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TIME SYMMETRY ‘FATE IN GRAY’ (INDEPENDENT)
High quality CD release from the Spanish band TIME SYMMETRY. The band was formed in 2001 and through the years they have developed a very strong Melodic Progressive Metalsound that fits somewhere between SHADOW GALLERY, VANDENPLAS, DREAM THEATER, SILENT EDGE and SYMPHONY X. The band’s first CD ‘Fate in gray’ was co-produced by Jose Garrido and Daniel Melian (ARWEN. EBONY ARK). 9 songs are included, of which especially “The game”, “Cold morning train” (beautiful song dedicated to the victims of the Madrid attacks) and “Sybil dane” are quite memorable songs. Strong sound, perfectly produced and high quality melodic progressive metal is what to expect on this first TIME SYMMETRY album. More info at: http://www.timesymmetry.com and e-mail at: timesymmetry@lycos.es (Points: 8.4 out of 10) TITTYTWISTERS ‘IN THE SILVERY WATERS’ (LADY MUSIC RECORDS) Italian band which combines beautiful clean female vocal style Melodic Gothic Metal a la AFTER FOREVER/XANDRIA/LUNATICA with aggressive male vocals (soft metalcore). It’s a pity the male screams disturb the music, as TITTYTWISTERS has a fantastic female singer and most of the 10 included songs are very strong Goth Metal songs. Best songs are “Eternal pain”, “Whispered goodbye” and “Turn back”, which will be loved by fans of typical female fronted Goth Metal of present day. There’s also some aggressive pure Metal on the CD, such as the ACCEPT meets PANTERAish “My evil” and “Fuck the power”, so a bit diverse, although the accent is female Goth Metal. More info at: http://www.tittytwisters.it (Points: 8.0 out of 10)
Italian band formed 10 years ago, with a very strong debut CD release titled ‘Aurea’. The band sings in the Italian language, but that is not a problem at all because the band’s lead vocalist (Riccardo Roverso) has a fantastic voice and the music is super melodic sympho/prog rock (with slight AOR influences)”and some Melodic Heavy Rock parts, kinda like a mix between ASIA, IQ, ARENA and some calmer KAMELOT, with Italian lyrics and some more Orchestral keyboard use and arrangements. Songs like “Dimentica”, “Strega”, “Sesto senso”, “La strada delle ombre lunghe” and “Ra dei re” (a more uptempo based melodic rocker, very sensational actually) are showing that this AUTICADA is a very impressive band for sure. More info at: http://www.auticada.it and e-mail at: auticada@libero.it (Points: 8.6 out of 10)
The Swedish band ANDROMEDA makes a very strong comeback with the new album ‘Chimera’. It took them 3 years to release the 3rd CD and it is by far their best record so far, probably the best Swedish Melodic Progressive Metal so far released this year. The album contains 9 tracks, of which “Periscope”, “In the end” and “Going under” are truly wonderful Melodic Progressive Metal songs that are as good as for example similar acts like THRESHOLD, VANDENPLAS, BALANCE OF POWER, MIND’S EYE, PAGAN’S MIND… The fact the band has a superb lead singer (DAVID FREMBERG) gives them a sort of extra dimension that makes this new record a truly sensational record, which should be in the hands of every Prog Metalfan! (Points: 8.7 out of 10) DESYRE ‘OUT OF THE BLUE INTO THE RED’ (INDEPENDENT) Just a quick look at the CD covers of the band DESYRE from Finland learns us that this band wants to be a mid 1980s Hollywood Glamband. Musically they also remind one of CRUE, POISON, FASTER PUSSYCAT, TIGERTAILZ, ALIEN (USA), DIRTY BLONDE, etc. Only vocally not that strong unfortunately, but instrumental (excellent guitarist) pretty good on the 3 included songs of their CD. The band exists for quite a few years now and any 80s Glamrockfan will like them a lot, although I somehow miss a catchy tune on their CD. More info at: http://www.desyre777.com and e-mail at: coco@desyre777.com (Points: 7.6 out of 10) CHROME DIVISION ‘DOOMSDAY ROCK AND ROLL’ (NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS) This sounds like a cross between LORDI and MOTORHEAD, just pure real raw Rock and Roll in it’s original approach, straight-ahead and not looking back. The Norwegian band CHROME DIVISION was formed in 2004 and their debut ‘Doomsday rock and roll’ has been released on one of the bigger Metal labels (NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS), but that isn’t that strange if you consider the fact that this CHROME DIVISION features members of Black Metal heroes DIMMU BORGIR. The sound is huge and anyone who likes Classic raw vocal/guitar orientated Rock and Roll like MOTORHEAD meets LORDI meets ACCEPT and some ROSE TATTOO/AC/DC/HELLFUELED… will absolutely love this record. Nothing new is brought here, but definitely appealing if you want to hear Rock in it’s original back-to-basic approach. (Points: 8.1 out of 10)
The Norwegian Metalband COMMUNIC was formed in 2003 and released their debut CD ‘Conspiracy of mind’ in 2005 and already present us a follow-up in the shape of ‘Waves of visual decay’. The band is playing high class 80s influenced US Power Metal, kinda like JACOB’S DREAM, JAG PANZER, SAVATAGE, METAL CHURCH… although there’s also that typical American approach of the present day, so comparisons to NEVERMORE and even DISTURBED are also possible. What they do they are doing very well and I am safe to say that this record will be on top of the lists of True Metalfan. This is the way metal should sound like, no compromises are made here. Songs like “Frozen asleep in the park”, “Fooled by the serpent” and “My bleeding victim” are absolute winners for fans of mentioned Classic Metalbands. A very fine comeback of the band COMMUNIC, which shows the new bands can deliver much better pure Metal records than the old acts like PRIEST, MAIDEN, METALLICA… (Points: 8.3 out of 10)
10th CD of the German Power Metalband BLIND GUARDIAN, the legendary band makes another strong comeback with a fantastic new CD titled ‘A twist in the myth’. The band combines the best of the 80s sounds of TWISTED SISTER, PRETTY MAIDS and HELLOWEEN, add some of today’s Power Metal sound and actually has been doing this for over 10 years now after making Speed Metal a la RAGE for 10 years as well, because the band was formed way back in 1984. Especially this decade has been very successful for BLIND GUARDIAN, because their albums charted throughout Europe, including a number 1 single in Spain! Their comeback CD ‘A twist in the myth’ continues the same Melodic Power Metal started on their earlier albums, with a lot of catchy choruses to sing-a-long. HELLOWEEN meets old PRETTY MAIDS is so obvious on the music of BLIND GUARDIAN (with DEE SNIDERish lead vocals of singer Hansi Kursch), but somehow they can get away with it and with a song like “Straight through the mirror” and “Lionheart” they even come up with a few true new Metal Classics! Fans of the band will also welcome this new CD and if you haven’t been addicted to the Melodic Power Metal of BLIND GUARDIAN yet, then this might be a good start! (Points: 8.6 out of 10)
