Placebo - Loud Like Love (2013)

Placebo's seventh album will probably not make new fans and may disappoint some old fans but the album is refreshingly good, updating the band's sound, heading into a new direction, whilst remaining true to Placebo. The band has matured, it has softened but there's plenty to like here.

Album opener Loud Like Love is classic Placebo and it's a brilliant and catchy song. Too Many Friends is a beautiful piece of pop-rock music. Other songs worth mentioning are A Million Little Pieces, Begin the End and album closing Bosco. But the best song in the album must be Hold on to Me. Stuck towards the middle of the album, it shows the more introspective and mellow sound of the band and it's a resounding success; beautiful and uplifting. 

Overall, this is a solid effort from Placebo. Some songs offer more of the same and the feeling that you've heard this before but better creeps in. It must be said though that the album have no fillers. No song is a waste. I can't see myself fast forwarding any track, not now and not in the future.

Best of all though, the songs mentioned above are real standouts and point to a new direction; a band that is at its best when it gets introspective with a more mature, mellow, gentle and uplifting sound.

Rating: Heavy Rotation

Ministry - From Beer to Eternity (2013)

Ministry are back again. The band seems to have more false endings than Peter Jackson's The Return of the King, but with an album like this, you will hear no complaint for me. From Beer to Eternity is quite simply the most varied album Jourgensen has put together under the Ministry name and it's superb.

The opening track Hail to His Majesty (Peasants) paves the way for what's to come. This is a more experimental Ministry that's not afraid to mix lots of elements in one song. Overall the album has a dirty sound, with dark sleaze grooves, electronica, incursions into reggae/dub and the pounding guitars that have become their trademark. 

It's hard to pick songs as the songs are very varied and this is an incredibly solid album. My personal favourites are, the Filth Pig era sounding Permawar, the angry brutal Fairly Unbalanced (a kick in the balls directed to Fox News) with The Horror as a dub-like epilogue, the surprising Lesson Unlearned and the two epics at the end (Thanx But No Thanx and Change of Luck) which make use of reggae and middle eastern sounds. 

Mike Scaccia, a long time guitarist for Ministry and according to Jourgensen the driving force behind the sessions that became this album, died three days after the recording sessions were done. It was left to Jourgensen to cobble the sessions together into a presentable form. I have to say that Mike Scaccia would be proud, this is Ministry at its best, unexpected, experimental, hard hitting and dirty.

Rating: Heavy Rotation

Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks (2013)

Trent Reznor decided to resurrect NIN and Hesitation Marks is the result. Some fans may not be pleased by the new direction but it stays true to the NIN sound and at the same time goes in a completely new direction for the band.

The sound is decidedly electronic more than it has ever been since... well, since NIN's first album Pretty Hate Machine. The anger and abrasive heavy guitars are mostly gone here. 

This is NIN at its most dressed down, lean and minimalist. Of course, there's still plenty of complexity in the songs and layers of sounds and beats, but in general this is a very lean and often pop oriented album. Having said that, all the NIN trademarks are still present and the atmosphere is still oppressive.

This is a bold new direction for NIN and Hesitation Marks is an incredibly beautiful album, whether it's the incredibly addictive Copy of A, the dark and heavy beats of Came Back Haunted, the upbeat and poppy sounding Satellite, the album offers plenty of textures and colours, with one great song after the other.

But as usual with NIN, Hesitation Marks is more than a collection of great songs, it's a coherent and cohesive album that is as fascinating as some of the best work Reznor has done across the years.

Rating: Heavy Rotation

James La Brie - Impermanent Resonance (2013)

James LaBrie's  new solo album is a departure, a new chapter, where the famous Dream Theater singer is asserting himself into new territory. This album doesn't sound like Dream Theater at all, it leaves aside progressive metal and embraces short, catchy and pop infused modern metal songs with a healthy dose of heaviness and sparse harsh vocals.

