Jumat, 02 Mei 2008

TES UJIAN AKHIR SEKOLAH TIK MATERI WEBBLOG


Dream Theater was formed in September of 1985 when guitarist John Petrucci and bassist John Myung decided to form a band in their spare time while studying at the Berklee College of Music. The pair came across drummer Mike Portnoy in one of Berklee's rehearsal rooms, where he was asked to join the band. The trio started off by covering Iron Maiden and Rush songs in the rehearsal rooms at Berklee.

Myung, Petrucci, and Portnoy settled on the name Majesty for their newly formed group. According to the The Score So Far… documentary, they were waiting in line for tickets to a Rush concert at the Berklee Performance Center while listening to the band on a boom box. Portnoy commented that the ending of the song "Bastille Day" (from the album Caress of Steel) sounded "majestic." It was then decided that Majesty would be the band's name [5].

The trio then set out to fill the remaining positions in the group. Petrucci asked his high school band-mate Kevin Moore to play keyboards. After accepting the position, another friend from home, Chris Collins, was recruited as lead vocalist after band members heard him sing a cover of "Queen of the Reich" by Queensrÿche[6] During this time, Portnoy, Petrucci and Myung's hectic schedules forced them to abandon their studies to concentrate on their music. Moore also left his college, SUNY Fredonia, to concentrate on the band.

Selasa, 18 Maret 2008

HELLOWEEN

Helloween’s history dates all the way back to 1978 when Kai Hansen and Piet Sielck formed a band called “Gentry“. Around 1981 Kai and Piet changed the name of the band to “Second Hell” and recruited drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg and bassist Markus Großkopf who at the time had been playing in a band called “Traumschiff. In 1982 Piet Sielck leaves Second Hell to become a record producer and sound engineer and the band changes their name to “Iron Fist”. Michael Weikath of the band Powerfool tries to lure Kai Hansen to join his band, but in the end decides to join Kai’s band Iron Fist.

1984 comes around and an upstart independent label called Noise records invites the band to record two tracks on their new “Death Metal” compilation alongside bands such as Running Wild, Dark Avenger and Hellhammer. The band, still not satisfied with the name “Iron Fist” changes their name to Helloween. Ingo Schwichtenberg comes up with the idea to not only replace the “o” in Helloween with a pumpkin, but to also come up with pumpkin artwork which would later become one of Helloween’s biggest trademarks. The band contributed to the Death Metal compilation with two songs, a slower and sloppier version of “Metal Invaders” ( a song that would later appear on their debut full length Walls of Jericho) and the track Oernst Of Life.


In 1985 Helloween goes into the studio with producer Harris Johns and releases their debut, a self titled 5 track EP also known to many fans as “The Mini LP”. In October of 1985 the band then releases their first full length album, “Walls Of Jericho”, also produced by Harris Johns. The band also recorded the “Judas EP” which contained a new non album track entitled “Judas” and a compilation of live cuts. Helloween captured the media’s attention and received great reviews all over the world. In November of 1986 while the band toured, Kai Hansen found it difficult to sing and play guitar at the same time so when the tour was over the band began searching for a new singer. The band recruits 18 year old ex-Ill Prophecy singer Michael Kiske and begins work on a new album. The band decided that they wanted to release a double album, however Noise records said that they did not want Helloween to release a double album and therefore Helloween began work on the first part of a two part concept album.


