 DREAM EVIL ‘THE BOOK OF HEAVY
METAL’ (CENTURY MEDIA/SUBURBAN) In 2 years time the Swedish band DREAM EVIL found it’s way to the absolute top of Melodic Metal music, because after 2 awesome releases in 2002 and 2003 (‘Dragonslayer’ and ‘Evilized’), the band returns in 2004 with another sensational CD release titled ‘The book of Heavy Metal’. The album continues the Melodic Metal sound of their 2 previous albums, only with now some influences from the 1980s German Metalsound (read: SCORPIONS and ACCEPT). The sound/production of the CD is huge, done by Fredrik Nordstrom, who is also the guitarist of DREAM EVIL, besides Greek guitarist Gus G. (FIREWIND, MYSTIC PROPHECY, NIGHTRAGE). Lead singer is of course still Niklas Isfeldt, who has got such an amazing voice, probably one of the best metal singers at the moment! The line-up of DREAM EVIL is completed with bassist Peter Stalfors and drummer Snowy Shaw (KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE), so still the same line-up as on the previous CDs. The new CD is another sensational Melodic Metal Masterpiece, with 12 songs included in total. It’s a very diverse album, because some of the songs are heading into a 80s German Metalsound (with some PRIEST influences) like “The book of Heavy Metal”, “The sledge”, “No way” (OZZYish vocalwork) and “M.O.M.”, while most of the rest of the CD is mixing Melodic Hardrock and Melodic Metal, sounding like a mix between SCORPIONS, DIO and DOKKEN, so very 1980s sounding in general. 7 out of 12 tracks need to be mentioned here, because these are all sensational songs (!). I am talking about “Into the moonlight” (high class typical DREAM EVIL Melodic Metal with a very strong chorus and lovely vocal work), “Crusaders’ anthem” (big time Melodic Metal), “Let’s make rock” (great pure 1980s guitar riff based German Hardrock like VICTORY, ACCEPT and SCORPIONS), “Tired” (lovely midtempo Melodic Metal), “Chosen twice” (fantastic uptempo Melodic Hardrock with impressive twin-guitarwork), “Only for the night” (superb uptempo 80s Melodic Hardrock like the perfect mix between SCORPIONS and DOKKEN, with again classy guitarwork) and closing track “Unbreakable chain” (an amazing Melodic Rockballad like SCORPIONS doesn’t make anymore!). Concluded, we can easily say that DREAM EVIL has done it again, for the third time in a row, releasing a Melodic Metal Masterpiece! (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  RUFFIANS ‘’85 AND
LIVE’ (HELLION RECORDS)It took almost 20 years to get an official re-issue onto CD from the only RUFFIANS release, their EP from 1985, but finally HELLION RECORDS has done an official re-issue of that Melodic Metal Classic, complete with 6 unreleased bonus livetracks. The release comes with an extensive booklet, which features lots of pictures of the band, song lyrics and liner notes. Almost 10 years ago the RUFFIANS (and later VILLIAN and VICIOUS RUMORS) lead singer CARL ALBERT sadly died in a tragic car accident. This man had a fantastic voice, and his best work can be found on this CD, the RUFFIANS recordings, which was classic 80s US Melodic Metal in the style of QUEENSRYCHE and FATES WARNING, sadly this band never got that big, but Carl did had his 15 minutes of fame in the band VICIOUS RUMORS. Anyway, the original RUFFIANS EP is now available on CD, together with 6 live tracks, all sounding very impressive, both musically and also the sound/production quality, so this is definitely a must-have for the collectors of 80s US Melodic Metal. Highlights can be found in the shape of “Fight for your life”, “Run for cover” and “You’re all I need”. Concluded, a highly recommended piece to the fans of True 80s Classic Melodic Metal! Available for 15,50 EURO through http://www.hellionrecords.de (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  FREEDOM CALL ‘LIVE
INVASION’ (SPV)The German band FREEDOM CALL returns with a live-CD, which clearly shows they are one of the leading bands in the European ‘happy’ Power Metal genre. With this live- CD they should be mentioned alongside GAMMA RAY, HELLOWEEN and EDGUY. The Live CD is a 2-CD set, compromised of a 65 minutes counting live registration of concerts they performed during 2002 on disc 1, while disc 2 contains the full EP ‘Taragon’, which was only released in Japan a few years ago and additionaly we can find 3 covers on disc 2. The music is like I said typical German happy fast Melodic Power metal with catchy singable choruses, in the best tradition of HELLOWEEN and GAMMA RAY. Highlights are songs like “We are one”, “Metal invasion”, “Land of light”, Warriors” and “Shine on”, and also the ULTRAVOX cover “Dancing with tears in my eyes”, but actually the whole double CD is a must for every fan of Euro Power Metal! (Points: 9.0 out of 10) CIRCLES END ‘HANG ON TO THAT KITE’ (KARISMA RECORDS) ‘Hang on that kite’ is the 2nd album of the Norwegian Progressive Rockband CIRCLES END. The band is playing an updated sound of 70s Progressive Rock, which can best be compared to bands like FLAMBOROUGH HEAD, ECHOLYN, RITUAL, LIKE WENDY, GENTLE GIANT etc. 9 songs are on the new CD, and I really think that fans of the more modern Progressive Rocksound of most of the CYCLOPS RECORDS releases can easily pick up the new CIRCLES END album. Highlights can be found in the shape of “Echoes”, “Tiny lights”, “Long shot” and “Charlie”. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.circlesend.no and e-mail them at: kvammartin@hotmail.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) ARBOGAST ‘SOMETHING BIT ME’ (INDEPENDENT) This is a Swedish band and they sent me their 6-track mini-CD titled ‘Something bit me’. The start of the CD is not very promising with a very depressing Alternative Pop/Rock sounding tune called “Moviebound”, but later on the CD we can hear some interesting songs like the uptempo melodic rocker “Eternal rain”. This last mentioned song has a good strong sound, good vocals and nice instrumental parts. However, most of the rest on this mini-CD is a bit depressing, and uninspired, bordering close to Alternative Rock. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.arbogast.se and e-mail at: Info@arbogast.se (Points: 6.0 out of 10) FABRIZIO BONANNO ‘ANTHOLOGY’ (AB RECORDS) The Italian guitarist FABRIZIO BONANNO has recorded and played with several bands and projects the past 15 years, such as WOUNDED KNEE, EQUSETI, ARCANA VISIONS, TSUNAMI and POWER SYMPHONY, and in between he released a few solo records. Now he has a CD out under his own name, which is a sort of collection of the best songs Fabrizio recorded through the years in various bands and on his solo records. Musically it’s clearly Progressive Hardrock most of the time, but here and there we can find something completely different, such as the traditional music of RABATABUSE and the Power Metal of ARCANA VISIONS, or the straight-forward Hardrock he did on his CD ‘Kick’n’roll’, of which 5 songs are included here. In total we can find 18 songs, which all showcase Fabrizio’s talent on the guitar, but the songs itself are not always impressive. However opener “Wayana” is clearly one of the best songs, just like the WOUNDED KNEE songs. Guitarfreaks need to check this out at: http://www.abrecords.it and e-mail at: fabonanno@freemail.it (Points: 7.0 out of 10) WELL OF SOULS ‘WELL OF SOULS’ (BRAINTICKET RECORDS) This is one of those CDs that will only attract the fans of the genre in which the US band WELL OF SOULS is situated, because they play pure DOOM METAL in the style of SOLITUDE AETERNUS, CANDLEMASS, MEMENTO MORI... The only difference is that the vocals are a bit more akin to 1980s US Power Metal, so high-pitched, but the music itself is slow and is best played during a cold winternight on a cemetary, just to get in the mood. It’s dark, it’s slow, but still it has melodic tones, and the 6 included (long) tracks are definitely a must for fans of mentioned bands. I think the Doom Metal fans even have a winner on their hands with this WELL OF SOULS, just listen to the BLACK SABBATH (Ozzy period) orientated “Soulless” and you’ll agree with me that this is a very good Doom Metal band. More info at: http://www.brainticket.com and the CD is available for 15,50 EURO through http://www.hellionrecords.de (Points: 8.0 out of 10) TOBACCO ROAD ‘CD-SINGLE’ (INDEPENDENT) A French Melodic Rockband, and they sent me a 2-track CD-single. Opener “She’s on fire” is an uptempo Melodic Rocker with an 80s BON JOVI touch, while the other song “Hey mama says” is a groovy Southern Hardrock influenced song. Nice band, but vocally maybe a bit too raw, a full-length CD will tell us more. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.tobaccoroad.fr and e-mail them at: tobacco@wanadoo.fr (Points: 7.0 out of 10)  TEARS OF ANGER ‘STILL ALIVE’
(LION MUSIC/BERTUS)It’s time to go to Sweden once again, where we can find another good new Melodic Hardrockband called TEARS OF ANGER. They are about to release their debut CD on LION MUSIC, and although I dont have any info at all, I see the name BENNY JANSON mentioned as guitarist, and he released a solo CD sometime ago. The band’s lead singer is called BJORN JANSSON, and what else would you expect from a Swedish band than the fact that this is a great strong lead singer (a bit like JORN LANDE). The Melodic Hardrock of TEARS OF ANGER has some modern touches here and there, but every song has a very strong catchy chorus (a la HAREM SCAREM’s ‘Mood swings’). I guess you can say that this is a very strong modern Melodic Hardrock from the Swedish band TEARS OF ANGER, and as highlights I would mention the songs “The awakening”, “Afraid of the dark”, “Revenge will come”, “Walk away” and “Kings call”. Although not all tracks are convincing (songs like “Moment of truth” and “Watch me run” are clearly weaker), this debut CD of TEARS OF ANGER is still recommended to fans of big groovy Melodic Hardrock/Metal with strong choruses and some modern touches, a bit like MASTERPLAN! (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  AQUILA ‘MAN WITH A
MISSION’(STARLIGHT RECORDS) The Dutch band AQUILA is back with a new CD release titled ‘Man with a mission’. The band formed around lead singer FRED HENDRIX has released a very diverse album, which doesn’t sound at all like TERRA NOVA, so people expecting something sensational as Fred’s former band should be aware of that. Nevertheless, this is a good modern AOR/Poprock record which sounds a bit like NELSON circa ‘Life’, BRYAN ADAMS and DANNY WILDE. Although not all songs of the 14 included are impressive, there are some very interesting songs to check out. I am talking about “He wants it” (nice catchy uptempo melodic poprocker), “What would I do” (very strong semi melodic rockballad with a fantastic chorus), “Still standing” (old TERRA NOVA style, catchy uptempo 80s AOR/Melodic Rocker), “I'm gonna win” (nice midtempo melodic rocker) and “Seven days” (great catchy midtempo melodic rocker). I also need to mention the song “Bite me”, a poprocker which sounds a lot like RICK SPRINGFIELD’s “Everybody’s girl” from the early 1980s. Despite some weaker songs (like “Oh boy”, “One in a million”, “A thousand rainbows”, “Run” and “Shaking me baby”), a recommended CD to the fans of lighter ‘modern’ aor/poprock (a la ON THE RISE/NELSON). (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  VISION ‘ON THE EDGE’
(LION MUSIC/BERTUS)Another new Scandinavian record, and this time we welcome back LARS ERIC MATTSSON, who released a new VISION CD, his bandproject besides his regular solo releases. Lars wrote, recorded, mixed and produced the whole CD, but also played all guitars, bass and keyboards, so he clearly is the leader. However, lead singer of the band is a Greek guy called JOHN JEFF TOUCH, and he can really sing well, not unlike KIP WINGER, DAVID COVERDALE and TERRY ILOUS (XYZ), but not as strong as those ‘big’ singers. The music is nice Melodic Hardrock like a mix between XYZ, WHITESNAKE, SLAUGHTER and LIONSHEART. 10 songs are included, and most of them are very standard and nothing out of the ordinary happens here. Even Lars doesn’t play as much solo’s he usually does on his MALMSTEEN orientated records. Anyway, good songs are “Mountain of love” (uptempo Melodic Hardrock a la XYZ), “Girl goodbye” (catchy uptempo melodic rocker), “On the edge” (strong midtempo Melodic Hardrock), “Stranded” (midtempo melodic rock) and “Susanna” (late 80s commercial US Radio Melodic Rock/AOR a la WINGER/DOKKEN/FIREHOUSE). Nice little record, but probably not good enough to make it a true winner, and therefore only interesting for die-hard Melodic Hardrockfans! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) MCM ‘RITUAL FACTORY’ (LION MUSIC/BERTUS) MCM stands for ALEX MASI (Guitars), RANDY COVEN (Bass) and John Macaluso (Drums). This is a new project and their first CD ‘Ritual factory’ is showing the talents of these 3 skilled musicians, who already played on hundreds of records before this release. The music is instrumental groovy Rock/Hardrock meets Progressive Rock/Metal. The songs are completely based around the bass, guitar and drums, so no keys involved here. Basically you’re just listening to a 60-minutes jam of 3 great musicians! It’s all been done very well, and fans of the particular musicians will like this CD a lot I think, but I would call this just another typical instrumental CD that doesn’t bring anything really new... (Points: 7.5 out of 10)  VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘SHAWN LANE
REMEMBERED VOLUME 1‘(LION MUSIC/BERTUS) The amount of Tribute to Guitarists CD releases lately are unstoppable. LION MUSIC keeps on releasing them, and so we can review another one, after the JIMI HENDRIX and JASON BECKER releases, it’s time for a SHAWN LANE tribute, who sadly passed away. This CD however is slightly different than the usual tribute CD’s, because we can find on this CD 15 tracks performed by 15 guitarists, but most of these songs are not songs related to SHAWN LANE, but more or less written by the performing guitarist as a tribute to Shawn’s amazing guitar playing. Therefore this CD is a must for both SHAWN LANE fans and people who are into instrumental rock based around the guitar. Guitarists who appear on this CD are among others ALEX MASI, STEPHAN FORTE, LARS ERIC MATTSSON, MISTHERIA, MARCEL COENEN and GEORGE BELLAS. Of course the performances and the songs are from a high level, so this Tribute CD is definitely a must for the guitarfreaks among us! (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  METAL MAJESTY ‘THIS IS NOT A
DRILL’(LION MUSIC/BERTUS) I am definitely not a big fan of VALENSIA, but this time however the man behind VALENSIA, Valensia Clarkson, has released something really sensational. He released a new CD under the moniker METAL MAJESTY, on which he does almost everything on his own (vocals, bass, guitar, keys, production, songwriting etc.), except the drums (done by his brother David Clarkson). Anyway, musically we are listening to a mix of early QUEEN, STYX and ROBBY VALENTINE. This is definitely high class bombastic Melodic Hardrock with influences from ProgMetal, Opera and Hardrock, and a lot of Classical Music parts to be heard as well. Valensia can also clearly play the guitar very well, just listen to his awesome solo’s. Vocally I am not always impressed, because Valensia is still doing the high vibrato thing which made THE DARKNESS such a popular act, although Valensia sang like this for 10 years noe and was inspired by QUEEN. Nevertheless, what we hear on this CD is of a very high level, and I am safe to say that this METAL MAJESTY CD is a good as the classic debut CD of ROBBY VALENTINE from 13 years ago. The Dutch multi-instrumentalist never got as famous in his own country as he did in Japan, but with this METAL MAJESTY he must surely get some attention here in Europe, because basically this is a fantastic record from start to finish. 15 songs are included, and highlights are “Wonderful life” (semi-ballad), “Magic chemistry” (STYXish Pomprock with big harmonyvocals), “License to chill” (uptempo melodic rocker), “Hope and glory” (uptempo melodic rocker), “Everytime it rains again” (lovely semi AOR ballad with a very strong chorus, even a bit like ZINATRA), “Deborah” (midtempo AOR a la STARSHIP/BAD ENGLISH) and “Rock nor roll” (80s fun melodic rock). This is by far VALENSIAs best release, and the best mixture between STYX, QUEEN and ROBBY VALENTINE you can find. Check it out if you’re a fan of Bombastic Pomprock meets Melodic Hardrock/Metal! (Points: 8.5 out of 10) RAZOR WIRE SHRINE ‘GOING DEAF FOR A LIVING’ (PMM) It took the brothers Chris (on guitar and bass) and Brett Rodler (on drums) 15 years to complete the CD of RAZOR WIRE SHRINE. The result is a great instrumental Progressive Rock/Metal album, which has clearly RUSH and DREAM THEATER influences, but has a sound of it’s own. This 45 minutes counting album is from start to finish an on-going-high-class-instrumental-progressive-rock machine which leaves you breathless if you’re a fan of the genre. Check out asap the 7 songs on this CD if you’re into instrumental Progressive Rock/Metal! (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  TOKEN ‘PUNCH’ (MTM
MUSIC/SUBURBAN)Although it’s a pity that TOKEN has changed it’s sound a bit, from AOR into Melodic Hardrock, also their 2nd CD ‘Punch’ is a very impressive album. The band has a new lead singer called MATTHIAS AHLEN, who also is able to sing very well (how many more fantastic Swedish lead singers are out there!) and also a new drummer called PATRIK JOHANSSON who played with MALMSTEEN for some time. The new CD is heavier at first sight, but keeps the classic melodies of the debut album of TOKEN, so again we can listen to high class melodic hardrocksongs can be heard with some excellent guitarwork by bandleader Johan Sjoberg. The first 2 songs (“Tear down the wall” and “Free I’m gonna roll”) are good uptempo traditional Melodic Heavy Rocksongs a la RAINBOW. The band goes back to the classic 80s Melodic Rocksound on the fantastic song “Sometimes”. Sadly then we get to hear a very modern midtempo Metal song called “Wake up”, which dissapoints a lot in verse and chorus and is by far the weakest song on the CD. Also the songs “The sin” and “On the move” are not really interesting, because they are going into a modern Metal direction. Happily, the rest of the CD is a good mixture of Melodic Hardrock and AOR/Melodic Rock, with as highlights “Falling”, “Dreaming”, “Save me” (semi-ballad like HAREM SCAREM), “Can’t heal” (one of the best songs, pure classy 80s Melodic Rock a la early TALISMAN) and “Turn back the time” (very strong Melodic Hardrock). So concluded we have a very strong Melodic Hardrockalbum on our hands here, although it’s quite different than TOKEN’s debut record, because it has nothing to do with AOR anymore, but people who like a bit heavier Melodic Hardrock (with some modern touches as well) need to check out this new TOKEN CD. (Points: 8.5 out of 10) DESDEMONA ‘LOOK FOR YOURSELF’ (NORTHWIND RECORDS/ROCK INC) We’re back in Italy once again with the band DESDEMONA, whom also pleased us a few years ago with their debut ‘Lady of the lore’. Not much has changed since then, so again we can listen to a nice Melodic Metal record which falls in between the 80s Melodic Metal approach of bands like DOMINE and MACHINE MEN and the typical Italo Power Metal sound of most of the Underground Symphony Records signed bands. 10 songs are included on the 2nd DESDEMONA CD, which was produced by Luigi Stefanini. Of course the sound is very good, even most of the songs are a pleasure to listen to and I rwally think the Melodic Metal fans can easily buy this release, but on the other hand I am afraid it is not strong enough to beat all the other releases in this genre. Nevertheless, there are some great songs on the CD, such as “Look for yourself”, “Stavkirken”, “Golden cage”, “The rage inside my heart” (a definite winner for the SONATA fans among us!) and “Summon my name”. Nice to inform you that the CD is a concept record, which tells us the story of the Victorian times in the late 19th century in London. Check it out if you’re a die-hard Melodic Metal fan! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) PREDATOR ‘PREDATOR’ (REMEDY RECORDS/ROCK INC.) Formed only 2 years ago, the German band PREDATOR already has a label deal, and they are about to release their official debut CD. Musically we are listening to typical traditional Melodic Power Metal like a mix between PRIMAL FEAR, RIOT and PARAGON. The sound is good, instrumental everything sounds very nice and the band also has a good strong lead vocalist. Although not all songs are convincing, there are plenty of great Melodic (Power) Metal tracks to check out if you’re a fan of the genre, such as the fantastic opener “Predator” (pure RIOT), “Coming home” (faster uptempo Power Metal), “Dream’s assassin” (bit ProgMetalish), “Outlaw” (another catchy fast Melodic Power Metal piece) and closing track “Night of the witches” (NWOBHM influences, a little like WOLF). (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  VAGH ‘INTO THE FUTURE
