Machine Head, Arenele Romane, 23.09.15

„Who’s opening for Machine Head? Machine Fucking Head.” That was the joke you could hear from every mouth last night after Machine (Fucking) Head gave us a recital it’s not easy to forget, even if you’re not a fan as dedicated as most of the people in the audience were.

Leaves Eyes, King of Kings

Leaves Eyes started out like a modest, but pleasant folk band, carried by Liv Kristine's voice and legacy and, album by album, it became bigger and, I'm sad to say, weaker and duller. So far, the height of dullness has been this hopeless album, but by the way things are going, I'm sure the next one will bring repetitivity and vapidness to a whole new level.  

Iron Maiden, The book of souls

Iron Maiden are like the wine. That could be all the review you need for their new album, The book of souls. And still, such a respectable album deserves a respectable and lengthy review. 

The book of souls is everything you'd expect from Iron Maiden and more. It still has faced paced heavy metal anthems that couldn't let you stand still unless you were deaf, it still has lengthy guitar solos (could you expect anything else from the band that took guitar solos and turned them into art?) and still has TONS of gasoline.

Symphony X, Underworld

Symphony X is one of those bands I can never make my mind about. On one hand, they have the amazingly talented Russell Allen and that alone would be enough to get me interested in them. And it's not just Russell, they're all extremely talented musicians, able to create some of the most impressive modern prog instrumentals and able to wow you with their prowess. On the other hand, they're so freaking frustrating, with this whole "anti-climactic is my middle name" act.

Artmania 2015, Sibiu, 31.07.15-01.08.15

Artmania has been synonym with Sibiu's Large Square for almost a decade, until last year a municipal law forbidding payed concerts in public areas forced them to find a last minute solution and host the shows in a shed at the edge of the city. This year, seeing how the last edition was considered the worst in the festival's history and in order to mark the anniversary of 10 years, they decided to make a free entry festival, that would allow them to go back to the Large Square. Was it an excellent decision? Considering that free entry shows usually mean a shitty audience, I'd say maybe not. However, since they were put in a no-win position by the Town Hall's stupid decision (seriously, do you think the citizens of Sibiu will feel an insurmountable loss if they are not able to access half of the Large Square for a few hours once in a while?), I guess this was the best thing they could do and I appreciate them for putting the festival's heritage and image before the financial gains. I really hope that they'll find a solution for next year as well, as they can't possibly make it free entry every year.