'Rockin' the shire' is the new CD of Pomprockers HOBBIT, a Texan band that released a couple of years ago the awesome album 'Two feet tall'. The band is playing Fantasy Rock (which in Europe is called Pomprock) with lyrics about Tolkien's 'The lord of the rings' epic. You can compare HOBBIT's music to bands like AXE, THRILLS, LE ROUX, ARC ANGEL, STARCASTLE, STYX, so a very late 70s/early 80s orientated sound. I believe most of the songs on this new CD are actually old tunes, but they do sound refreshed and not dated at all. There are 14 songs on the CD and the production quality is very good. Opener "Rockin'" is a great 70s Pomprocker like ANGEL.

The uptempo melodic rocker "Paradise" also has a 70s twist, kinda like AXE. "Don't say no" is a high-class early 80s AOR/Pomprocker a la THRILLS, LE ROUX and ARC ANGEL. The calmer ballad "Holiday" follows and slow things down a bit. But things get very sensational on the next track, "Listen to your heart", a superb early 80s Pomprocker like LE ROUX's 'Up'. "Changes" is another classy 80s keyboard driven AOR/Pomprocker, very much like THRILLS. Next track, "Too long without you", is a very nice calmer AOR ballad, a la ALLIANCE 1982, FRANKE AND THE KNOCKOUTS and I-TEN.

"Television" follows and is a nice uptempo rocker. "Join the celebration" closes the studio recording part, because the remaining 5 tracks are live recordings the band did at Bag End. Among them are several tracks from their debut 'Two feet tall' and a few new tracks. The best ones are the classy 80s AOR/Pomprockers "Take your chances" and "Through the looking glass". This CD of HOBBIT is a total must for fans of that classy early 80s AOR/Pomprocksound bands like THRILLS, AIRBORNE, AXE, LE ROUX etc. brought us back then. More info at: http://www.hobbitcd.com and e-mail them at: paulsal@gower.net Next year, the band will release a complete new CD, which they will start recording from early 2002 on, so that's something to look forward to.

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Out of Florida, USA comes multi-instrumentalist KEVIN JACOBS. He released his debut CD last year and I must say it sounds pretty good and is from a very high quality. Not all songs may appeal, because some are quite poppy, but the variation in style is definitely interesting, as there are AOR songs on the album, but also melodic hardrock tunes and calmer acoustic tingled popsongs. Nevertheless, it's all quality what we hear, not only musically, but also Kevin's vocals are quite good and the production is very impressive.

The first track "Lost in time" is one of the best songs on the CD. This song is a lovely semi AOR ballad like DAVE BALDWIN, TRADIA, STYX, ALIAS, THE STORM…, so pure Classic AOR! Starting off with such an amazing song, only makes it more exciting to listen to the rest of the album. Up next is the semi-rocker "I'd love to change the world", not a sensational tune as the opening song, but still a nice song that clearly shows BEATLES influences. "Get it" follows and is again taking a twist in rockstyle, because this song is a good late 80s/early 90s US Mainstream melodic hardrocker with the 'swing' of bands like FIREHOUSE and WINGER.

Some good musicianship can be heard on "If you fall", a nice semi AOR/Melodic rocker. The poppy ballad "All these things" sounds very close to JOHN LENNON. Things get rocky again on "Set me free", a nice uptempo melodic rocker a la FIREHOUSE. "That's the way" is a nice acoustic version of the old LED ZEPPELIN song. We're back into pure AOR territory with the terrific AOR ballad "All I need", with some very good vocals, this song reminds me a lot of JOURNEY and THE STORM. Closing track is another good AOR ballad, entitled "Love is forever". The debut CD of KEVIN JACOBS is quite interesting to check out, so go to his site at: http://www.kevinjacobs.com and e-mail him at: Boozer1996@aol.com

