Star One is the brain child of Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen. There are a few definitions around of the type of music that Star One plays, but I think the title of the first album actually sums it up best – Space Metal.

Star One is geek friendly music; each song tells a sci-fi story and the vast majority of their tracks are based on SF movies or TV shows. Here’s a taste; “Earth That Was”, from Victims of the Modern Age:

Space Metal was the first album I listened to and was pretty much sold when I realised that there were songs on there about Stargate, Alien, and Star Trek. Victims of the Modern Age went on to add The Matrix, Firefly, and 12 Monkeys into the mix, amongst others.

What I like about Star One is that the massive sound I loved about Ayreon (Arjen Lucassen’s best known project) was still there, but now it was attached to songs about movies and shows that I loved. Additionally, while the songs remain heavy, there’s a good deal of synth in there (which suits the SF theme) and some of the tracks are insanely catchy as well.

A cast of singers allows room for different characters, particularly in “The Eye of Ra” and “Songs of the Ocean”. The “stories” aren’t told outright either; events are often seen from the point of view of the characters from a film or show.

I discovered Star One through listening to Ayreon, another band that I can’t recommend enough, and which is also “geek friendly”; telling a continuous SF story across many albums (with one exception). The music is massive, the story is massive, and the musical cast is great.

I can’t recommend Lucassen’s music enough (there are many other projects and bands with which he’s been involved), but it’s Ayreon and Star One in particular that captured my imagination.

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After three listens through, I can say that I feel this is a better album than Dark Passion Play, the band’s last release. This has a much more atmosphere and the sound hits dark and lighter tones. It feels more of a rounded release, a pleasing flow between each song whereas with DPP, each track sounded more “stand alone”.

While not such a massive shift in sound that it will alienate fans, I think this is a definite step in a new direction. The bombast is still there (it wouldn’t be Nightwish without it) but new influences also abound – I’ve never heard an NW track that sounded like it would be at home in a Tim Burton movie before.

So, which tracks have caught my attention so far?

* “Slow, Love, Slow” – Nightwish have never done anything like this before. It sounds like the music that would drift from a darkened club in 1930′s America. Anette’s voice really suites this as well. It’s quite a dark sounding song and worms its way into your head.

* “I Want My Tears Back” – this isn’t the kind of song it sounds like it might be. It kicks ass and has a thumper of a chorus. It’s the most “traditional” Nightwish song on the album and easily the most instant and accessible.

* “Turn Loose The Mermaids” – the second of only two slower songs on the album, this has a real melancholy feel to it.

* “Last Ride of the Day” – another real belter, I can imagine this one will be very popular at upcoming gigs (why no UK dates for this tour yet!?).

“Song of Myself” is the (now almost traditional) epic of the album so is worth mentioning; clocking in at 13 minutes, it is again very different from the usual epic NW songs (eg Ghost Love Score or Dark Passion Play). Part lilting song, part spoken word, this needs a few listens to get your head around.

I’m now eagerly awaiting the movie. I can’t wait to see what they’ve come up with and how the songs are going to be incorporated into it. Surely the title track of the album was just made to be played over the end credits?

Give this a spin and enjoy.

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In At 5: Collision Course

Artist: Jay-Z/Linkin Park

Year: 2004

Genre: Nu Metal/Rap

Best Song: Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer

Ideal for: Cops & Criminals Games (APB, GTA etc.), Racing, Any game where you’re character’s a bad-ass

Why: Collision Course is a fantastic album that’s guaranteed to put you in the mood for being a bad ass, all the aggressive, shouty angst of Linkin Park subtly blended with the narcissistic big beats of everyone’s favourite featured artist, Jay-Z. It shouldn’t work, it should be jarring and awful but it turns out it’s awesome. I’m no big fan of rap music but this comes off well and Jay-Z rapping over the top of Linkin Park playing sounds great, way more interesting that usual Rap which tends to be bland (or a cover from 70-80s). With Collision Course in the back ground I guarantee whatever you’re driving will [appear to] be going faster.

