Its a Progressive Thing, You Dont Understand

Orphaned Land, To-Mera & Pathosray

And Now For Some Things Different, Completely

One of the cool things about making a station on Pandora is how you can 'fine tune' your choice of 'station' in a few different ways. Looking at my station "EpicAfterHim" (see link on side) I have 3 main bands as 'band seeds' - which means they are the main influence on what other bands from which are selected. Certain bands are quite closely associated with each other so if you have Guns-n-Roses for example as a band seed, its sure that you will hear some Motley Crue. In my case my 3 main seeds are Epica, After Forever and HIM. Yes both Epica and After Forever are quite similarly referenced on Pandora but Epica tends to spawn more classical references and Power Metal bands (Kamelot for example, due to the 2 bands' direct linkage), whereas After Forever tends to spawn off more technical bands and Progressive Metal (I get Symphony X and some Dream Theatre) and having HIM listed gives me a good reference point for Finnish bands, some punk, some alternative. For my purposes, its a good fit. Song seeds work a bit differently.

   Band seeds will define the overall general styling of your programming. Choose 1 artist from the 80's and that's all your probably going to hear, top 80s songs. But choose 2 or 3 relatively unknown 80's bands and you will get a much wider (and probably more interesting) soundscape. Song seeds work differently to help direct the variance you will hear. Put a big hit from an 80's artist, but from more current times (like a U2) song, and you will notice the difference on that same 80's station. My song seeds are taken right off of my list of songs I learned from the internet. Songs I have mostly already shared here in my blog. Songs I would say are a framework to the sort of song I want to hear more of.

  Which brings me to this current update. These are 3 songs from bands I never heard of or didn't know. Its a good over-view on just how varied- when you get into tinkering your stations settings - your results can be. Just don't forget to click "thumbs-up" when you hear a good tune... It may be a little more difficult to track down then you think. There are 3 songs I cant include here in this list simply because I cant find them- anywhere! Once I do find them, I'll post a "Lost Track" update.

Sapari- Orphaned Land (Israel Folk/Progressive Metal, 2010)

   I did run into this band on youtube, searching for Folk Metal in odd places. Unfortunately, I never bookmarked what I found, which lead me to wonder "What was that band from that foreign country?" which was all I can remember. Pandora, though helped me through this and this incredible gem came through my player. As a quick introduction to Orphaned Land, they are a folk metal band in the way they use melodies and instruments from their homeland, in this case Israel. The lyrical content though is a combination of dialects from the region. This helps their cause as they meld together a mindset of philosophies from which they draw their songwriting. And its gotten them into trouble. Basically they can't possibly play their music in certain regions. But as far as being underground, they are quite well known. I feel they have grown into being maybe the best known underground band from overseas. Not bad for being banned in your own homeland, one that which they sing about.

  Honestly, I feel that only strengthens their positions, their viewpoints and message. Nonetheless the music is instantly memorable and moving. If you like for music to take you off to foreign landscapes, it's hard to compete with OL. The female vocals provided by Shlomit Levi are also key. Her clear delivery solidifies the strength of the melody and gives another dimension to their already vivid landscape.

To-Mera- The Lie (London Progressive Fusion Metal, 2008)

   So you know those bands that sound like a hybrid of 2 bands? Ever hear this one? "They sound like if Metallica and Rush had a baby" Well this band sounds like about 8 of those combinations. It's the modern take on Progressive Metal, or Fusion Metal as Ive heard it referenced as, if it has any tip of the hat to Jazz. So we have a marriage between all of these various styles and the result is... Awesome! Its as if my Pandora player just mocked all my tinkering and said "O.K. you want to hear all this diversity? how about in one band, in one song?" (insert madman chuckle). This song has its moment, moment after moment. Taking what other Fusion/Progressive/Thrash/Death Metal bands have done (do you know any of those?) such as Cynic (if you dont know them its totally worth checking out) and placing a Female vocal (founding member Julie Kiss) and some Black Metal under-pinnings and you get To-Mera. This song in particular, takes this marriage to another level.

  With a true jazz breakdown with cabaret style vocals and horns, it goes to full long-count metal and then into full blast beats. Following that section comes a very symphonic breakdown, almost soundtrack in nature. All this allows Julie Kiss to wail, beckon and show off her full range without sounding like a Tarja wanna-be or a screaming maniac. Overall a very fantastic combination, inspiring and leaves you full of awe. Thank you so very much Pandora.

Pathosray- Songs Of The Sunless Sky (Italy Progressive Metal, 2009)

   Progressive Metal. If that statement or genre name sounds silly to you, well maybe silly no more once you've trekked through a seriously well written voyage as such as this one song is. With a great vocal delivery by Marco Sandron, there are hints to 70's prog-rock, some symphonics and great piano passages all the while the sweeping vocals float above. The guitar work fills nearly every crevice. There is something to listen closely to at every moment. I truly love the guitar sounds mixed with the long keys voicing the main melody at the intro. The song is in broken-verse style where the drums show off their progressive stylings and during the choruses, actual full vocal choruses. The beautiful breakdown before the solo at 4:10 is reminiscent of only the best moments from bands like Dream Theatre but this moreover brings me to one of my very favorite bands, Amorphis. Whom I posted 2 great songs (see previous posting: Return to Finland II: The Future of Metal)

   Thanks to Pandora, my musical horizons now include Italy, Israel and even London. Its quite incredible to see how varied Progressive Metal can be. This truly is music and I revel within every moment. It ignites my passion, my sets into motion my creative fires. It drives me to continue on with my wish to share these powerful and wondrous landscapes with you here, in My Endless Search.

Next update: One of my Most Epic updates ever... My 4 favorite Songs from Pandora.

Pandora Tackles Symphonic Metal Giants

Thanks to Pandora Intro III
Pandora Tackles Symphonic Metal Giants
After Forever, Therion & The Gathering

Follow The Yellow Brick Road.....

  I was beginning my playlist. I started to catalog. I was delving deep. There was history.

  Not everything I was getting to know was on youtube but that was quickly beginning to change. I would lose links. I called them the youtube gremlins. Mostly the BMG group who didnt care too much for all their content spreading across the inner-nets for free. Citing copyrights, users began to get harassed or worse, taken off youtube entirely and so would go their links. It still happens but when I began my endless search, it might have been at its peak. So occasionally I would 'lose' a song or a version, only to find it later. The next 3 are actually songs I clicked thumbs-up on my Pandora player- but couldnt find on youtube. Until now that I am writing this update.

  The main point here is, Thanks to Pandora, I have another 3 great songs to add to my lists. Although at the  time I couldnt find these songs on youtube, which did lead me to other great songs, other huge journeys, other discoveries and more.. And now here, today again they point me in more directions, allowing for reflection and my 100% dedication to sharing this experience, with you.

  In this update I have featured After Forever, Therion & The Gathering. Bands which I consider to be among the top tier of this sub-genre, this sisterhood, this sub-classification or association, if you will- as the off-shoots. The hyphen metal. Symphonic/Power/Gothic Metal. Among the top-tier I would also place Epica, Within Temptation, Nightwish and perhaps Sirenia as the very most popular bands in this list. They all place together rather nicely since they all have been around since basically the same time period. Therion and The Gathering are the elders, Nightwish and Within Temptation the parents and Epica, Sirenia and After Forever the princesses. But even being ranked so high, these bands are still very much under the radar of the more popular hyphen-death metal genres such as Symphonic Black Metal and the like, (which so far I havent been inclined to include any of those bands - even the pioneers - here in this blog).

  So let's delve into these 3 hidden gems from 3 of the top-tiers in this sisterhood and follow down where the yellow brick road takes us to. Or better, perhaps as a reference to the fantasy, the rabbit hole.

After Forever- Yield To Temptation (NL, 2000 Symphonic Metal)

  At the very intro you know you have certainly dropped down the rabbit hole away from bland commercial music. A full choir beckons, in a true classical mode then a slow, crawling death metal section complete with death metal grunt vocals. This contrast is the Beauty and Beast vocals which a few of the symphonic metal bands employ. Worthy of note here, is this song is from After Forever's debut CD. The average age of the band at the time, Ive read was 19. Its very impressive in fact, to take in the scope of what they laid down so early in their careers. From the choir intro to the sheer pounding that occurs later in the song, its easy to see the band's influences. To have written off After Forever at that time, as a Nightwish clone (which was done) is so shortsighted to what this band proved capable of, time and time again.

