Which Discs Should I Start With???

[i am fabio]

Okay first off let me say that I am 21 years old and discovered Power Metal about three years ago. In the beginning I was pretty much a fan of Power Metal and hadn't really explored the genres surrounding such as Progressive, Symphonic, Death, Thrash (excluding Metallica's old stuff). I guess what I am getting at is that after listening to some of the great bands I started out listening to such as Symphony X, Sonata, Blind Guardian, Angra, one begins to wonder what else is out there. I'm thinking to myself if I didn't know about all these great bands two years ago, I wonder what else is out there. That's when I got online and discovered ProgPower. This opened my eyes to many many other great bands. Slowly I have been branching out and am now listening to alot more Progressive stuff as well some Thrash. Alright enough of my story...the real reason for this post is to get some help deciding which discs to start with from a few that are playing BARfest and also a few that I just thought you all may know somethings about. Some bands that I really like what i have heard but haven't had the pleasure of purchasing anything from YET are:

-Zero Hour (saw them at PP last year and thought they were awesome, also seemed like really cool guys from what I could gather)
-Enchant (saw a DVD by these guys at the local record store the other day and was wondering if this would be a good way to start, I think it was titled "Live at Last")
-Twilightning (have heard some stuff from this band on an online radio station and was really liking it)
-Jag Panzer (have heard alot of talk about how underrated this band is so I gave them a listen, and was liking it)

I'm sure you guys will be able to help me out and I look forward to your feedback and also can't wait for the upcoming shows in March and May....I'm soooooooo Stoked!!!

[SharkBlack]

Get Some Spocks Beard!
Day For Night
The Light
V

And get some from the band that Dave is about to announce, they rule! haha!!

The new Zero Hour is a monster! Heavy!

Check out the Progpower bands this year too... Sonata Arctica, Pagan's Mind, Redemption... The latest from all these are a good place to start

[Bear]

My favorites from Zero Hour are Metamorphosis & Towers of Avarice. great music there, I am still getting into the new stuff, you cant really go wrong if your into technical Prog Metal.

Twilightning. Get Delirium Veil, its the only one thats good to my ears, I like that one alot though.

Enchant. My favorites are Blueprint,Wounded, Blink of an Eye. Dropping 9 Juggling 10 is cool also, as well as Tug of War. Maybe get the Live at Last it will give you a retrospective.

Jag Panzer, I have a few releases from them but nothing really ever got on hard with me, its good but I don't go back and visit it alot. Mechanized Warfare is my fav, Thane to the Throne and Chain of Command are must haves if your into that type of Power metal.

Check out Machine Men, Circus Maximus too

Bear

[i am fabio]

Thanks guys! I do own alot of this years PP stuff as you suggested Shark, such as all the Sonata discs and all the PM discs and I own one from Redemption and plan on getting their new one when I go to see them in March. As for Spock's Beard......never really heard their stuff, but will check it out later after work. Also Bear you suggest Machine Men who I own two discs from and plan on getting their new one as well. Circus Maximus is one I don't have that I will definitely check out. As for those I needed a little help with, thanks for your suggestions. I will probably be making an order soon so I can get the albums before the March show.

I think I will probably go with two Zero Hour discs ( ), one of the older one's that you mentioned and the newest one as well. As for Twilightning, Delirium Veil was the one I was leaning towards (that's their first one right?). I'll probably pick up the Enchant DVD because of the convenience of it being at the local record store (I won't have to wait three weeks for it) and go from there. Also I will take your suggestion on the JP disc because I have no idea where to start with this one. I really look forward to letting the inner prog. out in me. Can't wait for the upcoming shows. If anyone else has any input i would appreciate it also. Thanks Again!

[Rick Pierpont]

Originally Posted by i am fabio

Thanks guys! I do own alot of this years PP stuff as you suggested Shark, such as all the Sonata discs and all the PM discs and I own one from Redemption and plan on getting their new one when I go to see them in March. As for Spock's Beard......never really heard their stuff, but will check it out later after work. Also Bear you suggest Machine Men who I own two discs from and plan on getting their new one as well. Circus Maximus is one I don't have that I will definitely check out. As for those I needed a little help with, thanks for your suggestions. I will probably be making an order soon so I can get the albums before the March show.

