Catsaway 2002
Review by Kimmo Toivonen 24 November 2002

Every now and then we get a CD that really has nothing to do with any of the wide range of musical styles we deal with, and 3 Blind Mice is one of those CD's. It's melodic, that's true, but rock it is not! I'm not saying that this band is not talented or anything like that, but I think that their brand of "Mouse Music" (their term, not mine - I'd call The Bee Gees that!) will have very limited appeal to our readers.

The band consists of two acoustic guitarists and a piano player, who all sing. Alex Grayson, Garry Wonfor and Lyndon Connah are all seasoned musicians and songwriters who have recorded and toured with several big names (George Michael, Robbie Williams and Joe Cocker, to name a few), and now they are hoping to get a record deal for their own band.

Spec Records 2001
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner 20 March 2002

Technically this would be an independent release (so normally it would fit into A&R Dept.) as the label Spec Records means 4Front drummer Joe Bergamini but the album is good enough to be measured up to the "big boys" here, the rating 8 speaks for itself anyway. The album is an instrumental one but it isn't a guitar album or a synth album or any other typical instrument-hero type of shredding at the speed of light. The tracks are real songs where all instruments play equally important roles, however it doesn't mean these guys are not masters of their own instruments. The band consists of Zak Rizvi (guitars, keys), Frank LaPlace (bass), and Joe Bergamini (drums) but several guest musicians on sax, keyboards, strings, percussions, etc. contribute to the final product.

The first six tracks are centered around a space concept and also include David Bowie's classic "Space Oddity", the only vocal track of the album. Musically the songs range from progressive rock (the opening "Airtime" and "Special Patrol Group") with some jazzy/bluesy influences through some weird bluegrass-like something ("Hideaway") to classic rock (the aforementioned "Space Oddity") and Kitaro/Vangelis like synth music with a hard edge ("Burial At Sea") which is my personal favorite of the first part.

Sound Riot Records/Rock Inc. 2003
Review by Martien Koolen,
17 January 2004

After making three demos it was about time for the Swedish band Seven (or VII, as they want to write it) Gates to release their first real album. Now, here you have it: “Fire, Walk With Me” is an ambitious album, filled with lots of beautiful melodies and classic heavy metal elements. There are three guitar players in this band and they really dominate the sound of Seven Gates; just listen to the opener “Bounded By Hate” and enjoy some amazing guitar melodies.

Sad to say that this first song is already the highlight of the album, for me at least. The other 8 songs remind me too much of bands like Hammerfall (“The Saviour”), Helloween (“Seconds Left To Live”) or Edguy (“Like A Rock”). These tracks are loaded with very familiar, typical power metal guitar riffs and they tend to become a bit boring. This is simply because there is not enough musical variation and the singer does not have what it takes to keep me awake during the complete album. The power ballad “So Far Away” proves his shortcomings as a hard rock vocalist. Still the fact remains that these guys have it in them to become a really exciting heavy rock band.

Frontiers Records 2002
Review by Kimmo Toivonen 29 June 2002

Now here's an alternative to those who like progressive rock, but sometimes feel like that the songs of certain bands are just too long for their own good, and fail to "get to the point" fast enough. Yeah yeah, I fit in to that category too...

All but one of the tracks on the debut of 7 Months are of "normal" length, and while they contain virtuoso playing, time changes and complex arrangements, they also contain real hooks and choruses. Even the one really long song is actually only about 6 minutes, the rest of the 8 minutes and 19 seconds is just seagulls and waves!

The style of the band is pretty familiar, touches of Rush and Fates Warning and plenty of Dream Theather stylings, but still, it's all done somehow quite originally. The album is kicked off with "New Age", which is a quite "traditional" progressive track, while the following track "Change" has one of the better hooks of the album. Next up we have "Stay" and the ballad "Start It Over", both tracks that remind me of Rush, while "Say Goodbye" sounds like a crazy mix of Dream Theather and Toto.

Both "You & Me" and "The Night" are my favourites, the first one being a melodic, almost poppy number which reminds me a lot of Nouveaux, should that say something to anyone. "The Night" is much heavier, but with a very AOR'ish hook.

"Sometimes" has the best intro of the album, great keyboard work. However, the actual song isn't my cup of tea. Finally, there's "Senorita Seranade", the only song that clocks over six minutes. It's a real progfest, with enough time chages to satisfy any prog fan.

NTD 2003
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
24 January 2003

Why??? I simply can't understand why these guys are still unsigned? 7th Heaven are without a doubt one of the most talented acts, that I've come across lately. They are not exactly new kids at the block though as they've been around for quite a while already (since 1985 actually).

