MartinDavey87's Reviews
It’s crazy to think, but when Limp Bizkit’s second full-length album, ‘Significant Other’, was released way back in 1999, not only was it a huge hit, but gradually built up to the Florida five-piece becoming one of the biggest bands on the planet. For all the angst, attitude and cheesiness, it’s exactly what people, in particular, the youth of the world, needed back then.
Bizkit’s sound is heavily influenced by a combination of 90’s alternative metal and hip-hop, building upon the style established by bands like Korn, and in particular, Stuck Mojo. Some tracks here are all-out metal, while some sway more towards hip-hop, with more focus being on vocalist Fred Durst rapping. Both work well for the band, with Durst effortlessly being able to blend clean singing, aggressive shouting, and rapid-fire rapping. And his vocals fit perfectly with guitarist Wes Borland’s creative and interesting guitar playing.
And if you’re into this sort of thing, there’s a few appearances from some noteworthy vocalists, including Jonathan Davis from Korn, Aaron Lewis from Staind, Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots, Les Claypool of Primus fame, and the one that probably had the most impact, Wu Tang Clan’s Method Man. His duet with Fred on hit single ‘N 2 Gether Now’ likely helped the band gain more mainstream recognition, as well as appeal more to hip-hop audiences.
‘Significant Other’ features an abundance of great tracks, such as heavy hitters ‘Nookie’, ‘Trust?’ and ‘Just Like This’, huge hit ‘Re-Arranged’, which shows the bands melodic abilities, and rap-inspired tracks such as ‘Show Me What You Got’ and the aforementioned ‘N 2 Gether Now’. Then of course, there’s one of the biggest nu metal anthems ever, ‘Break Stuff’. If you don’t get pumped up at the sound of those opening chords and Fred Durst proclaiming that ‘It’s just one of those days…’ then you really need to stop taking it all too seriously.
Overall, ‘Significant Other’ is a great album that still holds up well today. It came out at just the right time that people needed aggression in their music, but also enough catchy hooks that mainstream audiences were able to get involved too. It’s a huge step up from their debut, and shows a band who are heading on to greater things.
Having already laid down the foundations for their post-nu metal career with 2005’s ‘Ten Thousand Fists’, Disturbed have finally shed the stigma that came with the subgenre, and established themselves as a legit and credible metal band with 2008’s ‘Indestructible’.
The band has managed to take the groove-laden guitar style of the aforementioned subgenre whilst blending it effortlessly with an old-school metal mentality and vibe. As a result, ‘Indestructible’ is an album brimming with hooks, choruses and intense guitar work that can appeal to metal fans old and new alike, as well as more casual listeners too.
David Draiman’s melodic vocals work fantastically, his unique style has always given Disturbed their own sound. And they work in complete synergy with Dan Donegan’s guitar riffs, which perfectly capture the essence of traditional metal with the styling of nu metal. Donegan really lets rip a number of times on this album, and shows that he’s more than capable of shredding up the guitar when necessary, but can also show restraint when it’s needed.
Highlights from this release include ‘Indestructible’, ‘Inside the Fire’, ‘Perfect Insanity’, ‘The Night’, ‘Criminal’, ‘Divide’ and ‘The Curse’. The first three tracks in particular were all downloadable content for the incredibly popular 2007 video game ‘Rock Band’, which no doubt helped boost the bands popularity to no end around the time of this albums release.
With a number of stand-out tracks and an outlet for a whole new audience, ‘Indestructible’ is another strong outing by Disturbed, who have so far gone from strength-to-strength since the demise of nu metal, and have firmly cemented themselves as one of the standout metal bands of the 2000’s.
The first time I heard of Blind Guardian was in 2002, when I'd bought Iced Earth's 'Dark Genesis' collection and they were mentioned a number of times in the biography section. It wasn't too long after that I was in a music shop, coincidently in the bands home country of Germany, where I saw a double pack of 'Battalions of Fear' and it's follow-up album 'Follow the Blind' pretty cheap. Didn't even have to think about what to do.
By this point, I was no longer the young, metal whippersnapper that I was when I'd first heard of Blind Guardian. I had a good sense of what I was into, and, to be blunt, I found this album to be pretty boring and dull.
Fast-forward a couple more years, and MySpace is suddenly booming and it's easier than ever to discover bands. THAT'S when I really got into Blind Guardian! I can't remember which song I heard, but it was big! It was epic! It was bombastic! It was full of metal riffs and glorious orchestrations... it was incredible! How did I not get into this band the first time around?!
I swiftly snapped up most of the groups back-catalogue, then set to work familiarizing myself with their discography...
And that leads me right back to square one; this album is still pretty bland.
There's just nothing really exciting going on here... y'know what I mean? 'Majesty' is an okay song, but most of the tracks are pretty basic power/speed metal. The production leaves the music feeling empty of life, and a lot of the melodies, both musical and lyrical, are just boring and uninteresting.
It's not a terrible album, but if you're looking for some generic and bland 80's power metal, there's much better stuff out there.
I’m not the biggest fan of Black Sabbath. Admittedly, I got into metal around the end of the 90’s, and by that time Sabbath seemed a bit dated to me. I was all about the rising nu metal scene, as well as the thrash metal bands which were still hanging in there (just about). Of course, I gave Sabbath a chance, and in fairness, I don’t dislike them, but ‘Paranoid’, supposedly THE greatest metal album of all time, just doesn’t quite work for me.
None of the guitar riffs, which are meant to be some of the greatest guitar riffs ever, or so I’ve heard, don’t really do anything for me. Maybe it’s the production of the time, but they just seem kind of dull and flat, lacking the audible punch that later bands would have. Ditto for the vocals.
Maybe it’s just a product of its era, but then, I listen to a lot of other music from different eras, so surely that can’t be it. Maybe it’s just been so overhyped over the decades that there was no way it could live up to my personal expectations. Maybe there’s something wrong with me. I don’t know. It’s got the likes of ‘Paranoid’, ‘Iron Man’ and ‘War Pigs’, which, again, are meant to be some of the most iconic metal songs ever, but I can’t really think anything more of them than “they’re okay”.
Heavy metal was still a fledgling and evolving genre at this point. How could it be possible to really create such a classic’s classic in such early days? An important and inspirational album? Yes. A pivotal moment in metal history? Sure. But being better than anything that’s come since? Really? Maybe bands joke about it, but perhaps the adage that “Black Sabbath created metal, [insert band name here] perfected it” isn’t too far off.
I don’t totally dislike Black Sabbath though, and I think over time they do go on to produce far better works than this. But I just can’t get into this. No matter how much I love my rock and metal, ‘Paranoid’, arguably one of the most highly revered and beloved metal albums of all time, just doesn’t quite do it for me.