ZONE’ (INDEPENDENT)Swedish Guitarist/Keyboardplayer/Songwriter ROBIN VAGH and his band VAGH return with their 2nd CD titled ’Into the future zone’. The CD continues the 80s Melodic (Hard) Rocksound of their debut from 2002. This time we can however hear 3 vocalists, namely Jonas Blum (8 songs), John Marshall Gibbs (2 songs) and the female singer Noomi Stragefors (2 songs). So in total we have 12 songs, and it’s notable to mention that the first 6 songs are just nice, but nothing special, while the remaining 6 songs (the 2nd part of the CD) is very sensational. With the 3 midtempo Melodic Hardrocksongs “I wanna feel love”, “Show me heaven tonight” and “Calling on you” (a la WHITESNAKE/GOTTHARD) and the catchy uptempo Melodic HR song “Love touch”, VAGH offers some nice songs at the start, but the best is yet to come, namely the last 6 songs, which are all very sensational. First there is “Moment of a touch”, a classy 80s uptempo AOR rocker with strong hooks, catchy chorus, excellent keys and guitars, and very impressive female vocals a la COASTLINE, ALYSON AVENUE, WITNESS. Then we have a very strong uptempo AOR/Melodic rocker in the shape of “Rebecca”, with an incredible catchy chorus and big guitarsound, kinda like SCORPIONS meets DOKKEN. “Invincible” follows in the same style, while “Don’t turn away” is the absolute highlight of this new VAGH CD, because this female midtempo AOR song sounds like a classic AOR tune to my ears (not far away from a WITNESS or a TONE NORUM circa her first 2 records or 1985 HEART!!!). “This feeling inside” follows and is a good uptempo AOR/Melodic Rocker. Closing track “Future zone” is a very strong midtempo Melodic Hardrock with a chorus that sticks in your head right after you heard it the first time, some 80s KROKUS in here as well. It’s a pity the CD started with the only 2 weak songs on this CD (“To hell and back again” and “Can’t reach you”), because what follows is very impressive, with as absolute highlights songs like “Rebecca”, “Moment of a touch” and “Don’t turn away”. Recommended to fans of catchy 80s inspired AOR/Melodic (Hard) Rock with strong choruses and a big guitarsound. More info at: http://www.vagh.net and e-mail at: robin.vagh@telia.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) KARMAKANIC ‘WHEEL OF LIFE’ (REGAIN RECORDS/SUBURBAN) The Swedish KARMAKANIC project has a 2nd CD out titled ‘Wheel of life’. It’s unbelievable how easy these skilled musicians from Sweden can make a quality record, because also this new CD of KARMAKANIC is very good. KARMAKANIC is actually an all-star project of vocalist GORAN EDMAN, bassist JONAS REINGOLD, guitarist KRISTER JONSSON and drummer ZOLTAN CSORZ, while members of THE FLOWER KINGS and TIME REQUIEM (Richard Andersson) make their guest appearance here. The CD has a playing length of more than 60 minutes, and musically we get to hear high quality Progressive Rock, not far away from TRANSATLANTIC, THE FLOWER KINGS and early SPOCK’S BEARD. 8 long songs are included, and it all sounds very impressive, with as highlights “Masterplan Part 1”, “At the speed of light” and “Where earth meets the sky”. A definite winner for the fans of non-commercial Progressive Rock! (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  DARE ‘BENEATH THE
SHINING WATER’(MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN) It took 3 years to finish the 5th CD of DARE, but Darren Wharton and co. strike back with another quality record. The style is a lot like the previous album ‘Belief’, yet even more relaxing and laid-back with the spirit of the Welsh countryside. You will not find any rockers on this CD, but most of the time epic ballad orientated material with very emotional vocals by Darren. Highlights on ‘Beneath the shining water’ are “Sea of roses” (beautiful), “Days gone by”, “Beneath the shining water”, “I’ll be with you” and “Where darkness ends”. It’s a pity the CD has not much in common with DARE’s classic debut, because a few uptempo rockers would have easily given this CD a push into a much higher rating. Now it’s still a must for the DARE fans, and for others probably a grower, because the more you play the record the better it gets... (Points: 8.5 out of 10) MADWORK ‘LEAVING ALL BEHIND’ (DEMO CDR) Out of Italy comes MADWORK, a band featuring former DESDEMONA singer Beppe Careddu. Musically they play a sort of mix between Melodic Rock and Progressive Metal. The band sent me their latest demo CDR, which consists of 8 songs. The sound is a bit thin, but we can find some great songs on the demo CDR. Opener “The sniper” however is a weak start, as this midtempo experimental Progressive Rock/Metal song goes nowhere actually. Then we get to hear a fantastic catchy uptempo melodic rocker “Amused to death” which has an excellent chorus a la TNT. Next track “World in my hands” is another great song, a semi-ballad which contains elements of Progressive Rock and AOR, with some good pleasant melodies all throughout the song. The following 2 songs are nice, but nothing that special, although “Walking on my soul” is a very good semi-ballad. “Th remedy” is really weaker, a complex Progmetalsong with some Techno influences in the drumsound. After the instrumental “A caress dust”, the CD closes nicely with “Scarred”, a strong Melodic Progressive Metal song a la THRESHOLD. Concluded, the CD has some ups and downs, but has some interesting songs to offer here and there, and especially the fans of Melodic ProgMetal (a la MAGNITUDE 9) might find something of interest here. Go check it out for yourself at: http://www.madwork.net and e-mail them at: madwork@madwork.net (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  HUMAN TEMPLE ‘INSOMNIA’(MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN) Last