• Ladies and gentlemen!

    Four years after my detailed predictions for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, here are now my predictions for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Two months before the start of the biggest sporting event in the world, it's time to look at the thirty-two teams that are going to participate. Today, I will start with group A, which is one of the easiest groups in the whole tournament which makes this one particularly hard to predict in my book.

    Russia

    Team: Russia

    Strengths: The hosts of the tournament will be pushed by their fans and the entire country. The team's biggest advantage is that the players almost exclusively play in the Russian Premier League and know one another particularly well. The players who have been part of the squad over the past year are aged between twenty-one and thirty-four years which makes for a balanced mixture of experienced veterans and energetic youngsters. Coach Stanislaw Cherchesov has been in charge for two years and knows his players rather well by now. He has been the goaltender of the national team for twelve years and knows what his players are going through. He has been coaching for far over a decade and has enough experience. 

    Weaknesses: The Russian team doesn't have any star players like Andrey Arshavin and Roman Pavlyuchenko ten years ago who gave Russian football a big boost and signed with successful foreign clubs after having their breakthrough at the UEFA Euro 2008. The team is also lacking a solid striker. Their best attacking players Aleksandr Kokorin and Fyodor Smolov have only scored twelve goals each. At the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, the Russian side lost against Portugal and Mexico and only managed to defeat New Zealand. Since then, the team has only won one out of six games.

    Prediction: The Russian side is too weak to compete at the highest international level. I predict the team to finish third in the group stage and get eliminated.

    Russia

    Saudia Arabia

    Team: Saudia Arabia

    Strengths: Saudia Arabia has some very experienced players in its squad. Midfielder Taisir Al-Jassim has one hundred twenty-seven caps and central defender Osama Hawsawi even has one hundred thirty-one. The team has a very good striker in Mohammad Al-Sahlawi, who has scored twenty-eight goals in only thirty-six games. The squad is very homogeneous with most players earning their money in Saudia Arabia and three players performing in renowned Spanish Primera Division. 

    Weaknesses: Saudia Arabia has only survived the tournament's group stage once: back in 1994 when the tournament took place in the United States of America. Since then, the team hasn't won one single game in the tournament and I still remember the crashing 0-8 defeat to Germany back in 2002. Saudia Arabia hasn't qualified for the last two editions of the tournament. Even on a more regional level, Saudi Arabia hasn't been too convincing as of lately. They were eliminated in the group stage during the last two Asian Cups in 2011 and 2015. They didn't even get past the group stage at the last Arabian Gulf Cup in 2017. That was also the case for the last two West Asian Football Federation Championships in 2012 and 2014. The team has only won one out of its four friendly games this year, against Moldova. Coach Juan Antonio Pizzi doesn't have much experience and has only been in charge for a year.

    Prediction: Saudi Arabia doesn't have the assets to compete internationally. The team will finish last in the group stage and therefore get eliminated.

    Saudi Arabia

    Egypt

    Team: Egypt

    Strengths: Egypt has one of the world's most successful strikers right now in Mohamed Salah who has also scored an impressive thirty-three goals in only fifty-seven games for his national team. Experienced Argentinian head coach Hector Cuper has been in charge for more than three years and is fully supported by the Egyptian Football Association.

    Weaknesses: Egypt's appearance at the 2018 FIFA World Cup is the first in twenty-eight years and only third overall. The team has never gone beyond the first round. The team participated in two FIFA Confederations Cup and didn't survive the group stage either. The team hasn't had a successful year so far, losing friendly games against Portugal and Greece. Aside of star player Mohamed Salah, most players in the squad don't have much international success. The team's captain and goaltender Essam Al-Hadary is already forty-five years old.

    Predictions: Egypt will probably finish second in the group stage and is going to advance to the round of sixteen. They could face Spain or Portugal in the next round and I can't see them winning against these experienced squads. They won't survive the round of sixteen.

    Egypt

    Uruguay

    Team: Uruguay

    Strengths: On paper, Uruguay is by far the strongest team in Group A. The team has an experienced goalkeeper in Galatasaray Instanbul's Fernando Muslera. Captain and defender Diego Godin and his colleague Jose Maria Gimenez both play successfully for Atletico Madrid. Strikers Luis Suarez from FC Barcelona and Edinson Cavani from Paris Saint-Germain are among the best attacking players in the world. Head coach Oscar Tabarez knows his squad very well. He is seventy-one years old and has been in charge of the team for an impressive twelve years in a row. The team has played an impressive qualification, finishing only second behind Brazil and in front of last tournament's finalist Argentina. The team has won the 2015 Pan American Games, defeating teams such as Brazil and Mexico.

