It is raining where I live this morning. The rain is coming down with quite the bad attitude too. This is the kind of rain where, you know, you dread just having to get your garbage container from the roadside; you know the drenching that is about to occur to your body and it is not requested either. Without complaining any further about inclement weather that no human or expert meteorologist can do to rectify it, here is a band that gets me through driving in the lousiest of lousy weather conditions – Rush. I thought about it this morning as I drove the family cab, yes, Rush just seems to straighten my focus and makes me feel like – who cares what the weather is like. It then hit me, Rush is always my first band of choice that I grab when I have to drive in snow, icy hell and tropical/evil thunderstorms. Not to worry, I always have Rush – “Snakes and Arrows” handy for sunny days, do not ask me why, for I correlate sunny, warm and beautiful days to this fine album. (?)
What is really happening here? Why is it that, since the 1980’s, I attribute certain Rush albums to respective weather conditions? “Moving Pictures”, why that is an easy one for me, I make sure this is with me at all costs if I have to drive in Winter snow. (?) I have the Rush “Spirtit of Radio – Greatest Hits” in the family cab like it is a roadside necessity! First aid kit, check, bottle of water, check, maps, check, spare tire, check, emergency flares, check, enough gas in the tank, check, Rush “Greatest Hits” – check! I am very known for, actually this happens on any road trip with my wife and family, even if the trip is 5 minutes to pick up coffee, I will bellow: “Are my Rush CD’s in the car”?
To sum up this non-essential article that is trying to understand my psychological connecting of Rush to weather conditions, I will say this much, Hard Rock, Punk and Metal music obviously mean a great deal to me, especially Rush. This is way beyond my understanding of how the human brain attributes a particular form of music as a basic need, a necessity in order to carry out a task. All I know is, I am not hurting anyone with an addiction to Rush and their pristine Progressive Metal, while I’m driving in various weather conditions. This will not put me on any intervention reality television show any time soon.
Queensryche has done it, done it very, very well too. “American Soldier” is a Progressive Metal achievement, in my Metal opinion. This is a concept album, that was written from the words spoken from those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. This release brings Queensryche back to where they belong, at the top of the Metal heap, reminding me of the “Operation Mindcrime” days. This is an album to really follow along to, with the lyrics that are inside the liner notes. Each song does lead itself into the next, both with it’s time line and lyrical content. 
Alas, I found a moment to just kick back, chill out and listen to a Metal CD that caught my eye. This Metal CD was filed in my collection, just waiting for it’s turn to be enjoyed by my hungry ears. Oh, the CD I am talking about? Dream Theater – “Systematic Chaos”. Try hard as I may, it is impossible for me to hear any chaos on this Dream Theater release, none. Instead, what I do hear, is what I will call Progressive perfection. Seriously, for me, the Progressive Metal music of Dream Theater is so accurate, structured, and created on the premise of musical integrity and musical knowledge. Honestly, I am schooled each and every time I give Dream Theater a listen. The musical dynamics that are occurring throughout “Systematic Chaos” makes me realize it may take quite a few more listens before I feel I have heard every key, lyric and note that mystically saturates this incredible album.
Here it is, list #5 in my soul searching quest to determine the greatest Metal album of all-time! I feel like I am nearing closure, the light is at the end of the Metal tunnel. Please feel free to chime in and throw at me any Metal album you have not seen on any of these lists thus far, that you feel is deemed worthy of nomination for the greatest Metal album ever. Why, for me to actually forget a legendary Metal masterpiece? Of course, I am only (Metalhead) human. Plus, the years of Metal have provided such a vast array of genres, so many cool and brilliant albums are out there. I will consider any Metal album suggestion that may come my way, despite my being a Heavy Metal expert – I am kidding of course, all you need to do is read my article on “experts”! Now without any more Metal delay, here goes another 10 nominations (in no particular order) for the greatest Metal album of all-time:
It was 1983 when I first heard Queensryche on the radio, I heard them on an FM station of course, on a radio show that aired on Saturday nights that was called “Metal Shop.” The very first song I ever heard from Queensryche was “Queen of the Reich,” I was hooked by this band ever since. Geoff Tate, in my opinion, has always had just as powerful and prolific vocals as any other singer in the history of Metal. Queensryche can and has fit right into a few different Metal genres, Heavy Metal, Metal and Progressive Metal. With their debut EP “Queensryche” released in 1983, I easily embraced this great Metal band and remembered telling anyone who would listen that this band was for real. Only 4 songs were on the “original” Queensryche EP, – “Queen of the Reich”, “Nightrider”, “Blinded” and “The Lady Wore Black”. These four songs paved the way of the Metal future for Queensryche, without a doubt, an important and historical Metal EP this is. 27 years of recording and touring, Queensryche proved to the world just how real they are! You can still buy this EP, it has since been re-released, (2003), with the addition of 10 bonus tracks. Now, that is far more tunes than the original 4 song, vinyl record I bought back in 1983!
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