Week 51: Running Wild - Genesis (The Making and the Fall of Man)

The artist: Running Wild are a power/traditional metal band from Germany who had written many great albums. Although Rock 'n' Rolf, the main man of the band stuck to what he was familiar with, it's hard to not appreciate all the great songs he's written throughout the years. Even during the later days where the band was losing inspiration and hired a drummer under a pseudonym named Angelo Sasso, Rolf still managed to write some excellent songs. Siberian Winter and The Ghost from The Brotherhood and Return of the Dragon and Ballad of William Kidd from The Rivalry should ensure that. Rolf would declare retirement of the band in 2009 but has recently announced a return along with a new album coming out in April named Shadowmaker.

The album: Black Hand Inn is the 1994 album from Running Wild which follows the same similar style to Pile of Skulls. These releases were less raw than their predecessors and had a more polished feel to them. Not that it's a bad thing or anything since it breathed some fresh air in their music. Like Pile of Skulls, there were many fast songs found throughout the album. Black Hand Inn even kicks off the record in a similar way to Pile of Skulls where it build up with an intro track and them BAM, you're launched into a speed metal craze. With essentials like The Privateer and even some gems with Fight the Fire of Hate, The Phantom of Black Hand Hill and Powder & Iron, you can forget the babbling from Allmusic who actually gave this album 1.5 stars and acknowledge great effort from this release.

The song: Genesis (The Making and the Fall of Man) starts off with a spoken verse explaining the events of the 12th planet from over 400,000 years ago, based on Zecharia Sitchin's work on ancient astronauts. Zecharia Sitchin's efforts weren't looked upon well for mistranslations, flawed methodology and a few other things but Rock 'n' Rolf saw something from it and made a 15 minute song dedicating to Sitchin's series. Even if the lyrical theme will irk you, it's hard to deny the greatness of the band's talents. Rock 'n' Rolf assisted with Thilo Hermann on guitars make some really good performance. Rock 'n' Rolf does make a huge domination with the song (well, it is his band) with his vocals and telling the band which direction to take throughout. With the climatic changes around six minutes in and ten minutes in, you can see a lot was done for this song and damn, that very riff at 10:40 is one hell of a headbanger and a good use of the galloping. Several high and mighty solos are found throughout the song and even though the beginning verse adds a few minutes to the song before it even began, Genesis (The Making and the Fall of Man) is one song of great attention that will last through all 15 minutes of its duration.

Week 48: Solstice - Cromlech

The artist: Solstice from the UK are an epic doom metal band who despite only ever releasing two albums and an EP, have made a recent comeback. Not a whole lot happened with them in the 00s but with the recent tours and writing one new song for their live shows, you can tell they've returned to the metal realm and are ready to kick even more ass sometime in the near future. The third album named Englander is highly anticipated considering it's been 13 years since they released New Dark Age and they're well overdue.

The album: New Dark Age is the superior album out of the two Solstice albums. If you hear this record first, there isn't much to care about Lamentations. New Dark Age has some monstrous doom metal numbers including The Sleeping Tyrant (which had a low budget music video), Cimmerian Codex, Hammer of Damnation, Cromlech and New Dark Age, Pt. 2. These are the main five tracks of the album and could have just left it at that but Solstice added a whole new dimension by adding an individual section with an acoustic interlude, a very folky ballad and a spoken verse with sounds of wind blowing. Afterwards, the album immediately returns to its doom destruction. Another thing to note about New Dark Age is the unusual choice of words. When reading the lyrics, you'll come across many words that you may have not heard of all your life and extra credit should be handed out to them for acknowledging such words. Lastly, by getting the re-release of this album, you will be rewarded with an excellent cover of Iron Maiden's The Prophecy.

The song: Cromlech starts off rather moody with the bass and clean guitars. The bass is certainly one of the finest performances for it from Solstice and this intro is justified. The heavy guitars kick in after a minute but it's not long until the band pick up the pace. The rhythm may be fast for doom metal but the song endures itself long enough, especially when some lines are repeated several lines. This isn't bad, though since it's hard to get enough of "LEND ME YOUR STEEL!" Now that just screams heavy metal. Even if the song is faster than an average doom metal song, Richard M. Walker and Hamish Glencross do not halt with the crushing doom riffs. The song does slow down within 6 minutes and this is where we're given the beautiful solo by them. The main rhythm isn't done yet, though as it returns afterwards to finish off the full lyrics. Some parts may be repeated several times but it still offers a lot within 10 1/2 minutes. Overall, Cromlech just proves what this heavily overlooked band can do with their music and here's hoping Englander will take notes from songs like these.

