Sirenia
Slot Machine
Slot Machine was pretty cool; the lead vocalist had this nifty pimp cane lol. He also had these really cool sunglasses that looked almost futuristic and robotic. All of the members were wearing suits. I wasn't as into their muziki but they were lively and kept me entertained. And they taught the crowd a bit of Korean. I was about six rows of people back and got a pretty good view.
Kiha And The Faces
These guys were super cool as an opening band. They were energetic and humorous. They invited the crowd to fill in parts of the song for them after teaching us the lyrics. That was part of the humor seeing as the part we filled in was a variation of 'la la la' with some Korean at the end. And he was like "it's okay that's not in Korean its gibberish...okay so the last part is, feel free to just say whatever wewe want. He also crowd surfed for a bit. It was a fun time. I didn't know the band beforehand but I found some zaidi songs to listen too.
Miyavi
kwa this time I was lucky enough to songesha 3 rows up. And the crowd was super friendly; I talked to so many people and they were easy going, no moshing, pushing, shoving, au anything. As for Miyavi's performance: he was kick ass! He's known for not using a guitar, gitaa pick and I got to see it up close and personal. He seemed like such a sweetheart and talked to the crowd about how thrilled he was to bring the east and the west together through music. I was happy to hear him play Long Nights, though it was the only one of my vipendwa to be played. ujumla, jumla I was impressed; he had some wicked dance moves too.
Scars of Armageddon
I came in late for this one but managed to snag sekunde row to the left. I don't particularly have an opinion on these guys since I was only there for one song. Based on that alone I wasn't much into their music, but I could appreciate the vocals; they had a very power metal sound.
Hessler
I liked these guys. They were badass. I loved their costuming for one. It was like typical rock nyota attire but I loved it. The vocals were strong and the instruments were powerful. I really appreciated their use of red lighting during their song 'Killing Machine' it just made sense lol. They had these cool banners on either side of the stage with their logo.
Hammerfall
For them I made it to the front. I had a blast; they had such a great energy. They all moved all over the stage, they had a ton of headbanging, and gave what I like to call the rock n roll fingers. They really engaged the crowd everyone sang along even the first time fans. The lead vocalist made lots of jokes as well. The one that stood out to me is when they were talking about how it's the 20th anniversary of their 1st album and people were asking if they'd play a full set of that album. And he was like, "hell no, not when we've released a new one! What did wewe guys think?" And then he give a thumbs up, to the side, and down. And afterwards was like, "well it doesn't matter, we're playing a track from it!" The guitar, gitaa was also super freaking cool; it was shaped like a hammer. I loved that. As for the vocals; wewe could hear them very clearly and they weren't over powered kwa the instruments. Which in themselves were awesome; I loved how in sync all of the guitarists were in their movements.
Delain
This was like my 4th time seeing these guys, I upendo them so much. And this was the best time yet; because they finally headlined! And that gave them so much room to up their performance and they absolutely did. They had these fog machines, I'm always a sucker for the fog machines. charlotte was wearing the prettiest and shiniest black dress I've ever seen lol. I loved how she interacted with her band mates. She was amazing with the crowd too; where I saw them the crowd really seemed to upendo Delain. I've never been in a crowd that cheered so loudly. And charlotte loved it. She was like, "this is usually the part where I ask wewe guys if wewe have the energy for more, but I think wewe guys have this." She looked like she was having so much fun. Just as much fun as the crowd; which was just as awesome as Miyavi's btw. I met two really awesome people there. Delain really is a good band for first time metal mashabiki because the crowd is expressively enthusiastic but wewe have your personal space and breathing room. In other words this was another one of my inayopendelewa tamasha experiences. I'm always a slut for Delain.
Battle Beast
I was so excited to see these guys. The crowd was really cool; at first I couldn't see anything but this guy was nice enough to let me squeeze up to the sekunde row. Noora didn't interact much with the crowd but her vocals were super clear and super powerful. I'm talking album quality clear. I loved her outfit too, lots of leather and studs and pretty make up. It was an ujumla, jumla lovely performance with an 80's rock sound.
