So In The End...

So now we fly ever free;
We're free before the thunderstorm;
On towards the wilderness our quest carries on;
Far beyond the sundown, far beyond the moonlight;
Deep inside our hearts and all our souls.

--Dragonforce from the song Through The Fire and The Flames from the LP Inhuman Rampage, 2006

Last year I had my second heart surgery in eighteen months to repair a birth-defected valve.

In my recouping stage, I started playing more and more metal. A friend named John gave me a few CD’s from his collection—Lucca Turrelli solo albums: he being the guitarist of Rhapsody; Hamerfall Chapter V; Nightwish; Celesty; and Kamelot’s Black Halo. John referred to it as power metal. It had elements of Queen, Meatloaf, Classical Music, Goth Music; Moody Blues, Judas Priest, and something I had never heard before or since. I was hooked.

To help understand more, I ordered metal books to read during the recovery process—not necessarily Power Metal books, but not avoiding them either.

I chose a few books by Martin Popoff, a Canadian writer who had a passion for U.F. O., Rush, and Blue Oyster Cult. He also wrote numerous “Singles” and “Album” Guides on Metal. Seemed like a good place to begin—noting that one writer certainly has a bias. He seemed similar in age to me and musical interests; so I gave it a shot.

The eBay dealer I worked previously had tons of “Power Metal,” so I ordered quite a bit at a great discount. I also made my way to Amazon and found all of the Kamelot CD’s cheap. They were quickly becoming a favorite as the eBay dealer had the Hammerfall, Stratovarius, Mob Rules, Sonata Arctica, Rhapsody, and the like.

I was looking for a couple of Sonata Arctica and Rhapsody CD’s to fill in the gaps, when I came across a great Mail-In Discount Dealer called Sentinel Steel. They almost exclusively deal with Power Metal and sell them at a discount: check them out on my links.

So the list grew and grew and between Mail-order, eBay, Amazon, scouring pawn shops (uh, cheapest there because most people here in the Mid-West do not know what it is and they run a dollar or so per CD), I immersed myself in Power Metal. Noting the “Fantasy” themes of the music, I have always been a fan of Gothic literature, Myths, and the like—so it was a natural fit.

Then something strange happened; I began playing some of this music to set tones for my freshman Ancient History classes. We cover Vikings, I played some Tyr, Hammerfall, and the like. When covering Elizabeth Bathory—I played some Bathory music; when covering Ancient Greeks, Kamelot was playing occasionally in the background. Kids would copy it for power points or show some interest. Music and culture go hand-in-hand and the students began to incorporate themes studied with the music in power-points and other assorted projects. I wrote to Kamelot’s management and Hammerfall’s management and they were thrilled—so much so the students were sent autographed pictures of posters and photos for the classes.

I also noted the tax-paying bodies of my district were not giving their hard-earned wages for “Devil Music” or wasting time. I understood that and every time I played something, it was during “study time” or used to set tones—with my emphasis that music made today would not have been possible in ancient times. I never played anything vulgar or inappropriate, and I never will. Still, the themes of discovery, victory, quests, defeat, human frailties and the like certainly existed within the music I chose. Considering most of the music was not “American” per se and dealt with a more traditional “European” edge, the students saw it as a reflection of an occidental “other” that seem to dot the thematic study and approach of Ancient History.

Seems as if I am justifying myself, and perhaps I am.

When one is recovering from surgery, I could have taken a more submissive role, but I was playing things to “get the heart moving.” I felt a more stand and deliver feeling, especially after the second surgery. I felt some anger for going in again, but also some relief when it was all over.

So I decided to quit pretending and pleasing everyone to a degree in all aspects of my newly found and newly changed life, as I decided that Ricky Nelson was right: “It’s all right now, I learned my lesson well; you can’t please everyone so you got to please yourself.” (Uh…not something to write in a “Metal” site, I understand; but it fit).

Relationship changes, rediscovery, re-emphasis on that which is important and perhaps some clearing and de-cluttering of life and music lead me to the path I am on.

