 FRONTLINE ‘THE SEVENTH
SIGN’(AOR HEAVEN/BERTUS) For 15 years the band FRONTLINE has been making AOR/Melodic Rock music, and all their releases were impressive sensational albums, which I still play quite often. Together with FAIR WARNING, BONFIRE, JADED HEART and SCORPIONS they belong in the highest rank of German Melodic Rock. Now they are back with a complete new full-length CD, and happily the musicstyle has remained the same after all those years. The new CD of FRONTLINE is again filled with high class AOR/Melodic Rock, and some of the songs are really awesome, so nothing to complain here. It’s the band’s 7th record, so therefore the albumtitle ‘The seventh sign’, and it’s one of their better releases since their classic debut. 10 songs are included, and although the first song “You can’t tame me” is the least interesting track on the album, and also gives a heavier approach to FRONTLINE’s Melodic Rock, the rest of the CD is very typical FRONTLINE AOR/Melodic Rock. Highlights are “This lie” (superb), “Like you do”, “Part of my life” (the best FRONTLINE song since their debut!), “Where’s the love” and “Melt my ice”. Without a doubt, this new FRONTLINE CD is a must for the AOR/Melodic Rockfans! (Points: 9.0 out of 10) METAMORPHOSIS ‘NOBODY CARES’ (GALILEO RECORDS) ‘Nobody cares’ is the 2nd CD of the Swiss band METAMORPHOSIS, the follow-up to their 2002 release ‘After all these years’. Musically we are dealing here with 70s influenced Symphonic Rock, not unlike YES, PINK FLOYD and very early GENESIS. The 8 songs included here are quite long and for a dedicated Prog/Sympho fan a must, as this is definitely high quality stuff, sometimes in the same league as IQ, PENDRAGON or MARILLION, although the best comparison is definitely 70s PINK FLOYD. METAMORPHOSIS is actually more a project than a band, because all songs have been written by Jean-Pierre Schenk, who also sang, played keys, bass and drummachine. However, the guitar and some additional bass was played by Giova Esposito, while also David Grillon (guitar) and Milena Zaharieva (flute) make an appearance on the CD. The music is like I said pure Neo-Prog/Sympho, sometimes calm, sometimes rocking, always melodic and quite epic, with nice keyboardwork and good strong vocal melodies. Best songs are definitely “Home again”, “Glimmer”, “Full moon’s rising tonight” and “Nothing left of our dreams”. Prog/Sympho fans need to check out this band, more info at their website: http://www.jp-metamorphosis.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) CHRYSALIS ‘BREAKING ILLUSIONS’ (INDEPENDENT) Out of France comes another new sensational melodic progressive metalband. They are called CHRYSALIS, and their first CD is titled ‘Breaking illusions’, a very impressive independent CD release indeed. The music is comparable to SUN CAGED, VANDEN PLAS, SILENT EDGE... which means high quality Melodic Progressive Metal with lots of keyboards versus guitar solo’s, strong melodic choruses and tempo changes all the time. This is a very good band, and the 5 long songs included here are making it a winner for all Progmetalfans out there! The CD was produced by Robert Kohlmeyer (best known as solo artist ROKO) and the sound is therefore huge and easily comparable with the label releases. The included songs are also very good, with as absolute highlights “Behind the mask”, “Torn part 1: Half a man” and “Hidden”. As a bonus, there is 18 minutes of video footage included as CD-rom part, so you can watch the making of this CD. Concluded, a highly recommended Progmetal release from France! More info at: http://www.chrysalis-band.net and e-mail them at: chrysalis.contact@wanadoo.fr (Points: 8.0 out of 10) LEAF ‘CIRCLE OF WAYS’ (LOCOMOTIVE MUSIC/ROCK INC) A name like LEAF sounds a bit alternative, and actually this German band indeed has a strong Alternative Rocksound, maybe a bit more commercial, not too far removed from a Nu-Breed American rockapproach. The songs sound very modern and groovy, with the guitars upfront, sounding very distorted, but some of the songs do have catchy melodies (“Breakable”, “Circle of ways”, “”). However, I am not that impressed in general, as it all sounds a bit too dark, too Nu-Breed and depressing and comes close in style to a LINKIN PARK, and there are so many other and better releases in the Hardrock/Metalscene, so I don’t know why a quality label like LOCOMOTIVE MUSIC is releasing such an average CD. Only interesting for people who actually like Alternative/Nu-Breed stuff... (Points: 5.0 out of 10) BEFORE THE DAWN ‘4:17 AM’ (LOCOMOTIVE MUSIC/ROCK INC) Another release on LOCOMOTIVE MUSIC that is not really interesting, because BEFORE THE DAWN is mixing Gothic, Doom and Death Metal, but nevertheless it is much better than LEAF. BEFORE THE DAWN is a Finnish band and they fall somewhere in between their countrymen of CHILDREN OF BODOM, NIGHTWISH and HIM, so this is like a Gothic Melodic Death Metalband, and actually it doesn’t sound bad at all, because some of the songs on their new CD ‘4:17 AM’ are really strong, like “Seed”, “Dreamer”, “Into you” and “Hiding”, but still I have a slight problem with the change in the way of singing, because sometimes it’s pure Gothic, then suddenly it is Black/Death-growling and screaming, so you never know what to expect. Some people like such a diversity in a band a lot, and to them I can recommend this CD! (Points: 7.5 out of 10) BLOODSTAINED ‘GREETINGS FROM HELL’ (CULT METAL CLASSICS) Out of Greece comes BLOODSTAINED, and they recently released their debut CD ‘Greetings from hell’ on the CULT METAL CLASSICS recordlabel. Musically this is prime-time 1980s US Melodic Power Metal in the style of early FATES WARNING, HELSTAR, JAG PANZER and BRAINSTORM... The CD contains 10 tracks, and as a bonus a nice videoclip of the song “Related to danger”. Most of the songs are uptempo with the high pitched vocals of singer Theodores Gourlomatis. Highlights on this quality CD are “Burn the sky”, “Prisoners of time”, “Greetings from hell” and “Son of the damned”. Definitely a recommended piece to fans of classic 80s US Power Metal! More info at: http://www.bloodstained.tk and http://www.cultmetalclassics.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  THE CREEK ‘THE CREEK+STORM
