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
BMG 2001
Gotthard's first 2 albums are great examples of European melodic rock. They made a total of 5 albums but none of them are as good as their first two [Hmmm. I'd say "D-Frosted" is by far their best but it all comes down to personal taste, doesn't it? - Bandi]. Now they're back with a 6th album.
They've have gone from the harder edge of their first two albums to a more mature and smoother sound. Their sound and style on this album is very similar to Paul Laine's solo work and Bon Jovi's latest albums. There are some big rock anthems like 'Everything Can Change', 'Take It Easy' (cover of Andy Taylor's hit anthem) and Bon Jovi inspired 'Light In Your Eyes'. There're some anthemic and dark moments like 'Reason To Live', 'Heaven', 'Say Goodbye' and 'Homerun'. 'Lonely People' is a Mr. Big style only acoustic ballad and the songwriting and production quality is totally amazing.
A very good rock album with great hard rockin' songs and ballads. 'Homerun' is a very radio friendly album with high songwriting and production quality. Every fan of European hard rock should take a listen.
PS: Japan only bonus track 'Dirty Weekend'(a very good rock anthem) is featured on our AOR-E Radio. Tune In!!!
www.gotthard.com
BMG Ariola 2003
I`ve been a big fan of Swiss rockers Gotthard since released their debut album. Times were changin` but they were still recording fabulous songs. Yep - few years ago after releasing their live album called D-Frosted they`ve changed direction into some softer areas of hardrock but time proved that it was a good move. So my expectations about new album were as high as the Himalaya mountains. The line up stayed the same but they`ve decided to change producer, and this cd is produced by Mark Tanner instead of Chris von Rohr. All I can say with hand on my heart is that they`ve made another amazing album.
On “Human Zoo” you`ll find all what`s best in Gotthard. Amazing compositions, catchy as hell hooks, unforgettable voice of Steve Lee and magic athmosphere which won`t let you stop listening to this album. It starts with bonjovish “Human Zoo” - hard riffs and wheezing singer reminds me of songs from G so it`ll satisfy all fans of the earlier era. But song no 2 is what tigers love best. “What I Like” is without a doubt one of the best songs the band has ever recorded. It starts with acoustic guitar and quickly changes into classic uptempo song with truly amazing melody and some Turkish influences in refrain (ou Turkish team member Ayhan should be happy with it). Like many of you know for sure, Gotthard guys were always masters in rock ballads so you`ll find a few on this CD too. “Have A Little Faith”, “Still I Belong To You”, “First Time In A Longtime” and “What Can I Do” are perfect if ya want to invite a cute chick from the neighbourhood to check your collection of stamps. Of course there are some songs for real rockers too; Sharp-as-scissors “Top Of The World” where you can hear how to sing hardrock stuff that will give goosebumps in listeners. “Janie`s Not Alone” with some violin parts is another example of perfect rock song and one my faves here. I can also recommend “No Tomorrow” and “Where I Belong” to everyone but to be honest there are no fillers here - I couldn`t find even one. For some time I haven`t heard such and well-thought-out album.
So my advice is simple and clear - buy this album immediately. Miracles like this don`t happen too often. It`ll be without a doubt one of the best albums of the year.
Nightmare Records 2000
01-03-16
Metal fusion, progressive metal or just good old 80´s thrash? Take your pick as Minnesota/Minneapolis natives GRACEPOINT lay down some really heavy riffs on their debut album "Science of Discontent" that could easily fit into any of the above mentioned styles. They actually remind me of SACRED REICH but with some influences from prog metal bands such as Dream Theater and with a bassist "Sam Van Moer" who really likes to blend in some funk "Slap & Pop" finger picking style into the metal mix.
Add that they got two absolutely fantastic guitar shredders "Lon Kunze" and "Stefan Radzilowski" and you know that this CD will not let down fans of real metal (wimps and posers, leave this review). Vocalist Matt Tennessen sings all the songs with a similar style to James Hetfield in his younger days with the "pretty" famous band Metallica. Something that could make any old fan of 80´s thrash cry of joy.
Highlights are: "The Gallery" that begins with an acoustic guitar/vocals intro before it kicks off into a real headbanger a-la Xentrix or early Metallica. "Inside Track" continues in the same kinda style with a lot of guitar riffs and rhythm changes. The title track "Science of Discontent" is a 5 minute long instrumental track with both prog, funk & thrash influences, really great track I might add. Not too forget the really good "Shapechanger" that fans of real thrash will enjoy for sure. Over all a good album that could have been better with some more "catchy" choruses here and there, still a nice first CD and who knows what the future might bring? You can buy this CD at: www.nightmare-records.com
"An American band" 6
Record Heaven 2001
01-03-16
You wanted the best, you got the best ... the loudest band in the world: GRAND FUNK RAILROAD. Well ... they sure had the reputation of being the loudest band in the early 70´s and they were maybe the biggest hard rock band around in the states, between the golden years of 1970-75. Grand Funk split up already back in 1976 but have done a couple of reunion´s since (the latest 1996) and many Americans still consider them to be their biggest rock influence.
