HOT NEW REVIEWS

UPDATED ON MARCH 15 - 2004

VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘FRENCH STEEL’ (PLANETE MUSIC) France has always been a country bringing many Hardrock and Metalbands, because in the 1980s there was big scene, but the past few years the country has really hit big time with many quality bands, with as most important band of course MANIGANCE, a band that managed to release one of the best Metalalbums in 2002! Anyway, now we are living in 2004 and I received a very impressive quality compilation CD titled ‘French steel’. As the CD states this is a compilation of new French bands from the underground Hardrock/Metal scene. Although a lot of bands are known from their BRENNUS RECORDS releases, there are also a lot of unknown bands among the 16 included, and even some unreleased tracks of the more well-known bands. For example NIGHTMARE is featured with an exclusive track (only to be found on this compilation CD!) titled “The spiral of madness”, one of the best songs included by the way, a fantastic midtempo Melodic Metal piece! Also unreleased songs by LONEWOLF and ABSURD are included here. Without a doubt, this CD offers you 80 minutes of the best in quality Hardrock and Metalmusic from France, so the perfect way to discover some of these bands. Besides the NIGHTMARE track, other highlights are fantastic songs by OVERSTEP, H30+, SEYMINHOL, SOHO, SIDEWINDER and MORDIGGAN. The beautiful frontcover was designed by Jean Pascal Fournier (EDGUY, AVANTASIA, LONEWOLF) and together with a 12 pages color booklet this is a highly recommended French Metal Compilation CD! More info at: http://www.metal-integral.com and e-mail them at: French_Steel@yahoo.fr The CD costs only 15 EUROS (postage included), so get youself a copy a.s.a.p.!!! (Points: 8.5 out of 10) THE RUNAWAYS ‘THE RUNAWAYS’ (CHERRY RED RECORDS) We’re going back in time, almost 30 years to be exact when somewhere in Hollywood music producer KIM FOWLEY was looking for something new. He had a vision of forming an all-female girl rockband that would really rock. He found 5 female musicians, with an average age of just 16 years (!) and together these 5 girls formed the band THE RUNAWAYS, a band that actually got more respect in the future and present times than back in 1976 when they released their first debut LP. Among the 5 members we could find some very talented girls, who indeed later became very successfull with their solo-records. The line-up consisted of JOAN JETT on guitar, LITA FORD on guitar, CHERIE CURRIE on vocals, Jackie Fox on bass and Sandy West on drums. 5 very good looking young girls whom could really play their instruments very well, while the included 10 songs were basically simple but effective catchy Rockers like a mix between KISS, THE SWEET and SUZI QUATRO. It was the first time a true all-female Rockband was formed (forgetting the sweet BIRTHA and FANNY outfits) and they had a major influence on every girl/woman in the music business. THE RUNAWAYS proved that female rock could be as tough as male rock’n’roll! Many female artists and bands were influenced by THE RUNAWAYS in the years to follow, because there probably wouldn’t have been a PAT BENATAR in 1979 if THE RUNAWAYS had not existed. A lot of bands/female artists stated THE RUNAWAYS as their inspiration to get started in the music business (think of THE DONNA’S, BABES IN TOYLAND, L7, COURTNEY LOVE...). Anyway, their debut LP is an instant classic of only 32 minutes, and now almost 30 years later it finally gets an official re-issue. In the 3 years (1975-1978) they existed THE RUNAWAYS released 5 albums, all of which have been re-issued now onto CD by the UK based label CHERRY RED RECORDS. Their same titled debut started with the fantastic straight-ahead Rocker “Cherry bomb” and continued this style all the way until the end with “Dead end justice”, with in between such classics like “Is it day or night?”, “Lovers”, “American nights” and “Rock and roll”. Only 32 minutes long, but still an instant classic from 1976, and this re-issue comes along with some extensive liner notes that tells us the complete THE RUNAWAYS story and unique photo shoots. All together a must for the fans of Female Fronted Rock, because it all started with this first THE RUNAWAYS album... (Points: 9.0 out of 10) THE RUNAWAYS ‘QUEENS OF NOISE’ (CHERRY RED RECORDS) The 2nd THE RUNAWAYS re-issued CD is their ‘Queens of noise’ album, which basically continued the style of their classic debut. Although the album sounded a bit more polished (even AORish), ‘Queens of noise’ also contains some ultimate Female Fronted Rock Classics like “Queens of noise”, “I love playin’ with fire”, “Take it or leave it”, “Midnight music” and “Hollywood”. In the meantime, THE RUNAWAYS became very popular in Japan during 1976/1977, even scoring a national Japanese number 1 hitsingle with the song “Cherry bomb” and their albums went Gold in the land of the Rising Sun. In America the band didn’t get that much attention, and it’s pretty clear that the people saw them as the female version of KISS, but beneath the looks of the girls there were some talented musicians who found their fame in the future during their solo careers. That’s really a pity, because THE RUNAWAYS could have been much bigger in their heydays, although now finally they receive many attention by fellow musicians and who knows if there ever will be a reunion. Anyway, their 2nd LP ‘Queens of noise’ was also a classic, although you could clearly hear there was something going on... (Points: 9.0 out of 10) THE RUNAWAYS ‘LIVE IN JAPAN’ (CHERRY RED RECORDS) All the re-issued CD’s of THE RUNAWAYS on CHERRY RED RECORDS contain newly written extensive liner notes and pictures, so besides the music there’s a lot more to enjoy here. In 1977 the band played sold out shows in Japan, and likewise there was a Live in Japan release, which has also been re-issued onto CD now. It was not just a live-album, because 5 new songs were played, besides the 7 songs from their first 2 albums. All together the sound was perfect and still is today on this CD, basically classic Female Fronted Rock’n’Roll with such great songs like “Queens of noise”, “All right you guys”, “I wanna be where the boys are” and “Cherry bomb”. However this live-album marked the end of the original line-up of THE RUNAWAYS, because some members left the band, although the band recorded 2 more albums... (Points: 8.5 out of 10) THE RUNAWAYS ‘WAITIN’ FOR THE NIGHT’ (CHERRY RED RECORDS) ‘Waitin’ for the night’ was the 4th THE RUNAWAYS albums, but with a new sort of line-up including JOAN JETT on vocals/guitar, LITA FORD on guitar, Vicki Blue on bass and Sandy West on drums. In this line-up ‘Waitin’ for the night’ was recorded. This was a slightly weaker album than it’s processors, but still here and there some great typical THE RUNAWAYS material like “Wasted”, “Wait for me”, “School days”, “Trash can murders” and “Don’t go away”. Still, the album sounded a lot like the stuff JOAN JETT was going to do through the 1980s. CHERRY RED RECORDS also re-issued ‘And now...the Runaways’, but this album features covers only, so I guess you can say ‘Waitin’ for the night’ was the final real studio-album of THE RUNAWAYS, a band that only existed for a few years, but was very important for all the female rockers out there. We all know what happened in the years to follow the demise of THE RUNAWAYS in 1978. LITA FORD and JOAN JETT both went on having huge success during their solo careers, while CHERIE CURRIE released a solo-album and a classic rockalbum with her sister MARIE CURRIE. The other members of THE RUNAWAYS didn’t do anything worthy in the music business. Anyway, THE RUNAWAYS were the first real Women