HOT NEW REVIEWS
 HARMONY PARK 'DEMO CDR' (DEMO
CDR)This band from Michigan, USA is the latest new sensation from the USA. This 7-member counting band consists of 2 lead singers, 2 guitarists (who also do some lead vocals), 1 keyboardplayer and the rhythm section (drummer and bassist). With so many members, you'll get a full sound and I can guarantee you HARMONY PARK is one of the best independent bands at the moment. Their sound is HUGE! Actually they have created an own style, which is best described as very melodic progressive rock with many AOR influences, kinda like a mix between DREAM THEATER and KANSAS. Most of all they remind me of other recently reviewed new bands such as ALIAS EYE, 7 MONTHS and TOXIC SMILE. This band will appeal to all fans of Progressive Rock, Pomprock and AOR/Melodic Rock, so probably everyone who is reading this will like HARMONY PARK. The male singer (Pat Curry), who has a fantastic voice by the way, sings most of the songs, but there are also some tracks sung by the female lead singer (Jami Avedisian). She also has a very good voice, but some of her songs sound a bit poppier, without ever losing the progressive and melodic rock influences. There are 13 tracks on the CDR the band sent me and only 1 song didn't appeal that much to me, and that's the IDES OF MARCH cover "Vehicle" (you know that early 70s US hit of ex-SURVIVOR keyboardplayer JIM PETERIK), but the other 12 tracks are like PROGROCK MEETS AOR HEAVEN! This band is incredible in it's song approach, because most of the songs contain enough tempo changes for the progressive rockfan, while the super melodic harmonies and melodies and catchy choruses are a dream for the AOR fan! The CDR starts with the superb Progressive Rock/AOR/Pomp song "New skies", a very impressive tune with pure Progressive Rock riffs and a catchy melodic AOR chorus. Up next is the calmer progressive AOR song "Watch me fly" (great song by the way), with the female lead vocals. "Rescue me" follows and is a very good female fronted AORish song. "Passing time" is a great melodic progressive rocker. Then comes another female fronted song called "Don't follow me", a great AOR song. The CD continues with "Now is the time", a song that starts calm, but develops into a fantastic melodic uptempo progressive rocker. Another female fronted song is the lovely semi AOR song "No question why", this is like ALYSON AVENUE/WITNESS going Progressive Rock! "I believe" follows and is a nice calmer AOR/Pomp song a la KANSAS. Then comes my favourite track, the SUPERB uptempo Progressive AOR song "Rising sun", with a CLASSIC AOR HEAVEN CHORUS a la KANSAS. Also the following track "Shades of grey" is really wonderful, a calm start a la KANSAS, but then suddenly the song bursts out into a fantastic uptempo progressive rocker with melodies and catchy choruses all over the place! "Take your bow" is yet another high-class Progressive AOR song and these guys just can't stop writing excellent melodies and still putting lovely progressive guitar riffs into their songs. The CD continues with the IDES OF MARCH cover "Vehicle", the only letdown of this CDR, but still they did a good job in covering this 30-year old song. The last song on the CDR is the fantastic uptempo progressive melodic rocker "All inside your mind", again with super high quality musicianship and melodies, just listen to the perfect guitarsolo's a la YNGWIE MALMSTEEN! I can't say a bad thing about this band. The production is very good, the songs are impressive, the musicians are all highly skilled and play their instruments perfectly, the lead vocals of the 4 different singers are very good and well, everything sounds perfect on the CDR of HARMONY PARK. This band should easily secure a deal somewhere, because their music will appeal to fans of both Progressive Rock and AOR/Melodic Rock, but I think even fans who don't like this kind of music will enjoy HARMONY PARK, because their music is from such a high quality, you can't ignore it at all. I had a pleasure listening to all the songs and I think you will love it too, so go to their site at: http://www.harmony-park.com and e-mail them at: jami@wwnet.net Pretty soon an interview with HARMONY PARK! Rating: 9,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| KAMERA 'DEMO CDR' (DEMO
CDR) KAMERA is the latest AOR sensation from the USA. They come out of Indianapolis and are a high quality and very professional band playing pure AOR a la SURVIVOR, SHOOTING STAR, WHITE SISTER, SIGNAL… They sent me an awesome 4-track demo CDR, which should easily get them signed to one of the AOR labels here in Europe, because it really is filled with SUPER HIGH QUALITY AOR! Bands like JOURNEY, SURVIVOR, WINGER, HEART etc have influenced the band, so then you know KAMERA is a pure AOR band and the 4 songs on their demo CDR proudly prove that statement. The first track "Chasing shadows" is an instant winner for the AOR fans and maybe is even the best AOR song from 2001! This song is a superb pure Classic 80s AOR rocker with stunning keyboardwork and a very catchy chorus, sounding like a cross between 80s SURVIVOR, TERRY BROCK, SHOOTING STAR and the very first WHITE SISTER album. Interesting note is the fact that this song was engineered by Jim Bartz, who worked with SURVIVOR. "Chasing shadows" is just one of those songs every AOR fan needs to have heard, otherwise you miss a piece of classic AOR in your collection! The other 3 tracks are a little less sensational, but still great songs. "Arcadia" and "Everywhere I go" are good AOR songs, while "Bad timing" is a great semi AOR ballad, all 3 tracks remind me a lot of SHOOTING STAR. What more can I add! KAMERA is one of the best unsigned AOR bands at the moment, and let's just hope a label will pick them up. This is a must if you're into SURVIVOR, SHOOTING STAR, WHITE SISTER and that sort of pure 80s AOR, so go check out their site at: http://www.kameramusic.com and e-mail them at: kamera@kameramusic.com Expect an interview with these guys soon and also, look out for a full-length CD release very soon, can't wait to hear that one! Rating: 9/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
