 ETERNAL REIGN ‘CRIMES OF
PASSION’
(TTS MEDIA MUZIK)
ETERNAL REIGN is the new sensation from Germany! They
have released an awesome CD that is filled with high
class 80s influenced Melodic US Metal. The band has a
great strong melodic lead singer, while their CD has a
very impressive big sound and the included 10 tracks are
sensational. The song are straight-ahead and super
melodic, so rough guitarlicks mixed with catchy melodies,
Metal meets Melodic Rock! The 60 minutes of their debut
CD are really fabulous, and I can’t help saying once
again that ETERNAL REIGN is the latest new sensation,
because they are that good. It’s hard to pick out
favourite tracks, because they are all very good. Opener
“Isolation” is superb high class uptempo US
Melodic Metal in the best 80s tradition, with a very
catchy chorus, like a mix between DOKKEN, SCORPIONS,
FIFTH ANGEL and CRIMSON GLORY). Other highlights in the
same style as the opening track are such Melodic Metal
monsters like “Loneliness”, “Inner
strength”, “Perfect crime”, “Freedom
call” and the semi-ballad “Hand of fate”.
Concluded, this is a highly recommended band to both
Melodic Rockfans and Metalfreaks! More info at: http://www.eternal-reign.com and e-mail them at: dirk@eternal-reign.com
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
MIKE
TRAMP ‘MORE
TO LIFE THAN THIS’ (ULFTONE MUSIC/BERTUS)
Former WHITE LION singer returns with a new solo-CD. The
album is titled ‘More to life than this’ and
it’s probably his best work since the heydays of
WHITE LION. Although the music included here is still far
away from the fantastic classy melodic rock of WHITE
LION, the songs are definitely more grabbing back to a
retro melodic poprocksound, not heard from Mike in over a
decade. Highlights on this CD are such uptempo melodic
poprockers like “More to life than this”,
“Lay down my life for you”, “Don’t
want to say goodnight”, “Back from the
dead” (good melodic chorus) and “I won’t
let go”. Towards the end, the CD features some
average slow tunes like “Goodbye song” and
“The good the sad and the ugly” that completely
fail to impress, especially compared to the glorious
WHITE LION ballads from the past. Anyway, it’s good
to see MIKE TRAMP making melodic (pop) rockmusic again,.
But I always hope he fully recovers and releases a new
WHITE LION record sometime in the future, with new songs
in the style of such classics like “Broken
heart”, “El Salvador” and “Cry for
freedom”, but I guess that will never happen.
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
ULTIMATIUM ‘END OF
DARKNESS’ (DEMO CDR)
I haven’t got much info on this Finish band, but
their demo CDR ‘End of darkness’ contains 5
tracks and is musically moving into a melodic Power Metal
style a la STRATOVARIUS, only not as good. The best songs
are “Soldier of light” and “I search the
light”, both fast and melodic, although the sound is
clearly ‘Demo’ish, with good male vocals, but
they are produced too much to the back. If I am correct,
I also hear a female singer on 2 songs, the first track
“Angel” is very weak, but closing track “I
will wait” is a very good semi-ballad a la
EDENBRIDGE. This band is able to do much better and a
future CD will prove that I think, so next time a better
sound/production, and continue making quality songs a la
“Soldier of light” and “I will wait”.
More info at: http://ultimatium.cjb.net
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
UNCHAINED
‘HERE
I AM’ (INDEPENDENT)
Only 1 song can be found on the CD-single of the German
band UNCHAINED. The song is called “Here I am”
and it’s a good semi melodic rock ballad a la WHITE
LION, BONFIRE, WILD FRONTIER... What more can I say? I
think it’s best to wait until a full CD is released,
so we can check out if this band is also able to rock! In
the meantime, go to their website at: http://www.unchained.de and e-mail them at: tommy@unchained.de
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
NAAMAH ‘ULTIMA’
(METAL MIND PRODUCTIONS)
Following the footsteps of DELIGHT, the sensational
Gothic Prog Metal band, there comes another new Polish
band with a great female lead singer. The band is called
NAAMAH and ‘Ultima’ is their 2nd CD since they
started about 5 years ago. The music of NAAMAH is very
close to NIGHTWISH, WITHIN TEMPTATION, DELIGHT, AUTUMN...
Liek I said, the band has a very good strong female lead
singer called Anna Panasz, and the included 11 tracks are
a pleasure to listen to. Highlights are
“Stranger”, “Last night”, “She
is my sin” (NIGHTWISH cover) and “Noli me
tangere” (great Prog Metal of a very high level).
This album is highly recommended to fans of NIGHTWISH,
WITHIN TEMPTATION, THE GATHERING...
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
DESDEMONA
‘SUPERNOVA’
(METAL MIND PRODUCTIONS)
Do not confuse this DESDEMONA with the same named Italian
Power Metal act, because this DESDEMONA hails from
Poland, and they play Gothic Metal with good female
vocals. The only problem is that this band is mixing the
typical Gothic Metal with Industrial Metal, which is
really a pity, because their 2nd album
‘Supernova’ shows they are able to make a great
sensational record a la NIGHTWISH. Just listen to the
fantastic closing track “Insomnia”, which is
pure WITHIN TEMPTATION meets NIGHTWISH. Also opener
“XI IX” and “To the past shadows” are
very NIGHTWISH orientated and quite good if you ask me.
However, the rest of the CD has more in common with
Industrial Metal (“Tomorrow will turn into the
past”, “Void” and “Mantra”), and
that’s really a pity, because it could have been so
much better.
(Points:
6.5 out of 10)
 LOST HORIZON ‘A FLAME TO THE
GROUND BENEATH’ (MUSIC FOR NATIONS)
LOST HORIZON from Sweden has just released their 2nd CD
‘A flame to the ground beneath’ on the English
label MUSIC FOR NATIONS. Some of you might remember that
this label was a real mecca for quality Hardrock and AOR
in the 1980s, but after around 1993 when they released
DRIVE SHE SAID’s third CD it became very quiet and
the only releases on the label from the 1990s had not
much in common with our beloved musicstyle. Anyway, we
are now in the year 2003 and MUSIC FOR NATIONS has
released an awesome CD in the shape of the new LOST
HORIZON record. This is really high quality stuff what we
hear on the LOST HORIZON album, which can be described as
pure Euro Melodic Power Metal with a strong Prog Metal
influence here and there.
