Metal, metal, metal
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Already posted about them but:
Already seen a couple of live videos of this one but now I get to blare the album version and damn, I am pretty sure that Visigoth is going to end up being one of my favourite bands this year again.
Already seen a couple of live videos of this one but now I get to blare the album version and damn, I am pretty sure that Visigoth is going to end up being one of my favourite bands this year again.
I think my biggest regret about joining the military, at least short term, is that I will be missing Saxon/Priest. Iv'e seen Saxon thrice already, but lack the Priest sightings.
New Solstice album out, finally! This is probably my most anticipated album of the year along with Visigoth's, which I still have yet to listen to as I'm waiting for my physical copy to arrive.
Here's a taste - they're still the best at what they do.
Here's a taste - they're still the best at what they do.
So apparently there's been a
that I just found out about. Not bad. Been a while since I've listened to them, but I think this sounds a lot like the previous album. Then again, this seems to be my initial impression for every album they make these days, so we'll see how it looks like once it's out.
that I just found out about. Not bad. Been a while since I've listened to them, but I think this sounds a lot like the previous album. Then again, this seems to be my initial impression for every album they make these days, so we'll see how it looks like once it's out.
Q: What's the deal with Finnish power metal bands and their tree-hugging lyrical tendencies?
A: ... It's complicated.
After recently going though the Stratovarius discography, I noticed that most of their lyrics are either about relationship troubles, or about social commentary. Wanted to do an analysis of these phenomena just for fun, but since I don't know the band that well (meaning I don't know all their albums by heart, probably about half of them only), that would require me to go through all of them and keep notes.
Today, however, I woke up a little earlier than usual, with an interesting "billion dollars to my name" quote in my head that I couldn't quite place. Google reminded me that it was Sonata Arctica's "Fairytale" from the last album, which piqued my interest. Turned out it's a fairly amusing "US elections" nonsense.
I do know all of Sonata's albums by heart (except the last couple or so, 'causethe last two have Pariah's Child has been a little... underwhelming, IMO), which makes them an ideal candidate for the survey I had in mind. Let's!
A: ... It's complicated.
After recently going though the Stratovarius discography, I noticed that most of their lyrics are either about relationship troubles, or about social commentary. Wanted to do an analysis of these phenomena just for fun, but since I don't know the band that well (meaning I don't know all their albums by heart, probably about half of them only), that would require me to go through all of them and keep notes.
Today, however, I woke up a little earlier than usual, with an interesting "billion dollars to my name" quote in my head that I couldn't quite place. Google reminded me that it was Sonata Arctica's "Fairytale" from the last album, which piqued my interest. Turned out it's a fairly amusing "US elections" nonsense.
I do know all of Sonata's albums by heart (except the last couple or so, 'cause
I shall arbitrarily split the albums into a "Pre-Unia", "Unia", and "New Age" phase, with the albums as follows:
Phase 1 - Pre-Unia: Ecliptica, Silence, Winterheart's Guild - characterised by more speedy, less complex stuff;
Phase 2 - Unia: Reckoning Night*, Unia, Days of Grays (personal favourite) - characterised by a noticeably different style than Phase 1, with a focus on more complex, layered, beautiful melodies and even som Blind Guardian-like compositions;
Phase 3 - New Age: Stones Grow Her Name, Pariah's Child, The Ninth Hour - unfortunately characterised by a complete departure from the "Unia" style from Phase 2, with weird stuff like country songs and whatnot, and a disappointing lack of complexity.
* Reckoning Night is somewhere in the middle of Phase 1 and 2, but will be considered Phase 2 just because.
Our themes of interest are: Social commentary; Relationship issues. What shall follow is a track listing for each album, listing the song themes. (It's so useful to know the albums inside out, innit?)