Some of the songs might be a bit anonymous for us Europeans, as they never really toured or had that many hits outside of USA. "We´re an American Band" here done by KEECANE is maybe their most famous song together with "Some kind of wonderful" covered by The MANNY CHARLTON band (ex.Nazareth) and their versions are both good even if Manny & His band could have done with a better production (the drums sounds really crappy). Still, good songs are always good songs though.
KELLY KEELING (Baton Rouge, Blue Murder, John Norum etc.) does a really mean version of "Mean Mistreater" and it´s a pure joy to listen to "People Let´s Stop The War" here superbly done by Swedish melodic hardrockers MOTHERLODE who recorded the classic 1987 album "The Sanctuary" with vocalist SONNY LARSSON (also ex. Charizma, XT). New hero VICK LeCAR who sings the lead vocals himself here, does a nice version of "Shinin´On" and let´s not forget "Upsetter" by THE CO-STARS who are none others than Matti Alfonzetti - Vocals (Jagged Edge, Bam Bam Boys, Solo), Conny Bloom (Electric Boys), Claes Yngstrom (Sky High) - Guitars, Micke Hoglund - Bass (Thunder), Jompa Borger - Drums (Treat, Talisman etc.). On the other hand bands like Spurgo, Bozemans Simplex, Funkman & Friends do little or nothing at all with the Grand Funk Railroad material and let´s face it ... the songwriting was sometimes just not strong enough. Still if you´re a 70´s hardrock fan make sure to check out this tribute. You can buy this CD from the label at: www.recordheaven.net
Escape Music/2001
So ... guess who just wrote the
book of how to make it in the AOR biz? That´s right! The Grand
Illusion boys bring us their latest trick, a really wonderful
AOR/Westcoast album from this Swedish band who were formerly known
as "Promotion" and released two independent albums (Yeah Yeah & Not
for sale) under that name before they signed for the English label
Escape Music.
This is maybe the best release ever from Escape (re-releases not included) as pretty much everything from the vocal harmonies to the very strong song material are of prime quality and you can really tell that 4/5 of the band have been playing together for 15 years. If you liked the Promotion CDs you´re going to love the Grand Illusion disc as it´s even better and sounds like a perfect mix of American Westcoast a-la Toto, Chicago, David Foster and Swedish AOR (the first album with: Alien) at it´s best!
You will find uptempo rockers like the mega catchy "I Don´t wanna know" to power ballads like "Parachute" on this disc and pretty much everything in between. The bombastic "Accidentally On Purpose" is maybe the best of them all, the vocal performances by Peter Sandell and Per Svensson are not of this world and the same goes with all the keyboards on this album. I could really name all the songs here as the songwriting duo of Anders Rydholm - Guitars / Bass / Keyboards & Ola Karlsson - Guitars has managed to come up with 11 great tracks that the AOR fans will talk about for a long , long time. Believe me this is an album that no fans of catchy rock can be without, check out some MP3´s at www.escape-music.com and grab yourself a copy of pure heaven.
Escape 2001
01-07-23
What? do the Grand Illusion boys already have a new trick up their sleeves? Well... both yes and no, since this is a re-release of the two independent albums they recorded under the name Promotion. Not a bad idea really since far from everybody that enjoyed their "The Book Of How To Make It" album, has actually had a chance to hear any of their previous work.
"In the beginning" are the two Promotion albums "Yeah yeah" and "Not for sale" (I know, it´s confusing) here released as a 2-CD package with 4 bonus tracks. I believe that you will get value for your money as with 26 songs to go through, there may be something in here for all of you.
Don´t expect this to be as "heavy" as "The Book..." though as you could end up feeling a bit disappointed. What you get here is even smoother westcoast music and sometimes with a horn section and everything. "Poor Cow" is for sure best of the previously unreleased tracks, with a catchy chorus and a sound similar to "The Book" album. Other highlights would be "Trampoline" the marvelous "The Hunter & The Fox" (both from the "Yeah Yeah" album) and "Higher love" "Pack Of Lies" and "Rollercoaster Ride" (from the album "Not For Sale"). I say, the vocal work from Peter Sundell and Per Svensson are indeed something out of the ordinary as they sound absolutely marvelous. I must also say that I do enjoy the new "Grand illusion" sound and songmaterial more than their previous work.
www.escape-music.com
Escape Music 2002
11 July 2002
With a view from the top it's easier said than done, and this from a band who've already written the book of how to make it. Nevertheless, this is a marvelous follow up album to last years success at Escape music. Lads, you sure make this rocker and the rest of us Swedes darn proud to be yellow & blue!!!! (no, I'm not actually yellow & blue here).
