DrakariuM is a power metal band from Jonquière, Québec that was formed back in 2004 by several students who originally planned to play a mixture of hardcore and black metal but quickly switched to the European power metal genre inspired by bands such as HammerFall, Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius. The band played only a couple of concerts and I remember a particularly nice one where the band played with local acts One Crimson Night and Kastlegar in the middle of winter back in early 2007. Back in the days, I was surprised that the band's compositions were mainly instrumental and that the most outstanding instruments were the keyboards and the drums. The band played mainly cover songs back then but also a few own tunes that sounded rather promising to me. A couple of years later, the band went on hiatus and there were no news for over six years. It came as a big surprise to me when the band came back to life a few months ago and even announced that they had secretely been recording some old and some new material over the past months. The result is the band's first official release in form of a self-titled EP with a running time of twenty-five minutes. The unique sound that I discovered more than eight years ago is still there in the five compositions inspired by the Japanese five elements philosophy and the two short yet dreamy and appeasing keyboard instrumentals.

In general, the band has a weakness for catchy melodies carried by melodic guitar leads, fast and dominating keyboard sounds and a very solid rhythm section with a particularly variable drum play. Despite the short length of this output and a very focused song writing, the band has also a sense for epic song structures and a few minimal progressive influences in the technically skilled guitar and keyboard solos. I you like a soft, melodic and epic take on European Power Metal that conquered the world around two decades ago, this charming little gem is made for you. The group reminds me a little bit of the Finnish flower metal band Epiclore, the melodic German power metal band Saidian and the Spanish heavy metal legends Tierra Santa. A particular bonus point for this group is the fact that their fantasy-inspired texts about emotions, freedom and nature are performed in French even if some of the lyrics are somewhat hard to understand due to the singer's unusual pronounciation. The catchy and melodic French vocals even recall pop singers like Jean-Jacques Goldman and Florent Pagny which isn't a bad thing in my book. Metal purists might claim that this approach is too commercial, fluffy and predictable but I think it gives the band an outstanding sound that distinguishes DrakariuM from similar acts.

In the end, this debut EP might not be the most original genre release and comes at least a decade too late to have a significant impact on the North American power metal scene but it's better to release a debut record late than never and I'm pleasently surprised to be able to rediscover a band and a genre that introduced me to metal music almost a decade ago. DrakariuM's nostalgic European power metal revival output convinces with powerful drum sections, beautiful guitar melodies, enchanting keyboard passages, harmonious French lyrics and really catchy vocal lines. Support this forgotten underground band and party like one or two decades ago again.

Final rating: 8/10

Please support the band and check out the following links:

Bandcamp: http://drakarium.bandcamp.com/album/drakarium-2

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

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-SjznLOQnFIIDdnC8jrqrQ/videos

British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden are back with a colossal new release covering two discs and a whopping running time of ninety-two minutes. Those who were afraid that this epic release might be even more progressive, lengthy and harder to digest than the cacophonic ‘‘The Final Frontier‘‘ five years earlier, can relax and breathe again. Despite many overlong tracks, the eleven diverting new songs sound more structured than the material on the last studio album. The six artists go back to the classical heavy metal sound with some minor progressive guitar sounds as on ‘‘Powerslave’’ and ‘’Somewhere in Time’’. The record also has a few darker tones that remind of ‘‘The X-Factor‘‘ and especially ‘‘A Matter of Life and Death‘‘. The record this new output is best compared to is though the underrated ‘‘Dance of Death‘‘ because of this release’s enormous diversity.

Bruce Dickinson’s vocals sound even higher and more skilled but also more joyous and natural than on ''Dance of Death''. The bass sound on this album is a little bit less dominant than usual but still perfectly audible and the album even includes a short bass solo in the beginning of the classical epic ‘’The Red and the Black’’. The twin guitar leads are as melodic as always and the record includes a few solid but maybe slightly too experienced solo parts. Adrian Smith adds some progressive guitar sounds in the dynamic ‘’When the River Runs Deep’’, Janick Gers has a weakness for almost folk-influenced guitar leads as in the rather average title song ‘’The Book of Souls’’ and Dave Murray is the man for calm and psychedelic retro guitar leads as in the appeasing ‘’The Man of Sorrows’’ that needs numerous spins to grow on the listener. Nicko McBrain’s drum patterns and fills sound a little bit too experienced as his performance is probably the least spectacular on this album. His fills in ‘’Speed of Light’’ sound exactly the same as in ‘’El Dorado’’, ‘‘Different World‘‘ and ‘‘Wildest Dreams‘‘ before and he could have tried out a few new things here and there.

