 SEVENTH KEY ‘THE RAGING
FIRE’(FRONTIERSRECORDS/BERTUS) It took almost 3 years for bassist/lead singer Billy Greer (KANSAS) to finish the 2nd SEVENTH KEY album, but finally ‘The raging fire’ hits the streets. The album also features guitarist/keyboardplayer MIKE SLAMER, drummer Jamie Thompson and backing singer TERRY BROCK. The production is superb, and this is how AOR/Melodic Rock sounds at it’s very best! 10 songs are included, and especially the first 3 songs are a wet dream for the AOR fans, because “The sun will rise”, “Always from the heart” (a CLASSIC!) and “You cross the line” are superb and sensational HIGH CLASS uptempo AOR/Melodic Rockers that combine the best of STREETS and SURVIVOR, and are as good as the PRIDE OF LIONS release from last year. Such a brilliant start, but unfortunately this high level isn’t continued throughout the whole CD, because songs like “The raging fire”, “Run” and “Winds of war” are clearly just nice rockers, but nowhere as sensational as those first 3 AOR Classics. Happily, there are some more great AOR songs on the album, such as the midtempo pure 80s orientated “It should have been you” and the midtempo melodic rocker “Pyramid princess” (a la 80s MAGNUM). Although not the whole CD is sensational, I think there’s enough classy AOR on this album to purchase it if you’re a fan of strong AOR/Melodic Rock a la STREETS, SURVIVOR... with a special mention here for the sensational first 3 songs on the album, songs that belong to the best you can get in AOR music since the PRIDE OF LIONS release last year! (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  HOUSE OF LORDS ‘THE POWER AND THE
MYTH’ (FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)On the 15th of March the long-awaited 4th CD of the American Supergroup HOUSE OF LORDS is going to be released through FRONTIERS RECORDS. Without a doubt, this is a CD we should take a moment for, because HOUSE OF LORDS was very hyped in the late 1980s/early 1990s with their 3 CDs, all of whom were quite excellent and very succesfull throughout the world. Nevertheless, it took 10 years until the band decided to reunite and record a new CD. Well, the new CD is finished and it’s called ‘The power and the myth’. The line-up is almost the same as on their classic 3 albums from the past, so we have JAMES CHRISTIAN on vocals, LANNY CORDOLA on guitars, KEN MARY on drums and CHUCK WRIGHT on bass. One man is missing and that’s very weird, because GREGG GIUFFRIA is missing here, the keyboard wizzard who made HOUSE OF LORDS so special! Nevertheless, in replacement there are some interesting guest appearances, from keyboardplayers like Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER) and RICKY PHILIPS, and on backing vocals we can hear ROBIN BECK (she’s still alive!) and David Victor from VELOCITY (what has this guy been doing all this time!). Anyway, the production on this new CD is definitely not the huge Arena Rocksound the band had on their 3 previous major label releases, but I can live with that. If we have a listen to the music, it is clear that this is not as good and energetic as the earlier releases. Sometimes it sounds a bit depressing, although the band tries to come up with a classic HOUSE OF LORDS melodic rock approach, but with a modern twist here and there. Although the CD features some good songs, like “All is gone” (good melodic rocker), “The power and the myth” (instrumental a la DREAM THEATER), “The man who I am” (great semi-AOR ballad) and “Child of rage” (another melodic rockballad), I am afraid this album will not beat any of the previous releases (by far!). It’s an album you just listen to a couple of times, and then it will disappear between all the other releases in the Hardrock scene. There’s nothing sensational about this album, even JAMES CHRISTIAN’s vocals sound uninspiring! Although you should make a judgement on an album itself and not compare it to previous releases, I would still say that this is not the HOUSE OF LORDS everyone was waiting for, especially considering the fact there are so many well-known musicians performing on the album. It receives 2 points lower than any of the 3 previous albums, so conclusion is that this is just an ok record, but nothing more than that, so it’s only recommended to die-hard fans of the band! (Points: 7.5 out of 10)  DYECREST ‘THE WAY OF
PAIN’ (NOISE RECORDS/SANCTUARY/SUBURBAN) Finland has been a very productive country the past few years, as many young new acts have emerged from there after the huge success of bands like STRATOVARIUS, SONATA ARCTICA, NIGHTWISH etc. Well, here’s another sensational band from Finland. They are called DYECREST and although they already exist for 10 years now, their big breakthrough came when NOISE RECORDS asked them to perform on the YougnMetal Gods competition finals in Germany early 2003. This contest was set up to give young new bands the chance to get heard by the bigger labels, and NOISE eventually signed 3 bands that are all about to release it’s debut CD on NOISE/SANCTUARY. The first band is the Finnish DYECREST and I can easily say they have come up with something very sensational. Musically they are quite close to DREAM EVIL, and their first CD ‘The way of pain’ has been produced by Piet Sielck (IRON SAVIOR), who gave the band a huge sound! 10 melodic metalsongs are included and without a doubt, this is of a very high level. Not only the big sound and sensational songs, but also the fantastic lead singer Janne Oksanen is very impressive. Besides, with 3 (!) guitarists in the line-up, this band is able to create a very big Melodic Metalsound. Highlights can be found in the shape of “Made me believe” (midtempo Melodic Metal, pure DREAM EVIL), “Into the void” (fantastic faster uptempo Melodic Power Metal), “The game” (very strong Melodic Power Metal) and “All in vain” (superb midtempo Melodic Progmetal). If bands like DREAM EVIL, HAMMERFALL, TAD MOROSE are your kind of Metal, then get this DYECREST a.s.a.p.! (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  METALIUM ‘AS ONE
–CHAPTER FOUR’ (ICS/ARMAGEDDON RECORDS/ROCK
INC./BERTUS)As the title of the CD predicts, this is the 4th CD (and also the fourth chapter of their saga) of the German metalband METALIUM. The band continues bringing pure Metal, with a very strong typical German Metal approach (PRIMAL FEAR, IRON SAVIOR) and some clear PRIEST influences (like opener “Warrior”). The new CD ‘As one – chapter 4’ contains 13 tracks, and has a playing length of exactly 60 minutes. The production is huge, and I think this CD will be a must for fans of the band’s earlier records. Highlights are the songs “Pain crawles in the night” (fast uptempo Melodic Metal, song is also included as a videclip), “Find out” (a duet with a Japanese female singer called Saeko Kitamae), “Illuminated” (strong midtempo epic piece, with guest appearance by DON AIREY), “Screaming in the darkness” (excellent fast Power Metal, with lovely guitarwork!) and “Goddess of love and pain” (very catchy!). Concluded, a recommended albums for the fans of pure Metal! (Points: 9.0 out of 10) DAWN OF SILENCE ‘FOLLOW YOUR HEART’ (DEMO CDR) Sometime ago I reviewed a demo of this young new Swedish band, and now they have sent me a new demo and again they prove to be a great classy Melodic Metalband. They play clearly in the HAMMERFALL style, but they do it quite well on great songs like “Follow your heart”, “Face the evil” and “Far away”. Check ‘em out at: www.dawnofsilence.tk and e-mail them at: dawn_of_silence@hotmail.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  ARENA ‘CONTAGIUM’
(VERGLAS MUSIC/BERTUS)ARENA fans are spoiled this year, because in the beginning of the year 2003 they got their new full-length CD of the band, while in the middle of the year and a few weeks ago 2 additional mini-EP’s were released to the public. The latest one is ‘Contagium’ and is by far the best one of the 2 released EP’s, because the 4 new tracks on this albums are all very good typical ARENA Neo-Prog, with as best tracks “On the edge of despair” and “The march of time”. As a bonus there’s a multimedia part, with the videoclip of “The painted man”. With this EP, the band has completed their ‘Contagious’ journey, which is now available on 1 full-length and 2 separate mini-EP’s. A true ARENA fan must buy this new EP, in order to complete the full journey of ARENA, but I understand if you don’t have that much money, the full-length CD of 1 year ago will be enough as well. Nevertheless, I think this new EP is quite interesting, as it contains a lot of real new stuff of ARENA. (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  ANGRA ‘REBIRTH WORLD TOUR
