What are you listening to right now?

[Sir Exar Kun]

Old school day here.....

In the car, we have Eniac Requiem's "Space Eternal Void" (very quirky Shrapnel Records project from the late 90s....), then at work we've had Stratovarius "Intermission" and Luca Turilli's "King of the Northern Twilight"

[LarryD]

Old school day here.....

In the car, we have Eniac Requiem's "Space Eternal Void" (very quirky Shrapnel Records project from the late 90s....), then at work we've had Stratovarius "Intermission" and Luca Turilli's "King of the Northern Twilight"

****Man that Eniac Requiem is a blast from the past ....... I remember liking that disc, but then getting rid of it for some reason as I don't see it in my collection.

[introclaus]

Old school day here.....

In the car, we have Eniac Requiem's "Space Eternal Void" (very quirky Shrapnel Records project from the late 90s....), then at work we've had Stratovarius "Intermission" and Luca Turilli's "King of the Northern Twilight"

****Man that Eniac Requiem is a blast from the past ....... I remember liking that disc, but then getting rid of it for some reason as I don't see it in my collection.

I still have it in my collection, but it's been forever-and-a-day since I listened. Gave it a spin today, but man ... this didn't age well. The drums (they have to be programmed, right?) and the vocals that are so forced and almost unlistenable really does the album no favors. Wonderful guitar work though, and that's what makes the album worth anything in my opinion, and is probably why I've kept it around.

[introclaus]

Now listening to the new WILD STEEL album. Talk about "blast from the past" ... I really liked the original Shadows of Steel albums, and the first Wild Steel solo disc was quite good as well, for that over-the-top epic and symphonic heavy/power metal that the Italians do in their own Italian way, lol. I mean, it's cheesy as hell, and it's very outdated both musically and production wise, but there's something about it that makes me smile. Will I ever revisit this album? Most likely not, but for 49 minutes it was pretty enjoyable.
https://youtu.be/IqNBg--Z1JE

[Alberto]

Venus Principle / Stand In Your Light (2022)

Debut album for this project assembled by a bunch of very experienced musicians, having many connections to Crippled Black Phoenix, including mastermind Daniel Änghede.
This is gorgeous, pensive atmospheric prog rock with dual male/female vocals, incorporating Pink Floyd and The Beatles influences, featuring that elusive "Scandi-prog" touch, and ultimately sounding akin to post-2010 Anathema, Paatos, and the UK/Icelandic band Fields if you remember them. Very good review at https://www.metal-observer.com/3.o/revi ... our-light/.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHcXQ8oMDIg

[Sir Exar Kun]

Now listening to the new WILD STEEL album. Talk about "blast from the past" ... I really liked the original Shadows of Steel albums, and the first Wild Steel solo disc was quite good as well, for that over-the-top epic and symphonic heavy/power metal that the Italians do in their own Italian way, lol. I mean, it's cheesy as hell, and it's very outdated both musically and production wise, but there's something about it that makes me smile. Will I ever revisit this album? Most likely not, but for 49 minutes it was pretty enjoyable.
https://youtu.be/IqNBg--Z1JE

Nice!!!! Sometimes you just have to lean into the cheese and enjoy it for what it is. Apparently he also has a full album of Crimson Glory covers, embracing the Midnight fully.

[Sir Exar Kun]

Quiet morning at work, so have been able to enjoy a few different things....

Enuff Z'Nuff "Animals with Human Intelligence" - Not a huge fan of their hair metal meets 60s Beatles style overall, but they have a few songs on every album that jump out. This is probably my favorite overall album of theirs.

Devin Townsend "Physicist" - First DT album I ever heard in full (outside of Vai's Sex & Religion of course), back when he was announced for ProgPower. Discovered quickly that, like most of his albums, one album is never emblematic of him as a whole. I liked the disc "OK", but when seeing him live it was a whole new experience, and I appreciated his studio work much more fully after that. "Kingdom" remains the staple track from this early album

Fish "Pigpen's Birthday" - Classic bootleg live recording from the early 90s, containing a nice mix of early solo material and Marillion songs.