Impermanent Resonance is the kind of album that will not change your life, and won't be remembered as a great album, but the good thing about it is that the song are beautifully catchy. The modern sounds and synths, the pop hooks and the vocal melodies by James LaBrie turn each song into a bright catchy (and often cheesy) experience that you just can't help but enjoy and sing along.

Personally, I prefer the heavier moments in the album when the guitars get more of a presence and the harsh vocals provided by drummer Peter Wildoer add to the music in a big way (see the video below to listen to excellent album opener Agony). 

Overall, this is a guilty sin of an album that I'm sure I will enjoy for a long time.

Rating: Good Vibrations

Lingua Mortis Orchestra featuring Rage - LMO (2013)

Behind the Lingua Mortis Orchestra is German metal band Rage, a band that remains largely unknown outside of Europe but has a long and powerful discography. Rage are seen as a German power metal band but they've never been content with doing just that and they've also made incursions into thrash, speed and progressive metal; amongst others. Not happy with that, Rage were also one of the first bands to produce an original album with an orchestra and doing so without compromising on guitars and heaviness. 

LMO is a continuation of the orchestral experiment they started back in 1996 and sees them once again in good form. The guitar riffs are powerful and heavy, the solos incredibly sharp and the rhythm section is as well oiled as you would expect from a veteran band like this. The orchestra and the band work together and mix seamlessly in a great mix of classical music and metal. The excellent (and long) opening track Cleansed by Fire (see the video below) is a great example of what to expect from this album. 

One of the problems with the album is the concept album nature of it. Unfortunately, some parts and songs lose steam. But there's plenty to like here and Rage demonstrate once again why they have always been one of the most loved German metal bands in Europe. Don't be fooled, this is an expansive album made to enjoy at home and there are plenty of killer tracks here.

Rating: Good Vibrations

Tarja - Colours in the Dark (2013)

Tarja is back with a new album and a very strong album it is; but it won't please everyone. The songs move between straight forward symphonic metal, with progressive rock touches, a dash of electronica arrangements and pop sensibilities. Tarja's voice is warm, soothing, commanding and strong and she sounds great.

Depending on how you look at it, this is Tarja's fourth album (if you count her Christmas CD) or third (personally, I wouldn't count the Christmas album) and it feels like she's finally set herself free of people's expectations and is having fun exploring new sounds and textures. This is her more experimental album and it works.

Stand out songs include, the bombastic album opening Victim of Ritual, the straight forward and pop sounding 500 Letters, the crowd pleaser Never Enough and the stirring grand melodies of Deliverance. 

I should also mention Mystique Voyage a song that reminds me of Sarah Brightman and will probably go under the radar for most Tarja fans but I found really beautiful and the closing track Medusa which is probably too long and sweeping for metal fans but I found captivating.

Overall Tarja delivers a great fusion of symphonic bombast, progressive rock, pop sensibilities and a heavy metal sound. The songs are not as accessible as her previous two albums and there's a cloak of heavy darkness all throughout the album but this is a more mature sounding Tarja, with a more experimental sound and it works. 

Rating: Heavy Rotation

Collapse Under the Empire - The Silent Cry (2013)

Originating from Hamburg Collapse Under the Empire fall into the post-rock category but this is not a band that should be dismissed and in fact stand above the general crowd.

All six songs are excellent but I would particularly highlight the opening track We Are Close As This (see the video below), a powerful track with a powerful rolling beat of drums and roaring guitars. The title track The Silent Cry, a perfectly crafted song that builds up with excellent arrangements and guitar work to end with an orchestral 'soundtracky' passage. And Ashfall which packs big drums, strings and a lot of power. 

In many ways this is straight forward post-rock but what sets Collapse Under the Empire apart is their incredibly cinematic sound. Their music really feels like the fitting accompaniment to a film. The band has achieved a great balance of quieter and harder moments with an ever present dark brooding tension. 

Excellent release from the band.

Rating: Heavy Rotation