Blind Guardian, Beyond the red mirror

On the first few listens, this album seemed pretty disappointing. The guitar solos were there, the orchestra was there, the choirs were there, Hansi was there... it was Blind Guardian alright, but still something was missing. After more listens, I can say that what’s missing is the catchiness and maybe a hook song like Mirror Mirror or Imaginations from the other side, but once you give it time and really get into it, it’s every bit as good as the previous albums. In fact, the more I listen to it, the more fascinated I become. To be honest, I wrote a review that I didn’t get a chance to post and in the meantime I listened to the album again and decided that review didn’t do it justice, that this is a hundred times better than what I originally wrote and I made another one. That’s how much of a grower this is.

Gentle Storm, Hard Rock Cafe, 19.02.15

I'm so happy, I finally got to see Arjen last night. It's the first time I actually feel a lump in my stomach when an artist comes out on stage, I'm always excited to see my favourite bands, but when Arjen got up on stage, it was an indescribable feeling and I realised how immense is my respect for this man. Anneke stole the show with her amazing, amazing voice and her sweetness, but I cannot forget that it's Arjen that created the incredible music.

Nightwish, Endless forms most beautiful

I listened to the album a few times now and I felt like I was playing "guess the song" for the most part! There are a ton of parts that remind me of previous Nightwish songs. I guess I should be happy it's just Nightwish and not songs from other bands and if I hadn't heard the "originals", I would've liked the whole thing very much because they don't sound bad, but to know how recycled they are is disappointing for me.

Sabaton, Arenele Romane, 27.01.15

We didn't get a chance to see the opening band, Roadkill Soda because of a mix between work, bad traffic and people running late, and had we known what was about to happen, we would've tried harder to get there in time. That's what you get for not respecting the opening bands!

Eluveitie, Origins

Origins - Oh that accent and the story-like voice! It’s a great way to start the album, as it prepares you for an epic journey. And considering these very high expectations are met, I have to say I am extremely satisfied with this album.

The nameless - Aaaaand then the headbanging starts. There’s something interesting about this band, even though the songs sound a lot alike and follow the same style for the most part, they are so melodic and effective that I cannot get enough of them and no matter how much I listen to them, they don’t become boring or repetitive. I particularly love how they resume the theme from the intro in a way that is pure Eluveitie

Bucovina, Fabrica, 13.12.14

I can't believe I've been listening to Bucovina for 8 years and it took me so long to get to one of their concerts! I guess that's the problem with local bands, that I always save the money and time for foreign bands that come here once or twice and figure the Romanian bands are always going to be here and I'll have plenty of chances to see them anytime I want. When I realised this logic isn't getting me anywhere and I've been a fan for so many years and STILL hadn't seen them live, I decided this really needs to change. So yey, now I can add them to my list of concerts!

Maximum Rock Festival, Turbohalle, 24-25.10.14

In the middle of a period where organisers/bands aren’t exactly lining up for concerts, let alone festivals, Maximum Rock was a breath of fresh air. First of all, I wasn’t extremely familiar with most of the bands, but I had quite a few revelations (more about that later). Second of all, it was by far the best organised festival I ever went to. Of course the way the location is separated helped and also the number of people in the audience was considerably smaller then what the location could’ve held, but it was a great example of how a festival should look like. Except for the long wardrobe line at the end of the second day, I didn’t have to wait in line for anything – there were enough toilets, enough food&drink stands... everything flowed smoothly. I loved the idea of the drum stage, where you could pass the time during the breaks and I also love that the hall has a separate section where you can smoke and sit down for a bit. Compared to Helloween and Gamma Ray at the Roman Arenas, where the organisers forbade smoking but didn’t offer a proper solution (and thousands of people had to go in and out through a door the size of my bedroom door for a smoke and eventually gave up and smoked inside), this type of room separation “convinced” people not smoke in the concert hall in a natural way, without any need to impose or forbid anything. The only thing I can somewhat complain about was the sound, it severely handicapped a few of the bands, but I think it was mostly due to the acoustic of the hall and I can’t really blame that on the organisers, considering there isn’t a single indoor concert hall with truly good acoustic in Bucharest (at least not one suited for this type of music, I don’t think the Athenaeum was quite the right place to listen to Unleashed).

