List of concept albums (narrative)

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Contents 1 1960s 1.1 1961 1.2 1963 1.3 1965 1.4 1967 1.5 1968 1.6 1969 2 1970s 2.1 1970 2.2 1971 2.3 1972 2.4 1973 2.5 1974 2.6 1975 2.7 1976 2.8 1977 2.9 1978 2.10 1979 3 1980s 3.1 1980 3.2 1981 3.3 1982 3.4 1983 3.5 1984 3.6 1985 3.7 1987 3.8 1988 3.9 1989 4 1990s 4.1 1990 4.2 1991 4.3 1992 4.4 1993 4.5 1994 4.6 1995 4.7 1996 4.8 1997 4.9 1998 4.10 1999 5 2000s 5.1 2000 5.2 2001 5.3 2002 5.4 2003 5.5 2004 5.6 2005 5.7 2006

This is a list of concept albums that present a narrative thread or storyline as distinct from those in which the content is linked by a broad underlying theme or concept. See also List of rock operas (albums).

Following is a list of narrative concept albums, listed by year recorded.

[edit] 1960s

[edit] 1961

• The Lure of the Grand Canyon - Johnny Cash (1961) - Songs about a day in the Grand Canyon from "Sunrise" through "Sunset."

[edit] 1963

• The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady - Charles Mingus (1963) - Done in four “tracks” or “modes”, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is the noir-ish exploration of Charles Mingus’ soul as a big screen high drama production.

[edit] 1965

• Beach Boys' Party! - The Beach Boys (1965) - A simulation of a party with the Beach Boys and their friends. It's also the first prototype of unplugged recordings.

[edit] 1967

• Days of Future Passed - The Moody Blues (1967) - An account of an "everyman's day" from daybreak to nighttime, featuring rock band with mellotron and orchestra.

[edit] 1968

• In Search of the Lost Chord - The Moody Blues (1968) - The search for spiritual fulfillment.
• Ogden's Nut Gone Flake - Small Faces (1968) - Often regarded as one of the first "storied" concept albums, only the second side (or tracks 7-12 on the CD) make up a story. With narration by Professor Stanley Unwin, the story tells of Happiness Stan who is looking for the other half of the moon.
• S.F. Sorrow - The Pretty Things (1968) - The life story from birth through adulthood of a man who experiences tragedy.
• The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (1968) - Like Ogden's Nut Gone Flake, only one side of the album maintains the narrative theme. Side A contains the Hellfire Suite, Arthur Brown's retelling of a dream involving fire, hell, and temptation.

[edit] 1969

• Ark 2 - Flaming Youth (1969) - A space evacuation from a dying Earth, inspired by the allegededly faked moon landing.
• Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) - The Kinks (Reprise, 1969) - A middle-aged man gradually loses touch with society. Originally intended as the soundtrack to a television movie, which was never aired. Cited in Shuker 2002, p.6.
• Tommy - The Who (1969) - A deaf, dumb, and blind pinball wizard experiences enlightenment when his psychosomatic condition is cured. Initially viewed as a new Messiah, he finds he cannot convey his enlightenment to his followers.

[edit] 1970s

[edit] 1970

• Blows Against the Empire - Paul Kantner & Jefferson Starship (1970) - The story of a group of people who steal a starship from the elite and found a utopia elsewhere
• Edmundo Lopez - Coupla Prog (1970) - describes the story of an imaginary boy living in an unspecified South American country, and his experiences in trying to survive in hiding during civil war.
• Jesus Christ Superstar - Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice (1970) - A rock opera detailing the last week in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
• To Samuel a Son - The Gods (1970) - Series of songs chronicle the life of a man named Samuel J. from birth to death, somewhat derivative of the Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow. Only the first nine of the original album's fourteen tracks appear to comprise the story arc.

[edit] 1971

• Babbacombe Lee - Fairport Convention (1971) - Based on the true story of John "Babbacombe" Lee, "The Man They Could Not Hang," a man wrongly convicted of murder whose life was saved when the hanging rope broke.
• Escalator Over The Hill - Carla Bley (1971) - called a "Jazz Opera," an extended conceptual piece that transformed the "Rock Opera" idea into a jazz setting.
• Histoire de Melody Nelson - Serge Gainsbourg (1971) - the doomed affair between a middle-aged Frenchman and a 15-year-old English schoolgirl
• Teaser and the Firecat - Cat Stevens (1971) - Tells the story of top-hatted young Teaser and his pet Firecat, who attempt to put the moon back in its place after it falls from the sky. One year later, Cat Stevens published a children's book with the same story.

[edit] 1972

• Thick as a Brick - Jethro Tull - Its lyrics are built around a poem written by a fictitious boy, "Gerald Bostock" or "Little Milton" about the trials of growing up. At the time (and even today) many people believed that Gerald Bostock was a real person.
• America: A 200 Year Salute in Story and Song - Johnny Cash (1972) - The culmination of Johnny Cash's string of Americana concept albums. An attempt to tell the entire history of America over the course of a 40 minute album.
• The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - David Bowie (1972) - story of a Martian Messiah, Savior and rock star named Ziggy Stardust
• Three Friends - Gentle Giant (1972) - Three old friends reminisce about their days as schoolchildren

[edit] 1973

• A Passion Play - Jethro Tull (1973) - A man's journey through afterlife: he discovers that the other world is nothing but a big bureaucratic office.
• Berlin - Lou Reed (1973) - A tale of a drug abusing couples' doomed romance
• Preservation Act 1, Preservation Act 2 - The Kinks (1973, 1974) - The rise of a greedy developer and his fall at the hands of a moralizing dictator, set in and around a quaint English village.
• Quadrophenia - The Who (MCA, 1973) - In the sixties, a schizoid boy loses all his certainties in life and becomes disillusioned by the Mod movement which he adopted. Cited in Shuker 2002, p.6.
• Remember The Future - Nektar (1973) - An extraterrestrial named "Bluebird" befriends a small child and shows him the history of the planet Earth.

