Crowning Of Atlantis is the second compilation that Therion considers a regular full length effort. While this release is more interesting than the pale A'arab Zaraq - Lucid Dreaming offering two years earlier, this compilation is still only interesting for collectors and die-hard fans and occasional listeners should simply go for the "Atlantis Lucid Dreaming" release that combined the best moments of both compilations.

What we get here are first of all two leftover tracks from the Vovin sessions plus a completely new recorded song. While the short and elegant but somewhat shy and therefor unimpressive "From The Dionsyian Days" and the solid mid-tempo track "Mark Of Cain" that adds some hard rock elements to the band's symphonic metal sound are decent but can't full convince, it's especially the title song "The Crowning Of Atlantis" that really stands out as best song on the compilation. Imagine a gloomier and more grounded version of the excellent "The Rise Of Sodom And Gomorrah" where the guitar play is overall more prominent than the string sections and you know what you will get here.

The second part of this compilation is composed of one darker and more grounded alternative version of the excellent "Clavicula Nox" from the last regular release as well as three well done cover songs. Ralf Scheepers of Primal Fear and Gamma Ray fame can fully convince on his attempts at covering Loudness' "Crazy Nights" and Manowar's "Thor (The Powerhead)". The first interpretation stays true to the original and is a rare excellent heavy metal rendition by Therion while the second track also includes a few ambitious and majestic choirs that fit to what Manowar attempts but continously fails to create. The last cover song is Accept's "Seawinds" which turns out to be an amazing calm and enchanting ballad with hypnotizing female vocals. Therion really reinvent this song and make it sound like a mixture of a pop song of the eighties and spiritual classical music.

The last third of this compilation offers three very well done live tracks. While the present versions of "The Wings Of The Hydra" and "Black Sun" are decent I must point out the incredibly energizing rendition of "To Mega Therion". I can't help but having massive goosebumps and banging my head with passion and pride to this explosive version of a milestone in metal history. This is maybe the best live version ever released of this song despite many great future live records of the band. Along with the stunning title song and the great Accept cover, this is by far the best track on this compilation.

While this compilation offers only a handful of interesting songs, it has a much better hit and miss rate than the previous A'arab Zaraq - Lucid Dreaming. Still, I would simply recommend you to purchase the Atlantis Lucid Dreaming version from 2005 or to simply focus on the excellent regular studio records of this unique band.

In Flames' pivotal fifth full length effort unites the band's past and future strengths (or weaknesses) like no other record. The release still features some faster melodic death metal elements from the past as well as the melodic twin guitar leads in the vein of Iron Maiden and a versatile vocal performance somewhere between slightly restrained growling, slightly experimental performances inspired by different groove and nu metal bands and a hesitatingly increasing number of clean vocal parts. The album also gives a hint at future records as it is filled with extremely catchy and mainstream orientated choruses, an increased used of electronic music and lyrical teams that slowly move away earlier topics such as astronomy and towards texts about inner struggles. Some fans may judge this record as the last great In Flames album, others might say that it's the first in a streak of more courageous, experimental and modern releases. Both sides are right and as some of the very few who enjoys both old and contemporary In Flames, I happen to like this release anyway.

The choruses on this album are extremely strong and probably among the very best in the band's entire career. The mid-paced and electronic-ridden "Only for the Weak" could also be included on one of the two follow-ups and represents the band's more accessible and less extreme metal orientated side. The melodic chorus is definitely well crafted, no matter what you think about the band's new sounds. Another strong chorus comes along in bonus track and b-side "World of Promises", a cover of Swedish glam rock band Treat. In my opinion, In Flames always did a good job covering tracks and I even liked their version of Metallica's "Eye of the Beholder" slightly better than the original. This song here is once again both energizing and melodic in an almost epic yet catchy way. The chorus contrasts with the faster and more brutal verses. I have no clue why this track wasn't included on the initial regular version as this is a fun tune and strong single candidate as well. In my book, this cover beats the original that sounds like an exchangeable Def Leppard and Europe bastard by miles. The strongest chorus is though the one in the energizing "Pinball Map" which is not only the best track on here but one of the band's shining moments in general and a perfect example for modern melodic death metal done rightly. The verses are fast, powerful and unchained concerning both the energizing riffs, the pitiless rhythm section and the wild vocals. The choruses comes around with beautiful guitar harmonies and some soloing just after the vocal part but also with thick restrained staccato riffs. The rhythm section grooves in an enjoyable way and never gets too sluggish. The vocals are emotional and to the point. Many people say that Anders Fridén's vocals got worse over the years but I think that they overall improved as they got more emotional but also more controlled and skilled. In this chorus, he finds the right balance between overwhelming energy and melodic self-control. This is really a chorus for the ages and it works even better as it's not repeated to death. This is a track to relentlessly bang, dance and sing along. This song represents both old and new In Flames in a certain way and if somebody asked me to get introduced to In Flames today, I would start with this tune.

Other than incredibly catchy offerings, you get to hear a balanced mixture of powerful melodic death metal from the past and more experimental tunes that hint at the band's future. In the first category, we get to hear "Brush the Dust Away" which is by no means the best song on here but a refreshingly short and fast tune with dynamical drumming that works well in the album context. The tune features the band's more contemporary vocal versatility but otherwise sharp riffs, dynamical sound and speed changes and great guitar melodies. The closing wrecking ball "Another Day in Quicksand" goes even further back to the roots and solely features Anders Fridén's charismatic early harsh vocals, extended sharp riffs, a few crunching breakdowns and a calmer bridge with elegant melodic guitar solos. This energizing outburst is a fitting way to close a gripping record without any lengths.

The second category delivers with the versatile grower "Square Nothing" that mixes the best elements of everything In Flames would deliver in the future: fast-paced verses, melodic pre-choruses and choruses, enchanting guitar melodies and even solos, calm breakdowns in an alternative rock fashion, weird sound collages including church bells, vocals that are sometimes sung, screamed or whispered, a dominant use of keyboards and many different genres and styles covered in less than four minutes without sounding pointlessly put together. Only few bands can put so many ideas in one single song and make it sound perfectly coherent. That's one element that makes In Flames stand out. The melancholic "Satellites and Astronaut" can be seen as a more rhythm orientated predecessor to tracks like "The Chosen Pessimist", "Liberation" and "Through Oblivion". This song is probably the most atmospheric and versatile of In Flames so-called half-ballads and maybe also the band's best offering in this category. I would say that this track is the second best on this concise output.

If we look at this release today, this is probably a reconciliatory record for both fans of the early days and the contemporary phase. On this record, both worlds harmoniously collide in almost equal parts. Otherwise, the short and concise song writing and some incredibly catchy choruses make this album stand out as a high quality release in the band's extensive discography. This release doesn't include any fillers and only above average to excellent songs. This album may not be as revolutionary as "Lunar Strain", as consistent as "Subterranean" and as versatile as "Sounds of a Playground Fading" but it's definitely a highlight in the band's career that both old and new fans should know and own.

Therion continues to evolve on Vovin as mastermind Christofer Johnsson gathers a new guitarist and drummer around him and invited a total of twenty guest musicians and singers including big names like guitarist Waldemar Sorychta of Grip Inc. and Voodoocult, Ralf Scheeper of Primal Fear and Gamma Ray fame and Sarah Jezebel Deva who had been invloved in bands such as Cradle Of Filth and her own group Angtoria in the past. While the previous genre milestone Theli contained maybe seventy percent of bleak heavy and gothic metal music and thirty percent of orchestral arrangements, Vovin is even more balanced and comes around with a mixture close to fifty percent of occult and yet melodic metal and fifty percent of majestic orchestrations and even more impressive male and female choirs of the highest kind. While the songs on Theli covered completely new ground and managed to touch me emotionally, Vovin is a more elegant, intellectual and sophisticated output. One really gets the impression to witness elaborated classical symphonies of the grandest kind but the songs are also a little bit more distant from an emotional point of view. While I slightly prefer Theli over Vovin, it is great to see that Therion moved on and tried out new things again on this excellent release.

