(10/10) The rise of Avantasia, happening during the last almost twenty years, is an impressive one. Mainman and founder Tobias Sammet started the project in 1999 with “The Metal Opera’ being the first longplayer that hit the record stores. What started rather small became one of the most remarkable metal opera projects in the here... Continue Reading →
CD review POUNDER ‘Uncivilized’
(7/10) You might not have heard of Pounder earlier, but in case you're a fan of the NWoBHM spirit and call bands like Night Demon to your favorites ylu certainly should check out this trio. Pounder, the name says it all, started in 2016 and is hailing from Los Angeles, CA. The guys have published... Continue Reading →
CD review WITHIN TEMPTATION ‘Resist’
(8/10) It feels like ‘more haste, less speed’ was the approach for Within Temptation’s seventh studio album. ‘Resist’ was scheduled for December 14th but faced a delay due to production issues. This also had an effect on Within Temptation's tour at the end of 2018 which they did without having the album out on the... Continue Reading →
CD review SOILWORK ‘Verkligheten’
(9/10) 'Verkligheten' is not only the title of Soilwork's newest delivery, it's also the Swedish word for 'reality'. Now, why am I telling this? The thing is that if you have a hard time and went through changes, you have to face reality at a certain moment. In such a context Swedish Soilwork couldn't have... Continue Reading →
DORO announced ‘Backstage to Heaven’
Doro has now announced to release the 4-track vinyl EP 'Backstage To Heaven' on March 8th - on the same day the second leg of her worldtour kicks off! The EP will feature two album tracks, as well as two unreleased, new live tracks. "I wish you all a happy new year, it will surely become a rocking... Continue Reading →
FULL METAL CRUISE VIII line-up completed
More information can be found on the The Metal Cruise VIII website.
CD review LOVEBITES ‘Clockwork Immortality’
(6/10) Oh boy, this album is a real curveball and I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with Lovebites. In case you haven't heard of the band before the band name might make you think about a hard rock outfit. The moniker would fit perfect but it's actually misleading. Lovebites are into melodic... Continue Reading →
AVANTASIA unveils tracklist and artwork of ‘Moonglow’
Tobias Sammet's Avantasia will release album number eight on February 15th, 2019 via Nuclear Blast. Next to Sammet himself Avantasia's core team includes Sasch Paeth, Michael Rodenberg and Felix Bohnke. Michael Kiske, Ronnie Atkins, Eric Martin, Geoff Tate, Jorn Lande and Bob Catley well-known singers are contributing and also new names appear on the list... Continue Reading →
Live report WITHIN TEMPTATION / EGO KILL TALENT, AFAS, Amsterdam – 24.11.2018
Within Temptation belongs without any doubt to the spearhead of symphonic metal. The Dutch powerhouse premiered with 'Enter' in 1997 and since then the band established itself as one of the most impactful female-fronted metal outfits.The latest album 'Hydra went right into the top 10 album charts and became the most successful release of the... Continue Reading →
Live (Photo-) report GUS G. / MAXXWELL / MAGICAL HEART, Cultuurpodium Boerderij, Zoetermeer – 20.11.2018
Greek guitarist Gus G. is currently on tour through Europe and one of the first stops on this journey was in Zoetermeer. The six-stringer, known from his years with Ozzy Osbourne, Firewind and many more, brought a lot of riffpower to the Boerderij. The support that night was provided by German melodic rockers Magical Heart... Continue Reading →
CD review DEF LEPPARD ‘The Story so Far … The Best of’
(*/10) Christmas is the period of storytelling and fairytales. The story of rock veterans Def Leppard is a fairytale-like, no doubt and the band tells 'The Story so Far' on their brand new compilation. The comprehensive release features 35 songs and includes all the hits Def Leppard wrote and recorded in more the four decades... Continue Reading →
ANTHEM announces ‘Nucleus’
Japan's leading traditional heavy metal band, Anthem, have signed to Nuclear Blast Records (for the European territory) to break into the worldwide market. The first release will be their greatest hits album, completely re-recorded with English lyrics!Mixing and mastering were done by established producer and engineer Jens Bogren, known for his work with a multitude... Continue Reading →
CD review NORDIC UNION ‘Second Coming’
(8/10) Two and a half years ago Nordic Union all of a sudden appeared from nowhere and delivered a debut that was great. It clearly showed that the historic competition between Denmark and Sweden should stay history since a partnership obviously can lead to something by far greater. No less than Ronnie Atkins represents the... Continue Reading →
CD review SINBREED ‘IV’
(7/10) German melodic metal outfit Sinbreed went through some changes over the last years. Two new members are on board and a switch of labels took place also. The 2016 album ‘Master Creator’ has been released by AFM Records and it’s the new album being Sinbreed's premier for Massacre Records. Regarding the line-up, too important positions... Continue Reading →
Live (Photo-) report, DELAIN, Patronaat, Haarlem – 12.10.2018
Some days ago Dutch symphonic rockers Delain played a special show at the sold-out Patronaat, Haarlem. It was a long queue in front of the venue announced a big night and excitement grew after the doors finally were opened. The concert was a Delain-only show without any support band or opening act. In almost 2h... Continue Reading →









