Indie 2005
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
5 December 2005

Southwest Sunrise is a 5-piece band from the Southwestern Finland (naturally!), and this is their latest indie release. They play vintage 70'ies and 80'ies styled hard rock that reminds me of bands such as Rainbow, Deep Purple and Whitesnake and you know what - they do it damn well!

The two tracks on the CD are both rather good tracks, crunchy guitar-driven rockers with solid production and tasty arrangements. "Taken By The Devil" is the more energetic one out of the two, but the more mid-tempo "Judgement Day" is the one I prefer, thanks to its' stronger chorus. I hope that the band has a few songs that have plenty of both of these elements - the energy and the melody. Then we'd be talking about a sure winner...

The band is playing live regulary in this corner of Finland, and once our schedules match, I must go and check out their live show. Meanwhile, there's a lot of material on their website, samples of these two tracks and the cover tracks they play on their gigs.

Indie 2005
Review by Satu Reunanen
14 November 2005

Want something to get you going ? Then Vanity Ink is the drug you want ! Having their first release out earlier this year, they’re back with their original singer Annabella, who does the trick just as well as Stiina, maybe sounding even more raunchier and credible than her predecessor. Like ”...Roadkills !”, the new release from the Helsinki rockers offers once again streetrock with an attitude, and they’ve got something which is rarely on offer for fans of this genre.

Indie 2005
Review by Satu Reunanen
7 November 2005

Finnish Catastrophe has released their third demo with three new songs and it’s all about thrash with melodies, which have been used quite well. With a singer like Simo Järvinen the band has a sound of their own, even with influences like Pantera ringing through, but the songs have diversity and originality which is a plus. Still there’s work ahead of them for a cleaner, more dynamic and clearer outcome and getting out of being labelled a demo band. Most of all, the members still need to improve as players and songwriters and getting a good connection between the players.

Indie 2005
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
31 October 2005

Here's 3-track demo from Sipher, a Helsinki-based duo playing metal with gothic and idustrial influences. I've reviewed a couple of Sipher demos before, and it's good to be able to say that the band has progressed with each one of their discs. My main gripe with them has been the weak vocals, but they've found a way to bypass that obstacle, by choosing a bit more "industrial" approach. The distorted, electronic kind of vocals sound better than before, giving the songs almost Rammstein-like power.

I can't say that I'm too fond of this kind of music, but credit where credit's due, the guys have stayed true to their art and gotten better at it. They have found a style that might appeal to metal fans across the board, but in order to make that happen, they still need to add a good dose of power and fury to their sound. That would totally wash away the "home-made" feel of their music. It's almost gone, but not completely...

Indie 2005
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
30 August 2005

Ashcorn is hi-tech, cyber-thrash, industrial metal, from Italy with a classy female singer. "X-Spleen-8" holds power riffing and synthesizers/electronics input of highest quality and it's a nice 8-track debut of its genre. Lady Sophia has a unorthodox voice with the occasional growls and death-metal approach, a bit strain on the higher parts, but fronts the lively buzz really well. In fact, the lady got balls and probably more stamina that most (male) wannabee-singers as well. Add that lead guitarist Miles Tawnshate also backs her up with the occasional "clean" lead/back vocals and you're in for a rather nice surprise.

Indie 2005
Review by Petri Kautto 22 August 2005

Judging by their album sleeves (which actually look pretty good when you compare them with many other demo sleeves), Gamblin’ Crew should be no strangers to groupies. "Thanks to all the beautiful ladies we shared bed with" in the credentials pretty much gives you an impression of what they’re about, if you didn’t get it from the subtle hint "Parental Advisory – explicit womanizin’" –tag on the front cover.

Nothing wrong with courting the ladies, but if you also wanna spread love outside your hometown limits you need to have substance in your music, the looks and the posing will only take you so far. This 6 song demo is musically average and thou I’m sure that Diva Don Marco, Mississippi Murdoc, Eddy Clifford and Evil Pete give it their best shot, musically they fail to impress.

