 TWILIGHTNING ‘DELIRIUM
VEIL’
(SPINEFARM RECORDS)
We’re going up to Finland once again where we can
find another new sensational Power Metal band.
TWILIGHTNING is the name of the band and their Melodic
Power Metal sounds like a cross between SONATA ARCTICA
(the catchy choruses), EDGUY/AVANTASIA (vocally lead
singer Heikki Poyhia is quite close to Tobias) and
STRATOVARIUS (the sound is damn close to earlier
STRATOVARIUS). 9 songs are included, and together with a
big production, high quality mixing and mastering at the
famous Finnvox studios and some help of TIMO TOLKKI from
STRATOVARIUS, this album is a total must for everyone
into typical Euro Power Metal. It is clear that they have
tried to make a perfect record, because everything sounds
perfect here, with 9 hookladen ultra-melodic but powerful
rock/metal songs. My favourite tracks are “At the
forge” (early 80s EUROPE meets STRATOVARIUS, big
sound, great keys and lovely hooks and catchy chorus,
concluded a superb song!), “Jester realm” (nice
keyboardwork here as well, powerful Melodic Heavy Rock a
la STRATOVARIUS), “Delirium veil” (fast melodic
Power Metal, pure SONATA ARCTICA, with catchy melodies
all over the place), “Return to innocence”
(cool keys, great uptempo Melodic Rock), “Masked
ball dalliance” (super melodic STRATO/SONATA style)
and “Under somber skies” (great semi-ballad). I
can only end this review by saying that every fan of Euro
Melodic (Power) Metal must get a copy of this CD
a.s.a.p.!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 KICK THE KANGAROO ‘BITS AND
PIECES’ (ATENZIA RECORDS/BERTUS)
KICK
THE KANGAROO is a new band from Denmark, and they have
released their debut CD on ATENZIA RECORDS. It seems like
their homecountry has picked up some of the songs and the
radio has been playing them lots of times, so who knows
they might become stars over there. On the other hand, I
think they can easily make a breakthrough elsewhere in
Europe or even the USA, because their modern melodic
poprock sounds very fresh and catchy and more important,
it is better than most other modern rockbands. The
difference is that KICK THE KANGAROO throws some great
melodies in their music, so I guess you can better call
this a mix of AOR and modern Melodic Poprock. To me it
sounds very good, just listen to opener “Something
else”, a very catchy uptempo Melodic Poprocker. The
music is thus Melodic Poprock with a modern edge, yet
more AOR than most Nu-Breed Rockbands. They write damn
catchy tunes, like the midtempo “Last kiss”.
Sometimes they sound a bit like BRETT WALKER, but with an
updated sound, and it is really good, believe me!
Other
highlights are the midtempo rockers “Human
inspiration”, “Smile” and “The girl I
really loved” and the lovely catchy fun summer
uptempo melodic poprocker “Perfect day”. The
last song “Straight to the sun” is also worth
mentioning, because this great semi-ballad also contains
an Hammond solo! I only hope next time they put some more
uptempo rockers like that first track, because now
it’s sometimes a bit too much midtempo/semi-ballad
orientated. Nevertheless, this is highly recommended to
fans of the NELSON record ‘Life’, early RICK
SPRINGFIELD, BRETT WALKER...
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
KAIPA
‘KEYHOLDER’
(INSIDE OUT MUSIC/CMM MUSIC)
KAIPA is more or less a side-project of THE FOWER KINGS
leader Roine Stolt (guitars) and other Swedish
Prog/Session musicians like Jonas Reingold (bass), Hans
Lundin (hammond), Morgan Agren (drums) and 2 great lead
singers (Patrik Lundstrom and Aleena). The music is like
the old THE FLOWER KINGS, so very 70s orientated Melodic
Progressive Rock with a lot of instrumental parts, but
also filled with good melodies. This is an excellent
album that fits somewhere between THE FLOWER KINGS, YES
and KANSAS. If you were disappointed with the last THE
FLOWER KINGS album, then this is a total must as this is
pure high quality 70s Progressive Rock. The whole CD is a
highlight, and the 8 long tracks included take up to an
incredible total playing time of 78 minutes! All the
songs are winners, but my favourites are “A complex
work of art”, “Sonic pearls” and
“Distant voices”. All the Progrockfans can buy
the second album of KAIPA!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 MARK SPIRO ‘KING OF THE
CROWS’
(ATENZIA RECORDS)
The well-known AOR songwriter MARK SPIRO finally returns
to the scene with the release of his 4th CD ‘King of
the crows’. I have always had a soft spot for his
music, as it is often great relaxing AOR, and also on his
new record we can enjoy some very good softer AOR a la
JOHN WAITE, RICHARD MARX... Mark did almost everything on
his own, with the exception of the guitars, which were
played by sessionplayer TIM PIERCE. Anyway, the CD
contains 12 tracks and although it’s not a
rockalbum, I can still recommend it to the AOR fans. The
absolute highlights on ‘King of the crows’ are
“Saving grace” (this semi-ballad has a
beautiful AOR melody during the chorus), “One horse
town”, “Always” (lovely classy MARK
SPIRO), “Just another freak” and
“It’s all about you”. Not much has changed
musically since his previous CD, although some slight
modern touches can be heard here and there (the drum
programming on “Everybody needs”, “After
you” and “Cracked”) and it’s also a
bit poppier in general, bordering close to Westcoast (a
la DON HENLEY), but the poppy AOR still sounds fresh and
radio-ready if you ask me. Concluded, a CD worth checking
out if you like calmer AOR/Pop/Westcoast. Still, I think
his previous 3 releases were better and more pure AOR
than this mostly poppy Westcoast affair.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 XANDRIA ‘KILL THE
SUN’ (DRAKKAR RECORDS)
We had to wait a while, but now also Germany has their
own female fronted Gothic Metalact. They are called
XANDRIA, and they play Melodic Gothic Metal in the style
of NIGHTWISH, EDENBRIDGE, LACUNA COIL, WITHIN TEMPTATION,
EVANESCENCE... Happily, female lead singer Sandra has a
fantastic voice, and she gives XANDRIA an own identity.
The CD is very impressive, and it already charted in
Germany in the national album charts, so this young band
has a promising future and I completely understand,
because this CD is filled with high class Euro Melodic
Gothic Metal that is sometimes as good as NIGHTWISH and
WITHIN TEMPTATION, yet with a slightly different vocal
style of Lisa. Highlights on ‘Kill the sun’ are
“Mermaids”, “Ginger”,
“She’s nirvana”, “Isis/Orisis”
and “Casablanca”. Concluded, this CD is a must
if you’re into any of the mentioned bands.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘ONCE AND FUTURE
KING PART 1’ (FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)
It will take some time before the 2 chapters of this
immense Rock Opera are officially released, but I can
already make reviews of both releases. Part 1 of
‘Once and future king’ will be released on the
25th of August, while part will have to wait until the
6th of October. Anyway, basically this is a really big
impressive project, lead by GARY HUGHES of TEN, and he
was able to gather a handfull of musicians (including
ARJEN LUCASSEN of AYREON/STAR ONE) and some of the
Rock’s finest singers (such as BOB CATLEY, DANNY
VAUGHN of TYKETTO, LANA LANE, DOUGIE WHITE, DC COOPER,
HARRY HESS and many more). Together they are telling us
the complete story based on the myths and legends of King
Arthur, the legendary King of Britain. I will not tell
all the ins and outs about this story, so let’s
concentrate on the music, which is of the highest level
you can get!
