The Muse Returns

It's been 9 years since Loreena McKennitt's last studio album, the magnificent "Book Of Secrets". Now, we can finally enjoy Loreena's enchanting voice on new songs.
Loreena is mostly known for her celtic music background, but it's a long time since she has moved to eastern musical cultures. As was the case with her previous albums, Loreena McKennitt has thoroughly researched the traditions before she attempted to write songs. The result was "An Ancient Muse" and the wait was very much worth it. Both the music and the titles reveal that Loreena has spent a great deal of her research into Greek and Turkish music. "Caravanserai" and "Kecharitomene" are not only extremely beautiful pieces of music, but also celebrate the similarities between neighbouring cultures. I don't think there's much more that needs to be said. It's a new Loreena McKennitt album. It follows that it's beautiful and that we're grateful for it.

Kabbalah Of Music

It's more than 10 years since Therion released "Theli", the album that incorporated fully the classical music the band was flirting with since their beginning. Therion have come a long way since then and "Theli" that amazed a lot people back then, now sounds amateurish in comparison to their latest offering, "Gothic Kabbalah".
In the years between, the band's mastermind, Christopher Johnsson, has grown a bigger appreciation for more traditional forms of metal music, and with it the band's experience. We got a taste of this process with Therion's previous twin albums "Lemuria/Sirius B".
"Gothic Kabbalah" is a universal heavy metal album. It's heavy and fast with soloing that comes from the 80s. It's atmospheric and progressive in both a 70s and 90s way. Finally, every operatic and classical music element blends seemlessly with what is an unmistakable heavy metal album. The talent and technical prowess of Therion's musicians is evident throughout the album, but the highlight is the epic 12-min "Adulruna Redivivia" which closes it.
"Gothic Kabbalah" is an album of great quality and will satisfy everyone who takes music seriously. At the same time, it's an album with a clear heavy metal identity.

A Matter Of Experience

Each one of their albums is considered a major event for heavy metal everywhere. It's no different with "A Matter Of Life And Death", Iron Maiden's 14th studio album.
Ever since Bruce Dickinson returned to the band in 2000, their releases were considered to be the long-delayed successors to the monumental "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" of 1988. This is bound to happen again, but this time it is a little bit closer to the truth.
Whereas the previous albums tended to contain artificially lengthened songs, with somewhat easy riffs and more or less predictable structures, "A Matter Of Life And Death" is definitely a surprise in its complexity. This time song duration is justified by the numerous changes within a song and the, finally, effective utilization of all three guitars. So, the compositions definitely remind us what the band was trying in "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son", but the sound has something of "Powerslave"'s heaviness. With 7 minutes as the average song duration, be warned that this is not an easy listening album. Even hardcore Maiden fans may have a hard time digesting it.
That said, even though I can't really find a significant flaw about the songs themselves, it is true that the speed has dropped considerably (no fast songs), and even "SSOASS" contained a "hit" song that was instantly liked ("Can I Play With Madness"). "A Matter Of Life And Death" is definitely an album of top quality and Iron Maiden should be proud to have kept this level throughout most of their carreer. Very few bands can claim this at the 14th album.

There Never Are Guarantees

The 4400's third season ends in a way that would serve for the end of the series itself. Smart, but fortunately there will be a fourth season next summer.
In this final episode, we finally see the confrontation : Isabelle vs everyone else. But let's take things from the start.
Jordan Collier films Devon taking a shot of promycin and urging the viewer to do the same in order to get a 4400 ability. The video is then circulated all over the internet. Tom and Diana, who are looking for the missing promycin, manage to track down Devon only to find her dying in Shawn's arms. The shot of promycin was fatal to her. Shawn, arrested, does not betray Collier's plan...until Ryland brings in Isabelle to question him personally. It is clear that Isabelle has replaced Shawn with power as her infatuation. She ends up leaving him hurt and unconscious but learns the location of the promycin. Accompanied by Ryland's troops, Isabelle arrives at the location soon and finds what she thinks is Jordan Collier along with the promycin. But it's a trap : the promycin is fake, and Jordan Collier is a disguised 4400 prepared to martyr himself for the cause. He gives Collier's message to Isabelle, "This is a new world, and there's no place for you in it", and activates an explosive device which kills Ryland's men, injures Ryland but only manages to anger Isabelle. Furious, she plans to attack the 4400 center, kill everyone in there to force Collier to appear. Ryland, seeing her madness, informs NTAC.
Tom knows it's time to use the shot given to him by the future. He and Diana arrive at the center just as Isabelle locks herself in Maia's class. Would she be able to murder children? Considering she has never been one, I don't find it hard to believe. She never gets the chance because Diana empties her weapon on her, and Tom hurries to use the syringe. Unfortunately, Isabelle recovers very fast and stops him. She incapacitates Diana with a move of her hand and in seconds the roles are reversed. Tom is about to be strangled by Isabelle and the syringe is out of his reach. It's at this time, that Richard appears and tries to convince Isabelle to stop her murderous urge. She knows it's too late for her to change and ignores him. Richard's telekinetic abilities, regretfully, come into play. Isabelle is shocked when the syringe flies into her neck. She convulses for a moment but comes around intent on retaliating and killing her own father. But the syringe's effect wasn't supposed to kill her. Her powers are gone forever. Tom can't risk it, however, and shoots her on the shoulder to make sure. Isabelle ends up in the hospital, next to Shawn.
The episode ends with several important events: Kyle is ready to inject himself with promycin. Alana is being kidnapped from the future. Diana chooses to quit NTAC and move to Spain with Ben and Maia, while her sister decides to give herself a dose of promycin. "There are no guarantees", the distributor tells her. "There never are" she thinks walking away. Then, the distributor turns to the viewer and offers promycin...would you take it?