[edit] 1974

• Eldorado (1974) - Electric Light Orchestra - A man escapes to a dream world (seeing himself as different characters in diverse and fantastic circumstances) so he can endure a harsh reality.
• Journey to the Center of the Earth - Rick Wakeman (1974) - Adapted from Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
• The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) - Genesis - Surrealistic tale of a Puerto Rican gang member's death, and journey through the underworld. Based on The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
• Planet of Man - Code III (1974) - follows the history of humanity, beginning with the earth preceding humans, building to a climax/crisis of confusion and hatred, the destruction of the human race, and the re-emergence of new life from the primal goop.
• Red Queen to Gryphon Three - Gryphon (1974) - Follows a game of chess whereby the players' feelings are represented through different musical styles.
• The Boy From the Star - Jim Keays (1974) - ex-Master's Apprentices singer turns spaceman to tell the tale of an extraterrestrial who comes to earth warning us to change our ways, and encouraging us to make our world a better place.*

[edit] 1975

• Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy - Elton John (1975) - Elton John and Bernie Taupin describe their rise to stardom.
• Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table - Rick Wakeman (1975) - Adapted from the legends of King Arthur
• Spartacus - Triumvirat (1975) - A concept album based on the Roman gladiator who led the 3rd slave uprising in 73 - 71 BC.
• The Prince of Heaven's Eyes - Fruupp (1975) - The whimsical adventures of a young man who decides to leave his home in a small Irish village.
• The Snow Goose - Camel (1975) - Concerns a goose in World War II, based on a novella by Paul Gallico

[edit] 1976

• Alice Cooper Goes to Hell - Alice Cooper (1976) - Alice Cooper goes to hell for the shock rock lifestyle he has led.
• A Life - Alpha-Omega (1976) - Follows the life of a man from birth to death.
• Backdoor Possibilities - Birth Control (1976) - Follows the lives of a 9-5 everyman and looks into the possibilities he could be exploring in life outside of conformity.
• Evita - Andrew Lloyd Webber w/ Tim Rice (1976)
• L'homme a tete de chou (Cabbage Head) Serge Gainsbourg (1976) - a man's jealousy over his wife's adultery leads him to kill her
• Mothership Connection - Parliament (1976) - A messianic figure named Starchild comes to earth on a Mothership to bring the Funk to humanity.
• Olias of Sunhillow - Jon Anderson (1976) - Four tribes of an alien race must gather together to build the craft that will let them escape the destruction of their world.
• The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony - Horslips (1976) - based on an adaptation of Irish legends built into a complex story.
• Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! - Jethro Tull (1976) - A has-been rocker who has reached his late fifties is disfigured in a motorcycle accident; after youth-restoring plastic surgery and physical resuscitation, he finds himself fashionable again
• Kåldolmar Och Kalsipper - Nationalteatern - A communist child play.

[edit] 1977

• Hope - Klaatu (1977) - The sole survivor of an arrogant race tries to make amends
• I Robot - The Alan Parsons Project (1977) - Based on the robot stories of Isaac Asimov
• The Rambler - Johnny Cash (1977) - Cash drives across America and picks up hitchhikers along the way. Every song on The Rambler is tied together by dialogues between Cash and the hitchhikers. The last and least successful of Cash's Americana concept albums.

[edit] 1978

• Here, My Dear - Marvin Gaye (1978) - A description of the circumstances that led to Marvin's divorce. (An urban legend holds that the judge who handled the divorce settlement awarded the royalties from this album to Marvin's ex-wife, Anna, and that Marvin deliberately recorded sub-standard work to deprive her of those royalties. The true story, however, is that while a substantial part of the settlement money was projected to come from the royalties of the album (and an even larger part had already come from the advances on those royalties) Marvin was liable for the entire amount no matter how well or poorly the record performed.)
• Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds - Jeff Wayne (1978) - a musical in the form of a radio play based on H.G. Wells's classic novel of Martian invasion, The War of the Worlds
• That's Life - Sham 69 (1978) - the travails of working class youth in suburban London. Notable as the first punk rock concept album.
• Not Available - The Residents (1978) - a story about a girl called Edweena

[edit] 1979

• Joe's Garage - Frank Zappa (1979) (Originally released as two separate albums; Act I and Acts II/III) - follows "Joe," the prototypical rock-star wanna-be, as he wastes his life pursuing a false dream, sinking to degrading new lows in self-esteem...
• Setting Sons - The Jam (1979) - Three childhood friends meet again and discuss their lives
• The Wall - Pink Floyd (1979) - A rock star becomes alienated from his friends, family and fans, and seals himself behind a metaphorical wall.

[edit] 1980s

[edit] 1980

• Gentlemen Take Polaroids - Japan (1980) - A man drives along a road at night.
• Gideon - Kenny Rogers (1980) - The tragic life of a fictitious cowboy

[edit] 1981

• 1984 - Rick Wakeman (1981) - Adapted from 1984 by George Orwell - with lyrics by Tim Rice - the only substantial concept work based on Orwell's acclaimed fable.
• Nude - Camel (1981) - A World War II veteran who was stranded on an island alone is rescued; he can not cope with life in society and returns to the island
• The Mark Of The Mole - The Residents (1981) - A culture is driven from their homes by a storm and forced into conflict with another race.
• Time - Electric Light Orchestra (1981) - A young man's travel from the 1980s to the scientifically over-advanced year of 2095 and back.
• Music from "The Elder" - KISS (1981) - Involves the recruitment and training of a young hero (The Boy) by the Council of Elders who belong to the Order of the Rose, a group that fight evil. The Boy is guided by the elderly caretaker named Morpheus. After his journey and training, he overcomes his early doubts to become confident and self-assured.

