If you would have told me that one of my favourite albums of the year would be a power metal album by what’s essentially a joke band, I would have scoffed at you. As it stands, however, Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards is just that: one of the best power metal albums of the year. And yes, I know I’m late to the party. Continue reading
Category Archives: RP
Ulysses – #eMotion
For all Ulysses does right on #eMotion (and they do a lot of things very right indeed), they do start out with what might be the most annoying opening riff I have heard in a very long time. It’s almost annoying enough to turn the album off and do something else. Almost. Because if you did, you’d miss out on an hour of extremely good progressive metal.
David Gilmour – Rattle That Lock
Disclaimer: I came dangerously close to dismissing Rattle that Lock as an overwrought, pompous, meandering mess. I had seven hundred words written on how I vehemently disliked David Gilmour’s new, and fourth, solo effort. Then I gave it one last spin, just to be sure. And I’m glad I did.
[Film Review] Roger Waters The Wall
By now, you should be very much aware that I’m a bit of a Pink Floyd fan. I’ve written about Floyd, Roger Waters and particularly The Wall for a number of times now, and you’re probably sick of hearing about it. So I went to see Roger Waters The Wall in the cinema last night and decided to bore you a little further instead. Continue reading
Iron Maiden – The Book of Souls
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.
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.
Sounds from the Dark Side top albums of 2015 (until now)
‘Summer, summer, summertime…‘ Yep, we’re both huge fans of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Especially at this time of the year. For that exact reason these are our best releases of 2015 until today. Continue reading
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
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