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.