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OTOSCOPE ‘PURE
SPECULATION’ (INDEPENDENT)
Here we have a very impressive CD of a band called OTOSCOPE, who are coming out of California, USA. They are playing 80s influenced catchy AOR/Melodic Rock and it is done very well actually, a bit reminding me of the classic 80s Canadian Rockstyle, so some HONEYMOON SUITE references can be made here (just listen to the uptempo “Playing it safe”. Opener “Shallow” is a very good late 80s US type of Melodic Rocker, but still I would not exactly label this release as AOR/Melodic Rock. It actually is a strong pure 80s Rockalbum, you know, the kind of records which were done a lot during the mid 80s (read: THE OUTFIELD, BRYAN ADAMS, HENRY LEE SUMMER, DANNY WILDE, BRIAN SPENCE). Especially THE OUTFIELD is a good comparison, just listen to the catchy uptempo Melodic Poprocker “Deserted” and you honestly would believe you’re listening to one of their records (or an old BRYAN ADAMS album). Without a doubt, this is also one of the better songs on the CD, together with closing track “I saw you”, another catchy fun 80s uptempo melodic poprocker. Vocally it reminds me a bit of ALDO NOVA circa ‘Blood on the bricks’. I think you’ll understand now what this CD is all about, good clean catchy 80s Melodic Poprock, so better check it out for yourself at: http://www.otoscopemusic.com and e-mail at: tomandfranc@cox.net (Points: 8.0 out of 10)
No info on this band, but I will definitely check out everything about them, because their CD ‘Deviation from the flow’ is a super sensational Melodic Progressive Metal record. MALPRACTICE is coming out of Finland and after listening to the first couple of songs I was heavily impressed by the incredible high quality music this band is bringing. The most remarkable thing is that it comes out of nowhere, lands on my desk and well basically sounds as good as VANDENPLAS, THRESHOLD, SHADOW GALLERY, MAGNITUDE 9 or SYMPHONY X… There are 8 songs on the CD, with the first 3 songs being fantastic Melodic Progressive Metalsongs, but the absolute highlight has got to be the amazing “The long run” which sounds like a true classic in the Progressive Metal genre, featuring some lovely melodies combined with high class musicianship. Actually each of the 8 songs is sensational and therefore this CD is a definite must for anyone who likes Progressive Metal with good strong melodies. Without a doubt one of the better progressive metal releases done lately! (Points: 8.9 out of 10) EILERA ‘PRECIOUS MOMENT’ (SPINEFARM RECORDS) We head back to Finland once again where we find a female singer called Eilera, who recorded a mini-CD, which at first sight sounds like the next Gothic Metal release, but Eilera sings slightly different, with a very strong English accent, but also with a sort of BJORK/SINEAD O’CONNOR kinda approach, although do not get me wrong here, because a song like “Fusion” is a very strong typical female fronted Gothic Metal tune. It’s a mini-CD, so it’s hard to come up with a real good judgement, but some more songs like opener “Fusion” would definitely make her full-length CD release sometime in the future much more interesting, because now besides “Fusion” and closing track “Precious moments” the other 2 songs seem to be a bit too experimental. I think a full-length record will tell us much more… (Points: 7.7 out of 10) SOLSTAFIR ‘MISTRESSES OF BITTERNESS’ (SPIKEFARM RECORDS) Not everything out of Finland is interesting, because SOLSTAFIR is playing a sort of experimental Extreme Metal meets Hardcore meets Screamo Metal style, so there’s nothing melodic about this release. (Points: - ) 14 minutes is the total playing time of the demo of this Swedish band, whom deliver 4 good strong true Rock n Roll songs in the style of NEW YORK DOLLS, HANOI ROCKS…The songs are melodic, yet with the energy of Sleazy Hardrockbands. Without a doubt, this is an interesting band to check out if you’re into classic Rock N Roll. Be sure to go to their website at: http://www.kakaphonia.com and e-mail them at: info@kakaphonia.com and I think this demo shows they are ready to record a full-length CD someday soon. (Points: 8.0 out of 10) Typical French I guess, because this band’s CD is a very bizarre mix of a lot of Rock and Metal styles, ending up sounding like a wicked mix between WENDY O. WILLIAMS, MARILYN MANSON and DEPECHE MODE! I don’t have more info on them, but their CD contains 10 songs which mix Industrial Metal, 80s Gothic Rock and influences from Doom and Alternative Metal. The production is also a bit on the strange side, because the vocals are sounding like if they were recorded in a bathroom. I guess this is one of those bands to check out if you’re a really open-minded music fan who wants to explore something very experimental that doesn’t sound like anything else. (Points: 6.5 out of 10) There’s hope for the UK Rockscene, because new melodic rockbands have been emerging from the countryside (not from London!) and one of them, TARA’S SECRET, has a new CD-single out. 2 songs can be found and although nothing new is brought here the band clearly shows they can make a good deal of 80s melodic rock. “Drive me home” is a lovely little catchy typical 80s influenced uptempo AOR/Melodic Rocker with keyboards straight out of the big AOR book, kinda like SHY, TERRA NOVA and ZINATRA. The other song “In movies” is also pure 80s, but then a bit more Melodic Rock a la BON JOVI/VAN HALEN. So you have 2 catchy tunes, which show that this band already belongs to the best the UK has to offer in new melodic rock/aor bands. More info on them at: http://www.taras-secret.com and e-mail at: info@taras-secret.com (Points: 8.3 out of 10) MITHRIL ‘DARE THE HEAVENS’ (INDEPENDENT) Here’s a strong quality band from Germany. They are called MITHRIL and they play raw Power Metal with slight PRIMAL FEAR touch (instrumental), although vocally it goes more into a US Power Metal type of style (read: NEVERMORE/ICED EARTH) and also a Bay Area Thrash Metal may be heard in a song like “Savage accuracy”. This is definitely True Metal which will please the fans of mentioned bands a lot. 4 songs can be found on the mini-CD of MITHRIL. The 4 songs contain big heavy guitar riffs and probably therefore the band calls their style RIFF METAL! Happily, the band is playing good pure Metal with Power/Thrash Metal influences, with as highlights “Iron mask” (a bombastic midtempo MANOWAR type of epic Metal song) and the very impressive closing track “Almost the same” (a very melodic tune actually and by far the best song of MITHRIL). More info on the band at: http://www.mithril-metal.de and e-mail at: killerriff@web.de (Points: 8.0 out of 10) Instrumental they sound perfect, typical European Neo-Classical Melodic Power Metal, but sadly vocally it is nothing but Screamo/Black Metal what we get to hear. ‘Eden fire’ is the first full-length CD of the band SONIC SYNDICATE, who come out of Sweden. Maybe fans of CHILDREN OF BODOM, MESHUGGAH, AMON AMARTH might like this, but I think it way too Extreme and un-melodic for most of our readers. Nevertheless, check out their site at: http://www.sonicsyndicate.com (Points: -) What starts as a really strong Melodic (Pop) Rock record turns out to be a CD with not only rockers, but also a few pure Popsongs like a 3 DOORS DOWN meets MAROON kinda style, although most of the time the CD will please the fan of melodic rock, because after all, songs like “Maybe now’, “Share my life”, “Come what may” (catchy chorus), “Alone” (very catchy fun uptempo 80s melodic poprocker with awesome guitarsolo, shame there aren’t more songs like this on the album) and “Stare” (very strong, kinda like HIM meets THE RASMUS meets POETS OF THE FALL) are definitely all strong Melodic Poprockers with a touch of the 80s in an updated Nu-Breed American Rockstyle. 