 MISCELLANE 'PAINTED PALM'
(BEE&BEE RECORDS)'Painted palm' is the debut CD of the Slovakian progressive rock/metal band MISCELLANE. It is a fantastic record that somewhere falls between the progressive rock of ARENA and the progressive metal of THRESHOLD, but actually MISCELLANE has an own style that will attract fans of all progressive genres. The songs are very melodic and feature excellent keyboard and guitarplay. The recording of the CD had some problems, because keyboardplayer Roman Hubinsky was suffering from kidney stones and stayed in hospital for a few days. Also, the band was involved in a car accident, but happily nobody got hurt. On the other hand, their American producer Paul Speer (QUEENSRYCHE) received the band's recordings one day before the attacks on the US, so he was very happy to do the mixing and mastering of the album in the next couple of weeks. If the package had been sent a week later, who knows how long it would have taken to reach Paul! Anyway, it did reach Paul in time and now the official debut CD of Slovac progsters MISCELLANE is out on the Dutch label BEE AND BEE RECORDS. That's another thing, the release date outside The Netherlands is around the beginning of January next year, so we have the premiere and I must say I am glad to have heard this album, because this is a high quality progressive rock/metal release. Although there are only 5 songs on the CD, it still has a playing length of 53 minutes, so no worries about that. The most important song is the "Solstice story", which is split in 2 parts. Part 1 opens the CD, while part 2 is the fourth song (and also the longest track, about 24 minutes!). The song itself is a great progressive rocksong with beautiful melodies, excellent vocals, fabulous keyboard and guitarplay, while the lyrics of the song will be loved by the fans of pure Progrock, because Solstice story was based on a story from long ago about the love of the Queen of a tribe and a young guy who should be offered during a ritual of the tribe at the day of Solstice. The other 3 songs are about human relations and dreams in general, while these songs are of course also great progressive rocksongs with the usual calmer and heavier parts, the melodic vocals and the instrumental passages. This was a nice surprise from Slovakia and I can easily recommend it to every Progressive Rockfan. Imagine a mixture of ARENA, THRESHOLD and SHADOW GALLERY, but still with an own identity, that's what this band is all about! Check out their site at: http://www.distribee.com/contact/miscellane.htm Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
 COLOURBLIND 'FOREVER LOST'
(INDEPENDENT)I don't have much info on this fantastic new band, but what I do know is that band from Malta has released a super high quality CD. COLOURBLIND is playing very melodic (almost AOR) progressive rock. There are only 4 songs on the CD, but the playing time of the tracks is between 6 and 10 minutes each song, so the CD still has a playing length of 30 minutes. Opener "Colour blind" is a great song with many influences (progressive rock, melodic rock/aor). The good melodic lead vocals of singer Paul Cassar sound a bit like Italian singers, while Paul also plays violin and it's that part that makes this band sound different than any other band in this genre, because the calmer parts with the violin remind me of KANSAS in their heydays. On the other hand, the rest of the song does not have much in common with KANSAS, and stands on it's own. The second track "Forever lost" is in the same style, so again beautiful melodies and also excellent keyboardwork (towards the end). Then comes the lovely progressive melodic rockballad "Time (to change)". The CD closes with the nice semi progressive metal song "Devil dance", a 10-minute challenging tune with all the aspects of the progressive rockgenre (such as the great keyboardsolo). Without any doubt, this Malta based progressive rockband is a must for fans of this genre, but even the AOR/Melodic rockfans will enjoy COLOURBLIND's music. Check it out at: http://www.colourblind.ws and e-mail at: info@colourblind.ws Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
 NEXX 'DEMO CDR 2001' (DEMO CDR)Sometime ago I reviewed the first demo CDR of the Spanish band NEXX and that one consisted of cover material. The past few months NEXX has worked on own material, and the result is this new demo CDR with 5 own tracks of the band. After a great performance at the Gods Of AOR festival (as I was told, because unfortunately I couldn't be present), the band also sold a lot of copies of this CDR which they recorded in early September. Although they informed me the sound quality isn't that good, I can easily say it sounds good to me. And especially the songs sound really impressive. NEXX is playing pure AOR/Melodic rock and with the strong vocals of their female lead singer Patricia Tapia, I am quite sure this band will get a record deal. Musically it is comparable with the recent releases we had of bands like ALYSON AVENUE and BROKE[N]BLUE, although I also heard clear similarities to the 80s sounds of WITNESS and the first ROBIN BECK (only not that polished). This is really a high quality band and all 5 included tracks are superb! Opener "Get fire" is a fantastic uptempo melodic rock/aor song that easily can be compared with the best of WITNESS. The lovely midtempo AOR
of "Consciously" follows and reminds me a lot
of DANTE FOX's wonderful debut. "One more day"
starts very calm, but develops into a great AOR
rockballad with a bit soulful vocals of Patricia. The
last 2 songs are the fantastic classy AOR Rating: 9/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| LIGHTNESS 'LIGHTNESS'
