Tech. 24 May 2013

One of the most beautiful and definitive tracks in Max Richter's ever-growing body of work is "On the Nature of Daylight" from The Blue Notebooks, the album that brought him to the attention of many critics and fans. Since that breakthrough, he's developed a niche as a composer ready and willing to revamp the classics, as he did with Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, as well as a sensitive and versatile composer of scores for films ranging from looks at the not-so-tame secret lives of domesticated animals (Die Fremde) to dystopian sci-fi (Perfect Sense). Richter's music for Disconnect is an intersection of those career paths: the score uses "Daylight" as its emotional and musical focus, surrounding it with pieces that echo and complement it…

A tech-savvy, all-instrumental progressive metal group from Los Angeles. The origins of Scale the Summit date to 2004, when guitarists Chris Letchford and Travis LeVrier met as students at the Los Angeles Musicians Institute, then came into contact with fellow scholar and drummer Pat Skeffington, before completing their lineup with bassist Jordan Eberhardt several months later. Two years of rehearsal and sonic self-discovery followed until, at the end of 2006, all of the musicians relocated to Letchford's hometown of Houston, Texas and finished sculpting their exceptionally technical brand of "adventure metal," as they like to call it, for release on a self-financed debut album, immodestly named Monument. Turns out their confidence was largely justified by the impressive amalgam of progressive exploration (think Cynic, Dream Theater, Kong)…

Thin Lizzy's final studio release, Thunder and Lightning, was their most consistent album since 1979's Black Rose. Guitarist John Sykes replaced Snowy White, and the new blood must have inspired Lynott and company to write some of their best compositions in years. Although a pop-metal production hinders the tracks, there's more of a harder edge present than on their last release, Renegade. While the title track served as the ensuing tour's raging opener, half-baked lyrics detailing a fistfight and an unwarranted synth-solo weakens what should have been a straight-ahead rocker. But such heavies as "This Is the One" and "Cold Sweat" suit the band much better. Lizzy takes a stab at dance-rock with "The Holy War," while laying back with the tranquil "The Sun Goes Down" and the album's underrated highlight, the melodic "Bad Habits"…

Even if it was classified as pop-metal, Bon Jovi never really was much of a metal band, relying on big, catchy melodies and not guitar riffs to make their songs memorable. That's why, in 2000, they're able to make an album like Crush, which strays far enough into pop/rock to actually stand a chance of getting airplay (which it did, with the hit lead single "It's My Life")…

Deja Vu (2008). Re-pressing two sold out 10" released back in 2002 ("Same Time Same Place" and "Metamorphosis") and adding a new version of "Miserere MMI" which was included into New Death Order" CD EP, Deja Vu is the 2008 release by Cyclotimia. The CD opens with the digital ambient sounds and chants of "Miserere MMI", a short track which introduce us to the first lot of tracks coming from "Same Time Same Place". Cyclotimia didn't want to reproduce the releases as they were but tried to mix the track list just to give a new structure to the album as it was a whole. The tracks coming for the first 10" are sounding more focused on the digital ambient psychedelic effect made of hisses, synth loops, light rhythms and vocal samples…

Perhaps the only subject more interesting than headlining act making major waves while on tour is the history of the venues where this occurs, and few places inspire such inquiries to the same degree as London’s The Roundhouse. Originally constructed in 1846 as a turntable engine shed for the London and Birmingham Railway, by the mid-20th century it had become an important performing arts and concert hall that would be a favorite venue for such iconic bands and artists as Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin, The Ramones and Motörhead. Suffice it to say, such a location is a prime outlet for one of Germany’s most ferocious purveyors of thrash metal to record their first live album following 2017’s “Live Antichrist” release. Relative to said release, Kreator’s latest foray into neck-ruining mayhem outside of the recording studio dubbed “London Apocalypticon – Live At The Roundhouse” ups the epic factor something fierce while sparing no expense in the aggression department…