Rock’’n’roll band and now 30 years later they were also one of the first Supergroups! I am glad that CHERRY RED RECORDS re-issued all THE RUNAWAYS albums and I think this is the right time to purchase these classics. More info can be found at: http://www.therunaways.com and http://www.cherryred.co.uk (Points: 8.5 out of 10) SYNDIA ‘SYNDIA’ (POLSKIE NAGRANIA) Obviously this is a very rare piece. SYNDIA was a Polish band and they released their only (???) CD about 12 years ago and I believe this is the first time a review appears on the internet. Anyway, I can not tell you that much about this band, except that they hail from Poland and their same titled CD ‘Syndia’ was released back in 1992. Musically this is prime-time 80s AOR/Melodic Rock with your ‘wanted’ catchy hooks, memorable choruses, 80s keyboard/guitarsound (a bit like DEF LEPPARD meets FM). The only thing is they sang in the Polish language, but that’s not such a big issue, because the featured 8 songs here are all high class AOR/Melodic Rock tracks in the best 80s tradition. It’s a shame they never got any attention outside Poland, because songs like “Kazdy kiedys robi blad”, “Plaza snow”, “Cenniejsze plotno od ram” and “Spotkajmy sie w pot drogi” are all wonderful AOR/Melodic Rocksongs. Together with a big sound quality, this is a much-recommended piece to fans of FM, AVIATOR, DEF LEPPARD, who don’t mind Polish lyrics... You can buy a copy of the CD easily through http://www.target-records.de (Points: 8.5 out of 10) COMPACT ‘100%’ (ROTON ROMANIA) Here’s another rare Eastern Europe piece from a band called COMPACT. I believe I have somewhere in my basement another COMPACT CD laying around doing nothing, but this ‘100%’ is more recent, although still dating back to 1999. Anyway, COMPACT hail from Romania and they play 80s influenced AOR/Melodic Rock (yes with theb keys, hooks and choruses). Basically the album features a nice collection of uptempo rockers, midtempo songs and calmer ballads, with as best songs the uptempo AOR rockers “Promisiuni”, “Da-Mi o veste” (EUROPE keys) and “Se preface”. I am quite sure the band released many more records, but in the meantime check out this ‘100%’ album which is available through http://www.target-records.de (Points: 8.0 out of 10) SIGMA ‘WIN OR LOSE’ (SHARK RECORDS) SIGMA is an Italian band, and ‘Win or lose’ is their 2nd CD release. The album was released on the German label SHARK RECORDS late last year. Musically it’s a mix of typical Italian happy Power Metal and Progressive Metal, ending up sounding like a perfect mix between TIME MACHINE, LABYRINTH and THY MAJESTIE. Although some might call this band yet another Italo Power Metal band, they are definitely somewhat different, and besides the new SIGMA album sounds very impressive, as the songs are catchy and very strong, but also the production, instrumental and vocally everything sounds crystal clear. 13 songs are included on the new SIGMA CD, with a total playing length of 53 minutes. Highlights are such faster uptempo Melodic Power Metal pieces like “Aria of Vendetta” (very sensational, pure LABYRINTH), “Lady of the tempest”, “Win or lose”, “Tears”, “I live if you” and “The blind man”. Concluded, a recommended CD to the fans of LABYRINTH and TIME MACHINE! (Points: 8.5 out of 10) THY MAJESTIE ‘ECHOES OF WAR’ (SCARLET RECORDS) The Italian band THY MAJESTIE released a fantastic 2nd album in 2002 titled ‘Hastings 1066’, an album that clearly stood out between the hundreds of other releases in the Italian Prog/Power Metal genre. The band easily climbed up to the high level of other Italian bands like RHAPSODY, LABYRINTH and TIME MACHINE. Anyway, a few months ago they released a 4-track mini-CD titled ‘Echoes of war’. There aren’t any new songs on the album, but the mini-CD consists of the song “Echoes of war” (From ‘Hastings 1066) and 3 Japanese/Brazilian bonustracks of their 2 releases. These are the songs “In God we trust” (a very cool STRYPER cover), “Hywelbane” (a short instrumental) and “Facing the beast” (a great typical THY MAJESTIE Power Metal song). Interesting for the European THY MAJESTIE fans, but I guess we are actually waiting for the third CD of the band, which should be out soon and that might be a masterpiece, who knows? (Points: 8.0 out of 10) DRAGONHAMMER ‘TIME FOR EXPIATION’ (SCARLET RECORDS) Out of Italy comes DRAGONHAMMER and at first sight it looks like we have to deal here with typical Italo Power Metal (with Neo-Classical influences) in the style of RHAPSODY, LABYRINTH... ‘Time for expiation’ is their 2nd CD and opener “Eternal sinner” is indeed your typical Italo Power metal stuff, but please read on as DRAGONHAMMER has much more to offer! Things get much better on the following track “Believe”, as this is a very strong uptempo Melodic Metal song in Swedish tradition (NARNIA, MALMSTEEN, old EUROPE, NATION) with great vocal work (a la MARK BOALS) and also a very nice keyboard/guitarsound, so definitely a sensational song!!! As the CD develops, I noticed that the band has a strong singer who is able to sing at different levels (very much like MARK BOALS) and also the music is quite diverse and very melodic. It sounds like a mixture between Italo and Swedish Melodic (Power) Metal, so in the end they are definitely NOT the typical RHAPSODY/LABYRINTH clone! Other highlights are “Fear of a child”, “Blind justice” and “Y.M.D.”. Concluded, a recommended CD if you like (for example) PLATITUDE, THUNDERSTONE, VIRTUOCITY... (Points: 8.5 out of 10) PLATITUDE ‘NINE’ (SCARLET RECORDS) Last year the debut album ‘Secrets of life’ from the Swedish band PLATITUDE caused quite a stir, as this was a very sensational Neo-Classical Melodic Power Metalalbum. Now the band returns with their 2nd CD ‘Nine’, an album produced by TOMMY HANSEN (HELLOWEEN, PRETTY MAIDS). Musically not much has changed, although the sound is a bit darker and some of the songs are a little less sensational than the tracks from their debut. Opener “Dark mind” for example is a nice Melodic Metal song, but it doesn’t have such a strong catchy chorus as the songs from the band’s debut did have. But of course there are 10 more songs on the album, and we can find some great Melodic Metal songs on the new PLATITUDE CD, such as “Oblivion”, “Halcyon days”, “Falling” (best song, very strong midtempo Melodic Metal, catchy chorus, a bit like DREAM EVIL), “Aeronautica” and “Endless”. Concluded, not as good as their debut, but still a recommended piece to fans of Melodic (Power) Metal! (Points: 8.5 out of 10) HIGH TENSION ‘BEST OF’ (TOPX MUSIC) I was quite a big fan of the German band HIGH TENSION some 10-12 years ago when I discovered their 3 80s LPs. I played them lots of times, but a decade later I had not played it in a long time, and so this best of CD came at the right time, as now I can hear them again without grabbing the old records. While listening to the CD, I noticed that HIGH TENSION songs still sound very fresh today and they were actually one of the better sounding 80s German Metalbands. It all started in 1985 with the album ‘Warrior’, followed by 1986 ‘Under tension’ record and later in 1988 ‘Masters of madness’. 