Millennium Metal - Chapter One (1999)

Metalium's debut record was a commercial success and stood for the comeback of an entire genre towards the end of the nineties and first years of the new millennium. The group went on to offer eight chapters of its epic saga before calling it quits after thirteen years of existence. Millennium Metal: Chapter One is one of the band's best entries and the only one involving Savatage's guitarist Chris Caffery and drummer Mike Terrana who has played in so many bands that it's impossible to keep track of them.

Musically, the band offers an energetic mixture between traditional heavy metal, European power metal and occasionalsSpeed metal influences. The record's first half is quite entertaining. "Fight" is an energetic power metal song with a thunderous rhythm section, fast guitar riffs and powerful high-pitched vocals. "Dream of Doom" is much slower, more melodic and oozes with an ominous atmosphere somewhere between mid-paced heavy metal and minimal gothic and doom metal influences. "Break the Spell" on the other side is classic heavy metal in the key of Judas Priest which is probably the band that sounds closest to them. If you like the material Judas Priest recorded with Tim Owens, you are certainly going to appreciate this album.

One element that has always annoyed me about this record are the cringeworthy radio play elements, consisting of vapid monologues and boring one-liners offered by the story's hero whose voice sounds so low that one could imagine his testicles weighing a ton each. The overall solid album also loses some steam after a strong beginning and especially the second half is lacking punch despite solid musicianship and a few solid tunes like the elaborate "Metamorphosis" that connects the first and the second part and the epic closer and band hymn "Metalians".

In the end, I would recommend this album to those who are looking for a record situated between traditional heavy metal and epic power metal. The release is diverse and entertaining but not every song is convincing and the radio play elements sound idiotic. Metalium's release was on the pulse of its time twenty years ago but is slightly overrated in hindsight. Still, fans of the aforementioned genres should give this record a try.

Final rating: 75%

State of Triumph - Chapter Two (2000)

Almost exactly one year after its successful debut release, German-American heavy and power metal quintet Metalium comes around with another full length effort. This is even more astonishing considering the fact that one of the guitarists and the drummer left the band. The new guy behind the kit is Marc Cross who was known to few people back then but who would end up playing drums for power metal heavyweights Helloween and Firewind later on in his career. New guitarist is Jack frost who was briefly involved in Savatage like his predecessor and who is most known for his work with Seven Witches nowadays.

Even though the band remained faithful to its mixture of traditional heavy metal and vibrant power metal, there are a few significant changes that keep the second output very intriguing.

First of all, the production is a little bit mellower than the aggressive and energetic predecessor which gives the record a more epic and melodic touch which suits the ambitious lyrical concept.

Secondly, the album uses much more additional keyboards than before to give the release a more atmopsheric and almost cinematic vibe without sounding too cheesy or fluffy.

Thirdly, the annoying narrative parts involving the stereotypical male protagonist have been reduced and a female voice offers some more narration now. Speaking of female voices, this album has a few more backing vocals, involving five women who contributed choirs to this release.

Fourthly, the song writing has become more epic and progressive as the eleven songs featured here are much longer than the thirteen tracks plus hidden coda from the first strike. The tracks offer more dynamic changes and are overall quite ambitious without sounding overloaded or tiring.

Another noteworthy element is that this album kicks off somewhat slowly but ends on a high note as opposed to the predecessor. The fast, melodic and vibrant "Stygian Flames" is an absolute highlight while the closing title track "State of Triumph" is as epic as it gets with melancholic piano sounds, massive choirs and narrative passages that almost make this song sound like a metal opera without any classical music watering it down.

Metalium's State of Triumph is a grower. The tracks are less intense than those from the predecessor at first contact but the material is more atmospheric, epic and mature and opens up with every spin. It's a release that requests attention, patience and time but ends up rewarding the listener. Despite being less commercially successful than the predecessor, State of Triumph is a respectable progress for the epic power metal quintet that has found its own style here and moved away from copying heavy metal veterans.

Final rating: 80%

Hero Nation - Chapter Three (2002)

After its second album, Metalium went through changes again since American guitarist Jack Frost and British drummer Mark Cross left the band. Metalium decided to stick to only one guitarist as the quintet became a quartet. Michael Ehré became the new man behind the kit and would later on play with Uli John Roth, Gamma Ray and The Unity. The international project became a German band and this line-up would remain quite stable for the next few years. However, this stability would harm the band, making it more repetitive and less relevant.