LEATHERWOLF were one of the better American bands in the 1980s when it comes down to Classic Melodic Metal, releasing 3 major label releases and then disappearing until late 1990s with a stunning live CD and a tour through Europe. Now in 2006 the band has a new studio CD out, their first in almost 20 years, with a new singer WADE BLACK (CRIMSON GLORY/SEVEN WITCHES) and sadly hardly making an impression. The band’s melodic metal sounds quite average and only the fantastic song “Behind the gun” reaches the high level of the early days, however, the rest of the CD does not sound like LEATHERWOLF, just a very standard Metal affair. A pity, because the band’s first 3 records are classics and showed how American Metal should sound, but now it seems the band has lost it’s identity, which was the mix of triple axe guitarwork and catchy melodies and instead have chosen for a more or less weaker modern metal approach, kinda like NEVERMORE, but then with no sensational songs, except that single track “Behind the gun”, which happens to be a lovely piece of classic Melodic Metal. However, this band can do much better… (Points: 7.8 out of 10) SPACED OUT ‘UNSTABBLE MATTER’ (UNICORN DIGITAL) 4th CD already from the Canadian band, which once again contains high quality instrumental progressive rock with truly wonderful melodies. The band also released a DVD, which I sadly missed, because this band is presenting some of the best instrumental progressive rock heard in years, Their 3 earlier releases already showed they were a great band and this new CD ‘Unstabble matter’ just adds the fact they are one of the better instrumental bands out there! Yet another high quality release on UNICORN DIGITAL, the only Canadian specialized prog label. More info at: http://www.unicorndigital.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) KARFAGEN ‘CONTINIUM’ (UNICORN DIGITAL) The Canadian label UNICORN DIGITAL releases every now and then some very strong albums, of which some are instrumental and this KARFAGEN CD release is another addition in the list of instrumental releases. This is a band from Ukraine, formed 10 years ago and making their debut with the album ‘Continium’. Although not as good as label mates SPACED OUT, this KARFAGEN is surely a nice addition if you’re into instrumental progrock. KARFAGEN take things a bit calmer, with even some CAMEL/KAYAK type of folky influences as in the middle ages, which is different than the for example more modern sounding instrumental prog of SPACED OUT. More info at: http://www.uncicorndigital.com (Points: 8.1 out of 10) NIL ’40 JOURS SUR LE SINAI’ (UNICORN DIGITAL) A very large extensive booklet comes with the new CD of the French band NIL, but as it is mostly in French it will be non-readable for most of us, but happily the included music is listenable from start to finish. It’s semi-instrumental music what we get to hear, so with lots of instrumental passages, but also vocal parts. The music is very calm and has some similarities to a band like RENAISSANCE, although a bit more progrock related. The new CD this band has created is a concept album divided into 2 long tracks, around 30 minutes each. Definitely an impressive album, also showing the band’s own kind of sound which they have developed since their formation in 1999. More info at: http://www.unicorndigital.com (Points: 8.2 out of 10)
LILLIX is the latest all-female (teen) rockband sensation to hit it big time in The States, because this band has released their 2nd CD on MAVERICK RECORDS, a sublabel of WARNER MUSIC, originally founded by MADONNA! Anyway, LILLIX released their debut ‘Falling uphill’ in 2003 and now follows it up with ‘Inside the hollow’, a very strong 80s influenced Melodic Poprockalbum, produced by JEFF SALTZMAN (THE KILLERS) and JAMES MICHAEL (MOTLEY CRUE). Songs like “Got off easy”, “Doughnut”, “Sweet temptation” (a definite radio summer hit!), “Poor little girl” and “The little things” (very catchy) show this band’s love for the catchy hooks and choruses of the 80s and they sound like a tougher version of THE BANGLES, THE PRETENDERS, THE CURE and a lot more honest than the fabricated sounds of VANILLA NINJA, BIFF NAKED, AVRIL LAVIGNE and KELLY CLARCKSON, although musically they are not that far from away each other (grin!). It also reminds me A LOT of the early 80s quirky poprock of SHANDI, SHANGHAI, SPIDER and some JOAN JETT in opening track “Blackout”… I guess you’ll get the picture, this is classic early 80s female fronted poprock with catchy hooks/choruses and also that typical 80s keyboard/synthesizersound, so if you like that do not hesitate in getting this new release of LILLIX. More info at: http://www.lillix.com (Points: 8.4 out of 10)
The Finnish female fronted band SISTER MANIK releases it’s official first full-length CD and although it is not a sensational record, it surely is a winner for anyone into classic 80s female fronted melodic rock, because it reminds me a lot of CHRISSY STEELE, ROBIN BECK, DORO, WITNESS, BAD SISTER, DEVAY, LEE AARON, etc. The 10 songs are exactly going into this direction, although not always as good as those legendary acts. Nevertheless, songs like “Sherrie”, “Calling my name”, “Hold on”, “Parody” and especially “The eye of the raven” (a song that sounds like a true 80s AOR Classic!, like LUBA/LISA PRICE around 1983). Maybe not the best female fronted rockrecord, but definitely one to own if you long back to the days of CHRISSY STEELE, ROBIN BECK and LEE AARON. More info at: http://www.sistermanik.fi (Points: 8.2 out of 10) WICKED WISDOM ‘WICKED WISDOM’ (AFM RECORDS/ROCK INC) The German label AFM RECORDS usually deliver quality releases, but with WICKED WISDOM they are sadly going the wrong way, because this is one of those overhyped bands. Although the female singer is able to sing, none of the 10 included songs make any impression. In fact, the Metal of WICKED WISDOM sounds very average and I have no idea why this band is currently making a buzz in The States, but on the other hand there are more average bands popular in the USA. Despite a few OK LACUNA COIL type of songs, this debut CD of WICKED WISDOM is a very weak groovy Nu Metal CD with a modern approach as in the American way, please do check all the other female rock and metal releases before even thinking about WICKED WISDOM… (Points: 5.7 out of 10)
