AOR Heaven 2008
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
21 September 2008

Though the title of the album may suggest some weird progressive-fusion crap, this is pure 80s melodic rock at its best. Johan Berquist and Andreas Broden, two Swedish session musicians teamed up to release an album that starts out as any of the best keyboard-driven Van Halen hits of the Sammy Hagar era. The opening "This Heart of Mine" sets the pace for the album, if you don't like that one, you won't like the rest either.

It's hard to name any highlights as there's a consistent high quality songwriting and professional musicianship all over the album. The songs are a mixture of contemporary Scandinavian melodic rock (T'Bell, Street Talk, etc.) and classic 80s melodic rock like the above-mentioned Van Halen era. The result is a 9-pointer album and probably the only reason for not being a perfect tenner is the fact that I only hand those out to landmark albums. So let's make Elevener a niner. Ouch.

I can only hope AOR Heaven can back this project up with an extensive promotion as I can't believe there is one single melodic rock fan who'd be disappointed with this album. There's at least as much potential in it as in an Elevener. Go ahead, check it out!
wwww.myspace.com/elevenelevenagain

Frontiers 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
24th September 2008

Eclipse are a complete mystery to me, although there must be plenty of you out there who have been desperately waiting for them to follow up their 2003 album “Second To None”. I say this because if it's even half as good as this, their heavily delayed 3rd album, then I really should get it.

This year we've been a bit spoiled with some of the top class melodic rock that has come our way. If you read Rock United regularly (and you really should) you will be aware of the likes of H.E.A.T, Brother Firetribe, Tyketto and Sunstorm (okay, so Sunstorm were last year, but who cares). Sweden's Eclipse slot nicely into the above group, taking the best bits of each with several chapters of 'The Big Boys Book Of 80's Melodic Rock' thrown in for good measure. This isn't music that will change the world, but it's not supposed to. When melodic rock is done just right it's primary job is to make you feel good, and “Are You Ready To Rock” (just how bad is that title) does it with ease.

Eclipse don't make keyboard heavy wimp rock, although keyboards certainly feature. What they do is turn the melody overdrive up on their guitars (probably to 11) and just let go. It's almost impossible not to like such melody fuelled rockers as “Wylde One” and “Under the Gun”, with widdly solos all over the place and perfect AOR vocals from Erik Martensson. Another thing Eclipse don't do here is ballads, and all the songs barrel along at a very reasonable speed.

“Are You Ready To Rock” (nope, still sounds awful) is Melodic Rock with the Rock in big, capital letters. Definitely up there with some of the better albums of it's type, it's one that's really worth adding to your collection.
www.eclipsemania.com

Shadow World Records 2008
Review by Satu Reunanen
19 September 2008

Now give me a goddamn beer! With a line like that you can bet this will be a juicy one. Finnish Million Dollar Beggars should've kicked off their debut album with that specific line, featured in their song "Delirium", and they would've fast been labeled as party rockers in the vein of Andrew W.K. You won't go too wrong with that thought though, these beggars play hard rock with a bottle on the other hand and the instrument on the other, or so I can imagine. They're not too serious with everything, and you shouldn't be with hard rock. Beggars is a fairly large band with its three guitarists and seven members, and while their 80's influenced rock is done with style, their humorous side also shows in the band members names; Micko Hell-vocals, Tony Bite-guitar, Bazil Rockheart-guitar, Hardy Diamond-guitar, The Beast-drums, TT Branen-keyboards, Willie the Pimp-bass. Beggars somehow remind me of the Swedes Hardcore Superstar, but have more to offer than our neigbours, they aren't new on the scene, so they have a knack on the business. You might know the guys from bands like Denigrate, Twilight Opera and Gloomy Grim, a few examples here, but don't mix their music to Beggars, it's a case of its own.

Hard rock and the 80's usually crystalizes in Skid Row, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe and the likes, and Beggars (or MDB) also take inspiration from them, and much more. Why not also add on the list Hanoi Rocks, who were the influence to the bands above. "(I Forgot To) Die At 27" is a good example of a Hanoi-style track, Micko's vocals have that raspy Monroe sound to them here and the chorus is as catchy as Hanoi writes them at their best. He also sounds like Ville Valo (HIM) at times. Micko is a professional with vocals, he handles any given atmosphere, and quickly switches that raspy sound to something that a ballad requires or into something as dark and husky you would hear from Spike of The Quireboys. Each track has their own tricks to them, and they grow on each listen. The first spins keep you tightly listening to Micko, but when you've finally mastered the vocal brilliance on the album, the ambidextrous band gives you more challenge on the ears. More brilliance to the album gives the bands mixer Tuomo Waltonen, who has worked with various gold albums, and the album was mastered by Svante Forsbäck (Apocalyptica, Lordi, Sonata Arctica).

Artist Worxx / MusicBuyMail 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
25 September 2008

Hot on the heels of CrashDïet, Hardcore Superstar, The Poodles and Crazy Lixx comes another Swedish glam/hard rock band under the name of Neondaze. Unlike the aforementioned acts, the members of the band look like average joes, but the music is pure, sleazy glam rock. Catchy riffs, bad attitude and a gravel-throated vocalist on top of it all. Indeed, vocalist Marcus Lundgren came to the attention of band's main man Lars Boquist via a TV show in which he performed as Bon Scott of AC/DC - now that's a good qualification for a singer in a sleazy rock band.

Neondaze clearly show that the can write good, melodic glam rock songs, but unfortunately they haven't written an album full of them yet. "Intoxicated", "Live 4 Tonight" and "Million Miles" are all highly infectious songs, but there are a few too many fillers among the remaining tracks. Still, considering that this is the band's first effort, I believe that the band will only get better with age. The best tracks prove that they're onto the secret of mixing melody and raw rock'n roll to create killer glam rock songs. And guys, how about a bit bigger drum sound for the next album?

Neondaze.net
www.myspace.com/neondaze

SPV Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
18 September 2008

Just after his fascinating DVD "Sola Scriptura & Beyond" workaholic Neal Morse comes up with a new album already. The CD is called: "Lifeline" and it consists of 7 songs and for the first time it is not a concept album. You can hear obvious influences from his very early Spock's Beard work, influences from "Snow", his other solo albums and even from Transatlantic.

Mike Portnoy joins Neal again on drums and Randy George returns on bassguitar but I am rather disappointed by this album, espcially after his previous excellent CD, "Sola Scriptura". On "Lifeline" Neal Morse repeats himself too much, I have heard all the melodies and the solos before; in other words, there are no musical surprises whatsoever! However the album kicks off with the amazing title track, featuring a fantastic, altough very recognisable, musical intro, followed by those typical Morse passages and some really classic Spock's Beard stuff. "Can't Find My Way" is a rather mediocre semi-acoustic ballad, with those typical dramatic, religious lyrics.

Round Records/Cargo 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
19th September 2008

This is a bit of an oddity. Essentially, it's just what it says on the box – The Wildhearts live in the studio. Set up several cameras, let the band bash their way through their last, self titled, original studio album and release the result. Things aren't quite that simple, though. They never bloody are...

Tim Smith, director of the whole shebang, has made everything a bit surreal, as between tracks he likes to put in some rather odd captions. There's also snippets of the band taking about this and that, and again it's all more than a little odd. When the music's playing it's all rather spiffy, as the album is a good, heavy monsterpiece. Stop the music, though, and although entertaining it's just that bit too weird. Speaking of weird, there's also the potentially stomach churning video to “Destroy All Monsters” (and a making of) as well as the other single “The New Flesh”.

For Wildhearts fans this is certainly a worthy purchase, as it's a load of good music tied up with a glimpse into the band's strange heads. Everyone else should probably just buy the album.
www.thewildhearts.com

Retroactive Records 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
21 September 2008

Does anyone remember Max Headroom? He was an eighties' VJ with a short-lived career. The special thing about him was that he was computer-generated, an animated head with a robot voice. I thought he would have been "deleted" by now, but no... he has returned as a poor Ozzy impersonator in a Christian metal band!

Joking aside, this is a peculiar album. What you'll get is a selection of traditional metal á la 80'ies Ozzy with Christian lyrics, solid riffs and pounding beats but nothing particulary catchy or memorable. It's the vocals that will probably raise a few eyebrows... The vocalist of the band is actually Bill Menchen, a skilled guy who has done pretty much everything on the album except for drumming (Robert Sweet of Stryper pounds the skins), but maybe he shouldn't have tried to sing. It's somewhat alarming when his vocals are described as "monotonous and hypnotic" in the labels' own press release, but that's actually quite accurate. It remains a mystery whether Menchen can really sing at all, because the vocals on this album are heavily processed, drowned in metallic echo and tweaked to hit the correct notes. For one song that might have worked as a weird effect, but who wants to listen to a robot doing an Ozzy impersonation for 40 minutes or so? Klingons? File under "weird metal experiments".
band website

Bullroser Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
20 September 2008

Deutronomium is a death/trash/black metal band from Finland and musically there are a couple of things I enjoy on this album, but as soon as Miika Partala opens his mouth the fun for me is completely over. He does not sing he only grunts and to me this is horrible and I really cannot listen to this grumbling and screaming as none of the words can be recognised, making the lyrics completely redundant....

Most of the 9 songs are very fast with some great guitar riffs and even tempo changes but those vocals... Most remarkable track is the title track which clocks over 17 minutes, featuring female vocals, strings, guitar solos, heavy riffs and sad but true, again that horrible grunting. Not my cup of tea!!

Mikko Heino 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
20 September 2008

Who the hell is Mikko Heino?? After listening to this CD a couple of times I could not care less, as this album is mostly filled with acoustic guitar and weird vocals. After 3 songs I found it difficult not to press the stop button as I almost fell asleeep. Some of the songs, like "Big Relief" or "The End" even sound like some country & western stuff!!

The only track that features some electric guitar playing is called: "Map3 part 3", clocking over 10 minutes, and that song is also not very earfriendly or interesting to listen to. So, it is probably best to forget about this album as quickly as possible. Sorry Mikko, or not?

EMI 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
16th September 2008

Well, this was always going to be a tricky sell to certain people. I was amongst the skeptical when Brian May & Roger Taylor teamed up with Paul Rodgers, mainly because I thought that Queen & Paul Rodgers was a stupid name. Still do, actually, but “The Cosmos Rocks” has certainly softened my jaded old heart.

It may seem like an obvious thing to say, but this album ties in the classic Queen sound with the classic Rocgers sound effortlessly. It could so easily been a big mess,with both fighting for control, but thankfully there's plenty here for both camps to enjoy, often at the same time. What we haven't got is the overblown pomp that Freddie was known for, nor is there the deep, soul searching blues that Rodgers has been known to dabble with in the past. The closest we get to the latter are the duet of “Call Me” and “Voodoo”, which give the 14 track album a nice blues interlude. Elsewhere there's some cracking headlong rockers such as the single “C Lebrity”, “Cosmos Rockin” and “War Boys” that really get the toes tapping. The downside of this is that six of the tracks are slow ones, at least three too many. This means that the album is rarely allowed to get a decent head of steam up, although I have to say that some of them, such as “Small” and “Say It's Not True” are pretty decent songs. It's a given that the musicianship on show is pretty much faultless, and Rodgers doesn't put a foot wrong vocally, although he's not using the classic 'sore throat' style of his heyday, preferring a more straightforward rock voice.

“The Cosmos Rocks” is probably the best Queen album I've heard since “The Works”, mainly because Queen albums always seem to be too eclectic for their own good. As much as Mercury could be genius, he also wrote some bizarre rubbish as well. Rodgers addition to the writing team has forced out the pomp and ceremony and ushered in some genuine soul and hard rocking. Not a perfect album, but certainly a worthwhile reason to let them go on for a few more years at least, and good luck to 'em.
www.queenonline.com/

Snapper/Kscope 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
15 September 2008

Nosound? that's almost as stoopid as Noname or Nobrain. Ehem, nevermind my strange obsession for the monicker(s), since it's all about the music after all (really?). I haven't been properly introduced to the band in the past and it's clearly my loss. The Italians of Nosound released their debut album in 2005 (which I haven't heard) on some obscure label. Ditto regarding this very CD by the way, before Kscope decided to promote the lads to the big league.

They've managed to create a CD so unique and different from the usual old path of prog-rock, that's it's almost impossible to follow their footprints. No doubt, you can find a major influence in classic Pink Floyd. It's more or less a combination of 70's psychedelia, art-rock, 80's/90's ambient and contemporary alternative, progressive and post rock. Yep, you can throw a bunch of weird sub-cultures and genres to the pile of influences, it's still a CD that needs to be heard to be believed.

The overall soundscape is huge and atmospheric with haunting keyboards and big-sound guitar solos in the style of Pink Floyd. It's Brian Eno, Mike Oldfield, Porcupine Tree, RPWL, Yes, Sigur Ros, sitting on park bench in sunny Italy with too much wine and spare time on their hands. "Lightdark" will remind you of them all, yet there's something clearly different about these lads. The combination of cello, synth, piano, gives the CD a remarkable honest touch as well as a sign of great sadness. The closing title track is almost too much to bare in the long run, I do enjoy the 'Dire Straits' ending though (a Mark Knopfler guitar playing style of outro).

