AWAY or Michel Langevin I better known as drummer and mastermind behind the legendary Progressive Thrash Metal band VOIVOD. He also works as an artist and created many artworks for numerous other bands and he also published a special art book. Now, he comes around with his first solo record under the AWAY banner that is entitled “Cities”.

This record hasn’t much to do with VOIVOD or Metal music in general. What we have here is a mixture of field recordings, tape collage and musique concrete that has been created over the past three years. AWAY tried to capture the mood of different places in different cities while he was touring with VOIVOD or back at home in Montreal.

AWAY manages to create a stunning mixture of noises and grace. We experience everyday life scenes as well as well chosen artistic moments. We experience anger, joy, spirituality, stress and much more through the music. What we hear are car noises, announcements in metro stations or other public places but also street musicians who sing and play banjos, flutes, guitars, harmonicas, pipers or violins for example. We see many places throughout this instrumental journey. The listener finds himself in a church mess, in the middle of a noisy mass demonstration or in front of an enthusiastic crowd of VOIVOD fans.

The changes of location and the mixture of the different musical impressions are smoothly done and make you travel from one more or less exotic destination to the other. Each of the seven songs includes enough details to remain atmospheric, entertaining and surprising enough until the end of this short record. The best example for this highly experimental record is without a doubt the longest piece on here called “Montreal 2012” that takes you on a vivid ride through the city. The shortest track “Europe 2011” also gives you a perfect idea of what this record is all about and includes a lot of cultural diversity in only three minutes that make you visit quite diversified places on the old continent.

It’s really hard to tell if you like this experimental release but I really enjoyed this musical journey and happen to listen to this record quite a lot because it is creative and diversified but also relaxing and helps to focus on yourself and what you are just about to do. I would suggest you to join this unique trip by checking out the entire project on its Bandcamp site: http://utechrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cities

(Online August 19, 2013)

For quite some time, I hesitated to buy the re-release of IRON MAIDEN’s “Maiden England” live set that had been recorded back in 1988 in support of the studio record “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son” and was first released in 1989. I had several reasons to do so. First of all, I’m not at all a fan of rehashed old material. Instead of spending their time on re-releasing old material and play numerous concerts in the key of that old tour, I would like IRON MAIDEN to work on some decent new material. Their last studio output “The Final Frontier” was lukewarm and released three years ago. Comparable bands like LOUDNESS show how to release decent material each year or at least every second year while still playing energizing live shows all around the globe.

Another reason for me to avoid buying “Maiden England ‘88” was that IRON MAIDEN had already released multiple more or less relevant live albums and that I have got several of them in my precious collection. Could that new live record really mess up with “Live after Death”, “Rock in Rio” or “Flight 666” for example? The third reason that made me hesitate for a while is that this live record supports the “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son” release. For many fans, this release is an all-time classic or even the best IRON MAIDEN record but that’s not my case. I always thought that its concept was pretentious and superficial and I still have my problems with the overlong title track “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son” or filler material like “The Prophecy” or “Only The Good Die Young”. Finally, I saw this record for a good price (at Müller in Germany where records cost a lot less than at Media Markt and especially Saturn - sorry for the publicity, but this needed to be said and I hope that Media Markt and Saturn soon wake up and realize that their prices are not appropriated and don't follow the inflation of their clients) and decided to give the two discs that also include three bonus tracks for the first time a shot.

I must admit that I was completely blown away by the excellent live sound, the great and energizing instrumental performance and the unchained vocals by Bruce Dickinson. Even the crowd did a good job even though they still can’t mess with fans from Latin America. But you really hear that the band feels well to play in their home country and give their very best. Apart of these positive impressions, the set list of this concert was simply unbeatable. Of course, it includes the usually and very well played classics like “Iron Maiden”, “The Number of the Beast” or “Hallowed Be Thy Name”. But the band also played a few rare classics that I like quite a lot. I must point out the passionate performance of “The Prisoner” which is one of my favourite songs from “The Number of the Beast”. The energizing rendition of “Die with Your Boots On” hits the same vein. The melancholic and melodic band anthem “Wasted Years” should be played at all concerts in my opinion and the version on here is also a stunner. The dark “Killers” works even better live than on the original album. The atmospheric “Still Lie” which is my favourite song on “Piece of Mind” fits well to the calmer songs from “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”.

