of the bands I don't know, I count pretty close to half-and-half (the emphasis is almost ALWAYS on power, anyway). Remember that Kamelot is edging ever closer to the prog end of the spectrum, and several of the other bands are either power-prog mix, or fairly complex power metal. Don't let the inclusion of three Manowarish bands throw you, just because of the lack of Dream Theater clones on the roster.
For me, there is not a single band listed who I'm not interested in seeing. This year, I actually caught part of EVERY band's set -- something I haven't done in years -- and I plan on doing the same thing next year.
DTJeff
I Am My Nation
No way. One, their early stuff isn't that good, and Two, they won't play anything off of it.
Get Shadowland and Grand Illusion first and foremost. Anything from Sacred Talisman onward is a solid purchase though.
Overall the band I'm probably least interested in is Hammerfall but I'll at least give them a try. We're determined to be up front all day Friday and most of Saturday (TAROT!!!!!!!). We've already started our game plan on how our aging bodies will achieve this. I was dying just from DSO and Sabaton being back to back this year.
Diamond45
Terminate Bad Music
These are the bands I want to see so far without doing any research on the other bands. This will be so sweet! Thanks Glenn!
booB
Señor Member
HERESY! Tales is an incredible album -- their best pre-Afterlife. If you had said that it doesn't much resemble the type of power metal they're playing now, then you'd be correct.
nomisofsiman
Member
If they would get in, most likely they would only get a support slot. Usually the showcase headliner is reserved to a band or band/s that have some popularity in the US and have toured the states at least a couple of times. At this point, I'm guessing Blind Guardian as the showcase, maybe Epica.
My contest picks were way off on this one. I've gone to PP 5 years in a row and i'm not sure i'll be back for XI. There are only 3 bands I really want to see and they are DGM, Seventh Wonder, and Nocturnal Rites. I was really disappointed on hammerfall for the headliner. They are super ordinary and nothing to write home about at all. I'm not a big Kamelot fan, but they are a quality band. I think Nocturnal Rites would have been a nice headliner. They have a strong discography and would have fit nicely there.
Purveyor Of Evil
Heavy Metal, INC.
I love this fucking lineup! I told Glenn that when I bumped into him Saturday night in the Center Stage lobby. The best lineup since PPVI! This year was way too proggy. Now, it's our turn! Bring on the power!!!
ixrayu
Senior Member
I was there at the announcement of the bands after CG and when Paradox was announced...only myself and VenomGA seemed to be the only ones high fiving each other. 
The place was dead silent when Paradox was announced....."Who are Paradox?" The answer to that is they will be the fastest band next year....and they are going to shred it up. \m/
For those who are unaware of Paradox....the band is over 20 years old. They belong in two genres, thrash metal with just a dash of Prog. Hence, in my opinion, you have a very rare appearance of a progressive thrash band on the list. I couldn't be more giddy.
VenomGA and myself are HUGE thrash fans. Paradox will be ripping our faces off next year. Electrify is a CD that just flat out smokes.
And Glenn is a promoter that throws in a few extras besides those run of the mill power and prog bands.
I am interested to see how Oceans of Sadness and Tyr pan out for next year.
Based on Paradox ALONE, I will be making it again next year. Kudos to you Glenn for getting these guys.
Paradox are not your run of the mill power/prog band at all. And they have a new album coming out next month called "Riot Squad."
Keep branching out Glenn...it's why I like this festival. Without you I would have no idea who Freak Kitchen and Mustasch are.
The place was dead silent when Paradox was announced....."Who are Paradox?"
The answer to that is they will be the fastest band next year....and they are going to shred it up. \m/For those who are unaware of Paradox....the band is over 20 years old. They belong in two genres, thrash metal with just a dash of Prog. Hence, in my opinion, you have a very rare appearance of a progressive thrash band on the list. I couldn't be more giddy.
VenomGA and myself are HUGE thrash fans. Paradox will be ripping our faces off next year. Electrify is a CD that just flat out smokes.
And Glenn is a promoter that throws in a few extras besides those run of the mill power and prog bands.
I am interested to see how Oceans of Sadness and Tyr pan out for next year.
Based on Paradox ALONE, I will be making it again next year. Kudos to you Glenn for getting these guys.
Paradox are not your run of the mill power/prog band at all. And they have a new album coming out next month called "Riot Squad."
Keep branching out Glenn...it's why I like this festival. Without you I would have no idea who Freak Kitchen and Mustasch are.
Reverend Su
Member
I know that I will likely get a LOT of flack for this, but here goes:
I do not know most of the bands on the bill next year. and guess what? i don't care. i trust that Glenn knows what he is doing - i mean, we're going on XI here, right? he seems to have a handle on this. and besides, go for the bands you love, sit in a few songs for those bands you don't know...if you don't like it, then get up and wander. and if you don't come to the festival at all, well, ok then. enjoy your weekend all the same
i realize that there are a LOT of people with many and vaied opinions on this forum - and some of you are strictly into this type of music, while others are into that type...so yeah, people are going to be disappointed. but as Wayne said in "Wayne's World" - Led Zeppelin didn't write songs that everyone liked...they left that to the Bee Gees.
so: Glenn, thank you! i look forward to the coming year where i can learn more about the bands that i don't know, and catch up on those with which i am familiar - and i will see you guys next September at PPUSA XI.
just my thoughts and not those of anyone else...if you wish to get pissed with me, please keep it to PMs only.
