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  • After releasing the under-rated Hour Of Joy for the now defunct Black Lotus label, this Dutch gothic metal band return with their second effort. If you are a fan of Mandylion-period The Gathering you'll have plenty to sink your teeth into here. Vocalist Saskia Van Heugten still reminds me a lot of Anneke - with a nice clean midrange voice. The music stays away from the epic symphonic approach of After Forever and Epica instead going for a modern "rockier" in your face sound...kind of like The Gathering. I liked the first album and I like this one even more!
    $15.00
  • Digipak edition with one bonus track"Fans of gothic metal, rejoice! Tristania, one of the genre’s true pioneering bands, has just released their seventh studio album entitled Darkest White. The Norwegian powerhouse act has a storied fourteen year history stretching back to their 1998 debut – and they haven’t lost a step thanks to some much needed lineup stability. Darkest White contains all the near-theatrical arrangements, darker moods, and diverse tones that fans of the band would expect – delivered with a solid three-singer attack and technically tight musicianship. After numerous line-up shuffles, the now stable group has really hit their stride again, producing an album that clearly outshines their previous effort (2010’s middling Rubicon).Tristania has always focused on delivering solid vocal performances, and continue on with the duet of the angelic Mariangela Demurtas and the theatrical Kjetil Nordhus. Demurtas has a silky, clear voice and she remains her own singer rather than pushing towards the operatic stylings of other Gothic bands. Nordhus delivers with great emotion and depth, whether singing softly and clearly or doing some Broadway-style emoting. Guitarist Anders Høyvik Hidle now contributes a good amount of growled / death metal vocals, giving the band a bit of “beauty and the beast” sound at times. Overall, Tristania continues to deliver the clear and precise metal that has won them a worldwide following. Excellent musicianship backs up the great vocal harmonies, delivered by guitarists Hidle and Gyri Losnegaard, keyboard player Einar Moen, and bottom end Ole Vistnes (bass / backing vocals) and Tarald Lie (drums).“Number” opens the release with growled vocals and a kicky drum line, intense bass and great guitar hooks. Demurtas and Nordhus also contribute well done duet vocals making this track the quintessential example of the rebuilt Tristania. The heavy and intense “Darkest White” showcases the male vocalists. This track has a more conventional heavy metal feel to it, with strong contributions from guitars, bass and drums. “Himmelfall” is a slower, darker rock tune with hooky guitars and a great rolling rhythm line, and theatrical vocals by all. “Requiem” is a sweeping, epic soft track – very different from the previous songs. Demurtas’ voice is at its best here, and the softer keys and guitars combined with multi-layered vocal harmonies make it arguably the best track on the album. The languorous vocal lines of “Diagnosis” contrast nicely with the high speed rhythm lines, and both carry emotional intensity.“Scarling” starts off as almost an old school rocker, but becomes a moody progressive / Gothic track driven by vocals and drums. The vocal chorus, and interplay amongst the three leads is quite impressive. “Night on Earth” features great growl vocals over a simple but effective guitar riff and a real head banging rhythm line. The haunting “Lavender” is a major contrast, filled with soft guitars and mellow, soft vocals – the epitome of dramatic rock. “Cypher” is a somewhat gloomy sounding rocker with very well done male vocals and a brooding rhythm line. “Arteries” wraps up the CD, and features great back and forth between growl and clean voices along with top notch drum and bass.Darkest White is a very good release from a veteran band. The returning lineup now has a good deal more experience working as a team and has gelled into something special. Although the band’s technical abilities were never in doubt, they have addressed the weaknesses apparent in their last album – the song structure is better, the lyrics and themes more consistent, and the members of Tristania now seem more comfortable working together. They are tight and confident, once again pushing musical boundaries. Diversity in song style, tempo, and tone highlight the band’s superb use of multiple singers, and keeps the album interesting throughout. The excellent production values and strong engineering allow the many subtleties and great depths of the music to flow without seeming forced or unnatural.Highly recommended for fans of the genre." - Hard Rock Haven
    $13.00
