New Videos - November 2021!

Let's finish off the month with another set of videos!  Now that I'm planning on doing only one of these a month, it does make the article on the longer side, but I assure you, these are all great tracks.  It's mostly power metal this time, but I've got a few others in there to mix it up.

Yup, more German heavy/power metal.  However, I get a very strong Queensryche vibe, but that may be just because vocalist Denis Brosowski makes me think of Geoff Tate.  Still, it's got a decent 6/8 gallop that really carries the song, adding to the dark, epic tone.

So a pair of folks who used to work together in the band H.E.A.T. decided to come together for a power metal project, and they definitely have a mix of classic and modern influences.  It's a promising start, and a project I'll have to keep an eye out for in the future.

Once again, Crazy Lixx and their nostalgia-heavy pop metal sound find their way onto one of my articles.  This one has a lot of energy, and has some great gang vocals in the chorus.  This track, along with many of the other singles, is giving me a lot of high hopes for the new album.

So Sorcerer has been staying busy by doing some covers and releasing them as singles.  While the others have been interesting, this one stood out to me as really fitting their style.  Vocalist Anders Engberg really soars, just like he did on their last album.  Kinda slow and epic, their take on the Saxon classic is a little safe, but very solid.

NorthTale keeps coming with great, high-speed power metal, and they've definitely added some symphonic elements on this one.  Of course, it helps to get power metal legend Kai Hansen and his son involved, just to add that extra level of epicness.  It's a great track that makes me look forward to their new album, which I still need to get to.

I guess Lovebites is going on hiatus, after their bass player left.  So they're filling a gap with a compilation album that features this new song as a single.  Naturally, it's a high-speed power metal stomper with plenty of melodic leads and harmonies.  While the future of this band may be uncertain, this single is a fitting tribute to their career thus far.

Wolfmother kinda surprised everyone with a new album out of the blue, and I've been listening to pieces of it.  Unsurprisingly, they've still got that very 70s metal vibe, with noodly guitar solos straight off of a Rainbow record.  Expect a review of this from me soon!

So the founder of Nuclear Blast started a new label called Atomic Fire, and after bringing over a handful of artists, they've signed some new ones, including these guys.  This song is some solid power metal, somewhere between DragonForce and Stratovarius, with a bit of the Legend of Zelda in the solo, for good measure.  I'll definitely be keeping an eye on them next year.

I remember stumbling across Power Quest in 2011, when they released Blood Alliance, and I thought they were a pretty decent band, much in the vein of DragonForce.  I haven't kept up with them recently, but it seems they've carried on without a hitch, despite nearly a new lineup.  Uplifting power metal is always welcome around here.

After blessing us last Christmas with a power metal adaptation of A Christmas Carol, Majestica seems to have pulled together a few more tracks (including this one) for an Extended Version this year.  While the song follows the same formula of telling the story while using a classic Christmas song as a base, it's still a pretty solid tune, much like the rest of that album.

Last Played - November 2021 Part Two!

I think I'm going to end up spending a lot of this holiday season catching up on this year's releases.  I know there are a lot of albums I want to get to, but I'm also starting to wonder how on earth I'm going to decide my Top 5.  While I don't know if I've heard any obvious winners, there has been a good chunk of great music this year, and this article is gonna go over some of them.  Here's what I've been checking out lately!

Dream Theater - A View from the Top of the World

After the band stumbled with The Astonishing, they set out to recenter themselves with Distance Over Time, and largely succeeded.  I felt that the album was adequate, with not much really standing out to me.  Now we have their follow up with this album, and their stated intentions to start exploring again, this time with some heavier, 8-string guitars, which I think helped their songs sound very dramatic and broad in their scope.

Of course, Dream Theater going for heavy isn't necessarily anything new (Train of Thought comes to mind), but I think goal here was to expand their dynamics and tones, which has mostly worked.  Right off, the album starts with some very chunky metal riffs, with "The Alien" and "Answering the Call," setting the tone for the rest of the album, with later tracks adding some interesting symphonic elements.  "Transcending Time" is a curious outlier, surprisingly having a lot of AOR rock energy, and I can't deny that I rather liked it.  However, the center piece is clear the 20 minute epic at the end of the album that has the band really flexing their songwriting muscles.  They really explore a lot of moods on that one, shifting from fast to slow, heavy to light, and back again.  (Par for the course, really.)

