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Although at first sight this band may sound like another NIGHTWISH meets WITHIN TEMPTATION and a little EVANESCENCE, the Austrian band VISIONS OF ATLANTIS definitely sound a little different. First of all, the band has not only a female soprano (Nicole Bogner), but also a clean male singer (Mario Plank), who sings very melodic. Besides, the music is more straight-forward melodic rock orientated and should actually not be seen as Gothic Metal. I would rather describe the 2nd album of VISIONS OF ATLANTIS as a very strong catchy melodic rock record, with here and there a Gothic Metal influence (mainly due to the soprano female vocals). The band has developed themselves in 4 years to a great quality act, which is interesting for both melodic rock and gothic fans, although like I said the band is sometimes far away from Gothic, and does sound more like a softer polished version of SONATA ARCTICA or STRATOVARIUS than NIGHTWISH. Sometimes it does sound a little too polished, and even sugarsweet (“Realm of fantasy”), and some tracks might even earn them huge radio airplay and top-40 hits (such as the catchy “Lost”). Anyway, 9 tracks are included, with as bonus a videoclip of the first single “Lost”. Everything sounds very good, although a little more guitar wouldn’t hurt next time, because with the keys upfront and the very polished repeated choruses, the band has slightly lost an own identity. However, on the other hand, this CD perfectly reflects the gap between melodic rock and gothic metal. Highlights are “Lost”, “Pharoah’s repentance”, “Send me a light” and “State of suspense”, all uptempo melodic rockers with clean male vocals and soprano female vocals. Not a bad release at all, although a little too polished for the Metalfans I think, but if you appreciate WITHIN TEMPTATION and XANDRIA, then why not VISIONS OF ATLANTIS. (Points: 8.3 out of 10)
The only band from Liechtenstein has been releasing records since 2001. Back then they released their debut ‘Twilight’ under the moniker ERBEN DER SCHOPFUNG, but a few years later the bandname was changed to ELIS, as whom they released a CD in 2003 titled ‘God’s silence, devil’s temptation’, which is now followed up by a new album titled ‘Dark clouds in a perfect sky’, which is then their 3rd album actually. Without a doubt, this is their best release so far, because right from the start it sounds sensational. Of course the Melodic Gothic Metal reminds one of NIGHTWISH, AFTER FOREVER and WITHIN TEMPTATION, but ELIS does it very well and their choruses are really amazing. Especially the first 4 songs (“Der Letzte tag”, “Anger”, “Lost soul” and “Perfect love”) are all superb midtempo Melodic Gothic Metalsongs with superb singing by Sabine Duenser and perfect instrumental back-up. Happily, the whole CD is sensational Melodic Gothic Metal, with as other highlights “Black angel” and “Are you missing me”, all featuring such amazing memorable choruses, so I am safe to say that this is a sensational record, and that is very hard in the Gothic Metal scene, because at this very moment so many new releases are done each week, but I think ELIS has released something really special. Maybe this new ELIS record is even better than the new WITHIN TEMPTATION or as good as the NIGHTWISH record ‘Once’. Who knows? I can easily give it a big recommendation to fans of this genre, because ELIS has released one of the best records this genre has brought us so far! (Points: 8.9 out of 10) DARKWELL ‘METATRON’ (NAPALM RECORDS) Formed 5 years ago, the Austrian band is about to release their 2nd full-length CD ‘Metatron’ on NAPALM RECORDS. The album is filled with typical European female fronted Gothic Metal, maybe a bit rougher, but I think we know by now what to expect when hearing such words, because after all, NIGHTWISH, WITHIN TEMPTATION and AFTER FOREVER have made this genre very popular. DARKWELL is another band in this category like I already said, but they are not as good as those acts. However, if you’re a die-hard collector of the genre, this CD is highly recommended, because it’s still a great typical Female Fronted Goth metal release. 9 songs are included, maybe a bit short, because the album has a playing time of just 40 minutes. Nevertheless, it’s quality stuff what we get to hear, with such great songs like “Crown of thorn”, “Fate prisoner” and “Hope unborn”. Not a sensational release, but another one to add to the growing list of quality Goth Metal releases. (Points: 7.9 out of 10) WITCHFYNDE
‘GIVE ‘EM HELL’ WITCHFYNDE was one of many legendary bands from the NWOBHM that should have become bigger, but they have always been an underground cult band until this day. Nowadays their songs seem to sound dated after almost 25 years, but nevertheless I think this CD release of their legendary ‘Give ’em hell’ album is a must-have for any NWOBHM freak. Musically they sounded like a cross between UFO, URIAH HEEP and RUSH, so a sort of progressive hardrockstyle they played. Songs like “The divine victim”, “Give ‘em hell” and “Pay now – love later” are instant classics in it’s own right, the NWOBHM movement. The band has a fantastic singer (Steve Bridges), but like thousands of other NWOBHM bands disappeared, although in 2001 they released a new record, and so they seem to have returned. This new CD re-issue of one of their classic albums comes with extend written liner notes, pictures and also 3 bonustracks. You can get a copy through: http://www.cherryred.co.uk and http://www.lemonrecordings.co.uk (Points: 8.3 out of 10) BROKEN TEETH ‘BLOOD ON THE RADIO’ (PERRIS RECORDS) Here’s another back-to-basic Rockalbum in the AC/DC style. The band is called BROKEN TEETH, with an interesting line-up compromised of lead singer Jason McMaster of DANGEROUS TOYS and Paul Lidel (DIRTY LOOKS, DANGEROUS TOYS). 15 tracks are included on their Live-CD ‘Blood on the radio’, which is made up of songs from both their studio albums (‘Broken teeth’ and ‘Guilty pleasure’). It is clear that this is a high quality release and a must-have for fans of rough around the edge Classic Hardrock in the style of AC/DC, DANGEROUS TOYS, DIRTY LOOKS… If you’re into such bands, you’re gonna love songs such as “Stick it in”, “Chaingang”, “Undertaker” and the new track “Bonfire”. Concluded, fans of mentioned bands need to get this release asap! (Points: 8.3 out of 10) ENUFF’Z’NUFF ‘?’ (PERRIS RECORDS) Through the years ENUFF’Z’NUFF has earned their place in the hardrockscene, because they release every now and then albums for 15 years in a row, without ever splitting up and they also never changed their style. Also the new album follows the same style as the previous releases, so a sort of melodic 70s influenced Glitter Psychedelic Hardrockstyle. It’s their 14th album so far, and particularly this new CD has some more AOR based material, such as the great tunes “Home tonight”, ”Help” and ”How are you?”, although there’s also some KISS (GENE SIMMONS style) meets LED ZEPPELIN to be found (“Joni Woni”) and a QUEEN cover (“Stone cold crazy”). I am quite sure the fans are gonna love the new CD of their favourite band. (Points: 8.2 out of 10)
In the late 80s thousands of new bands popped up all across the USA, all inspired by the success of stadium acts such as POISON, BON JOVI, VAN HALEN, WHITESNAKE… Sadly a lot of bands were never signed, and therefore their recordings got lost somewhere in the basements of it’s members, and BLIND DATE from Austin/Texas was one of those bands that recorded some awesome demos in 89, but never got their shot to fame. Happily, the US label PERRIS RECORDS has released a full-length CD of BLIND DATE material from the late 80s, so we can all hear how good this band truly was in the heydays of this kind of Melodic Hardrock. There are clear similarities to DANGER DANGER, FIREHOUSE, WHITE LION, FRICTION, LOUD AND CLEAR and DOKKEN. Basically you get that typical late 80s US Arena Melodic Hardrocksound, with big guitars, huge harmonyvocals, catchy hooks and memorable choruses, you know the kind of stuff that hit big in the US in the late 80s/early 90s, when bands like SLAUGHTER, WINGER, WARRANT, FIREHOUSE ruled the American airwaves. Anyway, I think this release reflects that period very well, because catchy uptempo melodic rockers like “Don’t wait up”, “Without your love” (very catchy!), “Daddys’little girl”, “When I’m alone” (very catchy uptempo piece, like a melodic hardrock version of PRETTY BOY FLOYD) and “Can you feel it” and semi-ballads such as “She’s walking” (superb!), “Dreaming” and “Broken promises” all sound very sensational, even though they were recorded 15 years ago. This is the way melodic hardrock should be played, so definitely a must-have release for fans of mentioned bands! (Points: 9.1 out of 10)
