I'm an 18 year old music addict from Germany. I preferably listen to Progressive and technical (Death) Metal, although I also enjoy other types of metal/music.
I also play drums for Technical Death Metal band IN DEMISE (www.in-demise.de , www.myspace.com/indemise), check us out if you're interested!
If you're interested in linking to my blog, just write me at darkrevelation3000-3000@yahoo.de ! Feedback is appreciated, too!
Enjoy the blog!
And here I return from the weekend with another post about one of my personal favourites. This band definitely puts emphasis on METAL in Progressive Metal, but damn, when has anybody heard music so technical AND catchy the last time?
Into Eternity
Genre: Progressive Power/Death Metal
Formed: 1997 in Regina, Saskatchewan (Canada), active
Members:
Stu Block - Vocals (also in Omega Crom) Tim Roth - Guitar, Vocals Justin Bender - Guitar Troy Bleich - Bass Jim Austin - Drums (also in Sympathy)
Former:
Chris Krall - Vocals (2003-2005) Scott Krall - Bass Chris McDougall - Keyboards Daniel Nargang - Vocals, Guitars Jeff Storrey - Live Guitars Chris Eisler - Live Drums Dean Sternberg - Vocals Adam Sagan - Drums (formerly in Halcyon(US) Rob "Smiley" Doherty - Guitars, Growls (2003-2005) (also in Pericardium)
Discography:
1999 - Into Eternity (album; reissued by DVS Records in 2000) 2001 - Dead Or Dreaming (album; reissued by Century Media Records in 2002) 2004 - Buried in Oblivion (album) 2006 - The Scattering Of Ashes (album)
As you can see, Into Eternity went through a lot of, sometimes insignificant, line up changes, so I won't focus on that too much. Into Eternity was founded in 1997; not much is known about what was going on with them until the independent release of their first album titled "Into Eternity". Although the production is a little rough and the songs lack the finesse of their newer material, the Into Eternity trademarks of fusioning Death Metal and Progressive Power Metal featuring modern rhythms as well as vocal polyphony were already established in that release, and they signed to DVS Records and eventually rereleased "Into Eternity" a year later. 2001, they released their sophomore "Dead Or Dreaming", an album that gained them instant media attention and a contract from one of the world's leading Metal labels, Century Media. "Dead Or Dreaming" showcased a more mature, professional band, progressing but not changing. It isn't perfect, but it certainly showed what they were capable of. They then released "Buried In Oblivion" in 2004, their best album in my opinion. Receiving overwhelming reviews from all over the world, the band toured Europe with Naglfar. That's when I first noticed them. I had read about them, that they were THE new hot band, but I hadn't heard anything yet. When they started their gig, they opened with the jaw dropping lead from "Splintered Visions", and I was blown away instantly. Those guys had me fascinated throughout all of their set. They were so well-recevied that they were actually sent back for another tour with Kataklysm (which I unfortunately missed). I then got "Buried In Oblivion", and it's definitely one of the most important releases of 2004, maybe even the whole decade. Progressive instrumental parts collaborate perfectly with blasting Death Metal parts as well as the sonic assault of the five voice singing, burning the catchiest melodies in every brain forever. Unfortunately, they parted ways with their singer Chris Krall but luckily found an adequate replacement in Stu Block, whose vocal spectrum spans even further than Krall's. While Into Eternity stayed publicly silent for quite a while, they recorded their latest effort, "The Scattering Of Ashes". It was released this fall, and it's another great album, although it can't live up to the expectations created by "Buried In Oblivion" (which was virtually impossible). The vocals have gone from five voice to two voice, as well as the songs being more direct and compact; Into Eternity stated they wanted songs that were possible to recreate live. I guess the reason for that is that they disembarked on 2006's Gigantour with Megadeth and others, the name implying the magnitude of the event. The future looks good for Into Eternity; it'll be interesting to see what they're up to...
Hey everyone! Now, I'd like to introduce you to one of my personal favourites. Why? Because they released Underworld. If you don't have it - get it. Be sure to check 'em out if the name is new to you - especially all of those who dig symphonic stuff.