7’s Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1, produced by Tommy Hansen and Tommy Newton, puts the band on the map. Helloween received rave reviews everywhere around the world including America where they embark on their first US tour with Grim Reaper and Armored Saint. The following year the band released the second part of their concept album called “Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II” which is even more successful than part 1. The band embarks on the Pumpkins Fly Free tour which takes them all over Europe and they even become one of the headliners at the Donnington Monsters of Rock festival in England along with bands such as Kiss, and Iron Maiden. In late 1988 Kai Hansen decides to leave the band because of the long touring schedule. In 1989 Helloween recruits former Rampage guitar player Roland Grapow and the band then embarks on their second Headbanger’s Ball tour in America with Anthrax and Exodus. Helloween also releases two best of albums, “The Best The Rest The Rare” and “Pumpkin Tracks“. They also release a live album from their Pumpkins Fly Free Tour of Europe. In Japan the album is called “Keepers Live”, in the USA it’s called “I Want Out Live” and around the rest of the world the live album is entitled “Live In The UK”. Helloween, unhappy with their current contract with Noise records decides to break their contract and sign to EMI records. Noise filed a lawsuit against the band for breach of contract and the band fights a major legal battle with Noise records which would last a long time. In the end, Helloween loses the legal battle and must not only pay Noise records a huge sum of money, but they cannot release any material outside of Europe or Japan. This left many people around the world wondering….”What happened to Helloween?”

Finally in 1991 the band releases the “Kids of The Century” single which contains a message from the band telling fans where they have been for the last 3 years. They then release their next album “Pink Bubbles Go Ape” which was not received well by the press and fans alike. Although the album does contain some great songs, especially the ones written by Roland Grapow, tensions inside the band begin to build up between members over which direction musically the band should takl

1993 sees the release their next album “Chameleon” which becomes the band’s most unsuccessful album to date. The band begins to endure even more trouble on the Chameleon tour as tensions build up even more while drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg begins to have problems with his psychological condition and cannot finish the tour. Richie Abdel Nabi replaces Ingo on a temporary basis and finishes the tour. After the tour EMI releases the band from it’s contract they fire singer Michael Kiske, citing musical and personal differences.

In late 1993 Andi Deris, former Pink Cream 69 singer, joins the band along with former Holy Moses and Gamma Ray Drummer Uli Kusch, a new lineup for Helloween is born. The band signs to Castle records in 1994. Their next album “Master of the Rings” was released and became what many people called a great comeback album! The band went on a successful tour and new singer Andi Deris surprised many fans with his versatile and powerful voice. The album was released a year later in North America with a second disc containing all 7 b-sides from the album. Tragedy also struck the band as former drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg committed suicide in 1995.


Helloween went back into the studio and released “The Time Of The Oath” in 1996, which was hailed by the press as their best album since the Keeper era. The album contained songs loosely based on the writings of Nostradamus. Helloween was back on top as The Time of The Oath earned them many gold and platinum albums throughout the world. Later that year they released the double live album “High Live” and was elected best band of 1996 by the Japanese magazine Buurn.


While the band began to write for the next album, Andi Deris released his first solo album “Come In From The Rain” and Roland Grapow released his first solo album “The Four Seasons of Life”. 1998 brought along the album Better Than Raw which was yet again released to rave reviews throughout the press. The band combined modern elements with their traditional Helloween sound which made for quite a unique album and went down well with fans. Roland Grapow also releases his second solo album. 1999 saw the band take a break and release a covers album entitled “Metal Jukebox”. This album contained a variety of rock, pop and metal classics which influenced the band. The band then set off to write their next album.


The band signed a two album deal with Nuclear Blast in the year 2000. Their next album entitled “The Dark Ride” , produced by Roy Z and Charlie Bauerfeind was released shortly after. The album became one of Helloween’s worst selling albums ever as the band took a darker and more modern sounding approach. Reviews of “The Dark Ride” in the press were mixed along with many fan reactions. Some liking the new direction and most wanting the Helloween of old. Tensions between members of the band began which led to the firing of guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch. The band also released "Treasure Chest", a 2 disc best of release that also had some older Helloween songs remixed. The best of also came as a limited edition with a bonus disc called "Buried Treasure" which contained some rare b-sides.


The band then recruits former Metalium drummer Mark Cross on drums and former Freedom Call guitarist Sasha Gerstner. In 2003 the band began to record for their next album, however their new drummer Mark Cross was diagnosed with mononucleosis and could only complete two songs for the recordings and thus was forced to leave the band. Former King Diamond and current Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee is called in to complete the band’s studio recordings on the drums

The band has just released their newest album "Gambling With the Devil" to great reviews. It's an album that takes them down a much heavier path and is described by singer Andi Deris as a mixture of Walls Of Jericho and Master of The Rings". The band will be embarking on a world tour that kicks off in Europe with Gamma Ray and Axxis.

