Defleshed - metalbounded (Under The Blade)
Paradise Lost - rotting misery (Lost Paradise)
Maria Callas - ebben ne andró lontana (La Wally; Alfredo Catalani)
Nocturnal Rites - awakening (New World Messiah)
Shivaree - arlington girl (I Oughtta Give You a Shot in the Head for Making Me Live in This Dump)
Enslaved - større enn tid - tyngre enn natt (Mardraum: Beyond the Within)
Fear Of Eternity - melancholy rain (Toward The Castle)
Arkona - vedy proshlogo (Vo Slavu Velikim)
Zarathustra - cosmic black (Perpetual Black Force)
Manowar - outlaw [live] (Hell On Stage Live)
The Kovenant - dragonstorms (In Times Before The Light)
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - ain't nothin' like the real thing (Marvin Gaye And Friends)
Diablo Swing Orchestra - infralove (The Butcher's Ballroom)
Eisregen - zu ehren meiner dunklen königin (Das Ende des Weges)


Starting off with Defleshed is not a bad idea - straight forward and fast Death/Thrash Metal by one of the genre's most reliable representatives. 'rotting misery' is one of my favourite "ancient" Paradise Lost tracks. It sounds as it's called, the piano sprinkles create a sinister atmosphere, and as always, Gregory Mackintosh's guitar melodies are just marvellous. I think I do prefer the "In Dub" version of this Doom song that is a bit rougher (the one that can also be found on the collection "Reflection"). Legendary diva Maria Callas then beautifully sings an aria from Catalani's "La Wally" - unbelievable how unique she sounds, and this is an awesome composition by Catalani. This may be the singer that even people who are not interested in opera should listen to. Then, a fast burning flame in the heart of a dear friend: Nocturnal Rites. This track I think I never heard before, and it starts off very promising - cool riff. Oh, wait wait - of course I know that song, I recognize the chorus. Very very good track, well done, great songwriting.

Don't be turned off by the somewhat pretentious album title, this Shivaree album is actually quite tuned down. I haven't heard this in a long time, she does have a very enjoyable voice and especially this song is presented with such effortlessness that it quite feels like living - you just get through the day, you talk and laugh and work, and when you're waiting for the bus and watch the people hurrying, shopping or talking or waiting, you feel no struggle, you think that for a brief moment you understand what life's about. But you can't hold on to the thought, and then you get into the bus. Very atmospheric then the beginning of the opener of Enslaved's "turning point" album, where they became more progressive and, if I'm not mistaken, 70ies prog influenced to a certain degree. The metal parts of this 10 minute adventure remain quite inapprochable, but it certainly sparks interest to listen to the whole album and explore Enslaved's world. The Fear Of Eternity album I needed because of the great cover. They (actually: he - this is Andrea Tilenni's one-man-band) play melancholic/melodic "Black" Metal, cheap guitar sound, drumcomputer. Still, this track manages to create a nice atmosphere. Certainly no masterpiece or must-have, but not bad. And get this: Tilenni is from sunny Sicily ;-)

Arkona I like very much, I worship that they sing in Russian and I love Masha's vocals. They are Pagan/Folk Metal and just do everything correctly on every song I've ever heard of them. As suggested in song and album title, Germany's Zarathustra are black :-) This is a great, fast Black Metal song, very well written. "Blackness around, Blackness inside", the lyrics say - what else to add? Very cool band. Today my dear, again Manowar live? What do you want from me? Yeah yeah they're a great liveband I suppose, is that what you wanted to hear? 'outlaw' is originally from "Louder Than Hell", a more recent album. It bangs away like there's no tomorrow - nice track and very Manowar. The next song is from medieval times, when they were still called "Covenant", and it's the original Black Metal rattling on a high level. I really like the sound of this one - up to "Animatronic", everything this band did was awesome and interesting. With S.E.T.I. however, it looked like they had shot their wad, and there was nothing more to come so far. I haven't heard "In Times Before Light" yet, but this track sounds very very promising.

Speaking of repetitions, here we have the wonderful Marvin Gaye again :-) This time he teams up with Tammi Terrell to perform a - as usual - very smooth version of this song. I didn't like Tammi Terrell so much in this though. The next track starts off quite modern sounding, I wouldn't have expected it to be the Diablo Swing Orchestra. This doesn't provide what I was hoping for, but of course opera (or operatic) singers get me most of the time, and so does Annlouice Loegdlund in this case. I wasn't too impressed with the songwriting here, but I'm sure that the album has more to give. And then Today digs out a very controversial band to end today's session. Eisregen are certainly interesting, lyrically I've always been a little scared to go deeper I have to say. Not that I understand a single grunted word in this song. This was a demo release in 1996, and the sound is as expected. But also here on this early release, they had these fascinating bass lines and unique bits (like the swinging drums after the intro) that provide variety and keep you interested.


--MightySapnish--