Although itās always difficult to pin down a musical year in a few words a lot of critics do it anyway. Thus, we canāt stay behind on that, can we? However, before we end 2014 in style, let us loosely say we enjoyed working in the dark to serve you the reviews of the music we like and that nothing is true and yes, ā¦ everything is permitted.
Hey y’all, summer solsticeĀ lies behind us so it’s time to saw the year in half. TheseĀ are our top albums of 2014 until now and in no apparent order. Metal, Latin, Hip Hop-Jazz,Ā Western funeral march music… we’ve got it all! Continue reading
Before we dive into this review, there is a confession I have to make. I really, really enjoyedĀ Sonata ArcticaāsĀ Stones Grow Her NameĀ (2012), a record that is much maligned for being too weird, faux artistic and soft. And whilst I do love the earlier power metal efforts (up to and includingĀ Reckoning Night), I thinkĀ UniaĀ is by far the strongest album the Finnish band has put out. Then again, I also thinkĀ A Matter of Life and DeathĀ is the best albumĀ Iron MaidenĀ has released sinceĀ Powerslave. Perhaps Iām just a sucker for classic metal bands who dare to tread outside of their safety zone and into a more daringly progressive area, which is exactly what Sonata Arctica has been doing for years now. So, with that out of the way, letās check out whatās on offer this time. Continue reading