year we reviewed a demo of this Finnish band, and back then I knew this band was bringing something special into the returning AOR/Melodic Rockscene, and now with their debut CD release on MTM MUSIC I can confirm that HUMAN TEMPLE is a true winner in the AOR/Melodic Rockworld. This CD is filled with high class AOR/Melodic Rock in the classic Scandi style, so all fans of DAVINCI, TREAT, TALISMAN, BAD HABIT and also HAREM SCAREM and FAIR WARNING fans need to buy this awesome album asap. The musicians in the band play their instruments very well, such as guitarist Jari Salo and also lead singer Janne Hurme (who happens to have sold over 150,000 albums in Finland as a solo artist!) sings very well. There are guest appearances by members of NIGHTWISH, SONATA ARCTICA, ALTARIA and URBAN TALE. 11 songs are on the CD, which also has a big sound (mastered by Mika Jussila at the famous Finnvox Studio). The CD holds many highlights, such as the superb uptempo AOR/Melodic Rockers “I’m sorry” (very catchy chorus a la HAREM SCAREM debut), “Goin’ all the way”, “Out of love”, “Walk between the shadows” and “Till’ the day I die”, the midtempo AOR song “On a night like this” and the midtempo Progmetalish “Judas my brother”. This is by far one of the top releases in the AOR/Melodic Rockworld, so go check it out asap if you count bands like SHY, FAIR WARNING, HAREM SCAREM, DAVINCI and TREAT to your favourite acts... (Points: 9.0 out of 10) TANKER ‘VOICES EP’ (INDEPENDENT) TANKER is a band from the Czech Republic, and they sent me their latest EP release titled ‘Voices’. The band is playing typical Female Fronted Melodic Gothic Metal (a la AFTER FOREVER, EPICA, WITHIN TEMPTATION) and they actually do it very well. I reviewed a demo of them in the past, but this CD sounds a lot more powerful actually, with an excellent guitarsound (Peter the guitarplayer can really play very well), good strong female soprano vocals (of singer Cat) and also 3 great songs can be found on this new demo. Opener “Voices” is a strong uptempo Melodic Gothic Metal/Rocksong, and so is “Day by day”, although this song also reveals some of the band’s 80s influences which is a nice thing. “Day by day” by the way is a very catchy song, and also features a male vocal upfront. However I think it’s best to let the girl sing all the songs, because her voice is very good. This can be heard at best on the final song “Final sign”, a very nice ballad. Concluded, a fine new demo of the Czech band TANKER, which you can check out at: http://www.tanker.cz (Points: 8.0 out of 10) ORION ‘ILLUSORY EXISTENCE’ (DEMO CDR) Here we go again with a band who wants to combine clean and raw vocals. A pity, because the clean male vocals are very good, and could have easily lift up the rating. Nevertheless, the music is still good Melodic Power Metal, with some great songs like “Lord Byron”. If only the band would give the clean male vocals more space and let him sing all songs, then it would be much more interesting. More info on this Italian band called ORION at: http://orionmetal.8k.com and e-mail at: orionlegions@tin.it (Points: 7.0 out of 10)  QUIET RIOT ‘ALIVE AND
WELL’(DEADLINE RECORDS/CLEOPATRA RECORDS) It’s been 5 years ago since the legendary US Party Hardrockband QUIET RIOT released the ‘Alive and well’ album, but we never gave it a review and as it is now available again through http://www.cleorecs.com a review of ‘Alive and well’ appears on these pages. The CD contains 9 new tracks, as well as 6 new recorded versions of QUIET RIOT classics. This was by far one of the strongest QUIET RIOT releases in years, with such great new Party Hardrocksongs like “Don’t know what I want”, “Against the wall” (best song, classy 80s QUIET RIOT), “Overworked and underpaid” and “Too much information”. Also the new versions of classics like “Don’t wanna let you go”, “The wild and the young”, the 2 SLADE covers (“Mam weer all crazee now” and “Cum on feel the noize”) and of course the ultimate QUIET RIOT song “Metal Health (bang your head)” all sound so much better than the original versions. “Metal Health” is now much heavier than the original version, so is “The wild and the young”, both featuring some awesome guitar shredding. I think the reason why ‘Alive and well’ was one of the better QUIET RIOT albums since ‘Metal health’ was due to the fact that the band was back in it’s original line-up (Kevin Dubrow on vocals, Rudy Sarzo on bass, Franki Banali on drums and Carlos Cavazo on guitar). Last year we saw the release of a live CD/DVD, but their best studio release from the past 15 years has got to be 1999’s ‘Alive and well’, which is available through http://www.cleorecs.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  WARRANT ‘CHERRY PIE - ALL
THE HITZ’N’MORE’(DEADLINE RECORDS/CLEOPATRA RECORDS) I can’t believe it is 15 years ago since I first got to hear WARRANT’s music. Around 1990 I was a big fan of WARRANT, watching their classic MTV videos like “Cherry pie”, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, “I saw red” etc. over and over again. The band was big time for only 4 years in the USA back in the late 80s/early 90s, topping the charts with some of their songs like the number 2 Billboard Hit “Heaven”. Anyway, after 2 albums, the band switched to a heavier sound and eventually break up due to the lack of success and the Grunge interest in the US, making it hard for Hair bands like WARRANT to survive. Nevertheless, it’s now 2004 and HAIR METAL is back again, because we have seen many comebacks of 80s acts lately like TWISTED SISTER, QUIET RIOT, MOTLEY CRUE etc. This new WARRANT release is a best of release, with the addition of some ‘new’ tracks as well as a few covers, but it’s not your typical best of, because this best of release is much more interesting, as all included songs have been re-recorded by the band. In other words, these are all new versions of such WARRANT classics like “Cherry pie”, “Down boys”, “Hollywood”, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, “Sometimes she cries”, “Heaven” and “I saw red”. Hats off to WARRANT for recording excellent versions of the DEF LEPPARD classic “Photograph” and the BON JOVI tune “Lay your hands on me”. Lead singer Jani Lane recently released a solo-CD, and I believe WARRANT found themselves a new singer, but who knows a true new WARRANT feat. Jani Lane CD will see the light of day in the future. In the meantime WARRANT fans need to check out this release asap! The CD is available through http://www.cleorecs.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  PRETTY BOY FLOYD ‘THE ULTIMATE
PRETTY BOY FLOYD’ (DEADLINE RECORDS/CLEOPATRA
