Displaying items by tag: review - StereoLife Magazine

The title of this album sounds like a promise of something instantly familiar to anyone who has followed Chelsea Wolfe for a while. It seems fair to assume that things are about to get heavy, cold and perhaps even a little uncomfortable again. Except this time, the album title turns out to be remarkably deceptive. Why? I'll come back to that. The American artist's latest record undoubtedly stands apart from the rest of her discography. I know because I've been a big Chelsea Wolfe fan for years and own all of her albums, even though I don't follow everything that happens in her life particularly closely. As it turns out, quite a lot has changed for her over the past year or so. More importantly, those changes have been positive, and it's hard not to feel that they played a major role in shaping the new record. Wolfe has not only found herself in a different place personally, but has also clearly felt the need to carry that change into her music.

If I were putting together a list of the ten best Polish metal releases of this millennium, "Affliction XXIX II MXMVI" would be one of the first titles I would reach for. Blindead's third full-length is probably the greatest thing that ever happened to Polish post-metal. It was also the record that began my own history with the band. Only later did I work my way back to their first two releases, and then waited, with high expectations, for "Absence" and "Ascension". I love both of those records, although there is no denying that by then, Blindead had already become something slightly different. Later, of course, I was also skeptical about "Niewiosna", but over time I came around to it as well. For a long while, then, I kept waiting for a successor that would not necessarily recreate the old formula, but would at least remind us why so many listeners fell in love with Blindead in its most suffocating, monumental, post-metal form. Instead, in 2022, the group announced that it was coming to an end.

Over the past dozen or so years, I have tried many times to find my way into Darkthrone. Sooner or later, every one of those attempts ended in failure. Until last year, that is. Something finally clicked - and clicked so decisively that the Norwegians' discography landed on my shelf almost in one sweep. Perhaps it is another reminder that taste changes with age, but so does the way we listen to music. Something that once felt off-putting, chaotic, or simply not meant for me suddenly began to fall into place as a remarkably coherent whole. There is so much material there that I am still finding new details in Darkthrone's music, and that also lets me approach the new album with fresh ears - the first one I knowingly waited for and the first one I preordered. That is a very different experience from catching up years after the fact. This time I was not reaching for another missing piece of the discography, but for an album whose release genuinely felt like an event.

In a surprisingly short period of time, Meze Audio has managed to move from the margins of the market to the center of the premium headphone conversation. The Romanian brand, founded by industrial designer Antonio Meze, built its reputation on a combination of unmistakable design, carefully considered ergonomics, and a warm, natural, easy-to-like sound. Its first major hit, and the model that really changed everything for what was still a tiny workshop at the time, was, of course, the 99 Classics. Over the years, that headphone evolved into several versions and an entire family of related models. The more affordable 99 Neo followed, along with the 12 Classics and 11 Neo in-ear monitors, but that was still only the beginning. Not long after that, the Romanian company stopped playing cautiously and stepped into the world of high-end planar magnetic headphones with models such as the Empyrean, Elite, and Liric. It was a very good decision. The workshop from Baia Mare, already associated with well-made, distinctive headphones thanks to the 99 Classics, suddenly began to be viewed as one of the true leaders in the field, mentioned alongside giants such as Sennheiser, Audeze, and Focal. After several years of building that image with remarkable consistency, Meze Audio became the kind of brand even less experienced music lovers can recognize from the shape of the ear cups alone.

Never before have Iron Maiden fans had to wait so long for a new release from their favorite band. A lot has changed in the world during the six years that have passed since the release of "The Book Of Souls", so one could quietly hope for changes in the Englishmen's work as well. And since the release of the "Brave New World" over two decades ago, they give malcontents a lot of reasons to complain - mainly because the band still plays the same stuff. And even though I'm a fan of Iron Maiden's music, I have to admit there's some validity to that.

Agnes Obel is a Danish artist currently living in Berlin. In 2010 she presented the first album called "Philharmonics". The title was a bit of a surprise because this music has absolutely nothing in common with a symphony orchestra. Agnes independently wrote the songs and played instrumental parts in them. She also sang, recorded, and produced all the material. Those were extremely intimate compositions with an absolutely minimal number of instruments.

The melancholic mood of the rain outside the window is probably the best time to listen to rock music in British style. So I put on the second EP of a young, five-piece guitar band named Pylo from the picturesque city of Bath into my CD player. The first mini-album, "Bellavue", meant that their music was compared to the works of legends such as Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, and The Verve. This statement kindles the appetite for a journey through the nooks and crannies of contemporary guitar music.

Meze is a rarity in the world of headphones and all audio equipment. It's unique that a small company focused on one type of product has gained so much attention, in just a few years. Okay, maybe it's not on a par with the biggest players like Sennheiser, AKG or Beyerdynamic yet, but probably this is not the point here. Factory located in the town of Baia Mare in Romania started from making simple, but nice headphones with ear cups made of natural wood. Is it just an interesting idea that hasn't been supported by any other success? Well, not exactly. The founder of the brand, Antonio Meze, had to think about everything in all its detail because today his company can be an example for other manufacturers.

Fezz Audio is an example of a brand that has kicked-off fairly recently, but the onset of the launch of their very first product, it has already had a considerable baggage of accumulated experience, facilitating a strong, heads-on jump-start. From the very beginning, it seems that the manufacturer has not only embarked upon the right concept when it comes to the design of the device itself, but he has also pointedly targeted an extremely attractive price range. The tube amplifier in question, called Silver Luna, has perfectly blended into the demands of audiophiles, a product trait which we have witnessed only very rarely in recent times. From the outside - it holds the traditional looks of stereo tube amplifier, made available in a range of intriguing color schemes. From the inside - a respectable powerhouse built of components stemming from the companies in-house production. And all of this comes at a price that would, under normal conditions, restrict us solely to a product range comprised of middle-class solid state amplifiers or, possibly, to some Chinese tube amplifiers, of questionable quality at that.

Careful readers of StereoLife should already know the equipment of Encore Seven company, makers of the Egg-Shell Prestige PS5 phono preamplifier. Encore Seven is not only known because of their tube amplifiers, but also other activities connected with music. What emerges from the information on their website is an image of a young, but very dynamic company whose actions aren't limited to the production of audio gear, yet this part is certainly the most important one.