New Videos - June 2022!

The end of the month means it's time to catch up on some new videos!  Plenty of power metal with this one, but I got a few rock tracks in there for good measure.  I'm getting pretty excited for a lot of these albums showing up later this year.  Turn these up!

Let's start with something fast and crunchy!  Between this and "Violent Shadows," Blind Guardian have definitely been getting back to their older, speed metal days, but I'm here for it.  This is some epic shredding and once again Kürsch's vocals bring the heft to bring the song alive.

To be honest, I kind of expected The Secret to be Alan Parsons's last album, based on some of the themes there, but I guess he's got more ideas to share.  Tapping into Tommy Shaw is an interesting choice, though it's still a solid performance.  A bit of a hard rock vibe, though, making it a curious listen that might be a sign of whatever the legendary engineer has in mind for the future.

Birth is definitely tapping into that classic psychedelic rock style, providing this 9 minute single that sort of meanders about, but in a good way.  It largely made me think of Pink Floyd's more laidback, folkier songs, like on Obscured By Clouds.  A solid jam, with good atmosphere.

Dragonland are back after ten years!  Instead of continuing their fantasy story, they're doing a sci-fi concept album, but they retain much of their symphonic power metal style, specifically the stuff they did on their album Contact, which had some sci-fi stuff on it as well.  It's like they haven't missed a beat!

Wow!  I had no idea HammerKing would be coming back so quickly!  I guess they had a bunch more HammerFall-flavored power metal to share.  Not that I'm complaining!  Their last album easily made to Top 5 for last year, and if it's going to be more of the same, I'm very much on board!

I saw this group pop up earlier in the year, but I thought they would be more folky or black metal, so when I discovered that they were symphonic power metal, I did a bit of a double take.  I'm not quite sure if I have a solid feel for the band from this song alone, as it veers between Rhapsody of Fire orchestral bombast and Iron Maiden-style hooks, but I can tell this has some interesting potential.

Anniversary Series - 1992!

While I am dedicated to getting these anniversary articles done, I have to admit I don't really have a lot to say about 1992.  Of course, there were certainly big things happening this year, but most of it is outside of the scope of this blog, with the expansion of genres such as groove metal, extreme metal, and punk rock.  Still, there are a few things I can bring up as being important releases for the year.

Naturally, the year also saw a continuation of the grunge explosion, but most of that first wave happened last year, as Nevermind, Ten, and Badmotorfinger continued to sell copies.  This didn't leave much new for the genre, but we did get two big releases.  Alice in Chain's Dirt had success with tracks like "Would?", "Them Bones," and "Rooster."  Meanwhile, Stone Temple Pilots exploded with their debut Core.

Of course, heavy metal hadn't quite been completely erased by the alt rock movement.  Iron Maiden told us of their Fear of the Dark, being the last album with iconic singer Bruce Dickensen for 8 years.  Black Sabbath would suddenly reunite with Heaven and Hell lineup (albeit temporarily) for Dehumanizer.  Manowar gave us The Triumph of Steel, featuring a 28 minute epic about the story of Achilles.  Blind Guardian would push further into their fantasy themes with Somewhere Far Beyond.  Megadeth would follow their rivals Metallica with the mainstream success of Countdown to Extinction, featuring the massive "Symphony of Destruction" and the quirky "Sweating Bullets."

In terms of classic, melodic rock, there are a few gems.  Asia would reform around John Payne and release Aqua, Neal Schon worked with the Gioeli brothers for the first Hardline album Double Eclipse, and Def Leppard would find some left over pop metal appeal with Adrenalize.  AC/DC would also release a widely celebrated live release, simply titled AC/DC Live.

However, in terms of melodic rock and metal, what most likely might be the most important release is Images and Words from the prog metal giant Dream Theater.  While the fusion of prog rock and metal had been kicking around in the 80s, it wasn't until this second album of theirs that the genre really took off, as many bands have since tried to emulate what Dream Theater established here.  Not only featuring their only hit, "Pull Me Under," but also other favorites like "Learning to Live" and the renowned "Metropolis Part 1."  Melodic metal would never be the same after that album.

I'm sure there are plenty I missed from this year, so if you think of any, let me know in the comments below.  Still, a pretty big year for a few reasons.  As always, check out the playlist below for more.  Until then, rock on! \m/

Last Played - June 2022!

Sorry for the lack of content.  Been busy with other things lately, so I haven't been as focused on listening to new stuff.  However, I did squeeze in these three, which are a solid trio of albums.  Here's what I've been checking out lately!

Hardline - Double Eclipse

While I've enjoyed a few of Hardline's more recent songs, I've heard that their debut album is a classic hard rock gem that came out at a time when that style was getting pushed to the curb.  Featuring Neal Schon of Journey (while they were on hiatus), and Dean Castronovo, who would later join Journey and be on plenty of modern AOR bands, this certainly has the credentials, and songs are exactly what I expected.