To my very positive surprise the songs from “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son” work a lot better on stage than in studio for me. Album highlights like the catchy hit single “The Evil That Men Do” and the diversified soft Progressive Metal milestone “Infinite Dreams” is absolutely essential in this version. But also weaker songs in my opinion like “Moonchild” work better on here and this certain track really kicks off the concert on a positive note that mixes the much needed energy with thought out atmosphere. IRON MAIDEN simply deliver an outstanding powerhouse performance and it’s great that they have focused on a few more original songs which are rarely played live and decided to leave out classics like “The Trooper” for example.

The three bonus tracks “Running Free”, “Sanctuary” and “Run to the Hills” are a lot less essential than the rest. Their production and especially the few moments of silence between these tracks in comparison to the fluid recording of the other fifteen songs don’t please me at all. On the other side, these bonus tracks are a nice gimmick for collectors who have bought the VHS version of this concert twenty-four years ago. That’s why we shouldn’t judge the band all too hard and see these three bonus songs as a little gift and nice attention.

In the end, I finally did the right choice to purchase this double live record. The performance of the band is healthy, passionate and technically positively diversified. Especially the rarely played tracks make this release a true highlight. Of course, this record can’t beat “Live after Death” but it’s easily on the same level as “Rock in Rio” or “Flight 666” for example. That’s why not only collectors and die-hard fans should get this release but also occasional IRON MAIDEN fans. Up the Irons!

(Online August 18, 2013)

I'm open to discover exotic rock bands from all around the world and I recently stumbled over a very well executed PINK FLOYD cover song of "Another Brick In The Wall“ that switches into a rendition of SURVIVOR's "Eye Of The Tiger“. The name of this band was COBWEB and I decided to learn more about and listen to more material of that band. Formed by a couple of school friends back in 1992 in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, the band brought Heavy Rock music to the country and has released seven quite open-minded albums so far that go from Blues Rock over Heavy Metal to Reggae.

I decided to pick up the band's most recent release "Project Namaste“ that was released in 2010 and that also includes this good PINK FLOYD / SURVIVOR cover at the end of the record. The first half consists of brand new songs by the band, the sceond half includes four tracks with guest musician Anish Bajracharya who plays on one brand new track, two rerecorded songs and the closing cover track.

A video clip has been done for the opening "Mero Lagi“ which is a dreamy and laid back Rock song with great melodic vocals. It's not the kind of song that kicks off the record with a bang and should have found its place in the middle of the record instead but the laid back track is nevertheless quite catchy, especially the chorus. The beautiful guitar harmonies, the appeasing bass guitar play and the relaxed drum rhythms build up a song that invites you to take a break from your everday life.

The title song "Namaste“ is a track somewhere between Folk and Reggae and has very little to do with Rock music itself. The song has been written in memory of a certain Kumar Ghale and is a quite peaceful and joyful but nevertheless spiritual tribute to that person including a few child choirs that add an original touch to the laid back song.

"Kehi Shabda Le“ has a darker tone and is the first more Rock orientated track on the album. This track is a grower that doesn't stand out at first try but risks to grow on you.

"Putali“ opens with beautiful guitar harmonies and varies from more laid back vocals to quite joyful and expressive multiple vocal passages. It's a very simple and short track but that's exactly what its beauty consists of.

"Eklo Jeevan“ is a great slow to mid tempo Rock song with a strong and longer guitar solo in the middle part and once again grounded and fitting vocals. The amazing guitar work makes this track one of the catchiest on this release.

We then get two rerecordings of the band's two most famous songs to date that are often covered by local bands as well. The first one is the vivid Rock song "Mercedes Benz“ that is clearly inspired by many classic Western Hard Rock bands of the sixties and seventies like DEEP PURPLE, LED ZEPPELIN or THE ROLLING STONES. I especially like the funky bass play in the track and the catchy vocal work.

The second rerecorded classic is called "Maryo Ni Maryo“ and has a cool and almost Country driven guitar work while there are also a few simple Hard rock riffs in the song. Once again, the guitar solo that comes this time along with a lot of wah-wah pedal effects can be considered as the highlight of the song. The experimental vocal effects towards the end of the track also grab your attention. They sound somewhat strange but I happened to appreciate them a lot. When you listen to these two rerecorded songs, it becomes clear why they are considered as classics and band highlights because they are also among the best tracks on this release. The album then closes with the already mentioned "The Wall“ cover song.

All in all, "Project Namaste“ is a more laid back and mature Rock album with a good mixture of new and old songs plus a great cover song. That's why this album is a perfect way to get in touch with Nepal's Rock legends COBWEB. The record is well produced and touches a lot of genres from Folk over Blues Rock to Progressive Rock. The only thing I miss is a faster or heavier track on here that would have rated this record up. Make up your own mind about the music as you can find all tracks on the band's ReverbNation page: http://www.reverbnation.com/cobwebnepal/songs

(Online August 17, 2013)

DIE KASSIERER is a legendary and controversially discussed Punk Rock band from the mining town of Wattenscheid in Western Germany. In fact, the band doesn't take itself all too serious when they sing about excessive alcool abuse, strange sexual practices and completely surreal stories involving aliens, Jesus Christ or famous people like the politician Willy Brandt, entertainer Rudi Carrell or physician Nils Bohr. Behind all the provocative nonsense, the band though also talks about contemporary issues like violence in football stadiums, growing unemployment rates, religious fanatism and more. Many people only look at the surface of the band and take their members for a bunch of stupid unemployed bums which creates a lot of media attention. In addition to this, the humorous band is known for their crazy concerts where they get drunk and undressed. While they attract loads of fans to many festivals, the band got some sort of game bans in different places. I've once heard that the band doesn't have the right to play concerts at a certain location in my home town after the band had shitted on the floor of the backstage area after a chaotic party. If that wasn't enough, singer Wolfgang Wendland was and still is one of the most famous members of the provocative political satire party APPD, the "Anarchist Pogo Party Of Germany“ and later the "Pogo-Partei“ with slogans like "My vote for the trash!“. The band took seven entire years to focus entirely on music again and to record a new album after the catchy „Männer, Bomben, Satelliten“ but the new release „Physik“ was worth waiting for.

As you might guess, the loose main topic of the record are physics but only in a very humorous way because most songs turn out to be about alcool excesses, legendary parties or complete nonsense. Along Fun Punk anthems like "Ich fick dich durch die ganze Wohnung“ ("I'm Fucking You Through The Entire Apartment“), five humorous interpretations of German and international classics such as the German Christmas song "In der Weihnachtsbäckerei“ ("In The Christmas Bakery“) that has become "Wirtshausschlägerei“ ("Bar Brawl“) and short and funny acoustic pieces like "Im Sauerland kann man teleporieren“ ("In Sauerland, you can teleport“), the band also comes along with a few truly fresh surprises.

A zither orchestra accompanies the Folk orientated adventourous tale "Zitronenhai“ ("Lemon Shark“) which is one of the best songs on here. One should also mention the amazing Hip Hop parody with organ sounds and vocals by MAMBO KURT that is entitled "No Future, das war gestern“ ("No Future, That Was Yesterday“) and that talks about a disillusioned young worker who has to go through hard times and some sort of an identity crisis without knowing if he might even get a good job. The amazing "Der Mann, der rückwärts spricht“ ("The Man Who Is Talking Backwards“) is a great duet between a female singer and the regular singer. Musically, this track is a stunning mixture of Jazz and Pop music and could also be an old French Chanson from the sixtires or seventies. This sounds like a humorous German version of SERGE GAINSBOURG and FRANCE GALL – no joke! The two singers are having a conversation before going out at night to meet a couple of friends. The funny thing is that the male vocals have been recorded backwards and if you listen to the song backwards, you discover a quite amusing argument between them without any dumb vulgarities.

The creativity doesn't stop there. The GEORG KREISLER cover "Was für ein Ticker ist ein Politiker?“ (It could be literally translated to "What Kind Of -Cian“ Is A Politi-Cian?“) is only driven by piano sounds and powerful vocals, "Radioaktiv!“ ("Radioactive!“) is a quite melancholic Rock song with a few Lounge elements and "Das Lied vom Kot“ ("The Song Of The Feces“) mixes atmospheric organ sounds that fit to the soundtrack of a Horror movie, electronic samples and a few elements of classic music is also an absolute stunner. The "Drillinstructor-Song“ is even inspired by American military march music.

The more you listen to this record, the more genres and original song ideas you might discover. At first sight, the new record seems only to be filled with dumb vulgarities and it surely also is but instrumentally, this feel-good-release is probably the most diversified and mature record ever made by the band. And don't forget that some lyrics even include intellectual passages beneath the supposedly brainless surface. The tracks are short, experimental but still extremely catchy. DIE KASSIERER turn out to be way more than a gang of four drunk guys who are singing about mischief. Of course, the funny lyrics are only interesting for those who learn German and are already quite fluent in that language if it's not yout mother's tongue anyway. Anybody else could though also appreciate the stunning musical potpourri around the Punk Rock genre. Many people may dislike the attitude and image of the controversial satire band but DIE KASSIERER happen to be musically relevant and undeniably a curious piece of German culture you should judge with a big smile on your face while you switch your brain off. If you are able to get yourself in the right mood, this kind of album may make you forget all your everyday sorrows for a while, help you to escape from reality for one hour or so or have some great time with a couple of friends and that's a well needed quality for many people in the contemporary society. Be courageous and discover this at your own costs now!

