Dear readers of my blog!

Here comes another review of a highly anticipated record of the young year 2015. Ironically, I have become quite a big Nightwish fan when Tarja Turunen left the band ten years ago. I have bought four of their records since then and seen them in concert at "On a Dark Winter's Night Festival" in Oberhausen back in 2007 with bands such as Amorphis, Letzte Instanz, Tarot, Jesus On Extasy, Dope Stars Inc. and Blind. On the other side, one of my best friends in Germany progressively stopped caring about his once favourite band after Tarja's departure. The band's eight studio album (if you don't count "Imaginearum - The Score") marks yet another important change for the band with English multi-instrumentalist and singer Troy Donockley and Dutch singer Floor Jansen on board. I decided to take a few weeks before reviewing the new challenging output with a running time of over seventy-eight minutes. Read my final thoughts on the band's new chapter below!

"Endless Forms Most Beautiful" is Nightwish's most complex and challenging record to date which takes more than just a handful of spins to open up and work on the listener. At first contact, I thought that Nightwish underused its new members, repeated itself too much and didn't add anything interesting to their sound. After further review, these negative points were mostly confirmed but at least the different songs grew a lot on me. The record is pretty much comparable to its predecessor "Imaginaerum" but ultimately another step down for the band. 

This release can be divided into three categories. First of all, there are some mellower symphonic folk metal songs that are all potential single candidates. First radio friendly single "Élan" has a few beautiful folk elements but the song sounds much too close to past efforts. The track feels like a mixture of "Nemo" and "Last of the Wild". "My Waldén" is already more interesting as it shines thanks to Troy Donockley's vocals and folk instruments. The track sounds like a mixture of a typical Nightwish single and a soft Eluveitie track in the middle part. Both "Alpenglow" and "Edema Ruh" hit a similar vein but are maybe even softer and more keyboard driven. The songs are situated somewhere between new age age music like Enya and eighties' pop music in the key of Sandra. It feels as if these songs had worked even better with Anette Olzon's vocals. This is one of my major criticisms of this album. I have followed Floor Jansen's career for ten years now and have appreciated her powerful rocking vocals in After Forever and ReVamp. On this album, she lacks identity and sounds surprisingly close to her predecessor. Her vocals sound somewhat restrained and tame. I'm pretty sure she was told to sing this way by band leader Tuomas Holopainen and I hope he changes his mind for future releases to utilize Floor Jansen's unique talent to the maximum. The live shows have already proven that Floor Jansen rocks much more on stage than on this studio record.

The second kind of tunes are the heavier and bombastic cinematic metal tracks. The best tune of this kind is the absolute album highlight "Yours Is an Empty Hope" where we are finally reminded that we actually have to deal with a metal band. The track takes up some speed, the main riffs are mean, the orchestrations truly apocalyptical and the mixture of Floor Jansen diversified female vocals and Marco Hietala's agressive and unchained male vocals works best here. Opener "Shudder Before the Beautiful" sounds very similar but is a little bit too closely inspired by "Dark Chest of Wonders". In general, I'm getting the impression that Nightwish rehashes some ideas they have used better in the past on the record which is my second major criticism.

The last category are instrumental driven ballads such as "Our Decades in the Sun" and "The Eyes of Sharbat Gula". Both songs are among the weaker tracks of the album. The former one can't equalize the magic and majesty of ballads like "Sleeping Sun" but at least, it fits as a more relaxing break in the album context. The latter one is plain disappointing. A track related to one of the most fascinating pictures taken in the last quarter of the twentieth century should have sounded more emotional and intense in my opinion. This leads to my last negative point since this song is the most striking example of several tracks which are way too long and repetitive. This one clocks in with a length of over six minutes. As an instrumental introduction to the epic album closer, this tune could have been shortened by at least fifty percent and the effect would have been exactly the same.

Enter "The Greatest Show on Earth", the band's most ambitious track ever written and a mixture of all three categories described above. The conceptual composition comes around in five parts with extensive instrumental passages lead by multiple choirs and orchestras, narrative parts, animal and nature sound samples and metal passages with female and male vocals. Tuomas Holopainen tries to be Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart but he is not even Therion's Christofer Johnsson. This song drags on for far too long and it takes a whopping six minutes before the track takes up some speed and structure. If we combine the first six nearly instrumental minutes with those of the previous track, we get over twelve minutes of boredom that simply kill an otherwise acceptable to good album. The song then gets slightly better but lacks true imagination and progression as it can't match previous classics like "The Poet and the Pendulum", "Creek Mary's Blood" and even "Lappi (Lapland)". This song would have sounded more appropriate on the score to the band's movie or on Tuomas Holopainen's solo release "The Life and Times of Scrooge". I'm not joking when I'm saying that I fell asleep the first three times I tried to make it through this tune. This track is a perfect example that less is sometimes so much more.

