Anniversary Series - 2006!

While these anniversary articles are fun to do, they also reveal the gaps in my musical awareness, and it turns out 2006 is a pretty sparse year for me.  Looking it over, I mostly had a handful of power metal albums, Daughtry's debut album, and of course Twisted Sister's iconic Christmas album.  So I thought I'd repeat a tactic I used last year and instead treat it like a Last Played article with the focus on 2006 stuff specifically.  Here we go!

Seventh Wonder - Waiting in the Wings

After checking out their debut album last year, I listened to their second for this article.  Right off, the production is definitely better, and we get their iconic singer Tommy Karevik for the first time (he would later go on to be Kamelot's current singer as well).  Overall, this album is a big step forward for the band.

Seventh Wonder's sound here really locks in on the spot between the technical chops of Symphony X with the melancholy of Evergrey or Darkwater's Human.  Johan Liefvendahl really gives his fingers a workout on his guitar frets, and Andreas Söderin is right with him on the keys as they trade solos a la Stratovarius.  And with Karevik on vocals, they really do have the melodic prog soundscape down.  The songwriting has also improved from their first album, though they do still fall into the trap of adding more sections to their songs for their own sake, but I suppose that's to be expected with this kind of metal.

Still, there is a lot to like on this one.  The songs themselves are quite dynamic, often telling little stories of their own, with plenty of opportunities for the band to show their talents.  I quite liked the title track as well as "Taint the Sky" and "Banish the Wicked."  Honestly, fans of melodic and dynamic prog metal will enjoy this album quite a bit, if they haven't found it already.

Jorn - The Duke

My first experience with Jorn was from the Allan/Lande project popping on a power metal station I had made on Pandora radio (remember when that was a big way to discover new artists?), and that first album became a quick favorite.  Over the years, I'd hear him pop up again here and there, with bands like Masterplan and Avantasia.  However, in more recent years, I've come to realize just how good of a singer he is.  He really has a classic kind of rock voice, sitting somewhere between David Coverdale and Ronnie James Dio.  So when I was looking over what to cover for this 2006 article and saw that Jorn had an album for this year, I decided it was time I gave his solo stuff a shot.

What I got was pretty much a mix of Whitesnake and Dio, with a heavier chug in the guitars.  Most of the songs are slower, at a mid-tempo pace, but that just gives Jorn more space to croon his way through it all, and he certainly makes the most of it.  Honestly, it's a pretty solid collection of straight-forward metal, without any surprises, really.  The riffs and solos were decent, and the lyrics are pure 80s metal cheese, but in a good way.  The songs that stood out to me are "Blacksong," with its interesting melodramatic bridge that changes things, and "Stormcrow" which was more on the energetic side.  The Japanese version of the album features a cover of the song "Noose" from Jorn's previous band Ark, which I thought was one of the better tracks as well.  Overall, it just provides more proof that Jorn is one of the best in the business, even if what he's doing isn't breaking the mold at all.  Sometimes, you just need someone keeping it classic.

Dragonland - Astromony

Back in early 2019, I started relistening to Dragonland, reviewing their first three albums in quick succession.  I had planned on carrying through, but I guess other bands grabbed my attention instead.  However, when I decided to write up a few reviews, I realized that Dragonland's fourth landed on 2006, giving me an opportunity to pick them up again.  I really do think the band has matured by this point, resulting in some solid symphonic power metal.

Right off, the production really stands out.  The guitars really crunch, letting the symphonic flourishes stand out and keep things together.  At this point, their progressive and power metal styles have really merged together, keeping the melodic stylings of the latter, but allowing for good shifts in mood and tempo of the former.  Jonas Heidgert's vocals remain powerful, but he gets a few interesting duets with guest singers Jake E from Dreamland and Elize Ryd of Amaranthe.  They even bring in Jimmie Strimmell for some harsh growling on a few tracks, and it fits.

"Contact" was actually the first Dragonland song I heard and it really blew me away.  It's been a favorite of mine ever since.  Other solid tracks include the symphonic opener "Supernova" and the melodramatic and neo-classical "Beethoven's Nightmare."  It is a bit weird that they end with a three-part instrumental epic, with large symphony-only sections and sound effects.  It's not bad, but definitely goes all over place, like a movie soundtrack, making it hard to follow.  Still, the rest of the album is pretty solid, and shows a band really exploring their sound and improving their songwriting.  

---

Well, that should cover 2006 decently enough.  As always, check out the playlist below and let me know if you think I've missed anything.  Until then, rock on! \m/

Anniversary Series - 1985!

I hope everyone is staying safe.  I know I haven't been as productive as I could be here, but I'm committed to at least get these anniversary articles out.  Going back over 1985 seems to be an odd year, as there doesn't seem to be as much in the way of major releases like my previous articles.  Still, any year is a good year for rock music to come out, and this one isn't any different.

The year starts off with John Fogerty, of Creedence Clearwater Revival fame, getting a big solo hit with "Centerfield."  Dire Straits would find their own massive success with Brothers in Arms, featuring "Walk of Life," the satirical "Money for Nothing," and the epic title track.  Starship would continue it's complicated history with "We Built This City," and Heart would make their big comeback this year with "These Dreams."

As for metal, the genre was slowly expanding, with the subgenres of thrash, death, speed, power, and even doom finding their footing.  Those waving the banner for traditional metal found plenty to enjoy with Accept's Metal Heart, and Dio's Sacred Heart.  Power metal quietly kicked off this year with Helloween's Walls of Jericho, establishing the sound that would inspire epic music for decades to come.

Glam was certainly not sitting back, though as one of the biggest albums would be Theatre of Pain by Mötley Crüe, featuring a cover of "Smokin' in the Boys Room" and "Home Sweet Home," the power ballad that would pave the way for many more to follow the rest of the decade.  Other highlights include Ratt's Invasion of Your Privacy, Dokken's Under Lock and Key featuring "Unchain the Night" and "The Hunter," and Twisted Sister's Come Out and Play, best known these days for a team up with Alice Cooper for "Be Chrool to Your Scuel," the video for which ended up being banned from MTV.

Prog rock would definitely take a backseat at this time as most bands were content with a streamlined sound.  Marillion would end up being big this year as their album Misplaced Childhood would provide the hit "Kayleigh."  Rush continued their synth-heavy sound with Power Windows, Supertramp would recruit David Gilmour for Brother Where You Bound, and Asia would replace Steve Howe for Mandy Meyer for the more stadium-rock savvy Astra.  The Alan Parsons Project, after attaining radio success for for the past five years, would pick up some of their older progressive styles with Stereotomy at the end of the year.  

Hopefully, that covers the year pretty well.  Check out my playlist below, and speak up if you think I've missed something.  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!