Replacing axe-wielding lions and scantily clad, big-haired warrior maidens with vivid, futuristic imagery, it only takes a quick glance at the cover art of Dark Connection (Nuclear Blast), the new album by multinational power metal act Beast in Black, to see that science fiction and anime have played an integral role in its, er… inception.
The fifth full-length release from Delain finds the Dutch symphonic metal act looking towards the future with a combined sense of fear and optimism. Appearing to presage dark, dystopian times, the riffs and beats on the latest album Apocalypse & Chill (Napalm Records) are countered (for the most part) by the uplifting vocal melodies of singer Charlotte Wessels as they suggest a more hopeful future. Continue reading
Greeted with a queue that stretches the length of the entire street and beyond, the nearest many get to seeing Italian Dwarven Metal act Wind Rose is listening to them from outside. ‘The Breed of Durin’, ‘To Erebor’, and of course ‘Diggy Diggy Hole’ sound like they’re going down well, but it’s disappointing that a large percentage of the crowd has to miss most of their set. Continue reading