Falconers, elves and balancing on a ledge

The early summer of 2014 was a good time to be a folk metal fan, as June brought on not one, but three such albums, mostly from bands that took their sweet time working on their next release.

Falconer, Black moon rising

Black moon rising is a pleasant album, that sends out tons of good vibes, without becoming too cheesy or fainty, in typical Falconer vein. Relying heavily on Mathias Blad’s simple, yet clear and warm voice and on catchy and melodious hooks that inspire you to sing along, it doesn’t depart from the recipe of success that the band established with the first releases. The only difference is that it seems a bit more powerful and more aggressive than the previous albums, but not by much. Also, Falconer set out to be a mix of power and folk metal so intertwined that I don’t think even they used to know in which direction is the balance tipping. On this album, however, the balance clearly tips towards power metal, as the folk aspect is almost entirely overlooked and the only truly folkish track is Scoundrel and the Squire (which is a nice little medieval song, with a waltz-like tempo).

Opeth, Pale communion

With the risk of attracting the wrath of the older Opeth fans, I have to say I'm very happy that they're continuing on the path they started with Heritage. This is an album that's more prog rock than progressive metal, but personally I love it. It's moody, it's complex, it's experimental and surprising and I am hooked. The reviews are a whole lot better for this album then for Heritage and I don't know if it's because Opeth fans needed time to get used to the changes, but for the moment I think I like Heritage better. Pale communion is a lot more cohesive and unitary and generally that's a good thing, but personally I was more intrigued by the experimentation and weirdness of Heritage. Still, an excellent album that definitely has the potential of dethroning Heritage after more listens.

The (not so) magical world of symphonic gothic metal

Symphonic gothic metal has always been a love of mine, to the point where I would be obsessed with it and know pretty much every band in and around the genre. With age came less spare time and more need for variety and nowadays I regularly listen only to a select few, but I still throw an eye on the rest of them from time to time. And since Epica and Xandria battled for attention on the 2^nd of May and Macbeth decided to come out of whatever hole they were hiding in, I guess it’s time to pay close attention to this genre once more.

Deep Purple, Polivalenta Hall, 20.02.14

I wasn't expecting too much from this concert, considering I was going to see a positively ancient band with a lead singer who's almost 70. But then again, it was a positively ancient band, on the back of which was built all the music I nowadays adore, so I wasn't going to miss this for the world. And I don't regret it a single bit, as it was a beautiful night.

Ashes of Ares & Iced Earth

Once I was an ignorant child who knew nothing of the wonder that Matt Barlow is. Then my boyfriend (now husband) saved me from my darkness by showing me a live interpretation of Iced Earth’s Dracula and I was in awe. That man, who I would affectionately call Lurch because of his low wailing vocals, was able to produce those Halford-esque high pitched screams? I had no words! And so my love for Matt Barlow (and consequently Iced Earth) was born. Needless to say I was devastated when he decided to leave the band, but now that Iced Earth is alive and kicking and Matt is gracing our ears once more in Ashes of Ares, all is right in the world.

Orphaned Land, All is one

There's a notable change in style between The never ending way of ORWarriOR and All is one and I'm not sure what to think about it. On All is one they explore their softer and more sensible side more and the result is simply beautiful, but on the other hand I really miss the death metal vocals (I never would've imagined myself saying that, but they really won me over). Also, they take their ambassadors of peace role more seriously and again, I don't know what to think about that either. On this album it still sounds genuine and inspiring for the most part, but I'm afraid that if they keep following this route, they will become a bit too preachy and pretentious in the long run. Time will tell, I guess there's no use in worrying beforehand.

Rhapsody of fire, Dark wings of steel

I was a bit worried about the band splitting in half, but apparently both Rhapsody of fire and Luca Turilli's Rhapsody are doing just fine. There's just more Rhapsody in the world under two different titles and what's not to like about that?