Right off, the first thing I noticed was the massive production.  This is stadium-ready rock right out of the gate.  The guitars are massive and crunchy, and Johnny Gioeli's vocals soar over everything with gusto.  The songs seem to drift back and forth between Whitesnake-style pop metal and the AOR style the band would become better known for these days.  It also finds a decent balance between hard rockers and epic ballads.  The lyrics are a little cheesy, but it fits right in with contemporaries like Steelheart and Slaughter.

However, Hardline got dropped by their label after this and wouldn't come back together for ten years with nearly a new lineup, but I know the 90s were pretty hard on bands like this.  It's also interesting to hear Neal Schon do something heavier than what I'm used to hearing from him.  The songs that stood out to me the most were "Rhythm from a Red Car," "Everything," and the Japanese exclusive track "Love Leads the Way," which is probably my favorite.  With big, rocking tracks like these, I can see why this album would have been a gem for those trying to find melodic rock in the grunge era.

Cristiano Filippini's Flames of Heaven - The Force Within

Back in November of 2020, I checked out two songs from this group and thought they were some decent symphonic power metal.  The name stuck with me, though, and this month I thought I'd finally go back and give their entire album a chance.  Feeling like a sonic mix of Rhapsody of Fire, Beast in Black, and Sonata Arctica, the album starts with a lot of energy, but seems to lose a lot of that drive towards the end.

The production really stands out here, going for this lush, layered, wall-of-sound style that really goes as epic as it can, making it easily comparable to Rhapsody of Fire.  Songs like "We Fight for Eternity" and "Far Away" are solid examples of the symphonic side of the band.  The lyrics are also reminiscent of their fellow Italians, as it's full of fantasy themes and personal stakes.  However, in the midst of all the orchestrations, there seems to be an emphasis on 80s synths, a la Beast in Black, including some solos!  Tracks "Against the Hellfire," "Dying for Love," and "Moonlight Phantom" are good examples of this sound.  Finally, vocalist Marco Pastorino seems to be an Italian Tony Kakko, giving these cheesy lyrics a strong sense of authority with his performative style.  The album's ballads "Always With You," "Finding Yourself," and "Missing You" show some strong Sonata Arctica influences as well.  And where is the titular Cristiano Filippini?  While I think most of his work is in the orchestrations, there are some nice melodic guitar solos throughout the album.  I get the impression that he probably a quite capable shredder, but instead he goes for more of an emotional, melodic approach most of the time, which I thought fit the songs quite well.

Describing all of this may seem like the album is rather all over the place, and it certainly has a lot of dynamics over its runtime.  However, the production keeps things pretty consistent in tone, so nothing felt out of place.  My favorite track has to be "Lightning in the Night," because I feel like it's the one that blends the different styles together for a great power metal epic.  Unfortunately, it's sandwiched by a pair of ballads, and the rest of the album doesn't have quite that same energy towards the end.  Still, I think this was a pretty solid listen, overall, and I would certainly want to check out any more from this project, if they decide to make a follow up to this.

Seven Planets - Seven Planets

After enjoying their debut album last year, I thought I'd take some time and listen to the second album Seven Planets had to offer.  Once again, we're back into that classic instrumental jazzy blues-rock, where there is plenty of licks and drum fills.  However, this album certainly sees an increase in the psychedelic side of things.

Probably the biggest difference is the amount of effects on the guitars to really let them drift in and out of the song.  While the fun licks are still here, the guitars are much more atmospheric than before.  Nowhere is that more prevalent than on the 10 minute epic "Objects in Space."  This one really takes the listener on a journey, with some nice builds and breakdowns that flow well.  In fact, flow is probably the highlight of the entire album, as the songs just kinda drift through the mind with ease.

Not to say that the album is forgettable by any means; there are plenty of solid riffs and melodies to be found here.  Stand out tracks for me were the epic "Objects in Space," "Lamont Starfield" with it's harder rock riffing, and "9th Time," which starts kinda mellow, but builds up pretty well, ending with a lot of good energy.  The whole album is just so jammy, though, that it feels like it washes over the mind, like a soothing bath.  I do think this is an improvement over the first album, though, as the guitar effects help to establish a solid, spacey atmosphere that I enjoyed quite a bit.

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I think, for the forseeable future, I'm going to shift my schedule slightly.  My goal now is to try and do three articles a month: a Last Played, an Anniversary Series, and a New Videos.  I don't mean to make excuses, but right now, I've got some other concerns that are taking priority.  Still, I don't plan to quit by any means; I still have plenty of things I'm looking forward to talking about!  So things might slow down a bit, but I'm still marching forward.  Next will be the Anniversary Series article for 1992, so look forward to that!  Until then, rock ! \m/