7 SHARP NINE comes out of Marietta, Georgia, USA and their high quality new CD ‘Frame by frame’ could’ve easily been on a major label, as it does sound like one of those typical American Rock releases. A good record with some really catchy songs and strong vocalwork as well, a must for people who also appreciate a band like GOO GOO DOLLS, so modern US Melodic Poprock! More info on 7 SHARP 9 at: http://www.sevensharpnine.com and e-mail at: cw@sevensharpnine.com (Points: 8.1 out of 10) Not 1, but 2 new CDs are available from the US band LANDS END. I only received a promo of the first CD, but I am quite sure CD 2 will be in a similar style to CD 1. What we have here is a good quality record from an underrated band in the Progressive Rockscene, whom have been active for a very long time now, because ‘The lower depths’ is their 6th release so far! The music is like if we set back the time to the 1970s, because this is pure progressive rock in the style of the bands that started it over 30 years ago (GENTLE GIANT, RENAISSANCE, YES, GENESIS). Like I already mentioned, the new LANDS END CD is split in 2 CDs, where CD 1 contains some great strong female vocals besides long instrumental passages and CD 2 is mostly focused on a 50+ minutes counting epic. Best songs on CD 1 are definitely the longer tracks (“Digital signatures” and “A new world order”), which feature great female vocalwork of guest singer CATHY and some great instrumental passages. I do not know how CD 2 sounds, but I guess the Progrock diehards will absolutely love this record. (Points: 8.2 out of 10)
Extremely popular in their own country (Finland), CHARON delivers a masterpiece with their new album, which could easily be their breakthrough in the rest of the world. The band is playing a sort of typical Finnish style, which reveal clear HIM, 69 EYES and even NIGHTWISH influences, but somehow CHARON has created an own style, which is a mix of Gothic Rock and Melodic Metal. Ending up sounding very catchy actually and it is absolutely no wonder why this CHARON has built up a big reputation, because their CD is filled with high quality music which has a huge sound. The music is not always original, because the links to HIM are sometimes very clear. Nevertheless, like I already said, the band has an own kind of style thanks to their singer J. Pleppaluoto (who sings very low and dark, kinda melancholic) and the fantastic (twin-) guitarwork in each song. Highlights among the 10 included tracks are “Deep water” (very catchy uptempo Melodic Rocker), “Rain”, “She hates”, “Ride on tears” and the superb “Gray” which is definitely the best song. Surely another very strong release from Finland, must-have for the HIM fans, although this CHARON is heavier and maybe even better! (Points: 8.8 out of 10) The Norwegian band GRIFFIN returns with a new CD, which has a very short playing time (36 minutes!), but on the other hand is still featuring 11 very strong typical European Melodic Metal songs which immediately recall memories of NOCTURNAL RITES, DREAMLAND, DREAM EVIL, HELLFUELED, etc. This means we have a true winner here with this new GRIFFIN, because almost all songs are uptempo Powerful Melodic Metal pieces that can easily compete with mentioned bands, so a true sensational release. The band sometimes sounds a bit rawer, although songs like “Rest”, “Dungeon” and “Building a future” can easily be labelled as sensational Melodic Power Metal songs a la NOCTURNAL RITES. On the other hand, the band also offers some slower tempo pure Melodic Rocksongs that remind me of EUROPE (before The Final Countdown!) and 80s MALMSTEEN, such as the wonderful songs “Utopia”, “Moment of madness” and “Lifeforce” (best song!). In the end, we have a mix of Melodic Rock and Melodic (Power) Metal, which sounds really impressive most of the time and is a must-have if you care for any of the mentioned Swedish bands, although GRIFFIN hails from Norway of course, but that should not be a problem… More info at: http://www.griffin.no (Points: 8.7 out of 10) Formed 6 years ago, the German band THE HEROINES released their CD ‘Groupie’ in 2002 on the German label WOLVERINE RECORDS. Maybe labelled as Punkrock, this release is more a pure classic 70s Rock N Roll release which sounds like a mix between THE DONNAS and THE RUNAWAYS. This is good time Rock n Roll the old way, which means uptempo and no-nonsense. In fact, all 13 songs are uptempo rockers, so no slow tempo or ballads can be found on this disc, which is a good thing, because this kind of Rock n Roll sounds at it’s best during the uptempo moments, which is the whole time on this disc. THE HEROINES sound very professional, definitely German’s best answer to THE DONNAS, although THE HEROINES consist of 2 male and 2 female musicians. Best songs are “Welcome to the band”, “Heartbreaker”, “A million kind of boys” (very catchy THE RUNAWAYS type of song which is also featured as a videoclip on the CD’s multimedia extras) and “He’s my whore”. Concluded, a must-have for THE DONNAS fans! More info at: http://www.theheroines.com and check out their label at: http://www.wolverine-records.de because they celebrate their 13th year birthday! (Points: 8.2 out of 10) Sensational female fronted Melodic Rock out of California is what this LUV PLANET is all about. This is one of those superstrong independent releases you love right from the start, because the 12 included songs are filled with lovely melodic vocalwork, catchy hooks, memorable super melodic choruses, terrific classic 80s inspired guitarwork of the THIN LIZZY/WHITESNAKE school, typical old school Californian hamonyvocals and this is all packed in some lovely songs which can easily be compared to HEART, PRIVATE LIFE, WITNESS, CHALLENGE… There’s a split between calmer semi-ballads/semi rockers and a few straight-forward melodic rock, all sounding very impressive and clearly 80s sounding, yet without sounding dated. The main core of the band is NICOLE SUTTON on vocals/acoustic guitar and MARK MCGEE on vocals and guitars, with both writing all the songs on the CD, where Mark produced the whole thing. Mark’s guitarwork is phenomenal and I am not sure but wasn’t he a member of VICIOUS RUMORS once??? Without a doubt, this LUV PLANET CD is really a superb release, which is a must for any aor/melodic rockfan. Songs like the uptempo rockers “State of mind”, “Luv U madly” and “Girl” and the