Tag: power metal

Cirith Ungol – King Of The Dead

On By bigbadburchIn Album of the Week6 Comments

Get out your 20-sided dice, character sheets and Dungeon Masters’ guides (first edition, of course). It’s time to go back to 1984 and get into some sword and sorcery.

Cirith Ungol – King Of The Dead

Released July 2, 1984 via Enigma Records

Cirith Ungol is well-known as a mountain pass between Mordor and Gondor in J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary Lord Of The Rings series. It would also be known as one of the first heavy metal bands to name themselves after a part of Tolkien’s work.

Cirith Ungol the band formed in California in 1971. They would operate in the hard rock realm through the ’70’s, then shift into heavy metal when recording their debut album, 1981’s Frost And Fire. Three years later saw them ready to unleash this follow-up album.

The band was comprised of Tim Baker on vocals, Jerry Fogle on guitar, Michael Vujea on bass and Robert Garven on drums. Founding guitarist Greg Lindstrom was no longer with the band at this point but three of his song contributions were used (with his blessing, Lindstrom also would return to the band for their 2016 reunion). The band also retained creative control of their efforts and self-produced the affair.

The cover art was done by famed book and album cover artist Michael Whelan. This piece is actually from a prior book cover, that being Bane Of The Black Sword by Michael Moorcock. Whelan has provided cover art for every Cirith Ungol album as well as scores of other works.

The album features 8 songs at a fairly beefy 50:17 runtime. As usual a few reissues exist with various bonus tracks, though today I’ll tackle the original album.

Atom Smasher

We get going with a brief intro then a running riff establishes itself, one that will remain throughout the song. Vocals and bass come in next and man, that bass is going off here and basically through the whole album. The song is a bit of sci-fi, featuring Atom Smasher as a title character who was genetically engineered and is out to save humanity.

As a note, I don’t know if there’s any influence for the video game character Adam Smasher from the Cyberpunk 2077 game decades later. The two have similarities, though the game guy is a villain while the song character is a hero. An interesting coincidence, if nothing else. Grade: A+

Black Machine

While Cirith Ungol would easily fit into the emerging US power metal movement, this album and especially this song saw them establish early ties into the also emerging doom scene. This is a pounding song that invites the listener to ride the black machine, which is some kind of infernal afterlife construct as the lyrics tell it. It’s another riff that just runs all day long and slams its way into your head. Grade: A

Master Of The Pit

Here we get an intro guitar solo as we make our way down to tangle with the guy who the song is named after. The song pounds its music through at a slower pace, so that our hero has time to fight the diabolical foe. This is Dungeons and Dragons put to music for sure. Grade: A

King Of The Dead

The title track offers a similar vibe to the song prior, it establishes a different boss to fight. This one is even more evil and doomy as someone called the King of the Dead really isn’t someone to mess with. Keep that shit locked away. Grade: A+

Death Of The Sun

Nothing says heavy metal like a good old fashioned apocalypse song. This “blink and you’ll miss it” track rips through with a speed and fury. When you’re messing with stuff like the Master of the Pit and the King of the Dead, sometimes the world just won’t make it. It also turns out that the death of the Sun is mostly guitar solos. Grade: A-

Finger Of Scorn

We’re brought in with a mournful acoustic passage here that builds into a louder electric effort as things go on. It’s another “humanity is doomed” song and this one carries on with a fair bit of Black Sabbath groove in it. There are also parts in the song’s latter half that might make you wonder when Iron Butterfly picked up doom metal. Grade: B+

Toccata in Dm

Here Dm does not refer to “dungeon master,” rather it’s the key of D minor. This is actually a cover song, the source being the iconic composer Johann Sebastian Bach. The original piece has a history that is honestly insane and covers volumes of books, but I’ll skip all that today.