Adagio
Genre: Progressive Symphonic Extreme Power Metal (yeah I guess I should go easy on the genre definitions :D)
Formed: 1997 in Montpellier (France)
Members: Stéphan Forté - Guitars (guest on "Trance State" by Red Circuit) Gustavo Monsanto - Vocals (formerly in Overdose(Bra) Franck Hermanny - Bass Eric Lebailly - Drums Kevin Codfert - Keyboards
Former:
David Readman - Vocals (2000-2004) (also in Pink Cream 69) Vitalij Kuprij- Keyboards (also in Artension, Mark Boals, Ring Of Fire) Richard Andersson - Keyboards (2000-2003) ( also in Majestic, Time Requiem, Space Odyssey, EviL masquerade, Silver Seraph) Dirk Bruinenberg - Drums (2000-2004) (also in Vulture(Hol), Patrick Rondat, formerly in Elegy, Abyss(Hol))
Discography:
2001 - Sanctus Ignis (album) 2003 - Underworld (album) 2004 - A Band In Upperworld (live album) 2006 - Dominate (album)
In 1997, one year after he had graduated from the famous music school CMCN, Stéphan Forté composed his first instrumental demo Visions, which is considered to be the starting point of Adagio. The demo alone got him endorsement deals with Rocktron (for Effects) and Godin (for guitars). 1998, he opened for Yngwie Malmsteen and got a new endorsement deal with Lag guitars. He furthermore attracted the attention of producer Chris Tsangarides (Ozzy, Judas Priest,...). In 1999 Olivier Garnier from CNR Music sent Forté to continue his work with Vitalij Kuprij. This however didn't work out, and they closed that chapter after the demo was finished. Back in France, he gathered Dirk Bruinenberg, Franck Hermanny, David Readman and Richard Andersson to record "Sanctus Ignis", the first Adagio album. I consider this an ambitioned effort, but it lacks maturity; this album incorporates almost no progressive elements, it's rather Symphonic Power Metal (and they "borrowed" the famous "The Mirror" - Staccato I talked about in the Dream Theater post - listen to "The Mirror" by Dream Theater and then "Second Sight"...). Nevertheless, the album was well received in France and Japan. Forté then met the young Kevin Codfert, who he eventually asked to join the band. It is told that Forté then had some personal issues, affecting the songwriting to be more extreme. The result of that is Adagio's masterpiece: "Underworld". Their most difficult and complex album, which even features a real choir recorded in Lyon, is not just a step but a bike ride forward from the "Sanctus Ignis" album - Atmosphere, aggression, emotion, blazingly fast soloing, catchy songs and the mandatory extra long track (here "Underworld", 13:25 min) - this album is quite an offering to the Prog Metal fan - and, if unfamiliar with it, he/she shouldn't go to sleep without having at least listened in first. The only small downside of the album is, in my opinion, the guitar sound. It just lacks a little edge. Then, Dirk Bruinenberg decided to quit his duty behind the drums for while to stabilize his personal life. He was replaced by Eric Lebailly, who had a local reputation and was asked by the band to audition. He then played drums at Adagio's first live gig (!) and the subsequent tour. The concerts in Paris and Strasbourg were recorded and released as "A Band In Upperworld" in 2004. Adagio then faced a small crisis: David Readman left them shortly after the tour, in Summer 2004. However. they were scheduled for the ProgPower USA V festival that year, which is known as an opportunity for Power/Prog bands from Europe to perform in front of a bigger audience in the US. So they made an annoucement and received tapes from all over the world. They decided on Gus Monsanto, for impressing them with his performance on "Chosen". He arrived in France on the 29th of August and gave his live debut with Adagio at a non-profit concert against child abuse. A few days later, Adagio played to a sold out ProgPower festival. They then started working on the third full length, "Dominate". First, "Dominate" was only released in France and Japan in the end of 2005, but was released in Europe in Summer 2006. "Dominate" shows a movement towards more "metal" territory; the guitar sounds more aggressive (that's a plus), but the progressive elements have been dropped widely (that's a minus). The orchestration is used much less and often doesn't continue during the band playing (something that occurred quite often on the "Underworld" album). Meanwhile, Gus Monsanto's voice ( which in my opinion sounds awesome and somewhat like Tim "Ripper" Owens, definitely more aggressive than David Readman's voice) upset some Readman fans. On the whole, it's a great album, but it didn't scratch at "Underworld"'s throne. Apparently, the band now already has another album entitled "Archangels In Black" ready to be released soon....
