~willk1989

Give me a reason, come on now, make my day,
'Cause I'm out of cheeks to turn the other way.
Ask yourself just how lucky do you feel...
- Marko Saaresto, "The Ultimate Fling"

Hi everyone. It's been a while since my last journal update... figured I'd let y'all know I'm still around. Work, school, and life in general is weighing heavily on my schedule, so progress on fan-projects is going extremely slow.

Citadel Strike (Fanfiction) is still being worked on, in drafting. To tell the truth, I've been putting it off due to a lack of interest from readers, making me turn my attention toward digital artistry. Although I've only got one piece posted here, there's another one I made for a project at the RS.Net and it's awaiting release. As for a current project, I'm collaborating with ~danman007 on an excellent sketch, which I hope to finish within the next couple weeks.

---
Here's a little music review thing I made a few months ago. In a couple weeks, I'll be putting up another journal featuring a review of Revolution Roulette, the latest release from one of the greatest bands ever, Poets of the Fall. A review would be up sooner, but when my copy of the CD was delivered earlier this week, it was brutally damaged. Talk about rotten luck... The internet shop I bought it from is sending me a new one, so hopefully I'll get it undamaged next week.

Okay, onwards... pay attention if you'd like to check out some music you've probably never heard of.

One thing you'll quickly find out if you've ever met me in real life is the fact that I love music. Foreign music, which is typically a variant of metal, particularly. Last year was amazing for metal fans. Several of the biggest bands from overseas brought forth their greatest material yet. Of the several imports I bought last year, I was able to choose five of the best.

Top Five Albums of 2007:

Unia - Sonata Arctica

This is easily one of the greatest albums I've ever listened to. Dubbed as the future of metal, it's essentially filled with a viariety of progressive tracks. Every song is unique in its own way, while retaining a mini-epic feeling throughout. Tony Kakko's voice takes a little getting used to (you'll need the lyric book handy when listening for most of it), but his songwriting is extremely strong and he nails the emotion needed to bring his lyrics to life. At first, I wasn't too impressed by the this CD, but it takes multiple listens to pick apart the music layers and appreciate it.

Top Tracks:
Paid in Full
It Won't Fade
Caleb
The Vice
My Dream's but a Drop of Fuel for a Nightmare
The Harvest
To Create a Warlike Feel

Dark Passion Play - Nightwish

As the most expensive Finnish album ever made, you'd expect this one to be good, and it is. The debut of Nightwish's new singer is a welcome one, since you can now understand most of the lyrics. Tuomas Holopainen is an excellent songwriter and composer, pushing an epic sound by joining forces with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (also featured in Dimmu Borgir's "Death Cult Armageddon"). There's so many gendres covered in the album, you're bound to like at least one of the songs here. There's a little something for everyone and a lot for those who enjoy symphonic metal.

Top Tracks:
The Poet and the Pendulum
Bye Bye Beautiful
Amaranth
Cadence of Her Last Breath
The Islander
7 Days to the Wolves


Worlds Collide - Apocalyptica

Ah... Apocalyptica, definitely a band I'd like to experience live some day. This latest release by a trio of classically trained cellists and a drummer is a great follow up to their previous albums. Their technique continues to evolve, showing they really can produce some amazing sounds you'd never expect from a cello. While a majority of the songs are instrumentatals, several guest musicians (including Adam Gontier from Three Days Grace, Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Till Lindemann from Rammstein, and Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil) provide vocals that fit perfectly with the song they've respectively been assigned to. Not only that, the songwriting is extremely well done, making you wish these guys would have more lyrically driven music.

Top Tracks:
Worlds Collide
I'm Not Jesus (featuring Corey Taylor)
Last Hope
I Don't Care (featuring Adam Grontier)
Burn
S.O.S. Anything But Love (featuring Cristina Scabbia)


MK II - Masterplan

Although I wasn't fond of the idea that about half of Masterplan's lineup left, including their previous singer and one of the founding members, they managed to pull another great album out last year. While I believe it doesn't quite stack up with previous releases, there are some tracks here almost essential for metal fans. There's definitely a lot of energy throughout and the the music hasn't missed a beat, but I was a big fan of their old singer. Jørn Lande had an amazing vocal range that fit so well with their music. I'm not saying Mike DiMeo was a horrible replacement, because he's got a damn good voice, but at times it seems like his voice is slightly overpowered by the instrumentation.

Top Tracks:
Phoenix Rising
Warrior's Cry
Lost and Gone
Keeps Me Burning
Watching the World
Trust in You

Off the Hook - Bloodpit

This sophmore effort of a quickly rising Finnish rock band is easily the most mainstream and easily acceptable sounding of all the albums mentioned here. After a so-so debut and a record contract with Sony BMG, Matthau Mikojan crafted an excellent set of songs while recovering from his alcohol problems. His voice is clear and easily understandable, fitting with the band's instrumentation. The guitar work here is excellent and this is one of the few bands from Finland without a keyboardist so everything sounds clean and organic. Unfortunately, the band split up later in the year, Matthau seeking solstice in a solo carreer.

Top Tracks:
Rotten to the Core
Blue in the Face
Only Our Name
Wise Men Don't Cry
One Life
I Remember

----

There were several albums battling for the top five, and these next few were close but just didn't quite make the mark. Depending on your taste, they might be worth a listen.

Honorable Mention:

The Revenge - Allen/Lande
Tervaskanto - Korpiklaani
Inhuman Rampage - Dragonforce
Venus Doom - HIM
10,000 Ways (Single) - Thunderstone