The band's third output Hero Nation still desperately tries to add some diversity. It features an epic symphonic ballad called "Infinite Love" inspired by William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet where main vocalist Henning Basse performs a stunning duet with classically trained award-winning singer Carolin Fortenbacher.

The epic "Fate Conquered the Power" features a keyboard performance by Ken Hensley of former Uriah Heep fame and a guitar solo by Primal Fear's and Sinner's Tom Naumann.

Donald Airey, previously known for his works with Ozzy Osbourne and Rainbow and later on Deep Purple, plays on four different tracks, including the atmospheric, creative and dynamic power ballad "Odin's Spell" which is the best song on this album along with "Infinite Love".

However, the numerous guest musicians can't hide the fact that the song writing on this release is much weaker than on the two predecessors. The band seems to be lost between the energy of the first record and the epic direction of the sophomore output. However, most songs are neither aggressive enough to compete with the debut nor elaborate enough to equal the quality of the second release. Especially the first half of this release offers traditional heavy metal by the numbers with lackluster power metal elements. There are no choruses, rhythms or solos that will get stuck in your mind.

In the end, Hero Nation is interesting for its numerous guest musicians and a few experiments but most songs sound bland and uninspired. While the band's first two records should equally appeal to heavy and power metal fans, the third release won't please either side and is slightly above average at best. It's the first sign of a slow descent for Metalium.

Final rating: 65%

Ein starkes Team is a German television series that has been around for two and a half decades already. It convinces with its authentic characters and settings in and around Berlin that show the capital's advantages and flaws authentically. Like so many other German crime series these days, this one also suffers from weak plots, slow pace and endless repetition.

Treibjagd is one of the better episodes however. It shows how a Russian crime syndicate tracks down the key witness of a double murder who is about to give his testimony. The movie convinces with a steadier pace than usual. The story has a few twists and turns that aren't particularly surprising but always entertaining. The body count in this episode is particularly high, including one suicide and the murder of a minor which are very rarely seen on German television. The main actors and actresses are solid as usual and even add a few humorous scenes to make the grim story easier to digest here and there.

This episode though suffers from a terrible plot. Without revealing too much, there are three characters working in important positions who are all suffering from a serious addiction to medication which feels more like a running joke than a serious issue at that point. Several characters act quite stupidly like the police officers who constantly put themselves in overtly dangerous situations and let the key witness escape in unintentionally amusing slapstick moments. The worst performance in this episode comes from Elisabeth Baulitz who plays the protagonist's wife who always reacts unexplainably slowly and stupidly. To only give one specific example, she asks her courageous son to hand a gun back to a criminal instead of attempting to flee or call the police.

In the end, Treibjagd is one of the better episodes of contemporary German crime series thanks to an entertaining story, steady pace and high body count. The plot still has mediocre elements and some characters act particularly strangely. Treibjagd offers ninety minutes of solid entertainment but fails to leave a deeper impression.

Swedish death metal veterans Unleashed released this extended play to promote its thirteenth studio record The Hunt for White Christ. The two most positive elements about this release are the imaginative cover artwork and the fact that this record came for free with an issue of acclaimed Legacy magazine.

The two new tracks are solid but nothing more. They don't overstay their welcome, are performed with gritty vocals and tight riffs and feature a few melodic guitar sections. While being performed tightly, they fail to leave a deeper impression. You will forget about one song as soon as the next one has begun.

The two live tracks were recorded almost a decade ago and sound like filler material. The band sounds energetic on stage but is missing the certain something to stand out among so many traditional death metal groups these days.

The two demo tracks are certainly nice gimmicks for collectors and fans of old date. The band shows some great chemistry, impressive musicianship and creative song writing but all this potential is buried under a most terrible production that can't be excused by calling it authentic or refering to an old school spirit. The songs sound as if they had been recorded through wet cardboard and I have listened to grim and frostbitten old school black metal records with better production values.

In the end, Unleashed's The Hunt for White Christ (EP & Rarities) is only interesting for faithful fans of this band and unconditional collectors of old school death metal records. I won't complain since I got this release for free along with an outstanding magazine but the record didn't motivate me to check out anything else this band has released. It might simply not be my cup of tea. The new studio songs are good, the live tracks are average and the demo tunes suffer from terrible production. Overall, this release is rather forgettable.

Final rating: 50%

Happy New Year 2019!

I wish you all the best for this new year. Stay healthy, keep an open mind and may all your dreams come true. I hope you like the two videos of popular television shows that are traditionally watched on New Year's Eve in Germany.