CURRENTLY RECOMMENDED METAL Reviews by Dr. Metal
						Here are my final recommended albums of 2002 before I write my TOP 30 ALBUMS OF 2002. Check back soon for that...
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						SHADOWSFALL - THE ART OF BALANCE 2002 Century Media
						I don't listen to much Death Metal anymore, but I do like ShadowsFall, a band I got into on their first album, the highly recommended OF ONE BLOOD. Finally we have the sophomore release upon us and you can really tell this band put a lot of work into it, so they wouldn't fall through the cracks. I'm happy to say this album lives up to the standard that OF ONE BLOOD set. Basically you've got the same sound as the first album, which is crushing Death Metal riffs and loads of double bass drumming. I like to hear something heavy as hell now and then, and albums like THE ART OF BALANCE fill that void for me nicely. Again vocalist Brian Fair does the death/clean vocals with great success. Vocals are usually the area most bands fall short of excellence, but ShadowsFall keep it interesting. They obviously know that folks can't stand the death vocals constantly. There's plenty of melodies here and there. My favorite song is the crushing "Stepping Outside The Circle." Also included is a really cool cover of Pink Floyd's "Welcome To The Machine." I haven't heard anything this cool since Wrathchild America covered Floyd's "Time." Finally I would like to note that the design and packaging of this album is WAY above the standard. The digital art is kick ass and there's a slip case also. This album comes with an extra CD that includes videos, biographies, photo galleries, etc. at no extra cost to the buyer. This is way above what's required these days and THE ART OF BALANCE is easily the best designed CD of the year.
						RIOT - THROUGH THE STORM 2002 Metal Blade
						Riot are one of my favorite bands of all time. If they put out a shitty album, I would be the first person to point the finger and say it sucks. I'm happy to say that the band is still together, and releasing quality albums. THROUGH THE STORM is in my opinion, better than their last album, 1999's SONS OF SOCIETY. Tony Harnell (TNT) is back on backing vocals and it's another classic melodic Metal masterpiece. This is a cool album, with some really good songs like "Lost Inside This World" and "Chains." The remake of UFO's "Only You Can Rock Me" is excellent also. One of the greatest Metal-Rock bands ever. Highly recommended.
						AVANTASIA - THE METAL OPERA PART II 2002 AFM Records
						Considering that AVANTASIA Part 1 was basically one of the best Metal albums ever devised, it's saying something that this album is even better! Part 2 is a set of ten great Power Metal songs, with no instrumentals. The album begins with the 14 minute epic "The Seven Angels." The rest of the songs are not as long, but all of them are great. There's simply no filler songs here. The core cast of musicians are the same, of interest to American audiences is the addition of Eric Singer on drums on a few tracks. That Tobias even bothered to track Eric down and ask him to contribute is a testament to how great he is. On vocals, Bob Catley has been added to the cast. My favorite tracks are "No Return," "In Quest For," "Neverland," and "Chalice of Agony." Hail to Tobias Sammet, one of the greatest minds in Metal today. Highly recommeded!
						LUCA TURILLI - PROPHET OF THE LAST ECLIPSE 2002 Limb Records
						Luca Turilli is the mastermind guitarist and leader of Rhapsody, one of the most elaborate and exciting bands in Power Metal today. If you liked his last masterpiece, 1999's KING OF THE NORDIC TWILIGHT as much as I did, then you will be happy with this one also. Again Olaf Hayer returns on vocals and it's magic from the first note. His range is amazing and I'm even into his other band Dionysus now. The noteworthy songs include "War of the Universe" and "Demonheart." I picked up the CD single for Demonheart and it's also worth the money. On PROPHET, there's even a bonus track of "Demonheart" featuring Andre Matos (ex-Angra) on vocals. Great design and packing as well.
						HAMMERFALL - CRIMSON THUNDER 2002 Nuclear Blast
						Hammerfall again raise the flag of True Metal on CRIMSON THUNDER. I don't give a shit if people think they're cheesy or sound like Accept. They kick ass on this album like they always have. It's definitely a more solid album than RENEGADE, which was good but not as great as the first 2 albums. Same linuep as RENEGADE with Anders Johannsen on drums. Lots of fist pumping Metal anthems and sing-along choruses are here to enjoy, including a cover of Kiss' "Detroit Rock City." The best song is definitely "Hearts On Fire," the lead off single for the album. And the cover art isn't cheesy to me, in fact it's probably their best one so far. I also think the design and artwork is awesome. True fans will also enjoy the CD single for "Hearts On Fire" which includes covers of Twisted Sister and Yngwie Malmsteen, as well as a video.
						FIREWIND - BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL 2002 Leviathan Records
						This is the best Power Metal I've heard in a long time. Gus G (Dream Evil/Mystic Prophecy) plays guitar, Stephen Fredrick sings, Brian Harris plays drums and some dude named Konstantine plays bass. The guitar tone Gus G employs is excellent. Stephen Fredrick is the perfect singer for this band. The production, by David Chastain, is a little rough, but it doesn't bother me at all, in fact it enhances the songs. Needless to say, every song rules. My faves are "Warrior," "Destination Forever," "I Will Fight Alone," and the title track. There are 12 songs total, 2 of which are instrumetals, but they're cool songs, so don't let that keep you from grabbing this before you can't find it again. Just buy it. Highly recommended!
						MESSIAH'S KISS - PRAYER FOR THE DYING 2002 SPV / Steamhammer
						SPV are one of the labels who seem to keep finding great bands. Almost everything they release is excellent. Same case with Messiah's Kiss, a German band led by guitarist Georg Kraft. PRAYER FOR THE DYING features the vocals of Holy Mother's Mike Terelli. So if you dig him or Holy Mother- and you should- then you will like this album. It's straight forward Power Metal with really great vocals and melodies. Excellent songs like "Reign Of Fire" and "Blood, Sweat & Tears" will keep you hooked. The guitars are in your face and the tempo is way up! 12 great songs. You'll recognize the cover art is by Luis Rojo, same guy who did At Vance's ONLY HUMAN. Check it out.
						GENIUS - A ROCK OPERA, Episode I 2002 Frontiers
						The only thing on scale with this album are the Avantasia albums. If you like those, check this out. Italy's Daniele Liverani has done something similar to what Tobias Sammet did with Avantasia that you will dig. This is a complex 3-part story (this being epsiode I) that tells the story of a human in a dream world. The album is a little on the progressive side, but it's mainly Power Rock/Metal which I liked alot (and I don't usually get into Prog Metal that much.) Daniele Liverani plays all guitars, bass and keyboards. Dario Ciccioni plays drums. The characters in the story are voiced by some prominent figures in music like Mark Boals (Yngwie, solo), Lana Lane, Chris Boltendahl (Grave Digger), John Wetton (King Crimson, Asia), Steve Walsh (Kansas), Oliver Hartmann (At Vance), and Midnight (Crimson Glory). That Laverani included these folks proves he knows his Prog and Power Metal history on both sides of the Atlantic. That he was able to dig up Midnight for one of the more blistering tracks "Terminate" is also amazing. The album features 11 songs and is nearly 80 minutes long. Well worth your time if you want something more challenging to listen to!