WASP ‘THE NEON GOD PART
2 – THE DEMISE’ (NOISE/SUBURBAN)
Within 1 year 2 new WASP albums, but together they form a
story called ‘The Neon God’. Musically of
course this is a typical WASP album, but the big
difference with part 1 is that the first CD was a more
epic based album, with many interludes and instrumental
parts, and actually not many strong rockers. However,
this part 2 rocks very hard and more like early WASP
(“Wild child”, “Blind in Texas” etc.
period), so this new WASP album is much better than the
first part of ‘The Neon God’. 9 songs are
included, and especially “Never say die”,
“Resurrector”, “Tear down the walls”
(how 80s can you get with a title like this!) and
“Destiny’s to come” are fantastic uptempo
classic WASP orientated melodic heavy rockers. Closing
track “The last redemption” is probably the
best WASP song in over a decade, a well-thought 14
minutes counting epic rocker with all the classic WASP
elements. I was not too impressed with part 1, but
Blackie made it up with part 2, because this is by far
the best WASP record since the early 90s!
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
MICHAEL
SADLER ‘CLEAR’
(MSI RECORDS/PROGROCK RECORDS/JUST FOR KICKS)
Keyboardplayer/vocalist MICHAEL SADLER of SAGA released a
solo record back in 1998 titled ‘Back where you
belong’, but because this album was very hard to
get, MICHAEL SADLER now releases a new solo-album, which
contains material from the rare ‘Back where you
belong’ album and some new tunes. All together this
solo-album sounds very strong, different than the usual
SAGA stuff, and more hi-tech AOR/Melodic Poprock
orientated, with a strong 80s approach, sometimes
reminding me A LOT of (JEFF) CANNATA. Songs like
“I’m not the enemy”, “Who’s
sorry now”, “Who’s foolin’ who”
and “One minute” are great songs that all have
a very strong 80s hi-tech aor/poprock approach. SAGA fans
will probably still love this CD, but it’s
definitely different than the SAGA stuff, but on the
other hand it sounds very good sometimes (and just by
looking at the songtitles you could predict it’s
more sounding like an AOR-CD!).
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
OF
INFINITY ‘THE
ESSENCE OF INFINITY’ (INDEPENDENT)
Only 3 tracks can be found on the mini-CD of the Texas
based band OF INFINITY, but what we get to hear is of a
very high level. They play Melodic Gothic Metal in a pure
European style, like NIGHTWISH, AFTER FOREVER, LACUNA
COIL etc. The band features a great female lead singer
and the 3 songs sound very big, thanks to a huge
production by Jonathon Shults (MEGADETH). The 3 songs are
titled “The voice without”, “Shadow of a
lie” and “It’s only for forever” and
without a doubt they all sound very sensational and are
deadringers for the fans of Euro Melodic Gothic Metal
with female vocals, so NIGHTWISH and LACUNA COIL need to
check out this band asap. They could easily be signed by
a European label soon, but for now you need to check out
their music through: http://www.ofinfinity.com and e-mail them at: OFINFINITYEMAIL@AOL.COM
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
FALCON
‘FALCON’
(LIQUID FLAMES RECORDS)
The American band FALCON consists of guitarist/vocalist
Perry Grayson (ex-DESTINY’S END) and
bassist/keyboardplayer Greg Lindtrom (CIRITH UNGOL).
Together they joined forces and released a CD, which
musically grabs back to the 1970s, with a strong focus on
Melodic Heavy Rock, Southern Hardrock and Doom Metal, all
in true 70s spirit, so they end up sounding like a mix
between BLACK SABBATH, LYNYRD SKYNYRD and MOXY. In the
end they might sound like yet another Stoner Rockband,
but here and there they sound different. 10 songs are
included, and the best ones are “Throwback”,
“Redman”, “Shelob’s liar” and
“Castle peak”. Recommended to fans of 70s
Hardrock! More info at: http://www.falconband.net and e-mail them at: falconband@falconband.net
(Points:
7.9 out of 10)
LOST
FATE ‘WHERE
DREAMS... HAVE NO END’ (SECRET PORT RECORDS)
Out of Greece comes LOST FATE and their debut is titled
‘Where dreams...have no end’. Musically they
play typical 80s inspired Melodic Metal, of course with
MAIDEN influences, but it all sounds very impressive
actually. The band has a good high-pitched lead singer
(with an accent sometimes) and songs like
“Drained”, “Lost fate” and
“Where dreams... have no end” are very strong
Melodic Metalsongs. Many southern european bands play
this kind of metal, very 80s orientated, but LOST FATE
does it a little better than the hundreds of other acts
out there, so check out this band at: http://www.secretport.com
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
MIKE
DIMARELLI’S ‘ARTICAL FANTASY’ (SECRET PORT
RECORDS)
The Greek guitarist MIKE DIMARELLI has released a
fantastic debut CD, which is very much comparable to
VINNIE MOORE, GEORGE BELLAS..., so we get to hear high
quality instrumental Neo-Classic Melodic Hardrock/Metal.
8 songs are included, and this is without a doubt a high
quality release in this genre, which I know a lot of
people like a lot. They can add to their wanted list the
CD of MIKE DIMARELLI, a Greek guitarist we should keep
our eyes open for in the near future!
