SECRET
SPHERE 'HEART AND ANGER' Between the hundreds of new Italo Power Metal releases every month only a few stand out between the rest, and without a doubt, the new SECRET SPHERE is one of those albums you need to check out asap, because this is a high quality release. Together with TIME MACHINE, VISION DIVINE and THY MAJESTIE they are the leaders of the second generation of Italo Prog/Power Metalbands, so leaving LABYRINTH and RHAPSODY behind, because I think everyone will admit that those 2 bands that introduced Italo Power Metal in the first place are now actually recycling themselves, because simply their old material is much better. SECRET SPHERE however has released their best record with this new album. 'Heart and anger' is filled with high class Melodic Power Metal, with some very strong memorable choruses, such can be heard in the fantastic opener "Where the sea ends" and "Faster than the storm" that both sound like a perfect cross between KAMELOT and old RHAPSODY. It's not just straight-ahead fast Power Metal what we get to hear, because SECRET SPHERE is clearly more open and diverse than the standard Italo Power Metalbands. Just listen to the fantastic big bombastic sounding Melodic Heavy Rocker "Dance with the devil", which is a superb catchy tune I don't hear a RHAPSODY or LABYRINTH making on their new records. But also the AORish ballad "You still remain" or the lovely Melodic Rocksong "I won't say a word", although the best song is probably the amazing catchy uptempo Melodic Power Metal song "Leonardo Da Vinci" which has a very strong KAMELOT resemblance. SECRET SPHERE understands that you can not make a 10-song counting fast Italo Power Metal only kinda record, because that gets boring and I think they have succeeded in releasing a consistent record that contains not only Power Metal tunes, but also clear influences from Melodic (Heavy) Rock, Opera choirs (in the fantastic song "Lights on" which has captured the best of KAMELOT and RHAPSODY in one song!) and Progressive Metal. All together this record sounds huge and is definitely better than LABYRINTH or RHAPSODY's new records. Better check it out asap! Not very far away from KAMELOT's "The black halo' when it comes down to quality! (Points: 8.9 out of 10)
CRYONIC TEMPLE 'IN THY POWER’ (LIMB MUSIC) The Swedish Metalband CRYONIC TEMPLE returns with a new CD. It’s their third album, which musically is not that different from their 2 earlier releases. Although the start of their new CD sounds a bit cliché and not really impressive, later on the CD we can find some great Melodic Metal tunes. The band hasn’t recorded a masterpiece like the other Swedish Metalheroes of for example HAMMERFALL, DREAM EVIL, NOSTRADAMEUS and NOCTURNAL RITES, but still the new album of CRYONIC TEMPLE is bringing some great new songs to their catalogue. For example the songs “Travellers in time”, “Beast slayer”and "A soldier’s tale” show that CRYONIC TEMPLE is able to create some great Melodic Metal. The closing track “Eternal flames of Metal”even sounds like a Metal anthem. Of course not the whole CD is that good, because we can also mention some weaker songs, such as the first couple of tracks, but after having lived with the CD for a couple of days it becomes better and I can easily recommend it to fans of True Metal with strong melodies. Not as good as mentioned bands, but still some great material here and there on the new CD of the Swedish band CRYONIC TEMPLE. (Points: 8.1 out of 10)
GODIVA
‘CALL ME UNDER 666’ (LIMB MUSIC)
The Swiss band GODIVA released their debut in 2002. Now they have released their 2nd album ‘Call me under 666’, which definitely sounds better than their debut. The band has a new lead singer and this is the biggest improvement they have made, because none-other than FERNANDO GARCIA sang vocals on the new GODIVA record. This ex-VICTORY shouter has a great voice and simply lifts up the quality of the new GODIVA CD. Musically the band is playing standard traditional Melodic Metal, which especially during the beginning of the CD sounds very impressive. Most of the songs are uptempo, and songs like “Hellraiser”, “Call me under 666” and the fantastic catchy “When lightning strikes” (also included as video) sound very good. Towards the end the CD starts to get a bit cliché and uninspired, which concluded results in the fact that this is not a must-have CD. However, the vocal department is very good, with Fernando even sounding like GLENN HUGHES on the album’s highlight “When lightning strikes”. This fantastic song is a definite hit and if the whole album would have been in this style, this GODIVA would have been a winner. Now it’s not as good as similar releases of DUNGEON and FIREWIND, but still interesting to check out if you like this sort of classic melodic metal. (Points: 8.3 out of 10)
The German band PAGAN’S MIND is one of the better Progressive Metal acts to arise from Europe. I think with this new album, the band may easily be put next to VANDENPLAS, THRESHOLD and BALANCE OF POWER. ‘Enigmatic calling’is their 3rd CD and it really is a high quality Melodic Progressive Metal record. The band has created an own style, which sounds like a perfect mix between old CRIMSON GLORY, QUEENSRYCHE, BALANCE OF POWER, VANDENPLAS and THRESHOLD. The band is almost in the same high class of those ProgMetal heroes. Songs like “Enigmatic mission”, “Supremacy, our kind”, “Entrance to infinity”, “Resurrection” and “New world order”. The CD is quite lengthy and I think the band has succeeded in bringing out some of their best and mst original Melodic Progressive Metal so far, which will definitely please the fans of this genre. (Points: 8.7 out of 10) LOUDNESS ‘ROCKSHOCKS’ (DREAM ON RECORDS) Besides a DVD and a new CD, the legendary Japanese Metalband LOUDNESS also has released a CD, which contains re-recordings of old LOUDNESS classics. Although they are one of the better Japanese bands of all times, the band has always struggled with their lead singers, replacing them lots of times, even hiring an American singer in the late 80s (MIKE VESCARA – ex MALMSTEEN), but despite some small success in America and The Netherlands, the band never had a bigger breakthrough than they had in Japan, where they are true legends in their own right. Anyway, their new CD was not as good as their old material, so it is nice to hear those old classics again, updated to today’s standards as they are all re-recorded with original LOUDNESS singer Minoru Niihara. It sounds very good, much better than their new CD. Highlights are the songs “Crazy night”, “Like hell”, Angel dust”, “Rock shock” and “In the mirror”. This CD proves that the band had their best moments in the 1980s, so everyone who never heard the earlier recordings of this Japanese band should check out this CD, because these re-recorded versions sound quite good and are as good as the old original versions, with the difference that the new versions rock much harder, which is a good thing I guess… (Points: 8.4 out of 10)
It’s unbelievable that these days it still is hard to get to learn all the bands that are signed to major labels in the US alone, because who has heard of MOMENTS IN GRACE? This band has been signed to ATLANTIC RECORDS, on which they released their debut (?) CD ‘Moonlight survived’. I am not sure if they had success in the USA, but in Europe not many people have heard of this band, and that’s a big pity, because their album sounds really great. I was surprised to see such a great melodic rockband signed to ATLANTIC, because this is after all a major label. The CD was mastered by good old GEORGE MARINO who did a great job at the famous Sterling Sound in New York. Although many enw US bands pop up and some of these so-called nu-breed bads are close to classy 80s melodic rock, I think this MOMENTS IN GRACE has truly captured the classy 80s sound with an updated approach at best. I can even add here that this band is one of the best I have heard the past couple of years. They play a sort of progressive melodic rock, which has similarities to a variety of bands, ranging from RUSH, HONEYMOON SUITE, HAREM SCAREM to THE RASMUS. They mix classy 80s melodic rock with progressive rock and more modern nu-breed, and the result is something that sounds like a mix of mentioned bands. The band has a fantastic singer and songs like “Stratus”, “Broken promises”, The patient”, “Distant land and longing light” and “No angels” are truly wonderful melodic rocksongs. This Cdhas a very high level and I could not find any weak song among the 12 included. Everything sounds very melodic, vocally and musically with catchy choruses all over the place. This band sounds like the American version of THE RASMUS, and I cane easily recommend it to any melodic rockfan. A must-have for HAREM SCAREM fans as well! You can buy the CD through: http://www.targetrecords.de (Points: 8.8 out of 10) VERENA ‘TAKEN UNAWARE’ (UNIVERSAL AUSTRIA) There is a lot out there, and in every country you can find a band
or artist with albums on major labels. Some are quite good and are pure
Melodic Rock, while others are less rocking, but I am quite sure a lot
of these so-called major label releases in 1 certain country are not
noticed by people from the rest of the world, despite the fact that
musically they might be interesting. For instance, we now head to
Austria, where we can find on the major label UNIVERSAL (the biggest
label in the world) a CD of a female singer called VERENA. She didn’t
write any of the 12 included songs, but used outside writers and
musicians to work with her. Happily, she is able to sing quite well,
because her voice goes straight through the speakers and you will not be
able to forget her voice, because it really is very strong. It’s a raw
voice, and so is the music here, because VERENA is taken us into bluesy
original rock which is dangerously close to a ALANNAH MYLES, SASS JORDAN
and PAT BENATAR. For the insiders, there are also songs on this CD that
remind me of CHRISSY STEELE, LEE AARON and probably the absolute closest
comparison I can make here is ZIA LINDBERG, but I am not sure if anyone
actually knows that female singer who released 1 album 10 years ago.
Anyway, midtempo rockers like “Daddy leave mommy alone”, “Close my eyes”,
“Rain” and “Ordinary monday” and the few uptempo rockers like “Blow you
away” and “Taken unaware” are all very good songs with awesome vocalwork.
A few songs are weaker (“Take it”and “Falling”), but most of the time
this CD rocks good. Some might call this a female version of JET and THE
WHITE STRIPES, but I would rather give it a CHRISSY STEELE or ALANNAH
MYLES comparison for that matter. Rock Chick from Austria wearing a THE
ALMIGHTY T-shirt rocks hard on her CD, which has been released by the
mighty UNIVERSAL MUSIC in Austria, so only available as import or do
yourself a favor, book a trip to this wonderful country, which I myself
visited twice so far and I am sure I will return there someday, maybe
then meet this tough girl VERENA. You can buy the CD through:
http://www.targetrecords.de
ME AND THE REST ‘ANOTHER STEP’ (KB MANAGEMENT) ME AND THE REST is a band from Switzerland playing your typical Swiss Hardrock in the style of KROKUS, SHAKRA and GOTTHARD, although I also heard clear comparisons to BRITNY FOX and GUNS’N’ROSES here and there. 5 songs are on their demo CDR, of which the absolute highlight is “It’s a long way to the top” which is the song KROKUS has failed to make the past 15 years. The rest of the CDR will please the fans of real original early 80s straight-ahead Hardrock. Must-have for KROKUS fans! More info at: http://www.meandtherest.ch (Points: 8.1 out of 10) IRONY ‘PROMO CDR 2005’ (KB MANAGEMENT) The German band IRONY surprised me with a 3-track new demo CD, which actually sounds very impressive. The band has a great lead singer, and the 3 songs are very good. The band is playing typical German Melodic Power Metal in the style of ICED EARTH, BRAINSTORM, PRIMAL FEAR… The band has a classy sound, strong vocals and some very catchy choruses. “Satanic” and “War” are both great Melodic Power Metal tracks and they sound like if they are taken from a NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS release, so we are definitely listening to a high quality band here. The third song is “Living in darkness”, a more Melodic Hardrock orientated song in the style of AXXIS, EDGUY, SCORPIONS… Concluded, a great band to check out, probably one that could end up on a major label someday. More info at: http://www.ironyweb.de (Points: 8.3 out of 10) MORON ‘QUINTA ESSENTIA PROMO CDR’ (KB MANAGEMENT) What do we have here then, well, MORON is a German band who are about to release their debut CD soon, but this is a sneak preview. 3 songs are on the CDR, which musically is good Melodic Progressive Metal. Vocally the band is moving into EDGUY territory, yet with a slight accent. Sadly the songs are not strong enough to make an impression. Despite the big sound and the fact that instrumental everything sounds well with MORON, the 3 included songs on this demo CDR are not strong enough. Maybe their upcoming full length CD will be better. More info for now at: http://www.moron.here.de (Points: 7.8 out of 10) DECEIVER ‘RIDING WITH THE REAPER’ (IRONFIST PRODUCTIONS) This is a Swedish band and musically we can hear a sort of VENOM type of Black Metal, so it’s not totally Black Metal, but more a sort of 80s Thrashy NWOBHM style with aggressive vocalwork, just like VENOM did 20+ years ago on albums like ‘Welcome to hell’ and ‘Black Metal’. However, those albums are classics in a lost genre, and DECEIVER is only interesting if you really consider VENOM and BATHORY to your favourite acts, because the 10 songs on this band’s latest CD is after a few tracks getting a bit boring, because most of the songs sound the same. Instrumental it’s good, but vocally the aggressive lead vocals are a bit annoying after a while. Only interesting for die-hard VENOM fans! (Points: 7.5 out of 10) CARNIVAL IN COAL ‘COLLECTION PRESTIGE’ (EARACHE/ROUGH TRADE) A French band, but not really interesting, because they play a very weird mix of Hardcore, Nu-Metal and Black Metal. MR. BUNGLE, MORDED, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES are the kind of nanes that come to mind here, but apart from a few nice songs, I am afraid this CARNIVAL IN COAL has not much too offer for the ‘melodic’ fans. (Points: 5.5 out of 10) WATCHMAKER ‘HILL.FUCKING.EVERYONE’(EARACHE/ROUGH TRADE) Should we take this American band for serious, because their 19 tracks on ‘Hill.fucking.everyone’ are worthless fast Hardcore Thrashcore Black Metal. Very short songs with zero melody and very boring towards the end. I have nothing more to say… (Points: 3.0 out of 10) CAPHARNAUM ‘FRACTURED’ (EARACHE/ROUGH TRADE) The label EARACHE is known for it’s Hardcore releases. There’s nothing melodic about their albums. Also the latest release CAPHARNAUM is bringing you straight-ahead fast Hardcore/Black/Thrash-Metal with very aggressive screamo vocals, which after a few songs seems pointless. (Points: 2.0 out of 10) CROWPATH ‘RED ON CHROME’ (EARACHE/ROUGH TRADE) I wonde why they have named this band CROWPATH, because CROWBAR would have been better! Both bands are making the terrible mix of Hardcore and Black Metal, so no originality and also very disturbing Black-Metal screams all the time. (Points: 1.5 out of 10) CANDIRIA ‘WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU’ (EARACHE/ROUGH TRADE) This US band is another new band in the Nu-Metal genre. This means once again that we are dealing here with a copycat of bands like KORN, LIMP BIZKIT, etc. Only interesting for those of you who want to hear a sort of Alternative type of Metalstyle. Instrumental they sound better than the average Nu-Metalband, but that doesn’t mean they are interesting enoguh to check out, because after all they play the kind of Metal which is ignored on our pages. (Points: 6.9 out of 10)
The New York based band FROGG CAFE has been on the scene for quite some years now and they are about to release their 4th CD ‘Fortunate observer of time’. They started in 1998 as a ZAPPA TRIBUTE band, but through the years they have developed themselves into a progressive rockband which musically goes back to a time when bands like JETHRO TULL, YES, GENESIS, PFM, LE ORME, GENTLE GIANT, NEKTAR were releasing records on and off, so we are talking here about pure 70s progressive rock. The CD is definitely a must-have for fans of these bands, because what we get to hear is non-stop 60 minutes of very high quality progressive rock, with as absolute highlight the fantastic KANSAS inspired melodic progrocker “Reluctant observer”. The band should be put next to GLASS HAMMER, another US band playing 70s Progressive Rock at a very high level, although I need to add here that FROGG CAFE is adding some Jazzy elements to their prog as well, due to the use of trombones and congas to a couple of their songs. I am quite sure fans of the genre will absolutely love the new FROGG CAFE CD, which will be released late June on the quality label PROGROCK RECORDS. (Points: 8.3 out of 10) THE VOW ‘DEVIL IN DISGUISE’(INDEPENDENT) Unbelievable that there are still very good bands unsigned out there. For example this THE VOW, a band from Germany with already a couple of releases under their wings. They now have released a new CD, which is titled ‘Devil in disguise’. This album happens to be a fantastic Neo-Prog album in the style of 80s FISH era MARILLION, IQ, early ARENA and early JADIS. Without a doubt, this new THE VOW album can easily be mentioned along those acts and the fact that they hail from Germany makes them even more interesting, because usually such progbands come out of the UK. Anyway, the band has a fantastic lead singer, which is bandleader and keyboardplayer HOLGER GOETZ (who reminds me somehow of ROY KHAN of KAMELOT!), and the 8 included songs are definitely lovely neo-progsongs with some very strong melodies here and there. The most impressive track has got to be the closing track “Trojan add-on”, which is a 30-minutes counting epic masterpiece. I think with this new album, THE VOW easily can compete with the other German bands in this genre (SYLVAN, EVERON and NEKTAR). The songs are with the exception of “Trojan add-on” not that long (5 minutes) and I even think a melodic rock/aor fan might like the album, because THE VOW does not only bring beautiful Neo-progsongs, but they truly have a good sense for strong melodies that would not be out of place on an AOR release (for instance the songs “Talking pictures” and “Hold on to your dreams”. I am convinced any musicfan will like this album, because it just bursts out with high quality music and with a total playing time of 70 minutes it should please you for a long time. More info at: http://www.thevow.de and e-mail them at: holger-thevow@gmx.de (Points: 8.6 out of 10) IMAGE ‘DROWNING IN THE SEA OF LIFE/RAZOR’S EDGE’ (INDEPENDENT) Very strong 80s Classic US Metal is what we can hear on the 2 CDs of the band IMAGE, who are coming out of the Boston area. I also heard some strong similarities to the NWOBHM movement from 25 years ago, refering to acts like SAXON, TYGERS OF PAN TANG, OMEN, GRIM REAPER and actually WARLORD also comes to mind when listening to IMAGE. Without a doubt, this is a fantastic band to check out, because both their CDs are filled with top notch classic 80s metal with good vocalwork and superb musicianship, while songs like “Tyrant”, “Sumthin”’, Waiting” and “Seeker returns”. Somehow the most recent CD ‘’Razor’s edge’ is moving more into the classic SAVATAGE, ARMORED SAINT, 80s FATES WARNING, METAL CHURCH kinda style, which of course isn’t a bad thing at all. Concluded, this IMAGE is bringing out the best in True 80s Metalstyle, so be sure to check out this band at: http://www.imageband.com (Points: 8.3 out of 10)
Norwegian guitarist TOR TALLE released a solo-record sometime ago, which was filled with good strong bluesy AOR rock. Now he has a new project called NORTHERN LIGHT, which brings us a pure 80s AOR sound. He gathered a bunch of well-known, mostly Scandinavian, musicians around him and MTM MUSIC has released the CD they have recorded. Especially the vocal department has been filled in by some of the great AOR voices out there today, such as the legendary FERGIE FREDERIKSEN (LE ROUX/TOTO) and newcomers like Kimmo Blom (HEARTPLAY, URBAN TALE), Peter Sundell (PROMOTIONL, GRAND ILLUSION), Rob Moratti (FINAL FRONTIER) and even TONY MILLS of SHY sings 2 songs. The vocal list is impressive, but also instrumental it sounds good, although no really big names can be mentioned here, because with the exception of Fredrik Berg of STREET TALK on keys, the other musicians are rather unknown. However, with such great AOR singers you simply can not go wrong and I guess TOR TALLE and co. didn’t make a single mistake, because from start to finish this is great high quality AOR. Some might call this CD AOR by the numbers and add that each riff and chorus has been hired from the big 80s US AOR Book, but they forget one thing and that’s the fact that also this new project has some great music to offer, regardless it’s nothing new what we get to hear here. I and probably every AOR fan will at least like something of this CD, because it is an enjoyable record after all. 12 songs are included, and although the tracklisting on the CD is printed in the wrong running order it is great to hear some of today’s best singers on a single CD. Highlights are “I will follow you” (strong 80s midtempo AOR), “While there still time” (lovely uptempo AOR rocker a la SHY, JOURNEY, SURVIVOR), “Eye to eye” (very impressive superb 80s midtempo AOR, a near-classic in this genre) and “Living on a lie” (fantastic classic 80s uptempo AOR). Concluded, a must-have release for the AOR fans among us, despite the fact that nothing new is brought here… (Points: 8.5 out of 10)
I never thought I would actually review this AOR Classic, but Stan’s own label LA RECORDS has copies (professional CDR copies) available, which is nice to hear I guess, because after all this STAN BUSH CD is very hard to get. I am quite sure some people haven’t got a copy yet, so this is the time to check out one of the highlights from the late 80s. In 1983 STAN BUSH delivered his first album, which is another classic in the AOR genre, and even before that release, Stan had recorded an LP with the band BOULDER in 1979, so in the 10 years before the 1987 album Stan had already been doing a lot musically. Anyway, in the mid 1980s the Cartoon TV series of TRANSFORMERS were very popular and somehow somewhere STAN BUSH recorded a song for the movie of the same name, which was the song “The touch”. Through this cartoon he got in touch with THE BARRAGE, with whom he recorded the same titled 1987 album. This album is for many AOR fans a dream come true, because who can ignore such legendary AOR tunes like “Primitive lover”, “Crank that radio”, “Gates of paradise”, “Take it like a man”, “Do you remember”, “The touch” and of course the ballad “Love don’t lie”which was made famous by HOUSE OF LORDS several years, but STAN ‘The Man’BUSH originally wrote and recorded the song on his 1987 record. Afforementioned songs are all classic AOR tunes, so needless to say the fact that this CD deserves a high rating. Available through: http://www.larecords.com (Points: 9.3 out of 10) THE FORECAST ‘LATE NIGHT CONVERSATIONS’ (VICTORY RECORDS) Another new breed/emo-rockband from The States. I believe THE FORECAST is coming out of the US state Nebraska, and I can’t remember too many bands coming from there. Anyway, their CD is filled with very melodic rockmusic which of course sits nicely between all the other new bands from the USA, so a poppy rhythm and catchy choruses. The difference however is that THE FORECAST has both a male and female singer. I think the female singer has the strongest voice, but somehow the male singer gets away with it in singing most of the songs. 10 catchy melodic rocksongs in today’s approach (read: COLLECTIVE SOUL, JIMMY EAT WORLD, MATCHBOX 20, SIR 71) is what we can hear on this THE FORECAST album. Not bad at all, but only interesting for the die-hard Nu-Breed.Emorock style… (Points: 8.0 out of 10)
In Norway the band RETURN is a legendary band that might be even more well-known in Norway than the acts we know from Norway best (read: TNT, JORN LANDE, STAGE DOLLS). Anyway, they had one of the biggest hitsingles ever in Norway (“Sing me a song” spent over a year in the Norwegian charts some 20 years ago), but also their albums sold very well (over 70,000 copies). They managed to release about 8 albums, and now after a long break they return to the scene with a full new CD on the German label MTM MUSIC. Muisically not much has changed, because the album starts with a couple of great AOR.Melodic Rocksongs in a true 80s spirit. I am talking about songs like “Every little step”, “Save the heart” and “All the way”. After track 4 the level goes down a bit wih average songs like “All that I see” and “Fallen angel”.Not saying you should avoid this album, because with the already mentioned first 3 songs and “Mr. President” and “Heroes and knights” the band shows they are a great Melodic Rockband which combines the best elements of EUROPE with a bit of today’s Melodic Nu-Breed from the USA (especially the song “TV-song”) . So after all they sound like a mix between the 80s melodic rock and today’s emorock. Still not very much changed regarding their earlier records. Recommended to fans of 80s Scandi Melodic Rock! (Points: 8.2 out of 10)
The London based band SABRE was active in the early 80s during the NWOBHM movement. They never were able to release an alum, but now some 25 years later there is a CD available of SABRE, which include most of their recordings, taken from various demos they released in the early 80s. Musically it is prime-time early 80s pre-historic Metal, not unlike a SAXON or RAVEN in their early days, but also clear similarities to OZZY OSBOURNE (“Fighting talk”) or even THIN LIZZY (“Wounded heart”). 13 songs have been restored and put carefully on the CD. The band also featured GEOFF GILLESPIE on bass, who is as most of you might know the label manager of MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS, which is the label that released the SABRE CD. A nice document captured on CD, which is a must-have for any NWOBHM fan out there, but you should not mind a slightly weaker sound quality here and there, due to the fact that these are basically demos from 25 years ago. Last note I need to add that the band had various singers, including JOHN WARD, who later ended up fronting SHY for a short while in the early 90s. Check it out if NWOBHM is your taste… (Points: 7.8 out of 10) VALERIAN ‘INTIMATIONS OF SORROW’ (CITY CANYONS RECORDS) Out of Finland comes VALERIAN, a band which has made a 3-record deal with a Manhattan/New York based label. Musically they play a sort of typical Finnish Rockstyle, which is not that very far away from HIM, THE RASMUS and even HANOI ROCKS, yet the band has created a sort of own style, which is melodic and combines elements of 80s Goth Rock (THE CULT), Sleazy Hardrock (LA GUNS) and Melodic Rock (like we have heard it from THE RASMUS recently). The CD the band has been released is filled with 10 good clean quality tracks, which find it’s highlights in the songs “Homesick”, “Ain’t cryin’ for you” and the very catchy “Never bring me down”. The only time the band dissapoints is when they slow things down for a ballad (“Mine forever” and “Angel of death”) which sadly reminds me of NIRVANA. I would say, check out this band for yourself at: http://www.citycanyons.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10)
The way I see it is like this. First there were bands like DEEP PURPLE, LED ZEPPELIN and AEROSMITH. Then came a band like LEGS DIAMOND, which combined the best of these 3 bands and remained a very underrated band in Rock history. In the 1980s bands like GREAT WHITE and FASTWAY received much greater success, despite the fact that they were doing what LEGS DIAMOND was doing 10 years earlier in the mid-late 70s. The band also has 4 different periods, which are the late 70s beginning of the band with 3 domestic 70s type of Hardrock releases. Then came a long pause until the mid 80s AOR/Melodic Rock period of the band when they were going into a slightly lighter keyboard hookline driven AOR direction. In the early 90s there was another comeback of the band with them returning to their classic melodic hardrocksound of the 1970s updated with WHITESNAKE type of metarial. After 1994 I became once again very quiet, but recently the band has reformed, yet without original lead singer RICK SANFORD, which is the 4th period of LEGS DIAMOND. Gigs are planned and even a new album is in the can. Reason for MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS to keep on releasing LEGS DIAMOND material, which is a good thing, because not many people are aware of this legendary band that never received the success they deserved so much. The latest LEGS DIAMOND release is the first in a enw series, which is called ‘Favourites volume ‘, containing songs that the band loved the most. This first volume 1 conains not that many tracks from their first 3 70s releases, which I truly hope to see re-issued on CD someday soon, because they are impossible to obtain nowadays. However, it is a very nice collection of songs from all periods, so you have 70s classic hardrock, 80s aor, 90s melodic hardrock and even 2 new tunes (“Loneliness” and “This time around”, which need to be said are the weakest songs on offer here). Highlights include the fantastic “Woman” (a true classic 70s semi epic rockballad a la LED ZEPPELIN and Y&T), “Fugitive” (a very strong midtempo AOR song), “Walk away” (classy 80s AOR), “Winds of fortune” (from their recently unreleased sessions CD) and the 90s released songs “The wish” (superb tune with lovely guitarwork) and “I am for you”. Concluded, this is a very good collection CD to start any LEGS DIAMOND album, although we miss some more songs of the early records as well as the band’s best with if you haven’t got song ever (“Nobody’s fool”, which is a deadringer for fans of WHITE SISTER!). Nevertheless, interesting to check out for rockers who are unfamiliar with LEGS DIAMOND, but also LEGS fans, because of the 2 new songs. (Points: 8.5 out of 10) ENERTIA ‘FORCE’ (INDEPENDENT/NIGHTMARE DISTRIBUTION) It’s not hard to tell where this band is coming from, because ENERTIA is playing very raw groovy Metal, which even reminds me of METALLICA here and there. While listening to their CD ‘Force’ I could clearly hear this was an American band that reminded me of NEVERMORE, but also had similarities to PANTERA (“Messed up son”), so that means that they are an Aggressive Metal band, although they certainly have plenty of good melodies in their songs, such as in “Bleed”. However, not the whole CD is convincing, because it has that very aggressive American Metal attitude with such raw vocals. That doesn’t mean it is a bad album, because it certainly is a quality record, but it just isn’t strogn enough the whole record. Nevertheless, a nice album to check out if you’re into American type of Metal. Distribution in the US through: http://www.nightmare-records.com (Points: 7.7 out of 10)
The Australian band VANISHING POINT returns with a new CD, which is their 3rd I believe. It may sound like a cliché, but I really think this new album is their strongest effort so far. Musically they still play high class Melodic Progressive/Power Metal, which has similarities to bands like VANDENPLAS, BALANCE OF POWER, ARTENSION, VISION DIVINE, LABYRINTH and especially SYMPHONY X, yet less Neo-Classical. The melodies and the choruses in the songs are very sensational sometimes, and the 13 tracks are really a pleasure to listen to. Songs like "My virtue", "If only", "Live 2 live", "Somebody save me" and "Once a believer" are lovely pieces of Melodic Progressive Metal with fantastic strong choruses. The band even has a couple of AOR songs to offer, such as the beautiful midtempo "Reason". I am safe to say that we have a winner on our hands with the new VANISHING POINT CD. Fans of mentioned bands need to check out this CD a.s.a.p.! (Points: 8.8 out of 10) ALICE’S GARDEN ‘ALICE’S GARDEN’ (INDEPENDENT) Another typical American Metal album from a band called ALICE’S GARDEN, who hail from Florence/Oregon/USA. They have a 12-track CD out, which should please fans of OZZY/BLACK SABBATH, because that’s probably the best comparison I can come up with. There’s also some PRIEST similarities to be heard, so actually we are talking here about British influenced Metal, but somehow I define 80s US Metal being mainly influenced by PRIEST and OZZY, but it went out an own way, which resulted in a new sort of subgenre called US Metal. This band is playing the kind of 80s US Power Metal that sounds like ARMORED SAINT, VICIOUS RUMORS, METAL CHURCH… Fans of those bands need to check out this band when e-mailing them at: alchemistrecords@sbcglobal.net (Points: 7.5 out of 10) SONS OF JONATHAS ‘THE DEATH DEALER’ (APACHE PRODUCTIONS/SUBURBAN) Guitarist Xavier Carion of the Belgian band SONS OF JONATHAS was one of the original members of the band CHANNEL ZERO, a highly praised band in the early 90s. However, I always found them too much of a PANTERA clone, but Xavier was definitely a fantastic guitarist, which can also be heard on the CD of his new band SONS OF JONATHAS. Instrumental therefore it sounds very good, and actually it would have been much better if Xavier had released a full instumental record instead of this CD, because vocally we can hear nothing but endless death metal growls/screams. A comparison to KREATOR is not out of place, and fans of Thrash Metal with Death Growls will definitely like this CD, but after a while it gets boring and therefore like I said before I would prefer an instrumental record of Xavier, because he definitely shows that he is a wonderful guitarist. More info at: http://www.apacheproductions.com (Points: 7.6 out of 10) SANDALINAS ‘LIVING ON THE EDGE’ (NIGHTMARE RECORDS) I don’t have much info on SANDALINAS, but they are a band made up of various European musicians, and their debut CD ‘Living on the edge’ was produced by ANDY LA ROQUE (KING DIAMOND). Leader of the band is songwriter/guitarist JORDI SANDALINAS. Musically we can hear very strong Melodic Hardrock that is not that far away from AT VANCE. Highlights between the 10 included songs are “Living on the edge”, “If it wasn’t for you”, “Back in time” (very strong) and “The conqueror”. Not a sensational release, but good enough to check out if you’re a Melodic Hardrockfan. Distribution in the US through: http://www.nightmare-records.com (Points: 8.2 out of 10)
I don’t really understand what the reason was for releasing this CD, but it is a compilation CD of UFO related songs recorded by side-projects of the UFO members. Of course songs of WAYSTED, PETE WAY and the PAUL RAYMOND PROJECT are included here. Most of the songs are taken directly from the recods that were previously released by MAJESTIC ROCK. Most interesting are the 2 PAUL RAYMOND PROJECT songs, which were sung by Phil Mogg, making those songs true UFO tunes actually (of which one is the UFO cover “Lights out”). The relation with both SNOWBLIND and ALASKA is indirect, because none of the current UFO line-up members were in those bands (as far as I remember). Anyway, a nice collection, which might be interesting for the UFO collector. I am glad to see the best UFO related track ever (WAYSTED’s “Heaven tonight” with a very young DANNY VAUGHN on vocals) included here, although the real TYKETTO fans will probably already have purchased last year’s re-issue of that particular WAYSTED album ‘Save your prayers’, which seems to be ignored nowadays by UFO bassist PETE WAY… (Points: - )
The UK AOR band DEADLINE has released a new CD titled ‘Mind the step’. Musically they are playing typical British AOR that is not far away removed from what bands like AIRRACE, ATLANTIC, FM, PASSION STREET, MORITZ etc. were doing some 10-15 years ago. Although DEADLINE is not as good as those bands, they have managed to release a great album. Vocally Steve Lunn reminds me a lot of Steve Overland, so passionate vocalwork is what we can hear, while the music is pure 80s AOR/Melodic Rock. Actually if you liked BONRUD, the US band that released an album on FRONTIERS RECORDS last year, then you will absolutely love DEADLINE, because these 2 bands are in the exact same kind of 80s AOR style. It’s fun, it’s melodic and it rocks. Best songs are uptempo classic 80s catchy AOR rockers like “Out of reach”, “Just one night”, “Love’s a battle” and ”Love won’t fade away” (very good). Maybe not the best AOR release of 2005, but definitely one to check out if you’re into any of the mentioned bands, which I am quite sure most AOR fans will like. (Points: 8.3 out of 10) STRATOVARIUS ‘MONSTERMETALMADNESS’ (SANCUARY RECORDS/SUBURBAN) 2004 was an incredible year for STRATOVARIUS, the Finnish band released 2 CDs, signed a million dollar contract with SANCTUARY RECORDS, then got into a fight with each other, resulting in bandleader TIMO TOLKKI (besides being treated for psychologic problems wih himself) recording an album with a female singer and a drastic musical change for STRATOVARIUS, but eventually that album would never be released, because earlier this year the band came back together again and now a new STRATOVARIUS has been recorded and mixed. The official CD release of ‘MonsterMetalMadness’ will be in early September, but the labels already sent out promos for what should be one of the biggest releases in history for the UK label SANCTUARY RECORD. At first they were afraid to have signed a band without a future, but it seems everything has settled down in the STRATOVARIUS camp and now a new album is on it’s way, although the official release will be done in 3 months from now. Besides this new CD, the band is ready for a world tour the coming winter. Well, much talked about, but now we have to review the new STRATOVARIUS CD, which needs to be said marks a new period of the band. Musically it is a slight change, especially in the vocal department, because singer Timo Kotipelto doesn’t sing that high anymore. The result of all the things that have happened with STRATOVARIUS the past year is a very dark epic bombastic album, with only a few songs that go back to the old happy STRATO style (“Just carry on” is obviously one of those songs). The new CD was already a big discussion within the SANCTUARY RECORDS camp months before it was recorded, because one of the songs Timo Tolkki had written handled about Adolf Hitler. Timo T. actually wanted to call the song “Hitler”, but it all turned out that the label didn’t want such a song on the album, so the result of that ‘problem’ was that the song was renamed to “Gotterdammerung (Zenith of power) with changed lyrics and the Hitler speech moved backwards towards the end of the song. STRATOVARIUS has never had so much exposure as they had the past 2 years, but in September this new CD wll be released and of course the fans of the band will love it. I need to add here that the CD is not as good as their classics ‘Infinity’ and ‘Visions’, because simply said the 9 included songs are not that sensational. That doesn’t mean this new album is an average release, because it is by far a huge sounding Melodic Metal record. I think the coming months will be a good time to listen to the CD over and over again to make up a good judgement, but after the first few spins it sounded different, darker and heavier than ever. Not many uptempo songs can be found on the CD, because most of the time it is midtempo bombastic epic Metal what we get to hear. The start of the CD is surprising, because opener”Maniac dance” is an uptempo raw melodic heavy rocker that somehow sounds like a EDGUY leftover, so definitely not one of the strongest songs STRATOVARIUS ever recorded. Up next is “Fight!!!”, which is a much better uptempo Melodic Power Metal tune, but the real highlight comes next in the shape of “Just carry on”. This song should have been a better opener I think, and without a doubt it is a good single to start with soon. The song is classic STRATOVARIUS/HELLOWEEN type of uptempo Melodic Happy Metal with a sing-a-long chorus. And actually from this track on, the album starts to sound huge and is as good as the last couple of STRATOVARIUS releases. Besides “Just carry on”, other highlights are “Gypsy in me” (uptempo melodic metal) and the closing 2 midtempo epic bombastic metal tunes “Leave the tribe” and “United” (with great sing-a-long chorus). Concluded after 50 minutes the new STRATOVARIUS has enough to offer for the fans of the band, but I think it’s an album you have to listen to a few times more, although I don’t think it will have the same impact as the classic ‘Visions’ and ‘Ininity’ albums from the late 90s. Still, this is an album to look out for in September. STRATO strikes back with an album that definitely puts them back in shape and probably might attract new fans. The upcoming tour will proof if they will be able to keep this restart going into the future, but in the meantime the upcoming new album shows they are still able to make good music together. (Points: 8.7 out of 10)
Female singer SUZA LEON is the wife of guitarist/vocalist GREG LEON, of whom we also reviewed a CD. GREG LEON also plays most of the instruments and co-wrote most of the songs on the debut CD of SUZA. Musically Greg’s album was 80s melodic rock a la DOKKEN, but Suza’s album is more 80s female fronted AOR/Melodic Poprock orientated. The CD of SUZA is musically going back to the glorious 80s female fronted AOR/Melodic Rockof TONE NORUM, CINDY CRUSE, WITNESS, DONNA CHRISTY and that sort of classy AOR. The album is titled ‘Sweet freedom’, and this is also one of the songs on the CD, which happens to be the URIAH HEEP song, so SUZA covered this rather unusual HEEP tune. However, she did a great job, and in fact, the whole CD is very impressive actually, pure 80s female fronted AOR that reminds me a lot of mentioned acts. Highlights on the CD are theuptempo classy 80s AOR rockers “Boy toy”, “Stay with me tonight”, “Fire and ice” (great guitarwork) and “Don’t break my heart”. Most remarkable song is definitely “Innocence”, because this song was actually first recorded by a Canadian group called HARLEQUIN in the early 80s, so why on earth it ends up on this CD is really remarkable, a big surprise, but really interesting anyway, because it is a great AOR song after all. Anyway, anyone who likes classy 80s female fronted AOR/Melodic Rock should check out this SUZA asap! More info at: http://www.rockmyworld.org (Points: 8.4 out of 10) GARY MEYERS ‘A FLAMENCO JOURNEY’ (NEW LEAF OPTICAL) Guitarist GARY MEYERS from Colorado, USA was first influenced by the likes of STEVE VAI, MALMSTEEN, RANDY RHOADS and EDDIE VAN HALEN, but lately he has discovered flamenco guitarists such as Rene Heredia who influenced him so much he decided to record a full solo-album circulated around the Spanish Flamenco Guitar. Of course it’s something you have to hear and check before deciding wether you are interested in purchasing the CD. It’s done by heart and I clearly think it’s a high quality album. For a rocker there is nothing to be found here, but a music fan might actually like this a lot, because it is something different. Gary was a Metal guitarist who turned into acoustic flamenco music, interesting topic and it can be heard on his CD ‘A flamenco journey’. More info at: http://www.MMCStaff.com and e-mail at: gmeyers@mmcstaff.com (Points: 7.9 out of 10) LIFETRON ‘BRAIN TAR/PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS JUST A TV-SHOW’ (INDEPENDENT) A couple of albums by a band called LIFETRON, who hail from the USA. LIFETRON was started 10 years ago by Henry Tarnecky and Mike Mililo, who are responsible for playing all instruments on their albums. Actually these are just a couple CDs I received of the duo, because it seems they have released about 10 albums so far. Anyway, musically we get to hear a sort of mix between 70s progressive rock, 80s artrock, electronic music and quirky poprock, but most of the time it sounds like a Neo-Progband going poppy. Some songs do remind me a lot of TWELFTH NIGHT actually, although there is some more quirkiness involved here and there. I think the albums of LIFETRON will be interesting to check out if you like typical Neo-Prog in the 80s style with a sort of PETER GABRIEL type of singer. Please be aware that sometimes the band also goes into an experimental 80s Pop/New Wave direction, with an irritating drumconputer, so you can not call this band 100% prog, but still I am sure that neo-progfans (especially the SI MUSIC label releases from 10+ years ago) need to check out LIFETRON at: http://www.Lifetron.net and e-mail them at: Lifetron@csrlink.net (Points: 7.9 out of 10) SUNS OF MARCH ‘BULLETPROOF HEART EP’ (INDEPENDENT) It’s a pity only 4 tracks are included on the EP of the Alabama based band SUNS OF MARCH, because they do sound quite good. The band has shared the stage with acts like LOVERBOY, MCQUEEN STREET, JOAN JETT and others, while they worked with producer RODNEY MILLS (38 SPECIAL, JOURNEY). Musically the band is playing Melodic Rock with a strong 80s influence, but it’s updated to today’s standards. The 4 songs on this EP are all very good catchy fun melodic rockers that remind me a bit of SHARK ISLAND actually. The line-up of the band is quite surprising, because besides lead singer/guitarist Michael Wright we can also find members who play organ and fiddle/mandolin, which is unusual for Rockband, but somehow it sounds very nice. The calmer songs on their EP are a bit too much sounding like 3 DOORS DOWN (especially “San Jose”), the overhyped US band, but I still think this SUNS OF MARCH has enough to offer to become better known and show their own face such as on the great rockers “Bulletproof heart” and “I learned it from you”. Looking forward to a full-length CD, because now this EP only has a couple of interesting songs to offer. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.sunsofmarch.com and e-mail them at: todd@michaelwright.com (Points: 7.8 out of 10) BOMBSHELL CRUSH ‘BOMBSHELL CRUSH’ (INDEPENDENT) Always great to hear a new US band playing a style which grabs back to America’s glorious rockpast instead of playing the music of the US trend followers. This BOMBSHELL CRUSH is really playing classic American Rock, which is a mix of groovy guitar riffs (AEROSMITH, GUNS’N’ROSES) and strong catchy melodies. Just listen to opener “Get away” and you’re hooked, because this uptempo melodic party rocker has a deadly catchy chorus and cool VAN HALENish guitarwork that all make you want to get away to the classic 80s LA Sunset Strip Glam/Party Hardrock days. Back to reality, because after all BOMBSHELL CRUSH hail from Tenessee, and some songs also sound like a mix between ENUFF’Z’NUFF and BLACK CROWES, so it’s not all melodic and 80s Hair Metal/Hardrock what we hear, but also some more rawer rock material can be heard, although also this material sounds melodic enough for the rockers out there. However, when the band throws in an uptempo rocker it all gets back to high class catchy 80s fun melodic rock (a la DANGER DANGER), such as in the songs “Get away”, “Green”, “Back to me” (strong chorus) and “Only in my head” (very catchy melodic chorus), so needless to say that these are the best songs. The band also sent me a 6-track sneak preview of their upcoming new CD, which already sounds very promising. I am safe to say here that we have got a great little band here to check out if you’re into bands like DANGER DANGER, BULLET BOYS, DIRTY BLONDE..., but also if you like SR-71, because after all these bands are all closely to each other musically. More info at: http://www.bombshellcrush.com and e-mail at: chhurt@comcast.net (Points: 8.2 out of 10)
20 years ago vocalist Dave Hoover of the American band DIMENSION X already started singing in bands, and through the years he met the other members of DIMENSION X, but the name of this new band only emerged in 2001.They had recorded an EP before, but this ‘So… this is earth’ album is their first full length CD. Musically we get to hear high class melodic progressive rock/metal like a mix between ENCHANT, RUSH and SYMPHONY X, yet still with a strong own identity. Opener “Why” shows we are dealing here with something really good and professional. This opening track is a fantastic strong cathy uptempo melodic progressive rocker with a lovely chorus and very good emotional lead vocals of singer Davd Hoover 2. 8 songs are included here, with as most notable song the 17 minutes counting “Xeno’s paradox”, although I think the strongest songs are “Why” and “Intrigue”. I am sure fans of typical American melodic Progressive Rock/Metal ill enjoy this and a lot… I sure did… More info at: http://www.unicornrecords.com (Points: 8.4 out of 10)
The Canadian band HAMADRYAD return with a new CD titled ‘Safe in conformity’, which is their 2nd CD. Musically this is prime-time 70s GENESIS type of Progressive Rock. In fact, I have never heard a better singer who sounds like PETER GABRIEL than the singer of this band, which is Jean-Francois Desilets. His voice is very close to PETER GABRIEL when he made true prog with GENESIS in the early 70s. Also musically HAMADRYAD is very close to classic 70s GENESIS, although it is clear that sometimes RUSH similarities can be heard. In total 11 songs are included, and I am safe to say that this CD is a must-have for Progressive Rockfans. Nice additional fact is that the CD has already been sold out in it’s first pressing, which means the interest for this band is huge and I can see clearly why, because their new CD shows they are one of the better bands in the progressive rockscene nowadays. More info at: http://www.unicornrecords.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) AMETHYST ‘EXTREMES’ (FANFARE RECORDS) The Colorado/USA based band AMETHYST is actually made up of one member who plays everything on this CD. The name of this multi-instrumentalist is SEAN HUBBARD and he sent me his first official CD ‘Extremes’, which was released in 2000. It’s an instrumental CD, which musically is pure Progressive Rock/Metal. It definitely sounds very nice, a bit calm maybe (many keyboards), especially if you consider the fact that the influences of Sean come from the late 80s Bay Area Thrash Metal style (read: MEGADETH). Nevertheless, a nice instrumental CD, interesting to check out if you’re progfan. More info at: http://www.amethystextremes.com and e-mail at: amethystmetal@mcleodusa.net (Points: 7.7 out of 10) LOWER CLASS BRATS ‘THE WORST EP’ (DIRTY PUNK RECORDS) It’s very Punk to call your EP ‘The worst EP’, but actually it isn’t the worst EP I have heard, because LOWER CLASS BRATS from Austin/Texas/USA is playing classic late 70s UK Punkrock in the style of GENERATION X, CHELSEA, SEX PISTOLS, THE DAMNED… The EP they released contains 2 songs and should actually be called a single, because it is only available as a 45” single. Nice to see this American band having their EP released on a French label, because that only shows the fact that real Punkrock I still ignored in the USA, because this LOWER CLASS BRATS is much better than all those fake punkbands such as GREENDAY and SUM 41. Be sure to chech out side-B, because that particular song (“Walking into the fire”) is the better song of the two included here. More info at: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/dirtypunk and e-mail at: dirtypunk@wanado.fr (Points: 8.0 out of 10) THE VIRUS ‘BENEFITS OF WAR’ (DIRTY PUNK RECORDS) Another US Punk band on a French label. This band is called THE VIRUS and the 4 songs on their EP are once again going back to the late 70s UK Punkrockstyle, although there are also some more 80s type of Punk/Hardcore influences. Most surprising is a BLITZ cover, namely their classic “Nations on fire”. Not the best release on DIRTY PUNK RECORDS, but nevertheless nice to own this limited single of the band THE VIRUS.. More info at: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/dirtypunk and e-mail at: dirtypunk@wanado.fr (Points: 7.8 out of 10) DEFIANCE ‘AGAINST THE LAW EP’ (DIRTY PUNK RECORDS) 3 songs are on the EP single of the Punkband THE DEFIANCE. It’s.not that strong Punkrock, but still has memories of the old Punkbands from the UK. I am not sure where this band is coming from, but for the die-hard Punkrockfans this is definitely another must-have release. More info at: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/dirtypunk and e-mail at: dirtypunk@wanado.fr (Points: 7.5 out of 10)
After a couple disappointing ROYAL HUNT albums and also an average ARTENSION album it is a pleasure to hear ROYAL HUNT going back to their roots, because the new CD of the Danish band with American lead singer JOHN WEST is a very good triumphant return of one of the most popular and first Neo-Classical Melodic Metalbands. They understood the message from their horrible previous album, because ‘Paper blood’ is sounding like their classic 90s records, which made them very famous in Japan. The melodies are very strong once again and the songs are very bombastic classic ROYAL HUNT. Absolute winners here are uptempo pieces like “Not my kind”, “Never give up”, “Paper blood” and the wonderful semi-ballad “Season’s change”. 10 songs are on the album, and despite the fact that 3 out of 10 songs are instrumental, it still has enough material to offer for any fan of Neo-Classical Melodic Metal. What a relief this new ROYAL HUNT record, so much better than the previous one. Definitely a very good return of the legendary band ROYAL HUNT, whom might be the best and most successful Danish band ever! (Points: 8.7 out of 10)
Guitarist/Songwriter NIKOLO KOTZEV is back with a new BRAZEN ABBOT album, which once again features JOE LYNN TURNER on vocals, but also singers like GORAN EDMAN, TONY HARNELL (TNT) and ERIK MARTENSSON are featured. The new album is not that much different from the previous BRAZEN ABBOT albums, although the songs are getting groovier and less melodic, so once again I have to conclude that this isn’t the best BRAZEN ABBOT album, which was also the case with the previous album. I still think the earlier BRAZEN ABBOT records are still the best ones, because I still play them quite a lot and they contained much stronger material. Nevertheless, this is a nice quality album, which contains good clean melodic heavy rock that has a typical RAINBOW – HUGHES – TURNER approach. Highlights are “My resurrection” (melodic heavy rocker), “Dreams” (lovely semi-AOR ballad) and the strong uptempo melodic hardrocksongs “Flyin’blind” (with a lovely guitarsolo) and “Beggar’s lane”. Like I said not the best record of BRAZEN ABBOT, but still for a fan of classic hardrock something worth checking out. (Points: 8.3 out of 10) From out of nowhere comes the Norwegian band CIRCUS MAXIMUS, a hot new progressive metalband with their debut release on FRONTIERS RECORDS. Actually what I am about to say is that this album has surprised me in a very big way. This CIRCUS MAXIMUS seems to sound perfect on their debut, which musically sounds like the album BALANCE OF POWER could have created if they had kept LANCE KING at the mic. I would almost say that this CIRCUS MAXIMUS record sounds as good as the BALANCE OF POWER classic ‘Perfect balance’, which was one of the best releases from the past 5 years. Not only the songs and instrumental this band sounds impressive, but most striking are the lead vocals, because the lead vocalist (guitarist Michael Eriksen) is blessed with a superb voice that is very close to LANCE KING, maybe even better. This debut album features some truly sensational Melodic Progressive Metal, with as absolute winners “Alive”, “Sin”, “Glory of the empire” and “Why am I here”, 4 amazing songs that are as good as anything fromBALANCE OF POWER, VANDENPLAS, 80s QUEENSRYCHE and even DREAM THEATER! Despite a few weaker songs (“The prophecy” and “the 19 minutes counting epic “The 1st chapter”) and some instrumentals, I think I am safe to say that this album is a must-have for any progmetalfan. The superb lead singer mixed with some very sensational songs that combine progressive complexity, heavy guitar riffs with smooth melodies is making this CD for the most part a true winner in this genre. (Points: 8.7 out of 10) COZY POWELL ‘THE EARLY YEARS’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS) Not really a new release, because the 5 CDs included in this page have been released by MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS recently, but now they are packaged into 1 special deluxe package, which holds together the 5 CDs. The CDs concern the early recording days of legendary drummer COZY POWELL. He played in the late 60s/early 70s in the bands BEDLAM and BIG BERTHA with a couple of other well-known musicians, but musically if you haven’t heard it yet, we get to hear typical late 60s/early 70s Rock that is not really sensational. Must-have for the fans of course, but not that interesting if you want to hear high quality stuff, because the redcordings now sound slightly dated, although if you happen to be a fan of COZY POWELL this is certainly worth checking out, because much has been done in order to get a decent release package. (Points: 7.7 out of 10) DIRTY TRICKS ‘3 CD BOX’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS) We already reviewed the 3 re-issues of the albums by the 70s UK Classic Rockband DIRTY TRICKS, but now the CD re-issues have been put together in a 3-CD boxset. Of course worth investing if you didn’t buy the separate 3 CD releases. Musically great nostalgic 70s Classic Hardrock with a bluesy touch, kinda like BAD COMPANY and FREE, showing THUNDER how UK bands did the same thing they are doing now 20 years ago. In case you didn’t read our reviews of the 3 separate releases, I can inform you that in total 14 unreleased bonustracks can be found besides the 24 original album tracks DIRTY TRICKS, so get this 3-CD Boxset to btain everything this band recorded 30 years ago. (Points: 8.3 out of 10) GILES, GILES& FRIPP ‘THE CHEERFUL INSANITY OF…’(ECLECTIC DISCS) The history of the 2 main members of this band, which was formed in 1967, goes back to 1964, so more than 40 years back in time. Those 2 members are the GILES BROTHERS, bassist/vocalist Peter and drummer Mike, of whom Peter would later form KING CRIMSON together with guiarist Robert Fripp. However, in 1968 Peter recorded an album with his brother and also Robert Fripp. That particular album has now been re-issued onto CD by ECLECTIC DISCS, after many years being hard to find. The album itself was back in 1968 a very experimental release, because it sounded very different than anything else in 1968. The music was a mix of late 60s BEATLES, early PINK FLOYD and MONTHY PYTHON (!), so quite a bizarre adventure, although it sometimes also had a typical late 60s early prog approach. It was quite clear that the bandmembers would later resurface in bigger bands, because they already showed on this album they could create some extraodinary stuff. Just one year after the release of this album, in 1969, the band KING CRIMSON was formed by Peter Giles, Robert Fripp and 2 other musicians who later would find fame and fortune with EMERSON LAKE PALMER (Greg Lake) and FOREIGNER (Ian McDonald). The rest is history, but for 2 KING CRIMSON members it all began with this GILES, GILES & FRIPP record, which is now available on CD, with the addition of 6 bonustracks (consisting of mainly singles they released after te album release, so probably new to most collectors, because thos particular singles are very rare). (Points: 8.0 out of 10) PENETRATOR ‘PENETRATOR’ (SONIC AGE RECORDS/ROCK INC) PENETRATOR is a new band from Canada that features a couple of EIDOLON members in their line-up. Needless to say is that musically PENETRATOR is not far removed from the 80s US Power Metal EIDOLON has been bringing the past 10 years. However, the album went by in a flash without really making an impact. With a very short playing time of just over 30 minutes, and no highlights at all, I am afraid this album will only be interesting for the die-hard True Metalfans and of course anyone who likes EIDOLON. (Points: 7.5 out of 10) BILL FAY ‘BILL FAY’ (ECLECTIC DISCS) Released 35 years ago and now re-issued, the debut CD of singer/songwriter BILL FAY. Described by the label as the missing link between NICK DRAKE, RAY DAVIES and BOB DYLAN, this album offers quality music which back then could have been big, but in the end didn’t, otherwise we wouldn’t have to wait until 2005 for a re-issue on CD. 2 bonustracks from a single that was released in 1967 are added to the original 13 tracks and strangely enough these are the best songs on the CD. Musically it is indeed a mix of the afforementioned artists, so we get to hear a bit dramatic slightly depressing calm peaceful music. Although it’s no bad what we get to hear, I think the music has less in common with anything related to progressive rock or rock music in general. There are even some evergreens on this album (“We have laid here” could have been a NEAL DIAMOND song!!!), but mainly this is a sort of mix between BOB DYLAN and THE KINKS when they didn’t rock. So this isn’t a rockalbum at all, but I guess you have figured that out by now for yourself. (Points: 7.5 out of 10) BILL FAY ‘TIME OF THE LAST PERSECUTION’ (ECLECTIC DISCS) ‘Time of the last persecution’ was the 2nd album of singer/songwriter BILL FAY, which saw him once again making the same kind of depressing BOB DYLAN kinda popmusic, which was mainly based around strong political themes. I guess this is one of those albums you either love or hate, because it actually is a pure singer/songwriter record… (Points: 7.5 out of 10) 10 FOLD
BELOW ‘FOR THOSE WHO SHARE THE SUN’ Just what I expected, another of those SLIPKNOT wannabees, so what you get is Nu-Metal from start to finish with zero melodies, better be sure to avoid this release… (Points: 2.0 out of 10) NASTY KIXX ‘HOMETOWN BLUES’ (SHOTGUN GENERATION RECORDS) Sweden is bringing forward bands in almost every rock and metal genre, because also the Sleazy Rock’n’Roll/Punk style offers many Swedish bands, like THE HELLACOPTERS, DANKO JONES and GEMINI FIVE. Now we can also add another great new Swedish band called NASTY KIXX, whom basically mix the best of classic 70s Glam, Punk, Rock’n’roll and Sleaze. Their CD has been released on a French label and it basically sounds very impressive. Most of the 10 included songs are straight-forward without compromise, but I can still mention songs like “Ain’t it a shame”, “The story continues” and “A bastard song” as highlights. More info at: http://www.shotgungeneration.fr.fm (Points: 8.2 out of 10) GODDESS OF DESIRE ‘AWAKEN PAGAN’ (ARMAGEDDON MUSIC/ROCK INC) The Dutch band GODDESS OF DESIRE has been active for quite some time now and ‘Awaken pagan’ is their latest release. Musically they play True Metal with very raw (bit aggressive) vocals and this is one of those bands you either love or hate. Nothing new is brought and GODDESS OF DESIRE is then actually one of thosebands that should be put next to GRAVE DIGGER and RUNNING WILD, 2 German bands that have been doing the same thing over and over again. It kinda gets boring after a while and maybe live this band will put up a great show, their albums are nothing special. Only interesting for die-hard fans! (Points: 7.1 out of 10) Going back 30 years in time with this AUTOMATIC MAN, which was a short-lived band that consisted of musicians who worked with SANTANA, DEEP PURPLE, STANLEY CLARKE and many others. They released 2 albums, of which ‘Visitors’ was the 2nd album released in 1977, when it also hit the US Top 100. Musically they went in a rather unusual format, because they mixed pure Soul/R&B (like SLY&THE FAMILY STONE) and 70s Rock. In the end the Soul sometimes wins, but a comparison to TRAPEZE is quite clear here. The 8 original album tracks can be found here, but no bonustracks are added, which I always a pity. Nevertheless, if you want to hear a good mix of Soul and Rock, this might be up your alley, but also people who count GLENN HUGHES to their favourite singers this AUTOMATIC MAN is a must to check out. More info at: http://www.lemonrecordings.co.uk (Points: 7.6 out of 10) SUCKERSTARZ VS. SONICDOLLZ ‘ROCK’N’ROLL RIOT’ (SHOTGUN GENERATION RECORDS) 2 Hungarian bands on the French label SHOTGUN GENERATION RECORDS on a so-called split CD, with in total 13 tracks. SUCKERSTARZ is definitely the least of the 2 bands, because their tunes are simple fast uptempo punkrock’n’rollers, while SONICDOLLZ is more leaning towards Glamrock in a sense that it is sounding like a mix between THE SWEET, SHA-BOOM, BILLY IDOL, NEW YORK DOLLS, ALICE COOPER and CRUE, especially on the great song “Bitch”, “Heartbreaker” and “Ball and chain” . Also some of their other songs are very catchy strong Glam/Rock’n’Roll songs that even reveal a slight POISON touch (dare I say this???), although “Backseat love” is closer to RAMONES than you might wish for. SUCKERSTARZ are much closer in being a Punkrockband, so 1 CD with 2 bands that also sound different from each other. More info at: http://www.shotgungeneration.fr.fm or http://www.wildsidemusic.fr.fm (Points: 8.0 out of 10) X-TINE ‘LIVE… AT HOME’ (INDEPENDENT) Out of New York comes female singer/songwriter/guitarist X-TINE, who delivers a good fine album titled ‘Live… at home’. The CD is already a few years old, but the included music is too good to pass on, because what we get to hear is very strong 70s/80s influenced Melodic Hardrock that sounds like a mix between LITA FORD, JOAN JETT and JEFERSON AIRPLANE (with Grace Slick on vocals). In total 10 songs are on the album, of which especially the uptempo rockers like “Silhouette in my dreams”, “Heaven”, “Mad woman” and “Magic has landed”. Her love for Grace Slick is shown in the closing cover “Whtie rabbit”, so in the end a nice recommended female fronted rockalbum, which not only features a good singing X-TINE, but also her guitarplaying is quite good. More info through e-mail at: xtine137@aol.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10)
In the early/mid 90s I actually discovered that there was a big
Hardrock/Metalscene in Germany in the mid 80s, but I became aware of it
10 years later. There were literally hundreds of bands, all playing the
same kind of tough Hardrock/Metal, which sounded like a mix between
NWOBHM, ACCEPT and 80s American Hardrock (RATT/CRUE). Most of the bands
released their albums on GAMA RECORDS, the most important rock/metal
label in Germany in the 80s. Bands like VETO, GRAVESTONE, STORMWITCH, NO
TROUBLE, VAMPYR, HIGH TENSION, TYRAN PACE all became favourite acts of
mine. The best band however was NOISEHUNTER,
(Points: ‘Spell of noise’ – 8.6, ‘Time to fight‘ – 8.8 and ‘Rock shower’ – 8.1 out of 10) TURBONEGRO ‘THE RESERECTION DVD’ (MUSIC VIDEO DISTRIBUTORS’) The Norwegian Punkrock’n’roll band TURBONEGRO is quite popular in Northern Europe, so a DVD release is almost inevitable. This particular DVD release contains a bit of everything, so you get to see the band live at various festivals (Quart, Hultsfred and Bizarre) as well as backstage footage (a special TV documentary). In total 110 minutes of high class Punkrock’n’roll in a way that could be described as a hybrid between MOTORHEAD, ALICE COOPER, SEX PISTOLS and AC/DC, not only musically, but also visual on stage. The band gives some great stage performances, which definitely makes therm a wanted festival act. This DVD is a good inside look into this upcoming original rock’n’roll band. More info at: http://www.musicvideodistributors.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) HATE ETERNAL ‘I MONARCH’ (EARACHE RECORDS) Extreme Metal is what this HATE ETERNAL is bringing us, a mix of death, black and hardcore metal, which will only interest people who like that kind of Extreme Metal with zero melodies. Therefore not a high rating for this release, despite the strong production and high quality instrumental backup. (Points: 3.0 out of 10) RECOURSE ‘WEAKENING THE STRUCTURE’ (DEVIL DOLL RECORDS/DARK REIGN PRODUCTIONS) American band that combines Hardcore with Death Metal growls. Influenced by SDI, this band has no catchy melodies on their CD, so I can only recommend it if you really are into very Extreme Metal. (Points: 3.0 out of 10)
2005 marks the return of one of Japanese most famous music acts, because they have released 2 new CDs and this DVD. As far as I know, LOUDNESS is one of the few Japanese bands that really had a slight breakthrough outside Jaoan. Especially in Holland back in the 80s they were extremely popular, with performances and touring through The Netherlands. The big break in USA never happened, despite American producers and singers (MIKE VESCARA even sang on a few records) getting involved with the Japanese perfectionists. The biggest problem has always been the vocals, which from day one the band started have been a struggling process, because Japanese can not speak and sing English. LOUDNESS combined English and Japanese lyrics into their songs, which eventually started to sound well. The positive thing about LOUDNESS has always been the instrumental backup, because that sounded amazing (even MALMSTEEN noticed that!). Anyway, to make a long story short, LOUDNESS is back with 2 new CDs and this DVD. The band has an all-Japanese line-up once again and this makes them sound as good as in their heydays. The DVD contains a sort of 2-hours counting documentary, which is a mix of 10 live clips of old and new songs as well as backstage footage. Together it is a nice combination, which shows that LOUDNESS is very much alive, after 10-15 years of silence. More info at: http://loudness.live.co.jp (Points: 8.4 out of 10) THE PAT
TRAVERS BAND ‘BOOM BOOM LIVE 1990 DVD’ Originally released in 1990 as videotape, but now available on DVD, this is a nice DVD of THE PAT TRAVERS BAND. This line-up featured the likes of JERRY RIGGS, who recorded a great melodic rockalbum with his own band RIGGS in the early 80s. Anyway, on this DVD it’s all about guitarist/vocalist PAT TRAVERS who gave away a great show on the night the concert of this DVD was recorded. In total 14 songs were played, consisting of songs from the 70s days and from the then new album ‘School of hard knocks’, which was released in the early 90s. It’s a pity the more melodic hard rock orientated period of PAT TRAVERS BAND is forgotten (1980s), because we mainly get to hear Bluesy Hardrock. Of course Pat is a star on the guitar, but vocally he is not that good, and therefore I had hoped Jerry had sung some more songs than the few he did during this concert. It’s also a pity that there aren’t any bonus features on the DVD. Nevertheless, if you’re a Bluesrockfan or happen to be a PAT TRAVERS fan, then this DVD is a must-have. More info at: http://www.cherryred.co.uk (Points: 8.2 out of 10) VICIOUS RUMORS ÇRUSHING THE WORLD DVD’ (MASCOT RECORDS) Classic 80s US Metal is what we get to hear and see on the first (???) DVD of VICIOUS RUMORS. This band has had a long history that goes back to 1980 when the band was formed by guitarist GEOFF THORPE, who still is the leader of the band after 25 years. Through the years the band had various line-ups, which at one time even featured VINNIE MOORE as guitarist, but most of the time it was their lead singer who needed to be replaced, because in those 25 years they had more than 5 different singers. It’s not a coincidence to see different singers appearing on this DVD, because the featured material takes us back in time to the MTV Video clip years as well as more recent performances at the famous German festivals. In total 4 professional video clips from the late 80s/early 90s are included, but the main feature here are 11 live tracks the band performed a few years ago at Wacken. In between the songs there is some behind the stage footage, so eventually this DVD contains 90 minutes of enjoyable footage of a band that never had a big breakthrough, unlike similar acts (QUEENSRYCHE, FATES WARNING, METAL CHURCH). This DVD gives a good overview of the legendary Californian Metalband VICIOUS RUMOURS, so definitely a must-have for any 80s Metalfreak! (Points: 8.6 out of 10) PUBLIC ENEMY ‘IT TAKES A NATION – THE FIRST LONDON INVASION TOUR 1987 DVD’ (MUSIC VIDEO DISTRIBUTORS) What the hell, PUBLIC ENEMY reviewed here!!! Well, actually labels and promoters sent in their material, and we kindly review basically everything that comes our way, so now it’s time to review a DVD of the Rapact PUBLIC ENEMY. On the other hand, this band has actually connections with the Metalworld, because they rapped their way through the years with Metalbands like ANTHRAX, and actually some of their 80s material (just like the softer RUN DMC) is worth checking out as it contains a good mix of Rock and Rap. Nowadays Nu-Metal bands are doing the same thing, but I think PUBLIC ENEMY did it way better 20 years ago. This can also be heard and seen on the DVD which has been released by MUSIC VIDEO DISTRIBUTORS. The DVD contains a 60 minutes counting concert recorded in London back in 1987, broadcasted by the BBC back then. A bit short, but the extra bonus audio cd makes that up. Recommended to fans of the band and anyone interested in hearing good Rapmusic (can I say such a thing, because everything concerning Rap after 1990 is completely ignored by me), but the rockers need to stay away from this, unless you’re one of those ANTHRAX/SUICIDAL TENDENCIES fans. More info at: http://www.musicvideodistributors.com (Points: 7.0 out of 10) BEFORE THE
DAWN ‘THE FIRST CHAPTER DVD’ The band BEFORE THE DAWN has just released 2 albums and already a DVD is available of this band. The DVD contains a concert recorded in their homecountry of Finland in 2003. There’s also some footage of the touring through Europe and some backstage rehearsals and stuff. However, the main feature are the 12 performed songs in Lathi 2 years ago. It’s professionally filmed and the sound is also good, but what I don’t understand that there is a DVD available of this band, because their music is really not that sensational. The mix of clean and aggressive vocals work with NIGHTWISH, but not within this band that has 2 male singers. I am afraid this is only interesting for people who find HIM too soft… (Points: 7.5 out of 10)
During the 1980s Germany brought us hundreds of quality Metalbands,
but not many really had a breakthrough. Actually most of them were
ignored until the late 80s, when we saw commercial melodic hardrockbands
from Germany being signed non-stop by the major labels (KINGDOM COME,
CRAAFT, DOMINOE, VICE, BOYSVOICE, BONFIRE, AXXIS, etc.), so all those
80s Metalbands changed their style a bit and tried to secure a deal.
Most of them eventually had to break up, because they simply changed
their original melodic Metalsound. A good example is GRAVESTONE, whom
after 5 albums changed it’s name to 48 CRASH, releasing a very
commercial album. This album didn’t represent what GRAVESTONE stood for
during the 80s, because their previous albums contained a very
impressive strong Melodic Metalsound, which was later ‘copied’ by AXXIS,
who enjoyed big success in both Germany and Japan. Anyway, the history
of GRAVESTONE goes back to the late 70s when they released 2 albums, but
these are very (Points: ‘Back to attack’ – 8.3, ‘Victim of chains' – 7.9 and ‘Creating a monster’ – 8.8 out of 10) (All reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted) |
PAGAN’S
MIND ‘ENIGMATIC CALLING’ (LIMB MUSIC) 
MOMENTS IN
GRACE ‘MOONLIGHT SURVIVED’ (ATLANTIC RECORDS) 
FROGG CAFE
‘FORTUNATE OBSERVER OF TIME’ (PROGROCK RECORDS) 
NORTHERN
LIGHT ‘NORTHERN LIGHT’ (MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN) 
STAN BUSH
AND BARRAGE ‘STAN BUSH AND BARRAGE 1987’ (LA RECORDS) 
RETURN
‘RETURN’ (MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN) 
SABRE ‘ROAR
TO THE CORE’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS) 
LEGS
DIAMOND ‘FAVOURITES VOLUME 1’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS) 
VANISHING
POINT 'EMBRACE THE SILENCE'
VARIOUS
ARTISTS ‘UFO FRIENDS AND FAMILY – ALIEN RELATIONS’ (MAJESTIC ROCK
RECORDS) 
DEADLINE
‘MIND THE STEP’ (TB RECORDS) 
SUZA ’SWEET
FREEDOM’ (INDEPENDENT) 
DIMENSION X
‘SO… THIS IS EARTH’ (UNICORN DIGITAL) 
HAMADRYAD
‘SAFE IN CONFORMITY’ (UNICORN DIGITAL) 
ROYAL HUNT
‘PAPER BLOOD’ (FRONTIERS RECORDS/ROUGH TRADE) 
BRAZEN
ABBOT ‘MY RESURRECTION’ (FRONTIERS RECORDS/ROUGH TRADE) 
CIRCUS
MAXIMUS ‘THE 1ST CHAPTER’
NOISEHUNTER
4
rare videos, so without a doubt a must-have for any 80s metalfreak. The
other 80s records can be found on ‘Spell of noise’, which does not only
contain the 9 original tracks from ‘Spell of noise’, but also the 10
tracks of their album ‘Too young to die’, which was a slightly more
commercial album (CRUE meets DOKKEN). The 3rd CD on KARTHAGO RECORDS
contains the rare ‘Rock shower’ album, which saw the band moving more
and more into comemercial American Melodic Hardrock that reminds me a
bit of BONFIRE, yet a few songs like “You gotta get my love”and “Victim
of time” are very good melodic rockers. However, the other 2 CDs (’Spell
of noise’and ‘Time to fight’ are definitely the recommended ones to
purchase, because they contain classic 80s German Teutonic Metal in the
shape of songs like “Fever”, “Metal lover”, “Love scream”, “Made out of
steel”, “Time to fight” and “Hellbound fever”. The 3 CDs are available
through: 
LOUDNESS
‘ROCK – SHOCKING THE NATION DVD’ (TOKUMA RECORDS) 
GRAVESTONE
rare and the main focus on the 3 CD releases of GRAVESTONE by KARTHAGO
RECORDS is the 80s period. GRAVESTONE released 3 strong similar albums
in the mid 80s, namely ‘Back to attack’, ‘Creating a monster’ and
‘Victim of chains’. All 3 albums have now been re-issued onto CD
separately, with each album containing extensive liner notes, lyrics and
bonustracks. The Melodic Metal on all 3 albums has a typical 80s German
Teutonic approach, so get your leather out of the basement and rock on.
Imagine a mix of ACCEPT, SCORPIONS and PRIEST, and you end up sounding
like AXXIS, but then I have to add that AXXIS did not even exist at the
time GRAVESTONE were active, so it’s clear AXXIS listened very well to
GRAVESTONE. Anyway, there really is not much difference between these 3
CDs, as they all contain good strong Melodic Metal with decent
guitarwork, a big sound and of course the high pitched vocals of lead
singer Berti Madjan. But then again it’s very clear that their weakest
record was their album 'Victim of chains' and their best record was
‘Creating
a monster’, because this album contained the best songs of the band,
such as the classics “Masters of the earth”, “You can’t take it with you”,
“Creating a monster” and “The end of our love”, but also the 4 wonderful
bonustracks on this CD indicate the band's late 80s change of style into
quite sensational AOR/Melodic Rock (a la ZENO/FAIR WARNING) Anyway, the
band eventually split and after a namechange to 48 CRASH, we never heard
of them until these 3 re-issues. Anyone who likes PINK CREAM 69 and
AXXIS should check out this 80s underground band, because GRAVESTONE
made the same kind of music in the mid 80s, which can be heard on these
3 CD releases on KARTHAGO RECORDS at: