 CYDONIA ‘THE DARK
FLOWER’
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)
A few years ago the Italian band CYDONIA released
it’s debut CD, which was a typical Euro Power Metal
record. Their new CD ‘The dark flower’ is
slightly different, and is more a mixture of Melodic Prog
Metal and some modern Nu-Metal influences, kinda like
PAIN OF SALVATION, yet CYDONIA is much more melodic.
Actually they sound like a perfect mixture between
VANDENPLAS and EVERGREY, although some of the songs are
slightly spoiled by Nu-Metal type of lead vocals, which
is a pity, because on songs like “Midnight man”
and “Voices” (RUSS BALLARD cover) lead singer
Dan Keyning proves he has a great voice. Anyway, the
choruses of the 10 included tracks are really wonderful,
such as opener “Midnight man”, a superb melodic
Prog Metal song that is as good as anything VANDENPLAS
produced. Other highlights are “Invisible”
(great uptempo melodic prog metal with a catchy chorus
and a nice keyboardsolo, kinda like EVERGREY),
“Diamond dust” and “Losing my faith”
(lovely chorus). Like I said, every song on this album
has a wonderful melodic chorus, but the verses and
building up of each song is clearly displaying other
musical influences, such as the Nu-Metal influences on
songs like “Beyond lime” or the Thrash-Metal
parts in “One last crime” and
“Mastershadow”. Anyway, CYDONIA sounds on this
album not like many other band, because they mix up
influences of all metal genres, and the result is quite
stunning, although I had rather hoped for a Melodic Prog
Metal with clean vocals instead of some aggressive vocals
on some parts of the included songs on the new CYDONIA
CD. Despite the rating could have been much higher if
they had not used this aggressive vocal style, this is
still a great album and especially the opening and
closing track really caught me by surprise and got me
into CYDONIA’s music from now on as I had not heard
their debut CD yet, but which I am definitely gonna
search in the near future. In the meantime, if
you’re into EVERGREY/VANDENPLAS, and don’t mind
some aggressive vocal style sometimes (with
Nu/Thrash-Metal approaches), then you can blindly buy
this new CYDONIA record...
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
STEEL
WITHOUT NAME ‘THE PASSAGE IS THERE’
(INDEPENDENT)
STEEL WITHOUT NAME is an Italian band, and they play
classy Euro fantasy Power Metal in the style of ANGRA,
LABYRINTH, WONDERLAND, SKYLARK, SHADOWS OF STEEL, HOLY
KNIGHTS... This is one of those bands that could easily
fit on the Underground Symphony Records release schedule,
as their music is pure typical Italian with fast yet
melodic songs that feature catchy hooks and choruses and
very nice keyboard versus guitarwork. Their CD ‘The
passage is there’ only has a low-budget production
compared to the afforementioned bands, but musically
everything sounds pretty good. Songs like “The
return” and “The long goodbye” are great
Progressive/Power Metal songs in the best ANGRA/LABYRINTH
style. The band also has a very good lead singer, so I
think we can learn more from STEEL WITHOUT NAME in the
future. More info at: http://www.swn.it and e-mail them at: swn@swn.it
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
WARLOUD ‘LEAVE THE
HELL’ (INDEPENDENT)
WARLOUD hail from Italy, and they released a quality
4-track CD independently. The CD ‘Leave the
hell’ has a strong sound and production, the band
has a great lead singer and some of the included tracks
are very good. The band is playing Melodic Metal with a
clear 80s approach. They sound a bit different than the
usual Italian bands, who use a lot of keyboards in their
music, but WARLOUD is True Metal and is not using keys,
but instead a twin-guitarsound. The best song is
definitely closing track “Mountain king”, a
great uptempo melodic metal piece. Basically, WARLOUD is
another quality Metal act from Italy, and finally not a
RHAPSODY/LABYRINTH clone. More info on them at: http://www.warloud.it and e-mail them at: poldursgate@tiscalinet.it
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
MOONSHADOW ‘ANOTHER
SHOT’ (INDEPENDENT)
Out of Sao Paolo, Brazil comes MOONSHADOW, and
‘Another shot’ is their 2nd CD. The album
contains 4 tracks. Musically the band is playing melodic
hardrock, but I think a future release will tell us more
what MOONSHADOW is capable of, because the 4 songs on
this CD are just nice, but nothing sensational. The only
track that stood out between the rest was the catchy
uptempo melodic rocker “Dolphins”. More songs
in this style on a future recording could make MOONSHADOW
interesting for melodic rockfans. For now, more info at: http://www.moonshadow.com.br and e-mail them at:
moonshadow@dialdata.com.br
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
TWISTED
MOTIVATIONS
‘RED SHIFT’ (INDEPENDENT)
Out of the Washington state comes the 2-man band TWISTED
MOTIVATIONS. This band formed around
multi-instrumentalist Kevin Colo and singer/songwriter
Darerell Pingree have come up with a great Progressive
Metal record that mixes 80s US Power Metal with
today’s Progressive Metal, kinda like a mixture
between QUEENSRYCHE, DREAM THEATER and SYMPHORCE. Darrell
is a very good lead singer, and instrumental everything
sounds perfect, besides, the CD has a big sound, so in
all terms this is a real quality record that is much
recommended to fans of the genre. Highlights on the
full-length CD are “Red shift” and “Man of
