New Additions to my CD Collection

Of course my latest addition is "Crystallion: Hattin". There was no way I was waiting until the North American release date in August so I ordered the album from the band's label. It took a mere 8 days to arrive in my mailbox all the way from Germany! I live in Canada and this always amazes me with overseas orders because when I order CDs from the U.S. it always takes at least 3 weeks to get here. I curse "customs" all the way to hell and back for making me wait so damn long for my cd orders which brings me to my next two CD additions (well future additions because I ordered them from the U.S. just this past week). I love Galloglass so much that I had to order both of their CDs and damn if I didn't find the Limited Edition Digipak of their second album "Heavenseeker" which includes the CD with 2 bonus tracks AND a live DVD! How freakin' lucky is that?!?!?!?! You see, The Metal Archives website says there are only 4,000 copies of this Ltd. Edition Digipak worldwide and I found a website that had it, brand new! I really didn't expect to find this digipak because the album is already 3 years old. The last "future" addition to my collection is the new Pyramaze album "Immortal". I preordered this cd back in April and if I'm lucky, it will be shipped to me on June 24 but if there were too many preorders in front of me and they sell out then I'll be waiting for the next shipment. The album really is great and with Matt Barlow on vocals I'm pretty damn sure this album is going to be a hot seller so I may not see my copy until, oh I don't know, August? September? Well, at any rate it will eventually be in my collection. All in all buying these 4 albums was money well spent and it makes me feel good to be supporting the artists. Now if only Crystallion would get their t-shirts in stock, I could support them a little more. :)

\m/ Stay Metal \m/

2008 Album Disappointments ... So Far

First up is Timo Tolki's Revolution Renaissance: New Era. I had heard samples of this album (those horrible 30 second samples that are just way too short) and had high hopes for this album. I have a few Stratovarius albums but don't listen to them a whole lot. I don't even know why I bought them, they must have been cheap or something. Anyway, after listening to the whole album I felt disappointed and let down. I have never heard Tobias Sammet sound so horrible on an album and I think he's a great vocalist. He sounds great singing with Edguy and Avantasia. I don't really know what happened here but it's not a good thing. I'm not familiar with the vocalist Pasi Rantanen but his vocals didn't impress me. I would have to say that Michael Kiske's vocals sound the best with this music but that's just not good enough for me. With more bad songs than good I won't be adding this album to my CD collection any time soon.

Next up is StoneLake: Uncharted Souls. I did enjoy StoneLake's debut album World Entry and hoped the follow-up album would be even better. Not so. The whole album is just mediocre and maybe I'm not liking it because I found that after so many listens of the debut album, I was tired of this band. I don't know why, but sometimes I can love an album but just get tired of it quickly and for me, StoneLake just doesn't have that staying power. I regret buying the first album but I won't be making the mistake of purchasing their second one. I'll save my money for an album really worthy of my hard-earned cash like Galloglass: Legends From Now And Nevermore. :)

\m/ Stay Metal \m/

A Really Nice Surprise

The first time I heard Galloglass was back in April 2006 when I listened to their second album "Heavenseeker" (released in 2005). I thought it was an okay album but nothing too special and have not really listened to it much since then. Today I had the chance to listen to their first album, "Legends From Now And Nevermore" which was released in 2003. What a great album! So I thought what's different between the two releases that makes me love one but not the other. So I take a trip over to "The Metal Archives" (excellent website btw) to find out there is a different vocalist on each album and that makes a huge difference for me because when I listen to a new band for the first time the music may be great but if I don't like the vocalist then I simply can't listen to the album. Carsten Frank is the vocalist on Legends From Now and Nevermore and he really is wonderful. I also found out that he is the vocalist on the latest Human Fortress album "Eternal Empire". Now I know why I love this Human Fortress album more than it's predecessors. I am so damn picky when it comes to vocalists but that's another post.

So I'm recommending Galloglass: Legends From Now And Nevermore to power metal fans who haven't heard it yet and I'm also recommending the new Human Fortress album Eternal Empire. Both really, really great albums.

UPDATE: May 31/08 - Okay, I'm embarrassed. Carsten Frank sings on both Galloglass albums. I gave the second album another listen and realized it had to be him singing so I double-checked at The Metal Archives and, yup, it's him. The first 3 songs on the album are just so different from their debut that I honestly thought it was someone else singing. My bad! What I read before was that Carsten left the band and apparently there is another vocalist but the band is "on hold". Carsten left the band after the second album.

Anywho, after giving it yet another really good listen turns out I really like the second album too but Legends From Now And Nevermore has the potential to become a classic, to me anyway. Others may disagree. :)

\m/ Stay Metal \m/