raphalguul

From the first second to the final notes, this album is an experience. While annoyingly titled, Human. :II: Nature. is why I love the album as an art form. And there are not many composers out there who could rival Tuomas Holopainen’s ability to create a cohesive record. This one sounds like Holopainen finally made the album that he wanted to make all along. It is grand, beautiful, somber, intimidating, and just so thoroughly captivating that I can’t help but put this rampage of a ... read more

The Killers are a hit-and-miss band, but this album is a definite hit. The band brings their classic arena rock with melodies and soundscapes that – if you’re open to it – strike a profoundly emotional chord. The production is solid overall, but as pretty much always, Brandon Flowers’ vocals are the highlight. His range and style are not only impressive on a technical level. They also manage to take listeners on a journey, transport them through stories and moods. The ... read more

This album was the most difficult to place this year – I even considered leaving it off my list of favorites completely. The reason is that while Amaranthe deliver yet another high-octane and over the top power metal record, they included the musical misstep that is “Boom”, which drags Manifest down as a technical showcase of zero merit à la Dragonforce. But ultimately, I had to concede that despite that, this new album is so incredibly good that this one blemish is not ... read more

Even though Die Ärzte are in many ways a comedy band, you could easily listen to the trio from Berlin without even knowing a lick of German. That’s because these guys aren’t just funny, but they are also extremely talented musicians. For the most part Hell is solid rock music but the band tries out a slew of other styles and genres as per usual. This eclectic offering can be a deterrent if you’re more of a generic purist. But even absolute musical trash like the intro ... read more