[introclaus]

Enuff Z'Nuff "Animals with Human Intelligence" - Not a huge fan of their hair metal meets 60s Beatles style overall, but they have a few songs on every album that jump out. This is probably my favorite overall album of theirs.

For me it's "Strength" followed by the debut, then "Animals..." and "Seven" right after. Most of the rest of their catalogue has been pretty forgettable. Love their style though, and those 4 albums are some of the very best hair metal ever! ("Strength" is THE best hair metal album IMO).

Fish "Pigpen's Birthday" - Classic bootleg live recording from the early 90s, containing a nice mix of early solo material and Marillion songs.

The live albums from his last couple of tours are really good as well - he released them on his own label and they sound great.

[Sir Exar Kun]

("Strength" is THE best hair metal album IMO).

Wow, now THAT is the "hot take" of the day, for sure. In no way, shape or form can I possibly agree with it at all, but much respect for throwing it out there.....

[Sir Exar Kun]

Today's playlist:

Cynic "Focus" - You know an album is either mind-numblingly BRILLIANT, or mind-boggingly BAD when 30 years on nothing else sounds like it.... Thankfully "Focus" is in the former category, while something like Metallica's "Lulu" represents the latter. The rest of the Cynic catalogue has it's moments, but nothing close to what this album achieved.

Enuff Znuff "Seven" - Funny that Claus mentioned this as the only other album of theirs worth owning..... As it IS the only other album of theirs I own! So many hair bands tried to emulate the 90s sound (and failed), whereas when you listen to this it still sounds just like Enuff Znuff, but also sounds contemporary to bands like Collective Soul / Candlebox etc.

Helloise "Polaris" - Introduced to this band through the "Fata Morgana" album and picked up the older releases in a combined set they put out a few years ago. More of an 80s quality to the early stuff (well, to be fair, it WAS from the 80s) but still enjoyable rock.

Siam "Prayer" - What hasn't been said about this one on this board already???? Still my favorite use of frequent acoustic guitars in a prog metal album. Easily could have been the direction Queensryche went following "Promised Land". Alas, Geoff had other ideas.....

[Mardoch]

Voyager everything from The Meaning of I through the current singles. I decided I needed something fun in my life today. Also I'm just happy for them to be in Eurovision.

[introclaus]

("Strength" is THE best hair metal album IMO).

Wow, now THAT is the "hot take" of the day, for sure. In no way, shape or form can I possibly agree with it at all, but much respect for throwing it out there.....

LOL, I actually already said it in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11816

[LarryD]

Voyager everything from The Meaning of I through the current singles. I decided I needed something fun in my life today. Also I'm just happy for them to be in Eurovision.

****Hell yeah !!!!!!!!

[introclaus]

Degrees of Truth
Never heard of them before, but the promo just dumped in the mailbox, so had to check it out. Not bad ... proggy metal with operatic female vocals, not overly symphonic music luckily. Drums are quite good, almost sounds like the drummer wants to be the lead instrument here. That said, 2* man-buns in a band is just too much.
https://youtu.be/c0ooQ9yMUVg

[Mardoch]

I was having one of those "1300+ hours of music and nothing to listen to" days and I ended up throwing on the entire Erra discography. Turned out to be a fantastic choice.

[introclaus]

I was having one of those "1300+ hours of music and nothing to listen to" days and I ended up throwing on the entire Erra discography. Turned out to be a fantastic choice.

One day they'll click with me I'm sure ...

