HAGGARD have been a big band for a while, who else can say to have a line-up with 17 musicians? And if that was not enough yet, master mind Asis Nasseri has invited ten more guest musicians into the studio and “Eppur Si Muove” also musically has turned out to be a big album, a damn big one even!



When you compare their 1994 MCD “Progressive“ with “Eppur Si Muove“, then the Munich based band has come a long way, a very long way, starting out as Progressive Death Metal, but now the only band that I could compare HAGGARD’s evolution with would be THERION, even though you cannot compare their sounds, still they have walked a comparable path.



“Eppur Si Muove“, Latin for “and it does move“, is based on the life of Galileo Galilei, after so far paying tribute to Nostradamus they have chosen the Italian philosopher and mathematician as topic, who had found out that Earth revolved around the sun and not the other way around, as the Catholic church said. As he was adamant about his standpoint, Galilei was tried for heresy and in the end executed. Allegedly this, “eppur si muove”, had been his last words…



Now there is a lot of bands, which incorporate medieval and classical instruments into their sound, but only very rarely they play such an important role as with HAGGARD, because just as rarely we get such a homogenous sound as with this, ehm, seventeen-tet? But seriously, befitting the epoch of Galileo, we also get a whole bunch of baroque influences and melodies, which homogenously are amalgamated with the electric guitars and Metal.



And so I reach my big problem with “Eppur Si Muove“: Every song is a class of its own, so which one should I point out? To mention them all most probably is the only chance for me. “All'Inizio È La Morte” covers all possible bases, starting out with a big choir and a lot of classical instruments, followed by acoustic guitars and rough, yet clear German vocals, before a violin together with opera vocalisation follows. Then the song sets out with symphonic Metal, big choir and some growls, the choir partly in Latin, the growls partly in English, then a very calm passage, which they build on again, clean vocals and growls, incredible!



And after the short, classical interlude “Menuetto In Fa-Minore“ we have a right-out classic with “Per Aspera Ad Astra”. Rarely I have heard classical music and heavy Metal combined this well, with incredibly variable vocals, choir, female and male solo voices, growls, plus a tremendously dynamic and variable song structure, the tension within the song is just breath taking! “Of A Might Divine”… Covering everything from very quiet to furious, including a baroque interlude, huge choirs and all, ouf, I think I have fallen for this album!



Then we have the Swedish traditional song “Herr Mannelig“, some of you might still know it from IN EXTREMO. It starts out with dark keyboards, kettledrums and soprano, incredibly intense, before the song is transported into Metal, with really heavy guitars and drums, great! On we go, “The Observer”, introduced by violin and cembalo, is more rooted in Death Metal, as the sluggish and very heavy song really steps on the pedal in the middle and from all the classical instruments the violin is put into the foreground, before the title track gives me the rest. Dramatically starting with string instruments, we have a very, very dynamic composition here, very variable, with HAGGARD firing on all creative cylinders, another true masterpiece!



The shorter version of “Herr Mannelig“ in my opinion is superfluous, but does not take away anything from this huge album, as we also get an almost fitting sound, where only the guitars at times lack a bit of power and the drums sound a bit too triggered, but overall all the instruments have their room to unfold and even though the album is gripping right away from the start, there are enough details hidden in the sound, which only surface after several listening sessions.

Evanescence 的新专辑"The Open Door"，将在10月3日由Wind-Up公司发行。在谈到新专辑的时候，主唱Amy Lee说：“这将不同于上一张专辑，但仍是Evanescence 风格，其中会有一些有趣、性感的地方，同时也保留了黑暗、史诗般的风格。我想歌迷会喜欢这张新专辑的，我就是这个乐队的歌迷，我爱这支乐队。”

“如果人们期望这张专辑更加柔和，更加女性化，更加感伤，他们将会感到惊奇。这张专辑不会充满着像'My Immortal'这样的歌曲。每一首歌都完全不同，有时候我觉得比我们以前的歌曲都要重，而且歌曲给人的感觉是新奇有趣的，是不模仿其他人，具有独自风格的。”

“和不同的音乐人合作很不错。”Lee说，“过去我从没有和别人一起写过歌词，我也不记得和Ben有没有一起写过（在Ben Moody离开乐队后，COLD乐队的吉他手Terry Balsamo顶替了他的位置。），我们一直都是，Ben负责乐曲的创作，他把谱好的旋律给我，我再写出歌词，最后我们把这些组合在一起。那时候歌词都是我自己写，所以很具有个人风格，有时候歌词中的含义让人很难懂。”

“与Terry合作写词的过程真的很棒，我们坐在一间屋子里，做一些Demos（试验歌曲）。我们一起工作，互相交谈，鼓励对方。我们也彼此信任，做出各种歌曲的尝试，有了Terry的帮助，才有了这张专辑的产生。整个过程让我受益良多。”

