 KAYAK
‘NOSTRADAMEUS – THE FATE OF MAN’(SMH RECORDINGS) The legendary Dutch Sympho-Rockband KAYAK made a superb comeback 5 years ago with BERT HEERINK (VANDENBERG) as lead singer, after they had first reformed 1 year earlier with singer MAX WERNER, who left quite soon, but then there was Bert. With him, they played a few shows, which were quite successful, then released a live record and from there they went on releasing the ‘Night vision’ album and the CD/DVD Project ‘Merlin’, which was a remake of their original early 80s record. With ‘Merlin’ KAYAK established themselves as one of the best Dutch Rockbands. However, KAYAK leader TON SCHERPENZEEL (keyboardplayer) wanted to reach more, so he started working on a complete new project called NOSTRADAMEUS. Now in 2005 he has finished the project together with old and new KAYAK members. The return of EDWARD REEKERS as co-singer is remarkable, because we missed his superb voice so much, and now we can hear him shine once again as The Monk. What sets this new record apart from the other KAYAK releases is that this new 2-CD set is a real Rock Opera in the sense that this time a lot of singers are involved , so it’s not just BERT HEERINK, but also the aforementioned EDWARD REEKERS, guitarist Rob Vunderink, ex-DE KAST singer Syb v/d Ploeg and the female vocalists Monique v/d Ster and Cindy Oudshoorn who all shine on several songs. The instruments are handled by long-time KAYAK members Ton Scherpenzeel (keys and bass), Pim Koopman (drums) and Rob Vunderink (guitar), as well as newbie Joost Vergoossen. Joost joined KAYAK not that long ago, and he is also the youngest member of the band, that being said, he is a terrific guitarist, who live really proves he is a wonderful addition to the line-up of the band. Speaking of live, KAYAK is at the moment touring Holland, playing in the Theatres the full NOSTRADAMEUS Rock Opera. They do not only play the music, but there’s also a whole setting of the story of NOSTRADAMEUS, with dancers and musical like performances in front of the band. Anyway, I can easily add here that this new KAYAK CD is the best album they have recorded since the formation 33 years ago. They now have reached a very high level on these 2 CDs. I have a feeling that I tend to like CD 2 more than CD 1, but all together this is a very nice package, which is a must-have for any Rockfan out there, because it contains elements of AOR/Melodic Rock, Symphonic Rock, Progressive Rock and typical Rockopera (AYREON, STAR ONE, TOMMY) all melted into the own sound KAYAK has developed through the years. Highlights on the 2 CDs are definitely “Seekers of truth” (wonderful uptempo Sympho-AOR a la 80s MAGNUM/ASIA/SAGA), “Settle down” (beautiful ballad with BERT HEERINK on vocals), “The flying squadron” (best song, high class early 80s uptempo AOR with female vocals), “Tell me all” (more female fronted Rock) and the superb AORish ballad “Act of despair” (with a wonderful EDWARD REEKERS on vocals, easily a radiohit this song!). As you might notice the best songs are very AOR based, but all together this 2-CD set offers a great mix of AOR, Sympho and Rockopera Music, so I think this album will attract fans of many genres. No doubt about it, this CD is one of the best Dutch music CDs from the past 10 years or so… (Points: 9.3 out of 10) CREST OF DARKNESS ‘EVIL KNOWS EVIL’ (MY KINGDOM MUSIC) Black Metal from Norway, and that’s basically all I wanted to say. More info at: http://www.mykingdommusic.net (Points: - ) FORGOTTEN SUNRISE ‘RU:MIPU:DUS’ (MY KINGDOM MUSIC) Industrial or House, I don’t know how to call this and I am sure none of our readers are interested in knowing what this RAMMSTEIN wanna-bee-band from Estonia is all about, but in case you do, then go to: http://www.mykingdommusic.net (Points: - ) ANTI-PASTI ‘THE LAST CALL’ (CAPTAIN OI! RECORDS) Originally released in 1981, the UK band ANTI-PASTI was definitely less Punk in their looks than the standard Punkrockbands. Also their music was sometimes clearly more late 60s/70s Rock, with good old guitar riffs that had more in common with THE WHO, THE KINKS, THE STOOGES and even LED ZEPPELIN than the Punk riffs. Now 24 years later the band’s album ‘The last call’ has been re-issued onto CD by Captain oi! records, who gave it a superb release, because not only can one find the 14 original tracks, but also 15 unreleased bonustracks are included (!!!), so there are more bonustracks on this re-issue than there are original album tracks. In total 29 short songs that make up 70 minutes of classy UK Punkrock meets Classic Rock. Most of the songs are in the same style, so uptempo rockers with a tight rhythm and strong choruses to sing-a-long. Highlights include “No government”, “Another dead soldier”, “City below” and “The last call”. Must-have for the fans of the band, but actually any Punk/Rockfan might like this CD a lot, especially since it got the Captain Oi! trademark, which means lots of bonustracks and nicely written liner notes/songlyrics/pictures, etc. Available through: http://www.captainoi.com (Points: 8.1 out of 10)
I remember it like it was yesterday, the debut (and only) CD release of this American band called ARTICA. In that period (1995) AOR was completely dead, so the few releases we had were welcomed with open arms. ARTICA was back then a much-praised band, because not only did they play AOR, but they also did it very well. Still, their album was hard to get and in the years to follow it truly disappeared, so ESCAPE MUSIC now did a wise move in re-releasing this lost AOR gem from 10 years ago. The AOR of ARTICA was all about the 80s, like bands such as SURVIVOR and JOURNEY. If we have a look at the best songs on their CD, I have to mention the incredible bombastic midtempo AOR of “It’s over”, which has SURVIVOR written all over the place! But also the other songs, such as “You’re still on your own”, “Take me all the way”, “Hold on” and “Since loving you” were perfect AOR anthems that recall the great 80s AOR bands. Escape did add a bonustrack to this re-issue (“System of justice”), but this is just an o.k. track, nothing more, nothing less. However, I am quite sure so many AOR fans missed this released, and for them, this re-issue is a nice welcome. I can not remember anymore how I rated this release almost 10 years ago, but let’s keep it on 8.9 points for now! (Points: 8.9 out of 10) JESDAT ‘THE CITY LIGHTS’ (INDEPENDENT) JESDAT come out of Spain, and their CD counts 5 long tracks, which
musically are deeply going into instrumental space/synthesizer based
progressive music. Actually it’s quite experimental and should almost be
labeled as Electronic Music, but there’s also a Progressive rock
influence here. Let me inform you that it’s not a standard album,
because therefore JESDAT is experimenting too much, but that isn’t a
problem at all, because what they do is interesting. Like I said, the
songs are mainly concentrated around keyboards and effects, so
definitely nothing song orientated can be found here. Maybe the best
comparison I can make is TANGERINE DREAM. This JESDAT is playing in the
exact same style, so if you’re starting to become interested, then
please go to: http://www.jesdat.es.vg
and e-mail them at: jesdat@gmail.com
