|
EILERA ‘FUSION’ (SPINEFARM RECORDS) EILERA is a female singer from France settled in Finland, where she now has released her full-length debut CD on SPINEFARM RECORDS. Musically she mixes Celtic from France with typical Finnish Metal, ending up sounding like a cross between ENYA and NIGHTWISH. Sometimes it is very Celtic/Folk sounding, but happily she never loses her Metal influences, which brought EILERA her first music experiences as she and her bandmembers have a Melodic Metal background. Do not consider this a NIGHTWISH wannabee, because EILERA is completely different and is really Celtic based, yet with Metal guitars on the background throughout most of her songs and actually it works quite well! (Points 8.0 out of 10) REVEREND BIZARRE ‘3: SO LONG SUCKERS’ (SPINEFARM RECORDS) One of the slowest bands on earth this Finnish band REVEREND BIZARRE and still they managed to score a number 1 hitsingle in their own country! This band is playing Doom Metal the way it should be, very slow and dark, although their new 2-CD studio record also contains some more uptempo based tunes. PENTAGRAM, SAINT VITUS and BLACK SABBATH are the names which come up when listening to their new album and fans of underground Cult Doom Metal will absolutely love this CD. 7 long songs are included, showing the band’s incredible love for Doom Metal, which sounds at it’s best here! (Points 8.1 out of 10) MICHAEL KNIGHT ‘ELECTRIC HORRORLAND’ (KM RECORDS) This MICHAEL KNIGHT is not the KNIGHT RIDER from the 1980s, definitely not! This MICHAEL KNIGHT comes out of New York and already released his 3rd solo-CD with ‘Electric horrorland’. Included music is very well-thought instrumental guitar based Metal that also contains influences from Fusion, Jazz and Blues, kinda like mixing influences of ALLAN HOLDSWORTH, STEVE VAI with Metal riffs and in the end, the CD sounds pretty good and is highly recommended to the fans of shredding, because that is what MICHAEL KNIGHT is all about. Check out his site at: www.kmrecords.com and e-mail at: darknite@optonline.net (Points 8.0 out of 10)
Here we have something special, because the 2nd album of the Swedish band BLACK BONZO is a very impressive album that could become a classic in a few years, because it already sounds like a classic record from the 1970s to be exact. BLACK BONZO’s new album ‘Sound of the apocalypse’ sounds like the perfect mix between STYX, URIAH HEEP, QUEEN and MAGNUM, which can be heard right from the start on opener “Thorns upon a crown” that sounds like MAGNUM and STYX during their most epic Pomprock moments in the later 1970s! The music of BLACK BONZO is slightly more progressive, but without any doubts, it all sounds so 1970s and so Classic Pomprock ish one would wonder if this was not recorded 30 years ago. Although WOLFMOTHER is doing things slightly more guitar orientated and is incredibly popular, this BLACK BONZO from Sweden is by far as good as those Aussie rockers and therefore also BLACK BONZO deserves a lot of credit for doing a pure 1970s Rockstyle. The difference with WOLFMOTHER is that BLACK BONZO’s music is more Pomp/Prog a la STYX/HEEP/MAGNUM and is also is focused around the Mellotron besides a rockin’ QUEENish guitar. Fans of mentioned bands will love this band’s new album a lot! More info at: www.blackbonzo.com (Points 8.7 out of 10) CHRIS FRANCIS ‘STUDS’N’ SISTERS’ (UP TO SPEED MUSIC) CHRIS FRANCIS is best known as being the guitarist of the Melodic Rockband TEN, with whom he recorded 4 albums. In between he also released a couple solo-records, of which ‘Studs’n’sisters’ is the latest effort. Musically this is Melodic Rock without vocals and in this case that is no problem at all, because CHRIS FRANCIS is such a talented guitarist, he let his guitar speak the melodies and on songs like “Studs’n’sisters” and “Lift the dogs” we can hear excellent instrumental Melodic Rock. MALMSTEEN, VAI, SATRIANI and especially MACALPINE, it can all be heard here in the shape of the 2nd CD of British guitarist CHRIS FRANCIS. Also the sound/production is excellent, so all guitarfreaks and even the melodic rockfans will like this release a lot, it’s like TEN without vocals! More info at: www.chrisfrancis.net and e-mail at: chris@chrisfrancis.net (Points 8.3 out of 10)
