 QUECIA ‘2’ (DEEP END
RECORDS)QUECIA is a new British Rockband, whom released their debut a few years ago and especially in the UK and mainland Europe the album was very well received. The band is fronted by Kirsty McCarrick, who is not only a beautiful woman, but she can also sing very well, so she is the perfect female singer to front a band! Now the band has released their 2nd CD ‘2’, which took them 18 months to record. The result is a very good calmer emotional (ballad orientated) Pop/Rock album with a strong 70s AOR/Classic Rock approach, but still capturing an up-to-date sound, with Kristy’s beautiful vocals and looks as the most notable thing of QUECIA’s lovely melodic pop/rock music. Imagine a mix between HEART, PAT BENATAR and MOSTLY AUTUMN, and you’re close to the sound of QUECIA. Most of the songs are lengthy and slow, situated around Kristy’s vocals, with as best songs “The rhythm”, “New dress” (very strong AORish semi-ballad), “Too late to say goodbye” (another strong ballad) and “Rescue me” (very strong AORish semi-ballad a la HEART). However, sometimes the band really rocks and such a song is the early 80s inspired uptempo melodic poprocker “Bird in a cage”, which is a short uplifting rocker in the best early 80s PAT BENATAR style. Concluded, I am very impressed with this new QUECIA CD, which is absolutely radio-ready, and such talented vocalists like QUECIA singer Kristy deserve to be heard by a wider audience. Do check out their website as well at: http://www.quecia.com where you can order the new CD. (Points: 8.4 out of 10) MENTAL ASYLUM ‘DEMO’ (DEMO CDR) This band from Brazil sent me their demo, which contains 7 songs. Although the sound quality is not as good as standard label releases, the presented music is very good Melodic Metal. Sometimes the singer reminds me of MARK BOALS, and from the included songs, especially the last 2 tracks are very good. These are the uptempo Melodic Metal songs “Choose today” and “7” (no songtitle mentioned on the demo), both quite sensational. I think in a better studio this band will reach much higher levels, and therefore a future full-length official CD release will probably brings us something sensational. For now, they are good in what they are doing, but in the near future I think there will be more improvements in their sound/production level. Check it out for yourself by sending them an e-mail at: mental@asylum@bol.com.br and go to their site at: http://www.mentalasylum.hpg.com.br (Points: 7.7 out of 10) RHEVANGE ‘THE WAY TO FOLLOW’ (DEMO) Brazilians love Soccer and Power Metal! RHEVANGE is another Brazilian Power Metalband, but I am afraid they are not as good as their influences (MANOWAR, METAL CHURCH, PRIEST, MAIDEN etc). Instrumental it all sounds perfect, but vocally singer Wellington Mello is not able to make a big impression. He is a bit reminding me of the GRAVE DIGGER singer, but then rawer. 2 songs are Power metal, while closing track “The way to follow” is a good semi progressive melodic rockballad, and this is also the best song, on which even the vocals sound pretty good! I am not saying this is a bad demo, but I think in the future some improvements need to be done within this band. For now, this demo is only a must-have for the die-hard Metal collectors. You can check them out anyway at: http://www.rhevange.hpg.com.br and e-mail them at: rhevange@hotmail.com (Points: 7.0 out of 10)  EVERDOME ‘TALES BEYOND
OBLIVION’ (HEAVENCROSS RECORDS)Out of Greece comes EVERDOME, a strong Power Metal band and ‘Tales beyond oblivion’ is their debut CD, which was released on the Spanish label HEAVENCROSS RECORDS. 10 songs are included, and actually it all sounds very impressive. The band has a strong lead singer, and the music is very good 80s US orientated Melodic Power Metal, not unlike METAL CHURCH, SAVATAGE and ICED EARTH. Songs like “The crown”, “Darkness lives within”, “Fairyland” and “Divine tragedy” are all very good strong Power Metal tracks. This band is highly recommended to fans of that typical US orientated 80s Melodic Power Metal sound, so go check it out asap if you dig bands like ICED EARTH, MANOWAR, VICIOUS RUMOURS, 80s SAVATAGE, VIRGIN STEELE... (Points: 8.5 out of 10) REMAIN THE SAME ‘UNDER THE SURFACE’ (ANGORA RECORDS) Out of Sweden comes REMAIN THE SAME, a band playing a mixture of Melodic (Hard) Rock and Progressive Rock. The result is a very good 2nd album titled ‘Under the surface’. There is some diversity on the album, because sometimes they play straight-ahead melodic hardrock (“Strangers in the end”, “Wait ‘til tomorrow” and “Mountains”), while at other times it’s pure Progressive Rock a la SAGA (“I’m falling down” and “Another day is dawning”). In the end, the Melodic Hardrocksongs show REMAIN THE SAME at their very best, and I think this band is interesting to check out if you like 80s bands like RATT, DOKKEN, FIREHOUSE, TREAT, CRY WOLF... More info at: http://www.remainthesame.nu and e-mail them at: angorarecords@yahoo.se (Points: 7.8 out of 10) MASTERSTROKE ‘RAINY DAYS’ (DEMO) Here we have something really good from Finland once again. The band is called MASTERSTROKE and they have a 3-track mini-demo CD out titled ‘Rainy days’. The production is very good (label level) and the songs are also very impressive. The band has a very strong lead singer (Jari Tiura) and the Melodic Hard/Heavy Rock/Metal of MASTERSTROKE has a strong European touch (like a mix between AXXIS, PINK CREAM 69 and EDGUY). Opener “Calling” is a very good uptempo melodic heavy rocker, while next track “Rainy days” is a true highlight, as this is a fantastic epic midtempo melodic rocker like EDGUY. Closing track “Children of the war” is another great midtempo melodic heavy rocker. Concluded, another great band from Finland, which you can check out at: http://www.masterstroke.cjb.net and e-mail them at: janne.juutinen@jipii.fi (Points: 8.7 out of 10)  WIGWAM 'THE NEIGHBOUR OF THE
