DEMONSPELLS SONGS TO WATCH
LIVE FROM AMERICA EDITION
Written September 27, 2001
Greetings, devoted readers. This is my first time writing Songs To Watch since the redesign of the UM site, which should make it easier to access and respond, and more importantly eliminate the posting delays caused by having to E-mail a copy before it could be posted. The World Trade Center disaster still continues to consume our minds, and has caused me to generate less time in preparing this column as it has placed the importance of music in perspective. The title of this weeks edition may be misleading as I have not attended a concert since the terrorist attack, but instead focuses on an incredible alignment of live albums from three of the best bands in the history of progressive metal. More on that below. And now, the songs
Bruce Dickinson Wicker Man, Real World, No Way Out pt. 2: Ill begin with the recent compilation of solo Bruce efforts, which doesnt come close to collecting all of his nonalbum tracks, many of which are stylistic departures (like the last track) but still successful. This Wicker Man is completely unrelated to the Maiden song, and has an atmosphere similar to that found on Chemical Wedding.
Edguy Golden Dawn, Pharaoh: The End Records has picked up their latest album Mandrake for US release. While the advance single does nothing for me, the former track previewed on the same EP is top-flight power metal from this band that has improved with every album it has released so far. The latter song is a 10-minute track that should keep Avantasia admirers reaching for the skip to button
Anathema Pressure, Alternative 4: Just about every inclusion of this band in my column has mentioned the anticipation surrounding A Fine Day To Exit, which is being hailed as a major progression for the band, and the former opening track by itself could help this leading UK band win many new fans, who should then sample excellent tracks like the extremely haunting title track from the latter album.
Jag Panzer Power Surge, The Wreck Of Edmund Fitzgerald: The band looks back to their early claim to fame Ample Destruction on the latter track, featuring a savage riff and piercing screams from Harry Conklin, who also gives a commanding performance on the latter cover of the popular folk song, a home recording available at the bands official site.
Porcupine Tree Sever, Dark Matter: British progressive rock act cited as a major influence by Opeths Mikael Akerfeldt, and one that has received many rave reviews from critics worldwide. Both of these songs are from Signify, a particularly dark and powerful effort exemplified by the haunting former track. Leader Steven Wilson contributes some stunning guitar solos to the lengthy longer composition.
Satyricon Supersonic Journey, The Scorn Torrent: A bit of a surprise inclusion, as this black metal act made a transition from a more atmospheric sound to a rawer experimental one, yet the latter direction on Rebel Extravaganza has captured my attention more. Both of these songs feature strong arrangements, and the latter has a great riff midway through
Aghora Satya, Frames: Sean Malone is one of those outstanding musicians who brings his talents to everything he participates in, and this tech-metal act he and Sean Reinert joined at the last minute is a prime example. Both of the songs feature dynamic and complex arrangements, particularly the long instrumental sections in the latter song.
Nostradmaus World War III, I Dont Believe: Continuing with the same theme, this rock opera led by classically trained musician Nikolo Kotzev (who contributes a great solo on the former track) has featured some of the best performances in the career of many of its participants. The latter song is indicative of the albums many great arrangements.
Amorphis On Rich And Poor, Levitation: The Finnish band that has caused wildly dissenting opinions among metal circles ever since the release of Elegy in 1996. The former song is one of the more overlooked tracks from that highly innovative album, featuring an addictive main riff and great outro. The energetic latter track from the My Kantele ep is the best of their many interesting nonalbum tracks.
In The Woods Kairos, Yearning The Seeds Of A New Dimension: Reader suggested experimental black metal act. The 12-minute latter song from their debut Heart Of The Ages is definitely an experience, featuring a long atmospheric intro, an arrangement suggesting a BM version of opeth, and some truly disturbing vocals. The shorter former song isnt quite as mind-altering, but still worth reading.
Threshold Sunseeker, Virtual Isolation: British progressive metal act whose first two albums have recently been reissued by Inside Out. The former song from the stupidly titled Psychedelicatessen, available at the bands official site has a great chorus, while the latter song features a more complex arrangement with a great intro and highly emotional vocals from Damian Wilson.
