This was my fifth visit to this great event. There are many regular attendees from many countries and many newcomers as well. Everyone is welcome. This year I knew hardly anything about the bands but as I have come to learn, this is no obstacle. In the past I have “discovered” NahemaH, Ephel Duath, Day Six, Leprous and hosts of other talented and diverse bands from the heavier, dreamier and eccentric corners of the Progressive spectrum.

On the Friday evening, I walked from the castle where most people stay to the tidy village of Baarlo, the location of the Sjiwa club where this festival takes place, passing a mobile cheese van as I did so. Ah, it’s Holland. The first band to hit the stage this year were Barstool Philosophers from the host country. In the spirit of true Progressive bands, Barstool Philosophers were slightly off the wall and changes of tack were a feature of their musical performance. The drummer and bassist held it together but the vocalist was struggling to cope with the climactic moments. I struggled to cope with the continuity of the songs. As a stage act, there was very little animation. This may have been down to nervousness. In particular this seemed to afflict the vocalist, who mumbled the song titles and seemed uncomfortable in his presentation. The last song showed there might be something there. A few members of the audience were feeling it but I found it a bit bland and felt as if I was on the outside looking in. There were some strong passages but they were never sustained to any consistent degree. Maybe another day. Hopefully the next band would raise the bar …

I had high hopes for Subsignal from Germany. Although I’d not heard anything by them, I knew they were an amalgam of musicians from Sieges Even and Dreamscape. From the outset we were on a lofty musical plane. The deep beat went through as if it was controlling my heart rhythm. It was groovy yet with tones of sorrow. This is what it’s about. Positive electricity ran through it, as we were invited through the music to have a good time. “Where Angels Fear to Tread” was introduced, and we were treated to some funky guitar work and the singer’s angelic voice, with great harmonies from the other members. The atmosphere was enhanced further by the keyboard player who had an important role. And here was the strength of this band: each member had a special talent which was used to collective advantage. What’s more they knew how to exploit sound, thereby creating deep layers and rhythms. “Feeding Utopia” was bouncy and enthusiastically performed. Technical skill and ideas came from all angles. The band made us part of it and even when their material was moody and atmospheric, they still generated warmth through their gracious manner. We broke the emotional barrier time after time and experienced magic during “The Sea” and indeed throughout this virtuoso performance. This was Prog excellence.

Seventh Wonder, Friday’s headliners, came on stage with a flourish. This was full on Prog with plenty of keyboard action but I wasn’t knocked out by it. The singer, who looks remarkably like Kevin “KP” Pietersen (KP is a top cricket player for England, for those who haven’t got the religion of cricket), had a strong voice. The band could certainly play and it was all very extravagant but something was missing here. It was going down well at the front but I had the impression that KP was playing just to them. He seemed more concerned with his appearance than anything mundane like introducing songs. There was a big sound and KP came on dramatically from stage right to add his input. It was all so plastic and contrived. Out came the clichés: “Let’s make this night special by tearing this place apart”, “I can’t hear you”. Never heard that before. Inexplicably, the band were all wearing black shirts with a red logo, making them look like the military. KP was wearing a riot vest. Why? I could understand it if they were Rammstein or Kraftwerk but they’re a Swedish Prog band. Considering their evident interest in image, they didn’t seem to have thought through their appearance or audience interaction very thoroughly. To be fair, there was power in the songs and the guitarist was particularly good, but it didn’t seem to match all the hype. From the style of the solos, I’d guess they are fans of Queen. KP announced that we were going to hear their softer side. Oh dear. It got worse. The keyboard player had a major role but any delicacy was lost in the feedback and the keyboard player had the permanent expression of someone who’d just had some very bad news. In fact apart from the bassist who was the only one who seemed to realize there were real people in the audience, there was a void in the band’s personality department. A back-up female singer then came on stage and trotted out some dirge. The music was just unimaginative. The band had a good guitarist and a bad image. Some of the structures were quite difficult but the power didn’t always come across. Seventh Wonder were much better when heavier and I was relieved when we returned to the “big sound” but better as it was, it didn’t seem to have any discernible purpose or direction. We then had to endure protracted introductions of the band members, which was an irony as those of us who aren’t Seventh Wonder clones had no idea what we were listening to. I started to look at my nice Subsignal cd which I’d just bought. I missed the ProgPower edition when Seventh Wonder played before so I cannot make any comparison but I am astounded that they should be back “by popular demand”. It was lost on me. The songs were mediocre and the performance was clichéd, and that from a band with a lead singer who pouted, posed and generally acted like a legendary rock star. I clearly don’t know what I’m talking about because parts of the crowd shouted for an encore. So we had “One Last Goodbye”. It was actually a well sung ballad and there was one last guitar solo to enjoy. “The memory will remain” warbled KP. Actually, I thought it was forgettable. The encore contained a brief shot of energy and like all decent encores contained a compendium of styles including a big ending, but like the rest of the set, my nerve ends didn’t start to jangle in the slightest. KP and his mates posed for a group photo. Seventh Wonder had all the gestures as if they were a big band, but in fact lacked presence, personality and genuine interpersonal engagement. I personally found them plastic and lacking in substance, but there would be some in the audience who would disagree with that view.