RECORDS)It’s a shame that 15 years ago the Californian band PRETTY BOY FLOYD never got their real 15 minutes of fame, because they surely deserved it. Their debut (and only official release back then) ‘Leather boyz with electric toyz’ is clearly one of the best Glamrock releases ever! The album was re-released on PERRIS RECORDS last year, and if only it had been promoted heavily back in 1989, it could have been a million-seller in The States, but despite some MTV airplay the success wasn’t big, so eventually the band broke up. The past few years however a lot of PRETTY BOY FLOYD releases have been done, and ‘The ultimate Pretty Boy Floyd – the greatest collection’ is the latest release. 15 songs can be found on this release, and although the sound quality is a bit average sometimes, the die-hard Glam/PBF fan will find this an interesting release, as the CD contains a lot of classy demo material which the band recorded for a second album (which was never released). Songs like “Hands off my radio”, “Some kind of voodoo”, “Saturday night in the USA”, “Good girl gone bad”, “Department of youth” and “Restless” are all classic 80s uptempo Party Melodic Hardrocksongs in the style of the legendary PRETTY BOY FLOYD debut release. You can also find demo versions of songs that did belong on the ‘Leather boyz’ record, such as PBF classics like “Leather boyz”, “Set the night on fire”, “Rock and roll outlaws”, “48 hours” and “Your momma won’t know” (I love this song so much, the ultimate partyrocksong!). PBF fans should get a copy of this release asap through http://www.cleorecs.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) DANGEROUS TOYS ‘THE ULTIMATE DANGEROUS TOYS – SLEAZE METAL KINGS FROM TEXAS’ (DEADLINE RECORDS/CLEOPATRA RECORDS) DANGEROUS TOYS was not one of my favourite acts, and so were most of those raw Sleazy Metal outfits hailing from The States in the early 90s, just before the Grunge movement. Musically DANGEROUS TOYS were a cross between TESLA, SLAUGHTER, AEROSMITH, GUNS AND ROSES, GREAT WHITE, FASTWAY, BRINTY FOX and some AC/DC. The songs they band wrote were nice fun uptempo sleazy rockers, but I knew that this band was not gonna last for a long time, because their simple back to basics hardrocksound was clearly not gonna last long, and so already with album number 3 the band were dropped by their major label at the time, and even though 2 more albums were released the band never really got as big as afforementioned acts. Now a mere years later there is a CD on the market which is a sort of best of collection of DANGEROUS TOYS, and songs like “Pissed”, “Scared”, “Loser”, “Sport’n’woody” and “Bones in the gutter” are nice typical American Sleazy Hardrocksongs. However, there are also some songs from the band’s 4th CD, which was a terrible attempt in producing some modern NINE INCH NAILS orientated Industrial Metal, so not the whole CD is interesting. However, if you like any of the mentioned acts, you might find something of interest in here, if you never heard of DANGEROUS TOYS before. The CD is available through http://www.cleorecs.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) JUNKYARD ‘LIVE AT THE PALACE, HOLLYWOOD, CA, 8/16/89’ (DEADLINE RECORDS/CLEOPATRA RECORDS) In the late 1980s/early 1990s Sleazy hardrock was hot in The States, and following the footsteps of the ultimate LA Sleaze bands GUNS’N’ROSES and LA GUNS (whom both invented this style, although they sounded like a heavier punkier uptempo Metal version of AEROSMITH meets HANOI ROCKS with the attitude of THE CULT!) we were introduced to many new acts in this new genre in 1989. Anyone remember acts like MAJOR NA, TORA TORA, JOHNNY LAW, FASTER PUSSYCAT, ALLEYCAT SCRATCH or CATS’N’BOOTS? Well, they definitely have been quiet since their releases in the early 90s, but another band that comes in mind is JUNKYARD. They released a few albums, and now there is a ‘new’ release of the band, which is a live recording that took place in Hollywood back in 1989, so 15 years ago! The sound quality is good, but unfortunately JUNKYARD’s music was and still is very average, and can nowhere compete with the likes of LA GUNS and GUNS’N’ROSES. If you’re a fan of the band you will like this CD a lot, but JUNKYARD were definitely not one of the best acts in the Sleaze genre back in 1989. The CD is available through http://www.cleorecs.com (Points: 7.0 out of 10) LA GUNS ‘GREATEST HITS AND BLACK BEAUTIES’ (DEADLINE RECORDS/CLEOPATRA RECORDS) LA GUNS featured former GIRL singer PHIL LEWIS from England, who had some success with the 2 releases he recorded with GIRL, but also lead guitarist Tracii Guns played in LA GUNS. Tracii is best known as the founder of GUNS’N’ROSES, together with Axl Rose he started the GUNS'N'ROSES around 1984, but after some troubles within the band, Tracii decided to quit the band and start his own band, LA GUNS. Although LA GUNS didn’t get as big as GUNS’N’ROSES, also LA GUNS had some success. This new best of CD contains some of their best recordings (in new versions!), such as the classic LA GUNS rockers “One more reason”, “No mercy”, “Electric gypsy”, “Sex action” and the ballad “Ballad of Jane”. LA GUNS is also one of the few LA bands that still is around and have been releasing a lot of albums the past 20 years. The CD is available through http://www.cleorecs.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  ETERNIA ‘SHADOW GATE’
(INDEPENDENT)I am always happy when I receive a CD from Sweden, because it’s almost always a sensational release, and also this time we are listening to something very good. ETERNIA is playing high class Melodic Hardrock with very strong hooks and choruses. The band already released a full-length album before this 3-track demo CDR, and I definitely hope to check out this release asap, because the 3 songs on this demo sound very impressive. The demo was produced by ETERNIA and Anders Zackrisson (ex-NOCTURNAL RITES). Lead singer Andy K. has a great strong voice and opener “Signs” shows right from the start that this band is something special. This song is namely a fantastic catchy uptempo Melodic Rocker with a chorus you will not soon forget! Next song “Shadow gate” is a little bit heavier, uptempo Melodic Metal like DREAM EVIL meets NOCTURNAL RITES. And closing track “Lost” is a fantastic faster uptempo Melodic Power metal song a la AT VANCE. In the end you only wish for more and more music of these highly talented guys! Concluded, we have another Swedish winner in the Melodic Hardrock/Metal world and the name of the band is ETERNIA, which you can check out for yourself at: http://www.eternia.se and e-mail them at: theband@eternia.se (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  RENEGADE ‘ON THE EDGE’(RENEGADE PRODUCTIONS) Last year I reviewed the fantastic first CD of the