Divinity Destroyed fucking KILLED at last night's show.  I just bought their Eden in Ashes album on iTunes and ordered their Nocturnal Dawn album off their website.  

Awesome band and really nice guys too.  The keyboards and bass could have been a bit more prominent in the mix, though.

"Sex & Religion" by Vai

This is almost universally panned as Vai's worst album.  But hot damn if I don't love it to pieces.  It has its moments (i.e. "Touching Tongues" is an AMAZING song) and though some of the songs have not-so-great lyrics ("In My Dreams With You" comes to mind), it doesn't matter because Devin Townsend absolutely steals the show.  When I first heard this album, I was completely blown away by the singer and knew he was something special.  Now, anyone who listens to Devy's music knows he's something special.  

And "Sex & Religion" is the album that started it all.  The album may have been frought with peril and not be as good as other Vai albums like "Passion and Warfare" but Devin totally slays.  I love his vocal work on "Down Deep Into the Pain."  

There really isn't a single song I don't like on the album.  It's one of those albums that I love but everyone else loathes.

Man, if it weren't for those exorbitant international shipping rates and the fact I'm already looking to spend too much money on music gear (i.e. a PA system, a subwoofer for my bass rig, and a drumkit) I'd totally hit you up for that keyboard.

...because God forbid teenage girls use their free time to engage in "usual" pursuits during spring break like having promiscuous sex, drinking gallons of tequila, and shooting up drugs.

That's just insane.  I work part time in a pre-K (4-5 year olds) and you know how kids that age are.  They're naturally clingy and touchy-feely.  Not a single work day goes by when I don't get hugs from the kids.  Of course, I always have to be careful because I am a guy and guys typically don't teach/work with such young children.    

As for the "roughhousing" bit, c'mon!  You can't put forcefields around kids.  There's a reason God/Evolution/Whatever made kids out of rubber at that age.  They're physically and mentally resilient.

EDIT:  That site is creepy as hell though.  Mark, what in the holy name of Lemmy Kilminster were you even DOING on a loli site in the first place?

I just got back from a concert.  I saw a Rutgers all female a-capella group called Shockwave (who were awesome), an MTV-friendly pop-punk band called Distant Enemies (who sucked), my good friends in No Damn Problem (a kickass ska band who's calling it quits), my good friends in the thrash metal band Asylum, and the prog-metal stylings of Divinity Destroyed.

Divinity Destroyed were fuckin' awesome.  And they're really nice guys too.  Not to mention, their fanbase/crowd are nice people too.  They thought it was cool that I was doing air-keys to "Forsaken" which is why "Forsaken" by Divinity Destroyed is my song of the moment.  One of their guitar players' thumbs was bleeding like crazy and he still completed the set in true metal fashion.  There was a nice blood stain all over his guitar.  

Lyrics cribbed from their website http://www.divinitydestroyed.com

High in the sky, I see you falling
Why do you think that I will catch you?
Past the clouds a burning fire
Hear it sing like a choir
You gave much more than you should have
My first words are your last rites
Deep within my vacant mind
Sits the thought,
"Maybe there is hope..."

Rays of light pour from my eyes and
Baptize all that lay beneath me
Everything that I have gained is
Nothing next to all I've lost
I surrender to the blackness
Hoping, praying for acceptance
Deep within my vacant mind
Sits the thought,
"Maybe there is hope..."

No sins, yet forsaken
When will I awaken...
This truth I won't swallow:
I have become hollow
I'll wait for tomorrow
Where there is no sorrow
I see a light in the darkness
I weep as that light goes out

Neverending pain
Driving me insane
No more, I can't take it
Silent cries
Bloodshot eyes
I'll defy you til I fall
Final living breath
Welcomed into death
Mercy please, I'll beg for mercy
Now alone
On my own
All I wanted was salvation

Lost and staring at the ground I
Realize: "I am nothing"
Tears are streaming down my face and
Seeping deep into my wounds
I am beaten, I am battered
Dripping blood, my wings are tattered
Broken, I fall to my knees and
Cry to the sky,

"Heaven, take me home"

I'm going to take a cue from CluelessWonder and say that I bought a ticket to see Divinity Destroyed at Rutgers tonight.  My good friends in Asylum and No Damn Problem will be playing the show too.  There will also be a shitty ass band called Distant Enemies playing, but whatever.  

