Epic Songs from Epica

Symphonic Metal Saved My Life -
Epic Songs from Epica

   Digging through my bookmarks and songlist histories, my Endless Search began without much documentation. My timeline is still a bit fuzzy so I try here at this point to concede a slight defeat by the "youtube gremlins". Once I rediscovered the songs from the previous post (The Attack of Velcra), I yearned to learn more,  knowing I had already a decent list, I went back to my earliest links to search deeper. I Found Deeper. The first song in my playlist at the time was Epica's Cry for the Moon (see review in the post The First Batch) and it convinced me to dive further into their catalog. What I discovered was simply amazing to me. It was simply a wondrous moment to hear these full-on orchestras with full classical choirs matched up with superb singing and songwriting all while being quite heavy and the furthest from the dirge of today's mainstream music. Each song painted a movie's worth of drama and excitement. I was beginning to come around to the realization that this thing called symphonic metal was the genre I've been waiting for.
  Come along with me on this Journey, my Epic Voyage, my Endless Search for music that lifts my spirit, that inspires my creative fire and simply moves me from deep within. Epica is one of those few bands which can do this and do it with meaning. There is a message here, it is intelligent and builds upon what used to be the norm - concept albums or even a consistent thread among an artists catalog as a whole. This is not for me to put into words it is for you to discover along on your own journey.
  I searched for deep. I Found Deep


Epica - Beyond Belief 2007 One of the most epic songs I know - without being overdrawn, or too ambitious, or so self indulgent which inevitably cuts down on re-listens, here the opposite occurs. It leads you in as a standard song but stops and shocks you consistently throughout as found in the first open, with the ultra high reach of Simone. As always the quiet moments are meant to be heard.
  This song about our time and uncertainty and the oncoming advances of technology takes us all too quickly away from that which is spiritual. Simple concept placed together in an epic package. The heavy breakdowns with the violin accent points and talk-overs cue you to know there is more going on than just the operatics. The heavy breakdown reminds me of a megadeth meets sabbath moment - but with a heavy groaning choir in the background - quite powerful. And its a perfect lead-in to the frantic unleashing of the powerful and meaningful - Final End.


Dance of Fate 2005 Before The Divine Conspiracy there was the 2005 release of Consign to Oblivion, which this incredibly dynamic and well written symphonic metal epic song hails from along with the eye-opening ballad "Solitary Ground" (see post The First Batch). In this song the marriage of a classical choir and double bass is a perfect match. Add the vocal acrobatics from Simone and it all works very well. The full choir sections are married to staccato stop beats and alternate with full-on speed metal drums. Adding more dynamics are the softer sections which give a lot more weight to the lyrics and urge you to listen in to the message.
   The brief break down is followed by an inspired section- complete with harpsicords and choir accents. Then the most convincing part for me comes in, a quiet and meaningful lyric then a powerful reprise of the chorus and the grand finale from the choir. The whole thing is quiet marvelous and an inspiring combination that completely convinced me I have been listening to the wrong music for years. I am finally home.



Sancta Terra
2007 One of the best aspects of a band like Epica is they aren't simply just putting pieces of this and that together and hope it all works. Epica is a complete package, from the meaning behind their name, to their conceptual releases, and topical content. This is the first song which opened my eyes to this concept. All of which means Epica is deep. There is more to explore lyrically. But being hi-brow or being artsy does not quantify great music so its not what attracted me to them- its just an added bonus. Here is simply another extraordinary example of what put Epica on the map in the genre. Symphonic passages of violins and choirs entwine within the dynamic performance of Simone. The quiet breakdown followed by a full on ripping metal passage with choir and double bass and the whole symphony flowing on top of the guitars creates a musical experience which far surpasses the status-quo of most bands. The exit with only the male choir echoing the lyrics add a distinct touch.
 
These 3 songs each are an epic journey. Stories within stories. They also symbolize my quest to find more epic moments, hidden perhaps from view for years or perhaps just on the horizon. I was seemingly uncovering treasures from a wide array of years, mostly from 2002 to 2007. I began to think I should go further back to understand this explosion of creativity. Who spawned it all? Was it just that after years of influence by Nightwish that their disciples were finally making great music? What time frame or more important, Where should I turn to next?

