Sunday
Nov152009
Top 5 Queensryche Videos
Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 12:01AM
I'm boarding Shiprocked today...As you may know, Queensryche is headlining the floating festival. This means it's a perfect time to countdown the top 5 Queensryche videos...selected by me, of course!
Number 5 - "Anybody Listening?"
Number 4 - "I Don't Believe in Love"
Queensryche - I Don't Believe In Love
Paul | MySpace Video
Number 3 - "Empire"
queensryche
NUCCIO +sdmf+ | MySpace Video
Number 2 - "Silent Lucidity"
Queensryche - Silent Lucidity
mikehell74 | MySpace Video
Number 1 - "Jet City Woman"
Queensryche - Jet City Woman
mikehell74 | MySpace Video
Agree with my list? Disagree? Share your thoughts in the comments section. I'll review the Queensryche concert aboard the cruise as soon as time permits. Ahoy mateys!
Reader Comments (25)
Yes, a real opinion!
I used to feel this way 100%!
I hope your not just sayin' that to bait me, but really are standing by what you are saying here...
But I'm gonna defend 'em a little (and trash 'em, too, you bet! That's always easier, but in your case, it's valid), too, but all this computer self flagilation I've been doin' on here is taking it's toll, so I'll hit ya when I get back to the beach.
In the meantime, if you don't mind, have a look at what I wrote about Mick Marrs over on my last Saigon Kick post!
Dude, you rock!
An opinion with b*lls.
Of course, anyone who wants to give Queensryche props, I can't wait to hear, either, cuz this is what's gonna make this one a goodie.
Believe me, Al knows exactly what she's doin' cuz this because Queensreich is such a polarizing band, too!
You either love 'em or you hate 'em, and in my case my alter ego loves 'em and I hate 'em (I'm a Gemini). What I'm trying to say is, I have a Love/Hate (now there's a great band. Check out Jizzy's site) thing goin' on with Queenzriot. Like I said I used to just strickly hate 'em and now having finally grappled with the notion that there must be something there to investigate about them to at last reveal what the fuss is was all about.
My ex-lead axeman hates 'em and there's no changin' his mind. But I actually gotta say, I've got my moments of actually liking 'em. But there's also plenty to hate about 'em, too.
And you and all the folks comin' on for this are gonna hear it, if you care to read it, when I get back from ogling hot chicks in silver or white bikini's who are in all likelihood listening to either Beyonce, Justin, Kanye, Fittee, or Jay-Zeitgeist or worse, because of the geography where I am, Sugarland or Taylor Swift...
Yikes! Remember when it was hot pink bikini's with boom boxes so you could spot the Metal chicks from a mile away? And you had the mullet or Ronnie Wood shag to snag 'em?
Or, if you don't, can you kids please start a movement and carry Al's torch, pleeeeez...
MotCruTriple6, stay tuned...
All you other Rock And Roll Children, c'mon, me and MotCru want to hear it...
Blomp, Blomp, Blompomp, "Queen of the Reich!"...
I'll be back in a few, too...
I'm dyin' to hear what people have to say about these dudes...
Kenny!
Yo, dude. Man, I'm worshippin' the metal plate gangplank you walk on! Listened to Danger Danger's "Cockroach" again today (cannot recommend this album(s) more highly, just as Kenny did for me, folks). Probably won't shut up about it for awhile. Had it on the iPod on the beach. Not too many chicks out there except old ladies today, who were probably once the hot 80's Metal bikini'd boom box babes I described from days of yore and who are now probably mean mom's yellin' at their kids because their listening to Kanye or some sh*t too loud in thier rooms.
Remember when that was Cinderella, "Night Songs"? What's wrong with this world? Bring Back Glam Now!
So yeah, DD's "Cockroach"... Man, it's killer...
Hey, I wrote some comments on it somewhere on here. It"s all become one big metal blur for me now, hahaha!!! Again, thanks for the tip. What a killer band they are and I've come to believe that's their best album...
I also put up lists of Swedemetal in the recent Europe commentary section. If there are other Swedish bands I forgot or you can recommend please let me know. They really know how to chop up an e-chord.
And now for a few thoughts on Queensryche...
First of all, I hated these guys from the gitgo for about 23 years until just a few months ago.
They are thinking man's Metal, I always knew that... I just wasn't sure if I was into what they were/are thinkin'...
But I always dug some of the concepts. The idea of a concept album named "Operation Mindcrime" just sounds cool. But if anybody can tell me what the idea is, I'd like to know.
Thing is, too, and this is partly having to do with my low tolerance for Geoff Tate's style of singing -- y'know, the whole emphasis on the wrong syllables along with annunciation and pronunciation issues. He suffers from the same issues I have with that dude Matt Kramer from Saigon Kick.
It's funny Al has 'em stacked so close on this site. Coincidence? I'm not so sure. I think she digs both of 'em and more power to her. They probably put on a great show on this Shipcrocked thing she's on. To be honest, I wish I was on it, looking at the line up, specially Ratt with Cavuso lending a shredding hand. Remember seein' him live with Quiet Riot point blank back in the day. What a shredder.
Same with Ratt back in the day with Crosby, who was already havin' some technical difficulty and it showed (God bless him, I really loved that guy). Di Martini really shredded it up that night, too. The idea of 'em both combined sounds beyond killer.
Yeah, so Tate has that whole what I'll call, REO syndrome working against him.
But I always thought "Empire" was okay, everytime I saw it over some chick's shoulder, when I was watchin' Headbanger's Ball (and taping it but editing the commercials out and poppin' in Gulf War bombing footage during the commercial breaks --I'd always cut to CNN and grab some bombing sortee footage during the commercials and then go back to Headbanger's so the end result is 4 to 5 Metal vids then a pod of Bombing Sortee's and then some more Headbanger's.
It's also interesting to note that during this process, I could then turn my attention back to romancin' the babe with confidence, full knowing I was recording my Metal Boys. And inevitably without fail there would be Queensryche in such regular MTV rotation beyond just Headbanger's Ball, I had to start fast forwarding through 'em, cuz I plain just couldn't take 'em, anymore.
But here I am, after 23 years of trying to ignore 'em and fast forwarding 'em, and now I'm kinda gettin' into 'em. Weird! Hey, maybe they pulled an Operation Mindcrime on my brain just a little while ago by sending an invisible probe through the TV (isn't it always the TV for nuts like me) to suddenly make me like them by the time I started writing this.
Yeah, I hear you guys, their stuff's just not that catchy. Most of the stuff I just burnt out on cuz I wasn't really into it yet there was just no friggin' escapin' 'em cuz they were just all over MTV for some strange reason (but probably not so strange to Viacom and the record companies...$$$$...).
You get the picture on how they couldn't be avoided. But whatever chick I lured back to my apartment didn't and also usually didn't appreciate all the maneuvering that was required to achieve total perfection with creation of the commercial free Headbanger's Bomb Fest Tape every Saturday night.
All this being said, I am a defacto reluctant expert on 'em without even glancing at Wikipedia and based soley on these music videos she's got up on here.
While I could never listen to Operation Mindcrime or any of their albums, for that matter... there's no denying, for me at any rate, and even with Tate having caught REO Speedwagonitis long before they got big, they've got a couple decent songs including one's Al has represented here with these vids...
So, I don't really like them, but I like a couple of their songs... That's how I deal with them...
And the songs I like best are...
1) "Queen of the Reich". Check out that video and I like this one the best because he's not gone all REO on us yet. Sorry, but this just totally kicks *ss for me. It's almost like it's not Queensryche. At least not the one we all know and love/hate today. Plus, their just havin' fun with this one before they got all Rush/serious on us later on.
It should also be said here, while I'm between this list and while it's on my mind. From what I can tell these guys are consummate musicians. Scorching guitars, for sure. I also think they did well not so much for the song but very well produced and cool videos.
I wouldn't be surprised if some of the later stuff was directed by Matt Muharin who I had the privelege of getting hammered with a couple of times in NYC at various parties and bars around. He was on the Metal circuit so you could run into him. He also directed "Primal Scream" for Motley Crue, so you get the idea. You can actually get pretty good at spotting his stuff. But now you don't have to spot, probably. You can most likely just YouTube his name and up will come all of our boyz, including black sheep, Queensryche. Dunno. But I'll try it after this.