THE GATE’(ESCAPE MUSIC) The bandname change from SUGARCREEK to THE CREEK surely wasn’t an improvement, because musically the changed into a less interesting style. As SUGARCREEK they released 3 albums, of which the last 2 can be considered ultimate classics in the AOR/Pompscene, all available in a nice package released by ESCAPE MUSIC last year. Anyway, the band moved on and changed their name in the mid 1980s to THE CREEK, so they were ‘sugarfree’ now! Unfortunately, the 2 albums they released under THE CREEK were nowhere near as good as those SUGARCREEK classics. Nevertheless, both THE CREEK albums, with the addition of bonustracks such as their 4-track EP ‘Loaded and lethal’ and some unreleased live and demotracks, are now all together available on a double-CD digipack release through ESCAPE MUSIC. The packaging is excellent, and still a must for people who also bought the SUGARCREEK package, but don’t expect anything as sensational as the SUGARCREEK stuff. On the ‘The creek’ album the band was playing a more Poprock style, very 1980s and more akin to a LOVERBOY, AGENT or URGENT, and even some 38 SPECIAL (“Love found me”). The only real standout tracks from that ‘The creek’ album are the semi AOR/Pompballads “Just another fool” (this is the only real pure SUGARCREEKish track) and “You don’t owe me” (a la JEFF PARIS), while the rest is just nice uptempo AOR/Poprock like LOVERBOY/URGENT such as on the songs “Love will stay”, “Reach and touch”, “Institute of rock’n’roll” and “Best of both worlds” (this is actually a bonustrack, recorded in the SUGARCREEK days). The other album which can also be found on this 2-CD package is ‘Storm the gate’ which saw the boys change once again, as they now looked like (and also played) Melodic Hardrock, and somehow this is the better THE CREEK album of the 2 being released in the 1980s. Songs like “Storm the gate” (great big midtempo Melodic Hardrock a la DOKKEN/FIFTH ANGEL) and “Rock me tonight” (strong melodic rocker) are clearly impressive songs that sound very different from SUGARCREEK, but are without a doubt quality songs. The rest of the CD is weaker, and just plain old 80s Rock, with the occasional AOR song like “Girl is crying”, but the start was more promising than the album actually was. But there’s also a but and this time the final track of ‘Storm the gate’ is the album’s winner, because the uptempo “On my way” is as classic 80s AOR as you can get, in a pure AVIATOR style, this is THE CREEK at their very best. Also the extra 4 bonustracks on this CD, which all together are actually the EP ‘Loaded and lethal’ are making this double-CD package still a recommended piece to AOR/Melodic Rockfans, because songs like “Keri Anne” and “High roller” are classic 80s AOR Rockers. Concluded, this 2-CD set is definitely not as good as the 3-CD set from SUGARCREEK from last year, but still the 80s AOR freak can easily buy this THE CREEK release, so the collection of all their albums is completed. Now here’s hoping for a full new CD of SUGARCREEKish material in the future! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) GUILTY PLEASURE ‘BUSTED’ (INDEPENDENT) Wow, this is high class 80s US Melodic Hardrock! One of those new independent bands from the USA playing catchy melodic rock like we used to hear it from bands like DANGER DANGER, FIREHOUSE, TYKETTO and LOUD’N’CLEAR. These guys fit somewhere in the middle of those 3 bands, playing a fun pure 80s uptempo Melodic Rockstyle, with some very strong lead vocals of singer Steve Skyler and great guitarwork by Paul Alfery (who also plays bass and keys, and together with singer Steve wrote all the songs on the CD). The 3-piece band GUILTY PLEASURE is definitely a must if you’re into this type of classic melodic rock, because everything on their debut ‘Busted’ sounds perfect, even the production level is very impressive, so nothing stands in my way to give this a big recommendation! 13 songs are included, with a total playing time of 50 minutes, and the absolute highlights are uptempo melodic rockers like “Reckless love”, “All or nothing”, “Love is a game” (very catchy!), “No way out” and “Dangerous way”. Check it out asap if you’re a fan of classy late 80s melodic rock a la FIREHOUSE, VALENTINE, HEAVEN’S EDGE, DANGER DANGER, TYKETTO... You can buy the CD through: http://www.target-records.de (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  KROKUS ‘FIRE AND GASOLINE
LIVE! CD+DVD’(WARNER MUSIC SWITZERLAND) Last year the legendary Swiss band KROKUS released their latest studio album ‘Rock the block’, which saw the return of lead singer MARC STORACE, a good move, because the band confirmed their big status in Switzerland, scoring a number 1 hitalbum and touring in 2003 all across Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The only ‘foreign’ gig played in 2003 was in Holland, and yours truly was present during that concert, which saw SHAKRA playing a great support act, and KROKUS gave back then a sensational concert, which proved they still could play live on stage, and this double-live CD contains 20 songs played live during their ‘Rock the block 2003’ tour, so everyone who missed it can still enjoy listening to the 2 live audio CD set which is now available through WARNER MUSIC SWITZERLAND (Import for non-Swiss readers). All the KROKUS Classics are present here, such as “Heatstrokes”, “Flying through the night”, “Tokyo nights”, “Fire”, “Screaming in the night” (the ultimate classic!), “Easy rocker”, “Long stick goes boom”, “Eat the rich” and of course crowd-pleaser “Bedside radio”! Besides the 2 live-audio CDs this ‘Fire and gasoline’ package release also contains the Bonus DVD which contains a live concert, and not one of the least KROKUS concerts, because they performed last year at the famous Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, so this was a big oppurtunity for KROKUS to present them to many non-Rock/Hardrockfans, and they succeeded as you can see on this excellent DVD. The extra DVD makes this KROKUS release a highly recommended piece, because the 75 minutes counting Montreux Jazz festival performance is very impressive and shows that after all these years KROKUS is still Switzerland’s best Rockband! As I said earlier in this review, the 2-CD+DVD release ‘Fire and gasoline’ is so far only available through WARNER MUSIC in Switzerland, and due to some problems with this label worldwide, it might not get released elsewhere, but therefore I urge you to go to the KROKUS website at: http://www.krokusonline.com where you can get all info on this release. Without a doubt, a must for all KROKUS and Hardrockfans in general! (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  UNDER RADIO ‘BAD HEIR
WAYS’(LION MUSIC/BERTUS) Although normally the LION MUSIC releases are quality releases, and most of the time very impressive, this UNDER RADIO is not really interesting, as this US band is playing average modern Hardrock/Rock which is actually akin very much to Alternative Rock, so this 2nd album of UNDER RADIO is only recommended to people who are tired of the Hardrock/Metal we discuss here on this page, but if that’s the case you wouldn’t be here reading this review... (Points: 4.0 out of 10)  SMEER ‘LOUD AND
CLEAR’ (LION MUSIC/BERTUS)It seems like LION MUSIC is starting to release more and more modern Rock/Hardrockalbums lately, because after MR. KITE, UNDER RADIO we now can welcome SMEER from the USA. Their CD ‘Loud and clear’ is a very weak Nu-Breed/Alternative orientated Modern Rock affair and therefore I am not able to write much more about this band... (Points: 5.0 out of 10) BOB KATSIONIS ‘IMAGINARY FORCE’ (LION MUSIC/BERTUS) When it comes down to instrumental releases, LION MUSIC is always releasing quality releases and also this time we can listen to a very impressive instrumental Neo-Classical Melodic Metal release by Greek keyboardplayer/guitarist Bob Katsionis, who played on albums by CASUS BELLI, BATTLEROAR, IMAGINERY, NIGHTFALL and STAR QUEEN. ‘Imaginery force’ is his 2nd album, and the 12 included tracks are all high class instrumental Neo-Classical Prog/Power Metal pieces with as highlights “The imaginery force”, “March of the spirits”, “Sing for the day”, “All my naked hopes” and “Seperated”. As a bonus there’s a video clip and some additional video footage included to give you something to watch on your PC. Highly recommended to the fans of instrumental Melodic Metal! (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘THE SPIRIT LIVES