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

This Finish band sounds like all those 80s 'Hair-metal' bands, but surely they don't look like them. And when I say 'Hair-metal' I am not talking about bands like POISON or CRUE, no way! This awesome rockband sounds like the 80s melodic rock of bands like DOKKEN, RECKLESS, SPELLBOUND… There are only 3 songs on the band's debut CD, but they all are very good. Especially "When it is over" and "Better way" are both great uptempo melodic rockers with some catchy choruses and a sound somewhere between DOKKEN and 80s SCORPIONS. This ALLIANCE (do not confuse them with the 10 other bands with that name!) is a high quality melodic rockband, with a strong mini-debut CD (that has a crystal clear production as well). Next year they will release a new CD, which I hope to review as well, and in the meantime, go check out their site at: http://allianceweb.w3.to and e-mail them at: juri.vuortama@pp.inet.fi

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Out of Michigan, USA comes SAHARA STEEL, a great new Melodic Hardrockband and they have released their debut CD on PERRIS RECORDS. Their CD is filled with high quality 'hair-metal' in the style of RECKLESS, ROUGH CUTT, ICON and DOKKEN. The production is very good and also the songs are quite impressive, so this is definitely a great new band to check out. There are 10 songs and especially the first couple of songs are very good. Opener "Fatal heartbreaker" for example is a great pure 80s type of melodic heavy rocker a la ROUGH CUTT, RECKLESS and ICON.

Next track "Back in trouble" is a nice straight-up Hardrocksong a la RATT. But then comes the best song on the CD, namely the lovely classy late 80s power melodic rockballad "Heart of fire", a song like DOKKEN. Other highlights on the CD are "Save your prayers" (good uptempo melodic hardrock), "Man on the run" (good semi melodic rocker with a catchy chorus) and the tough melodic hardrocksong "Push comes to shove" (ROUGH CUTT meets ICON). The last two songs were the only weaker songs, especially closing track "Overexposure" is an average boogie Hardrocksong a la VAN HALEN. Still, this SAHARA STEEL is a great new band and a must if you're into classy 80s US Melodic Hardrock. More info at: http://www.perrisrecords.com

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

WINE SPIRIT is an Italian Hardrockband, and their debut CD 'Bombs away' sounds a lot like VAN HALEN. Opener "Off my head" is a faster Party Sleaze-Metal song that clearly has VAN HALEN influences. Not a bad song at all, but it sounds a bit dated and just doesn't work anymore. Much better are songs like "Wine spirit" (good midtempo melodic Hardrock), "Damned clockstrokes" (great uptempo melodic rocker a la PINK CREAM 69, this song even has keys!) and "Wasted sunsets" (great calmer melodic rockballad, but a DEEP PURPLE cover!). However, WINE SPIRIT is only recommended if you're into groovy and 'boogie' Melodic Hardrock a la VAN HALEN and MR. BIG. More info at: http://www.perrisrecords.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

'Leather boyz with electric toyz' was the last and only piece I heard from this American Glamrockband. Although the lyrics and the music was quite simple, still the songs were deadly catchy and you couln't ignore singing along with songs like "Rock and roll", "Your mama won't know", "I wanna be with you" and "Only the young". Together with the debut CD of CRUE from 1981, this 1989 released LP of PRETTY BOY FLOYD was one of the best Glam/Party-rock releases ever done! The past few years the band got together again and released several EP's, and this is their first Live CD release. The band is playing a good mixture of old (5 from 'Leather boyz') and new songs.

The sound quality is pretty good and it is quite enjoyable to listen to such songs like "Rock-n-roll outlaw", "Shock the world", "Your momma", "48 hours" and "Set the night on fire". Besides, 10 live songs, there are also two new studio tracks included. The first one is a great semi melodic rocker called "Don't save your love", while the other is a BILLY JOEL cover ("It's still R&R to me"). Lead singer Steve Summers definitely sounds different nowadays and not so cheesy as on their debut LP from over a decade ago. This CD is a must for every fan of 80s Party/Glam Hardrock. More info at: http://www.perrisrecords.com

