 SPIN GALLERY ‘STANDING
TALL’(ATENZIA RECORDS/BERTUS) Out of Sweden comes SPIN GALLERY and they deliver their debut ‘Standing tall’ on the ATENZIA RECORDS label. Maybe this is the label’s best release so far, as we have something special with this SPIN GALLERY. This ‘project’ band consists of 3 fantastic singers (Christian, Magnus and Kristoffer) and musically this is prime-time AOR in the best 80s tradition, yet still sounding fresh in the arrangements. This CD fits perfectly between other Classic Scandi releases such as URBAN TALE’s debut, JIM JIDHED and TALK OF THE TOWN. Together with multi-instrumentalist TOMMY DENANDER, who actually played almost all instruments, produced the CD and (co-) wrote most of the 12 songs on the CD, SPIN GALLERY recorded a true AOR MASTERPIECE! Although the name TOMMY DENANDER appears, don’t expect another RADIOACTIVE/SAYIT AOR/Melodic Rockalbum, because SPIN GALLERY is actually better and really sensational AOR from start to finish. This is by far the best AOR product since PRIDE OF LIONS last year! The 3 guys can sing very well, and the AOR of SPIN GALLERY has catchy hooks and memorable choruses all over the place! Besides Tommy helping out all the time, there are also some guest appearances by DAVID FOSTER, RANDY GOODRUM, MICHAEL THOMPSON, ANDERS THEANDER and songwriting credits by R. Page/S. George (MR. MISTER) and CLIFF MAGNESS. The CD contains as said 12 tracks and opener “Standing tall” basically sums up everything I just mentioned as this is THE AOR SONG OF 2004! The song is an instant winner for fans of pure AOR, because the uptempo rocker has a deadly catchy AOR chorus you will keep singing for weeks after you heard it the first time (something that also happened to me after hearing for the first time the URBAN TALE debut, JIM JIDHED and PRIDE OF LIONS). Concluded, this first song is pure AOR HEAVEN! Although none of the following 11 tracks are as good as that first track, they are all still very sensational catchy radio-ready AOR songs. It’s hard to pick favourites, but do check out wonderful AOR tunes like “Am I wrong”, “I still recall”, “No looking back”, “To hell and back” and the 80s TOTO/FRANKE AND THE KNOCKOUTS/THE AUTOMATIX Classic AOR type of tunes “Waiting in my dreams” (previously recorded by AMBITION) and “Livin’ without lovin’”. What more can I say to you then the fact that this SPIN GALLERY is basically AOR HEAVEN, with 12 songs included. This is a total MUST HAVE for any AOR fan! (Points: 9.0 out of 10) GARRY SHARPE-YOUNG ‘BLACK SABBATH – NEVER SAY DIE! 1979-1997 BOOK’ (ROCK DETECTOR/CHEERY RED RECORDS) ROCKDETECTOR.COM has delivered quite a few interesting books already and the latest release is this BLACK SABBATH Book, which covers the period 1979 – 1997, the non-OZZY OSBOURNE period. I always found BLACK SABBATH at their best during this period, especially since some of the world’s greatest lead singers joined BLACK SABBATH in this period, like RONNIE JAMES DIO, GLENN HUGHES, JEFF FENHOLT (JOSHUA ‘Surrender’ singer, maybe the best singer of all times!), IAN GILLAN, RAY GILLEN, TONY MARTIN... This book, which contains about 400 pages, tells us the complete story of BLACK SABBATH after OZZY left in 1979 until OZZY rejoined the band in 1997. Guitarist TONY IOMMI is ofcourse the main man of BLACK SABBATH, but the stories included here are not only about him, but also about everyone ever involved with BLACK SABBATH, so you also can read funny stories about JEFF FENHOLT, RONNIE JAMES DIO, TONY MARTIN, ERIC SINGER, GEEZER BUTTLER etc. etc. It’s even very cool to read that somewhere in the very early 80s a guy called MICHAEL BOLTON applied for the singer job in BLACK SABBATH! After reading this book you’ll be completely informed about every little detail that happened to BLACK SABBATH after OZZY left them in 79, and that’s quite a lot I can tell you! It’s nice to notice that BLACK SABBATH never found another singer who stayed with them for more than 4 albums, something OZZY did succeed, as he sang in the 1970s on about 8 BLACK SABBATH albums. For a BLACK SABBATH fan this is obviously a must, but I think any decent Rockfan can easily read the 400 pages of this fantastic book. (Points: 9.0 out of 10) SAGA ‘ALL AREAS LIVE IN BONN 2002 DVD’ (SPV/ZOMBA DISTRIBUTION) The legendary Symphonic Rockband SAGA exists for more than 25 years now and in 2002 they celebrated it’s 25th anniversary with a show in Bonn, Germany, which was their only European show in all of 2002. It has now been released on DVD, and the limited edition package of the release contains a bonus DVD, which contains footage from their Marathon World Tour last year. The DVD which features the show in Bonn, Germany is a real pleasure to watch, as it contains the band’s best material, mostly from their first 4/5 albums and their last couple of albums, so ignoring their 1984-1997 period. Nevertheless, the SAGA fans will absolutely love this DVD, because the band sounded excellent that particular day. All their classics were played, with as absolute winners “You’re not alone”, “Humble stance”, “We’ll meet again”, “Remember when”, “Careful where you step” and “Compromise”. It’s very interesting to see how skilled these musicians are, because with the exception of the guitarist, everyone could play keys and sing, so they switched a few times. One way or the other, they always sounded superb and the 80 minutes concert of SAGA went by in a flash on this DVD. Needless to say that this DVD is a must for SAGA fans! (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  ALYSON AVENUE ‘OMEGA’ (AOR
HEAVEN/BERTUS)The Swedish band split up a few times in the past 15 years they existed, but they always found the strength to carry on, which resulted in the fantastic debut CD ‘Presence of mind’ in 2000. And now almost 4 years later the band releases their 2nd CD ‘Omega’, again on the AOR HEAVEN label. Happily, nothing has changed and although many people will call this a safe record, I can inform you that this is an excellent typical 80s Female Fronted AOR record, so maybe no surprises, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid this record, because from start to finish this is high quality AOR! The best comparisons are (of course) COASTLINE, 80s HEART, VIXEN, LAOS, first 2 TONE NORUM, VXN, HEAT (the German female fronted band from circa 93), WITNESS, THE STORM (the late 80s demo recording female fronted act!) and the list never stops... I think it’s awesome to see ALYSON AVENUE back at the front, and this new CD proves they belong to best bands in Sweden. The material goes from uptempo, midtempo to (semi) ballad orientated songs, and it’s hard to pick favourites because all 10 tracks are sensational. But the best songs are definitely classy midtempo AOR tracks like “Perfect love”, “Do you ever miss my passion” and “I still believe” and the classic 80s uptempo AOR rockers “When dreams fall apart” and “Can I be wrong?”