Ensiferum is one of those bands where I usually like a handful of tracks on each album but rarely an entire output from start to finish. This compilation is the perfect deal for occasional fans who share my problem, potential new fans and faithful collectors of the group. The fact that the physical version of this release includes two additional songs compared to the digital release is a clear and positive statement in my book. ''Two Decades of Greatest Sword Hits'' covers the band's most important tracks from its six studio records and one additional EP. The label missed the occasion to add some rare material from the band's first three demos, a few exclusive live cuts or even a new song to this release. At least the instrumental opener ''By the Dividing Stream'' is slightly different from the original version since it's about a minute shorter and more symphonic. On the other side, those who already own the band's studio albums won't feel forced to purchase this release for any exclusive gimmicks which is positive.

This release offers a positively diversified overview of the band's career. It includes surprising, short and creative efforts like the more recent ''Two of Spades'' featuring whistle duo Manu Lohi and disco pop singer Frederik that exposes a handful of courageous ideas in just three and a half minutes. Compact band anthems from the early years like my personal favorite ''Token of Time'' that mixes melodic death metal and folk elements in a perfectly balanced way can be considered essential folk metal classics nowadays. Instead of only focusing on the singles, this release also includes more epic tunes like the excellent ''Lai Lai Hei'' that takes its time to build up an epic campfire storytelling atmosphere in more than seven minutes and that surprises us with a fascinating mixture of English and Finnish lyrics. The closing ''Victory Song'' is the cherry on the cake with a running time of more than ten and a half minutes featuring all the charismatic trademarks of the band in a more progressive context.

The booklet features liner notes with comments on each song, pictures of each main release covered by this compilation and photos of the band's different line-ups. This record offers seventy-four minutes of high-quality folk metal and serves well as a nice overview that can be enjoyed at work, on your digital or portable players or in your car.

Final Rating: 83%

Liebe Leserinnen und Leser,

Ich habe mich aus der Sommerhitze bei über dreißig Grad tatsächlich mal in mein schwül-warmes Zimmer gewagt, um an den Computer zu gehen und euch ein paar Bilder zu zeigen und etwas Musik zu hören. Auch in Deutschland bin ich bereits auf einige Konzerte gegangen und habe auch noch einige vor mir. Das erste fand letzte Woche Montag am Kölner Tanzbrunnen statt, wo ZZ Top und die Vorband Ben Miller Band spielten. Ich war dort mit meinem Vater und habe einen ausgesprochen schönen Abend verbracht. Das Wetter war gut und die beiden Gruppierungen waren ebenfalls hervorragend aufgelegt. Das einzige Manko waren viele Zuschauer, die sich nach vorne drängen und mit ihren Smartphones ständig Fotos und Videos machen mussten. Ich dachte immer dies sei eher ein Phänomen meiner Generation, aber dieser Abend bewies, dass auch Zuschauer im Alter meiner Eltern wenig Benimm haben und ein Konzert lieber mit ihren elektronischen Geräten festhalten müssen, anstatt das Hier und Jetzt zu genießen. Ich habe während der drei Stunden am Tanzbrunnen nur ein wenig mehr als eine Handvoll Fotos geschossen, kein einziges Video gedreht und den Abend in vollen Zügen genossen. Bald folgen Fotos von weiteren Konzerten und anderen Dingen hier auf meinem Blog.

Schöne Grüße aus Leverkusen,

Sebastian

Nein, das sind nicht ZZ Top. Das sind ein paar junge Enten mit Familie am Kölner Tanzbrunnen.

Die Vorband Ben Miller Band spielte eine Mischung aus Blues, Country und Folk und überraschte mit Instrumenten wie dem Waschbrett oder dem Waschwannenbass.

ZZ Top spielten etwa 85 Minuten und 17 Lieder, darunter ein Medley und drei Coverstücke.

Die Band überraschte immer wieder mit originellen Dekorationen und Verkleidungen.

Das texanische Trio war an dem Abend richtig gut aufgelegt, was in der Vergangenheit laut Kommentaren einiger Bekannter nicht immer der Fall gewesen war.

Dear readers of my blog,

Here it is: the third and final part documenting my wonderful, long weekend at the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal from Friday, June 10 2016 to Sunday, June 12 2016. The following photos were taken on Sunday. I hope you like them.

Greetings from Leverkusen, Germany and keep enjoying your summer,

Sebastian Kluth

Youppi!, the official mascot for the Montreal Canadiens was there to promote ice hockey.

Formula Tour 1600 podium presentation on a big screen close to my grandstand.

A view of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve from the grandstand to my right.

