Metal Injection

Sat 2:59 pm:

Be patient my junkies! We have yet to arrive in Miami for the adventure. – Rob

Mon 2:03 pm:

Just arrived in Miami. Heading to the port now! The party is about to start -Rob

Mon 2:44 pm:

We've officially boarded. The scene is exactly as you would expect
- giant white boat with seas of black shirts everywhere. Seeing more Maiden shirts than any others. I'll make sure to keep a count for everybody's amusement. -Rob

Mon 3:07 pm:

Getting our press passes and then some initial boozing. Are we drunk yet? -Rob

Mon 3:08 pm:

The drink prices on this cruise are better than most of the bars I've been to in NYC. So far so good! – Frank

Mon 3:43 pm:

Metalheads everywhere [Photo]

Mon 3:46 pm:

So, I got rejected from Delta this morning for showing up 5 min late. Rebooked and made it to Miami to meet the guys in time. We are on the deck right now looking at a bunch of long haired men and hot metal chicks. I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna have severe brain and ear damage by Friday. Shot of Patron for Dime!- Noa

Mon 4:00 pm:

BOAT HORN spurred METAL HORNS! -Noa

Mon 4:14 pm:

In case you're wondering what the scene is like, here is a video. There are already beligerrant drunks all over.

Mon 4:23 pm:

Crew members frantically trying to coordinate drunken metalheads for a safety drill. Alarm renders Slayer chants! Also, Burton C Bell is our safety buddy! -Noa

Mon 5:23 pm:

Food Injection Update #1 – We are eating some
Mini-pizzas in anticipation of dinner in hour. That's when my vacation REALLY begins -Rob

Mon 6:16 pm:

Noa and I planned out our night, Rob is currently checking out the other paper in our room (the menu). – Frank [Photo]

Mon 6:54 pm:

Finally at dinner in the cruise restaurant. I ordered the prime rib. I wish I could read the mind of the overdressed wait staff. Dudes in black shirts everywhere. Most obscure shirt within eyesight is Loudness. -Rob

Mon 11:15 pm:

It's getting late and we have lost all cellphone reception. Earlier tonight, Arsis kicked off the party with a huge bang. They are incredible to watch live. We decided to skip Exodus in favor of more drinking and then rocked out hard to Nevermore on the deck of the ship. Noa & Frank are roaming around watching Gamma Ray and Sonata Arctica. I took a quick power-nap and I may go check out some Marduk and hopefully encounter some BBQ Ribs! More updates tomorrow -Rob

Tue 2:00 pm:

Today is our first full day at sea. Waking up was a bit difficult after all the partying we did last night. After I left you guys, I walked past Sonata Arctica playing the deck stage. The most exciting thing about their set was the pair of topless lesbians making out by the jacuzzi. I opted to check out Marduk in the small lounge and they absolutely ripped it. After an entire day of mostly melodic metal, it was refreshing to see a black metal band play dirty and disgusting riffs. Blind Guardian was next, who played the giant indoor venue, which is typically used for musicals and theater. It sounded great in there. Back outside, we saw Fear Factory play the best set I've seen them play in a while. Gene Hoglan is a total beast. They played a lot of heavier old shit.

Following Fear Factory, I checked out Unleashed which was just as refreshing as Marduk. Awesome straight up death metal. A few people in the audience were pissed and I didn't understand why, until towards the end of their set, they were joined by the vocalist of Primordial, who alerted us that the singer of Unleashed had literally missed the boat, so the guitarist was pulling double duty. I would've never known. They're great. I'm definitley checking them out when I get home.

After Unleashed played, I met up with Frank at Finntroll, and he informed me the lead guitar player was wasted. It was pretty hilarious watching him struggle through the set. Frank will have more on this when hops on a computer. At about 4am, it was time to call it a night.

This morning, we woke up and ate a gigantic breakfast, which they served buffet style with pretty much any breakfast food you can think of at your disposal. Afterwards, Noa and I went for a dip in the pool while Agent Steele were playing in the backgtround. This is the first time I can think of where people have the opportunity to sit back and relax, catch some rays, go for a dip, all while there is a band playing right there on the deck. Pretty surreal!

Just a note, the internet here is atrocious and overpriced, so our updates may be more in bursts like this in the next few days. We will try to keep you posted as much as possible. -Rob

Tue 5:58 pm:

Here are some of the many photos we've snapped during the cruise:

Ensiferum rock the boat!

Dude windmilling in the jacuzzi during the show

Herri of TYR

Just two people here to see a metal show, no biggie

Noa in a bikini…oh, and Rob too.

Tue 6:34 pm:

Day 1 ended with stellar sets all around. Arsis, Sonata Arctica and Nevermore were amazing but, Fear Factory was amongst one of the highlights for me and not just because Burton has been a reoccurring ship buddy I keep running into in and out of the bars. It's because they played one of the best sets I've seen from FF in years. A collection of crowd pleasers from each era ensured a wild way to set up the headlining spot on the outdoor stage.