Although compared to DIE HAPPY and GUANO APES, the debut CD of the German band B. IMPATIENT is much closer to XANDRIA or LUNATICA, so another polished female fronted melodic goth rockalbum and although is a very cliché sounding record, the result is still very impressive. Most of the songs contain very strong melodies and the overall performance is just really good, a major label like release this surely is and with instant hits like “Surrender”, “In my head”, “Distance”, “Didn’t I” and “Fortune and fate” a definite winner for fans of EVANSCENCE, XANDRIA, LUNATICA, EDENBRIDGE, BIF NAKED, GRETCHEN… (Points: 8.4 out of 10) OUTBURST ‘FAIR AND BALANCED’ (LOUD NOISE PRODUCTIONS/ROCK INC) High quality Dutch band for sure, mixing Death, Thrash and Melodic Metal, ending up sounding really big as if this was a major label release from an American band. On the other hand, for the melodic fans this might be way too heavy, but actually it does sound good for what it is, the Thrashy Power Metal of OUTBURST. It’s their debut album and for a first record it sounds quite impressive, instrumental especially, but also the songs itself are appealing. Imagine a mix between SLAYER, MAIDEN, TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH and NEVERMORE and you’re close to what this sounds like. Who knows in 10 years from now, this CD has become a new Metal Classic, because the fans of heavier aggressive Metal might like this CD a lot… More info at: http://www.outburstmetal.nl (Points: 8.2 out of 10) MONSTERRISER ‘THE LONG SNAP TO ZERO’ (PLAYGROUND MUSIC) I think we can better start a Scandi Rock/Metal magazine, because weekly we get loaded with new stuff from one of the Scandinavian countries (mainly Sweden and Finland, not much from Denmark). Here’s another Finnish band and once again their CD was mastered by good old Mika Jussila at Finnvox (where any Finnish band has had their CDs mastered). MONSTERRISER sounds pretty good, sort of a mix of Melodic Heavy Rock and Stoner Rock with some BLACK SABBATH riffs and surprisingly catchy melodic choruses, reminding a lot of HELLFUELED. Songs like “Blackened blues”, “Days like these” (very good), “Walk all over” and “Dead calm and high tide” show the list of impressive Finnish Rock/Metalbands keeps growing and growing. More info at: http://www.monsteriser.com (Points: 8.2 out of 10) DAVY JONES’ LOCKER ‘HEALTHY PEOPLE PREPARE TO DIE’ (FUELSTOP RECORDS) Norwegian band with a high class mini-CD that sounds quite original, yet still familiar somehow. The band is playing a sort of modern melodic rockstyle, sometimes akin to the American rockscene (in fact a couple songs are radio-ready for the American market), although great songs like “Innocent smiles” and ‘The lonely hearts’ show off” are basically pure melodic rock. Hard to compare this band, but take it from me they are a very good melodic rockband with a slight modern touch. More info at: http://www.davyjoneslocker.net and e-mail at: info@davyjoneslocker.net (Points: 8.3 out of 10) THREE WISHES ‘TOWARDS THE LIGHT’ (ROCKSERWIS) Progressive Rockband from Poland and showing that Poland has been a very productive country in recent years for new bands in the progrock movement. Although not as good as for example RIVERSIDE, SBB or SATELLITE, this THREE WISHES is a nice addition to the growing list of pure progrockbands from Poland. They are a bit influenced by the Peter Gabriel type of singing during his GENESIS days, but the overall sound is more modern and also heavier, akin to progmetal a few times. Big difference with the usual progbands is that this THREE WISHES (not to be confused with the German melodic rockers 3 WISHES!) does not feature any keys, which makes them sound a bit rawer than the rest. Imagine mixing 70s GENESIS with TOOL or something, but then on a more independent level, which might lead you to THREE WISHES then. If you’re becoming interested, then do check out this band at: http://www.threewishes.art.pl and e-mail at: band@threewishes.art.pl (Points: 7.9 out of 10) OMNI ‘MERMAIDS’ (METAL MIND PRODUCTIONS) Formed more than 20 years ago, this is a Polish band playing underground Electronic Rock, with a ProgMetal touch, mostly instrumental. 4 songs are included, still a playing time of 40 minutes and well, comparisons are hard to make. The fact that the band has not released any album between 1985 and 2006 is due to their inactivity in this period (1987-2002), although their debut from 1985 was quite successful, but somehow the bandmembers had other priorities back then. Anyway, this new CD of OMNI is a mostly instrumental based relaxing electronic rockalbum. TANGERINE DREAM and MIKE OLDFIELD fans might like this a lot… (Points: 8.0 out of 10) VOODOO CAKE ‘FETISHIST’ (LOCOMOTIVE MUSIC/ROCK INC) Why anyone would release this rockalbum is a big question? This is one of the most boring rockalbums I have heard since COLDPLAY. VOODOO CAKE come out of Switzerland, but I have no clue what kind of rock they are playing, some sort of Britpop style and that is NOT interesting for any of our readers (I hope!). (Points: 3.2 out of 10)
Here we go again to Finland, where we can find yet another sensational Melodic Rockband called LEVERAGE. This band has released a CD, which will be an easy target if you liked the recent releases of similar releases from WIG WAM, THE POODLES, BROTHER FIRETRIBE and GOTTHARD, so big-time 80s Melodic Hardrock with huge choruses and very strong lead vocals of LEVERAGE singer PEKKA HEINO. 10 songs are included on the debut CD of LEVERAGE, divided into 6 catchy fun uptempo melodic rockers (“Fifteen years”, “Superstition”, “Dreamworld”, “Follow down that river”, “Sails” and “Marching to war”), 3 semi-AOR ballads (“Horizon”, “Stranger” and “Gone”) and a midtempo tune (“Twilight symphony”). It’s all sensational stuff and a must for any Melodic Rockfan. The band also reminds me a bit of EDGE OF FOREVER and the SURVIVOR record ‘Too hot to sleep’. These are the kind of records you want to hear every day, so be prepared for this sensational melodic rockalbum from the Finnish band LEVERAGE! More info at: http://www.leverageband.com (Points: 8.9 out of 10)