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
KINETIC ‘SOUL, EMOTION,
FLESH’ (INDEPENDENT)
3 tracks are on the demo CD of this Greek band, and
musically they are playing pure Thrash Metal like in the
old Bay Area style, so fast and without any compromise,
kinda like TESTAMENT in their heydays. Check out their
site at: http://www.kinetic-band.gr
(Points:
7.2 out of 10)
FIRE
ALLEY
‘SCORCHER’ (INDEPENDENT)
The American band FIRE ALLEY released a new CD titled
‘Scorcher’. Musically it is filled with 80s
type of Melodic Hardrock, which reminds me a lot of
STRANGER. 12 songs are included, and the sound/production
is quite good, but not all songs are convincing. The
songs that impressed are the uptempo melodic rockers
“City girl”, “She’s a deceiver”,
“Over me”, “Pay the price”, “Was
it love?” and “One more time”, all very
1980s sounding, not unlike KILLER DWARFS, RATT, SLAUGHTER
and KROKUS. Also very good is the melodic rockballad
“I can’t get enough”, which has that
typical late 80s US ballad approach (with BON JOVI
memories as well). Concluded, a good melodic
hardrockalbum to check out at: http://www.firealley.com and e-mail them at: jaxxon@firealley.com
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
ATLANTIDA
‘PAINTED
REALITY’ (FULL SOUND RECORDS)
Out of Brazil comes ATLANTIDA, and we are listening to
something very sensational actually, because the
band’s debut CD ‘Painted reality’ is a
high quality release. Everything looks and sounds very
impressive, combining 80s melodic metal (MAIDEN) with
today’s Prog. Metal. 10 songs are included, and
especially “Snowrider”, “Burn the
bridge”, “Following the sun” and “New
frontiers” are fantastic Melodic Metal pieces, with
a slight Prog approach (keyboards and breaks) and above
all, they all beautiful melodies. The band has created a
great CD, which by the way also contains a guest
appearance by Kiko Loureiro (ANGRA). Concluded, another
recommended band from Brazil to check out. More info at: http://www.atlantidamusic.com
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
RELAY ‘SWITCH’
(CONTACT RECORDS)
Out of the UK comes RELAY, a band which got together
almost 30 years ago (!), but ‘Switch’ is their
4th album so far. Original members Steve Tsoi (guitars)
and bassist Bob Addis were joined last year by new
members Alison Taffs (vocals), Paul Docherty (drums) and
Rob Mepham (keys). Especially Alison is a great female
lead singer (a la CHRISSY STEELE) and the 15 songs on the
band’s new CD ‘Switch’ are basically high
class AOR/Melodic Rocksongs in the best tradition of
VIXEN, HEART, WITNESS, COASTLINE... The combination of
powerful vocals, biting guitarwork and catchy melodies
are making almost every song on this album a true winner
for the fans of classic AOR/Melodic Rock. Highlights can
be found in the shape of uptempo melodic rockers
“Lad of the free”, “Do you believe”
(superb catchy tune, very sensational),
“Unconditional love” and “Mister
privelege”, while also the midtempo AOR tune
“Need you back” and the beautiful semi-AOR
ballad “Legend” are very nice to listen to. If
anyone remembers the German female fronted band HEAT (not
the ACCEPT copy), then you will totally love RELAY, which
is for me a complete surprise and I will definitely find
out more about them in the near future, but in the
meantime do check out this sensational Melodic Rockband
from the UK! More info at: http://www.relay-online.com and e-mail them at: info@relay-online.co.uk
(Points:
8.8 out of 10)
M&R
RUSH
‘THE THRILL OF THE CHASE’ (EMINAR MUSIC)
Wow, this comes really as a surprise! OK, it was a long
time ago announced, but now finally M&R RUSH has
released a new CD, with 11 recently written and recorded
new tunes, and opener “Wrap me up” is like a
big step back in time. When listening to this song,
it’s like 1985 all over again, with big hooks,
catchy choruses, classy twin-guitarwork and a bunch of
keys, man, this is the way pure 80s AOR sounded some 20
years ago. It’s unbelievable the band has put such
an amazing pure 80s AOR rocker as a starting track,
because I hear a lot of AOR records these days, but none
have got that lovely classic AOR/Pomprocksound, which
M&R RUSH has on their new CD. Finally a band who
isn’t afraid to put in some big keys, hooks and
choruses into their songs in a way it was done by so many
bands in the 1980s. Somehow it all reminds me a lot of
THRILLS, early AIRKRAFT, NIGHTWORK, WRABIT, LE ROUX,
ROADMASTER, etc. etc. This is just pure early 80s AOR the
way it sounded in better times! Anyway, happily the CD
continues in this style, with many more great uptempo
pure 80s AOR rockers, such as “Million seller”,
“When I’m with you”, “Goodbye city
lights” (harmonyvocals all over the place!) and
“Heavy Metal Christmas” (with some of the
coolest lyrics ever, and a classy THIN LIZZY
twin-guitarsound), although there are also some ok 70s
heavy rockers on the CD (such as “Rock and roll
Chicago”). Nevertheless, anyone who is a collector
of 1980-1988 rare AOR records might just want to add a
new CD by the band M&R RUSH, which reminds me of that
period and it really doesn’t sound dated at all, in
fact, it sounds fresh and new, because nobody plays this
style anymore! More info at: http://www.mandrrush.com and e-mail them at: mandrrush1@yahoo.com
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
KRYAH
‘DEMO
CDR’ (DEMO CDR)
The UK brings us another good new band KRYAH, who were
formed just a few months ago, but in front of me I have a
sort of demo CDR, which actually sounds quite good,
although this band has been together for only a few
months now. 3 songs are included, and opener
“Goin’ blind” is a good strong uptempo AOR
rocker with some typical old British Rock influences.
