Archived Reviews: # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Reviews Index
Kiko’ Rama Records 2002
Review by Petri Kautto, 
9 March 2003
D-Zire was a very pleasant acquaintance for me. When every 80’s hair band these days tend to say that “with our new album we’re going back to our 80’s sound” and they never do, D-zire actually does just that. The look, the songs, the attitude etc all there. The production isn’t that polished which gives you a feeling that this is an 1989 release instead of 2002. You can really find anything here from Kiss to early Poison and Crue, the songs are straight outta eighties.
I’d say D-zire is not so much about creating something new as it is about sticking true to what you believe in and not changing your style when something else is more “popular”. These kinds of bands have always gotten my respect and I am extremely happy to have a band like D-zire around. Musically the songs are pretty average with some delighting highlights. “Do or Die” has a catchy riff and will surely please any 80’s fan. “Chance on Love” is along the same lines, the chorus forces you to sing along. “Games” is a slow song and very versatile song. Again strong and cathcy chorus and the calmer parts have intrigueing guitar. A strong point for the band is the singer Toney Richards who has a far-reaching voice. He has an ability to modify it depending on the mood of the song and it gives depth to the songs.
On the down side there are too many fillers, in two sense. One, they obviously have something against George W. Bush’s governance and there are three tracks (not really songs) that somehow talk about it. Second, there are a few songs that could’ve been left out. It might be because I live in Europe that the Bush-parts annoy me, but that aside there still was many rock solid songs that I really liked. D-zire is definitely for the HC eighties sleaze-/glam rock fan.
D-zire
DAK Records 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom, 
24 April 2004
I'm still not sure if it's a good or bad thing, you know, that father/son connection within the same band. Can you picture this situation happening to gangsta' rappers or satanic black metal folks in the biz? Ehem... not likely. Then again... the music in the "old days" had at least one thing in common, no matter what. Melodies that you could actually remember and harmonies which definitely needed to be sung in tune.
Dakota started out already back in 1980 with their self titled debut and co-founder Jerry G. Hludzik (vocals/bass) is "The Father" here. "The Son" (Eli Hludzik) is Dakota's skin basher nowadays, and has been ever since the comeback in the late 90's. I'm not sure what happened to "The Holy Ghost" though. Could that have been co-founder Billy Kelly perhaps? He actually helps out with backing vocals on a couple of tracks. The always professional Bill Champlin (Chicago) also guest appears. You'll surely recognize his voice on the killer track "Back To Me". This is smooth rock music in the best Toto, Chicago, Dakota, tradition, which include some excellent vocal harmonies. The opening track "Brothers In Arms" really sets the pace and standard of the whole album. Some really classy work by Rick Manwiller (guitar/keys) and Jon Lorance (guitar), and that melody which you can instantly hum along to.
I haven't been all that impressed with their material lately. Nontheless, "Deep 6" is probably their best effort since that "Runaway" album. It's one step back to the classic 80's sound, and they've even managed to progress with their "outdated" material. It's "pure" AOR that will most certainly please any old fan of the genre. I do miss a few rockers more and there's a couple of dull moments here. However, extra credit for the nice closing section, the acapella mix of all songs included on this CD.
www.melodyblvd.com
Fortunate Records 2001
24 October 2001
I’m happy to have bands like Damascus Steel around to keep heavy metal alive and kicking. If I had to choose between Damascus Steel and what they play in the radio these days (AOR-E-radio exluded :-)) I’d choose Damascus Steel any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Their self-titled album has strong influences from bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden and Dio. In fact in the first song “Out of the Shadows” I was waiting for Ronnie James to start singing, so much did the bass in the beginning remind me of “Holy Diver”. Unfortunately Damascus Steel manages to reach the same levels as those bands only occasionally. The album has really fine moments. For example “Out of the Shadows” and “Thru the Eyes of a Madman” do offer great guitar action and clever riffs but then they run out of ammunition and a song that started out really good fails to deliver in the dying meters.
I got the best vibes from “Breakout” and very argumentative “Shackles of Life”. I’d love to see this band grow to its full potential because this album shows that they have it. Nevertheless I was missing some final touches and this is why the album leaves you kind of waiting for the “Grand Finale”. Now all that I got was occasional build up for it. www.damascus-steel.bigstep.com
Kivel 2003
Review by Kimmo Toivonen, 
27 September 2003
XYZ, Poison, Skid Row...if you've got albums from these bands in your record collection, you might make room for Damn Cheetah in there as well. Just like fellow label mates TNA, No More Johnny and Pyn Siren, Damn Cheetah have their roots in the hard rock of the eighties. In fact they might be the most authentic sounding "hair metal" band out of them all, and unlike many of the bands of the era, they have more than just the right clothes and hairdos - they have good songs.
