Perennial Quest is a power metal band from Boston that is clearly influenced by European bands and most obviously by DragonForce and its first four studio albums. Seven musicians were involved in the release of this ambitious demo that includes six songs with a running time of forty-six minutes.

Since DragonForce has been moving away from its origins throughout the last decade, it's actually great to hear a young and hungry band picking up that particular style that hasn't lost any of its original charm in my book. Perennial Quest has plenty of talent and potential. The three guitarists involved here play fast, melodic and technical riffs and solos that certainly stand out. The rhythm section is steady but could be a little bit more adventurous, especially the bass guitar that is at times buried in the production. The keyboards offer some decent atmospheric passages but could also take some more space. The melodic vocals sound decent and fit with this style but are overall lacking charisma and identity. The bottom line is that Perennial Quest's Warriors Through Endless Time is mostly of interest for fans of dynamic power metal guitar wizardry.

The best song on the album is closing epic ''Cast into Shadow'' that offers a fluid mixture of fast-paced elements and slow and atmospheric passages. This is also the only song that could be described as progressive power metal since there are different changes, ideas and storytelling elements interwoven in strong song writing. The other tunes rather sound like overlong power metal songs that could have been shortened by a minute or two.

On the positive side, the musicianship of these youngsters is astonishing and especially the vibrant, technical and diversified guitar play needs to be pointed out once more. The band plays with lots of passion which is audible in every single second of this promising demo. The group has already found its very own style which is impressive for a first release.

On the negative side, the song writing could be more focused at times. The mediocre production doesn't do the very good music justice as especially the rhythm section is lacking some punch. The cover artwork looks rather amateurish as well and might prevent some people from discovering a very talented, self-confident and promising band.

At the end of the day, fans of fast-paced European power metal in the key of early DragonForce should certainly give Perennial Quest's Warriors Through Endless Time a chance and keep this band on their radar for future endeavors.

Final rating: 75%

I think I have rarely heard two records that sound as alike as Dark Tranquillity's Atoma and Moment. Both albums released within almost exactly four years offer atmospheric melodic death metal. Numbing guitar riffs collide with more psychedelic, progressive and dreamy electronic experiments. The rhythm section sounds steady without ever feeling urgent. The vocals vary between surprisingly smooth growls and melancholy clean parts. The song writing is also very similar as the different tracks very between three and five minutes that evoke mysterious atmosphere right from the start and slowly evolve towards mildly catchy and heavily repeated choruses that make every second tune a potential single candidate. The lyrics about societal issues are as mysterious as the numbing music and offer some room for interpretation. The production here is contemporary and slightly sterile but it strangely fits the band's perfectly streamlined and structured approach.

Even though all those elements are highly predictable, Dark Tranquillity's Moment isn't a bad album. The band clearly has its very own style, is aware of its own strengths but also conscious about its limits. If you appreciate this particular style, then this album gives you anything you could crave for.

The real issue is that most people who own or know Atoma simply don't need to buy or even just listen to Moment. Everything on the new record sounds as if one had already heard it before which makes the new material less impactful than the predecessor's even though it might not sound worse if you didn't actually know the last album. One would have expected the band to offer some new energy, some fresh ideas and some ambitious experiments. The band could certainly do such as thing as it manages to play excellent darkwave songs as witnessed in bonus track ''In Truth Divided'' but even this is an experiment already attempted on the predecessor. An entire record consisting of this type of music would be interesting however but since other death metal bands such as Morbid Angel have commercially failed with a similar approach, Dark Tranquillity might understandably be hesitant to push things further.

That is exactly what Dark Tranquillity's Moment is missing: courage. If you are satisfied with vanilla music that sounds solid yet unspectacular, then you won't have any complaints here. However, I find it surprising that artists find it sufficient to simply copy and repeat themselves on two consecutive albums. Many people joke that bands such as Motörhead or AC/DC always sound the same. However, Dark Tranquillity's approach goes even further than those veterans have ever gone. For the next album, I will simply cross my fingers that the Swedish sextet will change its formula and introduce some changes. Any changes are welcome at this point since Dark Tranquillity's Moment sounds more by the numbers than any new k-pop band and I didn't believe this to be possible before listening to this record. The most exciting things about this album really are the gorgeous cover artwork and the two bonus tracks.

Final rating: 65%

The Makarrata Project is the first studio album with new material released by Australian alternative rock band Midnight Oil. It's also the last release involving bassist and backing singer Bones Hillman who died a week after the album's official release. This record is closely inspired by the Uluru Statement from the Heart that calls for a First Nations Voice in Australia and a commission to supervise exchanges, negociations and relations between the Australian government as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. These topics have always been important to the members of Midnight Oil and especially to singer Peter Garrett who has been Australia's Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts and later on Australia's Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth.

This release should rather been seen as a social, political and cultural statement than a proper reunion of the band that has been quiet so long. The album features numerous First Nations musicians who speak, sing and even rap on the seven very divergent songs with a total running time of less than thirty-four minutes. Some songs still have an alternative rock tone but the album should overall rather be categorized as folk album due to numerous instrumental experiments from trumpet sounds to gospel folk chants. The domineering melodic piano sounds are often more essential than the rhythm section. The use of acoustic guitars is more imaginative than the rather simple electric guitar riffs. Even the vocals are almost equally shared between the lead singer and a total of sixteen guest singers. This release feels as if Midnight Oil simply used their name to support an important cause.

Midnight Oil fans of old date might find the album too experimental as one rarely gets to hear dynamic alternative rock. Instead, this record feels much more like a compilation with numerous guest singers meandering from folk over pop to rap passages. The different songs take some time to grow but overall work very well on their own for listeners with broad musical interests. However, the seven songs sound at times jumbled as a whole body of work. The fact that twenty songs have been recorded in total might indicate that Midnight Oil might still be releasing one or two similar releases in the future. What matters most however is that the message of protection, respect and togetherness regarding First Nations issues is both important and timeless and doesn't only apply to the current state of affairs in Australia but to any other country with First Nations as well. Midnight Oil's The Makarrata Project is highly recommended to folk rock fans interested in First Nations issues around the globe.

Final rating: 70%

Releasing a live album without an actual audience is a rather strange idea but then again, it fits with Katatonia's elegiac rock sounds. The Swedish quintet offers twenty songs with a total running time of just below one hour and a half. It focuses on its more recent outputs, including live versions from songs of the last studio album City Burials that have never been played in front of an audience due to the ongoing pandemic. As strange as this may sound, this release has coherent flow, offers diverse facets of the band's moody soundscapes and would also be an excellent introduction to anything this band has been doing over the past twenty years.

In this context, the band's more vibrant songs really manage to shine and offer some welcome changes from the group's rather slow-paced style of late. ''Teargas'' convinces with a catchy chorus, emotional guitar solo and vibrant rhythm section that make it stand out by a mile. ''Ghost of the Sun'' has a thunderous gothic metal atmosphere with chaotic rhythm section, heavy riffs and psychedelic chants. ''My Twin'' develops a nearly hypnotizing sinister drive that oscillates on the thin line between depressive rock and gothic metal.

The new songs blend in very well and continue the band's unique depressive gothic rock style elaborated throughout the last decade. ''The Winter of Our Passing'' has an interesting contrast between precise but dynamic rhythms and otherworldly and mysterious guitar melodies and vocal lines. The thoughtful, psychedelic and melancholic ''Lacquer'' is a little bit quieter and should mostly please fans of the group's contemporary soundscapes. Album closer ''Behind the Blood'' on the other hand ends the record on a high note as it is on the more energetic side with heavy but melodic guitar play that works better in this live context than on the studio version.

In the end, Katatonia's Dead Air isn't just a filler record to replace a canceled tour but as creative as previous recent outputs like the symphonic reinterpretations on The Great Cold Distance (Live in Bulgaria with the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra), the live album recorded in a chapel entitled Sanctitude and the acoustic versions of the Dead End King record called Dethroned & Uncrowned. Katatonia might be the most ambitious, creative and experimental gothic rock band of the last decade in that regard. Katatonia's Dead Air might also be the group's most vibrant record in more than a decade and should please fans of the more recent material and fans of the early years of the new millennium alike.

Final rating: 85%

If someone asked me to listen to one single group while discovering as many different genres as possible, I would most certainly recommend Ulver. The band has shifted from black metal over folk metal to psychedelic rock and synth pop to only mention a few elements. The only group that comes remotely close to this stunning diversity is Atrocity that has meandered from death metal over folk rock to symphonic gothic rock.

Ulver's sixteenth studio album offers synth pop in the key of Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys in the later eighties and early nineties. In its calmer moments, the Swedish quartet also explores ambient sounds. In the few more vivid sections, the creative band explores electronic rock territiories. The artwork, concept and lyrics are as diversified. The cover artwork shows a scene from French-Danish historical drama The Passion of Joan of Arc. “Hour of the Wolf” could be seen as a reference to Ingmar Bergman’s movie of the same title. “Apocalypse 1993” is inspired by the law enforcement siege against the religious sect Branch Davidians. “Little Boy” is obviously a reference to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Some songs like ''Machine Guns and Peacock Feathers'' include multiple references to elements such as Greek mythology or science-fiction literature. Even the album title itself might be a reference to the volume of French poetry published by Charles Beaudelaire. I usually don't like the genre categorization art rock but it might be exceptionally appropriate in Ulver's case.

While the premise sounds intriguing, creative and boundless, the music offered on Ulver's Flowers of Evil is surprisingly tame. The quartet never reaches the smooth catchiness, atmospheric depth and minimalistic efficiency of Depeche Mode or Pet Shop Boys. A few songs manage to stand out nevertheless. ''Russian Doll'' has a melancholy but danceable vibe while the vocals are equally atmospheric and soothing as the tune cleverly mixes conceptual elements and instrumental progression in a balanced way. ''Hour of the Wolf'' has a dragging, elegiac and minimalistic approach that might take a few spins to open up. ''Machine Guns and Peacock Feathers'' qualifies as danceable pop tune with smooth rhythm patterns and efficient additional female vocals.

However, with only eight songs and a running time of just thirty-eight minutes, Ulver's Flowers of Evil includes a few too many fillers to be considered more than decent. The atmospheric keyboard patterns sound repetitive, the rhythm section is at times too tame and even the vocals sound rather faceless. Only synth pop enthusiasts and die-hard fans of the band might truly enjoy this release.

In the end, Ulver's Flowers of Evil is almost a perfectly balanced mixture of intriguing synth pop songs and lifeless fillers going nowhere. The entire record certainly has a guiding line with its elegiac flow and shy melancholy. If this is your kind of thing, give this album a fair try and you'll appreciate it more than I did. Personally, I would rather revisit the classic material by Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys than to purchase this new album that will once again challenge fans of this band.

Final rating: 67%