Album

"Every time you spin it in the CD player, Lanzon's perfectionism and his layered musical polish will keep you busy, gratefully, and suck you right back in."

Label: Sony MusicRelease date: 12.01.2018Production: Mike FraserAlbum length: 51.16 minGenre: Instrumental Rock / Art RockRating: 8.5 / 10 Joe Satriani is a legend of the genre-coined "instrumental guitar rock" variety. The man who…

"Anyone who swears by epic, manly and smart power metal will be more than thrilled with »The Deviant Chord«. It's a thoroughly classic album with just the right dose of modern songwriting and production touches, which means it's exactly…

"Cabaret chanson with a female voice front and center, where different genres deftly pass the baton to one another, ends up as a blend of them all and a real eclecticism. That was also the core aim of the album 'Nemi film'."

Label: K-Scope Year of release: 2017 Production: Steven Wilson & Paul Stacey Album length: 59.46 Genre: Progressive Rock / Art Rock Steven Wilson, the leading patron of modern progressive rock, returns with his latest studio album,…

Label: High Roller RecordsRelease date: 28.04.2017Production: Cloven HoofAlbum length: 44.43 minGenre: Heavy Metal (N.W.O.B.H.M.)Rating: 9.0 / 10 These days Cloven Hoof are considered heavy metal legends. They emerged during the…

"With their new album, All Strings Detached stay firmly in the saddle of authorial, creative artistry, a space they handle with serious skill and where they feel most at home."

Label: ZKP RTV SlovenijaRelease date: July 1, 2016Production: Igor MatkovičGenre: JazzRating: 10/10 Composer, producer, pianist, but first and foremost the established Slovenian jazz trumpeter Igor Matkovič is back with a new album,…

Label: Ear Music RecordsRelease date: 2017Production: Bob EzrinAlbum length: 45.47 minGenre: Heavy Rock/Hard RockRating: 8.0/10 After a four-year break from the studio, Deep Purple are back with "Infinite", their twentieth studio…

"After Drevored's album "Na zahod," Jernej Zoran's new album is another exceptionally strong original achievement on the Slovenian rock'n'roll front, and both came out at the very dawn of 2017."

Label: Sony MusicRelease date: February 3, 2017Produced by: Tom AllomAlbum length: 40.58 minBonus live (2CD) album length: 101.45 minGenre: Heavy MetalRating: 9.5/10 At the end of last year, thirty years after its original release,…

Album length: 38:33 Production: Maras Tomaž Mot & Mike Poole Release date: 2017 Label: Nika Records Click to buyRating: 9.0/10 Drevored are a rock band from the Dolenjska region, based in Novo mesto. Seven years after their…

"The duo's new studio album, “Španabije,” keeps that vision alive from start to finish. But with one important difference. Bakalina have been hit by the “composer's rays” of layered musical arranging. In that sense, the album title…

"“Stoletni ples” is a magnificent album from a mature band. It took a good while to make, but the payoff is an exceptional level of polish and refinement. In these songs you can feel the band's real power and their by now “folk-classic”,…

Label: AFM RecordsRelease date: 11/18/2016Production: Charlie BauerfiendAlbum length: 52.05 minGenre: Heavy Metal Herman Frank is a renowned and highly respected German guitarist. His name has been written into the book of metal in…

"In many ways it's an even more aggressive and faster version of its excellent predecessor "Dark Roots of Earth", packed with some seriously fun surprises, and it keeps its pissed-off, totally vampiric nature from start to finish, so it's…

"»Tygers Of Pan Tang« is a record that will go down best with fans of heavy rock heroes like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy, yet it also has plenty of moments that bring back the 'good old days' of the…

"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,…

"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."

"From mechanical resonance to a mechanical renaissance!"

"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…

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…

"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."

"Kdo bo pil iz bistrega studenca?" is an incredibly bold and brave move and one of the most beautiful documents out there, one that will irreversibly seduce and enchant even the true folk purist, in a free-spirited reworking of folk music's…

Label: Roadrunnner RecordsRelease date: 01/29/2016Producer: John PetrucciAlbum length: 130.23 minGenre: Progressive Metal The double concept album »The Astonishing« is the most ambitious project in the history of American prog-metal…

"The workaholic patron saint of modern prog rock isn't slowing down. With "4 ½", his fans will definitely find it a lot easier to wait for the maestro's next studio album."