3 great Melodic Hardrock/Metalalbums, a bit in the typical German style (STEELER, MAD MAX) but also with a slight American tradition (RATT). Anyway, the latest HIGH TENSION album ‘Four’ was released in 1992, but that record was a failed attempt in making an AOR record. Nevertheless, we have now in the year 2004 a new CD by HIGH TENSION, namely the Best of release, which consists of 17 tracks, of which a few unreleased songs. It’s a pity that there are only a few songs included from the band’s hard-to-get first 2 albums ‘Warrior’ and ‘Under tension’, because those were definitely their best recordings. Anyway, still this CD is very good from start to finish with such powerful Melodic Metal songs like “Stiletto heels”, “Rock down”, “When heaven comes down” and “Wind me up” and Melodic Rockers like “Hard lies” (BONFIRE style), “M.O.M. Fanfare”, “One step to paradise” (although guitar riff is stolen from AUTOGRAPH’s “All I’m gonna take”), “Midnight in Tokyo” (not the Y AND T CLASSIC!) and “Work hard”. Later this year we will see even a new studio-CD of HIGH TENSION, so it seems like this legendary German band returns to the scene! More info at: http://www.topxmusic.de and e-mail them at: records@topxmusic.de (Points: 8.5 out of 10) NEVERLAND ‘NEVERLAND’ (INDEPENDENT) Here we have a HIGH QUALITY independent release, because the Swiss band NEVERLAND is playing lovely Melodic Progressive Metal in the style of VANDENPLAS, SYMPHONY X and THRESHOLD. Their mini-CD has a HUGE sound and 4 sensational songs. The songs are not very progressive, as they are mostly straight-forward uptempo with very catchy memorable choruses and excellent guitarwork. Highlights are the uptempo “No time to lose” and “Express your servant”, both very very strong. Concluded, a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED independent mini-CD from the Swiss band NEVERLAND! More info at: http://www.never-land.ch and e-mail them at: booking@never-land.ch (Points: 8.5 out of 10) PANIK ‘A PAGE TORN...’ (ESCAPE MUSIC) ESCAPE MUSIC is starting to release very Modern Nu-Breed stuff, and PANIK from Canada is one of them. Although they are labelled as a band that fits along the lines of MATCHBOX 20, AUDIOSLAVE and NICKELBACK, the band still has a strong Melodic Rock approach than those bands. Just listen to songs like “Crush”, “Amazing” (strong chorus), “Die for you” and “Friends”, all very good Melodic Rock orientated songs. The only difference is the lead vocal part, because singer Rick Legacy is singing very low and depressive (the Nu-Breed thing I don’t like), but musically everything sounds fine with PANIK. It’s just that you have to respect this way of singing, just like Harry Hess of HAREM SCAREM is doing nowadays, so this is absolute nothing for the pure AOR fans. Most notable song on the record if ofcourse the JUDAS PRIEST cover “You’ve got another thing coming”, which has been done very well, very 80s and also with good ‘normal’ vocals by singer Rick. Also nice to mention is that the production was done by STEVE OVERLAND (FM) and Corey McFadyen (THE LADDER) and then I can only beg the people of ESCAPE MUSIC to re-release the THE LADDER classic, because that’s still a very hard-to-get release and one of the most underrated AOR classics from the 80s that should get some new exposure again... In the meantime, this CD is recommended if you are starting to like the typical Nu-Breed style, because then this PANIK is a must, as it definitely is a quality release in this genre. (Points: 7.5 out of 10) WARRIOR ‘THE WARS OF GODS AND MEN’ (REALITY ENTERTAINMENT) Back in the mid 1980s the American Metalband WARRIOR released the classic ‘Fighting for the earth’ and now almost 20 years later the band has a new CD out. It’s not their 2nd album, because in the 1990s they also released a few albums, but WARRIOR 2004 is different, musically grabbing back to the 1980s Metalsound and more importantly, they have a new lead singer. It’s none-other than Mr. KROKUS MARC STORACE who takes care of the lead vocal duty here. However, this CD is very different from KROKUS, actually it reminds me a bit of FROST, and Marc sounds very different than on the KROKUS stuff. The music is pure Metal, sometimes groovy and agressive, even a bit modern at times, but always strong on melody and especially songs like “The wars of Gods and men”, “Do it now”, “Three AM Eternal” and “Unseen forces” (best song, strong 80s US Power Metal) are groovy heavy monsters in the style of the WARRIOR classic ‘Fightin’ for the earth’. The Metal of WARRIOR is unpolished and very raw, and might attract fans of MANOWAR, SEVEN WITCHES, BRAINSTORM and PRIEST, although sometimes the album is drifting a bit too much into a groovy modern Metal approach (PANTERA style). Check it out for yourself at: http://www.reality-entertainment.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) SILVER MOUNTAIN ‘BREAKIN’ CHAINS’ (REALITY ENTERTAINMENT) The legendary Swedish band SILVER MOUNTAIN was one of the very first Hardrock/Metalbands from Sweden some 25 years ago, and through the years their line-up changed a lot, but last year the band released a new CD in a line-up that featured some of it’s original members. SILVER MOUNTAIN 2004 consists of the brother Johansson (Jens on keys and Anders on drums, both known for being members of STRATOVARIUS and HAMMERFALL), lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Jonas Hansson (solo artist) and bassist Per Stadin (SNAKE CHARMER), so I guess you can say this is sort of a supergroup. Musically they grab back to the band’s earlier albums, so this is classic 70s/80s Melodic Hardrock/Metal in a IRON MAIDEN meets RAINBOW/DEEP PURPLE style. The included 13 songs (and videoclip for “Prophet of doom”) are good strong songs with memorable choruses. Jonas is not such a good singer, but instrumental everything sounds perfect. Most of the songs are also very nice to listen to, such as the great uptempo Melodic Rock/Metal pieces “Prophet of doom”, “Scarlet pimpernel”, “Maniac”, “Axeman and the virgin” and “Dance around the fire”. The fact that it sounds so 80s is due to that these are all old songs from the 1980s, but the bandmembers all took time off their current bands/projects to re-record these old SILVER MOUNTAIN songs and the result is a recommended CD to fans of classic 80s Melodic Hardrock/Metal! See for yourself at: http://www.reality-entertainment.com or http://www.silvermountainrules.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) RAZZLE DAZZLE ‘WHAT THE HELL...?!’ (INDEPENDENT) Italy is still a good place to look for 80s orientated Glam/Party Rockbands and RAZZLE DAZZLE is one of them. Happily this time no amateur or cheap demo stuff, because RAZZLE DAZZLE sent me a high quality and very professional CD (with a very nice frontcover as well!) and the included music is good straight-forward 80s Party/Glam Hardrock. Everything looks and sounds quite professional, and this CD is easily a must if you’re into bands like MOTLEY CRUE, TWISTED SISTER, SKID ROW... 8 songs are included, of which the highlights are uptempo Partyrockers like “Bad boys”, “On the edge” and “The day after”. Check out their site at: http://www.rzd.it and e-mail them at: rzd@rzd.it (Points: 7.5 out of 10) WOLFE BLITZER ‘DEMO CDR’ (DEMO CDR) This is a very sensational demo recording band from Houston, Texas, USA. They are called WOLFE BLITZER and they play true Classic 80s Melodic Hardrock/Metal, a bit in the style of FIFTH ANGEL and the very first EP of QUEENSRYCHE, with also strong WARLOCK similarities. The band has a very good strong female lead singer and the 3 featured songs sound very impressive. This is how good old US Rock/Metal used to sound, powerful and very strong, yet catchy and melodic enough to stick in your head. Highlights are “Lonely world” and “Holdin’ on”. Better check out this band asap at: http://www.wolfeblitzer.com and e-mail them at: Info@wolfeblitzer.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) VICIOUS CIRCLE ‘MACHINE’ (INDEPENDENT) VICIOUS CIRCLE is a new Canadian band playing pure 80s US Power Metal a la METAL CHURCH, VICIOUS RUMORS, HELSTAR, ANVIL... yet with some modern touches here and there (some unnecessary distorted vocals). The band has released a 4-track EP CD titled ‘Machine’. The 4 short songs will be loved by fans of mentioned bands, especially uptempo songs like “It’s not O.K.” and “My own disaster” (strong chorus). Concluded, recommended band to fans of classy 80s US Power Metal. More info at: http://www.viciouscircleonline.com and e-mail them at: band@viciouscircleonline.