New Videos - December 2018, Part 2!

You know, the more I look around, the more alive the whole rock and metal scene feels!  It's so great to know there are so many good bands out there still making great music!

I admit that I'm not as familiar with Rhapsody of Fire as I should be, but I do know they've been making story-driven symphonic power metal for 20 years now, and it would seem that their epic tales will go on.  Their new singer sounds great on this fantasy epic!

So, apparently, the lead singer of Dimmu Borgir has been doing this band on the side for years, going for more of a Motorhead approach to metal.  As it turns out, this is from what they've claimed will be their last album.  Uptempo riffs and a good-time feel will make you feel like roaring out on that motorcycle one more time!

Hey, remember last week when I was psyched over the Herman Frank last week?  Here's another one!  This is more of a slow-paced stomper with a great shout-along chorus that would have filled arenas in the 80s.  I think I'm really looking forward to this album!

Well, this is a bolt out of the blue!  I admit I don't have much knowledge of the Japanese metal scene, but I know there are a handful of power metal bands out there like this  (Galneryus comes to mind).  Very impressive!

Of course, we can't have one of these lists without some good old-fashioned AOR!  Full of anthemic lyrics, heavy guitars, and huge synths, this one from Find Me fits right next to Journey and Night Ranger for that classic 80s sound.

Let's finish this one off with something special.  And by that, I mean viking Manowar.  This is so campy and cheesy that I can't help but smile!  While the video might look pretty laughable, the music is pretty solid and epic.  For those who don't take their metal so seriously.

New Videos - December 2018

I've been pouring over the internet, looking for more rock videos to share with you all, and here's the latest batch!  I think I've found some good ones!

Avantasia has always been able to bring the epicness, and this early release for their 2019 album Moonglow shows no signs of changing that.  Combining the vocal talents of Tobias Sammat, Hansi Kursch, and Jorn Lande, we get 11 minutes of power metal greatness!

This comes from the solo band of long-time Accept and Victory guitarist Herman Frank, and it sounds like the 80s never went out of style!  Lots of power and lots of fun!

I've always been a fan of Creed, but I admit I haven't followed Mark Tremonti's career outside of that, but it seems like I should have been.  Solid grungy hard rock!

Roine Stolt has been doing the prog rock thing for a good while now, and this piece really shows his experience.  Solid playing and song-writing make for a worthwhile 10 minute epic!

Speaking of doing things the old school way, this is some great 70s hard rock/metal throwback material!  Starting off soft before really laying out the lead for this one, that scream at the end gives me chills!

We'll finish things off with the new Dream Theater track.  Their last album, The Astonishing, was a strange one, but it seems for their next work, they're getting back into the progressive metal groove they're known for.  (Not sure what to make of that drum layout, though!)

Last Played - December 2018

Well, it's time for another one of these! Once again, these are just gonna be mini-reviews for what I've been listening to lately. Now that we're getting into December, the holidays are starting to creep into my playlists, but that doesn't mean we can't still rock out!

Kamelot - Dominion

Ahhhh, pre-Khan Kamelot. Their first two albums are a pair of peculiar albums, straddling the line between progressive metal and early power metal. While not bad material on its own (I quite like “We Are Not Separate”), and vocalist Mark Vanderbilt gives a passionate performance, it's hard not to see this as merely foreshadowing to the material Kamelot would produce later when Khan joined them. Again, only recommendable to Kamelot completionists.

Savatage - Fight For the Rock

Before orchestral arrangements and internationally successful Christmas albums, Savatage was another metal band just trying to break out. While they had gotten a bit of a following with their first few albums, this is the one that saw them really trying to get that MTV attention, mostly at the direction of their record label. As such, most members of the band don't have anything good to say about it.

Which is a shame because I think this stuff still has some decent tunes. Chris Oliva always had a slick riff and his brother Jon's voice remains powerful and dramatic. While the songs might be shallow, they're played well, proving that talent can shine through, even when they might not be giving 100%.

Judas Priest - Sin After Sin 

Early Judas Priest is always a peculiar listen. With their third album, we get more of their transition away from progressive blues rock into the heavy metal sound that would make them famous. It’s still a little rough and loose, but there are a few gems here. While their cover of “Diamonds and Rust” remains an old classic, I was particularly impressed with “Sinner” and “Call For The Priest” this time around.

