Tag Archives: 2020

2020 – A disappointment for Symphonic Metal?

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RockmusicRaider - Symphonic Metal in 2020 - Delain - Diabulus in Musica - Nightwish - Surma

Once the end of 2019 approached, an interesting scenario around Symphonic Metal emerged. Three biggies in the genre – Nightwish, Diabulus in Musica, and Delain – all announced a release of their newest and – hopefully – best ever concoction.

A stellar prospect that stirred up quite some excitement around the RMR deck crew over here. We started to have fever dreams of new grandeur, of a knock-out punch that would catapult this once great genre to new beginnings and old glories revisited.

Maybe it was a bout of insane positive thinking, because – somehow – Within Temptation… [...] Click to raid more!

RMR’s 2020 Top 10 Records

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RockmusicRaider 2020 Top 10 Records

The terrible and unholy year of the Dark Lord 2020 was not as fertile as last year’s harvest would suggest. The crop yielded a fair amount of pretty excellent records. Yet, most of them erred on the good to very good territory1 and did not really qualify for that coveted top 10 spot.

After a slow start, things started to look more lively. At first, we thought that the progressive folks would pretty much deliver naught. Yet, suddenly we have a choice, and a difficult one at that.

Then we stumbled across folk pieces where there should be none, … [...] Click to raid more!

Darzamat – A Philosopher At The End Of The Universe (2020) – Review

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There are records that kinda follow you around. But you’re never quite sure what to make of them. They’re intriguing, but you need that right moment to jolt your lazy reviewer’s ass into writing mode.

On one hand, the undeniable groove always pulls you towards them. On the other hand – however – there are always those inconsistencies that make you sit down all over again.

Darzamat and their new record A Philosopher At The End Of The Universe is such a case. And this time, it is this change in style that kind of took us aback.

After their … [...] Click to raid more!

Shores of Null – Beyond the Shores (On Death and Dying) (2020) – Review

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It is not often that we see a one-track album these days. The last one RMR covered was from Insomnium, and this was way back in 2016. So truly, when I first fired up the new album of Shores of Null, I thought that not all of their wares downloaded correctly. Only to find that this one track lasted for a little more than 38 minutes.1

So, by the miserable minions of Loki, Beyond the Shores (On Death and Dying) really is one of those rarities. Made by bands with a cocksure reassurance that such things still … [...] Click to raid more!