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Before I move onto our review of this event,I want to make a few things clear. This event kicks ass,and next year I hope they recieve a bigger turn-out than what they had this year. It was our first year down there...we don't want it to be our last time there either.

Anthony helped in this review...his reviews appear in RED and mine appear in LIME GREEN. All other text which appears in white is for events that took place during the show. Also,we are just going to get into the review straight off the bat here...any wierd,interesting,or funny stories will be found at the very bottom of the page...after the entire event has been reviewed. Thank you for reading this...we hope you enjoy it.-Anthony and Chris.

FRIDAY

Maryland...a place where the four of us (Anthony,Rich,Shannon and myself) have never been before. This reason was special though...this was the fifth annual POWERMAD fest...showcasing true metal bands in the United States and giving us the reason for the trek. After a three and a half hour car ride from Bloomfield,New Jersey we arrived at the hotel,dropped our stuff off,and hung around for an hour before leaving for the Tall Cedars venue to witness a festival we were looking forward to for quite a while.

We arrived at the venue around five in the afternoon and immediatley made a run to the liquor store. After purchasing a six pack of Mikes Hard Lemonade (I had one,Rich bought his own stuff,Shannon had two and Anthony had three),we went into the venue for the show. Anthony gets drunk fast,and he says he was buzzed (I honestly didn't notice) and went around buying a ton of CD's and other shit (he also hung out with a band named DARKSIDE. More about them later.) while Rich and I prepared the video camera to begin filming bands. After a while (I forgot how much time went by,but I bought some cigarettes at the local 7-11 down the road), the first band came on the stage.

STORM WITHIN

Chris-Man...I don't know WHAT IT IS about women fronting metal bands,but I don't like most of the bands. I'm not being sexist or anything...but most of the time,it seems like a desperate move by a band with shitty music to throw a woman up front and hope guys will listen with their dicks instead of their ears. I thought this chick was pretty hot...but then two things happened...I got a GOOD look at her and she started singing. The band took a long time to get on stage,and a lame Spice Girls joke made me want to kill myself...by I kept it together for YOU...the people who couldn't go to this event. The bass solo they played WAS rather cool ("Loss Fer Words"-Iron Maiden). Again...this is like pouring a bottle of acid on a corpse...totally unneccesary and frivilous.

Anthony-This band fucking SUCKED! Now I see why they opened Powermad. My first impression was that it might suck,considering that THIS BAND opened the event. Some OK guitar work...they tried.

DIVINE RUINS

Chris-Really good band. Songs weren't too long,so that's a plus in my book. The songs made up fpr the lack of energy the band displayed on stage...but the keyboard palayer was really good,and I was glad to hear that he was mixed rather well with the other instruments. Most times,live bands drown out the poor keyboard player,but this was an exception...and he shined during his brief solo. Again...I like this band!

Anthony-Good stuff. Singer reminded me of James Rivera from Helstar. Not much movement,but GREAT SONGS.

BREAKER

Chris-Band was better than average,but not as good as I have heard from others. They played a new song named "Manifesto"...it was alright.Band rumbled along behind their singer who had some power in his voice,but I think he restrained his voice from doing more than it probably can. Played material from "Get Tough" and newer stuff. The band has a classic sound with a bit more heaviness than Maiden or Priest. They were alright.

Anthony-Ever since I heard "Still Life" and "Ten Seconds In",I really needed to see BREAKER. Good Job. Didn't sound much like I expected. Not much presence,but the vocalist had a cast on his leg-the rest of the band didn't move much...but still,this band was a nice treat.

REIGN OF TERROR

Chris-FUCKING EXCELLENT BAND! If you have the chance to see this band live,you owe it to yourself to check them out. Awesome metal the way it should be...heavy with awesome vocals and a pounding rythym that keeps the whole thing tied together. Now I'm REALLY mad I didn't get the chance to see this band a few months before this (they played a club named Obsessions in Randolph,NJ two and a half months before this performance...I had to work so I couldn't go.). Joe Stump played the guitar like he was born with the damn thing...the Malmsteen cover was pretty cool. Easily one of the best bands of the weekend.

Anthony-Mike Vescerra fucking RULES! This is the best band he has been in since OBSESSION. Great stuff. Joe Stump capable of covering "Crash and Burn" by Yngwie Malmsteen. I really wanted to hear them perform "Soldier of Fortune" by LOUDNESS and "Scarred for Life" by OBSESSION,but oh well. Great stage presence and a definite highlight of Powermad.

STEEL PROPHET

Chris-Great performance. High energy live set and the vocallist was great...even though he had tonsilitis,he still hit high notes easily and overall kicked ass. The music was great as well...fucking awesome stuff. I really need to pick up some of this bands material...and I can now see why a label like Nuclear Blast would sign this band. Just great stuff.

Anthony wrote nothing down for this...but I know that he was blown away by this band live as well.

HELSTAR

Chris-Nothing I can say will do this band justice. They ruled...just amazing classic fucking metal...one of the top three bands of the weekend. "Good Day to Die","Remnants of War", and "Death From Above" (?) were some of the highlights of this bands amazing set. Again...nothing I can say will ever do this band justice...they must be seen. A great way to end the first night of this incredible festival.

