Last Played - July 2023!

After having a very busy June, I've finally got some time to catch up on some newer releases from earlier in the year and an older album that I admit is mostly just marking off an item on a checklist.  Still, it wasn't all bad, and the newer albums had some decent moments as well.  Here's what I've been listening to lately.

Big City - Sunwind Sails

This band blew me away a few years back with their curious blend of pop and prog metal, and when they announced their fourth album, I knew I had to give it a listen.  The first single showed that they have retained their particular style, and the rest of them album provides more of the same, but it struggles to really grab me.

The album has a lot of things going for it.  The production is big and anthemic, everyone's performances are solid, and they certainly don't rely on clichés for their ideas or lyrics, often dipping into science fiction elements.  The guitars provide a lot of noodly solos and crunchy riffs (Daniel Olaisen and Frank Ørland back again), and Jørgen Bergersen voice is huge and natural, their 80s rocking style ringing out with confidence.  The songwriting isn't afraid to mix it up at times either, throwing in a darker riff or a softer section, letting some songs drift in the five or six minute territory.  However, I can't deny that there seems to be something missing.  Maybe the melodic hooks aren't really working, making the songs less memorable, as they tend to pass delightfully in one ear and out the other.

I'm wondering if this is an album I'm gonna have to spend some time with in order to get a better idea of what these guys were going.  There certainly seems to be a push to make things more cinematic, taking their pop metal sound and boosting to a bigger scale, but I don't know if it's really making the music better.  I did like "I'm Somebody" as a solid opener, and "After the Raid" felt like it was inspired by Gamma Ray, but overall, initial impressions leave me lukewarm.  

Iron Maiden - Virtual XI

Yup, it's finally time to talk about the other Blaze Bayley album.  I was pretty underwhelmed by the first one, but from what I had heard, this one is just as bad, if not worse.  As it turns out, I think Virtual XI is actually an improvement, if only a minor one, as many of the problems from The X Factor return.

Primarily, the muddy production comes back, as well as the extended song lengths.  Honestly, many of these tracks feel long just for the sake of long, often repeating choruses over and over, as if they felt the need to pad them out for some reason.  "The Angel and the Gambler" is the biggest offender, as that song had maybe enough ideas for 4 minutes, but it goes on for 10!  The songwriting does have a few shake-ups, but most of the songs follow the same "Fear of the Dark" formula that the last album did.  

While I do think the band feel a little more energized, they still sound like they lack a lot of inspiration.  There are some solid guitar melodies and solos, the dynamics shift in ways that are pretty typical (though they are boosted by some synthesizers adding a few layers), and Blaze sounds decent, but it's hard to shake this sense that they're still in cruise control.  "Futureal" and "The Clansman" are probably the only songs that stand out, as the first has good energy, and the second does build to a decent level of epicness.  Overall, it's not awful, and not as sluggish as The X Factor was, but it's easy to see why most Maiden fans consider both of the Bayley albums to be so skippable.

Silver Bullet - Shadowfall

After stumbling into the band with a neat little power metal song about the Soul Reaver games, I decided to check out what else this band had to offer for 2023.  What I got was a set of songs that shift back and forth between AOR and heavy/power, like a mix of modern HammerFall and Eclipse, but with more symphonic keyboards.  

Maybe it was just the mood I was in, but the more metal songs stood out to me more.  "Shadow of the Curse" is a solid opener, really using the keyboards to add lush layers.  "Soul Reaver" was fun to hear again, and "Nighthunter" had a bit of a traditional metal vibe (at least until the choirs came in).  "The Ones to Fall" and "Creatures of the Night" were more on the AOR side, and "Falling Dawn" was a mix of both styles.  "Dusk of Dawn" gets doomy and dramatic with a slower riff and the massive orchestrations, only to get broken up with an uptempo section for the second half of the song, and "The Thirteen Nails" goes full-on symphonic metal.

Overall, it's a decent album, with a solid sense for dynamics and orchestrations, but otherwise it's pretty standard power metal.  It's also a little on the short side, at 45 minutes, but I think they were able to cover a good range of ideas in that time.  It's not particularly original (as most power metal fans will feel pretty comfortable with what Silver Bullet provides), but it's executed well.  While I had never heard of the band before, I'm curious to check out their older albums to see what they're like, if I can find the time.

---

I don't know if I have much to say at the moment, other than that I'm trucking along.  My next article, which will be for 1998, is going to be a doozy, so I need to get started on that sooner rather than later (you'll see!).  I've been seeing some pretty high temperatures around, so I hope everyone is staying cool this summer.  Until then, rock on! \m/

New Videos - November 2022!