[edit] 1982

• The Lexicon of Love - ABC (1982) - A young man's ultimately unsuccessful attempt to hold a meaningful relationship with any woman
• The Nightfly - Donald Fagen (1982) - A fictional jazz DJ reminisces about his childhood, growing up in the early 1960s

[edit] 1983

• Kilroy Was Here - Styx (1983) - The story of the last rock star after rock music is banned
• The Final Cut - Pink Floyd (1983) - A very personal song cycle in which Roger Waters expreses the betrayal of the vision of a peaceful, just, and safe Britain that he believed should have resulted from the sacrifices made by those who fought and those who died in World War II, including Waters' father. Waters expresses anger and dismay at Thatcherism, the Falklands War, the IRA, the Cold War, working class indifference, and an exploitive media business (in particular the movie business after his difficulties with The Wall). The "Final Cut" is a multi-level pun incorporating meanings relating to insult and betrayal, Water's own contemplated suicide, the end of the world, and this being the intended last Pink Floyd album. The album ends with Waters' dream of nuclear annihilation. Certain narrative threads, lyrical clues, and casting in the extended four-song video of the album indicate that Rogers may have viewed this album as a sequel to The Wall

[edit] 1984

• Chess - Benny Andersson/Tim Rice/Björn Ulvaeus (1984)- a love story as a chess like game.
• Pink World - Planet P Project (1984) - Set in a post-apocalyptic, Orwell-ian society. Tells of the rise and fall of Artie... a boy who can't talk but is elevated to messiah-like status. 1984.
• The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking - Roger Waters (1984) - A man dreams of adultery
• The Warning - Queensrÿche (1984) - A concept album based upon George Orwell's 1984.
• Zen Arcade - Hüsker Dü (1984) - A coming-of-age story about a young man who runs away from home.
• Purple Rain - Prince (1984) - Based on a man trying to make it in the music industry as he struggles with trust in love, backstabbing musicians and an abusive father.
• Agent Provocateur - Foreigner (1984) - About a spy who sees life from both the inside and the outside.

[edit] 1985

• The Chronicle of the Black Sword (album) - Hawkwind (1985) - Based on the "Elric" novels of Michael Moorcock
• The Big Bubble - The Residents (1985) - Ramsay, lead singer for Mohelmot group The Big Bubble, is released from prison and signed to a record label. Part four of the Mole trilogy, expanding upon events within the as-yet-unreleased third installment
• White City: A Novel - Pete Townshend (1985) - The story of a poor outcast

[edit] 1987

• Abigail - King Diamond (1987) - A pregnant woman is possessed.
• Diesel and Dust - Midnight Oil (1987) - Told of the struggles of the Australian Aborigines and environmental causes.
• Maggots: The Record - The Plasmatics (1987) - Mutant maggots devour the citizens of New York City, gradually increasing in size and breeding, until they eventually take over the world
• Pop Goes the World - Men Without Hats (1987) - The story of Jenny and Johnny (in a rock 'n roll band).
• Radio K.A.O.S. - Roger Waters (1987) - A young boy in a wheelchair hears radio waves in his head and eventually learns to control most electronic devices. He uses this power to stage a fake nuclear missile launch on the world.

[edit] 1988

• God In Three Persons - The Residents (1988) - A Colonel Parker type character discovers a pair of Siamese Twins who have miraculous healing powers, and is confused by his feelings for both.
• Imaginos - Blue Öyster Cult (1988) - A supernatural entity wanders through history and impacts various world events
• Operation: Mindcrime - Queensrÿche (1988) - A young man disillusioned by American society joins an underground terrorist organisation.
• Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - Iron Maiden (1988) - The story of a man with psychic powers who tries to warn a village of a holocaust.
• Them - King Diamond (1988) - The story of a family visiting their grandmothers house that is Possessed by Spirits.

[edit] 1989

• Blood on Ice - Bathory (1989, released in 1996)
• Conspiracy - King Diamond (1989) - Part 2 of (Them) a continuing story of the house of Amon and the spirits that haunt it.
• The King & Eye - The Residents (1989) - An aging Elvis impersonator tells the story of "the Baby King" to his grandchildren.
• Three Feet High And Rising - De La Soul (1989) - A loose concept thread is kept throughout the album, focusing on a gameshow sharing the album's title. The contestants on the show are Plug One, Prince Paul, PMS, and an unnamed contestant from Wichita, Kansas. At the end of tracks 04, 11, 15, and 20, the contestants attempt (and fail) to answer questions asked in the first track. The contestants' names are also mentioned various times in the songs on the album.

[edit] 1990s

[edit] 1990

• Pornograffitti - Extreme (1990) - It follows the path of young boy "Francis" as he wanders through a decadent and corrupt society. Along the way he is faced with materialism ("Decadence Dance"), promiscuity and teenage pregnancy ("L'il Jack Horny"), political dishonesty ("When I'm President"), avarice ("Money"), addiction ("It's a Monster"), pornography and the ubiquitous use of sex as a tool of the media ("Pornograffitti") and misogyny ("He-Man Woman Hater").
• Sex Packets - Digital Underground (1990) - A future where sex is safer because it comes in a pill.

[edit] 1991

• Chill Out - The KLF - A road-trip up the Gulf coast of America
• Dust and Dreams - Camel (1991) - Adapted from The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• Streets: A Rock Opera - Savatage - Dealing with the rise and fall of the musician DT Jesus.

[edit] 1992

• Night of the Stormrider - Iced Earth (1992) - A man who is betrayed by religion turns away from it in anger. The dark forces of nature reach out to this enraged man and use him as their vessel to bring death and destruction to Earth
• The Crimson Idol - W.A.S.P. (1992) - The story of a kid that becomes a rockstar, but then finds out that being a rockstar isn't all that glamorous

[edit] 1993

• Kamakiriad - Donald Fagen (1993) - A hydroponic car travels down the American East Coast of the near-future.
• River Runs Red - Life Of Agony (1993) - The dark story of a teen-age boy who is alienated from his family, girlfriend and his job to the point of suicide.
• Stone of Sisyphus - Chicago - Built around the legend of Sisyphus. Not released in its entirety, but two tracks later released in a 2003 compilation box set
• Sink - Floater (1993) - A troubled youth rages throught his parents & peers.

[edit] 1994

• Brave - Marillion (1994) - A runaway girl's battle to keep hope alive
• Promenade - The Divine Comedy (1994) - Tells the story of two lovers who spend a day at the sea side.
• The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails (1994) - The story of a character losing control of his life because of his choices and finding himself on a downward spiral through life. Its plot follows a character trying to rid himself of the controls of religion and society as he uses sex and drug abuse as methods of escape. Eventually, this character has to face his internal void.
• The Last Temptation - Alice Cooper (1994) - A young boy's fight against a spider-like demon who runs a circus
• The Songs of Distant Earth - Mike Oldfield (1994) - Music inspired by the book by Arthur C. Clarke
• Toppatakkeja ja Toledon terästä - YUP (1994) - A bizarre tale of the life of a singing detective, Henri Blavatsky.