And yet another sensational Melodic Progmetal release! It seems like this genre is making overtime, because this year alone saw excellent releases of CIRCUS MAXIMUS, ANUBIS GATE, VANISHING POINT, SYMPHONY X, THRESHOLD, DREAM THEATER and many more. I can also say here that DARK WATER is another sensational band from Sweden, because their debut CD ‘Calling the earth to witness’ is indeed a very strong album, with excellent instrumental parts, superb vocalwork of singer/guitarist Henrik Bath and some really amazing songs, such as the beautiful epic “Habit” and “Tallest tree”. Where do they all come from, these sensational bands from Scandinavia, because DARK WATER is another band to check out asap if you want to hear high quality musicianship combined with excellent memorable and very melodic songs. DREAM THEATER eat your heart out! (Points 8.8 out of 10)
As an AOR fan myself, having followed the scene closely since the late 80s, PAUL SABU is a man who has been incredible popular amongst the AOR fanatics, but mainly for his early works, because everything he has done after his ONLY CHILD project from the late 80s has not been regarded as classic material. The past 15 years saw with long pauses a couple of solo-albums, but all of them were not really sensational to say the least! A shame if you consider the fact that PAUL SABU recorded some AOR Classic material in 1984 as KIDD GLOVE, with such amazing unforgettable songs like “Spirit of the night”, “Susie wants to be a star”, etc. and also his solo-record ‘Heartbreak‘ and the ONLY CHILD album are really strong albums, but somehow something went wrong, because his 90s and 00s solo-records are all just ok Rockalbums with no outstanding tunes, kinda the same story as JEFF PARIS, who also released his last classic in 1993 with ‘Lucky this time’ and went downhill after that with a couple of average releases. Vocally PAUL SABU is still a Rock God, with a fantastic voice that fits somewhere between SAMMY HAGAR, DAVE MENIKETTI and PAUL SHORTINO. It’s only a shame that his new solo-record fails to make any impression, because the songs are nothing special I am afraid, have nothing to do with AOR and basically ‘Strange messiah’ is just another o.k. groovy Hardrockalbum. Please Mr. Sabu record an album a la KIDD GLOVE again and everyone will be happy… (Points 7.9 out of 10) LINEHOUSE ‘FIRST LOVE’ (LINEHOUSE RECORDS) Sort of a surprise from Sweden, because with LINEHOUSE we have another strong new Scandi AOR band with an EP CD release every AOR fan should check out asap. LINEHOUSE rises from the ashes of the band PRIDE, whom released a great AOR single in 1989, which I happened to have played just last week on my turbtable for good time’s sake and here we have LINEHOUSE, which is like PRIDE with an updated approach, although the 3 included songs are basically pure 80s AOR. BJORN LODIN of BALTIMOORE mixed and mastered the EP and without a doubt, the 3 catchy summerish uptempo AOR/Poprockers are a must-hear for the fan of good old 80s Scandinavian and 80s Canuck AOR! In fact, they remind me a lot of the first 2 HAYWIRE, 80s HONEYMOON SUITE and especially WORRALL during the fantastic catchy AOR tune “Stormrider”, with guitar riffs a la first FM (UK). Closing track “Breath through you” then again has AMAZE ME similarities written all over the place, so basically this is Canadian meets Swedish AOR! Like I said in the start of this review, a surprise from Sweden, yet another excellent independent AOR band waiting to be heard asap! More info at: www.myspace.com/linehouse and e-mail them at: linehouse@comhem.se (Points 8.3 out of 10) MAEDER ‘ANOTHER THING COMIN’ (LOCOMOTIVE MUSIC/ROCKINC) Here’s a surprise from Australia, because I had never heard of MAEDER before when their CD was dropped in my mailbox. After