One last thing on Muharin's vids for Metal bands. His stuff really is art, so it really captured the feeling of the stuff without being obvious. Really classy stuff and it really rubbed off on his bands he shot for. Even if they weren't worthy, suddenly they seemed better than they actually were because of him.
Okay so back to the list of Queensryche songs I like...
as I said...
1) "Queen of the Reich"
2) "Empire" Kinda like Rush, who, sorry guys, I just don't dig after Neil Peart came in and made 'em a ProgRock band. 2112 and all that, I'm with ya on. It's when they let him start writin' the songs is where you lost me. But this is like a better latter day Rush song. Better than any of that Neil Peart stuff in my book. Man, I know I'm gonna hear it on this, but that's what I think. And I kinda like the lyrics on this, too. More thought provoking than most of the stuff of our genre at that time. Thus, why I dubbed 'em "Thinking Man's Metal", I guess. Man, how about calling 'em, dare I say , "Tasteful Metal", too.
Granted, I haven't forgotten your comment, MotCruTripleSixr ... this dude, Jeff Tate, is without question an annoying singer and has that whole pretention, too serious thing goin' on, but I will say, in his case, he kinda can live up to the pretention a little more than our boy Kramer from Calgon Kick. That guy was hokey, whereas this Queensryche dude does deliver with some real chops way beyond that SK dude's range. In other words, if you put these two characters in two seperate identical soundbooths (but make it fun by plexifying them off so these two can watch each other as they make the others face turn redder and redder until they almost explode, which is kinda what Tate's head looks like it's about to do anyway)... Yeah, so each sound booth with identical acoustics, microphones and most importantly, identical Baccarat (why f*ck around?) crystal wine glasses, chances are it's gonna be Tate's chops winning out over Kramer in a death match yodeling contest.
All right, talk about digression...
Back to the list...
1) Queen of the Reich
2) "Empire". Guess this is kind of a knock off of Rush's "Big Money" a little bit, too, as well as kinda sounding like it. Except when Tate says the word "Empire", which is kinda cool, like a voice over for a commercial, "New, EMPIRE!", instead of singing it, it's spoken word.
3) "Jet City Woman" Hey, man, this kinda rocks and his voice is a little less annoying. I always this one had the best hook of any of their stuff. Probably the only hook, hahaha...
Well, anyway, I like it... It's kinda their "Big City Nights" because, let's face it, their whole approach is kinda forlorn probably because it rains all the time and also because of the fact that it was starting to rain down grunge bands like cats and dogs in Seattle at that point. And they were reigning down on Queensryche, unfortunately for them. Still, tho, this is a very clever kinda amped up love song to some Seattle gal, probably a paramour of Tate or whoever in the band that wrote this, since Seattle is also known as "Jet City" because that's where Boeing's headquarters is.
4) "Silent Lucidity" Hey man, this is kinda boring to me, but you know, it is kinda beautiful. This whole love/hate thing for me with this band goes to the notion of something I came to realize in Art School when people were just shredding someone's art work in a class critique... and that is this...
"I don't have to like it to know whether it's good or not."
So while I may not necessarily be to wild about "Silent Lucidity" or hardly any of their stuff (except, hands down, "Queen of the Reich"), I cannot deny it's quality artistic merits.
5) "I Don't Believe In Love". The thinking man's anti-power ballad which makes it a power ballad. I only listened to this one, like most of their stuff, a few times recently to try and figure out what all the fuss was about, and couldn't avoid hearing it one too many times back in the day of Queensryche MTV domination, even with fast forwarding (except their theme song they probably wish wasn't, "Queen of the Reich", natch, hahaha!!!. I don't get tired of that one, for all the reasons you can hear in it and not the other stuff, which is completely different and a helluva lot more boring). Yeah, this one's last cuz it's the most boring.
I also like their song, "Surgical Strike".
And I like their song, "I Dream In Infrared", another cool video, and this has to be one of the coolest Metal songtitles ever, and maybe even beyond just Metal, when it comes to cool songtitles. So cool.
Addendum: For the record, while we are on the subject of annoying singers, MotCru3x6, absolutely cannot stand Geddy Lee. If I closed my eyes, I'd swear it was Alvin from the Chipmunks wearing a mini Fender Fretless Bass, not the freakish lookin' dude who is actually the delivery boy of all of Peart's hogwash. I'm just not impressed with musical virtuosity, which is why I know so many musicians just love Peart and Rush, but I don't care how good someone can play the drums if I just don't think they are all that Rock and Roll.
Okay, this is about Queensryche, but what I'm about to say also applies to the Rushies... Ya can overplay your *ss off but if you don't have the tunes, forget it. Queensryche had a few and in my book, Rush had even fewer. You may wonder why I keep bringin' up Rush, and though it stemmed from my link alleging a connection between Rush's "Big Money" and Queensryche's "Empire", it's really because, when you look and listen to both bands body of work, or as much as you can stand, at any rate, you may come to see what I think...
That Queensryche is the Rush of Hair Metal.
One other thing (hahaha!!!), Queensryche is a joke. It's the same thing as Saigon Kick, who we had the chance to look at in Al's previous post to this one, these acts take themselves so seriously, they don't even realize they are being funny.
In the case of Queensryche, they are a joke they themselves don't get, but lucky for them, I think it's a pretty good joke. You can see how I usually shred some of these shredders when their unintentional humor isn't funny but means they just straight up suck. In the case of these guys, they are saved by a couple of their songs.
As far as I'm concerned, Lee, Kramer, Cronin and last but not least this dude, Geoff Tate can all form a Barbershop Quartet in hell as far as I'm concerned. And that dude from King's X who Gene brought up on the Saigon Kick page can be thier special guest, tho his voice isn't as wack. Hey, Kramer could always get work in a Supertramp tribute band, too. I see we are ready to move onto Jason McMaster in Al's newest and latest post and now, that's a singer with b*lls, in my book.
So, as far as Queensryche goes, other than the hits, you can have 'em and I know Kenny O, MotCruTriple6er and my ex-lead axeman don't want 'em, and I can only take them for awhile...
Kenny O, MotCru3x6er, ExGtr, tho I hear ya, bros, I mean I was one of ya two months ago, maybe you'd be willing to take another look...and listen to Queensryche.
So, in the meantime, hey, you, out there, now it's your turn...
p.s. Again, sorry about all the typos, etc. Hopefully, it's all worth reading or at the very least, readable. I'm crashin'!
http://rockdirt.com/queensryche-the-hands-video/18454/
QR are one of my favorite bands and Geoff Tate is (in my opinion) one of the greatest singers there is.
I would never look at them from a hair metal point of view though. Yeah, the music industry wanted to press them into this genre in the 80's but they always have been a Progressive Metal band.
Queensryche is an 80's Prog Metal band.
They still seem to have a little of the Glam thing going on and they got the Hair. I think they wanted to get lumped in a little, not just "pressed", unless they're unhappy with the Hair Metal production of their albums.
And what about "Queen of the Reich"? That's just pure high octane Glam Metal, if you ask me. Though I'm sure a lot of the Metallica worshipers would view it as pure Power Metal. I also happen to view it as "Comedy Metal", something akin to Spinal Tap, which is why it's my fave of Queensryche songs. Gotta remember where I'm comin' from. Wait, I'm not sure where I'm comin' from either. Maybe the planet Zxylor.
My guess is you're into Rush, too, no?
How, 'bout you, Kenny. You into Rush?
Don't be afraid. I like 'em up to a point, 'til they started listening to Peart too much. And then there's the chipmunk vocal issue.
Just for kicks, I listened to all my fave Queensryche song again last night, tho, and I can't go as far as agreeing with you that Tate is one of the greatest singers there is. It takes more than just a big vocal range, the ability to sustain high notes, and whatever else it is that constitutes what a great Metal singer should be. He's gotta have b*lls and this guy's delivery get's way too nasal and weird most of the time. It detracts from the fact that he may very well possess them.
Look, the guy shrieks like a whining pig more than half the time, let's face it!
And he just took it all way too seriously, which I can't stand. Give me showmanship or give me death and he's an absolute borefest, so I guess my days are numbered if I listen to much more of them, let alone ever see 'em.