  Follow my links below to other entries I have included in my blog already and how truly important I view them and the uber-talent that is Floor Jansen. I am, forever in debt to them.

  Pandora did not introduce me to After Forever, but this is my take on what was my first bookmarked AF song here: The First Batch
Thankfully, then this happened: After Forever Blows My Mind P1
This is just shock and awe: After Forever Blows My Mind PII
Only after months of sulking upon hearing of After Forever's disbanding, this happened and I wished I was there to have witnessed what I refer to as The Greatest Moment in Symphonic Metal History



Therion- Morning Star (Draconian Trilogy) (Sweden, 1998 Symphonic Metal)

  Among the top-tier is Grandaddy Therion. I cannot place all I can say about this landmark band here so please follow the links below. I thumbs-up'ed this song because at the time I had only placed the bombastic attack of Utharka Runa in my playlists and this song reminded me of others that I have shared also below. What is to be said about Therion is how they completely mix their take on classically based sounds and operatic choirs, with their mythos and metal stylings into fully realized pieces. And they do it like no other... still after all this time. Follow the yellow brick road through the links below. Take note they have a recent release called Sitra Ahra (NL, 2010) and understand there is more than 1 wizard behind this curtain.

A great tune I found on last.fm before I got into Pandora from the landmark release Lemuria: The Others PII
More in-depth update dedicated to what I think about Therion and 4 songs I love: Getting Into Mega-Therion



The Gathering- In Motion #1  (NL, 1995 Alt Metal)

   From the monolith epitaph known as Mandylion. The Gathering has albeit slowly become one of my guilty pleasures. Reading the comments on just about any single video post of theirs on youtube is also quite entertaining. I seriously have no idea how its possible so many people who call themselves rabid-obsessed fans of a band (with such a long history) - yet they have no idea how to classify the band's music. Listening to this song repetitively, now as I attempt to do just that (for your benefit), I have come up with a description that fits at least this 1 song. I would say its haunting-non goth, enlightened upbeat doom, atmospheric non-boring, non-dated progrock, non-classically symphonic Female fronted non-metal. Luckily, it doesnt suck. As you fall into this rabbit-hole of impossibility, re-imagine this at the time of its release. How The Gathering went from a doom-death-thrash style to this enigma in one solid bound. Adding the angelic Anneke on vocals didnt hurt either. But here in this song, its the sheer presence the band displays, through such solid songwriting and performance. It is completely obvious that they had tapped into something special and for us, the listeners, we get to experience it time and time again.

  I certainly had already fallen in love with Anneke's voice and ability by the time I had programmed my Pandora player and this song had escaped me. Luckily I clicked thumbs-up and have kept it in rotation ever since. Below are other songs I so highly recommend to you- but I wish to do so without sounding like one of those people who dont know what The Gathering sounds like. 

  My first bookmark and first time I heard her voice. As I, as thousands: The Others PII
I am not one of those people who think shes an angel - I know it: Falling in Love with Anneke

Worthy of noting here, now that The Gathering has moved on w/o Anneke with the highly capable Silje, I do believe thier follow up to the rather straight-laced West Pole (2009), should be a stronger effort, now that she has been warmly accepted in a very hot seat. The first glimpse of the follow up is an amazing 10 minute effort called Heroes For Ghosts which was released earlier this year (2011).

  I hope you have been inspired taking from Following The Yellow Brick Road with me and this over view of 3 from the top-tier, next up Pandora dishes out something different, bands I never heard before.

Next Update: Thanks to Pandora, now I know them too.

Rubbing The Magic Lamp

Thanks to Pandora: Intro II
Rubbing The Magic Lamp

The Early Bookmarks

  I had bite marks. It was the Symphonic Metal Bug biting me in my ass. I felt like I had walked into a fantasy world in which all the things that I hated and sucked about the music I had drowning in had been magically turned into all things that are awesome and good. So yes I had rubbed the fabled genie lamp and all my wishes were bestowed upon me. Instead of the huge process I was going through (discussion boards, lists on Last.fm, youtube or myspace (yes a myspace reference in 2011)) and then hoping- just hoping the songs were pleasant enough to my ears to want to add them to my bookmarks. Instead of all that- I just click on my Pandora Player. It digs through the genres for me. Rub the Lamp. Click Thumbs-up. Listen the song for 2 years and decide it's so good I need to write about it in this blog. The best thing in this chronicle, is the time-line. Since I eliminate the abandoned links, the just-ok moments get weeded out and the result is a time-line that just continues to get better and better. Hoping that you follow with me this discovery, allows me to reflect back on each song in its moment of relativity to my whole search thus far.

    In my time-line I am currently just about 1 year and half behind. In 2010 I began to thumbs-up songs in my first official "station" on Pandora. The tracks I thumbed up are dated automatically in my list which makes it a precise time-line. Some of this does overlap with my blog Season 1 so some of what I had found on Pandora did influence me to find more on my own. Now that I am writing this blog, I must recognize what my pandora player means to me and this search.

   What is really great about Pandora is its one-click seamless usability and overall on-target user profiling. But there are minuses. It is by no means a complete collection. The majority of artists with long careers are usually only represented by a portion of their content. The genre-specifics at times are way off. Which really tends to piss off people like myself who are really looking for genre-driven content. So its a little irritating when you see bands that you know well be linked to bands that have nothing to do with them. Some of these labels and associations have been cleaned up but its obviously not Pandora players main concern and use the terms 'other bands like ___" very loosely.

  Having said that, My station of EpicAfterHIM (see link on side panel) was bringing me fantastic, wild, bombastic, some generic and some off-the wall recommends. My player though was in cruise control. The Lamp was rubbed, the Genie was blowing smoke of awesomeness and making my wishes come true. I just had to not forget to Thumbs-up this stuff as it came along.

   This next set are more songs from (now familiar) bands to my bookmarks. Not the A-typical selections neither, which proved to me my plan was working. Pandora was let out of her box, a little chaos ensues and after all the smoke and fire... just burnt timbers of awesome left behind.

Epica - Force of the Shore (NL, 2005 Symphonic Metal)

  From their second release, Consign to Oblivion, this song is such a perfect primer to the genre, that someone who is not familiar with Symphonic Metal would get a good idea rather quickly what its all about. The opening, for example, does a good job of making this song stand out. Even today, years later when this song does come up on my play-lists, it catches me instantly. Yes the choirs, yes the strings, and the divine near-perfect vocals of Simone Simons, all in place, But most just hear this blissful union, along with the death-metal growls (when paired together, is called Beauty&Beast vocals)- but Epica is deeper than just that (see previous posting: Epic Songs from Epica)

 This song, as are most from their catalogs, is drawn in a world of parallel, in symbolism, in perspective. That world allows you, the listener to take from it what you wish. In this case, its the Force of the Shore. I hear awesomeness. The story, the narrative, is just a bonus.

Apocalyptica- Fisheye (Finland, 2005 Symphonic Metal)

  An absolute stand out. 1000% recommended. It's a full listen. It's a complete experience. The Finnish quartet playing only cellos in an original composition along with a drummer, some slick production and songwriting that which can only be described as imaginative and uncommon. No lyrics here. No hot Dutch Female vocalist to steal the scene. Only long-haired prodigal virtuosic Finnish rockstars thrashing- destroying it on their cellos. As if it's done that way- everywhere. No, No it's NOT. This is NOT the real world. In the real world I have to deal with people considering Katy Perry and Lady Gaga as pioneers. This is my fairy-world I reside within, when I breathe the smoke from the awesome Genie. When my Pandora player throws something at me that simply defies that which is expected.

   Right from the beginning, this song cranks right in, the intro feeds the first melody, which crescendos into a near death-metal heavy thrashing as drifting melodies are carrying upward. The song quietly breaks for another reprise of this melody; almost like a bassline section would do. But it's the breakdown that knocks this into a scoring position. Another crescendo and a unifying feel of tension as the drums do fountain-fall rolls after roll... you know already this wont end nicely. The last few breaths of this song makes the home-run a grand slam. Thank God for those longhair Finnish guys.

