In the Night

The following is a review I posted on iTunes about one of my favorite metal albums.

Meta-Metal

For those who aren't aware, Dream Evil is the band of Mr. Fredrik Nordstrom, Swedish metal producer and one of the main guys behind the famed "Gothenburg sound" of metal. This is a guy that knows his metal, and Dream Evil is some of the finest new metal out there. If you don't read the rest of this review, use the time you saved to buy this album!

In the Night is the band's fifth release, in which they ply their craft of affectionately parodying power metal. DE is fully aware of how formulaic, cheesy, and self-promoting the genre can be, and they aren't afraid to poke some fun at it. This manifests through just-a-little-over-the-top lyrics like "I am immortal/I rule the slaughter" on the first track, "We will unite/Hail metal!/We will fight!/[BOOMING GUITAR RIFFAGE]" on the title track, or pretty much the entirety of "Bang Your Head". "The Ballad" gets bonus points for taking the classic metal song format to side-splittingly hilarious lengths. Make no mistake, Dream Evil isn't just joking around, and the lyrics are much more likely to delight than anger power metal fans. 

Musically, the band sounds top-notch. With the band led by one of the top metal producers in the business, this isn't too surprising. The booming guitars are mixed a little loud, but in power metal is this something to complain about? Every song has ultra-heavy, melodic guitar work, excellent solos, head-banging drumming, and fine vocals by Niklas Isfeldt/Nick Night. Whether you have lengthy debates over which Helloween album is best or you got into power metal via DragonForce and think they're the coolest thing ever, whatever kind of metalhead you are (or even if you aren't), this album is highly recommended.

My Top 10 Eclectic Metal Bands

It's true that lots of the music I listen to, while awesome, and fulfilling, isn't terribly creative. Don't get me wrong, I love listening to epic metal about swords and sorcery, but occasionally I yearn for something a little different. Fortunately, in my musical travels I've found some fascinating metal bands that aren't afraid to do things differently. And now I share them with you: the ten most eclectic metal bands in my library and what they have to bring to the genre.

10. Ayreon - Science fiction rock opera

I've already done a post on these guys. Dutch multi-instrumentalist/composer/genius Arjen Anthony Lucassen could have simply formed an awesome progressive metal band, but he was far too megalomaniacal for that. Instead he started the project Ayreon. Armed with some of the best progressive and metal vocalists and musicians out there, he set out to tell the story of an ancient race of fish-people (the Forevers) that covered their world in machines and lost their emotions in the process. With their own future looking bleak, they seeded a passing comet with engineered DNA and guided it towards the Earth, where it wiped out the dinosaurs and paved the way for human life. The Forevers sought to live vicariously through the humans and, by learning from them, rediscover emotions. Soon human civilization began repeating the Forevers' mistakes and tries to warn past humans about their doom through a process called "time telepathy". Their message is received in a dream by the blind 6th-century minstrel, Ayreon, who is cursed to become unable to communicate his message by a jealous Merlin. The scientists also try to warn an aging hippie via time telepathy, but of course he is declared insane. Ultimately humanity wipes itself out in the year 2084. The last human left alive is a colonist left alone on Mars, who uses a machine called the Dream Sequencer to relive the history of his past lives. He eventually tries to go back to the very first soul created, the Universal Migrator, which travels through the universe spreading life to other planets. The Dream Sequencer eventually runs down and fails, killing the colonist, who becomes the new Migrator. Got all that?

This epic tale is told in full rock opera style, supplemented with 70s-era synthesizers for that "space" feel. Ayreon is truly larger than life in every respect.

9. Canvas Solaris - Ph.D.-level riffs (and song titles)

Canvas Solaris is definitely a band for the brainy. They play technically complex instrumental metal that reminds me of a lengthy process of introspection, decision, and discovery. Musically, it's an odyssey from quiet synthesizers to schizophrenic riffage that can be challenging to keep up with. Their songs definitely don't all sound the same--different parts of the same songs don't even sound similar. And, of course, even brainier than their music is their song titles. Perhaps in absence of lyrics to write, the band comes up with gems like "Reticular Consciousness", "Syzygial Epiphany", "Adaptive Optics", and the classic "Dark Matter, Accretion Disk, And Interacting Binary Neutron Star In A Self-Reproducing Inflationary Universe". One has to wonder how much they care about becoming a hit if their song titles are too long to remember, much less rave about. They're pretty awesome.

8. The Black Mages - Final Fantasy

DragonForce has been called "video game metal" for their awesometastic lyrics and electronic effects, but their have nothing on these guys. The band was started by their keyboardist, Nobuo Uematsu. You know, the guy who composes the music for Final Fantasy. The band is instrumental  and plays metal arrangements of classic tunes from classic video games. Also a truly epic rendition of Sephiroth's theme from Final Fantasy VII, One-Winged Angel, for the Final Fantasy movie. Sadly they disbanded earlier this year, but you should definitely check out their fascinating and nerdy music.