Next track “Take me as I am” is a midtempo
rocker with a nice AOR approach. Closing track is
“Burn out”, a strong midtempo AOR/Rocker . I am
not saying this is a pure AOR band, but more a classic
British 80s kinda Rockband, whom are also influenced by
the AOR movement from the 80s, ending up sounding like
FOR ABSENT FRIENDS sometimes. Check out their site at: http://www.kryah.co.uk and e-mail them at: kryah@hotmail.com
(Points:
7.9 out of 10)
 STATETROOPER ‘THE CALLING’ (CIC RECORDS/ROCK INC)
The legendary UK band STATETROOPER returns with a new CD
titled ‘The calling’. Musically it is still
Melodic Hardrock, but clearly more guitar orientated than
on their earlier albums. 11 songs are included, and you
can hear that it was produced by MICHAEL VOSS, who made
it sound a little like his band CASANOVA, yet without
ignoring the classic STATETROOPER sound, which can also
be heard throughout the CD. Most of the songs are uptempo
Melodic Hardrock in typical British style (UFO/THIN
LIZZY/TYGERS OF PAN TANG), with the unmistakable lead
vocals of ex-MSG shouter Gary John Barden. Highlights are
the uptempo melodic hardrocksongs “Casablanca”,
“I’m alive”, “Amerasians”,
“Twilight’s last gleaming” and “How
does it feel” (best song, classy 80s uptempo
AOR/Melodic Rocker, very catchy tune, a bit TALISMAN),
while also the semi ballads (AORish) “Love lies
bleeding” and “Don’t say goodbye” are
fine to hear. Concluded, a nice return of the band
STATETROOPER, not as good as their earlier records, but
interesting for people who like a Classic British
Hardrock approach.
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
DIES
IRAE
‘WHERE ANGELS FALL’ (EDGERUNNER MUSIC/ROCK INC)
Female fronted bands have been popping up everywhere
lately, and especially the Gothic Metal scene is becoming
bigger and bigger. Another band with a female soprano is
the Norwegian band DIES IRAE, and they definitely are not
another WITHIN TEMPTATION or NIGHTWISH clone. DIES IRAE
is more a True Gothic Metalband, with the dark feeling of
Doom Metal and the vocals of singer Eirin Bendigtsen are
clearly different than the usual Gothic singers. She is
able to sing like a real soprano (very high), which
sounds very impressive actually and also the 4 songs on
this mini-CD are very good. The songs are titled
“Dies irae”, “Hollow”, “Lose
yourself in me” and “Requiem”, and they
are real very good Gothic Metal with touches of prog and
doom. Check out this band at: http://www.whereangelsfall.com
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
REGICIDE
‘THE
FRAGRANCE’ (FAME/BMG/ROCK INC)
The German band REGICIDE has been praised a lot lately as
a new sensation, well, the 2 songs on this CD-single do
sound quite good and also shows an own style of this new
band. They sound like a mix between AFTER FOREVER, MAGO
DE OZ and PRIMAL FEAR. The production is very good and
both “The fragnarance” and “Funeral of
tears” are very good songs that sound like a mix
between power, folk and melodic metal, with soprano
female vocals and raw male vocals. I believe a
full-length album will be released soon.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
KILPI ‘PROMOOTIOLEVY EL
MYYNTIIN’ (MTG FINLAND)
The Finnish Melodic Hardrock/Power Metalband KILPI
returns with another very strong album, which musically
sounds like a mix between STRATOVARIUS, TIERRA SANTA,
SARATOGA, AVALANCH and MAGO DE OZ. The link to the
Spanish bands is due to the fact that the band sings in
the Finnish language, which sounds to foreigners a bit
like Spanish when they sing. Anyway, the new CD sounds
(both the production and the music) very good once again,
with such strong uptempo melodic power metal/hardrock
pieces like “1”, “2” (fantastic!),
“3”, “7” and “10” and the
midtempo melodic rocker “8”, all songs with
very strong vocals, choruses, hooks and great
keyboard/guitarwork. I’ll only mention numbers
instead of songtitles, because you wouldn’t
understand the Finnish language. Anyway, this is a very
impressive CD, which is highly recommended, as long as
you don’t mind the Finnish lyrics. More info at: http://www.kilpi.com
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
CHAIN
‘.EXE’
(PROGROCK RECORDS)
The American Progressive Rock/Metalband CHAIN returns
with a new CD titled ‘.Exe’, which takes us
into an 80 minutes counting journey through the wonderful
progressive rock/metalsounds of CHAIN. There are some
guest appearances, such as MICHAEL SADLER from SAGA. As
the title predicts, it deals here with the
computer/internetworld, which has taking over our lives
for the past decade. The story of ‘.exe. is told in
6 parts, with as opening song, the 38 minutes counting
“Cities”, a progressive rock masterpiece if you
ask me, because of the many twists and turns,
instrumental breaks and use of different vocal styles. I
can inform you that this isn’t just another
progrockalbum, but a very well-thought album that will be
loved and appreciated by all fans of progressive rock and
metal music. Besides “Cities”, other highlights
are “Never leave the past behind” and
“Last chance to see”, but actually the whole CD
is a must-have for all progrock/metalfans out there.