  • Yet another over the top all star project masterminded by Edguy's Tobias Sammet.  I think at this point Avantasia is even more popular than Edguy!  He always brings together an interesting cast of musicians.  This time around he features: Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow), Eric Martin (Mr. Big), Ronnie Atkins (Pretty Maids), Biff Byford (Saxon), Michael Kiske (Helloween), Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon), Bruce Kulick (Kiss), Russell Gibrook (Uriah Heep), Bob Catley (Magnum), producer extraordinaire Sascha Paeth, and of course The German Film Orchestra Babelsberg.  Pure bombastic rock opera stuff."Tobias Sammet, one of the best known names in power metal and for good reason, is a multifaceted musician best known for his vocal and keyboard prowess in the German power metal giant Edguy. Flawlessly possessing keyboard, orchestration, bass, and vocal skills worthy of his fame, Sammet stepped to the side of his work in Edguy and started a symphonic rock/metal side project, Avantasia in the year 2000. Tobias Sammet’s Avantasia, which features Sammet’s talents and abilities to compose and orchestrate perfect, beautiful music, also boasts a roster full of well known names throughout the power metal community such as Kai Hansen, Michael Kiske, Andre Matos, and Jorn Lande. In 2011, Sammet announced the end of Avantasia, however, after that rather depressing announcement, Avantasia is releasing their 6th full length studio album on March 29th, The Mystery of Time.The Mystery of Time features yet another all star lineup. Outside of Sammet’s constant presence, the album features Michael Kiske, Biff Byford, Arjen Anthony Lucassen, and Joe Lynn Turner just to name a few. There are many new vocal presences in the album, different from the usual heard in Avantasia’s past, and it really helps create a refreshing and new sound to the project. As usual however, the production and orchestrations, instrumentation, choir presence, and vocal layering are absolutely spot on. Upon first listen to the album however, I wasn’t completely sold. I felt like a few of the songs were hollow and emotionless. Unlike my favorite albums, The Metal Opera I and II and The Scarecrow, I didn’t get pulled into the record right away. Listening to the album four or five times however, I saw the album for what it truly is, a quite flawlessly executed rock opera.The first track on “Spectres” begins slowly and doesn’t feel like a proper way to kick off an album. The drum work is more fitting of a faster tempo thrash song than the mellow presence of the music throughout the verses. However, as soon as the chorus kicked in I felt that rush of joy and sheer happiness typically expected when listening to Avantasia. Tracks like “The Watchmakers Dream” and “Black Orchid” manage to bring back all of that which I love from Sammet, strong, soaring choruses and beautiful guitar work from Arjen Lucassen. Biff Byford joins in, bringing with him that raw, true heavy metal roughness that is found in Saxon, and has an amazing way of rounding out and complementing Sammet’s vocals. “Where Clock Hands Freeze” and “Dweller in a Dream” feature the ever amazing, and never aging voice of Michael Kiske himself. Kiske brings such a crisp, soaring presence to a song that is simply unmatched.The ballad-like “Sleepwalking” features the familiar female vocal accompaniment of Cloudy Yang. Her vocal presence brings an ever pop-like sound to the album, but it is a beautiful song nonetheless. The album’s other ballad, “What’s Left of Me” is likely one of Avantasia’s best ballads, holding true to some power metal roots. Two 10 minute long songs “Savior in the Clockwork” and “The Great Mystery” truly make this album epic, while tracks like “Invoke the Machine” bring a serious heavy metal vibe, featuring Ronnie Atkins of Pretty Maids. This is easily one of the best tracks on the album, blending that epic power metal sound of choruses and keyboards with perfect and heavy thrashing elements.The album as a whole manages to, as usual, feature not only the musical artistry of Tobias Sammet, but also brings together names from all over the rock and metal genre to show off each individual’s talent. Personally, I am so happy that Avantasia is still alive and kicking. The Mystery of Time is absolutely an album to be proud of, and for any fans of power metal, Edguy, or previous Avantasia albums, there are absolutely elements of all three in these songs for you to enjoy. Here’s to another great album thanks to Tobias Sammet, cheers!" - The Metal Review 
    $11.00