calmer semi-ballad/rockers “More than I do”, “Life goes on”, “Last chance” and “Something’s waiting” are definitely high class and memorable. The only pity is that some more uptempo rockers would have fit the balance between calmer and rockier songs better, because now obviously the band most of the time is playing calmer semi-acoustic type of rock, which even has clear Westcoast influences in a song like “You are the one” (with a DIRE STRAITS guitar approach), but nevertheless it is a very strong melodic rock/aor ish album. Better check out this sensational CD a.s.a.p. at: http://www.luvplanet.net (Points: 8.6 out of 10) I vaguely remember having a demo of this 80s US band called HOTSHOT somewhere in laying in the basement. I remember this because this band had an awesome song called “Always in my heart”, which happens to be on this particular CD! Anyway, HOTSHOT were a band active in the 1980s, formed by singer MIKE PONT and he now has made all his recordings available under the HOTSHOT moniker. The CD contains 15 songs, recorded between 1986 and 1990, which show the different styles Mike was doing during this period in L.A. At one point HOTSHOT were approached by the members of MOTLEY CRUE for producing their record, but this fell through when VINCE NEIL was kicked out of that band. This was basically the end for HOTSHOT, because they split and it took 15 years before any material of this band was officially released, but now there is a HOTSHOT CD available. Like I said the material is very diverse, because at one point we’re in 1986, while a different song was recorded in 1990 and the US turned from SURVIVOR/JOURNEYish AOR in the mid 80s to a rougher Hair Metalsound a la CRUE/FIREHOUSE in late 80s/early 90s, while the BON JOVI/DEF LEPPARD melodic rocksound was continuously popular and therefore the sound of HOTSHOT is a mix of these 3 styles. I think the best comparison is DANGER DANGER, because not only musically the 2 bands are very close to each other, HOTSHOT also once featured ex-DANGER DANGER members (Bruno Ravel and Steve West). Anyway, so I guess there is nothing original on this CD, because basically every song sounds like some typical LA band from the 80s. During the first 8 songs a lot of times it’s like I am listening to a WARRANT, WINGER, FIREHOUSE or ROXY BLUE CD, but in between the band also offers some BON JOVI/DEF LEPPARD type of semi melodic rockers/ballads such as “Always in my heart”, “Too much is never enough” and “Bring on the night”, this making the HOTSHOT band a true winner if you’re a fan of JOHNNY LIMA, SWEDISH EROTICA, DANGER DANGER, SCHOOLBOY CRUSH, BLUE TEARS… It’s all high quality performed music, but very cliché and sometimes really average (“Rock-A-Bye Baby”, “Sweet little Lucy” and “In the groove”). Happily, the final 6 songs are really interesting, because then we get to hear material from 1986, which was originally released in 1986. Only by looking at the pictures from this period you can note that they looked more mature SURVIVORish, so these final 6 tracks on the HOTSHOT CD are pure 80s AOR with hooks, choruses and keys. These 6 songs (“Hold on”, “Feels like the first time”, “I can’t turn back”, “Love makes you blind”, “The heartache of love” and “Wildside” – no covers, all originals!) are all catchy uptempo AOR/Melodic Rockers a la AVIATOR, AGENT and AIRKRAFT, so in the end this is a CD which will appeal to a lot of people. The safest way is to say it is a must to any 80s US Melodic Rockfan, especially if you dig the DANGER DANGER style. The CD is available exclusively through http://www.dsb-aor-world.com and e-mail for more info at: dsb.aor@t-online.de (Points: 8.4 out of 10) A lost classic is what the album of DAMIEN STEELE us all about, because that is what this release concerns. The included 9 songs are taken from demos and unreleased sessions from more than 15 years ago, but happily it all has been remastered and the sound quality is excellent, so you can definitely call this a true CD release of the band DAMIEN STEELE. They were a band formed in the early 80s and all throughout the CDs they made this kind of high quality Melodic Metal, with the 9 included tracks here representing the band’s sound, which was clearly in the style of FATES WARNING, CRIMSON GLORY, QUEENSRYCHE, VICIOUS RUMORS… This typical 80s US ProgMetal with very impressive high pitched lead vocals. It is a good thing to see all this old material from the 80s being released onto CD, because otherwise superb songs like “Wasteland”, “Life after life”, “The whisper” (beautiful epic semi ballad in the 80s QUEENSRYCHE style) and “Shadow of our time” would forever be lost. Do check out the label’s site at: http://www.pmm-music.net and e-mail at: lenrod@aol.com Definitely a must-have CD for the fans of mentioned bands! (Points: 8.4 out of 10) Out of California comes the band GLASS, whom released a very good instrumental album, which will please all progressive rockfans, because it is high quality musicianship what we get to hear on the record ‘ Illuminations’, kinda like FLOWER KINGS/ELP without vocals. The band consists of the 2 brothers Jeff Sherman (bass) and Greg Sherman (keys, Hammond and piano) and drummer Jerry Cook. The CD was released on the French MUSEA label and except for the closing track (which does have a full line-up including guitars and vocals), there is no electric guitar to be heard, but nevertheless this instrumental record will be one to check out if you’re a progressive rockfan, because it offer enough diversity despite the use of only Bass, Drums and Hammond/Piano. Check out more info on the CD of GLASS at: http://www.musearecords.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) Thanks to the power of the internet obscure 80s recordings have been re-issued onto CD or old CD release have either been repressed or made available again due to label stocks of the particular albums. SYNAPSE’ CD from 1990 is available again. This was a Californian band based around drummer TOMMY GUNN. They played classy 80s US Melodic Heavy Rock/Metal like a mix between SAXON, Y&T, QUIET RIOT and SHOK PARIS. 8 songs are included and some songs are a bit more commercial late 80s LA Hair Metal orientated such as the late 80s Y&T meets QUIET RIOT sounding “You and me”, while others are closer to 80s US Melodic Metal a la SAVATAGE (“Burning bridges”), although really most of the time it sounds a lot like the Y&T period 1985-1992. In the end, it is a good clean high quality CD, with some awesome guitarwork of BRYN ANDERSON by the way. More info at: http://www.cdbaby.com/synapse (Points: 8.2 out of 10) Being the son of a famous musician has it’s advantages (easier to get a record deal) and probably also disadvantages (the inevitable comparisons to the parent), but RICK WAKEMAN’s son OLIVER WAKEMAN clearly has shown his capabilities through the years. He is as gifted on keyboards as his famous father and on the CDs he has played so far he has shown to be a keyboard wizard, so who knows he might ever replace his father in YES! Now Oliver has a new solo-CD out on PROGROCK RECORDS, which contains some high class Symphonic AOR with lots of great keyboardwork, kinda like ASIA, although there are also traces of JOURNEY sometimes, such as in the great semi AOR ballad “If you’re leaving” and also very good are the ASIA type of Sympho/Pomp-AOR songs “In the movies” and “I don’t believe in angels”. One of the highlights is the closing track “Wall of water”, a 10 minutes counting epic progrocksong. Moon Kinnaird is the lead singer on the 9 included songs and although he sometimes sounds a bit weaker it is acceptable. Fans of ASIA (old and new style) will love this new solo-CD of OLIVER WAKEMAN, which is nothing like his father’s instrumental releases, but is real band sort of Symphonic AOR affair, worth checking out at: http://www.progrockrecords.com (Points: 8.3 out of 10) JACE is a band from Florida/USA and their CD is filled with classic 80s AOR/Poprock. 12 songs are included and although some songs are pure Melodic Poprockers like THE OUTFIELD, there’s enough to enjoy for the pure AOR fan. For example the superb pure 80s AOR ballad “The edge of goodbye” is like a trip to memory lane reminding of a cross between REO SPEEDWAGON, JOURNEY and BAD ENGLISH. This song is one of the best AOR ballads I have heard in a long time, as good as the recent PHILIP BARDOWELL, BLANC FACES and FINAL FRONTIER CD releases. The material is not straight-forward ballsy Hardrock, but well-thought calmer semi-acoustic/electric melodic lead vocal/harmonyvocal driven AOR/Melodic Poprock, catchy and radio-ready. The band has a good lead singer (multi-instrumentalist Jason Pawlak), while the 2 other members are guitarists Trevor and Dennis Pawlak, so you notice these are 3 brothers actually, with Jason as most important family member of JACE, because he plays every instrument as well writing and producing everything. Other highlights besides the already mentioned “The edge of goodbye” are “Let me sleep” (one of a few classic uptempo 80s catchy hookladen AOR/Melodic Rockers, fantastic song by the way, kinda like AVIATOR and AGENT, so pure mid 80s AOR sound!), “Nothing in the way”, “Fine line” (beautiful melodic guitarwork, lovely semi AOR ballad like DEF LEPPARD meets BAD ENGLISH) and the TRIXTER type of semi melodic rocker “Take me back”. Maybe not truly rocking, still super melodic and very AORish in a sort of RICHARD MARX meets NOUVEAUX meets CHASE ‘In pursuit” style, but also interesting to check out for the FRONTIERS RECORDS buying public. More info at: http://www.jacemusic.com and CD is available through: http://www.targetrecords.de (Points: 8.4 out of 10) I really don’t understand what the fuss is all about over in the UK, where this band has been making a deep impact on the national press. This new album, which is their 3rd, could give them their a big breakthrough, but trust me, there is really nothing original about the album. In fact, the 8 songs sound all the same and are nothing more than a repeat of their earlier material. Admitted, it is played very nicely and it does sound like a high quality record, but there is no diversity at all and it’s all about playing as fast as possible and throwing in catchy melodic choruses and hooks all over the place. Most important fact is that we have heard it all hundreds of times before, because the fast Melodic Power Metal of DRAGONFORCE is nothing more than a copy of the sounds of FREEDOM CALL, HELLOWEEN and RHAPSODY. It’s good for what it is, but why the first UK band (featuring nothing but foreigners, just settled in London!) playing this kind of style is praised instead of all the other processors that invented the style is just a case of the incredible chauvinism of the UK, because it happened with THE DARKNESS 5 years ago and now it is DRAGONFORCE. On the other hand, it will probably launch a lot of new bands playing the same kind of style, so THE DARKNESS and DRAGONFORCE have opened the doors for a second NWOBHM, but should we really be glad about this? Back to the CD, nice album, well played, but zero original and boring after a while I guess due to the lack of diversity, although songs like “Cry for eternity” and “Body breakdown” are of course very catchy. Release date early 2006! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) Not sure if this Brazilian band is really big in their homecountry, but the fact their CD is licensed through SONY MUSIC indicated they are at least quite well-known in Brazil. Anyway, their CD contains HIGH CLASS pure 1980s type of AOR/Melodic Rock, very catchy hooky and with a strong melodic guitarsound, it’s like I am listening to some classy 80s record. The only difference is that the vocals are most of the time very low sounding(so no high pitched vocals at all), kinda like HIM, but instrumental it is pure 80s Melodic Rock, think of BLUE TEARS/DANGER DANGER mixing HIM, resulting in some great strong Melodic Rockers such as “Vitrea”, “Say the truth”, “Final instant” (classic 80s DOKKEN guitarsound), “Faces in the mirrors” (a la TEN) and “In the night” (best song, very strong catchy AOR/Melodic Rocker). Better check out this band at: http://www.vitreaweb.hpg.com.br (Points: 8.3 out of 10) The band AREA 51 is settled in Florida, where they were formed almost 10 years ago. Their first CD ‘Embryonic’ was released last year and it represents a style which is a mix of old Bay Area Thrash Metal, Classic 80s Melodic Metal and a more modern approach, kinda like old METALLICA meets SLAYER meets DISTURBED meets PANTERA, with a more melodic vocal approach. It’s heavy, it’s raw and it’s pure Metal the American way, so I guess this will easily find it’s way to a bigger crowd, especially since their debut CD sounds as big as aforementioned acts. 12 songs are included and fans of mentioned big Metal riff orientated music should really check out AREA 51, because this CD is clearly containing similar stuff. The vocals are clean and melodic during the songs, except for the choruses where a more Gang vocal SLAYER type of chorus is used, but that’s a pity because with such a strong melodic singer you could easily let him sing the chorus alone, which is done at best with some harmonyvocals during a song like “Mother culture’s lullaby” which happens to be the strongest song here, a very impressive melodic progressive metal song a la COHEED AND CAMBRIA. It’s a pity not more songs like this are on their record, because that song is really sensational original Melodic Metal! Check out AREA 51 at: http://www.xarea51x.com and e-mail at: THEBAND@XAREA51X.COM (Points: 8.0 out of 10) Soulful Poprock meets old style R&B/Blues is what we get to hear on the mini-CD of the New York based female singer/songwriter SHELLY BHUSHAN. She sounds like a cross between ANOUK, JOSS STONE, KATE MELUA and SASS JORDAN, yet with an own original vocal range, which sounds very impressive. The 4 songs on her EP are calmet semi poprockers with the passionate soulful vocals of Shelly making them really interesting, especially the semi ballad “Run” and closing track “Too hard to fall” could easily become huge! More info on Shelly at: http://www.shellybhushan.com and e-mail at: info@shellybhushan.