Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies
The founding trio is whole again! The other two being the two Johns, Petrucci and Myung. And of course, don't forget James Labrie and Jordan Rudess.
Their attempt to turn an acoustic Native American ballad into an long epic ends up failing and sounding too draggy:
The ultimate epic of the Tarja era of Nightwish, greatly blending together all the album has already offered:
Nightwish is one of the most popular symphonic/power metal bands today, and was an essential band for me long ago. I could listen to this band while playing RuneScape, which fits well with the fact that one of the first song I've discovered from this band in this album was used in a video for that game. Here are my thoughts:
Once I had a dream of what metal would sound like with lots of TSFH-like orchestration, and this was it when I discovered this nearly a decade ago. Today I feel like I had been too optimistic. As varied as this album is, I'm starting to think the orchestra overpowers the metal. But what else is there from a full orchestra? Despite the orchestral overdose, many songs stay heavy, and founding keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen is able to display his own synth work. But let's get over the whole "selling out" nonsense... There are plenty of heavy anthems, and while I enjoy the orchestration in many of the tracks, it's when they rely too much on the orchestration without balancing it out with the metal, and ends up sounding too draggy. But when the metal and the orchestration have the correct balance, that's what creates the magic. All in all, I would consider this album the weakest in my revisit trip, but I would never consider Once or Nightwish super-bad. However, there are some things I might object to. The production and style is a bit over-the-top, but still mostly enjoyable. I would recommend this album for any fan of gothic-infused symphonic power metal. It is different from their earlier material, yet worth trying this bombastic rollercoaster. Though this is Tarja's last ride...
3.5/5
And that's it for the bands I have in mind for this thread. If I have any more in my mind, I'll continue this thread, but that's all for now, metal folks!
I'm fine with rapping in a few metal genres, but in symphonic metal?! Nope! I'm outta here!
An epic upbeat piece of symphonic gothic metal, featuring the operatic soprano singing of ex-Nightwish vocalist Tarja Turunen, which simultaneously made me interested in both Within Temptation and Nightwish:
Although my symphonic power metal roots can be traced back as early as Kamelot, Within Temptation was the first band to make me up to losing my strictness in staying in power metal and allow me to start exploring full-on symphonic metal, with one song even directing me to Nightwish! The symphonic metal chain was just beginning for me. Here are my thoughts:
Unlike those other bands that I discovered via their earlier releases, I was hooked to Within Temptation via this album Hydra, only weeks after its release. The music is pretty good here. Vocalist Sharon den Adel sings nice melodies, though she doesn't have her earlier power that other female singers have. As the metal instrumentation stand their ground, the symphonic keys and orchestra lift it up in cinematic atmosphere. Beautiful, right? You just gotta admire how well the band can diversify their sound. Here we have a symphonic metal/rock sound that often dives into their earlier gothic metal and their later pop/alt-rock, all while making sure their fans know that it's the same Within Temptation as before. The album almost has the same "metal opera" vibe as Avantasia, with only 4 songs having Sharon's beautiful voice as the sole singing style. 4 of the other have different guest singers, and two of them work well while the other two don't. And the remaining two songs have some background growling by guitarist Robert Westerholt, in clear prominence for the first time since the band's gothic doom debut Enter. The atmosphere doesn't greatly catch your attention as it should have. Despite all that, Hydra is an album for new fans and die-hard collectors. With Temptation could still stand strong and not lose steam, at least until their subsequent albums that would show a highly different era for the band....