I think I will probably go with two Zero Hour discs ( ), one of the older one's that you mentioned and the newest one as well. As for Twilightning, Delirium Veil was the one I was leaning towards (that's their first one right?). I'll probably pick up the Enchant DVD because of the convenience of it being at the local record store (I won't have to wait three weeks for it) and go from there. Also I will take your suggestion on the JP disc because I have no idea where to start with this one. I really look forward to letting the inner prog. out in me. Can't wait for the upcoming shows. If anyone else has any input i would appreciate it also. Thanks Again!

Yeah, I'm looking forward to the new Redemption too!

As for Spock's Beard, they are bit more from the old school of prog rock. Remind of old Yes at times (mostly their older material). Seeing that you are more of a metal fan, I suggest to start with V. Definitely my favorite! Day For Night and The Light are also really good (more of the old Yes sound in those disks).

CIRCUS MAXIMUS!!! Awesome, awesome disk!! A MUST!! I really can't wait for their new disk either!

As for ZH, I love all of them, but definitely start with Specs and Towers! Two technical prog masterpieces. If you are more keys oriented, you may want to really think about Metamorphosis over Towers. A Fragile Mind is also good, but Idefinitely prefer the other three over it.

I love the Enchant DVD and I think it will give you a great overview of their career. You will also get an appreciation for their technical ability as well. Ted is a MONSTER live! One of my favorite live vocal performances EVER! After that, go with Bear's suggested order.

Jag Panzer is a strong contender in the American Power Metal scene and I have seen them twice. A fun band to watch live, but not enough to make me go buy a CD.

If you are looking for some crazier prog, may I suggest Spiral Architect? It is over-the-top technical, so much that I didn't think I'd like it. I was wrong!

For more crazy prog in a different vein, go for some Pain of Salvation! Yes, people I said it! I hated this band when I first heard them, but gave them another try when The Perfect Element Pt. 1 came out (and they were headlining PP1) and they won me over. After that go back and get Entropia and One Hour by the Concrete Lake. The new one sounds pretty good too, but I've been too busy to seriously digest it. Not a big fan of Be though.

OK, I think we have all spent enough of your money now! Enjoy! Looking forward to meeting you in May!

[i am fabio]

Hey Rick, thanks a whole lot for your suggestions. It's much appreciated. New Redemption As for your description of Spocks Beard.........if it sounds like old Yes then I will most likely enjoy it. My Dad is a huge Yes fan and I grew up listening to stuff like that. As you suggested though, I will start with V and then maybe check out some of the older Yes sounding stuff later. As for CM.....A MUST! you say? Well that settles it . Do they have only one disc out? I will check them out as my budget allows. You guys aren't the first to suggest them to me so I guess the time has come to pony up the dough. Good to hear how much you enjoyed the Enchant DVD. I will most likely be picking it up today.......so that means I will be viewing it tonight........after many beers of course . Spiral Architect.....don't know much about them but I will check their website out maybe they got some songs to check out. PoS.........have heard many things about this band but have never had a chance to check them out *added to the list*. Again I appreciate you helping me spend my money and I most definitely look forward to meeting you in May. Also, I very much look forward to the Odins Court set. I checked out the songs from your MySpace and really liked what I heard. Are you guys gonna have some OC discs available at the event? If so I will have to pick one up. Here's to BARfest and the killer lineup

[BARfest]

Originally Posted by i am fabio

Hey Rick, thanks a whole lot for your suggestions. It's much appreciated. New Redemption As for your description of Spocks Beard.........if it sounds like old Yes then I will most likely enjoy it. My Dad is a huge Yes fan and I grew up listening to stuff like that. As you suggested though, I will start with V and then maybe check out some of the older Yes sounding stuff later. As for CM.....A MUST! you say? Well that settles it . Do they have only one disc out? I will check them out as my budget allows. You guys aren't the first to suggest them to me so I guess the time has come to pony up the dough. Good to hear how much you enjoyed the Enchant DVD. I will most likely be picking it up today.......so that means I will be viewing it tonight........after many beers of course . Spiral Architect.....don't know much about them but I will check their website out maybe they got some songs to check out. PoS.........have heard many things about this band but have never had a chance to check them out *added to the list*. Again I appreciate you helping me spend my money and I most definitely look forward to meeting you in May. Also, I very much look forward to the Odins Court set. I checked out the songs from your MySpace and really liked what I heard. Are you guys gonna have some OC discs available at the event? If so I will have to pick one up. Here's to BARfest and the killer lineup