These
2 CDs are filled with superb high class Melodic (Hard)
Rock/Metal with some epic moments, but also influences
from AOR and even Progressive/Power Metal (first song
“Excalibur”) can be heard. Without a doubt,
these releases are going to be one of the most
anticipated releases of 2003 by FRONTIERS RECORDS. After
the first seconds of part 1 start it is clear we are
listening to something really good, and those 10 tracks
on that first CD are more than just a pleasure to listen
to. My favourite tracks on Part 1 are “Dragon Island
Cathedral” (fantastic midtempo Melodic Rocker with a
very strong chorus, like TEN), “The reason why”
(semi-melodic rockballad with Danny Vaughn on vocals),
“Avalon” (another Danny Vaughn sung track, this
is a fantastic uptempo AOR/Melodic Rocker that somehow
reminds me of NELSON’s “After the rain”)
and “Lies” (great semi melodic rocker). Read
further below the review of part 2...
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘ONCE AND FUTURE
KING PART 2’ (FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)
It will take some time before part 2 of the ‘Once
and future king’ will be released, because
that’s set for late October, but it is worth waiting
for, because also part 2 is a highly recommended album.
Following the style of the first chapter, also part 2 is
a nice collection of songs that sound like a mix between
Melodic Hardrock, AOR and some Melodic Heavy Metal. Again
the level is very high and the songs are performed to
perfection, and then we’re not even discussing the
lyrics here, because reading them all will tell you the
complete story of King Arthur. By the way, I must not
forget to mention that GARY HUGHES is playing the role of
Kign Arthur, but that was obvious, as Gary is the leader
of this project, which took him 2 years to complete, but
the result is stunning. Just like part 1, also part 2 is
a pleasure to listen to, and maybe it’s even a
little better than part 1. 12 tracks are included on part
2, of which the highlights are “Kill the king”
(uptempo Melodic Heavy Rocker), “Oceans of
tears” (with LANA LANE singing this wonderful semi
AOR/Melodic Rockballad), “Rise from the
shadows” (uptempo Power Metal), “The pagan
dream” (uptempo Power Metal) and the fantastic
closing title track “Once and future king”
(with a very good singing HARRY HESS of HAREM SCAREM).
It’s
striking to see DOUGIE WHITE singing 2 songs that fall a
bit out of place here, as they are both groovy Melodic
Classic Hardrock with a strong GLENN HUGHES vibe.
Concluded, you have to wait a few months, but be sure to
grab a copy of both chapters of the Rock Opera ‘Once
and future king’ once it is released on FRONTIERS
RECORDS. Especially recommended to the fans of AYREON,
STAR ONE, NOSTRADAMEUS, NIKOLO KOTZEV and that sort of
Quality Rock Opera’s!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
ULTIME
ATOME
‘DARK VISIONS’ (MUSEA RECORDS)
ULTIME ATOME comes out of Paris, France and they play
Progressive Rock. It sounds a lot like MARILLION in their
early days, only thing is that lead singer Jean Marc
Tesorio is singing too forced, and is trying too much to
sound like FISH. Therefore the Progressive Rock of ULTIME
ATOME doesn’t sound convincing enough to make this a
winner. Although only 4 tracks are included, the CD still
has a playing length of almost 60 minutes, due to the
long length of the tracks (for example
“Battlefield” takes up to 22 minutes!).
Although I can not say this is a recommended release,
fans of Prog Rock a la MARILLION, CHANDELIER, SYLVAN
might want to check out this CD, but don’t expect
anything sensational.
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 THUNDER ‘SHOOTING AT THE
SUN’
(FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)
The legendary UK Rockband THUNDER returns to the scene
with a new album, released on FRONTIERS RECORDS. The band
was formed in 1989, from the ashes of the AOR/Melodic
Rockact TERRAPLANE. They were discovered by ANDY TAYLOR
from DURAN DURAN, who once said THUNDER was the band he
should have been in. Anyway, THUNDER became a big success
in the UK, with their albums topping the charts and
having 18 top 40 singles! Such a big band in the UK, but
still they split up for 2 years, because of the changed
musical climate. Anyway, it’s now 2003 and THUNDER
is back and they didn’t change at all, because they
still play Bluesy Melodic Hardrock like a mix between
early WHITESNAKE, BAD COMPANY, late FM and FREE, so pure
British Classic Rock with a strong Blues touch. There are
11 tracks included, and most of the songs have catchy
melodies, such as the very impressive tunes
“Loser”, “If I can’t feel love”,
“A lover, not a friend” and “Out of my
head”. Although it gets a bit too bluesy towards the
end, still this CD is a must for THUNDER fans! Concluded,
THUNDER is back, but will they also return on the UK
charts?
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
DAWN
OF SILENCE ‘WORLD
OF LIES’ (DEMO CDR)
This is a very young band from Sweden, and their 3-track
demo sounds very impressive. They play very melodic
uptempo Power Metal in the style of DRAGONLAND,
HAMMERFALL, INSANIA, HELLOWEEN... The band has a good
lead singer (guitarist Patrick Johansson) and the 3 songs
are all very good. “World of lies” is a very
catchy tune actually, while “Be my guide” has
some fantastic guitarwork and closing track “Through
hell to paradise” is another strong Power Metal
track with again biting guitarwork. Concluded, this is an
awesome new Swedish band, and I wonder how good it will
sound in the future if they can record it in a big
studio, because the songs on this demo are very
impressive. Check ‘em out at: http://listen.to/dawnofsilence and e-mail them at: dawn_of_silence@hotmail.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
MIDNIGHTDATE
‘DEMO
2002’ (DEMO CDR)
There are not many bands in Poland, but MIDNIGHTDATE is
clearly an exception. Although this is a demo, the sound
is HUGE! I haven’t got much info on them, but they
play big Melodic Gothic Power Metal a la NIGHTWISH,
EPICA, DELIGHT... They have a very good female lead
singer called Agnieszka Gorecka, and my only complaints
are the grunts by guitarist Lukasz Marut. This is not
necessary, because Agnieszka has a great voice, and it
also isn’t original, because AFTER FOREVER does the
same and for me it doesn’t work those grunts.
Anyway, this is still a great demo with some excellent
tunes like “Night reflection” and “Dust of
love”. Fans of NIGHTWISH, LACUNA COIL and DELIGHT
will love this band as well. More info at: http://www.midnightdate.metal.pl and e-mail them at: midnightdate@gower.pl
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 REFLECTION ‘ODYSEEIA’
(SECRET PORT RECORDS)
This Greek Metalband released a few years ago ‘The
fire still burns’, and now ‘Odyseeia’ is
their second official full-length CD, although the band
released some demos, mini-CDs and CD-singles. The band is
playing slow Melodic Doom Metal, with influences from
SAVATAGE, BLACK SABBATH and CANDLEMASS. There are 15
tracks on the album, with a ottal playing time of more
than 60 minutes. The CD has a very large booklet with
extensive lyrics and extra comments on each song, and it
becomes clear after reading them that this CD tells us a
story about the ancient Hellenic culture. Anyway, the
music is quite good, and most of the time of a very high
level. The best songs on the CD are “The forbidden
seed”, “Cyclops”, “Journey to the
other side”, “Between bitch and charibais”
and “Beware of the night” (best song, fantastic
catchy uptempo Melodic Metal, the 80s US way!). I can
definitely recommend this album, especially to fans of
Doom Metal and slower 80s type of US Power Metal (read:
SAVATAGE).
