Album Review: Majestica's A Christmas Carol

Here it is everybody! My final review on my final no. 1 album from 2020!

This was a hell of a journey throughout 2025. Looking back at all of the music I listened to from then was pretty nostalgic, and thankfully was disease-free! With today’s subject, it’s got a lot of the trappings of Skycrest from the end of last month: it’s upbeat, warm & fuzzy, and full of all sorts of positives vibes.....but it’s different somehow. Yeah it’s upbeat, but there’s twinkling lights everywhere. Yeah it’s warm & fuzzy, but you’re given a wooly sweater and some cocoa (With the little marshmallows of course). Even the positive vibes are different, as snow comes gently down from the sky, and you swear you’re hearing jingle bells in the distance. On top of that, but this album is the second reason why my top 5 list from 2020 was delayed until near the very end. So, put on some nice clothes, get into the seasonal mood (Despite it being the middle of August), and enjoy my review of Majestica’s second outing, A Christmas Carol. Let’s begin!

Background
With his old band resurrected in 2019 with their first album Above The Sky, Tommy & the rest of Majestica set off on tours & appearances all over Europe, and then 2020 came along. Derailing effectively any plans, it didn’t stop the band from producing music. By the October of that year, the band announced their second album, A Christmas Carol. As said in the band’s announcement of it: 

“It's pure symphonic power metal in the true Majestica spirit along with elements inspired by the likes of Twilight Force, Rhapsody, Alan Silvestri, Danny Elfman and John Williams.”

In regards to the musical direction for the record, Tommy said: 

“Once again people can expect real power metal, but this time it's a bit more symphonic and epic compared to our previous album Above the Sky. When it comes to the symphonic parts we've taken it a bit further and included a lot more orchestral instruments, including tubular bells, glockenspiel and sleigh bells to really get that Christmas sound to it.”

A Christmas Carol would be released on the 4th of December in 2020. The same day when Skycrest from Iron Savior came out if you can believe it, and was the 2nd reason why I delayed my top 5 album list that year. 

Basic Description
Ho-Ho-HOLY SHIT! ***

As good as Majestica’s first outing was with Above The Sky, there was that ever so slight off quality with the audio, and the whole thing comes across as random tracks put together (Even if it’s all tons of fun). A Christmas Carol, on the other hand, is perhaps the band’s most focused record to date. Gone is the patchwork nature of their previous release, and instead is one solid story from beginning to end. Sure, the tale of Scrooge and his redemption on Christmas Eve & Day is known by practically everybody that celebrates the season, but it’s the little things that make it different. Retelling the story through Power Metal makes it much more grand & epic, and the usage of so many Christmas instruments turns the seasonal knob to 11. Even during the more emotional parts, there’s this feeling of awesomeness that you can’t quite describe. On top of that, A Christmas Carol is one of the few pieces of seasonal media you can experience outside of December, and it’s not.....too weird.

Best Track
Like I said in my overview from a few years ago, The Joy Of Christmas just hits me so hard. A moment in the story that’s told from Bob Cratchet’s perspective, it’s also the least metallic song on the album. Most of the instrumentation is beautiful piano work, some orchestral-like playing, and some Christmas sound effects. Tommy’s singing is pretty soft throughout the whole thing (Even though it’s fantastic), and it’s not until towards the end where we get some intensity from the guitars & drums. Yet, it’s that softness with a hint of hardness that makes it work so well: Bob Cratchet’s side of things should be warm and fuzzy.....even when you’re raising the horns. 

The Joy Of Christmas

Worst Track
Also like I said in my overview from a few years ago, A Majestic Christmas Theme just feels like a waste of time. Make not mistake: it’s not bad when it comes to the instrumentation, which is fantastic. Nor is the recording & production bad, and I don’t hear even the smallest of audio errors. What makes it the worst is that it feels like it was put in just to be some padding, and just stretches the story for a few extra minutes. The instrumental at the beginning of the album makes much more sense, as it sets up the story to come, but the second one is just a recap of the entire tale we just heard. Again, quality wise it’s lovely, but isn’t worth much else.

A Majestic Christmas Theme

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below: 

A Christmas Carol

Overall Impression & Rating
A Christmas Carol absolutely deserved all the praise it got when it first release, and still continues to do some to this day by fans. It was a perfect example of a band-aid that heals not only the body, but the mind as well. It took something classic, turned it into something new yet familiar, and slathered so much yuletide warm & fuzzy all over it to make it feel like it’s Christmas all year round. Even if the final track feels like it’s just stretching things out, the overall experience is truly perfect. I guarantee that yule love it!