stone”. TWISTED MOTIVATIONS is a great Progressive
Metal record that I would highly recommend to those of
you who like the old sounds of QUEENSRYCHE, CRIMSON GLORY
and more recent, a band like SYMPHORCE. More info on the
band can be found at: http://www.twistedmotivations.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
MAGICA
‘BRIEF
MAGIC STORY’ (INDEPENDENT)
MAGICIAN is one of many new Brazilian band that follow
the foosteps taken by ANGRA, one of the most popular
Progressive/Power Metal bands ever to emerge from Brazil
(not counting the Thrash-Metal band SEPULTURA). Their
5-track mini-CD ‘Brief magic story’ shows that
MAGICIAN is a great band that is able to perform good
quality music. Somehow they sound very European, just
listen to the great songs “Prime evil” (great
faster uptempo melodic Power Metal a la EDGUY) and
“Terminal day” (calm start, later great uptempo
melodic metal a la 80s MAIDEN). However, the best song is
the lovely “Crossing the last gate”, which is a
8-minutes counting very good Prog/Power Metal tune a la
ANGRA, with perfect lead and harmonyvocals. I can’t
wait to hear and review a full-length CD of this band in
the future, as they are one of the better bands in this
genre from Brazil at the moment. More info at: http://www.magician.com.br and e-mail them at: metalmagician@ig.com.br
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
DEADNATURE
‘DEADNATURE’
(INDEPENDENT)
Formed 6 years ago in Rio De Janeiro, this Brazilian band
is yet another great quality band in the
Progressive/Power Metal genre. Their debut CD has a big
sound, and the songs are of a very high level, combining
high-pitched lead vocals (a la 80s MAIDEN) with the
melodic sounds of today’s Progressive/Power Metal
style. Although there are only 5 tracks on the CD, the
album still has a playing length of over 32 minutes, so
enough to enjoy this band for some time. The best songs
are opener “Why war?” (fast uptempo Power Metal
with a catchy melodic chorus) and closing track
“Dead nature” (11-minutes counting classy Prog
Metal). Another hope for the Brazilian future for
Prog/Power Metal! More info at: http://www.deadnature.com and e-mail them at: release@deadnature.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
WILTON
SAID ‘BROKEN’
(INDEPENDENT)
WILTON SAID is a multi-instrumentalist from Canada, and
his CD ‘Broken’ is filled with 6 tracks, and
musically displaying a wide range of music styles,
ranging from poprock to Jazz/Pop. It’s not the
typical album you would expect appearing on our site, so
it is only recommended to open-minded musiclovers.
Anyway, only opener “Broken mind” mind appeal
to us, as this is a nice uptempo melodic poprocker. Other
songs, like “One” or the Jazzy
“Confess” are not really interesting for
Rock/Hardrock/Metal fans. However, if you still want to
check out Wilton’s music, go to: http://www.mp3.com/wiltonsaid and
e-mail him at: saidstyle@yahoo.com
(Points:
6.5 out of 10)
FIVE
MAN TRIO ’45
RPM’ (INDEPENDENT)
Formed out of the ashes of PARADOX, comes this American
act called FIVE MAN TRIO. They sent me a 4-track demo
CDR, and musically they play modern rock with some
poprock influences here and there. Best song is final
track “Why does it hurt”. I don’t know
what more to say about this CD, but I think it’s
best if you check out yourself the songs of this band, go
to: http://www.5MAN3.com
(Points:
6.0 out of 10)
MICHAEL
HUGHES PROJECT ‘WHERE’S THE LOGIC?’
(INDEPENDENT)
In the past musician/songwriter MICHAEL HUGHES released 2
solo CDs and an album with HIGH GEAR, all containing
great 80s influenced AOR/Melodic Rock. Now it’s the
year 2003 and MICHAEL HUGHES has released his third solo
effort, called ‘Where’s the logic?’.
Unfortunately the man has changed his music style, from
pure AOR into average Poprock (a la DANNY WILDE, TOM
KIMMEL and recent BON JOVI). It’s really a pity this
has happened, because his previous album were such great
AOR/Melodic Rockalbums, but I guess Michael wanted to
take a step away from his 80s Rockroots. Instead we now
get to hear short average poprockers like “True
love”, “Hey”, “Smoke choke” and
“Long lost years” that would only please fans
of JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP or TOM PETTY. Only the melodic
poprockers “No more obsession”,
“Time” and “One night” remind a bit
of the old MICHAEL HUGHES PROJECT. I really hope Michael
returns to his Rock/AOR roots on a future recording,
because now his music is only interesting for fans of
Petty, Cougar and Jovi. More info at: http://www.mhpmusic.com and e-mail him at: contact@mhpmusic.com
(Points:
6.5 out of 10)
JOHN
WETTON
‘ROCK OF FAITH’ (GIANT ELECTRIC PEA)
I have always been a big fan of John Wetton’s music,
his solo-material with as best record ‘Battle
lines’, but also his work with ASIA and even UK set
my heart on fire and after seeing one of his excellent
performances, it became clear that John Wetton is a
musical talent. So I was quite looking forward to the
man’s new CD ‘Rock of faith’, but as much
as I had hoped for a great rocking album and with a title
like ‘Rock of faith’, after a few spins I knew
I was listening to a very calm Pop orientated album that
has absolutely nothing to do with anything John has done
in the past. Surely, ballads like “A new day”
and “Nothing’s gonna stand in our way”
(co-penned by Susan Shifrin) are pretty good, but
don’t expect anything rocking on this album.