There is not one single bad song on this release. "The Rise Of Sodom And Gomorrah" is a perfect opener. It feels like you were listening to a Beethoven symphony as the song starts in a really dramatic and cinematic fashion. You can really see the downfall of the two famous cities in front of your eyes while listening to this sacral metal masterpiece. The male and female choirs are spot on and create an elegant yet apocalyptic atmosphere. There is no doubt that this song is one of the best in Therion's stunning career. "Birth Of Venus Illegitima" is a little bit more elegic and convinces with a dark yet harmoniously chilling atmosphere. This is not just music, this is a very fine piece of art. The epic yet accessible "Clavicula Nox" and the more emotional and guitar driven "Eye Of Shiva" also share a more elegic feeling as they are rather slow and appeasing songs that convince with enchantic angelic female vocals that make me think of several impressive new-age artists like Enigma or Vangelis for example.

"Wine Of Aluquah" differs from the more elegeic and elegant tracks as it has a slightly Middle Eastern folk infused feeling, truly catchy female choir passages and it is overall a little bit faster and heavier than most of the other tracks on the album. The fastest track and only song that clearly harkens back to Therion's earlier outputs is probably "The Wild Hunt". It's a fast and almost power and thrash metal orientated song with dramatic choirs, vivid melodic guitar solos and a hectical yet catchy chorus performed by Ralf Scheepers. This is one of the few songs that clearly has more metal than classical symphonic elements and should definitely please to the power metal community.

Every single song on this release is worth mentioning and "The Draconian Trilogy" even resumes all the stunning qualities of Therion again but I simply suggest you to purchase Theli and Vovin and discover these artistic masterpieces of classical music and metal on your own. You really miss out on something if you don't get in closer contact with the most imaginative metal band of the nineties along with Amorphis and Moonspell.

Should a release like Dreams of Horror really even exist in 2014? That's a quite good question but from my point of view, I would definitely answer with a resounding "yes". Obviously, in modern times, many people prefer downloading music instead of purchasing expensive compilations but there are a few points that make this physical release really interesting. 

First of all, the cover artwork is really lovely and includes iconic elements of almost all previous King Diamond records which puts this kind of release above the exchangeable "Icon" series and the likes. The booklet is also very well done as each song is described in a detailed way with a few intimate anecdotes where even older fans might learn a few things and new fans can get an idea of the philosophy behind the band. Even the space behind the discs in the solid digipak is not wasted and comes around with more beautiful artworks and photos. One can see that some passionate artistic effort was put into this release and no digital version can match this detailed effort.

I'm aware of the fact that many fans from the early years are used to their original versions because they have unique memories connected to certain songs and records but if we are honest deep down inside of us, certain old school efforts we might defend by calling them authentic and charming suffer from mediocre productions. I'm not a supporter of pointless re-recordings à la Manowar, lifeless modern productions that one can experience in the power and progressive metal genres these days or the ongoing loudness war which already destroyed a few decent thrash metal release of more recent dates but there is nothing wrong with a professionally remastered compilation that manages to keep the spirit of the original music alive by improving the production flaws or the limited technical possibilities thirty years ago. This is exactly what happened here. The production of the songs on this release is atmospheric, powerful and thick and keeps a perfect balance between the original soul of the different tracks and the inclusion of scientific improvements.

Let's talk about the songs themselves. Obviously, each long-time fan has his or her personal favourite or secret tip that might not be included on such a release. The purpose of this record is though rather to expose the impressive thirty-year long career of King Diamond to potential new fans as the band is now back on the road and about to release its first new record in eight years. This is where this compilation does an excellent job and it becomes obvious that the band members themselves carefully chose the most fitting songs and the appropriate versions of these songs to be part of this release. The band chose the most fitting tracks and not necessarily those considered the very best by a majority of fans or record companies and this is a very important difference between any greatest hits collection and an authentic compilation that feels like a regular release as it's the case here. 

