Concept Corner: Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards

Have you ever encountered something that, on first blush, looks to be sincere, but upon examination is clearly satire, but once you delve into it more, might actually be sincere? Okay, you may have, given that the term "irony poisoning" exists. But that term is primarily subject-based, as in it's something that happens to a person when something starts ironically but becomes sincere, like Bronies, or 4chan racism. I'd like to talk about a work which both satirizes a subject while at the same time coming from a place of genuine love. An irony so deep, it encompasses sincerity. In one word: Gloryhammer.

Concept Corner: Gloryhammer - Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards

Gloryhammer began from the ideas of Christopher Bowes, keyboardist and frontman of Pirate Metal band Alestorm. Being a big fan of Rhapsody (of Fire), Bowes wanted a departure from Alestorm, and had the idea to set an epic fantasy story in the nowhere places of Scotland (where he was from.) Thus, the first song came into being, "The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee." After recruiting lead singer Thomas Winkler from a youtube audition for DragonForce, of all bands, Gloryhammer created their first album, Tales From the Kingdom of Fife in 2013. As of this writing, Gloryhammer has three albums out, with the latest being Legends From Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex.

It might seem odd to write a review only about the second album of a current trilogy, but I think you'll understand why soon enough.

The Story

The story begins in the previous album, Tales From the Kingdom of Fife, in the Tenth Century, the evil wizard Zargothrax attacks Dundee with cursed zombie unicorns to kidnap Princess Iona McDougall. The young prince Angus McFife embarks on a quest to gather three sacred artifacts and free Princess McDougall from the evil wizard's clutches. He makes allies along the way, the mysterious hermit Ralathor, the knights of Crail, and the barbarian of Unst, and with their help defeats Zargothrax by plunging him into a pool of liquid ice, sealing him away forever...

Or not. One thousand years later, in the far off future year of 1992, war was beginning. The evil Wizard Zargothrax, in his icy prison, has been moved to Triton, the moon of Neptune, guarded by the Space Knights of Crail. But a cadre of Chaos Wizards has plans to free Zargothrax, and send the universe reeling. [1. Infernus Ad Astra] The Chaos Wizards are successful, defeating the Knights of Crail and unleashing Zargothrax from his frozen slumber. [2. Rise of the Chaos Wizards] We meet Angus McFife XIII, the Crown Prince of Dundee, knee deep in a battle with goblins on the dark side of the moon. Prophesy states he must do as his ancestor did, and collect the three mighty artifacts and warriors from across the land to stop the plans of Zargothrax once again. [3. Legend of the Astral Hammer] While Angus begins his quest, Zargothrax proceeds with his own evil deeds, traveling to the realm of Dreadlord Myrkanos Barbak, Goblin King, to obtain a magical crystal key that will open a portal to hell underneath Dundee. [4. Goblin King of the Darkstorm Galaxy] We are then reintroduced to the very barbarian from Unst that aided the first Angus McFife in his quest to defeat Zargothrax. In the thousand years since, he traveled across the sea to the land of California, becoming its king through victory in battle and in film, and became known as The Hollywood Hootsman. He joins his former battle companion's descendant to once again rid the universe of evil. [5. The Hollywood Hootsman] On the devastated moon of Triton, only one survivor remains from the Chaos Wizards' assault, Ser Regulon, the last Spaceknight of Crail. He surmises the only way to defeat Zargothrax would be to rebuild the Knights of Crail of legend. Luckily, a hero cannot be defeated simply by making them die. The Technomages of Triton weave a spell over robots, bringing Ser Proletius, the Knight of Crail from legend, back to life as a hologram. His resurrection inspires knights from across the galaxy, who join Ser Proletius to recreate the Spaceknights to fight Zargothrax's forces. [6. Victorious Eagle Warfare] The Questlords of Inverness, led by Ulysses "Snakehands" McDougall mobilize to Mars, where Zargothrax's forces are assembling, unaware that Zargothrax himself is closer than they realize. [7. Questlords of Inverness, Ride to the Galactic Fortress] Angus McFife, having acquired his laserdragon steed, races to Mars, where his destiny awaits. [8. Universe on Fire]

