Reviews

An excellent studio document that fans of classic Pentagram will take to with open arms. Let's hope the band keeps this energy going and that the Griffin-Liebling partnership holds. Because that alone is the guarantee of real Pentagram…

Revocation's sixth album proves the band's ambition is still going strong. It can drag at times, but a curveball in the form of a fast track is never far off, and that's how the band keeps the record's dynamics alive.

Everything ends eventually. If »Do Not Disturb« really is the last VDGG album, as Hammill hinted, it can be called a pretty much ideal finale to the magnificent career of these prog rock titans, who have been written off more than once.

Everything is absolutely subordinate to melody and the evocation of emotional states, which Andy Timmons uses to speak to the listener without any major obstacles, guiding them through this exceptionally high-quality album, with which…

Yep, it's real. After 29 years! With the release of »Walking in the Shadows«, we can safely call this a welcome successor to the legacy of a cult NWOBHM offshoot from Great Britain. Grim Reaper, of course!

Sikth are back to sounding like the band we loved best.

Long story short: »Shattered« is an artistic step up from the debut »7«, in both production and arrangement. As a result it packs more bombast and more melodic catchiness. It's an album tailor-made for every surviving fan of the »AOR and…

The second part of Tate's concept trilogy - the new album from the boss of the »Queensryche faction« known as Operation: Mindcrime - delivers the result you'd (quietly) expect going in. It's more complex and more fragmented than…

Daevid Allen has been gone for a while now, but even without him at the helm, Gong have managed to make one of the best albums of their long and turbulent history with »Rejoice! I'm Dead!«, one the late creator of new astral worlds would…

With »Sorceress«, Opeth have crafted another masterpiece in building unpredictable bridges between progressive metal and progressive rock. It's on par with its outstanding predecessor »Pale Communion«, yet quite…

Label: earMUSIC Records Release date: 22-09.2016 Production: Marillion & Michael Hunter Genre: Neo Progressive Rock / Art Rock Album length: 68:10 English prog rock champions Marillion have made their eighteenth studio album, "Fuck…

The dystopian vibe of "Fuck Everyone and Run (FEAR)" leaves a deep impression from the very first spins of the new Marillion album, but it only truly takes hold once you give it the time for deeper listening, just as we've come to expect…

With »The Prelude Implicit«, Kansas rose from the ashes like the mythical phoenix on that aesthetically not-so-great cover, and made a much better album than most people would have expected, given that Walsh and Livgren, the two key…

"With »The Prelude Implicit,« Kansas rose from the ashes like the mythological phoenix pictured on the not exactly aesthetically successful cover, and made a much better album than most would have expected, given that Walsh and Livgren,…

»Live in Hamburg« is a splendid live album that, with its varied song selection, virtuoso playing and incredible atmosphere, will thrill old and new Saga fans alike. It also reminds them why these legendary Canadian art rock veterans, who…

On August 26, 2016, Swedish rockers House of Shakira quietly dropped their eighth studio album, no big fanfare. Alongside the familiar stuff, it brings the most musical experimentation the band has tried so far.

Iron Maiden originals reimagined as cabaret chanson for the third time! And the Maiden uniteD mission is a success once again!

A gorgeous singer-songwriter album that lays bare, in the most beautiful way, those musical sides that usually stay hidden because of Wilson's reputation as one of the finest vocalists in progressive metal.

The album »Narnia« is an excellent, if not downright superb, new studio record from the band. You could call it their most confessional and, in character, heaviest and most detailed work to date.

If anyone could do it, it's Kai Hansen! Immodestly put, he's the musician who has probably done more than anyone for the affirmation, rise and popularization of European power metal. And here's his first solo studio album!

An impressive live collection with an oddball title that (in keeping with their long tradition) has absolutely nothing to do with its even odder cover art, and offers the most thorough look yet at the live shows of the new King Crimson.

Musically diverse, breezy, relaxed, concise, focused, positive, flawlessly detailed in its arrangements and woven from countless filigree finesses. The new herald of artistic brilliance from Nova Gorica's legendary art rockers!

"From the first track to the last, the album »Daleč« simply has to be listened to as a whole. It unfolds in the glow of the great artistic brilliance of seasoned, experienced masters."

Katja's one-of-a-kind tribute to Romani poetry!

