Top 5 of 1995!!

Still making progress on these articles, but it's gonna be tight if I want to get through all of them before the end of the year.  As for this one, 1995 was definitely a curious time, as genres were evolving and expanding.  As usual, I should explain that I can't listen to everything, and these lists are pretty subjective to me.  However, after listening to a bunch of albums (including ones I didn't review), I felt these were the five that stood out the most.

5. The Flower Kings - Back in the World of Adventures

I'll admit that third-wave prog rock can be a mixed bag sometimes, as I feel they tend to lean a little too much into jazz fusion for my tastes.  However, Roine Stolt and his buddies really went big for their (kinda) debut album, really capturing the whimsy and mystery of those classic 70s styles.  It's not perfect, but it does establish some decent atmosphere with slick passages and melodies throughout.

4. Paragon - World of Sin

After reviewing it last week, I did wonder if this might not sneak into the Top 5 somewhere.  Compared to the other two I reviewed, this one felt the most complete and consistent, with their wearing their Metal Church influences on their sleeves for their brand of power metal.  While they haven't quite reached their full potential (and the great vocalist Andreas Babuschkin hadn't shown up yet), it's a debut that certainly demands attention.

3. Blind Guardian - Imaginations from the Other Side

At this point, Blind Guardian is firing on all cylinders, nailing their peculiar mix of power, folk, and speed metal.  The title track, "Bright Eyes," and "I'm Alive" are highlights for me, and I know this album has plenty of acclaim in the power metal fandom.  It's only below the others as I think they're stronger and have more of the power metal style I prefer, but that I still think this is a great album in the genre.

2. Gamma Ray - Land of the Free

Losing Ralf Scheepers may seem like a big deal, but Kai Hansen really steps up to the mic and discovers that he has a good voice for this concept album about freedom and oppression.  It's also when the band really embraces their power metal sound, helping to establish the genre along with their contemporaries.  The album does get a little clunky here and there, but honestly, these are nit-picks, and certainly not enough to prevent it from getting such a high placing.

1. Stratovarius - Fourth Dimension

While they wouldn't have their iconic lineup just yet, it can't be denied that Stratovarius really starts with this album.  I love "Against the Wind," "Distant Skies," and "We Hold the Key," and the rest of the album isn't too shabby.  Timo Kotipelto's soaring vocals and Timo Tolkki's neo-classical guitars really come together to make some solid stuff, and the first of a string of excellent power metal albums!

Anniversary Series - 1996!

Time for another anniversary article, this time for 1996!  Once again, as we get closer to the present, it becomes harder to focus on the year as a whole.  Looking over it, I'm realizing that I actually haven't listened to much from this year that my blog covers.  Still, some really great stuff came out this year.

First of all, there's a lot of solid power metal that came out this year.  Stratovarius finally gets their iconic lineup together and release an iconic album, Episode.  Featuring speedfests like "Speed of Light," "Will the Sun Rise," and "Father Time," as well as epic tracks like "Eternity" and "Babylon," it's an album with plenty of great tracks, full of Tolkki's solid riffing and iconic solos.  Definitely a power metal classic.

Of course, these Finns weren't the only ones providing some epic power metal.  Germans Helloween followed up The Master of the Rings with Time of the Oath, with "Steel Tormentor" and "Power" as standouts.  They would also release a live album this same year called High Live.  Brazilian Angra would also give us Holy Land, a power-prog concept album I reviewed two years ago!  Trans-Siberian Orchestra would round things out with their debut, Christmas Eve and Other Stories, ensuring that the holiday would never sound the same again.  This year also features Apocalyptica's debut, made up of fascinating covers of Metallica songs on nothing but cellos.  While they would go on to write interesting stuff themselves, their debut is still an interesting listen to this day.  

Other records of note include the Flower Kings Retropolis and Nickelback's Curb, both of which I reviewed here on the blog last month.  The first is a solid representation of third-wave prog, while the second is an early step of what would become a giant in the post-grunge scene.

To cap things off, I'll talk about two of my big three (well, sorta).  Alan Parsons solo group released On Air, bringing back the concept album motif, this time focusing on flight for its theme.  Meanwhile, Yes reformed a classic lineup from the 70s and released Keys to Ascension, a strange combination of some solid live material, and a few new studio tracks that have never really stuck with me.

As always, I've got a playlist for they year, featuring all of the above plus a few extras.  However, I make lists to help me with these articles, and I know I've missed a lot of stuff.  Maybe I'll get to more of it in the future.  Until then, rock on! \m/

Last Played - June 2021!