LIVE IN SAO PAULO’ (NTS RECORDS/ROCK INC.)Brazilian Prog/Power Metal heroes ended their worldtour sometime ago, and I was lucky enough to see one of their shows, and now the band has released a double Live-CD titled ‘Rebirth World Tour Live in Sao Paulo’. As the title says, the complete recording took place in the band’s hometown Sao Paulo on December the 15th of 2001, so it is 2 years ago since the recording of this concert took place. Anyway, this is a great double Live CD, on which you can hear how good this Brazilian band actually is, and I believe it’s also available as DVD. All the ANGRA classics are included, such as “Nova era”, “Carry on”, “Running alone”, “Nothing to say”, “Angels cry” and the IRON MAIDEN cover “The number of the beast” ends the 100-minutes counting show! Without a doubt, this 2-CD live record of ANGRA, which was mixed by DENNIS WARD, is a total must for the fans of the band and anyone who is a Prog/Power Metal fan! (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  MALEDICTION ‘ESCLAVE DU
VICE’(NTS RECORDS/ROCK INC.) MALEDICTION is a French band, and just like MANIGANCE they released their debut on the BRENNUS RECORDS label, before they were taken over by the label NTS RECORDS. Musically MALEDICTION is in the same style as MANIGANCE, although a bit more straight-forward. The band has a fantastic lead singer (Sylvain Mollard) and the 9 songs are all a mix of classic 80s orientated uptempo Melodic Heavy Rock and 80s US Power Metal, kinda like a mix between JUDAS PRIEST, SCORPIONS, FATES WARNING and a heavy DOKKEN (let’s say FIFTH ANGEL here), yet with French lyrics. Without a doubt, this is very good stuff and I can easily say that it’s even better than famous 80s French bands like SORTILEGE, TRUST, ADX, BLASPHEME etc. Highlights are opener “Dans ma memoire”, “Martyr” (FANTASTIC!!!), “Heresie” (pure SCORPIONS chorus!) and “Absynthe”. Concluded, another excellent French band, and a must if you also enjoyed MANIGANCE! (Points: 8.5 out of 10) VALKIJA ‘DAYS OF THE RISING SUN’ (DEMO CDR) This Italian band has a very good looking female lead singer, who sings like a mix between DORO and HELLION, so a bit raw, but it sounds ok. The frontcover of their demo CDR ‘Days of the rising sun’ looked very promising, and although musically this is nice Melodic Power Metal (with some MANOWAR influences), I am afraid that this CDR is really nothing more than an independent/demo recording, and only interesting for die-hard fans. Nevertheless, the band is able to write good tunes (like the great faster Metal tune “Lady of steele” and “Black angel”), and also instrumental it sounds quite good (they have a great guitarplayer), but you can not compare this to bigger label recordings, as it is just a demo. If only the band could work with a couple of well-known producers in a big studio, then it would probably sound much better I think. Now it’s just a nice female fronted Melodic Metal piece, which is however still recommended to fans of early WARLOCK... Check it out if you’re interested at: http://www.valkija.it and e-mail them at: www.valkija@libero.it (Points: 7.0 out of 10)  EMPTY TREMOR ‘THE ALIEN
INSIDE’(FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS) The Italian band EMPTY TREMOR returns with a new studio CD, and also a new lead singer, namely OLIVER HARTMANN, ex-AT VANCE. The new album continues the style created on the earlier albums, which is good quality Melodic Progressive Metal. 8 long songs are included, of which the highlights are “I found you”, “Who you really are” and “The alien outside”. Oliver sings very well, and in general, this is a recommended album to the fans of quality Prog. Metal, although it’s not in the same league as (for example) SUN CAGED or VANDENPLAS. Nevertheless, a fine return of these Italian progsters. (Points: 8.0 out of 10) DARNA ‘2’ (LA BRUJA PRODUCCIONES) The female fronted Spanish Progressive/Power Metalband DARNA returns with their 2nd CD. The CD was mastered at the famous FINNVOX STUDIOS (in Finland) by Mika Jussila), so you can be sure that this is a high quality release. The included 9 songs are very impressive, with very strong lead vocals by singer Ruth and somehow it reminds me a lot of the recent new CD of the Swedish band AMARAN (anyone heard that record?). Basically, this new DARNA CD is awesome and features nothing but sensational Melodic Prog/Power Metal tracks of a very high level. Highlights include “Tras el disfraz”, “Suenos rotos”, “En venta” and “Como elegir un culpable” (by far the best song, a lovely faster catchy uptempo Melodic Power Metal tune!). This is very good stuff and I’ll recommend you to check out DARNA’s CD a.s.a.p. More info on DARNA at: http://www.darnametal.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) MOTHER MERCY ‘DANCIN WITH THE DEVIL’ (PERRIS RECORDS) This is the 2nd CD of LA Metalband MOTHER MERCY. Musically this is quite heavy, with even some modern touches during the first couple of tracks. However, from track 7 on (16 songs are included), the band jumps on the late 80s LA Glam/Metalsound and delivers some great songs (in the SKID ROW style) like “Creatures of the night”, “Devil child”, “Ragman”, “Little Nikki” and “Mercy’s law”. Although not everything is spectacular on the new MOTHER MERCY CD, fans of the late 80s heavy LA Glam/Sleaze sound (a la SKID ROW, late TUFF) need to check this out. (Points: 7.5 out of 10) SINN ‘JAILBAIT’ (PERRIS RECORDS) Hollywood is back into Glam, so it seems with all those new LA bands playing late 80s Glamrock. This band is called SINN and their Sleazy Glamrock reminds me of HANOI ROCKS and LA GUNS, and actually it’s nothing that special, except for a couple of songs that do stand the test of time. I am talking about the great uptempo melodic heavy rocker “Too late” and the MOTLEY CRUEish Partyrockers “Stepsister”, “She wants love” and “16 sexy sweet”. However, for the most part this CD is filled with weaker HANOI ROCKS/LA GUNS orientated Hardrock, so only interesting for fans of that subgenre in the LA Glam/Sleaze Metal scene. (Points: 7.0 out of 10) AMERICAN HEARTBREAK ‘YOU WILL NOT BE GETTING PAID $’ (PERRIS RECORDS) A new album by the band AMERICAN HEARTBREAK, of whom I haven’t heard anything yet, so this is the first time I am hearing something of this American band. Although the few live and acoustic songs are not really that interesting, because of the weaker sound quality, the 6 tracks of the included bonus EP on this CD show that this is a good band after all. Songs like “Methadone baby”, “Richey James”, “Another waysted day” and “Condemned” are all great pure 70s punky KISS/STARZ orientated rockers with catchy singable choruses, also sounding like a male version of THE RUNAWAYS (!). Anyway, cool to hear a band playing this kind of happy 70s Rock! (Points: 7.5 out of 10) GRANDMA MOSES ‘TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE’ (PERRIS RECORDS) Formed in Canada back in 1991, but now finally a decent CD release, this band is playing Poppy Punkrock in the style of THE RAMONES, THE BOYS and DEAD KENNEDYS. 