A Sense Of Purpose

Frantic metal band In Flames can deliver a good melody around the militaristic, precision drumming of Daniel Svensson and the occasionally guttural yelps of frontman Anders Fridén. Whether it's a tight, polished effort like "The Mirror's Truth" with traces of classic metal à la Iron Maiden or especially Judas Priest, In Flames definitely bring a sense of purpose to this record. From there, the group increase the Metallica-ish franticness with "Disconnected" that relies on heavy guitar riffs but a far lighter, almost airy chorus and bridge. This is improved upon later on the album as "I'm the Highway" takes the record to another level. Probably the heaviest track is "Condemned," that again is driven by Svensson and the guitar tandem of Jesper Strömblad and Björn Gelotte…

It's been said that the only reason to cover a song is to reinterpret it, rearrange it, rethink it, rework it, and make it your own. While there is validity in that summation, especially if the revamped song is to be memorable, one can pay sufficient homage to an artist without completely overhauling the original work. Such is the case with this collection of songs. It appears as though many of these artists' main objective was to sound as much like Jethro Tull as possible…

2013 sees the centenary of Benjamin Britten’s birth and Hyperion starts celebrating early with this disc of two of the composer’s most popular choral works, both with a Christmas relevance. The cantata Saint Nicolas tells the story of the original ‘Santa Claus’, a fourth-century saint whose acts—revitalizing three boys who had been pickled by an unscrupulous landlord being among the more dramatic—led to his canonization as patron saint of children and sailors. Britten’s lively setting is distinctly operatic, full of incident and colour—with the story brought ‘home’ through the use of congregational hymns. The part of Nicolas (here sung magnificently by Allan Clayton, already acclaimed as the heir to Peter Pears and Anthony Rolfe Johnson) is one of Britten’s great heroic tenor roles.

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is the eleventh studio album by Irish rock band U2, released in November 2004. Much like their previous album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb exhibits a more conventional rock sound after the band experimented with alternative rock and dance music in the 1990s. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and its singles won all nine Grammy Awards for which it was nominated (U2 themselves were awarded eight out of the nine).