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
UNDERWATER
MOON
‘WONDERING’ (DMP)
Out of Greece comes UNDERWATER MOON, a Gothic Doom
Metalband. Their songs are quite melodic and similarities
to CANDLEMASS are pretty clear, although I found the
vocals less stronger than that Swedish act, mainly due to
a sort forced theatrical by the lead singer.
Nevertheless, the 2 releases of the band are pretty nice
to listen to. First there was ‘Forgotten
serenades’, released in 2002, and the band just
finished their first official full-length CD
‘Wondering’, a quality record filled with 11
tracks. Interesting is the CHRIS ISAAK (!) cover
“Wicked game”, a song that had way too much
video rotation on MTV 12 years ago, but I like the new
version of UNDERWATER MOON. Anyway, the band has created
an own sound with it’s melodic slow Metal songs,
recommended if you like KRUX and CANDLEMASS. More info,
e-mail: CountRaven@Hotmail.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
MISFIT ‘KISS OF A
DEMON’ (INDEPENDENT)
Out of Southern Germany comes MISFIT, a female fronted
Melodic Heavy Rock/Metal act. The band sounds a lot like
DORO, BACKSLASH and HEADLINE. Of course DORO has had a
major influence on this band, because the mainly uptempo
Melodic Metal orientated material is quite close to the
most popular Metal girl from Europe! That doesn’t
mean this is just a copy, because everything sounds very
impressive on the MISFIT record. Uptempo Melodic Heavy
Rockers like “Kiss of a demon”, “Wild
night”, “Nothing to lose”,
“Master” and “My pleasure your pain”
are very catchy and easy to sing-a-long. This is
definitely a quality band, and it has that typical 80s
German Melodic Metalsound which is definitely making a
comeback these days (think SINNER, VICTORY, BONFIRE,
SHAKRA), but MISFIT is best recommended to those of you
who are still a huge DORO fan! More info at: http://www.misfit-roxx.de and e-mail them at: info@misfit-roxx.de
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
DEAD
SOUL TRIBE ‘A
MURDER OF CROWS’
(INSIDE OUT MUSIC/CMM MUSIC)
Unfortunately I don’t have any additional
information on DEAD SOUL TRIBE, but I believe this is
their 2nd CD and in the past I reviewed their debut CD,
but I am afraid I forgot all about it (I am only human
you know!). Anyway, ‘A murder of crows’ is
their new album and it’s a good mixture of
Progressive Metal and Modern Rock. There are 12 tracks
included on this quality release and the best songs are
“Feed part 2: The awakening”, “The
messenger” (great melodies, bit like ENCHANT) and
“Regret” (very melodic, like DREAM THEATER,
VANDENPLAS, SYMPHONY X and ENCHANT). But there also
strong modern approaches, such as on “Some things
you can’t return”, “Time” and
“Angels in vertigo”. So this is an album that
is not classy Prog Metal all the way, but introduce also
a lot of Modern influences, but in general it’s not
a bad record at all and give it a listen if you enjoy
Prog Metal.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
STEELGLORY
‘WAYWARD
SONS OF THE BEAST’ (INDEPENDENT)
STEELGLORY is a band from Singapore (!) and they play
classy 80s US Melodic Power Metal in the style of
HELSTAR, FATES WARNING, QUEENSRYCHE, RUFFIANS, VICIOUS
RUMOURS... There are 6 songs on their demo CD and I must
say it sounds very good, especially for a band from
Singapore. The production is pretty good, the songs are
very nice and even vocally singer Eyain Clarion is able
to sing the high notes. The best songs on the CD are
“When the saint is the sinner”,
“Lucifer’s path” and “Storming
through the Hellion gates”. If you’re a fan of
80s US Metal, then you will love this band from
Singapore. You can buy the album for $7, more info at: hauntedmelody@hotmail.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
FROSTBORN
‘ONLY
THE STRONG WILL SURVIVE’ (DEMO)
FROSTBORN is yet another Finish Melodic Metalband in the
style of STRATOVARIUS, SONATA ARCTICA, THUNDERSTONE...
There are 3 songs on their demo, of which the production
sounds pretty good. My onlt complaint is that the vocals
could sound better, as they are a bit too much at the
back now. Secondly, the vocals move more in the 80s US
Power Metal genre, so FROSTBORN is slightly different
than the afforementioned famous Finish bands. The 3
included songs are all great uptempo Melodic Metal
pieces, with as best song “Farewell the past”.
More info at: http://www.fullspeed.to/frostborn and e-mail them at: frostborn@fullspeed.to
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 WOLF HOFFMAN ‘CLASSICAL’
(DRAKKAR/BMG)
Guitarist WOLF HOFFMAN is best known as guitarist for
ACCEPT. Together with them he recorded almost 25 years of
pure Heavy Metal, but back in 1996 he moved on with his
life. He settled in the US where he became a professional
photographer and musically it was time to do something
else, and the result is the solo-album
‘Classical’. The CD was produced by MICHAEL
WAGENER (remember him, the 80s Pop Metal producer who
turned everything he touched into Gold or Platinum) and
of course with such a producer the sound is crystal
clear. The included music is instrumental guitar
orientated versions of classical themes by Bizet, Grieg,
Tchaikovsky. Ravel and Beethoven. The result is stunning,
as this is a great instrumental album that combines the
best of Classical Music and Heavy Metal, MALMSTEEN eat
your heart out! Together with ACCEPT bassist Peter
Baltes, AL KOOPER (who worked with THE STONES/THE WHO),
DAMN YANKEES drummer Mike Brignardello and several
others, WOLF HOFFMAN has created a masterpiece. Highly
recommended to all Rock/Metal/Classical Music fans!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 TYGERS OF PAN TANG ‘LIVE IN THE
ROAR’
(ANGEL AIR RECORDS)
TYGERS OF PAN TANG have returned yet again to the scene.
The Z RECORDS album from a few years ago was not what
everyone expected from this legendary NWOBHM band, and
quite frankly also this CD is not really presenting the
classy sound the band used to make in the early 80s. The
problem is the change of lead singer, because who can
beat the fantastic lead vocals of former singer JOHN
DEVERILL, one of the finest UK singers ever! The first
TOPT record featured JESS COX and is still held high in
the Metal scene, but the sensational albums were released
in the following years with a fantastic singing John
Deverill on vocals. The highlights were ‘The
cage’ and ‘The wreckage’ (by far the best
TOPT record, a pure Melodic Rock/AOR album a la EUROPE!).
Anyway, through the years the line-up changed
dramatically, and now in the year 2003 only original
guitarist Robb Weir is left. New singer is called Richie
Wicks and although he isn’t a bad singer, he just
can’t compete with John Deverill or even Jess Cox.