The
band might not be influenced by the bands of this genre,
but still it reminds me of acts like LABYRINTH,
STRATOVARIUS and BALANCE OF POWER. If you’re a fan
of such bands, then this will definitely appeal to you,
although I must state here that the band has NOT been
influenced by these bands. 9 tracks are included, of
which my favourites are “Pure” (awesome Euro
Prog/Power Metal a la LABYRINTH), “Again will the
fire burn” (excellent uptempo melodic Prog Metal a
la BALANCE OF POWER) and the fast uptempo melodic Power
Metal tracks “Cry of a restless soul”,
“Think not forever” and “Highlander (the
one)”. This is an album you can easily call
sensational, and it should be placed next to other
quality Swedish acts we have seen the past year, such as
PLATITUDE, MORIFADE, DRAGONLAND, DREAM EVIL... More info
on the band at: http://www.oncelosthorizon.com and e-mail them at: info@oncelosthorizon.com
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
MARC
FERRARI ‘LIGHTS,
CAMERA, ACTION!’ (Z RECORDS)
The new album of guitarist/songwriter Marc Ferrari is not
really a new album, because the included songs were
recorded throughout the past decades, but were only
released in TV-commercials, Sport Events etc. and never
officially released up until now. I have to say that
there is quite a diversity of styles, and not all songs
are convincing, because songs like “Off the deep
end”, “Right on the money”, “The beat
of my heart”, “Bad mofo”, “Depths of
my soul” and “The story of my life” are
very average. On the other hand, there’s also some
good Rock material on the CD, such as opener “Run
the road” (good catchy uptempo melodic rocker a la
Y&T/TANGIER), “Caution to the wind”
(uptempo melodic rocker a la 707), “To hot to
sleep” (sung by Steve Plunkett from AUTOGRAPH, used
in ‘Sex in the city’ TV episode, song is a mix
between Steve’s old band and ZZ TOP), the STAN BUSH
song “Capture the dream” (Olympic Games tune,
lovely semi AOR ballad) and the absolute highlight can be
found in the shape of “Chance of a lifetime”
(classy uptempo AOR like TOTO/RADIOACTIVE meets STAN
BUSH). Having said that, the album has ups and downs, and
is actually only recommended to fans of Mark’s
guitar playing, because not all songs included are
convincing.
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 DEMON DRIVE ‘FOUR PLAY!’
(ESCAPE MUSIC)
As the title predicts, this is the 4th album of the
German band DEMON DRIVE, although the title also refers
to the 4 bandmembers playing and the ‘foreplay’
as in sexual terms! Anyway, the band formed around lead
singer MICHAEL VOSS (BONFIRE, CASANOVA) recently signed
to ESCAPE MUSIC and released their new album on this
British label. The music hasn’t changed much
happily, and so we are listening to another good Melodic
Rock record by this German act.
The
Melodic Rock of DEMON DRIVE has a slight modern touch,
and is best comparable to GOTTHARD, MIKAEL ERLANDDSSON
and BON JOVI. 11 tracks are included, and most of the
songs sound pretty nice, with as highlights the catchy
uptempo melodic rockers “Roller coaster ride”,
“Dance into the music” and
“Waterfall”, but also great semi melodic
rock/aor ballads such as “Here comes that
feelin’ again” (remake of old CASANOVA song),
“Because of you” and closing track
“Remember where you heard it first” are quite
nice to listen to. The last mentioned track is also
featured as a video, which looks quite good. Concluded,
DEMON DRIVE has released a good new CD, although it
isn’t as good as their fantastic debut from 8 years
ago, but still much better than their 2nd and 3rd CD!
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
SPEKTRUM ‘SPEKTRUM’
(PROGRESS RECORDS)
Out of Sweden comes SPEKTRUM, a project formed around
members of bands like GALLEON, CROSS and GRAND STAND.
Their first album is a good quality melodic Progressive
Rockalbum that sounds like their own bands, apart from
the fact that SPEKTRUM has a great melodic female lead
singer called Lizette von Panajott. Her voice sounds like
LANA LANE, and the music also reminds me a bit of LANA
LANE, although sometimes it sounds a bit more modern.
Highlights on the CD are “Land of longing”
(great Progressive Melodic Rocker), “The quest”
(good semi melodic rocker with strong chorus and nice
keyboardsolo), “Ivory tower” (another great
prog melodic rocker) and closing track “A chemical
release” (80s inspired keyboard driven Sympho/Prog.
Rocker). This is a very good release and recommended to
the fans of Progressive Melodic Rock!
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
KEN
SNYDER ‘ONE’
(INDEPENDENT)
Out of California comes guitarist KEN SNYDER, and he sent
me his CD ‘One’, a great quality instrumental
Melodic Hardrockalbum a la MALMSTEEN, VAI, SATRIANI...
There are 12 tracks on the CD, keeping you busy for 50
minutes. Highlights are “Opening tip”,
“Ball buster”, “Electric” (excellent
guitar/keys), “Little princess” (AORish) and
“March of the ants” (uptempo melodic rocker).
There’s also some Prog Metal on the CD, which will
please DREAM THEATER fans. More info on KEN SNYDER at: www.ken-snyder.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
FALLEN
ANGELS
‘EDGE OF DAYS’ (INDEPENDENT)
This is a German band that features among others, drummer
Sascha Sauer from SYMPHORCE. The 6 tracks on the latest
FALLEN ANGELS CD are simply said wonderful high class
melodic Prog/Power Metal pieces that lean towards bands
such as EDGUY, LABYRINTH, RAGE etc. etc. The sound is
very big, so is the production, the 6 songs are all
sensational and the lead singer (Carsten Hille) has a
very good strong voice. Songs like “Edge of
days”, “The light” and “Far
away” are terrific melodic Prog/Power Metal pieces
of a very high level. This band could easily end up as a
major label act and I do hope they will find a label
soon, because they are a sensational band that deserves
much more. In the meantime, check out their site at: http://www.fallen-angels-rocks.de and e-mail them at: s.sauer@pm-group.net
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 TIERRA SANTA ‘INDOMABLE’
(LOCOMOTIVE MUSIC/ROCK INC./BERTUS)
The Spanish band TIERRA SANTA returns with a new CD
release. The album is titled ‘Indomable’, and
is already their fifth CD. After a couple of spins, I was
very impressed and can easily state that
‘Indomable’ is the best release of the band.
The band is playing a mixture of Melodic Rock, Power
Metal and Melodic Heavy Rock, with Spanish lyrics. The
new CD contains 10 wonderful track, and from start to
finish we are listening to one of the best albums
released so far this year. The CD has a big production,
and although it’s hard to mention highlights,
because the CD is such a killer record all the way
through, I really must mention as favourite tracks
“Indomable”, “Quien Ilora hoy por ti”
(superb!), “El canto de las sirenas” and
“El corazon del guerrero”. With this new album,
TIERRA SANTA might finally make a breakthrough outside
Spain, especially now a big marketing promotion campaign
has been launched by the band’s label LOCOMOTIVE
MUSIC. Let’s hope they will also tour throughout the
whole of Europe.
(Points:
9.5 out of 10)
CIRCLE
2 CIRCLE
‘CIRCLE 2 CIRCLE’
(AFM RECORDS/ROCK INC./BERTUS)
CIRCLE 2 CIRCLE is a new band put together by SAVATAGE
singer Zak Stevens. Actually this CD should be seen as a
new SAVATAGE record, because Zak wrote all the songs
together with members of SAVATAGE, and musically it is
not that far away from SAVATAGE. However, when I think of
SAVATAGE I am thinking about a slightly overrated band
here in Europe, as they were a bit too theatrical and
songwise it was just ok, but nothing more. If we then
have a listen to CIRCLE 2 CIRCLE, well things change and
I hear a very good impressive sound that combines the
best of Melodic Metal, Prog Metal and Theatrical Epic
sounds, which makes me forget about the SAVATAGE albums
released the past 20 years. This first CIRCLE 2 CIRCLE CD
is a fantastic record with a lot of sensational songs,
such as “Out of reach” (uptempo melodic metal),
“Into the wind” (great big sounding melodic
Prog Metal, very impressive song) and epic semi-ballads
like “Watching in silence”,
“Forgiven” and “Face to face”.
