The Viking in the Wilderness - reviews and news

(31:58; Avenue K Records) Track list: 1. Agadir 5:09 2. Night Vision 4:43 3. Beach Song 3:34 4. Flânerie Brumeuse 6:35 5. Dakar 3:13 6. Prendido 3:49 7. Seventh Life 4:55 Line-up: Itai Kriss - flute, vocals Wayne Tucker - trumpet, flugelhorn Ahmed Alom-Vega - piano Tamir Shmerling - bass, vocals Dan Aran - drums, percussion, vocals Samuel Torres - congas, percussion with: Amos Hoffman - oud, guitars Flautist Itai Kriss originates from Israel but has been based in the US for a number of years at this point from what I understand. In 2018 he launched the band project Telavana, and since then he has released three albums under the moniker Itai Kriss & Telavana. "All Aboard. Vol. 1 Depatrtures" is the most recent of these, and was released through the label Avenue K Records in the early summer of 2024. It is quite the uplifting jazz experience we get with the landscapes explored on this production. A careful but expressive rhythm section sets up a playful foundation in these ...

(45:11; Bornkamp Records) Track list: 1. Pride 7:51 2. Greed 8:15 3. Lust 7:10 4. Wrath 5:15 5. Gluttony 5:13 6. Envy 6:29 7. Sloth 4:58 Line-up: Frank Badenhop - guitars Mirko Gätrje - bass Hanno Kerstand - drums Becky Gaber - vocals with: Gabby Vessoni - vocals Ralf Scheepers - vocals Raphael Mendes - vocals Bobby Ellsworth - vocals Liv Jagrell - vocals Johnny Gioeli - vocals Ally Storch - violin Iago Pedroso - guitars Yiannis Papadopoulos - guitars Michele Dr. Viossy - guitars Alex Rost - guitars Charlie Parra - guitars Dethy Borchardt - guitars Ivan Mihaljevic - guitars Tamas Petro - guitars Juan M. Varona - guitars Julia Kosterova - guitars Andrew Roz - guitars Brian Maillard - guitars Eric Wirsing - guitars Eric Maldonado - guitars Juliana Wilson - guitars Giulia Marta Vallar - guitars German project FB1964 are out with their eighth studio album since this venture started out back in 2010. As has been the case for all of these albums so far, everything revolves around the composi...

(46:02; Fastball Music) Track list: 1. Gun 4 a While 3:20 2. In My Dreams 3:22 3. To the Ground 3:23 4. Ghost in Me 4:50 5. Daddy You're a Star 4:24 6. Hello! Hello! 3:19 7. Echo 3:48 8. Heartache 3:30 9. Forget About the Past 4:43 10. Waiting 'Til the Dawn 4:23 11. Ready 2 Rock 2:55 12. Forget About the Past [Acoustic] 4:05 Line-up: Thomas Seeburger - vocals Zarko Mestrovic - keyboards, vocals Ingolf Engler - guitars Boris Matakovic - saxophone Ralf Grespan - bass, vocals Matthias Amann - drums with: Chris Lausmann - guitars Kresimir Mestrovic - guitars Stefan Heinz - keyboards, effects German band Human Zoo started out back in 2004 or thereabouts, and at the start of their career they appear to have been a fairly active band too with new material released at a steady pace during their first decade or thereabouts as a band. Since then the creative tempo has slowed down a bit, but the band remains an active one. Coming eight years after their previous album, "Echoes Beyond...

(47:27; Fastball Music) Track list: 1. Demons 3:53 2. Said or Done 3:05 3. Diggin' in the Dirt 4:29 4. Fight the Tide 4:06 5. Hold Me Now 3:50 6. Broken Man 3:57 7. Still Got My Time 3:11 8. Memories 3:19 9. Palace of the King 4:30 10. Rocket Man 3:58 11. Black Angel 5:17 12. Hold Me Now [Acoustic] 03:52 Line-up: Markus Escher - vocals, guitars Christian Tilly Klaus - drums, vocals Jan Wendel - guitars, vocals Stefan Pfaffinger - bass, vocals with: Oksana Gessner - viola Thomas Bachmannn - vocals, guitars German band Bowmen started out back in 2015, and from 2017 and onward the band has been releasing new music at a fairly steady pace. The album "Mission IV" is the third full length production by Bowmen, and was released through German label Fastball Music in the spring of 2024. Hard rock is the chosen playing field for the music explored on this production, and the band incorporate many different but often related varieties of this tradition on this album. Many of the so...

(41:00; Spleen+) Track list: 1. One Upon a Time 1:06 2. A Heart Cries 3:25 3. Death & Glory 3:30 4. Beautiful Chaos 4:08 5. Broken Dreams 3:23 6. Another Night on Earth 3:18 7. Dreamworld (Dancing Alone) 4:09 8. Dancing at Your Funeral 4:47 9. Little Creatures 2:46 10. The Ghost on the Hill 4:39 11. Diary of Nothing 4:21 12. The End 1:28 Line-up: Kristell Lowagie - vocals Bernard Daubresse – guitars, synthesizers with: Maxx Maryan - programming, synthesizers Belgian band Lovelorn Dolls has been around for 15 years or thereabouts, operating under the name Lovelorn for the first couple of years of their career prior to settling on Lovelorn Dolls. The band has half a dozen or so EPs to their name so far, alongside four full length studio albums. "Deadtime Stories" is their latest studio production, and was released through Belgian label Spleen+ in the spring of 2024. I guess the best overall description to give to the style of music explored on this album is hard rock. This ...

(32:14; XO La Factory) Track list: 1. Machines 1:29 2. A Place Called Home 3:06 3. Farewell Kisses 3:08 4. Rain or Shine 4:44 5. The Slowest Candle 3:46 6. The Porch Song 3:02 7. Let Your Eyes Wander 3:46 8. Something Beautiful 3:55 9. A New Tomorrow 2:23 10. Adore the Sun 2:55 Line-up: Davide Corlevich - guitars, keyboards, bass, percussion Cristiano Mecchi - vocals, drums, keyboards, percussion Italian twosome Mac/Corlevich feature the talents of Cristiano Mecchi and Davide Corlevich, two musicians with somewhat different backgrounds that have come together to explore musical landscapes that, from the descriptions given, are fairly different from what they have been involved with in any of their other ventures. Their first album as a creative partnership is called "Rain or Shine", and was released through the label XO La Factory in the spring of 2024. What we get on this occasion is music of a simple and stripped down nature. The vocals and the acoustic guitar are the main ...

(15:48; M&O Music) Track list: 1. Sunscars 3:28 2. Vanish or Vanquish 3:11 3. After 3:11 4. Discount Success 2:49 5. Poisoned by Mom 3:09      Line-up:    Mara Salahou - vocals Tojawak - guitars Antoine Henry - bass Sacha Davidovich - drums French band Broknface is a fairly fresh addition to the French music scene. They have been active for just a bit over one calendar year from what I can see, and appear to be very active indeed and with two EPs to their name so far. "Leave to Live" is the most recent of their EPs, and was released through French label M&O Music in the spring of 2024. Nu metal is how I'd categorize the type of music we get on this preoduction, with a handful of concise tunes that each clock in somewhere around the three minute mark. The riffs and rhythms tends to be of the staccato and often playful variety, and whenever a bit more flow is ongoing the word alternative has a tendency to pop up in my mind. With very occasional lapses...