Here Cirith Ungol do an abridged version of the piece. It’s worth noting that while heavy metal came up as an offshoot of blues-based rock, what has gone on to become heavy metal can be rather directly linked to classical music. Now – this piece isn’t entirely “for me” and I personally wouldn’t have put it on the record, but it can be worth listening to. Grade: B-

Cirith Ungol

We close things out with a self-named song for the band, which is always something interesting to check out. This returns to the power and doom formula experienced through the balance of the album. This one mostly lets the music do the talking with just a few verses to tell the tale of the sinister area of Mordor. And the music does the talking here – it’s a blend of everything the band have been doing through the record and wraps everything up nicely. Grade: A

King Of The Dead would be an influential force in two distinct US metal scenes – power and doom. The album would stand alongside works from Jag Panzer, Manilla Road and Savatage in shaping the US power metal scene, while it would also slot alongside Saint Vitus, Pentagram and Trouble in crafting the very new doom metal landscape. Though Cirith Ungol, like many of the other bands mentioned, did not achieve commercial success with their music, their name has rang as a leader of the metal underground since their recording career kicked off in the ’80’s. The band split up in 1992 and was but a cult memory until 2016, when an unlikely reunion happened. The group is presently on their final tour now, which is due to wrap up at the end of ’24.

The album offers up songs that would inspire the metal genres mentioned, but this also has a distinctly retro feel to it. Cirith Ungol were clearly rooted in their 1970’s origins, this was taking music forward while keeping at least one foot in the past. I don’t need any deliberation to score this album, the grade is already laid out in the songs above.

Album Grade: A

While heavy metal became a lucrative commodity for the music industry in the 1980’s, the slice of the money pie was usually reserved for the hair metal acts or the higher-profile thrash bands. But a wealth of underground and independent heavy metal also came from this time, and Cirith Ungol were one of the looming giants of the scene. King Of The Dead is a testament to the true power of this music.

Sonata Arctica – Dark Empath

On By bigbadburchIn Song Of The Week2 Comments

So I started this blog in August of 2021, after a few months of planning beforehand. I can’t count the number of times I’ve planned something for this and then been derailed by new releases and information.

I had intended to do an Iron Maiden album ranking as one of my first posts, but just as I was beginning to plan this all out in early 2021, Maiden announced a new album. Took me two years to do that ranking.

I also recall having a post about the fantastic movie This Is Spinal Tap ready to go when, just hours before the post, the actor who portrayed drummer Mick Shrimpton died. I went ahead with the post, but the eerie timing was just unreal.

And now, a new one – a few weeks back I was planning a huge post about something I had originally teased a year or more ago. Sonata Arctica, the stalwarts of Finnish power metal (and far beyond, honestly) have a complicated and intertwined series of songs known as the Caleb Saga that paints a deep and dark picture and runs through a lot of the band’s career. The main story tells a tale of lovers and adversaries Caleb and Juliet. It’s not just lovers – this saga involves a lot of early abuse and neglect, a whole truckload of stalking, and at least in the given canon ending of the saga, Juliet’s ultimate and only way out via dispatching Caleb. (that means killing)

But there are a few other songs tied into the Caleb saga over the years that aren’t necessarily canon in terms of how the story flows, but they are thematically tied to the same pair. They can be considered alternate endings or parallel dimensions, whatever you wish. But it’s a songwriting well that Tony Kakko goes down a fair bit for inspiration and almost always cranks out a belter when he does.

My intention is to compile a post detailing the entire Caleb saga. There are five past Sonata Arctica songs tied to this saga over the band’s career, which began in 1995 but started proper in 1999. They came into form in the early 2000’s, and by 2004 they had found solid ground as a band equally owing to European power metal and American prog/classic rock with Reckoning Night and among that album the excellent song Don’t Say A Word, the “second” part of the Caleb saga and where it became a multi-song story in the first place.

I have previously covered Don’t Say A Word as part of a now-defunct series, but the words written remain true and it is one of the best highlights of Sonata Arctica’s catalog. It brought the Caleb saga to life, and the band has run with the premise for 20 years since it became a true story.

And, as I more than mentioned earlier, my posts often get thrown off just before I go with them. I have what is currently the base of a Caleb saga post ready to go, just needing to cross a few t’s and such. And, here comes the inevitable curveball.

Sonata Arctica are due to release a new album on March 8th of this year. Clear Cold Beyond is not just a statement of fact regarding where the band live in arctic Finland, it is the group’s 11th studio album. It is the first album in 5 years, after a few acoustic tours and dealings with COVID.

Now, none of this is new information. The band released this info back in November, along with the album’s first single First In Line. But it’s the newly-released single Dark Empath that gains the attention today.