Zak’s voice is better than ever, and he proves he
really is a great singer, and with this CD he also shows
the world that CIRCLE 2 CIRCLE is a band to watch out for
in the future.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 THE STORMRIDER ‘CRISEIDA’
(GOI MUSIC/ROCK INC./BERTUS)
I haven’t got any info on this band, but what I do
know is THE STORMRIDER is a six-piece band from Spain,
Gijon to be exact, and they have released a good
full-length CD titled ‘Criseida’. The band is
playing quality fast uptempo melodic Power Metal in a
typical Italian style. I think fans of Italian bands like
SKYLARK, SHADOWS OF STEEL, WONDERLAND, LABYRINTH, HOLY
KNIGHTS... are gonna love this record. 11 songs are
included, and the best ones are “Shadows of
war”, “Messengers of fate”, “Time is
the punisher, time is the avenger” and
“Windhunter”. Although everything sounds well
here, the conclusion is that THE STORMRIDER might get
lost between the dozens of other (better) bands in this
genre. Nevertheless, the CD is recommended to fans of
mentioned bands.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 STEEL ATTACK ‘PREDATOR OF THE
EMPIRE’ (ARISE RECORDS/BERTUS)
After
2 releases on AFM RECORDS, the Swedish Power Metalband
STEEL ATTACK has moved to a new label, namely ARISE
RECORDS, the Spanish label that brought us some great
releases in the past, like AXENSTAR, ARWEN and FRETERNIA.
Now it’s up to STEEL ATTACK with their 3rd CD which
is titled ‘Predator of the empire’, and after a
couple of listens, it became clear to me that this is the
best release on ARISE RECORDS ever done. The new STEEL
ATTACK CD is a superb sensational Melodic Power Metal
record of a very high level, and best comparable (and as
good as) other Swedish bands in this genre, like
HAMMERFALL, DREAM EVIL and NOCTURNAL RITES. From track 1
“Predator of the empire” until the last track
“Reality unknown” it’s all high quality
melodic Power Metal what we hear, and without a doubt I
can easily say that this CD is going to be one of the
highlights in the Power Metal genre this year.
It’s
hard to pick favourite songs, because all 10 tracks are a
pleasure to listen to. But I really must mention
fantastic songs like “The darkness” (fast
uptempo melodic Power Metal), “Point of no
return” (great midtempo melodic heavy rocker),
“Arise” (great melodic metal with a catchy
chorus), the fast uptempo Power Metal pieces “One
way to heaven. One way to hell” and “Predator
of the empire”, and closing track “Reality
unknown”, which is a lovely catchy uptempo melodic
metal piece. The second week of April will see a lot of
Metalheads purchasing one of the best Metalrecords
released this year, because then the third STEEL ATTACK
album will be officially released on Arise Records...
(Points:
9.5 out of 10)
 SOLEMNITY ‘KING OF
DREAMS’
(REMEDY RECORDS/ROCK INC./BERTUS)
Last year the German band SOLEMNITY released it’s
debut CD ‘Reign in hell’. Less than a year
later there is a follow-up in the shape of ‘King of
dreams’, a good high quality release that leans a
lot towards 80s US Power Metal style, yet with a slight
European touch here and there. There are 8 tracks on the
CD, and for fans of VIRGIN STEELE, MANOWAR and even IRON
MAIDEN, this band is highly recommended. The best songs
on ‘King of dreams’ are “The ninth
gate” (calm start, but evolves into a great 80s type
of US Metal piece in the style of FATES WARNING, CRIMSON
GLORY and QUEENSRYCHE), “Kill the majesty”
(pure 80s melodic metal a la MANOWAR, VIRGIN STEELE),
“Heart of a raven” (pure 80s US Power Metal
with strong melodies) and opening track “Fire in
mainstreamland” (nice typical Euro Power Metal with
an 80s touch, kinda like early STORMWITCH!). Concluded,
this pure 80s Metal record is very good, and should find
it’s way to the fans of mentioned bands, when it is
released late April on Remedy Records.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 RAWHEAD REXX ‘DIARY IN
BLACK’
(AFM RECORDS/ROCK INC./BERTUS)
‘Diary in black’ is the second CD of the German
Metalband RAWHEAD REXX. Unfortunately I can’t
remember their first CD, but what I do know is that
‘Diary in black’ is a great strong Metal record
that sounds like a mixture between HELLOWEEN, EDGUY,
SINNER and ICED EARTH. So there’s some US and
European Metal mixed into one style here, and I must say
that it sometimes sounds very impressive. The highlights
on ‘Diary in black’ are “Return of the
dragon” (fantastic fast uptempo melodic Power Metal
a la HELLOWEEN), “Dragonheart” (great midtempo
melodic metal, very strong song), “Saint and
sinner” (good strong typical German uptempo melodic
metal like EDGUY meets SINNER) and the wonderful melodic
rockballads “What if” and “Six feet from
the edge” (both very much like EDGUY/AVANTASIA).
There’s also some Aggressive Metal orientated tracks
on the CD which feature so-called ‘Gang vocals’
during the chorus in songs like “Diary in
black”, “Brothers in arms” (hello
MANOWAR), “The machine” and “Metal
way”, but apart from these tunes, in general
speaking this CD is a cranking Metal monster, and highly
recommended to fans of pure Metal in the style of
mentioned bands.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
VISIONS
OF ATLANTIS ‘ETERNAL ENDLESS INFINITY’
(GOI MUSIC/ROCK INC./BERTUS)
Out of Austria comes VISIONS OF ATLANTIS, a band
currently signed to the Spanish label GOI MUSIC. The band
has released a good quality CD titled ‘Eternal
endless infinity’ and musically VISIONS OF ATLANTIS
is playing Gothic melodic Prog/Power Metal a la NIGHTWISH
and EDENBRIDGE. The band does not only have a great
female lead singer, but also a male singer who is also
singing quite melodic, so 2 good singers can be found in
this band. Anyway, their CD has a great big
sound, and the songs are all a pleasure to listen to,
although the band isn’t as sensational as DELIGHT,
EDENBRIDGE, WITHIN TEMPTATION and NIGHTWISH. Highlights
are uptempo tracks like “Silence”,
“Seduced like magic”, “Eclipse” and
“Chasing the light”. Fans of typical female
Gothic Power Metal will probably like this CD also a lot,
although don’t expect a better band than
afforementioned acts!
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 SURGIN’ ‘ELECTRIC NIGHTS
THE FINAL CHAPTER’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS)
MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS is a new London based Recordlabel,
and they have released 4 CDs. The CD by SURGIN’ is
by far the most interesting release, as it captures some
classic unheard 80s AOR which will please all fans of
WHITE SISTER, FRANKE AND THE KNOCKOUTS, DANGER DANGER,
PROPHET, INTRUDER, MESSAGE, 80s BON JOVI, LIONHEART...
The sound quality is not that good, because the original
tapes were used for this release, but otherwise we would
never heard the 13 tracks on this CD. SURGIN’ is
best known as the New Jersey band that released one good
melodic rock record titled ‘When midnight
comes’, which was released in the spotlight of BON
JOVI, whom even covered one of the SURGIN’ songs
(“Shot through the heart”). Anyway, the band
never made it as big as BON JOVI, although bandleader
Jack Ponti went on to have a successfull career as
songwriter for the likes of DORO, BATON ROUGE, GLEN
BURTNIK and many others. However, SURGIN’ was his
own band and he always felt that their only album
‘When midnight comes’ didn’t showcase the
real band in which he had played for several years.
Spitting in the archives a bunch of unreleased
SURGIN’ songs were found and the result can be found
on this CD, and I must say that the included songs are
better than anything off the original SURGIN’
record.
