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/

Last Played - December 2022 Part One!

So it looks like this December is going to be very similar to last year, where I blitzed through a bunch of albums in order to catch up on what had been released.  I was kind of hoping to avoid doing that again, but I guess my attention was elsewhere for much of this year, I'm afraid.  Nevertheless, I am glad to keep finding interesting rock and metal albums, and this time, I have a handful that I've been looking forward to all year.  Let's get into it!

Iron Allies - Blood In Blood Out

As if having his own solo project and Victory weren't enough, Herman Frank teamed up with former Accept singer David Reece for this traditional metal project.  Even though these two were never in that classic band at the same time, this project sounds like stereotypical German traditional metal, featuring plenty Frank's iconic guitar work.

So we know what it sounds like going in: big and gritty riffs, wailing vocals, an occasional shift between fast double-kick fests and slower, stompier songs, all buoyed by anthemic pomp.  David Reece brings over his rhythm section, and they're as tight as they need to be for this stuff.  Not having heard anything from David Reece himself before, he fits in well, as his voice carries each melody with confidence and power.  However, I do feel like this album feels quite a bit like Herman Frank's albums.  He definitely leaves his stamp on things with his riffing and solos, which are all quite solid.

It's easy to say "It's more of the same, therefore it's good," but I do think this sounds fresher than either of Herman Frank's efforts from last year.  The title track, "Destroyers of the Night," and "Nightmares in my Mind" are great, mid-tempo anthems, while "Fear No Evil," "Blood of the Land," and "Truth Never Mattered" turn up the speed for some fierce, old-school shredding.  Overall, the songs are consistent in quality all the way through, and fans of classic 80s metal will find plenty to love here.

Disturbed - Divisive

Disturbed is probably the most extreme band I'm willing to cover around here, as I feel like they still have some great melodies among their groove-centric alternative metal style.  While I felt the last album was a little lackluster, this is very much a return to form, as observing the world over the past few years has inspired some pretty angry material.

Of course, these songs are very much in the same vein that they established with Ten Thousand Fists, with plenty of heavy, crushing riffs, David Draiman's off-beat vocal melodies, and anthemic choruses.  However, there is a strong theme of contention and how it makes things worse, as if the cover didn't make that obvious.  Their Believe logo being broken apart on the cover this album seems rather poignant.  Otherwise, it's a lot of the same material they've covered before.  They even do another somber ballad, this time a duet with Ann Wilson of Heart fame, and it's actually pretty decent.

Long time Disturbed fans will be happy with a return to the aggression after the ballad-heavy Evolution, but otherwise, it's a business as usual for the band.  I find this style happens to scratch a particular hard rock itch for me, so I like it well enough.  I don't expect them to be writing masterpieces, so I suppose my expectations were met.  Still, it's good to see that the band still has some power left in them to put out another set of crushing melodic metal.

Dragonland - The Power of the Nightstar

As I have reviewed every single Dragonland album on my blog, it has been interesting to watch them evolve and improve over their discography.  However, after being quiet for so long, I assumed they had broken up, so I was quite surprised to discover they were working on a new album, and the singles were definitely sounded promising.  Now that I'm finally sitting down with the album, I've found that Dragonland hasn't changed at all, continuing their tradition of bombastic, story-driven symphonic power metal.

As expected, the story covers the entire album, though they've gone for a science fiction tale, this time (if the cover didn't make that obvious).  Of course, they've done sci-fi before, most notably on the album Astronomy, but this is their first, full-length concept album in that narrative genre.  Their story starts with a civilization heading for the stars for a new world in an effort to leave behind a destructive past.  However, upon arriving at the Nightstar and igniting it, they summon an enemy fleet eager to wipe them all out.  Under-powered, the protagonist fleet resort to bringing out an ancient destructive technology they had hoped to leave behind them, but find they have to use it, despite the cost it brings.  Lyrically, things haven't really changed much, swapping out the swords and knights for blasters and starships.  Much of what they've done before is brought back here: soaring vocals and power metal riffing and solos, augmented by excellent orchestral arrangements.  Seriously, this album is very lush and rich in how it's weaved together.  The biggest difference I felt was the increase of more spacy synthesizers, not only providing extra ambient layers, but getting in on the noodly solos as well.  However, they don't sound out of place at all with the sci-fi concept they're going with.  I also noticed that many of the guitar solos weren't as shred-heavy as before, often focusing on more melodic phrasing.  