Label: RCARelease date: April 13, 1973Production: Ken Scott & David BowieAlbum length: 40.47 minGenre: Glam Rock / Hard RockRating: 9.0/10 After the phenomenal success of the cult concept album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy…

Label: RCARelease date: June 16, 1972Production: Ken Scott & David BowieAlbum length: 38:29Genre: Glam Rock / Hard RockRating: 10/10 In 1972, the single "Starman" hit the music scene like a bolt from the blue, suddenly became a…

Label: RCARelease date: December 17, 1971Production: Ken Scott & David BowieAlbum length: 41.50 minGenre: Art pop / Pop rockRating: 9.0/10 The art-rock gem “Hunky Dory” may well be the most important achievement in the career of…

Label: Mercury RecordsRelease date: November 4, 1970 (US) / April 10, 1971 (UK)Producer: Tony ViscontiAlbum length: 40:29 minGenre: Hard Rock / Folk Rock / Glam RockRating: 8.5/10This review is dedicated to the memory of David Bowie…

Label: PhilipsRelease date: 11/14/1969Production: Tony Visconti & Gus Dudgeon (Space Oddity)Album length: 45.13 minGenre: Psychadelic Rock / Folk RockRating: 8.0/10 Bowie's self-titled second solo album, reissued in 1972 for the…

Label: DeramRelease date: June 1, 1967Production: Mike VernonAlbum length: 37.07 minGenre: Psychadelic Pop / Singer / SongwritterRating: 7.0/10 In 1967, with the British psychedelic scene at its peak, a talented twenty-year-old kid…

"The album 'Punk Enough?' puts its eclecticism front and center, and it's a record that catches the band at an evolutionary moment, right in the middle of a stylistic transition."

"Slapping Jean “Django” Reinhardt's name on any moment of the album would make sense, though Collori deserves congratulations for putting together a record without a single cover, which among similar gypsy swing albums is more the exception…

"El Kachon don't surprise anymore with »Permanently Lubricated Nuts«. With the new album they're cementing their recognizable spot on the Slovenian music landscape."

"Stara šula remain their own story. They go at it with serious authenticity, garage-raw and live. Feelingful, passionate and as heartfelt as it gets"

"»Transcience« is a rare double LP that gathers some of the most vivid moments of Steven's career between 2002 and 2015."

Label: Century Media RecordsProduction: Chris "Zeuss" HarrisRelease date: October 2, 2015Album length: 64.23 minGenre: Art Metal Queensryche are back with their second studio album since the band's shipwreck during the messy split…

"In a healthy musical climate, »Ujemi val« could be a nice addition to the Slovenian middle-of-the-road music scene, though on our turf it unfortunately doesn't yet have a well-defined character of its own."

“Love, Fear And The Time Machine” is a new top-shelf album confirming that Riverside keep reaching, very successfully, for fresh challenges, which they masterfully work, in a melting pot of absorbed big ideas, into a format of absolute…

Label: Parlophone Records / BMGRelease date: September 4, 2015Production: Kevin ShirleyAlbum length: 92.11 min (2CD)Genre: Heavy Metal / N.W.O.B.H.M.Rating: 8.0/10 "The Book of Souls" is the sixteenth studio album from heavy metal…

"The prog-leaning masterpiece »Seventh Son of a Seventh Son« was the finale of Iron Maiden's epic album trilogy, kicked off by »Powerslave« and »Somewhere in Time«, and it's a worthy successor to both of those triumphant predecessors, with…

Label: Sony MusicRelease date: 24.07.2015Album length: 64.01 min.Production: Joihn Cuniberti & Joe SatrianiGenre: Instrumental Rock / Art RockRating: 8.5 / 10 The man who more or less enthroned instrumental guitar rock in the…

"The Eternal Idol" was another major sonic rebirth for Black Sabbath and the start of their next evolutionary phase, with both Tonys in the lead roles.

"The basic premise of the band's calling card hasn't changed. It's a fresh ring match-up of AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, UFO and Queen. Blended, of course, according to The Darkness' one-of-a-kind recipe, which keeps cranking out a brand-new,…

"Waters' personal frustrations, which hit their peak on "The Final Cut", would surely have come across as more credible on a solo debut, instead of being projected through the Pink Floyd frame, with his longtime partners in misery reduced…

"“AkordeON” is an extremely ambitious album that puts accordion playing in a special corner of the musical universe, a far cry from the one we usually get in everyday encounters with the instrument, which in Slovenia has always come with a…

" An outstanding album that, alongside Feedback from Tolmin, delivers a badly needed progressive rock link on the Slovenian scene between the new generation and the look and spirit of the seventies bands (Izvir, Predmestje, September,…

Label: PivecRelease year: 2015Production: Blaž Celarec & Marko TurelAlbum length: 35.24 minGenre: Folk / Rock Time flies! Four years have gone by since the album Noč čarovnic came out.. It feels like it was yesterday. And now…

"An exceptionally beautiful and, for a debut, remarkably mature piece of songwriting: full-blooded indie rock that promises great things for the future."