23 songs are included (still a playing time of 72 minutes, so not really short tunes like one would expect from a punky band) and actually it sounds refreshing and quite interesting. Songs like “Diggin’ for gold”, “Thrill kill”, “Little America” and “7-11” are all very catchy uptempo melodic punkpoprockers. Without a doubt, this street Punkthrash Glamband is recommended to fans of NEW YORK DOLLS, THE BOYS, THE RUNAWAYS, HANOI ROCKS, THE CLASH, THE UNDERTONES... (Points: 7.5 out of 10) KRISTY KRASH MAJORS ‘GOODBYE ROCK AND ROLLER’ (PERRIS RECORDS) PRETTY BOY FLOYD mainman Kristy Krash Majors comes up with another solo record tht features catchy Punky Glamrock like the perfect mix between POISON and THE RUNAWAYS, and most of the 10 included tracks are very catchy uptempo melodic poppy rockers, with as best ones “Goodbye rock and roller”, “Hey hey punks”, “We can’t go back”, “It doesn’t matter” and “Where it ends”. The songs are very short, and the whole CD is counting just 30 minutes (!), but if you enjoy something like JOHNNY LIMA, then this is a must to check out! (Points: 7.5 out of 10) VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘NONE BLACKER – METALLICA TRIBUTE’ (PERRIS RECORDS) Members of LA Glamrockbands like EVERY MOTHER’S NIGHTMARE, ANIMAL MOTHER, LILLIAN AXE... decided to record a bunch of old METALLICA tune and so we are looking at a METALLICA tribute, released on PERRIS RECORDS. Actually this is a very good tribute to METALLICA, with as highlights classic tunes like “Sad but true”, “Master of puppets”, “The thing that should not be” and “For whom the bell tolls”. Check it out if you’re a die-hard METALLICA fan! (Points: -) ENUFF Z’NUFF ‘WELCOME TO BLUE ISLAND’ (PERRIS RECORDS) This is ENUFF Z’NUFF’s 12th CD release and I think maybe their best effort so far. I wasn’t always a big fan of this band, but this record seems to sound pretty good. It contains 15 tracks and musically it’s pure 70s Rock like a mix between LED ZEPPELIN, BEATLES, THIN LIZZY, KING’S X and SLAUGHTER. The CD starts very good with “Saturday”, a fun classy 80s type of uptempo radio-ready melodic rocker like a mix between THIN LIZZY and 80s BON JOVI. The rest of the CD is groovier, but nevertheless still quite good and pure 70s Rock, very much like LED ZEPPELIN on tunes like “Cant wait”, “Ive fallen in love again”, “Roll me” and “Roller bladin in the shade”, while some BEATLES influences can be heard in “Sanibel island”. The CD has a big sound, and if you’re starting to become interested, then I can tell you that the CD is out through http://www.perrisrecords.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) DANIEL VON JENS ‘INSPIRED BY MOMENTS’ (INDEPENDENT) Singer/songwriter/guitarplayer DANIEL VON JENS comes out of Milwaukee, USA. He is also a member of the band ONE LESS INFINITY, and this is his first solo record. The album contains 4 tracks, all of which are stripped down acoustic melodic aor songs (with very good vocals by the way) in the style of JOHN TAGLIERI, BON JOVI, FOR ABSENT FRIENDS... Songs like “Believe in me” and “Back to stay” are very good melodic songs. I wonder how this will sound if it was performed full-blown electric guitar driven. Check out Daniel’s site at: http://www.onelessinfinity.com (Points: 7.0 out of 10) VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘ARMAGEDDON OVER WACKEN 2003’ (ARMAGEDDOON/HAMBURG RECORDS/ROCK INC.) Last year’s Wacken Open Air in Germany was headlined by TWISTED SISTER, and they were also the band everyone was talking about, because their show was quite impressive, especdially considering the fact that they had not performed in their original line-up in 15-20 years. Now there’s a double-CD out with 26 tracks (by 26 bands) recorded during the WACKEN OPEN AIR 2003, but TWISTED SISTER is missing (!). Their performance will probably be released separately as CD and/or DVD, but why not include 1 track of them on this double-CD. Anyway, there’s still enough pleasure on this live double-CD, because with the big sound/production of the CD it’s very nice to listen to some of the best Metalbands at the moment, such as SONATA ARCTICA, SINNER, PRIMAL FEAR, FREEDOM CALL, SYMPHORCE, CIRCLE 2 CIRCLE, TWISTED TOWER DIRE and VICTORY. It’s all there and therefore this is a recommended double-live CD, especially if you visited the festival. (Points: - ) MISTER KITE ‘THE HUNGER’ (LION MUSIC) Next month the new CD of the Swedish band MISTER KITE will be released. This CD-single is a sneak preview of things to come. 3 songs are included, of which opener “The hunger” is the most interesting track, as this is a strong uptempo Melodic Heavy Rocker, while the other song “How long” is too modern and closing track “Bloodsucker” is the DEEP PURPLE cover that can also be found on the recently released ‘Blackmore’s castle’ tribute CD. More info on the band at: http://www.misterkite.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) FALC ‘PERDIDO EN EL TIEMPO/SEGUNA LUNA’ (SUBTERRA/DVT RECORDS) FALC is a band from Ecuador and they sent me 2 CDs. Their debut ‘Perdido en el tiempo’ from 1999 is a very good 80s sounding Melodic Hard/Heavy Metalalbum. Of course the sound quality isn’t as good as the European label releases, but still we have here a good deal of Latin Melodic Metal, and some great songs in the shape of “Las luces de la ciudad”, “Fuegos de seduccion”, “Azora” (pure 80s QUEENSRYCHE!) and “Bendicion”. It’s a pity that the sound quality is not that good, because musically this band sounds quite good (kinda like the 80s US Metal bunch of QUEENSRYCHE (a lot like their debut EP), RUFFIANS, VICIOUS RUMOURS, ARMORED SAINT, METAL CHURCH and I could go on and on!). The 2nd more recent CD is titled ‘Segunda luna’, and was released in 2002. The production/sound quality is better and we can enjoy well-performed Progressive Metal that (again) reminds me a lot of 80s QUEENSRYCHE, which is a good thing, but there’s also some melodic hardrock to be heard (a la TARANTULA). Opener “Angeles caidos” shows right from the start that this is a good band performing decent Progressive Metal. The rest of the CD follows this approach more or less, and so we again more good Progressive/Melodic Metalsongs like “Lobos”, “La batalla del bien Y del mal” (pure 80s QUEENSRYCHE!), “Viernes 13”, “Soledad” and “Que se marche”. So, this is a nice band from Ecuador, probably the first I ever get to hear from that South American country. More info through e-mail at: fulgentrock@excite.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) KOPECKY ‘SUNSET GUN’ (MUSEA RECORDS) KOPECKY is an American band playing typical UK Neo-Prog, and ‘Sunset gun’ is their 2nd CD. It’s an instrumental album, but quite good actually, especially if you’re a fan of KING CRIMSON, IQ, RUSH, YES and want to hear instrumental stuff in this style, then you will enjoy KOPECKY a lot. (Points: 7.5 out of 10) GONCALO PEREIRA ‘GONCALOPEREIRA@G_SPOT’ (INDEPENDENT) GONCALO PEREIRA is a guitarist from Portugal, and he recently released a new CD, which is filled with mostly instrumental stuff. It’s definitely in the Progrockstyle, with Goncalo on the guitar reminding me of STEVE LUKATHER. Goncalo is a skilled guitarist, and on songs like “Pastel de nata”, “Dirty suits” and “Trip to Kabul” we can hear enjoyable Progressive Rock. This is definitely a quality release, so go check it out if youre into instrumental guitar orientated (open-minded) Progressive Rock. Go to: http://www.goncalopereira.pt and e-mail at: goncalopereira@netcabo.pt , while the CD is on sale at http://www.guitar9.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  BOWES AND MORLEY ‘MOS BARBEQUE’
(FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)This is something different than the usual stuff, as this is a poppy 70s Soul orientated record, only interested if you also enjoy the experimental stuff GLENN HUGHES does sometimes on his solo records. The main members of this project are Luke Morley and Danny Bowes, both from THUNDER. I found THUNDER a very overrated band, and although Danny Bowes has a great voice, I think this album is a bit too poppy for most of us. Only interesting for die-hard fans or people who like 70s Soul/Pop, but then youre probably visiting the wrong website. I am not saying this is bad stuff, because there’s some quality material featured like “Since I left her” and “Waiting for the sky to fall”, but it just has nothing to do with AOR, Hardrock or Rock at all, so like I said only for the die-hard THUNDER freaks! (Points: 6.5 out of 10) LIVA ‘THE REQUIEM’ (STOKE RECORDS) The French band LIVA is quite interesting, as they have created an own unique sound which combines Progressive, Power, Gothic, Celtic and Classical music into an exciting Melodic Metalsound. The band has a male and female singer, with the female vocals sounding like NIGHTWISH (easy comparison), but they are definitely more than another AFTER FOREVER/NIGHTWISH clone. The songs of LIVA are very diverse and quite enjoyable to listen to. They have a sound that fits somewhere between MOSTLY AUTUMN/KARNATAKA and NIGHTWISH/WITHIN TEMPTATION/EPICA, with a female singer who is very much influenced by female Opera singers and an instrumental section that has listened very good to a DREAM THEATER. The CD is a pleasure to listen to, as this is quality stuff from start to finish, with also some excellent guitarwork. 11 songs are included and with a playing time of almost 60 minutes, this is a much-recommended CD to open-minded Metalfans. More info at: http://www.livaband.com and e-mail them at: livaband@hotmail.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) AUTOGRAPH ‘MORE MISSING PIECES’ (POINT MUSIC/ROCK INC.) A few years ago USG RECORDS released a CD full of AUTOGRAPH demos under the moniker ‘Missing pieces’, and now this same CD has been re-released, with the addition of the 2 original Japanese only bonustracks (“Reason to rock” and “Nothin’ to lose”) and 5 tracks from their original demo for the first album, but then I need to add here that all extra 5 tracks can also be found on the Classic debut LP of AUTOGRAPH. Anyway, if you never checked out anything of this band, then this is a much-recommended CD, as it contains some great Melodic Hardrock (a la DEF LEPPARD/80s BON JOVI), although their debut CD is much more worth recommending, because the sound quality is not that good on this record. Nevertheless, it features some timeless melodic rockers like “When I’m gone”, “Sweet temptation”, “Love comes easy”, “Angela” and “Angel in black”. However, if you already own a copy of the ‘Missin pieces’ CD of AUTOGRAPH, then this CD is not that interesting to check out. It would be a better move to re-release the debut CD of AUTOGRAPH, because that’s a hard-to-find album and a Classic as well, so come on labels release something really interesting! (Points: -)  TESLA ‘INTO THE
NOW’(SANCTUARY RECORDS/SUBURBAN) I believe 10 years ago the American band TESLA released it’s last studio-CD titled ‘Bust a nut’, but it’s now the year 2004 and they are back with a complete new studio-CD titled ‘Into the now’, which will be released on SANCTUARY RECORDS. It’s almost incredible that this band sold 17 million (!) albums worldwide the past 20 years, as they are not that well-known, but if you sold that many records, then you are a very successfull band. It’s no wonder why SANCTUARY RECORDS were keen on releasing a new CD of TESLA, but is this album as good as their previous records. I still really love their first couple of records, especially because TESLA had created an own style, mostly due to the lead singer JEFF KEITH, who has got such a recognisable voice (similar to Fernando Garcia of VICTORY, Jack Russell of GREAT WHITE and Steven Tyler of AEROSMITH). Anyway, the new CD happily continues the typical TESLA groovy Melodic Hardrocksound, although the first 2 songs are very groovy and modern sounding, they still are quite good typical TESLA Melodic Hardrocksongs. A first highlight comes in the shape of “What s shame” (a great calmer melodic rocker that has a SLAUGHTER kinda vibe). “Heaven nine eleven” shows that it is 2004, as this is a very modern sounding TESLA. The semi ballad “Words can’t explain” is typical old style TESLA, a great song. Next track “Caught in a dream” is a very AEROSMITHish semi-ballad, quite radio-ready if you ask me. “Miles away”, “Mighty mouse” and “Got no glory” are a return to the big groovy Melodic Hardrocksound which made TESLA so popular. One of the better songs is “Come to me”, a great semi melodic rockballad. This also clearly shows that the band is at their best during the calmer (semi) ballad orientated material, because the rockers are quite modern and very groovy, so you can not find any uptempo rockers on this disc, and that’s the thing I missed a bit here. “Recognize” is very modern again and closing track “Only you” is a nice acoustic ballad. Finally I need to add that the production is huge, so there’s no let-down in the sound quality, but songwise TESLA is not always as good as they were back in the 80s. Nevertheless, TESLA fans will love this record as I think the band has come up with a decent record, mixing the old style with an updated approach, but again I need to mention that this record is definitely not as good as their first 3 albums. (Points: 8.0 out of 10) DRAGONFORCE ‘SONIC FIRESTORM - ADVANCED PROMO CDR’ (SANCTUARY RECORDS/SUBURBAN) I haven’t got any info on the 2nd CD of DRAGONFORCE, which will be released in March, but what I do know is that it sounds amazing! The first song blew me away, fantastic uptempo Melodic Euro Power Metal with a very catchy chorus, this is like AOR on Speed! It’s a pity I don’t have any info, also no songtitles, because I just received the advanced promo CDR, but without a doubt, this is gonna be a sensational release of the UK based band. 9 songs will be included, with a total playing time of 63 minutes and the overall sound is fast uptempo Melodic Euro Power Metal like LABYRINTH, NOCTURNAL RITES, RHAPSODY etc. yet with very very very catchy happy singable choruses (almost AORish). Most of the songs are fast, happy and very melodic, with as highlights on this promo CDR 1, 2, 3, 7 and also the AOR ballad (track 4). Concluded, a highly recommended new CD of DRAGONFORCE, but you will have to wait 2 months before it will be officially released. (Points: 9.0 out of 10) FORCE OF EVIL ‘FORCE OF EVIL’ (ESCAPE NEW MEDIA STUDIOS/ROCK INC.) FORCE OF EVIL is a new Danish band formed around guitarists Michael Denner and Hank Shermann (original MERCYFUL FATE members). Together with IRON FIRE singer Martin Steene and other KING DIAMOND/MERCYFUL FATE members, the new band/project FORCE OF EVIL emerged and they have released their debut on a new label called ESCAPI NEW MEDIA/DIAMOND RECORDS. The CD contains 11 tracks, has a crystal clear sound and is musically pure 80s US Melodic Power Metal in the style of AGENT STEEL, PRIEST, very early SAVATAGE and of course KING DIAMOND/MERCYFUL FATE. Highlights are songs like “Mindbreaker” (uptempo Power Metal), “Misery man” (midtempo Metal), “Samhain” (uptempo Melodic Heavy Rock), “Eternity” (early SAVATAGEish slow Melodic Metal) and “The calling” (excellent fast uptempo Melodic Power Metal, pure early 80s sound!). Without a doubt, a recommended piece to fans of KING DIAMOND/MERCYFUL FATE, basically anyone enjoying classy 80s orientated US Metal! (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  SHYLOCK ‘WELCOME TO
ILLUSION’(MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN) BONFIRE recently changed it’s style, but fear not there’s hope for fans of typical German Melodic Hardrock, because the 3rd CD of SHYLOCK is filled with classy 80s German Melodic Hardrock, dangerously close to what BONFIRE was doing in their heydays before they turned nu-breed. Opener and titletrack “Welcome to illusion” shows right from the start that this is a great CD, as this is classy uptempo melodic rock in the best old BONFIRE style, with a very catchy memorable chorus. Anyone waiting for BONFIRE to return to their classic melodic rocksound, forget about them and get yourself hooked on to the new SHYLOCK CD ‘Welcome to illusion’. Besides the fantastic opener, other highlights are such great Melodic Rocksongs like “Closer” (a la JADED HEART), “But I like it” (fantastic catchy midtempo Melodic Rocker), “Lose you” (great semi melodic rockballad), “Late night show” (superb midtempo AOR/Melodic Rock), “Guilty” (fantastic uptempo melodic rocker), “Hard to hold on” (strong midtempo melodic hardrock) and “World of the lonely” (classy midtempo melodic rocker). 15 tracks are included, with a total playing time of 60 minutes, so enough to enjoy here for the fans of classy 80s Melodic hookladen Melodic Rock in the style of old BONFIRE, JADED HEART, WHITE LION, DANGER DANGER... (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  RECKLESS ‘RECKLESS’
(MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN)10 years ago this undiscovered melodic hardrock gem was released in Japan, and it’s really a shame it wasn’t released in Europe back then, although it would have probably never got the attention it deserved because of the Grunge period. Anyway, RECKLESS was a Swedish band and their only CD was released in 1994 in Japan, and now 10 years later it is finally released in Europe. MTM MUSIC re-released the CD, with the addition of some unreleased bonustracks, so now everyone can enjoy this fantastic release. I wonder what would have happened if it was released in 1989, because then this band would have been HUGE in the USA, due to the fact that their CD was (and still is) filled with perfect late 80s/early 90s American orientated Melodic Hardrock like a mix between DOKKEN, SCORPIONS, WHITE LION, FIREHOUSE and TYKETTO. The sound/production is HUGE, so are the 16 included songs, and also instrumental/vocally everything sounded perfect (and still sounds perfect, nothing dated at all!). This RECKLESS could have easily been as big as FIREHOUSE and DOKKEN in The States, but that didn’t happen, because of the Grunge thing happening in 1992. Nevertheless, it is now 2004 and it’s never too late to check out this AWESOME release. Just listen to midtempo melodic rocksongs like “Back in town”, “Livin’ without you” (deadly catchy chorus!), “Spirit of the night”, “Got you on my mind” and “Can’t reach the limit” and discover how Classic 80s Melodic Hardrock sounded like, a must for fans of DOKKEN, SCORPIONS and FIREHOUSE! (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  EDGUY ‘KING OF
FOOLS’(NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS) EDGUY is back with a new mini-CD and a full-length CD on a new label. They finished their relationship with their previous label AFM RECORDS with a live-CD last year, and now they are making a very impressive ‘comeback’. First there’s the mini-CD ‘King of fools’, a 5-track CD, of which 4 (!) songs will not be included on the full-length CD ‘Spellfire club’. Besides, there is also a studio report media portion on this mini-CD, so definitely a must for fans of EDGUY. Then the music, well, nothing has changed and I think the band has even improved themselves, because the 5 songs on this mini-CD are all very sensational Melodic Heavy Rock/Metal (“King of fools” and “Holy water”) and Power Metal (“New age messiah” and “The savage union”), with the funny piano-ballad “Life and times of a bonus track” closing the CD. Without a doubt, this is a very nice preview of things to come for one of Germany’s best bands in the Hardrock/Metal scene at the moment. (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  EDGUY ‘HELLFIRE
CLUB’ (NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS)The mini-CD ‘King of fools’ already showed that EDGUY is definitely one of the better German bands at the moment, and their upcoming full-length CD ‘Hellfire club’ will probably place them between the big boys (HELLOWEEN, MAIDEN, BLIND GUARDIAN). Their new full-length CD is going to be released on the 15th of March, and it’s definitely gonna be one of the top-records this year. The promo I received shows that this is gonna be one of the best CDs of 2004, because every song on ‘Hellfire club’ is an instant hit for fans of catchy Melodic Heavy Rock/Power Metal. The band has created the perfect sound that fits somewhere between PINK CREAM 69 and HELLOWEEN. Uptempo Melodic Heavy Rockers/Power Metal like “Mysteria”, “Rise of the morning glory” (best song), “We don’t need a hero”, “Down to the devil”, “Under the moon” and “Lavatory love machine”, midtempo Melodic Rocksongs such as “The piper never dies”, “King of fools” and “Navigator” and the wonderful ballads “Forever” and “The spirit will remain” (both with Orchestral background), it’s all there on this disc, so this CD is almost perfect. If only the promo would have featured the full songs without Tobias talking through each song, then it would have been even more interesting (so I could play the CD more than once, because now that’s impossible), but I guess we’ll just have to wait until mid March then. (Points: 9.5 out of 10)  PRIMAL FEAR ‘DEVIL’S
GROUND’(NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS) ‘Devil’s ground’ is already the 5th CD of the German Metalband PRIMAL FEAR. The music is pure Metal, with strong PRIEST influences, although my personal view is that PRIMAL FEAR is better than PRIEST actually! And this new CD is all you would expect from PRIMAL FEAR, so no surprises, but a decent high quality pure Metal record with strong singable chorus like only German bands are able to produce. Most of the 12 included tracks are uptempo, with as highlights “Visions of fate”, “Sea of flames”, “Heart of a brave”, “The healer” and “Soulchaser”. Concluded, a must for fans of TRUE METAL! (Points: 9.0 out of 10) KNIGHT AREA ‘THE SUN ALSO RISES’ (INTROMENTAL PROMOTION/THE LASER’S EDGE/BERTUS) It took the band 20 years, but the result is quiite impressive. The band KNIGHT AREA comes out of Holland, and ‘The sun also rises’ is their debut CD. It’s a pure Neo-Prog album in the style of ARENA, PENDRAGON, IQ, PALLAS... so lots of keyboards, excellent lead vocals and lots of tempo changes, and besides, ‘The sun also rises’ is a concept record. Lead singer Mark Smit has a very good voice, without any accent. The songs, and in fact the entire CD, is very good and so this album is without a doubt a MUST HAVE for every Neo-Prog fan! Highlights are “Conspiracy” (impressive keys a la ARENA/PENDRAGON), “Forever now” (happy uptempo song), “Conviction” (awesome big Neo-Prog rocker) and “Mortal brow” (quite melodic, like early ASIA). Get it a.s.a.p. if you’re a Neo-Prog freak! (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  DAKOTA ‘DEEP 6’ (MELODY BOULEVARD/DAK RECORDS) FINALLY! The legendary AOR band DAKOTA returns with a new studio CD titled ‘Deep 6’, and I can inform you that nothing has changed at all, so again we can enjoy classy DAKOTAish AOR in the best 80s tradition (a la LE ROUX, SURVIVOR, SHELTER). Of course the band will never reach the incredible high level of their ultimate classic ‘Runaway’, which is one of the best AOR releases ever (!!!), but with this album we can finally welcome a sort of return of former co-founder of DAKOTA, BILL KELLY. It’s a pity why Bill doesn’t (co-) sing on the entire CD, because he and Jerry were able to sing such awesome vocal duets in the past, which made their album ‘Runaway’ such a Classic. Well, Bill co-sings on 3 songs on the new DAKOTA CD, so that’s a good return for him. The further line-up of DAKOTA is leader Jerry G. Hludzik (vocals, bass), Rick Manwiller (vocals, keys, guitar), Jerry’s son Eli Hluzik on drums and guitarist Jon Lorance, so basically a steady line-up since their last CD releases. Musically we can enjoy again some excellent pure AOR in the shape of “Holdin’ your own” (SUPERB AOR like LE ROUX meets TOTO, with some great dut-dut keys), “Back to me” (with guest vocal performance by BILL CHAMPLIN), “Not so much in love” (good midtempo pure AOR like SURVIVOR, MECCA and PRIDE OF LIONS), “The ride” and “Luck, time and mind” (great midtempo AOR, pure 80s, different kind of vocals, very good actually, don’t know who sings here, it’s not Jerry or Bill) and the AOR ballads “What were you thinkin’?” and “Right this minute”. Although the 2nd part of the CD is a little less sensational, this is still a must-have release for AOR fans. It falls somewhere between the PRIDE OF LIONS, MECCA and SURVIVOR releases, so definitely highly recommended! More info at: http://dakota.damall.com and http://www.melodyblvd.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) FALCON ‘DEMO CDR’ (DEMO CDR) The American band FALCON features former CIRITH UNGOL multi-instrumentalist Greg Lindstrom, and also former DESTINY’S END guitarist Perry Grayson. They sent me a demo CDR, which contains 6 tracks. Musically this is early 70s Heavy Rock like a BUDGIE, PENTAGRAM, TRAPEZE, BLACK SABBATH, so a mix of Doom and Heavy Rock. The production is not that big, but for the music it maybe is interesting to have an underground unpolished sound, because it really sounds like something from 1972 or that period. The vocals could be better I think, and I can only recommend this demo to fans of mentioned bands, because I am afraid many people will find this sound too dated. However, there are some nice songs on this disc, like “On the slab” and “Downer”, but only interesting for the fans of true early 70s Heavy Rock. Instrumental however it sounds quite impressive, with some THIN LIZZYish guitarwork. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.thevine.net/~fortress/falcon.htm and e-mail at: fortress@thevine.net (Points: 7.0 out of 10) EL DIABLO NINOS ‘INTO THE NIGHT’ (ON THE MOORS MUSIC) This is an American band and this CD was released 5 years ago, so not really recent, but it’s the music that counts and EL DIABLO NINOS is playing classy 80s Metal. It reminds me of SAINT and BUDGIE a bit. 5 tracks are included and although nothing that sensational happens here, it’s still a nice one to check out. Best tracks are “Isle of bones”, “Communion” and “Inferno”. Go check it out at: http://www.eldiabloninos.com (Points: 7.0 out of 10) SPLINTER ‘REFLECTIONS’ (INDEPENDENT) Out of Holland comes SPLINTER, another quality Progressive Metalband. They sent me a CD-single, with 3 tracks included. Both “Twist of fate” and “Reflections” are great high quality Progressive Rock/Metal songs like a mix between SPOCK’S BEARD, RUSH and DREAM THEATER, with also both a very good instrumental middle part. Only the bonustrack “Above all things” was a bit weaker, but in general speaking this is high quality Prog Metal and highly recommended if you enjoyed SUN CAGED and SILENT EDGE recently. More info at: http://www.splinterprog.com and e-mail at: info@splinterprog.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) ODIN’S COURT ‘DRIVEN BY FATE’ (INDEPENDENT) The American band ODIN’S COURT sent me their debut CD ‘Driven by fate’, which is a good deal of quality Melodic Progressive Metal in the style of early SYMPHONY X (their first record). Instrumental the band sounds perfect, and even the included songs are quite good, but the lead vocals of guitarist Matt Brookins are a bit raw and not quite suitable (yet) for this kind of music. I am not saying he can’t sing, because he is definitely able to sing quite well (like on “Shadow dust”), but I think he needs to improve his voice in the future, just like R ussell Allen from SYMPHONY X who also became better and better with each following album. Anyway, this CD is still a very enjoyable quality Progressive Metal album with many highlights, such as “His dark materials”, “Holdin’ the line”, “Burden of heaven” and “The fall”. Instrumental it sounds perfect and with a playing length of 71 minutes there’s a lot to enjoy here. Check it out at: http://www.OdinsCourtBand.com and e-mail them at: Matt@OdinsCourtBand.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) DARK ILLUSION ‘FOR JUST ANOTHER NIGHT’ (BATTLEFIELD RECORDS) The Swedish project DARK ILLUSION was created 20 years ago, but just recently they released this CD-single. Big surprise is that none other than THOMAS VIKSTROM is singing on this disc, and he sang on lots of classic melodic rock/metal releases such as STORMWIND. Anyway, this is really a project run by Tomas Hultqvist and Niklas Tengblad, with as guest singer THOMAS VIKSTROM, so he is not part of the band. Hopefully he will also sing on the full-length CD of DARK ILLUSION, which should be released somewhere in 2004, because Thomas is one of the best Swedish singers of all time! This CD-single contains 4 tracks, and is basically classic Scandi AOR/Melodic Rock of a very high level. Opener “For just another night” is a lovely catchy uptempo AOR rocker a la DAVINCI, SNAKE CHARMER and ALIEN. Next track “Outlaw” is a groovier Melodic Hardrocksong a la HUGHES/TURNER PROJECT, while “Close to me” is great uptempo Melodic Hardrock. Closing track “Battlefield” is a nice instrumental. Concluded, a recommended Swedish Melodic Rocksingle with awesome vocals. More info at: http://www.darkillusion.se (Points: 8.0 out of 10) BEYOND SURFACE ‘DESTINATION’S END’ (NOISE RECORDS/SUBURBAN) Following the footsteps taken by HIM is a new German Gothic Metalband with a debut CD release on NOISE RECORDS, produced by PIET SIELCK (IRON SAVIOR). It’s hard to ignore the fact that BEYOND SURFACE is a copy of HIM, but happily they come up with some good tunes here and there like the uptempo melodic rockers “From the mountain”, “Crawling to myself”, “My fading love”, “The cure” and “Funeral for surface”. There’s also some modern touches here and there (a la THE RASMUS), but mainly this is Gothic Melodic Rock a la HIM, so if you are a fan of that band check this out a.s.a.p. (Points: 8.0 out of 10) IMAGE ‘RESURRECTION’ (HADES PARADISE) It’s unbelievable but true, but the label HADES PARADISE from the USA is a new label that is releasing LP/Vinyl only releases. ‘Resurrection’ of the American band IMAGE is their first LP release. With only 500 pressed LP’s it will probably become a collector’s item, because also musically it is quite interesting what we get to hear on this particular IMAGE album. It’s not as good as their other release, BRAT, but nevertheless a recommended pure 80s Melodic Metal album. The recordings took place in 1983 and 1988, and I have to say that Side-A is much better than Side-B. Especially the songs “Searcher”, “Mile after mile” and “Livin’ on the tracks” are very impressive Melodic Metal tracks. Side-B starts quite well with “Black knight razor”, but the other songs are a bit weaker. Nevertheless, these are quality releases on HADES PARADISE, and therefore I can recommend their releases to the fans of classic 80s Melodic Metal! You can get this LP through HadesParadise@aol.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) BRAT ‘SWORD AND STONE’ (HADES PARADISE) The 2nd LP release on HADES PARADISE is from the band BRAT. This American band recorded ‘Sword and stone’ back in 1984 in the famous MORRIS SOUND STUDIOS in Florida (SAVATAGE), but it took 20 years to release it on vinyl, but happily HADES PARADISE has released the album. Although some might say it sounds dated and especially the fact it is only out on LP makes it only interesting for a specific kind of fans, but still I need to inform you about this great release. BRAT played typical 80s Melodic Metal with strong vocals and basically songs of a high level, reminding me of HEIR APPARENT, LEATHERWOLF and . 10 songs are included, of which the best ones are “Circles of fire”, “Sword and stone”, “They rule the night”, “The forbidden one” and “Throw away the key”. Without a doubt, a must for fans of classic 80s Melodic US Metal, but you need to own a pick-up to play it! You can get this LP through HadesParadise@aol.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) AESTHESIA ‘DRAWN TO THE FLAME’ (INDEPENDENT RECORDS) AESTHASIA is a band from Ohio, USA and they have released a CD titled ‘Drawn to the flame’. 11 songs are included and with a good production, this is quite nice to listen to. Musically this is nice standard fun 80s Hardrock, with some comparisons to KROKUS, QUIET RIOT, TED NUGENT and VAN HALEN. Nothing sensational happens here, but it proves that this kind of Hardrock is still alive in the USA! Check out some great rockers like “Fire away”, “High octane”, “Evil within”, “Coming back for you” (best song, classy 80s melodic rock a la AUTOGRAPH and STRYPER) and the ballad “Till I found you”. More info at: http://www.aesthesia-world.com and e-mail them at: earley@aesthesia-world.