Next Blog: Setting Sails for Germany

Attack of Velcra

Attack of Velcra

 Industrial Metal / Rap Metal / Electronica

  Half Electronic, Half Heavy Metal, and Part Rap, with a female singer, from Finland. Not a combination that I would expect to greet with much success or passion. But I discovered differently. I had not known at the time I just discovering this band that I would eventually lean more towards symphonic metal but I also knew I hadn't heard anything like them - or at least if I had, it wasn't with good results. After bookmarking one of their breakthrough hits "Our will against their will" (previous post Finland P2) I clicked through just about anything I could find from them at the time and I did have mixed results. Once I figured I had narrowed it down to 2 or 3 songs I was happy - Very Happy actually.
   Looking closer at these 3 songs my leave you scratching your head a little. Wondering why you never heard of them but you may know Guano Apes (the band they are most compared to, unfortunately) or perhaps why they sound so polished on one song and so aggressive on another. I stopped all the question marks except this one, if any of these songs just randomly came on your player, wouldn't you turn it up and then say "I need some more of that!"

Links for Velcra for more info:
 Myspace : http://www.myspace.com/velcra
 Last.fm http://www.last.fm/music/Velcra
 Facebook Velcra Profile


Velcra - My Law 2005-Finland.  Still my favorite song from Velcra, My Law is from their second release "Consequences of Disobedience"  is as bombastic and full-on as any metal song and Jessi Fray really delivers her strong range in this song. I thought the song was pretty awesome then I saw the lyrics and it vaulted into my permanent top listing. The lyrics are very self-empowered. Take the good with the bad. Some of the lines I borrow for my own quotes they are so good such as "...all we need is already here, what it needs is for own eyes to see" and "..my criteria does not originate from the materia.." There is a live performance video here, it gets a little strange but the link above sounds best and a bonus of the frantic "War is Peace", a song I can easily say shows very early influence to today's hyper-kinetic electronica full of flash and speed - but from their debut "Between Force and Fate"


Velcra - Can't Stop Fighting  Finland 2005 Also from "Consequences of Disobedience". Once I began to understand this band, this one showed up on youtube and more of the same emotions came out - why haven't I heard them before!! Come to find out this song was a few compilation CDs and fans everywhere were going crazy to get a hold of it. This song, while still heavy does not focus so much on the rap-chants of My Law or Our Will - but relies heavily on the melodic vocals of Jessi Fry. The rhythms in the verses remind me of Infectious Grooves or perhaps Static-X matched with the heavy breakdown in the chorus creates a great rift between the 2 sections. Dynamics are good.


Velcra - Memory Loss 2005 Finland: A great example of what this band is really capable of- powerful Crossover Metal with a sound unlinke anything you listen to now. Here her vocal is so strong and relentless you forget shes a pretty petite Finnish girl. The breakdown towards the end shows there is alot of promise to what they can produce. Overlapping keyboards add a hint to what Velcra would eventually morph into - a mostly electronic band. We will get to that later in this search - trust me.

Next: Very Epic songs from Epica

The First Batch

The First Batch

Epica, After Forever and Octavia Sperati- Open My Eyes 

    This is the first group of 3 from artists I would come to absolutely love. I was finding a lot of interesting bands to my liking but these were among the best of what I remember bookmarking and taking note of. Among the many subdivisions of metal the smaller genres of Symphonic Metal and Gothic Metal live side-by-side. I had not found much Gothic Metal as of yet which I fell in love with except Silentium, so I was plenty surprised to find Octavia Sperati, a mostly Female band from Norway that is part Doom Metal and Gothic Metal. They are really talented songwriters and their music is moody as much as it is melodic. More of them to follow...
   I was also surprised to find as part of the Symphonic Metal side there is a trend called Beauty and Beast which refers to bands which combine the singing style of Death Metal (or more appropriately Melodic Death Metal) growls and the sometimes Operatic voice of a female singer. The growl style is very much part of the Metal scene overseas and some of us in the US aren't quite used to it but it is effective in certain songs to give the heavier sections more meaning and a break from all the vocal gymnastics in the female vocals.