RESULTS:
Phase 1:
Social commentary: mean 24.33%, st. dev. 0.060
Relationship issues: mean 60.33%, st. dev. 0.117
Phase 2:
Social commentary: mean 19.33%, st. dev. 0.021
Relationship issues: mean 59.00%, st. dev. 0.085
Phase 3:
Social commentary: mean 56.67%, st. dev. 0.222
Relationship issues: mean 41.67%, st. dev. 0.237
CONCLUSIONS:
Curiously, the amount of relationship issues songs appears to be gradually decreasing, though the Phase 3 albums' high standard deviation show volatility. Furthermore, Sonata's social commentary has always been low, apart from Phase 3 again, the last two albums in particular -- bearing a 60% and 77% focus on social commentary songs.
It is my belief that Sonata Arctica is becoming Stratovarius (since I was pretty sure Stratovarius would have more social commentary (ecological) than relationship issues). Whether or not that's true though, is a task for another day.
Phase 1 - Pre-Unia: Ecliptica, Silence, Winterheart's Guild - characterised by more speedy, less complex stuff;
Phase 2 - Unia: Reckoning Night*, Unia, Days of Grays (personal favourite) - characterised by a noticeably different style than Phase 1, with a focus on more complex, layered, beautiful melodies and even som Blind Guardian-like compositions;
Phase 3 - New Age: Stones Grow Her Name, Pariah's Child, The Ninth Hour - unfortunately characterised by a complete departure from the "Unia" style from Phase 2, with weird stuff like country songs and whatnot, and a disappointing lack of complexity.
* Reckoning Night is somewhere in the middle of Phase 1 and 2, but will be considered Phase 2 just because.
Our themes of interest are: Social commentary; Relationship issues. What shall follow is a track listing for each album, listing the song themes. (It's so useful to know the albums inside out, innit?)
ECLIPTICA (1999)
1. Blank File - surveillance and internet security; social commentary;
2. My Land - banishment; (not social commentary)
3. 8th Commandment - don't lie;
4. Replica - (uncertain) war veteran returns home and has a hard time adapting; social commentary/relationship issues;
5. Kingdom For A Heart - what is says on the tin; relationship issues;
6. Full Moon - werevolves; relationship issues because of that;
7. Letter To Dana - massive relationship issues'
8. Unopened - guy doesn't open a letter from his "crush" for many years, definitely relationship issues;
9. Picturing The Past - something about mortality;
10. Destruction Preventer - (uncertain) nukes; social commentary.
Amount of social commentary songs: 30%
Amount of relationship issues songs: 50% (wow)
SILENCE (2001)
1. ...Of Silence - intro, doesn't count
2. Weballergy - negative social commentary on online dating;
3. False News Travel Fast - innocent guy accused of cheating; relationship issues;
4. The End Of This Chapter - Caleb the Psycho Stalker, part 3. Relationship issues;
5. Black Sheep - based on a Finnish book that I don't know of;
6. Land Of The Free - pretty sure this is a social commentary of some sort;
7. Last Drop Falls - relationship issues, she dumps him;
8. San Sebastian (Revisited) - relationship issues, he dumps her;
9. Sing In Silence - relationship issues, she's a drug addict;
10. Revontulet - instrumental, doesn't count
11. Tallulah - relationship issues, Tallulah is her name;
12. Wolf And Raven - the werewolf lady and her raven familiar;
13. The Power Of One - about a book or a film of the same name that I'm unfamiliar with;
14. Respect The Wilderness - obviously a social commentary.
Amount of social commentary songs: 25%
Amount of relationship issues songs: 58% (wow)
WINTERHEART'S GUILD (2003)
1. Abandoned, Pleased, Brainwashed, Exploited - social commentary;
2. Gravenimage - relationship issues;
3. The Cage - wolf in a cage; social commentary;
4. Silver Tongue - relationship issues;
5. The Misery - relationship issues;
6. Victoria's Secret - relationship issues;
7. Champagne Bath - detestable people should kill themselves, BOTH;
8. Broken - Highlander's relationship issues;
9. The Rest Of The Sun Belongs To Me - allegedly about a sunrise, but I think it's about relationship issues;
10. The Ruins Of My Life - Gladiator returns to his village, his wife's dead, relationship issues;
11. Draw Me - relationship issues;
Amount of social commentary songs: 18%
Amount of relationship issues songs: 73% (big wow)
(Sonata was a good choice for this!)
