Monday, September 30, 2013

BIG GUNS - "Down But Not Out"


RATING: RRR
LABEL: Self released
Review By: Alan Holloway

Hailing from Northern Ireland, this is Big Guns first release, and it may not come as much of a surprise to learn that they are definitely influenced by AC/DC, the band that once released a single called "Big Guns". Well, it's better than calling yourselves "Love At First Feel" I suppose...

To be honest, "Down But Not Out" feels a little light, as there's only eight tracks and one of those is a pedestrian retread of Neil Young's "Rocking In The Free World", a song that certainly doesn't need yet another boringly faithful cover version. Elsewhere, Big Guns certainly aren't boring, as there's plenty of evidence of a real fire in their collective bellies. Oddly, they fall between AC/DC and Airbourne in their sound, taking the basic concept of the old boys and mixing it with the adrenaline of the newer lads. There's nothing to get too excited about, but what they do, they do well. Vocalist Kieran McArdle has a very strong, throaty voice that is just built for hard rock, whilst Daniel O'toole does a fine job on guitar, and on this evidence I'd love to see what they can do in front of an audience.

Oddly, the album ends on an instrumental called "Forever & Always", which is rather slow and more like an "outro", which has the effect of making the listener go "is that it?" rather than "I want more". If they had cut the instrumental and the cover version this would be on it;s way to an RRRR rating, but in it's current form it just feels like it's been a bit rushed, although it's still a solid piece of work in the main.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Michael MONROE: "Horns and Halos"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Spinefarm 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

There's merely one really cool hard rocker out of Scandinavia and I'm not talking about Lars 'Napster-Junkie' Ulrich or Joey 'Too Posh' Tempest. The very definition of sleazy 'n cool reads Matti Fagerholm or if you prefer Michael Monroe. He may look like if your Mother's late 70s glitter make-up kit exploded and spent its days in the gutter ever since, but there's absolutely no faulty when it comes to the music. Indeed, he's still out there making great songs which is something that sadly can't be said about the above mentioned two.

'Horns and Halos', sporting the Glam image reminiscent of New York Dolls, but musically it's epileptic and basically the mix of Punk, Glam, Sleaze, UK Pub Rock, and the traditional hardrock. In fact, a song and dance number like,"Ballad of the Lower East Side", may actually have more in common with U.K. heroes such as The Pogues and The Damned rather than blunt heavy metal. Opener "TNT Diet" is however sleazier than your mother's latest boyfriend and the Swedes of Backyard Babies tried to create something similar at their best. Dregen is in fact Monroe's new lead guitarist and the two surely must be the sleaziest/ugliest front pair in rock?

'Eighteen Angels' has class written all over it, it's groove, funky, hard hitting rock with just a hint of Aerosmith and Rolling Stones. 'Saturday Night Special' is darn catchy and very British. The title track smokes and 'Child of the Revolution' ooze and reek of Stones, Bowie, T-Rex, and Hanoi Rocks. Damn, this is good and the new(er) acts from Finland has still a lot to learn from the classy vocals by Monroe. I actually discovered Michael Monroe and his solo albums years before Hanoi Rocks, which I honestly didn't appreciate until their 2008 compilation "This One's For Rock'N'Roll". By the way... I always thought they were named HANIO Rocks as a kid... since they're from Finland and Hanio is sort of finnish sounding indeed.

Final verdict: Classy mix of sleazy, punky and funky influences and basically the must have kick-azz rock album in the year of 2013. Highly Recommended (and not far from the 5th R as in rating).
www.michaelmonroe.com
facebook.com/michaelmonroeofficial

CONEY HATCH: Four

Rating: RRR
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

There's quite the amazing story behind the Coney Hatch reunion. Carl Dixon (vocals/guitar) had a near fatal car carsh that left him in an induced coma, wifey reached out to the old members of the band and asked them to offer words of encouragement over to the phone. Lo and behold, many operations, doctors, naughty nurses, medicine and determination, Dixon returned to the stage with his three original band mates (Andy Curran -vocals, bass. Steve Shelski -lead guitar. Dave Ketchum -drums) in August of 2010 at their home turf of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and after the Firefest performance in '11 - Frontiers decided to step in and offer dosh for posh new album.

It's their first album since Friction in 1985 and after recording a total of three albums between the years of 1982 to the mentioned mid-eighties, the lads simply decided to call it quits. Reunited they are more than just guitar rock in the vein of Cheap Trick, Starz, The Who (what?) with an healthy dose of very early Headpins. Nevertheless, it's clearly not as much AOR as expected and guitarist Shelski - at times the proper deadringer for Rick 'Bozo' Neilsen. Noisy, ugly, and very loud (sound-wise).

People (read every other daft reviewer) are saying it's AC/DC rock, but that's keeping things a bit too simple. The Aussies were hardly alone with their "magical formula" of three, never more than four, chords to keep the beat going thoughout their career. Simply ask The Who (what?). The riffs are plenty and the songs are literally boosting of power rock. However, the hooks are not always there to accomplish the mission so to speak. You simply can't ignore the fun guitar rock featured in tracks such as 'Blown Away', 'Boys Club' or 'Down & Dirty' though. Nice but no cigar.
www.coneyhatch.com

Thursday, September 26, 2013

IMPERA: "Pieces of Eden"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Escape Music 2013
Review by Rich Dillon

Hailing from Sweden, Impera, as the creation of skin basher and namesake JK Impera, are set to unleash their second effort Pieces of Eden due out on October 18th, 2013. In starting his band about three years ago JK had originally entered into discussions with none other than John Corabi, who he had worked with previously, to handle the vocal requirements of his vision. With an ever conflicting schedule between the both of them it never came to fruition. Matti Alfonzetti, having played with Thin Lizzy/Black Star Riders’ Scott Gorham among others, stepped into the role and quite nicely I might add from what I’ve heard. JK recruited guitarist Tommy Denander for the axe-slinging. Have you ever heard of him? Well, me neither, but after some quick research I discovered that he has played on over 2000 CD’s, literally playing with just about everyone in the genre including Paul Stanley, House Of Lords, Steve Vai, Alice Cooper, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jimmy Page and David Coverdale. So, while the name may not be familiar, you’ve surely heard his virtuoso previously. With Mats Vassfjord filling in the rhythm section on the bass guitar, Impera was born, expelling the first recording, Legacy of Life in October 2012.

Pieces of Eden starts out with a bang, opening with “Beast Within” and following suit into “These Chains”, “All Alone” and “Smalltown Blues”. The extremely catchy, slower, bluesy flavoured “Since You’ve Been Gone” sits in the middle of the album, breaking up the pace a bit. It seems that if I’d ever gotten around to fully listening to A World Without Heroes, the KISS tribute for cancer care CD put together by Mitch Lafon, my shock at the next track would have been lessened. Impera was a part of the album with their version of “Goodbye” from Paul Stanley’s 1978 solo album which is included here as well, an unusual and obscure KISS track to choose for a cover. “Easy Come”, “You and I” and “This Is War” bring us to the album closer of “Fire and the Flame” which plods along having a Black Sabbath-esque feel to it.