Epica - Cry for the Moon  Symphonic Metal: Beauty and The Beast: Netherlands 2003 - After finding the song and video for Solitary Ground, I found this absolute gem of a recording and performance. Its from their debut CD in 2003 after guitarist Mark Jensen leaves After Forever to form Epica. This version is a live performance from "We Will Take You With Us" in which they perform songs with full orchestration and choirs, in studio and filmed live. It is quite remarkable in this format and an awesome introduction to this genre. A near perfect vocal from the beautiful Simone Simons and the ebbing, flowing tide the song takes into the more Metal sequences, with full violins on top almost exemplifies what this genre should sound like.
    Do not allow the growl sections through you off since this song is truly epic and could fit into any epic adventure/action flick. It truly takes you there. I also love seeing the choir singers and the symphony members performing this song - it is obvious they take it seriously and an epic performance is the results.


After Forever - Energize me
Symphonic Metal - Progressive Metal - Netherlands- 2007 - Welcome to my world - that's all I can say with my first link to the landmark band, After Forever. Energize Me is perhaps their most commercial offering from their self-titled mind-blowing swan song release from 2007. After touring for the CD they disbanded after a break in 2009 and side projects had began but this band has an amazing catalog and an incredible 15 year run as major pioneers in the world of Symphonic Metal, potentially dethroning the classical inspired reigning metal band, Nightwish (Finland)
  At first impression, the catchy melody hides the vocal dynamics of the highly impressive talent of singer Floor Jansen, but as the song continues to gain strength, her vocal strength becomes more apparent. The key changes and building crescendos raise along with the difficulty. The mostly heavy based riffs are overlapped with strings and vocal padding. To compare this, at this current point, here in the beginning with the most unlikely song from their last release to one of the most a-typical songs from Epica's debut - is unintentional but noteworthy since I will be sharing more from both bands here since they are both so important to me.



Octavia Sperati - Moonlit  Doom Metal- Gothic Metal; Norway 2007. One of my favorite finds is this little known band from Norway. They are for the most part an all-female Doom Metal band with a touch of Gothic Metal for a darker influence. The singer, Silje Wergeland has since moved on, though to front the legendary alt-gothic-ambient metal (the metal term here is used loosely) band The Gathering. With all that aside, the music of Octavia Sperati has 3 main elements, haunting and enchanting melodies sung by Silje, bass lines that rival most Black Sabbath influenced bands, and plenty of atmosphere. After discovering this song, it found a permanent spot in my playlists and on my personal pages. The entry below is my own personal comment I left on the video...
  "...by the chord that hits at :27 I figured out I really liked this song. somewhere around the first verse, :56 the song become one of my favorites, at 1:24 I fell in love with it and by 3:07 I was blown away to pieces, forever...."

Somewhere at this point I began to feel I was onto something. Made me look back at my first few links to go deeper and found I have struck Gold...

Next Blog - Velcra Kicks my Ass.

Pretty Voices - FFM

Pretty Voices- Female Fronted Metal

In my search for new and interesting music I voyaged into the realms of Finland and somehow onto a course that lead me to fall in love with Symphonic Metal. Being a sub-genre of metal, there is some dissent amongst its fans, mostly regarding who is and what defines the difference between Symphonic Metal and Gothic Metal. The main gripe is the a-typical formula of piano intro, some strings section to fill in the verses, some heavy guitar chords during the choruses, vague references to vampires and the most important, have a female singer.
  I had no idea there was all this going on - I was just clicking and searching for interesting music So it seems adding a Female singer to a metal band has become quite a trend overseas, and we are starting to see it here in the US also (Evanescence, Paramore, Flyleaf, Phoenix, and now In The Moment) I began to see a soft side of metal with these pretty voices in contrast to all the scream-core that was out there. But there is a stark difference from what I discovered early and what I found later.... First up, Xandria....



Xandria - Save My Life FFM - Symphonic Metal / Gothic Metal.Germany 2005: Xandria has since changed singers, here in this one, perhaps her best performance Lisa Middlehuave beckons beautifully, although straight to the aforementioned stereotype. Not headbanging material but worth a listen. I was beginning to think this music was mostly just weak sounding metal with pretty voices. I would find a band with promise, perhaps with a beautiful girl at the vocals and the songs were just lamer than the next one. I kept this one noted because it stood out from that pack and it was linked to many others... Such as Epica  




Epica - Solitary Ground
 Symphonic Metal - Holland - 2005. If you've never seen or heard of Epica or their singer, Simone Simons, I expect you to go into a shock - like I did and just about anyone with a pulse - when you see and hear Simone for the first time. Which is why I pick this one as the intro to them (it was the first one for me and here is a clue- its not the last I will share here). Ok so you have piano-check, violins-check, hot singer-check! heavy guitars - uhm no this is a ballad. What's so special then? You should know by now- Simone is ultra talented. There is more than 1 reason she's the singer...Her voice is as beautiful as her looks and this song, is superbly written. On display here is restraint, emotion and a message. I hope you enjoy this one and everything I post here regarding this band, for this is a gem for even those who know the heavier material from them.
 