The album gets a great start with three good, fun rockers ("Damn Cheetah","Maybe Tomorrow" and "If U Like What U See") and a classy ballad "Forever And A Day". Then it's two rockers again, "Love Thunder" which sounds a bit like Extreme, and the "groovy", Aerosmith-like "My Kinda Woman". "Without Your Love" is the second of the ballads, and again a very good one. The next three tracks are all uptempo rockers, but not really among the strongest tracks. However, the band has saved something special until the very end, as "Tonight" is a brilliant balladic track with some cool surprises. Certainly a departure from the good, but somewhat "standard" hard rock style of the other 10 tracks.
A "damn" good debut album, and most definitely another band to keep an eye - or ear - on. And damn (oops...), vocalist Les Brown sounds exactly like Terry Ilous of XYZ on some songs. Are these guys related or something?
www.kivelrecords.com
On Fire Records 2002
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
29 November 2002
Woh-oh "Gotta Let It Go" this is "Bad Bizzness" where "Love Isn't Love" and I need to "Lay The Blame" on you. "Help Me" baby, "Do You Feel Lucky Tonight", well... "If She'd be Mine" I'd be f-i-n-e fine. Cuz "Everybody Loves Somebody" and my "Dear Sanity" needs "Someone Like You", to stop my "Heart Of Love" from aching.
Believe it or not... but the lame story above by yours truly I may add, with all the song titles included. Pretty much sums up everything this CD is all about. I'm not trying to make fun of the artist though, but the lyrics are 'typical' for the hardrock genre, if you know what I mean. "The Hand That Rocks" is the debut solo album by Silent Rage vocalist Jesse Damon. Besides three releases with Silent Rage, Damon has also co-written songs that appear on the KI$$ albums "Revenge" and "Psycho Cirucs" to name but a few.
Gene $immon$ (KI$$) helps out his co-writer in crime, with the song "Everbody Needs Somebody" here. This is, to my very suprise, a really rockin' tune with similarities to both KI$$ and the songs $immon$ co-wrote with Black'N'Blue in the 80's. You can also find guest performances by Paul Sabu (Only Child) on several tracks here. Something that shows in the music too as many of the tracks are pure AOR. I'm especially fond of the semi-ballad "Someone Like You" that really takes you back in time. Great vocals, chorus, and keyboards on this track. Other favorites are: "Love Isn't Love" ~ a really nice AOR ballad & "Dear Sanity" ~ sounds like something Paul Sabu could have done. Sadly there are too many fillers included here and the computer drums take away a lot of the fun. It really doesn't help that Damon sings better than ever here. Both thumbs up for the great Gene Simmons/Jesse Damon song "Everybody needs Somebody" though. Die-hard fans of KISS might find this release interesting after all?
www.jessedamon.com
Z Records 2003
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
5 July 2003
"The Hand That Rocks" was and still is the first solo album by Silent Rage vocalist Jesse Damon. It was released in US last year, I reviewed it back then and for lots of more info... please visit our archive. This is the European release by Z Records and with one extra bonus track included.
It was produced by Damon and AOR legend Paul Sabu, who helped out with songwriting on 8 of the 12 tracks included here. Gene Simmons [Kiss] co-wrote the track "Everybody Needs Somebody" with Damon and it's a rockin tune a'la Kiss/Black'N'Blue. The bonus track "Something To Believe In" doesn't really add much to the overall picture. I wasn't too pleased with the CD last year and I still find it to be pretty average. Do check the archive under "D" for full review...
www.zrecords.com
Unreleased
Review by Endre "Bandi" Hübner
Please note, this review was written before the album was officially released. See the review of the official release below!
This should have been the third album from the guys. I say, "should have been" because I think there's nobody among us who wouldn't have a killer album like this one instead of the grungy, completely trendy "Dawn" (and I think even the band would share this opinion with us). Anyway, back then we got "Dawn" in our face instead of "Cockroach" but with some digging in the dirt you can put your hands on this gem. The album has two versions; originally it was recorded with Ted Poley on vocals, later on re-recorded with Paul Laine too, and four songs "Still Kicking", "Sick Little Twisted Mind", "Goin' Goin' Gone" and "Afraid Of Love" made it to their fourth album "Four The Hard Way". Lately we've heard rumors of the official release of the album. This sounds a bit strange for these ears because I'd ask right away which version of the album. If it's the Poley version then what's up with the copyright/label/credit questions? If it's the Laine version then what for? Those four songs already came out with him. (Ed's note: the word is that they will release them both, dunno...)