After that lengthy Dream Theater post, I'll go back to some more underground, this time from Los Angeles:
Cellar Door
Genre: Progressive Metal/Rock
Formed : 2005 in Los Angeles, California (USA)
Members:
Tim Connor - Vocals, Guitar Justin Crowell - Drums (formerly in Grimoire) Matt Fewtrell - Bass Bo Hrupcho - Guitar
Discography
2006 - Demo Tracks
It's not all too easy to find information on Cellar Door, but as they're a young band, that might change in the future. They were founded in early 2005 and the line up consisted of Tim Connor, Justin Crowell and Matt Fewtrell. In May 2006, they played their first show in that line up, adding Bo Hrupcho on guitar later. Right now, they're working on their first full length release. They describe their sound as "Metal meets Prog meets Anthem Rock", which fits quite well. Be sure to check out their myspace if you're up for something original! And be sure to keep that name in mind...
OK people, I know most of you are probably familiar with Dream Theater, but I still thought I'll cover them just to keep the list as complete as possible. Concerning the fact the Dream Theater members are entwined with a lot of side projects and other bands, I'll try to keep this one focused on DT. The respective side projects will be covered another time, otherwise this would be way too long. So here goes...
Dream Theater
Formed: 1985 in Long Island,New York (USA)
Members:
Kevin James LaBrie - Vocals (also in Mullmuzzler, James LaBrie solo band, Winter Rose, formerly in Frameshift, guest vocals for Henning Pauly on the record "Babysteps") John Petrucci - Guitars, backing vocals (also in Explorers Club, Liquid Tension Experiment) John Myung - Bass (also in Platypus, The Jelly Jam, Gordian Knot) Jordan Rudess - Keyboards (also in Liquid Tension Experiment, Rudess Morgenstein Project, Vinnie Moore, Dixie Dregs) Mike Portnoy - Drums, backing vocals (also in Rising Power, Transatlantic, Inner Sanctum, OSI, John Arch, Liquid Tension Experiment, touring drums for Fates Warning, Neal Morse, Yellow Matter Custard, Hammer Of The Gods)
Former:
Chris Collins - Vocals (1985-1987) Charles Dominici - Vocals (1987-1990) Kevin Moore - Keyboards (1985-1994) (Office of Strategic Influence, Fates Warning, Chroma Key) Derek Sherinian- Keyboards (1995-1999) (also in Platypus, Planet X, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Jughead, All Too Human, Section A, Alice Cooper, Kiss)
1993 - Images And Words; Live In Tokyo (video; originally released as VHS, reissued as a DVD later)
1993 - Live at the Marquee (EP)
1994 - Caught In A Web (single)
1994 - Lie (single)
1994 - The Silent Man (single)
1994 - Awake (album)
1995 - A Change of Seasons (EP)
1996 - Fan Club Christmas CD 1996 (compil.)
1997 - Hollow Years (single)
1997 - Falling Into Infinity (album)
1997 - Fan Club Christmas CD 1997 (compil.)
1998 - 5 Years In A Live Time (video; originally released as VHS, reissued as a DVD later)
1998 - Once in a LIVEtime (live album)
1998 - Fan Club Christmas CD 1998 (compil.)
1999 - Cleaning out the Closet (Christmas CD 1999)(compil.)
1999 - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (album)
2000 - Through Her Eyes (single)
2000 - Fan Club Christmas CD 2000 (compil.)
2001 - Four Degrees Of Radio Edits (Fan Club CD 2001)(compil.)
2001 - Metropolis 2000: Scenes from New York (video; DVD)
2001 - Live Scenes from New York (live album)
2002 - Taste the Memories (Fan Club CD 2002)(compil.)
2002 - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (album)
2003 - Graspop 2002 (International fan club CD 2003)(compil.)
2003 - Los Angeles, California 5/18/98 (compil.)
2003 - The Majesty Demos 1985-1986 (compil.)
2003 - The Making Of Scenes From A Memory (compil.)
2003 - As I Am (single)
2003 - Train of Thought (album)
2004 - A Sort of Homecoming (Fan Club CD 2004)(compil.)