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) PROJECT STEIGER ‘DEFIANCE’ (INDEPENDENT) PROJECT STEIGER is set up by guitarist Ken Steiger, and he is assisted on his CD ‘Defiance’ by such legendary musicians like keyboardplayer DEREK SHERINIAN (DREAM THEATER), drummer VIRGIL DONATI (STEVE VAI), bassist TONY FRANKLIN (BLUE MURDER) and guitarist GARY HOEY. Together they have created an awesome instrumental Neo-Classical Progressive Metal album with of course an important part for Ken’s guitartalent. Highlights are uptempo songs like “Run 4 cover”, “Child of the storm”, “KT Boundary event” and “Here come the heroes”. Without a doubt, this CD is a MUST for fans of instrumental guitar orientated Progressive Hardrock/Metal. More info at: http://www.projectsteiger.com and e-mail at: Steiger@RockGuitar.net (Points: 8.0 out of 10) GODDESS OF DESIRE ‘TOUR 2003 PROMO’ (PROMO CDR) This is a Dutch band and they are definitely a Shock Metalband, taking elements of MANOWAR (the lyrics), ROCKBITCH (the outfit, with some beautiful girls!), GRAVE DIGGER (vocally, very raw, close to growling sometimes) and BLACK METAL (the band members look like CHILDREN OF BODOM). So, the show element is very important here. Musically they mix pure 80s Metal (instrumental it sounds perfect) with raw growling vocals of today’s genre, kinda like CHILDREN OF BODOM. I am not really excited about this band, but I do appreciate their excellent instrumental stuff which is pure 80s and played very well, but vocally it’s just too much Black/Death Metal orientated. However, songs like “Fallen angel”, “Glory in Metal”, “Metal forever” and “Ride” are very good uptempo Melodic Metal pieces, only with very raw growling like vocals, so perhaps interesting for fans of GRAVE DIGGER? Check ‘em out at: http://www.goddess-of-desire.info and e-mail them at: info@goddess-of-desire.info (Points: 7.5 out of 10)  AXIA ‘AXIA’ (MTM
CLASSIX/MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN)Although there were many Classic AOR/Melodic Rockalbums made in Sweden in the 1980s, AXIA was not one of the best, but MTM CLASSIX decided to re-issue it onto CD, with the addition of 4 bonustracks. The band featured amongst others vocalist/guitarist/keyboardplayer PEO PETTERSSON, whom later found fame as producer, but also managed to release a fantastic solo-CD under the PEO moniker and recorded an album with LEVITICUS. LEVITICUS is also a band you can compare AXIA’s music with, quality and quite good stuff, although not always sensational. The start of the CD was indeed nothing spectacular, with such standard Hardrocksongs like “It ain’t love” and “In for Rock ‘n’ roll”, but happily later on we can hear some classy 80s AOR/Melodic Rocksongs on this AXIA CD, such as the superb midtempo AOR ballad “Angela”, the uptempo fun melodic rocker “On my way”, the AOR rocker “Never ending love” (pure ALIEN), the semi ballad “Falling apart” and the semi melodic rocker “Loser”. The band sounded like a slightly weaker version of bands like EUROPE, TREAT, DALTON, DAVINCI... The bonustracks show a very different band, as this sounds like early/mid 1980s fast European/NWOBHM Melodic Metal (a la MAD MAX, HELLOWEEN, PRETTY MAIDS) with some great songs like “Increasing action” (pure early PRETTY MAIDS meets LOUDNESS!) and “The savage ramblers” (fantastic, pure early EUROPE). Concluded, we have some ups and downs on this CD, but still I have to admit that this is yet another Swedish quality release that could easily be checked if you’re a fan of early EUROPE or PRETTY MAIDS. It seems like Swedish bands could (and still can) only make quality stuff! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) ASHTAR ‘URANTIA’ (ROCK SYMPHONY/MUSEA RECORDS) ASHTAR is a Brazilian band and they play a mix of Folk, Gothic and Prog. Metal, with even some Death-growls here and there, but mainly we can hear the beautiful vocals of the female singer Fernanda Mesquita. This is definitely quality stuff, with of course similarities to WITHIN TEMPTATION, EPICA and AFTER FOREVER... The production is quite good and long songs like “Urantia”, “Children of the mist”, “Oblivious” and “Nemesis” are very impressive songs. Check it out if you’re into the typical Gothic Melodic Prog. Rock/Metalstyle with female vocals genre which is very popular at the moment. More info at: http://www.rocksymphony.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) SONUS UMBRA ‘SPIRITUAL VERTIGO’ (INDEPENDENT/JUST FOR KICKS MUSIC) I don’t have any info on this band, so let’s just get on with the music they play. SONUS UMBRA is playing high class original Progressive Rock with strong 70s influences, not unlike early GENESIS, SPOCK’S BEARD... Their CD ‘Spiritual vertigo’ contains 10 songs and is basically a good (calmer) 70s orientated Progressive Rockalbum with as highlights “Bone machine”, “Rust in my sleep” (best song, great classy Prog/Pomp a la STARCASTLE), “Snakes and ladders”, “Fool’s arcadia” and “Amnesia junkies”. If you’re into SPOCK’S BEARD, NEAL MORSE, 70s GENESIS... then this is highly recommend to you. You can get a copy through info@justforkicks.de (Points: 8.0 out of 10) SAHIN FEAT. LUDVIK ‘SWEET PRINCE’ (INDEPENDENT) Out of Germany comes SAHIN FEAT. LUDVIK and ‘Sweet prince’ is their 2nd CD release. The band consists of multi-instrumentalist Walter Sahin and vocalist Rainer Michael Ludwig. Both are quite impressive, Walter on guitar, drums, bass and keys, and Rainer is able to sing quite well. Musically they play pure 80s Melodic Hardrock/Metal and sometimes it sounds actually quite sensational. I hear some similarities to PINK CREAM 69, DOKKEN, AXXIS... Highlights are the strong Melodic Heavy Rockers “I am the cure”, “The flood”, “Welcome to the ball”, the very catchy fast uptempo melodic metal of “The rock” and the melodic rockballad “Loosen the ties”. Recommended piece to fans of classy 80s guitar riff orientated Melodic Hardrock. Go to: http://www.sahin-feat-ludvik.de.vu and e-mail them at: walter-sahin@t-online.de (Points: 8.0 out of 10) HOUSEBREAKERS ‘LADY ICE’ (INDEPENDENT) The Italian band HOUSEBREAKERS sent me their album ‘Lady ice’, which is a very good Melodic Hardrock/Metal record. The band has a good female lead singer (Manuela Ricci) and musically it sounds a bit like an Italian Power Metal version of PHANTOM BLUE, although it’s also quite close to the French band HEADLINE. Check out great songs like “The man I am”, “A sun that doesn’t shine”, “The hidden light” and closing track “Lady Ice”. Without a doubt a recommended band, more info at: http://musicpage.de/housebreakers and e-mail at: poldursgate@tiscalinet.it (Points: 8.0 out of 10) FLAME ‘BLAZE’ (Z RECORDS) In the late 80s FLAME was one of many US Hair Metalbands and although I am not sure I remember that a band called FLAME had a song on the ‘Don’t tell mom the babysitter’s dead’ soundtrack. That particular song was called “Don’t look down” and we can also find it on this CD. Furthermore I know another US band called FLAME, whom released a CD in 1992, but this ‘Blaze’ album was actually recorded in 1988/1989, so I guess you can say that this CD contains mostly unreleased material. Anyway, the CD has a big quality sound and is very much similar instyle to all those other late 80s Californian bands around 1989, so if you’re into FIREHOUSE, DOKKEN, WHITE LION, DANGER DANGER, DIRTY BLONDE... then better get this CD a.s.a.p. The absolute highlights are “Lorelei” (classy late 80s uptempo melodic rocker), “New love” (strong semi melodic rockballad with a very catchy chorus), “Automatic” (nice midtempo melodic rocker) and closing track “Don’t look down” (best song, fantastic midtempo melodic rock a la ALDO NOVA/80s BON JOVI). Concluded, a recommended typical late 80s Californian Melodic (Hard) Rockalbum! (Points: 8.5 out of 10) VISION 180 ‘FOOL AROUND’ (DEMO CDR) Good to see these guys back on the track with a hot new single called “Fool around”, a good 80s AOR/Melodic Rocker, which you can download through http://www.vision180.com (Points: -)  FINAL FRONTIER ‘THE SECOND
WAVE’(Z RECORDS) Canadian AOR band FINAL FRONTIER return with their 2nd CD. The album is titled ‘The second wave’ and is the perfect follow-up to their wonderful debut CD, so again we can hear HIGH CLASS 80s AOR in it’s best shape, reminding me of SURVIVOR, SHY, 1st HAREM SCAREM, AVIATOR etc. This is one of the best CD’s that will be loved by the AOR fans, and therefore I can easily give it a big recommendation. Most of the songs are uptempo AOR rockers, with as absolute highlights “Runaway”, “Lydia”, “Lost inside a dream”, “Sherry” and “Faithful heart”, but of course the classy (semi) AOR ballad is also included (“Somebody’s got to pay the price”). Concluded, this CD is a total must for all AOR fans! (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  ERIK NORLANDER ‘THRESHOLD
