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WARNING: This post is long. If you have ADHD (or some other fictitious condition designed to circumvent the concept of bad parenting), then please consider restraining yourself before reading this, or perhaps pump some ritalin directly into your eyes. Thank you.

I prefixed the title of this journal entry with "the real", since my so-called "opinion" is in fact, fact. If you read any other journal entries with a similar title, they are incorrect, since I am the world's leading authority on what is good and what isn't. So here is a brief overview of the (metal) music from 2005 that I have listened to, loved, and perhaps at times hated - almost as much as Steve Vai. In all seriousness, if you have heard of and enjoy the music of some of these artists, or are my musical neighbour, I sincerely recommend you seek out all of these albums which I deem to be among the greatest of 2005 and are presented in no particular order:

Circus Maximus - The 1st Chapter
The first time I heard of Circus Maximus was a post from Michael Eriksen (vocalist for CM and also Carnivora) on the SymX forum pimping some demo tracks for the then-unsigned and unheard of Circus Maximus. I tend to ignore topics such as these because they are almost invariably terribly amateur, but I downloaded Glory of the Empire (demo version) as many people said they were very good. Demonstrating my world class stupid-ability, I didn't listen to it. Around the time 1st Chapter was due to be released, further discussion of the band piqued my curiosity and I listened to the mp3. It was exceptional and I was spellbound. I bought the CD and have since been astounded and what I can easily call the album of 2005. Circus Maximus are a breath of fresh air in the progressive metal genre which seems to periodically become stifled with clones of its pioneers like DT and Fates Warning. Although CM are notably influenced by DT and Symphony X among others, this does not detract from their own unique style which shines through the obvious influences and gives their debut credibility where others fall short. In keeping with standard prog metal tradition, CM are not afraid to demonstrate mastery of their instruments and showcase their talents whilst not going overboard and keeping the songs accessible.

Kamelot - The Black Halo
There was a time when I loved melodic power metal and would listen only to music from said genre in all its melodic and cheesy goodness. Karma and Epica had long been favourites of mine on this basis, rather than their subtle (yet brilliant) progressive metal tendencies. I have since been able to appreciate Kamelot's entire discography in a more complete sense, and in particular The Black Halo which was released this year amid much anticipation. It was as good as all expected and then some; Thomas Youngblood exceding himself once more and demonstrating his utterly superb songwriting capabilities without excessively showing off once. The follow up to Epica and continuing their interpretation of Goethe's Faust, Black Halo was a step further into the realms of prog metal, but somehow Kamelot can always strike a perfect balance between fairly diverse and interesting arrangements with catchy melodies and vocals. Roy Khan's voice seems never to be off form, and are perfectly complimented by the occasional duet with vox feminae supplied by Epica's (the band) multiply beautiful and talented Simone Simons.
The rise and rise of Kamelot is made evident by their huge & growing fanbase and recently-completed large scale world tour, as well as ivory-tinkling legend and Rising Force veteran, Jens Johansson (who pissed on Timo Tolkki's leg last year during the much-chronicled, Mighty Stratovarius Escapade of 2004) dropping in a guest solo on the album.

Symphony X - CotM Fanclub CD 1: Rarities and Demos
This is a limited release for the fanclub only and is a worthwhile addition to any SymX fan's collection; if not for hearing some unreleased material, then to tide us over until the next album. Technically this isn't an album so much as a collection of early or reworked ideas, but it's worth a spin every now and then for a little insight into the mind of Michael Romeo. The most outstanding track on this little gem is certainly MJR's arrangement for electric guitar of composer John Williams' Star Wars Suite. It is simply wonderful. This must truly be heard to be believed, and if I were to condone piracy then I would suggest you download this, but I don't so you shouldn't.