    Weaknesses: The squad's midfield isn't as strong as its defense and attack. It includes several young talents who haven't played that many games for their national team so far. The team hasn't won any major tournament since the Copa América title back in 2011.

    Prediction: Uruguay is probably the strongest team in Group A and will advance to the round of sixteen without any problems. However, the team could meet Portugal or Spain in that round and I can't see Uruguay defeating either team right now. Uruguay will get eliminated in the round of sixteen.

    Uruguay

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  • Ladies and gentlemen,

    After a very interesting discussion this week, I have been thinking about my potential squad for Germany's national football team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Here are my twenty-three choices which make for a solid mixture of experienced veterans and energetic youngsters in my opinion. What do you think about my selections?

     

    GT Manuel Neuer (c)

    GT Marc-André ter Stegen

    GT Ralf Fahrmann

     

    LB Philipp Max

    LB Jonas Hector

    CB Jérôme Boateng

    CB Mats Hummels

    CB Antonio Rudiger

    CB Benedikt Howedes

    RB Joshua Kimmich

    RB Sebastian Rudy

     

    CDM Sami Khedira

    CDM Ilkay Gundogan

    CM Toni Kroos

    LM Marco Reus

    LM Julian Brandt

    RM Thomas Muller

    RM Karim Bellarabi

    CAM Julian Draxler

    CAM Mesut Ozil

     

    ST Timo Werner

    ST Sandro Wagner

    ST Kevin Volland

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  • Crematory - Oblivion (2018)

    Crematory has created some controversy when drummer and founding member Markus Jüllich recently addressed the band's financial issues and complained about the fact that most people would listen to streams and download their records illegally instead of supporting the band by buying the records' physical versions and attending concerts. He asked the fans quite harshly to buy the band's records and attend its shows if they want to keep Crematory going. The reactions to this have been quite controversial. Several people called the band leader a crybaby, felt insulted by being called lazy and suggested the band to utilize the internet to their own advantage, release better music and lower its concert ticket prices. Others have voiced their support for the veterans, claiming that the financial issues Crematory has are shared by many other bands, congratulating the band on its honesty to deal with the difficult topic and stating that fifteen bucks for a new album and thirty bucks for a concert are indeed very reasonable. The negative element aside these tough but constructive discussions was that some haters and trolls who aren't even familiar with the band actually menaced the band leader to hurt him, made fun of his physical appearance and encouraged the band to split up. Mistakes were certainly made both by the drummer and certain commentators in these emotional circumstances but let's turn the page and see what the new album has to offer.

    Oblivion proves that Crematory's music is still relevant. Despite a modest budget, difficult personal issues and three important line-up changes over the past few years, Crematory has managed to release an album that is as strong or maybe even slightly better than the convincing fresh start in form of Monument two years earlier. It underlines the band's great chemistry, coherency and creativity. The record finds the right balance between more atmospheric, melancholic and melodic songs like the beautiful ''Revenge Is Mine'' with its touching keyboard harmonies and appeasing clean vocals and some of the group's heaviest tracks in form of the sinister album closer ''Demon Inside'' that mixes heavy riffs and vocals on one side and atmospheric parts on the other rather efficiently. Most Crematory records have one really catchy track you won't get out of your mind anymore. In this case, this track might be ''Immortal'' which offers a perfect mixture of danceable electronic soundscapes with mysterious vocal effects and heavy guitar play and gloomy growls before coming around with a melodic chorus combining both contrasting elements. Some people might be confused by this mixture of heavy verses and almost saccharine choruses but Crematory has been there before and this stylistic element is also quite popular in Japanese metal genres. Maybe the band should tour the Far East to have more commercial success.

    The band's singers sound better than ever. Harsh vocalist Felix Stass doesn't only deliver his usual powerful growls but also offers more melodic diversity and even whispers here and there to accentuate atmospheric transitions in and in between songs as in the dynamic opener ''Salvation''. Clean vocalist Tosse Basler convinces with catchy and melodic parts but also performs a more atmospheric lower register which suits him very well in the solid power ballad ''Stay with Me'' that also comes around with electronic components and acoustic guitars to make the predictable ballad a little bit more experimental.

    The band has also improved instrumentally. The keyboard sounds are much more diversified, experimental and well-integrated in the band sound and can convince in every single song. The guitar play isn't extraordinary but has more punch than usual thanks to a great production. The bass guitar is slightly more audible than usual to introduce new band member Jason Mathias. However, the bass guitar and drums could sound even more diversified and playful in a few songs but the band is on the right track in my opinion.

