 HEAVENLY ‘DUST TO DUST'
(SANCTUARY/NOISE/SUBURBAN)
Just put on this CD and you will agree with me that we
are listening to something really HUGE here! The new CD
of the French band HEAVENLY is by far their best release
so far. It took them 2 years to finish it, but the result
is quite stunning, although there was some help from
Ferdy Doernberg (for the drums, although Ferdy is a
keyboardplayer) and of course the production team, which
consisted of Philip Coloditti and Sascha Paeth (ANGRA,
RHAPSODY). All together they have succeeded in bringing a
superb HIGH QUALITY European Melodic Power Metal album in
the best tradition of HELLOWEEN, RHAPSODY, EDGUY,
STRATOVARIUS... From the beginning it’s non-stop
Melodic Power Metal at a very high level, and I can
without a doubt highly recommend this CD to any fan of
this typical European Metalstyle. It sounds bombastic,
with strong catchy choruses, very nice keyboard versus
guitarparts and a strong upbeat sound. The 13 included
songs have a running time of almost 75 minutes, and the
3rd CD of HEAVENLY is actually a concept-album based
around a story which is divided in 3 parts. The story is
about a man who becomes a vampire after being bitten by
one, and eventually the whole story tells the story of a
man becoming a bloodsucking vampire creature (I guess the
band must be huge fans of the TV-series Angel and Buffy).
Anyway, the music is of a very high level, and is as good
as for example HELLOWEEN and RHAPSODY, maybe even better.
I mean this is really something big, and I can easily say
that every decent Metalfan must get a copy of this new
HEAVENLY album when it is officially released on the 12th
of January 2004. Songs like “Evil”, “Lust
for life”, “Victory (Creature of the
night)”, “Keepers of the earth”,
“Miracle” (2003 version) and “Fight for
deliverance” are all sensational fast uptempo
Melodic Power Metal ‘Classics’, so get this
album as soon as it is released, probably one of the best
upcoming releases for the year 2004!
(Points:
9.5 out of 10)
 SIGNAL ‘THE BEST OF’
(UBP INTERNATIONAL LTD.)
By far this is one of the best Bulgarian bands I have
heard in my life. It’s a pity I don’t have any
info on SIGNAL, but I believe they were formed as far
back as 1969 (!) and in their 35-year spanning career
they have released a lot of albums. Of course this Best
of CD is the first thing I hear from the band, but
it’s a good way to start with SIGNAL. Of course
don’t confuse this SIGNAL with the American SIGNAL,
but you probably understood that by now, because this
SIGNAL comes out of Bulgaria and over there they are very
popular. Musically they play strong Melodic Rock a la
URIAH HEEP, although through the years they developed
from a Classic Hardrocksound to a Melodic Heavy Rock to
an AOR based sound. They kinda remind me of DIVLJE
JAGODE, the popular Bosnian Hardrockband. Anyway, 16
songs are on this Best of CD and I can easily recommend
it to fans of Eastern European Melodic Heavy Rock/AOR.
It’s hard to mention songtitles, because the band
sings in the Bulgarian language, but highlights are
definitely (mentioning the tracknumber on the CD)
“My dear memory” (strong uptempo melodic heavy
rocker), “To make you thirsty” (AOR ballad),
“Radio” (pure 80s keyboard based melodic rock a
la EUROPE), “Happy man” (uptempo melodic
rocker), “Mina & Lora” (great semi AOR
ballad), “Goodbye” (another strong 80s Melodic
Rocker), “Men” (strong powerful melodic
rocker), “Green signals” (classy 80s melodic
rock with ASIA keys) and “Love” (lovely melodic
heavy rocker a la late RAINBOW). Concluded, this is
really great stuff and I hope I can ever hear all the
original albums of this SIGNAL from Bulgaria. More info
at: http://www.online.bg/ubp
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
RAISING
FEAR
‘PROMO 2003’ (PROMO CDR)
Finally a band from Italy that doesn’t play Happy
Power Metal a la LABYRINTH/RHAPSODY, because RAISING FEAR
are playing a mix between German/Teutonic orientated
Melodic Metal and 80s US Power Metal. The production is
very good, and the included songs are also of a very high
level. Leader of the band is guitarist Yorick, who
released 2 ProgMetalalbums with the band HELREIDH a few
years ago. The band reminds me of BRAINSTORM, and the 5
songs on this promo CDR should help them getting noticed
by some of the European labels. Songs like
“Gilgamesh”, “Theseus” and
“Phoenix” are very strong uptempo Melodic Power
Metalsongs and with this promo in their hands, the future
looks bright for RAISING FEAR. More info at: http://www.raisingfear.it and e-mail them at: raisingfear@email.it or yorick@email.it
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
VARIOUS
ARTISTS ’THE
SECOND WAVE: 25 YEARS OF NWOBHM’ (COMMUNIQUE
RECORDS)
In the 1990s a lot of compilation CD were released with
stuff from the NWOBHM period. The past few years it was
pretty quiet with releases from that period, but this CD
‘The second wave: 25 years of NWOBHM’ is
another compilation CD based on the NWOBHM movement. It
started about 25 years ago with bands like IRON MAIDEN,
ANGEL WITCH, SAXON, TYGERS OF PAN TANG, GIRLSCHOOL and
many more. Only a few survived, and this compilation CD
shows some of these bands 25 years later. SAXON is now
split up in 2 versions, and the OLIVER/DAWSON SAXON
version is included on this CD with 5 songs, but
unfortunately none of these songs come close to what
SAXON did some 20+ years ago when they released classic
records like ‘Strong arm of the law’.
