You can find older
reviews and everything else in the Reviews Archive. We also have this year's reviews linked at the bottom of this page for an easy access to them.
Low Frequency 2004
Review by Satu Reunanen 
5 November 2004
It hasn’t been the shortest trip for this album to come out. The finnish Silent Voices started working on their second album already in the fall last year and only now it ended up in my hands, though it was released in Europe in September. But better late than never, it would’ve been a shame if this album was never released. The guys, hailing from bands such as Sentiment, Requiem and Sonata Arctica, have woven a package so tight that any spider...well, man in this case, would be damn proud of.
Silent Voices are very influenced by Dream Theater. I could drop the review to these two magical words, that’s how certain fans run straight to the nearest record store easily. But these fans are definitely the main audience for this powerful, progressive metal band with great hooks and vocal lines. Where many Dream Theater fans have failed in musically, Silent Voices have created an albums worth of great songs that follow the lines of their idols very closely, but not being the pathetic clone but a very welcomed addition to the progressive grounds. Michael Henneken’s voice makes the band come well forward from the rest, in good sense. His high and bright register has a unique tone to it, also singing the low range stuff. His vocals at no point sound dull or out of place, they’re very compact with huge grasp to them.
The whole band plays well together and each song proves it, they’re all great creations that need a few listens before you really sink into them and take note of what’s going on. The sounds are perfectly massive and the band is just one wild rabbit that cheers up your spirits. I’m all smiles when I listen to ”Infernal”. Songs like ”Infernal Mind”, ”On The Wings Of Rage” and ”Avalon” in its ten minutes have the best drive to them, but the mighty drive is there from beginning to end, twisting and kicking like a madman without medication and keeping the intriguing grip no matter what. The arrangements, powerful energy and hooks work really well, but the only ballad-like they’ve put up is ”Prelude- The Spirit Of Avalon”, which is only a minute and half long (prelude as it says), but still beautiful in all its shortness. But even without the whole ballad who knows, this might end up as the album of the year for me.
Silent Voices
Perris Records 2004
Review by Petri Kautto
31 October 2004
Boned could be described as poor man’s AC/DC. They’ve copied everything from similar logo to similar style. They’ve also managed to dig up a singer who sounds a lot like Bon Scott. “Up at the Crack” is like a tribute to AC/DC with the exception that Boned has written its own songs.
Now that I got the similarity out of the way it’s time to look at the songs. If you take an average AC/DC album and leave out the best few songs you’ll get what’s here. The songs are rough and unpolished. Production is not the best there is but all in all the CD pretty fun to listen to. “Ain’t No Talking with Your Mouth Full” along with few other songs has a good sing along chorus and “Loaded on Love” is a nice piece too.
The songs do keep your foot pounding on the floor and I’m sure that many AC/DC fans who are waiting for the band’s next album will enjoy Boned while they wait. Boned is not ashamed of sounding like AC/DC and I’m sure that this album was born out of the sheer admiration they have for Angus and the boys. Once you recognize this fact you can listen to the album without prejudice and take it like it is; a rock and roll album in true AC/DC style. Nothing more, nothing less.
http://www.perrisrecords.com/boned.htm
Wind-Up/Epic 2004
Review by Kimmo Toivonen, 
31 October 2004
Alter Bridge has been built from the remains of Creed, a hugely successful rock U.S. band. Three quarters of the band are former Creed'ians, only vocalist Myles Kennedy comes from a different background. Comparisons to the aforementioned band can not be avoided...Alter Bridge play similar post-grunge moody hard rock, and Kennedy has a favours a slightly similar vocal style as Scott Stapp. He appears to be quite a versatile vocalist though, and very good one too, especially when he cuts down the "hollering" which many modern rock vocalists seem to love...
Musically this album is a collection of dark, moody and even somewhat depressive songs. Not a party rock album for sure, but maybe this is an album for those rainy autumn afternoons. Most of the songs are slow or midtempo, which makes this a bit heavy effort as a whole, but on the other hand, most of the uptempo songs are quite forgettable. The band succeed much better at writing balladic tracks, such as "Open Your Eyes", "Broken Wings" and "Down To My Last". If you liked those big balladic Creed hits, these should sound just fine as well. Out of the uptempo "Metalingus" has the strongest chorus, but I want to mention the title track as well. It reminds me a bit of Tall Stories or Diving For Pearls, both AOR acts with a bit of an alternative vibe.
All in all, I can't say that I'm particulary fond of all these grunge-meets-mainstream acts, but Alter Bridge do rank among the better ones of the genre. Alterbridge.com
Indie 2004
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner 
22 October 2004
It's always nice to see an artist you supported ever since he was demoing "growing up" and coming out with a full- length debut album. After last year's demo Patrick is back with "Inside The Unsaid", a self-released album that features most of the tracks of the demo and a few others. I was raving about the demo back then and things only got better since then [see our archives for a review of the demo].
Patrick's music is very diverse instrumental guitar-music rooted firmly in classic rock but melting a big bunch of influences from jazz to blues. The best songs of the demo were re-recorded with Rory Jackson on bass, Matthew Hershey on drums and Greg Schuler on keyboards who was moreover responsible for the engineering and I must say he has done a great job. The mix is well balanced, the drum-sound is VERY alive and the guitars sound even better than on the – otherwise well produced – demo. The only downside here is the relatively short running time (9 tracks only, one of them being just a minute-long intro), I could have done with a few more tunes. A different running-order would have also benefited the album as it starts with "Above The Beyond" a short intro turning into "Breaking The Silence" that is probably (just guessing here) the earliest-written track of the album pretty much in early-Tony MacAlpine / Vinnie Moore speeding fashion with a heavily transistor-driven distorted sound. Which is absolutely okay but these two tracks may be more than misleading as mature songwriting, diverse influences and moody tracks with unique guitar-sounds are a lot more characteristic for the rest of the album than pure technicalities of the above mentioned players.
The first highlight is "The New Millennium"
which was among the best tracks of the demo and it only got better with a very
lively sound and cool, pumping drum-bass groove. "In Step" is a moody, laid-back
funk-rock number with very catchy riffs while the acoustic "Premonition" is more
like atmospheric relaxation music, very catchy indeed. "Love in Misery" was also
among the highlights of the demo and it sounds really great with real percussion
and those strange guitar-sounds I was already raving about when reviewing the
demo. "Greasy Fingers" features a real horn section and its complex arrangement
makes the tune another highlight of the album. Fantastic, mature stuff from such
a youngster! "Home" is another beautiful acoustic number while the closing
"Floydian Theory" melts the best of Patrick's different approaches into a 10
minutes long song making it the perfect ending for the record. Even though the
album is an independent release, the packaging is perfect, tasty and
professional and the music is even better. Recommended to fans of instrumental
guitar music and not only to them, as it is easy-to-digest, catchy stuff.
Patrick's website
Majestic Rock 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom, 
22 October 2004
The metal version of Bad Company or Black Sabbath goes blues? You could say that Dirty Tricks came aross like a mixture of the two legendery acts. Their debut album from 1975 has been long overdue a CD release and it's actually a real treat for fans of British 70ies rock. The band consisted of four guys with similar backgrounds and tastes who've been struggling in semi obscurity since 1965, working in almost all musical styles from soul to funk to punk rock to pop to heavy rock, to avant-garde, and even circus rock (all according to their original Polydor info-sheet back then).
Guitarist Johnny Fraiser-Binnie (later to join 'Rough Male' in the 80ies), belts out these lovely, gritty, blues-based riffs, throughout the entire album and Kenny Stewart is probably the best 70ies singer, never to be fully recognized by the masses. He's not 'that' far off a certain Paul Rodgers at times. Drummer John Lee came from 'down under' and played with one of Australia's leading bands 'Blackfeather' as well as 'Dingoes' and 'Ariel'. "If You Believe In Me" begins like a typical Black Sabbath ballad and you almost expect to hear the whining vocals of Ozzy instead of Stewart. The rest of the material on the debut is however more in the vein of Free/Bad Company with steller guitar work and vocals. You'll also get six bonus tracks including the rare single b-sides "I'm Gonna Get Me A Gun" and "Hire Car", + 4 live tracks "Live In London 1975". Bottomline: Dirty Tricks simply rocks in that bluesy 70's tradition.
Majestic Rock 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
23 October 2004
"Night Man" - Dirty Tricks second effort and originally released back in 1976. Sadly it suffers from the same disease or sickness like so many other acts before them (and still today for that matter). It seems to be difficult to follow up an excellent debut with the same quality the second time around. It could be that "debut albums" holds material written within a time period of everything from 1-10 years. While the sophomore release has often been hastely penned down at the back of a old and smelly bus... during the haze of a drug filled tour.
"Black Diamond" is a poor man's version of Led Zeppelin and "You Got My Soul" is a rather dodgy version of Bachman Turner Overdrive rock (their most depressive material). Only opener "Night Man", the following "Weekend Raver", and "Fun Brigade", bare any resemblance whatsoever to the quality of their self titled debut. I'm not sure if "Armageddon" is supposed to make you feel like: "hey! bring it on, I can handle it, it surely can't be any worse than listening to this". The bonus tracks of the re-recorded US versions of "Too Much Wine" and "Wait Till Saturday" (both from the debut album), are always fun to have though. You'll also get another four tracks recorded "Live In Cincinnati 1976". The epic ballad "Now You're Gone" is another winner actually, but "Night Man" is overall a major letdown since the first record.
Majestic Rock 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
25 October 2004
The third and final album "Hit And Run" (1977) is a nice display of classic UK rock meets the new and at the time modern NWOBHM. It's actually pre-NWOBHM as it would take another two years for the rest of the UK to catch up with Dirty Tricks. Heck, even the above shown album cover was way ahead of its time, it actually looks more like any AOR act out of the states in 1985 or so. And check out the powerful "Get Out On The Street" or "The Gambler", for some excellent rock with once again flashy guitarwork by Fraiser-Binnie. The first of the two songs is nothing less than a masterpiece and that bridge/solo part is darn right leathal.
Call me crazy, but doesn't "Road To Deriabah" remind you of Glam and T-Rex especially? "Lost In The Past" is yet another fine ballad in the vein of Black Sabbath/early Ozzy Osbourne, and you can also find two bonus live tracks (the cover "You Really Got Me" and "Get Out On The Street"). All that glitters ain't gold though and you can find a couple of throw-aways among the nuggets. Still very much entertaining rock of its ear though and worthy of your attention I'm sure. By the way, new drummer Andy Bierne would later play with both Grand Prix (damn, their 'Shout' song is great), and Lionheart. Where are the lads of Dirty Tricks today? Well... with the exception of vocalist Kenny Stewart, they can all be found playing gigs as the famous Led Zeppelin tribute act "Stairway To Zeppelin". Perhaps it's time to get them all together in the studio for another Dirty Tricks album, huh?
Zomba/BMG 2004
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
24 October 2004
After all the progressive rock albums, AOR stuff and Heavy Metal we've reviewed recently it's time to check out something simple and fun... "A Hangover You Didn't Deserve" is just that - 17 (and then some) rock songs with a punk flavour, great hooks and some excellent lyrics. Butch Walker, the uncrowned king of "Nu-Breed" of melodic rock is strongly involved as a co-writer and producer, and you can hear his influence I believe. And now that I'm dropping names...the band's hit single "1985" has been co-written by the guys from SR-71, another worthy "Nu-breed" act.
The aforementioned single is one of the highlights of the album, a highly contagious track with funny, if a bit tragic lyrics that I think many of our readers can somehow relate to..."She hates time, make it stop/when did Mötley Crüe become classic rock/And when did Ozzy become an actor/please make this stop!". The video for the track is seriously funny as well.
Other highlights include "Ohio (Come Back To Texas)", "Ridiculous" and "Almost". Sure, among the 17 tracks (plus all kinds of fooling around and a weird bonustrack) there's a few tracks which are a bit forgettable, but the overall vibe of the album is very positive and entertaining. Especially the lyrics were often really funny. Too bad the band hadn't chosen to include them in the booklet. They're available on their website though. Bowlingforsoup.com
LionMusic 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
26 October 2004
There's a quite intriguing story behind the title of "First Chapter - Second Verse", since the very same material was originally released in 1996 as Zello's self titled debut album. The main difference now and then is the smashing guitar work by Janne Stark (Overdrive, Locomotive Breath), as the original version were recorded with violin instead of guitar. Yep! You couldn't find a single guitar on that album.
However, most parts has been re-recorded and re-arranged too... and you could almost say that it's a completely new album by now. The Swedes of Zello are definitely into the whole symphonic and progressive side of music and are obviously inspired by the likes of Styx and Kansas. More of the latter I'd say as we're mostly talking about written material in the style of Kerry Livgren here. Add to this a healthy dose of 80's AOR and you're in for a pleasant surprise.
There's some lovely keyboard work to be found throughout the entire CD as both Anders Altzarfeldt (organ, moog), and Mats Olsson (piano, synth), are very much the centre of your attention. Along with Lennart Glenberg obviously, since you'll notice how his violin is the backbone of everything that is "Zello". Don't expect to find much in common with Jethro Tull??? even though they are said to be a inspiration? (apart from the fact: they both use folk influences and then there's the whole flute vs. violin thing), since you'll also get songwriting of the highest level here. Indeed, the melodies are darn catchy and it's difficult to find a filler among them as they've managed to capture the sound of "Carry On Wayward Son" on most tracks actually. Grand Illusion fans will also find something familiar every now and then. However, there's a couple of boring instrumentals where the violin really gets to you in the end. I don't mind having violin included in a good uptempo song with a strong chorus, but alone it certainly could get on your nerves. Vocalist P-O Saether is one of Sweden's top producers for rock and metal and has also done a good work with this CD. Tracks like "Fairy Queen", "Hold On" (gee... one more 'hold on' song to the collection), and "The Children Are Crying", are all magical where the latter is a real deadringer for Kansas back in 1977. Recommended if you're into the symphonic over-the-top thing and everything that goes along with that.
Majestic Rock Records 2004
Review by Satu Reunanen
27 October 2004
Guitarist Misha Calvin isn’t among the best known artists in hard rock, but his work has always followed the traditional melodic eighties metal style. ”Evolution II” is continuing the chain of reissues of his work, originally released already in 1995. It was produced and arranged by the guitarist himself and the re-release includes two bonus tracks, which are from the studio sessions. Some of the musicians included are Pete Barnacle (ex-Girl), Ian Parry (Elegy) and Dave Twose, who share the vocals.
Comparing to the first ”Evolution” album this has lost a lot of spirit along the way. The melodies aren’t that catchy and deep anymore and Tony Martin alone made the first ”Evolution” sound more meaningful and balanced with his classic voice. It’s a shame really to find that a talented guitarist like Misha couldn’t offer us another great album, knowing what the future also brought. Somehow he’s moved on to a looser grip and the vague, hollow sound takes so much away from the few good songs. But somehow his instrumentals ”Jamios Del Aqua”, ”Adieu Ma Belle” and ”Misha’s Rag” are still standing proud and add the emotion to this album that it lacks of. They show that Misha hasn’t lost all his inspiration. Well, he might not have lost it, but this album leaves you quite cold.
Given that the guy handles his guitar well, it takes much more than neat licks to make a working song. With vocals included, songs like ”Evil” and ”Fall Guy” have their great moments, cranking it up like the best from the eighties. Each song has its moment though, but those moments don’t carry too far. Ian Parry sings on tracks between 6 to 11 and Dave Twose between 1 to 5. Nothing wrong with the vocalists, but their voices don’t suit this material. In the end the band sounds like Hurricane, another band that never quite found the core of emotion and the best arrangements and who’s sound wasn’t the most inspiring either. The bonus tracks ”Evil In The Night” and ”Under The Hammer” sound like the worst demos, but they’re actually the best material on this album, they’ve got warmth, energy and they move smoothly with the classy choruses and hooks. Definately material that should be recorded with good production. Something good to finish the album with.
Escape 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
22 October 2004
Toyz'R Us and Us'R a Melodic Hardrock act out of Paris, France. It's Escape Music's first ever signing in the country of wine drinkers and cheese eaters actually. The band, founded in Paris 1997, consists of Luke Marcheciel (vocals), Olivier Maug (guitars), Jérôme Perdu (bass), Jean-Christophe Perrin (keyboards), and Chris Mornac (drums). Some of the band members have been playing together since the early 80's though (including the football/soccer friendly rock act "Coventry").
The recordings of "House Of Cards" took place in 'Scott' Studios (Peter Gabriel, Youssou'n Dour), and the mixing was handled by Corey MacFadyen (Brighton Rock, Miles Above, The Ladder, Panik) in Toronto, Canada. The first track "Heart Beats Alone" isn't the perfect opener to be honest as it lacks both passion and hook. It also displays singer Marcheciel at his worst since he's obviously no good at his lower register. The first opening minutes are truly awful as he trembles like Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) AND Belinda Carlisle (the Go Go's), mixed together at your local DJ's spin table. The boy can sing no doubt and it only gets better from now on (well, it couldn't bloody well get any worse, could it?), even if he continues with his trembeling vocal style and French accent (ehem... it doesn't sound too promising now does it?).
The following "She's A Star" is however already a huge step in the right direction. The driving guitar work and lushy keyboards made me think about Canadian acts like Honeymoon Suite and Boulevard. Then again... they wrote better material with bigger hooks and were blessed with a more confident front-figure. The pre-chorus with the classic phrase "I know she's making little play with me" is a winner at every party. I can actually find some 70's Prog-Rock influences into their music and "That's My Heart" is most certainly inspired by Rainbow and their "Spotlight Kid" era. However, I must say that I find Toyz below average and really not up the standard of this otherwise excellent label. In fact, I can only come up with a couple of releases of worse quality for the last 3 years (give or take). They already have some fun stuff coming up with the return of Casanova and The Ladder project, etc.
www.toyz.com.fr
Steelheart Records 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
23 October 2004
The most important (?) thing when you're recording your "Tribute To The Glory Of 80's Metal" contribution. Make sure that it's actually a 80's metal song and not like Aztec Jade's version of "Another Day" (Dream Theater), since that would be something from the year of 1992. Ehem... not to mention that Rainbow's "Long Live Rock'N Roll", here covered by Denmark's 'Star Rats', was originally done back in 1978. Okie dokie... so we're off to a dodgey start but things can only get better I guess. And does a "Tribute To The Glory Of 80's Metal" CD, only have to include tracks from the actual 80's? I dunno... but it sure make sense somehow.
It's otherwise a pretty nice collection of 80's metal. Check out the complete tracklist as follows: Power And The Glory (Saxon), Some Heads Are Gonna Roll (Judas Priest), Rainbow In The Dark (Dio), Metal Daze (Manowar), I Don't Believe In Love (Queensryche), Flight Of Icarus (Iron Maiden), Crazy Doctor (Loudness), Posion (Alice Cooper), Far From Reality (Metal Church), Unchain The Night (Dokken), The Thing That Should Not Be (Metallica), Madhouse (Anthrax), and I'm Alive (Helloween).
Now, don't expect any of the artists to have recorded a better version than its original cut. And it's not like they have bothered to print their own signature or add anything fresh or exciting to the already excisting metal of above mentioned bands. They pretty much all stick to its original formula without even trying to add something new to the table. Ok, it's sort of interesting to hear Mystery Blue's version of "Metal Daze", since their female vocalist, Nathalie Geyer, is a little siren at large. Frozen Tears does a nice version of "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" and Drakkar's "Poison" is everything 'but Alice Cooper rock. The other acts: Black Steel, Ilium, Somniae Status, Aska, Rapid Fire, Seventh Seal, Twilight Odessey, S.N.P. & Mother Of Sin, are all doing their best to sound like their 80's heroes. The qeustion is do we really need another tribute with no-namers and its like? The answer will have to be no I'm afraid and I'd much rather listen to some original music by all artists involved.
Inside Out 2004
Review by Martien Koolen, 
20 Oktober 2004
One of the most under rated prog bands of the universe release a fantastic live double album. More than 150 minutes of Enchant's musical mix of neo prog, classic and melodic rock can be enjoyed on these two CDs. The place in their home town Oakland was well chosen as fans arrived from all over the world to give them a warm welcome when the recording machines were turned on.
Back in 1994 Enchant made their debut with their fantastic album "A Blueprint Of The World", which is still one of their best releases ever. From that amazing debut album five songs are featured on this live document, and especially long epic tracks like "Oasis" and "At Death's Door" belong to the highlights of "Live At Last". Or listen to the instrumental opener "Mae Dae" (also from "Blueprint…) and let yourself be amazed by the fantastic guitar playing of Doug Ott. "Sinking Sand", with breathtaking vocal parts by Ted Leonard, is one of my favorite tracks of their last album "Tug Of War". "Progtology" is a great instrumental song, also from their latest release, and shows that these guys can really play...
The second CD opens with one of the best Enchant songs ever, namely "Under The Sun" from their "Time Lost" album. One highlight follows another, "Follow The Sun", "Break", or "Seeds Of Hate". But then Leonard and Co. make a big mistake; they decide to exchange their electric gear for acoustic ones and play two un-plugged tracks; stuff that I really hate. Luckily that only lasts for about 10 minutes and then Enchant ends this superb document with three prog metal killer songs: "Pure" (from "Wounded"), "Below Zero" (also from "Wounded") and "Oasis" (from their debut). What a way to end this album, pure brilliance!! Enchant belong to the top 10 prog metal bands of the world and without the two acoustic tracks this live album would be second to none!!! Buy or die!!!
www.theoasis.cc
Manhattan Records/EMI 2004
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
18 October 2004
It's been a few years since soft-rocker Marx released solo material, but now he's back with a new major record deal and an album that should get him some much-deserved attention. "My Own Best Enemy" is much stronger an album than his few previous releases and features some exceptional melodic rock songs.
It's nice to notice that while Marx isn't obviously getting any younger, it doesn't mean that he would have to mellow out. If anything, there's more rock edge to this album than there's evindent on most of his other albums. My favourite track is the fantastic uptempo rocker "Colder", which showcases that Marx isn't only a balladeer. "When You're Gone" is another excellent rocker, which features Keith Urban on guitars and backing vocals. Soft-rock tracks like "Love Goes On", "The Other Side" and "Suspicion" are really enjoyable as well, proving that Marx is indeed a master of melody.
The big ballad and a potential smash hit of the album is "Ready To Fly" with its' grandiose melody. Place this as the "love theme" to the next big Hollywood blockbuster and watch it fly to the top of the charts!
The album loses a couple of points because admittedly there are a few tracks which are a little bit too mellow and understated for me, but still, this album is good news for all Richard Marx and AOR fans. It's great to see that an artist like Marx gets another shot with a major label backing - hopefully the label tries hard to get these songs to the radio. I don't see any reason why the mainstream adult rock/pop stations shouldn't embrace them.
SPV 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
15 October 2004
Hmmm... I don't have any inside information about "Poor Boy Blue". They're saying it's a brand new studio album, featuring guest musicians such as Steve Winwood, Gary Moore, Pete Bonas, and Mick Dolan. However, it sounds more like leftover (pretty good ones though) from previous releases as you'll get a mixture of pure AOR tracks (that late 80's style), a couple of blues tracks, and some late 70's/early 80's rock. Jim Capaldi will always be remembered as the lead singer for late 60's to mid-70's band Traffic. He frequently collaborated with bandmember Steve Winwood, writing the lyrics to many of their best known songs. Traffic were actually inducted into the Rock'N Roll Hall Of Fame earlier this year and Capaldi has been recording solo albums ever since the split up in 1974. Some of them are really, really, good as he went through all of the 70's and 80's rock styles really (check out the 1987 album for some pure AOR).
A quick track by track description: The title track (Poor Boy Blue) opens up the CD and it's vintage blues in the style of early ZZ Top. There's a lot of huffin' and puffin' going on into the mic and it gives the song a raw "live" feeling somehow. "Edge Of Love" is a nice AOR/Rock tune 'ala 1986 with those typical keys in the background. "Into The Void" sounds more like a mixture of Peter Gabriel and Glenn Hughes, a pretty average track in my opinion. "Breathless" is hi-tech rock 'ala late 80's and the same goes with "Getting Stronger". "Secrets In the Dark" is the real winner of the bunch and it's back to the pure AOR again. A fun guitar driven mid-tempo rocker with an excellent performance by Capaldi and a catchy hook to finish it all off. Reminded me both of Michael Morales and John Waite somehow. "Long Legs" is a fun Georgia Satellites tune with some wicked guitar work, while "Scream It To The Dark" is quite similar to Henry Lee Summer's "Slam Dunk" material. "California Sunset" is a dodgy pop tune, "Bright Fighter" is a 70ies ballad, the same with "I've Been Changing" (this one is great though), and "Now Is The Time" is Traffic stuff meets The Baby's in 1980.
Not a bad compilation of tracks really and Capaldi fans will probably enjoy a majority of them. It certainly doesn't feel like a completely new album though... but I could be wrong I guess.
www.vagh.net
Frontiers 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
14 October 2004
Every country needs their Nightwish/Evanescence wannabees I guess? Here's Switzerland's contribution to female fronted metal with symphonic overtures and fluffy melodies. "Fables And Dreams" has been rather successful in their homeland as it climbed directly to place #13 of the Swiss internet charts. The production is quite impressive as you can find Sascha Paeth (Angra, After Forver, Edguy, Heaven's Gate, Kamelot, Rhapsody) behind the wheel.
It's all very dramatic and theatrical and you can actually find alot of Blackmore's Night and Evanescence in their sound. In fact, Andrea Dätwyler has a voice closer to the sound of Candice Night and the Evanescence chick, rather than Nightwish's Tarja. Not as impressive perhaps and she's actually closer to the sound of Germany's 80ies pop queen 'Sandra' at times (something which surely wasn't meant to be).
The song material is rather harmless without any real structure or identity of their own. "The Spell" is nothing more than a poor version of Evanescence, with aggressive male rap-song in the background and everything. While other tracks are so similar to the Nightwish concept that it's almost laughable. This goes for the dire "Silent Scream", which appears to have been put together after a particularly long night of over indulging on Nightwish albums. The band members can obviously all play and are talented enough to carbon copy the music of their heroes. However, you can't ignore the fact that some of these songs are really catchy too. Don't expect to find anything original or groundbreaking though, and simply embrace their innocent music instead. It's all very well arranged, wrapped up in glossy paper, and quite catchy at times. I prefer the new Nightwish CD though, but if you simply can't get enough, here's yet another one for you to pick up.
www.lunatica.ch
Slick City Slackers 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
16 October 2004
"Into The Future Zone" is the second release from Sweden's Robin Vagh (guitars) and his crew of blood dripping pirates. I enjoyed the debut album quite a lot and therefore it's with a heavy heart I'll have to say, that Vagh hasn't exactly managed to follow it up with another crocker. I'm waiting and waiting for the songmaterial to finally kick in and I'm afraid it doesn't really happen until track seven!!! The following "Rebecca" is on the other hand one of the better Melodic Hardrock songs of 2004 and the last four tracks are all great.
There's nothing wrong with tracks like "Show Me Heaven Tonight" either and especially the vocals by guest singer John Marshall Gibbs are darn good. Jonas Blum (ex-Pole Position) is the main singer though and female singer Noomi Strågefors sings lead on "Moment Of A Touch" and "Don't Turn Away". The latter is a fine ballad with emotional vocals and that typical mid-80's keyboards in the background. Noomi sounds way better than on the debut too and I guess the songs are more in her key by now.
The rest of the tracks are everything from OK to below average. "In The Future Zone" is overall an album of fair interest, well played but a bit bland, you already know what to expect even before you've heard it at times. Vocals are alright and instrumentally it's fairly good too (a special mention here for Vaghn's lead guitars). However, the flat drumming is sort of annoying and I'm not sure why they even bothered to record stuff like "Calling On You", since it's melodic hardrock at its worst (dull and boring). Bottomline: Vagh is an act full of potential and I know they'll return with something more suitable next time. "Into The Future Zone" could be worthy a pick up if you're a mad collector of all things connected to Swedish hardrock though.
www.vagh.net
MTM 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
18 October 2004
Safe Haven is a new project with ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, Obssession, and Loudness vocalist, Michael Vescara, at the helm of things. The material is quite different from his previous metal projects as it's actually closer to home to the music of Journey, than anything else. Their first release for MTM Music turns out to be a fine starting point, however, without any surprises or new ideas really. "Safe Haven" is actually the perfect monicker as everything is very safe indeed.
Guitarist Eric Riordan must have spent many-a-nights listening to Neil Schon and his work. Take a listen to songs like "It Could Happen To You" or the semi-ballad "Sorry Baby" for some excellent Journey-esque music. And unlike so much AOR-ish music, the material is infused with real emotion, courtesey of Michael Vescara's vocals and those passionate, feedback drenched guitars.
Nonetheless, the song material leaves much to ask for when it comes to actual hooklines. When you're playing this sort of music, your success or lack of it, comes down to those memorable sing-a-long choruses. And to be frank, there's simply not enough of hooks included here. "Now That You're Gone" is no doubt the real winner with its moody approach and catchy refrain. "Fly Me Away" is a fine Journey ballad in the style of 'Trial By Fire' material, and several others are indeed fine. "Need A Change" is a nice change from the AOR music and the spice up things with some funky, groove, material. Safe Haven is the name, Safe Haven is the game, it's all very... ehem... safe?
Frontiers 2004
Review by Satu Reunanen
13 October 2004
One might wonder what Best Of-albums are for, other than to serve those who don’t want to buy the whole catalogue from a band. But we’ll pass Millenium through such accusations, even me who’s got all the cd’s from this band would have to buy this 2-cd collection. The simple reason is the extra tracks included, as much as 10 songs in the form of demos, unreleased tracks from ”Hourglass”-sessions and four cover-tracks. And they’re just as great as any of the songs this band has previously recorded, not just useless side material.
The first cd kicks off with 6 fast tracks taken from their ”Hourglass”-album, which is their most powerful, melodic and best produced album to this date. The only thing the following ”Angelfire” material loses to the latest stuff is the somewhat thinner production. All the melodies and great hooks are there already, as have always been. But even as it is, the songs still sound good. Not a ballad in sight here either, but some slower tunes than on the first half of the cd.
The 2nd cd features a beautiful slow song ”Almost Made It To Heaven” which is taken from the self-titled album, along with other three songs. Their first singer Todd Plant sings these, and he's the vocalist on ”Angelfire” too. ”Millenium”-album has that crunchy sound with young, raw energy to it which first albums are bound to have. There’s this playful, teenager prank 80’s feeling á la Danger Danger to the songs, which still stand out with their strong structures and have great hooks flowing insanely as all through the 2 cds. Millenium has always had great musicians in the line-up from bands such as Death, Vagabond and Teer, so there’s never a doubt that someday they would come up with poor material. Even their four cover songs sound great; MSG’s "On And On", The Sweet’s "Love Is Like Oxygen", which has kept its 70’s feeling to it though still having today's sound, Jefferson Starship’s "Jane" and Rainbow’s "I Surrender", which can also be found on the ”Union 3”-compilation.
The demo tracks have both Jorn Lande and Todd singing and the weakest songs on this compilation are found among them, ”Gone Are The Chances” and ”Sea Of Sadness”. Both are bland songs, though still good as they are. All in all these cds run ifor 135 minutes, so it’s a pretty good start for someone who’s not too familiar with the band. There’s something in Millenium that captures the mood of Talisman and I promise that if you like them, you’ll also like this band. Millenium also has a new album ”Jericho” out, released earlier this year and the line-up is now Todd Plant, Ralph Santolla, Shane French, Manfred Binder and Oliver Hanson. One of the new songs, ”Heresy” is also on this compilation as a demo track, but is featured on ”Jericho” as a new version. They’ve also got a DVD out with 3 videos "Together As One", "Almost Made It To Heaven" and "Believe In Love".
Majestic Rock 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
8 October 2004
The bombastic "Strangers" is a prefect album opener for any hardrock release if you ask me. The vocals by Black Sabbath's Tony Martin are stunningly good, while Misha Calvin himself is a top act string bender. Probably the best guitarist to come out of Yugoslavia during the entire 80's/90's (not that you can name that many I'm sure). He's painting a big, dramatic, picture, full of 80's arena rock and you can almost compare his work with the likes of Sykes & Vai (and what they did for Whitesnake).
Originally released back in 1993, "Evolution" has now been reissued through Majestic Rock with six bonus tracks. "Keep In Touch" is unfortunately the only previously unreleased song and all the others are demo versions from the evolution studio sessions. They may not differ much from their final results, however, you can pick up something "new" from each track and they are all sung by Tony Martin (including "Can't Hold Me" which Ian Parry later did on record).
"Evolution" is without a doubt Calvin's best release and a near classic of its genre. Recorded with the two vocalists Tony Martin (Black Sabbath - lead on 5 tracks) and Ian Parry (Vengeance - lead on 3 tracks), Calvin managed to create a record full of catchy hooks and smashing guitar work. The two instrumentals (Valhalla & Evolution) are also very interesting and cleverly done I must say. It's always nice to witness a virtuoso at large and the combination with heavier and acoustic guitar works out well. Indeed, the big production and classy songwriting makes this a winner under any circumstances. From opener "Strangers" to the closing track "Heaven Only Knows", you'll get a lovely mixture of late 80's Whitesnake, Black Sabbath ("Tyr" material), and the AOR project Phenomena (Dreamrunner). Recommended to any fan of melodic hardrock really.
Guitar Nine Records 2004
Review by Satu Reunanen
13 October 2004
It’s about time to meet a 26-year old talented Irish guitarist Alan Lennon, who started playing guitar at the age of 16, now teaching guitar for living. I got his 8-song ”Heaven’s Call” cd along with another cd without information, so I’m going to review the one with the song titles. After all, the second cd is straight continuation of the first cd. Alan makes instrumental music for most part, though the second cd has vocals in the closing song. Judging by these vocals Alan should include vocals into his music, since any of his compositions are just as fine.
Alan’s heroes vary from Steve Vai, Jeff Beck, Marty Friedman to Shawn Lane and a whole lot of others, but what mostly shines through his music is the guitarist he’s mostly inspired by, Jason Becker. Alan also makes inspirational, melancholic music which takes influences from wide range of music including progressive and fusion, but at no point the arrangements go way over head for the average listener to find these songs touching and catchy. Even when he starts shredding he keeps his style clean and beautiful and there’s always something deep in his music that still makes the shredding justified and worthwhile to listen, not being a pointless show-off.
Alan has found the amazing essence Jason Becker is known from and admired from. Even how he’s entitled the songs is touching, after his niece, for his friend and even named a song after his dog! How sweet. And all along his love for celtic music shines through too, which gives the music its spiritual atmosphere. ”Setanta” is the first and last song that is written out of love for celtic music, ”Bruce” shows the overall short running time Alan has decided to keep his work in, ”Pura Vida” as the title says brings a cleansing, bright and longing feeling along with its airy notes and ”Ode To Becker” is amazingly sad, but brilliant with the waterfall-like solos. ”Kate Angel” is another soothing short song, ”Cherry Bomb” is the classy fast jamming track, ”Night Skies” is another slower song and ”Setanta (part two)” ends the cd with total relaxation. If you seek inspirational guitar music, you’ve found it.
Alan Lennon Website
SPV/Steamhammer 2004
Review by Martien Koolen,
13 október 2004
After the release of the first solo-album of Savatage’s guitar player Chris Caffery, Jon Oliva, Savatage, TSO and Doctor Butcher now also releases a solo-album. Pain consists of guitarist Matt Laporte, keyboarder John Zahner (who Jon knows from the pre-production of the Savatage album “Sirens”), drummer Chris Kinder and bass player Kevin Rothney. All 4 musicians also played on “Watching In Silence”, the first CD by ex- Savatage singer Zak Stevens’ band Circle 2 Circle. So the band is great, how about the music then?
Savatage fans will be delighted, 13 brand new tracks featuring Jon’s charismatic voice and songs like “Guardian Of Forever”, “Slipping Away”, “Father, Son, Holy Ghost” or “All The Time” could almost be new Sava-songs….. The album opens with “The Dark”, concise piano, excellent guitar riffs and Jon’s raw and raspy voice bring back memories of Savatage’s superb album “Streets”. “People Say - Gimme Some Hell” has an awesome chorus with Jon screaming at the top of his lungs. The lyrics of this song are filled with old Savatage titles; listen how much you can spot and win a prize...The third song is already one of the highlights; “Guardian Of Forever" is a fantastic, dramatic power metal ballad, with great melodic instrumental parts and beautiful melodies that make me think of TSO and classic Sava-songs. “Father, Son, Holy Ghost” also starts in a Sava-kind of way, with piano and typical guitar melodies like I know from albums like “Streets” and “Gutter Ballet”. As for “All The Time” I recognize riffs and vocal parts from albums like “Dead Winter Dead” and Poets & Madmen”, listen to those familiar vocal lines. “Nowhere To Run” is a power metal ballad like track with a fantastic instrumental intro and rather high-pitched singing by Jon.
The CD ends with a rather mediocre acoustic rock song, but fortunately the fantastic guitar solo saves this one in the end, so there are no weak songs on the entire album. And I can honestly say that if Zak would have been the singer on this album that this would be one of the best Savatage albums in years. So check it out Sava-fans you will certainly like it. Together with the 2 albums of Chris and the Circle 2 Circle album we now have 4 almost new Savatage releases.
Jon Oliva website
SPV 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
9 October 2004
Carl Carlton aka Karl Buskohl grew up in eastern Friesland (Germany) close to Groningen, the Netherlands. He became quickly a fan of rhythm and blues and soul and discovered acts like Otis Redding and Lee Dorsey as a kid. Then came the meeting with the Rolling Stones which are probably his biggest influences yet. You'll definitely find a lot of Stones and Keith Richard in his guitar work and music. Carlton quickly made his way out in the world and began playing with artists like Herman Brood, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, New Legend, Mink DeVille, Nina Hagen, Jimmy Barnes, and the late Robert Palmer (R.I.P.).
"Cahoots And Roots" is a double CD and a real display of Carlton and the Songdogs' cocktail of Stones rock'n roll and New Orleans funk. It presents the best from his two solo albums (live and studio tracks) as well as previously unreleased tracks including a cover of John Lennon's "Instant Kharma". The musicianship is top notch throughout the CD's and what else to expect with ex-Mother Finest members within the band (Moses Mo - guitar & Wizzard - bass). Check out "Days Of Magic" for some excellent Stones' music with slide guitar and everything. "Florence" is late 70's Springsteen while "The Downfall" is back to the Stones with a touch of New Orleans. "Coming Home" is another favorite with flashy guitarwork and catchy refrain. Not to forget "God's Gift To Man" as this is blues rock at its finest moment.
I haven't been listening to Carlton & The Songdogs at all in the past really. Shame on me as this is really fine music in the old tradition of rhythm and blues, with a modern, updated, sound and production of course.
www.carlcarlton.com
Inside Out 2004
Review by Martien Koolen,
13 október 2004
Finally a live album of one of my favorite rock bands. King’s X, the pioneers of groove rock, highly respected by critics and loved by their fans finally “prove” that their brilliant live reputation is not exaggerated. On this double CD, Tabor, Pinnick and Gaskill hit you with their music where it really hurts……
Ever since their amazing debut “Out Of The Silent Planet”(1988) I have been a fan of their unconventional blend of rock, blues and rather psychedelic elements. “Gretchen Goes To Nebraska”(1989) and “Faith, Hope And Love”(1990) are still their best recordings ever and they should have a place in every rock collection. Their last album “Black Like Sunday”, their first with their new label Inside Out, does not belong to my personal King’s favorites, but this live album rocks like hell.
Fortunately it is a real live album, so there are no overdubs and the sound is raw and this is how it should be. On the first CD the musical highlights are: “Believe”, “Over My Head”(super groovy with great singing by Doug and a howling guitar solo) and “Johnny”(great guitar parts and this is King’s X at its best). Rather disappointing on this first CD is the cover (please, play your own material) of Jimi Hendrix (of all people!!) “Manic Depression”, played together with guest musician Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam.
The second CD starts with an acoustic set (why for God’s sake??)of seven songs, and you know how I hate so-called unplugged versions of real rock songs!!!! Great King’s X tracks like for example “Mississippi Moon” or “Goldilox” sound like mediocre acoustic shite from another planet... Fortunately later on heavy electric songs like “Visions”, “Cigarettes”(bluesy) or “We Were Born To Be Loved” save the day. King’s X saves the best for last, because the last track “Moon Jam”(11 minutes long!!) is filled with heavy riffs, up-tempo rhythms, screaming vocals and very long guitar solos. This is how the complete album should have been like and then “Live All Over The Place” would have become a live classic rock album, just like e.g. UFO’s “Strangers In The Night” or Blue Oyster Cult’s “On Your Feet Or On Your Knees”. Now, only due to the super boring acoustic tracks, it is just a good live album, and nothing more than that, which is sad but true.....
www.kingsxonline.com
Inside Out 2004
Review by Martien Koolen,
13 október 2004
With their sophisticated music the American band Happy The Man were one of the most original progressive rock bands at the end of the seventies. Happy The Man was known for its crafted tempo changes and quirky melodies and their influences ranged from prog rock and jazz till classical music. This made their music a mix of bands like Gentle Giant, Yes, Camel, Soft Machine and Henry Cow. Their 2 albums “Happy The Man”(1977) and “Crafty Hands”(1978) are milestones of the progressive genre and now fans can enjoy their new release called “The Muse Awakens”.
It is an instrumental album with only one track “Shadowlites” featuring vocals of founder member Stan Whitaker. The vocals on that track certainly give it an extra dimension and that makes that song more diverse. I really miss the vocals on a few other songs, which could have replaced the rather dull saxophone parts. As for my idea there is too much sax and woodwinds on this album anyway... Especially in tracks like “Lunch At The Psychedelicatessen”, “Barking Spiders” and “Adrift” the saxophone tends to get on my nerves.
However I really like the genuine proggy/symphonic songs like “Contemporary Insanity”(real seventies prog!!), “Maui Sunset”(great melody with keys and guitars) and “Il Quinto Mare”, a real symphonic rock highlight! However I still feel that this album sounds so out of time, so old-fashioned, just like in the seventies…. And the problem is that we live in 2004… so only food for real proggies?? Probably, although I like a few of the songs very well, “The Muse Awakens” will not be in my top 20 of 2004.
www.happytheman.com
Woodcut Records 2004
Review by Satu Reunanen
13 October 2004
Finnish black metal band Sethery has found their way into our aor-filled world of RockUnited, so it’s time to check out how cruel, damaged and violent their souls are. Formed in 1998 by the name of Black Emotions, releasing a few demos, going through a name change in between and gaining success with their song ”Hellvision Designed”, their debut shows that success hasn’t come from nothing.
Black metal has to have brutality and the sickening, twisted and scary atmosphere, otherwise who’d care less, but it’s all here. And of course the music is furiously fast, hectic and hellish, with deep growling vocals, no room for apologies. The door to the burning inferno has been opened before your eyes as you sit listening to this and the gruesome terror is about to sadistically mangle your mind for eternity. Yep, the guys know their horror. The melody is lurking behind the darkness, bringing wicked witchery feeling to the otherwise apocalyptical world.
Truthfully this is for black metal fans only, other fans might find depression taking over after the 40 minute session. Admit it, this kind of music never leaves you with happy thoughts, you only blast this on ten to get your aggressions out. Eventhough the guys are convincing, this doesn’t give any new spark to the black metal genre. The crashcourse in my case for Sethery is the hectic rush without enough hooks, so if you have a need for them in your black metal, this might not be your saving grace. If it had not been this straight and the fast saw guitar buzzing everywhere, I would’ve ended up giving 8. It’s still a good debut after all.
Sethery
Playground 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
7 October 2004
It came from the 80ies. There's actually a 80's synth pop revival going on in Sweden right now (Melody Club is a personal favorite). Well... at least pop bands that are rather influenced by those fun, neon-coloured days, than the dark and moody 90ies. Unfortunately most reviewers in Sweden (and everywhere else I guess?), are totally ignorent when it comes to recognising or paying any respect whatsoever to the era. I honestly believe they are all too f***in stupid to see past their own two feets if you'd ask me. It's the same old "let's bash the 80'ies, simply because we can and it's the most popular thing to do" attitude.
Strip Music may not be the new saviors of pop-rock and neither the best new album of 2004. However, it's a fun and innocent mixture of Ultravox, The Cure, Depeche Mode, and Joy Division melodies done in a fashionable two thousand and four style. Strip Music is also the new project by ex-Yvonne vocalist Henrik De La Cour. Not a favorite singer or band of the past, but De La Cour is a more confident frontman nowadays and the songs are definitely stronger and catchier. Keyboardist Jens Hellqvist are belting out a massive synthetic wall of sound throughout the entire record and it's all very enjoyable. First single "Desperation" became a minor hit in Sweden and tracks like "2.75", "Never Die", and "Invasion" are just as good if not better. Definitely worthy of some attention if you're into the late 80's synth-pop with a touch of melodic goth.
www.stripmusic.tk
LionMusic 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
9 October 2004
Merely three years down the road and the first re-issue of Empire's "Hypnotica" is already among us. I'm sure this has something to do with last years success with "Trading Souls", which by the way featured Tony Martin of Black Sabbath as vocalist. This being the first Empire (there's several bands out there under the same moniker though) originally released in 2001 and featuring two lead singers, namely Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen, Ring Of Fire) and Lance King (Balance of Power).
Empire is however the brainchild of German guitarist Rolf Munkes (Razorback, Majesty). Add to this experienced guest musicians such as Don Airey (Deep Purple, Rainbow, Ozzy), Neil Murray (Black Sabbath, Gary Moore, Whitsnake), and drummer Anders Johansson (Hammerfall, Yngwie Malmsteen), and you're in for a small treat. There's 15 songs to be found including several bonus tracks and it gives the good people out there a second chance to (re)discover Empire's music. The production is crystal clear with the guitars and vocals upfront. I'm not too keen about the drums as they tend to sound thin-ish at times. This has nothing to do with Anders Johansson as he's a superb drummer no doubt. As always lately I'm having problems with playing the entire promo disc from LionMusic. I have no idea what the bonus tracks sound like as they simply won't play on any of my stations. Nevertheless, the original album is indeed a nice melodic hardrock album with anthems like "Fool In Love" (Malmsteen/Rainbow) and "I Will Always Be There".
www.empire-rock.com
Sony Music 2004
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
12 October 2004
The band is hardly "starting from the dark" as they have about a dozen highly successful re-union gigs under their belt, a highly successful compilation CD & DVD and the support of a major label with seemingly a decent promotional budget - at least in Finland this release is advertised on TV and has gotten a lot of media visibility. Obviously Sony has high hopes for this album, and why shouldn't they have...the timing seems to be good for Europe to make an impact. Whether it'll be as big as is hoped we'll see.
It's been 13 years since the last Europe album, and a lot of things have changed. Guitarist Kee Marchello has made room for orginal axeman John Norum, and frankly, you could be forgiven for thinking that keyboardist Mic Michaeli has left the band. He hasn't, but his role has diminished drastically. If the band plays the likes of "Song no.12" or "Sucker" live, he might as well take a good book with him to the stage...
The songs then..."Got To Have Faith" is the opener and the first single, and I just don't know why. It's one of the weakest songs of the album, and hardly very memorable. I would have thought that the band would've gone with the title track as the lead-off single, since it was a part of the live set last summer and thus quite familiar to many. Besides, it's a very good song with a great, melodic chorus. It showcases the new, heavy approach very well, without losing the bands' familiar melodies and hooks. A real standout track.
As for the others, "Flames", "Hero" (actually the first single in some regions) and the uptempo and upbeat rocker "Sucker" are good tracks, but most of the others are just bland and seriously lacking when it comes to hooks. I don't hate them, they are not that bad, but damn it, after listening to the album half a dozen times I still can't remember anything about some of the songs!
SPV 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
9 October 2004
Since the ugly split up with Roadrunner Records the other year, Dry Kill Logic has been improving and envolving their metal music. They are now returning to the scene with an even more aggressive and heavier release than previous attempts. "The Dead And The Dreaming" is hardcore with riff-ripping guitars not of this world and vocals straight out of hell. They do however return to their "Nu-Metal" music of the past every now and then, and especially "Hindsight" will remind you more of POD than hardcore.
Don't expect to find anything too familiar since the highly acclaimed "The Darker Side Of Nonsense" though. And to quote the ever so present Yngwie Malmsteen: "you've released the f***in fury" with this album. Everything is ten times heavier than before and they've progressed into this four headed monster with eight arms to hold, eight arms to fold, and eight arms to beat the living daylights out of you. Jazon Bozzi is the new guitarist and he obviously must be possessed by some kind of demonic creature?
It's pedal to the metal from the word go and it's all very brutal and extreme. I must however say that I prefer tracks like "Then You Lie", when they are mixing POD (Faith No More?) melodies with a more aggressive refrain. Rigano has actually improved since last around and the vocals are now more varying. You need however to spin this several times before it finally kicks in. Far from everything actually does though and quite a few of the tracks are very similar to eachother. If you don't mind a sore neck (from all the headbanging) and a strange feeling of deja vu', try the Dry Kill Logic.
www.drykilllogic.com
Majestic Rock 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
10 October 2004
"Riffman" is the latest Misha Calvin release from 1998. Gone were all the great singers of the past and unfortunately also most of his great material. OK, in all fairness and honesty, Marthy Smith isn't such a bad vocalist after all and the songs aren't half bad either. I guess you always tend to compare new releases with older ones and "Riffman" will (sadly) always walk in the shadow of the great "Evolution".
The attitude was slightly heavier than before and more in the tradition of Dio, Black Sabbath, Rainbow (well, they all have Ronnie James in common don't they?). The instrumental "Lost" is however similar to Gary Moore's "The Loner" in many ways. The same kind of structure and tempo, except that you'll also find some acoustic guitars in the mixture. There's nothing remotedly wrong with tracks like "Do It Again" or "Falling Into You" either. But you can also find really terrible ones like "You Should Have Told Me" and "You Are History". A real hits and misses album where Calvin seem to be following up each fine track with a crappy one. The three instrumental bonus tracks are quite nice though.
Sanctuary/Mayan 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
4 October 2004
Talk about the perfect combination, Tony Iommi is the metal riff master supreme and Glenn Hughes is a vocal God. Let's be frank, the man could obviously quote the entire phone directory and it would still sound great. The 1986 album "Seventh Star" is one of my favorite Black Sabbath releases only second to "Heaven And Hell", even though 'SS' may not have been a proper Sabbath record (it was actually released as Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi). This was however supposed to be Iommi's first real solo album in 1996 and it's been in the vault ever since, even though dodgy sounding boots have been making their way around the web and back.
Thank God it's finally been picked up for release as it's the best Iommi writing material since that very "Seventh Star" album. The production has been remixed by Mike Exeter and the drums re-recorded by recent Iommi skinsman Jimmy Copely. Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Trapeze, Hughes/Thrall, HTP, Gary Moore, etc) handles bass & vocals duties, while Don Airey (Deep Purple, Rainbow, Ozzy) and Geoff Nichols (Black Sabbath) takes care of key-work.
You could almost expect it to sound like the metal of 1996, but it's a timeless release with blusey and riff based material. It actually sounds like a mixture of Black Sabbath and Hughes/HTP material and has absolutely nothing in common with the poor solo release of Iommi's a couple of years back. The only real downer would be the shortage of tracks as you can only find 8 of them here. The brilliance of tracks like "Don't Drag The River", "Time Is The Healer", "I'm Not The Same Man", and "It Falls Through Me", will remove any doubts though. The latter is a marevelous epic ballad with a magical performance by Hughes. It's actually a quite simple release with its roots in the 70ies stuff. But you can almost relate more to the HTP stuff than Sab' most of times, merely "Time Is The Healer" and opening track "Gone", will have those typical Sabbath riffs and stoner metal vibes. "From Another World" had me almost thinking about Trapeze, and "Don't You Tell Me" is the best HTP song which they've yet to record. Bottomline: "The 1996 DEP Sessions" are one third each of blues, funk, and Sabbath riffs and it works as a charm everytime. (Note: HTP is the project Hughes has together with ex-Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner).
www.iommi.com
AOR Heaven 2004
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
6 October 2004
Second Heat are a new Swedish band featuring several members (3 and one ex-member) of AOR act Alyson Avenue. I guess the guys wanted to expand their horizons and write a harder-edged album, and this is just that. It's quite far from the Heart-influenced music of Alyson Avenue, closer to the likes of Talisman and Fair Warning, melodic hard rock/metal. Keyboard player Niclas Olsson is apparently "the mastermind" and the songwriter, but the music appears to be quite guitar-oriented, with Patrik Svärd stealing the limelight most of the time. Vocalist Thomas Bursell adds his own colour to the canvas, sounding a bit like a more masculine version Frontline's Stephan Kaemmerer.
The songmaterial is solid throughout the album, and the production (by Mats Edström and the band) is very good. You'll get some real gems such as "Anything But Love" (Journey gone metal?), "Chained", "Someday" (closest thing to Alyson Avenue here) and "After You're Gone", and only a few weaker tracks - the metal-influenced "Never Surrender" fails to convince and "Deep Blue Sky" is otherwise okay, but the chorus is a bit of a letdown.
All in all a good debut, and worthy of your investigation if you like the Euro-AOR-metal sounds of Fair Warning, Frontline, Millenium or even Yngwie Malmsteen circa 1990...
Majestic Rock 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
3 October 2004
NWOBHM at its core and more common than fish and chips during the early 80ies. Indeed, if you'd look up the word NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) in the metal encyclopedia, you'd probably find a picture of Bitches Sin. They were hardly the best or most recognizable act of its era (far from it), but they captured the sound and genre right down to their shoelaces.
The Toomey brothers (Ian & Pete) formed the band in Ulverston, England, in April 1980. In August that very year they recorded the seven track demo "£12 And No Kinks" and later on a 4 song session for BBC Friday Rock Show. Something which are now finally documented on the compilation "The First Temptation" at Majestic Rock Records.
The twin guitar work is the main attraction and force behind the music of Bitches Sin. "Down The Road" opens up with some excellent guitar duels by the Toomey's and the attitude is similar to early Maiden and Saxon. This song alone is worthy of your attention if you happen to be a NWOBHM fanatic. "White Lady" could almost have been a Def Leppard tune from "On Through The Night", while "Bitches Sin" is more direct and back to basic metal. The semi ballad "Ice Angels" is another favorite and you'll notice both Jaguar(s) and Tygers similarities. "Tighter Than Tight" is however duller than dull with its blunt approach and darn right lousy refrain. The live versions of "Down The Road", "Fallen Star", and "Strangers On The Shore" all are winners though. They were probably more popular in Holland than at home as they recorded tribute songs to "Aardschok" and Dutch Radio DJ Hanneke Kappen (Haneka). A nice surprise for the average hardrock fan and probably a must have for any NWOBHM nut.
www.bitchessin.co.uk
MTM 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
1 October 2004
There hasn't been a lifesign for more than 17 years and completely out of the blue, here's the new Kick Axe album. Vocalist George Criston is nowhere to be found though (his latest release must have been the "Paradise - Light The Fire" CD on Escape Music), and "original" vocalist Gary Langen???!!!! can be heard for the first time on record here. He's appearently the "original" singer as he used to hang with the rest of the band, way back in the 70ies or something. I had no idea really and like I've said many times before, the "original" members are the one's which you can find on the first release by any band. Think about it... almost every act have a dozen or two of ex-members out there, which never survived to the recording stages.
I can totally understand why Langen (the brother of bassist Victor Langen?) never quite made it in the first place as Criston is superior to him in every aspect. The Gillstrom brothers (Larry - guitars, Brain - drums), are still with us and they are trying to recreate the power of long gone days. Something which unfortunately never happens as "IV" could easily be described as average at its best and disappointing at its worst. There's simply not enough of goodies among the 14 tracks included and it feels more like 3-4 good songs and a bunch of fillers.
I'm all for comebacks and reunions of 80ies hardrock bands in general. However, it certainly helps if you're still capable of writing strong and solid hardrock material. This isn't exactly a worthy follow up to the likes of "Vices" and "Welcome To The Club", even if "Rock The World" was already a small dissapointment. Credit for staying somewhat true to their "original" sound, even if you can't find many uptempo tracks here. Something like "Black Heart" feels more like a poor version of Aerosmith and several tracks pat homeage to the Zeppelin lads. Let's hope Kick Axe wont disapear for another 17 years instead of returning with a much stronger album in a year or two.
Escape 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
1 October 2004
"Past And Present" is more or less a MSG album without Michael Schenker. It's actually new and re-recorded versions of the best songs from the first MSG albums in the early 80ies. Original vocalist Gary Barden (also Silver, Statetrooper, Praying Mantis, Gary Moore) goes through old classics like "Armed And Ready", "Ready To Rock", and "Victim Of Illusion", with his ever so present rock voice. He's still as good vocalist if not better than back when, something which Silver fans are well aware of.
However, I simply can't get into some of these versions as they differ a lot from the originals. "Armed And Ready" has been reduced to a dodgy jazz/lounge number, which frankly doesn't work out at all. "Ready To Rock" has also been completely rearranged with a horn section in the background???!!! Nope, I'm sorry, but it simply doesn't sound good to these ears. "Looking Out For Nowhere" is on the other hand quite interesting with some excellent guitar work by Michael Voss (Casanova, Mad Max, Silver). "Tales Of Mystery" is another track that works out fine actually. This could be interesting for the mad collector of MSG related stuff. Nonetheless, I'm not quite sure why Barden decided to recorded them all over again... instead of a real and new solo album. Keep checking out for the new Silver album though.
www.garybarden.com
SPV 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
2 October 2004
The more I hear of The More I See the more I dislike it. They are playing this innocent mixture of Metallica, Anthrax (Bush fronted material), Tool, and even some Alice In Chains metal, which actually works every now and then. You can totally (not) understand why they are one of UK's hottest new metal bands though. Not to be confused with "Nu-Metal" at all really, or?
It's pretty basic, old (dated), jaw shattering stuff, with rehearsed melodies and re-used riffs. You'll definitely be thinking about all the above mentioned bands as you play "The Wolves Are Hungry". And you'll also be thinking about how much better they all are at what they do. The More I See may share the passion and techinical ability of their heroes, but are sadly lacking the important skill of writing decent songmaterial. You'll have to be deaf to even try and call this original or groundbreaking music. It could have been some ten, twelve, years ago as it feels more like something out of the 90ies. It's actually rather blunt and to the point without much finesse or hookladen melodies along the way. Tracks like "Near Extinction", "Paralyzed", and "Fall" are however exceptions to the rule as they pretty much all rock.
* * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 36-40/04 * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 36-40/04 * * * * *
Megadeth, Barry Sparks, Ring Of Fire, Lake Of Tears, instrumental album "A Guitar Supreme", reissues: Heavy Pettin, Tytan, Quartz, James Christian, Shadows Fade, Seven Witches, Kilpi, 707, Gowan, Pain Of Salvation, John Waite, Rhapsody, Silent Force, Europe's compilation DVD, Saga, Travers & Appice, The Tangent, The Jelly Jam, three Pat Travers re-issues, Pulse, Adam Bomb, Music Station, re-issued Tobruk, Surrender and Snowblind, Pushing Red Buttons, Saxon, Anyone's Daughter, Blackmore's Night, Stage Dolls, Waysted reissue, Aquila, Joe Stump, A Lower Deep, Paul Janz, MTM Ballads 5, Tigertailz, Blind Fury, Funny Money, Joe 5, Hendrix tribute vol. 2, Million.
* * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 32-35/04 * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 32-35/04 * * * * *
Glenn Hughes' new live album, Jordan Rudess, Dio, Scavenger, Cheap Trick DVD, Lana Lane, Kingdom Come, Richie Kotzen , Book Of Reflections, Metal Church, Greg Cherone, Magnum, John Young, 2 solo albums from Savatage's Chris Caffery, Zero Nine, reissue of Annica's "Badly Dreaming" CD, a reissue of Nasty Idols-related Machine Gun Kelly, Robin George's new one "Bluesongs" and retro-release "Dangerous Music Live", Unleashed, Pure Inc, Eyes Of Shiva, Circus, a new EP from Heaven & Earth, Doro, Empire, Kittie, Switchblade, Alpha Safari, From The Inside, Grand Illusion, new solo albums from Jean Beauvoir and Jeff Scott Soto, Renegade, re-issue of Heavy Pettin's "Lettin' Loose", Bonrud, IQ, Jack Ponti's Surgin', Star Queen and Big Bertha.
* * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 26-31/04 * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 26-31/04 * * * * *
Joe Satriani, House Of Shakira, Vitalij Kuprij, Fate re-issue, Avril Lavigne, Turisas, Black'n Blue's "In Heat", "Nasty Nasty" and "Without Love" re-issues, Clearland, a live album from Pete Way, Liberty'n Justice, The Calling, Lordi's single, Fraise, Zillion, House Of Mirrors, Millenium, Token, George Lynch, Ministry, Lars Eric Mattson's Vision and a RUF Records sampler.
* * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 21-25/04 * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 21-25/04 * * * * *
Ayreon, Metal Majesty project, Dokken, Jing Chi, Hanna Pakarinen, Tears Of Anger, Cea Serin, Statetrooper, Cooper, Q¨eensrÿe, Hall and Oates, Voodoo, Voodoo Hill, Human Temple, Hendrix Tribute, Magna-Fi, Dare, Bloodstained, Under-Radio, Pro-Pain, Stan Bush, Perzonal War, Glen Burtnik, Tommy Denander's Deacon Street, Iron Savior, Heart, Toxic Virgin, Snakeryder, OHM featuring ex-Megadeth Chris Poland , Patrick Linman, Zero Nine, Nightwish , Evergray, Patrick Rondat, London Calling, AOR, Hira, Altaria, Freedom Call live, Frontline, Smeer, Hardreams.
* * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 16-20/04 * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 16-20/04 * * * * *
707, Powder, Fahrenheit, The Creek, Imperial Crowns, Masters of Reality/Chris Goss, Crossfade (U.S.), Gene Simmons, Scorpions, Daniel Liverani's Genius rock opera and his solo album, Loud'n Nasty, Syanide Kick, Alyson Avenue, Messiah's Kiss, King's Karma, White Skull, Leaf, Raging Speedhorn, LORDI, DEATH ANGEL, Dakota, ROXX, Vick Le Car, The Rise, Memorized Dreams, Viking Skull, Wicked Sensation, Lionsheart, Madison Paige, Pyramaze, Edgar Winter, State Of Mind, Midnite Sky, Anubis Gate, Blaze, Kotipelto, Saga, Marillion, Over The Edge, WASP, In Flames, Crossfade featuring Göran Edman, Mar De Grises, Cans, Jettison Eddy, Eric Burdon, Dream Evil EP.
* * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 11-15/04 * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 11-15/04 * * * * *
Frameshift, Tim Donahue's Madmen And Sinners, Kane, Panik, Evil Masquerade, two albums from Rick Wakeman, Kataklysm, Jeff Pilson's War & Peace, Tony Hernando, Milbajac, Dragonforce, Tygers Of Pan-Tang, Alternative All Stars, Wolf, Rick Springfield, Tesla, Bunny Brunel, HIM, The Allman Bros, Uli Jon Roth, Rick Wakeman, Norther, Apostasy, The Withering, Takara, Feinstein, Kingcrow, Jorn, Entwine, Eclipse, Lowemotor Corporation, Danny Danzi, Jaded Heart, UDO, Frontiers, Magnitude 9, Valensia, Threshold, Zinatra, RAW, Axia, Grip Inc, Shylock, Autograph, Tower and Life.
* * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 6-10/04 * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 6-10/04 * * * * *
Alex Masi, Mister Kite, Axel Rudi Pell, Powerquest, International Pop Overthrow, Sinn, Sequel, Secret Heroes, Flame, TNT, Mennen, Spin Gallery, Mother Mercy, Reckless, Charlie Souza, Bowes & Morley, Pretty Boy Floyd, Jack Foster, After Forever, Kristy Krash Majors, Runner, Empty Tremor, Edguy, Monster Magnet, Grandma Moses, Shadowman, Kurt Nilsen, Exodus, Double Cross, Final Frontier, Force Of Evil, Metalium, The Gathering, Orion Riders, Mr. Big Tribute, House Of Lords, Ufo, Metallica Tribute, Manigance, Omar And The Howlers, Malediction.
* * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 1-5/04 * * * * REVIEWS OF WEEKS 1-5/04 * * * * *
George Bellas, Seventh Key, Anand, 7th Heaven, Baltimoore, Jack Blades, Universe, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Street Talk, Heavenly, Pink Cream 69, Requiem, Hess, Shiva, VII Gates, Pilot To Gunner, Eric Martin, Rox Diamond, Axenstar, Iced Earth, Erika, Infinite Dreams, Last Autumn's Dream, Faithfull, 220 Volt, Primal Fear, Chris Catena, Bottle Rockets, Alan Whittaker, Velvet Dreams.
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