"Cockroach" starts exactly like "Four The Hard Way" with "Still Kicking", one of the most powerful Danger Danger songs followed by "Sick Little Twisted Mind", one of the best lyrics from them. Ted Poley's is in top form here (unlike the new Melodica album, ahem), shines all through the album. The band delivered the best songwriting of their Poley years here. The album managed to melt the energy of the classic first album and the harder edge of "Screw It", meanwhile - after all those nursery rhymes, finally - the band wrote good enough lyrics. This doesn't mean we get serious songs about the sad situation in the Middle East (let's leave it to Mike Tramp and White Lion. neh neh neh), we get some of the usual party anthems á la Danger Danger (Good Time, Don't Pull The Plug), some of the usual good love songs (Don't Break My Heart Again, Afraid Of Love), and some of the sexist rockers (Tip Of My Tongue, Shot O' Love).
"Good Time" and ""Don't Pull The Plug" are from the same league as "Rock America", I don't think I need to say anything more about those two songs while "Don't Break My Heart" (almost) ranks up to the classic "One Step From Paradise". In my opinion with "Tip Of My Tongue" the band delivered their best songwriting from the its early years. It's a huge party anthem with a catchy refrain, funny lyrics, a cool brass section, and awesome guitar works by Andy Timmons. Though I loved his playing on the first two albums too, still think his playing is the most entertaining here. The whole album is filled with extremely powerful rockers, it's musically somewhere between the energy and melodic approach of "Screw It" and the modernism and roughness of "Four The Hard Way".
Having the album in your collection will convince you that Danger Danger was really one of the finest bands of the best selling years of AOR and that "Dawn" was just a mistake, "Cockroach" (and the others) are what Danger Danger is about.
Live Bootleg
Review by Endre "Bandi" Hübner
Now this is a pure gem. Unfortunately the sound quality is far from being good enough for a compact disc still this bootleg is definitely worth owning. It was recorded some time after the first two (and classic) Danger Danger albums in Tokyo, so obviously it features Ted Poley on vocals and Andy Timmons on acoustic guitar.
If you have Whitesnake's "Starkers In Tokyo", you might have an idea what this one is like. The only difference is that those early Danger Danger songs were even more melodic than the Whitesnake songs recorded on the Starkers album. Ted's sugar sweet, happy Mickey Mouse voice is shining and gets you in the heart. The gig opens with "Feels Like Love" and goes on with "Bang Bang" and one is amazed how melodic Ted can sing over the stripped down acoustic guitar accompaniment. The guitar themes are thick enough, they do not seem to be primitive at all, they aren't chords only but hidden melodies and lots of carefully planned breaks make them entertaining. Andy even sings backing vocals and the two guys are at least as entertaining as the usual Sambora-Jovi acoustic sets.
"Don't Walk Away" comes with a full band arrangement with congas by Steve West and beautiful piano harmonies by Kasey Smith. Ted is shining again, and Andy's acoustic solo is great. Strange that the crowd seems to be more enthusiastic about the guitar-vocals only songs and this one only gets some polite handclaps.
Two songs of the second "Screw It" album finish the set. A guitar-vocal version of the brilliant ballad "I Still Think About You" and a full band version of "Monkey Business". Both sound great as these versions too. The stripped down version of the ballad is really emotional and the acoustic version of monkey business with its shaker-conga-percussion drum themes has a huge party feel. The honky-tonk like piano just adds to this feeling. Finally this song makes the crowd cheer the band loud. Unfortunately, the bootleg ends here though I would have given a fortune to hear "Rock America" or "One Step From Paradise" acoustically. Let's all hope one day they'll Rock Europe and we will be there.
MTM 1997
Review by Kimmo Toivonen
D2 are back on track! This may not be an instant classic like the first two albums, but at least there are hardly any traces of the style they were going with the horrible "Dawn". Instead, the boys have mixed their old style with some modern influences (The Wildhearts maybe?) and have come up with a refreshing new sound. The highlights? "Jaded" (a great example of the new sound), "Captain Bring Me Down" (Bon Jovi? Who?), "Going All The Way", "Goin' Goin' Gone" (both classic D2) and the Def Leppard-style "Afraid Of Love".
Album of The Month
DANGER DANGER:
"The Return Of The Great Gildersleeves" 9
MTM 2000
If "Four The Hard Way" was D2's come back album to the melodic hard rock scene, "Gildersleeves" should damn well prove that they are here to stay! The band has again successfully combined modern rock influences with the classic D2 sound, and added a couple of neat twists in there as well.
"Grind" is one hell of an opener. Weird sound effects pave the way to an awesome melodic rocker, carved from the same wood as their classic "Beat The Bullet". "When She's Good She's Good (When She's Bad She's Better)" is one of the two tracks from the unreleased "Cockroach" album, and as the title suggests, it's a track in the vein of early D2, full of hooks and tongue-in-cheek lyrics.
