Week 52 (FINAL): Ensiferum - The Longest Journey (Heathen Throne Part II)

Here we are, the very last post for Monday Metal Treasures. I've taken a lot of time to write up everything for all 52 weeks of the year. This may have not brought tons of traffic to me but I've sure as hell been happy with expressing my thoughts on the 52 different artists that were featured here. Most of them may have been key metal artists but I threw in some surprises and even if you've heard a lot from heavy metal, hopefully you found at least something here. Since Monday Metal Treasures wasn't a huge success and I found my newer gaming rants to be commented on more, I feel it's not really worth the effort to do a second round and be happy enough with what I've done throughout 2011. Expect more full-length reviews whether they be metal classics, new releases or finding something obscure and give that some light whether it be good or bad.

The artist: Finishing off the grand finale month as well as the whole of Monday Metal Treasures, we have the folk metal band Ensiferum from Finland. With a few albums alone, Ensiferum have put themselves at the top of the game for folk metal. Their style of music is typically mixed with melodic death metal and coming from someone who's not all that fussed about that particular subgenre, these guys (and girls) are a prime quality metal band. Whether they had the Wintersun mastermind Jari Mäenpää for the first two releases or ex-Norther guitarist/vocalist Petri Lindroos taking over Jari, Ensiferum's music has been nothing short of great. Once all the legendary metal acts from the 70s/80s have left us, this is one band that undoubtedly deserves to fill up those huge venues all around the world.

The album: From Afar is Ensiferum's most recent album that makes the ultimate step to put all doubts anyone had after Jari left at rest. While Victory Songs was another great album from Ensiferum, From Afar surpasses everything they did and even goes on par with Wintersun's debut album. Ensiferum take a further step by incorporating symphonic metal elements to their music and the orchestral characteristics justify the term epic for this record. Not only that, this band makes the most adventurous journey with two 10+ minute tracks both relating to each other. As a little bonus, Stone Cold Metal goes out of its way to take a Western route that manages to include a banjo solo. This is no joke, there is banjo in our heavy metal here. Still not convinced From Afar is one album to pick? Let's see if the featured song can convince you.

The song: The Longest Journey (Heathen Throne Part II) is the final track to end off From Afar. Ensiferum step up their game here with the slow-ish introduction which allows them to intensify the song halfway through to catch even more attention. Whilst building the way up there, the song takes an outstanding break with the marching drums and flutes/recorders. Turning back to the metal force, the clean vocals from Markus Toivonen and Sami Hinkka and with only one verse of that, the quest only becomes immense from the third verse and this is where the heroic feel comes in and appropriately so. This is the quest where only the strongest and bravest succeed and this song follows the true hero.

After the final verse of the song, the band relaxes and makes way for the orchestra/guitar co-operation for the 4 minute finale. While it could have been a minute shorter, it's hard to deny the great atmosphere this part provides. This feels like the hero's return to his homeland after his toughest quest yet and for these reasons, this is no doubt one of the greatest heavy metal songs that exceed 10 minutes joining the same leagues as Iron Maiden's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Helloween's Halloween and Keeper of the Seven Keys. This song must be considered a classic amongst many metal fans within ten years time.

Week 50: Hammers of Misfortune - The Trial and the Grave

The artist: Hammers of Misfortune kick ass! Yes, that's how this post should start off considering the awesomeness of this band that sadly finds itself criminally overlooked. Founded by John Cobbett, former guitarist of Slough Feg and Ludicra, his band provides an excellent mixture of vocals from both genders. The band have also explored in several subgenres of metal. The main focuses have been traditional and progressive metal but there were strong black metal and folk music elements on the debut album named The Bastard. You wouldn't think the same band would also release an album with strong 70s prog rock elements but the signature characters of the band, particularly with the co-operation with male and female vocals (which may I add makes this band quite a gem), define this band in several styles. Out of all the bands featured on Monday Metal Treasures, this is one of the most highly recommended artists.

The album: The August Engine is Hammers of Misfortune's second album and moves away from the black metal elements that were present in The Bastard. This record has a stronger traditional metal feel but the album is still highly progressive and some tracks are even thrashy. The instrumental track The August Engine, Pt. 1 is technical ecstasy by quickly switching back and forth with acoustic guitars and the full driving force of the band and the song makes a sudden end for the following track Rainfall that manages to make an odd transition that actually works. More complex work is shown later on with The August Engine, Pt. 2 where the second half finds itself gradually moving to acoustic movements and back. And to think all of these tracks together make a concept album. I could go on all day about The August Engine but the point is, this album is damn good and should be some of the best 45 minutes you'll hear from heavy metal!

The song: The Trial and the Grave is the final song on The August Engine. Out of all the songs featured on Monday Metal Treasures, the lyrics for this song are quite possibly the ones that stand out the most. Yes, you could say the lyrics actually go above the music here but that's not to say the musicianship is short of excellence. You have some very doomy guitars from Mike Scalzi and John Cobbett who make the best impressions at the start and the finale section. The band tones down to make way for the strong vocals from Janis Tanaka (sorry, no Scalzi here).