A special feature which has emerged at ProgPower is the availability of pre-listening sessions, for those who consider they don’t spend enough time listening to or talking about music. This year, the featured cds were the new ones by Andromeda on the Saturday morning, with Haken’s new album getting an airing on Sunday afternoon.

And so to Saturday afternoon, 1.30pm Central European Time. It was time apparently for the pounding, pumping Metal of Schizoid Lloyd from Holland. But wait .. we break off for a romp into an eccentric dreamland. The drummer continues to knock out the earlier frenetic pace. This is not normal. Is it rock, is it experimental, is it avant-garde? It is certainly Progressive and certainly Metal and it may just twist your mind. I thought back to Atrox at a previous ProgPower, where a similar confusion reigned. Sit back and enjoy, that’s the best. The sound of dancing puppets struck up. Flutes and trumpets can be heard. Schizoid Lloyd are an interesting band. But this isn’t just lunacy. It’s hard to tell what’s coming next but it’s highly imaginative. The mayhem is interrupted as deep emotive sound waves run through as an undercurrent and the whole thing slows down to give us a mind-blowingly melancholic passage. “Circus” was as off the wall as the title may suggest, starting with a piece which sounds like it should come from the cult series “The Prisoner”. What follows is more subtlety and melancholy before psychedelia enters the fray as if we’re back in the 70s and we’re with Hawkwind in their cosmic world. I liked very much the fact that this band knew how to linger when the atmosphere heightened. Schizoid Lloyd are very talented and creative musicians. They know how to round up all the loose ends in spite of the unidentifiable style. We heard the voice of choirboys, oompah and pretty much everything else but it was amazing how something always emerged out of the illusory chaos. Oddball as it may appear and sound, there were many beautiful rhythms, funky drum work, thunderous beats and ambient sounds. There are no rules, but whatever they do, they know where they’re going even if the audience doesn’t. The drama and entertainment lasted to the end as the lead singer switched roles and duetted on drums as the guitarist and keyboardist provided the added firepower. This was a strong performance from Schizoid Lloyd.

Death/Thrash Metal switched to Progressive dreaminess within two minutes of the start. This was White Walls from Rumania and the switch was a core part of their style. The drummer struck a fearsome beat, and there was melody and the patter changed to something jazzy. The music was powerful and well co-ordinated and the vocalist had a good range in both clean and growls mode, but I never felt that any progress was ever made. The breaks were good and it was good Classic Metal with many twists but the constant changing gave no chance to absorb the picture. The pattern continued throughout the set and my conclusion with this band is that they should adopt the maxim “less is more”.