Considered by fans to be one of Dream Theater's best songs, 'A Change of Seasons' is the bands first venture into an old prog standard; the 20-minute epic! Clocking in at 23 minutes long, the title track of this release was originally intended for the 'Images and Words' album, but left off due to time restrictions.
No problem! Chuck a few live covers in there, and here we have arguably one of the greatest EP's of all time.
With such a lengthy track, you know that each musician will get the chance to show off their skills, and indeed they do! All five members (including newcomer Derek Sherinian on the keyboards), flawlessly show their mastery of their respective departments, with the song twisting and turning through all kinds of time signatures and dynamic changes, crafting a wonderful tale that takes us on a journey through life and reminds us of how quickly it passes by.
As for the other "half" of this EP, there are four live covers that I don't mind, but are kind of hit-or-miss for me. Covering Elton John, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and a medley consisting of Kansas, Queen, Journey and Genesis, none of them are terrible, but in fairness none of them are overly memorable either. Blatant filler.
As a whole, it's a great record, and an absolute must-have for fans of Dream Theater, and whilst the title track itself is entirely worth hearing, it's the covers that prevent this from getting a five-star rating. Still, it's as essential to your collection as any of the bands studio albums.
It's 2001 and I'm 14 years-old, new to the world of metal, and a huge Megadeth fan (or so I thought...). They'd just released their album 'The World Needs a Hero', in which they went "back to their metal roots" (every band goes through this phase). Tuning into Kerrang TV, they were midway through a video that, for whatever reason, I suspected it may have been Megadeth's video for 'Moto Psycho'. It was heavy, it was aggressive, and I was headbanging to it with my measly one inch of hair which I couldn't wait to grow longer. I also couldn't wait to get the new Megadeth album because this song kicked ass!
Except, it was Metallica's 'One'.
2001 was an exciting year for a 14 year-old metal fan living in the UK. With the nu metal scene having completely taken over the world, no doubt with huge thanks to the few channels that had popped up on TV dedicated to rock music, the genre was rife with bands such as Linkin Park, Korn, Slipknot and Limp Bizkit. However, despite all the bands that were tearing up the charts, it was Metallica's '...And Justice For All' that I was seriously digging. I loved the ten-minute songs with two-minute intros. I loved the complex arrangements with constant shifts in dynamics. I loved the guitar harmonies. I loved it all!
There's no denying the influence this had on me around that period of my life. Eventually leading me to progressive metal, a genre this album arguably had a huge hand in influencing in its infancy, bands like Dream Theater and Symphony X just seemed like the next logical step from here. Intricately crafted guitar riffs, harmonies and solos, with some of Lars Ulrich's most challenging drumming (which, fair play to the guy, he may have a rather limited skill set, but he sure busts his chops on this one), make this Metallica's most ambitious album, with the band themselves often citing how this was the most complex stuff they'd done.
The production is often criticized, but I was too young to care about such trivial things when I first got this record, so I find myself unfazed by it now. In fact, I find the sound, which comes across as very dry and gritty, sets the mood perfectly for this incredibly dark and bleak album. And with songs like 'One', 'Blackened', 'Harvester of Sorrow', 'Dyers Eve' and 'The Frayed Ends of Sanity', this is an absolute classic that belongs in the collection of any metal fan.
Symphony X are back with their second album and a sound that will quickly distinguish them as one of the top prog metal bands in the world.
The differences between this and their self-titled debut are noticeable immediately. Besides the addition of powerhouse vocalist Russell Allen, who's incredible voice can easily switch between both melodic and aggressive styles, the production has been vastly improved and the songwriting is a lot more confident and refined.
The songs on 'The Damnation Game' flow so much fluidly than before. Michael Romeo's intense riffs and exotic solos are much more tasteful, and Michael Pinella's keyboards never sounded this beautiful on 'Symphony X'. While this is far from the bands most ambitious work, it's still a solid blueprint which the New Jersey quintet would build upon with future releases.
Featuring highlights such as 'The Edge of Forever', 'A Winter's Dream', 'The Haunting' and the title track, the reason this only gets a three-star rating is because, despite being a really good record, honestly, it just pales in comparison to what's to come. Such is the strength of the bands later output that I find myself very rarely listening to this one. Still, if you're a fan of Symphony X, then this is definitely an album worth owning!
This is a fairly decent debut album by Kamelot, who at the time were nothing more than a generic power metal band. Progressive elements seen in later albums are rare and discreet, and the band are yet to develop a lot of the more exotic flavours heard in their later songs. But overall, there are still some great compositions on this record.
There are very few keyboard parts and the musicianship is nowhere near that of most prog/power metal bands, but that doesn't prevent a few memorable riffs popping up, such as 'Eternity' and 'The Gleeman', and 'Etude Jongleur is a nice, though short, melodic passage.
There isn't really much else to say about this album to be honest. If you're a fan of Kamelot then it's worth getting, and I think it's generally worth picking up for anyone if you can find it cheap somewhere. Kamelot didn't really hit their stride until keyboards became a more primary instrument and with the addition of vocalist of Roy Khan (who, if you're already a Kamelot fan prior to buying this album, you'll definitely notice his absence), but this still holds up well as a look at a young band who will definitely go on to better things.
Power metal has always been the ginger-haired stepchild of heavy metal. It's cheesy. It's repetitive. And sometimes it's Sonata Arctica, in which case, it kicks ass!
Sonata Arctica's debut album burst onto the scene with such gusto and youthful enthusiasm, it's hard not to like it. There's fast-paced neoclassical speed metal guitar shredding, and lots of cheesy 90's keyboard harpsichord sounds. The lyrics focus on the usual themes of fantasy, love, kingdoms and over nonsensical topics we're not really bothered about, because it comes with the territory, and above all else though, it really is 100% cheese, and that's what we love about the genre!
I first came across this band when I heard 'Replica' on a compilation CD. I loved it! I was completely blown away by how awesome this band sounded and to this day, that is still one of my favourite songs (and I still have no idea what it's about, either). I rushed out to get 'Ecliptica' and was not disappointed. 'Kingdom for a Heart', 'Full Moon', 'Letter to Dana', 'Mary Lou' and 'Picturing the Past' are all fine examples of why power metal should never be so easily dismissed. Oh, and 'Replica' too!!!. This album is worth it for that song alone.
I've been stuck for ages writing this review, struggling to think of anything clever or witty to say. The truth is, this is a typical power metal album, and if you're not a fan of the genre, you won't notice any difference here between Sonata Arctica and any other band. But there's just some sort of charm about this record that makes it fresh and exciting, and definitely worth trying out.