Selasa, 11 Maret 2008

rock progressive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rush

Dari Wikipedia Indonesia, ensiklopedia bebas berbahasa Indonesia.

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Rush adalah kelompok musik progressive rock asal Kanada yang beranggotakan tiga orang. Mereka telah berkarir selama lebih dari 30 tahun dan merilis tujuhbelas album studio dan berbagai rekaman konser dan kompilasi lainnya.

Didirikan di tahun 1968 di Toronto oleh Alex Lifeson (gitar), Geddy Lee (vokal, bass, keyboards) dan John Rutsey (drums), Rush telah mengalami pergantian personel hanya satu kali ketika Rutsey keluar setelah album pertama dan digantikan oleh Neil Peart. Lee dan Lifeson biasanya menulis musik dan Peart liriknya, walaupun selalu ada kekecualian dari waktu ke waktu.

Semua anggota Rush dikenal sebagai musisi handal dan komposisi mereka kadang cukup rumit dengan irama yang tidak konvensional seperti 7/8 atau sinkopasi, juga solo gitar dan lirik bertemakan serius. Rush telah berkali-kali diberi penghargaan Juno Award, yaitu Grammy Award versi Kanada. Selain itu Lee, Lifeson dan Peart semua adalah anggota Order of Canada.

Daftar isi

[sembunyikan] [sembunyikan]

[sunting] Diskografi

[sunting] Album studio

  • Rush (Maret 1974)
  • Fly by Night (Februari 1975)
  • Caress of Steel (September 1975)
  • 2112 (Februari 1976)
  • A Farewell to Kings (September 1977)
  • Hemispheres (Oktober 1978)
  • Permanent Waves (Januari 1980)
  • Moving Pictures (Januari 1981)
  • Signals (September 1982)
  • Grace Under Pressure (April 1984)
  • Power Windows (Oktober 1985)
  • Hold Your Fire (September 1987)
  • Presto (November 1989)
  • Roll the Bones (September 1991)
  • Counterparts (Oktober 1993)
  • Test for Echo (September 1996)
  • Vapor Trails (Mei 2002)
  • Feedback (Juni 2004)

[sunting] Rekaman konser

  • All The World's a Stage (September 1976)
  • Exit...Stage Left (Oktober 1981)
  • A Show of Hands (Desember 1988)
  • Different Stages (November 1998)
  • Rush in Rio (Oktober 2003)

Selasa, 04 Maret 2008

DrEaM tHeaTer

Dream Theater Biography

James LaBrie -- vocals
John Myung -- bass
John Petrucci -- guitars
Mike Portnoy -- drums
Jordan Rudess -- keyboards

Octavarium is not only the eighth studio album from progressive heavy rockers Dream Theater, but it also marks 20 years of existence for this majestic outfit. "It's pretty incredible," says drummer Mike Portnoy, "Especially given the nature of what we do. I think maybe that's probably been the secret to our longevity, is that we've never fit in. But it's still incredible that here we are, 20 years later, and we're not one of those bands that's just sticking around on the downslide. We're still growing and progressing with each album and tour."

Not only has the five-piece resolutely defied both popular trends and fickle public tastes throughout its career, but Dream Theater's sound and approach is more vibrant, powerful and wide-ranging than ever. Octavarium, produced by the longtime tandem of Portnoy and guitarist John Petrucci, and mixed by Michael Brauer, encompasses the many varieties of heavy, epic, complex rock that has drawn legions of fans to the band's monumental catalog of releases and dynamic, marathon live shows.

"We had two goals this time," explains Portnoy about the band's focused-like-a- laser approach. "The first goal was a reaction to our last album, Train Of Thought (2003), which was intentionally very, very dark and heavy from start to finish. It was definitely the heaviest album we ever made. So when it came time to make this record, we knew we didn't want to do that again. We wanted to go back to a more traditional Dream Theater style, which is a variety of everything. We still have heavy songs, but also have some lighter songs, some epic, progressive songs -- it's more of a balance."

Portnoy adds that the group's second goal was to challenge themselves as songwriters by composing shorter pieces than the band is famous for. "Our last three or four albums, almost every song was very long. I mean, we've always had long songs our whole career, but -- we kind of did that formula to death. So we wanted to challenge ourselves this time to try and write shorter songs. For most bands, it's a challenge to write a long song, but to us, the challenge is to go the other way. There are three or four songs on the album that are very short and concise, but are still Dream Theater."

Indeed, tunes such as "I Walk Beside You" and "The Answer Lies Within" clock in at five minutes or under -- largely unexplored territory for a band known for "double digit" masterpieces like "A Change Of Seasons" and "Metropolis." But what's even more surprising about those two new tracks -- both highlights of Octavarium -- is the diversity of material they represent. "Songs like those are kind of new for Dream Theater," says Portnoy. "There's almost a Coldplay or U2 influence. It's something that we've always had and tried to tap into, but I don't think we've ever truly nailed it as strongly as we did with these songs. And then you have songs like 'Panic Attack' and 'The Root Of All Evil' which are so dark and heavy and progressive and technical, and then something like 'Octavarium' and 'Sacrificed Sons,' which are true epics."

The latter two cuts both feature an orchestra, something the band has never utilized before, while the 24-minute title cut is sure to become one of the band's signature pieces. "I think it's one of the best things we've ever written, because it encompasses a little bit of everything that Dream Theater is about in one statement," says Portnoy proudly. "I think most of our fans' favorite songs from our catalog tend to be those type of songs."

That catalog extends back to 1989, when Dream Theater released its debut album, When Dream And Day Unite. The group has formed several years earlier, in September of 1985, when Berklee School of Music students Portnoy, John Myung and John Petrucci decided to start a band together. Originally known as Majesty, the fledgling act recruited keyboardist Kevin Moore and singer Chris Collins into the fold. Collins eventually left, replaced by Charlie Dominici, while another band forced them to drop the Majesty moniker in favor of Dream Theater, named after a demolished California cinema.

When Dream And Day Unite made an immediate impact on the underground progressive rock scene, but Dream Theater wanted to push further. Replacing Dominici with James LaBrie, the group signed to Atco (later absorbed by Atlantic) and recorded 1992's groundbreaking Images And Words. Featuring the hit, "Pull Me Under," the album introduced Dream Theater to hordes of new fans that continue to support the band to this day.

Many more albums followed, including 1994's Awake, 1997's Falling Into Infinity and 1999's Scenes From A Memory. At the same time, Kevin Moore gave way to first Derek Sherinian, then Jordan Rudess. Personnel changes, label turnover, and the ill-timed release of 2001's Live Scenes From New York -- which arrived on September 11th, 2001, with cover art featuring a New York skyline against a backdrop of flames -- roiled the group but never truly deflected it from its musical path. "The biggest reason we've been able to endure that is our devoted fan base," says Mike Portnoy. "Our fans are as big a part of the story as we or our music is. They're the reason that we're able to keep a major label deal and go and play sheds and large theatres and stuff like that without mainstream exposure. It's due to this incredible fan base that stands by us through thick and thin from year to year."

And now that fan base is about to be rewarded once again with the June 7th release of Octavarium. The last album to ever be recorded at New York's legendary Hit Factory before it closed its doors for good in March of 2005, this record is sure to please every single diehard Dream Theater fan out there, and will continue to draw new ones to the band's skillful medley of heavy metallic power, delicate melodicism, and brilliant, literally award-winning musicianship. "There's always gonna be an audience for musicians and artists and people who actually want to create something that's valid and unique," concludes Portnoy. "The rock stardom thing and being on MTV and selling millions of records and being part of a trend has never been interesting to us. We're just five musicians that like to play and write together, and luckily there's this devoted audience that's been behind us all this time."