I’d been obsessed with the album “Monolith” by In Mourning since the moment I bought it a couple of months earlier, having carried out some research into the bands featuring at ProgPower. This was the band I wanted to see the most. The melodic Progressive Death style is one I very much like, and the Swedes hit the groove from the first second of their set. By far the heaviest band so far, there was pure intensity in the instrumentals and the growls. As “Pale Eye Revelation” progressed, the mood changed to become more atmospheric. On the sub surface, deep soundwaves enriched the stage and created magic. To listen to, it was harsh but smooth as silk and easy on the Metal ear. It’s hard not to draw comparison with Opeth of the “Deliverance” era. Whoever it sounds like, it’s utterly pulsating. “Amnesia” prompted the first windmilling of ProgPower 2011. Dark, dangerous and always fluid, the bassist and three guitarists headbanged in unison before progressing to the next exhilarating melodic passage. “The Smoke” was next. I knew the track and as on the album it’s from, the band conveyed the deeply dark menace that it has as it slowly crept forward. There’s no standing still. The step-ups and step-downs were handled perfectly as here where we melted into sublime calm before returning to the chorus which entranced us earlier. The timing and psychology of it were perfect. The music enters our heads, our minds and our souls. Heaviness prevailed. This is a “giving horns” band, but the impact is achieved through the heightening drama. A ringing Katatonian rhythm ran through it all to add that extra layer as the transformations occurred between melodic ferocity and reflection. On both “For You to Know” and the faster “The Poet and the Painter of Souls”, darkness mixed with light in a sophisticated way. Watching the band operate in unison was like poetry, but it was never an industrial process without feeling. There was an epic quality about everything. The band were giving their all and were clearly enjoying it. In Mourning finished with the thunderous “The Black Lodge”. All the range of qualities in respect of the constantly transforming material and tight musicianship were in evidence. This was an immaculate performance by five musicians who combined to produce rich layers of sound as one unit. “You’ve been very awesome tonight” announced the lead man to the crowd. I wish to reciprocate the compliment.

DGM played at ProgPower Europe in 2007 and here they were again, having been added fairly late on. Although I was at ProgPower in 2007, I couldn’t remember anything about them other that they were from Italy and played Power Metal. I established that they have a new singer and are on currently on tour with Symphony X. Well, this wasn’t just Power Metal – this was the rampant version, the first time we’d had any during this festival. To go with the rapid-fire drumming and extravagant guitar playing and of course the obligatory solos, the lead singer made grand gestures. He was a good singer too, had an excellent Power Metal voice and range and could hold a note. The flourish in his voice brought Masterplan to my mind. Enthusiasm abounded. From the beginning it was lively and bouncy, slick and stylish. In spite of all the flamboyance it wasn’t self-indulgent. No one person or function within the band dominated. If there was a killer riff to exploit for our enjoyment, they did it. The basic songs were fluid and melodic as you would hope, and the stage was a hive of non-stop action. Surprisingly the crowd wasn’t getting too worked up. The enthusiasm from the stage was relentless. The singer opened his arms wide, came up to the edge of the stage and invited us all in. He and his fellow band members had a superb sense of audience engagement. “Thank you, thank you, thank you” chanted the singer. It didn’t sound in the least inauthentic. He was enjoying himself and finally it was getting infectious. After a well sung “chill out” song, which mercifully wasn’t cheesy, we were back to a high-octane, complex track with more colourful guitar work. It was nice that there was variation among the songs. The busy little singer intrigued me. How could he keep up this level of boundless energy? I spoke to him afterwards and he attributed this to being Italian and to his own passion. I also found out that he is a vocal coach. This came as no surprise. To end, “New Lies” was another pulsating and breakneck experience. I was so impressed with the presence and energy of DGM. It wasn’t all galloping and rampaging Power Metal by any means. Even when the foot was momentarily taken off the accelerator to reveal the wider technical qualities of the band, there was still loads of action. DGM gave everything and deserved the warm applause they received at the end.

The dry ice rose. It was time for the cerebral Post Rock/Metal of Germany’s Long Distance Calling. The men from Münster launched into their long protracted chords. Heads swayed. The ambiance and style was very similar to that of Isis. The band members recognized the audience’s enthusiasm and even seemed surprised by it. Unlike some instrumental bands of this ilk, it wasn’t a solitary experience, nor was it minimalist. Dark electronica intervened to send sound waves through the subtly hypnotic guitar work. It was heavy, dark and deep but the soundscapes were enhanced by popping electronic emissions and Prog rhythms. At times it was bursting with life, at others the ambiance was dreamy and melancholic. With stereotypical Teutonic precision, the guitarist announced that there was 16 minutes left. This was the prompt for the ultra moody “Metulsky Curse Revisited”. We heard big sounds from a big band. It was delightful.

