wayland smithers said:
I cant believe Stratovarius are not at the top of everyones list. They are one of the pioneers of Power Metal and never played the States, they should be at the top of every list. For real!
You know, I'm ok with people having different opinions than me on music. Really i am. Otherwise you have the mindless sheep mentality and you get stuff like Britney Spears, Blink-182, and Limp Bizkit happening. Granted, Stratovarius are better by far than any of those, but still, let people think for themselves, man. The music world is much better this way, trust me. Nothing should automatically be at the top every list, otherwise there would only be one band that "got there first" and a ton of bands that sounded exactly like them.
And for the record, in my opinion, the only thing Stratovarius came close to pioneering was throwing masturbatory harpsichord synth solos into the mix (and maybe removing a lot of the crunch that most of the earlier bands had). power metal was very much alive and kicking by the time Timo Tolkki picked up a guitar.
anyhow, that being said, my list:
1. Therion - love 'em. can't believe they're gonna be here. Thanks, Paul.
2. Circus Maximus - just when you thought i hated prog metal... sound awesome, from what's available.
3. Manticora - points for having far more balls to their sound than anyone else on the bill.
4. Orphaned Land - gotta love the oddball bands. I always do. Don't sound like the powerhouses that Mercenary and Into Eternity were, but it's good in a different direction.
5. Angra - they've been growing on me a decent deal since i was underwhelmed at PPIII, but i will still have to
cover my ears during "Carry On"... definitely interested in hearing their take on "Raining Blood" if they're still playing it by September
6. Symphorce - now THESE guys sound generic, to my ears. Still should be a really fun show, though, if Brainstorm was any indication. really didn't agree with me at first listen, but later ones have been a bit better.
7. Stratovarius - I just *know* these guys are going to totally be doing the Kamelot/Blind Guardian stage presence philosophy of "look upon us and worship us because we are who we are" as opposed to a more active, engaging show. I think at least a few people will understand what I'm saying. They do have a few songs I wanna hear though, i admit.
8. Pink Cream 69 - Arena rock? I'll give it a shot, at least. I love Wasp and Twisted Sister, at least. though they both were a bit more menacing in their day than PC69 seems to be.
9. Stride - i remember them being decent at the preparty they played, but they are not especially my thing, from the demo track.
10. Conception - given Roy Khan as a front man, see the Stratovarius comment. Additionally, I'm entirely convinced Conception are another Pain of Salvation for me. No Conception song I've heard has indicated otherwise. Everyone else will continue to love them, and I will continue to listen and shrug. I mean, it's definitely far from bad, but... *shrug*
well, that's my opinion. add it to the list!
Ryan