I can't wait for the show.  Divinity Destroyed are a damn good prog metal band from NJ and this'll be my first prog show.  Asylum's always consistent and NDP's always fun plus this is the 2nd to last NDP show before they call it quits.

I agree about Starbreaker's vocalist.  He is trying waaay too hard.  

I have some Angra on my iPod and I do like them.  

I don't really like Queensryche.  

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about Fates Warning.  I had a copy of "A Pleasant Shade of Grey" at one point, but I don't know what happened to it.  Must've gotten lost in a move or something.  I'll have to rectify that, since I absolutely love that album.

"Divisions" by Heaven's Cry is a great song too.  I love how the guitars are often jangly and almost watery sounding.

Deg- thanks bunches for that prog archives link.  So many amazing bands there to sample.  

And yes Deg, CDBaby is quite an addictive site, isn't it?  It's via CDBaby that I even heard about Mindflow and Cea Serin.  

Bands I've sampled on that prog archives site:

Adagio- "Next Profundis" is a fantastic song.  At first I wasn't too fond of the vocalist, but I got used to him.  He's not a bad singer, but something about his voice just initially rubbed me the wrong way but I guess he's just an acquired taste.  Very classical sounding song, in general.  

Anathema- I listened to the song "Forgotten Hopes."  I love how atmospheric it is; the arrangements are complex and highly layered but everything breathes and has space.  And I'm digging the vocals.  I love how they're like British new wave/indie rock.   Killer.  It's like what would happen if the music I play with my band met the kind of prog-metal stuff I most enjoy listening to.  This is the kind of musical approach I want to bring to the Sullen Door table.  (Sullen Door= my band.)  

Ark- I listened to the song "Resurrection" and while the bassline and drumming in the intro are great, it felt kinda soulless.  The quieter verses are trying to be atmospheric, but it's not as skillful as Anathema.  

Circus Maximus- I listened to the song "Alive."  It's an alright song, but, it sounded as if they were trying a bit too hard to be like Dream Theater.  

Borknagar- I listened to the song "The Weight of Wind."  Losfer wasn't lying in his description.  I didn't get to hear any vocals in this one, though.  

Dead Soul Tribe- I listened to the song "Why."  The vocals kinda remind me of Tool in the verses, but I like this so much better than Tool before sounding like my friend's band S.I.G. ( http://www.myspace.com/sigband ) in the chorus.  I liked this song a lot.  It felt familiar but also unique.  

Liquid Tension Experiment- "Universal Mind" is one of the greatest things I have ever heard.  WOW!!!!!

Nightingale- I listened to "The Dreamreader."  The vocalist sounds kinda like a narrator in a horror film.  Cool.  The song sounds very 80s and is fast and upbeat.  I love it.  

Opeth- I listened to "The Drapery Falls."  The song was fantastic... until the guy started doing that Cookie Monster growling.  

Riverside- "I Turned You Down" is a good song, but doesn't quite compare with the excellent competition here

My personal favorites are the songs I heard by Anathema and Liquid Tension Experiment.

Sazabi- I don't have that much Pagan's Mind, but the majority of stuff I do have by them is off the Celestial Entrance album.  But I don't think you can go wrong with any of their albums.  

I'll have to listen to some of this stuff and get back to you all.

The CD is "Energy" by Ameet Sharma.  Ameet is my cousin and a very talented composer.  He was born the exact same day as I was, which is kinda cool.  This is his debut album, all done on a synthesizer.  He's trying to break into composing for video games, animation, and/or film.

