Season 3: Symphonic Metal Rocks My World

SEASON 3: Symphonic Metal Rocks My World

SONGS 81-83: Amberian Dawn & Todesbonden

  Welcome to Season 3 of My Endless Search, "Symphonic Metal Rocks My World". It's the continuation of the timeline of my links to my favorite songs that I had bookmarked well over 2 years ago now. As I continue to add more, and chronicle more from my list here, I will eventually reach my current bookmarks, at which point I will begin Season 4. My current song count is well over 140 at the moment and I am looking forward to sharing with you song 100, my first milestone, soon.
  I will try to post updates 2 times a month in this season, so my story-lines will be much shorter as I just focus on the links I will be sharing. Since Ive been listening to these songs for more than 2 years now, I have quite a fondness for each one, basically a guarantee that each one will be a great one. I hope you will enjoy each update, as I take you along My Endless Search.

  One of the best things about getting into any form of music, is the discovery period. Luckily there is so much of the genres I am covering in my blog (Symphonic Metal, Folk Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal) that this discovery period really is practically endless... With that in mind, there is always a new band (or an old one) just lurking around the corner, waiting for you to stumble upon. Since alot of my bookmarks are just exactly that- many of my links here represent the times I had first ever heard of some of these bands, which may give the feeling to those whom are quite familiar with these bands a sense of "Duh". I am not trying to impress anyone very familiar with any of these genres, just my first impressions and the songs that still resonate well with me, a few notes on what Ive found significant and whatever relevant info I can pass on. I am hoping though, as Ive found, that I may rekindle interest in those diehard fans that read my blog, in a few of these basically hidden gems. I do write from the perspective that my readers are experiencing this music, here, with me for the first time. But its not the case, (at the moment) I am still trying to catch up to current time.

 So here are my first moments of discovery of the bands Amberian Dawn (Finland), and Todesbonden (USA). Please click play on the self-contained video link and then read along...

















 


Amberian Dawn - River of Tuoni (Power/Symphonic Metal Finland, 2008)  
   The first time I heard Amberian Dawn was this song/video, and right off the bat it reminded me so much of what I consider the New Breed of metal (a lot of which, not surprisingly, comes from Finland). The New Breed represents to me bands with exceptionally skilled musicians, and even more talented vocalists, with the total package coming together in a very dramatic form. The instant the song starts you can feel it, the harmonized guitar intro is in full attack mode and is quickly backed by a furious rhythm. The results are eye-opening. The best part is how the music doesn't completely drop out (like so many do in this genre) in the first verse to allow the (usually female) vocals a quiet moment. Without hesitation, we are met by an instantly memorable melody sung by the lavishly redheaded Heidi Parviainen. Quickly we hear the nods to Nightwish as we get a glimpse of her ridiculous range and the band pulls right back into that monstrous rhythm, which turns out to be the chorus! The melody in the verses is a lot of fun, and a pleasure to sing along with.
  All I could think of as I listened on, was "Wow, another band from Finland tearing it up with new material." And tear it up they do! As the song works its way to a inspired pre-solo section, simply more evidence that this band is capable of bending rules in doing just what works, allowing the song to take its own directions, without tinkering it down to genre-specific cliche's. 
   This being one great moment, I would delve deeper into the bands previous mostly powermetal offering "The Clouds of Northland Thunder" but it was when I discovered the next song my expectations were elevated even more..


 















Amberian Dawn - Passing Bells (Power/Symphonic Metal Finland, 2008)
   Timpanis! Another eye-opening introduction. Grand and lush and full of bravado, the powerful and very symphonic build-up, cued perfectly by the ringing timbre of the timpani drums is an eye-opener because its too logical. It is so obvious as a fantastic idea for an intro, you wonder why it hasn't been done yet by everyone... yet it is this off-the-radar Powermetal band from Finland that did it- and it works amazingly well. This song as a marker, is a calling of tolls, which as any good pall-bearer knows, bells of any size would suffice, but as a band of the New Breed, things are done differently and timpanis play into this theme perfectly. Luckily, this outstanding intro is not wasted on just another song. Again, a quick, instantly memorable melody sung superbly as choirs of 'ahhs' pad the background, providing a full orchestra-hall feeling. Production is not overlooked here nor in the previously mentioned song, in fact, it is an integral point. The powerful rhythm, unmarked by any Powermetal trappings, is a kick-drop feel of double-stops and staccato accents, allowing for Heidi to simply sing well above and smoothly as if on a pocket of clouds.
   The building sections are also key, paying close attention to fully voiced guitar chords, piano and all the bells and whistles, a grandiose moment you truly don't want to end, but it does have a break down with echoes of the intro, to fall back in place for the final marvelous exit.
  My hopes are still high for this highly talented Power-rooted band from Finland and looking forward to including more music from them.