ON – THE MUSIC OF JIMI HENDRIX REVISITED VOLUME
1’ (LION MUSIC/BERTUS) This is a very interesting tribute to one of the best guitarplayers ever, JIMI HENDRIX. The tribute is made up of 13 JIMI HENDRIX songs being covered by bands/artists like SUN CAGED, CYRIL ACHARD, GREG HOWE, LARS ERIC MATTSSON, RICHIE KOTZEN and several others. Highlights are the covers of “Freedom”, “Cross town traffic”, “Stone free”, “Bold as love”, “, “Foxy lady” and “Little miss lover”. The bands stayed close to the originals, and what more can you say about this tribute, because it’s all done very nice, and the ultimate JIMI HENDRIX fans need to check it out for sure to hear these new versions of their hero’s classic songs and compare the guitarwork of MARCEL COENEN, CYRIL ACHARD, ANDREA RIVERA, ERIC SANDS, MICHAEL HARRIS, LARS ERIC MATTSSON, GREG HOWE, EDWARD BOX, BUMBLEFOOT and CARL ROA to the sound JIMI HENDRIX had in mind when originally recording these songs. (Points: 7.5 out of 10)  SHORTINO/NORTHRUP ‘AFTERLIFE’(MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN) Mr. PAUL SHORTINO makes his return with a new CD. This time together with guitarist/bassist JK NORTHRUP, who also played with KING KOBRA and XYZ in the past. They recorded a great Melodic Rock/AOR CD under the SHORTINO/NORTHRUP moniker, which will be released through MTM MUSIC. The album contains 11 tracks, with a stunning vocal performance by Paul and great guitarwork by JK. This sounds like some of Paul’s best work since his debut solo-CD from 10+ years ago. Songs like “Afterlife”, “Here I am” and “Feel again” (fantastic AOR) are very strong catchy Melodic Rocksongs, while there’s also space left for a few great (semi-) ballads, like the emotional acoustic “Like a stone”, the epic “Slave”, the AORish“Gypsy soul” and closing track “Prisoner”. Although there are also some weaker groovy hardrocksongs included (a la THUNDER) such as “Crazy mind” (with guest appearance by Johnny Edwards) and “Crossfire”, I can still conclude that this is a definite winner for the melodic rockfans! (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  707 ‘MEGAFORCE’
(MTM CLASSIX/SUBURBAN)We’re going back to 1982 when 707 was hot in The States, because they played the typical early 80s AOR/Radiorocksound which people loved so much in the USA back in the day. Anyway, the single “Megaforce” climbed the US Billboard charts, but somehow the LP release didn’t get that big, and eventually the band split up. For over 20 years the ‘Megaforce’ album was only available on LP, but MTM CLASSIX has now re-issued this all-time AOR Rockclassic. This re-issue is by far the best MTM CLASSIX release, because the original album has never been available on CD, and secondly, this is a fantastic AOR Classic. ‘Megaforce’ has that typical 1982/1983 AOR/Radiorocksound, uptempo, rocking and very catchy, and now the original 10 LP tracks are available on CD. MTM even added 6 unreleased bonustracks, so this is definitely a must for all fans of classic 80s AOR! If we have a look at the songs, most of them were very catchy memorable uptempo AOR/Radiorockers with biting guitarwork, catchy hooks, memorable choruses and fantastic vocal work of a very young KEVIN CHALFANT, who later found fame as singer for THE STORM, THE VU, TWO FIRES, STEEL BREEZE... The best tracks would definitely be “Mega force”, “Can’t hold back”, “Get to you”, “Hello girl” and “We will last” (the best song 707 ever recorded, a true AOR masterpiece!), all catchy uptempo early 80s US AOR/Radiorockers. The 6 bonustracks are (of course) not as good as the original album tracks, but still a great addition for the 707 fan, and I can only highly recommend this excellent re-issue to the AOR fans, especially people who never got that original LP release should now get themselves a copy of this CD asap! (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  EDGE OF FOREVER ‘FEEDING THE
FIRE’(MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN) EDGE OF FOREVER is a new band formed around the American lead singer BOB HARRIS (AXE) and 4 Italian musicians, of whom keyboardplayer Alessandro Del Vecchio worked with GLENN HUGHES, BRUCE KULICK, TIME MACHINE and several others. The first EDGE OF FOREVER CD has been produced by MARCEL JACOB (of MALMSTEEN/TALISMAN fame) and none-other than our good friend JEFF SCOTT SOTO is making a guest appearance on the CD, because he sings a duet with Bob called “Prisoner” and Jeff sings most of the background vocals. Besides the 10 songs, there’s also a great videoclip of the song “Feeding the fire” included, a very professional one I can assure you! Anyway, the music is classic 80s Melodic Hardrock, updated for today’s standards, with some neo-classical keys here and there. Bob’s vocals are really excellent, sounding like a cross between JOE LYNN TURNER and GLENN HUGHES. The songs contain very catchy choruses and the music itself sounds like an excellent mix between RAINBOW, WHITESNAKE, AXEL RUDI PELL, CITA/GUILD OF AGES and AXE. The CD has a big sound and is without a doubt a high quality release. Best songs included are great uptempo Melodic Hardrock pieces like “Feeding the fire”, “Birth of the sun” and “Bloodsucker”, the midtempo epic Melodic Hardrock/Metal songs “Prisoner” and “The gates of hell” (the best song, pure AXEL RUDI PELL!) and the very strong melodic rockballad “The road we walked on”. I think I am safe to say that this is a fantastic release, which will easily find it’s way to the fans of quality Melodic Hardrock, although also the Metalfans might want to check this out, especially if you’re a AXEL RUDI PELL/RAINBOW fan! (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  HEIMDALL ‘HARD AS IRON’
(SCARLET RECORDS)The Italian band HEIMDALL returns with their 4th CD, and they continue playing good classic Melodic Euro Epic Power Metal which will please fans of GAMMA RAY, DOMINE, BLIND GUARDIAN, MANOWAR, HELLOWEEN... 9 tracks are on the new HEIMDALL CD, and this is definitely quality stuff what we get to hear. After 10 years HEIMDALL is still playing the same music and in this period they developed themselves into a very good band with an own style. Although the line-up changed a lot, and only one original member is left since 1994 (guitarist Fabio Calluori), the band now has a steady line-up with a great lead singer (Giacomo Mercaldo) who joined the band in 2001. Highlights on this new CD are the uptempo Melodic Metal pieces “Hard as iron”, “Moon – red light”, “Holy night” (best song) and “The emperor” and the midtempo epic “Dark home”. Recommended to the fans of True Melodic Metal! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) MOONLYGHT ‘PROGRESSIVE DARKNESS’ (ESCAPE/ROCK INC.) MOONLYGHT is a band from Canada and they mix all sorts of Metal genres (Black/Gothic/Dark) and in the end the result is not really impressive. The CD features 3 lead singers, a Black/Death-growling male singer, a clean (but weak) male singer and a very good guest female singer. The lady is called Jessica Bell and she is blessed with a very good voice (in the NIGHTWISH/LANA LANE style), but the pity is that she only sings on a few songs, so therefore this CD is less interesting, because the 2 male singers spoil things quite a lot. The music is also messy, sometimes nice Gothic Metal meets Melodic Euro Power Metal, but then also lots of times akin to pure Black-Metal, and none of the included 7 songs is really interesting, so I am afraid this is one of those CD which will only be picked up the die-hard Metalfans who want to collect every new release... (Points: 6.0 out of 10)  SKYLARK ‘WINGS’
