There's SO much to reply to in this post I'll just start at the top and work my way down.
1) It takes a lot more than technical brilliance and all the latest toys to make a great guitarist. Jimi Hendrix played with a passion and feeling that put him in a legendary class all by himself. He redefined what could be done with a guitar and if not for his untimely death, I'm sure he would have continued to do so. There's no doubt the guitarists you mentioned are incredibly talented. But saying they are "better" than Hendrix is like comparing apples to oranges. Who knows what Hendrix could've accomplished with today's technology or after having been exposed some of today's guitarists. In the end it's a safe bet 100 years from now, people will know who Jimi Hendrix was. The jury's still out as to whether or not anyone will remember a Romeo or Petrucci.
I agree it takes more than technical brilliance to be a great guitarrist..but just like one with ONLY technical brilliance without much abillity to know how to get an emotional reaction out of a listener, it's also the same with someone whose mostly about feeling but not about technical excellence. A great/excellent guitarrist, or artist for that matter, will master and use both. Kiko Loureiro I think is an example of that as are the players in Circus Maximus as well as many other great bands.
And if Hendrix needed to get better technical excellence from other bands and players, that just shows what I said was true, that there are many other better guitar players that incorporate more and excell in more than did Hendrix. He was good for his time and his playing still impacts us today.
"gritty, non-versitile, repetetive, lackluster singing that reflects more of a grunt, growl or talking voice" Have you ever listened to Ronnie James Dio or Joe Lynn Turner? Find me a song where JLT "grunts" or Dio "growls." These are two world class SINGERS, clean and soaring vocals is what they do. Excellence and Timeless Quality is what most metal/hard rock fans think of when they think of Dio or JLT.
Theyre both good singers, but theyre not my favorites..and I think they sound dated. Much of what Ive heard with DIO is gritty so I still dont care for that. I was just saying that either one talks, grunts, growls, OR sings. Theyre different. Dio doesnt growl or anything, hes gritty though in alot of stuff Ive heard at least. Joe Lyn Turner does a cleaner act, but uses a lower register than most Id choose to listen to. He has that "Im cool, got shades baby, and Im VERY masculine" sound..eh. When a voice has high range, is clean, middle register and up is when I think it sounds least like talking, least like grunting, or grittyness than any other thing a person can do with their voice..IE its most like distinct singing..to have control over it in those ways, and use it with seeming ease, I think that takes high skill.
I'm also guessing we both read differant interviews in the program with Jorn. Nowhere did I read that he was "intentionally lowering the quality of his voice and singing." In my book it said that in the begining of his career, he basically tried a bunch of different things and styles of singing until he found what worked best for him. Now he's developed his own style and identity and is comfortable with what he does.
He said that he's lowering the quality of his singing and music...In both books, yours and mine. It said the same thing man. And is choosing to not do powermetal or experimentation any more..Hence wants to do a signature, predicable, product that appeals to the masses..I'm sorry youre in denial
I've stated before that Jorn's set was not "progressive". But this festival is ProgPOWER and what I saw definately falls under the power metal catagory. Obviously we have very differant ideas of what power metal is. To me power metal is simply that, powerful metal. Powerful vocals, powerful guitars, powerful music. It's the next evolutionary step of the hard rock/heavy metal of the 80's. You can't tell me Jorn Viggo and Tore were not powerful guitarists. You can't tell me Jorn does not have a powerful voice. We're just gonna have to disagree on this one.
Dood both Jorn and Glenn has stated to confirm, hes not doing anymore PowerMetal, and I think to anyone who saw his perfomance that that was pretty aparent..anything that even remotely bore some resemblance to powermetal, he defanged it of its power-metaliness (if thats a word..if not its my word and Im copyrighting it so dont use it unless you wanna pay me for it
by using the same style, lower register, notes and dulled down/delvaued rock singing for pratically every song, which he was intentionally doing to distnace himself from being considered power metal. Just because a person has DONE power metal, doesnt mean what they now choose to do is also power metal.
Helloween is one of the greatest power metal bands of all time and they redefined the genre with the amazing Keepers 1 & 2 albums. 99% of all power metal bands owe something to them - but all power metal does not have to sound exactly like them! Power metal is not all dungeons and dragons and every other cheesey steriotype associated with it. It's that and SO much more.
I totally agree. They redefined heavy metal. I agree they dont have to sound just like them, but one needs to first define power metal before one says what band can even be considered power metal..are the backstreet boys power metal? Are the Rolling Stones or Whitesnake power metal? Id think not..if thats the case, and most if not all of what Jorn did live sounded like the latter (thankfully not the former) which is rock n roll, or classic rock sound, why call it power metal?
