Two Reviews

Not much to say lately; I've been laid up with a painful case of shingles. So I'll review the most recent CDs I've purchased

First, "Star One", the latest project by Dutch prog-metal artist Arjen Lucassen of Ayreon. Like Ayreon's music, it includes an ensemble of guest singers whose names will be familiar to those who follow the European prog-metal scene and totally unknown to those of you that don't. No sign of Fish or Bruce Dickenson this time, sadly. It's heavier and more guitar-based than much of Ayreon's recent work, although widdly synth solos are still much in evidence.

Lyric-wise, all the songs are based on well-known science-fiction films, and are excessively corny. It's not hard to guess which film each song is based on, whether it be Dark Lords and Princesses, or alien spaceships trying to communicate with whales, or even Blake's 7! We're spared any Dr Who or Gerry Anderson references, to which I refer you to Geezer Butler's "Black Science" album.

Second, the live album "The Voice of the Wretched", by British doom-metallers My Dying Bride, very �ml��tesque. I miss the violin, though, which was a distinctive feature of early MBD albums.