The long-haired brigade replaced the intellectual Germans. If a straw poll had been taken, Symphony X would have come out as the main attraction this weekend. The Americans came on in a blaze of bombastic glory. The singer lapped up the applause, and we were soon into Power Metal action and words: “we are strong, we stand and fight”. It was cheesy but power was being generated from all angles. The keyboard player stood imperiously over it all. The singer acted as a playful madman, grimacing and leading a chorus of clapping as a huge wall of Power Metal sound raged on in the background. “The End of Innocence” provided punch and some sophistication. The slower “When All is Lost” showed another side. It was all exaggerated and larger than life but good entertainment. I noted that the guitarist belonged to the small group of his kind who could make his instrument talk. As the show went on and the drumming remained at the same pitch, I did wonder if we were being baffled by the loudness and the showmanship out there. The singer had his act and did it well. Members of the audience gave him beer. He handed out water and took photographs for people. It was sharing. I couldn’t make my mind up if this was fantastic entertainment or just exaggerated dramatics which were hiding a lack of musical breadth. Clearly a large proportion of the audience didn’t have this dilemma as they jumped up and down enthusiastically and joined in the lyrics of “Set the World on Fire”. I’m not an aficionado of Symphony X and although I enjoyed it and there was quality in the music, for the most part it didn’t for me at least go beyond the formulaic.

And so, onto Sunday. Today’s post lunch slot was occupied by another Dutch band Sky Architect. Wearing a natty range of hats, the band came on and set about entertaining us with a compact, technical vibes, nice changes of pace, diversions into territory and jazz sections. This was complex and slightly eccentric Prog – in other words, it was interesting. “Deep Chasm” is many things as it’s about 20 minutes long and we got all of it. It’s jazz, presented in a Prog Rock style, then it slows down to a crawl and we have Beatles-style melancholy. The singer had a very nice voice and I really liked the fact that the lyrics were designed as if he was taking part in a conversation and he was telling us something personal on a one-to-one person. This was very effective. It was reminiscent of Porcupine Tree but most importantly, it was well done. The keyboard player played a quiet tune which could quite easily have been used for a film set involving people reflecting on their lives. “Deep Chasm” is a long track which moves through a number of moods. It was all impressively handled. So we were forty minutes into a one hour set, we’d had two tracks and the singer announced there were two more. A lady back-up singer was introduced – the third one of the festival, is this the new way of Prog Metal? It wasn’t immediately obvious why as the band launched into a foray of marching Prog jazz avant-gardism. Then the soft dual vocals came in. Jazz was there again and there was a bit of everything Prog. One thing which was apparent was that Sky Architect didn’t like ending tracks. This was all too much for a number of spectators who left to go outside and take the air, so when I left the room was half as full as it had been at the beginning. For my part I thought it was gripping and original. I really enjoyed Sky Architect’s show.

Memento Waltz from Sardinia were next to play. Complex, twisted and dark riffage with a vocalist pouring out his thoughts was what I heard and saw. The bass line was good but the vocals seemed detached from the broth of sound going on around him. In fact I wasn’t sure whether the rest of it fitted together. In fact the four musicians seemed to be working independently. Maybe this was the point. I understood that this was deep and dark Prog but I just couldn’t discern any sense of direction. It didn’t help that the band had the same non-existent stage presence as The Barstool Philosophers on the first day. Although the set finished on a high tempo, I think I missed the point here. I can normally cope with the changes and movements of pure Prog but although there were some interesting sound effects here, I had no sense of any whole, nor did I feel swept away on any emotional tide. In fact for me, the water was still and the tide was out. There were a lot of experimental type noises but I couldn’t say what was happening. “Cosmic Illusion” was the title of a track and may give a clue. Word in the beer tent afterwards was that Memento Waltz seem to have been inspired by Spiral Architect. Maybe, but I just don’t know what Memento Waltz were trying to convey. If they’re yin, I’m yang.

