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LifestreamI really should turn this into a static section since it reflects what I really do with my time. That is, acquiring new albums and wading through the everlasting onslaught of music. Here is a crop selection of the last week or so, accompanied with a few enlightening comments of sorts …
It’s easy to make a sunday fly isn’t it?
Heart - Jupiter’s Darling
[www.heart-music.com/]
This is something of a surprise. After such a long time away, I never expected to get a new album from Heart. Is it any good?Bottom line .. maybe. It’s soft rock. It’s nice. But it has none of the real hit songs that have come to expect from Heart.
Acoustic and grunge. But not me cup of tea.
(2/5)Dokken - Hell To Pay
[www.dokken.net]
This was a new experience for me. Even though Dokken is ancient I had never come across one of their albums before. While nothing out of the ordinary I feel instantly transported back to the 80s. The selection is even and well polished.
This is certainly classic (hard) rock. Not heavy metal. Nice for the fans I am sure. But for the rest of us there is little or no incentive to take up Dokken.
(3/5)Alanis Morissette - So Called Chaos
[www.alanis.com]
The Canadian pop phenomena is back. This time the production has been a collaborative effort as far as I understand it. Bye-bye singer songwriter and welcome the real world.
Some have voiced the opinion that this is far too “teen- and popish”. Well I can’t really say. I’m not a fan. But it is a good album. And it is reasonable to assume that with time artists become more polished and “mainstream” if you will. It’s called “learning to do something well”. I don’t know why people are so obstinate. Maybe it is the power of first impression, or maybe they just want their favourite artists to be flawed just like they are. It’s just postmodernism. Get over it.
(3/5)Dream Evil - The Book Of Heavy Metal
[www.dreamevil.se/]
This Swedish metal band made a big impression with their first album three years ago. This is their third studio album and one can conclude that the quality has decreased somewhat. Still have a few VERY good 80s style heavy metal songs (Into The Moonlight, Crusader’s Anthem) but overall this album is lacking. The quality is just too uneven. Maybe I need to take it for another spin.
(3/5)Dare - Beneath the Shining Water
[www.darrenwharton.demon.co.uk]
Darren Wharton once played the keyboard for legendary Thin Lizzy. But that was a long time ago. Nowadays he seems to mostly be working with Dare, a melodic rock band that has been quite prolific over the years. This is however my first experience with Dare. I had no idea what it was when I picked it up and I have to say I was blown away by it. Some of this stuff is like it has been forged in heaven. It’s ToTo meets Dire Straits or something. Some would probably argue that it is too far out in the field of pop music though.
(4/5)Therion - Lemuria - Sirius B
[www.megatherion.com]
Swedish metal band Therion is back since their last album in 2001. And they are better than ever. Nine months in the making with a full symphonic orchestra, the usual female vocals and deep choirs. I know many people find Therion a bit bizarre. But there is something very appealing about their music. And releasing two albums at once kind of vouches for their creativity. Surprisingly, there is little slack on either Lemuria or Sirius B. Impressive.
(5/5)Xandria - Ravenheart
[www.xandria.de]
Another new experience for me. Soft, sweet metal from German metal band Xandria. A very pleasant surprise when you thought there were no fresh bands out there that could compete in this genre. The sound is a little on the goth side. A bit like Within Temptation blended with Kate Bush (or something). Ok, bad paradigm. While parts of the album are kind of dull, I seem to have high tolerance for this type of metal. Should really check out the previous album as well.
(4/5)
