Korean Tales certainly is a unique listening experience somewhere between Korean folk music with traditional instruments, intriguing lyrics and unique chants intertwined with gloomy ambient sounds and a few select black metal sequences. If compared to other blackened folk metal bands, this release focuses on samples of vintage recordings of folk sounds that give this album an authentic, creepy and shamanic atmosphere.

Those who are interested in traditional Korean culture, language and music will certainly adore this atmospheric release. However, the album certainly neglects its black metal aspects or any type of contemporary music for that matter. Sometimes you will get five minutes of overtly emotional folk chants recorded in very bad quality with hysterically nerve-firing instrumental backdrops. Only a few discordant guitar riffs and haunted shrieks in the background will remind you now and then that this is even a metal album. Listening to this type of music feels like witnessing a shamanic ritual. It's captivating and strange, beautiful and scary, haunting and repulsive all at the same time. You certainly need to be in a very special mood to enjoy this type of music that would certainly make for a thrilling soundtrack for any gloomy and weird Korean horror movie like the outstanding The Wailing. When I listened to this record with a friend, he begged me to turn that annoying, disharmonious and overlong record off but I was hooked and enjoyed the unique experience from start to finish.

To keep it short, Korean Tales certainly isn't for everyone. If you are looking for vintage Korean folk music with haunted chants, hypnotizing traditional instruments and culturally and historically inspired lyrics, you will discover a unique gem with a terrifying atmosphere. If you are looking for gripping black metal, you should stay away from this release however. Korean Tales is worth to be discovered but should only be revisited in very small doses.

Final result: 65%

Drafi Deutscher's ''Marmor, Stein und Eisen bricht'' played live in Germany!

Ladies and gentlemen!

These days I'm constantly listening to one of my very favorite bands: Japanese heavy metal veterans Loudness who are still going strong almost four decades into their careers. I decided to present you a collection of video clips retracing the band's incredible career, starting with their charismatic breakthrough single ''Crazy Nights'' back in 1984 and ending with the band's most recent video clip for the excellent ''Soul on Fire'' released in 2018. It was quite tough to find video clips of the band's outstanding early years from 1981 to 1983 and the group's experimental phase from 1994 to 1999. However, this is just a short introduction. If you like what you hear, I can only recommend to check out more stuff of this unique band. M.Z.A.!

''Crazy Nights'' (1984)

''Gotta Fight'' (1985)

''Let It Go'' (1986)

''This Lonely Heart'' (1987)

''Long Distance Love'' (1988)

''You Shook Me'' (1989)

''Down 'n' Dirty'' (1991)

''Black Widow'' (1992)

''Crazy Samurai'' (2004)

''The Battleship Musashi'' (2005)

''The Love of My Life'' (2006)

''Metal Mad'' (2008)

''Hit the Rails'' (2009)

''The King of Pain'' (2010)

''The Power of Truth'' (2011)

''Break New Ground'' (2012)

''Soul on Fire'' (2018)

Inspired by the new album artwork for the record America by Thirty Seconds to Mars, this is my America and everything that is wrong with it.

Chères lectrices et lecteurs de mon blogue,

Voici quelques photos de ma longue fin de semaine de Pâques au Saguenay avec mes amis Charles, Guillaume, Jean-Daniel et Mathieu.

Souper à la Maison Khmère

Charles et Guillaume au Bar à Pitons

Avant-match des séries éliminatoires au Centre Georges-Vézina

Charles avec le billet et cahier du match

Hymne national avant le début de la partie

Fin de la partie et de la série remportée par le Titan d'Acadie-Bathurst contre les Saguenéens de Chicoutimi

Le restaurant Kaiza - un véritable coup de coeur!