Symphonic Metal - Dutch - Page 10

The new Leaves' Eyes comes out this coming Tuesday (along with the new Midnattsol). I can't get enough of their Mike Oldfield cover:

The "I see a picture..." part sends shivers down my spine. I don't know if you guys are fans of Leaves' Eyes, but if you ARE, be forewarned that they have developed into a more Celtic, almost "folk" sound. I think it's actually a good move on their part. Alexander Krull's growls are largely absent, as if to say "this is completely Liv's band now" (leaving him to concentrate on Atrocity). It's also the first album NOT to feature Liv on the cover, another good move because all their albums look the same. I LOVE the new cover:

 

 

There's also an EP coming called "Melusine," which is a non-album track that's heavier than ANYTHING on "Meredead" (and LARGELY features Alex' growling).  It also has acoustic and remixed versions of a few "Meredead" tracks.  I've read that this whole EP is part of a compilation given away with a music magazine I've never heard of, but will be a separate release as well. Love this cover, too:

 

 

Whoever this cover model is, she's gorgeous.

 

Sorry to go on such a rant, but I love it...

Oh, I am a fan, a big one Don. I have all their stuff, I just love Liv's voice and I love this new direction their going. Love the CD...and yes, the cover (girl)  is amazing, nice change for the band. 

Listening to Pandora today and they slipped in a song from "In Tenebris". Not so much Symphonic as they are Goth. But I like it. Sadly, they are no more, broke up in 2007 but I'm trying to track down their albums. Here's their FaceBook page.

 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/in-tenebris/14257927935

In Tenebris IS a pretty good band; I've heard them before. I don't have any of their stuff, though. I don't know if you've heard of Imperia, but their new CD is F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C. In case you didn't know, Helen Michelson was formerly the lead singer for Epica, while they were still called Sahara Dust. She also has a middle-of-the-road career as "Angel." The reviews of "Secret Passion" say it's "more of the same" as the last Imperia album "but not as good." They're wrong... "Secret Passion" is hands down Imperia's best album to date. I's only available as an import, but I got it from CM Distro for $15. Unfortunately, it wasn't the digipak with the extra track as they advertised. They offered me a refund, but I told them I'd live with it. They proceeded to give me a $15 credit on my account!

I have a few other bands I want to mention, but I can't remember who they are at the moment...

Did they send you a cool Metal Army keychain?

No keychain...and they've seemingly stopped sending compliation/sampler CDs as well. I remember a day when I'd order ONE CD and they'd send about a dozen sampler discs (I'm not kidding). Now, it seems you can download tons of MP3s at Amazon, but it's just not the sane to me...

Another band I just found playing on Pandora is Echos of Eternity, me likes. More so a female led metal band than Symphonic though.  Also, they had a band listed as Darkwood, or so I thought. Nothing comes up on YouTube for them so I might have read it wrong. 

Picked up my first two Within Temptation CDs the other day; Mother Earth and A Silent Force. Both are very good, I love the sound of Sharon's voice but I had no idea that they are such a mellow sounding group, CDs that are chalk full of ballads. Not what I was expecting. I also can't see putting them in the Symphonic Metal class, more like just Metal. Good stuff though.

I finally get to see Within Temptation live in September! I'm VERY happy about that, although I'm sure much of the set will revolve around the latest album. Yeah, "The Silent Force" DOES have more than it's fair share of ballads. The next album "The Heart of Everything," delves into "heavier" territory, including one track which unfairly categorizes WT as "Evanescence rip-offs."

Echoes of Eternity are not for everyone. I like them, I just find their songs to be almost TOO progressive and all over the map.

Have you heard Amaranthe yet? Three vocalists: one female, two male (one "clean," the other one "growls.") This video is AWESOME, and Eliza is just brutally HOT (and she's in high-heeled boots! Me likey!).

More to come...

Where are you seeing Within Temptation Don? They have no dates in the States that I can find. I'm about ready to buy tickets for Nightwish, their playing at the Gibson theater here in LA at the Universal City Walk, next to Universal Studios.

 

 

Within Temptation are playing at Terminal 5 in NYC on September 10...I got my ticket months ago. They're only doing five dates on the east coast so far. I'm guessing they have other touring commitments that are preventing a full-blown US tour at this point. I'm sure they'll be back...

That Nightwish show should be amazing. I've read that this will be the first time they put on a "full" show in America. Word is that "Imaginarium" will be out before the end of the year, too!

I was really. . .um. . .tempted to fly up for that NYC show. I didn't know they were playing Worcester!!! I might theoretically be able to use frequent flyer miles to go up and crash at my parents' place in MA. . .but do I have time???

Oy vey. . .

Geez, only one Nightwish show in the US?

Two if you count 70000 Tons of Metal. I see the 2012 lineup for the cruise mostly isn't as good as the first one. Oh well, can't afford it this year anyway.