[introclaus]

Going back to a classic; THE LAST THINGS - Circles and Butterflies
This album is just mindblowingly great. This is one of those prog metal albums that deserves to be regarded much higher as the true classic it is. Imagine the technical prog metal of Psychotic Waltz, Sieges Even, Fates Warning, Deathrow, or Watchtower mixed with more funky stuff like Last Crack or Faith No More in a few places. Heck, there's even a celtic folk inspired piece on here, and the guitars are very "Rothery" (yeah, Marillion-style). Insane drumming and upfront bass playing all over the disc. A vocalist who is somewhat of a "you'll need to get used to this" kind of singer, but also one I think is brilliant. Actually, this album is just amazing, so go check it out:
https://youtu.be/E9zWyu3YpAA

[Hearing Aid Man]

Going back to a classic; THE LAST THINGS - Circles and Butterflies

Never heard this one before. Enjoying it!

[Mardoch]

I was scrolling aimlessly around my winamp and paused briefly on Age of Nemesis, so I threw on Terra Incognita.I used to listen to this disc A LOT when working way too damned much, and I have a nighttime deploy coming up tonight so maybe my brain just did one of those funny memory latching things it does. Still a kind of weird but really good disc. It's got such a hopeful feeling, which is nice to sit with these days.

[Sir Exar Kun]

I was scrolling aimlessly around my winamp and paused briefly on Age of Nemesis, so I threw on Terra Incognita.I used to listen to this disc A LOT when working way too damned much, and I have a nighttime deploy coming up tonight so maybe my brain just did one of those funny memory latching things it does. Still a kind of weird but really good disc. It's got such a hopeful feeling, which is nice to sit with these days.

Good band! Haven't listened to them in a few years, but was a definite fan back in The Day.

My morning..... Sitting here reading UK service contracts..... Wishing desperately it was lunchtime....

Ad Infinitum "Chapter III" - great voice, keep waiting for the songwriting to develop a bit more
Pandaemonium "Last Prayer" - Italian symphonic power metal, voice that would drive most of the folks on this board away screaming (think: Black Jester)
Into Eternity "The Sirens" - Forgot this disc even existed, with the female singer.... Last song reminds me a lot of Crimson Glory, with the haunting lighter approach ala "Lost Reflection".
Vinnie Moore "To the Core" - Probably my fave of the Shrapnel shredders. Released in 2009, it's not as strong as the earlier material but still enjoyable.

[Mardoch]

I watched Eurovision for the first time ever purely for Voyager. That was... a ride. But at least I got Promise at the end, which is a fuckin great tune. Also they're finalists!

[Hearing Aid Man]

Hadn't played Native Construct - Quiet World in a while. WOW! Forgot about this awesome cd. Definitely for fans of stuff like A.C.T, BTBAM, Cynic and Haken.

[Mardoch]

The Safety Fire - Mouth of Swords. Great album. Still sad the band ended. I know Glass Tiger exists, but Elliot Coleman is the worst vocalist in metal and they hired him, so that's off the board.

[Random Axe]

Ghost Opera - I'd mostly dismissed this one a long time ago. It felt different from the rest of their catalog. Not sure if it was production, tuning(minor vs major key) or just a bad mood. Anyway, after putting my entire Kamelot discography into the thumbdrive in my SUV I'm shocked how much I'm digging these tunes now. I thought P4P was mostly abysmal, so I don't think I'll revisit that again. Or maybe I give it another shot...

Jacobs Dream/Sea of Destiny - The vocals had been hit or miss for me throughout their discography. This time they got a good local guy, Chaz Bond. It has more of a QR feel than most of their stuff and production is far better. I like this!

State Line Empire - This is straight up modern rock/metal with a powerhouse vocalist. The beer-chugging, bro hugging, wife beater riffs aren't a match for this guy. He's waaay better than the rest of the band talent wise. He's got a lot of grit, which is something I'm normally not into but this works. Plus he writes some good choruses. CHeck out the song Brutal Truth to get a taste.

[introclaus]

Hadn't played Native Construct - Quiet World in a while. WOW! Forgot about this awesome cd. Definitely for fans of stuff like A.C.T, BTBAM, Cynic and Haken.

Great great album!

[introclaus]

The Safety Fire - Mouth of Swords. Great album. Still sad the band ended. I know Glass Tiger exists, but Elliot Coleman is the worst vocalist in metal and they hired him, so that's off the board.

