In the words of BON JOVI, we are half way there and the end of this month is looming. It’s time for some of our team to reveal their choices for Album Of The Month.
Lotty: Bloodbound – Creatures Of The Dark Realm
Swedish Power Metallers BLOODBOUND caught me hook, line and sinker when I watched them open up for SABATON and ALESTORM a few years ago. They gave a great performance and I went on to find their albums are superb. Their latest adventure Creatures Of The Dark Realm did not disappoint, it’s full of grand melodies that make any mundane task feel like an epic quest. The melodies are catchy to the point where even merely looking at the track name can cause the song to be in your head for days. For me, it’s one of those albums where choosing a favourite track is the most impossible task. Mighty tracks such as Kill Or Be Killed, the title track, Eyes Come Alive, When Fate Is Calling, Death Will Lead The Way and March Into War are just a few examples to choose from. From start to finish, I am captivated and can happily experience the adventure time and time again. It’s understandably receiving huge praise from both fans and critics. If you are intrigued from reading this passage and/or you like the song below, I highly recommend checking the band and album out.
You can also read Steph’s review of the album by clicking here.
Find BLOODBOUND on Facebook.
Martin: Helloween – Helloween
Finally, after the Pumpkins United tour of 2017 – 2019 which featured former members of HELLOWEEN Michael Kiske and Kai Hanson playing with the band for the first time in ages, the combined strength of seven pumpkin-heads have fully returned to the fold and delivered a breath-taking and mightily epic masterpiece.
We are blessed to have all three vocalists of the band exchanging vocals throughout, and this totally appeals to fans from all eras of their career. If you want a nostalgia trip with nods to legendary albums from the bands back catalogue and some mighty musicianship, these German metal pioneers will not fail to deliver.
This really needs to be the next thing you listen to!
Find HELLOWEEN on Facebook.
Jack: Blink-182 – Blink-182
In light of the recent news, Mark Hoppus’ heart-breaking announcement that he is suffering from and currently undergoing treatment for cancer, I decided that BLINK-182’s self-titled album would be my album of the month for June.
From the wildly inappropriate age of eight, with the release of 1999’s Enema of the State, BLINK-182 have been my favourite band! As much as I love all the toilet humour and gags from the previous 5 records, it is blink-182 that really speaks to me as the coming-of-age album that really defined the band. It proved to the world that they are talented musicians and songwriters. It was a shift in tone that came at the perfect time in my life as I was just about to hit my teenage years.
The singles were great – Feeling This, I Miss You, Down and Always, but the true beauty of the record comes from the tracks out of the spotlight like Asthenia and Easy Target.
Godspeed, Mark!
Find BLINK-182 on Facebook.
Steph: Various Artists – Air Guitar Anthems
In an indecisive mood and unsure of what music is pulling at you? Try a compilation album. This one has a great mix of music (mostly rock) with differing styles, it enables you to move from song to song with out the need to get up and change disc (I know, so old fashioned). I love putting on a mix and not having to worry about fulling into a repetitive groove. This album starts strong with Deep Purple through bands I only found out about through this CD (CCS). It’s even better than radio as I do not have to listen to adverts but still enjoy decent music.
Jacob: Ani Difranco – Dilate
I have no idea whether this album could stand on its own merits. Ani Difranco is an artist that has released twenty albums over a span of three decades so she must be doing something right. On Dilate, Difranco captures an aspect of anger and loss. From being mad about the record executives on Napoleon to the heartbreak of the title track, this album remains a favourite for me now as much as it did when I first heard it nearly twenty years ago.
Find Ani DiFranco on Facebook.
Stefan: Blutengel – Un: Gott
Dark, seductive, enthralling, vampiric and electrifying are just some of the words that I would use to describe my Album Of The Month.
This month, I’d like to share with you all a brand new discovery of mine that I’ve embraced and love listening to. They are BLUTENGEL. The German group is dual fronted by Chris Pohl and Ulrike Goldmann on vocals … I’m finding their vocals compliment the darkwave atmosphere they create on their music extremely well.
They brilliantly fuse albums with songs in both the English and German languages. They have stood out from the crowd and definitely captured my attention with their brilliant combination of dark electro and atmospherically gothic influences,.
There’s something about their music that speaks on levels of spirituality too.
With shades of AMARANTHE’s Archangel and POWERWOLF’s Demons Are A Girl’s Best Friend, it is through Un: Gott that my curiosity was piqued. The temptation of Morningstar only was the start. “Just follow the Morningstar. It will guide you on your way to salvation. Just follow the Morningstar. It will heal your broken soul. Just follow the Morningstar, Morningstar, Morningstar.”
I won’t give too much away as I’ll let you share the same feelings as I but the whole album experience is absolutely superb!
This is a great discovery and they are a band that I’ll be keeping my eye on in the foreseeable future. BLUTENGEL are due to release Erlösung – The Victory Of Light on 16 July 2021 so keep a look out for that.
Find BLUTENGEL on Facebook.
What would you have picked for your album of the month? Let us know in the comments and see you next month.