. What more can I say then this is one of those perfect polished 80s female fronted AOR/Melodic Rockalbums, so you know what to expect when purchasing a copy of this sensational new ALYSON AVENUE release! (Points: 9.0 out of 10) ALTITUDE ‘LIGHT BEFORE THE DAWN’ (KARMA RECORDS) Out of New Zealand comes a new sensational band called ALTITUDE. The band is formed around talented guitarist Andrew Davenport, and their debut CD ‘Light before the dawn’ starts very sensational. Opener “Star sign” is a fantastic midtempo Melodic Hardrocksong with superb vocal work a la ROBERT TEPPER (!) by singer Matt Johns, impressive guitarwork a la MALMSTEEN by guitarist Andrew Davenport and the song itself has a very strong chorus. It sounds a bit like a mix between RAINBOW, MALMSTEEN and GLENN HUGHES. Next song “Leaving a bad place” is weaker and also features vocals by guitarist Andrew, but unfortunately he isn’t a good singer. Happily following track “Too late now” features some great vocals again, the song itself being a great semi melodic rockballad. And so the CD goes on with ups and downs (due to the change in vocals!), of which the highlights are “Another days toil”, “A day in the desert” and “Make it real”. The sound/production of the CD is very good, so all together this is recommended stuff. The band has created a sort of own style, which is still best described as Melodic Hardrock with influences from 70s Classic Rock and Orchestral arrangements added as well. I hope next time only lead singer Matt Johns is singing on the CD, because he sounds very impressive. More info at: http://www.karmarecordsgroup.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) THE AMBER LIGHT ‘GOODBYE TO DUSK FAREWELL TO DAWN’ (QUIXOTE MUSIC) Out of Germany comes THE AMBER LIGHT, a new band playing early 70s Progressive Rock. This is definitely quality music, although it’s not the typical Progressive Rock, because THE AMBER LIGHT is far more experimental, not unlike VANDERGRAAF, PINK FLOYD and early GENESIS. 8 songs are on their CD ‘Goodbye to dusk farewell to dawn’ and it all sounds quite professional. Some songs are quite lengthy, and also contain some Jazz influences (“Gangsters”), but I think a fan of early PINK FLOYD will totally love songs like “Tartaros”, “Clock hands heart”, “Hide inside” and “New day”. Recommended if you’re into experimental underground 70s inspired Progressive Rock. More info at: http://www.quixote-music.de (Points: 7.5 out of 10) SCARY HAIRY ‘INTENT TO DELIVER’ (KARMA RECORDS) Here’s another quality band from the USA. They are called SCARY HAIRY and they play typical late 80s/early 90s guitar orientated American Melodic Hardrock like a mix between SAINTS AND SINNER, TYKETTO, BANGALORE CHOIR and LEATHERWOLF... yet with some Funky influences as well, but also a slight 80s US Power Metal approach sometimes. 8 songs are included, the production is very good and the band has a very strong lead singer called Michael Thomas Beck, who has a high pitched voice (a la GEOFF TATE). All together this is a recommended piece definitely. Better check out great songs like “Show, place, or win”, “Justice never arrives”, “Lonely children” and “Make me see”. More info can be found at: http://www.karmarecordsgroup.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) WW3 ‘WHEN GOD TURNED AWAY’ (REALITY ENTERTAINMENT) On the same label as the new WARRIOR comes the new WORLD WAR 3 CD titled ‘When God turned away’. The music has not changed much since their last couple of albums, so again we can True Metal with very raw vocals, somewhere like a mix between WARRIOR, ACCEPT/UDO and MANOWAR. The CD was co-produced by JOE FLOYD from WARRIOR, and the band even did a cover of the WARRIOR classic “Fighting for the earth”. Without a doubt, this is an 80s US Metal sounding record, and I think fans of mentioned bands will completely love this record, as also instrumental (read: guitarist FLO) it sounds very impressive. 12 tracks are included and highlights are “Rise”, “Fighting for the earth”, “The hard way”, “Garden of stone” and “Kill the lord of this world”. Check it out if you’re a TRUE METAL WARRIOR! Check it out for yourself at: http://www.reality-entertainment.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) FREAKHOUSE ‘BEAUTIFUL MISERY’ (REALITY ENTERTAINMENT) Another release on the new REALITY ENTERTAINMENT label, and again (co-) produced by JOE FLOYD from WARRIOR. This time however it’s a band called FREAKHOUSE whom are mixing 80s and modern Hardrock/Metal into an own style, which sometimes sounds quite good, but at times a bit too Modern and almost pure Nu-Metal, which is not really interesting for the readers of our site. The band has a strong lead singer (ROB ESCHER) and songs like “Disconnected”, “Man or machine” and “Cleansing” contain good strong choruses, and are basically good Melodic Hardrock/Metalsongs (a la SKID ROW). On the other hand there are also some Nu-Metal songs included such as “Beautiful misery”, “Love hates me” and “Into a hole”. Concluded, this band sounds like a mix between SKID ROW, ALICE IN CHAINS, OZZY and LINKIN PARK. Please drop the Nu-Metal influences next time, because then we will have a good strong band... Check it out for yourself at: http://www.reality-entertainment.com (Points: 7.0 out of 10) LYZANXIA ‘MINDCRIMES’ (REALITY ENTERTAINMENT) The French band LYZANXIA has a new CD out, but just like their previous albums, instrumental it all sounds very good (typical Euro Prog/Power Metal), but vocally it is terrible! The guy sings like a Black Metal singer, so I am afraid we can’t do anything with this band, unless they change their lead singer. Only interesting for people who don’t mind a Black Metal type of singer... Check it out for yourself at: http://www.reality-entertainment.com (Points: -) MICHAEL RIESENBECK ‘SHOUTING SILENCE’ (PERRIS RECORDS) Out of Holland comes guitarist/drummer/songwriter MICHAEL RIESENBECK, who spent a few years creating this CD. ‘Shouting silence’ is finally out and without a doubt, it’s a great high quality AOR album that features a lot of well-known musicians/singers, such as PHIL VINCENT, Tony O’Hara (PRAYING MANTIS), ED JAMES, Kimmo Blom (URBAN TALE), Jeff Pilson (DOKKEN), LEC ZORN and many others. The included music is like I said pure 80s orientated AOR, with catchy hooks and memorable choruses. 11 songs are included, of which thre absolute highlights are “Dreams for tomorrow” (SUPERB PERFECT MIDTEMPO AOR, lovely chorus!), “Call to glory” (fantastic uptempo AOR), “Meant to be” (with a terrific unknown singer Lars Safsund, song is lovely midtempo AOR), “Telling lies” (classy PHIL VINCENT tune), “Two hearts” (wonderful big midtempo AOR, like SURVIVOR) and “Heart of stone” (great uptempo AOR with Brazilian lead singer Guilherme Indianwest Oliviera). The CD is similar in style to TOTO, MECCA, GIANT, JOURNEY, PHIL VINCENT, so fans of good quality 80s AOR should check this out a.s.a.p.! More info at: http://www.michaelriesenbeck.com and e-mail at: m.riesenbeck@net.hcc.nl (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  UDO ‘THUNDERBALL’
(AFM RECORDS/ROCK INC.)UDO is back with another new CD titled ‘Thunderball’. This time however it’s a true new studio-CD, containing 11 new tracks in the typical ACCEPT/UDO style. Although the bio says it can compete with such classics like “Balls to the wall”, “I’m a rebel” and “Russian roulette”, the first 2 songs (“Thunderball” and “The arbiter”) are not the strongest songs on offer here and they definitely don’t reach the high level of the 80s records of ACCEPT/UDO. But the rest of the CD is pretty good and sometimes even close to the high level of 80s ACCEPT, such as on the songs “Pull the trigger”, “Fistful of anger”, “The magic mirror” (a great song), “Blind eyes” (a midtempo semi-ballad) and “Trainride in Russia” (COOL SONG!!!), all great classy ACCEPT/UDO orientated Metalsongs. Instrumental everything sounds perfect (guitarist STEFAN KAUFMANN and ex-GOTTHARD guitarist Igor Gianola) and vocally UDO sounds like... UDO! What more can I say about UDO’s new album, because it is a typical ACCEPT/UDO album, which will be loved by the fans... Official release date is set on the 29th of March. (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  JORN ‘OUT TO EVERY
