en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal The Last.fm journal for jhallum. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2008/04/17/p5v_early_spring_haul_part_2 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:18:49 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2008/04/17/p5v_early_spring_haul_part_2 Dream Theater--Greatest Hit(and 21 other Songs)
Rush--Snakes And Arrows Live
Mustasch--Latest Version Of The Truth
Firewind--The Premonition

Ok, I think that's enough for a while. Even though I still don't have

Zero Hour--Dark Deceiver
Children of Bodom--Blooddrunk
I have to stop for a bit.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2008/04/14/p5u_early_spring_haul_%28someone_stop_me%21%29 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:08:04 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2008/04/14/p5u_early_spring_haul_%28someone_stop_me%21%29 \Here's my most recent set of purchases from various places (including Impulse Music, and the local used joint):

Gamma Ray--Land Of The Free II
Coheed and Cambria--No World For Tomorrow
Dominici--O3, A Trilogy: Part 3
Nightwish--Amaranth
Northern Kings--Reborn
Rage--Carved In Stone
Eluveitie--Slania
Avantasia--The Scarecrow
Thy Majestie--Jeanne D'Arc

And there's still more coming! Whee!]]> http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2008/03/21/p5t_late_winter_haul Fri, 21 Mar 2008 01:04:28 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2008/03/21/p5t_late_winter_haul Mercenary/Architect Of Lies

This should be good, they have always put out quality stuff.

Benedictum/Seasons Of Tragedy

This seems to be tamer than their first on first listen, but so far so good.

Sacrum/Cognition

Sampled some myspace stuff of theirs. Looks like good Prog Metal

Dark Suns/Grave Human Genuine

This should be good cross between Pain of Salvation and other of the 'weirder' prog metal bands. I'm looking forward to this one

Kingfisher Sky/Hallway of Dreams

Haven't listened to this yet, but it's supposed to be some good Prog Rock

Gates of Winter/Lux Aeterna

Interesting Gothic Metal. These guys are from West Ontario, so I feel like these guys are almost local. :-)

Saint Deamon/In Shadows Lost From The Brave

Threw this in at the last minute when they were announced for PP. Good solid Melodic metal.

Tiles/Fly Paper

Got this at their CD Release Party last week. Good Prog Rock/metal. Their video Sacred and Mundane is quite good

Discipline/Unfolded Like Staircase
Discipline/Push and Profit

These are both older disks, and I saw them open for Tiles. Moody, Dark, offbeat Prog Rock. Singer reminds me a bit of Jim Morrison in places. I really dug them on first listen. I hope they go around and play more dates.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2008/01/31/p5s_top_listened_to_albums_over_3.5_years. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:45:01 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2008/01/31/p5s_top_listened_to_albums_over_3.5_years. I started using iTunes in August 2004 when I got my first iPod, and since then I've been using iTunes to religiously record what I've been listening to. Not surprisingly, this list is pretty much stuff that I've bought since then. Shock! The stuff I listen to most is the stuff I just bought!

1. Angra / Temple of Shadows 73.4
Maybe the best power metal album in 3+ years.

2. Morgana Lefay / Grand Materia 59.3

Maybe the best Melodic Thrash disk ever.

3. Adagio / Dominate 58.3

Nice blend of melody and agression, love this disk.

4. Redemption / The Fullness of Time 57.3

What more needs to be said?

5. Vanden Plas / Christ 0 52.8

Their best disk.

6. Orphaned Land/ Mabool: The Story of The Three Sons of Seven 51.75

Great middle-eastern vibe type of a weird disk.

7. Kamelot / The Black Halo 46.2

Smooth as silk, hard as iron.

8. Bloodbound / Nosferatu 45.9

Great galloping power metal!

9. Nightwish / Once 43.7

Nightwish's best (excepting maybe Oceanborn).

10.Threshold / Dead Reckoning 43.4

Great Threshold disk, hitting on all cylinders.

11.Circus Maximus / The 1st Chapter 43.1

Much better than their recent. I love this one.