2004 - Image and Words : Live in Tokyo / 5 Years In a Livetime (the DVD reissue aforementioned)
2004 - Master of Puppets (live cover album)
2004 - Tokyo, Japan 10/28/95 (compil.)
2004 - When Dream and Day Unite Demos 1987-1989 (compil.)
2004 - Live At Budokan (video; DVD)
2004 - Live At Budokan (live album)
2005 - Images and Words Demos 1989-1991 (compil.)
2005 - The Number of the Beast (live cover album)
2005 - When Dream and Day Reunite (live)
2005 - When Dream and Day Reunite (video; DVD)
2005 - Octavarium (album)
2006 - Made In Japan (compil.)
2006 - Awake Demos 1994 (compil.)
2006 - Old Bridge, New Jersey 12/14/96 (compil.)
2006 - Dark Side Of The Moon (live cover album)
2006 - Dark Side Of The Moon(video; DVD)
2006 - Score (video; DVD)
2006 - Score (live album)
The history of Dream Theater dates back to the time when the original line-up was working under the name of Majesty, a name even at that time too common for a Metal band (even today, there's at least 5 bands named Majesty, and over 20 bands whose names involve the word "majesty". Berklee students Petrucci, Myung and Portnoy decided to form a band together in September 1985, and got their highschool buddy and keyboarder Kevin Moore to join , as well as singer Chris Collins. They recorded "The Majesty Demos", already showing surprising success, with Collins departing shortly after in 1986. While looking for a new singer, they worked on instrumental versions of songs for their first album release. In November 1987, Charlie Dominici joined Majesty and got them signed to Mechanic Records, a small US label. "When Day And Dream Unite" was then already recorded and ready to be realeased, but a band also called Majesty from Las Vegas forced them to change their name. Howard Portnoy (Mike's father) suggested they name themselves after a closed down movie theater in California called "Dream Theater". They then released the album in 1989, parting ways with Charlie shortly after. It wasn't until 1991 that they found a replacement in James LaBrie from Canadian band Winter Rose. They were so impressed by LaBrie's performance that they flew him out to New York to record the ATCO demos, featuring "To Live Forever","Learning To Live" and "Take The Time". ATCO immediately signed them and released the famous sophomore "Images And Words" in 1992, selling over 600.000 times during the rise of Grunge. Orginally intended to be released on "Images And Words", "A Change Of Seasons" was released on a seperate EP. This 24-minute epic is undoubtedly one of Dream Theater's milestones. Never have 24 minutes appeared to fly by that fast. They then tried to broaden their fanbase and released the more mainstream-sounding "Awake", turning out to be a commercial failure and being criticized by some fans. Although the album features a lot of good songs and some interesting instrumentation ( 7 string guitar, bass harmonic intro, 5/4 instrumental as well as the legendary beginning of "The Mirror", pioneering the use of simple staccato riffing in Prog Metal (and Metal in general, actually)), Dream Theater probably didn't have enough "credibility" to release such an album; the band was yet too young to enjoy creative freedom being accepted by hardcore fans. On the other hand, the songs were still to heavy and complicated, but also too Old School for the now very grungy mainstream, so ATCO was disappointed with the sales figures. This was the beginning of the "Dream Theater Downward Spiral": their good friend Kevin Moore left and was replaced by Derek Sherinian, ATCO went through a lot of personnel changes, so all of Dream Theater's contacts in the company were gone and the company, due to the sales figures, cut the budget for the follow-up release, "Falling Into Infinity". This album, although not plain crap, is in my opinion the by far weakest Dream Theater album; the album apparently attempts to establish Dream Theater as a pop band, while getting rid of their trademarks such as overblown soloing, song lengths spanning over 10 minutes, odd time signatures and such. The songs are just way too slow, way too short, too simple and too soft (I know this is a Metal fan talking here, but I also enjoy some of their less heavy stuff as long as it's progressive and interesting); in one word: boring. As if it couldn't get worse, James LaBrie suffered from a food poisoning he caught during vacation on Cuba, badly damaging his vocal chords while vomiting and jeopardizing his future as a singer. He said "I'll never forget that day. It was December 30th 1994. It took 8 years for my voice to fully recover." The band also came to have internal problems, because Derek Sherinian, a guy always desperate for attention and always wanting to control everything, tried to dethrone Petrucci and Portnoy from being the creative leaders of the band. Due to the stress caused by that, Dream Theater had to let Sherinian go, replacing him with the gifted Jordan Rudess they knew from the instrumental collaboration in Liquid Tension Experiment (a post about that will follow). They then recorded what I see as their