The Avant-Garde Metallic Orchestra

Sophisticated metal instrumentals with a heavy symphony orchestral backup.

Iron Maiden, Savatage, Yngwie Malmsteen, Dio, Helloween, Gamma Ray, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Queensryche, Richard Strauss, Obsession, Grim Reaper, Raven, Extreme, Andres Segovia, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Tony MacAlpine, Jake E. Lee, Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, Dark Dreams, Darkness Eternal, Mikill, Scott Bronner, Bruce Dickenson, Halford, Def Leppard, Nightwish, Randy Rhodes, Rhapsody, Glen Tipton, Luca Turilli, Zakk Wylde, Berliner Philharmoniker, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; And lets not forget the producers: Paul O'Neal, Martin Birch, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Tom Allom, Micheal Wagener, Roy Z, Tommy Hansen, Kevin Shirley, Tuomas Holopainen, TeeGee Kinnunen, Chris Tsangarides, Peter Quinn, Peter Collins, Yngwie Malmsteen (as a producer) and Ronnie Dio (as a producer)

Jackson Guitar, M-Audio Keystation 49e Keyboard, DigiTech effects pedal, Marshall Amp, Magix Music Maker 10, Slayer2 VSTi Software, Anvil Studio Software, East West/Quantum Leap Orchestral Silver Pro XP VSTi software, and East West/Quantum Leap Storm Drum VSTi software, Yamaha/Zero G Vocaloid "Leon" and "Miriam" VSTi Software.

The brain child of John Roberge. Merriam Websters Collegiate Dictionary defines "avant-garde" as "an intelligentsia that developes new or experimental concepts esp. in the arts".

The next time your in a record store see how many CD's you can find that contain good hard and heavy rock with a sophisticated symphony orchestra playing backup. There are a few out there but not very many. So, my consideration is that if the "pros" won't make the kind of music I like to listen to most then I'll just have to do it myself. And besides, using my computer to compose music with is far more fun than any video game I ever played.

I consider my songs like they were my children, I get my fair share of complements on them but no one will ever love them as much as I do.

The popular trend in rock has been to grow more and more primitive. I want the music I listen to, to grow more complex and sophisticated not less.

Bridgeing the gap between the genres "Metal" and "Classical" could be described as adding "Horsepower" to "Aesthetic" or bridgeing the gap between "physiological impact" and "pretty sophistication". Some of you might consider my compositions to be excessively long, but just like "The Mighty Maiden" there was another one of my musical heros that was very notable back in the day for breaking the "rules" with regard to how long a song should be. And just like Emperor Joseph II said to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1782, "Too many notes my dear Mozart." No kidding! He really said that!

And finally, if any one cares. Any and all samples I use are purchased legitimately with a license, and I do register the copyrights on everything I publish.

Oh! One more thing!

Once when asked to define what "great art" was, heavy metal producer extraordinaire, Paul O'Neil replied, "The purpose of art is to create an emotional response in the person that is exposed to that art. And there are three categories of art; bad art, good art and great art. Bad art will elicit no emotional response in the person that is exposed to it, i.e.; a song you hear in an elevator and it does nothing to you, a picture on a wall that gives you the same emotional response as if the wall had been blank, a movie that chews up time. Good art will make you feel an emotion that you have felt before; you see a picture of a forest and you remember the last time you went fishing with your dad, you hear a song about love and you remember the last time you were in love. Great art will make you feel an emotion you have never felt before; seeing the pieta, the world famous sculpture by Michelangelo, can cause someone to feel the pain of losing a child even if they've never had one."

Not only do I agree with his definition, that is one of my favorite quotes on the subject. Well worth stating here.