Between The Buried And Me Alaska

The Doobie Brothers' third long-player was the charm, their most substantial and consistent album to date, and one that rode the charts for a year. It was also a study in contrasts, Tom Johnston's harder-edged, bolder rocking numbers balanced by Patrick Simmons' more laid-back country-rock ballad style. The leadoff track, Johnston's "Natural Thing," melded the two, opening with interlocking guitars and showcasing the band's exquisite soaring harmonies around a beautiful melody, all wrapped up in a midtempo beat – the result was somewhere midway between Allman Brothers-style virtuosity and Eagles/Crosby & Nash-type lyricism, which defined this period in the Doobies' history and gave them a well-deserved lock on the top of the charts. Next up was the punchy, catchy "Long Train Runnin'," a piece they'd been playing for years as an instrumental – a reluctant Johnston was persuaded by producer Ted Templeman to write lyrics to it and record the song, and the resulting track became the group's next hit.

The Doobie Brothers' third long-player was the charm, their most substantial and consistent album to date, and one that rode the charts for a year. It was also a study in contrasts, Tom Johnston's harder-edged, bolder rocking numbers balanced by Patrick Simmons' more laid-back country-rock ballad style. The leadoff track, Johnston's "Natural Thing," melded the two, opening with interlocking guitars and showcasing the band's exquisite soaring harmonies around a beautiful melody, all wrapped up in a midtempo beat - the result was somewhere midway between Allman Brothers-style virtuosity and Eagles/Crosby & Nash-type lyricism, which defined this period in the Doobies' history and gave them a well-deserved lock on the top of the charts…

Here stands a glowing example of how the best metal bands are built for the long haul. With a burgeoning reputation as one of the most exciting new death metal bands around, Rivers Of Nihil hit the ground running with their 2013 debut album, "The Conscious Seed of Light". Although squarely rooted in technical death metal album, it was very obviously the work of a band with fewer creative limits than most. Since then, the Pennsylvania quintet have made giant leaps forward with each successive studio record, culminating in 2018's widely acclaimed "Where Owls Know My Name". At that point, it became obvious that Rivers Of Nihil were following a similar trajectory to Between the Buried and Me, in that they had transformed from an extreme metal band with progressive tendencies into a progressive metal band with extreme elements…

The assorted musical box that is progressive rock has often led artists to take creative risks in order to reach higher levels of innovation whilst releasing music that often has no limitations sonically or conceptually and most definitely are outside of genre constraints. Between The Buried and Me is a 21st century example of this approach, dazzling audiences with their skillful musicianship and constantly leaping between different genres from progressive rock, death metal, gypsy and electronic music. Despite the band’s relentless output, front man Thomas Giles began a solo side project under his own name, encapsulating all his personal musical interests by executing ideas and sounds that are contemporary and vintage all at the same time…

Metal's artisan of ambitiousness Arjen Anthony Lucassen returns with his project Ayreon taking time off from his other musical projects Star One, Guilt Machine and The Gentle Storm to embark on yet another sonic journey into the world of science fiction, where he unleashes yet another concept album that is a prequel to 2008's "01011001" laid out in his usual monstrosity of a double album with an army of guest vocalists and musicians to play the proper roles in his larger than life metal operas. As a prequel, The Source tells the origins of the Forever which is an alien race that is a key force in the overall storyline. While Ayreon is accustomed to mostly new cast members changing things up on any given album, The Source makes use of plenty of returning performers which include James LaBrie (Dream Theater), Simone Simons (Epica), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian)…