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In At 4: Jagged Little Pill

Artist: Alanis Morisette

Year: 1995

Genre: Alternative Rock/Grunge

Best Song: You Oughta Know

Ideal for: RPG, MMO, Beat ‘Em Up

Why: A hugely successful album and with good reason, Jagged Little Pill is truly a modern classic and one of those emotional roller-coaster albums if you let yourself get swept along with it. From angry to bitter to longing to love all in one album, the perfect accompaniment to a heavy RPG story or to pass the time during longer MMO sessions while still keeping you alert. The best thing about it is that it also fades well into a background with you picking up all the cool sounds and emotions without being too engaged. Looking for the bite with a more chilled feel? Check out the acoustic version, it’s magical.

Click Me for Spotify Link!

In At 3: The Resistance

Artist: Muse

Year: 2009

Genre: Prog. Rock

Best Song: Resistance

Ideal for: Story Driven Shooters, Adventure, Space Combat, General SciFi

Why: I’m not sure I would call The Resistance an amazing album, it’s probably not even Muses best but it is beautiful, and it settles into the background of almost anything really well. It’s elaborate, almost symphonic backdrop coupled with a concept album tie in to legendary novel 1984 means not only can you feel like you’re following a story with the music but in the right setting, that the music is about your character. Since 1984 set a lot of cliches and staples a lot of the lyrics fit into different stories well and it’s almost too epic (I mean that in the traditional meaning not the new meaning) to sit in the background the smooth sounds ensure it never quite overpowers what you’re really concentrating on.

Click Me for Spotify Link!

In At 2: Tonight the Stars Revolt!

Artist: Powerman 5000

Year: 1999

Genre: Metal

Best Song: Blast Off to Nowhere

Perfect For: FPS, Side Scrolling Shooters & Anything SciFi

Why: Tonight the Stars Revolt! is an awesome album that’s almost guaranteed to get your blood pumping and you slagging off 15 year old American teenagers in no time. It’s industrial so there are big bass noises and straining, distorted vocals and I feel its pretty unique. The album has a really cool sci-fi theme (almost a concept album) and each track relates to a well known sci-fi cliche or story such as robot uprisings and alien invasions. You may not recognise the band but you will recognise tracks from the album as they have been used in popular games like Tony Hawk and Gran Tourism.

Click Me for Spotify Link!

Finally, At 1: Bat Out of Hell

Artist: Meatloaf

Year: 1977

Genre: Rock

Best Song: Bat Out of Hell

Perfect For: Anything where you need to win

Why: Bat Out of Hell is probably the only album on here which would also make my Top 5 Albums list.It’s distinctive in both the genre and music in general and is perfect to listening to when you need a little something to rev you up. Yeah the albums all over the place between goth like love songs and hard 70s rock and roll but that doesn’t mater. Nearly every track is a winner and your level 75 Wizard is going to feel pretty bad ass walking out of a dungeon to Bat Out of Hell.

Honorary Mention: This goes to the original Pokemon Anime theme song for being the only song that I know that makes me want to stop what I’m doing and play a specific game.Is it shit? Yes. Cheesy? Yes. Still awesome? Yes.

OK that’s a wrap, let me know if you agree/disagree below and maybe pur some of your own suggestions into the mix.

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The Unforgiving is a concept album and the album is just one part of the story- there are comics and
short films to take into consideration as well. While I’ve not hunted these out yet, it’s on my “to do” list.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is possibly the band’s best album to date. There is little trace, on
this album, of the almost Kate Bush-like vocal eccentricities of “Mother Earth” and almost nothing of the
ethereal, celtic feel of “The Silent Force”. Instead, both the music and Sharon’s vocals have been turned to a sharper, more agressive hard rock edge and it suites the album’s dark tone perfectly. While I’ll admit that I do miss the atmosphere of the earlier albums (this was, after all, the sound that made me a fan of the band), this newer sound is exciting and refreshing.

It normally takes me a few listens to get into an album but this was an exception. From the moment the almost 80′s
vibe of “A Shot in the Dark” kicked into high gear, I was hooked.

The songs are catchy as well; I found myself singing them long after I’d finished listening to the album.