Nevertheless, the die-hard SAXON fan will like this
compilation CD a lot, because 5 new SAXON songs by OLIVER
DAWSON are featured. The other 10 songs are split in 5 by
GIRLSCHOOL and 5 by TYGERS OF PAN TANG. The TYGERS were
one of the better bands once, and they also released
classic records, but never got that much fame, so a split
was inevitable. Now we are in the year 2003 and the band
seems to have reformed with a steady line-up, some of the
new songs and new versions of old tracks are included on
this CD, so another 5 songs nowhere to be found except on
this CD. The remaining 5 songs from GIRLSCHOOL are more
or less taken from one of their albums, namely ‘Not
so innocent’, except 2 songs that were specially
recorded for this CD (“Believe” and
“Passion”). To be honest, the first all-female
band from the UK sounded very good and easily beat all
the new songs included here from SAXON and TYGERS OF PAN
TANG. This compilation CD is recommended if you’re a
fan of NWOBHM and want to check out how some of the bands
from that period sound nowadays.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
CHRIS CATENA ‘FREAK OUT’ (IMR RECORDS)
Out of Italy comes CHRIS CATENA, a singer who delivers
his first CD with ‘Freak out’. The album
features the most impressive guestlist I have ever seen
popping up on a new CD release, because where on earth
can you find a CD that features the likes of GLENN
HUGHES, BRUCE KULICK, TOMMY ALDRIDGE, BERNIE MARSDEN,
VIRGIL DONATI, JOHN TAYLOR, VITALIJ KUPRIJ, TONY
FRANKLIN, JOHN LAWTON, JEFF SCOTT SOTO, DAVE MENIKETTI,
STEVIE SALAS, ERIC SINGER, CHUCK WRIGHT etc. etc. Well,
the CD of CHRIS CATENA features all these talented
well-known musicians and singers, so without a doubt,
this is a quality CD, although it isn’t always
sensational. The music is a mix of Classic 70s Hardrock
and very groovy bluesy funkrock, so it is a very diverse
record. I am definitely a huge fan of Classic 70s
Hardrock, so my favourite tracks are uptempo heavy
rockers like “Crazy man”, “Take me
away”, “Sweet talker” (WHITESNAKE cover)
and “The stronger you are, the harder you
fall”, reminding me of RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE in
their heydays. Most of the rest of the CD is groovy funky
rock which has not much to do with Hardrock, but for a
fan of (let’s say) JEFF SCOTT SOTO’s ‘Love
parade’ or late 90s GLENN HUGHES quite interesting I
think. 2 More songs I would like to mention here are the
great semi ballad “To a friend” and closing
track “It’s a long way to go”, which is a
good semi melodic rocker. Concluded, for the open-minded
rockfan this CD is a must, especially if you’re a
fan of GLENN HUGHES, because that’s where CHRIS
CATENA has taken most of his influences. However, I hope
for some more uptempo Hardrock on a future CD, and the
guestlist is a bit over-the-top, a few less would not
have been problem with me!
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
MOB
‘WHITE
TRASH STOMP’ (DOGBREATH RECORDS)
‘White trash stomp’ is the third CD of the
Swedish band MOB, who play Classic Hardrock like a mix
between THIN LIZZY, URIAH HEEP and KISS. The band has a
slightly darker sound than before, with rougher guitars,
probably due to the (big) production by Fredrik Folkare
(SIEBENBURGER, UNLEASHED). Although the start of the CD
is a bit groovy, heavy and even modern, most of the rest
of the CD captures the classy Melodic Hardrocksound from
the 70s/80s with as highlights uptempo rockers like
“Alone but not lonely”, “The other
side”, “Good things never last” (a bit
like SHAKRA) and “Damned nation” and the
midtempo semi-ballad “In spite of it all”.
Concluded, another recommended album from MOB! More info
at: http://www.mobrockz.com and http://www.dogbreath.nu/
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
KOTEBEL
‘FRAGMENTS
OF LIGHT’ (MUSEA RECORDS)
KOTEBEL is a Spanish band and ‘Fragments of
life’ is their 2nd CD. The music they play is very
calm instrumental Progressive Pop/Rock with of course
influences from 70s acts like KING CRIMSON, YES, GENESIS,
JETHRO TULL... 17 songs are on their CD, and at the start
there are some very nice long complex progsongs, but
towards the end (in fact, the last 10 songs) are all
short instrumental passages that lead to nowhere
actually. Nevertheless, nice to check out if you’re
an open-minded fan of (instrumental) Progrock.
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
INQUIRE
‘MELANCHOLIA’
(MUSEA RECORDS)
This is the 3rd CD of INQUIRE, a German band playing high
quality Neo-Progressive Rock. ‘Melancholia’ is
a double CD that is based around two concepts. The first
CD is about Jean-Paul Sartre’s novel ‘La
Nausee’ and the second CD rearranges moments of an
organ symphony by the french composer Louis Vierne,
created at the beginning of the 20th century, and
forerunner of the rock’n’roll movement.
Basically the 2 CDs contain high quality Neo-Prog in the
style of such legendary German acts like ELOY,
GROBSCHNITT, JANE, ANYONE’S DAUGHTER etc. etc. There
are a lot of instrumental passages, which are for the
die-hard Progfan a must to hear as it captures the same
kind of spirit as the English acts in this genre (IQ,
early GENESIS, ARENA, JADIS). Anyway, the 90+ minutes of
these 2 CDs are set to guarantee the Progfan an enjoyable
time!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
OPUS
EST ‘OPUS
1’ (MUSEA RECORDS)
OPUS EST was some obscure Swedish band whom recorded the
album ‘Opus 1’ back in 1983. Now MUSEA RECORDS
has re-issued it onto CD and I can only recommend it to
the die-hard Progfreaks. Musically it is typical early
80s Neo-Prog with lots of keys and theatrical vocals (a
la IQ, TWELFTH NIGHT, YES), but the music is definitely
not as good as those established acts in the Neo-Prog
genre. Nevertheless, a fan of Neo-Prog might find
something of interest here in IQ orientated songs like
“The bonfires”, “Another time” (best
song, strong uptempo Progrocker), “Times” and
“Mirrorcle”. As a bonus there are 3 unreleased
songs included, so with a playing time of almost 70
minutes the CD has enough to offer, and it’s
interesting to check out if you’re one of those rare
Neo-Prog collector freaks, but don’t expect
something sensational. OPUS EST sounds a lot like TWELFTH
NIGHT and GALAHAD, but are not of the same high level as
those acts, so I think you’ll get the picture about
now what to expect from this act.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
EDEN
ROSE ‘ON
THE WAY TO EDEN’ (MUSEA RECORDS)
Originally recorded in the 1970s, this is a re-issue of
the only album of the French band EDEN ROSE. 9 songs are
included, and musically we have to deal here with early
70s Progrock a la THE NICE, PROCOL HARUM, MOODY BLUES,
PINK FLOYD, so very old dated stuff, but for the fan of
this kind of Prog a must! The only thing is that
it’s all instrumental, so the comparisons to
mentioned bands should include a comment in saying that
no vocals can be heard, but the real progfreak will not
care too much about this. Although it has been 33 years
ago since the recordings took place, it is an album that
shows one of the first Progsounds from a French band, so
speaking in historical value, this CD is a must, but the
included music is only interesting for the die-hard fans!
