Avril Lavigne from Belleville, Ontario was once introduced to us as the rebellious teenage girl next door who wears baggy pants and sports shoes and hangs around with punks and skaters. She was refreshingly different from pop artists such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera back in the days and her first two albums were listened to by both fans of pop and rock music. The release of the single ''Girlfriend'' a few years later came as a shock. A superficial woman with heavy make-up and dyed blonde hair was singing about how her crush should ditch his girlfriend in favour of her. Where was the sympathetic, intellectual and empathic girl from the neighbourhood gone to? Since that moment in her career, one just couldn't take Avril Lavigne seriously anymore as a genuine artist.

Fast forward to today as Avril Lavigne releases her seventh studio album which is stupidly titled Love Sux. The record features twelve songs and only thirty-four minutes of music since most tracks don't even reach the three-minute mark. Avril Lavigne indicated that she wanted to go back to the roots and record a worthwhile pop rock album. That is however only partially true and for all the wrong reasons.

None of the new songs has the catchy melodies of ''Complicated'', the punk rock spirit of ''Sk8er Boi'', the passion of ''I'm With You'', the rebellious grit of ''Don't Tell Me'' or the haunting lyrics of ''Nobody's Home''. Instead, the songs revolve around relationships that either have an exaggeratedly romantic side as heard on fluffy ballad ''Kiss Me Like the World Is Ending'' or a bitter aftertaste related to hurt feelings as heard on superficial title track ''Love Sux''. Coming from an artist who has already been divorced twice and whose numerous relationships with the rich and famous have been documented in yellow paper gazettes for two decades and running, such lyrical topics appear to be even shallower than they already are from a neutral point of view.

Avril Lavigne however desperately tries to sound young, dynamic and creative which only works on the surface. The opening ''Cannonball'' is fast and loud and features electronic vocal effects as well as juvenile lyrics. However, Avril Lavigne isn't seventeen years old anymore and the cringe-worthy tune rather makes you think of an adult who misses the good old days and doesn't want to grow up.

The different features on that album aim for the same direction. I'm a big fan of pop punk trio Blink-182 as the band was influential two decades and a half ago and has managed to adapt to the way people are listening to music today. However, the participation of their bassist and singer Mark Hoppus on ''All I Wanted'' is uninspired and rather sounds like a spontaneous jam session than an actual song. This might perhaps qualify for the playlist of a kids' birthday party but not for an album by an artist that claims to take herself seriously.

Essentially, you only get three types of songs on this album. First of all, we have repetitive heartfelt ballads dealing with emotional struggles. Secondly, we have short and angry tunes that discuss the complexity of relationships. Thirdly and lastly, we have three features that attempt to explore rap and punk rock territories. However, this diversity on paper ends up being sonic mush that somehow all sounds dated and the same.

At the end of the day, listeners will realize that love doesn't suck but that Avril Lavigne's new album sadly does. Love Sux is a shallow pop rock album without any memorable elements or redeeming values. Avril Lavigne's first two records had their reasons to be even though the projected image back then turned out to be fake. Everything she has been releasing in the past fifteen years however has been underwhelming and ultimately forgettable and one simply can't see things turning around at this point. It might not even matter at this point anymore, since Avril Lavigne has already become a part of the rich and the famous that she initially contrasted early in her career. From that perspective, her image and music go hand in hand with Good Charlotte.

Final Rating: 30%

Vision Divine's blandly titled Best Of is a cheap attempt by its label earMUSIC to cash in. As a matter of fact, eleven out of these thirteen songs had already been published on the second disc of the limited digipak edition of previous studio album Destination Set to Nowhere. The other two songs are ironically taken from the regular version of that album. This means that you have all the material included here when purchasing the limited edition of the previous output.