Check out the band for more at: http://www.chainexe.com
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
JOE
STUMP ‘SPEED
METAL MESSIAH (LION MUSIC/BERTUS)
‘Speed metal messiah’ is the 7th solo album of
guitarist JOE STOMP, who also is playing in the band
REIGN OF TERROR with Michael Vescara. Once again his love
for MALMSTEEN is shown, and I guess the
guitar/shred/neo-classical fans are gonna love this CD,
but there is absolutely nothing new on this album.
Surely, Joe is an excellent guitarist and it’s nice
to hear some shred for an hour, but at the end of the CD
nothing exciting has happened, and it’s just Joe
shredding all the time, no melodies in the guitarsolos.
It’s like Joe grabbed his guitar and started playing
as fast as MALMSTEEN does and just basically shred from
start to finish, so there aren’t any guitar melodies
and that’s the problem with such instrumental
releases, because they also need to have some sort of
songstructures. You simply can not see any difference
between “The red priest” and
“Reflection”, so the 14 tracks can actually be
seen as one big jam of Joe. Happily there is a full band
built around Joe, which gives it a sort of full sound, so
in the end it is a nice instrumental Neo-Classical Metal
release, but do not expect anything new, because this is
basically MALMSTEEN without vocals, just one long jam by
Joe. Not bad at all, but it all goes in one ear and out
the other...
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
MISTHERIA
‘MESSENGER
OF THE GODS’ (LION MUSIC/BERTUS)
The Italian keyboard wizzard MISTHERIA has released his
first official CD, although we already reviewed some of
his work, but now he has an official release out on LION
MUSIC. Without a doubt, this is a high quality release,
which mixes Neo-Classical and Progressive Metal into an
exciting style. I can even hear some RAINBOW influences,
but the best comparisons are MALMSTEEN and ARTENSION.
Songs like “The chimera”, “The beast of
the maze”, “King Midas”, “Witch of
the demons” and (with a fantastic ROB ROCK on
vocals) “Messenger of the Gods” are all great
tunes that will be loved by the fans of Neo-Classical
Melodic Metal. There is a good deal of keys and guitars
in each song, while the lead vocals of singer Max Romano
are quite good (bit DIOish). However, Mistheria is not
just Mistheria and a singer called Max, but we can also
welcome a huge list of guest appearances by well-known
musicians like ALEX MASI, ROB ROCK, GEORGE BELLAS, HUBI
MEISEL, MASS BISSONETTE, MARCEL COENEN, TOMMY DENANDER
and many more. Mistheria also shows his love for
classical music in a lot of songs, but most of the time
this is the way how we want to hear our neo-classical
melodic metal to sound like, so all fans of bands like
SYMPHONY X, RING OF FIRE, ARTENSION, MALMSTEEN etc. need
to buy this awesome album of MISTHERIA!
(Points:
8.8 out of 10)
TWILIGHTNING
‘PLAGUE
HOME PUPPET SHOW’ (SPINEFARM RECORDS)
The Finnish band TWILIGHTNING return with a new CD, which
is titled ‘Plague home puppet show’. Musically
it definitely is completely different than the usual
STRATO clones, because these guys mix Melodic Hardrock
with today’s Prog/Power Metal style, with a raw male
vocalist, kinda like THUNDERSTONE, but then again more
moving to a Melodic Hardrockstyle. 10 songs are on the
CD, and especially Melodic Hardrocksongs like
“Painting the blue eyes”, “In the
pervor’s frontier”, “Diamonds of
mankind” (keys like in the 80s, very catchy uptempo
rocker, almost AORish, definitely the highlight of the
CD) and “Into treason” are very strong. I am
very impressed with this new album of TWILIGHTNING,
although I already was hooked onto them when I heard
their debut sometime ago. However, now I can easily
recommend it to both Melodic Hardrock and Power
Metalfans!
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
TWILIGHT
GUARDIANS ‘WASTELAND’
(SPINEFARM RECORDS)
After 4 years the Finnish band TWLIGHT GUARDIANS return
with a new CD, and with such a long period between 2
albums, especially considering the fact that their 2000
records was their debut, the new CD should be something
special. Happily, this is indeed the reality, because
‘Wasteland’ is sounding very impressive. Of
course we are in typical European Happy Melodic (Power)
Metal area once again, but TWILIGHT GUARDIANS does it
very well, and then it isn’t a problem some songs
contain elements of bands like HELLOWEEN, RHAPSODY and
STRATOVARIUS. Opener “Weak generation” proves
right away that we are dealing here with a very strong
band, because this song basically sums up what they are
capable of, namely bringing strong Melodic Metal with a
high singable factor. The chorus sounds very strong,
although the link to RHAPSODY is quite obvious, but still
it is a great song. The CD continues in this style, so we
get to hear more big time Melodic Happy singable Power
Metal tunes, with enough space for keyboards and guitars.
Other highlights are “The next call”,
“Rocka rolla” (PRIEST cover),
“Angels” and “King of the wasteland”.
If you’re a fan of SONATA ARCTICA, BLIND GUARDIAN
and RHAPSODY, you simply can not ignore this awesome
release of the Finnish band TWILIGHT GUARDIANS.
