Artist : Dwight Twilley Country : USA Release : Blueprint Year : 1979 Genre : Rock File Type : mp3 320 Info:
Twilley as a solo act, released Twilley for Arista in 1979 and Scuba
Divers for EMI America in 1982, and found success again with Jungle in
1984, when he scored his second hit with "Girls." Wild Dogs went
unnoticed on its 1986 release by CBS Associated Records. In addition,
Twilley recorded an album in 1980, Blueprint, that remains unreleased
and contributed one track to the 1992 Wayne's World soundtrack, "Why You
Want to Break My Heart." In 1993, DCC released The Great Lost Twilley
Album, which collected a fraction of the "hundreds" of unreleased songs
Twilley and Seymour recorded in the early, ill-fated days. Two newly
recorded songs appeared on the best-of collection XXI (The Right Stuff)
in 1996, and in 1999, Twilley released both another rarities collection,
Between the Cracks, Vol. 1 (Not Lame Archives), and his first new album
in 13 years, Tulsa (Copper). In 2001, Twilley released The Luck (Big
Oak), an album he had actually completed in 1994. The seasonal EP Have a
Twilley Christmas (DMI) appeared in 2004, followed by Twilley's ninth
studio album, 47 Moons, in 2005.
Artist : Arena Country : UK Release : Pride Year : 1996 Genre : Hard Rock File Type : mp3 320 Info:
This is Arena's best progressive rock work. Later albums are great, but
tend more toward pop (although not quite exactly pop for those of you
who may be scared away by the term). Empire of a Thousand Days and
Sirens are classic prog. The a capella Crying for Help is very well
sung.Whereas their first album, Songs from the Lions Cage, is very good,
this album, Pride, is not. In fact, it's not even close. All of Arena's
other albums are much better than this one. There are a few somewhat
redeeming moments on this album that can be found in the songs Crying
for Help 5 & 6, Medusa, and Sirens. However, your money will be
better spent on their latest album, Contagion, which is excellent.
Artist : Vanden Plas Country : Germany Release : Christ 0 [Reissue] Year : 2006 Genre : Heavy Metal File Type : mp3 320 Info:
If you want to do justice to the significance of prog metal act Vanden
Plas from Kaiserslautern, it doesn’t really make sense to restrict
yourself to their accomplishments in Germany alone. The band surrounding
vocalist Andreas Kuntz have succeeded in making a name for themselves
on an international level, enjoy almost cult status in France, have been
touring all over Europe with established acts like Dream Theater,
Savatage and Angra and can point to a number of impressive releases,
among them four studio albums, a live cut, an unplugged recording, and
several EPs. With their latest offering, Vanden Plas once again
emphasise their leading position on the international prog scene,
opening an exciting new chapter in their band history. Christ.0 contains
nine brand-new prog metal tracks which stand out with their brilliant
melodies, exquisite instrumental passages and intelligent arrangements.
Artist : Dream Theater
Country : USA
Release : Uncovered 2003-2005
Year : 2005
Genre : Heavy Metal
File Type : mp3 320
Info:
If you're familiar with Dream Theater's history (and I assume you are
if you're checking out their Official Bootlegs here), you know they make
some absolutely phenomenal cover songs. From the songs on Change of
Seasons to the Black Clouds & Silver Linings (3 CD Special Edition)
bonus disc to the series of releases where the band took on a classic
album, Dream Theater always does a great job covering an interesting
array of songs and artists. With Uncovered 2003-2005, we get ten more
cover songs recorded live during various stops on Dream Theater's world
tours. Here's the breakdown:
1. Death on Two Legs (Queen) - This
was an interesting choice, but as much as a love James Labrie's vocals
he just doesn't fit on this one.
2. Heart of the Sunrise (Yes) - This
is such a landmark progressive rock song, and the band absolutely nails
it. This is worth the price of the album by itself.
3. Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath) - Another knockout cover, and one of my favorite songs too. Awesome.
4.
Paradox (Kansas) - I'd have preferred one of the more epic songs from
Masque, but it's cool to hear Dream Theater take on Kansas again.
5.
Mother, Father (Journey) - As much as I love Journey, this one was hard
on the ears. It is just not the right song for James's voice.
6.
Machine Messiah (Yes) - Wow, going for a song from Drama is an unusual
choice, but a good heavy song that's perfect for Jordan Rudess to shine.
7.
Since I've Been Loving You (Led Zeppelin) - A nice, slow, bluesy jam
that Labrie totally owns. I didn't know he had it in him!
8. Diary of
a Madman (Ozzy Osbourne) - Just a really solid performance all-around.
They gave it a spooky, almost symphonic treatment.
9. Cemetery Gates
(Pantera) - This Gigantour performance features guest appearances from
Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory), Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) and Russell
Allen (Symphony X).
10. Won't Get Fooled Again (The Who) - Taken from
Dream Theater's co-headlining tour with Queensryche, this one features
Queensryche and DT together and is a great way to close out the album.
Artist : Dream Theater
Country : USA
Release : Train Of Thought
Year : 2003
Genre : Heavy Metal
File Type : mp3 320
Info:
2-disc edition. Clocking in at 7 tracks in just under 70 minutes, Train
of Thought is a leaner offering than the band's previous release, the
mammoth Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. It's also heavier, more
focused, more song-oriented, and more powerful overall than Six Degrees,
which at times came across as a just a showcase for the band's
considerable technical prowess. Train of Thought still has plenty of
excellent instrumental passages (like the brilliant instrumental track
"Stream of Consciousness"), and is still very much a progressive album;
it's just that the instrumentals seem to merge better with the vocals to
make each song more dynamic and effective. Each band member is clearly
in top form on this release, and it's obvious that they all have
continued to grow their talents over time. The band also seems to focus
on the more metallic aspects of progressive metal with this album, which
may be their heaviest release ever. Dream Theater had been performing
covers of albums like Master of Puppets (Metallica) and The Number of
the Beast (Iron Maiden) on some of their recent live shows, and you can
hear that classic metal influence quite clearly in Train of Thought.
Artist : Dream Theater
Country : USA
Release : The ATCO Demos
Year : 2002
Genre : Heavy Metal
File Type : mp3 320
Info:
These three songs were recorded as a demo deal struck with the then
Atco Label. The basic tracks were recorded by producer David Prater, in a
single session at Beartracks Studios, Suffern, New York, in May 1991.
Guitars, Keyboards and overdubs were recorded at Prater’s 16-track
basement home studio in New Jersey. The demo’s were then submitted to
the label, and on the strength of these three tracks, a recording deal
was immediately struck. Here, for the very first time, the original demo
is officially re-issued, in 2002, as a strictly limited edition – which
is only available through the Dream Theater International Fan Clubs –
to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Images and Words album.
Monday, November 07, 2016