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

After the release of E.M.N.'s 'Back traxx' album, this is an official new studio CD of the band. 'Deeper shade of grey' is filled with good melodic hardrock like the band's debut CD, yet with a slight updated sound and also some similarities to ENUFF'Z'NUFF. Especially the first few songs ("Done to me" and "Until I break") remind me of ENUFF'Z'NUFF. The rest of the CD is more standard melodic rock, with some good tunes like "Deeper shade of grey" (uptempo melodic rocker), "Carbon" (semi melodic rockballad), "Hello darkness" (semi melodic rockballad), "Fly away" (midtempo melodic rocker), "Blind to see" (uptempo melodic rocker) and the hidden track (track number 13, no songtitle mentioned). This is a good return of EVERY MOTHER'S NIGHTMARE, maybe not as good as their debut, but still an album that has got both an updated sound and a melodic rock approach. More info at: http://www.perrisrecords.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

WHITE LION was one of the leading melodic rockbands in the 1980s. They sold millions of records and made excellent records filled with some Classic Melodic Rocktunes. I still play frequently songs like "Wait", "El Salvador", "Hungry", "Broken heart", "You're all I need", "Don't say it's over" and "Lonely nights", these are memorable songs that actually shouldn't be touch. After the split of WHITE LION, Lead singer MIKE TRAMP formed FREAKS OF NATURE, with whom he released 3 very average albums. Then he went solo and put out a nice CD, but nothing more than that. The high-class melodic rock of WHITE LION will always be his best work and also his most successfull. And the fact Mike has now released this CD, a CD with 12 WHITE LION 'covers' proves he also can't let go of his past, no matter how hard he wants to.

The musicians on the CD are all unknown Scandinavian people, who play very well actually and Mike just sings in the songs like he did back then. Instead of covering the well-known WHITE LION songs (such as "Broken heart" and "Cry for freedom"), Mike choose to do the WHITE LION songs that never got much attention (except for the big US hit "When the children cry"). He even included songs from the very first 'Classic' WHITE LION album 'Fight to survive', I really did enjoy the new versions of "All the fallen man" and "El Salvador", maybe two of the best WHITE LION songs that should have been the breakthough of the band, instead of that ballad "When the children cry", a song that does get a rockin' version on this CD.

Also nice is the slower melodic rock version of "Wait" that was upbeat in it's original version. If you're a fan of MIKE TRAMP, you're probably gonna like this a lot, but I think most of us are really waiting for something else to happen in the year 2002, which is a reunion of WHITE LION and a new CD with songs in the style of their first 2 albums! Who knows Mike might get interested again, after re-recording his old WHITE LION classics again, he proves he can still sing them very well!

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

THOMAS HASSLER wrote the liner notes on this compilation CD of MTM Music. He says that the money made with this CD will be donated to 'Hilfe fur die Terroropfer 11. September', so this CD is against terrorism and for the benefit of all innocent victims. The album contains 31 tracks, of the same number of artists and bands, all signed to MTM Music. You don't get any unreleased songs here, but a great compilation of some of the best tunes on MTM music. Featured are songs by BAD HABIT, DARE, METROPOLIS, KHARMA, RADIOACTIVE, THINK OUT LOUD, AXE, JOE LYNN TURNER, DAVID CARL BAND, PUBLIC DOMAIN, HARLAN CAGE, SUNSHINE JIVE, RANSOM, CITA, 101 SOUTH, SVEN BUSCH, SNAKES IN PARADISE, BRIAN MCDONALD, VON GROOVE, FERGIE FREDERIKSEN, VELOCITY, FIORE, RETURN TO ZERO, JADED HEART, JIMMY LAWRENCE, MICHAEL MORALES, HOUSE OF SHAKIRA, DOUG HOWARD, ELEMENTS OF FRICTION, DANGER DANGER and CIRCLE OF PAIN. Buy this double disc and you will donate something against this terrible type of terrorism and prevend that something like happened on the 11th of september will eve happen again!

Rating: - (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

'Sign of the winner' is the second CD release of the French Fantasy Power Metal band HEAVENLY. There are 10 tracks on the CD and it is a continuation of the style created on the debut CD. So you'll get 10 faster uptempo Fantasy Power Metal songs in the style of HELLOWEEN. The choruses are easy to sing-a-long and it all sounds quite professional. The band also added a lot of keys in each song, but a few weeks back during one of their live performances, the keys were missing. Anyway, if you're into this type of 'Happy' Metal, then you will totally love this. HEAVENLY is definitely one of the better bands in this genre, because their songs are very melodic and easy to catch up. 'Sign of the winner' will be a nice addition to your collection!

