what follows is a review of the tour date in Marietta, GA by one of the fans who attended:
...
UNITING THE POWERS OF METAL TOUR
Seven Kingdoms, Artizan, Widow, Creation’s End, The Shield
The Local, Marietta, Georgia
August 19, 2011
The timing for this one was not good. Although the show was on a Friday night, I had spent the entire week at a work seminar in the Washington D.C. area, with Jen tagging along to visit friends and family in the area. Nonetheless, if the powers of metal were to be united in Georgia, then damned if we were going to miss it. So Jen and I routed our flight home through Atlanta on Friday afternoon, then proceeded up to Marietta (25 miles or so north of the city) for the gig. In many ways, The Local is an ideal venue for a show. It’s a sizeable (300-person capacity) music venue nestled within a sports bar. There’s ample parking out front, cheap (and good) grub in the sports bar, a more than adequate stage, a smoke-free setup, a hassle-free relationship between venue and promoter (the incomparable Hoyt Parris), and (thankfully) a reasonably priced, super-clean Hampton Inn just a mile down the road. We always enjoy our visits to The Local, and this time was no exception.
That said, we were more than a little flummoxed and mystified by the poor turnout. Here we were, in the home of ProgPower USA, on a Friday night with a strong billing of four acts pretty much guaranteed to appeal to anyone of the power/trad/melodic metal persuasion. Admission was just $12. There was a local opener to help pad the draw, a touring band (Seven Kingdoms) that has played this area so often that the members affectionately call Atlanta their home away from home, and another band (Creation’s End) that will appear at ProgPower next month. Why wouldn’t *everyone* come out for a show like this? The gig was well promoted and well advertised. Sadly, people simply didn’t come. The turnout was about 75 paying customers, with most bands appearing to perform to “crowds” of 50 or fewer. Bummer. Big-time. But thankfully neither bands nor audience allowed this unfortunate fact to dampen the mood or diminish the festivities. To the contrary, I think everyone (band member and fan alike) had a fantastic time. I know we did.
Kicking off the evening’s festivities were Atlanta locals The Shield. We had witnessed their first live performance at last fall’s Pathfinder Metal Fest, which revealed a band that, errmmmm, was not quite ready for prime time yet. Thankfully, they were significantly improved this time around, with better stage presence and performance all the way around from the newly-bleach blond singer and his cohorts. Their short set of Manowar/Maiden-styled metal included no fewer than three songs with the word “metal” in the title (including an ambitious cover of Manowar’s “Brothers of metal” which didn’t quite work because it’s always tough for singers to cover Eric Adams and because it’s a fairly obscure Manowar tune of which casual fans would likely be unaware). Much mirth was derived from audience and other bands by the song about dragons riding motorcycles. Another tune, “Planet Metal,” apparently featured lyrics that name-checked other bands, although I couldn’t quite make out the words to tell for sure. Musically, things got a bit off-kilter at times, which made sense when the band thanked their essentially fill-in drummer for stepping in to learn songs at the last minute. Really, my only criticisms of The Shield this time were that the singer’s white Motley Crue ‘Girls Girls Girls’ tee shirt has to go, and that their sometimes condescending remarks to the audience (“Are you ready for a night of metal? It doesn’t sound like it” “Is that all you’ve got? Man, you guys need to go get drunk”
![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
were unhelpful and out of place. It’s a small crowd and you’re the opener (and hence, not a band people came to see). It’s far more productive to thank the people who did show up early to check out your band than to rebuke them for not being as loud or demonstrative as you might like.
The first touring band was New York’s Creation’s End. Although their style is a bit busy / proggy for my personal preferences, I could not help but watch in slack-jawed awe as guitarist Marco Sfogli put on a dazzling clinic of technical guitar-playing excellence. The guy really is a remarkable guitarist, and it was hilarious to watch Camden Cruz (guitarist of Seven Kingdoms) walk to the very front of the stage to watch Sfogli’s fingers fly, then shrug his shoulders in helpless disbelief at the man’s mastery of his instrument. No doubt Creation’s End will go down a storm at ProgPower if for no other reason than Sfogli’s acumen and dexterity. That said, the big draw for me with Creation’s End was the opportunity to hear Mike Dimeo sing. I’ve been a fan of Dimeo’s voice for many years, dating back to his work with Riot as far back as the early 1990s. In fact, to this day, I hold Riot’s ‘Inishmore’ as one of my favorite albums, in large part because of Dimeo’s emotional, heart-on-the-sleeve performance. So yeah, it was a very cool thing to get to see Dimeo in person (which I’d not done since witnessing Riot at the 1998 Wacken festival supporting ‘Inishmore’
![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
. Although Dimeo’s voice was lower in the mix than I would have liked, he sounded as powerful and smooth as always. I just wish the songs showcased his voice more than they do, as it sure seemed like he was spending a lot of time at the back or side of the stage watching his bandmates go all widdly-diddly on their instruments. Then again, I understand completely. The band and songs are built around Sfogli’s guitar, not Dimeo’s voice, and that’s fine. Also, band members were pretty static during the show, without a lot of movement or energy, which is likewise understandable given the technical nature of the material and the locked-in clicktrack the band were using to fly in keyboards and effects. Overall, a good gig and I’ll certainly make it a point to see Creation’s End again at ProgPower next month, hopefully with Dimeo louder in the mix.
Setlist:
Of Shadow and Flame, World Holocaust, Relic, Forsaken, There’s Hope (instrumental), Creation’s End.
Over the last couple of years, North Carolina’s Widow have quickly evolved into one of my favorite live bands. All the ingredients are there: The high-energy performances, the killer songs, the guitars from hell, the harmony vocals, the overriding sense of fun, the goofy (but endearingly sincere) stage banter. I pretty much love everything about this band. As usual, they kicked ass in Marietta tonight. It was quite funny that they used Buck Owens and the Buckaroos’ 1960s country/western classic “I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail” as their intro music, before giving way to the familiar taped intro to “American Werewolf in Raleigh.” From there, it was off to the races, with the three-piece bashing out one high-octane tune after another, pausing just long enough for guitarist Chris Bennett (sporting a Runaways shirt) to tell a few jokes, thank the audience and the other bands repeatedly (including a very classy shout-out to The Shield), and fumble around with setlist decisions on the fly. The evening’s most humorous nuggets included Bennett telling the story of how mystified he was to learn two nights earlier that the bar at the Jaxx in Virginia didn’t have any Crown Royal (“What do you mean, you don’t have it? You mean you have to go over to the other bar to get it? I thought he was speaking another language”
![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
, his explanation that he had mistakenly sent a text message calling the tour the “Untying the Powers of Metal” tour, and his sage advice that audience members buy the ‘Midnight Strikes Twice’ CD from the merch booth because “Midnight might not strike three times.” By the end of their set, my neck and face muscles were both sore, the former from fits of headbanging and the latter from the perpetual grin I had throughout their show. Once again, Widow delivered the goods.
Setlist:
An American Werewolf in Raleigh, Nightlife, Re-Animate Her, Take Hold of the Night, First Born, Angel Sin, Reunion, Pleasure of Exorcism.
Touring band #3 were Artizan, hailing from Jacksonville, Florida. While the name may be new to some, Artizan have been kicking around for a couple of years and recently released their debut album, ‘Curse of the Artizan,’ on Germany’s Pure Steel Records. Think classy melodic metal with traditional metal leanings (say, ‘Inside Out’ era Fates Warning married to Circle II Circle with a pinch of Crimson Glory) and you’ll have a general idea of their style. In both look and sound, Artizan were quite professional. The backing scrims sporting characters from their album’s cover art were a nice touch. They played the entire ‘Curse of the Artizan’ record (save, of course, “Torment,” which is nothing but sound effects and dialog anyway), and did so with enthusiasm and flair. The catchy, easy-to-digest tunes went over well. Drummer Ty Tammeus was particularly impressive behind the kit, and guitarist Steffen Robitzch (whose family was in attendance) moved around the stage quite a bit and definitely rocked out. And much like Widow, Artizan was effusive in expressing gratitude to the other bands and to the audience for coming to check them out. The whole night was developing a sort of “feel-good” vibe about brotherhood and unity. Very cool. In any event, I wouldn’t hesitate to go see Artizan again if the opportunity presented itself.
Setlist:
Fire, Rise, Curse of the Artizan, Trade the World, Game within a Game, Fading Story, Men in Black.
To close things out, Florida’s Seven Kingdoms offered a very impressive set of galloping, energetic, crunchy power metal. This band just gets better and better. I had greatly enjoyed their gig opening for Blind Guardian in Atlanta back in December, but Seven Kingdoms kicked things up another notch tonight. Gone are all visual signs of nervousness or anxiety, replaced instead by a confident, self-assured demeanor. Diminutive singer Sabrina Valentine has come a long way as a singer and frontwoman. Tonight, her booming voice filled the hall, and her smiles, thanks and applause for both other bands and audience merely reinforced the warm, fuzzy feeling of the night. At one point, she even started a “Hoyt! Hoyt! Hoyt!” chant as a gesture of appreciation for promoter Hoyt Parris. Awesome! Meanwhile, over on the right side of the stage, hulking guitarist Camden Cruz was the band’s other visual focal point, dishing out the Schaffer-style riffs as he peered out from behind his distinctive mane. As a special reward for the Atlanta faithful (“we draw better here than we do at home,” exclaimed Valentine), Seven Kingdoms trotted out not one but two new songs, one of which is entitled “The Fire is Mine” (a slogan also emblazoned on the tee shirts they were hawking in the back). Both new songs sounded excellent, and combined with the five selections from the band’s self-titled album to make for an outstanding show. With their relentless work ethic, fine songwriting skills, and steady improvement, Seven Kingdoms are poised to put fantasy-laden intense power metal on the map in the United States. If you have the chance to see them, don’t miss out.
Setlist:
Vengeance by the Sons of a King, Somewhere Far Away, Wolf in Sheep’s Clothes, Into the Darkness, After the Fall, The Fire is Mine, Seven Kingdoms.
All in all, this was an enormously fun and entertaining night of metal. From top to bottom, the touring lineup was festival quality. Set changeovers were efficient and timely, and technical glitches were kept to an absolute minimum. Kudos to the bands, the managers, and the promoters for working so hard to bring such a special package on the road up and down the East Coast. From a financial standpoint, I fear the tour has been a massive disappointment, with all four acts undoubtedly losing substantial sums to participate in this little junket. But from the standpoint of this true metal heart, the Uniting the Powers of Metal Tour was an unqualified success, one which will help carry me through the dark days that I suspect will come if fans do not start supporting this amazing music as they should.
~ Review by Kit Ekman ~