I know I've complained about the heat of summer in years past on the blog, but this summer seems to be especially brutal. Fortunately, I've been staying in doors and listening to music. Once again, I've got some Anniversary Article inspired reviews. After this month, though, I want to get back to listening to some new stuff. In the meantime, here's what I've been listening to lately!
Continuing my journey through Asia's discography, this album is full-on AOR. While they've always had it as a part of their sound, it had been increasing since Astra, and has reached full transition for Aria. I'm not surprised, really, but it does mean I need to shift my analysis and comparisons. As it is, it's a nice album of soft rock with lush layering, but doesn't really aspire to be much more that.
Most of what was good about their last album, Aqua, carries over to here, mainly the nice melodic phrasing and broad production. The biggest shift is the lyrical focus on relationships and emotions, making them feel more like a typical melodic rock band. While the production is very 90s, the songwriting and synths definitely reach back to the 80s. As for the performances, they're fine. John Payne is a solid singer for this kind of material, Michael Sturgis holds down the rhythm well enough, and Al Pitrelli gives some nice melodic solos (though he would leave after this album to join Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra). Honestly, if it weren't for Geoff Downes' banks of synthesizers (which sound great, by the way), it wouldn't feel like Asia at all.
There are a few interesting flourishes. "Don't Cut the Wire (Brother)" has a decent shift from cinematic storytelling to anthemic rocking, and "Feels Like Love" also has a mid-song transition to a bigger cinematic sound. In fact the whole album feels like songs that wouldn't feel out of place in some 80s movie. As for the more standard rock songs, "Are You Big Enough" has a catchy chorus with tons of reverb on the vocals and "Military Man" probably has the strongest classic Asia sound. In the end, it's not a bad album, but certainly a far cry from their first two in terms of songwriting and scale (though that may just be my nostalgia talking).
I can't believe it's been two years since I last reviewed a Dream Theater album. While they've ever really blown me away, they certainly are a fascinating band, eager to push into prog metal when both prog and metal had fallen out of the mainstream for good. This album brings in Jordan Rudess on the keys, and it's their first concept album, picking up from where Part 1 left off from Images and Words.
The story is kind of convoluted, focusing on a man named Nicholas who has been haunted by past. Trying to make sense of them, he goes to a therapist who uses hypnotism to figure out what happened, only to learn that, in a past life, he was a woman named Victoria caught up in a tragic love triangle between two brothers. However, once Nicholas thinks he's got it figured out, the album introduces some new twists that makes things worse than initially thought. All of this is told pretty well, as the band switches tones, tempos, and even sometimes genres, exploring all these themes. While I don't think it's their best album, it is certainly a peak of creativity for them, and I can see why this is celebrated among prog and metal communities.
(Funny story: I actually listened to this album once back in high school. I borrowed the CD from a friend and while I don't remember much of the music, I do remember feeling pretty unnerved by it all. I wasn't really into metal yet, and as certainly not prepared for the complex song-writing or psychodrama they were going for. Listening to it again brought nothing back, which is interesting, but now that I'm more familiar with the band, and metal as a whole, I can now appreciate it for what it is.)
All the Dream Theater staples are here: weird rhythms, call backs to older prog ideas, dramatic shifts in tone and tempo, and plenty of technical wizardry from all the playing members. I'm not necessarily a big fan of the story, but it allows them to push their songwriting and technical chops, matching the blending of narrative elements with musical ones. One thing I will say is that this album flows very well from song to song, making this an album that easy to lose time to as it moves from part to part. Highlights for me were "Strange Deja Vu," "Fatal Tragedy," of course the impressive instrumental "Dance of Eternity." If nothing else, this album proves why Dream Theater are at the top of the list for progressive metal.
Speaking of being two years since the last review, it's time for another pair from Kai Hansen. I decided to do Gamma Ray first, even though it came out two months after the Iron Savior album. While I enjoyed their previous album well enough, Power Plant is a serious step in my opinion.
Gamma Ray have never been too shy about their influences, but this album seems quite transparent with many of their songs. Things start off with a deliberate Iron Maiden reference with "Anywhere in the Galaxy." Then later on, "Short As Hell" sounds like it could come from Metallica's Black Album, "Heavy Metal Universe" is their take on Manowar's style, and they dip into Queen again for the epic closer "Armageddon." I felt like I heard some influences from their contemporaries like Blind Guardian and HammerFall as well, and they even have two covers, one of Rainbow and one of the Pet Shop Boys, of all things. The covers are kind of basic, but the original songs are so good that they work as Gamma Ray songs anyway. However, I think the biggest sound I heard was Kai Hansen's own classic Helloween chops coming back. I really do think this album is the most Helloween they've ever sounded. (Not that I'm complaining, of course!)
But how is it as an album? Quite good, honestly! This is probably my favorite album of theirs now, as I feel like every track works. Even the weaker ones are solid enough. Stand out songs include the opener "Anywhere in the Galaxy," the very catchy "Send Me a Sign," the grittier "Strangers in the Night," and the energetic riffing on "Wings of Destiny." I've always loved the original "It's a Sin" from the Pet Shop Boys, but Gamma Ray's cover is pretty fun. Overall, a very satisfying album, full of power metal staples, but using them well to create some very interesting songs. I hope Kai Hansen can get some things together soon, as I've love to hear what a modern Gamma Ray album would sound like!
And here's the other one. Following up from their sorta concept album from two years prior (which I thought was decent if a bit clunky), Kai Hansen and company carried their sci-fi storytelling forward for another solid slab of power metal.
The concept picks up from the last album: Atlanteans who escaped destruction travel the stars, only to come back home to see that their Iron Savior (who was supposed to protect them) has taken over earth. So they have to unify with the remaining people of earth, revive a long-sleeping Atlantean, and work together to take on this rogue AI that seems to be developing ideas of its own. Perhaps typical for this band, but it has inspired some very good power metal that drifts between speedy and heavy in a very satisfying way. Whatever problems the songwriting had last time seem to have been smoothed over, as Kai and Piet work great together, not only on the vocals, but their guitar leads are very on point and downright satisfying. (The covers at the end are fun, and there's an extra track by another band called Excelsis that won a contest. Their song is an okay piece of fantasy-based heavy/power metal, though the vocalist is quite gritty.)
The album starts off well with the one-two punch of "Coming Home" and "Starborn," and carries the high energy narrative through "Forces of Rage," "Prisoner of the Void" and "Unchained," and the rest of the album is consistent in it's heavy/power storytelling. If it weren't for the slightly dated production, this would sound just like their recent albums that I've been loving so much lately. This band is quickly becoming a new favorite for me, as their style of power metal is exactly what I seem to want right now.
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