Chroma Key Astronaut Down, Get Back In The Car: The experimental one-man project of former Dream Theater keyman Kevin Moore (think Space Dye Vest as being typical of an entire album.) Both of these tracks from last years You Go Now are an interesting listen, the latter having a disarming atmosphere and the former having an addictive hook. Both available at www.mp3.com
The Flower Kings Serious Dreamers, Slave To Money: Highly acclaimed progressive rock act whose latest album The Rainmaker was released by Inside Out last month. The former is the only song Ive heard from it so far, and it is typical of the bands sound, which features both 70s prog eccentricities and warm guitar-keyboard interplay, especially prominent in the latter song from Space Revolver.
Conception A Million Gods, Carnal Comprehension: Highly innovative Norwegian prog act who disbanded after releasing four albums. Of them, In Your Multitude is the most highly recommended. The stunning former track features a lengthy instrumental section built around an awesome bassline, while the latter features great layered vocals from Kamelots Roy Khan.
Hollenthon Conspirator, To Kingdom Come: Another great reader suggestion from the awesome Opeth forum on this site, this being an innovative symphonic metal act with a unique approach to songwriting. Both of these songs from Vilest Of Worms have incredible arrangements and achieve balance between the orchestral elements and the black metal base. Excerpt from the latter available at the bands official site.
Artension Forces Of Nature, Tall Ships: Progressive metal act featuring a pair of noteworthy talents in vocalist John West, now of Royal Hunt, and keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij. The former song is definitely worth attention, as it features some excellent riffs and a stunning keyboard solo, while the latter is a more melodic track.
Persephones Dream - Stormchaser, Alternate Reality: Female fronted prog discovered through one of the progradio.net stations. Both of these songs feature some atmospheric sections and arresting vocals. New album Opposition out now, fans of bands like Nightwish should take interest.
Thats it for the song recommendations this week, as I have an impromptu special planned.
The Third Encore: Dream Theater, Queensryche, and Symphony X. One band almost single-handedly invented and popularized the progressive metal movement in the 1980s, one reshaped it and became the genres most influential band of the 1990s, and the other looks to carry the torch into the next decade. All three bands have had incredible careers, and the parallels between them are many, such as DT and SX both releasing their debuts with a vastly inferior vocalist. Im sure that just about every Songs To Watch reader knows the history and catalogues of all three bands, so Ill get to the reason for including this discussion: All three have either released or are preparing to release extensive live sets this fall. Dream Theaters live album Scenes From New York, taken from last years Roseland show previously released on DVD, has generated the most attention, for as you all know its release unfortunately coincided with the WTC attack, and forced a withdrawal of its Manhattan-on-fire cover art. The album itself is definitely mandatory for any DT fan, as it includes the complete SFAM and many other pivotal tracks, including a complete performance of A Change Of Seasons. Also this week, Mike Portnoy revealed that the next DT album, Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, will include a forty minute composition! The album sounds great and the performances are flawless. Queensryches Evolution, released this week, features the best song selection I have seen on a live album since Alive In Athens, it is divided into four suites covering a different phase in the bands history, and features all the prerequisites along with some cherished hidden gems from underrated albums like Warning and RFO. In another parallel, the band has rereleased their complete live performance of their definitive statement in Operation Livecrime. That leaves Symphony Xs upcoming Live On The Edge Of Forever, due out in November. Unfortunately, we dont get three out of three as the continuous performance of V only extends to Death Of Balance. But the bands last three albums are well represented, and the second disc includes the bands magnum opuses Through The Looking Glass and Divine Wings Of Tragedy. I have seen SX in concert three times this year (including on the weekend before the WTC attack) and they play to perfection, one of the tightest and most proficient live performances I have ever seen. The future definitely looks promising, as their first four albums are scheduled to be released in America early next year, along with the followup to V.
Thus ends this chapter stay strong, dont let the threat of terrorism break your spirit. Things may look bleak, but through our determination we will survive this tragedy and Osama will not.
