I am a big fan of power metal and progressive metal. And Blind Guardian fits right in there in those categories. This album was actually named the Best Metal Album of 2002 by Metal-Rules.com. Some people might call this intelligent metal, as it is not just guys playing three chords over and over. There are arrangements, styles, choirs and more to make this more than just a metal garage band. Plus, their lyrics are almost all based on much more than death or hate or anything like that.

Blind Guardian – A Night at the Opera Track Listing:

Side A

1. Precious Jerusalem – About the final days of Jesus
2. Battlefield - Based on the Song of Hildebrandt
3. Under the Ice – About Cassandra in the Iliad

Side AA

1. Sadly Sings Destiny – About the Messiah in the Old Testament and the Crucifixion
2. The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight – From Tristan und Isolde, a Wagner opera
3. Wait for an Answer – a Story by Hansi Kürsch, the lead singer

Side B

1. The Soulforged – From a Dragonlance fantasy novel
2. Age of False Innocence – About Galileo Galilei
3. Punishment Divine – About Nietzsche’s insanity

Side BB

1. And Then There Was Silence – Based on Homer’s Iliad

You can see that the subject matter is so much more than your average metal band sings about. Hansi Kürsch sings with so much passion too, that it makes everything just sound awesome.

Buy Blind Guardian – A Night at the Opera at Musicstack.

There are a lot of people who love heavy metal, but hate Manowar. They think of them as being cheesy, and cliche. Personally, I love Manowar. I think they rock hard, and hey, I love the fantasy subject matter. That helps.

Warriors of the World was released in 2002, and includes a tribute to the victims of September 11th, 2001. The song is called “The Fight For Freedom.” Also on the album is a tribute to Richard Wagner with “The March” and two covers, one is “An American Trilogy” by Elvis, and the other is one of my favorites, the aria from the opera Turandot, “Nessun Dorma” by Giacomo Puccini. If you think opera and heavy metal don’t mix, you haven’t heard this version.

Eric Adams is one of the most versatile singers I’ve heard, his pronunciations in German, Italian and Latin are great, yet he can scream like no one else.

For those of you who don’t know, Manowar is the loudest band in the world, according to Guiness Book of World Records. They reached an amazing 129.5 decibels in concert.

Here is an example of their true style with Call To Arms:

Musticstack has a great selection of Manowar on vinyl even including some picture discs.

Side One:

Call To Arms

The Fight For Freedom

Nessun Dorma

Valhalla

Swords In The Wind

An American Trilogy

Side Two:

The March

Warriors Of The World United

Hand of Doom

House of Death

Fight Until We Die

If you don’t (gasp) want the album on vinyl, download the MP3′s here off of Amazon.

I know, there are a lot of people out there who think that Christian music sucks, and well, I’m one of them. I can’t stand most of it. But every once in a while something comes along that is good, at least to some people.

Leviticus came out of Sweden, formed by singer Björn Stigsson. I Shall Conquer was their second album, but their first full length release. It has good, catchy riffs, and great playing. The engineering leaves something to be desired though. It almost sounds like it was recorded in a hall, rather than a studio.

I Shall Conquer has been remastered, but I haven’t bought that one yet. I saw this in a record store the other day and just had to pick it up. I don’t think it was played more than a few times. The cover looked new, and so did the record. It had no popping and clicking at all. It just sounds great.

Here is an MP3 of the second track off of the album, Let Me Fight;

The track listing is:

1. I Shall Conquer
2. Let Me Fight
3. He’s My Life
4. Doubt
5. Action More Than Words
6. All Is Calm
7. Day By Day
8. Strive Forwards
9. Psalm 23
10. Folj Mig *
11. Leva Han Som Lar *
12. Min Mastare *

The last three * tracks are bonus tracks on the re-release in 2000. Unfortunately, not on this record. They are in Swedish, use more keyboards, and have a little bit less quality production, but they are still good tracks. Min Mastare is actually kind of prog (progressive).

You can this CD on Amazon:

Or you can go to Musicstack and find the album on CD, cassette or LP, however, not every Leviticus is the same band. Just do a title search, all formats for I Shall Conquer. Or just search for whatever you want.