Anyone who has travelled by the river Rhine north of Mainz will not fail to have noticed the castles perched on the hillsides at almost every bend. And it is here that the original ‘Robber Barons’ (or Raubritter in German) in medieval times extracted dues from merchant boats in return for safe passage. The phrase was borrowed to describe unscrupulous tycoons of the late 19th.and early 20th. centuries as they built up their empires and amassed great wealth ,often using questionable methods to overcome competition.

In these stringent times of sickly banks, vast public debt and swathing cost cuts it is particularly galling that many who have presided over failed institutions have continued to award themselves huge salaries and bonuses ……just like those barons of long ago

I also like the touch of the ages old "Twa Corbies" which is weaved into the tune. Lets indeed hope the ravens are soon feasting on the cadavers of these forsaken robber fools. Anyway, I snagged the preview link from their site, hope they don’t mind. "Battlefield Band – Robber Barons" …

(C) Kinmor Music/Temple Records 2009. Album is available from Temple Records, iTunes and elsewhere presumably.

All in all an amazing year in retrospect. I was also pleased to see that two relatively new and unknown Swedish bands – Heat and Eclipse – made it into the list. Also, despite all their flaws, I am happy to see Sabaton was finally recognized. "Art of War" really was a more polished product compared to their older offerings. And more evenhanded politically speaking. Singing exclusively about war can have its pitfalls after all.

Other Swedish bands of course include Opeth, Amon Amarth and Work of Art. The Swedish metal and rock scenes apparently are more productive than ever. But unfortunately these bands remain the unsung heroes of the Swedish export industry.

Official, slightly longer, music video:

It is true that the site now has an uncanny resemblance to Facebook, but the airy simplicity of the new design is just so much better than the previous look. If there ought to be a call to bring back the old design it should be the design it had when I first joined back in February 2006.

I also like that they removed the "neighbours" display from the profile page and gave it its own sub-page. Neighbourhood was a real waste of space that no one ever used.

The ad placement is a little ugly though, and a lot of the ads were flash-based, but that is actually an advantage when you use an adblocker. Ads that are too well integrated tend to give nasty formatting issues when removed.

Now if they could only speed up the site.

And why not try some Arch Enemy ("Revolution Begins") if you haven’t already. I must say I’m really starting to warm up to that band.

Previous polls: 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002.

Q: I thought that there was some problem with Bruce, as he was especially vocal in his displeasure with the fat fans sitting in the first rows in the USA.

Steve: “Whenever we go to the USA, Bruce is very vocal in those things because there are things completely wrong in that country. The fans are great and loyal and I feel sorry they understand the message in a wrong way and think that we do not enjoy playing in the USA. The problem is with the venues. They sell the front-row tickets to people that do not even care for the band. The real fans are in the 20th row and the people from the front rows have been invited or have the money to get those seats and sit there eating fucking fried chicken. Imagine playing in front of those people. You get really upset!

“The problem is that, when you are in the 20th row you can’t always see the reason why we are so pissed, because you don’t see what happens in the front rows. In the future we must play in other places. There are other venues, but not always available. Sometimes you have to play in the venues where these things happen, but we’ll try to get the real fans to the front rows. When we headline in Denver, for example, we play in the same venues Ozzfest [plays] and the problem is exactly the same. There are assholes in the front rows that do not care for what you are doing. Seriously, it seems that if they had a remote control they would change the TV channel (Laughs). Why do they go to the show? Why are they there? That’s the kind of people that should be at the back. They have their right to be at the show, they have bought their ticket, but I don’t think they should be sitting in the front rows.

Q: The problem is that most venues are owned by Clear Channel and one cannot fight against the elements.

Steve: “One can, and we will. We will see what happens.”

• Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys (August 22)
• Iron Maiden – A Matter of Life and Death (August 25)
• Blind Guardian – A Twist in the Myth (September 5)
• Elane – Lore of Nén (September)
• Rhapsody of Fire – Triumph or Agony (September 25)
• Evanescence – The Open Door (October 3)
• Hammerfall – Threshold (October 23)
• Loreena McKennitt – As of yet untitled (Late fall?)
• Iron Savior – As of yet untitled (Late fall?)

I bring up Hammerfall just for old times’ sake. They don’t inspire nearly the same level of confidence as they did when they first formed.

Rogue’s Gallery is probably the most refreshing release to come out this year. The seasongs and shanties are sorely missed these days and are literal treasure troves of material, culture and atmosphere. Probably the best thing to come out of the otherwise dismal and embarrassingly infantile sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean.

Of course, the new McKennitt album is a monumental, though little publicized, happening in the world of music. Veiled in the usual secrecy and humility and slated for a fall 2006 release, it will be Loreena’s first studio album since The Book of Secrets in 1997.

As for Rhapsody of Fire, formerly known as Rhapsody, the bizarre twist seems to be that they were threatened by the music disservice, Rhapsody.com.

I also noted that Sarah Brightman is in Abbey Road studio 1 recording material for her new album. I don’t have a clue when it will be out though.

Missed anything good?

Preview video is available from YouTube. Preview video and single is also available via BitTorrent (Demonoid).

Considering the massive success and solid quality of Maiden’s last album, the expectations are needless to say enormous. Personally, the single left me slightly disappointed though. I suppose I was looking for something catchier, quicker, more melodic. Still, the atmosphere is solid Maiden and the song kind of grows on you. And “The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg” coupled with its mystery inspiration offers an almost Lovecraftian sense of horror chills. Can’t quite put my finger on it. I also know from experience that Maiden always offers a solid experience with very few, if any, album fillers and that the singles can sometimes misrepresent their work. Since the length of the songs on the new album most certainly makes them ineligible for chart inclusion anyway, the band may not have picked the “catchiest” song but rather that which offers the best introduction.