SwedenRock Records 2002
Review by 30 December 2002

It's been five long years since their debut and some of us started to wonder, if there would ever be a second album. Don't hold your breathe the rumors said as guitarist Janne Stark (ex-Overdrive) has been busy with other projects. Besides writing and collecting information for his book Swedish Hardrock & Heavy Metal encyclopedia pt:2. You can also find him working as freelance journalist for a couple of magazine's out there.

However, the loco's are finally back with new album and singer though. "Heavy Machinery" is the title and Mattias Osbäck is the frontman. The overall music has become a bit heavier since last time and the riffs are even more complexed. This is actually a re-launch of the album at first released at Record Heaven, earlier this year. Now with a bonus track I may add.

Atenzia 2004
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
17 May 2004

I have grown a bit sceptical about all these so-called "nu-breed" sensations, which seem to pop up at an alarming rate these days. Sure, the likes of Waltham and 40ft Ringo have released fine albums, but I really haven't gotten into the more punk-oriented bands or the really quirky ones. To be honest, even the ones I liked are in danger of starting to sound like each other...London Calling manages to avoid that trap quite well, but not completely.

London Calling are fronted by Jamie Rowe, the vocalist of hard rock act AdrianGale and formely of Guardian. Vocals are indeed very good, much better than on many other nu-breed albums, and Jamie has adopted a suitably attitude-filled style for this album.

The album opens with arguably the bands' finest song, a high-energy melodic rocker "American Dream". Nu-Breed doesn't really get any better than this - catchy riffs, good lyrics, killer chorus with harmonies that remind me of Bad Religion at their best. Other highlights include "Super Natural Girl", a cool midtempo track, although straight from the Butch Walker Book of Songwriting, the catchy rockers "Beautiful Day" and "Haunting Me", almost Nelson-like "So In Love", the balladic "Fade Into Grey" which reminds me of Warrant for some reason, and finally the cool cover of "One In A Million", a song by The Romantics originally. The lyrics of the song are funny, as they sound like they're made up of 80'ies power ballad titles, but apparently they're not..."Something About You/makes wanna Keep On Loving You/And when I'm Without You/ I Feel I Need You Back In My Heart"..."That Was Yesterday, now we've gone our Separate Ways"...okay, I made that last bit up but it just as well could've been in the song.

BMG 1999
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

"Lonely Grill" is not exactly a new release, but only now starting to make waves around here, mostly thanks to the hit ballad "Amazed". Lonestar are contry rock band, but their music is at times closer to melodic rock than pure country, and I feel that many of our readers might enjoy this album. Especially knowing the fact that Dann Huff (Giant, White Heart) was involved in the production!

Some of the tracks, like "Saturday Night", "Simple As That" and "Don't Let's Talk About Lisa" are more country than the others, but somehow even they are quite likeable. Maybe it's the fact that the vocalist doesn't "yelp" as much as your average country singer! It is the more rock-oriented tracks and the ballads that I prefer though. Songs like the awesome "How About Now", "Lonely Grill" and "All The Way" and ballads like "I'm Gonna Find You" are pure AOR, if you ignore the "country coating" (violins and slide guitars etc.). The aforementioned "Amazed" is probably the most AOR-sounding track of these all, with more than a little "borrowed" from Bryan Adams' "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)". There's even a very "hard rock power ballad" remix of the song available, which is quite... amazing!

Terrier/BMG 2002
Review by 16 November

Finnish monster metal group LORDI has found a concept that really strikes a chord with a big part of the record buying public. Their monster-image may have strong appeal to the younger audience, but the songs seem to touch a nerve with the 30-somethings like me, who grew up in the eighties listening to the hard rock groups of the era. Many of my age group may have tried to go with the flow and enjoy the more popular types of music, but if the success of Lordi's first single "Would You Love A Monsterman" and this album is anything to go, the time is again right to like hard rockin' songs with choruses you can actually shout along to!

Lordi (the vocalist) admits that he hasn't liked a single rock album released during the last ten years or so, and sure enough, you can tell that by listening to this album. "Get Heavy" is an album very much in the late eighties'/early nineties style, with a huge bombastic sound (mixed by none other than Kevin Shirley) and very little in the way of modern day "whatsits".

