''Spectre'' is an entirely entertaining above average action- thriller but only an average part of the famous James Bond franchise that I know by heart. While I enjoyed watching this movie at the cinema, I still felt somewhat disappointed and won't revisit this film anytime soon.

The main problem of the movie is that it tries to arrange an odd mixture of the more recent films characterized by a more fragile main character, more personal plots and a sinister atmosphere on one side and the reintroduction of antiquated gadgets, classic characters from the seventies and the waffling of the usual trademark sentences on the other side. Instead of being an intriguing mixture of both styles, ''Spectre'' feels directionless, odd and surprisingly predictable.

This has to do with an extremely weak story line. While the first hour of the movie is promising and builds up a mysterious tension around the main villain, the last ninety minutes fall flat from any point of view. The movie rehashes all the old stereotypes that aren't credible anymore in a contemporary setting. The love story between James Bond and Madeleine Swann isn't credible and feels forced. The main villain makes the most stupid mistakes such as torturing his victim instead of killing it at several moments. Even exploding watches and flame-spitting cars are back and add some unintentional slapstick humour to a film that starts in a serious manner. The problems don't stop there. Many parts of the movie are directly copied from several previous films of the franchise. The fighting scene on the train is a cheap copy of ''From Russia with Love'' for example. The character of Mr. Hinx is a cheap copy of Jaws from ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker''. These elements lack so much originality that they can't just be excused as simple tributes to the past.

The acting of the movie is also rather underwhelming. It's Daniel Craig's least emotional performance of James Bond as he feels somewhat shallow and like a hollow shell of his former self. I was severely disappointed by the underused talent of the outstanding Christoph Waltz who is one of the best contemporary actors around the world but limited to a predictable character and a very short screen time. Monica Belluci's role is even completely unnecessary since she only has about five minutes of screen time, ten lines of dialogue and her role seems just to be a weak pretext for showing off some skin.

Obviously, there are still several positive elements. Léa Seydoux is a confident, smart and tough incarnation of a Bond girl that contrasts the more traditional characters in the movie. Ralph Fiennes as M is convincing as a cold, loyal and serious boss. The geeky reinterpretation of Q portrayed by Ben Whishaw reaches a new high quality peak as well.

The action sequences of the movie might not be original but they are definitely stunning. The chase scene in Austria is bombastic, breathtaking and well-edited. The costumes and settings of the movie are diversified but always appropriate. The soundtrack is on the same elegant level as the previous ''Skyfall''. 

Some elements of the plot are truly promising, especially in the first hour of the movie. The longer the movie gets, the more ridiculous the story becomes and especially the closing scene is really weak in my opinion.

In the end, ''Spectre'' is a slightly below average James Bond movie. Die-hard fans of the franchise should go to the cinema while anyone else can simply wait for a release on DVD/Blu-ray. You will probably be entertained while you're watching this movie but in the long run, it's a rather exchangeable film that you will soon forget. 

''Crimson Peak'' is an entertaining and enjoyable Gothic movie with elements of supernatural horror, period crime and tragic romantic genres. The greatest parts of the movie are the settings and costumes. Some of it may not always be historically accurate but these elements sure add to the enchantingly creepy atmosphere of the film. They make both the growing metropolises in the North-Eastern part of the United States of America and the wild, rural and lonely landscapes of the United Kingdom and their respective societies come to life in an impressive way. The greatest element is the dilapidated mansion that almost feels like an additional character to the story due to its vast and rotten spaces, pale vestiges of old aristocracy and complex mysteries hidden in the numerous rooms and walls.

The story itself is rather predictable but nicely narrated. The generic plot still works thanks to a solid acting performance by the feminist yet fragile character portrayed by Mia Wasikowska, the elegant yet sinister character played by Tom Hiddleston and the cold and evil character incarnated by Jessica Chastain. The relationship between the three is very ambiguous, engaging and tense.