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

WICKED SENSATION's debut CD 'Reflected' will be released later this month. The album has a very good production from DENNIS WARD (bassist of PINK CREAM 69), and the line-up of the band is also very exciting, because the members of WICKED SENSATION are all professional musicians from The Netherlands, Germany and Thailand. Lead singer Robert Soeterbeek was brough into the band bu ARJEN LUCASSEN (AYREON, VENGEANCE). On backing vocals we can hear Damien Wilson from THRESHOLD. Musically WICKED SENSATION is playing high quality Melodic Hardrock like a mix between WHITESNAKE, STREET LEGAL and PINK CREAM 69.

The best songs are the uptempo melodic rockers "Magic moments" (even a bit HAREM SCAREM), "You're the answer", "The preacher", "Caught in a fantasy" and "Let it ride". Also pretty good are the slower WHITESNAKE type of melodic rockers, such as "Someone strong", "Stand tall" and "Night on fire", all 3 with very melodic choruses. If you're into any of the mentioned bands or any fan of decent melodic hardrock will totally love this WICKED SENSATION, just wait a few weeks and then the album will be officially released on MTM MUSIC.

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

This is a new German Power Metal band with their debut CD released on UDO DIRSCHNEIDER'S recordlabel BREAKER RECORDS. The production is very good and most of the songs are also typical German Heavy Metal, but the problem is that this band has two singers! They have a good melodic lead singer called Paul Dahlmann, and also guitarist Oliver Lux sings every now and then. He is the problem, because his vocals are terrible and spoil everything. His 'Black-metal' type of dark vocals may give CYBERIA an own sound in this Power Metal world, but it's annoying to listen to, and that's a pity, because the songs are quite good and their other singer sounds like AXXIS. Most of the songs are midtempo melodic heavy rock/metal orientated and sound like VICTORY meets ACCEPT, with of course the 'Black-Metal' type of vocals on most of the songs (especially during the chorus). Anyway, lately more and more bands are doing this kidn of mixture, Progressive Power Metal with Black Metal vocals, so if you enjoy that mixture, then you will love CYBERIA. If you're keen on good lead vocals, then you must first have a listen to CYBERIA, because this may not be up your alley then!

Rating: 6,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

DOUBLE ACTION is a young new band discovered by Udo Dirkschneider (UDO/ACCEPT) and he put out their second CD on his own label. The band played as a support act for URIAH HEEP and NAZARETH. Musically DOUBLE ACTION is playing along the lines of SAXON and VICTORY. Especially the comparison to SAXON can be made a lot, but happily, the band also has an own identity, which even resulted in some very good songs towards the end of the CD. Then I am talking about the typical 'German' Melodic rockballad "Another life" (a very good song, not unlike AXXIS' ballads) and the sing-a-long uptempo melodic rocker "I want out" (a la 80s KROKUS, VICTORY, BONFIRE). Of course, the rest is also very good, such as the semi melodic rockballad "Burning nights", the straight-ahead uptempo Hardrockers "Hard days" and "Revelation" (both a la VICTORY), and the cover "Hot stuff". Fans of SAXON will totally love songs such as "Sokaris", "Bloody sights" and "Take my hand". This is a very nice melodic hardrock/metal album, with good lead vocals (Ronnie Pilgrim) and melodic songs, while still heavy again for the Metalfreaks.

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

'Symphony of life' is the 6th CD release of German the Progmetalband ROUGH SILK, but one of the very first I review. The new CD is lighter than their previous albums (as I was informed), but still I have to admit that I really enjoyed the new ROUGH SILK CD. In fact, the band has an own style that is both very melodic and still attractive for fans of Progressive Metal. As guest singer we can hear JON OLIVIA from SAVATAGE, who sings a duet with ROUGH SILK singer Thomas Ludolphy on the song "Lucifer", a song that sounds very much like the epic 'opera' Metal of SAVATAGE. The CD starts with the titletrack, a 'poppy' progressive rockballad that forgive me reminds me of GUNS'N'ROSES covering a JOHN LENNON ballad, with SAVATAGE are playing the instruments. Nevertheless, it still is a very nice song and quite enjoyable to listen to.