LIVE FROM AMERICA EDITION
Written September 27, 2001
Greetings, devoted readers. This is my first time writing Songs To Watch since the redesign of the UM site, which should make it easier to access and respond, and more importantly eliminate the posting delays caused by having to E-mail a copy before it could be posted. The World Trade Center disaster still continues to consume our minds, and has caused me to generate less time in preparing this column as it has placed the importance of music in perspective. The title of this weeks edition may be misleading as I have not attended a concert since the terrorist attack, but instead focuses on an incredible alignment of live albums from three of the best bands in the history of progressive metal. More on that below. And now, the songs
Bruce Dickinson Wicker Man, Real World, No Way Out pt. 2: Ill begin with the recent compilation of solo Bruce efforts, which doesnt come close to collecting all of his nonalbum tracks, many of which are stylistic departures (like the last track) but still successful. This Wicker Man is completely unrelated to the Maiden song, and has an atmosphere similar to that found on Chemical Wedding.
Edguy Golden Dawn, Pharaoh: The End Records has picked up their latest album Mandrake for US release. While the advance single does nothing for me, the former track previewed on the same EP is top-flight power metal from this band that has improved with every album it has released so far. The latter song is a 10-minute track that should keep Avantasia admirers reaching for the skip to button
Anathema Pressure, Alternative 4: Just about every inclusion of this band in my column has mentioned the anticipation surrounding A Fine Day To Exit, which is being hailed as a major progression for the band, and the former opening track by itself could help this leading UK band win many new fans, who should then sample excellent tracks like the extremely haunting title track from the latter album.
Jag Panzer Power Surge, The Wreck Of Edmund Fitzgerald: The band looks back to their early claim to fame Ample Destruction on the latter track, featuring a savage riff and piercing screams from Harry Conklin, who also gives a commanding performance on the latter cover of the popular folk song, a home recording available at the bands official site.
Porcupine Tree Sever, Dark Matter: British progressive rock act cited as a major influence by Opeths Mikael Akerfeldt, and one that has received many rave reviews from critics worldwide. Both of these songs are from Signify, a particularly dark and powerful effort exemplified by the haunting former track. Leader Steven Wilson contributes some stunning guitar solos to the lengthy longer composition.
Satyricon Supersonic Journey, The Scorn Torrent: A bit of a surprise inclusion, as this black metal act made a transition from a more atmospheric sound to a rawer experimental one, yet the latter direction on Rebel Extravaganza has captured my attention more. Both of these songs feature strong arrangements, and the latter has a great riff midway through
Aghora Satya, Frames: Sean Malone is one of those outstanding musicians who brings his talents to everything he participates in, and this tech-metal act he and Sean Reinert joined at the last minute is a prime example. Both of the songs feature dynamic and complex arrangements, particularly the long instrumental sections in the latter song.
Nostradmaus World War III, I Dont Believe: Continuing with the same theme, this rock opera led by classically trained musician Nikolo Kotzev (who contributes a great solo on the former track) has featured some of the best performances in the career of many of its participants. The latter song is indicative of the albums many great arrangements.
Amorphis On Rich And Poor, Levitation: The Finnish band that has caused wildly dissenting opinions among metal circles ever since the release of Elegy in 1996. The former song is one of the more overlooked tracks from that highly innovative album, featuring an addictive main riff and great outro. The energetic latter track from the My Kantele ep is the best of their many interesting nonalbum tracks.
In The Woods Kairos, Yearning The Seeds Of A New Dimension: Reader suggested experimental black metal act. The 12-minute latter song from their debut Heart Of The Ages is definitely an experience, featuring a long atmospheric intro, an arrangement suggesting a BM version of opeth, and some truly disturbing vocals. The shorter former song isnt quite as mind-altering, but still worth reading.
Threshold Sunseeker, Virtual Isolation: British progressive metal act whose first two albums have recently been reissued by Inside Out. The former song from the stupidly titled Psychedelicatessen, available at the bands official site has a great chorus, while the latter song features a more complex arrangement with a great intro and highly emotional vocals from Damian Wilson.