Week 44: Helloween - Giants

The artist: So much can be said about this great band. Helloween are highly considered to be the pioneers for power metal and have influenced many bands from it. They had their golden days in the 80s with Kai Hansen and Michael Weikath on guitars, Michael Kiske on vocals (after Walls of Jericho), Markus Grosskopf on bass and Ingo Schwichtenberg on drums. They were at full force with the Keeper albums but Kai Hansen sadly left due to unhappiness with his position in the band and formed Gamma Ray later on (a great band regardless of this event). Kiske and Schwichtenberg would leave the band as well after Chameleon making Weikath and Grosskopf the only remaining founding members of Helloween. Sadly, Schwichtenberg committed suicide a few years later due to further depression with his mental issues.

Andi Deris replaced Kiske and has remained a loyal member ever since. Some may not like Mr Deris but personally, he's a great vocalist who has a unique character to him. The fact that Helloween have lived on today despite the fallout in 1993 and the unthinkable change of direction for The Dark Ride shows how strong this one particular band are. Maybe they should have gone under a different name due to how different they sound now in comparison to the 80s but that argument is for another day. Today is Halloween and it's only appropriate to talk about Helloween on this day.

The album: Chameleon is Helloween's controversial album. With the poor success they had with Pink Bubbles Go Ape, an experimental album wasn't the best decision to keep the band stable. Michael Weikath even admitted to wanting to make this like a Beatles album and does acknowledge how farfetched his idea was. Even so, this album wasn't all bad. It doesn't deserve to be at the bottom of the barrel along with Metallica's St. Anger and Cryptopsy's The Unspoken King. Although there are songs such as Crazy Cat and I Believe that don't really work well, there are still some great tunes that deserve respect and that is why Chameleon is the featured album out of 14 different albums to choose from (counting the Helloween EP).

The song: Giants is one of the few songs that sounds more along traditional Helloween but still taking some experimental routes. The songs offers the listener some heavy riffage and some solos throughout the song are nicely done when they are launched in the air. Credit has to be given to Weikath and Grapow here. Michael Kiske's voices have an echo to them and gives off quite a mood to the song. The song even incorporates some keyboards, even though there's never been a member in Helloween to play them full-time. These keyboards match the lyrics to the song quite well which is about slavery and the corrupted power of the rulers. It also shows how much they abused their people and makes the slaves hope for a better place to see someday. Overall, Giants is one song that shouldn't be ignored from Chameleon because it's a song that makes corrupted leaders fearsome and it's a damn rocking tune. Happy Halloween!

Manilla Road to the World - Part 8: Forbidden Zone (The Circus Maximus)

The Circus Maximus can simply be described as "Manilla Road's Seventh Star". It was the side project Mark Shelton formed after disbanding Manilla Road. This was going to be labeled as a Mark Shelton solo project but after the stronger contributions from the other two bandmates, the Shark insisted this should be a band rather than a solo artist and named themselves The Circus Maximus. However, when it came to release, Black Dragon Records shoved the name Manilla Road on the album just so they'd get more sales on the record. That didn't do well, though since the album shows this was never intended to be a Manilla Road album. However, you will get a track or two where you can relate it to Mark Shelton's main band. The songs with Shelton on vocals are generally the better songs on the album. The rest don't sound that focused and seem to be contributing to something else rather than this album. This is only recommended for the hardcore fans.

Forbidden Zone has Mark Shelton as the only vocalist in this song and the atmosphere of the song is a big surprise. This sounds like it came from an album that had a mixture of The Courts of Chaos and The Deluge which isn't what you'd expect when the band had no intentions to sound like Manilla Road. The song starts off with a clean guitar intro which is something you'd expect to hear from the 'Road. There's plenty of great guitar work to be found here whether it's the leading riffs or the grand solo halfway. The mid section even takes it time to have a highly audible bass and this is a goldmine. The chorus is definitely one to sing to. It'll make you mystified but it does take you to the darkest place that no-one should dare enter. In conclusion, Forbidden Zone is the ultimate saviour for The Circus Maximus. This may have not been a great side project but at least it had a beautiful and epic song like this.