So I will use this site to explore and offer up some musically distant choices. I have always loved classical and the themes explored and I found a modern version of it in these recent months. And in my exploration here is a fairly complete—probably missing a few—CD’s over the last eight months that have joined the collection. If you can offer suggestions, please feel free to do so, in the meantime—take a look:

ANGRA Angel’s Cry
ANGRA Fireworks
ANGRA Holy Land
ANGRA Temple of shadows
ANGRA Rebirth
ANGUISH Symmetry
ASTRAL DOORS Astralism
AXENSTAR Perpetual Twilight
AXENSTAR Far From Heaven
BATHORY Hammerheart

BATHORY Oktagon 1995

BLIND GUARDIAN A Night at the Opera
BLIND GUARDIAN
CHINCHILLA Madness
CIRCLE II CIRCLE (Savatage) Watching In Silence
CREMATORY Illusions

DARK MOOR Dark Moor
DARK MOOR The Gates of Oblivion
DARK MOOR Shadowland
DARK MOOR Beyond the Sea
DARK MOOR Hall of Olden Dreams
DIO / ELF Dream Evil & Trying To Burn The Sun

DIO Lock Up The Wolves
DIO Master of the Moon
DIONYSUS Sign of Truth
DOMINE Dragonlord
DRAGONFORCE Sonic Firestorm
DRAGONFORCE Valley Of The Damned
DRAGONFORCE Inhuman Rampage
DRAGONLAND Battle of the Ivory Plains
DRAGONLAND Holy War
DRAGONLAND Astronomy
EDGUY Kingdom Of Madness
EDGUY Theater Of Salvation

EDGUY The Savage Poetry

EDGUY Hellfire Club

EDGUY Rocket Ride

EPICA The Road To Paradiso

EPICA Consighn To Oblivion

EPICA The Phantom Agony

EPICA We Will Take You With Us
ETERNA Terra Nova
EVANESCENCE Fallen Angel

EVANESCENCE The Open Door
EVERON Paradoxes

EVERON Flood

EVERON Venus

EVERON Fantasma I

EVERON Bridge

FAULKENBACH Heralding The Fireblade
FREEDOM CALL Stairway To Fairyland
FREEDOM CALL Crystal Empire
FREEDOM CALL Eternity
FRETERNIA A Nightmare Story
GRIM REAPER Rock You To Hell
HADES The Downside
HAMMER FALL Legacy of Kings
HAMMER FALL Crimson Thunder
HAMMER FALL Glory to the Brave
HAMMER FALL Renegade
HAMMER FALL Chapter V: Unbroken
HAMMER FALL Threshold
HARMONY Dreaming Awake
HEAVENLY Virus
HELLOWEEN Helloween & Master Of The Rings

HELLOWEEN Walls of Jericho & Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I HELLOWEEN Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II & Judas

HELLOWEEN Chameleon & Power

HELLOWEEN Pink Bubbles Go Ape & Future World

IRON FIRE Revenge
IRON MASK Horders Of The Brave
JACK STARRS Guardian of the Flame
JAG PANZER Thane to the Throne
JAG PANZER Casting Stones
KAMELOT Dominion
KAMELOT Siege Perilous

KAMELOT Epica
KAMELOT Karma
KAMELOT The Fourth Legacy
KAMELOT The Black Halo
KAMELOT One Cold Winter’s Night
KENZINER Prophecies
LABYRINTH Sons of Thunder
LABYRINTH Return to Heaven Denied
LABYRINTH Freeman
LUNATICA Fables 7 Dreams

LUNATICA The Edge Of Infinity

MANILLA ROAD Out Of The Abyss

MANILLA ROAD The Courts Of Chaos

MANILLA ROAD The Circus Maximus

MANILLA ROAD Atlantis Rising

MANILLA ROAD Spiral Castle

MANILLA ROAD Gates Of Fire
MANOWAR Battle Hymns & Sign Of The Hammer

MANOWAR Into Glory Ride & Hail To England
MASQUERADE Surface of Pain
MOB RULES Among The Gods

MOB RULES Hollowed By The Name
MYSTIC PROPHECY Regressus
NEW EDEN Obscure Master Plan
NIGHTSHADE Wielding The Scythe
NIGHTWISH Oceanborn
NIGHTWISH Wishmaster
NIGHTWISH Wishsides
NIGHTWISH Best of…
NOCTURNAL RITES The Sacred Talisman
NOCTURNAL RITES Shadowland
NOCTURNAL RITES New Messiah
NOSTRADAMEUS Words Of Nostradameus

NOSTRADAMEUS Prophet Of Evil

NOSTRADAMEUS The Third Prophecy

NOSTRADAMEUS Hellbound
OPUS ATLANTICA Opus Atlantica
PARADISE LOST Draconian Times
PLATITUDE Nine
POWER SYMPHONY Lightbringer
PRIMAL FEAR Primal Fear
PRIMAL FEAR Jaws of Death

PRIMAL FEAR Nuclear Fire
PRIMAL FEAR Black Sun

PRIMAL FEAR Devil’s Ground
PRIMAL FEAR Seven Seals
RAINBOW Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll & Bent Out Of Shape
REPTILIAN Castle of Yesterday

