#NowPlaying #TheMetalDogIsNowPlaying
#Therion
Secret of the Runes
Helheim

🎸 Live Stream:
https://nowplaying.themetaldog.net/

YouTube Search:
https://youtube.com/results?search_query=Therion+Secret%20of%20the%20Runes+Helheim

LastFM:
https://www.last.fm/music/Therion/_/Helheim

Lyrics:
https://genius.com/Therion-helheim-lyrics

Listen on major platforms:
https://song.link/s/3LKAniBHIcRzAzCkb6bykI

#Therion #ChristoferJohnsson #SymphonicMetal #GothicMetal #Metal90s #SwedishMetal #MelodicDeathMetal #OrchestralMetal #VocalHorns #ChoralElements

#NowPlaying #TheMetalDogIsNowPlaying
#Metallica
S and M
No Leaf Clover

🎸 Live Stream:
https://nowplaying.themetaldog.net/

YouTube Search:
https://youtube.com/results?search_query=Metallica+S%26M+No%20Leaf%20Clover

LastFM:
https://www.last.fm/music/Metallica/_/No+Leaf+Clover

Lyrics:
https://genius.com/Metallica-no-leaf-clover-live-lyrics

Listen on major platforms:
https://song.link/s/0n4AllHzf3ma4ki20Y9h00

#Metallica #JamesHetfield #LarsUlrich #KirkHammett #JasonNewsted #HeavyMetal #ThrashMetal #SymphonicMetal #Metal90s #BayAreaThrash #LosAngelesMusic #OrchestralMetal

Equilibrium – Equinox Review

By Samguineous Maximus

More than almost any other metal niche, folk metal has to walk a treacherously thin line between “actually good music” and “full-body cringe.” For every band that can fuse arena-sized melodies with genuine folk charm, there are three more tumbling headfirst into the Neckbeard Abyss™, condemned to soundtrack the Nordic-themed house parties of Reddit mods everywhere. Equilibrium has stood proudly on both sides of that divide. Their early triumphs of Turis Frayter and Sagas were mead-soaked romps packed with syrupy pagan hooks and enough triumphant Bjoriffs to level a longhouse, but ever since, the spark has dimmed, and each new release has brought diminishing returns. Armageddon (2016) was passable, and Renegades (2019) marked a true low point, trading their Viking swagger for a baffling electro-trance-metal makeover that landed with all the grace of a drunken troll. Now, six years later, Equilibrium returns with Equinox, a tightened lineup and a new vocalist in tow, promising a glorious reclamation of their folk-metal throne. Have they forged another worthy slab of epic, mead-raising metal? Or are they destined to spend eternity staring wistfully at the echoes of their own past conquests?

Equinox marks a clear return to form for Equilibrium after the detour of Renegades. The electronic and metalcore elements from their last record still linger, occasionally poking their neon-tinted heads out, but the heart of the band’s sound is back in full force: that boisterous blend of Finntroll and Ensiferum filtered through the Europower cheese of Rhapsody of Fire, now with a touch of Avatar added. The songs are built on a familiar mix of traditional woodwinds, thick distorted guitars, and gaudy synth lines, with newcomer Fabi’s fearsome growl leading the charge through straightforward verses and repeated choruses. When these ingredients click, and the newer sonic flourishes collide with the band’s classic, folk-driven sense of epic grandeur, the result can be exhilarating. Tracks like “Gnosis,” “Awakening” and “Bloodwood” move easily between core-tinged riffs and massive, sing-along Viking choruses, delivered with the bombast Equilibrium is known for. Unfortunately, the rest of the album doesn’t reach the same heights.