(Online August 16, 2013)

MUCC is one of the most famous Japanese Visuael Kei bands along with D'ESPAIRSRAY, DIR EN GREY and X JAPAN. Until now, they haven't been the best band of their kind for me ut surely the most diversified and open-minded of them. There almost seems to be no genre that hasn't been touched by the band and their new release "Shangri-La" isn't an exception, it's rather the perfect example to portray the band's diversity. A look on the colourful cover artwork and booklet should already give you a quite clear idea of what to expect from this record. After half a dozen spins of this mostly Japanese sung music, I'm ready to say that MUCC have now even become the best Visual Kei band of the moment because they finally mix highly courageous ideas with a gripping and unforgettable song writing on "Shangri-La." Let's see how much you can take from these crazy Japanese!

You want radio friendly Japanese Pop music? The band gives you "Night Sky Craypas." You want some danceable and modern Dubstep and House moments? Just go for the single "Arcadia" that also features DAISHI DANCE. You prefer romantic Blues and Jazz with a slight Rockabilly touch? Then, you absolutely need the great swinging retro anthem "Pure Black" with a few female narrative passages in English. Normally, these three genres aren't my cup of tea at all but apart of the stunning bonus track "Omake", I would go as far to cite this song as my favourite one on here. You want to hear some good old Punk Rock? That's what you get when you listen to the energizing "Honey." You want some calm but still thought out and progressive rock or pop music? You should go for the epic and well developed title track and official album closer "Shangri-La." You need some atmospheric but still energizing Metal music somewhere between Thrash Metal, Melodic Death Metal and some minimal Metalcore influences? Discover the great hidden track "Omake“ which can be found at number 69 after some moments of silence. Even though these tracks all sound quite different, they still all sound one hundred percent like MUCC and the well chosen track list manages to create logical transitions between the different styles. The album sounds fluid and thought out. It has many surprising moments but never feels randomly put together. That's where the spectacular talent of the band lies in and where all the madness suddenly makes perfect sense. Japanese artists have a special talent for this kind of stunning diversity but no other band I have discovered until now did so great as MUCC do it here.

The band doesn't only discover all these genres separately though. The opening "Mr. Liar“ mixes electronic elements reminding me of ROBERT MILES with Melodic Death Metal parts in the key of CHILDREN OF BODOM and modern Japanese Pop music like AUSTRAL VAMPIRE. The opener also includes acosutic guitars and a melodic mid tempo guitar solo. The second tune „G.G.“ includes modern Industrial Rock riffs and electronic beats that meet simple Latin American flavoured sing along passages one would rather expect from RICKY MARTIN before heavy Dubstep influences and an emotional guitar solo kick in in the puzzling middle part. I don't know how the band comes to write this kind of songs but the combinations all work geniously. As you can see, the band puts more diversity into one single track than others put in entire albums or even discographies. The most amazing thing is that even these single diversified tracks sound structured and mix emotions with intellectuality, catchy hooks with experimental passages, the expectable with the unexpectable to create a nearly perfect mixture. What even surprises more is that many catchy songs parts immediatley grow on you at first try and won't get out of your head despite their complexity. Even the most challenging tracks are moving your mind and soul after a few precious spins only. No matter if you like the band's weird music, you won't get rid of it anytime soon once you got in touch with it.

What is left to say in the end? If you are ready for a truly diversified, exceptional and genre-breaking fun ride, this record is your new bible. Visual Kei fans should consider this release as a modern genre highlight. Metal purists should go as far away from it as they possibly can though because this band tries out anything and mixes some of your favourite music with things your probably hate the most. This album includes more diversity and is much cheaper than 10 records from 10 different artists of 10 different genres. I couldn't listen to this kind of music all the time of course and I must admit that the last third of the album is slightly less gripping and impressive than the first eight songs. Nevertheless, this record is among the very best of the last year. If you are addicted enough, you should get the value for money package that includes a second disc with 10 impressive live tracks that honour this band's fifteenth anniversary. Cheers on the next 15 years and congratulations!

(Online August 15, 2013)