Hammerfall Masterpieces (2008) [japanese Edition]

Runnin' Wild is the debut album by the Australian hard rock band Airbourne. The album was released on 23 June 2007 by the record label EMI .

Boy, whoever thought that technical metal was dead as a doornail during the mid- to late '90s has been proven dead wrong. Just a few years after this aforementioned era of "metal no man's land," technical metal has spread like a virus, via bands that share both an appreciation of the extreme aggression of Slayer and the technical proficiency of Iron Maiden. A fitting example of both of these metallic styles colliding as one is Finland's Children of Bodom, and especially their 2008 offering, Blooddrunk. All the ingredients from past Bodom releases are present once more - Goth keyboards, guitar acrobatics, and vocals that sound straight out of the torture chamber. These lads sure can play their instruments, as evidenced by such intense metal blasts as the title track, "Smile Pretty for the Devil," and "Tie My Rope"…

The European Jazz Trio, comprising Marc van Roon on Piano, Frans van der Hoeven on bass and Roy Dackus on drums has been recording and performing since 1995, when it released a CD of Beatles' songs in fresh arrangements. On each album, the trio has taken songs in every style, shape and color, and has given them a jazz interpretation. For the trio 'Jazz' means to have the freedom to combine and mix styles, melodies, sounds and rhythms to create something fresh and surprising. The European Jazz Trio pushes the envelope of jazz music by adding to it its own sound and rhythm, a result of the music that has influenced the trio's members.

As a venue, the Royal Albert Hall in London is the stuff of legend. It is so elegant it inspires greatness in performers no matter the discipline, as well as rapt and supportive attentiveness in audiences. Some of its past performers have included Frank Sinatra, a double bill by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Bob Dylan, to name a few. It therefore goes without saying that the weight on Cinematic Orchestra mastermind Jason Swinscoe to pull off something grand for a recording and video document of this CO performance was considerable. In order to accomplish this feat, he swelled the ranks of his group to over 40 members, including the entire 24-piece Heritage Orchestra! Vocalists Heidi Vogel, Lou Rhodes, and Grey Reverend are all present to reprise their roles from various selections on studio recordings. Original Cinematic Orchestra turntablist PC returned to the fold for the evening as well…

The dwindling record sales, the rather embarrassing tabloid kiss-and-tells, and the downright unflattering Bo' Selecta! impersonations have made it easy to forget that not so long ago, Craig David was one of Britain's most credible soul talents. His fusion of 2-step and soulful R&B struck a chord with audiences both at home and across the Atlantic, his debut album became the fastest-selling ever by a male solo artist, and his failure to pick up any Brit Awards – after being nominated for six – sparked a tabloid frenzy. Greatest Hits, featuring 12 Top 40 singles, is a comprehensive roundup of David's career so far, taking in the early glory days, the backlash years, and three new tracks that suggest he isn't ready to be written off just yet.

Nils Petter Molvaer has built over 20+ years a huge body of work that has explored the parameters of recording studio and electronica jazz ranging from dance-beat to ambient. At the centre of it all is his extraordinarily intimate and expressive trumpet, a post-Miles player who has truly staked out his own territory, taking that Miles influence to another dimension. Re-Vision is neither beaty nor ambient, but decidedly meditative. These were pieces originally written for film soundtracks but they are far more structured than many 'cinematic' offerings and stand up strongly as music alone.
NPM's main collaborators here are DJ/producer/recordist Jan Bang and guitarist Eivind Asrset, both central forces in the Norwegian electronica jazz scene…

Her first album in eight years and her Warp debut, Leila's Blood, Looms and Blooms almost didn't happen: after the release of 2000's moody, murky The Courtesy of Choice, she lost both of her parents and, for a long time, her interest in making music. With the encouragement of her friends and family, Leila returned to the studio and recorded these songs, often with her family and friends - who include Terry Hall and Martina Topley-Bird - in there with her. While Blood, Looms and Blooms' very existence is somewhat surprising, it's even more remarkable that this is Leila's most uplifting work, given the loss that preceded it. Far from wallowing in grief (though that would certainly be understandable), Leila crafts vivid tracks that cast as much light as they do shadow…

After album (or "observation," as the band likes to call them) number eight - Ghost Reveries - Opeth could have very easily coasted, merely rehashing their sound. Instead, they opted to challenge themselves and their listeners, creating an album that can - at times - expose its true nature and scope slowly and - at other times - be jarring, as if it were turning itself inside out. Opeth take chances that many bands in the same situation would be too scared to have a go at. It's hard to say if the recent membership changes affected bandleader Mikael Åkerfeldt's writing and production, or if he was enjoying his trip down classic rock (see: Deep Purple) lane. For whatever reason, Watershed is a new benchmark for Opeth…