Power Prog & Metal Fest 2012

Early April I went to the third edition of the Power Prog & Metal Festival in Mons. This year marked their first ever multi day event, with the festival spanning 3 days. 

The first two editions were awesome; on their very first edition they had none other then The Scorpions headline for them and they had a rather diverse line-up, featuring some very good prog bands. Last year, the line-up contained a lot more Metal bands. Bands such as Rage, Gamma Ray, Hammerfall, Iron Mask made the festival a lot more heavy while the headliner was some good old classic Hard Rock with Europe.

This inclination towards Heavy Metal was retained this year with headliners such as Rhapsody Of Fire, Accept and Blind Guardian and a whole slew of bands such as Evergrey, Powerwolf, Korpiklaani and much much more.

Day One: Friday

The festival started quite late in the afternoon on Friday so there were only a hand full of bands playing that day. Goliath had the honors of opening up the festival. I suppose that you could describe them as a hardcore band.

Next up were Methusalem. These guys from the Netherlands have a more traditional Heavy sound and offered a pretty good show. i quite liked their sound.

Odd Dimension was up next and these guys hail from Italy and were the first Prog band on stage. They are a bit synth heavy but there were some pretty great riffs in there as well and the vocals were excellent. If you're into Prog, check them out! You won't regret it.

Folk Metal was also represented on PPM Fest this year. It's first emmesary being Trollfest. Folk- & Pagan Metal tend to be a blast, and Trollfest proved to be no exception to that rule, where else can you see a band where the singer comes on stage dressed as a bottle of booze?

Being dressed as a bottle of booze isn't the only thing these Norwegian guys do, they play some seriously fun and fast Metal.  I'm not quite sure how to describe their sound though, as it's a mix between grunts, folk/gypsy music and Metal but it's a mix that works.

After the party with Trollfest it was time for Septic Flesh to grace us with their presence. Septic Flesh is a Death Metal band from Greece. Usually these kinds of bands are way out of my confort zone but their mix of Death Metal blended with Doom and Gothic Metal made the whole thing rather enjoyable.

The band also used quite a bit of classical music for their new album The Great Mass and the combination of it all just worked.

The Folk Metal assault was ready for round two after Septic Flesh and delivering the blows this time was Korpiklaani! Just like Trollfest Korpiklaani is pretty much a synonim for a good time.

Korpiklaani is one of my favourites ever since seeing them up close & live in Baroeg last year and just like then, the theme of their setlist is booze. Songs such as Vodka, Tequela, Happy Little Boozer or Beer Beer were played and loved by the audience, booze wasn't the only thing they sing about, and also songs such as Cottages and Sauna's and Pellonpekko were blasted at a crowd whom loved it all and begged for more! Korpiklaani is synonym to PARTY!

Time for the last band of the day. Doing the honors was the Italian band Rhapsody Of Fire.  The history of this band is rather tumultious. Legal battles between them and Manowar/Magic Circle, a name change and the founder walking out on them to form his own Rhapsody, their history is not a boring one.

I saw them for the very first time last year in Charleroi but that concert was rather dissapointing, the sound was horrible and you could hardly make out any singing between the bass and drums.

This time however, the sound was perfect! What a huge difference a good soundguy makes! The vocals were crystal clear and every note from each guitar could be heard! Needless to say I loved their performance!  If you like this kind of bombastic, epic metal, check them out!

Day Two: Saturday

The second day of the festival proved to be the most busy, not only did the most bands play on this day, there were also friends of mine on stage.  The first band however, was something I didn't know yet. No Fatality is a local band with a distinct NWOBHM sound, which proved to be quite a nice surprise.

Next up was Azylya, with the lovely Jamie-Lee. One of the bands whom I know personally. This was the first time for Azylya to stand on a large stage, and you could kind of tell, with the band not feeling 100% confortable on stage, which is understandable I guess, the step from small clubs to a huge festival stage would give most of us nerves.

But still, despite of the nerves they did what they set out to do: play their music in front of a large crowd and try & win fans over.

If you're into female fronted bands, such as Epica or Delain, you might want to check them out.