I guess the heat has put me in the mood for some prog rock this past month!  I've got a classic, a new release, and something in between for this one.

King Crimson - Red

Finally, I’ve reached the end of this period of King Crimson’s history.  At this point, the band feels almost stable in its lineup, as it continues to focus on the core of Fripp, Bruford and Wetton.  As it would turn out, Fripp wasn’t as in charge for this one, letting the other two work out a lot of the details.  I don’t know if it’s a direct result, but I did feel this album was more coherent than the others I’d listened to so far.

Still, much of their style is here.  Bruford really gives his kit a workout, going for all kinds of jazzy fills and rhythms.  Wetton sounds more confident as a singer on this one, and his basslines really go all over the place.  Fripp is still here, but more focused on the atmospheric guitar-picking and mellotron keys.  The result is something more on the ambient side, with spicier parts that let Bruford and Wetton shine, along with a few saxophone solos from former members Mel Collins and Ian McDonald.

I don't know if any track really stood out (though "Providence" felt pointless until the last fourth of its runtime), but I could tell the band was gelling better than before, creating some interesting songs.  Of course, shortly after this album was released, Fripp would decide he'd had enough of the music industry, putting King Crimson on hiatus for 7 years, but one does wonder what they could have made had they stayed together.  Overall, it's an interesting collection of songs from a very influential band, and probably one of their better ones of this period.

Liquid Tension Experiment - LTE 3

While I'm familiar with some of Dream Theater's work, this prog-heavy supergroup hasn't really been on my radar until now, as the advent of a third album has been made to be quite the comeback.  Being a full instrumental album is always a bit of a struggle for me, as I tend to prefer more song-driven music structures, but Monkey3 blew me away two years ago, so I gave this the benefit of the doubt.

For starters, the talent is certainly here, which is to be expected given the lineup.  Featuring many manic note-laden shreddy sections and dual leads and other technical pyrotechnics, this stuff definitely falls on the solo-heavy side, with some extra experimentation to spice things up.  "Hypersonic" starts things off at high speed, "Beating the Odds" almost sounds like an AOR rocker (in a good way), and "Key to the Imagination" is an epic that has some interesting grooves and metal riffs.  I also liked "Liquid Evolution," which was a softer track that helped break up the high-speed chaos quite well.  However, the highlight is their cover of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," as it is a massive collage of styles and tones and textures.  Starting off with a modern smooth jazz vibe, it quickly shifts into jazz-fusion territory, adding in bits of metal and prog and even funk for good measure.  It also has an ambient section that made me think of the "Soon" section of Yes's "Gates of Delirium."  I was half-expecting Jon Anderson to suddenly start singing!  It's quite the ride!

That being said, while I liked what I heard, the band definitely pushes the "Experiment" part of their name, with all kinds of shifts in tone and energy, and I don't know if I really followed all of it. There is also a second disk of some improvised jams, but at the risk of cliché, it really is just more of the same.  Maybe LTE is a band that requires multiple listens to really capture what they're doing on a bigger scale, but it's hard for me to not write this off as (admittedly well-played) jam-heavy prog noodling that passes in one ear and out the other.  I understand that may be enough for folks, though, so if this is what you're looking for, then LTE has it in spades!

The Flower Kings - Retropolis

In anticipation for my next anniversary article, I thought I'd check out The Flower Kings's second album.  This album is a bit more of a concept album, focusing on a bizarre city that seems to fuse the past with the future, with all kinds of celebrities and historical figures in new contexts, with a dash of Christian theology thrown in for good measure.  However, the result is more of the band's trademark proggy/jazz-fusion sound.

To their credit, they do provide some decent variety.  It mainly stays focused on a lot of mid-tempo grooves, with some ambient parts here and there, but the various combinations between the synths, the guitars, and the occasional saxophone really stymy any monotony that might creep up.  If there is a problem, it's that the lyrics don't quite gel with the rest of the song (though this isn't a problem with the instrumental pieces).  Stolt sings them well, but once he's done, the song feels like it goes in a different direction.  I remember having this problem with their first album as well.

On the other hand, they sound tight, but relaxed, letting the jazzy grooves do the work for them, and despite their obvious Yes and Genesis influences, they succeed in building their own unique sense of tone and atmosphere.  I don't know if the concept provided really works, but I also get the impression that it might not be that important anyway.  I admit that nothing really stood out to me as above the rest of the album, but I enjoyed what I heard while I was hearing it.

