Opeth - Sorceress

After two reviews full of superlatives for Heritage and Pale Communion, I guess it's finally time to tone down a bit the Opeth fangirlism for Sorceress. It doesn't mean that Sorceress is a bad album, Opeth could make better albums than 80% of the music that's out there in their sleep, I think they're incapable of writing a bad record. It's just that it's not as brilliant as some of their previous works. What can I say, they set high standards for themselves... Then again, this being Opeth, I might change my mind after a few more spins, it seems that no matter how many times I listen to their albums, there's always more to discover and more to love.

Orphaned Land & Amaseffer - Kna'an

Ah, they’re still fine! After an All is one that made me wonder if they aren’t placing their ambassadorial role above their musicians’ role and especially after the departure of Yossi, their main composer, I was starting to get a bit worried about Orphaned Land’s future. Fortunately, this new album is here to erase all my doubts and put my mind to ease, as the lovely Israelis put out yet another great record. And while it's a collaboration and not their sole work, I do count it as an Orphaned Land album because their print is undeniable. I can't say I'm very familiar with Amaseffer so I'm not sure how much they bring to the table, but most of the songs are typical OL and have everything I love them for. There are some innovations and departures from the style we know them for, but from what I know of Amaseffer it doesn’t sound like them either, so I suppose it’s just a natural progression from both bands together, not just influencing one another. In any way, with just one unfortunate exception we’ll talk about later, it sounds very good.

Warrel Dane, Hard Rock Cafe, 13.09.16

“Just let us play the fucking song!” Ah, Warrel, such a treat! When he announced that he will play the full Dead heart in a dead world album, I expected emotion, angst and a heartbreaking burden. We got that alright, but we also got a very positive and jovial Warrel Dane. For a man who sings about despair and madness, he really doesn’t take himself very seriously, and it was exactly this unexpected combination that made the show enjoyable. But let’s start with the beginning.

Sabaton, The last stand

This summer was pretty disappointing in terms of new records and good shows, so I took a break because there was nothing I was interested in writing about. But it seems like autumn is starting in a promising way and just looking at the upcoming releases makes me twitch with joy. First stop - Sabaton.

Grand Magus, Sword Songs

Take charge and commaaaaaand!!! That would be Grand Magus in a nutshell.  A band with clear connections and respect towards the past, whether we’re talking about the Black Sabbath-like doom of their first few albums, or about the Iron Maiden-inspired heavy metal of their current albums, they are definitely a sight for sore eyes (a sound for sore ears?) in the world of contemporary metal. With a constancy and balance that few of the lesser known bands have been able to achieve, Grand Magus are like a train that doesn’t slow down or stop, in their career in general, and on this album in particular.