Nightqueen took over for Azylya and we had the second female fronted band for the day. Just like Azylya, this is a Belgian band. But while Azylya is more Melodic/Gothic Metal, Nightqueen is pure Power/Heavy Metal! I was quite impressed by the stage presence and vocals of Keely Larreina and their Judas Priest cover "Diamonds & Rust" was most impressive, I highly recommend looking this band up!

After being charmed by the queen, it was time for some guys to kick some ass! Doing the ass-kicking were none other then my friends from the U.K., Fury UK!

Just like their past shows, these guys ROCK! They play a mix of Heavy Metal & Hard Rock and are the Bomb live! Each of the members are great musicians, Chris Appleton shreds like there's no tomorrow and his brother Luke owns the bass. No wonder he's been recruited by Iced Earth just a few weeks ago. Martin Mcnee completes the band on drums and while you'll have a hard time seeing him, you won't have the same problem hearing him. These dudes ROCK!

Time for some Prog Metal now with Evidence, founded by the great Diego Reali (from DGM fame). This Prog Metal/Power Metal combo featured some mighty impressive shredding.

Poland was represented on PPM fest as well by Pathfinder, this Power Metal formation was unknown to me, but what I heard was excellent! The band had a lot of energy and they even brought along a guest singer for the occasion; Dianne Van Giersbergen (ex Libris). Overal the show was great. I'll be seeing these guys again.

Eden's Curse turned out to not be a curse but a blessing. These guys took the stage after Pathfinder and they bloody hell know what they're doing! These Power Metal/Melodic Hard Rock guys kicked it up a notch!

That Sweden is known for their Metal exports shouldn't be a suprise to most. With bands such as Hammerfall and Sabaton to name but two, Sweden has given us some great music over the past few years. But Sweden has more then just Power Metal. Andromeda is a Swedish Prog Metal band that has been compared to bands such as Dream Theater in the past. Personally, I prefer Dream Theater but these guys were far from bad, but I felt like something was missing in the mix. If you're into Prog Metal however, I'd recommend you to look them up.

Time for the most Epic band of the whole festival. Time for Hell! This band has had an iconic if not cult status for over 20 years, dating back to the NWOBHM era but only recenlty having released their debut album Human Remains and it's easy to see why they had that Cult status. These guys were bloody AWESOME!

The performance of David Bower was very theatrical and the whole concept of him being a Hellish Priest works very well with the band's song and themes. I can't recommend this band highly enough!

Finntroll had the dubious honor of coming up after Hell and I've never been a huge fan of them, prefering Korpiklaani. They had some trouble getting the crowd going but nevertheless, they managed to get everyone awake and put down a strong set.

Of all the Prog Metal bands, Evergrey is probably my favourite, mostly due to the voice of Tom S. Englund. I've seen Evergrey countless times before, and just like always, they put down an excellent show where the music comes first.

The setlist consisted of some of their best works such as Blinded and The Masterplan and of course A Touch Of Blessing.

The end of the day was drawing near and as second-last band of the day came Sonata Arctica. These Finnish Power Metallers have been arround for ages and most people have at least heard of them before. Songs such as Replica and Full Moon are staple songs on a Sonata Arctica show and that's great because those are probably their best songs. They put down a good show and even played songs from their upcoming album. However, those new songs could not really convince me. Overall it was a great show.

Accept was the head-liner for Saturday and they were the main reason for me to goto PPM Fest. I've loved Accept with Udo Dirkschneider and I love Accept with Mark Tornillo. They couldn't find a better front man to replace Udo than Mark even if they decided to clone Udo.

They played a few songs from their new album, Stalingrad but most people were there for the old stuff. Metal Heart, Balls To The Wall, Restless And Wild, Breaker, Son Of A Bitch, Neon Nights,... They were all there! These guys might not be the youngest blokes on the stage, but they f'cking ROCK!

If you've never seen them live, what the hell are you waiting for?! Hell freezing over?!

Day Three: Sunday

The end of the festival drawing closer, Nereids had the honors of opening up the last day of the festival. Nereids is French Female Fronted Gothic Metal band (what's in a title) was a decent enough opener. I'm not that big a fan of Gothic metal, but the vocals were great, so check them out if this is your bag.