The Manhunt Begins

I admit that I didn't expect it, but the premiere of Prison Break's second season blew me away. An episode that tied all loose ends, kept you at the edge of your seat throughout, built a basis for the entire season and, as expected from all great episodes, shocked you in the last minute. Don't read below this line if you don't appreciate spoilers.
The former prisoners, and now fugitives, run like they've never run before in their lives. While Bellick's dogs are behind them, this time Michael's enemies are far more dangerous than police force simpletons. For the first time, he receives attention from the real bad guys who manage to decifer his tattoo...a bit. This allows them to apply pressure even though Michael is one step ahead. I am a bit bothered, however, at how fast agent Mahone was able to find the graveyard or how he assumed that Michael must have thrown evidence in the river below his apartment. Anyway, in the end, the party manages to blend with the crowd and escape. Which direction will they go next? Considering that Michael's plans no longer require anyone other than his brother, we can expect some conflict, especially since Westmoreland's money is involved. I am sure though, that Michael will cross paths again with Dr. Tancredi who I was very glad to see survive her attempted suicide. Michael and Sara's story is one that could either end happilly or tragically and I hope they give some emphasis on it in the course of the season
In the meantime, Veronica is really at the end of the puzzle. Having found Steadman alive, she thinks everything is over. Steadman's warnings about the prison-like nature of his habitat do not sway her. She sees through his lies that there's no signal to make a phone call here. She calls the police and asks for help. She keeps reassuring Steadman that everything will be ok while waiting. When help finally comes, Lincoln chooses this most dramatic and fateful moment to call Veronica. She is not finished urging him to give himself up and reassuring him that everything's over, when it becomes clear she's been fooled. The help that arrived is no other than Steadman's keepers. Lincoln hears the gunshot that ends Veronica's life and is devastated. The episode ends with a scene of Michael, in a most formal suit now, removing his handcuffs...

Autumn Dragons Alive

For fans of the Dragonlance books, this isn't the optimal turn of events. Nevertheless, the announcement that the first book of the series, "Dragons Of Autumn Twilight" becomes an animation movie is certainly exciting. I, too, would wish these books were turned into normal movies. The success of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy has shown that it can be done. The Dragonlance series is, with a slight exaggeration, almost as popular and so, the audience is guaranteed. We can hope for the future.
The animation can turn out to be really good of course. Considering that we have the perfect casting of Kiefer Sutherland as the voice of Raistlin Majere, a character that deserves his popularity, things are pretty positive for the start. As the film will be released next year, a lot should change but we'll be here waiting. Meanwhile, you can read the books; they're a lot of fun.

A New Myth For The Guardian

It should no longer matter to Blind Guardian fans that their new releases take more than 4 years to see the light of day. Their perfectionism and commitment into delivering something unique pay off and the wait is more than worth it. Their previous album, "A Night At The Opera", received a lot of criticism but mainly, in my opinion, from short-sighted sources. It was a brilliant album whose only fault was that it was over the top. Indeed, it was the complexity and the elaborate production that was the reason of most criticism.
"A Twist In The Myth" is the next logical step. Retaining the new, progressive elements of "A Night At The Opera" but also recruiting a couple of their old-style dynamics that made them so popular, the new Blind Guardian offering will satisfy just about everyone who listens to this kind of music. What kind of music? Well...it is definitely a heavy metal album, but it's been a long time since we could compare Guardian with anyone else. The production is reasonably less ambitious than "ANATO", but the band's inspiration (even though there's no "And Then There Was Silence" here) is still phenomenal after all those years. Oh, and one last thing...Thomen's absence behind the drums is not felt at all! The german bards did it again.

Jordan Collier's Gospel

What summer has been lacking for a very long time was a good tv series. I'm pretty sure, though, that USA Network's "The 4400" did not go unnoticed by most of you. Indeed, the series is very near the ending of its third season so I will assume you know what it's about and move on with reviewing the latest episode.
Jordan Collier is back and he is very much alive, despite being shot and killed at the end of the second season. This is bad news for Isabelle because it ruins her wedding and she remembers that as a baby, she had given a vision to Collier that ultimately lead to his death. But where has Jordan Collier been all this time? He claims that he has been alive for hundreds of years and he has seen the future. Alana helps him remember and she is shocked by a glimpse of his visions. The 4400 and the rest of the world welcome Jordan Collier as a messiah and he does not deny the title. He seems confident and with a clear mission. Returning to the 4400 center, he resumes the leadership he was violently forced to abandon and his first job is to deal with Isabelle. He names her for what she is : the enemy of the 4400. Her protests about being free to choose are lost on Collier. He asks her to leave and never return.
So far in the season we had to suffer Isabelle as the most powerful character but also the most immature and prone to evil. Despite her claims about having a choice, she had already made her choice when she helped Ryland build his anti-4400 army. Finally, there is now someone able to oppose her. Of course, the future humanity's agenda is still unclear and the parameters are now numerous. We cannot be sure of much because the "good" guys could be responsible for the catastrophe as much as Isabelle. For now, let's wait to enjoy the confrontation that is sure to come.