(SCARLET RECORDS)The Italian band SKYLARK can’t get enough of releasing CD’s, because their latest effort ‘Wings’ is their 6th full-length CD within 7 years, so almost every year a release statistically, but actually it took them 3 years to release ‘Wings’. The result is a nice Italo Power Metal album with a lot of good melodies, but I miss the power and strength like some of the other recent Italo Power Metal albums did have (such as the wonderful new VISION DIVINE). Nevertheless, songs like “Another reason to believe” and “Last ride” are nice melodic (power) metal songs, but towards the end a lot of keyboard based ballads are presented and so concluded this release is only interesting for the die-hard fans. (Points: 7.0 out of 10) V.I.T.R.I.O.L. ‘SONGS OF FAIRIES’ (ROCK EXPRESS RECORDS) Multi-instrumentalist GEORGE LETIX from Serbia is best known as member of the classy 80s orientated Melodic Metal band TORNADO, but now he also has a side-project called V.I.T.R.I.O.L.. The CD he has released under that moniker contains completely different music than TORNADO, because what we get to hear is calm stripped ambient music that sounds like BLACKMORE’S NIGHT, but is maybe even softer and also mainly instrumental (vocals on 2 songs only), so I think this is only interesting for people who want to check out something else than the usual Hardrock and Metal. The CD is based on the famous Tolkien trilogy ‘Lord of the rings’ and is basically a journey through Middle Earth. It’s all done very well, but actually doesn’t belong between all our hardrock and metal reviews... (Points: 7.5 out of 10) REA SILVIA ‘VIRA DEMO 2003’ (DEMO CDR) The band REA SILVIA from the Czech Republic sent me their latest demo CDR, which contains nicely played Melodic (Power) Metal, similar in approach to EDGUY, but not as sensational and also the band is singing in their own native language. 4 songs are on the demo CDR, and most of them are fast uptempo pieces, with “Vampiressa” being the strongest song. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.reasilvia.wz.cz and e-mail them at: rea.silvia@centrum.cz (Points: 7.5 out of 10) KRLES ‘SLZY ARKONY’ (SIA PRODUCTION) Bands from Eastern Europe still sing in their own native language, and also musically the clearly grab back to 80s Melodic Metal. Also the band KRLES falls in this category, but happily they bring it very well on their new CD ‘Slazy arkony’, because the album contains good strong Melodic Metal with nice female vocalwork. You can compare the music to 80s WARLOCK, when Doro and co. played real Heavy Metal. 9 songs are on the CD and most of them are uptempo Melodic Metal pieces, of which the best tracks are “Zkrat”, “Devata brana retry” (catchy), “Noc” and “Kralovstvi dusevich okovu”. Check it out at: http://www.krles.wz.cz and e-mail at: krles@interdata.cz (Points: 8.0 out of 10) STORMHAMMER ‘LORD OF DARKNESS’ (MAUSOLEUM RECORDS) ‘Lord of darkness’ is the third CD of the German band STORMHAMMER, and it took them 3 years to release this new CD. In the meantime they switched from CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS to MAUSOLEUM RECORDS. Musically nothing has changed, because ‘Lord of darkness’ is filled with high class true Melodic Metal, just like previous 2 albums. 12 songs are included, with a total playing time of 62 minutes. Highlights are uptempo Melodic Metal songs such as “Lord of darkness”, “Ace in the hole”, “Cyber mortis”, “Shades of fear” (very strong song) and “Stormhammer”. The new STORMHAMMER CD is highly recommended to fans of True Melodic Metal (a la MAJESTY, MANOWAR, WHITE SKULL). (Points: 8.0 out of 10) FORCE OF EVIL ‘EVIL COMES...ALIVE DVD’ (ESCAPE/ROCK INC.) A big surprise to see a DVD release of the band FORCE OF EVIL, because this band only has one CD out, but enough to fill a complete DVD. The DVD contains a great 1-hour performance of the band, recorded in Stockholm last year, with as addition interviews, studio footage and another live performance in Cleveland, USA. Actually, that Cleveland gig was their first concert ever, while the Stockholm was the 2nd one, and both sound very good for a new band. Of course the band features members of some well-known bands (KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE, IRON FIRE), so these are all skilled musicians, some have been in the business for 20 years now! The band is currently working on a new CD, and to all fans of the first FORCE OF EVIL/MERCYFUL FATE this DVD is a must-have! (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  CELESTY ‘LEGACY OF
HATE’ (ARISE RECORDS)Nothing new happens on the 2nd CD of the Finnish band CELESTY, because musically it’s typical happy Euro Power Metal that sounds like a cross between SONATA ARCTICA and RHAPSODY. The band has a new singer, a 19-year old from the town of Vaasa called Antii Railio. 9 tracks are on the CD, and all together they tell us a fantasy story. Like I said nothing new happens here, which can already be noticed on one of the first song, the fast Power Metal song “Unbreakable” which is a bit too much RHAPSODY. On the other hand, it’s all been done very well and I think the fans of RHAPSODY and SONATA ARCTICA will like this CD, although the similarities to these bands are quite obvious most of the time. Best tracks are “Dream”, “Army of the universe”, “Shelter” (very much like STRATOVARIUS) and “Legacy of hate part 1/2”. The difference with RHAPSODY and co. is that on some of the tracks we can hear a guest singer (actually Black-Metalish screaming), but nevertheless this is recommended to fans of the never-ending-fast-melodic-sing-a-long-happy-euro/italo-power-metal- releases! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) PATRICK RONDAT ‘AN EPHEMERAL WORLD’ (NTS RECORDS/ROCK INC.) Guitarist PATRICK RONDAT (ELEGY) returns with a new solo-CD, his 6th CD in the 15 years he has been active in the music business. Musically this is again high quality instrumental Neo-Classical Power/Progmetal. 