Next track "Suicide king and chaos queen" sounds more familiar, a happy fast melodic metal tune like HELLOWEEN. One of my favourite tracks is up next, the slower progressive melodic rocker "Savannah", a song with a great memorable AORish chorus! This song is also featured later on the CD in a radio-edit version, so I guess ROUGH SILK wants to get some airplay with this song. And I don't mind, because I think the average AOR/Melodic Rockfan will totally love this catchy tune, it reminds me a little of LION'S SHARE.

Anyway, the CD continues with "Lucifer", the duet with Jon Olivia I talked about earlier in this review. "The truth" is a faster melodic metal song, with a slow chorus though. "Nice day for a funeral" is also later on featured in a radio-edit version. This song is an uptempo melodic rocker with a great sing-a-long chorus that doesn't get out of your head that soon. Together with "Savannah", this "Nice day for a funeral" belongs to better tracks on the new ROUGH SILK CD. Up next is "The opposite of yes", a simpler uptempo heavy rocker. "Silicone" starts pretty calm, but develops into a good Neo-prog rocker.

I really like the excellent melodic guitarstyle on the melodic rocker "Under the guilliutine". Finally, "Stories to tell" is a nice progressive melodic rocker that in the start sounds a bit like the last DARE album, with it's Folk/Irish influences. Maybe some ROUGH SILK fans might not like this new CD, but I think a lot of people will now have to check out this original band, because their new CD has some great moments that will even appeal to fans of AOR/Melodic Rock!

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

These two new VIRGIN STEELE CD's may be called Best of albums, but are actually more than just that. VIRGIN STEELE celebrates it's 20-year anniversary this year and therefore bandleader David DeFeis decided to pick the best songs from the band's first two albums and re-record them and put them onto these 2 CDs. He also added 8 brand-new unreleased tracks, so these 2 new VIRGIN STEELE CDs definitely do not reflect the typical 'Best of' album you would expect to see. Therefore they are both highly recommended to VIRGIN STEELE fans, as they contain a lot of new material, and besides, all the old songs have been re-recorded!

The total playing time of both CDs is close to 150 minutes, so that's definitely worth investing your money! You can also clearly hear the different rockstyles VIRGIN STEELE actually tried in their early days, because a song like "Saturday night" will never be performed again by the band, because this song is just a pure Party Hardrock song a la QUIET RIOT! But most of the included songs are typical VIRGIN STEELE 'Metal' songs, such as "Rain of fire", "The succubus", "I am the one", "Invictus" and "A symphony of steele". My favourite tracks can be found for the most part on the 'Hymns to victory' CD, with great songs like "Flames of thy power" (great melodic Power Metal), "Crown of glory" (good uptempo progressive melodic heavy rocker), "The burning of Rome" (great progressive melodic hardrock), "I will come for you" (uptempo melodic heavy rocker with nice keyboardwork) and "Noble savage" (great uptempo progressive melodic heavy rocker).

From the other CD 'The book of burning', I really liked "Don't say goodbye tonight" (excellent melodic heavy rocker, very 80s), "Children of the storm" (good melodic heavy rocker), "Hot and wild" (typical 80s Hardrock like ROUGH CUTT) and "Guardians of the flame" (great melodic hardrock). VIRGIN STEELE fans will totally love these two 'new' CDs, with so many unreleased and rare songs of the band that introduced US Power Metal in the 1980s!

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

I guess this is the ultimate Live record for UDO fans, because 'Live from Russia' is a double CD with 26 numbers UDO played last year on concerts held in Russia. Besides, the CD is released as Digi-pack, with loads of pictures and extra info, making this a true gem for the fans of both UDO and ACCEPT (he also performed a bunch of songs of his former band). The production is, like expected, very good and so nothing will keep the fans of UDO away in buying this double live CD!