(INDEPENDENT) Here's another new Prog sensation from Germany. This band is called LIGHTNESS and their 6-track debut CD is a fantastic album that sounds like a cross between Neo-prog and AOR. The sound and production is from a very high quality and the songs are all sensational. This LIGHTNESS is definitely one of the better independent bands from Germany at the moment, right up there with bands like TOXIC SMILE, NYL and even ELOY! It's very hard to pick favourites, as all 6 included songs are superb. Opener "Seven girls" is just excellent melodic neo-prog and also compliments to lead singer Karsten Blank, who has got such an amazing voice. The calmer progsong "Tear your rifles down" reminds me of MARILLION. Then comes the best song, "Anything goes", a superb mix of Prog and early 80s AOR (the keys), where I need to add that the song reminds me of early 80s SURVIVOR (Dave Bickler era), but then with a Progressive influence. Also the other 3 songs ("Everyday", "Low" and "Earthbound") are wonderful Neo-prog songs, with "Earthbound" being a ballad with clear AOR influences. This band is a big recommendation to anyone who likes AOR or Neoprog. E-mail them at: lightness@gmx.net Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
 IVORY KNIGHT 'UP FROM THE ASHES' (INDEPENDENT)IVORY KNIGHT is an independent band from Canada, and after reading their bio, I thought I was gonna listen to some Metal band a la METALLICA or MEGADETH, but I was totally wrong, because this IVORY KNIGHT is a fantastic progressive melodic hardrockband, not unlike FATES WARNING. It's only a pity there are only 9 songs on their debut CD, but what you get is high quality stuff. A very good produced CD, heavy guitarwork, but very melodic singing and above all, some very sensational songs! The CD starts with the short intro "Initiation". Then comes the heavy but melodic "Into the black", a song that reminds me a lot of TEER. Next track "Yesman" features some excellent melodic harmonies, while the song itself is a strong uptempo melodic heavy rocker a la HAREM SCAREM. Up next is one of my favourite tracks, the fantastic progressive melodic rocker "Perfect 10" (a lovely melodic catchy chorus!). The following 2 songs are the great uptempo progressive melodic rocker "Roads to glory" and the beautiful melodic rockballad "Picture of innocence" (a la FATES WARNING). Without any doubts, "Last dance" is the best song of the whole CD. This song is a superb pure 80s typed uptempo AOR/Melodic rocker a la TOUR DE FORCE. It's also the most polished song on the CD, but a very good catchy tune, but I guess progfans will not like it. The slow heavy progressive melodic heavy rocker "Shattered glass" follows and is a bit weaker. Closing track "True signs of life" however is the only real let-down of the CD, because this is uptempo progressive melodic heavy rocker with a weak 'Thrash-Metal' chorus a la MEGADETH or 80s METALLICA, where the melodic singer suddenly changes his voice and forces to sound like Dave Mustaine. Anyway, still the rest of the CD offers high quality progressive melodic heavy rock and I think fans of FATES WARNING will like this band a lot. Check out their site at: http://www.ivoryknight.com and e-mail them at: j@ivoryknight.com Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| VARIOUS ARTISTS 'TRIBUTE TO
TARANTULA' (ROCK INC./RECITAL RECORDS) TARANTULA was probably the first real rockband from Portugal. They were formed around 20 years ago and in that period they released 6 albums. TARANTULA was very important for the Portuguese rockscene. This tribute release to TARANTULA shows the influence of this Portuguese band on so many various bands. The official release will be a double CD with lots of extra info and DVD/Video stuff, but the promo I received contains 1 CD with 17 tracks by 17 different bands. Although TARANTULA is a great Melodic Hardrockband, some of the included cover versions have nothing to do with this genre, because Death/Black Metalbands did them! I am talking about the terrible versions of the TARANTULA songs by bands like RAMP, ANGER, GENOCIDE, THE FIRSTBORN, DOWNTHROAT and DEMON DAGGER, these are all Black/Death-Metal versions! Anyway, now let's talk about the songs that really sound like the TARANTULA originals. First off the band ORATORY, a great female fronted band and their version of "Lusitania" is a good faster uptempo melodic heavy rocker. Recently I discussed the band IN SOLITUDE, well they are featured over here with "Falling world", a great uptempo melodic rocker. In the same style is EVIDENCE, with the song "Looking for heroes". THE FIRE has also an uptempo melodic rocker titled "Freedom's call", but it's a bit weaker than the 2 previous mentioned bands. There are also a couple Power Metal bands featured, such as REBELLION, ATTICK DEMONS and DRAKKAR, all 3 perform good versions of TARANTULA classics, that clearly sound like YNGWIE MALMSTEEN at times. The bands MELODRAMA and NORDICA perform my favourite songs. "Warning sign" by MELODRAMA is a great AOR/Melodic rocker with a very good singer, so I'm gonna check out this band a.s.a.p. NORDICA's "Leaving all the past behind" is a great 80s typed uptempo AOR rocker that sounds like TERRA NOVA! This compilation features a lot of diversity in music genre, so you can hear how big the influence was of TARANTULA, but I prefer bands that stay a bit closer to the original versions, because after all TARANTULA is a Melodic Hardrockband. Anyway, the official release is a must for fans of TARANTULA, because you get 2 CDs and all sorts of extra, so go check it out! Rating: - (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| METALIUM 'METALIAN ATTACK'
(ROCK INC./LOCOMOTIVE RECORDS) German Power Metal stars METALIUM have just released a new CD, but it's a live CD, so not a real new CD. However, the fans of the band will definitely enjoy this release, as the album will also be released in DVD format! The concert was recorded in Strasbourg, France on the 26th of November 2000. The CD counts only 7 songs and has a short playing length (only 33 minutes!), but the powerful melodic heavy rock/metal of METALIUM is played very well, so there's enough to enjoy. The best songs are the lovely powerful melodic rockballad "Prophecy" and the bonus track "Dust in the wind" (KANSAS cover). Fans of METALIUM need to check out this live release a.s.a.p. Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| TEMPLAR 'COME TO THE LIGHT'