In the end, I must admit that this record is rather disappointing for me even though it's not a complete failure. The first nine songs are in fact quite entertaining Nightwish standard tracks that don't reinvent anything but which are mostly really great to listen to and which work great in concert. The last thirty minutes are simply plodding and overambitious. They remind me of Icarus who got too close to the sun and crashed back down to earth. In this sense, I hope the next Nightwish album gets rid of ambitious conceptual lyrics inspired by authors, philosophers and scientists, multiple choirs, folk instruments and orchestras in each song and twenty-four minute long five-step suites. I want to hear a heavier output without any guiding line that uses Troy Donockley's instrumental skills and Floor Jansen's energizing vocals better than on this release. In the end, this album is for die-hard Nightwish and especially Tuomas Holopainen fans only.

Final verdict: 6.5 out of 10 points

Please support the band and check out the following links:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nightwish

Homepage: http://nightwish.com

Set list:

1. The Greatest Show on Earth (Chapter V: Sea-Worn Driftwood) (Introduction)

2. Shudder Before the Beautiful

3. Yours Is an Empty Hope

4. Amaranth

5. She is My Sin

6. Endless Forms Most Beautiful

7. My Walden

8. The Islander

9. Élan

10. Weak Fantasy

11. Storytime

12. Nemo

13. I Want My Tears Back

14. Stargazers

15. Sleeping Sun

16. The Greatest Show on Earth (Chapter II: Life & Chapter III: The Toolmaker)

Encore:

17. Ghost Love Score

18. Last Ride of the Day

19. The Greatest Show on Earth (Chapter IV: The Understanding & Chapter V: Sea-Worn Driftwood) (Outroduction)

Dear readers of my blog!

Do you know the American alternative rock band Mother Superior which released nine studio records and a demo between 1993 and 2011? Well, I didn't know this band either. A few weeks ago, I stumbled over the new band Motor Sister with members from famous metal bands like Anthrax, Fates Warning and Rob Zombie / White Zombie among others. This quintet covered twelve songs of the Los Angeles-based hard rock band that became an underground cult group but never made a breakthrough. Anybody who likes rock music should check this project as well as the original band Mother Superior out and try to catch them on tour. Please enjoy my review, check out "Ride" and have fun with forty-five minutes of power.

Motor Sister is an all-star project that covered twelve tracks of the Los Angeles-based hard rock band Mother Superior which split up four years ago. Initially a birthday gift for Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian who wanted to perform some tracks of one of his favourite bands one and a half years ago, the label Metal Blade Records invited the quintet to record a full length record. "Ride" was recorded in only two days and sounds really energizing, passionate and spontaneous. If compared to the original tunes, these vesions here sound heavier and rawer due to a garage rock inspired production that doesn't try to gloss over some unclean guitar notes or nasal vocals. The songs are in general a little bit longer than the originals and sound more playful yet straighter due to their extended instrumental passages. Stylistically, this record is a hard rock record that ventures into blues rock and heavy metal territories here and there. A few experimental tracks with some funk rock and punk rock vibes add some more diversified power to this forty-five minute long fun ride of a record. Don't be afraid, this is definitely not a cheap attempt at grabbing some cash with a couple of cover songs, this is a celebration of pure rock and roll spirit.

The greatest songs are right in the beginning of this release. The five friends kick this album off with one of the best tracks on here, the wild hard rock anthem "A Hole" which comes around with heavy drumming, sharp riffs, a simple yet catchy chorus and an amazing jam outro in only three compact minutes. "This Song Reminds Me of You" stands out with the vivid use of a wad-wah pedal while the melancholic breaks aren't a far call from blues rock. The track ends with a fierce two-minute long instrumental jam that could also come from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. This is also one of the songs where Pearl Aday's female backing vocals harmonize well with lead singer and guitarist Jim Wilson. She has a great and powerful voice but I feel that her promising capacities are somewhat underused on this release. Another song where she really shines is the mid-tempo blues rock half-ballad "Fool Around" which is the perfect soundtrack for a romantic meeting in an American highway bar.