Vocalist Paul Laine's "Six Million Dollar Man" sounds like a modern rock version of Cheap Trick, while "She's Gone" is an awesome AOR ballad featuring an outstanding perfromance from Laine. "Dead Drunk & Wasted" looks bad on paper, but fortunately the song isn't the stoopid simple rocker I was expecting. In fact it's one of my favourites, a perfect combination of modern rock sound and the D2 of old, a great melodic rocker.
"Dead Dog" is a slow, heavy and grungy number that I could have done without. "I Do" is much more appealing, a totally brilliant dark melodic rocker with great vocals from Laine. He is also in the starring role on "My Secret", an acoustic song with a nice athmosphere, if nothing else. "Cherry Cherry" is bassist Bruno Ravel's baby, as he has played everything on it, drums not included, and even sings lead. It's a catchy 70'ies style song that reminds me of a poppier Kiss.
The closing duo of "Get In The Ring" and "Walk It Like You Talk It" (the other "Cockroach" song) represents the heavier and angrier D2, and while they are not my favourites, they are good enough to secure this album the "Album Of The Month" title.
Review by Kimmo Toivonen
Sony/Low Dice 2001
Review by Vesa Nuorala, 
18 September 2001
The wait is over and "Cockroach" has arrived. Everybody say "Amen!". After all that has gone down with this record I think every single fan of D2 is very pleased with this outcome and so should be every hard rock fan too. This record has both versions of "Cockroach" and that is the Poley one and the Laine one. If you want to know more what happened with this record when it was suppose to be released then buy this record and read what Steve has written in the booklet. Sadly it is only available through the Danger Danger Website.
One can choose which singer one wants but what counts more are the songs. There is one extra song on the Laine version; "Time In The Bottle". Some of these songs have been recorded to both "FTHW" and "The Return..." but slightly different versions. There are 5 songs that have not seen the light of the day until now well bootleg doesn't count. These all are great and the ones that really kick me in the ass are "Don't Pull The Plug", "Shot 'O Love" and "Good Time".
I just can't take this record out of my cd-player. If you want to know, I'm mostly listening the Laine version. Ted sounds good, but I think Laine suits better. I don't want to rave too much about this record [The rest of AOR-E: Too late!], because I have been known to listen to D2 all the time so I might not give a neutral review. In my mind this is a another perfect D2 record and both FTHW and The Return ... are perfect follow ups to this. If the saga would have continued as it should have, "Cockroach" should have been out first anyway. Ok to me "Dawn" is also a great record and it really has been there for me but that's a whole other story.
Thank you D2 for all the great music you guys have put out and I really hope that our journey together continues. Readers, now go and do yourself a favour and buy this record. It's worth every penny.
Big water 2000
01-04-15
WoW!!! I guess it´s true... You just can´t stop Rock´n´roll!!! This is one of best freakin´ CD´s I´ve heard for a long time. ZAK DANIELS & THE ONE EYED SNAKES are a band from the USA that play straight in your face Hardrock/Blues with some SLEAZE influences. Imagine a mixture of bands such as ZZ TOP, ASPHALT BALLET, STONES, POISON, GEORGIA SATELLITES and youre close.
This is Rock with a capital R! Guitarist JIM "KAT" KATSIKIDES has got a really fat & mean guitar sound and style a-la Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) & Jimmy Page (Led Zep). Vocalist & main man ZAK DANIELS is a great singer and the rhythm section of JACK THEIL (Bass) & DOUG LAVERY (Drums) is really tight.
The production by ZAK & KAT is huge with a marvelous guitar sound and with 15 songs you really get value for your money. In fact it´s easier to say that 2 of the songs are a bit weak and the rest all rocks! They even get away with a really cool cover on the old BOB DYLAN song "HWY 61 revistied" though I hate most of DYLAN´s stuff. The killer stuff are "Sweep it under the rug" a superb rocker that begins with a "Thin Lizzy" twin guitar intro, before it rocks off in a cool boogie woogie strut. "Timeless travelers" a ZZ TOP meets POISON kinda song with some Power riffs from KAT."Tombstone hat" a lovely semi-ballad with a cowboy feeling all over the song, you just gotta love the raspy, blues vocals by ZAK. "Tired of love" a great rocker again with some mean licks & tricks by the KAT-man, "Fast ones" is a real knockout, this is sleaze rock at it´s best!!! "Sky boy" is a superb ballad with both acoustic/electric guitars & piano, this is a song that ALICE COOPER wishes he´d done. "TV re-run" sounds like a mix of GEORGIA SATELLITES & Black Crowes, great stuff and "Brown eyed beauty" is a superb rocker that sounds a lot like the STONES goes Hardrock. "Womanizer" is more like the SATELLITES again but ZAK & The Boys do have a sound of their own. This is a real Buy or die album that all fans of good guitar rock should have! Check em out at: www.zakdaniels.com
Frontiers/Now & Then Productions 1999
Review by Kimmo Toivonen
Another UK band with their second effort... Dante Fox have moved slightly to a heavier direction, but some of the elements of the first album are still evident. However, I feel that the songs aren't always quite as strong. Certainly there are good ones here, "Over You", "Under The City Lights", "Firing My Heart" and "Message From My Heart" are all very good, but the real highlights are missing, and a couple of the songs are actually quite average.