The song goes through a long depressive route showing no happiness anywhere in sight. If anything, this shows the visions of a ghost seeing the sad ending of a woman who is sentenced for death and followed by the barristers cutting the body into pieces. It's a horrible thought and if it were sung by a death metal band, they'd take this as a joke and laugh at it but not Hammers of Misfortune who put real emotion to their music. The last verse just shows how sad the ex-life of someone was by explaining how no-one acknowledged the woman and that everyone completely forgot about her. The finale shows some slow movements from the guitarists and while this part may seem to drag, it has a purpose to take its time since if the lyrics were unsettling, why should the music make it easier for you?

Overall, The Trial and the Grave is a very depressive song. You'd have to come up with something a whole lot sadder (and not done in some emo bullshit way) to make this song look like Helloween in comparison. This song is by far one of the saddest songs metal has ever experienced and is a prime example of excellent female vocals in heavy metal and if there's one band that should make their way to the top over the next decade, it's this unique bunch.

Week 49: Sonata Arctica - The Power of One

The artist: For the last month of 2011, we'll be covering the grand finales of metal albums that exceed the 10 minute mark and there is no better way to conclude Monday Metal Treasures than to cover the magnificent album closers. Starting off, we have Sonata Arctica. These guys are one of the most notable power metal bands out there who started in 1996. They quickly rose into popularity amongst the power metal world and the lead singer Tony Kakko has found himself appearing in various other bands including Van Canto, Epica and even Stratovarius! Sonata Arctica have offered several great albums. Even the weakest efforts that are Unia and The Days of Grays still have their moments. However, if they want to climb up the ladder even further, they will need to offer something that's a huge step up from the said albums.

The album: Silence is Sonata Arctica's second album that offers many tracks. There's a total of 15 unique songs including the bonus track. Silence comes with many great songs from them such as Weballergy and The End of This Chapter. San Sebastian (Revisited) and Wolf & Raven are what should be considered essentials from them, despite them not even playing any songs from this album at the show in Manchester back in March. The record isn't perfect, though since there could have been a track or two cut off to give the album an even better flow. There is one too many ballads here but if you can get over that, you've got yourself a great power metal album.

The song: The Power of One starts off with sounds of rain and then the keyboards adding a little extra to the moody weather. Jani Liimatainen plays an acoustic guitar that stands out well but it's not long until the lyrics begin and Tony Kakko makes his introduction. The song goes through a few changes throughout the time. Also from Jani comes some impressive riffs and leads that are heard within only three minutes in. Halfway through is where the song settles down and shows some emotional voices from Tony with some unsettling keyboards. The band picks off again showing some keyboard solos and then even more powerful singing skills from Tony. If you have any doubts about this man, let them rest right here as he puts the verses up a few notches. Even the rest of the band have to keep up with him and they only rest once the song makes the grand finale.

Tony makes one more impressive show with his multilayer of vocals and show what he can do with his one voice. The song's lyrics are about Adam and Eve's songs Cain and Abel and while it's based on a religious story, what was taken from the bible can turn into a mighty story from a mere song. Overall, The Power of One stands as one of the finest Sonata Arctica songs ever made. With many changes throughout 10 minutes of this song and showing some great vocal capabilities of Tony Kakko, this song should be essential for their live shows.

Manilla Road to the World - Part 13: Blood Eagle (Voyager)

Voyager is where Manilla Road take yet another very interesting turn for their music. Voyager is an entire album dedicated to vikings. This may not be your typical "viking metal" band but Mark Shelton does a fine tribute to the Norse mythology even if hundreds of other metal bands had beaten to him already. Voyager is yet another record that's full of doomy riffs and Mark Shelton even shows his roughest and lowest pitched vocals out of everything he's done, even coming close to the sound of a death metal vocalist. For an album that lasts a little over an hour, you can be sure to be on quite a journey when hearing Manilla Road's Voyager.

Blood Eagle starts with a cathedral organ which drops off the sudden dark riffing. The first section of the track could have been cut from the rest to be on its own but it adds more flavour to this very song. When the main course arrives, there is some headbanging to be done and it only steps down a bit for the chorus. The chorus even has a power metal anthem feel to it which is rather bizarre when you're throwing in fast doomy riffs with a slight hint of death metal grunts. Six minutes seem to go incredibly fast here but then again, it does accompany with the organ intro. The song takes on the vikings heading to Vineland and confronting the bishop in the name of the norse gods. They sacrifice the bishop to avenge Thor and Odin. The song may be religiously controversial but those were very tough times back then and Mark Shelton has reflected that well with this beast.

Manilla Road to the World - Part 12: The Fall of Illiam (Gates of Fire)

Gates of Fire is another concept album from Manilla Road. Instead of one big concept to focus on, Gates of Fire tells three different stories with them being based on The Frost Giant's Daughter, Virgil's Aeneid and the Spartan King Leonidas and the battle of Thermopylae. The album shows a strong variety including the album opener Riddle of Steel that has a vibe from Open the Gates era, Behind the Veil and Epitaph to the King as acoustic ballads and some challenges in terms of length with Betrayal and the whole of tracks 4-6 covering Virgil's Aeneid. There's a whole lot this album offers and you will need to give it time for both the music itself and the conceptual themes.