It’s most of the time a very calm ballad orientated
record that features excellent lead vocals of John, but
the songs itself are not really sensational. That’s
really a pity, because if we take a look at the guest
musicians list we see big names like CLIVE NOLAN
(PENDRAGON) and KARL GROOM (THRESHOLD) as co-producers,
as well as JADIS members John Mitchell on guitar and
Steve Christey on drums, and last but not least, ASIA
main man GEOFFREY DOWN. Mixing everything together, the
result could have been John’s best work so far, but
instead we now are listening to the softest CD John has
ever released and although some of the Prog/Sympho fans
will like this album a lot, as it is a very personal
record, I had hoped for some more rocksongs on the new
John Wetton CD. Now the only rocker is “Take me to
the waterline”, furthermore this album is a very
epic calm ballad orientated pop/rockalbum. Nothing bad
here, but not as good as any of the other JOHN WETTON or
ASIA records. More info at: http://www.gep.co.uk
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
 ANKHARA ‘SOMBRAS DEL
PASADO’ (LOCOMOTIVE/ROCK INC./BERTUS)
The Spanish band ANKHARA just released it’s third CD
‘Sombras del pasado’, and I can inform you
it’s their strongest eoffrt so far. The album is a
fantastic mix between Prog Metal, Power Metal and
AOR/Melodic Rock, and the result can be heard on the 12
included tracks. The production is of a very high level,
and most of the songs are very sensational, so we
definitely have a winner on our hands with this new
ANKHARA. It’s really hard to pick favourite songs,
as they are all very impressive and wonderful to losten
to, but I really must mention songs like “Ruinas del
alma” (awesome uptempo melodic Prog Metal with great
keys), “Busca un motivo” (big keys, uptempo
melodic rocker with a catchy chorus), “El eco de tu
silencio” (maybe the best song, this is SUPERB
Melodic Prog Metal with a strong hook and chorus),
“Un dia en la imaginacion” (again big keys, 80s
AOR type of melodic rocker), “Mirame” (catchy
fast uptempo melodic Power Metal) and “Sombras del
pasado” (awesome uptempo Prog Metal). As you can see
it’s a very diverse album that will appeal to fans
of all genres we promote. Nice last thing to mention is
the TOTO cover “Hold the line”, which is now
renamed in Spanish to “Mantente firme”.
Conclusion is simple, if you don’t mind Spanish
lyrics, you got yourself a winner if you enjoy anything
that falls in both the Prog/Power Metal and Melodic
Rock/Metal style.
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 CHROME SHIFT ‘RIPPLES IN
TIME’
(DVS RECORDS/BERTUS)
‘Ripples in time’ is the debut CD of the Danish
band CHROME SHIFT. The album contains excellent melodic
Progressive Metal of a very high level, with clear
influences of a DREAM THEATER. Most of the songs are in
the same style, and it’s like if you love one song
you will love them all. There are 9 tracks on the CD, of
which closing track “Ripples in time” is
divided in 4 parts. The strongest songs can be found at
the start, with “Nightmachine” (great
keyboardwork), “Full moon” and “In my own
dream”. The Dutch label DVS RECORDS doesn’t
release that many records, with CHROME SHIFT being their
8th so far, but it’s all quality and this new
release will definitely appeal to all Prog Metal fans.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 GAELERI ‘A BRIGHTER
DAY’ (KICK MUSIC)
Here’s another quality band from Sweden. They are
called GAELERI and ‘A brighter day’ is their
third album. The band is playing a mix of AOR/Melodic
Rock and smoother Poprock. Some of the included 11 tracks
are very sensational. Opener “Blue town”
indicates perfectly how this band sounds, as this is an
awesome midtempo AOR tune, quite close to their fellow
countrymen of TOKEN, STREET TALK and JIM JIDHED. The band
doesn’t only deliver great songs, but also they have
a very impressive strong lead singer (called Anders
Bengtsson). His voice is very suitable for this kind of
melodic rock, and it just points out that the best
singers in Europe hail from Sweden. Back to the CD, other
highlights on ‘A brighter day’ are “A
brighter day” (great midtempo AOR), “If you
leave” (great midtempo AOR ballad), “Don’t
go” (good semi AOR ballad), “Life as a
friend” (very good midtempo AOR rocker a la
HEARTLAND) and closing track “Don’t you”
(lovely classy 80s Scandi melodic rocker). There are also
a few weaker ‘modern’ pop/rocksongs on the
album, such as “Stand aside”, “Lady
luck” and “60 days” that also have some
LED ZEPPELIN references. Don’t let that influence
you in not buying this record, because GAELARI’s new
record is too good to leave alone, especially if
you’re a fan of Swedish AOR. More info at: http://www.gaeleri.com and e-mail them at: info@gaeleri.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 JAUGERNAUT
‘TAKE EM THERE 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION’
(INDEPENDENT)
All the fans of Classic early 80s AOR/Pomprock will
probably remember the band JAUGERNAUT, an American band
that released 2 great records and then vanished. However,
their music has always been rremembered by the fans of
the genre in which JAUGERNAUT was active. Their album
‘Take ‘em there’ was their strongest
effort. Now 20 years later JAUGERNAUT has re-issued the
album onto CD, and added 4 never before released
bonustracks. The classic 10 cuts on this CD are fantastic
period AOR/Pomp that actually stood the test of time.