[edit] 1995

• Dead Winter Dead - Savatage (1995) - A Serb boy and Muslim girl fall in love in war-torn Sarajevo
• Demanufacture - Fear Factory (1995) - The future is a Wellesish 1984 in which machines rule and the government controls
• Me Hungry - King Kong (1995) - Tells the story of a cave man at the onset of the Ice Age.
• Only Built 4 Cuban Linx - Raekwon (1995) - The story of a Cuban gangster
• Outside - David Bowie (1995) - A detective, Nathan Adler, investigates the murder of a young girl in a world of murder in the name of art, uncovering the connected lives of several artists and murderers. Part one (and the only released part) of an unfinished album cycle
• Wolfheart - Moonspell (1995) - a gothic tale

[edit] 1996

• Antichrist Superstar - Marilyn Manson (1996)- A Nietzschean, semi-autobiographical tale about a young man's (referred to as "The Worm") rise from an insecure child into a celebrity. The album conceptually alludes to Nietzsche's book Thus Spake Zarathustra in exploring the theme of a personal journey from "Worm" to "Übermensch": the destructive celebrity Antichrist Superstar, in this case.
• Christmas Eve and Other Stories - Trans-Siberian Orchestra (1996) - An angel is sent to earth to find the good of Christmas day
• Crimson - Edge of Sanity (1996) - A world where humans can no longer beget children
• Dr. Octagon - Kool Keith (1996) - A concept album about a psychotic surgeon and his sci-fi adventures.
• Harbour of Tears - Camel (1996) - The story of a group of Irish immigrants to the United States, the forefathers of guitarist Andrew Latimer
• Kartonniye kryliya lubvi - Mashina Vremeni (1996) - "Paper wings of love" by Mashina Vremeni is album about what has happened and what is happening with people (mostly in Russian and post-USSR space)
• Pinkerton - Weezer (1996) - The story of a man and his search for and inability to find and maintain true love, many of which are inspired by the opera Madame Butterfly.
• The Dark Saga - Iced Earth (1996) - It tells the story of the comic book Spawn, in which a man dies and goes to hell. He sells his soul in order to return to his true love on Earth. But he soon discovers that she is married to his own best friend. He is left completely alone in the world, and although he has good inside, he is influenced by dark forces.
• The Graveyard - King Diamond (1996) - A man seeks revenge against the town mayor
• The Jester Race - In Flames (1996) - A futuristic concept album telling how technology (robots, AI) overcome humans thanks to their increasing dependence on it. Similar to a dystopian Terminator-like future.
• Angels In The Flesh And Devils In The Bone - Floater (1996) - One man struggles with his demons.

[edit] 1997

• Contemplating the Engine Room - Mike Watt - The album follows an intersecting narrative involving Watt's career with The Minutemen and his father's career serving on a naval vessel.
• Homogenic - Björk - As the title eludes to "having one flavor" all songs are based on vocals, strings and beats and it follows a general theme of anger and despair, reaching a climax of self-destruction (Pluto) followed by rebirth (All Is Full Of Love). The musical elements and storyline make the album loosely both narratively and thematically a concept album
• Legendary Tales - Rhapsody - Tells the first part of the "Emerald Sword Saga". In this part we learn about the war between the "Holy Alliance" and the hellish army of the black king Akron. The "Holy Alliance" last hope is the Emerald Sword and the Warrior of Ice starts his journey to find the legendary sword and end Akron's conquest over the Enchanted Lands.
• Somewhere Out in Space - Gamma Ray (1997) - A science fiction adventure based on 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Subterranea - IQ (1997) - A man is expelled into the "Subterranea".
• When the Red King Comes - Elf Power (1997) - A Tolkien-like fantasy world.
• Entropia - Pain of Salvation - The story following a man as he leaves his family to go to war. When he returns, his whole world falls apart as he sees his family, and eventually himself, die.

[edit] 1998

• Electro-Shock Blues - Eels (1998) - A story of death and a funeral, and the love that arose from it.
• In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel (1998) - Based on the tragic death of Anne Frank and other Jews during the Holocaust; Jeff Mangum has said recurring dreams of his that centered around a Jewish family inspired this album
• Knights of the Cross - Grave Digger (1998) - The history of the Templars.
• Mechanical Animals - Marilyn Manson (1998) - A story revolving around a gender-bending alien named Alpha, a substance-addicted glam rocker named Omega who sold out on his "revolution" and a woman named Coma White. In the storyline of Marilyn Manson's trilogy, it precedes Antichrist Superstar.
• Merveilles - Malice Mizer (1998)- A man mourns his dead lover, going through many states of mind and madness.
• My Arms, Your Hearse - Opeth (1998) - A dead man contemplates his lover mourning him.
• Nightfall in Middle-Earth - Blind Guardian (1998) - Adapted from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion (Specifically, the Quenta Silmarillion).
• Obsolete - Fear Factory (1998) - A sequel to Demanufacture. Mankind is on the verge of extinction but a criminal named Edgecrusher tries to fight back against the machine controlled government.
• One Hour by the Concrete Lake - Pain of Salvation (1998) - A man who works in the weapons industry tours the world to see the detrimental effects that weapons have on humanity and the environment.
• Symphony of Enchanted Lands - Rhapsody - This album tells the second part of the "Emerald Sword Saga". In this part, the Warrior of Ice finds the Emerald Sword in the dark tower of abyss with help from his dragon friend Tharos, who the warrior saved from a spell which controlled Thaors. Tharos, however, dies at the end of the part but are happy to have helped the warrior find the sword and that he would find freedom at least in death.
• The Salesman and Bernadette - Vic Chesnutt (1998) - A salesman is reacquainted with a past love and spirals down into self-pity and self-loathing.
• Voodoo - King Diamond (1998) - People move to Louisiana and become involved in voodoo.
• The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song - Cursive (1998) - A tale of one man's complete breakdown in two acts and an interlude. Act I is titled "Man vs. Nature" and describes exactly that through the first 5 tracks. Track 6 ("Proposals") is presented as a brief Interlude, followed by Act II, "Man vs. Self", in which the actual breakdown occurs. Certain themes and specific lyrics seem to predict songwriter Tim Kasher's eventual failed marriage (as chronicled in the following album, 2000's Domestica.)
• The Wake of Magellan - Savatage (1998) - A sea captain takes a stowaway and throws him overboard, an action prohibited by naval tradition.
• Tyranny - Shadow Gallery (1998) - A top military official loses his job, learns of the evils of the Corporate Machine, finds friendship on the internet and begins to find himself.
• Darkest Days - Stabbing Westward (1998) - The story of a breakup, and the subsequent feelings the character experiences as he copes with it.