Again,nothing here from Anthony. Thank you Ant...

SATURDAY

We all woke up early for breakfast which sucked dick (really bad stuff...my hangover didn't help any). I decided to take orders and brought Rich to McDonalds with me for a good breakfast. We later went to pick up some AV cables to watch the performances from the night before (we videotaped almost the whole event) and see how they came out. Rich,Anthony,and I left for the event...Shannon stayed behind. We picked her up a little later.

PERSEPHONIES DREAM

Chris-We missed most of their set...so I can'r give you a good answer to how this band was. Again,another band with a female singer,but this woman could actually SING (unlike the whitch from Storm Within). Despite that fact,this band was rather slow,and therefore,it bored my to fucking tears. Why they had two drummers I don't know (the one didn't seem to do a whole lot). Overall,they almost put me into a coma.

Anthony? Where's your review? There isn't one? OK! Thanks.

DARKSIDE

Chris-This band was really good. The band had a more aggressive,faster sound than many bands I had heard until this point. The singer had a really powerful voice,the music was heavy and crushing. The only thing that didn't fit in too well was the backing vocals...shouted in an almost NYHC style. Again,not bad...and one of the better bands of the weekend.

I know Anthony liked this band more than I did,but he wrote nothing down for me to type.

BRAVE

Chris-HOLY FUCKING SHIT DID THIS BAND SUCK! IF THIS IS METAL,THAN JAMES TAYLOR IS THE PILEDRIVER (Metal Inquisition Rules). Damn...now I know why I hate folk music! In the words of the film Top Gun...PUNCH OUT MAVERICK...PUNCH OUT.

Anthony-Weak...I'm feeling weak...please make them stop...MAKE THEM STOP!

OCTOBER 31

Chris-Fucking awesome band. The addition of the guys from TWISTED TOWER DIRE made this band a much stronger one vocally and solo-wise. The band played alot of material from their albums,but I was hoping for a bit more material from "The Fire Awaits You",but that's no big deal. A clear sound, awesome presence,and two excellent covers ("electric Eyes"-Judas Priest and "Power and the Glory"-Saxon) made this set one of the best of the festival. Definetly in my top 5.

Anthony didn't have a review of this set...I think him and Rich went to pick Shannon up from the hotel.

ETHERIA

Chris-This band was really cool...I enjoyed what I saw and heard of the set...I left early because I wasn't honestly feeling too good...The vocallist was great,the music was tight, and this band was really good.

Anthony-Vocallist reminded me of Geoff Tate. Awesome shit!!!!! Stage presence was excellent. New Jersey showing that it has many great metal bands...this definetly being one of the best.

CAULDRON BORN

Chris-This band was alright. If you took every good band that played this weekend and rolled them into one band,you would have Cauldron Born. They were a really good band,but nothing really stood out from most of the other bands during the weekend.

Anthony-Vocallist had a very good range. Good epic sounding metal in the vein of TWISTED TOWER DIRE and GOTHIC KNIGHTS.

AZTEC JADE

Chris-This band,more than any other during this festival,relied on the keyboards. They were ESSENTIAL to this band's performance because they established the tempo and mood of their material. Excellent songs,an excellent singer,and a really good stage presence from this band. Only problem was that sometimes,I feel the band overused the keyboards. I know they were needed...but sometimes,they seemed to overpower some of the material. Overall-great band.

Mr DeLuca had nothing to say...or at least he didn't write it down for me.

OVERLORDE

Chris-I really enjoyed this band. Every song had something about it...a cool riff or bassline,a cool vocal part,or something else that made this band extremley memorable. For a band that hadn't played live in over a decade,they didn't seem like it. Bobby Lucas is an excellent singer...this band truly had everything together. High energy songs,a commanding stage presence,and a flawless cover of "Queen of the Ryche". Man...this band left an impression...and it was a good one.

Again,Anthony contributes nothing. Typical! Just kidding Ant...where's your stuff?!?

DIGITAL RUIN

Chris-Again...this band was decent. I wasn't really impressed with them,but hey,I'd rather listen to Blood Feast instead of old Slayer. Maybe someone else really liked them...I thought they weren't bad...but not good either...mediocre at best.

Anthony-The vocals were kind of whiny and the singer was boring on stage. Their set went a little rough...they couldn't pull it off.

MANILLA ROAD

Chris-What the fuck can be said about this band? Epic,true cult metal in every sense of the word. The fact that this band isn't better known makes no sense to me...great music,great lyrics and the voice of Mark Shelton is truly unique. Well,he did some of the vocals this night,but they have a new singer who sounded alot like Shelton...and the newer material they played was fucking awesome. The classics were here as well...but this was my first real chance to hear the newer material...and I plan on finding the album one way or another. Overall-this band was one of the main reasons I went to Powermad...and I wasn't dissapointed. Excellence in every sense of the word.

