Just another prediction post from yours truly.
This is just an abbreviated history to lead into my main point, a great resource is the documentary Metal Evolution: The Definitive History of Heavy Metal & Hard Rock
I often ponder, to the point of obsession, about the evolution Heavy Metal has taken. From the Proto-Metal roots in the Psychedelic/Acid/Progressive rock scenes, with bands like Iron Butterfly, Cream, The Kinks and guitarists like Hendrix and Robin Trower, even Surf guitar god Dick Dale. Then came the Unholy Trinity, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Led Zepplin. These bands being, arguably, the first "Metal" bands, some other early Metallers being Blue Cheer, Uriah Heep, Nazareth, Rainbow, and the mighty Judas Priest.
Metal transformed through the following decade into the NWOBHM, which in turn brought forth Thrash Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Black Metal, and even influenced Hair Metal.
Now I'm going to narrow down a bit. Thrash and Speed Metal brought about Death Metal. Death Metal combined with Hardcore Punk, becoming Deathcore. The sound seemed to always become more extreme with each successive generation of bands in the Black and Death subgenres. I kept thinking, "How much more extreme can this sound go? Are we topped out?" Then I heard a band open for Static-X (RIP Wayne Static), that band was The Browning. Their name is ridiculous, but I realized that they were the future of Metal. They were pioneering what was coming next. They combined the sounds of Deathcore/Metalcore with Dubstep. It only made sense that the deep bass laden sounds of Dubstep would eventually merge with Metal. Synthesizers are going to make a big comeback in Extreme Metal. Another band, PAIN, a side project of Melodic-Death Metal band Hypocrisy frontman Peter Tägtgren, has been fusing Metal and Techno/Electronic for almost 2 decades. But the Electronic music scene became heavier and weirder in the form of Dubstep, and it actually sounds really cool with the heavy and weird sound that Deathcore/Metalcore has become. I am a big fan of both PAIN and now The Browning.
Like I said before, this is just another prediction, but I'm willing to bet I'm right.
YouTube playlist contains PAIN and The Browning. Check out both bands!
Showing posts with label Prog Metal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prog Metal. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Monday, July 14, 2014
Concerts 2014
Here's the shows for 2014 so far:
1. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
2. Amon Amarth / Enslaved / Skeletonwitch
3. Dark Tranquility / Omnium Gatherum
4. Children of Bodom / TYR / Death Angel
5. Hottest Chicks In Hard Rock Tour: Lacuna Coil / Sick Puppies / Cilver / Eyes Set To Kill
6. Faster Pussycat
7. Slayer
8. Cage The Elephant / Foals
9. Powerman 5000 / Knee High Fox
10. KISS / Def Leppard
11. Mushroomhead
12. Jack Russell's Great White
13. Mötley Crüe / Alice Cooper
14. Boston / The Doobie Brothers
15. Deep Purple2. Amon Amarth / Enslaved / Skeletonwitch
3. Dark Tranquility / Omnium Gatherum
4. Children of Bodom / TYR / Death Angel
5. Hottest Chicks In Hard Rock Tour: Lacuna Coil / Sick Puppies / Cilver / Eyes Set To Kill
6. Faster Pussycat
7. Slayer
8. Cage The Elephant / Foals
9. Powerman 5000 / Knee High Fox
10. KISS / Def Leppard
11. Mushroomhead
12. Jack Russell's Great White
13. Mötley Crüe / Alice Cooper
14. Boston / The Doobie Brothers
16. Faster Pussycat
17. The Pretty Reckless
18. Combichrist / William Control / Davey Suicide
Lifetime total: 173
Concerts 2013
Better late on posting this than never I suppose. Here is the list of shows I saw in 2013:
1. The Who
2. Sabaton
3. Testament / Flotsam & Jetsam
4. Black Veil Brides / William Control
5. GWAR
6. Bon Jovi (in SLC)
7. Bon Jovi (in Las Vegas)
8. Alice Cooper / Marilyn Manson
9. Green Jellö
10. Dick Dale
11. Ted Nugent
12. Rush
13. Gigantour: Megadeth, Black Label Society, Hellyeah
14. Whitesnake
15. Danzig / Doyle
16. Havok
17. Andrew WK
18. Kamelot / Delain
19. Dokken / Firehouse
20. Helloween
21. Watain
22. Living Colour
23. Rob Zombie / Korn
24. Overkill / Kreator
25. Faster Pussycat
26. Mike Tramp
Lifetime total at the end of 2013: 155
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Iced Earth! Finally!
Thrash Metal band opening for a Power Metal band, followed by a Prog Metal band? Sound weird? Well it happened!
The day was February 24th, I landed at SLC International airport in the early evening. I had just gotten back from a cruise heading down to Mexico. I barely had time to put my bags in my apartment when it was time to head to a concert I'd been looking forward to for a long time: Iced Earth and Symphony X.
The show started out with the Neo-Thrash Metal band Warbringer. Warbringer - Living In A Whirlwind It was weird seeing these guys on the bottom peg of a tour again. Just last year they had been headlining their own tour, although I didn't see them because it was on the same night as another concert that I felt had priority. They are highly regarded as one of the bands at the forefront of the New Wave Of Thrash Metal that has come about in recent years. They really get the crowd moving, and are an impressive live act.