BEAST'(GLOBAL MUSIC) Although they look like an 80s Glamrockband, and they will not be taking serious by many people, if you listen to their CD you can only agree with me that this WIGWAM is a new sensation. The bandmembers of this Norwegian band all played in well-known Scandi bands before, like DREAM POLICE, SHA-BOOM, EVENRUDE and ARTCH, so they are definitely experienced musicians. Now they have joined forces in WIGWAM, as whom they have released a fantastic CD. One of the songs even had the chance to become voted as the European Song contest song for Norway, but in the end they came out third. However, the music on this CD of WIGWAM is lovely classic (and very catchy) 80s orientated Melodic Rock in the best Scandinavian tradition you can think of. 13 songs are included and I would call this band a real good tribute to the 1980s and not those guys from THE DARKNESS. WIGWAM stands for fun 80s Melodic Rock like we once heard it from bands like TREAT, DAVINCI, DALTON, TINDRUM, SHA-BOOM, 80s ALICE COOPER, SWEET and of course DESMOND CHILD's 80s type of sing-a-long-let's-have-a-good-time-party-all-night choruses must have influenced WIGWAM a lot, because their CD is completely filled with such catchy choruses! I am very impressed with this CD and it would be a good thing to make this band as huge as THE DARKNESS, so 80s Melodic Rock is really back. There are many highlights on the CD, such as opener "The best song in the world" (very strong uptempo Party Melodic Rocker like DESMOND CHILD used to write them), "Crazy things" (superb catchy chorus driven uptempo melodic rocker, even a bit like the very first HAREM SCAREM), "Out of time" (fantastic midtempo melodic rocker with another very strong chorus, not unlike old BONFIRE), "Bless the night" (speaking of catchy straight-ahead uptempo melodic rocker) and the pure early GOTTHARD orientated closing track "No more living on lies" (midtempo Melodic Hardrock). The band has a superb strong Melodic Rocksound, and also their lead singer Glam is a very good singer, so what more can I say then to highly recommend this CD to any 80s Melodic Rockfan! Check out all the info on http://www.wigwam.no and e-mail them at: wigwam@showfabrikken.no (Points: 9.0 out of 10) MESSENGER 'RAIN' (VISUAL RECORDS) We have had many bands with the name MESSENGER, and this one is coming out of Alabama, USA. Their CD is titled 'Rain' and they play a sort of 70s/80s influenced groovy/bluesy Hardrock. I actually would label them as a Biker Rockband, kinda like ROSE TATTOO. 12 songs are included, and songs like "Rain", "Too long", "Trust in you" and "Like a preacher" exactly match the style I just described. This is stuff for people who are into bands like JET CIRCUS, JETBOY, ROSE TATTOO, THE ANGELS… It's not bad at all what we hear, but just not convincing enough to keep you interested all the time. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.cleardaystudio.com and e-mail them at: band4u@hotmail.com (Points: 7.2 out of 10)  VOX TEMPUS 'PROMO CDR' (PROMO)The American band VOX TEMPUS is working on their new CD, which should be out later this year. In the meantime I was able to hear some of their new stuff, which sounds really awesome. This band is playing a mix of Progressive Rock/Metal and AOR/Pomprock. Their lead singer Dan Reed (MILLENNIUM singer!) has a truly wonderful voice (a la DENNIS DE YOUNG, ex-STYX) and their Melodic Progressive Pomprock sounds very sensational. If you can imagine a mix between DREAM THEATER, STYX, ENCHANT and RUSH, you're getting close to the fantastic sound of VOX TEMPUS. On drums by the way we can hear GREGG BISSONETTE (DAVID LEE ROTH, JOE SATRIANI), and further we have Eric Ragno (TAKARA) on keys, BASSIST Jim Turba and guitarist Ray Mantor. With the exception of drummer Gregg, all members used to be in EQUINOX, the forerunner of VOX TEMPUS. Anyway, the sneak previews on this promo CDR reveal that we are dealing here with a truly sensational band that could easily become the next big thing in the Progrock/metalworld. Songs like "For every life" (tribute to GREAT WHITE guitarist Ty Longley), who died in the club fire disaster last year), "Revelations" and "What about" are showing that this VOX TEMPUS is a band to watch out for in the near future. I would not be surprised if their official CD release in the near future will become one of the best releases done in the Progscene the past few years, so you can imagine that this is really sensational stuff. Check out the band for yourself at: http://www.vox-tempus.com and e-mail them at: eric@ericragno.com (Points: 9.1 out of 10)  NEKTAR 'REMEMBER THE FUTURE'(ECLECTIC DISCS) The legendary Progressive Rockband NEKTAR, who started in 1969 in Hamburg, Germany, but were actually a British band went on to enjoy fortune and fame with the release of their 1973 album 'Remember the future'. The LP reached number 13 on the US Billboard Album Chart and gave them much success overseas. Now some 30 years later the album has been re-issued onto CD by ELECTIC DISCS. The CD comes along with extensive liner notes, pictures etc. and also a few bonus tracks. The album title song itself is featured here in 2 parts, which was originally also on the LP version of 1973, so they have not turned the "Remember the future" song into one epic 35 minutes counting track. Anyway, for those of you not familiar with NEKTAR, I can inform you that this band played typical 70s Progressive Rock a la YES, ELP and early GENESIS, and on this particular album only 1 song was included, and that was the titletrack of 35+ minutes long. The song itself was and still is a wet dream for the fan of classic 70s Progressive Rock, because basically everything a classy progrocksong needs is featured in this lengthy epic. Now the remastered CD version makes the NEKTAR collection complete, because this was one of their highlights and to all of the fans of the band I can highly recommend this CD version, so you now can finally get rid of your 30-year old LP version, although I would personally never get rid of the original LP versions, because these old LPs are nowadays still very much wanted, but this new CD version easily blasts away the old dated sound of the LP, and that's for sure! (Points: 8.8 out of 10)  ACES HIGH ‘FORGIVE AND
