Obligatory clickbait-y intro: in case you’ve been living underneath a rock, there’s a new Iron Maiden album out. It’s called The Book of Souls, sports 92 minutes of new music and it’s the first they’ve put out in five long years. I know if it’s good or not, and I’m telling you after the cut.
Author Archives: Ralph Plug
Ghost – Meliora
Meliora is Latin for ‘the pursuit of something better’, although Swedish occult rockers Ghost would be hard pressed to top 2013’s Infestissumam. That album was a masterful blend of seventies rock, heavy metal and theatre, and sky-rocketed the band to international superstar status. Delivering a proper follow-up to that is a tall order for any new band, but Ghost manage to do so, and with relative ease to boot. But is Meliora actually something better? Let’s find out.
Roger Waters – Amused to Death (2015 reissue)
We should talk about Roger Waters’ Amused to Death for a bit. Well, perhaps we don’t actually have to, but I want to and it would seem the new reissue of his masterful 1992 record would be a good opportunity to do so. Here’s what I thought then, and here’s what I think now.
Mark Knopfler – Tracker
The voice and guitar of Dire Straits, the label on the record proudly states, and you have to wonder if Mark Knopfler will ever truly get out from under that gargantuan shadow he himself cast all those years ago. My guess is he won’t, although I applause the man for trying. Tracker is his eight solo album, and it’s not bad. Not bad at all.
[Live Review] Katzenjammer, Paradiso Amsterdam
Ah, Katzenjammer. Four women with an inordinate amount of musical skill playing a mixture of folk, rock, blues and bluegrass. And they even look good doing it. What’s not to like? Not very much, as it turns out. Continue reading
Blind Guardian – Beyond the Red Mirror
Power metal fans the world over, gather round. Come in, sit a spell. Because we need to talk about Blind Guardian for a bit. About why Beyond the Red Mirror is possibly the greatest album these Krefelder Bards have released. Ready? Let’s go.
[Live Review] Sabaton, Delain, Battle Beast, Melkweg Amsterdam
Ah, the last night of a tour. Traditionally the night where celebratory tomfoolery and a sense of elation can either push a gig to legendary heights, or depressing lows, as bands on a joint bill will break into each other’s gigs and pull pranks. And oftentimes somewhere in between. The last night of the Heroes on Tour, erm, tour, falls in the latter category. There was also more male nudity than I care to admit.
Katzenjammer – Rockland
An all-female folk band from Norway, comprised of four sexy ladies playing no less than twenty-odd different instruments between them, swapping between those and musical styles every night on stage. Logic dictates that Katzenjammer’s novelty should have worn off by now. Rockland, however, will make you guess again.
Primordial – Where Greater Men Have Fallen
Some bands have a hard time doing things wrong. While most artists will alternate great albums with mediocre to dire ones on occasion, there are a few bands who manage to keep a certain momentum. Ireland’s Primordial is such a band, and Where Greater Man Have Fallen is another great album in a truly impressive and ever-expanding catalogue.
[Live Review] Marillion – Christmas Tour 2014, TivoliVredenburg Utrecht
Ah, 1988, it was the year the first internet virus showed up on our screens, the first exoplanet was discovered, the United Nations stated it would wipe out polio and a lot of forgettable Hollywood stars were born. Indeed, it was a very good year. Sadly 1988 was also the year leadsinger Fish, left the progressive rock band Marillion due to managerial issues. At the time Fish was a larger-than-life icon and the hole he left seemed difficult to fill up. However Steve Hogarth, who was appointed to be his successor, managed to start a new successful era with Marillion. On Monday, the band visited the sold out TivoliVredenburg as part of their 2014 Christmas Tour, Sounds from the Darkside mingled with a merry crowd and reports. Continue reading
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