Blog

1. Rhapsody of Fire
2. Ensiferum
3. Wintersun
4. Luca Turilli
5. 植松伸夫 (Nobuo Uematsu)
6. Finntroll
7. Luca Turilli's Dreamquest
8. Kamelot
9. Amon Amarth
10. Norther
11. Falconer
12. DragonForce
13. Blind Guardian
14. Captain Dan & The Scurvy Crew
15. Turisas
16. Alestorm
17. X JAPAN
18. Eluveitie
19. Korpiklaani
20. Cruachan
21. Jeremy Soule
22. The Black Mages
23. HammerFall
24. Epica
25. Elvenking


What was the first song you ever heard by 6?
Maktens Spira! I heard it on the pre-show of an excellent podcast called Blue Plz! Many thanks to Totalbiscuit for introducing me to this band.


What is your favorite album by 2?
Ensiferum


What is your favorite lyric that 1 has sung?

And this is then the epic end
Of the legendary tale
Of the one who found the light
And the dragonflame inside
Of the tragic rain of a thousand flames
Of the town's defenders who faced (real) pain
Of symphonies of enchanted lands
Of whispers of love and hate

The dawn of victory can breathe in the wind
And this would mean the great rebirth
Reborn, the one who's giving his life
...the towns lying on the ground
Be one, (be one!) of us, (of us!)
And act as all the prophecies want...
To mountains and valleys, to fire and snow,
To sun, moon and wisdom rise your soul...
It's the call!

Gargoyles, Angels of Darkness

Hard decision though, Luca writes a lot of great lyrics.


How many times have you seen 11 live?
None. Not my top-priority, but would be nice, of course.


What is your favorite song by 7?
Gothic Vision


What is a good memory you have involving 20?
Well, it sort of led me into folk metal - which is awesome.


Is there a song by 3 that makes you sad?
Death and the Healing
One of my favourite songs - it's got a melancholic feel to it, I love it.


What is your favorite lyric that 14 has sung?
Hurm. I guess Sea Monsters:

"You hear stories of monsters in the waters
Endless counts of horrific manslaughters
sailors tell tales of beasts in the sea
but what they don't tell ya, it's that the worst it's in me."

Can't find any lyrics, so It'll have to do for now. Not too sure about that last line.

What is your favorite song by 19?

Vodka!
Vodka!
Vodka!


How did you first get into 22?

From playing Final Fantasy-games. Nobuo Uematsu makes the score, so I investigated - and found his side-project.


What was the first song you heard by 21?

Reign of the Septims


What is your favorite song by 4?
King of the Nordic Twilights


How many time have you seen 10 live?
Again, none, but I'd very much like to. Well, actually, I'm not too sure about their new singer, I'd have to hear him sing before deciding, I guess.


What is a good memory you have involving 13?
The Bard's Song - In The Forest

NEED I SAY MORE?


Is there a song by 23 that makes you sad?
Never, Ever


What is your favorite album of 15?
Battle Metal
Though, their second one is almost as good.


What is your favorite lyric that 9 has sung?


The enemies are in disarray ride them down as they run
Send them to their violent graves, don't spare anyone
Dead and wounded lie all around see the pain in their eyes
Over the field an eerie sound, as we hear the raven's cry

Cry of the Black Birds


What is your favorite song by 8?
The Shadow Of Uther


What is your favorite song by 16?
Over the Seas
I know.


How many times have you seen 5 live?
None. :( I'll definitely go if he performs nearby, though.


What is your favorite album by 12?
Valley Of The Damned


What is a good memory you have involving 25?
Can't really remember any. The Divided Heart is a good song, though.


What was the first song you heard by 18?
Inis Mona
Awesome.


What is your favorite song by 17?
ART OF LIFE - actually, I like the live version from 1993 better.

Really though, I cannot stress enough how absolutely awesome, fantastic and perfect this song is, my all-time favourite song BY FAR.


What is your favorite album by 24?
Design Your Universe


How many of your top 25 have you seen live?
Kamelot. I've seen Simmone Simmons live at the same concert, so I guess that's almostEpica. :)

Alright, I'll probably edit this later, as it's horribly written, and it's actually quite late.

