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So I continue my marathon with the final album of the second stage. Honestly have no expectations. This is a live album, cool setlist, and to be honest absolutely no hype. Is this a good one? Will I enjoy it? Live albums are very hit or miss for me, with All The World's A Stage proving to be a major hit. But I will just enjoy this for what it is, and leave my thoughts below.

Well I have decided to revisit probably my favourite band of the sixties/seventies/eighties. The band that I continually underrate and overlook when talking about "MY VERY FAVOURITE BANDS!" on a far too regular basis (they are without a doubt in my top four). Rush mean the world to me. I cannot think of a single band that has changed my life so much. Their music opened me to a whole new world that I had only glimpsed at before. Through Rush I discovered a real admiration for "classic" rock. Because of Rush I learned about bands like Kansas, Styx, Yes, ELP, Jethro Tull, Saga, Toto and I went through a couple of years listening to nothing else! Bands like Nightwish and Mastodon had already introduced me to epic sounds and journeys through sound, but there is something to be said about Rush that I cannot say about any other band in quite the same way. They sound like NO ONE ELSE! The only band to ever come truly close to sounding like Rush to my ears is YYNot. And that should come as no surprise, as they are highly talented musicians who made their name covering Rush to perfection. But even their debut has its own soul. Every other band I find to have a unique feel have at least in many ways been copied to the extent I could potentially listen to another band and mistake then for my favourite band. But I digress. I have never truly listened to the studio work of Rush from start to finish in chronological order. I shall start with the debut and work forward. Let's use these threads to talk about each album and our opinions! Today I start with the album I have never played in its entirety more than five times: Rush (1974)

So now I am through with the first batch of albums, which I am happy to say were all a lot better than I recalled (even my beloved Caress Of Steel), I am onto the second stage of Rush albums. How am I organising this marathon? For the most part, via the release of live albums (normally released with four albums between each one). Once we get to the Millennium, I will likely review the studio albums alone and the live separately as there was an extraordinary number of live releases! Now back to the topic at hand: A Farewell To Kings. This 1977 release has the honour of being cited for several years as my very favourite Rush album. It is an extraordinary work, and I did for the longest time voice the opinion that it was the only truly great seventies Rush album from start to finish. As you can see, recently I have come to revaluate that opinion, because each release building up to AFTK is superb, to a surprisingly high level of consistency. I know that Caress Of Steel and 2112 got very high scores, and the second side of 2112 especially stood out on my recent listening experience. So much so that I wonder if, now that I am once again very familiar with deeper cuts like Before And After, Tears, In The End, and The Twilight Zone, will songs such as Closer To The Heart, Cinderella Man and Madrigal still cast a spell over me? Only one way to find out!

Is this one of the bands finest albums, or is it iconic only for two aspects: that gamechanging title track and that unforgettable front cover?

After the absolutely breathtaking voyage of rediscovery I had journeying through the waters of Rush's undisputed legendary prog metal years, we now come to the second half of the second stage of my Rush marathon. Which is in itself a very interesting time period for the band. Many may disagree, but for me Permanent Waves is arguably a bit of a disappointing release. Now don't get me wrong, it is a great achievement but at the same time for an album I rate so highly, this is nevertheless one of the very few Rush albums that I have never at any point been addicted too. Why? I cannot say. But even when I disliked Hemispheres, I still found this a less than exciting release. Is that about to change? As we enter a new decade (with arguably the last album of the seventies), we embark upon the opening of a new chapter for Rush: their commercial breakthrough.

http://www.classicrockreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1978_Rush-Hemispheres.jpg An album so complex, intricate and profound it took me nearly eight years to digest. I have had a strange relationship with this record, but it finally clicked with me this year and I must say, it went from near the bottom of the pile to a contender for the very top! I don't really know how to write about this album, because I am fully aware that the majority of this forum reveres it highly. But that hasn't stopped me so far!