THE VOLUNTEERS ‘THE VOLUNTEERS’ (INDEPENDENT) The CD of the Brooklyn/New York based band THE VOLUNTEERS clocks in just under 33 minutes, but they are able to bring 12 songs during that short playing length. Musically we get to hear original Rock’n’Roll, which sounds like a mix between THE DONNAS, JET and THE WHITE STRIPES at first sight. This means we get to hear short uptempo True Rocksongs with catchy choruses we can all sing-a-long and guitar riffs in a true 70s Classic Rockstyle (THE WHO, LED ZEPPELIN). Highlights on the CD are “So deep for so cheep” and “Kill your parents”, but sadly towards the end, the CD gets a twist into a more depressive almost Grunge-Rockstyle, which makes this CD in general a little less interesting overall. Nevertheless, recommended to fans of JET, WHITE STRIPES, THE STROKES, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, etc. More info at: http://www.thevolunteersrock.com and e-mail them at: Carmela@thevolunteersrock.com (Points: 7.7 out of 10) THE EDISONS ‘LOST IN THE DREAM’ (INDEPENDENT) This is an independent release from an American band. They hail from Florida and are called THE EDISONS. Musically this is not another nu-breed, a nu-metal or whatever so-called punkstyled band. No, this THE EDISONS is musically going back in time to the early 80s, because their CD ‘Lost in the dream’ contains pure early 80s orientated Melodic Poprock, which nowadays is called Powerpop. I hear clear similarities to RICK SPRINGFIELD, THE KNACK, HOOTERS, TOMMY TUTONE (very much!!!), you know that typical 1980-1983 kinda US Radioready catchy poprocksound, which is definitely returning on the airwaves in the USA the present day. THE EDISONS do their thing quite good, because songs like “The start”, “I can’t go on”, “Just for you”, “Leaving” and “More then what we needed” are examples of that catchy little early 80s inspired melodic poprocksound. The calmer ballad orientated songs (such as “The flame”) are more reminding me of British bands like THE CURE meets a sort of late 70s BEATLES/HOLLIES style. However, the band is at their best during the uptempo poprockers, which make this band a winner to fans of THE OUTFIELD, TOMMY TUTONE, HOOTERS, etc. etc. More info at: http://www.edisonsrock.com and e-mail them at: trico17@verizon.net or Tom@astraprodco.com (Points: 8.1 out of 10)
The past few years I reviewed a demo and a sampler EP of the Australian band WITHOUT ENDING. Now they have their first official CD out on the American label Progrock Records. Without a doubt, we have a winner on our hands here, because the music is high quality melodic progressive rock in the style of ENCHANT, ICE AGE, recent FATES WARNING… The music is all about beautiful melodies and strong choruses instead of just non-stop instrumental parts. 9 tracks are included, and besides the fact that all of them are very impressive semi-melodic progressive rockers, their lead singer Nicholas Georgakopoulos (of Greek origin I assume) has a fantastic voice and also plays drums in the band. The songs are like I already mentioned very melodic, with as absolute highlights “Again”, “In transit” and “Compulsion”. Definitely a highly recommended CD to anyone into any of the mentioned bands, so attractive for both melodic rock and progrockfans! More info at: http://www.withoutending.com and http://www.progrockrecords.com (Points: 8.3 out of 10)
The Miami based band LITTLE ATLAS has already released 2 albums after they were formed 8 years ago. Now they have released their 3rd CD ‘Wanderlust’, which is once again filled with high quality original Progressive Rock. It’s really enjoyable to listen to the combined individual qualities of this band, because each member of LITTLE ATLAS shows his talents, with vocalist/keyboardplayer Steve Katsikas being the best of the 4 bandmembers. The songs are all in the same style, namely long melodic progressive rocksongs with beautiful long exciting instrumental passages in which the keyboards and guitar are soloing, while also each song has strong melodic harmonyvocals. This is a sort of mix between 70s American and 70s British progressive rock, not that far away from THE FLOWER KINGS. If you’re starting to become interested, then do check out their site at: http://www.littleatlas.com and http://www.progrockrecords.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) BELYERATH ‘THE ETERNAL FIGHT’ (INDEPENDENT) Here we have a band from Spain playing typical Goth Metal with a female fronted singer, so another AFTER FOREVER, EPICA, NIGHTWISH orientated band. However, I am afraid BELYERATH is not in the same league as those bands. The CD contains 11 tracks, which are performed very nicely, but sadly the vocals are just not convincing enough. Also the songs are not that impressive, but then again I have to add that the band is able to play quite well, but it really shows that they have a long way ahead of them in becoming as good as mentioned bands. The musicstyle is not far away from DARNA and DARK MOOR, so fans of all these bands may check out this BELYERATH, but it’s just not as good as those acts. Nevertheless, check out their site at: http://www.iespana.es/belyerath and e-mail at: delpozodani_22@hotmail.com (Points: 7.3 out of 10) INSANIA ‘FACE YOUR AGONY’ (STF RECORDS) Not to be confused with the Finnish Power Metalband, because this
German band is definitely darker than the happy power metal of Insania
Finland. Influences of ICED EARTH are very clear, especially on the
fantastic “Paradox”, a very impressive epic Melodic Power Metal song.
Unfortunately some of the other songs are sounding very raw and even
reveal Black/Death-Metal influences, with the band’s lead singer really
screaming instead of singing clean like on “Paradox”. That’s a pity,
because it could have sounded so much better. For example a song like
“Nocturnal blast” is actually a Thrash-Metal song with Death-growls,
while on the other hand songs like “Paradox” and the instrumental
“Faces” are very melodic and therefore great Power Metal tunes. So, this
band has 2 faces, but one thing is for sure and that’s the fact that we
are dealing here with a quality band that happens to be called INSANIA,
just like that other great Power Metalband from Finland. Better check
out their site at:
http://www.insania-metal.de
One of the most ambitious projects of the last couple of years is definitely the FRAMESHIFT project of multi-instrumentalist HENNING PAULY (who is also a member of the band CHAIN). In 2003 FRAMESHIFT released it’s first CD, which saw JAMES LABRIE singing the lead vocals. The result was a great Progressive Metalalbum, but just maybe this 2nd FRAMESHIFT with SEBASTIAN BACH (ex-SKID ROW) on vocals is perhaps a stronger record. 12 songs are included, and after hearing the first few songs I was surprised to finally hear SEBASTIAN BACH singing in the way he impressed me on the first SKID ROW records. The last really good record he sang on was the ‘Slave to the grind’ record, but now he’s back with Henning Pauly as multi-instrumentalist on the new FRAMESHIFT album. Sebastian is an amazing singer, who can sing in every possible octave, from super melodic right up to screaming a la PRIEST. The music on the new FRAMESHIFT CD is a mix of Progressive Rock/Metal and classic SKID ROW melodies. Besides Sebastian and Henning other involved musicians are Matt Cash and Adam Evers, whom are responsible for the lyrics of this epic masterpiece, because lyrically the album goes very deep in each song finding out the true meanings of a killer. If we have a look at the highlights of the CD, I need to add “Just one more” (great melodic chorus), “Miseducation” (high class very early SKID ROW anthem melodic heavy rock, with great guitarsolo), “Outcast” and “Blade” (very long epic piece a la DREAM THEATER). The vocalwork is very good, but of course also instrumental and well, basically this CD is high quality stuff and should be in the collection of every hardrock/metal/melodic rockfan! (Points: 8.7 out of 10) THE POZERS ‘EMBRACE YOUR ADDICTION’ (6TH FLOOR RECORDS) This American band is definitely making music which belongs actually in the late 60s, the Flower Power period, because they sound like a cross between BEATLES circa ‘Sgt. Peppers’ and THE BYRDS, with as best recent comparison ENUFF’Z’NUFF. I am safe to say that if you enjoy ENUFF’Z’NUFF, this THE POZERS from Texas is a must to check out. Songs like “Cindy See”, “Whether”, “Starving artist” and “What’s the story” are basically perfect Flower Power type of Psychedelic rocksongs that could have been from ENUFF’Z’NUFF, while I also hear some similarities to TEENAGE FANCLUB and KING’S X. I think you’ll get the picture now what this band is all about and I recommend you to check out their site at: http://www.6thfloor.com/thepozers and e-mail them at: 6thfloor-records@6thfloor.com (Points: 7.8 out of 10) SLOUGH FEG ‘ATAVISM’ (CRUZ DEL SUR MUSIC) The American band SLOUGH FEG has already released their 5th CD, but they are still an underground band playing True Metal in the classic 80s style. Bands like ARMORED SAINT, ANVIL, TYRANT, MANILLA ROAD and many others come to mind when hearing SLOUGH FEG’s music. Vocally it isn’t that impressive, because the lead singer Mike Scalzi doesn’t sing strong enough to be convincing enough. However, instrumental the CD sounds awesome, with some beautiful twin-guitarwork (MAIDEN style) in songs like “Hiberno-Latin Invasion”, “Climax of a generation”, “High Season V” (hello BLACK SABBATH riff) and “Starport Blues” (back to the 1970s Hardrock). Without a doubt, the guitarwork on this CD is phenomenal, but vocally it’s not that impressive. However, if you’re keen on classic metal riffs (a la BLACK SABBATH), then this is a must for you to check out! (Points: 7.9 out of 10) KINETIC ‘THE CHAINS THAT BIND US’ (SLEASZY RIDER RECORDS) The Greek band KINETIC sounds instrumental very impressive, but the vocal department is basically making the band sound like a Thrash/Death-Metaloutfit, although if you listen to the guitarsound they are obviously one of the MAIDEN influenced band. But like I said the Death-Growls make this band more interesting for fans of CHILDREN OF BODOM and DIMMU BORGIR. Check out their site at: http://www.kinetic-band.gr (Points: 7.1 out of 10) GUAPO ‘BLACK ONI’ (IPECAC RECORDINGS/BERTUS) No info at all on this release, but GUAPO is bringing us experimental instrumental Progressive Rock and I believe they hail from the UK. The CD is divided in 5 parts, which have a songtitles the first 5 Roman figures. Well and that’s basically all I can say about this very awkward CD, of which I received a small promo without any background info. The songs are like I said very progressive, with a sort of modern edge. Better listen to this first if you’re starting to become interested… (Points: 7.4 out of 10) DOPAMINE
‘AUDITIONING MY ESCAPE PLAN’ After a bunch of dark heavy albums it was a pleasure to hear the fun melodic rock record of the British band DOPAMINE. Although labeled as a Punkband, they are actually playing catchy uptempo Melodic Rock, not that far away from HAREM SCAREM. The songs are radio-ready, with catchy melodies and some great guitar riffs. Vocally the singer Neil Starr is singing quite well and most of the 12 included tracks are really catchy. Songs like “Deftroy something beautiful”, “Larvlo”, “Six miles south of home” (very strong chorus, bit progressive, reminding me a lot of ENCHANT!!!) and “United by fear” are very catchy Melodic Rocksongs in a pure HAREM SCAREM style. Better check it out asap if you’re a fan of the later sound of HAREM SCAREM, but some of the songs are even like the progressive rocksound of ENCHANT, so actually they are quite diverse, but do not consider them a Punkband, because they aren’t a Punkband at all, but they are better described as a so-called Emo Melodic Rockband or Nu-Breed, or whatever, it’s melodic and it rocks! (Points: 8.4 out of 10) DEBRIS INC. ‘DEBRIS INC.’ (RISE ABOVE/BERTUS) Members of Ultra-Doom Metal Gods SAINT VITUS and TROUBLE join forces and record under the name DEBRIS INC. a completely different kind of album. This CD is filled with 80s type of Hardcore Punk with big Metal riffs. The best comparison is BLACK FLAG, and maybe for the musicians it is nice to do something else, but I rather hear them play with their own bands instead of this very average release. For the fans of Doom Metal there’s some Doom on this record, although this project is mainly a Hardcore kinda affair. Only interesting for die-hard fans! (Points: 6.5 out of 10) VARIOUS
ARTISTS ‘SMALL STONE RECORDS – SAMPLER’ STONER ROCK is a musicstyle which has been developed throughout the 1990s by the bands KUYSS, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and MONSTER MAGNET. It was a sort of ode to the classic 70s guitar riffs of BLACK SABBATH and JIMI HENDRIX mixed with 60s Garage Rock. Besides BLACK SABBATH and JIMI HENDRIX’ guitar riffs, also DANZIG, THE CULT and even SOUNDGARDEN have been important to make the Stoner Rock sound like it does sound nowadays. It is actually an underground happening, because only bands like QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and MONSTER MAGNET receive a lot of attention, and most of the countless other bands in this 70s influenced Rockstyle are moving in the big underground scene. Most of the bands come from the USA and it is sort of the American version of the European Doom Metal scene. Musically STONER ROCK and DOOM METAL are very close to each other sometimes, but the difference is that Doom is slower and usually made in Scandinavia, while Stoner Rock is coming out the USA most of the time. Anyway, what I am trying to point out here is a fantastic compilation CD released by the Stoner Rock label SMALL STONE RECORDS from Detroit (the Motorcityrockcity!). 19 songs are included by 17 bands are included on this CD, and without a doubt, for a starter in the Stoner Rock scene this is the ultimate compilation to begin hunting and exploring. Most interesting bands on the CD are SASQUATCH (BLACK SABBATH meets THIN LIZZY), HALFWAY TO GONE, THROTTLEROD and GREENLEAF (clearly the best band of the whole CD, fantastic pure 70s sound, not far from OZZY – BLACK SABBATH period). Highly recommended for people who want to explore Stoner Rock! (Points: 8.3 out of 10)
The 1980s were a fun time, and this decade also brought us many fun music. For example the typical Canadian Melodic Poprock, which was introduced by LOVERBOY in the very early 80s. They brought forward a complete new scene, because throughout the 1980s hundreds of Canadian bands started playing fun radiofriendly melodic poprock in the LOVERBOY style. Examples are HAYWIRE, HONEYMOON SUITE, CHAMPION, BYSTANDER and of course GLASS TIGER. And guess what? GLASS TIGER was the only band to have a real big breakthrough worldwide with their hitsingle “Don’t forget me when I’m gone”, which even made it onto most of the European charts. In the US they scored a few more hitsingles, but apart from one successful album (‘The thin red line’) they were like all the other Canadian bands (except RUSH!) doomed to only be remembered in the hearts of the Canadian people. After 3 albums, it became quiet around GLASS TIGER, but after 14 years of silence a new CD has been released. It’s actually a best of CD, with some B-sides and Remixed versions of the old GLASS TIGER singles, but we can also find 2 new tracks here. Unfortunately both “No turning back” and “Give it away” are just nice modern melodic pop/rocksongs, nothing really special, kinda like the solo CD lead singer ALAN FREW released some years ago. The main portion of this CD is made up of the old classic GLASS TIGER Melodic Poprock which sounded very catchy and impressive during “Don’t forget me”, “Someday”, “You’re what I look for”, “I will be there”, “I’m still searching” and the AOR rocker “Animal heart”. Anyone who never heard a GLASS TIGER song before, this is a highly recommended CD, nbecause it contains the best material they recorded between 1985 and 1991, with the addition of 2 new songs recorded in 2004. Musically in the typical 80s Canadian style of LOVERBOY, HAYWIRE, BRYAN ADAMS, BERNIE LABARGE, MICHAEL ZEE, TORONTO, STAN MEISSNER, BYSTANDER, etc. etc.… More info at: http://www.glasstiger.ca (Points: 8.6 out of 10) U I BLUE ‘SONGBIRD’S CRY’ (MONSIEUR BOSS PRODUCTIONS) U I BLUE is a new band from the USA. Their CD ‘Songbird’s cry’ was produced by members of the Progressive Rockband GLASS HAMMER, whom also make a guest appearance on this CD. The band is mainly concentrated around female lead singer LAURA LINDSTROM, a fantastic singer who also looks very good, so we got a beautiful singing woman here. The music is peaceful Folk meets Celtic meets Progressive Rock, kinda like a mix between ENYA, CLANNAD and MOSTLY AUTUMN. I need to say again that Laura has a beautiful voice, which easily blows away any other female voice in the American music business (yes, better than AMY LEE of EVANESCENCE). She can really sing perfectly, high and low, making her voice one of the most talented I have heard lately, so if it was up to me, this girl gets her break someday soon, because the songs she sings on the first U I BLUE CD are really beautiful Folk/Celtic meets Progressive Music, with as highlights “Unbroken”, “Thoughts in an hourglass”, “No one”, “Mad keys” and “Roses artificially made”. A must-have for fans of mentioned bands, but I think any real musiclover will appreciate this album, because lead singer Laura Lindstrom has got such a beautiful voice, which makes it a pleasure to hear her sing. More info at: http://www.uiblue.com and e-mail at: uiblue@cdc.net (Points: 8.5 out of 10)