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
DANIEL
BAND
‘RISE UP/RUNNING OUT OF TIME’ (RETROACTIVE
RECORDS)
Just a few notes on the way and you’re thinking back
of the mid 1980s, when in the US thousands of bands
wanted to be the next KISS. Examples of bands that wanted
to follow the footsteps of KISS and started playing tough
Hardrock were WASP, KEEL, KIX, RATT and PANTERA (yes you
read that well), but also in the Christian Rock/Metal
scene bands started playing this typical LA
Hardrockstyle. DANIEL BAND was one of them, and this band
actually came out of Canada, managed to release a few
albums in the 1980s, of which 2 are now available on 1
disc by RETROACTIVE RECORDS. Opener “Bethel”
has got that typical LA Metalsound I was talking about,
sounding like QUIET RIOT, WASP, KEEL and even LA GUNS
(who didn’t exist back in 1986). However, the band
also put on some more Melodic Hardrock material on their
albums, such as the melodic rockers “Rise up”,
“Paradise” (fantastic, pure TRIUMPH kinda AOR),
“Sins of the heart” (hello TRIUMPH mid 80s
AOR/Melodic Rock!), “Things are changin’”,
“Running out of time” and “Hold on”
(big keys, a very AOR based tune), all sounding like
DOKKEN and TRIUMPH, so more focused on strong melodies
instead of just screaming out loud! The band also throws
in some VAN HALEN here and there (“Don’t walk
away” for example), so in the end the diversity and
all-American Hardrock/Metal approach made them more than
just a Christian Rock/Metalband. This is partly due to
the fact the band featured 3 different lead singers (2
guitarists and bassist all sang songs on the albums).
Therefore they are definitely as good as WHITECROSS, a
band which became quite popular in and outside the
Christian Rockscene, but DANIEL BAND were probably even
better at times. Anyway, it’s nice to see these both
rare releases together on 1 CD, especially considering
the fact that this DANIEL BAND is a very underrated band,
which should have been bigger, also outside the Christian
Rock community. More info at: http://www.brutalplanet7.com
(Points:
8.8 out of 10)
 TALISMAN ‘LIFE AND 5 OUT OF
5’ (ROCK TREASURES/GMR
MUSIC)
And ‘Life’ is the final album of TALISMAN that
has been re-released by the Swedish label GMR MUSIC. The
original release of the studio album ‘Life’ was
done in 1995, while the 2nd CD ‘5 out of 5’ of
this 2 CD set was released in Japan in 1994, and is a
live release. In total the CDs cover 28 classy TALISMAN
tracks. ‘Life’ itself was a typical later day
TALISMAN record, with a big heavy groovy guitarsound, but
still also the pleasant melodies in each and every song,
so without a doubt also this album was another winner for
the SOTO fans. Now is the time to buy the CD if you had
not done it before, because this double CD re-release
contains (with the addition of a few bonustracks) 16
studio tracks of the ‘Life’ album on CD 1 and
12 live recorded songs in Japan on CD 2. Together it
makes up another great package of TALISMAN material, the
5th re-release package on GMR MUSIC within a year. They
have done a great job, because also the packaging and
liner notes are quite extensive and an enjoyable read.
The music is of course also classic TALISMAN, especially
the live stuff, which mainly consists of songs from the
first 2 classics, but also ‘Life’ featured some
awesome melodic heavy rocksongs like “Tears in the
sky”, “A life”, “Love’s
gone”, “How was I to know” etc. I still
think TALISMAN is very underrated, because almost every
song they recorded in their 15 year career is a winner,
and therefore they should have gone much bigger, but
happily the past year all their albums have been given a
second chance through GMR MUSIC’s re-release
packages. More info at: http://www.gmrmusic.se
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
MOONLIGHT
COMEDY
‘THE LIFE INSIDE’ (LION MUSIC/BERTUS)
We’re heading to Italy once again, where we find a
new Progressive Metalband called MOONLIGHT COMEDY. Their
first CD has been released through LION MUSIC, and
although the sound is huge and basically high quality
Progressive Metal (a la SUNCAGED), the band doesn’t
have a real strong singer. The lead vocalist has got an
average voice (and a big accent), so he isn’t able
to give something extra to the songs of the band, which
is a bad thing, because lead singers in progressive metal
are very important (where would we be without James
Labrie for example!). Anyway, I am not saying the vocals
are really bad, but they are just not strong enough to
make an impression, but instrumental everything sounds
very good (especially their guitarist), so this is
definitely still a nice progressive metal.album, but just
not up there with the best. The highlights are
“Oceans”, “Masters of your mask” and
“Adam’s rib”, but I would not call this a
real must-have. Only recommended to die-hard
progmetalfans!
(Points:
7.8 out of 10)
BARNABAS ‘FEEL THE
FIRE/LITTLE FOXES’ (RETROACTIVE RECORDS)
For many years the 2 albums from the Christian US female
fronted band BARNABAS have been very rare, but happily
the label RETROACTIVE RECORDS has now made both albums
available on 1 CD. The sound quality of the CD is very
good, and musically BARNABAS were definitely a very
impressive band. They played strong tough Melodic
Hardrock/Metal in the style of VXN and TANTRUM, although
on the other side they also has a few songs that were
more keyboard based AOR/Poprock a la PAT BENATAR.