I wish I could say the same for Fintroll however, who were the outdoor stage headliners. From the get go it was clear Skrymer, their guitarist, had entirely too much to drink and was in for the night of his life trying to pull off an hour set. There were a number of hilarious moments that ensued like when he was playing the wrong song, continued playing after the song was over, and also when he forgot how to play the song and stopped, walked over to his bass player to look at his hands, and finally figured it out a few notes from the end of the song. Unfortunately his band mates didn't find this as amusing as I had, and began yelling at him between songs, but little did they know it was one of the best unintentional funny sets I've seen in forever. Especially because 99.9% of us in the crowd were just as drunk as he was!

As for today, Tyr has officially taken this festival into another level! There is something poetic about a band belting out songs of sea voyages and folklore to a crowd filled with war painted faces, viking garments and and more horns and fists in the air than I can possibly count. I nominate Tyr for best stage banter, set and crowd participation on this fest so far. Don't believe me? Ask the hundreds of people who held a 5 minute chant for Tyr after they completed their 45 minute set. -Frank

Wed 12:31 am:

Ensiferum was half naked and covered in war paint. I tried to look under their quilts while I was taking pictures but it was so windy that the good parts stayed covered. They sounded so good and by then end of their set I realized that I was burnt to a crisp.

The next band that I went to watch is a band that I feel most people on the ship came to see, ICED FUCKIN EARTH. I am so happy that I have access to the photo pit because they were right there, in my fuckin face. They sounded incredibly tight. Barlow was hitting all the high pitched notes. Jon was galloping on his guitar like a mad man. Their performance was impeccable and everyone was going crazy for them. They played the song I wanted to hear most, Melancholy and ended the set with well, Iced Earth. After dislocating my neck I met up with Rob and we realized Frank was MIA. The next destination was Sanctuary. I was pissed that they were playing the smallest stage. Warrel sounded amazing. It was great seeing Jim with a bass in his hand instead quarters for the slot machines. After Sanctuary, Rob and I finally found Frank and we decided to go grab some sustenance. After piling random foods on to our plates we found an empty table and I realized that sitting across from us was, Iced Earth minus Matt Barlow. I savored that moment. This cruise makes me feel like I'm on tour with all my favorite bands.

After that we went down to the casino and lost Rob at the blackjack table. Frank and I ran into Burton C. Bell for the millionth time, I think he has clones. Also in the casino were members of Circle II Circle, Blackguard and Dino. Burton kept trying to convince us to play craps – but we didn't know the first thing about the game so we had to politely decline. Rob came back and told us he won 50 bucks. He later lost those 50 bucks, so it all evened out.

Dark Tranquility went on the outdoor stage and we were there to embrace them. Mikael Stanne put his face in my camera. I really liked his Rush belt buckle, but I liked that every time the wind blew (which was all the time) I saw his hips even more. He was all about interacting with the headbangers in the front row. He thanked the promoters for putting together this festival and presenting such a unique experience. I second that.

Now we are in the room waiting for our food to get here. Frank is drunk and is trying to use he ladder to my bunk bed as stilts. He almost killed Rob. Where is our damn room service!? Twilight of The Thunder Gods are on soon!

Tomorrow we are going to be in Mexico for most of the day, so unless we find an internet cafe, you will be hearing from us in the evening -Noa

Wed 4:36 pm:

So last night Frank and I went to see Blackguard at 2:30 am. We walk in and who do I see sitting on the couches with his lady friend? Fast fingers Jeff Loomis. As Blackguard took the stage Frank and I went up for a premiere view. Midway through I was banging my head when I felt someone push me, duh, I'm at a metal show no big deal I push back. Few min later he clubs me on the head with his arm, no big deal, I'm so drunk I can't feel anything. By the next song this dickbag pushes his way next to me to incite the band. I look back at Frank to roll my eyes and when I turn to look at this prick's face I realize. This is no dickbag or prick IT'S JEFF LOOMIS! plastered! He kept shouting at Paul (singer of BG) "I love you!". Madness ensued as the band continued to play with everyone going crazy, both guitarists and bassist climbed the rail in front of me and put their guitars in Jeff's face so he can tap along their fretboard. No homo. By far the most fun I had during a band's set. Oh, and Blackguard also played a new track from and album they will be putting out this year. -Noa

Wed 7:10 pm:

Rob here! We just got back from our crazy Mexican adventure. We decided the best use of our time would be to explore the Mayan ruins. It was clearly the most metal sounding thing to do on the island. Unfortunately, this meant we had to be up at 7am…while on vacation. I still don't know if that was the best idea but we pulled through.

After rushing through breakfast, we got off the cruise ship and onto a small ship that took us to the main land to explore the Tulum ruins. We hopped on a coach bus to go to the site of the ruins. We had a really friendly tour guide named Julio who spoke spectacular English with only the slightest of accents. One thing that kept cracking us up was anytime he would say U.S.A. it would come out Jew.S.A. We're pretty immature.

Immediately when exiting the bus we were greeted by dudes in ceremonial Mayan suits. Julio showed us around and gave a pretty detailed history lesson about everything we were looking at. For preservation reasons, we were not allowed to go into the ruins or climb them, which was a bit of a bummer. But it was still a fun trip and everything looked awesome. Watching metalheads sight-see was fun in and of itself. Everybody was incredibly friendly and chit-chatting as the tour progressed.

