dcowboys311
Member
I had a lot of fun last night. Widow were great. Artizan surprised the hell out of me. Top notch performance and I'll definitely be looking into their material some more.
Uniting the Powers of Metal: East Coast Roll Call!!!
- Thread starter Metal_Camden
- Start date
Many thanks to the few forum regulars who could make it out last night. The bands truly appreciated the support, as did I. All I can say to everyone else is - if you weren't in the hospital or in jail and yet you missed it... you fuckin missed it!
All four of the touring bands put on a hell of a show. Kudos to each of them for being tight on stage and being true professionals to work with. I'd work with either Artizan or Creation's End again any day. And Widow & Seven Kingdoms - well, you're family now so I'm stuck working with you.hah hah. Love you guys (and gal!).
kudos also to Milton/AngraRules for setting up this short-run tour. It's pretty sad that these four high caliber prog/power metal acts had to endure playing to as few as 30-40 people in some places. Sure, there were week night performances. I have to work on weekdays myself. But for $10-$15 I think I could manage to show up at a venue and see at least 2-3 of the bands before crawling off into bed.
It takes support from the fans for these bands to travel up and down the road. I see so many people posting - and not just on this forum - about how there's never any good metal shows coming through town. Yet here we (the local fan/promoters) are beating down your door with a QUALITY list of bands and you still sit at home on the couch flipping channels complaining there's nothing to do tonight.
Sorry if I'm turning this into a bit of a rant. But dammit, I've been doing this for five years now and people wonder why the next Pathfinder MetalFest has the subtitle 'the Final Chapter'. Seriously, do you really have to wonder?
This work is a labor of love for people like Milton, Patrick (nailz), Camden, and myself. None of are getting rich off this work. Never planned to. We do it because we want to help the bands get in front of as many fans as possible. But when the fans become ho-hum about it, so do we. And it's not like we're asking you to come out every night of the week. I do these 'bigger' shows about once every three months. And I do local shows monthly. I don't spam the hell out of people to come out to the Local shows. But the bigger shows are kind of a big deal to [us].
I hope the Florida shows tonight and tomorrow have at least TWICE the attendance (about 75 paying people) we did last night. Because that's what I expected from the Atlanta metal community - the HOME OF FUCKING PROGPOWER USA! But I was let down - again.
I'll see you all in a few short weeks.
I appreciate the work you put in to these shows and WILL be at the metalfest in November.
J. Golden
Heaven and Hell Records
I guess I most approach my preaching in a more Jonathan Edwards-esque way because I talk about the lack of audiences and not only am I ripped apart but I'm told I'm wrong. But in fairness I'm harsh about it where Hoyt is not.
But I do recall just a couple of months ago someone in this forum telling me how good the "metal scene" is in the U.S. I think an example used was "Amon Armarth shows selling out". Well I ask where were those dedicated metal fans? I saw the turn out in Raleigh and it was pretty, well not good. This IS NOT saying anything about the bands or the promoting even, just saying this "scene" is not there.
But kudos to all for giving it a go. And thumbs up to you Hoyt you know I really empathize with you.
dcowboys311
Member
I personally believe that 75 people paying to see 4 bands that 99.99999999999% of metal fans have never heard of goes to show the STRENGTH of the metal scene in America rather than it's weakness......but I know most here won't agree with me.
Artizan
Member
- Dec 5, 2009
- 401
- 2
- 18
Thank you to everyone who has shown up to the shows thus far. I can say that all of us in Artizan are having a tremendous time on this tour. All of the bands are awesome to work with.
We have met so many enthusiastic fans so far, and are looking forward to the last two shows in Florida.
Thanks to Milton and Hoyt.
We have met so many enthusiastic fans so far, and are looking forward to the last two shows in Florida.
Thanks to Milton and Hoyt.
J. Golden
Heaven and Hell Records
75? Did Atlanta get that, if so that is pretty good. I know Raleigh did not have that. So what show are you referring to.
I think your statistic is wrong. I would venture to say maybe 95%, lol!
But ya ATL was, well........ is, our home base pretty much. It has the best people.
dcowboys311
Member
dcowboys311
Member
Heh, maybe.
I'm not a big fan of female fronted power metal and don't listen to it much. I thought you were pretty good with Blind Guardian a few months ago but last night was just another level. Keep at it and that number will get down to 50...40...30 before you know it.
J. Golden
Heaven and Hell Records
That is good, I thought it would fair well down there.
I think Raleigh could have been better in a different location and a weekend night. There is really a good scene there but it is just getting the right time and Thursday nights aren't it. But sometimes there is no choice.
At my campus in high point theres only like 3 other guys who listen to progpower. One of those even went down to ProgPower usa w/ blind guardian.. III was it? We have more guys who listen to -core bands though.