7. Rhapsody of Fire - Dungeons and Dragons, a full orchestra, and Christopher Lee

Wait a second, didn't I originally contrast all this eclectic metal with stuff about swords and sorcery? And isn't that exactly what Rhapsody of Fire sings about? Yes, it's true. But unlike other (perfectly good) power metal bands that just play metal and sing about fantasy, Rhapsody of Fire takes the two to their logical conclusion and fuses them perfectly. Perhaps the only band that would be more at home in the tales it weaves is Blind Guardian. RoF takes power metal's virtuosity and adds full orchestral arrangements, truly operatic singing, and epic choirs singing in Latin. They use this bombastic style to tell Dragonlance-ready stories that span multiple albums in complexity. Oh, and they routinely bring Sir Christopher Lee on board to narrate (and occasionally sing).

6. Cynic - Jazz

Cynic is technical metal like Canvas Solaris, but they have vocals--namely a mix of death growls and auto-tuned robots. They also incorporate elements of jazz into their rambling songs. Probably one of the most brilliant bands I've heard. They have released one album in 1993 and another in 2008, and both have been hailed as some of the best progressive metal has to offer. I don't have much more to say, except check them out.






5. Apocalyptica - Cellos

You may have heard of Apocalyptica as that band that plays Metallica covers on the cello. That was how they got their start, along with covering  some other classic metal songs. Then they got a drummer and became a pretty awesome metal band in their own right. There's just something about a cello run through an amp that no guitar can match. Most of their songs are instrumental, but they regularly bring in guest vocalists to sing with them. Old or new, they're one of the most innovative acts in metal.

4. Pain of Salvation - Everything and the kitchen sink

Swedish prog metal band Pain of Salvation is pretty unique in that they truly have no distinctive "sound". All the other bands on this list have a certain style that their work falls under, but Pain of Salvation truly goes all over the map. Their last three albums have been a largely ambient/electronic concept album on the existence of God with all Latin song titles, a reflection on the human condition in an eccentric style bordering on rap metal, and a jam-filled retro-rock album that wouldn't have been out of place in the 70s. The perfect band for those tired of the ordinary.

3. Attack Attack! - Auto tune and electronica

Okay, maybe Attack Attack! isn't that creative. They are, however, hilarious. Where else will you find head-banging screamo metal and electronic dance pop in the same song? Your reaction to that video should be horror followed by stunned disbelief followed by uproarious laughter. (Especially in the last 50 seconds)



2. Unexpect - Insanity

I consider Unexpect the musical definition of insanity: the aural representation of what losing your mind must be like. Their music shifts between just about every imaginable style, tempo, key, and mood. The band members all go by XBox Live-like pseudonyms like Syriak, ChaotH, and Leïlindel and write lyrics like "Perpendicular euphoria/Burst! Feverish coloured bubbles!!!/Blotch this predictable boring mindscape". That stanza pretty much sums them up. This band is completely bonkers. Listen at your own peril.




1. van Canto - A cappella

What could be more eclectic than a metal band with no guitars, you ask? A metal band with no instruments--an a cappella hero metal band!! To be fair, they do have a real drummer--but only because no one auditioning could imitate double bass drumming without passing out. (I think they should have just gotten two "drummers" to trade off) They have the drummer and five vocalists--two to actually sing the lyrics, and three more to imitate the guitars and bass with gratuitous amounts of "rakkatakka" and "dundundundundun". They pass the voices through amps to better imitate the real instruments; the solos on their newest album sound indistinguishable from a real guitar. It's pretty impressive. Don't just take my word for it; listening is believing.

The Days of Grays

It's quite rare for me to find an album that not only defies description, but just laughs at all attempts to categorize it. The Days of Grays, by Finnish metal band Sonata Arctica, is such an album.

Sonata Arctica has evolved considerably over their career. They started off playing classic-style power metal similar to genre pioneer Stratovarius, albeit with lyrics that dealt with personal emotions and stories as much as  fantasy. Around their 2004 album Reckoning Night they began adopting a more progressive metal style with more complicated, moodier songs and complex lyrical themes. The Days of Grays combines their progressive and power metal styles, along with more orchestral elements than previous albums. The result is pretty much everything I love about European metal on one CD.

This album is one of a few in my library I have listed as "Symphonic/Progressive/Power Metal". A quick listen will reveal that it deserves all of those genres; the songs are diverse, sprawling compositions that combine crunching guitars and a (simulated) orchestra.. If you listen to this album expecting a straight-up metal record, you will be disappointed. In fact, if you're expecting just about anything beforehand, you probably won't enjoy it as much. It's hard to make general statements about such a diverse album, so let's get to the tracks.