I’m sure the hook here is obvious since I’m 600 words into a post about Sonata Arctica, a new album and the Caleb saga. But if anyone is missing the point, Dark Empath is the newest entry in the Caleb saga. From interviews Tony Kakko has given, this song is not necessarily “canon” to the saga but is another branch of it. This occupies similar space to 2019’s song The Last Of The Lambs from Talviyö. While that song might be considered a hair “light” in relative terms to this dark stalker saga, I don’t think Dark Empath treads as lightly. This is a very dark and all-encompassing song, the narrator who is presumed to be Caleb is still stalking his prey, presumed to be Juliet. But Caleb sees weakness in Juliet’s new love and is ready to bare all to her, exposing her own inadequacies as well as his. And Caleb continues with the “one and only” talk, as if Juliet can only belong to him after all they’ve been through, which in canon involves ignoring the fact that Juliet killed Caleb for – you guessed it – stalking.

I don’t really know what keeps Tony Kakko involved in still writing these songs after all this time, clearly it’s a wellspring of inspiration for him. But here in 2024, a full 23 years since the song The End Of This Chapter and the kick-off to this long-winding saga, we get a new song to fortify this winding story, and one on an album that the band has promised to hold closer to the group’s older legacy.

So at some point in the near future, probably after this new album releases, I’ll deliver my long-overdue post on the whole of the Caleb saga, as twisty and turning as it is. But until then, we get this new entry to the series, and one I’m very happy to hear and I feel slots well alongside some of the absolute bangers the band have already offered in this story, including one of their best songs. March is proving to be a very busy release month for metalheads, and Sonata Arctica have made sure to call attention to their album.

Omen – Battle Cry (Album of the Week)

On By bigbadburchIn Album of the Week6 Comments

Going back in time this week to one of the early foundational albums of US power metal. This isn’t the same power metal of 2000’s Europe – this is far more “meat and potatoes” metal that draws a direct line from the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.

Omen – Battle Cry

Released November 1984 via Metal Blade Records

My Favorite Tracks – The Axeman, Dragon’s Breath, Battle Cry

Omen got their start when founded by guitarist and lone remaining original member Kenny Powell in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Powell was joined by J.D. Kimball on vocals, Jody Henry on bass and Steve Wittig on drums. The band would have this debut album ready about a year after forming.

Today’s album is rather brief, with 10 songs at 36 minutes. We are also light on background info for this one, any easily accessible digital information is very lean and any good old interviews or the like are buried in old print magazines that aren’t easy to come by. Too bad there isn’t a heavy metal library with all the old stuff accessible for reference, but there isn’t so we can run through this one pretty quick.

The album opens with Death Rider. This opens with a nice intro guitar piece and goes into a pretty fast-paced romp through a maniac tearing up the world. Up next is what I and many others consider the album’s highlight, The Axeman. This killer song offers up the impending execution of someone who tried to usurp a kingdom. This isn’t a sad ode to one’s last moments as in many other noted metal execution songs, rather this a recording of the nefarious deeds that condemned the offender.

Last Rites is next and could almost be a sequel to the prior track, though this time gallows are substituted for beheading. It’s a very nice riff that runs through this song. Dragon’s Breath comes in next and is straight out of the Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual, of course the cool first edition with demons and shit in it. But this time it’s a dragon tearing things up in fantasy land and as this killer power metal song unfolds, it’s clear the tyrannical dragon has the upper hand.

Up next is a bit of a gag of a song with Be My Wench. I could see people having an issue with this one as some of the lyrics get at the woman in question being a bit too young to be engaging in wench-like activities, but I don’t think this was ever meant to be taken seriously. It is a pretty decent song in the end.

It’s time next for the title track Battle Cry. This is another bit of a horse gallop playing with a nice gang chorus chant as more war and carnage ensue in this unnamed fantasy land. The slaughter continues on Die By The Blade, which is pretty self-explanatory. There’s more very epic riffing from Kenny Powell on this one.

The album rounds into the close with Prince Of Darkness. While this album isn’t a concept album, this little arc of songs does almost form its own little story with this one seeing what could be the main villain in battle. Next is Bring Out The Beast, a song where a guy hooks up with a woman then all of sudden is being burned at the stake, not sure what’s up here. Pretty cool music, though. Things wrap up with In The Arena. The intro to this one is not the greatest but the song moves into a better form after that. This one is a bit slower paced than the other songs here.

Battle Cry was a rock solid debut and one of the foundational albums in US power metal. Omen would issue a few more albums in the ’80’s that furthered their initial legacy, the band would then begin a series of line-up changes and go on hiatus in the 1990’s. They would reconvene and remain a consistent touring outfit since, occasionally dropping new material as well.

