Reviews

Label: CelinkaRelease date: 2014Production: Janez DovčGenre: Folk/World Music/Pop/Art Rock/Jazz FusionRating: 9.0/10 Yep. Slovenes can be team players too. Janez Dovč, the lead protagonist and visionary behind the "Sounds Of…

From Istria (Tamo doli poli mora) to Prekmurje (Zrejlo je žito) it's probably a short hop, but even the smallest geographic shift across our little country brings an incredible colorfulness, which the character of Slovenian folk melos can…

"The Road of Bones" has everything IQ fans have been patiently waiting for over the last five years, so their excitement will know no bounds once they realize the neoprog masters have finally delivered a new studio masterpiece after all…

“Ni dovolj!” is an album of tight, concise exposition. The band has clearly poured most of its creative energy into conquering the Slovenian musical “mainstream.” In terms of songwriting insight, “Ni dovolj!” no longer thrills as catchily…

The album carries a less welcome realization: this time around, Eskobars favor recycling ideas that will satisfy the mass palate to the point where originality takes a back seat.

»Recidiv« is far more compact than its predecessor: eleven songs that take you on a trip back to the band's classic sound, the one that ran through their albums all the way up to »Prohibicija« (2003).

"Freaks of Nature" is one of those Kansas albums that takes a few spins before it really "gets under your skin," but once it does, it hooks you for good with its revival of the sonic magic from this legendary band's golden days.

The new album from Idrija's punk rockers confirms a decisive step forward in maturity: in the songwriting, in the production, and in the sense of tightness and cohesion radiating from the solid, competent delivery of the material.

»Reincarnation On Stage« is practically a landmark live document for the German progressive rock scene, performed by the most important German band in the whole movement.

Schendel and Babb are workhorses, but all that graft usually pays off big. «Ode to Echo» is no exception, and stylistically it's one of the most diverse chapters in the Glass Hammer saga so far.

Glass Hammer, eternal believers in the triumph of 'good', have made an album in »Perilous« that's interesting and varied enough that, even though they put out records almost every year, you can't accuse them of being generic.

Impending Doom's fifth album is defined by power, aggression and atmosphere. A bit more polish wouldn't hurt, though, to break up the occasional monotony.

»Biodinamička ljubav« is a convincing piece of work, and with it Jagode, after a ten-year studio drought, have set out to win back the market of the old shared country.

After a "limping" predecessor, »Space Police – Defenders of the Crown« is a tight, quality-packed record where the trademark ingredients of Edguy's sound, cheeky swagger and all, show up in exactly the form fans want.

George Michael is an outstanding artist who never runs short of ideas or ways to get his music to listeners.

"use Your Illusion I" saw the light of day in 1991 and is the first of two albums released at the same time. On it, Guns N' Roses left the "glam rock" moment of their studio debut behind and shaped their own signature "Gunsy" rock.

"Mask Of Libderty" is a lovely, high-quality debut from Raggalution. The guys aren't reinventing the musical wheel here, but this is a record of heartfelt, honest expression, and that's the main trump card that wins listeners over and…

With "Man on the Rocks," the brilliant multi-instrumentalist has served up a pretty dull effort. Its cheerful vibe is easy on the ears, but any discerning music fan will probably nod off fairly quickly while listening.

Odyssey of Eternity is a record with power, modernity and atmosphere. The only shame is that the band recently announced they're going on indefinite hiatus.

Even after his run-in with Gary Lucas on »Other World«, fans of Hammill's solo career will find plenty to be happy about while listening to this joint project.

With their debut, Mighty Oaks have wandered into musical territory built on the tried-and-tested fusion of indie rock and folk, but they've repackaged the ideas so they feel fresh and distinctly their own.

In fact, "Morning Phase" feels like a refreshed, revitalized "Sea Change" for a new era.

If it's not their best, »The Take Off And Landing Of Everything« is certainly the most mature album of the band's career so far, and proof that Elbow have no intention of resting on the laurels of their past commercial success.

As a debut, »Come Out To Play« is a very, very solid effort that effectively fuses melodic catchiness with raw, straight-up rock sharpness! Scotland's Estrella are a band with exemplary potential!

Istrian garage trash is back!

