Blog of a Prog Rocker

Last night was probably one of the best moments of my life for all-time. I have had the ticket for a while that I purchased in a pre-sale when I found out that Boston was coming back to Toronto, and its been three years since they were last here. You could also imagine my shock when I found out that the female rock legend was coming to open for the American rock band herself, Joan Jett. I can recall that friends were going to see them at the time, and a lot of them were telling me to go and see them perform because their show was really worth seeing. I figured 'why not' and decided to score a ticket, and it was right on the floor of the Budweiser Stage - previously known as the Molson Amphitheatre. I have been to this venue many times for shows, so it would be a great night. The temperature on the way there was really scorching hot when I set out to the venue gates waiting to open up, and here I was trying to dodge the sun. I did end up talking with a couple of Bos...

Another review to post today after deciding to sit down and continue the reviews for the Xandria albums, as after this there are only two more Xandria studio albums left to go. This album titled India is where there was one specific song that got me into this band when I discovered them back in summer 2012. Once we get to that song in the review, I will obviously point it out. This album was released in 2005 near the end of August, so I would have been 11 years old at the time. Being young at the time, the only ones that I knew of that were popular here was Panic! At The Disco , My Chemical Romance and Evanescence . I do admit that I really enjoy the Evanescence music and I am aware that a new album is in the works and might be coming out this year. India The opening track for this album starts off with a bit of water streaming along in the ocean along with the crashing of waves to the rocks. Then comes the epic choir to begin the song, followed by the sounds of instrument...

Just another post at the end of the month with another Top Five Songs of the month as well as a few news updates from what is going on with me. Work has been keeping me busy for quite a while, and as a result; it's normal for me to not write once in a while on this because either that or its my fanfiction that I am currently working on. But again, I'm going to expect the same responses over and over like "stop delaying it" or "just play it". Here is my answer: "On my own time". I have no control over my schedule, so you're all just going to have be extra patient. Now, to the Top Five Songs of June 2017: #5: Epica - The Solace System Since Epica is going to be releasing their follow-up EP that continues from 'The Holographic Principle', I might as well share one of their tracks from the new EP which is the same title as this song. I'll be seeing them for the second time at the Opera House in September, and my friend Emily ...

Before I go on to start off on this review, there just has to be the usual warning at the beginning of the reviews for a movie; especially for these kinds of movies since I've done a review on it before with a rant about the fourth film of the series. ***SPOILER ALERT*** Today I finally got a chance to head out to a theatre in Etobicoke and meet up with a friend, as I purchased tickets on the website to see the newest Transformers installation after another three-year long wait. (Last movie was in 2014.) Having been watching these movies for ten years in the theatres, I thought I could settle and go with the tradition of seeing it on the big screen. We waited for a bit as me and her were there since 3pm, but got into the screening at 3:30pm to get our reserved seats and watch the film. When the movie began, I knew somehow that there was going to be the same formula that would be repeated just like with the last three movies before this. To be honest, it is the exact s...

Hello again, and it's another good Sunday evening... or perhaps it could be a Monday morning by the time zone here. Another day at work, and I figured that I could sit down and finally continue the album reviews for the Xandria albums as I've done for the Manuela Kraller era and the current line-up with Dianne van Giersbergen so far. Now we head backwards in time to the era of the original vocalist Lisa Middelhauve with her final album in the band this 2007, making it a ten year old album. Today's review will be "Salome - The Seventh Veil". Save My Life One of the two singles off from the album, this opening track for the album is known to be a live staple for shows before the current Tour of Dimensions set in and placing it on the side for now. I feel like this song is about a battle between life and death, and someone is calling for their love to reach out for them before it is too late. Chorus is quite catchy as well. I'm hoping to hear this ...

Feels like December 25 already by the feeling of the posts that I have just seen this past week. Loads of excitement to come our way in so little time. On the afternoon of June 9, I woke up this morning as usual - grabbing my breakfast and heading straight to my computer. I check my mail and noticed that I was mentioned in a comment from my friend Emily. I grew curious enough, so I got onto the usual and began to check what she mentioned to me. It was in a comment, so I click the notification. When I looked at the link, it mentioned my all-time favorite band Nightwish and it sparked in a bit of interest. The picture fully loaded with a load of text following and this is the picture that I can describe got my attention and made me gasp loudly: That's right! My all-time favorite band are coming back to Toronto in March 2018 and various other cities in both the United States and Canada. For the nine-month tour, their stop in Toronto will be at the legendary Massey Hall wh...

After some careful thought and I've been thinking about it for quite a bit of a while, so I decided 'why the hell not?' and typed this out. It's the end of the month of May, and I am going to label down on a few of the songs that were really good this month. Well, not the best ones... but the ones that I really enjoyed. These are my Top Five Songs of May 2017: (It'll be counted down from 5 to 1.) 5. Sirenia - Dim Days of Dolor My mind was blown away when I was introduced to this song for the first time live in concert when I was seeing them on May 17. Emmanuelle is such a beautiful singer, and they have quite a fantastic sound. This is from their new album which is the same title as the song, and it's the first album without Ailyn who left the band some time ago. Both Emmanuelle and Morten have signed my copy of their new album and I am quite happy to have met them. Hopefully they come again to Toronto soon! 4. Blind Guardian - Battlefield One of...