Zero-Sum Fame

"WHEN THE NOISE IS GONE YOU'RE THERE, THROUGH THE STORM OUR SOULS LAID BARE"

[for-all-kings]

Today marks the beginning of an all new Song of the Week, this time done on Tumblr only!

Sonata Arctica - Fullmoon (Ecliptica Revisited, 2014)

Here’s an opinion that’s unpopular, at least from what I’ve heard: I really think this recording is better than the original. I think the vocals are tighter and the sound is overall cleaner. I still like the original; this one just sounds so much better to me. I don’t feel that way about the entirety of Ecliptica, but as far as Tony Kakko’s voice goes, I do prefer it as it is now. 

The songwriting on this one takes my breath away. There’s some beautiful imagery here that really sets a backdrop for the tragic turn of events that follows. 

“Fullmoon is on the sky and he’s not a man anymore”

[for-all-kings]

Nevermore

Provided to YouTube by Warner Music Group Nevermore · Symphony X Underworld ℗ 2015 Nuclear Blast GmbH Composer, Lyricist: Michael Romeo Lyricist: Michael Lep...

Here’s the Song of the Week I picked on Facebook for May 14, 2018!

SYMPHONY X - NEVERMORE (Underworld, 2015)

I realize this track is meant to be enjoyed as part of the album as a whole, but I do think it stands well on its own. I'm not familiar with Dante's Inferno or Orpheus in the Underworld, so I'm not going to try to delve into any deeper meaning here. 

I like to jam out while I crunch numbers at work, and for whatever reason, I always feel compelled to headbang during the bit from 2:52 to 3:22. Maybe I just really like the syncopation, who knows. My coworkers probably think I’m a crazy woman if they’ve ever seen it (even with headphones), and I accept that. 

“On tragic wings I take flight / Bring on the night”

[for-all-kings]

Closer to an Animal

Provided to YouTube by Warner Music Group Closer to an Animal · Sonata Arctica Closer to an Animal ℗ 2016 Nuclear Blast Composer, Lyricist: Tony Kakko Auto-g...

Here’s the Song of the Week I picked on Facebook for May 5, 2018!

SONATA ARCTICA - CLOSER TO AN ANIMAL (The Ninth Hour, 2016)

Not my favorite Sonata Arctica song, but I really like the way the lyrics were written. Here’s the official lyric video for those interested.

The message is clear - we're destroying the Earth because it's convenient for us. And we don't have unlimited time to figure out how to mitigate that.

“If you want it all, you can have it all / But greed raises oceans too”

[for-all-kings]

Angst and Ambition: Alternative/Hard Rock Throwback, a playlist by For-All-Kings on Spotify

Alternative and hard rock songs For-All-Kings played out in her teen years. Includes songs from when she was a kid (from as far back as 2000) to songs that she enjoyed in her teens as they were released (as late as 2014). This playlist only has songs she actually listened to between ages 13 and 19.

Hey everyone, I’m back with a little alternative/hard rock playlist chock-full of nostalgia! I had to redo this post after I got into a fight with the Tumblr formatting (the formatting won, apparently).

I used to listen to the radio a lot as a teenager (98 Rock Baltimore is a hell of a station). I love metal, I really do. Just as I love the handful of hard rock artists I bother keeping up with (that new Halestorm album is really cool by the way, just sayin’). But my musical palate would be awfully bland without the artists I listened to in my teen years on the radio. I remember staying up late, and I’d do nothing but lay in bed and listen to music for hours, things were so much simpler back then. 

This playlist goes as far back as the year 2000 (some of those songs are still in heavy-ish rotation!) and is cut off at 2014 (the year that I turned 20). There are nearly 170 tracks so far. I have yet to run a quick stat analysis on this playlist, but you can bet I will one of these days!

So Hold On and take a trip with me down memory lane as we Go With the Flow, engage in some serious Misery Business, stay Up All Night, and write Famous Last Words in The Diary of Jane.

Happy listening!

[for-all-kings]

Music Asks, Part 4

I answered 40 music questions I found here: http://question-meme.tumblr.com/post/58159411657/music-asks.

31. A song you have to crank the volume up for

Motörhead - Rock ‘n’ Roll (1986, Rock ‘n’ Roll)

32. What song was top of the charts when you were born

All-4-One - I Swear (1994, All-4-One)

33. C.D. that’s always in the car

Megadeth - Greatest Hits: Back to the Start (2005)

34. The last album you bought

Nightwish - Oceanborn (1998)

35. Dream band line up

This is a really hard question so I’m going to narrow down the options by only picking living musicians, none of whom are known for being in the same band (I’ll include two each has been in). If you ask me tomorrow, I’d probably give you completely different answers.