[edit] 1999

• Dark Hallucinations - Steel Prophet (1999) - Partly based on the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
• Excalibur - Grave Digger (1999) - About the legend of King Arthur and his knights of the round table.
• Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory - Dream Theater (1999) - Story of Nicholas and the discovery of his past life, which involves love, murder, and infidelity as Victoria Page.
• Fantômas - Fantômas (1999) - Each track represents a page from a Fantômas comic book.
• Return to the Center of the Earth - Rick Wakeman (1999) - Sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth.
• Still Life - Opeth (1999) - Tells the story of a man cast out of a town as a child for being a heretic and his return to claim his life-long obsession, Melinda. The rest of the album tells about the outcome of such a plight.
• The Fragile - Nine Inch Nails (1999) - Tells the story of someone (presumably Trent Reznor) who goes into the music business, with songs about what was left behind, what he didn't want to do but had to, all of the people and scandals, love and respect, and that there was no going back.
• The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner - Ben Folds Five (1999) - A narcoleptic confronts his redneck past and relives his regrets.

[edit] 2000s

[edit] 2000

• Beethoven's Last Night - Trans-Siberian Orchestra (2000) - Mephistopheles comes for Beethoven's soul one night
• Brutal Planet - Alice Cooper (2000) - Tales of people living in a post-apocalyptic future
• Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030 (2000) - Set in the year 3030, following Deltron Zero's fight against an oppressive government and powerful corporations.
• Dahmer - Macabre (2000) - A biography of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
• Domestica - Cursive (2000) - An intensely personal retelling of a marriage falling apart, told through dialogue between the husband (Sweetie) and the wife (Pretty Baby).
• Haunted - Poe (2000) - chronicles the singer's emotional journey as she comes to terms with her relationship with her late father. Also ties into the novel House of Leaves written by her brother, Mark Z. Danielewski.
• Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) - Marilyn Manson (2000) - Simultaneously the prequel to both Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals and the third and final installment in their concept album "trilogy", Holy Wood chronicles the beginnings of the characters of Adam and Coma White. One day, Adam will become the glam rocker Omega and then the nihilistic Antichrist Superstar.
• I am not a Freemdoom - Masters of the Hemisphere (2000) - The island of Krone Ishta, populated by many lake-dwelling creatures, is invaded by an evil dog named Freemdoom who drains the lakes in order to force the inhabitants to buy air-lungs, made in Freemdoom's factory. Mal and Ed, two native islanders attempt to stop him, but their plan backfires as Freemdoom grafts his henchman Gorgar's head onto Ed's body.
• Il Parco dei Sogni - Francesca Chiara (2000) - The gate of time opens up ... past and future merge with life and death...
• Liquid - Recoil (2000) - In the moments before dying in a plane crash, a man relives the events of his life flashing before his eyes.
• Mirror, Mirror - Kelly Price (2000) - the album and its songs cleverly guide us through what seems to be a day in the life of the singer, as evidenced by the first track titled, "Mirror, Mirror (Interlude)." From there, she sings about her love interest and different aspects of their relationship. There are "ups and downs" that come across realistically in the context of the album. The rousing "Love Sets You Free" brings the musical journey to a positive conclusion ... both musically and chronologically.
• Magica - Dio (2000) - A fantasy-adventure
• MACHINA/The Machines of God - The Smashing Pumpkins (2000) - A rock star believes he hears the voice of God in the radio and decides to spread his message despite its cost on his love, his career and himself. MACHINA II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music was a free, downloadable companion piece.
• OVO - Peter Gabriel (2000) - Developed for the millennium, it tells the story of the evolution of a family through three generations, these generations representing ages of humankind oriented toward ecology, industry, and spirituality.
• Sagan Om Världens Mest Hypade Band by Charta 77 (2000, recorded in 1999) - A story about the rise and fall of a band.
• So Far from Home - Brave Saint Saturn (2000) - The first installment of the story of mankinds journeys to the planet Saturn.
• Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile - Everclear (2000) - A semi-autobiographical album that follows the life of singer Art Alexakis, from growing up in the '70s, through his various relationships, and finally into fatherhood.
• The Shaming Of The True - Kevin Gilbert (2000) - The tale of a fictional rock & roller named Johnny Virgil who goes through the music industry corporate machine. The title is a pun on the Shakespeare play.
• The Sophtware Slump - Grandaddy (2000) - About a robot named Jed and the deterioration of technological appliances.
• Universal Migrator part 1: The Dream Sequencer - Ayreon (2000) - A travel back in time to various periods in history.
• Universal Migrator part 2: Flight of the Migrator - Ayreon (2000) - The journey goes back even further, to the birth of the universe.
• Winners Never Quit - Pedro the Lion (2000) - A tale of two brothers, one – the family favorite – is lead into politics and eventually murders his wife who was going to release information that would end his career.
• The Perfect Element, Part I - Pain of Salvation - A downtrodden, beaten man and an abused, raped girl meet and fall in love. The story follows the man and woman seeking vengenance against the people who ruined their lives, culminating in the death of the man at the end. This album is the first of two parts.
• V: The New Mythology Suite - Symphony X (2000) - Based on legends of Atlantis, ancient Egyptian mythology, Astrology and Edgar Cayce's clairvoyant readings about Atlantean culture.

[edit] 2001

• Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse - Of Montreal (2001) - A fairy-like creature named Coquelicot falls asleep and dreams of a strange world in which various characters travel to a remote island and populate it with fantastical genetically-modified animals.
• Disposable Arts - Masta Ace (2001) - Ace's character is released from prison and returns to the projects. He is soon worn out and tired of the crime and decides to enroll in the Institute of Disposable Arts (IDA), a satirical look at the state of commercial Hip Hop music. The tracks and skits intertwine, telling of Ace's experiences.
• Lateralus - Tool (2001) - A man having an inner struggle between good and evil, and eventually reaches enlightenment (Track 13 Faaip De Oiad is not part of the story, and it is signified by a minute-long gap between it and track 12).
• Holy War - Dragonland (2001) - Is based upon The Dragonland Chronicles fantasy saga.
• The Director's Cut - Fantômas (2001) - All tracks are covers from popular movie theme songs.
• Leitmotif - dredg (2001) - A man travels to different cultures to cure his spiritual affliction.
• Om Det Inte Händer Nåt Innan Imorgon Så Kommer Jag - David Sandström (2001) - An album entirely about his own grandfather, who committed suicide in 1968.
• Secret of the Runes - Therion (2001) - Metal Opera based on Norse mythology
• The Battle of the Ivory Plains - Dragonland (2001) - Is based upon The Dragonland Chronicles fantasy saga.