  • "Previewing their tenth album "Beyond the Red Mirror" with the previously-released "Twilight of the Gods" EP, German power-symphonic metal maestros BLIND GUARDIAN capitalize on a long break with an encompassing and magical effort. For "Beyond the Red Mirror", the band worked with three different worldwide choirs from Budapest, Prague and Boston, along with two full-scale orchestras bearing 90 members apiece. The results are as larger-than-life as the band intended, fleshing out a sci-fi and fantasy piece bridged to their 1995 album, "Imaginations from the Other Side".As "Twilight of the Gods" (one of only two songs to clock in beneath five minutes) proved to ring like a broad-scoped, QUEEN-esque musical sonnet, the rest of "Beyond the Red Mirror" is simply massive. Beginning and ending with two epics that roll at 9:29 each, this album plays like BLIND GUARDIAN's reach for a masterpiece, and they practically hit it.You couldn't ask for a more breath-stealing intro with the gusting chorus opening the expansive "The Ninth Wave", a song stuffed as much with electronica buzzes and defined guitar lines as there are swarming voices. Hansi Kürsch, one of the best metal vocalists in the business, is nearly secondary to the enthralling choral tides that introduce and conclude the track. This could've been a near-ten-minute EP unto itself, that's how conclusive and meticulous the song is structured.The decorative harpsichord setting off "Prophecies" is a delicious intro for André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen to plow through successions of IRON MAIDEN-derived chords and marching progressions. Why BLIND GUARDIAN gets away with it is due to the incredible vocal outpourings around them. Again, the majestic theater aspect of QUEEN plays into this track as much as IRON MAIDEN and it's the proficiency behind the delivery that makes "Prophecies" sing instrumentally on top of the wondrous voices around it. Equally enchanting is "At the Edge of Time", which keeps a frolicking back beat and spritely orchestral accompaniment behind Frederik Ehmke's gradual stamp. The delicate measures BLIND GUARDIAN puts behind the thrusting march of "At the Edge of Time" are astonishing to behold, no matter how many symphonic metal albums you've been exposed to.The swift "Ashes of Eternity" gusts on the heels of Frederik Ehmke's fluid pounding, the breezing guitars and Hansi Kürsch's vocals, which toughen to full snarls at times, but never fail to exhale with full conviction. The gorgeous backing vocals add to "Ashes of Eternity"'s tireless drafts. Even more vigorous is "The Holy Grail" thereafter, which does HELLOWEEN and GAMMA RAY proud, much less HAMMERFALL and MANOWAR with its hurricane-speed tale of valor. Let the musical echoes of battle always sound this powerful.The 7:56 "The Throne" is a metal opera unto itself while serving the album's overall goal in sweeping the listener from one riveting plane to another, transitioning the twenty years between "Imaginations from the Other Side" and this album. "The Throne" works a little harder to find its spark as the band and orchestral pieces thicken up the longer the piece rolls, but Hansi Kürsch valorously leads the way and put to the stage, this piece should sound even bigger, so long as all of its recorded parts are presented live.What can be safely assumed is that the album's carnival-esque finale, "Grand Parade" will make it to their live forum. Cited by André Olbrich as the best song BLIND GUARDIAN has ever written, there's substance to this claim as it rolls, romps and cascades with all the gala these guys can load up. "Grand Parade" is a cheerful promenade for much of the ride with a thundering chorus ushering it along until a dramatic change in tone arrives with the first guitar solo, altering the course toward a valiant and clamorous bang. A return to the battle front with power metal thrusts and cinematic orchestration ram the song back to its original celebratory cavalcade for a triumphant finale. Indeed, this is the best song BLIND GUARDIAN has conceived. Phenomenal.With no disrespect intended to their contemporaries, BLIND GUARDIAN delivers symphonic metal of the highest art on "Beyond the Red Mirror". How far these guys have come since "Battalions of Fear" is not only remarkable, it's tremendous. As Hansi Kürsch has described the story behind this album, the red mirror is a representative, lone-standing portal to purported salvation and it must be found at all costs. What BLIND GUARDIAN has found with this album is inspirational and it's inexcusable the Grammy committee has long kept a sightless eye toward these virtuosi of metal music." - Blabbermouth
    $14.00
  • New solo project from Morten Veland, the leader of Sirenia and founder of Tristania. Huge sounding album filled with classical themes and orchestrations. Veland plays all the instruments and sings both clean and coarse. This guy is living large...
    $12.00
  • Argia is the third album from this female fronted band from the Basque region of Spain.  The band has been reconstituted with only founding members Zuberoa Aznárez and Gorka Elso returning.  There aren't a lot of "beauty and the beast" metal bands around any more with most of them either breaking up or moving on to all clean vocals.  DiM still do it and do it well.  This album sounds absolutely massive, reminding of the glory days of After Forever.  Monolithic keyboards, layers of choir-like vocals, and crushing riffs are the order of the day.  Occasionally a wicked keyboard solo will pop in for good measure.  Complementing the great vocals of Zuberoa are two guest appearances - Thomas Vickstrom (Therion) and Ailyn Gimenez (Sirenia).  If you like the style this one is highly recommended.
    $10.00
  • Fronted by the fiery-tressed Charlotte Wessels, Delain is the brainchild of ex-Within Temptation keyboardist, Martijn Westerholt. Originally conceived by Westerholt as an all-star studio project, the success of the debut album Lucidity tipped his hand and Delain evolved into a full blown band. The immediate impact of their debut “Lucidity”, put Delain on tour. An instant live hit, the band’s popularity continued to grow with the release of their 2nd album “April Rain”. The band found themselves on tour through out Europe, USA, Mexico, and Brazil. Highlights of the tour included festival performances at Wacken Open Air, Sonisphere, Lowlands, ProgPower USA, and Hellfest. As the band’s popularity grew they evolved from a support act for Kamelot and Epica into full fledged headliners across Europe.“We Are The Others” is the band’s third album. It was produced by the team of Jacob Hellner (Rammstein, Apocalyptica), Fredrik Thomander and Anders Wikstrom (Scorpions, Backyard Babies). At first glance some song titles on “We Are The Others” may sound mysterious and conspiratorial, but there is a very serious background: The lyrics to the title-track were inspired by the hate-crime against a British girl named Sophie Lancaster in 2007. She and her boyfriend were beaten comatose by a gang of youths, because of their goth looks. Sophie died from her injuries. This tragedy sent shock waves throughout the world. Delain’s response to this tragic case is expressed through the song We Are The Others.The band met Fear Factory’s Burton C. Bell at Wacken Open Air. As a result he guests on the track “Where Is The Blood”. The Sensory special digipak edition features four bonus tracks. The steampunk influenced cover art was created by noted pop surrealist Glenn Arthur.
    $14.00
  • Second album from this French gothic metal band masterminded by Vynce Leff.  Odd situation...for a couple of years the band was fronted by Clementine Delauney, elevating the band's status as they went on tour with Delain.  Clementine left before this album was recorded, touring with Serenity so there is no studio documentation of her as a member of the band.  She has now been replaced Elvyne Lorient. Whyzdom's music is definitely molded in a similar fashion to Delain and Within Temptation.  Its very heavily symphonic and Leff has incorporated a choir into the mix lending an even bigger, more bombastic sound.  Fans of Delain's April Rain should check this one.
    $10.00
  • "There are few bands, with a better than 25 years career, that have been as consistent in their sound and output as Denmark's Royal Hunt. Sure, they've had their share of personnel changes, significantly in the vocalist position, yet they carry on with increasing success. Recently, some of that success comes from one simple yet significant change. They brought Pennsylvania native D.C. Cooper back on the microphone. For my money, he'll always be the voice of Royal. He remains so, and the band records their thirteen album with Cooper, XIII - Devil's Dozen, his fifth on vocals for Royal Hunt.For those unfamiliar with Royal Hunt, which I doubt if you're reading this, the band performs melodic and symphonic heavy metal, with large emphasis on the first two descriptors. The symphonic element comes from founder and principal songwriter Andre Anderson's influence and keyboard presence. I'm presuming it's his synths that account for the large than life orchestration and not an actual orchestra. PR material was wanting on that information. Suffice to say, the symphonic layer provides two things. It provides a lush and lavish canvas and reinforces the melody of the arrangement, in every song. After this, Anderson offers keyboard solos throughout, sharing the limelight with the guitar leads. And those leads are as present and immense as everything else. Actually, I think the guitar presence is even larger on this album than most. Jonas Larsen is at the top of his game.Following these things, Cooper is also in top form, with a strong vocal presence. His skill comes from his natural ability to follow the melody and harmony of an arrangement, and then stay in range. Then there's the character of the songs, which has been alluded to by speaking of the particular musical elements.What's notable in those song arrangements is the importance of harmony and melody, but also the basic rock groove. This is where, from the band's inception, classic melodic hard rock has been as much a pillar of the musical foundation as the symphonic element. When these things dovetail together as with So Right So Wrong, How Do You Know, Way Too Late, and the quite catchy Hear On A Platte, Royal Hunt is a formidable melodic metal powerhouse. And that was only to mention four songs. They're all outstanding, all terrific and no filler. Once more, with XIII - Devil's Dozen, Royal Hunt's melodic and symphonic heavy metal is consistent, creative, and entertaining. Sweet stuff and strongly recommended." - Dangerdog.com 
    $16.00