Overall, I think this is slightly better than their last one.  The heaviness seems to have brought some energy along with it, and the band do some interesting balancing between heavier and lighter sections.  "Answering the Call" and "Awaken the Master" are probably the best tracks, as I feel they make great use of the heaviness without letting the songs go off the rails too much.  That being said, this is still very Dream Theater, and will likely not appeal to anyone who isn't already a fan.  I admit I'm not a huge fan of them, myself, so take my words with a grain of salt.  Nevertheless, it's a solid showing, proving that this band still have a lot of creative energy in the tank.

Beast in Black - Dark Connection

After enjoying their first two albums, I was pretty keen on hearing what Beast in Black had in store this year.  When the singles landed, the clear switch to a very 80s cyberpunk aesthetic was a bit of a surprise, as they dived deeper into their sonic inspirations.  However, the result is clearly more of the same, for better or worse.

The album has a great opener in "Blade Runner," with some great energy and crunchy riffs.  However, from there, it starts to feel like a repeat of previous efforts.  Some songs are poppy, some are more metal, but all stay within the range the band has covered before.  "One Night in Tokyo" is one of the better ones on the poppy side, "To the Last Drop of Blood" is probably the one that balances the two styles the best, and "Revengeance Machine" has a great "Painkiller" vibe that's kinda ruined by some awkward, profanity-laden narration at the start.  There's a general shift toward more mature, suggestive lyrics as well, so your mileage may vary with that.  The band continues to maintain their solid production and tight performances, however, with Yannis Papadopoulos flexing his dynamic vocals once again.  He gets plenty of opportunities to shift between his lighter and aggressive styles.  Oh, and that Manowar cover is pretty fun.

While it's easy to criticize this as being more of the same, I'm reluctant to do so, as I feel this band is still the best as this fusion of 80s pop and heavy metal (which I have dubbed "synth metal").  I know I certainly don't want them to stop.  However, I do think this is a bit of a step down from the previous albums.  In their attempt to shift the content from fantasy to sci-fi, they tried to be more sophisticated with their lyrics and presentation, with mixed results.  While it's nice to have some epic cyberpunk anthems, it's hard to feel like the band is really stretching themselves.  In the end, it's a decent album, with a few great songs, but not as engaging as their previous efforts.

NorthTale - Welcome to Paradise

So this is a bit of catchup before I do their 2021 release, as I wanted to go into NorthTale's new album with some context of what they had done here.  Honestly, I loved what I had heard from the singles, but then the band just kinda fell off my radar somehow.  To be honest, I feel bad about it, as it's clearly the kind of power metal I love, being very influenced by the styles of Helloween and Stratovarius.

Right off, we start with some high speed, double-kicking power metal, and it doesn't really let up.  Oh, sure, there are power ballads in the middle with "Way of the Light" and at the end with "Even When," but they're kinda forgettable (which is also quite like Stratovarius; I love that band, but I could never get into their ballads).  "Everyone's a Star" is also a bit different, a kind of satirical piece of pop metal.

But everything else is excellent power metal.  I loved hearing a bunch of the singles again, like "Higher," "Shape Your Reality," "Siren's Fall," and "Bring Down the Mountain."  As for rest, "Follow Me," "Time to Rise," and "If Angels Are Real" stood out to me.  Vocalist Christian Eriksson is quite good, providing some epic held-notes, and making me think of Jonas Heidgert of Dragonland.  The guitar solos are incredible, with Bill Hudson throwing in some neo-classical chops here and there, and the keyboards by Jimmy Pitts are right there with him, noodling along like Jens Johansson.

Honestly, this could have been a Top 5 contender for 2019.  This is the kind of power metal that bands should be making more of, in my opinion.  I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but I know it's not the over-the-top style of DragonForce nor the heavier power metal of Iron Savior or Primal Fear.  It's that middle ground where Helloween, Freedom Call, and Stratovarius live, and now we have NorthTale representing the style, and doing it very well!  Great stuff!

The Dust Coda - Mojo Skyline

Hey, remember these guys?  I was digging a lot of their singles earlier in the year, and I've finally taken the time to listen to their new album.  While a lot of retro rock bands lean on the styles of Zeppelin or Sabbath, these guys are going for more of an Aerosmith vibe, and do it well!

This album has three things going for it: First, is the meaty riffs.  Clearly leaning on 70s rock clichés, the production gives them a good amount of heft and power.  They also have a good balance of being catchy and simple.  They won't win any shredding awards, but with hooks this good, my head was bobbing all the way through this record.  Second, their vocalist John Drake really lets it all hang out.  He's got a great, straight-forward rock sound, with just the right amount of grit.  He's as subtle as a brick and it's perfect!  Third, these songs have a ton of energy!  Even though it's mostly settled in a nice, mid-tempo rock groove, these are not passive tunes.  I can see them jumping around all over the stage in my mind as they play these songs.