I admit it's been a bit of a slow month for me, and I feel like I've gotten behind again on new releases like I did last year, but I'm still trucking along alright on other things like this.  Definitely had some fascinating new videos get released lately that I'm pretty excited to talk about.  Next year looks like it's going to be one busy year for rock and metal, but I suppose that's not a bad thing!  Anyways, here's some new videos for you all!

Despite their popularity, I admit I haven't really heard Godsmack outside of a handful of songs, but I'm always up for some good melodic rock.  This song definitely has more atmosphere than I was expecting, and has a nice little groove here and there.  Given that this may be their last album, they might be trying for something bigger than usual.

Beriedir is a band I've been seeing here and there over the year.  They share a lot of qualities with their fellow Italian prog metal peers, though I think they have a stronger dramatic flair to their songwriting.  I know this is one I have on deck to review, so keep an eye out for more about them!

Well, this is quite the bolt out of the blue!  I knew they were working on new stuff, but I had no idea they were this close to being done with a new album!  I like the song, as I feel like it has a lot of that old-school, Motorhead-inspired energy.  However, I was pretty underwhelmed by Hardwired... despite a punchy lead single, so we'll see how their new album really turns out next year.

After enjoying their debut album a few years ago, I'm glad to see these guys are back with more melodic rock.  While it's pretty standard (if crunchy AOR) stuff, they play it with great energy, and that synth solo is pretty wild.  I'm definitely looking forward to hearing more of these guys!

I mostly learned about Simon Collins through Sound of Contact, and when that band moved on without him as In Continuum, it seemed he disappeared from the prog rock world.  However, now he's back with former Sound of Contact guitarist Kelly Nordstrom on a new project.  The song is definitely spacey, but it shifts well between the heavy riffs and ambient sections.  Certainly worth a look.

After enjoying their last album, it seems Big City is back for more of their curious blend of prog and glam metal.  While the chorus is full of 80s anthemic pomp, the riffing certainly leans closer to proggy or even power metal territory, with double-kicking drums!  They definitely have a unique blend of sounds and its on full display with this new single of theirs.

Last Played - December 2021!

This is the first of a handful of Last Played articles, as I have a number of albums to try and catch up on.  There's just so much I want to listen to and talk about!  Of course, this is just gonna make my Top 5 harder to decide.  (I'm wondering if I should expand it to a Top 10!)  In any case, here's the latest handful I've listened to.

Big City - Testify X

Hailing from Norway, Big City was advertised as a pop metal or glam metal group, and based on the singles (which I quite enjoyed), that seemed to be the case.  Sure, there were a few noodly parts, and the synths added some layers, but it mainly made me think of bands like Winger or Europe.  Now that I've listened through this album, there's a lot more going on than I expected.

First of all, the production is very lush.  While there's generally a warmness associated with most 80s-styled rock and metal bands, Big City seems to be reaching for more.  I think they've double-tracked or even triple-tracked their guitars, and with the synths adding more atmosphere, giving me massive Asia vibes, if they were more metal.  As for the music itself, it's pretty solid.  Daniel Olaisen and Frank Ørland provide some great guitarwork, getting in plenty of good riffs and leads.  The solos are also pretty dynamic, with some going for intense noodley fretwork and others settling for some very nice melodies.  Jørgen Bergersen does well with the vocals, soaring over the wall of sound they have created.  I do think he tends to be a little static with his energy, though, as it feels like he's hitting the notes the same way song after song.

However, the big twist is how the song-writing shifts as the album progresses.  At first, it starts very much in late-80s pop metal territory, with maybe a few extra details to give the songs character (like the Winger comparison I've been making).  "Dark Rider" really stands out as a solid, anthemic rocker early on.  Then, as we get further on, the songwriting gets a little more complicated, with the last three tracks "Heart's Like a Lion," "Graveyard Love," and "How Dark Does It Get" suddenly shifting into more prog metal territory, making me think of bands like Vanden Plas and DGM.  The riffs get a little more technical, the rhythms get shaken up, and the tempos even kick it up a notch.  I admit I wasn't quite anticipating that, expecting this album to be solid 80s mid-tempo arena fillers all the way.

I admit I haven't heard their first two albums, so I don't know if this is standard for them, or if this album shows a shift towards more complex songwriting for them.  I know I liked a lot of it, but I think this one is gonna need a few more spins before I really wrap my head around everything I heard.  Still, great production, tight player, and plenty of solid guitarwork make this an interesting gem, and worth checking out, regardless of what genre it is.

FireForce - Rage of War

So this was a band I was aware of earlier in the year, and I checked out a few of their singles.  I thought they were alright, but not worth really adding to my video articles.  However, they released a video for the title track of this album recently, reminding me of them, and I decided to finally check them out.  What we have here is a band that really straddles the line between thrash and power metal!