12.Venturia / The New Kingdom 41.6

Nice light prog metal with a male and female singer, like PRR, I like the interplay between the two.

13.Opeth / Ghost Reveries 39.8

Opeth's best, IMO.

14.Symphony X / Paradise Lost 39.1

Another nice blend of aggression and melody. This disk has been climbing fast since it only came out in June.

15.Redemption / The Origins of Ruin 38.3

Same with this one.

15.Lordi /The Arockalypse 38

my (somewhat) guilty pleasure. This reminds me of when I was 16 listening to Kiss in my room.

16.Evergrey / Monday Morning Apocalypse 37

Not their best, but pretty damn good.

17.Firewind / Allegiance 36.6

Man, can Apollo sing. can't wait for the next one.

18.Kamelot / Ghost Opera 35.9

This one's also rising fast, might over take Black Halo

18.Pure Reason Revolution / The Dark Third 35.8

Who cares if the lyrics don't make sense? It's all about the melody, stupid!

19.OSI / Free 35.7

Finally, OSI clicks with me, about time!

20.Benedictum / Uncreation 35.5

That's a man singing, baby! (at least until you meet her in person).

21.Sonata Arctica / Reckoning Night 35

Best Sonata in their catalog.

22.Dream Theater / Octavarium 34.1

Not the best DT, merely the one I've listened to most often.

23.Tarot / Crows Fly Black 33.7

See, I got on this Marco kick after Once came out...and I haven't looked back. One of the most underrated vox in metal.

23.Into Eternity / Buried in Oblivion 33.5

Also their best disk in their catalog

24.Frameshift / An Absence of Empathy 33.2

Sebastian's best work since Slave to the Grind.

25.Pyramaze / Legend of the Bone Carver 33.0

Lance King's best work with Pyramaze

26.Rage / Speak of the Dead 32.3

Not their best, but pretty damn good.

27.Zero Hour / Specs of Pictures Burnt Beyond 32.3

By far and away the disk that has clicked with me the most.

28.Division / Trinity 32.2

How did this sneak in here? Oh yeah, it's pretty damn good. Where is the new one!

29.Enertia / Force 31.8

A smashingly good thrash disk. Where is their newest?

30.Pink Cream 69 / Thunderdome 31.4

See 23, but replace Marco Hietala with David Readman (and remove the underrated part)

31.Masterplan / Aeronautics 31

Why, oh why did Jorn forsake these guys?

32.Scar Symmetry / Pitch Black Progress 30.8

Good stuff!

33.Delain / Lucidity 30.0

see 23.

34.Adagio / Underworld 29.9

See 30.

35.Angra / Aurora Consurgens 29.7

Not as good as Temple of Shadows sadly, but it's symmetry to begin and end this list with one of my favorite bands (only Kamelot ranks higher, I think).]]> http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2008/01/25/p5r_incoming_haul%2C_and_recently_arrived. Fri, 25 Jan 2008 21:45:39 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2008/01/25/p5r_incoming_haul%2C_and_recently_arrived. Here's a short list of stuff that is incoming, or recently arrived in the household:

3/The End is Begun
Within Temptation/The Heart of Everything
Pagan's Mind/God's Equation
Rush/Exit... Stage Left

Myrath/Hope
Ayreon/01011001
Brainstorm/Downburst
Elvenking/The Scythe
Astral Doors/The New Revelation
Mystic Prophecy/Satanic Curses
Arena/Immortal?