3rd album of the Swedish Melodic Powermetalband AXENSTAR, which is probably their strongest effort so far. The songs are very similar in style to bands like DRAGONLAND, NOCTURNAL RITES, SONATA ARCTICA, NOSTRADAMEUS, HAMMERFALL, DREAM EVIL… Basically what you get here is typical Scandinavian Melodic Power Metal with very strong catchy memorable choruses and melodic guitarwork. 8 long songs are included on the comeback album of AXENSTAR, and although it all might sound very cliché, the band does a great job in offering some great Melodic Power Metal. The choruses of the included songs are really impressive, with as highlights the songs “The fallen one”, “Under black wings”, “Salvation” (superb!) and “Daydreamer”. I am safe to say that fans of mentioned bands will absolutely love this record a lot, but those who are expecting something new should be aware that AXENSTAR is doing something that has been done many times before, but they do it quite good, so that shouldn’t be a problem then I guess. Even the Melodic Rockfans might actually like this CD a lot, because the choruses are super melodic… (Points: 8.5 out of 10)
Holland rules when it comes to female fronted Gothic Metal, because this style was introduced by THE GATHERING in the 1990s and the past 5 years we have seen many new bands entering the genre. Examples are WITHIN TEMPTATION, AFTER FOREVER, AUTUMN and of course EPICA. The past few months a lot of promotion has been done in order to make the new EPICA release ‘Consign to oblivion’ a new highlight in the Gothic Metal genre. The album has been released and without any doubts, it is one of the better albums in the genre. The new EPICA CD is as good as the 2004 releases of WITHIN TEMPTATION and AFTER FOREVER! The album sounds really bombastic and has a crystal clear sound (thanks to SASCHA PAETH – AINA, KAMELOT, RHAPSODY). The 11 songs on the CD are based on a concept, namely the rise, prosper and downfall of the Mayan empire. Ex-AFTER FOREVER guitarist/grunt vocalist MARK JANSEN has been inspired by the ancient Mexican cultural history ever since he visited the country recently with EPICA when they toured the country. Now EPICA has recorded another masterpiece in the Gothic Metal genre, which is the follow-up to ‘The Phantom agony’. Once again the combination of Mark’s grunts and the Operalike vocals of SIMONE SIMONS (the beautiful Mezzo Soprano frontlady of EPICA) work really great, while instrumental the CD is a perfect mix between Bombastic Film Score Music, Classical/Opera Music and Gothic Metal. Soon EPICA will also be doing a complete Film Score for the Dutch movie ‘Joy ride’, but in the meantime this new EPICA record should set the record straight, because it is a fabulous album that should be in the hands of every fan of NIGHTWISH, AFTER FOREVER, etc. Of course EPICA stands on it’s own now, but I really think that fans of those bands will like EPICA a lot as well. One of the guest musicians to appear on the new EPICA is none-other than ROY KHAN, the wonderful vocalist of KAMELOT, the band which inspired EPICA so much they named their band to KAMELOT’s album ‘Epica’. Their recent the KAMELOT showed that EPICA is live as good as KAMELOT. In fact, after hearing the new EPICA CD, I became aware that live the band is even better, so one more reason to go see EPICA live. Anyway, back to the new CD, the album is a highlight from start to finish, but the absolute best tracks are “The last crusade”, “Force of the shore”, “Mother of light”, “Another me In Lack Ech” and “Consign to oblivion”. The sound is huge and I think EPICA has succeeded in making an even better album than their debut ‘The phantom agony’, so better check out this release asap! (Points: 8.8 out of 10)
A very heavy album from MAXINE PETRUCCI, who plays guitars and bass, but also sings on her debut (?) solo-CD, released as MAXINE. Maxine is best known as the sister of ROXY PETRUCCI, the drummer of VIXEN, the legendary 80s all-female melodic rockband, and she also plays drums on this CD. However, some of you might actually know MAXINE from MADAM X, the band which saw both Roxy and Maxine together in 1 band, with 2 male members, of which for some time even had SEBASTIAN BACH (ex-SKID ROW) on vocals. Now almost 20 years later it is time to talk about the CD of Maxine, who shows she can still play the guitar very well, but also the vocal job is nicely done. Her songwriting is not always impressive, but the 10 short songs on the MAXINE CD are nice very heavy Melodic Metal songs that sounds like a mix between the 80s and a more traditional metalsound. Despite the short playing length, I think this album will please fans of female fronted Metal. Last note I must not forget to mention is that also bassist BILLY SHEEHAN (MR. BIG) makes a guest appearance here. More info at: http://www.maxattacks.com (Points: 7.8 out of 10)
STYX are making a comeback, and they have done that on their new label FRONTIERS RECORDS. It’s unbelievable this Italian label has been able to sign some of history’s most popular Rockbands, because they already have acts like JOURNEY, GLENN HUGHES, STEVE WALSH and SURVIVOR under their belly, and now it’s time for STYX. Of course we need ton add here that this is a completely different STYX than the Classic 70s line-up. DENNIS DEYOUNG, one of the world’s best singers of all times, left the band sometime ago, and replacement LAWRENCE GOWAN (Scottish/Canadian singer/songwriter who released a bunch of albums in the 1980s – remember ‘Strange animal’?) is not half as good as Dennis once was in STYX. Nevertheless, there’s still JAMES YOUNG and TOMMY SHAW on guitars and vocals, although STYX without DENNIS DEYOUNG will never be the same. Anyway, they moved on, recorded a few very weak albums the past couple of years, so they now have released a covers only album. Of course this is a quality album, but is anyone really waiting for a bunch of covers, because what everything is waiting for is a new STYX album in the old ‘Crystal ball’ meets ‘Grand illusion’ style, but I don’t think that will ever happen. Until then we have to deal with a nice covers album, on which STYX is presenting some of their favorite songs from the past. They covered classics by FREE (“Wishing well”), BEATLES (“I am the Walrus” – big hit in the USA), JETHRO TULL (“Locomotive breath”), HUMBLE PIE (“I don’t need no doctor”) and 9 more tracks. They did a good job, although it all sounds so much different than classic 70s STYX. The remake of their own song “Blue collar man” is also sounding very different, but at least it shows how good STYX were in writing classic melodies in their heydays. Still looking forward to their gigs in Europe this summer, despite the fact that DENNIS DEYOUNG is no longer with STYX. Also anxious what the plans are for STYX in the near future now they are on the FRONTIERS label… (Points: 8.3 out of 10) SAIDIAN ‘FOR THOSE WHO WALK THE PATH FORLORN’ (METAL HEAVEN)
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
The American band MAN ON FIRE entered the musicscene 7 years ago with their debut CD, but they really took off with their 2003 album ‘The undefined design’. Now they have released their ‘Habitat’, which is probably their strongest effort so far. The band features the likes of bassist ERIC SANDS, the fantastic lead singer JEFF HODGES, drummer Rob Sindon and writer Steve Carroll, but more importantly are the guest appearances by guitarist ADRIAN BELEW (KING CRIMSON, DAVID BOWIE) and KANSAS violin player DAVID RAGSDALE. Together these talented musicians have created a very impressive Melodic Progressive Rockalbum, which sounds very radiofriendly actually, although it is still Progressive Rock. I would throw this CD in the direction of ENCHANT, KANSAS, SPOCK’S BEARD, SAGA and RUSH, so a bit more songbased than the complicated long instrumental structures of the standard Progressive Rockbands. There are some beautiful songs on this CD, such as “Street game”, “What the Canvas hides”, “Never lost” and “Broken”. Especially ENCHANT comes to mind a lot when listening to this MAN ON FIRE. This is one of those must-have CDs for the all-round (prog) rockfan, no doubt about that! More info at: http://www.manonfireband.com and http://www.progrockrecords.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10)
