Rise / The Answer (2006)

1. Under the Sky

2. Never Too Late

3. Come Follow Me

4. Be What You Want

5. Memphis Water

6. No Questions Asked

7. Into the Gutter

8. Sometimes Your Love

9. Leavin' Today

10. Preachin'

11. Always

The Answer is a band from Northern Ireland. I define them as "the Resurrection of Old British/Irish Rock in Modern Heavy Sound." When you listen to them, it reminds of many old British and Irish band, yet they are also very original. They are very skilled musicians.


Even before they release their first major debut album, they opened a gig for Deep Purple. Following their debut, they opened for Paul Rogers, Whitesnake, Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, and many other big names. They are one of most recognized rock band in England and Ireland.


The reason why I picked them is because I do not think they are receiving the recognition that they deserve here in U.S. Their music is very riff-oriented. If you like 60's/70's British Rock, you would probably love this band as well. I really hope they will become more popular in the U.S. Their second album is pretty good too, but this first album is my favorite. I need to buy their third one!!

☆☆☆☆☆

Daughtry / Daughtry (2006)

1. It's Not Over

2. Used To

3. Home

4. Over You

5. Crashed

6. Feels Like Tonight

7. What I Want (feat. Slash)

8. Breakdown

9. Gone

10. There and Back Again

11. All These Lives

12. What About Now

13. Feels Like the First Time (Foreigner Cover)

I was never a fan of "American Idol" or did not watch even one season. However, this guy, Chris Daughtry really interested me, because I read him in one magazine. It was not a regular music magazine or some kind of gossip magazine. It was a magazine called "Burrn", my favorite music magazine. It is not just a regular music magazine. It is specialized in hard rock and heavy metal music. This guys was the first "American Idol" participant was in that magazine. 

It really interested me and made me find him on YouTube. I found a video of track 1, the lead single from this album. It was a good American song but also had emotional moving melody and vocal. Soon after I heard his voice, I knew this guy was not just an "idol" but a real singer. His voice is really strong but sometimes really sensitive and emotional. He has a wide range of voice and can keep strength in any range. This album is full of good rock songs and ballads. The melody is very catchy and has good hook. 7 singles were released from this album. Track 2 and 4 is catchy rock songs. Track 3 is a heartfelt ballad. Track 5 has feeling from 90's grunge to some modern alternative rock. Track 6 a beautiful chorus. The song that features Slash, track 7, is the heaviest number out of all. His voice stands out in a heavy number as well. Track 12 is very emotional and dramatic. There are other good rock songs, heavy tunes, and ballads as well.

He would not appeal to heavy metal fans. Maybe, he would not typical old-school hard rock fans. I would not say this is my favorite kind of music. I am more towards British/European rock and metal fans (probably you can tell, if you check my other reviews). But, I can say that this album will appeal to wide range of music fans. In fact, it did. If you are not a hardcore hardheaded hard rock fan, please try to check this guy out. This record is a high quality album, and I would like to keep checking this band out!

☆☆☆☆

The Open Door / Evanescence (2006)

1. Sweet Sacrifice

2. Call Me When You're Sober

3. Weight Of The World

4. Lithium

5. Cloud Nine

6. Snow White Queen

7. Lacrymosa

8. Like You

9. Lose Control

10. The Only One

11. Your Star

12. All That I'm Living For

13. Good Enough

14. Call Me When You're Sober (Acoustic Version)

The first album was full of surprise. Melancholy melody, symphonic arrangement, heavy sound, everything was really fresh for me. I just could not imagine that any American band would play this kind of music. The melodies that Amy Lee sang somehow reminded me of some European music. Despite of their great success, the band lost Ben Moody who was one of the main composers of the band. They continued touring with the joint of Terry Balsamo. "Anywhere But Home" was released. It showed that how the band was shaped up during the long tour. However, I did not think Terry was as skillful as Ben when I watched the DVD, so I started having some concerns regarding their next album.

My conclusion after listening to the album was that the identity of this band was Amy Lee. She creates music, mood, and the world of Evanescence. This is another high quality album. This is very heavy, melodious, and moving. The melodies she makes is sometimes sad, sometimes intense, and beautiful. Regarding of guitar play, I still have to say that I like Ben Moody better. His riffs were very unique, and lead guitars were very cool. Nevertheless, Terry and John LeCompt also did wonderful job on the record. I guess it is just my preference. If you liked their first album, you would love this album as well.

Eventually, all of the original band members left after this album. Sadly, Amy truly proved that she is the core of this band in this album.

☆☆☆☆

A Matter Of Life And Death / Iron Maiden (2006)

1. Different World

2. These Colours Don't Run

3. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns

4. The Pilgrim

5. The Longest Day

6. Out of the Shadows

7. The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg

8. For the Greater Good of God

9. Lord of Light

10. The Legacy

The first Maiden album I bought was "Real Dead One", a live album that contains the last tour with Bruce Dickinson before he left the band. It blew me away. I was a freshman in high school and just started playing the guitar about one year ago. The album contained so many cool riffs such as "The Number Of The Beast", "The Trooper", "Run To The Hills", and many others. Then one day, I listened to "Rock In Rio" album. I was just stunned. That was the beginning of my long journey with Iron Maiden.

I went to watch Iron Maiden Festival, the last show of "Dance of Death World Tour". That was the most amazing show I have ever seen in my life. The band was tight and very active (Before Maiden, Sonata Arctica and Arch Enemy played, but Maiden was much more active than these two bands!). "Dance of Death" became one of my favorite albums. After the show, I was really looking for the next album.

Before the album was released, I read some press and saw Steve repeated the word "Progressive" when he spoke about the new album. They created many progressive pieces in past. However this time, he was referring the entire album. The day that the album was released, I went to the store and bought it. I listened through the whole thing on the way back home. It was much more than I was expected. The album was massive.

I actually did not listened to the album much after that. I guess it was little difficult to comprehend that moment. But, I remember the first impression, the album reminded me of "The X Factor", the first album that the band made with Blaze Bayley. I thought "A Matter of Life and Death" had the same feeling and mood. The songs have the same feeling as the songs in "The X Factor" such as "Signs of the Cross", "Fortunes of War", "The Aftermath", and "The Edge of Darkness". Recently, I realized that the themes of the songs were very similar as well.

I recently re-visited this album and realized that this record might be the most dramatic album they ever created. One thing really impressed me the most was the great contribution of Nicko with his drums. He created such groove in this album, and each song changes its face as he changes the rhythm. Each song (except "Different World", "The Pilgrim", and "Out of the Shadows") has the beginning that starts slow and beautiful, and then the song goes aggressively and shows the insanity. At the end, the song goes back to the beginning. One thing really made me happy was that the gallop riff came back on the song "Lord of Light". I always love their gallop riffs. Nevertheless, it is not just the simple gallop riff they used to play. This is also progressive gallop riff.

I have been listening to this album almost everyday. This album was something special for the members as well. In fact, this is the only album they played entirely on their tour. This was the first and, they said, the last experiment. I think I grew musically old enough to comprehend this album now. This will surely be one of my all time favorite playlists.

☆☆☆☆☆

The Arockalypse / Lordi (2006)

1. SCG3 Special Report

2. Bringing Back the Balls to Rock

3. The Deadite Girls Gone Wild

4. The Kids Who Wanna Play With the Dead

5. It Snows In Hell

6. Who's Your Daddy?

7. Hard Rock Hallelujah

8. They Only Come Out At Night

9. The Chainsaw Buffet

10. Good to Be Bad

11. The Night of the Loving Dead

12. Supermonsters (The Anthem of the Phantoms)

13. Would You Love a Monsterman? (2006 Version)

14. Mr. Killjoy (Bonus Track)

15. Evilove (Bonus Track)

In 2006, a sensational news ran through heavy metal scene all over the world. A metal band won Eurovision contest. But, the band was not just a heavy metal band but also wearing monster costumes. When I first the heard the news and saw a picture of the band, I thought Eurovision was somewhat a comedy talent show. Nevertheless, I was wrong. It was a serious music contest, and this band won by popular votes. Then, I became really curious about this band. I bought this album and was really surprised by their talents and musicianship. They were not joke. The album was full of catchy vocal lines, lyrical play, and emotional melodies.

From track 2, every song has catchy sing-along chorus. The vocal has such strong guttural voice, but good harmony softens it. He does not have good range of voice. He is strong in low range and has good high tone scream. Nevertheless, he comes up with so many catchy melody with hook. Every song has a part that fans can shout out with the band. Melody is sometimes pop and also lyrical. I did not become a fan of this band. This is the only album of this band that I have, but this album was definitely worth spending my money on.

☆☆☆☆☆

Inhuman Rampage / DragonForce (2006)

1. Through The Fire And Flames

2. Revolution Deathsquad

3. Storming The Burning Fields

4. Operation Ground And Pound

5. Body Breakdown

6. Cry For Eternity

7. The Flame Of Youth

8. Trail Of Broken Hearts

The last album was a big step up for this band. However, this album had even a bigger impact than the last time. When I listened to track 1 on YouTube, I got big goose bumps. This song was not comparable to any songs in the last album. They have not changed their music direction, yet the band was on a completely different degree. I felt that their musical talents fully came to bloom. The band became much tighter, and song arrangement and progression was way more dramatic.

From track 1, the band kept their faith in their music style. Except track 8, they never slow down. However, this album was really easy to listen to entirely. It is largely due to their arrangement skill. Each song has good progression and does not make you feel the length of it. I can say this band was truly refined in this album.

I think this album was a statement from the band. They finally won fame in the U.S. and many other places around the world with this album. I think their musical journey came to one of the climax with this album.

☆☆☆☆