listening to the first couple of songs I heard a great new rocking band that reminded me a lot of GOTTHARD. They combine the dirty mean rock and roll sound of Australia (read: AC/DC) with strong melodic rock choruses (taken a bit from DEF LEPPARD here and there, just listen to the semi-ballad “Future story”). Although they present themselves as a pure Rock and Roll band, there material is more diverse and actually their CD contains a lot of slower songs and semi-ballads as well as some groovy tunes, so it’s not uptempo Australian Rock and Roll all the way, although with “It’s all good” they are as Rock and Roll as you can get (hello AC/DC!). They sound like a great mixture between GOTTHARD/KROKUS, DEF LEPPARD and AEROSMITH with some AC/DC thrown in here and there, so Rock and Roll without any doubts! Check out this band at: http://www.myspace.com/maedermusic (Points 8.3 out of 10) VENDETTA ‘HATE’ (METAL AXE RECORDS/ROCK INC) There are still Thrash Metalbands out there whom are making good Thrash Metal albums, although most of the bands are very average. VENDETTA is one of those few bands with good releases. VENDETTA are this German band, which released a couple of albums in the late 80s before disappearing, but the past few years re-issues has been done and now a new album has been released. Musically time stood still for these guys and it’s like we’re back in the Bay Area of 1988 when TESTAMENT and DEATH ANGEL were basically the bands to follow-up METALLICA and MEGADETH. This record is straight outta that classic Thrash Metal period and perhaps one of the first real new albums that can match with the releases of that area, because most Thrash Metal albums since 1990 or so have been very average. VENDETTA however makes a strong comeback here with a strong Thrash Metal album titled ‘Hate’. (Points 8.2 out of 10)
The Canadian band HELIX is one with a long history going back to the 1970s when they released actually their finest albums, but they had their 15 minutes of fame in the USA in the mid 1980s with their hits "Heavy Metal love" and "Rock you" before they went into obscurity outside Canada, although they kept on releasing records. Musically they started as a Melodic Rockband a la THIN LIZZY/UFO, then in the 80s Party Metal elements were added, which made them sound like KEEL, WASP and RATT, while the 90s and 00s made them turn into softer Rock, almost Southern Rock kinda orientated. Now they are back with a new full-length CD, which is bringing back the Rock into HELIX. The CD is filled with high class pure Rock and Roll. Most of the songs are uptempo and one of the tracks is a new version of their classic "Heavy Metal love". This song formed the influence on all their newly written tracks, so basically this is HELIX' finest Rock and Roll record since the 1980s ended. More info at: www.helix.ca (Points: 8.1 out of 10) MERMAID KISS 'ETARLIS' (INDEPENDENT) MOSTLY AUTUMN is clearly a good comparison for MERMAID KISS, but the new CD of this UK based act is on the other hand less rocking and more Celtic/Folk based, reminding a lot of IONA. It's quite calm and peaceful music, which actually brings elements of Rock and Progressive music together for an exciting own sound that fits somewhere between MOSTLY AUTUMN and IONA. Most of the songs follow the same path, which is slow to midtempo, combining the best of pop, rock, prog and celtic music and on this 3rd CD MERMAID KISS might have done their best work so far. More info at: http://www.etarlis.co.uk/ and http://www.mermaidkiss.co.uk/ and e-mail at: music@mermaidkiss.co.uk (Points: 8.2 out of 10)