Canadian band RENEGADE, and now it’s time for CD number 2, which also contains mostly recordings from the mid/late 1980s, but ‘On the edge’ also contains 2 new songs. Musically we are again listening to high class late 1980s Canadian AOR/Poprock in the style of BOULEVARD, HONEYMOON SUITE, STAN MEISSNER, LOVERBOY, HAYWIRE, BYSTANDER, CHAMPION, VANCOUVER etc. etc. This CD is really showcasing that lovely late 80s Classic AOR sound, with lovely vocals, catchy songs and it all sounds like it was recorded just the other day. 9 songs are on ‘On the edge’, and the 2 newly recorded songs are actually great AOR songs with the 80s spirit (!), namely “Angel of love” (great midtempo AOR) and “On the edge” (nice uptempo AOR rocker). Best songs on this new RENEGADE CD are such lovely AOR tunes like “It’s my life” (superb uptempo AOR a la AVIATOR/AGENT), “Testify” (great midtempo AOR), “It’s only make believe” (classy 80s AOR) and “Take a chance on romance” (another classy piece of 80s AOR!). On backing vocals we can find amongst others DARBY MILLS, known as a solo-artist and of course for singing on the 3 HEADPINS albums. However this new RENEGADE CD is a must-have for every 80s AOR freak! More info at: http://www.renegadesounds.com and the CD is available through http://www.aorheaven.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) CETI ‘LIVING ANGEL’ (OSKAR PRODUCTIONS) A lot of bands are live at their best and the Polish band CETI is clearly a good example. There is now a 2-CD set available from one of the best Polish Melodic metal bands ever, which contains a concert CETI played a few months ago, so a very recent performance. The band plays a mix of 80s Melodic Metal (a la PRETTY MAIDS/MAD MAX) with a touch of today’s Power Metal genre, although here and there we can also hear a nice little epic Melodic Progressive Rocksong like the superb “Lamiastrata” and “Milosc, nienawisc, smierc”. However, the band is at their best during the uptempo Melodic Metal songs, which all sound very powerful, and as best ones I need to mention “Treason”, “I know”, “Blind man”, “Shadow of the angel” and “Ogien I lzy”. The first CD is sung in English, while the other disc is sung in Polish. In total you have 2 CDs and a complete full booklet with pictures, so it’s all together a very nice package of the Polish band CETI. If you never heard anything of them, I can easily recommend you to check out this double Live-CD which shows the band at their very best. Now it’s time for a DVD I think, because seeing them in action should be the next step! More info at: http://www.oskar-cd.com.pl and e-mail at: progrock@oskar-cd.com.pl (Points: 8.5 out of 10) SACRED HEART ‘A NEW DAWN’ (INDEPENDENT) What went wrong in the United Kingdom somewhere in the early 1990s, because ever since the Grunge and Britpop styles entered the music scene over there, there haven’t been many new British bands in the original Hardrock/Metal world. In the 1980s AOR was quite big and we had the likes of FM, SHY, LIONHEART, AIIRRACE and many more, but the past 5-10 years only a few AOR bands emerged and most of them featured musicians who already had been active in the music business, so good new UK bands are rare these days. However there are exceptions, and finally we have another true classic 80s AOR based UK band, namely SACRED HEART, who follow the likes of DOUBLE CROSS, another UK band playing the same style. Although the sound/production quality of the demos I received from SACRED HEART is not like the major label releases, the included music is definitely good classic 80s AOR/Melodic Rock. The band is formed around lead singer/guitarist Paul Stead, guitarist Mark Stephenson and drummer Claudio Cafolla, and the past 10 years they have been recording quite a lot demos, but ‘A new dawn’ is the first official release. The 5 songs were recorded live, so in one take, and actually it sounds very good. The AOR/Melodic Rock of SACRED HEART is not too far away from bands like TEER, TALON and MILLENIUM, so heavy AOR with strong catchy choruses and a few hooks here and there. As highlights I would like to mention the uptempo melodic rocker “Lost” and the midtempo “Carry on”. From the vaults a lot of unreleased demos appear, and some of them I also received on CDR, and I hope someday the band will also re-record great AOR/Melodic Rocksongs like “Fall” (strong uptempo rocker), “What it takes” (very strong classic semi melodic rockballad, lovely chorus a la NORWAY, best song by far!), “Dreaming” (midtempo AOR) and “Heaven” (melodic rockballad). In addition the band also sent a great DVD of one of their live performances. The performance on DVD here was recorded during as festival which took place in the UK on the 16-18th of April this year (!) when SACRED HEART supported the likes of SAXON, TYGERS OF PAN TANG, SKYCLAD and QUIREBOYS. The band sounds very strong live, and I really enjoyed watching this DVD. It is filmed pretty well too, and clocking in just over 60 minutes, so definitely something to check out if you already have a copy of their ‘A new dawn’ release. Concluded, this SACRED HEART is a recommended band to people who long back to British AOR/Melodic Rock, and especially interesting to check out if you’re a fan of THE PROMISE, DOUBLE CROSS and LOST WEEKEND, because SACRED HEART fits in very well between those acts! More info at: http://www.sacredheartband.com and e-mail them at: info@sacredheartband.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) CETI ‘RASIZM’ (OSKAR PRODUCTIONS) For 15 years now the band CETI has been active and in Poland they have a large following. Outside of Poland not many people have heard of CETI, but maybe that might change soon, because a lot of CETI albums have been released lately. Not only new CDs, but also re-issues/re-releases and a live-album. The album ‘Rasizm’ was originally released in 1994, and now re-released together with a live concert from the same year on 1 CD. Musically a bit more into pure 80s Melodic Metal (with some NWOBHM influences as well), the band had some great songs on this album like “Quo vadis?” (uptempo Melodic Metal a la IRON MAIDEN/PRETTY MAIDS), “Epitafium” (surprisingly a beautiful AOR ballad), “Krotki utwor o zabijaniu” (midtempo classic hardrock a la RAINBOW, very much like typical 80s East European Hardrockbands like DIVLJE JAGODE) and “Milosc, nienawisc, smierc” (fantastic epic melodic progressive rock). In total almost 80 minutes of CETI music, so a must-have for the fans of this Polish band, and for all the other readers (I guess most of you), this band is really nice to check out and therefore I recommend you to go to http://www.oskar-cd.com.pl for more info and e-mail at: progrock@oskar-cd.com.pl (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  CETI ‘CZARNA ROZA’