3.5/5
And because how divisive the album's style is, here's a quick genre analysis:
1. Let Us Burn - Symphonic metal/symphonic rock
2. Dangerous - Symphonic metal/heavy metal
3. And We Run - Symphonic metal/symphonic rock/rap metal
4. Paradise (What About Us?) - Symphonic metal/gothic metal
5. Edge of the World - Symphonic rock/symphonic metal
6. Silver Moonlight - Gothic metal/symphonic metal
7. Covered by Roses - Symphonic metal/alternative metal
8. Dog Days - Symphonic rock/pop rock/alternative metal
9. Tell Me Why - Symphonic metal/gothic metal/power metal/melodic metalcore
10. Whole World is Watching - Alternative rock/pop rock/symphonic rock
Primary genres: Symphonic metal, symphonic rock
Secondary genres: Gothic metal, alternative metal, pop rock
Having to revisit this poor flow-damaging ballad almost made me wanna cry more than just a little in agony:
An 11-minute epic highlight for metal opera project Avantasia:
Avantasia is what introduced me to the ambitious idea of multi-musician/vocalist metal opera concept albums, and it was because of ex-Kamelot vocalist Roy Khan in the first track that I ended up stumbling upon this band and entering the metal opera world. Here are my thoughts:
Tobias Sammet's Avantasia started off with two Metal Opera albums in the early 2000s. The albums have many guest musicians and artists from bands like Helloween, Gamma Ray, Virgin Steele, Stratovarius, and Within Temptation. They were, just WERE, an essential part of my power metal discoveries. After reforming with a 2007 two-EP series Lost in Space, the album promoted by those two EPs had arrived... 2008's The Scarecrow was hitting the charts in not just Germany but other European countries also, such as Czech Republic, Greece, Sweden, Hungary, Austria, and Switzerland. The different sound and atmosphere replaced earlier fans with new ones. It's more of a blend of hard rock and power metal, with guests coming from bands of both genres. A great album with monumental vocalists! Sammet made a new lineup for the album which consists of himself performing bass and vocals, ex-Heaven's Gate members Sascha Paeth and Miro on guitars and keyboards, respectively, and Kiss drummer Eric Singer. Some guitar solos were provided by Gamma Ray guitarists Henjo Richter and Kai Hansen (though I wish Hansen could've also done some vocals) and Scorpions guitarist Rudolf Schenker. As for the guest vocalists, it was because of ex-Kamelot vocalist Roy Khan in the first track that I ended up stumbling upon this band and entering the metal opera world. Other vocalists from big bands include Jorn Lande (ex-Masterplan), Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween), Bob Catley (Magnum), Amanda Somerville (Aina), Alice Cooper, and Oliver Hartmann (ex-At Vance). This bombastic hard rock/power metal album also has a bit of classic heavy metal, soft rock, pop rock, and a couple ballads. Hard rock and power metal songs are the main course of this meal, and most of that part of the meal is what I really like. However, the softer appetizers disrupt the flow, often not fitting well with the heavier vibe, with the exception of the closing track that ends things smoothly as another highlight. All in all, The Scarecrow is a strong comeback for the band, the first part of the Wicked Trilogy continuing in their 2010 albums The Wicked Symphony and Angel Of Babylon. The album is a bit uneven with a couple weak tracks and Sammet getting more vocals than one of the guests and vice versa. Nonetheless, a very solid metal opera album....
4/5
And because how divisive the album's style is, here's a quick genre analysis:
1. Twisted Mind - Hard rock/heavy metal/power metal
2. The Scarecrow - Hard rock/Celtic rock/symphonic metal/power metal
3. Shelter From the Rain - Power metal/speed metal/hard rock
4. Carry Me Over - Hard rock/pop rock
5. What Kind of Love - Pop rock/soft rock
6. Another Angel Down - Power metal/heavy metal
7. The Toy Master - Hard rock/power metal
8. Devil in the Belfry - Power metal/hard rock
9. Cry Just a Little - Acoustic rock/soft rock
10. I Don't Believe in Your Love - Hard rock/heavy metal
11. Lost in Space - Pop rock/hard rock
Primary genres: Hard rock, power metal
Secondary genres: Heavy metal, pop rock, soft rock
Looks like your list is restored with a different name: https://metal.academy/lists/single/261
Whew! An epic list like this shall not be lost.
The ultimate anthem for this band that started off as a spin-off to DragonForce:
Around the same time as I discovered Dragonland, I also discovered this band that started off as a spinoff to DragonForce. Power Quest was formed by keyboardist Steve Williams who had just left DragonForce when they still had the name DragonHeart. A couple other DragonForce members were also in Power Quest; guitarist Sam Totman in the debut, and ex-vocalist ZP Theart in the demo. This association encouraged me to make my power metal interest a reality. Here are my thoughts:
Power Quest's debut Wings of Forever has some similarity to DragonForce's Valley of the Damned released next year, though here's what different from DragonForce's debut. Wings of Forever is a bit humble of a start for Power Quest. I mean, there is the technical speed that is what many power metal bands were doing 20 years before today, but this band does it all without having to expand their resources. The band had trouble find an actual drummer, so they instead used a drum machine with the nickname "Scott Michaels". It sounds quite realistic, but it gives the album less organic strength. A real drummer would've made this a perfect offering. While DragonForce is known for their fast headbanging songs with the length extended by their solos, Power Quest seems to have more focus on epic-sounding atmosphere to cover that length which can make things slightly uneven, though they would have less of that issue in later albums. The atmosphere is created by Steve Williams who also bring the keys up to the front stage alongside the melodic guitar wizardry by Sam Totman to get you hooked. Other guitarist Adam Bickers is Sam Totman's soloing buddy for this album, just like Herman Li but without any 8-bit tricks. Many of the songs have pure electric guitar melody right in the face! The versatile vocals of Alessio Garavello have great harmony. I guess ZP Theart would've probably made some songs sound more like DragonForce, but Alessio is the real star here. Williams' keyboards range from smooth ambience to serene beauty to swift soloing, and he's able to show the lengthy side of his earlier writing in the longer epics. His writing evolution started out from his time with DragonForce, and when he worked with Sam Totman and ZP Theart (demo only) among other members in Power Quest's debut, and their DragonForce influences show, though not proven until next year with the release of Valley of the Damned. By then, Totman and Bickers had already left the band, and the last thing Totman could do for Power Quest was add in some soloing contributions to their second album Neverworld. As the band's tenure went on, so many different instrumentalists and vocalists took the place of those who were leaving, which further turned the band towards a different path. While it ended up giving the band a more mature identity of their own, the time when they were known as a DragonForce spin-off should be remembered. Whether being original or identical, the quality is what's worth this album being added to your power metal collection!