The Italian band RAINTIME likes to mix Melodic Power Metal with some Black/Death-Metal growls, although towards the end of the CD happily the Melodic Metal seems to win the battle. Actually when they do play straight-forward Melodic Metal it does sound quite good, kinda like the Finnish bands. One of the best songs on the CD, which contains 8 tracks in total, “Chains of sadness” is a great semi melodic rockballad. The clean vocals of singer/keyboardplayer Claudio Coassin are very good, so I don’t understand the reason to let him growl here and there. Anyway, like I mentioned before, most of the time the band is playing your typical Melodic Metal and they do it very well on songs like “Faithland”, “The experiment”, “Daily execution/Paradox defeat” and “Using the light forever”. Therefore the rating is reasonably high, because I am quite sure fans of SONATA ARCTICA, THUNDERSTONE, etc. might find something of interest in this RAINTIME. (Points: 8.1 out of 10) Out of Finland comes SINISTHRA, a band which is playing a sort of Goth Doom Melodic Metal style, which doesn’t sound like HIM or CANDLEMASS, but somewhere in between, with also clear similarities to TO DIE FOR. The 8 songs are sometimes quite progressive actually, although the sound is typical Finnish, so quite dark and depressive. Most of the songs are midtempo, and like many other bands from the North also SINISTHRA has a good singer, so it is enjoyable to listen to this band. Highlights on their first (?) CD are “Coming up roses”, “To the one far away” and “Unrevealed”. Recommended if you like the typical Finnish Metalsound, with a dark raw edge to it. (Points: 8.0 out of 10)
In the early 90s the German Melodic Rockbands BOYSVOICE released 2 great albums that sounded like a perfect mix between SCORPIONS and BONFIRE. They had some small success, but after Grunge took over the airwaves in 1993 it became quiet around the band. Now in 2005 BOYSVOICE is making a comeback with the album ‘Serenity’. Finally it is a comeback album, which is as good as the earlier records, despite the gap of 12 years. There is some great high quality Melodic Rock on this 3rd BOYSVOICE album, which sounds once again like the perfect mix between SCORPIONS and BONFIRE, with a very 80s inspired guitarsound and catchy memorable choruses. Highlights are the midtempo “Open your eyes” and the uptempo rockers “Light’s out”, “Too late” and “What you get”. Not all 13 songs are impressive, because here and there we can hear some average heavy rocksongs. Nevertheless this CD is a must-have if you’re into typical big time 80s German Melodic Rock! (Points: 8.4 out of 10)
Out of Finland comes BLIND STARE, a band that combines Gothic Melodic Metal with a lot of Black-screams and Death-growls, although lead singer Eino Tuominen is also able to sing clean. Instrumental it all sounds very European, very melodic, but sometimes vocally it goes a bit too much into DIMMU BORGIR territory and that’s a pity, because when Eino sings clean it does sound quite good anyway. If you’re interested in a mix between DIMMU BORGIR, SONATA ARCTICA and HIM, then check out BLIND STARE asap. Compliments to the beautiful frontcover artwork of the CD of BLIND STARE, which shows a beautiful lady. (Points: 7.6 out of 10) DIAMOND DOGS ‘BLACK RIVER ROAD’ (SMILODON RECORDS) Without a doubt, this is the best NEW YORK DOLLS influenced band I have ever heard, because that’s what DIAMOND DOGS is basically doing, playing the same good old early 70s Glam Rock’n’Roll/New York Streetrock which made NEW YORK DOLLS so popular back then. There are also some similarities to AEROSMITH, HANOI ROCKS, ALICE COOPER and even ROLLING STONES, but I really would advise NEW YORK DOLLS fans to have a listen to the new CD of the Swedish band DIAMOND DOGS. This is Rock’n’Roll how it used to sound, dirty raw and mean, with a strong reference to the Blues. Better check out rockers like “Come away”, “Autopilot”, “Things you’ll never ever gonna wanna do” (even a bit 90s BRYAN ADAMS) and “Gotta be gone”. More info at: http://www.diamonddogs.info or http://www.smilodon.se (Points: 8.0 out of 10) THE DRONES ‘FURTHER TEMPTATIONS DVD’ (CHERRY RED RECORDS) THE DRONES were one of many UK Punkbands from the 1977 period, but like so many other acts they were not at the forefront, so just recently their old material has been re-issued onto CD, and now there’s even a DVD available of THE DRONES. Musically they played a sort of Punkrockstyle, but this DVD shows that the band didn’t look like a Punkband, and actually played a more 70s Rock kinda style. This DVD contains 3 performances THE DRONES did in 1996, with a playing length of 90 minutes in total. The footage and sound is not really that good, but well enough to view, and I am quite sure the fans of the band will absolutely love to watch the material of this DVD. The DVD is available through: http://www.cherryred.co.uk (Points: 7.6 out of 10) VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN DVD’ (CHERRY RED RECORDS) Almost 10 years ago there was a sort of Punk Rock Weekend in Blackpool, which saw the likes of all the legendary late 70s Punkrockbands playing in front of thousands of Punkrockfans. Now there’s a DVD available, which basically contains footage of most of the bands that played those 3 days in August 1996. For a Punkrockfan this is a dream come true, because where else are you able to watch performances of THE BUZZCOCKS, UK SUBS, SHAM 69, GBH, 999, ANTI NOWHERE LEAGUE, ENGLISH DOGS… This DVD has footage of all 3 days, not only performances, but also backstage footage, interviews and festival documentaries. This 2-DVD set will guarantee you for almost 4 hours of footage of the Punkversion of Woodstock. The DVD is available through: http://www.cherryred.co.uk (Points: 8.0 out of 10) IGGY POP ‘LIVE SAN FRAN 1981 DVD’ (MUSIC VIDEO DISTRIBUTORS) 24 years ago IGGY POP performed a concert in San Francisco, which now has been released on DVD. If you’re a fan of the man’s music, this is of course a must-have, although I still have my doubts about Iggy, because the best work he ever did was with THE STOOGES in the late 60s, kinda like the same feeling I get with ROD STEWART, who had his best time in SMALL FACES, but OK, admitted, IGGY POP kept playing Rock’n’Roll, while Rod went out the other way. Back to this DVD, it contains 60 minutes footage of this concert he gave in San Francisco. Nice to watch, especially if you’re a fan of Iggy, but unfortunately the sound and footage very low quality, so I would not call this DVD a must-have, only for die-hard fans! If so, then get yourself a copy through: http://www.musicvideodistributors.com (Points: 7.1 out of 10) THE DWARVES
‘FUCK YOU UP AND GET LIVE DVD’ THE DWARVES are sort of a legendary band in the Punkrockscene. This US band was one of many to follow the footsteps of THE RAMONES. Punk DVDs are released non-stop lately, and it’s always a matter of taste whether you like it or not. The footage is usually very average, but for a Punkrockfan still enjoyable to watch. This particular DVD of THE DWARVES features a live concert they gave in New York last year, and no less than 6 videoclips, which are funny to watch, because they show that THE DWARVES is not just a standard Punkband, but it becomes clear that they love naked girls, and you can’t blame them, because the girls are actually looking very good! With a running time of 75 minutes there’s enough to enjoy for a Punkrocker. Nice front cover by the way! Copy available through: http://www.musicvideodistributors.com (Points: 7.9 out of 10) VARIOUS
ARTISTS ‘AMP – AMERICAN MUSIC PRESS VOLUME 1 DVD’ Another Punk/Hardcore/Metal compilation DVD. This time it’s a DVD
featuring 18 unknown bands from the American scene, some playing Punk,
some Hardcore, but also quite a few Metalbands are featured. It shows
that the American scene is still alive and well, but clearly not as good
as in the past. Featured bands are AGAINST ME!, AGNOSTIC FRONT, THE
BRIEFS, THE BRONX, COMMUNIQUE, CONVERGE, EVERYTIME I DIE, THE EXPLOSION,
HEAVEN SHALL BURN, MISERY SIGNALS, THE NETWORK, NORA, ONELINEDRAWING,
ROSES ARE RED, SHADOWS FALL, UNEARTH and A WILHELM SCREAM. Each band has
a video or a live performance of a song featured on this DVD. DVD is
available through:
http://www.musicvideodistributors.com LUTHOR ‘SKYWEAVER’ (INDEPENDENT) LUTHOR is the brainchild of Australian guitarist/vocalist DEAN
BURGESS, who has been making music ever since the early 80s, but this
LUTHOR CD is his first official CD release. The sound is quite
impressive, although maybe vocally it could have sounded a bit stronger.
