Purple Rhinestone Eagle/Northern Swords/Forsorcerers
Fantasy Quest 7″
Poison Apple

What the fuck is going on in Portland, Oregon? I thought my recent discovery of Purple Rhinestone Eagle was rare, but it turns out the whole town is full of secret covens in hidden lairs amassing a cohesive army of high priestess power, steadying themselves to strike like a seething force of Joan of Arcs. Joining Purple Rhinestone Eagle on this particular battlefield (Poison Apple’s split seven inch, Fantasy Quest, from November 2009) are Northern Swords and Forsorcerers, and together they rock in the name of glory, freedom, honour, and death.

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Avantasia
The Wicked Symphony
Nuclear Blast

Avantasia
Angel of Babylon
Nuclear Blast

No disrespect to Cathedral’s recent double album, The Guessing Game, but Avantasia’s monumental box set featuring two new albums, The Wicked Symphony and Angel of Babylon, is easily the most impressive release so far this year. When I say impressive, I am of course referring to the scope and magnitude of Avantasia’s symphonic power metal, which is at once audacious, indulgent, theatrical, and fantastical. We’re usually only presented with Avantasia’s larger-than-life heavy metal fairy tales one album at a time, but Tobias Sammet must be feeling awfully courageous these days, finishing off the last two parts of The Scarecrow Saga/The Wicked Trilogy (the first part being the 2008 album, The Scarecrow) in one fell swoop. But I suppose if anyone can pull it off, it’s Sammet and his cast of usual suspects, who have gathered once again to fill their roles in this epic and evil installment of Avantasia’s latest production(s).

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