Muziekrecensies
Australian composer/multi-instrumentalist Takiaya Reed is a Cherokee woman. She incorporates her indigenous sovereignty, emancipation and experiences into the (instrumental) music of Divide and Dissolve. ‘Insatiable’ is about Takiaya’s vision of a better world. The drumming is droning, her guitar playing sludgy. Especially with her saxophone playing, and all sorts of sound effects, she creates her … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Avatarium, is a Swedish rock doom/melancholic heavy metal band. ‘Between You, God, The Devil and The Dead’ is their sixth studio album. The release date is scheduled for 24 January. The music is heavier and darker than their recent albums. They combine this with the doom of their debut album.‘Between You, God, The Devil & … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Colin Blunstone became well known in the 1960s with his band The Zombies, with which he had several hits. After about seven years, the band ended, but Colin remained active in music. He released solo albums, and was a regular guest singer for the Alan Parsons Project. Perhaps partly due to his part, ‘Old and … Read more, available in English and Dutch
In its almost 30-year existence, Karibow has released quite a few (double) albums. Some of these are true one-man projects, as founder Oliver Rüsing is a singer and multi-instrumentalist. Moreover, he always wants to learn to play new instruments and likes to experiment with sounds.Fans of prog/melodic rock and AOR, among others, had to wait … Read more, available in English and Dutch
The EP ‘Focus’ is Soft Ffog’s second release. This Norwegian quartet combines jazz with prog rock to create nostalgic, instrumental songs.Opening track ‘Camel’ is complex, you have a lot to listen to. Elements from the beginning, reappear at the end. ‘Focus’ contains subdued parts and beautiful, high-pitched (keyboard) tones, among other things. This third (and … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Robbert Duijf won the European Blues Challenge for bands last year. Robbert plays and sings/tells from the heart, and creates pure, acoustic songs. His music is a mix of delta blues, gospel and a touch of British-American folk. ‘Silver Spoon’ is an old school album with one track recordings and few overdubs. Thus, the pure … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Italian band Trick or treat mixes happy power metal with classical music and funny, ‘’ghosty‘’ elements. The band has been around for over 20 years, but I had never delved into their music until I became curious about ‘Ghosted’ (due out 25 April). The opening track has sampled sounds, classical music and a slightly spooky … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Hteththemeth is a Romanian avant-garde progressive metal band. Avant-garde metal is an experimental style of metal. It is typified by unusual sounds, instruments and song structures. Their new album ‘Telluric Inharmonies’ also features many calm, spherical parts mixed with classical, electronic and some metal elements. The story of this concept album is: After man was … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Saturday night 5 April tribute bands Slash N’ Roses + Bad Medicine were in De Bosuil, Weert (The Netherlands). The eight-member band Slash N’ Roses gained national fame through their participation in the TV programme The Tribute – Battle of the Bands. The Italian Bon Jovi tribute band kicked off this evening. Bassist Steve Balocco … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Swiss band Kerberos mixes complex orchestral arrangements with death and prog metal. The vocals are also very diverse: classical (choral) vocals, and grunts are alternated/mixed. The songs on the EP ‘Apostle to the Malevolent’ are baroque-inspired. The lyrics, for instance, deal with mental health and trauma’s. In addition, capitalism is criticised. The instrumental ‘Praeludium in … Read more, available in English and Dutch