Even though this might neither be the movie of the year nor one of director Guillermo del Toro's best works, ''Crimson Peak'' is a spine-chilling Gothic movie that convinces with atmospheric settings and solid acting. If you're looking for a more classic, elegant and intellectual horror movie around Halloween this year, ''Crimson Peak'' should be your first choice.

lynch. is a Japanese visual kei band that basically mixes influences from diverse genres such as pop music, new wave, punk rock, glam metal and hard- and metalcore into one courageous and diversified yet focused potpourri garnished with emotionally driven lyrics, eccentric costumes and visually stunning concerts. Since the band is from the Chubu region, they are a part of the so-called Nagoya kei metal subgenre. To keep it simple, the band is one of those experimental groups that emerged a little bit more than a decade ago and got some major attention at home and some minor attention abroad.

The first wave of visual kei bands had been pioneered by bands such as X Japan, Kamaitachi, D'erlanger, Color and Buck-Tick from the early to the late eighties. A second wave had gathered some minor international success in the nineties with bands such as Penicillin, Malice Mizer, Luna See, Kuroyume and Glay but the genre had a notable decline in the late nineties. Bands such as The Gazette, Moi dix Mois, Dir en Grey, D'espairs Ray and Alice Nine were part of the third and so far last wave in the beginning of the new millennium. Over the past few years, the genre had its share of troubles again but a combination of young idol bands such as Babymetal and Fruitpochette as well as the return of some veterans such as X Japan and Luna Sea, a couple of solo projects from renowned singers such as Kamijo and EMIRU and a few female groups such as Exist Trace and Cyntia have successfully rejuvenated and partially reinvented a dying genre.

lynch. have always just been side characters of this genre. The band has never been as bombastic as X Japan, as extreme as Dir en Grey or as diversified as Babymetal. The band has only been known to faithful genre fans but this could finally be their shining moment. The last few record of MUCC has been rather disappointing, bands such as D'espairsRay have split up by now and younger outfits such as Babymetal have distanced themselves from the visual kei genre and found their own niche in form of the controversial kawaii metal genre.

''D.A.R.K. -In the name of evil-'' has already reached the band's highest chart position in history and is a really entertaining output. The thirteen new tracks are diversified, short and to the point. The opening title track combines gloomy piano sounds, creepy keyboard effects and low male vocals with almost danceable slow rhythms, melodic pop vocals and a catchy chorus. A few faster passages, slow and somewhat brutal metalcore riffs and guttural grunts and screams add even more diversity to the track. As confusing as this might sound to Western audiences, this eccentric mixture isn't anything unusual in Japan and the song sounds in fact surprisingly coherent, grounded and structured. This combination of styles has become a routine for bands like these over the past years and even such a solid tune sounds almost too predictable and lacks honest passion and ferocious innovation. Despite this high degree of diversity, several tunes on the album sound rather alike. They are not necessarily bad but lack originality after a while.

Thankfully, lynch. adds more and more atmosphere, depth and structure to this kind of music as the album progresses. ''Ghost'' is a first true highlight since it seems to be influenced by rhythm-orientated big band and jazz rhythms in the calmer parts that emerge into a seducing, danceable and charming chorus. Even the sinister metalcore break fits to the gloomy style that isn't a far call from rockabilly and horror punk either. This exciting tune should have been the single of the album instead of the rawer, shorter and simpler ''Evoke'' which is only an average track. The second single is the melancholic ballad ''Eternity'' which comes as a welcome break and emotionally convincing individual tune.

The band also comes around with a few highly addicting experiemnts. ''Invader'' starts with a fast slap bass solo followed by ferocious drum play and hoarse hardcore vocals before a quite vivid, melodic and catchy chorus comes around. The track is fast, intense and unpredictable yet the funky bass solo, the charming chorus and the brutal vocals stay with the listener for a while. The song feels exciting and never repeats itself in one and a half highly efficient minutes. ''Beast'' hits a similar vein and opposes fast and furious metalcore elements to melancholic pop parts in a vivid tune driven by pitiless drums, pumping bass guitars and beefy riffs. ''Cosmos'' goes one step further in this mixture and includes a slow and efficient bridge with a heartbreaking guitar solo.

The melancholic guiding line of the record reaches its climax with the longest song ''Melancholic'', an indeed profound, longing and dreamy pop song with slightly depressive riffs, floating melodies and numbing vocals. The song has a very particular atmosphere that goes far beyond the usual diversified entertainment, eccentric image and overwhelming emotions. Album closer ''Moon'' keeps that melancholic atmosphere but is slightly faster and adds some really strong metalcore vocals. This kind of track wouldn't be unusual for modern In Flames and this mixture of numbing melodies and dark aggressivity suits the band very well.

The longer the album goes and the more one listens to it, the more the melancholic guideline somewhere between sinister metalcore and hopeful pop rock melodies turns out to make sense, to feel profound and to be a true highlight in the band's career. The band has crafted a very unique sound on the sophisticated ''D.A.R.K. -In the name of evil-'' that sounds different from the somewhat aimless offerings by similar genre bands such as Dir en Grey. So far, this is definitely a solid candidate for the best visual kei album of the year. Fans of modern Japanese music of all kinds should give this record a few open-minded spins.

Final rating: 8.5/10

Please support the band and check out the following links:

CD Japan: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/person/700098535

Official website: http://pc.lynch.jp/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH4a3Uy6viB3eLuOqQY7sHA/videos

Melted Space is a rather interesting all-star project around the rather unknown French keyboarder Pierre Le Pape. What started as an instrumental one-man band focused on ambient music back in 2007 became an ambitious symphonic metal project with a couple of interesting guest musicians from rather unknown French underground bands. With its third album, Melted Space now aims for a much larger audience. While this album can still be identified as symphonic metal, the record features diverse genre influences from power and heavy metal to death and black metal. The guest musicians have become more diversified and international as well. Just to give you a slight idea, this record features performances of Ayreon keyboarder Arjen A. Lucassen, Soilwork guitarist Sylvain Coudret and singers such as Attila Csihar from Norwegian black metal band Mayhem, Clémentine Delauney from Austrian symphonic power metal band Visions of Atlantis and Kobi Farhi from Israeli folk metal band Orphaned Land. The album also features a couple of rather unknown local French musicians like Lucie Blatrier, Virginie Goncalves, Adrian Martinot and Arno Strobl which means that this release isn't overloaded with famous names. It's also a welcome surprise to hear some vital signs from the outstanding Manuel Munoz from the defunct progressive gothic metal band The Old Dead Tree and David Vincent who recently left the American death metal veterans Morbid Angel. This ambitious line-up performs on eleven epic tracks with a running time slightly below fifty-six minutes.

What matters in the end is obviously always the music itself. Several all-star projects turn out being disappointing because they sound more like compilation records where the guests simply perform tracks they would usually create in their regular bands. Even the most prominent ambassadors of such projects like Avantasia and Ayreon recently published a few lukewarm records. Only the rather unknown Russian project Activator, which is sadly ignored by print media, left a very positive impression. Despite its high degree of diversity, Melted Space's ''The Great Lie'' is a true gem and highlight of its genre. The tracks are diversified but have a clear guiding line in form of a coherent story, decent symphonic elements and an elegantly atmospheric vibe. Most of the songs are slow or at mid-tempo speed and take their time to build up cinematic atmospheres, majestic melodies and passionate vocal performances. Every contributor has the occasion to rise and shine on this release without stealing anyone else's show. This album features no chaotic choirs, hectic vocal performances or overlong solo passages or duels between the different musicians. The whole release sounds refreshingly calm, grounded and structured.

It's nearly impossible to point out any tracks since they are all great. The simplistic opera and radio play inspired ''The One Who Lost the Faith'' is as amazing as the darker ''Trust & Betrayal'' that heads towards gripping extreme metal territories. The fragile, laid-back and slow ballad ''A God is Dead" is just as intense as the complex all-star epics ''No Need to Fear'' and ''Lost Souls from the Other Side'' that offer a true firework of emotions and request multiple spins to fully unfold. In each track, composer Pierre Le Pape comes around with a touching melody or a catchy chrous while the performers contribute with their hearts and souls in a very natural way by simply being themselves.

This outstanding record grows with each spin and one soon realizes that this is one of the very best albums ever released of its kind. There is no way fans of all-star projects and sophisticated symphonic metal can get around this record full of power and soul. Please give this project a chance. It might become one of your most interesting discoveries of the year.

Final rating: 9,5/10 (highlight)  

Here is a free streaming of the entire release for a limited time: http://www.heavylaw.com/news/118355/streaming-melted-space-opera-metal/ 

Please support the band and check out the following links:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/meltedspace 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeltedSpace

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UChv3-irgUgENdouJwuDGU7g