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
Sounds from the Dark Side top albums of 2013 (until now)
Hi folks, we’re almost halfway through 2013 and that’s why is time to give you a short overview of our favorite albums to this day. 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
Gold Panda – Half of Where You Live (2013)
Alas, Gold Panda is not the newest member of the Xtreme Justice League but an English producer who specializes in dreamy electronica. Yet the mysticism surrounding his persona would be fitting to an awkward superhero back story. In a nutshell this is his story, so ‘bear’ with me for a moment.
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
Femi Kuti – No Place For My Dream (2013)
Femi Kuti will always be connected to his father, ‘the cornerstone of Afrobeat’, Feli Kuti. Filling the shoes of such a legend isn’t an easy task and is even deemed impossible by most. Impossible or not, from a more positive side one can say Femi learned from the best. Femi joined his father’s Egypt 80 band as a saxophonist when he was a teenager and during the decades that followed he frequently led the band while his father was locked up in a Nigerian prison due to various politically motivated activities. Femi Kuti experienced his solo breakthrough in 1998 with the release of Shoki Shoki after his father died of AIDS in the year before. Hereafter he gathered more fame by collaborating with artists such as Rachid Taha, Roy Hargrove, Common and by hosting a radio station in the videogame Grand Theft Auto IV. Femi did however never lost track of his heritage and prolongs the legacy of his father by addressing the many problems of African societies in his music. Fight to Win (2001), Day by Day (2008) and Africa for Africa (2010) are all prime examples of the latter. No Place For My Dream adds a new chapter in the battle against injustice and inequality. 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
The Heliocentrics – 13 Degrees of Reality (2013)
Critics do tend to categorize new music into genres so it’s understandable for everyone. Certain bands however seem impossible to pin down. The Heliocentrics are such a band, for they play jazz and funk. Well… that’s done and dusted you might think. Now for the tricky part, the Londoners intermingle the before mentioned styles with avant-garde, electronics, psychedelics, hip hop and ethnic traditions. So obviously no category seems to suit the well-orchestrated eclecticism of The Heliocentrics. Luckily there is always room in the extraordinary universe of Afrofuturist, Sun Ra, with whom the band is frequently compared.
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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
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