[edit] 2002

• The Big Bang - King Kong (2002) - The narrator travels to the planet Kong.
• Box Car Racer - Box Car Racer (2002) - A boy sees a vision of the future; the world is to be destroyed by an over-zealous government. The boy and a group of outcasts travel far away to escape destruction. The boy also falls in love with one of the outcasts. (It has been suggested that this story is continued in Angels and Airwaves's album We Don't Need to Whisper.)
• Carrot Boy the Beautiful - James Kochalka Superstar (2002) - In an effort to create an army of sentient vegetables, a mad scientist creates the kind hearted Carrot Boy. Conflict ensues over Carrot Boy's feline friend.
• Control - Pedro the Lion (2002) - A woman is lead insane by her husband's infidelity. A physical fight between the two towards the end of the album leads to the man receiving a fatal stab wound.
• End Transmission - Snapcase (2002) - Vision of a tightly controlled Orwellian future and one group's escape into space.
• In Absentia - Porcupine Tree (2002) - An investigation of the causes of insanity and serial killing told through the story of man from childhood through marriage.
• God Was Created - Vehemence (2002) - A concept album about a girl who masturbates while thinking of Jesus, who is then raped and murdered by a stalker who fantasizes that he turns into Jesus while raping her, who then realizes his error and murders girls in a high school bathroom before killing himself.
• I Phantom - Mr. Lif (2002) - A character lives through poverty, grueling labor, a failed family life, and finally the end of the world.
• Hooverphonic Presents Jackie Cane - Hooverphonic (2002) - The rise, fall, and death of singer Jackie Cane.
• Prophet of the Last Eclipse - Luca Turilli - Tells the story about the planet Zaephyr and it's destruction.
• Oceanic - Isis (2002) - Narrative about a man who lives in emotional seclusion for a good part of his life, until he meets a woman who he feels is his "other half," who fulfills his being and takes up previously empty space and makes him reinvision the way he has lived his life. He discovers that there is something beneath the surface of this person that isn't quite right, and eventually finds out that she has had a long-term incestuous relationship with her brother. This basically destroys him because he has built everything on this woman and hadn't really retained anything of himself. He decides to kill himself by drowning himself, and in the process, finds true fulfillment and enlightenment.
• Satan's Kickin' Yr Dick In - Racebannon (2002) - the story of a young man named Rodney who sells his soul to Satan to become a rock star; instead becomes a woman and a diva named Rhonda Delight. The album follows his/her rise to stardom and eventual downfall and descent into Hell.
• Scarlet's Walk - Tori Amos (2002) - A woman goes on a trip across America to discover its past, its present and future.
• Snow - Spock's Beard (2002) - An outcast teenager transforms into a messianic figure
• Songs for the Deaf - Queens of the Stone Age (2002) - A loose concept album that is supposed to be the drive from Los Angeles to Joshua Tree.
• Spend the Night - The Donnas (2002) - Story of a slumber party hosted by some young ladies. "Pass it Around" occurs just past midnight and "5 O'Clock in the Morning" ends the album.
• The Second Stage Turbine Blade - Coheed and Cambria (2002) - A story about a couple in a futuristic world who must kill their children to stop a powerful virus, and the quest of the surviving son to avenge his father's murder by the government.

[edit] 2003

• Bell - Stuart Davis (2003) - Traces the life of an American girl who is an incarnation of God.
• (untitled) - blink-182 (2003) - An album about a guy who falls in love with a murderer and always loves her till the end, no matter what she does.
• Crimson II - Edge of Sanity (2003) - A sequel to Crimson (1996).
• Damnation and a Day - Cradle of Filth (2003) - "Satan's side of the story" of Paradise Lost
• De-Loused in the Comatorium - The Mars Volta (2003) - Tortured artist Cerpin Taxt tries to commit suicide via morphine overdose, but sends himself into a coma laden with visions of his own creations.
• Epica - Kamelot (2003) - The first album in a two album series based on Goethe's Faust.
• Greendale - Neil Young and Crazy Horse (2003) - The story of the Green family (Grandpa, Jed, and Sun).
• In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 - Coheed and Cambria (2003) - A story of love and war in a post-apocalyptic Earth.
• Mount Eerie - The Microphones (2003)
• R. Borlax - HORSE The Band (2003) - Not definitely a concept album, but appears to follow the story of the 1989 movie 'The Wizard'.
• Rip The Jacker - Canibus (2003) - A poet is looking at the life and lyrics of the greatest lyrical MC of all time, Canibus and his other alter ago Rip The Jacker, from the future. The title is a pun on the famous murderer Jack the Ripper.
• Seven's Travels - Atmosphere (2003) - Rapper Slug takes a journey around the country, trying to find a balance in his life.
• Sing the Sorrow - AFI (2003) - A man destined to never reincarnate because he was born under the Chinese astrological sign of the Rabbit dies and accounts his experiences after death. The narrative begins with Track 4, "Silver and Cold", and ends with Track 3, "Bleed Black", symbolic of the Buddhist belief in the cyclical nature of life.
• Take Me to Your Leader - King Geedorah (2003) - MF Doom (King Geedorah) offers a biography of the Godzilla nemesis.
• The Complex - Blue Man Group (2003) - The story of people trapped in a city where they are close to others, yet have no psycological or mental connection with them. Focuses on information overload, work-a-holics, fake personas, and mental and physical escape.
• The Golden Age of Grotesque - Marilyn Manson (2003) - Marilyn Manson takes listeners on a history lesson, reviving the extinct world of pre-Nazi Weimar-era Berlin and its then-peaking yet penniless absinthe-addled expressionist and vaudeville art scenes that Adolf Hitler and his merry band of ultra-conservative ultra-conformist lunatic cohorts banned and labeled "morally degenerate" when they rose to power (Hitler believed that vaudeville entertainment aka. 'Grotesque' was tainting the "purity" of his beloved Aryan race). Actually an indictment of Conservative America's attacks on rock music (and himself, no doubt), the story follows the character of Arch Dandy and his cabaret/burlesque house, the rise to fame and power and the inevitable downfall at the hands of the Nazis.
• The Light of Things Hoped For - Brave Saint Saturn (2003) - The second installment of the story of mankinds journeys to the planet Saturn.
• The Raven - Lou Reed (2003) - Based on the poems and short stories of Edgar Allan Poe
• Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them? - Murder by Death (2003) - The devil is shot by one of his associates in a Texas desert town, causing him to wreck havoc on the townspeople. By the end of the story, the man has taken up arms and is leading the townspeople against the forces of the devil.