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) IMAGES OF EDEN ‘IMAGES OF EDEN’ (INDEPENDENT) The American band IMAGES OF EDEN is actually the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist/singer/ songwriter/producer (!) Gordon Tittsworth. As IMAGES OF EDEN he released a full-length debut CD in 2001, but also sent me a new 3-track sneak preview CDR of his upcoming album ‘Beyond the horizon’. First let’s talk about their 2001 record, which contains some great Melodic Progressive Metal. Gordon has a very good voice, and most of the 12 included tracks are quite strong Melodic ProgMetalsongs like FATES WARNING/ QUEENSRYCHE... Highlights are “Stealth”, “Tied to a wish”, “Jade’s dream” and “Dawn”. The 3 new songs I was able to hear show an even better IMAGES OF EDEN, with even some excellent Melodic Prog. Metal songs a la SYMPHONY X (also with superb guitarwork). Also I need to add that IMAGES OF EDEN is now a full band, because Gordon just used the 2001 CD to select a full line-up, which he eventually found and with whom he is now recording a second CD. Concluded, a recommended band to fans of US Melodic Prog. Metal. More info at: http://www.imagesofeden.com and e-mail at: gordon@imagesofeden.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) MENNEN ‘FREAKAZOID’ (SNAKEBITE RECORDS/ROCK INC.) ‘Freakazoid’ is the fifth CD of the Dutch band MENNEN, the band formed around former ZINATRA lead singer Joss Mennen. The new album was mixed by ERWIN MUSPER at the famous Wisseloord Studios (VAN HALEN, DEF LEPPARD, SCORPIONS...). The sound is indeed huge and actually I think MENNEN has finally come up with a good record after releasing a few disappointing albums (‘Age of fools’ and ‘Back to the real world’). Recently their debut CD was re-released and although I still think that record is the best MENNEN album so far, this new CD is also quite enjoyable. The music is powerful Melodic Hardrock with strong choruses, with as highlights “Down” (the first single, a great midtempo melodic heavy rocker with some prog elements), “It’s over”, “Rain” and “The world stopped turning”, but the band also delivers the occasional (semi) ballad like “Secrets and lies” and “Believe”. Concluded, a strong return of MENNEN, and now we can also look forward to the re-issues of the ZINATRA albums, which are still quite popular among melodic rock collectors worldwide! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) FROZEN TEARS ‘WAY OF TEMPTATION’ (MEGAHARD RECORDS) ‘Way of temptation’ is the 2nd CD of the Italian band FROZEN TEARS, who are signed to the Brazilian label MEGAHARD RECORDS. Musically they play standard 80s Heavy Metal in the style of JUDAS PRIEST (very much). Although they are not that far away from the same pure Metalstyle their countrymen DOMINE are playing, I must say that FROZEN TEARS is not as good as DOMINE. Their lead singer is not that strong, but instrumental everything sounds pretty good. Songs like “A loosing game”, “Angel’s crying”, “Jail of pain” and “The flame of hate” are good uptempo Melodic Heavy Metal songs and if you like PRIMAL FEAR, PRIEST, DOMINE you might want to check out this band, but I think their upcoming new (3rd) CD will show what this band is able to make. For now check out their site at: http://www.frozentears.it (Points: 7.5 out of 10) CETI ‘LAMIASTRATA’ (OSKAR/DRAGONIGHT AGENCY) Poland was not a country that brought us many bands the past 20/30 years. In the 1980s there were bands like TURBO and TSA, who actually were quite well-known, but they were not that good. However, out of the ashes of TURBO came a new band in 1989 called CETI. This band managed to release a couple of albums, of which ’Lamiastrata’ was their 2nd, recorded originally in 1992, but it had to wait until 2002 for an official CD release. Now I can inform you that CETI is much better than TURBO and TSA, as they are playing high quality Classic Melodic Euro Metal, kinda like a heavier PRETTY MAIDS meets IRON MAIDEN. The DRAGONIGHT AGENCY released 3 CETI albums recently, and ‘Lamiastrata’ is one of them. This is a very strong album, with a big production and quality Melodic Metal songs like “Burning fantasy”, “Burning fantasy”, “Satan’s cavalry part 3” and “Hot body and hair”, coming across like a mix between PRIEST, MAIDEN and PRETTY MAIDS. The vocals of singer Grzegorz Kupczyk are compared to Bruce Dickinson and Ronnie James Dio, but I think that’s a bit overrated, as Grzegorz is just a typical Metal singer, nothing that special. Anyway, the CD comes with some very nice artwork, liner notes and 2 bonustracks, so 60 minutes of quality Melodic Metal! More info at: http://www.oskar-cd.com.pl (Points: 8.0 out of 10) CETI ‘EXTASY 93 LIVE’ (OSKAR/DRAGONIGHT AGENCY) CETI seems to be one of the best Polish bands ever. They have done 6 releases, of which ‘Extasy’ 93 Live’ is a Live CD, with as bonus on this 2002 re-issue video footage of these live recordings. The music is high quality Melodic Euro (Power) Metal with some great songs like “Bieg stracencow”, “Harley’s soul”, “Burning fantasy”, “Ogien I Izy” (fantastic, Melodic Rockish) and “Prawo piesci”. As you notice, the band sings in both Polish and English, but the music sounds great, so there isn’t a big language barrier here. I must admit that live the band sounds better than in the studio, and this Live-CD is without a doubt a highly recommended quality Melodic Metal piece. Check it out if you like PRETTY MAIDS type of Melodic Heavy Rock/Metal! More info at: http://www.oskar-cd.com.pl (Points: 8.5 out of 10) CETI ‘SHADOW OF THE ANGEL’ (OSKAR/DRAGONIGHT AGENCY) The third album of the Polish band CETI I review here is without any doubts their best record ever I think. ‘Shadow of the angel’ is their 6th studio CD and it has just been released. The album has a superb production, a large professional CD package/booklet and musically the band has come up with their best material. This is an album that can easily compete with most of the other European Melodic Metal releases. The 12 included songs are all sung in English, and this time lead singer Grzegorz Kupczyk sounds very good, so all together this CD is the best CETI record and also a highly recommended record to the fans of high quality Euro melodic Metal. 12 songs are included in total, with the addition of 4 bonustracks sung in Polish. The Melodic Metal of CETI sounds very impressive on this CD, with some great songs like “Treason”, “The choice”, “I know”, “Destiny” and “Shadow of the angel”. Better get yourself a copy of this CD at: http://www.oskar-cd.com.pl (Points: 8.5 out of 10) VISUAL BLIND ‘OPEN YOUR EYES’ (SCENIC SOUND) Here’s another quality Progressive Rock/Metalband from Holland. The band is called VISUAL BLIND, and they play a little straighter than the usual bands in this genre. Without a doubt, this is music at a very high level, and sometimes it reminds me a bit of a heavier straighter version of very early MARILLION (1982/1983). 