Indie 2005
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
24 July 2005

Name the city of Seattle and you'll instantly end up with two different camps among the hardrock fans. The christian dudes of Global Warning are however very good at what they do: modern metal inspired by acts such as Metallica, Sevendust, System Of A Down, and Korn. They have a nice mix of very crunchy, distorted guitars, wicked melodies, and a vocalist that sounds like a distant cousin of James Hetfield (Metallica). Sure, "Enemy Within" may be a independent release... but you can't really tell, since it's been nicely recorded and mastered by Floyd Reitsma (much due to the magic of pro-tools). The snare-drum, however, may not attract much attention to the tradition "heavy metal" fan as it feels too hallow at times.

It's difficult to pigeonhole their entire sound, however, they do have a strong christian message without being too preachy. If you still don't aim to listen to the songs themselves too closely, the ballsy attack that characterises Global Warning is certainly impressive enough for you to check out. Tracks like "Bring It On", "Chasm", "Solace", "Secret" and "Empty Inside" are very impressive and easily as good as any Sevendust/System Of The Down material. Nevermind that "Crawling" may not be the greatest song in the world, at least it do motor along in the fastlane with little sign of slowing down.

Do check out "Enemy Within" if you're into above mentioned acts, a very professional made CD with a aggressive, modern sound.

Indie 2005
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
6 July 2005

Winterstrain is a new.... ehh... better make that "old" sensation out of Norway, Scandinavia. They've been struggeling for the last 15 years for this moment to come true though!!! They are now finally standing together as a real unit, the debut album is already finished, simply waiting to be mastered by Magnum engineer Mark Stuart in the U.K..

This is merely a 4-track sampler of greater things to come and I believe they are still on the look out for a label. Tony Mills (SHY, Siam) sings backing vocals as well as being the sole provider of this very sample (cheers). The band is inspired by the likes of Magnum, Rush, Marillion, Shadow Gallery, Journey, and an undefinable horde of more or less "proggy" bands. It's very much about melody and melodic passages with lots of keyboards and pompous overtures. Most folks would probably label Winterstrain as "prog"... but it's very symphonic with lots of thought worthy material. Among the songs represented here, "The Battle" is the most Magnum like in its approach. We're talking early Magnum as well and you can add a touch of Saga on top of that. "A Mountain Inside The Stone" is a marvelous epic anthem in the Rhapsody meets Bob Catley category. "Sail" is a pure prog-rock with hits of both Marillion, Pink Floyd, and TNT (not kidding). Opening track "Another Time" is a 50/50 affair with as much melodic hardrock as pomp/prog.

Fredheim is a convincing singer with a clean, strong voice and the rhythm section flat out rocks (the drummer is also involved in the new Siam album with Mills, and as a member of our messageboard, I believe?). Their only problem... finding a label... some of the "melodic" labels may find this too proggy?? and vice versa with the "prog" labels (too melodic hardrock-ish). Nontheless, impressive music with a very professional approach. Check out the site below for more info and be on the look-out for the Winterstrain album.

Indie 2005
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
2 July 2005

Medley is a Finnish Thrash/Nu-Metal outfit and not some weird song collection (like anyone even thought about it, before I mentioned it). "Demonster" is an slightly over enthusiastic attempt to encompass as many of metal's facets as possible into a demo. Don't get me wrong, the demo has its moments for sure, "Pay The Price" is a darn fine thrasher in the Metallica school of things, while "Lifeline" is a more laidback affair.

I'm not too fond of the nasal twang of the lead vocals though. They could certainly need more aggression and power behind those words. It's close-to annoying to hear him sing "Pray For Salvation", with that hi-pitched, nasal-twist at the end. Some of their more Sabbathy, heavier, slower, passages are great though and much of Medley's riffing are very effective and direct to the point. No doubt a fine bunch of musicians, even if they lack that "special" songwriting skill at times. It's also quite difficult to see what kind of music they're aiming at here (they're pretty much stuck with one feet in each camp). I would recommend Medley to stop and talk about "where are we going next" and "what kind of audience are we aiming at here". They have potentional skill to "make-it", now it's merely a question of more hard work and finding the right foot to stand upon.