(INDEPENDENT) Guitarist Rob Bendelow used to play with British Symphonic melodic rockers SARACEN, with whom he released a couple of great MAGNUM orientated albums. Now he has a new project called TEMPLAR, and 'Come to the light' is their first release. The album sounds very diverse, also due to the fact Rob has used many outsiders to come and play on the record. Former SARACEN singer Steve Bettney also sings on 4 tracks, so there's a lot to enjoy for the people who wondered whatever happened to that legendary UK band SARACEN. The CD has a fantastic production, very high quality and right up there with major label releases. Opener "On the rockface" is a good uptempo melodic rocker. Then comes the lovely pure AOR song "Faith", a superb classy 80s inspired tune a la MARK FREE and FOREIGNER, a very strong song indeed, maybe one of the best new AOR songs at the moment! The CD continues with the midtempo AOR/Melodic Rocker "Wish it was me", a great song with a female fronted singer called Lori-Emmitt Gardner, who reminds me of DARBY MILLS and ROBIN BROCK. This was the best part of the album, because what follows are songs that could be labelled as nice, but nothing that special, such as the instrumentals "Blue Stanza", "Dolphin ride" and "Swords of damascus", the GEORGE HARRISON/BEATLES cover "While my guitar gently weeps" (great job, very well-done!), the semi-rocker "Just me and my flying V" and closing track "Come to the light". This last mentioned song is a ten-minute counting song that sounds a bit strange, there's a gospel kinda choir, a long instrumental part with a sax and some progressive rock influences can be heard, so a mix-up of all kinds of styles, but the song actually goes to nowhere! Although these songs aren't as good as the first 3 tracks, everything is played very well and it's a pleasure to listen to. However, there's one more sensational song and that's the terrific semi-AOR ballad "Angel eyes", a duet between Steve Bettney and Lori-Emmitt Gardner, incredible HUGE AOR song, with a catchy chorus! Although not all songs are convincing, this is a quality release with some very good performed music, recommended to fans of different genres, fans of female fronted rock will like a few songs, AOR fans definitely will love some songs, fans of instrumental music will find something of interest and maybe also the average rockfan will appreciate the diversity on this record. Together with a fantastic production, this is a highly recommendable release, so check out their site at: http://www.templarmusic.co.uk and e-mail them at: rob@templarmusic.co.uk Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
 EXAWATT 'PROMO 2001' (PROMO
CDR)Here's another high quality band from Italy. This band is called EXAWATT and their 3-song CDR (with still a playing length of 23 minutes) contains progressive rock/metal from a very high level. The band played with members of LABYRINTH and RHAPSODY the past few years, but musically they are not as Power Metal orientated as those Italian acts. The first song on their CDR is the excellent high quality progressive rock/metal song "Power of fate", a very strong song that leaves any fan of this genre impressed. Up next is the powerful progressive melodic rockballad "My silver tears", another high quality song. Closing track is the uptempo progressive metal song "Dungeon dance" (a la THRESHOLD). EXAWATT is another highly recommendable Italian progressive rock/metal band and I think it's only a matter of time before they are signed. More info at: http://www.exawatt.it and e-mail them at: info@exawatt.it Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
 SANTAREM 'SANTAREM' (DIE HARD RECORDS)SANTAREM is definitely one of the best new bands from Brazil, because their same titled debut CD is very impressive. Although the band is described as a Progressive Rockband with 70s influences, I would rather say that SANTAREM is playing a mixture of Progressive Rock (RUSH) and AOR/Melodic Rock. The production and sound quality of the CD is HUGE and the included 6 songs are very melodic. Opener "No ever higher" is excellent uptempo Melodic Rock/AOR, with only a slight progressive rock influence, in fact, the song reminds me of the 'Frontiers Records' sound (if you know what I mean), so this is definitely high quality melodic rock! Next track "Eternal" follows the same route as the first track, and the only progressive thing about these 2 songs is the fact that it takes some time until we get to the chorus, but that doesn't matter as the hooks and bridges are very good as well. Moving on with "3 days behind", a good midtempo progressive melodic rocker. Then we get to hear again a fantastic uptempo melodic rocker, entitled "Voices of mind". The acoustic ballad "When the sky cries" follows. The CD closes with "Never too late", a great semi progressive melodic rocker. The progressive rockfans will not always like SANTAREM, as they seem to move a lot into Melodic Rock territory, on the other hand, fans of that genre might enjoy this band a lot, because SANTAREM's CD offers high quality Melodic Rock with only a few Progressive Rock influences. It doesn't matter to me, all I can add here is that SANTAREM is yet another high quality rockband from Brazil. Check them out at: www.santarem.art.br and e-mail them at: santarem@sti.com.br Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| BIOFORGE 'PHOBIA IN COMPANY'
(INDEPENDENT) BIOFORGE is a great new German band performing excellent progressive rock, influenced by THRESHOLD, DREAM THEATER, SPOCK'S BEARD etc. The band's debut CD 'Phobia in company' contains 6 tracks. The CD starts with the keyboard into "Phobia in company", which is followed by the great uptempo melodic heavy rocker "Shadows" (with some Prog influences and a clear THRESHOLD influence). This is a very good start and you can definitely hear right from the start that BIOFORGE is a high quality band in the progressive rockgenre. Up next is "Path", a good progressive power metal tune with some excellent keyboards, but especially the guitarsolo's by guitarist Manuel Weber are very impressive and make you think of YNGWIE MALMSTEEN! And also the following track shows the high qualities of the super guitarist Manuel Weber. And guess what, that song ("Permanent streets") is also the best track of the whole CD, a fantastic classy melodic prog rock/metal song. The keyboardwork on "Ocean ladder" is a very good, while the song itself is a nice progressive rocker. The CD closes with "Silent age 2001", a nice progressive metal song that starts terrible (first minute is pure House), but happily the rest of the song is typical progmetal. Anyway, check out this band if you enjoy bands like THRESHOLD, SHADOW GALLERY… Website: http://www.bioforge.org and e-mail at: info@bioforge.org Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
 3 PETERS 'FROM BEHIND' (HIGH DESERT RECORDS) One look at the cover photo of the CD of the New Mexico settled band 3 PETERS and you wonder if these guys are really coming out of the USA, because without any doubts it looks like a typical Dutch background. Then reading some additional info on 3 PETERS and indeed the picture was taken in Holland. The CD was recorded in 1996 and they did take the picture a couple of blocks away from the hard rock cafe in Amsterdam. The production isn't superb, but we can live with it, musically this 3-piece band is playing very good melodic rock in the 80s tradition. Most of all, they remind me of the American STRANGER, a band from the midwest that released a bunch of records in the 80s and early 90s. There are 10 tracks on the CD, and there are some really excellent melodic rocktunes among them. Opener "Love gone crazy" is a nice semi melodic rocker in the late 80s style (WHITE LION, WINGER). Then comes one of the best tunes, the fantastic classy 80s fun uptempo AOR/Melodic rocker "I won't come around" (a very catchy song a la DANGER DANGER). The following 2 songs are nothing special, the groovy "Heart attack" and the instrumental "Rock'n'roll blues". The following 2 songs are then again very impressive. These are the uptempo melodic rocker "I'll never leave you" and the lovely (pure 80s) AOR ballad "Flying blind" (REO SPEEDWAGON style). The first weak song is up next, the bluesy "Xoxo Blues". "Age of darkness" (great uptempo Melodic Hardrock, pure 80s) and "I want you" (pure early 1980s melodic poprocker a la STRANGER 1982, a very catchy chorus!) are much better and quite impressive actually! The CD closes with the average groovy tune "Sleezy U". So, the production is ok, but nothing big, but some of the songs are very good. If you like STRANGER, then you will love 3 PETERS. Band is currently working on a new CD. Check out their site at: http://www.mp3.com/iiipeters.com or www.iiipeters.com and e-mail at: IIIpetersmail@aol.com Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| WIND WRAITH 'THE FORTUNE
TELLER'S GAZE' (INDEPENDENT)
Anyway, there are 10 songs on the CD and let's just start with opener "War in the sun". This is a nice progressive metal song. Next track "Fortune teller's gaze" is a nice groovy melodic heavy rocker. Then comes the pure 80s typed melodic hardrock/heavy rocker "High hopes: the Amityville murders", a song that reminds me a lot of 80s IRON MAIDEN. "Shameless desires" follows and is a very strong melodic heavy rocker with a catchy chorus, while the song sounds like a cross between FATES WARNING and VICIOUS RUMOURS. The best song of WIND WRAITH is up next. This is the superb semi AOR ballad "Watching over me", with very good lead vocals, and a very melodic approach, reminding me of STREETS, KANSAS and SEVENTH KEY. Let me remind you it's the only pure AOR song on the CD, let's hope for some more tunes like this on a future CD, as it shows that WIND WRAITH can make some great pure AOR! The CD continues with a weak song, "Tempted by death". The strong uptempo melodic hardrock "Wind wraith" follows and is a bit in the style of HAREM SCAREM and MILLENIUM. "Millnnium horror" is very fast 80s Trash Metal a la TESTAMENT (!!!) Although next track "Together alone" is in the same league, this song has a catchy melodic chorus (so it's 80s Speed Metal?). Quite a strange band, because closing track "Ancient tales" is a progressive melodic heavy rocker (a la THRESHOLD), with a chorus a la NIGHTWISH (guest vocals by Colleen Cannon). At the end of the CD, we have heard about every piece of the rockgenres we promote, so yeah it's quite a pleasure to listen to such a diverse band. On the other hand, it's hard to recommend to fans of a specific genre, but I guess fans of melodic heavy rock will mostly enjoy this album. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.windwraith.com Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
 SCARLET TARA 'DEMO CD'
(INDEPENDENT)This 2-piece band comes out of Southern Carolina and they sent me a great demo CD. SCARLET TARA actually has an own style, but falls in the high quality melodic hardrock genre. Sometimes they remind me a bit of VAIN and BLACK'N'BLUE, only a bit more melodic in the vocal approach. The songs are very strong and I think fans of quality melodic hardrock have a winner on their hands with this SCARLET TARA. Songs like the uptempo "Traitor's gate" and "Pretend I never died" and the midtempo "From beyond the sea" and "The haunting" are really a great mixture of melodic hardrock and melodic metal. The only disappointing song is closing track "Bad things", with it's heavy guitar riffs, 90s nu-metal approach and terrible chorus. The other 4 songs are however fantastic melodic hardrocksongs like you never heard them before. Go check it out at: http://www.scarlettara.com and e-mail them at: scarlettara@knac.com Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| SEVENTH HOUR 'NEVER IN VAIN'
(DEMO CDR) This is a Pennsylvania settled rockband that mix original progressive rock (RUSH, DREAM THEATRE) with today's modern rock (FUEL, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS). Not being a fan of the last mentioned genre makes it harder for me to start with listening to the band's demo CDR, but after listening to the included 7 tracks, I didn't hear that much of modern rock happily. The only negative point is the average production of the band, but I guess the future will bring some sort of official CD release. Anyway, musically it has a modern twist, but still is melodic enough to keep anyone interested, best songs are the last 2 songs ("Hey, hey" and "Breathe"), while the beginning is a bit weak ("Never in vain" and "Drag me down"). I guess this is just another local band that explores a sound somewhere between today's modern rockstandard and 80s Hard Rock. Check out their site at: http://www.seventhhourrocks.com and e-mail them at: seventhhour@seventhhourrocks.com Rating: 6,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| STILL LIFE 'THE CRAB SHIP
ARISE' (INDEPENDENT) Another band from Brazil, they are called STILL LIFE and they sent me their demo CD called 'The crab ship arise'. The production is good enough to enjoy the melodic heavy rock of the band. Opener "The crab ship arise" is the intro of the CD. "Destination somewhere" is the first song, and this is a nice faster uptempo melodic heavy rocker a la early PRETTY MAIDS. The second song (and final track) is called "Still life", a pretty good uptempo melodic hardrocksong like PINK CREAM 69/AXXIS (with high-pitched vocals). STILL LIFE is a good band and recommended if you're into mentioned bands. There are only 2 songs on their demo CD (nice cover by the way), but it's good stuff, so worth checking out at: http://www.stilllife.8m.com and e-mail them at: s_life@hotmail.com Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| ZADOK 'PRINCESS OF MARS'
(INDEPENDENT) ZADOK is a German band and they have been together for nine years now, and already released a CD in 1995 entitled 'The sign', while they performed in Russia in 1996, so they have gained some experience through the years. You can also clearly hear that on their new CD, because 'Princess of mars' sounds very good. The production is very good and musically, ZADOK is playing quality Melodic Hard Rock in the typical German style (VICTORY, DOMAIN). There are 4 songs on the CD. Opener "Princess of mars" is a great uptempo melodic hardrocksong a la VICTORY, one of the best tunes, together with the semi melodic rockballad "Into your fire". The other 2 songs are the groovy midtempo Hardrocksongs "Doing better" and "Snake of evil". This ZADOK is definitely a quality melodic hardrockband, yet another one from Germany for you to check out, especially if you're into stuff like VICTORY, BONFIRE, DOMAIN… More info at: http://www.zadok.de and e-mail them at: zadok91@web.de Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| PLEXUS 'DEPARTURE'
(INDEPENDENT) PLEXUS is a Brazilian band and I believe 'Departure' is their debut CD. It's a mini-CD, consisting of 5 tracks at normal playing length. The band is playing progressive power metal and they are quite heavy at times, due to the fact they have 2 guitarists in their line-up. Especially the fast power metal of "Wings of fire" and "Departure" will more be appreciated by fans of bands like ICED EARTH. On the other hand, songs like "Time for resistance" and "One step into infinity" are great progressive melodic heavy rockers, a la THRESHOLD and SHADOW GALLERY. This band is somewhere between the progressive melodic heavy rock of THRESHOLD and the Power Metal of ICED EARTH. More info at: http://www.plexusband.com and e-mail them at: plexusband@egroups.com Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| OUT OF CONTROL 'TEARS OF A CLONE'
(DEMO CDR) This is a female fronted rockband out of Braunschweig, Germany. They sent me a 4-track CDR. The production is average and also the female singer Sabine Romling sounds a bit forced at times, but there's one song that did attract my attention. This is the great melodic rocker "If she only knew", with a big production this could be a winner for fans of female fronted AOR. The chorus of this song is very catchy and melodic, reminds me a bit of the Swedish band TWO PIECE PUZZLE. The other songs are the melodic heavy rocker "Tears of a clone" (a la DORO), the semi melodic rocker "Plastic Jesus" (with male/female vocals, the song is unfortunately cut-off after 1 minute) and closing track "Witch" (a bonustrack, typical 80s uptempo Hardrock, a la WARLOCK, BITCH). The band has the potential to become better, just make more songs a la "If she only knew" with a better production. For now, they are only interesting for people who enjoy 80s female led melodic metal bands such as DORO, WARLOCK, BITCH, BLACKLACE, DC LACROIX and of course don't mind a 'demo' quality sound. Check out their site at: http://www.come.to/outofcontrol and e-mail them at: randau@freenet.de Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| EDERA 'EDERA'
(INDEPENDENT) Here's another Italian progressive rock/metal band. They are called EDERA and instrumental they sound excellent, besides, the production of their 6-track CD is very impressive. The only complaint I have is about the lead vocals of singer Valerio Valentini, who just doesn't sound strong enough to keep up with the progressive rocksongs of EDERA. That's a pity, because a song like opener "Left in the power of the storm" sounds great, this is a very nice semi progressive melodic rockballad, instrumental very good, but vocally it just lacks a bit. And so the CD continues with good progressive rockers such as "Debris", "Broken glass" and "From an open window". The best song is definitely the great progressive rocker "Paper world", with interesting keyboard/pianoplay. The lead vocals aren't bad at all, but they need to sound strong on music like this, nevertheless, this is a quality progressive rock/metal band from Italy that is definitely worth checking out. Website: http://www.ederaweb.com and e-mail at: ederaweb@libero.it Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| 5TH DEGREE 'VARIOUS ALBUMS'