Frontiers 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
19 September 2008

Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow, Deep Purple, Fandango, Yngwie Malmsteen) is definitely the real deal. A classic hardrock vocalist with a classic ego complexity. A music career that spans some 35 years and over 50 album credits. I believe he's done some ten solo albums over the years and yet, this is the first live album of JOLT's(some of you may prefer the 'JLT' tag) solo career.

OK, listening through the 13 track disc on first take and WTF??? "Death Alley Driver", "I Surrender", "Power", Street Of Dreams", "Can't Let You Go", "Jealous Lover", "Stone Cold", "Can't Happen Here", Spotlight Kid" and "Burn"!? Dude, what ever happened to your solo stuff??? Again, don't get me wrong, I love the Rainbow stuff with Turner, but, c'mon, this was supposed to be the first live CD of his solo career, no? This is like any Rainbow concert of the early 80's minus Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover of course.

The band with long time collaborator Karl Cochran (Ace Frehley) on guitar are really doing a great work though. You don't miss Blackmore at all (let's face it - he's a trend starter - but hardly the best technical guitarist out there. Or, let's rather say the time caught up with him quickly - but he was indeed the original thing! the best of his time), and there's wonderful keys all over the place.

SPV/Steamhammer 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
11th September 2008

I've never been much of a fan of Metal Church, although in honesty this is because I've never heard a Metal Church album. As the band has been going on and off since 1984 this is a bit odd, but in my ignorance I just assumed they were another silly thrash metal band and ignored them. Yes, I know this makes me an idiot, but it's far from the most stupid thing I've ever done, which involved three vicars and a cart of mangos.

'This Present Wasteland' is Metal Church's 9th album, their third with current vocalist Ronny Munroe and first with Guitarist Rick van Zandt, who recently replaced Jay Reynolds. On first listening to the album my first thought was 'Hey, this isn't bad!'. Metal Church have some pretty impressive compositional skills to be sure, and Ronny Monroe has a pretty good set of pipes that at times sound like they're on loan from Bruce Dickinson, especially on 'Deeds Of A Dead Soul'. In general, the songs are riff based rather than overly melodic, although songs like 'Monster', 'Mass Hysteria' and 'Perfect Crime' inject more melody and are all the better for it. 'Mass Hysteria' has a driving, metal beat and attitude about it that is very Blaze Bayley, which is certainly not a bad thing. Good, honest heavy metal music, as is the rest of the album. It's hard not to like this sort of thing.

My first introduction to Metal Church has been a bit of an eye opener, really. There's not a duff track on 'This Present Wasteland', although some of the longer ones are in serious danger of outstaying their welcome. They band show that they can do your traditional metal plodders as well as more speedy singalong metal with equal competence, and in doing so have produced a decent album of guitar fueled metal monsters.
www.metalchurchmusic.com

SPV/Steamhammer 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
16th September 2008

Blimey, talk about ambitious! Uli Jon Roth doesn't do things by halves, people, as “Under A Dark Sky” is so shamelessly operatic and overblown it makes Nightwish look like a kindergarten class with tambourines and a triangle. Multi talented doesn't really come close to describing Roth, who plays all guitars and keyboards here, roping in no less than 8 vocalists to harmonize and lead only if he saw their voice as a perfect fit. Oh yeah, not t mention the 12 piece orchestra and another 12 bods on choir duty. Looking at the guest list I figured there was unlikely to be a song with the word 'Baby' in the title...

Let's be honest, “Under A Dark Sky” is not for everyone. This is a big assed operatic album with plenty of instrumental pieces more classical than rock. When done right, though, I find this sort of thing highly entertaining, and Uli Jon Roth has the talent and history to actually pull this off. In fact, I found that I preferred the instrumental pieces to those with full vocals, despite my non classical leanings. For me, the closest thing to classical was Ritchie Blackmore playing “Difficult To Cure”, and at times Roth gives the same vibe here as he meshes electric guitar with some uplifting orchestral pieces. The obvious standout is the 15 minute album closer “Tanz In Die Dammerung”, split into 12 parts and almost uniformly brilliant, a true achievement of composition that will have many prog fans weeing in their pants with joy. Elsewhere it can get a little slow, and I've been finding it hard to really muster up as much excitement as I would want to.

If your two passions are classical music and prog rock, this is an album you shouldn't be without. It's not one for the heavy rocker or AOR fan, but is a highly accomplished piece of musical art that will make a lot of people very happy indeed.
www.ulijonroth.com

Steamhammer Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
19th September 2008

Apparently Evergrey are very popular in Sweden, and though I've heard of them this is my first exposure to their music. They're described as 'Dark Melodic Metal', which sounds like something very depressing but with pretty tunes. A few spins of the disc later and that turns out to be quiet an accurate summation.

“Torn” has received a bit of a slagging from some people on the big wide webby thing, and I was expecting a bit of a travesty of an album, but it's really not all that bad. Whereas My Chemical Romance make great songs about depressing things, Evergrey make good songs about depressing things. It's sort of like a cross between MCR and HIM, with some good melody that is never quite allowed to escape the gloomy chains that hold it down. Mind you, to Emo kids this is probably about the happiest thing they'll hear all year, and the cover will make a great t-shirt.

I can't really go into to much detail on “Torn”. The songs are indeed dark and melodic, with the singing good enough and some very good guitars every now and then. The main problem is that, although good, it never makes the leap to great and that just means it's going to disappear out of my life and my iPod. Maybe I'll give it to the little Emo kid down the street...
www.evergrey.net

NL Dist 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
15 September 2008

The Story Is Far From Told"... but we've certainly heard it all before. Especially that darn song, "Here I Am", which has been featured on every friggin' Dominoe release ever since the 80's. It started out as a minor 1988 hit in Germany and it seems like they've been trying to recreate the moment ever since. Ehem, sometimes it's better to just let go and look to the future, you know, it's a tad desperate to include the same song over and over and over again (sigh!).

Looking past "Here I Am" (and 'Let's Talk About Life' for that matter), it's not all bad actually. With production duties handled by Robert Papst (guitars, bass), "The Story Is Far From Told" is a remarkably slick melodic hardrock album. It's borderline 'WestCoast' at times as they have this horn section (trumpet, baritone sax) on a couple of tracks. Baring all this in mind, it's not too hard to see what kind of audience they're aiming at. Yep, the middle aged hausfraus of the world ;-)

Bob Media Hammer Sound Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
6 September 2008

This is the first full CD of German hard rock/metal band Taletellers. These four guys are clearly influenced by bands like: Metallica, Turbonegro,WASP and Iron Maiden; hitting you straight in the face with their headbanging stuff. Most of the songs on this debut are up tempo tracks filled with more than average guitar work. But there are also some dirty rock and roll songs like: "Bad Motherfucker" or "Mean Machine".

"Vendetta" is a typical Iron Maiden-like track and maybe one of my favourites, but "Bring You Down" is a typical boring mid tempo rock track. The music on this album is more than average, however the vocals are really beyond average!! Alan Costa's voice is too nasal and too mediocre to give an extra dimension to this music. So, Taletellers should look out for another singer and then their music will certainly improve. With Costa this band will never be more than a typical German metal/rock band.

Snapper/Kscope 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
15 September 2008

I've just recently discovered Japan (earlier this year actually). Well... the band, not the actual country and all its fine culture. I find myself being truly fascinated by the weird early 80's Synth-Pop and "Tin Drum" is indeed a groundbreaking album. Richard Barbieri was the keyboardist back then and obviously a member of Porcupine Tree for the past fiftheen years.

Aside from recording and touring, Barbieri has also written articles on analogue synthesis for various publications and programs for music software and synthesiser manufacturers. In other words, expect a lot of outer worldly effects and a overall surreal agenda. It's difficult to nail down the exact formula of instrumental music such as this. However, "Stranger Inside", does hold a lot of nocturnal piano musings and spacey epics. The easiest way out would clearly be describing this as a mix of Japan and Porcupine Tree. It's however far from the entire truth.

Frontiers 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
18 September 2008

First of all, there isn't a shred of originality to be found *anywhere* on this record. Not a single note of post-1984 music (AOR). Not to mention that you have put up with a vocalist whom seriously thinks he's Steve Perry (Journey). Would this be a good or a bad thing? Well, I'm sure that some people will enjoy this quite a lot, if you fancy a second rate carbon copy of the 80's Journey stuff.

It's certainly not a CD to detest or hate. The musicians are simply too professional and Hugo Valenti (Valentine, Open Skyz) and Jorg Ramos (The Storm, Two Fires), are all good guys, I'm sure. But, simply take a look at some of the following song titles and you'll know what I'm talking about: "You're Not Alone", "All That I Wanted", "Fools Game", "Bring Back This Love", "I Don't Want To Say Goodbye", When You Get Lonely", "In The City".

LZ Records/NL Distribution 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
16 September 2008

Earlier this year Bonfire released "The Räuber" CD, which is essentially the "soundtrack" of the theatre performance of Friedrich Schiller's "Die Räuber". On this DVD you'll find 5 (!) hours of material, including the full live theatre performance, 9 Bonfire "videos" of the songs, Behind The Scenes material and a new video of the song "You Make Me Feel", which is from the band's first album originally. That's a lot to watch...

The mixture of Bonfire's hard rock and a German language play is a curious one. With my pretty non-existent knowledge of German the actual plot is quite impossible to follow, and to be honest, after a while I started skipping from track to track. I was surprised to find that Claus Lessman doesn't actually sing many of the songs, they've been given to the cast to perform. This probably ties the music to the plot a bit better, but the songs do suffer in the hands of the actors.

The second DVD contains the videos, which are basically edited from the performance material, with some added video effects. Not the most exciting material, but Ok. Funny how both of the ballads start with the same shot of Ziller's acoustic guitar... Can't say much about the little documents as they're all in German... I guess they're good. The new video for "You Make Me Feel" is a real nod to the band's past, with scenes from band's vintage 80'ies videos spicing up the Lessman-Ziller duo's performance.

This DVD is probably essential to everyone who saw the show, Bonfire completists, and German fans in general, who can understand the language. For the others...try Bonfire's "Live At Firefest" dvd first.

Bonfire.De

Shrunken Head Records 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
11 September 2008

Shrunken Head Records sent us two albums from the Canadian band PANIK. Their latest album "A Page Torn" has already been reviewed on this site a few years ago, when it was released in Europe by Escape Music. It's a solid melodic rock album, I gave it a 7/10 rating and you can read my original review here (click, click!). No need to re-write it because my thoughts haven't changed about it.

"Great Beyond" is an earlier album (1999), and if I didn't know, I'd swear that it's a different band. A much weaker band, playing dull grunge rock. These songs on "Great Beyond" are prime exaples of the sad state of rock in the late nineties - boring, repetitive tracks with no hooks. The "choruses" are mostly made up of two or three words sung again and again and again... Thankfully the band shaped up for the next release and improved their songwriting a lot. We'll see if there's a next album, and whether it'll make a major splash.
Panik website

Mercury Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
8th September 2008

As metal monsters go, it doesn't come much bigger than Metallica, and there are a lot of people out there (you know who you are) who have been on their knees praying that after the disappointment of 'St Anger' they will finally get the Metallica album they deserve. Well you can all get up and rejoice, because your prayers have most certainly been answered.

The album opens with a slow heartbeat, and I confess I was worried that it was going to be a bore fest of slow, ponderous Metalli-sloggers, especially since I had noticed that all but one songs was over six minutes long. As a fan of 'Ride The Lightning' and a hater of 'And Justice For All', I'm in the camp that wants Metallica to do what they do best: rock out. As 'That Was Just Your Life' got going I just sat with a big grin on my face, as it's a massively metal shouty pounding track, all riffs and breakneck drumming. I started skipping through the rest of the tracks and realized that this style was going to be the norm for 'Death Magnetic' not the exception. Happy happy joy joy.

Although only 9 tracks are on offer they go on for over an hour, each one a mini masterpiece of heavy metal. James Hetfield has lost none of his bile, spitting out the lyrics like he did way back on 'Kill Em All', except he's more masterful with his inflections these days. Drummer Lars Ulrich stands out as usual with some powerhouse drumming, driving every song forward with each whack. Also notable is the fact that there's an instrumental track, the ten minute long 'Suicide & Redemption'. It's a belter, too, filled with big ass guitars and tempo changes that stop it getting remotely boring. Elsewhere the band get all moody with 'The Unforgiven III', for me the poorest track due to it being too slow. If you want speed, look no further than frenetic album closer 'My Apocolypse', which reminded me of 'Blackened' - a superb song played at breakneck speed. The whole album is also filled with some great guitar solos, often several in one song, showing Kirk Hammett has lost none of his prowess.

It's been twenty five years since 'Kill Em All' played havoc with speakers and turntables, with Metallica releasing some bloody brilliant records and some painfully dull ones. 'Death Magnetic' is an album for those who like their Metallica raw, metal and loud as fuck. It's not all 100mph stuff, but overall it's a nice combination of the aggression of that debut album and the refinement of the black album, culminating in one of the best things they've ever done.
www.metallica.com

The Rain 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
6 September 2008

The Rain shocked the Finnish music scene recently (week 35/2008) by entering the national album chart at number two. I don't think that anyone would have expected a christian rock band to outsell the likes of Coldplay, Madonna and The Disturbed, but that's just what happened. And it happened without compromises - the band's message is just as upfront as on any of their previous three albums. A great way to celebrate the 20ieth anniversary of the band, and a proof of the vitality of the christian music scene here.

