Anniversary Series - 2008!

Sorry for the lack of articles lately; things have gotten a little hectic for me lately.  Nothing serious, just real life being less convenient than usual.  However, it does mean I don't have the time or energy to look at new albums or doing reviews, so despite planning on reviewing more albums, this Anniversary Article is going to be a normal rundown.  Fortunately, there is some really good stuff this year.

While power metal had since peaked, at least in its popularity, the style carried on with artists old and new.  DragonForce followed up their Inhuman Rampage with an Ultra Beatdown.  While it was largely more of the same, it was still a pretty solid set of shredfests.  Sabaton solidified their themes and sounds with The Art of War, featuring titanic anthems like "40:1" and the title track, and Edguy would shift themselves into more of an 80s hard rock style with Tinnitus Sanctus.

However, in my opinion the big power metal release from this year is Amberian Dawn's debut album River of Tuoni.  Finding a curious space between symphonic theatrics and Stratovarius style riffing, and drawing upon their native Finnish heritage, the album is full of tight, epic tracks with just the right amount of grace provided by Heidi Parviainen's vocals.  

Another album I want to draw attention to is PowerWorld's self-titled debut.  Sometimes called melodic metal, they feel like a mix of Queensrÿche and later HammerFall, but they have some pretty solid songwriting, and a decent cover of "(I Just) Died in Your Arms."  Speaking of covers, Northern Kings returned with another slab of symphonic takes on 80s pop songs.  It's a shame they never did more, though.  Other highlights of the year include Disturbed's Indestructible carrying on their melodic groove metal style, and Metallica's brief return to thrash with Death Magentic, which I praised highly in my Metallica Retrospective earlier this year.

As for rock music, I'm sure there are a number of albums out there, but there are two I want to talk about.  First is the Asia reunion album Phoenix, which features the original lineup working together again, bringing back their proggy AOR sound with tracks like "Never Again." And finally there's AC/DC's Black Ice, which saw the band really channel their classic 80s style with a very good album of anthemic stompers, like "Rock 'n' Roll Train" and "Decibel."

Well, that covers the year pretty well, I think.  I know there are a bunch of other albums I didn't get to, so be sure to check out the playlist below and recommend others in the comments.  In the meantime, I'll work on getting myself back on track!  Until then, rock on! \m/

Anniversary Series - 2010!

It turns out that I haven't actually listened to that many albums from 2010, so I'm doing things a little differently.  I'm going to treat this like a Last Played article, but with a focus on 2010 specifically.  That way they won't clutter up the normal Last Played articles with albums I'm just going to end up talking about here anyway.

Of course, I did have a handful of songs for my Spotify playlist before I made this decision, mostly stuff from Accept's Blood of the Nations, which I reviewed back in June.  Such a great album!  I've also threw in a handful of others, such as Grave Digger singing about Scottish Clans, a few tracks from Disturbed and a sludge metal band called Sonic Brew, and "Screaming Eagles" and a few others from Sabaton's Coat of Arms.  Now on to the reviews!

Amberian Dawn - End of Eden

Before they picked up synth-pop and were covering ABBA songs, Amberian Dawn was a more straight-forward symphonic power metal band whose first album I enjoyed very much.  It felt like Stratovarius with Nightwish's orchestra behind them, and I still consider it one of the best power metal albums ever made.  Their second one was more of the same, but not as strong, I think.  And now I've picked up the third one for this anniversary article!

Right off, I notice a greater emphasis of classical styles in the orchestrations (including an entire non-metal symphonic track), which makes the songs sound much more dramatic.  However, at the same time, I think there's too much emphasis on atmosphere and storytelling, resulting in less catchy and memorable songs.  River of Tuoni had some really catchy choruses and riffs, but I haven't heard them make a comeback at all.  The lyrics are also a little clunky, as the cadence and melodies don't seem to match very well.  I know I've had similar problems with Dragonland and Rhapsody of Fire.

That's not to say this album is bad by any means.  There's still plenty of epicness, and they do spice it up a bit by varying the tempo and the mood.  For example, "Ghostly Echoes" has a more gothic tone, with some pretty chunky mid-tempo riffs and "War in Heaven" has a doom metal quality to it.  The solos are also pretty solid, featuring some pretty high-speed fingerwork on both the guitars and keys.  It's solid stuff, but I don't know if I could say there are any real stand-outs.  (And, unfortunately, this album isn't on Spotify for some reason, so I can't include any of it in my playlist below!)