Subsequent events overshadow what Finland’s Sole Remedy were or weren’t like. At the time, no-one could ever have predicted what was going to happen later. Sole Remedy came on stage and made a great contribution to this normally joyous occasion. Technically they were a very good band with many sides to their output, including old school Classic Rock, Metal, growls, melancholy and reminders of Pink Floyd. I didn’t entirely get where they were coming from or going to musically, but what I do remember of their performance was the fun and laughter they generated. The “Finnish Devin Townsend”, as the vocalist and lead guitarist mockingly didn’t like to be called, and his chums were full of genial bonhomie. The keyboard player at one point leapt into the crowd and started headbanging from the pit before returning to his normal duties. Along with DGM, this was the fun band of the event. Having met the Finnish Devin Townsend and the bassist afterwards, I know they’re great people as well as fantastic entertainers. I can’t imagine what effect Mikko’s death will have on them. It’s so sad.

There weren’t too many people in the room after Sunday’s dinner break when another Italian band Kingcrow took to the stage. This was, as a fellow concert goer suggested to me, easy listening Prog. It was nice to get back to the world of classic melodic songs. There was a nice cadence about Kingcrow’s songs. The lead singer was another showman. Very expressive, he had a good, reassuring voice which was pleasant to listen to. “Islands” had a nice calming beat. The keyboard player sent waves and sampled flute sounds through the stage. Although the music was delicate, Kingcrow were capable of changing moods at a second’s notice to a harsh and threatening tone. They gave themselves time to create a mystical atmosphere. The guitarist and drummer patiently supplied the backbone as the keyboard player provided the magic. Sometimes it deviated into sweeping avant-garde territory. Maybe they were trying too much. The set got better as it went along. “Covocaine” had a great groove line and with a melodic chorus and solid support from the drums and bass which made you want to move, a sinister Eastern rhythm added flavour. An instrumental brought us some adrenaline-inducing rock but the highlight for me was a Latin-infused track “Fading Out Part III”. Latin acoustics and singing were matched by dark Prog rhythms and an exotic drum section. This was one to move to. “Phlegethon” was hard-hitting and had a typically catchy beat. The vocalist stood tall and delivered his message with venom. The chorus was anthemic. I felt that Kingcrow were best when they played it in linear fashion as on “Fading Out Part III” and didn’t violently deviate mid-stream for the sake of being Prog. The base sound was brilliant but I thought more work was needed on the progression of tracks. Having said this, there were many moments of excellent entertainment during this set, and the band was widely appreciated.

Mekong Delta are a legendary and influential band, and in fact have been around for 25 years. It was pointed out to me that the Germans come from an age before keyboards and female back-up vocalists in Prog Metal, and that I could perhaps expect their set to seem outdated, innovative as it was once upon a time. Well I didn’t think it was outdated. It was different from the other bands. For the most part, this was timeless old school Thrash Metal. The drummer beat hell out of his skins. The guitarists were going at it hammer and tongs. Heaviness reigned. It appeared that the raging Speed Metal cut out any nonsense of there being any edge, but as the set progressed I came to marvel at the skill of the guitarists. The firepower which the guitarists provided to support the ridiculously overdressed lead singer was both lethal and intricate. The chaos was controlled and the underlying rhythms were magnetizing. Yes, this was an express train ploughing through the night. Instead of the hackneyed “you’re amazing”, the singer appreciated his audience and provided a personal touch by drawing attention to a Swiss spectator who’d come 1100 kilometres to see them. I laughed when the singer announced it was time to “speed up a little” for “Immortal Hate”. The ace guitarists were up to the task of course. Visually Mekong Delta were very good. There was a lot going on up there on the stage and this is a very professional band. The instrumentalists had their own play and with “Intermezzo” we had the customary thrashing drums to accompany deep, complex and psychedelic guitar work. Somehow the fusion of noise all came together. This was like being pulled along at high speed. The vocalist couldn’t be expected to keep up with all this and didn’t try, matching the colourful guitar combination with a distinctive lower tone Power Metal style or even mellow vocals. I could see why this band was regarded as innovative and why they are legendary. There’s something quite different about them. The engagement is total, they play fast and hard, not always fluidly but the movement is good. There are rare moments of Prog. The highlight for me was the guitarists. The instrumentals are like a machine but there’s still space in there to be occasionally soulful, but always technical and capable of playing tricky melodies. Out of chaos comes order, if you know what you’re doing, and Mekong Delta certainly do.