NATION’(AFM RECORDS/ROCK INC.) JORN LANDE is one of the best new Classic Hardrocksingers at the moment, and his vocals can be heard on lots of albums, but in between all the MILLENNIUM, ARK, MASTERPLAN, BEYOND TWILIGHT albums he also releases solo-CDs. The first 2 albums were released on FRONTIERS RECORDS, but JORN’s 3rd CD ‘Out to every nation’ has been released through the German label AFM RECORDS. I think this new album is his best record so far, containing high class Classic Melodic Hardrock (with a slight groovy modern touch), of course very much reminding of WHITESNAKE, due to Jorn’s DAVID COVERDALEish lead vocals, but also the songs itself are quite close to that legendary band. 10 songs are included, of which the highlights are “Out to every nation” (midtempo melodic hardrock), “Vision eyes” (semi-ballad), “One day we will put out the sun” (midtempo melodic heavy rocker) and “When angel wings were white” (epic song). Concluded, this CD is a total must for everyone into Classic Hardrock (a la WHITESNAKE, RAINBOW, DIO). (Points: 8.0 out of 10) TOXIC SMILE ‘RETROTOX FORTE’ (FAMOUS KITCHEN) A few years ago the German band TOXIC SMILE signed up a major label deal with BMG Records for the Korean (!) market. Everything went very well in Korea, until suddenly there was a change of personnel in the BMG staff, and till this day their debut ‘Madness and despair’ has only been released in Korea, because BMG refuses to release it in other countries. That’s quite a shame, because TOXIC SMILE is definitely an interesting Progressive Rockband. Their new CD ‘Retrotox forte’ is not your typical Progressive Rockalbum, because especially towards the end the band starts experimenting with different elements of other music styles, such as the rap in “Confidence in deception” and Popmusic (with sax) in songs like “Escape” and “C.I.D. addendum”. However, the total playing time of the CD is about 65 minutes, so there’s still enough to enjoy. The absolute highlights are the pure melodic Progressive Rock/Metal songs (a la VANDENPLAS) “Fall down” (uptempo), “Pyramid” (midtempo), “Steps back” (semi-ballad) and closing track “Heavsent” (a 9-minutes counting pure Progmetal masterpiece in the DREAM THEATER style). So, the CD has clearly it’s ups and downs, but for a Progressive Rock/Metal fan this might be a very interesting CD to check out. More info at: http://www.toxic-smile.de and e-mail them at: mail@famouskitchen.de (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  STREAM ‘CHASIN’ THE
DRAGON’(MAUSOLEUM RECORDS/SUBURBAN) Originally founded way back in the mid 1980s in France by guitarist Peter Scheithauer, the band STREAM had it’s ups and downs throughout their long career. The band or should I say project featured many famous musicians throughout the years, of which the line-up on this 3rd CD ‘Chasin’ the dragon’ is the most stunning. The album was originally released on USG RECORDS as ‘Nothing is sacred’, but that label went bankrupt, so MAUSOLEUM RECORDS decided to re-release it and added 4 unreleased bonustracks. The band itself consisted of guitarist Peter Scheithauer, vocalist David Glen Eisley (GIUFFRIA, HOUSE OF LORDS), bassist Bob Daisley (RAINBOW, OZZY) and drummer Eric Singer (KISS, BLACK SABBATH), while there are also guest appearances by David Reece (ACCEPT, BANGALORE CHOIR), Pat Regan (DEEP PURPLE), Pat Torpey (MR. BIG), Chuck Wright (QUIET RIOT) and WASP members Mike Duda and Stet Howland. With such a line-up it’s hard to make a weak record, and ‘Chasin’ the dragon’ is of course instrumental, vocally and production wise high quality, but none of the 14 songs is really sensational. The music is a mix of 80s True Metal and some modern 90s Metal touches, ending up sounding like a weaker version of DIO. It’s not bad what we get to hear, but with such musicians you would expect something bigger. Happily a few songs like “Bed of fire” and “Far from the madding crowd” are good metalsongs, the ballad “Still believe” is very nice and especially the 4 bonustracks (pure 80s US Power Metal a la METAL CHURCH) make this release interesting after all. The packaging of the CD is very impressive, and like I said the sound quality is perfect, but I am afraid not all of the songs are really strong enough to make this a true winner. However, fans of mentioned musicians still need to check out this release... (Points: 7.5 out of 10)  VERS OVER ‘HOUSE OF
BONES’(MAUSOLEUM RECORDS/SUBURBAN) ‘House of bones’ is the 2nd CD of the Brazilian band VERS OVER, and without a doubt this is a high quality release. The band sounds like a rawer version of ANGRA meets PAIN OF SALVATION, without the Classical influences, and with the addition of some Thrash-Metal influences here and there (the vocals are clean, but sometimes also very raw and Thrashy). Nevertheless, most of the time it’s pure Progressive/Power Metal like so many new Brazilian bands are making it at the moment, but VERS OVER re doing it very well and also with a crystal clear production they rise above the rest of the bands. The CD ‘House of bones’ has a playing time of 51 minutes and contains 11 tracks. Highlights can be found in the shape of “Prologue”, “Daem angel” (best song, great straight-ahead uptempo Melodic Metal), “Touch the walls” (another straight-ahead song) and “House of bones” (great uptempo Melodic heavy Rocker). Recommended to the more open-minded Prog/Powermetalfans! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) THE ORDEAL ‘KINGS OF PAIN’ (MAUSOLEUM RECORDS/SUBURBAN) THE ORDEAL is a band from Germany/France and they feature some talented musicians like multi-instrumentalist Oliver Oppermann, drummer/keyboardplayer Philippe Candas (ex-FAIR WARNING) and guitarist Kai Reuter. Together with bassist Cyborg Haines they form the band THE ORDEAL, a band mixing elements of 80s and 90s Melodic Heavy Rock/Metal. Their debut CD ‘Kings of pain’ was produced by HERMAN FRANK (ACCEPT, VICTORY) and mastered by TOMMY NEWTON (GAMMA RAY, VICTORY, STEELER). Musically I was expecting a pure 80s German Metal record, but the CD starts with 2 very modern Nu-Metal orientated songs, yet with very impressive instrumental sections (especially the guitarsoun). Happily, track 3 “Mirrorland” is classy uptempo German Melodic Metal (even a bit like EDGUY), and proving that THE ORDEAL is able to make great songs. Unfortunately the CD goes up and down, with pure Nu-Metal songs and then suddenly a great semi-Melodic Rockballad “Wings of angel” or classy 80s uptempo Melodic Metal a la DIO (“Unchain the beast” and “Face the storm”) . If you’re interested in a mix of typical German Melodic Heavy Rock/Metal and Nu-Metal, then this THE ORDEAL is highly recommended to you, but I hope next time they drop the Nu-Metal influences... (Points: 7.5 out of 10)  ASPERITY ‘THE FINAL