Songs like “Take em there”, “Love you I
do”, “Anti-freeze”,
“Trendsetters”, “On top of the world”
and “Lost time” are unforgettable classic
AOR/Pomptracks in the style of LE ROUX, ROADMASTER,
TRILLION... The 4 bonustracks are a bit different in
style, and can more be seen as good Progressive Rockers
with a slight AOR touch. “A matter of
conscience” (very good semi AOR ballad, late 80s
style with strong vocals) and “Black sheep”
(good uptempo AOR/Poprocker a la JOURNEY) are the most
interesting unreleased songs included here. The main
reason why you should buy this record is of course the
inclusion of the classic AOR record JAUGERNAUT released
20 years ago. More info at: http://www.jaugernaut.com and
the CD is available at: http://www.cdbaby.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
KICKHUNTER ‘HEARTS AND
BONES’ (RUDE RECORDS/BERTUS)
‘Hearts and bones’ is the debut CD of the
Hamburg, Germany settled band KICKHUNTER, a Hardrockband
formed around HELLOWEEN bassist Markus Grosskopf.
Although the additional bio/info sheet states that this
is a classy release that will please all fans of BAD
COMPANY, WHITESNAKE, VAN HALEN... I wasn’t that
impressed with the band’s first record. The band is
playing average bluesy/boogie Hardrock, a style you could
get away in the 80s (GRINGOS LOCOS, DAD, ROSE TATOO), but
in the year 2003 it sounds extremely dated and besides,
the songs are very weak. The band sounds like a mix
between ZZ TOP, STATUS QUO, KROKUS and AC/DC, yet a few
levels lower. Songs like “Child of love” and
“Wild emotions” sound like bad AC/DC clones,
and a tune like “To hell and back again” is a
VAN HALEN rip off (hello “Hot for teacher”).
I’m not sure sure if there’s anybody out there
who digs this kind of stuff, but if you’re looking
for a weaker version of overrated bands like ROSE TATTOO,
THE ANGELS and AC/DC, then you can easily buy the first
CD of KICKHUNTER. However, melodic rock/prog metal etc
fans should stay away from this release, and don’t
let the name of the HELLOWEEN bassist fool you!
(Points:
6.0 out of 10)
REVEREND
BIZARRE ‘IN
THE RECTORY OF THE BIZARRE REVEREND’
(LOW FREQUENCY RECORDS/ROCK INC./BERTUS)
After last month’s excellent new releases of MYON
and SILENT VOICES, the label Low Frequency Records
introduces us to another new Finish band called REVEREND
BIZARRE’. Their music is very slow Doom Metal a la
SABBATH, CANDLEMASS, yet even slower and depressing. The
CD they released is a real quality CD and recommended if
you liek this kind of Metal. There are 6 very long songs
on the CD, of which only “Doomsower” is a bit
midtempo, while the rest is as slow as your grandfather
walking down the street! Any fan of CANDLEMASS, TROUBLE,
SABBATH... will love this!
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
SHEELA
‘PROCESS...’
(LBT RECORDS)
I reviewed some albums of the German band SHEELA in the
past, and now in the year 2003 the band still exists and
has released a nice new record called
‘Process...’. The 4th album of the band is a
nice melodic heavy rock record with a slight modern
touch, yet an own kind of style, although influences of a
band like VICTORY are clearly notable here and there. 12
tracks are included, and my favourite tracks are
definitely “Let it shine” (nice midtempo
melodic rocker a la JADED HEART), “Utopia”
(great keys at start, classy semi melodic rocker with an
AORish chorus), “Strange direction” (nice
slowtempo melodic rocker) and the calmer semi-ballad
“Privilege of time”. Some songs of the rest are
weaker, and just nice rockers (like “Monster”,
“United order”, “Me” and
“Four”). Somehow their previous record made a
better impression on me, but maybe I have to give this
record a few more spins before it hits me. Interesting
note to mention here is the fact that BOBBY BARTH (from
AXE) and Christian Moser produced this album. For now,
it’s a nice Rockrecord that is interesting to check
out if you count bands like VICTORY to your favourites.
More info at: http://www.sheela.de and e-mail them at: vip-productions@gmx.de
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
SECOND
CLASS
‘DEMO’ (DEMO’)
This is a band from Texas, and their 4-track demo is a
good album if you enjoy typical US Modern Rock, 2 of the
tracks are uptempo, while the other ones are calmer. I
myself am not really a big fan of all there
nu-breed/modern rockers currently being aired in the US
all the time, but I have to admit that SECOND CLASS
deserves a chance beacuse what they are doing on this
4-track demo is a whole lot better than what I normally
hear from the US in this genre. Check ‘em out for
yourself at: http://www.second-class.com and e-mail them at: sc@second-class.com
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
NOBLE
SAVAGE ‘SHADOWS
OF THE NIGHT’ (INDEPENDENT)
Finally, an Italian band which is not playing in the
style of RHAPSODY and LABYRINTH! It doesn’t happen
quite often, because 9 out of 10 bands are playing fast
melodic Power Metal in the style of mentioned bands, but
NOBLE SAVAGE is clearly an exception to the rule, because
they bring us high quality pure 80s Melodic Metal in the
style of IRON MAIDEN (“Shadows night”) and
MANOWAR (“Time to kill”). The production and
the 3 included songs are of a very high level, so all
fans of the lost 80s Melodic Metal genre with a strong US
Power Metal approach here and there should look for the
CD of NOBLE SAVAGE. More info can be found at: http://www.noblesavage.it and e-mail them at: noblesavage@supereva.it
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 SEVEN WITCHES ‘PASSAGE TO THE
OTHER SIDE’ (NOISE/SUBURBAN)
SEVEN WITCHES basically brings you all you want to hear
in a good pure American Power Metal record. Their new
album sees them recruiting a new singer, none-other than
JAMES RIVERA, for insiders best known as lead singer of
HELSTAR and DESTINY’S END. Musically SEVEN WITCHES
falls in the same style, although sometimes you can also
hear some heavier influences (Thrash) a la ICED EARTH.