Keep in mind that we (Sweden) only have a population of 8.9 million (there are some 278 million in US) and yet we are the 3:rd largest music industry in the world. You can surely ask yourself, where do the real talanted musicians live? Grand Illusion are unfortunately cursed by the gods for being 'out of date' and not playing 'the flavor of the day' music.
They've been compared to symphonic bands such as Styx, Toto, Kansas, The David Foster projects etc. in the past. However, I'd like to name them 'The ABBA' of AOR/Pomp Rock, everything they do is very much in their style of Swedish professionalism. Lately I've been desperately trying to find out, where I've heard all this before somewhere, somehow. Suddenly it hit me... darnit... Grand Illusion is ABBA, sadly without the lovely Agnetha Fältskog though [:-)]. Still, The fat layered harmonies, the catchy melodies and the clever use of keys. All have the trademark of above mentioned super group!!! Don't get me wrong, this is indeed Hard Rock we're talking about here and not Pop Music. However, I believe you're all able to read between the lines and understand what I'm talking about here. "View From The Top" may not be a album for each and everyone of you out there. Nevertheless, if you enjoy bombastic, fantastic, symphonic, AOR rock with keys and vocals to die for. You simply can't let this little beauty slip you by!! Favorite track? I can't single out one of them I'm afraid. Downside(s)? well, you need to spin this CD a couple of times, cause some of the songs are not instantely as 'catchy' as on the debut. Still, this is yet another 'must have' by the Grand Illusion lads.
www.escape-music.com
Grand Illusion's homepage
Perris Records 2004
Review by Petri Kautto, 
10 February 2004
I had not heard of Grandma Moses before so I typed it to Google and got the following: “Grandma Moses [American Folk Artist, 1860-1961]”. Hmm… not really my cup of tea. After a more thorough search I ended up to a page that looked a bit more promising. Grandma Moses is actually a band from Vancouver and they have re-released their debut from 1991 with a few extra tracks, altogether 23 to be exact. Their music could be described as a mix of Hanoi Rocks/Tuff/NY Dolls and this is a nice release for anyone who enjoys trash/sleaze rock delivered in a straight forward way.
The title of the opening track on the album asks “Who You Trying to Kid?” Judging by the first song not many, but fortunately it gets better. Even though the production on this one isn’t that grand you can easily find quite a few catchy songs here. Big choruses and melodies in “Digging for Gold” and “Little America” represent the softer side of the band when tracks like “Shit” and “Chinese Rocks” bring out a side in Grandma that makes you not wanna run into her in a dark alley. Actually this is a pretty good mix and as someone who likes his rock with sleaze this is a good record to open my year with.
To name their album “Too Little Too Late” to me is a show of good character. The best days for this kind of music may be far behind, but for those who take what little there is to take Grandma Moses is actually quite a lot. For me this one was quite hard to rate. I gave this a seven but this seems to be the kind of album that gets better after each spin. Maybe a few more spins and the rating would have been higher. I’ll let you be the judge of that. Go to their website and listen to the songs or better yet, buy the CD. With 23 songs you’ll get your money’s worth.
www.grandmamoses.net
Nuclear Blast 2003
Review by 17 April 2003
I remember seeing the cover of "Witch Hunter" as a very young lad, in my local rock store. Obviously I thought this to be the coolest album ever!! Not to mention that Grave Digger was such a vicious name, that you just had to be impressed. I'd save my weekly pocket money for a while and in the end... I actually bought Gary Moore's 'Run For Cover', instead. How about that for a lame story??? :-)
While Gary Moore hasn't done anything even remotely good for the last 13-14 years, Germany's bad boys of Grave Digger are still out there.... kind of. They were actually sent into their shallow graves already back in the 80's. Until they decided to dig'em all up for the re-union in 1993. "Rheingold" is their 7th release since the reforming and they've all been concept albums (one way or the other), in the tradition of legend & saga
This time it's all about German folklore as they've taken a closer
look at the Nibelungen saga. Something which Richard Wagner already
did back in the days. It's all about monsters and men and it creates
a very medieval mood over the whole thing. With short and describing
songtitles such as: "Giants", "Sword", "Dragon", "Liar" or "Murderer",
you already know this is going to be brutal and heavy metal from start
to finish. Not quite as heavy or horrible as the previous self titled
album though (from 2001). Which must have been their worst release ever
by the way. "Rheingold" is definately a step in the right direction
again, even if it's far from being their best CD. Especially annoying
are the one word titles/choruses, where Chris Boltendahl (vocals) is
either screaming "Murderer" or "Liar", from left to right. It kind of
gets on your nerves after a while, you know. I prefer the more 'epic'
direction they've taken on tracks like "Maidens Of War" or "Twilight
Of The Gods". The latter even include some very taste bridges, between
metal and more, ehhh, wimpy stuff. Guitarist Manni Schmidt (ex-Rage)
does an excellent work on this album though. He's all over the place
with either flashy tricks or power licks. Too bad the songmaterial isn't
really quite as good all of the time.