Todesbonden - Ghost of the Crescent Moon (Symphonic Folk Metal, USA 2008)
   My first moments of 'OMG this band is amazing' came actually from my Pandora Player (see previous posting: A Fantastic Four), as I was awash in simply awe of this band (amazingly from USA) as I researched more in depth, in search of more gems, I came across too many to include here but it was this song that capped it for me. Todesbonden is in my opinion, criminally overlooked. It is hard for me to group any other artist that I know of, in with this band for its boundless accessibility. What I mean is I really could play this song to just about anyone- from fans of very heavy metal to people who refuse to listen to anything heavy, and there is just no denying that is simply great music. This song is like an opus that takes you on a journey, narrated by only one of the most well-rounded voices I've ever heard, singing clear precise melodies with passion. The musicianship, through the doors. The piano alone is genius, match it with a moving vocal performance, with strings, long passages of piano and acoustic guitar, and you get moment after moment of elation, which also brings tears to your eyes. It's that beautiful.
    Then it just keeps getting better, at 3:58 the full-length piano runs behind her tear-jerking beckoning is perfection. And there is more, alot more of that in their catalog, trust me. There is so much to say of just the piano and her voice but I cannot go without mentioning what the other instruments are doing backing it all up. The heavier sections' song structure is almost de-constructed piece by piece, reminding me of the rhythm break-downs of Megadeth, and almost hang in air, There is a doom influence going on here as the band waits just the right time to emphasize between the lyrics. This is brilliance in every way. The epic opus of course has just as a dramatic and storied ending. Effort this flawless must be applauded.
   I poured through their past catalog to find simply moment after moment of just quality and sheer brilliance. I will be including more from this band here in my listings.

Next Update: 3 Classics pf Symphonic Metal

A Fantasic Four

A Fantastic Four Favorites

My Favorite 4 Songs I've Learned from Pandora - so far

  This is one Epic update I would say. I could spread these 4 songs across various postings, but in truth I discovered them almost all at the same time. I so far have listed in this second season, songs from bands I already knew of and loved, songs from bands Ive never heard of and now these 4 share 1 thing in common, I had crossed paths with each in some way or another, but never heard these selections and I really pretty much fell in love with them right away. First a quick over-view of the bands in this update and the links will follow below.

Todesbonden (Symphonic/Progressive Metal, USA)

 This is a band that located me on myspace at least 2 years ago. I remember when I was first adding bands from my early links, on my myspace page, like Velcra, Silentium, Epica and After Forever when I had a few bands find me like Katra, Diabulus in Musica, Edenbridge when this band from the USA asked me to add them. I remember playing a few songs which seemed to me like demos- really good demos. But my curiosity had stopped there. My only guess was they werent on youtube at the time and their "station" on last.fm didnt include their music (which happens when bands pull their listings from databases sometimes) Whatever the case I completely forgot about them. Luckily, one day my Pandora player reminded me and the first link below "Battle of Kadesh" came through and I went crazy... All the "Who The bleep" and "Where they come from" questions came and then boom a few days later "Surrender to the Sea" came on my player, which I instantly recognized as "its them- that band from my Myspace... are you kidding me?" I clicked thumbs-up and to my delight found some links on youtube. To this day I still revel in these 2 songs as if hearing them for the first time. Absolute gold here.

 Ensiferum (Folk Metal, Finland) I came across these guys during my "I must check every band from Finland" phase. I found them to be rather interesting mix of folk metal with some death and blackened influences but at times it all just didnt totally work for me at the time. Its my only explanation for how stumbled through their catalog without much success. Until Pandora played this song for me. I have a heavy influence of Finnish bands in my song seeds and band seeds, and Pandora correctly picked this one for me. It's a medley of Finnish National Songs sung beautifully and contrasted against quite heavy Folk Metal backing music. Maybe its my Finnish heritage coming through when I play this song I somehow feel maybe my Father is smiling down on me from somewhere.  

 Luca Turilli (Progressive Symphonic Power, Italy) I have found that most of my Metal friends don't know the vast majority of the bands I have put into my blog but its when I don't know something, only to find out that like everybody knows them is when I get a bit miffed. In sheer delightful ignorance, let me "tell" you about this band called Rhapsody. They are this power metal band with like a gazillion fans and they were once called Rhapsody of Fire, but had to change it and there is a vocalist guy who's superb, and this guitarist guy who's like a genius or something. What does this have to do with this Luca guy you ask? He's the virtuoso genius guy, who does solo projects and this one breaks away from his more typical speed injected power metal fare and bridges more towards the gap of symphonic metal-ish. When this song came up on my Pandora player, I was quite blown away by it within in the first minute and then I read the bio and go "Oh Yeah THAT guy from that Rhapsody band". I had no clue. I just knew I had come across a bunch of links from that band and never knew where to start, but much of it all sounded pretty much the same to me. But Not this song.