According to the band, Equinox was originally intended as an EP rather than a full-length release, and the pacing issues and filler make that easy to believe. Large sections of several songs feel like padding before the actual track begins. Both “Borrowed Waters” and “Legends” open with long, drawn-out “atmospheric” intros that sap the impact of what follows, and the album includes no fewer than three interludes (“Archivist,” “Rituals of Sun and Moon” and “Tides of Time”). These moments don’t do the record any favors. They’re often delivered through a jarring mix of electronic trap drums, over-the-top synth lines and the band’s more traditional woodwind flourishes, creating a stylistic mishmash that feels pulled straight from a fantasy-themed Fortnite event. At times, these elements collide with simplistic, “tribal,” repetition-heavy vocals (“Earth Tongue”), resulting in something that sounds closer to a hyper-dramatic Nordaboo YouTube montage than classic Equilibrium. Even though the album does contain plenty of fully formed songs, these detours make the overall experience feel uneven and lopsided.

There are moments on Equinox where Equilibrium’s updated approach works despite its flaws. “I’ll Be Thunder” is a concise, effective track that blends electronic and orchestral elements into a tightly written folk-metal package. Even the seemingly toxic trance-metal/rap/metalcore hybrid verse in “One Hundred Hands” is intriguing, though the autotuned chorus and generic breakdown drag the song down. To the band’s credit, the mixing is solid across the album. It’s polished without being crushed by excessive loudness for a Nuclear Blast release, and producer Daniel McCook does an admirable job balancing the electronic, orchestral, and metal components. The result is a surprisingly even production that rewards multiple listens. I just wish there were more aspects of Equinox I could praise without reservations.

Equinox is a difficult album to recommend despite its strengths. Equilibrium have mostly abandoned the divisive sound of their previous record, while adapting its electronic elements in a return to form. The singles here do capture the bombast of their earlier work and are fun enough on their own, but the record around them is inconsistent and, at time,s baffling in its execution. Equilibrium could certainly do a lot worse, but this is far from the re-conquest of the folk metal throne it could’ve been.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 256 kb/s mp3
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Websites: equilibrium-metal.net | facebook.com/equilibrium
Releases Worldwide: November 28th, 2025

#20 #2025 #avatar #electronicMetal #ensiferum #equilibrium #equinox #finntroll #folkMetal #germanM #melodicDeathMetal #metalcore #nov25 #nuclearBlast #orchestralMetal #review #reviews #rhapsodyOfFire

Mors Principium Est – Darkness Invisible Review

By Angry Metal Guy

Mors Principium Est should, for longtime fans of Angry Metal Guy, need no introduction. Since 2003, these Finns have released eight full-length albums of top-notch melodic death metal. However, they really took flight in 2012 with …and Death Said Live!, which coincidentally is a year after Andy Gillion joined the band. Between 2011 and 2021, Mors produced melodic death metal that drew heavily on a strong Gothenburg vibe; guitar-forward, slick as fuck, and fun to listen to. Gillion was fired, however, in 2021. That was followed by the band releasing an album of re-recorded songs called Liberate the Unborn Inhumanity, which fans largely considered a half-measure. Darkness Invisible, then, marks the first truly new material since Seven. And I’ve been dying to know how this revamped Mors Principium Est would navigate the changes on album number nine.

Darkness Invisible presents a recognizable core sound that longtime fans will connect with, but its character reflects the shift in the lineup. With Ville Viljanen’s scathing roar still at the helm, the return of Jori Haukio and Jarkko Kokko on guitars reintroduces the early 2000s songwriting DNA, while bassist Teemu Heinola and (new guy) Marko Tommila give the rhythm section both drive and dynamic weight. Together, they summon a melodeath that is at once cinematic, technical, and blackened—evoking countrymen Children of Bodom or Kalmah. The themes that emerge are darker than before: a push toward massive symphonic density that occasionally brushes against Septic Flesh’s deathly grandeur, the arrival of deeper guttural vocals that tilt passages toward brutal death, and flashes of blackened riffing that lend a sharp edge. These elements intermingle across the album, creating a record that is both familiar and ambitious.