Now that the forces of the Intergalactic Space Empire of Fife have arrived on Mars, Angus McFife XIII addresses the assembled host, the Spaceknights of Crail, the Questlords of Inverness, and the Astral Dwarves of Aberdeen. [9. Heroes of Dundee] While Angus and his forces prepare for battle in the skies above Mars, Zargothrax remains hidden on Earth. In the dwarven caverns beneath Dundee, the evil wizard activates the altar of the Chaosportal to the Galactic Nexus with the mystical crystal key, beginning the process to open a portal to the 18th Hell Dimension, to summon the Elder God Kor-Virliath which would annihilate the entire universe. Back on Mars, the battle turns against the united forces of Fife. The Dwarven King of Aberdeen was slain by a robotic space goblin, the Spaceknights of Crail defeated by the same Chaos Wizard who first decimated their ranks on Triton, and the Questlords of Inverness were obliterated by an infinity bomb which erased them from all of time. Before Zargothrax finishes the ritual to open the hellportal, the mysterious hermit Ralathor discovers his plan, and makes haste to space to warn Angus McFife and The Hootsman of the impending universal destruction. Fly as fast as they might, the heroes are too late to stop the dread summoning. Ralathor surmises only an explosion of tremendous power, one that would eradicate the Earth as well, would be enough to prevent Kor-Virliath's arrival in their galaxy. Luckily, The Hootsman happens to be a cyborg, powered by a neutron star. Despite the protestations by Angus, The Hootsman sacrifices himself, detonating his robot heart in a Neutronic Transnova Bomb explosion, destroying the summoning ritual and the crystal key. However, the ultragravitational terrorflux ripped apart the fabric of spacetime, creating a dimensional rift where the Earth once stood. Zargothrax, having survived the blast, curses Angus McFife and uses the last of his power to fling himself into the rift, quickly pursued by McFife, who swears at any cost to defeat Zargothrax, wherever he might end up...[10. Apocalypse 1992]

***

Hoo! What a rush! Compared to the previous album, this is a noticeable step up in cheesy sci-fantasy technobabble which, if you're not me, may be difficult to take seriously. But that's what I love so much about Gloryhammer; if you're willing to suspend your impulse to ridicule, there's a fun story that can be enjoyed on its own hammy merits. If there's deep themes at play here, I can't notice them beyond this self-consciously epic legend.

I mentioned earlier that Christopher Bowes was a fan of Rhapsody, and if you look at songs like "Power of the Dragonflame" or "Unholy Warcry" I think you can see where the influence is. What makes Gloryhammer special is its ability to be both parody and homage, taking the ridiculous parts of Power Metal to their highest possible point, but still taking them entirely seriously. Now, this is no Ayreon, they aren't trying to make a point with their crazy sci-fi concepts here. It's on the same level as one of those fun fantasy paperbacks you can find for 10 bucks at any bookstore. They're having fun, and they're not ashamed of what they're doing. It's so refreshing to have an album with a crazy concept like this, and it goes full throttle, 100% the whole way. It doesn't have to tell a joke to make me laugh, it just names someone Topazulon McGonagall VII, Herald of Dundee and the fact that this is perfectly normal makes me smile.

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the particular inspiration for The Hootsman; a Barbarian lauded in Hollywood who obtains the highest seat of power in California and also turns about to be a secret robot in human flesh. Yeah, he's Arnold Schwarzenegger. They just made one of their characters The Arnold. I just think it's neat. In fact, each member of the band plays a character in the story. Thomas Winkler, lead singer, plays Angus McFife XII; Paul Templing, guitarist, plays Ser Proletius; James Cartwright, bassist, is The Hootsman; Ben Turk, drummer, is Ralathor, and most surprising of all, Christopher Bowes, keyboardist, is Zargothrax. The big evil wizard. They have him in the band. On stage they have little fight scenes. I have never been to a show of theirs but it's on my bucket list.