www.nuclearblast.de
TPR Music 2003
Review by 
19 November 2003
Inspired by Sept. 11 The Great Kat brings us a few aggressive, battle-inspired tracks in super fast speed metal arrangements. The Great Kat was recently "chosen" as the fastest shredder of all time!!
This album only lasts 11 minutes, but I think that is just enough to terrorize your neighbors and give yourself a terrible headache. Do not get me wrong I like furious guitar playing, but this is just too much for me.....
Just try to listen to Wagner's "The Ride Of The Valkyries" and you know what I mean. It is really hard stuff to listen to, let alone music you can enjoy....
The Great Kat's motivation to record this album was; quote: "After the vicious and insane terrorist attacks on my city - New York City - I have decided to confront those barbarians with shred/classical music!!!"
I rest my case.......
www,greatkat.com
Frontiers Records 2003
Review by
3 May 2003
If your debut album is a conceptalbum then you are either full of confidence or completely idiotic. After listening to this cd several times my conclusion is that Italian progrockers GREEN are very determined to make it in this hard, competitive music business. Right from the start, during the instrumental ouverture “The Wind Of Love”, I was surprised by their musical aspirations and the excellent sound of this album.
In their biography the recordcompany quote Rush, Giant and Pink Floyd as their greatest musical “rolemodels”. In my humble opinion I like to characterize them more as a mixture of A.C.T., Bon Jovi and Token. Especially in tracks like “Sometimes”. “Mr.Kite” and “Cycling In The Rain” - with a very catchy refrain - I hear almost pure AOR-influences. Green also prove in the two “heavy” instrumental songs “The Storm Inside” and “Escape” that these guys can kick some serious ass; just check out these really aggressive guitarsolos.
On the other hand Green tends to play too many ballads and in my opinion the singer Fabrizio Pieraccini is too much in the spotlight, but overall if you like a rocky, sometimes poppy, AOR-album with a flair of hardrock then you should definitely buy or at least listen to “Life”.
Frontiers
Green Website
"You're Always Falling In Love/I've Been Waiting" 9
(CD-single)
MTR Music 1998
Review by Kimmo Toivonen
You may remember me posting questions to everyone about this guy last year. No-one seemed to know him, and I was really surprised. The one song I had heard from him had led me to believe that he might be familiar to some of the AOR fans out there. Anyway, I found out from a Finnish family magazine (!) that he is actually a Finnish guy! What's more, I think he lives in Turku where I live nowadays too!
This single doesn't feature "Sun", the song that initially made me interested in Tony Green's music, but two other songs that I consider even better! "You're Always Falling In Love" is a great guitar-driven pop rocker, and "I've Been Waiting" is a semi-ballad with a heavily orchestrated arrangement. Mr. Green himself sounds a like mixture of Jamie Walters and Jon Bon Jovi... Anyway, I am eagerly waiting for the full album. Damn, could it be that us Finns finally have an AOR artist of the highest calibre here? I'll keep y'all posted!
MTR Music 1999
Review by Kimmo Toivonen
After a few promising singles, Tony Green has finally released his first album. It is not quite the masterpiece I was hoping for, as Green seems to be somewhat confused about his direction. There is a bit of a "something for everyone" mentality going on here that I can not fully endorse. Diversity is good thing but having both techno pop and melodic rock on the same album is almost too much!
There's no denying that most of this album is pretty enjoyable though, especially the first half. Green opens the album with his biggest hit so far, the ballad "Sun (Could I Be In Love)". It's a classy track that reminds me of Queen's "Show Must Go On" and David Hallyday's cult classic "High", although it is less rock-oriented. "I've Been Waiting" is a slightly more up-tempo, a slightly Bon Jovi-like track with a classical feel thanks to the cellos and violins. Next up there's the awesome Roxette-like pop rocker "You're Always Falling In Love", easily one of my favourite tracks. If only there had been a few others like it here... "Don't Leave" brings us back to ballad city, a good song that reminds me of both Jon Bon Jovi's and Richie Sambora's recent solo stuff... Then it's time for the dark and moody "My Love", a great song with almost Def Leppard-like layered production.