The production is quite straight and transmits a dynamic live in studio atmosphere. This record can’t mess with the crystal clear and powerful sound of ‘‘Powerslave‘‘ and the likes but along with the rejuvenated and straight unmastered sound of ‘‘A Matter of Life and Death‘‘, this record might have the best production since ‘‘Fear of the Dark‘‘. The simplistic yet effective album cover also shows a more grounded approach where the band goes back to basics.

The best new tracks are written by singer Bruce Dickinson. ‘‘If Eternity Should Fail‘‘ is the best opener in at least two decades and comes around with a creepy and psychedelic atmosphere in the introduction and the epilogue while the centerpiece of this track is powerful, diversified and yet catchy with an incredible vocal performance. ‘‘Empire of the Clouds‘‘ is one of the band’s very best album closers and feels like a cinematic experience for all your senses. Bruce Dickinson is a gripping storyteller who introduces us to a topic he really cares about and the way he narrates, sings and whispers this track is authentic, diverting and intense. As if this wasn’t enough, the song constantly shifts and changes hand in hand with the dramatic story without losing momentum or a clear guiding line. Bruce Dickinson’s piano performance might not be spectacular but it fits and adds a credible dose of atmosphere to the tune along with some chilling orchestral passages. There is no doubt that both songs by Bruce Dickinson are among the very best tracks in the band’s stunning career. These two tracks should become instant band classics.

Those who like it less ambitious but more focused, should try out the powerful and raw single ‘’Speed of Light'' that works very well in the album context, the catchy and more enthusiastic ‘’When the River Runs Deep’’ that would make a great second single, the simple yet efficient ''Death or Glory‘‘ that opens the second disk or the charming and melodic ‘‘Shadows of the Valley‘‘ that includes some memorable ‘‘Somewhere in Time‘‘ reminiscences. These songs might not be the most original ones in the band’s impressive career but they stand for the band’s rekindled lust for music. You can feel and hear how much the band must have enjoyed creating these new songs together before the shocking news that Bruce Dickinson had a cancer that surfaced right after the recording process. I'm convinced that all these tracks have the potential to become immediate live anthems.

If you took a look at the band’s past few records, you would realize that Bruce Dickinson, Janick Gers and Adrian Smith have added the most interesting new songs to the band’s extensive repertory while Steve Harris and Dave Murray kept repeating themselves. That’s also the case on this release. Dave Murray’s calm ‘‘The Man of Sorrows‘‘ sounds like the timid little brother of ‘‘The Man Who Would Be King‘‘ and needs a lot of patience to grow. Steve Harris is clearly running out of ideas on ‘‘The Red and the Black‘‘ which is clearly too long and repetitive to work efficiently. Iron Maiden's mastermind also copies several of his very own songs like ‘‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner‘‘, ‘‘Heaven Can Wait‘‘ and ‘‘Blood on the World’s Hands‘‘ in this track. Even though they are not plain horrible, Harris‘ and Murray’s songs are clearly the weakest on an otherwise surprisingly diverting, organic and passionate double-album.

In the end, Iron Maiden’s new release proves that this band is still alive and kicking. ‘‘The Book of Souls‘‘ mixes the band’s greatest inspirations from the past with a few new elements brought in by a very creative Bruce Dickinson. Even though the album might have been one or two tracks shorter, this release is a highly diverting trip for any heavy metal fan. Most bands that have been around for four decades fail to equal their successes from the past and deliver lukewarm new material as a pretext for new touring opportunities. Iron Maiden though delivers a very good new release that might not beat their very best efforts but which is far above their most disappointing outputs. This new record is in the upper high-quality middle section of the band’s studio outputs and while this position might only be of a good average quality for a band like Iron Maiden, there is no doubt that this fiercely glowing genre highlight easily beats any similar release of the past decade. Up the Irons!

Final rating: Highly recommendable (8/10)

Mono für Alle! is a very particular German underground trio that mixes distorted electronica, experimental extreme metal, powerful hardcore punk, nostalgic psychedelic rock and naive Schlager music. In addition to this, keyboarder and singer Mono, bassist Yenzzo and drummer Kick from the bourgeois smalltown of Gießen deliver disturbingly provocative lyrics that deal with offensive contradictions in our contemporary society. Their songs portray the nefarious influences of capitalist global players on the environment, ruthless security services on privacy and far right and left extremists on our society. In addition to this, the band refuses to make money with their music and offers most of their releases as free downloads, avoids every kind of social media presence and plays only small underground festivals as well as weird locations from endagered nature reserves over isolated hippie beaches to filthy youth centers. The band has already performed in exotic places from Cuba over Spain to the United Kingdom as well. The band's unique image is the reason for a small but faithful cult following that hasn't decreased despite the fact that the trio hasn't released any physical record since the controversial single ''11. September'' ten years ago.