Much of Darkness Invisible’s character comes from its dark dynamics and cinematic presentation. The compositions weaponize contrast in vocals and atmosphere, making for a dynamic and entertaining record. Viljanen’s familiar bark remains the anchor of MPE’s sound, but the band now folds in cavernous gutturals that push closer to death metal extremity (“Summoning the Dark”), even contrasting these with operatic cleans and producing a clash of brutality and grandeur (“All Life Is Evil”). Additionally, there’s a frost that creeps into the riffs and drumming, with trem-picked riffs and blastbeats sharpening the band’s melodeath foundation toward something blackened and sinister (see: the chorus of “Venator,” or the end of “The Rivers of Avernus”). And even the more straightforward cuts employ these textures to broaden their weight, layering symphonic swells and bleak grandeur over increasingly technical riffing. The result is a record that sounds darker and denser than the glossy sheen of Seven. This expansion lends ambition and menace, though the density of choirs, gutturals, and orchestrations sometimes threatens to swamp the guitars that were the core of Mors’ sound.

For all its ambition, Darkness Invisible’s major drawback is that it’s undermined by an Industry Standard Production Job™ courtesy of Jens Bogren (mixing) and Tony Lindgren (mastering). Bogren has made dense orchestral metal soar before—think how cleanly he’s wrangled maximalist arrangements for acts like Fleshgod Apocalypse and Turisas—which makes this result unusual. The record is mastered loud and layered thick; climaxes hit hard,1 but the constant stacking of choirs, vocals, multiple guitar tracks, drums, and orchestration often clutters the field and can bury the guitars that most recently defined Mors Principium Est. On a proper stereo, the album sounds big and sinister—fully loaded with dynamics, pomp, and grandeur—but on earbuds and smaller setups, it can collapse into a busy blur. It’s been a long time since I popped in a new release and found it simply too crowded for casual listening—and it ends up being fatiguing to the ear at times. That busyness contributes to the album’s oppressive mood, but it also blunts individual performances. In reaching for monumental scale, the mix trades away clarity, leaving the listener torn between admiration for scope and frustration at execution.

Darkness Invisible has convinced me that this lineup can carry Mors Principium Est forward. The shift in sound works: the band leans harder into Children of Bodom and Dark Tranquillity on the melodic side, showing off fantastic guitar work while embracing a more cinematic and melodramatic identity. Without the bonus track, the album lands at a vinyl-friendly 46 minutes, and its structural pacing—variations in tempo, atmosphere, and density—make it a fun and dynamic listen despite the crowded mix. Darkness Invisible doesn’t bear much resemblance to the Gillion era, but that’s not necessarily a weakness.2 This darker and more melodramatic Mors Principium Est feels fresh, and tracks like “All Life Is Evil” and “The Rivers of Avernus” prove the style’s promise. So, I entered this review with concerns about what a Gillion-less Mors Principium Est would sound like, and I’m leaving it impressed and excited for what’s to come. I would call that a great success.

Rating: Very Good!
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s CBR MP3
Label: Perception [Reigning Phoenix Music]
Websites: Facebook | Instagram
Out Worldwide: September 26th, 2025

#AndDeathSaidLive #2025 #35 #AndyGillion #ChildrenOfBodom #DarkTranquillity #DarknessInvisible #FinnishMetal #FleshgodApocalypse #JensBogren #Kalmah #MelodicDeathMetal #MorsPrincipiumEst #OrchestralMetal #Review #Reviews #Sep25 #SepticFlesh #Seven #TonyLindgren #Turisas

Where to Start with Symphonic Metal

Symphonic metal emerged in the late 1990s, mostly by way of Europe. Integrating orchestral arrangements, operatic vocals, and heavy riffing, the music incorporates cinematic narrative rather than being focused on showy displays of technical virtuosity or raw aggression.

#SymphonicMetal #MetalMusic #OrchestralMetal #GothicMetal #PowerMetal #CinematicMetal #OperaticMetal #Nightwish #Epica #Xandria #MetalAndPhilosophy #HeavyMetal

http://avantmusicnews.com/2025/08/31/where-to-start-with-symphonic-metal/

Ihsahn – Ihsahn (Studio version) Review

By Carcharodon

Introductions to Emperor’s creative mastermind Ihsahn, as he drops his eighth (and ninth) solo LPs, seem unnecessary. However, a small note is needed for this review because there are two, entirely separate but inextricably related, versions of Ihsahn and I am reviewing only one of them. Ihsahn’s solo work has always involved a significant symphonic component, as did his writing for Emperor albeit to a lesser degree, but he has gone all-out orchestral for his selt-titled offering. Literally. Collaborating with a symphony orchestra,1 the blackened progressive metal of the main studio version is set to a full orchestral score, with those latter parts deliberately written to work as a freestanding release also: Ihsahn (Orchestral version). Here, I am reviewing the studio version only2 but it is impossible not to take into account the scale of the task Ihsahn set himself here. Did he bite off more than he could chew?