Silentium - Dead Silent Gothic Metal: Finland 2005 And now I stumbled back to Finland and clicking through a band I heard some promise from but hadnt fully impressed me yet - until I found this amazing song. The reason again- the singer. Silientium was classified in thier early beginnings as Doom Metal or even an experimental soundtrack band who mixed long doom-styled metal -just short of thrash- paired with a male and female vocalist. Their original singer had shown promise but it was the addition of Riina Rinkinen, who put this band completly on the map. Her voice is so unique to this style I will not compare her to anyone just out of respect - her clean and soft tones are as disarming as they are chilling. Her ability to dip in and out of her outer range is not common, you dont just write that for the vocalist and expect it to go well. This is the song that got me hooked and turned onto them 100% and I can only expect you to get the chills within the first few notes.
  The band adds cello and keys into the mix (previous releases were with violin instead). Once Riina begins you know this is different. It quickly became one of my very favorites and caused me to tell everyone I know about this song. The songwriting is top notch along with the inspired vocal performance. The guy doesn't even get in the way like their much earlier work. Now I am impressed. Finland strikes again.

Next Blog: The First Batch of my favorites....

Starting Point: Finland Part 2

Starting Point: Finland Part 2

Christian Symphonic Metal, Industrial and

The most unknown band that could be Metallica in disguise

   Looking back at all my links I have so much to share but I want it to go in a progression that all makes sense but I hadnt yet focused in on symphonic metal but this first one is truly one of the first I bookmarked and thus was a gateway to find more. Most of my early links were all bands from Finland and its interesting to note that the culture of Heavy Metal is so strong there that metalheads are the majority. So much so that even a church has "heavy metal ceremonies" and the church is actually built of stone and rock and is the inspiration for the Lordi breakout hit "Hard Rock Hallelujah". But I have found a large array of bands from Finland that aren't necessarily Metal. There is a very distinct Alt-Rock scene, Industrial, Punk and even 80s glam. What really blew me away was a Christian Metal Symphonic Metal band - not my thing at all but so impressive I have to include it here, where I found it - in the beginning,

HB - It Is Time Christian Symphonic Metal: 2008 - Unwaveringly Christian is HB (short for "Hard Black" or as I've read "Heaven Bound") and they are an immediate force once you start to watch and listen. This is no weak attempt to be metal or cheesy "we rock for Jesus" gimmick. The music is genuine as is the message and there is no getting around it. Uncompromising isn't a word usually associated in this genre and I commend it. There is the full on heavy metal attack and attitude, the beautiful melodies sung superbly, and the video which draws you in with their good looks and sleek production. You begin to look for a twist thinking it cant be - but its all as it appears. 

  This is the song that really led me into finding other symphonic bands that I will share later. My next question was, was there such thing as Finnish Industrial ? I am very excited to introduce to you one of my very favorites - Velcra!

Velcra - Our Will against Thier Will   Finland: Industrial/Metal 2005. This is my introduction to Velcra in their early years of Metal merged with industrial and rap elements. They remind me of a band very close to me, Phoenix/Nebulin. The singer is Jessi Fray and her voice is unbelievable - At top volume rapidfire lyrics are delivered raspy and with rage and then in the melodic moments its clear, distinct and strong in tone. She also has a soft, whisper range in later works which she completely showcases her range. Here, in one of their songs off the debut disc Between Force and Fate- you can get influences of early chant-based industrial like Nitzer-Ebb, I also hear some Rage Against the Machine. Some fans instantly compare them to Guano Apes, who I find to be more commercial, slipping into a Limp-Biscuit style. Velcra, on the other hand have grown and expanded their style since. I will be featuring more here from this amazing band.

