| MOXY ‘5’ (BULLSEYE
RECORDS) The return of MOXY back in the early 00s was celebrated with a live CD, a reunion tour and a new studio CD in the shape of ‘5’. The album basically is a sort of modern version of MOXY’s classic 70s Hardrock, ending up sounding like WHITESNAKE meets LED ZEPPELIN here and there, and although not all songs are impressive, a few of the 15 included tracks are definitely worth mentioning. Songs like “Burning in the night”, “Not for the glory, not for the gold”, “Walking on the wild side” and “High lonely” are all great Melodic Hardrocksongs with biting guitarwork and good vocal work of new singer Max B. Maxim. Concluded, a good return of the legendary 70s Canadian Hardrockband MOXY, whom after 20 years of inactivity are back with new CDs in the shape of the recently reviewed live record and now, this new studio-CD. You can buy the CD through http://www.bullseyecanada.com (Points: 8.3 out of 10) CONXIOUS ‘BETWEEN ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE’ (INDEPENDENT) Out of Austria comes CONXIOUS, a band playing Progressive Metal. Although they are influenced by the likes of FATES WARNING, RUSH and YES, their music is slightly heavier and more modern sometimes. Nevertheless, what we get to hear on the band’s second album is very nice progressive metal. 12 tracks are included, with a total running time of a stunning 77 minutes! Highlights on the CD are “How could you”, “I want you”, “Too many times” and “Since winter’72”. The songs are quite melodic, and I think most of the Progressive Metalfans will like this a lot. It reminds me a bit of MAGNITUDE 9, only not of such a high level. More info can be found at: http://www.conxious.com and e-mail them at: Michael.Ghezzo@gmx.at (Points: 7.7 out of 10) UNDERRIDE ‘NECESSARY EVIL’ (INDEPENDENT) The Seattle based band UNDERRIDE is dangerously close to Nu-Metal during the start of their CD ‘Necessary evil’, but happily the band also proves they can make good music later on the CD. The song “Seven ways from Sunday” for example is a good groovy Melodic Hardrocksong with strong vocals, kinda like WAR AND PEACE and 90s DOKKEN. The CD itself is a quality label orientated CD, with quality artwork and a big sound, but only like I said before the music goes up and down, with nice groovy melodic hardrock material (“Mach five child”, “Seven ways from Sunday”, “One away” and “Super glue”), but also uninteresting Nu-Metal (“Slow crawl” and “All American God”). If you don’t mind some Nu-Metal, and you’re interesting in hearing a mix between DANZIG, 90s DOKKEN, WIDOWMAKER and LINKIN PARK, then do check out UNDERRIDE at: http://www.underride.net and e-mail at: bmichalski@isomedia.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10)  TALISMAN ‘TRUTH AND LIVE AT
SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL’ (GMR MUSIC)One of Sweden’s best Hardrockbands since the likes of EUROPE and MALMSTEEN opened the doors for Swedish Rock/Hardrock back in the 1980s has got to be the fantastic TALISMAN. They released 6 studio CDs in the 14 years they have been together (although the band did take some time off every few years), and after the recent re-releases of the first 3 TALISMAN classics, it is now time for the re-release of their 1998 record ‘Truth’. This album was yet another superb piece of melodic hardrock (with slight modern touch) and saw once again many new TALISMAN classics like “In the end”, “Here 2day, gone 2day”, “I’ll b there 4 U”, “Heaven’s got another hero” (midtempo AOR!), “The man I’ll never be” and the straight-ahead pure 80s Melodic Hardrock of “Angel/devil” and “Pavilion of oblivion”, while covers of MADONNA (“Frozen”), QUEEN (“Let me entertain you”) and PRINCE (“Darling Nikki”) got a whole new dimension on this CD. The album has now been re-released, together with the release of the band’s performance in 2001 at the Sweden Rock Festival, so making this re-release another high class double-CD every fan of JEFF SCOTT SOTO and TALISMAN must own! The live performance is also awesome (of course) with a non-stop high class TALISMAN set-list with some covers (QUEEN and MALMSTEEN) and of course TALISMAN classics like “I’ll be waiting”, “Break your chains”, “Dangerous”, “Colour my XTC” and “Mysterious” and also very important for a live record, the sound quality is absolutely perfect!. All together, another highly recommended 2-CD set of TALISMAN. You can buy the CD through: http://www.gmrmusic.se (Points: 9.2 out of 10)  ABYDOS ‘ABYDOS’
(INSIDE OUT MUSIC/SUBURBAN)ABYDOS is the new project of VANDENPLAS singer Andy Kuntz. Andy recorded together with guitarists/keyboardplayers Stefan Glass and Michael Krauss and VANDENPLAS drummer Andreas Lill the first ABYDOS album, which musically is not too far away from VANDENPLAS, yet a bit more experimental, with some modern touches, however the melodies are still quite rich and will please any VANDENPLAS fan. The CD is sort of a concept-record, dealing with a place called Abydos, which was the birthplace of theatre some 3500 years ago. Andy wrote a complete story around this topic, and the reason is because Andy is not only the frontman of VANDENPLAS, but is also on stage performing on musicals like ‘Evita’, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ and ‘Rocky Horror Show’. Musically his solo-project ABYDOS brings us high quality Progressive Melodic Rock/Metal, and although it is influenced by 70s Progressive Rock (there is indeed a strong YES influence here and there), it definitely sounds like a typical VANDENPLAS record, which doesn’t bother me, because the full CD sounds quite awesome and is as good as any VANDENPLAS album! Songs like “Silence”, “Wildflowersky”, “Coppermoon (the other side)” and “God’s driftwood” are without a doubt fantastic Progressive Melodic Rocksongs that sound like the perfect mix between JOURNEY, YES, DREAM THEATER and VANDENPLAS. This is definitely a must-have for all Prog. Rock/Metalfans and especially if you’re a VANDENPLAS fan... (Points: 8.9 out of 10) TOMALO ‘PLAY IT LOUD’ (INDEPENDENT) Out of Brazil comes the band TOMALO, and they play pure late 1980s American orientated Melodic Mainstream Hardrock in the style of FIREHOUSE, DANGER DANGER, DOKKEN, WHITE LION... 11 songs are on their latest CD ‘Play it loud’, which is their 2nd CD so far. The production, artwork and everything is all very professional, so this is definitely a quality band and not just some sort of independent band. Not all the songs are very strong, but here and there we can hear some very good Melodic Hardrock like “She makes me”, “Beth” (KISS cover), “Why?” and “Love is...”