I can't believe it's been ten years since 2011! I swear it wasn't that long ago last time I checked!
Despite the flight of time, this is another pretty decent year, and while I had more for this year than 2006, most of it was power metal. HammerFall would go a little darker (and have some very different album art) with Infected, Power Quest had a few fun tracks on Blood Alliance, and Alestorm continued their screwball pirate metal by going Back Through Time to beat up some vikings.
Outside of that, Saxon had a few good tracks, and Yes would release their first album in ten years with the decent, if lackluster, Fly From Here. I'll give more details about this on that Yes Retrospective I'm slowly working on, but the epic title track (a revamped leftover from the Drama days) and the closer are really the only tracks that stand out to me. There are a few other songs I've thrown on, but it is a very power metal heavy list.
So once again, I'll be reviewing a few albums from 2011 that I haven't listened to before. Hopefully, this will help balance the playlist out with other genres, though I do get to one power metal album for this article. Let's get started!
After reviewing their debut album last year for the 2010 article, I figured I'd do their follow up for this year! Haken certainly has their own take on progressive metal, and while this album isn't as ambitious or eclectic as Aquarius, they still know how to lay down some dynamic, noodly tracks.
Once again, we get another concept album, this time focusing on the thoughts of a man who saw a dream when he was young that he took as a premonition of his own death. Believing it to be true, it kind of messes with his life and perception of reality until he finally sees the premonition be fulfilled, but in a sort of a time loop? I'm getting the impression that this band isn't as interested in storytelling as they are exploring a concept.
Still, there are some pretty good songs building on this. The album actually kind of starts off pretty mellow, making me think of bands like Transatlantic and The Flower Kings, as they use a lot of clean guitars and feature a lot of jazz-fusion segments. However, as the album goes on, it gets chuggier, and soon the noodly guitar solos and synth runs come out. It's a nice build, overall, but it does tend to leave the album a bit overloaded at the end. I definitely enjoyed "Insomnia" and "Portals," though, as I thought they had some neat ideas, and generally the album does feel more focused and streamlined than Aquarius. I definitely got a stronger Dream Theater vibe this time around, especially during the solos.
If there is a problem, it's that it maintains a kind of bleak and depressing tone for most of the album. Even during the lighter sections, it keeps this mysterious, foreboding atmosphere. And the lyrics often are morbid, often through introspective existentialism, but do reference self-harm, to whom it may concern. I understand it gets more hopeful towards the end, but it can still be a heavy listen. And that's not just from the last track's 22 minute runtime!! It's a decent closer, but I do think it runs on for a little too long. Overall, it's a solid proggy experience, really meant to be listened through as an album. The tracks are pretty fun and epic at times, but I don't know if really earns its length, as the good moments feel a little too far apart.
After enjoy one of their tracks last year, I thought I'd add some more AOR to this article by listening to Lionville's debut album. Right from the get-go, they have the style down, and sound great. However, as I've mentioned before, it can be hard to really review this style of music as it's clearly dedicated to an established sound, and Lionville really do well to meet those expectations.
If there is one thing that can be said, there are quite a few ballads. They're not bad, and they tend to have a more 90s feel, but they do bring the energy down a little too much for me. However, those who like their AOR to not just be rockin' the whole time will probably appreciate the variety, as they are well-performed. As for the stuff that does rock, I did enjoy "Here By My Side," "The Chosen Ones," and "Dreamhunter." "With You" also was pretty good, going from a mellow piano start before the guitars kick it into arena mode. I also liked the use of keys across the board, adding little touches and moods to the songs, and even getting in a solo or two. Overall, a solid collection of melodic rock.
Yup, I thought I'd take this opportunity to finally wrap up the Dragonland discography. I remember hearing a lot of good things about this album, but I never got around to it until now. The result is very much an evolution of the band's sound, now returning to their Dragonland story with all the things they've learned.
Right off, this feels like they've finally reached the epic heights the early albums were striving for, as this has massive atmosphere and majesty, much like Rhapsody of Fire. They've also recruited a few other singers to take on a few roles, making it a bit like Avantasia as well. However, it's all very well produced, and along with the improved song-writing and vocal melodies, this is easily the best of the story-based albums. "Shadow of the Mithril Mountains" sets the stage well, "The Black Mare" is a great travelling track, and "Dûrnir's Forge" has these epic, slow riffs, with a proggy section in the middle that's really interesting.
I don't know if it's their best album, overall, as Contact is just about as good as this one. However, Contact had some more progressive metal elements (not always a bad thing) and this clearly has the fantasy power metal style in spades. I did notice that the guitars weren't as prominent on this one as previous albums, as the emphasis was on the orchestral elements, but there were some decent riffs and solos throughout. While it remains unknown as to whether the band will put another album out, at the very least, Under the Grey Banner would be a great note to end on, as it's a very solid collection of symphonic power metal.
Well, that's 2011. Hopefully, I'll get around to more stuff and help balance this playlist out, but I think it's a solid collection of songs. If I've missed anything, be sure to let me know. Now that I've listened to all the Dragonland albums, I could just pull my reviews together and do a retrospective article, if I'm feeling lazy. We'll see. I still have plenty on my plate of albums to check out, both old and new. Until then, rock on! \m/
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