Diablo - Icaros    Finland: Metal 2008: I kept coming across this band and because they were so metal - and I never heard of them - I kept dismissing them. I was simply looking for something, well that didn't sound like mainstream metal. Then I stumbled onto this one- the title caught me. I know the story of Icaros so this should have at least something to it and to say its impressive would be understating it. The band has discs going back to 1999 and each one draws comparisons to Metallica. In some cases the comparisons suggest Diablo is the better. That's no small statement. All I can say is this song is simply awesome. From the heavy pounding open to the melodic verses you know this is different and a bit ahead of the curve of the bridge between Thrash and new fashioned MetalCore. Then you get to the solo - and click add to favorites. 

Next Update: Pretty voices - Female Fronted Metal

Starting Point: Finland

Starting Point: Finland

  The list of bands from Finland is equally long as it is legendary and it does span many genres. I am not here to list in encyclopedia style the longest band list ever but the intent of this blog is to explore, discuss, and share music I discover and love - mostly Symphonic Metal and its sister genres - Gothic Metal, Power Metal and Progressive Metal. So let's get to the obvious...

  H.I.M., Apocolyptica and Nightwish. All from Finland. Those 3 alone could fill up these pages here. But I am going on the concept you already know and love these artists. But for me, each has pluses and minuses that leave me desiring more and thus leading me to other bands. I started my search online with lists from wiki regarding bands from Finland and stumbled in the genre Gothic Metal.
   It actually got me irritated since I could consider myself a Metalhead who has gothic tendancies. But to me Gothic was a label to be reserved for only bands of the dance genre which pertain to the goth subculture like Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Christian Death etc. So I had to explore this Metal label to get a better understanding.
  Its generally a label towards certain dark metal bands hailing from Gothenburg, Germany. So hence the label is appro. The sound alas, is a bit closer to hair metal gone dark, or a repose of Type-O Negative. Once I linked H.I.M. to gothic metal and Finland I found some interesting stuff, and among the very first added to my list was a band called Charon...





Charon - Colder Gothic Metal. A pretty cool song for anyone who likes the styles of Type-O Negative or H.I.M. The girl's vocals add a nice touch matching up with the very deep and course male vocals. Charon is from Finland 2001 and this is from their 2005 release Songs for Sinners. They have recently put out a new disc with newer versions of older songs called A-Sides, B-Sides & Suicides(2010) I found this one over 2 years ago and is a nice starting point for this whole blog. 


Poisonblack -Rush  Gothic Metal. Along with Charon comes Poisonblack. Put together by former Sentenced member, Ville Laihiala and is now the singer. Very heavy guitars on this one- a nice combination of breath-spoken words and movement. You might get surprised by just how much this actually grows on you... like he says at the end, more and more and more...



Bloodpit- Bad Ass Blues Finland 2005: Metal. This super dosed rocker is by Bloodpit who has since changed singers after finally breaking into the scene with some hits. Bad Ass Blues is not a blues song but a straight forward heavy rocker that hits as hard as current bands like Disturbed or Godsmack, but with a nod to 80s sleaze metal. Its not quite a gothic metal or very progressive but it certainly rocks and stays with you.


Next Post: Everything is Metal in Finland - Even Church.

Intro: Music Saved My Life: Part 3

Intro - Music Saved My Life - Part 3

Blown Away by Symphonic Metal

  One day I joined the website last.fm looking for streaming radio, mostly out of the fact I never really get into new music. What happened was internet streaming radio stations only satisfied me for 10 min. maximum. I did find an underground channel that played basically every goth/industrial song I hear at the clubs I go, which was great except I only like to hear those songs at the clubs. I get burned out enough at the clubs and dont want to kill off the love I have for even the newer stuff. So I HAD do something...
  Being half Finnish, I wondered what was going on musically in Finland. The metal blood line runs deep in Finland, and everyone knows there is plenty of history in Finland, and with bands like Amorphis being among my favorite, I figured I was bound to find Something...
   I used amazon.com and youtube.com mostly as my research tools. I would type metal finland in the search on youtube, click whatever came up I didnt recognize, listen for a few seconds and if sounded good, Id leave it on to listen thru while searching Amazon.com or Wiki for more info. I would go back to Last.fm to see what the fans would say, find what songs they rated highest and try them out also. If it impressed me Id keep it in my playlists on youtube. At times though some of the bands didnt even exist in youtube land.  I did find a few key bands at this time but I had no idea what was lurking around the corner - Symphonic Metal, and how deep I would fall in love with it.

