by Sebastian Kluth
This first instrumental single from Uganda's hard or power metal band "Threatening" sounds quite promising. Two Ugandans and one American immigrant that lives in Uganda for twelve years have been doing music together since 1998 under the name of "Perfect...
Normally, I have always know Stratovarius as a band that plays charming, but mostly average European power metal, sometimes a little bit better stuff like "Twilight time", sometimes mediocre stuff like "Destiny" and sometimes even bad stuff like "Polaris"....
After the very weak and annoying "Polaris" I expected the worst and wasn't sure if the band would be able to carry on writing amazing albums without the mastermind Timo Tolkki. Obviously, they can as this new album beats the previous disaster piece by...
This album is probably one of the most popular European power metal albums of the last decade and offers a wide range from commercial hit singles to epic symphonic structures that show the diversity and talent of the group and are highly entertaining....
Two years after the brilliant first part of the trilogy, I was really looking forward and expecting very much from this second part. My question was if the band would be able to keep up the high level and create the epic atmosphere of their last opus...
After a great little EP, the band finally released the third and last part of their Viking trilogy one month later. This album is a rebirth of the style of the band's first opus magnum and is by far better than the previous second part but not as good...
This album has become a legend of the entire metal scene and notoriously influenced the later European power metal scene. Even though this record is not Helloween's best and most surprising record, it is a really enjoyable straight forward album with...
In my attempt to spread the word about metal bands from truly exotic countries, I got in touch with this release and did immediately a little research on the band that has released two singles so far and might release the following full length album "Pain"...
Three years after the mediocre but very popular "Saengerkrieg" album, In Extremo continues in the vein of the last record and presents with "Zigeunerskat" the first single from the album along side with the short and sweet bonus track "Wahre Freunde"...
This is a quite diversified live album by Blaze and his young band that may give you a really solid overall look at what the ex-singer of the metal legend Iron Maiden has done in the years before this record. The album offers one track from his old band...
I saw this band on their last Canada tour and thought that they had given a charming and entertaining show even if the band doesn't offer something new to the emerging genre of female fronted symphonic metal bands with power metal influences. They deliver...
I honestly considered buying this album as I thought that the concept sounded interesting and as I really liked the first single and intense ballad "If I were king". It was a true shock to me to see so many negative reviews on that side then, so I decided...
This band from Kuwait plays progressive death metal and has some some epic gothic influences that distinguish them from the rest of the genre. They have the famous “certain something” that many others don’t own. While the growls are omnipresent, they...
I never really liked the death metal genre but as strange things seem to happen, I accidentally heard the single "The mirror's truth" and was blown away by the song's energy and sharp riffs, its harmonic guitar solo parts in the key of Iron Maiden and...
I always thought that the pointless and fluffy "Polaris" filled with boring ballads and ordinary high speed power metal fillers was the worst offering of this interesting but quite inconsistent band but the "Elements" albums were one of the rare albums...
"Blood for blood" is by many considered as the last album of the classic era of the band and for many the last of a series of amazing albums. I can't really agree on that as there have been many strong records after this album and also some weak record...
With this record, something really special happened because Aria finally found its very own style. With the last great record "Night shorter than day" they had already drifted away from the influences of bands such as Scorpions, Metallica or Judas Priest...
While the first part of this double album release felt too much like a compilation record without soul, this second part is much more fluid and coherent. There are less guest singers but more quality on "Angel of Babylon". It still is far from beating...
This album is one of the most underrated albums in the discography of Stratovarius as it came only out about three years after the debut album, had no significant album title at the time and is until now almost completely ignored during the live shows...
It doesn't happen quite often that I agree with the popular opinion about an album on this side but as it is for "Stratovarius", I must agree with most of the critics in here. When I first heard the album, my impression was: What the hell was that? I...
After a very strong first part of the legendary "Keeper of the seven keys" trilogy, this second part even improves in the first one. There are about fifteen minutes more content than on the first disc, the album is more diversified and the quality of...
This exotic melodic power heavy and sometimes death metal band from Qatar convinces at first try with some amazing guitar solos like in the fast and musically well elaborated "Thee ivy and thy tree" where even the drums are quite tight and diversified....
When I first listened to this album after the courageous, diversified and simply brilliant "Dreamspace", I felt highly disappointed about this record. Instead of Tolkki, an ordinary power metal singer with a clear and high pitched voice performed here....
This demo from a rather exotic Viking Metal band from Uruguay reminds of a mixture of Cruachan and Moonspell. The production quality is harsh but gives a rude charm that fits to the topic and this is something I am often missing concerning too polished...
Primal Fear had never really been able to convince me and to attract me more than any other European power metal band. I always thought that they sounded too much like Judas Priest and had not a quite unique style. Well, when I tried out their album New...