The
only pity is the sound quality which is not that good,
but if you’re a true fan of classic 80s AOR you can
not ignore this CD. This is how classic 80s AOR should
sound, highlights are “Dancing your life away”
(great AOR, like very early BON JOVI), “Don’t
say you love me” (KEEL covered this one, awesome
strong AOR song a la WHITE SISTER), “Heart of the
fire” (I totally dig this song with JEFF SCOTT SOTO
on vocals in the ‘Rich girl’ movie, but this is
the original version, fantastic classy 80s semi AOR
ballad it is!), “No looking back” (classic 80s
AOR a la FRANKE AND THE KNOCKOUTS’ third record),
“Other side of midnight” (big hooky AOR a la
WHITE SISTER) and the superb semi AOR ballad
“Somebody’s falling” (somehow I recognize
this song performed by someone else, but can’t
remember whom, was it SHARK ISLAND???).
The
titletrack “Electric nights” is also worth
mentioning, as this song sounds like 1981 or something of
that area, because this is prime-time early 80s classic
AOR/Poprock/Radiorock in a format made
popular by BRYAN ADAMS, PAT BENATAR and RICK SPRINGFIELD
in that period of the rock history in the US. To conclude
this review, if you don’t mind a ‘demo
sound’ like quality and are a true 80s AOR hunter,
then better purchase a copy of this awesome SURGIN’
record which bursts out of it’s AOR HEAVEN for
it’s included songs. More info on the label which
released the CD, go to: http://www.majesticrock.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
JACK
PONTI ‘PRESENTS
VOLUME 1’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS)
The SURGIN’ release was a good move of the new label
MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS, but this release is less
interesting, because Jack Ponti was a talented songwriter
who wrote the best songs during his SURGIN’ career,
with “Shot through the heart” being one of the
best. The years that followed saw him writing a bunch
(and a whole lot more) standard rock cliche type of tunes
for the likes of BATON ROUGE and DORO, throwaway songs
like DESMOND CHILD also wrote in the late 1980s. The
songs included on this CD are sung by the likes of
Sebastian Bach, Nelson, Kelly Keeling and several others.
The real interesting songs are coming from FIONA
(“Lose the night” – AOR rocker), NELSON
(“Don’t turn away” – one of their
first recordings, classy AOR) and the STAN BUSH AOR
Underground classic “How many tears”. Most of
the included 12 tracks are unreleased, and rherefore
interesting for the die-hard AOR/Melodic Rock
collector’s, but you have to accept the bad sound
quality and also some weaker cliche rocksongs by WILL
SEXTON, ERIC GALES, RICHARD BLACK and KELLY KEELING that
didn’t stand the test of time when they were
recorded. More info at: http://www.majesticrock.com
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
TIGERTAILZ ‘ORIGINAL
SIN’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS)
It’s a pity I haven’t got any info on this new
label from the UK, because they seem to focus themselves
on rare 80s AOR/Melodic Rock and .... Glamrock! Yes, UK
Glamsters TIGERTAILZ also have a release on MAJESTIC ROCK
RECORDS. The CD ‘Orignal sin‘ contains an
unreleased album of the band from before the time they
were signed to MUSIC FOR NATIONS, plus an unreleased demo
from the late 80s. In total we can find 10 tracks and
musically it is slightly better than the stuff they
released the following years after these recordings took
place. The Lipstick Hair Pop Metal of TIGERTAILZ sounded
like a rough cross between WRATHCHILD, POISON and CRUE,
with some more melodic hardrock influences here and
there. Highlights on this disc are such uptempo rockers
like “Turn me one”, “Now you’re on
your own” (catchy uptempo melodic rocker, sounds a
bit like LOST WEEKEND!), “Living without you”
and the ballad “Fall in love again”. Although
some of the included songs were re-recorded, the fans of
80s Glamrock might enjoy this a lot, and especially
TIGERTAILZ fans (are there any?) must buy this CD. More
info at: http://www.majesticrock.com
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
BEDLAM ‘LIVE IN LONDON
1973’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS)
BEDLAM was a legendary Rockband featuring drummer COZY
POWELL, and they were hailed as the follow-up to LED
ZEPPELIN, but somehow that never happened. MAJESTIC ROCK
has released a CD filled with unreleased Live material of
the band. Although BEDLAM sounded a lot like LED
ZEPPELIN, there were some clear differences, particularly
the fact that BEDLAM didn’t only play Hardrock, but
also had a lot of pure Bluesrocksongs in their setlists.
This CD is showcasing the band’s diversity, with as
highlight opener “I believe in you” which was a
good true early 70s Hardrocksong a la DEEP PURPLE. Some
of the rest were closer to CREAM or BAD COMPANY, and
sound a bit dated nowadays. However, fans of BEDLAM and
70s Hardrock/Rock should check out this CD for some fond
memories. More info at: http://www.majesticrock.com
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
 ANDROMEDA ‘2 = 1’
(NEW HAWEN RECORDS/CENTURY MEDIA/SUBURBAN)
This is the 2nd ANDROMEDA album, a Progressive Metal band
from Sweden. Their debut ‘Extension of the
wish’ from 2001 was a good record, but their new
album is definitely a clear improvement. The sound of
ANDROMEDA fits somewhere between SYMPHONY X, VANDENPLAS,
KAMELOT, THRESHOLD and EVERGREY. The band has a strong
lead singer (David Fremberg) and some of the included 9
tracks are very sensational. The highlights are
“Encyclopedia” (great melodic prog metal of a
very high level), “Two is one” (VANDENPLASish
epic semi prog metal), “Morphing into nothing”
(superb instrumental prog metal of a DREAM THEATER level,
with many breaks and keyboard passages) and closing track
“This fragile surface” (8 minute quality prog
metal song). Sweden is unstoppable with showcasing high
quality records and this new ANDROMEDA record is no
exception to the rule, so all Prog Metal freaks should
check out this excellent release!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 LULLACRY ‘CRUCIFY MY
HEART’
(CENTURY MEDIA/SUBURBAN)
‘Crucify my heart’ is the third CD of the
Finish female fronted Metal band LULLACRY. I saw them
live in Rotterdam last year, but they didn’t impress
me much, especially their lead singer was a bit too much
screaming instead of singing (kinda like HELLION).
However, recently the band switched from lead singer, and
now a girl called Tanja fronts the band, and she has a
great melodic voice (and looks perfect too!). The music
of LULLACRY is quite interesting, because it is a mixture
of Gothic, Melodic Metal, AOR with a very updated (almost
modern) Rock/Metal sound. All the 11 included songs are
catchy with
memorable melodic choruses, so basically we have got a
very strong album on our hands here. The band is very
famous in their homecountry Finland, and I completely
understand now why, because this album is perfect for
radio, as the music is raw, aggressive and melodic at the
same time, while still being modern and updated for
today’s Rockformat. Most of the songs are uptempo,
of which my favourites are “Alright tonight”,
“Crucify my heart”, “Don’t touch the
flame”, “Pitch black emotions” and
“Heart of darkness”, although the best songs
can be found in the shape of the midtempo melodic metal
monsters “Unchain” (lovely!) and “Over
me”. This CD is nothing like NIGHTWISH or LITA
FORD/VIXEN, but somewhere in between with a heavy modern
approach, but still being deadly catchy!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 INVICTUS ‘BLACK HEART’
(LIMB MUSIC/SUBURBAN)
Out of France comes INVICTUS, and ‘Black heart’
is their first CD release under that name. However, they
have already released 2 albums under the moniker QUARK 7,
but since I haven’t heard those records, ‘Black
heart’ was my first introduction to the band. And I
must say that INVICTUS has released an excellent CD. It
sounds like the perfect mix between STRATOVARIUS and
NIGHTWISH, with very strong choruses and a great lead
singer (Frederic Glo). So they play melodic Prog/Power
Metal, and not only the included 12 songs are very
sensational, the CD itself also has a fantastic
production. Highlights include “Depression”
(catchy fast uptempo melodic Power Metal a la
STRATOVARIUS), “Redemption” (another fast Power
Metal piece), “Since the day” (great melodic
rockballad), “The ancestor” (fantastic uptempo
melodic metal) and the fast melodic Power Metal track
“Wonderland”. Without a doubt, this is a highly
recommended Power Metal record!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 BURNING POINT ‘FEEDING THE
FLAMES’
(LIMB MUSIC/SUBURBAN)
‘Feeding the flames’ is the 2nd CD of the
Finish band BURNING POINT, and to inform you rightaway,
this is a fantastic high quality record. The Melodic
Metal of BURNING POINT reminds me of EDGUY, MOB RULES and
even RAINBOW!. There are 12 tracks on the CD, and take it
from me, there isn’t a weak track among these songs.