Basically, I'm saying that I really like this album.  I was a little afraid it would get repetitive, but it really doesn't.  They know how to shake it up a little with some different moods, with things shifting even during the song sometimes.  "Breakdown" is a really good example of this, starting at a mid-tempo groove before going full-on hard rock at the end.  Other stand outs include "Limbo Man," the anthemic "Dream Alright," "Best Believe It," and that super heavy riff on "I've Been Waiting."  Overall, it's a plain straight-up rocking album from start to finish, with no brakes to slow things down.

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Well, that was certainly a fun mix of music!  I have one more article coming before the end of the month, and it's gonna be a bunch of videos, so keep a look out for that.  I don't have much else to say, so until then, rock on! \m/

Anniversary Series - 2016!

Finally, we reach 2016, and I've actually listened to a decent amount of stuff for this year, so I'll be doing a standard anniversary article for this one!  Most of what I have will be power metal and proggy stuff, but there are a few others mixed in for the playlist.

I'm going to start off with an absolutely amazing album: Rulebreaker by Primal Fear.  It was the first album of theirs I had ever listened to, and I was completely blown away.  Definitely leaning towards a Painkiller-style of power metal, it was still very epic, with tons of great riffs and energy.  With massive tracks like the title track, "The End Is Near," "Bullets & Tears," "In Metal We Trust," and "Constant Heart," it's an excellent album from top to bottom.  This was my favorite album of the year, by far!  Of course, there were other good power metal albums that came out this year.  Rhapsody of Fire, Serenity, and Avantasia provided plenty in the symphonic style, while Iron Savior and Mystic Prophecy kept things heavy.

Progressive rock and metal also had a few releases worth mentioning.  While Dream Theater stumbled with The Astonishing, DGM really knocked it out of the park with The Passage, Kansas put out their first album in 16 years with the decent The Prelude Implicit, and Jon Anderson teamed up with Roine Stolt for the dreamy, light-hearted Invention of Knowledge.  Supposedly, they had plans for a second album, but they haven't been able to find time to work it out.  I know I'd definitely be interested in what else they would create.

I know I generally don't cover thrash metal, but they had a decent year as well, with Metallica and Megadeth both putting out albums.  In a bit of a surprise for me, I actually preferred the Megadeth album.  Part of it was that Metallica had gotten back into bad habits with a double album that sounded a lot like Load and Reload, which I've never liked.  "Atlas Rise" was probably the only track I really liked from Hardwired...To Self-Destruct.  However, the other part is that Megadeth picked up Kiko Loureiro from Angra, making the guitar-work on Dystopia quite slick and powerful.  Oh, and Metal Church brought Mike Howe back for XI, including the excellent thrash anthem "Reset."

Finally, I just want to make mention of Airbourne's Breakin' Outta Hell.  While I was aware that Airbourne was a lot like AC/DC, this album was the first one of theirs I listened all the way through, and I found I kept coming back to it.  While they still have the classic blues-rock sound, they pump it up with a lot of energy and power.  With songs like the title track, "It's Never Too Loud For Me," and "It's All For Rock N' Roll," they really hit a stride with an album that flat-out rocks.

So that will do it for 2016 and for this year's worth of anniversary articles.  I really do enjoy makings these, as it gives me the opportunity to see rock and metal history in a different light, so I hope you're enjoying them as well.  As always, there's a playlist below with more, and if I've missed anything, let me know.  Until then, rock on! \m/

Last Played - November 2021!

After doing some current releases, I decided I wanted to kick back and check out some older albums.  This one is all 80s, starting with some new-wave-y prog rock and following it up with a pair of epic metal releases.  Here's what I've been checking out lately!

Discipline - King Crimson

After 7 years of silence, Robert Fripp starting rebuilding his music career.  At first, he worked within the growing new wave space of the early 80s, then grabbed drummer Bill Bruford again for a new project that was going to be called Discipline.  They brought in Tony Levin for bass and Andrew Belew of the Talking Heads to sing, write lyrics, and play guitar along with Fripp.  The result is an interesting fusion of ideas, bringing over the 70s organized chaos the band was known for and meshing it with the more streamlined, new wave sound, making for quite a significant shift for the band.