Now here is were I got a little let down: Warbringer leaves the stage, the roadies drop their backdrop and behind it is Iced Earth's backdrop. The way the ticket was printed and the impression of everyone I talked to, was that Iced Earth were to be the headliner. Iced Earth had not been to Utah for 8 years, the amount of time I've know of them and have loved their music. Now they were an opener and that meant they were going to play a shorter set than the headliners, what a bummer. Iced Earth, along with Kamelot, and Jag Panzer, are the leaders of the American Power Metal scene. American Power Metal sounds a lot different from the traditional European Power Metal such as Blind Guardian or Helloween, but the similarities are there too (Iced Earth - Birth Of The Wicked, Kamelot - The Haunting, Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side, Helloween - Back Against The Wall). But to my sorrow I realized as the band took the stage that the singer was not Matt Barlow, the voice that made me love Iced Earth in the first place. I've since learned the singer's name is Stu Block, but he sounded identical to Matt Barlow and could even hit higher notes than Matt could. The performance blew me away! A very acceptable replacement for Mr. Barlow. It was my first Power Metal show, and I really hope not my last.One thing I did notice about Power Metal concerts is that there are a lot of nerds there... maybe its because the entire genre was started on medieval themes and J.R.R. Tolkien's books.
Seeing Symphony X after Iced Earth was not exciting for me, like going to church on Christmas when you're a kid: I've opened my presents, got exactly what I wanted and asked for, now I had to leave it and go to boring old church. Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy Symphony X and own a few of their albums. But I enjoy them like I enjoy the band Dragonforce, one or two songs at a time; unlike other Prog Metal bands like Dream Theater, Fates Warning, and Porcupine Tree, all of whom I can listen to all day long. There is something about them that makes me exhausted when I listen to them too much, a feeling I also get listening to Yngwie J. Malmsteen for a long time. One of their best songs, in my opinion is Symphony X - Out Of The Ashes. Had they been on before Iced Earth I probably would have enjoyed them a lot more live, and surprisingly Symphony X's set was a half hour shorter than Iced Earth's. This was the first time Symphony X had ever played in Utah, and the giant crowd that turned out was a great representation of our Metal scene (for once). I definitely would see them again if they come back, it was just that they were after my beloved Iced Earth that made me a little miffed at them.
The day was February 24th, I landed at SLC International airport in the early evening. I had just gotten back from a cruise heading down to Mexico. I barely had time to put my bags in my apartment when it was time to head to a concert I'd been looking forward to for a long time: Iced Earth and Symphony X.
The show started out with the Neo-Thrash Metal band Warbringer. Warbringer - Living In A Whirlwind It was weird seeing these guys on the bottom peg of a tour again. Just last year they had been headlining their own tour, although I didn't see them because it was on the same night as another concert that I felt had priority. They are highly regarded as one of the bands at the forefront of the New Wave Of Thrash Metal that has come about in recent years. They really get the crowd moving, and are an impressive live act.
Now here is were I got a little let down: Warbringer leaves the stage, the roadies drop their backdrop and behind it is Iced Earth's backdrop. The way the ticket was printed and the impression of everyone I talked to, was that Iced Earth were to be the headliner. Iced Earth had not been to Utah for 8 years, the amount of time I've know of them and have loved their music. Now they were an opener and that meant they were going to play a shorter set than the headliners, what a bummer. Iced Earth, along with Kamelot, and Jag Panzer, are the leaders of the American Power Metal scene. American Power Metal sounds a lot different from the traditional European Power Metal such as Blind Guardian or Helloween, but the similarities are there too (Iced Earth - Birth Of The Wicked, Kamelot - The Haunting, Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side, Helloween - Back Against The Wall). But to my sorrow I realized as the band took the stage that the singer was not Matt Barlow, the voice that made me love Iced Earth in the first place. I've since learned the singer's name is Stu Block, but he sounded identical to Matt Barlow and could even hit higher notes than Matt could. The performance blew me away! A very acceptable replacement for Mr. Barlow. It was my first Power Metal show, and I really hope not my last.One thing I did notice about Power Metal concerts is that there are a lot of nerds there... maybe its because the entire genre was started on medieval themes and J.R.R. Tolkien's books.
 |
| Iced Earth |
Seeing Symphony X after Iced Earth was not exciting for me, like going to church on Christmas when you're a kid: I've opened my presents, got exactly what I wanted and asked for, now I had to leave it and go to boring old church. Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy Symphony X and own a few of their albums. But I enjoy them like I enjoy the band Dragonforce, one or two songs at a time; unlike other Prog Metal bands like Dream Theater, Fates Warning, and Porcupine Tree, all of whom I can listen to all day long. There is something about them that makes me exhausted when I listen to them too much, a feeling I also get listening to Yngwie J. Malmsteen for a long time. One of their best songs, in my opinion is Symphony X - Out Of The Ashes. Had they been on before Iced Earth I probably would have enjoyed them a lot more live, and surprisingly Symphony X's set was a half hour shorter than Iced Earth's. This was the first time Symphony X had ever played in Utah, and the giant crowd that turned out was a great representation of our Metal scene (for once). I definitely would see them again if they come back, it was just that they were after my beloved Iced Earth that made me a little miffed at them.
 | |
| Symphony X |
Random After Thought: My Favorite Power Metal Bands
- Helloween
- Blind Guardian
- Edguy
- Iced Earth (Matt Barlow albums)
- Kamelot (Roy Khan albums)
- Tobias Sammet's Avantasia
- Demons & Wizards
Monday, January 23, 2012
Queensrÿche
Why do people go to concerts expecting to hear the band play the exact Greatest Hits album they were listening to in their car on the way to the show to "remind" themselves of the songs they like? On January 13th I went to see the Progressive Metal band Queensrÿche play in Wendover. The two men sitting behind me and my friends apparently didn't know the band continued making albums after 1990's Empire. They kept yelling, "Play the old shit!" In the first hour, of the 90 minute show, the band only played 3 songs recorded before 1994's Hear In The Now Frontier album. I loved that they did that, when I saw them last year they played most of their old hits and little new songs, this time it was reversed. If you ever have a chance of seeing Geoff Tate sing live, do not miss
it! He sounds EXACTLY like he does on recording, it is amazing.
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