DEMAND’(ARISE RECORDS/BERTUS) Hell yeah!!! ASPERITY is a hot new band from Sweden and they are about to deliver a masterpiece on the Spanish label ARISE RECORDS. The band features 2 members of the Death Metal band CARNAL FORGE (drummer Stefan Westerberg and guitarist/keyboardplayer Petri Kuusisto), who both also played in the band STEEL ATTACK, but left that band to focus on their main band CARNAL FORGE. However, they wanted to continue making something different than the Death/Thrash Metal of CARNAL FORGE. So they formed a new band called ASPERITY, found 2 further musicians (guitarist Johan Jalonen and bassist Peter Kronberg). I don’t know where they found this Peter Kronberg, but he is also the singer in this band, and without a doubt, he is a new discovery, because the man is blessed with a superb melodic voice. All together the band reminds me a lot of DREAM EVIL and TAD MOROSE. 10 songs are included and from start to finish this is high quality Melodic Metal at it’s very best, and I mean this is really sensational stuff. All the songs are superb, the production, instrumental, vocally, the hooks, the choruses, everything sounds just perfect, so we can speak of a new Swedish sensation! It’s really hard to pick favourite tracks, because they are all great, such as the fantastic “Will they come”, the superb midtempo “The pray”, the uptempo “Never understand”, the midtempo “Rebellion” and “The man with 1000 faces” (lovely catchy uptempo piece). Concluded, a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MELODIC METAL MASTERPIECE! (Points: 9.0 out of 10) 20TH CENTURY BOYS ‘!BEWARE OF TH REX!’ (ULFTONE MUSIC/BERTUS) The 20th CENTURY BOYS is a tribute to 70s Glitter/Glamrockers MARC BOLAN and T-TEX, done by German vocalists/musicians MICHAEL BORMANN (JADED HEART) and MICHAEL VOSS (CASANOVA). This legendary UK band was as big as SWEET, MUD and SLADE, but their sound was not that polished as those bands, and I think this tribute shows the diversity and influence T-REX had on a lot of musicians in the years to follow. Songs like “Get it on”, “20th century boy” and “Children of the revolution” are instant classics. The covers by both Michaels are done very well and professionally, so get this tribute CD if you’re either a fan of one of the singers or a big T-REX might enjoy this too... (Points: 7.5 out of 10) OHM ‘LIVE ON KPFK 90.7 FM’ (LION MUSIC/BERTUS) OHM consists of guitarist Chris Poland, drummer Kofi Baker and bassist Robertino Pagliari. Together they recorded this live album on the air at KPFK Radio 90.7 FM, LA, USA. It’s a full instrumental album and not really Hardrock/Metal orientated. This is more classic 70s Rock orientated, a bit like SANTANA, JIMI HENDRIX or CREAM, yet instrumental. Of course Chris is the shining star on this CD, and if you’re a fan of this guitarist you will have to track down this release. (Points: 7.5 out of 10) TAKARA ‘ETERNITY: THE BEST 93-98’ (LION MUSIC/BERTUS) TAKARA released 3 fantastic records with JEFF SCOTT SOTO on lead vocals, and this best of CD basically sums up the best songs of these 3 records, with the addition of some acoustic versions. I would rather recommend to you to buy the first 3 TAKARA records to get all their songs, because you can’t make a best of their 3 releases, while it’s too hard to choose which songs should be on this best of. Anyway, for the JEFF SCOTT SOTO die-hard fans this is however another nice addition to their growing collection. I hope someday Jeff will sing on a new TAKARA record, because the band will never be the same without Jeff as singer, just a fact everyone will admit after hearing this wonderful best of CD... (Points: - ) VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘METAL BY METAL BLACK MARK’ (BLACK MARK RECORDS/BERTUS) This is a nice DVD put together with bands on the BLACK MARK RECORDS label, so we have mostly Swedish bands included. 11 Videoclips are included, and although not all of them are interesting to watch, some are very nice to see a videoclip from, because you never see any of them on TV. The interesting ones are coming from TAD MOROSE (“Lost in time”), MEMENTO MORI (“Endlessly” and “I am”) and LAKE OF TEARS (“Ravenland” and “Devils dinner”). Playing length of about 60+ minutes, recommended to fans of the bands TAD MOROSE, MEMENTO MORI, LAKE OF TEARS, AGRESSOR, CEMETARY, EDGE OF SANITY, MORGANA LEFAY, of whom almost all are 2 videos included. Check it out... (Points: - )  DREAMAKER ‘HUMAN
DEVICE’(ARISE RECORDS/BERTUS) DREAMAKER is a new Spanish band that features 4 former DARK MOOR members, namely female lead singer Elisa C. Martin, guitarist Albert Maroto, drummer Jorge Saez and keyboardplayer Roberto P. Camus. With the addition of bassplayer Carlos Pena and second guitarist Matias Sosa the line-up of DREAMAKER is completed, and their first CD ‘Human device’ is about to hit the stores. Musically it is in the same style as DARK MOOR, so big time Progressive/Power Metal like a mix between LABYRINTH, RHAPSODY and NIGHTWISH. The CD has a huge sound (mastered at Finnvox by Mika Jussila) and most of the songs are very strong, with as absolute highlights “Nightmares factory”, “Killing”, “Forever in your arms” (very strong), “Eternal love” and “Crystaline eyes”. If you’re familiar with DARK MOOR, then you will definitely love this CD of DREAMAKER as well! (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  WIZ
‘SHATTERED-MIND-THERAPY’(ARISE RECORDS/BERTUS) Don’t you just love all those new Swedish bands poping up here and there with awesome debut releases. On the same label (ARISE RECORDS) as the first ASPERITY CD release, a very sensational Swedish Melodic Metal Masterpiece comes WIZ, yet another great new Swedish band. The band is not really new, as it is formerly known as NOSTRADAMEUS, as whom they released some CDs. However, this is the first WIZ CD and right from the start you can hear that this is high quality stuff, because opener “Mr. Sandman” is an awesome catchy uptempo Melodic Metal song (a la early EUROPE). And happily the CD continues at this high level with many more sensational Melodic Metal songs like “In your eyes” (midtempo a la DREAM EVIL), “One chapter of a fairytale” (uptempo), “Understand” (uptempo), “Empty words” (uptempo) and closing track “From the ashes we rise” (uptempo). Although I must add here that there are also a few songs that sound a bit rawer and darker than the mentioned typical Melodic Metalsongs (like “Sun moon stars”, “Super psychic woman” and “Down”), but nevertheless this WIZ CD is still a very impressive record. Needless to say that also this CD has a big sound and was mastered at Finnvox by Mika Jussila, so this is another recommended Swedish Melodic Metal record! (Points: 8.5 out of 10)  HUBI MEISEL ‘EMOCEAN’
(LION MUSIC/BERTUS)German leadsinger HUBI MEISEL has a new CD out, which is titled ‘Emocean’. It’s a nice album, but I am afraid not good enough to rise above the hundreds of other Progressive Rockreleases at the moment. Instrumental and vocally everything sounds pretty good, but there aren’t enough strong songs on the CD to make it a winner. Songs like “Lost in the waters of Sargasso”, “Dolphin’s wake”, “The souls of Atlantis” and “Aero nautical” are nice melodic Progrockers with good vocals by Hubi and excellent guitarwork by MARCEL COENEN from SUN CAGED. Nice artwork and a nice CD to check out for the die-hard Progrockfans, but not as good as the revent SUN CAGED and DREAMSCAPE. (Points: 8.0 out of 10) PROTO-KAW ‘BEFORE BECAME AFTER’ (INSIDE OUT MUSIC/CMM PROMOTION) This is something special, because PROTO-KAW is actually pre-KANSAS. To tell the story in one senence I can tell you that in the period 1971-1973 the band KANSAS consisted of 6 members, of whom 5 went onto do different things and only KERRY LIVGREN went on with KANSAS reaching big successes. Anyway, they recorded a demo back in 1971/73 and 5 of the original songs (re-recorded) can now be found on this PROTO-KAW CD, but also 5 new songs were composed for this new project of KERRY LIVGREN. Concluded, this is a total must for the KANSAS fans! Musically it’s pure Progressive Rock like KANSAS played on their first couple of albums, yet with some Jazzy influences here and there. Highlights are “Alt. More worlds than known”, “Axolotl (for lack of a better name)”, “Heavenly man” and “Theophany”. Kerry’s vocals are very impressive, instrumental it sounds very good and also the production is quite good (so nothing sounding dated here, becauise everything has recently been recorded). The CD will be released on the 29th of March and without a doubt KANSAS fans should then run to the shops in order to get their copy of this ‘KANSAS’ CD! (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  MAGIC KINGDOM ‘METALLIC
