Posts Tagged ‘visions’
Metalhead Turns 40
When I was 10 I had some sort of vision, dream, sighting, whatever, that I would be dead by 40. It stuck in my head all these years. Since that 
year, I was never one to want to celebrate my birthday. One reason is because of the silly fanfare that comes with such things. I mean really, it is just another day. While I don’t celebrate, I always call my mom and thank her for having me.
I don’t mind celebrating other people’s birthdays. If they feel the need to make an event for it, I’m in. We humans are social creatures after all. This year I decided to throw myself a 40th birthday party. To be truthful I’m uncomfortable about the whole thing. I think it’s a bit narcissistic. I probably am to some degree anyway.
But to be honest, I really never did think I’d make it to 40. Well, it’s still 3 days away so there’s still time to not make it. If for some oddball reason I didn’t make it to forty, at least I’d die with no regrets. I’ve lived a pretty good life. Accomplished almost everything I ever wanted to. Lived and loved. It’s been a good run.
If I make it to Saturday (2/27), then I’ll have to come up with a new game plan. Especially with my 30s being a pretty incredible decade, the best one so far. I’ve always lived as if this day or week is my last. No matter what some silly vision I had 30 years says, today just could be the one. We have little control over that.
In the end, happy birthday to me. It’s been nice knowing you.
UP THE IRONS.
Stratovarius – Visions
So at the time that this album came out in 1997 I had already started my little
online record store called Acacia Music that mostly sold stuff on eBay and on my old website. I was buying most of my stuff from metal Blade and Century Media directly as they were able to get good priced metal imports to me at wholesale prices. I got to know these guys pretty well and went to LA in Sept/97 to visit with both companies. It was a wonderful experience and I got turned on to a lot of newer bands via that business.
Stratovarius was one of those bands.
While all of their albums are pretty consistent, Visions is the one for me. I really don’t need anything else by them except maybe the corresponding live album which is also pretty awesome.
There’s nothing that I can really sad negative about Visions. It’s powerful. It’s emotional. It’s heavy. It’s tasteful. I would rank this the best euro-power metal album of the 90s easily with Helloween being the best of the 80s.
The Metal Files 
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