A release on which Fair Warning, celebrating their 25th anniversary and nudged along by their Japanese label, decided to re-record some of the most striking songs from their first three albums, released between 1992 and 1997.

"The Book of Ogan" is a chest, a real treasure trove of Orden Ogan goodies, packed onto two DVDs and two CDs! The contents of this box couldn't sum up the essence of the band any more vividly than they do.

Apart from four standout tracks, the rest of the album doesn't smash clichés convincingly enough, and the songwriting ideas this time around aren't as strong as they were on the debut.

"Concussion Protocol" is another triumphant move from the legendary Vicious Rumors. It's at least on par with "Razorback Killers" (2011), if not better: the band's new "post-Warball" studio album!

With their second album, Beyond Creation confirm they're not about to coast on the glory of a single record. Earthborn Revolution cements the band's style while proving once again that extreme music has no limits.

An effective, nostalgia-stoking tease built around the legacy of cult Danish metallers Mercyful Fate, courtesy of the legendary guitar duo Michael Denner and Hank Shermann!

"The album has just one flaw. It's at least fifteen minutes too long. Still, you can't ignore the delightful fact that (immodestly put) "Nosferatu" has been reborn after 27 years!"

It's not exactly modest to say so, but with Helstar's superb new album "Vampiro", "Nosferatu" has been born again after twenty-seven years of hibernating in a coffin!

»Rapid Foray« is finally the real deal, the classic Running Wild album that the followers of Captain Kasparek and his crew have been waiting for since the late nineties.

On this one, too, Wolf picks up the expressive recipe of its predecessor »Classical«. Genre-wise, it's basically a new neoclassical metal album that, among other things, also lays bare where Accept's music comes from.

From mechanical resonance to a mechanical renaissance! Thirty years of the debut from the hard rock icons out of Sacramento, USA, played in full on a live release!

"From mechanical resonance to a mechanical renaissance!"

One of the best releases of the year in melodic rock and AOR, with which Rob Moratti firmly cements his expressive brilliance and artistic finesse on the global rock map.

Sweet wasn't lying when he promised that the heaviest-sounding release of his solo career to date was coming out of his studio. What he didn't mention is that he was also cooking up a new masterpiece.

"The Last Stand" is exactly the album Sabaton fans were hoping for: a fresh dozen of slickly packaged, hypnotically catchy choruses, bursting at the seams with bombast!

»The Theater Equation« is aimed first and foremost at longtime fans, while the more authentic »The Human Equation« experience, especially for those just discovering Ayreon's best work, is still best served by the original studio album,…

»New World Order« should have come out in 1982, or a year or so earlier. It's a retro-minded artistic surprise. But still a thoroughly positive one.

The quality that the Judas Priest name has stood for through a marathon epic of 47 years is of course back again, but this time you just have to put up with certain things that cling to the band's image and work over the years as a result…

With »Invention of Knwoledge«, Messrs. Anderson and Stolt have made an album that, as you'd expect, will go down best with fans of the two bands they're most often linked to, namely Yes and The Flower Kings.

The album »Pangea« is another excellent achievement that fully lives up to the thrash metal legacy the name Paradox stands for. Steinhauer sticks to the tried-and-true formula on this one too, which kicks in instantly and doesn't stray from…

"Paradox don't surprise anymore with 'Pangea', but it's an immense pleasure to see Steinhauer sticking to the proven artistry of his own metal-craft specifics in his musical vision, exploring, nurturing and deepening them, all while deftly…

»I Can Destroy« is an album that, for all its fixation on rock history, also works as a look back at Gilbert's solo career. Super relaxed, easygoing and highly listenable!

"'Theories of Flight' is the album that caught Fates Warning fans off guard. Not because the band couldn't have made it, but because nobody could really have expected this kind of artistic masterpiece after 34 long years of holding their…

»Theories of Flight« is the album that caught Fates Warning's fans off guard. Not because the band couldn't pull it off, but because nobody really expected an artistic masterpiece like this after 34 long years of holding their…

With »Dust« The Enid have made a more than decent album, but one that will only send the biggest diehards into euphoria, since it has few moments that can match the ambient intensity of their best past work.