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It's only the end of June and I'm already tired of summer!  Hopefully, things will cool off soon, as I know I'm not the only one sick of this heat!  In the meantime, I'll try to focus on some more new releases, as some pretty big ones dropped recently, and I need to get on them!  Until then, rock on! \m/

Last Played - August 2020!

Hey, it's one of these again.  It's been longer than I was anticipating, to be honest.  I thought I would be able to really dig into some new albums over the summer, but it hasn't really happened.  However, I've finally turned on enough stuff to put together another one of these articles, and this time, it's all progressive rock!  Here's what I've been checking out lately.

Transatlantic - SMPT:e

So members of Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings, Dream Theater, and Marillion got together at the turn of the millennium and made the proggiest of prog rock albums.  It's an interesting assortment, but one that certainly has plenty of potential.  20 years later, I'm giving it a spin.

The first thing I noticed was just how much jazz-fusion it had.  The band is much more interested in jazzy grooves and jams more than anything else.  The album opens with a 31 minute epic called "All of the Above" that exemplifies this, going through some interesting moodshifts and throwing in a few nods to other prog greats of the past.  However, it does go on for a bit too long, especially at the end.  The shorter songs show different sides of the band, with "We All Need Some Light" being a anthemic and uplifting acoustic ballad while "Mystery Train" is a very quirky and weird piece.  As for the other original epic, "My New World" draws more from Sgt. Peppers-era Beatles before eventually falling back into a jazz fusion groove.  The album ends with a cover of Procol Harum's "In Held 'Twas In I" (often regarded as the first prog rock epic), and it's a curious arrangement.  They sing the spoken part of "Held", and skip "Twas" entirely, instead adding in more jamming and even a free jazz section.  Needless to say, it's a bit all over the place.

Overall, it's some pretty decent stuff, but it does lack a little in energy, mostly content to sit back and soak in it's jazz/rock tone that rolls back and forth, but never really rocks.  Fans of Stolt and Morse will find plenty of familiar sounds, and the production is very clear, but it really doesn't do anything that I would call great.

Pattern-Seeking Animals - Pattern-Seeking Animals

Finally, I decided to give this a listen through, after liking pieces of it last year.  It's kind of an interesting follow up from that Transatlantic album, given that PSA is made up of different Spock's Beard members, current and former.  The tone of the album is also pretty similar: proggy, but rather laid back, content to just kinda wallow around its moody atmosphere.

The album starts off with the solid "No Burden Left to Carry," with some nice mood shifts, some solid guitar work.  The follow up of "The Same Mistakes Again," is a nice, softer piece.  However, the album just kinda meanders around those same moods.  It doesn't even try to spice things up with jazz-fusion, going for a more straight-forward, somewhat plodding songwriting.  A little quirky, sometimes light, sometimes dark, but never straying too far from their soft, prog rock style.  Despite not really knowing these artists' heritage, I'm sure fans of Spock's Beard will find plenty to like.

So in the end, it's album that's nice while it's on, and is clearly well-played, but none of it really sticks with me, unfortunately.  It rocks a little here, does a soft-jam there, has plenty of layers of keyboards and synths, but like Transatlantic's debut, never really seems to push it to that next level at any time.

Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble - The Red Planet

Now this is prog rock!

Okay, I admit that I'm not being fair, here.  I'm a diehard Yes fan, so I've been anticipating Wakeman's new solo album for a while now.  He's gone full-on Six Wives mode here, with a band backing him up, and tons of layers and ideas all blending together.

The song titles are thematically appropriate, all based on various landmarks of Mars.  Otherwise, each song is a little prog epic that stands on its own, featuring a variety of moods and tempos.  Songs like "Pavonis Mons" and "Ascraeus Mons" are upbeat and driving, while "Tharsis Tholus" and "South Pole" offer more mellow sounds, with the former going for a dark, jazz-fusion vibe, and the latter being more chill and well-paced, with some soft piano in the middle section.  Then there are songs like "Arsia Mons" and "The North Plain" that shift around quite a bit, with "The North Plain" drifting from thick rock organs to ambient soundscapes.  It also features a great guitar solo from Dave Colquhoun at the end.

Overall, compared to the other two in this article, this just has more energy.  A lot of that simply might have to do with Wakeman's electric synth runs, his fingers not having aged a day since the 70s.  The band almost makes Mars itself seem varied and magical in comparison to the rust-colored and largely empty planet that it is.  Solid work from top to bottom, this album is proof that Wakeman is still the wizard at the keys and as imaginative as ever.