. Nice to check out if you’re a fan of big Arena late 80s US orientated Melodic Hardrock, then go to: http://www.tomalo3.tripod.com and e-mail them at: tomalo_3@hotmail.com (Points: 7.9 out of 10) HALB SO WILD ‘LEBE WOHL’ (INDEPENDENT) Although this band sings in the German language, they sound awesome, playing a mix of typical female fronted Gothic Metal and Progressive Metal, ending up sounding like bands such as LEAVES’ EYES/AFTER FOREVER/NIGHTWISH/XANDRIA. The band has a very good female lead singer (Dani Pollei) and the songs are all very melodic, while still being pure Gothic/Prog-Metal. Opener “Lieber allein” shows right from the start that this is a great band you need to check out if you’re into any of the mentioned bands. Other highlights are “Hoer auf mich”, “Mein” (uptempo melodic rocker) and “Folge der Sonne”. Without a doubt, a highly recommended band to check out at: http://www.halbsowild.com (Points: 8.4 out of 10) MERCURY FALLING ‘PANTARHEI’ (INDEPENDENT) Here’s a high quality Neo-Classical Melodic Metalband out of Germany, who play along the lines of the mighty KAMELOT mixed with SYMPHONY X, although such a high level is not always reached. Although vocally Michael Pabst is not as good as the singers of mentioned bands, he surely is able to sing very well (without the German accent!) and especially instrumental the band is sounding very impressive. There are 11 tracks on their first full-length CD ‘Pantharhei’, which sounds quite sensational for a newcomer. As said before the band has some very KAMELOT orientated material on their album, such as opener “Pandora’s box”, an uptempo neo-classical Melodic Metal tune. What follows is a nice mixture of Neo-Classical and Melodic (Progressive) Metal, with as highlights “Lies”, “Aeons of time” (best song, fast uptempo catchy Melodic Neo-Classical Metal like KAMELOT meets SONATA ARCTICA) and “Silent tomb”. If you’re starting to become interested, then go to: http://www.mercuryfalling.de (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  GLENN HUGHES ‘SOULFULLY LIVE IN
THE CITY OF ANGELS’(FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS) FRONTIERS RECORDS is proud to release a double-live CD and a DVD of Mr. GLENN HUGHES, the voice of Rock! The CDs contain 13 tracks, 2 more than on the DVD (these are bonus studio tracks). The performed concert was recorded earlier this year in front of a selected amount of people, mostly friends and relatives. Glenn played songs from mostly his 70s works (TRAPEZE, DEEP PURPLE) and his last couple of solo-records, although he didn’t forget to play a song of the HUGHES/THRALL classic (“First step of love”). The sound quality is very good, and of course the performance of all these classic GLENN HUGHES songs is terrific. Glenn’s voice has stood the test of time, and he gave most of the songs a real ‘Soul’ touch. The DVD contains the full concert, as well as some interviews with Glenn and the bandmembers. I think this is a good move from FRONTIERS RECORDS to release a 2-CD set/DVD of one of Rock’s best vocalists ever! (Points: 8.9 out of 10) SACRED HEART ‘LAY IT ON THE LINE’ (INDEPENDENT) I recently reviewed some demos and already knew that SACRED HEART could become a new AOR sensation and with the release of their official first full-length CD ‘Lay it one the line’ they prove that there’s hope for new UK AOR acts. The album is filled with high class 80s influenced catchy AOR/Melodic Rock. Opener “Lay it on the line” is a very good strong AOR/Melodic Rocker with a catchy memorable chorus. This song makes you think back of the days of FM, MORITZ, SHOGUN, AIRRACE, ATLANTIC, PASSION STREET, WALK THE WIRE and more of such legendary AOR/Melodic Rockbands. Other highlights are “N.Y.C. (uptempo melodic rocker), “The last goodbye”, “In my heart” and “It’s alright”. The songs are ultra-melodic, with strong vocals and guitarwork of Paul Stead, who is by the leader of this band (writing, playing kleys, guitars and singing!). All AOR/Melodic Rockfans need to check out the awesome CD of this great British AOR/Melodic Rockband at: http://www.sacredheartband.com and e-mail them at: info@sacredheartband.com or shpm@sacredheartband.com (Points: 8.7 out of 10)  JEFF SCOTT SOTO ‘LOST IN THE
TRANSLATION’(FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS) Hot on the heels of the mini-CD ‘Believe in me’ comes JEFF SCOTT SOTO’s new full-length CD release ‘Lost in the translation’, which is definitely much rockier than the mini-CD preview last month. The CD starts with the already on the mini-CD previewed uptempo melodic rocker “Believe in me”, but what follows are 10 hard rockin’ songs in the best JEFF SCOTT SOTO style. This new solo-CD of JEFF SCOTT SOTO is definitely much rockier than the previous solo CDs, maybe his rockiest since MALMSTEEN (!). This is also due to the fact that 3 well-established guitarists make their appearance (NEAL SCHON, HOWIE SIMON, GARY SCHUTT), while Jeff himself plays bass, keys and sings of course (!). On drums Glen Sobel filled the spot and from start to finish this album is filled with high quality Melodic Hardrock in the style of late TALISMAN, VAN HALEN and some GLENN HUGHES. This is Melodic Hardrock at it’s best! Every JEFF SCOTT SOTO will love this record a lot, and with such wonderful songs like “Drowning” (strong uptempo melodic hardrock), “If this is the end” (beautiful perfect 80s AOR/Melodic Rockballad a la JOURNEY/SURVIVOR), “High time” (fun uptempo melodic rocker), “Beginning 2 end” (beautiful perfect AOR/Melodic Rockballad) and the uptempo melodic hardrocksong “Find our way”, this is a highly recommended CD to every reader of our site! (Points: 9.1 out of 10)  DEAD SOUL TRIBE ‘THE JANUARY