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) Band out of Florida with the typical current US Metalstyle, which means slightly depressive vocals, melodic choruses, a big fat heavy metal guitarsound and this is all packed in a modern kinda approach. Think DISTURBED, COHEED AND CAMBRIA and SYSTEM OF A DOWN. With only 8 songs making up just 32 minutes in total playing time, this is a rather short CD. The songs are all more or less in a similar style, which is slowtempo/midtempo with a groovy guitarsound, starting with depressive grungy vocals (PEARL JAM/ALICE IN CHAINS) while the choruses are more melodic and radiofriendly. Better check out HIGHER ZENITH for yourself at: http://www.higherzenith.com and e-mail at: info@higherzenith.com (Points: 7.7 out of 10) Classic Hardrock (think LED ZEPPELIN/THIN LIZZY) can be heard on the 2nd CD of the Michigan/USA based band THE ROCKIT KING. Good to see new US bands playing a sort of old school Hard rock style again where there is room for real guitarsolos, because that is missed much these days. Opener “Alright” of the 10 tracks counting CD is not really strong, due to a simple chorus, but next track “Leave me alone” shows we are dealing here with an original Hardrockband, which also reminds me a bit of THE CULT and even LA GUNS going more melodic hardrock. Highlights are “Do you really wanna be with me” (very catchy Melodic Rocker, superb chorus, kinda like STARZ meets THIN LIZZY, pure late 1970s with lovely twin-guitarwork, instant hit!), “Proving you wrong” (BAD COMPANY meets THE CULT, is that possible???), “Saddle up” and “10”. Good old plain/straight-forward classic guitar riff orientated Hardrock, yet with an own original touch can be heard here. More info at: http://www.therockitking.com (Points: 8.4 out of 10) MARDO is a new Californian band who are playing pure 1970s Glam/Glitter Hardrock on their debut CD. 13 songs are included and it all starts with a sort of LED ZEPPELIN/late SLAUGHTER type of groovy hardrocker titled “Anyone but me”, with the next song “Here she comes” sounding like a pure early 70s Glamrocker a la T-REX. And the rest of the CD basically continues in these styles, so a mix of Classic Rock and Glamrock like T-REX meets LED ZEPPELIN meets THE SWEET. The band did a cover of HUEY LEWIS ‘I want a new drug” which falls a bit out of place here. People who are into ENUFF’Z’NUFF, T-REX, KING’S X, but also LED ZEPPELIN and even JET fans may want to check out this MARDO at: http://www.mardomusic.com gorgeouspr@aol.com (Points: 8.1 out of 10) Out of New Hampshire comes singer/songwriter LONE WOLF JAMES. He released a CD, which musically sounds like a mix between ALICE COOPER, OZZY and BRET MICHAELS. It’s not really the kind of 80s rock I had hoped for, because at times it sounds more like a middle of the road kinda style, so big time ballsy rocktunes here, although vocally he has the typical 80s LA Glam kinda approach. 6 songs are on the CD and my cope somehow refuses to play the last 3 songs, so better make up your own judgement by checking http://www.lonewolfjames.com and e-mail at: 9-lonewolf@yahoo.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) 3 CDs were sent to me by the band ELECTRIC TIGER, a band out of Gloucester, MA/USA. They play a very non-commercial kinda style, which is experimental instrumental noise/space music, so no rock, metal or pop at all here, basically spacey noise on 3 long CDs, which is really only interesting if something like TANGERINE DREAM or Sci-Fi movie music is stuff you like to hear. It has absolutely nothing to do with the music styles we review, but on the other hand it is a nice way to hear something completely different. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.electricanointing.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) Out of Detroit/Michigan, USA comes the band SPACE NELSON. The band was formed almost 10 years ago and have released 3 albums so far, with ‘Don’t panic’ being their latest release. The band is playing Melodic Progressive Rock, which somehow reminds me of a cross between 1990s NIGHT RANGER and SPOCK’S BEARD, so there are elements of more straight-forward Melodic Hardrock in a modern approach here and also some Progressive Rock movements. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a Progressive Rock CD actually, because most of the songs are uptempo and radiofriendly melodic, which actually sounds pretty good in songs like “Out of chances”, “Here before” and “Tilt”. RUSH influences are also present, but like I said it all reminds me so much of 1990s NIGHT RANGER/JACK BLADES, also vocally, because singer/guitarist JOHN PIASENTIN even reminds me a lot of JACK BLADES! More info on the band can be found at: http://www.spacenelson.com and e-mail at: info@spacenelson.com (Points: 8.2 out of 10) High quality 80s Melodic Heavy Rock/Metal can be heard on the 6 tracks counting mini-CD of the Swedish band SAVAGE HEART. The band sounds like a cross between PRETTY MAIDS, VICTORY and GUNS’N’ROSES, although the strange thing is that they sound most of the time like those mid 80s German Teutonic Metal invasion (STORMWITCH, RENEGADE, RESTLESS, HIGH TENSION, VETO, NO TROUBLE, STRANGER, TYRANT, GRAVESTONE and especially NOISEHUNTER!). In fact a song like “Madman on the run” sounds exactly like NOISEHUNTER, and you know me, nostalgic, I am a sucker for that German band! This means we have something very impressive here, a Swedish band with a strong 6 track Mini-CD in old Teutonic Metal style. Fans of mentioned bands should check out this band asap at: http://www.savageheart.nu (Points: 8.1 out of 10) French band with a CD release that contains the kind of Art/Experimental Progressive Rock made in the late 60s and early 70s, so not pure Prog, but with a sense of humour and experimental moods, very much in the style of early KING CRIMSON, GENESIS, GENTLE GIANT, PINK FLOYD and JETHRO TULL, completely against all popular music genres back then, but also nowadays sounding very original. The fact it was recorded just last year is incredible, because you would really believe this is one of those typical 1969 albums being re-issued onto CD, but NEGATIVE ZONE are truly a new band. Without a doubt, fans of mentioned bands will absolutely love this record, with as highlights among the 12 included tracks “Don’t sleep – part 1 and part 2” and “Negative zone” which are all pure progressive rock in classic 70s style. Better check it out if you’re an open-minded 70s progfreak! More info at: http://www.negativezone.net and e-mail at: contacts@negativezone.net (Points: 8.3 out of 10) It must have been almost 10 years ago when I was completely surprised by a fantastic independent CD of the Florida based band TEER, whom combined super heavy strong Metal riffs with fantastic catchy Melodic vocals and killer choruses. Those were the pre-internet days and I still recall one of their choruses that went something like this: “Call my name when the night is… only the strong will survive…”. Anyway, years went by, band signed to FRONTIERS, released a CD, which sounded calmer and from then it became quiet until recently when this demo/promo CDR popped up. Still not as good as that sensational debut CD, the band still offers good clean catchy melodic rock in songs like “World gone insane”, “Breakin’ down” and the live version of their classic “Beggin’” (from their debut). I know this band is able to release something really sensational, so hopefully the next full length release will see them move back to their debut CD days. More info at: http://www.teerband.com and e-mail at: webmaster@teerband.