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!

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 11: Blind Guardian - Fast to Madness

The artist: Blind Guardian have a well established heavy metal band. They may not be as famous as Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath but their musical quality has certainly been on par with metal's biggest names. Blind Guardian are the most well known band in the power metal scene even going as far as appealing to those who don't really like power metal to begin with and that is a sign of a really good band! There is more to this band than the power metal classics such as Nightfall in Middle-Earth and Imaginations from the Other Side. In the earlier days of Blind Guardian, they were under the name Lucifer's Heritage and had a strong influence of NWOBHM. They later changed their name to Blind Guardian offering a speed metal onslaught with their first two albums.

The album: Follow the Blind continues the speed metal style heavily influenced by Helloween's Walls of Jericho from Battalions of Fear. These guys weren't power metal quite yet here. Infact, this album sounds more thrash than power. Markus Siepen even admitted to the thrashy feel of the album after listening to a lot of thrash metal bands at the time. Even so, there were still some hints of the Blind Guardian style the fans now know and love with Valhalla. It has become a popular song to play theirs shows as a result as well as the extremely catchy chorus that can go on for minutes after the song even ends. Follow the Blind is an excellent album and is highly recommended for all Blind Guardian fans and even thrash metal fanatics.

The song: Fast to Madness is one of many tracks in Follow the Blind that puts the pedal full speed ahead. With a song title like Fast to Madness, you better expect the album to be a speed metal attack but not before the band warms up in the intro. Fast to Madness is based on the Eternal Champion book series which is very unlikely to be familiar to non-readers such as myself. Still, the lyrics have a strong fantasy feel as well as feeling fast to madness. Infact, this should have been the title track and would easily describe the album in general. Overall, this song provides a structure to maintain the listener's attention with the slow intro turning fast to madness as well as a variety of fast riffs, simple yet effective and catchy chorus from Hansi Kursch and colourful solos provided by the Olbrich and Siepen duo.

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 9: Annihilator - Schizos (Are Never Alone), Pts. 1 & 2

The artist: Annihilator are a classic thrash metal band not from America or Germany but Canada. Annihilator have released 13 albums since they started and went through many changes but the one man who keeps the band alive is Jeff Waters. Although from a personal view I've only listened to two of their albums, the first two (i.e. Alice in Hell and Never, Neverland) are some good stuff.

The album: Alice in Hell is Annihilator's debut album and easily their most recognisable one from their catalogue. This is the only album to have Randy Rampage on vocals for the band. Randy left the band after the tour for this album. Annihilator found Coburn Pharr to take care of the vocals but he doesn't quite shine a light in the candle like Randy did for the band.

The song: Schizos (Are Never Alone), Pts. 1 & 2 is the instrumental of the album along with the intro track Crystal Ann. Although the lines "Schizos are never alone" are spoken several times throughout the track, it's still considered as an instrumental for the band to be metal thrashing mad without relying on any vocals for 99% of the time. There's always a charm in thrash metal instrumentals and Schizos (Are Never Alone) is one of them. The song starts off fast-ish but the whole band then turn up the pace and Jeff Waters offers you fast and catchy riffs. The instrumental changes its tempo a few times giving it some nice twists to it. Overall, Schizos (Are Never Alone) is a metal instrumental that needs to be heard and shouldn't make the listener bored at all with its various changes throughout.

Week 8: Diamond Head - Sweet and Innocent

The artist: Diamond Head are both well established in heavy metal and underrated. Some may easily overlook the band as a whole but they have been known for not having much of a success after the release of Lightning to the Nations. The later commercial failure may have been the result of the band not getting enough recognition as they probably should for their first album or two, especially the debut album.

The album: Lightning to the Nations (sometimes known as The White Album) is Diamond Head's debut and most well known album. Containing seven kickass tracks with some of them being metal anthems (i.e. The Prince and Am I Evil?). Like Budgie, it's sad to think that Metallica's cover of Am I Evil is at least 10x more popular than the original. Sure, it's a good cover during the Cliff Burton days and The Big Four pulled off a great show with this song live but Diamond Head are the ones who write the damn song, they deserve just as much credit, if not, more.

The song: Sweet and Innocent is the song just right after Am I Evil. Starting off with the main catchy riff from the performance of Brian Tatler which has to be one of many highlights in Lightning to the Nations. The lyrics are a rather typical love song but to put it in a speed metal track such as this and sounding heavy as hell makes it a nice twist. Sean Harris does an excellent job singing this song as well as providing a chorus that will stick in your head the first time you hear it. Overall, Sweet and Innocent is an awesome song and makes a contribution to the album as great as the other songs.

Week 7: Agent Steel - Rager

The artist: Agent Steel easily define themselves as speed metal, especially their first two albums. While many bands who get the term speed metal thrown at them easily fit in thrash (Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer) or power metal (the first few albums for Helloween, Blind Guardian and Running Wild), Agent Steel definitely fit in as speed metal for Skeptics Apocalypse and Unstoppable Force. Agent Steel broke up after the release of Unstoppable Force but they reformed in 1998 with a new vocalist Bruce Hall. He was with the band until last year when he left, thus making a way for John Cyriis' triumphant return. That reason alone gives one person every right to hype up for their next album, even if very little has been said about it so far.

The album: Unstoppable Force is an incredible album with seven extremely fast songs and two ballads. Apart from the ballads to slow the pace, Unstoppable Force defines speed metal so much that if you look up this particular term in a dictionary, you better see this album mentioned. Otherwise, inform the dictionary company of this mistake. Many bands may have had a fistful of speed metal down your throat such as Slayer's Reign in Blood and Blind Guardian's Follow the Blind but Agent Steel manage to do it in a way that makes every song stand out from other

The song: Picking a rather "lovely" song for St. Valentine's Day, Rager is a fast pace number in Unstoppable Force. What makes this song stand out very well is the catchy galloping riff, John Cyriis' unlimited amount of energy he unleashes with his voice and shouting out some badass lyrical lines such as "HAMMERING METAL INTO YOUR HEADS" and "He's coming to town, he is THE RAGER" If that isn't metal, I don't know what is. Rager also contains a fast and melodic solo. Unstoppable Force is full of them but each one always sounds different to others. Agent Steel's lyrics mostly consist of aliens and conspiracy theories so this song about THE RAGER coming from space and hammering metal into your heads fits the song very appropriately, especially when it gives you the vision of a powerful alien terrorizing a city. Again, very appropriate for Valentine's Day.