FORGET’ (GMR MUSIC)Although ACES HIGH is named after the famous MAIDEN song, musically they play a somewhat more Melodic Hardrock orientated style. The band features amongst others drummer Anders Johansson (ex-MALMSTEEN and present HAMMERFALL member), but they were formed back in 1989 by guitarist Jake Sandberg, bassist Anders Johansson (same name, but someone else!!!) and keyboardplayer David Brandt. In the same year they found their singer Bjorn Andersen, and now 15 years later the band still has the same line-up. Through the years they managed to release only 2 albums, ‘Ten’n’out’ in 1994 and ‘Pull no punches’ in 1998. After 6 years of waiting however, there is a new CD out titled ‘Forgive & forget’. Musically nothing has changed, so again we can hear a great mix of classic 70s Hardrock and 80s Melodic Hardrock. Opener “Killing time” is a pure 1970s inspired uptempo Melodic Heavy Rocker, not unlike RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE, THIN LIZZY... Next track “Forgive and forget” is slower, more midtempo Melodic Rock, but just like the rest of the CD another great song. “Hyde my Jekyll” is midtempo groovy Melodic Hardrock, while “Tell me” is a beautiful AOR/Melodic Rockballad, which showcases the beautiful vocal work of singer Bjorn Andersen. Sometimes the whole sound reminds me a bit of 1980s BLACK SABBATH (‘The eternal idol’ period) mixed with the later groovy sound of TALISMAN, so really punchy Melodic guitar-driven Classic Hardrock with passionate lead vocals. I think “Tell me” is one of the absolute highlights on the new ACES HIGH, although also very impressive are “What I came for” (pure RAINBOW late 70s/early 80s classic uptempo melodic hard/heavy rock, like “Long live rock’n’roll”) and “Listen to fools” (groovy classic Hard/Heavy Rock). Concluded, this is a recommended to fans of classic melodic hard/heavy rock with strong passionate vocals, like in the tradition of the UK bands RAINBOW, UFO, THIN LIZZY... More info at: http://www.gmrmusic.se (Points: 8.4 out of 10)  HOUSE OF SHAKIRA ‘FIRST CLASS’(LION MUSIC/BERTUS) The Swedish band HOUSE OF SHAKIRA returns with a new CD (‘First class’) on a new label (switch from MTM to LION MUSIC), which basically continues the style they created on their earlier albums. I am not sure how many albums they released before ‘First class’, because they have been on the scene for over a decade now, but this new CD could well be their 4th or 5th CD, depends on whether you count their live CD as a real album or not. Anyway, what I do know is that ‘First class’ is indeed a first class non-stop ride into a classic melodic hardrockstyle, which reminds me of a cross between RAINBOW, TEN, TNT and VAUGH/TYKETTO, but then with more AOR based vocals and catchy choruses. The sound is big, the vocals are sounding perfect (singer Andreas Eklund really has a terrific voice!) and a lot of songs are memorable. In total we can find 12 songs, of which the absolute highlights are “Ain’t your crowd” (very strong midtempo Melodic Hardrock), “You are” (classy commercial uptempo AOR/Melodic Rock like 80s TNT), “Black and blue” (great semi melodic rocker), “State of grace” (sensational uptewmpo AOR rocker, best song, a lot like VAUGHN and even SURVIVOR!) and the catchy uptempo melodic rockers “Creep and “Black barn”, both in the best Scandinavian tradition. Concluded, we can easily state here that HOUSE OF SHAKIRA has released another awesome album in their growing catalogue, so all melodic hardrockfans should go and check out this brilliant new CD as soon as possible... (Points: 8.8 out of 10)  MAESTOSO ‘ONE DROP IN A DRY
WORLD’(ECLECTIC DISCS) Mellotron player WOOLLY WOLSTEINHOLME was an important member of the legendary band BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST, whom recorded a bunch of successfull albums in the 1970s for EMI’s Harvest label. In 1980 Woolly left the band and formed MAESTOSO, with whom he recorded in the same year a debut LP. The follow-up had to wait 24 years (!), but now there is finally a new album of MAESTOSO titled ‘One drop in a dry world’. Musically it is very good 70s orientated Progressive Rock, yet with a slight modern touch here and there. Best songs are definitely “Blood and bones” (a la 70s GENESIS), “Souk”, “Explorers” and “Carpet”. If you’re into classy progressive rock like 70s PETER GABRIEL era GENESIS, you need to check out this new MAESTOSO album at: http://www.eclecticdiscs.com (Points: 8.1 out of 10) SHADOW DEMON ‘SHADOW DEMON’ (INDEPENDENT) I received a mini-CD of the US band SHADOW DEMON. Their independent CD contains 3 songs and musically we get to hear strong 80s influenced Melodic metal, a bit reminding me of GRIM REAPER. The first song “...And the meek” has a very strong memorable chorus and some biting guitarwork. Actually this song gave me such a good feeling, as not only the song is very impressive, but also instrumental it all sounds very good, and above all, this band has an own sound! So I will not make any further comparisons, because the GRIM REAPER similarities are also a bit out of place sometimes (lead singer Blaine Hammond however sounds like a raw mixture of Dee Snider of TWISTED SISTER and Steve Grimmett of GRIM REAPER. Also the other songs “My eyes fixed” and “Of the shadows” are good uptempo Melodic Metal tracks, so you now know a bit in which direction this band is going. I would recommend to you to check out this band at: http://www.shadowdemon.us (Points: 8.0 out of 10) GRENDEL ‘PROMO 2003/SOMETHING TO REMIND’ (DEMO CDR) The Finnish band GRENDEL sent me 2 new demo CDRs they recorded after I had written a review of their EP ‘Fight against time’ from 2002. Musically it’s a sort of typical Finnish dark melodic metal what we get to hear, and although I find the vocals sounding a bit too depressed sometimes, the music itself makes that up, because it is most of the time uplifting and very melodic, with as highlights “The voidness” and “The times of agony”. Check out GRENDEL for yourself at: http://www.grendelband.cjb.net and e-mail them at: grendelcrew@hotmail.com (Points: 7.6 out of 10)  DESTINY ‘FUTURE OF THE
PAST’ (GMR MUSIC)The legendary Swedish band DESTINY has been around the Metalscene since 1982, and during that long period they released 5 albums. It’s remarkable to see they never changed their musical style, which has always been (and still is) pure 1980s US Melodic Power Metal with high pitched vocals. It took them 6 years however to release a new CD, because their previous album ‘The undiscovered country’ dates back to 1998. Now there’s the release of their 5th CD ‘Future of the past’, and again we can enjoy typical DESTINY 80s orientated Melodic US Metal, with as highlights of the 9 included songs, “Sabotage”, “In the shadow of the rainbow”, “Flying Dutchman” (with SHIVA lead singer Helena Johansson on backing vocals) and “Future of the past”. Fans of HESLTAR, ANVIL, LIZZY BORDEN, VICIOUS RUMORS, old FATES WARNING etc. must check out this new DESTINY CD release. More info at: http://www.gmrmusic.se (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  WAYSTED ‘SAVE YOUR