[edit] 2004

• A Grand Don't Come for Free - The Streets (2004) - Mike Skinner finds and loses love, and loses and finds a thousand quid.
• A Long Hot Summer - Masta Ace (2004) - The prequel to Ace's Disposable Arts, tells the story that led to his character's incarceration at the beginning of the DA album. Ace and buddy Fats Belvedere narrate the story of his wild summer, with songs ranging from city life, to 9-to-5 work, to seeing everyday beauty, to hating everybody, to love tales, to sex tales, and finally to a depressed realization.
• Album of the Year - The Good Life - Each of the 12 songs represent one calendar month of the year, following the meeting, relationship, break-up and aftermath of a dysfunctional couple.
• American Idiot - Green Day (2004) - A San Francisco Bay Area suburbanite known as "The Jesus Of Suburbia" flees his broken home to experience city life, transforming into a rebellious, self appointed, Saint Jimmy and eventually either committing suicide or returning to his old self and accepting his lot in life: ("Jimmy died today/He blew his brains out into the bay."). In addition to the main story, the album focuses on the current government, suburban life, teen angst, and eventually, suicide and heartbreak featuring a girl known as Whatsername. Notable as a punk rock opera. The first two punk rock operas are arguably Hüsker Dü's Zen Arcade, a story of a young punk who runs away from home only to discover the horrors of the world, and the Minutemen's album about riding in a car, Double Nickels on the Dime.
• Annasthesia - The Cinematic Underground (2004) - The album is the band's debut effort. It is a "concept narrative" about risk and escape which follows two main characters through two days in an un-named city. The album comes with a graphic novel depicting the narrative.
• Delìrium Còrdia - Fantômas (2004) - A one track album whose music centers around the theme of surgery without anesthesia.
• Devin Dazzle & the Neon Fever - Felix Da Housecat (2004) - A house music concept album telling the story of Devin Dazzle and his adventures in the nightlife including with all female group the Neon Fever.
• Dust to Dust - Heavenly (2004) - A concept album by power metal band Heavenly telling the story of a man who is embraced by a vampire and fights for his humanity, ending in a climactic battle against his sire.
• Grasping for Hope in the Darkness - Critical Mass (rock band) (2004) - A modern rock concept album about a man, Al, who was raised in a decent household and goes through life’s many trials and tribulations, falling into sins such as pornography (“Dorian Gray”), greed (“Time Slave”) and serious family neglect. Al even goes so far as pressuring his teenage daughter, Jane, to abort (“Running with Eyes Closed”) his grandchild (he fails), verbally abusing his priest and ostracizing his daughter and granddaughter from his life. This fatherly neglect drives Jane further into the sins of this world. It takes a couple of traumatic events to soften Al’s heart to God. After learning his wife is diagnosed with cancer and her daughter dies in a car accident (“Love Neglected”), Al seeks council from his priest. Fr. Francis consoles Al, even informing him that his daughter repented of her sins while on her deathbed. Al then reunites with his granddaughter. At the end of his life, Al is not afraid to die, and dies with a clear conscience.
• Helium Vola - Liod (2004) - Settings of a series of poems, mostly from the Carmina Burana, chosen in an order such that they tell the story of a medieval woman's childhood, first love, and the birth of her illegitimate child.
• I Hope You Burn Before The Cold Kills You - Patrick Beverley (2004) - A fundamentalist Christian preacher calls the church to revolution, sparking civil war.
• Invisible Circles - After Forever (2004) - This album is about a girl that is being neglected and mistreated by her parents. Told through her diary, the story ends with the girl growing up to treat her daughter exactly like her parents treated her, as if she is captured in an Invisible Circle.
• Leviathan - Mastodon (2004) - An album based on the tale of Captain Ahab & Moby Dick.
• Madvillainy - Madvillain (2004)- Based on Marvel Comics-esque characters, it is the story of Madvillain. Madvillian, according to the first song on the album, is—as in real life—essentially two people: Quasimoto, and Doom ("Two really good boys who just happened to be on the wrong side of the law, three-hundred sixty degrees..."). The story depicts the craziness of the everyday world. Much of the music from the album is based on early jazz samples and movie samples from the same era.
• Temple of Shadows - Angra (2004) - Record describes the saga of a knight crusader known as The Shadow Hunter, who joins the army of the Pope in the late XI century.
• The Funeral Of God - Zao (2004) - God, fed up with the ways of humanity, decides to disappear, leaving the world to head to its doom.
• The Human Equation - Ayreon (2004) - A man gets into an accident in broad daylight with no other cars around. In his hospital bed, he lays in a state of coma and faces his feelings and the monsters of his past.
• The Libertines - The Libertines (2004) - This album traces the collapse of the Libertines based on the feuds between their frontmen concerning Pete Doherty's drug addiction.
• The Origin of Consciousness - Amphoteric
• The Secondman's Middle Stand - Mike Watt - An account of Watt's bout with a nearly life-ending infection of the perineum, which loosely follows the form of James Joyce's Ulysses.
• Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge - My Chemical Romance (2004) - A man makes a deal with the devil that he will be able to see his deceased love again if he brings the devil the corpses of 1000 evil men.
• Mabool - Orphaned Land (2004) - The album tells the story of three sons (one for each of the major monotheistic religions) who try to warn humanity of a coming flood as punishment for their sins.
• Graveyard Mountain Home - Chroma Key (2004) - An abstract narrative about a boy named Andrew, who out of his "loneliness and longing" comes to believe that if he is able to repair his recently deceased mothers' radio, she will be brought back to life. Conceptually, the music is an alternative soundtrack of a 1950s social education movie entitled Age 13 run at half-speed.