Impera’s Pieces of Eden is not the greatest album that I’ve ever heard, but a decently solid collection of melodic rockers that was good enough to entice me into purchasing their first effort, Legacy of Life, which I eagerly check the mail for every day.
Website

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

ORPHANED LAND: "All Is One"

Rating: RRR
Label: Century Media
Review by Martien Koolen

The Israelian rock/metal band Orphaned Land have been in the music business for 22 years already and most of their albums are concept albums, but with this new release "All Is One" they have thrown the concept cd out of the window and composed eleven reasonably accessible songs; dealing with the Israel- Palestina situation. Of course there are also more "difficult" tracks, like e.g. the opener/title song which is very bombastic and "Shama'im", in Hebrew, and "Ya Benaye", which is in Arabic are also not that easy to listen to.

All the songs feature mid tempo Middle Eastern influenced hard rock elements and there are also two big ballads on this album. But for pure metal heads Orphaned Land also delivers with songs like "Fall" and "Your Own Messiah", but be warned because in "Fall" you can also "enjoy" gruntvocals.

"Freedom" is an instrumental track and sounds almost like a prog rock song, but the end is again real Orphaned Land as the song has a lovely Middle Eastern outro.
Highlights for me are "The Simple Man", "Brother" (ballad), and "Shama'im", so if you like something different in metal music then Orphaned Land might be the right choice for you.
Website

MY ENDLESS WISHES: "My Endless Wishes"

Rating: RR
Label: Doolittle Group
Review by Martien Koolen

My Endless Wishes is a Swedish band formed in 2005 and eight years later they release their self-titled debut album. The music of My Endless Wishes can be described as melodic hard rock/metal with influences from bands like Evanescence, Within Tempation and Nightwish, which is mainly due to female singer Frida Viberg.

The opening song "Follow The Light" says it all, as it is a kind of well-known hard rock song with good guitar riffs/hooks and melodic vocals. "Lost Without You" has some symphonic, bombastic elements and therefore kind of reminds me of Nightwish, while "Stronger" is a mere straightforward rock song. "Once Again", a ballad, ends this album and it is a nice song but nothing special. In fact all the songs sound good, but I cannot stop thinking that I have heard these songs before, but then better... However if you like Scandinavian melodic rock/metal with female vocals, then My Endless Wishes might be a good album for you. I think that it will never turn up in my cd player again..
Website

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

HAREM SCAREM: "Mood Swings II"

Rating: RRRRR
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of their cult classic "Mood Swings" album, Harem Scarem have ended their five year hiatus and re-recorded the whole thing all over again. Strange? After all, what they could possibly add to it? The original version was a personal highlight of 1993 for me and actually the "Album Of The Year" for RockUnited.Com (see our retro feature Back To The Nineties - 1993). Well, for starters, they've added three new songs to it and a couple of the old ones have gotten a "facelift". I guess record company politics and publishing deals had something to do with it too.

Now that I've played this album a few times, I've got to hand it to the band - the new versions sound very faithful to the originals. Most of the time I can't really tell whether they've done some changes or not. There's a keyboard line there, a backing vocal here which may sound different, but it might just be that I haven't noticed them before. No, I'm not going to take a pen and a paper and start nitpicking every second of every song... I'd rather just enjoy these great songs again!

The two songs that have gone through easily noticeable changes are "Mandy" and "Just Like I Planned". "Mandy" is a showcase for Pete Lesperance's guitar skills but it's also a fine, melodic piece of instrumental music. The new version has more keyboards in the background, giving the song a more ethreal feel. Somehow Lesperance's playing is even more melodic than on the original. I like this new version more. However, the updated "Just Like I Planned" loses a lot of its' charm. The original is an accapella song, but the new version replaces most of the backing vocals with keyboards and acoustic guitar. It's still a nice song, but frankly, a rather ordinary acoustic ballad. My vote goes to the original.

The three new songs are all good and they kind of fit the vibe of the original album, but so do most of the latter day Harem Scarem songs. I just take them as what they are, three new Harem Scarem tracks... the band's current view of the world sounds a bit hopeless - first we live in a "World Gone To Pieces" and in "Anarchy"... thankfully the last song proves that there's a "Brighter Day" ahead. Mood swings indeed.

If you already have the original the purchase of "Mood Swings II" isn't essential, but definitely worth considering. The new songs are good, and the little changes to the aforementioned songs two are interesting. If you don't have the original, you really can't go wrong with this one - it's a finely crafted version of a hard-edged melodic rock classic. Elements of AOR, Hard Rock, Metal, even Prog combined in a very special way. You might as well get them both.
Website



COLDSPELL: "Frozen Paradise"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Escape Music
Review by The Bailey Brothers

Coldspell are back with a new release and if you are a fan of melodic hard rock it should tick all the right boxes. There’s lots of cool guitar licks straight out of the George Lynch school of rock from Michael Larsson but he’s a songwriter so limits the solos to a set number of bars that fit the song not his ego which is cool. Another shining light is the vocals of Nicklas Swedentorp and the production is how it should be for this level of release.

There’s a more metal, darker side to some songs which for me really adds some energy to the album such as the intro to “Going All The Way” which is also the rhythm section for the chorus; the vocals have more hooks than a fishing trawler, a cool solo with a wah pedal adds some flavour and it’s become my favourite track on this their 3rd release.

“Alive” also has a killer opening riff - not over struck on the verse feel but the chorus really is a ball breaker with another good vocal. Another song worth noting is “Soldiers” there’s alot going on here and it’s all good. The drums on the album come across as punched in samples and not a live drummer and if I’m wrong then maybe get the drummer some beers in because the drumming was a bit pedestrian. Just imagine what a Tommy Aldridge style drummer could have done with those killer riffs. Coldspell have made the best album they could and the fans should be well pleased with this release.
Website
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FLYING COLORS: "Live In Europe" DVD

Rating: DVD
Label: Mascot 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Coming through with Flying Colors - the prog geezers' stick together tour "Live In Europe" captured in Tilburg, Holland on September 20, 2012. Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Neal Morse (Spock's Beard), Dave LaRue (Dixie Dregs), Steve Morse (Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs), and Casey McPherson (Alpha Rev, Endochine). It's hardly strickly prog-rock material though? All genres blend together and the styles goes across the board from pop to rock and post-grunge to prog. I've been watching this DVD several times and it's a very intense show with tons of great melodies and excellent musicianship. To be frank, the DVD is friggin' awesome from the moment you push play 'til it's over. The varied vocal parts and harmonies by the three (McPherson, Morse, Portnoy) something out of the ordinary and LaRue is no doubt a new fave bass player. Merely new to this particular reviewer though since I'm not really too familiar with Dixie Dregs' material (know the rest of the bands by heart). Great stage persona even if Morse is more the U.K. TV detective than wild rock musician on stage.