From start to finish this is Melodic Metal at it’s
best. My favourite tracks include “Veil of
secrecy” (fantastic semi melodic heavy rock/metal a
la MOB RULES), “Voice from the past” (great
catchy uptempo melodic metal a la EDGUY), “I am the
silent one” (fantastic midtempo melodic rock/metal),
“Stray bullet” (fast uptempo melodic Power
Metal), the cover “Night games” (catchy melodic
rocker a la RAINBOW, didn’t Graham Bonett record
this song 20 years ago?), the midtempo Melodic Metal
monsters “Quicker than the eye” and “All
the madness”, the catchy uptempo Melodic Metal song
“Resurrection machine” and closing track
“Feeding the flames” (8 minute epic Power
Metal). As you see, I almost mentioned all the included
tracks as favourite tracks! This is definitely a very
strong record, and a must for fans of quality Melodic
(Power) Metal!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 WIZARD ‘ODIN’ (LIMB
MUSIC/SUBURBAN)
The German band WIZARD just released it’s 4th CD
‘Odin’. The Power Metal of WIZARD sounds like a
mix between EDGUY and MANOWAR. The best songs can be
found during the first part of the album, namely the
strong catchy fast uptempo melodic Power Metal tracks
“The prophecy”, “Betrayer”,
“Lokis Punishment” and “Beginning of the
end” and the midtempo Melodic Metal songs “Daed
hope” and “Dar God”. These first 6 songs
are very strong. The second part of the CD is taking the
level a bit down, with such MANOWAR copied Cliche Metal
songs such as “Thor’s Hammer”, “Hall
of Odin”, “The powergod” and “March
of the einherriers”, understand me that these are
also good songs, but they don’t reach the level of
the first 6 tracks, but happily closing track “End
of all” is a fantastic fast melodic Power Metal tune
and is maybe the best song on the whole CD! So, concluded
LIMB MUSIC has done another good job with the release of
the new WIZARD CD, and fans of pure Metal know what to do
this with record, play it LOUD!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 HEADLINE ‘DUALITY’
(NTS RECORDS)
The French band HEADLINE were featured in our magazines
quite a lot during the late 1990s, but since the start of
the new millennium I believe I only reviewed one of their
CDs, but just a few months ago the band released a new
CD, and after a couple of spins it became clear that
‘Duality’ is the best HEADLINE release so far.
The CD has a playing length of 60 minutes, and besides it
comes with a bonus CD that included 3 excellent
professional videos of 8 minutes in length each plus a
bonustrack. In total you’ll get almost 100 minutes
of please and besides, from the first few seconds until
the very end it’s quality music. For those who
don’t know HEADLINE yet, let me inform you that they
play awesome melodic Prog/Power Metal. The band has a
female lead singer called Sylvie Grare, and maybe some of
you will not like her voice (she sounds a lot like DORO),
I think the combination of Sylvie’s vocals (with a
big accent) and the quality instrumental Prog/Power Metal
sounds quite enjoyable. The included songs are all quite
strong, and if I had to pick favourites I would have to
mention songs like “Exorcise me”, “Bereft
of sky”, “The almighty”,
“Farewell”, “My tighth sin” and
“My own life”. Together with those 3 extra
videos, this is a highly recommended CD, especially if
you’re into female fronted rock/metal!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 MANIGANCE ‘SIGNE DE VIE
REMASTER 2003’
(NTS RECORDS)
The sensation from last year, the French band MANIGANCE
with their fantastic CD ‘Ange ou demon’,
already released a CD 7 years ago, and I was aware of it,
because I reviewed it back then, but somehow it slipped
my mind and I forgot all about it until now. The French
label NTS RECORDS has re-released the first MANIGANCE CD
‘Signe de vie’ and included 4 bonustracks as
well as a videoclip additionally. It’s great NTS
re-released this CD, because musically it is from the
same high quality as the band’s ‘Ange ou
demon’ record, so fans of that record can easily buy
this record. Highlights include the excellent uptempo
melodic heavy rock/metal songs “Sans fard”,
“Ligne blanche”, “Aube nouvelle” and
“Believer”, although my favourite track would
be the SUPERB Melodic Prog Metal song “Rouge comme
la peau” (a la VANDENPLAS). Also quite nice are the
TRIUMPH covers “All the king’s horses” and
“Carry on the flame”, and I must not forget to
mention the videoclip of “Messager”, the cover
of SORTILEGE, a 80s French Metalband and their lead
singer appears side by side on stae with MANIGANCE to
sing this great Metal tune. Well, what more can I say
than to highly recommend this excellent album! Especially
the fans of the MANIGANCE album from last year MUST buy
this CD!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 CHINCHILLA ‘MADTROPOLIS’
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)
The German band CHINCHILLA returns with the release of
their new CD ‘Madtropolis’. Musically nothing
has changed, and so we can again enjoy classy German
Melodic Metal that sounds a bit like EDGUY and AT VANCE,
yet a bit rawer in the vocal parts. Included are 13
tracks, and I believe it is a concept album, but I
can’t tell you more because I haven’t got any
additional info. However, the music is quite good as said
before, and highlights are uptempo Melodic Metal tracks
like “A dance with the devil” and “When
the sand darkens the sun”, the great semi melodic
rockballad “Satellite” (big chorus, pure
German, like PC’69/EDGUY) and the superb catchy
uptempo Melodic Heavy Rock/Metal tune
“Madtropolis” (the absolute highlight of the
album). So basically this is a great typical German Metal
record, recommended to fans of EDGUY!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
REBELLION ‘BORN A
REBEL’ (DRAKKAR RECORDS)
‘Born a rebel’ is the 2nd CD of the German band
REBELLION, and anyone who digs typical German 80s
influences Metal will love this. This CD is true Heavy
Metal in the style of MANOWAR, GRAVE DIGGER, RUNNING
WILD, UDO, ACCEPT... So you’ll get 11 Cliche Heavy
Metal tunes with lyrics about ‘Rebels’,
‘Warriors’, Fire’ and ‘Flames’,
sung by a raw lead singer (Michael Seifert). The songs
that stood up beween the 11 tracks are the uptempo songs
“Born a rebel” and “Through the
fire”, the midtempo rockers “Dragons fly”
and “Power of evil” and the polished (!)
melodic rockballad “Iron flames”. If you like
your Metal to sound a bit stereotyped and you’re a
fan of mentioned bands, then this is a must for you to
buy!