4.5/5
I probably wouldn't have gotten into the more symphonic side of power metal without accidentally discovering this album's glorious title track in a video that was wrongly credited to DragonForce as the band. This is NOT that video:
I probably wouldn't have gotten into the more symphonic side of power metal without accidentally discovering this album's glorious title track in a video that was wrongly credited to DragonForce as the band. Here are my thoughts:
Fixing some mistakes from their debut, Dragonland's second album Holy War has energetic progression, as orchestral keys and guitar fury slam through clay-cracking bass and pounding drums, alongside the sweet vocals of Jonas Heidgert, as if the entire band is a dragon. A Rhapsody (of Fire)-influenced dragon! Heidgert stands out as another amazing vocalist in the power metal league. His unique delivery is out of this world. Almost every track has majestic glory and blazing power metal speed, but what causes this album to not be as perfect as I used to think it was is a power ballad that starts too soft and insincere, though it gets much better when it speeds up. Also the Japanese edition and deluxe reissue comes with an upbeat cover of a Limahl hit, plus two useless acoustic interludes that are better left alone. This is a more enjoyable improvement from their debut, performing their sound with fantasy pride and not too much cheesiness. I miss out on my youthful days of loving this band to the max, but I need to stay true to my mature evolution. Nonetheless, Dragonland have done well in pleasing fans of power metal!
4.5/5
Cool backstory behind your metal roots, Xephyr! Avantasia and Nightwish were two of my entryway bands into symphonic power metal and symphonic metal. Same Avantasia album even! Around that time, a teacher in this homeschooling center I was in (remember, I was a teen back then) told me about Dream Theater, a band she really likes, but I wasn't interested in progressive metal yet. That was, until I discovered Ayreon and that project's sci-fi prog-metal opera albums got me hooked, so shortly after, I listened to more of Dream Theater, and progressive metal (albeit the melodic kind that I was into back then but not now) became my third dominant genre in my past metal interest (after power metal and symphonic metal). And it was great that I finally got interested in Opeth 3 years before today, though I probably should have 5 years prior, but hey, I felt too young for the harsher stuff back then. Also my brother found this Plankton AI cover of Tool's "The Pot" recently, which is both awesome and hilarious:
Well done, Xephyr!
Some nice moments, but too much of a cheesy love ballad, and why the f*** sneak it in as the second full song of this power metal album?!
Battle-ready power metal to lose some of this album's cheese for a little more seriousness:
Dragonland was one of my first power metal discoveries AFTER DragonForce. This band introduced me to two things in metal I was already familiar with elsewhere; the orchestral symphonics of Two Steps From Hell and medieval fantasy concepts similar to RuneScape, the Elder Scrolls, and Lord of the Rings. And it all started with an accidental encounter with a song from the album after this one. Here are my thoughts:
Nowadays, while I do enjoy these fantasy concepts, I begin to realize their lack of original inspiration. The Dragonland Chronicles saga has the same ol' "leaving your loved ones to go to a war you end up falling in" idea, which my fantasy-loving teen self thought was epic, but now it's a little too cheesy for me as a heavier more serious adult. As much as I enjoy the catchy melody and vocals, the lyrics factor in the cheesiness, and they only work well during the more serious moments in which they allow you to really imagine the stories comfortably, such as the marching of the enemies, an epic battle, and subsequent tragic falls. The cheesiness isn't the only problem with a few of the other tracks, they seem to be oddly placed, like adding in a love ballad as the album's second song and a speedy cover of a classical piece in the middle of the tragic climax. But despite all that, The Battle of the Ivory Plains is a 50-minute adventure any power metal fan should check out. And you should read the story within the lyrics for the full Dragonland Chronicles experience. I just don't feel the same amount of epic brilliance from this band and album as I had 10 years ago....
