12:57 AM EDT October 10, 2022:
Bigelf - "Money, It's Pre Evil" From the album Cheat the Gallows (August 12, 2008)
Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm
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12:57 AM EDT October 10, 2022:
Bigelf - "Money, It's Pre Evil" From the album Cheat the Gallows (August 12, 2008)
Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

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After Forever: Prison of Desire (2000)
Iāve never been a big fan of power metal, symphonic metal, or melodic/sappy metal, in general, but I was genuinely excited about the Netherlandsā After Forever when I first heard this debut, 20 years ago (taking their name from a Black Sabbath song definitely didnāt hurt).
As I wrote in the All-Music Guide, 2000ās Prison of DesireĀ was a courageous, if far from perfect, attempt at wedding heavy metal with progressive arrangements and classical music orchestration -- then topping it all with equal parts gruesome cookie-monster vocals and a classically trained opera singer!
Enter the incomparable Floor Jansen, who, in tandem with guitarist Mark Jansen (no relation), unleashed one of the most astounding āBeauty and the Beastā vocal duets ever recorded!
But, before I resort to fanboy fawning over Floor, Iāll say that the musical end results here are mixed: frequently shocking, occasionally fabulous, sometimes not quite up to scratch (certainly not compared to ensuing albums), yet rarely anything less than fascinating.
Initial offerings such as āLeaden Legacy,ā āSemblance of Confusionā and āFollow in the Cryā (with its distinctly creepy whispers) are the most effective, because they keep things relatively short and to the point, backed up by good hooks and memorable choruses.
Simply put: they do a better job of combining the wide range of ingredients cluttering up the bandās proverbial spice-rack than more adventurous excursions like āBlack Tombā (introduced by dense organs) and āTortuous Threnodyā (as confusing as it sounds).Ā
Also, despite the odd bit of thrashing (see the impenetrable āInimical Chimeraā and rather excellent āYield to Temptationā), Prison of Desire depends too much on dragging doom tempos, which normally would pose no problem, except that these songsā more delicate, refined aesthetic often cancel out the brute, absolute crush that makes for the best doom.
So I, for one, felt that After Forever benefitted significantly from picking up the pace andĀ sharpening their songwriting and performance chops ahead of 2002ās far more satisfying follow-up, the borderline triumphant Decipher.Ā Ā
And, all these years later, these guys are still my absolute favorite female-fronted symphonic/operatic outfit, way ahead of peers like Nightwish, Within Temptation, and even the closely associated Epica.
More Third Millennium Prog-Metal: Dream Theaterās Train of Thought, EnslavedāsĀ RIITIIR,Ā Fates WarningāsĀ Theories of Flight, Gojiraās Magma,Ā Hammers of Misfortuneās The August Engine, Into Eternityās The Scattering of Ashes, MastodonāsĀ Crack the Skye, Melecheshās Emissaries, NegurÄ Bungetās Om, Opethās Ghost Reveries, Oranssi Pazuzuās Valonielu,Ā Sighās Imaginary Sonicscape, ToolāsĀ Lateralus,Ā TribulationāsĀ The Children of the Night,Ā Vattnet ViskarāsĀ Settler,Ā Vektorās Terminal Redux.
Friday, November 17: Bigelf, āMadhatterā
āMadhatterā opened Hex with exactly the sort of eccentric stoner/psychedelic heavy rock monolith that Bigelf had made its stock in trade over the course of several albums and EPs, with Damon Foxās guitar and keyboard frequently gliding over a bottom end that was both crushing and swinging. Ā In most other circumstances, the rhythm section of Duffy Snowhill and Steve Frothingham wouldāve been enough to make āMadhatterā a winner, but Foxās borderline-deranged vocals took things to another place entirely. Ā Although the tune was fairly brief, it packed as much dynamics and ā70s love as Side 2 of Black Sabbathās Sabotage, which was likely the whole point. Ā Bigelf was very much its own thing, and while āMadhatterā had clear antecedents, it also sounded like nothing else out there.
Bigelf
9:10 PM EDT March 28, 2020:
Bigelf - "Blackball" From the album Cheat the Gallows (August 12, 2008)
Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

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10:05 AM EDT June 23, 2020:
Bigelf - "Madhatter" From the album Hex (2003)
Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm
Closest historical comparison to Bigelf would be Uriah Heep, hard rock with proggish tendencies.
12:35 AM EDT March 23, 2020:
Bigelf - "Falling Bombs\" From the album Hex (2003)
Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last\.fm
Closest historical comparison to Bigelf would be Uriah Heep, hard rock with proggish tendencies.
5:15 PM EDT July 28, 2019:
Bigelf - "Burning Bridges\" From the album Hex (2003)
Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last\.fm
Closest historical comparison to Bigelf would be Uriah Heep, hard rock with proggish tendencies.