"Thru' The Rain" is the first really weird inclusion here. Sure, it has probably the catchiest chorus of the album, but the E-Type-like dance pop arrangement leaves a lot to be desired. If there's a more rock-oriented version of this track somewhere, I want to hear it!
"Space City" and "All I Want" are both rather average songs, sounding more like Depeche Mode than anything. The heavy "Filthy Room" is better, but nowhere near as good as the first 5 songs. Same can be said of the "Dawning", which is a nice athmospheric instrumental but that's about it. The last song is a mellow "midnight version" of "Thru' The Rain" - totally unecessary, something more uptempo and guitar-driven could have given his album a much-needed shot in the arm!
Anyway, most of this album is enjoyable enough and at best Tony Green can compete with the best of them. It remains to be seen which direction he chooses when album number two is in the cards. I hope it's a bit more rock-oriented...
Indie 2003
Review by 
31 January 2003
Way back in 1998 a song on the radio almost drove me crazy, because I couldn't find anything about its' performer anywhere. The song was "Sun (Could I Be In Love)" by Tony Green, and later I did find out who he was, got his album (review in the archives) and most recently I actually met the guy, as he joined Human Temple, a band I've been helping out. It's a small world...
Although Tony is a full-time member of Human Temple, he's still working on his solo material, and this six-track demo features songs set to appear on his second album. Unlike on his first album, Tony seems to have found a direction, and all these tracks could be described as modern pop rock with strong crossover potential. Actually, although it might be the worst compliment to a guy from Finland, these songs sound "Swedish"! The style is a bit similar to that of Martin Stenmarck, Jamie Meyer, Mikael Erlandsson...maybe you could add Roxette in there as well. And now that I'm throwing comparisons, there's no denying that there's a bit of Jon Bon Jovi in Tony's voice. You can find similarities to Savage Garden and Michael Learns To Rock too, and with a bit more darker, heavier production some of these songs could go into The Rasmus' direction.
Best tracks for my money were "Let It Go" and "Want You Back", both blessed with strong hooklines. The other four were pretty good as well, except for "Love Integrated", which was a bit too full of weird vocal effects. Don't know whether the vocals were meant to be as odd as they were, it could also be a computer problem or something.
I'm looking forward to hearing more of Tony's material, and I'm confident that his second album will blow the debut out of the water.
Indie 2003
Review by
5 January 2004
Grendel is back, this time with two new songs. Basically the band has not changed that dramatically from their previous demo “Fight Against Time”. They can still deliver the goods and their touch is as professional as it can get considering that this band is still unsigned.
The CD includes two songs. “Second Chance” is a blast of melodic metal with nice little nuances that make this one a delight to listen to. Everything is well in balance and the song rolls on quite nicely. This song together with “The Voidness” shows that the band is finding its own sound and now that they have enough good material for a full album I’d say they have a good chance of becoming something. If you haven’t looked into their music before you should check their website. They have a few songs to download there including the ones on this demo.
www.grendelband.cjb.net
Indie 2002
Review by
29 March 2003
It's hard to believe that you have a demo in your hand when you look at the artwork of Grendel's "Fight Against Time". All in all everything looks very professional. These guys must mean business is the first impression.
First impressions are important but let's see if the band can leave up to expectations. "Fall from the Top" is the opener and yes, it's one killer of a track! After a peaceful beginning a colossal riff puts you on your knees. Grendel serves us with melodic rock/metal in the vein of Sentenced and judging by the first song they have what it takes. Everything falls in to place; melody is great, vocals are dark, I loved the guitars and the strong bass. Needless to say that the band functions well as a unit. Also the production is just superb. Altogether six songs in this CD and it's hard to find a filler here.
Taking into consideration that this is a demo I just have to admire the production of the songs. In "The Scar" the backing vocals are astoundingly mixed with the vocals of Mikko Virtanen. This song has a very catchy melody, powerful chorus and guitars that roar like raging lions. The last song "Dreams" is a suitable finish for the album; it was quality all the way. To put it short, someone give these guys a record deal! For further proof visit their homepage and download for example "Fall from the Top". I'm sure you'll agree with me.
Grendel's home page
Indie 2004
Review by Petri Kautto
1 June 2004
Rolling stone gathers no moss and Grendel keeps rolling and rolling. They’ve released another demo that has an excellent quality in both songs and production. Their melodic heavy rock/metal is very versatile and their talent in both writing and performing songs shines through in “Something to Remind” as it did in their previous demo “Promo 2003”.