The high-pitched vocals of James also sound a lot like
JUDAS PRIEST (just listen to the 2nd track of the CD
“Mental messiah”). The best tracks however can
be found during the second part of the album, namely
“The last horizon” (excellent uptempo melodic
metal with a strong chorus), “Passage to the other
side” (lovely midtempo Power Metal) and the uptempo
80s US Metal tracks “fever in the city”,
“Nature’s wrath” and “Wasted”
(duet with JACK FROST). Conclusion is simple, this album
is highly recommended to fans of ANVIL, HELSTAR, RIOT,
DESTINY’S END, ICED EARTH...
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 EROGENA ‘EARTH’S
CRYING’ (INDEPENDENT)
Out of Mexico comes EROGENA, a great quality
Progressive/Power Metalband that is clearly playing along
the lines of RHAPSODY and LABYRINTH, which can best be
heard on the song “The earth’s crying”.
However, I would have loved more songs with Spanish
lyrics, because the best track is called “Uey
teculti tenamaxtzin”, the only song with Spanish
lyrics, this song is great Latin Melodic Power Metal a la
TIERRA SANTA, AVALANCH, DARNA, RATA BLANCA... and
features very strong lead vocals. Nevertheless, the rest
of the CD (with English lyrics) is also very good
performed Prog/Power Metal, with as highlights “In a
dream”, “Blue rose” and the
afforementioned “The earth’s crying”. A
recommended band in the ever-growing Prog/Power Metal
genre. More info at: https://www.angelfire.com/band/Erogena and e-mail them at: urielsalinas@mixmail.com or hipermx@hotmail.com or mikerogena_1@hotmail.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 SAVROM LAMDERTH ‘EL GUARDIAN DE LAS
MELODIAS PERDIDAS’ (RED DRAGON)
Out of Spain comes SAVROM LAMDERTH, and their CD ‘El
guardian de las melodias perdidas’ is a great record
of a very high level. Musically they play a mix of
Prog/Power Metal and Mediaeval folk themes, ending up
sounding a lot like MAGA DE OZ. Most of the songs are
fast and feature catchy melodic choruses. Highlights are
“El saltimbanqui”, “Saloma”, “La
ley de las hadas”, “El arquero del rey”
and “Pequeno lombardo”. I don’t have any
info on the band, but what I do know is that their CD is
a great album, very much recommended to fans of MAGA DE
OZ…
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 ION VEIN ‘BEYOND
TOMORROW’ (MAJESPHERE)
‘Beyond tomorrow’ from the Chicago settled band
ION VEIN is the album QUEENSRYCHE never made. The album
is filled with super high class 80s orientated US
Prog/Power Metal and sounds like the perfect mix between
old QUEENSRYCHE and the first two CRIMSON GLORY. Sadly,
there are only 8 tracks, but what we do can add here that
the whole CD is a very sensational album and is maybe one
of the best US indies from the past few years! All the
tracks are impressive, with as absolute highlights
“Here today gone tomorrow”, “Beyond
tomorrow”, “Static visions” and
“Reflections unclear”. Quite a superb release,
which could easily be released on one of the major metal
labels in Europe.
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
PERSUADER
‘THE
HUNTER’ (NOTHING TO SAY)
I haven’t got any info on this band, but the sound
very American, combining Power Metal with Thrashy lead
vocals, which is a pity, because the songs are quite
good. The CD itself has a very high quality sound, while
the music is very much leaning towards ICED EARTH, with
some more 80s Bay Area Thrash Metal influences. The last
couple of tracks see the band dropping the Thrash
influences, and therefore the highlights on this CD are
great fast uptempo Power Metal pieces such as “Heart
and steel”, “…and there was light”
and “My life for you”, all with catchy
choruses. If the whole CD would have sounded like the
last 3 tracks, then it would have gotten a higher rating,
now they are bringing us too much Thrash Metal influences
on their songs.
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
DRAGON
LORD ‘DIVE’
(GOI MUSIC)
This is an awesome release by an Italian band. Musically
they play fast Power Metal, but with some Melodic Rock
influences here and there. There are 14 tracks on the
album, of which my favourites are “Dive” (very
good faster melodic Power Metal), “Home of
fight” (great uptempo melodic rocker, very catchy,
like a heavy DOKKEN meets early GREAT WHITE), “No
time to cry” (great melodic rockballad), “I
will fight” (faster melodic Power Metal), “So
deep” (perfect Power Metal), “So far away”
(included as demo version, nevertheless awesome melodic
Power Metal) and closing track “Victims of war”
(great melodic Prog/Power Metal). Basically, this is a
great release by the Italian band DRAGON LORD. If I am
correct, the release dates back to a few years ago, but I
don’t know what they are up to right now.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 CASTLE WELL ‘HELPLESS’
(INDEPENDENT)
Another independent gem in the European Metal scene.