Another thing that I can not fully appreciate are the vocals of Sue Willets. Sure, she has a good and powerful voice, but occasionally it is a bit too powerful for me, and she ends up sounding a bit cold and metallic. I think she has a long way to go before challenging the likes of Ann Wilson (Heart).
A bit of a disappointment, but if you really liked the band the first time around, by all means check this out!
MTM Music
2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
8 March 2004
In the grand tradition of J.R.R. Tolkien (rings, things, and hobbits that sings), the little man with the big guitar sound is back with his own "Danziland". It's already been five long years since his first solo effort "Somewhere Lost In Space", and never before has any title been more suitable. I guess he's actually been lost out there again... ehem... or homeless in Jersey perhaps? :-)
It's however quite understandable if you're asking yourself: who the heck is Danny Danzi anyway??? To be honest, he's always been kind of an underground musician from New Jersey, that never quite made it with any of his bands in the early 90's. The info sheet actually describe him as "one of the most famous guitarists in New Jersey", yeah right, only because acts such as Sentinel and Passion were so damn successful. The truth is Danzi played in a lot of acts that opened up for famous acts such as Britny Fox, Cinderella, Tangier, etc. Credit where credit's due! He's much more successful solo and his guitar playing is up there among the "almost best", shred fans will get their fair share of licks, tricks, and funny kicks. He's obviously inspired by Van Halen and do throw in some Bettencourt (Extreme) and Bratta (White Lion), while you're at it. I'm not saying he's exactly as good... but not 'that' far behind either.
I'm also happy to report that "Only Strong Will Survive" is one of the weakest links here. Some of you may remember (at least that angry, female, DD fan will, do email me again with some pix this time), that I trashed this song completely, when it was included on a MTM sampler earlier. I still think it stinks and you could add the rather cheesy (hold the mayonnaise please) "Time Passes By", to the same pile. The latter is a semi-ballad that never really hits the right nerves, even if I've surely heard worse attemps. The rest is on the other hand quite fun, guitar oriented (lots of guitars), melodic hardrock. "All Or Nothing" is blessed with smashing guitar work, dut-dut keys' ala Journey/Toto, and one helluva catchy refrain. Easily my favorite along with the Van Halen inspired title track and the mega rocker "Eternity". Pay some extra attention to the lovely vocal harmonies here as the whole song is done in a uplifting, party, mood. I almost get the same feeling as when playing "Summertime Girls" with Y&T. "Wild And Dangerous" reminded me somehow of the first Talisman album (when they still wrote songs you could actually remember) and "Destiny" is almost Malmsteen-ish, during his Trilogy & Odyssey era (w/o the tempo furioso guitar work). The production is somewhere between okay and so-so without bringing down any applaudes or boo's for that matter. There you go... I even managed to write the Danzi(g) review without naming goats or Johnny Lima at all.
Bootleg (?)
14 March 2000
This album does not seem to be an official release, rather some bootleg. The artwork is very cheap, has absolutely no information about the label or the release date so I could only guess about the release date. I suppose it was released between their second and third album. I came to this conclusion because (1) the photo of the inside of the front cover is the same as the back cover photo of Blood From Stone, (2) on the back cover the last two tracks “Walk On The Water” and “Run To Me” are marked as “unreleased B-side”. They both made it to Calm Before The Storm (WOTW is the opening, RTM was the bonus track on one of the versions of the album).
This album is a collection of “unreleased b-sides” (what a stupid description, if something is “b-side” it must have been released somewhere…) “alternate versions” and a “live” track. The overall quality of the production is not bad. To me the chorus parts seem to be more withdrawn than it is usual on their studio releases, but the mixing is much better than it is on some cheap demo stuff. Darren’s voice sounds perfect, the guitars are a bit in the back of the mix (similar to their first release), and the songwriting is characterized by huge keys.