If there would be a contest of AC/DC clones, the UK based band BONED would definitely be one of the best clones, something which you can clearly hear right from the start on their debut CD ‘Boned at the crack’. Although being AC/DC clones, even more than KROKUS and DIRTY LOOKS, they are a good high quality clone, with some great own material, such as the uptempo raw classic 70s Hardrocksongs “Up at the crack”, “Loaded on love”, “Drivin’ on the sidewalk” and “God given right to rock and roll” (now this could have been a pure AC/DC original. If you’re a AC/DC fan, you can easily check this out, because AC/DC didn’t release such a record since their ‘Thunderstruck’ album. (Points: 8.0 out of 10)
This band was formed by members of ROXX GANG and BULLETBOYS, and they actually released this album 8 years ago, but PERRIS RECORDS re-released it with 3 bonustracks. Musically it’s typical classic US style Hardrock with strong AC/DC and AEROSMITH influences. Fans of BULLETBOYS, AC/DC and BULLETBOYS will absolutely love songs like “One more tonight”, “”, “” and “”. It’s a pity only 9 tracks are included, because the playing length of the whole CD does not even make it to 30 minutes (!). Die-hard fans however will probably still buy this CD instantly, as the featured songs are of a very high level (close to AC/DC). (Points: 8.0 out of 10) ETERNAL FLIGHT ‘POSITIVE RAGE’ (CRUZ DEL SUR MUSIC) The French band ETERNAL FLIGHT released a few demos, which we discussed the past few years, and now it is time to release a full-length professional CD on the Italian label CRUZ DEL SUR MUSIC. Musically we get to hear pure 80s influenced Melodic Metal, with some MAIDEN, ANGRA, VICIOUS RUMORS, QUEENSRYCHE and FATES WARNING similarities. 11 songs are included on the CD, which has a good quality production, with the mastering of the album by the well-known Italian LUIGI STEFANINI. Highlights on the CD are definitely “All we are”, “Morphoenix” (best song) and “The moon king”. It all reminds me a bit of the projects MIKE VESCARA does from time to time (MALMSTEEN, OBSESSION, REIGN OF TERROR), both vocally and musically ETERNAL FLIGHT reminds me of Mike’s bands/projects, so what we get to hear is like I said before good clean quality 80s influenced Melodic Metal, with here and there the Progressive or Neo-Classical touch. Concluded, a nice CD to check out if you’re into any of the mentioned bands. (Points: 8.4 out of 10)
In the 1970s the British band SLADE was one of the most popular bands in the Glamrockscene. They scored a whole string of number 1 hitsingles in the UK, but also elsewhere in Europe. However, in the USA they didn’t had any success, but still they had a major influence on loads of US bands. One of the bands that scored bit time (twice!) with SLADE covers was QUIET RIOT. They had big US hits with “Cum on feel the noiz” and “Mama weer all crazee now”, songs which made SLADE a household name in the 1970s in Europe, but those songs became hits in the US in the 1980s in these new versions of QUIET RIOT. Anyway, this DVD has an in-depth look at SLADE’s career (1971-1991) and the reviewers (and musicians, such as the THE BUSINESS guitarplayer) discuss all the singles SLADE released. Of course the band’s highlights were songs like “Gudbuy’t’Jane”, “Merry X-mas everbody”, “Far far away”, “Cum on feel the noiz” and “Mama weer all crazee now”. Just like the other DVDs, also this INSIDE SLADE DVD features quality material, although it only has a playing length of 60 minutes. The reviewers review all the singles of SLADE very professional, and between the comments we get to see some unique material of SLADE. For a fan of 70s Glam/Glitterrock and of course SLADE fans, this DVD is a must-have, but it’s not the best Inside DVD so far. (Points: 8.0 out of 10)
I believe there’s also a GENESIS DVD out in the Inside series of CLASSIC ROCK PRODUCTIONS which concerns the period 1969-1975, the PETER GABRIEL period of the band (the most interesting period of the band). However, the DVD I am about to review concerns the GENESIS period between 1975-1980, which is the first PHIL COLLINS era. In this period GENESIS continued playing classic 70s Progressive Rock, yet a bit more song orientated towards the end of the 1970s, but the real Pop twist happened after 1980. Happily, this DVD is only featuring the 2nd 1970s period of GENESIS, which was still high class progressive rock. The reviewers are of course talking a lot about the change in lead singer (Peter went out and Phil eventually quit the drums and started singing full-time), but also the albums GENESIS released in this period are discussed. The good thing about this DVD is the rather unique video footage of the band from the 1970s, because there are quite a few comments of the bandmembers, which were recorded back then. This all makes this DVD a must-have for GENESIS fans, but just like all the other Inside DVD releases, this DVD is actually interesting to watch for any musicfan! (Points: 8.6 out of 10)
The UK band TWELFTH NIGHT performed at the famous Reading festival some 23 years ago. They were the first band out of Reading to perform at the festival held in the same town. However, their performance featured on this live-CD was recorded at a famous venue in Reading called ‘The Target’. The gig took place early 1981, and the original album of the performance was released 1 month later, so the band’s first album was actually a live album. They had released a cassette a few months earlier, which by the way did feature lead vocals, but this album ‘Live at the target’ was their very first LP release. Now almost 24 years later CYCLOPS RECORDS re-issued the legendary debut album of TWELFTH NIGHT onto CD. The booklet has some nice written liner notes, and the included music sounds crystal clear, even though the recordings took place one night in cold January 1981 in the small town of Reading/UK. Nevertheless, the band sounded like the perfect Neo-Progband, obviously influenced by the likes of YES and GENESIS, but we are speaking of early 80s here, and there were not many bands anymore playing Progressive, let alone using so many keyboards. The band didn’t had a singer back then, so it was instrumental, but it sounded very good and it still does sound impressive. Especially the TWELFTH NIGHT fan will be pleased to hear there is about 30 minutes of material added and like I said before lots of pictures and notes can be found in the CD booklet. Basically any Neo-Progfan should check out this CD to find out some of the earliest releases in the Neo-Progscene, which was made big in the 80s by bands like PALLAS, MARILLION and IQ. However, TWELFTH NIGHT were at the forefront and this CD takes you back all the way to 1981, but it still sounds very fresh and up-to-date! (Points: 8.4 out of 10)
J.R. BLACKMORE is of course the son of legendary RITCHIE BLACKMORE of RAINBOW/DEEP PURPLE/BLACKMORE’S NIGHT. He released a CD about 10 years ago (I believe), which has been remixed and re-released last year. The album itself is an awesome melodic rockalbum in the style of JADED HEART. This comparison is inevitable, because the lead vocals on the record were handled by MICHAEL BORMANN of JADED HEART (and THE SYGNET, CHARADE, RAIN, LETTER X), who ofcourse did a fantastic job. Furthermore the guitarplaying of J.R. is quite good, although not as good as his dad, but he definitely has a lot more to offer than the standard hardrock guitarists. Highlights on the CD are “Still holding on” (also recorded by JADED HEART), “Tonight”, Don’t walk away”, “Here we go” and “Show the way to go”, which are all uptempo classy 80s influenced catchy melodic rockers, but also a (semi) ballad like “Never too late” needs to be mentioned here. Without any doubts, this CD is a must-have to any Melodic Rockfan! More info at: http://www.jrblackmore.de/ (Points: 8.5 out of 10)