Still, I do have my favorite songs that belong in the Hair/Glam/AOR Canon. And the barnstormer, "Queen of the Reich", which is just killer all out Metal!
I will check out "The Hands" clip, too, now, as I've decided to reluctantly embrace these guys even tho Tate's voice can get annoying on at least a portion of each of their songs.
Right now I must return to the Empire. And it's not Queensryche's, nor mine, unfortunately...
Yes, very much. :D I started listening to them with the 'Test For Echo' album in 1996, so I guess I can still call myself a 'new fan'. ;)
I grew up with listening mostly to Hair Metal and Glam, but at the moment I'm mostly into Prog/Power Metal.
Still love my Hair Metal bands though, always will. :D
This whole discussion got me thinkin' about who I do like. I'm a big fan of superhuman 8th octave level stuff as the next person, but they gotta have b*lls as you say...
So, I'm really going out on a Metal family tree limb here, if you will, and I'm gonna throw some names out there of who I do like. Even if some of it's Cheese Metal (probably most of it, hahaha!!!), not on the intellectual level (I think these guys are actually pretty thoughtful lyric wise, as opposed to Rush, which I think is just gobbledigook written by stoners a s opposed to semi-intelligent stuff written by stoners, hahaha!!! And though I can't really classify myself as one, as such, l am an expert on the subject, if you get my drift, and you can just imagine what that drift used to smell like...). I'm just lookin' for the day when I can crank up some Martin-Logan speakers to the point of visualization of how the bands were miked in the studio and more easily, live, which can occur, given the proper stereo rig ($30,000 - 50,000, unfortunately... unless somebody's got a cheaper alternative). For now it's my iPod and some pretty decent Bose ear buds that seem way overpriced, like all their stuff, considering what it is... while I'm on that... I mean, $300 bux for a glorified CD/Alarm Clock combo? Gimme a break!)
So here are just some of the singers I like who I think have real b*lls and not just vocal gimmicks a la REO and Cronin's inadvertant disciples...and the people on here who take their Metal seriously are gonna have a field day with some of my choices, and probably even you, Kenny, are not going to agree with me 100% on all of them, and I don't expect you to.
Because that would make the Metal World a pretty boring place. But no matter what the serious Metal head will think about my choices from a stylistic standpoint, there will be no denying, or very little, I would imagine, that my selections of who some of The Greatest Metal Singers Of All Time are, they can sing their as*es off...
1) Lizzy Borden, "Red Rum" and "Me Against the World", prime examples.) Laugh all you want at the high camp of this guys schtick or the blood and guts lyrics that will scare off many a Sugarland loving red neck hottie. But you should know that he was formerly a classically trained Opera singer.
2) Mark Slaughter, from both Vinnie Vincent Invasion and his namesake band, tho I prefer the stuff from VVI, especially "Love Kills".
3) Michael Matichevic, from Steelheart. He should probably be at the top, based on his stratospheric reach of the Holy Grail 8th Octave, which few can do except some big lady at the New York Metropolitan Opera. Steelheart may be cheese but this guy is pure and simple, purely amazing with a pure voice. Superhuman! This guy can out sing 'em all! The hits "Angel Eyes" and "Everybody Loves Eileen" proves it, but I've got all their stuff and he amazes on all of it. Almost to the point of high comedy, because you just can't help but laugh, not only at the material, but your own amazement at what this guy can do. It may be cheese, but this is the kinda stuff I love, and the guitarists and everyone else involved, including his producers are just phenomenal. Love the drum intro and outro on "Everybody Loves Eileen". Very cool and different approach to the otherwise usual formula.
4) Sebastian Bach. Though most of their stuff is not my cup of tea, I love the Skid Row hits and some of the "almost hits", particularly a new find at least for me, "Forever". Love that guitar opening, too!
5) Tommy Heart, from Fair Warning. "Longing For Love" is a prime example of this guys pipes. straight and true, with b*lls and high when it needs to be. Just got in the mail today a killer version of them doing Elvis Presley's "In The Ghetto", which was written by Mac Davis, of all people and originally titled "The Vicious Circle". What lyrics! Catch him in the best football movie ever made, "North Dallas Forty" with Nick Nolte, too. Though Heart really nails it, and as great as this version is, I wish they had punched up their version, toward the middle, they had thrown some of that great trademark cleanly crunched out German guitar work bands like this incorporate into their signature sound. "One Step Closer" is another prime example of not only how killer Tommy is, but the band, also. And I am fully aware of their place firmly near the top of the Melodic Rock/AOR ilk, but I always thought that category was for people who just can't admit they like Hair Metal. C'mon, it's Hair Metal. Though I think in the csse of Queensryche, you could make the case, as does Xandra, that they are not exactly Hair Metal, but c'mon, really? I think they are, even if it is just by a hair! Okay, new category... Prog Hair Metal (and we know who else wants to be in there... Hello King's X, Saigon Kick and whichever other yodelerz you guys can throw at me as legit when they are not, sorry. Wow, sorry, Fair Warning. Talk about manic digression. Just did a quick listen to FW songs that lived through the gattling gun of my iTunes "should they stay or should they go" policy. You can get their second album on iTunes, but it's their first one that I personally like so much better. "Out On The Run" is the standout for me. And if you listen carefully, they've even got some subtle James Bond guitar burried in the mix. And then of course the nice shiny and clean e-chords we so know and love step on it like it was an ancient fire ant trying to make off with the Hope Diamond.
I hear a big "Europe" influence in these guys, too, but I gotta say, I almost like 'em better.
6) Joey Tempest, of Europe, speak of the devil (and speaking of him, where the hell's -- no pun intended -- MotCruTriple6er?). Doubt this guy, Tempest? "Carrie" says it all, but check out his live performance on that Swedish Metal Aid clip on YouTube. Just type in "Swedish Metal Aid" in the search bar and up it will come. I know, but try and keep from laughing -- this really is awesome theater, trust me. Very moving, actually, once you get past the whole built in 80's camp of it being for real from that era, and a bunch of
swedish kids, which I think is actually really cool. And I'm still in love with that brunette who just belts her lungs out, though I don't know if I'd need to meet her now, if you know what I mean.
7) Robin Beck, speaking of Chicks (sorry Al and all you Metal Mamma's out there. No offense. It's referencing all you beautiful ladies the same way you reference us as Dudes, nothing more. "Chicks & Dudes", that's all. Sounds like a song title, but nothing worth writing home about, nor anyone's journal for that matter, unless you want to disprove me). Man, can Beck belt it out. If you have never heard her, check out her semi-hit from her album "Trouble or Nothin'", "Hold Back The Night". Talk about Power Ballad of the first order. Now there's a voice with B*lls with a capital "B"! Careful tho, don't get her recent re-recording. Search out the original 1989 version. She also does a killer killer version of Kiss's "Hide Your Heart", which is better than the original or Ace's simply because she's a better singer than any of them. And it's got all the guitars to spare, too. B*lla! Other chicks who just blow away any boy you could throw at her are Saraya, Janet Garden from "Vixen", Fiona (though to a infinitesimally smaller degree, in my view), Lita Ford ("Kiss Me Deadly", "Shot of Poison"), tho I think they had to punch in parts to keep her on key (who the hell doesn't need a little of that when you've got a hangover), Anne Wilson (hell, she's even better than Beck, but even more Pop Metal than Beck, at least in the 80's. Love all the power ballads and Heart's "Looks That Kill", tho. Wish they had punched up that lasts one's guitars more and dialed down the keyboards, however). Pat Benatar, tho I think she's a little too classic rock even tho at first, she was tryin' to pass herself off as New Waveish. Not very good taste in song selection or choice of guitarists (husbands?), either. but there's no denying, she can sing her *ss off. Also, a classically trained Opera singer. Trouble is, she's somehow even more annoying than Geoff Tate, to me... Though not as annoying as Geddy Lee, my dear friend, Kenny Ozz, has got it dead nailed on that one, for sure, hahaha!!! Rush albums, in the credits, should read... Geddy Lee: Nails across Black Board, instead of, Geddy Lee: Vocals. Also, Lorraine Lewis, whose kind of a Pat Benatar clone, vocally, can really belt one out but she veers toward REO land with the weird and gimmicky voice tricks and pronunciations, etc. I actually like her better than Benatar, tho, because her band is more Hair Metal-like. The act kills on "Fallin' In And Out Of Love", which you might remember from minor rotation on Headbanger's or other times on MTV. Some of the other stuff on their sole album is really quite hilarious, as she is the Sarah Palin of Metal in the weird vocal over annunciating and bad vocal pyrotechnics like on "I'm A Rebel", the epitome of hilarity in it's over the top arrangement for the vocals. She's trying to show off how incredible voice when, in the meantime all your thinking of as the listener is what a doofball she is, or at least, in the way she comes off sounding, hahaha!!! Which is probably how I sound, the fact that I go on and on in a space where the decorum seems to be to only write a couple of sentences. In fact, I think most people don't even read any of this, so Kenny, I appreeciate it, and I'm doing it to engage a conversation so I can learn about more bands, among other things, from people like you, etc. Three more chix I can think of off the top of my head... Loiuse Rose of Precious Metal... "Forever Tonight"... what an incredible power ballad and she just kills it... and Darby Mills, who I think was married to Randy Bachman, or something weird, from Headpins. B*lls! Don't believe me? Check out "Just One More Time". Chrissy Steele's another one... she was in Headpins after Darby and then went onto solo work. "Love Don't Last Forever" is a good example of her vocal chops. Speaking of vocal chops... You could put that chick from Smashed Gladys on here, but I'm going for the whole hyena game here, where that Gladys chick is more like a female Brian Johnson or Bon Scott or something, tho that's also partly thier musical style, too..
9) Steve Whiteman, Kix. He should be way up higher on the list. I'm just takin' em as they come into my head, tho. The entire "Blow My Fuse" and "Hotwire" albums are this guy's calling card, but I love it all, and I mean each and every song they ever recorded. Donnie Parnell, the bassist, was a genius. I wish he would come back and that was one of my 3 Heavy Metal Wishes from the post titled that here. Talk about bringin' back Glam. He was the real deal. Come out from under that'38 Ford and strap on that beater Gibson bass and let's Rock and Roll! Whiteman needs ya, even if he doesn't think he does.
10) Mark Free (a.k.a. Marcia Free) This guy, tho now he's a gal, and I'm okay with that because people should do whatever they need to do to be happy, was simply unreal in King Kobra and even more so in Signal. He/she should be up higher on this list, too. I've not heard a purer, more beautiful voice. I'm sure how she sounds now is just as amazing but I don't think she's released anything.
11) Don Dokken, Hello?! He should be up a helluva lot higher on this list, too! And his voice is frickin' high as hell, too, and strong as hell, to boot. He's the perfect example of what I'm talking about. He just sings it. It's a distinctive voice. He doesn't need weird annunciations or pronunciations, extended emphasis on the wrong syllable. He just sings it, man, beautifully and like no one else.
12) Rob Halford. B*lls and range, tho he is capable of going off key, but very rarely.
There are others. Joe Lynn Turner. Dio. Delp (tho kinda thought of as more '70's. RIP). Klaus Meine, whoa!
Oh, and...
13) C.J. Snare, of FireHouse. Whoa, how could I almost forget him? Yeah, they are cheeze of the highest order, but this guy is right up there with that dude from Steelheart in the over the top impossible vocals level. Unreal! I love nearly all of it. So what if I like Cheese on my burger, these guys are Metal Meat all the way and C.J. is phenomonol "Love of a Lifetime" and "Dont' Treat Me Bad" are "All She Wrote"! Superhuman!
I could keep going and I hope you chime in Kenny, as well as Xandra, though you may not like the fact that we believe Geoffey-Boy does not deserve to be on this list, no where near it, no how! Of course, Kenny, you may not agree with me on some of these singers and I may very well have missed quite a few actually, but I wanted to get this out there now in the hopes of getting more debate on it.
I also realize I don't have the really ballsy singers on here like Bon Scott (RIP), Brian Johnson, Udo, Jizzy, Coverdale, or even stretching further out back into the late 60's through the mid 70's, Robert Plant (remember his voice was shot by '79).
Where are all of you on all of this, people?
Surely, you guys have somethin' to say about Queensryche or Geoff Tate and other singers discussed or otherwise.
Look, I know this is supposed to be about just Queensryche, but in a way, I think it still is, because they are the context from which I got on this tangent of who is a good Metal singer.
Bumblefootboy? Glamrocker Archie! Where are you man? Christine Sixx? The Insider? Snoot? JT? Lucifer? Hey, have you met MotleyCrue666? Steffan Mock? Where are you, man? Crued? NirVana?
Xandra, Kenny, I hope you have further comment, and Christian, where are you bro, MotCru3x6, where are ya, dude? MetalbUy, ?... do you only care about not caring for Pretty Boy Floyd? Certainly, there must be other bands you don't care for, and surely some more smart *ss remarks you got for me, too, hahaha!!! Got both Law & Order discs (now 3 copies of the first one, including when I first bought it back in the day and stupidly filed it with nary a listen), by the way. Not bad. Still gotta listen to the 2nd one.
Man, I'm really startin' to think there really aren't that many Queensryche fans out there among the Metal Mob. How did these guys ever go platinum?
Disclaimer: The usual about the typos and Metal fact checking, etc...
Anyway, here's "my own" Top10 list of greatest singers:
1. Roy Khan - Kamelot
2. Geoff Tate - Queensryche
3. Henning Basse - Sons of Seasons
4. Tobias Sammet - Edguy
5. Andre Matos - Andre Matos Band
6. Bruce Dickinson - Iron Maiden
7. Ronnie James Dio
8. Miljenko Matijevic - Steelheart
9. Jon Oliva - Savatage
10. James Christian - House of Lords
Oh, thank God! I was starting to think I p*ssed everyone off here and I was about to take my act to Time Square where I was gonna buy a Mr. Microphone and start pontificating on how Heavy Metal benefits the world...
Gotcha on my list.
And thanks for taking the time to continue the conversation...
And thanks for the list. It's gold to me! Heavy Metal Gold!
And you make very good points. I'm a sucker for a high voice and that's not all there is to it, as you said for sure.
And your list is fantastic! So many names I've never heard before! I'm going to check out a lot of these bands I'm honestly not familiar with... Metalboy! is showing his rust and rivets, hahaha!!!
I really appreciate your feedback.
You are so right about Bruce Dickinson. How could I overlook that monster. Do you have his first solo thing, "Tattooed Millionaire"? Love that and a lot of Metal Peeps will probably not like this, but I actually like it better than anything he did with Iron Maiden, in my opinion, as you like to say.
One obvious thought about "opinions" here, since I am constantly putting myself out there, making an *ss of myself with bold opinions not always popular and sometimes unqualified except for nothing more than hitting the play button and either liking something or not...
And then there's the next dimension, which I've touched on elsewhere here recently...
And that is this notion... and I'm constantly having to remind myself of this...
"I don't have to like it, to know whether it's good or not."
I've gotten so far with this idea in all of life and not just music.
So as you see all of my opinions and you know how I can overdo it, please realize I am still open to the notion of someone or some band or a piece of art or the design of a car or whatever it is, as much as I'm into semi-unwarranted character asassination (and take a lot of hits for it) I do know when something's good even when it's not completely my cup of tea...
Let me give an example, if you don't mind...
House of Lords
Now, when I first bought their first one, I was disappointed. I was so hung up on everything needing to be virtually totally guitar driven, I just wouldn't allow myself to get into anything other than that, but, then again, I was totally into Boston and Deep Purple since I was a kid. Other than that or a little Yes, Floyd, and ELP or ELO, and the rest of the keyboardy Classic Rock milieu, forget it, especially when it came to my new found love around the time House of Lords came out, Hair Metal. Sure I'd go for the occasional keyboard splash or wash but nothing like the Giuffria driven House of Lords. Can't tell ya how many CD's I'd shelve after one listen just because the keyboards were a little too outfront. What the hell was I thinkin'...
When I put my CD collection in storage I was numbering about 3000+ 80's Hair/Glam/AOR Metal and 70's Classic Rock (the usual suspects), with 3/4 of the 80's Hair/Glam/AOR barely listened to when I shut the vault on it all.