While their story-driven style may not click with everyone, and I admit I sometimes struggle with it myself, they remain a unique band in the genre with their songwriting and orchestral flourishes.  Some of the more narratively-driven songs aren't as catchy, but they don't feel like a waste either, as each song progresses the story, so it is definitely worth listening through from beginning to end.  It goes through a lot of dramatic dynamics, from the hopeful "A Light in the Dark" to the ominous "A Threat from Beyond the Shadows," and the doomy "Journey's End."  However the singles "Flight from Destruction" and "The Power of the Nightstar" are definitely the standouts, as individual songs go.  It's kind of comforting to know that, despite an 11 year gap, Dragonland hasn't missed a beat, carrying on as if they had never left.

SheWolf - SheWolf

Revolving around the voice of Angel Wolf-Black, SheWolf is a new female-fronted symphonic metal project, as if there weren't enough of those.  While I could make easily comparisons to the likes of Nightwish or Xandria, I do think this outfit does set itself apart by having a different set of tones than the typical stuff one gets from the genre, focusing instead on a stronger sense of lightness and freedom.

Right off, the orchestrations are incredible.  Not only are they lush and layered, but they do more than just provide atmosphere.  Quite often, they have the melodies that carry the song forward, and Angel's voice seem like a part of the orchestra, instead of standing in front of it, which helps the songs feel more unified to their benefit.  There were even times when I would get a little frustrated with the distorted guitars getting in the way of things.  It's not like they're bad, but they are very standard, with some solid low chugging, and some noodly solos, but it's honestly nothing symphonic metal fans haven't heard before.  However, Angel's voice fits the material well, shifting between long, dramatic notes and spritely moments with ease.  If you're looking for another great female vocalist, she certainly has her own touch things.

Obviously, there is an emphasis on wolves with songs like "Welcome to the Pack," "Lone Wolf," and "Moonbound," but there are also topics of nature, independence, and love in the lyrics.  While the sound does have some gothic elements, the band is less interested in darkness or epicness and more on romance and a rustic sense of folklore, with the occasional flute melody that brings some folkiness to it.  There are even times where it's rather quite uplifting, with "Home" and "Thrill of the Chase" being examples, and some of the songs even have a bouncy feel, like modern pop music.  However, given how rich the production is, and the cheerful nature of some of the songs, I could see this one growing on me.

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Well, that's the first of many articles for this month.  However, I really shouldn't complain.  Taking the time to listen to all these albums is still quite fun and enjoyable, and I know I'm anticipating more than a few of the albums I have lined up ahead.  That being said, I think I'll spring my Christmas surprise for my next article, which has also been an interesting journey to complete.  Until then, rock on! \m/

New Videos - September 2022

Dang, September is over already!  This year is going quick, and there are still plenty of new albums coming up that I'm very excited for!  I've got a good chunk of riffy, heavy metal for you this time, with a few proggy groups for good measure.  Check these out!

After enjoying their last album Let There Be Nothing, I'm certainly interested in what power/prog band Judicator doing next.  This track is definitely out there, though, with some horns, some old hammond organs, and a strange reference to a mid-2000s romance film.  Still, it wasn't boring!  

While there are a few other metal bands with the name Whirlwind, this one is so new, it doesn't even have a page on Metal Archives yet!  US Power Metal is the style here, with its gritty riffing and epic vocals.  It's not doing anything new, but it's doing it well, with some interesting tempo shifts for good measure.  Given the artwork and the album title of "1714," I wonder if this will be a concept album.

Sword are back!  Note that this isn't The Sword, but a different Canadian band that played traditional metal back in the 80s.  I stumbled across them somehow about 10 years ago, and I loved their first album, but I never got to their second one.  However, now that they've got a third one coming out, I suppose it's time to catch up!  Anyways, this single feels like they haven't lost a step, continuing that classic metal sound that made them such a gem.

I wasn't sure if I would hear from this group again, as the first album was kind of a mess, but I guess they had some more ideas they wanted to work out.  At least, right off, the production seems much clearer, while still retaining Sherwood's iconic warmth.  I don't know if I love it, but I'm more optimistic about a follow up than I thought I would be.  It will be interesting to see how it shapes up.

As if his own project and Victory weren't enough, Herman Frank has started another project called Iron Allies.  Bringing over a few folks from Victory, he teams up with vocalist David Reese, who among other things was a singer for Accept for a little while (though not at the same time as Frank was in the band).  In any case, it's another straight-forward dose of mid-tempo metal, with some solid riffing.  Coming in just a few weeks, I know this album is high on my priority list.

After their last album was just okay, Disturbed has come right back to the heaviness for their new album.  Of course, there is no change in their style, but I like their anthemic groove metal sound, and this track shows there is still some gas in the tank for it.