So here is my very favorite songs my Pandora player introduced me to, my Fantastic Four:

Todesbonden- Battle Of Kadesh (USA, Symphonic Folk Metal, 2008)

One of the more unusual songs I have in my listings, in that Laurie Ann Haus (Ephemeral Sun, Rain Fell Within, Autumn Tears) mostly just sings long wailing cries for the majority of the song. The intro is a slow build, with distant cries and what sounds to me a lute guitar, then duplicated by maybe a hurdy-gurdy and then symphonics as the whole band joins in. Its a very epic sounding progressive passage which allows for Laurie to vocalize all over. It stops just to rebuild again. The overall feel of building and breaking down shows some thrash-metal influences. Then there is a quiet passage which leads to powerful section at 5:20 and still no vocals yet, as the guitars rip in for dual tracked solos. All very inspired and they deserve kudos for thinking and writing so far outside of the box. It actually feels they are taking you off to foreign lands. After a short breakdown, she sings the few lines of lyrics as the song comes to a finale phrasing. I simply love this section and the song as a whole.

Todesbonden- Surrender to The Sea  (USA, Symphonic Folk Metal, 2008)

The first time I heard this song the ascending arpeggio piano intro was just about all I needed to raise my eyebrows then Laurie sings a beautiful and instantly memorable melody, on top. Then wham! Just as the band bangs in a heavy rhythm - I am sold! Letting and her show off her full range, climbing to such heights and quickly dropping back down. In the following section the powerful rhythms grind down as she turns up the emotion. These types of dynamics with near-impossible vocal delivery reminds me of a few songs Ive included in my postings so far (see below). Its apparently a formula which I embrace fully, its just a hard one to follow. The climbing and falling vocal melody is a great contrast to breakdown section with chords seemingly just hanging out there. Add in a guitar solo at 3:35 and its easy to see why this is truly one of my very favorite songs I've included so far. Love it!

Songs with similar style, with dramatic arrangements and near impossible vocals that this song reminds me of:

After Forever - Beautiful Emptiness
The Gathering - Strange Machines
Epica - Beyond Belief
Stream of Passion - Embrace the Storm

Ensiferum - Finnish Medley (Finland, Symphonic Folk Metal 2006)

  A song built out of 3 Finnish Anthems, which I wont list here. Right off the first intro riff, the first of the three pieces is beautifully sung, yes its in Finnish and is so melodic and sweet sounding to my ears. Like many National songs, it does sound a bit like a drinking song but is simply about seeing the natural beauty of the Finnish Landscape. The building guitars lead away into the 2nd song at 2:00, another quite beautiful melody, no lyrics but a nice segway to the next portion of the melody at 3:00 which is about a woodsman, the forest and fighting a bear. My Father was Finnish and I do wish he had taught me things about the rich culture from which he came and some of the language, I unfortunately did not have enough time with him in this world and sometimes I feel as I am listening to bands, like these who sing in Finnish, is my way of celebrating the time we did get to spend.

  Another part of this song I enjoy tremendously is the extended super multi-climatic and most epic ending they put on this song. Obviously it's a heavy stamp on a otherwise rather light fare for a band which is really quite heavy, a stamp which shows much heraldry and pride. Long Live Finland.

Luca Turillis' Dreamquest- Shades Of Eternity (Italy, Symphonic Metal 2006)
I am so excited as I bring in this next entry, because it instantly reminds me that these are 4 awesome songs and this one, by Rhapsody's Luca Turilli, has brought me so much joy. I remember playing it several times repetitively till I picked up on the melody. The unnamed vocalist (Listed as "Mystic", but rumored to be Bridget Fogle) delivers a spectacular performance, full of depth, range and ridiculous delivery that it simply blows my mind how it is that singers of this genre are not more well known. Which further is a point in question, why would Luca hide this vocalist's identity? Because her voice is so special, he wants her all for his own apparently. The song is put together in A/B format. The first section includes the main melody, and a start/stop response style where the vocals have an effect on them and the B section section has more a dancing sway to it, with the vocals being more clear and her range is on full display. The rather quick bridge jumps back to the B section before the main melody ends the song. Luca is considered a musical genius in some aspects for his work in Rhapsody(of Fire). This solo project he is playing the keys and this song in particular is in truth rather simple. Doesn't matter because it is such a stand-out and one of my Fantastic Four, and thanks to Pandora I now listen to many songs from these amazing bands.

Next Update: Pandora in The Dark