Top 5 of 2000!!

It's at this point we start to drift away from what was big and into what I've mainly listened to, as was the nature for the Anniversary Articles.  For 2000, I primarily focused on power metal, and in the end, it also dominates my Top 5 for the year as well.  However, I did want to give an honorable mention to Rob Halford's return to heavy metal with his solo band Halford.  Quite the Resurrection indeed!  I also made sure to give the stuff I heard last week its chance, but in the end, they didn't make it, mainly because these five are some of my personal favorites!

5. Edguy - The Savage Poetry

After cutting their teeth on a few albums, they decided to record their debut demo, and it's a considerable improvement, as they have their power metal sound worked out by this point.  Kicking off with "Hallowed" and "Misguiding Your Life," their songs crackle with Helloween-like energy, with the epic "Eyes of the Tyrant" being the highlight of the album, in my opinion.  While the band might be MIA these days, they were definitely one of the big stars during the swell of power metal bands growing at this time.

4. Nightwish - Wishmaster

Back before they were doing more progressive, cinematic metal, Nightwish was the premier symphonic metal band at the time.  Seeped in a gothic tone, and powered by Tarja Turunen's operatic voice, they were as epic as a band could get.  While I do think Oceanborn is a slightly better album, this one had plenty of great songs, like the bombastic title track, and the twisted "Kinslayer."  

3. 3 Doors Down - The Better Life

Nostalgia can be a pretty powerful stuff.  I was in high school, and post-grunge was really blowing up, with this album dominating my attention at the time.  While "Kryptonite" was the big hit, the album has so much more, with the somber "Be Like That" and the tense "Duck and Run, to the energetic tracks like "By My Side" and "So I Need You."  This was a contender to take the #1 spot, but after listening to everything, it settles comfortably at #3.

2. HammerFall - Renegade

Back when I did my big retrospective for this band, I considered this one to be caught between two very good albums.  However, classic HammerFall will always have a massive place in my heart, and this album is no exception.  With so many great tracks from beginning to end, from the pounding opener, to the electric title track, to the epic closer, it was going to take something pretty incredible to beat it.

1. Stratovarius - Infinte

Speaking of incredible!  I admit I haven't talked about Stratovarius very much here on my blog, and that's kind of a shame, as their albums were instrumental in getting me into power metal, with their blend of proggy keyboard solos and neo-classical riffing and shredding.  While Visions might be their best, Infinite is probably my second favorite of theirs.  Starting with the catchy "Hunting High and Low," the album just excels above the rest, with tracks like the near thrashy "Phoenix" and the epic "Infinity."  While it's not perfect, I can't deny the majesty of this album, and so it takes the top spot of 2000 for me!

Anniversary Series - 2002!

It turns out that the heat of August isn't any less intense than it was in July, but I'm surviving.  At least I can pull together another Anniversary Series article, this time for 2002.  Just like 1997, though, it's mostly going to be power metal, so let's get into it!

First off, we get the epic conclusion of Tobais Sammet's Avantasia storyline with The Metal Opera Part Two!  Starting with a massive 14 minute track to recap the story so far, it's certainly starts as it means to go on!  Other metal epics from the year include the second album by Dragonland, continuing their own fantasy story with a Holy War, which I reviewed a few years ago, and the next serving of Nightwish with Century Child.  Featuring incredible tracks like "End of All Hope," "Dead to the World," and "Ocean Soul," the band really expanded the power and scope of symphonic metal.

HammerFall also released an incredible album with Crimson Thunder, which gave us great songs like  the title track, "Hearts on Fire," "Hero's Return," and "The Unforgiving Blade."  Even the covers of "Angel of Mercy" and "Rising Force" are incredible!  Along with HammerFall was Dream Evil's debut album Dragonslayer, providing excellent power metal tracks like "Chasing the Dragon,"  "The Prophecy," and "The 7th Day."  Thunderstone would also debut this year with their self-titled album, which has some solid material like "Let the Demons Free" and "Me, My Enemy."

However, it's not all power metal.  Post-grunge would have a few solid albums as well.  Canadians Our Lady Peace would find international success with Gravity, powered by their big hit "Somewhere Out There," but the rest of the album is quite good as well.  3 Doors Down would follow up their massive debut with Away from the Sun.  It's probably not as good as their first album, but it does have some solid stuff such as the title track, "When I'm Gone," and "Going Down in Flames."

I know there are plenty of other great songs and albums I'm missing, so be sure to share them in the comments.  I know I could have found more, but this month kinda caught me by surprise.  However, I do plan on getting to a Last Played article between now and the end of the month.  Until then, check out the playlist below and rock on! \m/

Anniversary Series - 2005!

I have to say, writing these Anniversary articles has been fun.  I get to go over stuff I love as well as dig into things I haven't heard before.  This month: 2005.  I admit that my knowledge of what the rock world in general was doing at this time is pretty sparse, but I know what I like, and this year has plenty of melodic rock and metal worth celebrating.

