When you purchase an Anvil record, you know exactly what to expect: tight old school heavy metal with occasional hard rock and doom metal influences shining through. This is also the case for the band's seventeenth album in forty years. What makes this release stand out is the relentless energy and passion the band still has after so many years. Anvil sounds hungry, juvenile and powerful from start to finish. The raw but distinct production only adds to this vivid spirit.

The record opens with the amusing ''Bitch in the Box'', a great rock song about a GPS that puts a big smile upon your face. Mission accomplished. The autobiographical and life-affirming ''Doing What I Want'' has an irresistible rhythm section and a chorus with cool vocal effects that add something new to the band sound without straying away from it. ''Nanook of the North'' is a tribute to Inuit culture and a reminder of the horrible things Europeans have done to North America's First Nations. Musically, it's a gloomy and plodding track with throat singing that easily stays on your mind as this record's most experimental track. ''Warming Up'' is a jazzy rock song with ambitious fills and rhythms that shows the great musicianship of the underrated Canadian trio.

Depending on the version you have purchased, there are two bonus with ''Don't Tell Me'' and ''Spark It Up''. Anvil wrote and recorded exactly thirteen songs and all of them were used for the different versions of this album. This shows the confidence of the band and the quality of the material. Pounding the Pavement doesn't include any fillers and only features solid to great material which is quite an accomplishment so late in the band's career. Obviously, a few songs sound quite alike or remind of tracks that have been written in the past. Anvil doesn't reinvent itself and this album isn't the band's greatest hour but it's surely among the band's better releases and a true pleasure to listen to. Fans of the band will like this and those who might have lived under a rock and aren't familiar with Anvil yet might as well start their discovery of the legendary heavy metal band here.

Final rating: 79%

After many positive reviews and enthusiastic mentions on numerous lists for album of the year, I decided to give Power Trip a second chance. I had seen the band in concert with Iron Reagan last year but hadn't been particularly impressed. Nightmare Logic is a revival thrash record that could have been released about thirty years earlier than it actually was. 

This record has the oppressive energy of Slayer with an at times discordant and dystopian vibe that wouldn't sound of place on a Voivod record. The album convinces with coherent songwriting from start to finish and has a very natural flow thanks to a clear stylistic guideline. Chugging mid-paced passages meet ferocious up-tempo parts. Everything is hold together by an oppressive atmosphere, technically appealing musicianship and raw throaty vocals that blend in perfectly. The old-school production as well as the detailed cover artwork deserve honorable mentions.

However, Power Trip doesn't offer anything one wouldn't have heard before. Despite its vivid flow, the record is missing a truly outstanding track. The album comes along as a bullet train but doesn't give you anything outright memorable. It also bothers me a little that the record only includes eight songs with a running time below thirty-three minutes which isn't exactly value for money by today's standards.

In the end, if you're looking for a half hour of old school thrash metal power somewhere between Slayer's pitiless oppressive style and Voivod's nightmarish technical side, you will get a very decent record that takes no prisoners and entertains from start to finish without any noteworthy highs or lows. If you are looking for an original or outstanding release, you might feel disappointed that many people claimed this record to be last year's best effort. I would buy the record for a reduced price but it's for faithful collectors and genre fans only.

Final rating: 75%

Ring of Fire is a progressive power metal all-star band supported by the Italian label Frontiers Records. There are three elements that got me interested in the group's first release in ten years. First and foremost, the title Battle of Leningrad evokes strong feelings and memories. I have visited Saint Petersburg as a teenager and still think it's the most beautiful city in the world. On my trip, I had the occasion to visit the Monument to Heroic Defenders of Leningrad which is dedicated to those who perished during the city's siege that lasted almost three years and caused about two million casualties among about three million citizens. If you add the fallen soldiers on both sides, the siege of Leningrad even caused above five million casualties. I was curious how Ring of Fire would deal with such a gloomy topic that deserves more attention than it gets in our history classes. Secondly, being a progressive power metal enthusiast, I was curious to hear how the five renowned musicians would manage to cooperate and complement their individual skills. When such a project comes to life, it can become an exceptional showcase of individual skills in an even stronger group context but it can also become a disjointed effort with five individualists who don't develop any chemistry and fail to write coherent songs respecting the ambitious lyrical topic. Thirdly, I have followed Timo Tolkki's career for years and I was curious to see what he could bring to the band. The surprising element is that he didn't perform as the band's guitarist or singer but as the group's new bassist which is quite unusual. I know that Timo Tolkki has both released some of power metal's greatest and worst records and his eclectic unpredictability makes him more interesting than any other performer in this genre.

Let's get to the point now. Battle of Leningrad is a good but not a great album. On the positive side, three fifths of the band manage to showcase their exceptional skills. The melodic vocals are emotional, gripping and variable which means that they do the lyrical concept justice. The melodic guitar play finds the right balance between uplifting power metal riffing and ambitious progressive metal solos. The keyboards are also very dominant and often add an epic and melodic touch to the different tracks. The songwriting is also rather consistent, focusing on overall shorter tracks with strong choruses instead of losing themselves in endless instrumental passages. The lyrical concept is interesting as well. The best song on the record is the epic title track that develops a haunting atmosphere due to more atmospheric musicianship, epic vocal efforts and short but precise lyrics characterizing the horrors of war.

However, the record also has several flaws. The drum play remains very unspectacular and the bass guitar is mostly inaudible apart of a few select exceptions that feel out of place. Even though the tracks are catchy and focused, I'm missing a certain atmospheric depth that does the gloomy topic justice. Bands such as Iron Maiden manage to bring the horrors of war to life in a melodic context but Ring of Fire are only scratching the surface in my book. The production isn't terrible but could be better. The keyboards are sometimes too abrupt and loud which makes them sound artificial and out of place. The bass guitar is surprisingly loud in the opener ''Mother Russia'' but buried in the mix throughout the rest of the album. The drums sound generic and even lifeless. This album could have made a much better impression with a more organic production.

Even though Battle of Leningrad is a good album and will end up pleasing progressive power metal fans, it's ultimately a missed occasion. The lyrical concept would have deserved a more profound atmosphere and better conceptual approach with more storytelling and maybe even different singers playing different roles. Ring of Fire's collaborative effort only scratches the topic's surface. It's an interesting introduction to the topic but fails to go in depth and detail. The musicianship is great however and the project sounds like an actual band and not the joint efforts of five skilled individualists thanks to concise songwriting and numerous melodic and memorable passages. Timo Tolkki's efforts are though somewhat underwhelming. His bass guitar play is buried in the mix and his production skills are only average at best for this release. Despite only fulfilling one out of three goals that I was initially interested in, Ring of Fire's Battle of Leningrad is still enjoyable to listen to but it could have been much more than just that.

Final rating: 65%

There aren't many things Timo Tolkki hasn't tried out yet and he has added something completely new to his extensive curriculum vitae with this female-fronted symphonic power metal project around himself, his colleague Jami Huovinen on drums and Chilean singer Caterina Nix on vocals. Chaos Magic's first self-titled effort focuses on modern industrial soundscapes and symphonic layers as backdrop for Caterina Nix's emotional, melodic and soothing vocals. Tolkki plays bass, guitar and keyboard on this record but his most important participation might be as producer and songwriter because this album was made to help Caterina Nix get her international breakthrough and not to offer Timo Tolkki another occasion to show off his unique skills which is quite humble and respectable. If we consider the fact that both artists met by chance years ago and that Tolkki remembered the female rookie vocalist and decided to support her career shows how special this collaboration is.

Sadly, just like so many other of Timo Tolkki's recent outputs, Chaos Magic's debut didn't get much attention or praise. On one side, this is regrettable because Tolkki tried out something completely new, because Caterina Nix is a truly skilled vocalist and because much less talented female-fronted metal bands like Battle Beast, Beyond the Black and Blues Pills get way too much credit. On the other side, while being profesionally crafted with a decent production, one has to admit that Chaos Magic misses a unique touch to really stand out. The record recalls early Within Temptation and mostly focuses on smooth ballads and soothing half ballads with only a few faster and heavier songs at the very beginning and the very end of the record. Chaos Magic is a record that is enjoyable listening to but you won't remember one single song from this output a few days after you have listened to it. Chaos Magic is a decent symphonic metal release but ultimately faceless and comes at least one and a half decades too late to have any significant impact. This type of music has been performed over and over again by bands such as Epica over the past few years and they generally did a better job in a more creative songwriting department.

Fans of Timo Tolkki's regular power metal album don't need to check out Chaos Magic's debut effort because it's very smooth and entirely focused upon Caterina Nix' vocals. If you like smooth symphonic metal with a few minor electronic elements, you should dig this record though. If you have lost or sold your old Within Temptation records but feel nostalgic for some reason, Chaos Magic also offers what you need. If you like female metal singers or aspire to become a singer as well, you could learn a couple of things from this release as well. Chaos Magic is good for what it is, no more, no less.

Final rating: 60%

Meine Damen und Herren!

Hier folgen einige Bilder meines rundum gelungenen Wochenendes mit Charles in Gatineau und Ottawa. Wir gingen ins Kino und Theater, besuchten Eishockeyspiel und Konzert und hatten auch unterwegs immer unseren Spass. Nachsten Monat kommt dann Jean-Daniel zu Besuch und Ende Marz zieht es mich dann wieder Richtung Saguenay. Viel Spass hiermit!

Am Freitagabend gab es Piroggen im House of TARG.

Danach schauten wir zwei Filme im altererwurdigen Mayfair Theatre - beim zweiten warfen Leute Loffel, rannten durch den Raum und machten jede Menge Zwischenrufe.

Boxenstopp an einem neuen Monument zwischen Ottawa und Gatineau.

Episches Fruhstuck am TD Place.

Ukrainische Tanzvorfuhrung zur Unterhaltung beim Eishockey.

Am Samstagnachmittag wurde die Juniorenmannschaft Ottawa 67's unterstutzt.

Das Spiel ging mit drei zu neun gegen die Hamilton Bulldogs verloren.

Abends ging es ins Theater zu einer Vorfuhrung von ''An Inspector Calls''.

Sonntagliches Sushiessen in Ottawa.

Die Toilette hatte es auch wahrhaft in sich mit diversen japansichen Filmpostern von Godzilla, uber die Sieben Samurai bis hin zu Zatoichi. 

Abends ging es zum Konzert ins Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata.

Bullet for My Valentine.

Breaking Benjamin mit einigen Zuschauern auf der Buhne.

Avenged Sevenfold waren die wurdigen Headliner.

Pizza zur spaten Stund hat Gold im Mund - jedenfalls fur Charles; ich verzichtete.