Rating: - (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Most of the Rockfans (especially in the USA) will know what VH1-BEHIND THE MUSIC is. The people who don't know this TV station, I can tell you it's a sort of alternative Music channel to MTV. BEHIND THE MUSIC are mostly broadcasting documentaries of 'lost' Rock and Popbands, such as JOURNEY, STYX, DEF LEPPARD, HEART, DURAN DURAN, but also more well-known bands that are still pretty popular these days (BON JOVI, QUEEN). Anyway, I guess you can say that VH-1 is doing what MTV did about 15 years ago, playing real music!

Now I got a video from the band HOLLANDER and they have made a documentary in the style of those VH-1 BEHIND THE MUSIC episodes. HOLLANDER is a great high-quality US band, and actually they have got an own style, which mixes Neo-Progressive Rock, AOR and Pop together in one melodic style. The band started out in 1984 and became quite popular in the underground scene, but when the 'grunge' movement came in the early 90s, the band split up. Happily, they reformed again a few years ago and recorded a demo CDR. This video, playing length of more than 1 hour, tells us the complete story of the band HOLLANDER. It was quite enjoyable to watch this well-made video of one of those typical great American independent melodic rockbands still out there today. Download the complete video on their site and I can tell you, it's really worth it! Go check out their site at: http://www.mp3.com/hollander

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

WHITE DIAMOND was one of those typical Californian 'Hair-Metal' or AOR/Melodic Rockbands active around the late 1980s, when so many bands played this kind of style. A few signed with major labels and became big stars (WARRANT, FIREHOUSE, WINGER, SLAUGHTER, TRIXTER), but a lot were close signing a deal, but at the last moment they were dropped by their label. One of those bands from the last category is WHITE DIAMOND. This band recorded an album and was about to release their debut LP, but at the last moment it was cancelled, so the band never released that album. It's now a decade later and WHITE DIAMOND has eventually released a CD, filled with demos they recorded between 1988 and 1990.

Musically they sound very much like TOUR DE FORCE, HIT THE GROUND RUNNIN' and UNDER FIRE (3 more band that could have been big in the late 1980s, but never found fame and fortune). Anyway, this CD contains 9 tracks, of which a few are covers actually and that's a pity, because WHITE DIAMOND originals are their best tunes. Especially "Symbol of love", "American dreamer", "All my love" and "This game of life" are nice uptempo AOR pieces, like HIT THE GROUND RUNNIN' and AIRKRAFT.

The WARRANT song "Heaven" sounds like a pure AOR ballad over here, while the covers of RICK SPRINGFIELD ("It's so funny") and THE TEMPTATIONS ("My girl") are a bit useless. Not all songs are convincing, because "It's just another day" and "Man of God" are nice rockers, but nothing more than that. Nevertheless, if you're a dedicated fan of 80s AOR/Melodic Rock, you will like this WHITE DIAMOND CD a lot, but I think they can do
much better. If they ever release a new CD, they really need to make more strong AOR/Melodic Rockers like their songs "This game of life" and "Symbol of love", because those two songs prove that WHITE DIAMOND was an interesting AOR act. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.whitediamond-demos.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

The Norwegian band SEA OF DREAMS has released 2 CDs so far and 'Land of flames' is their latest album. The CD has a very good production, and musically, the Progressive/Power Metal of SEA OF DREAMS is from a very high quality. Lead singer Jim Lynwood has a high-pitched voice and the long songs of the band remind me of NOSTRADAMEUS. There are 8 tracks on the CD, and my favourites are "Eagle" (Progressive Power Metal, 10 minutes), "Temple of dreams" (great melodic chorus, epic progmetal), "Illusions" (a dream for fans of progmetal, lots of tempo changes, also a faster power metal part a la HEAVENLY) and "Morning rain" (best song, great progressive melodic rockballad a la TNT, FATES WARNING). SEA OF DREAMS is a high quality band that mix up Progressive and Power Metal, and give the songs a very melodic touch, while also introducing high-pitched vocals and some nice keyboardparts (such as in the song "Last trooper"), all combined, they have an own style! Check it out for yourself at: http://home.online.no/~toare/ and e-mail them at: toare@online.no

