Elite music (Vanden Plas)

[Bryant]

Vanden Plas is a progressive metal band from Germany. I prefer to call them a "melodic" metal band as the label "progressive" is coined by the label and distributors, but I feel like giving them that moniker might remove some music fans who might want something with a strong sense of melody and harmony in a metal setting.
At 35 years old, my taste in music has gone through many transformations. Being a metal-head who grew up in the 80's, I loved that music when I was that age, but I have found in my life now, I expect strong melody, harmony, song structure, musicianship and emotic vocals performed in a way that is still aggressive enough in some songs to satisfy my metal roots.
Vanden Plas fills those needs very well. An elite beer drinker deserves elite music to go along with the fine brew. Vanden Plas is emotic, complex, and thought provoking. Please be sure to check out their American website. I am not affiliated with the band (though I do know them as they are cool enough to talk to their fans on their message board) and if every person in America bought their CD I wouldn't make a dime. I simply want to introduce people that appreciate quality to a quality band.

www.faroffgrace.com


Bryant

[BluesHarp]

As a former metalhead, I had to check out the website.

My "maturing" (I'm 42) has led me more down the path of blues - from metal to Stevie Ray to Muddy Waters, etc (I occasionally play harp in a blues band), but I still have a little headbanger down inside.
I was intrigued by this band; a nice mix of melody, vocal ability, yet still some incredible bass runs.
I had thoughts of Metallica (old), Queensryche, Iron Maiden, King Crimson, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra at different times during the sample tracks.

My twenty year old son is into Slayer, Tool, Slipknot, MudVein, etc...but has been mellowing a bit lately; I'll have him give it a listen as well.

Very complex style, but pretty cool...

[Bryant]

You are maturing at 42 so you are waaaaay too old to enjoy metal. The lead vocalist of Vanden Plas is just a baby. He is one whole year youner than you. >:P~ Ha ha ha. The average age of the Prog-Power IV concert was 35 (the American debut of Vanden Plas along with nine other bands that played at that show.) There were a few people there graying heavily and a few people there with there parents as well, but this style of music is designed for the elite listener. I am happy you enjoy them. Give them a chance. The CD will cost less than a high-quality twelve pack of our liquid gold.
As far as your son is concerned......... I am amazed he knows who Slayer is. They were in our generation as well. I recommend to him Pagans Mind as well as the Vanden Plas.

www.pagansmind.com

Pagans Mind is quite developed in their style as well but they are still aggressive enough so that younger fans will enjoy them.

Bryant

[chazwicke]

I've never been a metal head But I did just buy the Beatles Let It Be - Naked this morning. It is a sonic wonder. I am hearing bits I never heard before in the old Spector mixes. Some of the songs are the same without the Spector production and there are some different versions from the original as well. I have lots of bootleg Beatle albums and have heard some of the songs before. There are also some new edits. But the damn sound! Crystal clear! Its amazing. Being a huge Beatles fan I also bought the Concert For George which was also released today.

[Bryant]

I love the later Beatles. They really didn't get god until they discovered LSD though. >:P~ I played Magical Mystery Tour at my first wedding reception. George Harrison was a very underrated musician. He wrote some extremely complicated chord progressions (used a wide range of chords that are difficult to play on guitar) that were way ahead of their time. Though Lennon/McCartney certainly were the principle songwriters, Lennon probably couldn't even play some of the chord changes Harrison put in some of those songs. That's not to take anything away from the other members of the fab four, but George was the technician of the band and is under-appreciated.

Bryant

[ron]

I started listening to 70's rock and never really got away from that. Blue Oyster Cult are still my favorite band. The post-80's music has realy done very little for me.

I started out playing blues guitar, but eventually the pace quickened and I started actually playing the music I was listening to, like BOC, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, etc.

In more recent years I have begun to supplement my listening with the great progressive "unknowns," like Reindel, FNP, and Marc Pattison. Blind Guardian, sort of like a German Queen with speed metal roots, is another of my new favorites.

I also love classical music and have been known to serenade the neighborhood with "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (Strauss) and "Peer Gynt Suite No. 1: In The Hall Of The Mountain King" (Mussorgsky). Great stuff!

Good music goes well with good beer, and the definition of each is subjective.

[Bryant]

[i]

more recent years I have begun to supplement my listening with the great progressive "unknowns," like Reindel, FNP, and Marc Pattison. Blind Guardian, sort of like a German Queen with speed metal roots, is another of my new favorites.

I also love classical music and have been known to serenade the neighborhood with "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (Strauss) and "Peer Gynt Suite No. 1: In The Hall Of The Mountain King" (Mussorgsky). Great stuff!

Good music goes well with good beer, and the definition of each is subjective. [/B]

I am quite familiar with Blind Guardian. One of their releases, "Nightfall in Middle-Earth" is based on the JRR Tolkien trilogy, "Lord of the Riings." I enjoy them. I am not familiar with the other bands you mentioned though.

As far as classical, I own a few CDs, mostly Russian... I have some Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Rimsky-Korsakov. I don't know why I prefer the Russian composers, but it is rare that I actually spin those CDs. Some progressive metal bands (like Symphony X) compose their own movements in their music played with the classical instruments (strings and winds etc.) so I get enough of it. I pretty much start jonesin' for electric guitar if I listen to anything not rock based for too long. : /

I do own "Hall ofthe Mountain King" by Savatage. I think it was released in about '87-88' (too lazy to pull it out) and is a pretty good CD.



Bryant

[BluesHarp]

...while digging through some old cassettes today, I came across an album by a band called Manilla Road. They started around 1980 and, I believe. are still around. An hard-edged metal sound, yet with some of the classical nuances and complex chord progressions that typify a more progressive sound. Their lyrics are a blend of Arthurian legend, Norse and Greek mythology...sort of a dark "Lord of the Rings" - the musical.

Definitely light-years ahead of the usual party-all-night-rock-and-roll-get-laid "macro" metal of the day.


http://www.truemetal.org/manillaroad/

[Bryant]

Originally posted by BluesHarp
...while digging through some old cassettes today, I came across an album by a band called Manilla Road. They started around 1980 and, I believe. are still around. An hard-edged metal sound, yet with some of the classical nuances and complex chord progressions that typify a more progressive sound. Their lyrics are a blend of Arthurian legend, Norse and Greek mythology...sort of a dark "Lord of the Rings" - the musical.

Definitely light-years ahead of the usual party-all-night-rock-and-roll-get-laid "macro" metal of the day.


http://www.truemetal.org/manillaroad/

That's an interesting sounding band. I checked out the website and listened to a few samples, but the vocalist's style isn't for me. The band sounded good though.


Bryant