Octavia Sperati- Icebound  (NL, 2005 Gothic Metal, Doom)

  OS; I have featured them here so often I need to refer to them as abbreviations. I'll never forget the first time I heard OS. It was a song called Moonlit. (see previous posting: The First Batch) It was one of those moments that opened my eyes to this fairy-world of where everything is awesome. It took me one passage of the groove, in the first 40 seconds I knew I was onto something good. So when my Pandora player played a song from OS- I practically went into shock. There wasn't a whole lot of songs on youtube from them, most of the links I found were gone and this song completely eluded me once I thumbs-up it. Only recently the link I share here, found it's way to me, one day looking for other songs from OS and boom I said yea I remember this one. Sure enough, it was on my thumbs-up list (along with others I will share here for sure, there's so much I love from them)

 This one comes from the 1st full-length CD Winter Enclosure. Doomy, dark and very Sabbath but very melodic along with the drudgery, multi-layers of Silje's beautiful vocals, almost whispery as her accents flow against the grain and the song simply bursts into a solid heavy stream of bombardment. It's a fairy-world, yes. But not always a perfectly beautiful one. It has dark corners. Disturbingly enough though, is how the song ends. No warning, almost as it began.

  A feeling of "what happened?" comes over and it's perfectly done. The answer of what happened is my pandora player scores again. It didn't just bring up the most common song from OS, nor from Apocolyptica, nor even the heavyweights of Epica, it selected these songs as if to say, "Wait to you hear this one!" It's as if it knew already that I would thumbs-up these. The Genie was working, all I had to do was click play.

Side note: All 3 from 2005.

Next Update: After Forever, Therion, and The Gathering, Pandora brings out the big guns.

Symphonic Metal Saved My Life: Thanks to Pandora

Symphonic Metal Saved My Life: Thanks to Pandora
Even Pandora Player Knows These Bands

Welcome to Season 2
     Flashback more than 15 years ago when the viability and accessibility of the world of promises made by online services and the 'its free' movement - Internet radio was the buzz. Obscure, obscene, rare, genre-driven, mindset apparent, age-appropriate channels were among the diversity of internet radio. It never kept my interest. In all fairness, I am someone who despises all radio. It's done nothing but bring me down, narrow my perspective and remind me that if I was happy listening to a station, it only meant I fit into their targeted demographic. The truth is the content of programming must eventually reflect the stations need to raise profitability. How can this business model work on the internet which is based on listening for free? The answer is the same. Remember when radio was free? (it still is, in 2011 but paid-for satellite radio is gaining popularity) So somehow every internet radio station Ive listened to, even with all the narrow-marketing, still felt like regular radio. I mentioned in the beginning of this blog I was listening to an underground web radio station that totally played every goth-club/80s underground song I love- but even that got boring for me. Thankfully, there is something better. Its Pandora.com

   Ive heard that listening to Pandora.com is so 2009. Which is about the year my bookmarks for this entire blog begin at. It took me about a year into this that I started messing around with the settings for my own station on pandora.com (my pandora player)
   The stations' name is EpicAfterHim which refers to Epica, After Forever and HIM. What in turn I get as content is pretty much based off those 3 bands. I get Symphonic and Female Fronted Metal seeded from Epica, which includes some symphony only seeds, I get Powermetal, Progressive and instrumental jazz directly rooted from After Forever and I also get alt/dark/doom metal, mostly from Finland, based on the fact I have included HIM.
  Right off the bat I was hearing a nice selection of songs I didn't know, but from artists I was beginning to be familiar with. My first 3 thumbed up songs are below and yes they are from some of my favorite bands. So I began to become mad and irritated all over again. Mad @ Radio - Not Pandora, but radio because all I needed to do was plug in a few words to this thing and BOOM- my eyes opened up. This THING knows EPICA and every other band that has taken me up to this point about a year and a half to get into, by researching, by reading, by trying practically EVERYTHING, well except this THING. So needless to say I felt like I was in the dark all this time. I was just getting into Symphonic Metal, and whatever that can be lumped in there just getting to know that I LOVE After Forever, that I LOVE Epica and this website HAS them. It made me kinda sulk back into my chair in disbelief. The internet and all this tech is so unbelievably ONE-CLICK away. (hint-you can click my player and experience some of this right now)

  Ok I have the breathe again and get back on track here...

   Overall I feel Pandora is on the right track. Randomized free internet radio with program-ability and user-end social media integration and an exceptional database that certainly feels as eclectic as you seemingly wish it to be. So let's get to the first 3 songs I share here, which I discovered directly from my Pandora player, on My Endless Search.Of course there are pluses and minuses with using the Pandora Player, which I will get into as I share with you, in order, the songs I have thumbs-up'ed..

Epica - Feint (NL, Symphonic Metal 2004) 

   In a very weird parallel, the first song I Thumbs-up'ed is this hugely popular song from Epica, which is so similar to the very first song I found from Epica (see previous posting: Pretty Voices FFM). This song, a gentle flowing vehicle for Simone Simons' voice to float effortlessly over. In the video, she is as breathtaking beautiful as the song is as she shows off just portions of her range, and the long pads of violins flow and ebb underneath. As was the first song I found from Epica (Solitary Ground), this song is a bit understated in contrast to the other songs yet to come... Also, I do know it wasn't the very first song my programmed station first played which was Nightwish (not included here for certain reasons)- go figure!

Kamelot - Wander (USA, Powermetal 2003)

  I have a lot of Kamelot songs in favorites. Only "Ghost Opera" so far I have included here (see previous posting The Others III, Violins) This song I have managed to keep listening to, thanks to Pandora. It's from the 2003 release, "Epica" (Where the band Epica got their name from) I thumbs-up this one I believe somewhere 1:54 when the drums first kick in and there is a great moment before the solo where the outstanding vocals of Roy Khan break the silence. The whole song, again is quite understated from what I will be featuring here but the seed has been planted. More songs with outstanding vocals, more wandering piano and violins underneath. Songs like this though you need to break up some of the ultra-furious pace of Power Metal or the over-dramatics from walls of symphonic choirs, or dizzying arrays of vocal acrobatics. So I recommend this song, just a nice breather before you delve deep into something by a band like say, After Forever....

After Forever - Beneath (NL, Symphonic Metal, Progressive 2003)

   Pretty impressive start, now that I look back that my first 3 thumbs-up were from Epica, After Forever and Kamelot. Now if I am introducing to you these songs, I can only assume you are freaked out by Simone's beauty and talent, by Roy's (Kamelot) strength and range and delivery. But I can only prepare you for this one by saying I consider her (Floor Jansen) to have the greatest voice in all of metal (see previous posting After Forever Blows My Mind). This song is a huge collection of hugeness with Floor's huge voice filling it up all over the place. The sheer volume with the instruments, the pounding drums, the chugging guitars and she just slays it. It begins out innocently enough though this song is about a quite violent event that occurred in Holland and the song eventually begins to express all that rage and aggression, there are beautiful passages before a talk-over from news reports, cluing you into the gravity the song has and then Floor just blows the walls out through the last passage.

   If I was to just stop at this point, it all would be good enough for me. Thank you Pandora. I do recognize though "Terrestrial Radio" is good for 1 thing... getting traffic on my way to work but besides that... I hate it.

Next Update: More from some now-familiar names

Unknown, Underrated and Awesome

Unknown, Underrated and Awesome
Songs 58-60... Octavia Sperati and Silentium return

The last of my first group of songs I have my play-lists stop here at songs 58, 59 & 60. Don't think I simply stumbled across 60 only-awesome songs. I've eliminated a portion of songs in my lists from the aspect that they simply weren't as special as the others. So therefore songs 58-60 are actually quite special to me. This was during a time-frame I was convinced that Symphonic Metal was my New Thing, but I was running into less and less of it that I liked and more and more of the darker, gloomier, more death-metal or Gothic Metal influenced sounds. Its just that I was becoming quite picky and there seemed to be more quality from the other genres excluding symphonic metal, and these are 3 more of those that stand out for me.
   I had just begun tinkering around with my Pandora Player during this timeframe and most of my links from songs 60 to somewhere around 90 are directly related from my pandora player. But not these last 3. Both bands have made their appearances very early in my listings and its the the 3rd separate update for each of these 2 bands, who I consider to be criminally unknown. I feel they are both very exceptional bands with worlds of talent, and the world should know about them.
  So lets get to these last 3 for my first season of My Endless Search. Next update I begin my links from Pandora, which will mark season 2. Once I get past the majority of those, I will begin into the releases of 2010-2011 and hopefully catch up to current time. That's when I start Season 3.
Hope you will stick through it all with me... as I continue My Endless Search.