»The Singles 1985-2014« is a really nice cross-section of the glorious career of Mike and The Mechanics, who wrote themselves into pop rock history in golden letters. It's far more than just a collection of every single so far — it's a kind…

This is a top-shelf hard rock record, full-bloodedly loaded with blues, even boogie (Last Call For Love, 3rd Deegre), and while it nods to the good old days with a few sly touches, it walks its own road with a sharply drawn musical…

Axel Rudi Pell fans will add this album to their collection too. Everyone else who doesn't know the guy will be thrilled with it, right up until they realize the previous fifteen sound pretty much the same.

On "Bang!" Gotthard keep the creative spark alive and march on proudly with their heads held high. In terms of sound and production, the new album has finally reconnected with the band's classic records from the Steve Lee era.

»Marauder« is an seriously powerful live debut from a relatively young band with only two studio records to its name.

»Arrive Alive« is a long way from being a live classic. Even after the thorough CD remaster, it's still held back by weak production, and the band were still maturing and hunting for a clear sonic direction. Still, its…

The wonderful German progressive metallers are back with the most ambitious work of their rich, long-running career so far. Once again it's a richly layered album with a gripping fantasy story behind it.

How do you celebrate the release of a new studio album so the party goes down in history? You play the whole album live at a bombastic show on the very day it officially comes out.

»The Ultimate« is an outstanding piece of work that every devotee of the west coast AOR approach will snap up in no time, and I'll go out on a limb and say it's already on the shortlist for best AOR album of 2014!

Musical escapism into fantasy worlds remains Magnum's favorite pastime on "Escape From The Shadow Garden" too, which means the new album will satisfy, but not excite, all the longtime fans of these melodic rock heroes.

Serve this EP up like a hot, crispy bread roll and let it sweeten your spring and summer until fall rolls around, when Elvis Jackson treat you to a brand-new studio album!

A look back at a decade of Las Vegas squalor and glitz.

»Domina« is a new milestone in the band's maturing and deepening of their unique, homegrown sonic identity. They're not afraid to flirt with fresh stylistic challenges on their path of healthy evolution.

This album is a true awakening of spring. It arrives right on time. It stirs you up, floods the empty corners of our souls with a spring of bubbling emotion, and warms us up after winter hibernation.

Friendly, painless, trivially solvable little ditties that'll entertain little girls and the less demanding Slovenian plebs.

"'Zajeban dan' is an album that the mass of die-hard rockers will take to in no time, and so will every fan of this band, who after 14 years of relentless thirst can finally, at long last, drink deep from the musical well of this record's…

»Zajeban dan« is an album that the mass of true-believer rockers and every last fan of this band will take to their hearts fast. After 14 years of relentless thirst, you're finally going to drink deep from the big-hearted musical well of…

Tesseract didn't disappoint the second time around either. All four parts of the album click together into a meaningful whole. The band clearly hasn't run out of ideas yet. They'll just need to polish a few segments next time, even though…

With the exceptionally dark "Empire Of The Undead," Gamma Ray, small sonic experiments and all, stay at the very top of the game when it comes to brewing the noblest power metal, the way the unique, universal magic of this genre knows it!

The first Asia album with Sam Coulson is their best since the classic lineup reunited in 2007, with the new guitarist blowing a breath of fresh air into the pretty weathered sails of the legendary band.

Label: AFM RecordsRelease date: 02/19/2014Production: Piet SielckAlbum length: 55.06 minGenre: Heavy Metal / Power Metal What should you expect from the eighth studio album from German power metallers Iron Savior, led since 1996 by…

The new album is once again forged from the tried-and-tested recipe of hammering out the noblest German steel, packed with that unmistakable power metal bombast. With it, Iron Savior remain a constant of guaranteed quality!

Brežice-based Kontradikshn convincingly announce that another seriously interesting band is entering the Slovenian music scene, one developing its own homegrown character by fusing electronics with rock in an experimental way.

As the telling album title already hints, this is the band's most experiment-soaked work to date. It's an album that, on longer listens, rewards only the most persistent music gourmands.

Old meets new! Thanks to a unified production sound and updated arrangements, the older songs get right up close to Pretty Maids' current creative philosophy.