masterpiece: "Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From A Memory". Their first concept album, was, title as well as music, a reference to the song "Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle And The Sleeper" from the "Images And Words" album; parts, riffs and rhythms from that song are constantly recurring throughout the album. Music genres and stylistic devices are blended skillfully to achieve a varied but homogeneous music experience; I mean, who has ever heard a riff that sounds somewhat like punk played in 5/4 (Beyond This Life)? Beginning with an introduction to the story and the furious instrumental (Overture 1928) to follow, one notices later on that it's an actual overture: musical themes are foreshadowed, riffs are introduced that carry the music later on. This torrent of incredible music instantly grips every Prog fan (I've even shown it to non-DT fans - and all of them loved it!). The inclusion of Jordan Rudess definitely had a part in that; his style, established in his earlier efforts, can also be found on that album. Sadly, the live album accommodating that record caused problems due to a very unlucky coincidence; the album was set for release on the 11th September 2001, and the album, entitled "Live Scenes From New York", had cover artwork featuring a New York skyline against a backdrop of flames. I guess that explains it. But the band that went through already so much wouldn't be stopped (especially since it was truly a coincidence what became evident soon) and recorded the very experimental "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence". Although the album features some really interesting ideas, I have to admit that I never really liked it, especially because I just don't enjoy the 45 minute title song. I don't really know why. I just don't. Just one year later, Dream Theater unleashed their heaviest effort to date: "Train Of Thought". The advance single, "As I Am" caused skepticism (I also think it's the weakest song on the album), but the full release proved them wrong. Countless solos, chunky riffs, odd time signatures, almost all songs surpassing the 10 minute duration mark: this is a true Progressive Metal release. The responses were almost 100% positive, fans hailing the energy and furiosity of the album, some even calling it the best Dream Theater release. My favourite Dream theater album is a tie between Scenes From A Memory and Train Of Thought, but I can still relate to those fans. After extensive touring, they released a live recording from their performance at the Budokan in Japan, famous for its legendary concerts by i.e. The Beatles. The only problem was: LaBrie's voice was in very bad condition and they almost had to cancel the show, but he took on the challenge of a 3 hour show anyway. The result is a not 100% correct but authentic live vocal performance. A focus on the Train Of Thought album, a medley of their instrumental and the keyboard/drum jam in the middle of "Beyond This Life" contribute to that recording. After the tour, Dream Theater entered the halls of the famous Hit Factory studios in New York, being the last band to record an album before being shut down for good. They spent unusually long in the studio, working on the songs a lot while recording. The result goes by the name of "Octavarium", released 2005. The album is, according to the band, to focus a little more on the Pop influences and to create a varied album. Varied it is, indeed; the first song, "The Root Of All Evil", that actually goes back to back with the last song on "Train Of Thought" (In The Name Of God), is a song unusually straight for Dream Theater, featuring a reprise of Train Of Thought stuff. The song "I Walk Beside You" is a song that sounds a lot like U2, while the next song "Panic Attack" is a typical heavy Dream Theater song, and the following "Never Enough" sometimes reminds the listener of the band Muse. I don't really like the album personally, but I have to say that it's a great recording. The songwriting, sound and vocals are some of the best Dream Theater ever did, but I rather enjoy them playing a lot of solos, dropping conventional song structures and playing songs longer than 8 minutes. Again, a live album was released. but not an ordinary one: half of the set is played by Dream Theater, and for the second half, they're joined by "The Octavarium Orchestra". And for what band would it make more sense to play with an orchestra than Dream Theater? Forget those half-assed attempts by Metallica, Kiss, and the mid-90s-Rage at appearing to be sensible. This is a new dimension of a fusion of Metal and orchestra. Alone hearing "Metropolis Pt. 1" performed with an orchestra - incredible. That release is called "Score: 20th Anniversary World Tour", released in 2006. I guess this is where their biography stops for now, but I'm sure I'm gonna have to make revisions to it soon; especially Portnoy is a workaholic! Rumor has it he's working on another band with Porcupine Tree's Steve Wilson and Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt...