"Yhtä Kuin Voitto" isn't an album that will appeal to all of our readers. The Finnish lyrics will probably turn off some of them, and the religious message might be a bit too much for some of the ones who do understand Finnish. But for the ones who haven't jumped the ship by now... this album is definitely one worth checking out.

Over the years, The Rain have truly created a sound of their own. They have some eighties' hard rock elements, yet they sound totally up-to-date, with traces of modern metal, gothic rock, AOR, Finnish rock (I'm thinking of the likes of Yö, Apulanta and Dingo here) and whatever else. The songs have been armed with huge melodic hooks and superb backing vocal arrangements (by Sami Asp of Wingdom fame), Jussi Salo's guitars are suitably commanding, the keyboards add majestic textures and the rhythm section (Tatsi Haveri on bass and Pasi Hakala on drums) does a fine job too. The lead vocals are shared by the Haveri brothers Tatsi and Sami (keys), and while they both do a decent job, I prefer the higher-pitched and more versatile style of Sami. Curiously enough, he sometimes sounds a bit like much improved version of Toni Wirtanen of Apulanta, a singer who I don't really rate very highly.

Let's go through dome noteworthy songs on the album... The intro "1988" is one of the early recordings of the band if I'm correct, showing the band taking its' first, awkard steps. It leads into a 2008 version of the same song (titled "Ohiko Kuljet"), a slightly Maidenesque rocker with a strong chorus and cool interplay of keys and guitars. I guess the lyrics date back to the late eighties too, as they sound somewhat clumsy compared to the others. "Siivet" is more modern by nature, oddly reminding me of HIM although it really doesn't have much in common with them!? Superb chorus and background vocals anyway. "Haloo" starts massively with a bit of a Nightwish vibe, and continues to impress with a gigantic chorus. The bombastic "Vastavirrassa" has been chosen as the first video track (check it out on the band's site), and I think it's a good choice, a catchy track with a big "whoa whoa" chorus and lyrics that can be interpreted in many ways. "Muuta Minut" is probably the heaviest track of the album, a massive rocker with some modern metal touches and a chorus that rolls along like a freight train.

The second half of the album is slightly less impressive than the first one, but it's still chock full of good songs, with the quite AOR'ish "Kotiin" and "Kohti Maailmaa" and the excellent title track being the best ones. But enough of my babbling, check out the band's material via the links below and see for yourself. It's easy to say that this is the best Finnish christian rock album I've heard, but what's more, this is one of the best Finnish albums this year, period. "Yhtä Kuin Voitto" = "Equals Victory". Indeed.
The Rain website The Rain MySpace

Frontiers 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
8th September 2008

You know where you are with Bob Catley, I like to think. His voice seems to give any song that little extra something that many vocalists can't match. He doesn't scream or shout, he just sings in his own unique way, with the voice that has delighted so many Magnum fans over the years. On top of this, he's collaborated with some of Europes finest musicians on such projects as Avantasia as well as teaming up with several talented songwriters for his five solo albums.

For “Immortal”, Bob has teamed up with Magnus Karlsson, he of Starbreaker fame amongst other things. Whilst I enjoyed the recent Starbreaker album it wasn't the best I've heard, so it's a great surprise that “Immortal” features a dozen top notch tracks. Karlsson, who also contributes keyboards and a single guitar solo, has absolutely nailed the trick of writing to his vocalists talent, and after one listen it's hard to imagine anyone else singing any of the tracks. As he croons out the horribly catchy chorus of “End Of The World” it's like having an old friend round for tea and muffins. The whole thing is set firmly in melodic rock territory, with only a couple of slower numbers, including the very Magnum-esque album closer “Heat Of Passion”. The rest fairly whizz along, with great melodies and spot on guitar from Dennis Ward, who also does a great job with the production.

“Immortal” will delight lovers of pure melodic rock with it's catchy songs and smooth production. Magnum fans should also get a kick from hearing Bob get his tonsils round some exceptional songs. If you like stuff like Tyketto and haven't yet tried out Bob Catley then this is a great place to start. Still one of our best, most unique singers, Bob Catley has once again delivered a quality album with “Immortal” and long may he continue to entertain us.
www.bobcatley.com

Snapper/Kscope 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
3 September 2008

Truth be told, I haven't nearly been paying enough attention to Anathema in the past. I lost track of the band many moons ago and didn't quite see them as one of the major acts in their sub-genre of hard rock (goth/doom/prog). Hence why the title, "Hindsight", fits like a glove on this special occasion.

Sure, it's merely a 'best of' release, but it's stripped down to guitars, piano, strings, very acoustic, very humble. It strikes me how the new arrangements are opening up another dimension to the music of Anathema. It actually hurts to listen to tracks like "One Last Goodbye" or "Are You There". They are extremely powerful in their naked shape and colour and yet so utterly fragile.

Z Records 2008
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
8 September 2008

I may be getting old and soft because a few years ago I would have torn a band into zillion pieces with a name and an album title like these. If we take into account that the opening track is titled "Hold On" and there are all the other clichés like "Fire in the Sky" and "Need You Tonight" and "Time Stands Still", etc. etc. a 7/10 rating is more than flattery.

However the band is not as bad as you would guess at first sight or judging from the name and the above listed song titles. It's their second album and it's a solid effort of melodic rock with decent vocals, good songwriting, okay production, and memorable hooks. The first part of the album is rather Scandinavian influenced with lots of keyboards, simple riffing, and sing-along choruses. Towards the second part some moody and progressive elements appear that remind me more of the classic C.I.T.A. album "Relapse of Reason". Maybe with a reason... okay, I know it was cheap, sorry about that.

Personal favorites included the moody "Tears of the Innocent", the acoustic "Fire in the Sky", and the uptempo "Temptation". The band's website does not suggest good things coming as the vocalist is openly advertising for putting together a new band on the opening page; Z Records is not known for backing their bands up with huge marketing campaigns or promo tours anyway, so the band will most probably bite the ground sooner or later. Too bad because they showed some promise. Check them out at:
www.alibimusic.net

Locomotive Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
6 September 2008

The second album of former member and co-founder of Wasp, Randy Piper, is called "Virus" and according to Randy these 10 songs will smoke your ass!! This CD is more melodic and more aggressive than their debut and therefore easier to listen to; or should I say: more commercial?? "Cardiac Arrest" opens this album and it is an up tempo heavy in your face song with very raw vocals from Rich Lewis. The second song is one of the best tracks on the album featuring heavy guitar riffs, great solos, a catchy chorus and a very original end, featuring a real rockrap from Randy Piper's son Koldblooded.

The rest of the songs are mostly rather heavy, dirty and sleazy up tempo songs with lost of influences from bands such as Metallium, Motley Crue and Wasp. Of course "Zombie" is originally from The Cranberries and Animal's cover is much faster and heavier; but as I do not like covers... "L.U.S.T." ends this album and that one is also one of my favourites, filled with up tempo riffs and a great twin solo from Chris Laney and Randy Piper.

Artist Worxx / MusicBuyMail 2008
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
8 September 2008

It's hard to say anything about a band that is celebrating its 24th anniversary yet their album still contains numerous imprecisions. This Canadian outfit is definitely carved from the non-compromising type of wood; they still play, dress, and sound like AC/DC in 1972 or so. Studio technology has advanced considerably since then but you won't hear that on this album. It smells of the "let's plug it in and crank it out loud and see what happens" attitude but that's absolutely honest this way. The music they play needs this attitude otherwise it loses its heart and soul.

It's in-your-face stoner hard rock with hoarse, nasal vocals, rough guitar riffs and simple rhythm sections. The slow tracks show some southern rock influences but that may just be because of Phil Naro's voice sounding much better clean and singing.

I guess I have to say the only parts I really enjoyed were the acoustic ballads and the mid-tempo tracks. As for the crashing and the toughing I heard them all before and these tracks might rock hard live; but they failed to impress me on the disc. This is yet another band that is definitely much better live than on a CD so if you have the chance to check them out gigging near you, make sure to do so. Their website:
www.sarasin.ca

Frontiers 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
8th September 2008

It's been a six year wait since Crown of Thorns gave us the “Karma” album, and fans will be rather excited at the prospect of Jean Beauvoir and the boys coming back into the studio to finally give them a seventh album. Me, I was pretty intrigued, having seen them back in 1995 with Van Halen and Bon Jovi, but after living with “Faith” for a few weeks now I'm still not excited.

It all starts off pretty well, with the title track throwing in some atmospheric keyboards and cool, crunchy guitars. Beauvoir's vocals are as good as ever, high and with a hint of attitude, and the song flows along nicely. It's easily the best track on the album, which is a shame because it means that it's downhill from there on. There's a great track in “Rock Ready”, several sweet as a nut guitar solos and some catchy hooks, but try as I might I can't help getting pretty bored whenever I try and listen to it all the way through in one sitting. The main problem is the songs are in the main rather pedestrian, plodding along with no real energy – there's no “Lost Cathedral” here, just plenty of mid paced tracks that just don't light a fire under you. After a while, Beauvoir's voice just seems whiney, and the guitar solos become a major event that injects a bit of bollocks into the otherwise flaccid delivery.

I wanted to like this album, but it's just so bland I can't be arsed to listen to it yet again. There's much worse out there, but I expected much better from such talented guys.
www.myspace.com/crownofthornsusa

Alkemist Fanatix 2007
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
8 September 2008

The name, the title, the cover… okay, never judge a book by its cover but what is inside is –almost- as bad as what you see here. The record these Italian dudes delivered would have been embarrassing even in 1975. This is punk rock at its worst with awfully simple riffs, with vocal melodies as complex as nursery rhymes and as much originality as you'd expect from a band who managed to come up with a name like The Crooks.

The only funny part of the album is a weird cover of Madonna's "Material Girl". It's so very bad that it's almost good. The rest of the album is just filled with 11 other (on average) two and a half minutes long tracks and the four minutes long title track that is T-Rex at its worst meets an absolutely wasted Sex Pistols. You need some serious overdose to enjoy it.

I know Milan is a weird place (that is the least you can say about a city that loves Pippo Inzaghi…) but I can't believe it is weird enough to give this band a chance to get on by gigging. So I guess it's time to go back to work at the pizza ristorante on the corner.
www.thecrooks.it

RockVille 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
30 August 2008

"The Common Thread" here would be sophisticated soft rock and Keith Reid of course. The latter mostly known as the co-founding member of 60's act, Procol Harum. He's responsible for co-writing all those smash hits including all-time classic, "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" [which by the way 'Doro' absolutely butchered on one of her records - the worst cover version of a song, ever!!!].

Mr Reid has gathered together a impressive group of singer and songwriters to help him out with the project. Lead vocalists are: John Waite (The Baby's, Bad English), Chris Thompson (Mannfred Mann's Earth Band), New Jersey legend, Southside Johnny, Terry Reid, Steve Booker, Bernie Shanahan, Chaz Jankel, and Michael Saxell.

First to bat, John Waite and the opening track "In God's Shadow". A truly smashing midtempo tune/ballad, which just as easily could have been a Bad English song. It's very similar to those past hits and you might just recognize the by now familiar songwriting formula of Waite. Next, the original version of "You're The Voice", which John Farnham sang to the world in 1986. Reid co-wrote it together with Chris Thompson and the latter sings his heart out here.

The verse of the title track reminded me a lot of the Soul classic, "If You Don't Know Me By Now". Originally a Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes hit back in the seventies, Simply Red made it popular again in the late eighties. Sung by the great, Michael Saxell, this is definitely R&B/Soul in the old school of things. "Potters Field" is a marvelous acoustic guitar ballad inspired by traditional folk and rock music. Close your eyes and you can imagine this being done by Bruce Springsteen. "Venus Exploding" is another fine ballad sung by Bernie Shanahan and ditto regarding, "It Might Be Your Heart" (vocals: Chris Thompson), even if the latter is kinda' sappy though.

Locomotive Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
30 August 2008

Jam Pain Society is a band from North Carolina and consists of 4 guys and a female singer called Leah Kirby. Their highly original music is a mix of rock, metal, funk and even disco. Chris Hill, the main songwriter, guitarist and producer is mainly influenced by bands such as Led Zeppelin and Kiss. However I hear lots of influences from Zakk Wylde´s Black Label Society. The album is packed with heavy, catchy guitar riffs and the very dominant voice of Leah.

Songs like `Secret` or `7 Second Smile` are probably the best ones on this album, but I tend to get bored a bit with their mix of metal and disco after a couple of tracks. In fact I must say that I am not really a fan of female voices in the metal scene and that has nothing to do with sexism!!! Legendary Kiss guitar picker Ace Frehley can be heard on `The Ride`, so maybe this album is also a must for Kiss lovers.

FS 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
31 August 2008

"G'day mate, we come from the land down under, can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder, you better run, you better take cover". Oh blimey, lock up your daughters, get ready to fight, the mad max Aussie's are attacking tonight. Gee, I know what you're thinking already, yet another Oz band that sounds exactly like AC/DC? Well, yes, and no. Fallen Silver does play the tribute to the pub rock scene and all its three chord weirdness.

