Formed in 1995 by then-KATATONIA guitarist Norrman and KATATONIA/BLOODBATH vocalist Jonas Renkse, OCTOBER TIDE quickly made a mark with two albums recorded and released during the years 1997 and 1999 ("Rain Without End" and "Grey Dawn", respectively). Much of the band's music was written during a short break up of KATATONIA which later proved only temporary as the band would reform and continues today; their latest album, "Night Of The New Day", features work by Norrman….

Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) was not only a great violinist, he was one of the great charmers in the history of music. It is almost impossible to find a report of anyone saying anything against him, despite the fact that he was a notorious "fibber." Part of the reason is that he never said anything against anyone else. And he exuded charm—the warm champagne charm of old Vienna, where he was born and whose music and style he lived and breathed and loved all his long life. He even composed his own Viennese operetta. He was a handsome man with a noble demeanor. He looked great on stage. And he could play the violin in a magical way. He freely admitted to not having the superlative technique of a Heifetz or a Milstein, and in fact he bragged about not practicing for months at a time. Yet he could pick up a cheap violin and make it sound like a Stradivarius. This sounds like puffery or legend, but it is attested by innumerable people who heard him, including most of his greatest rivals.

The recording speaks for itself, and it is only a matter of months before it shares the Olympus of the Goldberg with Leonhardt, Koopman, and Hantaï. This is so because, difficult as it may seem, Bonizzoni manages to offer a new perspective which avoids all straining after effects and extravagance to present a magical, intelligent, subtle, solid, coherent, and current version.

Glenn Gould and Leonard Bernstein bring an attractive regal pomp and broad rhetoric to the Third Concerto, yet these qualities work to the more lyrical Fourth's disadvantage. Gould's well-oiled fingers zip rather mechanically through the outer movements in the first two concertos, and he scrutinizes the Emperor with the inquiring mind of a brilliant crank.

There's something fun and catchy about Michael Messer's eclectic album, King Guitar. Although the guitar featured on the cover is a vintage acoustic model, the music runs the gauntlet between down-and-dirty electric blues and quiet Delta slide. In a way, this mixture is sort of like an early Fleetwood Mac, with Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer bringing different blues styles together in one group. Messer, however, accomplishes all of this by himself. His acoustic slide guitar is the epitome of taste on the lovely "Crow Blues" and the happy, upbeat "Steel Guitar Blues." His playing style seems centered on laying down what works best for a particular song as opposed to showing off…….

"Michael Messer is a virtuoso slide guitarist who has one of the best bands performing some of the greatest blues tunes produced this century. His playing encompasses the entire history of the blues but is totally individual and contemporary. His use of turntables in the band adds a new element to the music and Messer’s
haunting vocals ooze authenticity and integrity. The American magazine, ‘Spirit’ listed Michael as one of the greatest slide guitarists ever alongside Duane Allman and Ry Cooder".