Images and Words is the second studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on July 7, 1992, through Atco Records. It is the first Dream Theater release to feature James LaBrie on vocals. Since its release, the album has maintained its position as the band's most commercially successful studio album, and the song "Pull Me Under" has the distinction of being the only Top 10 hit the band has had to date. This particular song has also had more recent success as it has appeared in the 2008 video game Guitar Hero World Tour.
Horde is the black metal solo project of Australian musician Jayson Sherlock, formerly of Mortification and Paramaecium. In 1994 the only album Hellig Usvart was released on Nuclear Blast. With a session line-up, Horde played live-shows in 2006, Norway, and in 2010 in Finland and Germany. Hellig Usvart proved to be a seminal release for the unblack metal movement, and the album was highly controversial in the secular black metal scene at the time it was released.
Unblack metal is a religious philosophy and subgenre within black metal whose artists either directly oppose the Satanism prevalent in most black metal, or promote Christianity in their lyrics and imagery. Unblack metal artists are controversial within the black metal subculture, because black metal's pioneers, especially those of the Second Wave, were anti-Christian. It is also suggested that Christianity contradicts black metal's dark nature and the individualistic and misanthropic ideals of many bands.
"21st Century Schizoid Man" is a song by the progressive rock band King Crimson from their 1969 debut album In the Court of the Crimson King. Often regarded as the group's signature song, it has been described by sources such as Rolling Stone as "a seven-and-a-half-minute statement of purpose: rock power, jazz spontaneity, and classical precision harnessed in the service of a common aim."
Misguided is Argyle Park's only album under that name. The album was released on March 21, 1995, by R.E.X. Records into the Christian rock market, and sits alongside other early 90s work by Circle of Dust and Mortal as being instrumental in introducing industrial music to the Christian music scene. The album was nominated for Best Metal/Hard Rock Album at the 27th Annual GMA Dove Awards in 1996.
Kekal is a heavy metal and electronic music band formed in 1995 in Jakarta, Indonesia. According to AllMusic, Kekal was one of the first heavy metal bands from Indonesia to make international inroads, and according to sociologist of heavy metal, Keith Kahn-Harris, was one of the few extreme metal bands from Southeast Asia to ever make more than a minimal impression on the global scene. Founded by two musicians known simply Yeris and Newbabe, the band underwent some shifts in lineup in its early years, but emerged with a consistent lineup of three key-members, guitarist/vocalist Jeff Arwadi, bassist Azhar Levi Sianturi, and guitarist Leo Setiawan. Frequently labeled as black metal, progressive metal, and avant-garde metal, Kekal plays a very diverse range of music styles within the frame of metal and rock, incorporating many other music genres such as ambient, electronic, jazz fusion, and progressive rock. Over the course of its career, Kekal has transitioned from a heavy metal-based style to a more experimental and electronic sound.
The Habit of Fire is a 2007 album by Indonesian avant-garde metal band Kekal. Released on 15 May in North America, Japan & Australia and 15 March in Europe & South America, it is their sixth full-length album. The album was constructed during Jeff's move to Canada, and was the last album recorded in his home studio in Indonesia. There is an official music video for the song "Isolated I".
Waves Are Dancing is the second studio album by Ukrainian folk metal band Holy Blood, released in 2005. The band's and their label's best selling album, Waves saw the band moving even further towards the highly melodic folk metal style while still keeping the black metal elements, particularly the thin and high-pitched shrieking vocals. In 2010, HM Magazine ranked it #88 on the Top 100 Christian metal albums of all-time list.
Jayson Sherlock is a Christian metal musician from Australia. He began his career in the Australian death metal band Mortification, which was considered to be a major pioneer in the genre. Sherlock was the founder of the one-man project unblack metal band Horde, in which he played every instrument. He has also been in other bands such as Paramaecium, inExordium, Altera Enigma, and Soundscape. During 2012, he was the drummer for Deliverance. He is currently the drummer for the death metal band Revulsed.
Altera Enigma is a Christian metal band formed by Melbourne, Australia-based Jason De Ron, the former guitarist and front man of Paramaecium, and Jakarta, Indonesia native Jefray Arwadi, former guitarist, vocalist, and front man of Kekal. Both of these musicians have a career that has seen them record and release nearly 20 albums between them. According to Jason De Ron, the name Altera Enigma was chosen because it represents something mysterious and unique. Kenny Cheong, a jazz fusion bassist, joined the project in 2005, and Altera Enigma's first album was released in 2006. Jayson Sherlock, a former band-mate of De Ron in Paramecium and also a former member of the band Mortification and the sole member of Horde, joined on drums in 2007. In 2009, Jeff Arwadi, having relocated from Indonesia to Canada in 2007, decided to step down from the project.
