Back catalogue: All genres

Review: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers..." So said Henry V before the battle of Agincourt in one of Shakespeare's many lauded histories. The quote went on to Christen Stephen Ambrose's 1993 novel and a subsequent American war drama miniseries of the same name, chronicling the journey of the "Easy Company," a group of American paratroopers during World War II. Training, combat tussles, and fraternal bonds are given a brutal portrayal in the film, and this mood of brutality and endurance was not unnoticeably underscored by Michael Kamen's soundtrack, now reissued on gatefold 2xLP. Kamen, known for his scores for Die Hard, X-Men and Memento, brought out a mood of orchestral fortuity, successfully mirroring the film's intent to portray themes of glory, tragedy and camaraderie, all of which ooze from its many orchestral swells and windfalls.

Review: Originally released in 1996, Ear Candy would serve as the sixth full-length from often unfairly slept on progressive metal-oriented hard rock titans King's X. Following on from the commercial success of their 1994 predecessor Dogman, the album would be the band's last for Atlantic Records as it failed to hit the same numbers, yet that blessing in disguise would eventually give them a new lease on life with Metal Blade. Long out of print, the wonderful people over at Music On Vinyl have given the record its overdue flowers with their reliable numbered 180-gram audiophile treatment on lush purple wax, restoring the highly technical yet accessible fluidity of bangers such as 'Sometime' and 'Picture', with the latter being an updated version complete with new lyrics of an older cut titled 'The Door' originally written under their previous moniker Sneak Preview, while 'A Box' features guest vocals by Glen Phillips of California jangly alt rockers Toad The Wet Sprocket.