Anniversary Series - 1995!

Well, I'm making some serious progress on these, now that we're in July!  As we move further in time, rock music really begins to separate out into its genres and communities, making it difficult to really say anything conclusive about the time period as a whole.  As such, these articles are going to focus more on what I've listened to, and therefore be less comprehensive and historical in nature.  Still, there's plenty to talk about for the year of 1995!

Let's start things off with some power metal, as the genre was really starting to come alive by now.  Blind Guardian released Imaginations from the Other Side, Gamma Ray finally got things together for Land of the Free (which I reviewed here), and Stratovarius would find their voice in Timo Kotipelto and give us Fourth Dimension, the first in a long string of great albums.

1995 would be a big year for prog rock.  Pink Floyd's big final tour would result in the Pulse live album, with the iconic blinking light on the spine.  King Crimson continued their unique complexity with Thrak, and Roine Stolt, after the success of The Flower King, would bring together the band The Flower Kings and produce their debut album, which I reviewed earlier this year.

Prog metal would be no slouch either, with Ayreon releasing their debut, Symphony X following up on their debut by introducing the great Russell Allen to the world with The Damnation Game, and Dream Theater expanding their songwriting with the epic "A Change of Seasons," released as an EP.  However, the big surprise was Savatage suddenly coming back with Dead Winter Dead and the hit single "Sarajevo 12/24," the song that inspired the Trans-Siberian Orchestra project.

Of course, atlernative rock was still a big deal at this time, but grunge was making its shift into post-grunge.  Dave Grohl would bounce back with the debut of the Foo Fighters, Candlebox released Lucy, and Alice in Chains had their self-titled third album.

Just to round things out, Van Halen would carry on with Sammy Hagar with the successful Balance, Iron Maiden had The X Factor with their new singer Blaze Bayley, and AC/DC released Ballbreaker, proving that the older styles of rock and metal hadn't gone anywhere.

So that's 1995.  As usual, there's a playlist below, and I'm sure I've missed some good stuff, so don't hesitate to give me recommendations!  Until then, rock on! \m/