Music
I've gotten lots of music lately. Must be the time of year or something. Here's a quick rundown of what I've purchased in the last month or so :)
Sonata Arctica - Reckoning Night
Sonata Arctica - Winterheart's Guild
Sonata Arctica - Unia
Sonata Arctica - For the Sake of Revenge DVD
Yeah I went on a Sonata buying spree. At first I downloaded them to check them out, but after 10 trillion times of playing them I knew it was time to get my own copy. Not to mention the versions on the internet are coded wacky away. So far, my favorite of the CDs is Unia. It was Reckoning Night but after getting fully into Unia and playing all the time (much to the dismay of my co-workers) I knew it had to be my favorite. The DVD isn't bad. Though it looks like it was shot by an amateur. The camera is all over the place and shaky. Weird.
Archangel - The Akallabeth
Very cool prog album. Then again it does have Damian Wilson on it so it's bound it be good regardless. Though it is a bit slow for the most part. My only gripe would be the production which sounds a bit too bright for me.
Alestorm - Black Sails at Midnight
A rocking good time from the Scottish Folk Pirate Metal boys. It's not as good as their first but still good enough to rock out to. Though I'm a bit miffed that they changed "Wolves of the Sea" to include more stuff in the background. The version on the Leviathan EP is way better.
Elias Viljanen - The Leadster
Elias Viljanen - Taking the Lead
Elias is the guitarist for Sonata Arctica. Though his solo discs sound nothing like band, mostly because he wasn't a member when these were released. The best way to describe these all instrumental albums is: Joe Satriani. I get visions of his playing all through these albums. And not in a copying sort of way, more like a homage to him. Very cool music to rock out to while cleaning house or walking around town :)
Northern Kings - Reborn
Northern Kings - Rethroned (ordered but I haven't got it in the mail yet)
Basically four Finnish Metal singers decided to band together and create symphonic versions of old 80's tunes. Some work really well like "We Don't Need Another Hero" and "Sledgehammer" while others aren't that interesting like "Creep" or "Brothers in Arms". Still, to hear Tony Kakko singing Tina Turner has to count for something ;)
Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings (3-disc verion)
I got this yesterday and have only listened to it a few times. It's ok, I guess. Though the last songs drags like crazy. They could have easily taken off a good 5 minutes and it would still be a great song. Then again, DT is notorious for this sort of thing. Just look at the song "Misunderstood". The only standout track so far is "The Shattered Fortress" which concludes Mike's AA Saga in grand fashion.
Ironically the cover CD included with the 3-disc version is better than the album in some places. Though I could be biased since they cover a trio of songs from Queen: Tenement Funster, Flick of the Wrist, Lily of the Valley. All three songs are in succession on the album Sheer Heart Attack. "Flick of the Wrist" is one of my all time favorites and they kick ass at it. I do miss the goofy sounding keyboard sound effects when it goes to the chorus from the Queen album but I can live without it just this once ;)
I haven't listened to the 3rd disc which is all instrumental versions of the 1st disc. Just think of it as a Dream Theater karaoke album without the backing vocals. At least, that's what I assume.
Sonata Arctica - Reckoning Night
Sonata Arctica - Winterheart's Guild
Sonata Arctica - Unia
Sonata Arctica - For the Sake of Revenge DVD
Yeah I went on a Sonata buying spree. At first I downloaded them to check them out, but after 10 trillion times of playing them I knew it was time to get my own copy. Not to mention the versions on the internet are coded wacky away. So far, my favorite of the CDs is Unia. It was Reckoning Night but after getting fully into Unia and playing all the time (much to the dismay of my co-workers) I knew it had to be my favorite. The DVD isn't bad. Though it looks like it was shot by an amateur. The camera is all over the place and shaky. Weird.
Archangel - The Akallabeth
Very cool prog album. Then again it does have Damian Wilson on it so it's bound it be good regardless. Though it is a bit slow for the most part. My only gripe would be the production which sounds a bit too bright for me.
Alestorm - Black Sails at Midnight
A rocking good time from the Scottish Folk Pirate Metal boys. It's not as good as their first but still good enough to rock out to. Though I'm a bit miffed that they changed "Wolves of the Sea" to include more stuff in the background. The version on the Leviathan EP is way better.
Elias Viljanen - The Leadster
Elias Viljanen - Taking the Lead
Elias is the guitarist for Sonata Arctica. Though his solo discs sound nothing like band, mostly because he wasn't a member when these were released. The best way to describe these all instrumental albums is: Joe Satriani. I get visions of his playing all through these albums. And not in a copying sort of way, more like a homage to him. Very cool music to rock out to while cleaning house or walking around town :)
Northern Kings - Reborn
Northern Kings - Rethroned (ordered but I haven't got it in the mail yet)
Basically four Finnish Metal singers decided to band together and create symphonic versions of old 80's tunes. Some work really well like "We Don't Need Another Hero" and "Sledgehammer" while others aren't that interesting like "Creep" or "Brothers in Arms". Still, to hear Tony Kakko singing Tina Turner has to count for something ;)
Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings (3-disc verion)
I got this yesterday and have only listened to it a few times. It's ok, I guess. Though the last songs drags like crazy. They could have easily taken off a good 5 minutes and it would still be a great song. Then again, DT is notorious for this sort of thing. Just look at the song "Misunderstood". The only standout track so far is "The Shattered Fortress" which concludes Mike's AA Saga in grand fashion.
Ironically the cover CD included with the 3-disc version is better than the album in some places. Though I could be biased since they cover a trio of songs from Queen: Tenement Funster, Flick of the Wrist, Lily of the Valley. All three songs are in succession on the album Sheer Heart Attack. "Flick of the Wrist" is one of my all time favorites and they kick ass at it. I do miss the goofy sounding keyboard sound effects when it goes to the chorus from the Queen album but I can live without it just this once ;)
I haven't listened to the 3rd disc which is all instrumental versions of the 1st disc. Just think of it as a Dream Theater karaoke album without the backing vocals. At least, that's what I assume.