That Amaranthe is good stuff. Watching the video, I kept thinking "they're the Black-Eyed Peas of Euro-metal."

That's a pretty good assessment of Amaranthe...kinda....

My number one reason for kicking myself in the ass today: I just found out that Kamelot are playing in NYC tonight. Not a big deal for me. They're okay; I almost went to see them last year when Leaves' Eyes were slated to open, then Kamelot's singer "found religion" and left the band (tour cancelled). The self-ass-kicking is because all the female female parts are being handled by Simone from Epica and Elize from Amaranthe! Simone and Elize are right here in New York City RIGHT NOW, and I don't get to see them! Gaaaaaahhhhh!

I just ordered this today...with better production, this US band could become a force to be reckoned with:

It's not the best song they have, but it was the only decent-sounding track I could find on YouTube...

I've decided to pass on seeing Nightwish. The tickets are $50 and the seating is way in the back, if it were Tarja heading up the band it would be a no brainer, no matter how bad the seats but with Anette I'm just not quite impressed enough. We'll see how their new album Imaginaerum is and then maybe the next go-around I may see them live. 

 

As for now, I'm hooked on Luca Turilli's Dreamquest: Lost Horizons. I just received it today and am loving it. Some operatics in here that will challenge the best out there. 

Edited by Ron-P - 9/10/11 at 4:44pm

Ticket prices suck.

This Sunday, though, Absolute Queen is playing a free gig at the West Palm Beach waterfront amphitheater. The singer sounds nothing like Freddie Mercury (he also sings in an AC/DC tribute band!) but they put on a heck of a fun show.

I don't mind paying ticket prices if the seats are good. Like with ah-a and Kylie Minogue. Both were pricey but we had great seats so I was a happy man, but with Nightwish there just too expensive for the seating offered. 

Within Temptation update:

I have now seen my Big Three of Female-Fronted Euro-Metal in a live setting: Nightwish, Epica (twice), and FINALLY Within Temptation...

My life is complete, and I'm in love with Sharon den Adel more than ever. She looked and sounded great, the band sounded great, and although the set drew too much from "The Unforgiving," those songs came off GREAT live:

Shot In The Dark
In The Middle Of The Night
Faster
Fire And Ice
Ice Queen <--- My favorite song of the ENTIRE realm of symphonic metal.
Iron
Our Solemn Hour
Stand My Ground
Sinéad
What Have You Done
The Howling
Angels
Memories

Encore:
Deceiver Of Fools
Mother Earth

Encore 2:
Stairway to the Skies

The venue, Terminal 5 is HUGE, holds close to 2,000 on the main floor for a "big name" band. So, you'd figure a venue that size would be mega-comfortable on a night where a lesser-known act was playing (like Within Temptation). WRONG! They PACKED the place....TOTALLY sold out. I had NO idea they had THIS much of a US following: from Goth girls in GIGANTIC black wedding dresses to bookish suburban moms with their kids.

Unfortunately, Terminal 5 SUCKS...

I got this pic off a website to illustrate:



The floor was that packed when I got there at 8:15 (WT went on at 9:15). There was no way I was going to be able to last there, plus I need to meet up with my friends.

So I went upstairs (there are three floors). See those railings? They go around the entire 2nd and 3rd floors. See the people against those railings? All VIPs. There are little tables there for drinks and whatnot. Good view, if you're a VIP. Now, look behind that area, near the upper right corner of the picture, you'll see another standing area. If you're leaning on a railing there, you may get a halfway decent view. And what appears to be shadows of three people standing there? It's like a vast, empty, nicely air conditioned wasteland...because it's impossible to see ANYTHING from there. And it's like that around the entire perimeter. If you don't have a spot at the railing, you ain't seeing the show from the second floor...

I went up to the 3rd floor, which is even worse, but I managed to find a spot where I would describe the view as "decent." I'm 6'2, my friend is 6'4, and his girlfriend is 5'1 (yes...THAT big a height difference). There;s not a spot at Terminal 5 that would allow the three of us to stand together without someone's view being completely instructed. There were over a dozen people near me who just settled onto the couches at the bar behind us and watched the show on HD monitors (there was a monitor right where I was standing, so I would look at that whenever someone's head got in my way).

Seeing as 95% of the shows I go to are in NYC, I'm no stranger to security checks. "Pat downs" are one thing....Terminal 5 makes you take EVERYTHING out of your pockets. They feel your house keys, you need to take them out. Cell phone? You have to show them. All this while you lift your arms over your head, frisked to the ankles, including the crotch area. I seriously thought I was gonna have to take my shoes off. They searched people's cigarette packs, and LIPSTICK TUBES....