Swedish band already active for 10 years now and their latest release ‘Shangri-la’ is a very good melodic progressive rockalbum that reminds me a bit of bands like EVERON, CROSS, ENCHANT, SYLVAN, JADIS… The band has a very good lead singer (guitarist Stefan Damicolas) and also instrumental it all sounds very good. 12 songs are included and especially “New Shangri-La”, “I’ll be going”, “Meatball tour” and “Timeless for the time being” are very strong Progressive Rocksongs with beautiful melodies, both vocally and instrumental. Progfans know what to do with the new CD of BROTHER APE! More info at: www.progressrec.com and http://www.brotherape.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) GRAIL KNIGHTS ‘RETURN TO CASTLE GRAILSKULL’ (STF RECORDS) True Metal with Death Metal growls is what we can expect from the band GRAIL KNIGHTS, whom hail from Germany. The bandmembers dress up as comicbook superheroes and maybe this is the way to attract fans, although I had hoped for some clean vocals, because it is now only instrumental very good, because vocally this is extreme Thrash/Death-Metal orientated. More info at: http://www.stf-records.de or http://www.grailknights.de and buy the CD through: http://www.m-system.de (Points: 7.8 out of 10) ALEX MACHACEK ‘SIC’ (CITY HALL RECORDS/ABSTRACT LOGIX) Not your standard instrumental rockalbum, because Austrian guitarist ALEX MACHACEK is heading into improvisation instrumental guitar music a la ZAPPA/JEFF BECK. The CD is filled with 8 cuts that have a total playing time of almost 1 hour. Most interesting song is the only vocal track “Indian boy”, a progressive rocktrack with vocals by female singer Sumitra Nanjundan. Drums on this CD are provided by TERRY BOZZIO, who played with ZAPPA and JEFF BECK in the past. High quality instrumental CD, which mixes influences of Jazz, Fusion and Prog. Recommended to ZAPPA fans! More info at: http://www.abstractlogix.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘KINGDOM OF GLORY VOLUME 2’ (ENCLAVE RECORDS) Really cool 2nd compilation CD of the Portuguese label ENCLAVE RECORDS, which introduces us 17 bands straight out of the underground Melodic Metal/Prog/Rock/Hardrock scene. The bands included are coming from all over the world and it’s compilations like these that make it all worth purchasing CDs, because the extensive booklet informs you completely about each band. Highlights are the songs from the bands DANGER (Sweden, Classic 80s NWOBHM orientated), FORCE (Austria, strong melodic hardrock the 80s British way, a la PRAYING MANTIS), DEADLY WEAPON (USA, 80s LA Metal a la WASP/KEEL), SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE (Japan, named after LOUDNESS album, with strong singer, 80s Melodic Hardrock/Metal a la RIOT and of course LOUDNESS), PANACEUM (Sweden, female fronted original band mixing Folk and Power Metal, excellent twin-guitarsound and good female vocals) and the Japanese female fronted SEVENTH HEAVEN. A great way to discover some of the unknown goodies active worldwide. The CD is available through: http://www.enclaverecords.cjb.net (Points: -) VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘METAL OSTENTATION VARIOUS SAMPLERS (5-8)’ (ENCLAVE RECORDS) A bunch more compilation CDs put out by the label ENCLAVE RECORDS, got 4 of them sent to me, but in contrast to the KINGDOM OF GLORY series, this series is more focused on Extreme/Death/Grind-Metal. Nevertheless, a couple of interesting bands popped up such as the Doom Metal of IT WILL COME (Sweden), JUGGERNOTT (USA), AVENTYR (awesome Norwegian Melodic Power Metal the European way), AGONIZER (France, very impressive Melodic Metalband like PRAYING MANTIS meets KAMELOT), MANDYLION (Japanese female fronted band), END MY SORROW (superb female fronted Melodic Gothic Power Metal from Denmark, best band on all 4 compilation discs), ERAZER (80s LA Metal), the Swedish LITHANY (BLACK SABBATH meets ENCHANT!) and SKEPTICAL MINDS (from Belgium, another strong female fronted Goth Metalact). The majority of the included bands is in the death/grind/extreme metal style, but here and there are some more melodic orientated bands. The CD is available through: http://www.enclaverecords.cjb.net (Points: -) WHITE WILLOW ‘SIGNAL TO NOISE’ (THE LASER’S EDGE/INTROMENTAL) ‘Signal to noise’ is the 5th CD of the Norwegian band WHITE WILLOW. This time they brought in female lead singer TRUDE EIDTANG, a fantastic singer who completely surprised me with her beautiful voice, and also producer TOMMY HANSEN (HELLOWEEN, TNT), all together giving WHITE WILLOW a much stronger sound than their previous records. In fact, this ‘Signal to noise’ is a sensational record which mixes the classic progressive rocksound of the band’s past with a sort of THE GATHERING Goth touch and strong melodic rock choruses, so a real thread for anyone looking for high quality original melodic music. Songs like “Night surf”, “The lingering” and “Dusk city” show that this band belongs to the best Norwegian bands at the moment. More info at: http://www.whitewillow.no (Points: 8.5 out of 10) DEXTER JONES ‘CIRCUS ORCHESTRA ‘MORBYN OUTTAKES’ (FREE BIRD RECORDS) Swedish band with an original sound, which combines Classic Rock of the 1970s with 1960s Garage/Psychedelic Rock, ending up sounding a bit like CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL or any of that Classic Rock format. The band does do this very well, making their 4 tracks counting mini-CD ‘Morbyn outtakes’ a must-have. More info at: http://www.circusorchestra.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10)
‘Basic communication’ is the 2nd CD of the Swedish band XINEMA. They leaned towards AOR on their first record, but the new CD is definitely more progrock related and reminds me a bit of the calmer prog-aor ASIA made during the 1990s. The new CD is a sort of concept album, divided in a few different songs, in total we can find 14 songs, although some of the songs form together a story. As I said before, the music is progressive aor rock with superb lead vocals reminding one of JOHN PAYNE, formerly with ASIA and also ROBERT BERRY comes to mind a few times, although even JOHN WETTON’s solo stuff is not far removed from what XINEMA is doing. We all know Sweden deliver quality releases and with the new XINEMA you simply can not go wrong, because this is really amazing stuff, which will appeal to both prog and aor fans! More info at: http://www.unicorndigital.com (Points: 8.6 out of 10) RETROHEADS ‘INTROSPECTIVE’ (UNICORN DIGITAL) The Norwegian band RETROHEADS released their debut 2 years ago. Musically the band went back to the 70s progressive rocksound and so is the case on their 2nd CD ‘Introspective’, another winner for fans of FLOWER KINGS, KAIPA… The band has 7 members in their line-up and the new record contains 9 long tracks, with a total playing time of more than 64 minutes. Although it is not as good as for example classic YES, GENESIS or KING CRIMSON records, the Norwegian band RETROHEADS shows that also new bands can make good high quality progressive rock in 70s style. If you like for example RIVERSIDE, then this might be on top of your list as well. More info at: http://www.unicorndigital.com or http://www.retroheads.com (Points: 8.2 out of 10)