A Christmas Carol gets a 10 out of 10.

And that was my review of Majestica’s second record, A Christmas Carol. Full of seasonal magic, it definitely needed to be on my list in 2020. Never be afraid to listen to this in December, or even after.  And with that everyone, my look at my top 5 albums of 2020 is done! However, despite all of my albums from that year being covered, I still have one last release from then to take a look at.....and it’s one that I should have talked about back then & payed attention to. See you all at the end of the month!



***
The description came from this: 

https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Majestica/A_Christmas_Carol/891183/Larry6990/330688

Also, I know about the extended edition. It contains two extra tracks that do flesh out the story a little more, but I own the original version only.

The Top Albums Of The 2020s (So Far)

So, this is going to be an interesting one fellow Otaku & Metalheads.

We’re now over halfway through 2025. As of this past June, we are halfway through a decade that seems to be getting worse and worse, and I’m not sure if it’s going to get better. Even so, the music of the 2020s has been incredible, and given that I’m a metal guy, I’ll die on the hill and say that Heavy Metal still has it’s claws in this time (Especially in 2020). Given we’re halfway through this time, I thought it would be fun to look at what I think are some of the best albums that have come out so far. The albums that show off the fact as dogshit as things are (And things are really dogshitty), there is still some slivers of light & positivity floating around. I won’t waste anymore of your time, so here are the top albums of the 2020s.....so far! 

2020) U.D.O. - We Are One (Song)

I reviewed this album just a few weeks ago in the middle of July, so I won’t repeat too much here. We Are One absolutely needed to come out in 2020, what with it’s upbeat nature & social messaging that was all too important during that time, and has only become more needed in the just over 5+ years since it’s release. If anything, with the political climate being what it is right now in not only the United States but all over the world it seems, maybe this album should have been released in 2025 instead. I said it in both reviews that the social messaging is a little goofy, and I still stand by that, but it’s still powerful more often than not. Definitely a great release to open up the decade!

2021) Mastodon - Hushed And Grim (Song)

Hard to believe that one of the biggest icons were together for over 20 years, only for one of the founding members to leave just a few months ago & badmouth them pretty hard in the process. It’s a shame, because the final record they made together in 2021 will always be the pinnacle of their talent in my eyes. Hushed And Grim is a bit on the bloated side (Almost plays for an hour & a half), but even with that bloat, Mastodon created what forever be the best thing they’ve ever made. Taking all of the emotion from Emperor Of Sand & Cold Dark Place, turning it up to 11, and placing it within some of the strongest instrumentation & vocal work they’ve ever done, it’s easy to see why many fans showered it with nothing put praise. I was only listening to the band for over 4 years by the time Hushed And Grim came out, but it’s because of that record that I might just stick around until the end of their career.

2022) Ozzy Osbourne - Patient Number 9 (Song)

The funny irony about me selecting this record was that it was actually one of my no. 5 albums of 2022 instead of it being a number 1. Fundamentally sharing many issues with it’s predecessor, Patient Number 9 makes it onto this list for two reasons. First, the faults of this release were far more smoothed out than what came before. They’re still there, but it’s nowhere near as bad. Secondly, Ozzy’s increasing bad health kinda moved me to pick this release. Anyone who saw the Black Sabbath concert not too long ago will attest that, as badass as he was singing on the throne, it was also obvious that he was suffering in some way. We all thought he was going to go away when Ordinary Man came out back in 2020, and now.....Patient Number 9 is sadly his last.

2023) Waldgeflüster - Unter Bronzenen Kronen (Song)

The Paradise Lost side project Host gave us a look into their past unfettered by company interference with IX, while Alice Cooper’s tribute to touring and the open road with Road was a fun ride. With German Black Metal masters Waldgeflüster, and their mini-release Unter Bronzenen Kronen, we have what is perhaps one of if not the most emotional releases of 2023. Bite-sized for sure (Only 4 songs), but in just under a half-hour you’re treated to a record that truly tugs your heartstrings & shakes your soul so much that the aftershock come around for a bit of time after you’re done. It might take a few go-arounds for it to permanently stick, but the music is so good it’s not an issue!