Leaves Eyes
I went back to row three for these guys; that was the agreement lol. Even so I was able to see decently and I was super impressed. It was odd seeing Leaves Eyes without Liv. But the new singer had me intrigued. She had a wonderful voice and I loved her operatic soprano melodies. My inayopendelewa part though was when the lead male vocalist came out in full on viking armor. He had a war helmet, chest plate, and sword. That was one of the most badass things I've seen at a tamasha in a while. Again, they put on a great performance. I was happy to hear them play Halvdan the Black.
Sabaton
Before they even hit the stage I was enthralled. They didn't bring their usual tank because it wouldn't fit in the venue, but they had these nifty trench warfare style props. Like they had a full on scenery with crates of 'weaponry' labeled with the band logo. The drum set was surrounded kwa barbed wire. And the mic stands were shaped like guns. All of the members were clad in camouflage cargo pants. And they had this intro, "you're in the army now." The ujumla, jumla aesthetic was wicked. And depending on which country the song was about the vocalist sometimes wear a flag as a cape it was pretty neat. The lead's vocals were also album quality. Very loud and clear and I could hear him just as well from the back as I could from the front. He was also super funny; he was like "so now we're going to have a democracy here, wewe get to choose the inayofuata song." The crowd starts shouting songs and he's like "I lied but wewe do get two choices." I forgot which two he named though and of course the song that got the most cheers was played. After the song was chosen he was like, "okay now do wewe want the English version au the Swedish version." There were like no cheers for the English one and he was all, "okay wtf. I guess wewe all speak Swedish, that's convenient." And he starts talking to the crowd in Swedish. 10/10 reaction. In general he just seemed so happy to be with the crowd I was in. Of all the bands I've seen, I think that he showed the most gratitude and that's always amazing in a singer.
Once Human
I enjoyed this band very much. Lauren has such a powerful voice; her screams/growls are amazing. It was a bit hard to hear the cleaner vocals though--however I came to realize after all of the bands had preformed that this wasn't an issue with the band but with the venue's sound equipment that kept fading in and out. The band members themselves were hilarious, playful, and energetic. They joked around a lot and really brought the crowd to life. And one time during the onyesha the guitarist went off and played in the crowd. I was pleased to have a good view of this; front and center. And with a really easy-going but fun crowd.
My only critique was the lighting chosen; the constantly rapidly flashing lights made it a bit hard to see.
Kobra And The Lotus
Another kickass band. Once again, the vocals were quality. They played my inayopendelewa songs; Gotham and Solider. Kobra Paige was very interactive with the crowd and made it very fun. They also gave the audience a bit of humor when Kobra hopped up kwa the drumset and knocked a few of the cymbals over. They were also awesome enough to hang out after the onyesha was over.
Xandria
This was my sekunde time seeing them preform; first time as the headliner. I was happy to hear 'We Are All Murders' which they announced as a 'beautiful upendo song' lol. I adored Dianne's outfit, it was like something from Regina's wardrobe in Once Upon A Time. And she would spin around in it and it would shabiki out. Very enchanting. As expected Dianne's voices was powerful and amazing. The only problem was that kwa the end of the show, one of the speakers had blown out lol. But they carried on regardless and sang not just one encore song, but three! To that night that I've only ever gotten a two song encore--and I've been to a lot of concerts. I also loved the guitar, gitaa solo.
MindMaze
For this tamasha I was center sekunde row. One thing I liked about MindMaze's onyesha is that the lighting was very good for taking pictures. The band had some technical difficulties but over all, gave a great show. I really loved the vocals of this band.
Sirenia
Proud to say that I was a part of their first North American tour! And as expected they gave a great performance. Emmanuelle was so sweet and she would shake hands with the crowd and what not. Her voice was phenomenal and the instruments were just as so.
Arkona
This was their 15th (I think) anniversary tour, so that was cool. This was the sekunde time I saw them. Like the last time, they came out in costume; different costumes though. And Mesha put on an amazing performance with her harsh vocals. wewe could hear them very clearly. I always enjoy seeing the bagpipes on stage too lol. One other thing that these guys did well was, they managed to get the crowd moshing without even saying much lol.
The Burst and Bloom
I was front and off to the right for this one. The guys seemed very sweet and their muziki was a kind of relaxing way to start the day. They were very quiet though at times.
