Ayreon's mastermind Arjen Lucassen was on a small signing tour through The Netherlands this weekend. After having had a stop in Venlo, Breda and Bergen op Zoom (all Dutch cities), the guitarist invited for a signing session in Den Haag on Sunday April...

(8/10) After having published their latest longplayer “Ghost of Graceland” almost a year ago the Swedish powerhouse comes with a well-gone live album that captures a show done at last years Frontiers Rock Festival in Milano. With 5 songs the focus of...

(7/10) As being a regular guest on Markus’ Heavy Music Blog you are aware of some releases, getting a review, that might leave the basic frame of rock and metal. German band Echoschleife is one of these bands that might not fit fully into the context...

I’m not sure if it was due to the fact that ‚Kings Day’, a bank holiday in Holland that goes along with a big party in orange, was the reason for the smaller of two rooms in Gebr. de Nobel not being really over crowded that night. Could also be due to...

(8/10) Power metal veterans Metal Church got a real boost with Mike Howe re-joining the legendary power metal band from the west coast. "XI" was a fantastic studio album that was followed by mind-blowing live shows, presenting a band that's celebrating...

(8/10) Lonely Robot’s “The Big Dream” is already the second longplayer of multi-instrumentalist John Mitchell. Most of you know Mitchell from prog rocker outfit Arena, contributing to albums like “The Visitor” and “Immortal?”. Lonely Robot’s debut dates...

(10/10) It's maybe a bit of a strange metaphor, but listening to Ayreon's new album feels like an exciting journey through all kinds of different landscapes. Having a look around is a thrilling thing with an endless offer of new impressions. Sometimes...

(9/10) There were many attempts of combining classic music and metal to something exciting and breath-taking. Sometimes things ended in a failure while rock history also shows some true wins. Fortunately this longplayer belongs to the latter, showcasing...

Dream Theater belongs to the group of that had and have a major impact on an entire music genre. In their case it's progressive metal that wouldn't be where it is today without the quintet from North America. Starting their journey in the second half...

(7/10) You could get the impression of Mark Sweeny and Michael Voss aiming for a world record. The amount of guest musicians the two Wolfpakk leaders invited to their newest bite is enormous. The list of supporters for the new album “Wolves Reign” is...

(8/10) Danish metal outfit Pyramaze started in 200, releasing the debut in 2004, followed by "Legend of the Bone Carver" which saw the light of day in 2006. Pyramaze earned some positive reaction but it was in 2007 when ex-Iced Earth frontman Matt Barlow...

(8/10) After some years of absence German alternative metal outfit Farmer Boys is back. Alex Scholpp, Matze Sayer and the rest of the gang have been pretty much in the spotlight during the 90’s. It was a time when the band released the debut “Countrified”...

(8/10) A real interesting new project takes off on May 5th, when The Unity releases their self-titled debut. This powerhouse from Germany bridges hardrock and melodic metal with 12 songs that are highly entertaining. The Unity is the brainchild of two...