As Ihsahn opens on “Cervus Venator,” you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve put on a John Williams score. It sounds almost like the “Dune Sea of Tatooine” or something. However, these moments of the orchestra operating solo are limited to three points across the studio version of Ihsahn: opener, mid-album breather, and closer. For the majority of its run, the orchestra is a fully integrated component of the whole. They are not a mere adornment, as we see some bands doing, but an integral part of the composition. On first track proper, however, “The Promethean Spark,” I am dragged back to the first time I heard “Called by the Fire” from The Adversary, as a dancing tremolo plays over progressive drumming, and Ihsahn’s now trademarked gravelly rasp opens up. The orchestra soon returns though, adding both depth and scale to the sound that, for all its greatness, The Adversary can never match.

As the record progresses, this pattern repeats, with its harsher edges recalling much of Ihsahn’s earlier—and Emperor’s later—material, with significant portions of “Pilgrimage to Oblivion” and the back end of “A Taste of the Ambrosia” sounding almost like they come off Prometheus. However, Ihsahn’s more progressive tendencies, accompanied by his ever-improving clean vocals, are at work here too. These would border on ballad-y rock in a few places (the quirky “Blood Trails to Love”) were it not for orchestra, which imbues the whole with a faintly threatening, overblown aura that holds the record together. Meanwhile, the sawing ominous violin work that opens the sprawling album highlight, “Hubris and the Blue Devils,” sets up almost eight minutes of gorgeous experimentation, as jagged guitar work and dual-tracked harsh vocals writhe around the arrangements at its core. Longest cut, “At the Heart of All Things Broken,” is also great, feeling vibrant and emotive, the multi-tracked clean vocals building towards a crescendo that never quite arrives.

There is a lot to Ihsahn, more than I can convey within the confines of this (already overlong) review. If I were to try to contextualize it within the expansive confines of Ihsahn’s solo discography, it’s the bastard love child of The Adversary and Arktis., recently awarded its masters in classical music. More brooding and less percussive—though also featuring fewer guitar fireworks—than last outing Àmr, this album has contours to it but they flow like rolling hills, rather than the mountainous peaks and troughs that characterized Das Seelenbrechen. However, while there is no poor material on this record, it’s not without its flaws. The sparing, (relatively) stripped-back “The Distance Between Us” drags, lacking focus and bite, even when it steps up the intensity halfway through, while sections of “A Taste of the Ambrosia” feel like Ihsahn briefly wasn’t sure where to take the song. I’m not going to get into the production here because I’m working with a thrice-cursed, label-provided stream.3 Suffice to say, however, that I trust Ihsahn’s ear for how he wants this to sound but I hope that, on a hi-res version, the guitars have just a little more crunch.

Flawed but never less than captivating, this album is absolutely worthy of being Ihsahn’s self-titled opus. Cuts like “Twice Born,” “At the Heart of All Things Broken” and the stunning “Hubris and the Blue Devils” stand shoulder to shoulder with anything from his solo career to date, while the sheer ambition and skill that it takes to write a full orchestral soundtrack that backstops the progressive metal of the record, but also stands alone, cannot be overstated. Do I love Ihsahn? Not yet but I like it a lot, and I respect the hell out of Ihsahn.

