Dr. DTVT's 50 Underappriciated bands v. Better than the Loch Ness Monster

[wolfking]

I must be the only person that prefers the first album over anything else they've done.

Again they're fun, but those two in particular are possibly the cheesiest things I've ever heard.

Manowar, Hammerfall and Virgin Steele would like to see you now.

[Nekov]

 

[jingle.boy]

Rhapsody (with or without Fire) patiently awaits as well.

[Dr. DTVT]

Rhapsody (with or without Fire) patiently awaits as well.

There are 64 kg wheels of cheese that aspire to be as cheesy as Rhapsody

[jingle.boy]

I know.  Glorious, aren't they! 

[Dr. DTVT]

22. Henning Pauly / Chain / Frameshift - Babysteps / Chain.exe / Unweaving the Rainbow



Genre: Thematic Prog rock / metal
For fans of: James LaBrie (particularly Unweaving the Rainbow and Babysteps)
What makes this special: Henning is one of the most talented multi-instrumentalists out there, and he's great at using the talent available to him.

If you asked me which albums JLB sounds the best on, without hesitation I would say Unweaving the Rainbow and Babysteps.  On Unweaving the Rainbow, he has the control and range of I&W era DT, and on Babysteps he's an emotional and forceful powerhouse, and I believe it has more to do with Henning not compromising on what he wants, and realizing who the show piece is.  But this isn't about JLB and how great he sounds on those two albums, it's about Henning's work as a whole.

His solo albums use a mixture of vocalists, but Babysteps is the Pièce de résistance of his solo albums.  A great cast of vocalists filling the roles of characters that become well established as album progresses will initially jump out at you, but after that initial wave of excitement washes over, you are still left with music that ranges from soft and atmospheric to aggressive and tension filled.  The story itself doesn't exactly sound like the most interesting in the world to write about: an athlete becomes paralyzed in an accident and has to overcome his personal demons in order to try to start the road to recovery.  Not exactly the most interesting premise on paper, but the music and the characters make you care.

Chain.exe is Henning's "regular" band with vocalist and co-writer Matt Cash.  It is a much more straight forward prog rock.  While not possessing JLB's range, Matt is a more than capable singer and this album really plays to his strength, and that is singing with feeling.  It's a great listen that I still spin regularly even after several years.

Unweaving the Rainbow was my introduction to Henning Pauly.  I picked the album up because I kept seeing rave reviews about it and hearing how good JLB sounded on it.  If this were a straight up, unrestricted top 50 albums list, this album would be in the top 25 (and Babysteps would probably be a top 50 as well).  James fucking slays.  Period.  All the songs were taken from a Richard Dawkins book of the same name, long before he was associated with atheism.  This album is all about evolutionary biology, and low and behold, it is pretty damn good.  The songs range from airy and beautiful to aggressive and powerful, both in musical tone and JLB's vocals.  This should be up most people's alley here at DTF.

Tracks to try:   Listen to Me, What Do You Know?, I See, Cities Parts 1-7, Message From The Mountain, La Mer, Arms Races

[wolfking]

Rhapsody (with or without Fire) patiently awaits as well.

Fuck, of course.  How could I forget Rhapsody. 

[wolfking]

Only familiar with Unweaving the Rainbow, which is killer.

[Ħ]

I tried Unweaving the Rainbow a few times but it's not my thing at all.

[senecadawg2]

Just listening to Unweaving the Rainbow right now. It sounds right up my alley.

[Nick]

The Chain album I have I'd probably say is better than any Frameshift or solo work.

[obscure]

now these might be the most beautiful bunch I've come across this year thanks to you and Chad!

[jingle.boy]

Surprised you left out any mention of Absence of Empathy... Frameshift's 2nd album with Sebastian Bach at the vocal helm.  Much heavier and edgier than anything else from Pauly.  That is probably my fave disc of Pauly's projects.  I only got exposed to them last September, only stumbling on to them because someone had incorrectly posted River Out of Eden lyrics for This is the Life.

Can't say anything bad about any of his works.  They all get lots of airtime here.

Anyone can sample most of these at therecordlabel.net.

[obscure]

Agreed! It's awesome...awesome!!!!!  except I had to find it on my own. 

[Dr. DTVT]

I'm holding myself to a 3 album limit, and I wanted one of each artist.  I might raise it for the top 5 or 10 though.

BTW, that Enslaved song was pretty decent, right?

[jingle.boy]

I'm holding myself to a 3 album limit, and I wanted one of each artist.  I might raise it for the top 5 or 10 though.

BTW, that Enslaved song was pretty decent, right?

Yes, I'll admit that I enjoyed it.

[wolfking]

Just realised I own the one with Sebasstian Bach.  Man I gotta do something about this cd buying addiction.    Anyway, ripping it to my computer now and will listen to it tonight.

[WindMaster]

Loving Unweaving The Rainbow... James sounds awesome.

[Dr. DTVT]

21. Savatage - Streets: A Rock Opera, Edge of Thorns, & Dead Winter Dead



Genre: Prog metal
For fans of: "Classic" prog metal, guitar playing, concept albums, Trans-Siberian Orchestra
What makes this special: Despite a seemingly constantly rotating line-up, managed to crank out some good concept albums

Savatage is always a band that seems to get left out of the discussion.  It seems that those of us who have heard them tend to really like them, but they never caught on like Queensryche did.  The two aspects that have always stood out in Savatage is the expressive guitar and vocals - which come from a variety of people depending on which album you are listening too.  Any fan of I&W era Dream Theater should enjoy the hell out of mid-to-late career Savatage.  Also, this is where TSO got started.