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
INSOMNY
‘VICIOUS
DICTATURE’ (DEMO CDR)
INSOMNY is a good quality band from France, and they sent
me a demo cdr that contains 6 tracks. The production is
not that good, but the music is on the other hand very
impressive, namely pure Progressive Metal (a la
THRESHOLD). Songs like “After your death”,
“Believe” and “Never between” are
good quality Melodic Progmetalsongs. What if this band
goes into a studio with a big producer, then it could
sound very sensational, but for now this is just a good
Progmetal fan. The future will tell us more for sure if
this band is able to continue their high level of
songwriting... More info at: http://www.insomny.fr and e-mail at: eternalinsomny@hotmail.com
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
DRAGONLANCE
‘HOLY
BLOOD’ (DEMO CDR)
Out of Tokyo, Japan comes another typical quality
Prog/Power Metalact called DRAGONLANCE. 2 songs are on
their demo CDR, and like many other Japanese bands, the
production/sound quality is very good and instrumental
the band sounds perfect, but vocally it isn’t that
good, but we can live with it, although this surely
isn’t as good as (for example) CONCERTO MOON.
Nevertheless, both “Holy blood” and “Rise
of Eden” are nice faster uptempo Power Metal pieces
with big Neo-Classical influences. More info on this
typical Japanese Power Metal band can be found at: http://www.dragonlance.hoops.livedoor.com and e-mail at: dragonlance5@livedoor.com
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
POLARIS ‘GALILEO-THE
MESSENGER OF STARS’ (DEMO CDR)
POLARIS is a new one-man band from France.
Multi-instrumentalist Sam Hourne did everything on his
own, and although the keyboards and guitars sound very
good, I need to make some negative comments here about
the rest. First off, the drum computer programming sounds
awful (please use real drums next time) and vocally Sam
just isn’t good enough. Musically POLARIS has
clearly been incluenced by HELLOWEEN or STRATOVARIUS, but
unfortunately only some of the keyboard and guitarwork is
reminding me of those acts, as the CD is just a pure
independent/demo. For a start this is a nice, but I am
afraid Sam has a lot of work to do on the vocals, songs
and drumming. Happily, he can definitely play the guitar
and keyboard very well! More info at: http://polaris.metal.free.fr and e-mail at: polaris.metal@free.fr
(Points:
6.5 out of 10)
AMERICAN
DOG ‘SIX
PACK’ (ULFTONE MUSIC)
This is not a serious rock’n’roll band, but a
band like MOTORHEAD and ZODIAC MINDWARP, so a sort of raw
rockband with simple tunes and actually perfect for
drinking beer with. In other words, this is pure BIKER
ROCK! I am not a big fan of the genre, but if you like
OUTLAWS, ZZ TOP, ZODIAC MINDWARP, with some very raw
whiskey like vocals, then this AMERICAN DOG is a must for
you. By the way, this ‘Six-pack’ release is a
mini-album with only 6 tracks...
(Points:
6.5 out of 10)
REMAIN
THE SAME ‘SILENT
RUNNING’ (ANGORA RECORDS)
Out of Sweden comes REMAIN THE SAME, a strong 3-track CD
release titled ‘Silent running’. They play a
sort of classy 80s Melodic Rockstyle and they do it very
well! Opener “Silent running” is a great
uptempo melodic rocker with a strong chorus. Like most
other Swedish bands in the Melodic Rockgenre, everything
sounds perfect (vocals, guitars, songs, production), so
this is really an enjoyable mini-CD. The other songs are
“Unveiled” (a bit poppier, uptempo Melodic
Poprocker) and “User” (midtempo groovy rocker).
So, REMAIN THE SAME is another recommend band! More info
can be found at: http://www.remainthesame.nu and e-mail them at: fanclub@remainthesame.nu
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
EYEFEAR ‘PROMO 2003’
(PROMO)
Australia is well-known for bringing a lot of quality
Melodic (Power) Metalacts, but real ProgMetalacts are
hard to find. EYEFEAR from Melbourne is clearly an
exception, as they sent me an awesome 3-track promo CDR
which contains perfect pure ProgMetal like a mix between
old QUEENSRYCHE, DREAM THEATER and 80s MAIDEN. The
production is very impressive, and the 3 songs (“Two
souls apart”, “Dreams” and “The
script of sorrow tales”) are all very sensational
pure ProgMetal. Lead singer Danny Cecati has a great
high-pitched voice, and he is well-known for being
PEGAZUS singer for quite a while. The production was done
by Endel Rivers (VANISHING POINT, BLACK MAJESTY) and very
soon the band will release it’s new full-length CD
‘9 elements of inner vision’, but this is a
very interesting sneak-preview of what might become a
very sensational release in the ProgMetal scene. In other
words, this promo is already a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED PIECE!
More info for now at: http://www.eyefear.com and e-mail them at: eyefear@hotmail.com
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
ELEMENTAL
‘DEMO’
(CDR)
Wow! That’s what I said when I started listening to
this demo of the band ELEMENTAL. This band is a duo,
compromised of the Swedish multi-instrumentalist Juhani
Nahkala and the American lead singer/songwriter Jeremey
Hunsicker. Jeremy has got a fantastic voice, which sounds
very much like STEVE PERRY, while the music is a mix of
AOR, Melodic Rock and Progressive Rock, somewhere between
JOURNEY, TRIUMPH and RUSH. Opener “One by one”
is showing this mixture, and is definitely one of the
highlights here. Next track “One dimension” is
a nice uptempo rocker, but not as good as the first cut.