The Swedish band ASTRAL DOORS continues to release albums, but the difference between their new CD 'New revelation' and their previous effort 'Astralism' is that this new record is much more diverse and much better actually. This is thanks to a different approach, because on the past albums the band went for a straight-ahead Power Metal sound, very much like DIO going very heavy and it was very guitar orientated, but with 'New revelation' the band has added a lot of keyboards as well as bigger choruses and catchy hooks here and there, ending up sounding like a Neo-Classical Progressive Melodic Metalband instead of the straight-forward uptempo (Power) Metal house sound of their earlier albums. I do think this is an improvement, because singer Nils Patrik Johansson now sounds more like himself than a DIO clone. After the disappointing LION'S SHARE record earlier this year, I really am proud to say this is Patrick's best effort since the albums he released with WUTHERING HEIGHTS and SPACE ODYSSEY. Especially songs like "Freedom War", "Waiting For The Master", "Cold War Survivor" and "The Gates Of Light" are truly wonderful Neo-Classical Power/Progmetalsongs with very strong melodies. Concluded, an excellent release! (Points: 8.7 out of 10) DIMENSION X 'IMPLICATIONS OF A GENERIC DEFENSE' (UNICORN DIGITAL) DIMENSION X is a Milwaukee/USA based progressive metalband. They released their debut 'So... This is Earth' a few years ago and now we welcome them back with their new CD 'Implications of a Genetic Defense'. It is like most Prog releases a concept album and without a doubt a very strong release that features perfectly balanced Melodic Progmetal in the style of SHADOW GALLERY, although DIMENSION X is a little less sensational and also not such a big production. Vocally it is a bit rawer and the songs are also not super melodic, so a bit edgier Progressive Metal, less focused on keyboards and melodies, but nevertheless the Progressive Metalfan will definitely enjoy this concept album of DIMENSION X. (Points: 8.0 out of 10) SPACED OUT 'LIVE AT THE CRESCENDO FESTIVAL' (UNICORN DIGITAL) SPACED OUT is a project, which already released 4 albums and now releases a live album titled 'Live at the Crescendo Festival'. The Canadian outfit stands for high quality instrumental Progressive Rock, which will definitely appeal to the fans of RUSH and DREAM THEATER, despite the absence of vocals. Although they already released a live DVD, this new live-CD once again shows that SPACED OUT is a band to watch out for if you’re a progrockfan, because live on stage they are incredible. To hear that, you should check out this CD, but also look out for the upcoming DVD release of this performance. More info at: http://www.unicornrecords.com/spacedout (Points: 8.3 out of 10) JUNK FARM 'UGLY LITTLE THING' (UNICORN DIGITAL) Founded in summer 2001 by keyboarder Berthold Fehmer and guitarist Benjamin Schippritt in the industrial area of the Ruhrgebiet in Germany, the band JUNK FARM makes their debut with 'Ugly little thing', which musically is a Fusion of Jazz and Funk with hard Metal-riffs. Several of the members played in HOUSE OF SPIRITS, a Progmetalband and actually JUNK FARM is not that far removed from HOUSE OF SPIRITS, so we get to hear some Melodic Progressive Metal after all, yet the difference is there are some very funky and groovy bass and guitar riffs to be heard. Anyway, this is a very good release, very diverse and interesting for the progfans, whom are open-minded and desire for a lot of diversity, although the band does not forget to add progmetal melodies. Conlusion, a recommended progmetal release! (Points: 8.2 out of 10) HAMADRYAD 'LIVE IN FRANCE 2006' (UNICORN DIGITAL) 3rd CD of the Canadian band, this time a live CD release recorded in Francein 2006. Musically HAMADRYAD is Progrock of the SPOCK’S BEARD/TRANSATLANTIC kind, so quite lengthy songs with a strong focus on instrumental breaks that leave space for guitar and keyboard solo’s. If you don’t owe any of the previous albums of this band, this 77 minutes live experience will introduce you a great Progrockband that might not be a familiar name as RUSH or SPOCK’S BEARD, but will be in the future as they keep on making progress and especially live they are a top progrockband! (Points: 8.1 out of 10) QWAARN 'ABERATIONS' (UNICORN DIGITAL) 2nd album of Canadian band QWAARN, musically pure Progrock with loads of outside influences, such as THE