PRAYERS’(MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS/BERTUS) It took 18 years to get this album re-issued onto CD, but finally the UK label MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS took care of a re-issue and now we are able to hear the glorious sounds of WAYSTED’s best record ever on CD format. The band back then featured a young Danny Vaughn on lead vocals and this was 5 years before his classic TYKETTO release! He sounded terrific on this album, and it’s a bloody shame it didn’t get as much success as it should have gotten back in 1986, because young Danny had a voice that truly blew away most of the singers of other Hardrockbands. Every record on which Danny sings is a pleasure to listen to, and looking back it’s a pity he only sang on a few records the past 18 years (1 WAYSTED and a few TYKETTO and VAUGHN releases), because he could have become another JEFF SCOTT SOTO if you ask me. Nevertheless he sang on the TYKETTO classic ‘Don’t come easy’ and WAYSTED’s ‘Save your prayers’. The WAYSTED album has now been re-issued, with the addition of 2 bonustracks, which are “Fire under the wheels” and a cover of JOHN FOGERTY’s “Fortunate son”. The real highlights here are of course the original WAYSTED songs, such as “Singing to the night”, “heaven tonight”, “Black and blue”, “Wild night” and the wonderful closing track “So long” (a beautiful ballad). Concluded, this legendary 80s Melodic Rock classic is now finally available on CD, which is a must-have for all TYKETTO/VAUGHN fans out there! (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  HODSON ‘THIS STRANGE
WORLD’ (FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)HODSON is the brainchild of keyboardplayer/guitarist/vocalist Paul Hodson (TEN, BOB CATLEY, JOHN PARR), who recorded together with guitarist Vince O’Regan and bassist Josie Vespa this first HODSON album. Musically we can hear typical Classic UK Melodic Hardrock like a heavier version of TEN, RAINBOW and especially MAGNUM. The sound is quite bombastic, with some Symphonic influences, and especially fantastic songs like “The calling”, “My saviour”, “This foolish world” and “Shamen eyes” (best song) need to be mentioned here, as they are all sounding like the perfect mix between TEN, RAINBOW and MAGNUM. Only vocally Paul is not as good as for example a GARY HUGHES or DIO, because his vocals are clearly rawer (actually not unlike former RAINBOW singer GRAHAM BONNET). Anyway, I think you’ll get the picture now and know what to expect from HODSON. It’s definitely a great album, in the true classic British Hardrockstyle, so check it out if you’re a fan of any of these bands... (Points: 8.7 out of 10)  ZILLION ‘ZILLION’
(FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)ZILLION is a new supergroup in the Hardrockscene, featuring vocalist/guitarist/keyboardplayer Sandro Giampietro (MICHAEL KISKE), bassist Jens Becker (GRAVE DIGGER) and drummer Mike Terrana (RAGE, AXEL RUDI PELL). Together they recorded a very strong Melodic Hardrockalbum under the moniker ZEELION. Sandro turns out to be a very strong vocalist, while the included songs on the CD are very strong Melodic Hardrock/Metal songs with catchy memorable choruses. The CD also has a big sound, so in the end we can only conclude that this ZILLION CD is a highly recommended piece. Songs like “You and me” (uptempo melodic hard/heavy rock like a heavier TYKETTO), “This day is gone” (uptempo melodic hardrock like a heavier FAIR WARNING), “Never down” (uptempo Melodic Power Metal) and “Wonder why” (strong uptempo Melodic Metal a la 80s MAIDEN) are very impressive songs. The band has a style somewhere between the Melodic Hardrock of a TYKETTO/WAYSTED and the Melodic Metal of MAIDEN/MESSIAH’S KISS. Check it out for yourself, because you can download loads of mp3 samples through: http://www.frontiers.it (Points: 8.5 out of 10) LYNZEE ‘MAN OF THE PEOPLE/VICTIM OF NIRVANA’ (DARKNIGHT ENTERTAINMENT) I received 2 albums from the Californian band LYNZEE, both released some 10+ years ago, but now recently again available through the band’s website: http://www.lynzee.net LYNZEE played very strong typical American melodic hardrock, with some progressive rock/aor/metal influences thrown in here and there. Leader of the band was RICHARD LINDSEY, who played guitar and sang vocals, both of a very high level. The album ‘Victim of nirvana’ contains 7 tracks, recorded in 1990, and this record has a very 1980s orientated Melodic Hardrock/Metal sound. Songs like “Edge of the knife”, “Do you love me”, “Runaway” and “Jealous heart” are very sensational uptempo guitar driven Melodic Hardrocksongs like FIFTH ANGEL meets heavy DOKKEN in a fight with STRYPER, while also RATT comes around in a few songs, so pure 1980s Hair Metal! On the 2nd CD ‘Man of the people’ we can hear material from 1992, with 13 tracks in total. The guitarwork and vocalwork are both very good, and especially songs like “Man of the people”, “Above suspicion”, “Lady”, “Cries in the night” (by far the best song, a superb catchy uptempo 80s fun melodic rocker with a lovely memorable chorus) and the GEORGE HARRISON/BEATLES cover “Guitar gently weeps” (big production on this song by the way) are very impressive Melodic (Progressive) Hardrocksongs, a bit like a mix between TRIUMPH, RAIL and TESLA. The only pity is that some songs are groovy/boogie hardrocksongs like a weaker VAN HALEN/MR.BIG (“Mutiny in the nursery”, “Move it” for example) and especially towards the end this 2nd CD is getting a bit weaker, but still I can easily recommend you to check out LYNZEE at: http://www.lynzee.net (Points: 8.1 out of 10) BAD SISTER ‘HEARTBREAKER’ (POINT MUSIC) BAD SISTER was a very underrated German female fronted AOR/Melodic Rockband that managed to release 2 LPs in the late 80s/early 90s. Now some 15 years later their rare album ‘Heartbreaker’ has been re-issued onto CD through POINT MUSIC. 