TREE’(INSIDE OUT MUSIC/SUBURBAN) Former PSYCHOTIC WALTZ singer DEVON GRAVES returns with a new CD as DEAD SOUL TRIBE, his own band/project after leaving his former band 7 years ago. The third album of DEAD SOUL TRIBE is a strong quality album and is actually better than the previous albums, now more focused on pure Progressive Metal. Devon does almost everything on his own (production, vocals, all instruments, except drums – which was done by Adel Moustafa). Devon proves he is still a good singer and songwriter, because the concept-CD he has now released as DEAD SOUL TRIBE is a very strong Melodic Progmetalalbum that sometimes sounds a bit like THRESHOLD, a band with whom he is going to tour later this year. Highlights on the new DEAD SOUL TRIBE are “Sirens”, “Why?”, “The coldest days of winter” and “Toy rockets”. The more experienced Progmetalfan might like this CD a lot, but it takes some time to understand the whole record, although that’s usually the case with good prog releases! (Points: 8.2 out of 10) MILLION ‘2004 EP’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS/BERTUS) The Swedish melodic hardrockband returns with a great new EP, probably their best release in a decade! Their last couple of albums were not really strong, but with this new 5-track EP they are back where they started from, which is pure 80s inspired Melodic Hardrock like a mix between early EUROPE, GOTTHARD and DOKKEN. Songs like “On and on” and “Fight you forever” are fantastic catchy uptempo melodic heavy rockers with very strong choruses, basically sounding perfect. Besides 3 new songs (of which “What I want” will only be available on this EP), there are also 2 unplugged versions of old MILLION songs included, so this is without a doubt a recommended EP! The EP is a big promise for the forthcoming full-length CD, which will be released later this year! (Points: 8.8 out of 10) BITCHES SIN ‘THE FIRST TEMPTATION’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS/BERTUS) BITCHES SIN was one of many typical early 80s NWOBHM acts in the UK that didn’t become as huge as MAIDEN or LEPPARD, but on the other hand had a huge following in the underground scene. They recorded quite a lot material, of which this CD is featuring material dating back to 1980 and 1981. The CD contains the demo ‘Twelve pounds and no kinks’ and the 1981 BBC session, both previously unavailable on CD. Fans of classic NWOBHM will love this CD, becauseit truly captures that early 80s sound so many UK bands had back then. Highlights are songs like “Fallen star”, “Hold on to love”, “White lady” and “Two of a kind”. Check it out if you’re a fan of early 80s NWOBHM! (Points: 7.8 out of 10)  KICK AXE ‘4’ (MTM
MUSIC/SUBURBAN)It took the legendary Canadian Hardrockband KICK AXE 17 years (!) to release a follow-up to their 3rd album. ‘4’ is the title of the CD, on which they continue playing the Hardrock they created on their previous 3 albums, only this time a little slower and bluesier, like LED ZEPPELIN, KINGDOM COME, AEROSMITH... The band replaced lead singer George Criston for original lead singer Gary Langen, who sang with KICK AXE back in the 1970s before any album was released by the band. Gary also plays drums here, together with drummer Brian Gillstrom, giving this dual drumstyle a sort of new dimension to KICK AXE’s sound. 14 tracks are included, and sadly it is nowhere near as good as their 3 1980s records, which were all released on the big label CBS/SONY MUSIC. Although musically not much has changed, the songs are not strong enough to compete with the older KICK AXE releases. It’s not bad what we hear, but I am afraid this album will be unnoticed if you’re not a die-hard fan of the band. Songs like “Consolation”, “Turn to stone”, “Do you know”, “Black heart” and “Who says” are good groovy melodic hardrocksongs with a strong KINGDOM COME kinda vibe. However, most of the songs are just nice, and go in one ear and out the other, although I can imagine that the original KICK AXE fans will like this, but I had expected a bit more from this legendary band... (Points: 7.9 out of 10)  SAVAGE ‘HYPERACTIVE’(BRITISH STEEL/LEMON RECORDINGS/CHERRY RED RECORDS) The legendary UK band SAVAGE released about 22 years ago a sort of classic NWOBHM album titled ‘Loose ‘n’ lethal’, and although many people thoughts this was their only album then you’re thinking wrong, because in 1985 SAVAGE released ‘Hyperactive’, an album which was re-issued onto CD sometime ago as part of the BRITISH STEEL sublabel of CHERRY RED RECORDS. The 9 original album tracks are included here, as well as 3 bonustracks. The album saw the band moving in a more Melodic Hardrock kinda style, which at best sounded a lot like DEF LEPPARD in their early years. Opener and single “We got the edge” alone was a deadringer for fans of let’s say 1980/1981 DEF LEPPARD. Happily, the 1985 SAVAGE wasn’t just a copy, because this ‘Hyperactive’ album was basically a very strong record, with flashy guitarwork and tight Melodic Hardrocksongs. Besides the opener, other highlights are “Eye for an eye”, “Hard on your heels”, “Blind hunger” (great song, with very strong chorus a la SHY) and “Cardiac”. The fact the band featured a great guitarplayer and a strong lead singer made them easily one of the better bands in the NWOBHM movement, but also their later recordings, such as this awesome 1985 album is a recommended piece in the big history of UK Hardrock/Metal. Sometimes it reminds me of very early SHY, TYGERS OF PAN TANG (‘The cage’ area) mixed with early DEF LEPPARD, so actually very British sounding. More info (and you can buy the CD itself) through: http://www.lemonrecordings.co.uk (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  WITCHFYNDE ‘THE BEST OF’ (BRITISH STEEL/LEMON RECORDINGS/CHERRY RED RECORDS) WITCHFYNDE was one of many legendary bands from the NWOBHM movement. They released 4 albums in the early 80s, and the 90s saw re-issues of 3 of the 4 WITCHFYNDE releases, but also tbis best of release. 