It's an album that's epic and grand and has tons of choirs like all self-respecting Rhapsody albums and I love that. Even though the main song writer is gone, the style is still pretty much the same (maybe the die-hard fans can tell the differences, but as a casual fan I can't. I guess it's more on the side of symphonic then on the side of power, but this is something that started before Luca left).  Fabio is great as always, I love his voice and it fits the feel of the music perfectly. He's definitely the best thing that Rhapsody of fire kept (I have to say that Luca Turilli found a marvellous replacement for Fabio, though, the thing that stayed with me the most after listening to Ascending to infinity was how insanely good Alessandro Conti is).

Ayreon, The theory of everything

Phase I, singularity starts with the wonderful voice of JB from Grand Magus, one of the great vocal additions of this album and I'm already excited!  Arjen has the habit of making his singers sound better than ever and this album certainly makes no exception. It made me like Christina Scabbia, for God's sake! All the instrumental parts are just awesome, in fact the only thing better than the amazing voices from this album is the instrumental. The mix between classic Ayreon and some touches of Jethro tull here and there is beautiful.

Orphaned Land, The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR

I fell in love with Orphaned Land after seeing them live and I've been pretty much obsessed with them ever since. The oriental vibe might put a lot of people off, especially in a country where the epitome of bad taste is genre that draws its roots from Turkish and Balkanic music, but I like the combination between metal and oriental music and Orphaned Land pull it off perfectly (especially since it's actually a part of their culture and identity and they aren't just doing it because it sounds cool).

Artmania 2013, Sibiu, 9-10.08.13

Day 1

Amaranthe

I used to strongly dislike Elize Ryd, she seemed very stuck up and self centered and vain and cold and unable to interact on stage with anyone else but her hair, but I must admit that she is much more tolerable in Amaranthe than she is with Kamelot. They were surprisingly fun! My favourite was the grunting dude, who's like a little troll in the background coming out to spoil the pretty pretty music of pretty pretty people.

Rock the city, Romexpo, 29.07.13

I have to start once more complaining about the organisation. It was a complete "fuck you" to the fans and you could tell that every bad decision happened because of greed and desire to make the most money from it. I'm not even going to go into how expensive everything is, because I've already gotten used to it, but I have to say that if I had had tickets to Normal circle, I would've been seriously pissed. The Normal circle was so freaking far behind that I have no idea how these people saw anything. Even the giant screens were tiny to them! Also the food courts were terrible. We stayed in line for 45 minutes to get a hot dog when there were only ten people in front of us. The line simply wouldn't move. We started interacting with the other people in the line and making jokes to pass the time (and people say metalheads are aggressive... pfft), but eventually Rammstein started and we gave up.

Tristania, Darkest white

After my beloved Vibeke's departure and an album that was bizarrely a whole lot better than I expected and at the same time a whole lot weaker than I expected, I had no idea what Tristania's new album would have in store for me. I was hoping that Mary would consolidate her place in the band and that all the lineup changes would finally stop and I guess I got what I asked for. I'm just not sure what to think of it, still. I could call it one of the most successful massive changes a favourite of mine went through, but still something is missing. Probably Vibeke and the candles :P

Roger Waters, Constitution Square, 28.08.13

Oh my God, I can die happy now, I saw The Wall and it was BRILLIANT!!!! I had always loved Pink Floyd, I had always loved the album, but I never listened and understood it as I did the other night. So much anger, so much frustration, so much sadness, so much hate for everything that is wrong in the world, all magically put into music, words and images in such an overwhelming way. Overwhelming is probably the best word to describe this experience.

Sabaton and Eluveitie, Turbohalle, 19.03.13

Eluveitie

I had waited for years to see Eluveitie live and so it figures that they came to Bucharest without Anna... Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun and they were really good and energetic and full of good vibes as always, but I'm a bit disappointed they didn't even try to replace her. Chrigel did all of her parts and it was a bit monotonous without her, her vocals added a lot of colour to the band and they should’ve tried to have another girl sing her parts.

