Elvenking Era (2012) [limited Ed. Digipack]

Requiem for the Indifferent is the fifth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Epica. It was released on 9 March 2012. It was the final album to feature original member Yves Huts on bass guitar. According to Mark Jansen, "This title refers to the end of an era. Mankind can no longer stick their head in the sand for the things that are happening around us. We are facing many challenges. There is an enormous tension between different religions and cultures, wars, natural disasters and a huge financial crisis, which is getting out of control. More than ever we will need each other to overcome these problems. As we are all connected; the universe, earth, nature, animals and human beings, this period in time will be the prelude to the end for those who still don't want to, or simply won't see it. A Requiem for the Indifferent but also a possibility for a new beginning with great new chances!"

Hard as it may be to believe, but Rod Stewart has gotten through five decades without succumbing to a holiday album. That streak ends in 2012 with the release of Merry Christmas, Baby, an easygoing and chipper collection of secular seasonal standards…

The 1995 Pandora's Toys is a bit of a curious comp. Appearing four years after the box set Pandora's Box, this single disc cherry-picks 12 highlights from that three-disc box – but instead of pulling oddities and rarities from those three discs, this has the big big hits that everybody knows ("Sweet Emotion," "Dream On," "Walk This Way," "Mama Kin") balanced with radio hits that remained staples into the mid-'90s ("Draw the Line," "Seasons of Wither") with just a couple minor alternate takes, like a live "Big Ten Inch Record" and an alternate "Chip Away the Stone," for good measure…

A Beautiful collection of standards and 2 original compositions by sally night, Gently swinging, sensual and intimate…

There aren't too many bands out there that can say they have been around for a decade, let alone a quarter of a century. For those few that manage to hit the twenty five year mark, some sort of celebration is usually in order. Some might go on a world tour and appeal to their aging fanbase, while others may record an album or release a collection of shelved demo tracks for the diehard followers to eat up. Of course, Therion have never been known to follow in the footsteps of others. Although the operatic symphonic metal style is all-too common in current metal culture, Therion carved out their own niche, unshackling from their death metal roots and taking a more sophisticated and experimental approach to the symphonic style. With that in mind, it's no surprise that Therion didn't decide to celebrate things the regular way; instead, they went ahead and did an album of 1960's French pop song covers…

After playing a major role in five positively classic heavy metal albums of the late '70s and early '80s (three with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and two with Black Sabbath), it seemed that singer Ronnie James Dio could truly do no wrong. So it wasn't all that surprising – impressive, but not surprising – when he struck gold yet again when launching his solo vehicle, Dio, via 1983's terrific Holy Diver album. Much like those two, hallowed Sabbath LPs, Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules, Holy Diver opened at full metallic throttle with the frenetic "Stand Up and Shout," before settling into a dark, deliberate, and hypnotic groove for the timelessly epic title track – a worthy successor to glorious triumphs past like Rainbow's "Stargazer" and the Sabs' "Sign of the Southern Cross."

Easily an upgrade over "The Visitor" (2009), UFO have returned to their hard rock roots on "Seven Deadly", yet still retaining that bluesy edge they seem to have incorporated over the last few years. Vinnie Moore is sizzling throughout, Phil Mogg sounds better than ever, Andy Parker is still pounding his kit, and Paul Raymond adds his keyboard colors and occasional rhythm guitar. What more could any UFO fan want?

The career of Swedish progressive rockers Beardfish has been steadily gaining in momentum throughout the 2000s, and, notwithstanding small inconveniences like record label bankruptcies, widespread recognition could finally be at hand via 2012's consistently daring and ever unpredictable The Void. The band's seventh album sculpts its genre- and time-bending material with no care for conventional compositional rules nor even chronological synchronicity (as usual), which makes it that much more remarkable that songs should prove so immediately appealing throughout, arguably like never before…