2 live recorded bonustracks are added to the original 10 songs of the album, and anyone into classy 80s Female Fronted AOR a la WITNESS, VXN, LAOS, VIXEN, HEART etc. will absolutely love this record. Songs like “Big brother”, “Catriona”, “Desperate heart” and “For you” are uptempo AOR rockers of a very high level (hello WITNESS!!!). Keyboards all over the place, very catchy choruses, melodic guitarsounds, well, it’s all there, that pure 80s AOR/Melodic Rocksound, so if you missed it the first time, get a copy of the CD asap! More info at: http://www.badsister.de (Points: 8.9 out of 10) VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘ROCK BALLADS VOLUME 5’ (MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN) MTM releases another compilation CD in the ‘Rock Ballads’ series, volume 6 with unfortunately almost no sneak previews (except GREENHOUZE) of forthcoming albums. However, if you’re keen on ballads, and you’re not interested in buying all the regular releases, this is a nice compilation CD to own, because great AOR/Melodic Rockballads of bands like DARE, TNT, HUMAN TEMPLE, XYZ, SIN, CRYSTAL BLUE and BROKE’N’BLUE can be found here... (Points: - ) VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘TRIBUTE TO DEAD CAN DANCE’ (BLACK LOTUS RECORDS) DEAD CAN DANCE were one of those typical Alternative Dark Gothic Pop/Rockbands, who know seem to have influenced a lot of bands, but back in the day were a very underground based band. Now there’s a 2-CD set available, which pays tribute to this band, and included here on this double CD are in total 26 songs by 26 bands/artists who all perform covers of DEAD CAN DANCE originals. Not everything is interesting, also due to the fact that DEAD CAN DANCE was not really a Rockband, but there are definitely some interesting cover versions by (mostly female fronted) acts like PERSEPHONE, TRAIL OF TEARS, HORTUS ANIMAE feat. LIV KRISTINE, IMPERIA, EPHEMERAL SUN, THE GATHERING and DARKWELL... Interesting to check out if you’re a fan of DEAD CAN DANCE, but also the fans of female fronted Gothic Metal will find a lot of interesting songs here... (Points: 7.9 out of 10) THE RISE ‘BLUEZONE’ (TALKING MUSIC) Reading the bio would make you very enthousiastic, because members of THE RISE from Sweden played in legendary Christian aor/melodic rockbands like XT, JERUSALEM and MOTHERLODE (such as lead singer SONNY LARSSON in MOTHERLODE and XT). Unfortunately I am afraid THE RISE has not much to do with AOR music, because their CD is filled with mostly modern poprock, backed with a drumbeat, like a male version of THE CORRS. It’s not bad at all what we get hear, but this is not an AOR CD. Nevertheless the CD contains quality material, and songs like “Hold on”, “Lucky to live”, “Will you be mine” and “Give me your name” (hello SIMPLE MINDS!!!) are nice poprockers, basically radio-ready if you ask me. So in the end this is another quality CD from Sweden, only more in the Pop/Poprock/Rock field this time, so only recommended to the open-minded AOR fan, who also enjoys the sounds of acts like ROXETTE, THE CORRS, SAVAGE GARDEN or SIMPLE MINDS. Check out THE RISE at: http://www.talkingmusic.se (Points: 7.8 out of 10)  ARENA SWEDEN ‘ARENA
SWEDEN’ (GMR MUSIC)Guitarist HAL MARABEL played for over 15 years in the AOR/Melodic Rockband BAD HABIT. He now has a new project called ARENA (SWEDEN), together with Swedish TV star Dennis Radoicic, who sings on the CD. Musically we get to hear a mix of AOR and Modern Pop/Dance, which definitely works for the Radio/TV, but not so much is of interest for the AOR fan. The main problem is the drumbeat used, because the songs itself are sometimes very catchy 80s AOR, but now with the drumcomputer they are akin to sound like something MODERN TALKING could have done (!). I was not surprised to hear that this ARENA is already high in the Swedish charts, because the music is radio ready, ‘sugarsweet’ and crystal clear, and songs like “Take on the world”, “Show me the way”, “Love on the line”, “I want to love you” and “I believe” are perfect radio poprocksongs with aor choruses. If only there would have been real drums and some more guitar, this could have well been a great AOR CD, but for now you must accept a drumbeat and a very light poprock approach. Nevertheless it’s a quality CD, but it’s a doubt if this CD belongs on our pages... More info at: http://www.gmrmusic.se (Points: 7.2 out of 10) VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘CPR VOLUME 1’ (THRESHING FLOOR RECORDS) CPR stands for Christian Progressive Rock, and the label THRESHING FLOOR RECORDS has released a double CD, containing 18 tracks by Christian Progressive Rockbands only. It’s surprising to see how many US Christian Progressive Rockbands there are out there, but this 2-CD set shows there are at least 18 bands, and all of them play quality Progressive Rock. Each band has it’s own style, but it’s safe to say that fans of secular 70s Progrock (KANSAS, YES, GENESIS, RUSH) will find a lot of interesting bands here. It’s impossible to talk about each band, but if I had to pick out favourite bands I would say that the best songs come from acts like AJALON, GLASS HAMMER, NAVIGATOR, VERTICAL ALIGNMENT, THEOPHONIC CLOUD, EVERLASTING ARMS, AKACIA, NEAL MORSE and DIVINE IN SIGHT. You can check out much more info on http://www.progrock.com but I think in the near future also seperate reviews will appear on our site. (Points: 8.6 out of 10)  LANA LANE ‘STORYBOOK: TALES
FROM EUROPE AND JAPAN DVD’(THINK TANK MEDIA/FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS) LANA LANE has now finally a DVD available, and then I mean a real full-length DVD, which contains for over 3 hours of material! Basically it covers the whole career of one of the best female lead singers at the moment. Together with keyboardplayer ERIK NORLANDER, LANA LANE has built up a big reputation in both Europe and Japan, where they perform on and off each year. Especially Japan is the winner for the band, because from the 20 included live clips of LANA LANE recorded between 1997 and 2003, about 13 are recorded in Japan, and the rest in Europe. Anyway, each performance of LANA LANE is fantastic, and then it doesn’t matter if it was in 1997 somewhere in Japan or last year during the European Tour. LANA LANE and company is always there to entertain and perform at a very high level. The DVD concert footage features 2 hours of LANA LANE in concert, and then we can hear and see Lana performing such classics like “Escher’s staircase”, “Destination Roswell”, “Under the olive tree”, “The beast within you”, “Through the rain”, “Symphony of angels” and “Secrets of Astrology”. This is by far one of those highly recommended DVDs, which you enjoy right from the start until the very last second. Besides the 2-hour concert footage, also included are the stories (as told by Erik, Lana and the other members of the band) behind each of the 20 performed tracks here, and also some nice candid montage from the band can be seen, all recorded between 1998 and 2003, during the various Tour Trips throughout the world. Concluded, a must-have DVD for all LANA LANE fans, but also for the regular Melodic Hardrock/Metalfans something worth investing your money! More info at: http://www.thetank.com (Points: 9.3 out of 10)  LANA LANE ‘RETURN TO