TRAGEDY’ (LIMB MUSIC/SUBURBAN)MAGIC KINGDOM is the brainchild of Belgian guitarist Dushan Petrossi. He released 1 album in 1999 as MAGIC KINGDOM, but also released an album under the IRON MASK moniker, so more or less this is 3rd CD we welcome of this talented musician, who is clearly influenced by MALMSTEEN. The new MAGIC KINGDOM album ‘Metallic tragedy’ is a very strong and super melodic fast uptempo Melodic Power Metal record, very European sounding, with similarities to MALMSTEEN, AT VANCE and RHAPSODY, yet with an own identity and besides, the 10 included songs are very sensational. Lead singer Max Leclerq is a very good singer, and instrumental everything sounds very impressive. Need to add here that former AT VANCE lead singer Oliver Hartmann sings on 2 songs here, and he does a great job. Most of the songs are fast and very catchy, with as highlights “Child of the nile”, “Flying pyramids”, “The iron mask” and “The fight”, but also closing track “Metallic tragedy” needs to be mentioned as this is a 13 minutes counting epic journey thast sounds completely different than anything else on this record. This final track is a sort of experimental Epic Metal track with all sorts of singers (Black/Death/Gothic-Female/Melodic etc.), nicely done but actually it spoils a bit the CD, especially because it’s the final and longest track. It sounds so different and also a bit confusing and MAGIC KINGDOM sounds much better during the faster tracks. Nevertheless, this is a very impressive record that easily stands above the rest of the releases in this genre. (Points: 8.5 out of 10) FRONTIERS ‘RECAPTURED VOLUME 1 – A TRIBUTE TO JOURNEY’ (X FACTOR MUSIC GROUP) FRONTIERS is an American JOURNEY tribute band, and they sent me a CD with 75 minutes of perfectly covered JOURNEY material. They are named after the JOURNEY Classic ‘Frontiers’, one of the best AOR albums of all times, and most of the songs from that record were covered during the night this CD was recorded. Because this is a live recorded tribute to JOURNEY, so no overdubs, but a real recording of one of the best JOURNEY tribute bands I have ever heard. Instrumental it sounds perfect, and even vocally singer Jeremy Hunsicker is able to sing like STEVE PERRY, but there’s only one Steve Perry and so it’s hard to reach those high notes he did in the JOURNEY heydays. Still Jeremy is a very good lead singer and basically this is a very good JOURNEY tribute band. It’s great to hear these cover versions of all-time classics like “Only the young”, “Separate ways”, “After the fall”, “Suzanne”, “Don’t stop believin’”, “Mother, father”, “Escape” and “Be good to yourself”. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.journeytributeband.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) WONDERLAND ‘ETERNALLY DVD’ (RISINGWORKS) Only one song is included on the DVD by WONDERLAND, but the videoclip of the particular song “Eternally” is done very professionally, and could easily end up on Music TV-stations in Europe, because also the song itself is a great catchy ‘polished’ uptempo Melodic Power Metal song like LABYRINTH. The story of the song (and the video) tells us about the escape of a man in prison to the woman he loves. All together a very nice videoclip and I am really looking forward to the new WONDERLAND CD, which should be out soon. More info at: http://www.risingworks.com (Points: -)  STORMWIND ‘LEGACY’
(MASSACRE RECORDS)Last year the Swedish band STORMWIND released a great new CD titled ‘Rising symphony’ and already a year later we can welcome another new STORMWIND CD titled ‘Legacy’. It’s the 7th CD of the band so far, but it’s not a real new studio CD, because ‘Legacy’ is a double-CD containing a live-concert (recorded at the Sweden Rock festival 2003), the DVD-documentary ‘Legacy of a storm’ and nine ‘new’ songs that were up until now only available on the Japanese releases. Disc 1 of ‘Legacy’ contains the live concert and the docu. The documentary tells us the complete story (told by leader and guitarist THOMAS WOLF) about STORMWIND, from the start until the present time. You see some live footage in between and it’s really interesting to hear about the development STORMWIND has gone through the past 8 years. The live material sounds very impressive, with both THOMAS VIKSTROM as lead singer and THOMAS WOLF as guitarist proving they sound fantastic live. The songs played live are taken from their last 3 studio-CDs ‘Resurrection’, ‘Reflections’ and ‘Rising symphony’, with as highlights the fast uptempo Melodic Metal songs “Touch the flames”, “Samuraj” and “Ship of salvation” and the midtempo “The man behind the iron mask”. On disc 2 of ‘Legacy’ we can find 9 studiotracks that have only been available in Japan so far as bonustracks, but can now all together be found on CD-2 of ‘Legacy’. This is a nice collection of typical STORMWIND songs, with as best tracks uptempo Melodic Metal tracks like “Wings of tomorrow” and “Spellbound” and the awesome midtempo “Mountain of Zion”. So, basically this is a must-have for every STORMWIND/ Melodic Metalfan! Also check out STORMWIND’s site at: http://www.stormwind.nu (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  INNER WISH ‘SILENT FACES’(LIMB MUSIC/SUBURBAN) INNER WISH is a Greek band and Silent faces is their 2nd CD, but their first on the LIMB MUSIC label. They play Classic 80s US Melodic Metal in the style of FIFTH ANGEL and RIOT, but they also remind me a lot of FREEWIND, DREAM EVIL, MYSTIC PROPHECY... One way or the other, this is a fantastic CD of INNER WISH, with a crystal clear production by R.D. Liapakis (CHASTAIN, MYSTIC PROPHECY, JACK STARR, VALLEYS EVE). 10 songs are included and although the songtitles are even a bit AORish (“Hold me tight”, “Hold on”, “Set me free”), the music is clearly fast ‘catchy’ uptempo Melodic Metal with as best songs “Hold me tight”, “If I could turn back time”, “Midnight call”, “Hold on” and “Riding on the wind”, although the absolute highlights are the awesome midtempo tracks “Silent faces” (a masterpiece a la AXEL RUDI PELL) and “Set me free”. Concluded, a highly recommended piece to fans of classic 80s US Metal with a lot of melodies! (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  RHAPSODY ‘TALES FROM THE
EMERALD SWORD SAGA’ (LIMB MUSIC/SUBURBAN) LIMB MUSIC closes the book with RHAPSODY, as the band said farewell to the LIMB MUSIC recordlabel and found themselves a new ‘bigger’ label. LIMB has brought us RHAPSODY and the label actually was based around RHAPSODY for about 8 years, because they were their most successful band. Anyway, their change of label was the opportunity for LIMB to release a best of CD containing the most popular tracks of the Italian band. All the RHAPSODY classics are included here, like “Rage of the winter”, “Land of immortals”, “Wisdom of the kings”, “Holy thunderforce”, “Knightrider of doom” and “Power of the dragonflame”. As a bonus theres a videoclip included of the song “Holy thunderforce”. This is the end for RHAPSODY on the LIMB MUSIC and now we must wait until their new CD will be released later this year. In the meantime check out this best of release, although there’s nothing unreleased/new on the CD (except for a few remixed versions). (Points: -)  VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘LOUDER THAN THE
DRAGON - LIMB MUSIC’ (LIMB MUSIC/SUBURBAN)The German label LIMB MUSIC has released a 2-CD compilation record containing 28 songs by 28 bands and it basically sums up the best the label has brought us the past 7/8 years. From the start the label has brought us nothing but quality releases, and always were bringing us new bands, such as BLACK MAJESTY, RHAPSODY, LANA LANE, SHADOWKEEP, ZANDELLE, VANISHING POINT, MOB RULES, GOTHIC KNIGHTS etc. etc. They are all included, and although none of the tracks is unreleases, because all 28 tracks can be found on 28 LIMB albums, if you are not familiar with the LIMB releases or own only a couple, this is the right double-CD to purchase, because all together you can learn about almost every band on LIMB MUSIC. Lets hope we can welcome much more releases from the label in the future! (Points: -) PROJECTO ‘CROWN OF AGES’ (UNDERGROUND SYMPHONY RECORDS/RISINGWORKS) The album of PROJECTO, an Italian Power Metalband was released in 2001, but somehow we never reviewed the album and that’s a pity, because this is a high quality band. Their album ‘Crown of ages’ is a fantastic typical Italo Melodic Power Metalalbum like a mix between RHAPSODY and LABYRINTH. I know there are thousands of bands in Europe playing this style, but this PROJECTO was really good. It’s a shame it didn’t get that much attention, because ‘Crown of ages’ is a fantastic high quality record filled with excellent Melodic Power Metal. It’s fast, very melodic, lovely vocals, catchy and also with a crystal clear production, so definitely a recommended piece. Songs like “Heart and steel”, “Innocent eyes”, “Fight in the sky”, “Crown of ages” and “Blood and faith” are bloody awesome fast Melodic Italo Power Metal pieces, while the AOR ballad “Thunder of love” is beautiful. If you’re a fan of LABYRINTH, RHAPSODY, SONATA ARCTICA, and you never checked out PROJECTO, then this is the right time to do so, because their album ‘Crown of ages’ is a superb piece of Italo Power Metal! (Points: 8.5 out of 10) ELECTROCUTION 250 ‘ELECTRIC CARTOON MUSIC FROM HELL’ (LIQUID NOTE RECORDS) This is quite bizarre if you ask me, as it is quality instrumental Progressive Metal (with Thrash/Speed Metal influences), but it’s all based around Cartoon themes, which is sometimes quite funny, as it is done very professional. I havent got much info, but songs like “Brainscaper”, “Dr. Fluffels” and “Ridiculosous” are very impressive instrumental Prog/Power Metal pieces with some Neo-Classical influences, but also a lot of humor, because the Cartoon theme is always around (something even DREAM THEATER did for a few seconds on one of their songs). Fans of instrumental Progmetal need to check this out at: http://www.liquidnoterecords.co.uk (Points: 8.0 out of 10) SEVEN GATES ‘UNREALITY’ (MEGAHARD RECORDS) Not to be confused with the Swedish same named band, because this SEVEN GATES hail from Italy and they play your typical Italo Power Metal a la PROJECTO, LABYRINTH, RHAPSODY... Its not bad what we hear, but the past few years so many releases have been done in this genre, so in the end it’s hard for a band to release a sensational album. SEVEN GATES is one of the hundreds of new Italian bands releasing a decent quality album filled with nice typical Italo Power Metalsongs like “Forever with me”, “Shadows...”, “Lodrs of the night” and “Unreality”. Good release, but it will probable be unnoticed between all the other releases in this genre. Die-hard Italo Power Metalfreaks will however like this a lot! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) JESSE BOLT ‘THE REVELATION’ (INDEPENDENT) Out of North Carolina, USA comes JESSE BOLT, a band (not the name of an artist) playing good old 80s Hardrock/Metal. They were formed in 1974 (!!!), but this is their first official CD. Their CD is titled ‘The revelation’ and it sounds really great, very 80s orientated, with influences from AOR, Hardrock and Heavy Metal, ending up sounding a bit like a mix between DIO/BLACK SABBATH, very early WHITESNAKE, RAINBOW, THIN LIZZY, AC/DC and the NWOBHM style. So this band has a very British orientated Hardrocksound and that’s very unusual for an American band. Anyway, check out great melodic heavy rockers like “On and on”, “Faded glory”, “The revelation”, “He wore black” and “Rock-n-roll man” (this is very much like 1980 WHITESNAKE). The band has 3 guitarists in their line-up, so definitely a guarantee for a good tough rocksound. More info at: http://www.jessebolt.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) LOUD ‘DEMO’ (DEMO CDR) LOUD is a Spanish band, from the Mallorca Island actually, and they play classic 80s Melodic Metal, with influences from MAIDEN, MANOWAR and some 80s METALLICA (very much during the song “Dspayre”), ending up sounding a lot like the Italian band DOMINE. 7 songs on their demo CDR and there are some great songs among them, such as the uptempo Melodic Heavy Rockers “The damned”, “Holy evil”, “Temple of envy” and “Dark abyss”. With a playing length of 40 minutes and a quality sound/production, this is a recommended demo to check out. Highly recommended to fans of classic 80s Melodic Metal! More info through e-mail at: cabestro50@hotmail.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) HOW LIKE A WINTER ‘BEYOND MY GREY WAKE’ (MARTYR MUSIC GROUP) This band is playing Gothic Rock/Metal the way it was played in the 1990s, so very dark and mostly male vocals (some grunts and a lot of whispering instead of singing) and only sometimes a female vocal. The style has completely changed in favor of the female singer (because of the popularity of bands like WITHIN TEMPTATION, LACUNA COIL, EPICA, NIGHTWISH, EVANESCENCE, AFTER FOREVER), but HOW LIKE A WINTER is playing the Gothic Rock/Metal style like MY DYING BRIDE played it in the 1990s. Its quite depressive sometimes, but still this is quality stuff and if you’re into such 90s Gothic Rock/Metal you should check out this CD, but I am more into the female fronted Gothic Metal currently being very popular in Europe. (Points: 6.0 out of 10) X-HELLS ‘SUBTERRANEAN STORIES’ (INDEPENDENT) This Italian band is playing pure Underground Power/Thrash Metal. Although very 80s orientated, there’s also a modern approach here and there. Imagine a rawer version of MEGADETH, METALLICA really returning to their 1980s sound, while mixing it up with early ANTHRAX, and all together keeping a classic 80s Metal guitarsound, then you have the sound of X-HELLS. It’s not bad what we hear, but for now the material is a bit too average to make an impression. Check it out for youself at: http://www.xhells.com (Points: 7.0 out of 10) SAINTS BLEED ‘TWISTED TRUTH’ (DEMO CDR) 4 songs are on the demo CDR I received from SAINTS BLEED, a German band playing classic 80s Heavy Metal a la UDO/ACCEPT, but also reminding me of PRIMAL FEAR. Anyway, 2 songs are taken from their forthcoming album and 2 tracks are demos. Opener “Twisted truth” is the uptempo German Heavy Metalsound I was talking about, raw and heavy a la PRIMAL FEAR! Next track “Inhabitants from earth” is quite different, as this is a midtempo Progmetalsong with some bizarre spacey ‘Alien’ sounds and vocals. Happily, track 3, the demosong “Path of the warrior” is then again high class 80s German Melodic Metal (a la MAJESTY, very catchy and a sing-a-long chorus like only the German can make ‘em!). Final track “Till we fly” is the best song on offer here, as this is a very strong uptempo Melodic Metalsong (a la EDGUY). I think their upcoming full-length album will tell us more, because not all songs on this demo CDR convinced me, but I think we will know that soon. In the meantime, check out their site at: http://www.saintsbleed.de and e-mail them at: booking@saintsbleed.de (Points: 7.5 out of 10)  CHARIOT ‘BURNING