It had been a better move to release the performance of
TOPT at Wacken Open Air from a few years ago, when Jess
Cox was singing. The liner notes in the CD booklet are
quite interesting and it’s nice to have a 75 minutes
counting live record of TOPT, with such classic tracks
like “Running man”, Suzie smiled”,
“Lonely at the top”, “Paris by air”
and “Hellbound”, but I am afraid it’s not
THE TOPT sound like it once was, but nevertheless
it’s a recommended album for the fan/collector of
TOPT products.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 JAGUAR ‘RUN RAGGED’
(ANGEL AIR RECORDS)
20 years after the release of ‘Power games’, a
classic in the NWOBHM scene, JAGUAR has finally released
an album in that Classic NWOBHM style. The band released
a few more albums after ‘Power games’, but
never actually did something that came close to that
debut record from 1983. Nevertheless, we are now living
in the year 2003 and with ‘Run ragged’ the band
has turned back the clock to the early 1980s. Songs like
“Run ragged”, “No chance given”,
“Nailed”, “Eighties” etc. are high
class NWOBHM orientated songs. If you’re a fan of
SAXON, early TOPT, early JAGUAR, very early DEF LEPPARD
etc. then this new JAGUAR album is a total must for you
to have!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 DREAM WEAVER ‘WORDS CARVED
WITHIN’
(SECRET PORT RECORDS)
‘Words carved within’ is the 2nd CD of the
Greek Power Metalband DREAM WEAVER. It’s really a
great CD, although the production could’ve been
slightly better. Nevertheless, the 11 included tracks are
great Melodic (Power) Metal songs of a very high level,
with as highlights “Back from the north” (a la
HAMMERFALL), “The white ship” (very good, a la
MAIDEN) and the 80s US Prog/Power Metal orientated
“Light in the dark” and “Eyes of the
day” (both reminding me of 80s QUEENSRYCHE/ FATES
WARNING). Fans of real Melodic Metal should check out
this new CD of DREAM WEAVER.
More info at: http://www.truemetal.org/secretport
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
ANGUISH
‘STEEL
GOING STRONG’ (INDEPENDENT)
At the moment there’s also a German band called
ANGUISH, whom released an excellent Prog Metal album on
MASSACRE RECORDS last year, and in the past we have had
many bands with the same name, but this ANGUISH is coming
out of Sweden and they play True Metal like a mix between
GRAVE DIGGER, MANOWAR and RUNNING WILD. They have a very
raw lead singer, but that’s necessary for this type
of Metal, which needs to sound raw. The production is of
a very high level, close to label quality! The songs are
also quite good, and although they claim to play True
Metal, I heard some other influences during the choruses
of “Worthless” (ALICE COOPER) and
“Commercial suicide” (70s KISS). On the other
hand, songs like “Steel going strong”,
“Evil creation” and the hidden track are purest
HEAVY METAL in it’s true form, close to bands like
MANOWAR, GRAVE DIGGER, PRIMAL FEAR... if you’re a
fan of True Metal, then get this ANGUISH a.s.a.p. as this
is really a high quality release! More info at: http://www.anguish.nu
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
SERPENTS
KISS ‘DISTANT
SHORES’ (INDEPENDENT)
This is already the third CD of the British Metalband
SERPENTS KISS. They play classy Melodic Metal that
somehow reminds me of IMPELLITERRI, AXEL RUDI PELL, MARK
BOALS and ROB ROCK. Although at the start of the CD I
thought the vocals weren’t really good, towards the
end the lead vocals are getting very strong. Songs like
“Strider”, “Kingdom” and “Black
wizard” are great uptempo Melodic Heavy Rockers,
while the absolute highlights are the semi-ballad
“Serpents kiss” (fantastic song, with great
vocals and keys) and closing track “Distant
shores” (calm and heavy parts in this epic Power
Metal tune). Without a doubt, this is a highly
recommended UK Melodic Metal act and they are currently
working on a follow-up with a new singer, new drummer and
in a new studio! To be continued! More info at: http://www.serpentskiss.co.uk and e-mail them at: william.philpot@ntlworld.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 WYCKED SYNN ‘THE VISION’
(CHAVIS RECORDS)
A few years ago I reviewed a demo of the American band
WYCKED SYNN, and I was quite impressed, but this official
CD is HUGE! The band’s official first CD ‘The
vision’ is a superb high class Melodic Metal record
with a fantastic lead singer called Gary Grant (a la
GEOFF TATE), lovely tunes and this all put on a wonderful
produced CD. The big sound on this record is the perfect
mix between DIO, SCORPIONS, MAIDEN, DOKKEN and 80s
QUEENSRYCHE. Once again I must add that the production of
this record is terrific, and I get the same feeling here
as I had with SHAKRA a few weeks ago, so this is really a
sensational record. There are 11 tracks on ‘The
vision’ and from start to finish it’s a
pleasure to listen to, with as highlights “Tell the
tale” (high class uptempo melodic heavy rocker like
a mix between Melodic HR and 80s QUEENSRYCHE), “The
vision” (very strong uptempo Melodic HR with a big
80s guitarsound a la SCORPIONS), “Let it rain”
(duet with a female singer, starts calm, but develops
into a very strong midtempo Melodic Metal song), “If
you said goodbye” (very strong catchy uptempo
melodic rocker), “Evil ways” (really big
sounding Melodic Metal song) and “Unchosen
path” (HUGE midtempo Melodic Metal). Concluded, this
is a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED record to anyone who likes classy
Melodic Metal.
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
REMBRANDTS ‘LOST
TOGETHER’ (ATENZIA RECORDS)
Actually THE REMBRANDTS are a Popband, who scored massive
with “I’ll be there for you”, a song used
by the popular TV serie ‘Friends’. Well, now
ATENZIA RECORDS has picked them up for an European
release of one of their albums, and mainly this album is
filled with middle-of-the-road/ westcoast Poprock like
one would expect from the likes of TOM PETTY, PAUL
MCCARTNEY, JOHN COUGAR, DANNY WILDE... so not really
interesting for the AOR fan. Only interesting songs are
the NELSON/THE OUTFIELD orientated Poprockers “Long
way to go”, “Big plans” and “Some
other world”, but it’s only recommended if you
also enjoy poppier stuff like afforementioned artists.
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
 MARS ELECTRIC ‘FAME AMONG THE
VULGAR’ (ATENZIA RECORDS)
A few years ago the major label SONY MUSIC released an
album by a new band called MARS ELECTRIC, a band playing
a somewhat modern type of Melodic Rock, kinda like HAREM
SCAREM/RUBBER meets recent DEF LEPPARD, catchy, pretty
modern, but by far the best modern sounding melodic
rockband at the moment. After being dropped off SONY
MUSIC, the new Swedish label ATENZIA RECORDS picked them
up and released their 2nd CD ‘Fame among the
vulgar’. The album continues the style of the first,
but happily some more uptempo Melodic Rock can be heard
this time. Without a doubt, this album is a must for fans
of late HAREM SCAREM/RUBBER and the new DEF LEPPARD
sound, but even the average melodic rockfans might want
to check this out, as this is really good nu-breed. MARS
ELECTRIC mix influences from 80s Glam, 90s Sleaze,
Melodic Rock and Nu-Breed into a catchy sound. The
highlights on the new CD are such catchy uptempo melodic
rockers like “Bemused”, “Disco king”,
“Queen of suffering”, “Did I say too
much”, “Dancing in the clouds” and
“I’m not dreaming”. There’s even some
AOR material on this CD, such as the semi-ballads
“Descend” and “Don’t say
goodbye”. It’s modern sometimes, but in general
a good modern sounding Melodic Rockalbum, and a must for
HAREM SCAREM fans!