Since you all are gamers here and thus enjoy game music, I would like you to listen to the samples offered here, and post opinions.  I think my cousin's music is great, but I would like to hear what other gamers out there think.  

http://cdbaby.com/cd/ameetsharma

Hi all.  As my musical tastes become more defined I'm starting to more clearly define favorites.  Though I will still listen to anything from Disney to Death Metal, my fave musical genre has become prog-metal.  I love the intricate lush and sweeping arrangements with epic feels that almost remind me of video game or even classical music (but with a modern twist.)  

Here are the prog-metal artists I currently have represented on my iPod: Age of Nemesis, Ascension Theory, Cea Serin, Divinity Destroyed, Dream Theater/ Jordan Rudess, Mindflow, Pagan's Mind, Pain of Salvation, Shadow Gallery, Star One, Sun Caged, Symphony X, and if you count them as prog (personally, I think they're unclassifiable): Dysrhythmia, Behold the Arctopus, Devin Townsend.  I also have this song called "God is Dead" by Vision Divine and it is awesome.  

I'd like some recommendations for good prog-metal.  Something in the vein of say Symphony X, Divinity Destroyed, or my friends' band Roman Numeral 10 ( http://www.myspace.com/romannumeral10 ).  Lush keyboards, loads of guitar, soaring vocals, you know the drill, though perhaps with a more American flavor since the prog-metal bands I most gravitate to are American (i.e. DT, SX, DD, RN10, SG...)

I know many of you here are prog-heads, so I thought I'd ask for recommendations here.

Between having been sick, having the climate control system not working in my apartment (it's sweltering in here), my car's having engine problems again, I didn't feel at all on at today's band practice, I needed a truly majestic prog song that would transcend my foul mood into a new mindstate.  This particular song did that.  I felt truly uplifted, blissful and most sincerely awesome listening to it and I'm listening to it again.  The song is truly a work of art.  It is so aesthetically pleasing on many levels.  

It's Communion and the Oracle by Symphony X.  NJ prog-metal in the house, what with bands like Symphony X, Divinity Destroyed, and Roman Numeral 10... Love it!  

Anyway, here are the lyrics to Communion and the Oracle by Symphony X

All we know, now has come undone
Balance lost between the Moon and Sun
Hear out prayers - Keepers of the Skies
Divine
Upon us all - let your wisdom shine

Losing faith as the madness prevails
in us all we are searching for a reason,
a need to calm the storm
In our sails - let your winds be strong

Breathe the air around you
The oceans fill your veins and winds
embrace your heart
Feel the change within you
The Sun and Moon align - The Grand
Design awaits a new start

From the skies, looking down on you
Through the clouds tainted crystal blue
"Such advancement, yet lacking the
control,
so unaware of your earthly roles"

Praise this child and the words of her
rhyme
A sacred gift - Magic of the Five will
bring you tranquillity
A new order of equality

Five senses come alive - Five reasons
thrive - Five nations unite - Unite as
one
Night and Day will find a way to keep
the Balance true
Let the Sky and Stars be your guide -
the destination is up to you

Raise our heads up to the Skies
Feel the essence of Time
Changing ways like the shifting tides
In the waves hear the Rhyme

Damn, are you seriously auctioning off Panzer Dragoon Saga?  Damn man.  I'd love to have PDS, but I can never afford it on Ebay prices.  Always jump like crazy towards the end of the auction.  

Still, you'll easily double or even triple your investment on that game.

My turn to finally contribute to the game journal.  I'm playing the Hirameki Interactive DVD "Tea Society For a Witch."  So far, despite the cutesy appearance, it has a lot of sexual tension and perverted humor in the dialogue.  Very much on the level of Ranma 1/2.  

Yes, it's a Japanese digital novel (aka a choose-your-own-adventure style game) that Hirameki translated into English.  

I'm digging the music.