SPECIALEDITION’ (THINK TANK MEDIA)7 years ago keyboardwizzard ERIK NORLANDER released his debut solo-CD ‘Threshold’, which was the start of many more great things to come which featured this talented man, such as the ROCKET SCIENTISTS and LANA LANE albums and of course his own solo records. Now Erik’s own label THINK TANK MEDIA has re-released the debut CD ‘Threshold’, and basically this new version has some awesome packaging, with extensive liner notes and an extra disc, which features live and alternate versions as well as some video footage shot at the ProgWest in 2001. The album ‘Threshold’ itself is a fantastic masterpiece, which will give you a sort of space adventure into the instrumental Progressive Rock journey where ERIK NORLANDER is taking us. Of course the main focus is around Erik’s impressive keyboard/synthesizer/hammond-organ sounds and I have to say it sounds incredible. I also must mention that the CD contains 4 extra unreleased bonustracks, namely “The long ion train”, “Hyperspace” (only to be found on the 1997 Japanese version), “Solace” and “Return to the ruins of trantor”, so basically this re-release is a must for all ERIK NORLANDER fans. Fans of high quality instrumental Progressive Rock need to check this out a.s.a.p. if they haven’t heard it before, because then this is a very good opportunity to do so. Find all info on the THINK TANK MEDIA website at: http://www.thetank.com (Points: 9.0 out of 10) PAT TRAVERS ‘PAT TRAVERS’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS) It’s back to 1976 with PAT TRAVERS. The guitarist/singer/songwriter released in the 1970s 5 albums, of which 4 are re-issued onto CD through MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS, in a nice packaging, although no bonustracks are included unfortunately on any of the 4 CDs. Anyway, the debut album of PAT TRAVERS contains calmer Bluesy Melodic Rock, with strong influences of JIMI HENDRIX and LED ZEPPELIN. Best songs are “Makes no difference”, “As my fire flies” and “Medley, parts 1 and 2”, all good rockers, but still this debut CD of PAT TRAVERS is his weakest effort, because there are also a few uninteresting tracks included like the Rockabilly “Mabellene” and “Hot Rod Lincoln”. The following album ‘Makin’ magic’ clearly showed a better PAT TRAVERS... (Points: 7.0 out of 10) PAT TRAVERS ‘MAKIN’ MAGIC’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS) The 2nd album of PAT TRAVERS ‘Makin’ magic’ clearly showed a much better and harder rocking PAT TRAVERS. The style was more straight-ahead Melodic Hardrock in the style of THIN LIZZY and TRIUMPH. 8 songs can be found on this re-issue, of which the best are “Makin’ magic”, “You don’t love me” and “Stevie” (classy song with beautiful guitarwork). The Canadian musician was helped on this record by drummer Nico McBrain (who later found fame with MAIDEN) and bassist Peter Cowling, and guest stars like GLENN HUGHES (on backing vocals) and guitarist Brian Robertson (THIN LIZZY). 1977 was a very productive year for PAT TRAVERS, because he released both ‘Makin’ magic’ and ‘Putting it straight’. (Points: 8.5 out of 10) PAT TRAVERS ‘PUTTING IN STRAIGHT’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS) The third album of PAT TRAVERS was called ‘Putting in straight’ and saw him adding some Pop influences to his Bluesy Rock. The album was indeed quite poppy, starting off with some good Bluesy Rockers like “Life in London” and “Getting’ betcha”, but drifting into Pop orientated material on songs like “Dedication”, “Off beat ride” and the sugarsweet “Lovin’ you”. Although it’s not PAT TRAVERS’ best record, it surely shows the diversity of the guitarist/singer/songwriter. (Points: 7.0 out of 10) PAT TRAVERS ‘HEAT IN THE STREET’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS) The final album of PAT TRAVERS was called ‘Heat in the street’ and happily saw a return to the Rockstyle. Maybe this was his best record from the 1970s, as it contains some great Melodic (Hard) Rock material like “Heat in the street”, “Go all night” and “Killers instinct”, as well as some great laid-back late 70s AOR (a la FRANKE AND THE KNOCKOUTS/TOTO) such as “I tried to believe” and “One for me and one for you”. This mixture of Rock/Hardrock, Bluesrock and AOR makes ‘Heat in the street’ a recommended CD. Hopefully MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS is also able to re-issue the albums that followed after ‘Heat in the street’. (Points: 8.5 out of 10) VALENSIA ‘THE BLUE ALBUM’ (ESCAPE MUSIC) VALENSIA is a Dutch multi-instrumentalist who became very popular in Japan in the late 80s with his QUEEN/ROBBY VALENTINE orientated experimental Classical Music inspired music. Actually he already could have sign a record deal back in 1979, but because he was too young then (only 8 years old!), it had to wait until 1993. He then released the single “Gaia” which became one of the most played songs on Dutch radio in 1993, and even made it to the number 2 position in the Dutch charts. The same titled debut CD ‘Gaia’ sold 1 million copies, and especially in Japan VALENSIA became a rising star, with his second album ‘KOSMOS’ selling 40,000 copies the day the album was released! In Holland VALENSIA didn’t reach the big success of his debut, but Japan went on supporting this talented man. Now, his latest album ‘Blue’ has been released through ESCAPE MUSIC, which is quite remarkable, because previous albums were released through Mercury Records. Anyway, VALENSIA did almost everything himself on this album once again, so production, recording, most of the instruments, singing, songwriting... I am myself not such a big fan of VALENSIA, even though many people compare his music to ROBBY VALENTINE (whose albums are always very sensational!), I think VALENSIA is much more experimental. Also this ‘Blue album’ is a very weird CD, which starts rather good with the Pomprocker “Mayte”, but the following 14 songs are all completely different, with influences from various music genres like Reggea (“Hello pianist”), quirky 70s Pop (“Inshallah” and “The flying Dutchfan”), 1920s music and even some DURAN DURAN orientated material (“The line”). I am not really into VALENSIA, but I guess it’s still quite impressive what we hear on this disc, as the man is able to come up with some out of the ordinary music which gives him an own unique sound. Only recommended to fans of QUEEN, ROBBY VALENTINE and AVIARY. (Points: 7.5 out of 10)  LANA LANE ‘WINTER
SESSIONS’(THINK TANK MEDIA) LANA LANE returns with a new studio CD titled ‘Winter sessions’. The album is slightly different than the usual LANA LANE albums, but on the other hand it’s a typical LANA LANE record. ‘Winter sessions’ is made up of covers of and new original material. Most of the material is quite calm, but some are also typical LANA LANE rockers. 11 tracks are included and with a total playing time of 60 minutes, this is definitely a total must for every LANA LANE fan. Although there are 4 covers on the CD, they are all unreleased (so not on the ‘Covers collection’ from last year) and the versions of LANA LANE are very impressive, while some of the 7 original songs are quite sensational, so I am safe to say that this is another highly recommended new LANA LANE CD! Let’s have a look at the included songs, of which I would like to mention the 70s HEART orientated calmer ballads “What a world” and “Spirit of the gypsy”, the lovely uptempo melodic rocker “December moon” (typical LANA LANE style), the epic semi ballad “Carnivale (Let it rain)”, the fantastic uptempo AOR rocker “Carry me home”, the paino-ballad “Winter song” and the ERIK NORLANDERish instrumental “Terminus pro tempore”. Although the covers are the least interesting tracks here, because LANA LANE’s own songs are much better, I still need to add here that LANA LANE’s versions of “A whiter shade of pale” (PROCOL HARUM) and “California dreamin’” (MAMA’S AND THE PAPA’S) are very nice. Without a doubt, this new studio-CD is a must for every LANA LANE fan! Find all info on the THINK TANK MEDIA website at: http://www.thetank.com (Points: 9.0 out of 10) (All reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted) |