JAPAN’(THINK TANK MEDIA/FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS) Together with the release of the first DVD of LANA LANE, there is a new Live CD available of LANA LANE, which consists of 2 CDs. The first CD is made up of 16 live recorded songs, as performed during various Japanese concerts between 1999 and 2002, and CD 2 contains recorded songs as they were played acoustic and during special events between 1998 and 2002. This all together makes this live CD a must-have for the LANA LANE fan. Besides most of the classics of LANA LANE herself (like "Escher's staircase", "The beast within you", "Symphony of angels", "Secrets of Astralogy" etc.), also some covers are played and they can not be found on earlier releases, such as "In the court of the Crimson King" (KING CRIMSON) and "Long live rock'n'roll" (RAINBOW). With a total running time of more than 130 minutes, and also extensive liner notes in a very large CD booklet, this 2-CD set is highly recommended to any Female Fronted Rock/Metalfan, because LANA LANE proves once again she is the leading Queen of Sympho/Melodic Rock/Metal! More info at: http://www.thetank.com (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  TALISMAN ‘TALISMAN’
(GMR MUSIC)14 years ago the Swedish band TALISMAN released their debut CD, which was until now their best release, and also their most successfull, because it sold 30,000 copies in Sweden alone, while also scoring a top 5 hitsingle with “I’ll be waiting in their native country. A few years later the album was re-released by DINO MUSIC, who added a bunch of bonustracks, and now another 10+ years later the Swedish label GMR MUSIC re-released the classic debut CD of TALISMAN again, now as in a full digipack version, as a 2-CD set, with more bonus material, such as live and previously unreleased demo tracks, and extensive liner notes written by bandleader/guitarist Marcel Jacob. The 8 demos on CD2 of this 2-CD set were sung by original lead singer Goran Edman, who went on to join Malmsteen in 1989, just before Marcel went into the studio for the TALISMAN record, so eventually Jeff Scott Soto became the lead singer on the TALISMAN debut CD. This of course wasn’t bad at all, because it turned out to be Jeff’s best record ever and the start of a long series of Melodic Hardrock releases in the 1990s. The bonus live songs on CD2 show a Jeff Scott Soto singing the Europe classic “Scream of anger” and the John Norum classics “Eternal flame” and “Let me love you, as well as TALISMAN tunes, all recorded 14 years ago at a sold-out Stockholm gig. Back to the original CD, which is to be found on CD 1, we can hear nothing but instant Melodic Rock Classic Hits like “Break your chains”, “I’ll be waiting”, “Dangerous”, “Just between us” (ultimate AOR ballad), “Queen” and “Day by day”. If you missed it the first time (and the second time), here’s your ultimate chance to get a Melodic Rock Classic properly as a 2-CD set. More info at: http://www.gmrmusic.se (Points: 9.4 out of 10)  TALISMAN ‘GENESIS’
(GMR MUSIC)11 years ago I discovered the Swedish band TALISMAN, whom already had achieved some success in their home country, but with 'Genesis', their CD released in 1993 they also reached the rest of Europe, because the videoclip of the single "Mysterious" was played quite regularly on MTV. Now 11 years later the CD has been re-released in a sort of digipack luxe edition version, completed with a bonus disc, which contains several demo tracks (with different singer Matt Alfonzetti on vocals) and even the videoclip of "Mysterious" is included here. For fans of TALISMAN a must-have, because it also contains extensive liner notes written by guitarist/leader Marcel Jacob. Of course also this 2nd TALISMAN album is a classic, with such fantastic Melodic Rocksongs like "Time after time", "Mysterious", "All I want", "Give me a sign", “Comin’ home” and "If U would only be my friend". Although the album isn't as good as the debut CD of TALISMAN, also this is one of those must-have releases in the Melodic Hardrockscene. Very soon also reviews of upcoming re-releases of the remaining TALISMAN albums, such as 1995's 'Life' and 1998's 'Truth'. In the meantime, do check out this and the 2 other TALISMAN re-releases at: http://www.gmrmusic.se (Points: 9.2 out of 10)  TALISMAN ‘HUMANIMAL (PARTS
1+2)’ (GMR MUSIC)The Swedish label GMR MUSIC just recently re-released the first 4 albums of TALISMAN. The first 2 TALISMAN albums are of course instant classics, and they did change their style on the following albums, but happily ‘Humanimal’ was still a great Melodic Hardrockalbum. The big difference with the previous albums was the more modern heavy groovy guitarsound, and some ‘rap’ crossover orientated parts (Jeff raps a few times), but still all the songs contained excellent melodic choruses. Now GMR MUSIC has re-released both the ‘Humanimal’ CDs as a double CD package, containing the 21 songs of the 2 albums, but also a videoclip of “Colour my XTC”. Songs like “Tainted pages”, “TV Reality”, “Seasons”, “D.O.A.P.S.”, “Blissful garden”, “Humanimal”, “My best friends girl” (classy 80s AOR song!) and “Lonely world” are very impressive groovy Melodic Hardrocksongs. Both albums were released for the first time 10 years ago and sounded quite modern for 1994, also very different than anything else released back then, because of the very melodic approach in the vocals/choruses department. This all make these both albums 10 years later still sounding up-to-date, so they both stood the test of time definitely. Jeff proved once again he just couldn’t sing anything bad, so besides his first 2 TALISMAN classics, also the ‘Humanimal’ releases were fantastic albums, and now both are available as a luxe 2-CD digipack version! More info at: http://www.gmrmusic.se (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  FATE ‘A MATTER OF
ATTITUDE’(MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN) In 1985 guitarist Hank Sherman left the Danish band KING DIAMOND, and started his own band FATE. Musically this was 360% the other way around, because with FATE he focused on happy 80s keyboard orientated hookdriven AOR/Melodic Rock instead of the Darker Heavy Metalsound of his former band. One year after the formation of FATE, their debut LP 'A matter of attitude' was released and could musically be compared to EUROPE and TREAT at that time. Although the band released a few more albums the following years, this debut album was probably their best release. Now some 18 years later MTM MUSIC re-issued it onto CD, and even added 2 unreleased bonustracks ("Hardcore romance" and "Memories of you"). Although FATE makes a comeback as well this year, original founder Hank Sherman is not included in the line-up, but who knows it might still turn out well… Anyway, this CD release of 'A matter of attitude' is a very good move, as this is a great typical early Scandi AOR/Melodic Rock piece. Catchy rockers is the best thing you could describe such fantastic songs like "I won't stop", "Hard as a rock", "I can't stand losing you", "Limbo a go go" and "Get up and go". If you're ever interested in checking out 80s Scandi AOR, of which so many releases were done back then, this is definitely a recommended piece of FATE. Let's hope their other albums will also be re-released, because none of them is easy to get on CD. (Points: 8.7 out of 10) GLASS HAMMER ‘LEX LIVE DVD’ (SOUND RESOURCES) The Progressive Rockband GLASS HAMMER has now even a DVD out, with over 2 hours of material, all done quite professionally. The DVD contains a full concert of the band, during which they perform some of their best songs off their 3 albums. Musically they play a sort of mix between Neo-Prog and especially 70s Progressive Rock, with comparisons to YES of course. What makes the band so special is the fact that they have female backing singers, and the lead vocals are taken care by either the bassist, guitarist or keyboardplayer. This all helps the band in creating an own sound, which is on this DVD very notable. Of course the concert is very nice to watch, and during the 67 minutes 8 GLASS HAMMER songs are played perfectly. As a bonus, a private concert (recorded in a hotelroom!) is included, but also a videoclip, some behind the scenes footage and some more stuff like that. In total a very enjoyable DVD, especially recommended to the progrockfans! More info at: http://www.glasshammer.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) TRAIL OF WISDOM ‘EUPHORIA AND MELANCHOLY’ (INDEPENDENT) TRAIL OF WISDOM is a new project of lead singer Roman Gubler. He comes out of Switzerland, and musically we get to hear quality Melodic Hardrock, with some slight Progressive Rock/Metal influences. The songs are very melodic, with some darker (Gothic a la HIM) parts, but always with catchy choruses. Opener “Still alive” for example is a great Melodic Rocker (a la PHIL VINCENT), and so are “Cry wolf” and “Euphoria and melancholy” (with great guest vocals by female lead singer Daniela Fuchs). This is a very good new outfit to check out if you’re a Melodic Rockfan, then go to: http://www.fade.to/novel and e-mail at: roman.gubler@jona.sg.ch (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  LEAVES' EYES 'LOVELORN'(NAPALM RECORDS/ZOMBA) In a time when a certain genre is becoming very popular, you're always spoiled with many new bands and projects in that particular musicstyle. At the moment Female Fronted Gothic Metal is very popular all throughout Europe, with bands like NIGHTWISH, AFTER FOREVER, WITHIN TEMPTATION, XANDRIA, EVANESCENCE etc. all topping the European Charts. Well, of course many new bands follow the footsteps taken by those bands, and LEAVES' EYES is such a new project. Then we need to add here that the female lead singer of this new project is actually a well-known name, because LIV KRISTINE has already reached reasonable success with her other band THEATRE OF TRAGEDY and also solo she did quite well. Now she has a new project called LEAVES' EYES, and their debut CD is a very sensational record, which can easily be put next to NIGHTWISH, AFTER FOREVER and WITHIN TEMPTATION for it's high quality musicianship. Liv's vocals are perfect and with a strong instrumental backing (as performed by members of ATROCITY), this is one of those absolutely perfect albums. Songs like "Norwegian lovesong", "Tale of the sea maid", "The dream", "Return to life" and of course the first single "Into your light" (also featured in a videoclip) are all sensational Melodic Gothic Metalsongs that will be loved by fans of this genre. This is by far one of the best newcomer albums for a long time in the ever-growing melodic female fronted gothic rock/metal genre! (Points: 9.0 out of 10) JOHN WETTON 'AMATA' (METAL MIND/BERTUS) Recorded live in April 2003 in Poland, this CD is a new Live CD from ex-ASIA/UK/KING CRIMSON singer/songwriter/bassist JOHN WETTON. The CD contains 11 songs, and has a playing time of only 37 minutes, but for JOHN WETTON fans this is of course a must. Songs from his entire career were played that night, from ASIA (such as "Heat of the moment", "The smile has left your eyes"), UK ("Book of Saturday") and of course a lot of his solo records (among others "Battle lines", "I believe in you" and "You're not the only one"). Towards the end it gets a bit boring, and you're longing for the full band versions, because a full acoustic CD is not really hot these days, but I still think JOHN WETTON/ASIA fans might like this CD a lot. I sincerely hope for a real new studio CD of John in the near future, with music in the style of his underrated 'Battle lines' solo-CD from 10 years ago. (Points: 7.0 out of 10)  SEPTER ‘TRANSGRESSOR’
(PULSE RECORDS)This band from Illinois, USA is really making you think it’s 1985 all over again, because SEPTER is playing pure mid 1980s Melodic US Metal like a mix between DIO, GRIM REAPER, OBSESSION, JUDAS PRIEST, LEATHERWOLF and BARREN CROSS. I almost can’t believe this is a new band, because it sounds so 1980s and that doesn’t mean it’s dated, because what we hear is a high quality Melodic Metalsound! This is what people would describe as classic 80s Metal, with those typical high pitched vocals and biting guitarwork, especially fans of GRIM REAPER will absolutely love this CD, because there are many similarities to that UK band from the 1980s (who were very popular in the USA back then). Highlights on the CD are the songs “Transgressor” (uptempo classic 80s Metal), “You better believe” (SUPERB semi-ballad), “Tonight” (uptempo like very early STRYPER meets BLOODGOOD) and “Vesuvious” (with awesome guitar solos!). Check it out if you’re a fan of that typical 80s Melodic Metalsound, which so many US bands were playing 20 years ago! More info at: http://www.septerband.com , e-mail them at: Septerband@AOL.com and buy a copy through: http://www.impulsemusic.com (Points: 8.9 out of 10) NAAMAH ‘RESENSEMENT’ (METAL MIND/BERTUS) I don’t have much info on this Polish band, but what I do can tell you is that NAAMAH is one of those high quality relaxing progressive rockbands in the style of QUIDAM, MOSTLY AUTUMN, JADIS, KARNATAKA... Their CD ‘Resensement’ is filled with relaxing Progressive Rock, with strong melodies, excellent guitarwork and strong female lead vocals (by singer Anna Panasz). The sound is clearly updated, so it sounds modern, but it definitely is pure high class Progressive Rock what we get to hear. 7 songs are included, with also an additional 2 bonustracks, which makes this CD more than 60 minutes long. Songs like “Severed”, “Not for you” and “Alright” are all lovely Progressive Rocksongs. I am sure that the pure Progrockfans will absolutely love this CD of NAAMAH, so go check out their site at: http://naamah.rockmetal.art.pl (Points: 8.4 out of 10)  XANDRIA ‘RAVENHEART’
(DRAKKAR/BMG)Last year the German band XANDRIA released their successfull debut CD, which was praised as the German version of WITHIN TEMPTATION, and I had to admit they were as good as the Dutch band. Now the band has released a follow-up titled ‘Ravenheart’, which went up quite high last month in the German CD charts, so XANDRIA is also becoming as successfull as WITHIN TEMPTATION. I think the new XANDRIA album is even stronger than their debut. Especially opener and titletrack “Ravenheart” is a very strong Melodic Female Fronted Gothic Rock/Metalsong that is as good as anything WITHIN TEMPTATION or EVANESCENCE has done so far. In total we can find 12 songs on the CD, and without a doubt we are dealing here with a high quality (light) Gothic Melodic Rock/Metalabum, which could easily become huge in whole Europe. Besides “Ravenheart”, other highlights are “Back to the river”, “Fire of universe”, “Answer” (fantastic!) and “Too close to breath”. Concluded, a highly recommended album to fans of the popular female fronted Gothic Melodic Rock/Metal genre... More info at: http://www.xandria.de (Points: 8.6 out of 10) MOONLIGHT ‘AUDIO 136’ (METAL MIND/BERTUS) Another female fronted Gothic Rock/Metalband from Poland. This band is called MOONLIGHT, and their new CD is slightly different than the typical NIGHTWISH/WITHIN TEMPTATION stuff we get to hear. MOONLIGHT is sounding like a lighter version of EVANESCENCE, mixed with some Progressive Rock, all sounding very modern. The band has a very good female lead singer (Maja Konarska), who makes this band sounding very strong. Not all songs are convincing, but songs like “Words”, “Niedokonczony sen” (only song sung in the Polish language) and “New life” are quite nice to listen to. The band has created a sort of own style, which combines Progressive Rock, Gothic Rock/Metal with modern elements. Still it is also recommended to every fan of female fronted music, because MOONLIGHT has got a very good lead singer... (Points: 7.9 out of 10)  TEN 'RETURN TO EVERMORE'(INTENSITY RECORDS) GARY HUGHES returns with his own band TEN, after releasing the 2 ONCE AND FUTURE KING CDs last year. Musically nothing has changed happily, only a switch from label, because they are not under the wings of FRONTIERS RECORDS anymore. TEN has released their new CD on their own label INTENSITY RECORDS. The CD sounds like a classic TEN release, so this is Melodic Hardrock of a very high level once again. 12 songs are included, and with a playing time of more than 60 minutes, there's a lot to enjoy here. Highlights on the new TEN CD are such great melodic rockers like "Dreamtide", "Evermore", "Even the ghosts cry", "The one" and "Tearing my heart out" (midtempo with heavy guitar riffs a la BLACK SABBATH), but Gary can also still make some beautiful ballads ("Sail away", "Stay a while" and "Strangers in the night"). Together with a very nice looking CD booklet, this is not only a must-have for the TEN fans among us, but actually a must for every Melodic Hardrock/Metalfan! Gary is signing the first 2000 copies of the CD bought from Intensity Records, Unit 6 Maritime Street Industrial Estate, Copse Road, Fleetwood, Lancs, FY7 7PB, ENGLAND. The CD with post and packaging costs 12 GBP (i.e. £12) and payment should be made to "A. Stelfox". "Payment can also be made to Paypal, email address annettestelfox@yahoo.co.uk For more info you can also go to their website at: http://www.tenofthebest.com and listen to samples at: http://www.melodicrock.com/showcase/ten-returntoevermore.html (Points: 8.9 out of 10) LIZARD ‘PSYCHOPULS’ (METAL MIND/BERTUS) Apparantly Poland has covered many Progressive Rockbands through the years, but I only know a few, like QUIDAM for example. Anyway, LIZARD is such a band that has been on the scene for quite some time, but this is the first time I hear their music. Musically they play very modern Progressive Rock, and sadly sometimes it gets a bit too modern. They also sing in the Polish language, but that should not be such a problem. Anyway, the CD is built around a theme, which is the Psychopuls. 9 parts of this theme are included here, and it’s unnecessary to mention songtitles here, because they all start with “Psychopuls”. For a progressive rockfan this might be a very interesting album to check out, because LIZARD is playing a sort of experimental modern type of Progressive Rock, which is hard to compare to other bands, but if you like some of the CYCLOPS releases, you might as well enjoy LIZARD a lot. You can find all the info on this band at: http://www.artrock.pl/lizard (Points: 7.4 out of 10) QUARTZ ‘STAND UP AND FIGHT’ (MAJESTIC ROCK/BERTUS) The UK band QUARTZ was formed some 30 years ago, and although they never got out of the underground scene, they are definitely one of the first NWOBHM bands to appear on the horizon back in the mid/late 1970s. Musically a melodic version of SAXON, with some SLADE orientated vocals and a guitarsound a la THIN LIZZY, ending up sounding a lot like KROKUS (!). ‘Stand up and fight’ was released 24 years ago on MCA RECORDS (!), and now finally an official re-issue onto CD by MAJESTIC ROCK. It’s a pity only one bonustrack is included (“Circles”), because the recent Sanctuary release contained 2 full CDs with QUARTZ material. Nevertheless, this is interesting to see on CD finally, and the 8 original songs of the album ‘Stand up and fight’ still sound fresh nowadays. Songs like “Charlie Snow”, “Can’t say no to you”, “Revenge” and “Wildfire” are all strong Melodic Heavy Rockers. Recommended stuff to fans of classic NWOBHM! (Points: 8.3 out of 10) (All reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted) |