Right off, the album starts with a double-kicking fury that rarely lets up across the entire album.  The guitars riff and shred with sheer aggression, but often have very melodic solos and leads, sometimes even having some harmonies.  As for their vocalist, this is their first album with Matt Asselberghs, but he fits in so comfortably, I would have guessed he had been with the band for several years.  Honestly, this very tight execution and production, with solid metal front-to-back.  Though this also ends up being a bit of a problem.  Because it maintains a certain level of intensity all the way through, the songs tend to feel a little samey after a while.  Even when they slow it down for "Forever in Time," it maintains the tension by sounding more doomy than being any kind of ballad.

However, I can't deny I enjoyed a lot of this.  The execution is top-notch, feeling like a mix of Sabaton's anthemic lyrics with Primal Fear's sense of melody, and the melodic thrash of bands like Annihilator, Flotsam & Jetsam, and Megadeth.  Mystic Prophecy comes to mind as well, naturally.  I liked the title track, "March or Die," "Firepanzer," "From Scout to Liberator," and "Tale of the Desert King."  This is definitely recommendable to those who like their power metal gritty or their thrash more melodic.  I think this one might grow on me!

Wolfmother - Rock Out

I remember when Wolfmother arrived in 2009 with "Woman" and "Joker and the Thief," being a peculiar throwback to the likes of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Steppenwolf.  (It's kind of funny to think of how many other bands have since picked up on the retro rock trend.)  I liked what I had heard, but I ended up never really following up with them ever since.  So when they suddenly dropped an album last month, I figured it was a good time to get caught back up, and in all honesty, not much has changed.

Despite the 80s-tastic cover art, this is very much a 70s rock sound.  I will say there is a shift from the psychedelic, hammond-heavy style of their early stuff to more of a straight-forward blues rock, almost like a stoned-out Kiss.  The riffs on "Rock Out" and "Upload" definitely have that "Detroit Rock City" vibe.  However, the Sabbath and Purple has definitely stuck around, with "Humble" having quite a heavy riff that would have fit right on Master of Reality, and "Only Way" has a lot of noodley leads and solos, making me think of Blackmore's work.

It's a short album, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, but I suppose 60 minutes of this might get a little much, as the songs don't vary a whole lot, with most of them sticking to the 2-3 minute range.  I understand the band is pretty much Andrew Stockdale's show, and he seems content in sticking to this classic rock style.  I can't blame him as he seems pretty good at it.  Overall, it's a nice burst of chunky, retro stuff, full of tasty licks and solid grooves. 

Sonic Haven - Vagabond

This is another album I was pretty excited about earlier in the year.  Featuring recent Firewind recruit Herbie Langhans on vocals, this seemed like it would be a nice, bright collection of power metal by some talented folks.  However, after a year of some excellent power metal releases, this one ends up being just okay in comparison.

Anyone familiar with German power metal will find a lot of similarities here.  Gamma Ray was one comparison I kept making, as the guitars have a lot of tricky technical riffs and solid melodic leads, often with neat harmonies.  The songs generally don't shift much in tempo outside of a mid-to-upbeat range, though.  Langhans sounds pretty solid, his mix of Udo's grit and Jorn's charm give these songs a decent bit of heft.  While they used two different keyboardists here, they don't add much other than some symphonic elements and AOR-style synths.

One track that stands out, though, is "The Darker Side."  It starts with some clean guitar notes before hitting with a heavy, slow riff out of the doom metal playbook.  It reminded me of Sorcerer, actually.  As for the rest, I liked "Vagabond" as a decent opener, "I Believe" with it's big Gamma Ray energy, and "Striking Back" as a solid, symphonic closer.  The rest of the album is decent as well, but it's not particularly strong material, resulting in a rather average listen.  Perhaps in another year, I would have appreciated it more, but compared to the tracks I've heard from Helloween, NorthTale, and Brainstorm, it just feels a little weak.

---

I must say, that was some pretty interesting stuff, and a good bit of a variety.  That will probably be the case with the next few articles as well.  Speaking of which, I need to get working on those!  Until then, rock on! \m/

New Videos - July 2021 Part Two!

Squeezing this one in before the month ends!  I've got a few artists coming back, plus some new names, and a new single from my favorite band: Yes!!  Here's the latest videos I've been jamming to.

I don't think I've missed any of the singles from these guys.  Starting off with an acoustic intro, it goes into some aggressive riffing, making me think of the melodic prog from Italy, but the chorus eases up for some anthemic pop metal sounds.  These guys really have an interesting approach to songwriting, but it still results in some awesome rock music!

