Anniversary Series - 1997!

I'm going to be honest, this year's article is going to be mostly about power metal, as 1997 was the year HammerFall exploded, bringing with it a massive wave of new bands.  I'll try to include a few others, and if there's anything you think I missed, don't hesitate to let me know.  Now, let's get this anniversary article started!

Let's just start with HammerFall and go from there.  The idea of a band that embraced the clichés of the 80s, added a heavy layer of fantasy and historical themes, and charged with some neo-classical energy was considered pretty novel when their debut album landed.  While I think their next few albums were better, they were off to a great start.  With epic tracks like "The Dragon Lies Bleeding," "Unchained," and "Steel Meets Steel," they established a foundation they and many other bands would build on.

Other power metal highlights from the year include Edguy's second album Kingdome of Madness, Kamelot's second Dominion, the debuts of symphonic titans Nightwish and Rhapsody of Fire, and earlier in the month, I covered Kai Hansen's one-two punch of Iron Savior's debut and Gamma Ray's Somewhere Out in Space.  Finally, there's Visions by Stratovarius, including blazing tracks like "Black Diamond," "Forever Free," and "Legions."  This album would cement the band as one of my favorites from this era!

Progressive metal also had a strong showing.  Not only did Dream Theater give us Falling into Infinity, with the iconic "Peruvian Skies," but Symphony X released The Divine Wings of Tragedy, with the 20-minute epic title-track that builds on John Milton and Gustav Holst, and Vanden Plas provided their own style of prog metal with The God Thing, featuring great songs like "Rainmaker" and "Crown of Thorns."

Of course, it wasn't all metal.  Post-grunge was starting to pick up again, particularly with The Colour and the Shape by the Foo Fighters.  Songs like "Monkey Wrench," "Everlong," and "My Hero would become rock radio staples.  And then there was the iconic debut of Creed with My Own Prison, the first of three great albums that I jammed repeatedly when I was in high school.  At least, when I wasn't listening to the new Yes album Open Your Eyes.  It's no innovator or prog rock triumph by any means, but one I have a lot of nostalgia for as well.

So that's 1997 in a nutshell!  Definitely some great music, and I have more selections below in the Spotify playlist.  Perhaps it's not the robust selection, but it will get better as I explore more music.  Until then, rock on! \m/