4 songs are on the mini-CD ‘Open your eyes’. Opener “White angels” is definitely the strongest song on offer here, a great straight-forward uptempo melodic Progressive rocker with a classy twin-guitarsound. The other 3 songs are all good Progrockers, with the emotional calmer ballad “Damned to stay” being a remarkable track that features very nice vocals (kinda like the UFO singer!). The fans of quality Progrock/metal should check out this VISUAL BLIND at: http://www.visualblind.nl (Points: 8.0 out of 10) MUSTAIN ‘DEAD ALIVE’ (ZOMBIE HOUSE RECORDS) This is the kind of Metal I am not such a big fan of, as MUSTAIN is playing a sort of slowed down Thrash Metal, something which made METALLICA and MEGADETH so popular in the early 90s. Anyway, MUSTAIN lead singer/guitarist Johan Lindstrom does a very good Dave Mustaine meets James Hetfield impression here and like all those other Swedish bands I actually can not say anything bad about this CD, because it’s a quality mini-CD MUSTAIN has released. They play their kind of Metal very well and the production is very impressive, so if you’re a dedicated METALLICA/MEGADETH fan, then you better have to check out this Swedish band at: http://www.mustain.tk and e-mail them at: Miltonbull@hotmail.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) AFTER FOREVER ‘INVISIBLE CIRCLES’ (TRANSMISSION RECORDS) The Dutch Melodic Gothic Power Metalband AFTER FOREVER is becoming more and more popular and I think with this new CD ‘Invisible circles’ they will reach an ever wider audience. The CD has a HUGE sound (mixed by SASCHA PAETH) and musically the Gothic Power/Prog. Metal of AFTER FOREVER is very sensational and as good as NIGHTWISH. Here in The Netherlands the band is very popular, and with this new CD they should become as popular as NIGHTWISH is in the rest of Europe. Musically nothing has changed compared to the previous releases, but somehow this CD sounds really big and is probably their best effort. 12 songs are included, with a total playing time of 60 minutes, and all together they tell us the experiences of the real world through the eyes of a child. Soprano (or lead singer) Floor Jansen is giving us a very impressive performance all throughout the album, and instrumental it all sounds perfect. If we have a look at the songs, I must mention as highlights “Sins of idealism” (very strong chorus), “Eccentric” (calm emotional ballad with very passionate vocals of Floor), “Digital deceit” (fantastic midtempo Melodic Prog. Metal), “Two sides” (big Progmetal), “Victim of choices” (pure NIGHTWISH) and closing track “Life’s vortex”. I can only conclude that this is a masterpiece in the Gothic Power Metal scene, so everyone who likes NIGHTWISH, EPICA or WITHIN TEMPTATION will absolutely love this new AFTER FOREVER record as well! (Points: 9.0 out of 10) VANDALE ‘SCHANDALE/STALE VERHALE’ (SNAKEBITE RECORDS/ROCK INC.) It has been almost 25 years ago since one of the few Dutch Hardrockbands who sang in the Dutch language were active and all this time their 2 LPs have never been re-issued onto CD, until now! The new Dutch label SNAKEBITE RECORDS is digging up old (mostly) Dutch records and give them an impressive re-issue/re-release, such as the MENNEN and ZINATRA releases, but also a double-CD package of VANDALE. This 2-CD set contains both VANDALE albums, as well as 9 unreleased bonustracks. Those bonustracks are quite interesting, as they were the songs recorded for the 3rd album of VANDALE, which was never released. Anyway, I am a big fan of Dutch Hardrock/Metal and we have had a lot of talented and succesful bands and musicians through the years (EDDIE VAN HALEN, ADRIAN VANDENBERG, ARJEN LUCASSEN, KAYAK, SUN CAGED, AFTER FOREVER, WITHIN TEMPTATION etc. etc.), but it’s a pity that the band VANDALE never got so much fame, especially here in Holland. They released 2 ‘classics’, and were one of the best Dutch Hardrockbands ever, and happily, this can now be heard on this digitally mastered double-CD, which contains 31 songs in total. I still think their debut ‘Schandale’ is their best album, with such instant classics like “Vrienden uit de kroeg”, “Paddestoel”, “Wat goed voor jou is”, “Ik heb” and “Weet ik veel”. However, the best song VANDALE ever recorded was the fantastic “Jouw enige kracht” from the 2nd album ‘Stale verhale’. Anyway, you should better get this double-CD set, as this is a piece of Dutch Hardrockstory not to be missed. Musically they sounded like a mix between AC/DC, Y & T, VAN HALEN, KISS and SAXON, yet with the Dutch lyrics, which was and still is very rare these days! And trust me it doesn’t sound dated at all, and should have been high in the Dutch charts back then, but it’s never too late, because this 2-CD set might give them finally some more attention that 20 years ago... (Points: 9.0 out of 10) JADED HEART ‘TRUST’ (ULFTONE MUSIC/BERTUS) The German Melodic Rockers of JADED HEART are back with a new CD titled ‘Trust’. It’s their 6th studio CD and it’s much better than the previous album ‘The journey will never end’. This is Melodic Hardrock at it’s very best, and between the 13 songs included here we can find some great songs like the uptempo melodic rockers “Feels like home” and “Healer”, the midtempo rockers “Anymore” and “Trust” and the semi-ballads “If I lose” and “Love is magic”. This is prime-time Melodic Hardrock at it’s very best, the stuff BON JOVI, FIREHOUSE, DANGER DANGER, HAREM SCAREM and DEF LEPPARD used to make in the late 80s/early 90s. Only towards the end there are a few weaker songs (“Sweet summetime”, “Hating you” and “Jaded”), but don’t let that influence you, because this is a highly recommended Melodic Hardrockalbum! (Points: 8.5 out of 10) POWER QUEST ‘NEVERWORLD’ (FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS) One of the first Power Metalbands signed to FRONTIERS RECORDS is POWER QUEST. They hail from the UK and already proved on their debut ‘Wings of forever’ (UNDERGROUND SYMPHONY RECORDS) that they were a sensational Melodic Power Metalband who played in the style of RHAPSODY, NOCTURNAL RITES and LABYRINTH. 9 songs are included, with a total playing length of 60 minutes, packed in a superb production by Karl Groom, while the CD was mixed by Pete Coleman (AC/DC, GARY HUGHES, PARADISE LOST). Without a doubt, ‘Neverworld’ is a high quality release, which doesn’t bore at all from the first seconds of the song “Neverworld (Power Quest 2)” until the closing track “Lost without you”. In between you can find a pleasant mixture of Melodic Rock and Power Metal with catchy memorable hooks and choruses and soaring lead- and harmonyvocals. Highlights are “Neverworld” (classy Melodic Power Metal), “Edge of time” (pure 80s Melodic Rock, keys, a la EUROPE/SHY), “Sacred land” (happy fast Italo Power Metal), “Into the light” (STRATOVARIUSish catchy fast Melodic Power Metal) and “For evermore” (catchy 80s Melodic Rock, best song!). Recommended piece to fans of RHAPSODY, LABYRINTH, KAMELOT, although there’s also some pure 80s Melodic Rock included, so it’s not all the way Power Metal... (Points: 8.5 out of 10) SONS OF RILEY ‘SONS OF RILEY’ (BFP RECORDS/PERRIS RECORDS) In the 1990s there was a band called EMPIRE, but since there are a lot of bands out there called EMPIRE, I need to add that they came from Baltimore, USA. They released a CD titled ‘Driven by rock’ in 1995, and the 14 tracks on this CD are quite diverse, somewhere falling in between 70s Rock, Bluesrock, AOR and Pop (Rock). Imagine a mixture between BEATLES, DAKOTA/JERRY KELLY BAND and 38 SPECIAL, and you’re quite close to the sound of EMPIRE. Highlights on the ‘Driven by rock’ CD were “Do you really love me”, “Across the city” (good midtempo rock a la JIMI JAMISON), “My life’s on hold” and “In and out of love” (strong 80s midtempo AOR), “Don’t cry” (strong vocals) and “Night club home”. There were also some weaker songs on the album, like the poppy “It really won’t matter to me” and “Mid life crisis”, but for a fan of 70s Rock/AOR this might be interesting to check out. However, the story goes on, because now there’s a band called SONS OF RILEY, which is the first solo effort by two members of Empire - brothers Tim Miskimon ( lead singer/songwriter/ guitarist /keyboards) & Mark Miskimon ( drummer).. Under this moniker they released a CD in 2002. Musically nothing had changed, so again we can hear a mix of some good AOR rockmaterial a la DAKOTA such as “Into the night”, “Run” and “Cindy” as well as a classy 80s AOR ballad “Maybe” (a la REO SPEEDWAGON), but also some poppier Rock&Roll like STONES/BEATLES/GOLDEN EARRING (“Never going back”, “Hardline” and “Waking up”), while there’s also some Bluesrock a la BAD COMPANY to be heard (“Hotel motel time”). Concluded, a very diverse CD by SONS OF RILEY, with ups and downs, but without a doubt both the EMPIRE and SONS OF RILEY CD’s are quality releases. EMPIRE is currently working on a new CD, to be released someday soon. More info on both bands at: http://www.basementfloor.