While these anniversary articles are fun to do, they also reveal the gaps in my musical awareness, and it turns out 2006 is a pretty sparse year for me. Looking it over, I mostly had a handful of power metal albums, Daughtry's debut album, and of course Twisted Sister's iconic Christmas album. So I thought I'd repeat a tactic I used last year and instead treat it like a Last Played article with the focus on 2006 stuff specifically. Here we go!
After checking out their debut album last year, I listened to their second for this article. Right off, the production is definitely better, and we get their iconic singer Tommy Karevik for the first time (he would later go on to be Kamelot's current singer as well). Overall, this album is a big step forward for the band.
Seventh Wonder's sound here really locks in on the spot between the technical chops of Symphony X with the melancholy of Evergrey or Darkwater's Human. Johan Liefvendahl really gives his fingers a workout on his guitar frets, and Andreas Söderin is right with him on the keys as they trade solos a la Stratovarius. And with Karevik on vocals, they really do have the melodic prog soundscape down. The songwriting has also improved from their first album, though they do still fall into the trap of adding more sections to their songs for their own sake, but I suppose that's to be expected with this kind of metal.
Still, there is a lot to like on this one. The songs themselves are quite dynamic, often telling little stories of their own, with plenty of opportunities for the band to show their talents. I quite liked the title track as well as "Taint the Sky" and "Banish the Wicked." Honestly, fans of melodic and dynamic prog metal will enjoy this album quite a bit, if they haven't found it already.
My first experience with Jorn was from the Allan/Lande project popping on a power metal station I had made on Pandora radio (remember when that was a big way to discover new artists?), and that first album became a quick favorite. Over the years, I'd hear him pop up again here and there, with bands like Masterplan and Avantasia. However, in more recent years, I've come to realize just how good of a singer he is. He really has a classic kind of rock voice, sitting somewhere between David Coverdale and Ronnie James Dio. So when I was looking over what to cover for this 2006 article and saw that Jorn had an album for this year, I decided it was time I gave his solo stuff a shot.
What I got was pretty much a mix of Whitesnake and Dio, with a heavier chug in the guitars. Most of the songs are slower, at a mid-tempo pace, but that just gives Jorn more space to croon his way through it all, and he certainly makes the most of it. Honestly, it's a pretty solid collection of straight-forward metal, without any surprises, really. The riffs and solos were decent, and the lyrics are pure 80s metal cheese, but in a good way. The songs that stood out to me are "Blacksong," with its interesting melodramatic bridge that changes things, and "Stormcrow" which was more on the energetic side. The Japanese version of the album features a cover of the song "Noose" from Jorn's previous band Ark, which I thought was one of the better tracks as well. Overall, it just provides more proof that Jorn is one of the best in the business, even if what he's doing isn't breaking the mold at all. Sometimes, you just need someone keeping it classic.
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Back in early 2019, I started relistening to Dragonland, reviewing their first three albums in quick succession. I had planned on carrying through, but I guess other bands grabbed my attention instead. However, when I decided to write up a few reviews, I realized that Dragonland's fourth landed on 2006, giving me an opportunity to pick them up again. I really do think the band has matured by this point, resulting in some solid symphonic power metal.
Right off, the production really stands out. The guitars really crunch, letting the symphonic flourishes stand out and keep things together. At this point, their progressive and power metal styles have really merged together, keeping the melodic stylings of the latter, but allowing for good shifts in mood and tempo of the former. Jonas Heidgert's vocals remain powerful, but he gets a few interesting duets with guest singers Jake E from Dreamland and Elize Ryd of Amaranthe. They even bring in Jimmie Strimmell for some harsh growling on a few tracks, and it fits.
"Contact" was actually the first Dragonland song I heard and it really blew me away. It's been a favorite of mine ever since. Other solid tracks include the symphonic opener "Supernova" and the melodramatic and neo-classical "Beethoven's Nightmare." It is a bit weird that they end with a three-part instrumental epic, with large symphony-only sections and sound effects. It's not bad, but definitely goes all over place, like a movie soundtrack, making it hard to follow. Still, the rest of the album is pretty solid, and shows a band really exploring their sound and improving their songwriting.
Well, that should cover 2006 decently enough. As always, check out the playlist below and let me know if you think I've missed anything. Until then, rock on! \m/
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