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 - 1997!

I'm going to be honest, this year's article is going to be mostly about power metal, as 1997 was the year HammerFall exploded, bringing with it a massive wave of new bands.  I'll try to include a few others, and if there's anything you think I missed, don't hesitate to let me know.  Now, let's get this anniversary article started!

Let's just start with HammerFall and go from there.  The idea of a band that embraced the clichés of the 80s, added a heavy layer of fantasy and historical themes, and charged with some neo-classical energy was considered pretty novel when their debut album landed.  While I think their next few albums were better, they were off to a great start.  With epic tracks like "The Dragon Lies Bleeding," "Unchained," and "Steel Meets Steel," they established a foundation they and many other bands would build on.

Other power metal highlights from the year include Edguy's second album Kingdome of Madness, Kamelot's second Dominion, the debuts of symphonic titans Nightwish and Rhapsody of Fire, and earlier in the month, I covered Kai Hansen's one-two punch of Iron Savior's debut and Gamma Ray's Somewhere Out in Space.  Finally, there's Visions by Stratovarius, including blazing tracks like "Black Diamond," "Forever Free," and "Legions."  This album would cement the band as one of my favorites from this era!

Progressive metal also had a strong showing.  Not only did Dream Theater give us Falling into Infinity, with the iconic "Peruvian Skies," but Symphony X released The Divine Wings of Tragedy, with the 20-minute epic title-track that builds on John Milton and Gustav Holst, and Vanden Plas provided their own style of prog metal with The God Thing, featuring great songs like "Rainmaker" and "Crown of Thorns."

Of course, it wasn't all metal.  Post-grunge was starting to pick up again, particularly with The Colour and the Shape by the Foo Fighters.  Songs like "Monkey Wrench," "Everlong," and "My Hero would become rock radio staples.  And then there was the iconic debut of Creed with My Own Prison, the first of three great albums that I jammed repeatedly when I was in high school.  At least, when I wasn't listening to the new Yes album Open Your Eyes.  It's no innovator or prog rock triumph by any means, but one I have a lot of nostalgia for as well.

So that's 1997 in a nutshell!  Definitely some great music, and I have more selections below in the Spotify playlist.  Perhaps it's not the robust selection, but it will get better as I explore more music.  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!

Last Played - March 2019 Part 2!

It's time for another installment of "Last Played" and once again, I'm hitting albums from all decades!  Here's what I've been headbanging to for the last few weeks.

Dragonland - Starfall

Yup, on to the next Dragonland album.  With this one, they set aside their epic storytelling for a more standard set of songs, and I think this one is their strongest yet.  While the lyrics remain melodramatic and the tone sweeping and epic, the songwriting feels stronger than their previous efforts.

Still, the band is still telling stories, such as the mini epic of “The Shores of Our Land,” the Charles Manson inspired “Calling My Name”, and the ambitious, mostly instrumental three-parter “The Book of Shadows.”  However, the songs that stand out to me are the title track “Starfall” and “The Returning,” maybe because they’re more straight-forward power metal songs.  Oh, and the Helloween cover is solid as well.

What sets this album apart from their previous efforts, though, is how they push into progressive metal territory.  While they’ve had dashes of it in the past, mostly with their full album stories, here the songwriting on this album shifts better from mood to mood, augmenting their power metal chops.  Definitely an improvement!

Pearl Jam - Vs.

While I’m going forward with the Dragonland albums, I’m going backward with Pearl Jam!  Once again, I’m diving into the classic grunge, and that’s definitely what this album has to offer.  I do think this one is a little more raw and confrontational than either Ten or Vitalogy, but I suppose with a title like Vs., that should be expected.

To be honest, there wasn’t much that stood out to me.  It was mostly a solid chunk of thick guitars with some nice riffs, and Eddie Vedder’s iconic vocals drenching everything with his moods, be it somber or angry.  Again, if this is your thing, you probably have this already.

Queen - Queen

While I’ve heard Queen’s big hits on classic rock stations all my life, I haven’t spent much time with their studio albums, so on a whim, I decided to dig deep into the history of rock and listen to Queen’s first album.

Right off the bat, there is no mistaking the band.  Between Mercury’s dynamic vocals and May’s iconic guitar harmonies, it seems Queen already had the elements of their iconic sound from the beginning.  If there is anything unexpected, it’s that the songs have more of a progressive rock style to them, with complex arrangements and guitar riffs.  Overall, the album is fairly eclectic, but that would only serve as a precursor for what would come.

However, the album does have its flaws.  Some of the songs end rather anticlimactically, and the energy seems to fade in the second half.  The songs are not necessarily bad, but they don’t have the same level of drive and dynamics as the first half’s material.  Still, a fun album for taking a peek into the early sounds of an iconic band.

Nightwish - Dark Passion Play

I remember when this album came out, as it was the first after Tarja Turunen’s controversial dismissal.  We all wondered what kind of album Nightwish was going to make with this new singer, and when it landed, it did pretty well, but I remember having a few qualms.  I recently relistened to it to see if time has helped make this album stand on its own.

And honestly, my opinion hasn’t really improved.  This album has the band really shifting away from their classic power metal sound into something more versatile, with more progressive and folk metal elements.  As a consequence, the songs don’t seem quite as powerful, though they remain just as dramatic as ever, with the epic symphonic scores behind the guitars.

That being said, there are still some good tracks here, mostly notably “Bye Bye Beautiful,” “Amaranthe,” and “Last of the Wilds.”  And while she may not have the same sonic presence as Turunen, Azette Olzen is still an adequate singer with her own take on this style of music.  Perhaps not the band at their best, in my opinion, but definitely one in transition, as they move into new genres and territories.

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Well, that's the latest from me.  I know I was kind of getting into a groove there, only to have it fall apart again.  I think that's just how things are going to be for now.  I know it's not great to have posts be so sporadic, but I think it's the best I can do for now.  However, I am enjoying this, and that helps a lot.  So here's to more rock!