BEATLES, DAVID BOWIE, LED ZEPPELIN, TEARS FOR FEARS, etc. although when listening to their new album ‘Aberations’ it is clear that this is a pure Progrock release that will appeal to all fans of the genre. Don’t expect hard rocking and uptempo songs, because QWAARN is very laid-back and relaxed, typical 1970s orientated Progressive Rock a la GENTLE GIANT, CAMEL, KAYAK, 70s GENESIS and such, with very strong melodic lead vocals. They were formed in 2004 and with 2 albums in nearly 3 years they have already built up a reputation among the progfans. ‘Aberations’ is definitely an album to own if you’re a dedicated Progrockfan! More info at: WWW.QWAARN.COM (Points: 8.3 out of 10) TANKARD 'BEST CASE SCENARIO: 25 YEARS IN BEERS' (AFM RECORDS/ROCK INC) For 25 years now the German band TANKARD has been making Beer Metal, which is actually fast Thrash Metal with lyrics about Beer. They have released a lot of albums, all in similar style, so in case you want to collect just the best songs, well, here's your chance with this best of CD release on AFM RECORDS. Spanning their whole career and a bonus CD, this is a highly recommended release to anyone who never heard of TANKARD, but want to check them out the easy way... (Points: 8.0 out of 10)
Although the Brazilian band TRIBUZY has released only 1 CD so far, they have just like that other Brazilian Melodic Heavy Rock/Metalband (SHAMAN) built up quite a large reputation in Brazil, with as result a DVD release. The sound and footage are quite excellent for a starting band, but this might be due to the fact a slightly larger label released the DVD (LOCOMOTIVE MUSIC) and therefore made this DVD filmed and record at a high level. This TRIBUZY DVD is not only interesting for the fans of the band, because with appearances of such well-known Metal musicians/singers like KIKO LOUREIRO from ANGRA, MATT SINNER and the mighty BRUCE DICKINSON of IRON MAIDEN, this DVD should appeal to loads of metalfans worldwide. Funny thing is that TRIBUZY has a great singer of their own, but to make the performance more interesting these guests were invided and the result can be seen on this DVD, which looks and sounds very professional. As bonus some behind-the-scenes footage is included, but sadly this is only in Portuguese language, so only visually nice to watch. However, this was a great concert, partly due to the appearance of these huge guests, although TRIBUZY is definitely a great Melodic Metalband with a new release very soon. (Points: 8.7 out of 10) SOULSHAKE EXPRESS 'HEAVY MUSIC' (BAD REPUTATION RECORDS) SOULSHAKE EXPRESS is a Swedish band playing pure Rock and Roll the way it is coming back nowadays, so a bit raw, yet with strong melodies and really feeling like a classic rockband of the 70s. Most of the songs are uptempo rockers, with a bluesy touch and for fans of THE ANSWER, WOLFMOTHER and such definitely a band to look out for. They are on the French label BAD REPUTATION RECORDS, but be sure they have a sound that could have been a major label release. Check out all info on SOULSHAKE EXPRESS at: www.soulshake.se/news.php and www.myspace.com/thesoulshakeexpress (Points: 8.2 out of 10)
Another DVD of the Progmasters PENDRAGON! This one concerns the celebration of the 21st anniversary of the release of 'The Jewel' album, which was their most Pomp Rock orientated release. With a stunning running time of approx. 185 min. this is a DVD you can enjoy a whole evening and in the limited edition release you can even find 2 CDs with 100 mins of live material of PENDRAGON. The DVD is as professional as all METAL MIND DVD releases and of course the setlist for the performance on this DVD was situated around the songs from the band's classic debutalbum 'The Jewel'. (such as "Alaska", "Leviathan", and "The Black Knight"), but also several other classics back from the Marquee Club days of the band (like "Fly High Fall Far" or "Victims of Life") plus a few other surprises, it can all be heard and seen on this DVD. In other words this is a very special DVD with a different setlist than all other PENDRAGON DVDs. Also, the band decided to perform in a special line-up this time, joining forces with other musicians from PENDRAGON's history: John Barnfield, Julian Baker, and Rik Carter. Besides the performance also included are interviews with Nick Barret and John Barnfield, 'Behind the Scenes' bonus video footage and much more! More info at: www.pendragon.mu (Points: 8.7 out of 10)