11 tracks are included, with as bonus a CD Rom track which is about the making of the album. This is by far one of the best instrumental releases from the past few years, with such great songs like “Donkey’s island”, “Born to buy?”, “Ispahan”, “The circle” and “619 HSO”. Concluded, a highly recommended instrumental Prog/Power Metal release! (Points: 8.5 out of 10) EDDE MAXX ‘LAND OF THE RED SUN’ (MAGADA INTERNATIONAL) Out of Canada comes vocalist/guitarist/keyboardplayer EDDE MAXX. His CD ‘Land of the red sun’ is filled with good calmer Progressive AOR/Rock meets Hi-Tech 80s Poprock/Pop, not unlike a mix between SAGA and LIGHTSPEED. 13 songs are included, with as highlights “Around the world”, “In this house” (very good), “Escape to the amazon” and “Sammy”. A nice little record, which you can buy through: http://www.target-records.de (Points: 7.5 out of 10) STEVEN AND FRIENDS ‘FROM THE HEART’ (INDEPENDENT) The album of multi-instrumentalist STEVEN contains songs written between 1992 and 2002. STEVEN, which actually stands for Stefan Hogger from Freilassing, Germany, is able to sing very well, but still I have my doubts with this CD. The problem is that there are no rockers at all on this album, as most of the stuff is acoustic and very soft, mostly ballad orientated, kinda like ROKO did some 8 years ago. The best song is the HEEP cover “Lady in black”, so go figure that this is not really an interesting album. Please put some rockers on a future record, then we can talk further about your music, for now it will not appeal to many of our readers. Nevertheless you can buy a copy of the album through: http://www.target-records.de (Points: 6.0 out of 10) JUNICHI KAWAUCHI ‘PRIVATE HEAVEN’ (FUN HOUSE) Released some 13 years ago (!), but now easier to get, is the CD of the Japanese guitarist/vocalist JUNICHI KAWAUCHI. He played pure 80s US Westcoast-AOR in the style of DAVID ROBERTS, JOHN O’BANION, JOHN PARR, TIM FEEHAN, RICHARD MARX, CHICAGO (late 80s style), PETER CETERA ETC. Sometimes Poppy, sometimes close to pure AOR, but always a pure 1980s Pop/Rocksound. The list of guest musicians on this CD is amazing, because the whole LA session musicians scene makes an appearance on the CD, such as STEVE LUKATHER, TIM PIERCE, MICHAEL THOMPSON, ROBBEN FORD, BILL CHAMPLIN etc. etc. 10 tracks are on the CD, of which the highlights are “1991” (catchy fun uptempo AOR/Poprocker a la STAN BUSH, STAN MEISSNER, ERIC MARTIN...), “Night train” (TOTO/DAKOTAish pure 80s relaxing AOR), “Love song” (AORish westcoast ballad) and “track 9” (in Japanese, a nice AOR/Poprocker a la JOHN PARR). Although sometimes the CD is drifting a bit too much into Pop territory, I still think this CD of JUNICHI KAWAUCHI is a must-have for all fans of 80s US Westcoast/AOR/Poprock! You can buy a copy of the CD through: http://www.target-records.de (Points: 7.5 out of 10)  HIGHLORD ‘MEDUSA’S
COIL’ (ARISE RECORDS)This is the 4th CD of the Italian Melodic Power Metalband HIGHLORD. Musically nothing has changed, although they signed to ARISE RECORDS a few months ago. The keyboardwork is very good and makes them sound a bit different than the usual Italo Power Metalband, but still the material is not too far away from early LABYRINTH and VISION DIVINE. 8 long songs are included, with a total playing time of 52 minutes, and from start to finish this CD is filled with good typical Italo Power Metal by the numbers. Highlights are “Medusa’s coil”, “Far from the light of God”, “Scarlet tears” and “The hand of God”. So we have another nice typical Italo Power Metal release here, and actually it’s better than most of the other releases in this unbeatable genre! (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  PHIL VINCENT ‘SECRETS’
(NIGHTMARE RECORDS)Mr. PHIL VINCENT returns with a new CD release. The album is titled ‘Secrets’ and contains 15 tracks. Musically nothing has changed, and so this is another typical strong PHIL VINCENT Melodic Rock record that sounds like a mix between DOKKEN, JOHNNY LIMA, 80s AOR and a slight modern touch here and there. Although it’s not his best release, and the first 6 songs are nothing that special, the 2nd part of this CD is shocasing the talent of Phil, because that’s where we can find some really sensational songs. I am talking about wonderful AOR/Melodic Rockers like “Strong enough”, “You fool no one”, “Writing on the wall”, “Slow burn” and “One good reason”, all very impressive sensational AOR rockers with memorable choruses. The similarities to 80s DOKKEN are very clear sometimes, but Phil does give his own twist to the songs. Like I said the beginning of the CD is a slight let-down, but from track 7 until 13 Phil makes it up with some outstanding work. Therefore the CD gets a high rating, and I can easily recommend it to the AOR/Melodic Rockfans! (Points: 8.5 out of 10) RICK WAKEMAN ‘OUT OF THE BLUE’ (MASCOT RECORDS) Legendary keyboardplayer RICK WAKEMAN played a concert in Buenos Aires 3 years ago, of which a CD is now available. Musically it is classy Symphonic Rock, with of course very impressive keyboardwork by Rick (such as on the instrumental “Jane Seymour” and the classic “Journey to the center of the earth”). However, we can also hear the fantastic vocals of singer DAMIAN WILSON (ex-THRESHOLD) and he did a great job on great Symphonic Melodic Rockers like “No earthly connection/The prisoner” (a la KAYAK) and “Buried alive”. Among the 7 included (long) songs, we can even find a YES classic “Starship trooper”. All together a very impressive performance by RICK WAKEMAN and co., so highly recommended to the fans of Rick, YES, well, actually all Symphonic Rockfans need to get this awesome live CD asap! (Points: 8.5 out of 10) MICHAEL SCHENKER/DAVEY PETTISON ‘THE ENDLESS JAM’ (MASCOT RECORDS) Guitarist Michael Schenker and vocalist Davey Pettison joined forces to record a full CD with classic 60s and 70s Rocksongs by GAMMA, ROBIN TROWER, MONTROSE, TRAFFIC, FREE, MOUNTAIN, JIMI HENDRIX and PROCOL HARUM. Of course the performances are quite excellent, without damaging the original versions, which happens a lot, but not on this CD, because Michael is the skilled guitarist and Davey a great bluesy vocalist. Highlights are covers of classics like “Hey Joe”, “A whiter shade of pale”, “Long misty days” and “I got the fire”. Concluded, recommended to the SCHENKER fans, and people who are interested in hearing good new versions of all-time classic rocksongs! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) J.A.M. ‘J.A.M.’ (LIQUID NOTE RECORDS) This is an Italian band, whom released an instrumental album under the bandname J.A.M., which stands for guitarist/bassist Joel Rivard, guitarist Allesandro Benvenuti and guitarist Milan Polak. Together they recorded a great quality instrumental record which makes Progressive Rock,. Hardrock and Fusion/Jazz-Rock into one exciting style. Comparisons are clearly STEVE VAI and JOE SATRIANI, because they combine unusual rhythms with atmospheric melodic guitarsounds. Highlights are “The usual unusual”, “Hot room”, “Back on the track” and “Perfect angel”. Concluded, a recommended piece to fans of instrumental Progressive/Fusion-Rock. (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  IRON SAVIOR ‘BATTERING