Overall, this is a great hard rock record that is best played in a smoky bar or during a road trip. Even though the record falls a little bit short towards the end, this album compensates with its raw live atmosphere, honest passion and diversified take on different rock genres. The band had already played a few shows this year and has just announced that they will play a couple more in the future which fits perfectly. I wouldn't mind if the project went further and wrote its own music at some point. Any rock music fan somewhere between Led Zeppelin, Motörhead and Thin Lizzy should check this little gem out and try to catch this quintet on tour.

Final verdict: 8 out of 10 points

Please support the band and check out the following links:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/motorsister

Label: http://www.metalblade.com/motorsister

Live tracks: 1.) A Hole 2.) Beg, Borrow, Steal 3.) This Song Reminds Me of You 4.) Get That Girl 

Sehr verehrte Leser!

Von Nerven behalten kann zwar keine Rede sein, denn Impact de Montréal hat ein hochdramatisches Halbfinalrückspiel in Costa Rica mit 2:4 (1:0) verloren. Die Tore schossen McInerney und Romero. Dank des 2:0 Heimspielerfolges im Olympiastadion und der Auswärtstorregel bedeutet dies allerdings, dass zum ersten Mal in der Geschichte eine kanadische Mannschaft im Finale der CONCACAF Champions League steigt. Das Abenteuer geht also weiter! Und es kommt noch besser. Impact de Montréal bestreitet das Hinspiel am 22. April 2015 auswärts (der Gegner wird morgen Abend zwischen Club América aus Mexiko und C.S. Herediano aus Costa Rica ermittelt) und das alles entscheidende Rückspiel vor heimischer Kulisse am 29. April 2015 im Olympiastadion. Eine bessere Werbung für diesen unwiderstehlichen Sport kann es im fussballmüden Nordamerika gar nicht geben. Ich werde auch versuchen selbst live dabei zu sein! Fortsetzung folgt...

Dear readers of my blog,

I've written an elevated number of concert reviews over the past few years but I didn't have the time to write any so far this year. Since I've assisted a couple of outstanding shows, I'm going to write a summary of all these shows very soon, probably in about three weeks. This massive concert review will include many photos and videos. It will feature quite diversified groups such as Alestorm, Puddle of Mudd, Voivod and many more. To give you a short teaser, check out the following video of Canadian heavy metal legend Anvil that came to Ottawa last week.

Here's Anvil with ''March of the Crabs / 666'', recorded live at Mavericks in Ottawa on April 2nd, 2015. I might give you a little challenge just for fun: if you look closely enough, you can even find me in this video.

Here's Anvil's latest official video clip of the song ''Eat Your Words'' from the great ''Hope in Hell'' record:

Please check out my review for ''Hope in Hell' again: http://kluseba.eklablog.com/anvil-hope-in-hell-2013-8-10-a92553149

Dear readers of my blog,

I'm proud to present you the exclusive review of one of my very favourite bands which is the Portuguese gothic metal quintet Moonspell. The band's new release "Extinct" is one of their very best efforts in their twenty-six year long career. Do yourself a favour and check it out. Once again, happy Easter to you all and enjoy the last hours of your holiday! 

The Portuguese gothic metal quintet already comes around with its eleventh full length release entitled Extinct. Moonspell is one of the few bands of its genre that has survived the initital gothic metal trend in the mid and late nineties and which is still releasing high quality records which are selling well and they are still touring the world and will actually come to North America this spring with their Greek gothic and symphonic death metal colleagues Septicflesh and Swedish industrial gothic metal supergroup Deathstars. Septicflesh's bassist and vocalist Spiros Antoniou has also designed the three different cover artworks of Extinct. Despite their grizly looks, I really like the atmosphere they transmit even though Moonspell's new output is actually their catchiest and softest release in their long career.

Moonspell's last output was the highly recommandable double-album Alpha Noir / Omega White which is a perfect introduction to the band. The Alpha Noir section remembers the band's earlier records between occult gothic metal with occasional black, death and even folk metal influences. Omega White recalls the band's calmer and softer gothic rock side with a few experimental and progressive gimmicks reminiscent of their records of the late nineties and the early years of the new millennium. Extinct clearly follows the lighter style of Omega White. The record can be described as a calm, epic and hypnotizing gothic rock masterpiece with versatile vocals and guitar play and a clever use of symphonic elements, lounge sounds and occasional Middle Eastern folk elements accentuated by an organic yet fittingly mellow production.

