#12 - Unexpect

So many weird and wonderful bands come from French-speaking eastern Canada, including prog-thrashers Voivod, avant-death pioneers Gorguts, tech-death speedsters Cryptopsy, all of the above characteristics in the great Martyr, and my favorite of them all from Montreal, avante-garde grab bag Unexpect.  Along with Japan's Sigh, Sweden's Pan-Thy-Monium and California's Mr. Bungle, Unexpect rounds out the four "experimental" metal bands in the top 100, and of the four, they're probably musically the weirdest.  True to their name, their music is characterized by sudden and disorienting changes of direction, both in style and rhythm.  There's a lot of black metal in their sound, and also a lot of Kurt Weill-esque dark cabaret, but one can also hear classical/art nusic, electronica, tech/prog, opera and jazz abruptly and at any time.  The schizophrenic compositions are counterbalanced by incredibly precise execution and, when taken in combination, make for one of (if not the) most impressive bands I've ever heard.

2006's In A Flesh Aquarium is a special album, with one mind-blowing song after another.  As such, it's tough to pick one to share with you.  "Desert Urbania", the first clip included below, is as good a one as any, as it displays their characteristic dichotomy of chaotic composition and pristine performance.  The song opens with solo piano in a slow 4, sparsely accompanied by underwater-sounding guitar squiggles, and slowly built on by the addition of bass and cymbals, followed by drums, and finally the whole rhythm section on some prog whole-note chords at 1:04 for a few seconds.  Then a brief piano interlude at 1:12, during which you get the sense that something terrifying is about to happen.  Six seconds later all hell breaks loose, with the entrance of the entire band, including three vocalists and violin over a suddenly faster tempo and uneven phrases, punctuated by breaks that are somewhere between beatnik jazz and circus music.  It's hard to describe all the wild changes that occur over the following three and a half minutes or so but somehow, they manage to feature everybody in the well-populated band.  There's an awesome hemiola right at 5:00 and then another one at 5:24, which begin the slow wind down to the end as instruments start to drop out until we're left with just the piano again, which sags and slows to the end, like an animatronic creepy clown running out of juice.

Up next is "Summoning Scenes", from the same album, but here performed impressively live in studio for Fearless Music in New York.

#13 - Silent Stream of Godless Elegy

Hailing from Ostrava, Moravia in eastern Czech Republic, Silent Stream of Godless Elegy is the most multifarious act on the top 100, from their wordy name to the large band population.  They're also the only real folk metal band, featuring traditional instruments, folk-inspired melodies and the beautiful and gypsy-like vocals of one of my favorite vocalists, Hanka Hajdová (née Nogolová) from whom you heard earlier in Forgotten Silence.  They've been around for over 20 years already, having formed in 1995.  I first heard them in 2004, initially on "I Would Dance" a terrific example of Slavic folk metal from their album Relic Dances of that year, and immediately delved into their back catalog.

Musically, I'm going to introduce SSOGE as I was introduced to them, with "I Would Dance" from 2004's Relic Dances.  The opening drum setup and characteristic slow, heavy riff featuring the violin and cello, first playing in octaves, and then weaving between one another and together lead into a deeply growled first verse at 0:32 backed by ethereal wordless cleans.  Hanka takes over the spotlight at the chorus at 1:01 with the first, and most simply arranged, chorus.  After an abbreviated recap of the intro, the second verse at 1:41 is like the first with the addition of string embellishment.  The second chorus at 2:09 includes additional vocal parts in harmony with and as accents to the chorus's melody.  Another recap of the intro leads into the string-dominated bridge at 3:07 during which a double time feel accompanies more wordless backing vocals at 3:38.  The final chorus at 3:55 continues over the double-time feel and now includes the string section, the growled vocals and the multiple layered cleans, capping a steady build throughout the song.

Like when I first found them, I'm looking back now at an earlier offering.  This is "Old Women's Dance" from 1998's Behind the Shadows.  It's rawer and lacks Hanka's enchanting vocals, but the use of the strings is still interesting and unique, and the male vocals are varied, enthusiastic and enjoyable.  Plus the song just rocks.

