Jelonek

I discovered this one via Last.fm radio last month, while I was staying in a hotel after a sewer flood at my apartment (yuck). Taking advantage of the free internet for the nearly three weeks I was displaced, I listened to online radio in hopes of discovering cool new music. It worked, because I happened upon this guy, Michał Jelonek. If you like symphonic metal, you need to hear Jelonek! The following videos are two examples of how well a violinist such as Michał fits into a band that is otherwise full of metal instruments. They are also great examples of why vocalists are unnecessary (and I say this as a vocalist myself) -- music without words can be every bit as incredible!

He also wears a soldier's helmet with antlers attached, and makes ridiculous faces when posing for photos with fans. Basically, he just seems awesome in general.

Deathlike Silence

Every once in a while I need to be reminded how much I love this band. Their sound, their lyrics, their unique female singer who is a breath of fresh air to me (and easier to sing along with because her range and tone are similar to mine), their kitschy horror image, even the hearse they carry their instruments around in. I think it's time for a third Deathlike Silence album!

I'm having trouble figuring out how to post videos from the Blogger Android app, but if you have a moment, pop over to YouTube and check out their low-budget music video, "Six Feet Under the Ground." While you're there, take a listen to some of their other songs too. If you like a more classic metal sound, you just might enjoy Deathlike Silence with their horror-themed lyrics atop classically fun metal guitars.

Edit: Now that I'm at a PC, here's the video for your viewing pleasure:

Discoveries on the Horizon

I love discovering new bands. Sometimes they become favorites and sometimes I'm less impressed, but you never know until you try. Several of the new discoveries I've made have been by buying cheap, used CD's from the local new-and-used record store, Ernie November. They are usually CD's that would never be sold at any normal entertainment store in my area, but the strangest things end up at Ernie for $5 or less. One of my absolute favorite albums was acquired this way. This past week, I bought two new (used) CD's there.

The first one that caught my eye was a band called Evemaster, and the album is called Wither. I have never heard of this band before, but I liked the album art (hey, sometimes that's all it takes!) Looking at the back of the CD, I noticed the copyright was held by a record company in Phoenix, AZ. Being from Arizona, I wondered if this was a local AZ band I hadn't heard of. I did a quick Google search and it turns out they are actually a metal band from Finland. Now, most metal from Finland is somewhere in between "Pretty decent" and "Friggin' awesome" so this CD went into my proverbial shopping cart.

The second one I ended up with was Austria's Visions of Atlantis, and their 2011 album Delta. This is a band name I recognized, though I wasn't sure why. I think it is simply because they've toured with Epica. I have never heard their music, but my Google search tells me they have been compared with other bands I like or can at least tolerate, so I figured it was worth a shot!

If either of these albums strikes my fancy, I will probably be posting a review or simply a post full of excited raving. In the meantime, I'd like to encourage you all to support your local record stores, because the people who own and work at them are generally pretty cool, and you never know what discoveries you might make!

Good Music vs. Bad

First, I present to you one of the worst songs I've ever heard: "Want U Back" by Cher Lloyd. I consider it an awful song for the following reasons:

1. The lyrics are one of the dumbest things ever written. If you don't want to watch the video below, or can't make it through the whole thing, you should at least read the lyrics to get the full effect of their stupidity.

2. She sings the entire thing in a very annoying, whiny voice, sounding exactly like the spoiled brat the lyrics portray.

3. There's basically no musical creativity involved in this song at all. I think a 12-year-old could have written better.

4. They couldn't even spell out the word "You" for heaven's sakes.

Now, onto a song I personally consider one of my favorites: "Scaretale" by Nightwish. Even if it isn't your cup of tea you can probably still admit that it's a good song because:

1. It was incredibly well thought-out and composed, with an AWESOME heavy guitar riff that is one of my favorites EVER, surrounded by thematic orchestral and choral arrangements, and perfectly-placed background elements that bring a new level to a multi-dimensional piece of music.

2. The lyrics are poetic and bring to mind very vivid images of the landscape created by both the musical atmosphere and the general theme of the song and album it came from.

3. No matter how much you hate Anette Olzon, you have to admit that the witch-like voice she puts on in this song is fitting and she does a good job changing her voice to fit the theme of the song.

4. If reasons 1-3 didn't convince you, it will still sound a thousand times better in comparison with the first song I posted.

Welcome to the Blog! + Hysterica

Welcome and thanks for stopping by my brand-new metal-focused blog. As a proper opening, I thought this song seemed appropriate. It is by all-female, Swedish metal band Hysterica -- The Girls Made of Heavy Metal. I suggest doing as the video title says and switching to High Quality if it defaults to a lower quality version. This is a great video and I love this band full of kick-ass metal ladies who know how to make awesome music and have fun doing it.