I have but one complaint for this story, and that's the state of our heroes during the narrative. It's essentially just introducing the various forces that Angus already has at his disposal because he is king of an intergalactic empire. You know, the thing that's usually evil in these. Zargothrax presents as a viable threat with that name alone, but the way it goes, Angus has the same warriors with him as his ancestor did to beat Zargothrax the first time. Luckily, Kor-Virliath is an effective counter to The Kingdom of Fife's dominance, even if what his arrival will do to the universe is introduced in the very last song. As a stand-alone, it's odd, but works as part of a larger narrative, despite not following your typical three-act structure. I like the first album, but it's a little too boilerplate fantasy for me to be really interested, and you know how I love Space Fantasy. And this album was just reintroducing the unnamed companions from that album.

The Music

If anything I've said so far has resonated, you can probably predict what I'm going to say about these tracks. Much of what I've said about the story can just as easily be applied to the music, and in the best way possible. They go full force with these tracks, in classic power metal style, complete with an actual orchestra and poorly translated Latin.

Special mention must be made to drummer Ben Turk, who was also responsible for scoring and conducting the orchestral sections, along with the pure orchestrated versions of each track. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that, in the deluxe edition each song has an entirely symphonic counterpart, perfect as background music or if you can arrange it, played simultaneously with the original for a real epic experience.

"Rise of the Chaos Wizards" is a great opening track, complete with chanting that may or may not make sense. It bursts out of the gate with your classic double-bass pound followed by a galloping beat by Turk. Trumpets peek out in the background occasionally, along with a harp during the spoken monologue that I love so much. If you don't know what Gloryhammer is about, listening to this song gives you a pretty good idea.

"Universe on Fire" is one of my favorite tracks, a song that starts with assorted strings and a harp to accompany Winkler, which are joined by drums and bass (played by James Cartwright), before a guitar lick rips in and kicks the whole thing into high gear. It's a very high-energy track, the driving drums and propelling bass provide constant force on the low end, while ascending scales on keyboard and harp provide complexity on the high end. My favorite thing about this song are the little pauses it has, one beat of silence before each chorus. There's one section where every instrument rests save for the harp and keyboard, building back up with bass, again, followed by a key-changed chorus to close out the song. And check out these lyrics!

Gliding across the sun to soak up all its might
Charging my solar gun and prepare for epic fight
Questing through nebulas in search of crystal stone
That gives me the overdose of force to claim space throne

And I would be remiss if I didn't highlight the closer of the album, "Apocalypse 1992". A nine minute thirty-nine second conclusion that cashes in on the preceding album's promises. It starts with keyboard (played by Zargothrax, remember) and a voiceover describing Zargothrax's plan under Dundee set in motion. A scare chord builds on mention of Kor-Virliath, leading to an explosion of guitar and drums. This song has a lot of variety, killing off each of the forces we've been introduced to throughout the album, not to mention two whole monologue segments. It's impressive that this song has such varied verses while returning to the same chorus seamlessly. Let's have a look at that chorus, shall we?

Fly high through apocalypse skies
Fight for the world we must save
Like tears of a unicorn lost in the rain
Chaos will triumph this day
Apocalypse! 1992!

One last thing to note is that the song ends with the same chords as "Rise of the Chaos Wizards" under the final spoken section, wrapping up the album in a beautiful bow covered in atomic flames.

You don't find something like Gloryhammer every day. That's not to say there aren't metal bands that successfully pull off that over-the-top style, but there's few that do so with a wink and a nod you can't really be sure happened. My interest began with the whimsical world and outlandish concepts until I recognized the aspect of parody. But there was a third, even deeper layer exactly the same as the first one. Like with pie. Gloryhammer is still ongoing, though they won't be touring til 2021, at least. Since Space 1992 they've put out one more album, Legends From Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex in 2019. And considering that album features a magical mystical jetpack, rest assured I'll be taking a look at that before too long.

Concept Corner: Avantasia The Metal Opera

I've been playing coy long enough. I covered Operation: mindcrime and called it one of the greatest metal concept albums ever. I even covered one of Ayreon's albums, with just a mention of its long supposed rival metal project. That's right, today we cover the other biggest power metal collaboration project, Avantasia.