Indie 2005
Review by Satu Reunanen
3 July 2005

Once again we have a power metal band coming from Finland, this time in the form of three women and two men with three new songs. Before ”Lost Forever” Miseria released two demos and one MCD, with samples in different releases. For RockUnited they’re newcomers though, who don’t bring nothing new to the market, but at least spreads good vibes with their cheerful and powerful melodies. Joni Kantoniemi and Virpi Äkkinen are the two singers in Miseria, who both do their own parts. Virpi and the keysgal Päivi Korpi-Käkelä are the main songwriters, who’ve written songs that are from first notes catchy and sound as this genre’s supposed to sound.

The band is still fairly young and needs to improve some more, so some uncertainty rings through in the material, but overall the songs show good promise and the slight beginners touch can be forgiven. Strangely however the songs are a bit short for this genre, but at least this way they don’t start repeating themselves. I don’t see why this band wouldn’t have a record deal soon enough, their music is very well visualized, their melodies are in the right places and the symphonic influences fit well here. Something you could call a mixture of Sonata Arctica/Edguy/Therion with ethereal female vocals, backed with darker male parts. Even with little rawness in their sound, their material is energetic from first notes. Hopefully they’ll get more compact and professional sounding and soon we’ll have another fine band hailing from the metal land of Finland.

Indie 2005
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
3 July 2005

The cover of this album is possibly the worst I've seen in a long time, and because of that I was expecting this to be a joke. Apparently the band is somewhat serious, true warriors of God aiming to spread the good word. Never mind that with their painted faces and swords they kind of look like those freaky black metal bands from Norway...Anyway, apparently this album is "Great for the Whole Family"! They've even printed that to the cover!

Musically the band is a bit of this and a bit of that. The strongest track is the opener "Cry As One" which is a pretty good melodic metal anthem, but apart from that I wasn't really impressed. "I Want A Walmart Girl", The hit that they advertise on the cover, reminded me of The Ramones gone metal...not too bad but somehow a bit goofy. All the tracks suffer a bit from the muddy production and the rather "lazy" vocal style of the lead singer (it's either Ted Donley or Michael Goodnight, both are mentioned as vocalists).

Final verdict: I think I still prefer the original Warrior from the eighties, who released that metal classic "Fighting For The Earth". Warrior Website

G.L.A.S. Music 2005
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
19 June 2005

Italian melodic hard rock band G.L.A.S. has been around for 18 years, and this CD was put together as a celebration of their 18th anniversary. It's surely a nice gift for their longtime fans, but I don't think that it's going to break any new ground for them.

G.L.A.S. (annoying name to type!) deal with standard 80'ies-styled AOR material. I am constantly reminded of Ted Poley's post-Danger Danger project while listening to this album - very "Melodica"-like nice, but forgettable melodies. Still, the songs are probably the band's strongest asset...

The production is very much of demo-quality, and some of the arrangements sound a bit clumsy. The band could definitely use a vocalist, since Alex Moschini and Massimo Cappelli are at their best only adequate singers. In AOR, where the emphasis is on melodies, "adequate" just isn't enough...

If G.L.A.S. are planning on continuing for another 18 years, I think they should really consider getting a good lead singer and maybe some outside help to the production of their next CD.

Indie 2004
Review by Satu Reunanen
19 June 2005

Some fresh spirit coming from Finland this time in the form of The Chant. The band’s been together with this line-up since 1999, but have been in the music business much longer. The five guys and one girl are experienced in many genres of music and instruments and the experience shows through in this demo. The band has released three demos before and one album called Cynthia’s Fire through a German label, but have gone though slight changes musically from those days.

The fresh spirit I’m talking here is actually newfound grunge, or similarity to it with more emotion put into it. Could this give new kick to the long forgotten genre ? What The Chant is doing you wouldn’t mind grunge coming back, even if you never liked it. The band calls their music melodic metal with a bunch of influences. They play straight rockers with a grungy and commercial rock edge to it with melodic and deep vocals. The production might not be the best with somewhat dusty sounds, but the band gets their point across well enough. The four songs ”Cold Comfort”, ”Momentary Joys”, ”Magdalene” and ”Repeating Dream” all have something to sink your teeth into.

Vallankumoustuotanto 2005
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
15 June 2005

One Eye Shut from Helsinki, Finland believes in simple riffs and catchy hooks. The "no-frills" approach of this trio reminds me a bit of Peer Günt, although I must say that both of these two songs are more melodic than most of PG's material. In a rough, unpolished way that is. If you're not familiar with PG (and I guess that's quite likely), here's another comparison: imagine a 80'ies glam metal band (something like Sleezebeez, Roxx Gang or Ratt) locked into a shed with only a few Motorhead, Monster Magnet and Black Sabbath albums to inspire them for a few months - they might evolve into something like One Eye Shut.

Out of these two tracks, I prefer "Last In Line" which has quite a strong hook. "Crash'n Burn" is less memorable. The production is decidedly rough, but this kind of music doesn't require that much polishing anyways. No need for DAT tapes or triggered samples when OES is on stage I guess!

One can predict fairly promising future for these guys in their home country at least: the Finnish rock scene has always had a soft spot for straight-forward rockers. I guess it's the legacy of Hurriganes, who epitomise "rock" for many a Finn.

Indie 2004
Review by Satu Reunanen
26 May 2005

Take a few guys from ex-Eden and ex-Empty Tremor and two brothers and you get a melodic popgroup Bad Ambition, who’ve got two releases behind them already and the band being together since 1998. Eventhough their third one ”Storm Signal” was released already last year, we only received it now. But the wait was worth it. We’ve got a very melodic group here, which you better take note of. The guys keep themselves quite busy, looking at what they’ve been up to and guitarist Mirko Guerra has even played in Laura Pausini’s band.

One can’t help but notice how this Italian band uses Italian popsong structures. The songs are fresh, radiofriendly and light sounding with catchy choruses and vocal work, where Matteo Babini shows some slight Goran Edman-feeling to them. But that’s not all, they even use some prog elements, though keeping the music easy to listen to. The rocking and catchy ”Sea Of Emotion” is one song that pops to the best ones along with ”Out From Your Life” and most best tracks are already featured in the beginning. The guitars are rough with some twists and nice solos and work nicely together with the vocals.

Indie 2005
Review by Satu Reunanen
19 May 2005

Last year we found out about a refreshing popgroup called Zebrafish, hailing from Finland. This year they’re coming back with a release that’s continuing where they left off with ”Brace For Impact”. Their style has stayed pretty much the same, eventhough they’ve added some new elements along here and their bass player changed to Raif Hairulla in between. Their music is still very versatile and carries that light and entertaining feeling to it, which stays catchy all the time.

”Simple Signs” kicks off the cd softly onward to a popbeat, which little by little takes the atmosphere a notch higher, bringing even heavier and more complicated elements along. But all the while the mood sticks to what this band is all about, bringing its listeners some light and relaxation in the middst of this fast and madly spinning world. All those funk, prog and ethnic elements are still there and the band reaches the hights of Mike Oldfield well again too, there’s still enough space between the notes and the music moves forward in balance just as it is.

Indie 2005
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
2 May 2005

Here's a really professionally done product by the teutonic act Scylax. Founded in the town of Einbeck/Germany in the spring of 2003, the band has already convinced their audience with loud, in-your-face music and a dynamic live show. They've been busy playing at festivals with other teutonic bands such as Doro, Squealer, Knorkator, and even US thrash legends: Annihilator.

Indie 2005
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
2 May 2005

Any Geordies out there? Dogtide were formed in March 2001 in Newcastle Upon Tyne (Geordie land) and has since been very passionate about their alt-metal music. Influences such as Strapping Young Lad, The Wildhearts, Therapy?, Metallica and Led Zeppelin have inspired them to create and perform their own kind of music.

Their independent debut album "Intermittent" was recorded in full in only six (6) hours and I'm not sure if that's something to be proud about really? Heck, you're bound to make mistakes and wish you could re-take or re-record at least some of the tracks. The power trio is however well organized and they've certainly managed to capture the energy of their live show with this CD. Let's face it, it's raw, in-your-face, and most bands would rather call this a live bootleg recording or sumthin'. Nonetheless, I believe they still need to work on their material to become really interesting. It's an up and coming band for sure and some of these tracks are really catchy. Find out more about Dogtide at their homesite below.
Dogtide Website

Indie 2005
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
29 March 2005

I truly enjoyed the first 24 Unity CD and I still think of it as a masterpiece in it's genre. Catchy melodic hardrock, hi-tech, progressive rock at its fullest and a CD I would highly recommend to all of you out there. They're back with "Lifeshines" and the Canadians are still mixing the progressive sound of fellow Canuck's Rush, the wild guitarplaying of Satch'/Vai and the melodies of Extreme and possible even King's X at times. They have "almost" managed to record a small masterpiece again. I miss however a couple of hooks and memorable choruses and I still prefer the debut anyday.

At the centre of attention and with full credit to the quite unique sound of 24 Unity, we can find the out-of-ordinary guitarist MMO. He's a monster at coming up with flashy tricks, speedy licks, and overall complex guitar playing not of this earth. An unsung hero in my opinion and certainly worthy of all the credit he can get. If you enjoyed the exciting work of Nuno Bettencourt during his Extreme days you'll love this CD as well. Keep however in mind that 24 Unity are more progressive and not as "funky" at all really.

Indie 2005
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
30 March 2005

Below Axis - a bunch of teenagers from Atlanta/USA that play sleazy hardrock in the 80's style??? Holy Cow! I guess the Generation Y isn't totally helpless after all? (a quote from their own info-sheet actually). Heavily influenced by Mötley Crue and the wild frontmen and smokin' guitar solos of the true "golden age", the 80's, these four teens will not let anything stop them from making chicks fall in love with real rock again (end quote). This is their debut 4-song EP produced by Brad Cox of Grayson manor. A pretty decent EP with a couple of nice ideas and rockin tunes, even though it's hardly earthshaking material... yet.

Indie 2005
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
29 March 2005

Dude, what the heck happened??? What first seemed to be a freakin' great, new, melodic act, with killer songs such as "Jenny", "Fight For Your Life", and "All Or Nothing" (all featured on their first and excellent demo), has now gone slightly sour with one minor disappointment after the other. Nope, it's not at all "bad", however, I surely hoped and wished for something more consistive than this.

In fact, the above mentioned songs are the only ones worthy of that "massive" hype I created here at RockUnited earlier. The ex-Romeo Delite singer Jay Fury and the rest of the gang, spoiled us with fun music and excellent melodies in the style of Bon Jovi only a bit heavier. And yes! "Jenny" is still a big slice of early Bon Jovi with marvelous vocal harmonies and lovely keyboards. The refrain sticks like glue and you still can't help to shout along with the words of "Jenny, Sweet Jenny, I Need Your Smile Today. My Heart Is Breaking, Everytime You Walk Away".

Indie 2005
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
29 March 2005

"Hi, we're a AOR band from Sweden" - Ehhhh... nah, not really, lads!!! We shouldn't get into the whole discussion about "what's the true definition of AOR". However, I surely wouldn't classify Stonelake into that category. It's *Melodic Hardrock* with lots of groove riffs and hooks in the Scandinavian tradition of things with a slight touch of progressive work during the second part of track two "Only One Reason". The opening track "Stay Young And Free" display a more TNT, Blue Murder, kind of approach to things with lots of technical guitarwork. Their 2-track demo works otherwise as a nice showcase of what could turn out to be decent project in the end. It's hardly any groundbreaking material so far... but who knows what the future will bring.

Indie 2004
Review by Petri Kautto 19 March 2005

Abacorn is in your face and they are sounding heavy and amazingly professional. Their riffs are hard-pounding, their sound is tight and they have a demo that could be released as an album as it is, so high is the quality of the production of this 6-song release.

Abacorn is a very contemporary (melodic) heavy metal band. Their sound is clear and riffs are raw and massive and at times they sound even a little hostile. Lead singer Miche has a pinch of anger in his voice and his wide-ranging pipes suite Abacorn’s sound really well. As a band they sound like a well-oiled machine and there really are no weak links in the band.

Indie 2004
Review by Petri Kautto 19 March 2005

Stonedeep’s music is an interesting mix of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and quite surprisingly, Bomfunk MC’s. Weather they like it or not Bomfunk MC’s will be mentioned quite often with this band because one of their members, Anargismo, was in BMC’s during their Freestyler-era. But Stonedeep’s promo is very different from that. It’s mainly rock music, but they throw in some scratching here and there to give them more recognizable sound.

Stonedeep is trying to combine rock music with a DJ and with their first song "Detonated" they pull it of ok. Riffs are powerful and scratching in some parts of the song is a nice touch. Having said that I must add that they are walking on a thin line between a nice touch and an annoying touch. They do have an idea in what they’re doing and they seem to handle their instruments well but I think they just haven’t found the perfect sound yet.

Indie 2005
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
15 March 2005

I've got really diverse feelings about this album. What else could you have when there's a guitarist with a bunch of friends who find their own burp so damn funny that they record it and even write a song about it?! Yet the musicians are really talented and at their finest moments they pull really great things. Cloux is a young French guitarist who recorded a six-track album with the help of the computer and some friends but personally I'm puzzled what his aim was with the recording.

Most of the times it sounds like some weird experimenting with the boundaries of drum programming and rhythmic patterns as basically all of the songs feature about 15 different neck-breaking drum patterns, a big bunch of unnecessary drum breaks, topped with choppy guitar- work. Yet the guitar and bass patterns are extremely tight and professional, obviously many hours of planning, practice, and experimenting was put into the recordings. However the entertaining factor wasn't really paid much attention to. Most of the tracks are only exciting to people like me who use the same technology for their own recordings but I doubt that the "average" listener (read: non-professionals) would care all that much about drum programming and drum soundfonts or the difficult technicalities of recording. People like to hear good *songs* and that's what this album lacks.

Indie 2004
Review by Satu Reunanen
27 January 2005

Nowadays people are releasing lots of concept albums and the German TimeMage is hopping in and having a try themselves in that area, comparing the project to the likes of Ayreon. They sure have chosen a big project for themselves, something which isn’t all that easy to accomplish. TimeMage is the brainchild of Stefan Schenkel, vocalist, programmer, keysman and songwriter. He’s brought in a bunch of musicians along, including his brother Andreas, who sings vocals on one song and two female vocalists.

Their music takes influences from thrash, melodic and power metal, even industrial, alternative and goth, with both clear and growling vocals sharing space. Eventhough there’s great ideas in each song and even emotional charge, the singers are in need of singing lessons and the lyrics need more arranging. The arrangements on the female vocalist songs ”Drowned In Blood” and ”My Call” are childish and too mellow to sound convincing. The band plays alright to get the point across, but the disorientated and hollow sound spoils a lot and the music should’ve required the guitars more on top. Without their support the music isn’t dynamic enough.

Indie 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
18 January 2005

Yeah!!! This Harv fellow is a perfect example of the kind of rock'n'roll we enjoy over here. He's from Northern Ireland, ex-vocalist of Emerald and Den Of Thieves, and has recorded a solo album that could just as easily have been a proper release by MTM, Frontiers, or any of the other melodic hardrock labels out there. "Back" comes out sounding quite similar to the style of 80's acts such as Tyketto, early FM, Lion, and even Whitesnake at times. The latter isn't that strange perhaps as Harv's also fronting the Whitesnake tribute band "Snakebite".

You will find some strong vocals in the style of Kal Swan (Lion, Tytan), and the production isn't all bad for a independent demo release. There's always things to work at or complain about, but it's overall a more than decent display of melodic hardrock (quite excellent actually). There's 16 tracks of AOR to be found here and I would personally remove 4-5 of them to get a really solid melodic album. Especially the rather dodgy ballads of "Paradise" and "Calling Your Name". It seems like Harv is way better at writing rockers and that's a big plus in my books. It's something you'll notice already with the classy opener of "Crying In The Rain" (not the Whitesnake toon, there's also a 'Carrie' ballad later on).

Indie 2004
Review by Satu Reunanen
20 January 2005

Who’s Lightspeed, I hear many wondering, me included. This Canadian band isn’t well known around Europe, but it’s better late than never hearing about them, they’ve already gained success with their two earlier releases. Their traditional rock mixed with progressive & aor rock with light notes and happy thoughts is well worth listening to, bringing warm feeling along with it’s relaxing atmosphere.

Their influences Yes, Genesis, Kansas, Journey and the likes shine through in the songs, a 70’s progressive feeling inspires all the songs. It’s spacy, radio-friendly, very melodic and emotional. The playing is more concentrated on keeping that 70’s feeling though than filling the songs with technical skills taking too much room, as often happens with new prog bands. Any which way suites fine with me though. ”Waves Of Emotion” includes four tracks; ”Waves” describes the overall atmosphere the best, being spacy, relaxing, with great rhythm parts and vocal work, ”Breath Away” is mellow funk with a capturing feeling to it, taking you on a journey back in time, ”One Last Time” is a very classy, sad ballad mainly with vocals and guitar and ”Innocence Of Life” is a rocker with striking parts.

indie 2004
Review by Satu Reunanen
20 January 2005

Hailing from the Helsinki underground rock’n’roll scene, Vanity Ink is the result from its members earlier bands Capital Crime, Silver City Bandits, Crystal Extasy and Weirdorama, all streetrock bands and some even enjoyed their bits of underground fame in early ninetees. Up until the beginning of 2003 the band worked as an all male band, but then found Stiina for vocals and now the band is going strong with their angst-driven punkpop rock.

Indie 2004
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
8 January 2004

Lost In Blue are a new band from Chicago area, USA, and they describe themselves as a metal band with a sound "that is reminiscent of the past but still retains a modern edge". Okay...basically what I hear is a good traditional metal band in the vein of Iron Maiden, with some quirky, eccentric influences (they mention Primus and I can hear that). The musicianship is quite excellent, especially the bass playing by Ryan is quite interesting - his style isn't that of a typical metal bassist. As for the songs, there are some fine melodies in their songs, especially in the opening track "V-Show Song".

Something is missing though - a vocalist! If the mysterious "vocalist - ????" on the band's site is anything to go by, this is about to change. That would be a good thing, since without vocals their appeal to the average metal fan is sadly very limited. I sincerely hope they can find a great vocalist, because their material sounds very promising as it is.

Band site: www.lostinblue.com

Indie 2004
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
8 January 2005

I reviewed the last Sipher demo in July 2004, and now the boys are back for another go at it. They still play kind of a peculiar gothic metal/rock, but I'm glad to say that there's been improvement on many sectors. The production sounds better, the songwriting is stronger and even the vocals are a bit more convincing, although I still wouldn't rule out the possibility of getting a "real" vocalist...

I won't pick out any songs in particular since all of them have some parts I quite enjoyed, especially the melancholic keyboard parts and some rather sharp riffs. I wasn't too keen on their somewhat Children Of Bodom-styled "horror vocals", but credit where credit's due - at times all that vicious hissing sounded quite scary indeed!