Det Tapte Liv is an EP by the Norwegian unblack metal band Antestor, released in 2004 by Endtime Productions.
Jason De Ron is a musician from Melbourne, Australia, most notable for being the former guitarist for the death/doom band Paramaecium and co founder and guitarist of the avant garde/progressive metal band Altera Enigma.
Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams is the debut album by Indonesian extreme metal band Kekal released in 1998. Vocalist Harry left the band after the album's release.
1000 Thoughts of Violence is the fourth album by Indonesian extreme metal band Kekal, released in 2003. The central theme of the album is moral decline and the violent nature of humanity. This was the first and only major studio album by the band without the skills of additional guitarist Leo Setiawan.
Acidity is the fifth album by Indonesian avant-garde metal band Kekal. It was recorded in celebration of the band's tenth anniversary, and was an official reunion album for the band. It marked the return of guitarist Leo Setiawan to the band, and includes the vocal talents of founding member Newbabe. The album was released following the band's successful 2004 European mini-tour, and a promotional concert and release party was held for the album on 13 March 2005 in Indonesia. It was considered by many to be the band's strongest work to date, and is one of four albums available for free download from the band on its website.
The Painful Experience is the third full-length studio album by Indonesian extreme metal band Kekal. It marks the transition of Kekal from straightforward melodic black metal to a more distinct progressive metal style, while still retaining the intensity and speed. The title refers to the recording sessions for Embrace the Dead. Guitarist Leo Setiawan left the band before the recording sessions began and moved to Melbourne, Australia, but he was still listed on the album credits as a guitarist due to his contribution to the album's songwriting and general concept. The album was released by four independent labels: Fear Dark in the Netherlands for the European market, Clenchedfist Records in the United States for the North American market, Indonesian label THT Productions for the Southeast Asian market, and HROM/HIRAX for Eastern European market.
Jefray Kurnia "Jeff" Arwadi is an Indonesian musician, music producer, and graphic designer. A native of Jakarta, Indonesia, he now resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He is mostly known as a former guitarist, vocalist, and record producer for the avant-garde/progressive metal band Kekal. Professionally, he has made a career as a graphic designer and has worked at various companies for more than a decade. In the past, he was also known in the music scene for his works as a freelance graphic designer under Soundmind Graphics, and until his 2006 move to Canada, Jeff owned and ran his own home-based recording studio, Vision Studio, in Jakarta. He also was a staff member of the record label THT Productions. In addition to his roles in Kekal, he was also the co-founder of progressive metal project Altera Enigma and was involved with bands such as Armageddon Holocaust and Inner Warfare.
Schaliach was a Christian metal band formed by Peter Dalbakk and Ole Børud from Hamar, Norway. Dalbakk served as the band's vocalist, while Børud handled all the instrumentation. The band released one studio album, Sonrise, in 1996 through Petroleum Records. Three songs from that recording were then featured on the Rowe Productions compilation album Northern Lights: Norwegian Metal Compilation, which was also released in 1996. The band also contributed the song "Purple Filter" to the compilation album In the Shadow of Death: A Scandinavian Extreme Music Compilation, released in 2000 through Endtime Productions. Dalbakk was also part of the unblack metal band Vardøger, and Børud had joined the progressive death metal band Extol and also started a career as a solo artist. The two artists would years later, in 2015, team up again to found the progressive death metal project Fleshkiller. The genre performed by the band was described variously as doom metal, death metal, death-doom, gothic metal, black metal, melodic death metal, and progressive metal. Børud's guitar work was strongly influenced by classical music, with one reviewer describing it as a "metal symphony." Its lyrics were explicitly Christian, drawing heavily from the Bible and emphasizing the love of God for all humans. Schaliach has been compared to the output from Extol, Amorphis, Metallica, Solitude Aeturnus, Dream Theater, Threshold, Shadow Gallery, and Teramaze. Most critics were favorable to Sonrise — it was rated highly by HM writer Matt Morrow and by two reviewers from the Christian website The Phantom Tollbooth, and described by the webzine Chronicles of Chaos as "excellent". However, Rock Hard was less favorable and considered Schaliach boring.
Apolutrosis is the debut album of Aletheian, in 2003. The band was originally known as Crutch.
Sonrise is the debut studio album from the Norwegian Christian metal band Schaliach. It was released in 1996 through Petroleum Records to a mostly positive critical reception. In particular, the guitar work from Ole Børud was praised. In 2005, Momentum Scandinavia re-issued the album with an additional track - "Purple Filter", that originally appeared on a compilation album.