AMBITION’(MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS) The UK band CHARIOT released their 2nd and final album ‘Burning ambition’ back in 1986. Although nowadays some might say it sounds dated, I can guarantee you that this CD truly captures that classic 80s Hardrocksound which was played by so many bands in both the UK and the USA and more importantly, it has a great sound. This band could have easily been a lot bigger, but that didn’t happen, because not long after CHARIOT the band split up. Some of the members went on to form a band called DIRTY DEEDS, with whom they managed to release 2 great Melodic Hardrockalbums. Anyway, getting back to CHARIOT’s ‘Burning ambition’, which is a highly recommended true British (NWOBHM) orientated Hardrock/Metal record. In a time (1986) when so many UK bands went on playing American orientated music, CHARIOT kept on playing the classic NWOBHM in the style of SAXON, very early DEF LEPPARD, ANGEL WITCH and UFO. They sounded so much better than what THE DARKNESS is doing right now, just check out great songs like “Screams the night”, “Cradle to the grave”, “Burning”, “Strangers”, “Wasted years” and “This time you lose”. Most of the 10 included songs are uptempo straight-ahead rockers (The band slows things down on only 1 song and that’s the beautiful AOR ballad “So blind”), so from start to finish it’s pedal to the metal and scream it out! This is what Hardrock sounded like in the 1980s! It’s only a pity there aren’t any bonustracks included on each of the CHARIOT CDs, and therefore the playing time isn’t that long, but if you’re a dedicated fan of 80s NWOBHM/Hardrock this is a must-have release! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) CHARIOT ‘THE WARRIOR’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS)  CHARIOT was one of those legendary UK bands out of the ashes from the underground NWOBHM scene. They released records until the mid 1980s, and now MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS has re-issued both their albums onto CD. The first one was titled ‘The warrior’ and was originally released somewhere in 1984. Being a true collector’s item, this classy piece of NWOBHM is now finally available on CD. The CD contains the 10 original tracks, and was produced by MATTHEW FISHER (ex-PROCOL HARUM). Musically this is high class early 80s NWOBHM which can best be heard in uptempo rockers like “Take your hands off me” (a la TYGERS OF PAN TANG), “Don’t forget” (a la SAMSON), “Warriors”, “Power games” (a la THIN LIZZY) and “When the moon shines”, but also the very impressive semi-ballad “Horizons” (like early DEF LEPPARD). The band released another album titled ‘Burning ambition’, which has also been re-issued onto CD through MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS... (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  TYTAN ‘ROUGH
JUSTICE’(MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS) Basically this is another long lost underground classic that should have been HUGE! Recently MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS re-issued the fantastic first 2 classics of HEAVY PETTIN’, well, TYTAN was another classic UK act that should have been right up there with the bands that survived the NWOBHM scene (MAIDEN, SAXON, DEF LEPPARD), because their only album ‘Rough justice’ is a pure classic. Happily, MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS made it available on CD now, so I can only say that you should be getting a copy of this awesome CD as soon as possible! The band itself was compromised of 2 ANGEL WITCH members and the superb lead vocalist KAL SWAN, who later became the singer for LION and BAD MOON RISING. He sounded quite fantastic already on his debut record for TYTAN, his first recording ever, and also the included 12 songs are instant classic. The music was more melodic than the typical NWOBHM style, but not as cheesy as (let’s say) LIONHEART, STRATUS or TOBRUK. This TYTAN owed more respect to classic UK Melodic Hardrockbands like UFO, RAINBOW, WHITESNAKE, RAGE... Just listen to fantastic Melodic Rockers like “Blind men and fools”, “Money for love”, the AORish “Women on the frontline” (with a SHERIFF stolen guitar riff!!!), “Forever gone” and “Far side of destiny”. Anyway, this CD is really HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, an instant classic that has finally (thank you MAJESTIC ROCK!!!) been released on CD! Let’s hope MAJESTIC ROCK has more surprises for us this year, because there are many more of these rare 80s classics that need to be put on CD! (Points: 9.0 out of 10)  WICKED SENSATION ‘EXCEPTIONAL’(MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN) ‘Exceptional’ is the follow-up to the debut-CD ‘Reflected’ of the German band WICKED SENSATION. The new CD is actually an improvement, because the sound is very tight and the songs are very strong. The album was mixed by DENNIS WARD (PINK CREAM 69), and most of the 12 tracks contain catchy hooks and singable memorable choruses. This is how Melodic Hardrock should sound like, and the most remarkable change is definitely the new lead singer FERNANDO GARCIA. He sang with VICTORY for quite some time and recorded the classic ‘Culture killed the native’ which should have been HUGE in the USA, but that didn’t happen. Anyway, on the new WICKED SENSATION are very impressive (as always) and musically this sounds like the follow-up to VICTORY’s classic, so this is really big-time Melodic Hardrock. Especially the start of the CD features some excellent melodic rockers like “Shining light”, “Back to my bed”, “Your beat inside my heart” (lovely midtempo Melodic Rock), “Rain on me” (catchy melodic rocker), “Kiss it away” (strong Melodic Hardrock, pure 80s!) and “Time will pass me by” (fantastic midtempo Melodic Hardrock). Concluded, a must for every Melodic (Hard) Rockfan, especially if you enjoy bands like SHAKRA, VICTORY, PINK CREAM 69, KROKUS, CRYSTAL BALL, AXXIS... (Points: 9.0 out of 10) MELODRAMA ‘SILENT STORM’ (GOOD EAR PRODUCTIONS) We have had a lot of new Melodic Hardrockbands from Portugal the past few years (FAITHFUL, EVIDENCE, NORDICA) and another new one is called MELODRAMA. The bands have all one thing in common, and that’s the fact they all play quality Melodic Hard/Heavy Rock and their debut CD’s are produced by LUIS BARROS from TARANTULA. 12 songs are on the first CD by MELODRAMA and right from the start you can hear that this is a good quality band. Most of the songs are uptempo Melodic (Heavy) Rockers, with as highlights “Walls of illusion”, “Alien hunter”, “Red blood”, “Matter of time” (classy 80s midtempo melodic rocker) and “Victim of revenge” (very catchy faster uptempo Melodic Heavy Rocker). Recommended to the fans of quality 80s influenced Melodic Hard/Heavy Rock/Metal! More info at: http://www.melodramasite.no.sapo.pt and e-mail them at: melodramaheavyband@hotmail.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) PHOENIX REIGN ‘DEMO’ (INDEPENDENT) Out of New York City comes a classic sounding female fronted Melodic Hardrock/Metalband who sent me a 4-track CD. Instrumental all sounds well here, the CD has a fair production and lead singer Theresa Gaffney is able to sing very well. The music is 80s inspired catchy uptempo Melodic Hardrock/Metal, a bit like early WARLOCK, GIRLSCHOOL and BITCH/BETSY. Highlight is definitely “Power”, a very strong song. Check out this band at: http://www.phoenixreign.com and e-mail them at: phoenixdrummer@aol.com or jadedshock@aol.