Anthony-The fucking name says it all. One of the highlights of Powermad 2001.

SUNDAY

Anthony and Shannon brought back a bunch of stuff for breakfast from the hotel's dining room (muffins,cold cereal,and coffee) so that we didn't have to take a walk over to the dining room. Most of it didn't get eaten...but no-one seemed to care. We just checked out more tapes from the night before and hung out. Eventually,we went to the venue. Only four bands on Sunday...let's get to it!

DYSRYTHMIA

Chris-I really enjoyed this band. They are a three piece instrumental band from Philadelphia and they were something different for this festival. Oh...they played metal all right,at times sounding like a beefed up RUSH with the vocals. I really liked this band...they kicked ass.

Anthony-It would be interesting to hear what these guys would sound like with a vocallist. Great instrumental band.

SINDUSTRY

Chris-This band played because another band (Rain Fell Within) canceled. Decent...but I could really care less about this band's Pantera-like groove mixed with mid-ninties hardcore. This band seemed to be on stage forever....doesn't it suck to have way too much of something you don't care about?

Anthony-Kinda hardcore sounding-some death vocals added in. This band didn't seem to fit Powermad too well as far as the music went. Some decent riffs in a thrash/power vein.

THERE 4

Chris-This was alright. I wasn't really getting into their stuff. I think I went to get some food during their set. They were decent,but I wasn't impresed or repulsed.

Anthony-Great presence...looked like preppie highschool students on stage,but they had a nice atmosphere during their set.

ZANDELLE

Chris-I've seen these guys a bunch of times. Great old-school sounding power metal. Too bad they were the band that closed this festival out...they had an alright turnout...but their placement in the line-up sucked ass. Played a good,long set including a cover of Queensryche's "The Needle Lies".

Anthony didn't write shit for this band either,but I know how much he likes these guys,so you can take a safe guess at what he thought.

Overall,we had a really good time at this festival. I,personally,am waiting for next year's event. Yes,there were cancelations (that is why we got there late on Friday and STILL caught all the bands that played that day) but there are cancelations at just about every other metal fest you might go to in your life,so that wasn't a major problem. I hope that next year more people come to this event...it would be sad if a festival like this one bites the dust. If that happens,we can all look forward to the Metal Meltdown next year and pay fifty-five bucks for a ticket when you are mainly interested in only a handful of bands. That's all I have to say...THRASH TILL DEATH-Chris O'Brien.

SILLY SHIT!

Alright...I told you I was going to seperate the two at the beginning of the page,so here is some of the goffier shit that happened during our time in Maryland.

Anthony gave Rich five bucks for a toll. We get back in the car and Rich ask for three dollars. Anthony says "I just gave you five bucks". Rich's comeback? "I used it for Iced Tea.". We all died laughing in the car. That was rather amusing.

BEFORE WE EVEN ENTERED THE VENUE...Anthony gets buzzed (not drunk,but he drank enough to get buzzed) and he wound up hanging out with the band DARKSIDE. Oh shit,I mentionedthis earlier. Well,read it a second time,it's funny.

I was trying to get an interview with James Rivera for the site when Rich walks out with the video camera. At the time,James was talking to someone about jail (or something like that),and he saw Rich with the camera and started acting like a nut talking about cops or some shit,then he left. Needless to say,I didn't get the interview ={

Before REIGN OF TERROR came on stage,we went to the Liquor Pump and picked some stuff up for the hotel room. We bought a few six packs I plunked down cash for a large bottle of Jack Daniels Downhome Punch. The bottle was huge,and we laughed about it. Yeah,that ain't funny,but later,the bottle played it's part.

During the set,we ran into a friend of ours from Bloomfield who we hadn't seen in a few months. I was glad to see this guy...we wound up hanging out a the 7-11 for a while,then began watching the HELSTAR set and having a good time. He stayed at the Days Inn across the street from us,so we gave him a ride home.

Getting back to that bottle of Jack Daniels Downhome Punch...we get back to the hotel and everyone wants to sleep (except for me). After taking a shower and listening to some tapes on my walkman,everyone went to bed and I started drinking the bottle. Twenty minutes later,I'm rocked off my ass,listening to music and reciting the lyrics in a tone of voice usually used by serial killers. I kept leaving the room to smoke cigarettes (NEVER POT-FUCK THAT SHIT!) and I eventually passed out after istening to alot of tapes (I know I listened to WEHRMACH-Shark Attack, CARNIVORE-S/T, VIOLENCE-Opressing The Masses, ANNIHILATOR-Alice In Hell,and ACCEPT-Breaker. I passed out with EXCITER-Unveiling the Wicked in my tape player.) The next morning,Anthony's girlfriend thought somone had broken into the room. She said she was scared,I laughed my ass off.

Saturday night,Rich and walked to 7-11 for some snack food (chips and soda). Yeah,it ain't funny,but no resteraunts were open around us,and we were hungry. On the way back,we saw an electronics store right across the street from the hotel room where we could have gotten out A/V wires cheaper (probably) than we did at Radio Shack. Oh well...sucks to be us.