The originals: But as they begin the show with, "Blue Ocean", you'll quickly notice they're actually playing soft-rock in the vein of Steely Dan and TOTO. "Shoulda Coulda Woulda", post grunge rock with aggressive Pearl Jam-ish vocals and structure. "Love Is What I'm Waiting For" quite a lot in common with Supertramp and John Lennon. "The Storm", lovely pop rock with the magical refrain and hook. "Better Than Walking Away", bits and piece of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush's duet 'Don't Give Up'. "Kayla", the return to soft rock and Steely Dan? "All Falls Down" - Morse ripping it up on guitar and check out the warm rich tone and the classical scale - top notch and very Malmsteen-ish. "Everything Changes", Pink Floyd melancholia mixed with modern pop rock and "Infinite Fire" always remind me of World Trade (the band feat. Billy Sherwood -pomp rock -Yes).

The covers: Are we fed up with Hallelujah? I believe we hit rock bottom when Jon Bon Jovi decided to cover it too and here's yet another version. From now on it's only Leonard Cohen's original and the green ogre/troll of 'Shrek' that are allowed to be considered as acceptable versions. Damn the rest of you - damn you all. Casey is one helluva fine vocalist though and I'd rather listen to another song from the Endochine days. I'm counting (7) covers among the 18 tracks and some of them are more interesting than others. They've merely cut one studio album together so I guess they needed the extra material in the vein of songs from their previous acts. Odyssey (Dixie Dregs), Repentance (Dream Theater), and June (Spock's Beard) are all impressive stuff where the latter gets the laidback treatment. They finish off the show and their audience with a storming version of Deep Purple's "Space Truckin" where Neal Morse tries his very best to be Ian 'Air-Siren' Gillan.

The documentary: Bonus content is the 45 minute long behind the scene doc. Fragments and fun stuff from the rehearsals prior to their very first tour. The pre-show met and greet with fans (dude, can you sign this?), dressing-room warm up and banter, the Spinal Tap moment before entering the stage (where's the stage?) and various short interviews with all the band members. For instance, a very humble Steve Morse talks about the greatness of his fellow band mates (good on ya' mate). Mike Portnoy speaks about his favourite part of the show, Casey's solo spot, when the audience can really connect and get to know him (Casey), since it's his first time playing Europe. Casey on the other hand talks about brotherhood and the whole 'the closer you are together - the better you play'. They've merely been communicating via emails prior to heading out on the road(s).

Final verdict: Very impressive stuff and the total playtime of 155 minutes goes by just like that. Like what... like that. Highly recommended and there's frankly no need to be the massive prog-rock fan to enjoy Flying Colors. Release date October 16 on DVD, blu-ray, dubbel-cd, tripple vinyl, and digital d/l.
www.facebook.com/flyingcolorsofficial

RUNNING WILD: "Resilient"

Rating: RRRR
Label: SPV/Steamhammer 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

"Resilient - Resilient - We Resist to the End. We're Taking Our Pride in the Rage of the Fight. So We're Gonna Take our Stand", end direct quote from the title track of the latest album by Running Wild. It's the comeback wave of Rock'N Rolf and his merry crew consisting of... ehh... a pack of wolves or perhaps the ghosts of former pirates? Your guess is as good as mine since there's absolutley no info about any band in the press-release nor booklet.

Kasparek aka Captain Wild is however responsible for all the songs and lyrics as usual and he's obviously the producer too and I believe it's merely Peter Jordan's by his side. No doubt Running Wild is more of the studio project with hired guns than ever nowadays. There's hardly any of the excellent over the top riffing which made, 'Death Or Glory', an instant and true metal classic. It's back to basics as simplicity rules on this album. Not necesserly a bad thing and the opening number of "Soldiers Of Furtune" proves that Resilient (the album) is more than a worthy successor to the earlier efforts. The titletrack is however not to my liking with its boring mid-tempo stomp and lack of a proper chorus. The weakest link amongst the ten track on display.

"Adventure Highway" is more of the Giant X formula with the basic eighties metal concept and style. "The Drift" takes us back to the days of Jolly Roger, and "Desert Rose" is catchy metal with melodic lead guitar parts and party beat. The same goes for "Run Riot" as this could just as easily have been on the Giant X album. After a lenghty absence (well, 2009) and now adding a slightly more melodic vibe to their fierce Pirate metal, Running Wild provide a strong and basic old school metal set, climaxing in the epic 10 minute epos "Bloody Island", which speak of marvellous treasures and made-up stories in the vein of "Black Hand Inn" or "Pile Of Skulls". Raise the standard as the call is heard across the seven seas - it's the swashing comeback of Running Wild.
www.facebook.com/runningwildmusic

CRYSTAL PALACE: "The Systems Of Events"

Rating: RRR
Label: GentleArtOfMusic 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Finally back at the top and Premier League - the entire team decides to record a spanking new album. Kevin Philips howls like an old geezer forever stuck on the bench. Jedinak kicks everything that moves at the halfway line. Speroni collects another ball in the net, and Chamakh is forever the useless gunner at the centre of the stage. No... wait... what? It's not Crystal Palace? But Crystal Palace from Germany - the Progressive Rock band with at least five other albums in their back catalogue. Well smoke me a kipper if I'm not a complete smeg-head (Red Dwarf- UK comedy series -nevermind).

On their latest album, "The System Of Events", the Berlin quartet takes on the big question is there a formula to our lives and what's the correct answer? The eight tracks on display deals with everything from how people are forced to adapt to new circumstances after disasterous killing sprees to coping with personal grief after the death of a close relative.

It's soft atmospheric prog-rock that has emerged from the likes of Genesis, Marillion, IQ, and the dreamy landscape of Porcupine Tree. Very pretentious and posh and quite the intriguing story of hope and fate. The vocals reminded me of the Swedish anti-heroes of Hanson Wolf United and the spacey keyboards are mesmerizing to say the least (simply check out the ending of Beautiful Nightmare). Extremely well played and executed but never quite as interesting as their fellow label mates of RPWL. Yogi Lang and Kalle Wallner (RPWL) and Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree) are all guest musicians and combined with the determination of the team, ehh, band, these chaps are more than capable of staying at the premier league.