And for fun, a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir"...

#14 - sHeavy

One generally doesn't think of St. John's, Newfoundland as a hotbed of rock.  That is, until one hears Canada's kings of stoner rock, the mighty sHeavy.  Founded in the mid 90's, sHeavy has steadily released a remarkably consistent string of 10 albums over the past 20 years, each a slab of groovy, sludgy, riff-oriented rock, one great tune after another.  The consistency is even more remarkable given the parade of players who have rolled through the band, as evidenced by this photo:

SHeavy wears their influences on their collective sleeve.  Singer Steve Hennessey bears a clear and uncanny vocal resemblance to early Sabbath-era Ozzy Osbourne, and guitarist Dan Moore's impression of Tony Iommi isn't far behind.  Add to that the fact that the band began life as Green Machine, named for the Kyuss rocker, and you get a pretty good idea of what sHeavy is about musically: lots of driving stoner rock, with a down-tuned, 70's lean.  There's also some psych-rock in there and of course some Sabbath-inspired doom-y metal.  They really are just one great song after another, and adeptly and enthusiastically performed.  Here's the first song I ever heard by them, "Firebird 350", up there with Deep Purple's "Highway Star" and Kyuss's "Green Machine" as one of the three best open road driving songs I know, followed by a complete (and bizarre) live performance from 2005 at the Masonic Temple in St John's, where they set up on the floor in the middle of the "crowd" of 80 or so and knock it out of the park.

#15 - Puya

I first heard Puerto Rica's Puya in 1999 as the very, very first band in that summer's long Ozzfest lineup.  I think the poor guys played at something like 11 in the morning to a small and disinterested audience at the Atlanta show I attended, before an impressive roster of artists including Open Mike favorites System of a Down, Primus and Black Sabbath.  The first thing I noticed when they took the stage: a horn section!  Being a trombonist as well as a long time fan of both metal and 70's horn bands like Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears and Earth Wind & Fire, I was intrigued.  Unfortunately, as is often the case at rock festivals, the sound was a disaster and I came away unimpressed.  But luckily for me, my friend Jeff, who was at the show with me, picked up their debut album called Fundamental and I got a second chance to hear them.

If one was to stick them in a sub-genre box, it would probably have to be Nu metal, but to leave it at that isn't fair to them or to anyone considering giving them a listen.  Sure they've got some of the hardcore and hip hop elements that are the hallmarks of the genre, but there's also some jazz guitar work, occasional prog chord progressions and phrasing surprises.  And especially a ton of salsa, complete with congas, timbales, horn section and a deeply pocketed groove.  Honestly, I've never heard anyone sound remotely like them, which is surprising because the sound works so well.  Their first full-length album Fundamental is a joy to listen to, and I'm including here the title track, my favorite of a slew of strong offerings.  If you like it, scroll a little further down to hear a live performance of a song from their 2001 follow-up album Union called "Sí Ajá" which, while missing the horn section, has a really enjoyable latin jazz break sandwiched between a crushing metal opening and recap to finish.  And finally, because it's unexpected, a 1998 cover of The Police's "Spirits in the Material World"... in Spanish.

#16 - Children of Bodom

Perhaps even more so than fellow countrymen Nightwish, Children of Bodom are a shining example of the vast difference between what qualifies as pop music in Finland and what does here in the United States.  Sure they're behind Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson, but CoB is one of the best selling musical acts all-time in Finland.  You'll see how impossible that is to believe as an American (if you're an American) when we get into the music below.  Children of Bodom takes their name from an unsolved multiple murder case from the 60's in their hometown of Espoo, which gives a little insight into their image.  Lead vocalist/guitarist Alexi "Wildchild" Laiho's persona is truly a caricature, taking cues from 80's Los Angeles hair bands like Motley Crue, Guns N Roses, and perhaps most directly, their Finish doppelgangers Hanoi Rocks.  He's skinny with long straight hair, frequently sports a leather jacket or t-shirt with the sleeves ripped out and blue jeans, and while on stage, drinks beer between tunes, spits prolifically and spews a steady stream of profanity whenever addressing his audience.  But the look and the show are just the beginning.

There's a lot to say about Children of Bodom from a musical perspective.  First of all, they are a true melting pot of metal.  Alexi's vocals sound straight out of classic black metal and I've seen them repeatedly misclassified as an example of that genre.  It's true that there are occasional blast beats and tremolo picking, but I think it's a major stretch to call them a black metal band.  I think the best categorization for them is Euro power metal, but you'll hear glam, rock and even baroque classical music too.  Back to Alexi, his facile neo-classical riffing and soloing link him clearly to the Yngwie Malmsteen school of guitar playing, but his approach is lighter and more energetic... reckless even, but in a good way.  Drummer Jaska Raatikainen is one of my favorites.  He somehow manages to sound metronomic, while still grooving with good feel and energy.  He switches seamlessly between duple and triple patterns, and between machine gun double kick feels and standard rock beats reminiscent of the afore-mentioned Boss.  And then there's keyboardist Janne Wirman, who somehow gets away with baroque organ and harpsichord sounds one second and C&C Music Factory keyboard hits the next.  It's just such a weird amalgamation of sources and yet they pull it off convincingly and very, very enjoyably.  I'm going to share my favorite of theirs, "Children of Bodom" from 1999's fantastic album Hatebreeder, followed by a live video of "Downfall" from the same album (warning: extensive profanity).  Note the live introduction which quotes Motley Crue, Judas Priest and Dio before launching into the song.

#17 - Van Halen

I was only five when these L.A. rockers exploded onto the scene with their hugely (for a hard rock band) successful eponymous debut, so I was pretty oblivious to it and the string of four excellent successive albums.  It wasn't until sixth grade and the release of their number one single "Jump" that I (and anyone else who had been living under a rock) finally got a listen to the infectious and unique amalgamation of pop, soul, punk and metal that was Van Halen.  By the time singles "Panama" and "Hot for Teacher" popped up on MTV, I had already acquired and fallen in love with their sixth album, 1984... I remember my aunt being somewhat scandalized by the album cover, which depicted a greaser-looking cherub smoking a cigarette from what might be a pilfered pack against the backdrop of a pale blue sky.  It turned out I had already unknowingly heard guitarist Eddie Van Halen's virtuosity and unique melodic approach on Michael Jackson's "Beat It" several months earlier in what still stands out as one of the best radio pop guitar solos of all time.

It's easy to point to Eddie as the key to the band's success, and you could certainly make that argument convincingly.  He was far and away the most virtuosic rock guitarist of the mid-to-late-70s, and while countless proteges have copped his pioneering techniques, I've never heard, in all the years since, anyone who combined the same chops and unorthodox approach to rhythm and melody.  But to me Eddie's fantastic guitar prowess was just part of the equation.  His brother Alex contributed a similarly unique feel on the drums, simultaneously drawing from disparate influences like surf rock, jazz, pop and of course heavy metal.  Gregarious frontman David Lee Roth, an unrivaled showman, drew from rock and R&B roots, and delivered an infectious combination of swagger and silliness with his rangy vocals and falsetto shrieks.  And one of the most enjoyable and unique aspects of Van Halen was the crystal clear backing vocals of Eddie and bassist Michael Anthony.  Here are one of my favorites of theirs, "Hot For Teacher" from 1984 and a pretty good quality live recording of them from 1979 playing "You're No Good".

10 Best Progressive Metal Albums of 2015

Okay so it's been over a year since I've posted, but I promise I've been thinking about you.  And as a token of apology for my neglect, I'm making this offering of the 10 best progressive metal albums of 2015.  These bands may not fit the conventional (and increasingly old-fashioned) boundaries around the genre, in that they don't all feature stratospheric vocals, heavy keyboards or 20 minute epics (although there is some of all of that here).  Rather, they're all bands who play progressive music in that they challenge conventions, themselves and their listeners with either compositional inventiveness, virtuosic performance, a unique approach, complexity or some or all of the above with music that impresses, surprises and delights.

In preparation for this post, I listened to several hundred albums released in 2015 and narrowed down first to about 80 that I really liked and finally to the 10 best which, without further ado, I now present to you.

10. Between the Buried and Me - Coma Ecliptic

I've written about this Raleigh, North Carolina band before.  Their latest album tones it down a bit, but it's still quite heavy, quirky and loaded with tight playing.  They do a great job of balancing twists and turns with catchy hooks on this album and it may be a bit more accessible than its predecessors but that's not to say that it's not a blast to listen to.

9. Khariot - Esoteric
This band from Perth, Australia is a new one to me.  I'm sure glad to have been introduced.  They clearly take a cue from brilliant Canadian metallers Gorguts with the brutal heaviness, atonal riffing and soloing, and the blazing drumming, but it does somehow sound fresh and a bit more modern.  And it's only two people!

8. Leprous - The Congregation
These guys have been favorites of mine for a while now, and this, their fourth full-length studio offering, doesn't disappoint.  It's a step back toward the heavy after 2013's Coal, which was a bit more somber and prog-rock than previous albums.  This polished work sits somewhere in the middle of that and their earlier, more buoyant rockers.

7. Piah Mater - Memories of Inexistence
Another new band, this time from Rio de Janeiro, this progressive death metal band plays an eclectic blend of heavy riffing and acoustic interludes, clean and growling vocals, reminiscent of Still Life era Opeth with perhaps a bit of more avant-tinged moments that remind me of Forgotten Silence.

6. Symphony X - Underworld

Another pristine effort from neo-classical prog-power stalwarts Symphony X, Underworld is similar in style and quality to their last couple of albums.  With the usual orchestral and choral sections, super tight ensemble work, odd and mixed meters, precise technical execution and blistering chops on all instruments, it's just one more in a long catalog of impressive albums.

5. Intronaut - The Direction of Last Things
Unbelievably, this Los Angeles based quartet just keeps getting better and better.  I've seen their unique sound described as post-prog metal, and I think that's about as good a box as any you could put around them.  It's loaded with twisty ensemble playing, unusual vocal harmonies and stunning rhythm section work.  As good as this album is, they're even better live and a highly recommended concert outing.

4. Orakle - Eclats
Orakle, from Paris, has apparently been around for at least 12 years, but this is the first I've ever heard of them, and am I glad I finally did!  Eclats is a pretty zany, but polished release, featuring a wide variety of vocal and compositional styles.  It's all very well put together and, while there are plenty of surprises, nothing seems out of place... a mature and enjoyable listen.

3. Alkaloid - The Malkuth Grimoire

The top three this (last) year are all incredibly impressive bands, starting with German supergoup Alkaloid, featuring members with impressive credits in Obscura, Necrophagist, Aborted, Noneuclid and Blotted Science (among others).  This album borrows some from the afore-mentioned bands, but is perhaps less solidly in the death metal camp than its predecessors.  Really great playing and interesting and enjoyable songs!

2. Gorod - A Maze of Recycled Creeds
Another French band, this time from Bordeaux in the southwest, Gorod's grown over the past 15 or so years into one of the most impressive and inventive technical death metal bands around.  Generally up-tempo and super-tight, this album walks the line between prog and death metal nimbly.

1. Panzerballett - Breaking Brain

This fantastic album by Bavarian jazz/metal hybrid instrumental band is a treat to listen to, but be prepared for twisty metal-infused jazz as opposed to the other way around.  Leads are handled alternately or together by guitar and tenor sax, soloing abounds as does humor, and the rhythmic complexity is never understated.  Make sure you make it to the cheeky "Mahna Mahna" (track 4) for a fun and unique cover, but the whole album is equally amazing.