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!