2024) Judas Priest - Invincible Shield (Song)

With Ozzy having passed away not too long ago, I now have my fingers crossed for Rob Halford. Though not that much younger than Ozzy (Currently 73, but will turn 74 later this month), I definitely saw how old he looked when I saw him for the first time last year. Luckily, he’s been healthy & clean for quite some time, so I’m not too worried. Even if he does pass away, he’s leaving on a high note with 2024's Invincible Shield! Released roughly half a century since their very first record, there was a very good reason why it was one of my number 1 albums of last year. Though the songs fluctuate between great & good (Never bad or okay), the overall experience of the release is why so many people have stuck with them for so long. Again, I’m not too worried if Rob passes on into Heavy Metal Heaven, but if he does.....he left on a high note.

2025) Destruction -  Birth Of Malice (Song)

I’ll be repeating this in December, but there was no other choice to put here (With maybe one exception). On principle alone, 2025 needs one of the titans of German Thrash Metal to take the mantle. I’ve talked about Kreator and Sodom plenty of times, but I don’t think I’ve ever talked about their compatriot Destruction before. Formed around the same time as the previously mentioned bands, along with Tankard, Destruction certainly knew how to be brutal pretty much all the time, and Birth Of Malice continues this. Perfectly reflective of what this year has been like (We got these last few months incoming, so we’ll see if things improve), Birth Of Malice reminds me very much of Sodom’s 1992 near Death Metal experience Tapping The Vein: it’s dingy, dirty, bloody, gory, violent, and reflective of the world’s politics perhaps a little too well. Even if things do come back even a little in 2025, I still won’t change my opinion that Birth Of Malice is 2025's best album.

And these were what I thought the best albums of the 2020s were so far. The Heavy Metal that’s come out in this decade has been pretty intense, but if the rest of this era is anything to theorize, then things will probably get more intense. Not only that, but things might change by the time we get to 2029, and thus some light may come back into the world. So with that, this list is done, & I got the final review of 2020 coming.....it’ll be quite a bit jolly. See you in the middle of August!

Album Review: Iron Savior's Skycrest

The end is near fellow Otaku & Metalheads.

A few weeks back, we looked at my 1st number one album of 2020 in the form of U.D.O.’s We Are One, and today we’re examining the second no. 1 from that year, and it’s quite a bit different. There’s no politics of the day or social issues, but instead is something much more lighthearted. There’s dragons, science fiction, and all other sorts of imaginative things that make the world far more bearable to go through. It came out very late that year, and it almost didn’t make my list that year if you recall, but I waited to see if it was needed to patch us up, and patched up we were. So, polish your armor, make sure your laser blaster is working, and take a look at my review of Iron Savior’s masterpiece Skycrest. Let’s begin!

Background
Instead of talking about what was going on with the band, I wanted to talk about more of my experience with listening to Iron Savior. It may not be amazing, but I think it bears something on this review.

I first came across Iron Savior sometime in 2019 completely by accident. I forget which album it was (Though I have a suspicion it was The Landing), not to mention I forget which song I first heard (Also having a suspicion, I think it was Heavy Metal Never Dies), but I do remember loving what I heard immediately. Over more time in that year, I listened to more & more of their records, and while some were more flawed than others, it was an entertaining time for me. Cut to 2020, and I kinda fell off the Iron Savior radar to an extent, and it wasn’t until I began hearing the singles for Skycrest that I got back on the radar, & I loved every single one of them. Hence, they were the main reasons I eventually loved this record, and made it one of my number one albums of that plague-ridden year. Ironically, I actually didn’t get a physical copy of it until April of 2021 as a birthday gift from my dearly departed friend Isabelle (Alongside We Are One & my final no. 1 album of 2020 if you can believe it), which further shows just how metal she was.

Basic Description
We needed this.

We Are One was (and is still) a beautiful album, but the social messaging might have been a bit too heavy for some, and by the end of 2020 we were all emotionally drained from all of the isolation & distancing (Not to mention all of the horrendous politics, death, and so much more). Skycrest, on the other hand, was very different. No social issues, no politics, and no seriousness (Despite the badassery). This record is nothing but a fun Power Metal release: full of Fantasy, some sprinkles of Science Fiction, and wrapped in a bow made of sugar & happy things. There is some heartfelt emotion for sure (More on that in a bit), but as you sit down to listen to this, a cozy blanket is wrapped all around you, and the biggest bowl of soul-warming chicken noodle soup is placed right in front of you. Sure, you might be storming a castle or flying a starship like a badass, but you’ll feel warm & safe as you do.

