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| | | LIVE REPORT PPM FEST LOTTO MONS EXPO SAMEDI 19 AVRIL 2014 |  |
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LizaSteele
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Messages : 674
Date d'inscription : 03/10/2011
Localisation : PARIS
 |  Sujet: LIVE REPORT PPM FEST LOTTO MONS EXPO SAMEDI 19 AVRIL 2014  Jeu 8 Mai - 23:00 | |
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Mons is a small picturesque city in the South of Belgium with hospital and helpful people. So actually a perfect place for a festival like PPM.
We were warmly welcomed by the press-staff and everybody at the fest was always friendly. Just like the whole atmosphere was that weekend. Only nice people and fans.
One of the superb things was that there were only two stages at the Mons Expo, each facing the other. And after and in between every band, there was a pause of about 15 minutes where one could smoke, eat or have a fresh beer. So everybody could see all bands that were playing which is absolutely perfect. One questions why some festivals build 5 stages so that no-one is able to see all bands on that particular fest. It’s ridiculous and I wonder when they will finally stop that nonsense.
Another very positive thing were the fair prices for drinks and food. 4 euro for a double hamburger in a baguette and 2 euro for a beer are absolutely alright.
And last but no least, the incredible amount of high quality bands on this PPM 2014 edition.
Writing a review was very difficult, just because all groups were all so high standard. Very, very astonishing.
So overall it was fantastic. Let’s hope there will be one PPM Festival next year again as I can highly recommend it to any-one with a heart for metal. One of the best indoor fests in Europe for sure!
Jean Claude L’ Enfer
The Black Tartan Clan
First band of the fest that I see is The Black Tartan Clan as we missed the bands before them. A little strange to see a non-Scottish band wearing kilts, but i notice sometimes more people doing that on festivals. Seems like some trend.
What i liked about this was the piper and the good mood the band put everybody in. The second singer however looked a bit lost on stage and was pretty static. One can describe their music the best as a mix between funny hardcore with some Toy Dolls elements. It wasn’t very special, but with a glass of beer in my hand quite enjoyable.
  
Borealis
This band came to me as a big surprise. Now i must say that usually all that’s coming out of Canada is high class music. And so is the case with Borealis. A very steady rhythm section, clear melodic vocals and wonderful tandem guitar leads, reminding me of the old days in heavy metal. The sound of Borealis was also very bright and here and there even a touch of Van Halen. But their style is heavier than the usual progressive rock or metal bands. People should definitely check this band out and i’m very curious how they will develop in the future. I’m gonna check their two albums out for sure after seeing them doing so fine on this 2014 PPM edition.Emergency Gate
Although working hard on stage and with some cool crowd interaction it was tough for Emergency Gate to play after Borealis. Their melodic kind of metal-core seemed also not so fit for this particular festival. But for this genre they do have potential. Reminded me of Raunchy from Danmark at times.
  
Masterplan
For Masterplan the bigger crowd of the day finally gathered in the Mons Expo hall. The beginning of the show was a bit of a struggle and unfortunately they suffered from some sound problems. But the band is professional enough to not let that ruin their performance and so they played on with great enthusiasm and passion. Front-man Rick Altzi has an outstanding voice and is a very congenial person with a lot of positive energy. Some jokes and making fun next to the keyboard-player, who was really enjoying himself jumping up and down sometimes, made the audience laugh and that shows Masterplan is having a lot of fun on stage. No need to say that works infectious.
The band hadn’t played since 6 months which maybe explained the sound difficulties, but in the end all was solved and they did a marvellous gig. Very, very solid. The crowd loved it and the chanting after playing time gave everybody goose-bumps.
I‘m convinced of the capability of Altzi and he and Masterplan are just plain advertisement for heavy metal in general.
Hands down!
  
