Australia's extreme metallers NE Obliviscaris present with 'Exul' their latest work, which was created with a lot of uncertainties, imponderables and possibilities. If you take a closer look at the record, you will notice that 'Exul' was recorded in a number of studios. If one considers the exceptional situation of the past years, this is... Continue Reading →
Review REDEMPTION ‘I Am the Storm’
Nick Van Dyk and Bernie Versailles started Redemption in 2001 and after Versailles took a break due to an aneurysm, it is Van Dyk who takes the band forward. I first became aware of Redemption between 2005 and 2017 when they had with Ray Alder a singer whom I already appreciated on the Fates Warning... Continue Reading →
Review IHSAHN ‘Fascination Steet Sessions’ – (EP)
It's been quite a while since Ihsahn released a full-length record. It was in 2018 when 'Àmr' saw the light of day and since then the exceptional Norwegian artist has focused on EP releases. Following 'Telemark' and 'Pharos', 'Fascination Steert Sessions' is now the third EP in a row. The new release contains three songs... Continue Reading →
Review HAKEN ‘Fauna’
The first album of Haken's that I had noticed was 'The Mountain'. From that moment on I was fascinated by the sound of the Englishmen. Haken manage to combine different elements into an own and unique sound like hardly any other band. There are the musical skills of the six musicians, which is revealed in... Continue Reading →
Review ENSLAVED ‘Heimdal’
Sinister metal from Scandinavia is booming these days. First Katatonia from Sweden released their new masterpiece, followed by Finland's blackened death metal veternas Insomnium. What's missing is an album from a Norwegian band and the gap will be closed by 'Heimdal', the newest strike from Enslaved. The guys from Bergen, Norway present with 'Heimdal' their... Continue Reading →
Live report KATATONIA, SÓLSTAFIR & SOM, Gruenspan, Hamburg – February 22nd, 2023
Hamburg is not exactly known as a carnival hotspot and yet, today's concert event fits very well for Ash Wednesday. With Katatonia, Sólstafir and SOM there are three bands in town, which do not exactly stand for the colorful fifth season. Rather, the bands are dedicated to the rather dark sounds, which are musically sophisticated... Continue Reading →
Review TRANSATLANTIC ‘The Final Flight: Live at L’Olympia ‘
One should be careful with the use of the term 'supergroup'. It is often used as a marketing slogan and is applied in an inflationary manner. But when it comes to Transatlantic, one can definitely speak of a supergroup. All band members are all masters of their craft who joined forces many years ago to... Continue Reading →
Live report LEPROUS, MONUMENTS & KALANDRA, Gruenspan, Hamburg – February 3rd, 2023
It is a stormy day when Leprous, together with Monuments and Kalandra visit the Hanseatic city. Nevertheless, many fans find their way to the Gruenspan to witness a very varied musical evening. 'Variety' is certainly the motto for this evening, because there are very diverse bands that perform one after the other, which is also... Continue Reading →
Live report APOCALYPTICA, EPICA & WHEEL, Grosse Freiheit 36, Hamburg – January 28th, 2023
Hamburg faces tonight a kind of ‘-ca’ night with Apocalyptica and Epica being in town. The third band, being part of the ‘The Epic Apocalypse Tour’ are Wheel from Finland. The first thing one notices is a 200m queue of fans, waiting for the opening of doors of the Grosse Freiheit 36. Such a line... Continue Reading →
Review KATATONIA ‘Sky Void of Stars’
Katatonia have their roots in Stockholm. Jonas Renske and Anders Nyström started up a band in the Swedish capital, which today belongs to the true greats of dark and atmospheric metal. While in the beginning it was the doomy death metal music, the sound of the band has changed over the years. Katatonia became more... Continue Reading →
Review RIVERSIDE ‘ID.Entity’
Riverside started in 2001 and hail from Wasaw, Poland. The progressive metal outfit premiered with ‘Out of Myself’, an album that was independently released and led to a deal the band inked with Inside Out Music. The band was on a successful journey through the hemisphere of multi-layered music and unleashed pretty successful records. Then... Continue Reading →
GMR Music re-releases ABSTRAKT ALGEBRA debut
Abstrakt Algebra is the brainchild of Leif Edling, the mainman of doom icons Candlemass. With this project, Edling focused on more complex sound structures and the only release of the band was the self-titled debut album which saw the light of day in 1995. Today, GMR Music re-releases the album as a by Patrick W.... Continue Reading →
Review DOOMOCRACY ‘Unorthodox’
Doomocracy comes from Greece; more precisely from Crete. Yet the Greeks do not offer sun-tanned rock, but stay in the darker realms. They do this with a musical ambition, which is reflected in their technical abilities and songwriting skills. The quintet has not released so many albums yet, but already the debut 'The End is... Continue Reading →
Review SOEN ‘Atlantis’
The experts of progressive sound, Soen, are releasing a special album these days, 'Atlantis'. Soen was founded in 2004 by former Opeth drummer Martin Lopez and guitarist Kim Platbarzdis, yet it took the band until 2012 to release their debut album 'Cognitve'.With a decade having gone by from that moment until now, the band has... Continue Reading →
Review THRESHOLD ‘Dividing Lines’
Since their foundation in 1988 and the debut album released in 1993, England's progressive metallers Threshold are a much respected player when it comes to sophisticated metal. Karl Groom and his bandmates always manage to impress with excellent albums and also the latest record, 'Diving Lines' is a treat for fans of ambitious metal. The... Continue Reading →