‘Recall the past’ is a sort of solo release from guitarist J.R. BLACKMORE, Ritchie’s son who released an album as the J.R. BLACKMORE GROUP in the mid 1990s. This new CD contains 4 new songs written, arranged, produced and mixed by J.R. himself, who actually did everything on his own this time, including all instruments. It’s of course a pity to not hear Michael Bormann sing, but on the other hand J.R. shows this time his talented gifts he got from his father. His guitarplaying sounds very impressive on such beautiful songs like “Sheet lightning”, “Time travelling” and “Invisible touch”. Without a doubt, this CD is a must-have for all the instrumental/guitarfreaks! More info at: http://www.jrblackmore.de/ (Points: 8.5 out of 10)
Instrumental Hardrock/Metal is what we get to hear on this CD, which is the new CD of a guitarist called TONY HERNANDO from Spain. I thought this album was going to be released on VINNY RECORDS, but now LION MUSIC seems to be the label to release this album. Of course it all sounds pretty good, and a fan of instrumental Hardrock will definitely be interested in hearing this release, but somehow I can not find anything really spectacular, which should make this CD so much different and better than all the other instrumental releases. I am not saying Tony can not handle the guitar, because he obviously can play the instrument, but there’s nothing outstanding on this CD. In fact, I would rather recommend to you the J.R. BLACKMORE release, which is an independent release, but that record has more to offer in just 4 songs than this CD, which has 11 tracks in total! (Points: 7.8 out of 10) FRUITCAKE ‘MAN OVERBOARD’ (CYCLOPS RECORDS) ‘Man overboard’ is the 7th studio album of the Swedish band FRUITCAKE. With a nice looking frontcover and a limited 2-CD set (which has the disc ‘Dessert’ filled with unreleased material as a bonus), they spoil the fans with the release of their new CD. Musically it is pure Neo-Progressive Rock like only British bands are able to make usually, but this time however we are really listening to a Swedish band. They play their Neo-Prog at a very high level, which is not far away from bands like IQ and PENDRAGON. I am quite sure fans of mentioned bands will absolutely love such epics like “Backwards sounds”, “The smoking gun” and “Intelligene”. Concluded, a must-have release for every Neo-Progfan! (Points: 8.6 out of 10) VULGAR
UNICORN ‘PERSONA NON
GRATA – FINE ART OF LIVING’ PINEAPPLE THIEF bandleader/singer/songwriter/guitarist Bruce Soord also has a side-project called VULGAR UNICORN, with whom he just released a new CD. Musically it is progressive rock, but not like the usual neo-progbands like PENDRAGON or IQ. This CD is more focused on experimental slightly modern sounding guitar based progressive rock a la PORCUPINE TREE and of course PINEAPPLE THIEF, but I even heard similarities to bands like RADIOHEAD and COLDPLAY, so this is definitely not interesting for the neo-progfan. Only recommended to the progfans who like to hear something completely different (although there are now quite a few bands playing this kind of experimental modern progrock). The CD is also available as a limited 2-CD edition, with as bonus a disc with unreleased songs, so something to look for if you’re a die-hard fan. (Points: 7.8 out of 10) NICE BEAVER ‘OREGON’ (CYCLOPS RECORDS) The Dutch band NICE BEAVER returns with the release of their 2nd album ‘Oregon’, which musically continues their Neo-Progressive Rockstyle of their debut, while adding an extra dimension in the instrumental passages. The songs are this time clearly longer, which means that the instrumental passages are longer, so the bandmembers can show their creativeness and qualities on their instruments. Especially guitarist Hans Gerritse proves he is a skilled musician, because his solo’s are quite beautiful and reminding me indeed of CAMEL, just like the bio says. 8 tracks are included in total, with as highlights “Nights in armour”, “Any other day”, “Love on arrival” (one of the best songs, a great melodic song a la JADIS) and “Two brides for two brothers”. Concluded, a must-have release for every Neo-progfan! (Points: 8.4 out of 10) CANDLEMASS
‘ESSENTIAL – DOOM DVD’ The legendary Swedish Doom Metalband has a new release out, although it’s more a best of release, yet with an extra DVD as bonus. This DVD includes 5 videos of the songs “The well of souls”, “Dark are the veils of death”, “Mirror mirror”, “A sorcerer’s pledge” and “At the gallows end”, so definitely very interesting for the die-hard fans of the band. However, if you’re not familiar with CANDLEMASS, this CD/DVD is a great start, because it is a very nice compilation of some of the best songs the band recorded in the past, such as “Crystal ball”, “Gothic stone”, “The well of souls” and “Mirror mirror”. Everything is packed very nice, in a so-called digipack, with a sort of poster of the band as another bonus. Concluded, this CD with bonus DVD is a must-have for any Doom/BLACK SABBATH/CANDLEMASS fan, but also a good way to start if you want to find out what this band is all about! (Points: 8.7 out of 10) CRUCIFIED BARBARA ‘LOSING THE GAME’ (BLACK EGG/GMR MUSIC) Only 3 songs can be found on the CD-single of CRUCIFIED BARBARA, a new Swedish band formed around 4 gorgeous looking girls. Of course at first sight you think of THE DONNA’S or THE RUNAWAYS, but CRUCIFIED BARBARA is clearly heavier than those all-female acts. This Swedish all-girl band is reminding me of late PHANTOM BLUE, with some more modern influences, while still featuring a catchy memorable chorus. Especially the song “Losing the game” is a great melodic heavy rocksong, which sounds updated and radio-ready, but still has some rough groovy guitar riffs. I look forward to a full-length CD of these beautiful girls! More info at: http://www.crucifiedbarbara.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) LA GUNS
‘HOLLYWOOD RAW – THE ORIGINAL SESSIONS’ 20 years ago in LA a band called HOLLYWOOD ROSE was formed by AXL ROSE and TRACII GUNS. Both went their separate ways in the following years, with Axl receiving a great deal of success with GUNS’N’ROSES and Tracii forming his own band LA GUNS. Lately all kinds of demos of HOLLYWOOD ROSE were re-issued onto CD, and now there is a CD available of LA GUNS. This CD contains material recorded prior to the band’s debut album, although a lot of the songs eventually ended up on their very first albums, but on this album you can hear the original demo versions from 1986. The most interesting about this release is the bonus disc, which is included, because this CD contains 4 unreleased songs from the band’s very rare original 1985 EP release. I did not even know they had released that EP, but on this CD we can enjoy these 4 rare LA GUNS songs. The songs are titled “Don’t love me”, “When dreams don’t follow through”, “It’s not true” and “Something heavy”, and musically they are slightly different than the typical LA GUNS sound, in fact, these 4 songs sound quite sensational and are much better than anything the band did after 1985! The song “When dreams don’t follow through” is actually a great melodic rocksong with awesome guitarwork. The band sounded like a cross between KEEL, WASP and ICON on this EP, and I don’t think it’s Phil Lewis singing here. Without a doubt, a must-have CD for the LA GUNS fans, especially then of course that extra bonus disc (sadly only 13 minutes long, but cool anyway)! You can buy a copy through: http://www.cleorecs.com (Points: 8.2 out of 10) THE DAMNED ‘PUNK GENERATION – BEST OF ODDITIES AND VERSIONS’ (ANARCHY MUSIC/CLEOPATRA RECORDS) Without a doubt, the legendary band THE DAMNED should not be seen as a typical Punkrockband, because they sounded so much different than for example SEX PISTOLS. They were definitely closer to a THE RAMONES, so taking a lot of influences from the 1960s, but of course still making them sound like typical 1977 UK Punk. Somehow songs like “Thanks for the night” and “Nasty” sounded very different, and were even closer to THE CURE. Anyway, this CD contains rare versions of old THE DAMNED classics. The sound quality is not that good, but for a fan of the band this CD is a must-have, because the songs are all featured in an unreleased version, such as the live version of the ultimate THE DAMNED classic “New rose”. So it’s not a standard best of, but more something the die-hard fans want to check out. More info at: http://www.cleorecs.com (Points: 7.8 out of 10) SYRENS CALL ‘’EMOCEANS’ (BRENNUS RECORDS) ‘Emoceans’ is the 2nd CD of the French band SYRENS CALL, and it’s definitely a step forward for them, because