Songs What I Does Like: Chapter Ten
I thought I'd only missed a couple of months, but apparently I haven't spammed you with music since the end of March. If anyone cares, apologies. :P
"Blackheart", Two Steps From Hell (here)
"Heart of Courage", Two Steps From Hell (here)
Orchestral / instrumental / EPIC
USA
Yeh, these guys are now my all time favourite of anything anywhere ever. I was looking for some music to load onto my MP3 in preparation of the Australia trip, when I stumbled across TSFH; and I had to have them (as far as I know, a couple of their albums are still selling at £5 on Amazon - that's £5 for 20+ tracks, btw). They write trailer music for a living and are, quite honestly, the soundtrack of my heart. I love music like this. Definitely going on my writing tracklist. Initially, my favourite song was Heart Of Courage (I want to own a dressage Shire, and have this as our freestyle entry music); but now I can't decide between that and Blackheart, so I've included them both.
"Shards Of Love", Woods of Ypres (here)
Blackened doom metal
USA
I flailed about these guys last month, mainly due to their heartbreaking song Finality. Anyway, I listened to that album obsessively and then bought the next album down, and am now obsessing over that one instead. This track is probably my favourite; another melancholy song with clean vocals and amazing lyrics - it's just so beautifully arranged. I can't get enough of his voice.
"Coraline", Al Qaynah (here)
World metal
Afghanistan
A friend of mine drew my attention to these guys, and they are pretty fantastic - a little like Orphaned Land, in that they blend traditional Eastern instruments with the more familiar sounds of metal. They describe themselves as a political project, but "as important as displaying discontent and frustration - to protest - it is crucial that the project also symbolizes that illusive possibility of peaceful and tolerant relations between all the people of the world". From what I understand, the 'band' are a collection of different people from many different countries who view Afghanistan as the project's "metaphorical homeland"; I don't think they're actually based there. They are largely instrumental although some songs, such as this one, include vocals.
"Galloping Steeds," Tengger Cavalry (here)
Folk metal
North Asia (not sure where they're actually based)
I found these guys while I was listening to Al Qaynah videos on YouTube; I knew there HAD to be some Mongolian metal out there somewhere! Throat-singing for the win. They've actually been going since 2010, so a slap on the wrist for me (also, in May this year they opened for Turisas in Beijing. AWESOME). Their line-up includes a dombra and two horsehead fiddles - which are glorious instruments, and I want one.
"Into The Heart of Danger," Battle Beast (here)
Metal
Finland
So, I only looked these guys up because I saw their album in HMV, and the cover art included a couple of anthro warrior lions. Me gusta. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they have a female vocalist, too - and what a voice! I'd say these guys are traditional heavy metal (think Doro) with a power metal flavour. OTT in a good way.
"Victim of Ritual", Tarja (here)
Symphonic/gothic metal
Finland
...Until a few minutes ago, I literally had no idea that Tarja had a new album coming out. NEXT MONTH. EEE. EXCITE. Anyway, for those who don't know her, she's the former vocalist of Nightwish ... sorry, I mean the former former vocalist, now. :P Ahem. I was always Team Tarja, got to be honest. She's classically trained and has the most wonderful voice; also, this song has a nice military drumbeat intro, which I LOVE. Oh, and some good r-rolling. :P Is it just me, or is anyone else getting a hint of Bolero in the music? Just a little taste...
"Blackheart", Two Steps From Hell (here)
"Heart of Courage", Two Steps From Hell (here)
Orchestral / instrumental / EPIC
USA
Yeh, these guys are now my all time favourite of anything anywhere ever. I was looking for some music to load onto my MP3 in preparation of the Australia trip, when I stumbled across TSFH; and I had to have them (as far as I know, a couple of their albums are still selling at £5 on Amazon - that's £5 for 20+ tracks, btw). They write trailer music for a living and are, quite honestly, the soundtrack of my heart. I love music like this. Definitely going on my writing tracklist. Initially, my favourite song was Heart Of Courage (I want to own a dressage Shire, and have this as our freestyle entry music); but now I can't decide between that and Blackheart, so I've included them both.
"Shards Of Love", Woods of Ypres (here)
Blackened doom metal
USA
I flailed about these guys last month, mainly due to their heartbreaking song Finality. Anyway, I listened to that album obsessively and then bought the next album down, and am now obsessing over that one instead. This track is probably my favourite; another melancholy song with clean vocals and amazing lyrics - it's just so beautifully arranged. I can't get enough of his voice.
"Coraline", Al Qaynah (here)
World metal
Afghanistan
A friend of mine drew my attention to these guys, and they are pretty fantastic - a little like Orphaned Land, in that they blend traditional Eastern instruments with the more familiar sounds of metal. They describe themselves as a political project, but "as important as displaying discontent and frustration - to protest - it is crucial that the project also symbolizes that illusive possibility of peaceful and tolerant relations between all the people of the world". From what I understand, the 'band' are a collection of different people from many different countries who view Afghanistan as the project's "metaphorical homeland"; I don't think they're actually based there. They are largely instrumental although some songs, such as this one, include vocals.
"Galloping Steeds," Tengger Cavalry (here)
Folk metal
North Asia (not sure where they're actually based)
I found these guys while I was listening to Al Qaynah videos on YouTube; I knew there HAD to be some Mongolian metal out there somewhere! Throat-singing for the win. They've actually been going since 2010, so a slap on the wrist for me (also, in May this year they opened for Turisas in Beijing. AWESOME). Their line-up includes a dombra and two horsehead fiddles - which are glorious instruments, and I want one.
"Into The Heart of Danger," Battle Beast (here)
Metal
Finland
So, I only looked these guys up because I saw their album in HMV, and the cover art included a couple of anthro warrior lions. Me gusta. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they have a female vocalist, too - and what a voice! I'd say these guys are traditional heavy metal (think Doro) with a power metal flavour. OTT in a good way.
"Victim of Ritual", Tarja (here)
Symphonic/gothic metal
Finland
...Until a few minutes ago, I literally had no idea that Tarja had a new album coming out. NEXT MONTH. EEE. EXCITE. Anyway, for those who don't know her, she's the former vocalist of Nightwish ... sorry, I mean the former former vocalist, now. :P Ahem. I was always Team Tarja, got to be honest. She's classically trained and has the most wonderful voice; also, this song has a nice military drumbeat intro, which I LOVE. Oh, and some good r-rolling. :P Is it just me, or is anyone else getting a hint of Bolero in the music? Just a little taste...