Omen would not sell on the same levels as the thrash acts that took off in the mid’80’s, but they have cemented an important place as helping establish the power metal sound on US shores. Today they are hailed as a lynchpin of traditional metal and this first album is a great spot to hear the reasons why.

The Song Remains The Same – Against The Wind

On By bigbadburchIn The Song Remains The Same5 Comments

It’s time again for that silly little game where I take a handful of songs that have the same name but are not the same song. I’ll pit them against each other and see which one I like the best. Today’s works well because there are only three and I’ve only heard one of them and, as of the writing of this intro anyway, I don’t know who the winner will be but I have the same idea about that most of you reading probably do.

As with all of this series, this post should not be taken as a guide to all of the songs with this name. I just use a few websites to quickly run down things and decide if a particular one strikes my interest. Today I didn’t make it past A when I found this one that has a few talking points to it. There is no research on these things, I’m sure there are hundreds of songs called Against The Wind out there if someone really got to looking. These three are from well-known acts so I’ll run with them.

Bob Seger

I’ll lead off with the obvious choice. Against The Wind is the title track from Seger’s 1980 album and is one of his most popular songs. This was a single and did good business, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also gathering a number 6 in Canada. The single went US platinum and the namesake album sold over 5 million US copies. For some bonus trivia, Glenn Frey of the Eagles does backing vocals on the song.

On the topic of Seger and his hit songs, here’s a brief tale I told awhile back recalling his first ever number one hit.

Against The Wind has been one of Seger’s most influential songs, it had a special pull with the country artists of the 1990’s and beyond and also stretched out to many across all genres. It is a very nice song that checks a lot of boxes – sad but hopeful, polished yet personal. It’s one that seems primed to run off with the win today, but let’s at least check in on the other contenders.

Bonnie Tyler

A name familiar to many, Tyler had a few big hits in the 1980’s and was a star through Europe in the ’90’s. That is where today’s song is found, her Against The Wind is from the 1991 album Bitterblue. While it did not have US success, it did well in several nations on the Old Continent. This was also a single and put up modest results across several European singles charts.

This song is a prototypical soft rock ballad of the time. Bonnie has a great voice as always, though the song is not one I’d give a ton of repeat spins to. I don’t think it’s bad at all, it’s honestly a very nice song, just not one that moves the needle for me much at all. Bob Seger doesn’t have much competition here.

Stratovarius

While Bob Seger and Bonnie Tyler are well-known names to varying degrees, Stratovarius might not be quite as familiar to as many. But their pedigree is no less impressive – Stratovarius are one of the chief architects of the late 1990’s-early 2000’s power metal boom. While Stratovarius would become a keyboard-charged power metal stalwart, this song from 1995 sees them still in a transitional phase. This version of Against The Wind is from the band’s 1995 album Fourth Dimension and was released as the lone single for the record.

Now, I’ll talk all day about the influence Stratovarius had on the power metal movement, but one thing I’m honestly not is a Stratovarius fan. I never got into their stuff that much, I was much more drawn into Blind Guardian and Sonata Arctica when it comes to power metal. Startovarius is a more unabashed, full-on melodic power metal attack while the other bands listed have underpinnings in thrash and classic rock, respectively.

But my summary of Stratovarius tends to focus on their albums after Fourth Dimension. I honestly haven’t heard a note of this before I pushed play to write this piece. And well, I like this song quite a bit. It does sound firmly in the power metal vein, though not off in the sort of thing this and many other bands would get up to later. It’s fairly meat and potatoes and I dig this a fair bit.

Now, the question is – do I dig the Stratovarius song more than Bob Seger? While it’s closer than I first suspected, the answer is no. The winner of today’s silly little contest is Bob Seger. I don’t think that’s a real shock to anyone, though huge props to earlier-era Stratovarius for giving me something I may need to go back and check out.

That does it for this post and for the week. Have a great weekend and remember – the new Song of the Week series picks up on Tuesday next week. That is June 6, which as it turns out holds some significance in heavy metal. Until next week.

Album Of The Week – November 28, 2022

On By bigbadburchIn Album of the Week3 Comments

This week’s pick is a tour back to the mid 1990’s and an early sign of what would become an explosion of European power metal.

Blind Guardian – Imaginations From The Other Side

Released April 4, 1995 via Century Media Records and Virgin Records

My Favorite Tracks – Mordred’s Song, Imaginations From The Other Side, Bright Eyes

By 1995 Blind Guardian were gearing up for their fifth album release. The German group had started in speed metal and thrash territory but had been slowly morphing into a power metal outfit. Some of the hallmarks of their early sound would remain in their arsenal, setting their sound apart from the typical power metal fare that was on offer.

Blind Guardian were out to improve their sound on their next album and in doing so recruited producer Fleming Rasmussen to helm the effort. Rasmussen had come to prominence by producing Metallica’s second through fourth albums. The influence of an experienced producer, combined with the decision to only take the best parts of songs to the next step, set up Blind Guardian for a triumphant release.

Imaginations From The Other Side comprises nine tracks at a near-50 minute runtime. Two songs were released as singles – A Past And Future Secret, and Bright Eyes, marking the first single releases in Blind Guardian’s career.

Imaginations From The Other Side

The title track opens things and is an epic song that showcases both power metal leanings and the heavy-hitting instrumentation of the band’s early days. The song laments the loss of fantasy worlds as their magic power fades when one reaches adulthood. Many direct references are made to fictional institutions, such as The Wizard Of Oz, The Narnia series, The Lord Of The Rings, Peter Pan and many more.

I’m Alive

This fast-paced track recalls the earlier days of Blind Guardian and their speed metal attack. The song is based off of a book The Sunset Warrior by author Eric Van Lustbader. I’m unfamiliar with the book but the song is a great example of the band expanding their musical pallet while retaining their heavy metal feel.

A Past And Future Secret

A ballad that is one of two to center around the story of King Arthur. It is a haunting lament told from the viewpoint of the wizard Merlin, who prophecies that King Arthur will return to rule after his mortal death.

The Script For My Requiem

The pace comes back up for this twisted tale of a knight returning from the Crusades. The knight is haunted by the atrocities committed in the name of the holy and returns a broken shell of himself. It is one of many songs from the album to be a frequent staple in live sets.

Mordred’s Song

The second of two ballads about King Arthur, this track hits heavier than the first and would likely fall into power ballad territory. The song centers around its namesake Mordred, the illegitimate son of Arthur’s incestuous relationship. Mordred would come to wreak havoc on Camelot and eventually fight a battle with Arthur that would claim both.

The song does a fantastic job of painting the despair of Mordred’s life and the hollow feelings that would lead him to his history-altering course of action. The tragic tale could only end one way and this song provides the rationale for and perhaps even justification for Mordred’s brutal actions.

Born In A Mourning Hall

This scorcher of a tune mostly leaves behind the fantasy world and examines the real-world consequences of people living without any viable chance of moving upward in life. The struggle to live and cope with being a disposable tool of the higher class is a picture painted vividly on this song.

Bright Eyes

The next song is one that has become one of Blind Guardian’s signature offerings. It is another haunting tale of a young man abused and neglected who is now ready to wreak havoc on the world. While the song bears thematic similarities to Mordred’s Song, it was apparently based off of The Neverending Story but is mostly an original story spun by singer Hansi Kursh. The song is one of the band’s most played live and is a favorite of many Blind Guardian fans.

Another Holy War

This song could be seen as a companion to The Script For My Requiem, as it again involves the waging of holy war. It is told from the perspective of a messianic figure who will be crucified and kick off yet another religious war. It’s another song that preserves the thrash elements of the band’s early days.

And The Story Ends

The final track seems to pick up the story of Bright Eyes, though that is unconfirmed and there is speculation that this song might have something to do with The Wheel Of Time fantasy series. I tend to think it’s the first one, as there seems to be an occasional ongoing story told through various Blind Guardian songs over the years and a mirror is involved with them. The song still maintains a heavy feel but does slow things down at points to allow it and the somber album as a whole to settle in.

Imaginations From The Other Side would mark another notch in Blind Guardian’s belt. The band were already breaking through before this and would see their fortunes rise as power metal would become a resurgent genre in the latter half of the 90’s. Blind Guardian were among the standouts of the new wave of power metal groups and have remained a viable force in metal all this time.

Many of the songs from Imaginations… are staples of live sets to this day. Several tracks have been played a few hundred times in concert and the entire album was aired out as part of anniversary celebrations a few years ago.

