At first, nobody believed in a comeback of the Blasts from the Past series for 2025. The RMR crew found itself buried under a mountain of contemporary material after all. And nobody thought of switching off the faucet. Which is – come to think of it – a good thing. But that left relatively little room for that cartload of old ‘n’ torn notesheets to be read yet again after all these eons of nobody checking them out anymore. Boy, RMR himself even had to peddle some of his electric guitars to the local chapmen down at the market square in the walled town to be able to pay for the extra writing effort. The list is growing again, so let’s see what gives.
Lacuna Coil – Comalies
Release year: 2002
Could the Lacuna Coil fans who don’t know Comalies, please stand up? The outcome will be – none, I hope. For this band, it seemed that the 3rd full-length album truly was the charm. A record that enjoyed insane praise right from its inception. A charm that echoes straight through the eons of metal construction with (your) bad taste fueling it. But everybody was right on the money. This is one stellar Gothic and Melodic Metal piece that, in many ways, was well ahead of its time. A piece pioneering what would later morph from Melodic to Symphonic Metal for some. Yet, the Italians around Cristina Scabbia just hit paydirt with this one. A record still revered to this day.
Los Disidentes Del Sucio Motel – Breath
Release year: 2023
One day in 2025, some crew members over here wondered what ever became of LDDSM. Nothing with a full range of tracks appeared on our radar lately – or ever since. Except – this lonely blurb called Breath once made an appearance back in time. A few tidbits appeared here and there, but nobody really cared to give this specific shorty a thorough shakedown. We found a rough-hewn, motley selection of (more or less) unplugged tracks that just exude that happy time of jamming away in the studio. Brought to you by a seasoned band in its prime with an urge to show their wares.
Madder Mortem – Old Eyes, New Heart
Release year: 2024
Madder Mortem’s last piece got on our shortlist early, and then disappeared again. And it kept doing exactly that for felt eons. The record garnered a ton of praise from many corners of the interweb, but had trouble getting to a firm footing over at RMR HQ. And we’re still in this kind of limbo. The crew found a sturdy, well-elaborated record full of loose ends that were – somehow – never fixed. And that is why this here crew won’t chime into the songs of adulation many sing to this day.
Iron Maiden – The X Factor
Release year: 1995
Way back in time, eons ago, Iron Maiden decided to change course. New vocalist, new styles, new horizons, that kind of thing. At the same time, the maidens also tried to change tack on delivery. And this turned this record into such a failure that even hindsight 20/20 cannot fix it. And they did this through hiring the wrong vocalist, tested styles they didn’t really embrace, and lost the sound that worked best for them over the last decade or so. Talk to me about setting something up for failure. And, unluckily, they succeeded.
David Gilmour – Luck and Strange
Release year: 2024
This is the one last year’s record I wish we’d picked up when there was still time for the listing season. And it comes from unexpected places. David Gilmour, late of Pink Floyd, issued a piece. And if you look for authentic and true to form, this is the one. And yes, ’tis ain’t metal and never will be. Instead, you will get a clutch of tracks that won’t deny where they come from and reveal where they’ll lead you. On top of that, there’s this dream-like performance of one Romany Gilmour, his daughter. One that blew us away and sold us out on covering this record here. I wish you were here when we did the top 10 list of 2024. But – alas – you weren’t.
Triumvirat – Spartacus
Release year: 1975
Does anybody remember Triumvirat? They were an early Progressive Rock band from Germany, with their heyday in the ’70s. A band with a distinct sound that – at that time – was somewhat of an odd one out. They rose to some limited fame over the years, touring with bands such as Supertramp or Fleetwood Mac. But by and large, they remained remarkably underrated. So, here’s to Spartacus, arguably the filet piece of their career. An ode to an age-old Roman revolt that the dark old empire had to put down with considerable power. It takes some courage to depict such an epic event. And they countered it with an equally epic album. Have some.