Symphony X - Twilight In Olympus (1998)

Symphony X's fourth album is another good one, but not quite up to the standard of THE DIVINE WINGS OF TRAGEDY. The three-part "Through The Looking Glass" (about Alice, of course) and the concluding "Lady Of The Snow" don't do a lot for me, while the little Beethoven interlude is nice (I always appreciate classical moments like that), but seems out of place, as if it was dropped there by mistake.  However, "Church Of The Machine" and "The Relic" are excellent, and Russel Allen's Dio-like vocals are oustanding. And the band plays wonderfully well, even if, way too often, guitar solos just don't do a lot for me.
This is, of course, more progressive metal than power, but I find Symphony X easier to get into than Dream Theater (who I've put aside for now) and Fates Warning (who I put aside even earlier), although they can't touch the best progressive metal band in my view, Savatage.
This was the last Symphony X album to feature bassist Thomas Miller.

***1/2

Rage - XIII (1998)

Rage had been starting to get into a rut, so for this album, they did two notable things - they slowed the tempo down somewhat, and they brought in an orchestra.  And both are successful.
Although Peavy Wagner sounds too much like Metallica's James Hetfield for some reason, this is an excellent release, with the songs offering plenty of melodic interest, and the orchestra combining very well for some beautiful passages, particularly in the three-part "Changes". It can't quite sustain the quality to the very end (I'm not sure what to think of the cover of The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black"), but this certainly remains one of Rage's best albums.

****

Concerto Moon - From Father To Son (1998)

This second album by Japanese band Concerto Moon is a bit of an improvement over their debut FRAGMENTS OF THE MOON.  It doesn't leap out immediately, but there are some solid songs, like "Surrender", "From Father To Son" and "Into The Fire", with some solid guitar riffing and understated keyboards.  The lyrics aren't clear, since they're not printed, and I thought maybe vocalist  Takao Ozaki could be singing them in Japanese, but patches of obviously English words, plus the face all the titles are in anglo saxon, suggest he, instead, has the worst diction since James Reyne#, although at least he has the excuse of not coming from a primarily English-speaking country.
With it's beautiful cover art, From Father To Son might not stay in the mind for very long after playing it, but it's a reasonably enjoyable effort.

***

#Australian singer who lead popular early eighties band Australian Crawl for a while, before going solo. No-one annunciates as badly as he does.  No-one.

Virgin Steele - Invictus (1998)

I will have to go back to earlier Virgin Steele albums and hear if David DeFeis always "sung" with so much snarling and growling (not the death metal kind) as he does by the time of this album, the third in the MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN AND HELL trilogy. He just seems to be getting worse and worse.
And that's a great shame, because this remains a terrific album. With more tails of battles against evil gods and final victory guaranteeing freedom for all, this finds Virgin Steele gliding through angry and powerful music with effortless ease and, even if it goes on too long, there's no denying the musical sumptuousness and power of such tracks as "Through Blood And Fire", "Defiance", "Dominion Day" and the ten-minute conclusion, the triumphant "Vedi, Vini, Vici", which has DeFeis finishing with an actual high note, showing he can still actually sing properly.
This could be the best of a very high quality trio of heavy metal albums, but they're all worth indulding in, and are a true triumph for David DeFeis.


****1/2

Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle-Earth (1998)

I've long been quite a fantasy fan (I still have my collection of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks), but I've never really got into "The Lord Of The Rings". I saw the first film, and thought it was good but overly serious and overly long, and I'm currently trying to get the hang of the recent card game that has come out.
But fantasy is fantasy, and when it's combined with great music, how can I resist?  Blind Guardian has been the pinnacle of power metal for me up until now, and this album is their crowning glory. Focusing on Tolkein's novel "The Silmarillion" (which is not always easy to follow, since I struggle reading ye olde English writing that permeates the album's track titles and lyrics), it's a mixture of songs and interludes, the latter varying between sound affects and narration and suchlike. This all takes Nightfall In Middle-Earth to the sixty-five minute mark, but it never seems to outstay its welcome.
Not as consistently fast as efforts which have gone before, this, nonetheleess, comes across wonderfully well, highlights including "Into The Storm", "Nightfall", "Mirror Mirror" and "Thorn", with such songs showing the band's deft touch for melody and arrangements. Hansi (who forgoes the bass for the first time) does his usual variety of voices, full of overdubs, creating a choir effect that is uplifting and rousing. Not that this is anything new in regards to what this German band have brought out before, but it's just so consistently successful here.
I don't know if I ever will become a big "Rings" fan. I probably will see the other two films eventually, as well as give the first one another look. But I know I won't ever see Blind Guardian performing in some village full of elves and dwarves, and that's their sad loss.

*****

Paragon - The Final Command (1998)

After the unimpressive debut WORLD OF SIN, guitarist/songwriter Martin Christian got together a brand new Paragon line-up three years later and released this definitely superior album.
It's really speed metal more than power, and with grim lyrics that reflect war and all that. Singer Andreas Babuschkin wails suitably, while the choruses are chanted in gang-like fashion, something I often tend to like for some reason.
The Final Command is certainly no classic, but remains a step ahead for this German band.

***

Edguy - Vain Glory Opera (1998)

We start 1998 with Edguy's Vain Glory Opera, a real jump in quality from previous work.  It isn't a complete success (I could have done without the weak ballad "Scarlet Rose"), but the title track is a classic, and other pieces like "Until We Rise Again" and "No More Foolin'" are also impressive, while the record finishes with a cover of one of my favourite Ultravox songs, "Hymn". While, generally speaking, I'm not a big fan of cover songs by anyone, I do kind of like crossovers like this, and Edguy does a pretty good job with it. And, let's face it, power metal and 80s pop do have a few things in common.
Timo Tolkki produced this album, and appears on it, as does Hansi Kursch (doesn't he appear everywhere?) and, while it isn't up to the standards of those two performers' respective bands, it remains a very worthwhile listen.

***1/2