The Fall of Illiam stands as the longest track Manilla Road have recorded yet. With this song, Mark Shelton makes the way with an acoustic guitar with Cory Christner on the drums. Christner is quite a drummer and you will acknowledge this when the distorted doom metal guitars kicks in. The drums stand out very well and show some technical aspects to them. The first three verses use the same musical structure to them and although the flow of music usually works if it's repeated just once, the triple occurrance makes a better use of endurance as well as giving a really good feel of the sound. The song makes it way to a three minute solo and you'd think by the last minute it would start to get tedious but the solo segment doesn't feel boring nor tedious at all. Mark Shelton creates a sweet melody that would sure require a lot of memorization if this was ever played live.

The second half of the song shows yet more amazing musicianship from the band where Mark Shelton takes on another intense riff. Cory Christner shows a lot more aggression to the drums and a most of his drum kit in full use. Harvey Patrick even has his bass louder and clear in the second half. Like the earlier part of the song, this part of the song structure is repeated a few times and again gives you a lot of time to absorb the fantastic moments from the song. For a 15 minute song, time sure goes quick with this masterpiece. It's an endurance for a Manilla Road song but the band as whole made the lengthy song very effective. This is easily a top 5 contender for the best songs ever recorded by Shelton & co.

Manilla Road to the World - Part 10: Sands of Time (Spiral Castle)

Spiral Castle was released just a year after Atlantis Rising and this is where Hellroadie became more established with his vocals. Bryan tends to handle the higher pitch vocals whereas Mark Shelton deals with the lower and rougher vocals. This is where Manilla Road truly took a doomier direction with their music and Spiral Castle is where the doom metal elements are as big and loud as they could possibly be. They offer crunching riffs from the title track, enduring doom metal epic with Merchants of Death and... an acoustic instrumental with a middle eastern feel? Let's find out!

Sands of Time is the instrumental finale for Spiral Castle. Starting off with an acoustic guitars that gives off quite an atmosphere for the instrumental piece. There are various unusual instruments used such as the percussions that certainly don't sound like they're from the drum kit and they're very oriental. In addition to that, Manilla Road throw in some violins and these violins are very strong and passionate for this particular track and makes it as part of a character for the track. Mixing this with the other instruments makes it all for one unique piece but at the same time it makes you think of the settings from Aladdin. There's a strange progression but those 7 1/2 minutes will go quick simply because it feels very relaxing and you'd want to sink in this track after 40 minutes of epic doom chaos.

Manilla Road to the World - Part 9: Megalodon (Atlantis Rising)

Atlantis Rising is Manilla Road's comeback album after the hiatus in the early 90s. Mark Shelton reformed the band with a whole new lineup featuring Bryan "Hellroadie" Patrick on drums as well as vocals and Mark Anderson on bass. This is Bryan Patrick's debut and his contributions to the band as a vocalist only became greater after this release. Amazingly enough, Hellroadie has the exact same vocal characteristics as Mark Shelton meaning he sounds exactly like the Shark so the introduction of a second vocalist could easily slip through the crack if little to no research was done on the band.

After a 10 year break, Mark Shelton struck back the music industry with this monstrous album. The concept of the album alone instantly marks this album as heavy metal. Atlantis Rising tells the tale of the lost Atlantis re-emerging with a war between the Norse Gods and the Great Old Ones over the continent. If this isn't metal, nothing in this world is! This album comes with a few interludes but it's hard to overlook the great work of this record with the harsh opener Megalodon, the fast and aggressive Siege of Atland and rifftastic tracks including March of the Gods, Decimation and Resurrection.

Starting off with a familiar verse (think Open the Gates' opener Metal Storm), Megalodon strikes with some distorted guitars and still maintains the rough sound productions from the earlier releases but at the same time modernizes it. It's not long until Mark Shelton offers a new flavour of vocals to his music with his very harsh voice. With this combined with the introduction of the concept, you can be sure that he makes the big blue sea so brutal that you wouldn't want to touch a drop from the ocean. The solos find themselves to be the screams of the monsters coming to battle. This only marks the beginning of the return of Atlantis and you can bet the war will not get any easier later on and neither will the music.

Week 43: Immortal - Antarctica

The artist: Immortal are one of the most well known black metal bands who contributed to the second wave. The 1990s was a very dark time for black metal where some of the major acts committed church arson and even went as far as murdering individuals (most notoriously Varg Vikernes of Burzum for both cases). Black metal has been heavily linked with Anti-Christianity. However, Immortal are an excellent contrast to all the controversy in black metal. They've stayed away from Anti-Christianity as well as church burnings at all costs and despite these differences, Immortal are still one of the most respected bands by black metal fanatics. Ironically enough, Abbath was the one who got Varg into black metal but Abbath never wanted to follow the bandwagons going on back then.