"Just like with the album »Stratosfera«, the new album »Romeo, Julija in tatovi sonca« is another document in Jernej Zoran's discography that doesn't have a single track you could call filler to pad out the running time"

"So that's what it looks like? Slovenian "morbidity" in 2015! And Natriletno kolobarjenje s praho is its supremely authentic imprint. A gutsy experiment that is provocative throughout, hits straight and head-on, and is unbridled in its…

"The album 'Severnica – Zgodbe o odhajanju' is an exceptionally polished piece of work artistically, and one of the best albums on the Slovenian scene in 2014. "

"Into The Electric Castle" was the defining work of the one and only Arjen Anthony Lucassen, setting brand-new standards for the modern rock/metal opera and helping revive interest in a concept-album genre that was all but buried.

"Unvarnished, sincere and heartfelt. A rich, deeply moving and confessional “gift” of art in the truest sense of the word, one that wears a metaphorical mask of mocking jabs, while underneath it hides a message so powerful it will shake you…

"Let's just hope that creative spark doesn't die out, and that the band puts out the next album within three years of "Resist Or Serve.""

"“Heavy Rain” is a definite oddball in the Slovenian alternative rock underground."

"Chasing analog rawness, a beautiful, stripped-down and honest hard rock effort that is anything but what the title promises."

"Kill the Engine" is a new masterpiece of unconventional art-rock freshness, embodied by the fiercely penetrating charisma of this generous Slovenian artist's musical vision. With his new album, Grega Habič stays true to his one-of-a-kind…

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…

“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…

"'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…

"The point of fusing accordion, tuba and percussion into one unconventional, out-of-the-ordinary musical body hits its mark with sheer audacity. It serves up a completely autonomous musical experience that's hard to pin down with any real…

Label: Roadrunner RecordsRelease date: 09/23/2013Produced by: John PetrucciAlbum length: 69:05 minGenre: Progressive Metal Dream Theater, the prog titans whose shockingly original sound at the turn of the '80s into the '90s threw…

Label: Self-released Release year: 2013 Production: Peter Ošlaj & Ethnotrip Album length: 46.32 Ethnotrip is a quartet that plays folk standards. They only formed in 2009 and they're young going by the birth years on their ID cards,…

"In the Bush" is without a doubt a standout for the Slovenian music scene and one of the best records the Slovenian market received in 2013."

Label: Century Media RecordsRelease date: 24.06.2013Production: James "Jimbo" Barton Album length: 35.15 minGenre: Art Metal Queensrÿche without Geoff Tate. Queensrÿche with Geoff Tate. I just mentioned two bands. Two Queensrÿche…

"On '13', Black Sabbath sound like they just crawled out of the grave, invented a time machine and rode it back to the seventies, when their final resting place had only just been dug."

Label: Epic RecordsRelease date: 07.05.2013Production: Mike Fraser & Joe SatrianiAlbum length: 45.03 minGenre: Instrumental Rock / Art RockRating: 9.0 / 10 In the new millennium, Joe Satriani has found remarkable consistency in his…

Label: CelinkaRelease year: 2013Production: Blaž Celarec & Tibor Mihelič SyedAlbum length: 55.51 minGenre: Alternative Rock / Fusion / Experimental / Folk Members of Katalena, Kombo Zlatka Kaučiča, Trus!, Miusow Quartet,…

"With this album Riverside have once again outdone their predecessor, reached a new point in their artistic evolution, masterfully risen to the challenge of a fresh artistic temptation, and come out of it as artists who, together with a…

Label: AFM RecordsRelease date: 14. 12. 2012Production: V. SanturaAlbum length: 54.58 minGenre: Thrash MetalRating: 9.0/10 Charly Steinhauer is without a doubt one of the most tenacious figures on the German metal scene. In 1986…

Label: CelinkaRelease date: April 11, 2012Producer: Igor MatkovićGenre: JazzRating: 9.0/10 A familiar face at the Ljubljana music conservatory, a trumpet professor, composer, arranger, pianist and above all trumpeter, Igor…

"True desperados, Stara šula deliver a debut album that belongs on the front doors of biker-culture shrines and nightspots! "

"The album grabs you by the ears right away and, in its highly durable erectile stance, doesn't let up until the end. "

"This band is unbelievable! It started out as a parody, taking folk songs mostly from the Tolmin area and turning them upside down in a cheeky way, true to the authentic Tolmin folk tradition."