I’ve had a chance to hear all of their previous three demos and I would say that this band is ready for a record deal (Hell, I said it already with their 2002 “Fight Against Time”, but what do I know). This demo has only two songs so it’s hard to say anything else other than that they keep producing quality material and that they are one of the best bands out there without a record deal. If you have not checked this band out yet you can do so at their website’s mp3-section.
http://www.grendelband.cjb.net/
SPV 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
1 March 2004
"Incorporated" is the 4th release by Grip Inc. and what started as Dave Lombardo's new fulltime band is nowadays only a sideproject? to Slayer. Indeed, the powerful drummer is once again back with the US thrash icons and I'm not quite sure where Gus Chambers (vocals) and Waldemar Sorychta (guitars/keys) stands here.
The music doesn't display that much differece really... even if I most definitly prefer this to what Slayer are playing (or whatever you wanna call it) nowadays. You could say that Slayer (let's see how often I can mention them in this review), used to sound 'something' like this in the early 90's.
"Incorporated" is technically a masterpiece and the production is heavy as s**t. Not to mention that Lombardo's performance is not of this world as the man is obviously an octopus. 8th arms to hold, 8th arms to fold, 8th arms to beat the living crap outta his drums with. Guitarist (and keyboardist) Waldemar Sorychta is also doing some very impressive work here. Lots of cleverly done parts with complex chords and power riffs that goes hand in hand with the aggressive beat. The disc is without a doubt a grower and you need to spin this several times to really appreciate the material. Some tracks never really clicks though, but "Prophecy" with its enchating refrain, is one of the best songs of the year (hey! hey! sinner & saints). Simply put, this easily beats anything Slayer (here we go again) has done for the last 10 years or so. Grip Inc. actually have both melodies and hooks where Slayer (one more time), only try to sound as "evil" as possible... something which they've failed completely with lately. Mosh! Mosh!
www.spv.de
Cult Metal Classics 2003
Review by
30 May 2003
Fans of old school and classic Heavy Metal better pay some extra attention now. Forget about all those lame wannabees and nu-metal bands out there as we're talking about the real deal here. This is the return of ex-Virgin Steele guitarist Jack Starr, who also recorded a bunch of solo and project albums in the 80's. This is however his return to the metal scene after many years in silence.
We can also find one of my all-time favorite metal vocalists here, namely Shmoulik Avigal (ex-Picture, The Rods, Horizon). He is truly one of the greatest metal shouters in biz and sadly also very underrated. There has simply been too few recordings during the days, for him to be recognized by a larger audience. You could say that Tony Martin (Black Sabbath) took his place in the spotlight and R.J. Dio is obviously a big inspiration.
The line-up of "Guardians Of The Flame" is completed with bassist Ned Meloni (ex- Joe Lynn Turner, Burning Starr) and drummer Joe Hasselvander (ex- Pentagram, Raven, The Boys). The overall sound does bare some similarities to early Virgin Steele (of course). However, "Under A Savage Sky" has perhaps more in common with Black Sabbath during the Dio and Tony Martin era, than anything else. The guitarwork of Starr is even better than I remember it to be and both his technique and tone, is very impressive indeed. Just check out the instrumental track "Anthem For The Nations" and you'll catch my drift here. The album begins with a couple of seconds of Orffs' Carmina Burana, before the whole thing kicks off with ""The Flame That Never Dies". It doesn't take long to recognize this to be powerful metal at its best. "Conspiratos Sanctos" is very much like those tunes Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) used to write in the early 80's. Complete with power riffing and fantastic performance by Avigal. Proves once and for all that he really should have been the voice of Sab. The title track is like a mish-mash of early 80's metal. It's Virgin Steele, Picture, Riot, The Rods, Sab, into one lovely mixture. The more than eight minute long "I Stand Alone" is like a statement of true metal. I do however miss a couple of real sing-a-long metal anthems here. I only hope this means the next(?) album by Starr & Avigal, will be even better. Surely there must be more to come by these legends in the future? Recommended if you enjoy the old school with everything that goes with it.
www.cultmetalclassics.com
www.shmoulik.com
Shark Records 2001
5 November 2001
When you get this cd in your hands you could be mistaken that it is a cd from Iron Maiden. You just can’t go wrong with the artwork of Derek Riggs. Also the bandlogo is so similar to that of Iron Maiden. But that is where the similarities end. This Norwegian band is a power metal one so you know what to expect.
They’ve got good melodies, but before you can enjoy the music you have to get used to the singers voice. Bernt Fjellestadt somehow reminds me of Helloween’s Andi Deris, the way he screams and uses his voice. Still they both have an individual sound.
Bernt is at his best when he sings in the low register. That's why I enjoyed the following songs most; "Payback", which has good ideas, "Edge Of Tomorrow" with its' good chorus, "Sail Away" where Bernt doesn’t overdo his singing and the song itself is a bit slower from the rest and more controlled, the choruses from "Gladiators","Soul Reaper" and "As The Morning Rise", something that you love to sing along and that immediately gets stuck in your head. Though "Soul Reaper"’s chorus reminded me of a song meant for children with its "lallallaa"-effect.