However, there are a couple of ballads that feel kinda tepid and bring the album down for me, and while “Dissident Aggressor” is an inspiration for the thrashers to come later, I think I prefer Slayer’s version more. Still, it’s not a bad album, and you really get to hear most (if not all) of Rob Halford’s range as a singer.

Disturbed - Evolution

Disturbed has turned into an interesting band. After riding on the nu metal bandwagon, they morphed themselves into something more of a groove-laden alternative metal. While some critics argue that they haven’t changed much since Ten Thousand Fists, but there’s something to be said for sticking to a style that works, and I’m not ashamed to admit that they’ve turned into a pretty good rock band.

However, with this, their latest release, it does feel like more of the same (despite what the title may imply). There are some solid Disturbed-style rockers with “Are You Ready” and “The Best Ones Lie,” but the real surprise is three acoustic ballads. Perhaps they’re trying to expand on the softer side they showed with their last album’s sleeper hit cover of “Sound of Silence,” but it does feel weird to have things slow down so often on a Disturbed record. I’ll probably need to spin them a few more times to really decide how I feel about them.

Twisted Sister - A Twisted Christmas

I don’t care what anyone says, this is a Christmas classic! I can’t believe this album is over 10 years old now! I remember heard about it, I couldn’t quite believe what they had done. Now that it’s been so long, I can’t imagine a Christmas without it! I love the tongue-in-cheek humor about it, while still providing solid rock music! (Of course, it helps that they lifted some pretty good riffs!)

My favorites from this album are “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” mostly because of the fake intro, and “Silver Bells,” which has a really great bass solo! While Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s material is also a staple for this time of year, it’s Twisted Sister’s album that really lights me up and makes the season feel fun again!

Last Played - November 2018

So I want to start a series of columns that are something like a list of what I've been listening to without really digging into the nitty-gritty.  Think of them as mini-reviews for albums as I'm listening to them.  There is still so much that I haven't listened to, so expect a weird mix of old and new stuff.  For now, here's what I've been listening to recently.

Roine Stolt - The Flower King

As a big Yes fan, I've always been curious about Roine Stolt ever since Jon Anderson did that collaboration with him (the enigmatic Invention of Knowledge).  Having heard that the Flower Kings were a kind of modern Yes, I figured I'd start with the album that started it all, Roine Stolt's The Flower King.

While it was an interesting listen, prog rock usually requires a few passes really get a feel for it.  However, I can tell Stolt wanted something that was more uplifting, in contrast to all the dour rock music being made at the time (the mid 90s), and it really shows throughout the album.  I liked it, but think I need more time with this one to really decide.

Metallica - ...And Justice For All

While I didn't get my hands on that luxurious remaster, I did give some of it a listen, only to not really notice any difference.  That being said, it get me in the mood to listen to it again, so I did.

In retrospect, it's a bit of a strange album.  Metallica had never done, nor has done since, something that was so complex and focused.  While not quite a concept album, ...And Justice For All really digs into social issues backed by layered riffs and rhythms.  It was a band on a mission to make a statement with their music, both sonically and lyrically.  This album had really grown on me over the years.

Gamma Ray - Sigh No More

Gamma Ray is a band I need to listen to more, as they are one of the pioneers of the power metal sound.  I decided to relisten to their sophomore effort here a few weeks ago, and it's not bad.  Kai Hansen is still rocking his Helloween chops, but the band hasn't quite solidified into something of their own.  Still, it's fun to hear a young Ralf Scheepers before he would gain his iconic Primal Fear voice later on.

Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

I've been trying to learn more about classic progressive rock, and it's been interesting to hear the albums that helped make the genre what it is.  To be honest, I don't know how much I really get into classic prog Genesis.  With The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, I have listened to every Peter Gabriel Genesis album, and while some of it was interesting, I don't know if it's really clicked with me.  As I mentioned earlier, sometimes prog takes a few listens to really wrap your head around it, but this one may take more than others.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is a concept album about a Puerto-Rican man living in New York who ends up going on a bizarre psychedelic odyssey full of strange imagery and symbols.  It's not so much a narrative as it is a through-line for Gabriel's theatrical song writing as it shifts from mood to mood.  Certainly an odd and unsettling collection of music, and one that I might not get back to very soon.

