Iron Fist From Issue 16 December 2015 From January 2016

Despite showing a passport not so common in the genre, turkish band Nemrud develops an anglo-saxon type of Progressive rock, of the highest quality. One might even be reminded of Eloy's "Ocean" opus… This is no surprise then to learn that the leader Mert Gocay is a close friend of Frank Bornemann! "Journey Of The Shaman" (Musea Parallèle, 2010) is a first concept-album divided in three parts: "The Ground", "Underground", "The Sky". Here's the initiatic journey of the shaman, who needs to go underground first, to be able to eventually reach the Sky. This rock symphony is mainly instrumental, as the lyrics are often used in a spoken and meditative way. It's a very sophisticated music, based on Seventies sounds but with an excellent production…

The patron saint of neglected instruments, Hindemith composed more than 30 sonatas for very diverse resources – including, unusually, such instruments as the bass tuba and double bass. Among the more obscure combinations is the Sonata for Althorn and Piano, which opens this arresting new disc, and stands out further for including a spoken dialogue between the two players (here, Teunis van der Zwart and Alexander Melnikov) at the start of its finale. Sonata-starved trombonists also value Hindemith’s contribution to their repertoire, but as Gérard Costes shows, this is not merely Gebrauchsmusik (utility music), useful only to performers themselves. Played with blazing tone by Jeroen Berwaerts, the Trumpet Sonata emerges with particular brilliance. These three brass sonatas generally come across with more subtlety than on the well-known recordings by Glenn Gould and friends. Anchoring this new project, Alexander Melnikov is a superbly thoughtful and questing pianist.

The second album of the Australian Traditional Metal band Elm Street! True metal in the vein of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Savatage, Manowar, Megadeth & Grim Reaper. Co-produced, mixed & mastered by Ermin Hamidovic at Systematic Productions in Melbourne, Australia. Artwork by the legendary Ken Kelly (KISS, Manowar). Recorded at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne, Australia. Having been an active band since 2003 and taking worldwide stages by storm after their Massacre Records debut Barbed Wire Metal in 2011, Elm Street return with their 2nd full-length album and this time their music packs a Metal punch. Knock 'Em Out…With A Metal Fist is due to be released in June 2016 via Massacre Records and features years of hard work and dedication that has shaped the band into a leading force in the heavy metal genre.