RAM’(NOISE RECORDS/SUBURBAN) IRON SAVIOR is the brainchild of guitarist/vocalist PIET SIELCK, a German guy who produced a lot of Metal records the past 15 years, including albums by SAXON and BLIND GUARDIAN. With his own band IRON SAVIOR, he now has released a new CD titled ‘Battering ram’, which is already their 6th CD release. The 10 songs on ‘Battering ram’ are without a doubt a must to hear if you’re a fan of pure Metal, kinda in the German tradition of PRIMAL FEAR, SINNER, UDO... Most of the included songs are uptempo, of which the best songs are “Stand against the king”, “Time will tell” (very strong memorable chorus), “Riding free” (big-time Melodic Power Metal) and “Starchaser”. Concluded, a must-have record for the real Metalfan! (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  LANDGUARD ‘EDEN OF A PARALLEL
DIMENSION’ (UNDERGROUND SYMPHONY RECORDS/BERTUS) Out of Italy comes LANDGUARD, and their latest release on UNDERGROUND SYMPHONY RECORDS is once again filled with typical Italo Prog/Power Metal. Instrumental everything sounds very good, with some fantastic guitar- and keyboardwork, but sadly the vocals are clearly weaker. The lead singer is the weakest link in LANDGUARD, but happily the included 12 songs (actually 6, because the rest are short instrumental pieces) are making that up, and so we can enjoy listening to some great Italo Prog/Power Metal pieces like “Helguar – an acestral story”, “Helguar suite op.1”, “Jester’s awakening” and “Return to reality”. Nevertheless, only interesting for the die-hard fans of this never-ending genre! Available for 15,50 EURO through http://www.hellionrecords.de (Points: 7.5 out of 10) SLAG ‘CHASE THE RAINBOW’ (STATUE RECORDS) A few years ago I reviewed a cd of the band SLAG. Well, now the Canadian band around multi-instrumentalists John Cal and Douglas Frozel found a new lead singer from the UK called Anthony Griffiths. This guy has a great voice and clearly makes the Melodic Rock of SLAG very impressive at times. The production is a bit thin, especially in the drum department, but nevertheless we can listen to good 80s Melodic Rock, which reminds me a bit of THE PROMISE, TANDYM... Some songs are very catchy, such as “Feeling good”, a song with a very strong chorus, reminding me of classy early 80s AOR/Radiorockacts like STEEL BREEZE, 707 and PREVIEW. Other highlights are Melodic Rocksongs like “Full circle”, “Holding back the tears”, “Love will find us again” and “How can you say” (by far the best song, a very catchy pure AOR rocker in the best 80s tradition), so concluded this SLAG CD is a nice one to check out for the AOR/Melodic Rockfans, although the CD itself has a clear independent sound quality and not the big label sound quality, but nevertheless this is something worth checking out. More info at: http://www.slag.ca (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  FINAL CHAPTER ‘THE WIZARD
QUEEN’ (UNDERGROUND SYMPHONY RECORDS/BERTUS) This band from Italy is not playing the typical Italo Power Metal, because FINAL CHAPTER is combining all sorts of Hardrock and Metal styles, and in the end they have created a very impressive CD which has a sound of it’s own. The first 2 songs for example are really awesome, such as the uptempo “The wizard queen” and the epic “The beginning”, a song with additional female vocals. Both these songs are very good and prove that this FINAL CHAPTER is by far one of the better releases on the UNDERGROUND SYMPHONY RECORDS. Other highlights are “The one who cannot loves”, “The king of the court”, “The search” and “The resurrection” (with a guest appearance by EDGUY singer Tobias Sammet). Concluded, a highly recommended original Melodic Hardrock/Metal (with Neo-classical and Prog/Power Metal influences as well) CD from this Italian band... Available for 15,50 EURO through http://www.hellionrecords.de (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  FRAISE ‘HELLICORNIA’
(INDEPENDENT)We’re moving to Sweden once again where we can find another new sensational band called FRAISE. Without a doubt, their debut CD ‘Hellicornia’ is a fantastic Melodic Metal Masterpiece that fits perfectly between NOCTURNAL RITES, WOLF and DREAM EVIL, so this is definitely high quality stuff. 10 songs are included, and not only the music is sensational, but also the production is big-time, so we can easily call this a highly recommended band! The songs “Set us free”, “Rise again” and “Saratoga” are fantastic fast Melodic Power Metal tunes a la NOCTURNAL RITES, while “Ice cold” and “Profile of the day” are uptempo Melodic Metal songs in the WOLF style, “Fight with fire” is classy midtempo Classic Metal a la DREAM EVIL, “July” is a calmer ballad and finally “Kings and queens” is heavy guitar riff driven uptempo Melodic Metal. This CD is as good as the releases from NOCTURNAL RITES, DREAM EVIL, FREEDOM CALL, IRON SAVIOR, WOLF... so FRAISE is A MUST FOR EVERY MELODIC METAL FAN! More info at: http://www.fraise.se and e-mail them at: contact@fraise.se (Points: 9.0 out of 10) SPASTIC INK ‘INK COMPATIBLE’ (ECLECTIC ELECTRIC) The list of special guests on the 2nd album of the band SPASTIC INK is impressive, with such names like MARTY FRIEDMAN and JENS JOHANSSON. The members of SPASTIC INK are also quite well-known, such as RIOT bassist Pete Perez, WATCHTOWER members Ron Jarzombek on guitars and Jason McMaster on vocals and brother of guitarist Ron, the drummer Bobby Jarzombek from RIOT/HALFORD. Together they have created a quality record which combines late 80s Techno-Thrash with very experimental Progressive Rock/Metal, giving this CD an own identity. The CD has a playing time of 60 minutes, and the complexity of the songs are making this CD a must for fans of WATCHTOWER, because in that style we must put this SPASTIC INK CD. The CD has just been released, so go check it out, especially if you’re a fan of bands like WATCHTOWER, SIEGES EVEN... at: http://www.spasticink.com and e-mail at: ayresrockmgmt@prodigy.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) DAN KELLER ‘EXOTIC METAL GUITAR ELECTRIC STORM’ (GEEK RECORDS) After contributing to the JASON BECKER TRIBUTE CD, Guitarist Dan Keller from Switzerland now has his own full-length CD out titled ‘Electric storm’, which contains nothing but high class instrumental Melodic (Progressive) Rock/Metal. Comparisons to a MARTY FRIEDMAN, VINNY MOORE, JASON BECKER and CACOPHONY are very clear, and Dan shows he is very good in playing guitar, while the 11 included songs are going from uptempo to midtempo, with a ballad thrown in for good measure. Guest appearances are made by MAGNITUDE 9 keyboardplayer Joseph Anastacio Glean and Dan’s wife (?) Natali Keller. Natali sings on the only vocal track on the album, which is the bonustrack “Slaves of pyramid”, a nice midtempo Melodic Metal guitar riff driven song which sounds like a mix between AXEL RUDI PELL, DIO and DORO, but I think the instrumental songs are better. This CD is without a doubt a must-have for fans of instrumental Melodic Metal/Neo-Classical Prog. Metal, so go check it out for yourself at: http://www.sultanofstring.com and e-mail Dan at: dan1@sultanofstring.