The greatest metal debut albums of 2000 - 2020.

It's already 20 years since the turn of the new millennium and Crystal Logic thought to present you the greatest metal debut albums of 2000 - 2020. For start we will have a brief look of how metal music has changed and evolved over the years, reaching the present day and the recent years where those albums are part of. And then, you'll have the albums!

written by Andreas Andreou

Chapter I: The evolution and changes of heavy metal music and industry through the decades.

The '70s were the years where giants shaped heavy music. It was the decade where record labels' executives gave a chance to everything new or everything they couldn't understand. The albums of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Rainbow, Scorpions and Uriah Heep (to mention a few) shaped what we learned in the '80s as Heavy Metal. Just within a year in the '80s (the year 1980) you already had the albums that completed the template of heavy metal music. Albums like Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell, Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz and Judas Priest's British Steel set new standards, even in terms of the "sound" (production) thanks to producers like Martin Birch. And it took no long for heavy metal to even reach the top of Billboard Charts with Quiet Riot's Metal Health in 1983, in a time where charts really mattered.

During the '80s, there were just a few metal genres and the melodic and glamorous part of it dominated the charts, the radio stations and MTV. Still though, even more traditional metal acts like Iron Maiden and Ozzy Osbourne had a huge commercial and artistic success. An industry was formed around (that new then) metal music, with record labels specialized in all the genres of heavy metal, magazines and festivals.

Repeating once again Warrel Dane's line "so ends a decade now what will the nineties hold" from Sanctuary's "Future Tense" track of the 1990's album Into the Mirror Black, the page actually turned a year later even if we were already in the '90s. During September of 1991, Nirvana's Nevermind was released and suddenly, many record labels that used to release metal albums, turned into the grunge scene and alternative rock music. You still had a couple of major '80s acts ruling over the industry and selling millions (like Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, even Queensrÿche with Empire) but in its majority, metal music also followed different paths and changed. The '90s was the period of changes.

Traditional heavy metal remained mostly in the underground, power metal met success in Europe and Japan, Dream Theater with Images and Words (1992) established progressive metal, the new face of Pantera with Cowboys from Hell (1990) brought something new with their groovy heavy and thrashy metal that dominated the decade, while Sepultura's change with Chaos A.D. (1993) and mostly Roots (1996), was a main influence for Nu Metal. At the same time, Doom Metal actually became a subgenre since in the '80s there were just a handful of bands and not even a scene, and many new subgenres appeared. Different things where you can place many bands like Paradise Lost, Therion, Type O Negative, Tiamat, Nightwish and countless more. The tags vary depending each band's period, even album, but subgenres like Gothic Metal, Doom/Death Metal, Symphonic Metal, Atmospheric Metal were there and shaped in the '90s, while the (old) spirit of Heavy Metal could mainly found in the second wave of Black Metal, that also dominated the '90s.

In the 2000s, there was everything. Not everything had a huge success, but you had everything and even more. So much more, that sometimes you couldn't properly describe a band and suddenly, there was a new generation of fans that didn't care how someone would label a band. A few bands even evolved to something that didn't have a connection with heavy metal (like Anathema and The Gathering), and they didn't care, just like a few of their fans, even if they were mainly marketed by metal media and labels.

During that decade, the music industry started to change rapidly, just like technology's evolution. The more technology was evolving, the more the music industry started losing power and the decline of the physical formats was already there. Physical sales were already low and digital became the new standard in the music industry. And that was in general during the new years of technology and mobility. It wasn't just the actual music, but everything. Printed media were selling less and in the years to come many of them didn't manage to survive, and the internet was the new face of everything, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst.

In the 2010s though, the underground and the traditional metal scene became more powerful. The festivals became stronger, older underground metal bands were already reformed and were relevant again, media started covering all of them, new labels were formed, older labels felt more powerful and during the digital years, physical products started selling again. Definitely not like 20 years ago, but better than the recent (then) years. That brought a few more changes in the music industry. The charts didn't matter. Actually, they were no longer subjectively correct and the physical sales have many different faces. The top bands of a mid-range metal record label can sell many more copies than the mid-range bands of a major metal record label. And you might not see these sales in "charts" (since the "charts" don't really include everything, therefore they're not "real"), but you can definitely understand it by their impact on the fans. Or simply by checking online sites like Discogs where you can see those bands of mid-range labels having more different formats of each album already (meaning more sales and represses), than other bands of top labels that might "chart" but you can still find their first-1000-copies vinyl pressing everywhere.

At the moment you're reading these lines, the music industry has changed so much that vinyl factories are working with overcapacity, something that looked impossible 10 years ago. In the end, everything is coming in circles and besides the morality and the inexplicable changes in the music industry we wrote for the first time in this blog a few years ago, a few bands have become masters of their music and more and more bands deal with record labels on their own terms. That's another important change in the music industry. Of course, not everyone can make it, and a few bands might underestimate their will and power over the music industry, but many of the established ones deal in their own terms. For example, bands like Dream Theater, even Triptykon, release their albums in record labels like Century Media, but those albums are "under exclusive license to Century Media" and bands retain both copyright and publishing. Bands don't really care about joining a "powerful" record company as they were known in the '90s, since most labels don't offer tour support anymore.

What does a band really need? A professional label with people they can communicate easily, a label with a proper distribution and promotion. A label that really "exists", and you can really see it all the time. You can find its releases in record stores and distros worldwide, printed media, festivals. And then, the band should build the tour campaign themselves or with a booking agency. If they're signed to a professional label and the albums are widely available, it will help them more. You don't have to be on a "major" label, whatever "major" means nowadays.