Stone Goats were getting closer to my kind of music being a blend of Metal sounding a bit as a mix between Down and some good old classic Hard Rock but the vocals couldn't convince me.

Beyond The Labyrinth are another bunch of friends of mine whom were playing on this festival and as usual, they delivered their songs with flair.

PG Haggerty has taken over the role of vocalist from Jo De Boeck and he's fitting in great with the band despite having a voice that's quite different from Jo's.

Fans of Prog Rock really should check out Belgium's prime example of Prog Rock.

On Sunday the French were quite well presented, the second French band of the day, Lonewolf turned out to be the best entry from France by a long shot. This Speed/Heavy Metal band kicked it up a notch after the more melodic Beyond The Labyrinth and they came to PPM fest to do what they do best: ROCK.

They reminded me a lot of Grave Digger and Running Wild, both bands that I like a lot so it's easy to see why I like these guys. Here's to hoping they come back soon!

Manigance was the last entry from France and for me, personally, the least convincing bunch. Maybe it's because of the French lyrics, I don't know, but something just didn't work for me, despite quite a few people I know liking them.

Give them a listen and decide for yourself on this one.

Power Metal definately was well represented on Sunday. Power Quest was up next and they put up an okay show, new frontman Colin Callaman did well on vocals and songs such as Power Quest, Edge Of Time and Temple Of Fire were on the set list. Overal a nice performance.

Taking over for Power Quest was the band Stormwarrior. Just like Power Quest these guys play Power/Speed Metal and have been doing so for a while now. They put down a fast and fun set.

Last of the three Power Metal bands was Mystic Prophecy. Just like Stormwarrior these guys come from Germany (yes, Germany is home to many Metal bands). They put down a nice set with some excellent vocal work by Roberto Liapakis. Fans of Power Metal should check them out.

Powerwolf was for me one of the highlights of PPM Fest. This German Heavy Metal band is one of the most entertaining bands I've seen onstage. The charisma of frontman Attila Dorn coupled with the powerfull guitarwork from the brothers Greywolf gives birth to a formula that kicks some major ass!

There is a lot that can be said about Powerwolf. Like how they pretend to be from Romania, or how they make fun of the Christian faith but I'll just stick to the most important bit: they sound AWESOME! They have great, catchy tunes and above all, a great sense of humor. Raise Your Fist, Evangelist!

Speaking of humor, have you ever heard of the band Freak Kitchen? This Swedish band is one of the most original, random bands I've ever had the pleasure of seeing live and were for many the discovery of the festival.

The music isn't the most complicated fair but what it lacks in complexity, it makes up for in originallity.

This band however managed to completely own the crowd in less then 10 minutes, thanks to the humorous and random nature of frontman Mattias IA Eklundh. Something to be seen to be appreciated. So next time you see the name Freak Kitchen on a line-up somewhere, get your ass over there! Tip Top Goody Goody!

After the fun with Powerwolf and Freak Kitchen came the last female fronted band of the weekend, Epica. Frankly, the venue was a little bit small for Simone's ego. Having a huge curtain hide the stage while they get ready, not letting photographers take pictures during the first song and generally being a female dick. I did my duty and took some pictures, but I mostly used the time to rest myself a bit for the real headliner, Blind Guardian!

Who doesn't know Blind Guardian? The Bards of Heavy Metal? This German Power Metal behemoth has scored hit after hit and collected a huge following over the many years, deservenly so.

Blind Guardian doesn't need any fancy stage antics or special effects to impress their fans, all they need is to play. The music is played with perfection and frontman Hansi Kürsch is one of the best metal singers to ever come from Germany.

A Blind Guardian concert also means lots of singing by the crowd and singing we did!

Classics such as Valhalla and The Bards' Song passed the revue and for the coming two hours, we forgot the cold and the fatigue. For two hours, we were singing about magical times and far away places. About lords and rings and before you knew it, PPM Fest came to a close.

In summary, Power Prog & Metal fest 2012 was a blast despite the cold cold weather. The organisation is top notch, the line-ups sofar have always been original and the location offers plenty of space to grow and mature. I'm already looking forward to Power Prog & Metal Fest 2013!