After his 1994 solo release, guitarist Michael Romeo was met with a proposal from a record label to form a band and record an album in the similar vein to his solo material. "Sure, why not?"... and thus was born one of progressive metals most popular and influential bands.
Borrowing heavily upon the neoclassical style of shred made famous by Yngwie Malmsteen, Symphony X's self-titled debut release is a humble album that shows a band with the potential for big things, with the only major setback being the rather subpar production. While it's certainly not terrible, it just lacks that little bit of punch that the music really needs. It's a punch that would be added to future releases, and the difference is immediately noticeable.
As for the music itself, it's nowhere near as ambitious as the bands later releases, which would go on to utilize massive orchestrations, but it's still pretty good, and lays down a solid foundation upon which the band would establish their defining sound. As expected, Michael Romeo's guitar playing is the star of the show here, with his neoclassical virtuosity matched perfectly by keyboardist Michael Pinella, both displaying enough talents to secure their careers in a post-grunge metal scene. Vocalist Rod Tyler does a good job, and is vastly underrated for his work on this album, but it's his only appearance with the group and he will soon be overshadowed by his replacement, powerhouse singer Russell Allen.
'Symphony X' overall is a good debut, with early signs of greatness evident. 'Masquerade', 'The Raging Seasons', 'Premonition', 'Thorns of Sorrow' and the ballad 'Shades of Grey' are all notable reasons why this should be in your collection, and if you're a collector like me, it's certainly not one you'll regret having to own.
‘Master of Puppets’ is without a doubt one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time. Taking what they started on ‘Ride the Lightning’ and pumping it full of steroids, this takes all the best elements of Metallica's previous album and magnifies it a thousand times over, firmly placing Metallica amongst metal's royalty.
A nice combination of heavy and melodic, ‘Master of Puppets’ mirrors its predecessor very closely, but at the same time it manages to maintain its own identity. Opening track ‘Battery’ is very similar to ‘Fight Fire with Fire’, starting with a nice clean guitar harmony, followed by riffs of complete chaos that'll destroy all your senses. ‘Welcome Home (Sanitarium)’ takes the ballad concept started on ‘Fade to Black’ and pushes it further than anyone thought possible, and ‘Orion’ is a nice eight minute instrumental that can go toe to toe against ‘The Call of Ktulu’ any day.
Despite the similarities, ‘Master of Puppets’ shows a band becoming more mature with each release. The lyrics are even more grim and darker than before, and the song-writing, especially on tracks like ‘Master of Puppets’ and ‘Welcome Home’, shows a band that has developed closer over the years to become as tight as they can be, with Hetfield and Hammett's guitars working in perfect harmony with Burton's bass-lines and Ulrich's (somewhat limited) drum skills.
Often cited as the single greatest metal album in history, it’d be hard to disagree.
Released in 1987, ‘Among the Living’ is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Anthrax, and is hailed by fans as one of the genres greatest albums. Much like the other members of thrash metal’s “big four” (look ‘em up if you don’t know), Anthrax were at this time, riding an upward trajectory of both creative and critical success. Their previous outing, ‘Spreading the Disease’, solidified them as one of metal’s most promising bands, and this follows on exactly from where they left off.
With the same line-up of musicians, having toured and played together for a number of years now, it’s no surprise that everyone is firing on all cylinders here. The twin-guitar assault sounds even tighter than before, with rapid-fire thrash riffs that refuse to slow down. The bands tongue-in-cheek approach is here in spades, in particular with vocalist Joey Belladonna’s performances, sometimes serious, oftentimes humorous, all the time impressive. All the ingredients for a great Anthrax record are here.
The production sounds good for its time, though nothing overly remarkable, it sounds pretty much as you’d expect an 80’s thrash album to sound, and it holds up well to this day. With fist-pumping anthems such as ‘I Am the Law’, ‘Indians’, ‘Caught in a Mosh’, ‘Among the Living’ and ‘Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)’, there’s an abundance of Anthrax classics here, helping make ‘Among the Living’ an essential album that belongs in every metal fans collection.
Released in 1989, ‘The Real Thing’ is the third studio album by alternative metal band Faith No More, and is notable for being the first to feature vocalist Mike Patton. With former frontman Chuck Mosley gone, it’s the addition of Patton that helped the Californian’s truly find their sound and establish themselves as a huge name in the rock and metal world. A certain hit single didn’t hurt, either.
Further pushing the boundaries of where they could take their music, Faith No More’s chemistry as a band really started to pay dividends here. Blending metal, funk, and even pop and disco elements, with a variety of singing, rapping and growling, the band really hit a creative high with their unique sound and unique singer.
Of course, the main focal point of ‘The Real Thing’ is arguably the bands most well-known song and their biggest hit, ‘Epic’. A song that still garners endless radio rotation to this day! Along with ‘Epic’, there are other great tracks, such as the energetic ‘From Out of Nowhere’, the funky ‘Falling to Pieces’, the heavy ‘Surprise! You’re Dead!’ or the title track itself. Though, I must admit I do feel halfway through the album there’s a decline in quality. While the songs are easy enough to sit through, I generally find them quite passable.
Still, overall, this album is regarded as a classic, and rightfully so. It really put Faith No More on the map as mainstream superstars for a short time, and while their brief flirtation with commercial music wouldn’t last long, this record still holds up pretty well to this day, and definitely belongs in the collection of every rock and metal fan.
When discussing music, there will always be the topic of underrated or forgotten artists. For me, when it comes to the nu metal scene from the late 90’s to early 2000’s, there’s always one band that comes to mind. And that band is Stuck Mojo.
After that, it’s The Union Underground!
‘…An Education in Rebellion’ is the first (and to date, only) studio album by Texas quartet, The Union Underground. Released in 2000, this is an absolutely fantastic 34-minute slab of nu metal. Full of short, energetic anthems, there’s no messing around here, just one banger after another.
The band have their sound absolutely nailed, with amazingly heavy and crunchy guitars and some fantastic vocals that perfectly blends clean singing and shouting, but with enough aggression to mesh the two together flawlessly. This is all emphasised by the incredibly polished song-writing and punchy production that puts these guys ahead of so many of their contemporaries, and produces one of the best sounding and most pumping albums from that era.
However, despite doing the opening theme for WWE Raw for a number of years, and being hand-picked to tour with Marilyn Manson, The Union Underground just never really took off. From what I recall, they were never heavily featured on TV or radio, never really received much (if any) magazine coverage, nor were they prominent in any major tours or festivals. And it’s a shame, because they certainly deserved to be much bigger than they were.
With an abundance of unforgettable anthems, such as ‘South Texas Deathride’, ‘Bitter Man’, ‘Until You Crack’, ‘Drivel’, ‘Natural High’, ‘Revolution Man’, and their biggest hit, ‘Turn Me On Mr. Deadman’, it’s a travesty that we never heard more from these guys, as this album truly is an absolute gem from the nu metal days, and still sounds as fantastic today as it did back in 2000.