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) SONIC AGE ‘DEMO CDR’ (DEMO CDR) This new project features members of other project/bands like EL34 and C2K, both whom have been reviewed by us in the past. SONIC AGE is a new project, of which I received a demo CDR. The CD is filled with 5 original songs and a QUEEN cover (“We will rock you”), musically pure 80s Melodic (Hard) Rock, with good raw lead vocals (like a mix between JIMMY BARNES and GLENN HUGHES). The songs are mostly straight-ahead raw Hardrock, with some good strong melodies, best ones being “My morning drive” and “Vapor trails” (strong chorus). Sometimes reminding me of WHITESNAKE and some DEEP PURPLE/RAINBOW as well, yet also with an own identity. I look forward to the band’s full-blown CD later this year, because this is after all just a demo. More info at: http://www.sonicage.net and e-mail at: steve@shaboda.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) ANGELOT ‘GUERREROS CD-SINGLE’ (INDEPENDENT) I don’t think I ever reviewed a band from Ecuador, but ANGELOT is a band from that South American country and their CD-single ‘Guerreros’ contains 3 very good songs. The band has a strong lead singer called Daniel Mosquera, and musically it’s high quality Melodic Epic Power Metal what we get to hear, a bit in the Italian style, yet with an own twist. It all sounds very impressive, especially the songs “Guerreros” and “Tinieblas”, both great Melodic Epic (Power) Metalsongs a la VISION DIVINE, yet sung in Spanish. I look forward to a full-length CD release, which will happen later this year, but in the meantime check out this great band from Ecuador at: http://www.angelot.ec and e-mail them at: angelotmetal@hotmail.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) WOODEN BADGER ‘EP’ (INDEPENDENT) Wow, this band from California, USA is really making an impression on me, both musically and the press-package they sent. The press package is as professional as you can get, even better than a lot of the label press releases I receive, a complete map with all info included, and on their ‘demo’ EP CD we can find 3 great tracks. The CD has a playing length of 30 minutes, and musically we are dealing here with a sensational Progressive Rock/Metal band, somewhere between ENCHANT, SYMPHONY X and VANDENPLAS. I know it’s quite amazing to say something like that, but this band is really great and it’s very nice to see a new US band mentioning acts like STYX, SYMPHONY X, TNT, SPOCK’S BEARD as their main influences, because these are actually names that appear mostly in European bands’ biographies! Anyway, this is a great new US Progressive Rock/Metalband and especially their songs “Episode of fact” and “Search” are very impressive epic Progressive Metalsongs with excellent instrumental sections (keys and guitars) and wonderful vocals of lead singer Paul Adrian Villareal. When the European labels will hear this band, then a contract with one of them should be possible! Later this year a full-length CD will be released, but in the meantime check out this 3-track EP CD through: http://www.wooden-badger.com and e-mail them at: info@wooden-badger.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) WIDOW ‘MIDNIGHT STRIKES’ (TRIBUNAL RECORDS) A surprise from the US state of North Carolina, because the band WIDOW is playing classic early 1980s NWOBHM, very melodic and very impressive at first sight, but sadly there’s one negative point. The thing is that the band has a fantastic lead singer (guitarist John E.), but sadly there’s an additional growling singer (the lead guitarist!), who disturbs almost every song. It’s such a pity to put those growls during each song, because WIDOW is clearly a high quality band. The guitarsound is amazing, most of the time a classic 80s MAIDEN twin-guitarsound, and the included 8 songs are very good, especially opener “The pleasure of exorcism”, but like I said before almost every song also features the growling, completely unnecessary. Nevertheless, this CD is too good to leave it alone, because basically you’ll get to hear some high class Melodic Metal (a la WOLF, MAIDEN, DOMINE and even 80s MAD MAX/TOKYO BLADE), especially check out songs like “Inside the sign”, ”The pleasure of exorcism”, “No stone unturned” and “Nightchild”. I hope next time they leave out the growling/black-metalish vocals, because then this would be an absolute must for the Melodic Metal freaks, but for now you must not dislike the influence of a band like CHILDREN OF BODOM in the vocal department. Check out the band at: http://www.burning-village.com and e-mail them at: widow@burning-village.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  DIRTY TRICKS ‘DIRTY TRICKS’(MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS) In the mid 1970s there was a British band called DIRTY TRICKS, and they released 3 similar records, which all contained some good old 70s British Bluesy Hardrock, with a slight touch of NWOBHM on the final release. All 3 records have been re-issued onto CD through MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS, and they did a good job, because every release comes along with liner notes and lots of bonustracks. The first album ‘Dirty tricks’ was pure 70s British Rock a la BAD COMPANY/FREE, with some great lead vocals by singer Kenny Stewart, who sounded a bit like GLENN HUGHES/PAUL RODGERS... The band was at their best during the uptempo straight-ahead rockers like “Wait till Saturday”, “Too much wine”, “Call me up for love”, “Im gonna get me a gun” and “Hire car”. This re-issue has 6 unreleased bonustracks, including some rare b-sides of singles the band released! (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  DIRTY TRICKS ‘NIGHT MAN’(MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS) The 2nd album of DIRTY TRICKS which has been re-issued onto CD is ‘Night man’. This album saw the band moving into a slightly heavier direction, although the album still can be labelled as typical 70s Hardrock, not too far away from bands like APRIL WINE, HUMBLE PIE, MOTT THE HOOPLE, AEROSMITH and of course BAD COMPANY. However, there were even some BLACK SABBATHish guitar riffs to be heard, so it all sounded a bit heavier, with as best songs this time uptempo rockers like “Fun brigade” and “Play dirty” and also “Black diamond”. The album even included a ballad titled “Now you’re gone” (a la UFO). All together a strong 70s Hardrockalbum with some great guitarwork, and also this CD comes along with 6 bonustracks, including live performances of the band in the USA back in 1976! (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  DIRTY TRICKS ‘HIT&RUN’
(MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS)The final album of the short-lived UK band DIRTY TRICKS was called ‘Hit&run’, and was probably their best effort, which combined perfectly the early 70s British Rock with the early 80s NWOBHM. Especially on songs like “Hit and run”, “Get out on the street” and “I’ve had these dreams before” the NWOBHM sound can clearly be heard, but we are talking here about a few years before the actual NWOBHM movement, so these guys were ahead of their time! But there’s also a lot of classic 70s British Hardrock to be heard on ‘Hit&run’. The re-issue has only 2 bonustracks, but I think that people who bought the DIRTY TRICKS records 30 years ago will be pleased to hear they are all re-issued onto CD now. (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘LET IT ROCK VOLUME