"You can feel that this lineup can reach even higher and even further in artistry."

"»Mesta železniških postaj« ranks among the finest creations of the band's long-running career, and among the finest moments in the history of Slovenian rock."

"»Perfect Strangers« was a triumphant return for hard rock legends everyone had already written off. They found their feet brilliantly in the radically changed technological and production landscape of the eighties and delivered one of the…

"The often-overlooked classic »Come Taste the Band« is a worthy farewell to Deep Purple's seventies and an immensely valuable testament to Bolin's unique guitar talent, one that makes you forget Blackmore's absence altogether."

Label: EMI RecordsRelease date: November 16, 1974Production: Deep Purple & Martin BirchAlbum length: 36.31 minGenre: Hard Rock / Heavy RockRating: 10/10 "Stormbringer" was the ninth studio effort from British heavy rock legends…

"»Burn« was the magnum opus of the newborn Mark III lineup, which blazed with incredible fire from its very first post-birth pangs, hell-bent on showing the world a revitalized face of the legendary English heavy rock champions. For the…

" "Who Do We Think We Are" is by far the least inspired album from the Mark II lineup of Deep Purple, a band that fell apart in a gloomy atmosphere, a by-product of management-forced studio slogging and constant Blackmore-Gillan feuding,…

"'Machine Head' is the golden crown atop Deep Purple's finest studio efforts and the peak of the Mark II lineup, which created the band's most beloved classics to this day."

"The experimental masterpiece »Fireball« is in many ways an even more interesting studio record than its famous predecessor, and it would've overshadowed it in every respect if it didn't have just one single flaw, going by the name…

"Deep Purple in Rock" is a timeless heavy rock masterpiece and, without a doubt, the most important studio achievement in the whole Deep Purple story. It's also one of the most important rock albums of all time. With it, Mark II began their…

"“Deep Purple” was, without a shadow of a doubt, the best record of the Mark I Deep Purple lineup. The legendary band hit its artistic peak here, with one foot already stepping toward the big stylistic shift that came right after Evans and…

"Even though the band was on a rapid creative climb, the album completely bombed commercially on British soil, while the American response was likewise below expectations. Meanwhile, the first irreconcilable differences over the band's…

"Deep Purple's psychedelic-tinged debut is a vivid mirror of the original Mark I lineup, a band that leapt forward with every subsequent release, and today it's especially fascinating for anyone digging into the roots of heavy metal, hard…

"Dark Roots of the Earth is without a doubt one of the strongest contenders for album of the year, and there's no way anything thrash-wise is topping this beast this year. Forget the Big Four (Dave Mustaine can go cry in Lars Ulrich's lap),…

Label: Metal HeavenRelease date: 22.06.2012Production: Herman FrankAlbum length: 53.58 minGenre: Heavy Metal Herman Frank is the legendary German guitarist who's burned into all our memories as one half of the hard-to-separate guitar…

"Fairport Convention's debut was a colorful grab bag of more or less successful folk and folk rock standards with precious few originals, but every take on the American source material was at least solid, and the first signs that a key band…

"Even though nearly every Sabbath traditionalist still turns their back on it today, anyone whose musical horizons stretch beyond strict heavy metal boundaries can appreciate its experimental nature and rare brilliant moments. As a whole…

"'Paranoid' is, in every respect, the most important album by the heavy rock giants from Birmingham and a masterpiece of heavy metal in its embryonic form, the one that finally shot them into the stratosphere of the most exciting bands of…

"»Master of Reality« is still one of the most influential heavy rock albums ever, playing a hugely important role in the development of the heavy metal scene, especially the doom metal and stoner rock/metal subgenres, and with its dark,…

"On their fourth studio outing, Black Sabbath hit a new level of maturity and made yet another classic heavy rock gem that, on top of the usual 'doom & gloom' punch and 'chasing the devil's tail', positively brims with unbridled…

"The adventurous masterpiece »Sabbath Bloody Sabbath« is the most artistically accomplished achievement of the Ozzy era. It finally crowned the legendary heavy metal forefathers from Birmingham as the most important heavy rock band of the…

"»Sabotage« is a heavy rock masterpiece with a strong experimental streak and yet another gorgeous document of the golden era of musical innovation, when Black Sabbath were at the peak of their creative powers."

"The fact that “Technical Ecstasy” is cherished by music gourmets of a very special kind is also underlined by a neat tidbit: one of the levels in the popular 1995 video game 'Rise Of the Triads' carried this album's title, while “Dirty…

"The debut »Poglej« is a collection of easygoing songs with such a clear streak of originality that it'll grab your attention whether you like it or not. "