Hey everybody! Before we continue with bands, I'd like to present to you the eye catching skills of drummer Bobby Jarzombek. He and his brother Ron (guitarist) are most commonly known together for their work in Spastic Ink, and Bobby in particular for playing with Halford (the post-"Painkiller" band of the Judas Priest singer), as well as Painmuseum and Riot, and recording for acts like Demons & Wizards, Juggernaut and Rob Rock. While most of his recording work does not showcase his full potential, some of his drum videos do:
First, three excerpts from his DVD "Performance & Technique" (the guitars were co-written, and recorded by his brother Ron; pay attention to the cymbals behind his back!!!):
"Peppered Cancer"
"School"
Solo
Here's a clip of him recording "Aquanet" for the Spastic Ink album "Ink Compatible"(2004):
Check his website www.bobbyjarzombek.com for more info!
I'll be back soon with another band post; enjoy the videos in the meantime! DarkRev
And again from Norway (yes, Norway seems to not only harvest Black Metal crap), another great band that is still ignored by the international metal press too much:
Pagan's Mind
Genre: Progressive Power Metal
Formed: 2000 in Skien, Telemark (Norway)
Members:
Nils K. Rue - Vocals (also in Dimension Infinite, Eidolon) Jørn Viggo Lofstad - Guitar (also in Jørn, Beautiful Sin) Steinar Krokmo - Bass (also in Dimension Infinite, Trivial Act, Beautiful Sin, formerly in Dimension F3H (live)) Ronny Tegner - Keyboard (also in Arvinger) Stian Lindaas Kristoffersen - Drums (also in Jørn, Trivial Act, Kinrick, formerly in Firewind, Dimension F3H)
Pagans Mind was formed during summer by 2000 by Nils K. Rue (vocals), Stian Kristoffersen (drums) and Thorstein Aaby (guitar). To enable their department from rather straight 80's inspired metal to a more complex and progressive direction, they added Steinar Krokmo, a bassist who drummer Stian knew from their past joint efforts with Progressive Metal band Trivial Act, and guitar virtuoso Jorn Viggo Lofstad, who was recommended by Ronny Tegner, a friend of Steinar, eventually joining Pagan's mind full-time after the completion of the recording of the first full length, Infinity Divine.
This album, produced by legendary TNT guitarist Ronni Le Tekro, was released in November 2000 on the Norwegian label Voices Of Wonder Records. While receiving good press, the label struggled with distribution, especially outside Norway.
So they signed to the German LMP (Limb Music Productions) label, in company of bands like Luca Turilli, formerly Rhapsody (now renamed to Rhapsody Of Fire), Pain of Salvation, Adagio and other more or less experimental Power Metal oriented bands from all over the world. In January 2002, they entered the studio to record their sophomore "Celestial Entrance", which was mixed at the famous Studio Fredman by Fredrik Nordström. This more elaborate effort, not only being a step forward sound-wise but also song-wise, grips the listener from the ultra-catchy Intro transiting into "Through Osiris' Eyes" featuring a brilliant hookline throughout the 2-Part-"Back To the Magic Of Childhood" until the almost 10-minute track "The Prophecy Of Pleiades" at the end.
The success of the album also provoked a desire among the fans for a re-release of "Infinity Divine", which was revised and then re-released by LMP in 2004 also featuring a rerecorded version of "Embracing Fear" and a cover version of King Diamond's "At The Graves". featuring guest musicians Gus G (Mystic Prophecy, Firewind, Ex-Dream Evil) and Glen Drover (Eidolon, Megadeth, Ex-King Diamond) making it increasingly interesting.
The band had already begun with the songwriting during the "Infinity Divine"-revision, took another year, and then chose about a third of the material they'd written to be released as their third album. Again, Fredrik Nordström worked on the brilliant sound. In total, I'd say that "Enigmatic:Calling" is their best album to date. The band managed to compress their sound more as in excluding superfluous parts, as well as growing more "extreme"; on the one hand softer, on the other hand heavier. I recommend Pagan's Mind to Progressive and Power Metal fans alike; the band already appeals to both audiences, which is no wonder, combining catchy songwriting and technicality that turns heads (especially the guitar work is top notch, to say the least).
And here I return from the weekend with another post about one of my personal favourites.