Glad to hear you discovering the new genre of music-- I had a similar revelation a few years ago when I discovered ProgPower and saw Spocks Beard open for DT-- I had no idea that ANY of these bands were out there-- I had pretty much stopped at Dream Theater and Queensryche.. Once I listened to Kamelot, Stratovarius, Sonata, Enchant, Angra and Nightwish I was blown away-- These are exciting times in music my friend!! Look forward to meeting you at the shows--

[Rick Pierpont]

Originally Posted by i am fabio

Hey Rick, thanks a whole lot for your suggestions. It's much appreciated. New Redemption As for your description of Spocks Beard.........if it sounds like old Yes then I will most likely enjoy it. My Dad is a huge Yes fan and I grew up listening to stuff like that. As you suggested though, I will start with V and then maybe check out some of the older Yes sounding stuff later. As for CM.....A MUST! you say? Well that settles it . Do they have only one disc out? I will check them out as my budget allows. You guys aren't the first to suggest them to me so I guess the time has come to pony up the dough. Good to hear how much you enjoyed the Enchant DVD. I will most likely be picking it up today.......so that means I will be viewing it tonight........after many beers of course . Spiral Architect.....don't know much about them but I will check their website out maybe they got some songs to check out. PoS.........have heard many things about this band but have never had a chance to check them out *added to the list*. Again I appreciate you helping me spend my money and I most definitely look forward to meeting you in May. Also, I very much look forward to the Odins Court set. I checked out the songs from your MySpace and really liked what I heard. Are you guys gonna have some OC discs
available at the event? If so I will have to pick one up. Here's to BARfest and the killer lineup

You're welcome! Hope they help.

Cool, if you are into the more old school prog rock sound, then you should definitely like SB. Since you are a fan of old Yes, you may even want to start with one of the older disks. V kinda bridges the gap between the old SB sound and the new.

Circus Maximus! Hell yeah dude! Awesome band and awesome disk. If you like Symphony X and Dream Theater, you will likely have no problems with this disk. The influences ring through, but I still think they have their own sound. Yes, they only have one disk out, but they played some new material at PP this past Sept. I'm sure the next release isn't too far off (I hope).

Enchant has been one of my favorites since I discovered them in the late 90s. I was so excited about the DVD since that is the only way I've been able to see them live (so far). May 4, 2007 and that will all be changed! Assuming you picked it up, what did you like the most about them and the disk? Besides the beers......

Good luck on the Spiral Architect hunt. I'm sure that you can hunt down something from them somewhere.

I'll also be interested to hear your take on PoS. They are very much a love/hate kind of band. And usually an acquired taste. Well worth it though!

No problem! Cool! Its going to be a blast!I love playing live so I look forward to sharing our set with so many new people (many of which I already know). I'm very happy that you like what you've heard too! I know all the bands say this, but I really can't wait for you to hear our new material that we are currently recording! Yes, we will have merchandise with us. We'll probably bring some shirts (same guy who does Symphony X's shirts), DVDs, and CDs.

Here, here!! I'll drink to BAR Fest and ultra-killer lineup in an awesome city!

[i am fabio]

Originally Posted by BARfest

Glad to hear you discovering the new genre of music-- I had a similar revelation a few years ago when I discovered ProgPower and saw Spocks Beard open for DT-- I had no idea that ANY of these bands were out there-- I had pretty much stopped at Dream Theater and Queensryche.. Once I listened to Kamelot, Stratovarius, Sonata, Enchant, Angra and Nightwish I was blown away-- These are exciting times in music my friend!! Look forward to meeting you at the shows--

Yeah, by far my best discovery yet!!! Can't believe that this music was out there all along and I hadn't the slightest clue up until a little over three years ago. That is why I take it upon myself now, as much as possible, to spread the joys of these awesome genres to those who are blind as I once was. I agree very exciting times for us Metal fans......things seem to be moving in a very positive direction. Can't wait to meet all of you guys. In the past I have been kind of a guy that keeps to himself at events and just pretty much socializes with those who I go to the shows with. But with the birth of this great festival I have decided to change my ways in order to help make this a huge success. Plus I see how all of you talk to eachother like you are great friends and I think that is too cool.