Nontheless, these lads do actually sound more like Rose Tattoo than Acca Dacca, and before you ask, yes, there's clearly a difference between the Bon Scott and the Angry Anderson material. The latter was/is more of punk and their music had a slightly more vicious agenda and overall formula.

Locomotive Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
30 August 2008

Level-C is a full female band and their music bears influences from bands like Pantera and Machine Head, meaning that these girls really kick some serious metal ass! Their debut album is rather melodic, powerful and filled with lots of decent guitar work. "Relax" has a high Soulfly feeling and is dominated by the clean vocals of Christine Maynard. "No Control" has a smashing in-your-face chorus while "Chain Reaction" is rather trashy and brutal.

"Back To My" is a real live killer as it is filled with lots of headbanging riffs, while "Bully" and "Blackout" even have real metalcore characteristics. The album ends with the rather slow song "Misery". So, bands like Kittie, Girlschool and maybe even Arch Enemy, eat your heart out with Level-C!! Rock on, girls!!

Shrunken Head Records 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
2 September 2008

Judging this "book" by the cover and the title, I was expecting something completely different than what this turned out to be. The Plague (dodgy monicker or what!) could've been just as well a ultra-sleazy glam band or horrendous cookie monster metal act. Instead, I was served a portion of pretty traditional heavy rock, with similarities to Black Sabbath (Headless Cross-era), Badlands, Dokken and XYZ.

The Plague's songs have their moments, but only a couple of them stand out. Buried to the second half of the album are two rather good melodic hard rock songs, namely "Cry" and the ballad "So Far Away". I do wonder though whether the band likes them, since they've been given the "filler" places in the tracklisting - somewhere towards the end but not quite the closing numbers...

The band consists of very skilled musicians, especially vocalist Eric Summers (if he is the singer - read on) has a fine set of pipes. The production varies from track to track, from pretty good to pretty muddy. This leads me to believe that the album is actually a collection of demos or something. The bio certainly doesn't shed any light into it. The bio actually makes things even more confusing, as suggests that the band's vocalist is actually a dude called Jeff Hardy... In the booklet it's Eric Summers who gets the credit. Oh well.

Shrunken Head Records 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
2 September 2008

This is the third album from the Shrunken Head Records I've reviewed and it's also the third to feature James MacEachern on guitar. A versatile guy, as all three releases are quite different to each other. As an interesting sidenote - he's also the president of the label.

Slang was an active band from 1997-2003, and this album was apparently recorded and first released during their heyday in 2001. The band has recently regrouped, and this album has been now re-issued.

"Sonic Graffiti" is an album full of simple glam rock tracks which remind me of acts such as Poison and Hanoi Rocks but frankly they are not nearly as good. The opening track "United" is a fine glam anthem, but it's all downhill from there. Songs like "It Ain't Ez Being Sleazy" and "In Your Face" could be attitude-filled sleaze rock tracks, but on this album they sound just way too polite to be credible. The band seems to be more at home when churning out Rick Springfield'ish pop rockers like "Must Have Been A Fool" and "Unsung Heroes", although they don't have his knack for a killer hook.

Anyway, while this album doesn't impress me, I'm curious to hear where the band is heading with their next effort, which is in the works. Bigger hooks, more attitude and grittier sound is what might work for them.

Limb 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
30 August 2008

Ahh, the Czech Republic - the land of the best beer in the world... and annoying metal in the worst tradition of Rhapsody (Of Fire). I never got the hang of Italy's spoof metal band #1, unless they just intended to irritate as many people as possible? These lads were previously known as Nemesis and you can find a review in our archive.

Could/can a change of monicker also be a change for the better? Perhaps, albeit, no such luck this time. Symphonity are still belting out fast, symphonic/progressive, power metal tunes in the annoying tradition of Rhapsody, Stratovarius, and Dionysus. The latter not so strange as they've recruited vocalist Olaf Hayer (Dionysus, Luca Torelli) among their ranks.

Shrunken Head Records 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
31 August 2008

Bummer, I guess it's my own darn fault for trying. I don't mind 'country', not at all, modern era, since it's basically 80's melodic rock in disguise. However, this is grandpa' country, you know, the lame-azz stuff which James Hetfield of Metallica used to rave about in the past.

One quick glance at the cover is all you need really. Yep, they sure do sound as butch as they look. We have our own brand of this kind of 'art' here in Scandinavia. It's "dansbands" music and it's strickly for the old folks who go dancing. And yes, the music groups do have these similar kits and outfits too, hilarious. Anyone who joins a 'dansbands' group has basically already given up all his/her dreams of ever being a rock/pop/star. You can still make a decent living as a dansbands musician though (you probably make a lot more than as a hardrocker - you merely have to give up your identity, pride, and soul).

Angelmilk 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
24 August 2008

Opening track, "What's Victoria's Secret", pretty much sets the pace and standard for "Venus In Overdrive". Rick's clearly been going through a certain undies catalogue a lot lately as well as his own background. Indeed, it's basically a shameless display of power-pop melodies in his best 80's tradition. However, the overall sound is very 'fresh' and updated to present date. This could easily have been a #1 world-wide top seller, you know, if Rick had been in his twenties and/or a skater-boy. Now it's "merely" a top-30 album in the states. His best selling album since the 80's and surely his best too.

This is probably the power-pop album of the year... and it's merely a shame that Springfield's so out of touch with the youth of today [;-)]. Well, most of them wouldn't touch this platter with a ten feet pole anyhow, simply because the artist is older than their parents. But, there's not a whole lotta difference between this and the music of Avril Lavigne, Fall Out Boy, etc. Seriously, "I'll Miss That Someday" is straight from the high-school pop of little Avril. Well, rather the opposite of course.

The opening track may at times remind you of "Jessie's Girl". However, the rest are all rather "original" and not too similar of his other songs (and yet just similar enough to please old fans). It's difficult to not get drown in by such frolicking as "One Passenger", "Warning Shots", "Time Stand Still", "Mr PC". They quickly becomes the CD's greatest strenght by keeping the listener awake with catchy choruses and fun guitar work. "Oblivious" has a major goosebumps warning sign written all over it. It's one of those perfect power pop ballads where Rick sings close to falsetto at times.

TC08 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
25 August 2008

Bloody'ell, it's Power-Pop armageddon in the hands of Brighton's, Two Choices. According to the info sheet, the U.K. four-piece formed in 1998, at the age of 14, and they've played in excess of 400 gigs throughout the UK and Europe. Jolly good, fish & chips, and high-five all around.

"Longest Journey" is their debut mini-album/EP and it's filled with catchy numbers in the grand tradition of guitar driven power-pop. Brimming with harmonic subtletly and finess, occasionally firing hard rock rounds, and overall sing-a-long choruses, Two Choices delivers music that goes straight to the heart.

I'm really fond of the classy lead vocals by singer 'Ash'. He's actually quite similar in both style and approach to a certain Mark Rankin of GUN fame (Taking on The World, Gallus, Swagger). Very professional and add merely a touch of Savage Garden lush and you're even closer to home. All seven tracks here are winners in my books and it's a lovely mish-mash of melodies in the style of GUN (Taking On The World), Savage Garden, and merely just a hint of Blink 182. Opener, "Take Your Hands Off Me", simply oozes of sheer power-pop class in the style of GUN meets Savage Garden. "Get Away" kicks into gear with a wicked guitar riff by 'Tom' and it's once again the rock of early GUN on display here.

AOR-FM 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
23 August 2008

Hardly, "Frontpage News", anylonger as this is a reissue of the Thrills second album. Originally released back in 1981, and recorded during a rather innocent time and era of rock, you wouldn't really expect anything less than a close to naive sound and performance.

"You Don't Remember Me", a fun little AOR jingle that sings of total mayhem and utter destruction, nah, it's typical lyrics of the genre, shock full of melody and harmony. Rather similar in both style and formula to the songs of Spys (Spys, Behind Enemy Lines). The same goes for the following two tracks, "Don't You Know" and "Tonight". However, "Follow Your Dream", moves in a shimmering light of the late 70's Pomp tendencies and the lushy keyboards of Roadmaster, Zon, Hobbit. A strong chorus part and excellent vocals by Tony Monaco, gives this close to full marks though.

Steamhammer Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
26th August 2008

So here it is, the traditional Motorhead review, where I say that it's just another Motorhead album and you all go out and buy it with soppy grins on your faces, knowing that Uncle Lemmy won't, indeed can't, let you down. “Motorizer”, at the same time a terrible and brilliant title, is number 24 in a list that will probably go one as long as Lemmy is drawing breath, and yes, it is just another Motorhead album. Told you.

One of the most endearing things about Motorhead is that they are genuinely hard to dislike. Forget the individual characters, three men who may as well have (and may indeed have) 'Hevvy Metul Roolz' tattooed across their collective buttocks, it's the music that does the growling. Just about any Motorhead song played in a darkened club at earwax melting volume will get your head banging and your voice growling, with perhaps the occasional fist thrust into the air. Regardless of anything else, that image, that experience, is at heart what Motorhead is all about.

When you listen to Iron Maiden you want some clever lyrics and time changes, and even Judas Priest have now dabbled in a concept album. Motorhead are, for want of a better word (and there is none) are Motorhead. If I had to describe Motorhead in three words, those words would be 'Motorhead, Motorhead, Motorhead'. Get the piccy here? Like Wolverine, they are the best at what they do.

“Motorizer” is pretty good at what it does, with some interesting songs. “When The Eagle Screams” is a top notch war thriller, whilst “Rock Out” takes itself about as seriously as Scooby Doo. “English Rose” has quite a catchy refrain (for Motorhead) and album closer “The Thousand Names Of God” is a real barnstormer built for headbanging. The real teast will be to hear them live, and I have no doubts whatsoever that whichever tracks are picked for the setlist will sound meatier and more metal than on the disc. It's not producer Cameron Webb's fault, it's just that Motorhead songs always sound better live. If you are a fan, “Motorizer” will not disappoint, and it's even a good starting point for new kids on the Motorblock. There's no “Killed By Death” or “Ace Of Spades” here, but there are 11 good tracks that should keep the monster going for another year.
www.motorhead.com

CafFine 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
23 August 2008

Whatever happened to Dutch singer Robert Soeterboek of Wicked Sensation fame? Well, look no further as this project is led by the gifted shouter and U.S. guitarist Alan Cotton (thus why the 'Cotton Soeterboek Band' monicker). This is frankly just a great 'Southern Rock' CD and it's definitely up there among the major acts releases of the genre as of lately.

I must confess that I never-ever thought of Soeterboek as a 'Southern' vocalist. However, his performance is quite stunning and not to mention soulful. And it does sound American, hell, it's probably more 'American' sounding than most of those 'real' southern folks and acts.

The music may not be the most 'original' material as of lately. But... it's okay to be cliche' as long as you're doing it with the passion and attitude of these guys. They pay tribute and respect to each and every act from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, to late 70's Whitesnake, and back again to the Allman Brothers. It's roaring hammond's (piano/keyboards), ultra heavy blues guitars, loud drums, and pumping bass-lines.

BWidow 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
20 August 2008

Who or what the heck is J.C. Cinel? At first I thought it to be a new cigarette brand (nah, you must be thinking about Camel), but it turns out that 'J.C.' is in fact an independent, Italian, soft-rocker (pretty close to puff in other words). He's been going at it for the plus twenty past years and "Before My Eyes" is merely one of his many projects throughout the times.

His music is a strange, but rather nice, mix of WestCoast/Country (The Eagles, Doobies), southern rock (Allman Brothers), and 70's singer/songwriter pop stuff (America). The sound has been rather well received over in Nashville as he's been over there for a short tour, and the music can be found on Nashville independent music site.

Shrunken Head Records 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
16 August 2008

Now here's a tricky one. Straitjacket are a cover band, who play old hit songs and turn them into "kick-ass rock anthems".I'm not so sure whether I'd call these songs anthems, but most of the versions do have more "crunch" than the originals. All band members are seasoned musicians from the Canadian music scene, so it comes as no surprise that they've managed to add their own flavour into these songs. Had these been faithful replications of the originals, there wouldn't have been much point to the whole album, would there?

The interesting arrangements, cool guitar work and fine vocals make this much more enjoyable than I first thought it would be. The band's versions of Police's "King Of Pain" and Rick James' "Superfreak" are much more to my liking than the originals, and they do a good job on the others as well. Okay, The Monks' punk parody "Drugs In My Pocket" or Steely Dan's "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" and a few others would require a lot more tweaking for me to like them...

Finest moments: Tommy Tutone's "867-5309 (Jenny)" and the hilarious "Wayne's Studio" outtakes in which the band spoof Canadian heroes Triumph and Helix.

Firefest Productions 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
23rd August 2008

For those of you that have been living under a rock for the last few years, Firefest is a UK festival organized by Fireworks magazine, attempting to give us poor Brits some decent quality AOR for a change. Last year they coaxed FM out of retirement, and also dragged the legendary Valentine over to put on a show.

