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Orange County's Eighteen Visions appear onstage to a dark operatic intro that is no clue to the punk-edged metal assault that is to follow. They pull an average sized crowd by Snickers stage standards but they have no trouble engaging those that have made the effort.
The sound on the Snickers Stage is once again excellent and lets the full power of the band come through. Big riffs and choruses abound and continue through the newer material such as 'Truth or Consequence', which features a more melodic vocal line and some good harmonies. The initial explosive impact starts to wear off by the third song however and the vocals begin to sound worryingly emo in places. Frontman Jamie does a good job however and never misses an opportunity to engage the front rows.
The faster and harder numbers impress but they are countered by the odd weak, more mid tempo track and the overall impression is mixed. Eighteen Visions have plenty to offer and they certainly put on a good show but I can't see them having much of a wider appeal beyond the odd song. They do their thing well enough but they never inject much variety and many of the songs seem to blend into one another. Towards the end of the set I'm beginning to lose interest and understand why they've only pulled half the crowd of the preceding Hundred Reasons.