A retrospective look back at the first 30 years of Blaze Bayley's career. It's been quite a journey: from Wolfsbane to Iron Maiden, on to his own band Blaze, and finally to life as a solo artist.

»Down to Earth« is far from a bad album, especially through today's eyes, but it had the bad luck of coming out after Dio's extraordinary, unrepeatable run, which makes its music and its overall significance for Blackmore's later career…

The most mature and best-arranged album of the band's career. So let democracy pass, so we can finally live with dignity again! The sooner the better!

With A Voice Within, Intervals are proof that not every idea has been used up. You just have to combine them in an original way and success is guaranteed. Intervals more than pulled it off: there's nothing generic here, just the kind of…

A gorgeous studio document that honestly reflects Miha Vanič's many-layered musical sensibility, and that could, if Miha Vanič sticks with this sphere, grow him into one of those singer-songwriters who'd shape the top of the local…

Polona Kasal's take on Tomaž Pengov's »Na cesti«. A bold "game of playing with fire" that paid off big for the artist.

With their new album, Grrizli Madams become a band that, with its vision of perpetual evolutionary change, ranks among the handful of acts defining and pushing the qualitative standards of the Slovenian rock underground.

"It Is And It Isn't," a thoroughly solid effort and a time capsule of its era, is far from interesting only to King Crimson fans — it's for anyone who loves a melodic take on early-'70s prog folk.

»Blue Horizon« ranks among the best Wishbone Ash albums ever. On a few tracks, it even captures the spiritual essence of the classic lineup from the first half of the seventies.

One of the most accomplished keyboardists of the rock era is back with a brilliant new solo studio effort! "Keyed Up" is a manifesto of towering artistic maturity from a true master of his craft!

Eyesburn double down on their uniqueness with the new album. "Reality Check" is another document of the homegrown identity of this seriously fascinating cross-over outfit, and it grabs you from the first track to the last.

This Is Your Revelation might even be the band's best record so far. If it's not the best, it's definitely the most mature.

After The Burial didn't repeat In Dreams. You could say they built on it, or you could simply say Wolves Within is a mix of In Dream and Rareform. Despite the criticism aimed at this album, the metalcore, deathcore and djent scenes can…

It would be quite a surprise if "Kaleidoscope" weren't the first serious contender for best progressive rock album of 2014, given that all four members of this superstar lineup keep diligently delivering a level of consistent quality that…

You could say that »Sitting Targets« is a almost thoroughly classic Peter Hammill solo album, meaning that, apart from a minimal touch of new wave, the sound and production tech of the eighties barely laid a finger on it.

The seventies gave us AC/DC, Lynnyrd Skynnyrd and punk, then the eighties rolled in, and the first to authentically and very effectively fuse all that stuff into a fresh package were Guns N' Roses. Luckily, they're not the last to pull it…

The Bard project delivers a debut of uncommon character. Its substance does invite some musical parallels with Niet, which is only natural, since Češnovar was always part of that band's creative nucleus.

»Feel« is the logical next chapter after the debut »Come To Me« (2012). It keeps serving up the same wildly effective eclectic stew of genre-blending, which is the trio's entry visa into the land of serious musical originality.

If you don't know Olovni ples yet, the compilation of newly recorded tracks »Nulti dan« is a great way to get acquainted with a band that will surely surprise you in a big, positive way and win you over, heart and soul, with its…

Back when FM put out the albums »Rockville« and »Rockvile II« last year, it struck me that Steve Overland and his crew are masters of the craft of repackaging a trick that's been sold a million times so it hits full-blooded again. As if it…

Tried and tested, predictable, no artistic surprises. With the new album, House Of Lords remain a constant of high quality among the most prominent standard-bearers of melodic rock.

Would anyone have dared to think that Jake E. Lee, the renowned former first guitarist of Ozzy Osbourne who wrote himself into rock and metal history on the Prince of Darkness's infamous albums, would ever return from musical exile?

»The Light«, an remarkably mature work from a young band, was one of the best debuts in the story of third-wave progressive rock, even though the Beard crew were still missing one piece of the puzzle at the time to rise to the 'next level'…

After almost ten years of silence, Ring Of Fire are back with a studio record. Of their four albums in total, "Battle Of Leningrad" is by far the most mature work for Mark Boals, Tony MacAlpine and Vitalij Kuprij.