Vocals: Dianne van Giersbergen (Ex-Libris, Xandria) Guitar 1: Joe Satriani (amazing solo career, Chickenfoot) Guitar 2: Kasperi Heikkinen (Amberian Dawn,  U.D.O.) Bass Guitar: Marco Hietala (Nightwish, Tarot, many others) Keyboard: Jens Johansson (Yngwie Malmsteen, Stratovarius, many others) Drums: Charlie Benante (Anthrax, Stormtroopers of Death)

36. Favourite musician/band from your country

Kamelot, at the moment.

37. Which genre of music features most heavily in your collection

Classic metal and classic rock, contemporary hard rock, and symphonic metal.  There’s a little bit of classical music and EDM in there too.

I’ve been hooked on Megadeth’s Dystopia since it came out two years ago.

38. Which genre(s) do you try to avoid

Contemporary pop, hip-hop, and country music (among other more specific genres which would take too long to list), but there are plenty of exceptions. Good music really is everywhere! 

Katy Perry is a great example of the kind of pop artist I don’t care for. That said, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like any of her songs.

39. A song that reminds you of someone you love

This was also question 12, so I’ll find a different one. Rush - Distant Early Warning (1984, Grace Under Pressure)

40. A song that is always stuck in your head

Anthrax - Breathing Lightning (2016, For All Kings)

[for-all-kings]

Music Asks, Part 3

I answered 40 music questions I found here: http://question-meme.tumblr.com/post/58159411657/music-asks.

Part Three of Four

21. Favourite guitar solo

I really can't choose an all-time favorite. At the moment I can't get enough of the one in this song:

Amberian Dawn - Arctica (2010, End of Eden)

22. A song no one would expect you to love

Zac Brown Band - Chicken Fried (2008, The Foundation)

23. A song you get stick for liking

Nobody really gets on my case about what I listen to, and to most of my friends it probably all sounds the same anyway (just like their music sounds to me). But if we can pretend the Internet is the real world for a minute, I see “Ghost sucks” at least once a day. So with that:

Ghost - Square Hammer (2016, Popestar)

24. A song you’d like at your funeral

Iron Maiden - Blood Brothers (2000, Brave New World)

25. A song you’d like for your first dance

Nightwish - Sleeping Sun (1998, Oceanborn)

26. Karaoke song

Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train (1980, Blizzard of Ozz)

27. Favourite summertime song

Rush - Red Barchetta (1981, Moving Pictures)

28. Favourite Christmas song

Tarja - What Child Is This (2017,  From Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a Dark Christmas))

29. An artist you used to love but don’t really listen to now

Avenged Sevenfold

30. A cover that is better than the original

Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan) (1968, Electric Ladyland)

[for-all-kings]

Music Asks, Part 2

I answered 40 music questions I found here: http://question-meme.tumblr.com/post/58159411657/music-asks.

Part Two of Four

11. First record you bought

Linkin Park - Meteora (2003, CD format)

12. A song that reminds you of someone you love

Nightwish - I Want My Tears Back (2011, Imaginaerum)

13. A song from your childhood

Backstreet Boys - All I Have to Give (1996, Backstreet Boys)

14. A song that reflects your personality

Judas Priest - You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ (1982, Screaming for Vengeance)

15. Most hated song of all time

Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen (1982, Too Rye Ay)

There's a story behind this one. Maybe one day I’ll make a post about it.

16. Most overrated song

Metallica - Enter Sandman (1991, Metallica)

17. Most underrated song

Iron Maiden - Flight of Icarus (1983, Piece of Mind)

18. Most overrated artist AC/DC

19. Most underrated artist Yngwie Malmsteen

20. Favourite vocal performance Symphony X - Without You (2015, Underworld)

[for-all-kings]

Music Asks, Part 1

I guess you’re supposed to post the questions and wait for people to ask them, but I got bored and answered 40 music questions I found here: http://question-meme.tumblr.com/post/58159411657/music-asks.

Part One of Four

1. Song that always makes you happy

Diamond Head - It’s Electric (1980, Lightning to the Nations)

2. Song you listen to when you’re sad Delain - April Rain (2009, April Rain)

3. Top 5 songs of an artist of your choosing

From Iron Maiden, just off the top of my head here are some favorites:

i) Powerslave (1984, Powerslave) ii) The Red and the Black (2015, The Book of Souls) iii) Number of the Beast (1982, Number of the Beast) iv) The Evil that Men Do (1988, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son) v) Phantom of the Opera (1980, Iron Maiden)

4. 3 most played songs on iTunes or Last.fm etc.

In the short term, from my Spotify:

i) Kamelot - Descent of the Archangel (2003, Epica) ii) Epica - Architect of Light (2017, The Solace System) iii) Stratovarius - Unbreakable (2013, Unbreakable)

5. Favourite song right now

Sonata Arctica - Don’t Say a Word (2004, Reckoning Night)

6. Favourite album of all time

Metallica - Ride the Lightning (1984)

7. Favourite song of all time

Blue Öyster Cult - Astronomy (1974, Secret Treaties)

8. Favourite artist of all time

Iron Maiden

9. A memory associated to an artist of your choosing

My first concert was Black Sabbath on their 13 tour (thanks, Dad!). I can’t think of a single more exciting moment in my life than when the lights went down and they hit the first note of War Pigs.

10. Song that you feel you must always dance to

Oceanlab - Sirens of the Sea (2008, Sirens of the Sea)

I don’t talk about it much, but I actually really like trance music.

[for-all-kings]

Descent of the Archangel

Provided to YouTube by Warner Music Group Descent of the Archangel · Kamelot Epica ℗ 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company Bass Guitar: Glenn Barr...

Here’s the Song of the Week I picked for May 1, 2018! I had just started to really dig into symphonic metal when I posted this on Facebook...I’d say I still have plenty to explore. Please bear with me as I keep working on my Tumblr formatting in general.

This song is still in my Spotify Top 3 by the way. It’s one of my favorites.

KAMELOT - DESCENT OF THE ARCHANGEL (Epica, 2003)

Is this the all-time best retelling of the German legend of Faust? I think so, aside from the original Goethe opera, of course. You know, the album cover makes me wonder about this version’s Mephisto. Ariel is in the center and Helena is on the bottom left, but who is that to her right? Sometimes I wonder if that character is actually supposed to be portrayed as a woman, and just happens to have parts sung by Roy Khan. In all fairness, I can’t think of a more alluring voice for this kind of thing.

"I will show you everything so vividly / You won't deny me"

[for-all-kings]

Here is the Song of the Week I picked on April 7, 2018:

This one’s a little more modern than most of the stuff I've been posting (that is, made after the turn of the millennium)...but as my taste in music is expanding, so will my pool of songs.

NIGHTWISH - GHOST LOVE SCORE

Do I dare try and pick this song apart? No, probably better that I don't. Layers on layers of beautiful sound, the one and only Tarja Turunen...not to mention it has its own meme and everything! Apparently the original Epic Maneuver meme involving this song had Geordie from Next Generation doing some over-the-top acrobatics...perfect!

"You were the one to cut me, So now I bleed forever”

[for-all-kings]

Here’s the Song of the Week I chose for March 29, 2018. We’re about half caught up, eventually I will start posting them here as I pick them. This one was a music video because that’s what YouTube had.

THE CULT - FIRE WOMAN

The Cult wasn't always a hard rock band...before they released hits like this one and Love Removal Machine, the Cult was a post-punk/gothic rock band. Their most popular song from that era was She Sells Sanctuary (which is also quite good).

"Twistin' like a flame in a slow dance, baby..."

[for-all-kings]

Symphonic Power, a playlist by For-All-Kings on Spotify

For-All-Kings has compiled a playlist of her favorite symphonic metal tracks, also dipping into power metal, gothic metal, and progressive metal. She is constantly changing up the master playlist this is based off of on her main Spotify account and will update this one accordingly.

Guys, check out my playlist! This is the 9-hour collection of music I listen to at work every day. I’m adding to it all the time. Please don’t hesitate to share any recommendations.

I also have a classic rock/classic metal playlist that’s even bigger, but it needs to be refined a little more before I share it.

Happy listening!

[for-all-kings]

Here’s the Song of the Week I posted on March 21, 2018!

ARMORED SAINT - MARCH OF THE SAINT

Need some Motivational Metal? This will hype you up in just under four minutes! Fun fact about John Bush, the lead singer for this band: he could have been the lead singer of Metallica as he was offered the position after the release of Kill 'Em All, but he turned it down. As of 2015, he still believes he made the right decision.

"Shout the truth metal's here to claim the day"

[for-all-kings]

Here’s the Song of the Week I posted on February 25th!

IRON MAIDEN - BLOOD BROTHERS

Here's a song about life, loss, and feeling like you're alone in your thoughts. As always, Steve Harris penned some truly beautiful lyrics for this track.

“And if you’re taking a walk through the garden of life...”

[for-all-kings]

This was the Song of the Week that I posted on March 11, 2018!

BLUE OYSTER CULT - FLAMING TELEPATHS

BOC is famous for lyrics that are intentionally cryptic, and this track off of Secret Treaties is no exception. The telepaths in this song are almost certainly being experimented on against their will. I'll take that a step further and guess that the song is set in WWII along with the rest of the album.

“Is it any wonder that my mind’s on fire / Imprisoned by the thoughts of what you do”

[flyinghetfield]

[for-all-kings]

There’s never enough of this man.

[for-all-kings]

Alright, here's the Song of the Week I originally posted on February 19. I love a song with a good story behind it, which is why I picked this Saxon song.

SAXON - 747 (STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT)

In 1965, a power outage in New York City forced planes to stay in the air when they were trying to land. This song recounts the peril of Scandinavian Airlines 911 (called Scandinavia 101 in the song) as it circles the airport with the other planes (they were Strangers in the Night).

It’s worth noting that this is a re-recording of the original 747 (Strangers in the Night) off of Saxon’s Heavy Metal Thunder compilation. I love the original a lot, but the guitar in this version is second to none.

“For God’s sake get your ground lights on”