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) COMPLEX 7 ‘PROCESS’ (INDEPENDENT) The band is coming out of Germany and right from the start it’s obvious that this is a quality band, because their CD has a big sound/crystal clear production, good high pitched vocal work and basically this COMPLEX 7 is playing a good deal of pure Progressive Metal. There are clearly influences from FATES WARNING and QUEENSRYCHE here, and with a big groovy guitarsound and no keyboards, this band sounds a bit rawer (the lead vocals, but the choruses are very melodic) and rougher than most other progmetalbands. Nevertheless, this is very good stuff and especially songs like “Trust”, “Toadstool” and “Like I was” (best song, very strong chorus) are good complex progressive metaltunes. I haven’t heard their first CD ‘Water’ from 2001, but I can easily recommend this 2nd CD ‘Process’ of COMPLEX 7 to the fans of complex Progmetal. For more info go to: http://www.complex7.de and e-mail them at: bjoem@complex7.de (Points: 8.0 out of 10) PSYCHOTRON ‘OPEN THE GATE’ (GENERATION RECORDS/SUBURBAN) PSYCHOTRON is a band from Germany and they play a mix of pure 80s Thrash and Speed Metal, crossed with some slight US Power Metal influences here and there, but also many different sort of lead vocals (clean, raw and even Black/Death-grunts). It’s impossible to put this band into a specific genre, but let’s keep it on Power Thrash Metal like ANTHRAX used to make it, Instrumental it all sounds very well, but vocally it could have been a bit better. Nevertheless, songs like “The ticket”, “Private hell”, “Beauty of sadness” and “Closing doors” are nice Power Thrash Metal songs to check out if you’re a fan of AGENT STEEL, SACRED STEEL and ATTACKER. (Points: 7.5 out of 10) KEN HENSLEY ‘THE LAST DANCE’ (SACRAMENTO RECORDS/SUBURBAN) Legendary keyboard/Hammond-wizzard KEN HENSLEY is back with a new solo-CD titled ‘The last dance’. For almost 40 years he has been in the musicscene, starting off with THE GODS, reaching huge successes with URIAH HEEP, and since 1980 releasing solo albums, with a short project called HENSLEY/LAWTON BAND in the early 00s. Anyway, he has now a new solo-CD out titled ’The last dance’. This album is definitely one of his better solo-records. Of course don’t expect anything close to URIAH HEEP’s classic 70s Rocksound, because ‘The last dance’ is actually an AOR driven album, a bit reminding me of JIM PETERIK’S WORLD STAGE, JACK BLADES and TOMMY SHAW. Ken recorded the album in Spain, and besides Ken on vocals/guitars and hammond/keys, the other musicians are all unknown Spanish people. Back to the CD, ‘The last dance’ features nice middle-of-the-road AOR/Poprock with as highlights the midtempo “Letting go”, the ballad “Second chance”, the rocker “Dancing”, “The voice of love” (a strong uptempo AOR rocker), “The last dance” (great epic bit 70s HEEPish song, one of the best songs here) and “Give ‘em what they want” (wow, back to early 80s AOR Rock, by far the best song!). A nice album, recommended to KEN HENSLEY fans, not always a sensational record, and definitely not a classic HEEP orientated piece, but still AOR fans might find something of interest in here... (Points: 8.0 out of 10) ROBIN GEORGE ‘BLUESONGS’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS) The English musician ROBIN GEORGE is known for doing all sorts of stuff in the past, like producing and recording with various acts, like producing the last single of PHIL LYNOTT before he died, doing projects like LIFE and NOTORIOUS, and in between he released the solo-record ‘Dangerous music’ in 1984. Now 20 years later there’s a new solo-CD titled ‘Bluesongs’, which unfortunately has not much to do with the Classic Rock he did in the past. This new CD is mixing Pop, Soul, Acoustic pieces and modern Poprock, and actually only the midtempo rocker “Americanway” is a nice track, but the rest is way too Poppy and experimental. It’s not a bad record at all, but it has nothing to do with the great melodic rock stuff Robin did in 1984 on ‘Dangerous music’. Nevertheless, fans of ROBIN GEORGE might want to check out his new CD, as he seems to have developed himself musically, but with Rockmusic it has not much to do. The same kind of story as RIK EMMET I am afraid... (Points: 7.0 out of 10) RAVENSTHORN ‘HOUSE OF THE DAMNED’ (INDEPENDENT) RAVENSTHORN is an American band playing classic 80s Power Metal. They mix up 80s US and very early 80s British Melodic Metal, ending up sounding like a mix between HEIR APPARENT, LAAZ ROCKET, ELIXIR and TYGERS OF PAN TANG, with also some slight DIAMOND HEAD references. Lead singer Bill Jannusch somehow reminds me of JOSS MENNEN (MENNEN/ZINATRA), but musically this band is better and really playing high class 80s Melodic Metal. 10 songs are included on ‘House of the damned’, and with a fair production, this is a much-recommended CD to fans of classic 80s US/UK Power Metal. Highlights are “Lust for a vampire”, “No confessions”, “The occultress” and “House of the damned”. 80s Metalfreaks need to check out this band asap at: http://www.ravensthorn.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10)  CRYPTIC VISION ‘MOMENTS OF
CLARITY’ (INDEPENDENT)Out of Florida comes a new sensational band called CRYPTIC VISION. Their CD features some well-known people as guests like guitarist RALPH SANTOLLA (MILLENIUM), Violin player David Ragsdale (KANSAS), mixer PETE COLEMAN (DEF LEPPARD I believe?) and the keyboard overdubs of the CD were recorded at the famous MORRISOUND STUDIOS in Florida (the SAVATAGE studios). Musically we have to deal here with something really special, because CRYPTIC VISION is playing a mix of AOR, Pomprock and Progrock, like a perfect mix between YES, KANSAS, TOUCH and STYX. The CD has a big sound/production, features some superb tunes, and introduce us a fantastic new lead singer called TODD PLANT. This guy is a new discovery, because the man is blessed with a wonderful voice, perfectly suitable for this kind of music. The other members of CRYPTIC VISION are multi-instrumentalist/producer/songwriter RICK DUNCAN and guitarist/keyboardplayer ROBERT VAN DYKE. Actually the CD they created is a little Masterpiece, because it sounds terrific from start to finish. It’s also a concept CD, so all together the 10 songs included here tell us a story. Opener “Introspective” is high quality instrumental midtempo Progrock with a violin solo by Ragsdale, and a very KANSAS orientated sound in general. Up next is “New perspective” and that’s where we are pleased for the first time with Todd’s superb melodic lead vocals. The song itself is one of the absolute highlights here, as it is a pure late 70s Pomprocker a la STYX/KANSAS with rich keyboards and big harmonyvocals during the catchy chorus. The next 2 songs are more 70s Progrock, namely the epic “Comtemplation” (a la KANSAS again) and the YES/SPOCK’S BEARDish “Grand design”. Then comes the SUPERB AOR HEAVEN song “Angline” with again lovely vocal work, not unlike LE ROUX ‘So fired up’ period. The following songs are calmer, such as the acoustic “Losing faith” and “Angel’s requiem”, and “Colored leaf” starts as a piano-ballad (a la GENESIS – PETER GABRIEL era) but develops into a very fine melodic progrock ballad. The last 3 tracks are thenm again all HIGH CLASS PROGRESSIVE POMPROCKERS titled “Shock value” (midtempo piece, very much KANSAS, with excellent guitarsolo), “Moments of clarity” (12 minutes counting epic) and closing track “Ascension” (a bit Neo-Progish a la IQ/JADIS). Concluded, this is one of those perfect CD’s from the underground and I can only hope it will get much more attention in the media worldwide, because they truly deserve it. Without a doubt, one of the best Independent release in years! Check it out for yourself at: http://www.crypticvision.net (Points: 9.0 out of 10) (All reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted) |