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 2004
Review by Satu Reunanen, 
5 April 2004
Holland surprises us this time with an act called Kane, who sound very commercial and ready to hit it big time. The band was formed back in 1998 and has already supported bigger bands such as Bon Jovi and Simple Minds and have gained live experience in festivals outside their own country too, along with winning loads of awards also. These guys are on their way and there’s no denying success is evident, having a good record label behind their back and the band sounding so huge with working tunes. Just don’t mix them with their brother in US though, also formed on the same year.
The singer Dinand Woesthoff has a soaring vocal sound very common to bands such as Creed, Nickelback, Live and the likes in the alternative ground, cracking his voice and singing with a rage at times, then taking it very softly. His style has so much influence to the bands sounds that it’s easy to label them alternative, but there’s more to them than just that. But most of all they’re very commercial rock, INXS and U2 coming through in their music, the guitars following to the same lines. Most of all the music has that easy-going, nicely flowing, relaxed effect, being a positive band and spilling hope for the listeners, as heard in one of the best tracks ”Hold On To The World”, along with the mellow, bit on the techno side ”Our Hearts Will Beat As One” and the album beginner, catchy rocker ”Rain Down On Me”, which disco/techno remix version found its way to the EA game FIFA Soccer 2004, but that beat ain’t for me. The album ends to a song starting out with spaceous ambient mood, which suits just fine after the disco beat, then Woesthoff and the band turns it into a soft pop song. ”What If” is a sentimental album, bursting with feelings and giving good vibes and energy. Kane deserves their success, they bring sunshine to your day and I’m happy to have heard of them.
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
K2 2003
Review by 
15 December 2003
Though I know Kee is not part of the Europe re-union and I also know that Norum fans will be disappointed with this statement but Kee has always been my favorite Europe guitarist, his soloing is simply as brilliant as a guitarist can only get. His first, mostly acoustic solo effort was quite a disappointment for me and when reading the weird title of this one I was a little afraid. My anxiety just grew hearing the ever-so-hated modern sound of the intro. I played the album a few times but I couldn't get past by the modern sound. So I decided to give it a break. It was about a month and a half ago and I kept playing the album every now and then till the melodies got their way through and I started enjoying the album as a whole. I had to face that it's a real grower and much better than I first thought, hence the 7 rating.
After a short intro "EMD" kicks-off, a heavy, modern track, dare I say with early-90s-Metallica influences? "Enemies" follows in the same fashion and only the solos remind me of the Kee I used to know. Both the sound and the approach of the solos recall the Europe era. There isn't a single other similarity to find though. The music is heavy and modern. "Blood" almost sounds like REM or any other alternative rock band; "Epic" sounds like the first, acoustic solo album, and "Raptor" takes us back to the opening heavy tunes; this may be the heaviest track of the album spiced up with electronic noises, sounds effects and such. "If" is equally heavy and "Falling Apart" is the only song that has some melodies reminding me of Europe. However let me state here that I really have to force myself to find some traces of Europe here. "Hey Romeo" is a piano driven ballad that turns into a shout-out refrained mid-tempo rocker but compared to Joey's vocal abilities it all sounds simply awful [if I really want to, I can hear some similarities to the "Prisoners in Paradise" album…]. "Evil Ways" could easily be a Megadeth track, while "For Patto" has some cool bluesy riffs and a good vocal performance; to me it is one of the highlights of the album cuz it's the least modern and most soulful album of the album [Anybody remember "Homeland" from Prisoners…?]. So is "Coming Home"; gotta wonder why they were put to the end of the album. Every time I played the album I really got tired of the depressive, modern sounding crush by the time I got as far as these two pearls. "Ride On" is another long, heavy, depressive track but it has the usual brilliant solo to spice it up.
All in all, the album is not bad. It's
absolutely different from what one would expect from Kee knowing his Europe and
Easy Action years. So if you are like me – hoping to hear those same old songs
over and over again – be careful with the album cuz it has nothing to do with
Europe. If you are able to listen to the album forgetting all about Europe, you
may like it even more than I did.
www.keemarcello.com
Indie 2000
KANARY is the new band of ex.PRECIOUS METAL vocalist LESLIE KNAUER (vocals & guitars) and while she was a true Metal-Head in the 80´s, she´s now more into stuff like 4 NON BLONDES or ALANIS MORRISETTE. So... if you hoped for a new hardrock album... forget it! But if you enjoy rock with a modern touch, stick around cuz this might be something for you!
LESLIE has always been a good vocalist and there´s no doubt about it, she still knows how to sing! But the songs are maybe not as good as in the past and you can hear that she´s been heavily influenced by ALANIS MORRISETTE. The other two members in KANARY are MARY KAY (bass/vocals) and the only dude in the band TONY MATTEUCCI (drums).
Opening track "AFTER" is a cool rock song with some vocals a-la JANIS JOPLIN mixed with 4 NON BLONDES. "EXCUSE ME PARDON ME" has got a pretty cool groove with some great work by KAY & MATTEUCCI. Best of them all is the semi-ballad "TWO STEPS" with a pretty catchy & smooth chorus. But... nah... I rather listen to the first two albums with PRECIOUS METAL , both produced by PAUL SABU and both much better than this CD. www.kanary.com
Indie 2002
Review by 
13 October 2002
Kaminari is a new heavy metal band from Southern Germany, and this is their first CD. Unlike dozens of other German or European bands, Kaminari aren't going for the traditional doublebassdrum -driven "Trottel Metal" sound, instead their sound seems to be rooted in the early eighties British Metal style (NWOBHM). To be more specific, Iron Maiden seems to be one of the biggest influences here. I'm talking about sharp riffing, Steve Harris-style melodic bass lines and loud'n proud vocals. Add a modern edge to that, and you're close to the truth.
Out of the five songs featured here, "My Black Colors" is my favourite. Not the verses really, but the chorus is quite good. As for the other songs, it seems to be the other way around: the verses are promising, but the choruses do not live up to the promise.
The production is very good, but that's no surprise, since the producer is Achim Köhler of Primal Fear fame. Also the packaging is top notch. All in all, a very professional demo that might just land the band the deal they are hoping for. Recommended for all the classic metal fans!
www.kaminari-music.de
Indie 2002
Review by 
7 October 2002
Salt Lake City, Utah is the home of Katagory V, a prog metal band that delivers a well produced and recorded self released album called ”Present Day”. The songs are performed professionally and the influences in my view are somewhere between Iron Maiden and Queensryhce.
As said earlier the music is performed well. The problem for me was that the songs still need a final touch that would force you to keep playing this CD over and over again. In general the songs are OK and the sheer power of some songs, like ”Evil Princess” ”The Call Of Midnigt”, show that this is a band with potential.
The band has a singer (Lynn Allers) that really can hit a high note. His voice gives a great and solid foundation for the songs to build on and it really will be interesting to see what this band can do when all the things start to function musically. If you’re a fan of progressive metal you better follow the link to their website and find out how to get a copy of ”Present Day”!
www.katagory5.com
Nuclear Blast 2004
Review by Martien Koolen,
7 April 2004
This is the seventh studio album of Kataklysm. These Canadian hyper blasters formed their band in 1991 and their first demo obtained worldwide recognition. This success leads to a record deal with Nuclear Blast in 1993. In 1995 they released their first full album “Sorcery”, which was an album filled with fast and brutal metal. “The Prophecy (2000) was named one of the most devastating releases in extreme music in years. But Kataklysm topped that one with “Shadows & Dust”(2002), which was described by Canadian magazine BW&BK as a pure holocaust of events as all the planets appear to have lined up for this scar on humanity....
So you know what you can expect, brutal death metal or extreme guitar music in high quality without fillers. Real pain killer tracks with lots of aggression, comparable to Morbid Angel or Nile. The tracks speak for themselves; “Serenity In Fire”, “Blood On The Swans”, The Tragedy I Preach” or “Under The Bleeding Sun”…… A true death metal classic, Bolt Thrower eat your heart out!!! But for me this album is a bit too brutal, too much aggression… but hey, maybe I am a wimp???
Provogue Records 2002
19 May 2002
Watch out for the boogie man! Wow! This CD sure brought a smile all over my sad 'n' lonely face! I can't remember the last time I had this much fun listening to a blues album. Well, it must have been Katon's "Proud To Be Loud" album in the late 80's actually. Hold on to your hats folks as the boogie-woogie man is back with a vengeance this time.
Don't believe for a second that this would be the same, lame blues which Gary Moore tormented us daily with (I hate that crap). Nah, here we're talking about the real deal! American roadhouse blues with some excellent slide guitar work and a raw & mean production. If you don't get down and boogie with this... you're probably already dead and gone, bro/sis'.
Then again, I guess we didn't need a song like opener "American McMofo" where Katon's voice is a bit too distorted for my taste. What's up what that dude? Are you trying to be the blues version of Marilyn Manson or something? With song titles like "Rock'n'Roll, Whiskey, Blood'n' Guts" or "The Pierced Tattooed and Twenty Somethin' Boogie" you already know what to expect :-) Yep, we're talkin' kick ass music with a killer beat. Just imagaine yourself in a smokey bar with this wild guitar man, who beats the crap outta' his axe. And you can almost smell the stench of sweat, smoke, beers and rock'n'roll in your living room (hey, it always smells like that here... oops!). OK, then imagine ZZ Top in their very early days, add some Ted "Loco" Nugent, and go even back to the old master of blues (King, Lightnin', etc.), and you're pretty close to the core. Yey not, since Katon is the boogie man and the daredevil in one. "The Lost T.V. Clicker Blues" sure made me laugh: "I'm in panic man what can I do? I've got the lost T.V. clicker blues. How am I gonna rule my kingdom without my central cable command" [:-)]. Well, he sure rules the roadhouse blues right now. For real blues/boogie lovers only mutha.
www.mascot-provogue.com
Indie 2001
Karmafantastica is Tyler Johnston's solo project though I have to say this whole expression "solo project" is a bit too much of an exaggeration. There are just two songs he is offering for download from his site. Let his words of the introduction speak for themselves: "i got the idea to start a solo project where it's just me and my guitar, and in some instances, the odd bit of programming from my computer".
Well, that's what you get here, some mellow acoustic guitar chording with unconfident vocals and some very computer sounding drum noise coming from the back. I'd rather point out what Tyler says about the goals of this "project": "my only goal for this project, is really to satisfy my own musical needs, as well as maybe touch a few people with my music". Well, let's hope so, however I doubt they'll be the readers of AOR-Europe.
Give it a try at www.karmafantastica.cjb.net but don't expect much of it.
Frontiers/Now & Then 2001
01-04-06
I admit that I've taken a shot or two at Frontiers for coming up with a an album after album of Nightranger members "going solo". After the less than satisfying albums (for me anyway) from Brad Gillis and Jeff Watson, the label has finally struck gold with Nightranger drummer/vocalist Kelly Keagy's solo effort. "Time Passes" is a melodic rock album of the finest order, with not a filler in sight, and more than a few really brilliant songs!
Keagy has come up with a balanced selection of rockers, ballads and melodic midtempo songs. The opening duo of "Anything Goes" and "Acid Rain" are good examples of the hard rockin' side of mr. Keagy, along with "Bottled Up" (co-written by Bruce Gaitsch) and Van Hagar-meets-Aerosmith -like "Wrong Again". Most of the remaining tracks fall into the category of AOR, with "Too Much To Ask", "Where There's A Woman" and especially "The Journey" being the cream of the crop. Yes, my friends, these are high class melodic rock tracks, and I'm pretty sure you'll see at least one of them on my Top Ten of 2001 list.
I must mention the fact that certain Mr. Jim Peterik has been a major part of this album. The former Survivor mainman has co-written most of the tracks, co-produced a few, not to mention played some keys, guitars and sung background vocals. With his great contributions to several other albums of last couple of years, he's slowly becoming one of the most reliable "songsmiths" of the melodic rock scene of today.
Provogue 2001
29 June 2001
The first time I listened to Lance Keltner's Last of the Cowboy Vampires I didn't really feel a thing. I let the time pass for a week or so and bang! Maybe it's the summer that's finally hit Finland, but after more thorough listen the album started to feel better and better and I found myself playing some songs over and over again.
The album is full of pretty easy going rock music with bluesy vibes and it is fun to listen to. The album is a solid entity where no song rises above the others. On the other hand there is not a song that totally disappoints you either. Lance rock and rolls about women, sex and… well yeah, I got the impression that he's a vegetarian so drugs maybe out of the equation because apparently he's not into self-destruction. Still those things are quite enough to make this a good record. Definitely for those who are into bluesy southern rock!
Ulftone 2002
Review by
8 November 2002
One of my last year’s favorites, Lance Keltner, is rides again with a new record company and bit more rocking attitude. The bluesy southern rock is still there but this time with more emphasis on the word rock. Lance stays true to his roots but has taken a direction that pleases me.
Hard pumping drums of “Way of My People” open this album. This song is an easy going and relaxed rocker and it’s followed by “Streets of New Orleans”, a slower and moodier song with decent guitar and quite southern feel to it. “Ride the White Horse” really kicks this album open for me. Brutal guitar and good tempo do the trick here and I really liked this one. “Dirty Knees” is closer to the atmosphere of his last album "Last of the Cowboy Vampires". Teasing “Groove Thang” is up next and it delivers just what the name says. “Welcome Back” and “Voodoo Doll” represent the more straight forward style of this album. Welcome to the church of Lance Keltner with “Devil and the Deal” that starts with Lance preaching about, you guessed it, the devil. This song works from dawn till dusk and the sweet, red hot guitar of Mr. Keltner is in fine tune here. “Crescent City” appealed to me and “When the Road is Cold” is an intriguing way to end this. The song starts like an old blues record from the forties and is then accompanied with fresh drums and guitar. This is a nice mixture of something new, something old, something borrowed and something blue(s). Lance, what are you up to? :-)
Lance Kelter remains to be one of the artist that I will follow carefully also in the future. It would be fun to find out what he sounds like live as he will be touring in Europe, but at the moment it seems that he won’t be coming anywhere near me. Those who want to know more about Lance, his touring schedule or whatever visit:
www.lancekeltner.com
www.lancekeltnereurope.com
Versailles Records 2002
02-02-16
Murder And The F-Word (which f-word would that be?) is, to say the least, a very complex concept album. Not complex like in 'hard to understand' rather than very various sounding. It's basically a mixture of all kinds of hardrock, with main focus on the melodic genre though. Richard Kendrick is a multi-talented musician, who besides serving as lead guitarist for New Orleans based 'Staitjacket Smile', is also, pretty much single handedly, responsible for a lot of the musical background's on tribute albums to Cult and Satriani/Vai at Versailles Records (see reviews elsewhere at this site).
This is his first solo album though, and while the label describes this as a cross between Dream Theater, Whitesnake and Queensryche. Would I really like to include Extreme (the less 'funky' stuff) and even Queen. It's very symphonic, melodic, yet progressive music at the same time. There are 17 tracks to be found here and it's for sure value for your money. On the other hand, it almost seems like Kendrick had too many ideas spinning around in his head. Just waiting to be released for many years by now, since the material do not really stand the test, throughout the whole album.
"I Know Why" is a horrible boogie rocker and a very strange choice as opening track I must say, since it's the weakest track of them all here. Some of the highlights would be: "Don't Fly Away", a lovely semi ballad. "Sherri's Song" with some fabulous guitarwork and a vibe alá Firehouse/Stryper. "Share This Tender Moment" is a superb, progressive tune! Again with some excellent guitarwork (I absolutely love his tone). Same goes with "Losing My Place", and "How Many Times" which is a great ballad a-la Extreme/Queen. "Freedumb" is a heavier, funk metal track with lovely vocal harmonies. As a bonus you can also find the 'Steve Vai' cover "The Attitude Song", from the excellent Satriani/Vai tribute CD here. There's no doubt about it though, this is a very talented artist and a excellent guitarist. Even if some of the stuff included here, are just too weird and average for me. More info at: www.versaillesrecords.com or www.richardkendrick.com
MTM 2000
This Swedish group, fronted by Göran Edman, has managed to create
a very interesting combination of 70'ies style Pomp Rock and traditional
Scandinavian Hard Rock sounds. They sound like Europe, Treat, Styx and
Kansas all mixed up, with a touch of Malmsteen!
The songs on "Wonderland" offer a great range of variety.
The band have really taken their time in arranging these tracks, as
most of them feature little surpising elements here and there. Guest
keyboarder Mats Olausson provides very interesting keyboard parts to
most of the songs, and the background vocals are really impressive.
From straightforward melodic rockers like "Free Yourself"
and "Knowing You" you can move on to complex prog-influenced
songs like "Wonderland" and "Ray Of Sunshine", and
then on to catchy scandi-AOR of "Standing Alone" and "Don't
Close Your Eyes", which both remind me of Treat. "In Chains"
and "Angel Eyes" both feature traces of Yngwie Malmsteen,
and I must say that the latter is one of the most impressive ballads
I've heard in a while. The only song that I tend to skip is the bluesy
heavy rocker "Part Time Lovers", and some of the others are
a bit less impressive than the highlights above, but all in all this
is a very good album.
MTM 2000
Well, not all the bands can tell that they got a record deal thanks to a four song demo that was recorded ten years ago! That's the case with Kharma. Back in 1988 they were called Vanessa, and from those days only Attila Szabo (keyboardist), Göran Edman, and Dragan Tanaskovic (guitarist) remain in the line up. It was not until 1998 that Magnus Söderkvist from MTM in Sweden phoned Dragan about it. Now in 2000 the band has changed its name to Kharma, and they've finally released this "Wonderland".
What we've got here is
quite an interesting blend of 70's flavoured American hard rock, ala Boston,
Aerosmith, British influences ala Queen, Jethro Tull and the typical Scandinavian
sound, with minor touches of other bands like The Beatles and Supertramp.
Quite a hell of a mix, you might say, but it works really well for sure!
This mixture becomes more
evident on tracks like "Wonderland", Beatles meets Queen with
a great late 70's keys sound ala Boston, "Burn Forever", Queen and Aerosmith
meets Yngwie (not in the solos!), "Ray Of Sunshine", Jethro Tull,
Boston, and even Supertramp, and "Spell On You", Yngwie with early
Foreigner touches.
The Scando sound is more
clear on those tracks that were originally on that 1988 Vanessa demo. Like "In
Chains" that could have been in any Yngwie album if you change the
solo, (I will make clear now that when I mention Yngwie as an influence
I don't mean those massive guitar chops and endless minor scales, but basically
the kind of sound, typically Scandinavian - that was popularized by Yngwie
on the mid 80's - and mainly the way of singing Göran Edman uses on
some songs, that is the same he used on his Malmsteen's era), "Angel
Eyes", and "Don't Close Your Eyes", the more clearly Scando
tracks on the album.
There are also some songs
with a more classic 70's hard rock sound, like "Part Time Lovers", Wonderland",
mainly in the keys, "Knowing You", which has some excellent backing
vocals, "Standing Alone", and the above mentioned "Ray of Sunshine".
And finally, there are
a few songs with a let's say more modern sound, like the opening track
"Free Yourself", with a good horn section and an interesting guitar
solo, or "Hold On", the remaining song from that old Vanessa demo,
however, this track is in a more melodic rock mood, with great back'up
vocals. I can only describe the final track of the album, "Wings Of
History", as a pomp AOR/drama.
The overall sound of the
record is really good. The backing vocals are superb, and Göran Edman
shows once more he's so talented he's able to sing quite a variety of styles
with really amazing results. The songwriting is excellent, with some outstanding
moments. The production is absoutely brilliant, maybe because the Bohus
Sound Recording Studio, where the album was recorded, is owned by Kharma's
guitarist and producer Dragan Tanaskovic.
My advise, absolutely recommended,
this CD has such variety of styles that you're gonna love it whatever
style of melodic rock you prefer. Especially recommended for those into
late 70's hard rock, both US and British, and also I'd recommend this album
to all those who understimate the influence of the Scandinavian sound on
today's melodic rock.
Frontiers 2003
Review by Kimmo
Toivonen 30 March 2003
Much like Ignition's fine album, KHYMERA's one is full of songs from well-known songwriters. Tracks have been provided by such pensmiths as Jim Peterik, David Foster and Russ Ballard, just to name a few. The producer and main musician is multi-instrumentalist Daniele Liverani, the man behind rock opera Genius, and lead vocalist is none other than Steve Walsh of Kansas. Also involved is Mike Slamer, who is the co-producer and mixer of the album.
The two most well-known tracks have been placed upfront, right after a short intro. I am talking about "Shadows" and "Strike Like Lightning", both originally recorded by Mr. Big and included on the "Navy Seals" soundtrack. Khymera's versions are quite similar to the Mr. Big versions, except for the vocals of course. I prefer the Eric Martin-sung versions, as I'm afraid that the years may have taken their toll on Mr. Walsh's voice, which sounds a bit strained. Don't get me wrong, he can still hit notes of which many vocalists only dream of, but it doesn't sound too easy, more like painful. I've always liked his voice, but on this album it doesn't appeal to me. Whether it's the material or his own choice to sing in more of an "extreme" way we can only guess. All I know that it's not always "easy on the ear". Of course it all comes down to everyone's personal taste, you might find his vocals on this album more enjoyable, if you're into "rough" vocalizing.
Apart from the "Navy Seals" tracks, another somewhat well-known song is later in the tracklisting. "Love Leads The Way" was featured on the Japanese version of Hardline's classic "Double Eclipse". Arrangement is quite faithful to the original again, although the backing vocals seem to have been given a boost. Then there's "Bless A Brand New Angel", a smooth ballad written by Judithe and Robin Randall and previously covered by Benny Mardones.
There rest of the tracks were unfamiliar to me, although some of them have apparently been floating around as demos. I'd say all of them are of good quality, in many cases as good as those already mentioned. Basically this is a safe buy for anyone into AOR, although the vocals aren't as good as I hoped for.
Here's the track listing and writers for those interested: Khymera
(Daniele Liverani); Strike Like Lightning (Giorgio Moroder, Thomas Whitlock,
Steve Bates, Larry Lee); Shadows (Giorgio Moroder, Thomas Whitlock,
Steve Bates, Larry Lee); Who’s Gonna Love You Tonight; (David Foster,
John Bettis, Keith Alexander Diamond); Living With A Memory; (Jim Peterik,
Barb Unger, Bob Syniar); Bless A Brand New Angel (Robin Randall, Judithe
Randall); Written In The Wind; (Kip Winger, Mark Spiro, Reb Beach);
Without Warning; (Kip Winger, Mark Spiro); How You Gonna Live Without
Love (Bob Held, John McCurry, Neil Jason); Say It With Love (Jim Peterik,
Barb Unger, Bob Syniar); Love Leads The Way (Johnny Gioeli, Joey Gioeli,
Neal Schon); Tears On The Pages (Jon Lind, Russ Ballard, Jim Peterik).
Frontiers
Beast 1999
Review by
I think most of us would agree the the AOR scene could use some fresh air. There's nothing wrong with the old masters but to keep melodic rock alive we need new talent, and guess what, here's one band that suits the bill! Kick are a new band from South London, signed by Iron Maiden mainman Steve Harris to his Beast label, and they really "kick ass", if you pardon my French! I haven't been this excited over a new band in ages!
Kick have come up with a sound that reminds me of such acts as "Swagger"-era Gun, Def Leppard and Bon Jovi, yet it's totally fresh and modern. And the songs... "Up Close & Personal" is the first single, a very uplifting and catchy number - sounds like a hit to me! Other potential hits include the irresistable title song (Very Gun-like, with the catchiest chorus I've heard lately), "Another Crazy Summer Night" and the ballad "Blue" which reminds me of early Pink Cream 69 for some reason. The band has also some moodier and lyrically more serious songs, like the Leppard-like "Streets Of Shame" and "Children Of The Sun" which are just as classy and melodic as the ones mentioned earlier.
I believe that Kick might just be the next melodic rock band to make it big, especially with the backing of the Sanctuary Management. I'll be keeping my thumbs up for them anyway!
Atenzia 2003
Review by
20 June 2003
What is it that these guys have against kangaroos? They might not be popular among those bouncy aussie animals but it might be a different with us humans. They have a contemporary sound that will remind you of bands like SR-71, The Rasmus and maybe even Savage Garden - yeah we're talking about the new (or "nu") breed of melodic rock.
Kick The Kangaroo has already had a few of radio hits back home in Denmark, and their label Atenzia is hoping to break them in other markets as well. They might even succeed, as the band does have a few tracks that could take the airwaves by storm. The first three tracks, "Something Else", "Last Kiss" and "Human Inspiration" are just that kind of material, energetic and instantly catchy. Especially "Last Kiss" is irresistable pop/rock gem.
After the great start the band seems to lose the plot, and it's all downhill from here. Out of the nine remaining songs only "Smile", "Perfect Day" and "Beautiful Someone" can compete with the opening trio, the others can't hold my interest too long. They are mostly quite slow and not too memorable, and have probably more in common with current media darlings like Coldplay than those bands mentioned above. "I Would Do Anything" actually sounds a bit like Lenny Kravitz!
I hope that the band concentrates on the more uptempo material the next time around. Let's just leave the boring, introspective stuff to those trendy acts, please!
www.atenzia.com
www.kickthekangaroo.com
"Superdragsmackhead-psychoplasticgogopunk"
Forbidden Records 1997
Review by
Now there's a snappy title for an album! According to the press release this band plays "Neo-industrial glam"... Don't let that "glam" fool you, this band has very little to do with Poison, I'd say they are much closer to White Zombie. If weird noises, aggressive vocals and shout-along choruses are what you're after, this album might be for you. The standout tracks for me were "All Tied Up" that actually has a surprisingly melodic hook, "Speedin' To Oblivion" and "I Wanna Know" which reminded me of Mutha's Day Out (as if anyone knew them...).