16 tracks included and probably the best collection of WITCHFYNDE material on CD. They basically played your typical early 80s NWOBHM, yet with a slight own approach, which can be heard on classic songs like “Give ‘em hell”, “Leaving nadir”, “Ready to roll”, the 9 minutes counting epic “Unto the ages of the ages”, “Stage fright” and the melodic rockers “Moon magic” and “In the stars”. Their later recordings saw them moving into a slightly straighter Melodic Rock/Hardrockstyle, but especially their early recordings contain a very extraordinary kind of Hardrocksound with Doom Metal influences. The band truly had their own style, which can best be heard on this great compilation CD, which you can order through: http://www.lemonrecordings.co.uk (Points: 8.2 out of 10)  THE HANDSOME BEASTS ‘BEASTIALITY’ (BRITISH STEEL/LEMON RECORDINGS/CHERRY RED RECORDS) The cover of this original 1981 release was a very funny, yet uninspiring one, but musically THE HANDSOME BEASTS were one of the better NWOBHM bands. They released 2 albums in the early 80s on HEAVY METAL RECORDS (a label found because nobody would sign HANDSOME BEASTS in 1980!), and this re-issue of their debut ‘Beastiality’ comes with 4 bonustracks. Musically like many other bands, also THE HANDSOME BEASTS were playing that typical early 80s NWOBHM style, like SAXON and RAVEN, with a slight 70s SLADE/SWEET vibe in the instrumental part, yet with very strong vocals of singer Garry Dalway. 13 tracks are on this CD, which has a good sound and not a dated one like you would expect. Songs like “Sweeties”, “Breaker” (very strong uptempo rocker, pure SAXON), “Local heroes” and “All riot now” stood the test of time and are instant classic pieces of early 80s NWOBHM. A must-have release for fans of this style, which ruled Europe in and around 1980. More info through: http://www.lemonrecordings.co.uk (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  SILENT FORCE ‘WORLDS
APART’(NOISE RECORDS/SANCTUARY/SUBURBAN/BERTUS) It took SILENT FORCE 3 years, but now they are ready to make a strong comeback with their 3rd CD ‘Worlds apart’, an album that brings them completely back in the spotlight of the Melodic Metalscene. I have to admit that the album sounds very impressive and is probably their best effort of the American/German band. The CD was produced by DENNIS WARD (PINK CREAM 69), who gave it a HUGE sound! In total 12 songs are included, and for those who are not aware of SILENT FORCE, I can inform you that they play a sort of Neo-Classical Metal mix of 1980s US Melodic Hardrock and today’s Scandi Power Metal sound, kinda like FIFTH ANGEL meets STRATOVARIUS, while having a dinner with DREAM EVIL. Some songs are very sensational indeed, such as “No one lives forever” (very strong uptempo Melodic Hardrock with a superb 80s chorus, even MALMSTEEN/TALISMAN influences in here), “Once again” (another strong chorus with STRATOVARIUS kinda vibe), “Master of my destiny” (big Melodic Hardrock a la DREAM EVIL/SCORPIONS) and the final 3 tracks (“Iron hand”, “Heart attack” and “Worlds apart”). In between there are also some weaker songs (“Death comes in disguise”, “Merry Minstrel” and “Spread your wings”), which go in one ear and out the other, but most of the time this new SILENT FORCE is sounding very impressive. It contains elements that will appeal to fans of not only the Melodic Metalstyle, but also both Melodic Hardrock and Power Metalfreaks will find something of interest in the new SILENT FORCE CD. It’s definitely the best CD of the band so far! (Points: 8.7 out of 10)  PULSE ‘WORLDS APART’
(MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN)A few years ago the British band PULSE (formed around MAGNUM/BOB CATLEY guitarist Vince O’Regan) released their debut CD, which contained some nice AOR/Melodic Rock in the MAGNUM style, but the album was not really outstanding. However, it’s been a few years and in the meantime PULSE worked on their 2nd CD, which has now seen the light of day on MTM MUSIC. I can easily inform you that this new album is so much better and is really featuring some of the best British AOR we have heard in years. This new PULSE CD comes close in approaching the latest British AOR classic (ATLANTIC’s 1994 debut and only CD). What we have here is basically a fantastic pure AOR release that sounds like a mix between REFUGEE (remember that Canadian band?) and ATLANTIC, with very passionate soulful vocals of singer Simon Abbotts (who sounds like STEVE OVERLAND of FM). Some of the songs also have a bit of MAGNUM and THUNDER vibes, but take it from me that this is mainly a pure AOR releases (even with some SURVIVOR influences!). If we have a closer look at the songs, I can tell you that out of the 11 included, at least 8 are very sensational. Recommended songs are “Worlds apart” (classic 80s uptempo AOR, mix between SURVIVOR, MAGNUM and above all, REFUGEE), “Your not alone” (more classic uptempo AOR), “Feels like the first time” (very strong midtempo AOR/Melodic Rock a la ATLANTIC), “Break the chain” (great melodic rockballad) and the uptempo AOR rockers “Do it all again” and “In your eyes”. What more do I need to add here then saying that this 2nd PULSE CD is a must-have release for all AOR fans! (Points: 8.9 out of 10) SONIQ THEATER ‘THIS MORTAL COIL’ (INDEPENDENT) This is the 4th CD of the multi-instrumentalist Alfred Mueller, who does everything on his own on his SONIC THEATER releases. 9 tracks are included this time, and despite one vocal track, all the songs are instrumental quality progressive rocksongs. It’s really a pleasure to listen to these instrumentals, which feature some great keyboard and guitarwork, all performed very well by Alfred. The only weak song is the vocal track “Break the frame”, but the other 8 songs are a pleasure to listen to, especially if you’re into the typical Neo-Progsound of bands like IQ and PENDRAGON. More info at: http://www.soniqtheater.de and e-mail Alfred at: andromadeus@12move.de (Points: 7.9 out of 10)  GRANNY’S INTENTIONS
FEATURING GARY MOORE‘HONEST INJUN’ (LEMON RECORDINGS/CHERRY RED RECORDS) When you dig in the past you can find some really rare recordings and GRANNY’S INTENTIONS is one of those rare bands from the late 1960s. They managed to release a few singles and this album back in 1969/1970. The Irish band was the first band on which GARY MOORE record anything on LP, but the weird thing is nothing was mentioned about Gary actually playing on the record (!). However, now some 35 years later Gary said in an interview this was indeed the first recording he ever did. Musically GRANNY’S INTENTIONS was a typical 60s Pop/Rockband that even had some Country rock influences in their music. Although this re-issue on CD is mainly interesting for the GARY MOORE fans, because he played on 9 tracks, some tracks like “Maybe”, “Susan of the country” and “Heavy loaded minds” are nice pieces of some of the very first Irish Rock/Hardrock. The CD comes with some nicely written liner notes, pictures and the sound quality of the 11 songs are very good, so this is definitely a quality re-issue. More info at: http://www.lemonrecordings.co.uk or http://www.cherryred.co.uk (Points: 7.7 out of 10) CHARING CROSS ‘BACK FOR ATTACK’ (INDEPENDENT) CAHRING CROSS is an awesome new Melodic Hardrockband out of Switzerland, and with the 5 tracks on their debut mini-CD ‘Back for attack’ I can easily mention them as a new Swiss sensation in the style of SHAKRA, KROKUS, GOTTHARD, CHINA, CRYSTAL BALL... The songs are very strong, catchy and also contain tight guitarwork. The lead vocals of singer Peter Hochuli and the harmonyvocals during the choruses sound very impressive, and also the production is quite good. This is without a doubt a very sensational band, especially uptempo melodic hardrocksongs like “Back for attack”, “Judgement day” and “Rumble” are songs that will be loved by any SHAKRA, GOTTHARD or KROKUS fan! This CHARING CROSS is a highly recommended band to check out at: http://www.charing-cross.ch and e-mail them at: manage@charing-cross.ch (Points: 8.6 out of 10) RATPACK ‘OUT OF MIND’ (INDEPENDENT) RATPACK is bringing us typical German melodic hardrock in the style of VICTORY, BONFIRE, V2, CASANOVA, CANNON... They have released 2 CDs, ‘Out of mind’ and a live covers CD (with covers of songs by LED ZEPPELIN, TYKETTO, VAN HALEN, MOTLEY CRUE, AC/DC and SAXON). Their CD ‘Out of mind’ contains own material and actually it sounds very nice, although vocally you will have to deal with a strong German accent. Songs like “Nothing to lose”, “Blink of an eye”, Miles away” and “Shelter me” are all nice Melodic Hardrocksongs a la WHITE LION, VICTORY... Check it out for yourself at: http://www.ratpack-online.de (Points: 7.7 out of 10)  KINGDOM COME ‘KINGDOM
COME’(LEMON RECORDINGS/CHERRY RED RECORDS) Great stories need to be re-told, and the story on this German/American band is one that should never be forgotten. Back in 1988 they recorded a high quality debut album that sounded a lot like LED ZEPPELIN, and the funny thing was that the label actually managed to deny it wasn’t LED ZEPPELIN, so the people who heard KINGDOM COME on the radio had no idea this was a new band that had nothing to do with LED ZEPPELIN. The radio stations in the US played the KINGDOM COME songs quite a lot, but their promo copies were white label vinyl copies without any information, so they were fooled as well by the band’s label (POLYDOR RECORDS), who wanted to do the same trick they did with the AEROSMITH/ROLLING STONES cunfusion 15 years before that. After a while it came out that KINGDOM COME had no relation to LED ZEPPELIN other than sounding like them. In the end it was KINGDOM COME who suffered the loss of lots of extra sold copies, and never got any promotion in the US, which lead to the fact they did not sell many records in the US after their debut album. Till this day the debut of KINGDOM COME from 1988 remains their best release, which sounded like an updated 80s melodic hardrock version of LED ZEPPELIN. Now the album has been re-released, with the addition of a bonustrack, and then you can clearly hear that they were a high quality band back then, and they should have deserved success on their own, and not just being labelled as a poor man’s LED ZEPPELIN rip off. Songs like “Living out of touch”, “Pushin’ hard”, “What love can be”, “Now forever after” (fantastic, almost AORish a la FRONTLINE – whom must have been influenced by this KINGDOM COME song!) and “Shout it out” are all classic KINGDOM COME tracks. It’s a shame the album never got as big as it should have been, if only the label had promoted it as KINGDOM COME, instead of not saying anything on it’s release and making it sound like some sort of new LED ZEPPELIN release, then it all could have went the other way. Nevertheless this new re-release should gave the band some respect to their best effort. From there on it went downhill, with their last couple of releases being quite average release actually. This one however is one you must own if you’re a dedicated hardrockfan! More info at: http://www.lemonrecordings.co.uk or http://www.cherryred.co.uk (Points: 8.8 out of 10)  707 ‘THE BRIDGE’
(MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN)Back in the early 80s 707 made a big name in the US Rockscene, releasing a few successfull releases, such as their 3rd LP (1983’s ‘Megaforce’), which even introduced us to one of the best voices in the AOR scene (KEVIN CHALFANT). However, their first 2 releases saw a different lead singer (PHIL BRYANT), with whom they also recorded a third album titled ‘The bridge’, which never saw the light of day, until now, because MTM CLASSIX has released the album that was scraped and replaced by ‘Megaforce’ with new singer Kevin Chalfant a year after it’s original recording. You can clearly hear that this album has that typical early 80s (707) kinda AOR/Radiorocksound. It’s not the band’s best release, and I still hope that MTM CLASSIX will also re-issue the first 2 707 albums someday soon, but ‘The bridge’ definitely contains a few AOR classix here and there. Highlights include “Leader” (late 70s STYX/ROADMASTERish Pomprock), “You’re all I need” (classic early 80s uptempo AOR/Radiorock a la PREVIEW, 38 SPECIAL, very very early SURVIVOR) and “Message from a friend” (more classic early 80s AOR). The 2 best songs however can be found between the 3 bonustracks on this CD, which are “The waiting game” (pure midtempo late 70s Pomprock) and “Perfect lies” (classic 80s AOR). In the end, a must-have release for the fans of classic 80s AOR and of course every 707 fan, who has been waiting for this album to be released after being stored for 22 years... (Points: 8.7 out of 10) VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘ROXCALIBUR’ (BRITISH STEEL/LEMON RECORDINGS/CHERRY RED RECORDS) In the early 80s a lot of compilation LPs were released, all containing a collection of NWOBHM bands that were hot on the heels to be the next DEF LEPPARD, SAXON, MAIDEN or RAVEN. However, only a few survived, and so these compilation LPs are very interesting and sought after by NWOBHM freaks. Recently a few have been re-issued onto CD, of which ‘Roxcalibur’ is one of them. This compilation album was originally released in 1982 and contains 14 tracks in total. Each band has 2 tracks on the album, which gives us in total 7 bands to listen to. A few of the bands did record albums after being featured on this compilation CD (BLACK ROSE, BATTLEAXE, SATAN), but none of them really managed to become as big as MAIDEN or DEF LEPPARD. Musically most of the band sounded like any other NWOBHM band around that time, yet all with their own approach, although most of the bands sounded like a mix between SAXON, RIOT (US band!) and RAVEN. Best bands would be BLACK ROSE, MARAUDER and SKITZOFRENIK, but most important songs on this compilation CD came from SATAN, whose songs “The executioner” and “Oppression” can only be found on this compilation CD, which makes it a must-have for SATAN fans. The band itself went on releasing quite a few albums, and the guitarist of the band (Russ Tippins) went on playing with SKYCLAD, a very successfull band that recently released a new CD on MASSACRE RECORDS. Concluded, this compilation CD contains a lot of rare material from underground NWOBHM bands, and especially SATAN fans will have to check it out asap. More info through: http://www.lemonrecordings.co.uk (Points: 8.0 out of 10) ORDEN ORGAN ‘TESTIMONIUM A.D.’ (INDEPENDENT) Here’s another quality band from Germany with a very professional CD release. The band consists of 6 members (including a flute player) and they play strong original melodic power metal like a mix between FALCONER, FRETERNIA and MAGO DE OZ. I can easily inform you that the band has a very strong sound, and their songs are very impressive, while they also have a fantastic male lead singer (guitarist/keyboardplayer Sebastian Levermann, who also wrote all the songs on the first CD of ORDEN ORGAN. This is definitely a band with a promising future. Songs like “Ethereal ocean“, “Moods” (actually pure 70s KANSAS!!!) and “Golden” are all great original songs that contain elements of Prog, Power and Melodic Rock/Metal mixed with some Folk, and all together this band just sounds quite sensational. Therefore I recommend you to check out their site at: http://www.ordenorgan.de and e-mail them at: Seeb@ordenorgan.de (Points: 8.6 out of 10)  ASIA ‘SILENT
NATION’(INSIDE OUT MUSIC/SPV/SUBURBAN) After waiting for 3 years for a new ASIA release, I am pleased to say that this is by far the best ASIA release since the 1985 ‘Astra’ album so their best album in almost 20 years (!). Finally, the band has made a return to their 80s Arena AOR/Symphonic Melodic Rocksound which made them so popular back in 1982. Singer John Payne has been a very good replacement for JOHN WETTON, and after 14 years of being with ASIA he now finally can sing some real rocksongs, which he does quite well actually. Live on stage the band will now only play material from the first 2 ASIA album, and this new release, so definitely a rockin’ ASIA is coming our way, The new CD is already showing that the band is rocking again, because in contrary to the previous calmer releases, ‘Silent nation’ is not a ‘silent’ release, because it rocks like ASIA did in their heydays. It’s a concept album, which musically is pure 1980s AOR/Symphonic Melodic Rock like 80s ASIA, but also memories of MAGNUM, RUSH and SURVIVOR come to mind here and there. In total we can find 10 songs, of which the highlights are “Long way from home” (fantastic uptempo AOR a la ATLANTIC!), “Midnight” (great uptempo progressive melodic rocker a la straighter RUSH), “Ghost in the mirror” (80s Sympho AOR like classic ASIA) and “I will be there for you” (superb AOR chorus driven rocker a la SURVIVOR and classsic ASIA again). This is the album the 80s ASIA fans have been waiting for almost 20 years, and this is a comeback CD which should be praised, ASIA is back where they belong, and now we have to witness them live on stage, hopefully that will happen someday soon.... (Points: 9.0 out of 10) RANDOM EYES ‘EYES ABLAZE’ (TWU MUSIC) Is it me or do we see a revival of 80s Melodic (Hard) Rock slipping into the Power Metal scene lately? Here’s another band, which would have been labelled as a Melodic Rockband if it had been present in the 80s. They hail from RANDOM EYES, and although their sound is not too far away from NIGHTWISH (although much straighter and without the big classical music influences), their choruses are as melodic as any 80s AOR/Melodic Rockband (hello WITNESS, HEART). Nevertheless some of the riffs and the looks of the bandmembers are making them a Melodic Power Metalband. The band has 2 singers (male and female), and although the female singer has the best voice, the male singer can also sing quite well. Anyway, I am glad to inform you about RANDOM EYES, because this is basically another sensational band from Finland to keep your eyes open for in the near future. The 10 tracks on their full-length CD ‘Eyes ablaze’ were recorded and mixed at the famous Finnvox studios, so be prepared to hear a full blown sound on this CD. Musically, like I said before, they play Melodic Metal with some very catchy melodic AORlike choruses (like COASTLINE going into a heavier Metal direction!). Songs like “Hero”, “Faith”, “Tears”, “Son of perdition” and “Fallen” (best song, very catchy chorus, not unlike 80s MALMSTEEN/TNT) are very strong uptempo melodic rocksongs. I can recommend this band to both Melodic Rock and Power Metalfans, so please go check out the latest Finnish sensation at: http://www.randomeyes.net and e-mail them at: eyes@randomeyes.net (Points: 8.7 out of 10)  ANNICA ‘BADLY
DREAMING’(MTM CLASSIX/MUSICBUYMAIL.COM) Some 20 years ago the Finnish female singer ANNICA VICLUND released her one and only album ‘Badly dreaming’. Little did she know that the album would become a much sough after release in the following years. Now almost 20 years after it’s release the album has been re-released on CD, with the addition of 5 bonustracks, taken from ANNICA’s later (90s) project PINK FLAMINGO. It’s a pity the album didn’t get much attention back in the 1980s, because ANNICA’s only release was definitely a must-have release for any 80s AOR/Melodic Rockfan. The sound/production was huge and so were the 10 original songs, of which the best tracks are definitely “Dreaming”, “What’s your game”, “Black waves”, “She’s a belladonna” and “No hearts”. This re-release is without a doubt one of the better ones in the MTM CLASSIX series. Although the 5 bonustracks of ANNICA’s 90s recordings are nowhere near as good as the original ‘Badly dreaming’ album, this CD is a must-have for all fans of classic 80s Female Fronted AOR/Melodic Rock! The ANNICA CD is a very rare album and the fact it has now been re-released on MTM CLASSIX makes it possible to finally get hold of. The album is distributed through musicbuymail.com and you can also buy the CD directly from http://www.musicbuymail.com (Points: 8.9 out of 10) WITHOUT END ‘WITHOUT END’ (LONE WOLF MUSIC) Out of Melbourne, Australia comes yet another quality Progressive Metalband. Besides the likes of VANISHING POINT, EYE FEAR and BLACK MAJESTY, we can now welcome another band from that Aussie city called WITHOUT END. They have released a full-length CD, which contains some good melodic progressive metal, not too far away fom VANISHING POINT. 9 songs are included here, of which the highlights are “Again”, “I still remember”, “Comfort zone” and “Compulsion”. For a new band (formed in late 2001), this is definitely good start and let’s see what the future will bring us. They are already working on a new CD, which will be released early next year, but in the meantime check out this band at: http://www.withoutend.com and e-mail them at: nick@withoutend.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) SILVERMACHINE ‘DEAD MOON’ (PROVINO RECORDS) This is basically good old fashioned simple raw rock’n’roll in the style of MOTORHEAD, HELLACOPTERS, NASHVILLY PUSSY, THE ANGELS, ROSE TATTOO, GLUCIFER etc. etc. Dirty, raw and mean is what the German band SILVERMACHINE is all about. The 9 songs on their full-length CD are clearly influenced by the mentioned acts and people who like this kind of Biker Hardrock in the good old 70s/80s style will absolutely love songs like “Heart and soul”, “Devil”, “Revolution” and Rock n roll 04”. Most of the songs are uptempo and easy to sing-a-long with. Check it out if you’re into any of the mentioned acts. More info at: http://www.Provino-Records.de.vu or http://www.silvermachine.de.vu (Points: 7.8 out of 10)  HEAVEN AND EARTH ‘A TASTE OF
HEAVEN’(BLACK STAR RECORDS) The HEAVEN AND EARTH project of guitarist Stuart Smith is currently recording their 3rd CD, together with new singer PAUL SHORTINO (ex-ROUGH CUTT) and drummer Richie Onori. In the meantime there’s a mini-CD available, which includes 4 new songs (recorded with Paul Shortino on vocals) and 4 songs from the first CD (with Richie Sambora, Glenn Hughes and Joe Lynn Turner on vocals). The EP is only available through the band’s website at: http:///www.stuartsmith.com Like said before, there are 4 new songs on the CD, all with Paul Shortino on vocals. The bluesy Classic 70s inspired Hardrock still reminds us of a mix between RAINBOW, FREE and BAD COMPANY. Best track is definitely the melodic rocker “Heaven” and “It’d be true”. The other 4 songs have already been available on the band’s first CD, but if you missed that record, then this is definitely a highly recommended CD, because one of the featured songs is the superb AOR rocker “Heaven and earth”, which is pure RAINBOW Joe Lynn Turner area (and Joe also sings on it!). Now we’ll have to wait for the full-length CD ‘Screaming for redemption’ to be released in the near future on the band’s own label BLACK STAR RECORDS, just like this album. Buy this CD through: http:///www.stuartsmith.com (Points: 8.6 out of 10)  ALDO NOVA ‘BLOOD ON THE
BRICKS’(POLYGRAM RECORDS/LEMON RECORDINGS/CHERRY RED RECORDS) I remember this album quite well, and although it wasn’t promoted that heavily outside Canada, the 4th ALDO NOVA album saw some airplay in Europe (MTV airing a lot of times the videos of the singles from the album). Nevertheless, it was sadly the final album from someone who earned much more success as a performer on other albums (such as with CELINE DION). His solo-albums were quite good, although his best effort was done in the very early 1980s, because his debut was a piece of classic melodic rock like BOSTON could only dream off making. Anyway, the ‘Blood on the bricks’ album saw the collaboration with none other than JON BON JOVI, who co-wrote most of the songs (and sang backing vocals). The music was a mixture of Melodic Hardrock and JON BON JOVI’s solo record ‘Blaze of glory’, with some great uptempo rockers like “Young love”, “Touch of madness”, “Modern world”, “Blood on the bricks” and “Bright lights” and beautiful semi-ballads like “Hey Ronnie” and “Someday”. It had that typical American Mainstream Melodic Hardrocksound of the late 80s/very early 90s, just before grunge took over. It was also the end of the hair metal period, because not long after the release of ALDO NOVA’s 3rd record in 1991 everything went dark for every BON JOVI related act, and in came bands that sounded like NIRVANA. The dream had died for Aldo, who had big successes in the early 80s in the USA, but ‘Blood on the bricks’ was his final solo record. Now 13 years later it has been re-released on LEMON RECORDINGS, the sublabel of CHERRY RED RECORDS, together with all new written liner notes. Check out this classy piece of Canadian Melodic Hardrock! More info at: http://www.lemonrecordings.co.uk or http://www.cherryred.co.uk (Points: 8.7 out of 10) DAVE BAINBRIDGE ‘VEIL OF GOSSAMER’ (OPEN SKY RECORDS) DAVE BAINBRIDGE is the founder of IONA, a Celtic Progrockband from the UK, and now he has released his first solo-album. The album features very relaxing semi-instrumental progressive music, with not only Dave playing keys and guitars, but also quite a few guest musicians can be heard, such as IONA members Joanne Hogg, Troy Donockley, Frank van Essen, Nick Beggs and Tim Harries, KARNATAKA singer Rachel Jones, and various other people who worked with acts like MIDGE URE, THE CHRISTIANS, STEVE HACKETT etc. The album contains 16 songs, and is built around a concept. Like I said before, the music is not too far away from IONA, although it’s even calmer and relaxer at times. Songs like “Over the waters”, “The everlasting hills” and “Star filled skies” are definitely songs to make you feel relax and think of nature and beautiful Irish/Welsh landscapes, so I guess this CD is a must-have for the IONA fans. You can get the CD directly through the own label of David and IONA at: http://www.iona.uk.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) PETE WAY ‘AMPHETAMINE’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS/BERTUS) PETE WAY has now released quite a few solo-albums the past year, and the latest one is ‘Amphetamine’. Musically it is a mixture of Hardrock, Punkrock and raw dirty mean Rock’N’Roll, like HANOI ROCKS meets MOTORHEAD, while having dinner with THE RAMONES and BILLY IDOL. Although the music has not much to do with UFO, I think the die-hard UFO fans can add this CD to their collection. Nevertheless, I need to add here that songs like “That’s tuff”, “Fooled again” and “Crazy” can nowhere near compete with the UFO magic. Still, Pete proves he can also stand on his own, although I definitely prefer his UFO work. (Points: 7.0 out of 10)  TOBRUK ‘WILD ON THE
RUN’(MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS/BERTUS) This is one of those underrated rare 80s Melodic Rockalbums, which I totally forgot about actually. The first time I heard it, some 11 years ago, I was caught right from the start and played the record a few hundred times. I thought it was listening to the perfect BON JOVI album, although it was actually a TOBRUK album. TOBRUK came out of England, and like many other bands started out as a typical NWOBHM band, but later turned to a more American Melodic Rock kinda approach. The band managed to get the big producer LANCE QUINN (BON JOVI, DANGER DANGER, APRIL WINE, DONNIE MILLER) involved in the recording of ‘Wild on the run’, which was also the debut LP of TOBRUK, originally released in 1985 on EMI RECORDS. The album was actually a pure BON JOVI 1984/1985 type of record, and contained some very impressive material, which didn’t sadly make it big, because of the clear BON JOVI approach. Nevertheless, TOBRUK could have become big, because BON JOVI did not had their big breakthrough when this TOBRUK album was released. Nevertheless, it became an album like so many other releases on major labels back then, it got stuck and didn’t sell much, also due to some bad reviews. Now almost 20 years later the album has finally been re-issued (with the addition of 2 bonustracks), and we can now once again enjoy the high class BON JOVI 84/84 ish melodic rock of TOBRUK. To me, the highlights of this wonderful album will always be “Wild on the run”, “Falling”, “Breakdown” and “Going down for the third time”, all very strong uptempo catchy hookladen melodic rocksongs. The sound was big enough to compete with the BON JOVI releases, so if you’re strating to become interested, then go ahead and get yourself a copy of this record, because you will not be disappointed... (Points: 8.9 out of 10) (All reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted) |