In 2018, Believe (formerly Believe Digital) from France, acquired a majority stake in Germany-headquartered metal record label, Nuclear Blast. Just a few days ago (November 2021), Nuclear Blast founder Markus Staiger with two former Nuclear Blast employees (Florian Milz and Markus Wosgien) launched a new record label called Atomic Fire. Bands like Helloween, Opeth, Meshuggah and Michael Schenker Group will be released (effective immediately) with the new label. In the end, all that the artists need is professionalism and people who know their business, not a "brand name". That's how the music industry works today. And that's what new bands need to look for.

Most of the "greatest" debut albums you're gonna read about below didn't owe everything to the labels that released them. The main factor was the music itself while in the "old" days, the record label was a major factor for the album's success (whatever "success" means).
 

Chapter II: The greatest metal debut albums of 2000 - 2020.

It's not just new bands but debut albums. And there are new bands too. A few of them had a huge impact in their genre, others instantly, others over the years. A few of them include iconic musicians in a new beginning, others are just a new beginning by passionate youngsters. These are the Top-10 greatest metal albums according to Crystal Logic.

Additionally, you will find 10 more albums noted (listen also), and a third chapter is next, with 3 more debut albums from each year during 2000 - 2020. That means that Crystal Logic offers you a database with 83 metal debut albums released during 2000 - 2020 and worth checking out.

Let's go!

10. HALFORD - Resurrection (2000)

The wizardry of Roy Z meets the spells of the Metal God and his saints, putting to shame the Ripper-era of Judas Priest, just like Bruce Dickinson did to the Maiden's Blaze-era with Accident of Birth. And while fans still remembered the failed 2wo project and the later Fight stuff (War of Words rules) Emperor Dickinson joins for a duet at "The One You Love to Hate" while later the vultures who spitted all those small deadly spaces, voyeurs and skunkworks would praise both returns to their throne. That was indeed a resurrection, a return much needed, a great modern traditional metal album with highlights such as the same-titled track and "Silent Screams".

Listen also: RIOT CITY - Burn the Night (2019)
You might have the future of priest-trad-maiden metal here. Over the top, screaming, wild heavy metal.
 

9. LOST HORIZON - Awakening the World (2001)

There are a few European power metal albums that put our beloved USPM to bed with nightmares, and one of them is the debut album of the intergalactic bringers of metal salvation. Their human form came from Sweden but their music and that album have a cosmic power that's not really appreciated by the masses. As for the voice of Daniel Heiman, it still sounds unbeatable. No fate. Only the power of will.

Listen also: SHAMAN - Ritual (2002)
Leaving Angra and its guitarists in 2000, Andre Matos, Luis Mariutti and Ricardo Confessori recorded more power metal magic.
 

8. JACOBS DREAM - Jacobs Dream (2000)

We've said that there are a few European power metal albums that put our beloved USPM to bed with nightmares, but there will always be albums like the same-titled debut of Jacobs Dream that put things in order. That's a huge and perfect US power metal album with massive songs like "Kinescope" and "Funambulism", that was probably released at the wrong time and still remains unappreciated. The album is full with majestic riffs, bittersweet melodies, an amazing rhythm section, a godlike voice, a matched use of keyboards and excellent lyrics. Just listen to "The Bleeding Tree" that combines all those elements creating pure perfection. One of the greatest power metal albums ever recorded!

Listen also: SACRAL RAGE - Illusions in Infinite Void (2015)
There aren't many bands out there creating and performing the technical and powerful kind of metal, Sacral Rage do. They're at the top of their game.
 

7. ATLANTEAN KODEX - The Golden Bough (2010)

Following the Kodex since their early Hidden Folk and Pnakotic Demos years, meeting them and seeing them live many times here and there, there is no doubt that they create and perform the kind of epic metal that the subgenre needed in order to be relevant again. Having a deep knowledge of the story and the myths of Europa, they combine the best lyrics the subgenre has to offer with music that dwells in old Manowar, the Asatru period of Bathory and Solstice, offering the best epic metal albums of modern times. Even if the "modern" word is crushed by the invincible puritan blade.

Listen also: CALADAN BROOD - Echoes of Battle (2013)
The epic and atmospheric black metal of Caladan Brood is based in the Malazan Book of the Fallen and their Summoning-like music is already an underground classic.
 

6. CRYPT SERMON - Out of the Garden (2015)

What the Philly band really did with Out of the Garden (and the follow-up album) is offer us the best doom metal of the 2010s. Sounds bold? It's not. Actually, the Crypt Sermon albums can look in the eye many doom metal classics, and they're even better than a few of them. Flawless songwriting and the best performance you can get by the genre. Songs like "Byzantium" and "Into the Holy of the Holies" could be placed into the greatest doom metal albums you can think of. Really. Yes. Crypt Sermon's alchemical epic doom metal is a "paradox" of a modern release that's better than most of the classics you know.

Listen also: KRUX - Krux (2002)
Somewhere between the 13th Sun and the second coming of the Monk, Doomfather Edling is joined by a team of diverse musicians releasing the album that contains "Omfalos",  "Pococatépetl" and doom metal weirdness.
 

5. SUMERLANDS - Sumerlands (2016)

The visionary Arthur Rizk is spinning Ozzy's The Ultimate Sin and brings the underground legend that is Phil Swanson to sing about the seven seals, guardians, blind eyes and splinters of lucidity, creating a modern classic heavy metal album. Perfect from start to finish, Sumerlands' debut album is a celebration of traditional metal in its full glory. An exciting modern classic deeply rooted in pure talent and passion. If you haven't heard this album yet, you're missing your modern favourite metal album.

Listen also: HOUR OF 13 - Hour of 13 (2007)
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Chad Davis with singer and lyricist Phil Swanson created a spectral occult doom metal album with a ghastly power. That's the sound of darkness.
 

4. THORNS - Thorns (2001)

There are no borders in black metal. It's the most evolving and wide metal genre. The phenomenal frenziness of the Thorns debut album is a mechanical adrenaline shot of futuristic blackness right to the neck. Snorre Ruch might (co-) created what we know as "black metal riffing" but there isn't any standard black metal formula in Thorns. It was the turn of the new millennium when Thorns embraced a new black metal world and offered us a glimpse of a cyberfuture we haven't reached yet.

Listen also: TRIPTYKON - Eparistera Daimones (2010)
Thomas Gabriel Fischer formed Triptykon when he left Celtic Frost (the band was laid to rest) and continued creating and performing cold, deathly and dark art, as a true originator of extreme metal.
 

3. ETERNAL CHAMPION - The Armor of Ire (2016)

Mostly in the '70s and the '80s, but in the '90s too, there were albums that upon their release, it was like pressing a button and instantly the next day, you had bands influenced by them. At once. On a smaller level, Eternal Champion's debut album is a modern classic that achieved the same. One of the Top-20 metal albums of the decade according to The Encyclopaedia Metallum (Metal Archives) poll, was a turning point transforming fans of Mastodon to fans of Manilla Road and swords & sorcery. At once. Other and new bands started sounding like Eternal Champion even if the reincarnating hero had just one album released at that moment, but what an album! The album that established them along with Atlantean Kodex as the pioneers of "modern" epic metal. The Hammer!

Listen also: WRATHBLADE - Into the Netherworld's Realm (2012)
Original and true, the epic heavy metal of the Greeks remained deep underground but their followers are few in number, huge in passion!
 

2. HELL - Human Remains (2011)

The story of Hell from England is one of those legendary yet obscure, unknown chapters in the book of heavy metal. One of the greatest heavy metal stories. Formed in 1982 and disbaned in 1987 when singer Dave Halliday commited suicide, without releasing any album. Hell were reunited in 2008 thanks to producer and guitarist Andy Sneap who was a huge fan of the band and also learned to play the guitar thanks to Dave Halliday, who was also young Andy's mentor in the early '80s. The remaining members, with Andy Sneap (who also funded the project on his own) and David Bower, a professional actor and voiceover artist on vocals, recorded all those old songs, presenting the best classic heavy metal album of the 2010s.

Listen also: HEAVEN & HELL - The Devil You Know (2009)
Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Vinny Appice and the Old Nick. Just the Devil you know.
 

1. REVEREND BIZARRE - In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend (2002)

When the debut album of the Finnish band was released, it shook the traditional doom metal community. It was the essence of doom metal, that according to their guitarist Peter Vicar, as once said at Crystal Logic, is "The traditional Sabbathian riffing, clean vocals, full of intensity and power. It’s music that will, if done right, shake your foundations." And so it did. The archaic deep accent of Sir Albert sounded like echoes from an ancient past. He feels each and every word and every song sounds personal. Even if the lyrics look like something that cannot be personal... He makes them personal and deeply emotional. Darkness, biblical themes, misery, when you listen to "In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend" for the first time, there is a feeling of sin. The tone and behemoth riffage, the low frequencies, the crushing drums of doom, the Lovecraftian atmosphere of decay and slumber, everything sounds like sin; like something that is forbidden and opens the gateways to Hell and sorrow. Reverend Bizarre isn't an easily accessible band but no one said that true doom metal is easily accessible for everyone. Shocking album.

Listen also: LORD VICAR - Fear No Pain (2008)
After hammering the final nails to the coffin of Reverend Bizarre, Kimi Kärki (Peter Vicar) followed his vision of a new doom metal band and brought to life Lord Vicar, joined by the mighty Christian "Chritus" Linderson on vocals. Doom metal is alive and well, even if it smells rotten at times.



Chapter III: More and more debut albums (3 more per year).

2000: IOMMI - Iommi, PAGAN'S MIND - Infinity Divine, SHADOWKEEP - Corruption Within

2001: AVANTASIA - The Metal Opera, GRAND MAGUS - Grand Magus, ONWARD - Evermoving

2002: DREAM EVIL - DragonSlayer, FIREWIND - Between Heaven and Hell, ZOOL - Zool

2003: CIRCLE II CIRCLE - Watching in Silence, MASTERPLAN - Masterplan, ORODRUIN - Epicurean Mass

2004: CANS - Beyond the Gates, EVIL MASQUERADE - Welcome to the Show, FEINSTEIN - Third Wish

2005: COMMUNIC - Conspiracy in Mind, ISOLE - Forevermore, RAM - Forced Entry

2006: BULLET - Heading for the Top, CRESCENT SHIELD - The Last of My Kind, I - Between Two Worlds

2007: BLAZE - Blaze, BLOTTED SCIENCE - The Machinations of Dementia, CRYSTAL VIPER - The Curse of Crystal Viper

2008: DEAD CONGREGATION - Graves of the Archangels, ENFORCER - Into the Night, IN SOLITUDE - In Solitude

2009: FUTURES END - Memoirs of a Broken Man, SINISTER REALM - Sinister Realm, VEKTOR - Black Future

2010: BRITON RITES - For Mircalla, GHOST - Opus Eponymous, WHITE WIZZARD - Over the Top

2011: ARCH/MATHEOS - Sympathetic Resonance, DEMONAZ - March of the Norse, HIGH SPIRITS - Another Night

2012: AIR RAID - Night of the Axe, PALLBEARER - Sorrow and Extinction, TRAIL OF MURDER - Shades of Art

2013: AVATARIUM - Avatarium, BLACK TRIP - Goin' Under, POWER TRIP - Manifest Decimation

2014: CROSSWIND - Vicious Dominion, DÄNG - Tartarus: The Darkest Realm, DOOMOCRACY - The End Is Written

2015: NIGHT DEMON - Curse of the Damned, TERMINUS - The Reaper's Spiral, VISIGOTH - The Revenant King

2016: ASSASSIN'S BLADE - Agents Of Mystification, TAROT - Reflections, THE TEMPLE - Forevermourn

2017: LUNAR SHADOW - Far from Light, PAINFUL PRIDE - Lost Memories, SANHEDRIN - A Funeral for the World

2018: GATEKEEPER - East of Sun, MANACLE - No Fear to Persevere..., WOLFTOOTH - Wolftooth

2019: IDLE HANDS (changed name to UNTO OTHERS) - Mana, SMOULDER - Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring, TRAVELER - Traveler

2020: LORD OF LIGHT - Morningstar, SACRED OUTCRY - Damned for All Time, STYGIAN CROWN - Stygian Crown

What's your favourite debut albums in metal music during 2000 - 2020?