However, most of the songs were rockers (especially their
2nd album ‘Little foxes’), with as highlights
“Breathless wonderment”, “Feel the
fire”, “Gospel magic”,
“Auschwitz’87”, “Sins of the
fathers” and “Destroy after use” sounded
very strong, a bit in the style of HEART’s
“Barracuda”. The more AOR/Poprock based tunes
(mostly from their first album ‘Feel the fire’)
like “Hearts”, “All alone” (very
strong sensational AOR) and “Northern lights”
weren’t bad either. The band featured a great strong
female lead singer (Nancy Jo Mann), but like so many
other acts from the 80s, we also never heard anything
after these releases in the 80s, but who knows
they’ll return to the scene someday soon! In the
end, I can easily say that this is one of those must-have
releases for every fan of female fronted 80s rock! More
info at: http://www.brutalplanet7.com
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
RESURRECTION
BAND
‘COLOURS’ (RETROACTIVE RECORDS)
The legendary Christian Hardrockband RESURRECTION BAND
released the album ‘Colours’ in 1980 and now 24
years later it has been re-issued onto CD through
RETROACTIVE RECORDS. Musically they played pure Hardrock
in it’s original 70s raw approach, sounding like a
mix between AC/DC, MOTHER’S FINEST, HEART and some
NWOBHM. They rocked quite hard actually, and the lead
vocals were done by a female singer (Wendi Kaiser) and
male singer/guitarist/bandleader Glenn Kaiser. It’s
a pity the female singer does sing only a few songs,
because especially “Autograph” and “Benny
and sue” are very good uptempo melodic rockers in
the best heavy HEART style, and also reminding me of VXN
and TANTRUM. The male vocals are rawer and basically pure
heavy Rock’n’Roll (AC/DC style), with as best
tracks “Colours” and “The struggle”.
Maybe it would have sounded even better if the female
singer had sung more songs, or if they had sung all the
songs together, because it’s now either only male or
female vocals. Nevertheless, the album rocked pretty
good, although the 10 songs were rather short, and now we
ae looking at a CD with a playing time of only 36 minutes
(so nothing extra), but still this is a good record that
has happily now been made available on CD to the public.
More info at: http://www.brutalplanet7.com
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
ELECTRIK
‘LOVE
BUZZ HARMONY’ (RETROACTIVE RECORDS)
This is a step back into the time machine, because the
music of ELECTRIK is basically fun 80s melodic party
rock, sounding like a mix between WARRANT, SKID ROW,
POISON, TESLA, GUARDIAN and EXTREME. The ‘Love buzz
harmony’ album was indeed recorded sometime ago
(1993), while the bonustracks are taken from a 1989 demo,
but we can also hear 2 newly recorded songs on this
re-release. Anyway, the music is fun catchy 80s rock with
singable choruses, with in total 12 tracks, of which the
best ones are the catchy melodic party rockers
“Krush my groove”, “Good thing”,
“Have U ever?”, “Under the rainbow”
(very catchy melodic rocker) and “Blindman’s
holiday”. This re-release is recommended to fans of
POISON, WARRANT, TUFF and EXTREME and that type of late
80s fun LA Rock! More info at: http://www.brutalplanet7.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
VALOR/GOLGATHA ’FIGHT FOR YOUR
LIFE/PRISONER’ (RETROACTIVE RECORDS)
These are 2 80s Christian Metal releases put onto 1 CD.
Both are very rare and impossible to get as an original
vinyl release, so RETROACTIVE RECORDS did a great job
releasing both on 1 CD. Musically both are playing
typical 80s US Power Metal in the style of METAL CHURCH,
ARMORED SAINT and VICIOUS RUMORS. In total you get 71
minutes of quality Melodic Metal, with as highlights the
VALOR songs “It’s not too late”,
“Burn”, “Masquerade” and
“Didn’t I”, and the GOLGATHA songs
“Follow me”, “At the foot of the
cross” and “The mark/Day of the lord”.
Recommended to fans of rare 80s US Power/Speed Metal!
More info at: http://www.brutalplanet7.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 EMPIRE ‘HYPNOTICA’
(LION MUSIC/BERTUS)
LION MUSIC decided to re-release an album they had
released only 3 years ago, but happily it concerns here a
very good album, which has actually been overlooked when
it was released the first time. I am not sure if it will
attract more people now, but the fact they have added a
bunch of bonustracks might be interesting for the fans.
Musically EMPIRE’s album ‘Hypnotica’ is a
great big time Melodic Hardrockalbum with a classic rock
feeling. For a full review you need to check back our
older reviewspages, but take it from me that this album
is a great big Melodic Hardrock release, which will
definitely not disappoint you, and is highly recommended
if you didn’t get a copy the first time it was
released.
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
SMEER
’DISCHORD’
(LION MUSIC/BERTUS)
I am not really sure what the meaning of yet another
SMEER release is, but what I do can tell you is that this
release isn’t interesting at all, because SMEER is
still playing pure Alternative Rock, with absolutely zero
good melodies, so I am afraid this album is some sort of
out of the ordinary release on LION MUSIC, and I also can
not figure why they signed this band. Even more strange
is the fact that this is already the 2nd SMEER CD this
year, so go figure...