Formed 27 years ago, this Australian Rockband has had their success in their home-native country of Australia with their own brand of rock and roll, which was a little more melodic than for example ROSE TATTOO, AC/DC, THE ANGELS, sometimes bordering on the edge of 80s aor/melodic rock. Some of their albums are really great, with as highlights their hits “Never gonna die” (covered by ROUGH CUTT) and “Run to paradise”, which landed them an opening act for BON JOVI some 20 years ago. Now in 2006 things have slowed down and the band releases this acoustic best of CD. All performed well, with 16 tracks are included, but I guess the songs in their original rockversion seem to make a bigger impression. Nevertheless, nice new record of a legendary Aussie Rockband. More info at: http://www.choirboys.net (Points: 8.0 out of 10) RA’S DAWN ‘SCALES OF JUDGEMENT’ (METAL HEAVEN/ROUGH TRADE) Ever since the lift-off from the METAL HEAVEN label I became more and more interested in it’s releases, because most of them were very high quality Melodic Metal releases. Sadly it also led to the end of AOR HEAVEN I believe and with the next batch of METAL HEAVEN releases it seems the label does not always stand for high quality releases, because RA’S DAWN from Germany are about to release a standard Melodic Metal album titled ‘Scales on judgement’, not bad at all, but nowhere near for example BLOODBOUND, MYSTIC PROPHECY or NOCTURNAL RITES. It is not even reaching the CLOUDSCAPE quality release, because the vocals are first of all not strong enough and most of the 8 included songs go in one ear and out the other. I think in the future the band needs to improve themselves a lot, because for now they have released just a nice standard Melodic Metal release and not even TOMMY NEWTON as producer is able to change that. Better check out the other METAL HEAVEN release from August, which is the new project of MAGNUS KARLSSON (ALLEN/LANDE, LAST TRIBE) titled PLANET ALLIANCE. (Points: 7.7 out of 10) DARK LUNACY ‘THE DIARIST’ (FUEL/FRONTIERS RECORDS/ROUGH TRADE) No idea why FRONTIERS RECORDS (best label around, nothing but high quality melodic rock/aor releases) co-releases this record of an Italian band called DARK LUNACY, because their 3rd CD is Thrashy Death Metal. Nevertheless, excellent production by FREDRIK NORDSTROM (HAMMERFALL/DREAM EVIL). (Points: 7.0 out of 10) THE PYTHONS ‘NEVER ENOUGH’ (VALERY RECORDS/FRONTIERS RECORDS) ‘Never enough’ is the first official full-length CD of the Italian band THE PYTHONS. The band is playing 80s influenced Rock with influences from LA Hardrock/Glam and Melodic Heavy Rock, ending up sounding like a mix between PINK CREAM 69, POISON, LA GUNS, 80s BON JOVI, SLAUGHTER and BONFIRE/HOTWIRE. Fans of classic 80s Hair Metal will definitely like this record. Maybe nothing original is brought here, but we have some very catchy melodic rock tunes on this disc, such as “Shadows” (a la WIG WAM/POODLES), “Back to life”, “In the rain” and “Inner words”. Not a sensational release, but definitely worth checking out if you like your metal to sound melodic with hairspray and spandex, but a strong focus on catchy hooks and melodic choruses (kinda like JOHNNY LIMA, SHY TIGER, ANATOMIC, 91 SUITE). More info at: http://www.thepythons.it and http://www.myspace.com/thepythons (Points: 8.1 out of 10) LA GUNS ‘LIVE FROM HOLLYWOOD: LOUD AND DANGEROUS’ (MASCOT RECORDS) It seems like a disease in the music business, original band founders going their own away, while continue playing the same songs of their old bands. SAXON was one of the first, but other bands that are active in different versions while sometimes even retaining the original bandnames are TIGERTAILZ, SURVIVOR, GUNS’N’ROSES, etc. list is endless I guess. Well, another band is the overrated LA GUNS, of whom we now have 2 versions, the so-called real LA GUNS with long-time singer PHIL LEWIS at the mic and the LA GUNS featuring original founding member TRACII GUNS. One way or the other, I am not that impressed by the new live-CD of the PHIL LEWIS version, as he starts to scream too much and although the raw rock and roll sounds cool, it all starts to sound the same after a while and maybe that has been the problem of the band, not much variety and sitting through a whole live CD is not easy. OK, not bad, but I think we’re lost here thinking LA GUNS was a really great band from 15-20 years ago, because with now 2 LA GUNS going on there is not much left of the band’s reputation, especially if PHIL LEWIS claims to have the rights on the LA GUNS bandname, because wasn’t the band named after TRACII GUNS? Furthermore they weren’t that great after all I am afraid, overrated and overhyped just because one of the members founded GUNS’N’ROSES, that other LA overhyped band which released 2 or 3 records in their career, well LA is not keen on looking for real talent, as MOTLEY CRUE was another act which is just so overrated, OK, we’re drifting away here. Check it out if you’re a LA GUNS fan! (Points: 7.0 out of 10) THRIVING IRONY ‘THRIVING IRONY’ (WOLFGANG RECORDS) Californian band THRIVING IRONY is a band which sounds quite modern, but also takes influences from Classic Rock. They come across like a mix between LED ZEPPELIN and U2/COLDPLAY with some typical American working-class rock influences as well and RUSH/COHEED AND CAMBRIAish vocals, if that makes any sense. So this is Modern Rock with slight prog influences and non-commercial high pitched vocals, songs that mostly are slow to midtempo with very strong melodic choruses here and there, such as in the song “Light up Mississippi” where you can feel the band has a put a lot of effort into making it a memorable classic American Rocksong. Other highlights are “Twilight”, “Long hallway with a broken light” and “Day of rain”. Funny thing is the best songs can be found in the more rockier part of the CD, which is during the second half towards the ending of the record. The beginning seems a little slow to make a big impression, but the 5 guys from THRIVING IRONY show they can make a new American Rockband not sound like the standard emo/punkband with childish vocals. More info at: http://www.thrivingirony.