An amazing new re-issue comes from ESCAPE MUSIC in the shape of the double-CD package re-issue of the 2 classic WHITE WOLF releases from the 1980s. This Canadian band recently reformed and released a very strong new album, but so far their first 2 releases from 20 years ago were only available on LP. However, 2007 is finally bringing us a 2-CD set of WHITE WOLF including both albums of the band. Basically this is Melodic Hardrock at it's best, sounding like a cross between Y&T, MAGNUM and TRIUMPH. The band was formed back in 1980 and released their debut on RCA RECORDS in 1984, namely 'Standing Alone'. The album was produced by both Jack Richardson and Danny Lowe (PAINTER, HAMMERSMITH, PROTOTYPE and 451 DEGREES, all great Canadian melodic rockbands from the 70s/80s with releases that still scream for CD re-issues). The band sold a million copies of the album worldwide. 2 years later in 1986 the album 'Endangered Species' was released and this was musically in the exact same vein, with a surprise cover of MAGNUM's classic "Just Like and Arrow", which was released just one year earlier. After the release it became quiet around WHITE WOLF, with main member Don Wolf releasing records in the 1990s with the bands POINT OF POWER, PROJECT X and a solo venture. Recently the new WHITE WOLF album 'Victim of the Spotlight' was released, but by far the best work Don has ever done were the first 2 WHITE WOLF albums, both classic 80s Melodic Hardrockgems with such memorable tunes like "Shadows in the Night", "Trust me", "Run for your life" and "She". This release comes along with 3 bonus videotracks and the packaging is like most Escape release quite stunning, even including a recent interview with the band with Mr.Masao Fujiki of Burrn! Magazine Japan. Without a doubt, a highly recommended release! (Points: 8.7 out of 10)
Yet another new Swedish AOR/Melodic Rockband! This band was formed back in 2003 and is playing typical American early 80s AOR/Radiorock that sounds like a mixture between REO SPEEDWAGON, EDDIE MONEY, STRANGER and HEAD EAST, so actually very American Midwestern Rock orientated, very late 70s/early 80s and something you could hear on the American Radiostations back around 1982. However, it is 2007 and DANGER AVENUE comes out of Sweden and their CD ‘Lookin’ out...’ contains 5 tracks, of which opener “West coast angel” is a slightly heavier Melodic Rocktrack, while songs such as “Avenues and boulevards”, “Beat the night” and “(Can not) Fall in love” sound dangerously close to that earlier mentioned early 80s American Midwest AOR/Radiorock, also reminding me of MYSTERY, HARLEQUIN, ROADMASTER, STEEL BREEZE, MAYDAY, USA, RATHSKELLER and such lesser-known acts. The fans of these kinda 80s AOR acts will definitely like this a lot, although I do must add here that they should have left out the song “Growing up with trains”, because this is an average song. Apart from that song, this is a very interesting band, which in a studio with a big producer could make something really great. Check them out at: www.dangeravenue.com or www.myspace.com/dangeravenuerock and e-mail them at: dangeravenue@yahoo.se or info@dangeravenue.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10)
