Tag Archives: 2015

Moonspell – Extinct (2015) – Review

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Whoa! What a nice slab of metal! When I first started to listen to the 11th full length album Extinct of the Portuguese band Moonspell, it did not impress me much. The record just did not stick. But then their tune started to get glued to the inside of my eardrums. And slowly, but surely got into my mind and bloodstream somehow. What the hell? Some fucking voodoo right there.

The more you listen to the album, the more it grows on ye. Mind you, it is not ‘conquer by attrition’, but you need some peace and leisure to really listen to what is there. … [...] Click to raid more!

Nightwish – Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015) – Review

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They kept their brand alive, yet again. My fears that this time we would be faced with something entirely different did not materialize. But this very same and familiar style is presented with an added edge to boot.

The album is darker and more direct, a tad louder than before. You will also find a distinct or – shall we say – pretty heavy use of symphonic and folk elements. Which is yet another hallmark of their 8th full-length studio album Endless Forms Most Beautiful. So, this is undeniably Nightwish, but refreshingly different from their last record Imaginaerum… [...] Click to raid more!

Illuminata – Where Stories Unfold (2015) – Review

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Now, step back a minute.

We have drum blasts, distorted guitars, and a female front. All check! But only one female this time? Here’s some confusion indeed! Symphonic influence – check! But the record is for sure not your usual piece of Symphonic Metal.

The Austrian band Illuminata hail from the beautiful city of Graz. You know the one with the funky Kunsthaus and clock tower. And I am floored. Their 2015 album Where Stories Unfold departs in a completely different direction than their last record. Gone is the rocky and straightforward style that kept on leaning into Within Temptation… [...] Click to raid more!

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!