Standout songs for me:

* A Shot in the Dark – catchy with a great chorus, this is almost the tone of the album summed up in one song.
* Faster – dark and agressive with Sharon’s voice sounding on top form.
* Iron – possibly my favourite song, along with Sinead. The beat and guitars drive this song on at a real pace.
* Sinead – another one that I found myself singing after I’d been listening to it- the near 80′s vibe is back
in this one and it sounds great!

All in all, this is a fantastic new album and shows how far the band have come since “The Dance”.

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As we have said many times before on the Guardian Force blog, music is really important to us all. It keeps us company at work, gives us something to talk about and most importantly of all controls our moods a huge percentage of the time. I’m not gonna write an essay about music today though, this post is for something else.

It goes without saying that there are more than enough social networks out there already and yes, I am going to recommend another BUT WAIT this one actually does have something special about it that makes it more than worth signing up for, especially if your a music lover or in a band.

The site is OOiZiT.com, it only launched out of private Beta testing this week but I was lucky enough to be invited during that time and I want to explain why I have enjoyed the experience so much.

Also a heads up because I always post honestly, yes I said I would post about their site in return for Beta driving but no I didn’t agree to

let them vet this post, or that it would even be positive, it’s what I think of the site from my time on it and I want to here your feedback too!

Maybe you have already heard of OOiZiT by now and you just want to know my opinions on the different parts of the site, heres some shortcuts to;

• Essentials and Social Media Features
• Features for Bands, Artists and DJs
• Features for Music Lovers/Listeners

The Essentials and Social Media Bit

OOiZiT.com (pronounced “ooo-is-it” according to a press release on the site) is a new music based social community which focuses on one thing, letting bands promote, distribute and sell their new music without a label.

Sounds relatively mundane right? After all MySpace has been doing this for years so what’s the big catch? OOiZiT.com not only lets you put your music up there for people to listen to but gives you the option of actually making real money from royalties on your work AND even getting into the charts.

That’s right putting out a hot selling single on OOiZiT.com gets you into the UK download top 40, this site is essentially making record labels obselete.

That’s not all though, the site features a huge ammount of support for people just looking to listen to new music, you can browse genres, artists and groups, talk to your favourite bands discover when their next gigs are and all the other stuff that usually comes along with this social networking stuff.

OOiZiT also features boat loads of connectivity meaning it can work alongside your Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and blog websites and even your mobile phone!

For New Bands and Artists…

In case you skipped the last section I’m gonna say this again, joining and uploading music to OOiZiT.com can get you into the UK download top 40, this site is essentially making record labels obselete.

If your a band you know how important getting singed is, it’s a massive step to be able to earn royalties and get noticed in charts but with OOiZiT you can actively choose to have those things available without the years of waiting for the rep to notice you.

OK so I have spoken about this to a few friends before posting and the music savy ones hit back with this question. “Surely its not the same as getting signed, you don’t get the multi-million pound marketing campaigns”.

Well the truth is this is a fair point, obviously record labels choose to invest in artists as part of a signing but OOiZiT does just give right up. There are a ton of promotion oppurtunites, merchandising features and more to play with.

For a start every account comes with an embeddable music player, all the tracks you upload onto the site can be store in a special playlist and put on your Myspace, Facebook and personal websites and these players let you upsell your tracks to listeners should you want to.

The site also has a really easy to use promotional banner feature where you can get your band listed across the top of the entire site for just the price of an SMS text message. A great “cheap” way to increase band exposure and as a Beta user I can tell you I almost always click new bands that appear on the bar.

You won’t be the first people taking the plunge with OOiZiT.com either, many up and coming stars such as Alex Blood, the Colours and the Swiines have all been featured artists on OOiZit.com and going forward into the next year becoming bigger and bigger.

OK so obviously the catch with a record label is they are taking a percentage from your royalties but this is not how OOiZiT works, you keep all your royalty payments and will be fully informed of what they are and where they have come from.