Octavia Sperati - Lifelines and Depths  original version


Revised w male drummer

Octavia Sperati- Lifelines and Depths (Norway Gothic/Doom Metal, 2005)
    Simplicity at times, in actuality, can be rather complex. Perhaps simple on the surface, but when you pull back further away, you see (in this case hear) interwoven layers, bits and pieces which stand on their own, segmentation and transition, all which I consider as dynamics.  And in this song all the dynamics of Silje's melodic vocals show through it all, almost outshines in fact. But the music is as beautiful, the variance in the drum parts and how the guitars go quickly over the slower, longer counted drums are a great contrast to the smooth long notes held by the vocals. The quiet breakdown allows to focus on her voice before the return of the pounding rhythm. In the original video this section is in its entirety. If you listen closely, you may even hear some influence that Anneke (The Gathering see previous posting: Falling In Love with An Angelic Voice) had on Silje, who was picked as the new singer for The Gathering, in case you didnt know by now...
   And as of recent, The band has become a little more known since the fanbase for The Gathering is so huge, and their fans are beginning to discover them, but its after the fact, since it appears there wont be anymore Octavia Sperati. Which is depressing because they have provided some truly awesome moments like the next song...


Octavia Sperati- Going North (Norway Gothic/Doom Metal, 2007)
  I think this song and my favorite from OS, which is Moonlit (See previous posting: The First Batch) both won me over very early, like before the song even made it halfway through. Here the bassline grabs the attention as the band simply plows in afterwards. Have I forgot to mention the band is all female? (male drummer did replace the original Female drummer) well I don't care but it really has a great heavy feel to it and even with the band putting out so much power, Silje still finds room to have her moments. At times the song feels like its falling down and raising back over hills which just give it more and more energy, like a roller-coaster, all the while Silje sings just above like in the clouds overhead. The best part though hits at 2:11. The lone bass intros the middle doom-heavy section which is very inspired and should make your eyebrows raise up, then a haunting melody is sung over this slow punching chromatic passage and your hairs on your neck should raise. Then you have no choice but to follow along with the pummeling until the last chord. Makes you want to do it all over again, doesn't it?


Silentium- Hangman's Lullabye (Finland, Gothic Metal 2005)
  Silentium is one of those bands which seemed to take a few releases to fully find themselves, and after a few changes at vocals, find themselves a true songstress within Riina Rinkenen. As Ive mentioned, I have posted songs from Silentium earlier in my blog (see previous postings: Pretty Voices, and Return To Finland I). I cannot emphasis enough what I love about her tone and delivery, and it's a perfect match for the music that the band writes. The overall mood is Eerie and atmospheric, with droning guitars and lightly flighting keyboard parts intertwining with violin and more recently, cello. The drum style stands out a bit more than the a-typical from this genre, allowing for more room, more pacing without overpowering or leaning too heavy.
  After the first few directions in this song change, it is clear that the band is carving out its own niche. Without sounding too happy or too depressive, Riina delivers a sweet melody which lingers just long enough after the pauses to give the song its edge. The best parts are the loudest, at times it feels like Silientium is making a statement whereas their songs feel of huge scope and depth, such as how this song, one that feels of a dark slow ballad, actually picks up steam for a nice solo section at 4:20, then a quick break which Riina gets to shine before the band goes back in at full force.
  One thing that marks this song is a common theme Ive come to realize is my favoritism of songs that have a lot and I mean a lot going on. The last passage feels like a puzzle coming together, all the pieces of the layers, simple in thier own way, form into a multi-textural, complex thing of beauty.

  Now as I move into Season 2, songs 60-90 the next question is, will these 2 bands make another return? Considering how much Ive come to love what Ive shared so far, would'nt you say the chances are pretty good?
 
Next Blog Update: More unknown, underrated, and awesome music - no surprise there... The beginning of Season 2: Thanks to Pandora!

Getting Into Mega-Therion

Getting Into Mega-Therion
Stumbling Through The History of Symphonic Metal

   If I was making a chronicle of the history of Symphonic Metal, I wouldnt start with the popular choice of Nightwish - but I would start with Therion. They were really the first to become a wholly symphonic metal band as they had begun to experiment early in thier long career with sounds of doom metal and orchestral sections, choral vocal patches, and a female operatic vocalist. And Therion did it in an impressive manner, by incorporating and playing live with, a full symphonic orchestra. The band's history, lineup changes, style changes and overall catalog is way too extensive for me to go into here, as I am only writing this blog to share stuff I have fallen in love with, not (as I have seen in too many music blogs) just make a huge list and recommend, in a generic way 'hey listen to this because you're supposed to know these guys, if you know anything about music"
  As I was discovering symphonic metal, I did run into Therion early in my notes and bookmarks (see previous posting: Music From The Others II - Doom Crossovers). I had found lots of live videos mostly from their Live Gothic DVD which I found odd in the mixture of Gothic imagery and very classical song structures. I wasn't thoroughly convinced in fact. As I began to scour deeper into the history of symphonic metal, it became evident that Therion did pave the way for the majority of what I was listening to. I was impressed by the fact this band has been around for so long, so I assumed I would eventually come across some stuff that I would enjoy, and in that process I began to notice a few things of interest.
  Therion takes their name from the classic Doom/Black metal originators, Celtic Frost and their release, To Mega-Therion. I grew up on metal such as Celtic Frost so it was interesting to me to be able to hear where their gothic/doom influences came from. Another thing I notice, they are from Sweden and take on Greek and Nordic themes, some satanic imagery and overtones. Their brand of metal is a very straight doom-based form of metal with some flourishes of Thrash, Progressive and Speed included, and the classical portion includes Italian classical lines, feeling at times like borrowed melodies from the archetype of massive over-the-top operas, like Wagner. There has been lots of experimentation in the realm of metal to fuse neo-classical elements into the phrasing for example, of the guitar solo or short vocal, chant-like intros for atmosphere. But that in no way compares to the direction that a band like Therion takes. Its really like a night at the opera, but a cool one with vikings and warlords and magical enchantresses, but along with the sweeping vocals of the gifted opera star, you have essentially a talented metal band showing all the underscoring of Doom Metal.
   The examples I share in this update are simply a group of songs that have lasted well on my ears from the time I heard them, and are decent examples of the ambiance, the atmosphere and talented songwriting, which must be quite a difficult thing to pull off, in studio and even more so live. Perhaps these next 4 songs will be the key in you getting "In To Mega-Therion" as they have for me.

Therion Sweden (1989 - current)


Therion - To Mega Therion  (1996) Theli
  You catch the feeling of this one really quick as it starts right off with the main melody, sang in choir, with the percussive accents supplied by the band. Then the rhythm kicks in and the melody is mimicked by strings. It's a form of phrasing like question and recall. This sudden aggressive attack is in your face and so different to the casual metal listener, but might feel less unusual to the classical listener. Which poses the question, are Therion fans essentially classical fans who don't normally listen to metal, or are they metal fans who wouldn't listen to classical music otherwise, maybe closet classical metal fans? Anyhow whatever the case may be it is obvious there aren't that many Symphonic Metal bands even today who do this that well, mix the 2 worlds together so well. Another thing to note is the male vocals that trade off, and the different tones they have. You start to get the feeling, as quick as the song hits you, that this is definitely a talented band.
  The middle section does not tail off neither. What I don't care for in some of the Symphonic Metal (specially the more X-treme type), that some sections that aren't classical-based really have a feeling of cut-and-paste, one metal section, one symphonic-styled section, and back and forth. At times the 2 don't have much in common. Here you get the complete opposite. You have the continuation of the question and recall phrasing but it goes between the symphonics and distorted guitars. The progression is straight metal, albeit a loose low key metal song, then graduates to a choir of triumphant vocals. Which is a little cheerful in a song that certainly has Satanic overtones. Another rephrasing section is followed by a few progressive refrains before jumping back into the galloping main rhythm and vocals. The exit has an anthem theme to it as guitars and keys trade off between each other to the finale. Cool and fun song but if you are a little uptight regarding its lyrical content, oh well, it's your loss.