The Australian Melodic Progressive Metalband returns with their 4th CD ‘The fourth season’, which is the follow-up to their 2005 album ‘Embrace the silence’. Musically nothing changed and so we get to hear once again high quality Melodic Prog/Power Metal with Neo-Classical instrumental parts and almost AOR/Melodic Rock like hooks and catchy choruses. Comparisons to VISION DIVINE, ROYAL HUNT, KAMELOT, SYMPHONY X, etc. are very easy to make. 11 songs are included and especially “Embodiment”, “Tyranny of distance” and “Behind the open door” are sensational uptempo pieces, while a midtempo tune like “Surrender” should also be mentioned. Actually it is very hard to mention the highlight, because the whole CD sounds quite incredible. Fans of mentioned bands will love the new CD of VANISHING POINT for sure as it is perfectly sounding the way these kind of Neo-Classical Melodic Progressive Power Metal records are supposed to. Huge sound, incredible catchy songs with big choruses, uniting the AOR, Prog and Power Metal world is what this new VANISHING POINT record is doing and without a doubt it succeeds and therefore it is a must to check out! (Points: 8.8 out of 10) VARIOUS ITALIAN BANDS ‘VARIOUS ITALIAN ALBUMS’ (ALKEMIST FANATIX) We received about 10-15 various debut albums of Italian bands, with music that was quite diverse to say the least, so let’s discuss them briefly here. Starting with the average Alternative Rockband ELTON JUNK. ACTIONMEN is much better with their catchy melodic US Poppunkrockalbum ‘The game’ that will please the fans of NOFX, BAD RELIGION and such. OSCURE has a modern US Metal/Rapcore album release titled ‘Allergico’, which may be forgotten. NEURASTHENIA is playing Power Metal on their album ‘Possessed’, but not the melodic way, as this is more thrashy Power Metal and also reveals METALLICAish Thrash Metal influences, while at best times they do sound a bit like RAGE or even ICED EARTH, so not that bad at all, maybe the best release out of the bunch sent to us. BLEED SOMEONE DRY is Metalcore, endless screaming… DIVISION OF DEATH is Industrial Techno Underground, very experimental and weird, kinda like mid 80s underground stuff before House/Techno was invented. ANARCOTICI then again is back to screaming, so Metalcore of the worst kind, really horrible if you look for melodies! OVEROCK is pure American Melodic EmoRock that sounds a lot like MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, GOOD CHARLOTTE and LOST PROPHETS, so with very catchy hooks and huge melodic choruses. Actually their CD sounds very impressive, if it was an American major label release, so fans of mentioned bands should really check out OVEROCK. Metalcore meets Melodic Emocore is what to expect from the band DISOWNED, not really interesting, unless you like a band such as BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE or FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND. GORO is something completely different, because this is Grindcore of the most Brutal kind, but also very low-budget, without a doubt a bargain bin in a few months! As we keep listening to the releases of ALKEMIST FANATIX it becomes clear it is either quite impressive or very average, with also a few quality bands with sadly that typical mix of screaming and melodic vocals, such as the band AIRWAY with their CD ‘Faded lights’, typical American and of a very high level, yet the mixture of screaming vocals and melodic choruses will only appeal to fans of all those US/UK bands which are doing this. AIRWAY really sounds impressive, with even classic Metal riffs, but please keep the screams out next time, because then we would welcome a really great band. Next up is MARCH OF SEASONS, another screamocore/metalcore band, so not interesting at all. I FULMINI SCARLATTJ is the worst of all bands here, because they sound as weak as a cold New York Pizza being delivered with a delay of 2 hours! Not to be taken seriously I am afraid! Naming your band HELL’N’HEAVEN is funny due to the HEAVEN’N’HELL band currently on tour with DIO on TONY IOMMI and actually this band is not that bad, although they sound like they are not ready yet for a full-length CD. Musically they are sort of like a Progressive Rockband in the style of PINK FLOYD, with some light Doom influences, but not Metal at all, basically very peaceful calm Progressive Rock with strong melodic guitarwork. Production wise it could be much better however. DEMONIAN is Black/Grindcore Metal, very extreme! ANARCHYBRAIN is also badly produced and vocally very weak, although musically nicely groovy guitar riff orientated Hardrock a la RICK RAY. Saving the best for last, which is by far ASHENT, but this band is reviewed separately due to the fact this is high class Melodic Progmetal! More info on all bands at: www.alkemist-fanatix.com (Points: -)
