Savatage is dead, long live Savatage! That´s about the gist of how I have been feeling on the subject for the past twelve years. After the quite passable (but not brilliant) Poets and Madmen, the curtain fell for the American band, which all but continued as the travelling Christmas troupe Trans-Siberian Orchestra, of which there are now two versions touring the United States in December, raking in the dough for messrs O’Neill (for many still the reason behind Savatage’s demise and Oliva. Continue reading
Author Archives: Ralph Plug
Liquid Casing – A Separate Divide (2013)
Somewhere in the murky depths between jazz, prog rock and post-punk, we find the Texan-based outfit Liquid Casing, who have just released their brand new effort A Separate Divide, a thought-provoking musical work about borders and illegal immigration. It’s a difficult topic to make a concept album about, and one deserving an intricate, well thought out sonic frame. Now, many things can be said about A Separate Divide, but an easy album, this is not. Continue reading
Chthonic – Bú-Tik (2013)
It seems Taiwanese metal sensation Chthonic are finally getting somewhere. All of a sudden, the band seems to be everywhere, with not one but three video clips and a virtual omnipresence on the internet. Of course, that all depends on where you’re surfing, and I’m quite certain the mainstream music scene still hasn’t heard of the band, but within the much more niche metal world, there is certainly a buzz. And rightfully so, because Bú-Tik has turned out to be a very, very good album. Continue reading
[Live Review] Iron Maiden – Maiden England Tour 2013, Ziggo Dome Amsterdam
There is no other metal band quite like Iron Maiden. The British heavy metal institution is still going strong after almost forty years, counting from the very early days, and the band is showing no sign of slowing down quite yet, touring ferociously still, alternating between album promotion tours and classic era themed tours. Like this Maiden England Tour being based on the late eighties’ 7th Tour of a 7th Tour, and the Somewhere in Time Tour before it (that one based on the legendary World Slavery Tour). Continue reading
[Live Review] Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Goffertpark Nijmegen
It’s hard to convey the sheer magic of Bruce Springsteen to someone who only knows Born in the USA, Dancing in the Dark and perhaps a handful of other songs they tend to play to death on the radio, without mentioning the live performances. Sure, other bands play live (some better than others), but to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performing on stage is an event like none other, and sure to win over even the most sceptical music lovers out there. It’s also hard to review a Springsteen concert without a generous helping of superlatives. Even in Nijmegen’s Goffertpark in the Netherlands, where it smells of beer, sweat and urine because the improvised festival grounds can hardly take the 60.000 people, let along cater to their needs (waiting in line for half an hour for food, or ten for a drink, is no exception this Saturday, sadly enough). Everyone is here for the exact same thing, and almost everyone knows exactly what to expect. Continue reading
Blackmore’s Night – Dancer and the Moon (2013)
Where 2010’s Autumn Sky didn’t really stick, Dancer and the Moon does. That in itself is just about all you need to know about the brand new Blackmore’s Night record, but since you can’t review an album with only one sentence (then again, who says you can’t?), perhaps I should elaborate a little. Dancer and the Moon is the eighth studio album by the folk/rock duo that is guitar-god Ritchie Blackmore and his long-time muse, Candice Night, not counting the two live albums they have released, or the holiday-centric Winter Carols. Continue reading
Summoning – Old Mornings Dawn (2013)
To be very honest, I did not expect a new album from the Austrian ambient black metal duo Summoning anymore, not after the seven years of silence that followed the sublime Oath Bound. So when the news broke that Old Mornings Dawn was on its way, it came quite out of the blue. Will our favourite Tolkien-inspired black metal band be able to top what many people still regard as their finest hour, or does Old Mornings Dawn fall flat in that regard. Here, we find out. Continue reading
Deep Purple – Now What?! (2013)
It has taken British rock legend Deep Purple over seven years to come up with a sequel to Rapture of the Deep. That is a long time, especially given the more advanced age of the various band members (ranging between 58-67), and I am sure there will have been people out there not even expecting another studio release by the band. Last month, however, Deep Purple decided to grace us with the appropriately titled Now What?!, and boy, is it good. Continue reading
Ghost – Infestissumam (2013)
When Swedish metal sensation Ghost released their first single Elizabeth, there was an almost immediate underground buzz. Elizabeth was simultaneously retro and incredibly catchy, and the band itself properly mysterious, fronted by the masked Papa Emeritus II and a host of nameless ghouls playing the instruments. The underground buzz quickly went to what might be called major hype with the release of their debut album Opus Eponymous, an incredibly well made album full of very old-fashioned and evil sounding heavy metal. It was as if the likes of Mercyful Fate, Black Sabbath and Blue Öyster Cult had merged into an entirely new entity. Continue reading
Avantasia – The Mystery of Time (2013)
Avantasia’s The Metal Opera, released all the way back in the dark age (2001), is still one of my favourite modern power metal albums. Edguy frontman Tobias Sammet managed to capture just about anything that makes Teutonic power metal into such a joy (the rolling double bass drums, the epic choruses, the choirs, the optimism), got a few if not all of my favourite vocalists of the time and released an absolutely smashing record. Deciding that enough wasn’t enough, der Tobi released a follow-up the next year, an album much in the same vein, featuring largely the same cast. After that, everything changed. Continue reading
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