Manilla Road to the World - Part 7: From Beyond (The Courts of Chaos)

The Courts of Chaos is Manilla Road's official last release prior to splitting up in the early 90s. This album continues the thrash metal roots as found on the previous two works but not only that, you'll even hear keyboards from this release which weren't familiar in their territory until this record. The best use of them is for the appropriate named instrumental track Road to Chaos which leads the listener to full of mayhem with Dig Me No Grave, From Beyond and The Books of Skelos). The Courts of Chaos has several bizarre moments to make it stand out very well from Manilla Road's back catalogue.

From Beyond starts off with some very weird acoustic guitars that give off a sci-fi feel and rightfully so. For a song that sings about different dimensions and scientific experiments, there better be a sense of science fiction here or it wouldn't work at all. As a song that has a situation of failed experiments, the song takes the route down to chaos further and further thus Shelton intensifying with the riffs. The first riff has quite a rhythm to it but the second one goes full out thrash as the whole song goes to well, chaos. To finish it off with "No, nothing can save you from beyond" is rather evil but Manilla Road show no mercy! Overall, From Beyond is a fantastic song with some strong riffs and making its way to gradually intensify the music.

Week 41: Death - In Human Form

The artist: Death were no doubt an iconic band in heavy metal. They made way for tons of death metal bands and are highly regarded as one of the death metal pioneers along with Morbid Angel and Possessed. Despite the critical acclaim for being a major influence on death metal, the frontman Chuck Schuldiner was always modest about his band and declared it as a metal band and nothing more. Chuck may have disagreed with the death metal label but the rest of the world sure as hell thinks otherwise but not in a way against him. It's very unfortunate that Chuck passed away almost a decade ago and this week's Metal Monday will pay a tribute to the band who did a lot to death metal despite Chuck's modesty.

The album: Individual Thought Patterns is a highly technical album from Death. Technical death metal is described as having more complexity for riffs, rhythms and song structures and Individual Thought Patterns fits that to a T. The amount of riffs this album alone contains is insane. Within 39 minutes, Death have managed to fit in at least 30 riffs in one single album and the longest track out of them all is Mentally Blind clocking in at 4:45. Considering that thought, you know there has to be many changes in song structures throughout the album and to remember every moment in this album as well all the great riffs heard in one single album has to be the best reason to listen to this album many times throughout your life.

The song: Any song from this album can be used to show the insane constant change of paces over a few minutes of music but one grand example is In Human Form. This song starts off with one riff to attack the listener right away but will be far from done. This riff is only an introduction to the song which is immediately dropped just 15 seconds in and it's a riff that could have been used on any other death metal song and stick to it. You're not even given enough time to hear Chuck's extraordinary vocals for death metal. The solo is very, VERY short but you know what, it happens to be very sweet as well. Chuck returns to vocals once again but it's not long until he takes the band to another vocal break and then back to him again. He does pack the second solo together with a lead to prepare yet more barrel rolls for the song. It should be noted that Steve DiGiorgio on bass is crystal clear at all times and you can be sure that he makes some memorable basslines for this song alone.

The lyrics may tell of extraterrestrial going undercover as a human being to fool humanity but actually that was just a metaphor. What he refers to as aliens here are the corrupted human beings that exist in the world. To Chuck, they are not human beings and rather aliens who must be stopped. Overall, In Human Form is a very intense song. The multiple song sections make it feel like Chuck Schuldiner wrote four songs and merged them into one song lasting only or a mere four minutes. For that, there is no padding in the album at all and the pace is so fast that it makes four minutes seem like fourty seconds. That with sinister sounding lyrics, you can bet this is top notch for death metal and this is only one song from the album analysed!

Week 37: Carcass - Death Certificate

The artist: Carcass are a death metal/grindcore band from Liverpool, the English city that's most well known for The Beatles. Carcass have been praised for being highly influential in grindcore as well as melodic death metal. They implemented melodic death metal to their music with Heartwork around the same time metal bands from Gothenburg such as In Flames and At the Gates were only starting to record albums. Besides The Beatles, this is one band that makes me happy to live very close to Liverpool.