Metal Nerdism Vol. 3: Five cases of albums that were not meant to be under that BAND name.

"I don't want it" - "You will do it" Vs "I will do it because I can!"

Oh... that name...

written by Andreas Andreou

Part I
Artists: "I don't want it.''
Record label, managers, executives: "You will do it."

BLACK SABBATH - Seventh Star (1986)

To be more specific, the complete "band" name is Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi and that's what you also see on the actual album. That alone is enough to separate it from the rest of the Sabbath catalogue until that point, so let's just see what happened in the mid '80s and the stormy life of Tony Iommi.

After the release of Born Again and the supporting tour for the most disturbing Sabbath album, the band was falling off the edge of the world. Ozzy Osbourne's fame (and sales) were already much higher and in the summer of 1985, the original 4 got back together for a one-off performance at Live Aid Festival in Philadelphia, USA. Black Sabbath performed 3 songs ("Children of the Grave", "Iron Man", "Paranoid") in a day with 100.000 attendants, including also names like Judas Priest, Bryan Adams, Simple Minds, Santana, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Madonna, Led Zeppelin and more... And that's it. Nothing more happened, nothing would happen. After that point, Iommi was left alone without a band and he had the idea to record a solo album with different singers including Rob Halford, David Coverdale, Robert Plant and Glenn Hughes, but there were contractual issues and it couldn't happen, so Iommi started working with singer Jeff Fenholt but after few demo recordings that project also fell apart. However, there were few great ideas and songs written, so Iommi was joined by singer Glenn Hughes, bassist Dave Spitz, drummer Eric Singer, keyboardist Geoff Nicholls, and with producer Jeff Glixman, an album was recorded.

"It was supposed to be a solo album. I certainly didn't want to release it as a Black Sabbath album, because I hadn't written it as a Black Sabbath album", Tony Iommi wrote in his biography, but we already knew it, as mentioned many, many times over the years. Glenn Hughes was also uncomfortable with the idea to sing in a Black Sabbath album. But during an era were record companies were more powerful than you can imagine nowadays, it was said to Tony Iommi, that according to his contract, he owes to the record company another one Black Sabbath album and they wanted this one. And so it happened. Record label executives and managers wanted to name it "Black Sabbath", no matter how it was recorded and who performed. Seventh Star was released in January 1986 under the name Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi, with Tony alone on the cover sleeve; exactly as a solo project.

During the mid '80s, both Tony Iommi and Glenn Hughes were on drugs but that wasn't affecting the live presence of Iommi. On the other side, there were times when Glenn was unable to perform, so after just a week of touring as Black Sabbath, supporting the release of Seventh Star, Glenn Hughes was replaced by Ray Gillen and the tour was a commercial failure while many shows were even cancelled. Tony Iommi couldn't do something else, so he continued using the name "Black Sabbath" and the next album (The Eternal Idol, 1987) was the step to something different. Still with great albums, but something different.

Acceptance: The press considered Seventh Star as a Black Sabbath album and Tony Iommi couldn't do something else, so he supported the album that way, since he needed to go on tour. The audience was confused, press details and promotion weren't clear and confusion continued when singer Ray Gillen replaced Glenn Hughes, where many fans were expecting to see on stage (Ian) Gillan and they saw (Ray) Gillen. Many people didn't even know that Hughes performed live with Black Sabbath.

Nowadays, you can see "Seventh Star" in the official discography of Black Sabbath. There are many fans that don't really consider it as a Black Sabbath album.

Highlights: "Seventh Star", "Danger Zone", "Angry Heart".

CANDLEMASS - Dactylis Glomerata (1998)

After the release of the album Chapter VI (1992) Candlemass entered a period of uncertainty and took them a while until the moment where they were really accepted as the Masters of Doom Metal. Candlemass broke up in 1994, so their founder, songwriter and bassist Leif Edling, formed Abstrakt Algebra with an extraordinary line-up including Mats Levén on vocals, Mike Wead and Simon Johansson on guitars, Jejo Perković on drums and Carl Westholm helping with keyboards. The same titled debut album of Abstrakt Algebra was released in 1995 and it is something really different; something you could label as a progressive power doom metal release. Two years later, Leif Edling wrote the second Abstrakt Algebra album and started recordings with Mats Levén, Jejo Perković and Carl Westholm, while guitar duties were handled by Patrik Instedt. That second album took a long time to be completed and the band had problems with the studio and the producer. Lot of money was spent and no album was completed, so at one point, Edling was contacted by a record label and he was told that they will finance the album and help him, only if he will release it under the Candlemass moniker instead of Abstrakt Algebra... So Edling got in the studio again and reworked the songs with Jejo Perković and Carl Westholm, added by Björn Flodkvist on vocals and Mike Amott on guitars, plus few guests. And another Candlemass album is released.

Acceptance: The press considered Dactylis Glomerata as a Candlemass album and so did the audience, but a few years later, when Messiah Marcolin, Lasse Johansson, Mappe Björkman and Jan Linh got together again with the Doomfather, this was presented as a reunion, and the late '90s years was something like a break time, despite the fact that two albums were released under the Candlemass moniker.

Nowadays, you can see Dactylis Glomerata in the official discography of Candlemass. There are many fans that don't really consider it as a Candlemass album. The band doesn't perform live songs from that period.