I can however understand why they've been Voted "Best Band In Chicago" on BarStar and toured extensively all over the midwest region (150+ shows each of the past three years). Since their new 2-CD "Silver" is absolutely jam packed with catchy Nu-Breed Rock/AOR. This beats the s**t out of most, if not all, of Atenzia Records' releases during 2003 (the hip 'Nu-Breed/Rock' label in Europe). Indeed, they've recorded a double CD with 30 tracks!!?? and most of them are simply breathe taking and Def Leppard's X album gets a real challenger here. The superb vocalist/guitarist Andrew Blake, is obviously inspired by Bono (U2) as you can find much of his phrases and work here. The rest of the band with Richard Hofherr (guitars/keys), Mark Kennetz (bass), and Dan Miller (drums), are all very experienced and good musicians.

Indie 2003
Review by Urban 'Wally' Wallström 7 May 2003

Get into the stooner groove with 18 Speed Tranny!!! Indeed, this is music done by the children of the lost generation. Trip-rock and acid are just two words that springs to mind. Distorted bass lines and an aggressive vocalist are two of the main ingrediances. You can almost touch the atmosphere as the late 60's/early 70's rock, is very present here.

This is one of those cds that I have really waited to get my hands on (again the great selection of AOR Heaven comes and saves the day). The band's first cd "Salute" was great and I still play it a lot. The guys around Scott Gorham have stayed the same when it comes to the rhythm section but the singer has changed. Solli is his name and I guess he is from Norway [Ed. Yes he is, formely of Sons Of Angels]. What is with Norwegian singers coming out all the time? Do they have some kind of special school for singers or do they just sing to keep them warm during the winter times? Solli does an excellent job here and I would not be suprised if he ended up fronting some bigger band soon. I need to find out more about this guy.

This album is one of the nicer suprises of past months. This is pure, honest music and Gorham knows how to write great songs. Even though he is touring with Thin Lizzy (they put out a great show, by the way), he really should take this band on the road because people would love to see these guys live. Well, at least I would and I know that I'm not the only one.

Vinny Records 2001
Review by Kimmo Toivonen 4 December 2001

Our Spanish contributor Jorge has been raving about this group for months now, so it was high time for the rest of us to get to hear this album. Turns out that he wasn't off the mark, these Spanish youngsters have created a fine slice of "old-skool" AOR. Yes, this album is unashamedly eighties-like when it comes to the sounds and the songwriting, but I guess most of our readers don't mind that at all! 91 Suite have even managed to rope in a couple of AOR heroes to help them out, namely Mark Mangold (Touch, Drive, She Said, The Sign) and Al Fritsch (Drive, She Said), who have added their touches to the final product.

You can hear echoes of several great melodic rock bands in the songs of 91 Suite, but thankfully there aren't many obvious "borrowed" bits and pieces. Think of a combination of early Bon Jovi, Honeymoon Suite and Autograph at their finest and you have a pretty good aural vision of 91 Suite. Virtually every song is blessed with a strong hook and plenty of keyboards, all topped with the emotional vocals of Jesus Espin. To be honest, sometimes his overtly expressive style ("Bon Jovi Croak", anyone?) is a bit too much, but when the overall quality of the songs is this good I'll let him get away with it.

Highlights include such songs as "Give Me The Night", "Hurt And Pain", "The Day She Left" and the mega-ballad "Lost In The Silence", but really, there are no weak links in here. Our pal Vicente of Vinny Records can be proud of his signings!

MTM 2000
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

101 SOUTH is the project of Roger Scott Craig, the keyboard player and songwriter of HARLAN CAGE, one of the finest AOR bands of today. For this project Craig has enlisted the services of vocalist Gregory Lynn Hall. To be honest, his vocals are the biggest factor that separates this album from Craig's main band, since the songs are mostly very much in the vein of Harlan Cage. Hall's vocals are bit more upfront and "heroic" than LA Greene's (HC vocalist). He could probably front a german heavy metal band successfully! Also featured are guitarists Michael Turner, Billy Liesegang (of Harlan Cage) and Paul Schirmer. The rhythm section consists of Chris Julian (bass) and Hans Geiger (drums).

"Freeway Ride", the hard rocking opener, is probably the least HC-sounding song on the album, and probably the one I like the least, as it doesn't seem to have a hook of any kind! The next few songs make up for it though, as they are full of hooks - "Run Like The Tiger", "We Took The Wrong Road" and "Your Razor Is Sharp" are the kind of ultra-melodic anthems that we've grown to expect from Roger Scott Craig. It's too bad that "We Took..." seems to be suffering from slight productional problems, as the chorus sounds a bit distorted.

With "Casualty Of Love" and "She Walks On Water" 101 South try to step away from the Harlan Cage style. The former is a bit plodding 80'ies arena rocker, while the latter is a good ballad in the Journey vein. The rest of the album is more in the vein of HC again, with "Live For The Moment" being the higlight among the remaining songs.