1. Blank File - surveillance and internet security; social commentary;
2. My Land - banishment; (not social commentary)
3. 8th Commandment - don't lie;
4. Replica - (uncertain) war veteran returns home and has a hard time adapting; social commentary/relationship issues;
5. Kingdom For A Heart - what is says on the tin; relationship issues;
6. Full Moon - werevolves; relationship issues because of that;
7. Letter To Dana - massive relationship issues'
8. Unopened - guy doesn't open a letter from his "crush" for many years, definitely relationship issues;
9. Picturing The Past - something about mortality;
10. Destruction Preventer - (uncertain) nukes; social commentary.
Amount of social commentary songs: 30%
Amount of relationship issues songs: 50% (wow)
SILENCE (2001)
1. ...Of Silence - intro, doesn't count
2. Weballergy - negative social commentary on online dating;
3. False News Travel Fast - innocent guy accused of cheating; relationship issues;
4. The End Of This Chapter - Caleb the Psycho Stalker, part 3. Relationship issues;
5. Black Sheep - based on a Finnish book that I don't know of;
6. Land Of The Free - pretty sure this is a social commentary of some sort;
7. Last Drop Falls - relationship issues, she dumps him;
8. San Sebastian (Revisited) - relationship issues, he dumps her;
9. Sing In Silence - relationship issues, she's a drug addict;
10. Revontulet - instrumental, doesn't count
11. Tallulah - relationship issues, Tallulah is her name;
12. Wolf And Raven - the werewolf lady and her raven familiar;
13. The Power Of One - about a book or a film of the same name that I'm unfamiliar with;
14. Respect The Wilderness - obviously a social commentary.
Amount of social commentary songs: 25%
Amount of relationship issues songs: 58% (wow)
WINTERHEART'S GUILD (2003)
1. Abandoned, Pleased, Brainwashed, Exploited - social commentary;
2. Gravenimage - relationship issues;
3. The Cage - wolf in a cage; social commentary;
4. Silver Tongue - relationship issues;
5. The Misery - relationship issues;
6. Victoria's Secret - relationship issues;
7. Champagne Bath - detestable people should kill themselves, BOTH;
8. Broken - Highlander's relationship issues;
9. The Rest Of The Sun Belongs To Me - allegedly about a sunrise, but I think it's about relationship issues;
10. The Ruins Of My Life - Gladiator returns to his village, his wife's dead, relationship issues;
11. Draw Me - relationship issues;
Amount of social commentary songs: 18%
Amount of relationship issues songs: 73% (big wow)
(Sonata was a good choice for this!)
RECKONING NIGHT (2004)
1. Misplaced - dunno, let's say it's neither;
2. Blinded No More - relationship issues;
3. Ain't Your Fairytale - relationship issues;
4. Reckoning Day, Reckoning Night - instrumental, doesn't count
5. Don't Say A Word - Caleb the Psycho Stalker, part 4 - relationship issues;
6. The Boy Who Wanted To Be A Real Puppet - neither;
7. My Selene - most definitely relationship issues;
8. Wildfire - social commentary;
9. White Pearl, Black Oceans - relationship issues;
10. Shamandalie - relationship issues;
11. Wrecking The Sphere - the sphere is the Earth => social commentary
Amount of social commentary songs: 20%
Amount of relationship issues songs: 60% (wow, but at this point we're expecting it)
UNIA (2007)