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) DOLLY DAGGERS ‘DOLLY DAGGERS’ (DEMO) This Swedish band sounds like they are an American Rockband on a major label about to make a huge impact, but in fact they have only released a demo CDR, consisting of 4 strong impressive rockers that sound a lot like the new bath of American Rockbands that go for a good melody and hot guitar riffs (and solos!). I am sure this band could release a full-length CD that would not be out of place on a major American label, because songs like “If I could dance” (also a bit BILLY IDOL/THE CULT influences can be heard in this catchy rocker) and “Never ending” show we are dealing here with a high quality act from Sweden. Check them out at: http://www.dollydaggers.net and e-mail at: info@dollydaggers.net (Points: 8.2 out of 10) HUNDRED YEAR STORM ‘HELLO FROM THE CHILDREN OF PLANET EARTH’ (FLOODGATE RECORDS/WOLFGANG RECORDS/EAST WEST) Formed in 2003, the band HUNDRED YEAR STORM makes their debut with the album ‘Hello from the children of planet earth’ on the FLOODGATE RECORDS label. The band is playing calmer slow to midtempo modern rock, different than COLDPLAY for example, but also not that far away, probably more melodic. It’s a pity there aren’t that many rockers on the CD, because the band sounds at their best during the first couple of rockers, such as “00:01”, “Yesterday we had it all” and “Walking away from what you deserve” as well as the 9 minutes counting “The golden record”. During the rest of the CD it all gets a bit smoother slower and less rocking, melancholic pop/rock actually. Interesting for the open-minded rocker who doesn’t mind it all going into calmer directions, although still considered rock, it is of the COLDPLAY/RADIOHEAD side of things, which is less interesting for our readers. More info at: http://www.hundredyearstorm.com (Points: 7.9 out of 10)
One of the best Swiss progbands ever makes another return in 2006 (apparently they have released a true new CD, but I missed that unfortunately!), although this new CD contains re-recorded old material of the band. It’s a 2-disc set featuring re-recordings of SHAKARY’s first 2 albums, with as most important changes the re-recording of all vocals by singer NOEL MCCALLA and guitarsolos by ARJEN LUCASSEN (AYREON, STREAM OF PASSION) and STEVE ROTHERY (MARILLION). Of course the change of singer is most notable, as Noel is a superb lead vocalist who sang with MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND for many years now, but it is so good to see him finally sang something else, something really sensational. His vocals contribute so much to SHAKARY’s music, it almost makes you forget the original recordings of the 2 CDs. So YES this is a really good move, because now the 2-CD set is a must-have for anyone wanting hear high quality music, both melodic rock and progfans will be appreciating this awesome band now. So many of the included songs are sounding like they are classics made in the early 80s, just listen to the amazing “Time trap” and “Sentence” (unbelievable vocals!). Forget the past, this 2-CD set from SHAKARY is now officially a prog masterpiece, with a lot of thanks to Noel! The 2-CD set is available through: http://www.paengg.de and http://www.progfactory.com , while you can read all about the band at: http://www.shakary.com and http://www.shkrecords.com (Points: 9.0 out of 10)
Being the bassist in a band is always considered as not being able to really make a huge impression on the audience, so from time to time they take some time off to explore a little further and in the case of KICK bassist MIKEY JONES, he has released a solo-CD, on which he plays guitar and sings! He does not do a bad job at all, in fact, it is almost as good as his band’s 3 CDs, but musically a bit different, because on this first solo-CD MIKEY JONES is mixing classic melodic rock choruses with a more modern approach and also adds some progressive rock influences. The result is a very good record, consisting of 10 tracks, of which the highlights are “Who…?”, “Drunk on emotion”, “Swear blind” (catchy, BON JOVI should have written this in 1985!) and “The light of day” (ALICE COOPER doing a ROBBY VALENTINE song!). Like I said, do not expect anything exactly like KICK, although sometimes it is quite close after all, but it is a bit more a mix of (progressive) melodic rock with a dark feeling in general, but still very melodic, kinda like the first ROBBY VALENTINE (without the high pitched vocals and all the instrumental freakiness) meets DEF LEPPARD meets a polished THRESHOLD, with ALICE COOPERish lead vocals! It’s best to make up your own judgment, because this is a great record with a very diverse melodic rocksound that reminds me most of all of BLUE TEARS. More info at: http://www.mikey-jones.co.uk and e-mail at: rockofages@yahoo.co.uk (Points: 8.3 out of 10) VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘A TASTE OF BELGIUM’ (PROG RESISTE/PROG-NOSE) Belgium Progressive Rock is rare and therefore a compilation CD with 8 Belgian Progressive Rockbands is incredible and the funny thing is that the best Belgian progband I know is not included (MINDGAMES). However, this is a fantastic way to discover there are truly great progbands coming from Belgium. It is set up by 2 progmagazines, namely the printed magazine PROG RESISTE and the website PROG NOSE. They did a really great job, because the CD contains 8 perfectly produced songs with a lot of info on each of those 8 performing bands in the extensive booklet that comes with the CD. I am a sucker myself for such compilations, because you always discover some great new bands, which in this case are PANOPTICUM and GHIRIBIZZI, while BEYOND THE LABYRINTH and KARMA DEPTH were reviewed recently and are of course also great bands to check out. However, first start with this CD to check out which of the 8 Belgian progbands you like most. The CD is available through: http://www.atasteofbelgium.com and e-mail for more info at: info@atasteofbelgium.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10)