Released in 1980, ‘On Through the Night’ is the debut album by legendary British metal band, Def Leppard. It thrust the Sheffield rockers into the upper echelon of what was known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and along with bands such as Iron Maiden and Saxon, helped revitalise the stagnating metal genre and carry it into the 80’s, where it would reach all new heights of success and popularity.
This however, is a very different band to the one that would become worldwide megastars just a few years later. Switching stadium anthems for a more traditional heavy metal sound, the writing here is raw, but the energy and passion amongst the members is very palpable. From one intense hard rocker to the next, this album doesn’t let up with its blistering, nonstop guitar riffs and early precursors to what will become the bands trademark sing-along choruses.
Highlights include some early Def Lep classics, such as ‘Rock Brigade’, ‘Rocks Off’, ‘Hello America’, ‘It Could Be You’, ‘Sorrow is a Woman’ and ‘Answer to the Master’, each one giving us a taste of what this band is truly capable of. With a great production and its iconic cover art, there’s no doubting this is a solid debut album, and while it may not be the bands best or most famous work, it’s still a worthy addition to any rock or metal collection.
‘Deicide’ is the 1990 self-titled debut album by Florida-based death metal band, Deicide. I can admit prior to listening to this, that I’m not the biggest death metal fan. I’ve dabbled in it here and there, but mostly find it just too aggressive. But over my years of dipping my feet in the water, there’s been a handful of bands that I “didn’t mind”.
Decide is one of them.
Well, at least, I thought they were. Because this, their debut album, does nothing for me.
I’ve given it multiple spins, hoping that something will catch on, but it’s just not happening. Glen Benton and his motley crew are all more than competent musicians, but none of these songs stick with me. Just endless, mind-numbing guitar riffs that offer nothing other than the usual chugging away on the bottom string, with guttural, aggressive death metal vocals to boot.
I’m sure Deicide were one of those bands I “didn’t mind” for a reason. Maybe they just needed time to evolve, mature or develop their sound a bit more. Perhaps, rather than reviewing their albums in chronological order, I’ll pick something from a few years later, when they’ve established themselves and “found their groove” so-to-speak. Or perhaps I should just put the death metal down and go back to listening to some Yes or Nickelback.
Sorry Decide fans. This one’s just not for me.
After 2000’s hugely successful ‘Infest’, and it’s follow-up, 2002’s ‘Lovehatetragedy’, Papa Roach, like many, shifted their sound away from the dying nu metal subgenre, and became more grounded in hard rock or post grunge (or whatever style all the nu metal bands became once the fad died down). It was around this time that I lost touch with Papa Roach, a result of my own musical tastes changing, so I was keen to revisit these superstars from my teenage years to see what they’ve been up to since I left off.
‘Getting Away With Murder’ sees Papa Roach do away with a lot of the metal elements in their music, with the most notable being that the guitars don’t quite sound as edgy or aggressive. There’s less focus on rapping vocals, and the lyrical content itself is nowhere near as bleak or angst-ridden as before. The songs are a lot more poppy and radio-friendly, with vocalist Jacoby Shaddix displaying more singing ability than he’d done on previous releases.
But none of this is a detriment. Sure, it’s not quite the same Papa Roach that caught everyone’s attention by ‘cutting their life into pieces’, but there’s still some good, well-written rock songs that show a band maturing and evolving. I might have been disgusted at this change back in 2004, but now, I can see it for what it is. And I’m glad to be making up for lost time.
‘Take Me’, ‘Getting Away With Murder’, ‘Scars’, ‘Blood (Empty Promises)’ and ‘Be Free’ (which features an amazing vocal performance) are all great radio rock songs that demonstrate the band changing with the times whilst still maintaining a high quality of writing. And while ‘Getting Away…’ is far from their best work, it’s still a solid album which definitely has its share of unforgettable tracks.
Released in 2006, ‘One Cold Winter’s Night’ is a live album by progressive power metal band Kamelot, recorded earlier in the year whilst touring in support of their absolute masterpiece, ‘The Black Halo’.
Coming off of the success of their most highly revered and ambitious release, it should come as no surprise that everyone in the band is in peak form here. The playing is absolutely fantastic by everyone, and you can really sense how energised and passionate the band members are. Praise in particular to vocalist Roy Khan, who is just blasting each song as heard on their studio counterpart note-for-note.
The set list, as you’d expect, is stellar, featuring pretty much every major fan favourite, with plenty of focus given to material from ‘The Black Halo’, ‘Karma’ and ‘Epica’. Oh, and speaking of Epica, there’s a guest appearance by Simone Simons, giving us a spine-tingling duet with Khan for ‘The Haunting’.
With a crystal-clear sound, excellent set-list and unforgettable performances, this really is a remarkable live album, which truly belongs in every Kamelot fans collection.
The Black Mages is an instrumental progressive metal band formed by Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu, renowned for his work on the Final Fantasy video games. While I’ve never actually played the games, I can appreciate video game music, and consider the Black Mages’ first album an absolute masterpiece. Their second album was a very strong follow-up, and so it’s unfortunate that their third album falls a bit flat.
Released in 2008, Uematsu and his motley crew had 21 years of video game lineage to take inspiration from, but with their third release, ‘Darkness and Starlight’, I think it just goes to show that what works as background music in a video game doesn’t necessarily work as a metal song.
And it’s a shame, because in theory, this isn’t much different than the previous two albums, except the magic just isn’t there anymore. The excitement and energy that made the first album so fantastic seems missing, like they’re just going through the motions now.
The playing and production, as always, is exceptional, and there’s a few highlights, including ‘Opening: Bombing Mission’, ‘Neo Exdeath’, ‘Distant Worlds’, ‘Assault On the Silver Dragon’ and closing track ‘Life (in Memory of Keiten)’, but in all honesty, these songs are still fairly passable, and I’d much rather just listen to either of the previous two records. In addition, the only vocals on this album feature in the title track, a 15-minute Japanese prog metal opera, which, I might add, is one of the most horrendously boring and long-winded songs I think I’ve ever heard.
Overall, this isn’t a terrible album, but I really think at this point the band has used up all the best ideas from the franchise, and since they called it a day shortly after, I think they knew that too.
After a slow and steady upwards trajectory over the course of three releases, it seems that with 2002’s ‘Century Child’, their fourth studio album, Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish have refined their sound, and taken a huge step up in both critical and commercial success.
Treading the thin line between power metal and symphonic metal, the band have really hit their stride with this album, sounding more inspired and more confident than ever. With a strong emphasis on the symphonic and operatic elements, as well as additional male vocals to compliment Tarja Turunen’s voice, ‘Century Child’ has a much more well-rounded sound than its predecessors.
With great instrumental performances and an excellent production that really gives the music a rich, vibrant sound, there really aren’t many faults with this release, other than a couple of filler tracks, it’s all pretty stellar.
And with some absolute bangers such as ‘Dead to the World’, ‘End of All Hope’, ‘Bless the Child’, ‘Slaying the Dreamer’, the underrated ‘Feel For You’ and the obligatory symphonic metal band cover of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, ‘Century Child’ displays a band who have really established themselves as one of the top bands of their genre, and is an album that belongs in every metal fans collection.
Released in 1999, ‘Demons & Wizards’ is a power metal collaboration between Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth, and Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian. Any band featuring two such prominent names within the power metal community could be amazing, and this SHOULD be amazing, but sadly, it fails to live up to its full potential, leaving us with something that sounds exactly as you’d expect; Iced Earth music with Blind Guardian vocals.
And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the problem is that this is just so damn average. There’s plenty of high-energy metal thrashing, galloping guitar riffs, epic orchestrations and Gregorian chants (like, who asked for these?), but amongst all of that, there’s only a number of truly memorable songs.
There’s no doubting that tracks like ‘Heaven Denies’, ‘Poor Man’s Crusade’, ‘My Last Sunrise’, and ‘Fiddler On the Green’ have all the makings of power metal classics. But the rest, well, they’re all pretty forgettable. And it’s a huge shame, because this had the potential to be an absolutely classic album, but sadly, for whatever reason, it’s not.
‘Haze of Nemesis’ is the third album by German progressive metal band Red Circuit. It was released in 2014, five years after its predecessor, and follows on exactly where the band left off, with plenty of explosive, high-energy tracks, centred around massive sounding guitar riffs, atmospheric keyboards and the incredibly powerful voice of renowned Sri Lankan singer, Chity Somapala.
Unlike the bands previous two outings though, ‘Haze…’ does seem a bit samey after a while. That’s not to say it’s bad, but this sounds almost identical to everything the band has done before, and the seeming lack of variety does get a repetitive.
Still, it’s not all bad, as there are some absolute bangers here. ‘Oceans Apart’, ‘My Lonely Heaven’, ‘Serpent’s Smile’, ‘Believing a Lie’ and a cover of Peter Gabriel’s ‘Digging in the Dirt’ are all fantastic reasons to give this album a chance. And with a great production that really makes every song sound absolutely huge, there’s no denying that, although the band stick to their established formula, they do it very well. So why change what isn’t broken?
‘Boombox’ is the eighth studio album by American hard rockers Fozzy. Released in 2022 and coming off of the huge success of their 2017 release, ‘Judas’, the band, who have been on a constant upward trajectory since their 1999 conception, have played it pretty safe with this one, and followed in the same vein as their previous album.
The brainchild of wrestling superstar Chris Jericho (the best in the world at what he does), and Stuck Mojo mastermind (and my hetero man-crush) Rich Ward, I don’t think anyone back in 1999 would have expected the band to still be around doing this as long as they have been. But they’ve overcome comedy cover band antics, being named after one of the Muppets, and being more than simply “Chris Jericho’s band” to become a very legit, very authentic group of musicians.
But while the last few albums have been absolute bangers, it feels with ‘Boombox’ the songs just aren’t all up to par. And I don’t mean that to sound horrible (and I don’t want to make the list!!!), because Fozzy are one of my all-time favourite bands! Literally every album they’ve released has been of exceptional quality, and while this one certainly has its moments, I do find myself preferring to go back to any of their previous outings instead.
Still, the likes of ‘Sane’, ‘Nowhere to Run’, ‘I Still Burn’, ‘My Great Wall’ and ‘Purifier’ are all remarkable songs, and with an excellent production and a pretty sick sleeve artwork, this is still a very solid album. And while it may not their best, it’s still definitely worth owning for rock and metal fans, and plenty worthy of the name Fozzy.
‘The Forgotten Tales’ is a 1996 compilation album by German power metal band Blind Guardian. Rather than a retrospective look over their five-album career (at that point), this gathers up all the loose ends, in particular, singles b-sides and bonus tracks from various different releases, but of course, there’s a number of new recordings too. Varying from covers, acoustic renditions and live recordings, it’s quite a mixed bag, but it’s very definitely Blind Guardian through and through.
The covers in particular, are all pretty fantastic. Paying homage to the likes of the Beach Boys, Mike Oldfield, Queen, Little Richard and Uriah Heep, these are unlikely artists to cover, but the Germans have stamped their sound all over them, and truly made these songs their own.
There are also live and orchestral versions of some Blind Guardian classics, and again, these work wonderfully. Especially considering the themes of the music, they really add a new depth to the bands writing and ability to tell stories.
Overall, this might be a bit hit-or-miss for casual listeners, but for die-hard Blind Guardian fans this is an absolute treat. Tracks like ‘Surfin’ USA’, ‘Mr. Sandman’, ‘Barbara Ann’ and ‘To France’, as well as new renditions of ‘Bright Eyes’, ‘Mordred’s Song’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ are all excellent reasons to get this album. And while the band would delve into more ambitious, progressive territory after this release, this works as a great bookend at that point of their career.
Released in 2000, ‘Wishmaster’ is the third album by Finnish symphonic metal band, Nightwish. It comes two years after its predecessor, ‘Oceanborn’, and pretty much continues in the same vein. At this point the band was just beginning to break into the mainstream, and it’s easy to see that the strength and quality of their writing was garnering them a bigger and better reputation with metal fans.
The musicianship on this album is fantastic, with particular praise going to keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen and guitarist Emppu Vuorinen. The chemistry between these two is exceptional, with plenty of intense guitar riffs and a flurry of complex keyboard melodies blending together with ease. And amidst it all, singer Tarja Turenen’s operatic vocals suit the style of music perfectly.
‘The Kinslayer’, ‘She is My Sin’ and the title track, ‘Wishmaster’, are all absolutely fantastic songs, and could easily rate as some of my Nightwish favourites, and the rest of the album is filled out nicely with the likes of ‘Crownless’, ‘Fantasmic’ and ‘Wanderlust’. Other than one or two fillers, the album flows effortlessly.
Overall, this is a strong follow-up to ‘Oceanborn’, and a step in the right direction for the band, and although it may not be Nightwish’s best album, there’s some very strong tracks that make this an album worth owning.
By 1994, metal in the mainstream was dead. Grunge had taken over, and other than a select few torch-bearers keeping the flame alive, most metal bands had either gone underground, gone grunge, or simply gone away. Then a band from Bakersfield, California came along, and changed all of that.
