Blind Guardian, Legacy of the Dark Lands

I promise I'm not trying to break some kind of record, but like I mentioned in my last post, my inspiration has betrayed me in the past few months. It certainly didn't help that there were few new albums that would pique my interest and even the ones I enjoyed (like Tool's Fear inoculum) gave me little to talk about. This brings me to Blind Guardian's Legacy of the dark lands. Which was so grand and impressive and massive that gave me too much to talk about, to the point where it took me weeks to put my thoughts in order and finally embark on the journey of reviewing it. 

Opeth - In cauda venenum

I've been very quiet in the past few months, severely lacking inspiration and patience, but if there's anything that can get me out of my hole, it must be Opeth. After a brilliant performance at Artmania, I was more than ready for their new record and lo and behold, In cauda venenum is here to grace my ears. 

Artmania, 26-27 July 2019, Large Square Sibiu

Another Artmania has ended. I’ve said it before, I simply can’t get enough of this festival and I have a lot of respect for the way the organisers handle it year after year. Yes, there were bigger lines than usual this time. Yes, at some point it took 30 minutes to buy a beer and we completely abandoned the idea of food once we realised the time it required. But at the same time there was plenty of space inside the square (no cramming people like cattle to oversell tickets), the sound was impeccable, there were toilet paper and huge sanitiser bottles at the toilet and they made an impromptu token line in a corner because the waiting time was too big.  

Myrath, Shehili

The last months have been rather slow in terms of albums I was interested in and also heat seems to have brought a bit of a writer's block. I tried three times to review Dream Theater's latest album and found myself overwhelmed by it (I love it, I just can't bring myself to actually dissect it in a review). So I ultimately decided to review something I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about, given how disappointed I was by their last release, which is Myrath's last album, Shehili.

Rammstein - Rammstein

Rammstein are finally back. There may have been a question mark next to their return, after the long break and Till's solo album, but have no fear, the world hasn't been robbed of the dick-wielding flame-throwing Germans. 

Eluveitie, Ategnatos

Eluveitie is one of those bands that never bores me and, despite of maintaining a somewhat constant and easily identifiable sound, also has enough variety and change to remain fresh album after album. Ategnatos is more of the same, but with a twist (which has come to describe almost all of their releases in the past years). The difference is this twist might just be the best one yet. 

Godsmack, Arenele Romane, 01.04.2019

What a crazy night! We've been dying to see this guys for ages, and it seemed like the stars had aligned against us (or them?). First in 2012, the band cancelled the tour that included Romania because Sully got sick. Then in 2015, we had to leave the show early, right before Godsmack got on stage, because my husband got sick. Then in 2018, again they cancelled the tour because Tony, their guitarist, suffered a tragedy and lost his child. Finally, FINALLY, the other night, we had the pleasure of seeing these awesome guys live. 

Within Temptation - Resist

Hydra was severely disappointing, I don't think I could name more than one track from it, nor reproduce anything other than "faster and faster and faster and faster and faster and faster". And it wasn't (just) the fact that they abruptly turned pop, it was mostly the shallowness and repetitiveness of it all, there just simply wasn't anything to grasp on. Even Sharon was generic and bland for the most part, and I have no idea how you can take one of the most recognisable voices in the genre and do that to it. For this reason, I wasn't particularly interested in their new release, Resist. But because it's been a quiet season and because I didn't have anything to lose other than an hour of my life, I decided to give it a listen and I'm kind of glad I did. Not because it's a masterpiece or anything, but because it erased a bit of the sour taste Hydra and their live performance at Artmania left for me a few years ago.

Bucovina - Septentrion

Bucovina is not necessarily the most complex band in the world, but everything they write is so fluid and harmonious, with a good flow and most importantly, it gives me such a good feeling. I'm always enjoying myself when I listen to them, and Septentrion makes no exception. 

Conception, My dark symphony

This is going to be a short review, for an equally short release. I don't normally listen to EP's (I prefer to wait for the full album), but considering there doesn't seem to be a full album in sight and this is the first Conception release in 21 years and that the wonderful Roy Khan came out of the hole he's been hiding in for the past 8 years, I feel like this deserves my attention. 

Firma, Poezii alese vol. I

You probably know by now exactly how dear Firma are to me and how much I could fangirl over Rocca if left undisturbed. And especially after watching them in Desteptarea primaverii, doing something out of their comfort zone and once more excelling at it, I was quite excited to hear the Poezii alese album and loved the concept of trying to bring attention to Romanian poetry. But I'm sad to say the result is not exactly what I expected.

Sirenia, Arcane astral aeons

The previous Dim days of dolor album sparked my then dwindling concern for Sirenia, and not only due to Emmanuelle's deep, rich and pleasant voice. The band showed some promise in attempting to correct other things that were previously wrong, such as the ex-machina choirs and grunts and the coldness and general un-excitement the music had to offer. To tell the truth, I was disappointed in the way Ailyn was unceremoniously kicked out of the band and although I never cared for her voice, she seemed like a kind person that took all the (apparently undeserved) shit thrown at her with more grace and patience than most would've mustered. But another truth is that band drama aside, Emmanuelle's arrival was good for them musically and gave me naive hopes they would not only keep the higher standards, but raise them even more. And boy was I wrong!

Desteptarea primaverii, Teatrul Mic, 30.10.2018

I was a bit on the fence about doing this review, because it relates to a theatre play and not an actual concert. But after giving it further thought, I realised that I mostly treated it like a Firma concert and it was a wonderful experience that had a deep impact over me, so in it goes. 

Haggard, Club Quantic, 26.10.2018

I don't even remember how many times I've seen this amazing band live, I've lost count. But every single time, no exception, it was a magical night and what I do remember is the feeling of absolute happiness at witnessing something so awesome. But first, a few words about the opening bands. 

Van Canto - Trust in rust

I'm always enthusiastic when I hear about a new Van Canto album, I know many consider them only a gimmicky band, but I like them a lot. They have a good vibe, put a smile on my face and some of their collaborations are really really awesome (Hansi for the win). But this album I'm not feeling it. It sounds like they're just going through the works and have zero interest towards their music and zero joy of singing, which to me is probably the most off-putting thing when it comes to music. Even mediocre music can be made better by the artist's enthusiasm and not even Opeth- like level of compositions can be saved by a lack of honesty and of caring. Maybe Sly leaving affected them in terms of songwriting or general mood (since he did seem like the most cheerful and carefree guy in the band, maybe he was the motor behind their attitude). But I have to say that as far as vocal skills go, I dig the new guy, Hagen. He has a raspy deep voice and he seems rather versatile. 

Nightwish, Romexpo, 17.08.2018

So freaking tired! Everything hurts, which by now you must know is the trademark of a great live show for me. I think I was even bouncier than usual, and I already am crazily bouncy to begin with. I've been waiting for this for months now, fretting with anticipation, avoiding "spoilers" regarding the setlist and generally being highly excited. And last night it paid off, in a really awesome evening, with a really awesome band. 

Artmania, 27-28.07.2018, Large Square, Sibiu

Even though I've been to almost half of its editions, Artmania continues to amaze me. After hitting a rough spot because of the Town Hall's decision to ban paid concerts in the Large Square (which threatened to put the festival to death, since Artmania is synonim with Sibiu and there was no good alternative in the city to the square) and still resiliently trying to make a good event despite of the obstacles, they were allowed to go back to the regular paid concerts in the Large Square since last year and started to get their mojo back. It would've been a huge shame to lose the longest-living festival in Romania, and in my opinion, the best festival in Romania to bureaucracy. Especially since I cannot get enough of it and I'm so impressed by how it's possible to leave enough space for everyone in a sold out show (instead of cramming as many people together like all the other organisers do), to never have lines for the tokens and drinks, to have clean toilets with running water for washing, separated trash cans for each type of material and generally a feeling of respect and relaxation that infects everyone. Yes, Artmania is the only event where I haven't seen a single empty cup on the ground, it's like everyone starts transforming once they get there. And then there's the random artist going through the crowd while other bands are playing, sometimes talking to the people and taking pictures, but mostly being left undisturbed to enjoy the show. 

Judas Priest, Romexpo, 22.07.18

It’s been a while since I’ve been to a large stadium-like concert (or in our case, parking lot concert, because apparently that’s the only place where we can host shows over 2000 people) and I now remember why I prefer smaller venues. There’s an undeniable energy and adrenaline that comes from a 10000+ crowd, but there’s also an undeniable waiting line that doesn’t seem to ever end. Or to be more accurate, 3 lines, one for the tokens, one for the drinks and one at the toilets. It amazes me that after so many years of organising large concerts, they still can’t reach a proper ratio of stands/people - or most likely, they just don’t care. So in 5 hours I drank one cup of water (I guess that’s appropriate for a mid-summer evening), because I refused to waste the show by standing in line and the breaks between bands simply weren’t enough to get a drink.  

Stone Sour, Arenele Romane, 26.06.18

Finally I get a chance to sit down and write about the awesomeness of Stone Sour + Nothing More! It was such a crazy experience that even now, three days later, I am still feeling it in my bones and in my throat. And it was worth every single freaking second!!

Oceans of slumber - The banished heart

Oceans of slumber are one of those inexplicably underrated bands, that are so good and intriguing it's hard to accept they are so little known instead of receiving the appreciation they deserve. After an excellent reboot with Winter and the wonderful Cammie Gilbert, I was all ears for their newest release and I just can't get enough of this band.