(Points:
5.5 out of 10)
BREAKER ‘COFFEE BREAK
CONCERT’ (AUBURN RECORDS)
The concert as featured on this CD of the American band
BREAKER was recorded 21 years ago, but it still sounds
very fresh. BREAKER played a mix of melodic hardrock and
metal, and believe me, it sounded very impressive. The
band featured a fantastic strong lead singer called JIM
HANAR, and with a twin-guitarsound backing it all up,
BREAKER had a real big melodic metalsound. Actually the
band had an own style, and songs like “Silent
obsession”, “Sleepless nights”,
“Walking the wire”, “From the heart”,
“Afraid of the dark” and “Caught in
love” are very strong uptempo melodic heavy rockers,
which were different than the usual LA stuff from that
period, but also far away from the Bay Area Thrash/Speed.
This band truly played classic melodic hardrock/metal,
with maybe as best comparison RIOT. They are still
together and even release albums every now and then, but
with this new CD, which contains recordings from 1983,
you can hear how good the band sounded back then, even
though they were only one year together around the time
they performed this concert. Although this is a 1983
recording, the CD sounds fresh and is highly recommended
to all hardrock/metalfans! More info can be found at: http://www.auburnrecords.com
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
SHOK
PARIS ‘LIVE
IN DALLAS 1989’ (AUBURN RECORDS)
SHOK PARIS was a legendary US Metalband, whom released a
few albums in the late 80s, and now out of nowhere we
have 2 new releases of the band. The first is a live CD,
containing recordings of a concert they played for the
famous Z ROCK radiostation back in 1989. Musically they
played pure 80s US Power Metal like a mix between PRIEST,
METAL CHURCH and very early FATES WARNING. This live CD
contains in total 15 songs, with a playing time of 65
minutes. The sound is good, and for all 80s Metalfans
this is a pleasure to listen to, with such killer melodic
metal pieces such as “Hot on your heels”,
“Go down fighting”, “Burn it down”
and “Run but don’t hide”. Although this
SHOK PARIS is not as good as BREAKER, I can still highly
recommend this live CD from SHOK PARIS. More info can be
found at: http://www.auburnrecords.com
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
SHOK
PARIS ‘GO
FOR THE THROAT’ (AUBURN RECORDS)
Without a doubt, this is what you could call a high
quality re-issue, because not only the CD itself has a
perfect remastered sound, but also the artwork and liner
notes in the extensive CD booklet are notable, while 9
tracks are added to the original release (unreleased live
and songs from compilation albums). In total the playing
length of the CD is 80 minutes, so definitely value for
your money! All together the re-issue of the 1984 album
‘Go for the throat’ of SHOK PARIS is a
fantastic release, because also the included music is
typical strong 80s Melodic Hardrock/Metal, sometimes
reminding me of DIO, RIOT, WASP, WARRIOR, ICON, KEEL and
PRIEST. Highlights on the CD are “On a wing and a
prayer”, “Caged tiger”, “Go for the
throat”, “Go down fighting” and “Run
but don’t hide”. This is pure 80s
hardrock/metal, and by far one of the best re-issues i
have seen lately, with so much work done in making it
just perfect, so for more info go to: http://www.auburnrecords.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 SCORPIONS 'ROCK LEGENDS DVD'
(WIENERWORLD)
In the 'Rock legends' series there is also a SCORPIONS
DVD available, although I believe these are actually
remastered videotapes. What strikes me is the fact that
at the back of the DVD it is said that the documentary
takes up to approx. 90 minutes, but the running time of
this DVD is not even 45 minutes (!), so actually I am not
sure if this DVD is really worth picking up. For a
die-hard SCORPIONS fan, this DVD is probably a must-have,
because of the rare footage (mostly interviews/short live
performances), but I need to inform you that this is a
very low budget video onto DVD release, so nothing really
exciting about it and with only a playing time of 45
minutes a very short DVD. The most exciting about the DVD
are the stories told by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who
tells us about the past of THE SCORPIONS, with some very
funny stories actually, but that doesn't mean this DVD is
highly recommended. I would only recommend it to the
absolute die-hard SCORPIONS collector, who wants to have
everything of his favourite band. You can get a copy of
the DVD through: http://www.wienerworld.com
(Points:
7.3 out of 10)
 STAGE DOLLS 'GET A LIFE'
(MUSICBUSINESS NORWAY)
The Norwegian band STAGE DOLLS has been releasing albums
for 20 years now, and although they had their fifteen
minutes of fame in the US with the hitsingle "Love
don't bother me", the band is best known in their
home native of Norway. Anyway, it was a little quiet
around the band the past few years, but with their new CD
'Get a life' they are back and happily musically the band
never changed. In Norway they are still very successful
and I think with this new album they might even have a
slight breakthrough outside the Norwegian borders. The
reason why I think this might be possible is the fact
that this new album is their best release ever! The album
is a very strong pure 80s Melodic Poprockalbum in a sort
of Canadian style, reminding me of 80s BRYAN ADAMS,
HONEYMOON SUITE, THE OUTFIELD, REFUGEE, DANNY WILDE…
although the whole album can also be put next to BRYAN
ADAMS' 'Reckless', NELSON's 'Life' and ON THE RISE (also
a Norwegian band by the way). This album does have that
perfect 80s fun rocksound, maybe a little bit too
polished sometimes, with also typical DEF LEPPARD
harmonyvocals to make it sound even more radio-ready, but