There’s no denying the impact Korn had on the metal genre. They were ahead of their time, and pioneered what would become nu metal, thus given heavy music a lifeline and appealing to a whole new audience. Their sound captured the angst, moodiness and self-loathing of grunge, but combined with the heaviness and attitude of metal.
But listening to this today, damn, this hasn’t aged well!
Back during my teenage years, I, like many newcomers to the metal and rock genre, loved Korn! They were edgy, dangerous and exciting, and any school kid who was bullied, felt rejected or left out could relate to them. Their low-end guitar riffs, percussive rhythm and Jonathan Davis’ unique blend of singing, shouting, rapping and scatting (is that what it’s called?) were totally unique! And that album cover is still as striking and eerie as it was back in 1994.
But listening to ‘Korn’ today, I’m surprised how quickly I got bored by it. Sure, it’s got classics such as ‘Clown’, ‘Shoots and Ladders’, and of course, ‘Blind’, with its famous opening line. But honestly, I really struggled to sit through this all the way. Every song just sounds the same and plods along. And I know that’s kind of common for most Korn albums, but I just seem to remember loving this when I younger. I guess I’m just not that young anymore. Sorry guys…
Iron Maiden’s eighth studio album, 1990’s ‘No Prayer For the Dying’, takes the band into the 90’s scratching and clawing against shifting trends and fashions. Following on from what is arguably one of their most popular releases, ‘Seventh Son of a Seventh Son’, the band step away from dabbling in prog territory, and go back to more standard heavy metal. Yeah, the early 90’s weren’t great for metal bands, but Maiden sure weren’t going down without a fight!
It should be noted that by this point, vocalist Bruce Dickinson was not enjoying Maiden as much as he use to, and guitarist Adrian Smith had left the band prior to this, to be replaced by Janick Gers. I’m not really sure how much bearing this has on the writing though, as, personnel issues aside, this is still a very typical Iron Maiden album, and fans of the band will know what to expect.
The production and song-writing is pretty much the same as before. The guitar playing is fantastic as always, and Steve Harris’ formidable galloping style gives the album an almost palpable energy. However, having gone back to their more traditional metal sound, the songs themselves are of varying quality. While there are some absolutely fantastic tracks, there’s a fair few filler ones too.
But the good tracks? Damn, these are excellent! ‘Holy Smoke’, ‘No Prayer For the Dying’, album closer ‘Mother Russia’ and arguably one of the bands best tracks, with an exceptional vocal performance by Dickinson, ‘Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter’, are all reasons why, despite Maiden’s (and metals) waning popularity at the time, this is still a solid album, and a worthy addition to any collection.
‘Psykerion’ is the second studio album by progressive metal supergroup, Thought Chamber. Released in 2013, it comes six years after their debut, and follows on closely in both sound and style. I must admit though, this has been a long, slow burner for me. I’m not sure what it is, but this has been on my playlist for well over a year now, and I’m still struggling to pick out any notable, single tracks.
The album as a whole is a great listen though. Full of virtuoso musical performances, Ted Leonard’s incredible voice, and excellently produced, it’s a joy to listen to from start to finish. When I can be bothered, that is. Because unlike its predecessor, I can’t really pick out any particular songs here that I’d want to listen to by themselves. I’m not sure if that’s because their strength is as singular pieces of a bigger puzzle, or maybe I’m just finding that every song blends into the next so well, it all just seems like a blur.
Still, I’m somewhat disappointed because I’d love to be able to just pick out any songs on a whim to listen to, but I feel like I can’t do that here. ‘Light Year Time’, ‘Xyrethius II’ and ‘Transcend’ are probably highlights for me, but not enough that I’d listen to them by themselves. And it’s a shame, because I genuinely do like this album, and think Thought Chamber are a fantastic band, I just don’t think I’m likely to come back to this one very often.
And it’s a concept album too! What the hell is the story to this? Because none of it makes sense to me!
I’ll give Linkin Park credit. For a (at the time) young band, they really were getting their money’s worth out of their debut release, ‘Hybrid Theory’. As if they hadn’t already sold millions upon millions of copies of the album, and probably millions of hit singles (back when artists could actually make some money out of singles sales), now they were going to make millions upon millions with a remix album.
But is it any good? Actually, yes, it is. I feel bad rating it a two, because it’s actually a pretty decent album. This is, in some ways, what ‘Hybrid Theory’ would sound like if it was more hip-hop oriented. With plenty of guest vocal appearances by numerous rappers and nu metal singers, as well as some remix credits by a number of notable industrial artists, it’s quite a varied and interesting line-up of contributors.
But the thing with ‘Reanimation’, is that, while the album flows well and is easy enough to listen to, there’s only two tracks I’d really consider coming back to. All the others, well, I’d rather just play the actual ‘Hybrid Theory’ album. And while I don’t really mean this as a detriment, this has been on my playlist long enough with me being uncertain what to rate it. So I really can’t judge it any better than “it’s okay”.
Still, the two songs I like, ‘Wth>You’ and ‘My<Dsmbr’ are both fantastic, and can stand by their own merit as more than just remixes. The rest… well, they’re good, but passable. In all honesty, I just don’t know what else to say. This definitely belongs in every Linkin Park fans collection, I just don’t think I’m likely to listen to it very often. If ever.
I fell in love with this band after hearing their 2005 release ‘Revoiced’, a compilation of tracks from their first two albums, re-recorded with then-current vocalist Roland Stoll. Yeah, you could get away with calling it “generic progressive metal”, but whatever, I think it’s fantastic, regardless. So going back through the bands discography, the first two albums were pretty good. Nothing amazing, but certainly worth owning. I think with ‘Revoiced’ they definitely picked out the best tracks both had to offer. Which brings us to their third studio album, 2004’s ‘End of Silence’, and the verdict is not good.
I do really like this band, and I wanted to give this a fair chance, but it’s been on my playlist for well over a year now (maybe even two), and it’s just not working! I’m struggling to really get into it. The musicianship is fantastic, the production is great, everything is as it should be. Except… well, the songs are pretty boring.
Of the nine tracks, there’s only two that I like, or that I can even recall for that matter, and that’s ‘Short-Time News’ and ‘You Don’t Know Me’. Both have some nice melodies and vocal lines, but overall, are still pretty passable. I don’t know what I’m missing. It just feels like everything else plods along at the same pace, with nothing overly interesting happening. Just a horrible, sludgy mess of some poorly executed prog metal ideas.
Sorry Dreamscape. Think I’m going to skip this one and listen to ‘Revoiced’.
2010’s ‘Static Impulse’ is the second solo album by Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie (not counting his previous Mullmuzzler albums, which are often considered a solo project). Whatever foundations LaBrie laid down on his first album are well and firmly smashed to pieces with this, as he now goes in a much darker and heavier direction than before, giving us one of the most intense Dream Theater side-projects out there.