Therion - Summernight City (2001) Secret of Runes Bonus Track
   I would love to just NOT tell you the secret behind this song, but the truth is far too good to just meh it, so I'll drop a few hints as you should be letting it play...
   First off, it is a cover song, and its not from a Metal band. Its a slow groove but a nice arabesque melody floats overhead. The first lyrics come through as a full choir. The style, definitely Swedish. The vocals shift from choir to male to female to full chorus. The catchy melody, is almost... danceable??  There are a few lyrics here I really catch onto and at some point gave me an AHHA moment. Therion plays a lot of festivals and as noted in the awesome documentary of the metal festival Wacken "A Headbangers Journey", the fans aren't just paying patrons, they are a unit, there is unity, there is Brother and Sisterhood. The line in the song "I love the feeling in the air.. My kind of People everywhere..." Somehow that connected to me and is probably the main reason why they chose to cover this song, besides from both being from Sweden. Its kinda weird jamming out to an ABBA song, isn't it? Great covers are usually ones that fit the band so well, it feels as if they themselves wrote it. As this one does you closet "I wish Abba were metal" fan. :-)

Therion - Birth of Venus Illegitima  (1998) Vovin

  Since I have found this song, and began to listen to it repetitively, it has become the top link for Therion searches, I think perhaps since its quite non-threatening. Its actually beautiful, doesn't hurt to have the beautiful and gifted singer Martina at the helm. Shes is enchanting. This is the period of time where Therion dropped off the majority of the male-only vocals and left in only choral and female vocals.
  I have no idea what the song is about though. Maybe its about some gruesome tale, the title bearing Venus's name again points to how Therion mixes just about whatever imagery, even Greek into their own Pantheon of storytelling. For me its the huge layers of vocals riding perfectly over a heavy groove that I like. Most bands today mimic this sound, but with multi-tracks and vocal settings on keyboards. So its nice to hear Actual gifted singers do the soaring.



Therion - Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah -  (1998) Vovin
 This one is from the majestic DVD set Miskolic Experience: Therion Goes Classical. In the song set they play amped up metal versions of what could be considered the who's who of who that influenced Therion. But that is not the truth. Band founder Christofer Johnsson didnt really like classical music so there goes that. But here they are, with a full symphony and full choir and them in full metal form, playing live. Its so majestic I dont have many words to describe. Just note that Lori Lewis is one of the vocalists. At times you hear the symphony lagging but it must be near to impossible to hear everything completely and be perfect with so many playing at once. The song is from the 1998 Vovin and the Live DVD is from a concert in 2007 and was released in 2009. Too bad it wasn't one of the concerts that was accompanied by a belly dancer, which they did later after the first 2 Therion Goes Classical shows had spawned off a tour.
 The band has since released their (as far as I can count) 13th release, Sitra Ahra, in 2010. That's 20+ years of basically flying under the radar, but doing so brilliantly, and in grandiose manner. Whenever I do mention Therion to a fellow metal fan they usually say they Love Old Therion. But the Old Therion didn't last long enough and their progression towards the band they would still be today was set well in motion back in the days of Old Therion.
  I hope you can find something to enjoy amongst this posting and maybe add it to your playlist. When one of their songs come up, you can't help to notice how much these guys stand out. From what I've read, they tend to totally outplay most bands at those huge festivals they play (even if they dont bring the whole symphony) it seams an unfair advantage they have, experience, songwriting and talent. Yeah- you tend to notice that.
 
Next posting: The Final Set of MyEndlessSearch, VOL I. I don't know how yet, but the next posting will bring about some changes to my blog as I amp it up for my Second Season, VOL.II if you will, and that will be titled "Thanks to Pandora"
 I hope you enjoy the second season of my blog as much I enjoyed writing the first season. Looking back I have a few favorite postings which are:

Attack of Velcra
The Others III - Play Violins
Return to Finland II - The Future of Metal
Return to Finland III - The Chameleons
After Forever Blows my Mind II

  And from writing my blog I re-discovered a few songs, as I researched or wrote about,  which I began to constantly listen to repetitively as if I had fallen in love a second time, which are below and linked to their postings:

HB - It is Time 
Octavia Sperati - And the World Froze
The Gathering - The Shortest Day
After Forever - Follow in the Cry
Velcra - We Must Start Again

Give them a re-listen if you haven't yet.  Very worthy songs.

Falling in Love With an Angelic Voice

Falling In Love With an Angelic Voice
The Angel Anneke

   Early in my bookmarks, I had put Strange Machines from The Gathering's landmark Mandylion into my rotation, being completely amazed by the melody and an impossible range of their singer, Anneke Van Giersbergen (see previous posting: The Others II) It lead me to want to discover more from this band, having only a vague idea of the band already as a chick metal band, I was pleasantly surprised to bookmark several standouts. But it's that hyper-critical part that comes out in myself and says "Yes -BUT..." So, here is the "Yes, But She's Hot" or "Yes, But she can Really sing" or "Yes but they did this back in 1995". Needless to say, there are a few things to take into consideration here.
 
  Number 1. They are NOT Gothic Metal. Whoever told you they are has no idea what the term Gothic refers to. (But- on that mark neither do most "goths").
  Number 2. Its more like "Metal-lite". The term Metal here is used very loosely. But - Its just their roots peeking out on occasion.
  Number 3. Anneke really is an Angel. No Buts.
 
  On point 3, this is what makes The Gatherings' fan base the most obsessive Ive encountered. They are also seemingly scatter-brained on what is the bands' best albulm. No one can tell, (its Mandylion btw) they all lean towards their favorite and dump on only one. Its bizzarre actually. Out of the bands Ive researched to find what I like the most, I couldn't go by anything I had read. Not even the suggestions- which I requested for, got me anywhere. I just was beginning to learn one thing- apparently millions of people are in love with an Angel. The level to which people take their obsession with her and her abilities (rightly so, she should be ranked way up at the top of any list) really intrigued me.
  So I quickly put into my favorites, any song that seemed to stand out. Knowing they are not a heavy band, that their sound changes on every release, makes it quite daunting to take on the giant list of 9 studio albums and 14+ years. So out of the 6 early bookmarks, Ive only added 1 since then. I featured Strange Machines like I said, and now the 3 that follow.
 First up from Mandylion (the first release with Anneke singing, 1995), is Leaves. A powerful heavy rocker with layered on keys, a few electronic drums (the only thing that sounds dated today) and her vocal soaring overhead. Then the next 2 come from Home (the last release with Anneke singing, 2006). Which show in comparison to Leaves, how much the band evolved. Since the release of Home, Anneke has left to do her own thing, a solo project called Agua de Annique and The Gathering recruited Silje Wergeland from Octavia Sperati, one of my favorite discoveries through my endless search. (See previous postings: The First Batch, and The Others I)
 On a side note, this blog has now featured 3 dutch female singers, Simone Simons (Epica), Floor Jansen (After Forever/ReVamp) and now Anneke. That is one Uber-talented bunch.

The Gathering, Netherlands Alt-Metal Ambient/Atmospheric
CD version


Leaves- Video Edit


The Gathering- Leaves 1995
 Another giant off of Mandylion. This song is simply a vehicle for Anneke's souring voice to showcase its strength and versatility. Her range is on complete display, at the upper sections of the chorus lines and the low drops within the verses. The melody hangs, seemingly impossibly in air, as it takes the entirety of the chorus to resolve.
  Perhaps what I really love more about this song is the lyrics. The song alludes to, a doomed relationship, like as if a one-night stand is being celebrated, knowing good and well it will end. To me it sounds like its from an actual experience Anneke had- perhaps on tour, perhaps with some fellow in some unknown town. As each chorus ends with the lines "Although I dont really know you- I dont really care" which gets flipped around in the final stanza as "Now that I do really know you- yes I really care". That should get your attention... hmm...
  There is one negative here. I dont care for the "solo" Its a far cry from the heated and passionate vocal delivery, one of pure joy and excitement and even melancholy. It seems unconnected to Anneke's passion.. The video version has this instrumental section shortened. There are so many strong songs from Mandylion and later releases (particularly "How to Measure a Planet") but this is the one which opened my eyes to Anneke's angelic talent and ability.