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) MIKE TRAMP ‘ROCK’N’ROLL ALIVE’ (ULFTONE MUSIC/BERTUS) WHITE LION lead singer MIKE TRAMP continues releasing new and live CD’s under his own name. This double-live-CD contains mostly solo-material, but also some WHITE LION classics. Sadly this live CD doesn’t sound interesting at all, because the Poprock has nothing to do with the full blast Melodic Hardrocksound of WHITE LION. I always found WHITE LION’s “Broken heart” a very powerful Melodic Hardrocksong, but this version doesn’t make any sense, and after a while Mike’s lead vocals become quite irritating, because Mike starts to sing very depressive and grungy. I wonder if the WHITE LION comeback will see Mike singing better, because on this live-CD it really sounds quite depressive. Only recommended to fans of MIKE TRAMP’s solo-records and FREAKS OF NATURE. WHITE LION fans stay away from this! (Points: 6.0 out of 10) LIFE ‘WHITE FLOWERS’ (PROMO CD Z RECORDS) I don’t have any additional info on this one, because it is a promo of a CD which will be released through Z RECORDS at . This is not the same LIFE that released a CD 6/7 years ago, a band that featured ROBIN GEORGE, because this LIFE features Leif from 21 Guns. The LIFE CD is a good poppy AOR record with superb lead vocals, but not all included songs are that interesting, because it is quite poppy sometimes. Highlights are such AOR based tunes like “White flowers”, “Devil wears white”, “One” (a la STREET TALK) and “This dream”. It reminds me a lot of JOHN ELEFANTE, JOHN WETTON and MAX BACON, with even some references to the Dutch band FOR ABSENT FRIENDS. This is definitely quality music, and if you’re into calmer AOR with high class lead vocals, then look no further, because this new LIFE CD will fullfill your wishes. (Points: 8.0 out of 10) ANZERAY ‘ANZERAY’ (INDEPENDENT) Madrid is like the Metal Capitol of Spain, because in that beautiful city all the bands and labels from Spain are settled, and ANZERAY is one of them. The band has a male and female lead singer, and their CD contains 7 tracks. Musically this is typical Spanish/Italo Melodic Power Metal (with English lyrics) in the style of DARK MOOR and DARNA. Songs like “Realize”, “Black millennium” (STRATOVARIUSish) and “Unicorn” are all nice uptempo Melodic Metal songs. Need to add here that the male vocals are much better than the weaker female vocals, because the female singer is trying to sound like NIGHTWISH, but that high level isn’t reachable for her I am afraid. Nevertheless, this is a nice band, so check out ANZERAY at: http://www.anzeray.tk and e-mail at: anzeray_metal@hotmail.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) KILLERS ‘LE COTE LIVE!’ (BRENNUS RECORDS) The legendary French band already released a live record 7 years ago, but that’s not that surprising because KILLERS’ new live record ‘Le cote live’ is their 14th (!) album. This new Live CD has a playing time of 74 minutes and contains 16 tracks. The band never changed their style, so we can still hear pure 80s fast Speed Metal, which is still quite melodic (AGENT STEEL style) and actually sounds pretty good, although most of the songs are moving in a similar path, with sometimes a slower song like “Delire de Mort”, “L’assassin” and “Rosalind”. However, it’s almost from start to finish fast uptempo Speed metal, so if you’re a fan of that genre, then you will love this band too. If you never heard something of KILLERS before, then this is the right time, as this live-CD contains their 16 best songs, packed in a very nice package (extensive French text/lyrics) and the live recording itself is very impressive. In other words, this is a quality live CD from one of the most popular French bands ever! (Points: 8.0 out of 10) FREDERICO DE CECCO ‘FLASH-BACK’ (BRENNUS RECORDS) FREDERICO DE CECCO is a 30-year old French guitarist, and he just released his debut CD. It’s an instrumental album and I believe the rest of the instruments were also played by Frederico himself. Anyway, this is definitely a quality instrumental Rock/Metal album with excellent guitarplay by Frederico. His influences come from DREAM THEATER, TOTO, STEVE VAI, TONY MACALPINE, and I think you can clearly hear that on Frederico’s CD. Without a doubt, this CD is recommended to the fans of instrumental guitar orientated Melodic Rock/Metal, with as highlights “Horizons brulants”, “Un appel, un echo”, “Madame B” and “Retour sur Venus”. (Points: 8.0 out of 10) FIINKY PIE ‘FIINKY PIE’ (BRENNUS RECORDS) Out of France comes FIINKY PIE, a 3-piece band formed around guitarist/vocalist Raynz Fiink. They play a sort of 80s Partyrock, a lot reminding me of ACE FREHLEY’s solo albums. Vocally it is not really good, and also the included 9 songs are not that interesting, just average 80s Glam/Hardrock, which gets a bit boring towards the end. Only interesting for die-hard 80s Glam/Partyrockfans... (Points: 6.5 out of 10) MOONSTONE ‘THE SECOND RUNE’ (BRENNUS RECORDS) This is a very impressive French band, and ‘The second rune’ is their 2nd CD so far. They play very strong 80s uptempo Melodic Hard/Heavy Rock with also very impressive vocals of the female singer Paula Guittard. The CD has a very good production and most of the 9 included songs are catchy straight-ahead uptempo Melodic Heavy Rockers like SCORPIONS meets DORO. Highlights include “Heart on heart”, “Run”, “Burining fire” and “I’m back”, with also a strong semi melodic rockballad like “You’re leaving me” added. The new CD of MOONSTONE is therefore recommended to fans of quality Melodic Hard/Heavy Rock with an 80s approach and strong female vocals. (Points: 8.0 out of 10) MENAM ‘AESTHETICS’ (BRENNUS RECORDS) MENAM is a French band playing complex Progressive Metal. They were formed about 7 years ago, and this is their first CD. They are your typical Prog. Metal, sometimes reminding me of SYRINX or a POWER OF OMENS. Instrumental it all sounds very impressive, but vocally (David Moussion) has some troubles keeping up with the tempo changes of each song. I am not saying this is a weak Prog. Metal CD, because the average progmetalfreak will definitely like MENAM, but they are not up there with recent new releases of DREAMSCAPE, SUN CAGED or to mention the best, DREAM THEATER. This is just a good deal of standard ProgMetal, with as best songs “La Nation Hybride”, “Eclat de lumiere” and the instrumental “Anakrousis”. The band sings in both the French and English language, and are good enough to check out if you’re a big Progmetalfan. (Points: 8.0 out of 10) GUTTURAL ‘SET SWORDS TO MUSIC’ (BRENNUS RECORDS) Without a doubt, this is one of the best BRENNUS releases from a batch of new CDs of this French label. GUTTURAL hail from France and ‘Set swords to music’ is a very impressive debut CD. Striking is the fact that none-other than SASCHA PAETH (KAMELOT, AINA, RHAPSODY) mastered the CD. Anyway, this is really great stuff, because GUTTURAL is playing an sort of Epic Melodic Prog/Power Metal that sounds like a mix between (let’s say) VIRGIN STEELE, SAVATAGE... but with very melodic lead vocals. Instrumental it all sounds perfect as well, so this GUTTURAL is definitely a high quality band. Their songs are quite lengthy sometimes, and they really have created an own style, which is quite exciting. The best songs are “The kingdom of God”, “Minstrels of the kingdom”, “My rash ancestor” and “House of smile part 3”. Concluded, this is a highly recommended CD to any fan of high quality Melodic Epic Metal! (Points: 8.5 out of 10) CRUSHING BLOW ‘FAR AWAY’ (BRENNUS RECORDS) We’re back in France once again with another quality band on the Brennus Recordlabel. They are called CRUSHING BLOW and their debut CD is titled ‘Far away’. The band has a strong female singer and musically they play typical Melodic Euro (Power) Metal a la DARK MOOR, HEADLINE, AMARAN, DARNA... 