Quinta-feira 18 Set 2008, 10h:06
Through the Looking Glass. Magnificent. Based on Alice in Wonderland. Heard this a few years ago on Pandora. Absolutely epic prog metal. Everything about it is fantastic: every instrument, every musician is spot on (including the vocals! Russel Allen has a great set of pipes!), the composition is varied and interesting, the solos are wicked-awesome without being totally overpowering, the storytelling and lyrics are fantastic. It's the full package. Passionate, great musicianship, great singing, great storytelling. Can't fault it on anything. Nothing I don't like about it. Just… so fantastic.
The same goes for Symphony X's other epics, The Odyssey and The Divine Wings of Tradgedy. That last one in particular is very bittersweet.
(Where can I get more stuff like this, by the way? I've tried Dream Theatre but it didn't really grab me).
What else…
Plug in Baby. Ever since I first heard this song I've wanted to play it. That was before I even thought about picking up the guitar. The riff is just fantastic. Bit of a shame the song doesn't mean anything and came about as a result of a magic mushroom binge, but that doesn't change how great the riff is.
The March Unto Death and Ambush in the Passage by Jeremy Soule. Loved these tracks since I first heard them, back in… holy crap, eleven years ago when Total Annihilation came out.
Break Your Chains and Never Give Up. Most of
Paper Blood, actually. Really uplifting. Really happy metal, which sounds pretty wierd but works really well. And the musicianship is great.
Man on a Mission. I'm a sucker for metal/rock operas, and this is a great one. A man on a mission against evil, Orwellian rulers. "Give us a chance to live! Give us a chance to die! Give us a chance to be free/ Without fire from the sky! Give us a chance to love! Give us a chance to hate! Give us a chaaaance… before you kill us all!". It's great stuff.
Because I love rock operas so much, I'll throw in Knights of Cydonia and, of course, Bohemian Rhapsody.
I've got a soft spot for Soldiers of the Wasteland and Fury of the Storm. The lyrics are such utter crap, but I can't help but scream them out at the top of my lungs. So incredibly cheesy. But it's awesome cheesy. It was great seeing them live, shouting out "For victory we ride! Fury of the storm!" with the crowd. Solos no human being should reasonably be able to perform.
A whole swag more Symphony X tracks:
Evolution (The Grand Design), Fallen, Orion - The Hunter, Out of the Ashes, Masquerade, Wicked, Smoke and Mirrors.
Go it Alone and Seven Nation Army. I group them together because it's Jack White's bass guitar on Go it Alone that really makes Go It Alone. Seven Nation Army is just fantastic.
Cliffs of Dover, which I heard from guitar hero and has since become my goal to someday be able to play on the guitar.
Everything off Rage Against The Machine's eponymous album, except Freedom and Settle for Nothing.