The Gathering- Alone, 2006
  This is the type of song I would hardly ever give a chance to. But I was lucky to have stumbled onto a huge variety of videos for this song. It was a part of a contest- Make a video for The Gathering. This was the case for this song from the albulm "Home", which tends to get widely mixed reviews from even TG's fans. The winner got thier video to be shown as an Official Gathering video. I ended up myself choosing my favorite version (its not the Official One)- which means I sat through at least 8 versions. This video really at times captures the feeling of movement and attempts to display isolation even within a city. Some of the imagery falls right in place but its the middle breakdown that completes it for me.
  My favorite part, the middle section to the song (mark at 2:59)- is so beautiful, its as if truly a choir of angels is singing it. In a song of bleakness and desperation, its an amazing resolve, Watch for the line "You will find peace of mind" you will see what I mean. All in all out of the many songs I have listed in my favorites and have made it into my blog - this is the only one which has permeated my actual dreams. There has been times I yearn to hear that one section it touches a nerve deep within- so well. So I recommend it to you and also recommend if you are planning on making a video for a contest - not to put yourself in it, or local landmarks. Record execs know well enough that people will wonder later who and where was that guy in the Alone video?


The Gathering- The Shortest Day, 2006
  As a reminder, this is not an American band. But seemingly masterful use of the American language shows throughout in this song. Better so, or at least more creatively, than a huge portion of American artists. I happened on this video while creating this posting, which is fan-based and I feel it illustrates the lyrics nicely. The fan base of this band is one of most fanatical I've seen from just about any band. As The Gathering continues on its path of re-imagining their sound, it is interesting to see the portion of their fan base that dislikes this 2006 release and the other half- who consider it their best. This is the CD's opener. For me it's the simple chromatic melody is the major selling point. Although there are vocal nods to The Cranberries and Alanis, I still find the song- after a year and half in my playlist, as inspired. The marching drum sounds in place even as Anneke smoothly oohs and ahhs over it almost all the way through the end.

  As I filter through more from The Gathering, there is a chance I will share more of what I fall in love with here, all in due time. But it is time to shift gears again back to the format which lead me into this Endless Search, Symphonic Metal.

Next update: Getting into Mega-Therion.

After Forever Blows My Mind II

After Forever Blows My Mind Part 2
3 more songs that convinced me Ive been listening
to the wrong music for too long.

  There is a moment when, as a fan of a particular band, you begin to become aware of the artist's limitations, tendencies, or shortcomings. After repetitive listens you begin to breakdown what you like, don't like, what you admire or even perhaps what you would change. I could look at a band for example, Rage Against the Machine and use many terms to classify or describe stylings, influences and bright moments. But to turn to the critical, in most cases really boils down to personal likings. If I would say the guitar player (Tom Morello) plays too basic, that would be my own interpretation of what he is playing vs my own personal preferences. To wish he played more like another guitar player (insert random Guitar God)  is such an elitist mentality, such short-sightedness, that it actually takes away from the listening experience. To custom mold every band into your personal accepted level of virtuosity or styling, would in essence make every band sound exactly the same.
  The main thing we as fans should keep in mind is the end result which we listen to is the cumulative effort from a group of musicians at a certain point in time. I find timelines pretty important when lending a critical eye in music. And also pureness. I had written a few short essays on the state of the modern music industry and pureness of artistry. I may one day link those essays here, which were just before I began to fall in love with symphonic metal. Which in my timeline, occurred one night when  I listened to the songs Transitory and Who I Am from After Forever (see previous posting: Blown Away by After Forever, Forever). The following links in this post are 3 more songs from After Forever that blew me away and aided in my desire to discover and fall in love with more songs like this. That is where the problem begins. I want everyone to sound like them and honestly there is only one Floor Jansen on vocals.
   I wish I was writing this blog at the time I began to listen to these songs, since my descriptions that will follow will be affected by time, by re-listens and by my own critical ear from everything else I listen to (which certainly has grown since then). I do know I am certainly not treading on undiscovered territory here. If you are a fan of what I call the sister genres (Symphonic, Power and Gothic Metal) you would know of After Forever. I didn't at the time I began this Endless Search though, and as I discuss more and more with my friends and even the random music lover, I find that 99% of them do not listen to the sister genres nor have even heard of Symphonic Metal, let alone Epica or a band like After Forever.
   I write this blog in a manner to treat these bands not as an elitist wishing for the perfect band in every release. But as a fan who trys to keep an open mind to possibilities and to encourage others to research through the internet, and resources like this blog that essentially allow anyone the ability to begin their own Endless Search for the widest range of stellar moments and performances from nearly any genre. Its this, my love for these performances, that I wish to share and perhaps convince a few people- no matter what form of music they currently listen to- that there is a whole world of new (to them) music waiting for them.
   Breaking down what After Forever is about to the typical Metal listener is quite simple. There is a little variance in their long career (1999-2009) but the main style does persist. They were indeed a phenomenal band with an outstanding vocalist Some people do refer to AF as following instep with what Nightwish (FIN) was doing. Mixing a level of classical and operatic stylings with full-on Metal attack and variance, with the addition of progressive stylings, and some speed of Power Metal. I would not call them Gothic Metal one bit though a huge portion of their fanbase considers them from that genre. I believe its the mix of the progressive element here (and Floor's voice) which sets them apart from the majority of bands of this style. Floor Jansen has since moved on with her own band ReVamp, after the breakup of After Forever, which is a good thing so we can continue to be amazed by her abilities- which apparently are only getting better. So lets get to my 3 choices in this update. They are 3 classic examples of what this band was capable of and are certainly are great songs to add to your own playlists, even if you have never heard of this thing called Symphonic Metal ever before, which is where I was just about 2 years ago.


After Forever (NL)
Emphasis (Progressive and Symphonic Metal 2002)
  From their second full length release, this is a perfect example of their progressive influence. The band is at top notch here, syncopated rhythms, double stops, double bass drums, great bass lines, tight guitar work and even more amazing a stellar performance on both drums and vocals. Reading back through my blog I have noticed I dont talk enough about the drummers' performances and there is a lot of great ones so I must put an emphasis on this one. There are accents just about anywhere a jazz drummer or a progressive drummer could think of, the pace quickens when the song picks up in intensity and overall is really imaginative. As a guitarist I actually listen more to the drums and Andre Borgman is hauling ass on this one. As an example of why After Forever means so much to me, it showcases 100% what is possible - Operatic and Symphonic sounds mixing with a very metal performance, with progressive phrasings and all this going on. Its a feast for my ears. Add in another phenomenal performance by Floor, specially during the mind melting middle breakdown. There are times I listen to this one and it simply takes me to a time when I was excited about music, about playing it, learning it, catching every nuance and there is plenty to catch with this one.


Monolith of Doubt (2002)
 From the same CD (Decipher) Its just songs like this arent everywhere- not even within the standard Symphonic Metal entries. This is one of those songs which makes everyone's playlist no matter what. It has all the bells and whistles and with Floor, you get the wide landscape of her voice here at times spoken and soft, and softly soaring during a few quiet piano moments. Somehow even though the pace matches most Power Metal this doesn't have a PM feel. It does remind me though, that I am not here to list every song in my playlist or bookmarks, or every single After Forever song, that I am being diligent in selecting only the ones that represent to me the best of what it is that I love so much about these genres. I have picked it as a representative since it shows a change in the landscape somewhat, it shows there is artistic decision, direction and a quantity of imagination occurring within the band. Also note that founder Mark Jansen was still in the band at the time, but would leave AF after this release to form Epica.


De-Energized (Beauty & Beast, Symphonic Progressive, 2008)
Now to kick things into high gear. This song is from their final-Self Titled release and its hard to imagine any band would consider to stop writing together when they have the ability to write this - and perform it at such a mind melting ability. But as history goes, it is what it is - which is a standout moment in time, for us to enjoy forever. This song is a downright aura assault - in a good way- where all that production (not over production), arrangement, and imagination all come together and obviously inspired performance. It is simply an awesome moment that rivets me today, still makes me head-bang and revel in all that ecstasy of full-on metal as much as it did the first time I heard it.
  Beauty and Beast vocals (a big time strength on this CD), classical breakdowns, insane choirs, a very talented band performing at full throttle. Then there's the middle section - amazing progressive styled breakdown lead-in by a radical jamline on bass. Followed by textural keyboard lines from Joost van den Broek and its all just overload. Eargasm, if you will. The breakdown follows with more frantic operatics before it falls back for the final verse and final verse at which the best part, you can hear Floor actually holding back, taking her time with the words as her vocals fill out to the last second.
  For me its moments like these 3, after each, which I stared amazingly, at my computer screen and just thought to myself, that without the internet, without some of the resources Ive been using, like Amazon, youtube, wiki, last.fm, and eventually Pandora, I wonder if I would have ever heard and experienced these songs like I had. It all added up to, eventually my desire to write this blog. And its 100% certain I would have never fallen in love with the songs I will put into my next update...

Next Update: The Angel Anneke

The Greatest Moment in Symphonic Metal History - So Far.

The Greatest Moment in SM History... So Far
Floor Jansen and Simone Simons Duet at FVMF VII, 2009

    And now on to what I call "The Greatest Moment in Symphonic Metal History". There is plenty of backstory to cover here to reveal the importance of this one moment but allow me to do a quick comparison, one that people who don't follow symphonic metal can understand. Imagine if you were at a heavy metal festival watching Metallica headline and in the middle of their set, Dave Mustaine walks onstage with a guitar. Then they break into a Megadeth song but- the song they play is actually a song that Dave wrote while in Metallica, but recorded as Megadeth. The next twist to make the comparison complete would be that song would have a genuine relevance to today's times, in both past and present and was a significant beginning of a story-board that would go on to shape the entire discography of both bands.
  All this happened here when Epica had Floor Jansen (formally in After Forever, after they disbanded) join Epica in a modified version of the classic After Forever song "Follow in the Cry". I have mentioned in this blog before but in case you've missed it, or wasnt sure what was 'the beef' between these 2 bands, this is the low down. Mark Jansen (no relation to Floor, just a common name in Holland) had formed After Forever and recruited Floor Jansen as their singer. They recorded the first CD with the average age of the band at 19. A remarkable feat, but its shortly after a few CDs when Mark Jansen left the band and formed a new one, Epica. He brings on board another young female singer, Simone Simons (whom he was dating at the time) and the rivalry had begun. As After Forever garnered both praise and criticism, Epica strived for recording with full orchestras and choirs and their popularity soared. As the years go by, fans generally shared love equally between the 2 bands but it seemed they weren't on the same page with each other, just like fans of Metallica and Megadeth are. After Forever releases a self-titled cd in 2008 and makes tremendous waves with it, though they toured with little success in the US (Symphonic Metal doesnt fare well in the US currently), it seemed the band was at its best and the verge of a major breakthrough. Then they called it quits, breaking many hearts of SM fans.
  There is much to this story I simply cannot compound here but through all this, Epica then releases probably their best CD, "Design Your Universe" (2009) and began to tour for it extensively. A significant stop would be the result of our magic moment, at the Female Voices of Metal Festival VII in Belgium, 2009. Floor Jansen had made it known she was going to be onstage with a few bands, mostly to announce the facts were true, that After Forever was no more and that she had a new a project and announced its naming (ReVamp) at the festival. What no one knew nor expected, was that she would join Epica onstage.

Follow In The Cry (After Forever Cover by Epica ft Floor Jansen guest vocal)


  The clip I share here is the better one that Ive found (just about everyone at the show recorded it somehow), and it was practically posted right after the concert. The song Follow in the Cry had been in Epica's set for some time, being that it was written by Mark Jansen while in After Forever so to have Floor onstage to sing it had significance. In this version though, to allow Floor more mic time, she sings the first verse, which Mark typically sang, in grunt voice. And its great to hear her low range and outright quality in her tone. What is seen onstage though is something else even more magical. The voices of 2 Symphonic Metal Queens singing in unison and their newly found camaraderie.
  I have researched and found they shared the stage recently before this event, when both Simone and Mark from Epica joined After Forever onstage for the duet "Beyond Me" (original AF was a duet with Sharon from Within Temptation) in 2007. But it was here, in this performance that it appeared they had a great time and were natural together. Amazingly the song, seemed to connect here. Now the 2 have done collaborations together, as guest appearances and now Simon joins Floor's new band, ReVamp (singing a duet with Floor) in a tour which saw Epica take ReVamp out as opening act. Also on the same tour Floor sings with Simone for a great version of Sancta Terra (Epica).  It seems the 2 have become good friends and whatever kept the
2 supergroups with a common founder apart doesn't seem to affect the bond the 2 singers of each have formed.
  This can only mean great things on the horizon. For this moment has done much unifying and is significant in cementing them both as Metal Queens of an entire genre. With technology and the internet, specifically youtube.com, we can experience the moment, as if we were there, as if it happened yesterday. And its implications will be felt world wide. Instead of taking a hit, losing one of its glowing crowns in After Forever, it has gained a union between 2 master artists and therefore gained a wider stretching kingdom- the fanscape of Symphonic Metal.
  You are welcome.

Epica version eta circa 2007


Original After Forever version. (Symphonic Metal, NL 2000)


Other Notable Moments in Symphonic Metal History:Therion "Live Gothic" DVD
Epica "Classical Conspiracy" DVD


Next Posting: After Forever Blows My Mind II

Notes: Obvious? Omissions

Symphonic Metal Saved My Life Blog

Obvious? Omissions-

   Now to include what I haven't included in my listings. This is my chance to touch on a few very popular bands in the genres I have featured in this blog. I would be remiss and easily judged to have not acknowledged them. But I haven't spotlighted any one song from these bands due to one main reason, which is I don't listen to them. I've tried, I've bookmarked, I've took note of, I've researched. But they simply don't move me nor impress me further than other bands have. Whenever I do discover a new song that either blows me away or I find myself enjoying more through re-listens, I think back to these bands in my omissions and wonder, when if ever will I find that song from them? But so far it hasn't happened and I will now explain why for each of these giants in their respective genres, doesn't mean I don't respect what these bands have done, keep in mind I named this section Obvious Omissions. I also consider my blog more of a gateway of introducing these genres than a who's who or 'best of' or all inclusive giant list.

 H.I.M. (Gothic Metal) Ville Valo, the Finnish sensation who loosely self-categorizes his music "love metal". I haven't included any listings from HIM mostly due to the fact of his Uber-popularity, but also because I don't find his music very groundbreaking. Its rather commercial to me although I feel he shares a lot in common with Marlyn Manson. Both are artists whose talents supersede the art which they create. What I mean is if they push the envelope, they get labeled as trying too hard, if they create hit songs, they are called selling out. Its an impasse which usually results in the older fans losing appreciation for each release, and newer fans who prefer "the new stuff". My guess is that along with Marylin Manson, for H.I.M., the better music is perhaps the earliest, more aggressive and less commercially aware releases. I have selected an example from a release which Ville refers to darker bands as influence. Maybe if Ville had continued on with this mindset and style, well I guess there would more that I would enjoy.

H.I.M.- Love in Cold Blood (Gothic Metal, Finland 2007)

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  Nightwish (Symphonic Metal) Although Therion pre-dates Nightwish, they are considered the originators to make Symphonic Metal what it is today. How could I eliminate the originals from my listings? I blame the drummer. I also blame singer Tarja Turunen. But I put the blame more technology. As pioneers of the genre, they simply did not have tech on their side in comparison to just about any band starting out today. With that being said they deserve more credit than I give, knowing that bands have it so much more easier today to re-create what NW did before them. But, for me, Tarja just doesn't sound metal, I hear a great classical singer who is singing for a metal band and the band actually plays around her. The only interaction her melodies have are with her own background over dubs and choir tracks. I also find the drum work a bit less inspired. Again I feel there is a case of 'harnessing' going on. As if the band is not allowed to outshine the vocals.
  So far this is one of the songs that I like the most from them and it was from the last CD with Tarja. So what would Nightwish be without Tarja? We found out when Tarja and NW parted ways, and enter new singer Annete Olsen and now NW sounds less symphonic, more NuMetal and well, so much for that.