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Anniversary Series - 2015!

Once again, I didn't have much for 2015.  Looking around, there seem to be a lot of good albums I clearly missed, so I'm going to do what I did last time, and review a bunch of albums instead.  

Before I made this decision, I did have a few songs on my Spotify playlist that I did want to talk about, as they are curious handful of prog rock songs.  "Wassail" by Big Big Train has this interesting folky vibe that really taps into a sense of ancient traditions that makes the song quite memorable.  "Codpieces and Capes" by The Tangent is a quirky homage and satire of the classic 70s prog rock bands.  And then there's "The Call" by The Neal Morse Band, which really has some neat mood shifts and builds to a great conclusion.   I remember stumbling across these on a "Best of" list by the Prog Report.  You'll probably see a few others on there that made it to my Spotify playlist.  I also added a few tracks from Disturbed's album, particularly their renowned cover of "The Sound of Silence."

Well, that's that.  Here's some reviews!

Visigoth - The Revenant King

Visigoth is another band I've seen around, hearing bits and pieces over the past few years, but I've never sat down with one of their albums until now.  They're very much in the vein of classic epic metal and US power metal.  Drawing upon the heritage of bands like Manilla Road and Omen, and adding in a healthy dose of role-playing games, both video and tabletop, this band is about taking listeners to fantastic lands, and sounding big in the process.

Right off the bat, the guitar tone is massive, like they took Candlemass's tone and tightened it up a little without losing any of it's power.  And then Jake Rogers' vocals come in.  He's a great vocalist who really projects, giving authority to whatever he's singing, holding those notes out with power.  Together, the result is a massive wall of sound that perfectly balances epicness and grittiness.  Despite these long song-lengths, the time just blasts on by, filled with great vocal melodies and well-played solos.

They do mix it up here and there, with songs often shifting tone and tempo.  "Mammoth Rider" in particular has both a fast, shred-friendly part followed by a straight-up doom metal section, all held together by the atmosphere they build.  Other highlights include "Dungeon Master," straight from Dungeon & Dragons; "Iron Brotherhood," a great anthem to metal music and its community, "Vengeance," a classic tale of tragedy and triumph, and "Creature of Desire," an ode to riding fast on a motorcyle.  Honestly, this album is great, with tons of crunchy riffs, noodly solos, and catchy lyrics.  Fans of old-school metal will found a lot to like, if they haven't found it already.  Epicness from start to finish.

Cain's Offering - Stormcrow

So after Jani Liimatainen left Sonata Arctica, Cain's Offering was one of first things he put together, working with Timo Kotipelto of Stratovarius.  The result was Gather the Faithful, a very solid power metal album that felt very much Jani's former band.  Years pass, and they decide to put together another one, this time recruiting Jens Johansson, also of Stratovarius, and the result is another great power metal album!

While the addition of Johansson definitely gives this album much more of a Stratovarius flavor (you'll hear that harpsicord from "Black Diamond" more than once on here), the big difference from the first album is the orchestrations.  The first album was certainly powerful and epic, but this reaches to Nightwish or Rhapsody of Fire levels of symphonic arrangement, as the layers add so much more to the melodrama of the album.  And melodrama is very much the order of the day, as the lyrics deal much with relationships and feelings, but not necessarily in a bad way.  Even "I Will Build You A Rome" gets pretty sappy, but I'm not ashamed to admit I rather liked it that way.

As for the music, it's great stuff.  While not every song is amazing, a lot of it is, with tracks like "Constellation of Tears," "The Best of Times," "Stormcrow," and the bonus track "Child of the Wild" providing excellent power metal.  Even the instrumental "I Am Legion" is incredibly epic.  Kotipelto is top notch, Johansson displays his excellent fingerwork, and Liimatainen is not slouch either.  Power metal fans would be foolish to ignore this one (like I did for five years!!).

Billy Sherwood - Citizen

Fans of Yes may know Billy Sherwood as the current bassist for the prog rock group, but his history with Yes goes much further back, assisting with the Union album and YesYears compilation, and later helping the band with their Talk tour.  He and Chris Squire then began writing material that would result in their next album Open Your Eyes.  While it didn't sell well or please the fans or win any awards, it's always been a fond favorite of mine.  Billy would go on to help write The Ladder, go on to make several tribute albums, working with all kinds of musicians, before being brought back to Yes to play bass in place of an ailing Squire, who would pass on shortly thereafter.