the included material on their new CD is quite impressive. The band features a female singer, but it’s not really like NIGHTWISH or that type of female fronted Gothic Metal. SYRENS CALL is more into a pure Melodic Power Metalstyle, with Neo-Classical influences (nice mixture of aor/prog keys and classic hardrock guitar) and a lot of strong catchy melodies. The result is an impressive album filled with 13 tracks in total, of which the highlights are “Mission to earth”, “Legasea”, “A deep breath” and “Jul 69”. Concluded, a highly recommended piece to the fans of quality Melodic Metal with a female voice. (Points: 8.4 out of 10) MANILLA ROAD ‘INVASION/METAL’ (CULT METAL CLASSICS/ROCK INC) The legendary US band MANILLA ROAD has been on the scene for about 25 years now, and the Greek label CULT METAL CLASSICS were able to get hold of the rights of their earlier releases ‘Invasion’ and ‘Metal’. Both albums have been re-issued onto a 2-CD set by CULT METAL CLASSICS, who of course did a good job, although I am not too happy about the dated music which is on these 2 CDs. Also the sound quality is quite average, so in the end I think only for die-hard fans of the band this will be interesting. Although the music is played very well, pure Doom Metal, it just sounds too dated to impress anyone these days I think. The albums were released in the very early 80s, but sound like 70s demos, so it would have been wiser for the band to re-record both albums, because it now sounds very dated. (Points: 6.8 out of 10) PACO DE SANGRE ‘ALERTA’ (PACTO MUSIC) This is a band from Puerto Rico (!) and their CD release is a high quality album, which is also very diverse in approach. The 9 included songs are a mixture of classic melodic metal, traditional power metal and thrash metal. Songs like “Ve a predicar”, “Amen”, “Warrior” and “De verdad” are fantastic semi melodic heavy rockers, with strong vocalwork and catchy memorable choruses. On the other hand, songs like “Cae, cae”, “La ley de dios” and “Arrepientete are very average agressive Thrash-Metalsongs with raw vocals and weak gang-shout choruses. I have no idea why they put such songs on this album, because it only takes down the final score. Happily, there are quite a few good songs on this CD, so I think any fan of Latin Metal (read: TIERRA SANTA, AVALANCH, RATA BLANCA, SARATOGA) will love this CD a lot. By the way, this is a Christian band, but if you don’t speak Spanish you will not hear any difference with any other Melodic Metalband. Anyway, good band and a must to check out if you’re a fan of any of the mentioned bands. More info at: http://www.pactodesangre.com (Points: 8.3 out of 10) THUNDERBREW ‘RED, WHITE AND BREW’ (INDEPENDENT) The American band THUNDERBREW sent me a CD filled with typical US Metal. It sounds groovy, raw and aggressive, with not much space for melodic vocals and catchy choruses like in the old days, but think more of a PANTERA kinda style. On the other hand, the heavy groovy raw guitarsound is quite good, with some great melodic solo’s during some of the included songs, such as on opener “Boneyard”. Yet vocally it all sounds very raw and depressive, but I know there’s always a market for this kind of Metal, and therefore I can recommend it to fans of PANTERA, CROWBAR and that type of aggressive 90s US Metal. More info at: http://www.thunderbrew.com (Points: 7.4 out of 10) BOMBAY BLACK ‘DEMO’ (DEMO CDR) Actually this is a full-length album by the band BOMBAY BLACK. They come out of the USA, and they mix up 80s Classic US Metal, more traditional Power Metal and some 80s Glam Metal. What you get is an interesting set of material. 14 songs are included on the demo CDR, and most of the songs do have some great groovy guitarwork (typical American), but they do not sound like any other band in the Metalscene. Opener “get mad get even” is a good strong US Power Metal song, kinda like SYMPHORCE. However, next tune “Beast inside” is completely different and has a catchy 80s kinda Glam Metal chorus, with harmonyvocals a la DAMN YANKEES, yet a big groovy guitar wall of sound. The variety in styles continues, because “Weight of the world” is reminding me of KING’S X, while the poppy “Everything” is melodic poprock like the last DEF LEPPARD meets NOUVEAUX (remember them). “Everything” features a deadly catchy chorus, which is pure late 80s AOR/Melodic Rock orientated. Almost halfway the album it is unbelievable how diverse this band really is, because this song “Everything” is really a pure AOR/Melodic Rocksong that could have been on a HAREM SCAREM album. For me this is the best song on the album, and it could easily turn out into a huge hit if it gets promoted. Anyway, the album continues as diverse as before, so a melting pot of Melodic Rock, Power Metal, Glam and traditional Rock/Metal. Somehow a comparison to HAREM SCAREM is understable, because that Canadian band is as diverse as this band. Highlights among the rest of the songs are “Get out” (very strong uptempo straight-forward rocker like DAMN YANKEES meets SHAKRA), “Hooks” (Hair Metal at it’s finest, a very catchy upbeat fun melodic rocker) and “Fade away”. Towards the end the band jumps on a very late 80s kinda sound (TESLA type of groovy melodic hardrock), which sounds pretty good. This is actually a really great act, and it would not surprise me if they get signed someday soon, because they are definitely making diverse quality music. Besides, the production is already very good and the big harmonyvocals all throughout the album are very impressive (sounding like DAMN YANKEES meets DEF LEPPARD), so do check out this band soon! More info at: http://www.bombayblackmusic.com and e-mail them at: info@bombayblackmusic.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) NAVIGATOR ‘REVOLUTION VOLUME ONE’ (INDEPENDENT) This is the first CD of 2 releases that form a concept together by the New York settled band NAVIGATOR. They play good clean quality Progressive Rock, with a lot of 70s influences (KANSAS/GENESIS), but also sounding fresh and up-to-date. The best comparison I can make is ENCHANT, because the melodies, tempo changes and strong lead vocals are not that far away from that San Francisco based progressive rockband. In total we can find 11 songs on the CD, which has a playing length of almost 1 hour. The 3 members of NAVIGATOR show they are capable of bringing some great impressive high quality music. Best songs are “Capacities”, “To begin” and “Traveling through the earth”, but actually if you like one song you will love them all! Highly recommended to fans of ENCHANT and JADIS. More info at: http://www.navigatorontheweb.com and e-mail at: Navigator@navigatorontheweb.com (Points: 8.4 out of 10)
Formed in the early 80s L.A. was a band from Denmark, which should have become much bigger instead of the underground cult act they eventually became. The band played Melodic Metal in the style of PRETTY MAIDS, MAD MAX, VANDENBERG, HELLOWEEN, LEATHERWOLF, DRIVER, etc. They only managed to release the album ‘L.A.’ in 1985, and although they recorded a 2nd album, that record never got released until recently internet and email made it possible for the band to get hooked up with a label (ESCAPE MUSIC), who were interesting to re-issue both albums onto CD. Now the 2-CD set of L.A. has been released, and in total we can find 19 tracks, which were produced by LA and TOMMY HANSEN (PRETTY MAIDS/HELLOWEEN). The sound is very good, and of course it’s pure 80s melodic metal, but it still sounds very fresh. Without a doubt, the featured material was and still is as good as bands like PRETTY MAIDS or LEATHERWOLF. The music is very melodic, but with typical 80s guitar riffs (a la PRETTY MAIDS, STRYPER, LEATHERWOLF, FIFTH ANGEL) and some great vocals by singer/bassist Jan Achmann. The first CD is the unreleased 2nd album, which was originally recorded in 1986. However, this CD release contains a recent re-recording of this album. Musically it is prime-time melodic heavy rock/metal, which sounds very sensational. Highlights are such melodic heavy rockers like “High on you”, “Last night” and “Point of uncontrol”. Bonus disc is the original remastered 1st LP from 1985 of the band, which musically was slightly heavier, but still high class melodic heavy rock. Best songs of ‘L.A.’ are “Breakdown”, “20th century”, “Gates to the sky” and “”. Together with a nice looking booklet, which has lyrics and a bunch of 80s pictures of the band, this is a much-recommended CD! Although being a big fan of PRETTY MAIDS, maybe L.A. should have deserved much more success, because they also sounded very sensational. Concluded, this 2-CD set offers some of the best 80s Melodic Metal, and because it is available on CD for the first time, I can highly recommend it to any fan of HAMMERFALL, RIOT, AXEL RUDI PELL, PRETTY MAIDS, LEATHERWOLF, etc. (Points: 8.6 out of 10) VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘EVIL LIVES – A TRUE METAL TRIBUTE TO BLACK SABBATH’ (CLEOPATRA RECORDS) This time the title of the CD completely covers what’s inside, because this is indeed a True Metal Tribute to the inventors of Heavy Metal. 