  • "It feels like it’s been longer than two years since Lacuna Coil’s last release, Dark Adrenaline, but where that album fell a little short, Broken Crown Halo feels like a true return to form for the band and this is perhaps one of the band’s strongest releases to date.Broken Crown Halo begins with Nothing Stands In Our Way, which slowly builds up into an absolute earworm of a tune and it’s no wonder that this was the track chosen to represent the album because it just has everything – fantastic vocal performances from both singers with a small hint of heaviness amongst the melody, and this wonderful heavy tone to the guitars atop of crushing drums.It’s not just the opener that will get stuck in your head however; with this album it really does feel that Lacuna Coil have crafted a whole collection of wholly memorable tracks. There’s Zombie, which features one of the best vocal performances from Andrea to date, with him seamlessly blending harsh and clean vocals together, and then there’s Die And Rise which begins with an introduction so catchy it’ll be stuck in your head for days. In all honesty, there isn’t a single track on the album that stands out as being bad.In essence, Broken Crown Halo is an exceedingly strong release from the band. It’s adventurous and fresh, whilst still retaining the classic Lacuna Coil ‘sound’ – and it’s excellent." - Soundscape
    $12.00
  • "Hailing from Hungary, Sorronia have been quietly honing and evolving their sound and style since their formation in late 2011. Now that everything is in place the band have released their debut offering ‘Words Of Silence’.Falling neatly into the Symphonic Metal bracket, Sorronia have come up with a rather tasty debut, the female vocal of Anna Király is particularly effective, displaying a real warmth and depth balanced with no shortage of emotion. Musically, the band have developed an excellent balance between the guitar riffs and the orchestral elements, leading to an almost fifty fifty split between the two, neither swamping or drowning out the other, all of which makes for an extremely accessible album.There are a good few tracks worthy of special mention, my personal favourite, ’Shattered’, is a glorious, piano and string led song with an incredibly catchy, pop tinged hook and chorus, a track I could see being a real gem when played live. ’Leave It Behind’, another really strong track, with a Gothic overtone that creates a darker atmosphere than some of the other compositions. Album closer ’This Is The End’ is a near perfect choice for the task, encompassing, as it does all that the band have set out to achieve with this record.The production sound contributes a lot to the finished article of course, and a really great job it is that’s been done as well. All aspects of the bands sound has been carefully balanced, ensuring that the album works as a complete unit rather than a sporadic and disjointed affair.The only problem I can see for Sorronia, is that they are competing in a currently rather saturated marketplace, where a host of bands are jostling and presenting themselves as the next big thing in the genre. Sorronia however, have undoubted talent and if the strength of writing and performance continues on this level then they should easily survive the cut. Well recommended." - Planet Mosh
    $13.00
  • Ninth album from this Swedish band.  Katatonia's music shares a kindred spirit with that of Opeth and Tool.  Very much emotion driven with a dark vibe through out.  It doesn't come more melancholy than this one... "Despite being into their third decade, gloomy Swedish progressive metallers Katatonia are still producing fine work. 2009’s Night Is the New Day was heralded as the band’s finest ever album, and with prog’s increasing influence evident across the more facile end of the metal spectrum, this band is doing better than ever. Dead End Kings marks another progression for this outfit – in terms of album structure, anyway. While their previous effort was a sumptuous effort with a sum greater than its parts, this ninth album is a collection of fantastic, searching songs that stand alone as well as they do together. It’s still completely and utterly miserable, though… so very, very miserable. The cellos in opening track The Parting add solemn layers to music that is already laden with sorrow and introspection. It’s a multifarious affair from then on in. The slightly sinister Hypnone adds strength before the album succumbs to the mellow, emotive The Racing Heart. Buildings is the most resolutely metal track here. Its humungous riffs are positioned at exactly the moment where the listener may have been lulled into a false sense of security, bludgeoning guitars swelling the song’s belly with a fiercely charged beauty. There are other moments of grandiose, majestic beauty breaking up the murkiness, but Buildings is the only piece of metal you’re going to get.Dead Letters is massively reminiscent of Tool – and while the American prog-grungers remain at work on their overdue fifth LP, it’s a very welcome sound. It doesn’t last though. As with everything Katatonia do, the song wanders off into another direction, atmospheric moments splintering into sparse orchestration, Jonas Renkse’s murmured voice flying across the top throughout. <br><br>The closer is certainly the finest standalone song here, bringing Dead End Kings to a glorious and complex end. There’s no grand climax. It just fades to dust, allowing you to reflect upon yet another excellent album from Katatonia." - BBC
    $12.00