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I expect a lot from Annicke Shireen after her great contribution to Heilung, now launched as a solo artist since last year.  We already got two ep's, this year a third album called "Demonette". She is a busy bee.  I chose this song on a hunch and it delivers.  We will be hearing a lot more from her in the future for sure. This is metal music I adore: clean voices, heavy sound uplifting the song to grandeur and bringing an energy which forces you to join the rhythm.  There is a good use of breaks and a great dynamic range. Annicke Shireen - Undo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZVk4TUapCs

A  Skáld  is an old Scandinavian and Icelandic poet, performer and singer dating back to the Viking Age and Middle Ages.  I have a weak spot for folk, Nordic and Flemish especially.  I like metal music for its raw emotions and anger, something I have in abundance.  This comes together in the song called Skugge by Wardruna.  Don´t worry, you won´t find screaming guitars here.  But I hope you will find that same spirit in their music. Taken from their 2021 album Kvitravn this song starts a capella.  It then gradually brings in harmonic voices, follk instruments and even goes into a 7/8 time signature at some point.  At that moment you will feel that ominous urgency in the tonality which brings the song towards the end.  Yummy.   Wardruna - Skugge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCOpgZLAwmE

A couple of weeks ago saw the release of a great single I picked up on instantly.  Just a great song for an average Tuesday in an average week.  It has an airplay appeal and I would not be surprised if rock radios will pick this up.  If it doesn't drown in the digital barrage of music releases every week.  Bands who rise to the top surely must either be better or more lucky than bands in the past. How can you ever make it otherwise in this day and age? No Money Kids - Queen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSuXvOVDLWE

For those who believe that nothing much came after Pink Floyd, aka progressive rock, I have something nice for you this week.  Calling from the Netherlands, Yīn Yīn brings a live version of the debut album's title song The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers . Great drums, rich sound stage, interesting injection of South-East asian influences are the hallmarks of this band and it works well.  Beware, listening to the full album can be tiring if you are not into the genre though. Yīn Yīn  -The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers - Live session https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNI3VWVWkVo