Now, the trio is back with a live release recorded at several concerts during last year's ''Do it Yourself'' tour across Germany and its neighboring countries after a break of several years that the band had spent on a remote Greek island. If you experience one of the band's rare live appearances, you will realize that their live versions sound much faster, heavier and more improvised than the studio takes. In general, the band likes to work with both lyrical and musical extremes. On one side, you get an almost relaxed ballad with harmonious harmonica sounds and an echoing rhythm section as in ''Hallo Verfassungschutz'' where the vocals starts in a naive way before they get more menacing and finally quite hysterical as well as the almost ridicolously catchy pop song ''Honecker komm zurück'' which is driven by simplistic organ sounds and a childish chorus that invites to sway from side to side. Between both extremes, you have tunes like the dragging and depressive bass-driven ''Arbeitsagentur'' or the short ''Facebook Youtube Google'' that mixes laid-back melodic verses carried by joyous organ sounds with uneasy and nearly hysterical choruses. On the other side, you get some more extreme and experimental cuts such as the chaotic and sped-up electro-punk version of ''Steineschmeißer'' that almost sounded like a sixties' pop song in its initial version or the brutal and fast delivery of ''Gentrification'' that barely recalls the danceable electro-pop song that was the original studio version.

In about thirty-eight minutes, you get everything this anticonformist, non categorizable and rebellious beatnik trio stands for. The band offers revamped versions of old classics such as the psychedelic krautrock track ''Boykottiert McDonald's'' where the radically factual message is completely opposed to the jam-like music but also some new stuff such as the mellower ''Ekelhafter Antisemit'' that though comes around with some filthy social criticism. This album is just as great as the mostly improvised and psychedelic ''San Pedro Konzert'' live release twelve years earlier which has gained a cult status among fans and has become a rare collector's item. 

Mono für Alle! is a band that polarizes like almost no other. You will either madly adore this mixture of focused lyrics and chaotic music put into insane song structures or heavily despise the fusion of offensive texts and nerve-firing noise experiments. There really is nothing in between these two opinions from a subjective point of view. No matter which side you choose, one thing is certain: ''#D.I.Y. - Live'' is a most unique experiment for your mind and your ears. That's why I urge you to check this release out no matter what. Hurry up if you want to get your hands on this outstanding release since the cassette, CD and vinyl versions are strictly limited and already rather hard to find. If you want to go a safer way, you can purchase this coeval live monument on iTunes.

Final verdict: 10/10

Please support the band and check out the following links:

Homepage: http://www.monofueralle.info/

iTunes (North America): https://itunes.apple.com/zw/album/d.i.y.-live/id1013503388

Merchandise (Germany/Europe): http://www.fantotal.de/en/mono-fuer-alle/cd-mono-fuer-alle-d-i-y-tour.html

Megaherz has once been one of the most influential Neue Deutsche Härte bands but several line-up changes and a couple of mediocre releases have decreased the impact of these genre veterans. Especially the departures of guitarist and keyboarder Jochen "Noel Pix" Seibert and original singer Alexx Wesselsky have been bitter pills to swallow since they went on to form the more popular genre band Eisbrecher. Even bands of the last genre wave like Stahlmann had been more relevant than Megaherz in recent years. After a long drought, things might look a little bit brighter for them. The band signed with the renowned Napalm Records label and has been the supporting act of the successful genre band Unheilig.

The band's musical direction has also changed in order to catch up with their genre colleagues. The band's latest effort "Zombieland" features a high amount of half-ballads and ballads led by melancholic piano parts and expressive vocals reminding me of a mixture of Böhse Onkelz, Oomph! and Unheilig. The lyrics have also become more introspective, philosophical and sentimental. The hypnotizingly rising "Wir könnten Gotter sein", the slow and nostalgic anthem "Für immer" and the electronically driven "Roter Mond" are good examples for the band's surprising new direction. 