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Well, I'm still plugging away around here.  Getting out more articles than I would have thought.  I'm not sure what the rest of the year will be like, but I'll continue doing what I can.  I should probably get into more current year releases.  I'm running out of time to include them in a best-of article!!

Until then, rock on! \m/

Last Played - June 2020!

Surprise, surprise!  I'm definitely listening to more albums than watching videos these days, so here's another trio of albums I've listened to recently.  At this rate, I might have another one of these by the end of the month!  One thing at a time, though.  Here's what I've check out lately.

The Flower Kings - Back in the World of Adventures

As a fan of Yes, I've heard the names of Roine Stolt and The Flower Kings multiple times around the internet, and when I reviewed his solo album that started the band, I was impressed with it's Yes-like qualities, while noting that it was a bit more chill.  Here, we have the official debut album for the band, and it's very much more of the same, but with a greater emphasis on jazz fusion, really.

The album starts off with "Worlds of Adventures," a 13-minute epic which sets the stage for the album to follow, with hints of Yes, the Beatles, and even Genesis.  It's pretty clear the band is most comfortable in the instrumental parts where the band gets to vibe on its uplifting layers of sound.  From there, the album mostly stays there, with a few deviations to break things up.  "Go West Judas" is a little harder and darker, "Temple of the Snakes" and "The Wonder Wheel" are moody and ambient in-betweeners, and "My Cosmic Lover" has quite the psychedelic groove going for it.

As for the lyrics, they're okay, but can't quite shake the feeling that they're an afterthought compared to the rest of the music (though they are well sung).  As a consequence, the pieces tend to be more about mood than movement, but their performance is solid and tight.  Overall, it feels like a laid back Yes, with some occasionally spicy moments, which also describes the big 13-minute closer "Big Puzzle."  Not bad, but perhaps lacking in energy.

Firewind - Firewind

Finally getting around to a current release, Firewind's self-titled album is actually their ninth.  They're best known for the band that introduced Gus G to the world, who would later join Ozzy's band for a while.  That being said, outside of a few songs, I haven't really listened to Firewind before this, so I won't be able to say what affect their new singer Herbie Langhans has on the band.

The album kicks off with a great opener with "Welcome to the Empire," starting off a bit soft before kicking it into high gear with power.  This is followed by three other great songs in "Devour," "Rising Fire," and "Break Away" (the last of which is another highlight of the album).  However, after that, the album sort of gets weaker, with the second half dominated by mid-tempo tracks that aren't as memorable and sound more like a neo-classical version of that Herman Frank album from last year.

Of course, that isn't necessarily a deal breaker.  The album is big and crunchy, and full of noodly pyrotechnics from Gus, and Langhans's gravelly voice fits the material well, but I felt myself losing interest as the album went on.  I guess I was expecting more power metal from the release.  Solid stuff, but a bit underwhelming by the end.

Accept - Blood of the Nations

After the hearing the classic metal elements in the Firewind album, I was in the mood for some old-school, gritty metal and put this on.  Better known for their crunchy 80s anthems, Accept hit a hard hiatus in the 90s, and this album represents their major comeback with new vocalist, Mark Tornillo.  I had heard good things about this album, but hadn't gotten around to it until now, and I clearly missed out on a great traditional metal album!

The first thing I noticed was the production, as everything just sounds huge. The second thing is, of course, Tornillo's vocals.  They are front and center and demand attention!  Comparisons to Udo are hard to deny, what with the iconic grit and wails, but I think Tornillo has a bit of a charming snarl like Brian Johnson, providing a lot of character to the songs.

And how about those songs?  Accept has always been nothing but straight-forward crunchy metal, and they bring that here in spades.  Filled with tight execution and some solid song-writing, the album really doesn't have many low points.  A number of the songs have some interesting dynamic elements as well, shifting from softer to louder sounds and back again with a practiced ease, which helps prevent the album from becoming monotonous.

Throughout the whole thing, the riffs are powerful while remaining quite simple and catchy, the vocals soar, and the solos are the right mix of melody and shred.  The stand-out songs for me are "Teutonic Terror," "Blood the Nations," "Time Machine," "Rolling Thunder," "Pandemic," and "No Shelter."  Honestly, it's a solid album, like the 80s never ended!