CASTLE WELL hail from Germany and their CD is really
fantastic. The band has a great strong melodic lead
singer, and their songs are pure 80s US Melodic Metal
orientated, and remind me somehow of another demo act I
reviewed some time ago (THE CLAYMORE). This is very good
stuff, and the 11 included songs are of a very high
level. Favourite tracks are “Win or lose”
(great pure 80s uptempo melodic metal), “He comes
alive” (very good uptempo melodic metal with a
catchy chorus, kinda like a heavy STRYPER), “Eye of
the storm” (great semi melodic rockballad), “Go
to hell” (classy uptempo Metal a la LEATHERWOLF,
FIFTH ANGEL), “2020” (best song of the whole
CD, lovely high class 80s Metal with a keyboardsolo!) and
closing track “Hymn” (lovely midtempo melodic
metal with a slight MANOWAR touch). In general, this is
slightly recommended independent Metal record from
Germany. Better look out for this release!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
COURT
JESTER
‘FORCED TO BELIEVE’ (ALISTER RECORDS)
This album was released back in 1996, so it will be very
hard to get now and that’s a pity, because COURT
JESTER from Germany released back then a very good 80s US
Melodic Metal kinda record. The songs reminded me a lot
of SYRIS, LETHAL, TWISTED TOWER DIRE and CRIMSON GLORY.
10 tracks were included on the album, of which the best
tracks were the fantastic catchy uptempo Melodic Metal
pieces “Serpents”, “King of
masquerade”, “You don’t know”,
“Reaper’s call” (very melodic chorus) and
the midtempo “As we told you”. Like I said, it
will be hard to get, but if you ever see this CD, then
please don’t hesitate because it’s a real gem,
especially if you’re keen on classy 80s US Melodic
Prog/Power Metal.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
ENERTIA ‘FLASHPOINT’
(INDEPENDENT)
Out of New York comes ENERTIA, and their independent
release ‘Flashpoint’ is a nice Progressive
Metal album. It doesn’t sound like the old
QUEENSRYCHE at all, so don’t expect anything along
those lines, but rather think more of a NEVERMORE,
because ENERTIA is melting their Prog Metal with a strong
Modern Metal approach, which is a pity, because a song
like “Leave me in peace” proves they are better
off without the Modern influences. Anyway, it’s a
nice raw groovy Prog Metal record, with as best songs
“Victim of thought”, “Glitch”,
“D.O.M.” and “Voices”, but don’t
expect anything really sensational.
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 LOST INNOCENCE ‘A TALE NEVER
TOLD’ (UNDERGROUND SYMPHONY RECORDS)
Not every UNDERGROUND SYMPHONY RECORDS release and
certainly not every Italian band is sensational and
playing high quality Power Metal. The band LOST INNOCENCE
for example is one of the bands that fail to impress with
their CD, ad their Power Metal sounds quite average and
also the band has a weak lead singer. The only song worth
mentioning is the great 80s orientated US Power Metal
track “The fifth season”. Despite a very fancy
looking frontcover, the album is disappointing and only
recommended to die-hard Power Metal freaks.
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
THE
LORD WEIRD SLOUGH FEG ‘DOWN AMONG THE
DEADMEN’
(DRAGONHEART RECORDS)
With a bandname like THE LORD WEIRD SLOUGH FEG you
wouldn’t expect anything sensational, but then
you’re completely wrong, because this Californian
band is playing lovely classy US Melodic Metal a la
HELSTAR, TWISTED TOWER DIRE, and maybe even a better
comparison is IRON MAIDEN! Yes, the lead singer could
have even been a younger brother of sir Bruce Dickinson,
and musically songs like “Sky chariots”,
“Walls of shame” and “Warriors down”
bring back the days around ‘Powerslave’ and
‘The number of the beast’, 2 of the most
popular MAIDEN records. Anyway, my favourite tracks on
this awesome CD are “Heavy Metal Monk”,
“Cauldron of blood” (a lot like TWISTED TOWER
DIRE, pure 80s guitar riffs) and “Traders and
gunboats”. Every fan of pure 80s Metal should have a
listen to this fantastic record!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
EDDY
ANTONINI ‘WHEN
WATER BECAME ICE’
(UNDERGROUND SYMPHONY RECORDS)
From Italy we have EDDY ANTONINI, who also plays in the
band SKYLARK, and he put out this solo record a few years
ago, and musically it’s not too far away from his
other band. This is prime-time Italian melodic Power
Metal in the style of WONDERLAND, LABYRINTH, RHAPSODY,
SKYLARK etc. This is really an awesome release like only
European can deliver them, from start to finish quality
Power Metal with clean melodies, cool keyboardwork and
happy fast upbeat tunes. Highlights are “Sun”,
“Twilight”, “Fear of the moon”,
“Rufus” and “Shooting star/I want
out”. If you didn’t bought this record a few