in the end it sounds very catchy. 11 songs are included
and not one of them is weak. You have a lot of great
uptempo melodic poprockers ("Runnin' back to
you", "Get a life", "You're the
one", "Naked in the rain",
"Only" and "Summertime ladies"), but
also midtempo rockers ("24/7" and "Too
late for love"), and even a great perfect AOR ballad
("Someone like you"). Concluded, this is
definitely a highly recommended album, especially to
people who like 80s BRYAN ADAMS and that sort of fun 80s
melodic poprock with catchy hooks and memorable singable
choruses…
(Points:
8.8 out of 10)
 HEARTPLAY 'WHERE THE DEAD ENDS
MEET'
(MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN)
I reviewed sometime ago a fantastic debut album of
HEARTPLAY, a side-project of URBAN TALE vocalist Kimmo
Blom. Now there's a follow-up titled 'Where the dead ends
meet', which has been released through MTM MUSIC (on the
11th of October to be exact). Musically it is pure AOR,
like STRANGEWAYS in their heydays, and especially the
first 4 songs are very impressive. These are "Don't
you ever fall" (JOURNEY meets STREET TALK, great
uptempo AOR), "That kind of girl" (classic 80s
midtempo AOR with dut-dut keys, very much like SURVIVOR),
"Never again" (fantastic relaxing semi AOR
ballad a la JOURNEY, with a beautiful chorus) and
"Grateful" (another classic 80s AOR song, kinda
like "Who you gonna believe" - THE VU). Then we
get to hear a few weaker songs ("Tempted",
"This time", "Silhouettes" and
"Running man") and actually only "If
there's a way" is a great AOR song. It's a pity
after track 4 it gets a bit average, because the CD
started very sensational (4 great pure AOR songs), but
nevertheless this is still a nice CD to own if you're
into STRANGEWAYS, DRIVE SHE SAID, JOURNEY type of 80s
AOR, with a slightly poppier approach.
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
NOSTRADAMEUS
‘HELLBOUND’
(AFM RECORDS/ROCK INC)
The Swedish band NOSTRADAMEUS returns with a new CD,
their 4th album ‘Hellbound’. Musically the band
still plays melodic power metal, yet a bit more
aggressive than before, actually sounding a lot like
their countrymen of NOCTURNAL RITES and DREAM EVIL. The
guitar riffs are heavy and vocally Freddy Persson is
singing quite aggressive sometimes, but every song also
has a lot of melodic parts (strong catchy choruses). The
sound/production is really huge and especially songs like
“Hellbound”, “One step away”,
“One world to live in” and “I am
free” are very strong sensational fast uptempo
Melodic Power Metalsongs, which remind me a lot of
NOCTURNAL RITES and some THUNDERSTONE. I am very
impressed with the new NOSTRADAMEUS CD, which I think is
their best effort so far.
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
SECOND
HEAT
‘SECOND HEAT’ (AOR HEAVEN)
SECOND HEAT is a new Swedish band formed around the
members of ALYSON AVENUE, that wonderful female fronted
AOR band whom released 2 CDs so far. Anyway, musically
SECOND HEAT is playing your typical big time production
80s influenced catchy hookladen driven uptempo
AOR/Melodic Rock (!). Comparisons to FAIR WARNING,
FIREHOUSE and DOKKEN are quite obvious, and the best
songs from the 10 included are “Anything but
love”, “Chained”, “Eyes of
fire”, “Someday” and “After
you’re gone” (quite superb! A la FRONTLINE!). I
understand some people might say that this is a record
that doesn’t bring anything new to the scene and the
songs go in one ear and out the other, but still you can
not deny that this is quality record made by highly
skilled musicians who just wanted to write and record a
catchy little fun melodic rock record and I think they
succeeded. Melodic Rockfans might like this a lot,
although it is not as good as mentioned bands...
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
ZERO
NINE
‘N.E. FILES’ (POKO RECORDS/EMI)
In Finland ZERO NINE is a household name, but in the rest
of Europe they never had their breakthrough. In the 1980s
they released a lot of albums, which have been re-issued
onto CD recently by their label POKO RECORDS, and now
they have made a real comeback in the shape of a new CD
titled ‘N.E. Files’. Musically it seems that
times never changed, because ZERO NINE is still playing
very strong 80s type of catchy melodic rock in the style
of TREAT, EUROPE, SNAKES IN PARADISE, WHITESNAKE... The
CD contains 12 tracks, it has a very good production and
most of the songs are quite sensational actually.
Favourites would be catchy melodic rockers like
“Quiet men”, “Key to the paradise”,
“Everytime”, “Here I am” and
“Wounded heart still bleeding”, all proving
melodic rock isn’t dead at all! I would highly
recommend this CD to every melodic rockfan, because it
sounds damn good!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
WEINHOLD
‘FROM
HEAVEN THROUGH THE WORLD TO HELL’ (ARMAGEDDON MUSIC)
Jutta Weinhold is best known for being the lead singer
for ZED YAGO, but she now has formed an own band around
her and I must admit that the CD they have released
sounds quite impressive and is probably the best she has
done so far. Musically it sounds like a heavier groovier
version of early LEE AARON (‘Metal queen’
days). Especially opener “Strike” is a very
strong midtempo Melodic Metal piece with a big groovy
guitarsound, but also great vocalwork and a catchy
melodic singable chorus. Happily, the CD continues in
this same high level, so we can enjoy a lot more great
songs, such as “Mabeth”, “Rock of
Metal” and “Nearly a lovesong”. I think
this is way better than ZED YAGO, and all fans of female
fronted rock/metal will love this CD!
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
(All
reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted)
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