Album titles that come in Parts: Who nailed it and who failed

You may have noticed that some albums share the same title in different parts. In my mind there are three reasons that can lead to such a decision. 

1. The artists created so many songs that couldn’t fit in one album, so they had to split in two. Usually those albums are released back to back 
2. The two albums have the same story/ concept that need more than one part to be completed. The second part may arrive after the first, or at times it may take many years and in-between records until that happens
3. Marketing reasons. If you have a record that sold great and you are struggling for whatever reason in terms of popularity or sales, releasing a Pt.2 may seem a good idea to rekindle your lost flame. Usually this happens with some years gap from the first part. In truth you can’t know if this is the prevalent reason or not, since someone may use a connected story as a scapegoat to reuse the same title

Regardless, I gathered some of those same titled albums, in order to see what are the bands that nailed the second part and who fell short on expectations. Of course we will need more than one part to discuss them all.

Part. 1

GAMMA RAY: “Land of the free Pt. II” was destined to pale in comparison with Pt. I even from its conception

“Land of the free” could be up there with the top Power Metal albums ever created, sharing the space with the two “Keepers..” from HELLOWEEN. Is it to wonder why it is better than the second part that came twelve years and five albums later? Judging from the gravity of the the original, I would never want my music to be compared with that, so I would avoid using the same name on a new LP. Part II has some great songs though, as ‘Empress’ is easily one of my favorite track from the Rays! Not bad overall, but leagues away from the 1995 one.

RHAPSODY: “Symphony of Enchanted Lands Pt. II” not only deserves its title, but one could argue that at times it is even better than the first part

The two Symphony albums are separated by some years and albums as well, but this is a different case. The reason that title was fitting is that it marks the beginning of the second RHAPSODY saga (The dark secred saga), that is essentially the continuation of the first (The emerald sword saga). Part I features some of the band’s hottest hits like ‘Emerald sword’ and ‘Wisdom of the kings’ and overall it is an outstanding Symphonic Power Metal record. Regardless, I find Part II to be even better!!! It is grander, more cinematic and its compositional expertise and atmosphere is umatched within the boundaries of genre. In the end it is debatable who you will like more, but if I had to choose a winner that would be the sequel.

KING DIAMOND: “Abigail II: The Revenge” continues the story of Abigail but ultimately cannot compete with its classic predecessor 

It is not a secret that KING DIAMOND is a very unique artist and to be honest he hasn’t release any bad record, MERCYFUL FATE included. At the same time some of his works are considered cult classics, especially the consecutive “Abigail”, “Them” and “Conspiracy”. You can crown any of them as the artist’s top discography entry, so as you understand “Abigail II” is out of its league in this comparison. It surely has its moments such as ‘The storm’ and ‘Broken glass’, but King has many better alternatives to choose from

HELLOWEEN: “Keeper of the seven keys Pt. II” is a timeless masterpiece just like Part I. “Keeper of the seven keys: The legacy” on the other hand, cannot claim the same status 

Intended to be released as a single album, “Keeper of the seven keys” was ultimately split in half with the first two parts arriving back to back with one year difference. You are allowed to have your favorite, but there is not denying that we are talking about the crown jewel of the genre, as these two are essentially the origins of European Power Metal as we know it. I tend to like Part II a little more, but they are essentially equal.

“Keeper of the seven keys: The legacy” is a different story, as it arrived some 17 years later and HELLOWEEN had a different line up. It is good, more than good actually, with the 14-minute ‘The king for a 1000 years’ being one of my favorite songs of this band. But isn’t it obvious? When you are placed next to the heralds of a whole genre you have no other option than to observe from a distance.

STRATOVARIUS: “Elements Pt. II” cannot escape from its brother’s shadow and is one of the band’s weakest efforts

STRATOVARIUS have done wonders and released some true gems during the 90s.  2003’s “Elements Pt.1” may fall short when compared to “Visions” or “Episode” for example, but it tries to do something different by adopting strong Symphonic elements and the result is a very good album. ‘Papillon’ is also one of my all time favorite compositions! On the other hand we have Part II that released at the same year. The problem is that apart from ‘Alpha and Omega’ and the amazing ‘Dreamweaver’, there isn’t something else to reward our attention. I would just add those two on Part I and call it a day.

Pavlos Pavlakis