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
SAGITTA
‘BAD
SIGNS’ (INDEPENDENT)
Out of Brazil comes SAGITTA, a very professional sounding
Euro Sympho-Power Metal orientated band. They sound a lot
like LABYRINTH, yet with an own identity. There are 4
songs on their CD ‘Bad signs’ and I can assure
you that the title should read ‘Good signs’,
because it’s sounds quite sensational. Opener
“Take on” is a great faster catchy uptempo
Melodic Euro Sympho-Power Metal tune like a mix between
LABYRINTH, SONATA ARCTICA, ANGRA and STRATOVARIUS.
Everything sounds perfect with this band, production and
vocally it’s all impressive and so are the 4 songs,
because besides the fantastic opener “Take on”,
also the 3 other tracks are very good. These are
“Bad signs” (another catchy uptempo Melodic
Power Metal tune), “Angel guide” (ANGRAish
uptempo Power Metal) and “With or without you”
(great semi AOR/Melodic Rockballad). The CD booklet looks
very professional, and so concluded we can easily say
that this is a highly recommended band for fans of
typical Euro Power Metal. More info at: http://www.sagitta.kit.net and e-mail them at: sagitta@sagittametal.com
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 URGENT ‘HOLD ON’
(DEMO CD)
Do not confuse this URGENT with the 3 fantastic AOR Bands
called URGENT from the 1980s, because we have here a new
band called URGENT from France and their CD counts 2
tracks. The first track is opener “Hold on”, a
great uptempo AOR rocker, while the other track “The
wild and the young” is a nice late 80s midtempo
melodic rocker a la WINGER/WARRANT, so with a Partyrock
touch. Anyway, before we can make up a good opinion on
this band, we have to wait until they release their first
full-length CD on BRENNUS RECORDS next year, but this
2-track CD already shows we should keep our eyes open for
this upcoming new French AOR/Melodic Rockact, which by
the way features also the former guitarist of NIGHTMARE
in their line-up. More info at: www.urgentmusic.com and e-mail them at: urgentmanagement@wanadoo.fr
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 SOUTHERN STORM ‘1999’ (ONE
RECORDS)
We are heading to Bosnia-Hercegovina where we find a new
band called SOUTHERN STORM. Now you all better pay
attention when I say that this band is one of the best
ones I have ever heard from Eastern Europe. If this band
doesn’t get signed soon by a major European Metal
label I don’t know what else to do bringing good
music to the people, because SOUTHERN STORM is bringing
some of the best unsigned Melodic Progressive Metal at
the moment. OK, they are signed to ONE RECORDS, but
that’s just their label in Serbia & Monte Negro,
so there’s lots of work to do to get this band
signed in the rest of the world. Now back to their music,
which is of a very high level! This band is playing
superb classic Melodic Prog Metal with a touch of Classic
Hardrock, imagine a mix between BALANCE OF POWER,
RAINBOW, AXEL RUDI PELL, 80s MALMSTEEN and SHADOW
GALLERY. SOUTHERN STORM has a fantastic lead singer
(Elvis Garagic) and 2 superb guitarists (Emir Hot and
Dario Havel).
Besides,
the 13 songs on their first CD ‘1999’ (released
in 2002) are all very sensational. 8 songs are sung in
English, while the other 5 are in their own languageThe
absolute highlights are “Wake me up” (uptempo
neo-classical melodic prog metal a la BALANCE OF POWER),
“Out of time” (very melodic semi-Prog Metal a
la SYMPHONY X), “Fire” (midtempo Melodic Metal
a la MALMSTEEN), “Elegy” (another very melodic
prog Metal song a la ELEGY!!!), “Slavery”
(fantastic uptempo melodic heavy rocker a la first 2
albums of EUROPE), “Lost in dream” (classic
uptempo Hardrock a la AXEL RUDI PELL, with a lovely
catchy chorus) and “Shades of memory” (mix
between DIO and AXEL RUDI PELL). There’s only one
conlusion I can make and that’s that this SOUTHERN
STORM is a HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED band to any fan of Melodic Progrock/Metal.
More info at: http://southernstorm.net and e-mail them at: info@southernstorm.net
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
ACID
RAIN
‘INFINITY BEYOND’ (INDEPENDENT)
This is a quality band from Spain, and ‘Infinity
beyond’ is their first CD release. The album is
filled with great Melodic Progressive Metal of a very
high level. Both the production and the included 11
tracks are quite sensational. The highlights are
“Cardinal sin”, “Fear inside”,
“Three sisters” and “Out in the
silence”. You can compare the style of the band to a
KAMELOT, SHADOW GALLERY or SYMPHONY X, only with some
rawer vocals here and there. Anyway, a band to check out
if you’re a Prog Metal fan and you can download the
whole CD for free at: http://www.acidrainsite.com and e-mail them at: info@acidrainsite.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 TUSK ‘AMERICAN
SOLDIERS’
(MAMMOTH MUSIC)
TUSK is a new band from the USA and the first song on
their 3-track CD is a hommage to the American soldiers
who are fighting in Iraq at the moment. In contrary to
most other new Rockbands, TUSK is playing 80s AOR. You
read it well, as this is pure 80s AOR reminding me of
SURVIVOR, JOURNEY, NIGHT RANGER... The tribute song
“American soldier” is a great AOR ballad in the
SURVIVOR tradition. Moving on to “One night
only”, hell yes, we are in 80s uptempo AOR HEAVEN
here, although the production could be better, but if you
listen to the song itself it’s like we’re back
in good old mid 1980s when bands like SURVIVOR, JOURNEY
and NIGHT RANGER were dominating the US charts. The song
even has those 80s AOR keys, which are impossible to find
in any other new US band at the moment. The band also has
a very good AOR singer (Tony Turner), who sings a bit
like JIMI JAMISON. Closing track “Close” is a
beautiful AOR ballad. Without a doubt, this is an AOR
band with a future, just give them some financial support
to make a full-length CD with a big sound and then
you’re listening to some of the best US AOR at the
moment, labels get in touch with these guys! And to all
American TV/Radio-stations, play the titletrack of this
album and make it a huge hitsingle, so AOR can finally
make a comeback after more than 10 years (the last
AOR/Melodic Rocksongs in the Billboard charts were in
1992 when DAMN YANKEES and FIREHOUSE scored their final
massive hits). More info at: http://www.tuskonline.com and e-mail them at: Bobroulandmngr@aol.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
PROSPECT
‘MOMENTS’
(MASTER RECORDS)
A few years ago I reviewed a CD by the band PROSPECT, and
I think this is the same band, as this one is also
hailing from Ljubljana, Slovenia. While listening to
their new CD I can easily conclude that this is really a
quality band, because the Melodic Progressive Rock/Metal
sounds quite sensational, with great songs, excellent
lead vocals, and a big sound, so this is definitely a
recommended CD. The band is playing a mixture of Melodic
Rock, Progressive Rock and Progressive Metal. I heard
some similarities to SAGA and old RUSH, but also heavier
stuff (like VANDENPLAS and QUEENSRYCHE), while there also
some Melodic Rock influences and even 80s MAIDEN can be
heard, so mix it all together and you’ll have
PROSPECT’s own style. There are 10 tracks and I must
say it again that it sounds very impressive and not a
single weak moment can be found on ‘Moments’.