I have to admit, this is still a pretty challenging listen, though.  I did like the complex melodies of tracks like "Frame By Frame" and "Discipline."  The way the guitars play off of each other is very fascinating.  Fripp in particular really pushes his math rock muscles with some complicated fretwork, and Belew backs him up, either providing more rhythm, or getting some wild animal noises from his guitar.  "Sheltering Sky" has a solid atmosphere, letting the solos just drift over it.  However, there are times with the band gets back to the 70s jam-heavy style, particularly on "Indiscipline" and "Elephant Talk", ensuring that this is still Fripp and company.  "Matte Kusadai" tries to be this proggy ballad, but doesn't really go anywhere, and the use of a frantic recording from Belew on "Thela Hun Ginjeet" makes the song hard to appreciate.  Levin does give the piece a decent funky groove, though.

This album is definitely much more accessible than most anything they have done before.  While there are plenty of proggy noodles and curious time signature shenanigans here and there, this album has a much stronger focus on organized song-writing and more repetitive and trancy segments.  Between the math rock and ambient side, we get an album that shows that prog rock is not a dinosaur, but has potential to move forward in its own way.  That being said, it's still a bit of a struggle for me to really appreciate overall, but I can't learn if I don't try.

Cirith Ungol - King of the Dead

After doing this band's first album earlier this year, I thought I'd check out their critically acclaimed second album to see if they had improved.  Right off, this one is much more consistent in quality and style, really settling into a unique metal sound.  I know other folks have often called this album a staple of early power or doom metal, but honestly, I hear a lot of 70s influences.  I know I mentioned early Rush in regards to the last album, and that tone is still there, but this one has some added power like classic Judas Priest, such as Sad Wings of Destiny or Sin After Sin.  However, it does benefit from a heftier 80s production, letting these songs sound pretty big and crunchy.

Tim Baker continues his iconic, gritty wailing, giving the songs a lot of melodrama.  He has a pretty epic scream towards the end of "King of the Dead" that stood out to me.  "Finger of Scorn" had an interesting doomy vibe, with the acoustic sections, big riffs, and a punchy chorus.  "Cirith Ungol" also brings the doom, with a long outro.  I also liked "Master of the Pit," as it had a proggier vibe, starting and ending with long, noodly guitar solos.  In fact, there's a lot of great solo work on this album, overall.  The Bach cover is interesting, as they're using some kind of pedal to make their guitars sound a bit like an organ.

I don't know if I was completely enthralled by what I hear.  The album has a bit of a lackluster start, and takes a while to really get going.  Once it does, though, it settles into a nice, mid-tempo groove with a lot of atmosphere and great guitar work. This is definitely an improvement over their first, and certainly has some interesting, epic moments.

Dio - Dream Evil

I'm surprised I haven't talked more about Dio's solo career, but it's another one I've been slowly working my way through.  At this point, listening to any of Dio's stuff feels like it's more about the mystique  of the man than the music itself, though he's certainly been responsible for many great songs.  Dream Evil feels like a general continuation of what he had built with the previous three albums, with maybe an extra layer of polish.

At this point, the group brought in Craig Goldy on guitars and Claude Schnell on keyboards.  While I don't know if I feel like the guitars are doing anything other than just being very 80s, the keyboards definitely feel stronger on this album, providing a lot of ambience and atmosphere that I don't exactly recall on the other albums.  While synths aren't anything new for Dio, their prevalence on this album does kick it up a notch in the epicness department.  Another thing I noticed this time was how each song's chorus is just basically repeating the title a lot.  Again, not a new thing for Dio ("Rainbow in the Dark" comes to mind), but the fact that it happened on every track made me wonder if things weren't getting a little too formulaic. If there is a shift from previous albums, I think there's a greater emphasis on anthemic tones, designed for stadiums.  I can easily see folks clapping and singing along to these quite easily.

That's not to say this is bad album, by any means.  This is definitely stronger overall than their last one, Sacred Heart.  "Dream Evil" is a very solid rocker, and "All the Fools Sailed Away" feels like a "Children of the Sea 2.0" and mostly works.  I particularly liked the proggy shift about halfway through, topped with some nice solos.  The rest are a bit of a mixed bag, but are mostly decent rock and metal numbers to support Dio's trademark vocals.  

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I admit things have gotten a little slow around here, lately.  There are still a handful of 2021 releases I want to try and get to before the end of the year, and I've got one more anniversary article coming up that I need to decide what I'm doing with, so I'll probably have at least two more articles this month, but I'm thinking about focusing less on the videos and more on the reviews.  While I do enjoy writing all these different articles, I certainly don't want them to become more work than they're worth.  Hopefully, I can find a good balance going forward.  Until then, rock on!  \m/