Bottomline. Very solid and not to be ignored if you're the massive prog fan. Did they not once have the bald eagle from Sampdoria and The Swedish meatball as their manager and comic sidekick? No, wait, that's the London football team again? Blimey, this is difficult...
www.crystalpalace.de

CLAYMORDS: "Scum Of The Earth"

Rating: R
Label: WormHoleDeath 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

What do we dislike? That's right... Norwegian church burning Black Metal of the early nineties. And I believe I speak for the entire team at RockUnited for that matter. It's really not our type of music and I use the term 'music' very loosly here. It's like if you're listening to the car crash between the local milkman and dito pig farmer. The horror, the horror. The terror, the terror. Reading the press-release, singer and I use the term 'singer' loosly here, Nils Ivar Martila founded the band in Bergen (Norway) in the early nineties. Oh crap. Bergen, the home of the metal insane. Claymords are not just black metal of the old though as they mix various other styles such as thrash and groovy extreme metal. Midly entertaining in a morbid sort of way and a track like, "King of All, King Of Death", is more towards the total annihilation of Slayer anyhow, and probably the direction to aim for in the future. If you ever had any doubt about where Norwegains go after dark, have a listen to this and be afraid, be very afraid.
www.facebook.com/claymords

TIDES FROM NEBULA – “Eternal Movement”


RATING: RR

 Label: SPV
Review By: Alan Holloway

Tides From Nebula are a Polish post rock band. What’s post rock? Hell, I didn’t know, so as usual I ran to Wikipedia, who told me that it’s “a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock”. So that’s all clear, then.

Anyway, a lot of these post rock bands are instrumental only, and Tides From Nebula are no exception with this, their third album. 8 tracks make up nearly fifty minutes of music with not a vocal in sight, although the traditionally pretentious song titles (beloved of all instrumental albums) are present and correct. “Emptiness Of Yours & Mine” anyone?

Oh, please yourselves… One thing I have learned about post rock today (apart from it’s existence, natch) is that it’s awfully dull. You can almost hear the band members measuring each track on an internal “Worthiness” scale, with the result the sort of thing you imagine spaced out hippies listening to for hours on end, after which they bang on about it at parties until someone punches them.

There’s no doubting the musicianship here, and it’s also well produced, but I genuinely have trouble telling one tune from the next, which doesn’t help if they are all really, really uninteresting. This is the reason for the second “R”, along with the fact that there must be some people out there who enjoy muso musings that make your average prog album look like Dragonforce. Just don’t let me talk to them at parties…

Official Website: http://eng.tidesfromnebula.com/

SHADOWS PAST: "Perfect Chapter"

Rating: RRR
Label: Doolittle Group
Review by Martien Koolen

Perfect Chapter is the first full length release of Shadow Past, the band formed by singer Ola Halen, former vocalist of Insania. This album is dominated by the high-pitched vocals of Ola and the keyboards played by Steffan Lindroth, who has been listening to Jens Johansson (Stratovarius) and Richard Anderson a lot. The music on this album is typical Scandinavian power metal and so bands like Royal Hunt, Narnia, Divinefire, Evergrey and Nocturnal Rites come to mind while listening to this album. However after a couple of songs the voice of Ola tends to get on my nerves and when he even included some death vocals I was completely disappointed as the music is rather good.

Highlights of the album would be: "The Scars Run Deep" (power metal at it best), "Who I Am" (catchy chorus, melodic) and "The One" featuring some great guitar work. The voice of Ola however still spoils a lot on this melodic power metal album. Listen for yourself if you enjoy the vocals!.
Website

Monday, September 23, 2013

REDRUM: "Victims Of Our Circumstances"

Rating: RRR
Label: RMB Records
Review by Martien Koolen

Six years ago Redrum released their debut album No Turning Back and unfortunately for this Greek-German hard rock band the album did nothing...Now they return with a new melodic hard rock album called Victims of Circumstance and this one is positively better than the debut.

One Of Us opens this album and it is a great song, almost a hard rock anthem, meaning; very catchy. The two ballads on the album Empty Promises and Mother, I'm Coming Home are quite enjoyable and bring back memories of good old Aerosmtih and Whitesnake. Have A Nice Day is a blues like song with a rather impressive guitar solo and songs like Pokerface and Dirty White Boy are classic rockers.

All in all I would say thet this is an enjoyable hard rock album with clear influences from bands like Bon Jovi, Deep Purple, Dokken, Gotthard, Aerosmith and Whitesnake. So, if you fancy any of the mentioned bands, make sure to at least lsten to this album. Highly recommended for listening in your car and scream along to the songs!!
Website

ALTERNINE: "2.0"

Rating: R
Label: Alternine
Review by Martien Koolen

Alternine is a French rock band and 2.0 is their second EP. On this EP you can hear 5 new songs which are influenced - according to the sel-written bio - by notorious bands like A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails, The Mars Volta and Tool. To be truly honest I cannot hear any of those influences in any of the five songs as I only hear bad composed, chaotic, weird rock songs on this EP.

I do not like the female vocals of Laetitia Jehanno and the sound of the EP is also rather shallow. All the five tracks are filled with weird sounds, aggressive riffs and hooks, screaming vocals, funky tempos, chaotic pasages and in fact the songs are no songs. Maybe I am not the right guy to review this EP, but I truly find this a redundant, boring and utterly chaotic EP. Pardon my French...
Bandcamp

SAMMY HAGAR - "Sammy Hagar & Friends


RATING: RRRR

Label: frontiers 

Review By: Alan Holloway

The seemingly ageless and horrendously talented Sammy Hagar returns this month with that popular concept: an album with his mates. These sort of things tend to be eclectic, interesting and occasionally downright weird, and the Red Rocker’s effort is no different.

Everything starts off well with a typical full on rocker in the shape of the Hagar penned “Winding Down”, a short, sharp blast of pure Hagar that would have fitten in nicely on either Chickenfoot album. Next up is the bluesy “Not Going Down”, written for Hagar by Rival Sons’ Jay Buchanan, who, oddly, doesn’t appear on the track. The first cover, and one that has been a bone of contention with reviewers, is Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”, certainly not a track that anyone would have picked for Hagar to have a bash at. As with “Not Going Down”, it features the gospel-ish backing vocals of Claytoven Richardson, Sandy Griffith & Omega Rae (from Hagar’s Waboritas), and, for me, certainly improves on the depressing original, giving it a kick up the arse it sorely needed.

Hagar gets a little bit Southern with the self penned “Father Sun”, a catchy, bouncy track, then recruits five additional writers to help him out on “Kcockdown Dragout”, which drags the album back to blistering hard rock territory and includes a cool Satriani solo and Kid Rock helping out on the vocal parts.”Ramblin Gamblin Man” compares favourably with Bob Seger’s original, whilst “Bad On Ford’s & Chevrolets” rollicks along like an old Jimmy Barnes track, Hagar helped out in fine style by Ronnie Dunn (who wrote the track with fellow country boy Ray Wylie Hubbard).

