Deep Purple's Limitless is a nice compilation given out with an issue of Classic Rock Magazine. It consists of four studio tracks and four live cuts. The material consists of recent singles and rare b-sides as well as songs recorded during concerts in Europe and Asia during the last four years. Limitless represents the sound and form of contemporary Deep Purple very well. It can be seen both as a nice collector's item and an appropriate introduction to the band's current sound. To me, it was the latter and it made me discover more of the band's recent recordings.

Among the studio tracks, the futuristic and moody progressive rock opener ''Time for Bedlam'' convinces with great guitar harmonies, powerful organ sounds and intellectually appealing lyrics. It's impressive how sharp the band sounds after having been around for almost five decades and this song proves that the group is still going strong. Among the live cuts, the compilation closer ''Black Night'', that was first published on this record and later included on a special edition of the new studio album, convinces the most because the band sounds very playful and the audience is audible and sounds very enthusiastic.

In the end, Deep Purple's Limitless can be seen as a greatest hits compilation of what the band has accomplished in the past four years. The eight songs are all extraordinary progressive rock tracks performed with energy, inspiration and skills. They all remind of the classic Deep Purple sound based upon vivid rhythm sections, outstanding guitar melodies, melodic vocal lines and majestic organ sounds. Despite this traditional sound, the band sounds as fresh, hungry and strong as newcomers which makes the listening experience even greater. Let's hope this band carries on and continues to prove its status as one of the world's best rock bands.

Final rating: 90%

Powerwolf are quite a phenomenon in Germany and have conquered the charts numerous times. The band plays a style which is often called true metal but actually a mixture of heavy and power metal. Musically, lyrically and even concerning their image, expect a mixture of HammerFall, Manowar and Sabaton.

The band's songs are catchy and engaging but also highly predictable. What we get here is a collection of short and sweet mid-tempo heavy and power metal foundations with some sacral organ sounds and quite addictive choruses that you will still remember and sing along to after consuming a case of beer because of their simplicity and almost childish rhymes. Lines such as ''Die, die, dynamite!'' and ''Halleluja, amen!'' ''Resurrection by erection!'' aren't very clever but work quite well in concert and you can see the entire crowd sing along. That being said, the powerful baritone vocals, along with the epic organ passages, are probably the most charismatic element about this band. Bass, drums and guitars play metal by the numbers without any ups or downs which can either be seen as a proof of consistency or as the band's most obvious weakness. The lyrics mostly deal with fantasy topics and especially with wolves, vampires and religious characters from cardinals to crusaders which isn't anything new but still surprisingly popular among metal fans.

Singer Attila Dorn is a gifted entertainer because he doesn't take himself and his band too seriously. Some of his anecdotes about penis surgeries and similar things are weird but that only makes them more memorable. He might exaggerate when he asks the crowd about a dozen times whether they want to celebrate a heavy metal mass with the band but you should take it as a running gag and the singer even has to laugh about himself from time to time and occasionally stops playing the character he incarnates on stage to act normally. In addition to the unique but at times annoying front man, the band knows how to put up a visually stunning show with majestic backdrops that make the stage look like an old cathedral, lots of face paint to evoke similarities to vampires and werewolves and a quite stunning light show. Powerwolf might not be among the most original bands but they surely are among the most entertaining ones if you are willing to open up to their concept.

This already leads me to my final verdict. Powerwolf are a party band that is best enjoyed in concert or while hanging around at a party with some friends. My tastes have evolved over the past few years but if I had discovered the band a decade ago, I would have appreciated it as much as HammerFall, Manowar and Sabaton. Powerwolf are a great band to get into metal in the first place. This massive live set serves both as a greatest hits collection and a proof that Powerwolf is one of the most entertaining live bands around. If you had only one Powerwolf record to buy, it should be this one.

Final rating: 70%

It's quite surprising that there seems to be a quite big audience for rock and metal ballads. This is already Axel Rudi Pell's fifth compilation of ballads. Personally, I find this type of compilation rather limited and repetitive but it seems to be commercially successful.

This record presents five ballads from the last three studio records, including the soulful cover of Neil Young's "Hey Hey My My''. The live version of Deep Purple's "Mistreated" is taken from Axel Rudi Pell's anniversary concert, released under the title Magic Moments. The other four songs are exclusive to this release and include an emotional live performance of the band's own epic power ballad ''The Line", another cover song in form of Ed Sheeran's "I See Fire" and two actual new compositions. This selection makes it obvious to me that this compilation has been made for occasional fans who haven't purchased any of the last three studio albums or the recent live record. The fact that this record includes three cover song seems to indicate that Axel Rudi Pell tries to attract a larger audience that isn't necessarily familiar with the band but that might check this album out because famous artists and bands such as Deep Purple and Neil Young have been covered here. The namedropping even goes further since famous Welsh country, pop and rock singer Bonnie Tyler is featured in the opening "Love's Holding On". This kind of marketing is clever and makes it obvious why Axel Rudi Pell's concept of ballad compilations seems to work. 

For a real fan though, this release is like a slap in the face. Paying twenty bucks for two new recordings, one new cover song and one new live track is unacceptable. If Axel Rudi Pell were fair with his fans, he should include the two new recording on an upcoming regular studio album. However, this hasn't been practiced in the past since these compilations have always included some exclusive tracks. This probably means that fans either have to pay a quite steep price here or should download the few songs they are actually interested in once again. Both choices are far from being perfect in my book.