[edit] 2005

• Frances The Mute - The Mars Volta (2005) - A man goes on a journey to find out what exactly happened to his biological mother and to have revenge on the men that raped and murdered her, using a list of names of people that might know bits and pieces of what happened that night. Based on an actual journal found in a used car by Sound Manipulator Jeremy Ward.

• Suspended Animation - Fantômas (2005) - The thirty tracks are titled for a day in the month of April 2004 and the music centers around the theme of cartoon music.

• What To Do When You Are Dead - Armor For Sleep (2005) - A man dies in the opening track, and the rest of the album follows his journey as he tries to contact those he loves who are still alive. The end of the CD shows him finally accepting the fact that he has died, and beginning to adapt to his new state of being.

• Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness - Coheed and Cambria (2005) - Continues the story of 2003's In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3.

• The Everglow - Mae (2005) - A young man faces crises of life and faith, set as a storybook narrative.

• Alice's Inferno - Forever Slave (2005) - Deals with the life of Alice after her parents have deceased, and how she reacts to the dark temptations she faces.

• Separation Sunday - The Hold Steady (2005) - Tells the story of a girl who becomes involved with drugs and casual sex in the punk scene and who is ultimately saved by Christianity.

• Trainwreck - Boys Night Out (2005) - The album chronicles the arrest, trial, treatment and subsequent release of a man who, in a waking dream, murders his wife and then cuts both his hands off so he can not kill again.

• The Black Halo - Kamelot (2005) - The second part in a two album series based on Goethe's Faust.

• Touched by the Crimson King - Demons & Wizards (2005) - Baed on Stephen King's Dark Tower series of books.

• Vampire Suite - Arthur Brown (2005) - The story of the Vampire Club.

• Black Sheep Boy - Okkervil River (2005) - Tells the story of the title character, from 1960s folk singer Tim Hardin's song of the same name.

• Juturna - Circa Survive (2005) - The story of the protagonist's battle with cocaine.

• The Chapters Live - Saga (2005) - Live performance of the Chapters sixteen-song cycle (originally released on albums 1978-1981 and 1999-2003), which tells the story of Albert Einstein, resurrected by aliens into an exoskeletal body, and his part in their plan to save the human race.

• The Perfect Machine - Vision Divine (2005) - A story about humanity after a scientist discovers the secret of eternal life.

• IV: Constitution of Treason - God Forbid (2005) - A story of a futuristic society that destroys itself, reforms many years later, and eventually destroys itself again in the same way it originally did.

[edit] 2006

• Adultery - Dog Fashion Disco (2006) - The album chronicles the journey of one man's self destruction as he goes from a normal family man to a serial prostitute-killer.
• The Captain and the Kid - Elton John (2006) - The sequel to John's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, it tells the rest of the story of John and Bernie Taupin as it is left off from the previous album.
• Decemberunderground - AFI - Thought to continue the story of the band's previous album "Sing the Sorrow"
• Inhuman Rampage - DragonForce (2006) - Traveling warriors set out on a quest to destroy the "Evil One" and his demon armies.
• The Mother, The Mechanic, and The Path - The Early November (2006) - The triple-disc album tells a story of "...the strained relationship between a boy and his overbearing father." (iTunes)
• Operation: Mindcrime II - Queensrÿche (2006) - A direct sequel to the first, the album continues Nikki's story as he plots revenge and later, suicide.
• Permanent Revolution - Catch 22 (2006) - Narrates various events in the life of Leon Trotsky.
• Thinking of Calling? - Adrian Evans (2006) - Going from being alone to true love, not without unpleasant stops on the way.
• We Don't Need to Whisper - Angels and Airwaves (2006) - Thought to be a continuation of Box Car Racer's only album. This album tells the story of the start of a new world order after the destruction of the old one.
• Christ.0 - Vanden Plas (2006) - A concept piece which is inspired by the Alexandre Dumas novel The Count of Monte Cristo.
• The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance (2006) - "This album is a story of a man, known as 'The Patient' who dies in a hospital. He goes on an odyssey and examines his life and the mistakes he has made. His strongest memory is of his dad taking him to a parade when he was a child. So when death comes for him, it comes in the form of a black parade."
• Blood Mountain - Mastodon - Tells the story of a protagonist who attempts to climb up the Blood Mountain to find the Crystal Skull, meeting various mythologycal creatures on his journey.
• The Millstone - Potmos Hetoimos - In accordance with a statement made by Jesus in the Bible, a man is condemned to death by unknown antagonists by having a millstone hung around his neck and being cast into the ocean. His journey down through the water is expounded to show his internal struggle with the memories of what he did to deserve such a judgment, his psychotic delusions, and ultimately his succumbing to his memories. Leading up to the climactic ending, he recalls the truth about what happened.
• Kezia - Protest the Hero - The story of the conviction and execution of the woman Kezia, told from three different points of view.
• Sam's Town - The Killers - Tells the story of a days vist to Sam's Town vegas and of some of the people who live there.
• The Death of Logan - Pomme De Chien - Tells the story of a young jewish boy. His family is killed when they get caught up with the German Cult "The Oboe Schuhe". It tells the story of his capture, torture, and the Death of Logan.
• Pizza (album) - HORSE the band - The story of an epic band of brothers who are stopped short in their world conquering course by a Chicago Pizza Joint. The pizza they eat is so good they must write the word of God from it. What is involved tells of the distraughts brought upon them by the evil devil ninjas and ultimately how they overcome strife with the Knife of Greatness, the Pizza Nif.
• With Oden on Our Side - Amon Amarth - Tells the story of Viking legends.
• Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain - Sparklehorse - The story of a deceased girl and her dieing before any love could blossom. Reincarnation and the passage of time plays a minor role. The album starts with "Don't take my sunshine away" (denial) and ends with an 11 minute instrumental displaying ones grief, anger, and powerlessness towards the unforgiving circle of life. Acceptance comes closest in the form of reincarnation, with the girl being in the air, trees, bees, falling leaves, and in the wind. Hope is found in the belief of rejoining in a future life.