Stratovarius - Intermission

More classic power metal!  This one is mostly a compilation of b-sides and covers that Stratovarius released to tide fans over during a long recording hiatus before they released Elements Part 1.  While it's very much classic in sound, and there are a few gems, it's also not their best material.  Mostly for completionists who want everything they've recorded.

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Well, that's it for now.  I definitely want this to be a regular feature, so keep an eye out for future articles like this.  I'll probably have another one before November ends.

Some quick videos

Sorry for not posting here.  Life has a funny way of messing with your priorities, and all my intentions for this blog were sidelined for a while.  Anyways, I just wanted to share some videos of new stuff out there that I wanted to recommend that people check out.

First of all, Apocalypse, the new Primal Fear album, is out!  While I don't think it was as good as the last one (Rulebreaker! \m/), it had some pretty good songs, including this one above.  Solid power metal for sure.

This is from a new band I had never heard of before.  It looks like they're a fusion of two bands from Texas.  The vocals seem a little low in the mix, but otherwise this is some very epic US prog/power metal!  They don't have a full-length album out, but you can find a few songs on their bandcamp page.

Meanwhile, Dee Snider decided to buck his glam past and go for a more modern sounding album with For The Love of Metal.  It's an interesting listen, but Snider acquits himself admirably to the new sound and makes it work.  Sounding somewhere between modern Disturbed and classic Testament/Metallica, it's a nice, heavy album with some satisfying crunches.

Getting into prog rock for a moment, this band In Continuum is actually the left overs from Sound of Contact (who's album Dimensionaut I loved!).  Basically, it's the same band without Simon Collins, so the vocals are different, but they remain very sci-fi focused.  I look forward to their first album when it comes out . . . . sometime.

Of course, my favorite band (or part of them) has been busy.  While Yes featuring ARW did release a live album earlier this year, this video was leaked as content for an upcoming album.  However, we haven't heard anything else, or even if it will be a full-length release!  Still, it's something to tide us over until we get more news.

Finally, let's do some 80s throwback stuff.  I decided to give Vega a chance and was blown away by just how anthemic they were.  If you miss the massive, wall-of-sound style of rock that dominated the end credits of epic 80s films, this is the band for you!

Anyways, that's it for me.  Sorry for not being more productive.  This is something I want to get more into again, but life has got me occupied elsewhere.  Still, I hope this wave of new material tides you over for now.

Until then, rock on!  \m/

The Big Three - Yes

I was born in the mid 80s, and I grew up listening to a lot of my father's music, which was primarily classic rock, movie soundtracks, and early electronic artists (like Jean Michel Jarre and Vangelis).  However, for my father, there were three main groups that he listened to the most, and so they became my Big Three as well.  In this post, I'm going to talk about the first one, and my personal favorite: Yes.

My earliest memories of Yes are actually of my father singing along while wearing headphones and playing RPGs on his Commodore 64.  However, before long, I became familiar with their sounds, mostly through compilations like Classic Yes.

Then, in the late 90s, my father went to a Yes concert, and came back in a massive Yes mood, so got into one as well.  However, I also decided to really start paying attention to their music, listening to each of their albums (as well as the YesYears compilation, which at the time worked as a great overview of their history and catalog).  I suddenly became impressed with how they were able to consistently create amazing music, despite all the personnel changes.  They always seem to find talented people and shift their sound accordingly with very little trouble.  It wasn't long before I decided that Yes was my favorite group of all time.  

Given that I grew up in the 90s, I became very attuned to their 90s output, especially Talk and Open Your Eyes.  It felt (at the time) like Yes was modernizing their sound without necessarily undermining it.  Then, after I had decided I was a diehard Yes fan, The Ladder came out, and I LOVED The Ladder.  To me, it sounded like they were drawing up their years of experience to make incredible music that felt relevant, lively, and timeless.  (The fact that they had one of their songs in a cool video game may have helped as well.)

