On December, 11^th 2010 the time had come again: Cleveland Metal at its finest! Almost exactly one year after the 25^th anniversary Auburn Festival one foregathered again at the Beachland Ballroom to celebrate 26 years of Bill Peters cult label Auburn Records again with a free admission event for the Cleveland metalfans. To realise preparation, stagebuildup, performance and removal of the equipment Bill himself worked more than 24 hours without any sleep at the day and the next of the festival…unbelieveable but true! A big compliment and thank you to all helpers and technicians who made this festival possible to happen.- It was a charity event as well as 2009 all guests and fans were appealed in the forefront to donate food for the Cleveland Foodbank. And it became a great success the donations for this festival has been about three times more than the last time. Many many thanks to all metalheads who supported that noble for this event with their generous donations!

The doors of Beachland Ballroom opened at 3.30 p.m. and at 4.00 p.m. GROUND ZERO started the festival after a short announcement and a big hello to the Cleveland metalheads shooting out the first track “Mass Chaos”. Their straightline and powerful Metal completely convinced the early present metalheads and I´m sure to hear a lot more from this great band soon. A perfect start!

GROUND ZERO had the following setlist:

1. Mass Chaos

2. We Demolish

3. T.K.O.

4. This Means War (no Tank cover!)

5. Lethal Injection

6. Frozen Christ

To be host of this festival was pure pleasure again the wonderful and unique Chris Emig from Cellbound co-hosted with professionality and big fun on the side of the author of these lines.

With VENOMIN JAMES a band came up next which is dedicated to Stoner Rock and impressed live on stage with their groovy hard rocking sound.It´s always an enormous difference to hear a band just on CD or to see and hear the musicians in action on stage.
All European fans can also convince themselves of the live qualities of this band, because VENOMIN JAMES will play at Wacken Open Air in summer 2011!

VENOMIN JAMES setlist:

1. Make No Mistake

2. Cosmonaut

3. Tierra Muerta

4. Dire Days

5. El Brujo

6. Make No Mistake (outro reprise)

One of the possibly most talented bands of the more recent generation followed up with ETERNAL LEGACY. Their excellent sound melts power and melody in their magnificent songs. Vokalist Jason Vanek has a powerful voice what´s getting better and better since the first album “The Coming Of The Tempest” from 2007 and brings the epical Power Metal to the point. It must generally said that ETERNAL LEGACY moved into the very right direction with their brilliant second album “Lifeless Alive”.
They´ve thrown out completely the needless keyboard tinkling. Due to the very good contacts of labelboss Bill Peters to Europe and especially to Germany ETERNAL LEGACY proved their live qualities at H.O.A. and did an amazing gig at W:O:A 2010!
We all surely can expect a lot more to come from this young savages.
 

Setlist ETERNAL LEGACY:

1. Shadow Of Revolution

2. Greed

3. Eyes Without A Soul

4. While You Bleed

5.     Lifeless Alive

Unusual early at this evening legendary DESTRUCTOR entered the stage to present nothing less than five (!) new tracks alongside “Precision Devastation” from superb “Forever In Leather” album. The opener “Metal Till Death” immediately showed the consequent line of approach and ironed like a steamroller over the audience. The new songs were beaten round delighted metalheads. The charismatic voice of Dave Overkill wich belongs doubtless to DESTRUCTOR like electric guitars to Heavy Metal gave the audience a real wonderful hell and the permanently pumping high speed Metal let no second for a breather.
If you got that taste of the new songs for the upcoming new album it should be again one of the very best releases in 2011, hopefully the new album will come out soon!
 

Setlist DESTRUCTOR:

1. Metal Till Death

2. Precision Devastation

3. Evil Winds (instrumental)

4. Smash Your Skulls With Power

5. Metal Spike Deep

6. Keep The Faith

The high quality billing continued with H.A.T.E. The men around fronter Greg “Wags” Wagner who is also singer in BREAKER started up with “Battering Ram” what effordless were able to hold the acoustical high level in the audience. The very strong “Twist Of Hate” also was one of the catchiest songs of the evening. H.A.T.E. impresses with classical U.S. Metal which should delight everyone who denotes themselves a Metalfan.
H.A.T.E. would be for sure a great enrichment for each pertinent known Metal festival in Germany and just thinking about it we got the news H.A.T.E. is gonna play at Headbanger´s Open Air this summer! The fans shouldn´t miss the live performance of this cool band.
 

Setlist H.A.T.E.

1. Battering Ram

2. You Can´t Grind

3. Hitman

4. Twist Of Hate

5. Inject The Infection

6. Top Of The Chain

7. Schizo

The commitment of the Cleveland Burlesque Company exposed as a lucky chance. Not only that the deafening Metalhead got now served a manily enjoyment for the eyes. After a short announcement of the charming Aurora Sans the Cleveland Burlesque Company started up. It became fast apparent that during the performance of the burlesque girls it was possible to collect a plenty of cash donations (dollars!) for the Cleveland Foodbank.
It was very unusual for the girls performing in front of a Metal mob but also exciting and something new. They enjoyed and had fun, a second performance should follow later on.

How to mutate back from an erotic mood very quickly again to an electrified sweating metalmonster only was possible with the gig of the hardest band of this night.
SOULLESS took no prisoners. Everything is thrashed in lock, stock and barrel with trenchant riffs, frantic fast drums and bass runs. Shouter Jim Lippuci targets with his extreme vocals a clear definition: Death Metal!
What this band however sets apart from many other Death Metal bands are the on every occasion groovy parts within the uncompromising tracks. And it´s impressive which enormous workload the drummer of such a band has to do. In this case Chris Dora balbours the drumkit with force and precision and seems despite of the beserking speed never getting´ tired.
Everyone who´s affectionated to extreme hard Metal should check out this extraordinary band by all means in the world wide web. In any case a new album also is planned. Unfortunately there is no setlist also on demand at the band available.

