Stryper frontman, Michael Sweet, released Ten – his tenth solo studio album, on 11 October.
Do yourself a favour and head over to Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives here and scroll his biography. So many releases, and with such consistency spanning a professional music making career of 35+ years. That is amazing!
I wonder what freedom he sought when he commented in a 2016 interview with The Aquarian Weekly about why he enjoyed making solo records: “it’s an opportunity to free myself up a little bit more… and try some things that Stryper may not be able to try.” In a recent interview with Mark of The Rockpit, Australia, Sweet said that each song on the new album was written with a different guitarist in mind. If you look at the track list, you’ll notice that “Better Part Of Me” features Jeff Loomis of Arch Enemy (and technical death metal supergroup, Conquering Dystopia) for instance. The risk then might be that each new guitarist’s unique style would result in divergent contributions to the album. As a songwriter, Sweet was able to unify the differing creative impulses into a cohesive whole. I agree with him when he says that “they all work and flow perfectly well together”. You can read the full interview here.
What would we become if allowed to grow into our own passions? Lance King raises this tantalising question right off the bat in his second solo album, “ReProgram” that was released on 29 March 2019. His concern for the death of a child’s creativity is underscored in the music. I hear the dread in the volleys of driving kick drum and plaintive keyboards, while the guitars point accusatory fingers at a dystopian status quo where conformity trumps originality.
Whether fast and heavy or slow and atmospheric, this album is sure to please whether in a depressive or manic state. Great musicianship and excellent vocals, this album is great with a cup of joe to prepare yourself for a journey.
Neal Morse is a storied musician, having started his career as a member of Spock’s Beard in the nineties. He became a born-again Christian in 2002 and his religious convictions steered him on a path to start producing music infused with his faith. Neal has a prolific discography, and 2019 sees the release of his progressive rock musical, Jesus Christ the Exorcist. This double album has been 10 years in the making.
Some time last year I searched the internet for female-fronted metal bands. The results included Nightwish, Dark Sarah, Arch Enemy and Cellar Darling. From those, Cellar Darling had me the most curious. I read that they had incorporated such curiosities as the hurdy-gurdy in their songs, and because I have a taste for lute and other baroque instruments I took a listen. I should have persisted longer, allowing the whole of “This Is The Sound” to make an impression on me. Unfortunately, “Avalanche” is all I remember now. I cannot say why, but One More Time’s song, “Highland” came to mind at the time. Despite what you might think, this is a good thing. It seemed to me that Cellar Darling were bringing something other than operatic vocals to melodic metal. I still have this impression, listening to “The Spell”.