The album is opened with a suitably gothic and spooky horror-theme "Scarctic Circle Gathering"...and then you're dragged into a "monster disco hell" with the title song. Although it is not one of the strongest songs of the album, it gives you an idea what to expect from the rest of the tracks: sharp riffs, growling vocals and BIG choruses with tons of background vocals - and one song notwithstanding, always delivered to you in less than three and a half minutes! Virtually all of the songs follow this formula, yet they don't sound too alike.

Let's go through some of the key tracks: second single "Devil Is A Loser" sounds suspiciously like a Zodiac Mindwarp/Desmond Child collaboration, although it is a Lordi orginal, just like all the others. Great hook, but that's really needless to say...I wonder whether it'll be an international single, as the lyrics are somewhat controversial: "The Devil is a loser and he's my bitch" - sounds like Stryper gone mad! "Would You Love A Monsterman" is the Finnish hit single that might just take over the rest of the world too, with its' highly infectious chorus. The video is great too. "Not The Nicest Guy" will most probably sound very familiar to all Alice Cooper fans, as it sounds like a cross between several songs from the "Constrictor"-album and the hit "Bed Of Nails". A great track anyways! "Dynamite Tonight" is another very Alice-like track, while both "Icon Of Dominance" and "Hellbender Turbulance" have combined the Alice-style rocking with some HIM-like keyboard work. I might just mention "Monster Monster", which comes with yet another fine chorus - another potential hit single.

BMG 2004
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
23 April 2004

The first Lordi album ("Get Heavy", 2002) was a big hit in Finland and contained some of the biggest choruses since the heyday of Desmond Child. The band's outrageous monster costumes got them a lot of attention too, not to mention their bigger-than-life stage show. Many were wondering how the band would follow up that album, and here's the answer...with more of the same! The characters are still outrageous, the choruses are still big, even the packaging is something out of the ordinary. A limited edition of the album comes of with a 30-minute movie "The Kin", which is actually quite different to what one might expect, not that much a cartoonish splatter thing, and the band members appear only quite briefly in it.

Back to the music: not a lot has changed, but that's not such a bad thing. Lordi (the band) is still stealing a lot of musical ideas from the late eighties/early nineties Alice Cooper albums, more than on the first album really, and Lordi (the main monster) sounds like the bastard son of Udo and Alice, with Rob Zombie as godfather. His vocals aren't the strongest point of the band, but somehow the killer choruses make them more tolerable!

Versailles Records 2002
Review by Endre "Bandi" Hübner 13 February 2002

Finally!! A tribute album that is REALLY a tribute to the artists it is dedicated to not just a lame attempt to cash in on well-known names. I've been very disappointed by some of the "tribute" albums that came out lately and approached this one very carefully too. My fears were growing stronger when I saw that the album opens with Satriani's "Always With Me, Always With You", one of my all time favorite instrumental pieces. Then Bruce Kulick's (Kiss, Union, Blackjack, Meatloaf) version of the song washed all my fears away. He has recorded an electro-acoustic version of the song that almost brought the tears into my eyes. If the original weren't so perfect I would even say "better than that" but obviously that's pretty much impossible.

Jake E. Lee (Ozzy, Badlands, etc.) smokes with "Surfing With The Alien", great version, not just playing note-by-note but he manages to add his own personality and style into the final product. This is true for all the performers and this makes the album a real tribute and different from the recent endless flow of fake tribute albums. Another pleasant surprise is Jimmy Crespo and Dave Ragsdale (the rock violinist) doing a great guitar-violin version of "Echo". Gotta be heard to believe! Brad Gillis (Night Ranger) is as good on "Summer Song" as Lee was on "Surfing" which is not surprise after his great solo effort. Neither is Neil Zaza's superb "Friends"; Neil's own stuff is pretty much in the Satch vein anyway.

Frontiers/Now & Then 2000
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

UK band Lost Weekend return to the limelight with their second album, after a couple years of struggling with problems too numerous to mention. Lead by ex-Rhabstallion/Voyager U.K. guitarist David Thompson, this band showcases us 12 tracks of good, if a bit by-the-numbers AOR.

"Holding On" is a decent opener, a cross between Shy (vocals notwithstanding) and Rainbow. "I Need You" and "One Chance" are both standard AOR tracks, quite unspectacular, even though the latter has a rather good chorus. "Slipping Through My Hands" is much better, a moody and keyboard-heavy track sounding a bit like Survivor or such late 80'ies/early 90'ies acts as Valentine or Melidian.

