Applemagazine From 22 January 2016

Numerous superlatives apply to the craft that the Dear Hunter's Casey Crescenzo has perfected on his ambitious six-part Acts series. On penultimate installment Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional, Crescenzo continues the epic story of the titular character (aka "The Boy") that ominously ended in Act IV with the protagonist at the mercy of the main antagonist, the Priest/Pimp. The narrative remains dense and there's a lot to unpack (multiple callbacks to early motifs and melodies abound), but ultimately, it's a rich experience for those willing to take the plunge. For outsiders, this may seem daunting, but fortunately, the music is as rewarding as the complex events layered within, with tastes of Sufjan Stevens, Radiohead, Arcade Fire, and Silverchair providing just a few reference points…

Numerous superlatives apply to the craft that the Dear Hunter's Casey Crescenzo has perfected on his ambitious six-part Acts series. On penultimate installment Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional, Crescenzo continues the epic story of the titular character (aka "The Boy") that ominously ended in Act IV with the protagonist at the mercy of the main antagonist, the Priest/Pimp. The narrative remains dense and there's a lot to unpack (multiple callbacks to early motifs and melodies abound), but ultimately, it's a rich experience for those willing to take the plunge. For outsiders, this may seem daunting, but fortunately, the music is as rewarding as the complex events layered within, with tastes of Sufjan Stevens, Radiohead, Arcade Fire, and Silverchair providing just a few reference points…

Nowadays allstar-projects are nothing new, but remember the year 1999 when Edguy-singer Tobias Sammet defined a whole genre with his solo project Avantasia. The Metal Opera was born and in the following years Avantasia developed into a true force of bombastic Metal. With iconic guest musicians like Alice Cooper, Klaus Meine, Michael Kiske, Jorn Lande, Jon Oliva, Eric Martin and many others joining this ambitious project during the years expectations are getting higher with each new release. “Ghostlights” is another well-crafted Symphonic/Melodic Metal masterpiece! Tobias Sammet showed once more that he is one of the best songwriters we have in Metal right now!

French Baroque music has never achieved the general familiarity of its German and Italian cousins, but that's not for any lack of trying on the part of conductor Sébastien Daucé and his Ensemble Correspondances. What you get here is a Pastorale de Noël a fairly short but grand Christmas narrative plus one set of "Antiennes de O," or O Anthems, so called because each one begins with the word "O."

David Pajo’s latest album as Papa M is wistful and poignant, like all his work. But it ultimately feels hopeful rather than weary, upbeat rather than defeated.

2016 four CD live archive release. Esoteric Recordings' Reactive label is proud to announce the release of the second volume of an official bootleg series by the legendary Tangerine Dream. This set includes a 1978 Paris concert as well as a 1980 show taped in East Berlin. Formed in Berlin in September 1967 by Edgar Froese, Tangerine Dream are simply one of the most important groups to have emerged on the German music scene of the late 1960s/early 1970s. Always guided by the genius of Edgar Froese, Tangerine Dream developed a sound based on the use of synthesizers and keyboards. In Britain, John Peel soon began to promote the band on his influential radio show which ultimately led to Tangerine Dream becoming one of the first acts to sign to Richard Branson's newly established Virgin label in 1973. Tangerine Dream's music would influence a whole host of musicians who followed in their wake, such as Julian Cope.

Celtic Woman: Destiny is the tenth studio album by the group Celtic Woman. This is Celtic Woman's first album to feature their newest members Mairead Carlin and Éabha McMahon. Destiny features vocalists Susan McFadden, Mairead Carlin, Éabha McMahon, and fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt, with former member Méav Ní Mhaolchatha and Rebecca Winckworth as a guest. Tara McNeill, who would later become a principal performer in Celtic Woman, performed the harp in the Destiny DVD and PBS TV special as part of the orchestra. When PBS transmitted its video of the Destiny show, a cloaked woman (Dublin-based Irish actor, film maker, dancer and part-time model Sophie Merry) appeared in the titles sequence and the sequences that framed the pledge breaks. The album was nominated for Best World Music Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. This was the first Grammy nomination for the group.

Bamako-based producer/educator Paul Chandler has been documenting the sonic and cultural complexities of Malian traditional music for more than a decade and “Every Song Has Its End” is an out-of-time, visceral collection of sounds from Chandler’s unparalleled archive.