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
Author Archives: Ralph Plug
[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
David Bowie – The Next Day (2013)
This review very nearly went unwritten. I have an immense love for David Bowie, and sometimes, when you love something a lot, it can get extremely difficult to write something, because you feel you’re either too critical or too fanboyish in your lavish praise for a new work. Then there’s the fear of just not getting it right, because what do I really know about the artist in question in the end? Surely there are other people out there hitting nails on the head whilst I am muddling along trying to exude the proper words and struggle to write a coherent piece? You read other, well-written reviews and think to yourself that you will never be either as elaborate or effective in your descriptions and you just want to give up. It’s on those days that I sometimes miss writing for an established magazine, where one did not have the luxury of waiting until an album was out and being beaten to the bush, but had to write your article weeks before it actually hit the streets, all because I’m at my very best when confronted with deadlines. On the other hand, Sounds from the Dark Side gives me the chance to let an album gestate and sink in for a while without any pressure from anyone, and if I decided not to do a review after all, there would be no harm done. You probably wouldn’t even miss it. When you love something a lot, though, you want to share it with the world, and you have to get it off your chest one way or another. Continue reading
Rotting Christ – Κατά Τον Δαίμονα Εαυτού (2013)
Greek black metal pioneers Rotting Christ have certainly evolved over the years. Starting out as a grindcore band in the late eighties, the sound gradually has grown into black metal, and from that into a more eclectic take on the genre. It’s this eclecticism which makes Rotting Christ into what is easily one of the more interesting bands in the genre these days. The last few albums by the band have seen them move gradually into a more melodical, mystical sound, with 2010’s Æalo getting about as far from the black metal roots as you would think the band could get, especially with the haunting Diamanda Galás cover Orders from the Dead rounding that one up. Turns out we were all wrong, as Κατά Τον Δαίμονα Εαυτού is probably the most eclectic album the band has released to this date. Continue reading
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