Invernoir literally bring back to life the best '90s gothic doom with this stellar new album. Aimin' for Oblivion comprises seven tracks that will make dark metal hearts bleed with that irresistible balance between light and shadows. Invernoir's Aimin' for Oblivion is unmissable for fans of old-school Anathema, Katatonia, and My Dying Bride.

When Count Basie returned to Verve Records in 1962, Neal Hefti was contracted to write the tunes and arrangements, a revival of their partnership from the 1958 Roulette LP Basie Plays Hefti. While none of these selections is as famous as his songs like "Cute," "Little Pony," "Splanky," "Li'l Darlin'," and "Repetition," the substantial originality of this music is hard to deny, not to mention that the expert musicians playing his music bring these tracks fully to life in a livelier fashion than most laid-back Basie studio sessions. In fact, it has the feeling of a concert date that trumps the more clean, controlled environment of a session that was recorded on a three-track reel-to-reel. There's also plenty of room for exceptional solos from most of the participants, as Hefti is mindful of who is in the band and how each musician might sound when given his head…

Raw Material is a British band that released two albums in the ealy 70's that are now highly collectible. The group consist of your standard prog quartet plus frontman Mike Fletcher on wind instruments. A self-titled effort, the first Raw Material release (barely) saw the light of day in 1970, pretty early in progressive rock's development, but thanks to a chicken-livered label and complete-and- utter apathy from the days music press this was an album cruelly doomed to fail right from the start. However, whilst 'Raw Material' may have sunk without trace when first released, the same cannot be said for the album's 21st century CD reissue, which has happily re-ignited interest in the forgotten group. And they deserve it. Blending elements of psychedelia, organ-baked blues, jazz-tinged rock, folksy meanderings and lysergic- dipped pop, 'Raw Material' is indeed a fascinating set…

The acoustic guitar in "Kein Zurück" should be the first indication that Wolfsheim is maturing. It's a tad unusual for this synth pop notable, but this unexpected element fits in acceptably after the initial jolt. Another chance the German duo takes is slowing things down a notch. The first half of Casting Shadows hovers around 100 bpm. After the success of the dance tracks from Spectators, that may or may not be a good idea. Wolfsheim's fifth album shows signs of a band mellowing out but slightly losing its passion. Among the slower tracks is "Care for You," a leisurely excursion that accents Peter Heppner's distinguished vocals. "Find You're Gone" and "Wundervoll" (one of a couple tracks sung in German) are appropriate for the clubs and are memorable just not quite as strong or emotional. There isn't another "Once in a Lifetime," but there is plenty of romantic synth pop here nonetheless.