REPTILIAN Thunderblaze
REQUIEM The Arrival

REQUIEM Mask of Damnation

RHAPSODY Dawn of Victory
RHAPSODY Rain of a Thousand Flames
RHAPSODY Symphony of Enchanted Lands
RHAPSODY Power Of The Dragonflame 2002
RHAPSODY Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II
RHAPSODY OF FIRE Triumph Or Agony
RIVAL State of Mind
SACRED STEEL Bloodlust
SAVATAGE Sirens
SAVATAGE Power Of the Night
SAVATAGE Poets And Madmen
SAVATAGE Ghost in the Ruins

SAVATAGE Hall of the Mountain King
SAVATAGE Edge of Thorns

SAVATAGE Fight for the Rock
SAVATAGE Gutter Ballet

SAVATAGE Handful of Rain

SAVATAGE Power of the Night

SAVATAGE The Wake of Magellan
SAXXON The Very Best Album Ever
SECRET SPHERE Mistress of the Shadowlight
SECRET SPHERE Heart & Anger

SERAPHIM Ai (Beauty and some Beast)
SEVEN SERAPHIM Believe In Angels
SEVENTH WONDER Waiting In The Wings

SHADOWS FADE Shadows Fade
SKYLARK Wings
SLAYER Seasons In The Abyss
SONATA ARCTICA Ecliptica
SONATA ARCTICA Silence
SONATA ARCTICA Reckoning Night
SONATA ARCTICA Winterheart’s Guild
STEEL ATTACK Where Mankind Falls
STEEL PROPHET Dark Hallucinations
STRATOVARIUS Fright Night
STRATOVARIUS Twilight Time
STRATOVARIUS 4th Dimension
STRATOVARIUS Destiny
STRATOVARIUS Episode
STRATOVARIUS Dreamspace
STRATOVARIUS Elements I
STRATOVARIUS Elements II
STRATOVARIUS Intermission
STRATOVARIUS Visions
STRATOVARIUS Infinite
STRATOVARIUS Chosen Ones
STRATOVARIUS Stratovarius
SUPREME MAJESTY Elements of Creation
TAD MOROSE Undead
TAD MOROSE Modus Vivendi
LUCA TURILLI Prophet of the Last Eclipse
LUCA TURILLI King of the Nordic Twilight
TYGERS OF PAN TANG Best of the Tygers of Pan Tang
TYR Eric The Red
WUTHERING HEIGHTS Shadow Cabinet
ZONATA Buried Alive

The Middle...

"I am a man who walks alone,

And when I'm walking a dark road,

At night or strolling through the park,

When the light begins to change,

I sometimes feel a little strange,

A little anxious when it's dark.

Fear of the dark,fear of the dark,

I have constant fear that something's always near.

Fear of the dark,fear of the dark,

I have a phobia that someone's always there."
--Bruce Dickerson, Iron Maiden from “Fear of the Dark,” 1992.

During my post-college years, I was busy establishing myself as an eighties “decent music” argument maker. There were great music by the likes of Costello, The Clash, Cheap Trick, The Ramones, and the like.

I was also playing stuff the kids gave me and became interested in grunge and alternative music.

Then eBay happened.

I started buying tons of discs to sell at garage sales and local pawn shops. I was good, very good; in knowing what was out-of-print and/or rare.

I also knew what sold.

Then I hit upon a few Goldmines. One was a guy who had a ton of Metal CD’s that he was unloading because his brother did not pay him rent. I snagged tons of CDs by such artists as Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, and Pantera. I started selling these at a small fortune—so I burned a few to play. I liked some Megadeth and all of the Metallica.

I also found a guy who had the rare Castle British Two-fers of the first six Iron Maidens CD’s for a mere price of $1.50 each. These were selling for $35.00 a pop on eBay. I also copied all of these.

I was never much of a fan of Iron Maiden—probably because I did not listen to it, but mostly because I had not heard any of it on the radio and the like and because I worked on a newspaper with an editor in college who was a big Maiden fan. I felt he was an idiot and anything he liked had to be just awful—so I avoided it. Call it self-motivated snobbery.

Anyway, I started playing and liking Maiden. Pam (the former wife) was into Guns ‘N’ Roses and Metallica. She also went into her, what I like to call, “Alternative/Metal” phase of playing the likes of Fuel, Staind, Godsmack, and their ilk. She went to a few concerts, on her own of these groups. I would have just felt out of place going—but she liked it. She played some, and I had to admit, Staind and Fuel had their moments, but Korn and Nine Inch Nails just were too loud and too obnoxious for me.