ASHENT is an Italian band with an American lead singer, formed in 2001 and already released some strong demo CDs before now releasing their official debut CD on LUCRETIA RECORDS. The band’s first CD was co-produced by LUIGI STEFANINI (LABYRINTH/RHAPSODY) and it sounds quite stunning. Musically we are listening to high quality Melodic Progressive Metal that sounds a lot like VANDENPLAS and also some ELDRITCH, DREAM THEATER, MIND’S EYE, PAGAN’S MIND and bands like that come to mind. The band’s singer has a great voice and the included 10 songs can easily match with the songs of mentioned bands. Higlights are “Fallen angel”, “Illusory” (FANTASTIC MELODIES!!!) and “Anaemic ardency”. If you call yourself a fan of Melodic Progmetal, then check out this band asap! More info at: www.ashent.net (Points: 8.5 out of 10) LEIANA ‘NO GOING BACK’ (PAGE RECORDS) LEIANA is the female singer of this project, which also features multi-instrumentalist CHUCK TREECE, who is known as having played with acts like BAD BRAINS, URGE OVERKILL, BILLY JOEL… With this release, Chuck goes into a Melodic Punkrock area with very strong vocalwork of LEIANA, musically very close to THE DONNA’S and THE RUNAWAYS, tough, uptempo and catchy. 10 songs are included on their CD ‘No going back’, which was mixed by MATT KNOBEL (LENNY KRAVITZ). Especially the beginning of the CD is featuring some very strong catchy tunes like “2 B unkind”, “Can’t reply” and “Couldn’t tell”, with LEIANA’s strong vocalwork and musically reminding so much of THE DONNAS, any fan of that all-girl band will love this too! Check out LEIANA’s sites at: www.leiana.com and www.myspace.com/leiana and e-mail at: music@leiana.com (Points: 8.2 out of 10) BRUNOROCK ‘LIVE ON FIRE’ (INDEPENDENT) A new album of Italian singer/guitarist BRUNO KRALER aka BRUNOROCK. However, this time a live album, along with 2 new studio bonustracks. Together with guitarist BOBBY ALTVATER of FRONTLINE, BRUNOROCK released a strong Melodic Rockalbum, which musically sounds like BONFIRE/FRONTLINE/DANGER DANGER and such late 80s orientated US Melodic Hardrock. The live recording is of a very high level, clearly sounding very professional and more studio perfect than real live, but who cares if the music is as strong as BRUNOROCK stands for. However, the real interesting part of the CD comes in the shape of the bonustracks, which are the fantastic “Julia” (a la CRAAFT, DOMAIN, DOMINOE) and “Time to run” (a la JADED HEART), 2 uptempo Melodic Hardrocksongs mixed by MICHAEL WAGENER (80s major label producer of RATT, DOKKEN, STRYPER, WHITE LION, etc. etc.). If Michael would produce the next studio album of BRUNO ROCK, we could well be in for a surprise, because that could be a sensational record. The artwork of MATTIAS NOREN is of high class as always and any melodic rockfan might want to check this out. More info at: www.brunorock.com (Points: 8.3 out of 10) (All reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
BLACK BONZO ‘SOUND OF THE APOCALYPSE’ (THE LASER’S EDGE)
DARK WATER ‘CALLING THE EARTH TO WITNESS’ (ULTERIUM RECORDS/METAL
PAUL SABU ‘STRANGE MESSIAH’ (AOR HEAVEN/ROUGH TRADE)
HELIX 'THE POWER OF ROCK AND ROLL' (CASTLE MUSIC/SANCTUARY RECORDS)
ASTRAL DOORS 'NEW REVELATION' (LOCOMOTIVE MUSIC/ROCK INC)
TRIBUZY ‘EXECUTION LIVE REUNION DVD' (LOCOMOTIVE MUSIC)
PENDRAGON 'PAST AND PRESENCE DVD' (METAL MIND PRODUCTIONS)
WHITE WOLF 'ENDANGERED SPECIES/STANDING ALONE' (ESCAPE MUSIC)
DANGER AVENUE ‘LOOKIN’ OUT FOR THAT NEON LIGHT’ (INDEPENDENT)
VANISHING
POINT ‘THE FOURTH SEASON’ (DOCKYARD 1/ROCK INC)
ASHENT ‘FLAWS OF ELATION’ (ALKEMIST FANATIX)