Christmas songs! Not exactly what you’d expect from Rebekka Bakken, the risk-taking shooting star of the exploding Scandinavian vocal scene, Christof Lauer, the equally stormy and thoughtful sound magician of all timeless post-post and pre-pre styles and Geir Lysne, the most important European reviver of the big band score.
This music will certainly not be heard on the third week of Advent in the lifts of department stores. Which doesn’t mean that they approach the subject arrogantly or in an ironic deconstructive manner. They treat the spiritual templates between chorale and folksong with respect for the former aims and atmospheric uniqueness. The world-weary hits such as "Jingle Bells" and "Oh Christmas Tree" have anyway been left outside in the blizzard. Lauer’s approach to this material is without affectation based on his emotional background…

This band hails from the UK and produces the kind of Neo-Prog that made the country proud back in the 1980s and 90s. The guys cite different references, with the likes of Marillion, Genesis, Yes, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Rush, Dream Theater and Pink Floyd being mentioned, but they have taken all those elements and then built them into something which is very much of their own design. Musically this is highly arranged Neo-Prog which also straddles at times into melodic hard rock and symphonic prog, by a band who are determined people are not going to forget the "rock" side of the terminology.

Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of Fred Durst (lead vocals), Sam Rivers (bass, backing vocals), John Otto (drums, percussion), DJ Lethal (turntables), and Wes Borland (guitars, vocals). The band's music is marked by Durst's angry vocal delivery and Borland's sonic experimentation. Borland's elaborate visual appearance, which includes face and body paint, masks and uniforms, also plays a large role in Limp Bizkit's live shows…

This album features the seldom-played Second Version of the Italian Symphony, and the seldom-played first version of the Violin Concerto. Both are played by the superb early music chamber orchestra, Capella Savaria, conducted by Nicholas McGegan. Zsolt Kalló is the superb violin soloist.

"…a performance full of character and joy. It bristles with energy without adopting extreme tempos; period instrument sonorities refresh even that over-exposed Wedding March."

— BBC Music Magazine

This set captures Doug Sahm and his band in the mid '70s. Longtime musical cohort Augie Meyers (who was a key member of the Sir Douglas Quintet) is on hand with his rollicking organ playing. The remainder of the quartet is comprised of a rhythm section as well as tenor sax player Rocky Morales…

The very title of Goin' 50 suggests ZZ Top are considering their 50th anniversary as an event to be celebrated with a sense of humor. That's appropriate. Good spirits and lascivious jokes always have been integral to the trio's appeal, and they can be heard in abundance on this triple-CD/five-LP set that tells their story from beginning to end (there is also a single-disc edition that rounds up the highlights)…

The Russian band Roz Vitalis (from Saint Petersburg) exists since 2001 as a studio project, since 2005 as an electroacoustic chamber ensemble and since 2008 as a full-blown rock-band. Style of Roz Vitalis music can be described as the "Unclassifiable Branch of Prog Rock", Avant Prog, Sympho Prog, Instumental. The "metaphysical" goals of Roz Vitalis are "per musica ad lucem" and "to overcome chaos by means of making music". The main influences are Gentle Giant, Univers Zero, King Crimson, Le Orme, Yes.

During its ten years of existence between 1972 and 1982, the New York Jazz Quartet went through a number of personnel changes, though the one constant was founder Roland Hanna at the piano. This 1977 studio session includes Frank Wess, George Mraz, and a somewhat obscure drummer, Richard Pratt, who evidently didn't record many jazz sessions at all during his rather brief musical career. Like many of the group's efforts, this album sticks exclusively to originals by the band. Wess' flute is the focus of the hard-driving title track, and another of his compositions, the gorgeous ballad "Placitude," features the veteran playing alto flute in alternate choruses with Hanna. The leader contributed the funky "Big Band Henry" and the brisk post-bop "Tee Piece," the latter featuring Wess' hard-blowing tenor sax. The individual pieces written by Mraz and Pratt also measure up to those of the front line.

With a rich academic and performing background in jazz and classical music, composer/multi-instrumentalist Bill Douglas brings an experienced, creative approach to his playing and compositions.
On Circle of Moons, Bill Douglas returns with 13 compositions imbued with his melodic versatility and sensitivity. This album delves deeper into the Celtic foundations of Douglas' music, expressed through dreamy synth textures as well as bassoon, flute, cello, English horn, and piano accents. Adding to the romantic, evocative atmosphere of Circle of Moons are the Boulder-based Ars Nova singers, whose charged harmonies on "Heaven Is a Wild Flower" give the poetic sentiments of William Blake a new, exultant setting…

Front Line Assembly (FLA) is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. FLA has developed its own sound incorporating elements of electronic body music (EBM) and electro-industrial. The band's membership has rotated through the years, including Michael Balch, Rhys Fulber, and Chris Peterson, all of whom are associated with several other acts…