years ago when it was officially released, then I can now
recommend it to you to buy it a.s.a.p. if you like
typical Italo Power Metal!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 THE IVORY TOWER PROJECT ‘RED HOT’
(INDEPENDENT)
The CD ‘Red hot’ by the Florida based act THE
IVORY TOWER PROJECT is just a few seconds away and I am
listening to something that could have been in 1981 or in
that period. There are 4 songs on the CD, and especially
opening track “My name”, with it’s catchy
keys, beautiful lead and harmonyvocals and classy 80s
AOR/Pomprocksound is very much sounding like RATHSKELLER,
LE ROUX, HOBBIT... The following two songs are softer,
but still nice 80s type of AOR, with “Burning”
being my favourite track. Closing track “Way too
late” then again is a superb pure AOR rocker with a
SURVIVOR/FORTUNE touch. Concluded, this is a great AOR
record with a strong 80s feeling. People who like this
kind of 80s AOR should go to: http://www.cdstreet.com/artists/guerillarecords for more info on THE
IVORY TOWER PROJECT.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 WILD FRONTIER ‘STICK YOUR NECK
OUT’
(PRIME ENTERTAINMENT)
It took 5 years for the German band WILD FRONTIER to
complete their third CD, but the result will please all
melodic rockfans. ‘Stick your neck out’ is a
great melodic (hard) rockalbum that calls memories of
bands like WHITE LION, FIREHOUSE, BONFIRE, TREAT, DEF
LEPPARD... What you get basically is classy 80s melodic
rock with big harmonyvocals and catchy choruses, but yet
with an updated sound, so it doesn’t sound dated at
all. The best songs can be found from track 6 on the CD,
because from there the style is getting uptempo and
catchy. Highlights are uptempo melodic rockers such as
“Save me”, “I can hear you” (very
strong, AOR keys at start and big harmonyvocals a la DEF
LEPPARD) and “Hard to control” (very strong
sound), the midtempo melodic rocker “Next to
you” (big chorus a la DANGER DANGER) and closing
track “We will be one” (faster uptempo melodic
heavy rocker a la PRETTY MAIDS). Concluded, this is a
highly recommended melodic rock record. More info at: http://www.wildfrontier.de
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 NAZCA ‘THE WHITE
WHEEL’ (BRENNUS RECORDS)
The French recordlabel BRENNUS RECORDS has released
another awesome new CD by a French band. This band is
called NAZCA, and they hail from Le Tampon, Reunion
Island which is in the Indian Ocean, but apparently falls
under French territory. Anyway, the band’s debut CD
was produced by DENNIS WARD (PINK CREAM 69), who has done
a great job. There are 9 tracks on the album, and to me
it’s clearly high quality melodic hardrock.
Favourite tracks are “The great masquerade”,
“Little king”, “Reaching your soul”
and “Atlantis”. The band has kind of an own
style, but I think most Melodic Hardrockfans will enjoy
this release a lot.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 WILD WEST ‘SECOND TO
NONE’
(BRENNUS RECORDS)
‘Second to none’ is the second CD of the French
band WILD WEST, and although I forgot about their debut,
I have to say this album is quite good. Musically WILD
WEST is playing good rough Melodic Hardrock. The best
songs are “Spread your wings” (great semi
melodic rockballad), “Loneliness of the wolf”
(catchy uptempo melodic rocker with a strong chorus),
“Second to none” (great midtempo melodic
rocker), the semi-melodic rockballad “Desert
plains” and the uptempo melodic rocker “Horses
and eagles”. This is really a great melodic
hardrockalbum of a very high level. Another recommended
French band!
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
SPELLSINGER ‘REACH OUT FOR MY
HAND’ (PROMO)
Out of Southern Germany comes SPELLSINGER, a band that
has already released a couple albums, and this 2-track
promo CD I received is a sneak preview of their upcoming
new CD release. The band is
playing high quality Melodic Power Metal, yet with sadly
a slightly minor in the vocal part. The band has a great
lead singer, but it’s a pity he sometimes growls and
disturbs the songs with those annoying
Black/Death-grunts, leave those out and you’ll have
a fantastic song. Nevertheless, a song like “Reach
out for my hand” is fantastic uptempo melodic Power
Metal with a catchy chorus a la EDGUY. Hopefully their
upcoming release will not contain those additional
unnecessary Growls, because they spoil the songs a bit.
Check out the band’s website at: http://www.spellsinger.de and e-mail them at: info@spellsinger-thejourney.de
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
LANDGUARD
‘METAMORPHOSIS’
(INDEPENDENT)
LANDGUARD
from Italy has already released a full-length CD on
UNDERGROUND SYMPHONY RECORDS, and this
‘Metamorphosis’ release is a 4-track mini-CD.