4/5
Before I somewhat randomly decided to pick up a Black Sabbath compilation from the local library, I didn't really listen to much music outside of the stuff in video games and Joe Satriani. I liked it, so then I picked up more compilations by Dream Theater, Iron Maiden and Megadeth. The first actual album I picked up to my memory is Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage, which I enjoyed somewhat at the time, but even then I found it a bit one note. From there I found I got into power metal and started listening to Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 2 and Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth. I also somehow decided to listen to Testament - Dark Roots of the Earth, I can't actually remember if I listened to any thrash albums before it, but it made more of an impression at the time than Master of Puppets. The first album I actually bought as opposed to just borrowing from the local library was Grim Reaper - See You in Hell/Fear no Evil, which I purchased because it was on a list of top 50 metal releases and I couldn't get it from the local library. In retrospect, I probably should have tried to get Satan - Court in the Act off the same list, but that's retrospect, neither album was anything but good.
I guess then I would say...
1. Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage (2006)
2. Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 2 (1988)
3. Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998)
4. Testament - Dark Roots of the Earth (2012)
5. Grim Reaper - See You in Hell (1984?)
Same first ever album discovery as me! Nice one, Morpheus! Though I didn't discover Blind Guardian until two or three years after that DragonForce album, and I still haven't gotten into Helloween's discography beyond their 80s era.
As I've mentioned before, I began my entire metal journey 10 years ago with power metal. I started with one band, then discovered two bands, then 3 bands, etc. Just like bacteria, my metal interest has been expanding from one to multiple, when it comes to bands and genres, with my interest in some bands/genres dying out and getting resurrected. Anyway, here are the first releases I've discovered from each of the first 5 bands I've discovered in my very first metal genre power metal, as I recall:
1. DragonForce - Inhuman Rampage (2006)
2. Power Quest - Wings of Forever (2002)
3. Dragonland - Holy War (2002)
4. Kamelot - Epica (2003)
5. Avantasia - The Scarecrow (2008)
I'll give the Power Quest, Dragonland, and Avantasia albums some revisiting and reviews (I didn't include the DragonForce and Kamelot albums because those reviews are already done) to not only get back in touch with those releases but also to fully detail how I discovered those bands. I'll journal my progress in a separate thread (to not interfere with this one), and maybe decide whether or not to continue rediscovering my power metal past. Time to re-plant these roots!
Ok, there's a bit of progressiveness in here, but this is mostly a blues rock filler track, with Geoff Tate's vocals attempting to be the track's saving grace but ultimately failing:
Pretty much the only truly progressive metal song in Queensryche's 90s era, and one of only two metal songs in Promised Land:
I used to not like "Silent Lucidity" because of how popular it is for a non-metal song, but after listening to Extreme's "More Than Words" that was released in the same year, I've realized that the beauty of a song for me doesn't always come from metal. I find myself a little more accepting for non-metal songs from metal artists being popular singles. But this album's other ballad, I cannot accept, a weak-a** way to head out despite the cool electric chorus:
Majestic hard rock/heavy metal with lyrics battling against the corruption of race:
Having just revisited this Queensryche album, I honestly still hear metal in some other songs besides those two highlights. It's also not progressive enough to deserve The Infinite clan, as only two songs "Best I Can" and "Della Brown" are highly progressive and they have much more in common with the prog-rock of Rush than the prog-metal of Dream Theater. So with Empire being a hard rock/heavy metal album to my ears with only two progressive songs, I'll vote for having it removed from The Infinite but vote against having it removed from The Guardians. Stay tuned for my revisit/review for their next album Promised Land and its possible subsequent judgement submission...
Here's how I would genre-tag the 8 tracks in the album:
1. War Pigs - Hard rock/heavy metal/doom metal/progressive rock
2. Paranoid - Heavy metal
3. Planet Caravan - Psychedelia
4. Iron Man - Heavy metal
5. Electric Funeral - Stoner metal/hard rock/heavy metal/progressive rock
6. Hand of Doom - Hard rock/heavy metal/progressive rock/psychedelic rock
7. Rat Salad - Blues rock/hard rock/heavy metal
8. Fairies Wear Boots - Blues rock/hard rock
Primary genres: Heavy metal, hard rock
Secondary genres: Progressive rock, blues rock
You guys have fun with this project, but I'm gonna head out of this thread. As much fun as I had exploring the earlier metal releases, I want to get my mind back into the present. There are a few newer releases from other bands of different genres that I plan to review. Will I continue my time in this Roots project someday? I don't know. But I'm done here for now.