"The Best Is Yet To Come" continues the theme of "utterly-unique-songtitles". It is a ballad, and just like the other ballad of the album, "I Don't Want To Be Your Friend", not one of the stronger numbers. "Kiss From The Heart" and "All Hands To The Fire" are more enjoyable, good tracks with lots of keyboards. Admittedly, the guitar riff of "All Hands To The Fire" travels a very familiar path, but it's a cool song all the same. And the title is original, extra credit for that!

Midtempo stomper "One Day At A Time" fails to impress, but the anthemic "This Moment So Long", already premiered on the Union 2 sampler doesn't. One of my favourites too. Aforementioned "I Don't Want..." follows, and then it's time for "Can You Believe", a track that sounds like cross between Survivor's "Desperate Dreams" and "Didn't Know It Was Love", but not quite as good as either of them. "In Time" closes the show, an OK AOR track if nothing else.

The biggest downfall of the album in my opinion are the vocals of Paul Uttley. He has a voice that could probably make him a big country star - he even has a habit of doing those "country yelps"... I guess the US AOR fans who have been exposed to country music a lot more might have a different opinion. And don't get me wrong, he stays in key, and it's only the songs that aren't so special to start with where his vocals really start to bother me.

Frontiers/Now & Then 2000
Review by Jorge "Vigilante" Antonaya

First effort of this Brittish band for Now & Then / Frontiers. Or at least first record that gets properly released. The band's line-up is Paul Uttley - Lead and backing vocals, David Thompson - All guitars, Robin Patchett - Bass guitar, Jack Himsworth - Drums, With: Kevin Fitzpatrick - All keyboards, backing vocals.

What we've got here is a nice collection of edged, yet melodic, hard rock tunes with an ok production and excellent backing vocals, mainly delivered by both Paul Uttley and Kevin Fitzpatrick. Definitely, their style is nothing new under the sun, but it is really well done, and that's what counts. From the uptempo rockers "Holding On", (that opens up the album), "I Need You", (with great back'up vox), and the final "In Time", to the ballads "The Best Is Yet To Come" (with its good final climax), and the brilliant "I Don't Want To Be Your Friend" (a really nice acoustic ballad with keys), including the more slow rockers "Slippin' Through My Hands", "Can You Believe", (a keyboard driven mid tempo track), and harder tunes like "One Chance", a typical British hard rock tune ala early Leppard, "All Hands To The Fire", with its groovy guitars, "One Day At A Time", (a really good job on lead vox here by Mr. Uttley), all of them with very good backing vocals, and the more classic "This Moment So Long", the album flows naturally, being very nice to listen to. The remaining track, "Kiss From The Heart", deserves separate consideration, a keyboard driven track with a particular VH's 5150 spirit, that has become my fave on the album.

The guitar solos have mostly a Randy Rhoads kinda feeling, which is good, IMO. As a result, this is one of those minor releases, that may be minor because the band is not a first division act, but this doesn't means at all that we're facing a minor product. This is a very interesting band that may not be the most original release of the year, but sure is pure melodic hard rock very well done, and what is equally important for me, a band that doesn't jump on the wagon of the obvious cloning, something I truly appreciate!

My advise, recommended for those who still appreciate a well done melodic rock album, with  a typical British flavour. If you're looking for the ultimate AOR releas of the year, or just the zillionth Lep/Journey/Bon Jovi clone, then please skip.

Frontiers/Now & Then 2002
Review by 3 August 2002

The last Lost Weekend album "Presence Of Mind" was a good, if somewhat unoriginal selection of standard AOR tracks. I didn't really warm up to it, but I'm glad to say that "New Religion" is a different story. The style is pretty much the same, but somehow the songs seem to be more fresh and spirited. The production of Emerald Rain duo Murray Daigle and Mike Dmitrovic is very good, and even though Paul Uttley still has a bit of a "country-twang" in his voice, the stronger material makes it easy to overlook. Having said that, the ballad "By Now" could prove to be a crossover country hit, if given the chance (and possibly a remix, with added fiddles)!

It seems like that the producers have really beefed up the guitars, making the band sound a bit heavier than before. At the same time, there's the odd semi-acoustic pop rocker in there ("Sophia's Song") - and a full-on acoustic ballad "I'm Not The One". All in all, there seems to be more variety here than on the previous album, and I think it's a good thing.

Out of the dozen tracks here only a couple don't really do anything for me - "Can't Get You Out Of My Mind" and "All Alone" are below the otherwise high standard. However, "Who's The One To Blame", "Feed On Emotion", "New Religion", "Once In A Moment" and "Whose Heart" stand out as some of the bands' finest songs so far, and the remaining five are solid tunes as well.

MTM Music 2002
Review by 27 April 2002

Gotta love the name of the band..."Loud & Clear" was also the chosen monicker for the melodic rock site that I used to run before joining forces with the other RockUnited.Comans, and I am glad to say that this band is not bringing the good name down! :)

"Disc-Connected" is a fine AOR album with some modern rock elements, and it has caused some controversy among the fans. It seems like there's a few AOR fans out there who want their AOR "just as it was in 1987", and have no time for anything remotedly "modern". While I enjoy my eighties' albums too, there's no denying that the scene needs bands who are willing to experiment and bring new ideas into it. No band is going to achieve greater success by just emulating the old sounds.

What you'll get here is a collection of tracks that range from good old-fashioned AOR (think Journey/Hugo mixed with some "Hysteria"-era Def Leppard) to more "nu-breed" flavoured melodic rock (Marvelous 3 meets Harem Scarem). Somewhere in between there's even a couple of tracks which remind me a lot of Gary Hughes'(Ten) style of writing, namely "Fly Away" and "If It Takes All Night". Some tracks have traces of Enuff Z'Nuff too, mostly because of Jess Harnell's vocal stylings. Most of the tracks seem to be given a "modern coating" productionwise, with the vocals being often somewhat effected or distorted. It's really not that big of a deal really, those effects only add an edge to the songs. However, the overall production could've been better, as the sound does get a bit muddy, and especially the drum sound isn't particulary good.

Perris Records 2004
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
1 May 2004

If there is something like glam rock for the new millennium it's definitely not what Marilyn Manson is doing (even if some wise-ass journalists tried to make us believe that crap) but it should be a lot like the sound of Loud N' Nasty. Remember the fury of the first two Motley Crue albums but performed with a much better musicianship and with a sound of Shotgun Messiah's classic "Second Coming". The similarities of the sound are not just coincidences, Loud N' Nasty are also from Sweden and "Teaser, Teaser" is their second effort.

It opens with the bombastic title track that clearly sets the path for the rest of the album: the sound is thick, especially if we take into account we are talking about a power-trio, but they are so damn tight that you won't miss any other instruments. "Play Dirty" lightens up with a catchy opening riff that turns into a heavy thumping rocker with a middle part a lot like the first Skid Row album. "Hungry" also has some Skid Row aftertouch spiced up with the aggression of early WASP albums, a winning combination welded together forever with the bombastic, rough, almost totally live sound they managed to capture on the album. The info sheet coming with the album does not credit the engineer of the album but whoever he was, he deserves a standing applause.

Songhaus Music 2002
Review by 3 August 2002

Brad Love is the former mainman of 70'ies/early eighties cult progressive rock band Aviary, and now a solo artist. "Through Another Door" is his second solo album if I'm not mistaken, and what he has to offer is a rather unique set of songs, with influences from several sources.

The vocals of Brad Love are something to get used to - he has a vibrato that reminds me of Chris De Burgh, yet he sounds like REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin too, not to mention Dennis De Young of Styx. The vocals might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I think they suit the songs very well.

And speaking of the songs: Love has managed to create a style that is at the same time very accessible, yet quite adventurous and in touch with his progressive rock roots. The opener "Perfect World" is a perfect (eh...) example of the style: it sounds like a very weird mixture of Styx and Hanson, youthful energy mixed with pomp rock elements! Other than that, some of the songs remind me a lot of the aforementioned Chris De Burgh ("Can't Say No" for instance), while others are more in the vein of those big seventies pomp rock bands, with lots of keyboards all over the place, yet still subtle enough not to go over the top. If you need a bit more contemporary comparison, a more down-to-earth version of Robby Valentine might be a good one!

The reason for my rating is the fact that while this is an instantly likeable album, there's still a few songs that are nice to listen to but not very memorable in the end. Had they been replaced with melodic rock gems as good as "Perfect World", "Darkness" or "Simple Answer", I wouldn't have hesitated in giving this an "8" or better.

Ranka Publishing/Spinefarm Records 2003
Review by 11 november 2003

You’ve probably heard it, the newcomer Lowe Motor Corporation’s hit song ”Soul Of A Pagan”. The video has been running in different lists and Claudia Carnal, the wicked, unique voiced front lady in tight, sexy clothes, has probably made the male crowd howl some. But one can’t forget the rest of the band either, as all the guys have quite a history behind them, bands like Am I Blood, Sinergy, Waltari and Warmen. And they’ve got the looks too. ”Love Me” is LMC’s second single and the album comes out next year, with Ville Valo of HIM as a guest.

Spinefarm 2004
Review by Satu Reunanen, 14 March 2004

Feel like taking a trip down the memory lane ? Well, this trip ain’t gonna be a softie dream, but a hardkicking rocker. As I’ve said it earlier, LoweMotor Corporation’s retro, groovy rock’n’roll or machine-driven rock, however you like it, definately rocks and will gets anyone’s attention. Their lead vocalist is a blonde ex-stripper Claudia Carnal, singing and enticing male fans with her squeeky voice, the way she sings with suggesting, sometimes wicked lyrics, and pronounces the words. Who said metal can’t be sold with sex ?! This oozes sex all the way and it’s about time we get more female vocalists who are as characteristic as Claudia and kick some male butt in this male-driven business.

On this full-length the band offers songs on a wide range. It’s not just simple rock’n’roll all the way. Sometimes it goes into a darker mood, having a lean and mean approach with even oriental mystique to it, defiance lurking right around the next corner and an instrumental song in the end. Sometimes you can get annoyed by a ringing sound, the title track really makes you go crazy with it, almost reaching your phone. The album starts with a good rocker "The Flyin’ G" and the other rockers are the slower, heavier "Tonight", rockabilly-banger (hmm..) "The Gibson Girl", "Soul Of A Pagan", "Child Of Lies", "Love Me", "The Fool", "Scared". There’s no ballads, but on the slower tracks LoweMotor have captured enough melancholia to fill that space.

Dan LUCAS: "Canada"

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Yet another AOR god from, yes you guessed it, Canada. This is one of the best albums I have heard lately, a cool mixture of early Harem Scarem, Mitch Malloy and Brett Walker. And hardly any fillers! There's even a smashing cover version of the disco hit "Hot Stuff"! Other highlights include "Someone's Girl", "The Fire" and "I'm Sailing".

Mascot Records 2003
Review by 27 October 2003

A new album of Lynch Mob? Wishful thinking because this album is full of old songs of Lynch Mob and Dokken. George Lynch thought it was a good idea to remaster some old stuff. Well, it is the first “real” new album of Lynch Mob in 11 years and the band will go on tour again. Also the band will release a new live dvd showing what the band is capable of during a show.

This album contains 13 songs and four of them are Dokken tracks. “Tooth And Nail”, “Kiss Of Death”, Breaking The Chains” and Paris Is Burning” have a more modern and aggressive sound, but I prefer Don Dokken’s voice on these tracks instead of Robert Mason’s. Still there is no account for taste...

Spitfire 2003
Review by 22 May 2003

First we had "Wicked Sensation" with Lynch Mob, then you had Pilson's "Underground Moon" project. Put it together and you'll bound to end up with "Wicked Underground" somehow. I guess you don't have to be a genius to work it out. Very tongue in check! Indeed, the two ex-Dokken members decided to renew their creative relationship, with the brand new Lynch/Pilson project.

There's been endless fights within the Dokken camp, ever since they were formed in the mid 80's really. I guess that none of the above is capable to work with Don anymore? It surely can't be a music problem as this sounds pretty much like any of the lastest releases with Dokken. You could also add that Jeff Pilson (vocals/bass), IS the unsung hero behind the vocal sound of their old act. Something which War&Peace fans are already well aware of.

Sanctuary 2003
Review by 8 May 2003

How many times can a band get up on their feets again? Lynyrd Skynyrd has been down for the count several times during their lifetime. Band members have been droping like flies and yet they always managed to bounce right back somehow. Through death and disaster, through thick and thin, the southern rock will always win? huh?

They lost singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and vocalist Cassie Gaines in the infamous 1977 plane crash. Guitarist Allen Collins survived the crash only to suffer paralysis and, eventually, death in a tragic car accident. Most recently the band also lost bassist Leon Wilkeson, who died during the making of this CD. Not to mention the heartattack which one of the bandmembers suffered only a couple of weeks ago. If this is not a "Vicious Circle", I don't know what is?