Category Archives: Reviews M – Z

Serious Black – As Daylight Breaks (2015) – Review

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First, I was confused. Very confused. What does Harry Potter do in my metal world?

Here I am listening to a newcomer called Serious Black composed by some very well-known names in the metal genre. Roland Grapow (Masterplan, Helloween, Delfinia – contributor), Thomen Stauch (ex Blind Guardian), Mario Lochert (Visions Of Atlantis), Dominik Sebastian (Edenbridge), Jan Vacik (Dreamscape) and Urban Breed (Tad Morose). And those six musicians of long date and some standing decided to found a new project – sorry – a band dangerously closely named after some character in the Harry Potter series.

Hell’s Bells. But … [...] Click to raid more!

Tuomas Holopainen – The Life and Times of Scrooge (2014) – Review

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No, it is not Metal. And it is not Nightwish – for sure, whereas there are similarities as described further down below. Tuomas Holopainen‘s 2014 solo project The Life and Times of Scrooge is nothing more (and nothing less) than a soundtrack for a story. A graphic novel – that never quite became a film – kind of in waiting for a film project to emerge. And it is a great story, by the way.

When I first learned about The Life and Times of Scrooge way back last year, I thought this was just a crazy idea (I … [...] Click to raid more!

Passenger – Whispers (2014) – Review

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After all that harder Metal stuff I reviewed lately, it is time to get to something a little softer and more reflective.

What better choice would there be than Passenger with their 2014 release and 6th studio album Whispers. Or more, Mike Rosenberg with his latest and best made with some studio musicians.

Similar in style (or kind of, at least) to its predecessor All the Little Lights, this record offers a much-improved variation. And – I daresay – a thoughtfulness that was not there before. But of course and as usual, the melodies are of lesser importance, as the … [...] Click to raid more!

SAVN – SAVN (2014) – Review

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Here comes SAVN, who was lauded as the breath of fresh air into an already dead (or kind of dead) genre that too many bands tried to ride into oblivion. Well, first of all, it’s not dead. There’s lots of good stuff coming out of it still.

So, what is this Norwegian act Savn? And more specifically, what is their debut album Savn all about? Judging by the creative process to get to a name of the record, not much. 

The band consists of two former members of The Sins of Thy Beloved and the former lead singer … [...] Click to raid more!