Ever since Californication re-united the band with John Frusciante and spawned a couple hundred major hit singles, Red Hot Chili Peppers have done something that would have caused people to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the idea some decades back, becoming one of the planet's biggest rock acts. By the Way might have been a somber, mellow product of age and Frusciante's sudden hold on songwriting but its sudden style-switch did nothing to the general trajectory and launched the band even further. Stadium Arcadium, in all its bloated, massive glory is in its essence an album made by a Huge Band. It doesn't necessarily reflect on the scale of the sound - there's plenty of slower, subtler moments - but in its sound it's loud and clear an album that could only be made by a band that knows its stuff and knows they have to perform their stuff to millions of fans in thousand-head venues. In essence, an honest arena band rock record…

With its complexity and instrumental richness, its ability to develop anguishing themes and electric rises and its overgrowing tension, Shylock has often been compared to King Crimson. Actually, this instrumental combo also belongs to wild and intricate Progressive rock with tormenting atmospheres, but has its own personality. The latter is expressed through overwhelming lyricism and refined romanticism, a bit like Pulsar. With its schizoido-electronic dimension, Shylock can also make you think of Heldon. What's more, each musician is a real virtuoso, especially guitarist Frédéric L'epee and outstanding drummer André Fisichella. As "Gialorgues" (1975) can be considered as a very good debut album, "Ile de Fièvre" (1978) is widely known as an absolute masterpiece.

To say that Iron Maiden's The Book of Souls was ardently anticipated would be a vast understatement. Though it was (mostly) finished in 2014, vocalist Bruce Dickinson's cancer diagnosis and treatment delayed its release until he was medically cleared. While 2006's A Matter of Life and Death and 2010's The Final Frontier showcased longer songs, Book of Souls is epic by comparison. Their first double album, it's 92 minutes long, and three of its 11 tracks are over ten minutes. Steve Harris contributed one solo composition, and co-wrote six tracks with various bandmates. Dickinson - for the first time since Powerslave – wrote two solo tunes, the album's bookends, and collaborated on two more. The music is cleanly divided between the two discs. The first is tight; it offers a bit of everything that makes Iron Maiden…well, Iron Maiden. It is seemingly self-contained…

As far as debut albums go, this eponymous release is a surprisingly accomplished effort from the Nottingham-born teenager Jake Bugg. Although he stares out from the album cover like a younger, long-lost cousin of the View or the Enemy, while those U.K. indie acts found their nourishment on a diet of the Jam, Oasis, and the Strokes, Bugg found time to explore pre-Beatles music from the likes of Buddy Holly and Richie Valens. These influences - combined with a folk sensibility and moments of delicate acoustic fingerpicking that betray a love for Bob Dylan and Donovan - make for an accessible, pop-focused record that doesn’t attempt to chase innovation. Much of the material here was co-written, produced, and mixed by Snow Patrol and Reindeer Section collaborator Iain Archer…

Chet Baker's West Coast cool comes to the Big Apple on Chet Baker in New York. The project would be Baker's first - in a four album deal - with the Big Apple-based Riverside Records. The bicoastal artist incorporates his decidedly undernourished sound and laid-back phrasing into the styling of Al Haig (piano), Johnny Griffin (tenor sax), Paul Chambers (bass), and Philly Joe Jones (drums). The results are uniformly brilliant as Baker's cool-toned solos fly and bop with authority around the equally impressive supporting soloists. Conversely, the same cohesive unity continues on the introspective numbers that are more akin to Baker's California cool. Undoubtedly one of the charms of this collection is the distinct choice of material…

The third and last album by Rupert Hine under the disguise of the ghost group Thinkman, Hard Hat Zone walks away from the subjects of media manipulation and information games. Most of the pieces, still written by Hine with lyrics by Jeannette Obstoj, deal with environmental themes, with titles like "Mother Nature's Angry" and "November Whale" being quite explicit. The tone becomes vehement but also preachy in the solemn "Take Them to the Traitors' Gate," dedicated to Prince Charles (his involvement with environmental causes was avant-gardist at a time when it was not yet fashionable). The songs don't have the impact and hook-laden melodies of those on The Formula, but the singer/producer still did a good job…

North Mississippi Allstars was founded by brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson in 1996 as a loose collective of musicians from North Mississippi and Memphis, TN, inspired by their neighbors, RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Otha Turner and the late Fred McDowell. Over the years the touring lineup has included, Cedric, Duwayne and Garry Burnside, Chris Chew, Berry Oakley Jr, Oteil Burbridge, Ray Ray Hollowman (guitar player for Eminem and Ne-Yo), and currently Joey Williams (of the Blind Boys of Alabama). Since their Grammy nominated debut album in 2000 they have toured the world, shared the stage with countless legends, Mavis Staples, Robert Plant, John Hiatt, the Allman Brothers, Buddy Guy, Snoop Dogg, and Phil Lesh to name a few, while earning multiple Grammy nominations for their experimental albums of Psychedelic folk roots rock…

This is the second album by Swedish band. Sinkadus sound very much like Änglagard and offer a Swedish mood-mix of Camel's Mirage, Genesis' Nursery Cryme and early King Crimson, featuring lots of vintage equipment such as moogs, flutes, hammond and mellotron. The sound is very natural, organic and direct, with a very solid foundation of tasty bass and drums.

When Willie Dixon left his native Mississippi and traveled north to Chicago, he almost single-handedly dragged the blues with him into the modern era, giving the country blues a hard, new sheen with his deft songwriting, sturdy bass playing, and his considerable talents as a producer and arranger. This two-disc, 47-track set catches Dixon wearing all of his hats, with the first disc featuring him in the studio and in concert (including several live tracks with Johnny Winter) and the second spotlighting his bass playing and production work with the likes of Robert Nighthawk, Eddie Boyd, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Lowell Fulson, Bo Diddley, Willie Mabon, and Howlin' Wolf. What emerges is a well-rounded portrait and introduction to one of the major architects of the modern blues sound.

The Blues Magoos' first album, Psychedelic Lollipop, earned the band a major hit single, "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet," and in the grand tradition of striking while the iron was hot, the New York-based quintet were back with their second LP, 1967's Electric Comic Book, less than five months later. The sophomore effort is a noticeably more ambitious piece of work than the Magoos' debut, and while psychedelia was a catchphrase more than anything else on the first record, Electric Comic Book sounds trippier and a bit more expansive by comparison (the goofy "Intermission" tosses in some fairly obvious marijuana and cocaine references which would have been almost unthinkable in 1966, and the drug angle in "Pipe Dream" isn't exactly subtle). In addition, a few months of playing live had tightened up a combo who already sounded pretty good together, as well as bolstering the confidence in Ralph Scala's vocals and keyboard work…

Now the series of so-called cupdiscs continues: enjoy another full length EP (more than 40 minutes) with stunning new compositions and two well-known pieces in different so far unheard versions while having a cup of tea or coffee.

Trying to shake things up, producer Creed Taylor brought in arranger Marty Sheller from Mongo Santamaria's Afro-Cuban band, reduced the sizes of the servings (no track is longer than 3:50), cranked up the decibels to a raucous level, and presented Benson in what he hoped would be a radio-friendly setting. The wonder is that Benson manages to transcend the blasting Latin-percussion-spiced production, the tight time limits, and all with often brilliantly tasty guitar fills and brief solos in many styles and three reverb-heavy vocals.

With Reforged - Machine World, Iron Savior will close the chapter of their legendary Reforged series.
Band founder Piet Sielck has re-recorded the classics from the noise era in Hamburg's Powerhouse Studio, bringing the series to an impressive conclusion. The new recordings of anthems such as "Machine World", "Eye of the World" and "Contortions of Time" shine with their modern production and perfectly emphasise the band's unbroken energy and versatility. For Sielck, it was ‘a celebration to dive back into the old days and make the songs fit for the new millennium’.
Reforged - Machine World is a must for every fan, whether long-time or newly enamoured!
Get the final chapter of this epic journey - Machine World!

Following the release of Pawn Hearts, bandleader Peter Hammill took time out to develop a solo career, choosing to focus his energy on darkly introspective works that seemed to be intended to examine the personal consequences of his life. When it came time for reuniting the members of Van Der Graaf, this change in direction had its effect on the band's post-1975 music. While the musical structures continued to be complex and dense, there seemed to be far less accent on the demonstration of musical skill than had formerly been the case. Indeed, the album opened with daring quietness, with David Jackson's flute echoing across the stereo space, joined by Hammill's voice as he whispered the opening lines. There was sturm und drang to come, but the music had been opened up and the lyrics had developed more focus, often abandoning metaphor in favor of statement. Godbluff was a bravura comeback - only four cuts, but all were classics.

25 Japanese Anniversary Edition with 4 Bonus tracks.
In between albums, Billie Eilish won two Oscars, a pair of Golden Globes, and a handful of Grammy Awards. What would typically be huge feats for regular folks has become the norm for the dynamic duo of Eilish and her brother, Finneas, but could they extend that success for another album cycle? For that third effort, Hit Me Hard and Soft, she didn't offer an advance single or major promotion, a move that might have been construed as getting ahead of any negative critical evaluation. And yet, it simply signaled a quiet confidence in the project, which is another home run. This pair can really do anything. A brisk ten songs, this is a "no skips" gem that is ideal for leaving on repeat and getting lost in the hazy, yearning snapshots of lust, longing, and heartbreak…