To underline their new sound, the group even re-recorded three of their own classics in this new style. "Hurra - wir leben noch" from the Himmelfahrt album sounds much mellower than the original and has more dominant electronic elements. "Augenblick" from the 5 release comes around as a piano ballad instead of the floating and electronically driven experimental original tune. "Herz aus Stein" from the Kopfschuss release includes more piano parts and vocal effects than the more gripping original which included pumping alternative metal and atmospheric grunge elements. It's a matter of personal taste whether you prefer the heavier originals or the stripped-down remakes but these three tracks are a statement that the band wants to reinvent itself.

This release still includes a few more traditional Megaherz tracks like the sinister "Schwarzer Engel" or the typical genre stomper and opener "Zombieland". These old-fashioned tunes feel exchangeable, predictable and out of context if compared to the numerous ballads. They only seem to be there to appease the traditional fan base and in order to have a smoother transition between the old and the current style of the band.

In the end, this album comes as a quite courageous change of style and while this release might be commercially more successful than their previous efforts, I somehow doubt that their original fan base accepts, enjoys and supports this new sound. Megaherz are bound to lose some faithful fans but they might also win a few new ones. The group seems to desire to desperately follow the success of their genre colleagues Unheilig that have become a national phenomenon five years ago. To my surprise, Megaherz' change of style doesn't feel dishonest since the new ballads are performed with enough passion to convince. This new style still feels rather unusual but maybe it's only a turningt point and therefor the beginning of greater things to come. To conclude, the calmer approach is a courageous and interesting change for the band while the few more traditional tracks can't convince anymore. While the new concept is intriguing, it feels like the band is too inspired by the path Unheilig have taken. Only time will tell if this is a step in the right direction for the band to arise anew in their genre with a big bang.

Final verdict: 7/10

Please support the band and check out the following links:

Facebook: http://de-de.facebook.com/OfficialMegaherz

Homepage: http://www.megaherz.de/

Label / Shop: http://shop.napalmrecords.com/megaherz-zombieland-cd.html

Lindemann is a collaboration between Till Lindemann, the singer and songwriter of legendary German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein and Peter Tägtgren of Swedish industrial metal band PAIN. Their first output "Skills in Pills" sounds exactly like a fusion of these bands and convinces with powerful riffs, danceable electronica and provocative lyrics delivered in catchy choruses. The controversial first single "Praise Abort" is a perfect example for the sound of this band. Cold riffs meet addicting electronica and vivid drums while the expressive vocals are performed with a mixture of disgust, drama and irony. The song talks about an irresponsible family father who has six kids but no empathy, motivation and wealth to take care of them and who looks on his shattered life as his egoistic mistakes from the past are haunting him. While simplistic minds will only focus on the disturbing video clip, the sexually explicit lyrics and the unforgettable chorus, smarter auditions will come to realize that this song actually criticizes patchwork familles, self-consumed perverts and thoughtless rakes. In addition to this, the track mocks religious extasy and fanatic preachers and their ''Praise the Lord!'' mantras and replaces this by the amusing yet offending exclamation ''Praise Abort!''.

Obviously, other tracks focus on our perverted society with a lot of black humor and explicit descriptions without including a deeper social criticism like the hysterical "Golden Shower", the heavy stomper "Fat" or the almost childishly joyous "Ladyboy". Apart from these explicit contents, the band also mocks certain stereotypes and smashes the image of a tough, masculine and admirable hero in "Cowboy" or criticizes the cheap and massive use of senseless medication promoted by tthe greedy pharmaceutical industry which causes further addictions instead of solving any problems.

While all these trademark lyrics are really interesting, it's also a relief to hear some tracks that don't include any raunchy humor or bitter social criticism. A prime example for these more dissociated lyrics is the epic gold rush anthem "Yukon" which is the most powerful song on the entire record in my humble opinion. The song includes majestic orchestral arrangements, a most diversified and emotional vocal performance and an epic chorus that won't leave anybody untouched. Another gem of this kind is the bonus track and ballad "That's My Heart" that closes a mostly wird record on a thoughtful, intellectuel and calm note.

In the end, fans of Rammstein and similar acts might have found their album of the year with this diversified, energizing and provocative record that is pretty much on the same high quality level as Emigrate's "Silent So Long". Now, if you are a divorced family father with perverted thoughts that wants to escape his sad everyday life and who is desperately taking pills to keep his former performances intact, this might even be the album of your life because it tells you all the bitter fact of your shameful life that you aren't brave enough to admit.

Final verdict: 8,5/10

Please support the band and check out the following links:

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

Homepage: http://www.skillsinpills.com/main.html

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbQporZxQlCjFDcxrWUX7BA/