Originally released in 1982 by Arista in the U.K. and reissued on CD by the Dutch Disky imprint in 2001, Celebration serviceably culls some of the better moments from Simple Minds' first three albums: 1979's Life in a Day and Reel to Real Cacophony and 1980's Empires and Dance. Given the sadly neglected status of the band's early catalog – meaning anything that was released prior to 1982's breakthrough New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) – through the early 2000s, it is doubly unfortunate that a compilation like this remained out of print for an extended period of time.

No figure in 20th century American classical music had as prominent or controversial a career – or did more to sell classical music to the general public as something genuinely exciting and worth getting into a sweat over – than Leonard Bernstein. For more than 30 years, from his assumption of the post of Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in 1958 until the final concerts that he conducted in obviously failing health near the end of his life in 1990, he was the most widely recognized American-born conductor in the world, and the dominant personality in American classical music as both a conductor and, to a lesser degree, a composer.

After the Spinners and the O'Jays, the Stylistics were the leading Philly soul group produced by Thom Bell. During the early '70s, the band had 12 straight Top Ten hits, including "You Are Everything," "Betcha by Golly, Wow," "I'm Stone in Love With You," "Break Up to Make Up," and "You Make Me Feel Brand New." Of all their peers, the Stylistics were one of the smoothest and sweetest soul groups of their era. All of their hits were ballads, graced by the soaring falsetto of Russell Thompkins, Jr. and the lush yet graceful productions of Bell, which helped make the Stylistics one of the most successful soul groups of the first half of the '70s.

Italy’s Fleshgod Apocalypse returns with new music for the first time since 2019! After numerous setbacks, including a life-threatening rock-climbing incident and a global pandemic, the band is finally back and hungrier than ever. Known for their unique blend of technical death metal with symphonic elements, “Pendulum” delivers the goods in droves. The complex compositions, intense guitar work, and powerful orchestration is only complimented by their theatrical stage presence.

Of the Motown acts to have big hits in the 1960s, the Contours are one of the least known; it could be more people can rattle off the lyrics to "Do You Love Me?" than identify the group that sang the song. But like all Motown groups of consequence, they recorded a surprisingly voluminous amount of material for the label, much of which was unreleased at the time. It's still astonishing that there are enough unissued cuts from 1963 and 1964 alone to comprise the bulk of this 26-track CD. It does include a couple of official 1964 singles ("Can You Do It" and "Can You Jerk Like Me"), but the other two-dozen masters were previously unreleased before this 2011 compilation appeared. It's also impressive that these recordings aren't obvious throwaways. At the same time, however, there's not much in the way of obvious first-rate contenders for 45 release, and much of it sounds like decent album filler. (In fact, about half of it could have been planned for a late 1964/early 1965 LP that might have been titled Dance with the Contours, hence the title of this CD anthology.) More often than not, they're uptempo tunes that take advantage of the group's knack for danceable grooves paced by some of the grittiest lead vocals ever heard on Motown sides of the early to mid-'60s. Sometimes they specifically echo the "Do You Love Me?" formula, and might have been passed over for release by quality control for precisely that reason.

The Complete Tom Jones is a highly enjoyable set which collects most of Tom Jones' hit recordings, beginning with his first major success, 1965's "It's Not Unusual," and ending with his 1988 hit collaboration with the Art of Noise, "Kiss." Most of Tom Jones' major hits are included, among those "Delilah," "What's New, Pussycat?," "Love Me Tonight," "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," "Without Love (There Is Nothing)," "Daughter of Darkness," "I (Who Have Nothing)," "She's a Lady," and "The Green Green Grass of Home."

We know little about the biography of Pierre de Manchicourt (around 1510-1564), and recordings of his music are also rare. The vocal ensemble Beauty Farm takes up the cudgels for this Franco-Flemish Renaissance master, who is still only known to a few specialists. The album sheds a representative light on the sacred music of this composer, who was, after all, Kapellmeister to Philip II in Madrid in the last years of his life.Four masses - including the first recording of the Missa de Domina - show that Manchicourt was one of the grand masters of vocal polyphony.

Although they only attained the huge success of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys for a short time in the mid-'60s, time has judged the Byrds to be nearly as influential as those groups in the long run. They were not solely responsible for devising folk-rock, but they were certainly more responsible than any other single act (Dylan included) for melding the innovations and energy of the British Invasion with the best lyrical and musical elements of contemporary folk music.

Immortal - War Against All will be released on May 26th 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records. From the very depths of the frozen tundra that is the Norwegian Black Metal world, Demonaz has clawed his way back up the ice-capped peaks of Blashyrkh to claim the throne and bring forth Immortal's 10th studio album War Against All; a rather poetic title considering the years of turmoil and lawsuits before assuming the rights to the Immortal name. Completely composed, performed and recorded by Demonaz with the assistance of session artists, War Against All embarks on a journey which proves that Immortal are still very much…immortal. War Against All is a wintery blast of intense ferocity and melodic, mid-tempo beats with a blackened foundation. It's full of ambition, intensity and raw beauty that only the likes of Immortal can achieve. For returning fans of the band's 90s heyday and newcomers alike, this record won't disappoint.

"Homo Deus" is a concept Album and the lyrical Theme starts where our previous Unique Leader Records releases „Revive the Throne“ and "Strain of Gods" ended. Humanity is slowly recovering from being on the brink of extinction after the big fallout on "Annihilation of Mankind". More and more people forget how hard the reconstruction was and how much suffering had to be endured. The greed for profit and the striving for power causes mankind to exploit the planet to the maximum. The garbage piles up to the sky, tales of clean water can only be taken from the remaining books. But mankind strives for more and does not become saturated, although it lives in abundance. This behavior is not tolerable and the true Creator shows his face to cancel the project "humanity". How will this battle be decided? Who will be the winner? Find out on "Homo Deus".

‘Live at Roadburn’ was recorded 21st April 2022 at Poppodium in Tilburg (NL) by Marcel Van De Vondervoort and his team. FOH by Alessandro Galli. Mixed and mastered by Maurizio ‘Icio’ Baggio at ‘La Distilleria’ in Bassano del Grappa (VI).

Frozen Crown issued fourth full-length studio album Call Of The North on March 10th, 2022 through Scarlet Records. Call Of The North was produced by Andrea Fusini at Fusix Studio in Turin, Italy. “This fourth album is going to sound 100% Frozen Crown, melding together elements from our previous three albums, and purposely featuring no guest appearances, to consolidate the band sound while bringing at the same time unseen features (like acoustic ballads and epic choirs) on the table,” Frozen Crown commented. “Be ready for memorable refrains, heavy downtuned guitar riffs, intricate symphonic parts, and a tense and epic battlefield atmosphere.” Cover artwork was once again created by Frozen Crown mastermind and songwriter Federico Mondelli.

NANOWAR OF STEEL - masters of parody-infused heavy metal with many millions of cross-platform streams and views on YouTube - are ready to prove their status as one of the genre’s most unconventional bands to watch. With their fifth studio album, Dislike To False Metal, out March 10, 2023 via Napalm Records, the band traverses the multi-faceted and much too often self-important universe of modern heavy metal with a disturbingly addictive collection of entirely new tracks. Expertly exploring a mind-boggling amount of entirely different metal subgenres on 10 hilarious anthems, NANOWAR OF STEEL never ceases to amaze with an equally-impressive dose of intelligently fresh comedic delivery that’ll have listeners rolling with laughter, and undeniable songwriting skill that’ll have their fellow genre-mates scheduling more practice sessions. Dislike To False Metal is beyond a comedy album - it’s a disconcertingly masterful showcase of above-the-bar musicianship, creative lyricism and boundless imagination.

Five years since their much-acclaimed album VUUR VAN VERZET, early 2023 will see Dutch folk metal collective HEIDEVOLK return with their seventh studio album via Napalm Records, continuing to keep the pagan flame burning! Ever since their impressive 2005 debut, De strijdlust is geboren, HEIDEVOLK has taken the heavy music scene by storm, conquering stages throughout the world with their very own brand of folk metal. With dual clean vocals, irresistibly catchy songs, traditional instruments and fast metal riffing all fueled by their folkloric fire and pagan pride, HEIDEVOLK delivers for an uncompromising sound and musical adventure. Their new masterpiece, WEDERKEER, makes no exception, and proves why the Arnhem-based six-piece is one of the best, unrivaled and most exciting bands of their genre and beyond! In a world of myths, nature and legends of the Veluwe, Netherlands, the concept album is a powerful odyssey of the Self, deeply rooted in metal and folklore.

Insomnium will release their ninth album "Anno 1696" on February 24th 2023! With their latest masterpiece “Anno 1696”, Insomnium take us into a world woven of sorrow and last crumbling vestiges of hope, of wrath and morbid lullabies, an album relying on the strengths of their beloved trademark sounds and a new sense of grandiose, melancholic storytelling. Welcome to 1696. Welcome to hell.