Of course, this is also in part thanks to the musicians he has surrounded himself with. Once again teaming with guitarist Marco Sfogli and long-running keyboard buddy Matt Guillory, LaBrie already has a good chemistry with these guys. But it’s newcomer Peter Wildoer on the drums, with his death metal background, that ups the ante with the heaviness, incorporating a large amount of growling vocals.
But the amazing thing is that it fits perfectly with LaBrie’s clean vocals.
Although this album fits comfortably in the progressive metal genre, the songs mostly follow a standard song structure. But the writing is solid and the performances are incredibly tight and precise. There’s an awesome synergy between everyone here, and it shows. And while LaBrie’s aging voice might struggle on stage, on record, it’s an absolute joy to listen to.
With highlights including ‘One More Time’, ‘Mislead’, ‘Jekyll or Hyde’, ‘Coming Home’, ‘I Need You’, ‘Euphoric’ and ‘Over the Edge’, this is more than just another solo outing, this is a fantastic album, by a very legit band, and while there’s no doubting that Dream Theater will always be LaBrie’s “home”, I really hope to hear more from this line-up of musicians.
‘The Spectre Within’, released in 1985, is the second album of American progressive metal pioneers Fates Warning. One of my favourite bands for a long time, I must admit to struggling with their earlier material. Their first album, ‘Night On Bröcken’ was mostly forgettable in my opinion, and other than one or two moments, I found it difficult to really pick out any major highlights. Sadly, ‘Spectre…’ is no different.
It’s not that I don’t like it, but damn, this has been on my playlist for over a year, and I still feel like I’m not overly familiar with it. Perhaps I’m just busier than I think I am, but I just zone out whenever I play this. And it’s a shame because it’s not a terrible album.
Further laying the foundations of progressive metal, the performances on this record are of a high standard. With some tight guitar playing and fantastic displays of vocal prowess by singer John Arch, but sadly, there’s only really two songs that I like, and that’s ‘Without a Trace’, and ‘Apparition’. The rest just sounds like they could be Iron Maiden b-sides.
And it’s a shame. Because I genuinely love this band, but then I guess not every album is perfect! I’d like to stress that I don’t think this album is awful by any stretch, but I would much, much rather listen to ‘Parallels’, ‘Inside Out’, ‘Disconnected’, or one of my all-time favourite albums, ‘A Pleasant Shade of Gray’. So that’s what I’ll do.
I loved ‘Load’. I loved ‘Reload’. I didn’t mind when they did a covers album, or played with an orchestra. And I was one of the 17 people (including the band themselves… maybe) who actually liked ‘St. Anger’. But with ‘Lulu’, Metallica (and Lou Reed, for that matter), have finally achieved their goal of making one of, if not THE, absolute worst album in music history.
The collaborative project between musical giants Metallica and Lou Reed, ‘Lulu’ is a 2011 concept double-album, and while the project initially sparked people’s interest, the results very quickly became the subject of universal criticism.
And rightfully so.
I always give every album a fair number of listens, even ones I don’t enjoy, hoping that something might just click or pique my interest after multiple listens. I listened to ‘Lulu’ three times, and it’s been the three most tedious experiences I’ve had to endure. The songs are boring, the lyrics are awful, and the mash-up between Metallica’s heavy metal and Lou Reed’s weird style of talk-singing, or sing-talking, just don’t work.
Musically, the album COULD have been okay. If James Hetfield was singing and this was another Metallica foray into alternative or art rock, it might have been listenable. But it’s not. There’s lyrical gems like “I would cut my legs and tits off when I think of Boris Karloff”, and a song where Reed spends eight minutes asking “why do you cheat on me”, and the whole time I hearing this, I’m picturing Lars Ulrich at some art gallery, trying to be all deep and introspective. But in reality, this is all an absolute pile of nonsense.
Nothing can redeem this album, and the only reason I have to keep it in my collection is because it’s Metallica, and I have some rubbish OCD collector thing going on, that makes me need to keep it. Just don’t even bother.
‘The Final Experiment’ is the debut album by legendary progressive metal outfit, Ayreon, the band pseudonym of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Arjen Anthony Lucassen. I use the term “legendary” because Ayreon albums have not only gone on to garner huge fan adulation and respect, but have become known for utilizing a wealth of musicians from various genres, thus displaying a high standard of quality and musicianship.
However, that’s now. Back in 1995, Lucassen was pretty much unknown, and was just starting to put this little project together. Not being able to pick from an unlimited pallet of musicians like he is today, almost everyone on this album is also relatively unknown, and are mostly friends from Lucassen’s homeland, the Netherlands.
And so with that said, this album is nothing more than laying the foundations of what’s to come. The huge medieval science fiction concept is in place, and it’s clear the musical direction is in the vein of traditional progressive metal, though with an underlying folk influence. However, for all the pomp and pageantry, I do find this album to be pretty forgettable. There’s only a handful of songs I’d really consider coming back to, such as ‘Eyes of Time’, ‘Sail Away to Avalon’ and ‘Ye Courtyard Minstrel Boy’, which are all remarkable, but otherwise, I would much rather listen to any of Ayreon’s later releases.
But for what it’s worth, this is still an album worth owning, if nothing more, than because it’s the start of a huge rock opera that will go on to span many albums over many years. But much, much better things are on the horizon for this Dutch project.
Released in 1998, ‘Fly Eyes’ is the third studio album by German rockers H-Blockx. It follows their previous two outings, which were solid rap-rock albums revelling in the early 90’s sound and style. However, ‘Fly…’ sees less emphasis on the rapping, and leans more stylistically in the vein of late 90’s MTV-inspired radio-friendly hard rock. (That was a mouthful!)
It’s not all bad though, I mean, yeah, it’s different than the aggressive and kind of quirky sound that H-Blockx had on their previous releases, but at the same time it still sounds like the same band. They play well together, and are good at writing catchy, memorable rock anthems, with highlights being ‘Fly’, ‘Stars’, ‘Even Goes’, ‘Liquid Sunlight’ and ‘Without You’.
Chuck in a few excellent guitar solos, confident vocals and a solid production, and you’re left with a fine slab of 90’s rock. There’s really not much else to say about this one. It’ll never be my favourite H-Blockx album, but it’s good enough to come back to once in a while.
Based off of the strength of albums like ‘Nightfall in Middle Earth’, ‘A Night At the Opera’ and ‘A Twist in the Myth’, I’d long-considered Blind Guardian one of my favourite bands. However, when delving into their back-catalogue, I found their earlier albums (and it seems, their more popular amongst fans), to be fairly disappointing. I didn’t mind the speed metal influence over their music, it’s just that all the albums seemed a bit… repetitive?