What about "Fairies Wear Boots" then? Metal or not? What subgenre?
This one isn't that straight forward to be honest. I can see the argument for a metal tag but personally I think it sits more comfortably under heavy psych.
Blues/hard rock.
Interesting. When I was still listening to Queensryche, I thought of Empire as a continuation of the more commercial heavy metal direction from Operation: Mindcrime, though with less progressive focus, and only a few lighter songs for the radio (*cough* "Silent Lucidity" *cough*). Promised Land would further deviate from their metal roots before the band dropped most of it in Hear in the Now Frontier, as far as I can remember. I'm gonna have to revisit and review Empire and Promised Land to make my memories with those albums clearer and determine which of them are metal. It's not explicitly part of my side of the Roots of Metal project because the band started in the 80s, but it's a nice continuation to the concept.
Too much Thin Lizzy-infused hard rock for its own good, making this sh*t sound more miserable than epic:
Swedish power-ish heavy metal that fans of Dio, Dream Evil, and Rainbow might find irresistible:
Yes I have, Daniel.
A 14-minute experimental epic with lots to explore in the vocals and instruments, often going soft and ambient then heavy and chaotic:
A Led Zeppelin-inspired blues/hard rock/heavy metal instrumental.
If you're still into the doom/gothic metal zone, Rex, here's another album to check out on its anniversary:
And a few Infinite classics having their anniversaries today as well:
I really feel the need to check out that Kayo Dot album. It's quite tough to find nowadays, but I wanna hear the official beginning of Toby Driver's current project out of the ashes of his former band Maudlin of the Well.
With Rex pointing out the 25th anniversary of Rhapsody (of Fire)'s second album Symphony of Enchanted Lands, I thought it would be a good time to mention a few power metal albums have their anniversaries today. So for Rex and any other heavy/power metal fans here, wish these albums a happy birthday:
Also on that day is the 20th anniversary of a former favorite doomy gothic metal album of mine:
"Hand of Doom" has a mid-tempo hard rock/heavy metal groove. Though it sometimes gets a bit progressive, and they speed up from there in the midsection, having a bit of a superior Alice Cooper Band-like psychedelic vibe.
Slow stoner rock atmosphere within a hard rock/heavy metal frame, with a somewhat progressive section midway through.
A playlist I've made compiling the best highlights of my side of the Roots of Metal project: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3iBbKInKjUBgKlMbZkIG41
Welcome back, my heroic speedy power metal warriors!
A Zelda-inspired power metal tune that's perhaps their best single yet!
Anyway... today's track is "Iron Man". It's the doomiest track we've looked at since "Black Sabbath"in my opinion. I'm going against the general consensus by choosing traditional doom metal on this one.
I find this track to be a mid-tempo heavy metal hit (that I don't like as much other people do) that speeds up in some places. If you're up for some doomy stoner-ish atmosphere, you'll find it in the next track that we will talk about tomorrow...
Here's my top 10 of 1989:
1. Voivod - Nothingface
2. Watchtower - Control and Resistance
3. Annihilator - Alice in Hell
4. Godflesh - Streetcleaner
5. Sabbat - Dreamweaver
6. Pestilence - Consuming Impulse
7. Ministry - The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste
8. Dark Angel - Leave Scars
9. Helstar - Nosferatu
10. Coroner - No More Color
A perfect highlight of bombastic hip-hop-ish industrial metal:
A true accessible yet total rocker suitable for Code Orange's new direction, with the one and only Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins guest appearing:
Just psychedelia, nothing else.
Some more of this band's blend of Maori influences and nu-ish groove metal in their ultimate moshing highlight:
Sail through the seas of Alien Weaponry's Maori-styled groove/alt-metal with this excellent boat-rower:
So that marks the end of my journey through Scorpions' hard rock/heavy metal era that covers the second half of the 70s and the first half of the 80s. Of all the albums from that era, only Love at First Sting is more of a hard rock/pop rock album with barely any metal. Not only that, Love at First Sting is also one of only two albums in my side of the Roots of Metal project that I don't consider metal, the other being Judas Priest's Rocka Rolla. And now I'll just wait for Ben to add to the site the Rainbow and Scorpions albums that are not in the site but I consider metal, so I can copy and paste my reviews for the albums in the thread to their respective release pages. After that and my track-to-track genre analysis for Black Sabbath's Paranoid in Daniel's thread, I'll just stop my project. As much fun as I had exploring the 70s, I want to get my mind back into the present. There are a couple new releases from other bands of different genres that I plan to review. Will I continue this Roots project one day? I don't know. But that's it for this thread....