After a completely orchestral intro that slowly builds layers upon layers of piano and strings (Everything Fades to Gray), the full band bursts onto the scene with the epic Deathaura, which is basically the whole album in miniature. In eight minutes we get a multi-sectioned odyssey containing some of the band's hardest rocking backed by the orchestra with multiple quiet interludes. The Last Amazing Grays is somewhat more straightforward. The guitar takes more of a textural backseat to the piano and organ, but comes into its own during a low-register solo which is made all the more epic by the symphonic backing.

Did I mention vocalist Tony Kakko is fantastic in all of these songs? He effortlessly switches between the usual operatic vocals and a more emotional style that befits the more symphonic parts of the album. Basically, he's awesome.

Flag In the Ground is one of the more straight-up power metal songs on the album (with the guitar and keyboard roles approximately reversed from the last song) going back to the band's earlier days, and it is quite awesome. It's also one of the very few SA songs with a happy ending. Zeroes has a more plodding pace (slow enough to headbang to)  and rocks even harder.

The Dead Skin is another short epic, this time compressed to just over six minutes. The lyrics are a little on the emo side, but musically it's beautiful, beginning with a beautiful, swirling piano melody that continues through much of the song. Did I mention the solo and post-solo section is some of the best, most metallic metal I have ever heard? Well, it is. Definitely one of the more interesting (and awesome) parts of the album.

And then...then we have Juliet. Possibly one of my five favorite songs ever. SA takes the climax of Shakespeare's most famous work and gives it the epic treatment. The ending is one of the most intense and beautiful things I have ever heard. I can't possibly do it justice with anything I say, so just listen to it.

These songs are just the highlights that I seem to enjoy more every time I listen to them, but the rest of the album isn't bad by any means (just forgettable by comparison, to me). I cannot recommend this album highly enough to anyone curious about what this "European metal" I enjoy is about.

The stuff kids listen to these days...

Last night Middlebrook Hall Council put on a pretty awesome Halloween dance for which I was the DJ. This was probably a good choice, given that the only music I dance to is folky Contra music so I was able to completely concentrate on my job. From my night in UDS I made some observations about the grim state of most peoples' music listening tastes:

• Music from this year or last year is cool. Anything older than this, except for a few "classic" songs that have been vetted by going multi-platinum, is terrible. Also anything that isn't a single. (Except maybe the aforementioned "classics")
• All popular music has the exact same beat. This beat has been decided upon by the Crazy Dance Party Cabal, which determined the optimal speed people like to dance at and the maximal amount of bass they can tolerate and set it as the gold standard of beats.
• Popular songs consist of this beat with singing and some melodic elements thrown on top so they don't all sound the same.
• Rap songs consist of this beat, maybe with a few other beats, along with rhythmically spoken vocals and slight melodic elements/sound effects.
• If the music for a song can't be generated in half an hour by a guy working in Garage Band on a MacBook, forget it. It's too complicated. Heaven forbid that your song incorporates real instruments!
• Most dance pop songs are about dancing to dance pop. If this is too self-referential to you, you have no taste.
• If a pop song isn't about dancing, most likely it's about emotional love/relationships/a past, present, or future significant other. We're not trying to break peoples' brains or anything.
• Teach Me How to Dougie is the most popular song in the world right now, despite not actually teaching the listener how to dougie.

If you desire to break free from the American musical mainstream, this blog is the place for you! (Or a place; i don't claim to know about or enjoy every alternative)

Dream Theater Is Dead.

(Link)

My Top 5 in Music

Over the years, I've been seeing a shift in focus in my musical interests from bands to individual performers. (Not just solo artists. I've been taking an interest in the people behind the bands and have been richly rewarded by following their work, which can often be quite diverse. So, I've decided to compile a list of my top 5 people in music. Here we go!

5. Mikael Åkerfeldt

Vocalist/guitarist of the progressive death metal band Opeth. Somewhat surprisingly, he's also into softer, acoustic music, and hopes to release a singer-songwriter album. Opeth is a combination of these two sounds, with songs averaging eight minutes that shift seamlessly from gentle strumming and quiet singing to blast beats and death grunts. Åkerfeldt joined Opeth in 1990, when he was 16; soon all the other members left and he's led the band and done most of the songwriting ever since. More than any other band except maybe Explosions in the Sky, Opeth has mastered the loud-soft dynamic and each song is an odyssey through the diverse elements that make up the band's sound. The lyrics, far from the gore most people associate with death metal, are beautiful, melancholy poetry. He's also appeared in an Ayreon album, played with Dream Theater, and appeared in several Porcupine Tree albums (see #1).

4. Jørn Lande

Jørn is a Norwegian hard rock/metal singer best known for singing for the German power metal band Masterplan, as well as his numerous guest appearances. He's released quite a few solo albums and appeared in Avantasia and Ayreon. I first heard him on The Scarecrow by Avantasia (previously reviewed), and he has played increasing roles in the other two albums of the Wicked Trilogy. Rather than attempting to describe how awesome his voice is, I'll just point you to this video.

3. Fredrik Nordström

If there is any man who deserves to have his picture in the dictionary definition of "metal", it is Fredrik Nordström. He's been at the forefront of the booming Swedish metal scene since the early 90s; many of the country's most crucial metal alums were recorded and produced in his own Studio Fredman. Just look at his track record. He was the producer of the "Gothenburg sound" that defined the melodic death metal genre; I never get tired of hearing the distinctive sound of his albums. Basically any metal he touches turns to gold. Apparently producing dozens of albums still isn't metal enough for him, so he also formed his own power metal band, Dream Evil, which is simultaneously an affectionate parody and shining example of the genre.

2. Tobias Sammet

Vocalist for German power metal band Edguy, as well as creator of the "metal opera" side project Avantasia. Edguy is one of the more creative power metal bands out there, especially in recent years as their subject matter has been getting wackier and they've been shifting to more of a hard rock style. But he really shines in Avantasia, a side project combining some of the best metal talent into awesomeness. Unlike Arjen Anthony Lucassen in Ayreon he sings lead vocals for most of the songs, but has also incorporated vocalists like Jørn Lande, Alice Cooper, Roy Khan (Kamelot), Klaus Meine (Scorpions), Michael Kiske (Helloween), John Oliva (Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Tim "Ripper" Owens (Yngwie Malmsteen, Judas Priest, Iced Earth), and Bob Catley (Magnum). The songs vary from fast-paced power metal to his newer hard rock style to ballads, but pretty much everything is amazing. The first two albums are more concept albums, telling a fantasy story of the land of Avantasia, and the latest three, the Wicked Trilogy, are more psychological; they're absolutely brilliant and all the different artists come together into a glorious whole. Plus, as looking at any pictures of him will indicate, he has a truly bizarre sense of humor.

1. Steven Wilson

Vocalist/guitarist for British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as playing in a number of side projects. Porcupine Tree is one of the most brilliant prog rock bands I've ever heard of. It started as a fictitious legendary prog band from the 70s, essentially a solo project for Steven Wilson to release delightfully weird music, but has become a serious and innovative band since. They started off as more of an ambient, space rock band, went through an acoustic pop phase, and have recently begun becoming more progressive metal. Some of the brainiest and best music you'll ever hear. However, even a band as interesting as Porcupine Tree isn't enough of an outlet for Steven Wilson's genius, so he has quite a few side projects: No-Man (ambient music combined with pop), I.E.M. (Incredible Expanding Mindf***, playing krautrock/ambient music), Bass Communion (electronic/drone), and Blackfield (alternative rock). He's also released a solo album because all of this apparently still isn't creative enough for him. Besides all of this work, he collaborated with Opeth on three of their albums, playing keyboard and guitar as well as singing and producing. Also, he performs barefoot.

Seven Seals

Primal Fear is a band that almost wasn't. They were formed by German vocalist Ralf Scheepers after he narrowly missed being the replacement for Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford. He looks just like Halford and sounds like his actual replacement Tim 'Ripper' Owens, so I'm not sure what was wrong with him. Anyway, it's a good thing he didn't make it in, because then he never would have formed Primal Fear and made awesome albums like Seven Seals!

Seven Seals is pretty much the quintessential power metal album. It has booming dual-guitar melodies, keyboard backing for an 'epic' touch (see my last post), double bass drumming, high-pitched clean vocals about legendary heroes and fantastical battles between demons and angels. Laugh if you want, but I enjoy this album more every time I listen to it.

The album has a mix of high-octane powerhouse songs like the bombastic "Demons and Angels", "Rollercoaster" (which is almost impossible not to head-bang to), and "Evil Spell", which becomes one of the most furious songs on the album after a quieter intro. "Carniwar" is slower, but no less heavy. The album is interesting in that it has three epic, 7+-minute songs "Diabolus" has a relatively plodding tempo, but has a strong symphonic backing and still manages a fast guitar solo. "All For One" and "Question of Honour" are more typical power metal songs, but both have extended solos in the middle which are quite awesome. "In Memory" is the obligatory power ballad, and "Seven Seals" combines the slower pace of a ballad with the intensity of their faster songs.

Overall, this album really has no weak songs and has become one of my favorite power metal albums of all time after many listens. It certainly avoids the criticism leveled at bands like DragonForce that all their songs sound the same; Seven Seals has an excellent mix of songs. Power metal has always been a genre less focused on innovation than on pursuit of an ideal, and I think Seven Seals comes quite close indeed. Definitely worth a listen for any metal/hard rock fan.