1. In Black And White - relationship issues;
2. Paid In Full - relationship issues;
3. For The Sake Of Revenge - relationship issues;
4. It Won't Fade - a nerd wolf;
5. Under Your Tree - "your smile kept me alive"... wait, this one is about his dog? Relationship issues;
6. Caleb - Caleb the Psycho Stalker, part 1: relationship issues;
7. The Vice - this one is weird. I'll say neither;
8. My Dream's But A Drop Of Fuel For A Nightmare - neither;
9. The Harvest - social commentary ("once planted plastic breaks the harvest of a lifetime / real bad wine")
10. To Create A Warlike Feel - what is says on the tin, ft. George Bush the Younger. Social commentary;
11. The Worlds Forgotten, The Words Forbidden - I'll say social commentary;
12. Fly With The Black Swan - neither;
13. Good Enough Is Good Enough - relationship issues;
14. They Follow - relationship issues, but Tony is complaining about having fans.
Amount of social commentary songs: 21%
Amount of relationship issues songs: 50% (that's actually pretty low)
DAYS OF GRAYS (2009)
1. Everything Fades To Gray - intro, doesn't count
2. Deathaura - a sorcerer's guide to relationship issues;
3. The Last Amazing Grays - wolves;
4. Flag In The Ground - "relationship issues";
5. Breathing - relationship issues, this time for real
6. Zeroes - social commentary;
7. The Dead Skin - relationship issues;
8. Juliet - Caleb the Psycho Stalker part 5, i.e. relationship issues;
9. No Dream Can Heal A Broken Heart - relationship issues;
10. As If The World Wasn't Ending - relationship issues;
11. The Truth Is Out There - the X files;
12. Everything Fades To Gray (Full Version) - social commentary, why not;
13. In The Dark - relationship issues.
Amount of social commentary songs: 17%
Amount of relationship issues songs: 67% (wow!)
1. Misplaced - dunno, let's say it's neither;
2. Blinded No More - relationship issues;
3. Ain't Your Fairytale - relationship issues;
4. Reckoning Day, Reckoning Night - instrumental, doesn't count
5. Don't Say A Word - Caleb the Psycho Stalker, part 4 - relationship issues;
6. The Boy Who Wanted To Be A Real Puppet - neither;
7. My Selene - most definitely relationship issues;
8. Wildfire - social commentary;
9. White Pearl, Black Oceans - relationship issues;
10. Shamandalie - relationship issues;
11. Wrecking The Sphere - the sphere is the Earth => social commentary
Amount of social commentary songs: 20%
Amount of relationship issues songs: 60% (wow, but at this point we're expecting it)
UNIA (2007)
1. In Black And White - relationship issues;
2. Paid In Full - relationship issues;
3. For The Sake Of Revenge - relationship issues;
4. It Won't Fade - a nerd wolf;
5. Under Your Tree - "your smile kept me alive"... wait, this one is about his dog? Relationship issues;
6. Caleb - Caleb the Psycho Stalker, part 1: relationship issues;
7. The Vice - this one is weird. I'll say neither;
8. My Dream's But A Drop Of Fuel For A Nightmare - neither;
9. The Harvest - social commentary ("once planted plastic breaks the harvest of a lifetime / real bad wine")
10. To Create A Warlike Feel - what is says on the tin, ft. George Bush the Younger. Social commentary;
11. The Worlds Forgotten, The Words Forbidden - I'll say social commentary;
12. Fly With The Black Swan - neither;
13. Good Enough Is Good Enough - relationship issues;
14. They Follow - relationship issues, but Tony is complaining about having fans.
Amount of social commentary songs: 21%
Amount of relationship issues songs: 50% (that's actually pretty low)
DAYS OF GRAYS (2009)
1. Everything Fades To Gray - intro, doesn't count
2. Deathaura - a sorcerer's guide to relationship issues;
3. The Last Amazing Grays - wolves;
4. Flag In The Ground - "relationship issues";
5. Breathing - relationship issues, this time for real
6. Zeroes - social commentary;
7. The Dead Skin - relationship issues;
8. Juliet - Caleb the Psycho Stalker part 5, i.e. relationship issues;
9. No Dream Can Heal A Broken Heart - relationship issues;
10. As If The World Wasn't Ending - relationship issues;
11. The Truth Is Out There - the X files;
12. Everything Fades To Gray (Full Version) - social commentary, why not;
13. In The Dark - relationship issues.
Amount of social commentary songs: 17%
Amount of relationship issues songs: 67% (wow!)
STONES GROW HER NAME (2012)
1. Only The Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful) - relationship issues;
2. ****load Of Money - social commentary on dumb people;
3. Losing My Insanity - ?
4. Somewhere Close To You - relationship issues;
5. I Have A Right - it must be a social commentary;
6. Alone In Heaven - post-mortem relationship issues;
7. The Day - BOTH in the form of a tsunami;
8. Cinderblox - relationship issues in country form;
9. Don't Be Mean - relationship issues;
10. Wildfire II - One With The Mountain - relationship issues;
11. Wildfire III - Wildfire Town, Population: 0 - social commentary;
12. Tonight I Dance Alone - relationship issues;
Amount of social commentary songs: 33%
Amount of relationship issues songs: 67% (wow!)
PARIAH'S CHILD (2014)
1. The Wolves Die Young - some sort of odd social commentary;
2. Running Lights - I hate this song, and it's about a car crash, so BOTH;
3. Take One Breath - transhumanism = social commentary;
4. Cloud Factory - neither;
5. Blood - social commentary about people;
6. What Did You Do In The War, Dad? - social commentary about wars;
7. Half A Marathon Man - honestly, this one may just be about jogging;
8. X Marks The Spot - eh
9. Love - relationship... without hate, stalkers, murder and other issues? I'm so impressed that Tony did this that I'm saying this is neither;
10. Larger Than Life - social commentary, to recoup the losses from "Love".
Amount of social commentary songs: 60% (holy balls!)
Amount of relationship issues songs: 20% (remarkable!)
THE NINTH HOUR (2016)
1. Closer To An Animal - social commentary;
2. Life - social commentary;
3. Fairytale - social commentary;
4. We Are What We Are - social commentary
5. Till Death's Done Us Apart - Caleb the Psycho Stalker part 2... relationship issues;
6. Among The Shooting Stars - werewolf relationship issues;
7. Rise A Night - social commentary;
8. Fly, Navigate, Communicate - social commentary, I think;
9. Candle Lawns - BOTH, as "relationship" is broad enough to account for your dad dying in Iraq;
10. White Pearl, Black Oceans (Part II: By The Grace Of The Ocean) - relationship issues;
11. The Elephant - social commentary
12. On The Faultline (Closure To An Animal) - I'm betting on social commentary;
13. Run To You - relationship issues causing/stemming from infidelity (I have no idea who Bryan Adams is, but I like this).
Amount of social commentary songs: 77% (what is this madness!)
Amount of relationship issues songs: 38%
1. Only The Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful) - relationship issues;
2. ****load Of Money - social commentary on dumb people;
3. Losing My Insanity - ?
4. Somewhere Close To You - relationship issues;
5. I Have A Right - it must be a social commentary;
6. Alone In Heaven - post-mortem relationship issues;
7. The Day - BOTH in the form of a tsunami;
8. Cinderblox - relationship issues in country form;
9. Don't Be Mean - relationship issues;
10. Wildfire II - One With The Mountain - relationship issues;
11. Wildfire III - Wildfire Town, Population: 0 - social commentary;
12. Tonight I Dance Alone - relationship issues;
Amount of social commentary songs: 33%
Amount of relationship issues songs: 67% (wow!)
