Review: Epica, Powerwolf & Beyond The Black In London

My live review of Epica featuring Powerwolf and Beyond The Black in London is now up on Muses of Metal! It includes my thoughts on getting the VIP experience.

Click here to read the review

Review: 5 Reviews, 5 Minutes

I revived an old blog format - 5 Reviews, 5 Minutes - over on Muses of Metal today. To catch up on things, I've written a quick 5 minute review for 5 of the latest albums:

Lacuna Coil - Delirium

Delain - Moonbathers

Tarja - The Shadow Self

Epica - The Holographic Principle

Amaranthe - Maximalism

Click here to read!

Review: Delain - Lunar Prelude EP

My review of Delain's Lunar Prelude EP is now up on Muses of Metal:

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The EP is out today from Napalm Records. The band are currently on tour with Nightwish and Sonata Arctica in the US, and their next UK show will be at Download Festival in June.

Review: Leaves' Eyes - King of Kings

My review of Leaves' Eyes new record King of Kings is now up over at Muses of Metal.

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The album is out now from AFM Records.

Review: Dames of Darkness Festival

Tayla's review from our time at this year's Dames of Darkness festival is now up over at Muses of Metal, with some assistance and photographs from myself:

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The Dames of Darkness festival took place in Wolverhampton this year, with Sirenia and Leaves' Eyes headlining.

Review: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

It's the big one: my review of Nightwish's Endless Forms Most Beautiful is now up on Muses of Metal.

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The album is out now from Nuclear Blast. In case you missed it, you can look here for the buying guide and here to see photos of the earbook and picture disc editions.

Review: Amaranthe at The Marble Factory, Bristol

My review of Amaranthe's Bristol show (featuring Engel and Santa Cruz) is now up on Muses of Metal:

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The Bristol show was the band's last date in the UK, but they're now continuing with the rest of their European tour.

Review: Epica at The Forum, London

My review of Epica's London show (featuring Neonfly and Dragonforce) is now up on Muses of Metal:

Click here to read

The band have just finished the first leg of their EU tour and will be continuing with the second leg in January. It's also their vocalist/guitarist Mark's birthday today - happy birthday Mark!

Review: Within Temptation - Let Us Burn (DVD)

My review of Within Temptation's new DVD Let Us Burn is now up on Muses of Metal:

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The DVD is out now from BMG. The band's next UK appearance will be at Bloodstock Festival in 2015.

Review: Amaranthe - Massive Addictive

My review of Amaranthe's latest album Massive Addictive is now up over at Muses of Metal:

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The album is out now from Spinefarm Records. The band recently announced a UK tour - hope to see some of you there!

Review: Metal Female Voices Fest 2014

You can now read my full review of  the Metal Female Voices Fest weekend over at Muses of Metal! Check it out for reports on all the bands - including Leaves' Eyes, Sirenia, Xandria, Therion and many more.  Follow the link below to read.

MFVF 2014 Review

Review: Eluveitie - Origins

My review of Eluveitie's latest album Origins is now up over at Muses of Metal:

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The album is out now from Nuclear Blast. If you missed some of the recent Eluveitie stuff from around the blog, here's some helpful links:

The Call of the Mountains official video

Origins album trailer and King lyric video

EU and UK Tour Dates

Check out the full live action video for King below.

Eluveitie - King (Official Music Video)

Review: Amberian Dawn - Magic Forest

My review of Amberian Dawn's new album Magic Forest is now up over at Muses of Metal:

Click here to read

The album was released in some areas today, but will be out in the UK and the rest of Europe on the 30th. The label is Napalm Records. In May my news round-up post had a buying guide and the album trailers, and you can take another look at the video for the first single below.

Amberian Dawn - Magic Forest (Official Video)

Review: Epica - The Quantum Enigma

My review of Epica's The Quantum Enigma is now up over at Muses of Metal!

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The album is out now from Nuclear Blast. The blog has been packed with Epica stuff lately - in case you've missed it, here's some of the other posts:

Unboxing of The Quantum Enigma

Epica Announce First EU Tour Dates

Official Lyric Video for 'The Essence of Silence'

TQE Buying Guide

You guys also voted TQE your most anticipated upcoming album a few months ago, and the results of the sidebar poll for favourite Epica album will be in soon. 

Review: Xandria - Sacrificium

The blog is now back after a one week break! In case you missed it, this week's review from me is Sacrificium by Xandria. Check it out over at Muses of Metal:

Click here to read

The album is out now from Napalm Records. You can see the video for first single Nightfall here and the Dreamkeeper lyric video and album buying guide here.

An unboxing of Sacrificium and Epica's latest The Quantum Enigma (plus review) is coming soon, stay tuned. Those of you who are attending Dames of Darkness (UK) this weekend - I hope you enjoy seeing Xandria along with Stream of Passion and all the other great bands. Keep an eye out for the rest of the Muses of Metal team, Tayla and Dave, and be sure to attend the after party where Tayla will be DJing.

Review: Tuomas Holopainen - The Life and Times of Scrooge

This week's review is Tuomas Holopainen's solo project, The Life and Times of Scrooge. You can read it now over at Muses of Metal:

Click here to read

The album is out now from Nuclear Blast. Click here for a list of places you can buy the album and to see the lyric video for The Last Sled. Below is the official video for the album's first single, A Lifetime of Adventure.

Tuomas Holopainen - A Lifetime of Adventure (Official Video)

Review: Lacuna Coil - Broken Crown Halo

My review of Lacuna Coil's new album Broken Crown Halo can be found over at Muses of Metal:

Click here to read

The album is out now from Century Media. You can buy it from CM Distro (CD, Double CD, LP+CD, CD+DVD), EMP (CD, LP+CD, CD+DVD), Amazon UK (CD+DVD), Recordstore.co.uk (CD, LP+CD, CD+DVD with signed postcard) and more.

Lacuna Coil - Nothing Stands In Our Way (Official Lyric Video)

Lacuna Coil - Die & Rise (Official Lyric Video)

Review: Within Temptation - Hydra

Check out my review for Within Temptation's latest over at Muses of Metal:

Click here to read

Hydra is the sixth studio album from the band, who are about to embark on their UK tour next week. (I'll be attending the Birmingham concert on the 16th - keep an eye out for me!)

Ever wondered about the words that crop up frequently on the album? Probably not, but nevertheless, the table below will fill you in...

Review: Delain - The Human Contradiction

I reviewed the new album from Delain over at Muses of Metal!

Click here to read

The Human Contradiction is available from Napalm Records (Limited Box Set, CD, Double CD, Vinyl), EMP (CD, Vinyl, Double CD bundle with autographs and plectrum), Amazon UK (Double CD), Record Store UK (CD and Double CD) and more. It is released on the 7th of April.

Review - MFVF Day 3

(Apologies to anyone who was looking out for this review and couldn't find it! It's been up on Muses of Metal but this entry some how got lost in the ether...)

Check out part three of my review and photos over at Muses of Metal:

http://musesofmetal.co.uk/fullstory.php?id=87