#57 - Pan.Thy.Monium

I mentioned some of the weirdness of To-Mera's song "The Lie" in my last post, but Sweden's Pan.Thy.Monium could give weird lessons to just about any musician.  They're also my first avant-garde metal entry since Sigh at number 95.  Pan.Thy.Monium is one of myriad projects by multi-instrumentalist and producer Dan Swanö, who can be heard on the excellent low vocals with Star One.  He's really more of a bit player on this one, playing bass and keys.  Other members include his brother Dag - who also plays with Dan in prog rock outfit Nightingale, Roberth Karlsson - probably best known for his vocals with Scar Symmetry, and Benny Larsson - drummer for another of Dan's projects,  prog-death metal band Edge of Sanity.

Pan.Thy.Monium includes some unusual instrumentation with violin and saxophone, but even more unusual is how they include it.  There's a lot of altissimo bari squealing and violin scraping that sounds like nails on a chalkboard.  Dan Swanö's keyboard often sounds like a $50 Casio, and Dag conjures images of the 70s as a hybrid of Tony Iommi and Terry Kath.  "The Battle of Geeheeb" is the opening track off of their third and final album from 1996, Khooohs and Kon-Fus-Ion.  This epic composition is chock full of driving riffs, none of them sticking around for more than 16 bars or so.  Just when you get your toe tapping to one (and they do usually have a catchy, head-bobbing feel), it switches to something completely different (if just as groovy).  Full disclosure, I have a tendency to like avant-garde music like this more than most, so I won't blame you too much if you don't dig it.  But at least give it a try.  As I've mentioned, I appreciate a little humor with my music, and these guys are a fun, smile-inspiring listen.

#58 - To-Mera

Another vastly under-appreciated band, To-Mera comes to us from England with some Hungarian roots.  To-Mera plays a somewhat unusual brand of technical progressive metal in that the characteristic lengthy songs and frequent time changes are colored by a overall gothic metal tone set primarily by the soprano vocals of talented Hungarian singer and front-woman Julie Kiss.  Equally unexpected are the occasional jazz interludes, solo piano and other compositional left turns that come out of nowhere from time to time in their music.  I first heard this band in 2006, shortly after the release of their debut album Transcendental, and fell in love with them right away.  Not only is their music inventive and unique, they play it impressively.

To-Mera's second album, Delusions, was released not long after the first and picked up where the debut left off.  If anything, it's more adventurous than Transcendental, with appearances by saxophone and bass clarinet, more frequent and jarring twists and turns and more ambitious songs, with the shortest clocking in at just a bit under six minutes.  Here's the opener, "The Lie", which gives a pretty good idea of what to expect from them should you give any of their other work a listen.  The tight, dry guitar and drum sound are characteristic, as are the spacey, wandering vocals and keyboards.  As challenging as the first couple of minutes are, it's just after the 2:00 mark that things start getting really weird, including the guitar solo which begins about a minute later and then the pseudo-orchestral section around 5:00.  An interesting and engaging song from a really unique and enjoyable band.

#59 - King Diamond

King Diamond is a Danish band and vocalist, the former active since 1985 and the latter singing in the band and with a couple of prior acts dating back to mid-70s.  King is one of the definitive metal singers, well-known for his wide vocal range, vivid performance, frequent falsetto, grotesque face-paint and theatrical stage persona.  The band was formed when King split with seminal band Merciful Fate and joined up with a team of even more technically sound musicians, probably most notably the excellent neo-classical guitarist and ever-busy Andy LaRocque, who has produced and guested on countless albums, including the classic Individual Thought Patterns with Death, alongside his wingman duties throughout King Diamond's long career.

Probably the most interesting and unique aspect of King Diamond's music, aside from King's vocal histrionics, is the fact that the vast majority of their albums are almost like rock operas.  Concept albums are not all that uncommon, but this band's records actually chronicle stories with plot-lines and characters (King plays them all, with a wide range of voices and expressions).  Abigail was their second studio album and the first of these metal operas.  The story is a Lovecraftian haunted house tale, where a young couple moves into the house that eventually destroys them, while spawning the evil infant, Abigail.  The album is cohesive and well-performed.  "A Mansion in Darkness" is probably my favorite on it, although the record's even throughout.  You get a good feel for the songwriting and the vocal and instrumental style with this one, and I hope you get as much enjoyment out of it as I do.  If so, make sure to give the whole work a listen.

#60 - The Eric Gales Band

Alright.  I know it's a major stretch to call this metal, but it is hard blues rock, and metal first came out of the blues right?  Plus, he's a smoking guitar player.  I first heard Memphis, Tennessee's Eric Gales Band when I was working at a record store in college in 1991.  The Elektra Records rep came by to drop off a bunch of cutouts (promotional copies of their new releases, and usually ones by bands no one has ever heard of).  The Eric Gales Band was one of those no name bands, launching with their eponymous debut album that year, and that album happened to be in the stack of cutouts the rep dropped off.  I'm not sure why or how, but I ended up taking that one home, and I'm glad I did.

Fun fact: Eric plays a right-handed guitar left-handed and upside down.  His brother Eugene does the same on bass.  I think the family had a bit of a Hendrix obsession.

When they recorded their first album, Eric was only 16 years old.  When you listen to his playing on it, it's simply unbelievable.  His phrasing's as beautiful and effortless as his chops are formidable.  The clip below includes two of the songs from the album (I couldn't find just one).  If you like it, search him out on YouTube.  There are a ton of videos there of him playing live, both as a kid and as an adult.  One of my favorites is this footage from a Memphis "Battle of the Bands".  He's a skinny 14-year-old kid with a super goofy outfit.  It's astounding.  He's 14 years old!!  They won the competition, which is no surprise when you hear it.

#61 - Pagan's Mind

Pagan's Mind is our fourth Norwegian band so far, and we're not anywhere close to done with that great metal country.  They're probably the most pop-oriented of the bunch, with a catalog of hook-laden songs with sing-songy choruses, especially in their later work.  As you'd probably expect, I'm more a fan of the earlier, less predictable stuff, particularly their second album, Celestial Entrance.  Like #63, they cultivate a polished prog-power sound, with pristine playing and catchy but somewhat twisty compositions.  They opt for science fiction themes and longish, epic-sounding songs... a true nerd's delight.

Celestial Entrance is a wonderful album, consistent but varied enough to hold your attention throughout.  The vocals and all instruments are performed flawlessly, and it's difficult to pick a favorite song from it; they're all so good.  I'm going with "...Of Epic Questions" pretty much out of a hat.  It's a great song and succeeds in showing what Pagan's Mind is all about, complete with over-the-top lyrics and "Also Sprach Zarathustra" type pomp and bombast.

#62 - WatchTower

WatchTower, from Austin, Texas, was one of, if not the first technical metal band, and they're frequently cited as influences by just about every tech metal band of the last 20 years.  Their first album dates back to 1985, and it's just mind blowing when you consider what was going on in music at that time.  The playing is frenetic and hyper-adventurous, fast, thrashy and insanely difficult, as their songs feature frequent meter changes at breakneck speed.  The vocals suit the style as they're high-pitched and wild.  Vocalist Jason McMaster went on to semi-fame with moderate hair band hits "Teas'n Pleas'n" and "Scared" in 1989 with his other band Dangerous Toys.

"Meltdown", in an earlier form, was the first WatchTower song ever to appear on a recording, that being a 1983 Texas metal compilation.  It later appeared again, re-recorded, on their 1985 self-funded debut album, Energetic Disassembly.  It's representative of their style during their two-album lifespan: hard, fast and wild technical progressive thrash.  Keep in mind this is from almost 30 years ago and on a minuscule budget, and just enjoy this jaw-dropping and fun piece of work.

#63 - Spheric Universe Experience

Spheric Universe Experience is a relatively recent band (by my standards anyway), having released their debut album only 8 years ago.  I first heard them on their follow-up, Anima, and as is often the case with my introduction to a band, it remains my favorite of their albums.  S.U.E.'s music is not too out of the ordinary, being firmly placeable in the progressive-power metal style, with a bit of a lean more toward the prog than the power.  As with the likes of Adagio, Angra and Symphony X, there's a lot of synth orchestration, shifty time signatures, squealing guitar harmonics and very tight playing.

As stated, Spheric Universe Experience's style of music isn't unique, but it's a favorite style of mine, and they sure do it well.  And what is unique is that they're the only entry in my top 100 favorite metal bands from France.  Give a listen to the pristine and enjoyable "Sceptic" off of their sophomore album Anima.  There are some neat tricks like the muted introduction that sets up the full-tilt entrance of the main opening riff and the mathematical time shifts that occur throughout the song.  The playing's impressively precise, and it's also simultaneously heavy and melodic, and as such, could have broad appeal.

#64 - Anacrusis

Anacrusis came out of St. Louis in the late 80s and rose to power in the early 90s, secretly keeping the metal flame lit during those dark days.  They were probably first and foremost a hard-charging thrash band, but they also possessed some veiled subtlety, and some unusual and interesting writing in their tonal, rhythmic and phrasing.  They kind of remind me of a blend of three classic and varied bands: Metal Church (power), Testament (thrash) and Voivod (prog).

I think Anacrusis hit their high point with 1991's Manic Impressions.  It's such a great album from start to finish.  Their follow-up (and sadly final) album Screams and Whispers is also outstanding.  It's tough to pick a favorite song to share with you, but at least there's no chance of picking a loser.  I'm just going with the opener.  Check out the energy, the quirky writing, the great drumming and the awesome, other-worldly vocals from this woefully under-appreciated classic progressive-thrash metal act.

#65 - Rush

Ok.  So have you heard of these guys?  This band out of Toronto, Canada was one of the first, and certainly one of the most influential, progressive metal bands.  While there were bands playing something akin with some hard progressive rock earlier, a la King Crimson and Yes, and there were other bands who got around to metal a little bit earlier (ahem... Black Sabbath), Rush may have been the first to put it all together with great musical and commercial success.  They had a remarkably consistent string of terrific albums from their more straightforward eponymous debut, featuring the hit "Working Man", in 1974 through eight albums in eight years culminating in 1981's Moving Pictures.  Of course there have been many Rush albums since then, and for the most part, they've been adventurous and interesting (at least the bits I've heard), but I think few would argue that those first eight weren't something special.

I'm including "The Trees" from 1978's Hemispheres here, since it's one of my favorites (although they have so many good songs, it's hard to pick one).  It's a fair representation of Rush's compositional style in those years, particularly the complex layering of parts, the impressive fullness of only a trio of musicians, and the use of departure from and later return to earlier-established musical themes.  It also shows drummer Neil Peart's characteristically and impressively busy drumming (remember this was the 70s) and thoughtful lyric writing.  You've heard it before, but enjoy Rush's "The Trees" again for old times sake.

#66 - Kyuss

In the early 1990s, Kyuss defined and perfected the rock sound of the desert of Southern California.  While Seattle was flipping the bird to the world and perhaps more directly to the increasingly superficial music industry with the rise of grunge, Palm Desert was raising its own middle finger, but this one was dirtier under the nail, permanently bent at the knuckle and with skin leathery as hell.  Kyuss' sound, and the genre of stoner rock that it helped spawn, captured the disconnected, disenfranchised sentiment of the grunge movement, but without the malaise.  Instead, they opted alternately for an intense slow burn or a driving edge, with just a dash of imperfection to drive home the take-it-or-leave-it aesthetic.  These guys were so talented, authentic and musically convincing that after their breakup in 1995, they went on to participate in many more bands that left a mark on rock music, most notably guitarist Josh Homme and his later band Queens of the Stone Age.

When I think of definitive driving-on-the-highway tunes, a handful come to mind: "Breaking the Law" by Judas Priest, "Highway Star" by Deep Purple, Corrosion of Conformity's "Clean My Wounds" (which we heard earlier) and this gem off of Kyuss' album Blues for the Red Sun.  "Green Machine" is a tight little song with a great riff and an incredible groove.  There are some cool details like the stuttering entrance of the second guitar at the beginning and the fuzzy tube amp sound that make the song work so perfectly, and the backing vocals are spot on.  Here, Kyuss shows why they're so highly regarded and why legions of stoner rock bands followed their lead.

#67 - Between the Buried and Me

I was late to the game on this terrific band out of Raleigh, North Carolina, having first heard them about a year ago despite having read a lot of good press about them prior to that.  It's been about 10 years since their first album, so to me and the glacial pace of my discovery of new music, they're a pretty new band.  I have a feeling they'll be moving their way up my list of faves as I am exposed to more of their inventive music and virtuosic playing.  It's hard to pin Between the Buried and Me into a specific subgenre, although they're unequivocally metal.  Maybe schizo-metal would best describe it as they're all over the map.  I suppose they'd be most accurately labeled progressive, with death a close second.  But there's really everything here: thrash, instrumental, classic and alternative metal all get quite a bit of time at the forefront.  And wow are they good.  They play all styles with great understanding, technical facility and swagger.

Ants of the Sky was the first BTBAM song I heard, and it's a doozy.  It leaps out of the blocks with an uptempo death-ish opening with guitar work reminiscent of Yngwie's blistering arpeggios and Children of Bodom's drive and screaming.  It quickly gets artier with a jazzy instrumental segment from 0:41 to 1:52, passing through a soft keyboard pad to an anthemic heavy rock fanfare and back to the fast opening feel.  The vocal sections are short; the song's really an instrumental epic with a few brief vocal bits of contrast.  I know it's a long song, but give it a listen through for some really interesting juxtaposition of styles from all over the map (the biggest shocker of which is the old-style country at 11:45) and some truly impressive playing. 

#68 - Psychotic Waltz

San Diego's Psychotic Waltz was never a widely-recognized band here in the States, but they developed something of a cult following on the back of their outstanding 1990 self-released debut album, A Social Grace.  They went on to release three more albums, the sophomore effort also self-financed and the final two on minor labels Zardoz and Intercord.  Their underground popularity prompted (and was helped along by) Metal Blade Records, who in 2004 re-released all four albums along with some bonus material.  It was around that time that I first heard them, and while sorry that I wasn't aware of them when they were active (and more importantly, touring), I'm sure glad I was fortunate enough to come across their music at all.  In some ways they throw back to the early metal and hard rock sounds of Black Sabbath (with detuned guitars playing in octaves with the bass and a manic vocal style) and Jethro Tull (lead vocalist Buddy Lackey even features on flute from time to time).  In fact I'd call those two bands, along with perhaps early Fates Warning, their main musical influences.  The four albums are solid efforts throughout, with the first two being the heavier and more progressive metal, and the latter two a bit more atmospheric and polished.  According to their website, they reunited a couple years ago and a new album is in the works.

My favorite Psychotic Waltz album is also the rawest, their debut A Social Grace.  It's packed with 13 varied, creative and thoroughly enjoyable songs, all very enthusiastically performed.  The song I'm including below - "In This Place" - is one of my favorites on the album, although all the songs are terrific with "I Remember" and "Spiral Tower" also deserving any additional online searching you might be willing to do.  "In This Place" starts with a quick drum intro and an angular opening riff in 4.  The verse enters shortly thereafter (0:29) in an odd and difficult 15/8 meter.  And it just gets twistier through the chorus and then the bridge at 1:35, after which a half-time section leads into a jam over which a bizarre narrative is spoken and an equally bizarre guitar solo is played.  Finally, the verse recapitulates at 3:22, followed by a final repetition of the chorus and a relentless instrumental outro to the exclamation point ending.  This thing is a roller coaster ride start to finish; go ahead and strap in and give it a listen.  I hope it's as fun for you as it is for me.

[Edit] - "In This Place" went away on YouTube, so I'm substituting the heavy "Spiral Tower" in its place for now.  Enjoy!