Let's hope the Burns/Wharton partnership holds up, because it doesn't just deliver, it brings back the top-tier quality Dare once spoiled us with, and the kind we've always "instinctively" demanded from them.

Nova Gorica's Hellcrawler return in a post-apocalyptic haze with their second studio album Sandstorm Chronicles, the follow-up to their debut Wastelands.

»Clean Your Clock« is the final live manifesto, released posthumously after Lemmy's death and the band's dissolution.

The flawless masterpiece »Deadwing« was in many ways one of the peaks of Wilson's remarkable musical journey and of his body of work with the unforgettable Porcupine Tree.

With Apex Predator – Easy Meat, Napalm Death confirm the style they established more than ten years ago. The band isn't offering anything new, just staying loyal to a sound that's chaotic, angry and aggressive.

With Trust No One, which boasts a refreshed lineup, DevilDriver try to prove they're not ready for the scrap heap yet. The album isn't a game-changer, but it's good enough to win over a few new fans and keep the old ones.

Under Livgren's brilliant arranging and songwriting leadership, Proto-Kaw made an album with "Before Became After" that Kansas fans had been waiting for since the late seventies, and at the same time, with modern production, they showed…

»The Well's on Fire« was by no means a bad effort, and in plenty of ways it edged close to the classic Procol Harum records. The old guard of progressive rock set out to make an album that would carry them into the 21st century sonically,…

»Always Never The Same« was a brilliantly executed but utterly unnecessary orchestral project that failed to give Kansas the revival they were after, despite all the energy and effort poured into it.

Battlecross don't bring anything that really stands out, but if you like your metal fast, energetic and melodic, their music will be right up your alley.

Levin's solo albums so far are mostly a treat for fans of his progressive rock and jazz-rock fusion output. The thrillingly eclectic »Pieces of the Sun« is no exception and deservedly ranks among his most beloved solo efforts, with the only…

In short, the album "Marko Skače" packs a whole bag of fun and relaxation into one place, following the schooling of Slovenia's young jazz hopefuls.

»Smoke & Mirrors« is the EP ShadowIcon use to bridge the gap between two full-length studio releases. And the general verdict is that they nailed it.

»Curse of the Hidden Mirror« did have a few quality wobbles, but overall it was still a thrilling record that served up a heaping helping of listening pleasure for most longtime Blue Öyster Cult fans.

»Somewhere to Elsewhere«, a very decent effort overall and close to the standards of the seventies, was long considered the last Kansas studio album, until word got out that the latest version of Kansas, with Wiiliams and Ehart the only…

»Stupid Dream« was a landmark album in more ways than one. It kicked off a new era for Porcupine Tree, who, with a refreshed, heavier and more complex sound, songs with real shape and direction, and more melodic arrangements than before,…

The third album, titled »The Scissors«, keeps (as expected) the musical vision of both its studio predecessors. It's not hard to see that, in terms of expression, the trio isn't going anywhere new on this record.

»Electric Punishment« is exactly what Thorpe wanted: a slightly different record that's still the real Vicious Rumors deal.

Haiku Garden build a dark, "bittersweet" psychoid, atmospheric backdrop of a sound, driven by the kind of shoegaze revivalism that bands pioneered many years ago, mostly under the influence of The Jesus And Mary Chain and My Bloody…

»Live You To Death 2 – American Punishment« is a great educational primer for anyone who doesn't know the band yet and has a soft spot for the old school of American speed/thrash metal.

After four years, Gojira have pulled off a comeback with a new, different album that gave fans plenty to chew on. With its emotionality and dreaminess, Magma can be a thorn in some people's side, but it's a varied record and proof that the…

With »Twilight in Olympus«, Symphony X pulled off one of their defining achievements and earned themselves a well-deserved higher profile among those prog metal fans who didn't swear by Dream Theater alone.

»Who We Are« is yet another excellent studio effort, a worthy successor to the hard-to-top »Stereo Messiah«, and with this new album Vega remain among the main »standard-bearers« of the AOR revival, built on the classic British school.

Even though five months have passed since this album's official release, it's well worth a spotlight, because it's an extremely solid piece of work that ranks among the top releases of the year in the modern end of the melodic rock…

Roughly and by rule of thumb, the Radio Mondo story is like crossing Nula Kelvina with Čedahuči.