This style works really well in the calmest and most relaxing tunes of the record featuring Middle Eastern folk elements. These influences are something new for the band. The dreamy and longing "Domina" can be described as a ballad where Fernando Ribeiro's clean vocals work best. The song features a versatile mystic guitar tone, gentle tribal drums and a few decently employed sound effects and soft choirs ressembling Middle Eastern folk elements and recalling bands such as Amaseffer, Myrath and Orphaned Land without copying them. This song makes me dream of walking through desert sands on my own and being at peace with the whole world. "Medusalem" accentuates these influences even further. Arabian folk chants start the track and some Middle Eastern folk sounds carried by the perfectly employed keyboards give the chorus an exotic touch of One Thousand and One Nights. Even Fernando Ribeiro imitates typical Arab vocal patterns and proves what a versatile vocalist he is. It would be a great idea for Moonspell to create an entire album in the style of "Medusalem" and "Domina". These two tracks have grown most on me as time went by.

The small experiments don't stop there. Both "Malignia" and "Funeral Bloom" feature more symphonic elements than ever and also decently employed lounge sounds from the keyboards which give the songs an appeasing, elegant and hypnotizing tone. The clean vocals run down like wild honey while the occasional growls are shaking the listener up without disturbing the overall mystic tone of the tunes. These songs prove that this record features Fernando Ribeiro's most diversified and technically skilled vocal performance ever, the best and strongest use of keyboards on any of the band's releases and also a versatile guitar play with harmonious acoustic guitar passages, appeasing and hypnotizing riffs and a few short but highly emotional solos.

"A Dying Breed" follows the same pattern but focuses even more on the symphonic elements giving the song an elegant and sophisticated touch. The ending is a litlle bit faster and heavier than usual and reminds us that Moonspell is supposed to be a metal band. "The Future Is Dark" rather accentuates the keyboard patterns and lounge sounds. The song is calm, dreamy and numbing and gives Fernando Ribeiro the occasion to shine once more with his versatile vocals while guitars and rhythm section are more in the background.

The surprises still don't stop there as the band closes the record with the somewhat creepy vintage chanson "La Baphomette" which is entirely sung in French. This slightly jazz inspired track could have been played a century ago at Grand Guignol and Moulin Rouge. What a brilliant way to end a brilliant record.

Now you might think that the other tracks aren't so great since I'm mentioning them last. That's wrong, I just kept the best for the end. The three tracks completing this album of the year candidate are actually the most accessible tracks on the release. The opener "Breathe (Until We Are No More)" starts with numbing vocals and guitar tones, evolves towards gloomy verses in the key of Sisters of the Mercy and erupts into a passionate and epic chorus with both clean vocals and powerful growls underlayered by elegant string passages. The atmospheric bridge features a hint at Middle Eastern folk passages. This track basically includes everything that makes this album so brilliant in only five and a half minutes. It's quite simple: If you like this song, you are going to adore the entire record. In my book, this is one of the very best openers if not the best opening track on a Moonspell album to date. The uplifting single "The Last Of Us" is an incredibly beautiful yet simple gothic rock track in the key of The 69 Eyes with dreamy guitar tones and atmospheric low vocals full of passion, sex appeal and soul. Even the rhythmic drum play convinces in this tune and fits with the rest. The last track to cover is the title song "Extinct" which has a slightly apocalyptic and dramatically epic feeling. It's maybe the heaviest song on the entire release. This is a song I immediately fell in love with and if I had to choose a favourite track on this quite perfect album, I would pick this one. From the pumping bass guitar and the vivid drum play over the emotional string passages and the outstanding extended guitar solo in the passionate middle section, I happen to admire each instrument in this song. From the bleak and heavy verses with emotional growls and low tuned instruments over the hopefully uplifting and darkly romantic chorus that makes you want to make love to the emotionally charged bridge, every song writing idea in this track perfectly works in compact four and a half minutes. Let's keep it short: If gothic metal always sounded like this, I wouldn't listen to anything else.

This record might take a few spins to grow on you. After two or three spins I thought the record was very good when the obvious hits didn't let me go. Two spins later I realized this album has a clear guiding line and style and is really brilliant. Two more spins and I came to the conclusion that this is my first serious candidate for the album of the year when I discovered all the harmonious details in each track and let the overall atmosphere work on my heart, mind and soul. If you close your eyes and listen to this release with your headphones on in the dark without any disturbances, this record feels as good as a weeklong vacation in Portugal. If you like gothic rock and metal, this is your new bible. In fact, if you like original rock music in general, do yourself a favor and buy this album now. I recommand the regular edition though as the four bonus tracks are only different mixes and less inspired rehashes of several album tracks that might only lessen the brilliant overall impression of the regular release.

Final verdict: 9.5 out of 10

Please support the band by visiting the following site:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/moonspellband