I was born in 1992, and if I could choose I wouldn't change it for a second. Sure, I was only four when Therion released Theli, considered one of the earliest symphonic metal albums, and I was only six when Nightwish released Oceanborn in 1998, but I have lived to witness the release of many great albums since the mid-2000's.

This is what I concider the golden age of symphonic metal. Right here, right now. It is a genre that develop well on its own as well as into other genres - Leaves' Eyes blend it perfectly with folk music (Njord of 2009 for example) and Sonata Arctica earlier this fall released The Days of Grays which was the first album that really showed a mixture of power, prog and symphonic metal without one taking the overly control.

A certain cliff in the history of symphonic metal was released only a month ago... Epica's Design Your Universe is the album I will speak of today.

This phenomenal, epic, melodic, bombastic album kicks of with their best instrumental yet, the intro song Samadhi ~ Prelude ~, before entering Resign to Surrender ~ A New Age Dawns - part IV ~. DYU is the first album to continue the A New Age Dawns saga, first started on the 2005 album Consign to Oblivion. The first three parts told of the collapse of the Mayan civilization, and this 2009 release show the next three parts. To me, Resign to Surrender sounds like an amazing intro song, the perfect way to reawaken the saga in. It builds up perfectly, before finishing and leaving the scene for the next song (and the first video for the album), Unleashed. Unleashed is far from the best song of the album, but I understand they used it as a video. It is a real catchy song, and Simone sounds amazing in it. I can't see why it's their most popular on Last.fm, but still a great track.

The fourth song on the album is Martyr of the Free Word, and here I must speak my mind. Why, oh why, couldn't this be the third song? I would much prefer it to be ahead of Unleashed, simply because Unleashed is a bit too grande and bombastic, whilst Martyr is more of a metal song. Resign to Surrender followed by Unleashed just doesn't sound as good as followed by Martyr of the Free Word. This aside, it's a really cool track, one of the more special on the album, with influences from oriental music in the vocal lines. Mark Jansen's grunts right after the chorus really is an amazing part that does the song.

The next song is another more bombastic one - Our Destiny. I'm sad to say this is one of the weaker songs on the album, if I have to choose one. It is a great song, but compared to the rest of the album it's kind of dull. The thing is that it's too long... it's only 6 minutes, not much to Epica standards, but I feel it's a little too much. If it were to be cut down into at least 4:40, 5, it would be much higher in my ratings.

Kingdom of Heaven ~ A New Age Dawns - part V ~ is the fifth chapter of the A New Age Dawns saga, and the longest song on the album at 13:35. It is an awesome track, especially the first eight minutes, but it's still a disappointment to me. Maybe I had too high hopes - before I heard it I saw an interview with Mark Jansen explaining how he had worked on the song for three years, and how he considered it their best by far. To me it's pretty low on the list of top tracks on DYU, after the title track, Martyr of the Free Word, Burn to a Cinder, and Resign to Surrender. As with Our Destiny, maybe this song would be much better if it were to be cut down, maybe with as much as three or four minutes. Another remark is the spoken parts in the second half of the song... I don't mind cheese, in fact I order a triple cheese sandwich listening to Stratovarius and Rhapsody of Fire, but these spoken parts really shift the song from epic to humorous, not a completely reparable damage I'm afraid.

After an epic song like Kingdom of Heaven, it's often tough to hear another song right away. Many bands solve this problem with either putting an easier rock song right after (Nightwish's The Poet and the Pendulum was followed by Bye Bye Beautiful), or the epic song is the final track on the album. The dilemma here is how there are two epic songs, Kingdom of Heaven as well as the title track, which is put as the final song (a perfect choice, more of that later). So the choice was to have an interlude as the seventh track, entitled The Price of Freedom ~ Interlude ~, a clip of people speaking of the price of freedom being death and orchestral music in the background resembling of many horror pictures from the 1920's.

The interlude leads elegantly into Burn to a Cinder, one of my favorites on the album. It is one of the more melodic songs, going back to the power metal territories of Consign to Oblivion and The Phantom Agony. The song ends with an epic moment leading into deep sorrow ("Why can't I bleed with you?") followed by the album's first ballad, the moving Tides of Time.