Helloween and Gamma Ray, Arenele Romane, 16.03.13

It's hard to keep up with Gamma Ray and Helloween and charm an audience that is waiting for your concert to pass quickly so that they get to the goodies of the show, but Shadowside seemed to have had issues with keeping the audience alert no matter the circumstances, they were most boring. I always try to keep my eye rolling to a minimum during opening acts because I want to be supportive of a band that's just getting started and probably has tons of butterflies in the stomach, but this time I just couldn't. They were that bad... And when they decided to butcher Ace of spades in an effort to gain the public's good will, it was even worse.

Therion, Arenele Romane, 19.10.12

I saw them, I saw them, I saw them! You're going to have to excuse my loghoreea, but I'm really enthusiastic about it, it was great!

I stayed front row center (which for me was probably once in a lifetime, as my friends hate staying in the front, but this time I wanted badly to actually see them and not just hear them and I think I would've killed anyone saying "no" to front row).

Rock the City/Tuborg Greenefest, Romexpo, 30.06.12

As the first day was mostly a filler full of Romanian bands I can always listen to and I couldn't make it through three hours of the Axl Rose show and one hour of whiny Amy Lee for the life of me, let alone pay for it, I decided the second day of Greenfest is the only one that's worth it. I was wrong, nothing of this shitty festival was worth it. The good thing is that they had the inspiration OST fest lacked to put the stage against the sun so that you'll actually have some shade. The bad thing... everything else. In good old Tuborg tradition, it was more of a dust festival rather then a metal festival, with clouds of dust rising up in the sky and with horribly expensive food and drinks (just to give you an idea, we spent about as much on food and drinks as we did on the tickets, it's ridiculous!). I could've ignored these problems, but the worst of all was an issue that truly has the power to ruin a concert and that was the sound. The sound was crap crap crap, I could barely make out most of the music.

OST Fest, Romexpo, 17.06.12

OST Fest was *not* a good festival for me! I was stupidly enthusiastic about seeing WASP for the first time, but except for WASP I didn't get to see much else.

I was pretty much alive for Reborn, a very young Romanian band that didn't sound half bad. Props to them being able to make a pretty good show despite the fact that they were the opening band in a festival with icons like Motorhead, Megadeth and WASP and the weather wasn't exactly their ally (to put it mildly). I'd like to listen to them again in better conditions.

Nightwish, Imaginaerum

Ah, love! Thank you Nightwish for not being dead to me, thank you for making beautiful music once more and for giving me the chills once more. After Storytime (which I absolutely detested), I expected nothing good from this album, so now that I listen to it, I'm not head over hills for it and I won't pretend it's like nothing I've ever heard, that it's amazing, incredible, fantastic or anything, but I really really like it. It's fresh and pleasant and while there are a bit too many ballads, I like them all. They're nice to listen to and there are some really uplifting moments that remind me why I love Nightwish. So all in all, it's a very pleasant surprise and I'm glad they showed me they still have it in them. I like that for the most part it's not overdone and over-drowned, they added some really nice things without putting too much together and being too bombastic (I'm so happy they avoided their "too much" tendency in this one, they have a gift of making simple music sound beautiful and pure and fresh, thank God they remembered that talent of theirs).

Opeth, Heritage

I've always been fascinated with Opeth, but I could never listen to it unless I was in the certain mood. The alternation between the aggressive growling was too tough to swallow when I was feeling tired and the atmospheric and burdening calmer parts was tough to swallow when I was in a good energetic mood. It was part of their genius, but it also made those moments where I was in the exact state required to enjoy them very rare. And then Heritage came along. Giving up the aggressiveness almost completely and focusing on the mellow weirder side of Opeth, Heritage turned out to be my favourite Opeth album so far.

Bon Jovi, Constitution Square, 10.07.11

I saw Bon Jovi the other night and it was soooo much fun, I didn't actually expect it to be so awesome. Everyone was singing and dancing and he sung for 3 hours. The encore alone lasted almost an hour, for crying out loud! And at the end he sang a few songs that weren't on the setlist, so I’m guessing he had a good time. I have never seen a rock artist (meaning more demanding vocals and more running around then other genres require) have a show so long and so intense. *I* was tired and I’m half his age and wasn’t being the attraction of the evening, I have no idea how he put up with it. 

Rock the city, Constitution Square, 03.07.11

I have no idea what to say about Metrock because they barely got up on stage and they came down immediately. They seemed like a nice enough band, but I didn’t get a chance to get into it (it was shorter even then the usual opening acts).

After just seeing Trooper a month ago opening for Scorpions and being slightly disappointed by them, I wasn’t exactly ecstatic about seeing them again. They came, did their job and left. I don’t seem to have any recollection of the event whatsoever, it just... happened.

Scorpions, Zone Arena, 09.06.11

As a lifelong Scorpions fan, I couldn't possibly miss their farewell tour, so together with my parents (who introduced me to this beautiful band), we were there attached to the fence! Unfortunately it wasn't the front row fence, but the sound booth fence that provided me with wonderful support and helped me also watch the performance instead of just hearing it. It was very uncomfortable and my ass still hurts, but it was the only way to actually see something, so it was worth it.

Haggard, Silver Church, 08.05.11

So once more I'm lucky enough to see this amazing band live. I don’t think there’s much I could say about them that I haven’t said already, but I have a pressing need to praise them a bit more. They are sooooo awesome!

Blind Guardian, Arenele Romane, 01.05.11

After years of waiting for them, I finally saw Blind Guardian and it was sooo awesome! The guys really enjoyed themselves and they were so much fun to watch and listen to, it was a great concert. The crowd was amazing, we chanted and sung and clapped and cheered throughout the entire concert and between almost every song we’d start screaming “Guardian, Guardian” and the only way they could get us to stop was to start the next song :)) They didn’t sing And then there was silence as I had hoped, but they sang Wheel of time (which was one of the highlights for me) and I loved how the setlist was filled with songs with lots of choirs you could sing along to. Of course The bard’s song was incredible with the audience singing, it gave me goosebumps. I had waited for so long to be able to sing this song with them!

Epica, Silver Church, 29.03.11

And I saw Epica… Man Simone sucks! I never saw her as an outstanding singer, but last night she couldn’t carry a tune for the life of her! Her operatic voice was half decent, but her chest voice sounded terrible. Hoarse, strained… the long high notes she was trying to sing were probably the worst sound I’ve ever heard coming out of the throat of a lead singer with some pretences.

Tim Ripper, Kulturhaus, 20.02.11

What started out as a birthday gift for my boyfriend turned out to be a fantastic night, better then I could've expected. Even though I adore his voice, I'm not very familiar with Tim Ripper's career outside of Judas Priest and Iced Earth, so I probably wouldn't have gone to the concert if not for the fact that my boyfriend is a huge fan, but I'm really glad I did.

Ayreon, 01011001

Let's just start by saying that I am a HUGE Ayreon fangirl, 01011001 is one of my all-time favourite albums and this will be populated with adjectives like mind-blowing, incredible, great, awesome and brilliant and it will severely lack criticism. You have been warned.

Iron Maiden, Cluj, 16.08.10

AAAAA!!!!!!!!! I SAW MAIDEN LIVE, I FREAKING SAW IRON MAIDEN!!!!! 

They were incredible! Since they were in Transylvania, they used Transylvania as the intro (or so I've been told, I just got lost from my boyfriend and I was frantically looking for him in the crowd so I kinda missed the beginning), they continued with with Wicker man, then Ghost of the navigator and then the rest of the regular setlist.

Artmania 2010, Sibiu, 13-14.08.10

Day 1

Swallow the Sun

There was a time when I would’ve gushed over a band like Swallow the sun, with their doomy gloomy air, their elegant outfits and their cute blonde guitarist, but unfortunately for them, that time is gone. At Artmania all I could do was sit down, drink a lot of water and look for shade while they were singing. Granted, a hot sunny day may not be the best for spreading Finnish melancholy, but I have a feeling they wouldn’t have done a whole lot better under different circumstances anyway.

Sonisphere, Romexpo, 25-27.06.10

Sonisphere was HUGE! The number of people, the number of bands, the quality of the bands, the length of the festival... it was by far the biggest festival Romania ever held and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I'm tired as shit, I can barely keep my eyes open and every inch of my body is sore, but it was well worth it.

AC/DC, Constitution Square, 16.05.10

Not much can be said about seeing AC/DC live. They're the kind of band that I would never listen to at home, but they're also an icon of hard rock and they sure know how to put up a show. Starting with the huge locomotive that decorated the stage, following up with a whole lotta Rosie riding the locomotive and ending with Brian ringing the bells of hell and a ton of fire crackers and pyros and stuff.

Haggard, Silver Church, 18.04.10

I saw them again the other night and with half of the members short and with sound problems, they were still incredible. Amazing band! They managed to create such an awesome atmosphere, the crowd cheered for them non-stop. They played more then two hours, a three-songs encore, played Metallica bits during the song breaks just for fun, Fiffy lit Claudio's cigar with a torch then tried to spit fire and burned a bit of his beard in the process (just a bit, nothing serious), Asis loved the crowd and "played" with us all the time... and Su... my God, Su!

Tuborg Green Fest, Izvor Park, 05.09.09

I know it's a bit weird to complain about the organisers at a free festival, but after not being able to speak for three days because of all the dust (literally not being able to make a single sound, not just being hoarse and sounding weird), I really have to question their decisions. The location seemed great on paper, but as soon as a few thousand rockers started jumping and moshing on a dusty ground, the whole dust went up and it became almost unbreatheable. There was mud in my bathtub after I took a shower! Other then this, it was an excellent night. 

Artmania 2009, Sibiu, 17-18.07.09

Day 1

Tristania

Weeee, I saw Tristania :D They were awesome and I'm officially in love with Mary, she rocks! She has a very good voice and I love what she's doing with it and she has an awesome stage presence. She exhales power and energy through all her pores, both in terms of voice and in terms of stage presence. Even if she sings very aggressively and it's 180 degrees from Vibeke and the old Tristania, she was great and I liked her a lot. Kjetil did a great job too, I didn't miss Osten one bit.

Tarja Turunen, Palace Hall, 22.06.09

After just coming back from her concert, I obviously can't sleep and have to rave about her beauty and her talent and her closeness to perfection. That woman is unbelievable. Such a beautiful voice, whoever said that she lacks emotion must be deaf, I've never heard so much emotion in someone's voice. And with the exception of one song at the end, no mistake or wrong note came out of her mouth. She is so gorgeous and classy and majestic and has such a warm and kind smile and is so expressive and you can tell she really loves being on stage and loves the audience.

Haggard, Romexpo, 09.02.08

This is the part where I brag about seeing them live. No, actually this is the part when I praise this amazing band. They were brilliant, to say the least. No one missed a single note, they sounded as good as on they do on the album and they managed to create a great atmosphere. Hats off in front of Asis who led the whole thing. They all communicated with the audience so good that they set us on fire. And I have to say that Susanne impressed me very much. She was perfect, even though her parts are really hard to sing, and she's a complete sweetheart, very adorable and funny (I just love it when she does that bending on her back thing). She and Asis were the main "attraction" and got the most cheers.

Haggard, Eppur si muove

As it has been and will continue to be made abundantly clear, Haggard is probably my favourite band. There is something really magical about them and their mix between metal and actual classical music (not just symphonic influences here and there). In fact, they were the band that made me get over grunts. I couldn't stand growling a while ago, but I was so intrigued with Haggard's music and so fascinated by the non-grunting parts, that I actually forced myself to go through the growling, then I began to tolerate it and ended up even liking it sometimes. I guess it really is an acquired taste... Anyway, Haggard's Eppur si muove is a masterpiece. Strewn with little classical interludes here and there and dominated by the four epics, it's a concept album about the life of Galileo Galilei (if that wasn't already clear from the title and from knowing Haggard's love for concept albums :P). The lyrics are beautiful, so poetic and they evoke so well the story and the emotions Galileo must have felt and the album is every bit amazing conceptually as it is musically.

