347: KMFDM

The first time I heard KMFDM, as an unsuspecting kid still finding his musical identity, I was dumbstruck. I’d never heard anything like it. It was electronic, weirdly danceable, but also really fucking evil sounding. I soon learned this was industrial music, and I adored it. I sought out and enjoyed other industrial bands, but …

330: BLIND GUARDIAN

The first time I saw footage of Blind Guardian performing The Bard's Song live, to an endless sea of passionate fans who chanted along, is the first time I think I really got power metal. The sincerity, the beauty, the passion and, of course, the power. With their (perhaps corny) tales of myths and magic, …

324: DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT

Yesterday Der Weg Einer Freiheit (German for ‘the way of a freedom’) released their fifth full length album, entitled ‘Noktvrn’, and it is incredible. So much so that I’ve actually changed my plans and brought the post about them up about 3 weeks earlier because I’m so obsessed with Noktvrn that I simply must write …

285: LINDEMANN

The pairing of two titans such as Rammstein’s Till Lindemann and Peter Tägtgren of Pain and Hypocrisy was alway going to net strong results, but nobody could’ve predicted the direction things would take. Lindemann’s sardonic sense of humour often found in Rammstein’s lyrics is a central force this time, bolder and more outlandish than ever …

275: THE OCEAN (COLLECTIVE)

For the longest time, The Ocean existed in a bit of a blind spot of mine. I’d heard of them, but somehow never actually heard them. Until one fateful day I saw that they were coming to my city - in only a couple of weeks, in fact. At the time, I’d made myself a …

225: GHØSTKID

When Sebastian Biesler left German metalcore act, Eskimo Callboy, to start his solo project, most would’ve expected the same electronicore madness his previous band was known for. Surprisingly, Ghøstkid is a more serious, progressive, genre-melding take on metalcore. There are frantic screams, delicate cleans, huge guitars, and some great hooks. There are touches of industrial …