Nevertheless the melodic metal we get to hear on this disc sounds very
good, kinda in the 80s spirit, with influences from MAIDEN and DIO, yet
not of that high level, but I think you’ll get the picture of what
LUTHOR is all about. The 9 songs on the CD are definitely moving into
the Classic Metal genre of the 80s, so better check it out if bands like
RIOT, VICIOUS RUMORS and JACK STARR are your kinda bands. Highlights on
the CD are “Lady vampire”, “Always”, “Evil eye” and “Take” (strong
chorus). More info at:
http://www.luthor.info and email at:
luthor@luthor.info
Finally a DVD that does make sense, because BIG COUNTRY is one of those underrated bands in the Rockscene. This Scottish band has been releasing records since the mid 1980s, and musically they are an interesting band, because they mix Pop, Rock, Folk and Prog into an exciting own style, which will appeal to any Rockfan (no matter if you’re into Prog or Melodic Rock or just Rock, it should be interesting for any fan of good quality rockmusic). The DVD is interesting, because it contains 24 videoclips of BIG COUNTRY, of which most have not been shown that much on TV. Therefore this DVD is a very nice collection, especially if you never heard anything of BIG COUNTRY, it is a pleasure to watch them in all those rare videoclips. Of course their biggest successes are included here, which are “Fields of fire”, “In a big country”, “Look away” and “Wonderland”. However, I guess any track of this band is a pleasure to hear and watch. Without a doubt, this DVD is a highly recommended piece to any BIG COUNTRY fan, but also interesting to check out for people who are not familiar with this great legendary Scottish band. Available through: http://www.classicpictures.co.uk (Points: 8.7 out of 10) PLASTILINOVY JINN ‘WE ARE’ (INDEPENDENT) Here we have a band from Kazachstan. They play a style, which I find hard to define, because it contains influences from lots of different music genres. For example opener “Nash Poezd” sounds sort of 80s Gothic, kinda like SISTERS OF MERCY and THE MISSION, while next track “We are” is uptempo Melodic Power Metal. Therefore I can add that this is a very diverse band. I don’t have much info on them, but their CD contains 9 tracks, of which the best songs are “Igra” (fast uptempo Melodic Speed/Power Metal), “We are”, “Oglyonis” and “Novy den”. If you want to check out this diverse band for yourself, you can email them at: jinn@delusion.ru (Points: 7.5 out of 10)
In the 1970s the Cleveland based band MICHAEL STANLEY BAND found themselves becoming a very popular act on the North Coast of the USA, but outside this territory they never really had their break, despite a few minor hitsingles in the early 80s. The band actually had 2 different period, namely the MICHAEL STANLEY fronted 70s Rock’n’Roll style and the early 80s AOR/Poprocksound with a lot of songs featuring keyboardplayer MICHAEL RALEIGH on vocals. The band had some line-up changes, which also saw a saxplayer in the band for some time unfortunately. Anyway, the band were relatively active between the mid 70s and the mid 80s, releasing a whole set of albums, before they were dropped by their recordlabel and so in the later 80s they had to release their albums independently, which eventually led to the breakup of the band in the late 80s. Now recently 2 DVDs of the MICHAEL STANLEY BAND have been released, both containing material from before 1990. The first DVD is the MSB-TV DVD, which contains 2 documentaries of the band, a 25-minutes counting documentary from 1979 as well as an 43 minutes counting biography on the band from 2001, which covers the complete story on MSB. Both documentaries are of a very high quality, featuring countless footage from the early days, interviews with all bandmembers and rare live clips. Fans of MSB are absolutely gonna love this DVD, as it contains so many rare footage. It is available through: http://www.linelevelmusic.com (Points: 8.3 out of 10) MICHAEL
STANLEY BAND ‘LIVE AT BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER DVD’ The 2nd DVD of the MSB has a playing time of 72 minutes, and contains a full concert the band gave in 1981, as well as 3 videoclips, which I don’t think that many people have seen before. It is clear that at this point MSB were changing into a more AOR/Radiorock kinda band, with all those KEVIN RALEIGH sung tracks like “He can’t love you”, “We can make it”, “When your heart says it’s right” and “Don’t you do that to me”, although it still showed that MICHAEL STANLEY was of course the leader of his own band. Especially the videoclip of “He can’t love you” is classic early 80s stuff, remember the BILLY JOEL and JOURNEY videos from that period, well, this is in the exact same style, maybe it looks dated now, but it still is fun to watch after 25 years! The concert of MSB was quite impressive, and was part of 3 sell-out shows they gave in their hometown of Cleveland, USA. Since the split of MSB, Michael went solo and released a couple of solo-albums, of which a new one was recently reviewed. This DVD is also available through: http://www.linelevelmusic.com (Points: 8.2 out of 10) HASTINGS ‘COLD DECEMBER’ (INDEPENDENT) The American band HASTINGS sent me a new CD they just finished, which musically is typical 70s influenced Classic Hardrock, with some 80s Melodic Hardrock thrown in for good measure. The new record contains 13 tracks, and it all sounds quite good. Especially “Honest man” (great uptempo melodic rocker) and the Melodic Hardrocksongs “Break me”, “Million dollars” and “The danger” are quite good. Sometimes the band reminds me of the Canadian band FIST, but I think it’s best to say they play good clean quality Classic Hardrock. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.thehastingsband.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) DEINONYCHUS ‘INSOMNIA’ (MY KINGDOM MUSIC) The band DEINONYCHUS exists for more than 10 years already, and during that period they released a couple of CDs. The latest disc is titled ‘Insomnia’, which musically may be described as slow Doom Metal with calm Death-Growls, kinda Gothic meets Doom Metal, sort of in the PARADISE LOST style. DEINONYCHUS is based around bassist/guitarist/vocalist Marco Kehren, who is situated in Holland. This one-man band offers a style, which is quite different from most other Metalbands, but then again it also has some similarities to bands like PARADISE LOST and CANDLEMASS. It is interesting for people who want to hear slow Doom/Goth-Metal with Death-growls. More info at: http://www.deinonychus.net (Points: 6.9 out of 10) DESPAIRATION ‘MUSIC FOR THE NIGHT’ (MY KINGDOM MUSIC) Although labeled as a Orchestral Gothic Dark band, the German band DESPAIRATION sounds to me like a typical Progressive Rockband, not that far away from EVERON actually. The band has released a CD titled ‘Music for the night’, which is actually a concept album. DESPAIRATION was formed 10 years ago, and have already released 3 albums before ‘Music for the night’. Musically they started as a traditional Metalact, before changing it’s sound to Dark Gothic, but their new CD also reveals clear Progressive Rock elements. 18 tracks are included, and besides some good Progressive Rock material on this new album (“Music for the night”, “Asteroid YBS” and “River of perdition”) we can also find indeed some Dark Gothic (a song like “Drift” for example sounds a lot like DAVID BOWIE) and other experimental sounds, although as a whole, this CD is sounding like an epic concept progressive rockalbum. If you’re starting to become interested, then please go to: http://www.despairation.de (Points: 7.9 out of 10) EDDIE AND
THE HOT RODS ‘DO ANYTHING YOU WANNA DO DVD’ The UK brought so many bands in the 1970s. If you look back at this decade, it’s almost unbelievable that from every street corner in Britain a band was coming. EDDIE AND THE HOT RODS were a band from Essex, who were formed just before the Punk explosion. They had the same energy as many Punkbands at the time, but musically they were more playing typical 70s Rock, with also clear 60s Garage Rock influences. The title of this DVD refers to the band’s top 10 hit from 1978. This particular DVD contains a concert the band did in London in 1996 (and 4 bonustracks from a concert recorded in the same year). Musically this is Classic Rock’n’Roll, and although I am unfamiliar with the records of EDDIE AND THE HOT RODS, this DVD gave me a good inside look of this legendary UK band. The concert featured quite a lot covers (THE WHO, THE STONES, BOB SEGER, THEM), but also some original material, of which of course “Do anything you wanna do” is featured twice (during the 2 separate concerts). Anyway, I do not know the albums of EDDIE and THE HOT RODS, but in case you’re a fan you surely must get yourself a copy of this 85 minutes counting DVD, which features 1 ½ concert footage of the band. Only negative thing I can add is that the sound is not that good, but die-hard fans will not mind this too much I think. The DVD is available through: http://www.cherryred.co.uk (Points: 7.9 out of 10) THE MEN
THEY COULDN’T HANG ‘THE SHOOTING DVD’ Forgive me for never hearing anything of this band, but apparently they have been on the scene for 20 years now. This UK band melts Folk, Country and Celtic music into an exciting Alternative kinda Popstyle, which made them a very popular band in the underground UK musicscene. We are talking about the mid-late 80s, because between 1984 and 1990 this band released 5 records, before splitting and never returning to the scene, with the exception of this one-off live performance the band did in London back in 1991. This concert saw a band which live sounded quite impressive and it also gained them much popularity because they always gave their best during their shows. The particular concert from 1991 was released on video, but had to wait until now before it was published as DVD. Now CHERRY RED has released a quality DVD of the last performance of THE MEN THEY COULDN’T HANG, with many extra tracks that were not included on the original video release. Musically this band sounded like themselves, and perhaps that’s what gave them much popularity. However, the best comparisons I can come up with are SPLIT ENZ and CROWDED HOUSE, yet more uptempo and Country Rockish. This is one of those bands you love more live than on record. So better check out this DVD if you’re becoming interested. The DVD is available through: http://www.cherryred.co.uk (Points: 8.0 out of 10)
