Sun Caged - Artemisia (2007)

I think this blog may be shifting to nothing but reviews of new music. Lord knows there's enough of it coming out that I can do that. That way, I'm not harping on things that people already know, but rather providing insight for things others possibly don't.

Sun Caged is progressive metal from the Netherlands and this is their second album to date entitled Artemisia. Now, it's really nothing out of this world. Sun Caged has always seemed a little bit bland to me. The problem with Sun Caged is that they should be an instrumental band, but aren't. I always find myself liking their instrumental tracks a lot, but being bored with their songs that have vocals. It may have something to do with Villarreal's complete inability to put any sort of feeling into his vocals, but who knows.

With that said, the instrumental tracks on this album are damn impressive. In fact, my only gripe is the vocals. This is a great album until the vocals come in and I get put to sleep. For instance, Engelbert the Inchworm is a great song because it contains no lyrics and some awesome progressive wankage. Bloodline is awesome until they decide to break off from awesomeness and go for some The Police-esque vocals that really do make me want to cringe.

What does this mean? Progressive metal really does completely rely on the singer. I can't remember how many times I've enjoyed a song or two only to have it ruined by a sub par singer. These vocals really aren't completely intolerable. They have their place; it's just not a place of greatness. Once I adjust myself to them, they're really not too terrible. But there's really just no reason to listen to them when Russell Allen exists.

With this criticism aside, the guitar isn't too shabby. Marcel Coenen is a formidable guitarist. In fact, check out this video with Marcel and Bob Katsionis melting face. There are some great solo breaks on this album that are incredibly enjoyable. It's very solid in that sense. Marcel and Rene Kroon really know how to harmonize with each other. The other issue, however, is that the drums are a little weak.

To summarize, this is moderately entertaining progressive metal. Marcel does a fine, fine job, but the rest of the album is rather lacking. It's okay for casual listens, but it's really not something I'd go out of my way to recommend to someone. Good luck.

5/10

I'd have something to talk about here if I wasn't still obsessing over Paradise Lost.

Symphony X - Paradise Lost (2007)

This is the best album of 2007. In fact, this is the best album of the 21st century. As far as I'm concerned, only two albums can hold a candle to this as far as 2007 releases go. Circus Maximus' new album and Adagio's Archangels in Black might compete with this, but there's absolutely no way they'll outdo it. I'm so glad I can depend on Symphony X to never suck, because Kamelot's last album really made me reevaluate American music.

Symphony X is an American power / progressive metal band from New Jersey. As it stands, they represent the finest in modern progressive metal. Along with Circus Maximus and Andromeda, Symphony X remain the kings of the genre. But what sets them apart from everything else right now? Symphony X is only improving with age.

Andromeda's latest 2006 release entitled Chimera didn't measure up to Extension of the Wish in any sense imaginable. After only two albums, they seem to be fizzling out. Kamelot has fallen victim to the ever present dumbing down of American music. Circus Maximus offers a welcome and refreshing outlook for the power / progressive metal genre. Their 2005 release entitled The 1st Chapter was brilliance. One can only hope that their upcoming album will reproduce its genius. As I stated, Adagio is a major contender as well. They have been extremely consistent. I am extremely intrigued by Archangels in Black. These bands have only popped up in the past couple of years, however. Symphony X has been dominating the genre since 1994.

Dream Theater, in their heyday, monopolized progressive metal. It's become increasingly obvious that they're no longer on top of their game. Octavarium was less than desirable and Constant Motion, their new single, left me wondering why they felt they needed to rip off 80s Metallica. At Symphony X's inception, they were destined for glory.

Michael Romeo really is a genius. As the major songwriter for Symphony X, most of their material has stemmed from his design. What we've gotten from this is seven full length albums, each of them better than the last. As a guitarist, Romeo writes some of the best neo-classical guitar work I've ever listened to. Pinnella compliments him in a fashion that leaves me speechless. But what I actually first noticed about this album were the vocals.

There are really only two vocalists that are so good at what they do that they make me forget they're actually vocals, and not a separate instrument. These two vocalists are Russell Allen and Hansi Kursch. Allen's vocals seem to be empowered on this album. Previously, his vocals were absolutely stunning. This effort, however, has brought forth new styling. Allen seems to have taken a heavier approach with this album. He actually sings closer to a growl than the the usual power and progressive metal falsetto. It works perfectly. Absolutely perfectly.

There are subtle hints to earlier work all throughout this album. The title track, Paradise Lost, is heavily influenced by The Accolade, off of their 1997 release The Divine Wings of Tragedy. It also contains what I find to be the most hypnotizing and awesome chorus ever. The final track, Revelation (Divus Pennae ex Tragoedia), too, fades out with the main tune to The Odyssey, the title track of their 2002 release. Excellence.

Really, I can't comment on this album. I'll just say that it's brilliant. One criticism, however. I would have liked for there to have been a 20+ minute song on it. The sheer quality of the songs here makes up for it and then some, though. I'll be purchasing this album when it comes out, for sure. Words cannot explain how much I am looking forward to seeing this band at the end of this month.

Listen to this album. Listen to it for the rest of your life.

10/10

Kamelot - Ghost Opera (2007)

Is there a reason you did this to me, Kamelot? I couldn't find the artwork for their upcoming album because it's still not released, but I put up a picture of their new new DVD. Anyway, Kamelot is an American progressive / power metal band that has, up until now, rocked incredibly hard. Now, I can deal with lack of creativity to a certain extent, but what the fuck?

Their last album, The Black Halo, which was released in 2005, was freaking spectacular. Like, it was awesome. This... what the hell is this? I understand what they were trying to do, but they screwed it up like nobody's business. Everybody liked The Black Halo because, frankly, it was brilliant. So, they wanted to make an album like it, which is understandable. This album follows the sound of The Black Halo, but there is a major, glaring difference; this album is lame.

Think of Ghost Opera as The Black Halo's retarded cousin. Ghost Opera sorta looks like The Black Halo and sorta acts like him, too. But Ghost Opera also talks to grasshoppers and licks cement. There is no driving power behind this effort. It's still polished and pretty sounding, but it's basically just a series of poorly executed ballads.

Now that I'm done being a bastard, I'm going to explain just why I don't like this album. I'm going to be honest, the actual song Ghost Opera is fucking great. I heard it a few weeks ago and loved it and was eager to hear the rest of the album. Then the rest of the album leaked and I wanted to stick my finger in a electrical socket. Think of the song Abandoned off of The Black Halo, but dumbed down about 60 times. That's basically what the rest of the album is. Don't get me wrong, Abandoned is an awesome song. I'm not averse to ballads. When they're done right, they're great. These are just lame. We get it, Kahn, you can sing pretty well. I want more progressive wank. The songs Memento Mori and The March of Mephisto off of The Black Halo were like ear porn, this stuff is just...blah.

It's a very slow album. I can dig slow stuff, but it's drudgingly slow in the sense that it becomes tedious to listen to. It's also become dreadfully poppy. They were teetering on the edge of this poppy sound with The Black Halo, and they leaped off of it with this album.

I guess I'm just severely disappointed. Their previous work, namely The Fourth Legacy and The Black Halo was great. This is just an all around weak release. It's not progressive anymore, and it's barely even power metal. I'd go as far as calling this album straight up pop rock. For shame, Kamelot, for shame.

2/10