“We are Forerunners. Guardians of all that exists. The roots of the Galaxy have grown deep under our careful tending. Where there is life, the wisdom of our countless generations has saturated the soil. Our strength is a luminous sun, towards which all intelligence blossoms… And the impervious shelter, beneath which it has prospered.”

Hector’s Hymn

One of the rare latter-day HAMMERFALL songs that is actually fun to listen to: I really don’t know what happened to those guys. Their first two albums were really solid- not great, not quite up there with HELLOWEEN, BLIND GUARDIAN, GAMMA RAY, or GRAVE DIGGER,...

Didact’s Album List 2015

E NOMINE – Das Beste Aus… Gottes Beitrag und Teufels Werk (4.2/5) KAZUMA JUNNOUCHI – HALO 5: Guardians Original Soundtrack (4.5/5) IRON MAIDEN – The Book of Souls (10.0/5) SCHLAFES BRUDER – Heute...

The Didact’s Best Albums of 2015

As I did with books, so I will do with albums that I listened to and purchased this year. In descending order, here are my 5 favourite albums that I listened to this year. Note that one of the albums listed below was actually released in 2013, not 2015; the rest,...

R.I.P. Lemmy Kilmister

It had to happen someday. I just never quite expected to be around when it did- after all, Lemmy Kilmister drank so much that I figured his entire body was basically preserved in alcohol by now. But, very sadly, it had to end. A great man has left us- a party animal,...

The Ballad of Rodger Young

Seeing as how LTC Kratman got me thinking about Starship Troopers (not like I need much prodding there, though), I figured we might as well look at the battle hymn that in some ways inspired and is woven into the book itself: No, they’ve got no time for glory in...

See what I mean about “old school”?

And I do mean OLD school: That song was recorded in 1982. Thirty-three years later, it has still lost none of its force and power. Neither, for that matter has this song: And nor has this one- which has to be pretty much the dictionary definition of an evergreen...

Ember City

This one is for a certain reader who had the very sad misfortune of celebrating his birthday the other day while laid up in bed with a horrible cold. He’s a big fan of this band- or at least, of its drummer. And with very good reason: I saw them play live...

No school like the old school

GRAVE DIGGER shows us why there is nothing quite as awesome as straight-up 80s power metal: I saw these guys play live opening for BLIND GUARDIAN (!!!!!!!!!!!) the other night. They absolutely KILLED. And they were just the opening act. What followed was...

Happy HELLOWEEN 2015

Man, this song never gets old: It’s so good, in fact, that HELLOWEEN recorded two separate follow-ups to it. And then they recorded an “orchestral” version of all three in a medley, which I personally think is some of their best work ever: If you...

Album Review: The Book of Souls by IRON MAIDEN

When some bands come out with new albums, you’ll listen to them a few dozen times, you’ll find them irresistibly catchy, and then you’ll put them away, out of sight and out of mind, for months or even years. That’s simply the nature of the...