13 bands are included, and all of them are clearly True Metalbands. With such high quality bands like ICED EARTH, PRIMAL FEAR, JAG PANZER, RACER X, STEEL PROPHET, AGENT STEEL and TWISTED TOWER DIRE, you can not go wrong on this CD, and happily it all sounds indeed very impressive. Not all bands are well-known, because there are also covers done by bands like ICARUS WITCH, FOREVER SAY DIE! and ORDER OF NINE. Most remarkable inclusion is the cover of the ultimate BLACK SABBATH song “Paranoid”, which was done by vocalist VINCE NEIL (of MOTLEY CRUE) and GEORGE LYNCH (ex-DOKKEN). We all remember the words of MANOWAR, death to False Metal, wimps and posers leave the hall! Well, with Vince singing a song on this disc, there are strong doubts about the true meaning of the CD titled, but it seems that MOTLEY CRUE have now been accepted by the Metal community, and it would not surprise me if they headline some of the biggest Metal festivals next year in Europe (even Wacken). Anyway, these 13 classic (mostly 1970s) BLACK SABBATH songs are covered very well, with as absolute highlights RACER X (“Children of the grave”), TWISTED TOWER DIRE (“Glory ride”), ICARUS WITCH (“Falling off the edge of the world”), FOREVER SAY DIE (“Sabbath bloody Sabbath” is still one of the best songs Sabbath ever recorded) and STEEL PROPHET’s “Neon knights”. Without a doubt, this CD is a must-have for any Metalfan! More info at: http://www.cleorecs.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10)
PERRIS RECORDS is known for it’s re-releases and re-issues of rare melodic hardrock and glamrockreleases from the late 80s/early 90s, and the release of this CD concerns the band GUN SHY from Philadelphia/USA. They recorded the ‘After dark’ album in the mid 1990s, and together with 8 bonustracks (including a BLACK SABBATH cover), PERRRIS RECORDS re-released this GUN SHY album. Musically we are pleased with typical late 80s classy melodic hardrock in the familiar LA style, so comparisons to bands like DOKKEN, FIREHOUSE, HEAVEN’S EDGE and also groovier acts like SKID ROW and EVERY MOTHER’S NIGHTMARE are very clear. Some might call it ‘Hair Metal’, but I rather call it the perfect cross between Glam and Melodic Hardrock, with a nice mixture of groovy guitar riffs and melodic vocals/choruses. Highlights between the 16 included tracks are “Cry in the night” (very strong midtempo melodic rocker a la DOKKEN), ”Hold on to yesterday” (very catchy fun 80s uptempo melodic rocker) and the semi-ballad “Don’t go away”. Concluded, a must-have for all fans of late 80s/early 90s US Arena Melodic Hardrock! (Points: 8.2 out of 10) VARIOUS
ARTISTS ‘THE GLAM THAT
STOLE CHRISTMAS VOLUME 1’ The month December is always a period with limited new releases, with some of the releases in this period mainly focused on the holidays, so the big labels mostly release X-Mas compilations, and in the Metalworld some labels also release X-Mas compilations. PERRIS RECORDS for example has released a X-Mas compilation filled with Glam/Partyrocksongs about Christmas. Some of the songs are almost Punk, but the message is always very positive and indeed we can find some interesting songs here by acts like LILLIAN AXE, KRISTY MAJORS of PRETTY BOY FLOYD, BIG BANG BABIES and LOUD’N’NASTY. A must-have for the Glamrockfans, but I think it’s always nice to hear during the X-Mas days! (Points: -)
Already in 1978 this legendary Australian band released their same titled debut album in their homecountry, but after it’s release it became quiet until 1980, when a UK label called CAERRERE RECORDS re-released the LP under the title ‘Rock’n’roll outlaws’. Without a doubt, the band was seen as a sort of AC/DC clone, but on the other hand their lead singer Angry Anderson had such a charisma, they were immediately popular among the Hardrock/.Metalfans, while also footballfans and motorbike drivers loved the band right away. Angry’s voice was as loud as Bon Scott or SLADE’s Noddy Holder, while musically they were firmly rooted in classic raw straight-ahead Hardrock in it’s original form, so think of KROKUS and AC/DC when hearing the name ROSE TATTOO. The band released 5 albums between 1978 and 1987, of which the first 4 have now been re-issued on CD through CAPTAIN OI! RECORDS. The band’s final album ‘Beats from a single drum’ was released in 1986, and saw a more AOR direction (due to the producer Kevin Beamish of REO SPEEDWAGON fame), with the band even scoring a huge hitsingle in Australia. However, the band split up one year later, Angry went on working with youth projects, became a cultural ambassador for his country, for which he earned the Order of Australia medal., but musically he also went on, releasing a solo-album in 1991. Towards the end of the 1990s ROSE TATTOO were asked to perform at Wacken, which eventually led to the release of a live CD, and even a new studio-CD in 2002, which went up very high in the German charts. The successful comeback of the Australian band resulted in interest in their earlier albums, and now CAPTAIN OI! RECORDS has re-released/re-issued the first 4 albums of the band. All albums are in digipack format, with a nice booklet filled with pictures, liner notes and lyrics, and last but certainly not least, each CD comes with unreleased bonustracks. ‘Rock’n’roll outlaws’ is the first CD. The 10 original tracks and a bonustrack (“Snow queen”) are included, and it is clear that this was the start, as it all sounded very raw simple back-to-basic and to say the least, very AC/DC sounding. Nevertheless it all sounded very catchy and strong, especially songs like “Nice boys”, “One of the boys”, “Remedy” and “Astra wally” are some of the best straight-ahead classic hardrock type of songs you can imagine, with the screaming vocals of Angry. Maybe it’s not their best release, it’s definitely showing how the band sounded unpolished and raw to the bone. (Points: 8.2 out of 10)
The 2nd album of ROSE TATTOO is still considered as the best record they released. The album was released back in 1981, and just like the other re-issued, also this CD release of CAPTAIN OI! RECORDS comes along with 2 bonustracks. Musically the band never sounded better than on this record, because they offered on this particular record some real high class hardrock in the shape of songs like “Out of this place”, “Let it go”, “Rock n roll is king” and “Magnum maid”. I think you maybe put this release in between AC/DC’s ‘Back in black’ and KROKUS’ ‘Metal rendez-vous’, because musically it is sometimes as good as those 2 hardrock classics. On the other hand, listening to this record makes you think who influenced who, because ROSE TATTOO also has a lot of similarities to both NAZARETH in their early days and GUNS’N’ROSES in 1987. Anyway, I think you’ll get the picture now what ROSE TATTOO sounded like at their very best. (Points: 8.6 out of 10)
4 albums of ROSE ATTTOO have been re-issued on CAPTAIN OI! RECORDS, and ‘Scarred for life’ was the band’s third album, originally released back in 1982. Now 22 years later it still sounds very fresh, although this album sounded a bit more polished than the first 2 ROSE TATTOO albums. 12 tracks are included, of which 2 are unreleased bonustracks (“Fightin’sons” and “All hell broke loose”). Of course it still had the AC/DC style written all over, but it sounded a little friendlier, which was a pity for the die-hard fans of course. Nevertheless, Angry’s voice still sounded awesome and made this album another winner in the ROSE TATTOO history. Highlights on this CD are “Who’s got the cash”, “Branded”, “It’s gonna work itself out” (best song, very catchy) and “Dead set”. (Points: 8.3 out of 10)