Nightwish - Romanticide (Symphonic Metal, Finland 2004)

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  Within Temptation (Symphonic Metal?) Basically at the same time Nightwish makes a serious splash in the Euro-metal scene, Within Temptation is born. Molded from a now familiar format, heavy doom-influenced dark drudgery sounds played against quieter, softer moments which allow a soprano-styled singer like Sharon De Tomme to shine. Although they predate just about everyone in my listings (ex. Therion) I don't see where they ever made the jump from a-typical female fronted metal to symphonic metal heavyweights, despite huge concerts with full orchestration and choirs. Although Sharon has had many bright moments I don't see her overtaking the heavies of Floor, Simone, Tarja, Anneke, and a few others. She's been the choice 2nd for duets mainly due to the fact she will blend well but not overpower the other. Their brand of metal to me is more closer to a standardized rock and never challenges the listener. Most of the drum work is passive and the guitars (though prominent in their beginnings) are all but an afterthought for the most part. Other bands which came after WT have had a bigger impact in the genre, despite WT gigantic fanbase.
An early example...
Within Temptation -Mother Earth (Symphonic Metal Netherlands, 1997)

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Other bands that haven't cracked my listings as of yet...
Sirenia
DreamTheatre
Paradise Lost
My Dying Bride
Theatre of Tradegy - Very huge discography but all over the place. Their origins definitely showed promise until they went - techno?
Lacuna Coil - I am still trying to get to know them, I have one or 2 songs from apparently their best release so far, Comalies (2002)

   So that's the basic explanation of why you wont see the bands listed above in my blog. But now I have included them. So you can't really say I didn't. But that could change, maybe one day when I post link after link from songs I eventually fall in love with. Since this blog is in a true to life timeline, that very well could end up being true one day. But for now, this is the perfect moment to include a moment I highly regard....

Next Posting: The Greatest Moment in Symphonic Metal History. - So Far...

Return to Finland III - The Chameleons

Return to Finland III Chameleons

Velcra and Silentium change their colors - 

 
  This installment, the final one for this Return to Finland, I focus on 3 songs which are in my favorites, from 2 bands which have changed their style - or 'colors', like a chameleon would. It is a trend in the sub-genres for bands to not be so loyal to their own scene whereas they just completely abandon it. The downside is the major portion of their fanbase tends to get alienated by such switches, the plus side would be if the band comes out with better material than the previous incarnation, and keeps their main fanbase but gains fans of the new genre as well. The most well known switch is Metallica's jump from true thrash metal to a more accessable mainstream metal sound.
   I was one of those fans lost in the fray from Metallica's switch. My dismay and disgust for the band is well known amongst my friends. After  ...And Justice  I just knew that the band was ready for a new direction. Then I was taken back by how mad they were about Not getting an Award. (The Grammy snub for a Heavy Metal release went to Jethro Tull) As a metal fan it showed to me how they saw themselves striving for a wider acceptance from a larger audience. Crying over not getting an award is so NOT METAL. Where was the Metallica I knew long ago? - the Metal Up Your Ass Metallica? Then came in Bob Rock to make them into a  weaker, softer, less edgy - but award acceptable,  band. They did gain a larger audience by far. I did buy the CD known as Metallica (a slap in the face to the fan base, self-title an albulm that sounds nothing like your entire discography) I took the CD to a CD-Exchange (they gave me $7.00 I think) the Same Day I bought it. The clerk asked me "What? Are you Crazy?" I said "No man- that's not Metallica. I think they were kidnapped in the Amazon. they recorded some other band - that's why there's no pictures on it".
  Plain and simple, I was pissed off. I would say "The Black Albulm" was actually first named "Sad, but True". This was the level of dismay I had for them. And each successive release they got lamer and weaker. It has taken quite a long time but there is some of the backlash regarding Metallica coming out. I just felt it since day one. I also tossed one of the CDs from the double set "Garage, Inc (1998)" - after hearing "Turn the Page" on the radio - from my car right out the window onto the causeway! Yeah, 7 years later and still pissed off.
  So now that brings me to Velcra. I have already included several links here in my listings of this Finnish crossover band. (see previous postings: Finland, Starting Point II and Attack of Velcra) They originally started out as a quite aggressive metal/industrial band with some rap elements and other influences. There was some hints though, that their electronic side would become more emphasized. With the release of Hadal (2007), they became a mostly electronic band. Its a stark jump from what I had totally fallen in love with only a year before... But that wouldnt stop me from giving it a good listen. I found 2 outstanding tracks to share here. Most of Hadal is atmospheric, almost etheral. The electronic parts show at times a wide array of experimentation. But you have to give it up to these Fins - They are a talented bunch. Unfortunately, they have not recorded anything since and it appears Hadal might have been Velcra's swan song. I hope not, I certainly hope they continue to work together.
  Another band from Finland, Silentium also shares this posting, having changed from their very heavy, experimental Gothic Metal beginnings with one of my very favorite tracks from their totally Symphonic Metal release, Amortean (2009). You can look back at a few of my previous postings (FFM, Return to Finland I). I give them very high praise. I suppose I am not so jaded from my Dismay of Metallica that I can't appreciate when an artist changes its colors like a chameleon does. I guess as long as it doesnt totally suck.



Velcra - New Recruit (Industrial / Electronica, Finland 2007)
  This song from Velcras' mostly ambient-electronica release has the dynamics I tend to like in my collection. Being a metalhead with goth tendencies leads me to add industrial and electronica into my eclectic taste. Which, includes the obvious bands like Ministry, NIN, Prodigy, Frontline Assembly, Front242, Nitzer Ebb & AndOne. This song does not quite fit that group but somehow it gives me just enough metal sounds, just enough punchy dance beats, a great memorable melody (something Velcra is very good at) and another awesome performance by singer Jessi Fray as she slips between soft melodies, sweet whispers and quasi-rap. I like the add-on feeling of each section, each verse and chorus has its own bells and whistles. Interestingly, the barely audible chorus "we want you, we want you as a new recruit" fits the chameleon mentality. How is it possible I can fall in love with such an array of sounds? The answer out there, is blowing me away.


Velcra - We Must Start Again (Industrial / Electronica, Finland 2007)
  One of my very favorite songs out of my entire listings, We Must Start Again does something that very rarely any song from any genre - not even Progressive Metal does. It actually changes colors. Its like you can see the colors go from white wispy clouds to clear blue mists and the darkest of seas as a story is begun to be told. Building on each section, this song climbs such beautiful heights, you might totally miss the songs' intention, one telling of a massive destruction from mother nature. A story of rebuilding. Which parallels the songs' actual structure. It simply keeps building. It- within itself- starts again, as titled, a few times. The vocals here are perfect. The sub chorus is a sheer delight. "your fingertips are cold and ticklish/ Your kisses on my neck- like little fish". I worry though about the Locusts arriving and apparently they arrive with a tremendous force. The final section is a delicously heavy pounding riff switching off into a double-stop syncopated, heart-accelerating beat as the bells, the keyboard hits all sit between. Truly Glorious. If you are going to change your colors, do it with glory such as this.


Silentium - Cradle of the Nameless (Symphonic Metal, Finland 2009)
  Yes I have included postings from Silentium here in my listings already, but from their gothic metal days.as of 2010, Amortean is their most recent release and its a big change from them. The gloomy, dreadful doom sounds are gone. The solo cello and lone piano moments have been switched with full orchestration. The male vocals switched to full choirs. But luckily for us, stand-out singer Riina Rinkinen is still on board and in this song, though the singing is sparse, it is great. This epic song could be featured as background music for just about any fantasy-adventure styled movie. Notice though in their back catalog, that was what they were all about. Ambiance and atmosphere. It still translates here. Though I must admit it does not break any new ground. It does reflect to influences of Nightwish and others (they ARE from Finland after all). What I enjoy about this song is how it changes, like a chameleon and the other 2 songs above it. From this perspective, the song sounds like a massive undertaking and you feel like you are going with them, the angels singing, forests enchanted, hills of green, treacherous terrain, rain, sword fights. Its all there, just close your eyes. Just dont forget at any moment how spectacular her vocals are. Her tone is soft and clear. When needed, she sings well above the heavy parts. The middle section breaks down and rebuilds. The ending, fierce and deliberate. There are other great songs, all in differing styles to offer on this CD but for me this song goes for total victory and accomplishes it.
  Perhaps Silentium will join the list of bands to successfully change their colors and continue to grow as artists. They have changed more than once. Whereas Velcra I am afraid are not continuing on. I can only do as I would anyhow, and tell others about these little known bands. And if I was lucky enough to have one of their CDs I would promise not to toss them out of a car at high velocity onto the causeway as I drive my way out to south beach.

Next Posting: Obvious? Omissions & The Greatest Moment in the History of Symphonic Metal. You wouldnt want to miss it. Thankfully with youtube, we will feel as if we were there.