Evergrey
To me Evergrey is more symphonic hard rock or metal. I don’t really know where this definition progressive comes from. Singer/guitar player Tom Englund is a good crowd-player but perhaps I expected more in the beginning or let‘s just say that I was missing something. The lights were a little too dark and the band acted static. And after Altzi it’s not easy for any vocalist I guess. But Englund was up to the task, let there be no doubt about that.
Later in the set everything became more atmospheric and even some serious head-banging on stage took place. And essential, they too seem to enjoy it a lot, the band were having a good time and so did the fans.
And ain’t that the most important thing?
A superplus the beautiful guitar solo in between songs was.
With Evergrey I had this feeling that they know how to build a show nicely up and they get better after each song. Apparently, they are one of these bands that you should watch while doing their own headline show and they’ll probably are at their best after 60 minutes of playing.
Overall, I enjoyed this. A great job by these sympathetic Swedes.
   
Rage
After Evergrey I needed something fresh, like one needs coffee in the morning to wake up with. Or rain after a hot summer’s day.
And Rage totally delivered that. Being one of the first German thrash bands, they never seemed to compete with the likes of Sodom and Kreator, but their melodic style of thrash can’t be underestimated. This evening they showed what they’re capable of and that they still have a strong following.
Peavey improved his voice remarkably while getting older and Rage came, saw and conquered. The whole line of classics passed in review and the crowd completely freaked out. Chanting, banging, fist throwing, clapping and even some moshing. In that retrospect, it was indeed a thrash show worthy. The stage-acting was incredibly energetic, especially keeping in mind that these guys must be at least around 50 years of age. And guitarist Victor is a wizard with the strings. Incredible what this man got out of his instrument.
Highlight was when the whole crowd kept on singing Higher than the Sky. Brr! Simply chilling.
And even undersigned needed to take a break and a cold beer after this superb gig.
According to the audience, Rage was the band of the day.
  
Amorphis
So Amorphis had the ungrateful task to go next. And call it a decent show, but after Rage there was not much left to gain. Especially not if you play a more doomy kind of metal with keyboards and slower melodic death metal influences.
The band played tight, the show was free from any mistakes and finally the sound was loud as metal should be.
But for some reason it didn’t really sparkle. Maybe that was due to the fact that all bands before them brought this extra excitement and eagerness. Without degrading Amorphis, but to me it was a bit boring. Which could also be because the crowd still felt Rage in their minds and bones.
But.. when Amorphis set in one of their earlier death metal songs, all of a sudden everybody was raging. Perhaps they should have done that a little more…
Still, a solid show, for which the crowd was thankful.
  
My Dying Bride
The last band and headliner for the Saturday came on and believe it or not, but the first song My Dying Bride delivered proved to be utterly heavy. A very pleasant surprise. The sound was incredibly good, which is almost an English tradition.
As I have seen The Bride before I personally found that Aarons voice was better today and also than the way he sings on their records. His colleges stood behind him like an oiled machine, free from failure.
And one must say, this band truly has its very own identity and one doesn’t go to see them if you wanna party. No need to say that this evening it was very hard for MDB to convince the crowd considering all the bands who played before them. But they did succeed.
Watching Aaron on his knees or rolling himself up like a ball you almost feel sorry for the man and you nearly can feel the torment that’s scourging him. There’s no interaction with the audience, there‘s no need for that, there’s just his misery. And the band plays on..
A little minor was that they could have much better lights that would have supported their typical dark melancholic atmosphere.
For the rest, they were astonishingly impressive. Of course, Rage were the winner of today when it comes to the response of the public, but it’s impossible to compare My Dying Bride with them and it wouldn‘t be fair too.
In my opinion, My Dying Bride were the undisputed band of the Saturday at this 2014 PPM fest.   | |
|  | | | | LIVE REPORT PPM FEST LOTTO MONS EXPO SAMEDI 19 AVRIL 2014 | |
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| » RAGE @ PPM FEST 2014, 19 AVRIL, LOTTO MONS EXPO, MONS/BERGEN BELGIQUE
» AMORPHIS @ PPM FEST 2014, 19 AVRIL, LOTTO MONS EXPO, MONS/BERGEN BELGIQUE
» BOREALIS @ PPM FEST 2014, 19 AVRIL, LOTTO MONS EXPO, MONS/BERGEN BELGIQUE
» MASTERPLAN @ PPM FEST 2014, 19 AVRIL, LOTTO MONS EXPO, MONS/BERGEN BELGIQUE
» EVERGREY @ PPM FEST 2014, 19 AVRIL, LOTTO MONS EXPO, MONS/BERGEN BELGIQUE
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