A view of my grandstand, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and downtown Montreal in the background.

A picture of me taken close to my seat.

The second race of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge.

Formula One Driver's Parade.

Lewis Hamilton greeted the fans and made a passionate speech.

Nations and Starting Grid Presentation with a lot of flags and nice dresses.

Military airplanes flew over Circuit Gilles Villeneuve right before the start of the Formula One Grand Prix du Canada 2016.

A chaotic start for Nico Rosberg.

A walk on the race track after the Grand Prix that Lewis Hamilton won. Sebastian Vettel finished second. Valtteri Bottas finished third.

A look at the podium beside the pit lane and the start-finish straight. You can still see the flags representing the nations of the first three drivers.

A closer look at the pit lane.

A look at the Formula One vehicles after the race.

''Rock Patrol'' is the first full length release by French-Canadian hard rock and heavy metal quintet Rusted. While the band doesn't reinvent the genre, the five musicians play with enough passion to make this record really enjoyable. Since this album includes thirteen tunes and clocks in just below a running time of one hour, there are a few fillers to be found but also some really strong cuts.

Things kick off amazingly with the wild opener and title track ''Rock Patrol'' that convinces with a vivid upper mid-tempo pace, a short and sweet guitar solo and a fist-pumping chorus that might be simple but highly efficient. You will still be able to sing along to this at two o'clock in the morning in your favorite rock pub. The band closes its record on an equally great note with previously released single ''Young, Wild and Free'' that really captures the rebellious, proud and loud spirit of hard rock and heavy metal. If this track had been released in the early eighties, one would call it an authentic classic today.

In between these two superb songs, there's some hit and miss on this output. Among the highlights, I would mention the short ''Too Much Is Never Enough'' that has both a hard rock and a slight punk rock vibe. It somewhat reminds me of the German new wave classic ''Skandal im Sperrbezirk'' by Spider Murphy Gang both musically and lyrically. ''Tsunami'' is the song that comes closest to a classic heavy metal track on this album with a smoothly galloping rhythm section and an energetic and energizing guitar solo recalling Iron Maiden in its prime. Still, even this heavier track includes a vivid vocal performance with many parts that invite to sing along in a hard rock orientated manner.

In the end, fans of hard rock and heavy metal of the eighties will definitely enjoy this entertaining, joyous and nostalgic release. If alcohol, hard rock and women are essential parts of your life, you can consider this record your sonic bible. On the other side, Rusted is even more efficient in concert than on a studio record and you should try to catch them on the road and hope for a live album.

''Timeline - An Introduction to The Vision Bleak'' is a great compilation for new fans and collectors that offers fourteen songs and eighty minutes of intense gothic metal or as the German duo would legitimately call it: horror metal. No band came ever closer to recreate the chilling atmosphere of classic horror tales, novels and films than The Vision Bleak which includes thousands of ambient, black, death and gothic metal bands out there. This stunning compilation covers all six studio records of this criminally underrated band, including their latest effort which was released simultaneously with this output.

This release features three songs from the excellent new record ''The Unknown'' where the band both covers new ground and preserves its unique own style and three tunes from one of the best records ever made which is the band's second opus magnum ''Carpathia - A Dramatic Poem''. All other four records are represented with two tunes in anti-chronological order. A lot of people tend to discuss the choice of songs for such a release and it might indeed have been interesting to include an exclusive tune, a forgotten track from the band's first demo or some live cuts but it's important to understand that this wasn't the purpose of this record. It's undoubtedly safe to say that this compilation is a balanced and detailed introduction without any lengths to all those poor souls who haven't witnessed the greatness of this band so far. This release includes thundering up-tempo tracks with diverse extreme metal influences such as ''From Wolf to Peacock'', slow and sinister gothic metal tunes like ''I Dined with the Swans'', gloomy gothic metal anthems with addicting choruses like ''By Our Brotherhood with Seth'', epic and nearly progressive symphonic metal compositions like ''The Charm is Done'' and more experimental tracks with narrative passages like ''Elizabeth Dane''. Despite being a compilation, this album has a strong atmospheric guiding line that characterizes the sound of this band. The flow is extraordinarily good for such a greatest hits record.

If you are not familiar with the band yet, if you are a faithful fan or if you simply need a compilation with some of the band's greatest songs for your car or workplace, the purchase of this release is absolutely mandatory. If you are unfamiliar with the band, let me also warmly recommend you to purchase the outstanding conceptual output ''Carpathia - A Dramatic Poem'' which must be listened to from start to finish to grasp its sheer beauty which makes this masterpiece my favorite album ever.

Final Rating: 98%