Dr. DTVT
Band: Cairo
Album: Cairo
Song: Silent Winter
Cairo is a progressive rock band formed in 1994 in San Francisco, USA. Their music is in the same vein as that of classic prog bands like ELP, Yes and Genesis, but with a slightly more modern sound, particularly the keyboard patches. The music is definitely keyboard driven, and a bit of research on them revealed that they are essentially a 3-piece with keys, drums and bass, using session players and guests to fill in the guitar parts. I like the song, the melodies were good, the vocals were good, the keyboard playing was good, the instrumentation was good, the production values were good, but it didn't WOW me. I'll probably check them out further down the road a bit.
Score: 7
Elite
Band: Persona Non Grata
Album: Quantum Leap
Song: Imaginative Mind
Quantum Leap is the second album from Greek progmetalers Persona Non Grata. This is a pure slab of straight up progmetal in the Dream Theater/Fates Warning vein, with maybe a bit of a darker edge here and there. The vocalist here is really good, his voice displays range, character, emotion and excellent pitch control. This band doesn't break any new ground in the genre, but the music is well-crafted, the production sounds crisp and the song was interesting enough to put this band on my list of bands that I definitely need to check further into.
Score: 8
ich bin besser
Band: Lazuli
Album: 4603 Battements
Song: Je Te Laisse Ce Monde
Lazuli is apparently a French progressive rock band formed in Southern France in 1998 by Claude and Dominique Leonetti. I had a very difficult time listening to this song for a few reasons. First off, the music is definitely way out of my comfort zone. Secondly, the vocals are not sung in English. Now, I fully realize that some people believe this should not be a disqualifying factor and that I should probably judge the music on its own merits. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. I strongly prefer that the music I listen to be sung in a language I can understand and that is English. I'm also not into the sort of quasi-electronica soundscapes this group lays down. Basically, there was not much here for me to like.
Score: 5
jingle.boy
Band: Freedom Call
Album: Crystal Empire
Song: Ocean
Freedom Call is a German power metal band featuring Daniel Zimmermann (Gamma Ray). "Crystal Empire" is their second album, from 2001. It features a driving double-bass drum beat and gigantic sing-a-long choruses with layers and layers of vocals made to sound like a full orchestra. It's got a big, huge epic feel to it. There was nothing new here regarding the genre, but I found it to be a pleasant song that I enjoyed listening to.
Score: 7
lonestar
Band: Absolute Priority
Album: Hunter
Song: Fear of the Night
Absolute Priority is an Italian progressive metal band with all the fixin's. They've got the crunchy guitars, the keyboards and synths, the drummer, and a killer vocalist. The music is heavy yet melodic, the instrumentation is interesting and compelling. While they are not going to win any awards for innovation, that's not necessarily a band thing. These guys are smokin' musicians, the guitar player is particularly impressive with the solo in this song definitely in the jaw-dropping category. Definitely a band I am going to end up making a purchase from. Excellent.
Score: 8.5
nekov
Band: Iron Savior
Album: Megatropolis
Song: Megatropolis
Iron Savior is a German power metal band headed up by multi-instrumentalist and producer/engineer Piet Sielck. The music is really good, with great guitar riffs and a driving beat, and solid overall instrumentation. If it were not for the lead vocalist, I probably would have enjoyed this quite a bit more, but I found the scratchy, gravel-ish vocal stylings of the singer to be pretty off-putting. I suppose if I listened a bit longer it would be something I could adapt to, but I'm not sure. It's too bad, because the guitar playing was quite good with a cool dueling guitar solo that merged into a harmony guitar solo as kind of the centerpiece of the song.
Score: 7
obscure
Band: Souljourners
Album: Mind Control
Song: The Avenger
Souljourners are an unsigned group of youngsters (at the time of recording the entire band was under 22 years of age from what I could glean off the internet) and they have self-produced something that is truly unique in the genre of progressive metal. The music sits on the fence between progressive metal and popular metal. The vocalist sounds a bit like __________________(insert current radio-friendly pop-metal band here) but that is not a bad thing at all. Musically, these guys have written an outstanding album. I wish they'd had a bit more advice in their production process, because the mastering is very hot, almost too hot, but I suppose I can live with it. The songwriting and instrumentation here is outstanding. I expect this band will be signed soon and many of us will be hearing more from them.
Score: 8
scorpion
Band: Distorted Harmony
Album: Utopia
Song: Blue
Distorted Harmony is a progressive metal band from Israel and Utopia is their debut release. It features 6 tracks, most of which are in the 7 to 9 minute range with the closing track clocking in at over 12 minutes. Musically, they blend quite a few influences which include the classic prog outfits like ELP, Genesis and Yes, but also more modern sounds like those of Pain of Salvation or Fates Warning. There are lots of interesting time signature changes here to keep the listener guessing, but also plenty of great melodies and hooks. I think this is another band that is going to break out in this genre at some point. Very high quality stuff here, any fan of progmetal should definitely check these guys out. I already bought the album, in fact.
Score: 9
TAC
Band: Constantine
Album: Divine Design
Song: The Darkest Grace
Constantine is a Finnish melodic progressive metal band. This song, The Darkest Grace, is great. I found the music to be extremely well-crafted and the instrumentation to be very well-executed. Some really, really great guitar work and the keyboard textures provide an excellent accompaniment. Musically I definitely heard influences of Dream Theater/Fates Warning/Iron Maiden. Some of the riffs here are just awesome head banging stuff. Instrumentally, it smokes. It's probably the best of this round in terms of music. Unfortunately, the vocalist is....not my cup of tea. Especially during the quieter parts of the music where the vocals are leading it. When the music picks up and the vocals take more of a back seat, and/or when there are backing vocals mixed in, it gets a bit better, but overall, I just can't take this guy's vocal style and sound and I don't think I could handle a full album of it.
Score: 7
wolfking
Band: Vision Divine
Album: Destination Set To Nowhere
Song: Beyond The Sun and Far Away
I really do love concept albums, doesn't matter what the topic is. This album, from German outfit Vision Divine doesn't disappoint on that front. It's about a group of people who leave Earth in search of a better world. Vocalist Fabio Lione (who is apparently new to the band), who did a very, very brief stint with Kamelot, is one of those high-register style vocalists, but he also sounds pretty good in the lower registers. What stands out here is the guitar and keyboard playing, which I really enjoyed. Although I have to admit the vocals are pretty well done as well. All in all, even though I've sort of heard of this band before and listened to a few samples from them on Amazon, I was surprised at how much I ended up liking this song after I heard it a few times. I will probably have to explore them further.
Score: 7.5
Leader Board:
obscure - 25.5
lonestar - 25.5
scorpion 23.5
TAC - 22.5
wolfking - 22.5
Dr. DTVT - 22
Elite - 21.5
jingle.boy - 21
nekov - 20.5
ich bin besser - 18.5
Topic: KirksNoseHair's Simple Roulette v. And The Winner Is..... (Read 40298 times)