Aside from the three tracks mentioned, this album sounds like a Harlan Cage album with different vocals. For those who are not familiar with HC, I could describe them (and 101 South) as a darker, harder-edged version of Foreigner or Journey. Personally I like it a lot but I was expecting Craig to venture into different styles a bit more. However, I did enjoy the HC-sounding songs the most, so maybe it was a good thing he didn't...

Atenzia Records 2002
Review by Kimmo Toivonen 29 June 2002

As you might know, 101 South is "the other band" of Harlan Cage mainman Roger Scott Craig, and this is the band's second album. The main difference between the two bands is the choice of vocalists - 101 South features the vocals of Gregory Lynn Hall. But that's about it really, since the styles of the two bands are carved from the same wood. If you like Harlan Cage you're hardly going to hate 101 South and vice versa! The name of the game is bombastic melodic rock with lots of keyboards and massive choruses.

As I happen to like Roger Scott Craig's style of songwriting, I quite like this album, but it has to be said that it isn't his finest work. It starts well enough: the first four tracks are all good, admittedly quite familiar sounding, but I'm not complaining. However, the next three tracks "Standing In The Spotlight", "Roll OF The Dice" and "Ride Out The Storm" sound like fillers to these ears. The hooks just aren't there, and the fact that two of them are slow ones and one a midtempo track only makes the mid-section of this album quite dull.

"Dance Through The Night" brightens things up, as it is a more an up-tempo track with a strong chorus. Another highlight is "I'll Never Forget You Baby", a a great midtempo AOR gem written by Gregory Lynn Hall. "Black Isn't Black" is a third homerun in a row, another good track and somehow more fresh-sounding than some of the more Harlan Cage-like tracks. The bluesy "Get Up And Go" is probably the biggest departure of the album, but since I'm not that big a blues fan, it doesn't do much for me.

"More of the same" might be a bit harsh summary of the album, but it isn't far off the mark. Still, there are some very good songs here, and the productional duds that were evident on the first album have been avoided.

PowerPlay Records 2003
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
2 January 2004

PowerPlay Records is a new and interesting (independent) label, based in New York/USA. They'll work with world wide sales and distribution for new metal bands as well as re-issues of classic albums. First up is this marvelous re-issue of 220 Volt and their "Eye To Eye" album from 1987, regarded as one of the best melodic hardrock albums to ever come out of Sweden.

Digitally remastered and officially licensed from Sony/Sweden (not like those bootlegs of Power Games & Mind Over Muscle), with two bonus tracks and all new artwork. The glossy 12 page booklet with all lyrics, some photos, and a special written introduction by guitarist Mats Karlsson is rather impressive stuff too. I'm not sure about your opinion, but I find it rather interesting to have a completely new artwork to go along with the CD. Perhaps they could have included the original artcover on the back of the booklet??? I'm otherwise quite happy with this actually.

A2 Records 2000
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

400 Horses aim to bring "fun back into Rock n' Roll", and to a degree they succeed in it. Their debut album is the kind of music that might cause some toetappin' while you play it but I doubt you'll be humming these tunes later on. Yes, I am talking about a serious lack of catchy hooklines here!

"Guilty As Sin" is the opener, an energetic number sounding like Guns 'n Roses with horns; and probably the best track here. Sadly most of the other tunes can't compete with it. Sometimes they get close, like with the Gun-like "Too Close For Comfort" and "We Do What We Like" that sounds like a cross between Warrant's "Cherry Pie" and Aeromith's "Rag Doll". Most of the time though the memorable melodies are nowhere to be found, and the songs end up being quite boring.

The are not too many bands doing this kind of party rock at the moment; so who knows, 400 Horses might find their own slice of the buying public. Maybe next time they write a few catchier songs, and live up to the expectations raised by their really entertaining bio!

MTM Classix 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
8 May 2004

Finally a MTM Classix release almost worthy of its name. 707 recorded three melodic rock albums in the very early 80's. It was also the first time rock fans really noticed vocalist Kevin Chalfant (The Storm, Two Fires, VU, The View). Other famous musicians included guitarist/keyboardist Tod Howarth (Frehley's Comet) as well as guitarist Kevin Russell (Rick Derringer).

"Megaforce" was their third and last effort, which originally saw its light of day back in 1982. Produced by famed producer Keith Olsen, it had a slightly edgier sound, than their previous albums. It's still the 'classic' AOR sound of its time and Chalfant's Perry-like vocals adds a certain Journey-ism to everything. The title track is a real classic if anything, it was actually re-recorded as "Calling To You" by Frehley's Comet in 1987. Ace Frehley asked to hear some of Howarth's previous work, before signing him up to the band. Apparently he liked what he heard and thought it to be a funny coincident, as they were signed to the "Megaforce" label.