2 DVD’(CLASSIC PICTURES) We recently reviewed volume 1 of ‘Let it rock’, a DVD released through CLASSIC PICTURES RECORDS, and now there is ‘Let it rock volume 2’. 22 Videoclips are included, mostly focusing on 70s Classic Rock/Hardrock. The DVD has a playing time of 102 minutes and is definitely a pleasure to watch. Highlights among the 22 included acts are the videoclips of CREAM, THE WHO, FREE, DEEP PURPLE, MOTORHEAD/GIRLSCHOOL, JOAN JETT, TWISTED SISTER (“We’re not gonna take it” performance at a German TV-show I think), EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER (an incredible very lengthy performance of their song “Knife edge” with amazing hammond/keyboard/synths by Keith Emerson), YES and IRON BUTTERFLY. IRON BUTTERFLY was by far the biggest surprise, as I am not too familiar with the band’s material, this 15+ minutes counting epic progressive rock song was a very bizarre performance which went on and on, and just when you thought it was over the song balanced further into an entirely different mood, so these guys were definitely ahead of their time with their long epic psychedelic progressive rock material. The clips are actually a collection of rare TV recordings by the performing bands, mostly on the European Musicshows, such as during obscure Dutch and German TV-shows (which now don’t exist anymore). If you want to get a very diverse DVD, which offers something for every Rockfan, then go for this ‘Let it rock volume 2’. More info at: http://www.classicpictures.co.uk (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  THE WHO ‘SPECIAL EDITION
EP DVD’(CLASSIC PICTURES) With a playing length of only 11 minutes, this surely isn’t the longest running DVD available, but for die-hard THE WHO fans a must-have, because the mini-DVD of THE WHO features 4 rare performances of the band, recorded in 1967 and 1969, so very rare video footage can be found here. The songs are “See me, feel me”, “I’m a boy”, “Pinball wizzard” and “I’m free”, all classic THE WHO tracks. The rest of this DVD is filled with previews of other DVD releases on CLASSIC PICTURES. More info at: http://www.classicpictures.co.uk (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER
‘PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION DVD’ (CLASSIC PICTURES) Far ahead of it’s time, ELP was one of the first real Progressive Rockbands, although YES and GENESIS started at the same time. ELP however had a large following from the start, and the result can be seen on this DVD. The DVD is a recording of ELP that took place almost 35 years ago! The band released an album titled ‘Pictures at an exhibition’ back in 1972, and the complete album was performed during their concerts 2 years before the original LP release, in 1970. At that time the band had not released any album, but their performance is just incredible, and the whole concept album was based on Russian Classical Music composer Mussorgsky’s 1874 piece ‘Pictures at an exhibition’. ELP reworked the classical music piece from 1874 into a Progressive Rock concept almost 100 years later, and this DVD contains the full concert performance of ‘Pictures at an exhibition’ in London in 1970. It’s incredible to see how far ahead these musicians were back in 1970. ELP consisted of keyboard wizzard KEITH EMERSON (THE NICE), bassist/singer GREG LAKE (KING CRIMSON) and drummer CARL PALMER (ATOMIC ROOSTER), all 3 outstanding musicians already before 1970, but when they played together something happened which changed the whole musicscene. The band didn’t had a guitarist, but while watching the performance it doesn’t even bother, because what Keith does on his keyboard/hammond/ synths is unbelievable, and these performances back in 1970 must have influenced a lot of later Progressive Rockbands (hello SPOCK’S BEARD!). ELP were one of the first bands to combine classical music with rockmusic, and the result was Progressive Rock! Anyway, the performance of the 12 songs of their album ‘Pictures at an exhibition’ is very impressive, and the whole event has a playing time of 45 minutes. The DVD menu set-up is very nice, with some background info on the 3 musicians and all together this DVD is a must for all Progressive Rocklovers (and ELP fans of course)! More info at: http://www.classicpictures.co.uk (Points: 8.5 out of 10) MARTIN POPOFF ‘THE COLLECTOR’S GUIDE TO HEAVY METAL VOLUME 1: THE SEVENTIES BOOK+CD’ (CG PUBLISHING) Writer MARTIN POPOFF is known for his extensive knowledge of Rock, Hardrock and Heavy Metal, which he showed in his books, such as ‘The collector’s guide to Heavy Metal’ (a 540 page mammoth of a book filled with 3700 reviews) and ‘The top 500 Heavy Metal songs of all time’ (a book which was a list of the 500 best Heavy Metal songs of all time chosen by 18,000 individuals who sent in 4,500 songs of which these 500 were the most voted and in the book Martin wrote something about every song). Now Martin returns with his best work so far, namely a look at 70s Hardrock/Heavy Metal. Of course not every band is mentioned, but in general speaking we have here a book that is pretty much telling you all you need to know about 70s Rock. Martin wrote reviews of the most important albums released in the late 1960s and the whole 1970s. Of course a lot of well-known bands appear here like BLACK SABBATH, STYX, QUEEN, LED ZEPPELIN, JIMI HENDRIX, DEEP PURPLE, URIAH HEEP, etc. etc. but also obscure albums are reviewed (by bands like HEAVY LOAD, NIGHT SUN, BUFFALO, CAIN etc.). Without a doubt, this is one-helluva-book to check out if you want to explore the start of Hardrock/Metal, although it must be said that some bands fail to appear in the book, because HEART and KANSAS should have been included definitely, as I rate those classic rockbands a few levels higher than IGGY POP for example. Nevertheless, this book is a very interesting read and a good way to start exploring the beginning of hardrock/metalstyle, because Martin’s writing style is very nice to read. He gave every album two ratings, one for heaviness and one for personal rating. As an extra there are a few lists of the best 100 albums of the 1970s (obscurities/heaviest/albums in general etc.). The Book comes along with a CD, provided by MONSTER RECORDS, the US label with the most obscure re-releases from the 1970s, and on this CD is a collection of songs that have been released on albums on MONSTER RECORDS. Some of the songs are from very obscure 70s Rock/Hardrockacts like CAIN, ULTRA, SURVIVOR, SORCERY, NEGATIVE SPACE etc. So besides the book you’ll also get a great CD, which will introduce you to some of the rare 70s acts. Concluded, a must-have for the collector of 1970s hardrock/metal! More info at: http://www.cgpublishing.com or http://www.martinpopoff.com and e-mail Martin at: martinp@inforamp.net (Points: 9.0 out of 10) (All reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted) |