MMMM - Midyear Melodic Metal Mayhem

[Random Axe]

The first half of this year has been pretty dismal for me. I just haven't really, really liked much. A few have had my attention, but the Covid shutdown had me seeking out older stuff I'd missed out on. Well, here we are in August and I've got two and half contenders. Vanishing Point and I think Ascendia may be released this year so that'll reshuffle my list but here's three pretty great albums recently that recently

Lionville/Magic is Alive - The primary focus of the band had been the singer, Lars. His vocals with Work of Art and Enbound have moved him up into the elite category. This release is pretty much more of the same, but the guitarist's lead vocals have much improved. They still have a Toto influence, but are much closer in style to Alias with Curci.

https://youtu.be/3hzaQI9c6mM


Pinnacle Point/Symphony of Mind - I had totally forgotten about this band. The debut in 2017 Winds of Change was pleasant but highly derivative of old school Kansas and made absolutely no effort to hide it. This one still has the Kansas vibe with a violin on parts but DAMN have they improved. Jerome Mazza sounds fantastic on this, far better than the debut. I think the previous one sounded rushed and not fully fleshed out. These songs are highly melodic and may be has a bit of a Triumph touch. This will contend for my top five.

https://youtu.be/4TeWmYd3B5E


Lionheart/Reality of Miracles - Yup, there's two Lion bands in the same post. This one, however is the superior of the two, and I just literally discovered them on Wednesday. They were alive and kicking in the early 80s and then disappeared for a few decades only to resurface in 2017 with Second Nature. I missed that. This new one is a masterclass in writing melodic choruses and vocal harmonies. This band, style-wise, is a mixture of old Stryper(choruses, twin guitar harmony), Survivor(vocals) and Praying Mantis(O'Hora era). I've got this coming but based on streams this could end up my year's favorite.

https://youtu.be/M8wBZja40x0

[introclaus]

The first half of this year has been pretty dismal for me. I just haven't really, really liked much.

That statement to me is baffling. I don't think there's been a year like 2020 where I've heard so much great music since the glory days at the end 80's ... I truly have purchased more music this year than normal (and I buy quite a lot, lol). My typical top 50 or 75 list, might even be a top 100 this year, no kidding.

A few have had my attention, but the Covid shutdown had me seeking out older stuff I'd missed out on. Well, here we are in August and I've got two and half contenders. Vanishing Point and I think Ascendia may be released this year so that'll reshuffle my list but here's three pretty great albums recently that recently

I'm looking forward to Ascendia for sure - don't care about VP at all though.

Lionville/Magic is Alive - The primary focus of the band had been the singer, Lars. His vocals with Work of Art and Enbound have moved him up into the elite category. This release is pretty much more of the same, but the guitarist's lead vocals have much improved. They still have a Toto influence, but are much closer in style to Alias with Curci.
https://youtu.be/3hzaQI9c6mM

Yes, Lars is a good singer, but this song didn't do anything for me at all. It sounds like a hundred other Frontiers releases, which honestly isn't very exciting to me.

Pinnacle Point/Symphony of Mind - I had totally forgotten about this band. The debut in 2017 Winds of Change was pleasant but highly derivative of old school Kansas and made absolutely no effort to hide it. This one still has the Kansas vibe with a violin on parts but DAMN have they improved. Jerome Mazza sounds fantastic on this, far better than the debut. I think the previous one sounded rushed and not fully fleshed out. These songs are highly melodic and may be has a bit of a Triumph touch. This will contend for my top five.
https://youtu.be/4TeWmYd3B5E

The guitarist (Torben Enevoldsen) is amazing, but I'm not sold of Mazza's voice though. Kind of "boring" to me. Musically, why would you spend time on this album when the real thing is still out there and have just released their best album in 20+ years?

Lionheart/Reality of Miracles - Yup, there's two Lion bands in the same post. This one, however is the superior of the two, and I just literally discovered them on Wednesday. They were alive and kicking in the early 80s and then disappeared for a few decades only to resurface in 2017 with Second Nature. I missed that. This new one is a masterclass in writing melodic choruses and vocal harmonies. This band, style-wise, is a mixture of old Stryper(choruses, twin guitar harmony), Survivor(vocals) and Praying Mantis(O'Hora era). I've got this coming but based on streams this could end up my year's favorite.
https://youtu.be/M8wBZja40x0

Not bad - I kind of like this. Lee Small is a great singer for sure! It's pretty predictable, at least this song, but very well done for the style. I'll have to check out rest of the disc. Thanks for the heads up on this.

[LarryD]

On Pinnacle Point ---

The guitarist (Torben Enevoldsen) is amazing, but I'm not sold of Mazza's voice though. Kind of "boring" to me. Musically, why would you spend time on this album when the real thing is still out there and have just released their best album in 20+ years?

***I like Pinnacle Point quite a bit ......I actually like the P Point singer better than Ronnie in the current Kansas. To me, he is more like STeve Walsh's little brother if I had to describe him ......

But to answer that question - about listening to the real thing - my take on that is this ..... Anyone who sounds like or mimics Kansas these days will get my attention, because the current band Kansas, really isn't anything more than a cover band of themselves. If they have 2 original members in the band and can release anything under that name, then anyone else can compete with them for that sound imo. Pinnacle Point captures that sound perfectly, and I am getting more enjoyment out of listening to P Point than I am the current Kansas.

Don't get me wrong - Kansas is still making great music. So are these other bands that sound like Kansas. I say, the more the merrier......you just have to be as interesting as Kansas in order to succeed. I think Pinnacle Point is in that category.

[Harvester]

Pinnacle Point captures that sound perfectly, and I am getting more enjoyment out of listening to P Point than I am the current Kansas.

Point of reference. The current version of Kansas could released a double album that was a sequel to Leftoverture and Point of Know Return that 99.9% of the world embraces as good as the originals and you would fall in the .1% because Steve Walsh is not in the band.

[Nos]

The first half of this year has been pretty dismal for me.

I sort of agree.

For me, the year got off to a good start, but once pandemic times set in, it's been a tough time finding stuff I'm passionate about. I'm hoping the fall will change that, since there's some stuff scheduled I'm excited about already, and maybe a few more bands will realize if they're trying to hold off for 'normalcy', they might be waiting for years.

That just accentuates a trend I've noticed, where the middle of the year has been a wasteland for me, with all of the 'big names' who release stuff then being bands I don't care in the slightest about, while the more interesting stuff gets shunted to the less desirable slots.

[introclaus]

The first half of this year has been pretty dismal for me.

I sort of agree.

For me, the year got off to a good start, but once pandemic times set in, it's been a tough time finding stuff I'm passionate about. I'm hoping the fall will change that, since there's some stuff scheduled I'm excited about already, and maybe a few more bands will realize if they're trying to hold off for 'normalcy', they might be waiting for years.

That just accentuates a trend I've noticed, where the middle of the year has been a wasteland for me, with all of the 'big names' who release stuff then being bands I don't care in the slightest about, while the more interesting stuff gets shunted to the less desirable slots.

Don’t you have somewhere else to be? I think so...

[Random Axe]

To clarify, the first half of the year was not a statement on quality. it's totally a me thing. Very little stuck with me. I think the new Kansas is great as I mentioned in a thread I started. For me PP is hitting me a bit harder.

I was just excited to have a string of releases I like compared to the previous six months, not trying to stir up anything. It appears I'm more picky this year than most.