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Out of Switzerland comes multi-instrumentalist SIX. He does a great job on the CD he sent me, as he does handle the instruments very well, and besides, also the production is very good for a demo. Even the included songs are pretty nice to listen to and fall in the melodic rockgenre. Only tiny problem are the lead vocals of SIX, which aren't that bad you would turn off the stereo, but they also don't offer something extra to each and every song. Nevertheless, there are some nice tunes on his debut demo CDR. Opener "What you did last night" is one of the best tracks, as this is a good melodic rocker like STEVE STONE, RICK MATHEWS and STEVE PLUNKETT. Also a nice uptempo 80s inspired rocker is "Tonite". Closing track "Tell me it's a lie" is a nice semi melodic rockballad. The other 3 tracks aren't that special, and offer just plain Hard rock, such as the 1984 KISS inspired "After you", the CRUEish partyrocker "Just call the devil" and the semi-rocker "Mercy". If SIX can find a better singer, and continues writing songs like opener "What you did last night", then I am looking forward to a future release. You can check out SIX at: http://www.mp3.com/six and e-mail him at: six@hot-shot.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

This is a 3-piece band from Italy and all members have played in a lot of other bands before forming HAZE. Guitarist Massimo Bianchi even played with former EUROPE members at the European Convention this summer, and bassist Alex Moschini played with H.A.R.E.M. (a band I reviewed a couple of years ago). Last but least, drummer Andrea Roventini cooperated with the famous Italian singer ZUCCHERO, so they have together experienced a lot. The frontcover of their demo CDR looks very nice, showing a pretty girl with a snake around her naked body, but musically the 7 tracks are nothing that special. 5 of the 7 tunes are covertunes, including 2 KISS songs ("Rock'n'roll all nite" and "Got to choose"), a LED ZEPPELIN tune ("Rock'n'roll"), an old SLADE song that was also covered by BRITNY FOX several years ago ("Gudbuy 2 Jane") and a CINDERELLA song ("Gipsy road"). They are nicely performed, but the lead vocals are not really good. Bassist Alex Moschini sings the lead vocals, but he sounds a bit average. The 2 original songs of the band aren't bad, because both "Angel" and "Under the mask" are nice semi melodic rockballads. The major problem with this band is that they need to hire a different singer, who sounds more melodic and stronger than Alex. Also, some more own tunes would make this band much more interesting. Check it out for yourself at: http://hazenet.tripod.com and e-mail them at: alexmidnight@libero.it

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

SPACED is a 4-piece band from Reno, Nevada, and their bandleader is BRIAN ZELENIAK, who plays lead guitar, sings and also wrote all the music and lyrics on this promotional CD I got. The CDR contains 9 tracks, of which 7 are taken from the band's first release 'The alien' and 2 tracks are new and will also be featured on the upcoming new CD 'The spacedman'. The band started back in 1993 and they are in contact with Z RECORDS right now, so maybe this will lead to a record deal, but so far, the band releases their albums independently. This CDR impressed me a lot. Not only the songs are very good, but also the high quality sound and production of the CDR is amazing and you can easily put this band next to the releases of the 'big' AOR/Melodic Rocklabels over here in Europe.

The band mixes up Progressive Hardrock and Melodic Rock, like 80s QUEENSRYCHE meets TNT and Q5, and with mentioning such bandnames, you also may notice that the lead vocals (of Brian) are high-pitched. There's not a single weak track among the 9 included songs. My favourite tracks are "What comes around" (great high quality midtempo progressive melodic rocker a la 80s QUEENSRYCHE), "Fly on" (fantastic uptempo melodic rocker, very 80s, with a lovely melodic harmonyvocal driven chorus, a bit like LEGS DIAMOND, GREAT WHITE, TNT, Q5, SPELLBOUND…), "Do you remember me" (great midtempo melodic rocker) and closing track "Like today" (great progressive AOR). This SPACED is an excellent band, with some great tunes, and I really look forward to their new CD 'The spaced man', which should be out in March. For now, check out their site at: www.mp3.com/spacedweb and e-mail at: bz62@nvbell.net

