Muziekrecensies 🇳🇱 / Music reviews 🇬🇧
Esther Kessel-Tamerus ‘Elements Of Hope’ is the third album by the studio project Glorious Wolf (founded by composer/guitarist Ruud Dielen).The concept centres on the journey towards adulthood in a chaotic world marked by climate change, AI, wars and other issues. Yet hope for a better future remains. The lead vocals are provided by Frank van der Borg … Read more
‘Eternal Mistake’ is a love story and philosophical reflection centred on a relationship between a human and a humanoid. Atmospheric elements are blended with powerful guitar riffs and orchestral passages.At the start, I have to get used to the vocals/spoken words, which sometimes sound distorted, and the occasionally gritty sound of the music. But it … Read more
The American band Anthea blends progressive, power and thrash metal with symphonic/orchestral music. Most tracks on ‘Beyond the Dawn’ feature a symphonic opening lasting less than 15 seconds, after which the metal kicks in (in a predictable manner). The ballad ‘Whispers of the Heart’ is an exception.There are a number of predictable twists and elements … Read more
The Australian Taj (pronounced Tash) Farrant amazed the jury and the audience as a nine-year-old boy in Australia Got Talent (2019). After that, he became famous on social media; he now has about 1 million followers on Facebook. He played at all kinds of major festivals and collaborated with, among others, Carlos Santana and The … Read more
The cinematic ‘Vox Occulta’ is Einar Solberg’s (Leprous) second solo album. I’m captivated from the very first second. The intros are all quite unique, and the endings are often abrupt, yet beautiful. Every track is very different, yet they are all complex.Einar’s vocals are incredibly versatile. Both his soft and his loud vocals are at … Read more
The young members of Salamirecorder (Austria) blend various styles and decades, creating a mix that includes garage punk, psychedelia and rock ’n’ roll. Add to that Felix Schnabl’s distinctive voice and the vintage recording gear, and a unique sound emerges.Right from the instrumental intro to ‘Brothers & Sisters’, the vintage (muddy) sound is quite noticeable; … Read more
Friday, April 24, Ton Scherpenzeel was appointed Ridder in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau (Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau). In a few years time, this musical jack-of-all-trades will be celebrating 50 years in the business as a composer, lyricist and keyboardist. He is best known for the prog rock band Kayak (which he co-founded). He … Read more
The lyrics of Mournbraid (the third album) by Swedish power metal band Evermore deal with the challenges and struggles that people face. After the instrumental, classically oriented opening, the metal kicks in. Johan Haraldsson has a fairly high pitch, allowing him to perform several long vocal outbursts. His voice is less heavy than that of … Read more
Clawfinger, you might think: ‘Hey, do they still exist?’ Yes, they certainly do! Their last studio album was released about 19 years ago, so it’s no wonder that many people had (almost) forgotten about the band. For those who don’t know them, here’s a brief introduction: Clawfinger is a rap metal band from Sweden, formed … Read more
Karibow began almost 30 years ago as a one-man project. This German multi-instrumentalist, Oliver Rüsing, still sings and plays most of the tracks himself. ‘Ophelia’ features tien tracks, which explore ways of escaping tragedy without becoming overly emotionally fraught. ‘On Higher Ground’, for example, has an optimistic sound. Oliver says: “Waking up without resentment about … Read more