Some bright spark had the idea of filming the bands last year, and after a long wait some DVDs are now available in limited amounts. This is the first, and it's certainly a professional piece of work. Valentine's whole set is included, which means you get eight of their own tracks, such as “Find A Way”, “If You're Ever Lonely” and “None Of It Matters”, plus their traditional closer “Carry On My Wayward Song”. There's not much to fault, as the band are extremely tight, with vocalist Hugo's crooning prompting the other half to ask if I was watching a Journey DVD! It's a great listen, made into a great watch by some good camerawork and very clear visuals. If you're a Valentine fan this is a must for your collection.

In addition to the Firefest set, there's also a poorer quality recording of a 1994 Open Skyz gig from Minneapolis which again features an entire set, notably the otherwise unrecorded “Soul Salvation”. Whilst this isn't as well made as the main gig, it's still a good show and the sound quality doesn't leave you wanting. Topping off the package is a CD version of the main gig so you can have it on your iPod as well. Very nice overall, and a good indication that the FM DVD (out soon) is going to be well worth having as well.
www.thefirefest.com

Planethard 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
16 August 2008

Good things first: the band's name is pretty cool, so is the album title and the artwork. The album is quite well produced, and the band isn't too bad either. They've learned their chops by playing hard rock covers, and have supported several big names of the genre.

Then the less good things... and I believe this will come as recommendation to many: vocalist Marco Sivo sounds like a cross between Jakob Samuel of The Poodles and W. Axl Rose. Both of them are singers whose voices I don't particulary enjoy, and unfortunately Marco sounds as if he's the combination of the worst elements of the two - his voice is screechy and high-pitched. It'd take a special song for me to overlook that, and I'm afraid Planethard do not have such songs. A few of the songs are decent enough - "Unchain My Heart" and "Without Words" for instance - good melodic hard rock. However, for every decent song there's a weaker song that makes me think of all those one-video wonders from the early nineties... bands who had the look and the sound but not the songs.

If Planethard work on their songwriting and Marco Sivo tones down his Axl'isms, Planethard might come up with a good album one day, but for now, they haven't won me over.
www.planethard.net
MySpace page

TS 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
22 August 2008

Regain 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
22 August 2008

This sure takes you back in time, it does. Think in terms of mid-90's, a wasteland, pre-internet (or at least before the www as we know it today), MTV had control of *all* music and they basically decided to kill off rock. Not to mention that mad Norwegian church burners ruled Scandinavia. Yup, that's exactly the kind of feeling you'll achive as you play the CD by Blackwinds. It's sheer and utter boredom in its worst manifestation.

the It Bites Music Partnership 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
14th August 2008

It's hard to believe that it's nearly 20 years since the last It Bites album “Eat Me In St Louis” showed the band moving towards a rockier sound, drifting away from the proggier influences found on the superb “Once Around the World”. The band had managed to forge a formidable reputation with the release of only three albums, and when singer/guitarist Francis Dunnery left for solo pastures the band was all but over. One thing I never thought I'd hear would be a top class It Bites album without Dunnery's trademark vocals, but bugger me backwards if that isn't exactly what they've delivered here.

The first thing that strikes about “The Tall Ships” is the packaging. Considering it's been released under the bands own label, it's pretty cool. There's a full colour lyric booklet inside the handsome digipack, containing some striking photographs courtesy of Paul Tippett. With piracy like it is these days, it's a package that rewards the paying customer, and that's good to see. Unusually there's no pictures of the band, except in silhouette.

The big story here is the new frontman who, like Dunnery, plays guitar as well as handling vocals. Some of you may know John Mitchell from his days with Arena and Kino, but for me he's the bloke out of The Urbane, who recorded a great album some years back. The other change has been the recent departure of bassist Dick Nolan, but Mitchell is the one who's going to get all the attention. To be honest, it's all good news, as he has structured his guitar playing to fit right in with the It Bites sound although his vocals aren't as iconic as Dunnery's, he has absolutely no problems adapting to different song styles. There's not so much of the vocal tics that Dunnery brought to the table, but the music more that makes up for it.

Ah, the music. Between them, John Mitchell and keyboard maestro John Beck have created some amazingly complex but catchy tunes, aided in no small part by Bob Dalton's intuitive drumming. This is, without any shadow of a doubt, an It Bites album. Opening track “Oh My God” has the trademark layered melodies, screeching guitar line and catchy chorus of the likes of “All In Red” or “Midnight”, without simply copying either. “Ghosts” is a fast paced melodic rocker more reminiscent of the Urbane, but with Beck's keyboards pushing it more into an It Bites direction. Fans of “Kiss Like Judas” will delight when they hear the opening bars of “Lights”, a brilliantly catchy track that would have been right at home on “Once Around The World”, and having mentioned that album, this one ends with a fantastic 13 minute wander through song styles that is “This Is England”, compatible to the earlier albums title track, if not quite as dramatic.

“The Tall Ships” doesn't contain a single duff note in over an hour of music. John Mitchell has proved to be an inspired choice, working in complete harmony with the It Bites style. I know that this album is going to be at the top of my playlist for a long time, and I have no hesitation in calling it the best album of the year so far, a treat for all fans of the band, prog rock, hard rock and basically any kind of music that makes you play air instruments and smile. On a par with “Once Around the World”, “The Tall Ships” takes the It Bites legacy and runs with it, with I for one being over the moon to see them back once more.
www.itbites.com

Inside Out Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
11 August 2008

The Spock's Beard albums "Feel Euphoria"(2003), "Octane"(2005) and "Spock's Beard"(2006) have certainly proved that The Beard has got more than enough musical talent and potential even without Neal Morse. Spock's Beard is still one of the best prog rock bands in the world and they prove that with this outstanding DVD. This album was recorded in "de boerderij" in Zoetermeer, The Netherlands on 25 May 2007 and it contains 19 amazing progressive rock tracks. The soundquality of this DVD is superb and classic SP songs like e.g. "In The Mouth Of Madness" and "Thoughts Part 2" even sound better than ever before...

The band is really at its best and they seem to enjoy themselves rather well on the Dutch stage of the Boerderij and the result is that I can truly say that this is one of the best DVDs I have seen this year! Musical highlights, for me, are: "On A Perfect Day"(super melodic), "The Slow Crash Landing Man"(with real goosefleshmelodies), "Surfing Down The Avalanche"(up tempo prog rock at its best) and the fantastic prog rock epic: "As Far As The Mind Can See'. Of course we are also "treated" to the well-known, redundant drumduel and the solospot of keyboardplayer and clown of the band Ryo.

Round Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
17th July 2008

Trust The Wildhearts to come up with a covers album that contains fifteen tracks many people will never have heard of. Okay, so maybe you'll be familiar with three or four, but it's a dedicated obscure band fanatic who will have the lot. Mind you, that's exactly why the band have covered them. They not only want us to enjoy the album, but also to ferret out the original versions for ourselves. A brave plan, but then again Ginger and the mob have never shied away from a challenge.

Interestingly, each member of the band has a go at vocals at some point on the album. Ginger gets the lions share with eight tracks, but it;s good to hear drummer Rich have a bash, coming out with his pride unscahed with “Ice Hockey Hair”, originally by the Super Furry Animals. Perhaps the biggest surprise is bassist Scott Sorry, who does a fine job on Fugazi's “Waiting Room”, but saves his best 'til the last track,, absolutely nailing a punked up version of Warron Zevon's “Carmelita”. One of the nice touches here is the sleeve notes, with comments from each band member on each track, letting us know why it was chosen, with everyone having pitched ideas for their own obscure favourites. This is labeled as “Vol 1”, and you just know that there's plenty more songs that just wouldn't fit on the CD.

The best track, for me, is the very Wildhearts-ish “Understanding Jane”, originally by The Icicle Works, a song that was apparently the blueprint for “My Baby Is A Headfuck”. Elsewhere, CJ sings his heart out on The Decsnendents' “Pep Talk”, and we get a rather unexpected cover of “Battleship Chains”, widely regarded as the Georgia Satellites finest moment. Also included are songs by Lee Harvey Oswald Band, Baby Chaos, Soul Asylum and an instrumental by Foil (“AC Rocket”) which opens the album. The real triumph here is that “Stop Us If You've Heard This Before” would rank amongst the best Wildhearts albums if you didn't realize all the songs were covers. The band have stamped their own mark on all of them, whilst still showing the utmost respect for their heroes. Farand away the best covers album I have ever heard, this is an absolute must for fans of the band and obscure punky things in general.
www.thewildhearts.com

Major League Productions 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
14th August 2008

Before Thin Lizzy crashed through into the big leagues with “Jailbreak” in 1976, they toured like mad bastards in 1975 promoting their “Fighting” album. One show on that tour was at Derby College, recorded and mixed on the night for radio broadcast. It will be no surprise to learn that the tapes have lain dormant all these years until now, because here's the live Thin Lizzy album that you never knew you wanted, completely remastered under the supervision of what's left of the band.

The 'sigh of relief' moment here is the undeniable quality. I was half expecting a seventies bootleg quality mess, but the sound is as good as any live album, and that includes the obvious comparison “Live & Dangerous”. Having brought it up, there are bound to be people who own that and are wondering why they should buy this. If nothing else, there's several tracks that have never been released live before. “Fighting My Way Back”, “It's Only Money”, “Wild One” and “For Those Who Love To Live” open the album, all of which are live virgins, so that's nice. Along with this, you get over 9 minutes of “Still In Love With You”, a great Brian Downey drum solo, an early, untitled version of “Cowboy Song”, the very little heard “Little Darling” and the original soundcheck blues jam from the night, thanks to an alert sound engineer.

The CD itself is nicely packaged, with the inner sleeve covered in live photos. Many more fill the 20 page booklet inside, which also features a few notes from Downey on the recording. The band are on fine form throughout, with Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson, delivering riffs, twin guitar leads and solos faultlessly. Lynott himself doesn't miss a beat, with his voice young and strong, eager to impress and doing so with every song. The track list is so eclectic and full of rarities, such as “Me & The Boys” and “Showdown”, that it really is a must buy for fans of the band. Trust me when I say this is no cash in or rip off live album, it's a great slice of Lizzy history.
www.thinlizzylive.com

Frontiers Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
25th July 2008

It's time for melodic rock fans to get excited again, as the ever talented Danny Vaughn has returned with his From The Inside project for another crack at the AOR World Title that most people have decided is his anyway. Following on from 2004s debut, he once again teams up with Fabrizio Grossi to produce an album that is sure to gladden the hearts of anyone who lives for melody and passion.

Of course, the selling point of the album is Vaughn himself, possessor of one of the best sets of vocal chords in modern rock music, and he doesn't disappoint. It's been 22 years since he surprised everyone on Waysted's legendary “Save Your Prayers” album (if you haven't got it, get it), and over the years he's retained the quality in his voice that so attracted people to that album. As well as the voice, however, we also have to have some decent music, and it's really no surprise that “Visions” delivers in spades. The aim here was, apparently, to make a Journey-esque type of album, which is a pretty decent challenge to lay down to yourself.

Apart from Vaughn and Grossi it's a totally different line up, with kudos handed out to House Of Lords guitarist Jimi Bell for some stunning yet non intrusive solos throughout. Eric Ragno handles himself well on keyboards, too, with Grossi's production making sure every instrument knows it's place in the mix. The songs themselves are all of the highest quality, with no fillers evident in nearly an hour of music. If you close your eyes you really could imagine Journey doing many of them, although Vaughn is no Perry clone. It's the songs that are so polished that they wouldn't do a disservice to Journey, and that's quite a compliment. It's your basic mid tempo melodic rock, thankfully not overburdened by ballads, and though occasionally it can all get a little samey, there's generally a hell of a lot to appreciate about this album.

“Visions” is an album that will be drooled over by existing fans of Vaughn and his oh so silky voice. There's good hooks, catchy choruses and perfect AOR guitar and keyboards. It's an identikit melodic rock album made by people who really know what this sort of thing is all about. On top of that it's got a white tiger on the cover, and I'm always a sucker for tigers. If you've never encountered Vaughn and like your music to be so silky you could make a dress out of it then you really should start here and work your way through his back catalogue. A good demonstration of the art of melodic rock.
www.dannyvaughn.com

Locomotive Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
9 August 2008

This is Lanfear's fifth album, featuring new singer Nuno Miguel de Barros Fernandes (ex-Anguish). The 11 new songs on this CD are all good compositions, very diverse and musically interesting. But still there is something missing and I cannot put my finger on it, maybe it is Lanfear's own musical idendity that I miss... I have listened to this album a lot but I miss something and therefore it is very hard to write this review. It certainly is not a bad album and I truly like songs like: "Enter Dystopia" or "The Question Keeper", both are very melodic and feature great vocals.

Musically speaking this German band reminds me of Evergrey and Dali's Dilemma and so if you like these bands then you should give this album a chance. Best songs are: "A Twin Phenomenon" (very experimental) and "Enter Dystopia"(melodic power metal) but I have difficulties listening to the entire album in one take... Maybe it is just me and I have it got all wrong as it seems that I am in a love/hate relationship with Lanfear at this moment. I am convinced that there is a great musical potential within this band,but somehow it does not really get out in their music so far.

Tindra 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
7 August 2008

Yeah, I know, but please don't judge a CD by its cover. If we did, this CD surely would have been gone with yesterday's trash. Reading through the lyrics we noticed: "It's Time to walk the wire. If you're waiting for the change, you might be stuck in a lie". Bloody'ell, finally a CD that will change around you world completely. Ok, sarcastic mode off, "It's Time" to get down to business.