Looking forward to some happy listening!]]> http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2007/12/02/p5q_super_fall_haulage Sun, 2 Dec 2007 02:16:59 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2007/12/02/p5q_super_fall_haulage I had a rampage through the CD stores in Boston and filled out the older, more hairy, parts of the collection:

Used:
Rush/Presto(rem)
Rush/All The World's A Stage(rem)
Rush/Hemispheres(rem)
Rush/Rush(rem)
Ratt/Reach for the Sky
Queensryche/Silent Lucidity((single)
Pink Floyd/The Wall
Ozzy Osbourne/No Rest for the Wicked
Def Leppard/On Through the Night
Cinderella/Night Songs
Aerosmith/Get A Grip

New:
Queensryche/Operation: Mindcrime (2 CD version w/Hammersmith Odeon show)
Opeth/The Roundhouse Tapes
Blind Guardian/Another Stranger Me(single)
Behold...The Arctopus/Nano-Nucleonic Cyborg Summoning
After Forever/After Forever
Heaven and Hell/Live From Radio City Music Hall
Nuclear Blast All-stars/Into The Light
Helloween/Gambling With The Devil

Spent lots of money (may as much as at Prog Power, but it was worth it.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2007/10/18/p5p_prog_power_haul_part_2 Thu, 18 Oct 2007 02:28:05 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2007/10/18/p5p_prog_power_haul_part_2 Here's some of the other stuff I picked up at Prog Power (and other places over the last few weeks):

Darkwater--Calling the Earth to Witness

Darkwater is a Progressive Metal band from Sweden. Their sound is very chunky guitars laid over airy keys and clean piano sounds, with a pretty standard Prog Metal vocalist on board for the voice. I really like the chunkiness of this disk, but the voice can be pretty piercing.

Dead Air Radio--Signal To Noise Ratio

These guys are my find of the year so far. This band self financed a CD, and they aren't signed yet. IMO, this is the New Band of the Year in my book. They are another Progressive Metal band, again with the standard prog metal voice, but the musical influences are clearly a blend of Modern Rock and Liquid Tension Experiment or early 2000's DT. There are some serious chops here, and these guys can really burn it up instrumentally. The sound on this disk is so good, I can't believe it's self financed. Check it out, if you can, this is really good stuff.

Riverside--Rapid Eye Movement

I'm still digesting this one, but my first inclination is that this is much more ambient than their last two, which is kind of too bad, they can rip it up with the best of them instrumentally. More listens required.

Ride the Sky--New Protection

The singer on this band reminds me much of Jorn Lande, which is part of the reason I liked this disk enough to buy it. It helps that this is also Uli Kusch's new project, and everything he's done recently (Beautiful Sin,Masterplan) has been really dang good. So far, I think it's not as good as the last two bands he's helped get off of the ground, but it's not a stinker or anything.

Pathosray--Pathosray

The paper tag that Laser's Edge includes with this CD in the US describes this as a blend of Eldritch, Symphony X, Nevermore). That's pretty accurate. The vocalist is aggressive and raspy/high-pitched, and the music is more power-oriented rather than prog oriented, though there is a progressive feel to it (like most power/prog metal). I like it so far, but like a lot of the prog stuff, it takes time to digest.

Eyefear--A World Full Of Grey

I'm listening to this disk right now, and it's very much a classical Progressive Metal disk. The difference between this and the Darkwater, or the Dead Air Radio, is that there hasn't been a heck of a lot to distinguish it from the rest of the Prog Metal I've been buying. I'm rather bummed, this might be the disappointing CD of the lot (not that it's bad, per se, it's just rather plain).

----

Also, from the FYE in Twelve Oaks Mall (they have an end-cap of used metal, very cool):

Dethklok--Metalocalypse

I've loved this cartoon for a long time. I'm not a real big death metal fan, but this is melodic enough, and hilarious enough, that I think it is great. Hopefully this show will be coming our way on stage this fall, that would be really cool.

Tarot--Suffer Our Pleasures

I found this in a used bin at FYE, one of the better finds I've had lately. We both liked Tarot's last disk Crows Fly Black, so buying this disk was a no-brainer for $6. After one listen, it's not as aurally diverse as CFB, but I really like Marco's voice. I'm glad I found it.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2007/10/15/p5o_prog_power_haul_part_1 Mon, 15 Oct 2007 01:09:37 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2007/10/15/p5o_prog_power_haul_part_1 Every Prog Power, I try to pick up a load of CDs. When metal CDs were harder to find in the US (only 6-7 years ago, you couldnt' find most metal CDs in the US!), it was out of necessity, but these days, its just habit.