To me, both Deconstruct and Semblance of Liberty are pretty standard symph metal songs - no big surprises, catchy choruses, nothing really special except for the speaking part in Semblance of Liberty ("Read... my... lips").

The second ballad of the album is also the weakest song Epica has ever made. I was glad when they announced that Tony Kakko of Sonata Arctica would guest feature on the song White Waters, but this doesn't feel like Tony at all. All Tony touches turns to gold, but this is as far from gold as you could get. White Waters is not beautiful, it is boring and weird, and the only thing that saves it is that Semblance of Liberty leading into the final track of the album would be very weird. And the final track is gold.

Design Your Universe ~ A New Age Dawns - part VI ~ is the best song Epica has ever written, and that's final. It is just perfect, from it's epic chorus ("We can't undo what we have done, so show us now what we've become") to its final, heartbreaking, whispering verse that always makes me weep.

This is Epica's best release to date, and I'm really excited if they will ever top it, because let's face it.... this is the latest chapter in the history of awesome music.

1, What's your favorite song by 15? (Die Ärzte)
It's "Madonnas Dickdarm", because it's just so simply plain stupid :D


2, How did you get into 20? (Bullet For My Valentine)
I started listening to metalcore, after I recognized, that it's not as bad as I first thought.
After listening to Trivium I just listened to some songs on youtube and that's it.


3, Who is your favorite member in 1? (In Flames)
Björn Gelotte, because of his kick-ass beard and awesome tiger-tatoo


4, Whats your favorite lyric bit by 29? (Dark Age)
"Because your outside shapes my inside, every day I find to see, that this world that you are lovin' is a smiling enemy. I don't know why I have followed without asking where we go, I guess it's just to hard and hollow in a world that I don't know" - Dark Age - Outside the Inside


5, Have you ever seen 22 live? (Green Day)
Nope. I think they suck live, because of some live-videos I have seen.


6, What's your favorite album from 10? (Disarmonia Mundi)
hard question. I think I'd guess Mind Tricks because of "A Taste of Collapse".


7, Do you own any merchandise from 3? (Kalmah)
Yes! Three shirts :D


8, What is a good memory you have of 7? (Nightrage)
good memory... I like to get to sleep while listening to the amazing instrumental songs by nightrage. And I like sleeping very much, so... that's it :D


9, Is there a member of the same age as you in 2? (Me First and the Gimme Gimmes)
Nope, don't think so. The guys are some years older than me ;)


10, When did you first get into 8? (Mando Diao)
That's a long time ago! I watched MTV 2 late in the night and saw the video to "sheepdog". The next day I discovered the band and the song "Down in the past" which is still one of my favourite songs.


11, Who likes 4 along with you? (Children of Bodom)
Don't understand the question ._."
Fuckin' many people like 'em xD


12, Which song did you first hear from 16? (Soilwork)
Rejection Role - what an awesome song!


13, What song made you fall in love with 5? (Kreator)
Phobiaaaaaaaaaaa!!! XD because it kicks ass and it was the first thrash song I played on guitar :D


14, Which song do you not like by 18? (Arctic Monkeys)
Wow, eeehm I'd say... Fake Tales of San Francisco.


15, Why do you like 14's songs? (Senses Fail)
Their songs are melodic and some kind of "touching" xD I like that xD


16, Where did you first hear 6? (Norther)
Last.fm recommendation -> youtube (midnight walker) -> <3 :D


17, How long was 19 a singer before you liked them? (Lamb of God)
omg! 16 years or so :D


18, Does 13 have a song that gives you a bad memory? (Sum 41)
no :D sum 41 is too awesome and powerful for givin' bad memories to anyone ;D


19, When did you get into 17? (Insomnium)
2008 i'd say or 2007... definately too late ;D


20, How long have you been into 9? (Trivium)
since 2 or 3 years I think. They were my first metalcore band :)


21, If 11 had a concert 300 miles away, would you drive there to see them? (Sonata Arctica)
Hmm, I don't think so. Saw them live in Wacken. Ok but Wacken is about 700 km away, sooo I did it drive more than 300 miles to see them :D


22, How many CDs do you own of 12? (Scar Symmetry)
4


23, Does 21 have a song that makes you cry? (Slayer)
NO xD


24, Does 27 have a song that makes you happy? (Tenacious D)
yeah, ALL songs of Tenacious D make me happy. Just have to think about Jack Black and I'm smiling ;D


25, Does 23 have a song that makes you smile? (myGRAIN)
Veil of Suns - Because the beginning keyboard is sooooooo awesome :D


26, What's the last song you've listened to from 28? (Avatar)
Shattered Wings I think. Awesome new song of them :)


27, Is there a song by 32 that you've listened to more than 30 times? (Equilibrium)
Yes - UNBESIEGT - 59 times and coutin' ;D


28, What is a song from 50 that you've only listened to once? (Raintime)
Nope - the song I've listend the less is Rainbringer


29, Is there a song you are sick of hearing by 24? (At the Gates)
Nope because At the Gates is plain awesome :D


30, What song got you into 40? (Haste the Day)
When everything falls - recommended by a friend who had heared it on a metal radio.


31, What is your favorite single by 25? (Anti-Flag)
wtf ._." don't know their singles xD my favourite song is "the press corpse" I think.


32, If 49 hated you, what would you do? (Akrea)
omg I think I'd do anything for them so that they like me ^^
Awesome and funny guys :)


33, What would you say if 42 or one of the members from 42 asked you out? (All That Remains)
Bass-chick OK! xD - guys NO :D


34, Would you care if 41 had a boyfriend/girlfriend? (Rhapsody of Fire)
nope ._." their ugly old men xD


35, Who has the best voice in 46? (36 Crazyfists)
the singer xDDD


36, Do you think 26 is/are good looking? (Skyfire)
their ok I think xD


37, How many times have you listened to your favorite song by 36? (Eläkeläiset)
Vihaan humppaa - 30 times :D


38, How many CDs do you own of 30? (Less Than Jake)
3 :)


39, Is there a song from 38 that makes you mad? (Arch Enemy)
EVERY song by Arch enemy makes me mad! I wanna play such crazy melodies and stuff, too! :D


40, Which member from 31 do you want to see go solo? If 31 is only one artist, what would you do if they joined a group? (Imperanon)
the singer joined norther or so... don't know. stupid question ._."


41, What does your favorite song from 48 remind you of? (Mors Principium Est)
of fuckin awesome melodic-death-metal xD


42, Did you hate 43 at first? (Three Days Grace)
Nope - cause their awesome :D


43, Does your best friend also listen to 33? (Wintersun)
Yep :)


44, Do you think your parents would like 37? (Bad Religion)
Awww, don't think sooo ^^" They arn't big fans of punkrock xD


45, Does 47 have a song that makes you want to dance? (Stormwarrior)
If pogo counts yes... xD


46, Have you ever seen 34 in person? (Ensiferum)
wtf is "in person" - saw em live 2 times sooo... yes I'd say ^^"


47, Do you like 44's name? (Deadlock)
hmm It's ok ^^


48, Is there someone in 45 that you want to go out with? (Sworn)
gwaaaaaaah xD NO! NEVER!


49, Do you know anyone that hates 39? (Die Apokalyptischen Reiter)
Due their big popularity - NO! :D


50, Have you ever danced to a song from 35? (Sonic Syndicate)
Pogo anyone? XD

Hi hi... browsing randomly on music profiles I saw this "artists I've seen live" entries I couldn't resist to put my own list here, haha!
Not so many as I'd like, but something is something ;)


Artists I've seen live
Blind Guardian + Symphony X (support) @Canyon Club, Dallas, TX - Nov 30, 2002
Haggard @Teatro de los Héroes, Chihuahua, MX - Jan 19, 2003
Therion @Teatro de los Héroes, Chihuahua, MX - Aug 2004
Tierra Santa & support @Pistoleros, Chihuahua, MX - Oct 2004
Nightwish @Circo Volador, Mexico, DF - Dec 12 2004
Monterrey Metal Fest III @Auditorio Coca Cola, Monterrey, MX - Nov 18 2006:
Leaves' Eyes - Deicide - Edguy - U.D.O. - Blind Guardian <3 (there were more bands of course, but I actually attended those xD)
Within Temptation @Estudio Cavaret, Guadalajara, MX - Apr 5 2008
Sarah Brightman @Arena VFG, Guadalajara, MX - Nov 6 2008
(last two have been the ONLY good things happened to me in this stupid city XDDDDDDD)


Artists I HAVE TO SEE BEFORE I DIE lol
Enya (too bad it seems like she doesn't even tour ;_; )
Loreena McKennitt
Emma Shapplin
Lacuna Coil
Sirenia
Orphaned Land
Xandria
Stream of Passion
Dimmu Borgir


Artists I would like to see too!!
Finntroll
Visions of Atlantis
Draconian
Kalafina
Tori Amos
Evanescence
Epica
Rhapsody of Fire
Stratovarius
Diablo Swing Orchestra
Avantasia (will it be another tour?? ;___; )


Artists I would like to see but it will be impossible now:
Queen (Freddie Mercury was the best frontman ;_; )
The Beatles
After Forever
The old Theatre of Tragedy
Tristania in their good times ( Widow's Weeds and Beyond the Veil era...)


That's all for now!!
Currently I'm not planning to attend any concerts in a long time... I don't have the money and my priorities are other for the moment. xD

Some or all streams attached to the following tracks have technical imperfections. Visit the Boulevard of Broken Streams for details.

^{Silent Streams}

• Flёur - Redemption

Michelle Shocked (Short Sharp Shocked)

1. When I Grow Up
   
2. Graffiti Limbo
   
3. Anchorage
   
4. The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore
   
5. Black Widow

^{Streams Which Abruptly End Midway}
Dark Moor (Beyond the Sea)

1. Green Eyes
   
2. Going On

• Eagles - Hotel California
  
• Krypteria - Time To Bring The Pain (Incursion Version) (probably just two seconds missing)
  
• Bob Marley & The Wailers - Exodus
  
• Nouvelle Vague - Too Drunk to Fuck
  
• Stream of Passion - Deceiver
  
• Swing Out Sister - All in Your Mind
  
• Tristania - Lotus (just a few seconds missing)

Yara (Enta Menny)

1. Jayi
   
2. Hessak A'ynak
   
3. Enta Menny
   
4. Alli La'
   
5. Hawil Marra
   
6. Bi Jimlit Elli Rah
   
7. Ma Yhimmak
   
8. Haddi A'asabak
   
9. Bahlam Bi A'inayk
   
10. Enta Menny (Remix)

^{Streams Which Play Only a Few Seconds on the Radio}
Christina Aguilera (Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade Of Hits)

1. Genie In A Bottle
   
2. Fighter
   
3. Beautiful
   
4. Hurt
   
5. Candyman

• Aly & AJ (Into the Rush)
  
• Alicia Keys - Fallin'
  
• Alanis Morissette - any?
  
• Britney Spears - Oops!...I Did It Again
  
• Amy Winehouse - any?

^{Streams Which Skip Repeatedly}

• Natalie Dessay - Der Holle Rache
  
• Luca Turilli's Dreamquest - Dreamquest
  
• Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Mas que nada
  
• Sleepthief - Entre Ciel et Mer
  
• Xandria - Now & Forever

^{Streams Which Keep Losing Synchronisation}
Bullet (Bite the Bullet)

1. Pay the Price
   
2. Roadking
   
3. Nailed to the Ground
   
4. City of Sins
   
5. Waste My Time
   
6. Rock 'N' Roll Remedy
   
7. Rock Us Tonight
   
8. Wheels Keep on Turning
   
9. The Rebels Return

• Týr - Ten Wild Dogs

^{Streams Which Emit Unusual Pops, Squeaks and Static Noise}
After Forever (After Forever)

1. Evoke
   
2. Transitory
   

Piet Klocke (Das geht alles von Ihrer Zeit ab)

1. Ankündigung und Einleitung
   
2. Werbung 1
   
3. 1. Stilart I
   
4. 1. Stilart II
   
5. 1. Stilart III
   
6. Abschied
   
7. Zugabe
   
8. Das Lied
   
9. Am Hafen
   
10. Satellite

• Level 42 - Lessons In Love
  
• Level 42 - Running In The Family
  
• Rhapsody - Warrior of Ice (redirected to Rhapsody of Fire - Warrior Of Ice)
  