Chroma Key Astronaut Down, Get Back In The Car: The experimental one-man project of former Dream Theater keyman Kevin Moore (think Space Dye Vest as being typical of an entire album.) Both of these tracks from last years You Go Now are an interesting listen, the latter having a disarming atmosphere and the former having an addictive hook. Both available at www.mp3.com
The Flower Kings Serious Dreamers, Slave To Money: Highly acclaimed progressive rock act whose latest album The Rainmaker was released by Inside Out last month. The former is the only song Ive heard from it so far, and it is typical of the bands sound, which features both 70s prog eccentricities and warm guitar-keyboard interplay, especially prominent in the latter song from Space Revolver.
Conception A Million Gods, Carnal Comprehension: Highly innovative Norwegian prog act who disbanded after releasing four albums. Of them, In Your Multitude is the most highly recommended. The stunning former track features a lengthy instrumental section built around an awesome bassline, while the latter features great layered vocals from Kamelots Roy Khan.
Hollenthon Conspirator, To Kingdom Come: Another great reader suggestion from the awesome Opeth forum on this site, this being an innovative symphonic metal act with a unique approach to songwriting. Both of these songs from Vilest Of Worms have incredible arrangements and achieve balance between the orchestral elements and the black metal base. Excerpt from the latter available at the bands official site.
Artension Forces Of Nature, Tall Ships: Progressive metal act featuring a pair of noteworthy talents in vocalist John West, now of Royal Hunt, and keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij. The former song is definitely worth attention, as it features some excellent riffs and a stunning keyboard solo, while the latter is a more melodic track.
Persephones Dream - Stormchaser, Alternate Reality: Female fronted prog discovered through one of the progradio.net stations. Both of these songs feature some atmospheric sections and arresting vocals. New album Opposition out now, fans of bands like Nightwish should take interest.
Thats it for the song recommendations this week, as I have an impromptu special planned.
The Third Encore: Dream Theater, Queensryche, and Symphony X. One band almost single-handedly invented and popularized the progressive metal movement in the 1980s, one reshaped it and became the genres most influential band of the 1990s, and the other looks to carry the torch into the next decade. All three bands have had incredible careers, and the parallels between them are many, such as DT and SX both releasing their debuts with a vastly inferior vocalist. Im sure that just about every Songs To Watch reader knows the history and catalogues of all three bands, so Ill get to the reason for including this discussion: All three have either released or are preparing to release extensive live sets this fall. Dream Theaters live album Scenes From New York, taken from last years Roseland show previously released on DVD, has generated the most attention, for as you all know its release unfortunately coincided with the WTC attack, and forced a withdrawal of its Manhattan-on-fire cover art. The album itself is definitely mandatory for any DT fan, as it includes the complete SFAM and many other pivotal tracks, including a complete performance of A Change Of Seasons. Also this week, Mike Portnoy revealed that the next DT album, Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, will include a forty minute composition! The album sounds great and the performances are flawless. Queensryches Evolution, released this week, features the best song selection I have seen on a live album since Alive In Athens, it is divided into four suites covering a different phase in the bands history, and features all the prerequisites along with some cherished hidden gems from underrated albums like Warning and RFO. In another parallel, the band has rereleased their complete live performance of their definitive statement in Operation Livecrime. That leaves Symphony Xs upcoming Live On The Edge Of Forever, due out in November. Unfortunately, we dont get three out of three as the continuous performance of V only extends to Death Of Balance. But the bands last three albums are well represented, and the second disc includes the bands magnum opuses Through The Looking Glass and Divine Wings Of Tragedy. I have seen SX in concert three times this year (including on the weekend before the WTC attack) and they play to perfection, one of the tightest and most proficient live performances I have ever seen. The future definitely looks promising, as their first four albums are scheduled to be released in America early next year, along with the followup to V.
Thus ends this chapter stay strong, dont let the threat of terrorism break your spirit. Things may look bleak, but through our determination we will survive this tragedy and Osama will not.
Its supposed to be their best live album yet.