1991年組成，來自於德國慕尼黑的Haggard，其在音樂內大量融合中世紀(Medieval)、民謠(Folk)、古典(Classical)、歌德(Gothic)、毀滅(Doom)、死亡(Death)和鞭笞(Thrash)等多種元素形成的獨特風格，順利得到各個不同層級聽眾、樂評與媒體的大力讚揚，轟動了當時整個歐洲金屬樂壇！
創團初期Haggard只是支純粹以Death Metal來表現的樂隊，但在靈魂人物Asis Nasseri大膽構思下，陸續加入了小提琴、大提琴、鋼琴與女高音等古典樂科班成員，再算上本身自有的鼓、貝斯、吉他和主唱位置，樂團總編制最多高達近20人之多，至今仍未有任何其他樂團能夠突破此紀錄！音樂方面，金屬與古典相互擦出的音樂火花讓Haggard在1997年發表的首張專輯「And Thou Shalt Trust ... The Seer」名符其實成為交響金屬跨界的究極示範大碟；而後相繼推出的「Awakening The Centuries(2000)」與「Eppur Si Muove(2004)」兩張作品中，樂團更加鑽研古典編曲鋪陳上的優美與交響的磅礡，猶如一場場栩栩如生的電影畫面呈現在眼前。
自從2007年起，網路上就不斷流傳著Haggard將會有新作誕生的訊息，果真不負眾望，今年Haggard終於帶來睽違許久的第四張全新專輯「Tales of Ithiria」回歸樂壇！這次更打破過往皆由詮釋歷史作為主題的習慣，改以Asis Nasseri所構思的中古世紀故事為創作，並用運五段口述分別來引出六篇蕩氣迴腸的史詩樂章；"Tales Of Ithiria"、"Upon Fallen Autumn Leaves"營造力與美的絕佳景象；演奏曲"In Des Konigs Hallen"為正統古典樂句，與純美聲"Hijo De La Luna"共同散發出濃郁文學氣質；"The Hidden Sign"內含大量死亡金屬成份，殘暴又悲愴之景象令聽過的人始終久久無法忘懷。

Taken from the 2000 album, 'Razorblade Romance'. The album version is backed with three non-LP tracks, 'Gone With The Sin' (Radio Edit), 'Gone With The Sin' (O.D. Version) & 'For You' (Acoustic Version). Gun.

Japanese reissue of the goth rock act's debut album, originally released in 1997, features nine tracks including one bonus track, 'Restless' (Classical Version). Marquee Inc.

Sweden's Draconian return with their second release, Arcane Rain Fell. This is pure Gothic/Doom Metal: gentle and pleasing, bittersweet and cutting. Melancholic female vocals harmoniously compliment heavy guitars and atmospheric keyboard lines, with aggressive male vocals giving the tracks an added edge. Draconian perfectly balances heaviness and melody, and will charm fans of both the gothic and doom genre.

With album number two, Xandria suddenly became known in the Gothic and Metal scene, for with the title track and the video which went with it the band played themselves into the hearts of many new listeners. Recorded and mixed in the Belgian studio of producer Jos‚ Alvarez-Brill (Wolfsheim, among others), in the months of December 2003 to February 2004, an album with many facets came into existance: Together with the producer the band tried many new things like soundtrack-like, bombastic arrangements, modern guitar riffs and rhythmic samples.

The enigmatic Chelsea Wolfe has announced details of a new album, ‘Hiss Spun’. Recorded at God City Studios by Converge guitarist, Kurt Ballou, ‘Hiss Spun’ will be released on September 22 via Sargent House.
The new record was produced by Coverge's Kurt Ballou and features additional guitar work by Queens of the Stone Age's Troy Van Leeuwen.
"I'm at odds with myself," Wolfe explains. "I got tired of trying to disappear. The record became very personal in that way. I wanted to open up more, but also create my own reality."
Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens of the Stone Age, Failure) and Aaron Turner (Old Man Gloom, SUMAC) both contribute to the record.
In support of the latest material, Wolfe has also announced an upcoming North American tour. It includes Canadian stops in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Surpassing her prior success with Theatre of Tragedy, Roadrunner solo career and pop-rock guest appearances with Cradle of Filth, Liv Kristine’s Leaves’ Eyes return with a hot new release. Featuring the lead video track, a demo and 3 non-album tracks for 25-minute playtime, the Elegy MCD is value! A taster for the massive launch of Vinland Saga on July 19, 2005. Liv reclaims her throne!

Vanguard, from hellsinki, creates dark melodic metal, breaking genre barriers and using elements from gothic, classical and other styles to create a truly unque sound. The force of nature known as Vanguard was born in 1999, when four musicians came together and set out to create something new and powerful, something living and organic, but still hard and heavy as hell! Vanguard quickly incorporated a cello, a piano and two very different vocalists to bring some fresh air into the stagnant digital sea. Now the maelstrom has forged its first album Succumbra, which was recorded in Hamburg, Germany under the wings of producer Lars Ratz. Armageddon. 2005.

Sometimes it needs an earthquake to blow the dust from a genre that is way past its prime. The term “Gothic Metal” has become more and more of a farce in the past couple of years, drowning in a sea of plastic pomp, embarrassing aggro-poses and soft-rock-drivel. Enter Lord Of The Lost: the band fronted by “Mr. 1000 voices” Chris Harms ignores the genre’s clichés and impresses with an energetic mix of hit-compatible melodies, dark atmosphere and impulsive aggression. Chris Harms is an extremely versatile vocalist and might tingle your spine with his deep timbre in one moment, only to raise sonic hell with hefty growls and piercing screams in the next. Lord Of The Lost create their very own niche bridging the gap between headbanging-inferno, Glam-charms and dark romance with enthralling, catchy songs that are infused with an irresistible energy. As a missing link between Gothic and Marilyn Manson, the Hamburg-based band is unleashing an avalanche that will be hard to stop! Praise the Lord Of The Lost!