But I dunno. The Symphony X show at Volume 11 was pretty packed as was the Blind Guardian show at the lincoln theater.
Errrr I think I'm just being random here O_O :stops typing:
AngraRULES
Member
Yeah, I actually tried booking the show on the weekend, but that would have completely ruined our routing. The other venue that I looked into was already had a hold for the weekend. Thursday was the best night I could've found there unfortunately.
J. Golden
Heaven and Hell Records
But see the audience for those mentioned bands are not coming out to see the bands that are on this tour, obviously because you did not see them in Raleigh. And that just backs what I have said a few times; bands like Blind Guardian and Amon Amarth pull an audience that for the most part couldn't care less about these "lesser" known bands thus they do not come out to the show.
J. Golden
Heaven and Hell Records
Yeah, I actually tried booking the show on the weekend, but that would have completely ruined our routing. The other venue that I looked into was already had a hold for the weekend. Thursday was the best night I could've found there unfortunately.
It worked out for the best I think; though it is usually good in Raleigh... well you just have to be there to understand it. HAHA
drmetal8
Graphic Design
Great show here in Orlando tonight. Hung out with all bands and got everything autographed.
Real cool vibe going on that tour, all the bands supporting each other and cheering each other on.
Just wanted to send a shout out to Claus and all at Intromental for a great package and good time.
Also thanks to all the bands for being so cool. You guys are going to love Creation's End, very good live.
Here's some video clips I shot last night:
Creation's End - "World Holocaust"
Artizan - "Rise"
Real cool vibe going on that tour, all the bands supporting each other and cheering each other on.
Just wanted to send a shout out to Claus and all at Intromental for a great package and good time.
Also thanks to all the bands for being so cool. You guys are going to love Creation's End, very good live.
Here's some video clips I shot last night:
Creation's End - "World Holocaust"
Artizan - "Rise"
Last edited by a moderator:
You guys were crazy energetic, crazy talented, crazily in sync. I am very glad to have seen/heard you. Jacksonville is lucky to be able to call you home.
Rider of Theli
The Hellequin
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” 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’. 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”, 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 ~
...
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”
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’
. 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”
, 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 ~
I ribbed the singer about heckling the audience for not being "metal enough" while wearing a "Girls Girls Girls" shirt... his response was that he ALSO sings in a Motley Crue tribute band.
I really didn't need to be told that - it was pretty obvious he had the voice (and hair) for it.
I really didn't need to be told that - it was pretty obvious he had the voice (and hair) for it.
Pellaz
Tigron of Immanion
That singer is the Forum's own Nathan Smith, BTW.
I enjoyed what I saw of the show, basically the very end of Creation's End's set, all of Widow (LOTS of fun) and about half of Artizan's set before I had to head downtown to do WREKage. Many thanks to Hoyt for making these things possible.
I enjoyed what I saw of the show, basically the very end of Creation's End's set, all of Widow (LOTS of fun) and about half of Artizan's set before I had to head downtown to do WREKage. Many thanks to Hoyt for making these things possible.
AngraRULES
Member
I just wanted to quickly thank every single one of you who came to the shows. The turnout in some nights was obviously less than stellar, but you still came out, supported an awesome tour and witnessed some truly impressive performances.
Artizan, Seven Kingdoms, Creation's End and Widow showed everyone that we can, in fact, unite the powers of metal. The bands worked together in every aspect possible. The atmosphere among everyone was great and so to the members of these four bands, I applaud you. You guys were great.
I hope we can make this happen again, only better next time. I'll just leave this quote here; an email we received by a fan after the Atlanta show (thanks Hoyt btw and all other promoters):
"We had a fantastic time on Friday. Even if the bands lost a bunch a money and drove themselves to exhaustion, they need to know that this was an outstanding event and that their efforts were not lost on those of us who showed up. Attitude counts for a lot, and all four bands chose to be relentlessly positive and supportive of each other and the audience, instead of just going through the motions and trying to get it over with. Good for them!"
Hope everyone enjoyed themselves!
Artizan, Seven Kingdoms, Creation's End and Widow showed everyone that we can, in fact, unite the powers of metal. The bands worked together in every aspect possible. The atmosphere among everyone was great and so to the members of these four bands, I applaud you. You guys were great.
I hope we can make this happen again, only better next time. I'll just leave this quote here; an email we received by a fan after the Atlanta show (thanks Hoyt btw and all other promoters):
"We had a fantastic time on Friday. Even if the bands lost a bunch a money and drove themselves to exhaustion, they need to know that this was an outstanding event and that their efforts were not lost on those of us who showed up. Attitude counts for a lot, and all four bands chose to be relentlessly positive and supportive of each other and the audience, instead of just going through the motions and trying to get it over with. Good for them!"
Hope everyone enjoyed themselves!
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