Album number eight, and my first Rush album ever, is without any hesitation to admit, a masterpiece. I don't have the most exciting story in the world, but around 2010/11 two bands came into my life and helped me escape falling into boredom musically. Bruce Springsteen and The Beatles. In a short space of time, I became obsessed with both and I was really excited by the prospect of finally loving music that was older than I was used too. I had fallen into listening almost exclusively to modern rock bands, and as time wore on, I felt bored and limited as they were all starting to sound the same. So one day I went on Amazon and bought a tonne of albums in one go, all records I knew to be highly acclaimed. One of them was Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, the other, Moving Pictures. The latter I remember a neighbour I grew up with (only a year or two older than me) loved, because he wore a Rush shirt everywhere with this album cover on it. Metal magazines mentioned Rush often around that time (2011) and bands I love LOVED Rush. So without any prior knowledge of the band or their songs, I put the disc in and I remember distinctly being impressed by the opening seconds of Tom Sawyer. Whatever I had been expecting, it was not something so fresh and still so modern sounding as that. 1981? At that point the album had turned 20. It blew me away! So here we go:

I haven't done this for a while! TIME FOR 2007!

I have a confession to make: I have played hardly any of the live Rush albums. For a fact I can tell you, I started this album once and skipped loads of tracks. It isn't unique to Rush: I tend to find live albums boring. When I started this little review project, I had in mind only the studio albums. But I am loving my marathon so much, I decided to continue my progress in chronological order by listening to all the live albums as well. If I miss any, please let me know!

This is my favourite year in music: 1. Lacuna Coil- Karmacode 2. Mastodon- Blood Mountain 3. Khoma- The Second Wave 4. All That Remains- The Fall Of Ideals 5. Fightstar- Grand Unification Albums that totally are worthy of the top five spot, every one of these is a VERY honourable mention: KillSwitch Engage- As Daylight Dies Trivium- The Crusade In Flames- Come Clarity Matchbook Romance- Voices Toto- Falling In Between Placebo- Meds boysetsfire- The Misery Index: Notes from the Plague Years Rihanna- A Girl Like Me Taking Back Sunday- Louder Now Pearl Jam- Pearl Jam Wolfmother- Wolfmother AFI- decemberunderground Muse- Black Holes And Revelations Stone Sour- Come What(ever) May Alexisonfire- Crisis Iron Maiden- A Matter Of Life And Death Beyonce- B'day Evanescence- The Open Door mewithoutyou- Brother/Sister Saosin- Saosin My Chemical Romance- The Black Parade Taylor Swift- Taylor Swift Brand New- The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me Deftones- Saturday Night Wrist Threat Signal- Under Reprisal The Killers- Sam's Town

BOOM! This is where it gets super tough for me...so much choice! Have fun!

So I thought with the forum being very quiet lately and that we generally enjoy lists and the like, it could be fun to start discussing music of the modern era. We discuss a lot about older music, but many here, such as myself, grew up in the new millennium. As such, I am interested in hearing what everyone enjoyed each year of the first decade of the new century!

So again! Now onto 2001! Music is slowly getting better this year... 1. Lacuna Coil- Unleashed Memories 2. Paradise Lost- Symbol Of Life 3. Jimmy Eat World- Bleed American 4. Sonata Arctica- Silence 5. No Doubt- Rock Steady Honourable mentions: Aaliyah- Aaliyah Destiny's Child- Survivor

1. Lacuna Coil- Comalies 2. Nightwish- Century Child 3. Rush- Vapor Trails 4. Idlewild- The Remote Part 5. Bruce Springsteen- The Rising Just short of the top five: Mastodon- Remission Dream Theater- Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence So many great album from this year!

I AM GOING TO REVISE MY THREE PREVIOUS LISTS. THANK YOU J2112YYZ FOR THE WIKIPEDIA TIP! 2003 was a ridiculously amazing year of music for me. Two of my top five albums here make their place due to the impact they had on my listening experiences that year (Beyonce and Evanescence). All these years later, I still love those two albums. Thrice and Sonata Arctica were VERY close. But so were many others. 2003 stands out for the brilliance that was AFI releasing a punk album awash with goth influence that managed to sound like nothing else, as well as the brilliant return to form from Machine Head (though the album was buried by subsequent releases). The Juliana Theory released their major label debut only to sink without a trace (the world's loss), and HIM released what I thought would be my album of the year (I didn't realise AFI and Juliana were 2003 releases). 1. AFI- Sing The Sorrow 2. HIM- Love Metal 3. The Juliana Theory- Love 4. Beyonce- Dangerously In Love 5. Evanescence- Fallen The Gathering- Souviners Linkin Park- Meteora Sonata Arctica- Winterheart's Guild Brand New- Deja Entendu Thrice- The Artist In The Ambulance Death Cab For Cutie- Transatlanticism Machine Head- Through The Ashes Of Empires Dream Theater- Train Of Thought

