PH's CD list

[Appelmoes??]

I'm not really objective but it's marvellous. 

Even when you're objective, it's still marvelous!

[Nicky007]

PH, I just noted that you have Landmarq in your CD collection. I like Tracy's voice on Jabberwocky. What are Landmarq like? Can you recom anything by them?

Nicky.

[PH]

Well... to be honest I've only heard the live album Thunderstruck, which is indeed a very good album!!
Recommended! (I think it's very close to Arena)

[PH]

I saw that I didn't update my list lately, so let's update it again.
This is added to my collection since end February.

- Today's Report (Special Edition)
- Imaginary Friends (Special Edition)
- Last Epic (Special Edition)
- Blackfield II
- Train Of Thought
- Systematic Chaos (Special Edition)
- Fear Of A Blank Planet
- Misplaced Childhood (2 CD Version)
- Anoraknophobia


I can tell you, more will be added soon as I have a shopping list ready to send in to InsideOut!

[Appelmoes??]

Some heavy stuff there ph, I always thought you were more a progger than a metalhead

[PH]

Some heavy stuff there ph, I always thought you were more a progger than a metalhead

You're aiming on Train Of Thought and Systematic Chaos?

Dude, it's Dream Theater!

ToT is indeed very heavy. Sometimes even too heavy for me I think. But I can appreciate the fine moments on that disc too!
Systematic Chaos is not really that much of a heavy metal album, honestly. True, it has its heavy moments but there's a good bulk of symphonic candy on it!!

[maddox]

You're aiming on Train Of Thought and Systematic Chaos?

Dude, it's Dream Theater!

ToT is indeed very heavy. Sometimes even too heavy for me I think. But I can appreciate the fine moments on that disc too!
Systematic Chaos is not really that much of a heavy metal album, honestly. True, it has its heavy moments but there's a good bulk of symphonic candy on it!!

Hear hear. 

*agrees. 

[Appelmoes??]

I think the young lad is getting the hang of it

*feels proud*

[PH]

By the way, I've also deleted my listenings profile list (it was way too long) and what remains is my CD list.

[Nicky007]

PH, people are calling you heavy, but to be real heavy prog, you need (beside DT & Threshold) stuff like Redemption, Zero Hour, Steve Vai, Michael Harris, Thought Chamber, Tool, Aghora, all top notch.

Nicky.

[PH]

PH, people are calling you heavy, but to be real heavy prog, you need (beside DT & Threshold) stuff like Redemption, Zero Hour, Steve Vai, Michael Harris, Thought Chamber, Tool, Aghora, all top notch.

Nicky.

Well, I tried Tool once, but that was surely too heavy for my liking.
But I will try the rest (some previews of Thought Chamber were very good!).

[Nicky007]

Well, I tried Tool once, but that was surely too heavy for my liking.

Tool are very prog, and their music has many different moods, i.a. a very Floydian mood that I like e.g. on tracks 3 & 4 on 10,000 Days. But there's a heap of stuff that goes into a Tool album.

> ... some previews of Thought Chamber were very good! ....

Angular Perceptions has become a cult record, and that's well deserved: It's great. I'm not much of a fan of Enchant (they lack"melody") but Ted Leonard is real fine on this one.

Aghora are still rather unknown on this side of the Atlantic. They have arisen out of the Florida scene, and have combined their instrumental and vocal proficiencies with a strong dose of Hinduism, resulting in some very special moods. They're programmed to play at ProgPower Europe, and as they're really into it currently, I'm sure their concert will be a blowout.

Nicky.

[maddox]

Well, I tried Tool once, but that was surely too heavy for my liking.
But I will try the rest (some previews of Thought Chamber were very good!).

If you find Tool too heavy then maybe you should give Dead Soul Tribe a try. A bit softer than Tool but very good indeed.

Just a suggestion. 

[Appelmoes??]

Too me DST is also very heavy, big wall of sound. I saw them live when they toured with Threshold, and I wasn't very impressed. I also got the album " January Tree"  (or something like that) and I feel the same: Big wall of sound, too loud, not enough melody and variaty in the songs. Compared to Opeth, another "hard & loud"  band that is. Opeth has some very cool acoustic parts in their songs, and the occasional ballad, and their sound is very original.

But it's all a matter of taste anyway 

[PH]

I'll try them all.
But: Try before you buy!

Today my CDs I ordered were delivered! Yahoo!!

I added to the list:
RPWL - World Through My Eyes (Special Edition)
Solar - Dark Places
The Tangent - The World That We Drive Through (Special Edition)
Neal Morse - Testimony Live (2 DVD)     -- THE BEST LIVE DVD I'VE EVER SEEN!!! --
Kaipa - Angling Feelings
The Jelly Jam - The Jelly Jam     -- don't know this album but it was just 4,99 euro and John Myung plays on it, so this is the first I'm gonna play now. --

Oh, I also got a free single with my order just like the last time (Ryo Okumoto).
This time it was Spock's Beard's Skin. Haven't heard it either.

I also bought (but didn't add to the list) Happy The Man - The Muse Awakens, which I'll give my dad 'cos he liked the music very much.

[PH]

I couldn't stop myself...

Today I bought:
- Magic Pie - Motions Of Desire
- Magic Pie - Circus Of Life

I'm still waiting on my cds that I bought through Soundoo.com...

Anyway, Magic Pie is brilliant!!
Every fan of Spock's Beard (and Neal Morse), Dream Theater, Kaipa (and The Flower Kings) should have heard this band, they're amazing!

[PH]

I've added the years of release for each album, and the country of origin.
And I've made the name of the band/singers bold to make it all a bit more oversee-able. Or something like that, you know what I mean...

Sweden and UK dominate my collection, that's very interesting to see.

[Nicky007]

Interesting, PH.

Really impressive collection for a 19-year old.

However, I would say that you're definitely missing some great American music. As you don't seem to be so much into superheavy stuff like Zero Hour, I'll stick to less heavy, more melodious stuff: Redemption, Fates Warning, Stride, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Chris Cornell, SyX, Rush, Psychotic Waltz, Steve Vai. These are all faves with me.

And how about focussing on some German groups? They're up to it too.

Nicky.

[PH]

Interesting, PH.

Really impressive collection for a 19-year old.

Thanks! Yup, I have the body of a 19-year old, the mind of a 40+, the heart of a child and I feel 65+...

However, I would say that you're definitely missing some great American music. As you don't seem to be so much into superheavy stuff like Zero Hour, I'll stick to less heavy, more melodious stuff: Redemption, Fates Warning, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Chris Cornell, SyX, Rush, Psychotic Waltz, Steve Vai. These are all faves with me.

I've tried Redemption. But I guess I haven't tried hard enough. They have "it", you know. But today I'm much more in a soft mood, add a headache to it and you'll know that I can't listen to (the song on ProgArchives of) Redemption for more than a minute... I'll try later on though and I will check their website.

Fates Warning... Well I like the guitarwork of Jim Matheos on OSI. But Fates Warning's discography is very variated. You pick one album and it's heavy as an elephant, while the other is as progressive as... ehmmm... anyway... I need the time to dive into it. Maybe the albums with Kevin Moore first.

Stone Temple Pilots... NEVER heard of them. Checking them now on Myspace, but to be honest I'm not really that impressed. But who knows...

Pearl Jam? Hmm... no.

Chris Cornell. Don't know him. But Myspace gives me some sort of singer-songwriter guy, with a nasal way of singing. Again, I'm not really impressed... Sorry.

SyX? You mean Symphony X? Or Styx? I really like Symphony X! V: The Mythology Suite is amazing! I still need to find it somewhere, it's a worthy addition to my collection. Is V their best effort? I've heard their new one, and it's ok too, but Russell Allen sounds so different on that one... Symphony X is an interesting band that I absolutely like.

The first thing I heard of Rush was Snakes & Arrows. I instantly liked it! So this band is on my "to do" list. My dad knows some good albums too and he will guide me through it. Of course I need to hear the obvious albums like Moving Pictures and Hemispheres or something...

Psychotic Waltz, isn't that with Buddy Lackey a.k.a. Devon Graves? I like his work with Ayreon so much that I tried Psychotic Waltz, but the ugly cover paintings reminded me so much of the Heavy Metal in its truest form that I hestitated. I'm not sure about this band. What is their main vision? What do they want to express? Can you recommend me an album?

Steve Vai is a Petruccian guitar player eh? Hmm... Recommend me an album and I'll check it out.

And how about focussing on some German groups? They're up to it too.

Like?
Sylvan? Yeah... I don't know, I listened to some of it, and it certainly isn't bad. But still I just know that if I'd buy an album of Sylvan it would gather dust in my collection 'cause there's so much better things out there...
I like RPWL's World Through My Eyes and it's German! I've listened to Eloy and I liked it a bit. Everon is quite good too. Neuschwanstein is ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!! And I've heard some of Klaus Schulze, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream. And they all had the good and the bad songs.


Thanks Nicky!!

[Nicky007]

PH, I forgot Stride earlier. They're definitely something for you. I placed a link to their song Imagine on YouTube under the thread "Best prog singers" a couple of weeks ago.

Then there's Michael Harris. He's made several excellent soloalbums, where he explores a multitude of different genres. His Orchestrate is fun, as he lays a foundation of an electronic symphony orchestra and lets his guitar play on top of that. Thought Chamber is Harris with Ted Leonard and the equally crazy bassist and drummer from Haji's Kitchen. They've put out Angular Perceptions, a masterpiece.

With Fates Warning, you simply have to get A Pleasant Shade Of Grey. This is a masterpiece that is just as necessary to a proggie as the Bible is to a Christian (and being both, you need both).

Re Stone Temple Pilots, I can recom "Tiny Music. Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop" as a starter. There are lots of nice songs on that'un, sort of Beatles with a grunge flavor.

Re Chris Cornell, he's one of the finest singers ever, but his voice first came to full expression on his first soloeffort, Euphoria Morning. The captain likes it, so that should be a good recom.

With Steve Vai, a good place to start is Fire Garden. You find everything there: great guitar playing, nice melodies, great rhythms, deep thoughts about life, fun, and a lot more. Steve has said that FG is his personal favorite. It probably is the most encompassing of his albums.

Pearl Jam are more of an acquired taste. Bare and honest music. I'm very fond of their most recent self-titled album.

Psychotic Waltz are a bit old now and rather suave, but their four albums are quite special and there's a lot of melody to be found. I like Bleeding a lot.

SyX is short for Symphony X. I see you know them well.

Re German music, well, as I already expressed here, Christ 0 easily tops everything krauty that I've heard, but I think Sylvan and RPWL are fine too, and several other German groups. They're definitely getting there.

Nicky.

[Nicky007]

Steve Vai is a Petruccian guitar player eh?

The other way round: Vai is older than Petrucci and has influenced him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Petrucci

Nicky.

[PH]

The other way round: Vai is older than Petrucci and has influenced him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Petrucci

Nicky.

I know but Petrucci is more known to me and I like the word "Petruccian", it sounds better than "Vaian" or something...

[Nicky007]

I've tried Redemption. But I guess I haven't tried hard enough. They have "it", you know.
 

PH, I can't quite guess what you mean by "it".

In any case, Redemption's Fullness Of Time (their second album) is a true masterpiece. Nick & Co. just got everything together in a real good way on that one, and Ray sings like he's gonna die tomorrow. Rather heavy to begin with, but once you're in, it's addictive. I had it on repeat for weeks.

Their first album, self-titled, and third, The Origins Of Ruin, are excellent too.

Nicky.

[PH]

PH, I can't quite guess what you mean by "it".

Although I don't like them yet, I know that they have it. They have... well... they have it in them.
Don't know how I should make that more clear...

I wanted to know how much studio albums I have and from which year.

1969: 1
1973: 1
1974: 1
1975: 1
1976: 2
1978: 2
1985: 1
1992: 1
1994: 1
1995: 2
1996: 1
1997: 1
1998: 1
1999: 5
2000: 3
2001: 3
2002: 4
2003: 8
2004: 6
2005: 10
2006: 7
2007: 6

So for me it seems that my top 5 list of best prog years is as follows:
1. 2005 has given me 10 studio albums
2. 2003 has given me 8 studio albums
3. 2006 has given me 7 studio albums
4. 2004/2007 has given me 6 studio albums
5. 1999 has given me 5 studio albums

How many studio albums catogorized by country:
Sweden has given me 14 studio albums
UK has given me 32 studio albums
Netherlands has given me 3 studio albums
USA has given me 18 studio albums
Germany has given me 1 studio albums

1. United Kingdom (this is also Stiltskin (half UK half Germany), Blackfield (half UK half Israel), The Tangent (half UK half Sweden)
2. USA (this is also Transatlantic (half USA quarter UK quarter Sweden)
3. Sweden
4. Netherlands (this is also Stream Of Passion (half Netherlands half Mexico half Sweden)
5. Germany

So most of my albums come from the United Kingdom.

Prog is probably UK USA and Sweden 'cause nothing else comes even close.
Very interesting to see, if I say so myself.

[Nicky007]

Although I don't like them yet, I know that they have it. They have... well... they have it in them.
Don't know how I should make that more clear...

You shall now be redeemed. Amen.


> Prog is probably UK USA and Sweden 'cause nothing else comes even close. Very interesting to see, if I say so myself.

Still, don't forget that this is very subjective.

Most of my fave active groups are American. For me, the Germans and Norwegians are on par with the Swedes, and my fave non-British&American album is Christ 0.

Nicky.