All'inizio È La Morte is epic from the first second to the last and I love everything about it. The instrumental, the opera vocals, Asis speaking in German, the choir chanting "shehnkt aus den wein", the chaos of the classical instruments on top of the metal ones that is so typical for Haggard... And the soprano part gives me the chills, it's the only calm and simple moment in the whole song, but it's so effective, I can almost see and hear the burning at the stake.

I love how the main violin theme is present like a red wire all throughout Per aspera ad astra, no matter what form it takes and how prominent it is. And the rhythm is so steady and the music builds on it and grows up to the tenor parts and then ultimately to the joyful medieval instrumentation... Speaking of the tenor parts, I wish they'd use Fiffy more, every time he sings is a joy and sadly it's such a rare treat.

I love that oboe intro from Of a might divine, in fact I love the whole medieval touch from this album (yes I am a sucker for medieval music). And the piano is so pretty and gentle, the whole instrumental in the beginning is beautiful, it fills my heart! I find it fascinating how the rhythm and atmosphere change in a heartbeat and yet the transition doesn't seem forced in anyway (in fact I love that transition they do from the classical parts when all electric instruments come in). Normally I don't like bilingual songs, but for some reason it never bothers me in Haggard. Maybe it's because of the way the verses in another language are separated from the rest of the song. Or maybe it's because I'm a fangirl :P

Herr Mannelig is such a catchy cute medieval song, I like how it doesn't even sound like a cover, it fits in perfectly in Haggard's catalogue like it's their own. They even put their trademark transition from classical to metal in it. And yey, there's Fiffy again. Only I don't get why he's singing the troll's part and then Su sings Herr Mannelig's part. The other thing I don't like about it is the position in the album, it's a bit weird to have the story about one of the greatest scientists of the world interrupted by a song about a troll, it could've been better placed at the end.

The observer is such an underrated gem. It gets a bit lost among the other longer and more symphonic songs of the album, but that intro is one of the best things I've heard in ages! Never mind the "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use" part, which has become some sort of motto of mine in religious debates with people who think Christianity requires you to leave your brain at the door, but oh God, those violins with the powerful bass+drums+guitar punctuations and the piano and that explosion of instruments! The rest of the song is a little less varied then the rest of the album, there are no choirs and very little of the clean voices (that soprano vocalisation on top of the grunts at the end is beautiful, by the way), but the instrumental on the background more than makes up for the relative monotony of the vocals (I told you I'm not such a fan of growling, I think it provides little room for expression when used continuously and is better used as punctuation).

And then comes the masterpiece song of this already masterpiece album, Eppur si muove. I cannot get enough of it, it's just grand. The beginning with the violins and the way it becomes tense and then resolves to that steady instrumental and Su's gentle acapella vocals, then the oh so beautiful piano solo and then the drums coming in so suddenly with that crying cello in the background and the growth of the instrumentals up to Su's high high vocals that are so inspiring both lyrically and musically and the way she and Asis pass the melody from one another and oh God there's an acoustic guitar and a flute and I'm in heaven!

Aina, Days of rising doom

Sacha Paeth is off to prove he is the best producer of the modern power metal era and, accompanied by most of the members from Heavens gate and Amanda Somerville, has managed to create one of the most epic and interesting metal opera albums ever. This album has pretty much everything I love about power metal (epic and memorable tunes, epic voices, epic choirs, epic guitar solos and epicness all around, enough to give to others) and lacks everything I hate about power metal (meaning cheesiness, dragons and dying on your shield).

Welcome!

Have you ever felt the need to dissect every single aspect of a certain thing, but knew for sure that everyone would run to the hills if you’d *really* let it all out? Have you ever wanted to scream on the top of your lungs how much you love everything about that thing, but knew that no one could put up with that long enough? Well, that’s how I feel about music.