PARIAH'S CHILD (2014)
1. The Wolves Die Young - some sort of odd social commentary;
2. Running Lights - I hate this song, and it's about a car crash, so BOTH;
3. Take One Breath - transhumanism = social commentary;
4. Cloud Factory - neither;
5. Blood - social commentary about people;
6. What Did You Do In The War, Dad? - social commentary about wars;
7. Half A Marathon Man - honestly, this one may just be about jogging;
8. X Marks The Spot - eh
9. Love - relationship... without hate, stalkers, murder and other issues? I'm so impressed that Tony did this that I'm saying this is neither;
10. Larger Than Life - social commentary, to recoup the losses from "Love".
Amount of social commentary songs: 60% (holy balls!)
Amount of relationship issues songs: 20% (remarkable!)
THE NINTH HOUR (2016)
1. Closer To An Animal - social commentary;
2. Life - social commentary;
3. Fairytale - social commentary;
4. We Are What We Are - social commentary
5. Till Death's Done Us Apart - Caleb the Psycho Stalker part 2... relationship issues;
6. Among The Shooting Stars - werewolf relationship issues;
7. Rise A Night - social commentary;
8. Fly, Navigate, Communicate - social commentary, I think;
9. Candle Lawns - BOTH, as "relationship" is broad enough to account for your dad dying in Iraq;
10. White Pearl, Black Oceans (Part II: By The Grace Of The Ocean) - relationship issues;
11. The Elephant - social commentary
12. On The Faultline (Closure To An Animal) - I'm betting on social commentary;
13. Run To You - relationship issues causing/stemming from infidelity (I have no idea who Bryan Adams is, but I like this).
Amount of social commentary songs: 77% (what is this madness!)
Amount of relationship issues songs: 38%
RESULTS:
Phase 1:
Social commentary: mean 24.33%, st. dev. 0.060
Relationship issues: mean 60.33%, st. dev. 0.117
Phase 2:
Social commentary: mean 19.33%, st. dev. 0.021
Relationship issues: mean 59.00%, st. dev. 0.085
Phase 3:
Social commentary: mean 56.67%, st. dev. 0.222
Relationship issues: mean 41.67%, st. dev. 0.237
CONCLUSIONS:
Curiously, the amount of relationship issues songs appears to be gradually decreasing, though the Phase 3 albums' high standard deviation show volatility. Furthermore, Sonata's social commentary has always been low, apart from Phase 3 again, the last two albums in particular -- bearing a 60% and 77% focus on social commentary songs.
It is my belief that Sonata Arctica is becoming Stratovarius (since I was pretty sure Stratovarius would have more social commentary (ecological) than relationship issues). Whether or not that's true though, is a task for another day.
I'm afraid not, as the only song of theirs that I know is "The Crown and the Ring".
The new Kamelot album is out. It's got some weird bits in, but stylistically it feels a lot like Haven (and Silverthorn to an extent). Khan still shows up sometimes, which is nice; Karevik is thus great as usual. I've listened to it only two or three times now, but I think I like it.
EDIT: I really, really like it, actually. It's pretty great.
The new Kamelot album is out. It's got some weird bits in, but stylistically it feels a lot like Haven (and Silverthorn to an extent). Khan still shows up sometimes, which is nice; Karevik is thus great as usual. I've listened to it only two or three times now, but I think I like it.
EDIT: I really, really like it, actually. It's pretty great.
New Candlemass song, and the new album is apparently due at the end of the month.
It's pretty good, if you liked their last album (which I did) you'll probably like it too. Kickass baroque organ solo too.
It's pretty good, if you liked their last album (which I did) you'll probably like it too. Kickass baroque organ solo too.
Jesus Christ, after barely listening to music, let alone metal, the last few months, Bolt Thrower's Those Once Loyal is even more ****ing killer than I remember it being.
Xardob said:
They change it a little bit.Seems good for me.
What about Kalmah ? Their last album looks like good and my best song is palo in last album.
And here is my undderrated song :
I should have gone and seen Manilla Road when I had the chance. 