  I do listen to wide array of music. I think its a sign of the times though. Everyone essentially has an eclectic taste. To say you listen to world music, Weezer and The Eagles of Death Metal isnt really a stretch anymore. But I find I prefer the very heavy, very aggressive, and the very loud. So at first, Symphonic Metal seems like Chick Metal to someone who would carve Slayer into their arms or name their pets Ozzy. But what I found is music that moves into my soul, communicates with the artist within, stirs my creativity and fires up my imagination all while moving me emotionally. Combining full orchestras, or full choirs with the sweeping arrangements - the best Symphonic Metal sounds like an Epic score to the most epic adventure movies. Add a dynamic vocalist, singing a mixture of Metal and Opera, with mixtures of melodies and power - the mixture is unlike anything Ive ever heard before. Well - Almost Never Before.
  The mixture of  Metal and Classical or Opera has been done and there are multitudes of examples. Its just taken time, technology, and Heavy Metal sub-genres to really take off. I remember having the 45inch record of "Live and Let Die" by Wings - original soundtrack opener for the 007 movie. That song, and most of Wings' (Paul and Linda McCartney) music was a combination of orchestra and rock-n-roll. I also remember my favorite Cheap Trick song "Dream Police" which is this whole climbing and falling arrangement of strings and horns and bombastic Rock. Who doesn't love "Kashmir" from Led Zep? And there is that song called "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen from their landmark disc "A Night At the Opera". The examples all start to make sense. This is a marriage that when done right - makes for some very memorable moments.
   I dont know where at what point my searching fared from only checking out bands of every genre from Finland to my early finds in Symphonic Metal. So I am going to try my best to share from my recollection what order I stumbled onto what first. Call them baby steps - each step you will progress deeper into the rabbit hole with me..

  I hope any of these songs I share here will take you on your own journey. Feel free to comment on anything. This wont turn into the encyclopedia of unknown bands either. No Listings. Each post will contain 1 to 3 songs, descriptions and info Ive collected and hopefully working links. I will also post the bands that didn't make the cut and discuss why.

 So Follow me now, the first stop - The Metal scene in Finland.

Intro: Music Saved My Life Part 2

Music Saved My Life - Part 2

Gothic and Industrial Teach me a Few Steps

   Remembering back to a wedding I attended when I was maybe 13, I was awkwardly introduced to a cute girl at the edge of the dance floor. Then the words were said "go dance with her". Apparently this was a bad idea. I was a guitar player - thrashing around with my hair in my face was my specialty. As I walked out with her, with perhaps some inane disco song playing, I couldnt help to think about what I was about to do or how I looked in that ridiculous rental suit. I then proceeded to move about in a disjointed fashion, lifting my feet off beat as if avoiding snakes and overall just wishing it all would end quickly. I figured those 3 minutes were the last I would ever spend on a dance floor.
  Skip ahead another 13 years and I am there- at the edge of a dance floor, this time with my fiance. And I am hard at work studying. Studying the movements of a few darkly clad figures dancing to the alternative mix of 90s electronic, gothic and industrial.

   Somehow, the mutli-layered and syncopated beats of Front 242 and Front Line Assembly spoke to me. Also curious was how the dark ambiance and haunting sounds of Bauhaus felt right at home. It awakened my senses,  I felt alive again. It was sort of like air guitar but in my feet. I Felt the music. It was much like Metal, in the way it made me react. And I wanted to express it so I watched and learned. Because I was pissed off.

   As I discovered, more and more, the 80s underground music was the best in every genre I could imagine. I discovered so much that I blame radio for not introducing me. I knew Depeche Mode in 1986- but as an
imported pop band. I blamed MTV. 120 minutes? There was Front 242. Didnt see it. Didnt hear it. Didnt FEEL it. I didnt know in 1992 that I would still get goose bumps from the intro to "Personal Jesus" 18 years later. Didnt know that the beat to Headhunter would inevitably teach me to dance.
  None of it I knew or heard before. Each time I heard Sisters of Mercy, it was an awakening. Bauhaus? Dark Entries sounded to me taken straight from my early punk days but turned into Edgar Allen Poe. I was becoming a Goth. Still a Metalhead yes but so were many of the Goths that I would end up befriending.

  Some of my favorites like Bigod20 "The Bog" and MCL "New York New York" and so many more - Alice from Sisters of Mercy, Sideshow by The Wake, Adrenaline by Rosetta Stone, and one of my very favorites, Tragedy For You -Front 242. All kept me dancing for years, up to Wolfshiem, Covenant, and SWR,  And One. I danced a lot. My style evolved and I felt alive again. The divorce was messy and difficult but it would've been worse - without the music.
   Slowly though, now 18 years later the quality of the genres both have waned as the years bring about industrial that is more closer to what I call noise industrial or re-categorized as EBM and the newer gothic music seems less and less well, gothic.
 As I felt less and less connected with the rehash of modern rock - the hyrbids of new metal - the loss of true punk rock - the watering down of goth - I decided to look into the internet for new music and new  discoveries, just to vary my collection. What I discovered I can only describe as my Third Love....

Next: Part 3: I got bit by a Symphonic bug

Intro: Music Saved My Life - Part I

Music Saved My Life - Part 1

  I grew up loving music. I played the piano at 8, played guitar at 13, had a band at 16, saw concerts since I was 10. At that time I was into Kiss, Hendrix, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Led Zep, and Rush. Then I heard Eddie Van Halen.
   It meant the world to me. Saw VH play live in 1982 when I was learning still to play guitar and Eddie sounded to me like nothing I had ever heard before. It was like as if he was playing simply more than my ear could hear. At this time music completely enriched my life, my creativity, my imagination. Gave me the ability to see I am a creative soul.
  Throughout highschool anything with a guitar mattered though mostly. I ran the gammut from every classic rock band to 80s heavy metal, then the thrash and death metal. Anything with a blazing guitar, fast heavy and violent sounded was appealing to me. I was going to every concert that came in to town, everyone I knew loved Van Halen and the Scorpions, Guns and Roses and Metallica had not quite hit yet, but were on their way. My first revelation I had sometime after high school when I met a girl a few years younger than I and was listening to a vast array of things I didnt know. But it was always like that. It took years for a band to get heard. You would find out about a band and say "Who are they?" and then discover they had 3 albums. But what this girl showed to me, that Metal-nor my love for Metal in particular will never die. There will always be someone to say "Hey check this out" and I became one of those people.
  I would share with anyone who seemed to love Heavy music bands like Sepultura, Trouble, and Amorphis.
And my friends showed me Soundgarden, Testament, and even Metallica (you only heard about Metallica from a friend- they werent on the radio or Mtv)
  Somewhere around the year 1992 though, things were getting bland and as the MTV generation took over and new wave had became old wave and 120 minutes edged out Head Bangers' Ball, I couldnt get into what seemingly was being forced at me. I was in my early 20s, and going to clubs, mostly alternative and dance music, which I never ever liked to begin with. I was falling out of love with death metal, as it degraded more and more into black metal and whatever bastardized cross-over flavor of the month. I would just say that's all been done already. Its not re-inventing if during the explosion of death metal they had already did it, Like Death or Carcass. There wasn't any undiscovered bands anymore. Just missing ones. (Whatever happened to Celtic Frost?)

Then it happened - I got bit by the music bug again. I fell in love with it all over.

But this time I was Pissed off

Next: Gothic and Industrial teach me a few steps.

Intro: Prestory: Part 1

Welcome to My Music Blog "My Endless Search"
(Symphonic Metal and the Internet Saved My Life)

  I am writing this blog because I found that the main thing I was using social media for was posting videos of music I began discovering. But that format - has begun to wane on me and I feel a blog would best serve as a chronicle that could integrate into whatever social media is being used.

  I will regularly post links to INCREDIBLE songs and AWESOME bands along with descriptions and learned info. I currently have a count of 71 very Outstanding songs. So there is a lot to go through and I am still discovering more and more.

 The Basic idea here is that the Internet and a music style called Symphonic Metal - Saved my life. What I mean is that after years of being a music lover, I was becoming quite jaded with the music business in general, the lackluster and lame music scene, the monopolization of corporate ticket sellers, the overall lack of musical integrity and violation of my own intelligence from Radio, MTV, and the general public at large.

But luckily thanks to the internet (what I had begun to blame this entire melt down on) I had discovered genres and sounds that were awe-inspiring to me. From being blase' and biased towards anything new, to being once again open minded, my soul freed, my creativity enlightened once more. Thanks to music, a Third time.

 So Welcome aboard and I hope you discover along with me some amazing music and artists you may never have listened to or even heard of. Your comments are welcome. I hope our search together, is Endless.