Then after a couple of years later and beginning in November of 2008, actually, which is interesting because that was about a year ago... I set out, half jokingly, to make
The Ultimate 80's Metal Power Ballad List. Well, 1 year later, and nearly broke and with 100's of man hours devoted, we have just about reached saturation. I believe, 1 year later, that I have nearly every powerballad from nearly every band that ever had any known to Metaloids everywhere. I also sretched it to include the early 90's because so much of the stuff by then was either in the can or waiting to get out both in terms of in the middle of being written and created as well as in production or packaging directly resulting from the Metal Rennaisance of the 80's, when suddenly the big calls came in to try and halt any and all activity involving anything and everything Hair/Glam/AOR Metal that was in the pipeline so it could be replaced by anything and everything from Seattle, the U.K, Broklyn, and East L.A.
Fortunately, the majority of the stuff from our oeuvre got out, albeit sometimes not seeing the light of day for years, even decades. As I'm sure is true with the research of many who like to weigh in on the comments pages of this site, including yourself, you have discovered previously unreleased albums from the 80's that finally saw the light of day. Even unsigned bands who almost got the big deal but somehow missed the Metal boat (i.e "Sweet Cheater"), have finally seen release. Old "B" sides and demos as well as old Movie soundtrack cuts (Spectre General, anyone?) have been brought to light again, because of the internet research that can be done with sites like this (which is my fave of all of 'em really, not only because of Al's thought provoking posts but also that she has a point of view and a kink of overview aesthetic that she brings to the party.
She has helped so much with my project when she posts something that slipped through the cracks of my cranium or the crevices of the earth before I ever heard it back in the day (i.e. Reckless). Whether good or bad, "in my opinion", I've put it on a playlist (the product having been broadened to include playlists of the hard rockin' stuff, too, not just power ballads).
That said, and back to House of Lords, a little over a year ago, when I set out on this mission, one of the earliest bands I really explored, finally and thoroughly was House of Lords... which I now realize, is just an awesome band... and I say that applying my adage, "I don't have to like it, to know whether it's good or not".
As you can tell, I'm stuck stylistically, more or less, in the L.A Hair/Glam Metal scene, which for some of the more serious Metallers that pop on here from time to time, is for better or worse.
I know House of Lords are better than a lot of those bands in every regard. Since I'm obviously such a goof ball and definitely certifiably insane (I'm sure the C.I.A.'s got me porfiled 10 times over), I actually view House of Lords as somewhat of a Spinal Tap. I actually find them funny and funnier still, the fact that they seem not to think that way about themselves.
But if you look at the band photography on the albums and publicity shots, they are indeed taking themselves way to seriously, no matter how ridiculous they looked even by 80's standards. But mind you, I still think they look cool, however and always did. Yet there are no leg pulls or p*sstakes happening with them. Metal is big business and important business and these guys seem like Corporate Rock, through and through. And we know what happened with $immons to make it so. I researched them very heavily and saw the whole story in many permutations throughout the web, both good and bad on Wikipedia (an excellent source, obviously. I've learned so much about each and every band on there, even though you do get the feeling a lot of the people who contribute have suspect knowledge just as I myself so often do), and sites like this, as well as Amazon reviewers like Justin Gaines, Corporate Rocker, who I think is the best reviewer bar none on Amazon who also happens to love our music, too, much more than anything, just as we do, and also one of the best reviewers in general along with Allyson.
I bet Justin Gaines loves House of Lords and you should check out his reviews of their albums if he's got 'em and if you haven't already seen his stuff. Though we like or dislike our stuff the moment we put the needle on the record (for the most part... some of it takes some getting used to), it's still fun to hear what people are thinking about it and in th e case of Gaines, who in my opinion leans a lttle too heavily on the AOR/Melodic Rock side of Metal, is usually spot on, much more than I'm capable of being since I'm kind of a self appointed poor man's gonzo amateur opinionator and providing it without anyone really asking for it nor wanting to particularly hear it.
So, regardless of being a Glam Metaller with a tunnel vision penchant for the Hair Metal stuff primarily, and ever the completist, I still knew full well I needed House of Lords on my Ultimate Power Ballad Playlist after vaguely remembering that I had that first album. After almost 17 years of not hearing so much as one House of Lords song, I stumbled across "Wanna Be Loved" on a Metal Power Ballads compilation. Now, personally I may have a wider definition of what a power ballad as I view this as more of a Sunday Metal Love Song, but there it was on a Power Ballads comp and my definition of Power Ballad stretches as wide as the opinion of whoever saw to throw this cut on it.
As my project wore on, I started new playlists of more Power Ballads and also, the Harder stuff because so many of these bands have so many great songs, whether I personally like 'em or not. It actually takes me a lot to not like something though that may not seem very evident of late based on how I've been trashing 9 out of 10 bands Al has been posting on here of late, with perhaps the sole exception of Jason McMaster of Broken Teeth, but more importantly to me of his previous incarnation in Dangerous Toys, who you can probably tell if you read my latter entry over there on Al's Broken Teeth post, can do no wrong which I'm sure some of our more serious Metal Heads have a hard time dealing with.
So, I realized I simply must have all of the House of Lords stuff and stopped at nothing to get it. when I say all, anything and everything from when they first came out 'til about '94 because they were another band that was in denial about the onslaught of Alternative/Grunge/Rap/HipHop stuff about to come down the pike. These guys just kept crankin' up the Arps and Rolands and doing there thing and damn the torpedos! Even if they may have even liked his music, there was no Kurt Cobain in their world...
So here's what I've got of the House of Lords on my iTunes right now. It's all carved up onto various playlists and culled down from all the albums from that era. I haven't delved really into any of the new stuff tho I plan to as I've done with some of the others who refuse to call it quits, read: Whitesnake.
Without further ado, here's what I got...
1) Wanna Be Loved
2) Can't Find My Way Home
3) Hold Back The Night
4) Talkin'Bout Love
5) Down, Down, Down
6) Metallic Blue
7) Inside You
8) Johnny's Got A Mind Of His Own
9) Lookin' For Strange
10) Love Don't Lie
11) Hearts Of The World
12) Heart On The Line
13) Laydown Staydown
14) It Ain't Love
As you can see, I've got a pretty good overview of their stuff here and even found some damned fine hard rockin' stuff, too, i.e. "Laydown Staydown", which really even borders on L.A. raunch, were it not for their always refined production and overkill keyboards, two unavoidable traits because of the inimitable presence of Greg Giuffria (not to keen on his old band, Angel, but love their look). You could actually almost call these guys Gentleman's Glam Metal, which would also go along with the concept of their name (and their Coat of Arms, hahaha!!!).
It's a crime the way $immons played Mr. Potato Head with this band but they made some great music, though not my personal cup of tea, regardless of his misguided conceptualizing and meddling.
James Christian is awesome, lisp and all.
Please, if you don't mind, give me some other suggestions of songs like your personal faves for example. It's time for yet another look at them.
I'm glad to see you've got Miljenko a.k.a Michael Matijevic of Steelheart on there.
Dio, of course. What an animal he is. And don't forget brought the "Devil's Horns" hand gesture to popular culture. It was his Italian grandmother who was always making the gesture to thwart off evil spirits.
I frickin' saw Savatage back in the day off the "Gutter Ballet" album in '89 at a small club called Network in Pasadena, MD! Love 'em and those guys are absolute geniuses (and zillionaire's! Look what they did with that whole Transiberian Orhestra trip!). At Network, Savatage put on one of the best Metal shows I have ever seen! They even had a 2 midget roadies with 'em who chased each other around but would also adjust mike stands and various stage hand duties during the stage which was quite hilarious and very entertaining, especially at close range. They run circles around most of the stuff I really like personally and could have midgets on stage doin' all that stuff because Savatage had the talent, the ideas, the wit, the intelligence and the chops to burn. It was their f*ck you to lesser bands who take themselves so seriously and just can't have a dent in the profile, and who just won't permit themselves to have any kind of sense of humor about it when, look, the whole frickin' genre is supposed to be a frickin' joke, people! You, oh serious Metallers, you know who you are, the talentless lot, the lot of ya! Just kiddin', Lars!
Anyway, I digress. Sorry 'bout that. My new arch enemy The Insider (watch it turn out to be Al, hahaha!!!) thinks I rant and he/she is right, I admit it...
I will check out these other dudes shortly, but first I gotta go jump in the Gulf of Mexico. I wish I had the bread to have one of those scuba rigs with headphones buit into the mask. Wouldn't it be cool to listen to House Of Lords while swimmin' underwater, playin' with the sharks and dolphins... Hey wait a minute, we gotta enough of those right here, especially sharks! Xandra, I want you to know I consider you a Metal Dolphin. Me, too! Thanks for playin'!
It's those Metalhead Sharks with Metal Hammerheads we gotta watch out for, yikes!
p.s. Another singer we might agree on that I forgot to mention, tho he can get a little heavy duty sometimes...
Graham Bonnet! His stuff with Rainbow and Alcatrazz is simply amazing. But my fave is that album, "Stand In Line" he did with Impellitteri is completely killer! I think he's an example of a phenomenal singer who is not all about shattering glass though he probably could with his sheer loudness. He's just like one big on-key scream! What a monster. I'd be interested to know your thoughts on him, too. Also, I will probably post a typed segment of my Power Ballad A-List I think you will like, as it all kinda flows out of that House of Lords sound. Again, thanks for the feedback and I hope others will put up a list of their faves, too!
p.s.s.t. Xandra! Have you ever heard Savatage's cover of Badfinger's "Day After Day"? Crazy they would do this and so straight up but it is pop perfection. They nail it so perfectly it's almost a deadpan hyper real version of it. Weird! But cool.
Disclaimer: The usual typos, misguided rants and tangents...
Okay, a couple of responses: Yes, I do have Tattooed Millionaire by Bruce Dickinson and I love the album. I bought it when itw as released. And I agree, it's at least as good as the Iron Maiden stuff. Different but equal in quality.
Would be cool if you check out the names from my list you don't know yet. The music is not really what you usually listen to, but they are really good. :) Regarding Andre Matos - he almost replaced Bruce Dickinson when he left Maiden - he was among the last three (with James LaBrie and Blaze Bayley).
It's funny, the four names (Geoff not counted) you didn't mention in your post are those that mean the most to me. ;)
Graham Bonnet - please don't be too disappointed, but I don't know him. One of my main problems, I'm 36 and came to Rock and Metal in the very late 80's. Missed a lot of good stuff, I know it. ;)
I don't have any specific House Of Lords songs at hand at the moment, but I love their newer stuff. The "World Upside Down", "Come To My Kingdom" and "Cartesian Dreams" are all really good.
On another post I mentioned that I thought the length of some of the stuff I've been saying might be deterring people. I realize the norm is to leave like two sentences. Go to my comments on Rockhead to see that I am indeed capable of being a man of few words.
I can see that it's bad form in the "blogs and posts" world of the internet, where sound bites are the norm and I'll try to keep a lid on it as much as I can. Just realize, I flipped my lid long ago, obviously. And I've lost it and I've been looking for it ever since.
I thought about the fact that I didn't mention Geoff Tate after I created my post and realized I should have said something. That may also be bad form to abandon the subject at hand, but at this point I've said all I have to say about him pretty much and I wouldn't be the first to abandon a subject of a post but move onto something relevant to the topic. Fortunately, since it's really Metal that's always the topic here, one can never stray off message to far.
But, you obviously really like Tate's singing and I respect that. If I'm bustin' on somebody, take it with a grain of salt, because when you see who I actually really like, some of 'em might just as well be stand up comics.
It really is a matter of taste, like Coke vs. Pepsi, or Beatles vs. the Stones.
I did mention in my admittedly rather long post that I had an issue with Tate's style. And that is, for me, at any rate, the fact that he's just tryin' to hard. I don't think that about some others you mentioned -- James Christian, Dio or Bruce Dickinson, because it just gets back to my original beef about Geoff Tate.
Those other guys are just singing it in an unaffected way and it is my feeling that Tate is forcing it and is affected and not singing in his natural voice, whereas these guys are. That's it. But I've grown to like some of Queensryche's stuff.
And to be fair, you said you did not like some of the singers I listed, so that's cool. It's differences in opinion that make the world more interesting. Especially when people get all bent out of shape over it, including myself, hahaha!!! And it's even funnier when it's about Metal.
So, I hear ya on the length of my posts so, I'll trim it down. Promise. People will probably breath a collective sigh of relief you broke it to me.
But keep in mind, this lack of commentary on Queensryche really had gone for days before I even posted and you see what the boys at the top of this comments section had to say about Queensryche. As you can see, though I perhaps unfairly slag stuff, mostly in the name of stirring up the pot, or Cauldron as I jokingly refer to it, I came to Queensryche's defense somewhat, even though I initially despised 'em since they came out and only recently have come around a little. Please, if you have some other Queensryche songs you think I should hear, let me know.
It's funny cuz you are listening to the new stuff from old bands and I'm listening to old stuff from old bands for the most part, with a few exceptions where I'm still keeping up with an old band's output from beginning to end, i.e. Saxon, Motley Crue, and to a degree Whitesnake.
I am however, probably like yourself, pretty into the new bands. I made some lists over on Al's Europe post listing who I've been into of the new stuff as well as stuff I want to learn more about, both old and new.
Thank you for the tips and I will definitely check out the singers you mention. Maybe you could throw in what bands their in, etc., if you don't mind but I'll try Googlin' 'em, anyway.
Yeah, and you should definitely check out Impellitteri, "Stand In Line" for Graham Bonnet. Or just start with their remake of the Rainbow classic, "Since You Been Gone" (on which he also sang the vocals) and "Stand In Line"... and I thought of another singer you might like... ever heard of Robin McAuley. Great voice.
He did 5 albums with guitar monster, Michael Schenker in a band called MSG, which originally stood for Michael Schenker Group but then came to stand for McAuley Schenker Group, once Robin joined on. The first two albums, "Perfect Timing" and "Save Yourself" are incredible.
Check out the songs "Give Me Your Love" and "Here Today Gone Tomorrow", as well as "Time" on Perfect Timing, tho, really the whole album is killer (at least in my book). As far as "Save Yourself", again I think the whole thing is great, tho maybe not on quite the same level as Perfect Timing.
Still the title track is killer. And Schenker just burns as he has his whole life, tho sometimes burning the candle at both ends a little to much sometimes, tho supposedly he's back in full force these days. Also, "Bad Boys" (should be one of my theme songs, hahaha!!!) off Save Yourself, is a standout.
So, thanks again Xandra for that critical observation to my goofball diatribes. It is reassuring to know that for every person that skips over my stuff, more power to 'em, because I look forward to reading any and all comments by any of our fellow Bring Back Glam followers, and the sooner they blow past my comments the faster I'll get to read theirs. That said, anyone who takes time to read them, I hope people do find them "amusing" as Christian, and a few others mentioned in some of their replies.
So, hoping that this is a little shorter and that maybe I've gotten some of my over the top propensity for overwriting out of my system will bode well for you in reading my stuff,as well as others in the future.
And maybe even my bro Christian will stick his toe back in the Cauldron, too, cuz I think he's been probably thinkin' I was getting too long winded, too.
Until we meet again on the Metal Highway, Xandra, I'll be checkin' out your reco's and I hope you'll do the same with mine.
Here's to Rock'n'Metal!
Metalboy! Away!
p.s. This is still too long! So, I'll post that playlist segment I think you'll like later if no one appears after a few days. Oh, and it includes your boys, Queensryche...
p.s.s.t. Sorry for the typo's and the type-A personality, too!
Speaking of newer bands and looking at the Hair Metal genre, I hope you know bands like Hardcore Superstar, Crazy Lixx, Crashdiet, Dynazty, The Poodles, Dirty Penny, Heaven's Basement and H.E.A.T. - they are all newer bands and really, really cool. If not, check them out, you won't regret it. :D I didn't see your post on the Europe topic, so I doubt I tell you something new. :)
I think I understand your reasons for not liking Tate's voice. I don't think he's forcing it, he just has an operatic technique to it, so it sounds different than the others. Roy Khan for example sounds very much like him (at least people say that) and he used to train to sing at the opera when he was younger. The style of singing sounds much more beautiful to me, but it also sounds very different as when you 'just sing'. Hard to explain... ;)
Here are the bands and some links regarding the singers you don't know:
Roy Khan
Bands: Conception, Kamelot
http://myspace.com/kamelot
http://myspace.com/conceptionmusic
He used to have a very high voice too btw (when he was with Conception) - his voice changed a bit and got a lot lower over the years.
Henning Basse
Bands: Sons of Seasons
http://myspace.com/sonsofseasons
He also sings in Metalium and sang for bands like Halloween, Firewind and Brainstorm, but I don't think he showed his skills enough in those cases.
Andre Matos:
Bands: Angra, Shaman, Andre Matos Band, Avantasia
www.myspace.com/andrematossolo
Tobias Sammet:
Bands: Edguy, Avantasia
www.myspace.com/edguy
Tobi is very much into bands like Kiss and Whitesnake btw, I think you would like him. :) Oh and he's an extremely funny guy.
Oh, I know Robin McAuley. :) Great voice indeed. I actually think I saw him live with Michael Schenker once. Long time ago.
Robin McAuley of McAuley/Schenker, not only possesses one of the greatest voices in Glam Metal history, but also possessed the largest Mullet hairdo in history, bar none!
That's amazing you saw them (and his Mullet back in the day)! Wish I had.
The subject is singers, and one of your faves, Geoff Tate of Queensryche is very highly regarded, yet is a very polarizing figure when it comes to the discussion of Queensryche and also the topic of great singers. And, I think, all of the comments here about their great videos Al posted certainly attest to the controversy.
That said, I finally reviewed the singers whose names you so graciously posted here in the above email. And let me tell you, your information has provided a real education for me about a whole other orbit of great bands out there, particularly those you listed.
Thanks for all the links, which will also be of great interest to those who also may be reading this and are always looking to broaden their Heavy Metal horizons.
I would like to comment briefly on each of these great singers here... Keep in mind that I had never heard any of them before, except maybe Tobias in Edguy (cool logo).
While we're on the subject of Tobias, we should just stay on him for a moment. First of all, I think he can really sing his a*s off! and singing in both Edguy and Avantasia really lets him explore all the dimensions to his voice and where he can take it.
Just incredible stuff... In fact, his voice seems so flexible, it's hard to tell it's the same singer in both bands, as his style of singing is completely different for each band.
You also mentioned that Tobi is a very funny guy. That becomes immediately clear from the moment the intro page to his official Edguy/Anastasia web site pops up. As you know, it's got a fantastic full profile photograph of him screaming, with all kinds of Metal magazines stuck on the wall behind him in the background.
To his right, he's got a quote from Rock'n'Roll genius and famous guitarist, Frank Zappa, which Al should get a kick out of also...
"Definition of rock journalism:
People who can't write,
Doing interviews with
people who can't think,
in order to prepare articles for
people who can't read."
-Frank Zappa
Of course, tho this may be true for much of the music press, let alone the state of journalism overall, in general, it is certainly not the case with Allyson, who's stimulating writing and insightful interviews are consistently showcased both on this web site and Noisecreep, as well as other venues. And, I am sure, she will have it on full display with her forthcoming book.
Zappa also said the following about the U.S. Federal Government when there was an attempt to censor the entertainment industry, Rock and Rap records specifically, in the mid-80's, a direct threat on every American's right to free speech:
"Government is the entertainment division of the military industrial complex."
-Frank Zappa appearing before a PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center) Senate Hearing, September, 19,1985
And now for our pure entertainment enjoyment:
Roy Khan
What can I say? What a voice! And I hate, to break it to ya, he's just singin' it natural to his voice, unaffected and pure.
His band, Kamelot. Great music and incredible videos. Thanks for exposing me to this type of music. I particularly like the "Ghost Opera" video, among others.
Henning Basse
Another terrific singer! I really like his band, Sons of Seasons , soundwise. Very much my style when it comes to the newer stuff. Big riffs and catchy hooks (which are harder and harder to come by these days). And his voice is a little rougher, which I like, too.
Last but not least...
Andre Matos
My hands down favorite of all of the singers you recommended. You can hear why he came so close to getting the gig to replace Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden. What you cannot hear, is how he failed to get the job. He's simply amazing.
I like his vocals so much that I went on YouTube to hunt around for more of his music... And I found his cover of Journey's classic 1983 Top 10 hit, "Separate Ways (World's Apart)" and I'm so blown away, I just ordered the Japanese issue of his 1st solo effort, 2007's "Time to Be Free" (#2 Japanese Charts for 4 weeks and reached #4 on the Russian charts).
The Japanese edition of "Time To Be Free" contains "Separate Ways" as a bonus track, so, obviously, that's the one I got because the song is not contained on the regular import release.
Read the review by Justin Gaines, "Corporate Rocker" of "Time To Be Free", as I really like his take on stuff, and he's got some great things to say about Andre Matos. In fact, you should read all of Gaines' reviews. He covers quite a lot of this genre and our Glam/Hair/Sleaze Metal, to boot.
Personally, the reason I like Andre Matos the best of your list is because I'm such a sucker for high pitched singers, as you well know. Though I like the other singers who you have turned me onto, Andre Matos, gets the big "I'm not worthy!", from me.
I can't wait 'til I get "Time To Be Free" (Japanese edition) in the mail as I'm sure I will like a lot, if not all, of the other stuff on it!
Thanks again and don't forget to check out my recommendations to you, if you haven't already...
At least just YouTube 'em to check out their videos...
As I mentioned before, I think you will find this one of particular interest and let me know what you think of...
Graham Bonnet
He's sung in Rainbow, Alcatrazz, Impellitteri and for Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force...
Check out these various videos if you haven't already...
Rainbow - "Since You Been Gone" and "All Night Long"
Alcatrazz - "God Blessed Video" (Wild!)
Impellitteri - "Stand in Line" and a cover of his previous work, an updated version of "Since You Been Gone."
For nostalagia and Metal History purposes...
Also check out on YouTube, if you have time...
The Marbles, "Only One Woman" (1968!). That's Graham singing lead. Yeah, the hairdo is pretty hilarious... but check out that vocal! Ultra-Trivia: This was also covered by the Swedish Glam Metal band, Alien in 1988, from their eponymous release, which is a superb album, if you don't already have it.
and...
Russ Ballard, "Since You Been Gone". The original hit before it was metallized by Graham in Rainbow and then Impellitteri.
I make such a big deal about Graham Bonnet because I think you will really like his stuff based on the list you gave me. Yeah, he's old school but in his case he's also timeless and singular in style. It will be interesting to see what you think. He also sang for Michael Schenker, as well as Anthem and Pretty Maids.
One more amusing thing about Bonnet, if you haven't already checked him out, is his image. Check out that cat's style of clothes and hair. Total opposite of the look of all the bands he was in and everyone else of the genre making him completely unexpected when he opens his mouth to sing. One of the gutsiest, b*llsiest, singers around, bar none!
You know another old school singer we forgot, and I'm sure you are more than familiar with, is the inimitable Steve Perry of Journey, who only came to my mind after listening to Matos' version of Journey's "Separate Ways". Though almost all of Journey's stuff is not my cup of tea, there's no denying his supernatural ability.
"Don't Stop Believin'", being a staple of even dance clubs every night across America, from hip downtown NYC clubs through the bars and clubs of the midwest to even places like the Viper Room in L.A. (that song gets played everywhere), is proof of his greatness.
Oooo! Oooo! One more, Hugo, lead vocalist of Valentine! Absolute monster Glam Metal vocalist! I highly recommend their 1990, eponymous release, if you don't already have it. You will absolutely love it! Hugo's voice is supernatural, in every sense of the word!
Thanks for finding me newer singers who compare and even hold their own to these old school singers. I thought truly incredible Glam Metal vocals were a thing of the past and with one quick post, Xandra, you have proven me wrong.
I can't wait to discover more about them and their music. I hope you will check out more on my list, too. And I hope everyone else will check out all of which Xandra and I have been discussing on these posts, as it really has proven that as far as implausibly incredible vocals in Glam Metal...
Xandra has in one swoop shed light on these new singers who can help us, at last, to once and for all improve our chances to completely Bring Back Glam!
"Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is the best...
-Frank Zappa, November, 19, 1979 (lyrics to "Packard Goose" from the album, "Joe's Garage: Act III).
Rock On!
p.s. Xandra... Have you heard Big Elf? Allyson posted a cool piece on them with a couple of their amazing and wild videos, "Superstar" and "Money, It's Pure Evil" on here not too long ago. They are incredible! And I mean both the band and the videos! Based on the stuff you've turned me onto, I think you'll really love 'em if you don't already. Let me know what you think!
Forgot to mention...
Have all those bands you mentioned except...
Dynazty!
And I just downloaded it! Whoa!
They may just be my fave of all of 'em, which I know is saying a lot! Their singer is killer and I love the cut "Lights Out In Candyland"! I'm gonna listen to the rest and get back to you... Highly recommended to all if you don't already have this!
Tobi Sammet: Yes, the entry page is purely awesome. I would reccomend you to watch a couple of live videos - especially from the new DVD 'Fucking with F***'.
Paris: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=207773799&albumId=1680864
Roy Khan: I didn't point it out on purpose in my previous posts, but he's my favorite singers of all and Kamelot are my favorite band of all. They are purely amazing and it's sad, even that they are an American band (Roy is Norwegian, though), most Americans don't know them. They are much more popular here in Europe. Roy's voice is so amazing. I could listen to him sing day in and day out. While I prefer how he sings nowadays (deeper voice/like in the videos which are all newer songs) his high voice in songs like 'Silent Crying' (Conception), Lunar Sanctum (Kamelot), Nights of Arabia (Kamelot), The Elizabeth Trilogie (Kamelot) or Silver Shine (Conception) (just examples) are breathtaking. And above all that he's such an extremely nice guy. XD
Have you watched some live videos of them? They have really great live shows. Very visual. Khan looks so great in his amazing coats. Especially when it comes to March of Mephisto he can look like the devil himself. ;) And when possible, they have lots of pyros.
I agree his singing sounds natural and he always tries to stay in his range. But lots of people say he sounds very much like Geoff Tate. So I suspected you won't like it. :D
Cologne: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=207773799&albumId=1752458
London: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=207773799&albumId=1764011
Henning Basse: People complained about his boring voice in other bands and everyone was blown away with this new band. He totally outdid himself with this one.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=207773799&albumId=1818905
About Andre Matos: He's playing 'Seperate Ways' live which is so cool. I agree, it's amazing. And I was surprised he would cover a Journey song. The man is full of surprises. If you like the 'Time To Be Free' album, don't hestitate to also order the new album 'Mentalize'. It's released only in Japan and Brazil so far.
Paris: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=207773799&albumId=1680784
Cool you like Dynazty! I saw them as support for The Poodles a couple of weeks ago and they are really good. Still very young, but really great on stage.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=207773799&albumId=1974532
And I LOVE Bigelf! :D I discovered them just recently because they were support for Dream Theater. I was very surprised how much I like them. Really cool 70's sound. I don't know many bands who sound like this nowadays.
Thanks so much for the reccommendations. I wrote all of them down and will try to listen to them. I'm incredibly busy at the moment, so I'm not sure when. That's why I wrote them down - best way to not forget. :D Oh and I agree - Steve Perry is definitely an amazing singer. But I have to say Journey's new singer Arnel Pineda is very good too. I saw them this summer and he's a great front man. Journey with Steve Perry was long before my time, but with Arnel they are a truly awesome band again.
The hardcore QR fans were rockin with them on board ShipRocked when all this went down. I am still burnt out from a week of no sleep and no food. Thank God there was almost no alcohol for me too, or I would be totally wiped.
I guess a lot of people don't like Geoff Tate or Geddy Lee, but I think it is because they can't sing along. These guys are just in another universe, but as mentioned, art can be appreciated even if not liked, so thank you for the appreciation.
If you want some metal and some cajones out of Queensryche, stay focused on current guitarist Michael Wilton and the stuff he wrote. He has always brought the metal, while Chris DeGarmo was the hippy, trippy prog writer. Inexplicably, since DeGarmo's departure, Tate has ignored Wilton in favor of outside writers, which is disrespectful, distasteful and dissapointing musically. So you have to go back and check out:
Warning
NM 156
Walk In The Shadows
I Dream In Infrared
Screaming In Digital
Revolution Calling
Operation:Mindcrime
Speak
The Needle Lies
The Thin Line
Empire
Resistance
My Global Mind
Damaged
Hey, Xandra...
Gotta admit, it's fun over here in our little Queensryche Qorner...
I think you and Xandra are makin' a Tate fan outta me. Well, at least as a vocalist, but not as a stand up comedian or as the weenie I always suspected he was, what with your description of how he regards his "employee", Wilton (why is that name familiar), who he oughtta try workin' with. But maybe he has, dunno. Yet it sounds like you've kinda got a pulse on the player's talents, both Tate and Wilton, so if ya think Wilton can contribute, why the h*ll duzn't Tate let him, for cryin' out loud! It's the man he's sharin' the stage with, right?
And look where the outside writers got Pearcy and De Martini, let alone poor Crosby, who saw the likes of Diane Warren (not that that's a bad thing for us, necessarily, but, y'know...) brought in, which he just hated (and this before he let the demons totally take over, supposedly). Now these characters, sans Crosby, obviously, are sayin' they are glad they're back to writin' everything, again.
But, heck this is about QR... Hey, man, no doubt, like I said, it's thinkin' man's (sorry Xandra, "thinkin' person's") Glam/Prog Metal and I'm gonna check out the songs on your list I don't already have on my iTunes. "Empire" and "I Dream Infrared" are absolute knockouts, as are the several QR faves I have and as I've stated before, "I Dream in Infrared" has to be one of the coolest, if not THE coolest song titles, ever.
I will check the rest out tomorrow.
Awesome for continuing this discussion, and meet Xandra, too, who's got great perspective and regards Tate as highly as you do (check her other reco's of other incredible singers and their bands, too! You may also be familiar with them since you are so knowledgeable about our Metal. Awesome!). Like I said, looks like you all are makin' a believer out of me.
Heck, if I can think that vocal contortionist, the opera trained Lizzy Borden is a fantastic singer, why not Tate (seen Borden live 4 times, all back in the day, except in a tiny bar - weird! in Baltimore in 2001!). Tate just isn't funny to me, tho, as I've stated, and I know he's not supposed to be, either, but humor is always part of the whole thing for me. Tho I can go for unintentionally funny, and that duet with his kid sounds like it coulda been, but I dunno, so I better shut up, cuz it could actually have been quite moving and touching, for sure.
Okay, the in-between song banter we've got on that Shiprocked clip of Tate could be considered funny, cuz it's kinda like a comedian dying... Whoa! Okay, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt cuz I seem to be just diggin' myself in deeper and deeper and I don't wanna lose you and Xandra as co-threaders.
NirV, let me just say you are so cool. Really enjoy your posts and appreciate your honest, candid, frank, funny, insightful, intelligent, informative, and entertaining comments. I can't tell ya how blown away I am by that John Norum "Total Control" disc. I probably never would have heard it had it not been for you, bro. And it is just so amazing the way this guy just totally shreds on it. Read what I said over on the Europe post about it.
Well, It sounds like you and your wife had a blast with Al and Eric and Mr. Kix (who is awesome, too, cuz I grew up with Kix, practically, having seen 'em so many times in and around their stomping grounds of Maryland). Glad for your play by play. I'm comin' next time, for sure. 'Specially if they can wrangle Kix.
Rock on and I'm gonna go deeper on the QR cuts. Thanks as always for your great tips! And welcome back!
Xandra, I'm gonna check these links you were so kind to add (and I hope NirV and all the others check ALL of your links, too, cuz they are way incredible). I'll get back with ya tomorrow on it all. Hope you'll keep checkin' in. Something tells me this could all lead to something really big, like gettin' all these bands you are exposing to us popular in The States!
Cheerz, kidz, with some of Tate's vino... how is that stuff, anyway, NirV? Did ya try it? Or you like me and drink mainly fake Tangueray and Tonics (Mountain View Brand Sparkling Organic Spring Water and organic lime, on the rocks, the rocks being made from Mountain View Organic Still Water and poured into METAL ice cube trays, never plastic, hahaha!!!)...