Adagio - Dominate
Sneaking in a Japan-only release in mid-December, Adagio's Dominate is an interesting album marking the entry of new vocalist Gus Monsanto. Dominate is generally heavier and faster than previous efforts, with symphonic and piano keyboard tone also less prevalent in the mix in favour of a more electronic-prog patch. The decision to incorporate death vocals is a good one, and they are done tastefully with an appropriate degree of agression. Stephan Forté retains the typical dark mood that I enjoy from Adagio, as well as never missing an opportunity to demonstrate his ability as a world class guitar virtuoso. Kevin Codfert (now of the extremely promising Venturia as well) is also brilliant on this CD. Bizarrely the first track sounds a lot like Spread Your Fire from Angra's Temple of Shadows, not just with regard to similarities of the vocal lines, but also the overall sound of Forte's soloing.

Allen-Lande - The Battle
I would rate Jorn Lande (importantly of Ark, less importantly of Masterplan, forgettably of Jorn, regrettably of Rising Force) and Russell Allen (significantly of Symphony X and Russell Allen) among my top five metal vocalists. I almost wept when I heard about The Battle and thought it was a hoax for at least a month, since a project of that scale just can't be true. Add to these two ultimate vocalists, the composition and guitar & keyboard stylings of one Magnus Karlsson (Last Tribe, Starbreaker) and you have what I would say is an instant winner. It's fun melodic metal, and while it won't be breaking any boundaries or covering new ground, it's a freaking record with Jorn and Russell on it. Karlsson excels at writing this sort of thing, providing wonderfully cheesy (and meaningless to the same order of magnitude) choruses which you will sing along to. His lead work is also sufficient and plenty melodic, but not excessively technical nor indulgent.

Dream Theater - Octavarium
I have never been a big fan of Dream Theater, but mostly because I never really gave them a chance. This seems to be the reverse for most prog metal fans who start off with DT but then become disenchanted due to their more mainstream popularity and extremely varied discography. For some reason unknown even to me, I thought I'd give Octavarium a shot, and what do you know? I liked it a lot. There were a fair number of negative comments about this disc, which I would say largely were overly critical and perhaps down more to peoples' perceptions of what DT should be than what they actually are. They're a victim of their own legend: people look back at their early works and idolise them, expecting a new release to immediately mean the same to them that say, Images and Words does, which they've been listening to for years. Unlikely to happen. Fortunately for me, I didn't have such strong pre/misconceptions and try not to form such things anyway, but the point is I enjoyed it down even to the apparent rip-offs (which actually aren't. discuss). Octavarium inspired me to seek out older Dream Theater and develop an appreciation for it,

Nobuo Uematsu - Advent Children OST
If you've not seen Advent Children, then I bid you seek it out by whatever means you can. This said, you probably won't understand a lot of it if you haven't played Final Fantasy VII, although you will be awestruck by the brilliance of the fighting scenes (75%+ of the feature). The music is primarily reworked arrangements of the original pieces (also by Uematsu) with instruments rather than playstation midi. I think part of what makes the Final Fantasy music so appealing to people is the association with a certain memory or emotion of the game that invokes a feeling of nostalgia (that's probably sad).

Flaming Sheep - Classic Doom 3 Soundtrack
Many found DooM 3 to be disappointing compared to the original, and the Classic Doom 3 mod brought back the fast-paced gameplay from the original and merged it with the beauty of the Doom 3 engine. One of the major features of the mod was the work by Brian Kline (Sonic Clang) who arranged and recorded the score of the entire first episode with actual instruments rather than the original midi. This is pure genius, and I recommend both the mod and the soundtrack to all those who loved Doom and love game music.
-Download the Classic Doom 3 Soundtrack

Venturia - The New Kingdom sample
Since I heard of Circus Maximus from a humble forum post, I vowed never to take such recommendations lightly again and thanks once more to the Symphony X forum (with additional support from the Mike Portnoy forum), I was pleasantly surprised to discover Venturia. Pleasantly surprised does not quite cover the experience; in fact Venturia came out of nowhere and gave me a gigantic and hugely unexpected progressive metal slap in the face. I am basing my high opinion of Venturia solely on the pre-released version of The New Kingdom, but I have since heard a medley of the tracks of their unreleased (but apparently finished) debut album and it seems my hope is well placed. Time will tell. Allegedly they have found both management and a label. Here are some useful Venturia links:
-The New Kingdom
-Venturia Medley
-My journal entry about Venturia