Here's another band that I've been liking a lot lately!  This is more of a mid-tempo anthemic stomper.  The chorus gets pretty somber, but that only makes the chorus all the more epic.  Sometimes a power metal band player slower song can be a bit of a crapshot, but this is quite solid.

Now this is just plain fun.  Sabaton doing a Manowar cover is not really that surprising, as both bands excel at epic mid-tempo metal, but it's a solid rendering, and a loving homage to a band that is clearly a major inspiration for them.

New Yes will always get my attention, but I wouldn't be posting it here if I didn't think it was also good.  While I don't know if it's amazing, it has been growing on me quite a bit.  It definitely has more energy than the sluggish Heaven & Earth, which is a good sign for this new album.  Hopefully, the rest will be as good.

Mark certainly knows how to make crunch songs!  This is from his solo group Tremonti, and it's a great piece of mid-tempo hard rock.  You'd think that between this, Creed, and Alter Bridge, it would all blend together, but somehow he makes each one sound a little different, and here, it's just straight up post-grunge crunch, and I love it!

Let's finish with some proggy power metal from Costa Rica!  This one is on the dense side, making me think of the styles of Kamelot and Symphony X.  The vocalist sounds more than a little like Russell Allen, actually.  The keyboard runs also make this some pretty epic stuff.  

New Videos - June 2021!

Still dealing with the heat, but I'm catching up on the latest videos.  This one is a bit back and forth between rock and metal, but it's all great, I promise!  These songs really demand to be turned up all the way!

Starting off with another great rocker from Big City.  This one is a little darker, a little more dramatic, and features some slide-guitar for one of the bridges (and the other solo is pretty tasty, as well).  While it's still within the pop metal wheelhouse, this one shows that the band has more than just good anthemic songs.

Another band I've heard a lot about, but never gotten around to.  Galneryus has been doing neo-classical power metal for quite a while now, and it sounds like they haven't slowed down in the slightest!  The song does bounce back-and-forth between Japanese and English, but the Malmsteen style solos are universal as far as I'm concerned!

I know I've called The Treatment a more melodic AC/DC, but this song seems to wander into more Def Leppard or Dokken territory, with a distinct pop metal vibe.  Still, it's quite enjoyable, and has some interesting little guitar licks.  Kinda wish the solo was a little longer, though.

Another awesome track from Hammer King!  Very much sitting between the sounds of HammerFall and Gamma Ray, this is some epic, chest-pounding metal.  I need to make their new album a higher priority for me!!

This new Styx album is sounding more and more peculiar.  While I recognize Tommy's voice, the song has this acoustic 6/8 groove, with some 70s synths laid on top.  It's a decent song, but I don't know if it really sounds like Styx.  I suppose I'll find out when I listen to the new album.

Finishing this article off with some gritty German power metal, Brainstorm has a great, double-kicking speed fest here.  Along with a catchy chorus and those crunchy guitars, it's one of the better songs in this style I've heard in a while!

New Videos - May 2021 Part Two!

I admit I'm not a fan of summer, and as the weather starts to warm up, I'm dreading the inevitable heat.  Perhaps some rock and metal will distract me from it!  Here, we have a good mix of genres as well as classic bands and some new ones I've never heard of.  Turn it up!

It's always nice to see good bands still going, and Night Ranger is one of them.  There's nothing particularly new here, as it's classic, 80s-style pop metal with synths to add some extra layers, but it's energetic and well done, with the modern production adding some nice heft to the guitars.

I'm definitely excited for Helloween's next album, and this video really amplifies that.  Nice use of dynamics, between the acoustic guitars, the noodly solos, the double-kicking bass drums, and the great harmonies on the chorus, this is some charged-up power metal from the band that invented the genre!

I guess these guys have been kicking around Norway for a while, but this is the first I've heard of them.  New singer Jørgen Bergersen has got some good vocals, augmented by some solid, mid-tempo rocking.  This has an interesting mix of pop metal with some prog-style layering, making them sound like Winger or Europe.

Yup, some more from Robin.  This one is a little heavier and crunchier, but with the dramatic keyboards and McAuley's vocals, it makes for an anthemic rocker.  I think I've shared every single from this album now.  I should probably give the rest of the album a listen!

It amazes me how many new power metal bands are starting up.  Vandor is a new one for me from Sweden, and they seem to have a good mix of Gamma Ray and Sonata Arctica.  Uptempo stuff that doesn't just rely on guitars, but keeps things rich with keys and other layering.  I will definitely be keeping an eye on this one!

I actually like thrash metal quite a bit, but most of it is outside the scope of this blog.  As for this band, I've known about them, but haven't listened to much.  Here, though, we have a great piece of melodic thrash.  The vocals are huge and the riffs are catchy, making this feel more like traditional metal, and it really works well!