The demo continues with the calmer bluesy AOR ballad
“Time enough” which is a deadringer for fans of
late 70s JOURNEY (“Lights” style). Next up is
“Love me lonely”, another ballad, but more in
the JOURNEY’s “Open arms” style, so classy
80s. Although the ballads presented here are very good, I
think it would be best to include some more rockers next
time, because next track “I believe” is another
JOURNEY ballad. The CDR closes with the song
“Requiem (Dance with a memory)”, a nice melodic
rocker with typoical 70s guitarwork. Concluded, this is a
highly recommend demo, for especially fans of JOURNEY and
TRIUMPH, although I hope next time the band introduce us
more rockers instead of a few ballads. It’s a pity
only 6 tracks are included, but with a playing length of
30 minutes it still offers enough pleasure. More info on
ELEMENTAL at: http://www.elementalrocks.com and e-mail them at: elemental@elementalrocks.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 STEELHEART ‘WAIT’ (Z
RECORDS)
The US rockers of STEELHEART have returned to the scene,
with a long awaited new CD titled ‘Wait’ on Z
RECORDS. Although it isn’t as good as their earlier
records from the early 90s, the CD is still filled with
good quality music I would like to describe as nice
melodic groovy rock/hardrock with strong similarities to
LED ZEPPELIN, KINGDOM COME... Opener “We all die
young” is a very good semi-rocker with very strong
vocals. This opening track is classy 80s Hardrock, but
the following tracks are more or less poppier, a bit
modern and basically just not strong enough to keep your
attention. Songs like “Live 2 die”, “Ahh
song”, “Electric chair” etc. are not
really anything special, with a song like
“Wait” being a Popsong actually (a good one
though). The band starts to experiment a lot later on the
CD on songs like “Garden of delight” which
features like many of the other tracks mostly acoustic
guitars, so in the end I an conclude that this
‘Wait’ is not really a new rockalbum of
STEELHEART, but it takes them more into an experimental
phase, and when they do rock it sounds modern (“Take
a little time” and “Cabernet”), so this CD
is only interested for all-time fans of the band, or if
you enjoy KINGDOM COME for example, but I had hoped for
more rockers a la “We all die young”, the
opening track of ‘Wait’.
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
ADONIS
‘DUST
AND ASHES/AFTER THE BREAKTHROUGH’ (DEMO CDR)
Japanese metal and very good actually, especially
instruemntal this is high quality stuff. Basically,
it’s just a demo from one of many Japanese Melodic
Power Metal bands. 2 tracks are included on this Tokyo
based band, and they play your typical Melodic Power
Metal with strong similarities to German bands, but they
also remind me of classy Japanese bands such as ANTHEM
and BOW WOW. The songs are called “Dust and
ashes” and “After the breakthrough” and
both are very good, with catchy choruses and strong
guitar and vocalwork. Check them out for yourself at: http://adonis-official.com and e-mail them at: info@adonis-official.com
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 DARK MOOR ‘DARK MOOR’
(ARISE RECORDS/BERUS)
The
Spanish band DARK MOOR return with a new CD, their 5th
full-length CD simply titled ‘Dsrk moor’.
Actually it’s a new start for the band from Madrid,
as from the original line-up only guitarist Enrik Garcia
and bassist Anan Kaddouri are left, and new additions are
lead singer Alfred Romero, guitarist Jose Garrido and
drummer Andy C. Although no keyboardplayer is in the
line-up of the band, the music still features lots of
keyboards (neo-classical like RHAPSODY meets MALMSTEEN)
and is basically pure European Melodic Power Metal in the
best Swedish and Italian tradition. Anyway, the new CD
sounds huge, and is definitely their best effort so far,
as it really sounds awesome from start to finish. The CD
counts 12 tracks and has a playing time of 60 minutes, so
enough to satisfy your for a long time. The famous
producer Luigi Stefanni (LABYRINTH) recorded, mixed and
produced the CD, while Mika Jussila (STRATOVARIUS)
mastered the CD at the Finnvox Studios, so this is a
guarantee for a BIG SOUND! Highlights are
“Eternity”, “The bane of daninsky”,
“Cyrano of Bergerac”, “Return for
love” and “The ghost sword”. This new DARK
MOOR is a terrific HUGE Melodic Power Metal record like a
mix between RHAPSODY and LABYRINTH, and the change in
singer has even improved the overall sound of DARK MOOR,
which is now at it’s best. Without a doubt, this is
a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED CD!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 VHALDEMAR ‘I MADE MY OWN
HELL’
(ARISE RECORDS/BERTUS)
The band VHALDEMAR from Spain has released their 2nd CD
titled ‘I made my own hell’. The production is
very good and also instrumental everything sounds
perfect, but unfortunately vocally it’s like
we’re listening to a German singer from the 1980s.
The vocals of guitarist Carlos Escudero are clearly the
weakest link in this band, because the songs are quite
nice, such as the typical German Metal monsters
“Breakin’ all the rules” (ACCEPT!),
“No return”, “Steam-roller”,
“House of war” and “I will raise my
fist”. If GRAVE DIGGER, RUNNING WILD, ACCEPT are
your kinda bands, then this VHALDEMAR will no doubt be a
must to check out, but I rather hear a clean singer
instead of such raw vocals as presented on this CD.
There’s only one raw singer I do like and
that’s UDO, so please do not try to copy him!