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

On his own label, former TUFF singer Stevie Rachelle has released his second solo-CD. Musically it sounds a lot more mature than the TUFF stuff, but happily, the songs are pretty melodic at all times. 'Since sixty-six' is filled with melodic poprock that has an updated approach, and fits somewhere between MIKE TRAMP, STEVE STONE and RICK MATHEWS (if you remember those guys!). The album was co-produced by GUNS'N'ROSES guitarist Gilby Clarke. My favourite tracks are the uptempo melodic poprockers "I won't give up" and "Don't complain", the semi melodic rockballads "It's all over" (a bit like ALICE COOPER), "All out of love" (AIR SUPPLY cover) and "Broken man". Not a sensational record, but still nice to hear, and a total must if you like MIKE TRAMP's last couple solo records! More info at: http://www.stevierachelle.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

They were one of the last MTV bands that were heavily promoted, before the commercial music television station went on to promote 'Grunge' bands. TUFF found fame and fortune for a short while in the early 1990s, before being ignored by everyone after 1992. Happily, in the late 1990s, Internet gave bands like TUFF another chance and so we are in the year 2002, and I receive 2 CDs, filled with mostly unreleased material of TUFF recorded between 1988 and 1995. 'Regurgitation' was released in 2000, and contains mainly studio demos, live tracks and rehearsal demos, so what you get is 19 'new' unreleased tracks from TUFF, recorded between 1988 and 1995. Fans of TUFF will totally love this, especially the RATT influenced tracks "Another mans gun" (this must be co-written by DESMOND CHILD!), "Round em up", "Want trouble you got it" and "Don't complain", but I would rather mention as best tracks, the semi melodic rockballads "A place where love can't go" and "People they change" (both sounding like KANE ROBERTS).

The rehearsal demos are also quite interesting, because songs like "Alone without you" and "Don't know where I'm going" are great uptempo melodic rockers, very fun tracks (a la "Forever yours"), but the sound quality of those songs isn't that good. The 4 live tracks, recorded at a show in Chicago in 1995, sound much heavier, more like a Metal orientated TUFF, kinda like SKID ROW. Still, this CD is a total must for TUFF fans. The other CD, which has recently been released, is the best of TUFF CD 'The history of Tuff'. The only pity is the fact that there aren't any tracks taken from their only major label release, but I think that has something to do with the label rights. Still, tracks like "Don't complain", "I won't give up", "Sinner street" and "Summertime goodbye" prove that TUFF was a good rockin' band with melodic tunes, and they definitely had an attitude, unlike so many other LA Bands from the late 1980s scene! More info on any of the TUFF releases can be found at: http://www.tuffcds.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

ARROW was a German band and they released two Eps in the mid 1980s. Both EP's have now been re-issued onto CDR, filled up with songs from other sessions the band did in between and didn't make the EP's back then. The total playing time is almost 75 minutes, so there's a lot to enjoy of this band. The sound and production quality is not really good, but happily the music is nice to listen to. ARROW played typical 80s Melodic Hardrock in the style of most UK bands, UFO, STAMPEDE, SAMSON are clear similarities you can make when listening to the songs of ARROW. Somehow the band reminds me also of records of the old Belgian label MAUSOLEUM RECORDS.

Anyway, the 2 EP's make up a total of 8 tracks and the best songs are "Run to hell", "Slave of Garon castle" and "You don't see my soul" (best song, good melodic rock). The additional unreleased tracks on this CDR are more typical 80s Hardrock orientated, with as best tracks "Drivin' devil" and "Satan's son". If you ever looked for those 2 Eps, then this is the perfect opportunity to buy both on 1 CDR and get 8 more tracks extra. Check out this ARROW if you like 80s UK Melodic Hardrock a la UFO, STAMPEDE, SAMSON… More info at: http://www.peppergrows.de/cd/arrow/arrow.html and e-mail them at: uwe@peppergrows.de

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)