The market has recently been flooded with cover albums. Some of them were great such as Anubis Gate's creative, experimental and surprising Covered in Colours. Others were decent such as Beyond the Black's diversified, inspired and intimate W:O:A Acoustic Clash (The Lockdown Session). Others yet again were fairly average such as BlutEngel's danceable, formulaic and melodic Fountain of Destiny. Some releases were slightly underwhelming like Billy Joe Armstrong's old-fashioned, predictable and uninspired No Fun Mondays. Saxon's Inspirations is however the worst of all those cover albums and can only be described as mediocre at best.

The problem starts with a look at the track list. This album includes eleven old-fashioned tunes with a timid running time of thirty-six minutes that have mostly been covered on numerous occasions already.

The quality of the tracks is another issue. The overlapping vocals in the opening ''Paint It Black'' by The Rolling Stones sound mildly confusing. Led Zeppelin's ''Immigrant Song'' lacks the power of the original tune in the vocal department. The same goes for the lackluster rendition of AC/DC's ''Problem Child''.

To be fair however, some of the covered tracks sound decent. Crow's ''Evil Woman'' surprises with dominant bass guitar sounds that add a healthy dose of energy. Toto's ''Hold the Line'' finds the perfect balance between energy and melody thanks to its gritty guitar play. Other positive elements are the warm production that blends in appropriately and the cool cover artwork.

At the end of the day however, this album is only interesting for die-hard Saxon fans. For everyone else, this album is only useful as background music recalling classic rock tracks while doing something else. This release would have been a nice gimmick as a bonus disc of a regular album but isn't worth to be purchased on its own.

Final rating: 55%

German heavy metal band Beyond the Black around lead singer Jennifer Haben tried out something completely new on the extended play W:O:A Acoustic Clash (The Lockdown Session). The young quintet covered four songs in acoustic versions. The tracks had been chosen by the Wacken Open Air community and I can confirm that these four bands and tracks are indeed very popular in the German metal scene.

The record starts with the catchy, melodic and relaxed interpretation of Sabaton's ''To Hell and Back''. While the original band has become a parody of itself in recent years, this version leaves out the pathos and convinces with playful instrumental passages and enchanting campfire vocals. This song is actually better than the original version.

Up next is Disturbed's classic ''Down with the Sickness'' that sounds less aggressive than the original tune but quite gloomy with its melancholic piano sounds. The track features additional male vocals that add some desperate energy at the right moments. Jennifer Haben's dramatic vocals carry the song emotionally however. It was tough to imagine an acoustic version of such a powerful tune but the band pulled it off relatively well.

The dynamic, fast and festive ''A Warrior's Call'' by Volbeat works surprisingly well in its acoustic context as well thanks to danceable piano sounds, dynamic acoustic guitar sounds and soulful lead vocals supported by raw backing vocals on occasion.

Iron Maiden's ''The Trooper'' is one of the most often covered metal tracks and the band should have gone for a different tune in my opinion. Still, the song blends in very well with the rest and convinces with a dynamic combination of passionate vocals, playful percussive elements, dynamic guitar sections and reduced piano tones. Jennifer Haben's passionate vocals and the technically flawless acoustic guitar solos work particularly well here.

In the end, Beyond the Black's W:O:A Acoustic Clash (The Lockdown Session) is a very positive surprise that deserves more attention and should not have only been released digitally. Perhaps it could be included as a bonus on the next regular studio album. The band's musicianship shines much more here than on its regular studio albums to this date. The same can be said about Jennifer Haben's vocals that sound more passionate than ever before and can unfold splendidly on this album. The intimate, organic and warm production blends in wonderfully. The band should certainly continue to incorporate acoustic passages into its own songwriting in the future.

Final rating: 80%

BlutEngel is a German darkwave, Electronic Body Music and futurepop project by renowned vocalist, songwriter and programmer Chris Pohl who has been and is active in numerous other similar projects such as She Hates Emotions. The group is particularly appreciated in the German gothic scene and regularly playing festivals such as Amphi, M'era Luna and Wave-Gotik-Treffen. My father as well as one of my best friends in Germany regularly listen to the project and I have seen the group live on numerous occasions at festivals. It's quite difficult to keep track of Chris Pohl's activities because he is involved in so many projects and has released so many different records.

If I managed to keep track correctly, Fountain of Destiny should be the project's twelfth full length studio record in almost two and a half decades. The album consists of ten cover songs of famous and more obscure tunes from the eighties as well as two brand-new tracks.

The cover songs are really hit and miss. The quirky, playful and danceable opener ''The Wild Boys'' is certainly very entertaining. The reinterpretation of ''Forever Young'' sounds quite sterile however and can't compete with the original tune. Blutengel also features singer Ulrike Goldmann who shines in the emotional ballad ''Alone'' but sounds somewhat inconsistent in ''Nobody's Diary''.

New song ''Unsere Zeit'' is the only one with entirely German lyrics and meant to spread a positive message in negative times. The song is danceable from start to finish, features interesting lyrics and cleverly combines male and female vocals which makes it one of the greatest tunes on the record. The other new track is quite the opposite however since ''Journey to the Edge of the Night'' is an instrumental darkwave tune that sounds quite exchangeable and fails to leave any mark.

In the end, BlutEngel's twelfth studio record Fountain of Destiny is just as hit and miss as many of its predecessors. The record features some great tunes with strong vocals, catchy melodies and energetic danceable parts. Other tracks feature lackluster vocal performances, ordinary instrumental work and can't compete with the original versions of the cover tracks. My final verdict is that fans of the project or those who appreciate the aforementioned genres can give this release a try. Anyone else can skip this release and should refer to better albums from the past such as Schwarzes Eis and Soultaker for instance.

Final rating: 67%

It's really by pure coincidence that I stumbled upon Skold's brand-new fifth studio album Dies Irae. It turns out that Tim Skold was once a Marilyn Manson and Shotgun Messiah member. This also explains why this album offers quirky industrial rock with a quite experimental side. The sound is based upon simple guitar riffs, atmospheric keyboard sounds and distorted vocals mixed together with an aggressive, futuristic and loud production. This release is best enjoyed in small doses.

The record opens with catchy single ''Dirty Horizon'' that gets to the point in exactly four minutes and sounds better many recent singles by Marilyn Manson and Shotgun Messiah.

''Terrified'' on the other side works with disturbing sound effects to evoke nightmarish soundscapes that would blend in perfectly on a horror movie soundtrack. The album's most experimental song reminds of Nine Inch Nails' more unconventional outputs of recent date or even of French breakcore artist Igorrr.

''Love Is a Disease'' convinces with a more longing, melancholic and melodic tone and would certainly fill dancefloors in gothic discotheques around the world. This song would be a perfect choice for a future single.

''Silicon Dreams'' finds the right balance between catchy moments and experimental sounds and comes around with provocative lyrics that remind of industrial rock's greatest moments in the mid-nineties. If I had to pick only one tune to represent the sound of Skold's Dies Irae, this would be my choice.

In conclusion, Skold's Dies Irae is a very creative, diversified and entertaining record for fans of darkwave, electronic rock and industrial rock. The album's cold, experimental and noisy atmosphere is quite unique but also hard to digest. Offering ten songs with a total length of thirty-eight minutes is much appropriate in that regard. If you like Igorrr, Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails, this album should please you.

Final rating: 75%

There is a game my best friend and I are playing from time to time. He will make me listen to groups from his Spotify playlists and recommendations and I have to guess their names. Usually, I'm quite good at this but when it comes to female-fronted symphonic, power and gothic metal bands, things start to get challenging. When I have no clue which band it could be, I usually take a guess and say Sirenia. Why do I always choose this band? It's because Sirenia has no distinctive style and plays a mixture of symphonic metal elements, power metal melodies and gothic metal atmosphere. The group has also gone through numerous changes as only founder Morten Veland has been on board since the beginning. The most recent drummer only joined two years ago, the new lead guitarist has been in the group for only three years and the lead singer has been around for five years now. As a matter of fact, Emmanuelle Zoldan is already the group's fourth female lead singer and the first record featured another invited guest singer.

The band's current line-up seems promising however and one can only hope that Morten Veland will keep it going. Riddles, Ruins & Revelations is the band's tenth studio album in twenty years and once again combines the genres mentioned above.

''Addiction No. 1'' is a catchy, melodic and uplifting power metal song that makes for the record's most memorable tune. ''Towards an Early Grave'' features sinister harsh vocals by the band leader and aims for traditional gothic metal territories. ''Downward Spiral'' is on the melodic and symphonic side and features harmonious clean guest vocals by Joakim Næss. The ambitious, epic and progressive ''December Snow'' features a few lyrics in French that provide a melancholy tone. A special shoutout goes out to the potent cover version of French pop song ''Voyage, Voyage'' by Desireless that was all the rage in Europe in the mid-eighties as the band manages to make the song its own and especially Emmanuelle Zoldan's passionate vocals shine in this pop classic.

At times, Sirenia's Riddles, Ruins & Revelations still feels like a compilation without a proper guideline. However, that isn't a bad thing in this case since the songwriting is strong throughout, Morten Veland handles the instrumental work very well and Emmanuelle Zoldan might be the best vocalist this band has ever had. If the band opted for a more unique style in the future, I could perhaps finally be able to distinguish this band from others and might change my random guess from Sirenia to Tristania. Based upon the excellent bonus track, the band could opt for a symphonic power metal album with French lyrics that would bring some fresh air into the genre.

Final rating: 80%