The album: Sons of Northern Darkness is the last Immortal album before their break up in 2003 due to personal reasons which the band would later unite a few years later after a reunion special. Sons of Northern Darkness follows the musical style from At the Heart of Winter with more complex song structures whilst containing the thrash metal elements Immortal have adapted with since At the Heart of Winter. Some of the highlights in Sons of Northern Darkness include One By One, Tyrants and In My Kingdom Cold. This week's song Antarctica is also another strong track in the album.

The song: Antarctica begins with an arctic ambience (well, what were you expecting). It's not quite as eerie as Unearthly Kingdom but to make that up, Abbath breaks in with his frostbitten guitar and he does go all the way to make this intro well established. Horgh does some damn good drumming. It's not the typical blast beat black metal drumming but it does have some sweet rhythm to the intro sequence. Abbath doesn't kick in with his vocals until around 2 1/2 minutes in where he talks about how cold, vicious and metal Antarctica is. He describes it as a very harsh place. 5 minutes in gives us the dark acoustic guitars where Abbath summarizes Antarctica as dark, cold and massive. Heavier guitars make a comeback as well as the drumming that have a nice pace of hits on the Tom-tom drums. Overall, Antarctica is that ideal frostbitten song that black metal is often associated with, particularly Immortal. Who needs to sing about opposing Christianity and worshipping Satan when you can make something evil-sounding with a very bitter place like Antarctica?

Week 42: Savage Circus - Waltz of the Demon

The artist: Savage Circus was founded by former Blind Guardian drummer Thomas Stauch after his disatisfaction with the new musical direction with Blind Guardian. He formed the band with Iron Savior and Persuader members including Iron Savior guitarist Piet Sielck (who traits all the way back to Kai Hansen with Gentry in 1978) and Persuader vocalist Jens Carlsson. From this band, Thomas Stauch wanted the band to sound like Blind Guardian during the Imaginations From the Other Side days. Sadly, after one album Thomas fell to long term sickness and eventually leave Savage Circus, thus defeating the main reason to even form this band in the first place.

The album: Dreamland Manor is Savage Circus' first album containing many great power metal tracks such as the speed metal opener Evil Eyes, the album's ballad Beyond Reality and slightly more complex tracks with Ghost Story and Waltz of the Demon. With Jens' voice sounding very much like Hansi Kursch and Persuader's musical style being similar to Blind Guardian, this is the ideal album for Thomas Stauch and how he wanted to sound mid era Blind Guardian. This may be a Blnd Guardian rip off but this was formed by a former member of the band so there's every right to immitate their style with this album.

The song: Waltz of the Demon starts off with a dark acoustic intro speaking about solitude and illusions. The song strikes with a heavy riff that can rival with the heaviness Blind Guardian provided in Follow the Blind. The prebridge, bridge and chorus sections shows some multi-layering that Blind Guardian (again) have done with the later albums but it all works here. The true highlight of the song is the section after the second time the prebridge-bridge-chorus part is played. Emil Norberg (of Persuader) and Piet Sielck play along together on their guitars for some impressive solos but it isn't too long when the song gets even heavier at 5 minutes in with a crushing riff and yet more solos. The song required to repeat the prebridge-bridge-chorus one more time to finish things off. Overall, Waltz of the Demon offers different sections of the song that make it worth listening to over and over again and if you're one of those who aren't fond of Blind Guardian's music post-Nightfall, hopefully this makes up for the wind of change in Hansi Kursch's band.

Week 40: Angra - Unholy Wars

The artist: Angra are one of the key metal bands from Brazil along with Sepultura (although they don't have as much fame as them). They've released some killer releases such as Temple of Shadows and Rebirth, a personal favourite. The band would take a more progressive approach with the later releases. However, the change of direction wasn't done well when they recorded Aqua. It was a poor record and had a huge lack of energy and passion. Angra need to listen to Rebirth and remember what made them great.

The album: Rebirth is Angra's first album with Eduardo Falaschi on vocals who has remained in the band ever since. Angra provides fast numbers with Nova Era and Unholy Wars, slower melodic tracks with the title track and Heroes of Sand and then there's the more epic and complex works including Running Alone and Unholy Wars. These make Rebirth a versatile album and doesn't make themselves repetititve.

The song: Unholy Wars starts off with sounds of a Brazilian dance which is followed by the band themselves and with Edu Falaschi making some chanting voices. The band then picks up the pace with the guitar riffs which is where we learn the young warrior fighting his way through the war. The music takes some progression routes, particular in the centre where you hear a bass lead. The bass makes itself prominent during the break and actually gives the listener time to sink in with this segment. The solo makes its fine way to show itself up but it's not long until we're back to revisiting the horror of the unholy wars one last time. Unholy Wars is a beautifully complex track from Rebirth and offers a lot for the listener. It's a shame they didn't do anything this magnificent on Aqua.

Week 39: Týr - Lord of Lies

NOTE: Due to a holiday that wasn't even foreseeable 12 months ago when I originally started planning Monday Metal Treasures, this is posted early so you still get to see the following week's entry, despite it not being a Monday.



The artist: Týr are a particularly interesting folk metal band hailing from Faroe Islands. Their country of origin will easily strike out as it may be a country you've never even heard of. Infact, Metal-Archives only lists seven metal bands who originated from Faroe Islands. That's right, just a mere seven! There's more metal bands that ever found in Saudi Arabia and Syria than in Faroe Islands. Not only do they have an unusual country origin, they also incorporate progressive metal elements to folk metal whereas many folk metal bands have generally mixed their style with black, melodic death or power metal.

The album: Ragnarok is Týr's concept album released in 2006 and already it's been five years since its release. Ragnarok feels like the ideal Norse mythology lyrical-based album, even if roughly a third of the lyrics are spoken in Farose. This album as well as the rest of their albums in general show the world what Farose language is like. As suggested by the album title, Ragnarok covers the future events in battles resulting in the death of the Norse gods. This feels how Norse mythology themed metal music should be done, although the amount of interlude tracks won't make it a straight forward listen and will require patience in order to get the most from the album.

The song: Following the interlude track named Victory which has the sounds of entering a very lively tavern, Lord of Lies shows up right away with the loud folky guitars that makes you think "Damn, this is really good." and then it's succeeded by riffs with a much lower tone. Even with the darker riffs, the song still insists with the brighter atmosphere to march on in the story. It will go as far as showing off some very highly tuned solos and you can sense some power metal from this track. That and Heri Joensen's vocals make for some unique sound from folk metal. The song's lyrics covers Thor and the serpent Jörmungandr. This is closer to the end of the album and forsees prophecies of the true end of Ragnarok. Overall, you have a song with some extremely catchy melodies with some mixed tones to show the dark side of the prophecy but also the confidence to fight on.

Week 36: Elvenking - Under the Tree of Us'dum

The artist: Elvenking are a folk/power metal band coming from Italy. They released their debut album Heathenreel in 2001 and have made some changes with their sound throughout the decade. Some have been for the better while others didn't go well with the fans. Heathenreel was straight forward folk/power metal which suited the majority but years later they went a completely direction by adding metalcore influences to their music in The Scythe. Elvenking acknowledged the disappointment from the fans after hearing The Scythe and took a safer path with Two Tragedy Poets by giving it an all-acoustic folk sound.

The album: To Oak Woods Bestowed is Elvenking's demo recordings. Before Heathenreel was released, they had five demo tracks they worked on and three of them made the cut for their debut album. That left with Banquet of Bards and Under the Tree of Us'dum in the dark forever. Well, most likely anyway. These two songs are actually very good and it's a shame they were never included in the release of Heathenreel as both songs would have been great additions to the album. White Willow and Oakenshield demo versions feel less polished than the Heathenreel counterparts while the intro track To Oak Woods Bestowed is an extended version.

The song: Under the Tree of Us'dum is the last track in the demo album. This song shows the most complexity out of the five tracks starting with a majestic intro. There are plenty of tempo changes and some surprising turns. Keep in mind that this is a demo track so the performance is not likely to be top notch and will feel rough. Aydan's vocals still needed some work here and the rhythm isn't timed well for the first half of the song. However, it does feel better later on, particularly with the galloping section. Even if the song feels rough, there are still some fantastic solos found here and the whole song still manages to be catchy. With the tale of a warrior travelling around the land to fight the evil wizard (yeah yeah, clichés). The hero is companioned with the magical tree known as Usdu'm that conquers the evil one once and for all. It's a typical medieval story but it's still a fun one with a fun tune. It's just a shame this never made it to Heathenreel which would have had huge improvements from the demo session.

Week 35: Equilibrium - Des Sängers Fluch

The artist: Equilibrium are a recent German folk metal band with releasing their debut album Turis Fratyr in 2005. They only have three albums so far and with mixing folk metal elements with black and symphonic metal elemenets, they could do a lot with their style and one thing that would be great to see is more epic instrumentals such as Mana. That's a 16 minute monstrosity and it's a well written instrumental.

The album: Sagas is Equilibrium's second album released in 2008. The band provides a dynamic album with this one with playing fast folk metal numbers such as Blut im Auge and Heimwärts, the more complex structures with Unbesiegt and Des Sängers Fluch and of course Mana, the 16 minute instrumental behemoth. Out of the three Equilibrium albums so far, this one stands as the strongest one.

The song: Des Sängers Fluch (The Bard's Curse) is a song with a few major sections that manages to flow very well to make it sound like one big song rather than feel like you're listening to the next track. The song ranges from acoustic folk to black metal blast beating and screams to orchestral moments. For a first time listen it makes some unpredictable turns that make you wonder what the band will do with this one song next. The song lyrics, although they are in German, the English translations gives you a good idea on what the song is about. Des Sängers Fluch covers a dark time in the medieval world. A boy comes along to become a bard and is taught by an old man. He tries to confront the evil and play but fails and is killed. The elderly individual avenges him with the curse that destroys the evil once and for all. The song has the medieval feel to it so this story telling is highly appropriate. Overall, it's an excellent song with great song structure and comes with some interesting story telling, even if it requires translation.

Week 32: Van Canto - Take to the Sky

The artist: Van Canto are no doubt an oddball. Out of all 52 artists featured in Monday Metal Treasures, they are the only one who play heavy metal a cappella. The only instrument they provide are drums but even if you don't consider the drums, the vocals are still sung in a heavy metal style. Van Canto have become notable over the last few years with covering heavy metal classics such as Fear of the Dark, Kings of Metal and Master of Puppets in a cappella. With these covers, you can tell Van Canto are here to do something different in heavy metal as well as enjoying themselves. It may look like a gimmick but why should the fun be taken away by anyone?

The album: Hero is Van Canto's second album where half of the songs are actually covers. Personally it would be better if they had a whole album dedicated to covers but the mixture of both original and covers works pretty well here and make them part of the album. Looking beyond the covers, they have great songs such as Speed of Light, Pathfinder and Take to the Sky. Definitely worth picking up this album for the original songs as well as the covers.

The song: It's funny to even describe the a cappella vocals here but the song starts off with some "dum dum duuum". Not all of Van Canto's songs consist of "rakkarakka" and "riddly diddly" (Ned Flanders, much?) but it's humorous to hear the backing vocals saying "one" constantly as part of the music that would have been instruments for any other band, The best of all about the vocals is Hansi Kursch of Blind Guardian as the guest musician. They even have a woman on vocals for one section of the songs so there's a nice variety of singers here. The only thing that really sticks out like a sore thumb is the solos. It's hard to tell whether they're actually guitar solos or the a cappella vocals immitating them. If it's the latter they sound rather fake and this is one thing they should improve on or try to avoid. Still, putting the solos aside, it's still lots of fun to listen to Van Canto, especially a song that features a well praised vocalist such as Hansi Kursch.

Week 31: Candlemass - Spellbreaker

The artist: Candlemass are a leading band in doom metal. Although they're not the pioneers of doom metal considering Black Sabbath had strong doom metal influences for their music, there's no doubt that Candlemass have made an impact on doom metal and should be noted as one of the key bands of the genre, even if there's several different subgenres of doom metal such as sludge metal, funeral doom, drone and even a crossover with death metal. Candlemass fall under epic doom metal and that shouldn't be doubted at all considering the name of their debut album Epicus Doomicus Metallicus. Candlemass have gone through some changes with their line-ups but the most recognisable ones are the original band members for the debut album, Messiah Marcolin era and the current Robert Lowe era. Those two along with Johan Längqvist are great vocalists and provide the right voices for their respective albums. Along with great vocalists, there's also fantastic riffs throughout their career and that's what makes doom metal great, especially Black Sabbath with Tony Iommi on guitar.

The album: The self-titled album is Candlemass' comeback album after reforming the band with Messiah on vocals. The reunion was definitely worth doing for this album, even though Messiah would leave the band a year after. Even so, he provided one more great album with Candlemass and this is easily the most consistent Messiah Candlemass album to date. Nightfall and Tales of Creation may not have an easy sitting with the interludes thrown in but the most self-titled album has is The Man Who Fell from the Sky which is a great instrumental and doesn't feel like it was randomly thrown in. This album provides nine doom crushing tunes and all of them reminded the listeners what made Candlemass a great addition in doom metal.

The song: Spellbreaker breaks out with a crunching riff just like any other Candlemass song but there's always some character between all the riffs they play and this song is no exception. The song may start off rather slow but it soon speeds up, even though doom metal is typically slow. During the second section of the song, what needs to be noted is Messiah's excellent singing. He may have some pointless wailing in these parts of the song but it shows us all his singing capabilities and why he was the best vocalist for Candlemass. The solo in the middle section is one of the finest Candlemass have provided to the vocalists. It starts off slow but speeds up while the rest of the band keep its pace as it is.

The lyrical content is based on Jesus Christ and God and while Christianity may not be a topic to talk about in heavy metal, Candlemass put stories based on the bible in a darker tone to give them a whole new meaning. This doesn't necessarily mean they're christian metal and if you can talk about a religious story in a different spin, the results can turn out nicely as shown here. In conclusion, Spellbreaker shows great capabilities of the band for its drumming, doomy riffs, dark stories, tempo changes and of course, Messiah's excellent vocal range.

Week 29 - (The Lord Weird) Slough Feg - Death Machine

The artist: (The Lord Weird) Slough Feg are one of the most well known bands from the American traditional metal scene. Mike Scalzi originally formed this band in 1990 to counteract the hair metal scene at the time and bring back the traditional heavy metal sound that was heard in Iron Maiden and Judas Priest's music. Although they didn't release a full-length album until 1996 with the self-titled debut album, Slough Feg have put out nine albums and none of them are short of greatness. Like Manilla Road, these guys are also criminally overlooked but the better availability of the newest album The Animal Spirits as well as a lot of press for it have given Slough Feg some credibility they deserve. Asides from The Animal Spirits, their albums are often more expensive than an average album but it's definitely worth paying extra for fantasic albums, especially Traveller and Down Among the Deadmen.

The album: Down Among the Deadmen is one of the more notable Slough Feg albums considering Warriors Dawn which was featured on Brutal Legend. This might sound like a stretch but Warriors Dawn could be heavy metal's ultimate answer to Bohemian Rhapsody. This song provides a two minute intro, excellent drumming and bass performance, several great sections in a single song as well as a solo frenzy. Even if Warriors Dawn isn't considered at all for Down Among the Deadmen, it is still a fantastic album, especially when the moment you hear the album opener Sky Chariots it's mandatory to listen to the rest of the album. That's not all, though as there's an excellent trilogy with Heavy Metal Monk / Fergus Mac Roich / Cauldron of Blood. This is easily a highlight in Down Among the Deadmen as the three tracks go together so well. With tracks like these as well as Troll Pack, Marauder and Death Machine, there's tons of confidence to put this album in the same ranks as metal classics such as Paranoid, Powerslave and Painkiller.

The song: Death Machine is the closer track for Down Among with the Deadmen and what better way to end this magnificent album than to go out with a bang with a speed metal number? This works in a similar way to some of the thrash metal closers such as Overkill's The Years of Decay with E.Vil N.Ever D.Ies. The speed metal frenzy doesn't start right away but the song goes wild as soon as you hear motorcycle noises. The riffs are highly ideal for the imaginary of racing on motorcycles as well as the crazy solo provided during the frenzy. The song returns to its former pace but it works to wrap it up for the album. The song's lyrics are based on the sci-fi B-movie named Deathsport taking place in the year 3000. This movie won't be familiar to many but the lyrics sure as hell have some lines that define heavy metal lyrics and makes it seem the movie is worth watching. Overall, Death Machine shows one of the greatest ways to end off a heavy metal album with a roaring speed metal track that should be defined as a metal classic.

Week 24: Strapping Young Lad - Aftermath

The artist: Strapping Young Lad was Devin Townsend's heavier project. Devin Townsend's solo project has a diverse sound but SYL were more focused on their musical style. It's hard to define the band with a single metal subgenre but it's easy to describe them as "Heavy as a really heavy thing." SYL originally started off as a solo project by Devin Townsend as a response to all the bullshit in the music industry. Anger is a common theme in their music and those who don't like the nature of angst may get turned off by this but see it from a different perspective and see how the use of anger energizes music, especially Strapping Young Lad's works. The rage went on for five albums and disbanded a year after the release of The New Black due to Devin wanting to focus on his solo project only. Unfortunately, the return of Strapping Young Lad isn't likely for the time being but for now, let's look back on the great music Devin & co. played.

The album: SYL was a wind of change to the musical style of the band. The industrial elements heavily declined on this release as well as implementing stronger death and thrash metal influences. Devin Townsend's vocal range was more developed as well. In addition to the musical changes, the self-titled album feels more coherent than its predecessors and stands out as the most consistent release SYL had to offer. This album features eleven tracks that were written to kick some ass really hard! The sound ranges from high tempo tracks such as Relentless and Dirt Pride and slightly more complex structures with Bring on the Young, Aftermath and Force Fed. It's hard to make an album that sounds more pissed and enraged than this masterpiece.

The song: Aftermath starts off with some relentless drumming and makes it a really cool intro for the song. It also helps with the chugging riffs you hear around 40 seconds in and this has to be one of the finest examples of chugging riffs in heavy metal. It's very technical, heavy as a really heavy thing and very memorable. Even if chugging riffs aren't your thing, this song has at least a good riff of that kind. The drums are also insane but rhythmatic (wait, that isn't a word?). Unfortunately, not much can be said about the bass considering the sound production drowns the bass. The lyrics talk about war and using it in the name of religion as well as reflecting on recent wars at the time. For a song that's 6 1/2 minutes long, the lyrics are rather minimal. That's not a bad thing, though since the main focus on the album overall is the relentless instruments. Overall, Aftermath is one of the best songs as well as one of the most chaotic from Strapping Young Lad's self-titled album with technical chugging riffs, Devin's angrier tone and incredible drumming from Gene Hoglan.

Week 21: Symphony X - The Communion and the Oracle

The artist: Symphony X are a key band in progressive metal who also mix power, symphonic and even neoclassical metal elements to their music keeping their versatility. The band is well known for having Michael Romeo and Russell Allen in the band who are the two that define the Symphony X style, despite Allen not being in the band until the second album. With Allen on board, Symphony X have released great albums such as The Divine Wings of Tragedy, V: The New Mythology Suite and The Odyssey. In the recent years the band take more time on the albums with Paradise Lost taking 5 years to come out after The Odyssey and the upcoming album Iconoclast coming out four years after Paradise Lost. It's better to take your time than to rush out a release.

The album: V: The New Mythology Suite is the concept album released in 2000 covering several subjects such as Atlantis, Egyptian mythology and astrology. The album contains many great tracks such as Evolution (The Grand Design) to kick off things right after the prelude, the instrumental On the Breath of Poseidon and the fantastic 12 minute closer Rediscovery (Part II): The New Mythology to make a climatic ending for The New Mythology Suite. There's actually a strange coincidence Symphony X had with Spock Beard who too made their fifth album in 2000 named V. Both bands have stated these events as complete coincidences, even though Spock Beard ended up making an eighth album in 2005 with "oct" in the title just like Dream Theater with Octavarium.

The song: Communion and the Oracle starts off with an acoustic intro which is shortly followed by some excellent keyboard performance which stands as a true highlight throughout the song. Russell Allen on vocals doesn't start until a minute in and this song provides some of the lightest and softest vocal performances from him but for a ballad it works like a charm. Communion and the Oracle fits in the astrology side of the album with the topic of unbalance between day and night. The solo part is only the beginning of the end of the song and the orchestral elements become much stronger together with the last verse that put Allen at the very best for his singing talent. Overall, Communion and the Oracle is a brilliant song in V: The New Mythology Suite that shouldn't be underestimated at all. This is where the band shows some great work with acoustic guitars, keyboards and vocal performance.

Week 19: Falconer - Substitutional World

The artist: Falconer are a power metal band who started in the 00s. They made their step in the metal realm with their self-titled album and show they can make highly melodic music with a great medieval atmosphere. Anyone who's a sucker for fantasy/medieval themes will feel right at home with their music. To make the band even better, the vocalist Mathias Blad offers excellent singing performance. Those who enjoy clean vocals in heavy metal should see something special in Mathias.

The album: Falconer's self-titled is the beginning of the band and offers ten excellent tracks. While you have heavier riffs in the album with Substitutional World and Lord of the Blacksmiths, there are also songs with a strong folk feel to them such as A Quest for the Crown and The Past Still Lives On. The variety Falconer's self-titled album provides should give the listener plenty to hear and keeping them away from boredom.

The song: Substitutional World has a semi-lengthy intro before Mathias Blad get a chance to sing. The song starts with a very melodic riff and solo and is a great example of what the band can do beyond Mathias. When Mathias kicks in, it's a bliss to hear his voice since it really is one of the finest from heavy metal and one of the best debunkers of "metal is just screaming". Substitutional World is about one's dream world and how it differs from the real world.

The lyrics aren't too kind with daydreamers, though as it denies you as a God or even the all-knowing from your dream world. The lyrics section this is in has Mathias in a huge spotlight with his beautiful singing and piano performance. The solos are all around melodic here and don't need to be the most complex or technical to make it good. These are the solos that are required for this particular song. In conclusion, Substitutional World is one of the best songs in Falconer's self-titled album and the fact that there's still nine other great tracks for you to hear only shows how much of a fantastic album it really is.

Week 13: HammerFall - Secrets

The artist: We are finishing off power metal month with HammerFall. HammerFall haven't been a strong influence in power metal as much as Helloween and Stratovarius have but they're still a big name in the genre nonetheless. The band have stayed strong with Oscar Dronjak on guitars since the beginning and Joacim Cans on vocals. Cans is a highlight in HammerFall's music with his strong voice you won't hear from anyone else. HammerFall recently finished working on their eighth album called Infected but from the sounds of it, it'll be a zombie apocalyptic themed album. Doesn't sound like HammerFall at all but we'll see how the album turns out when it's released.

The album: Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken is a rather silly title but putting that aside, what the album offers the listener is several rocking tunes, an outstanding track opener, the chilling medieval instrumental Imperial and the epic closer Knights of the 21st Century despite the silly voices heard in the track. Many claim Chapter V isn't a great album but I really enjoyed this album. Maybe it's because it was the first HammerFall album I heard but it still deserves more respect than it gets. This isn't Virtual XI or anything on that level of failure.

The song: Secrets starts off with an intro which feels somewhat haunted. Not sure if that was intentional but the choir still provides a nice contribution to the intro either way. The song then suddenly strikes with its main riff which is rather simple but works very well. The direction HammerFall take with this one is rather unusual for them. Halfway through the song they offer a keyboard break before kicking with some excellent solos. Some of the solos even go alongside with the keyboards making it some awesome rocking moments. Keyboards aren't typical for HammerFall but they made the right move with putting them on Secrets.

The lyrics to Secrets easily explain the meaning of secrets we have and how we should keep some secrets until the day we day no matter what. It's a very encouraging song for someone who may feel very down in his/her life and this song should shed a light on their beliefs and their own personal thoughts. Overall, Secrets is one of the finest songs HammerFall have ever wrote and easily stands out from all the other songs they've sung. With memorable riffs, highly melodic solos going alongside with keyboards and a song with a strong meaning, this should be considered a power metal anthem!