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 REDEMPTION ‘REDEMPTION’
(SENSORY
RECORDS/INTROMENTAL MANAGEMENT)
The American Guitarist/bassist/keyboardplayer Nick van
Dyk (should be a Dutchman origin) co-wrote a song on one
of the FATES WARNING albums, and that was the start of
building up a network around him which resulted in this
project REDEMPTION, which took him 2/3 years to finish,
but the result is very impressive. Besides Nick we can
welcome a lot of famous guest musicians, such as STEEL
PROPHET lead singer Rick Mythiasin, SYMPHONY X members
Jason Rullo (Drums) and Michael Romeo (Keys) and FATES
WARNING members Ray Alder (Vocals), Mark Zonder (Drums)
and Bernie Versailles (also guitarist for AGENT STEEL).
Together they have released the fantastic debut CD of the
project REDEMPTION, which musically may be described as
HIGH QUALITY Melodic Progressive Metal in the style of
SYMPHONY X, AZTEC JADE and DREAM THEATER. There are 8
tracks on the CD, of which closing track “Something
wicked this way comes” is most striking as this is a
25-minutes counting epic Prog Metal Heaven song that
should please all fans of SYMPHONY X and DREAM THEATER.
Other highlights are “Desperation”, which is
divided in 4 parts and they are all 4 sensational Prog
Metal, “Nocturnal” (FANTASTIC!) and
“Window to space” (13 minutes Prog Metal
Heaven, with great keyboard solo). Concluded, this is a
superb highly recommended Prog Metal record!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 EMPIRE ‘TRADING
SOULS’ (LION MUSIC/BERTUS)
The 2nd CD of EMPIRE, the band formed around German
guitarist Rolf Munkes, features a lot of well-known
musicians, such as vocalist Tony Martin (BLACK SABBATH),
bassist Neil Murray (ex-WHITESNAKE), keyboardplayer Don
Airey (a legend, ex-RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE) and drummer
Anders Johansson (HAMMERFALL drummer). Together they have
managed to produce a great record filled with quality
classic Melodic Hardrock in the style of RAINBOW, DEEP
PURPLE, UNIVERSE, VANDENBERG... EMPIRE is at their best
during the uptempo straight-ahead rockers like “One
in a million” (pure RAINBOW), “Perfect
singularity” (AORish) and closing track “Back
in the light” (fun song). However, also pretty good
are melodic rockballads like “Teenage deadhead”
and “Did you ever love me” and midtempo tunes
like “Wherever you go”. With such big names
like Don Airey, Tony Martin and Neil Murray around you,
it isn’t a problem to record a good quality album.
It’s not as sensational as the acts most of the
musicians usually play in, but still a recommended piece
to fans of the classic Hardrocksound.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 FERRIGNO, LEAL, KUPRIJ ‘PROMISED
LAND’
(LION MUSIC/BERTUS)
Keyboardplayer Vitalij Kuprij (ARTENSION), guitarist
Marco Ferrigno and guitarist Javier Leal have joined
forces and recorded an album together. The title of the
album is ‘Promised land’ and like one would
expect this is an instrumental record, and of a very high
level. The 8 songs on the CD are superb high quality
instrumental Prog Metal with beautiful melodies by the
keyboards and guitars, not unlike the best instrumental
passages of DREAM THEATER. Just listen to songs like
“Promised land”, “The prisoner” and
“Eternal” and you’ll understand why this
is one of the strongest instrumental releases from the
past few years.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 MATTSSON ‘POWERGAMES’
((LION MUSIC/BERTUS)
The Finish guitarist Lars Eric Mattsson has been
releasing albums since 1987, and most of them are quite
good, although the man can’t find the right lead
singer. This time LANCE KING (the fantastic ex-lead
singer from BALANCE OF POWER) is singing on 7 of the 8
included tracks. Unfortunately after listening to the
album a few times, I came to the conclusion that this is
MATTSSON’s weakest release. Despite the fact that
Lance King sings on this disc (and he is one of my
favourite singers!), I can’t identify myself with
the songs, they are just average! Only opener “Open
the gate” is a great uptempo Prog/Power Metal track,
but the rest is nothing special. It’s a pity,
because the previous release of MATTSSON (‘Another
dimension’) was his best effort, but with this new
album I am afraid he has released his weakest album so
far. Die-hard LANCE KING fans might still want to check
out this release, as his vocals are perfect as always,
but don’t expect anything sensational. The
instrumental
track “Beyond the horizon” with it’s 17
minutes in length is maybe the tip of the iceberg if we
talk about filling up an album. Anyway, it’s not a
bad record, but compared to all the albums Lars released
in the past, ‘Power games’ might be his least
interesting release. Check it out if you’re a fan of
Lars’ guitarplaying.
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 OHM ‘OHM’ (LION
MUSIC/BERTUS)
OHM is a trio consisting of guitarist Chris Poland
(MEGADETH), bassist Robertino Pagliari and drummer David
Eagle. Together they have released the CD ‘OHM’
on LION MUSIC, and the album is filled with quality
instrumental Prog/Fusion/Rock/Metal. This is a CD you
only like if you’re really into this genre, because
for people who don’t like instrumental music, this
is not a CD to pick up, especially compared to other
instrumental releases on LION MUSIC that might do
interest all Rock/Metal/Prog fans (FERRIGNO, LEAL,
KUPRIJ). However, if you’re tired of everything and
want to hear something different, then check out this
good Prog/Fusion record.
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
HYBRID
FREAK DIVISION ‘NON CONFORMATIVE’ (LION
MUSIC/BERTUS)
Instrumental
releases are sometimes quite interesting, and most of
them feature excellent musicianship, but the Swedish band
HYBRID FREAK DIVISION has released an album that will not
attract that many people. First of all, the playing
length is just over 30 minutes, which is unacceptable
nowadays, unless you consider this a mini-CD release.
Secondly, the instrumental Fusion Prog/Rock is not really
inspiring and does very little with me. Only interesting
for die-hard instrumental freaks!
(Points:
6.0 out of 10)
 PRAYING MANTIS ‘THE JOURNEY GOES
ON’ (FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)
3 years after the band’s last effort ‘Nowhere
to hide’, the legendary English Melodic Hardrockband
PRAYING MANTIS returns with a new release. The CD is
titled ‘The journey goes on’ and I am glad the
band waited such a long time to release a new CD, because
what I have in front of me is a fantastic new PRAYING
MANTIS CD that can easily be labelled as the band’s
strongest release so far. The album contains 10 tracks,
has a playing time of 60 minutes and musically it is HIGH
CLASS Classic British Melodic Rock in the style of MAGNUM
(early/mid 80s period), TEN, RAINBOW, URIAH HEEP, DARE...
The lead and harmonyvocals are excellent all throughout
the CD. The line-up of PRAYING MANTIS nowadays are the
brothers Chris and Tino Troy (both playing guitar,
keyboards and singing) and guitarist/vocalist Dennis
Stratton (former IRON MAIDEN). Special guests on the
album are the fantastic lead singers John Sloman (GARY
MOORE) and Dougie White (RAINBOW, MALMSTEEN) who sing
lead vocals on most of the included tracks.
