Liebe Leser,

Als Auflockerung zwischen all den Analysen meiner Lieblingsfernsehserie Twin Peaks, werde ich in unregelmassigen Abstanden Videos deutscher Komiker oder humoristischer Sendungen vorstellen, die mir personlich sehr gut gefallen. Diese Reihe startet mit dem deutschen Komiker Oliver Kalkofe und seiner Sendung ''Kalkofes Mattscheibe'', in der verschiedene Medienformate sowie deren Inhalte aufs Korn genommen werden. Es folgen nun zwolf seiner lustigsten Parodien. Des weiteren mochte ich auch die Spielfilme empfehlen, in denen Kalkofe auftritt und da ganz besonders die Edgar-Wallace-Parodien ''Der Wixxer'' und ''Neues vom Wixxxer'' hervorheben. Ich wunsche euch viel Spass und gute Unterhaltung!

Villa Germania

TRL: Bushido & Kay One

Mordan - Meine Gitarre

Jungfrau sucht Liebe

Das grosse Wunschkonzert

Niersbach Erklarungsnot

Brautschau im Ausland

Letzte Rettung Pfandleiher

Buntes Trier

Franzosischer Parmesan

Exklusiv - Die Reportage

Musenhof Kliniken

A band with a charismatic sound like Sólstafir can only evolve if it finds the right balance between typical trademarks and a few new soundscapes. That's precisely what happens here. 

After the elegiac and lethargic Ótta with its sinister soundscapes and a prominent use of banjo sounds, Berdreyminn tries out a couple of new elements. The overall atmosphere of the record is slightly more uplifting. The calmer songs have a beautiful ethereal touch while the few mid-tempo tracks that open and close the record are much more vivid than anything on the predecessor. The banjo has disappeared and instead we get a decent and minimal use of elegant piano sounds, enchanting string sections and shy choirs in a few select moments. The low bass guitar sound is more present in the mid-tempo tracks than it was on the predecessor. On the other side, the guitar play sounds more reduced than ever in the calmer tracks. The drum play is also minimalistic and less present than before.

Despite these welcome shifts and changes, Berdreyminn is still a typical Sólstafir release. We get the band's melancholic and mysterious atmosphere from start to finish, the overlong song structures that take a few spins to unfold their magic, the slightly distorted, minimalist and slow guitar riffs and the charismatic mournful vocals that are performed with genuine passion.

As standout tracks, I would cite the opener "Silfur-Refur" that kicks the album off with a bang after a short introduction as soon as dirty guitar riffs, numbing organ sounds and vivid bass lines take the lead, the melodic and mysterious "Hula" with its haunting choirs and comforting orchestral passages as well as the playful "Ambátt" that has a few progressive changes of pace and structure which makes it the most creative tune on a very strong record.

Some people might have had concerns about this record after the band's ugly split with founding member and drummer Guðmundur Óli Pálmason but this change didn't have any negative impacts on this record. Sólstafir sounds as convincing, inspired and unique as it did before the split.

In the end, Sólstafir successfully managed to innovate on this release without changing its unique identity. Berdreyminn is quite different from Ótta but has the same high quality. If I had to choose between the two, I would even say that I like the new record slightly better. This album is definitely one of the highlights of the year already. Fans of the band, occasional listeners and potential new fans who like atmospheric post-rock, Northern folk sounds and progressive doom metal should give this release a chance. I recommend purchasing the box set with two strong additional tracks and other gimmicks or the limited Japanese edition without the bonus tracks but with an additional live DVD that perfectly captures the spirit of the Icelandic quartet.

Final rating: 92%

Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe is a fantasy movie based upon Tianxia Bachang's novels about a nurse and a soldier that team up to raid tombs. It's interesting to note that another movie about the novels entitled Mojin: The Lost Legend was released less than three months after this movie. There are actually two different production companies. One owns the rights for the first few novels, the other for the more recent novels. That's why both movies aren't directly connected and even slightly contradictory at times. This movie here focuses on the first novel and shows us how the two main characters actually meet.

Many contemporary Chinese fantasy movies suffer from terrible special effects that look extremely artificial and wooden. This isn't the case for Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe. The action sequences are captivating, the costumes, landscapes and relics look stunning and even the monsters look rather scary.

The movie has a very strong introduction that develops a mysterious atmosphere that makes me think of Indiane Jones or Tomb Raider video games. Our two main characters discover the remnants of a mysterious and dangerous civilization in an ancient tunnel system in northern China. It's quite gripping to watch our main characters discover creepy skeletons, face aggressive butterflies and run away from a massive avalanche in a very fast-paced way.

The movie loses some significant momentum after these opening sequences. The story shifts several years forward multiple times which is slightly confusing. The story also gets quite predictable. Some terrifying monsters related to the mysterious civilization have escaped and attack an oil town in a desert. Our main character will go on the mission to find a mysterious professor, fight the monsters and prevent the evil ancient civilization to break its curse and enslave mankind.

The last third of the movie quickens up the pace a little bit. The fight scenes in the oil town are gripping and the clashes between the ancient civilization and those who accompany our protagonist are entertaining, intense and include a few minor twists. The conclusion itself is somewhat disappointing though because several questions are left unanswered. Since the movie is based upon a novel that had numerous sequels, it seems probable that there will be more movies about this story line in the future. If you want to watch a single movie with a coherent story line from the introduction to the conclusion, you shouldn't watch this film in the first place.

While the movie has a mysterious atmosphere, a solid pace and great special effects, it's lacking in the acting department. Mark Chao's acting performance as the protagonist is average at best as it doesn't leave a deeper impression. Chen Yao as female lead isn't quite convincing even though her character has more depth. The romantic relationship between the two characters happens so quickly and unexpectedly that it's not credible. The supporting actors and actresses are doing a solid job but there isn't one performance that really stands out.

Despite the movie's flaws concerning the acting performances and a story that is too closely inspired by numerous other archaeological fantasy stories, Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe is still an overall entertaining and convincing film thanks to its atmosphere, pace and special effects. The film should get more praise than it gets. It might not be the most innovative genre movie but it's clearly more interesting than Hollywood's fantasy reboots in the key of Kong: Skull Island and other shallow flicks.

Ayreon is back for good! After the rather underwhelming The Theory of Everything that featured forty-two underdeveloped tracks with a running time below ninety minutes as well as numerous rather pointless side projects, Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Dutch progressive metal project goes back to the style and story line of 01011001 more than nine years ago.

This double-album delivers everything Ayreon fans had been hoping for. Classic progressive rock influences from the sixties and seventies in the key of Deep Purple, Jethro Tull, King Crimson ,Queen and Yes meet vivid heavy, power and progressive metal elements. The seventeen new songs are highly diversified, energizing and intellectual. The story is as entertaining and thought-provoking. 

The list of guest singers is very impressive and features famous artists like Floor Jansen, Hansi Kürsch, James LaBrie, Tobias Sammet and Simone Simons but also less known talents such as Michael Eriksen, Michael Mills and Zaher Zorgati. The addition of three additional guitarists as well as musicians on cello, piano and violin must also be mentioned. Most of the musicians and singers have already collaborated with Lucassen in the past and this chemistry really pays off on this album. The songs never ever sound overloaded and each collaborator has the occasion to shine. Dream Theater have recently tried to write a space rock opera on their own and failed but their singer James LaBrie sounds perfectly integrated here and should take some notes for his band mates. It's the same for Floor Jansen who hasn't convinced me with Nightwish yet but who sounds superb on this album. Blind Guardian has been hit and miss in recent years but Hansi Kürsch unfolds his true potential on this release. It seems that Lucassen is not just an outstanding musician and clever song writer but also knows how to challenge his collaborators and get the best out of them. 

If you like any of the artists and bands mentioned above, if you are new to the metal scene and need an introduction to the genre's greatest artists or if you are a metal fan who hasn't been in touch with the scene for a few years, you should definitely purchase this release.

Even though all songs are great, the particularly strong opener ''The Day That the World Breaks Down'' must be pointed out as this record's highlight and maybe the best song in Ayreon's history. The track is more than twelve minutes long which is almost twice as long as the second longest song. Usually, it's almost suicidal to open a record with such an ambitious tune but in this case it definitely pays off. The song includes atmospheric sound samples that set the tone right from the start. Eleven of the twelve guest singers appear in the song and shine in their different parts. Especially James LaBrie's soothing vocals that open the album work very well. After a calmer overture, powerful riffs, upbeat drum passages and distinctive bass guitar lines kick the body of the song off. Keyboard melodies soon join and give the track an epic science-fiction atmosphere. Numerous short instrumental passages give the listener a welcome break from the vocals. The middle part includes some majestic choirs that recall Queen at its very best. The final passages of the record end in a powerful manner and yet manage to develop a great transition to the next song that is much calmer and focuses on inspirations from acoustic, classical and folk music.

If you like the incredible opener, you are going to like the entire record. Ayreon's The Source is one of the best progressive metal records of this decade and already a more than serious candidate for the album of the year in my book. From the instrumental work and performances of the guest singers over the lyrics and story line to the production and design of cover artwork and booklet, this album is fully convincing. Stop reading my review, go to your closest record store and buy this album!

Final rating: 97%

Gorguts' Pleiades' Dust is an ambitious conceptual track divided into seven chapters with a stunning running time of almost thirty-three minutes. This release mixes progressive death metal with gloomy drone elements in nearly equal parts.

On the positive side, let's point out the solid production where every instrument sounds organically balanced in the mixing. The drum riffs are very technical without being overtly fast. The guitar riffs are mostly atmospheric and discordant while the riffs and solo sections are a little bit less gripping. The bass guitar play is very distinctive and adds a lot of sinister vibes to the sound. It's the most outstanding instrument on the release in my book. The traditional death metal vocals are solid but nothing more. They suit the gloomy soundscapes and almost work like an additional backing instrument. Despite the band's sophisticated musicianship, this record focuses on its mysterious atmosphere that serves as instrumental guideline. The lyrics are ambitious and progress very well until the track's coda harks back to the overture.

On the negative side, the transitions from sinister progressive death metal passages filled with additional details to uncover with each spin to limited atmospheric drone sections are getting somewhat predictable and repetitive after a while. The track lacks ideas to justify its abnormal length. This song would have had much more momentum if it had been half as long as the final result. While the lyrics evolve, the music doesn't. Smooth sections are followed by sinister passages but there is no obvious rising or falling action and especially no climax in the song. The transitions are solid but could have been a little bit more developed to have a greater impact. The track is lacking clear highs and lows or standout moments in general. It has a great flow but doesn't offer anything truly memorable. 

That's why the final result is quite a mixed. The atmosphere, concept, musicianship and production stand out. The most important element though, the song writing department, is quite underwhelming at times. The track works well as a whole but the different sections aren't very impressive. The final result is also clearly too long in my book. I could only recommend this release to patient progressive extreme metal fans. Pleiades' Dust has its very own stylistic niche and does quite well in that category but is also limited within its boundaries.

Final rating: 75%