Afterwards, we got back on the bus and were taken to a private beach, which was pretty amazing. Things kicked off with authentic Mexican buffet and then some beach time. Nothing like swimming in the Caribbean. We basically took a siesta.

Anyway, we're back now and the music is about to commence for the day. I'm pumped to see Marduk play the deck stage, as well as Destruction. Noa is pumped for Unleashed and Gamma Ray. Frank is pumped for a second helping of Fear Factory and Tyr. We're all really pumped for the dinner we're about to stuff into our faces. Here are some photos from the last two days to hold you over:

Iced Earth rocking the indoor stage

Dark Tranquility frontman Mikael Stanne rocking the outdoor stage – he was clearly pumped to be playing

Just hanging out

Rob inside the entrance to the ruins.

Impressive!

Metalheads pay attention!

Noa's about to go into the water!

On the line to get back to the cruise, this guy was incredibly belligerent!

Thu 10:42 am:

Last night was nuts! After leaving you guys, we went and got some dinner and decided to kick the drinking into high gear. We checked out a bit of Epica. Simone Simmons… still hot. After Epica, we caught a second helping of Fear Factory (indoors this time) and it was just as a good, if not tighter than the first night. Gene Hoglan is a fucking machine!

Post-Fear Factory, we took a break from watching bands. Noa and I decided to hit up the casino. We ran into Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory at the bar and we all decided to try our luck at the blackjack table. Burton played a few hands and then headed over to the craps table, meanwhile Noa and I sat there over an hour and won big, with her making 0 and me making 0…very nice!

Clearly, this was cause for celebration and honestly I barely remember much else of what happened. I do know that we saw Unleashed again in the smaller Spectrum room and they were even better while incredibly intoxicated. The singer of Primoridal joined them again, as well as the vocalist of Swashbuckle who went into a killer rendition of S.O.D.'s "United Forces" that got the crowd going wild.

Also, I remember running into a dude who told me a story about how the singer of Malevolent Creation tried to get into a fight with him. The dude told the singer that he was actually a fan and supported the band and was confused as to what the problem was. The singer felt bad and bought the dude a drink. Another great Malevolent story!

We ended the night with Marduk and Tyr, both fucking killer bands that really sent the night off on a high note. Marduk are quite evil, and have made a huge fan out of me. Now it's time to rush to breakfast and try to catch the openers of the day…MUTHA FUCKIN ARSIS. See you guys soon -Rob

Thu 5:13 pm:

I can't believe it's the last day. My body is definitely feeling it. We spent a good portion of today shooting interviews with fans and some of the bands. I heard from a reliable source that the ship sold the same amount of beer in the first day of this cruise as they did the entire previous (non-metal) cruise. Mid-day, as Twilight of the Gods were setting up, there was belly flop contest at the pool deck, which (no surprise) some fat dude won. Also, it looks like my quest for ribs has been unfulfilled. No ribs! Barely any shrimp. Food Injection Fail you guys, sorta bummed about that.

We do have a ton of stuff we have been working on including photo galleries, a full video wrap up report and some more post-fest blogs coming up, so don't assume this liveblog is it. We'll be back later with some more updates. -Rob

Thu 7:26 pm:

I just interviewed a very inebriated Jon Schaffer. Not only did he tell me that I was hot I got a nice big kiss from him. I have a nerd boner. -Noa

Thu 10:46 pm:

Here are some more pics to hold you over until we are able to post our full galleries early next week. We are going out for one final night of belligerence. Port call is at 8:45 am, YUCK! If we have some time to stop by an internet café, we'll do one final update. Otherwise, see you back in NY. Might consider some detoxing after this week. -Rob

Epica rock the indoor stage

Noa drunk, eat pizza good

Marduk frontman has a sad

Frank multi-tasking (drinking and shooting)

Noa and our friend Jessi drunk late night

Warrel belting out a Sanctuary tune

Frank interviews Burton C. Bell about the cruise

Twilight of the Gods, the Bathory Tribute incite horns from the pool deck

Fri 5:06 am:

Oww my liver. I think I need a transplant.-Noa

Fri 10:49 am:

The final night of the cruise was pretty epic. We spent the night having our ears blasted by the sweet tunes of Amon Amarth, Nevermore and Finntroll. The guitarist of Finntroll was actually playing his parts unlike their original performance. After Finntroll ended, the only thing happening on the cruise was the nightly late night karaoke party. While rather empty early in the week, it was absolutely packed last night as it was literally the only thing there was to do. What I thought would be pretty lame actually ended up kind of cool. People would go up and sing hits from Metallica to Lady Gaga and then other people gathered on the dance floor to sing along and cheer the singers on. It was a good time. Waking up was pretty dreadful. We're now trapped in an airport for a few hours so expect some updates to other portions of the site.

This concludes our liveblog of the 70,000 tons of metal cruise. Stay tuned for a huge video wrap-up, photo galleries and more blogs about the epic event -Rob