“Killer Lover” kickstarts the album followed by “Rideaway”. Both of them are great uptempo rockers, I’d even dare to say they are better than most of their officially released rockers… However the next track was a bit of a disappointment. The back cover said “If Looks Could Kill”. I was hoping for a cover version of the Heart classic but it wasn’t. It was just a bland midtempo filler the Dare art. However the next track (Valentino) restored my good feelings about the album. It’s another uptempo rocker with the typical 80’s sounding synth chording in the refrain. The hooks are big enough to catch fish with, and the flow of the refrain even made me forget about the cheesy lyrics… But the next some tracks started to show the characteristics that make me easily get bored by Dare. Two power ballads followed, the latter one (The Last Time) was the better one. However these bland lyrics make me shiver. When listening to Dare albums I usually start to feel bored around the fifth-sixth track. This happened to me when listening to this one too. I waited for the “alternate versions” with curiosity, hoping they would “wake me up again”. To be honest they didn’t. The album contains an “alternate version” of “Heartbreaker”, “The Raindance” and “Abandon” … Actually, they are not much different from the album versions… “Heartbreaker” has a rather boring extended drum solo-chorus part, the rest are almost identical with the original versions. The “live” track (no. 12) is the best moment of the album. “King of Spades” live with Darren dedicating the song to Phil Lynott. It sounds too polished for my ears (I sense some studio afterwork here, however since I’ve never seen them live I can’t be sure about it but the performance - especially Darren’s vocals - seemed too “perfect” for me, if you know what I mean…). The best part of the song is the ending when it turns into an instrumental Thin Lizzy medley. Great moments! The crowd seems to dig it too.
The album finishes with the early (probably demo??) versions of those songs from their third album mentioned in the beginning of the review… The album versions are more guitar and chorus orientated than these ones but it might only be the production… Overall I was very pleasantly surprised. I’d rate it 7 out of 10 (taking into consideration that the first and third Dare albums would get 8, the second would get 9 in the same rating).
Playground/MTM 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
7 June 2004
I can't decided upon if I'm feeling disappointed or merely just not-fully-satisfied with "Beneath The Shining Water". What's the difference you ask? Well, you can't really blame Darren Wharton [ex-Thin Lizzy] and the lads, for being crap musicians or coming up with crappy material. However, you'll get a strange feeling of deja vu' while playing this disc, and it's all very laidback as their previous two albums.
It's seems like Wharton has been spending too much time infront of the Celtic channel lately [is there such a thing?], and not enough time with VH-1 Rock. The music is sometimes endlessly beautiful and with a sentimental touch all over the place, while other times it's incredibly boring and darn-right sleepy. It almost feels like listening to one of those CD's in the "Relax With" series [desert winds, the sound of ocean, crackling fire, old people farting, etc].
You definitely need to be in the right type of mood... to truly embrace and enjoy all the aspects of "Beneath The Shining Water". Perhaps it helps if you're into big, epic, drama pictures, where misery and haunting sceneries of windy/empty plains, always go hand in hand. I don't know... but it surely comes along with those typical lyrics about "when the eagles fly across the ocean", and such. Still... I can't help to enjoy many of the melodies as they slowly let you drift away to unexplored territories in the very back of your mind [banzai!]. I'm not sure all these songs would work out live though. I can't imagine myself standing in the audience, listening to ten 'very' laidback tracks after each other, without falling in sleep. Most folks would probably walk out of there anyway. This music probably works the best at home, on your stereo, along with a bottle of wine infront of the fireplace or something likewise corny and/or silly. Dare will probably never record another "Out Of The Silence" or "Blood From Stone" album again and it's kind of sad really. Keep in mind: This is NOT an album to rock out with... it's stuff to relax with... it's still good though... just not great.
www.mtm-music.com
Indie 2000
01-03-16
What´s the first thing on your mind when someone talks about music from Germany? Yeah, I gotta admit the first thing that pops up is *German Power Metal* I guess it´s safe to say that Accept started it all and Helloween brought it to it´s limit!? So it´s really no big surprise that DARK BREED a band from Germany plays "German Power Metal", huh???
Well, it´s not exactly true as this is not an ordinary Power Metal band! No, the five members: J.J (Vocals), Kai Brunnert (Guitars), Nils Papke (Guitar, Keyboards), Markus Briehle (Bass), and Carsten Schmere (Drums) like to blend some Doom & Gothic metal into the mix. They actually all have a past in hardcore and death metal bands such as: Brightside & Wald, but decided to become a little bit "softer" back in 1997 when DARK BREED was formed.