Into the home stretch, and here is where it gets a little weird, starting with “Margaritaville”, a cover of the Jimmy Buffet tune that is the sort of thing you hear in lifts or in the company of old people. It’s “Under The Boardwalk” by any other name, really. With that said, it’s a pleasant, relaxing song that is helped by the excellent vocals of Hagar and yet another country boy, Toby Keith. Next up is another relaxing, bizarre track in the shape of “All We Need Is An Island”, written and performed with Ann Wilson. It’s a laid back beach tune that is, well, pleasant and rather unexciting. Just in case the listener has gone to sleep the album finishes off with another rocker, “Going Down”, recorded ‘live’ in the studio and featuring the talents of Neal Schon, Chad Smith and Michael Anthony. Unsurprisingly they rock the shit out of the Don Nix song, sounding rather like Van Halen as they do so.

So that’s the album, and it’s certainly a mixed bag, with rock, country and easy listening throwing themselves into the pot. Against my better instincts, I have come to really enjoy “Sammy Hagar & Friends” much more than I did on first listen. It’s one of those albums where you can appreciate each  track for it’s individual merits without questioning if they should be anywhere near each other on a Sammy Hagar album. Maybe not to everyone’s tastes, but for me this is a fun, eclectic record that showcases a great talent just having fun. 

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Jesse DAMON: "Temptation In The Garden Of Eve"

Rating: RRRR
Label: AOR Heaven 2013
Review by Dan Mann

I was waiting for this album with much anticipation so it had a lot to live up too. With Paul Sabu on production and also bass duties for that matter, it had all the boxes ticked theoretically. Well after having spent time listening to this release I can honestly say I'm not disappointed. Out of the four Jesse Damon solo albums, this is by far the best. Okay I'm a big fan of Jesse's work both solo and of course with Silent Rage, but the production on the earlier releases is by no means on par with this release.

It's an album of two sides, by which I mean there are tracks that are most certainly Jesse solo material, and tracks that would easily slot straight into a Silent Rage album. The production is big, full of punch and space. All too many albums these days sound either compressed or overblown. Not so with this. Having Pete Newdeck (Eden's Curse/Tainted Nation) on drum duties and backing vocals helps fill the tracks with a real element of depth.

I absolutely love the late 80's style keyboards courtesy of Eric Ragno, who lets face it can be found on so many great albums. A prime example would be the second track on the album, "Black Widow".
To sum up, if you love that late 80's style but with a modern twist then I can wholeheartedly recommend this.
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Friday, September 20, 2013

LITTLE RIVER BAND: "Cuts Like A Diamond"

Rating: RRR
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

I have to confess that despite the fact that Little River Band is an almost 40-year old band, this is the first album of theirs I have heard. This Australian band has gone through countless line-up changes, to the extent that the current LRB doesn't include any of the original members. If interested, you can find details of the rather strange history of the band from elsewhere.

Now that I've done some research on the band's earlier music, I can tell you that LRB 2013 sounds different to their early eighties' "golden era". These new songs have more in common with contemporary country music, and if I have understood correctly, many of them have been provided by the profilic songwriters of Nashville. However, there are no fiddles or violins so the overall sound is closer to AOR... and let's face it, the line between modern country and AOR is a thin and vague one anyway.

Ever since the seventies, the band's been known for their superb harmony vocals, and while the singers may have changed, those vocals are still a big part of the band's sound. The first three songs showcase the band's exceptional vocal talent. "Forever You Forever Me" is probably my favourite of them with its' hugely melodic chorus, but all three are fine soft rock tracks. The next few tracks are all rather nice as well, but towards the end the band runs out of ammo. The last four tracks are all rather bland and boring, except for "Who Speaks For Me" which is the heaviest track of the album, both musically and lyrically. It sounds a bit strange following "Someone", a song so fluffy and soft that it makes most Yacht Rock songs sound like Speed Metal...
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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

ABSOLON: "Darkness Rising"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Liquid Tree 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Very metal, very metal indeed. Ambitious work by Absolon from Orlando, Florida, USA. They have gone over the top and beyond with their debut concept album based upon the saga/tale of the average musician that sold his soul to the devil to be big. We've seen it all before with 'Crossroads' which was basically the famed story of the 1930's R&B guitarist. The tale of Derek Blackheart, however, coming in at just under one hour and with a total of 16 metal tracks, Darkness Rising is a concept CD and tells the story of a young man, Blackheart, who sells his soul for fame and riches. He gets what he desires and, after years of being the biggest Metal artist in the world, Derek decides he wants out. He takes his own life, only to find that even in death there is no escape from what he has done.

Let there be an lesson for all you metal heads. There is no escaping the dark master, even in death. Ouch. No rest for the wicked. I've been playing this for several weeks now and there's always something new to discover and pin-point. Are we impressed? Very much so as this could have been a top-selling metal album if released in 1985 and it's certainly a highlight of the metal year of 2013. It's old school U.S. heavy metal in the vein of Queensryche, Fates Warning, Sacred Warrior, Crimson Glory, and at times UK's Iron Maiden. Very impressive stuff and vocalist Ken Pike is previously known from 80's acts Vital Signs (cult AOR) and Malachia. You may also recognize their keyboardist/producer David Mikael from MPG (cult 80s Pomp) and he's done a great but hardly perfect job behind the mixing desk. Well, it's perfect for those into the 80s sound and production.

Very much a concept album 'ala Operation Mindcrime and the story is nicely displayed throughout the whole album. Musically, it's perhaps more towards 'The Warning' and 'Rage For Order' as it's slightly primitive metal and not quite as high-tech as Mindcrime. Pike is no sky-high vocalist 'ala Tate in his heydays as he sings in a lower set, frame, mode (much like Tate nowadays). However, he's a top notch performer and vocalist as he manage to take the music to the next level. I really can't pick any favourite tracks as they're all part of the big picture. There's a couple of duff moments amongst the 16 tracks but overall -very nice. Marvelous keyboards and orchestration by Mikael and crunchy guitarwork by Ed Dumas and Pike. It's old skool - it's heavy - it's metal.
www.absolonrocks.com

TARJA: "Colours In The Dark"

Rating: RR
Label: earMusic/Edel 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

"Welcome to my mystique voyage. An inner trip to fantasy, freedom and love. A Conquest of fear, lonesomeness and dislike. Welcome to my world" (quote: Tarja). It's a rather strange world - I'm sure - the inner sanctium of Tarja T. I wonder if it's like an endless vivid dream of 'Colours in the Dark', operatic metal and drama from the moment go? I don't know, but like all these strong women out there doing their own thing: Kate Bush, Bjork, Madonna. etc. (Nah. Just kidding on the latter shitty copy-cat artist MDNA), they just don't give a shit about what's hot or not. I'm not saying this Finn is just as great as the superb Kate Bush. Hell no. Far from it (musically speaking) as Kate Bush is a living legend. But on a more personal note... why not? They just don't give a damn about what you're supposed to do and not.