    Not every song on Oblivion is memorable and the record might haven been even more enjoyable if it had been reduced to its nine or ten greatest songs. On the other side, the band offers value for money and the record has great flow.

    In the end, Oblivion is among the best records in Crematory's career that has been going on for nearly three decades by now. It might not beat the group's successful middle years around releases like Act Seven, Believe and Revolution but it comes really close. The band seems to be on a streak with its new line-up and I certainly hope the sextet will carry on. Crematory deserves the support of its fans and metal community and those who are rambling about how the band has become obsolete can leave the hall and should maybe think about consulting an otolaryngologist.

    Final rating: 81%

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  • Get the new record here: https://www.amazon.com/Oblivion-Crematory/dp/B0791WTKCK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523491729&sr=8-1&keywords=Crematory+Oblivion&dpID=61upuIc7xBL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

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  • Ladies and gentlemen!

    I know I'm late to the party but I have been listening to some K-pop over the past few years. This is quite unusual for someone who usually listens to metal, gothic and rock music and occasionally to blues, folk and classical music. Trendy boy- or girl-groups have never been my cup of tea. You could chase me with music from One Generation or solo artists of former super groups like Justion Timberlake who is maybe the worst offender. How come I like Korean pop music?

    First of all, I'm a big fan of Korean cinema and have watched countless movies from that country in the past few years. I like Korean cinema because it's more emotional, gloomy and intense than what Hollywood has to offer these days. I like the country's most brutal films such as the explicit ''I Saw the Devil'' but also the more atmospheric works like the imaginative ''A Tale of Two Sisters''. I even appreciate the country's over-the-top comedy films like ''Quick'' but also epic dramas such as ''The Handmaiden''. One of my favorite contemporary actors is Choi Min-sik and I also like Kwak Do-won and Song Kang-ho to only name a few examples. Watching all these Korean movies made me discover Korean pop music that was either featured in some of these movies or indirectly related to them because many actors are also pop musicians.

    What I like about K-pop is its vivid, quirky and colorful style that works in danceable and catchy tunes but also in calm and emotive ballads. The way pop sounds merge with rhythm 'n' blues and hip hop but also occasional other influences such as folk sounds is creative, entertaining and at times still surprising. K-pop isn't as eclectic as J-pop but probably more consistent. There are several J-pop artist I adore because they have their very own style but there are also cringeworthy J-pop artists who seem to be walking stereotypes. K-pop doesn't have that many highs and lows and I'm not always in the mood for listening to this type of music but when I am, I enjoy it thoroughly.

    Today I want to present you a quite quirky and catchy female K-pop quartet called Sixbomb because this band has stirred up controversy one year ago with its two singles ''Before'' and ''After'', released in February and March 2017, respectively. The songs and videos show how the four girls decide to undergo plastic surgery. The first clip shows an excited quartet chosing its four individual treatments in a shiny facility. The second clip presents the quartet's new looks with a lot of joyous self-confidence. It's important to notice that it were the band members' own decisions to undergo plastic surgery. On the other side, one has to understand that the four band members made that decision hoping to get some attention and propulsing their careers. The former did actually happen while the latter hasn't happened yet. Sixbomb haven't released anything since these two singles one year ago. Let's also underline the fact that the group's record company agreed to pay for the plastic surgeries and its related treatments because it was obviously expecting to make some money in return.

    There have been quite a few discussions about Sixbomb's story. Those who criticize them harshly claim that the women already looked beautiful before, didn't need any kind of plastic surgery and encouraged women to pay for extensive plastic surgery instead of strengthening their self-confidence. Those who defend the band claim that the four women have the right to modify their bodies in any ways they like, that these changes made them feel better about themselves and that plastic surgeries are much more common in South Korea as opposed to other countries as even foreigners travel to that country to undergo such treatments.

    I can understand both points of view and won't take sides since it remains a personal decision. However, I find this debate about the necessity of plastic surgeries quite intriguing. Sixbomb is the first group to openly discuss this topic while multiple other Korean pop artists have undergone plastic surgeries but didn't dare speak about this topic. I must admit I like both songs and especially ''After'' quite a lot. Even though I obviously can't personally relate to the lyrics since I'm not at all interested in undergoing plastic surgery and have always appreciated the natural beauty of women, I find the vibes, optimism and energy of both songs quite gripping and the challenging topic at least intriguing.

    Make up your own mind about this complex topic and don't mind sharing your point of view. Here are ''Before and ''After'' by Sixbomb!

    ''Before''

    ''After''

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