John Harle's epic CV includes soundtracks, classical works and drama, all of which feed into the saxophonist's ambitious song cycle about "dark London". Its tales of the Limehouse Ripper, Spring Heeled Jack and the Highgate Vampire are centred a few centuries back, with words from William Blake and John Dee, though most of the lyrics are by Marc Almond, along with Tom Pickard and Iain Sinclair. There are splashes of cabaret and jazz, but the echoing, crepuscular atmosphere is dominated by Almond's impressive neo-operatic singing (some distance from electro-pop!), with a thumping, galloping finale that uses an extract from Blake's "prophetic book" Jerusalem. Dark but dashing.
Blues-Rock veterans, the Stoney Curtis Band, returned to the studio in Las Vegas this summer in follow-up to their 2012 double-live release. The resulting CD, Halo Of Dark Matter, is a high-energy collection of guitar-oriented jams, that recalls the stadium guitar heroes of the 70's. This fifth record in Stoney's discography takes things up a couple of notches as his songwriting and soloing skills ascend to yet a higher plateau. The Stoney Curtis Band has been working the clubs between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, for over 10 years, honing their own brand of psychedelic Blues-Rock, readying their show for the road ahead. Over the past few years the band has done a number of USA tours and six European tours as well. Heavily steeped in 60's/70's Psychedelia, the Stoney Curtis Band has translated the energy of their phenomenal live show into an incredible new studio disc containing over 70 minutes of full tilt Blues-Rock.
The Storyteller is a heavy/power metal band from Sweden. The music is often described as melodic heavy metal, or power metal, with an own touch of medieveal- and folk music. The Storyteller released their debut album in the year of 2000, and have made 4 more releases.The band has toured extensively and made shows at Sweden Rock Festival, Gates of Metal, 2000 Decibel etc. They have been support act for bands such as Helloween, Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, Stratovarius, Hammerfall to name a few. The Storyteller is now back with a brand new album named "Dark Legacy".This tale of blood and woe seems to have a strong Viking sense of steel, as the legend continues. This is their first release in over seven years since the pace and speed of “Underworld”. Most of the main magic elements are present, but there a few nuances which may not appeal to fans of their first few albums.
Author Ken Follett presents two dramatic historical documentaries in which he explores the facts behind the setting of his fictional works. No other period in history stirs the imagination like the Middle Ages. It's an era cloaked in mystery, a time when noblemen and priors, master builders and monks dominated society and simple, peasant folk struggled to survive. Plagues, famines and witch burnings were commonplace. Those who questioned the authority of the Church faced the ultimate penalty death.