From
start to finish this album is fantastic Melodic Rock how
it ought to sound. Some of the highlights for me
includethe EXCELLENT songs “Tonight” (classy
uptempo melodic rocker a la RAINBOW, TEN), “Beast
within” (80s KANSAS/STREETS type of midtempo melodic
rocker with slight prog influences), “If tomorrow
never comes” (semi-melodic rockballad with a classy
70s/80s sound, and a break halfway, with STYX/MAGNUM
influenced harmonyvocals), “The voice” (great
uptempo AOR/Melodic Rocker) and closing track
“Naked?” (a hidden track not mentioned on the
CD, but the best song of the whole CD! This is a SUPERB
CLASSY uptempo AOR/Melodic Rocker). Concluded you’ll
understand that this CD is a must to all Melodic (Hard)
Rock/AOR fans!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 KHYMERA ‘KHYMERA’
(FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)
After listening to the album by KYMERA I was a little
dissapointed, because I had expected a super sensational
record after they anounced last year that STEVE WALSH had
a new project called KHYMERA. Nevertheless, it’s
still a great album, but not the album of the year many
people had hoped for. It’s definitely quality stuff,
but on the other hand just ‘your typical standard
AOR/Melodic Rock formula type of material’, nothing
less nothing more. The first 2 songs were even quite
well-known long before this CD was released, because both
“Strike like lightning” and “Shadows”
are MR. BIG originals recorded for the soundtrack of
‘Navy seals’. Anyway, the KHYMERA versions are
good, but not better than the original versions. What
follows is a good quality AOR/Melodic Rock record, with
as highlights “Who’s gonna love you
tonight”, “Living with a memory”,
“Say it with love”, “Love leads the
way” (best song, great classy uptempo AOR) and
“Tears on the pages”, all great AOR songs. A
bit weaker are “Bless a brand a new angel”
(also recorded by BENNY MARDONES in the past),
“Without warning” and “How you gonna live
without love” (also a cover, but forget whom did
this song in the past).
Anyway,
it’s a good quality CD which will be appreciated by
the AOR fans, but don’t expect anything really
sensational, because it’s just a good typical AOR
record with of course fantastic lead vocals by STEVE
WALSH and excellent instrumental work by GENIUS/EMPTY
TREMOR member Daniele Liverani. The problem might be the
fact that so many outside songwriters (like Jim Peterik,
Russ Ballard, Neal Schon, Mark Spiro, Kip Winger etc.)
supplied songs for this album, which makes this CD not
consistent, so it might be best if Steve and Daniele
wrote songs together on a future release. Apart from that
fact, it’s still a recommended AOR release!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 HESS ‘JUST ANOTHER
DAY’
(FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)
HAREM SCAREM frontman Harry Hess has released a solo-CD,
which musically is a step away from the HAREM SCAREM
sound, although you do might find some of the modern
sounds of HAREMS CAREM in here. However, mainly this
release is a modern pop/rock album which is still quite
melodic and reminds one of FIORE, BRYAN ADAMS, the last
DEF LEPPARD record and even TOM PETTY (!!!) on the song
“The deep end”. The start of the album is
nothing that special, with such songs like “Wasted
away”, “Just another day” (drumbeat) and
the already mentioned “The deep end”. The
second part of the album is much better and contains a
pocketful of great melodic rocksongs like
“Why”, “Miles away” and a remake of
the HAREM SCAREM classic “Sentimental blvd”.
These last 3 songs level up the rating of this CD, but my
conclusion is that this release is only interesting for
HAREM SCAREM fans and people who are not afraid of modern
influenced melodic poprock.
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 40FT. RINGO ‘FUNNY THING’
(ATENZIA RECORDS/BERTUS)
I am not a big fan of Nu-Breed and Modern Rock, bands
like BLINK 182 and whatever they are called do me
absolutely nothing, but here’s a band that is
playing some really cool modern melodic rock. The band is
called 40FT. RINGO and they hail from New York. They have
released their debut CD on ATENZIA RECORDS and without a
doubt this is an excellent album that could easily end up
as a big-selling record in The States if there’s
some promotion done over there. The album sounds a bit
like the last couple of albums of DEF LEPPARD, HAREM
SCAREM, ERIC MARTIN, yet even more modern, but also very
melodic. The included 13 songs are short in length and
doesn’t feature any guitarsolos, which is typical
for a Nu-Breed act, but nevertheless the songs are all
very catchy and so melodic that you could almost call it
AOR (think of RICK SPRINGFIELD early 80s, NELSON’s
‘Life’ record and VON GROOVE’s ‘Test
of faith’). Anyway, I like most of the songs a lot,
with my favourites being “Inside your head”,
“Origami mummy” (80s guitar riffs, hooks and a
sound like DEF LEPPARD), “Book of virtues”
(very catchy uptempo melodic poprocker a la THE OUTFIELD,
NELSON’s ‘Life’), “Unbroken”,
“Miss you blue” and “Fanatic”. Hard
to ignore this release, because it is a damn good record
and is the perfect mix between classy AOR/Melodic Rock
and Modern Nu-Breed Poprock, check it out if you want to
hear something new and updated while still being very
melodic at the same time. Concluded, another great
release by ATENZIA RECORDS!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 KRUX ‘KRUX’ (MASCOT
RECORDS)
Now for something completely totally different we move to
Sweden where we meet a band called KRUX, and they have
just released their debut CD on the Dutch label MASCOT
RECORDS. The band features some well-known musicians,
such as CANDLEMASS bassist Leif Edling, THE ENTOMBED
members Peter Stjarnvind (drums) and Jorgen Sandstrom
(guitars) and lead singer Mats Leven (TREAT, SWEDISH
EROTICA). The music played on the band’s debut CD is
very slow yet melodic ‘Doom Metal’ which is
very close to CANDLEMASS, yet with the difference the
band also used Mellotrons, played by guest musician Carl
Westholm. The best songs on ‘Krux’ are
“Black room”, “Krux”,
“Omfalos” and “Popocatepetl”, slow
melodic Doom Metal like CANDLEMASS/SABBATH meets
HEEP/RAINBOW, so a very 70s orientated sound and very
unlike all other current Swedish bands that mostly play
fast melodic Power Metal in today’s style. Anyway,
if you’re a fan of CANDLEMASS you will totally love
this.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
PAUL
GILBERT
‘BURNING ORGAN’ (MASCOT RECORDS)
Guitarist PAUL GILBERT has released a very diverse
Rockalbum, starting off with a song that sounds like THE
RAMONES (“I like rock” – for which Paul
used all his 100 guitars!), following it up with 3 great
AOR/Melodic Rocksongs, and further adding instrumentals,
BEATLESish ballads, Pop covers and more Laid-back 70s
inspired Poprock tunes. Paul is at his best during such
great Melodic Rocksongs like “My religion”
(midtempo with a hint of AOR, kinda like DAMN YANKEES,
NIGHT RANGER), “Bliss” (uptempo groovy rocker),
“Suicide lover” (catchy 80s influenced uptempo
Melodic Rock) and “Amy is amazing” (catchy
harmonies). Less interesting are the covers “I feel
love” and “My drum” and also such acoustic
driven 70s pop/rock tunes like “Friday night”
and “I am Satan”, as well as the closing ballad
“Keep on keepin’ on” on which Paul tries
to sound like THE BEATLES. Anyway, it’s a very
diverse album with ups and downs, but always Paul’s
excellent guitar playing, wether that be electric or
acoustic (listen to his version of the Bach classic
“G.V.R.O.” (hello MALMSTEEN!)).