(INDEPENDENT) 5TH DEGREE is a band from St. Louis, USA and they sent me their debut CD from 1998, an EP from last year and a demo CDR from now. Musically the band is close to 90s typed Rock, but still has some good melodies to keep fans of other genres (such as melodic hardrock) interested. Their 2 releases so far and the 2 new songs on their demo CDR are quality recordings and not just another local band making badly produced music. So the production and sound is in good shape with this band and also the songs aren't too bad either. Songs like "Dreaming of you", "Open road", "All fall down", "Personality" and "Shiver" are nice melodic heavy poprockers with a 90s attitude, but still a good melody in every song. Hard to compare this band, but they sound nice, nothing sensational though, because I miss some catchy tunes, songs that stick in your memory after hearing it. On the other hand, these guys are so young, eventually they will release a great album in the near future, because they surely know how to play their music at a high level. Check them out at: http://www.5thdegree.com and e-mail them at: the5thdegree@hotmail.com Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| CRYSTAL TEARS 'PROMO WORKS' (PROMO
CD) Out of ancient Greece comes the Melodic Power Metal band CRYSTAL TEARS. They sent me a 2-track CD and I was definitely impressed of the high quality musicianship and the production of their two recorded songs. Musically the band moves somewhere between the melodic power metal of BLIND GUARDIAN and the Progressive Metal of THRESHOLD. The first song "Crystal tears" is a fine example of typical fast uptempo Power Metal like so many bands make today (BLIND GUARDIAN/RHAPSODY). The other song is the best song, because "My storm will prevail" is very good bombastic melodic progressive metal (a la THRESHOLD). I hope CRYSTAL TEARS makes some more songs like "My storm will prevail" in the future, because that song has an own identity, while the other song is in a more familiar style (but done very good and will be loved by fans of the fantasy power metal genre). E-mail them at: chrisafis_tantanozis@hotmail.com I believe they also have a full-length CD out, but more info when I hear that record. Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
 HANGAR 'INSIDE YOUR SOUL' (DIE HARD RECORDS)HANGAR hail from Brazil and their debut CD 'Inside your soul' has a very good production and just sounds very professional. The band is focused on playing fast melodic power metal a la LABYRINTH and ICED EARTH, though at times they are very melodic in their approach, so this might as well attract fans of HELLOWEEN and HEAVENLY. The best songs on the CD are "Inside your soul" (fast melodic power metal with a great melodic chorus), "To tame a land" (part of a trilogy, very melodic catchy chorus, and excellent vocal duties, a la HELLOWEEN, HEAVENLY), "Legions of fate" (high quality progressive power metal in the Italian style - a la LABYRI NTH) and closing track "Perfect strangers". Yes, it's the DEEP PURPLE cover and it's a hidden track that isn't mentioned in the liner notes! Anyway, that cover is the best song of HANGAR, as it starts with some really cool Hammonds, and develops into a great midtempo melodic hardrocksong a la URIAH HEEP, so maybe they should write songs in the style of this DEEP PURPLE cover! Anyway, this HANGAR is another quality band from Brazil and recommended if you're into Progressive Power Metal, although I need to add that not all songs are convincing, but the sound and production of their CD is quite impressive. Check out HANGAR at: http://www.hangar.mus.br and e-mail at: hangar@hangar.mus.br Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| ZAP 'REFLEXO'
(INDEPENDENT) ZAP is a new Brazilian band formed around guitarist/vocalist Marise Maria, Their 5-track mini-CD 'Reflexo' sounds pretty good. The band sings in their own language, the Portuguese language. Opener "Estranhos no ninho" is a great catchy uptempo melodic rocker a la MARVEL, the Portuguese band! Up next is the semi melodic rocker "Vicio", with a lot of acoustic guitars, this song reminds me of EXTREME, although you can also clearly hear some Latin influences. The titlesong is a slighly progressive rocker, nice song. Following track "Varando a madrugada" is a great AOR song, but is sadly disturbed by a saxsolo, which is happily followed by a guitarsolo. The final track is the best song on the whole CD, namely the great uptempo melodic rocker "Ve se te enxerga". ZAP is a good new melodic rockband, but they have the potential to release an even better record than this mini-CD. For now, check out their site at: http://www.zap.br and e-mail them at: marise@ziptour.com Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| 40 DAZE '5 SONG DEMO' (DEMO
CDR) 40 DAZE is a band from Georgia, USA and their 5-song demo has a very 90s Rock approach. The lead vocals of singer Neil Arrington are very 90s orientated, so a bit depressing. The songs are also most of the time quite slow and 90s orientated, or if you want to call it nu-breed that's ok as well, because I hear clear similarities to bands like MATCHBOX 20 and VERTICAL HORIZON. The best songs are the semi melodic rocker "Live with that" and the calmer ballad "How do I feel". If you don't mind you melodic poprock to sound very modern and nu-breed orientated, then do check out 40 DAZE at: http://www.40daze.com and e-mail them at: fortydaze@aol.com Rating: 6,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| TAISH 'THE END OF THE
TRAIL' (DEMO CDR) I really don't know what to do with this band from Wien, Austria. They sent me a Demo CDR with 7 songs, and instrumental this band sounds pretty good, pure Progressive Rock/Metal. The production is also very good, but the problem is the death grunt lead vocal of singer Robert Staniek. They really don't suit TAISH' melodic progressive rock music. Now they sound like a Black Metal band doing Progressive Rock tunes. I can't make much more of it then to advise that this band needs a different singer, because with a 'Death-Metal' voice, you can't make Progressive Rock/Metal. Maybe recommended to people who like such a 'new' mixture, but if you're into Progressive Rock/Metal with a good melodic voice, then you can pass on this band. Website: http://www.taish.org and e-mail them at: robert.staniek@gmx.at Rating: - (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| SIMONS AND VAN BUURINGEN 'DESPERATE MEASURES'