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
LEGACY
‘STAND
AND CONQUER’ (HOMYK RECORDS)
Do not confuse this LEGACY with the same named American
bands that released CDs the past few years. This LEGACY
is coming out of Ohio, USA and ‘Stand and
conquer’ is their 2nd CD. The band is playing a
strong 80s influenced US Power Metal style, but not with
the high pitched vocals, more like RIOT or something. 10
songs are included, and although not all songs are
interesting (for example “You can’t hide”
is a weak song), there are some very good songs on this
CD. Opener “Free to fly” is a great uptempo
Melodic Heavy Rocker, but the absolute highlight has got
to be the song “Without you”. This song
features superb vocals, has a deadly catchy chorus and is
basically a wonderful semi melodic rockballad! Other good
songs are “Say your last goodbye” and the
fantastic instrumental classic 80s melodic metal pieces
“Survival of the fittest” and
“Battlecry/the reckoning”, but on the other
hand there’s also some weaker material on the disc
(with a bit PANTERA influences sadly). Anyway, this is
still a good band to check out, and they don’t play
the US Nu-Metal style which so many bands from America
are playing nowadays, instead they grab back to the glory
days of the 1980s. More info at: http://www.legacyrocks.com
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 NIGHTMARE ‘SILENT ROOM’
(NAPALM RECORDS)
The legendary French band returns with the new CD
‘Silent room’, which is slightly different than
their previous comeback album ‘Cosmovision’.
The Melodic Metal of NIGHTMARE is more bombastic, heavier
and slightly progressive this time, but it still sounds
HUGE! This is also due to the help of Mika Jussila who
mastered the CD at the famous Finnvox studios in Finland.
The new CD is a sort of concept record which is divided
in 5 chapters. 12 songs make up the 56 minutes of playing
time, and highlights can be found in the shape of
“Strange connection” (midtempo melodic heavy
rocker), “Shades in the night” (great slowtempo
melodic metal with classy guitar riffs), “A piece of
paradise” (a powerful slow Classic Hardrock/Metal
kinda song, like DIO/BLACK SABBATH), “Prisoner of
the system” (uptempo Melodic Metal) and
“Virtual freedom” (strong uptempo Melodic Power
Metal). Next year the band exists for 25 years (!) and in
the line-up we can still find 3 original members of the
band, so I guess you can say they are ready for the next
25 years!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
BASKERVILLE
‘SILVERFLAME/SKYLINE
TO NOWHERE’ (INDEPENDENT)
The Japanese band BASKERVILLE sent me 2 CD-singles
released earlier this year. The band is playing typical
fast uptempo European orientated Melodic Power Metal, and
actually it sounds pretty good, with a good lead singer
(high pitched) and excellent guitar/keyboardwork. The
best songs are “Silverflame”, “Human
troupe” and “Wheels of fate”. Concluded,
another recommended Japanese band, more info at: http://homepage3.nifty.com/baskerville
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
M.C.
STRONG ‘THE
GREAT METAL DISCOGRAPHY’ (CANONGATE BOOKS)
 Here we have another
book for you to check out if you’re a dedicated
Hardrock/Metal fan. Martin Strong’s other book was
recently reviewed over here, but I think this
‘Metal’ Book is in fact more interesting. The
book is easy to read, and looks very professional, and
even the included information is very impressive, as
everything is included on the featured bands/artists,
such as line-ups, discography, chart positions in th UK
and USA, a biography, label/year of album/single release
etc. It’s nice to see so many of the obscure AOR and
Hardrockbands are included in this book (like SPY, SPYS,
707), but on the other hand it lacks the inclusion of
some of today’s most important Metalbands (for
example where are the likes of STRATOVARIUS, RHAPSODY,
HAMMERFALL, SONATA ARCTICA, BLIND GUARDIAN, KAMELOT
etc.). One more thing I need to mention here that the
given notes/points to a particular album are
unbelievable. It’s almost like the author (M.C.
Strong) doesn’t like Metal music, because almost all
the albums of even some of the most important bands (like
DREAM THEATER and
QUEENSRYCHE) receive less than 6 points! If you read the
book, it’s interesting to read the facts and
discover some new bands, but please for God’s sake
do not trust on the rating given to some albums, because
the notes do not make any sense. For example, DREAM
THEATER’s ‘Metropolis’ with 6 points (out
of 10), QUEENSRYCHE’s ‘The warning’ with 5
points and SURVIVOR’s ‘Vital signs’ with 5
points are all 3 CLASSICS that truly deserve 10 points!
How on earth can someone give those albums such low
ratings, and then on the other hand give albums by
NIRVANA and PEARL JAM 10 points!!! I am not sure what
Michael was thinking when he was rating the albums, but
everyone should ignore the ratings given to the albums in
this book, because these ratings are completely
worthless! What remains is a nice book that is
interesting for the Hardrock/Metal fan, although lots of
bands are missing here. In the meantime, more info can be
found at: http://www.canongate.net
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 VENUS AND MARS ‘NEW MOON
RISING’
(V&M RECORDS)
4 years ago I reviewed this disc, but it has now been
officially released in the US by a label called V&M
RECORDS. The album of VENUS AND MARS, a duo formed around
lead vocalist Diana deWitt and keyboardplayer Robin
Randall, is filled with HIGH CLASS 80s AOR with lots of
keys, catchy hooks and lovely singable choruses, very
much like MARK FREE’s ’Long way from
love’, FAKE ID’s only record and
STARSHIP’s ‘Knee deep in the hoopla’. This
is AOR at its very best, although some songs are poppier,
but most of the time this is how AOR should sound. Check
out fantastic midtempo AOR Classics such as “Dancing
on the highwire”, “Leave well enough
alone”, “The last time”, “Tommorrow
doesn’t matter tonight” and “Dying for
your love”. This is truly a must for AOR fans, so if
you didn’t get a copy when it was first released,
then do purchase a copy now through DSB Versand at: http://www.dsb-aor-world.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
EXCALION ‘DEMO CDR’
(DEMO CDR)
3 songs are on the demo CDR of this Finnish band. They
play quality Melodic (Power) Metal, a bit like a mix
between EDGUY and STRATOVARIUS. 3 songs are on their demo
and it sounds very impressive. The songs are all uptempo
with catchy hooks and choruses, melodic high pitched
vocals and very nice guitar and keyboardwork. “Stage
of lies” (EDGUY style), “Temptation”
(EUROPE meets SONATA ARCTICA) and “Lady moon”
(very melodic) are all 3 catchy uptempo Melodic Metal
pieces. Although the band needs to improve some stuff
here and there, the start with this 3 song CDR is very
promising, so we can easily add this band to the growing
list of great new Finnish bands. More info at: http://www.excalion.com and e-mail them at: excalion@excalion.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
GARY
MOON
‘STILL MOON’ (VENTANA RECORDS)
GARY MOON is best known as songwriter for AOR artists
like JEFF PARIS. Now he has released a solo-CD worthy of
material written between 1996 and 2002. The CD is clearly
filled with strong 80s type of AOR/Melodic Rock that
reminds me a bit of the Canadian band BRIGHTON ROCK. Gary
has a good voice, although not as good as (for example)
JEFF PARIS. He is able to sing calm and raw (where he
sounds like CINDERELLA’s Tom Kiefer). Anyway, the 11
included songs are nice to listen to, with as highlights
“State of the heart” (classic 80s uptempo AOR),
“Still” (great laid-back midtempo AOR),
“Angels don’t lie” (great semi AOR ballad)
and the uptempo melodic rockers “Call of the
wild”, “Queen of the damned” and
“Can’t help falling in love” that sound
like a mix between RATT, GREAT WHITE and BRIGHTON ROCK.
