 DIONYSUS ‘ANIMA MUNDI’
(AFM RECORDS/ROCK INC.)
2 years ago the band DIONYSUS was formed and they are
about to release their 2nd CD ‘Anima mundi’.
The band features lead singer Olaf Hayer (who sangon LUCA
TURILLI’s RHAPSODY), former SYNERGY drummer Ronny
Milianowicz, NATION members Johnny Ohlin (guitars) and
Nobby Noberg (bass) and finally, keyboardplayer Kaspar
Dahlqvist (who backed up MALMSTEEN). In other words, this
is an all-European Metaloutfit that is built up by high
class musicians, and their new CD is also filled with
fantastic typical European Melodic Metal that sounds like
a mix between RHAPSODY, AT VANCE, EDGUY, HELLOWEEN and
AVANTASIA. 10 songs are on the CD and right from the
start it is clear that we have to deal here with
something sensational, with as absolute highlights fast
paced uptempo Melodic Metal songs like “Divine”
(EDGUY meets RHAPSODY), “Anima mundi’,
“Paradise land”, “Heart is crying”
(hello AT VANCE!) and “Closer to the sun” (very
catchy), and also the midtempo melodic rocker
“Forever more”. There’s also some epic
stuff, and basically this album combines a typical German
Power Metal vocalstyle (high pitched a la AT VANCE,
EDGUY) with a Swedish Neo-Classical keyboard/guitarsound
(MAJESTIC, MALMSTEEN, NATION). Concluded, we can say that
this album is a must for fans of high quality European
Melodic Metal!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 MUSIC STATION ‘SHAPING’ (UBP
INTERNATIONAL LTD.)
‘Shaping’ is the debut CD of the Bulgarian band
MUSIC STATION, and without a doubt this is a high quality
release that can easily compete with the Western settled
bands, such as DREAM THEATER, VANDENPLAS, SHADOW GALLERY,
ARENA, early QUEENSRYCHE... The sound and production is
impressive, the vocals and instrumental parts are superb,
and the included 10 songs are very sensational. Opener
“Shaping” is an instant winner for fans of
quality Progressive Metal, with lovely keyboard and
guitarwork, fantastic vocals and a strong chorus. The
band sounds like a mix between 80s
QUEENSRYCHE (the vocalstyle), ARENA (the sound, and
especially the keyboardwork) and DREAM THEATER (the
songstructure). The CD continues in the high level range
of the first song, with other sensational songs like
“After twilight” and “Past”. Towards
the end of the CD it gets a bit weaker (“Night
dreams” and “Gamble away”), but still this
is a highly recommended Prog. Metal album. More info at: http://www.online.bg/ubp
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 JOHNNY LIMA ‘MADE IN
CALIFORNIA’
(FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)
Californian fun-rocker JOHNNY LIMA is finally back after
a few years of silence. Although his debut is still his
best release, the new CD ‘Made in California’
(his 3rd CD) is a great fun record that basically is a
pure 80s orientated record. It’s a mixture of
Melodic Hardrock and Glam/Party-Rock with the occasional
AOR/Poprock element slipped through some of the songs.
It’s a pity, the CD has a playing length of just 37
minutes, but the 11 short tracks make that up as they are
all very catchy Melodic Rockers like a mix between 80s
BON JOVI, DEF LEPPARD and some POISON. The only negative
thing to mention here is that Johnny used a drum computer
instead of real drums, but the rest (vocals, keys, bass,
guitars) was all played very well by Johnny himself. So,
the songs are short, but very catchy and as highlights I
need to add songs like “Made in California”
(great midtempo melodic rocker), “Go on, go
away” (very catchy midtempo melodic rock a la DEF
LEPPARD), “We’ve got tonight” (absolutely
the best song, a very strong semi-ballad that would
become a huge hit if BON JOVI had recorded it),
“Another girl” (catchy uptempo melodic rocker,
80s fun mixed with today’s nu-breed spirit),
“Something about you” (great semi AOR ballad
with very good vocals by Johnny) and closing track
“Welcome to my paradise” (a great midtempo
melodic rocker). So JOHNNY LIMA returns with a great new
release and especially fans of AUTOGRAPH, 80s BON JOVI,
DANGER DANGER, DEF LEPPARD etc. will love this record a
lot!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 STRATOVARIUS ‘ELEMENTS PART 2’
(NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS)
6 months after the release of STRATOVARIUS’ ‘Elements
part 1’ CD, the band returns with the follow-up
‘Elements part 2’. Of course the style hasn’t
changed a bit, and so again we can hear high class Euro
Power Metal in it’s best tradition of STRATOVARIUS.
9 songs are included, and although the band only speeds
up the sound just a few times, this is still a fantastic
typical STRATOVARIUS CD. The production and sound quality
of their 14th CD is of course HUGE! The album starts with
the midtempo epic Melodic Metal song “Alpha and
Omega”, a very powerful song with fantastic lead
vocals of singer Timo Kotipelto. Up next is “I walk
to my own song”, a typical uptempo Melodic Heavy
Rocker in the best STRATOVARIUS tradition (a la “Hunting
high and low”) with also a flashy guitarsolo by Timo
Tolkki and nice keyboardwork by Jens Johansson. Then
comes the first fast Power Metal song with double-bass
drum by Jorg Michael. The song is called “I’m
still alive” and is a very catchy little song with
high pitched vocals and the song is a deadringer for fans
of that typical European Power Metal style. The CD
continues with “Season of faith’s perfection”,
an epic ballad with some atmospheric keyboards towards
the end. Then we get to hear “Awaken the giant”,
a very heavy (slighly modern sounding) midtempo Metalsong
that starts with ‘Megaphone vocals’, but the
chorus is highly melodic and also features a big
drumbeat. Next track “Know the difference” is
again typical STRATO fast Power Metal with lots of
Neo-Classical keys, while the song is in the style of
“Black diamond”. The CD continues with “Luminous”,
a calmer epic ballad that doesn’t sound like STRATO
at all, but with “Dreamweaver” they are back in
their best shape, namely that this is a very strong
midtempo Melodic Heavy Rocker in typical STRATO style.
Closing track is “Liberty”, a strong Melodic
Rockballad. Concluded, this new CD of STRATOVARIUS is
showing how the big boys do it, although I need to say
that it isn’t as good as the band’s earlier
albums (‘Infinite’), but it’s definitely
as good as ‘Elements part 1’ and also highly
recommended to all Euro Melodic Power Metal fans.
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
MARS
HILL ‘SINK
OR SWIM’ (INDEPENDENT)
The debut CD of the American band MARS HILL was produced
by MICHAEL SWEET from STRYPER, so we are dealing here
with a big sounding record! I must admit that I really
enjoyed listening to this record, as it sounds so
different than all the Nu-Breed/Metal stuff currently
coming out of the USA. Most notable fact on MARS HILL is
singer Jack Marques, who has a got a fantastic strong
voice that sounds like a mix between MICHAEL VOSS (from
CASANOVA) and Michael Bormann (JADED HEART), while
musically MARS HILL is playign high quality 80s
influenced catchy Melodic Hardrock with some AOR and Rock
influences here and there, and to keep the sound updated,
some Modern Rock touches can be heard, but mainly this CD
is filled with high class Melodic Hardrock. The 10 songs
on ‘Sink or swim’ are very strong, with big
harmonies and a sound somewhere between GUARDIAN,
NOUVEAUX, SURE CONVICTION and the very first MICHAEL
SWEET. Highlights on the CD are “Sink or swim”
(great uptempo melodic hardrock), “I remember
you” (great midtempo AOR ballad) and the semi
melodic rockers “All I need”, “Birds of
prey”, “Change your mind” and “Lies
they tell”. After listening to the album a few more
times, my best comparison for MARS HILL is HAREM
SCAREM’s ‘Higher and ‘Weight of the
world’ records, so if you enjoy those 2 albums and I
know a lot of you like those fantastic melodic rockalbums
of the Canuck rockers, then this MARS HILL from the USA
is the perfect band to check out a.s.a.p.! More info on
them can be found at: www.marshilltheband.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 ELIT ‘CONFUSED
WORLD’ (UBP INTERNATIONAL LTD.)
ELIT is another band from Bulgaria, and they play a sort
of AOR/Rock style with a strong focus on catchy memorable
choruses (not unlike FOR ABSENT FRIENDS actually!). Their
latest CD ‘Confused world’ starts with a few
very impressive catchy midtempo AOR songs like
“Somebody” and “I fly”. Like most
other Bulgarian bands, they sing in their own language,
so it’s hard to understand what they’re
singing, but the melodies sound very well. Other
highlights are “Dawn” (epic bombastic song, bit
ProgMetal style!), “Sara” (uptempo melodic
rocker) and groovy rockers like “I am your sin”
and “The mirror” that showcase a more 70s
Classic Hardrock based band (with ZEPPELIN meets SABBATH
kinda riffs). Concluded, this is a very diverse band that
will attract fans of different genres, but I think
it’s quite interesting for especially the
AOR/Rockfans. More info at: http://www.online.bg/ubp
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
CRAZY
SWEEPER ‘BACKSLIDE
DVD’ (INDEPENDENT)
A complete DVD was sent to me by the Swiss band CRAZY
SWEEPER, but actually this DVD contains only 1 videoclip
of their single “Backslide”. It’s a very
professional videoclip by the way, and the song itself is
a good typical GOTTHARD/KROKUS kinda Hardrocker, and I
believe you can download it through their website at: http://www.crazysweeper.com
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
FACTOR+
‘UNTIL
THE LAST HOUR’ (UBP INTERNATIONAL LTD.)
This isn’t a real Rockband, as they put in a lot of
Pop and Sax into their music, while also some of the
songs are very Pop orientated, except for the HEEP/DEEP
PURPLE orientated “Aimless lady”. Other songs
that are nice to hear are the midtempo classical music
influenced Pomprocker “End or beginning”,
“Friends” (70s type of Hardrock) and
“Wherever you are” (AORish rocker). However,
FACTOR+ is too poppy for our taste most of the time, so
only the fans of 70s Pop/Rock might enjoy this all the
way through. More info at: http://www.online.bg/ubp
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
 FSB ‘ANTHOLOGY
1-3’ (UBP INTERNATIONAL LTD.)
We are heading to Bulgaria once again where we can find
one of the most popular bands over there, namely FSB.
This band was formed in the early 1970s and in the past
30 years they have released about 17 albums, and I
received 3 CDs filled with their best songs, under the
moniker ‘Anthology Volume 1, 2 and 3’. FSB has
a great singer and through the year they released a lot
of albums, and this best of contains some of their best
songs. Like most other bands, also FSB is singing in
their own language, so therefore the songtitles I am
gonna mention are in English, but remember these are
translated songtitles, as the band sings in the Bulgarian
language, something I don’t mind, but others do
mind. Anyway, the band has a lot of keyboards in their
music, and they play a mix of AOR, Westcoast, Poprock,
Sympho, Pomprock and Popmusic, ending up sounding like a
mix between TOTO, AIRPLAY, ASIA and KAYAK. Especially the
TOTO influences pop up lots of times while listening to
their CD.
If we first have a look at ‘Anthology volume
1’, I found a lot of great material in the shape of
“We'll Embrace Again” (catchy late 70s uptempo
Sympho-AOR/Pomprocker a la TOTO/AIRBORNE/ASIA), “Not
in This Way” (lovely early 80s AOR ballad a la REO
SPEEDWAGON, FRANKE AND THE KNOCKOUTS), “Day
Dream” (pure TOTO, soft AOR), “It Happens”
(laid-back Westcoast Ballad, very much like AIRPLAY) and
the recent song (from 1995) “Wind Is Coming” (a
great strong midtempo AOR/Melodic Rocker a la
FOREIGNER/GIANT). Sadly, the band also has a lot of
Popsongs in their catalogue, songs that remind me of
HALL&OATES, and especially ‘Anthology volume
2’ contains a lot of the Popmaterial, with the
exception of such great AOR rockers like “No other
way”, “The last man” (new song, excellent
Sympho-AOR, big keys, strong tune and one of the best the
band ever did) and the ballad “High above”.
Moving on to ‘Anthology volume 3’, which is
also a very Pop orientated piece, except for song
“Wolf Winter” which is a terrific strong
uptempo AOR rockerin the best 80s style (AVIATOR, AGENT,
BE TAYLOR GROUP) with lots of keys, catchy hooks and nice
keyboardwork. Unfortunately the rest of this CD is again
very Pop/New Wave/Westcoast based, maybe it will appeal
to fans of DONNIE IRIS, LIFE BY NIGHT, AIRPLAY or poppier
stuff, but for AOR fans only the first volume
‘Anthology volume 1’ is interesting. The band
has 2 more albums re-issued onto CD, which are reviewed
below. More info at: http://www.online.bg/ubp
(Points:
- )
 SKEW SISKIN ‘ALBUM OF THE
YEAR’
(ULFTONE MUSIC/BERTUS)
The female lead singer of this German band wanted to be
the roughest girl in the Rock business, and her way of
singing indeed reminds me of that other girl (or should I
say woman) WENDY O. WILLIAMS, who passed away sometime
ago, but she looks like NINA HAGEN. The included music on
the new album of SKEW SISKIN (which is funnily called
‘The album of the year’) is average
Hardrock/Metal. The start is even a bit modern (“We
hate”), but a few songs later SKEW SISKIN is playing
typical 80s raw to the bone Hardrock like a female
version of KROKUS, AC/DC. Songs like “Shake
me”, “Hate lies”, “2 much 4 u”
and “The goddess” are nice to hear every once
in a while, but definitely not good enough to call the CD
‘Album of the year’! I think that title should
have been used by PRIDE OF LIONS for their amazing debut
CD recently released on FRONTIERS RECORDS.
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
FSB ‘NON STOP/2’
(UBP INTERNATIONAL LTD.)
As reviewed above the Bulgarian band FSB released a lot
of albums, and ‘Non stop’ and ‘2’ are
their first 2 records, released in the mid/late 1970s.
Both albums have been re-issued onto CD, but the albums
were not really rocking, and more a mix of 70s Sympho and
Pop, with a lot of instrumental parts, in a way reminding
me a lot of KAYAK in their early days. It has absolutely
nothing to do with Rock or AOR, especially their debut is
a sort of instrumental Popalbum with the occasional
Sympho keyboards added (slightly YES influence, but not
much). The second album was much better, a
semi-instrumental Symphonic Pop/Rock affair with some
nice keyboardwork (a la CAMEL, YES) and good songs like
“Wake up”, “Three” and
“Unisons”, but still nothing like some of the
AOR/Rock material they made on later albums. After
listening to 3 compilations and 2 original albums, I can
conclude that FSB was a very diverse band, so therefore
probably a reason why they became so big in their
homecountry, but I found them at their best during the
rockers, and then especially their last recorded songs
from 1995 showed the band at their very best. Anyway,
fans of 70s Westcoast/Sympho/Pop a la TOTO will find a
lot of interest in this band, and the best way to start
with collecting their music is with the ‘Anthology
volume 1’ album, although that’s even a record
that will be interesting for the AOR fans among us. More
info at: http://www.online.bg/ubp
(Points:
- )
ROBERTA
‘WIZARDS’
(UBP INTERNATIONAL LTD.)
ROBERTA is a female singer from Bulgaria, and she
released a CD titled ‘Wizards’. She has a raw
voice, but musically this is good typical Female Fronted
AOR/Melodic Rock a la CHRISSY STEELE (very much!), ROBIN
BECK and a bit of ALANNAH MYLES. Of course the lyrics are
in Bulgarian, so we don’t understand a word of it,
but the music is nice to listen to. 10 songs are
included, and the best are “Parade of the
vanity” (good midtempo AOR/Melodic Rock a la CHRISSY
STEELE), “Wizards” and “Lone runner”
(lovely AOR ballads like first ROBIN BECK) and “The
Law” (strong midtempo melodic rocker). The second
part of the CD is a little less interesting (too many
ballads, and quite poppy too), but still this CD is a
recommended FF Melodic Rockalbum, especially if you like
CHISSY STEELE and ROBIN BECK! More info at: http://www.online.bg/ubp
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
NELKO
KOLAROV ‘DAY
OF WRAITH’ (UBP INTERNATIONAL LTD.)
This Bulgarian musician played with BRAZEN ABBOT, so
definitely interesting to see what he’s doing on his
first (?) solo-CD ‘Day of wraith’. Well,
although the vocals are in Bulgarian, the performed music
is interesting, as it is pure 70s Progressive Melodic
Rock. Take a bit of early GENESIS (Peter Gabriel period),
70s KANSAS and mix it up with some 80s Melodic Rocksounds
and you’ll get the sound of ‘Day of
wraith’. Actually it sounds very impressive, just
listen to the great opener “Day of Wrath” which
has nice keys, a great guitarsolo and melodic vocals.
Other highlights on this ‘Neo-Prog’ record are
“Midnight Carnival” (lovely KANSAS orientated
Prog/Pomprocker, “Past in the Future”
(fantastic 70s AOR/Pomp), “Time for parting”
(lovely AOR ballad), “Alone” (high quality
Progrock) and "Smile!” (very progressive
song).Concluded, a highly recommended Neo-Prog album in
the style of IQ, early GENESIS, early MARILLION,
PENDRAGON..., but also some AOR stuff is on the record.
More info at: http://www.online.bg/ubp
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
KONSTANTIN
TZEKOV ‘THE
WINGS OF THE FISHES’
(UBP INTERNATIONAL LTD.)
Former FSB singer KONSTANTIN TZEKOV released this solo-CD
a few years ago, and musically it is different from his
band FSB, because the music on his solo-CD is pure Pop
with the acoustic guitar, a drumcomputer and a sax. It
sounds a bit like BRUCE HORNSBY or CHRIS REA, or
something in that area, with also some instrumental
parts, not really interesting, except maybe for the
instrumental MIKE OLDFIELD sounding “Beggining
theme” and “Varticals”. More info at: http://www.online.bg/ubp
(Points:
- )
FIFTH
LETTER
‘FIFTH LETTER’ (FIFTH LETTER RECORDS)
Although I was told this band played Progressive Metal,
and sometimes FIFTH LETTER from Ohio is indeed playing
Progressive Metal, they play it in a depressive sort of
way, so do not expect a DREAM THEATER or QUEENSRYCHE type
of act here. It sounds modern with a strong Alternative
touch, yet better than all the Nu-Metal junk from the US
we so much dislike here in Europe. Songs like “Two
shadows”, “Shore debris” and “End
Over End” are showcasing a very good FIFTH LETTER,
as this is almost pure Prog. Metal, but the first 3 songs
are also showing a very modern sounding depressive kind
of band, so this is not your typical Prog. Metal act.
Let’s hope that the ALICE IN CHAINS/KING’S X
type of vocals will disappear on a future record, and
instead we can hear some cleaner upbeat kind of singing,
because the vocals are now very slow, moody and
depressive. Perhaps if you like KING’S X, TOOL or
PAIN OF SALVATION, then this might be the band to check
out, but if you like the typical RUSH or DREAM THEATERish
Prog. Metal, then this is not interesting. More info at: http://www.fifthletter.com and e-mail them at: band@fifthletter.com
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
STILL
CRAZY ‘THE
FIRST’ (DEMO CDR)
We’re definitely in Germany when hearing the demo
CDR of STILL CRAZY, because this is a band playing good
old fun German Melodic Hard/Heavy Rock in the style of
VICTORY, HIGH TENSION, MANIA, RESTLESS... 3 songs can be
found on the demo CDR of STILL CRAZY, the uptempo rocker
“Still hungry”, the midtempo melodic rocker
“Someone like you” (best song, great guitar
riff) and the ballad “Money counting man”. The
vocals are raw and remind me of UDO’s little brother
Peter (was this his name) Dirkschneider from VANIZE and
DANTON. Anyway, if you like typical German melodic
hard/heavy rock, then check out this STILL CRAZY at: http://www.still-crazy.de.vu
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
SABINAS
REX ‘IN
VINO VERITAS’ (DEMO CDR)
The band SABINAS REX sent me their latest demo CDR, which
is filled with some AOR type of material. It’s a
shame about the drum programming, because otherwise it
would have sounded so much better. Songs like
“People one and all” and “Stolen” are
nice uptempo AOR/Poprockers a la ROBERT TEPPER, JOE
ROBINSON, PHIL VINCENT... but there’s also some
weaker Poprock stuff on this CD, such as “Believe in
your own instinct” and “Brotherhood”. In
general, this CDR offers you enough quality music, just
listen to the instrumental “The way somewhere
else” for example, but the sound could be better.
There’s also some nice keyboardwork to be heard, all
of which was played by multi-intrumentalist Vlado Kormos.
He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and you can reach him at:
SabinasR@aol.com if you want to find all
about SABINAS REX.
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
 THE STORYTELLER ‘TALES OF A HOLY
QUEST’
(BLACK LODGE/SUBURBAN/BERTUS)
The Swedish Melodic Powermetalband THE STORYTELLER
returns with their third CD and I am always very positive
when a band takes a step back from the business for a few
years and secretly works on a new CD, because the result
is (almost) always their best effort. This also happened
with THE STORYTELLER, because their latest record
‘Crossroads’ was released a few years ago, and
it became very quiet until now! The band strikes back
with their best release so far, which is titled
‘Tales of a holy quest’. The sound/production
is HUGE, and the included 11 songs are very strong
impressive Melodic Power Metal tunes in the style of
BLIND GUARDIAN, DREAM EVIL, HAMMERFALL... This is Euro
Power Metal at it’s very best! Songs like
“Conviction”, “A holy quest” (best
song), “Words out of greed” and “Blinded
eyes” are fantastic Melodic Power Metal songs that
will easily be loved by fans of the genre. So again a
Swedish band releases a sensational album!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
BULLET
‘SPEEDING
IN THE NIGHT’ (INDEPENDENT)
It’s not hard to guess where the band BULLET comes
from or are we fooled here! Yes indeed, they sound like a
typical 80s German Teutonic Metalband, but in fact they
hail from Sweden! In the 80s there was a band from
Germany called BULLET, but here we are dealing with a
completely different Swedish BULLET that sounds like UDO
on full speed. The singer is a deadringer for fans of UDO
and GRAVE DIGGER, and also musically this is prime-time
80s German Metal, with very raw vocals (pure UDO) and
excellent musicianship. Also the production of their CD
‘Speeding in the night’ is high class, so fans
of True Metal will love this a lot. I can not remember a
Swedish band sounding anything like this band, because
BULLET is just pure German Metal. Just listen to songs
like “Bang your head”, “Leather love”
and “Heavy Metal highway” and people would tell
you that you are listening to UDO. Anyway, fans of
classic 80s True German/Teutonic Heavy Metal will totally
love this band from Sweden. More info at:
http://www.bullet.se
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 DENNIS DEYOUNG ‘THE MUSIC OF
STYX-LIVE WITH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA’
(DENNISDEYOUNG.COM)
After leaving STYX a few years ago, DENNIS DEYOUNG
didn’t just go home and leave the music business
behind him. No, the man with the golden voice went to
Broadway and played night after night shows as a solo
performer and even played a part in the ‘Hunchback
of the Notre Dame’ musical. Recently, Dennis played
some shows with a Symphony Orchestra and this turned out
to be very exciting, as Dennis performed many STYX
classics once again, even some he hadn’t sung for
years. On
the 4th of April 2003, DENNIS DEYOUNG performed a
stunning 2-hour show at the Historic Chicago Theatre in
Chicago, and this concert was recorded and is now
available as a double-CD. Finally, Dennis has returned
performing a STYX show, but without any of the STYX
members. Although I am always hoping Dennis will return
to STYX, this CD proves that Dennis is also able to do a
great show on his own! The man still has one of the
world’s best voices (ever) and on this CD everything
still sounds incredible. Instead of just a band line-up,
Dennis added a Symphony Orchestra to make the music even
more bombastic than it already was in it’s original
version. 20 songs are included on this CD, with some
interludes, classical pieces in between some songs, and
most of the songs are STYX originals. The sound of the CD
reminds me of the last KAYAK record ‘Merlin’.
Anyway, the sound/production is of a very high level, and
so we can enjoy a wonderful collection of newly high
quality live performed versions of old STYX classics such
as “Grand illusion”, “Lady”,
“Lorelei”, “Show me the way”,
“Castle walls”, “Don’t let it
end”, “Suite Madame Blue”, “Best of
times” and “Come sail away”. Dennis even
played something of his solo stuff (“Desert
moon”) and so concluded all I can say is that this
new CD of DENNIS DEYOUNG is a must for STYX fans, and I
am glad to see DENNIS DEYOUNG a bit returning to the
Classic STYX sound. Now there’s only one hope, if he
is able to perform this very big show (which includes a
band, orchestra and backing vocalists) someday in Europe,
because it is as good as the non-Dennis Deyoung STYX
shows these days. Last thing I would like to mention here
are the 3 new songs DENNIS DEYOUNG recorded on this CD,
which are the AOR ballad “Hello God” and some
poppier tunes called “My God” and
“Goodnight my love”, all 3 sounding very much
like his 3 solo-records from the 1980s. More info on this
CD and other DENNIS DEYOUNG related stuff can be found
at: http://www.dennisdeyoung.com
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
WAVE ‘SEE-THROUGH
HEARSAY’ (DEMO)
The band WAVE comes out of Finland, and they sent me a
2-track demo, which sounds very impressive. The band has
a very good female lead singer in their line-up, and the
2 performed songs are high class 80s influenced uptempo
melodic rockers. Both “See-through hearsay” and
“Big bang and black holes” are both great
catchy melodic rockers and sound like a polished LANA
LANE. The vocals of Mira Warlatscheff are very
sensational and I am quite sure that eventually this band
will reach more people in the near future and hopefully
this well lead to a label deal as they showcase some high
level musicanship on this 2-song disc. More info at: http://www.fade.to/wave and e-mail them at: wave_the_band@yahoo.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
FATIMA
HILL ‘AION’
(WORLDCHAOS PRODUCTIONS)
Japanese bands with good female lead singers are very
rare, and most of the time it just doesn’t sound
good at all, but FATIMA HILL is clearly an exception,
because their 2nd CD ‘Aion’ sounds very good
and the female lead singer of the band (Yuko) is able to
sing very well. FATIMA HILL is playing Melodic (Power)
Metal and they remind me of classy Japanese acts like
ANTHEM, LOUDNESS, VOW WOW, EARTHSHAKER... There are 8
songs on their CD ‘Aion’ and without a doubt,
it all sounds very professional. Highlights are uptempo
melodic heavy rockers like “Babel dune”,
“Ultimata” and “Stigmata”, and the
midtempo (original) Melodic Sympho/Pomprocker
“Other” which sounds very different than the
rest of the album, but is actually the best song!
Concluded, a highly recommended Japanese band with a good
female lead singer. More info at: http://www.fatima-hill.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 RENEGADE ‘BACK FROM THE
DEAD’
(RENEGADE SOUNDS)
When putting this CD on, I was immediately remembering
how good the 80s sounded. This Canadian RENEGADE take us
back to a time when AOR ruled the airwaves in Northern
America. In Canada there were a lot of AOR bands and most
of them were quite popular too, just to name a few, I
could mention LOVERBOY, HAYWIRE, HONEYMOON SUITE,
BYSTANDER, SHERIFF, SHAYLE, ALDO NOVA, WHITE VISION,
ROKBOX, WORRALL, SANTERS, TRIUMPH, ZAPPACOSTA and a lot
more. Back in the late 1980s almost every Canadian
Rockband was playing a typical sort of Canadian AOR
style, and of course many of the independent scene from
that period never got that big and that’s a pity,
because for example this RENEGADE had the perfect AOR
sound to become HUGE! 2 years ago the CD ‘Back from
the dead’ was released as CD, containing material
recorded during 1988 and 1989 when RENEGADE was very much
alive and kicking, but it had to wait for over a decade
to finally press it onto CD. Now we are again a few years
later, but we at Strutter’zine managed to get hold
of a copy of the CD for a review. Well, what can I say,
AOR never sounded better than in the 1980s, and this
RENEGADE proves that fact on the CD ‘Back from the
dead’ which is basically a 1989 recording. With the
exception of a few releases (PRIDE OF LIONS, BLIND
ALLEY), nowadays the ‘new’ AOR doesn’t
sound as good as it once sounded in the heydays of the
1980s. Just listen how perfect this CD sounds, man, this
is the way AOR should sound, emotional and just perfectly
performed catchy AOR. Sadly only 8 songs are included on
‘Back from the dead’, but for the fan of 80s
Canuck AOR this is a complete must! The vocals are high
class (a la MIKE RENO, MICKEY THOMAS) and the songs are
all very sensational pure AOR. The album starts with
“Standing out in the rain”, a lovely uptempo
AOR piece that sounds like the perfect mix between
HONEYMOON SUITE, BYSTANDER and the very first HAREM
SCAREM. Up next is the terrific midtempo AOR ballad
“The best of me” with it’s catchy
harmonyvocals during the chorus reminding me of ALIAS.
More uptempo AOR can be heard in the fantastic “Sign
of the times” that sounds like a mix between
AIRKRAFT (their last record) and AVIATOR. The high
quality AOR/Poprock basically continues on the next song
“Prisoner of your heart” which sounds a lot
like LOVERBOY (‘Lovin’ every minute of it’
period). The CD continues with the great uptempo melodic
rocker “Big city night” which is pure fun 1980s
and sounding like HONEYMOON SUITE in their heydays. Those
5 mentioned songs are lovely pure 80s AOR and of a very
high level! The last 3 songs are a bit less sensational,
but still nice, with the semi AOR ballad “After the
smoke clears”, “the midtempo “Don’t
be afraid of the dark” and closing track
“Betrayal” (instrumental). Concluded, this is a
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED CD to everyone into classic 80s AOR!
More info at: http://www.renegadesounds.com and e-mail them at: renegade@axion.net
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
RAIN
‘ONLY
FOR THE RAIN CREW’ (DVDR)
The Italian band sent me a nice video clip on DVDR of
their song “Only for the rain crew”, fun to
watch and done quite professionally. The song itself is a
mix of late 80s Poser Hardrock and 90s Power Metal,
ending up sounding like a mix between UDO and SKID ROW.
Check it out at: http://www.raincrew.com
(Points:
- )
 TAD MOROSE ‘MODUS
VIVENDI’
(CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS/SUBURBAN)
The Progressive Melodic Metal band TAD MOROSE from Sweden
have already released 7 CDs in the past, and some of them
were very impressive, but this new CD of the band is
maybe their best release of the band since their start in
the early 1990s. Somehow the new CD ‘Modus
vivendi’ sounds bigger and also a bit different than
their earlier releases, because the new album of TAD
MOROSE is a very strong 80s US Power Metal Masterpiece!
It reminds me of bands like BRAINSTORM, SYMPHORCE,
VICIOUS RUMOURS, HELSTAR, early CRIMSON GLORY, SYRIS...
The band has
a strong lead singer (Urban Breed) The CD was mixed by
FREDRIK NORDSTROM (DREAM EVIL, IN FLAMES), and contains
10 songs that make up 47 minutes of high quality Metal!
The band switches from midtempo to uptempo Metal
masterpieces, and basically everything sounds perfect on
this record, so another winner from Sweden! Highlights
can be found in the midtempo Melodic Metal songs
“Afraid to die”, “When the spirit rules
the world” (FANTASTIC!), “Life in a lonely
grave” and “Cyberdome” and the uptempo
Power Metal tracks “Clearly insane” and
“Mother Shipton’s words”. Without a doubt,
this is a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 80s US Power Metal
orientated MASTERPIECE!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 AGORA ‘SEGUNDO
PASADO’ (ARGENTA RECORDS)
Out of Mexico comes the Progressive Melodic Metalband
AGORA, a band featuring former members of the wonderful
AOR band TERCER ACTO. 2 years ago the band released an
album titled ‘Segundo pasado’ and without a
doubt, this is a very professional impressive record.
AGORA is playing Melodic Prog. Metal of a very high
level, not far removed from the likes of VANDENPLAS,
BALANCE OF POWER, DREAM THEATER, yet with some AOR
influences here and there. Thier CD ‘Segundo
pasado’ contains 8 fantastic tracks, with lovely
keyboard and guitarwork, and some very good lead vocals
of singer Eduardo Contreras. Highlights include
“Refugio Vital (D.M.)”, “Sin
despertar” (lovely pure AOR chorus, best song!),
“Lagrimas secas” and “Sueno
despierlo”. Basically, this CD is a MUST for all
Melodic Metal/Prog. Metal fans, and for those who
don’t like the Spanish lyrics, I can inform you that
the new 6-track demo CDR (which features again some
excellent Melodic Metal like “Zona de silencio”
and “Solo en el viento”) I received contains
both English and Spanish lyrics, so an upcoming CD might
see them using English lyrics as well, but one way of the
other, this band is still a highly recommended band for
fans of Melodic Prog. Metal a la VANDENPLAS, BALANCE OF
POWER... More info at: http://www.agorasite.com
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 BRITNY FOX ‘BOYS IN
HEAT’
(BAD REPUTATION/ULFTONE MUSIC)
Back to the late 1980s with the 2nd album of the American
Party/Sleaze Hardrockband BRINTY FOX. The album was
called ‘Boys in heat’ and has now been
re-released by the German label ULFTONE MUSIC. The CD
features 3 bonustracks, all taken from the band’s
successfull debut album from 1988. Anyway, the 2nd album
saw the band changing their sound a bit in the direction
of Melodic Hardrock like DOKKEN meets VAN HALEN
(“Long way from home”, “Shine on” and
“Dream on”), but also continue making Heavy
Street Rock’n’roll like a mix between KIX,
AEROSMITH, AC/DC and CINDERELLA (“In motion”,
“Angel in my heart”, “Plenty of love”
and “Standing in the shadows”). Although some
might disagree with me, but I think BRITNY FOX was a
great fun band that drove along with the success of
CINDERELLA and AC/DC in the 1980s. This re-release also
features their ‘classic’
“Girlschool”, a song with one of the best
videos ever made! If you’re a fan of KROKUS, AC/DC
and CINDERELLA, then this BRITNY FOX should also be in
your collection!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
MELODINE
‘OUT
OF YOUR HANDS’ (ATENZIA RECORDS)
In the US Nu-Breed Melodic Poprock is the latest genre
that is being promoted heavily, and many new bands
playing this new sort of retro early 80s Poprocksound pop
up all over The States. The Swedish label ATENZIA RECORDS
is the only label in Europe to pick of some of the lesser
known bands in this genre. MELODINE is their latest
signing, and their debut CD is titled ‘Out of your
hands’. The musicstyle Nu-Breed Melodic Poprock is
more or less an updated version of the early 80s
Poprocksound of artists like RICK SPRINGFIELD, maybe a
bit heavier and of course very modern sounding, but it
features the same catchy hooks and choruses, and also has
the same spirit as the early 80s records of RICK
SPRINGFIELD. This is also notable on MELODINE’s CD.
The band also adds some BEATLES influences here and there
(“She’s only human”), and although the CD
is sounding that modern and has links to BLINK 182,
MATCHBOX 20, RADIOHEAD etc., it still is a good quality
record that you can listen to. The songs are short and
the band is at their best during the midtempo melodic
nu-breed poprockers such as “Heaven’s coming to
California”, “Petered out” and
“Rope”, and I can highly recommend this CD to
fans of the Nu-Breed Melodic Poprockgenre.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
SHUGAAZER
SHIFT ‘SAME’
(ATENZIA RECORDS)
SHUGAAZER SHIFT welcomes the return of PAUL LAINE, a
former AOR performer who released in 1989 (15 years ago!)
a great solo debut CD when he was very young, and
actually never followed it up with something good,
because his 2nd solo-CD was very average. Anyway, he has
now returned to the scene, but his new band SHUGAAZER
SHIFT has nothing to do with AOR or Melodic Rock. The
band’s debut CD features typical US Nu-Breed
Poprock, catchy and melodic, but very modern as well.
Basically, this CD reminds me a bit of HESS and RUBBER,
and it sounds good, although not as good as
Paul’s debut CD (remember the fantastic classic AOR
rocker “Dorianna”). Highlights are midtempo
poprockers like “When ya gonna break my heart”
and “Enough”, and uptempo poprockers like
“Stepped into my universe” and
“Beautiful”, but there’s also some pure
Pop on the CD, which is not that interesting (like
“Here without you” and “Get the hell outa
my house”). Anyway, fans of PAUL LAINE who were
waiting for something new from him should check out this
CD, but be aware that this is very different, as it is as
Modern sounding Melodic Poprockrecord.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 LAST TRIBE ‘THE
UNCROWNED’
(FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)
The Swedish band LAST TRIBE return with their 3rd CD
‘The uncrowned’. This album basically continues
the style created on their earlier records, so again we
can listen to high quality Melodic Metal at it’s
very best. 10 songs are included on the new CD, which was
produced by Anders ‘Theo’ Theander (URBAN TALE,
PAIN OF SALVATION, MAJESTIC). From start to finish this
is a perfect Melodic Metal album to put on and just
basically enjoy everytime you listen to it. Highlights
can be found in the shape of “Healer”
(fantastic catchy uptempo Melodic Heavy Rocker),
“The uncrowned” (very strong
Progressive/Uptempo Melodic Metal),
“Otherworld” (lovely midtempo Progressive
Melodic Metal), “Only the innocent” (uptempo
Melodic Metal) and closing track “Call of the
tribe” (another high class uptempo Melodic Metal
tune). Concluded, the new CD of LAST TRIBE is a total
must for fans of quality Melodic Metal!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 STATETROOPER ‘STATETROOPER’
(ESCAPE MUSIC)
It was in the mid 1980s when the UK band STATETROOPER
released it’s only LP. The band featured among
others, the legendary Gary Barden, who sang with the
MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, and also members of WEAPON and
WILDFIRE, 2 bands from the NWOBHM scene. Anyway, their
only LP has now been re-issued onto CD by ESCAPE MUSIC,
and they did a great job, making this CD a worthy
purchase, not only the original tracks are included, but
also several unreleased bonustracks. The band played a
strong mix of Melodic Hardrock and typical Euro Melodic
Rock/AOR, ending up sounding like a mix between DOKKEN,
EUROPE, TREAT and VANDENBERG. There were some amazing
songs on this album, such as the fantastic AOR/Melodic
Rockers “Veni vidi vinci”, “Last stop to
heaven”, “She got the look” (could’ve
been a TERRA NOVA song) and “How does it feel”.
This is so much better than the weak SILVER material Gary
brings out these days, because STATETROOPER made classy
80s AOR/Melodic Rock at a very high level. I’ll be
looking forward to a new CD next year, also to be
released on ESCAPE MUSIC. Anyway, I can highly recommend
this re-issue and hopefully it will reach many people, so
they can hear that in the mid 1980s British bands also
could play high class Melodic Rock.
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 FIRST SHOT ‘MIDNIGHT
MADNESS’
(ESCAPE MUSIC)
Basically we go back to the 1980s when a Canadian band
called FIRST SHOT was playing typical North American
AOR/Poprock. Sometime ago ESCAPE MUSIC released a first
CD of the FIRST SHOT material, and ‘Midnight
madness’ is the 2nd CD and again it is filled with
classy 80s AOR/Poprock. The band’s line-up featured
lead singer MARC LAFRANCE (who later went solo),
keyboardplayer Dave Pickell (BRYAN ADAMS, BOULEVARD),
bassist Peter Clarke (STRAIGHT LINES, BODY ELECTRIC) and
guitarist/keyboardplayer Doug Edwards (NICK GILDER,
BOULEVARD). The new CD of FIRST SHOT contains 11 tracks,
and starts with “Dealer of love”, a classy 1983
style prime time uptempo Radiorock/Poprocker like a mix
between REO SPEEDWAGON, STAN BUSH first CD, 38 SPECIAL,
early 80s SAMMY HAGAR, PREVIEW, STEEL BREEZE and DAKOTA.
Next track “Skin deep” was a bit poppier, more
like JOHN PARR meets LOVERBOY meets BILLY SQUIER (yet
with female vocals), a song co-written by NANCY NASH (who
recorded a decent solo-LP in the early 80s). Then comes
the classy early 80s AOR ballad “Somewhere in
time”, which is sounding like a mix between DAKOTA
and LE ROUX. “All through the night” is good
typical 80s midtempo AOR like JOHN WAITE, and I believe I
have heard the song before, but can’t recall by
whom. The CD continues with “I can’t get over
you”, a hi-tech AOR song a la CLIF MAGNESS, STAN
MEISSNER, METROPOLIS... Following track “Into the
night” takes us really back to the 80s, as this is a
great AOR rocker a la ALDO NOVA. “Don’t take me
for a fool” is sounding like 1982 or something in
that period, a great aor/poprocker like PRISM, MICHAEL Z,
RICK SPRINGFIELD... Next up is the soft midtempo AOR song
“Girl like you” which is JOURNEY meets JOHN
WAITE. Then we get to hear 2 songs that are just OK
Poprockers (“Midnight madness” and “It
must be magic”), and the CD closes nicely with the
great Poprocker “The more things change” that
sounds like GLEN BURTNICK. Well, I think you know by now
how the 2nd FIRST SHOT album sounds like!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 MENNEN ‘MENNEN’
(SNAKEBITE RECORDS/ROCK INC.)
This is a re-release of the debut album of MENNEN,
originally released on T&T RECORDS back in 1994.
Almost 10 years later SNAKEBITE RECORDS is re-releasing
the album, with the addition of 4 unreleased bonustracks.
Without a doubt, this was MENNEN’s strongest effort,
and basically a great Melodic Hard/Heavy Rockalbum from
start to finish with such great uptempo melodic rockers
like “Power on”, “Hot summer nights”
(NIGHT cover), “The one ring” (song about The
Lord Of The Rings, demo for album, but never released on
the actual album) and “Never be the same”, the
midtempo “Outsiders of the storm” and the
LUCIFER cover “House for sale”. If you missed
the CD the first time around, this is a good opportunity
to purchase MENNEN’s best release. Early next year
we will also see a new CD of MENNEN and even re-issues of
the 2 ZINATRA albums (vocalist Joss Mennen’s former
most successfull band in the late 1980s) with bonustracks
as well, so there’s alot of stuff coming from MENNEN
and company the coming months, but first this re-release!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
EQUILIBRIO
VITAL ‘EQUILIBRIO
VITAL’ (MUSEA RECORDS)
South America is well-known for it’s Progressive
Rockbands, and especially in the late 70s a lot of bands
emerged from especially Brazil. One of them was
EQUILIBRIO VITAL, and their release from 1983 has been
re-issued onto CD by MUSEA RECORDS. The band played good
strong Melodic Progressive Rock, with some heavy moments
here and there, RUSH, YES and even JOURNEY influences and
even some AOR/Pomprock passages. Highlights are
“Guerra” (impressive guitarwork),
“Momentos”, “El emigrante” (catchy
with additional female vocals) and “A mi
padre”. A very good Prog. Rockalbum from 20 years
ago, with the sad additional information that guitarist
Marcos Chacon died in 2001.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
DOKKEN ‘JAPAN
LIVE’95’ (T&T RECORSS/SUBURBAN)
1995 was the period when DOKKEN started to struggle and
they were thinking of either leaving the past behind and
begin with a new rocksound, or keep on playing the old
stuff to please the thousands of fans around the world.
Eventually they choose to keep on playing the old
classics over and over again, which I am quite happy
about, because their last couple of studio-albums were
very average. Anyway, a new CD that has been released not
too long ago is another DOKKEN live release, featuring a
concert recorded in Tokyo in 1995. The setlist consisted
of mainly old Classic Dokken tunes such as “Tooth
and nail”, “Into the fire”, “Kiss of
death”, “Unchain the night”,
“Breaking the chains” (still one of their best
songs ever written), “Alone again” and
“It’s not love”. The band played the stuff
in it’s original versions, so no updated modern
sounds added, and the sound/production quality of the CD
is very good, so DOKKEN fans can easily purchase this
live-CD. Then I must not forget to mention that the
line-up of this DOKKEN live-CD is the all-original
classic 80s Line-up, because it features
vocalist/guitarist DON DOKKEN, guitarist GEORGE LYNCH,
bassist JEFF PILSON and drummer MICK BROWN. Nothing
stands a true DOKKEN in the way to purchase this new
live-CD!
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
BABYLON
BOMBS
‘PROMO 2003’ (DEMO CDR)
BABYLON BOMBS are yet another quality Swedish band, but
unlike many other bands from Sweden they play an 80s
influenced Party Melodic Hardrockstyle which sounds like
MOTLEY CRUE in their heydays. 4 songs are on this
well-produced CDR, and some of them are very catchy, such
as “Delirious” which is basically Party
Hardrock at it’s very best and basically pure MOTLEY
CRUE. The other songs are less CRUE and even reminding me
of a Partyrock version of 80s THE CULT, but still nice to
listen to, such as the midtempo Melodic Rocker
“Crucify”. Check out this band at: http://www.babylonbombs.net and e-mail them at: info@babylonbombs.net
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
LION
HEART
‘NOW OR NEVER’ (INDEPENDENT)
Out of Brazil comes LION HEART (not to be confused with
their namesakes from New Sealand, the UK and several
others), and they released a 3-song CD titled ‘Now
or never’. Musically they play 80s Glam/Hardrock
like a mix between WHITE LION and POISON, yet not as good
as those acts. Songs like “Now or never” and
“Promises” are nice uptempo melodic
hardrocksongs, but not strong enough to make this a
sensational release. The vocals for instance could sound
stronger, and also the production of the CD could be
better, maybe next time. In the meantime, if you’re
a die-hard 80s Hardrockfreak, you can check out LION
HEART at: http://www.lionheartrj.hpg.com.br and e-mail at: brandontavares@hotmail.com
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
MICHAEL
ERNST ‘EXCALIBUR’
(POINT MUSIC)
This album is actually a pure Popalbum based around a
concept of the classic English kings around the 12th
century. The CD features vocalists like ALAN PARSONS and
CHRIS THOMPSON and it surprises me that the album has
been released through POINT MUSIC, because it has
absolutely nothing to do with Rock, Hardrock or Metal. I
must admit that ballads like “On the run” and
“Goodbye” are beautiful, although they are very
soft and remind me of 80s Popballads of ALAN PARSONS
PROJECT. On the other hand, there’s also clear
Disco/Reggea/Funk and even Rap (!!!) on this album, so
this CD is only interesting for a Popfan, but then I need
to make clear that this is Popmusic they way it sounded
in the 1980s with good vocals on it, so definitely not as
annoying as the Popmusic of nowadays. Nice to check out
if you like for example PAUL YOUNG (“Time to
change”) and STING or something. However, the
rockfans need to pass for this one...
(Points:
- )
 WAR BABIES ‘WAR BABIES’
(ULFTONE MUSIC)
In the early 1990s WAR BABIES was the new band of TKO
members Brad Sinsel (vocals) and Richard Stuverud
(drums). Their debut CD was released around the time
‘Grunge’ destroyed the whole US rockscene, so
it never really got that much attention, although
COLUMBIA RECORDS originally released it. Now more than 10
years later, the CD has been re-released on the German
label ULFTONE MUSIC. The music was typical early 90s
Sleazy Hardrock, mostly uptempo and rough around the
edge. PAUL STANLEY from KISS even co-wrote a few of the
songs, but it all didn’t help in making this CD a
winner. Songs like “Hang me up”, “Sea of
madness”, “Satellite” and “Big big
sun” are uptempo rockers in a typical early 90s US
way, just before the NIRVANA breakthough, not
sensational, but nice to listen to while driving in your
car. Anyway, I wasn’t a big fan of TKO or this WAR
BABIES, but it should have deserved more attention than
it actually received more than 10 years ago, but ULFTONE
MUSIC has given it a second chance with this re-release!
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
(All
reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted)
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