Usually Japanese band struggle with their lead singers, as they all sound the same and just do not do any justice to their technically perfectly played music. However, MASTERPIECE from Japan have a decent lead singer and their first CD has been released through MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS. Isn’t this the first Japanese signing to a UK label since the days of LOUDNESS? CONCERTO MOON was actually one of the very few Japanese bands the past 15 years to be signed by an European label, but they faded away a few years ago and stayed in Japan. In the 80s there was a revival of Japanese Hardrockbands, signed to European labels (VOW WOW, LOUDNESS, EARTHSHAKER, DED CHAPLIN), but like I just said it died towards the end of the 80s and MASTERPIECE and CONCERTO MOON have the only bands in recent years to be signed to a European label. Musically they are close to each other, as this is prime-time Euro Power Metal influenced stuff (RHAPSODY/SONATA ARCTICA). We all know that in Italy, Sweden, Germany and Finland hundreds of bands play this style, so why pick a band all the way from Japan where usually the vocals are not the best thing about the band. Well, apparently MASTERPIECE had that extra bit the UK label MAJESTIC ROCK was looking for and I must say it does sound quite good, although far from original. Of course the English of the Japanese is hard to follow, but with catchy songs like “Eternal scream”, “Bring me back” (very catchy, but hello is this SONATA ARCTICA or RHAPSODY with a Japanese singer) and “Gush out”, they proof they can make good strong Melodic Euro Power Metal in the style of KAMELOT, RHAPSODY, SONATA ARCTICA, AXXIS with superb neo-classical guitar shredding as fast as lightning. They only should have left out the song “One for all the nation” which features a Japanese soprano (who can also be heard on a few other songs), but it just sounds very weak when this guy sings a full song, but that doesn’t happen too much happily, as the rest of the CD is quite good. Check out this band at: http://www.maspinet.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ and http://www.majesticrock.com (Points: 8.2 out of 10)
Does the name MIKE SLAMER needs any introduction, because this British guitarist has been active in the melodic rockscene since it practically started in the 1970s. First with CITY BOY, whom had that major hit “5705” (unforgettable!) back then, but as soon as he went to the USA in the early 80s it all became sensational AOR/Melodic Rock what he kept on doing until this day. Bands like STREETS (with STEVE WALSH of KANSAS) and STEELHOUSE LANE, as well as working with HOUSE OF LORDS, TOWER CITY, SEVENTH KEY and many other acts made him a household name in the AOR scene. Now it’s 2006 and the new project of Mike is simply called SLAMER, in which we can also find TERRY BROCK (STRANGEWAYS, THE SIGN, SEVENTH KEY) on lead vocals. The result is a typical Slamer Melodic Rock record, like a cross between the slightly heavier 80s Melodic Rock of STREETS and the punchy AOR material of SEVENTH KEY. If we talk about included songs like “Strength to carry on”, “Come to me”, “Runaway” and “Jaded”, we are talking about HIGH CLASS AOR with superb hooks, vocals and choruses a la SEVENTH KEY, while some of the other songs are just your typical Melodic Rocksongs (such as the edgy STREETS type of songs “Nowhere land”, “Audio illusion” and “Higher ground”. Almost as good as SEVENTH KEY, STEELHOUSE LANE or HOUSE OF LORDS, but in the same league at times for sure, so better check it out asap if that is your kind of thing. (Points: 8.8 out of 10)
Very impressive list of lead singers have been brought in for the new FRONTIERS PROJECT AVALON, which is the baby of Mr. RICHIE ZITO, who is one of the big 80s songwriters/producers/multi-instrumentalists responsible for no less than 36 Billboard Top 100 Chart singles we all love or hate (FLASHDANCE/TOP GUN hits, BAD ENGLISH, HEART, etc) besides working with countless bands and artists during the keyboard AOR sound of the 1980s. In the 1990s it became a little quiet, but FRONTIERS RECORDS gave Richie the OK to make a new true 80s AOR project and so we are looking at AVALON. Of course an awesome pure 80s AOR CD, with excellent singing of vocalists like JOE LYNN TURNER, HUGO, DANNY VAUGHN, ERIC MARTIN, PHILIP BARDOWELL, JOSEPH WILLIAMS and also (least interesting) RICHIE KOTZEN (the guitarist!) and EDDIE MONEY. Although most of the songs are actually old tunes from the good old 80s, like all FRONTIERS projects the recordings have taken place recently, so this is actually a whole new CD with new recordings of old songs, but why complain, because we all know that there are still many awesome unreleased songs from the 80s, which FRONTIERS releases on CD every now and then in some sort of project. Also this AVALON project CD is very sensational and just breathing 80s AOR like a mix between SURVIVOR, STARSHIP and JOURNEY during their heydays. Highlights are coming in the shape of “Avalon” (awesome AOR with DANNY VAUGHN on vocals) and the fantastic PHILIP BARDOWELL (I just love this guy’s voice, so perfect, hopefully he will make another solo record soon!) sung tracks “I can’t forget you” and “Good things take time” (INCREDIBLE CHORUS!) as well as the PRISM re-recorded classics “Is he better than me”, “Blue collar” and “I don’t want to want you” (the cover of “Nightmare” with EDDIE MONEY is a miss here!). Not as sensational as the SUNSTORM project, but still a must-have for the AOR freaks among us! (Points: 8.4 out of 10)
With this new DVD+CD and the concerts I visited in the past few years of the Swiss band GOTTHARD I can only conclude that this band deserves to become really huge outside Switzerland. So they have replaced KROKUS as best rockband from Switzerland, are the best selling act from their country, but after watching the new DVD that has just been released the conclusion is that GOTTHARD is a band which needs to get a huge worldwide break very soon. Their performances are just perfect, no matter how big the crowd is. On the 8th of December 2005 in the Zurich Hallenstadion they did a concert in front of a HUGE crowd and this performance has been captured and now available as CD+DVD on NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS. The CD contains 17 tracks, while the DVD has 4 more tracks to offer, so therefore the DVD is the big winner here, also when you can witness the incredible high profile performance of GOTTHARD. Lead singer STEVE LEE is one of the best performers active in Europe nowadays, his voice sounds like a mix between JEFF SCOTT SOTO, DAVID COVERDALE and JIMI JAMISON in his heydays, while he looks visually like DAVE BICKLER meets JIMI JAMISON, a