With each album though, more and more non-metal influences crept in. Orchestral arrangements, folk passages, more emphasis on vocal harmonies, more story-telling, the band were becoming more and more theatrical and “epic” with each release. Which brings us to 1995’s ‘Imaginations From the Other Side’, the album where Blind Guardian really start to become the band I fell in love with.
Taking things into more progressive metal territory, the band really start to hit their stride here. Songs like ‘Mordred’s Song’, ‘Bright Eyes’, ‘I’m Alive’ and the title track all show a band who have broken out of their speed metal shell to add new flourishes to their music, and epic ballad ‘A Past and Future Secret’ demonstrates the bands orchestral arranging, with beautiful layers of music all intertwining to really bring the world of myths and legends to life.
As you can see by my rating however, while I do like this album, I don’t quite regard it as highly as others. Some people consider this one of the best power metal albums out there. I think of it as the album where Blind Guardian really start to break out of the power metal trappings and evolve into something a lot more. No doubt, ‘Imaginations…’ is a really good album, but the best is yet to come.
By 2009, it’d been five years since Megadeth’s “return”, after Dave Mustaine had split the band up and retired following a well-documented injury. Upon their comeback, they unleashed two albums, 2004’s ‘The System Has Failed’ and 2007’s ‘United Abominations’. Both albums were a sure throwback to the bands earlier thrash days, with intense guitar riffs, lyrics full of distain and hatred, spewed out by a voice oozing of political unrest. This was the Megadeth of old!
However, with 2009’s ‘Endgame’, it just feels a tad repetitive already. Like the band are on autopilot and just repeating the previous two albums.
That’s not to say ‘Endgame’ is bad. It’s got its moments. It’s got all the ingredients of classic Megadeth. The playing is insanely fast, and the riffs are as intricate and intense as they were in the ‘Rust in Peace’ days. But after having this on my playlist for what feels like forever, I’m just struggling to really feel like I’d ever come back to any of these songs by choice.
And that may seem harsher than I intend it to, because there are some decent tracks on here, they just don’t, in my opinion, hold up as well to Megadeth’s previous output. ’44 Minutes’, ‘Head Crusher’ and ‘The Hardest Part of Letting Go… Sealed With a Kiss’ are all good tracks, and are worth a listen or two, but personally, I’d rather listen to anything from ‘Cryptic Writings’, ‘Youthanasia’, ‘Rust in Peace’ or even, *gulp*… ‘Risk’.
After a three-album streak of absolutely stellar releases (‘Tyranny’, ‘Legacy’, and ‘Room V’), Shadow Gallery looked to have found their niche and really hit their stride, consistently putting out fantastic albums with their own recognisable sound. Tragically, this came to halt in 2008, with the passing of vocalist Mike Baker.
Losing any band members must be hard, especially once the grieving is done, and it’s time to pick up the pieces. Do you start anew? Plod along with previously written material? And is there guilt in getting someone new to record those parts? Barely a year after Baker’s passing, Shadow Gallery were back, recruiting a new vocalist and releasing ‘Digital Ghosts’ upon us all. Sadly, it’s quite noticeable that a huge part of the band is missing.
That’s not to say this is a bad album, but I’ve really, really struggled with this one. The musicianship is excellent as always, but there’s just a huge absence of something. Call it magic? Heart? Soul? I don’t know what it is, but the song-writing just doesn’t quite seem as inspired as before. Maybe the band were just going through the motions to finish the album and move on?
With that said, there’s still a few tracks worth checking out. Songs like ‘Venom’, ‘Gold Dust’ and ‘Pain’ are all decent enough, and are worthy of the Shadow Gallery name, and there’s some good, solid progressive metal on offer here if you can be patient enough, but overall, this is far, far from the best work this band is capable of, and I think I’d much rather just listen to one of their previous albums.
Released in 1995, ‘Dead Winter Dead’ saw a big shift in sound and style for Savatage, as well as a number of line-up changes that gave us what is arguably one of their strongest and most creative rosters, and would lead to the band forming (or joining) the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a project that would very much parallel Savatage, but on a much, much bigger and commercially successful scale.
While Savatage had always dabbled in classical, theatrical and progressive elements within their music, 1994’s ‘Handful of Rain’ had a sound more grounded in standard hard rock. However, with ‘Dead…’, the band once more tread into rock opera territory, with a big emphasis on orchestrations and “epic” compositions, and this is none-more evident than on huge crossover hit single ‘Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)’, a massive Christmas orchestral rock anthem, which also featured on ‘Christmas Eve and Other Stories’ by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Unfortunately, I do find some of the songs are pretty hit-or-miss, with a number of rather forgettable fillers popping up, but there are also a number of ‘Tage classics, such as ‘One Child’, ‘I Am’, ‘Doesn’t Matter Anyway’, ‘Mozart and Madness’, the aforementioned ‘Christmas Eve’, and the title track itself. But most importantly with this album, is that this version of Savatage, with six full-time members, would develop the style they’ve adapted here with their next two releases, which would, in my opinion, be their absolute masterpieces.
With their previous two albums steering further and further into symphonic territory, 2005’s ‘The Black Halo’ sees Kamelot finally hit a home-run, with a concept album that shows a band who have mastered the more orchestral elements of their music, therefore completing an excellent trilogy of albums that display the perfect balance of power, progressive and symphonic metal.
Kamelot had been dabbling with symphonic and operatic influences since 1998’s ‘Siege Perilous’, and the incredible impact this would have on their song-writing would see such elements rise in prominence with each subsequent release. Giving their music rich, lavish and vibrant textures, yet staying true to their metal background, we’re taken on an epic and grandiose adventure as ‘The Black Halo’ concludes the bands interpretation of the story of Faust, a story which began on their previous album, 2003’s ‘Epica’.
While the members of Kamelot have never really been known for virtuoso instrumental performances, their musical ability here is undeniable. Everyone absolutely nails their roles, given moments to shine, yet knowing when to hold back and allow the strength of the writing to carry the song. The chemistry between them is palpable, with particular praise to guitarist Thomas Youngblood and keyboardist Michael Rodenberg. And vocalist Roy Khan is an absolute beast, no matter what he does.
The production on this album is incredible, Everything sounds so clear, perfectly balanced in the mix, from heaviness with a punch, to the orchestral warmth and ambience, and with highlights including ‘The Haunting (Somewhere in Time)’, ‘March of Mephisto’, ‘Moonlight’, ‘When the Lights Go Down’, the eerily beautiful ‘Abandoned’ and the title track itself, ‘The Black Halo’ is an absolute masterpiece, and an unforgettable musical experience.