Sun Caged

Ex-Lemur Voice guitarist Marcel Coenon and drummer Dennis Leeflang got together in the spring of 1999 to form Sun Caged. This progressive metal band originates from The Netherlands. Their first self-titled studio album was released in 2003. It includes some outstanding tracks like Hollow, Closing In and 8th Day. Though like most progressive metal bands it has been influenced by the mother of modern progressive metal - Dream Theater, it has its own style which tones down the large musical interludes usually present in progressive metal to a very digestible amount. The complexity and variations is quite acceptable for someone who is new to progressive metal and the album has very melodic vocals (absolutely no growling) thus making a good album to start off with.


Rating: (Lyrics - 8, Riffs - 8.5, Overall Appeal - 8) - 8.16/10.

The band came back in 2007 with the album Artemisia. But the line up was almost completely changed except for Marcel Coenon. The album didn't live up to its expectations. Though the lyrics are quite nice, the riffs are either weak or too similar to their debut album. Hopefully the forthcoming albums are better.

Rating: (Lyrics - 9, Riffs - 6, Overall Appeal - 6) - 7/10.

Motherjane

Motherjane are a progressive rock band from Cochin, Kerala. Now before your eyes go up in surprise, let me assure you that these guys are a real class act: They've been labeled Asia's No.1 Rock Act in 2009, both albums have been rated No.1 by Rolling Stones Magazine, Rock Street Journal and Unwind Center Live Awards. And after listening to them, Ive got to agree with the accolades heaped on them. Think of Dream Theater meeting Indian Classical/ Carnatic music, with Opeth harmonics thrown in for garnishing, and you've got Motherjane.

The band has released 2 albums, Insane Biography (2001) and Maktub (2008). Now I didnt get to listen to Insane Biography, but Maktub, quite literally, blew me away. These guys are quite unique; there's elements of all your progressive metal favourites, but their harmonics, time scales and riffs most closely resemble Opeth. Solos and Leads are played in a very veena like style, which is a hitherto unknown concept in the field of rock and metal, and definitely a good thing. And the vocalist, Suraj Mani is undoubtedly one of the most technically proficient vocalists I've heard. The influences of carnatic music vocals are clearly there.

Songs to look out for are Fields of Sound (Wonderful instrumental, and vocals to match), Broken (This song could give any Opeth song a run for its money, in terms of a bleak, dark and sorrowful theme) and Chasing the Sun. The band has quoted Opeth as an influence, and did open for Opeth at Saarang, IIT-C earlier this year. And even after listening to them repeatedly, these songs refuse to leave my head, let alone get old.

Rating: 9.1/10 - A definite must hear. Indian metal just got a whole new meaning.

Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings.

Dream Theater is an American Progressive Metal band formed in 1985. Originally named as Majesty the band now comprises of James Labrie, John Myung, John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, Jordan Rudess. The technical proficiency, interesting time scales, long musical interludes and albums woven around stories have made them one of the best progressive metal bands.

Black Clouds & Silver Linings is their 10th studio album which comes as a regular as well as 3 CD edition. Unlike the previous album Systematic Chaos, this album is more balanced. They have reverted to the more balad like music as in the case of Octavarium. But, unlike Octavarium or Systematic Chaos, this has the best blend of both. A rite of Passage and A Nightmare to Remember are predominantly heavy while The Best of Times and Count of Tuscany are beautiful balads. The music is very 'DT like' filled with long interludes. The Shattered Fortress (Restraint, Receive, Responsible) is an impressive song which completes the twelve step suite:
* I. "Reflection"
* II. "Restoration"
* III. "Revelation"
* IV. "Reflections of Reality (Revisited)"
* V. "Release"
* VI. "Ready"
* VII. "Remove"
* VIII. "Regret"
* IX. "Restitution"
* X. "Restraint"
* XI. "Receive"
* XII. "Responsible"
Written by Portnoy to describe his fight with alcoholism, this definitely finishes off one of the best progressive pieces of music spanning five songs from five seperate albums. It is a feat that would leave anyone in awe.
Like most of Dream Theater albums, this one is also not easily digestible for people who have never listened to Progressive Metal. But given enough time, its an album which everyone would love. Though it is well balanced in many aspects, it does not match up to some of the earlier Dream Theater work mostly because of increased heavy metal influence in their songs. At times Rudess plays second guitar instead of a piano like in all albums post 2000.

Rating: (Lyrics - 8, Riffs - 9, Overall Appeal - 8) - 8.33/10.

In the 3 CD edition the 2nd CD has covers of famous bands like Rainbow, Queen, King Crimson, Iron Maiden etc. As usual, Dream Theater have done a great job with them. The 3rd CD contains the instrumental versions of Black Clouds & Silver Linings. For those who find Labrie's voice painful, the 3rd CD is what you want.

Bring Me The Horizon - Suicide Season

Bring Me The Horizon is a British band that takes it name from a line in the POTC movies. When I listened to 'Suicide Season' the first time, my reaction was, 'These guys are pretty good!' And it hasn't changed much despite a couple of hundred listens during cycling sessions. What genre do they belong to? Difficult to say, but the closest would be metalcore. If you don't know what that is, here goes. Metalcore is simply metal where the vocalist screams out the lyrics most of the time. And vocals are BMTH's strongest suit. The singing style has an almost pleading tone to it, which, combined with the added layer of techno-like jingles gives a haunting aspect to some of the songs. 'Suicide Season', the title track is outstandingly good and a perfect example of this. Despite its length (at 8:19 minutes), or perhaps because of it, this is one song that will refuse to budge from your skull.The guitaring is heavy, and coupled with the drumming is rhythmic enough to be almost melodic. Watch out for the softer portions of the songs where the guitars take a break; the alternating of sounds is delightful. The subtle British accent helps too. All the songs are pretty good, but if I were forced to choose, I would recommend 'Chelsea Smile', 'The Comedown' and 'Diamonds aren't forever', apart from 'Suicide Season' of course.

Video: Diamonds Aren't Forever
Video: Chelsea Smile
Video: Suicide Season

RATING: 8.5/10

Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse

Opeth is a swedish metal band which is can be best described as a wholesome union between Dream Theater's progressive style and Arch Enemy's heavy, harmonic riffs. Formed in 1990, My Arms, Your Hearse is their 3rd studio album.

Now if you're listening to this album, you've either heard songs from previous albums, or you've not. If you've heard the previous albums, what will strike you first is the lack of dual harmonic guitars, which made Orchid and Morningrise hauntingly beautiful, yet powerful death metal albums. Opeth decided to go with more progressive and heavy riffs, and Åkerfeldt (lead guitarist and vocalist) has taken his screaming vocals to a whole new level, while maintaing his clean and whispered vocals. All this meant that it took me a while to get used to the new style the band was playing in this album (read: listening to it start to front about 3 times), but its wonderful to listen to once you get over the fact that this album is not as melancholy as the previous albums, but definitely more eerie in its themes, scales, chords and timing. Its one of the many paradigm shifts the band has undergone during its life.

One way or the other, this is arguably Opeth's heaviest and most progressive album to date. I started listening to Opeth only after hearing Ghost Reveries, which was progressive, yet had death metal influences in it. My Arms... is twice as heavy, twice as complex, twice as fast... Pretty much twice as much in everything. Its an outstanding piece of music, and considering this was made in 1996, I can't help but appreciate the musical genius of Åkerfeldt, because this album is still good and fresh, 13 years down the line.

Oh and lest I forget, most songs in this album are less than 10 mins long, which is short, by Opeth's standards; Most of the bands songs are in the 9 - 16 min bracket. Fluid, elegant, yet hard hitting compositions.

Overall Ratuing: 8.7 /10
PS - You'll agree with the rating if you allow the music to sink in over a period of time; this stuff most probably wont endear itself to you immediately.

The Age of Metal

What is it about rock and heavy metal that makes us fans of these dying arts? Could it be the blindingly fast guitaring of a Dragonforce or a Symphony-X, that throws us into raptures in sheer awe of their skill? Or is it the brutal thrash riffs of a Chimaira or an Exodus that, almost harmonious in their own way, make us want to jump up and down in rhythm? Or, moving to the other end of the spectrum, could it be the catchy tunes of a Green Day or a Linkin Park, assisted by simple but effective guitaring, that get stuck in our heads? It could even be the indecipherable growls of an Amon Amarth that help us get over a particularly bad day. There's grunge as well: it's impossible to put a finger on why we love a form of music where 'nice melodies are hidden within distorted guitar noise' (as the New York Times said in 1993). But precious few people can claim not to have listened to something of Nirvana or Nickelback.

Is it all just about heavy guitaring then? A good acoustic piece is never out of place in rock music. The drums play a key role too. Many bands, with otherwise mediocre guitaring, churn out the best music courtesy some catchy drumming sequences. Perhaps, we have only managed to confuse you as to what rock music really is... Well, you'll know it when you hear it! In this blog we will discuss music belonging to every possible kind of rock and heavy metal genre. I dare say there'll be something for everyone here.