Pain of Salvation - BE: The Orchestra of Eternity
Pain of Salvation are a truly innovative progressive metal band and one of the few who genuinely try to do new and different things with each album. 2004 saw the release of the concept piece "BE" which was an interesting look at what "God" might be and its relationship with humanity; an album that I thought was excellent and a demonstration that theism can be considered in music maturely without having to be a subjugating worshipfest, the concept of which I strongly disagree with. A DVD of a live show of BE was released this year and it made me regret missing PoS in September (*slaps self repeatedly*). The show is astounding, in fact it's almost a musical, with mastermind and frontman Daniel Gildenlow changing costumes and acting accordingly on a stage with a bizarre layout including a small number of classical musicians performing for the symphonic tracks. In addition to the unquestionably brilliant performance from the entire band, the lighting and video theatrics provide platinum icing to a cake that is made of gold, money, fast cars and beautiful women, taking this metaphor much further than it was intended, but the point remains: it's bloody brilliant (although technically not an album).

Rebellion - Sagas of Iceland: The History of the Vikings vol 1.
This album is about vikings. I don't know if you're aware, but I think vikings are quite cool. Sagas of Iceland is based in part on the 13th Century "Heimskringla" by Snorri Sturluson, and therefore is a fairly close historical portrayal of the vikings (with some mythical reference). It follows then, that the lyrical content is very much to my liking, but Rebellion also rock extremely hard. The music is really heavy with plenty of chunky riffage accompanied by some inspired leads and solos. Although featuring a couple of weak songs and a debatable female monologue at one point, this album is extremely good, and a must for all viking fans. It should be noted that the vocals are rough but not death, so this album is not so-called viking metal.

Shadow Gallery - Room V
I have to say I thought Room V was excellent the moment I heard it. It follows on from Tyranny telling a story that is really compelling until right at the very end, where it is ruined and Carl Cadden-James explains it almost embarassed by its rubbishness on the bonus disc. That detracts ever-so-slightly from an otherwise brilliant album.

Yngwie Malmsteen - Unleash the Fury
"Joo unleash the fucking fjury" proclaimed an angry Malmsteen to a woman who had just throwna glass of water on him during a flight to Tokyo, unaware he was being recorded and that the recording would find its way on to the internet. I don't know how widespread the recording is, but it seems word got back to the founder of neo-classical shred and he decided to embrace the funny side and tentatively titled his 2005 album "Unleash the Fury". He also lost a lot of weight, so supporters of Vai/Satriani/Mr Joe and Mrs Steve Vai-Satriani in the great "Yngwie's actual guitar playing vs. Vai-&-Satch-making-stupid-sounds" debate must now focus their arguments on Yngwie's playing instead of his girth.
I digress. Despite my unfailing admiration of the Yngmeister for his services to the genre of metal, I concede UTF wasn't very good. Why is it here then? Because 21 years ago Yngwie changed the world, and continued to do so for a bit but then sold out, but only a bit and every now and then he puts out something that's quite good. UTF does have its moments, and while several of the songs suffer from mediocre composition, the solos are no less impressive than any from his early work.

Related Web links:
-Symphony X Official Site
-Dream Theater Official Site
-Circus Maximus Official Site
-Adagio Official Site
-Kamelot Official Site
-Rebellion Official Site
-Opeth Official Site
-Flaming Sheep Official Site
-Sonic Clang Official Site
-Yngwie Malmsteen Official Site
-Shadow Gallery Official Site
-Pain of Salvation Official Site

If you actually read the above through, I don't know whether to be impressed or disgusted. Congratulations I guess.

That is all.

-VikingR.