Label: Frontiers Music Srl. Release date: 22.01.2016 Production: Eric Martensson Album length: 44.01 Genre: Melodic Rock / Hard Rock It's been five months since this album officially dropped, but it's still well worth a spotlight,…

Petzapet have tailored a whole landscape of 16 folk numbers to their own musical body! Clever adaptations of the originals, glowing with the sparkling, exploratory fire of a five-voice vision.

A lovely ethno melody with the odd jazzy note slipped in here and there, sounding familiar from somewhere yet still exciting enough, since »tAman« is presented throughout in a blaze of interpretation that has effectively carved out a…

"Zaženi nov dan" is a pleasant album that speaks to the listener "quietly," unobtrusively and with zero pretension. You can draw parallels with the look and work of old-school bands from the recent history of Slovenian rock, like…

»The Tokyo Tapes« is one of Hackett's best live albums, boasting a dream setlist and an all-star lineup that could have made a phenomenal prog rock supergroup if they'd stuck together for longer.

"Amandolat" picks up the musical vision right where the story of the album »Medinteran« left off, or more precisely, where "Medinteran" left an »open ending«. Played with the fantastic feel of an exceptional musical collective.

Label: CelinkaRelease year: 2016Production: Dejan RadičevićAlbum length: 26.22 minGenre: Rock / Blues El Kachon are a hard-working, enterprising bunch. The dust from their second studio album "Permanently Lubricated Nuts" had barely…

The switch from English to Slovenian has worked out completely. With the new album, the band has kept its authorial stamp and its recognizable musical character. The artistic maturing, then, goes on.

With the kind of commitment the debut studio album shows, we can look forward to even more interesting retro-sounding, hard'n'heavy blues rock gems from Stray Train down the road.

An album you can't rush, an album that calls out to you on its own, and yet an album you steer yourself. You are its pilot.

"isla De Muerta" cements the sonic character of the new Ten, keeping up and building on the vibe of its predecessor "Albion".

»The Devils Strikes Again« is an album some fans were right to be »afraid« of, but Peavy is far too experienced and cunning not to have taken every necessary precaution before steering this record, so he wouldn't accidentally hammer nails…

»Maida Vale« is quite the rarity these days, having come out on the obscure label Band of Joy Records, but a true fan of the band will still find their way to this rare yet utterly fascinating document with a little effort.

"Throughout the material, the three musicians develop an extraordinary, almost intuitive sense of each other as they come together in this seamless and utterly unique musical picture book."

First Fragment have made an album with the potential to become a cult classic of the genre. Dasein is absolutely worth your time and a serious contender for debut album of the year.

Neoclassical elements fused with traditional folk melos and inventive bursts of improvisation, making a homegrown, self-grown musical blend built on a dialogue between viola, cello and guitar.

»Present Thoughts« is a pleasantly lively ride down the runway of traditional jazz tradition, which the quartet, with Jaka at its center, successfully pours into the modern jazz scene of today.

A forgettable point in the career where Jorn Lande and his band treated themselves to a few pleasant hours of downtime and fun in the studio, belting out a handful of songs that have stuck in his ears over the years.

Legends return with an excellent new studio album!

»Spiral of Fear« is the band's most mature and compositionally defined album to date, if not downright flawless. Simply because it took a very long time to come together. Just don't expect to dance quite so hard this time, because the notes…

»Protocol III.« is a worthy follow-up to »Protocol II.«, with a few moments that, as you'd expect, give the new record its own special charisma.

Experimentally minded explorers of English folklore have created a new masterpiece with »Folklore«, maybe even the best Big Big Train album to date.

"»Titancraft« is a somewhat friendlier album on the ears than its predecessors. Even "cheerful" (Freedom Call even come to mind), bright and bubbling with positivity. It sticks to the tried-and-tested formula."

An album built with grit on a recipe that will please the band's longtime followers, though Iron Savior have certainly seen (and lived through) times of greater creative inspiration. Solid, but nothing special.

If Killswitch Engage made a comeback with Disarm the Descent, then with Incarnate they haven't just confirmed they're in top form, they've taken a step forward too.

"XI" picks the best from the legacy of the old days and channels it effectively into the essence of today's Metal Church. Tradition rings out. Retro-flavored and potent, with returnee Mike Howe back in the lineup.