Anders Norman is a blank paper in my book(s) of rock'n'roll. I haven't heard about him in the past and it's probably for the best anyhow. In fact, this is his debut release and it's quite a remarkable one. I'm not going to lie to you, the music is at times v-e-r-y similar to Tony Carey (Rainbow) and his mid-80's sound (Some Tough City, Blue Highway). Not that strange perhaps, considering that Carey is responsible for production as well as playing most of the instruments.

It's a laidback album in other words and most of the tracks border to Pop/Rock or Westcoast anyhow. For instance, "You Say You're Loving Me", will definitely remind you of Per Gessle (Roxette) during his most laidback moments (which took place in the 80's and sung in Swedish). The smooth rock of "We're Free" was composed by Tony Carey, however, the rest of them (10 tracks) are all the work of Norman. "Visionary Man" is a 50/50 mix of the laidback approach of Gessle & Carey. Opener, "Come On Angel", kicks off with a typical keyboard intro by Carey and it's so much "Blue Highway" that it's a borderline case of theft. Norman's singing voice has clearly been influenced by Carey, Gessle, and it's overall a very cozy experience.

Photon 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
11 August 2008

"Power Thunder And Steel" - Rychus Syn are one of those cult underground acts of the New York City club scene of the late 80's. They released an EP titled "License To Kill" in 1989 and began playing bigger venues opening up for acts such as Pantera, TT Quick, Rondinelli, etc. There's no happy ending though as they disbanded before they were about to record their second release in the very early 90's.

Their 5-track vinyl EP has become a real collectors item over the years. There's also been a bootleg CD release on Racer Records titled '"Hard And Heavy Rarities Volume 11". Thus why the lads decided to give it another shot at fame and glory. Dan Reid (vocals), Drew Maniscalco (guitars), Damone (bass), and Greg Maniscalo (drums), re-record the five EP tracks, plus another five new ones.

Motley Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
8 August 2008

I never was a real Crue fan and albums such as "Girls,Girls,Girls"(1987) or "Dr.Feelgood"(1989) never made it into my top ten rock albums,however their new album is truly their best album ever. It is tale of dirty needles, damaged minds, music industry battles and a whole lotta sex based on our stories from the Crue/biography `The Dirt`, as Nikki Sixx describes it so metaphorically. With this record the `dirtiest` band in the world retuns to the eighties but then with a much more modern sound. Of course it is still pop-rock glam metal with some punk influences, but all the songs are very energetic and powerful and all have a really forceful drive. These songs are great to listen to in an open car with the volume on max!!

The title track for instance is a musical mix of songs like: "Kickstart My Heart" and "Dr.Feelgood" and it really rocks, while "Chicks= Trouble" really reminds me of their monster hit "Girls, Girls, Girls". This whole album is just dirty heavy rock and roll and I never thought that I would really like/love a Crue album like this one.

"Saints Of Los Angeles" is doing overtime in my car cd player and I can not get enough of it. The Crue is back and with a vengeance, I would say. My favourite songs are: "This Ain't A Love Song" (This is a fuck song) and "Motherfucker Of The Year" and that is mainly due to the extraordinary lyrics of those two songs; check it out!

Inside Out Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
8 August 2008

Ephrat is an extremely promising prog rock band from Israel and their debut album is an absolute must for fans of Pain Of Salvation, Porcupine Tree and Evergrey. The main musical influences from Ephrat range from Yes, Rush and Pink Floyd up to Metallica, Megadeth and Dream Theater. In addition there are cross references to the band's native country, Israel.So you get a blend of European and ethnic progressive music mixed by workaholic Steven Wilson.

On this album there are guest performances of no on less than Daniel Gildenlow of Pain Of Salvation ("The Sum Of Damage Done") and Petronella Nettermalm("Haze" and "Real") of Paatos. However the best songs on the album are the ones without these two singers.... Especially the instrumental song "Blocked" is THE absolute highlight of the CD; featuring great riffs, melodic guitar solos and also some magical Eastern-like musical influences.

The opening song "The Show" is also an amazing track filled with great guitar melodies, metal riffs, acoustic guitar parts and Porcupine Tree like stuff; a great song to start an album with. "Haze" is a rather weird song that reminds me of Portishead and Bjork mainly due to the female voice of Nettermalm; a voice that is not really my cup of tea.... "The Sum Of Damage Done", featuring Gildenlow is too experimental and some passages remind me of the truly disappointing Pain Of Salvation album "Be".

Mascot Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
9 August 2008

After 6 years of silence there finally is a new Everon album. "North" is the 7th studioalbum of multitalent Oliver Phillips and Co. I have always been a great fan of Everon and especially albums like: "Flood"(1995) and "Paradoxes"(1993) still belong to my favourite prog rock albums of all times and they still do overtime in my CD player. The music on "North" is again a mix of progressive rock and symphonic rock with now and then some rather bombastic passages and folk influences. Everon is therefore often compared with Marillion, altough I would not go that far.....

The album opens with the rather "heavy" song called: "Hands", followed by the orchestral "Brief Encounter". The most experimental song is without any doubt: "South Of London", a song which features a strong electronic sound and because of that the song could be better described as a popsong. "Islanders" is a very sweet - maybe too sweet - ballad featuring female vocals of Judith Stuber. The CD ends with the track: "Running", a very good up tempo song with a marvellous and catchy chorus.

Metal Mind Productions 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
11 August 2008

This is the first DVD of The Oliver Wakeman band and it was recorded in Poland. Besides Oliver Wakeman, the oldest son of Rick Wakeman(Yes), the band consists of: Paul Manzi (vocals), David Mark Pierce (guitar), Paul Brown (bassguitar) and Dave Wagstaff (drums). Oliver ofcourse has got a lot of musical experience with among others: Clive Nolan and his last soloalbum "Mother's Ruin"(2005) is definitely his best album so far. This DVD is a mix of progressive and symphonic rock with of course as most dominant musical factor the keyboards.

The instrumental "Three Broken Threads" is one of my favourites on this DVD, while the rather mediocre, boring ballad "Burgundy Rose" is a rather redundant song for me.... A plus on this album is the extremely sparkling and melodic guitarwork of David Mark Pierce and of course if you enjoy prog rock with lots of keyboards then you will certainly enjoy this DVD.

Escape 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
5 August 2008

One for Prog-Rock/Metal freaks and I got more and more into this on each listening (up to a certain point of course). Appearance Of Nothing (typical posh-prog monicker) are a bunch of weirdos from the land of yoddeling and co-co clocks (Switzerland to all you ignorant bastards). They've been going at it since the mid-90's, however, "Wasted Time" is their grand opening at Escape Music.

Certainly not a waste of time and you won't brush off their songs as easily once you've heard them. The singer has a rather raspy approach to singing and it gives the melodies an extra dimension and more stamina. The overall sound combines bands like Saga, IQ, with more than a leaning towards the aggressive formula of Symphony X and Dream Theater. It's very much a mix of old Prog Rock and new-ish Prog Metal.

Frontiers 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
10 August 2008

Starbreaker, earthshaker, the melodic metal maker of 2008? Well, the dynamic duo consisting of vocalist Tony Harnell (TNT, Westworld) and guitarist Magnus Karlsson (Allen/Lande, Primal Fear, Last Tribe) returns with their follow-up release to the acclaimed 2005 CD. This time with session legend John MacAluso at the drum kit and a classy album mixing done by Tommy Hansen (Helloween, TNT, Pretty Maids, etc).

The overall sound is slightly darker and more "progressive" than previous Starbreaker attempt. Harnell & Karlsson wrote and produced the whole she-bang in Sweden and it's actually closer to the formula of 'Westworld' than typical 'Karlsson' material. Indeed, Harnell doesn't use the high notes as much as usual and a majority of the tracks could just as easily have been 'leftover' from "Cyberdreams".

FRontiers 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
5 August 2008

Land Of Tales, formerly known as Naiskala and with a fifteen year old background in Finland's national rock scene. Nevertheless, the international market is the main target nowadays as Kristian Juha Kontu (vocals/guitars) and Palle Harri Lehtonen (keyboards) set their sails for brand new territories.

Their debut album is a strange and peculiar mix of melodic hardrock and melancholia. It's very much the typical "stereotype" of the "average" male Finn at play here. Slightly depressed and always with a touch of melancholia on their mind. Hey, don't kill the messenger, I'am mainly trying to paint a picture of the music at review. It's a rather nice picture though, heavily steeped into layers of keyboards and quite interesting melodies.

I guess you could always name-drop a couple of similar acts such as HIM (the melancholy), Urban Tale, and at times even, Wild Force. It's far from the entire truth though as these guys are more complex and vivid. The CD starts off just fine with tracks such as "Silence" (great keyboard intro and song), "Slow Water", and "Keep Out". I'm not quite sure about the latter and its' title though.

Rivel 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
6 August 2008

"Farewell"... and good riddance. Nah, that's way too harsh. It's just that Divinefire has sounded like a more watered down version of their debut album with each new release. And don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed their smashing debut CD... but it's also been downhill ever since. This is supposed to be their last and final release.. at least until the reunion in 2015? (sigh).

Lipstick Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
11 August 2008

This American rock band from New Jersey makes melodic rock music filled with great guitar work. Female singer Toni is not really my cup of tea as her voice sounds almost the same in every of the 9 tracks on this CD. Most of the songs are mid tempo ballad-like tracks with a sometimes poppy chorus. It is not bad, but I have heard it all before and much better tough..... This is traditional, melodic rock/pop music reminding me of Lita Ford and Heart but I do not think that Lipstick Magazine will gain as much appreciation as those bands.

Best song due to the amazing guitar solo is the title track and worst song is the absolute boring acoustic ballad: "Defenseless". "Skin Deep" will not appear in my top ten of 2008, that is for sure.

Frontiers Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
27th July 2008

I guess the first thing to do here is explain the rather odd title of this, Extreme's comeback album after a 13 year hiatus. For "Saudades", read "Sow-Dodge", and as a result you can laugh scornfully at people who get it wrong. Apparently it's Portugese for (roughly) "Nostalgic Yearning For Rock". Okay, so we know how to pronounce it, what it means and the undeniable fact that Extreme are still capable of disappearing up their own intellectual arseholes, but is it any good? Well, yeah.

If this had been thrown at me in a plain brown wrapper with no explanations or marking I really wouldn't have pegged it straight away as an Extreme album. There must have been some temptation to just rewrite "Pornograffitti" and be done with it, but that's not what you have here. "Saudades de Rock" is 13 tracks of sometimes inspired eclectic rock music, flitting from mood to mood like a butterfly being chased by a kitten. There's an underlying funk root to most of the songs, accentuated by Pat Badgers thumping basslines, but in the end there's more to this than Extreme trading on past glories.

The album starts off with the catchy harmonies of "Star", perhaps the most atypical Extreme song here. This is the one that will be hurled at radio stations to get people interested, mainly because it's very good, very catchy and comes complete with the requisite Nuno Bettencourt solo. In fact, there's plenty of time throughout the album to appreciate Mr Bettencourt and his fingers of bedazzlement, because there is (and rightly so) shedloads of really cool solos, each one trying to outdo the others with it's inventiveness and intricacy. This isn't to do down the contributions of singer Gary Cherone, who still possesses a fine pair of pipes. He can still pull off some pretty impressive notes, although if I'm honest he doesn't seem to have all of the power he used to. Hopefully I will be proved wrong when the band tour later this year.

The plain truth is that this album nails it's colours to the mast with the frantic playing of Bettencourt and Badger, whether it's a the Suvvern tinged boogie of "Take Us Alive" or the pure funk rock of "King Of The Ladies", whilst Cherone gets his moments in the spotlight with some great vocals on the moody "Last Hour" and the worthy attempt at "More Than Words" part 2, "Interface". There's a lot of creativity here, and it helps that it's played by such talented guys, including new drummer Kevin Figueiredo. For European fans there's even a cool bonus track in the shape of "Americocaine", a 1985 demo of a fantastic old style Extreme track that reminds you just why they were so popular in the first place. Twenty three years on, the band have lost some of the exuberance that trademarked their sound, but it's been replaced with a more insightful look at the world that is just as entertaining when everything comes together.
www.extreme-band.com

Ecliptica 2008
Review by Lasse Korpi
16 August 2008

Ecliptica comes with their debut album "Impetus" after a successful EP ("The Awakening") and I have to say I enjoy it really much. The screaming guitars, thundering drums and good combination between a male and female vocal is almost everything you need to get the rock party started. The only question is have I heard this before? Even If Ecliptica manages to be original with the twist of male and female vocals, you still get the feeling that you heard it before. Oh well it sounds good so why complain. From a band that was founded as a solo project by Markus Winkler (guitars) in the mid 2005 they have managed to experience events that most bands can only dream of. Like playing at “Wacken Open Air” festival in germeny after winning the “Metal battle Austria 2007” and having the support slot for US-prog Metal band Symphony X, Ecliptica is only at the beginning of a journey.