Note: I have so far failed to find a Bandcamp entry, or indeed anywhere else, where one can purchase a digital copy of either version of Ihsahn but physical copies can be pre-ordered from Candlelight, here. Doubtless it will be coming to a streaming service near you soon.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: Stream only
Label: Candlelight
Websites: ihsahn.com | facebook.com/ihsahn
Releases Worldwide: February 16th, 2024

#2024 #40 #Amr #Arktis_ #BlackMetal #Candlelight #Classical #DasSeelenbrechen #Emperor #Feb24 #Ihsahn #IhsahnStudioVersion_ #NorwegianMetal #OrchestralMetal #ProgressiveMetal #Review #Reviews #SymphonicMetal #TheAdversary

Presenting Mrs. Ramsbottom’s Second Grade Class Christmas Recital, Starring Tarja, as Described by Liam Collins, Age Seven

By Cherd

Hi, I’m Liam. I’m backstage right now because we’re doing a Christmas recital tonight. Everyone in my class is in it except for the Horowitz twins. Ezra and Esther don’t have to for some reason. Our music teacher Mrs. Ramsbottom was supposed to be here too but one of her organs blew up and she had to go to the hospital. It’s called an appendix and I’ve got one inside me too but my Mom says mine is ok and probably won’t blow up. Mrs. Ramsbottom was going to play the piano and we were going to sing but when she got sick we got a substitute teacher. Her name is Miss Tarja. She can sing really pretty but she talks kind of funny. Dad says it’s because she’s from Finland. I guess she’s kind of famous because my Dad knew who she was. He said she was in a heavy metal band called Nightwish. Mom asked him if that was one of his Cookie Monster bands he listened to in college. He said “Not really.” I asked him why she’s substitute teaching if she’s famous and he got sad and said “It’s hard to make money in the arts,” and then he got a bottle of brown stuff from the Grownups Only Cabinet and took it out to the garage. Mom looked kind of mad.

When Miss Tarja first showed up in class she was wearing a crazy outfit that was shiny and black and had lots of metal buttons and some black feathers. She looked like a vampire. My friend Aisha thought so too and asked her if she was a vampire and she said “No” but if I was a vampire I’d say “No” so people wouldn’t suspect me. Miss Tarja had us sing for her what we’d practiced for the recital. The whole time she kept rubbing her forehead with her super long vampire fingernails. Sometimes her eyes would get big and she’d say “Kamalaa! Katastrofi! Where is the passion?” When we were done she said “This will not do. But don’t worry my little Yuletide ravens, Tarja will fix this, and you will help her. Yes, Tarja will rise like the Star of Bethlehem over the darkest night of the soul!” When we came to practice the next day, we didn’t have to sing very much. Miss Tarja did most of it.

That was three days ago. Now I’m backstage and I’m hot and itchy. We were all going to wear funny Christmas sweaters tonight but Miss Tarja changed that, too. All this black leather is heavy and I’m really sweaty. She has contact lenses that make her eyes all black and her hair is super tall and she’s wearing a cape and a sword. She looks cool. We’re taking our places. The curtains just opened. These lights are really bright. Miss Tarja holds her sword in the air and yells, “Welcome! And behold my Dark Christmas.” She recorded all the instruments earlier so they just have to hit play in the sound booth. She starts singing “The First Noel” and waving her arms around like one of those balloon people where grown ups buy cars, but in super slow motion. I see Mom and Dad! They look really surprised. Everyone does. At first Miss Tarja sings the song really quiet, but then she gets really loud just before the end. She does that a lot.

We don’t sing much on some of these songs but next is “Frosty the Snowman” and it’s really fun. We sing the chorus, and then at the end we all get to say “ME! ME!” and it doesn’t even have to be in rhythm. Miss Tarja says details like that make this art. I’ve heard this song lots before but she makes it sound REALLY serious. Sometimes the music is sad like maybe she knew Frosty in real life and is sad he died. I guess that’s possible because it snows a lot in Finland. A couple of times the music gets really big like Frosty is a Marvel superhero in a movie. Iron Man was my favorite but he died and that made his son Spiderman really sad. Miss Tarja is waving around her vampire claws all slow and spooky. I bet they make it hard to make a snowman. No one in the audience has clapped yet, or coughed or moved or anything. Some vampires can do magic spells. Maybe she did one on them. Hang on, this is my favorite part! “ME…ME…ME…ME!”

Someone clapped! Miss Tarja sang “O, Holy Night” like she was in an opera and when she got to the “fall on your knees” part we all got on our knees and put our hands up and looked right at the really bright lights and that hurt, but then Jayden’s mom stood up and clapped really loud. Jayden’s nice but kind of weird and my Dad says his mom goes to all the school board meetings just to yell at people. Maybe she’ll like this costume change part, too. Some guys with ropes just pulled Miss Tarja up to the ceiling really fast and all the lights turned off. The audience is making LOTS of noise now. A bunch of people are saying “Whoa” and “Hey” and one person yelled “Jesus Christ!” It’s really dark. Ok, a light came back on, but only one. It’s shining on Miss Tarja up at the ceiling. Now she’s wearing a big white dress and her hair and face are all white like a ghost. That means it’s time to sing “Jingle Bell Rock.”

They’re lowering her back down to the stage and she’s singing the first part REALLY slow. When we practiced this song with Mrs. Ramsbottom, we danced all around and had a lot of fun. I don’t think there’s any way to dance to this. Miss Tarja made most of this music with special pianos that can sound like other instruments and violins and stuff, but some guy plays an electric guitar for this song. He’s over there in the corner. No one told us his name. He just showed up. I guess the guitar makes this heavy metal. We’re not supposed to dance to heavy metal. We’re supposed to just stand still. Miss Tarja said we can “glower,” but I don’t know what that means. She gets to wave her arms around and makes faces like she’s eating something really yummy or trying to remember something.

Principal Menendez seems really upset. I think he got mad when all those bags of rose petals got dumped and blown around with big fans while we were singing “White Christmas.” Miss Tarja says white’s too predictable and the roses make it look like we’re in a big snow globe filled with blood. It’s an artistic choice. Principal Menendez left the auditorium around then and he didn’t come back in until we were starting “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Now he’s pacing with his arms crossed and he keeps looking at his phone. “Rudolph” is my favorite song in the recital. We get to sing a lot on this one, and the music is extra scary. It reminds me of the music in movies when people are being chased by something. It makes me think about Rudolph chasing the other reindeer with a knife and then right at the end when the song gets really loud, that’s when Rudolph catches them.

Something’s happening. Miss Tarja’s trying to sing our last song but the microphone isn’t working. I think someone turned it off. Principal Menendez is coming up on stage. “Well, that’s our show for the night! I’d like to thank Miss Tarja for, uh, doing this, and Mrs. Ramsbottom’s second grade music class. You all did a wonderful job.” A few people are clapping, but now they’re getting quiet again because Miss Tarja is putting her hands up. She’s turning to us and winking. “Until next Christmas, my Yuletide ravens.” Now all the rose petals on the stage are starting to swirl around her like a tornado. The wind sounds really loud. WHOA, she disappeared! Everyone’s yelling and running on stage to grab their kids. I guess this means the recital’s over.

Rating: Let’s not ruin anyone’s child-like sense of wonder
Format Reviewed: streaming
Label: earMUSIC
Website: tarjaturunen.com
Releases Worldwide: November 10th, 2023

#2023 #DarkChristmas #EarMusic #FinnishMetal #MrsRamsbottomSSecondGradeMusicClass #Nightwish #Nov23 #OrchestralMetal #SymphonicMetal #Tarja #TarjaTurunen

Apparently, #TuneswapTuesday is a thing. Share a single song with others and enjoy #MusicRecommendations.

This is an orchestral version of ‘Cuore Nero’ by Punkreas, an #Italian #Rock band. I'd call it a #Gothic version, though.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/L0gDV92UGFk
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/5UADBRixu5qd1vAZ8RrNCK?si=chx6biERR2eqsEbV2YLSmQ&utm_source=copy-link

#Punkreas #GothicRock #GothicMetal #OrchestralRock #OrchestralMetal #ItalianRock #ItalianMetal #ItalianMusic #MusicRecommendation