1. Sonata Arctica- Reckoning Night =. Within Temptation- The Silent Force 3. Jimmy Eat World- Futures 4. Alter Bridge- One Day Remains 5. Mastodon- Leviathan Such a strong year for me! Every one of these albums were worthy contenders: KillSwitch Engage- The End Of Heartache Nightwish- Once My Chemical Romance- Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge The Killers- Hot Fuss Arcade Fire- Funeral Green Day- American Idiot The Used- In Love And Death Leaves' Eyes- Lovelorn

So I've loved this forum for many reasons. The biggest reason, after the cool guys I've met, is the music. When I came to this forum I thought I had a very diverse music taste. Nearly four years later, I feel like I don't know enough! So, here are my favourite bands I've come to know since joining: Black Crowes King's X Kansas Post-power Windows Rush Tom Petty Dream Theater (possibly my favourite love hate relationship ever) Styx Dokken Ratt Tonnes of cool stuff Treeduck listens too

10. Mastodon- Cold Dark Place The Emperor Of Sand was a decent release, and I will be honest, I nearly put it at 10 as a double with this glorious EP. But that is the issue, this EP is so good I didn't need to second guess if or where it should have been placed. Like all great EP's, the only flaw I can think of is that I would have liked more from them in this very personal vein. 8/10 9. As Lions- Selfish Age http://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/as-lions-selfish-age.jpg Bruce Dickinson's son formed a new band. And they are not remotely original, but they are very good pop-metal songwriters, and Austin Dickinson is blessed with tremendous pipes, not unlike his dad's, but with all his own personality. 8/10 8. Royal Thunder- WICK http://www.spinefarmrecords.com/usa/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/2.jpg I love Royal Thunder, and WICK might just be the bands finest work to date! It has received an excellent response from both mainstream and underground critics, which is quite surprising, as this rather heavy album doesn't try to please, with its Mastodon meets Fleetwood Mac as they clash in the american south sound and the raspy vocals of lead frontwoman Miny Parson's about as unpretty as they come. Still, a truly great album that for a little while was my sure winner for Album Of The Year title. 8/10 7. Soen- Lykaia http://www.metalinjection.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/soenlykaiacd.jpg I know very little about this band. What I do know is that Soen create beautiful songs that sound only an inch away from having mainstream crossover potential. Beautiful, soaring, delicate, this is what I love about a lot of Scandinavian music. The melancholy really suits my palate. 9/10 6. Leprous- Malina http://www.themidlandsrocks.com/wp-content/uploads/Leprous-%E2%80%93-Malina.jpg Of all the bands and albums on this list, this is my most recent first time listen. And I can imagine burning out fast on this band, because they are so addictive, there is a high chance I could overplay it. But with killer songs like Bonneville, Mirage, Malina and the killer Queen meets Muse hooks of Illuminate, I cannot quite imagine ever being completely over this record. Melodic and instantly gratifying, Leprous create a sound that lacks originality, but they make up for it instead with great vocals, stunning musicianship, and a lot of rather off kilter moments that ensure the listener is kept attentive throughout. 9/10 5. Paradise Lost- Medusa http://www.metalinjection.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/paradiselostmedusacd.jpg Paradise Lost are my favourite metal band, and I will always support them, even though I found Tragic Idol a pretty great, if verging on generic, goth metal record, and the Plague Within an almost impenetrable wall of sound, one that lacked the bands signature use of melody that helped them win over a wide audience. But whilst Medusa arguably offers more of the same, they somehow do it better. Fearless Sky, The Longest Winter, Blood And Chaos...there is a purity to this record that ensures that, whilst it remains a VERY heavy return to their doom metal roots, minor fragments of their melodic past shine brighter in the mix. In my opinion, Medusa is a high work of art and incredibly beautiful. The finest Paradise Lost album since 2009's Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us. 9/10 4. Trivium- The Sin And The Sentence http://www.hmv.com.hk/data/upload/goods_photos/2017-10-30/59f6bce474742.jpg Trivium are very easy to hate. After two albums that catered almost embarrassingly to the metal mainstream (the rather tepid, if catchy Vengeance Falls and the undeservedly maligned The Silence In The Snow), Trivium return to their best form: killer hooks, huge riffs, and experimental ambition. Songs such as Sever The Hand, The Revanchist, Thrown Into The Fire and the terrific title track hark back to their genre defining earlier efforts Ascendancy and Shogun, which helped to bridge the gap between the growingly tiresome metalcore movement and the great thrash and prog-metal bands of the eighties/nineties. Trivium, however, did not become popular without a little help from killer melodic hooks, and this album balances the poppier sound that helped them breakthrough into the general mainstream with their more ambitious side. Beyond Oblivion, Other Worlds and The Heart From Your Hate could all have been, in an alternate universe, radio hits, whilst The Betrayer, Beauty In The Sorrow and Endless Night take the shameless commercial blandness of their less esteemed material, and pump them up with adrenaline and more complex arrangements. Lead vocalist Matt Heafy has always been, in my opinion at least, one of modern metals most endearing vocalists, and with The Sin And The Sentence he gives his best ever vocals. But the true star of the album is the new drummer Alex Bent, who injects a startling amount of energy into this record. The bands finest album since 2008's masterful Shogun. 9/10 3. Taylor Swift- Reputation Few on this forum will appreciate my love for this girl. But this is exactly the album she needed to release, and lyrically she bites, croons, sulks and laughs, often at herself, to the sound of the eighties as heard by the leaders of the modern EDM movement. ...Ready For It, I Did Something Bad, Endgame and the divisive Look What You Made Me Do are killer pop songs, whilst Delicate, Gorgeous and the rather wondrous Getaway Car hark back to her roots. Album highlight for me is Delicate. 10/10 2. AFI- AFI (aka "The Blood Album") AFI are one of the defining bands of my youth. Black Sails In The Sunset, Sing The Sorrow and the wildly successful Decemberunderground have all been addictions I have joyously battled in the past, these records often never leave my player for months at a time. But the same cannot be said for the bands last two records: the underappreciated, if pedestrian Crash Love and the rather clumsy Burials. But they came back to the top with their self-titled 2017 release. Every single track is great, the entire record hums to its own tune, and the band sounds both nostalgic and revitalised by a sudden surge of new inspiration. Dark Snow, Aurelia, Snow Cats (possibly my song of the year!) and the closing slower number The Wind That Carries Me Away all stand out. But the truth of the matter is that AFI is an album full of nothing but standouts. Punkier, and even catchier, than they have been in years, there is also a return to their gothic roots that inspires me, and the end result is not only one of my favourite albums of the year, but also my favourite AFI album to date. 1. Fleet Foxes- Crack Up Fleet Foxes really delivered with Crack Up. I don't just mean they released a great album, rather, they released a true masterpiece, which is something I felt they were incapable of doing again. Three classic albums in a row. Folkier, proggier and even more emotional than they have ever been before, Fleet Foxes may never be able to top this. If You Need To, Keep Time On Me, Fool's Errand and the astonishingly beautiful Third Of May/Odaigahara are all great songs. But Crack Up has got to be consumed whole. I have had a shockingly painful year. I have suffered the worst abuse, nearly died, lost my head completely at several points and made some grave errors of judgement. 2017 has been the worst year of my adult life thus far. But I also found love (thank you John), and no album could have done a better job at soundtracking the schizophrenic nature of my year better than this. 10/10

Many will be shocked by mine. 2006. Why? 1. Lacuna Coil- Karmacode 2. Khoma- The Second Wave 3. Mastodon- Blood Mountain 4. Taking Back Sunday- Louder Now 5. Trivium- The Crusade 6. Killswitch Engage- As Daylight Dies 7. Iron Maiden- A Matter Of Life And Death 8. In Flames- Come Clarity 9. My Chemical Romance- Welcome To The Black Parade 10. AFI- Decemberunderground 11. Brand New- The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me 12. Evanescence- The Open Door 13. Muse- Black Holes And Revelations 14. All That Remains- The Fall Of Ideals 15. Celtic Frost- Monotheist 16. Katatonia- The Great Cold Distance 17. The Sword- The Age Of Winters 18. SiKth- Death Of A Dead Day 19. Textures- Drawing Circles 20. Mogwai- Mr Beast So many other great albums released that year, and also 2005 and 2007 were great too. I just loved 2006! EDIT: OH MY DAYS I FORGOT: 21. Fightstar- Grand Unification 22. Placebo- Meds 23. Deftones- Saturday Night Wrist 24. Alexisonfire- Crisis 25. Peeping Tom- Peeping Tom 26. Bleeding Through- The Truth

Wowsers! Really digging Rush hard after like...two years not really listening. In two days: 6 albums! LOVED THEM ALL! How I rank them: 6. Presto 5. Permanent Waves 4. Power Windows 3. Roll The Bones 2. A Farewell To Kings 1. Hold Your Fire Now move along this thread sucks just felt like sounding enthused for a damn moment.

So this week, one of the defining bands of my generation, and also the biggest selling band of this century to date, werr dealt a painful blow. But we have a thread about that. This is about the band. Of which I doubt there are too many fans of on TRF. But what do you guys think of Linkin Park? For me, they are up there with the likes of U2 or REM, as a band that took various influences and forged there own last identity, in spite of experimentation. I love this band. I've really reconnected with them this week. They used to be a major favourite and I now realise...they still are. My favourite album is likely A Thousand Suns. But aside from the recent, possibly final album, One More Light, I love everything.

Okay dokay! Let's have some fun and let's have some classic TRF arguments! Your own personal top three bands from the UK: 1. Paradise Lost 2. Idlewild 3. The Beatles This might change............. Have fun!

An amazing event occurred today. Segue Myles hit a milestone on TRF. 30000 posts Yes, that's correct. 3-0-0-0-0 For those of you who can't read numbers, that would be Thirty Thousand. ;) Congratulations, Segue! Since you don't appear to be a beer slugging kind of guy, have a few martinis. :martini: :martini: :martini: :martini: :martini: :martini: :cheerleader: :yay: :cheerleader: :yay: :cheerleader: :yay: :cheerleader: P.S. I couldn't get any gifs to work. They've changed the format since I've been MIA. My apologies, Segue.

Ok for many this might be a head scratcher. But I happen to love a lot of Finnish music (Scandinavian in general tbh): 1. Nightwish 2. HIM 3. Sonata Arctica

JUNE 21st , 2016 - KANSAS, America’s legendary progressive rock band, will release their intensely anticipated new studio album “The Prelude Implicit” on September 23, 2016. The album is the first new release in 16 years for the band that has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, and is famous for classic hits such as ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ and ‘Dust In the Wind,’ to progressive epics like ‘Song for America’ and ‘Miracles Out of Nowhere.’ “The Prelude Implicit” features 10 all new tracks written by the band and co-produced by Zak Rizvi, Phil Ehart, and Richard Williams. KANSAS’s signature sound is evident throughout the album. It showcases Ronnie Platt’s soaring lead vocals, David Ragsdale’s blistering violin, Williams and Rizvi’s rocking guitar riffs, the unmistakable sound of David Manion’s B3 organ and keyboards, Ehart’s thundering drums, and Billy Greer’s driving bass and vocals. KANSAS returned to the studio in January 2016 after signing with Inside Out Music. Says Inside Out founder and president Thomas Waber, “KANSAS is the biggest and most important Prog band to come out of the United States. I grew up listening to them, and their music is part of my DNA. ‘The Prelude Implicit’ undoubtedly adds to their already impressive musical legacy. I can’t stop listening to it, and we are proud to be releasing the album.” The result of the time in the studio was even more than the band imagined. “This is definitely a KANSAS album,” remarks original guitarist Richard Williams. “Whether it is the trademark Prog epic like ‘The Voyage of Eight Eighteen,’ biting rocker such as ‘Rhythm in the Spirit,’ or mindful ballad like ‘The Unsung Heroes,’ there is something on this album for every kind of KANSAS fan. After years of pent-up creativity, the entire band is very proud of ‘The Prelude Implicit.’” Lead Vocalist Ronnie Platt adds, “Recording ‘The Prelude Implicit’ was an incredible experience, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. It is my hope that, knowing the intense listeners that KANSAS fans are, the continuity yet diversity of this album will be pleasing to them.” The album title, The Prelude Implicit means, "Without a doubt, this is a new musical beginning," explains Ehart. Tattoo artist, Denise de la Cerda, did the oil painting of the front and back cover. “It shows a Phoenix flying from the past into the future.” “The Prelude Implicit” will be released September 23, 2016, on Inside Out Music and is distributed by RED. The album will be available on CD, Double 180 Gram Vinyl, and digitally on iTunes and Google Play. Pre-order opportunities will be available starting later this summer at KansasBand.com and Amazon.com. The Prelude Implicit Track Listing: “With This Heart” “Visibility Zero” “The Unsung Heroes” “Rhythm in the Spirit” “Refugee” “The Voyage of Eight Eighteen” “Camouflage” “Summer” “Crowded Isolation” “Section 60”