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 ALTARIA ‘INVITATION’
(METAL HEAVEN)
This new Finish Project/Band features members of
NIGHTWISH and SONATA ARCTICA. They have released their
debut CD ‘Invitation’ on METAL HEAVEN, a
sublabel of AOR HEAVEN. And their first release is a
fantastic start, because this album is filled with superb
high quality melodic metal like EDGUY, MOB RULES, IVORY
TOWER... There is no fast Power Metal or Progressive
Metal on this album, just straight-ahead uptempo Melodic
Metal with catchy choruses and vocals a la MARK
BOALS/MIKE VESCARA. There are 11 tracks on the CD, and
not one of them is weak, from start to finish this is
Melodic Metal of a very high level. Highlights for me are
“Unicorn”, “History of times to
come”, “Ravenwing”, “Innocent”,
“Kingdom of the night”, “House of my
soul” (terrific) and “Here I am”. My
conclusion is that every Metal fan should check out this
awesome release by ALTARIA. More info at: www.altariamusic.com
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 MVP ‘THE ALTAR’
(MASCOT RECORDS)
Lead singer MICHAEL VESCARA has been singing in a lot of
bands the past 15 years, such as OBSESSION, LOUDNESS,
MALMSTEEN and his own project MVP, which recently
released a new CD titled ‘The altar’. Without a
doubt, this is the man’s best work so far, as this
album is filled with high quality Melodic Heavy
Rock/Metal that reminds me a bit of MARK BOALS and RING
OF FIRE, but also RAINBOW and TRIUMPH similarities can be
heard here and there. There are 14 tracks on the CD, and
to my favourites I count “Layin’ down the
law” (excellent classical melodic rocker, very 80s
orientated, like MALMSTEEN meets TRIUMPH with some very
good Mark Boals type of lead vocals from Michael),
“Unlock the mystery” (excellent strong midtempo
melodic rocker a la MALMSTEEN/BOALS), “Peace of
mind” (catchy uptempo melodic metal),
“Betrayed” (great midtempo melodic rock/metal),
“Edge of denial” (superb midtempo melodic
rock/metal) and closing track “Artificial
world” (terrific classic 80s melodic rocker). So
basically what we have here is a highly recommended
melodic rock/metal record!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 RACER X ‘GETTING
HEAVIER’ (MASCOT RECORDS)
Lead
guitarist PAUL GILBERT just released a solo-CD, but also
a new studio-CD with his own band RACER X. The LA Metal
band that has been active since the mid 1980s return with
a good new album called ‘Getting heavier’. The
album is very diverse, as it contains elements of Metal,
Hardrock and Rock, and combines the 80s with today’s
modern standards, but is always heavy and melodic at the
same time! The first 2 songs are not really a good start,
as they both fail to impress, especially the choruses of
both songs are not really exciting. However, after these
2 tracks, the CD gets started and never gets weak, so in
the end you will be satisfied. The best songs on offer
here are “Golden God” (midtempo melodic metal
with a great chorus), “Bucket of Rocks” (70s
guitar riff, uptempo rocker a la RAINBOW), “Heaven
in ‘74” (good uptempo melodic metal),
“Empty man” (great ‘calmer’ semi
melodic rocker with a 80s guitarsound a la VAN HALEN and
a chorus and songstructure a la RUSH), “Ghost
dance” (good semi melodic rockballad) and
“Endless” (great strong 80s type of uptempo
melodic rocker, big sound, very melodic, catchy and
classy 80s). This new album of RACER X is definitely
different than their earlier records, especially the
JUDAS PRIEST similarities are hard to find on this
record. Fans of quality Hardrock/Metal should look for
this new RACER X CD!
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
Parallaxe
“Parallaxe”
Catagory : New release
Format : Demo-CD
Playing time : 54:36 minutes
Release : 2002
Label : Independent
Style : Instrumental progressive rock
Country : France
Parallaxe is a French instrumental progressive rock
band.They were formed in 2000 and they started soon to
write their own songs.Their instrumental progressive
music is a mix of power, virtuocity and dreamscape
atmospheres.Parallaxe is strongly comparable with other
instrumental progressive rock/metal bands like Liquid
Tension Experiment and Gordian Knot.So expect very
complex, technical progressive rock songs with also
influences from fusion and jazzrock.The members of
Parallaxe are all four very well skilled musicians, but
for the rock/metal fan in gneral their music might be a
bit too complex.
Homepage : www.parallaxemusic.free.fr
E-mail : parallaxemusic@free.fr
78
%/Review by Ronny Elst
Fatima
Hill “Aion”
Category : New release
Format : CD
Playing time : 47:40
Release : 2002
Label : Worldchaos Production
Style : Atmospheric metal
Country : Japan
Songs : Ares Dragon ; Babel Dune ; The Black Bat ; Aeon ;
Ultimata ; Other ; Stigmata ; The Song For Beatrice Part
3/The Seven Songs
This Japanese band was formed by Anjue Yamashiro in
1992.In 1993 Fatima Hill recorded 2 demo tapes ;
“Ring & Queen” and “Ikaros”.After
a few lineup changes they recorded their third demo
“Beatrice” in 1994.In 1997 they recorded the
“Invitation To Valhalla” demo, which was a
warm-up for their full length cd “Valhalla”,
which was released in September 1997.This cd was received
very well, so the Japanese record label Worldchaos
Production re-released the cd on a special gold cd,
containing the bonus track “Aeon”.This label
also released the band’s second cd
“Aion”.The music on this disc is hard
to describe.The songs show influences from several styles
; 80’s hardrock, symphonic, melodic and
neo-classical heavy rock/metal.Most caracteristic of
their music are the powerful female vocals of Yuko and
atmospheric keyboards, topped off with excellent guitar
solo’s from Anjue.Without any doubt, one of the best
Japanese metal bands of the moment.
Homepage : www.fatima-hill.com
E-mail : fatima@hill.office.ne.jp
worldkdm@syd.odn.ne.jp
80
%/Review by Ronny Elst
Chris
Brooks “The Master Plan”
Category : New release
Format : CD
Playing time : 42 minutes
Release : 2002
Label : Progmatic Music
Style : Progressive instrumental hardrock
Country : Australia
Songs : Kryptica ; Inner Light ; Crack In The Hourglass ;
Blue Sky Odyssey ; Funksion ; Theme For The Next World ;
Axiom ; The Master Plan ; Only Time ; Tales From A
Distant Sky
This is the debut solo album of the Australian guitar
virtuoso Chris Brooks.I can describe his style as
adventurous instrumental hardrock with progressive
influences.You can hear that Chris is inspired by the
great guitar players and progressive rock/metal bands of
the eighties and nineties, but Chris has created a style
on his own.Some instrumental records begin to bore after
a while, but “The Master Plan” includes so many
breaks, tempo changes and melodic passages that makes
this album one of most exciting and also one of the best
instrumental albums of the last five years.Chris did not
only play the guitar, he also plays all the other
instruments and he even produced the album on his own.I
think this album will not only satisfy fans of
instrumental rock music but also fans of progressive
metal (listen to the title song) and melodic rock
(“Only Time”) will enjoy themselves listening
to this album. Chris Brooks also co-wrote and played on
two songs on the last Mark Boals album “Edge Of The
World”, so Mark Boals has also discovered this
multi-talented musician.This album is very recommended
for everyone who loves great music.
Homepage : www.chrisbrooks.net
E-mail : info@chrisbrooks.net
90
%/Review by Ronny Elst
(All
reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted)
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