Best Track
Iron Savior has always been good with ballads, and the incredibly heart-breaking Ease Your Pain was the perfect choice to be the best track. The only song that was sung by bassist Jan Eckert (Who’s got a great set of pipes in his own right), it’s all the more tragic when you find out the track was about his battle with COVID, and the incredible pain he was in. By how it sounded in interviews he apparently was going through a lot of physical trouble, and this is reflected in the slow-paced and sorrowful yet somewhat triumphant instrumentation. Jan’s vocals also add to the vibes, as while he’s doing a great job singing, there is a slight roughness to it on account of catching the plague. If you got the European or American edition, it’s the second-to-last track. If you got a certain edition, however.....

Easy Your Pain

Worst Track
You won’t find a single awful song on Skycrest! Not on the European edition, or the American edition. The Japanese edition, however, contains one lone bad track in the form of Wingman. It’s actually not terrible, and not even horrible to be honest. It’s biggest problem is that it’s sandwiched between the emotional colossus of the previously mention tune, and the triumphant concluding song Ode To The Brave. As such, it feels somewhat lacking in energy, and the end result is a song that’s not truly nasty, but doesn’t quite have as much oomph when you compare it to what came before it and after it.  

Wingman (Spotify)

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below: 

Skycrest

Overall Impression & Rating
Skycrest was what the doctor ordered by the end of the most diseased year of this decade. Weak bonus track not withstanding, from beginning to end you’re treated to a Power Metal feast that’s just perfect from the first note to the last note. 2020, for as absolutely abysmal as it was, had slivers of good......and this record was one of them. If you didn’t like the social messaging that We Are One had, then the marshmallowy fun of Skycrest is for you.

Skycrest gets a 10 out of 10.

And that was my review for Skycrest. It doesn’t have the social messaging that We Are One did, but it makes up for it with it’s feel-good cheese factor. Given how we were all feeling by the end of 2020, I think anyone who needed an emotional pick-me-up definitely gravitated towards this album. So, I’ve got 1 more number one review in the works, and I’ll see you all in August for that, but before then I’ve got a special list to show off. Be there tomorrow!

Food For Thought/Though For Food No. 37: Ozzy Osbourne (December, 3, 1948 to July, 22, 2025 )

We....we lost him fellow Otaku & Metalheads. 

It's not exactly uncommon to anyone in the Heavy Metal community (Or music fans in general), but for those exceedingly few people who live under a rock, John Michael Osbourne, best known to the Metal community as Ozzy Osbourne, passed away yesterday on the 22nd of July, 2025. The cause of death was his Parkinson's, which I didn't know he actually had since 2003 (He revealed it in 2020, which is why I thought he had it that year). Only 17 days after the monumental Black Sabbath concert in the band's home town, the Prince Of Darkness passed away peacefully, surrounded by family & friends, and in a tragic moment that echoed the passing of legends like Michael Jackson & Pete Steele, fans cried and wailed at the loss of such an iconic cornerstone of Metal.

Upon hearing this awful news yesterday, I picked up my tablet, went to Youtube, and repeatedly listen to Patient Number 9 (The song) over and over for about I think a half-hour, but emotionally it felt for a lot longer than that. I'm still reeling from his death throes: I've been listening to the Blizzard Of Ozz for over 2 decades as I type this, but it feels like he's been there beside me since I was born. It's ironic I say that, as it took me quite a while to like his music, and the main culprit in that regard was his voice. Something about it was incredibly grating to me, but it wasn't until I was 14-something years old when I came across Gets Me Through completely by random, and much like when I first came across Burn from Septicflesh, something in my brain just clicked, but from then on I became an eternal devotee, and I have the rest of my life to devour everything this man has ever done.

With that said, after I review the final no. 1 albums of 2020 (Along with a bonus at the end of August), the rest of the music that I'll be covering will be devoted to Ozzy, as I feel that it's only right to do so. I conclude this post with only one last thing......ROCK ON OZZY!

See you all on the 31st.

 

 

***

I hope this is how he comes back one day:

Ozzy Osbourne - Scene in 'Little Nicky 

Food For Thought/Thought For Food No. 36: Vshojo did what!?