Concept Corner: Avantasia - The Metal Opera

Avantasia is a project created by Tobias Sammet, the lead singer and songwriter of Edguy, a German power metal band. Avantasia released its first album, The Metal Opera in 2001. This and the next album, The Metal Opera Part II share an explicit story, while subsequent releases either had a much more subtle story or none at all. Like Ayreon, this project collects singers and musicians from across the metal genre, though Avantasia has a few distinctions from Ayreon in that department. Lucassen's project, at least in the beginning, tended to feature less well-known musicians, which is commendable for finding more obscure talent. Avantasia took a different route, finding the all-stars of the metal community right out of the gate, even bringing Michael Kiske, legendary singer for the band Helloween, back into his first metal project since leaving Helloween. For a Helloween fan, this was the Holy Grail.

The story is communicated almost entirely through liner notes in the lyric book, and let me tell you, it's a doozy! There are a couple instrumentals with light speaking parts and there's plenty to gather from the music, but I wasn't aware of the whole story until I recently knuckled down and read all of it. You'll understand why in a bit.

Concept Corner: Operation Mindcrime

The media we use to tell stories are often just as important as the stories themselves. Books are fundamentally different than films, which differ from theatre productions and so on. They present characters, environments, and feelings in new ways, and being taken in by each can be a completely unique experience. One medium that's got me hooked is the concept album. Put simply, it's a musical album with a plot. Each song advances the story, introduces characters and the world, but works as an album in its own right. The plot can be lightly referenced, it could have dialogue segments between songs, and some have plot details written in the liner notes of the lyric book. Sometimes artists come out with just one concept album in between their usual fare and others build their entire brand on concept albums. They can even be adapted to the stage or screen, as Jesus Christ Superstar was; first a play, then a film.

What I'm trying to say is: I love them. Especially the ones that go full-bore with odd dialogue segments and cheesy lines all throughout. You can enjoy them as a normal album or listen a little more intently and figure out what's driving it. We're going to take a look at some albums worth looking at, starting with a prime example of the genre.

Concept Corner: Queensryche - Operation: mindcrime

CD Review: Ultra Beatdown

[This review was written about in September of last year, on one night when I got really bored.]

Yes, you read that title right. I'm finally going to burn the midnight oil and spend about an hour writing and listening to a CD. But first, I talk about other stuff.

I got a WoW comic today, which is quite possibly the worst thing for me if I plan to work at all in the next month. It's called Ashbringer, and I may write about it if I get through the piles of other work I've collected by slacking off.

Now then, on to the review of:

Ultra Beatdown by Dragonforce

Now then, if you don't know about Dragonforce, here's a little background: They're in the genre of Power Metal, which basically means really fast and somewhat orchestral metal where the lyrics usually have to do with the fantasy genre. This means most power metal ends up fitting well with things like... World of Warcraft. (Warning: Playing World of Warcraft while listening to Dragonforce is a potent combination and should not be attempted. Once you turn on the music, you will wake up as if from a trance hours, nay, days later, surrounded by empty cans of Mountain Dew, with your fingers covered in a fine orange powder smelling of nacho cheese. Your previously level 20 character will be level 70, with epic gear. You will look at your chat logs, and be abhorred at your sudden lack of grammar and knowledge of the english language.)

Anyway, Dragonforce gets most of its criticism in the form of two arguments; 1. It's too fast to process most of the notes in their solos, and 2. All their songs sound the same. Point 1 I disagree with, but I guess I'm just hyper or something, and point 2 actually is a valid point. Many of Dragonforce's songs seem reminiscent of their older songs, and sometimes they reuse the same themes (I.e. Moon, Fire, Night, Riding, Black, etc.) so it's possible to confuse the songs. Anyway, now that you're all edumacted on the band, let's start with the songs!

(Note: I will be keeping a log in parenthesis throughout the songs, so I can preserve my sanity through this incredibly long album.)