Glass Tiger? Lol ... you meant Good Tiger.
And you're wrong about Elliot

[introclaus]

Ghost Opera - I'd mostly dismissed this one a long time ago. It felt different from the rest of their catalog. Not sure if it was production, tuning(minor vs major key) or just a bad mood. Anyway, after putting my entire Kamelot discography into the thumbdrive in my SUV I'm shocked how much I'm digging these tunes now. I thought P4P was mostly abysmal, so I don't think I'll revisit that again. Or maybe I give it another shot...

"Ghost Opera" has grown on me quite a lot over the years. I didn't like it at first either.
"Poetry..." is my second favorite of theirs (after the debut). By far their most adventurous album.

Jacobs Dream/Sea of Destiny - The vocals had been hit or miss for me throughout their discography. This time they got a good local guy, Chaz Bond. It has more of a QR feel than most of their stuff and production is far better. I like this!

I really only listened to the first two, and I agree with the vocals (primarily "miss") on those.
Chaz Bond actually sang on the albums 3-5 of their catalogue, not on "Sea of Destiny" (that's a guy called Kevin Wright).

[introclaus]

I've been on an Amorphis kick lately - there's so much good stuff in their catalogue. For a long time I swore by the first bunch of albums (1992-2003), but with 2019's "Queen of Time" I got dragged back into the fold of Amorphis worshippers, and now I actually am having a hard time finding any weak points in their catalogue. This week has pretty much been all their albums on shuffle.

[Sir Exar Kun]

I've been on an Amorphis kick lately - there's so much good stuff in their catalogue. For a long time I swore by the first bunch of albums (1992-2003), but with 2019's "Queen of Time" I got dragged back into the fold of Amorphis worshippers, and now I actually am having a hard time finding any weak points in their catalogue. This week has pretty much been all their albums on shuffle.

I find myself enjoying them more and more with each new album. Not saying every single album is overall better than the last, but I definitely find as a band they are getting STRONGER with age. Just listened to "Circle" at work yesterday in fact.

[introclaus]

KIDD JUDO - An excuse to drink beer...
Progressive post-hardcore / swancore, not very different from Eidola, Dance Gavin Dance, Hail the Sun, Sianvar, etc. It's however done completely self-financed and sounds just as impressive as those bigger names. I foresee these guys getting picked up by Rise Records and be on Warped tour in the coming few years.
https://youtu.be/E5lv_RWaaNg

[Mardoch]

The Safety Fire - Mouth of Swords. Great album. Still sad the band ended. I know Glass Tiger exists, but Elliot Coleman is the worst vocalist in metal and they hired him, so that's off the board.

Glass Tiger? Lol ... you meant Good Tiger.
And you're wrong about Elliot

I'm getting old and my memory's shit already. But I'm not wrong! lol

[introclaus]

Is there a new The Scintilla Project underways?

Love the debut, and still go back to it fairly often, as it was probably Biff's best performance since ... well ... since the glory days of Saxon (waiting for Guillaume to correct me here ).

The guy who shot the original movie together with Lionel Hicks (from Balance of Power) apparently just uploaded two videos from the debut album that I've never seen before. I saw someone post about it on another forum.

https://youtu.be/Pce_6KtMij0 (album opener, and such a killer tune!)
https://youtu.be/wbfE_e2KZ6c

I'm wondering if he is just trying to update his portfolio as a video maker or if it's a "hint" that the band is putting together a second album?!

This was a marriage made in heaven though, with Biff's vocals, the music of Balance of Power, and Andy Sneap's guitar playing and production. I would not mind a new album at all.

[Guillaume]

Is there a new The Scintilla Project underways?

Love the debut, and still go back to it fairly often, as it was probably Biff's best performance since ... well ... since the glory days of Saxon (waiting for Guillaume to correct me here ).