Highlights: "I Still See the Black", "Dustflow", "Abstrakt Sun".

MANILLA ROAD - The Circus Maximus (1992)

 
After the release of the album The Courts of Chaos (1990) and the poor reception and distribution at the time, Mark Shelton decided to disband Manilla Road and started working on a new band under the name The Circus Maximus, a new collective effort with Aaron Brown (drums, vocals) and Andrew Coss (bass, vocals, keyboards). When their debut album was completed, The Circus Maximus tried to shop a record deal but in the end, the project ended again with Black Dragon Records, the label of Manilla Road. But Black Dragon Records, pressed and released the album as "Manilla Road" without asking the band and that led to confusion and mess, since the band was performing live as The Circus Maximus at that time...

Acceptance: The press considered The Circus Maximus as a Manilla Road album but the promotion and the reception was very poor, while the band known as "Manilla Road" wasn't even active at that time since Mark Shelton and his new bandmates were performing locally as The Circus Maximus. Many fans at the time, didn't even know about the release of that album.

Nowadays, you can see The Circus Maximus in the official discography of Manilla Road. There are many fans that don't really consider it as a Manilla Road album. Mark Shelton also never considered it as a Manilla Road album and he only allowed to be re-released keeping the Manilla Road moniker in order to avoid further confusion.

Highlights: "Throne of Blood", "Spider", "No Sign from Above"


Part II
Artists: "I will do it because I can!"

QUEENSRYCHE - Frequency Unknown (2013)

The previous Queensrÿche album Dedicated to Chaos (2011) is the strongest candidate for The Worst Album ever released by a major act. Up to that point and over the last few years after the departure of guitarist and songwriter Chris DeGarmo in 1998, Queensrÿche seemed to "evolve" as a Geoff Tate Band until that day in April 2012 before a show in São Paulo, Brazil.

Jason Slater who produced Frequency Unknown, also produced the 'rÿche albums Operation: Mindcrime II (2006), American Soldier (2009), Dedicated to Chaos (2011) and was one of the main songwriters of the band during that period, where many of the ideas of other 'rÿche members were rejected or changed. The other members looked like "session musicians" to Tate, the management (Tate's wife, Susan) and the producer, who were using the Queensrÿche name for years.

In a band meeting during April 2012, while Geoff Tate wasn't there, the other members decided to fire the manager (Susan, Geoff's wife) and the person who was running the Queensrÿche official fan club (Miranda, Geoff's stepdaughter). Tate was angry with them when he learned about it and before a show in São Paulo, Brazil, on April 14 of 2012, he had a strong argument with few of the rest members where Tate assault and spit them, even on stage during that night's show. Geoff Tate was off the band and both parties used the "Queensrÿche" brand. The rest of the members were supposed to start the project Rising West where they could play live shows based on older material of Queensrÿche, so eventually, with the addition of ex-Crimson Glory live singer Todd La Torre, they continued performing as Queensrÿche and in 2013, they even released the Queensrÿche album with new material.

Guitarist and producer Kelly Gray, and producer Jason Slater, who also had writing credits in various 'rÿche songs that period, continued working with Geoff Tate and just two years after the events of April 2012, a settlement was reached on April 2014, where the brand name "Queensrÿche" would belong to Micheal Wilton, Scott Rockenfield and Eddie Jackson, who along with Todd La Torre and Parker Lundgren will be the touring and recording Queensrÿche band, while Geoff Tate solely has the right to perform both Operation: Mindcrime and Operation: Mindcrime II in their entirety.

Queensrÿche continued releasing more albums and performing tours supporting them, focusing on them and the early material of the band, while Geoff Tate released his second solo album Kings & Thieves (that was recorded around the events of April 2012), the albums The Key (2015), Resurrection (2016), The New Reality (2017) under the band name Operation: Mindcrime, and also performed selected shows with Queensrÿche material and albums like Operation: Mindcrime with success, while the last years he looks in great shape, living a happy life.

Acceptance: The press and fans lightly approached Frequency Unknown as a Queensrÿche album in 2013 since it served as a normal continuation to what the band was releasing back then, but the Queensrÿche album that was released by the rest few months later, was held higher. However, many 'rÿche fans stopped following the band and the latest albums, many of them also pushed the events of 2012 back in their head in order to forget them... Frequency Unknown was a better album than the previous two Queensrÿche albums and Tate gathered a team of great musicians surrounding him during the recordings, including guitarists Brad Gillis, KK Downing, Dave Meniketti, bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummers Paul Bostaph and Simon Wright, among others.

Nowadays, you can't see Frequency Unknown in the official discography of Queensrÿche and it is considered as a "side release" or a Geoff Tate solo project, while it is nearly forgotten and the albums that followed by Queensrÿche are considered much better.

Highlights: "Cold", "In the Hands of God"

TANK - War Machine (2010)

War Machine is a great album. I was writing for Rockway zine when I got the promo of that album and couldn't believe that this is actually a Tank album. It was a completely different band but still great. The dirty NWOBHM sound of the previous albums was absent but now you had something different reminding later Saxon, even Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath, including also the great vocals of Doogie White. I remember presenting the album to a few friends that didn't like the older Tank material but loved War Machine. The "original" Tank disbanded in 1989 and there was a reunion in late '90s, followed by the studio album Still at War in 2002. War Machine was the first Tank album not including singer/bassist Algy Ward, where he also return with his "Tank version" in 2013, as a one-man band, performing all instruments in the album Breath of the Pit following the style of older Tank.

Acceptance: Upon its release the press considered War Machine as a Tank album; no question about it. And that band was considered as "Tank" for a few more years until the studio return of Algy Ward using also the Tank name but with a very poor acceptance from media and fans. Fans were confused and you have two "Tank" versions releasing albums.