Streets is one of my favorite concept albums, as it is a story about rising up, having it taken away, and redemption.  The main character is DT (downtown) Jesus - who starts as a drug dealer, but eventually becomes a rock star.  However, his seedy past comes back to haunt him (I won't give it away), and his soul searching to come to grips with what happened.

Dead Winter Dead is the other concept album here, and it deals with the Bosnian War of the mid 1990s.  Again, don't want to spoil the story here, but the music here is top notch.  This was my first Savatage album, and probably my favorite, as there are tons of instances where I just get lost in the music or the story, and the epic round in the final track is pretty intense and chilling.

Tracks to try:  Streets, St. Patrick's, Can You Hear Me Now, Edge of Thorns, He Carves His Stone, Sleep, This Is the Time (1990), Dead Winter Dead, Not What You See

[jingle.boy]

I have their discog, but don't spin them enough.  Will give Streets a whirl tomorrow.  Dead Winter Dead is a very good album.

[Nick]

Funnily enough I listened to Streets today.

[Elite]

No Gutter Ballet? That album is awesome.

[wolfking]

This band is definitely in my top 10 bands of all time, possibly even top 5.  I love and have played the shit out of every album.  It doesn't matter which 3 Mason picked, they are all gold.  Poets and Madman, Gutter Ballet, Magellan, Mountain King, they are all perfect.

RIP Criss, one of the greatest guitarists this world ever saw.

[Dr. DTVT]

No Gutter Ballet? That album is awesome.

Again, 3 album limit.

[WindMaster]

I'm a big TSO fan, never really got into Savatage. I will listen to some soon though.

[wolfking]

I've always found the under appreciation for this band a true crime.  Every album is filled with absolutely amazing songs, great performances and bring up emotions that really pull at the heartstrings.  I was obsessed with this band when I was like 18.

[Ħ]

Dead Winter Dead was pretty good when I listened to it a few months ago.

[Dr. DTVT]

20. Karmakanic - Who's The Boss In the Factory & In A Perfect World



Genre: Prog rock
For fans of: Transatlantic, keyboard leads
What makes this special: a modern take on classic prog rock that can often has a feel-good vibe going on

I'm about to say something that some people will consider blasphemy: Karmakanic is better than The Flower Kings in pretty much every way.  I make the comparison because Karmakanic is the side project of TFK's Jonas Reingold.  I've struggled to get into TFK despite the fact that I know I should like them, whereas I've enjoyed everything I've heard from Karmakanic almost immediately.  I still need to get Karmakanic's first two albums, so don't read anything into their lack of inclusion.

Who's The Boss In the Factory has pretty much anything a prog fan can want in an album: two fantastic epics in Send a Message to the Heart and the title track, some nice shorter tracks, a happy feel good track, a proggy as fuck track, great instrumental bits, the works.  Probably a top 50 album for me, and I have close to 900 albums to give perspective.  In A Perfect World has some nice things going on as well, but with only one epic they were able to explore some more ideas.  It's not as cohesive as WTBItF, but that was a tough act if not nearly impossible act to follow.

Tracks to try:  Send A Message From the Heart*, Who's The Boss In the Factory, Two Blocks From the Edge, 1969, Turn It Up (radio edit is better)*, Can't Take It With You

[jingle.boy]

I've heard some Karmakanic here and there, but never dug to deep into them.  Guess I need to change that.

[King Postwhore]

Love those 2 albums. Chad, maybe I can send a song on your Roulette.  Jonas Reingold is a god among bass players.

[Nick]

These guys are OK I guess...

Also, I don't know what the general consensus is, but I prefer the first album to the 2nd, so I'd get Entering next.

[Nekov]

Those ore the best 2 Karmakanic albums. Great choice.

[ReaperKK]

Never could get into Karmakanic.

[Dr. DTVT]

19. Vanishing Point - Tangled In Dream, Embrace The Silence, & The Fourth Season



Genre: Progressive metal with some melodic power metal (musical only) tendencies
For fans of: DT, Eumeria (since everyone seems to be digging that)
What makes this special: Soaring melodies and powerful vocals with honest, heartfelt lyrics

I suspect the one thing that has kept a band like Vanishing Point from breaking through in the world of progressive metal is that they are on a penal colony also known as Australia.  Vanishing Point delivers powerful riffs with melodic backgrounds and catchy vocals that focus on human emotion.  When you think of what you want in prog metal band, these guys for the most part have it all, while I wouldn't consider any of them the top 3 of their instrument, none of them are weak parts and they mesh very well together, and are definitely some of the better song/lyric writers in the genre.  Again, all passed over because they come from a place that gave us Men At Work, AC/DC, and Crocodile Dundee.  So do yourself a favor and check out this Aussie five-piece and rock out down under syle.

Tracks to try: Surreal, Samsara, Father (7 Years), Hollow, Embraced, Season of Sundays, Embodiment, The Tyranny of Distance, Surrender

[Dr. DTVT]

Recap:

50. Pinnacle
49. Zero Hour
48. Turisas
47. Eumeria
46. It Bites
45. Kaddisfly
44. Eternity X
43. Vonassi
42. Worlds
41. The Tangent
40. Circle II Circle
39. Intronaut
38. Grayceon
37. Haggard
36. Ice Age
35. Mystery
34. Wuthering Heights
33. The ANABASIS
32. Scar Symmetry
31. Pagan's Mind
30. Cloudscape
29. Ben Folds Five / Ben Folds
28. Pendragon
27. Epica / Mayan
26. Kevin Gilbert / Toy Matinee
25. Alcest
24. Enslaved
23. Avantasia
22. Henning Pauly / Chain / Frameshift
21. Savatage
20. Karmakanic
19. Vanishing Point