The album: Heartwork is the album where Carass played death metal in a more melodic style. Although some melodic death metal bands may not sound like standard death metal, Heartwork is one where you can relate to the more traditional death metal with killer tracks such as Carnal Forge, Blind Bleeding the Blind and today's metal song Death Certificate. Heartwork is a melodic death metal album that nicely stands out from the subgenre.

The song: Death Certificate starts with some twin guitars where one has a simple two note riff while the other is a melodic tune that eventually clash each other some fast riffing. Now this is a riff that slays and shows some brutality. The lyrical lines are rather minimal and may not have much to them but it's a good sign since Carcass were more focused on writing some shining guitar work. The song enters a melodic solo phase where both Bill Steer and Michael Amott both play side by side. These are solos that stick out from the album so well along with the crazy solo on Carnal Forge. Overall, Death Certificate is song that will offer many death certificates around due to it being such a killer track with riffs and solos.

Week 34: In Flames - Dreamscape

The artist: In Flames are one of the key melodic death metal bands (or rather used to be) who have received mainstream success over the last decade. Whether it turned for the better or worse is up to you. Personally they were better when they were playing melodic death metal and not going mainstream and that's something many metal fans will agree with whether they like them or not. The first few albums can at least be seen as decent releases, although your mileage may vary for the debut album Lunar Strain. Infact, that term applies to In Flames as a whole since some of the later works have been fairly praised.

The album: Lunar Strain is In Flames' debut album. This was a time in In Flames before Anders Fridén was even in the band and now he's the longest running member in the band. Lunar Strain was very underdeveloped for In Flames but the album opener Behind Space has become a popular song for them. This album had folk music elements to it which can easily be seen with the instrumental Hårgalåten and the second part of Everlost. The folk elements were hit and miss for In Flames but they got better with it on the following album The Jester Race. The only other major flaw with this album is how short Starforsaken feels. After the solo ends, it feels there was meant to be more for the song than we've heard. Even with these flaws, it's still an album to pick up if you really enjoy the older In Flames or even appreciate their music both old and new.

The song: Dreamscape is one of the two instrumental tracks on Lunar Strain. The instrumental remains consistent with its melodic riffs that make it sound like In Flames' counterpart to Iron Maiden's Transylvania. The sound production is nicely mixed for this track since the bass is easy to hear and for their debut album that had some rough edges, it's a godsend the production value is in good shape. With a short length of 3:45, Dreamscape has the right length of time and gives those beautiful riffs enough time to get stuck in your head.

Week 33: Savatage - The Hourglass

The artist: Savatage have had quite a career with their music. They started off as speed metal with Sirens and The Dungeons Are Calling EP. They didn't become truly established until Hall of the Mountain King. With the siblings Jon and Criss Oliva in the band, they knew where they wanted to go with Savatage and went on releasing several albums until Criss Olivia was unfortunately killed by a drunken driver in 1993. Despite this, Jon went on with the band and released a few more albums before focusing more on Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Jon Olivia's Pain. Savatage has been put on hold ever since and the odds of Jon Olivia putting Savatage back on the road is slim to none. Still, there's a lot to check out from this band and even one of the post-Criss Olivia albums is worth listening to.

The album: The Wake of Magellan is the concept album based on the Maersk Dubai incident and the Irish reporter Veronica Guerin, two real life events. They also incorporate to a story about a spanish sailor who wanted to end his life on his boat in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. His wishes are turned back as soon as he sees a man drowning in the middle of the ocean and saves his life. His morale was how precious every hour of life is and lives on. There are many great tracks in this album such as Turns to Me, the instrumental Underture and the title track. The highlight of the album has to be the album closer The Hourglass which is this week's pick.

The song: The Hourglass is the grand finale for the tale of The Wake of Magellan. This song picks off from where the sailor saves the the drowning man. Their journey back home isn't an easy one since the two head to a storm in the sea and this is what makes The Hourglass a climatic ending to the album, especially with Zak Stevens' vocals. If there's any justification for Zak Stevens, it's this very song. The way his voices are multi-layered at around 5 minutes in puts the situation at the very top and gets the two individuals through the terror on the sea, thus making it a happy and emotional ending. It better make you feel you were at an incredible journey in the sea and saying farewell to the ship once the song ends. Overall, The Hourglass is that one song that makes The Wake of Magellan worth hearing in its entirety for its highly climatic ending. Having Zak Stevens in the band was no mistake!

