Over by Guilt Machine

The new album by Guilt Machine is absolutely brilliant.

Below is a video of one of the songs from the album.

For Memorial Day and our Military

Whether you agree with the war in Iraq or not I think it is important to acknowledge the soldiers themselves. These are men who are willing to give up everything to protect us. In that spirit, here is a really cool video story by Celestial Navigations especially for Memorial Day.

Ayreon - Through the Wormhole

Here is a video accompanying the song "Through the Wormhole" from the album "The Universal Migrator - Part 2" by Ayreon. Ayreon is a brilliant project created by musical genius Arjen Lucassen. He creates rock operas, plays most of the instruments, gets great vocalists and records a masterpiece.

Pagan's Mind - Aegan Shores

Here is a great video from the band Pagan's Mind. The song is from the album Celestial Entrance (show on the left). This was the first album I bought by PM and I instantly fell in love with it. In fact I even reviewed it back in 2003: Album Review - Celestial Entrance by Pagan's Mind. It's one of those albums that I never tire of. I was close to wearing out the CD, but then I transfered it to my iPod and now I'm close to wearing out the electrons :) So now, quit reading, play the video and enjoy!

Epica - Never Enough

Here is a video of the song "Never Enough" by Epica. The song is from the Divine Conspiracy album which I reviewed last week and which is pictured on the left.

Review: The Divine Conspiracy by Epica

I got three CDs from my awesome daughter for my birthday and although I intended to listen to them all I've gotten stuck on the first one because it is so good! The Divine Conspiracy by Epica.

I'm not sure whether to say this is a metal album that uses an orchestra or that it is an orchestral album that uses a metal band. The orchestra and keyboards that sound like an orchestra are a major part of this album and all of the musical themes are either carried by the orchestra (and I include the keyboards in that) or the vocals.

I was half way through my first listen of the CD when I realized there hadn't been a single guitar solo, and that's how it continued. I've never heard a metal album that didn't have a single guitar solo, but strangely enough the album does not suffer because of it. The way the orchestra, operatic chorus, solo vocals and metal band are blended together is masterful. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of guitar and plenty of metal band in the album. Any mere mortal who isn't into metal would probably find the album way too loud and blasting for their tastes but the guitar is rhythm guitar not lead guitar.

Now to the music itself: I would categorize it as operatic orchestral metal. The "metal" can get very metal at times with grunt vocals, pounding rhythms and amazing speed. The "orchestral" can get very orchestral too, with entire sections of the album containing no band. And the "operatic" can get ... you guessed it ... very operatic with beautiful harmonies and solos.

The vocals of Simone Simons are absolutely beautiful. This girl has an incredible voice.

So, get the album and enjoy!

12 April 2008 - I did hear one guitar solo! Thought I'd better put that in :)

Album Review: God's Equation by Pagan's Mind

The latest album by Norwegian band Pagan's Mind is without doubt their best so far. Once again their technical expertise and song writing skills have expanded and the result is a superb musical extravaganza!

One of the things I really like about this band is that they can play a quiet piece and then jump into something that rips your head off :). The percussion is superb with complex rhythms and speeds covering the entire spectrum.

"Hallo Spaceboy" is a cover of a David Bowie song and is a great version of this classic. At several places in the song vocalist Nils Rue actually sounds like a metal version of Bowie.

You can here several songs by the band on their MySpace site: Pagan's Mind on MySpace

You can buy the album here: God's Equation by Pagan's Mind

"Paradise Lost" by Symphony X

Symphony X fans have waited five long years for a follow up to the brilliant 2002 release "The Odyssey". It was difficult to predict what the band would do next. They'd already released an excellent concept album, "V: The New Mythology Suite" and numerous other great progressive metal albums so what was in store for us?

Well, they have done it again: "Paradise Lost" is a masterpiece.

The adjectives that came to mind when I first heard the album were "tight", "confident" and "complex".

"Tight" because the musicianship is superb, not one note out of place, not one beat off. The old expression "well oiled machine" suggests itself but in this case the machine is a Ferrari.

"Confident" because the musicianship is such that you just know these guys are at the top of their form. They are so good they don't have to think about it. They just play and the fact that they are sure of themselves and what they are doing comes across as confidence.

"Complex" because the rhythms are intricate, the music is intricate, the emotional content is varied and the interplay of music, rhythm and emotion is phenomenal.

I've listened to the album a few times now and there are still new things I'm discovering. I look forward to listening again and again.

So I give this album a 5 out of 5 and I highly recommend it. You can get it here: Symphony X: Paradise Lost

Super Colossal by Joe Satriani

I know, I'm late in getting this album. Very, very late. And I have no good excuse. So I'll try to make up for it by being "better late than never".

Joe Satriani has created another masterpiece in his latest studio album "Super Colossal". It came out last year and I only just got it. Thanks to my wonderful daughter! (I think we should have Father's Day several times a year!) I'm in the middle of listening to it and it is the usual consistently brilliant music that Joe turns out year after year after year. In fact he's about to release a 20th Anniversary Remastered and Repackaged "Surfing with the Alien". So add August 7th to your calendars!

Another great album from Therion

The Swedish Orchestral Metal band Therion has produced yet another brilliant album, Gothic Kabbalah. The album is a slightly different style to the last, with not as much orchestra or operatic vocals, but as musical as ever and a refreshing evolution.

The band's lyrics follow mythical themes and so you don't hear the same-old-same-old, love-betrayal-oh baby stuff that you hear from a hundred thousand mainstream bands.

I highly recommend Gothic Kabbalah by Therion.

Kamelot

They describe themselves as "melodic power metal", I'd be more inclined to say "neo-classical progressive metal", but genres and labels are rarely accurate when applied to music. Anyway, the bottom line is that Kamelot are an excellent, high quality metal band who include lots of orchestration and keyboards in their work.

Every album since "The Fourth Legacy" in 2000 has been brilliant, with their latest effort "Epica" being the brilliantest of all. If you like great melodic metal and album covers featuring beautiful girls then Kamelot are the band for you.

Kamelot - Official Website

Album Review - Celestial Entrance by Pagan's Mind

The review of Celestial Entrance by Pagan's Mind on ProgressiveWorld.Net caught my interest because the reviewer compared them to Dream Theater and emphasized the melody in their music. On first listening I didn't agree. The album seemed rich in drumming and rythmic metal guitar but lacking in melody. However, after playing it on a different CD player (I've got to get rid of that old portable) I saw (heard?) the light. It took me three careful listens before I was hooked but I can now say this is a great album. And that's often the way it is for me, I'll think an album is okay or less than okay on first listen but it will gradually grow on me and end up being a favorite.

Pagan's Mind is a band from Norway playing high energy, intricate progressive metal. Celestial Entrance is their second album and if they can keep up this quality and energy it sure won't be their last.

About the only thing I'd like them to change in their future albums is their copying of Dream Theater riffs. They don't do it a lot and one of the songs is a tribute to DR, but I'd personnally prefer they stuck to their own music, which can certainly stand on its own.

On the plus side the musicianship is excellent. If they are half this good live then they are well worth seeing. Another thing I liked was the clever use of vocal effects to add drama to the songs.

This is a five star album.