Since then, their output has been a little more spotty.  Magnification had some neat ideas, but then they went without new material for over a decade.  Fly From Here was proof they weren't out of it, but the material was just okay, and my thoughts on Heaven & Earth are . . . complicated.  (I may get into that album on its own at a later point.)

Still, their 70s material has remained as solid as ever.  The classic three (The Yes Album, Fragile, Close to the Edge) still stand as exemplars in the progressive rock genre.  While Tales of Topographic Oceans doesn't quite click with me, I've finally been able to wrap my head around Relayer in recent years.  I'm also a big defender of Tormato, for all of its quirks, and it seems that Drama is finally being recognized for the unique but amazing work that it is.  I even like the 80s stuff, including the spin-off ABWH album (which apparently has been weaved into official Yes canon now!).  While I won't say that every album is a winner, I love most of their work, even the stuff often marginalized by most other rock fans.

In any case, I just wanted to share a bit about myself by talking about my favorite rock band and how they entered into my life.  I know Yes is in a weird place currently (and I may do an article about that as well), but it doesn't change how wonderful their music is and how much it means to my life.  Don't be surprised if I end up writing more posts about them!

For those who wish to get into Yes, but don't know where to start, I'd highly recommend the "classic three" I mentioned above.  If the long track lengths seem intimidating, then maybe 90125 or The Ladder would be good places to start.

Styx - Grand Illusion (Album Review)

Let's start off with a classic, shall we?

By the mid-70s, Styx was growing in popularity.  With singles like "Lady," "Lorelei," and "Crystal Ball," they were making their way onto radio stations around the United States.  However, this album was the one that shot them up to stardom, and when you listen to it, it's easy to hear why.  Full of anthemic sounds and clever lyrics, there's good reason many of the songs on this album are still played on classic rock stations around the world.

I don't think one could call The Grand Illusion a "concept album," per se, but it does revolve around a certain set of themes, mostly provided through Dennis DeYoung's lyrics.  The songs satirize an increasingly superficial and conspicuous world (something that we still struggle with today!), leaving one to wonder what is real and what is not.  These themes are found most obviously in the title track, as well as well as "Miss America" and "Fooling Yourself."  "Superstar" touches on it as well, though it's less critical, as if it wants to invite the audience onstage to join in on the fun of fame and glory.

Which brings me to their music and it's accessibility.  Every single song on this album is very easy to get into and enjoy, with big, arena-filling riffs and great use of textured synthesizers.  Even when they get proggier in second half of the album with "Man in the Wilderness" and "Castle Walls," (including a great Pink Floyd inspired drum solo) things never stray too far into the weird or technical, resulting in a consistently enjoyable album.

Nothing embodies this more than "Come Sail Away."  Starting off as a piano ballad that slowly builds, expressing a desire to explore and see the world, only to eventually explode with that huge chorus, those iconic riffs reaching to the ceiling.  Even when it gets a little space-y with the bridge, it still drives forward at an unrelenting pace until it brings it back to the chorus and the big finish.  A great balance of straight forward rock buoyed by progressive rock flourish, and that's why it's Styx best known and most beloved song from this album, if not their whole catalog.

I also want to point out the work of Chuck Panozzo.  While he is not often listed as one of the greatest rock bassists, but he's very solid, and his bouncy beats are what help Styx's songs feel so driven.  One doesn't have to be some technical wizard or innovative player to be a great bassist.

As for everyone else, Dennis DeYoung's work really dominates the album.  Full of theatricality and piano work, he's almost succeeded in being an American verison of Queen.  Tommy Shaw puts in work as well, not only providing the hit "Fooling Yourself" but also the haunting and passionate "Man in the Wilderness."  His and James Young's guitar work is classic 70s rock.

The Grand Illusion is 70s arena rock done right, and Styx at their best.  While not every song is perfect ("Superstar" feels a little shallow, and "The Grand Finale" is neat but not really memorable), there is enough going on here to be the staple of classic rock stations the country over for the past 30 some-odd years.  Perhaps it's sounds and production are dated, but this album is such timeless rock that it still feels relevant and lively.