After these smashing sounds the next Cleveland Metal legend followed up. BREAKER! There is for sure no need to tell about their musically qualities anymore. BREAKER has been for a reason the first Metal band from Cleveland who were able to play in front of a big crowd at Wacken Open Air 2000. Their alltime classic album “Get Tough” has become known way beyond the borders of the USA and provided them fans all over the world.
With this performance Greg “Wags” Wagner had to do a second round. He already previously laid down a furious gig with H.A.T.E. No problem at all this guy is 100 % Metal prof!
The classics of this band are always a guaranty for best musically entertainment. It was unusual that a usually so calm temporary mastermind and guitarist like Don Depew was carried away by the atmosphere so much he ripped out the strings of his Gibson Flying V after the last song… that´s Metal!

Setlist BREAKER:

1. Lie To Me

2. Blood Money

3. Action

4. Manifesto

5. Black Light Ark

6. Luck And Gasoline

7. Still Life

One of the ambitious bands of the more recent generation are LICK THE BLADE who are able to boast already several successes with their Maiden stylish sound. They also played at H.O.A. in Germany and aroused a lot of attention.
The likeable frontman Ted Anderson always put the pedal to the metal on stage and also this time he screamed his mind to the heavens. By his high siren-like vocals he also defused too many comparisons to Iron Maiden all in all we have pure US Metal!

Setlist LICK THE BLADE:

1. Prelude To War/Thanatos

2. Resistance,Rebellion And Death

3. Royal Blood

4. The Blessing

5. Blood-Soaked Majesty

6. Lick The Blade

With bated breath was waited fort the gig of BLACK DEATH who originally consisted of the first afrikan-american Metalband. Nowadays only bassist Greg Hicks is from the original lineup. The biggest alteration happened to the vocals the former voice of Sacred Few Sandy Kruger reanimates the old classics in a great powerful way and gives the sound of the band new independency. It would be for sure very interesting to write and record new songs with this new lineup.
The former frontman and vocalist Siki Spacek appeared in the audience who apparently takes along his guitar everywhere. He also pulled across the audience armed with his instrument that night to follow the gig of the reformed BLACK DEATH.
Actually some expected a short guest appearance of the former fronter at his opportunity at least for one song but unfortunately not for this night…
The strong performance of the reformed band did not lack anything and so one can say to expect new own songs and hopefully an album of the “new” BLACK DEATH in near future.

Setlist BLACK DEATH:

1. Night Of The Living Death

2. Black Death

3. Streetwalker

4. Wrecking Crew

5. Screaming Iron Messiah

6. Taken By Force

„And now to something completely different“ again with the second performance of the Cleveland Burlesque Company. Although you can really say that burlesque and Heavy Metal got very well together. The girls are at least accepted very sympathetic into the Metal community. And a band like QUEENSRYCHE already performed once before with burlesque dancers during a tour.
Many thanks again to the girls of the Cleveland Burlesque Company who render a special erotic touch to this festival. Both thumbs up for the Cleveland Burlesque Company!
 

In 1984 Auburn Records first release “Go For The Throat” came out, a release of a band who´s stronger than ever before: SHOK PARIS!
The band who has been one of the main acts at H.O.A. 2010 had to proof again their great live qualities in their hometown. It was a big surprise vocalist Vic Hix announced backstage that the host himself has to sing “Burn It Down” along with him on stage. Far from home and open for all misdeeds this honestly job became big fun. It provided for unforgettable moments of the writer. But it should follow more of which to report later…
SHOK PARIS have an unbelieveable fundus on song classics and Vic Hix is for sure one of the best vocalists in the entire Metal scene best presuppositions for great Metal entertainment in its purest form perfectly implemented live of a band which could have given the Auburn Record label of Bill Peters no better imagineable start to release Heavy Metal music.

Setlist SHOK PARIS:

1. Full Metal Jacket

2. Burn It Down

3. Take You Away

4. Hell Day

5. Go Down Fighting

6. Never Say Why

7. Run But Don´t Hide

The sparkling finish of this unforgettable event should follow. MAIDEN VOYAGE prepared to perform the entire classic album “The Number Of The Beast” of Iron Maiden. Basswizard Ed Stephens of SHOK PARIS pulled the big strings perfectly like Steve Harris. No matter how often to listen to this centenary opus it never gets boring. The music mobilised last powers and all imagineable forces in the audience and the crowd unwinded once more.

The achievement of vocalist Ty Cook was great not only convincing on vocals he also interacted with the crowd in a brilliant way (to see among others on youtube!). One more surprise still to come for the brave persevering fans. During the very last song “Iron Maiden” exactly in the part when Maiden mascot Eddie usually enters the stage in order to attack the musicians I was fitted with an lavish Eddie mask completely with Metal Christmas costume and big red cap greatly designed by Gary and Alicia Ulmer (thank you!!!) I came on stage doing my Eddie job choking the musicians and throwing out wrapped gifts (Auburn shirts and CDs) into the crowd. Gifts so many that even after the end of the last track it was busy work distributing the “goods” to the crowd. Up to that point many did not know who´s been in that costume. After the mask was unveiled the people celebrated vociferous the very impressed writer of these words excessively. This was completely incredible!

An unbelieveable and unforgettable night drew to an end and after giving credits to all participants there´s only one thing left to say: A deep bow to the man who made all this happen, a man lots of happenings like this festival and most of others in and around Cleveland never ever could happen, the man who´s living for Heavy Metal and makes wet Heavy metal dreams come true. The real boss, Auburn Records president and Mr. Cleveland Metal himself: BILL PETERS !!!

IronIngo