10 songs are included, and with a full-blown high level sound/production, this is definitely a highly recommended piece. Highlights can be found in the shape of “Far away”, “Idols”, “Get out of my way” and “Dark moon”. Check it out if you like typical Euro Melodic Metal with female vocals. (Points: 8.5 out of 10) TRUSTIES ‘WE JUST WANT TO RULE THE WORLD’ (SOUND OF WOOD/MUSEA RECORDS) There aren’t many Progressive Rockbands in Finland, but TRUSTIES is one of the few bands playing pure Progressive Rock. ‘We just want to rule the world’ is their 2nd CD, and the follow-up to their 1997 debut ‘Growing smaller’. 13 tracks are included, and primarily it is Progressive Rock a la RUSH, with here and there some Melodic Rock element added like in the best song “The ultimate decision”, a straight-forward uptempo rocker. Some tracks are also quite calm and acoustic based, but the general feeling of this album is a quality Progrockalbum, so recommended to fans of bands like RUSH, JADIS, 70s GENESIS, JUMP... More info at: http://www.puucd.com and e-mail at: trusties@puucd.com (Points: 7.5 out of 10) BLACK WIDOW ‘SATAN’S PLAYGROUND’ (JAB PRODUCTIONS) There are quite a few bands called BLACK WIDOW out there, but this one hails from Maryland, USA. They sent me their recently released debut CD ‘Satan’s playground’. The band has a female lead singer called CAT, but do not confuse here with other artists/bands called CAT. This BLACK WIDOW is basically a complete new band from the underground of the US Hardrock/Metal scene. Their first CD is filled with 12 tracks, with a total playing length of 65 minutes, and what I hear is definitely quality 80s US Melodic Hardrock/Metal, dangerously close to a BITCH/BETSY, WARLOCK and SACRED CHILD. Out of the 12 songs the best tracks are “Black sunshine”, “Satan’s playground”, “Winds of fire”, “Heavy Metal warriors” and “Night chills”. More info can be found at: http://www.blackwidow.vze.com and e-mail them at: blackwidowroxx@aol.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) DELUSION ‘THE TRAGEDY OF REGRET’ (RAVENHURST RECORDS) The first CD of the Baltimore, Maryland, USA settled band DELUSION was produced by Drew Mazurek, who is known for productions of albums by GWAR, SOULS AT ZERO, LINKIN’ PARK and that type of Nu-Metal, so I wasn’t expecting that much interesting on this DELUSION, but... I can inform you that this DELUSION has delivered a very sensational CD. They play melodic Progressive Metal in the 80s QUEENSRYCHE and FATES WARNING region. This is high quality stuff definitely, with awesome high pitched vocals of singer Walt Downey and a lot of excellent memorable songs. The songs are not that complicated and long as some of the other bands in this genre, a bit straighter and very catchy actually. The best comparisons I can come up with are MAGNITUDE 9, ION VEIN, 80s QUEENRSYCHE, BALANCE OF POWER, BLACK MAJESTY... The sound is big and the included 11 songs are all sensational. This is one of those bands that will soon be picked up by a major label here in Europe, as labels like LIMB MUSIC, LION MUSIC and NOISE sign these kind of bands weekly. Like I said before, the songs are not that long, but are mostly straight-ahead with catchy hooks and memorable chorus, and of course the wonderful lead vocals of singer Walt Downey (he is a true discovery, one of the best newcomers and I can assure you we will hear more from him in the future, a huge talented singer a la GEOFF TATE, maybe even better!), but also lead guitarist Phil Carnes is doing a great job. Highlights are “My child” (SUPERB!!!), “In my life”, “Feel this way”, “Beyond the door” and “Falling” (AORish, TRIUMPH orientated). This is pure 80s US Prog/Power Metal that sounds very melodic, and is a deadringer for the fans of 80s QUEENRSYCHE and FATES WARNING, because this CD of DELUSION is not that far away removed from the high level of those legendary bands. So I can only say to you that you should get yourself a copy A.S.A.P. of this DELUSION, because it is a MUST HAVE! More info at: http://www.delusion.us and e-mail them at: info@ravenhurstrecords.com or info@alchemy.md-internet.net (Points: 9.0 out of 10) SECRET HEROES ‘LOOSE, HIGH AND FREE’ (ROCKPARADE RECORDS) Out of Germany comes SECRET HEROES, and they recently released their debut ‘Loose, high and free’. The CD contains 12 tracks and has a very good sound/production. Instrumental and even the included songs also sound very good, but sadly vocally it all could have been better I think. Fred Carson is the name of the singer, and although he is not a bad singer, I think he is at this point the weakest link in SECRET HEROES. On the other hand, the music makes that up, as there’s some great pure 80s Melodic Hard/Heavy Rock on this album, such as the GRAVESTONE/STEELERish “Eternal nights”, the midtempo TRANCE/VICTORY orientated “Highway runner”, the uptempo melodic rocker “Same player shoots again” (strong chorus), “20th century survivors” and “Straight on” (AORish rocker). Concluded, a recommended piece to fans of typical german Melodic Hard/Heavy Rock/Metal, although the lead vocals could be stronger. More info at: http://www.SecretHeroes.com and e-mail at: contact@secretheroes.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) AINA ‘DAYS OF RISING DOOM – THE METAL OPERA’ (TRANSMISSION RECORDS) The past few months a lot of things have been said about AINA, a huge new Metal Opera in the style of AVANTASIA, NOSTRADAMEUS, ONCE AND FUTURE KING, LEONARDO, AYREON, STAR ONE... The album has been out for a few months now, but we now finally are able to make a review of it. I can easily say that this is a high quality release, as the album consists of 2 CDs and 1 DVD, combining all together you can enjoy some 150 minutes of music and entertainment and also the CD-booklet is very impressive, with an amazing 50 page CD booklet. But the most important thing is of course the music and I can also add here that AINA is musically very impressive, with a very interesting musician/vocalist list appearing on the album. AINA is a project of producer Sascha Paeth (KAMELOT, RHAPSODY), producer/multi-instrumentalist Robert Hunecke Rizzo, vocalist/storywriter/vocal coach Amanda Somerville and keyboardplayer/orchestral arranger Miro. Together with an incredible list of musicians and singers they have created a Metal Opera of a very high level. Just to mention a few of the lead singers I need to add GLENN HUGHES, Tobias Sammett from EDGUY, Michael Kiske (ex-HELLOWEEN), Damian Wilson (ex-THRESHOLD, STAR ONE), SASS JORDAN, Simone Simons from EPICA, Andre Matos (ex-ANGRA), Candice Night (BLACKMORE’S NIGHT) and appearing musicians are people like Derk Sherinian (DREAM THEATER), ERIK NORLANDER, Thomas Youngblood (KAMELOT), Jens Johansson (ex-STRATOVARIUS, MALMSTEEN) and many more. Recorded