true Rocksinger by all means of the word! Now back to the performance, excellent from start to finish with many many highlights (“Let it be”, “Top of the world”, “I wonder”, “Anytime, anywhere”, “Heaven”, “Homerun”, “Said and done”, etc.). Despite the fact the songs “I’ve seen an angel”, “Stay for the night” and “Cupid arrow” weren’t played that night, with 8 other songs from their final and finest record so far (‘Lipservice’), it surely proved this band has reached their highlight in the career with the release of that album. Once again the CD+DVD went to number 1 in the Swiss charts, so they have now had 10 of their albums reaching the top spot over there, which is incredible of course. Next year it will be 15 years ago since they released their awesome same titled debut and now they are at their best with the recent ‘Lipserivice’ record, of which the tour was very successful and for those who missed the shows, this CD+DVD is an excellent way to check it out after all! (Points: 9.3 out of 10)
Surprisingly a new band formed in 2005, but they sound like a classic 80s melodic rockband. Imagine a mix between LOUD AND CLEAR and DANGER DANGER with JEFF SCOTT SOTOish vocals, then you’re close to what this THE CAUZE from California/USA is all about. Do not confuse with the same named (and similar sounding band!) from Texas that put out one album in the 80s I believe. This THE CAUZE is definitely better, maybe a bit polished and too 80s sounding for some, but on the other hand a deadringer for fans of bands like LOUD AND CLEAR, DANGER DANGER, SLYBOYZ, FRICTION, JET RED, STRYPER, DOKKEN, MELIDIAN… These guys are showing 80s melodic rock can still sound pretty good and they have included 12 catchy tunes on their first record, of which especially “Those eyes”, “The chase”, “Looking for you” and “Something’s showing” are very strong catchy melodic rocksongs. Better check out this band at: http://www.thecauzeband.com and e-mail them at: thecauzeband@cs.com (Points: 8.4 out of 10) MERCY DRIVE ‘MERCY DRIVE’ (INDEPENDENT) Not really originally sounding, but nevertheless pretty good is the debut CD of the Californian band MERCY DRIVE. This band has the typical American modern rock major label sound we have heard from many bands lately, think HOOBASTANK, CLUTCH, THREE DAYS GRACE, DISTURBED… modern with big heavy groovy guitar riffs, a mostly midtempo tuned sound, but mixed with melodic choruses and therefore this is a very nice record once again, on which 12 songs are included. Funnily enough the best songs can be found towards the end of the CD in the shape of “Over”, “Memory” and “Follow”, 3 very strong midtempo modern melodic heavy rocksongs. If the American way of rock from today is your kind of style then this MERCY DRIVE might be yours. Be sure to check these guys out at: http://www.mercydrive1.com and e-mail them at: corey@mercydrive1.com (Points: 8.2 out of 10) ELIXIR ‘SOVEREIGN REMEDY/THE IDOL/MINDCREEPER/SON OF ODIN’ (MAJESTIC ROCK) Not one, not two, not even three, nope, 4 albums of the legendary UK NWOBHM act ELIXIR have been released through MAJESTIC ROCK at the same time. It concerns here 3 re-issues and 1 new CD of the band, which started in 1983. Through the years the band had some line-up changes, including CLIVE BURR on drums at one point. Judging on these 4 releases they however never changed their style, which was a mix of classic NWOBHM and Melodic Hardrock in a typical British twin-guitar sound. They released one more album titled ‘Lethal potion’, which was slightly more commercial, but most of the time they played the same kind of style in the 23 years they have active up until now. If we have a closer look at their albums, which now have been re-issued, their 1986 album ‘Son of Odin’ and their 1988 record ‘Sovereign remedy’ are clearly their best albums filled with excellent classic NWOBHM and Melodic Hardrocktunes. Songs like “Llagaeran”, “Lost in a dream”, “Treachery” and “Pandora’s box” are very impressive songs. The new CD ‘Mindcreeper’ is slightly more modern, not bad, but it feels the same way as the latest TYGERS OF PAN TANG, so no classics to be found in there. The other 2002 re-released album ‘The idol’ is similar to their latest release, so just a nice release, but nothing exceptional. If you’re gonna start to check out ELIXIR, start with the re-issues of their first 2 great records. More info at: http://www.majesticrock.com (Points: 8.3 out of 10) ANARION ‘UNBROKEN’ (MAJESTIC ROCK) We reviewed the first CD ‘The journey begins’ of the Australian band ANARION a long time ago, since it as released in 2001 and now 5 years later there is a follow-up in the shape of ‘Unbroken’, a strong new CD which once again shows the band’s capabilities in producing thrashy Power Metal. The influences from both Power Metal and 80s Bay Area Thrash Metal are very clear throughout the 9 included track son the band’s new CD. Although sometimes it sounds quite aggressive, due to the thrash metal influences, some of the melodies of songs like “Blind mortality”, “Greed of man“ and “Another level” are high class. People who appreciate heavier thrashy Power Metal with still a melodic touch, should check out this ANARION from Australia. The CD comes with a short DVD as bonus, so some footage to watch as well! More info at: http://www.majesticrock.com (Points: 8.1 out of 10) (All reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
AUTICADA
‘AUREA’ (VIDEORADIO) 
ANDROMEDA
‘CHIMERA’ (MASSACRE RECORDS) 
COMMUNIC ‘WAVES
OF VISUAL DECAY’ (NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS) 
BLIND GUARDIAN
‘A TWIST IN THE MYTH’ (NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS) 
LEATHERWOLF
‘WORLD ASYLUM’ (MASSACRE RECORDS) 
LILLIX ‘INSIDE
THE HOLLOW’ (SHORE FIRE MEDIA/MAVERICK RECORDS/WARNER MUSIC GROUP) 
SISTER MANIK
‘READ MY LIPS’ (BRAMUSA PRODUCTIONS) 
B. IMPATIENT
‘B. IMPATIENT’ (LOCOMOTIVE MUSIC/ROCK INC) 
LEVERAGE
‘TIDES’ (PLAYGROUND MUSIC/ELEMENTS MUSIC) 
BROTHER APE
‘SHANGRI-LA’ (PROGRESS RECORDS) 
XINEMA ‘BASIC
COMMUNICATION’ (UNICORN DIGITAL) 
CHOIRBOYS ‘BIG
BAD AND ACOUSTIC’ (LIBERATION MUSIC) 
SHAKARY ‘SHAKARY 2006’ (SHK RECORDS/PANGG DISTRIBUTION)
MIKEY JONES ‘THE LIGHT OF DAY’ (EZ SOUNDS)
MASTERPIECE ‘COLORS OF CONFLICT’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS)
SLAMER ‘NOWHERE LAND’ (FRONTIERS RECORDS/ROUGH TRADE)
AVALON ‘THE RICHIE ZITO PROJECT’ (FRONTIERS RECORDS/ROUGH TRADE)
GOTTHARD ‘MADE IN SWITZERLAND CD+DVD’ (NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS)
THE CAUZE ‘THE CAUZE’ (INDEPENDENT)