It was STILL a great night...
Edited by Don Giro - 9/19/11 at 4:29am

Never heard of that place. How long has it been a concert venue?

I'm not all that surprised that a band like Within Temptation, which is pretty big in Europe, managed to sell out a 2000-seat theater in NYC. Especially considering how few US dates they play.

A far cry from Prog Rock Night at the Rock & Roll Cafe on Bleeker St. Some nights they were lucky to draw a half-dozen people. (That's what they get for having it on Wednesdays. . .)

Terminal 5 has been in business for a few years now. It's located on 56th Street between 10th and 11th Avenue. Although there are delis and the like on 10th, I was overwhelmed by a feeling of "sketchiness" as I headed to the venue. You're looking at 11th Avenue as you walk toward the place, and it's like a surreal "no-man's land." I can't really describe it...except to say that if I didn't know where I was going, I certainly wouldn't have wandered down that street....I much prefer Best Buy Theater in Times Square (formerly Nokia, which was formerly Loew's Astor Plaza, where I saw the original Star Wars films when they were originally released).

Just delivered today Sirenia "The 13th Floor" and In Tenebris. Love this Sirenia CD, lots of choir and lots of growling, good stuff. I am also really digging In Tenebris. There are both really great!

I'm listening to The Dream by In This Moment for the first time in quite a while. It's not especially symphonic, but sufferin' succotash, what a great female-fronted metal album this is.

On a sadder note, Dream Theater plays Pompano Beach tonight but I doubt I can go. There are reasonably-priced good seats, *if* you buy a 4-pack. I didn't notice the show until a couple of days ago.

I dig In This Moment. Maria Brink is currently the "face" of female-fronted metal. My only problem with them is the same I have with Arch Enemy: all their songs tend to blur and sound the same to me after a while. I loved the first album ("Beautiful Tragedy"), especially the title track. I saw them open for Ozzy soon after, and they were really good live. I saw them this past January in Atlantic City with a bunch of other bands at House of Blues, which was when I noticed that a lot of their songs sound very similar to each other. Maria's a GREAT frontwoman; she has a HUGE, skull-covered mike stand, and she uses it to great effect. I should mention that the ITM's drummer is a friend of my friend Josh. They went to school together, and he often calls Josh from the road to keep in touch.

That House of Blues show was an amazing experience. It's located in the Showboat hotel/casino. My best friend Adam (don't know if any of you watch "Big Brother," but he's THAT Adam from this past season) had tickets he won from a radio station AND a comped room (he plays a lot of blackjack). The elevator is right outside the venue, and as long as you have a wristband and a ticket stub, you can come and go as you please (because they want you in the casino as much as possible, I guess). We were able to relax in our room between each band's set. It was nice to have a "private bathroom" at a show! BTW, the other bands were Disturbed, Korn, and Sevendust. I'm not really a fan of any of those bands, but I have to say that I really enjoyed Korn...

In more symphonic-related news, I just ordered "Music of Light" by Arven, a German sextet comprised of five good-looking women and a male drummer. I'm VERY impressed. I liken them to a better Midnattsol:
.

I also have the new Echoterra coming:
.

Some of you may know singer Melissa Ferlakk from her former work with Aesma Daeva and Visions of Atlantis. She's probably my favorite American symphonic metal vocalist (along with Amanda Somerville). I especially love her voice on this (from her VoA days):
.

Speaking of VoA, their new EP is winging its way to me now. Maxi Nil is no Melissa Ferlakk, but she's a good fit for the band...
Edited by Don Giro - 10/26/11 at 3:51am

Among other things. . .



Looking at those photos of Arven, I can't help wondering why that drummer doesn't look happier.

That's the best picture of Maria that I have ever seen. Nice "cheesecake" shot; if it wasn't for all her tattoos, I'd think that was from a Playboy spread (or something). I don't want to hijack the thread (seriously, this thread should have been called "Fronted Metal" in hindsight). I like this picture a lot, too:



Even with all the eye makeup, she looks very "girl next door" to me in this shot. Looks like she has tattoos on her neck now. I'm not a big fan of tattoos.

Holy CRAP:



I'm gonna post some of these in the Blondes thread to shake things up (hey, this thread came about after I posted pix of Sharon den Adel in the Brunettes thread a while back).

My Echoterra and VoA CDs arrived yesterday. Can't wait to give them my full attention...

This is getting to be more like "frontal" metal. . .

OOPS! I meant FEMALE-Fronted Metal! :D:D:D:D:D:D

There's a Brazilian Symph/Goth Metal band called Noturna, who are offering their latest album "Dream Within a Dream" for FREE DOWNLOAD at their website. I haven't listened to it yet, but here's the link:

http://www.noturnaonline.com/download/adream.php

Anyone get Story Time by Nightwish. It a single with one song but the song is fantastic. So cannot wait for their new album.