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To be honest, I'm listening to a lot of albums in anticipation of those monthly anniversary articles, as I'm discovering I have a number of gaps to fill if I want a reasonably long playlist of songs for each one.  Of course, that just means I get to listen to lots of rock and metal from all eras, which is what I wanted to do in the first place!  So I guess I just keep listening to stuff and cranking out these articles.  Until then, rock on!  \m/

New Videos - December 2018

I've been pouring over the internet, looking for more rock videos to share with you all, and here's the latest batch!  I think I've found some good ones!

Avantasia has always been able to bring the epicness, and this early release for their 2019 album Moonglow shows no signs of changing that.  Combining the vocal talents of Tobias Sammat, Hansi Kursch, and Jorn Lande, we get 11 minutes of power metal greatness!

This comes from the solo band of long-time Accept and Victory guitarist Herman Frank, and it sounds like the 80s never went out of style!  Lots of power and lots of fun!

I've always been a fan of Creed, but I admit I haven't followed Mark Tremonti's career outside of that, but it seems like I should have been.  Solid grungy hard rock!

Roine Stolt has been doing the prog rock thing for a good while now, and this piece really shows his experience.  Solid playing and song-writing make for a worthwhile 10 minute epic!

Speaking of doing things the old school way, this is some great 70s hard rock/metal throwback material!  Starting off soft before really laying out the lead for this one, that scream at the end gives me chills!

We'll finish things off with the new Dream Theater track.  Their last album, The Astonishing, was a strange one, but it seems for their next work, they're getting back into the progressive metal groove they're known for.  (Not sure what to make of that drum layout, though!)

Last Played - November 2018

So I want to start a series of columns that are something like a list of what I've been listening to without really digging into the nitty-gritty.  Think of them as mini-reviews for albums as I'm listening to them.  There is still so much that I haven't listened to, so expect a weird mix of old and new stuff.  For now, here's what I've been listening to recently.

Roine Stolt - The Flower King

As a big Yes fan, I've always been curious about Roine Stolt ever since Jon Anderson did that collaboration with him (the enigmatic Invention of Knowledge).  Having heard that the Flower Kings were a kind of modern Yes, I figured I'd start with the album that started it all, Roine Stolt's The Flower King.

While it was an interesting listen, prog rock usually requires a few passes really get a feel for it.  However, I can tell Stolt wanted something that was more uplifting, in contrast to all the dour rock music being made at the time (the mid 90s), and it really shows throughout the album.  I liked it, but think I need more time with this one to really decide.

Metallica - ...And Justice For All

While I didn't get my hands on that luxurious remaster, I did give some of it a listen, only to not really notice any difference.  That being said, it get me in the mood to listen to it again, so I did.

In retrospect, it's a bit of a strange album.  Metallica had never done, nor has done since, something that was so complex and focused.  While not quite a concept album, ...And Justice For All really digs into social issues backed by layered riffs and rhythms.  It was a band on a mission to make a statement with their music, both sonically and lyrically.  This album had really grown on me over the years.

Gamma Ray - Sigh No More

Gamma Ray is a band I need to listen to more, as they are one of the pioneers of the power metal sound.  I decided to relisten to their sophomore effort here a few weeks ago, and it's not bad.  Kai Hansen is still rocking his Helloween chops, but the band hasn't quite solidified into something of their own.  Still, it's fun to hear a young Ralf Scheepers before he would gain his iconic Primal Fear voice later on.

Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

I've been trying to learn more about classic progressive rock, and it's been interesting to hear the albums that helped make the genre what it is.  To be honest, I don't know how much I really get into classic prog Genesis.  With The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, I have listened to every Peter Gabriel Genesis album, and while some of it was interesting, I don't know if it's really clicked with me.  As I mentioned earlier, sometimes prog takes a few listens to really wrap your head around it, but this one may take more than others.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is a concept album about a Puerto-Rican man living in New York who ends up going on a bizarre psychedelic odyssey full of strange imagery and symbols.  It's not so much a narrative as it is a through-line for Gabriel's theatrical song writing as it shifts from mood to mood.  Certainly an odd and unsettling collection of music, and one that I might not get back to very soon.

Stratovarius - Intermission

More classic power metal!  This one is mostly a compilation of b-sides and covers that Stratovarius released to tide fans over during a long recording hiatus before they released Elements Part 1.  While it's very much classic in sound, and there are a few gems, it's also not their best material.  Mostly for completionists who want everything they've recorded.

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Well, that's it for now.  I definitely want this to be a regular feature, so keep an eye out for future articles like this.  I'll probably have another one before November ends.