There is always a catch though right? Well it’s a small one on OOiZiT, as an artist or band you can choose to upgrade your account for some of the more advanced selling and promotional features. It costs less than a £10 a month, if you all chip in that’s probably £2.50 for a regular sized band each a month, I think that’s more than reasonable considering the free promotion tools you’ll be getting as well as the official integration with PPL, one of the worlds biggest royalties collection companies and the chance to take your band to the charts.

There is also an excellent articles section that serves as a new bands advice guide with info on the music industry in general and tips on how to setup gigs and get people following your band, definitely worth a read if you care about taking your band to the next level.

For the New Music Listener

If making music isn’t your thing then all those amazing features probably bounce off you a little, that’s fair enough. Not everyone can be a musical genius, some of us (like me) just want to appreciate the skill that others have but I, as one of you music elephants,still think OOiZiT is a fantastic site.

It’s not just because it finally shakes things up for the record companies, although I do take a certain satisfaction in that, it’s that it makes it easy to find new, interesting bands without actually having to put too much effort into it.

OOiZiT.com has its own genre chart sections so I can just pop along to the “rock charts” or “indie charts” and find which new bands are moving up, give them a listen and decide if I should support them. It’s literally two or three clicks to get to this section, a lot less effort than hitting 4 hours of the Radio 1 playlist just to find a new band that’s OK.

If you genuinely like music this alone should be enough reason to get on board, imagine knowing about all the bands you like today before a record label tampered with their sound? See how important OOiZiT is? It’s letting us get to (and I am trying really hard not to sound like a media snob here), raw new music produced by amazing artists who just haven’t been lucky enough to get played by Zane yet.

I hope you can see how exciting a world OOiZiT is opening up for both new music artists and listeners and you will at least give it a chance, create an account and explore both the site and your music tastes.

Conclusion

I really like the whole idea behind OOiZiT.com, we all know the record companies are, in their own way, changing music (whether you think this is good or bad is personal opinion) and OOiZiT could finally be the solution to escaping from their grasp.

It’s obvious the people behind the site love music and this is going to be very important as the site gets bigger and bigger and more people grab their chance at marketing their band with a labels help. The site is well designed, easy to use and for the most part totally free.

If I can level any criticism at the site it also happens to be one of the reasons I think it’s so great; it’s still growing.

Although it’s been around a while the new version and functionality is still new and haven spoken to some of the developers in Beta Testing I know there is so much more these guys are planning to do to both help increase the chance of bands being successful and help premium users get the most out of that tenner. If this site is what these guys are starting out with, I can’t imagine the advancement they will make in a year.

Get on board with OOiZiT.com now, grow with the site  and join in simply because we should be shaking the music world up and this could be exactly the thing that does it. Signup link is here.

http://www.ooizit.com/resister

Also they are nominated for a category in the Mashable OWA voting, please tweet or facebook them and spread the word http://mashable.com/owa/votes/category/49?c=49

It doesn’t feel like two years since The Divine Conspiracy. I really liked The Divine Conspiracy, it was a “big” album, but I think that Design Your Universe has certainly managed to one up its predecessor in terms of scope. DYU sounds massive. It does take a few listens to get into it though and some of the songs are more distinctive than others.

The stand outs for me, at the moment, are “Our Destiny” and “Tides of Time”, both of which sound majestic. “Burn to a Cinder” is also an honourable mention. It’s also great to hear Sonata Arctica’s Tony Kakko making an appearance on “White Waters”. The title track has, rather oddly, passed me by but I think that a few more listens are needed to fully appreciate it. Seeing as I’ve found that all of the Epica albums need to be listened to a fair few times before all their merits are made apparent, I haven’t found this strange.

Simone’s voice sounds great on this album; she has developed as a singer since TDC. Her voice soars on “Tides of Time”. This album sounds like a lot of time, thought and effort has gone into it, but I wouldn’t recommend it as a starting point if you’ve never listened to Epica before.

Special mention should go to “Kingdom of Heaven”, the album’s “big” track. Split into five parts and clocking in at thirteen minutes thirty five seconds, it takes longer to listen to this song than it takes me to drive to work.

Anyway, this album is definitely worth a listen, so pick up a copy or head over to Spotify to listen to it.

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