First Signal - First Signal

So after the members of Harem Scarem decided to break up and work on other things, singer Herry Hess worked with Frontiers Records to create First Signal, a band focused on that classic 80s AOR sound.  I know I've featured a few of their more-recent tracks here, but I thought I'd listen to their debut for this anniversary article.

And it's a solid piece of work.  There's a really good balance between the synths and guitars, without one dominating the other.  Hess himself is great, as he definitely sounds comfortable and confident with this style of music.  As is the case with these things, the songs are pretty predictable.  A few rockers here, a few ballads there, some nice solos, nothing really explosive or experimental, but of course that isn't the intention.  I'm sure it was a pleasant surprise for Harem Scarem fans at the time.  I don't know if there is anything particularly amazing, though "This City" is a good opening track, and "Naked Desire" has a thicker crunch in its guitars that I liked.  It's fun while it's on, making for some easy-going melodic rock.

Haken - Aquarius

Haken is another one of those bands where I had heard a lot of good things, but never got around to.  So for this article, I thought I'd listen to their first full-length album, which happens to be a concept album about a mermaid who gets caught and shown around in a carnival, only to end up being the savior of the world from a massive flood.

Right off, this is definitely jazzier than most other prog metal bands, incorporating a lot of different sounds.  I also had impressions of Evergrey, Dream Theater, Rush, The Flower Kings, and even Rick Wakeman.  It's really a curious mix of jazz-fusion, prog rock, and metal, like a rock soup.  That being said, none of it feels too jarring or schizophrenic, even when the calliope kicks on for some of the carnival parts.  It also even throws in some harsh vocals for the first two songs, and I was kind of expecting more of those as they seemed to be representing narrative turns in the story.

As for that story, while certainly aiming for a melodramatic tragedy, some of the details feel a little out of order.  For a moment, I wasn't sure if "Eternal Rain" should be before "Aquarius" in the timeline.  Then again, maybe fixating on it misses the point, as much of the lyrics seem to settle on the abstract side, especially towards the end.  I think the flood still happens, but the mermaid sacrifices her life so that her blood will force humanity to evolve so that they can live in the seas now.  Maybe?

Anyways, it works for making some solid prog metal.  Even for all the jarring shifts in tone within the songs, they all still seem to fit the story well, in their own way.  Of course, they also allow ample opportunities for plenty of soloing and mixed-meter sections to show the band's skills, and they are quite talented.  This is definitely an album I'll need to listen to a few more times to really unpack it, but first impressions are quite good.

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Well, that was a little different. Hopefully I'll have more for 2010 when this cycle of years comes back in 2025. In the meantime, check out the playlist below and let me know what tracks you think I missed. Until then, rock on! \m/

New Videos - January 2020!

Ever since I started doing these articles, I've been blown away by how much that gets released!  I'm still catching up on stuff from 2019 while keeping an eye on what's new.  Here's what I've come across lately!

Amberian Dawn has a long tradition of symphonic power metal, but with this track, it seems they've joined other bands in the synth metal wave.  It's pretty good, but I do wonder if maybe too many bands are trying to go in this direction now.

Meanwhile, Brothers of Metal keep chugging ahead with their Norse-drenched metal.  This one seems to venture closer to mid-tempo power metal, but it remains just as epic and cheesy as you would expect from a band like this.  Manowar would be proud!

So this is a team up of former Nightwish vocalist Anette Olzon and Jani Liimatainen, known for his work with Sonata Arctica and Timo Kotipelto of Stratovarius, and frankly, those three bands some up what The Dark Element is up to: Symphonic Power Metal of the highest order, and it's great!

Queensryche keeps the videos coming with their brand of melodic prog metal.  Not a lot of surprises considering the band, but I think it's a pretty solid song.

Here's some more prog metal from the supergroup Sons of Apollo.  This one hits nice and heavy as a tribute to a lost friend, complete with an impressive, noodly synth solo!

Growing up in the US, Magnum isn't a band name that comes up, but I've since become aware Bob Catley due to his appearances on Avantasia albums.  However, this new album looks like a great way to get onboard, as this song is great hard rock!