(OSKAR PRODUCTIONS)‘Czarna roza’ was the debut album of the Polish band CETI, originally released in 1989/1990 and now being re-issued onto CD, together with bonustracks, a maxi promotion EP release from 1994 and some live recorded songs. The main focus however is the original album ‘Czarna roza’, which was a very 1980s orientated Melodic Metal piece in the PRETTY MAIDS/MAD MAX/MAIDEN style, so pure Euro Metal, especially on great songs like “Bieg stracencow”, “Ogien I tzy”, “Brama teczy” and “Prawo piesci”. Not as good as their later releases, but still a nice piece of 80s Euro Metal, sung in Polish! More info at: http://www.oskar-cd.com.pl and e-mail at: progrock@oskar-cd.com.pl (Points: 8.0 out of 10) STONEFLOWER ‘CRACK A LITTLE SMILE’ (STORYTELLER RECORDS) Musically this Norwegian band is not too far away from their countrymen of DIEZEL, TINDRUM, ON THE RISE, TOYS OF JOY and HUSH, but that’s not such a coincidence, because some of the members of STONEFLOWER played in bands like DIEZEL and TINDRUM. STONEFLOWER basically performs an updated sound of the 80s AOR, and sound like a mix between ON THE RISE, NELSON (circa ‘Life’), THOMAS VIKSTROM, SPIN GALLERY, PEO, which means harmonyvocal chorus driven fun summer aor/poprock. It’s not a heavy CD, but more a calmer relaxing laid-back AOR/Westcoast orientated record which will please all AOR fans I think. The vocals are very strong and almost every song has a catchy memorable chorus, with as highlights “Rock my nation”, “Whenever”, “Stop the thunder” and “Torn to pieces. No rockers can be found on this album, but what you get basically is a quality relaxing (poppy) AOR record which is a must-have if you enjoyed the recent ON THE RISE release on FRONTIERS RECORDS, although at some points the album goes into a poppier direction (a la JOHN WAITE). More info at: http://www.stoneflower.no (Points: 8.0 out of 10) TEXAS CITY REVELATORS ‘TEXAS CITY REVELATORS’ (WILDE SILAS RECORDS) Out of Texas comes a classic 70s Southern Hardrockband called TEXAS CITY REVELATORS. This band is clearly focused on the 70s Rockstyle of bands like LYNYRD SKYNYRD, MOLLY HATCHET, ALLMAN BROTHERS, ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTIONS and especially THE OUTLAWS. They have that typical 70s Midwestern US sound, and people who like any of the mentioned bands will love the TEXAS CITY REVELATORS. The band has a good singer and some of their songs are really good like “Eye of the needle”, “Tromp”, “Freedom forever” and “Mama said”. Recommended to fans of Southern Hardrock! More info at: http://www.texascityrevelators.com and e-mail at: bassmana@swbell.net (Points: 7.5 out of 10) PINK LIZZARD ‘DEMO CDR’ (DEMO) This is a band from Italy and they play late 80s LA Sleazy Glam Hardrock in the style of LA GUNS, VAIN, GUNS N ROSES... 5 songs are on the demo CDR, and the sound of it’s good, but not all songs impressive, because “Bastards” is an average Punkrocker. Best songs are opener “Heartache” and closing track “I hate” (ALICE COOPER meets MOTLEY CRUE). Check it out if you’re a fan of 80s LA/Hollywood Glam/Sleaze, more info at: http://www.pinklizzard.it (Points: 7.0 out of 10) SPARKY QUANO ‘PHENOMENON’ (SPARK MUSIC MANAGEMENT) Guitarist SPARKY QUANO comes out of Japan and his debut CD ‘Phenomenon’ contains a good deal of instrumental Progressive Hardrock in true 70s spirit, while also updating it to today’s standards. 5 tracs are on the CD, and his guitarplaying is quite impressive. Guitarfreaks should check out songs like “Sparks fly upward” and “Black hole”, which showcase Sparky’s impressive guitarplaying. More info through e-mail at: arc-liveclub@muc.biglobe.ne.jp (Points: 7.0 out of 10) PUSHING RED BUTTONS ‘FOREIGN FILM OR TANGO DANCE?’ (BLOCKCHORD RECORDS) This New York based band is clearly influenced by 70s Groovy Rock/Hardrock, yet with some humor and Rock&Roll influences, even taking influences from THE WHO and STYX, but it’s all been done in a different kind of Rockstyle, so this should not appeal to Pomprockfans at all! Nevertheless, the 70s Rock of PUSHING RED BUTTONS sounds nice, especially on songs like “Tripping over a four leaf clover”, “Illusion town” and “Love jihad”, but on the other side the band has a sound which sounds out of the ordinary and stands on it’s own, but check it out if you’re into bands like BAD BOY, THE WHO, STARZ, TEAZE etc. More info at: http://www.pushingredbuttons.com and e-mail at: red@pushingredbuttons.com (Points: 7.0 out of 10)  STYX ‘COME SAIL AWAY:
THE STYX ANTHOLOGY’(UNIVERSAL MUSIC) The past 30 years there have been a lot of STYX best of releases, but I can assure you that the latest compilation CD ‘Come sail away’ is finally a CD actually worth getting, because it is by far the best collection of STYX classics on 2 CDs! Yes, this is a 2-CD set, which contains 35 tracks in total, spanning the entire STYX career, from the first album in 1972 to the last studio CD ‘Cyclorama’ from last year. 30+ years of STYX are being presented on these 2 CDs, completely remastered and showing that STYX was one of the most influential Rockbands of it’s time. The band went through different periods on their career, starting off a Progressive Rockband, then inventing Pomprock during the mid 1970s, sadly drifting into a Popband in the early 80s, but reforming back in the 1990s for some more Modern sounding Rockmaterial. In the meantime, STYX Live was always a pleasure to watch, and now this new best of CD release on UNIVERSAL MUSIC is giving you the best STYX songs on 2 full-length CDs. There is even a previously unreleased full length version of the song “Man in the wilderness” included, which has not been available before this CD release. The CD comes along with extensive liner notes and pictures of the band in their hedays. If we then have a look at the wonderful song listing we can conclude that all the STYX classics are present here, such as “Lady”, “Light up”, “Lorelei”, “Suite madame blue”, “Crystal ball”, “The Grand illusion”, “Fooling yourself”, “Come sail away”, “Blue collar man”, “Babe”, “The best of times” and “Show me the way”. The main focus is of course the late 70s/early 80s area, with an incredible amount of 5 tracks from STYX’ best record ever ‘The grand illusion’ from 1977. But also 5 tracks from 1981’s ‘Paradise theatre’ are included here, and the best thing is of course that almost every album STYX ever recorded has at least 1 song featured on this best of and that’s the thing that makes this best of different than all the others. This is by far one of the best STYX compilation CDs out there! (Points: 9.0 out of 10) (All reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted) |