Week 26: Opeth - Nectar

The artist: Opeth have become a big name in heavy metal over the last decade. Not only are they well established for the mixture of death metal, progressive rock and acoustic elements all in one, they made a breakthrough with Blackwater Park in 2001 which in ten years can already be seen as a classic metal record standing next to Rust in Peace, Paranoid, etc. Mikael Åkerfeldt has also become a big name for heavy metal musicians and with his death metal vocals passing back and fourth with clean singing, Even with a formula they've used since day one, Opeth have managed to make some twists and turns with the raw feel of the first two albums Orchid and Morningrise and the all-acoustic and no-metal Damnation (as well as possibly the upcoming album Heritage). Opeth's success has gone as far as putting them in a high class venue like the Royal Albert Hall which they had to make a live CD+DVD for and I feel proud to have seen that special show for them.

The album: Morningrise is the second Opeth album and still contains the raw sound production which Orchid had. Morningrise is very notable for having every song lasting at least ten minutes long minus the bonus demo track. Some may think these songs are long for the sake of long but this album is rich in quality, although Black Rose Immortal (the longest Opeth song to date) isn't a song for beginners. Songs such as Advent and To Bid You Farewell have become Opeth classics and one has to wonder why Mikael Åkerfeldt opposed this album at a later point. Morningrise may not be the most accessible Opeth album but it's still damn good.

The song: Nectar starts off with an interesting intro. Starting with drums then introducing the bass (which is crystal clear here) and then the guitars. The bass proves to be very useful here and is a prime example of how sound productions should be executed to make the bass audible. The song goes through changes throughout with an acoustic piece around 1:33 in which quickly goes back to the metal. There's another acoustic section six minutes in which contains a strong classical feel. It's an unpredictable move if you've not heard the song before and the acoustic section is a personal favourite for Opeth's acoustic elements. It's a very moving part that is favoured very well with the drums and the bass once again which is a huge plus.

There's so much to say about the musical structure in Nectar and the lyrics are just the icing on the cake. The song is a bout a huge negligence of love that is never spoken out to the significant other. Overall, Nectar is an excellent song from Opeth with great appreciation for the bass as well as showing some of the best acoustic pieces from the band. This song is one of many reasons why it's a close second to Blackwater Park.

Week 23: Bathory - Baptised in Fire and Ice

The artist: Bathory was a one man band held by Quorthon. Although the history of Bathory had other band members as well, it was mostly just Quorthon who played all the music. Bathory is highly praised for being a pioneer band for not only black metal but also viking metal. To be credited for being a huge influence in two genres is quite an achievement. Quorthon recorded many great releases with Bathory such as Blood Fire Death, Hammerheart, Twilight of the Gods and Blood on Ice. His later works were a planned Nordland quadrilogy. However, Quorthon only lived long enough to finish two of those albums. He died of a heart failure on 3rd June 2004 and it only makes sense for me to pay a tribute to Quorthon this week to remember him and his contribution to heavy metal.

The album: Hammerheart was released in 1990 and is one of the groundbreaking metal releases in 1990 along with Rust in Peace and Painkiller for its major contribution to viking metal. Hammerheart continues the path to move away the black/thrash metal sound the first few Bathory albums had and also maintains the more complex structures of songs Blood Fire Death boasts. Although Hammerheart is the most recognisable Bathory album, especially with One Rode to Asa Bay having a music video on MTV, it's hard to help but think one song doesn't get as much appreciation as the other songs. After all, it's one song the all-star tribute band Twilight of the Gods didn't play for the live shows or played the least.

The song: Baptised in Fire and Ice starts off with a catchy beat which is shortly followed by Quorthon's chants with "Fire and Ice". The chants in the song give off a great atmosphere and although it's not the only song that uses choirs and chants in Hammerheart, there's something about this song that has a stronger choir feel to it that's almost as good as what you hear in One Rode to Asa Bay. This song reflects rebirth and the early life of a viking who travels across the seas far away from home, traveling across snow and crossing through fire. The said viking also remembers these days later on in his life when he was baptised.