Anyway, after I made a small fortune on eBay and combing pawn shops for cheap metal, I met an eBay dealer who sold me tons of metal CD’s discounted. He must have owned a warehouse, and I started buying stuff just to own it. From these deals, I amassed the entire Nazareth, AC/DC, Van Halen, Scorpions, Kiss, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Slade (a bit more glam), Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Metallica, and Megadeth catalogs to name a few—I also snagged some nice Blue Oyster Cult early Aerosmith, and Motley Crue CD’s.

I went back and played these albums, nearly twenty years after many of their original releases and decided there was something of merit on them—and my snobbery was really not needed.

Taking some heat from friends who still knew me as a sophisticated “classic rock,” “punk rock,” “rockabilly,” “oldies,” and “blues” aficionado; I really began to reexamine my whole concept of Metal. Was this music “Metal” or “Hard Rock” and did it matter?

I think anyone would argue that Sabbath, Priest and Metallica was “metal,” but one could safely argue that AC/DC was more hard rock—as was Van Halen, Maiden, BOC, Scorpions, and Aerosmith.

I began reading about it, as this was a bother for me. Seriously, as trivial as it seemed, I wanted some direction. The “Heavy Metal” I knew as a kid had changed. There were now new divisions as there was Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, Power Metal, Classic Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Symphonic Metal, Black Metal, and so many more classifications. Realistically, Thrash would never allow a keyboard that I might find in Deep Purple. High pitched voices like those used in Rush and Priest gave way to guttural growls. All of which still belonged in various sub-genres of Heavy Metal.

I thought the rebirth of Metal was nearly complete, but there was one final turn to take.

That part of the story in the next blog.

In the Beginning...

“There must be something

There must be something

That remains

A fire of unknown origin

Took my baby away

A fire of unknown origin

Took my baby

Took my baby away”

--Blue Oyster Cult; “Fire of Unknown Origin” from the LP of the same name, 1982.

The four hour documentary Heavy: The Metal Years played on VH1 last evening until 2:00 AM. I, of course, watched it and started thinking back to my earliest days of liking Heavy Metal.

1980, I had my first job—a “worker” at Burger King for a mere $1.90 an hour. I remember after earning my first paycheck, I went to the local record shop, which also sold stereo equipment and bought The Rolling Stones Hot Rocks LP and The Who’s Meaty, Beaty, Big, and Bouncy LP. The next paycheck, I went in and bought Rush’s 2112, Ted Nugent’s Cat Scratch Fever, Alice Cooper’s Flush The Fashion, Nazareth’s Hair of the Dog, and some Jethro Tull albums. I was a junior in high school.

Rush was probably my favorite.

Throughout the months that followed, I bought the Rush Archives LP, which was a three record set of their first three albums (Caress of Steel my personal favorite there), Blue Oyster Cult’s Agent of Fortune, Black Sabbath’s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Judas Priest’s British Steel, most of the Kiss albums, and other oddities of rock.

My tastes turned to more classic rock when I dated a girl named Abby and she was a Beatle freak. Then I hung around with friends who liked Billy Joel and Chicago. I went to the Punk side because it was different, and a friend named Ed made tapes for me of The Clash, The Ramones, 999, and a few others. When I saw Rock ‘N’ Roll High School through my folk’s subscription to Showtime, I was hooked on Punk—in fact at Ottawa High School in the lovely Mid-West of the great state of Illinois, I was considered a punk rock expert—probably because the “kids” were playing Journey, REO Speedwagon, and Foreigner.

Still, I played Classic Rock and Metal. My favorite bands of the Metal genre included Blue Oyster Cult, Deep Purple, some Sabbath (to be honest, Black Sabbath kind of scared me a bit—I believed the “Satanic” hype), Alice Cooper, Rush, U.F.O., and Judas Priest. My brother was attending college at Bradley and bought me LP’s for Christmas my Junior Year as he could snag cut-outs cheaply. The list included No Place To Run by U.F.O.; Nazareth’s Close Enough For Rock ‘N’ Roll; the four Kiss Solo albums; and some punk and new wave.

I then joined Columbia Records and tapes and pulled “the starter collection” of twelve albums for a penny, mail in the card, and pay up the backside for postage. My twelve included AC/DC’s Back In Black and Dirty Deeds, Blue Oyster Cult’s Spectres, and Weekend Warriors from Nugent.

After reading Rolling Stones magazine, I ordered some mail-order record catalogs from various companies and became entrenched in tons of various albums—most of which were cut-outs. I remember ordering the first three Blue Oyster Cult albums as well as Culterous Erectous to add to the collection.