Seriously? operatic metal, spanking wild vibrato vocals with a massive octave range, and boots to match? Kudos to the Finn for making it work in the end. However, there's a butt (and a rather cute one - oi! sexist pig), the songs are simply not strong enough this time around and it's difficult to recall more than three or four of them after weeks of spin. This album desperately need more great songs in the vein of "Never Enough" and the Bjork-ish "Darkness". We love the strong persona of Tarja and the vocals are pretty impressive too, even if it's a rather tiresome 'over the top' experience on this particular platter.

But again, the songs, oh dear me, the songs are the ones Bjork and Kate Bush decided to ditch before entering the studio. Because, yeah, why not? Tarja T is sort of the metal version of the two - only with an even more operatic approach and not as impressive songmaterial. Kick ass production though - made to play LOUD on your stereo. Let's hope for the ultimate Tarja album next time around (P.S. Tarja - have a listen to 'Hounds of Love' - yeah? no? maybe?)
www.tarjaturunen.com

DION BAYMAN: "Smoke and Mirrors"

Rating: RRRr
Label: Indie 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Here's a nice surprise from down under, Oz, Australia. No, it doesn't rawk like acca dacca and I'm yet to find a single kangaroo on the artwork... or rather lack of art (see the plain cover). Dion Bayman is however the multi-talanted musician with a soft spot for soft rock and hooky melodies. I've been told that it's music in the vein of Richard Marx and Bryan Adams. Sure, the first is sort of correct, but I can't find any trace of Adams to be honest.

If anything Dion follow in the footstep of another great Aussie soft rocker that knocked us to the ground in the past. I'm obviously (?) talking about RICK PRICE and his excellent debut album "Heaven Knows" which provided us hits such as 'Not A Day Goes By' and the fine remake of 'Walk Away Renee'. Throw in the odd Tal Bachman and Matchbox Twenty and you're pretty set for a cruising good time. It's a feel good album with plenty of emotion and the songs are well-crafted westcoast/ modern pop/rock AOR? Ehhh... nevermind. Let's just call it soft-rock, yeah?

I know that some reviewer (he posted a shameless link at mr.com) thought that and I quote, "Dion's lyrics are a real strong point of the album, deep, thoughtful and emotional", end quote. But that's probably his weakest link since they are utterly safe, at times boring, cliché-like love stories that we've heard a million times before. They hardly scratch the surface and it just sounds sterile and daytime TV soap-ish. It may sound a bit harsh... but try and look past your own little world at times and notice all the problems in the world? Why not include a bit of everything instead of just the fluffy stuff? Why can't I just be pleased with the catchy melodies? Good point. Let's move on.

Bottomline: Don't knock it before you've tried it! Have a go at this album if you're into Richard Marx, Rick Price, etc.
www.dionbayman.com

KING KOBRA: "II"

Rating: RRRr
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

II? Considering that III came out in 1988 - we're all a little bit lost, dazed and confused. It's a darn right fine and dirty little melodic guitar blues album though and it's like if it's been tailor-made to fit the mighty fine vocals by Paul Shortino (Rough Cutt, Quiet Riot). They have truly captured the feel of your favorite U.S. cult rock band 'ala Montrose, while at the same time delivering something that Rough Cutt and King Kobra could have recorded back in the days - if not for the radio-orientated pop/rock/AOR sound of the original second KK album. Are they simply trying to erase their past?

Gone on this album are most of the references to AOR and enter nicely crafted songs with rich guitar tones by Mick Sweda and D.M.K. David Henzerling aka David Michael-Philips has also been playing around with a similar sound on the Tunnel project. It's clearly not as catchy as their eighties material perhaps with the exception of the two tracks, "Take Me Back" and "Got It Comin". They are both radio friendly numbers in the U.S. Whitesnake tradition and style.

Opening four numbers, "Hell On Wheels", "Knock 'Em Dead", "Have A Good Time", "The Ballad Of Johnny Rod", are all fun guitar rock. Stepsidding any current musical trends and fashion, "II" rises phoenix like (massive bird in flames?) from the otherwise bleak hardrock year of 2013 and takes you on a back-to-the-future journey through bluesy melodic guitar rock. Don't go thinking it's hardcore R&B though (duh!), since it's more towards the blues inspired guitar rock of Tesla, David Lee Roth (Van Halen) and KK's own "III" album. Do however not expect it to be your "Thrill Of A Lifetime" (pun intended), rather than a fine guitar blues cruise.
www.kingkobrarocks.com

LOVEBLAST: "Hard Liquor In Big Glasses"

Rating: EP
Label: LB/Indie 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

LOVEBLAST's thunderous sophomore EP release is a throwback to the golden era of U.S. melodic hardrock with a modern touch of Avenged Sevenfold. The motley crew (no pun intended... or?) led by singer Brian Durbin - a man boasting a rich voice somewhere between Seb Bach (Skid Row) and Ted Poley (Danger Danger), and with a certain star quality I may add, specialise in hard hitting numbers with plenty of melody and hooks.

They are retro without sounding like one of those lame spoof eighties acts. Each song on their five-track EP is an individual chapter of raw attitude and passion, and yet part of the same rock n roll story. The main idea is however to cram Loveblast down everybody's throat, and they're doing it with "Hard Liquor In Big Glasses". Opening track takes a couple of spins to really appreciate as it's not quite as instantly catchy as the other four (In Your Arms Tonight. Rain On Me. Hard Liquor In Big Glasses. When We Were Young).

The EP really gets going with the following track, second song in, and it's all about catchy hooks and bombastic guitar rock from this point on. Simultaneously old fashioned and cutting edge with lots of fun moments as they've captured the feel of yesterdays Skid Row and Danger Danger with todays Avenged Sevenfold. The act SPV/Steamhammer should sign up instead of posers such as Rebellious Spirit. Recommended.
www.loveblastrock.com

Pat TRAVERS: Can Do"

Rating: RR
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom  

Pat Travers - The Snortin' Whiskey & Drinkin' Cocaine dude? Yup! The Canadian rocker came first to London U.K. in 1976 in search of a recording contract which was quite easily gained. Not one, but two albums saw the light of day that year where 'Makin Magic' is regarded as his best classic rock work and is full of steller guitar and pumping blues boogie. However, the Travers & Appice album 'It Takes A Lot Of Balls' in 2004 was a great return to form and it's probably my favourite overall album with the bluesy guitarist.

Granted, there might be nothing original in this type of album (especially since Frontiers basically ordered Travers to record an album in the style of his 70s work), but it's still an popular art form amongst ancient blues guitar fans world wide, but Travers take things one step further by including tons of raw attitude as well as the odd cover. There's the remake/take on Eurythmics classic "Here Comes the Rain". Excellent licks and tricks throughout the track by Pat, but otherwise in structure, never quite as interesting as the fantastic original. Let's face it, Anne Lennox is a vocal goddess and Pat's gritty work may not appeal to everybody.

Final verdict: Not too shabby considering that Gene $immons turned down a record deal for Travers at $immons Records already back in 1989. The reason for the demon to say no? Travers was simply too old to rock. Glass houses anyone?
www.pattravers.com

OUTSHINE: "Prelude To Descent"

Rating: RRR
Label: Dead Tree 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Outshine are heavier than a box of marbles and darker than your grandma's underwear, deftly bridging the gap between goth, doom, and grungy power metal. Once (and still?) influenced by acts such as Type O 'Negative, Paradise Lost, and Alice In Chains, what seperates these lads from the rest of the pack is no doubt their sense of melody. The essence of the Swedish band and album is finally coming together with new singer Micke Holm and the great mastering by Göran Finnberg (Meshuggah, In Flames, Opeth, The Haunted, Dark Tranquility).

Their latest album, "Prelude To Descent", packs a mean punch and excellent swagger which will attract hordes of metal fans from all over the world. Moody and mysterious, catchy and dark, the contrast are many and the songs are overall way above average. The Swedes are trying the commerical approach to goth and the mixture of Type O' and HIM influences shines through the most on the superb track of "In You I Met Me (Caroline)". This song alone is worthy of your attention if you're into the dark and gothic rock. They're actually from Gothenburg, but do not expect to find much of the "typical" Gothenburg sound on this platter (GÖTEBORG för helvete!). They are however a glimmer of hope in the field of mediocrity and it's a more than decent album in the year of 2013. The post-grunge pieces inbetween all that goth and power makes them stand out from the average riff-raff.
www.theoutshine.com

GORTHAUR'S WRATH: "War For Heaven"

Rating: R
Label: Eternal Sound 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Soft and fluffy as a new born baby bunny - the opening instrumental piece (The Great Creation) really set the pace and standard of the entire album. NOT! Nothing could be further from the truth and you've probably already guessed this by reading out loud the monicker of the band. Seriously, they're from Balkan (Croatia actually), Gorthaur's Wrath is the name, semi-melodic Black Metal is the game. Thankfully not as blunt and frankly put unlistenable as The Norwegian church buring acts of the early nineties. These chaps do have some kind of sense of melody and harmony.

They're still pretty sinister though and it's the full on rampant riffing, slicing through hordes of goblins and various other creatures of the night. Merely check out the track, "Born Of Sin", for a deadly dose of Ministry metal. It's not all strickly black. The instant success a corpse painting can award a band - not to be messed around with though as the image will certainly attract the diabolic few. The album speak of blood and disorder and the result is promising even if I personally can't stand the overkill and over-use/abuse of four letter words instead of proper ones. It's simply just a sign of poor linguistics (well aware of the irony - no need for the abusive language).
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The JOKERS: "Rock N Roll Is Alive"

Rating: RRR
Label: SPV/Steamhammer 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

First question that pops up while looking at the artwork and monicker. Are they serious? Hell yeah! The Jokers are not kidding around as they proudly proclaim that 'Rock N Roll Is Alive' - but in condition critical? More corny hair metal with dodgy lyric, I think as the opening track "Silver City" winds its tiresome way. The refrain with its 'down, down' down' hook or rather lack of it, you've heard it all a million times before. Why do they ALWAYS sing 'down' three times? Seriously... I could name countless song and dance numbers with the use of going down x3. What ever happened to one, two or four? Or any other number for that matter.

We're off to a rather dodgy start but things are about to vastly improve. The title track is straight up rock with a catchy hook and "Radio" is the smashing semi-ballad in the grande tradition of Y&T and Bad Company (or Thunder for that matter since they copied all the big 70s acts). The Jokers are an UK act that play an oblivious mix of 70's Rock with the hint of fun 80's hardrock. They're mostly about vintage rock in the style of Bad Co./Free though, and some of these melodies aren't exactly new and/or fresh. It's like if Thunder gave birth to a bastard son of Bad Company?

They don't look at all well or appealing according to the cover. Don't let that fool you since they're more than capable of playing the seventies game.
www.thejokers.com

BLACKMORE'S NIGHT: "Dancer and The Moon"

Rating: RR
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

As cool as a summer breeze - hot as a winter freeze? As always an interesting (in lack of a more direct input?) blend of festival medeval music and rock 'ala The Moody Blues and Mike Oldfield (The 'Maggie' years) with a bit of Blackmore's past thrown in, the married couple does not offer anything new on their latest album. The sheer lack of surprise is no doubt the biggest surprise. We could surely do the whole discussion of the safe and cousy marriage... but let's not go there.

I do enjoy their first couple of albums the most and it's been rather lacklustre ever since. The thing is, even with a sort of clear mind, Blackmore has an astonishing ability to lure the brain into submission and having thoughts of happier moments. And yes, occasionally, Blackie would rise above the average folk-rock music on offer and the odd old spark of six-string genius would shine through. But let's not kid ourselves, the album won't break any new bounderies, nor will it create much of a stir. 'Lady In Black' is a nice cover and the same goes for the Randy Newman. Sticking to what they know best, Night and co. will continue to walk down the path of becoming the next 'Moonlight Shadow'.
www.blackmoresnight.com

James CHRISTIAN: "Lay It All On Me"

Rating: RRR
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

 James Christian - one of those all-time great singers of melodic rock and AOR. Not always blessed with great material though and I still think of his "Rude Awakening" album as the very best effort. However, song and material-wise, this is almost up there among his very best. He doesn't shun eighties fluff melodies on this record, in fact the man embraces it on "Lay It All On Me", but generally avoids becoming overtly sappy, even if I could do without the sentimental sap/crap of "Let It Shine".

Ship-loads of dut-dut keyboards and it's definitely the ultimate Miami-Vice/ feel-good flashback moment of 2013. Very catchy. Very catchy indeed. But seriously dude, what ever happened to the (lack of) bass and especially drum sound? The overall impression you get here sadly is of an unfinished production. You can't possible play, "Lay It All On Me", too loud on proper stereo equipment as the darn thing will literally make your ears bleed.