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) Out of Sweden comes DYNAMIC, a very impressive band playing high class instrumental progressive rock as good as any LION MUSIC release. 4 songs are on the demo, which sounds just great. The band consists of guitarist John Huldt, drummer Johan Rydberg and bassist Anders Lindskog. It would not surprise me if this band is signed someday soon. More info at: http://www.dynamicmusic.info and e-mail at: john@dynamicmusic.info (Points: 8.2 out of 10) A CD-single from a Finnish band, whom are playing Classic Hardrock in the style of DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW. They do it very well on the 2 included songs, “Taken by the devil” and “Judgement day”. The band is currently working on a full-length CD, but this 2-track CD-single already shows this is a good quality band playing good old style Classic Hardrock. More info at: http://www.southwest-sunrise.com and e-mail at: info@southwest-sunrise.com (Points: 8.1 out of 10) French band of whom I have no further info, except that the band sent me 2 CDs, a live CD which they recently released and 2004’s ‘Prelude a la Ruine’. The band is playing high class Progressive Rock/Metal with some French lyrics. The songs are quite lengthy and mostly instrumental. You can definitely hear that this is a high quality band. The songs are very melodic and both CD show that this band is as good as ANGE, which is also a French progressive rockband. The band will release a new full-length CD early next year. More info at: http://www.nemo-world.com and e-mail them at: nemo-world@tiscali.fr (Points: 8.1 out of 10) This is the way real Melodic Metal should sound. The Italian band DRAGONIA is clearly influenced by MAIDEN, but instead of being a second-rate metalband, DRAGONIA has the advantage to feature a fantastic high pitched lead singer called Massimo Menichetti, who also plays guitars and gives the band DRAGONIA a very impressive strong sound which is as good as for example DOMINE, BLACK MAJESTY and DUNGEON, other bands that are influenced by MAIDEN. The band adds some epic and pompous elements due to the use of keyboards and besides excellent vocalwork also the guitarwork is quite impressive. All together the 3 songs on this independent CD are a must-hear for any melodic metal fan. Could well be the next signed band… More info at: http://www.dragonia.org (Points: 8.4 out of 10) Nothing new on the horizon, because the new AXXIS CD is completely following the style of their earlier records, which means pure 80s influenced Melodic Heavy Rock. Slight difference is that the band now uses a guest female singer and some of the songs do actually sound better than their weaker previous record. Of course they will never reach the high level of their legendary debut from 15+ years ago, but still this new AXXIS album has some nice songs on offer, such as “Lady moon”, “Take my hand”, “Will God remember me” and “Stay by me’ (very strong catchy song, a la first AXXIS). Nice new CD of the German band, but I am afraid it will disappear between the hundreds of similar releases done in 2005. (Points: 8.2 out of 10) Only 4 songs, but still a playing time of more than 60 minutes… that’s what real progressive rock is all about! The band SALEM HILL has been part of the progressive rock community for many years now, releasing a dozen of albums and their latest release is titled ‘Mimi’s magic moment’, which is without a doubt a real must for the fans of the progrockgenre. The songs are very long, contain a lot of awesome jamming like instrumental complex movements, but also some very nice melodies. Somehow they sound like KANSAS in their very early years, before they went commercial. Not that strange if you consider the fact that KANSAS violin player DAVID RAGSDALE makes a guest appearance here and so does NEAL MORSE (ex-SPOCK’S BEARD) who sings on the fantastic opener “The joy gem”. All 4 songs are in the same style, which is a sort of relaxing laid-back style which mixes 70s prog, pomp and aor into a melodic sound. Definitely a must-have for any progfan, especially if KANSAS, STYX, SPOCK’S BEARD or NEAL MORSE are among your favorites! (Points: 8.6 out of 10) Multi-instrumentalist HENNING PAULY is mainly known as a member of the great CHAIN band as well as the man behind FRAMESHIFT, with whom he released fantastic Progressive Metal albums. Now a new solo CD has been released of HENNING PAULY, but unfortunately there’s nothing interesting about it, because it musically is very experimental wicked music that especially during the first 6 tracks is not interesting for the serious rock/prog fans. From track 7 (“Seven”) it gets a bit better, slightly more good quality progressive rock orientated, although still very experimental like in the song “Radio sucks”. Actually I do not know how to place this release, because it sometimes is as weird as MIDNIGHT’s CD, a sort of experimental humor fusion rock/metal CD which doesn’t sound like anything else at the moment. If that is a good thing you must judge for yourself. (Points: 7.0 out of 10) GUY MANNING is a multi-instrumentalist who already released some CDs under the MANNING moniker and this ‘ A small step’ is the latest MANNING CD release. Unfortunately musically a bit too poppy and laid-back for most of us. Despite the fact that MARTIN ORFORD makes a guest appearance on the CD it has nothing to do with Progressive Rock. Instead this is a very calm experimental poppy affair, which is interesting if you want to hear something poppier, but be aware that this has nothing to do with progressive rock. (Points: 6.5 out of 10) The band ELVENKING has a new CD out, but I am quite sure it will hardly make an impression in the Metalworld, because it is filled with standard Euro Power/Fantasy Metal like we have heard in a better version from RHAPSODY the past 10 years. The band has an average lead singer and their material just isn’t strong enough to compete with other Power Metal bands and the minor Folk influences added can also not avoid in this becoming a CD which will completely disappear in the huge amount of other Metal CD releases done early 2006. (Points: 6.8 out of 10) With 33 tracks in total, including some unreleased songs and almost the complete classic ‘Excess all areas’ album from 1987, this is the ultimate SHY compilation CD. In fact, these are 2 CDs with a playing time of 140+ minutes, so if you weren’t able to track down a SHY album, this is probably the best way to get hold of their best material, because nearly every classic song they recorded is included on these 2 CDs. Especially if you consider that the ‘Excess all areas’ album is impossible to get on CD in Europe, because the original RCA release is out of print and the re-release with bonustracks is only available as expensive Japanese import. This new anthology CD contains 9 out of 10 tracks from that classic record, which is still regarded as one of the best UK AOR albums ever released! The only missing track is “Under fire”, but instead we’ll have an unreleased song from the studio recordings of ‘Excess all areas’, which is the awesome uptempo AOR rocker “Don’t wanna lose your love”. The remaining 23 tracks are taken from their other albums (‘Once bitten’ – 6 tracks, ‘Brave the storm’- 5 tracks, ‘Misspent youth’ – 4 tracks of which 3 unreleased demo versions and finally 2 songs from each of the remaining 3 SHY albums, the very average ‘Welcome to the madhouse’ and the 2 comeback albums from the 2000s, ‘Unfinished business’ and ‘Sunset and vine’) and 2 more unreleased songs (the demo “What love can make you do” from 1991 with a different singer than on any official SHY CD and the acoustic version of “Young heart”). So basically this is a very impressive compilation of SHY material from their early recordings (1983) right up to this year’s ‘Sunset and vine’. It’s interesting for the SHY fans due to a handful of unreleased songs, highly recommended to anyone who wants to explore SHY’s music and people who have been looking for their classic ‘Excess all areas’ on CD the perfect 2-CD set to own because almost the complete 1987 SHY Classic album can be found on this Anthology CD release. Having a closer look at the material, this is nothing but classic 80s AOR/Melodic Rock from start to finish, with the remark that SHY really was the British answer to JOURNEY, but sadly never broke through big. Nevertheless, songs like “Emergency” (written by MICHAEL BOLTON), “When the love is over”, “Can’t fight the nights” (ONE OF THE BEST SONGS OF ALL TIMES!), “Just love me”, “Break down the walls” (co-written by DON DOKKEN), “Telephone”, “Talk to me”, “Young heart”, “Break away”, “Hold on to your love”, etc. etc. are all instant 80s type of AOR/Melodic Rock Classic tunes. Besides all these songs, the 2-CD set has very nice extensive written liner notes in the CD booklet, along with a bunch of pictures from the past. Without a doubt, this new 2-CD set is the first real interesting compilation CD of SHY, which should be in the hands of every AOR/Melodic Rockfan, because it simply contains some of the best melodic rock ever recorded in history! (Points: 9.3 out of 10) After the huge successes of other Dutch Rock Operas the past few years (STAR ONE, AYREON, KAYAK) a lot of smaller bands started recording their own Rock Operas and the latest act to release one is the project/band MEDEA of HENRY MEEUWS (CASUAL SILENCE). ‘Room ‘XVII’ is the 2nd CD of his MEDEA project, which also features a lot of other musicians, such as . This Rock Opera is different than any other project/Rock Opera because the story setting is about the Dutch history! As far as I know this hasn’t happened before, which is a shame, because the Dutch history is fascinating filled with fantastic stories, so it was about time a Rock Opera was done about it and MEDEA is the first to do so with this record. Musically we get to hear a high quality Melodic Progressive Rock/Metal sound that mixes strong melodies, emotional lead vocals and long instrumental passages. Band leader Henry has played most of the instruments as well as writing the whole concept, but for the vocal department he got help from a few Dutch lead singers like EDWIN BALOGH, JOSS MENNEN and the singers of CASUAL SILENCE, V-MALE and DAY SIX, who are not that well-known internationally, but definitely still are able to sing very well. The CD contains 9 tracks, which all together tell the interesting Dutch history. Although this is a Rock Opera, musically it is more a pure Progressive Rockalbum that sounds like a mix between KAYAK, AYREON and ARENA. Absolute highlight is the beautiful closing track “Chaos solution”. Without a doubt done very well, leaving a big impression on every serious music fan and therefore I am sure this new MEDEA album will be a success. More info at: http://www.casualsilence.nl (Points: 8.5 out of 10) THE CRASH MODERNS is a new band from New York with a very catchy melodic poprocksound, which sounds like if it was recorded 25 years ago, yes 1980!!! This band is one of many new US bands that has a very catchy retro melodic poprocksound in the best early 80s spirit. Just listen to “Everybody hates me”, which is like RICK SPRINGFIELD’s “Jessie’s girl” and some THE KNACK, CHEAP TRICK and THE CARS sugar added, a fantastic catchy little Melodic Poprocker that will also please the fans of THE CLICK FIVE and BOWLING FOR SOUP, a definite radio hit! It’s so good to see this catchy early 80s US Melodic Poprocksound returning to the scene, and especially when it’s done as good as THE CRASH MODERNS everyone puts a smile on their face when hearing such catchy poprockers like “This time”, “Hello world” and “Everything at once”. The band features among others the lead singer DANNY ROSELLE who was once part of the band NO SOAP RADIO, a band that even appeared on an episode of THE SOPRANOS. Anyway, this band could become huge in the USA if they are picked up by a major label. In the meantime check out their site at: http://www.thecrashmoderns.com and e-mail at: zendali1@aol.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) France is best known for it’s experimental movies and music and CAER IBORMEITH is no exception. Instrumental high quality progressive metal, but then again vocally we hear either aggressive death growls or depressive Goth like vocals, so the 3 long songs on the band’s mini CD ‘Orftum’ are a strange affair, although a song like “Le Temple Psychedelique” builts up to being a good Melodic Progressive Rocker with awesome guitarwork and a strong melodic Gothic chorus (a la HIM). However, the band likes to experiment and doe not concentrate on 1 particular style. I am quite sure OPETH fans will love this record for sure! More info at: http://www.caeribormeith.com and e-mail at: cibormeith@yahoo.fr (Points: 7.2 out of 10) The band RETROGRADE has a typical modern American Melodic Rocksound, which in the US is called Nu-Breed, which is mixing classic melodic rock with grungy depressive elements. It all happened towards the end of the 1990s when the bands CREED and NICKELBACK started selling millions of records in the USA. What followed were thousand of new bands playing a similar style, of which some were a bit more melodic rock orientated. Eventually the present day it’s like every week new bands pop up. ATENZIA RECORDS is the only label in Europe to sign bands in this new US Modern Melodic Rockgenre and happily they always come up with some great new bands. RETROGRADE is the latest addition and they are not just a standard band, because what they do throw in huge classic groovy 70s Hardrock riffs (read LED ZEPPELIN) within their American Modern Melodic Rocksound. Throughout the CD they start to sound like a mix between CREED and BLACK CROWES, with some classy melodic rock vocals and choruses added. I am quite sure this CD could be very interesting for a lot of people, because it has that big fat heavy rocksound which especially in the USA is loved big time and with songs like “Letting go”, “Digging in the dirt”, “The unknown” and “Surrender” they have definite US chart possibilities. (Points: 8.2 out of 10) I could easily write an extensive essay about the fact why AOR made between 1982 and 1986 will always be better than anything released nowadays, because that was the golden period for AOR with thousands of classic releases. Back then the US stood for solid high quality melodic rockmusic where catchy hooks, memorable choruses, flashy guitarwork, dut-dut keys and clean melodic lead and harmonyvocals were the most common thing on every major record label release. JOURNEY had set the standards in 1981 with their groundbreaking ‘Escape’ and it seemed like every Pop and Rock musician followed the AOR style of JOURNEY between 1982 and 1986 with as a result AOR sounded like perfection at one point. 1984 is one of those absolute top years for AOR music, with many classics being released, but also 1983 is a glorious AOR year. Anyway, the best thing about AOR nowadays is that many re-issues are being done of these classic releases and also unknown gems and even unreleased albums are being re-issued onto CD. The latest discovery is the 1983 record of CHEATER. This band had an EP out in 1980, which we reviewed a long time ago, but apparently they had another record out in 1983. Last year the obscure label HI’YA MAC RECORDS re-issued all of CHEATER’s material on CD and this is a dream come true for the fan of classic early 80s AOR in the style of 707, TRILLION, MAYDAY, LE ROUX, PREVIEW, THRILLS, SPYS, BALANCE, NIGHTWORK etc. etc. Without any doubts I can HIGHLY RECOMMEND this CD to the fan of classic hookladen AOR with dut-dut keys and superb choruses. The band featured an amazing lead singer called JEFF COSCO (incredible voice!!!) and basically this CD contains some amazing undiscovered AOR CLASSICS! One of the absolutely most sensational AOR songs in best early 80s style I have heard lately is “Tight spot”, which is an unbelievable uptempo AOR rocker that is as good as any LE ROUX, THRILLS or SPYS classic you have heard in your search for the perfect AOR song. It’s unbelievable how many undiscovered AOR classics are still out there, but CHEATER is definitely one that should be on top of your wantslist if you call yourself an 80s AOR fan! Other highlights are AOR/Radiorockers like “Don’t give up”, “Missing”, “Ten cent love affair” and “Back road”, all sounding a lot like THRILLS, while the beautiful semi AOR ballad “What’s on your mind?” could have been on a FRANKE & THE KNOCKOUTS release. Concluded, a must-have for any 80s AOR fan. The CD is available through: http://www.dsb-aor-world.com and e-mail for more info at: dsb.aor@t-online.de (Points: 8.8 out of 10) Don’t get me wrong here, I am a huge fan of the 80s VICTORY records, but somehow something somewhere went completely wrong, because the records the band released after 1991 were all very average and especially now that lead singer FERNANDO GARCIA has left the band has been going downwards. Their new CD release is absolutely worthless and pointless, because what VICTORY now offers is a collection of their ‘best’ songs completely re-recorded with a new lead singer (Jioti Parcharidis from HUMAN FORTRESS). It’s not that Jioti is a bad singer, but how on earth can you compete with the original VICTORY classics “Don’t tell no lies” and “On the loose” as sung by FERNANDO GARCIA, who happens to be one of the best Hardrocksingers out there! Also the VICTORY songs which originally had CHARLIE HUHN on vocals are of course not interesting at all in the new versions on this CD. I have no idea why VICTORY did re-record all these VICTORY classics, because it is completely unnecessary and as we all know, never change a winning team, especially when it concerns a change in lead singer! The CD would only have made sense when they had find an even better singer, JEFF SCOTT SOTO or RONNIE JAMES DIO, but that didn’t happen, so therefore this CD is only recommended to absolute die-hard fans, because nobody will prefer these new versions instead of the old original classics I assume. (Points: 6.5 out of 10) ANUBIZ is a German band mixing RAMMSTEIN and Gothic Metal, which sometimes works (when the female singer of the band is singing leads) and at other times fails to impress at all (when they started to sound like RAMMSTEIN). The band sings in German and although the 10 included songs are well-produced I don’t think this is really an interesting CD, because it goes in one ear and out the other. For the die-hards they have a website at: http://www.anubiz.de (Points: 6.2 out of 10) THE WAY ‘FREQUENCY OF SPIRIT’ (ATENZIA RECORDS) This is quite a surprise, because THE WAY is a new band featuring none-other than RUSSELL ARCARA on lead vocals, who is best known for the work on the PROPHET classics. Now he has something new out, but do not think this has anything to do with PROPHET’s type of 80s AOR/Melodic Rock. Instead THE WAY (which also features former INTRUDER multi-instrumentalist STEPHEN DEACUTIS) is playing a sort of modern US Melodic Poprock style which is similar to GOO GOO DOLLS, COLLECTIVE SOUL, MATCHBOX 20 and that kind of bands. That doesn’t mean what we get to hear is bad, because it is definitely good quality melodic pop/rock what we get to hear, but just not always sensational at first sight. The first 3 songs really didn’t impress me at all, but a good reviewer always listens to the whole record before making up a good judgment and strangely enough the better songs start to pop up frequently after track 3. THE WAY even goes AOR a few times, with such great catchy songs like “Soul earth sky” (very strong semi-ballad), “Just the thought of you” (midtempo aor/poprock a la NELSON’s ‘Life’), “Mercy” (another catchy midtempo melodic poprocker), “If” (very catchy melodic rocker, even sounding like FROM THE INSIDE), “Lost among the leaves” (semi-ballad) and closing track “New world” (another melodic rocker). So in the end, the band offers enough good strong melodies within their songs to make it interesting for both the AOR/Melodic Rockfan and the regular US Rockfan. (Points: 8.4 out of 10) (All reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
MALPRACTICE
‘DEVIATION FROM THE FLOW’ (SPINEFARM RECORDS)
CHARON
‘SONGS FOR THE SINNERS’ (SPINEFARM RECORDS) 
GRIFFIN ‘LIFEFORCE’ (FACEFRONT)
LUV PLANET ‘STATE OF MIND’
(INDEPENDENT) 
HOTSHOT
‘HOTSHOT’ (SPLIT FINGER RECORDS) 
JACE ‘STOLEN SEASON’ (JACE MUSIC)
DRAGONFORCE ‘INHUMAN RAMPAGE’ (SANCTUARY/SUBURBAN)
SALEM HILL ‘MIMI’S MAGIC MOMENT’
(PROGROCK RECORDS) 
SHY ‘REFLECTIONS THE ANTHOLOGY
1983-2005 (CASTLE MUSIC/SANCTUARY RECORDS)
MEDEA ‘ROOM XVII’ (SNAKEBITE
RECORDS/ROCK INC) 
THE CRASH
MODERNS ‘THE CRASH MODERNS’ (PROMO CDR) 
RETROGRADE
‘THIS FREQUENCY WE SHARE’ (ATENZIA RECORDS) 
CHEATER ‘1983’ (HI’YA MAC
RECORDS)