Then Disc Jockey (an in-mall record shop) started receiving tons of cut-outs and import albums pressed on cheap vinyl from various countries. I went nuts buying all of the Sabbath stuff cheap, Rush’s Moving Pictures (still one of my favorite albums of all time), tons of Rolling Stones (I know, not Metal—but still), and various punk music.

I think I really converted when, during my senior year, my friend and later college roommate Keith and I went to see Heavy metal. I bought the soundtrack and loved it. Keith liked it as well and we were swapping albums and listening to each other’s stuff. Somewhere along the line I purchased more Judas Priest like Screaming for Vengeance, and AC/DC’s For Those About To Rock, and the like.

Keith and I went to a Junior College and the first show we saw, the first concert I ever saw, was Blue Oyster Cult with Aldo Nova as an opening act. It was the Fire of Unknown Origins tour. We both had that album and thought it was great. We also saw Rush on the Signals Tour and Ozzy Osbourne.

Then, when I went to ISU, I abandoned metal for a while—although I kept my albums, cassettes and even the old eight-tracks. I remember we went around ISU flinging an AC/DC Back In Black LP through the quad. This was the post-punk artsy-fartsy years. Whereas I like some of that music today; then it was more of a “Metal is Dead and Buried Concept”—and why not? I hardly considered Motley Crue, Poison, Quiet Riot, and the schlock on MTV as metal. I hated it all those 80’s glam and hair bands were lame.

I abandoned most of those LP’s and the like to sell at local record shops and work my way back into classic rock. I collected all I could of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Jethro Tull, Rockpile, Elvis Costello and the like. I considered metal a trifle interest of my youth.

Then I had to flash-forward nearly twenty years until I collected it again.

That story will appear on the next post.

Where I Began...Again

Will you revive

From the chaos in my mind,

Where we still are bound together;

Will you be there,

Waiting by the gates of dawn,

When I close my eyes forever?

From "Forever" from the LP Epica, 2004

Kamelot started my revival in metal.

My friend John ordered the CD Black Halo, and I played a few tracks when the CD was delivered. I asked him to burn it for me, and then I was hooked.

It was symphonic, power metal.

Most metal for me was fairly hard, fast, and well, metallic sounding. Having been raised on Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult (the latter being the first band I ever saw in concert), I was a bit of a “radio-friendly” quasi-metal-head. In many regards, I still am.

I have tried to listen to the guttural groans of some of the current bands, but it really does nothing for me.

Kamelot, however, revived a spark. Owing something to Goth and classical music, this was enlightening for me. Black Halo just grows on the listener as the songs mount with fury, a double bass, an incredibly melodic vocalist, and fast guitars. When they wish to be, like Abandoned, the band turns to a softer, almost yearning side.

After indulging myself in the car for three weeks of playing nothing but this CD, I was ready to buy other Kamelot CD’s and started checking out “Power Metal.” To me, this was like a kid opening a candy store and finding no bad tastes.

I cued into XM radio on AOL, as they actually have a “power metal” station. I even began replaying Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. I felt there was a kinship of sorts which existed.

Then I went back and ordered more “classical hard rock/metal from an eBayer and suddenly, I was transported back to 1980, as a punk Midwesterner, playing air-guitar, annoying his parents who complained to “turn it down,” and jamming to the likes of Sabbath, Priest, The Scorpions, and BOC. The more I listened to XM power metal, the more I enjoyed it.

Then this spring, some magical happened of sorts. After recovering from my second heart surgery in 18 months—they fixed right this time, see my parent blog for details in April of 2006—I was watching MTV and “Metal” documentary by Sam Dunn was on. It was fantastic.

As a Sociology minor and teacher of Sociology, I was amazed at the social factors of the genre and the truly interesting interpretation of Dunn made about Metal and the audiences of the band—even the basic composure of the bands themselves. These guys are not fools; actually they are very gifted with intellect and musicianship.

I became entrenched as it were with the genre.

Hopefully this site will offer me the opportunity to glimpse at and explore the “power” and “classical metal” genre.

To my friends, and doubting Thomas’s that always knew as a punk rocker and classic rock guy—a note if you will; I am still that guy. But I have collected everything of those genres that I reasonably could. I will never turn from Elvis Costello, The Who, The Ramones, Jethro Tull, The Clash, Cheap Trick, The Jam, and so many others—I will never say any group could ever or will ever be as great as The Beatles.

Just check in once in a while and let me know if you might be willing to try some of the offerings herein.

Welcome

Hi.

I was thinking of doing this in that Cryptic font stuff, but I changed my mind.

This is my new site for Metal Moments that focuses on Power Metal and Symphonic Metal and Classic Metal.

All Comments, fears, condemnations, and fun are to be listed.

Thanks!