And finally we had Redemption from the USA. The set started 10 minutes late after a frantic series of sound checks. The bassist stood in his hoodie on the hot stage, making Mekong Delta’s singer now seem underdressed. Like Symphony X the previous day, there was a “big band” feel but Redemption didn’t have the swagger and pomp of their US counterparts. I liked that. The music was the communication medium. The guitar combination was strong and the drum mix was rich. The vocalist however sounded a bit hoarse. The songs erred towards Power Metal but the delivery was unconvincing at first. In fact there seemed to be something wrong as the singer didn’t appear to be interested. There was no bonding with the rest of the band who didn’t appear to have any enthusiasm either. The singer moved around independently. The guitarists and bassist meanwhile kept their distance. Announcing tracks was a gesture and the singer might as well not have bothered. He seemed to be struggling and when announcing “Dreams from the Pit”, it was as if he wasn’t prepared. The instrumentals were deeper and technical, but whilst ok, there was nothing extra special about this performance. Then finally, the singer decided to put some feeling into his words after a great guitar solo and the whole thing stepped up a gear. The anguish was evident as the singer convinced us with the line “I’m worthless .. it seems there’s no way out”. A feature of this band is the dark lyrics and only now were they being expressed. Alarm bells rang at the start of the next track “Walls”. The singer couldn’t remember the title and sought the help of the guitarist who just gave him a filthy look. In spite of this, and the fact that the singer had to look down regularly at his prompt sheet on the stage, there was a marked improvement in the quality of the delivery. “Walls” is a well constructed song and the mix of vocals, lyrics and instrumental work were played to best advantage. The singer had a good voice now and the guitar work was excellent. What was missing was the enthusiasm. The singer seemed to be picking up but the bassist and guitarist stuck to their positions to the singer’s left, as if to avoid the apparent frosty conflict going on between the singer and the other guitarist. “New Day Devil” was another good song. It’s dark but not confined to a genre and for that reason it’s refreshing. I could hear an element of Brainstorm-like riffs. “Oh shit .. I’m having a great time” uttered the singer. He didn’t give the impression of it although his mood seemed to be improving. He hadn’t lost his humour. Announcing “Black and White” he explained that we were going to hear a piano solo, only that there wasn’t a keyboard player as he left the band two weeks ago. Instead we had a sample and everyone was fine about that. The sampled piano was the prelude to some heavy rock and roll and an excellent riff. A unique drum sound added spice. The singer was now doing his best but was croaking again. The room was just over half full but there was prolonged and enthusiastic shouting for an encore. We got it. In fact we got two tracks, “Memory” and “The Death of Faith and Reason”. The singer continued to struggled and at one point almost got into a mess with his not-so-favourite guitarist who let him pass in front. The guitarist looked disgusted. It was as interesting to watch the interaction between the band members as it was to hear their music. But the music was good. Both of the encore tracks were strong, and had melody and drama. Any doubt that happy themes are part of Redemption’s agenda is totally dispelled by these tracks, whose lyrics include the lines “I’m scared that my dying breath my be your name” and, to close the show “There’s nothing left to wait for but the joy of death”. As a live performance, this was a strange one. I didn’t know about Redemption before I arrived but leaving aside their problems on stage, the reason for which I do not know, their music and eventually their performance won me over. Their music is different. It is Heavy Metal, and whilst it is neither Power nor Prog Metal in the purest sense, it has strong elements of both. The lyrics are dark and it’s edgy. I guess Redemption’s performance was proof that it doesn’t have to be text-book to be thoroughly entertaining.

My thanks go to the organizer Rene, his assistant Christian and the rest of the team for putting together such a wonderful event. The spirit of ProgPower Europe is reflected in the great people who attend, who play and who support the operation such as the personnel at the Kasteel de Beerkt where most of us stay and the residents of Baarlo. I can’t think what Rene must be feeling now but let’s not forget that ProgPower Europe has been going for 13 years now and it has been the source of immense joy, happiness and friendship to many people, including myself. Whether you’ve been to ProgPower 10 times or you’re a newcomer, the welcome is the same. Everyone is part of the ProgPower Europe family. It’s inclusive, fun and a musical treat.

Review Andrew Doherty

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