Speaking of which, let's start again with power metal.  A lot of really good albums came out this year for the genre, including the debut of Allen/Lande, a team-up to two very dynamic singers who really lay it on thick.  The album is full of fist-pumping anthems that are blast to hear.  HammerFall would continue their crusades, providing another set of stomping huge songs in Chapter V, namely "Blood Bound," "Fury of the Wild," and "Born to Rule."  And while Stratovarius' history would be pretty bumpy at this point, their self-title release is something of a dark horse in their collection, having some of their best material, in my opinion.

Kamelot would carry on their quality streak with The Black Halo, the second half of a concept album pair based on Faustian legends, and features tons of epic material.  Sabaton would kickstart their military history flavored metal with Primo Victoria, camo pants and all.  And of course, a discussion of power metal in 2005 wouldn't be complete with DragonForce's Inhuman Rampage, featuring the Guitar Hero favorite "Through the Fire and the Flames," and cementing the band as the poster child for the genre.  Admit it, when most people think about power metal now, it's usually DragonForce they think of.

Of course, there was more to 2005 than power metal.  Post-grunge continued to stick around, with 3 Doors Down's opener "Right Where I Belong" from Seventeen Days, and Nickelback showing us that "Photograph" everyone keeps making fun of them for.  Other highlights include Wolfmother's debut, full of Sabbath-y riffs and Deep Purple-y organs, as well as Disturbed finally turning the corner into their now iconic groove metal with Ten Thousand Fists.

To cap off, I want to end with band that may have flown under the radar.  One called Presto Ballet.  Formed by Metal Church guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, he set out to put together an album that paid homage to classic rock bands of the 70s, taking Yes and Kansas into strongest consideration.  Along with a dedication to more analog recording techniques, their debut album is a very bright and vibrant album that straddles the line between crunchy and prog the way bands like Kansas and Styx did back in their heyday.

So that's another anniversary article in the books.  As usual, the playlist with even more good stuff is posted below, and if I've missed something, shout it out!  Until then, rock on! \m/

Anniversary Series - 2000!

Once again, it's the middle of the month, so it's time for another anniversary article.  This time, 2000!  Once we got over the whole Y2K nonsense, what rocked that year?  I'm here to tell you!

Let's start off with some power metal, as the genre had really its stride by this point.  HammerFall would give us Renegade, with iconic tracks like the title track, "The Way of the Warrior," and "A Legend Reborn."  Nightwish expanded their symphonic stylings with Wishmaster, featuring another great title track, "Deep Silent Complete," and the dramatic number "The Kinslayer."  Other highlights include Rhapsody of Fire's Dawn of Victory, which gave us "Holy Thunderfoce," and Edguy's rerecording of Savage Poetry, which has the epic "Eyes of the Tyrant," a ten minute epic that goes through many different moods.

However, the one power metal album that stands out to me the most is Stratovarius's Infinite.  Building off of the sound of their successful trilogy of Episode, Visions, and Destiny, they add some thicker grit to their guitars and push to even greater heights.  Kicking off with the opening rocker "Hunting High and Low," the album moves through some great tracks.  "Millennium" is another great high-speed affair, "Phoenix" is a personal favorite with some massive riffs, and "Infinity" is probably their best epic track.  Full of speed and grandiosity, this album is pretty much peak power metal for me.

Of course, there were other metal bands doing work at this time.  Trans-Siberian Orchestra's third album gets away from their Christmas carols to give us a new story about the life and death of Beethoven in Beethoven's Last Night.  Melodramatic, but with some nice songs, and the references to classic music are weaved in quite expertly.  Other notable records are Helloween's The Dark Ride, Dark Moor's The Hall of the Olden Dreams, and Rob Halford's return to traditional metal with his first solo album Resurrection. 

Meanwhile, progressive rock was starting to come alive again, with new works from new bands.  While I admit I haven't listened to much from this time period, I did recently listen to Transatlantic's debut album, and thought it was pretty decent.

Finally, another genre that was big at this time was post-grunge.  While most of the stuff I'm familiar with didn't come out this particular year, one big album did, and that's The Better Life by 3 Doors Down.  This has to be one of the best debut albums I've ever heard, and I put it along side Boston's and Asia's first records as a solid rock album, from start to finish.  While "Kryptonite" would be the bit hit single from the record, the rest of the album is just a great, with songs like the crunchy "Loser," the driven "Duck and Run," the touching ballad "Be Like That," and the uplifting "So I Need You."  Honestly, I could have put all eleven tracks of this album on the playlist below, but I tried to keep it to the best.

So that's 2000!  Perhaps not as much variety as I would like, but I'm growing!  Also, if you think I've missed something, speak up!  These playlists are not set in stone, you know!