So, this is a good 80s melodic rock record, check it out
at: http://www.garymoon.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
R.
SEAN FAUST ‘STAINED
GLASS’ (INDEPENDENT)
Out of New Jersey comes multi-instrumentalist R. SEAN
FAUST. He is playing Progressive Rock with influences
from DREAM THEATER, RUSH and YES. It sounds really
American, with more clean melodies and a bigger sound
than for example the European/UK acts that play this kind
of style. Opener “Midnight express” is a very
impressive instrumental bombastic Progressive Rocksong.
Next track “Higher source” features vocals, and
is a nice slowtempo Progressive Rocker like a polished
DREAM THEATER. Then follows a bit less interesting part
with lots of acoustic guitar, but “Circles”
picks up again a good melodic Progressive Rocksound,
although this is an instrumental track. Although I was
not really impressed by the vocals, on the song
“Tomorrow” we can hear some really good vocals,
and secondly this is one of the album’s strongest
songs, a powerful bombastic Progrock ballad that even has
some KANSAS and SAVATAGE influences. The CD closes with
“The untitled art”, a Classical Music
influenced instrumental. Concluded, this is really nicely
done and even highly recommended to Progrockfans! More
info at: http://www.soundclick.com/rseanfaust and e-mail him at: innsoul@aol.com or keyboardmasseur@yahoo.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
FREEWILL
‘NEVER
ACT’ (INDEPENDENT)
FREEWILL comes out of Japan and they deliver an
instrumental Progressive Rockalbum titled ‘Never
act’. The album features a lot of keyboards and
synthesizers (very symphonic, and a bit like SPOCK’S
BEARD), but also has a strong Progressive Metal feel. The
album counts 51 minutes of high quality instrumental
Progressive Rock/Metal that has many interesting
Synthesizer solo’s. If you like instrumental prog,
then this is a must for you. Check out their site at: http://www1.odn.ne.jp/freewill
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
RIMORTIS
‘PROMO
CD 2002’ (PROMO CDR)
Out of the Czech Republic comes the band RIMORTIS, a band
playing typical Euro Power Metal (a la EDGUY,
STRATOVARIUS) and they sent me their latest promo CDR,
which contains 4 well played songs. The production is
quite good, and even the songs are very nice. The singer
has a good voice, and instrumental they sound very nice.
They sing in their own language, but this isn’t such
a big issue, and a song like “Rimortis” is a
good strong Melodic Metal pieces. Fans of EDGUY and
STRATOVARIUS, who don’t mind a strange Eastern
European language might want to check out this RIMORTIS
at: http://rimortis.webz.cz
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 ALIAS EYE ‘A DIFFERENT POINT
OF VIEW’
(DVS RECORDS/ROCK INC.)
‘A different point of view’ is the new CD of
the German band ALIAS EYE. Musically the band has added
some Jazz and Funk influences to their Melodic
Progressive Rock. They now sound like a more experimental
poppier version of ENCHANT. The band still has the
fantastic lead singer Phillip Griffiths in their line-up
and he giving ALIAS EYE the finishing touch, making also
this new album a recommended piece. Opener “A
clown’s tale” starts very promising, as this is
a great Melodic Progressive Rocker with a catchy chorus.
Next track “Fake the right” is a bit
dissapointing, because this song is a bit too poppy and
funky, and does not represent the ALIAS EYE style.
Following track “Your other way” then again is
better, and is good calmer Progrock with some Jazzy
overtones, but in this song they do not too much harm.
However, the band is at their best during the more pure
Progressive Rock orientated moments such as “A
clown’s tale”, “Icarus unworded” and
“The great open”. These are the album’s
highlights, and it’s a pity to say here that the
band’s previous album ‘Field of names’ was
better than their new record. Nevertheless it’s
still a nice album to check out, especially if
you’re a fan of ENCHANT, EVERON, SYLVAN, JADIS,
ELEGANT SIMPLICITY and you don’t mind some poppier
experimental approaches sometimes.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 AXXIS ‘TIME MACHINE’
(AFM RECORDS/ROCK INC.)
In early 2004 the legendary German band AXXIS will
release their 10th CD ‘Time machine’. It all
started back in 1989 with their debut CD ‘Kingdom of
the night’ on EMI records, which went on to become a
very well selling record (100,000 copies) and is manybe
their best album, although the following 9 records were
also quite good. However, we are now heading for the year
2004 and it’s 15 years since the band’s first
album, and AXXIS releases ‘Time machine’.