That bland release strategy however doesn't change the fact that the material offered here is of excellent quality. The Italian sextet plays progressive power metal that shines most in atmospheric, creative and epic songs such as the wonderful ''The Fallen Feather'' and ''The Perfect Machine''. On the other hand, you have short, energetic and catchy tunes like ''New Eden'' and ''Destination Set to Nowhere'' that also work very well. A special shoutout goes to the excellent cover version of Savatage's symphonic metal milestone ''Gutter Ballet'' that truly does the original version justice and is performed with both passion and skills. It's important to note that the first ten songs from the first five studio albums have been recorded anew five years before this compilation was released and the tracks differ slightly from the original recordings. Faithful fans will certainly listen to these versions with much attention and note subtle interesting differences.

However, there are no old or new recordings honouring the band's good sixth studio record 9 Degrees West of the Moon. That album included some great shorter tracks such as power ballad ''Violet Loneliness'', the anthemic and uplifting ''Fly'' or the creative and playful epic ''Letter to My Child Never Born''. Another elements to criticize is that this greatest hits compilation is only sixty-seven minutes long and could have included two or three more songs to give new fans an even better idea of what this band sounds like.

As you can read, Vision Divine's Best Of is only interesting for new fans who have never previously listened to this band. However, I would even suggest these persons to purchase the limited version of previous studio album Destination Set to Nowhere instead. It's not unusual for a label to cash in on the success of a band that was previously on their roster and that's exactly what earMUSIC is attempting to do not only here but also in many other cases with shallow rerelease series that suddenly stop in the middle of nowhere. Vision Divine deserves much credit and is a creative, dynamic and playful band that is worth being discovered. earMUSIC on the other side is a lazy label that doesn't deserve the extra cash in the case of this uninspired compilation. Especially in times of popular streaming platforms, such a physical release has become rather unnecessary.

Final Rating: 50%

Italian sextet Vision Divine convincingly plays progressive power metal on its sixth studio album 9 Degrees West of the Moon.

The six gentlemen from Massa in Tuscany start the record with the epic ''Letter to My Child Never Born'' that could easily come from a band such as Dream Theater or Fates Warning. This track features extended instrumental sections with calm, introspective and relaxing sections that are opposed to energetic, exciting and expressive up-tempo passages. The versatile keyboard and piano passages stand out in particular in this song. The gripping guitar riffs and passionate guitar solos are also executed with great care and talent. The rhythm section around bass guitar and drums adds pace and rhythm at the right moments to keep this ambitious song entertaining through nine minutes. The lead vocals by Fabio Lione of Rhapsody of Fire fame are always energizing, heartfelt and variable. Right from the start, this album opens with a genuine masterpiece.

Even though the rest of the album can't quite keep up with the quality of the opener, there are still several great tracks to be found. ''Violet Loneliness'' for instance has a mellower and softer side and could be described as power ballad in the key of Japanese visual key bands such as X Japan for instance. It doesn't come as a surprise that Vision Divine has covered said band in the past and is particularly popular in Japan.

However, this album isn't without its flaws since it loses much steam towards the end. Title track ''9 Degrees West of the Moon'' is quite anticlimactic for instance and too tame, slow and short to leave any lasting impression. The final two tracks are fillers in form of the decent cover of Judas Priest's ''A Touch of Evil'' that however doesn't equal the atmosphere, conviction and energy of the original version and a demo song that is either ''Fading Shadow'' on the European editions or ''Fly'' on the Japanese editions.

The worst offender and obvious elephant in the room is however ''The Killing Speed of Time''. This song enters thrash metal territory with some death metal vocal stylistics and it sounds absolutely horrible. The track sounds rushed, fake and exaggerated at all time. The riffs sound like something a very bad Slayer cover band would play while the vocals induce headaches as the singer is lacking balance, focus and talent for this genre. The band tried an experiment that was bound to fail. The sextet is great at playing progressive power metal but thrash or death metal certainly isn't for them at all.

At the end of the day, the positive elements still outweigh the negatives ones and make for a good to at times very good progressive power metal release. If the band had cut the final three songs as well as the horrible experiment, 9 Degrees West of the Moon would have actually been an excellent genre highlight. As it is now, this record features significant ups and downs and makes for an entertaining ride that will leave nobody unbothered.

Final Rating: 70%

Helloween's fifteenth studio album 7 Sinners was announced as the band's heaviest release ever which already made me fear the worst after the overtly aggressive loudness war production that had worn down overrated predecessor Gambling with the Devil. Cringe-worthy single ''Are You Metal?'' with its sudden high-speed passages and pseudo-tough vocals didn't inspire much confidence either. However, the final result is much more balanced than expected and a slight step forward for the band even though an obvious hit might be missing on this output.

Opener ''Where the Sinners Go'' for instance has an aggressive sound but is based in mid-tempo and focuses on more atmospheric vocal lines as the band covers new ground. Only the chugging guitar sounds in the verses are somewhat nerve-firing while other elements such as the tribal drum patterns in the chorus can be perceived as successful experiments. Overall, the positive elements outweigh the negative ones and make for a very good but not excellent opener.

Another creative tune is ''Raise the Noise'' that starts as powerful heavy metal anthem but takes some interesting turns with a hard rock guitar solo and some surprising flute sounds in the bridge where the band explores folk music territories for the very first time. This unusual mixture needs some time to grow but immediately grabs the listener's attention and the experiment pays off in my ears.

''The Smile of the Sun'' offers a welcome break with harmonious piano melodies, decently employed string sections and variable vocal performance leading to a convincing power ballad. This song finds the perfect balance between energy and harmony.

If compared to its immediate predecessor, Helloween's 7 Sinners doesn't lose as much steam towards the end as even the bonus tracks are decent and there are no stinkers to be found. Since the opening tunes are however less impressive than on the predecessor, we almost have a tie here. Personally, I would however slightly prefer this output due to its balance, consistency and creativity.

At the end of the day, Helloween fans can't go wrong with 7 Sinners. Anyone listening to contemporary heavy and power metal should dig this album. It can't compete with the band's greatest outputs but has some hidden gems that are worth being discovered.

Final Rating: 72%

Xue Chen is a Chinese folk metal quintet that hails from Taiyuan in Shanxi Province in the North-Eastern part of the People's Republic of China. The band name approximatively translates to Snow Falls but the group is also known under the Snowsedim moniker. The band has released three studio records since its inception. Anthology of Ebony is the first of the bunch. The original version features eight songs with a total running time of forty-two minutes. Several versions however feature three additional instrumental songs on a second disc that bring the release's total length to fifty-three minutes.

This band is indeed one of the better Chinese folk metal groups. It outclasses several veterans such as Mi Hun Dian, Suld and Voodoo Kungfu right from the start. This band is roughly on the same level as Dream Spirit, Nine Treasures and Spring Autumn to name a few colleagues. The quintet can't compete with the biggest names such as Mysterain, Tang Dynasty and The Last Successor yet but the debut record shows much promise. The band that might be closest in style could be the underrated The Samans.

The band has several strengths. The use of traditional Chinese folk instruments is creative, harmonious and liberating as it gives the band its very own identity. The guitar solos throughout the album are also above average and filled with passionate emotions. The harsh vocals and screams transmit a menacing atmosphere that provides much oomph and particularly benefits the shorter tracks. The band's more epic tunes however stand out as highlights because the group's songwriting is positively adventurous and takes listeners on epic voyages. The additional instrumental songs invite to relax, meditate and dream yourself far away.

The group still has a few possible improvements to make. The production benefits the folk sounds and vocals but the rhythm section around bass guitar, drums and percussion is rarely given the opportunity to shine. The guitar riffs are at times a little bit generic and would benefit from a little bit more experimentation. The clean vocals are decent but your standard Chinese folk rock style that fails to leave a deeper impression.

Still, Xue Chen's debut album Anthology of Ebony offers very good to at times even excellent folk metal with gripping short songs, adventurous epics with slight progressive and symphonic influences and even acoustic tunes that would fit splendidly on the soundtrack of a documentary about China's rich ancient culture. Genre fans should certainly give this band a chance, listen to this record and keep a close eye on this quintet that has the potential to become one of the genre's leading bands with some more attention, marketing and promotion in the future.

Final Rating: 85%