Applemagazine From 22 January 2016

"In These Woods, From These Mountains", the new album from Norway's THE WRETCHED END. The CD released on April 22 via Indie Recordings. It has been nearly four years since new sounds have emerged from the fiery studio alliance of former EMPEROR/ZYKLON guitarist Samoth, MINDGRINDER/WINDIR guitarist/vocalist Cosmo, and DARK FUNERAL drummer Nils "Dominator" Fjellstrom. Boasting a darker foundation than its predecessors, "In These Woods, From These Mountains" was recorded by the band themselves and mixed with producer Marius Strand in Norway. Mastered at Fascination Street in Sweden, it is without doubt the strongest and most varied of the extreme metal band's growing sonic portfolio.

“The Passage” is DGM’s eighth studio album and is the culmination of almost 20 years of hard work that started back in 1997 with the release of their self-produced mini-album, ‘Random Access Zone’. The band went through several incarnations and lineup changes during the years, but since singer Mark Basile joined the group in 2007, DGM evolved and developed their sound into what they have now become.

France’s leading young harpsichordist performs works by two masters of the French Baroque. No surprises there, perhaps … but the harpsichordist in question is Jean Rondeau and the album is called Vertigo. It conceives the harpsichord in vividly theatrical terms. Vertigo takes its name from a dramatic, rhapsodic piece by Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer, who, along with Jean-Philippe Rameau, forms the focus of this album. If Rameau (1683–1764) is the better-known composer today, especially admired for such operatic masterpieces as Hippolyte et Aricie and Platée, the younger Royer (1705–1755) was also a major figure in his time, rising to become master of music at the court of Louis XV. Both Rameau and Royer excelled in keyboard music and in works for the stage. As Jean Rondeau says: “These two illustrious composers battled for the top spot at the Opéra.” He describes them as “two magicians, two master architects, amongst the most wildly imaginative and brilliant of their era … Two composers who also tried to capture echoes of grand theatre with the palette offered by their keyboard.

Digitally remastered and expanded edition including two bonus tracks. Arguably the British rock scene was hugely influenced by the massive commercial impact of American melodic rock bands that emerged during the late 70s. However there was a time, earlier in the decade, when British rock cast a huge impact on American music. Acts such as Free, Bad Company, Trapeze and Deep Purple were the hot ticket items of the time and their influence was staggeringly persuasive… not least on Target. Memphis based Target were keen students of the British sound and forged their style and identity with exacting accuracy.

Chaos From The Stage is the band's first full electric live DVD since the release of Live At The Point in 2007. It captures the band recorded live at the Assembly in Leamington Spa in November 2015 with a set drawn largely from recent albums The Twenty Seven Club, Metamorphosis and Chameleon, but also including old favourites from Seven and Home…

Instrumental 4-piece Tides From Nebula are back with their new studio album Safehaven. Contrary to their former work with Zbigniew Preisner (Earthshine) and Christer Cederberg (Eternal Movement) the album is completely self-produced this time. "This is going to be our 4th release and we are extremely happy to share it with our fans", states the band. "In the past we have worked with acclaimed producers who taught us so much that this time we felt we were ready to take that task upon ourselves. The creative process was smooth and spontaneous similarly to when we were writing our debut album Aura. We are sure that you will be able to hear it all: honesty, darkness, experience and energy…"