1. Heroes of Our Time: This is a solid opening song, as well as the only single they made from this CD. I usually have a to try quite hard to keep from air guitaring through most of it, but that's just me. It has a few sound effects that sound a bit... video game-ish, and that turns out to be a trend for this CD. I mean, just look at the album cover:



It sounds different enough from other songs that it earns merit. They actually have some, well, pauses in the music, presumably to give me time to recouperate from the furious air guitaring. In this song, I can tell when other band members other than the lead singer pitch in for some background vocals. For some reason, in the chorus, the main line seems to be when they stop for a second, then all say "Starchaser!" and the song seems to have no mention of heroes of any time. Oh, I forgot to mention, that's another problem Dragonforce has, the titles of the songs usually has nothing to do with the song itself. Just call the song Starchaser! It's in the lyrics for God's sake! The solo is standard fare for Dragonforce, with Herman Lee and... that other guy switching off between who's soloing for maximum efficiency. Or something. They made good use of this weird effect where they fade in really fast, so it sounds all spoooky. That's all I can really think of for this song. Moving right along...

2. The Fire Still Burns: The beginning of the song annoys me, because they seem to stop the music randomly a few times, for a weird sound effect, and and it's just not fun when I'm trying to headbang. They actually held back on the guitar for some of the lyrics, which surprised me. The drummer is more apparent in this one, and speaking of which, the drummer for Dragonforce must either be a computer or someone different for every song, because he drums really damn fast. Like, I can believe how a human can drum that fast. It's crazy. This song is also pleasantly surprizing, in that they actually say "The Fire Still Burns" in the chorus. I can only hope this trend will return. (Walter's log: Oh God, this is going to take me allll night. These songs are wicked long! AH.) Around 4 minutes in, they slow things down with a little piano and singing, then gradually bring it into one of their signature solos. Then they take it away with their favorite lyric, an entire chorus of "Woah" in different tones. It's not bad, but still, it's like Keanu Reeves wrote that part! What's next, the next album is called Excellent TimeMachine?

3. Reasons to Live: Starts out with the video game sounds again. I mean, like, I thought I was playing a Mega Man level there in the beginning. Luckily, that's over with pretty quickly, and we get some riffs. Most people like this song the best, since it's probably the most different from the other songs, but it really reminds me of Black Winter Night from their first album. It's really different in that in the middle, they do something completely different from what they've ever done, with a kind of slow piano/guitar duet thing. Which then goes into a surprizingly slow guitar solo. I can see why people like this song the best, it lends some much needed variety into the CD. Then I think, like, the keyboard gets a solo? It starts to sound video gamey for a little bit, so I think that's the case. The lyrics in this one are still the same as usual, what with "trying to understand" and stuff. They do, however, say in the chorus, "Reasons to survive" which I suppose is enough to give the song the name it has. I hope this trend continues!

4. Heartbreak Armageddon: What? Heartbreak Arma... What? This is the title to a song? Seriously? It sounds like what some over-dramatic high schooler would call his breakup. "She said she didn't love me anymore, so I started crying! It was a heartbreak armageddon!" I mean, it is about someone who finds out they aren't loved while a meteor heads towards the earth? I do not like this title. Though it is fun to make fun of. The song itself is not bad. One of Dragonforce's power ballads about something or other. I noticed they're starting to overdo the whole "stop everything but the vocals for a verse" thing that was so new and refreshing in the beginning. To be honest, this is probably the most typical of Dragonforce song on the CD. (Log: I'm only on song 4? God help me! I have work tomorrow!) What is true about this song, and strangely most Dragonforce songs is that they lull me to sleep. I'm not entirely sure why, but listening to Dragonforce makes me tired. They do something similar to the last song, where they slow it down for a the solo and whatnot, which now that I'm really paying attention makes me think less of this song. It's even got the keyboard solo again! This is probably my least favorite song on the CD, though still rock out-able.

5. The Last Journey Home: This song starts off with a driving guitar chord, along with some trumpet. Not sure how that got there. Hm. Anyway, it's got a good forward motion about it. They have another "Woah" verse, with other words between. At one point, an acoustic guitar alone plays under the lead vocalist. Which differenciates this piece from the now standard "singer time" section this album seems to have produced. This song gets stuck in my head a lot. Yay! They mention "The last journey home" in the chorus! I'm so proud of you Dragonforce! This may make up for Heartbreak Armageddon! (But probably not.) What's good that I noticed is that it's got a real motivating beat for it, and it's about one last journey home, so things match! The solo is practically perfect, fun for air guitaring. Since the first "Woah" chorus was too short in the beginning, they have another breif one. Seriously, Woah is their favorite lyric. Ever. They have a little video game solo thing, but I'm used to it now, so I don't even care. (Log: Yes! Halfway there!)

6. A Flame for Freedom: This song pretty much starts out like every other song. it's also a lot like Trail of Broken Hearts from Inhuman Rampage. It's a slower song, and puts me to sleep. I don't know, I don't really have strong feelings one way or the other for this song. It's... average. That, and it precedes what is probably my favorite song on the entire album. So I don't really have that much to say about it. It's... short? 5 minutes is short right?

7. Inside the Winter Storm: Starts almost exactly like Heroes of Our Time, but quickly changes pace, and I've grown to love this song. This is quite possibly the most epic sounding song of the CD, and I love that. Epic = Good. They change up a lot of the routine in this song, which is of course, nice. They even manage to make the "Woah" chorus epic! It's awesome! We get a little piano/vocals thing in there at one point, which is good. I also enjoy the chorus "Marching on, inside of our lonelyness, still searching for all that remains." They say "Inside the Winter Storm" so that wins them bonus points. Though I suppose that's a little sad, when a song gets points just for relating to its title. Oh well, that's Dragonforce for ya. Anyway, we break down a little, and there's an awesome buildup with a great force behind it, fun for headbanging. Just when it seems the only solo will be solo one, a giant gale force of guitar riffs heads in, kicking major ass. In short, this is my personal favorite, just because it's so epic.One of the longer songs on the album at 8:12.

8. The Warrior Inside: Starts out rather weird, with a little tune from some instrument I am at a loss to describe. Then the guitar comes in with an upbeat tune to it, and all is made well again. The drummer shines on this song too, what with his solos and things. Despite coming after my favorite, which you would think would make this one seem worse in comparison, this is on my upper tiers for Dragonforce. That little tune from the beginning shows up again, just to change it up, which Dragonforce needs. (Log: You know what I noticed? The lead singer looks like Weird Al... Woah man, that's crazy...) If you bought the normal plain-jane CD, this the last song for the album, and it's a pretty nice closer.

9. Strike of the Ninja: First of all, this is one of the two bonus songs on the CD, which I paid an extra 2 bucks for, and also came with a DVD and an extra little cover thing that does nothing.



Second of all, Strike of the Ninja? What? Is this about Naruto? Well, actually, despite the techno beginning, this is a really good song. It's catchy, it's about ninjas, and it's only 3 minutes long. Yes, a Dragonforce song less than 5 minutes long! It does exist! Needless to say, with its decreased time, the solos are shorter, but this is a good change of pace, where I don't need to cancel any appointments or plans for sleeping when I want to listen to a song. If only more were like this...

10. Scars of Yesterday: Last song! Starts out with a guitar tune, which becomes sort of the motif of the rest of the song, staying in the background through the rest. This is another one of the better songs, and actually, it's a rather long time before the singing starts. At first I thought it was vocal-less, but eventually it kicks in. Something fancy about this song is the the layered singing they try out, where some members start out with a note, some more pitch in, then the main vocal jumps in, and it's a good time. Although sometimes I think this song might actually be about World of Warcraft, since in its chorus, it has the sentence "A waste of time!" and then talks about not being able to understand and pain. Anyway. Given this song and the previous one, I can say the extra for the bonus songs is well worth it, since the bonus songs are among the best on the CD. Actually, I don't recall ever hearing the end of this song. I guess I never had the patience to do so before. Well, I don't think I missed too much. Yeah, it's a normal solo, except for a little bass solo type thing. The song ends with the most video game-ish music of all. In fact, it doesn't even sound like music. It's just the sounds from Pong!

In closing, I have to say this CD is up to par with the rest. Thing is, it's not better or worse. It's the same. That's Dragonforce's main obstacle in their song creation. It seems to get too formulaic and less music. Although they are consistent, I'll give them that. At this point I would give them a number score, but I don't see the point for CD's, since it's all up to music preference anyway.

Well, that's that, and it only took me almost two hours to listen to and write! Yay! I'm going to bed! Goodnight all.