The album starts of with an instrumental song “Impetus”. With some melodic guitar solos and a “mystical” background the tables gets turned for the second song “My Paradise” that brings in the great drums and amazing vocals of Thomas Tieber and Elisabeth Fangmeyer. After that it continues on pretty much the same but it sound’s good so who cares. Then comes probably the one song that for some reason doesn’t fit in. The ballad “Turn Away” is a good song but the style doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of the album but I still find it interesting and I give the thumbs up for pulling of something completely different and still getting it to sound so damn good. After the soft ballad comes probably my favorite song “old man’s memories” that delivers The Heavy metal with a big H! Nice intro and a catchy chorus, and adding a great guitar solo to the mix. Voila! What more do you need?

I can’t wait for the next Ecliptica album and if they ever would come to Finland I would be in the front row head banging and singing along. A great album for the friends of power metal with influences of Queen, Iron Maiden, Metallica just to name a few.
www.ecliptica.at

Artist Worxx / MusicBuyMail 2008
Review by Lasse Korpi
16 August 2008

Ahoy! Here comes yet another German metal band. This is the debut CD after 3 earlier EP’s. The band got founded in 2005 and they released their first EP the same year. So the question is, does Clusterhead bring anything new to the table or is it just the same as any other German metal band? The answer is nope, not really but it is still pretty good and if you like metal so what a hell.

The album starts of with the same basic type of song that you would expect. "Tears I’ve Cried" has a massive intro and after that it is pretty much the same all the way to the end. And that is probably a good way to describe the whole album. Starts massive and goes on like that. The good thing is that you won’t get the feeling that you just listened to the same song for an hour. There are no twists or variation and I can’t really remember any song but I still don’t find this album boring. And the band members really know how to play. With massive vocal performances and a tight and good drum beat with the screaming guitar solos and good bass line you get the feeling that these guys could really pull of a good live performance. But you can’t say that until you see them live. The ninth song on the album ("Dead Faint") is by far my favorite. The guitar intro starts of and you get the feeling that “damn this is a good song”. And the guitar solo isn’t bad either. Still I have a hard time remembering anything else from the song.

Clusterhead comes with a pretty good debut album but I think the guys would have to come up with something a little more original for the next album if they want to become something huge. But if they just want to have fun and play some music once in a while then rock on. Good album and a nice little extra to the CD collection of a true metal fan..
www.clusterhead.com/

Escape 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
29 July 2008

Pleasure Dome - will it fizz or will it 'bang bang - what's that sound, I gave you my love and you shot me down'. Indeed, the rather corny introduction is straight from the lyrics off the Danger Danger debut. Low and behold, the DD vocalist, Ted Poley, just happens to be the frontperson and main shouter on this platter too. You may also recognize (or not) Ed Avila (bass) and Charlie Calv (keys) from acts such as Shotgun Symphony, Message, Arcara, and the, ehem, infamous 'Melodica' project featuring the above mentioned Teddy.

Playing the disc, well, I'am not quite as horror-struck as the time of Melodica (horror, horror), since this project feature a decent production by Escape's household dude, Martin Kronlund (Gypsy Rose). Although considered an dying art-form in 2008, these geezers are still holding on to a rather dated AOR sound and formula. It's certainly not a utter rubbish record as they've managed to include a couple of belters such as "Seems Like A Dream" and "I Won't Cry". Both featuring a great female back-up vocalist and the songs are suddenly more alive and kickin'.

VH1 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
29 July 2008

... And you thought the Poison albums were rubbish. To tell ya' the truth, I don't fancy playing this disc ever again, hell, I'd rather have another look at what the cat dragged in. Michaels and his friggin' tv-show, much like Ozzy nowadays, too much of a joke and not enough business. "Rock My World" is simply way too flamboyant and end up as an unmemorable mess of music, too gutless for metal and too flat for real rock.

Frontiers 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
13 July 2008

"From The Moon To The Sun"... and straight to the bargain bin of every goddamn record store? Nah, not true, since you can't even find a normal record store anymore [:-)]. Ehem... what you'll have to know is that Winger's hairmetal music of the past is merely just a scary-hairy memory of the past. Some people don't seem to get it though, they're still shouting for another "In The Heart Of The Young". Fair enough, but you won't find it here.

Kip's solo albums has always been a different story though. However, this is clearly his most progressive and daring effort yet. In case you haven't been with us for the last decade or so, erase the 80's hairmetal and replace it with modern, melodic, laidback, Prog-Rock.

I'm not sure how open-minded people are? But I believe Kip Winger to be a case of 'lost inbetween two completely different worlds'. The old "Winger" fans won't buy this since they believe it to be too much Prog, and Prog fans won't even look twice at his CD - thinking it must still be the hairmetal of the 80's. And it really doesn't help when you're signed to a AOR label either.

Escape 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
14 July 2008

Again, not to be confused with the U.S. act of the late 80's at Gene $immons' Records. This is the Swedish version of Gypsy Rose and "Another World" is their second release at Escape Music. Lead guitarist Martin Kronlund is the main creator behind the music and production as always (he's also Escape's household producer as of lately).

There's a new, yet, familar face behind the mike' though as former Accept, Bangalore Choir, vocalist, David Reece, lifts the music a notch or two since previous release. Indeed, not only does Reece shine on all the tracks, Kronlund have also managed to come up with his very best material. Although this material has been released more than a decade after Reece's heydays, it certainly brings him right back to life and into the spotlight. It's simply just an excellent display of metal vocals from start to finish. Let's merely hope his "flamboyant" persona has calmed down over the years, huh?

SPV Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
15th July 2008

Who else but Alice Cooper could get away with a twisted little concept album about a serial killer who wraps his victims in silk and takes a leg from each of them. Sure, other artists could try, but only Alice could come out of the other side not looking more than a little foolish.

“Along Came A Spider” is album number 25, and Cooper is showing no signs of either slowing down or going stale. The narrative is pretty clear, with the lyrics matching the style of each song perfectly. Whether The Spider is stalking a victim, taunting the police or begging for salvation, the music follows the narrative like a lovesick puppy, with Coopers vocals providing the anchor for everything else to follow. He snarls like a maniac, which is appropriate, and you can believe he is a sock, twisted murdering scumbag. So, business as usual then. The titles say it all, really, with such gems as “I Know Where You Live”, “Vengeance Is Mine” and “Catch Me If You Can”. There's plenty of rock here, balanced with the two effective ballads “”Killed By Love” and “Salvation”.

This album may slip through some people's radar, but it deserves an audience because it's a very entertaining piece of work from one of the true legends of the horror rock genre. If you've ever liked his work in the past, “Along Came A Spider” is a good reason to pay another visit to Alice Cooper's twisted world.
www.alicecooper.com

MetalHeaven 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
14 July 2008

I can't say that I especially enjoyed the Safe Haven project at MTM Records back in 2004. The MVP CD's certainly had its up's and down's too. Nevertheless, Michael Vescera (ex.Obsession, Loudness, Yngwie Malmsteen) doesn't give up too easily and his latest endeavour is indeed an improvement since last time.

"A Sign Of Things To Come" feature musicians such as pretty much all the guys from Obsession, Jimi Bell & BJ Zampa from the 'new' House Of Lords, Todd Kennedy & Tony Mei (XfactorX), and the Swedish keyboardist, Mats Olausson (Yngwie Malmsteen, John Norum, Glory, Ark, etc). The platter is nicely produced by Vescera at his studios in Milford and Nashville, and it doesn't sound too bad, even though the drums could need some more 'beef' effect (we like'em fat and mean - the drums).

Retroactive 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
12 July 2008

The first five tracks of "Skin For Skin" is a lot heavier than expected. Bride of today does no longer play the bluesy hardrock of "Kinetic Faith", "Snakes In The Playground" or "Scarecrow Messiah" (their most successful releases). Nope, this is 80's Thrash vs. Skid Row of the 'Slave To The Grind' era, plus a healthy dose of modern metal.

These five tracks are real mindopeners, sludgy hardrock with a rumble on the low-end and some wonderfully metal vocals by Dale Thompson, suggesting a need to unleash the beast of burden from those earlier blues albums. They've gone back to basic here, back to primitive, and also back to the very early days of their career. Let's not forget that Bride actually started out as a Metal borderline Thrash act in the mid-80's, but they were never quite this heavy in the past though.

"Skin For Skin" immediately kicks in to overdrive with the massive titletrack. Dale spits out the words like a machine gun in the hands of a terrorist (yeah, kinda tacky, but you know what I mean), and it's double-bass drumming in the best style of Dave Lombardo. "End Of Days" is, if possible, a notch heavier and modern metal with a nod to Slayer (I kid ya' not). Really good too and with a nice refrain. "Take The Medication" is classic Thrash of the 80's. Very melodic and yet powerful enough to secure a place at the head table of metal.

Metal Heaven 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
10 July 2008

Swiss rockers Charing Cross have been around since 1993, yet their first album sees the light of day in 2008. Other bands might have thrown in the towel many years ago, but not Charing Cross, they believed that their fortunes would change. And change they did, Metal Heaven signed the band and now the debut album is to be released in late August.

Charing Cross dance on the edge between hard rock and melodic metal of the European kind. Not a lot of bands do that, in fact the one band that I can think of is Edguy. Charing Cross do sound very Edguy'ish at times, thanks especially to singer Peter Hochull, who sounds a lot like Tobias Sammet with a stronger accent.

The album's opener "Final Day" doesn't really promise a lot, it's an average, typical German-styled metal plodder. "Kick Ass Rock'n Roll" kicks off with a Maidenesque vibe, but soon turns into a straightforward rocker á la Edguy's hard rock songs. Not bad... The melodic "Burn The Sun" is also very Edguy-like with strong melodies. Hochhull's accent does bother me a bit, but I can't deny that this is a very good song. The same goes for the next two songs ("Ain't Got No Time" and "Can't Have It All"), both have a lot of melodies and good hooks. But all good things must come to an end...

If we skip a couple of okay, but not that special songs, we get to the Ballad. "Long Time Ago" starts with the "classic" line "I was walking down the street" and doesn't really get much better. Hochhull's vocals sound very uncomfortable on this track. "Palace Of Fate" isn't any better: the whispered intro is on the verge of being very Spinal Tap (Stonehenge!), and the chorus is a bit dull, metal by numbers. The band shape up for the last three numbers, which are all decent songs. They're not quite as good as the other three highlights earlier in the tracklisting, but they do leave a nice "aftertaste" to the whole album.

So what's the conclusion, you ask? Well, I like the band's style, they can write good hooks and their hard rock/metal mix is far more interesting than the dozens of Helloween/Maiden copycats out there. If they can come up with an album's worth of songs like the "better half" of this one, then we can expect a something special the next time around.
www.charing-cross.ch

Escape 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
14 July 2008

Now, here's the ugliest frontcover of the year. Escape should immediately stop using the "art-director" of this particular piece of work (and the Gypsy Rose CD for that matter). Utterly horrible as it could possible scare away quite a bunch of potential buyers. The music on the other hand is a completely different story.

Polution are a five piece guitar rock act from Switzerland and "Overheated" is their nicely executed debut album. Nothing fancy, nothing weird or pompous, merely a full-frontal attack of guitar rock in the vein of Airbourne, Dirty Looks, Krokus, D.A.D, you know, the whole, three to four-chord 'Acca Dacca' style of music.

Frontiers 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
14 July 2008

I've been mostly hearing r-e-a-l-l-y negative comments about the new Silent Rage and sort of expected a complete metal meltdown. Not sure why they've been quite sooo darn negative, although, "Four Letter Word", clearly not the best CD of the year, but certainly not the worst either.

Here's the main thing though, do not, I repeat, do not expect this to be: "Don't Touch Me There" Part #2. You simply won't find the big production or fluffy melodies of the past. This is more raw and dirty rock'n'roll of the old school with a hint of modern stuff, including a rather dodgy production by Gilby Clarke of Guns N Roses fame. In fact, Clarke's production is more towards the sound of The Ramones than Def Leppard, if you get the picture. The snare drum is as hollow and tin as a certain 'Hilton' celebrity.

Opener, "You Could Be The One", a real clash of genres as it features verses done in a retro KISS style, a rather punky bridge, plus a modern rock chorus. Wow! talk about miss-match, a real ramshackle of sounds, but it's at least full of energy. The titletrack is a really catchy little number with a rather messy production. "Man Or Machine" features a grungy vibe of the mid-90's and tracks like "I'm Not Lonely" and "Trouble" will have you thinking about Dee Snider and his post Twisted Sister project, Widowmaker.

Sony 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
10 July 2008

Spinal Tap, Spinal Tap, Spinal Tap!!! It's sort of the same effect as shouting 'McBeth' at the theatre (you're supposed to refer to it as 'The Scottish Play' or bad luck will occur). However, "Nostradamus" is the second album since the comeback of Halford and it's a spectacularly silly and uneven affair, at times marching along like a off-beat Spinal Tap record with a bad 'macho metal' fixation, at others being just plain average late 70's Priest.

Bloody'ell, we expected a full-frontal attack in the vein of: "Screaming For Vengeance", "Defenders Of The Faith" or "Painkiller", and all we got was this lousy double-disc release in the worst tradition of other pompous and lame "concept" records (Styx - Kilroy Was Here, etc, etc).

Pazouzou Records/ NL Distribution 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
16 July 2008

Back In '86 or thereabouts, Paganini were heavily pushed into the hard rock mainstream by their label. Their first album "Weapon Of Love" had been a moderate success, and their second album "It’s A Long Way To The Top" was to be the one to make them big. They supported Mötley Crüe on their European tour, and I recall that their album was advertised and widely distributed even in Finland. Paganini of the eighties were a flashy glam/hard rock band á la Ratt, Crüe and the likes, with an image to match. Paganini 2008 is a different beast, with only the vocalist Marc Paganini remaining from the original line-up. The band's music has changed with the times, the glitter's gone and the band has a more "earthly" sound, reminding me of Mike Tramp's solo stuff and Bang Tango's recent output. I don't know about the band's image, as there are no photos in the booklet... but somehow I doubt that they're still sporting big hair, scarves and torn shirts.

While the album is well produced and Marc Paganini still has a likeable, snarling way of singing, the song material just isn't very exciting. Most of the songs are rather slow and do not have very memorable hooks. The shining star among the tracks is "The Secret", which is an energetic rocker with a cool chorus. None of the others reach the same level, and why on earth is the song "Faith Healer" featured twice? It's possibly the most boring song on the album, and the additional "stone cold turkey mix" (7 minutes 22 seconds) just makes the album feel like it goes on and on and on...

I have nothing against bands who evolve and move with the times, but a boring song is a boring song, no matter when it was written. Now, for old times' sake, I think I'll dig up "It's A Long Way To The Top" and listen to something a bit more uplifting.

IFIY 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
11 July 2008

The Stript is a four piece straight up rock/sleaze act from US of A. Formed in late 2006 by the Lorenzo brothers (Mike - vocals, Bryan - drums) after years of listening to their father's record collection of Guns N Roses, Motley Crue, AC/DC, and others, the bro's decided it was time to put together a new band in the vintage style of 80's rock.

This is their 6-track EP recorded in 07' at their hometurf of Las Vegas, Nevada. Comparions to above mentioned acts are only fair in so much as they also cover all the other bands The Stripts' teenage friends may never have heard of. It's a very nitty-gritty sleaze act, who, unlike many others, have added a little personality of their own to their traditional formula.

TMG 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
4th July 2008

Blimey, this takes me back to a time when life was a lot simpler. You know, the Eighties. Although I haven't heard their 2004 debut, this second offering from The More I See is a retro fueled thrash fest that throws riff after riff at your face a clown with an inexhaustible supply of custard pies. Actually, we could get rid of the clown and just have a custard pie throwing machine. Hang on... I'm drifting again...

Anyway, to the band in hand. The main newsworthy draw is guitarist Gizz Butt, who has also been in the English Dogs and The Podigy. I used to loathe The Podigy myself, but The More I See is a totally different beast. This, boys and girls, is a METAL album that will delight fans of original Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Testament. If the mention of those names sets your metal radar all a-tingle, then rush out, buy this and headbang yourself into a blissful coma.

“The Unholy Feast” features twelve tracks, each one steeped in classic thrash stylings. This isn't your Venom type nonsense, though. The More I See have more than enough melody stuffed in, and Chad Sunderland's angry vocals echo Joey Belladonna with a bit of James Hetfield thrown in. Combine this with aggressive, meaty riffs and some truly inspiring lead guitar work and you have an album that brings together all of the best things about early 80s thrash, updating the sound without losing those important roots. Highly recommended with head whirling and a devil sign in the air.
http://www.themoreisee.com

Demolition Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
3rd July 2008

The last I saw of Sebastian Bach, he was being absurdly egotistical on the MTV “Supergroup” show, where he, Ted Nugent, Scott Ian and Jason Bonham formed the band Damnocracy and fell out with each other every five minutes. It was fun, especially when Bach swelled with pride over his participation in abysmal US show “The Gilmour Girls”. Anyway, he's finally got himself together enough to release a solo album, which Demolition Records are releasing a good six months after the Americans got hold of it, so apologies if this review seems out of date.

The most newsworthy thing about “Angel Down” is the fact that Axl Rose helps out on a few tracks. For the record, he sounds, as ever, like a chicken with it's beak stuck in a mangle, but in, you know, a good way. The two collaborate wonderfully on a full on version of “Back In The Saddle”, and the track “(Love Is) A Bitchslap” has Guns N Roses written all over it and is better than any of the leaked tracks from “Chinese Democracy”. Maybe Rose & Bach should just form a band and call it Chinese Damnocracy. Whatever...

Rose aside, this is a pretty good album. The style moves about a bit, evidence of multiple songwriters being involved, but this does it no harm. The title track, for example, is a big metal thing that sees Bach shouting just a bit too much over the monster riffs, whilst “You Don't Understand” throws in a Maiden hook and features no squawky vocals at all. There's a big assed power ballad in the shape of “By Your Side” that works very well, counterbalanced by the likes of “American Metalhead”, a song that does exactly what it says on the label, and does it well.

There's 14 tracks here, and by and large they all have something positive to offer for fans of Bach or Skid Row. In reality, two or three could have been cut to improve the album, as it does go on a bit, but there's nothing that stands out as sucky. There's a DVD bonus with this release, with 5 tracks and 45 minutes of tour and studio footage, but as I wasn't sent it I can't say whether it's any good. Either way, “Angel Down” (which has a great piece of cover art from Bach's late father) is a very good hard rock/metal album that will stand up to repeated listening and perhaps rekindle the Bach love we had way back when he was sentencing us all to 18 and life.
http://www.sebastianbach.com

Why Note 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
3rd July 2008

Y&C consists of guitarist Yann Armellino and vocalist Chris Caron, both certifiably French and, thankfully, pretty talented with it. Aremellino has been knocking about playing instrumental stuff and his name may ring a bell, whilst Caron has upped sticks and moved to America these days, having done nothing you're ever likely to have heard unless you are into obscure French rock. Hoping for success with a bit of collaboration, the two have written this album together, seemingly throwing everything at the rock wall to see what sticks.

When these two guys get it right, there's some hugely enjoyable stuff on “Gimme The Music”. Armellino is certainly a talented guitarist, at home with melodic hard rock as well as some great funk inspired stuff. It's the hard rock that lifts the album out of the rock slums, with some lively, inventive stuff helped immensely by the non intrusive guitar. “High Above The Unknown Places” has a great riff, whilst “It's A Nightmare Every Morning” is a great, heavier track. In keeping with having a virtuoso guitarist there are a few instrumentals, each one nicely put together and not too wanky or remotely dull, like some can be. The only drawback here can be the ballads, which at times just don't fly like the faster tracks. They are not helped by the vocals of Chris Caron, who has a pretty average voice that doesn't always handle the slower tunes too well, although he does fine on the rockier tracks.

“Gimme The Music” is notable more for the guitar of Yann Armellino that the vocals of Chris Caron, but between them they have certainly made an album that should get them some approving nods. It's not an album for shredders, more those who appreciate the sort of thing Satriani did on “Surfing With the Alien” (especially on the brilliant instrumental “Oversea”, which should go on for at least ten more minutes). Apart from three ballads that just don't float my own personal boat, it's well worth looking out for, and I hope to hear bigger and better things from these guys.
http://www.myspace.com/yannarmellino

AOR Heaven 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
10 July 2008

Dreamtide, Fair Warning guitarist Helge Engelke's "spin-off", has once again taken advantage of Helge's free time as FW has been inactive. Helge and the guys (his FW-collagues Drummer CC Behrens and keyboardist Thorsten Lüderwaldt, vocalist Olaf Senkbeil and new bassist Francis Buchholz, formely of The Scorpions) have come up with a bunch of songs which won't offer too many surpises for those who bought the band's previous two albums. Yes, they still sound a lot like Fair Warning, but what'd you expect when 3 out of 5 of the band members are from FW, and I believe that all the songs have been written by Engelke, one of FW's songwriters?

This album isn't an easy one to review. I like Engelke's way to work with the melodies, the performances and the production is good, but somehow the songs just don't make me want to play them over and over again. First of all, the album is way too long with 14 songs, and the sequence of the tracks doesn't help at all. The album starts with with two strong songs, "A Fools Crusade" and "I Don't Want To Wait", borh boasting excellent choruses and admittedly a lot Fair Warning-spirit, but then we get several more or less slow songs back to back, with one "King Of Scum" being a bit faster. Even though the songs aren't too bad on their own, a few of them in a row pretty much kill the vibe.

It's track number 10, "To Everybody", which tends to wake me up. The clever intro makes one to expect something different, but the song itself doesn't really stray from the chosen path. It's a good one anyway and quite uptempo. I'm not that fond of the chanting backing vocals, and effect which is being used one some of the other songs too. Hot on its' heels is another good song "Keep From Falling", a catchy uptempo rocker.

The last three songs include a couple of less thrilling, slower songs and a "Download A Dream reprise", which is an alternative, uptempo version of "Download A Dream", a rather ordinary ballad. And guess what - the uptempo version works much better!

I think I've written this a few too many times during the last years, but i'll write it again: this album would have been better if a few of those weaker (in this case, read: slower) numbers would have been left off.
www.dreamtide.de

IMP Books 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
7th July 2007

Apparently, this is the first ever book written about Robert Plant. This is quite a surprise, as not only was he a member of one of the biggest bands of all time (Led something), but his solo stuff hasn't exactly been low profile either. It seems that everyone was much more interested in writing about Zep as whole rather than Planty. Well, everyone except Neil Daniels, anyway. In his intro, Daniels makes it clear that the book will be a hop through the early years, a skip through the Zep years and a nice big jump into Plant's solo outings. After all, this is the stuff that no one else has tackled. In reality, there's a good seventy pages before we get to the solo stuff, which then fills up the remaining hundred or so pages of the book. In the sections dealing with Plant's early career there's what seems like a multitude of quotes from original Judas Priest singer Al Atkins, another Midlands born rocker, and it's no surprise to learn that he is the subject of Daniels' next book. Primarily, this is a pretty straight laced chronicle of the recording life of Robert Plant. There's plenty of quotes from magazines, websites and various musicians, and the whole thing has obviously been meticulously researched. Some of the quotes are annoyingly pointless, like Tony Harnell informing us that he would have gone to see Led Zep if John Bonham hadn't died. Hands up anyone in the world who cares about this except Harnell himself. There are plenty of quotes from the man himself as well, although none conducted in interviews for the book, which is unauthorized. The main problem I had whilst slogging through this was the fact that it is just too factual. The early and Zep years offer the reader some insights, although nothing much that will be new, and the solo years is just scarily slow at times. Plant doesn't come out of any of it as a remotely interesting guy, as there is no mentions of any excesses or scandal. Maybe Daniels thinks that that sort of thing should be left to more salacious biogs, but although he shows a great respect for the man he doesn't make the casual reader feel any closer to him. If you want a fact filled wander through Plant's career then this book will not leave you wanting. You can find out who played what on every album and tour he's ever done, pour over the extensive discography to see what you need to get and even thumb through 8 pages of his tour set lists. There's lots of people saying how nice a bloke he is, and you'd think that he never shagged a groupie or took any drugs, such is the distance between reader and subject. As I struggled through the last 40 or so pages detailing the making of each solo album I almost gave up. Maybe it's because I'm not a big fan, as there's nothing wrong with the writing, but I feel it's more because as a biography this just didn't make me feel any closer to Plant than when I started it. Mind you, I feel a lot closer to Al Atkins, so it can't be all bad.
www.neildaniels.com

SPoko Records 2008
Review by Lasse Korpi
04 July 2008

Let me just start of by saying O MY GOD!!! How can anyone even listen to this kind of noise? I mean even if punkers have always been about “attitude” and not about their musical talent you should at least know something about music. I myself play in a couple of bands, trying to make it in the music business and then I find this kind of noise pollution. It really gets me down because anyone and I mean anyone can play this kind of “music” after a week of practice, and still someone gets a record deal with this. Oh the irony. And just to make things clear I do not hate punk rock. I can even call a couple of punk rock bands as some of my favorites, but give me a break. This is the "Best of Bitch Alert" CD and the collection of songs comes from their 4 earlier albums. The band that was founded in Helsinki in 1997 released their first album in 2001 ("Pay For Orgasm") and their latest release was in 2006 (I can feel your bones) and still I feel like they have a long way to go.

So I start off with the album cover. Three girls (and one of them happens to be a guy) with instruments and the punk rock look. Sure nothing wrong with it, but the band could have at least come up with a better album title. For some reason I don’t find it really cool or amusing (even if I laughed my ass off cause the title is so lame). And now the music itself. I mean I grew up listening to classical music and some blues and jazz, now I mostly listen to any kind of rock and metal and my girlfriend listens to hip hop (not for long). So I listen to almost everything. But if you manage to listen to this for 15 minutes without screaming please make it stop I just have to say, you have to be dead or deaf or just really weird. Sure some of the “riffs” can be quite catchy but when the singer kicks in, you just feel like you want to break the CD.

Let me make this clear. This is not a good CD even if you are a punk yourself. The only good things I have to say about it are that when you have listened to this for a while, everything sounds so much better. And sure this is only my opinion so there might be someone who might like this and you have to give credit to the “girls” for trying. And if they enjoy it so who am I to judge their way to spend their spare time (cause I really hope they have real jobs). But if you want some good punk rock, just try something else, for your own good.
www.bitchalert.org