"Love Beach" is one of the most embarrassing chapters in the career of the legendary trio, who had to honor their record contract and cranked out a studio album way below expectations, one you're better off laughing at than crying over…

Sure, »Crisis? What Crisis?« is nowhere near the quality of its predecessor »Crime Of the Century«, but it's far from the misfire that some members of the band (even former ones) still consider it to be today.

This album was made for anyone who loves the good old hard rock school. It's packed with musical elements from the classic days of rock pioneering, the seventies. A gorgeous throwback to the time when the records of the rock revolution were…

Anyone who doesn't know when to step off the stage risks getting run over by history. That's exactly what happened to ELP with »Works Volume II«, an album that even the most masochistic devotees of the legendary trio can barely get through…

With a crew of top-notch musicians and composers, Nana Milčinski has lived up to all the expressive sparkle of her debut with this new album, and once again masterfully breathed fresh relevance into the rich message carried by Ježek's…

Arjen Anthony Lucassen has once again proven just how one-of-a-kind and brilliant he is. "Lost In the New Real" is one of the best sci-fi concept albums out there.

»The Soft Machine« is a pioneering work and one of the most important albums of the Canterbury scene, and thus of early progressive rock. Even so, amid plenty of already top-notch improvisational freakouts, it was still full of youthful…

Winter Kills comes off a little reserved in the end. They stay consistent, sure, but the result is less expressive than before.

»No Jacket Required« still stands up as a pop rock classic and something of a crown jewel in Collins' solo career.

With this album, the band has happily closed out a 28-year epic of "birds without a nest." The songs have finally found their home. This record is tailor-made for Yu-rock nostalgics.

A brilliant achievement from Stef Burns, the great guitar master, who shows off all of his universal creative genius on it. No wonder he's put his name on albums by such a wide range of artists over his career, including Y&T, Alice…

A genuine ecstasy of emotion from the musical universe of Rok Golob!

Thanks to its extraordinary songwriting maturity, "Delivering The Black" can be declared the band's magnum opus, one that proudly stands alongside the best moments of Primal Fear's career.

Mr. Collins, very much the architect of his own fortune, delivered another top-shelf pop rock record with »Hello, I Must Be Going!« and reaped unexpected success, which rocketed him into the ranks of the biggest music stars of the eighties.

»Suits« lands in the sweet spot of Fish's studio output so far: an exceptionally consistent, high-quality album that still delights today with some seriously fun ideas.

Almost four hours of meticulous, heartfelt renditions of some of the best moments of Rush's career so far, including a full string-backed run through all of »Clockwork Angels«, should thoroughly satisfy every worshipper of the Canadian…

In some cases, layering on top of a "looped" foundation and melody works (e.g. Nine Inch Nails-The Slip), but on Reflektor it merely pads out the runtime, since otherwise there'd barely be enough for a short E.P.

Yet another testament to Gibonni's musical perfectionism, further cementing his well-earned status and reputation as the biggest star of the Croatian mainstream right now.

Whales and Leeches is just one more release that could easily get lost in an already overcrowded scene.

The chemistry of emotion and passion, in a new dimension of finely tuned craftsmanship in the clever rearrangement of some old songs, proves that Vatra keep successfully developing, nurturing and exploring a clearly defined character of…

A solid comeback from the veterans!

»On Air« was a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting record, made almost exactly to the taste and standards of most longtime fans of Parsons' magnificent career in music and production.

An Upper Carniolan fresh funk rock rap collective with a fat dozen of new tracks proves that good things are happening not just in the hubs of Slovenia, but also in the fading economic backwaters of Upper Carniola.

"If you're into the progressive rock that flourished across the former shared republic in the seventies, or the pioneering British hard rock outfits like Wishbone Ash, Uriah Heep and Procol Harum, then what the album "Nebo od skaja"…

If you're into the progressive rock that flourished across the former shared republic in the seventies, or into the pioneering hard rock bands of Great Britain, then what the album "Nebo od skaja" has to offer will simply enchant you.

Gump are a band from Zaprešić, Croatia. They're a four-piece fronted by a female vocalist. »2013« is their studio debut, an eclectic record that deserves your full attention.