On "Tearless" the mood is overall good, has to be one the best songs in my books on the cd. "Torn Apart" is a party song I could imagine hearing in clubs. You can mosh to it and whatever. The problem that most of these kinds of bands have today is that they’re fast, but then they forget that the song also needs something else.
"Guardians Of Time" have a lot of good ideas, but too bad all their songs go onward with almost the same speed, so that all you have left are the small interesting parts here and there, but nothing you could praise to heavens. Now I’m left wondering what awaits in the future for these guys.
GmG 2001
01-08-04
Listen up, good people! Are you into smooth and elegant westcoast music a-la Michael McDonald, Toto, Kenny Loggins or maybe even Richard Marx? Then this may be something right up your alley... and by the way, I´m pretty sure that many of you out there can still remember Greg Guidry, right? Indeed it´s been a while since the man last provided us with his lovely sunshine music, but here´s some facts.
Greg Guidry's first big hit "Goin' down" went to number 17 on the billboard charts in America and #10 on the R&R pop and AC charts in 1982. The album "Over the line" was a major success and he toured all over the place. It´s been really quiet about Guidry for a long time though, the last time I heard something was when he sang backup for the band JAG´s album "Fire in the temple" even if I´m sure he´s done many other thing´s since.
Now based in Nashville, Tennessee Guidry´s comeback album "Soul´d out" a must have if you enjoyed his work in the past, or if you´re into any of the above mentioned artists. With the help from (among others) Keith Thomas, Dann Huff (Giant) and Tom Hemby Guidry has created one of the better pure "westcoast" albums I´ve heard lately. The superb opener "One step at the time" really sets the standard for the rest of the album with some lovely melodies and harmonies. "Up 2 us" is just a teaser for all the good things to come "Every little bit" is THE perfect summer song when cruising your car down the highway. I simply just can´t get enough of this song as it´s really everything you can wish for, when it comes to westcoast. "Let´s make this promise" is a superb ballad, "Ball and chain" is a perfect bliss with some lovely keys and outstanding vocal work. You can even find a re-recording of his old hit "Goin down" here, out of the eleven tracks on this CD nine are great and only two of them are a bit weaker. The production is also a nice piece of craftsmanship! Recommended indeed! Check out www.gregguidry.com where you can buy the CD and find some song clips.
MTM Music 1999
Review by Kimmo Toivonen
With their second effort Guild Of Ages move further away from the AOR sound of their previous incarnation CITA. This album is quite similar in style to the first GOA album, even though the emphasis seems to be on heavy midtempo songs.
The opener "Let It Go" just romps along nicely, can't say I remember much of it after several listens, and indeed the catchy-yet-slightly-ploddy "Change (Hey You)" pretty much overshadows it. The uptempo "Bring The Revolution" is one of the highlights too, but then the curse of plodders strikes with "Save Me Tonight". Although not that bad, big chorus and everything, it just doesn't do it for me. Same goes for "Jump In The Fire", which is even duller.
The Jonathan Cain/John Waite-composition "Wish That I Was Here" however, is a classic AOR ballad and the band do a good job with it. And then you would think it's time for an uptempo song, right? Wrong, instead we'll get another midtempo track in the form of "Set Me Free". Not that it's that awful a song, but four rather slow songs in a row... come on!
"When You Run Away" is an uptempo tune, and so is "Waiting For The Dawn". They're both OK tunes but the best one of the rockers is saved for the last. It's a very cool cover of "Hungry Like A Wolf" by Duran Duran! Say what you will but I think it's an inspired choice, and believe me, it ROCKS!
When it comes to the whole album, I am just a little bit disappointed. Not counting the covers, the album seems to lack a couple of really great tracks, and I feel the order of the tracks isn't the best possible. Not bad, but I believe they're capable of better.
MTM 2001
Album number five from one of Colorado's top melodic rock bands who you all know were previously known as C.I.T.A.. The band were forced to change their name to Guild Of Ages, and as Guild Of Ages this is the bands third release, and oh boy, does this rock.
"Citadel" is definitely a more consitant release than the first two Guild Of Ages albums which I personally found to lack the sparkle of the first two CITA albums. I'm happy to report though that the band have found their creative spark again and "CITADEL" will please fans of the C.I.T.A. phase.
'This Could Be You' is a glorious melodic rock song featuring lovely Tony Harnell style vocal harmonies from Danny Martinez mixed with TNT, Pretty Maids and Harem Scarem style melodies. They continue this style on the utterly fantastic 'How Many Times', the driving 'How Can I Just Say' and the best song of the album which is 'Reaching Out'. Guild Of Ages then take on the American market with 'That's Why'. The riffs are more chunky, this particular song reminds me of Lynch Mob when they had Oni Logan, mixed with XYZ, Sven Gali and maybe even traces of House Of Lords can be heard on this great commercialised rocker. 'Until The End' is a subtle melodic ballad a'la TNT, once again Danny's Tony Harnell flavoured vocal harmonies will raise the goose pimples on your skin and is a lovely ballad. From 'Wicked Game' through to 'How Can I Just Say', "CITADEL" is an excellently produced record, the songs are all strong, thus "CITADEL" is probably the best album the band have done to date. Recommended.
Indie 2003
Review by
18 September 2003
The Danish songwriter/singer Rene Gummer recorded his first solo album already back in 1986. Signed to EMI and with the smell of success running through his veins(!?), Gummer set out to conquer the world. Unfortunately life doesn't always follow your own masterplan and according to Rene himself: "the record was met with stony(!?) silence".
After spending most of the 90's playing in different cover bands, The Dane finally released his next solo album "The Shadow Of Myself" a couple of years ago. "Grass" (hmmm? what's up with this title?) is his latest and probably the best effort so far.
Gummer has recorded a nice, laid-back, album with the help of guest musicians who've also played with Mike Tramp (ex-White Lion) in the past. The main influence and inspiration is the music of the Beatles and especially the late George Harrison. "Grass" is also dedicated to the memory and genious of the latter. I must say something about the fantastic layout of this independent release. "Grass" comes in a digi-pack format which opens up into this three-piece with great colours and such. There's also a thick booklet (22 pages) included, filled with lyrics, info, and photos. I've been playing this disc a lot the last couple of weeks and it's without a doubt a grower. Don't expect 'everything' to sound just like The Beatles/Harrison though. Surely most tracks display a similarity to above mentioned legends. "The Picture Of You" and "Come On In" are songs which not even Lennon would have turned down instantly. Great songs which can also be described as the Westcoast/Pop version of Enuff Z'nuff. "Saint Mary's Bells" is a moody ballad that reminded me of Weeping Willows from my homeland Sweden. "Unbelievable" is a nice Harrison/Westcoast tune and opener "Aeroplane" is great, Scandinavian, pop. Not everything that glitters is gold though and you can find a couple of truly awful tracks here. I would strongly recommend you to check out "Grass" at CDBaby (link below) and listen to all songs up there. This may be something for you who are into Scandinavian Pop/Rock, heavily inspired by the chaps from Liverpool.
www.cdbaby.com/cd/gummer
Review by Kimmo Toivonen
This is sad... I can't understand what has happened to this band. Their last album was one of the best albums of this decade, and now they follow it with this piece of... well, something.
I really tried to like this album but after listening to it several times, I gave up. I'd say the most likeable songs here are the quite catchy single "Crazy You" and "Going Down" but that's about it. At worst this album isn't even average, it's quite horrible! If you want proof just listen to Mark Rankin whining on "Seventeen"... Sad, so sad.
Long Island 1995
Review by
10 February 2002
As far as I know this Swiss band only released this one album, recorded in California under the supervision of producer Pat Regan. "Mayday" is a fine piece of goodtime AOR in the vein of Bon Jovi and Autograph, with plenty of sing-along choruses and a good dose of keyboards - no wonder it sunk like a rock back in '95 when all things gloomier were hip...
Opener "Ticket 2 Heaven" is probably the heaviest song on the album, with vocalist John Luke going for an aggressive delivery that really doesn't suit him very well. This song might make you think that Gunshy were just another 2nd rate hair band... The chorus is quite good though. However, the AOR fireworks start with the next song, "You Take My Heart" which is very much in the Autograph-vein. "Last Chance" is more Bon Jovisque, a melodic midtempo number, while "Fool" is a more hard-edged track, but very good nevertheless. A great hook and a very JBJ-like vocal from John Luke.
"Sometimes" is a good ballad, with very smooth and clean vocals from Luke. "Superstition" is a cover of a Stevie Wonder-track I think (it's not mentioned in the booklet), a departure from the AOR sound to something more groovier, but I could've done without it. "Love Is A Game" and "Sherry's On Fire" are more impressive, catchy tracks with hints of eighties' Bon Jovi again. "Music Man" is the band's another big ballad, and last but not least, there's "Friends Or Lovers", another great track that reminds me of early Danger Danger.
Although I've mentioned Bon Jovi quite a few times, it doesn't mean that Gunshy were just copycats. They weren't the most original band on the planet, but still had a style that might have evolved into something really special, had they stuck around for a little longer.