I do not know most of the bands on the bill next year. and guess what? i don't care. i trust that Glenn knows what he is doing - i mean, we're going on XI here, right? he seems to have a handle on this. and besides, go for the bands you love, sit in a few songs for those bands you don't know...if you don't like it, then get up and wander. and if you don't come to the festival at all, well, ok then. enjoy your weekend all the same
i realize that there are a LOT of people with many and vaied opinions on this forum - and some of you are strictly into this type of music, while others are into that type...so yeah, people are going to be disappointed. but as Wayne said in "Wayne's World" - Led Zeppelin didn't write songs that everyone liked...they left that to the Bee Gees.
so: Glenn, thank you! i look forward to the coming year where i can learn more about the bands that i don't know, and catch up on those with which i am familiar - and i will see you guys next September at PPUSA XI.
just my thoughts and not those of anyone else...if you wish to get pissed with me, please keep it to PMs only.
Kaosaur
Member
Glenn gets posts like these every year but I can't exactly say I'm thrilled with the line-up. While I did say this last year and ended up coming to what was probably for me the best year ever, at least there were bands I was moderately excited about at the time of the announcement.
I can't say I'm excited about a single one this year. Seventh Wonder, Tarot & Nocturnal Rites get a nod from me but not really enough for me to want to travel to see them. All that said, Wednesday & Thursday are still an unknown and at this point I'm in the camp that would probably go regardless of the line-up baring not having other fests to go to.
This has to be by far the most homogeneous lineup ever. In recent years we'd had bands like Amorphis, Mercenary, Zero Hour, etc to mix it up a bit. I was hoping at least one must-see band like that would be announced for next year (Mercenary again? Textures? Darkane?), but oh well. Normally I'd say that I'm moving on from the festival but after this past weekend I really dunno.
Edit: I really can't blame Glenn for the lineup. It looks like a guaranteed sell-out to me, which would probably be an absolute necessity after this year. He'd already stated that power fans will sit through prog bands for a headliner they want to see where prog fans won't. They're just way more likely to spend the money and travel. Oh well.
Edit: And in response to the arguments about the proggyness of some of the bands, I'm sorry but Kamelot is still pretty solidly power metal (even power metal needs to move on from double-bass & dragons & steel eventually, guys) and well...their last album was kind of shit (songs that didn't make TBH and other B-material) . The other bands on the list, while good, aren't really at all "stand-out" to me. The Oceans of Sadness oddball might mix things up just enough but along those lines I'd rather have a band like Memory Garden. Just sayin'.
I can't say I'm excited about a single one this year. Seventh Wonder, Tarot & Nocturnal Rites get a nod from me but not really enough for me to want to travel to see them. All that said, Wednesday & Thursday are still an unknown and at this point I'm in the camp that would probably go regardless of the line-up baring not having other fests to go to.
This has to be by far the most homogeneous lineup ever. In recent years we'd had bands like Amorphis, Mercenary, Zero Hour, etc to mix it up a bit. I was hoping at least one must-see band like that would be announced for next year (Mercenary again? Textures? Darkane?), but oh well. Normally I'd say that I'm moving on from the festival but after this past weekend I really dunno.
Edit: I really can't blame Glenn for the lineup. It looks like a guaranteed sell-out to me, which would probably be an absolute necessity after this year. He'd already stated that power fans will sit through prog bands for a headliner they want to see where prog fans won't. They're just way more likely to spend the money and travel. Oh well.
Edit: And in response to the arguments about the proggyness of some of the bands, I'm sorry but Kamelot is still pretty solidly power metal (even power metal needs to move on from double-bass & dragons & steel eventually, guys) and well...their last album was kind of shit (songs that didn't make TBH and other B-material) . The other bands on the list, while good, aren't really at all "stand-out" to me. The Oceans of Sadness oddball might mix things up just enough but along those lines I'd rather have a band like Memory Garden. Just sayin'.
DTJeff
I Am My Nation
I don't appreciate people who treat people condescendingly for being upset or unwilling to go. Basically, it's not in most people's budgets to shell out that kind of cash once a year regardless of whether or not you really like the festival line-up. I'm not saying the festival line-ups aren't always great in their own way, they are - but the bottom line is I'm not putting away that kind of cash if I truly only WANT to see like two of the bands and the rest, though I will enjoy, it will be much more of passive interest.
For me this is just such a huge internal conflict. I want to see Nocturnal Rites more than I've ever wanted to see any other band, and Seventh Wonder don't come in that far behind. But if I chose to go and any of the other bands canceled, I wouldn't be upset. That's not a knock on them at all, from what I've heard of most of them, they're almost all top notch acts. It's just hard to be gung-ho about going when in truth I'm only an active fan of about 1/3 of these bands, and I know, flat-out that I don't care for two of them.
As I said, the way it looks now is that I'm hoping for great shows on Wednesday/Thursday, and just buy a one-night ticket for Friday.
For me this is just such a huge internal conflict. I want to see Nocturnal Rites more than I've ever wanted to see any other band, and Seventh Wonder don't come in that far behind. But if I chose to go and any of the other bands canceled, I wouldn't be upset. That's not a knock on them at all, from what I've heard of most of them, they're almost all top notch acts. It's just hard to be gung-ho about going when in truth I'm only an active fan of about 1/3 of these bands, and I know, flat-out that I don't care for two of them.
As I said, the way it looks now is that I'm hoping for great shows on Wednesday/Thursday, and just buy a one-night ticket for Friday.