The Production done by the boys themselves is pretty good for an independent release and there´s no doubt that they are all great musicians. Still I miss some really big choruses here and there! I would actually have preferred if they had played *Power Metal* only like the opener "Control" which is a superb metal song with a catchy chorus and a sound not far from Gamma Ray, Helloween, or Running Wild. Drummer "Schmere" does some serious playing here and the guitars sounds great!! The biggest problem with the Doom/Gothic metal songs on this CD is (as I see it) the lack of catchy choruses and I´d advice them to continue the "Control" path in the future. Still if melodic Doom metal is your thing make sure to get a copy of "Tribal Initiation Ceremony" pronto at email: Ddarkbreed@aol.com
Atlantic Records 2003
Review by Petri Kautto,
15 December 2003
Well this one we obviously should have been done a long time ago. The Darkness is a band that has been able to get that all important radio airplay that R&R so desperately craves for these days. I guess a little hind sight is acceptable here so I thought that I could ramble a little about this band and their dawning success.
The band obviously has no novelty value other than the exceptional voice of lead singer Justin Hawkins. They emphasize all the clichés that made the 80’s rock and roll a phenomenon (and later a laughing stock for many) and they surely are not ashamed of it. But who ever said that reinventing the wheel was a bad thing? For those who’ve suffered from the very day that the flannel wearing parvenu from Seattle made shit hit the fan big time The Darkness maybe a glimpse for the better. By no means I’m not proclaiming that The Darkness is the new savior that’s gonna make everything good again, but hell if this is a turn for the better then I’m all for it. Rock and roll never went away no matter how badly the music industry wanted it and if this band can help them to see the light then hooray. Wishful thinking, I know, but ain’t it good to hear music in the radio/TV that has actually been composed by the people who perform it?
Let’s take a bit closer look at the music. This band has an ear for a good riff. I’m not saying that this is a catchy hooks galore, because it’s not, but the songs that have had the air play well deserve it. But there’s also room for fillers and please Justin, I know it’s cool to have groupies hanging by your balls, but in a few songs you could have considered other options when trying to hit the high notes. Still for the most parts this is an entertaining album and it’s really a question of how much you like or dislike the vocals. In short, these guys have a chance to make at least a bit more difference than most of the rock bands out there, so let’s hope they make the most of it. If you still haven’t checked them out I think you should, they’ll raise a strong opinion if nothing else.
www.thedarknessrock.com
Goodlife Records 2000
01-03-16
The Rumors on the Web said that DARK SKY was a new sensation that played fantastic Melodic Hardrock a-la EUROPE and TREAT. Well... they do play keyboard oriented Rock and opener "Rock me" does sound a bit like Europe in their "The Final Countdown days" as they´re using the same Keyboard sound! But to compare them with the untouchable Swedes just isn´t fair to anyone!!!
DARK SKY is a band from Rotweill, Germany and they´ve been around in different line-ups ever since 1982. "Believe It" was first released in Asia (Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore) and the song "Masih ada rindu" (performed in Malaysian language) even entered the charts in Malaysia??!!
The rest of the songs are all in English though even if vocalist "Frank Brueninger" sings with a pretty heavy German accent. Nothing that bothers me that much. The music itself sounds more like fellow German bands ROKO and CRAAFT mixed with some influences from Swedish Hardrock and the production is not bad at all. Highlights are "Rock Me" with some really great work by keyboardist "Claudio Nobile", imagine ROKO with Mic Michaeli from Europe on keys. "Stay Young" is a good uptempo rocker again with some killer keys by Nobile, a catchy chorus and the vocal harmonies are really good through out the whole album. "In the name of God" proves that this band can stand on their own, "Jane" is a good power ballad and "Call Me" is yet another pretty catchy song a-la CRAAFT.
The bottom line is: Don´t expect an album that sounds like EUROPE. The keyboards sometimes sound like them but that´s it! Check´em out at www.dark-sky.de listen to the sound clips and make your own decision. I´m sure that if you can enjoy German bands like ROKO You´ll like this one too. www.goodlife-records.de
Goodlife Records 2002
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
16 November 2002
"Edge Of Time" is the second release by Germany's Dark Sky and it's huge step forward to 'total rock' and big success. Their debut "Believe" was a pretty average CD, with lame attemps of trying to become Germany's answer to the super Swede's of Europe. Sadly without the same quality when it comes to songwriting or the power vocals of Joey Tempest.
However, it's like they've done a complete make-over here as suddenly, everything is so much better than before. You could say they've finally found their place called home, when it comes to music. Gone are the similarities to above mentioned band and say hello to excellent melodic hardrock a-la Fair Warning or Bonfire (if you neceserally need to compere them with other bands).
Vocalist Frank Breuninger no longer sings with a heavy German accent and the vocal harmonies are also better than good. The overall sound is a bit heavier with more 'crunch', without losing anything when it comes to melodies or keyboards. Claudio Nobile (keys) is still a big part of the sound even if guitarist Steffen Doll, do play some really wicked riffs all over the place. Check out opener "Bartimaeus" or even better "Judgement Day", where Doll simply goes bezerk in the studio. The ballad "Hope Still Hasn't Gone" has a big goosebumps warning written all over it!!! This song will surely end up on my 'best of the year' list. Another favorite is "Look In My Eyes", that begins with some excellent keywork before the chorus hits ya' right between the eyes.