Nowadays, a few people separate Algy Ward's Tank and Tucker/Evans's Tank from the old "original" Tank, while both parties claim the continuation of the classic NWOBHM act. A few fans accept only one version over the other but Tucker/Evans's Tank have a more reliable presence with more albums since War Machine and live shows, even if none of Mick Tucker and Cliff Evans was "there" in 1982 when Tank released the first studio recordings. Tucker/Evans's Tank include singers ZP Theart (Dragonforce, Skid Row) and David Readman (Pink Cream 69, Adagio) in the latest studio albums, so vocally, the connection to the past keeps the distance.

Highlights: "Judgement Day", "Phoenix Rising"



So what?

So, what's more important or valid? When a label releases an album using a specific band name of a main member despite the will of that member-composer, or when a member of a band is using the brand name despite the will of other members he was working with?

According to "history" and the cases above, most of the times, the choice of the labels is what is taken for granted in the future. If a NAME is printed on the cover, it stays there forever. Sometimes it is wrong, sometimes it is correct, sometimes it is connected to the past with a band member or a continuation of the music, sometimes there isn't any connection, or just a small link.

Music industry has always had its own rules and decisions. Decisions that many times were above the will of the artists. But the music industry is also changing and the "names" are irrelevant nowadays: READ MORE

"You can't fire slaves, I guess?" - Damond Jiniya speaks about Savatage. An honest interview about poets and madmen in the music industry.

Poets and Madmen, the last studio album of Savatage, was released in 2001 with a recording line-up including Jon Oliva (lead vocals, keyboards), Chris Caffery (lead and rhythm guitars), Johnny Lee Middleton (bass) and Jeff Plate (drums). Some additional lead guitars were contributed by Al Pitrelli and some additional keyboards by Bob Kinkel. Paul O'Neill was the producer (the album was co-produced by Jon Oliva) and the one who provided the story and lyrics, while the music was written mainly by Oliva/O'Neill/Caffery.

Previous lead singer Zak Stevens was no longer in the band (after 4 studio albums), so Savatage hired Damond Jiniya as the lead singer for the upcoming tour and he shared vocals on stage with Jon Oliva.

Music industry is full with weird stories and a reality that most of the people will never learn. Even in the storyline of each band, there might be many different stories and now we will have a quick look in the story of Damond Jiniya. "Music industry is a blank ugly canvas. Time for heavy paint", says Damond, before he will introduce us himself.

"I performed professionally around the United States as a child singing country and western. As a teen I formed a few "shock" groups but nothing primetime.

1993, Began Diet of Worms. Toured Canada, Mexico, Europe and the US in my 20s. During this time I was also working as an IATSE stage hand on large stage productions. I was a builder for shows from Miss Saigon to Eminem.

By 2000 I was 25. I was asked to join Savatage as a permanent member. I continued touring throughout my 20s. My last tour was 2004. I was teching for Monster Magnet on their US tour with HIM. I made a low budget (non porno) film in 2005 called Chasing the Tiger. Since 2009 I've worked full time locally performing throughout Florida."


I bought Poets and Madmen shortly after its release since Savatage is one of my favorite bands. Most likely a personal US Top-5 band. Even if I loved Zak Stevens' voice, it was cool to see that Jon handled lead vocals again, but the album left me a taste that there was something missing, or to be more specific, it needed something more. Still a great album though and in July 2001 I saw Savatage live at Rockwave Festival in Athens, Greece, performing before Cradle of Filth, Megadeth and Judas Priest (with Ripper on vocals). That was the first time I saw Damond on stage, sharing vocals with the Mountain King. That was a great show but the best was yet to come.

In January 2002, Savatage returned to Greece for a headline show and what a great show it was! I was in the Greek Savatage fan club and we had the opportunity to enter venue before soundcheck, so we met the band. I spoke mainly with Damond and guitarist Jack Frost who was also part of this touring band. Jack was surprised when I gave him Seven Witches albums to sign. He couldn't believe that someone would give him albums of his main band back then. I wonder what he is doing right now; I haven't heard anything from him since 2015.

That Savatage show still remains one of the most emotional and best ones I attended. And Damond did a great job. It seemed that there was a future for the band but on the other hand, Trans-Siberian Orchestra was a beast in the United States and it was growing bigger and bigger.

Damond Jiniya seems an honest and true person. Someone who has nothing to lose and the chat we had is very interesting.


"I joined after the Poets and Madmen album was re-recorded ommiting Zak. I was offered a three-album future. Signed. Nothing came of it", says Damond.


- So, at first, how did Savatage approach you, and when we say Savatage, who did specifically?

"Jon Oliva was writing Zak's first record with Dan Cambpell as a tag along. They came to Diet of Worms studios. My residence at the time. Jon seemed to be taken by my youthful rocker look. Looking back, I think he saw an opportunity to revitalize the band after Zak's departure. Jon said "If that guy can sing a note he's in." I was young and took it as a compliment. I was naive."


- What did they ask you to do? You shared vocals with Jon Oliva on stage and also Jack Frost was brought aboard on guitars. But were you an equal member?

"I was told you can't fire slaves. Direct quote."


- How was the tour and what kind of memories do you have?

"Immaturity. I was 25."


- There was an extended tour and festival appearances. What happened when the tour was finished? It is weird how everything stopped...

"After 9/11 (editor's note: September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks), the immaturity was at an all time high. I was part of it. Savatage was clearly sinking after the attacks on NYC."


Back then and while the band was touring, Paul O'Neill's input was clear according to Damond, "Money, schedules."


Damond Jiniya was offered a three albums deal with Savatage but it never happened. But since Trans-Siberian Orchestra was also connected with Savatage, Damond notes, "I recorded for TSO. I was told recently I was never considered."


Damond was left in the cold but life goes on. What happened after Savatage? "Continued singing, writing waking up creative. Ive played 5 nights a week locally (Tampa/Nashville) for the past 9 years."


- It appears that lately there is a "letter" addressed to ex-Savatage members and musicians related, mentioning that you are not allowed to perform Savatage songs. How did this "letter" came to your attention and what's your opinion about it?

"It was a collection of rants. The rants we're collectively about having a tour ruined intentionally by Nightcastle Management and TSO. These words somehow made it into the hands of a cypherpunk (ex-Sava fan) who created a letter directed at causing problems for management and Jon Oliva. As it was explained to me, it was retaliation from a lifetime fan jilted by TSO. I'd imagine cypherpunks love Savatage."


- Have you discussed about it with other ex-Savatage members?

"Yes. Jon was mad at me. Since I knew the fan. He asked apologized to the office. I did. I also severed ties."


- Someone might say that since you weren't a part of any studio album, it might be valid, but do you think that Savatage members that are also part of TSO will stop performing with their bands in order to keep their successful "job" with TSO?

"You can't fire slaves, I guess?"


- Since Paul O'Neill is no longer with us, who is in charge now, for anything related to Savatage and TSO?

"His wife and children."


I can't tell if we will see Savatage again in the future. Trans-Siberian Orchestra is a huge touring organization in the United States and I believe that some people related to Savatage could offer a live version (under another name) that would respect the band's legacy and fans. But it seems that this can't be done with the new management.

As for the future of everyone related... I think there are more to come but I don't know if they will be positive or negative when the crowds are gone.

Savatage photos are taken from the show in Athens, Greece (January 26, 2002) by Andreas Andreou.

Morality and inexplicable changes in the music industry.

written in March 2018 by Andreas Andreou

Metal music is changing. The signs were there. Everywhere. Record labels, artists and bands, promoters and live shows, physical and digital products, press, magazines and online media, social media. The music industry is changing.

This is probably the first time you are reading an article like this but you will remember it many times in the future. The "old" is relevant nowadays. I was listening to Saxon's Unleash the Beast yesterday and for most people around my age (and not only) this is something like "new" Saxon but this is already an album 20 years old...  

There has been a new trend in metal music since years, where "traditional", "retro" and everything related to the '80s, is overhyped. Even the younger audience is looking and dressed like James Hetfield in his youth. The '80s and before are "old" and after that, even if decades have passed, for some weird reason, everything is considered "new". Nostalgia and worship of the past is the main key of how the music industry is moving and the classic acts and brands must stay with us forever, with one way or another.

It is very difficult for the music industry to create new major acts like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden or Judas Priest, and most likely it won't happen in the near future. It is even more difficult (nearly impossible) for a new band to become like those old major acts. From time to time, there are some "new" bands that create fuss around their name and get high slots in big open air festivals but they can't make arena or big venue tours easily. On the other hand, older bands always get more attention when they are active and when a major act is touring, the music industry is moving around their name.

What will happen when all these old and major acts retire?

Underneath the current status there is a thrust to perpetuate the presence of all the major acts. We have entered a period where older bands will keep moving even without founding members or with so many line-up changes that will transform their sound and image. At this point, there is an inexplicable trend to keep in purpose some elements to those acts that will connect them with their past so they will keep going as the "old act". This might come up randomly or as a business plan, but music bands are transformed in a similar way of a sport club or team that keeps going with new members and players using the same brand name. For years. For decades. For more...

Is there a morality issue?

Let's speak with some examples that raised controversy.

Recently, and just a few weeks before their world tour (with many dates, many people and money involved) guitarist and main composer of Judas Priest, Glenn Tipton (that is already 70 years old) announced that he won't follow the band to the tour due to health problems that will affect his performance. Tipton revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, with which he was first diagnosed in 2008. In 2011, K.K. Downing also left the band with a statement, "There had been an on-going breakdown in working relationships between myself, elements of the band and management for some time", and he also added that he wasn't happy with the band's live performance. A decent and respectful decision until one point.

We all understand that people are getting older and they can't perform as they used to be at their prime. The controversy raised in the case of Judas Priest is that without both original guitarists and since this guitar duo is one of the most recognizable elements of the band, can they continue using the name with new members? You still have the voice of Rob Halford and the silent presence of bassist Ian Hill, but is it the same?

Before continuing, let's answer a simple question. What is closer to the essence of the Judas Priest sound, Demolition or Resurrection? Jugulator or Firepower?

After answering to yourself the above question, let's share another one: Is the music personified or just music matters even if the "persons" are not there?

And when you will answer yourself this question, think if Glenn Tipton knew from start that we won't follow the Judas Priest tour and everything was a well constructed business plan, or it just happened. 

 

Let's go to some more examples.

The classic Venom line-up is Cronos (vocals & bass), Mantas (guitar) and Abaddon (drums). In the mid '80s, Mantas left the band and was replaced by two other guitarists and just a few years later he came back and Cronos was out of the band. For the next few years until mid '90s, the band's main line-up was Demolition Man (vocals & bass), Mantas (guitar), Abaddon (drums) with the addition of Al Burnes on guitar. The original line-up was reformed in the late '90s, but by the mid 00s, only Cronos remained in the band using the Venom moniker. Meanwhile, Demolition Man, Mantas and Abaddon are recording and touring under the name Venom Inc. Which one is the "true" Venom? Or can we have two bands performing the same songs and sharing the same legacy?

There are more similar occasions over the years with bands like Rhapsody and Tank.

Do you want something more extreme? Giuffria is an American hard rock band formed by Gregg Giuffria when his previous band, Angel, broke up. They were active for a few years and broke up in 1987. In 2015 some members of the band reformed Giuffria for live shows, without Gregg Giuffria…

Blackfoot and Quiet Riot also caused some controversy since they are touring without any original members, and as it seems, these changes in the music industry will be something usual in the future.