Sonata Arctica – Don’t Say A Word

On By bigbadburchIn S-Tier Songs9 Comments

This post was part of a series that I called S-Tier Songs. I later decided to abandon the series in favor of a simpler Song of the Week format. I am keeping these posts as I wrote them but removing the old page that linked to the list of S-Tier Songs, so that is why these posts might look a bit odd. Enjoy.

Today I’m going to delve into the world of power metal, though this pick is from an act that broke out of that categorization. The song on it’s own is a gruesome tale of lovelorn heartbreak and just how far a person can go in that desperate mindset. As we’ll see, the song isn’t in isolation and is part of a long-running story told in several songs across the band’s career.

Sonata Arctica – Don’t Say A Word

Note – the video is an edit that cuts a spoken word portion from the song. The full album version is posted at the end of this post from Spotify.

Our song today hails from Sonata Arctica’s fourth album Reckoning Night, released in September 2004. Don’t Say A Word was given advanced release as an EP the month prior to the full-length.

Sonata Arctica had made a name for themselves in the early 2000’s power metal scene but also had quickly showcased that there was more to their songwriting chops than the typical fare found in the genre. Though replete with guitar and keyboard riffs as well as soaring vocals, the band exercised a higher form of songwriting on tracks like Fullmoon and The End Of This Chapter that separated them from the pack. On Reckoning Night they began the process of departing the usual power metal scene altogether – still incorporating its structure but also bringing in new influences and stylistic departures to liven things up. It would be a prelude to the next phase of their career, where the group would pursue different directions than the power metal they’d come up on.

While the album has a share of standout songs, none ring quite as true or hard as Don’t Say A Word. It is a lively track despite its dark content. Both guitars and keyboards ring with melody through an uptempo affair. Singer and band mainman Tony Kakko’s voice soars in some parts and goes hauntingly quiet in others, doing well to tell this messed up story. The track does a great job of keeping a balance between flowing music and darker, heavier parts. Sonata Arctica didn’t abandon their calling cards on this track or album, they simply repurposed and refined them.

The lyrical matter is very dark and disturbing – it is from the perspective of a scorned lover seeking the ultimate retribution for their pain. There is no room for ambiguity – the subject intends to end the life of his former mistress. The message is communicated in very eloquent fashion through the lyrics, this certainly isn’t a Cannibal Corpse song.

The song paints a terrible picture of the subject’s suffering – the love that’s meant to fade away, I tolerate your hate as long as you’re afraid, all I wanted was to be with you and suffer everyday. These are heavy and desperate thoughts, far beyond the stock thoughts often communicated in typical “break-up” songs. Obviously this work is removed from that, though the same general sentiments remain.

Purely taken on its own, Don’t Say A Word weaves a dark tale of a jilted lover who sets out to murder his fallen object of desire. It is a great song despite its treacherous story. And, as luck would have it, there is a lot more story to the principal actors in the song than what’s in this lone tune.

In 2006 Sonata Arctica released the album Unia and on it was a track named Caleb. That song serves as a prequel to Don’t Say A Word and also the aforementioned The End Of This Chapter. Caleb the song gives background on Caleb the man, the dark subject of today’s song. Caleb had a pretty bad childhood, wound up in and then out of a relationship with a woman who he then sets out to smite in Don’t Say A Word. The background provided from the song Caleb helps explain Don’t Say A Word’s chorus, where Caleb refers back to things his mother said.

The saga has been added to occasionally over the years, the song Juliet finally giving a name to the woman and seeing her enact (seemingly) cold revenge on Caleb. The band performed the entire saga live in the 2010’s, just before adding to it again in 2019 with The Last Of The Lambs, which is possibly an alternate ending to Juliet’s grim conclusion.

I’ll admit that I’m not very well-read on the Caleb Saga as a whole, a lot of fan theories tend to cloud the truth. It may be something I dive into on a future post, but as it stands and through piecing together interview fragments with Tony Kakko over the years, it would seem that the saga has six songs currently. And while most of them do tell a fairly coherent story, there might be more than one ending as I mentioned above. Either way, Don’t Say A Word plays an integral role in the story and is immediately after The End Of This Chapter in chronology.

Why is this an S-Tier song?

Don’t Say A Word is a fantastic melodic metal tune that stands out well in a band’s catalog already somewhat crowded with signature songs. It tells a harrowing, pained story that would later be expanded on in a rare lore-building exercise. It’s not every day we get that in music, especially spaced out across several albums and years. But even on its own the lyrics deliver a gripping tale beyond the conventions of a lot of popular music.