Article - Various - Tommy's Highlights Of The Year 2002

2002 did indeed bring some great moments. First I will shortly comment on the concerts I went to and later deal with the albums.

Dream Theater put on a great show on the Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence tour. Lots of classics, and a band that really interacted fantastic together on stage. The power that came from the stage was huge, and songs like Lie, Peruvian Skies, Misunderstood, Surrounded, The Killing Hand, Home and the phenomenal live execution of The Spirit Carries On were genius.

I did go to see Savatage and Blaze two times. Blaze did an energizing job and created a lot of powerful tunes like Born As A Stranger and Tenth Dimension.
Savatage was each time a huge experience. I love this band. Jon Oliva was simply genius on keyboard, making the songs full of depth and sounded great with his raw vocals, fuck, that man can sing with beauty. Chris Caffery played a monster guitar and overall the band sounded fantastic. Brilliant songs like, Sarajevo, This Is The Time, All That I Bleed, Gutter Ballet, Surrender, Believe and Chance were delivered with passion and magic.

Manowar smashed Copenhagen in November with a very powerful show, read the full review here. Steen and I also did a pretty funny interview with Karl Logan on that occasion, read it here

On their Planet Panic tour Pretty Maids played an amazing concert in Aarhus. Lots of great classic's like Back To Back and Walk Away, and new brilliantly performed tracks like Wouldn't Miss You and Natural High. This is one of the best live bands around, and a great deal of the RevelationZ staff had a good time and lots of drinks this evening. I was surely not in top shape the following morning (that also goes for youSteen).
I very sadly missed Wacken because I was in Singapore, so I have to go extra crazy this year.

A magic moment in 2002 was when I interviewed David DeFeis of Virgin Steele, my favourite musician and band of all time. We talked about a lot of interesting themes and he was totally cool. Read the interview here

I also talked with Thomas Youngblood of Kamelot. That interview also went very well, nice guy! We talked of course about their new album Epica and other interesting stuff. Read it here

Before I give the albums of 2002 a comment, there are just a few funny moments I feel like mentioning.

The "almost two person party" Steen and I held in December was hilarious. The amount of different drinks we had was over the top. Tajs managed to see and listen to us for a couple of hours (well done) before he went home. Steen did indeed get mega drunk, wrestling his furniture around before I had to put him to bed. We did go completely crazy to Manowar, Symphony X, Eternity X, Virgin Steele and other great stuff. There exists pictures of us from that evening, but for the public health I guess they will remain on Steen's computer forever.
Another funny moment was when me and Steen sung the entire The Odyssey by Symphony X at a party in Esbjerg. I guess we where looked upon as completely crazy, but funny it surely was.

Before getting into the albums of the year a special mention must go the two very important re-releases. The first two Virgin Steele albums, Virgin Steele I and Guardians Of The Flame.
Virgin Steele is my favourite band and I have waited a long time to get these albums in my hands. Virgin Steele I has a cool direct approach and Guardians Of The Flame has some genius melodic tracks. Links to my reviews can be found here Virgin Steele I and Guardians Of The Flame

The following list of albums consists of the discoveries I made in the year 2002, the release date also being form the same year. Before long there will be albums not found here that I have stumbled on later, that's the restrictions these list brings with them! I have made a link to the albums that I at the time being have reviewed. I have only listed albums that had more good than bad stuff on them, justifying the use of "highlights".
Its extremely difficult to make a list where each album is listed in connection with the quality they have, so this is a very loose list where I at least start with the better ones.

Two albums went straight to my heart:

Symphony X. The Odyssey. Read review
I am a huge Symphony X fan and this release puts me in ecstasy. Very powerful, still melodic and with some of the greatest symphonic parts I have ever heard. Truly a masterpiece by this amazing and ingenious band.

Vanden Plas. Beyond Daylight. Read review
This album came as a surprise to me because it was my first record with the band. The atmosphere is simply stunning and totally gets me into almost trance. The personal relationship I have made with these songs is very important to me. The combination of power, detail, depth, variation, progressive elements, symphonic elements, great solo's, beautiful vocals, melody and drama is astonishing. Healing Tree is extremely moving and a song like Nightwalker features one of the greatest atmospheres ever.

There were of course many other fantastic pieces:

Pain Of Salvation. Remedy Lane. Read review
Well, this is one of the most special and exiting records I have ever heard. The amount of emotion the personal lyric's contains and the fantastic progressive elements are stunning.
A fantastic balanced record with some truly special songs and great atmospheres.
A musical performance on a very high level involving some very intense moments.

Dream Theater. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence.
Once again this dearly beloved band of mine made a fantastic record. A very emotional album with thrilling moods and great melodies. Still in need of that genius overall feel that Metropolis II had for reaching a higher level. A brilliant emotional song like Misunderstood has a genius dark atmosphere and the titletrack has some fantastic catchy parts.

Paragon. Law Of The Blade. Read review
My favourite album by this fantastic Power Metal band. Very aggressive but with some brilliant slower bombastic songs. A band with a style and sound that is very unique, raw and hard but still melodic. Extremely powerful Metal, and songs with tons of atmosphere. Few times have I heard a record with so much intensity.

Rhapsody. Power Of The Dragonflame. Read review
These dramatic songs really melts together in a very soothing whole. Their best and most balanced record in my opinion. The keyboard elements are phenomenal and all songs are from good to genius.

Freedom Call. Eternity. Read review
Best and most melodic album from these guys. There are just so many great powerful and positive songs here. Slower and darker elements are fitted into the album too, and that balance works really well. Few songs lack the same energy and melody as the majority and the concept could be more interesting though. The symphonic passages are simply huge.

Avantasia. The Metal Opera Pt. II.
The second part of this symphonic concept. Lots of drama, great melodies, fantastic vocal performances, epic passages and the fantastic mega hymn The Seven Angels. The character and mystery based concept works really well. A couple of songs comes out not that exiting but the overall flow is magnificent. Overall a great second part, combining lots of great music into a fitting whole experience.

Steel Prophet. Unseen. Read review
I think that this band has made some extraordinary albums and this is one of them. Unseen offers a nice balance of different kinds of tracks. Shattered Apart is pure magic; the despair in the chorus is stunning. Well-played, interesting and melodic Heavy Metal.

Kotipelto. Waiting For The Dawn. Read review
The first solo album from Stratovarius singer Timo, dealing with a concept about Egyptian mythology that is well written and performed.
The style is Power Metal with a classic Metal approach. A highly melodic album with some great powerful songs, and also some brilliant slow atmospheric ones. A fresh sound and solid rhythm's is cool aspects even though the real monster songs are few in number. The atmospheres created are very convincing.

Metalium. Hero Nation- Chapter Three. Read review
Their clearly best release, many great tunes with lots of energy and raw riffs. The powerful solid rhythm section is a big plus, and the symphonic elements give the songs an extra dimension.

Pagan's Mind. Celestial Entrance. Read review
A great new band that I heard for the first time. Great Progressive Power Metal with tons of details and technical performance of high standard. Strange elements at times, but overall genius melodies and symphonic parts.

Manowar. Warriors Of The World. Read review
The Metal warriors strike back with lots of catchy songs. Swords In The Wind is pure magic, and Warriors Of The World United is a pure mega hymn. Could have been more symphonic stuff on it but all in all it has all the classic Manowar elements.

Blind Guardian. A Night At The Opera.
A really detailed and varied album. The amount of layers in the songs becomes too much at times, the high technical standard is a big plus though. Aggressive at times but still with the classic catchy choruses. The songs seem to contain a lot of depth and the high amount of varied breaks works well most of the times. The performance of all band members is of a very high level and the symphonic elements are nicely fitted in.

Dionysus. Sign Of Truth. Read review
The great debut from this very melodic Power Metal band. There are some fantastic guitar riffs, great vocals and catchy tunes on this record.

Zonata. Buried Alive. Read review
Another great new band for me. Power Metal with a cool symphonic edge. Complex at times and with lots of variation featuring some genius bombastic elements.

Star One. Space Metal. Read review
A progressive journey into space with fantastic keyboard arrangements and cool changing atmospheres. A concept about different science fiction films that works pretty well. Some songs are based on a pretty standard rhythm, and "just" a couple of really genius songs keep my rating at hold. The cool tight sound in the songs and the great vocal performances is a big plus though.

Primal Fear. Black Sun. Read review
A loose concept that isn't that interesting but some single lyrics are cool. The complex arrangement is a positive element. All the classic Primal Fear stuff is represented and all in all a well played Power Metal album.

Rage. Unity. Read review
A hard and well-played Power Metal release. Some very catchy and still raw tracks with great choruses. Some rather unexciting songs with too many basic elements does that my rating doesn't go higher. It has a direct approach that works well in most of the songs. Overall a technical and well-arranged record.

Symphorce. Phorceful Ahead. Read review
Their darkest and hardest release. Some very good songs with huge choruses and raw guitar riffs. Other songs are too plain in their melodies, and lack something thrilling. Overall an album with a cool raw and tight edge.

U.D.O. Man And Machine.
A very tight and solid release. The songs have a great depth and the band offers classic Metal at a high level of performance.
A couple of standard melodies and the lack of variation hold the rating a bit down. There are lots of bombastic choruses and great riffs though. Overall a very powerful record.

Pretty Maids. Planet Panic. Read review
Well, this album has got three amazing songs that for me are classics already. On the other side there are some tracks that are well below normal Pretty Maids standard and just too uninteresting. The album has a pretty hard and direct approach that works well.

Hammerfall. Crimson Thunder. Read review
Overall a pretty high standard collection of songs, one really fantastic one is of course not much. The powerful drive that is very characteristic of the rhythm section is a great aspect.

Dio. Killing The Dragon.
Dio strikes back with a raw and solid approach. The rhythm section is very tight and a big plus. Not his best release due to the lack of really good songs, but still with the classic elements. Cool solos and as always a great powerful vocal performance.

Blaze. Tenth Dimension.
Second album from Blaze. Direct Metal with cool riffs and I think the concept works pretty good as a whole. There are just too many songs that are either based on a standard rhythm or chorus. A couple of really fantastic song is a bit in the low end. Still the album has some powerful moments and my rating of 6,5 is still a good album.

Running Wild. The Brotherhood. Read review
Well the classic melodic leads are all here, but not in the same amount as earlier. The slower and more grooving approach works well in a couple of songs but in others makes them a bit tame. Only a few very good songs and not too many catchy tunes. Surely not among their best, but still Power Metal that is well executed.

Nocturnal Rites. Shadowland. Read review
A pretty good release from this Power Metal unit. The album has some great melodic songs with huge catchy choruses. Still there a too many ordinary songs that relies on a not that exiting rhythm.

Timo Tolkki. Hymn To Life. Read review
The mastermind from Stratovarius released a very original and diverse record. Many great melodies and interesting passages. Some elements is not working that well and the album hasn't got an abundance of really great songs. Anyway a pretty solid and refreshing release.

White Skull. The Dark Age. Read review
The first album I heard with the band. Hard and raw Power Metal with a solid foundation. The really fantastic songs lack in number and more standard melodies are offered too often instead. A pretty good album though, lots of power and dark atmospheres.

Missa Mercuria. Missa Mercuria. Read review
A Symphonic concept involving a lot of different musicians, among four members of Vanden Plas. The album is very varied and has some cool atmospheric arrangements, some songs lack great melodies and drama though. Overall there are some great musical performances here with many interesting parts, and some great melodic tracks.

Iron Savior. Condition Red. Read review
Many quite good energized Power Metal songs but only a couple of really high standard ones. Could have had more symphonic elements, but the powerful elements are all in order.

Destillery. Ferrum.
Their third album. The record has an interesting overall feel to it, melodic in a strange way, but without the really fantastic songs. Overall the album works pretty well and there are some great variations here and there. The performance is good but there could have been more musical flair in the songs. An album with some rather tame songs too, but still worth giving a listen. There are interesting elements hiding.

Seven Witches. Xiled To Infinity And One.
Another Power Metal release. I found their other records better; this one has not that many good songs. I guess I lack the really cool catchy riffs and the melodic choruses. The album is a bit short and only features a couple of really good songs. The hard style is fitting in some places but seems a bit uninteresting at length. The album is just above standard due to its solid rhythm section.

Pegazus. The Headless Horseman.
Straight ahead Power Metal. The problem is that the melodies and riffs to often are uninteresting and tame. A couple of good songs but the album just isn't very challenging. The direct approach is fitting in most of the songs, but they could have had more variation like on their Wings Of Destiny release. In all fairness the rhythm section is rather solid and many guitar passages are quite powerful.