The highlights are “Moments”, “Rush”,
“Living in silence” and “So low”.
Don’t hestitate in purchasing this record, because
it is really good and highly recommended to fans of
Melodic Prog. Rock/Metal. More info at: http://www.prospect.com and e-mail them at: contact@prospect-music.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 ZERO HOUR ‘METAMORPHOSIS’
(SENSORY RECORDS/INTROMENTAL)
‘Metamorphosis’ was the debut CD of the
American Progressive Metalband ZERO HOUR. Their label
SENSORY RECORDS has re-issued the album from 1998 and
added 2 unreleased bonustracks. The album now takes up to
53 minutes and contains 12 tracks. Musically the CD is
filled with high quality typical American Melodic
Progressive Metal, like SYMPHONY X, DREAM THEATER,
BALANCE OF POWER... The production is huge and the songs
are very impressive, with as absolute highlights
“The system remains”, “Rebirth”,
“Voice of reason” and “Eyes of
denial” (Demo version). If you haven’t heard
ZERO HOUR’s debut CD, then this is the perfect
moment to grab yourself a copy of this Prog Metal
Masterpiece.
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
VARIOUS
ARTISTS ‘MAUSOLEUM
20TH ANNIVERSARY’
(MAUSOLEUM RECORDS)
The Belgian label MAUSOLEUM RECORDS exists for 20 years
now and to celebrate that event the label decided to
release and re-issue a lot of albums as a special
edition. Also this release of the label is a special
edition release as it it contains live recordings by
OSTROGOTH, KILLER and DORO, recorded on the 10th of May
last year at the Mausoleum Festival. If you’re a fan
of any of the bands you’re gonna love this and I can
easily confirm this is a good live release, although it
would have been more interesting if it had been a DVD
release, but who knows that will happen in the near
future.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 VILLAIN ‘ONLY TIME WILL
TELL’
(MAUSOLEUM RECORDS)
Just like all the other 20th Anniversary releases of
MAUSOLEUM RECORDS also this CD of VILLIAN comes with
extensive lyrics, additional writing/info, pictures and
unreleased songs. VILLIAN was one of those typical 80s
Californian Metalbands that didn’t make it big time,
but had their fifteen minutes of fame. Lead singer CARL
ALBERT has a fantastic voice and was basically the winner
of this band, because his voice got him hooked up with
VICIOUS RUMOURS, but he also sang 1 great classic Melodic
Metal album with the band RUFFIANS. Anyway, Carl sadly
died when he became the victim of a car accident, so
besides the VICIOUS RUMOURS albums, there were 2 more
albums of Carl that needed to get a re-issue on CD.
Unfortunately RUFFIANS still isn’t available on CD
(as far as I know!), but happily VILLIAN has made it onto
CD, and MAUSOLEUMRECORDS took care of this album.
‘Only time will tell’ is the title of the
record, which was originally recorded in 1986. The
included music is typical 80s Melodic Heavy Rock like MAD
MAX, RUFFIANS, GRIM REAPER... Highlights of the 7 tracks
included here (this is more like a Mini-CD) are
“Kamilkaze” (uptempo rocker), “Only time
will tell” (midtempo melodic metal),
“She’ll make you fall in love” (semi
melodic heavy rocker) and the superb semi melodic
rockballad “Just close your eyes” (DOKKEN
style). If you’re a dedicated fan of 80s US Metal,
then better get hold of this release, but it’s
especially a must if you’re a fan of VICIOUS
RUMOURS.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
SILENTIUM
‘SUFFERION
– HAMARTIA OF PRUDENCE’
(SPIKEFARM RECORDS/BERTUS)
We’re heading North again to Finland where we can
find another great new band. This band is called
SILENTIUM and they play very Melodic Gothic Metal, a bit
like HIM, but then more melodic. The first song
“Flame still burns” is a very nice semi Melodic
Gothic/Metal song with some lovely harmonyvocals.
Although the band has a male vocalist, there are also
(very good) female vocals (a la NIGHTWISH), and together
they make this a very interesting CD. Unfortunately I
haven’t got any info on SILENTIUM, but expect
something that sounds like a mix between HIM, NIGHTWISH
and the calmer songs of SONATA ARCTICA, so typical Finish
it is definitely! The album is also a concept-album, but
for more info on that you should really buy this CD and
read the extensive lyrics. Back to the included songs,
out of the 16 included, the highlights are “Flame
still burns”, “Heart unyielding” (hello
NIGHTWISH) and “Wither in silence”. The only
comment I can make is that there are many calmer ballad
orientated songs on the CD, so no uptempo rockers here,
but that’s also the mystical side of this kind of
Metal. It’s a pity some Grunts are spoiling a few
songs, because the melodic male and female vocals are
enough to keep this CD interesting, but this is also
something typical for Gothic Metal. Anyway, the mastering
at Finnvox makes this CD a high quality release, so
concluded this is a recommened typical Finish Dark
Melodic Gothic Metal CD!
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
F5
‘FATOR
CINCO’ (OCTAGON)
Out of Brazil comes the band F5, unfortunately they came
to me out of nowhere, so I haven’t got any
additional info except from the fact that they hail from
Brazil and their CD is titled ‘Fator cinco’.
After the introduction song “Alfa de Leao”, the
CD really starts with “Nao entendi”, and this
is a fantastic uptempo AOR/Melodic Rocker! Quite
unexpected as I thought this was gonna be some Prog
album, but it’s quite the contrary, because they
play awesome catchy uptempo 80s AOR/Melodic Rock, not far
away from bands like CODA and SANGRE AZUL, if you know
those bands of course, otherwise I could mention 1987 BON
JOVI! The band sings in the Portuguese language, but
that’s no problem at all. “Nao entendi”
also features some excellent guitarsolos by guitarist
Marcelo Pe, who shows he a very good guitarplayer. Other
highlights on the CD are uptempo melodic rockers like
“Chora por mim”, “Flores no meu
jardim” and “Pode ir agora” (a la 70s
HEEP). This is a very good Melodic Rockalbum (with
influences from the 70s and 80s) from the Brazilian band
F5, although towards the end of the CD things get a bit
softer, slower and even quite bluesy, so better check out
F5 for yourself at: http://www.fatorcinco.com.br
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
ALCHEMY
X ‘A
DELICATE BALANCE/11:59:59’ (UNISOUND)
ALCHEMY X is an American Prog Metal band and they sent me
the 2 releases they have done so far. First up is the
fantastic debut ‘A delicate balance’, which is
high quality Melodic Progressive Metal like a mix between
80s QUEENSRYCHE, FATES WARNING, MAIDEN and HELSTAR. The
band has a very good singer, who is able to sing high and
low, perfect for this kind of Metal. Highlights on this
CD are “Part 2 Emotion” (great uptempo 80s US
Power Metal like MAIDEN meets HELSTAR),
“Alchemy” (excellent, QUEENSRYCHE meets
MAIDEN), “Fatality complex” (pure QUEENSRYCHE
in the 1980s) and “Requiem by moonlight”
(lovely epic ballad with a very strong chorus).
Concluded, that debut CD is a highly recommended piece to
fans of 80s US Prog/Power Metal. The follow-up
’11:59:59’ is slightly different and not as
good as the debut CD. The new CD is more like a
semi-instrumental concept-album that sometimes can be
compared to SYMPHONY X and DREAM THEATER on great songs
like “A Kiss Before Dying”, “Penance”
and “Beyond the veil of sorror”, but in general
this CD is less interesting than the first album of
ALCHEMY X. The 2 albums are very different, but make your
own judgement at the band’s website: http://www.alchemy-x.com
(Points:
‘A delicate balance’ – 8.5 out of 10 and
‘11:59:59’ – 8.0 out of 10)
HARD
TIME
‘I ROCK THEREFORE I LIVE’ (SAMPLER)
Out of Croatia comes HARD TIME, a Party Melodic
Hardrockband that sounds a lot like VAN HALEN. The band
sent me a CD with songs from their various albums. In
their homecountry Croatia they are very popular, but
outside of that country nobody is familiar with HARD
TIME. Anyway, this CD contains 9 tracks and for the most
part it’s groovy Rock like VAN HALEN and AEROSMITH,
but on the best songs the band moves into a good Melodic
Hardrock style. This can be heard on great uptempo
melodic rockers like “Down at the bottom” (a la
WHITE LION, WILD FRONTIER, BONFIRE) and “Hit and
run” (even has some NWOBHM influences!). However,
for the most part we have here a nice groovy
rock’n’roll band a la THUNDER, VAN HALEN, SKIN,
AEROSMITH, LITTLE ANGELS... More info at: http://www.hardtime-band.com and e-mail them at: hardtime@hgu.hr
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
ALASKA
‘ANTHOLOGY
1’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS)
ALASKA was one of those early 80s British bands that
adopted an American AOR/Radiorocksound, not unlike ASIA
and FRANKE AND THE KNOCKOUTS, but it also featured some
very well-known names such as DON AIREY on keys and
BERNIE MARSDEN on guitars, both quite famous for being in
some of the most famous Rockbands ever to emerge from the
UK, such as UFO, RAINBOW and WHITESNAKE. With ALASKA they
were moving into an American sound, very AOR based. This
CD is sort of an anthology of some of their recordings,
but not the original songs of their 2 released albums, so
demo versions, but also unreleased songs can be found on
this interesting CD. The beginning is mostly slow bluesy
AOR type of material, such as “Need your love”,
“Friends are for”, “If loving you is
wrong” etc. , but as the CD develops we get to hear
more and more classy 80s keyboard driven uptempo
AOR/Radiorockers like the fantastic “The
sorcerer”, “Take what you want” and
“Too much” that sound like a mix between ASIA,
FRANKE AND THE KNOCKOUTS, PREVIEW and HUSH. So, basically
this is a must for fans of ALASKA, BERNIE MARSDEN, DON
AIREY and anyone that digs classy 80s AOR, so go check it
out at: http://www.majesticrock.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
THE
PLOT ‘SCHENKER
WAY’ (MAJESTIC ROCK RECORDS)
MICHAEL SCHENKER and PETE WAY (UFO) once recorded an
album together, which now has been released by MAJESTIC
ROCK RECORDS. The music is 70s inspired Hardrock, with
strong similarities to UFO, but also some BAD COMPANY and
even a LYNYRD SKYNYRD reference is notbale in “Wild
wild things”, so this more like Classic 70s
Rock/Hardrock. The production and sound quality is quite
good and it all sounds pretty nice, although I must add
here that Pete Way’s vocals are a bit raw and are
nothing compared to the vocals of original UFO singer
Pete Mogg. Nevertheless, this is definitely a quality
release with some good uptempo rockers in the shape of
“You and me”, “Need her bad”,
“Senorita” amd “Shake down”, while
also the occasional semi-ballad (“Miss you
tonight”) is included here. Recommended to
SCHENKER/UFO fans!
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 BARILARI ‘BARILARI’
(NEMS ENTERPRISES)
The lead singer of RATA BLANCA, one of the most famous
Argentinian Melodic Metalbands of all times, has released
a solo-CD under his own name BARILARI. He also released a
couple of great AOR records under the name ALIANZA a few
years ago, and with BARILARI he is moving in a style
somewhere between RATA BLANCA and BARILARI. The last
record of RATA BLANCA was slightly disappointing, but
this BARILARI is really huge! The CD was mastered at the
famous Finnvox Studios in Finland by Mika Jussila
(STRATOVARIUS, NIGHTWISH etc) and with the production
help from JENS JOHANSSON (who also played the keyboards
on the whole album), this album has turned out be a very
impressive record. The mix of AOR, Melodic Metal and
Power Metal, like a mix between MALMSTEEN, STRATOVARIUS
and RATA BLANCA works perfect here.
11
tracks are featured on ‘Barilari’, including a
Spanish remake of the RAINBOW song “Stargazer”.
The best songs are “Amo de la oscuridad” (the
opener, a hard-hitting Prog/Power Metal song with nice
keys, a bit like SONATA ARCTICA/STRATOVARIUS),
“Lenguas de fuego” (superb 80s influenced very
strong uptempo melodic AOR rocker with lovely
harmonyvocals during the catchy chorus!), “Y las
sombras quedaran atras” (superb melodies in this 7
minutes counting Melodic Rocker, like a calmer
STRATOVARIUS), “Principo Y fin” (faster uptempo
Power Metal with STRATOVARIUS keys), “La leyenda del
hada Y el mago” and “Dueno de un sueno”
(huge midtempo Melodic Rocker, late 80s MALMSTEEN).
Concluded, this is a highly recommended CD to anyone into
Spanish/Latin Melodic Hardrock/Metal!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
MOTHER
OF SIN
‘DEMO CDR’ (DEMO)
There are not many bands in The Netherlands playing
European Power Metal, but MOTHER OF SIN from the North of
The Netherlands is an exception. They have released a
fantastic 3-track demo CDR. MOTHER OF SIN features among
others the fantastic lead singer Eduard Hovinga (former
ELEGY singer), who shines on the 3 songs of this demo.
The first track “Into the fire” is very good,
typical fast Euro Power Metal a la SONATA ARCTICA,
STRATOVARIUS, KAMELOT... Next track “Cover my
eyes” is groovier and is more Prog. Metal, a bit
like SYMPHONY X, yet rawer. The closing track
“Beyond fear” is a very sensational 80s US
Power Metal orientated tune. All 3 songs are very good,
and wouldn’t it be great to see a full-length label
release of this band, but for now check ‘em out at: http://www.motherofsin.tk and e-mail them at: motherofsin@wanadoo.nl
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 RONNY HAHN ‘JSS BOOK’
(INDEPENDENT)
JEFF SCOTT SOTO is one of the finest singers in
Rock/Metal history and writing a book on him would be a
must, considering the fact that he has sang on more than
100 records. The man is a super-rockstar and has a superb
voice that makes any record on which he sings
interesting. My good friend RONNY HAHN decided to write a
book on JEFF SCOTT SOTO, about Jeff’s life and his
musical career from the start in the early 70s when he
was a child doing Michael Jackson immitations right to
the latest releases as a solo-artist and with TALISMAN.
It’s incredible how much Jeff has done in his life
so far and he is just 37 years old, so there’s
enough years in front of him to do so much more. Ronny,
the author of this book, has been a fan of Jeff since he
first heard the song “I’ll be waiting” of
TALISMAN, and in the 10 years he collected everything
Jeff has done in his life and that’s quite a lot.
This
book is written very well, with German and English
written texts, with many pictures of Jeff throughout his
life/career and with comments on every single recording
Jeff has done, ranging from his first recordings with
MALMSTEEN, PANTHER, KUNI, DRAGONNE, EYES, AXEL RUDI PELL
to the latest releases of TALISMAN, HUMANIMAL and his
solo recordings. All there is need to know about
Jeff’s vocal recordings is mentioned in this book.
As a Bonus there’s even a CD included with 11
unreleased tracks with Jeff singing and this is very
interesting, especially for the fans of Jeff. Highlights
include the songs “Watching you go”,
“Every step of the way”, “Time’s
up” and “Big life”. I need to add here
that the sound quality is also very good and the 11 songs
were never released and are only available on this book,
so one more reason to buy this excellent book! The
lay-out is also very nice and everything together it
looks very professional, so if you’re a fan of Jeff
then better get this book a.s.a.p.! You can get a copy
through Ronny Hahn, e-mail him at: r.m.b.@01019freenet.de but only 100 copies are
available!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 HAMELYN ‘ELHE’ (HARD
LAND/ZERO RECORDS)
HAMELYN is another typical Spanish Power Metal band. They
have released a CD titled ‘Elhe’ and musically
it is in the style of TIERRA SANTA, SARATOGA, BARON ROJO,
MURO... Only lead singer Carlos Saiz is not singing as
good as the singers from mentioned bands, because he is
more screaming and that’s a pity, because the music
is quite good. 11 songs are included and highlights are
such Melodic Metal pieces like “Sienar”,
“Insomnio” (on this song the singers sings
better, more natural I think), “Alma”, “En
la Cruz”, “Avalon” and “Sin
control” (MAIDEN riffs). Recommended to fans of
Spanish/Latin Metal.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
WOLFCRY
‘NIGHTBREED’
(BLACK LOTUS RECORDS/ROCK INC.)
Out of Greece comes WOLFCRY, and they play a mix of pure
Heavy Metal and some more Melodic Power Metal, but sound
very German at times. This is their 2nd CD, and
‘Nightbreed’ contains only 8 tracks, but
happily has a playing length of 50 minutes. The first
couple of songs are very much in the MANOWAR/GRAVE
DIGGER, so 100% Heavy Metal with raw vocals, but the lead
singer (Costas Hatzigeorgiou) can also sing very melodic
(which sounds quite sensational actually!), and to me
these are also the best tunes. Therefore the best songs
are “Screamin’ whispers” (more melodic
uptempo Power Metal a la EDGUY), “Endless
circle” (great strong midtempo melodic metal),
“As darkness...” (midtempo Melodic Metal),
“The fable of agnor” (lovely
semi-ballad/uptempo Melodic Metal) and
“Saint/sinner” (great Melodic Euro Metal a la
AVANTASIA with even RHAPSODYish keys). Some of the other
songs are just pure MANOWAR/GRAVE DIGGER, very 80s German
Metal orientated, not bad, but the band is able to do
much better things. In fact, the band has two faces, but
it’s always quality pure Metal what we hear,
although I hope they bring some more melodic tunes in the
style of mentioned tracks next time, because they prove
they can make some really awesome epic Melodic Metal
instead of just producing pure MANOWAR typed tunes
(“Vanguard”), please leave that to MANOWAR, as
they are the KINGS OF METAL! Anyway, the Metalfans can
easily buy this release, because from start to finish
it’s quality stuff what we hear.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 RICHIE KOTZEN ‘CHANGE’
(FRONTIERS RECORDS)
A surprise to see RICHIE KOTZEN releasing a solo-CD on
FRONTIERS RECORDS. Anyway, the music on his solo-record
‘Change’ has happily nothing to do with the
stuff he did with POISON and even MR. BIG which is an
overrated band, and although at first sight it sounds a
bit modern and groovy, after a few songs we can enjoy a
good quality Melodic (Hard) Rockalbum. Richie did almost
everything on his own, and he proves he is able to sing
quite well. The best songs are “Get a life”
(midtempo), “Change” (calm semi-ballad) and
“Don’t ask” (midtempo with catchy chorus).
Unfortunately the second part of the CD has nothing to do
with Rock/AOR/Hardrock, because then we get to hear a mix
of Funk/Pop/Jazz and some bluesy tunes. So it’s up
to you to decide if this all sounds interesting for you.
This is definitely not your standard AOR/Melodic
Rockalbum, but if you don’t mind modern sounds and
other musical genres, then this might be well worth
checking out, but don’t expect anything sensational
here.
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 HAREM SCAREM ‘HIGHER’
(FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)
HAREM SCAREM is back! Finally, the band has released a CD
that is great from start to finish. OK, they will never
beat their Classic AOR debut or their fantastic Melodic
Hardrock CD ‘Mood swings’, but without a doubt,
this new CD ‘Higher’ is the third best record
of the Canadian rockers. It’s not a complete return
to their AOR/Melodic Rocksound of the first 2 albums, but
nevertheless ‘Higher’ is a very strong album
that will appeal to all AOR/Melodic Rockfans. The band
still sounds modern, but without a doubt, the songs are
now mostly pure Melodic Rock, and especially the catchy
choruses where the band is famous for are better than
ever! Despite the short playing length of the record
(only 37 minutes!), this album is really great. Although
it continues the same path taken on the previous record
‘Weight of the world’, the new CD is better and
catchier, also more melodic with a bunch of AOR choruses
here and there, while still being modern and updated for
today’s radio rockformat.
Anyway,
10 short catchy melodic rocksongs are included on
‘Higher’ and many of them are uptempo, of which
I think the best are “Torn right out”,
“Run and hide” (excellent, like the debut CD),
“Lucky ones”, “Lies” (very good) and
“Lost” (classy HAREM SCAREM). On the other
hand, I also must add here the wonderful semi AOR/Melodic
Rockballads “Waited” (pure HAREM SCAREM at
their best, hooks and choruses all over the place!) and
“Higher” (DEF LEPPARD would have been proud if
they had this song on their last album!) are also very
impressive. Opener “Reach” is quite nice, with
it’s Progressive Rock influence and the strong
chorus which is not easy to get out of your head.
Although
the previous record ‘Weight of the world’ had
it’s moment, this new record is so much better and
very important for an HAREM SCAREM record it has again
those choruses that stick inside your head for days and
that’s what this band was all about right from the
start; they wanted you give to remember the catchy chorus
and let you sing it for the rest of your life, something
which happened for me with their first 2 records and now
finally with their new CD, so I guess you can say that
the Canuck boys are back where they belong and
that’s writing 10 catchy tunes!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
(All
reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted)
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