 
But besides the members and persons of each band, there is also the music. And maybe this is the most important thing. We must not forget two crucial things:

1. Most musicians and artists cannot stop composing and performing. This is what they do and it is an inner need. They live and breathe music.

2. Many musicians evolve and change. No matter how much you might love a specific era of an artist or band, you don't own them. You can't tell them what and how to play. Either you like it and follow them again, or not.

For example, Ozzy Osbourne (70 years old) after the last Black Sabbath world tour, started the last tour of his solo career. This last tour might last for two years and despite the business plan and how many people might work behind the "Ozzy" brand name, you can easily spot that Ozzy, the man, lives for the stage and really has fun up there.

Fates Warning is a band with different faces and unique evolution.  There are people who like only their early works, there are people who only like their mid-period and there are people who like everything they do. Can you tell them how to play? No. You can just follow what you like. However, they did something very special that pleased everyone. Fates Warning have a specific lineup today with only one founding member (Jim Matheos) but last year, they played two special shows with the 1986 lineup performing only material from that era. They have done this before in 2010 when they reunited the Parallels line-up for selected shows.

And with that we come to another case where the "old" and "familiar" comes to present again. Nostalgia is the key and some promoters have found a way to offer this kind of special shows to the audience, so older fans will remember their youth and new fans will get a glimpse of a legendary or cult past. Music industry follows them and everyone is working in this direction. For example, when Fates Warning perform this special show, the old albums will get reissued, a live album will be released and press will cover the event and the band.

But besides that case, that was done with respect to the fans, involving all past members but without overcoming the current status of the band, there are many more different cases, especially to the underground metal scene.

Over the last few years, there have been many shows that involve just one member of a band and in some cases not even the main composer. You see an old underground "name", but on stage you see something completely different. There are many people who consider many of those acts as "tribute bands" that have nothing to do with the original group.

Let's close the examples and cases we analyze with another band and another case. Riot was one of the most underrated US metal bands that suffered from many lineup changes and musical styles, but guitarist and composer Mark Reale was always there. Reale died of complications related to Crohn's disease in January 2012, just after the album Immortal Soul was released, where he appeared as guitarist but didn't really play on that record. After his death, there were more lineup changes and the band slightly changed the name to Riot V and kept going, playing many shows and releasing albums. We all have to admit that their live shows are great but we also have to admit that it might be awkward for some people to hear live songs like "Outlaw" with completely different musicians. But they still continue. Can someone tell them that they don't deserve to do it? And yet, the music industry again found a way to follow such a case by re-releasing the Riot catalogue on different vinyl variations and compact discs. The band will also find a way to perform some special shows, and press will cover it.

Music industry will always find ways to follow the progress of each band when there is impact to the audience. But as we mentioned, underneath the current status in music, there is a thrust to perpetuate the presence of the "old" that is more safe than risk with something new. If you visit a record store, you will probably see more reissues than new releases, and it will be much easier for an old established band or brand to play live shows and get paid for those, while most of the time, new bands pay on their own, just to appear early in most of the festivals.

How will the music industry keep the "old" always up-to-day? Are there new major acts?

There is a band that might continue for many years and you will never know or care who performs. Ghost is a big band of our days but the way they are promoted makes no difference to who is behind each Nameless Ghoul or who will be Papa Emeritus. Tobias Forge is the singer and founder, but also the business leader of the act and probably he will keep his successful brand name for a long time. Ghost is presented in a way where he can do it and there are unlimited ways of moving on, behind specific persons, with just music and shows. This is an exception of a "new" that can become a successful "old" in the years to come.

There are many new bands that have all the elements a band needs to make a career but maybe they are active in the wrong time or they don't get the right opportunities. Some of them have catchy music, great production and over-the-top live performance. On the other hand, there are few other new bands like Sabaton, Amon Amarth and Volbeat, plus US bands with diverse modern metal sound that have gained great recognition from a younger audience (like Avenged Sevenfold), but we can't really say if they will become timeless. However, the "new" is relevant again, since Sabaton is already a 20-year old band.

I am going to see Judas Priest in a few months at the Rockwave Festival along with Accept, Saxon and Iron Maiden. Meanwhile, a few weeks earlier Udo will also perform a special Accept show... Will this be the last Judas Priest tour? Can't tell, but in a very weird, scientific fiction future, Rob Halford and Ian Hill might slowly step aside and the "new" guys could continue playing special festival shows under a name like "The Legacy of Judas Priest". We already have witnessed shows and festival appearances with just one original band member performing under the "old", known and classic brand name for a few shows. And most of the time, this happened because a promoter had this idea, tried to locate the members but in the end, just one member was interested... But it happened. And will happen more times in the future because we are already used to it nowadays.

Is it possible that many similar "legacy" and "special shows" could appear in the near future? Maybe including some special guests or even random past band members of the "legacy"? Will "tribute bands", "celebration shows" and "heritage act tours" be the future of the music festivals? In some cases, few similar shows are as bad and annoying as Dio's hologram tour is. But this is part of the future live shows and we can't change it. Who knows, maybe one day we will even see Kiss performing without Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, while both of them will just manage and produce the act, just as Rickey Medlocke already does with Blackfoot...

"The music that touches you in your youth is magnified as you get older. Each record can be a virtual time machine and all you need is to hear a second or two and you go back to that place and time when you first heard it. It's a brilliant feeling when music touches you so profoundly and stays with you through time." - Rob Halford

There is always an emotional bond between a beloved artist and his fan. This emotional bond can have a different impact to different people, especially when they do not separate the art from the artist. But we need to clarify this: The artist is mortal and the art is immortal.

What will happen when all these old and major acts retire?

Is the music personified or just music matters even if the "persons" are not there?

Is there a morality issue? Or is it just music after all? Don't you think musicians have the right to gain more money?

Or simply, everything about major acts will be just business, like there is a businessman that has bought a big band (or bands) or brand and hired managers to handle his investments, no matter who is in the band?