Save Ferris
I saw these guys from a distance. They had a good sound. I loved the lead singer's hair. They had this kinda jazzy sound to em it was pretty cool. She was really lively too.
Attila
Holy shit lol this crowd was rough. Not as bad as Babymetal though. I really enjoyed the band's fuck the rules mentality. They were all like "other bands get all preachy but Attila doesn't preach shit." Almost getting crushed kwa surfers aside, I had a good time. They really knew how to get the crowd going. They did have some stage decor too; a bunch of neon green banners. I really enjoyed their song All Hail Rock N Roll. They had great sound too everything was loud and clear.
Memphis Mayfire
These guys I saw from a distance too, but they had an amazing sound. I can't say much other than that though because I was too far away. But I did notice the guitarist doing a lot of jump spins.
New Years Day
I was back to front right again for New Years Day. I had a blast with these guys! Like Ash had an amazing stage presence and her vocals were so clear and amazing. There were times when she fell a bit flat vocally but I still loved hearing her. She was also really funny and made jokes about how wewe have to be a weirdo if you're seeing New Years Day. She also went crowd surfing on a raft, slab while singing, so that was badass. And at the very end one of the members came out and I got a high five. They had a kickass banner in the ha ground too that had a skull with a crown and Ash's hair style. Crowd was much tamer.
Stacked Pancakes
Lol first thing I hear upon arriving late, "We all have siku jobs maybe if they don't moto us." I only caught the end here but seeing trombones along side guitars was an experience for sure.
Sonic Boom Six
I was thrilled to be front and center for these guys because they were one of the two bands I was excited for. Laila was so energetic and lively she was always dancing and moving. And she was such a sweetheart. No stage decor but the sound was great. They invited everyone to meet them at the mercy stand so I got to take a pic with Laila too, she alisema she wished I would have told her that my inayopendelewa song was Virus so she could have played it. It's the thought that counts. :'D
Alestorm
Still front and center for this group I was third most excited for them. These guys were a blast too they played a lot of my vipendwa like Sunken Norweigan, Mexico, Drink, and Fucked With An Anchor. They also did a kick punda cover of Hangover. Right before imba Fucked With An Anchor they alisema they were gonna say what they thought of the crowd. And at the very end they promised to sign tits, ass, and d***holes." Super funny stage presence. Would pirate metal again. Very new and good experience. They also sang very loud and clear. The crowd did some surfing but was otherwise controlled.
Barbed Wire Dolls
Still kept front and center. Of all of the bands I'm glad I got front for this one because the lead vocalist was let me sing into her mic and was literally imba in my face and into the camera. Her head banging was wild she actually sat on the security guard lol. The guitarists and bassist were kick punda head bangers too. The vocals were super loud and super clear. They also hung around back stage and the guitarist alisema she couldn't stop staring at my outfit and they took really metal pictures. They aren't a well known band but are totally worth checking out if wewe get the chance.
Emmure
For this one I was front and left the crowd was wild, like security guards in the audience crazy. But the guitars and growls were awesome. I wasn't too into their muziki but it was good enough for me to enjoy. mashabiki of zaidi hardcore screams would adore these guys.
Gwar
Kept front left somehow and there is literally no better place to experience Gwar. I was drenched in fake blood and bug juice. If wewe see Gwar wewe gotta get to the front so wewe can get drenched. So basically they drenched wewe in 3 skits; one where the fake cut off their hands, another where they basically fap it out with heshima junk, and when where they dressed as Trump and gutted him. These guys have a sense of humor. One guy was in a loincloth and his punda checks were hanging out. This was definitely a one of a kind band and I feel oddly blessed to have experienced such weird punda shit. I didn't know any of the songs I literally heard there'd be fake blood and jumped at the opportunity. And their centipedes, centipede water blaster heshima was cool. They also had a fake dog named Pookie that helped spray blood.
Andy Black
Caught the end of his onyesha and watched it from a distance. Because of that I can't say too much about them. Andy has a great voice and I loved their smoke show.
William
Also caught the end of their onyesha and watched from a distance. I only heard their cover of Running Up The kilima but they had an 80's synth, The Cure style of muziki so I was a fan.
Barb Wire Dolls