Musically nothing has changed, and so again we can hear
great high quality Melodic Hard/Heavy Rock in a typical
German tradition (PINK CREAM 69, early BONFIRE). 12 songs
can be found on the new album, with as highlights the
catchy uptempo Melodic Heavy rockers “Angel of
death”, “Time machine”, “Lost in the
darkness” and “The demons are calling”,
but also the strong midtempo melodic rockers “Dance
in the starlight”, “Alive” and
“Battle of power” which all 3 remind me of the
band’s classic “Living in a world”. The
only weak song on the new AXXIS album is the ballad
“Wings of freedom” (lyrically though it is
about the US-Iraq war), but the rest is all high quality
Melodic Heavy Rock, so the new AXXIS CD will definitely
be a good start of the year 2004!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 WUTHERING HEIGHTS ‘FAR FROM THE
MADDING CROWD’ (LOCOMOTIVE MUSIC/ROCK INC.)
The Swedish band WUTHERING HEIGHTS will release very soon
their 3rd CD ‘Far from the madding crowd’, an
album produced by TOMMY HANSEN (HELLOWEEN, PRETTY MAIDS).
On vocals we can hear Patrik Johansson, a singer who has
been very productive lately, as this is the third album
he sings on within just a few months, because the past
few months we heard him on the albums by ASTRAL DOORS and
SPACE ODYSSEY. This new WUTHERING HEIGHTS is not as good
as ASTRAL DOORS and SPACE ODYSSEY, but still a great high
quality album that combines elements of Symphonic,
Progressive, Melodic and Power Metal with some
Neo-Classical and even some Celtic/Folk influences with
the bagpipes in the song “Highlands winds” (a
song that sounds like MAGO DE OZ). It sounds like a mix
between HELLOWEEN and BLIND GUARDIAN, with some DIOish
vocals of singer Patrik. The CD has a big sound and so
again we can conclude that this is yet another powerful
release from Sweden. The CD will be released on the
Spanish label LOCOMOTIVE MUSIC on the 19th of January
2004, and highlights on the CD are “Longing for the
woods part 1: the wild children”, “Longing for
the woods part 2: the ring of fire” and
“Longing for the woods part 3: Herne’s
Prophecy”, and yes these are 3 parts of a 20-minutes
counting epic which is spread throughout the album as 3
different tracks. Basically, this is another recommended
Metalalbum with the Swedish singer Patrik Johansson on
vocals, so if you enjoyed the recent ASTRAL DOORS and
SPACE ODYSSEY releases then this is also a must to check
out.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
VARIOUS
ARTISTS ‘ROCK
THE NATIONS 4’ (Z RECORDS)
Z RECORDS will release some very interesting new CDs the
upcoming months, such as the new FINAL FRONTIER, the
re-issued ROX DIAMOND album, the new VON GROOVE, the
return album of FEMME FATALE and several others. This new
compilation CD of the UK label is a nice collection of 15
songs, some already released on Z albums, such as the
songs by STEELHEART, WILD HORSES, MARC FERRARI, JANI
LANE, JESSE DAMON, ENZIGN, SILENT RAGE and THE MILLIONS.
But we are mostly interested in the unreleased songs,
which are basically demos/sneak previews of upcoming
albums on Z RECORDS. Most interesting are the fantastic
new songs by FINAL FRONTIER (“Lydia”) and VON
GROOVE (“I can’t stop lovin you”), both
being classic 80s AOR songs the way it should sound like!
I can’t wait for these 2 new albums on Z RECORDS
which will no doubt appeal to the fans of pure
AOR/Melodic Rock in the best 80s tradition
(JOURNEY/SURVIVOR). Anyway, some of the other new tracks
are also interesting, such as FEMME FATALE’s
“Lady in waiting”,
BLACK’N’BLUE’s “Hell yeah” and
the old ROX DIAMOND classic “Heart of mine”.
The first new release will be the re-release of ROX
DIAMOND’s underrated Classic which will satisfy all
AOR fans I think, because this band should have been much
bigger, but failed to do so, because their album was
released in a time when Grunge destroyed the music scene.
Anyway, Z has some very interesting upcoming releases and
this compilation CD is a nice sneak-preview!
(Points:
- )
HOBBIT
‘ALL
FOR THE ONE’ (MIDWEST RECORDS)
HOBBIT return with a new CD ‘All for the one’,
which features actually their first real new recordings
since 1985, as the previous 3 CDs were filled with older
recordings. Musically not that much has changed, and
basically ‘All for the one’ might be considered
as their most ambitious release so far. ‘All for the
one’ is a concept album based on the famous Tolkien
stories of ‘The lord of the rings’. The music
has not changed much compared to their earlier releases,
although ‘All for the one’ is less AOR than
their earlier releases, and mainly focuses on bringing
epic 70s Progressive/Pomprock like a mix between KANSAS,
KAYAK ‘Merlin’, AVIARY, 70s STYX and even some
SAVATAGE (just listen to “Nazgul”). Of course
the melodies are still there, and so we can easily call
this a pure HOBBIT album in the best 70s/80s tradition.
The CD takes you into a journey for 74 minutes, which is
divided into 32 parts, of which the highlights are
“One more time” (short URIAH HEEPish 70s
Rocker), “Rivendell”, “Emptiness”,
“In Mordor” (a great 70s type of Melodic
Hardrocksong, with strong powerful Metalvocals),
“Beyond the river”, “Witchking” (a
METALish song, SAVATAGE style with strong DIOish vocals
unlike the rest of the CD) and “Destiny chaser”
(definitely the best song, a strong late 70s
AOR/Pomprocker). Concluded, a great conceptalbum,
although I still think HOBBIT’s best songs can be
found on their earlier albums (such as the AOR song
“Don’t say no”) and I do miss some more
uptempo rockers instead of so many epic
midtempo/slowtempo songs, but that’s usually the
thing with concept records. I need to add that the second
part of the CD is much better and also much rockier than
the first batch of songs, so it is also an album that
needs to be played a few times before making a full
judgement, unlike the earlier HOBBIT releases.
Nevertheless, check this out this new HOBBIT CD asap if
you’re a fan of 70s Pomprock a la STYX, KANSAS,
TOUCH, SPY, AVIARY, URIAH HEEP, KAYAK ‘Merlin’,
RUSH, SPYS, ROADMASTER, APLHA CENTAURI... More info on
this new HOBBIT CD can be found at: http://www.hobbitcd.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
THE
PROWLERS ‘SOULS
THIEVES’ (STEELBORN RECORDS/ROCK INC.)
Finally a Power Metalband from Italy that isn’t
sensational. The first 3 songs of the new CD of the band
THE PROWLERS are not good, just average Power Metal with
weak vocals and absolutely nothing interesting. But then
we get to track number 4 “It” and the band
suddenly comes up with a catchy uptempo Melodic Metal
tune a la LABYRINTH and it sounds pretty good actually.
So after a boring start, the CD has something good to
offer in the shape of the song “It”. After this
song, I don’t know what to happens, but it seems
like I am listening to a different band than on the first
couple of tracks, because the vocals sound much better
and the music itself is just pure 80s US Power Metal! A
song like “Once again” is superb high class 80s
US Power Metal a la HEIR APPARENT, LEATHERWOLF... And
happily the CD continues in this classy 80s US Power
Metal style with some EDGUYish songs as well, and so in
the end I can say that this is a good CD after all,
although the start was not very promising.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
DARK
AVENGER ‘DARK
YEARS’ (SCARLET RECORDS)
The Brazilian band DARK AVENGER returns with a new
mini-CD. The band released 2 albums the past 3 years on
SCARLET RECORDS, and I think I am gonna look for them as
this new mini-CD sounds very impressive. Only 4 tracks
are included, but the CD still takes up to 30 minutes,
and more importantly, we get to hear high quality music!
DARK AVENGER is playing pure 80s US Power Metal a la
VICIOUS RUMOURS, RUFFIANS, METAL CHURCH, ARMORED SAINT,
80s FATES WARNING, MAIDEN... The band has a very good
vocalist (Mario Linhares) who can easily sing in the high
octave range (a la GEOFF TATE). Opener “Dark
avenger” is a great uptempo Melodic Power Metal song
in the best 80s US tradition. Next song
“Caladvwch” is a calmer epic song with some
medieaval parts as well. Up next is “Utther
evil”, a nice Power Metal tune a la NEVERMORE.
Closing track is “Unleash hell”, a very strong
faster uptempo Melodic Power Metal song in the best 80s
tradition (JAG PANZER, VICIOUS RUMOURS). Concluded, this
is a highly recommended piece for fans of 80s US Power
Metal. I think I am gonna try to get their earlier albums
as well, because this mini-CD sounds quite interesting.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
EYEKON
‘TABULA
RASA’ (DEMO CDR)
We’re heading to Sweden once again where we can find
another new sensational band. They are called EYEKON, and
the 2 songs on their demo are very impressive. The band
is playing Melodic Progressive Rock/Metal that reminds me
a bit of a harder version of ENCHANT (especially on the
song “Tabula rosa”). The first song
“Omen” is a superb Melodic Progressive
Metalsong with lovely melodies and nice breaks and riffs.
The production is very good, instrumental it sounds
perfect and vocally EYEKON has an amazingly good singer
called Victor Takala, who also happens to play guitar.
Anyway, this is a high quality demo and I would not be
surprised if EYEKON will be picked up by a label someday
soon. More info at: http://www.eyekon.nu and e-mail them at: info@eyekon.nu
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 THUNDERSTONE ‘THE BURNING’
(NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS)
The Finnish Power Metalband returns with a new CD titled
‘The burning’. Without a doubt, this is a very
strong sensational album with a HUGE SOUND! Although many
people will compare the Melodic Power Metal to
STRATOVARIUS, I think THUNDERSTONE is bringing much more
energy, variation in the songs and even better songs than
their countrymen do nowadays. Besides, lead singer Pasi
Rantanen has a rawer voice (DIO style) than most of the
high pitched voices in the Power Metal scene, so
there’s clearly a difference. Anyway, 10 songs are
on their new CD ‘The burning’, which will be
out on the 12th of January 2004. You’ve got all
sorts of styles here, so not only just fast uptempo Power
Metal, because there are also epic tunes and even pure
Melodic Hardrock (“Mirror never lies”).
However, the band is at their best during the fast
uptempo Power Metal pieces, such as “Break the
emotions”, “Tin star man”, “Evil
within” and “Side by side”. Also very good
are the midtempo melodic heavy rocker “Forth into
the black” and the Melodic Rockballad “Sea of
sorrow” that sounds like a mix between DIO,
WHITESNAKE and GOTTHARD, so this Finnish band is quite
diverse, and they might not only attract Power Metal
fans. Actually I could mention all the songs over here,
because from start to finish this is a sensational CD,
which can only be described as a true Masterpiece in the
Melodic Metal scene! Somehow it reminds me of MASTERPLAN,
with only in the instrumental parts a comparison to
STRATOVARIUS, because the vocals are more in the
DIO/COVERDALE/LANDE style. Concluded, a very very
impressive album of THUNDERSTONE, so get your copy of
this masterpiece when it is released early 2004!
(Points:
9.5 out of 10)
STEREOXYDE
‘LIVEAGE’
(INDEPENDENT)
Out of France comes STEREOXYDE, a band playing classic
80s Heavy Metal in the style of the NWOBHM bands, and
TRUST, SORTILEGE, VANDALE, H-BOMB... The band recorded
this CD live and I must say that it sounds very
impressive, and without a doubt, this is a great newcomer
in the French Metalscene. The band has a very strong lead
singer (high pitched) called Doume Rossini and an
excellent guitarplayer (Nico Kruplewicz). Although the CD
has a playing time of only 30 minutes, the 8 included
tracks are all very good. Highlights are the fast uptempo
Melodic Metalsongs “Stereoxyde/Ces savants
medecins”, “L’histoire de Bernard”
and “Mutilation contrainte”. Concluded, a
recommended French band playing classic 80s Melodic Heavy
Metal, and the French lyrics are not spoiling anything
here, just like we saw with MANIGANCE the past few years.
More info at: http://www.multimania.com/stereoxyde and e-mail them at: stereoxyde@aol.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
(All
reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted)
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