(TARANTULA RECORDS) SIMONS AND VAN BUURINGEN was a Dutch band and they released their only CD last year on the TARANTULA RECORDS label. The CD has a playing length of more than 50 minutes and contains 9 tracks. Musically it is mostly instrumental progressive rock, although there are some influences of other genres present, such as the Hardrock of opener "Approach to zero", the blues in the slow song "In desolate places" and the heavy drumsound in "A congregation of fools" (but this song also has some excellent progressive rock parts). The few vocal tracks ("Quit this town" and "A hole in the ground") were not that impressive, so this band was at their best during the instrumental songs, and the best tracks are therefore "Approach to zero", "The rapist" and "The house of next Tuesday" (definitely the best song, pure Progressive Rock, with excellent keyboardwork). I don't know if you can get a copy of this album, but e-mail the members at: m.a.p.simons@ptt-post.nl or evanbuuringen@hetnet.nl Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| FUSION 'GLOW' (INDEPENDENT) FUSION is a Finish band and their 4-track CD has a very good sound and production. Instrumental they are also in good shape, as it is good melodic hardrock. The only problem is the lead vocals, which aren't really good. Songs like "Gone" (uptempo melodic hardrock) and the semi-rockers "Memories" and "Take me away" are nicely performed songs, but the average lead vocals are making them sound weaker. Maybe a future CD will see a change in vocals, but for now you have to check it out for yourself at: http://www.fusionfinland.cjb.net and e-mail them at: contact@fusionfinland.cjb.net Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| ARTESGUITARS 'DEVICES IN
POPMUSIC' (ROCKWERK RECORDS) Guitarist Fritz Knebel is the man behind ARTESGUITARS, an act from Germany who sent me their new CD 'Devices in popmusic'. Fritz is an excellent guitarplayer, which you can hear on his CD, because the album is filled with 15 songs, and they are all (except one) instrumental rocksongs. In fact, this is very good performed instrumental Melodic Hardrock, not unlike MICHAEL SCHENKER. The best songs are "Sometimes", "Next", "Diaspora" and "Three giants". A little bit weaker are the bluesy songs "Wamba yooba", "Beyond cool" and "A little ain't enough". Closing track "Capriccio, Op. 1 No. 24" is a nice acoustic version of the classical song by Nicolo Paganini from the early 19th century. This CD is a must for anyone into guitar based instrumental Hardrock. More info at: http://www.artesguitars.de and e-mail at: info@gagmusic.de Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| VERTICAL ADDICTION 'LIVE DEMO'
(INDEPENDENT) This Canadian band recorded this demo several years ago, but now I got to hear it finally after waiting for a few years. They play melodic hardrock in the 80s style, with Christian lyrics. Musically they are comparable to DANGER DANGER, CRY WOLF, DOKKEN and especially WHITE LION, only a few levels lower, because not everything is convincing on the band's CD. Opener "Don't let go" is a great uptempo AOR/Melodic Rocker and maybe one of the best tunes on the CD, because what follows is a collection of weaker and nice songs. The songs "Fool", "Shake", "Help from heaven", "Saviour" and "Stand on the rock" are very average tunes, and really nothing special. Much better are the uptempo melodic rockers "Psalm 113", "Love" and "Jesus" (pure 80s guitar riffs, catchy song), all 3 sounding a lot like WHITE LION. So, the CD has many ups and many downs, nevertheless, nice to add to your collection if you're into 80s Melodic Rock. More info at: http://www.verticaladdiction.0catch.com and e-mail them at: rsqueen@telus.net Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
| CERAFIM 'REVELATION' (DEMO
CDR) I reviewed the debut CD of the Canadian band CERAFIM sometime ago, and now they sent me a great new CDR with 5 songs. Musically they sound better now, as they seem to move into a Melodic Rock direction without losing the progressive rock influences. Opener "Desert of my heart" for example is a great high-quality semi melodic rocker like a mix between TYKETTO, VALENTINE and TESLA, but with a very melodic almost AOR typed chorus. The following two songs are quite different, as "Hurricane" and "Revelation" are both great progressive rockers (like RUSH and SAGA). It's all quality on this CDR, because also the 2 last tracks are pretty good. "Our love" is a nice 70s typed progressive melodic rocker, while closing track "I believe" is a good progressive melodic hardrocksong. The band has mixed up a lot of influences this time (happily good styles), so the new sound of CERAFIM will appeal to lots of music lovers. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.cerafim.com and e-mail them at: write_cerafim@hotmail.com Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
FIRST SHOT 'FROM THE HIP' 
Out of New York comes WIND
WRAITH, a very diverse band with a quality sound, a good
singer and a lot of melodic tunes. The diversity comes to
show in the included songs, because I heard influences
from 80s Melodic Hardrock/Heavy Rock (IRON MAIDEN), 80s
AOR (KANSAS/STREETS), Progressive Rock/Metal (FATES
WARNING), Melodic Hardrock (HAREM SCAREM), Thrash/Speed
Metal (80s METALLICA) and even some Gothic Melodic Metal
a la NIGHWISH! So, there's a lot of diversity in this
band, and with a good production, excellent liner notes,
and well-written lyrics, this band is a high quality band
that will be enjoyed by fans of a lot of genres as said
above. WIND WRAITH sounds heavy at times, but that's not
out of the ordinary when there are 3 (!) guitarists in
the line-up.