by Sebastian Kluth
Most bands who have taken the decision to record beloved early records again have failed miserably. The worst cases in the metal scene might be the infamous re-recordings by heavy metal veterans Manowar. Harakiri for the Sky is one of the few bands that...
Mottomo kiken na yuugi, internationally known as The Most Dangerous Game, is the first film in a trilogy about hitman Narumi Shouhei. This character is a rough anti-hero who is addicted to gambling, has debts of several million yen, is constantly drinking...
Orphaned Land is a completely unique quintet from Israel that has been promoting understanding, peace and diplomacy for decades by now. The group offers a most fascinating mixture of epic heavy metal soundscapes, atmospheric doom metal passages and even...
I have never been a fan of Marvel's cinematic universe since the vast majority of its films are boring, predictable and shallow. If you wonder why I even bothered watching Madame Web, then I would like to let you know that I had to attend this film because...
Wo Te Po Po Tsen Me Pa Chuan Chuan Kao Tiu Le, internationally known under the stupid title U Motherbaker - The Movie, is a Taiwanese comedy movie based upon the popular television series of the same title. The movie revolves around middle-aged mother...
Gotsu Totsu Kotsu is Japan's most commercially successful and critically acclaimed death metal band. Back from the Underworld is the trio's sixth full length effort after five years of silence. This album comes around with ten songs and a total running...
This is the second instalment in Therion's Leviathan trilogy consisting of thirty-three songs released in three consecutive years in total. In retrospective, it was certainly a logical idea to release a whopping one hundred fifty minutes of new music...
Shiki Soku Ze Ku roughly translates to All Is Futile and relates to the fundamentalist Buddhist doctrine that all things in this world having a connection or reason has no intrinsic essence. It's also the title for the twenty-third studio record by Japanese...
Flor de Loto is a progressive folk rock sextet from Peru that has been around for twenty-five years and that has already released nine full length efforts. The band has taken five years between Lines of Nasca and its predecessor but released two live...
A very good friend of mine, who is particularly intrigued by experimental bands walking off the beaten path, has recently been introducing me to Edmontonian quartet The Spruce Moose and its second record Pyramid Scheme. The first element that fascinated...
Amorphis has been my favourite band for more than a decade by now but even the most faithful fans must question the purpose of a release such as Queen of Time - Live at Tavastia 2021. The Finnish metal band had only just released the excellent live record...
Earthshaker is a Japanese heavy metal band that has been around for an incredible forty-five years and that has now released its twenty-fourth studio record in forty years. The five members are all in their sixties now and while the youthful grit might...
I'm not familiar with the Dungeons & Dragons franchise at all but I was feeling like watching an action-packed fantasy spectacle at the local cinema of my favourite shopping mall where relatively recent movies are shown for a fair price of six bucks....
Da Zui Xia, internationally known as Come Drink with Me, is one of the very first wu xia movies coming out of Hong Kong that has paved the way for many more films of the same genre to be released ever since. This genre combines historic settings, plots...
Over My Dead Body, originally known as Seisi Seisi Seisapsei, is a pitch-black satire from Hongkong criticizing the explosion of property prices and its consequences on middle-class citizens. The movie follows a group of residents of an apartment complex...
A massive nine years after its last regular full length output The Perfect Cult, Swedish quintet Deathstars is finally back with fifth studio record Everything Destroys You. This highly entertaining record offers ten new songs with a compact total running...
Bao Ni Ping An, internationally known as Post Truth, is a quirky comedy drama that walks off the beaten path and deserves more attention. This Chinese production criticizes the use of social media by millennials and how people easily believe the most...
Ren Chao Xiong Yong, internationally known as End Game, is the remake of Japanese movie Key of Life that had already been remade as Luck-Key in South Korea. This means that this film is already the third version of the same story. Let's hope that Hollywood...
Orphan is an emotional, gripping and tense psychological thriller that has aged very well and has ultimately even got a prequel thirteen years later. The film revolves around a little family consisting of mother Kate who has just lost her stillborn baby...
Progressive thrash metal pioneers Voivod have often walked off the beaten path to surprise their fans from all around the world with unconventional ideas. Even four decades into its career, Voivod still manages to take us by surprise with the release...
Avantasia's A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society continues the project's streak of imaginative hard rock, heavy metal and power metal music with an inspiring lyrical concept and a selection of interesting guest musicians and singers. However,...
...and Beyond - Live in Japan, 2017 is another entry in Dream Theater's excellent Lost Not Forgotten Archives and a sequel to the series' first release Images and Words - Live in Japan 2017 that was released one year earlier. This effort here captures...
Return of Daimajin is the second film in the trilogy about the great demon god that combines elements of period dramas and giant monster movies. In this shortest movie of the series, an evil lord menaces, destroys and conquers two neighbouring villages...
Wrath of Daimajin is the third, final and best entry in the Japanese franchise about the ancient demon god who protects his disciples from cruel injustices. In this movie, a group of lumbermen have been kidnapped by the henchmen of an evil lord who is...
The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch is essentially a gothic fairy tale that should appeal to older children, teenagers and young adults who like gloomy, imaginative and surreal stories that walk off the beaten path. The story revolves around joyful...