• Swing Out Sister - Love Won't Let You Down
  
• Marcos Valle - My Nightingale

^{Streams Which Sound Like They Were Ripped From a Skipping CD}

• Demonic Resurrection - Behind The Mask Of God

^{Streams Which Keep Repeating Parts of the Song}

• Klaus Nomi - Samson And Delilah (Aria)

First, make a list of your top-20 artists overall. Then, for each of these artists, add the 8 most similar artists to your list. Delete any duplicates, count up the number of entries on your list and this will give you some idea of how eclectic your listening habits are. A score of 9 represents an extremely unvaried musical taste while a 160 represents an extremely varied one.

-

01. Versailles
- Juka
- D
- Matenrou Opera
- Moi dix Mois
- Phantasmagoria
(5)

02. the GazettE
- SCREW
- alice nine.
- SuG
- Sadie
- Dio-distraught overlord
- D'espairsRay
- 12012
(7)

03. アンティック-珈琲店-
- 雅-miyavi-
- 少女-ロリヰタ-23区
- シリアル⇔NUMBER
(3)

04. Children of Bodom
- Inearthed
- Norther
- Arch Enemy
- Kalmah
- In Flames
- Warmen
- Ensiferum
- Wintersun
(8)

05. 新興宗教楽団NoGoD
- ネガ
- xTRiPx
- DELUHI
- Vidoll
- ClearVeil
- アヲイ
- 秋葉原少年団☆電脳ロメオ
(7)

06. LM.C
- 176BIZ
(1)

07. Emilie Autumn
- Hannah Fury
- The Birthday Massacre
- Helalyn Flowers
- Angelspit
- Ayria
- Rasputina
- Jack Off Jill
- Zombie Girl
(8)

08. DecoLa Hopping
- ＡＬｉＢｉ
- Ａｄｍｉｎｉｓｔｒａｔｏｒ
- DIS★Marionette
- ジュリエット
- ダリス
- Zip.er
(6)

09. お遊戯ゎが魔々団×【PaRADEiS】
- 愛狂います。
- Pizzcato.
- キャンゼル
- Himeyuri
(4)

10. LAREINE
- NEW SODMY
- IZABEL VAROSA
- MALICE MIZER
- BAISER
(4)

11. HIZAKI grace project
- Schwardix Marvally
(1)

12. Ayabie
- Megamasso
(1)

13. Nightwish
- Tarja Turunen
- Within Temptation
- Delain
- After Forever
- Visions of Atlantis
- Leaves' Eyes
- Sonata Arctica
(7)

14. Epica
- Xandria
- Sirenia
- Tristania
(3)

15. Kaya
- Schwarz Stein
- another cell
- Hora
- Velvet Eden
- GPKISM
- BLAM HONEY
(6)

16. Dir en grey
- lynch.
- La:Sadie's
- MUCC
- RENTRER EN SOI
- UnsraW
- kagerou
(6)

17. Sonata Arctica
- Stratovarius
- Northeren Kings
- Avantasia
- Kamelot
- HammerFall
- Rhapsody of Fire
- Edguy
(7)

18. Buono!
- berryz koubou
- °C-ute
- morning musume
- High-King
- 月島きらり starring 久住小春(モーニング娘。)
- Aa!
(8)

19. The Birthday Massacre
- I:Scintilla
- Dope Stars Inc.
- Vanity Beach
(3)

20. Danger☆gang
- exist†trace
- Licker
- CELLT
(3)


Total: 98

Ayy; I tought it would be worse ^^
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★★☆★☆★☆★

Helloween
After Forever
Iron Maiden
Rhapsody of Fire
Metallica
Epica
Therion
Angra
Leaves' Eyes
Aesma Daeva
Dream Theater
Dimmu Borgir
In Flames
Children of Bodom
Tristania

Sirenia
Unearth
Conception
Kreator
Slayer

DragonForce
Isis
Cynic
Kamelot

Arch Enemy
Nightwish
Dark Tranquillity

Iced Earth
Sonata Arctica

Gorgoroth
Atheist
Yngwie Malmsteen

Srsly. It's true.