When I want to discover the discography of such a band, I want to get in touch with the most famous songs, the most experimental efforts and get an idea of the progression of the band sound. This release includes all of it and covers each studio record of the band to give new fans a best possible overview. The two discs include the shortest and the longest track of the band and features instrumental tracks as much as the most progressive occult heavy metal tracks from the band. Each songs works very well for what it is and I could only discover good to excellent tracks but not one single filler. You want me to mention the best and worst tracks on here? Forget about it, just listen to the entire double-album as it is meant to be. The inclusion of some shorter songs and instrumental tracks is also a welcome idea and adds a great organic flow to this compilation as intense moments are followed by more relaxed breaks. It also helps that both discs have a length of around fifty-five minutes instead of filling them with eighty minutes of music. One really gets the impression to listen to a coherent regular double-album of the band and not just to a compilation that tries to follow the band's greatest hits chronologically or to include as many tracks as possible in a random order. Each track and its order is precisely chosen to elaborate a harmonious and logical progression. This is a very strong element most greatest hits records don't have. I would even say that this is probably the best compilation record I have ever purchased. 

At the end of the day, this compilation is the perfect deal for those who know a few King Diamond songs or own just an album or two as it's not always easy to find more records in stores these days and want to discover the band's entire impressive discography. Old school fans should also appreciate this release a little bit because of the nice artwork, the interesting liner notes and the unusual choices for such a compilation that focuses on the overall atmosphere instead of potential sales numbers. I have been listening to this compilation on a regular basis for almost two months now and I can't get enough of it. Thanks to this release, I consider myself a fan of the band now and am looking forward to purchase the original records and to see the band in concert in the future. Yes, a release like Dreams of Horror should definitely still exist in 2014.

"Live at Feuertanz 2013" is a nice live record of Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie that came for free with an edition of the great German metal magazine "Legacy". This short release has a running time of more than forty-five minutes and consists of nine songs, covering both the early years and more recent material from the band.

On the negative side, let's mention that this release doesn't cover the entire concert and that the track list is not completely in order either which is rather weird as we're immediately thrown into the middle of a concert. While the overall production is raw and energizing, the guitar sound could have been a little bit thicker and tighter. For those who want to discover an entire live record, I can highly recommend the "Live @ Metalcamp 2008" release which also came as a bundle with the excellent "Slania" record.

On the positive side, the remaining track list is very well chosen and goes from the band's little known first steps with the folk driven "Divico" to more recent hits such as "Alesia" that would also make for a perfect contemporary Nightwish single. For those who haven't heard anything of Eluveitie yet, this release is a fair priced and fitting introduction. Apart of the charismatic and mostly balanced mixture of Scandinavian melodic death metal and diverse Celtic folk instruments, the band's strength is certainly the mixture of Chrigel Glanzmann's raw throaty growls and Anna Murphy's enchanting clean vocals. Over the past few studio records, Anna Murphy's influence on the band sound has constantly grown and pushed Eluveitie to a charismatic, catchy and more accessible level. Her instrumental and vocal live performance is down to earth and rooted in traditional folk chants which is unusual for the metal genre but her performance still has a very emotional undertone that captures the attention of the wildest extreme metal fans. Her performance during the concert is the true highlight on this enjoyable release. Another very good point is Chrigel Glanzmann's interaction with the crowd. He tells a couple of anecdotes, animates vivid sing-along parts and encourages the more and more enthusiastic fans to get involved into a giant circle pit. The live atmosphere on this record keeps on improving until the very end and is especially great during "Inis Mona" and "The Uprising". By listening to this album, you really get the impression to travel back in time and be there at the show in Germany.

In the end, you can't go wrong by purchasing this release. It's only the facts that this album doesn't feature an entire concert and that the sound mix is not always perfect that keep this live album from being excellent. Thanks to a great set list, a passionate performance by the two band leaders Chrigel Glanzmann and Anna Murphy and a steadily progressing authentic live atmosphere, this release is more than just a cheap extra and should get the attention of any serious Eluveitie fan or those interested in finally getting in touch with the band.