Now, a week after Prog Power, I've had time to listen to most of these CDs once or twice, and here's a quick once over of some of them (and a more complete list):

Dream Theater--Master Of Puppets Official Bootleg
Dream Theater--Official Bootleg 05/18/98

I've strayed away from the official bootlegs for some reason. I have something like a dozen unofficial silvers and about 50-60 fan recorded shows that I've traded with others over the years, but I've just never gotten any of them. After hearing these, I think I'll have to buy more, especially some of the early special shows (A Change of Seasons at the Limelight from 1993 anyone?)

Thought Chamber--Angular Perceptions

This disk features Ted Leonard from Enchant on vocals. It's good Prog Metal, and more than a bit heavier than Enchant, which is fine with me!

Amaran's Plight--Voice In The Light

This one has the mighty D.C. Cooper on vocals, and Gary Wehrkamp from Shadow Gallery on keys. D.C. is a can't miss vocalist for me (though I certainly waited long enough to get this one and the next), and this is a nice prog rock/metal disk.

Steel Seal--By The Power Of Thunder

Here D.C. is more in his element as a Power metal vocalist. But between the two disks, he shows his versatility a bit, and he definitely does not disappoint! It's a bit generic, though, even with his pipes.



Morgana Lefay--The Secret Doctrine
Morgana Lefay--Knowing Just as I

I saw Morgana Lefay two years running in Chicago at Powerfest, and where they were hawking their disks. For some reason, I never bought these two disks. After a pass through, it was a mistake not to get these earlier. Great thrash.

Primal Fear--New Religion

So far, this might be the one disk I like the least so far--but its still a disk I won't try to trade away. Everytime it Rains is an amazing duet with Simone Simons, and might be worth the rest of the CD right there.

Nightwish--Dark Passion Play

When the singles started appearing on this one, I was pensive, and I really didn't feel the buzz on this one. After a few times through it, I really like this one. It's more poppy than any of their disks have been to date, but I hope they can bounce back with a heavier disk after this one.

Balance of Power--Ten More Tales of Grand Illusion

I'm not sure why I never had this disk before. I think that there are great tracks here, Daybreaker, Savage Tears, and Under the Spell are great songs, and Lance King is another one of those Money vocalists in my book.

Canvas Solaris--Cortical Tectonics

Canvas Solaris is a Technical Metal trio out of the SE US, and they play some interesting and elaborate compositions. This one is notable because there are some great electric and acoustic performances here. This might be the surprise of the Prog Power purchases, I didn't expect this disk to be THIS good.

Thus ends Part one. Back later with Part II.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2007/10/08/p5n_top_10_through_oct_1%2C_2007. Mon, 8 Oct 2007 03:05:52 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2007/10/08/p5n_top_10_through_oct_1%2C_2007. Haven't done one of these here for a while. Here's what I've been really digging this year so far:



1. Symphony X-Paradise Lost
2. Threshold-Dead Reckoning
3. Redemption-The Origins Of Ruin
4. Dream Theater-Systematic Chaos
5. Kamelot-Ghost Opera
6. Devin Townsend-Ziltoid the Omniscient
7. Symphorce-Become Death
8. Tarot-Crows Fly Black
9. Deadsoul Tribe-A Lullaby for the Devil
10.Morgana Lefay-Aberrations Of The Mind]]> http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2006/09/21/p5m_top_10_through_october_2006%3A Thu, 21 Sep 2006 13:18:29 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/jhallum/journal/2006/09/21/p5m_top_10_through_october_2006%3A 10. Legend of the Bone Carver
9. The Duke
8. Monday Morning Apocalypse
7. The Arockalypse
6. Christ 0
5. Free
4. Dominate
3. The New Kingdom
2. Nosferatu
1. Speak of the Dead

hon mention:
Pitch Black Progress
The Dark Third]]>