The production and sound quality is very good, so is the
included music and also lead singer Marco Mangapia has a
great melodic voice, although it’s a pity he
sometimes growls. This is the only negative thing to say
about the band, because the 4 tracks are great Prog/Power
Metal tracks of a very high level. “Out of
control” and “A new begin” are very
impressive Prog Metal, while “An oniric comedy”
is a very good melodic rockballad with awesome lead
vocals, and finally, closing track “Rising
shadows” is very good uptempo Prog/Power Metal a la
ARTENSION. If they had dropped the Death/Black growls,
then this CD would have been perfect, nevertheless,
it’s still a recommended album to fans of
Prog/Power. More info at: http://www.landguardweb.com and e-mail them at: info@landguardweb.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 LAST PROPHECY ‘JUGANDO CON
SUENOS’
(EDG MUSIC)
Out
of Spain comes LAST PROPHECY, whom just released a
sensational Melodic Metal record called ‘Jugando con
suenos’. It basically follows the same style created
by all the other bands of what I would call the New Wave
of Spanish Heavy Metal. The CD is in the same style as
bands such as SARATOGA, AVALANCH, TIERRA SANTA, DARNA,
WARCRY, MAGA DE OZ, SARGON etc. 10 tracks are included
and from start to finish it’s high quality Latin
Melodic Metal, with as highlights “Mil horas”,
“Dolor en tu sangre”, “La esfera
azul”, “Lejos de un adios” and “Un
ultimo suspiro”. If you like typical Spanish Melodic
Metal, then this release is a must for you! More info at:
http://www.last-prophecy.com
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 XYZ ‘LETTER TO GOD’
(MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN)
After
a decade the American Melodic Hardrockband XYZ has made a
comeback with their new album ‘Letter to God’.
Musically not much has changed as the band is still
playing good quality groovy melodic hardrock. The DOKKEN
similarity has vanished, and now they sound like HARDLINE
with a raw edge, but with great strong lead vocals. 12
tracks are on the CD, and for lead singer Terry Ilous it’s
a very personal record, as tragedy hit him last year when
his son died, and “Letter to God” is dedicated
to his son. Highlights on the CD include “Letter to
God”, “Tango” and “Rainy day”, 3
good groovy melodic hardrocksongs, and also very good are
the (semi) ballads “Deny”, “All I’m
asking” and “What keeps me loving you”
(new version of old XYZ classic) and maybe the best song
is the uptempo melodic rocker “Burn it up”. The
album will probably not turn Gold, like their previous
albums, but it’s still a recommended album to fans
of raw edgy groovy melodic hardrock.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 RADIOACTIVE ‘YEAH’ (MTM
MUSIC/SUBURBAN)
‘Yeah’
is the second CD of Swedish guitarist TOMMY DENANDER’s
project RADIOACTIVE. The guest list is very impressive,
with such fabulous lead singers like FERGIE FREDERIKSEN
(TOTO, LE ROUX), STEVE OVERLAND (FM), Mikael Erlandsson,
Matt Alfonzetti, Kimmo Blom (URBAN TALE) and Geir Ronning
(TOTO, PRISONER). 12 tracks are included and compared to
the first RADIOACTIVE album, the new album is a bit
rockier, which is a good move I think. This is real
quality stuff, and quite a must for fans of AOR/Melodic
Rock of a high level. The best songs are strong AOR songs
like “Don’t give up”, “I should have
known better” (catchy chorus), “Demon”
(uptempo fun melodic rocker with Fergie singing), “Lies
fied on lies” (bluesy touch with superb vocals of
Steve Overland, kinda like FOREIGNER/BAD COMPANY), “7
A.M.” (early 80s style, a la PRISM) and closing
track “Until I change your heart” (best song,
very strong midtempo AOR a la MARK FREE, JIM JIDHED).
This is definitely a recommended album to the AOR freaks!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 STRATOVARIUS ‘ELEMENTS PART 1’
(NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS)
After
a long silence, Finish Power Metal heroes STRATOVARIUS
return with a new CD titled ‘Elements part 1’.
Although the album isn’t as good as their classic
‘Infinite’, it’s a still a fantastic
melodic Power Metal record. 9 tracks are included, and
among the highlights we can mention songs like “Learning
to fly”, “Pappilon” and the epic “Elements”
with it’s playing length of 12 minutes. The album
will be followed by ‘Elements part 2’ later
this year, but in the meantime the fans of STRATOVARIUS
can easily buy this awesome disc.
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 KAYAK ‘BARD OF THE UNSEEN’
(KAYAK INDEPENDENT)
The Dutch band KANSAS made a very good move a few years
ago with the addition of new lead singer BERT HEERINK
(formerly VANDENBERG, UNDERCOVER, PICTURE). His voice
added a new dimension to the classic Symphonic Rocksound
of KAYAK. Since the band made a restart in the year 2000,
4 albums have been released, and the latest release
‘Bard of the unseen’ is probably the finest
release KAYAK has ever done. This new CD is a near
classic, and must be seen as a Rock Opera dedicated to
the legends of Merlin and King Arthur. The musicstyle is
Symphonic Melodic Rock and should be placed next to
AYREON, STAR ONE, NOSTRADAMEUS and more of such Rock
Opera’s we have seen the past few years. ‘Bard
of the unseen’ is really an awesome album that
contains fantastic uptempo rockers (“Merlin”,
“The last battle”), medieaval ‘folky’midtempo
Symphorocksongs (“The sword in the stone”,
“At Arthur’s court”, “The purest of
knights”) and calmer epic (semi) ballads (“When
the seer looks away”, “Friendship and love”
and the lovely “Niniane (Lady of the lake)”).
Concluded, with this album KAYAK has reached it’s
highlight after being formed 30 years ago! The band has
developed an own style, which will attract fans of both
AOR/Pomp/Melodic Rock and Prog/Symphonic Rock.
Recommended to fans of MAGNUM, AYREON and KANSAS!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
(All
reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted)
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