Considering all the $$$ Frontiers' been making in the past five years - it's shocking to (still) find such low quality (sound-wise) among their releases. Frontiers are after all the biggest independent label (I'd use the term label very loosly here) of classic rock and melodic schlock. Surely they'd want their brand to be connected to quality? this very record should no doubt have been remixed and re-recorded (bass/drums) prior to release. Bottomline: Great vocalist, great songwriter. Absolutely horrible as producer on this particular piece of plastic. Yngwie Malmsteen - a friggin' genius of producer in quick comparison? Love the actual songs though.
jameschristianmusic.com

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Brett WALKER: "Straight Jacket Vacation"

Rating: RRR
Label: AOR Heaven 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

On the eve of the release of this album, we heard the devastating news that Brett Walker had passed away. What should have been an album that would re-introduce this talented singer/songwriter to the melodic rock fans, "Straight Jacket Vacation" turned out to be a tribute to him.

As far as I can tell, this album features 10 new Brett Walker songs and two older tracks of his that have been re-recorded. Those two tracks that you might be previously familiar with are "Waiting For Love", a song co-written by Jeff Paris and first recorded by Alias and "Better Than Goodbye", which was written with Jim Peterik and recorded by Alfonzetti in 2000. To be honest, they are my favourite tracks of the album, not because I am already familiar with them but because they have the biggest hooks and the most memorable memories of them all.

The newly written material isn't quite as catchy those two "golden oldies", but if you're a fan of the likes of Tom Petty and Don Henley there's a good chance that you might love these tracks. Brett's lyrics are clever and thought-provoking and the album sounds excellent, so there's plenty to like. "Reaching For The Stars", "What About You" and "Unlucky At Love" are my favourites among the newer tracks. RIP Brett.
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Sunday, September 8, 2013

RECKLESS LOVE: "Spirit"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Universal 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

I'm a bit late to review this since the album has been out for a week or so, but at least I've got a new angle to this review. You see, I've read quite a few other reviews of this album and although some of them have been very favourable, sometimes it feels that Reckless Love are becoming "the band you love to hate". Well, if you're expecting me to jump on that bandwagon, I'll have to disappoint you - I still like the band and this album.

"Spirit" isn't a perfect album by any means, but I think it's better than its' predecessor. Not much has changed, the band still plays very eighties' styled "Merry Metal" with some strong pop influences. Let's check out the songs a bit closer.

The first single "Night On Fire" I reviewed a while ago, and I don't have much to add to that. It's still catchy as hell, and despite its' instant nature, I haven't gotten tired of listening to it. "Bad Lovin'" is a bit of a throwaway track, but enjoyable at that with a rather good "Na-Na-Na" chorus. "I Love Heavy Metal" is one of the two "jokes" on the album, a tribute to Eighties' "Metal". The lyrics are made up of songtitles and band names and the song itself sounds like Def Leppard playing Poison's "Unskinny Bop" with a few of their own ideas thrown in. Throwaway, juvenile, whatever... but great fun and seriously catchy.

"Favorite Flavor" is one track that I can't get a grip of. It's an uptempo rocker with a Van Halen-vibe, but somehow forgettable. "Edge Of Our Dreams" is anything but forgettable, a very potential single candidate. It's a mixture of Def Leppard verses and a massively melodic, pop-influenced chorus. Someone like Katy Perry would make it an instant hit, let's hope that Reckless Love can take it to the charts as well.

I wasn't expecting much of a song called "Sex, Drugs and Reckless Love", but goddamn it, it's another "catchy as hell" kind of a song. They are definitely not re-inventing the wheel with it, but somehow it just bursts with positivity and fun. "Dying To Live" is a nice enough midtempo/semi-balladic track, even though the chorus could've used some extra-oomph... the Spotify-only bonustrack "Gone With A Smile" is similary paced, but does have a better chorus - maybe they should have switched places?

"Metal Ass" is the other "joke" of the album... and the best thing about it is that it's short, let's just leave it at that. "Runaway Love" is a good midtempo track, while "So Happy I Could Die" is Reckless Love impersonating Mötley Crüe - not one of the strongest tracks of the album but not too bad either. Never mind that the "Whoa! Yeah!" is blatantly borrowed from "Kickstart My Heart".

The last track "Hot Rain" is one of the more serious ones, a ballad very much in the vein of "Love Bites" by Def Leppard. The chorus is a bit of a letdown though. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if this was a single too, with a video featuring shirtless Olli Herman walking on a deserted beach... in rain... and Pepe playing the solo in the water, with waves crashing around him. Yep, the song practically writes the script by itself.

There's a bonus track on the UK edition of the album, a song called "Die Hard". It's a very Ratt-like song with a harder-edged sound than most of the album. Nothing that special that it would justify buying another copy of the album, but likeable enough. Better than "Metal Ass" for sure.
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Thursday, September 5, 2013

ARC ANGEL - "Harlequins Of Light"

Rating: RRR

Label: Frontiers

Review by Alan Holloway


Apparently we should all have heard of Jeff Cannata, a Connecticut native who has been writing and producing and playing rock music since the mid seventies. he's done the prog thing with Jasper Wrath, but makes Boston look productive with just three Arc Angel albums in thirty years!

Bundled in with a "Melodic Rock" tag, "Harlequins Of Light" certainly isn't what I would call an AOR album, as Cannata has some serious prog roots that are still anchored. The whole album has a nice feel of the likes of Magnum (early stuff) or Styx. There's prodigious keyboard hooks plus some very late seventies style choruses ("Fortune Teller", for example, is very dated, although still a solid track). Cannata himself has a good voice, if nothing special, pretty well suited to the type of music he produces. It all goes a bit west coast with "California Daze", a predictably upbeat, happy song, but generally the album is solid rock with a prog feel to it.

"Harlequins Of Light" is certainly enjoyable, although the production could be beefier. The fact that it has a dated feel at times doesn't help, giving it a hippy vibe that doesn't always work. I think if you like Magnum in the days before "Storytellers..." you will really enjoy what Jeff Cannata has offered up here, especially closing track "Legend Of The Mary Celeste" (a track so early Magnum it's scary). It's not quite good enough for the fourth "R", but it's close, and this is certainly worth checking out.

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Wednesday, September 4, 2013

OVERTURES: "Entering The Maze"

Rating: RRR
Label: Sleaszy Rider Records 2013
Review by Martien Koolen

Entering The Maze is the third album of Italian power metal band Overtures and it contains 10 new tracks and the album was mastered by Sascha Paeth (Edguy, Kamelot). The album is filled with power metal melodies galore, great guitar riffs, hooks and solos and the voice of singer Michele Guatoli is quite enhoyable. The album opens with a song called The Maze and it is a great powerful opening of this album.

Further highlights are songs like Savior (catchy guitar riff), Empty Trails (very melodic), Consequences (very powerful) and Of Nightmares whihch is again very catchy and melodic. But Overtures saves the best for last with the amazing epic song The Oracle, which clocks over 9 minutes. That song is diverse and shows that these guys can play and write a good power metal song which should be played at maximum volume to fully enjoy it!! All in all I have to say that Overtures has made a very great leap forward in their musical career as this album is really great stuff. Enjoy!!
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