To be fair, the two new songs are actually really strong. Especially the collaboration with Bonnie Tyler in form of ''Love's Holding On'' is absolutely outstanding. Her husky voice fits perfectly to the melancholic melodies and complements Johnny Gioeli's powerful performance. This track is easily better than anything on Axel Rudi Pell's last regular studio album Game of Sins. In addition to this, the cover artwork really strikes a chord with me. As usual, the stunning cover artwork as well as a band photo are included as a two-sided poster with this release.

A few days ago, I have seen the new record at a second-hand shop for eight bucks. I hesitated to buy the compilation and decided to think about it for a couple of days. If the record is still there when I'm coming back to this shop later this week, I will pick this compilation up because of the great opening song and the stunning artwork. Eight bucks is a reasonable price for such a release but paying the regular full price is a rip-off for regular fans.

Final rating: 50%

The Bay Calls for Blood - Live in San Francisco is a short but solid live record by Bay Area thrash metal veterans Death Angel. It was released both individually and along with A Thrashumentary which is an extensive documentation about Death Angel's career that I would only recommend to faithful fans and those who are particularly interested in the history of thrash metal. This live album might be more interesting for a larger target audience and features ten tracks which are mostly taken from the previous studio record which I liked quite a lot.

On the positive side, the band sounds really energizing during this show. Mark Osegueda nails the melodic parts, the meaner passages and the few high screams alike and proves what an underrated singer he is. The gang shouts add even more energy in the right spots. The guitar play is outstanding and the rhythm section sounds technical and tight. The sound is as authentic, clear and powerful as if you were standing right next to the speakers during a live show. The production is unpolished and suits this type of release perfectly. There are only a few short interactions between Mark Osegueda and the crowd but they add an authentic live atmosphere to this record. The set list doesn't include any fillers and the new tracks work particularly well in concert. ''Left for Dead'' is an excellent opener that starts on a gloomy note before it evolves into a dynamic classic thrash metal track. ''Execution / Don't Save Me'' and ''Territorial Instinct / Bloodlust'' have similar strengths and offer calmer transitions, melodic passages and ferocious parts which adds some entertaining diversity to the live record. The best track among the new tunes is though the dynamic and focused ''The Dream Calls for Blood'' with its dystopian guitar sound and powerful chorus that should become a live favorite. The greatest interactions with the crowd that enhance the authentic live atmosphere take place during ''Buried Alive'' and ''Bored''.

On the negative side, this live release is obviously very short with a running time of only forty-five minutes. Quality is obviously better than quantity but knowing what a convincing live band the quintet is, this record should have been longer. In addition to this, the band seems to have played twenty songs the night the show was recorded and the songs on this release don't even seem to be in the exact order of the set list. It would have been a better idea to release the entire show on DVD or BluRay instead of offering ten excerpts on CD. 

Still, The Bay Calls for Blood - Live in San Francisco is a great live record that convinces with an authentic production, underlines the band's great chemistry and focuses on outstanding live versions of songs that weren't included on previous live albums. This release is both interesting for fans of long date as well as for those who want to get a proper introduction to the band.

Final rating: 80%

Amorphis hasn't released a physical greatest hits compilation in more than thirteen years when ''Chapters'' had been published. Since then, Amorphis had an important line-up change with the chasrismatic and versatile Tomi Joutsen taking Pasi Koskinen's spot. The band has also released a whopping eight studio albums which weren't covered by the last compilation. A compilation was therefore overdue and His Story is a great example of how to release an appropriate greatest hits record for new, old and occasional fans. Sadly, this release was only made available in Japan but it's one of the few cases when it's worth paying an elevated price for an import version.

The band included songs from all its studio records in equal parts. Since Amorphis' sound has shifted and changed numerous times throughout its impressive career, it's appropriate to follow the band's way in chronological order. Gloomy death metal from the early years as in ''The Gathering'' is followed by the band's revolutionary mixture of progressive melodic death metal with psychedelic folk elements as heard in ''Into Hiding'' before the band honors its psychedelic rock era with masterpieces such as ''Alone'' on the first disc that represents the early and transitional years of the group's career.

The second disc focuses on a band that has found its permanent line-up and style but still desires to break boundaries and create new pieces of art as one can hear in the mellow psychedelic folk ballad ''Under a Soil and Black Stone'', the uplifting progressive power metal masterpiece ''Sky Is Mine'' or the rhythmic death metal influences of yore intertwined with melodic and moody power folk sections as in ''Death of a King''. Even though some fans might miss a few personal highlights here and there, these two discs are filled with far over two and a half hours of music and offer both quantity and quality as well as value for money.

The third disc includes four rare tracks that haven't been released in Japan so far and that were only included on different limited editions in Europe or North America. These four tracks have a respectable running time of twenty-three minutes and prove that even Amorphis' bonus songs are much more impressive than what other bands put on their regular albums. The first three tracks are taken from the Circle recording sessions while the fourth song is from the Under the Red Cloud era. These songs offer more progressive masterpieces where the band's extreme metal roots meet its more melodic and uplifting contemporary era.

A gorgeous new cover artwork completes the whopping running time of about three hours on this carefully crafted compilation. Since this is a limited release, you shouldn't hesitate to purchase this output that really does the band's impressive career justice. This is also a perfect gift to offer to anyone who is less familiar with metal music and wants to discover the world's most eclectic and open-minded high-quality band of this vast genre.