Crime Scene (BLOW OUT PRICE!)

"This is a really impressive release. It blew up my mind from the first time I listened to it, and still gets priority in my music listening sessions. What we've got here is Rage at their best, playing it loud & proud in the 90s, which was possibly the worst decade for metal, even though some bands like Running wild, Blind Guardian or Metal Church were still hanging on... in the balance!The album starts kicking ass from the first moment, with heavy and powerful guitars, and goes like that until the end of the release. POWER!!! That’s what this album transmits. Generally mid-paced songs predominate this album, this is not as fast as their 80s work. It keeps the musical line that started with "Trapped" but, it's generally darker, slower and begins the musical style developed during the next albums (we could say it’s the borderline). It also has some atmospheric details, just some hints here and there, that would be more frequent of their "XIII" or "Ghosts" works. Nevertheless, there are also fast songs (hey, it's Rage) that scream "Speed Metal rules, and if you don't like it dieeeeeeeeeeeeeee", like "Under Control", which starts fast and raw as hell and never slows down. "Higher than the Sky" is also a fast one (by the standards of this album), but more melodic than the previous one, and possibly with a chorus as catchy as “Don’t Fear the Winter”. The title track is also a fast and powerful one, (did I mention power before?) catchy and with an amazing solo.Rage has changed a lot during its history. One of the most remarkable improvements is Peavy’s performance, which is much better than his 80's efforts when he used to shriek. And the shrieking was fine for raw Speed Metal, but now that the band plays more Power/Heavy Metal, the deeper and more melodic vocals fit better. In this album he transmits perfectly the song moods to the listener, and good examples of this are the dark-depressive style ballad "Fading Hours" (that's one of the best songs to be found in here) and the mid-paced "Deep in the Blackest Hole". The first starts with an orchestrated atmosphere (reminds to “Overture” in “XIII”), a piano and Peavy's voice, and is maintained this way for 2 minutes and a half. Then the rest of the band comes in for a minute revealing what’s going to come after. Piano & violin alone again for a while and then the band comes back. And just then, when you think that the song is not going to change in any way, comes the solo part of 4:53 with the backing vocals and the piano: THAT MOMENT FUCKING OWNS YOU. After saying that, I still have to remark that the song is mainly driven by Peavy's vocals, and wouldn’t be half good if he didn’t perform so brilliantly. The latter song has also a depressive mood and the whole band does a very good job making you think they are "Deep in the Blackest Hole".Another excellent point of this album is that you never have the “I heard this before” feeling. Even though, it manages to sound as a whole in the “conceptual album” sense. That’s just fucking brilliant. Every song is memorable, with brilliant solos and catchy melodies, which none of them can be classified as filler material (I know this sounds a bit/lot like a “fanboy”, but this album really deserves being praised). If you liked "The Missing Link", "Trapped" or (especially) "Black in Mind", you will certainly like this one, which is slower but still an absolute winner.The only flaw in this release is that sometimes you've got the impression that Peavy is singing 5 miles away from the microphone, creating a strange echo effect. There's also the fact that the drums are a little bit loud and just average, nothing outstanding, and the bass is barely audible (I don't miss it much, but I know there are many bass-maniacs out there)." - Metal Archives

Brazilian edition of the third Nightwish album.  It features 3 bonus tracks.

"It took almost 20 years for German power metal masters IRON SAVIOR to release a live DVD/CD. The band, founded in 1996 by Piet Sielck, Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray) and Thomen Stauch (ex-Blind Guardian), has unleashed eight studio albums since then and has just recently issued a reworked version (remixed, remastered, partly re-recorded) of their Megatropolis album, titled 'Megatropolis 2.0'. Now with their first ever DVD, IRON SAVIOR will satisfy their fans again completely: 'Live At The Final Frontier' includes the band's recent hometown concert (Hamburg, Germany January 2015) on DVD and 2CDs (as package in digipack format). Additional bonus (video) material (backstage/concert) rounds off this extensive package, which is a must-have for all IRON SAVIOR fans!"

2021 remastered digipak with liner notes from Jim Gilmour."A Saga record is like a bottle of wine. When you buy a specific wine you know "almost" the taste it has, what you should eat with it. Here with this new Saga, House Of Cards, you know what to expect before pressing the play button; you know it is going to rock (not too much), that some progressive elements will be there, that solos are done by keyboards (guitar is of course not the mainstream instrument) and of course that this type of metal is quiet (progressive but not too technical fortunately).First two songs (God Knows & The Runaway) are excellent ... actually to good compare to the rest. The Runaway should have been placed farthest in order to give more equilibrium to the overall. Don't worry, the following 9 songs are not bad, they are simply one level below first two songs, which are typical Saga songs ("sounding" like nobody else).After many plays there is a band that comes to my mind, being dissimulated behind Saga's sound and this band is Queen. Yes, Saga sounds like Queen and even though this House Of Cards is not their best album, it will pleased their die-hard fans. Always There and Once in a Lifetime are also good song and highlight a perfect production. Nothing to say about the sound, it is crystal clear.For fans of Ruch, Marillion or Queen, check this one and if you don't know Saga, listen carefully before, because this band sounds like no other bands. They have created their own sound (from the very beginning back in the 80's) and lots of prog' bands recognize today that Saga has been for them an huge source of inspiration. Not their best shot ... but a great respect for this cult rock band." - Metal Reviews

Third album from Wobbler finds them with a new vocalist Andreas Prestmo (who is a bit of an improvement). The music is still retro-British 70s prog but its clear that the spectre of Yes presides over the album. The King Crimson and ELP tidbits that cropped up on Hinterland are for the most part gone. Instead think in terms of The Yes Album and Close To The Edge with perhaps a bit of Octopus and This Is Gracious! tossed in for fun. Beginning to end its a total blast. Highest recommendation!"Norway's kings of symphonic prog, Wobbler, arrogantly sidestep the whole debate of "prog" versus progressive. Since it's dubious whether rock has anywhere left to progress anyway, they have instead chosen simply to celebrate the rainbow-colored fireworks, the airy-fairy themes, the danger and the drama and the joy of pure music that made prog what it really was, and still can be: An exhilarating musical spectacle, a gladiator match of major chord crescendos and mini-moog glissandos.Wobbler's third album, Rites at Dawn, is a case in point. It's a no-holds-barred declaration of love to the progressive giants. It's all here - Lars Fredrik Frøislie's overblown arsenal of every analog synth known to man, played with Wakemanesque flair and Emersonian hubris. Andreas Prestmo's soaring vocals, delivering at times delicate, fragile melodies and at times joyous, triumphant multi-part harmonies that would make CSN proud. The vibrant, stinging guitar of Morten Eriksen, the - you guessed it - thundering Rickenbacker bass of Kristian Hultgren, and finally Martin Kneppen's drumming, which manages that neat and esoteric 70's trick of making even impossible time signatures swing and swagger.Rites at Dawn is a major step forward for Wobbler. As songwriters they have matured. Even though the music is as complex as ever, it flows and breathes in a whole new way, and the addition of Andreas' vocals adds a very human, and dare we say emotional, element to the songs. The album somehow pulls off being both challenging and adventurous, but at the same time accessible and downright infectious. Even though this is the kind of prog connoisseurs will stroke their beards appreciatively to, it is also prog their girlfriends will like. And you really can't ask for more than that."

Second album from this Swiss band draws very heavily from the Katatonia musical gene pool.  Melancholy metal that actually has a groove.  Some of the proggier bits remind of Tool.