The guy who shot the original movie together with Lionel Hicks (from Balance of Power) apparently just uploaded two videos from the debut album that I've never seen before. I saw someone post about it on another forum.

https://youtu.be/Pce_6KtMij0 (album opener, and such a killer tune!)
https://youtu.be/wbfE_e2KZ6c

I'm wondering if he is just trying to update his portfolio as a video maker or if it's a "hint" that the band is putting together a second album?!

This was a marriage made in heaven though, with Biff's vocals, the music of Balance of Power, and Andy Sneap's guitar playing and production. I would not mind a new album at all.

Well, you're right that Biff ruled on this, but it's also the case on each Saxon album since many years. I much prefer Biff's voice since like 25 years than on the first albums, when he was too high and nasal at times. He improved a lot while getting older. There, I said it!!

[introclaus]

That new Alcatrazz ("take no prisoners") is really good - I had not expected that after the somewhat lackluster (I mean, not bad, but not amazing either) "V" from 2021. They've toned down the metal aspects here, and returned to a more classic Alcatrazz style, which is to say hard rock with a neo-classical touch to it, not too dissimilar to Rainbow (and with Doogie on vocals that makes sense, right?). I'm really liking this.

https://youtu.be/7C-hekmFmec (Holy Roller - might be my favorite of them all ... definitely going for the Rainbow vibe, and Joe Stump delivers a superb solo)

[LarryD]

Over the Memorial Day weekend I pulled out some of the old classics to see how well they would hold up after not hearing these for some time (except for the 4th one which I listen to regularly) .........

SAVIOUR MACHINE / II --
Of all the SM discs, I feel that this one is the most proggy in the classic sense, as well as capturing some of the best SM emotion to date ....... since I loved the latest Eric Clayton solo release, I grabbed this to see how well it would stand the test of time. The music is fabulous - the drama and emotion are still top notch ...... if anything irked me along the way, it was the monotony. Some of the music just dragged on with the same riff over and over and I found myself starting to get antsy during these "samey" passages. That said, this could still be my fav SM disc.


ROYAL HUNT / Paradox -
I hadn't played this for quite awhile .....and I mean quite awhile. I was pleasantly rewarded with goosebumps when I heard some of these songs again, and I was reminded of the "old days" when releases like this just blew us away and it was talked about for months and months to come ...... River of Pain and Message to God just gave me chills to listen to, and to me this is DC at his best. I've been a casual fan since this release, and then dropped off over the years but listening to this disc just excited the hell out of me and I'm ready to pull out the DVD of this show, which is also magic.


SUPERIOR / Behind -
I knew already that this I wasn't going to be disappointed when hearing this one after some time passed......and I was once again rewarded with those goosebumps that I got from Paradox above, but even moreso this time as this disc represents an emotional / personal time for me back during this time ......I will never forget the day that the great Erik Welty laid this and House of Spirits / Turn of the Tide on me at the same time. It could be one of the best 1/2 punches for me ever. The heaviness, the raw emotional vocal delivery (I thought Michal Tangermann was God at the time), the drama in this music was and is nothing short of spectacular. If there was ever a band that I wish would have continued on, it would have been this one along with Dreamscape. Getting to see them at Prog Power (mucho thanks to Glenn) was otherworldly for me.


SHADOW GALLERY / Tyranny -
And now we come to the masterpiece......and is it still a masterpiece to me ? Absolutely and no question about it - YES. This one sails above most of all else for me in the world of music ... and is up there with Operation: Mindcrime for not only desert island disc, but also for concept disc. This disc is just magical on all counts, especially the vocal delivery and music melodies. I would have liked to be in that room when these melodies were being written. How someone could come up with these melodies in each and every song on this disc is beyond my comprehension of music writing. The personal memories that this disc brings are countless, and the release gave me the same feeling I had upon discovering Images and Words when it came out. There was nothing like it. It never gets old, I never FF thru any songs, and it's beyond wife approved every time I play it. And once again, as an added bonus, thanks to Glenn for bringing them to ProgPower - and even though Mike wasn't there (RIP my friend), that show was magic in the making. Just pure bliss. A disc for the ages for me.