Vexoria The Sun Eater's Husband

 

So.....I didn't expect to be making this today.

As of sometime yesterday, famed Vshojo star Ironmouse announced that she was leaving the company. After a few prior members of the company left before (Matara Kan & Zentreya), this certainly raised a horde of eyebrows, but the building was set ablaze when she announced that she left because she hasn't been paid in sometime.....and they didn't give out $500.000 in Charity money that she worked on. Now, Vshojo has had issues for a while: the security disruption back in 2021, and the leaving of Nyanners, Veibei, and Silvervale (this one especially hurt for me) in 2023 are just two examples. But withholding charity money? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!!??

What the fuck are you thinking!? Ironmouse has been with you since the beginning! She became one of the faces (Maybe even the face) of your business, and you kept her alive! Now!? I'm under the full believe that you are nothing more than money sucking vampires, and you kept her alive just for the sake of bringing in the cash. It's fucking despicable! So not only have you fucked over our precious grem-o-lin, you've apparently been hurting the rest of your talent as well, as so many have left in droves after Ironmouse came out with her announcement. There are a few left, but so many others have left to the point where there is no way they survive without them unless they sacrificed a few goats to Satan. Somehow, this makes the Sinder drama from this past April (Something I didn't decide to talk about for reason) look tame in comparison, which I didn't even know was possible! Now, Vshojo is no better than some of the worst vtuber companies out there ("Cough" Nijisanji "Cough"), and now I'm just waiting for the rest to leave the sinking ship so it can finally collapse in the ocean.

My final words: Fuck Vshojo. There is nothing able to be saved from this ruin of a company. There isn't anything that can even be salvaged. If any of the remaining members of the corporation see this.....get out (Which has happened already). Save yourselves. This won't be the only bad new I'll be talking about, so join me tomorrow in tribute to a legend. Until then, fuck this once bright star of a company.

 

 

***

I'll leave a link below towards the charity that Ironmouse talked about: 

https://tiltify.com/@ironmouse/ironmouse 

Also, if you'd like to heard the full situation from her own lips (That doesn't include my anger & swearing), click on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwLbGcUMy6g 

Convention Review: Connecticon 2025

Connecticon 2025 was a blast fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

What can I honestly say at this point about this convention that I have said about it in the past. It’s been close to my heart for an incredibly long time at this point, and it’s always managed to surprise me in all of the right & wrong ways with each year I go. 2025 is no different, and this year’s definitely did make me do a double take a few times. So, with that said, Let’s sit down & take a look at my review for Connecticon 2025. Let’s begin!

Good Points
The Hartford Marriot has continued to be a high point for me. It’s far grander than anything that could have been found around where Genericon once was, far more opulent (Though certainly not on the level of the Gaylord where Katsucon takes place), and has a lot more resources than one would think upon visiting it for the first time. In addition to that, the escalator that was down the count last year was working perfectly fine this year, so not having to use the elevator to get from the lobby to the 3rd floor & vice-versa constantly was incredibly welcome. I used the bar for the first time when I hung out with John St Jon & his friends, and the Vodka Tonic I had was quite lovely. 

Dealer’s Room & Artist’s Alley are still two of the biggest draws for people to come to Connecticon. Though there was a hiccup last year, and a bigger hiccup this year (More on that later), the sheer variety of goods to purchase always catches me off guard. The dealers that came back for the once a day thing in the upper part of the convention center came back, and although I didn’t get anything from them, there was a lot of variety there as well. Also, just like last year, I managed to have enough money for the next MTG release I’m going to in a few days (Edge Of Eternities anybody?).

Connecticon continues to rock it with the events. From the panels, to the AMV Contest, to the Idol show, to the Cosplay Chess, and finally to the Cosplay Deathmatch (Which is easily the best that has taken place in it’s entire history), you’ve got the living embodiment of “Something For Everybody!”. I may not have gone to a lot of panels, but the ones I did go were fun. The Eating of the Costco Chicken, John St Jon’s Sexy Late Night Panel (Never gets old, btw), and Cosplay Championship Wrestling were just some of the events I went to, and they were all great. Speaking of CCW.....

Cosplay Championship Wrestling keeps on being fire at Connecticon, especially since they’ve be coming to the con for almost 5 years now. Every single wrestler, both the men & the women, embodies the characters they play, and the heels and the faces have everybody in the crowd by the balls (Or ovaries). For 2025, they did something extra, and have the wrestlers play as their own characters from their parent company, and that was just as good if not better. You know things are better when you have a wrestler basically play as Prince.....yes, that Prince!

The food trucks are still a huge plus for me! A far cheaper alternative to how much most of the things to eat in the hotel cost, it’s like a culinary rainbow. From the poutine, to the cheesesteak, and to all of the other foods savory & sweet, and normal or vegan, you’ve got a lot to choose from that won’t hurt the bank account. Hell, even the most expensive items won’t been too much of a problem (The highest cost I saw was 19-something), and some of those you can share with people! 

One final good point I’ll mention is a bit of a smaller one, and that’s the water posts. In the lobby of the hotel, there was a table with two glass containers with flavored water (Flavored with natural things, and it was different each day), and there were two above the lobby by the games rooms & panel room. Over in the center itself, there were plenty of water booths in some of the panel rooms, and this definitely was a smart move. My only complaint was that there should have been some in every room in the center given what the weather was like for most of the weekend, but if they weren’t able to cause of how many there were, then I can’t really complain.

Okay Points
Honestly, I don’t think there was anything that was just okay with Connecticon this year. Everything about it in 2025 was either Good, or bad. Nothing in between was seen or hear by me. Speaking of bad however.....

Bad Points
Unfortunately for the con this year, it’s biggest fault is something I had an issues with in 2024, and that’s the lack of manga & anime sellers. If anything, it might have been worse this time around! There was absolutely no manga sellers except for one (Maybe two), and no anime sellers save for Otaku Joe’s (If there were more, I never saw them). Camp Anime didn’t even have any of there figures this year, and if they did I never saw them. Magic The Gathering was in surprisingly short supply oddly enough (Save for a few vendors), but Pokemon & Yu-Gi-Oh was shockingly plentiful! If there is some kind of shift in what’s getting pushed in the Dealer’s Room, I don’t know, but if there is then somebody let me know.

(Like last year, I was still able to purchase a bunch of things btw)

Final Thoughts & Rating
Connecticon 2025 stumbles ever so slightly on account of some of the issues I had with the Dealers Room, but otherwise everything else was great! The convention staff have really nailed what Connecticon is supposed to be, and I don’t think that’ll ever waver in any way. Going to this Mecca of awesomeness for close to 2 decades has become a staple for me during the summer.....and I hope it’s a staple for all of you.

Connecticon 2025 gets an 8.5 to 9 out of 10.

And that was my review for Connecticon 2025. An absolutely wonderful time, despite the shift in products sold. In just a few short years, I will have been going for 20 years (2029), and I definitely look forward to that! With this out of the way, got my second no. 1 album of 2020, so look to the sky & join me at the end of the month. See you then!


***
If you’d like to see what I thought of last year’s con, click on the link below:

Convention Review: Connecticon 2024

Album Review: U.D.O.'s We Are One (Revised)

Number 1's are here fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

We’ve made it to July everybody. Sure, we’re a flaming garbage pile that’s back to being an absolute joke, but we’re still here! We’ve now made it to my number 1 albums of 2020, and given what that year was like, it was only right to place what I thought were the most powerful & upbeat records of that year. To start things off, I’m taking a second look at a release that almost was going to be the sole record at number 1 last year. A record that is equal parts heavy, over the top, symphonic, and contains within it a powerful social message that doesn’t feel insulting in any way. So, get on your combat fatigues, find the right cause to champion, and get ready for my review of U.D.O.’s We Are One. Let’s begin.

Background
Taken from the CD booklet: 

“Dear Udo Friends,

I’m writing these lines at the end of April 2020. Corona is ruiling the headlines and all of our day to day activities. I am currently in the Cologne area after I was able to “Rescue” myself by driving to Germany from Ibiza two weeks ago after several weeks of total isolation.

I am currently in the studio with Sven almost every day and we are working together on the upcoming U.D.O. album, which should be released in the coming year (2021). The guys behind the band are all at home and only connected to our studio via Skype. Actually, we all wanted to come together in the studio because this type of work has proven itself on our last album “Steelfactory”. No chance, since this virus has a firm grip on the world...

THE WORLD! OUR WORLD! OUR ONLY WORLD!

Our world is dying! A little more every day! And we are all responsible for it. We are heading towards enormous problems and those “Doing Nothing” are responsible for the consequences. To make matters worse, there are ever increasing tendencies toward nationalist and right wing structures that lead to more isolation and selfishness. This is happening right now at a time when the whole world should be acting in a unified and collaborative manner. Unfortunately, lost for power, lobbying, selfishness and a giant dose of stupidity are preventing a better world for everyone.

- The rainforest in Brazil is burning. Billions of animals are dying in the flames and the world is watching as a “President” allows this to happen.
- The oceans are full of plastic and the world is watching millions of animals cruelly die from the plastic. Nevertheless, we continue to produce tons of plastic waste every day.
- Dictator, tyrants and the right-wing people are gaining more and more power and the world is watching.
- A corporation is obviously poisoning entire insect cultures worldwide, not to mention the bees and humans themselves with its pesticide. The world is watching.
- Car companies are massively damaging our environment with fake emissions data and the world is watching.
- In Australia (And Worldwide), we had true flame infernos in forest fires last year and again, billions of animals painfully burned to death, proven effects of climate change and the world is watching. Many a president denies climate change and yet, they still have chances of being re-elected. Our forests. The lungs of the world are burning while most people are not really worried and continue to live their lives the same way!
- Refugee camps in Europe are full of suffering people and the world is watching. There are thousands of traveling children who are alone in refugee camps in Europe, living in the worst of circumstance and being exposed to many dangers every day, and we can’t even bring these children to us and give them a new future? For months now, our politicians have been discussing whether we can get the children out of these! It is shameful!

There are currently many trillions in corona funding under discussion worldwide. Part of these funding is for prehistoric companies that will continue to pollute our environment in the extreme. Wouldn’t it be better to invest the money in new technologies such as fuel cells to help save our only and unique world instead of spending the money on polluting companies just because they have more power through their expensive lobbyists? Should we not take advantage of the unique opportunity for a better world just so a few people can keep stuffing their pockets at our own expense? Should we save jobs that, by design, exterminate our insects and bees worldwide? I think no! The free world must stand together and ensure that this ball does not continue to roll while many thousands of people are kept as slaves for years just to build new (football) stadiums! Unfortunately our politicians all too frequently play in the many-sided concert of injustices!

One could get the impression that this world is doomed and that humans are the biggest scum in global history. There is considerable evidence of this! I am not a scientist, but I have the hope that we will still be able to change this current course. Of course, there are a lot of stupid, selfish and bad people (Even several leaders of the largest countries cannot deny the accusation), but there are also a great deal of wonderful, good people and I am encouraged by this.

Check out the fantastic people within the Fridays For Future movement, or those from Greenpeace, Medicines Sans Frontiers and learn their names. This is my hope.

At FFF, young people are getting straight to the point of what we should be doing: “Save the world. It’s the only one we have and there is no planet b” and I feel really terrible when I hear the accusations against FFF from the ranks of some politicians. How can you make Greta Thunberg to appear negative and even hostile? This young lady is remarkable and deserves all the respect in the world. She has my deepest personal respect!

Rebel Town handled the demonstrations in Lepzig as well as in many other cities in East Germany that finally brought down the wall in Germany in 1989. We “The Little People can also achieve something like this. We only have to stick together and stand up for our goals. Be brave out there and be uncomfortable for the offenders! Fight!”

Nothing will change if we accept everything as is and do not tackle these abuses. And we ourselves also need to change. Starting with little things like dealing with plastic waste and avoiding waste and also in our mutual human interaction. Luckily, metal fans are mainly very open and tolerant people. One could almost conclude that we need more metal in everyday life. A cool idea! In any case, I’m thankful to be part of this scene!

We need more understanding and love in our interaction with each other. And right-wing thinking must not be tolerated. It isn’t self-explanatory that most of the right or at least “Right-Leaning” politicians deny global warming and don’t give a shit about looking after the environment, people and animals?

We need to break out of our paralyzing comfort and finally act ourselves. Set an example! Write to your politicians and demand that they opt for humanity and not for money and everything behind it! Support the actions of organizations like FFF, Greenpeace, the WWF, etc. Help people and help yourself. Become active! Small steps eventually rest in a very big step.

Our current album is frighteningly more relevant today and we could have ever imagined. The Coronavirus has shut down the world. Was it created in an incredibly cruel animal market in China or did it escape from a laboratory? I don’t know, but I don’t tend toward conspiracy theories and certainly not doomsday scenarios (I guess it was the transmission from the unspeakable animal market). Regardless, we must take this virus and it’s effects extremely seriously. A new virus could go around the world tomorrow: One that is even worse and more cruel than Covid 19.

But please note that Corona is just a tiny little fucker. The big thing to come and we have to prevent whatever it takes is global warming with all negative impacts for us (Billions of death cases, famine, crop failures, floods, extreme climate changes, etc) worldwide. And there is no vaccination against global warming! We have to do everything possible and impossible in order to avoid global warming since once it is out of control, there is no going back to normal life.....

We changed the world through our actions, both positively and negatively. Where the journey goes is in our hands. I am afraid that the last decisive journey is imminent and I hope that we will be able to act sensibly and cautiously and look toward a great future for people, animals and our environment. WE ONLY HAVE ONE PLANET AND WE ARE ALL UNITED. WE ARE PEOPLE!

WE ARE ONE”

Basic Description
Symphonic Power with Social Activism.

Think about 2020 everybody. Think about what was going on at that time: COVID-19, increasing spread & influence of Right-Wing policies & politicians, forest fires in both Brazil & Australia, the planet’s environment getting worse and worse, George Floyd, and so much more. 2020, more than any other year at that time, felt like the gates of hell opened up and just unleashed a torrent of crap that fell on all of our faces. We Are One reflected what most of us were feeling: both in the positive & negative sense, what Udo & the gang were trying to convey across the entire record was an encapsulation of everything that was happening at the time, and it was something that anyone who listened to the record needed to hear. Coupled with some great Heavy Metal & Symphonic music from the marching band of the German Military, and the end result is one of the reasons why I say that 2020 will forever have the best metal of this decade. 

Best Track
I said it in my original review, and I’ll say it again here without fail, but Neon Diamond is a scorcher of a song. In addition to it being a perfect mix between the metallic & symphonic side of things, a little more variety is added in the form of some really good saxophone playing that gives everything a small jazz vibe when you can hear it. The lyrics & messaging is powerful also, referencing lovelorn souls looking for someone else to attach too, and the desire for material things (Think the name of the song is a reference to Blood Diamonds, but I’m not sure). It definitely works well as a track towards the end of We Are One, but it might have been the best as the very end.

Neon Diamond

Worst Track
Also like I stated in my original 2021 review, but if there was any fault to be had with We Are One, it would be the fact that the orchestra doesn’t match up with some of the songs. I still stand by this, as some songs the metallic elements & symphonic elements meld beautifully, while others sound good together but don’t quite meld. This doesn’t ruin the overall experience, and every song together is fantastic, but you will notice when both sides don’t work as well as they should.

One opinion of mine that has changed somewhat would be the Social Commentary. I said back in 2021 that the messaging was hokey & cheesy, and that Udo & the band are a little too optimistic about it. I still stand by that, but with how things have changed since 2020 for the worst, perhaps the message that the album is trying to convey isn’t quite as stereotypically hippy as it might be for some when they listen to this record for the very first time. There’s still some of that on here, but perhaps it isn’t as annoying in the 5 years since this release came out. There are some people out there that might not like We Are One because of the messaging (I can understand why to an extent), but there’s far more of that message that’s much stronger than some give it credit.

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below: 

We Are One

Overall Impression & Rating
We Are One came out at the right place and the right time. It came out during a time where it’s messaging was absolutely needed, and it’s energy was required to give us a boost to make it through a plague-filled haze. The orchestral aspect may not match up in certain songs as well as others, and the messaging might be a little silly, but the music came out when the fans needed it the most. Considering the hellscape that has been 2025 so far, it’s vibes & commentary are stronger and perhaps needed more. It might not be for everybody, but We Are One is for anybody.  

We Are One is still a solid 10 out 10, and I will stand by this until the day I die.

And that was my revised look at We Are One. Perhaps more relevant now than it was in 2020, it manages to delight & entertain while delivering a power message that everyone should hear. As things continue to crumble in the U.S. and abroad, perhaps it’s a message that everyone needs to hear. So, I’ll be back in a few days when I’ll have a review up for this year’s Connecticon, and at the end of July my second no. 1 album of 2020 will get looked at. Look up to the sky, and I’ll see you soon!


***
If you’d like to take a look at my original review, click on the link below:

Album Review - U.D.O.’s We Are One (2021 Version)