Baptised in Fire and Ice has mid-pace riffs that are heard throughout the album but from the guitar performance, the highlight has to be the solo halfway through the song. It lasts for a minute and even goes side by side with the choir which again, gives off a great atmosphere to the song and has to be one of the best moments in Hammerheart. Overall, Baptised in Fire and Ice is rather under appreciated and deserves more credit for the chilling choirs which even goes along with the solo for the song. It's not a song to skip when listening to this album.

Week 22: Fear Factory - Leechmaster

The artist: Fear Factory are undoubtedly a major industrial metal band. They've attained mainstream success in metal and although they've had ups and downs, Burton C. Bell does what he can to manage the changes in the line-up of the bands. After the downfall of the band over personal differences, Bell ended the band in 2002 but returned a year later with the bassist Christian Olde Wolbers taking over guitars making way for Byron Stroud on bass. This line-up only had two albums and then went on a hiatus but returned a few years later with the triumphant return of Dino Cazares. However, there was more hardship since Christian Olde Wolbers and Raymond Herrera were replaced by Dino Cazares and Gene Hoglan respectively. Despite more personal issues, Bell has moved on with the band and put out a great comeback with Mechanize. Here's hoping for the machine to go on to release more great albums.

The album: Soul of a New Machine is Fear Factory's debut album released in 1992. The industrial metal elements were well present here but what made this album stand out to the others was the presence of death metal. Unfortunately, Bell wasn't a great death metal vocalist so the changes in Demanufacture were for the better. However, it isn't all about the vocals for heavy metal so you have to consider how well the instruments are executed here. The riffs from Dino Cazares were very rough and Raymond on drums were aggressive. Of course, they still continued the aggression for the other albums but Soul of a New Machine no doubt has a different feeling to the rest of Fear Factory's music.

The song: Leechmaster starts off with a chugging riff that is heard throughout most of the song. It may be repetitive but if it's such a great riff that's energizing, it's worth hearing it again and again. Credit has to be given to Dino Cazares for doing both the guitar and bass for this album and he deserves a mention for the awesome riff here. The chorus also shows another riff from Cazares as well as some relentless bass drumming from Raymond Herrera. This was one of Raymond's finest moments in the band and it's a shame there's been a hardship with him and Burton C. Bell. Unfortunately, the lyrics aren't so great. They feel very basic and at times it feels like Burton is just shouting out "Pain! Love! Pain!" for the sake of shouting. Overall, death metal vocals may have not been Burton's medium but the rest of the band easily makes up in this song for the great riffing and aggressive drumming.

Week 12: Stratovarius - Twilight Symphony

The artist: Stratovarius are another key European power metal band. Their style of music has been templated with many power metal bands in the world, even though not too many of them stick out that well. The band's musical characteristics weren't fully established until Fourth Dimension when Timo Kotipelto joined the band after Timo Tolkki stepped down from singing for the band. With Koltipelto on vocals and Tolkki focusing 100% on guitar, the band seemed unstoppable with releases such as Episode, Visions and Destiny.

However, things didn't go well for the band in the 00s when Tolkki had a mental breakdown and almost causing an end to a band. His recovery only resulted in the awful self-titled album and then left a few years later to focus on his then-new band Revolution Renaissance which splitted up two years later for being a commercial failure. When Tolkki was done with Stratovarius, the rest of the band members insisting on continuing even without Tolkki and found Matias Kupiainen to become Stratovarius' new guitarist. He's proven to be a worthy addition to the band as well as a needed replacement for Tolkki. Stratovarius as whole have gotten back on track with their music after the departure of Timo Tolkki.

The album: As stated already Fourth Dimension is the first Stratovarius album with Timo Koltipelto on vocals released in 1995. This album takes a lighter approach after the very dark atmosphere of Dreamspace. Fourth Dimension contains some of Stratovarius' popular live set tracks (i.e. Against the Wind and Distant Skies) but the rest of the album is easily overlooked, even the neoclassical instrumental named, well, Stratovarius. Other great tracks in the album include the epic We Hold the Key and Twilight Symphony and the speed metal number Lord of the Wasteland. The only song that sticks out like a sore thumb is 030366 which is about computers and viruses. It's out of place both lyrically and musically but the rest of the album is still worth checking out.

The song: Twilight Symphony is the last song in Fourth Dimension besides the instrumental closure. This song is introduced with a symphonic metal intro and then kicks in with Koltipelto on vocals. This 7 minute long masterpiece actually has a few different sections and only repeats the chorus just once. The second half suddenly starts with a kickass violin solo that isn't expected during the first listening but shortly makes its way for some solomania and this right here shows Tolkki at his finest with his guitar solos which will make anyone depressed at how someone who could perform amazing solos on his guitar turning into a lunatic almost a decade later.

The song's lyrics are what should be defined as a twilight setting and the last verse gives it a very depressing feeling. It's not on the depression level as Dreamspace but the sadness is easily justified with the beautiful outro provided with a flute and a slow guitar solo. Orchestral elements weren't typical for Stratovarius then but the direction they took with this song was well worth it. Overall, Twilight Symphony is an epic phenomenon that shouldn't be underestimated for its unique structure for Stratovarius.

Week 10: Gamma Ray - Hand of Fate

The artist: Starting off power metal month for March, we have Gamma Ray. They formed in 1988 when Kai Hansen wasn't happy with his time with Helloween. He may have been one of the founding members of Helloween but he struggled to fit in the band after a while and departed right after the tour for Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2. He started the band with Ralf Scheepers who is known for being heavily influenced by Rob Halford for his singing style as well as forming Primal Fear later on after leaving Gamma Ray. When Ralf was gone, Kai Hansen was going to seek for a new vocalist but was advised to take care of singing himself, despite stepping down from vocals in Helloween to make way for Michael Kiske. Ever since it's been Kai Hansen on vocals.

The album: Power Plant is part of the classic trio for Gamma Ray starting with Land of the Free, followed by Somewhere Out in Space and this album. These three albums are fan favourites for the majority. Power Plant is just as good as Land of the Free and would have been a perfect album had it not been for that out of place cover of It's a Sin by Pet Shop Boys. Putting that aside, Power Plant is full of excellent Gamma Ray songs such as Anywhere in the Galaxy, Gardens of the Sinner, Armageddon and Strangers in the Night. It's a highly recommended album for metal fans, unless power metal isn't your cup of coffee.

The song: Hand of Fate starts with a piano intro followed by the band striking at full force after the first lyric section making it a very impressive intro overall for the song. The song is about the dark lord returning from hell to wreck havoc on earth. Many soldiers are fighting this demon and do what they can to send him back to hell. 10,000 men pray for the "hand of fate" to take down the dark lord once and for all. With a song full of great riffs, a marching feel of a chorus and a section launching several solos together, it's easy to call it high class power metal. The only thing that can be brought up for concern is the outro which sounds like we're on another song. Maybe the band originally had it planned to be an interlude track between Hand of Fate and Armageddon but changed it the last minute. Either way, Hand of Fate is still an excellent song provided by Gamma Ray.

Week 1: Black Sabbath - Master of Insanity

The artist: Anyone with the slightest knowledge of metal should know who Black Sabbath are right off the bat. Even a genuine rock fan will have a clue as to who Black Sabbath are. We may be more focused on lesser known songs but even the biggest bands have underrated songs. In addition to that, what better way to start things off than to begin with the band who are often considered the pioneers of heavy metal.

The album: Dehumanizer is the 1992 album that Black Sabbath recorded when Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice rejoined the band for a reunion. This was the first Black Sabbath studio album with Ronnie James Dio on vocals since Mob Rules. While Black Sabbath's post-Mob Rules albums don't shine as well as the classics, there are still some gems from their later works and this is where Dehumanizer comes in despite being the most recognisable out of the later Sabbath albums.

The song: As stated before, Black Sabbath do have some gems from the later albums and Master of Insanity easily applies to that. The track name sounds similar to the album title Master of Reality and could be seen as a nod to that masterpiece. The very beginning is rather strange but the song picks up shortly once Geezer takes off with his bass. Of course, you have to give credit to the riff considering it's Tony Iommi, the man who played Children of the Grave, Symptoms of the Universe, Hole in the Sky and many other fantastic riffs that have inspired hundreds of thousands of musicians. You can also rely on Dio to offer a great voice for the song, especially the catchy chorus. Overall, it's a great song and definitely one of the highlights from Dehumanizer.