Besides playing Bioshock and watching "The King of Kong" (both highly recommended pastimes) I have started going through my entire CD collection, compressing it into a lossless format for easy playback. This has turned up a ton of older albums I've wanted to give a listen and this sort of reflects my playlist.
Angra - Angels Cry (Power Metal)Great album. Fresh and energized. I remember getting completely hooked on "Carry on" and the "Wuthering Heights" cover.
Angra - Holy Land (Power Metal)Even better than the debut and manages to capture a unique atmosphere.
"Carolina IV", "Make Believe", "Nothing to Say" and the title track are favorites but everything about this album is superb.
Armored Saint - Symbol of Salvation (Heavy Metal)Classic! This album has a deeply powerful core and should be checked out by anyone into Heavy Metal.
Read my full review here.
Avantasia -The Metal Opera Part I (Power Metal)The beginning of Tobias Sammet's still developing side project is a power metal classic. The involvement of Virgin Steele's David Defeis was enough to get my interest peaked back then. "Serpents of Paradise", "Farewell", "The Glory of Rome" and "Sign of the Cross" are forever etched in the back of my mind.
The Beatles - Help! (Rock)The album that once upon a time got me hooked on The Beatles. As far as I remember it took two weeks of regular listens before I got really hooked but from then on there has been no turning back. The harmonies are amazing and especially the bridge sections are sooo melodic. Every song has a favorite moment and there's no downside to this one. The Beatles was simplicity perfected, evolving into something much more complex.
Beyond twilight - Section X (Progressive Metal)Wicked, Weird and Way too complicated to describe properly yet.
Bob Catley - Middle Earth (Symphonic Rock)Wonderful Lord of the Rings-themed album.
Full review here.
Clive Nolan & Oliver Wakeman - The Hound of the Baskervilles (Symphonic Rock)Extremely well done concept album based on the Sherlock Holmes Story. The narration walks a fine line but works in the end. High on atmosphere and suspense.
Dream Theater - Images and Words (Progressive Metal)A fantastic album where music and lyrics unite into something special. "Let the light surround you..." you followed by the soaring guitar section at 3:39 in "Surrounded" and the bridge section beginning with "If there's an pensive fear, a wasted year" at 2:45 in "Take the time" are just a few of many incredible passages on this classic.
Dream Theater - Awake (Progressive Metal)My favorite Dream Theater album by a small margin. Oozes with atmosphere and emotion. "The Mirror", "Lifting Shadows of a Dream" and "Space Dye Vest" are three hard to pick favorites on this progressive metal milestone.
Queensryche - EP (Heavy Metal)A powerful beginning showing signs of things to come. Rough but impressive.
Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls (Progressive Metal)Another band falls prey to
The Narrator's Curse. The album is instantly captivating but then the narration makes a most fatal entrance. The music is challenging, melodic and very promising, it's just a shame about the sentimental story approach. Still, highly recommended to check out for fans of progressive metal.
Doro - Fear No Evil (Heavy Metal)Great album from the Queen of Metal.
Full review Vision Divine - 9 Degrees west of the moon (Power Metal)Fabio Leone is back in Vision Divine and it's great to hear his voice again. The band sounds unmistakably like Stratovarius in the opening song (think Eagleheart meets Distant Skies). "Violet Loneliness" is mesmerizingly melodic and carries a wonderful soft touch. "Fly" and "The Streets of Laudomia" are other favorites. Overall a varied and pretty good album but I miss something to make it really stand out.
Amaseffer - Slaves for Life (Symphonic Progressive Metal)Progressive metal with a spicy oriental flavour and a movie soundtrack feel. A very nice surprise which takes time and a bit of effort before it opens up.
CD purchases of the month
Ray Wilson - Propaganda Man
Marillion - Misplaced Childhood
