Song of Last Week (oops!) 7/7-7/13/13: Mrs McGrath (SuidAkrA cover)

(this is what happens when I forget to press "publish")

 When I recently picked up SuidAkrA's latest album, Eternal Defiance, I was absolutely blown away by its bonus track, a cover of the old Irish folk song "Mrs McGrath."

Song of the Week: 'MURRICA

It was the obvious choice to use the Star-Spangled Banner for the week that July 4th falls on, but here's an incredible version performed by Iced Earth which many out there may not have heard before (but should!).  They've managed to add that extra little bit of "HELL YEAH" factor into the song, while still staying true to the original composition (which so many renditions sadly fail to do).  The harmonizing of the guitars and the way the drumrolls are done toward the end are particularly awesome.  So anyway, without further ado:

Song of the Week! Origami, "Потерянный Рай," 23-29 Jun 2013

Bringing back this old feature!  So it's already Thursday night, but I've listened to it several times throughout the week so it still counts, yeah?

So anyways, here we have an acoustic version of a ballad from a metal band from Russia, who have a Japanese name. And you know what? It's a damn good song, even if you don't understand the words. And if you do? The feels, man.  And that breakdown that begins at around the 2:43 mark to 3:35?  Beautifully executed.


And of course, just to be completely fair to the song, here's the (even more amazing) studio version for compare:

Song of the Week: 01/14/07 - 01/20/07

The song for the week is....

Tightrope by Tetsu69

This is one of the first singles by the J-Rock musician Tetsu69, also the bassist of the immensely popular band L'Arc~en~Ciel. This song is great, even if you don't know Japanese. The heavy parts, during the pre-chorus, the high-pitched distant guitars during the refrain; everything about the music in this song is just awesome. If you know what he's saying though, it makes the song infinitely better; especially given its use as the ending theme for the movie "Gensomaden Saiyuki: Requiem for the One Not Chosen."

Hear the song: Tightrope official music video on Youtube (the audio's a bit low, though)

Understand what the hell he's saying (lol): AnimeLyrics.com translation

Meet the artist: Tetsu69 official site (unfortunately the old site's gone, and replace by an ad for his new single...)

Buy the CD: Wonderful World on CD Japan

Credits: Tetsu69, and AnimeLyrics.com for the translation

Song of the Week! 01/07/07 - 01/13/07

The song of the week this time is:

Black Diamond by Stratovarius

This has always been one of my favorite songs! Words cannot do this tune justice; one must hear it themselves to fully realize the beauty and greatness of this song. Of course, YouTube quality is still not the greatest, but... THAT'S WHAT BUYING THE CD IS FOR!!! (lol)

Hear the song: Music video on YouTube

Meet the band: Stratovarius official website

Buy the CD!: Visions on Amazon

Credits: Stratovarius

Song of the Week: 12/31/06 - 01/06/07

The Song of the Week is:

The Gunslinger by Demons & Wizards


This is one of the songs off of Demons & Wizards' second album, Touched by the Crimson King, which makes many references to the characters and events from Stephen King's Dark Tower series of novels. Perhaps of all the songs on the album, this one stands out due to its slow, melodic pace in the first part, which then opens up into one of their hardest, fastest songs ever. Also, the ending is one of the greatest I've ever heard; and this is definitely one of those songs that just seems to be made for playing in a concert.

Hear the song: Dark Tower music video

Meet the Band: Demons & Wizards official website

Buy the CD: Touched by the Crimson King on Amazon

Credits: Demons & Wizards, Stephen King, and "TehKashmirZ" for the video

Song of the Week: 12/24-12/30

The song of the week is...

Bouree by Jethro Tull

This has always been one of my favorite songs of theirs... granted, it's been around for longer than I have, but that doesn't keep me from appreciating the musical talents of this band. This song in particular shows off the extraordinary skills of bassist Glenn Cornick in the solo about halfway through the song.

Hear the song: The original music video

Meet the band: Jethro Tull official website

Buy the CD: Jethro Tull: Stand Up on Amazon.com

Credit: Jethro Tull

The Song of the Week 12/17 - 12/23

The song of the week is:

The World by Nightmare

This song is the intro to the anime Death Note, as well as one of their best songs. Nightmare is a great band that's been around for a few years, but for a lot of people outside of Japan, this is their first exposure to their music. Hopefully, they will catch on over here if/when the Death Note anime gets released in America...

Hear the song: The World music video

Meet the band: Nightmare Official Website

Buy the CD! Support the Artist!!: The World single at CDJapan

Credit: Nightmare

The Song of the Week

Hello! I have decided to start a new feature on here, the "Song of the Week!" Every Saturday, there will be a new one posted. I am not going to be posting the songs themselves, but rather, links to where one can hear the songs in a legal but free manner, and spread some awareness of the artists and their works.

Okay, so the song of this week is:
Man Made God by In Flames

This is a monster of an instrumental metal song, which displays the technical prowess and melodic complexity that can only come from a band of this much talent. This song is only available on the limited Deluxe-edition remaster of the Colony album.

Hear the song: (given the song's rarity, there is not an actual music video of it, and there is no sample at the official site, so...) Kick-ass AMV featuring the song

Meet the band: http://www.inflames.com/

And of course, to BUY THE CD!!! SUPPORT THE ARTIST!!!: Colony Deluxe at Amazon

On the CD, you get to hear the song in all its full glory. The rest of their music is incredible too!

Credits: In Flames for rocking hard, and MesmericX for the AMV.