The 4th album ‘Southern stars’ of ROSE TATTOO already saw them moving into a more melodic direction, which was stretched out on the band’s final release ‘Beats from a single drum’ in 1986. However, this 1984 release was still typical ROSE TATTOO sounding on songs like “Death or glory”, “The radio said rock n roll is dead” and especially the fantastic bonustracks. These are “Never too loud” and “Wild one”, which both actually sound like ROSE TATTOO at their very best, very raw and straight-ahead back-to-basic Hardrock in the best AC/DC style. The third bonustrack is just the 7” single version of the album track “Freedom’s flame”. Concluded, this album sounded already slightly different and more melodic than before, but still has some great typical ROSE TATTOO raw rock’n’roll as well, with as absolute recommendation the bonustracks here, which make it worth alone purchasing this CD. CAPTAIN OI! RECORDS didn’t release the band’s 5th CD, which was by the way also released as a solo-CD of Angry, but people who want to hear how angry Angry sounded in his heydays with ROSE TATTOO should check out the 4 CDs released by CAPTAIN OI! RECORDS. More info at: http://www.captainoi.com (Points: 8.4 out of 10)
Out of Italy comes IL CASTELLO DI ATLANTE, a 5-piece band playing fantastic high class original 70s progressive rock in the style of PFM, YES, GENESIS, etc. Included are 4 very long songs (and 2 short intro’s) and without a doubt, this CD release is one of those must-have releases if you’re a fan of real progressive rock. Like I said, the songs are very lengthy, with some awesome instrumental work (keys and guitars), but also beautiful melodic lead vocals in Italian. The absolute highlight is the amazing 15 minutes counting “Questo destino”, which might be considered as the best Italo Progsong ever (!). However, I really have to hear more of the classic Italo prog, because in the 1970s loads of bands in this genre cam out of Italy, and unfortunately I have not heard many, but what I do hear on this record is very impressive, so I think every progfan needs to check out this release asap. More info at: http://www.electromantic.com (Points: 8.7 out of 10) CALLIOPE ‘GENERAZIONI’ (ELECTROMANTIC MUSIC) This CD contains 7 long songs in classic Italo 70s Progrockstyle, yet performed by 2 different bands actually. CALLIOPE is a sort of legendary Italian band, and 4 songs on this CD were recorded by the original members back in 1993, while the other 3 were recently recorded by 5 new members, so a complete new band (no original members left). The new version features a singer who has just celebrated his 20th birthday! Musically (especially the older songs) are always pure 70s prog, yet a little less keyboard orientated than most other bands, and slightly more bluesier guitarplay. I think the newer songs are better than the older stuff, because it all sounds much stronger, not to say the least, the vocals of the new younger singer Alessandro Amato are much better (and the newer songs sound more up-to-date, with plenty of keys). Songs like “Non ci credo piu” and “La terra dei grande occhi” are beautiful Neo-progtracks (close to ARENA sometimes, yet with Italian lyrics of course), which will be loved by fans of the genre. More info at: http://www.electromantic.com (Points: 8.4 out of 10)
Italian Progressive Rockmusic has a long history, only known by the underground movement. Happily, one of the newer bands in the Italo progscene, TEMPORE, released an album with 10 cover versions of songs recorded by Italian bands between 1968 and 1970. I think this is a very interesting release, because now we get to hear updated versions of old songs that are almost impossible to get for most progfans. Secondly, it is a great introduction to the impressive history of original Italian (Progressive) Rockmusic. We are talking here about songs from the 1960s and therefore do not expect long epic tunes with loads of instrumental parts. These are mostly short songs, with a focus on good strong melodies and also the vocalwork (with Italian lyrics) was very important, and I think TEMPORE has succeeded in covering these songs very well and making them sound like classic Italian progsongs. Most remarkable covers are songs by NEW TROLL (a beautiful song), TRIP (a band which once featured RITCHIE BLACKMORE on guitar back in the 60s), LA VERDE STAGIONE (a song inspired on the classical music piece by Grieg, yet with vocals added, sounds very impressive), FHOLK (very strong melodic song with a JIMI HENDRIX touch) and the LED ZEPPELIN orientated song “Neve calda” (by a group called IL BALLETTO DI BRONZO). Concluded, a must-have for anyone who wants to hear how early Italo prog/rock sounded, yet in a new updated version, but it really gives you an idea how it all started. What followed where many bands in the 1970s, with in the 90s a second generation of Italian progbands. I already look forward to volume 2 of TEMPORE’s Italian progrock encyclopedia, a very original idea for which I give them a high rating! More info at: http://www.electromantic.com (Points: 8.9 out of 10) RANDONE ‘RICORDO’ (ELECTROMANTIC MUSIC) The Italian band RANDONE is formed around vocalist/guitarist/keyboardplayer NICOLA RANDONE, who is also responsible for writing all the lyrics and music of this CD. He sings as well, together with a female singer Maria Modica, which is quite rare for classic Italian sounding prog, but it sounds very good after all. Nicola also designs most of the graphic artwork of the releases on the Italian proglabel ELECTROMANTIC MUSIC. Anyway, 6 songs are on the RANDONE CD, and it all sounds quite impressive, very typical classic 70s Italo Prog, so nice instrumental work crossed with beautiful vocal melodies. One of the absolute highlights is the 21 minutes counting opening piece “Jill”, which basically offers everything you want to hear in a classy prog piece. The other 5 songs are quite short (except for the wonderful 7 minutes counting “Giulia”), but I think the 40 minutes of playing time are enough for the fan of classic Italo Prog! More info at: http://www.electromantic.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) CANTINA
SOCIALE ‘BALENE (CÉ QUALCOSA DI PIU’
Here’s another Progressive Rockband from Italy. They are called CANTINA SOCIALE and they play a somewhat experimental kind of progressive rockstyle, which is less classic Italo prog orientated than most of the other releases on the Italian label ELECTROMANTIC MUSIC. The voice and instrumental parts are clearly wicked sometimes, but also clear Jazz influences can be heard. Nevertheless, it’s a quality CD (in digipack format), with 7 long interesting songs included. The best songs are “Macina” and “Una vela”. Recommended to fans of progrock with a twist! More info at: http://www.electromantic.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10)
We’re going back 35 years in time, when this album of the UK band EAST OF EDEN was released. Now it has finally been re-issued onto CD, so we can enjoy this underground late 60s release on CD. This CD re-issue of the 1969 album also includes 2 bonustracks from 1968 (“Waterways” and “In the stable of the sphinx demo”) and another unreleased track in the shape of the cover “Eight miles high”. For a fan of early progrock, this CD is a must-have, because songs like “Northern hemisphere”, “Waterways” and “In the stable of the sphinx” are really nice late 60s type of progressive rocksongs (with a psychedelic twist). However, the band also sounded different than most other bands in this genre, because they added a lot of Eastern and Arabic influences into their music. This made them a unique band in the progressive rockworld and especially for the year 1969 this was a remarkable release, which is not finally available on CD. More info at: http://www.eclecticdiscs.com (Points: 8.1 out of 10) EGG ‘EGG’ (ECLECTIC DISCS) In the late 60s many new experimental bands emerged out of the UK, and EGG was just one of them. EGG featured 3 talented young musicians, whom released their debut album back in 1970, which has now been re-issued on CD, along with a few bonustracks taken from a single they released in 1969. It has been 35 years, but the music still sounds up-to-date and it is clear that this is another interesting release from the early beginnings of progressive rock. The music is mostly instrumental, and I assume if you’re a fan of bands like SOFT MACHINE, ELP, ATOMIC ROOSTER, THE NICE, etc, then this might be right up your alley. You can even hear clear similarities to SPOCK’S BEARD, but then you have to consider that EGG’s recordings took place more than 3 decades earlier. Definitely a must-have for any real Progressive Rockfan! More info at: http://www.eclecticdiscs.com (Points: 8.1 out of 10)
The album ‘Space shanty’ of the band KHAN was released in 1972, and you can clearly hear that this was slightly later than the experimental releases from the period 1967-1970, because KHAN was more melodic and also added loads of Hardrock elements (groovy guitarsounds) and a comparison to URIAH HEEP can be made on several songs. This CD re-issue 32 years later contains the original 6 tracks and 2 unreleased bonustracks. Although I definitely like the earlier progressive rock releases from the late 60s, I think the somewhat later released albums, such as this fantastic KHAN, are showing a much more mature and improved sound, which fitted perfectly between the Hardrocksounds of DEEP PURPLE, LED ZEPPELIN and URIAH HEEP, and the Progressive Rock of YES and GENESIS. There’s lots of great Hammond/Organ work by session player DAVE STEWART, who had earlier released albums with EGG. Besides the impressive instrumental duals between the guitar and Hammond, there is also room for good melodic vocalwork, which made this KHAN an all-round band. The die-hard progrockfans might already know this band, but for most people this is an unknown name from the past. Happily, this fantastic CD release makes it able to win new fans, and to finally hear such a great album from 1972. I find this a much underrated album, which should have been much bigger than the underground cult it has had for more than 30 years. The 6 long original album tracks show that KHAN was a high quality band. They only put out one record in their short career, but with songs like “Space shanty”, “Stargazers” and “Stranded” it’s almost a classic in the progressive hardrock genre. Now finally available on CD, so all hunters of early prog/hardrock need to check out this awesome release. More info at: http://www.eclecticdiscs.com (Points: 8.8 out of 10) FARPOINT ‘FROM DREAMING TO DREAMING’ (INDEPENDENT) The American band FARPOINT returns with a new CD release titled ‘From dreaming to dreaming’. Musically the band is playing Melodic Progressive Rock if you’re not familiar with the band. They have a male and female singer, and it’s a pity the female singer doesn’t sing more songs, because she can really sing quite well. 11 songs are included on the CD, and it ranges from uptempo rockers, epic songs and acoustic tingled ballads, all mixed with progressive influences like 70s GENESIS. Without a doubt, the best song is the 10-minutes counting epic “Sojourn”, a beautiful melodic Neo-Progrocksong in the style of FOR ABSENT FRIENDS and the typical SI Music stuff (if anyone remembers this fantastic Symphonic Rocklabel from my hometown?). Anyway, take it from me that this is a good deal of melodic progressive rock with good guitarplaying and quality songwriting. Together with a nice looking frontcover, this CD is nice to check out for the progrockfans out there! More info at: http://www.farpointband.com (Points: 8.3 out of 10)
In the late 60s/early 70s many new UK (and German) bands emerged, and especially the progressive rockscene exploded with bands like YES, GENESIS, GENTLE GIANT, NATIONAL HEALTH, ATOMIC ROOSTER, CAMEL, CARAVAN, THE NICE, ELP, SOFT MACHINE, etc. etc. Unfortunately also many bands went unnoticed or didn’t become that big and had to wait decades for their albums to be re-issued onto CD. EGG is such a band, because their albums have just recently been re-issued on CD. ‘The Polite force’ was their 2nd album, released in 1971. This CD re-issue comes along with a nice booklet filled with liner notes. However, it’s a pity no bonustracks are included, but nevertheless I think these recordings from 30+ years ago are new for most of the progressive rockfans, so therefore bonustracks are not really that important. The original 4 album tracks are included here, and they are quite lengthy, especially the closing track “Long piece No. 3”, which takes up to 20 minutes in playing time. The 3-piece EGG split up not long after the release of this album, although a further album was released a few years later. However, this CD release is definitely giving you an idea of EGG’s experimental progressive rockmusic. Recommended to check out if you’re a progfreak! More info at: http://www.eclecticdiscs.com (Points: 8.3 out of 10)
The last few years the Swiss band SHAKRA has made an enormous progression. Right from the start I found them a great Hardrockband, but since they changed their lead singer a few years ago the band has started to sound very sensational. In fact, they are almost as good as GOTTHARD, and their tour last year through Europe in front of KROKUS was quite successful. Now there’s even a DVD release out, which contains footage from the band recorded last year in Switzerland. Without a doubt, this is a superb DVD release by one of the upcoming acts in the Melodic Hardrockscene. SHAKRA proves once again they are the next band to follow-up KROKUS and GOTTHARD as most popular Swiss band. The DVD includes a full live concert the band gave at the Z7 venue in Switzerland. All the SHAKRA classics are performed, such as “Sign in the sky”, “My life, my world”, “I will be there”, “Why don’t you call me” and “Rising high”. Next to a full concert of SHAKRA, also included is a nice interview with the band. Besides the DVD, the release comes along with a CD Audio version of the concert (except a few songs) and a sort of poster is included in the DVD tray. Concluded, this is one of those must-have DVDs, because it all looks very impressive and is really a pleasure to watch and listen. (Points: 9.0 out of 10) GENOM ‘NOT MY ENEMY’ (MUSIC AREA RECORDS) ‘Not my enemy’ is the 2nd CD of the Cologne/Germany based band GENOM. Musically they play typical German Melodic Metal. 10 songs can be found on the CD, which has a good strong professional sound/production. Sometimes they remind me of AXXIS, with the songstructures of MAIDEN and the heaviness of MANOWAR. Best songs are “Not my enemy”, “No excuse”, “Freedom fighter” and “Devil’s dice”. The band doesn’t really have an own identity, but on the other hand we can hear some decent Melodic Metal, which is good enough to have a listen every now and then. More info can be found at: http://www.genom-band.de and e-mail them at: Kontakt@genom-band.de (Points: 8.2 out of 10) JOOP
WOLTERS 'SPEED, TRAFFIC
AND GUITAR ACCIDENTS' Here’s your typical instrumental guitar product once again. Perfect to listen to while working, although nothing new is brought here, but it’s one of those CDs you put in your stereo and listen to from start to begin while doing something else (at work it works best!). Joop is a talented guitarist, and he shows on his CD a nice mixture of Hardrock, Progressive Rock and Classic Rock, somewhere a cross between JIMI HENDRIX, JOE SATRIANI and JOHN PETRUCCI, without ever getting too deep, so he’s more just playing the guitar and not really focused on a particular melodic solo in a way GARY MOORE once did. Nevertheless, the guitarfreaks are definitely gonna like this release a lot! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) KARDA ESTRA ’ALTERNATE HISTORY’ (CYCLOPS) The band KARDA ESTRA, formed around multi-instrumentalist Richard Wileman, has already released 7 albums, and ‘Alternate history’ is a sort of best of release, although also 3 unreleased tracks are included. Musically it is very peaceful music that combines influences from Progressive Rock, New Wave, Ethnic, Celtic and World Music. Richard takes care of the classical, electric and bass guitar, keyboards and percussion, while the vocals (Ileesha Bailey) and the other instruments (such as the violin, oboe, flute, cello, etc) are done by other musicians. Like I already said, the music is very calm, and it really works very relaxing. It sounds like CLANNAD on a peaceful day in the Irish landscape. Recommended for the more spiritual progrockfans among us! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) KAOS MOON ‘THE CIRCLE OF MADNESS’ (UNICORN RECORDS) This is by far one of the better releases done lately in the progressive rockscene. The Canadian band KAOS MOON was formed 2- years ago, but they split up a few years later, with the bandmembers working with different bands and projects (such as VISIBLE WIND and BLITZ). However, in the mid 1990s KAOS MOON reformed and even released their very first CD. Now another new KAOS MOON CD is released and I am glad to inform you that this is a very impressive high quality melodic progressive rockalbum, which reminds me of ENCHANT, JADIS, FATES WARNING… It’s very melodic, with beautiful vocals and strong memorable choruses, and without a doubt the 8 included songs are really sensational. I haven’t heard KAOS MOON before, but I do hope with this album they will become more known within the progressive rock community. The band is formed around singer/songwriter/drummer/Hammond-player Bernard Quellette, who is a very talented musician and clearly the driving force behind KAOS MOON. Songs like “Eternal light avenue”, “Say to me”, “Crawl” and “” are a wet dream for the fan of melodic progressive rock in the KANSAS, JADIS, ENCHANT style. Therefore I can highly recommend this release to all progrockfans out there! More info can be found at: http://www.unicornrecords.com (Points: 8.9 out of 10) VLADIMIR
BADIROV PROJECT ‘GREETING
FROM NOSTRADAMUS’ The VLADIMIR BADIROV PROJECT is based around drummer Vladimir Badirov. He has released a CD titled ‘Greetings from Nostradamus’, which is a very experimental album, combining elements of World Music, Jazz, Pop, Progressive and Celtic Music into an own style. Maybe for some it goes a little too far behind the real thoughts of progressive rock, but for the open-minded progfan this might be something interesting to check out, because it’s so different. 14 tracks are included, mostly instrumental and like I said musically very diverse and impossible to compare. More info can be found at: http://www.unicornrecords.com (Points: -) VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘UNICORN RECORDS – PROGRESSION IN BALANCE VOLUME 1’ (UNICORN RECORDS) The American progressive rocklabel UNICORN RECORDS has released a compilation CD, with 12 bands in total, each with 1 track taken from their released CD on UNICORN RECORDS. People who never checked out a release of UNICORN RECORDS should get hold of this compilation CD, because it contains some of the best the label has released so far, with as highlights MYSTERY, SPACED OUT and XINEMA. More info can be found at: http://www.unicornrecords.com (Points: -) RETROHEADS ‘RETROSPECTIVE’ (UNICORN RECORDS) The Norwegian project RETROHEADS started in 2003, and they already have released a CD on UNICORN RECORDS, the American progressive rocklabel. Although everything went by fast, and releasing a high quality CD within one year after the formation of the band is almost impossible, RETROHEADS succeeded with this CD ‘Retrospective’. The album is filled with high quality progressive rock in the style of THE FLOWER KINGS, early GENESIS, YES, ELP, etc. This is definitely one of those albums that will be praised by the ‘pure’ progressive rock orientated fans, because RETROHEADS is indeed a step back in time to the glorious early 70s progressive rockdays. Highlights among the 9 included tracks are “Earthsong”, “Judgment day” and “Taking my time”. More info can be found at: http://www.unicornrecords.com (Points: 8.3 out of 10)
EAST OF EDEN was really a very rare underground act, and their releases from the late 60s/early 70s had to wait more than 30 years before they were available on CD, but now ECLECTIC DISCS has re-issued the 1st and 2nd album of this UK band. ‘Snafu’ was their 2nd album, released in 1970. This CD re-issue comes along with 8 (!) bonustracks, making it very interesting for the collectors among us. The music of EAST OF EDEN is very experimental, combining progressive rock with all kinds of other musicstyles. Definitely a winner for the all-round progressive rockfan, who wants to hear something completely different. More info at: http://www.eclecticdiscs.com (Points: 7.9 out of 10)
Before there was the famous Italian Power Metalband RHAPSODY, there already was a band with the same name back in the 1970s in Sweden. They were formed in 1974, and throughout the 1970s they became very popular in both Sweden and Hungary, where they toured a lot back in 1977. Their album became a hit in Sweden, and it has now been re-issued onto CD by MTM MUSIC in their Classix series. The album itself contains high quality 70s Hardrock in the style of RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE and UFO. Although some might say it sounds dated, I can guarantee you it sounds damn good. The band featured a great lead singer (Benny Ahlkvist), a wonderful guitarplayer (Kjell-Ake Noren) and the hammondwork by Peter Ahs was also quite impressive. Not all songs are great, but between the 9 included tracks we can find some winners for the fans of classic 70s Melodic Hardrock, such as the RAINBOW orientated opener “I’ve done all I can”, “Been so long” (a la PRISM/APRIL WINE), “Strange vibrations” (a la DEEP PURPLE) and “Take to the highway”. I have no idea whatever to the band, but the new included bonustracks (“It’s gotta be tonight” and “Sweet rock’n’roll”) should be a sign of a reunion? Let’s hope so, because these are the best songs on the CD, both fantastic classic melodic heavy rockers in the RAINBOW/BRAZEN ABOTT style. Anyway, check out this release if you’re a fan of classic 70s Melodic Hardrock a la RAINBOW, HEEP, UFO… (Points: 8.1 out of 10)
Lead Singer MARTI PETERS is a big fan of MIKE TRAMP circa his WHITE LION years. He already tried to sound like WHITE LION on the records Marti did with PUSH, but with his new band MARTI PETERS GROUP, the Danish answer to WHITE LION continues, because the same titled debut CD on MTM MUSIC is once again filled with pure WHITE LION orientated Melodic Hardrock. The fact that Marti played as support act for MIKE TRAMP recently in Denmark is only putting more the WHITE LION copy trademark on his music, although some BRYAN ADAMS similarities can also be noticed. However, it’s not bad what we get to hear, because songs like “The best inside”, “Number 1” and “Heart is an empty space” are good melodic rocksongs, but it’s just that we heard them so much better 15 years ago on the WHITE LION records, so I am afraid this CD is not a must-have release for the melodic rockfans. Anyway, die-hard collectors can easily purchase this CD, because it’s a quality record. However, with so many new releases lined up for 2005, I think there will be a lot more better CDs available in a short time. (Points: 7.9 out of 10)
Out of Norway comes the band GREENHOUZE, which is formed around session musician/producer/multi-instrumentalist Lars Levin (SECOND HEAT) and lead singer Solli (SONS OF ANGELS). Together they created a few years ago GREENHOUZE, with whom they released this album independent sometime ago (and was already reviewed by us), but now MTM MUSIC re-released the CD worldwide. I am glad they did release the CD to a wider public now, because basically this GREENHOUZE effect is a fantastic HIGH QUALITY AOR release. The influences from the 80s are very strong, and a song like “Here in the air” has an absolutely stunning chorus, which would have been HUGE if it had been released some 20 years ago. The band clearly mixes all the 80s influences (ranging from MR. MISTER, GIANT, SIMPLE MINDS, A-HA, U2 to WHITESNAKE) into an exciting pure 80s style, which is pure AOR, yet with that typical 80s Pop approach as well. I’m a sucker for anything related to the 80s and I think GREENHOUZE has showed the way with this CD how good new 80s orientated music can sound up-to-date, fresh and sensational at the same time. It will not only appeal to the AOR fans, but I think any Pop/Rockfan will appreciate this release, and if MTM does a little good promotion here in Europe, this might actually turn out to become big. Songs like “The point”, “Here in the air”, “Train song” and “Rain” are perfect AOR meets 80s Pop/Rock type of songs, like GIANT meets HONEYMOON SUITE meets SIMPLE MINDS! Concluded, a highly recommended release! (Points: 8.8 out of 10) (All reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem) |
VISIONS OF ATLANTIS
ELIS
BLIND
DATE 
BONED
CHERRY
STREET
SLADE
GENESIS
TWELFTH
NIGHT
J.R.
BLACKMORE GROUP
J.R.
BLACKMORE
TONY
HERNANDO
L.A.
GUN
SHY
ROSE
TATTOO
ROSE
TATTOO
ROSE
TATTOO
ROSE
TATTOO
IL
CASTELLO DI ATLANTE ‘QUINT ESSENZA’
TEMPORE
‘ITALIAN PROGRESSIVE ROCK
EAST
OF EDEN ‘2 MERCATOR PROJECTED’
KHAN
‘SPACE SHANTY’
EGG
SHAKRA
EAST
OF EDEN
RHAPSODY
SWEDEN
MPG
GREENHOUZE