Avantasia - Moonglow

Avantasia are a symphonic metal supergroup, whose first album was released in 1999. This is their eighth album, Moonglow, which was released in 2019.

The album kicks off with Ghost In The Moon, which strongly reminds me of Meat Loaf. Maybe it's just the piano? Or perhaps the 1980s-styled power-ballad choruses? Either way, it doesn't waste any time drawing us into the adventure, and I really dig it.

Speaking of epic, The Raven Child is a song that's almost as long as some Ramones albums! It ebbs and flows brilliantly, and each section perfectly dovetails into the next, making it a wonderful way to spend eleven minutes.

Book of Shallows somehow feels like a midpoint between Devin Townsend's Empath and Dragonforce's Inhuman Rampage. But where the latter is overdone to the point of absurdity and the former is intimidatingly complex, Avantasia could well be my Goldilocks album. It also has Meat Loaf's wonderful ability to make time melt away; the five minutes was over in a flash. Later on, Alchemy provides similar headbanging power-ballad goodness. And Requiem For A Dream Dragonforce at a tempo that I can comprehend. Brilliant.

Moonglow reminds me a lot of Nightwish. In other words, it's utterly brilliant. Moving on to quoting The Divynals (wow, I'm name-dropping a lot of bands in this post...), they believe that an uplifting chorus can single-handedly carry a song. Exhibit A in support of this theory is Lavender, which soars brilliantly.

Starlight is a nice, upbeat anthem that provides contrast to the album, but isn't memorable in its own right. Invincible is the same situation at the other end of the intensity spectrum.

Finally, Maniac somehow reminds me of Baby Animals and lyrically is quite an odd way for the album to end... but maybe it's a celebratory after-party for our heroine, following a successful conquest?

Favourite songs

Ghost In The Moon, Book Of Shadows, Moonglow, The Raven Child, Alchemy, Lavender, Requiem For A Dream

Final thoughts

Perfectly represented by its cover art, this album is a wonderful fantasy novel in a musical format.

The Avalanches - Since I Left You

The Avalanches are an electronica-chillout group who formed in 1997. This is their debut album, which was released in 2000.

We've been in this situation before, dear reader. As much as I try, electronica is often too far outside of my interests, so it's appeal usually just boils down to catchy pop hooks. 

The title track, Since I Left You, is a case in point. I kinda dig the soothing melody for background music, but it doesn't retain my attention for focused listening.

Then we have the slick, inoffensive corporate vibes of Radio (which reminds me of the band Madison Avenue) and a Beastie Boys-esque disjointedness in several songs, such as Close To You.

However, special mentions go out to A Different Feeling for its nice phat groove, and to Two Hearts in 3/4 Time for the contrast provided by its 6/8 time signature. Also, Etoh has a delicate and intriguing intro, which leads into instruments gently drifting in and out. It's quite dub-esque in its feel, therefore I'm a fan.

Frontier Psychiatrist is a cracker in my book, and the reason that I bought this album. Its references to mental health problems are probably in poor taste these days, but I really dig the whimsical attitude, complete with random horse sounds. The retro-styled groove is wonderfully entrancing (but its flow gets broken several times, which is very frustrating).

Live At Dominoes is a hidden treat that appears towards the end. With a phat groove and cheeky references coming in from all angles, it's a masterpiece. So despite all my whingeing above, I'd love to see The Avalanches in concert.

Favourite songs

A Different Feeling, Frontier Psychiatrist, Etoh, Live at Dominoes

Final thoughts

There's a few good times here, but it's another electronica album where I'm missing the point.

Reel Big Fish - A Best Of Us... For The Rest Of Us

Reel Big Fish are a third-wave ska band who formed in 1991. This mid-career Best Of was released in 2010, one year after the Fame, Fortune and Fornication studio album.

The reason that I bought this CD was mostly because I'd lost their Favorite Noise Best Of album, so there was an RBF-shaped hole in my CD collection. Interestingly (perhaps due to record company contract shenanigans), different recordings of the same songs are used on this more recent compilation. And unfortunately, the overly cheesy feeling I whinged about previously is even more obvious here. Enough whingeing... I best not ponder the audiophile intricacies of badly-recorded ska-punk (although that would be quite on-brand for me...), so let's skip the main disk and see what the bonus acoustic version disk holds.

Stripping away the distortion guitars, vocal effects and overdubs makes for a much more wholegrain experience and brings it a bit closer to ska's Jamaican mento roots, which I really dig. In particular, Take On Me works a treat as an acoustic version, and I dig the full-circle absurdity of an acoustic cover of a ska cover of Aha's original hit. (A quick note of trivia: the track list has Take On Me and Beer in the wrong order)

Another F.U. Song is comedic cold, both in punk-rock and acoustic guises.

Another part of the reason I purchased this CD was to get my hands on 241, and this acoustic version doesn't disappoint. The styling brings it closer to a rocksteady groove, allowing that timeless riff to shine even brighter. So I actually prefer it over the original.

Favourite songs

(not including originals which also appear on Favorite Noise)

Another F.U. Song (both versions), Brown Eyed Girl, Take On Me (acoustic), 241 (acoustic) Scott's A Dork (acoustic)

Final thoughts

Overlooking the main disk (because I already have most of those songs), it's a tough question as to whether the acoustic disk is worthwhile in its own right. I really dig the style as an interesting take on the songs, however it is lacking the frantic energy of the originals (FYI I never really got into the Dan Potthast style of acoustic ska), so both versions have their merits.

... however, the Take On Me and 241 are brilliant as acoustic versions, so in the end it's a resounding thumbs-up.