Bottomline, "Edge Of Time" will not disappoint fans of German-Rock, even if there are a couple of fillers here. There's no need to be afraid of the production either as it's actually pretty good... for once...
www.goodlife-records.de
Nuclear Blast/Magic Circle 2003
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
5 June 2003
"Ashes To Ashes, Lust To Lust" Well, someone apperently rewrote the whole concept of funerals I believe??? Some of you out there may remember David Shankle as the Manowar guitarist from the years of 1988-1995. This is Shankle's return to the scene and his CD is filled with virtuosic high-speed guitar playing and metal hymns. Wimps and posers better leave this review etc. etc.
After leaving Manowar, David went to Roosevelt Music University in Chicago to study jazz and classical guitar. The music of "Ashes To Ashes" is of course related to his previous act, especially since Joey DeMaio both produced and released it. Indeed, this epic sounding album is published by DeMaio's own label Magic Circle Music (with the help of Nuclear Blast).
Do not expect this to be just another "Manowar" album though. Lead vocalist Trace Edward Saber is obviously more inspired by Rob Halford (Judas Priest) than say Eric Adams. The main difference is however keyboardist Eddie "Shreddy" Bethishou and his marvelous work at the ivory's and ebony's. You'll notice flashy duels between him and Shankle all over this CD and this gives a totally different dimension over the material. Without the keys this would have been just another metal album, now it's more progressive with neo-classical influences. "Ashes To Ashes" features a broad mix of pure metal, some classic rock of Rainbow, speedy instrumentals, and neo-classical songs. The title and opening track do actually sound like Yngwie Malmsteen on steroids somehow, while "Secrets" reminded me a lot of Judas Priest in the late 70's/early 80's. "Back To Heaven" show a lot in common with the most uptempo tracks by Rainbow (Spotlight Kid). The lovely ballad "Calling All Heroes" could almost have been a TNT (!!!) song in the 80's. "The Tolling Of The Bell" is a great power metal tune a'la Manowar though and the rest of the material, is solid power metal without any major up's or down's. Shankle's playing is more impressive here than during all his years with Manowar and the classical influences really shines through. The variety of music on this album is indeed a nice suprise and the result is quite good.
www.nuclearblast.de
Arista 1989
Review by Endre "Bandi" Hübner
Another female fronted poppy AOR album with songs from Diane Warren (who else?) again. Unfortunately this one opens with one of the most commercial pop songs of the whole album, "With Every Beat Of My Heart", that might disappoint the hard rockers, but a great mid-tempo Diane song "I'll Be Your Shelter" washes the bad taste away, a real radio friendly tune with its na-na-na refrain. Taylor's voice sounds surprisingly Afro-American on this one; I can even hear some strange accent that Dionne Warwick also has.
"Love Will Lead You Back" is the usual top quality, keyboard driven ballad by Diane with another awesome vocal performance from Taylor, one of the highlights of the album. Then another poppy tune turns the hopes of hard rockers down but while it is playing you can always check the promo photos of the artwork out. Actually, this one isn't that bad at all, the vocals and the keyboard sound are great, and the ones with some soul music in their collection (like me) will definitely love this one too.
The title song is Diane Warren again, an old-school mid-tempo guitar driven, brass synth supported rocker. Personally I find it average and prefer the other two Diane songs, but the die-hard rock fans might be happy about the solo that is played by Blues Saraceno (solo, later on Poison). The faithful rockers will get a heart attack hearing the disco sounding drum machine on "Up All Night", and I do not even try to convince them to give a chance to this song because it's just one of those boring dance tunes. But "I Know The Feeling" is another soul flavored ballad with great keyboard sound and beautiful vocal harmonies, similar to Celine Dion's or Whitney Houston's ballads. However both of those ladies have considerably better vocal abilities than Taylor, she isn't bad either.
After an easy-to-forget dance song "Wait For Me" the album finishes with two Ric Wake songs. He was also responsible for the production too that is not bad but I could have done with more guitars and less drum programming. Anyway, his songs bring the rockier feeling back, "You Meant The World To Me" is a mid-tempo rockabilly tune with an entertaining brass section and great female background vocals, while "Ain't No Good" is a guitar riff driven rocker with an arena shout-out refrain supported with awesome female vocals again.
Though this album might not please everybody (mostly because of the too many poppy songs) it contains some pearls that everyone could be happy with. Don't pay big $$$ for it but if you see it in a second hand store or at a sale, be sure to pick it up.