We have seen some bands called EMERALD in the past, even a Dutch Metalband, but this new EMERALD is a band from Tilburg (city in Holland for the foreigners among us). They consist of 5 students, who study at the Rock Academy in Tilburg, and with this CD they hope to graduate. After listening to their debut CD I can easily conclude that they will graduate, because the album sounds very impressive. Everytime I am surprised to hear a new great band in this genre, because also this EMERALD proves that there is a lot talent out there that needs to get more attention. The band is playing a mix of Sympho, Progressive Rock and Melodic Rock. Their lead singer (and keyboardplayer) Tom Vanrijckeghem has a great voice, while instrumental it all sounds like a perfect Neo-Progressive Rockband. Their sound is not far away from CASUAL SILENCE, TIMELOCK, RICOCHER, NICE BEAVER, FOR ABSENT FRIENDS and the countless other Progrockbands from Holland. The only difference might be that EMERALD sometimes moves into AOR/Melodic Rock territory, which of course is really great. Like I said instrumental it sounds very good, with both guitarists (Ruud de Boer and David van den Bogaard) showing their talents, and then I mean really playing melodic guitarsolo’s (such as on “Losing you” and “Insubstantial liberation”). The band also sounds a bit like KAYAK here and there (“Libra Birthday girl”) and a lot like 70s GENESIS (“Sara”, “Emerald”, “Politician” and the beginning of “No straight story”). However, they are at their best during the longer melodic progressive rocksongs, such as “The reverse side of masquito’s battle”, “Losing you” and “Insubstantial liberation”. I can easily add that this EMERALD is a must-have for both aor/pomp and progressive rockfans, it offers melodies and interesting songstructures, so no doubt that this band will graduate with this project. Now let’s hope they will continue releasing records after they leave the Rock Academy. Check out their site at: http://www.emerald-band.com and e-mail them at: contact@emerald-band.com (Points: 8.4 out of 10) MAGIC PIE ‘MOTIONS OF DESIRE’ (INDEPENDENT) Here we have another high quality Progressive Rockband. MAGIC PIE come out of Norway, and their 8-track debut CD has a playing time of 75 minutes, so we have some very long songs here, and right from the start the band shows they are here to bring some high quality progressive rock in the tradition of THE FLOWER KINGS, SPOCK’S BEARD… I am safe to say that MAGIC PIE is sometimes as good as those 2 bands, just listen to the 20 minutes counting opener “Change”, a fantastic 70s inspired Progressive Rocksong with some beautiful melodies and strong chorus, as well as long instrumental passages, a must-hear song for every FLOWER KINGS fan out there! Happily, the remaining 7 songs are along the same lines, with as other highlights “Full circle poetry”, “Without knowing why” and “Illusion & Reality – part 3 Final breath” (a fantastic uptempo rocker, with even SYMPHONY X kinda similarities). Without a doubt, this CD of MAGIC PIE is a must-have for any Progressive Rockfan, so go check out the site at: http://www.magicpie.net and e-mail them at: JT@magicpie.net (Points: 8.5 out of 10) THE BONESMEN ‘SKIN AND BONES’ (INDEPENDENT) THE BONESMEN is a typical American band playing even more typical American Midwestern Southern Rock with some 70s inspired Classic Hardrock. Of course the best comparisons are LYNYRD SKYNYRD, MOLLY HATCHET, BLACKFOOT and the very early 38 SPECIAL material. This is the way Southern Rock was played in the heydays of the 1970s. It’s raw, dirty and mean Rock’n’Roll. 10 songs are included, and if you’re happen to be a fan of this ‘dead’ genre then buy yourself a copy of the high quality CD of THE BONESMEN at: http://www.targetrecords.de (Points: 8.0 out of 10)
Out of Georgia, USA comes ERIC MICHAEL HOPPER, a singer/songwriter who recorded a CD titled ‘Inside out’ together with guitarist/producer Scott Patton and drummer Sean O’Rourke. The album is filled with traditional US aor/poprock and a bit of today’s nu-breed. It reminds me a lot of EDDIE MONEY, RICHARD MARX, BENNY MARDONES, BRYAN ADAMS and even sometimes FOR ABSENT FRIENDS! It’s a song based album, which sounds melodic and modern, yet not many uptempo rockers can be found on the disc. The CD is mainly filled with slowtempo rockers and semi-ballads, with the occasional uptempo tune (“One day” which is actually a sort of Westcoast kinda song). Highlights on the CD are “Crawl out”, “Crazy”, “Last three days” and “I want to be”. Do not expect a full-blown rockalbum, because ERIC MICHAEL HOPPER is bringing forward light melodic pop/aor/rock in the style of mentioned artists, but happily he does deliver a good record, so fans of MARX, MARDONES, ADAMS might like this CD a lot. It’s available through: http://www.targetrecords.de (Points: 7.8 out of 10)
The weird thing is that I was unaware of what TRIGGER DADDY was all about, but when I was listening to their debut record I noticed strong similarities to TIM KARR. Then I checked the liner notes and guess what, TRIGGER DADDY happens to feature vocalist TIM KARR! I was right all along, because this is his new band, which also features as guest musicians drummer ERIC SINGER (ex-KISS), guitarist GILBY CLARKE (GUNS’N’ROSES) and several others. What do they bring on the CD, well, typical 70s inspired rock, although I think this CD may be placed in almost every decade, because it contains timeless Melodic Rock’n’roll which does sound like TIM KARR’s solo record. Most of the songs are uptempo, with as highlights “Space&Time”, “Gimme some skin”, “Can’t get and “Shape of things to come”. The CD also contains a T-REX cover, “20th century boy”, which has been covered a thousand times by now, but TRIGGER DADDY does a good job in coming very close to the original. I can definitely add here that this is a quality CD, which is a must-have if you’re a TIMM KARR fan! It’s available through: http://www.targetrecords.de (Points: 8.2 out of 10)
Released on the major label GEFFEN RECORDS recently, mixed by TOM and CHRIS LORD-ALGE (big 80s producers of acts like STARSHIP, EDDIE MONEY…) and still unnoticed for a while. Truman is a vocalist/keyboardist/guitarplayer ere a good album that mixes a bit of everything. It has touches of 80s Melodic Poprock, but then again the whole sound of the CD is very modern, so I would almost refer this as a Nu-Breed record, however, it goes into a more melodic territory, so let’s keep it on another 90s RICHARD MARX meets 90s BRYAN ADAMS kinda record. Truman does a great job actually, because songs like “Little sister”, “All sides”, “Morning light” and “I can see through you” are all great melodic poprocksongs. You can not find any uptempo rockers on this CD, but still it offers some great midtempo/semi-ballad kinda Melodic Poprock material, which all together sounds like a modern version of RICK SPRINGFIELD meets 90s BRYAN ADAMS and TIM KARR. The choruses are very catchy sometimes, while the vocalwork and low tuned guitarwork make it sound like the 90s, but in the end I think it will be an interesting record to check out if you’re a fan of Melodic Poprock that doesn’t sound too complicated. The CD is available through: http://www.targetrecords.de (Points: 8.1 out of 10) UWE HEEPEN ‘FALLING IN YOUR MIND’ (INDEPENDENT) UWE HEEPEN is a very talented musician from Germany, who has recently released his 2nd solo-CD titled ‘Falling in your mind’. Musically he is playing a mix of various Rock and Metalstyles, but always focused on strong melodies and of the time combining classical music with melodic hardrock/metal. There’s actually a bit of everything on his CD, ranging from melodic ballads, melodic rockers, epic pieces to even pure Power Metal (a la BLIND GUARDIAN). However, most of the songs are a bit in the ROBBY VALENTINE kinda style. I am not sure if Uwe did everything on his own, but if he did so, it is impressive, and the vocals are also quite impressive. I can easily state here that we are dealing here with a very talented musician. One of the highlights is the strong melodic rocker “Live in darkness”, while one of the most ambitious songs is “Despair”, which is a classical music piece with Melodic Heavy Rock/Metal like vocals and guitars.There’s also a JOHN MILES cover on the CD, and of course this is “Music”. This record of UWE HEEPEN is definitely a high quality CD release, which if it had gotten a bigger production could have sounded even better. Nevertheless, I think fans of AYREON, ROBBY VALENTINE and even BLIND GUARDIAN might find something of interest here. Better check it out for yourself at: http://www.heliconsoundstudio.de (Points: 8.2 out of 10) ARACNOPOBIA ‘EPIDEMIE’ (INDEPENDENT) Here’s a great new Italian Melodic Rockband, with a little independent release that might get unnoticed if nobody picks it up, which is a pity, because ARACNOPOBIA is a great sounding band which is playing pure 80s Melodic Rock, yet with Italian lyrics. There are strong similarities to DHAMM and ORE, but for people whoa re not aware of those acts, I can inform you that this CD is filled with 10 great high quality Melodic Rocksongs, which for the general musicfan should be described as a sort of BON JOVI meets BRYAN ADAMS kinda Melodic Rock. The songs are very catchy and very melodic, while still rocking enough. I think the average aor/melodic rockfan is gonna like this record a lot, despite the fact that it’s in Italian. The band has a great singer and I could not find any weak song on the CD. It’s definitely a recommended album, but the only contact address I can give is the website of their label at: http://www.mkmpromotion.tk (Points: 8.4 out of 10) OVERSELF ‘TRE’ (DEMO CD) Although this Italian band surely can play their instruments, I am
afraid their music is less interesting, because OVERSELF is basically
playing pure Nu-Metal. More info at:
http://www.mkmpromotion.tk ASHENT ‘PROMO’ (DEMO CD) Not original, but nevertheless, this Italian band called ASHENT is definitely playing their Progressive/Power Metal at a high level. 4 songs are on their demo CD, which sounds actually quite huge (thanks to LUIGI STEFANINI, who took care of the mastering job). One thing this band separates from the countless other bands in this genre is the fact that ASHENT has a superb lead singer called Max Zhena, who can easily sing the high pitched parts in the style of Geoff Tate or the LABYRINTH/RHAPSODY/ANGRA singers. This makes it easier for a band to develop themselves sooner than other bands in the genre. Therefore this demo CD already shows that ASHENT is not just another Prog Metalband, but one of the newcomers we should keep our eyes open for in the near future, because they simply sound sensational on such great tracks like “Eden” and “Fallen angel”, songs that can easily compete with the likes of VANDENPLAS, TIME MACHINE and ANGRA. Once again the singer is the absolute winner in this band, but also the 4 songs on this demo CD show that ASHENT is a band with a bright future. For now, more info at: http://www.mkmpromotion.tk (Points: 8.7 out of 10) RED CRYSTAL ‘REGINA DELL’INGANNO’ (INDEPENDENT) Here we have another great new band from the Italian Hardrock/Metalscene.
This band is called RED CRYSTAL, and they have released a 4-track CD.
The band was formed 17 years ago, but so far they only have released
some demos, singles and independent releases. This new album shows that
this band is a very professional sounding band. They play melodic
hardrock with slight progressive metal influences. Opener “Regina
dell’Inganno” is a great midtempo melodic rocker like a mix between
EUROPE, Q5, QUEENSRYCHE and TNT, yet with Italian lyrics. The band has a
very good singer (Daniele Cadelano) and instrumental everything sounds
(red) crystal clear! Also the other 3 songs on this CD are very
impressive, so concluded I can add that this RED CRYSTAL is definitely a
band worth checking out if you’re into the mentioned bands. More info
can be found at:
http://www.mkmpromotion.tk RAIN PAINT ‘NIHIL NISI MORS’ (MY KINGDOM MUSIC) I don't have any info on the band RAIN PAINT, but I believe they come out of Russia and their CD 'Nihil nisi mors' is released on the Italian label MY KINGDOM MUSIC. Musically we are dealing here with typical Finnish Gothic Metal, which is in this case not the male grunts/female soprano, but a clean male singer and a dark Doom/Death type of growling vocalist. They do not even do duets, but sing separately songs on the CD. About 4 tracks feature the Death/Doom-growler, while the other 4 feature the more Clean singing vocalist. Imagine a mix between HIM and ENTOMBED. The HIM type of Melodic Heavy Goth Rockers are quite good, namely "Rain paint", "Sleeping beauty", "Raven nevermore" and "Loose and over", while the other tracks are sort of slow Doom/Death-kinda Metalsongs. In the end, this band has 2 faces, but let's hope a future CD will see them moving even more into that HIM territory, which is definitely their best style. More info at: http://www.mykingdommusic.net (Points: 7.9 out of 10)
Finally JOHN WETTON has recorded the CD we all have been waiting for since he left ASIA 15 years ago. Together with ASIA keyboardplayer GEOFFREY DOWNES and JADIS members John Mitchell (guitarist) and Steve Christey (drummer) the CD ‘Icon’ has been recorded. This album basically continues the AOR/Pomp/Sympho of 80s ASIA, so we get to hear a mix of uptempo rockers, bombastic midtempo tunes and epic ballads, where the main focus is a strong catchy chorus. John’s voice sounds better than ever, and this is by far his best recording since his first solo-record, which dates back 10+ years already! 10 songs are included, and the only pity is that we can find a lot of ballad orientated material on the album (“God walks with us”, “Meet me at midnight”, “Far away”, “Please change your mind” and “Sleep angel”), but the rockers which are included are very sensational 80s ASIA type of Sympho-AOR-Pomp based, such as “Let me go”, “I stand alone” and the fantastic “Hey Josephine”. All together it’s a great album, but after a couple of times listening to it, it became clear that it’s actually a very calm record, with maybe a bit too much ballads, especially the last 5 tracks are not really rocking like in the ASIA days. However, the beginning of the CD is making JOHN WETTON sound better than the solo stuff he did the past 5/6 years. Must-have for ASIA fans, although it’s more a mix between 80s ASIA (first 5 songs) and more recent calmer epic ASIA (final 5 tracks). Nevertheless, it’s a high quality CD, without any doubts! (Points: 8.4 out of 10)
‘Slideshow’ is the 3rd CD of the Finnish band MYON. Their first 2 were very good Progressive Metal releases, which were released on the labels NOISE and LOW FREQUENCY RECORDS. Now they switched to the UK AOR label ESCAPE MUSIC, and guess what, the band has recorded a more AOR/Melodic Rock based record, which surprisingly sounds quite sensational! The band has a very good lead singer (JUKKA NUMMI) and some of the included songs are very strong AOR tunes (“Forgive not forget”, “Livin’ the fantasy”, “Human nature”, So long” and “Died for the moment”). In the bio the band is being compared to A-HA and SAGA, and although sometimes this is the case (“How does it feel”), MYON sounds on this album basically as a pure 80s AOR band. A song like “Take your side” or “Human nature” is pure 80s uptempo AOR in the style of AGENT, AVION, AIRKRAFT and AVIATOR, no joke, but definitely the truth!!! And I can add many more tunes that make this new MYON record a must-have for any AOR fan! It’s quite unbelievable this is the same band that recorded a few years pure Progressive Metalalbums in the VANDENPLAS style, because on this album the material is much more straight-forward, super melodic and basically pure AOR (except for closing track “Fire/Water” which is like their earlier albums, so Progmetal). I think it’s a good change they have gone through, because the AOR (with very slight 80s SAGA Progrock influences) sounds very impressive. I couldn’t find any weak tune on this record, so therefore it easily receives a high rating. Must-have for AOR fans!!! (Points: 8.9 out of 10) THE PARTISANS ‘THE PARTISANS’ (CAPTAIN OI! RECORDS) The Punkband THE PARTISANS was formed in the late 1970s in South Wales. They were very young at that time (14/15 years old), but a few years later they already had released a couple of albums, of which their same titled debut has now been re-issued onto CD through CAPTAIN OI! RECORDS. Besides the 12 original tracks, the CD contains an additional 7 bonustracks. Like all other CAPTAIN OI! releases, also this CD comes along with some very nice artwork and liner notes, with not only the lyrics, but also a complete story on THE PARTISANS. The band is nowadays settled in Sweden, but the recordings of the material on this CD were done 20+ years ago. Musically it is also typical late 70s/early 80s UK Streetpunk, quite simple and straight-forward. In total the 19 tracks come along nicely in that typical classic UK Punkstyle, which is not very far removed from bands like UK SUBS and CHELSEA. Although this is certainly not a Punk Classic, I can imagine that the fans of the genre will be much interested in checking out this well-done re-issue on CD by CAPTAIN OI! RECORDS. More info at: http://www.captainoi.com (Points: 7.9 out of 10) (All reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
ARTICA
‘AS IT SHOULD BE’ (ESCAPE MUSIC) 
WITHOUT
ENDING ‘WITHOUT ENDING’
LITTLE
ATLAS ‘WANDERLUST’ (PROGROCK RECORDS) 
FRAMESHIFT
‘AN ABSENCE OF EMPATHY’
GLASS TIGER
‘NO TURNING BACK 1985-2005’
AXENSTAR
‘THE INQUISITION’ (ARISE RECORDS) 
EPICA
‘CONSIGN TO OBLIVION’
MAXINE
‘TITANIA’ (ANGELINA RECORDS) 
STYX ‘BIG
BANG THEORY’
MAN ON FIRE
‘HABITAT’ (PROGROCK RECORDS) 
RAINTIME
‘TALES FROM SADNESS’ (ARISE RECORDS) 
SINISTHRA ‘LAST OF THE STORIES
OF LONG PAST GLORIES’ (ARISE RECORDS) 
BOYSVOICE
‘SERENITY’ (ESCAPE MUSIC) 
BLIND STARE
‘SYMPHONY OF DELUSIONS’ (ARISE RECORDS) 
BIG COUNTRY
‘THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION DVD’
MICHAEL
STANLEY BAND ‘MSB-TV DVD’ (LINE LEVEL MUSIC) 
EMERALD
‘CROWN OF CREATION’ (INDEPENDENT) 
ERIC
MICHAEL HOPPER ‘INSIDE OUT’ (INDEPENDENT) 
TRIGGER
DADDY ‘STEREOSONIC MELTDOWN’ (INDEPENDENT) 
TRUMAN
‘PAYNE AVENUE’ (GEFFEN RECORDS) 
JOHN WETTON
– GEOFFREY DOWNES ‘ICON’ (FRONTIERS RECORDS/ROUGH TRADE) 
MYON
‘SLIDESHOW’ (ESCAPE MUSIC)