I bring all this up as I think it helps contextualize my feelings on this album.  I admit I haven't gotten into Sherwood's solo stuff much, so when I decided to make his 2015 effort the third album I review for this anniversary article, I could tell right off that this sounds a whole lot like his work on the Open Your Eyes album.  I'm not sure if I can quite define what those qualities are, maybe something with the production, the songwriting, or the vocal harmonies (or all three!), but he has a very distinct style that I just don't hear from anyone else.  Still, it's a style I like, and I hear it in spades here, so I'm already on board from the start.

Context aside, what we have here is a slightly proggy melodic rock album with the concept of a soul (the titular "citizen") being reincarnated throughout humanity's history, allowing Sherwood to write songs about various historical moments and people.  Another feature of the album is the bevy of guest artists.  Not only do we get tons of Yesfolk appearing (notably one of Chris Squire's last recordings is on the first track), but also the likes of Steve Hackett, Jordan Rudess, John Wesley, and Steve Morse.  Even Alan Parsons comes on to sing a track for this.

My overall opinion?  Decent.  Some of the songs maybe run a little too long, and it's definitely more musically dense and complex than OYE was, but that might be a consequence of the number of guest artists on here.  However, I do hear plenty of the things I like about Billy Sherwood's style, so I'll have to listen to it more to unpack it more.  This one could grow on me.

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/

Last Played - December 2018

Well, it's time for another one of these! Once again, these are just gonna be mini-reviews for what I've been listening to lately. Now that we're getting into December, the holidays are starting to creep into my playlists, but that doesn't mean we can't still rock out!

Kamelot - Dominion

Ahhhh, pre-Khan Kamelot. Their first two albums are a pair of peculiar albums, straddling the line between progressive metal and early power metal. While not bad material on its own (I quite like “We Are Not Separate”), and vocalist Mark Vanderbilt gives a passionate performance, it's hard not to see this as merely foreshadowing to the material Kamelot would produce later when Khan joined them. Again, only recommendable to Kamelot completionists.

Savatage - Fight For the Rock

Before orchestral arrangements and internationally successful Christmas albums, Savatage was another metal band just trying to break out. While they had gotten a bit of a following with their first few albums, this is the one that saw them really trying to get that MTV attention, mostly at the direction of their record label. As such, most members of the band don't have anything good to say about it.

Which is a shame because I think this stuff still has some decent tunes. Chris Oliva always had a slick riff and his brother Jon's voice remains powerful and dramatic. While the songs might be shallow, they're played well, proving that talent can shine through, even when they might not be giving 100%.

Judas Priest - Sin After Sin 

Early Judas Priest is always a peculiar listen. With their third album, we get more of their transition away from progressive blues rock into the heavy metal sound that would make them famous. It’s still a little rough and loose, but there are a few gems here. While their cover of “Diamonds and Rust” remains an old classic, I was particularly impressed with “Sinner” and “Call For The Priest” this time around.

However, there are a couple of ballads that feel kinda tepid and bring the album down for me, and while “Dissident Aggressor” is an inspiration for the thrashers to come later, I think I prefer Slayer’s version more. Still, it’s not a bad album, and you really get to hear most (if not all) of Rob Halford’s range as a singer.

Disturbed - Evolution

Disturbed has turned into an interesting band. After riding on the nu metal bandwagon, they morphed themselves into something more of a groove-laden alternative metal. While some critics argue that they haven’t changed much since Ten Thousand Fists, but there’s something to be said for sticking to a style that works, and I’m not ashamed to admit that they’ve turned into a pretty good rock band.

However, with this, their latest release, it does feel like more of the same (despite what the title may imply). There are some solid Disturbed-style rockers with “Are You Ready” and “The Best Ones Lie,” but the real surprise is three acoustic ballads. Perhaps they’re trying to expand on the softer side they showed with their last album’s sleeper hit cover of “Sound of Silence,” but it does feel weird to have things slow down so often on a Disturbed record. I’ll probably need to spin them a few more times to really decide how I feel about them.

Twisted Sister - A Twisted Christmas

I don’t care what anyone says, this is a Christmas classic! I can’t believe this album is over 10 years old now! I remember heard about it, I couldn’t quite believe what they had done. Now that it’s been so long, I can’t imagine a Christmas without it! I love the tongue-in-cheek humor about it, while still providing solid rock music! (Of course, it helps that they lifted some pretty good riffs!)

My favorites from this album are “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” mostly because of the fake intro, and “Silver Bells,” which has a really great bass solo! While Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s material is also a staple for this time of year, it’s Twisted Sister’s album that really lights me up and makes the season feel fun again!