Ascension Lost is set to be the third album from Munich’s THULCANDRA, whose reputation as independent and especially melancholic-melodic Black metallers is excellent as ever.The brand new, masterpiece will be released on February 2nd in the UK & February, 10th US/CAN on Napalm Records. It will enthrall with darkly majestic riffs, covered by atmospheric lead guitars, frantic drums and mysterious screams!

"Stone Crazy" is a latter-day album from Screamin' Jay Hawkins, recorded with his touring band the Chickenhawks. Musically, the album sounds surprisingly good, since the Chickenhawks are a tight little backing band, but Hawkins' schtick gets a little tiresome after a while, and there aren't many great songs on the album. Only the tribute to the Twin Peaks vixen "Sherilyn Fenn" really hits home, but dedicated fans will be pleased that the record does have sporadic fits of energetic playing.

The Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg is one of the most prestigious opera and ballet venues in the world. Built in 1860 and named in honour of Maria Alexandrovna of Hesse-Darmstadt, wife of Czar Alexander II, it is home to the famous Mariinsky Ballet as well as numerous international stars and ensembles. After the turn of the millennium it was painstakingly restored; and since 2013, St. Petersburg’s Theatre Square has been crowned with the “Mariinsky II” an imposing new arts and performance venue.

Theodor W. Adorno regarded Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 as “the first work of modern music”. Adorno’s teacher, Alban Berg, saw in it “the expression of a tremendous love for this world, a longing to live in peace and to savor Nature to its depths – before the arrival of Death. For it will inevitably come.” This live recording of the composer’s last completed symphony is part of an ongoing Leipzig cycle of Mahler’s symphonies. It confirms once more the Gewandhaus Orchestra’s reputation as an exemplary ensemble for the performance of Mahler’s music. The highest level of performance culture combined with a sharply contoured, transparent, polished, and detailed manner of playing, plus infectious verve and an unmistakable sound characterized by a darkly golden color – these are qualities responsible for the Gewandhaus Orchestra’s international reputation. Since the time of Bruno Walter, the orchestra has developed over the years a deep understanding of the works of Gustav Mahler, which in their collaboration with Riccardo Chailly has been continued.