by Sebastian Kluth
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...
Japanese quintet Dir en Grey is a band that is extremely challenging to describe even though the group has been around for twenty-five years and counting as it is. This band combines genres that seem incompatible on paper. Elements of classical music...
Japanese kawaii metal sensation Babymetal has been going through massive changes since the release of its previous studio record Metal Galaxy. The band had to cancel numerous concerts due regional crises and the ongoing pandemic. The group released its...
Japanese progressive power metal icons Galneryus have recently been deciding to release more compact records that are situated somewhere between extended plays and full length efforts. While predecessor Union Gives Strength could be seen as the crowning...
Founded by Morten Veland upon leaving Tristania at the beginning of the millennium, Sirenia has now been around for twenty-two years and counting and has just released its eleventh studio album 1977. The album title doesn't exactly refer to the music...
Swedish heavy metal quartet Enforcer had released a quite controversial record with Zenith four years ago that flirted with commercially successful hard rock music of the eighties in the key of Def Leppard, Dokken and Scorpions while also employing occasional...
Axel Rudi Pell's The Ballads series have usually offered a decent combination of more recent studio tracks, a few intriguing new songs and inspired cover versions. However, said series has recently been running out of steam and its sixth entry is by far...
Batoru Rowaiaru / Battle Royale (2000) - An Essay to Disprove Exaggerated Popular Acclaim - 8/10 As a big fan of contemporary Eastern Asian cinema, this film was introduced to me as a classic and when it finally saw its North American uncut release, I...
Cyber Heist is a seriously misjudged, overlooked and underrated thriller that isn't only fascinating for people interested in economy and informatics but also for anyone craving interesting characters and tense plots that entertain from start to finish....
There is no doubt that American quartet Blood Star is a shining new star on the New Wave of Heavy Metal horizon. The band has been around for seven years already and has built a solid underground reputation with the release of two of their own songs and...
Alien: Isolation is a survival horror game released all the way back in 2014 that has stood the test of time and stands as the greatest release of its video game franchise and one of the very best genre games ever in general. It's available on multiple...
The 69 Eyes were one of the first gothic rock bands I discovered as a teenager along with other Scandinavian groups such as HIM and The Rasmus. The band's most famous song ''Lost Boys'', a tribute to the quirky horror movie with the same title from the...
Japanese heavy metal veterans Anthem have been trying out a few questionable experiments in recent years such as newly recorded versions of some cuts from the middle years on Nucleus and a collaboration with vocalist Graham Bonnet and keyboarder Takahama...
Since there isn't much information to be found about Lady Yakuza on the internet, a review seems to be mandatory. First and foremost, this isn't one single movie but actually a film consisting of two parts of about one hour and forty minutes each. This...
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...
Japanese quintet Dir en Grey is a band that is extremely challenging to describe even though the group has been around for twenty-five years and counting as it is. This band combines genres that seem incompatible on paper. Elements of classical music...
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...
How come someone like I who has been defending melodic death metal veterans In Flames time and again in the past hasn't come around to reviewing the band's fourteenth studio album yet? The answer is quite simple: this album has left me bored, cold and...
Since the release of its second studio record, Swedish occult rock phenomenon Ghost has made it a tradition to release extended plays featuring two to five new tracks between full length efforts. Phantomime is no exception and honours covers of punk rock,...
The 69 Eyes were one of the first gothic rock bands I discovered as a teenager along with other Scandinavian groups such as HIM and The Rasmus. The band's most famous song ''Lost Boys'', a tribute to the quirky horror movie with the same title from the...
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable - Chapter 1 is a Japanese action fantasy movie based upon the famous manga series that was massively promoted upon release. Despite being labeled as the first chapter, there has't been any live action sequel...
Sisu is a Finnish historical fiction action film inspired by the works of Nicolas Winding Refn and Quentin Tarantino. This movie features a quiet, isolated and gritty protagonist facing dangerous challenges as in the movie Valhalla Rising and the movie...
Almost four years after its first entry Reader of the Runes - Divination, Italian power folk metal sextet Elvenking is back with the second entry in the series that is entitled Reader of the Runes - Rapture. The quality of the band's eleventh full length...
Japanese kawaii metal sensation Babymetal has been going through massive changes since the release of its previous studio record Metal Galaxy. The band had to cancel numerous concerts due regional crises and the ongoing pandemic. The group released its...
Helloween's tenth studio album The Dark Ride stands out as the group's most sinister output that flirts with contemporary trends such as industrial metal, gothic rock and symphonic power metal. This release can also be seen as the crowning achievement...