in 20+ studios, it took quite some time to finish this enormous project, but the result is very impressive. Like I said before the booklet and extra’s are all excellent, but we are here to talk about the music. The first disc is the original CD, ‘Days of rising doom’, which contains 15 tracks and a total of 70 minutes original AINA music. The style is pure Euro Power Metal with some calmer moments here and there, and some epic and even groovy stuff sometimes. The highlights can be found in the uptempo Melodic Power Metal tracks, such as “Flight of Torek”, “The beast withing”, “Rebellion” and “Naschtok is born”. The 2nd CD tells us the story of Aina, as well as single, alternative and demo versions of some of the tracks included on CD 1. Finally there’s the DVD, which is very nice to watch as it contains video footage of how AINA was created, so you’ll see a lot of footage from the studios AINA was recorded. All together it makes this release a highly recommended piece, although I need to add that the best songs on the CD are during the beginning of the album, because towards the end there are some fillers here and there, but why complain, because this is an excellent release that should be picked up by every decent Rock/Metal fan! (Points: 9.0 out of 10) ROUND MIDNIGHT ‘FISHING A BRAIN’ (LABEL LAB RECORDS) Progressive Rock from Italy is the style ROUND MIDNIGHT is bringing us. 8 songs are included, and with a strong production this is without a doubt a quality release. It’s definitely a more modern Progrock approach, with some references to a SPOCK’S BEARD or MAGELLAN. The songs are slow, a bit depressive, but still very melodic during the strong catchy choruses. A good example is the song “Empty mind”, which starts calm, very modern and depressive, but builds up into a strong melodic chorus. Other highlights are “Pride” and “Plastic”. This is the kind of band you’ll hear on CYCLOPS RECORDS a lot, so I think you know by now what this band is all about. Check ‘em out at: http://www.roundmidnite.net and e-mail them at: theband@roundmidnite.net (Points: 7.5 out of 10) CROOKED MOUTH ‘CROOKED MOUTH’ (MOON BROTHERS MUSIC) Edinburgh is a beautiful Scottish city and I love to visit that city once again after having been there for a week last year, but musically it is not interesting at all. CROOKED MOUTH is the very first band ever I get to review! They have sent me a CD, of which 20% of the album’s cover price goes direct to Sight Savers International, an organisation which raises money to help the blind people worldwide. That’s quite interesting and if you listen to the music of CROOKED MOUTH you can hear that this is a band that cares about life and other people. Mostly it’s calmer Progressive Rock which reminds me of MOSTLY AUTUMN and a tiny bit JADIS (instrumental parts). Songs like “Strange days”, “Ocean and sky” and “Time and again” are very nice, and therefore this is a recommended piece to fans of MOSTLY AUTUMN, KARNATAKA... although the male singer here takes most of the vocals with the female singer backing him up. Check out the band’s site at: http://www.crookedmouth.co.uk and e-mail them at: kl.campbell@virgin.net (Points: 7.5 out of 10) METAPHOR ‘ENTERTAINING THANATOS’ (TROPE AUDIO RECORDS) This American band is playing pure 70s Progressive Rock with some complex tempo changes and various musicstyles slipped through. Sometimes it sounds a bit quirky, but it’s not bad at all what we get to hear. I hear some comparisons to a 70s GENESIS, a SAGA and some late MARILLION (non-FISH period), only more experimental (a la SPOCK’S BEARD) here and there. The 7 included songs are quite lengthy and I think the fans of pure 70s progrock might like this a lot, with as best songs “Raking the bones” and the 17 minutes counting epic “Yes and no”. Progrockfans should go to: http://www.metaphor.org and e-mail them at: lenny@metaphor.org (Points: 7.5 out of 10) SNAKE RYDER ‘D.O.A.’ (METAL MAYHEM RECORDS) SNAKE RYDER is a new band from New Jersey, USA and they play good old 80s LA Party/Hardrock’n’roll in the style of QUIET RIOT, WASP, CRUE, DIRTY LOOKS, RATT... There are no surprises here, but still fans of quality 80s Hardrock will love this a lot, and as best tracks I should mention “Got no time for romance” (good late 80s Y&Tish rocker), “Love it bites” (catchy melodic rocker) “Don’t wanna let go” (fantastic pure late 80s strong melodic rockballad, radio-ready US 1989 a la WARRANT, FIREHOUSE, WINGER, with a very strong chorus and classy guitarsolo), “There’s a price you have to pay” (uptempo catchy melodic rocker) and “Danger zone” (SUPERB strong DOKKENish melodic rocker, but also pure Y AND T ‘Contagious’). The band’s lead singer reminds me a lot of DAVE MENIKETTI, but the music is like a commercial version of late 80s Y AND T ‘Contagious’ period. Without a doubt a high quality release from the US of A! Check it out if you’re a fan of one of the mentioned bands... More info at: http://www.snakeryder.com (Points: 8.5 out of 10) VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘HONDURAS ROCKS!!’ (COSTA NORTE RECORDS) Honduras is one of many South American bands of whom we are not familiar with the growing Rock/Metalscene, but this compilation CD should give you some information of the most important underground bands from Honduras. Not all included bands are interesting for us, as some play Alternative/NU-Rock/Metal, but I will inform you about the interesting ones here. ZOOM GRANADA and ROZNAMU are 2 good progressive rockbands, while TAROT is great melodic hardrock, but we recently reviewed their CD. One of the best bands included here is G.O.D., their song “Father of the night” is a great mixture of 80s US metal and today’s Euro Metal. Hopefully I can get my hands on some more info/material on this band soon, because they have a CD out. The 80s Hardrock of LARVA is also quite good, and their CD I hopefully can review also soon. Closing band is INSTINTO, whom play Doom Metal. Anyway, this compilation CD shows that there’s quality music coming out of Honduras. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.costanorterecords.com and e-mail them at: contacts@costanorterecords.com (Points: - ) TOWERSOUND ‘TOWERSOUND’ (INDEPENDENT) Here’s another quality band from France playing classy 80s Melodic (Hard) Rock/Metal. They sent me a full-length CD and a 2-track CD-single. The full-length contains 10 tracks and sounds very impressive actually. Songs like “Shine over me” (catchy semi melodic rockballad), “Devils of the night” (very strong uptempo melodic rocker a la TEN), “Let me run” (good 70s orientated Melodic Hardrock, URIAH HEEPish) and “March of war” (epic midtempo melodic rocker a la MAGNUM) are all great songs. The 2-track CD-single ‘Hell is the speedway’ contains 2 tracks taken from the full-lenght CD. Basically, this is a highly recommended band, go check ‘em out at: http://www.towersound.net and e-mail them at: towersound@wanadoo.fr (Points: 8.0 out of 10) SEVEN 13 ‘DEVOUR’ (WHAT MATTERS RECORDS) Surprisingly this SEVEN 13 from Massachusetts, USA is a high quality band, because their 5-track mini-CD ‘Devour’ contains fantastic epic Symphonic ProgMetal, a bit like SAVATAGE here and there. Most of the songs are very impressive, with as absolute winners opener “Devour” (uptempo progressive melodic rocker) and the ballad “What I wouldn’t do”. Concluded, this is a highly recommended CD, and recommended if you like SAVATAGE, CIRCLE 2 CIRCLE, yet this is a bit more polished and melodic rock orientated. Nevertheless, a great band which you can check out at: http://www.seven13theband.com and e-mail them at: Seven13Rep@aol.com (Points: 8.0 out of 10) (All reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted)