This page includes the reviews of weeks 6-10 of 2004. You can find older reviews and everything else in the Reviews Archive.
Lion Music 2004
Review by Endre "Bandi" Hübner, 
23 February 2004
Following "In the Name of Bach", probably the best thing Alex Masi has done so far, "In the Name of Mozart" is here and [dare I say] this one is even better than Bach. We get an all-acoustic instrumental album that is not only technically perfectionist but also the selection and transcription of the material is really well thought of, leaves nothing to desire for and would please anybody into Mozart's music and [I hope] also those who are not. Alex was wise enough to concentrate on Mozart's late works featuring melodies familiar even to those who are not into classical music.
Keeping this in mind, he opened the album with the Allegro, the best-known part of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik followed by the Romanza from the same piece. A stunning introduction for sure, especially if we take into account that the tempo Alex takes for the Allegro is even faster than the original. [Okay, I admit I compared it to my version conducted by Sir Neville Mariner who is known to take moderate tempos... must be because of the considerable age difference of the two :)] The sound of the guitars is just crystal clear and due to a well-prepared transcription you don't lack the orchestra at all. The 2 two parts of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik are followed by another late Mozart piece, the Piano Sonata number 15, and we get the Allegro again as track 3 here. Another stunning performance, performed considerably faster on the guitar than the original on the piano. My jaws dropped when hearing this transcription, the scaling parts are just awesome, notes are rolling out from under Alex's fingers like pearls. And if you got overwhelmed by acoustic guitars only so far, another late Mozart piece, Piano Concerto number 24 follows transcribed for the guitar, the orchestral part played by the Stuttgart Symphony orchestra. The change in the arrangement is welcome and the piece is easy to digest even for those who aren't into classical music at all even if the piece may not be as well-known as the others on the album. To include better-known melodies the album continues with the Rondo Alla Turca with melodies everybody would know. The tempo is faster than the usual again just to impress anybody who had doubts so far. The album is closing with the Andante of the Piano Sonata number 15 (the Allegro was already featured from the same piece) and with a piece "Theme with 12 Variations in D major" that I have to admit I didn't know before but its Koehl register number [284 that is] suggests it is an early work by Mozart.
All in all the album is a welcome addition to
any instrumental guitar fan's collection, and dare I say to anybody's even to
those who are not familiar with classical music. Mozart is the composer whose
music is probably the easiest to get into even if you were not into classical
music before because of its memorable melodies and beautiful arrangements. Due
to Alex Masi's clever selection and to the fact that his guitar transcriptions
managed to keep the entertaining factors of the originals this album may serve
as a first encounter with Mozart's music to those who haven't had the chance to
explore these wonderful pieces before.
Lion Music website
LionMusic 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström, 
19 February 2004
Credit to Mister Kite for paying attention to the big picture with their second release. Everything from artwork, booklet, to production and musician performances are of highest quality on "Box Of Fear". The whole layout and such reminded me of Dream Theater and they've actually progressed this time around.
Mister Kite is like an even more progressive version of King's X somehow. There's lots of cleverly done passages and structures to be found on this CD. They have added a keyboard player to their line-up (Tomas Djurfeldt), which has resulted in more progressive vibes I'd guess.
I can't say that I'm all that impressed by the material this time though. It's almost like they've trying too hard to add as much as possible into each track. Simplicity is a very underrated thing as the result may not get any better with tons of stuff included. Perhaps they're just too gifted and I'm too stupid to get it? Ehem... I don't get that feeling at all really [:-)]. This is however far from crap as you may notice by my ranking of the album. They are definitly trying to create something original here instead of looking too much at other acts or trends. You won't find any straight ahead rockers like "Soulsaving Sister" or "I Want More" from their debut. Instead you'll get very complex tracks such as "Evil Bob" and "I Know You Know", where the latter is blessed with some really strange lyrics. No real highlights perhaps, but on the other hand, you won't find any real fillers either. Solid, progressive, and quite unique for its time.
www.lionmusic.com
SPV 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
20 February 2004
Believe it or not "Kings And Queens" is already the 10th (studio) solo release by ex-Steeler guitarist Axel Rudi Pell. I'll have to be honest here and say that I never really expected him to be around this long. The Germans are obviously very fond of their Malmsteen wannabee and his traditional albums, with over all classy guitar work and scandalicious poses in the studio.
Traditional is the key word really as you know what to expect from Pell by now. No major hickups or suprises to be found here as he plays it very safe with "nice" though sometimes boring hardrock. Johnny Gioeli (Hardline) is still lead vocalist for the third or fourth album in a row and experienced drummer Mike Terrana, gives a solid backbone to the whole project.
The production (also by Pell) is an excellent craftmanship of modern technology and the guitars are very upfront. It almost sound like if he's playing guitar the old fashioned way 'ala early Tony Iommi from time to time (strings directly against nails so to speak). Check out "Cold Heaven" where you clearly hear this "phenomena" appear and perhaps he just lost the picks somewhere along the way? The song is however a winner with its catchy refrain and power riff. "Strong As A Rock" is blessed with some excellent vocals by Gioeli and "Legions Of Hell" is Black Sabbath during their Dio era. The jumping bass-lines by Volker Krawczak will remind you a lot of "Heaven And Hell" and it's nicely performed rock. "Forever Angels" is yet another fine power ballad in the same tradition as his earlier work. You simply can't deny that there's a couple of horrible fillers included in the end. Long time fans will not see any problems in this however as they'll probably buy anything? Not bad, not great, but always in the same formula as in the past. I guess that both Yngwie and Axel Rudi could need some other/new ideas to add to their music. "Safe" will have to be the last and most remaining impression of "Kings And Queens".
www.spv.de
Now & Then Records 2004
Review by Jorge Antonaya, 
19 February 2004
Neverworld is the follow up to Wings Of Forever, the Power Quest debut. This Anglo/Italian band has suffered a few changes on its line up since then. To be honest when I put this CD on my player for the first time I thought, ok, just another trottel metal project that will lead us nowhere. Well, it wasn't necessary to finish the first spin to know I was wrong. Power Quest sure is a power metal band, but there's more than meets the eye here and they turn to be an interesting band.
The band play a well balanced mix of Euro-styled power with melodic rock. Not the usual category of "melodic metal" but melodic as in AOR / Melodic Hard Rock with plenty of melody, catchy choruses, layers of backing vocals and 80's flavoured keyboards (in fact a bit too 80's as you'll find out later). You can hear the power side on tracks like the opener "NeverWorld", a song a bit too long for me to work as an introduction, Temple Of Fire, where vocalist Alessio Garavello becomes a dead ringer for Kottipeltto, the galloping, happy Sacred Land, Into The Light, or the yet again Stratovarius tributary Well Of Souls. Interestingly enough, both Temple Of Fire And Well Of Souls are the tracks I like the most among the power-ish tracks, and the funny thing is that I never was a Stratovarius fan at all... well, life has these things... There's also a mellower, more melodic side in Power Quest music, and that is the one I like the most, with lots of influences from 80's British bands. Highlights here are Edge Of Time, my fave track of the album, and For Evermore, both with lots of 80's fluffy keyboards and catchy hooks, reminding of Shy at places. Then we have the ballad When I'm Gone which has a scandoo feeling over it, and the final track Lost Without You, that melts both sides of Power Quest music into one with good results but a bit too long again. Special guest appearances were Sabine Edelsbacher(vocals) and Julie Laughton (cello and flute).
The result is an interesting album, with a sound certainly not to die for, but not bad at all. Pete Coleman's hand is particularly evident in the vocal section, which sounds really good. Sadly, the keyboards got too much of an 80's feeling, (read sounding too fluffy) IMO. The songs themselves are good enough and I see this band has a potential if they keep the balance between power and melodic stuff. I, for one, am not into power/trottel metal at all and ended up enjoying this album, not only due to their mellower stuff, but as a whole. Certainly a band to keep an eye on in the future.
www.power-quest.co.uk
www.nowandthen.co.uk
Wood/Hill 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
19 February 2004
The lads of International Pop Overthrow are obviously very inspired by the four gentlemen from Liverpool. In fact, their selftitled album is absolutely jam packed with Pop/Rock or Nu-Breed melodies in the tradition of The Beatles. Very nicely done I must say and this power trio consisting of Chris Lund (vocals/guitars), Sean Lund (vocals/drums) & Don Allen (bass), are all gifted musicians and songwriters.
I actually believe that a majority of the Enuff Z'Nuff fans will truly appriciate this kind of music too. They will recognize both the harmonies and most melodies anyway, even if this is of course the 'lighter' version of it all. Not that 'light' actually as famed producer John Plum (Candlebox, Pearl Jam, Queensryche), manage to squeeze out the best of the band.
There's even a bit of Swede Pop/Rocker Anders Johansson into the music and you can even throw in some Jellyfish and Cheap Trick. International Pop Overthrow do however stay closely to the Beatles stuff most of the time and you can't help to hum along to each and every track. You can't help to wonder why these guys aren't more famous too. This is timeless music with lovely hooks and beautiful arranged harmonies that dates all the way back to the 60's. "The Last One" and especially "New Horizions" could easily have been included on any of the latest efforts by Enuff Z'Nuff. Songs like "The Only One", "X-Tended Care", "Big Deal", and "Cain & Abel" are all winners in my book. Not everything that glitters is gold but you'll find enough of nuggest to keep you going for a while. Could definitly be worth cehcing into if you're into above mentioned music.
www.woodhill.com
Perris Records 2003
Review by Petri Kautto
24 February 2004
Sinn is a band that plays basic 80’s rock and delivers it in the vein of early Poison and Ratt. To make the comparison even more obvious they cover Poison’s “Look What the Cat Dragged In”. The band describes its music as “rock ‘n’ roll from the gutter” and that’s pretty much how it sounds. The lyrics are simple and melodies are catchy only occasionally. If the gutter should be an implication of some kind of attitude I fail to hear it.
It looks like the band has not gotten to a flying start because they’ve already changed their name to Dead Star Factory. And no matter how you look at it Jailbait is not the kind of album that would get you flying high. There are a few songs that don’t even qualify for fillers. Let’s look at for example "Science Girl". Someone must have told Tommy Krash and his crew that it’s cool to have a part in a song where you moan like it’s a porn movie. Try pathetic. "16 Sexy Sweet" brings out another problem. Krash’s nasal voice is not for shouting and sometimes it’s just annoying.
I don’t want to completely trash the band. “Find a Way” is a ballad that stands out from the rest and there are also other times when they succeed in mixing the guitar driven melodies with Krash’s unique vocals. Unfortunately it just doesn’t happen often enough. Bottom line is that the band sounds like a bunch of immature wannabe’s that are hard to take seriously, at least if you’re old enough to buy your own liquor.
www.perrisrecords.com
Indie 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
21 February 2004
Here's a really nice blast from the past!!! Sequel came out of Portland, Oregan and had several radio hits in the region during the early to mid 80's. Most famed musician here is bassist Todd Jensen (Harlow, Hardline, David Lee Roth, Ozzy, Steve Perry, Alice Cooper) as this was his first shot at the fame and glory. Guitarist Greg Georgeson currently plays with Tommy Tutone's traveling band and the other members of the band were David Wall (guitar/vocals) and drummer Grant Roholt.
The band toured with bands such as Journey, Sammy Hagar, Bryan Adams, The Tubes, Triumph, Aldo Nova, Icehouse and Greg Kihn, but disbanded already back in 1985. The selftitled debut came in 1982 and "Daylight Fright" was supposed to be the follow-up release. The cover art was completed as well (see pic above), when the band called it quits and the music has been in the vault ever since. Sequel has kind of reunited at least they get together to play a show every few year. In early 2003 they also began the process of listening to and releasing these 20 year old masters. There's no need to worry about this being some crappy, old, demos as the sound is very much "hi-tech" 'ala 1983 (of course). The music is freakin' fun stuff in the tradition of Honeymoon Suite (the debut), Franke & The Knockouts, Billy Satellite, or even Rick Springfield. Tracks like opener and title track "Daylight Fright", "I'm Losin'", "Over You Now", "It's Not Me", and "Pull The Trigger", are all very enjoyable in that innocent 80's style. I'd recommend you to check 'em out at their homsite where you can also get hold of thier CD (or try them at CDbaby.com).
www.sequelrocks.com
Rockparade Records 2004
Review by Martien Koolen, 
23 February 2004
If you read the biography of Secret Heroes you'd think that the next super rock band has risen from the ashes. Quote: “Secret Heroes gives a fascinating new edge to heavy metal rock. This debut album contains energetic rock and metal tracks with switch-blade sharp guitar riffs, heavily pounding rhythm work and highly recognizable melodies”.
Sad to say that none of the above is true, although it sounds very good... However this CD contains 12 boring, old-fashioned, overproduced, predictable rock tracks, with most of the time “poppy” choruses and rather clichéd lyrics and song titles. Take for example the bittersweet ballad “Broken Promises” or the dull “Same Player Shoots Again”. Or one of the best Spinal Tap rock titles for a song I have heard in a long time: “Get Laid (If You’re Feelin’ Like It); need I say more???
Secret Heroes seem to be influenced by glam rock bands like Kiss, Ratt and Poison, but they rather remind me of good old Steelheart; but then not as good as they used to be.
Come on guys, where is the originality, where are the good songs, where’s the innovative edge??? And to top this all you get 5 bonus tracks, which are all “special” versions of songs already on this album. Once is not enough?? One thing is certain; these guys are NO Secret Heroes, far from it actually.
www.secretheroes.com
Z Records 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
21 February 2004
I believe this particular Flame died years ago... along with Commodore 64 and spandex. I'm not sure why Z Records decided to dig 'em up again? This would surely have been better off laying in their long sealed casket. Unfortunately the dead do sometimes come back from their graves to haunt us throughout eternity?
I don't have any problem with re-issues or minor acts that suddenely re-appears into the night. However, when you're looking for goodies at the bottom of the barrel, you'll only end up with rejects or crappier things most of the time anyway. "Blaze" was originally released back in 1989 and Flame consisted of vocalist Phillip Andrew, Billy Harvey (guitar), Don McBee (guitar), Stephan Vegas (bass) and Denis Bostok (drums). It's however their first album and the selftitled one (1992) was actually their sophmore release. Most of these songs comes out like a poor man's version of Babylon A.D, Britny Fox, or Cry Wolf. And since neither of these acts impressed much in the past, you'll probably understand what this is coming to. Cheesy LA hairmetal without a single decent tune or anything else to hang on to I'm afraid. They do have a couple of so-so songs which doesn't hurt to play I guess. Nonetheless, this kind of music is the main reason to why grunge broke out in the early 90's. I actually had to play some Nirvana after listening to Flame for a while... just to get rid of everything and get back to scratch again.
www.zrecords.net
MTM 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
15 February 2004
Danger!!! Handle With Care!!! Indeed, the new TNT is explosive stuff that will most certainly blow up right in your face. I can honestly say that "My Religion" is their best overall album ever. They may have done a couple of better songs in the best (10.000 Lovers, As far As The Eye Can See), but I can't find any better CD release. They were either too short, too instrumental, or simply too lame (the first two), to be considered as near perfect or great.
However, you need to spin this a couple of times to really get into the groove. It must also be said that you probably need to enjoy some 'Westworld' too as this comes out like a mixture of the two acts fronted by Tony Harnell. Even if they've sort of returned to TNT's original sound and it's definitly more retro than, say, Transistor. Then again... remove the out of ordinary vocals of Harnell and the excellent guitarwork by Ronni LeTekro and you'll end up with what??? Well, let's just say that these musicians are actually better than the material itself sometimes. Don't get me wrong... the songs are great, but it would never work with Ron Keel and CC Deville (if you see my point?).
The first three tracks (Invisible Noise, She Needs Me, Lonely Nights) are nothing but breathtaking and you'll immediately understand why "My Religion" is going to be a killer album. The soaring high-pitced vocals by Harnell only get better with each release and like I've said before: "there's no need to drive with pedal to the metal all of the time, especially when you already know that you're the one with the fastest car around anyway". The guitar riff that opens up the title track (My Religion) hits you where it hurts and I absolutely love LeTekro's work here. The guitar sound is huge and he's managed to find the perfect tone for this kind of music. "Give Me A Sign" and "Live Today" were both included on last years EP and it was only a taster of things to come really. You'll be able to find much better tracks by now and "You'll Be There" is a smashing example of catchy rock the Norwegian way. "Everybody's Got A Secret" could as easily have been a "Tell No Tales" rocker and those keyboards in the background are straight from the 80's. "Everything You Are" is blessed with one helluva' cool guitar riff by LeTekro again, but the chorus is rather dull and ruins the whole song actually. One of very few downsides about this release though and it's also nice to see both Morty Black (bass) and Diesel Dahl (drums) back together again. I need to mention the rather unique sounding "Song 4 Diane" too as they mix celtic and norse folk tradition and influences into this semi-ballad. This time you can trust the hype as TNT is back, better than ever and with a rather nice production by Tommy Hansen. Recommended indeed!!! How about some TV promotion at least in Norway/Scandinavia as this would easily sell gold and probably could anyway???
www.mtm-music.com
Snakebite?rock Inc. 2004
Review by Martien Koolen,
16 February 2004
“Freakazoid” is the fourth studio album of Dutch hard rockers Mennen, with singer Joss Mennen, former vocalist of the very successful Zinatra. Erwin Musper was responsible for the sound of Zinatra and now after ten years the cooperation between Joss and Erwin is re-established.
Let’s browse through the songs; “Down”(which will be released as a single), is really radio rock material; a catchy chorus, a heavy nu-metal guitar riff and the typical, recognizable voice of Joss. The second song “Above The Waterline” is an acoustic ballad; a bit boring, not my cup of tea. “It’s Over” is a “commercial” hard rock track with a smashing guitar solo at the end. “Rain” is the second high light of this CD, heavy guitar riffs are mixed with diverse rhythms and again the guitar solo of Eric van de Kerkhof really rocks. „Secret And Lies” is the second ballad and for me the most boring, mediocre track of this album. The title track is a guitar driven song with distorted vocals by Joss. „These Good Times” is the third killer song, carried by a well known rhythm, with a quiet middle part and some excellent guitar work. „Believe”, the longest song, starts as a ballad, but the last 2,5 minutes are really awesome heavy. The heaviest track however is „Wicked White”, with fast „brutal” riffs and a guitar solo that reminds me of Dokken.
Conclusion: “Freakazoid” is a great rock album, quite different from their previous one “Age Of Fools”, but still typical Mennen. In stores: 15 March 2004
www.rockinc.nl
www.mennen.net
Atenzia 2004
Review by Kimmo Toivonen, 
17 February 2004
Atenzia's latest discovery is a trio of vocalists (Christian, Magnus and Kristoffer - who needs last names anyway:)) under the monicker of Spin Gallery. Who said "Boyband"...no, this trio doesn't have much in common with the westworlds and backstreet boys. They don't have choreographies (I hope!) and their music isn't necessarily aimed at young girls, although they could very well find it appealing, such is the nature of these songs.
The album has been co-produced by Tommy Denander, who has clearly become one of the leading scandinavian producers. The album sound fresh, smooth and up-to-date. The emphasis is on the vocals, and indeed the harmonies are quite perfectly crafted. There's no denying that the likes of Toto and Chicago have been a great influence to Tommy and the band, but the sound is not "retro", this is very much a modern day AOR album. In fact, some of the songs wouldn't sound out of place on a BB Mak album.
Let's go through the best songs then...it doesn't get any better than the opener "Standing Tall", which is simply a stunning track with all the ingredients of a great melodic rock song mixed perfectly. The single "Am I Wrong" is a pleasant uptempo AOR song, and one could place "No Turning Back", "Satisfied" and "To Hell And Back" to the same category - all very good songs. "I Still Recall", "My Heart" (penned by Clif Magness) and "Need To Be Free" are the best balladic tracks, all blessed with huge amount of melody.
Unfortunately the guys have come up with a few songs that take my rating down a bit: "Heartache" starts intrestingly enough with a pulsating synth line, but the chorus has to be one of the most annoying ones I've heard lately...if it wasn't for "Living Without Lovin'" which has a chorus that doesn't win any prizes either. Westcoast fluffola! "Waiting In My Dreams" is another song from an outside source (from "Mr. Misters" R. Page and S. George) and it pales in comparison to most of the self-penned material, but I guess might attract a few die-hard AOR fans to check out the album. I was quite surprised to find "Grace" on this album as well, as it has already been on a few albums before...not a bad track though, and far superior to the aforementioned three.
This album will surely be cherished by the AOR/Westcoast fans, but I think it has crossover potential as well. It remains to be seen if any crossing over will happen...I hope so.
Atenzia
Perris Records 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
15 February 2004
Hang on a minute... is that the bastard son of Jizzy Pearl (Love/Hate) and Vince Neil (Mötley Crue) on vocals or what??? Nah, but it's damn close actually as LA Glamsters' Mother Mercy returns with their second release. Ehhh... I've noticed that they've already split up though and the singer is now fronting some LA nu-metal act instead. Bummer I guess or maybe not?
Yeah, I guess it's a bummer after all as fans of "Blackout In The Red Room" (Love/Hate) and 80's Mötley Crue will probably get a kick outta' this. Check out "Waste Of Skin" for some cool, old school, sleaze/glam 'ala Love/Hate vs. Every Mother's Nightmare. Not every man's poison (heh, heh, Poison, no pun attended) perhaps, but I find it to be rather fun, simple, rock'n'roll. "Mercy's Law" is very much like Mötley Crue back in the heydays with a very drunken Vince Neil upfront, sweet!!! They also have a couple of heavier tunes included and "Machine Gun" is exactly as heavy as the title suggests. Like one of those really tunes that Love/Hate did on their third or fourth album by the way.
"Cretaures Of The Night" is not the KISS tune but yet another fun original in the 80's glam tradition. Bottomline, I wouldn't go as far as naming this a classic or anything, since there are way too many fillers included. However, I can say that die-hard fans of the 80's sleaze/glam era, will enjoy this up to a certain point. Remove 6-7 tracks from the 16 songs included an you'd end up with kick azz material... the lame, out-of-fashion, 80's glam way.
www.perrisrecords.com
MTM Classix 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
16 February 2004
"Rocking Reckless, Every Night, Rocking Reckless, Til' The Morning Light" (Spellbound - 1985). Yet another re-issue from the MTM sub label that goes by the name of "classix". I'm sure you've all noticed by now that all these re-release comes from Sweden and not all of them are exactly classics either.
This one and only album by Reckless was originally released in Japan only back in 1994 (Zero Records). The band, with singer Patrik Axelsson upfront, started actually out as "Line Up" in the late 80's, under which monicker they released one album (later re-released by Bums records in the 90's). The big strenght with Reckless was without a doubt the strong voice of Axelsson and the over all smashing guitar work by Robert Monegrim.
This is very much "uptempo" oriented hardrock with similarities to above mentioned Spellbound. Not to mention 220 Volt and their "Eye To Eye" release and you can also throw in a lot of 80's Scorpions and Dokken, while you're at it. A bit "rougher" melodic hardrock style than your average wimp release with other words. Do however not expect this to be just as good though. I'll have to admit that I do enjoy most of these tracks anyway as they're fun, dumb, entertainment for the moment. Something like "Get Excited (Rock The Nations)" is a deadringer for Scorpions a'la "Black Out" only without the heavy, German accent. "All Their Needs" is a marvelous rocker which easily could have been included on above mentioned 220 Volt release, and "Living Without You", is pure bliss. If you've never even heard about 220 Volt before... just go with the "Dokken" comparison here instead. The three bonus tracks included here are all taken from Reckless' indie EP release. An excellent production and great musicians makes this a rather nice experience after all. Just don't expect rocket science and simply enjoy those loud guitars instead. It's all been done before and a couple of lame fillers (there's 16 tracks on this CD) are only to be expected. I had fun most of the time and that's all that really matters. Play it loud!!!
www.mtm-music.com
Charlie SOUZA: "Live Your Dream" + "9 Ball in the Corner Pocket" 6 / 7
Souzaphone 2000 / 2001
15 February 2004
The reason we deal with a 3 and a 4 years old
album from ex-Tom Petty bassist is that Charlie Souza realized a European
distribution deal last year, so these albums are available for local price
around here. Not sure how many would rush out to buy them though...
The music on the albums is quite diverse, some of the rocking tracks are
rather appealing to fans of soft rock or easy-to-digest progressive rock but
others are just totally boring Beatles influenced ballads or soulful-wannabe
music for 40-some housewives, definitely not something for RockUnited readers.
Let's see the positive sides of "Live Your Dream". Charlie rejoined his old-time songwriting and performing partners, a collaboration that goes back more than 30 years, so as you'd expect they are tight as a three-piece trio is supposed to be with top-notch musicianship and great production work. The album sounds as a rock album should sound. Songs like the opening title track, "State of My Heart" with Eric Turner's [No, not the Warrant guitarist :)] great guitar-work, or "Don't Cry Wolf" spiced up with cool saxophone fills and solos or the latino-flavored "Flyin' Away" are something to look for and the rest of the songs also showcase some really good musical ideas performed quite well. However I can't get past the horrendous lyrics of songs like "The Queen of My Dreams" or "The Rose" where Charlie tried to be wimpier than Michael Bolton and the whole thing reminded me of Paul Anka trying to appeal to housewives listening to their radios while ironing at home. Anyway, songs like "Hold On" with its cool groove and gospel-like backing choir or the bluesy "Dark Night" can wash almost all the bad taste away.
With "9 Ball in the Corner Pocket" the band
headed towards a more up-to-date sound and for even more diversity as far as
songwriting goes. The production and the musicianship is as great as with "Live
Your Dream" but the songs are a lot more edgy and it does good to the album. It
opens with probably the best track "New York City Dreams" a heavy, funky track
with a pumping bass-drum groove, cool sax-guitar arrangement, a rapping verse
that turns into a melodic refrain with thick female backing vocals and gospel-
like fills. The female vocal-section gets a lot more room to shine this time
and it helps to counterpoint Charlie's rather limited range. "Goin' For Broke"
is as cool as the opener and the female backing vocals are really something to
keep your ears open to. "I'm Flyin'" slows things down but it's definitely
moody, while "Lightnin' Bolt" is an uptempo rocker but except for its guitar
solo by Eric Turner it fails to impress. Then the downhill slide begins again.
"Chamber of Your Heart" is a typical seventies-flavored ballad, dragging a foot
all along, "Bring It Back" aims to win the housewife-audience again, and a
cover of the Beatles' "Drive My Car" hammers the last nail in the coffin of the
album for me. [Yet I have to admit the cover is rather well-performed, I just
can't help asking: what for?!] The edgy "Angel on the Mountain" and "24 Hours a
Day" with its classic guitar-rock approach restore some of my faith but not
enough to give the album a higher rating than 7.
www.charliesouza.com
Frontiers Records 2004
Review by Martien Koolen,
16 February 2004
The second album of Bowes & Morley gives you an early taste of summer; 9 new songs and 2 covers lighten up your winter days and make you happy, even when the weather outside is shite. Their debut “Moving Swiftly Along”(2002) was already a great album, but this one is definitely one step further in their musical “development”.
“Desire” kicks off this CD and it is a swinging, soulful track, packed with trumpet and trombone passages. Danny’s voice, the typical timbre of Thunder, is doing a wonderful job there; he really has a voice to die for… “Living For The City” is a rather radio friendly, funky sing along song, while the ballad “On A Day Like Today” has some experimental Latin influences(hello Cuba!!). Then we have the first cover (if you guess who the original version sings, you’ll get a prize…)”Why Did You Do It?”, again real funky stuff here. So after four songs I can truly say that Thunder is more a genuine rock band, heavier, with more guitar parts.
Danny’s voice is again superb in the Beatles-like ballad “Since I Left Her”, and here Luke “let’s” out his first real guitar solo. “Come Together In The Morning” is a ballad (again), but it tends to be bluesier, maybe because of Luke’s laid-back guitar parts. On “How Could You” Danny does a duet with Tara McDonald and the last track, the second cover, has some extremely well vocal passages by Danny. All in all “Mo’s Barbeque” is a very relaxed album, full of pure pop songs, with a retro rock atmosphere, but sometimes I miss the power. So I still prefer the new Thunder album (“Shooting At The Sun”) to this one; sorry guys……
www.bowesandmorley.com
Perris Records 2004
Review by Petri Kautto, 
16 February 2004
"Tonight Belongs to the Young” is a compilation of previously unreleased Pretty Boy Floyd demos. This could be nostalgic for some, at least for me it was a bit. Remember your crappy cassette recorder and the tape that was a copy of a copy of a copy of a… the quality was somewhere between shitty and terrible but still you played it and enjoyed it. This CD sounds exactly the same and if you still enjoy the same quality then this could be something for you. If not, you better give this one a pass.
Production aside, this is a trip down memory lane right to 1989. I was singing along to a few songs the first time I heard them and there are a few damn good songs here. This is party rock with all the necessary ingredients; sing-along lyrics, catchy riffs, good guitar solos, positive attitude and good fun in general. Those who like to hold hands with that special someone will be happy to know that this CD contains also power ballads.
I listened to this CD quite many times and I have to say that I enjoyed this no matter how bad the production is. But then again I’m a junkie for hair bands so I might be happy with a little less than an average Joe. So if you think you like the same kind of music and you pretty much know what to expect from PBF this is an OK addition to your CD collection. But if you didn’t recognize yourself from that description you might be a bit disappointed.
www.perrisrecords.com
Jack FOSTER: "Jazzraptor" 5
Muse-Wrapped Records 2003
15 February 2004
Jazzraptor is Jack Foster's rather interesting collaboration with a few musicians and Melanie Myers, a girl who's writing poems and whom Jack had never met but only corresponded with in emails. Musically the album is somewhere between progressive rock and free jazz. Read: there are far too many themes squeezed in the songs to make any of them memorable. That is quite a shame because the musicians are really good, the ideas alone are rather interesting and well-performed, and the production of the whole album is really good, the mix is balanced, and all the instruments sound as they should sound. Yet, in the name of "artistry" Jack filled all the songs with countless theme- and tempo-changes, weird instruments here and there and with some sound effects to spice the whole thing up a bit.
"Bohemian Soul" opens the album and with its seven and a half minutes length it sets the pace for the album and showcases what to expect all along. The first part is really enjoyable, a cool solo with a great guitar sound and a very thick arrangement. Till the first refrain the song is really promising, a mid-tempo progressive rock track but later on a bunch of new themes arrive making the song rather chaotic. "Cat's Got Nine" also starts out very promising, it's a cool acoustic stomper but towards the end it is turned into some ethnic folk music with fiddles making the song lose its grip. "Feel It When I Sting" was the first song that I could enjoy from the beginning till the end. It's a mid-tempo progressive rocker with great lyrics and a thick arrangement with multiple layers of guitars and several keyboard sounds. All the rest of the songs have something to listen to, they are all interesting, and the music always hides something new to discover as far as the arrangement goes. Yet the whole thing is more like an experience, pushing the boundaries of artistry than an album to listen to from the beginning to the end. The songs tend to get overwhelming, and due to Jack's limited vocal range the lyrics that were interesting as poems, are not turned into memorable vocal melodies.
After listening to the album one can't help having the feeling you have when coming out of an alternative theater performance. It was interesting to see/hear once but so much was enough of it and you wouldn't go back to see/hear it once more. As soon as Jack learns to keep his creativity under control and manages to fill a whole album with songs like "Tiger Bone Wine" and "Every Time You Smile" we'll have something to look for. www.jazzraptor.com
Transmission Records 2003
Review by Jorge Antonaya,
15 February 2004
According to these Dutch metallers, "Exordium" means "introduction to a story", and that's what this mini album is meant to be, a collection of new songs, with a common link to a story to be revealed on the band's forthcoming album, "Invisible Circles" to be released on late March. The limited edition digipack includes an audio CD with 4 new songs (3 vocal tracks and an intro) and 2 covers, and a DVD with a video clip, making of and some extras.
I have to say that, being an After Forever fan, my expectations with the material included here were not completely fullfilled. I expected a bit more of what can be found in Exordium. The musical direction has changed quite a bit, and you can't hear much of the orchestrations and big choirs that became a trademark on After Forever's sound on the new songs, with the exception of "Glorifying Means". The intro, "Line Of Thoughts", contains some of the ideas to be developed on the following tracks. The problem is that the stuff somehow miss the intensity the Dutch band used to offer in the past, the songs somehow lack of "punch". Also, Floor's vocal approach is quite different, less operistic this time, again, with the exception of "Glorifying Means", which is the most similar track to previous records, but anyway, it wouldn't be a highlight on previous After Forever albums. "Beneath" is a mid tempo track with a nice chorus, but a bit on the light side. And the main feature "My Choice" is a more slow, dramatic song that admitely, works mcuh better live than on the record. The covers included, Iron Maiden's "The Evil That Men Do" and Randy Crawford's "One Day I'll Fly Away" adds the rarity factor to the recording with its potential commercial target. Not being a Maiden fan myself I'd say it's an ok cover, with the curiosity of the orchestral arrangements; as for "One Day I'll Fly Away", it turned out to be a nice song to cover with good results.
The final product is good enough but somehow a bit disappointing to these ears for what this band have offered in previous releases. Just let's wait and see what they come up with in the new album which is supposed not to have any of the new songs included in Exordium.
www.afterforever.com
Perris Records 2003
Review by Petri Kautto,
16 February 2004
Ex-Pretty Boy Floyd Kristy Krash Majors has still some PBF left in him but "Goodbye Rock ‘n’-roller" is a lot more punk than Pretty Boy Floyd ever was. There’s even a Bad Religion cover “21st Century Digital Boy” and a couple of other songs that fit the same category.
The title track “Goodbye Rock´n´Roller” opens promisingly and the following song “Hey Hey Punks” is a pretty good song too. But the same can be said for basically all of the following songs. They are OK but nothing really ravishing comes along. There are ten songs all together but I really didn’t get anything out of this. The songs are played through without any surprises and once you’re done listening to the album no highlights come to mind.
The album lasts less than 30 minutes (29:34). If you’re going to spend 12-20 euros (depending on a country) on a CD you’d like to get your money’s worth. I don’t know about you but I think less than 30 mins is just not enough. Maybe if all the songs were solid gold that might just do it but not this time.
www.perrisrecords.com
RUNNER: "Runner" 5
Geltoob Records 2003
15 February 2004
The release date 2003 may be lying here because it is the re-release of the band's 1978 album with some bonus tracks. I really don't know why the label decided to pick the album up 25 years after its release though I understand it has never been released on CD before. Personally I've never heard of this British band before and the only familiar name in the line-up was Dave Dowle, the original Whitesnake drummer. The band enlisted two vocalists Steve Gould and Alan Merrill who also played guitars and Mick Feat on bass.
The two vocalists are doing okay, their melodies are interesting, and the songwriting is also okay. The sound of the album is relatively good, especially if we take into account that originally it was recorded 25 years ago. The artwork of the 53 minutes long CD mentions that the disc "contains all the known studio recordings by the band". This may be my problem with it. Along with the few really good tracks like the opening "Fooling Myself", Run For Your Life", "Sooner or Later" a happy-sounding, piano-arranged rock n' roll track, or the moody "Restless Wind" lots of fillers are also included that did not stand the test of time in the first place, so I don't believe there's a chance they would make it to a new audience.
In the end it all makes this album a collector's item for old fans of the band (provided there are any...). However the two-page book (?) containing very limited information and a blank white page, along with the 53 minutes length of the disc question the collector-value of the whole thing.
Frontiers 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
17 February 2004
Empty Tremor is the original act for the creator of "Genius - A Rock Opera", that Frontiers released last year. Daniele Liverani (keyboards/writing) came into the picture already back in 1995 and has since been the leading force behind the Italian outfit. "The Alien Inside" is their third album and progressive metal with classic rock influences is the game.
They've recruited Germany's Oliver Hartmann (ex-At Vance) as their new vocalist and it's obviously a very good choice. I've always been a fan of the man and he disappoints no-one with his solid performance here. However, the material still leaves much to ask for and mostly in the chorus/refrain department I'd say.
I've been playing this shiny, round, plastic, piece of... ehem... for at least six times already and I can't recall a single refrain. Not that prog-metal is all about hooks and sing-a-long things, not at all, but come on... try and remove the chorus out of "Pull Me Under" (Dream Theater) and you'll end up rather empty, right. Okay, here you have the song "Don't Stop Me", which could perhaps be described as their version somehow and the result isn't that poorly executed in the end. It's unfortunately one of few highlights along with the marvelous ballad "Stay". A lovely stripped down tune and a nice breather really as the widdeling thing gets on your nerves. There's absolutely amazing keyboard and guitar parts to be found all over this disc and the rhythm section is ever so tight. A perfect CD if you're mostly into well crafted prog music and listening to nine minute long songs without a decent refrain. The rest of us will probably continue to play Dream Theater, Artension, Sun Caged, Queensryche, etc, etc, instead.
www.frontiers.it
Nuclear Blast 2004
Review by Martien Koolen,
10 February 2004
This month we were treated to the “King Of Fools” EP and on 15th of March the German jester power metal band will release their new album called “Hellfire Club”. Right from their debut album these guys made it clear that they were to stay in the rock business for a long time. “Mandrake”(2001) became their first big success, which was mainly due to the fact that Edguy was a fantastic live band and that there were a few powerful tracks on that album that you could actually sing along to...
Last year they changed the record label and produced their first Nuclear Blast album: “King Of Fools”, an EP with four powerful non-album tracks only to be found on that album. The title track of that EP can be found on their first full album with the new record company. Besides that song, there are 11 brand new power metal tracks on “Hellfire Club” and right from the opener “Mysteria” you know what you can expect from these guys. Fresh and funny power metal combined with bombastic parts and of course catchy choruses. “New” on this album are the groovy rhythms, the harder than usual guitar riffs and some symphonic elements, which make this album even more interesting.
“The Piper Never Dies” is the longest track ( 10 minutes) and it is a killer song, lots of diversity, “shouting” by Tobias and a beautiful short but sweet orchestral middle part. “We Don’t Need A Hero” is clearly influenced by early Helloween material and therefore fast, while “Down To The Devil” reminds me of Stratovarius; listen to the beginning of that song. “Under The Moon” is a riff monster which really invites you to bang your head for five minutes long (hello migraine...). Of course Tobias and Co. do not forget their “soft side”; “Forever” is a true power metal ballad and “The Spirit Will Remain” is an orchestral ballad, not a typical Edguy song by the way. All in all “Hellfire Club” really kicks some serious ass and there are no bad songs on this album. Edguy is metal for the new millennium!!!
www.nuclearblast.de
www.edguy.de
SPV 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
9 January 2004
Ka-Boom! This will probably rip a hole inside of your head as effectivly as a shotgun blast. It's been three years since we last heard of Monster Magnet and they're most certainly back with a bang. "Monolithic Baby" is exactly as loud, noisy, and straight in your face as you'd expect by the nu-psychedelic crew.
Dave Wyndorf (vocals/guitars) felt a long time afterwards 9/11 (2001), that the right moment for a new Monster Magnet release simply hadn't arrived. He decided to work on the "Torque" soundtrack instead and left the die-hard fans hanging for years. With the backing of a new label (SPV), plus the addition of a new bassplayer Jim Baglino, the inspiration returned with a vengeance though.
Wyndorf refers to Monolithic Baby as "Twentieth century rock'n'roll psychedelia, larger than life", and you can't do anything but agree. To my very suprise you'll also find two excellent cover songs this time. "There's No Way Out" was originally composed and recorded by David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) on his first solo labum back in 1978. Wyndorf reckons it to be "the last real Pink Floyd classic" and you can't do anything but nod and agree again. Marvelous stuff! The other cover tune is "The Right Stuff", which ex-Hawkwind vocalist Robert Calvert (Captain Lockheed and The Starfighter) did in 1974. This sure brings a smile all over your face as this version simply kicks. "Monolithic" is their own work however and quite possible their best? song ever. So simple yet very affective rock that hits like a sledgehammer to the head. "Supercruel" is everything like the title suggest and "Unbroken", will bring out the air guitarist in you. There's unfortunately a couple of fillers at the end of the CD (Too Bad, Ultimate Everything) and "CNN War Theme" is just weird. Otherwise a really fine "comeback" and not at all as boring as I expected it to be. Get into the stoner groove with a...ehhh, monolithic baby!!!???
www.spv.de
Perris Records 2004
Review by Petri Kautto,
10 February 2004
I had not heard of Grandma Moses before so I typed it to Google and got the following: “Grandma Moses [American Folk Artist, 1860-1961]”. Hmm… not really my cup of tea. After a more thorough search I ended up to a page that looked a bit more promising. Grandma Moses is actually a band from Vancouver and they have re-released their debut from 1991 with a few extra tracks, altogether 23 to be exact. Their music could be described as a mix of Hanoi Rocks/Tuff/NY Dolls and this is a nice release for anyone who enjoys trash/sleaze rock delivered in a straight forward way.
The title of the opening track on the album asks “Who You Trying to Kid?” Judging by the first song not many, but fortunately it gets better. Even though the production on this one isn’t that grand you can easily find quite a few catchy songs here. Big choruses and melodies in “Digging for Gold” and “Little America” represent the softer side of the band when tracks like “Shit” and “Chinese Rocks” bring out a side in Grandma that makes you not wanna run into her in a dark alley. Actually this is a pretty good mix and as someone who likes his rock with sleaze this is a good record to open my year with.
To name their album “Too Little Too Late” to me is a show of good character. The best days for this kind of music may be far behind, but for those who take what little there is to take Grandma Moses is actually quite a lot. For me this one was quite hard to rate. I gave this a seven but this seems to be the kind of album that gets better after each spin. Maybe a few more spins and the rating would have been higher. I’ll let you be the judge of that. Go to their website and listen to the songs or better yet, buy the CD. With 23 songs you’ll get your money’s worth.
www.grandmamoses.net
Escape 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
10 January 2004
To be honest, Steve Overland (ex-FM) could almost getaway with murder with a voice like that. I don't believe there's ever been such a sadly underrated singer in business (at least outside of the hardcore community). When Michael Bolton became a household name to billions of hausfraus around the world, Overland stayed true? to his colours with hardrock and blues upfront.
Shadowman is the spanking new project of Overland and Heartland guitarist Steve Morris. With the steady and solid help of Thunder's rhythm section, consisting of Chris Childs (bass) and Harry "Hurry" James (drums). One thing's for sure though, everything from songwriting to vocal/instrumental performances, and back again to the production and mixing by Pete "Peewee" Coleman, simply pours of quality and class.
Do however not expect this to come out blasting like a machine gun in the hands of a terrorist. Most of the tracks are rather smooth rock with a lovely, laidback, approach. In fact, "Touched By An Angel" could almost have been done by Otis Reeding in the past or Ronan Keating of today. I'm not saying that Shadowman sound exactly like any of the above. Not at all, I'm only trying to make the point that this may not be dumb rock 'ala AC/DC or Poison. It's rather melodic hardrock with a lot of soul and influences that goes all the way back to the 60's and to presest date. This actually breathes of life and like vintage wine it'll probably only get better with time too. "Land Of The Living" comes through like a mix of Thunder, Heartland, and FM (which can easily be said about several other tracks too), with some nicely played horns by special guest Mike Walsh. "Shelter Me" is a very smooth ballad and opening track "Those Days Are Gone", is a great uptempo rocker with a nice hook. The only problem I have with Shadowman is the lack of uptempo tracks. The midtempo/slow songs isn't a winning team throughout the whole CD. You wont be feeling disappointed with this release and neither fully satisfied somehow. You will not find many finer or better melodic hardrock release this year though, when it comes to best over all performance (sound, musicians, writing).
www.escape-music.com
BMG 2003
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
9 February 2004
He came, he sang, he conquered...The Norwegian Idol Kurt Nilsen won the title of "World Idol" recently, beating the the likes Kelly Clarkson from USA and Will Young from UK, although he to listen to the judges call him "a hobbit" and tell him that he never would've gotten a deal without the competition. Well, he may not be a pretty boy but he sure can sing, and that was enough for the millions of TV viewers who voted for him...
Unlike the Kelly Clarkson album which I reviewed recently, the songs on this album are mostly co-written by Kurt himself. Three of the songs are covers, with Tal Bachman's excellent "She's So High" being Kurt's biggest hit so far. The other two are Andreas Johnson's "Games We Play" and "Ordinary World" by Duran Duran. All of them are performed very faithfully to the originals, and Kurt doesn't do a bad job.
Kurt's own songs are all more or less likeable pop rock numbers, with "Here She Comes", "All I Have To Offer", "Smell The Roses" and the brilliant "Last Day Of Summer" being the highlights. On the slower tracks Kurt's vocal acrobatics tend to get a bit too overbearing. He has clearly adopted some "tricks" from U2's Bono and A-Ha's Morten Harket, and he doesn't hesitate to show them off in every song. Producer (and eighties' AOR hero) Ole Evenrude could have tried to keep him in control, but I guess those tricks are Kurt's trademark.
www.kurt-nilsen.net
Nuclear Blast 2004
Review by Martien Koolen,
10 February 2004
What a great come back album this is. I never expected that these Bay Area thrashers would make an album like this one ever again. You can compare this album with killer albums like “Pleasures Of The Flesh” or “Fabulous Disaster”. Singer, or better said shouter Zetro sounds like fifteen years ago; still going strong after all these years.
The complete album is extreme brutal and heavy and the opener “Scar Spangled Banner” hits you like a fist in the face. The rest of the song material is also very heavy and trashy, just like in the good old trash days. “Blacklist” is a real “mosh” song, perfect for in the pit and definitely a live killer. „Shroud Of Urine” is packed with a very heavy bass guitar riff and the guitar sounds like Black Sabbath there.
“Throwing Down” again is very heavy, but is different from the rest because of the rather bluesy guitar solo. “Impaler” is an Exodus demo classic and the high light of this thrash album is the title track; brutal, fast and speedy with real mean vocals from Zetro. Exodus is back and they sound maybe even better than they did in the eighties. This really is a killer album and for lovers of Bay Area thrash a MUST!!
www.nuclearblast.de
TB Records 2003
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
9 February 2004
UK band Double Cross have already recieved a lot of positive press for this album, and I think I have to join in, with some reservations though. The band is led by one-time Mama's Boys vocalist Rick Chase, who has also worked with The Bailey's Comet and cult UK AOR act Graffiti, and the line-up also features former members of LIAR and 2 DIE 4 (Not to be confused with Finnish band To/Die/For).
The style of the band is big-sounding AOR, with lots of guitars, lots of keyboards and basically lots of everything. They remind me of the likes of House Of Lords, White Sister, Ten and Magnum vocalist Bob Catley's solo material. Mr. Catley actually provides backing vocals to two of the songs here!
I have reservations about the production, which reflects the "lots of everything"-style of the band. It's totally overwhelming, with layers of keyboards, drums upfront and loud background vocals. I'm beginning to think that this is something decidedly british, since Gary Hughes and Paul Hodson (the producer of the last Bob Catley album) tend to produce this way. Maybe I just don't understand those brits, but I feel that the over-the-top production is suffocating the songs.
Behind the wall of sound there are some fine songs to be found: the classic FM-like "How Do We Know", the fantastic ballad "When Two Worlds Collide", breezy summer AOR track "When We Were Young" and the orientally flavoured "Valley Of The Kings" are among my favourites. As for the others, they're all decent enough, perhaps with the exception of "Touch The Sun" which just didn't work for me.
As I understand, the band has already begun working on the follow-up album. If the songwriting stays as strong as it is here and they can introduce more "light and shade" to the arrangements and the production, we can expect a very good album.
www.double-crossuk.com
www.tbrecordslimited.com
Z Records 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
30 January 2004
The second wave is all over us at the Final Frontier and it's time to give these lads some well deserved credit. The first wave never hit me that good in the first place though. However, vocalist Rob Moratti (Moratti) and the multi-talanted Mladen Haze (Von Groove, Triumph, etc.), continued to work on their material and this time, I simply had to give in to their catchy music.
Indeed, now we're talkin' about melodic hardrock (AOR) for size as they're mixing the classic Journey sound with their own interpretation of rock. The layers of keyboards in the background, the smashing guitar work by Mladen, and the marvelous harmonies/vocals upfront go out through your loudspeakers like a wall of sound ála 1983. Best of all, you won't find any real fillers or boring moments by now.
Like I've said before, Moratti is an excellent singer and the songwriting has definitely reached a different level on their second album. Ten smashing tracks of which the unbelievably catchy "Lydia" is better than anything out there right now. Harmony vocals out of this world and a refrain that Perry/Schon (Journey) would kill to have written. I simply can't get enough of that song. "Run, Run, Runaway, Love Is Gonna Find You Someday" is perhaps lyrically taken directly from the Journey book of songwriting, but really, who gives a crap as long as "Runaway" is such a magical and catchy tune. Check out the laidback ending with those marvelous vocal harmonies again. Ouch! And just wait until you've heard "Somebody's Gonna Pay The Price" or "Lost Inside A Dream", where music get a different meaning completely really. "After The Fall" is THE ballad, with lighter in the air and goosebumps all over your body. I must also mention "Can't Stop Falling In Love" here as it's yet another winner, along with almost every other track by the way. Downsides? Indeed, you wish the production could have been as good as back in the 80's. Then again, the recording budget today, can't really be compared with the sum of money the artists received back in the heydays. Kudos to Final Frontier for sticking to their guns and continuing making music which they obviously love as much as any AOR fan. "The Second Wave" will have any wimp rocker out there in tears... of joy (I hope).
www.zrecords.net
Armageddon/Rock Inc. 2004
Review by Martien Koolen,
1 February 2004
We are “As One” is the key message of the fourth release by the Hamburg heavy metal band Metalium. The title does not only describe the conceptional contents, but also the stabilization and development of the line-up. For this new album they even got the legendary Don Airey to “do” the keyboards. The story goes on and now it is time for the female Metaliana(created for this album) to live through her moments of evil female creatures of history; like e.g. Pandora, Aphrodite or Medusa. Metalium also gave the female warrior a voice; in the duet “Find Out”, you can hear the young Japanese metal princess Saeko Kitamae.
Musically the band goes even further than they did on Chapter Three; this CD is packed with heavy guitar riffs, pumping bass lines and roaring drums. Most of the tracks are very fast and remind me of Helloween(“Warrior”), Primal Fear(“Pain Crawles In The Night”), Manowar(“Find Out”) or Edguy(“As One, Finale”). Henning Basse(vocals) is not the kind of singer that I like; most of the times he is screaming too much, or his voice is only high-pitched; in other words, there is not enough diversity in his voice. The magnum opus of this album is called “Illuminated”, a long, epic track with lots of variation (thanks to Don Airey), catchy refrains and an energizing guitar solo.
Actually most of the 13 songs are very heavy, there are almost no resting points; only the two short musical intermezzos “Meaning Of Light” and “Meaning Of Light(reprise)”. “As One” therefore is a true heavy metal album and definitely not suitable for wimps.
www.metalium.de
Escapi/Rock Inc. 2004
Review by Martien Koolen,
1 February 2004
Knowing that this heavy metal band is formed by the legendary twin guitars of Mercyful Fate, Michael Denner and Hank Shermann you know what kind of music you can expect. True classic metal filled with raw guitar riffs and screaming vocals from hell. Eleven heavy metal tracks that will keep your head banging for days, or even weeks; so watch out for those headaches!!
The musical influences are obvious: Mercyful Fate(of course), Flotsam And Jetsam or Vicious Rumours; it’s all in there. Just listen to killer tracks like “Misery Man”, “Under The Blade” or “Demonized”. My personal favorites are “Mindbreaker”(speed metal with twin guitar solo) or “Samhain”, a song with a Black Sabbath riff, which later on gets really fast and heavy.
Force Of Evil was formed in 2002 and they played their first gig in Cleveland(Ohio) in the summer of 2003. Their first European performance took place in Sweden on 29 November 2003; this gig was captured on film and this will be released on DVD in March together with bonus material. But till then you can enjoy this great heavy metal album.
www.forceofevil.net
Suburban/Century Media 2004
Review by Martien Koolen,
1 February 2004
“Sleepy Buildings” is not really a new album, there is just one brand new song, namely the one that serves as the title for this album. The sub title of this CD is “A semi acoustic evening”, so if you are waiting for those electric guitars, you are going to be disappointed… However for The Gathering most important is the intimate sphere of their mysterious, pop-oriented dark rock music, which they have dubbed trip rock. This new album, recorded live on two nights at the Lux Theatre in Nijmegen(The Netherlands), contains new arrangements of tracks from their first albums(early 90’s), “Mandylion” and the “If-Then-Else” album, which was released in 2000.
So enjoy this rather psychedelic album with songs like: “Saturnine”, “Red Is A Slow Colour”, “Travel”, “My Electricity” or the beautiful “Marooned” and exciting “Eleanor”. Anneke’s voice is doing almost all the work on this album; she puts a spell on you as a listener, of which you wake up when the last song dies away in beauty….
Normally I really do not like these acoustic or un plugged albums, as they are sometimes called. But this acoustic CD is something that I can listen to without falling asleep; really! Although I prefer The Gathering with electric guitars; so “Souvenirs”, their last release, exceeded this album musically by far, but I can imagine that a lot of people dig this laid back, relaxed album. Unfortunately my rating cannot be much higher than a seven, which is already very high for an unplugged album…….if you catch my drift.
www.gathering.nl
LionMusic 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
1 February 2004
Neo-classical, symphonic, power metal, with traces of progressive ditto!!! Pheeew... I believe I covered it all there... even though I'm not quite certain really. "A New Dawn" is however the debut album from these Italian rockers with the impressive vocalist Joe Lombardo, upfront.
Actually, the whole line-up with Antonello Condorelli (guitar), Riccardo Failla (guitar), Carmelo Siracusa (bass), and Tony Zappa (drums/keys), are all excellent musicians. Fast shredding guitars in the school and tradition of Yngwie 'Speedy' Malmsteen, is only to be expected with this kind of music. It's something which Condorelli & Failla handle with bravura and tempo furiosa, by the way.
Orion Riders will most certainly attract fans of Stratovarius, Rhapsody, Ring Of Fire, and even Yngwie Malmsteen. Add that "Leave The Shades Behind" could have been lifted off any of Dream Theater's albums in the 90's. The material is overall very solid and the keyboard/guitar work is nothing but breathtaking. Check also out those wicked bass-lines by Siracusa and the ever so solid thumping by Zappa. Believe me, these guys have been spending years and years in small and dark rehearsal rooms. The may lack a bit in the refrain department as many other bands in this genre. I believe it's the old "instrumental wa***ng syndrome", which seems to kick in every now and then. The musicians are simply too talented? for their own good, somehow. "Life's Best Days" is a marvelous piano ballad with high pitched vocals by Lombardo. He can hit those really high notes a'la Kotipelto (ex-Stratovarius), even if I still hold the Finn as the better vocalist. Best of the bunch is the bombastic "Old Symphony" with massive keys, flashy guitar solos, and really (almost silly) high pitched vocals. I hope that album #2 will contain even better refrains as Orion Riders are obviously a bunch of very gifted musicians. A good start though and die-hard fans of Ring Of Fire/Mark Boals, will probably love this.
www.lionmusic.com
Frontiers 2004
Review by Endre "Bandi" Hübner,
3 February 2004
Believe it or not Frontiers also caught the tribute-epidemic many of the smaller labels of the genre "suffer" from. However – since Frontier is obviously the market leading label of the genre – the line- up for this Mr. Big tribute is as impressive as it can only get. Still the whole thing smells as fishy as all those other "tribute" albums, especially if we take into account that 3 musicians of the latest Mr. Big line-up are featured on the album.
Having to go through countless tribute albums lately I have developed a measurement system for their tracks. If the track is better (it happens VERY rarely) than the original it is a plus, if it's different but still enjoyable it's zero and if it's worse than the original it's a minus. Yet this system was absolutely useless with Mr. Big because it's almost impossible to make a Mr. Big song better than the original. So there was only one way to do this review: going through the album track by track trying to list their strengths (if they had any) and their weaknesses.
One very positive thing to mention is the production of the album (by Pat Regan) that – unlike 90% of the tribute albums – is really great, the tracks sound as good as the originals. "Mr. Big" opens the album with Paul Rodgers on vocals (and the rest of the musicians of Mr. Big on it). Youngsters may not be aware that it's the cover of a cover of a cover (yes, it's as crappy as it sounds!) and Paul was the vocalist of the band Free who wrote this song. This is the only excuse I can think of for this version of the track. This song was made come to life by the way Mr. Big played it and mostly because of Eric Martin's extraordinary vocal talent. It's not easy to fill Eric's shoes and it was unfair to make Paul try to do so because the comparison is inevitable. Bad choice. Not to mention that it's the worst possible choice for an opener as the song is dragging its leg anyway. Thankfully "Take Cover" featuring Doug Pinnick and Ty Tabor of King's X washes the bad taste away. These guys never fail to impress and they add a special and rather enjoyable flavor to the original song making it live up to the original. "Colorado Bulldog" brings a musically different version again with Marty Friedman and Lanny Cordolla re- working the guitar tracks. I adore them as players and the changes are okay, interesting, technically brilliant, it's just a personal taste thing that I prefer Paul Gilbert's version. Joe Lynn Turner on vox does justice to the song. [Dare I say he sounds better than he did on his own albums in the last couple of years?!] It's nice to hear the man rip again!
I could have definitely done without "Wild World" especially because musically this version is even more simple as the cover of the original. John Waite's minimizing vocal style suits it perfectly. [For as long as I can remember I've always had a strange feeling about Waite. Whenever I hear him singing I always want to shout something like: "Man, you can give much more than this. Come on and let it out! Work a little!" Well, this is the first song he sang where I felt there was no need to give more than that. One couldn't make it any better. The song sucks, no matter what the vocalist does.] If I had the feeling that JLT did better here than he had done on his own albums, I had the very same feeling with Glenn Hughes. Somehow his albums failed to impress me but his contribution to the rock opera Nostradamus and here to "Price You Gotta Pay" are just awesome. Chuck Wright's raunchy bass-lines and Lanny's tricky guitar-work spiced up with Steve Lukather's solo make it another welcome addition to the album. But the real breakthrough is "Promise Her the Moon" featuring Ann Wilson of Heart. It's one of the most soulful Mr. Big ballads anyway and I know it may sound like a blasphemy but this version is even better than the original. Ann sounds as good as ever; her voice makes the song shine, and the extra female backing vocals along with Ann's own interpretation of the vocal lines add a whole new dimension to the song. This one track alone was worth all the fuss about this whole project and it makes the album a must buy not only for Mr. Big but for Heart fans as well.
The big smile was wiped quite fast off my face with Billy Sheehan taking the
lead vocals on "Addicted to that Rush", one of my favorite Mr. Big rockers.
Though I like the way Richie Kotzen refreshed the guitar parts (the
complementary harmonica-like parts are really cool) but I can't get past
Sheehan's vocal performance. It's flat, boring, emotionless, awful, you name it!
Hell, the original was Eric Martin! While Billy keeps saying during the solo
"That's it, play it like that", I wanna shout "That's NOT it, DON'T sing it like
that!". It's okay to snap instruments at a rehearsal or at the end of a long
tour just for fun but it's another thing to record and release it. What a
shame?! Thankfully Mickey Thomas does a better job on "Just Take My Heart",
musically it's very faithful to the original, the vocals are rather okay, I even
like the high-pitched parts towards the end, yet it's still nowhere near the
original, mainly because of some insecure parts. The song is too difficult just
to get into the studio and sing it off the top of your head. A little more
practice upfront would have helped it, Mickey! I have no idea what Dogstar
(Keanu Reeves band or what?!) is doing here, though he had "Shine", a relatively
easy track to sing, one can't help comparing him to the original. You'd better
not try to compare anything, just push the skip button. [The backing vocals are
good though.] Another relatively easy track, "Crawl Over Me" was taken by Pat
Thorpey and I have the same feeling as I had with Billy Sheehan. These guys have
played with Eric Martin for over a decade. Haven't they paid any attention to
the man's abilities? Haven't they compared them with their own? And if they
have, then how the hell do they have the nerve/confidence/ego/(you name it) to
try to sing what Eric had sung before them?? Richie Kotzen tried his wings on
"To Be With You" too and though I like the way he is singing on his own albums,
this one just plain old fails again because one can't help comparing it to the
original. The full-electric version also takes the feeling from the track. I
would have loved to hear Richie doing one of the rockers instead. Another bad
choice. Far too many so far. The guys managed to ruin "Green Tinted Sixties
Mind" as well, though it starts with a moody, sitar-like guitar fill-in part,
Donnie Vie's vocals are simply awful. Again: you can't sing an Eric Martin tune
unless you prepare for it meekly with respect and that takes time and practice.
After all those weak tracks the album finishes with a ripping version of "Daddy,
Brother, Lover, Little Boy" with Yngwie on guitars and JLT on vocals. This is as
good as you'd expect from these names. Bottom line and the moral of the story:
talent and respect [towards music] shine through no matter what so does
indolence, oversized ego, and overrating your abilities.
Frontiers
Frontiers 2004
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
31 January 2004
One of the most long-awaited AOR/Hard Rock releases of the year is here, as semi-legendary House Of Lords present us their fourth album. It's been a couple of years in the making, and during that period the band lost one member, as co-founder, keyboard wizard Gregg Giuffria opted to concentrate on his solo career. I don't know how much that affected the songwriting process and such, all I know is that something is missing from this album.
There's no denying the quality of musicianship here: James Christian is one of my all time favourite vocalists, Lanny Cordola one hell of a guitarist and the rhythm section of Chuck Wright and Ken Mary probably among the best there is. The keyboard players filling Giuffria's shoes are more than capable: Derek Sheridian, Allan Okye, Sven Martin and Ricky Phillips are taking care of the "ivory tinkling". What's more, AOR queen Robin Beck and Velocity's David Victor are providing backing vocals. So, with a line-up like this, how can they miss the mark? Well, they don't really...but they don't hit the bullseye either. "The Power And The Myth" is just decent, and that is not what we're expecting from this band, right?
It starts okay: "Today", "All Is Gone" and "Am I The Only One" are all good songs. Maybe not the kind of "shivers down my spine -good", but likeable enough, powerful and interesting. Then I expected the band to blow me away with a real hit or two...instead the momentum is lost with the unmemorable and dull "Living In Silence", the totally unnecessary instrumental title track and "The Rapture", which mixes ethnic influences and Led Zeppelin-like groove, but is a little short on hooks.
"The Man Who I Am" is one of the better tracks, a good, melodic track. "Bitter Sweet Euphoria" is decent too, but the very average heavy rocker "Mind Trip" doesn't get any points from me, although it has to be said that Ken Mary shines on this one. Last but definitely not least, there's the big power ballad "Child Of Rage", which is without a doubt the most instantly likeable track here, a dynamic track with a strong chorus.
All in all, although this album has its' moments, I can't help but be a bit disappointed. Ten songs, 43 minutes...and one of them an instrumental track? Is this what we waited for two years?
www.frontiers.it
SPV 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
31 January 2004
I honestly hope the whole Michael Schenker business is a closed chapter for good this time. First he's back (for the third or fourth time?), then he's out the door again and for whatever reason, I simply can't keep up with all this nonsense anymore. I think it's time for Phil Mogg (vocals) Pete Way (bass), and Paul Raymond (keys/guitar) to finally realize, they are simply not capable to work with the German guitarist anymore. They've sort of turned into a 'Spinal Tap' act, without even noticing it among themselves.
"You Are Here" will not only welcome two completely new members to their line-up, but also a rather "new" or better yet, different, retro sound. The new string bender is none other than Vinnie Moore (Vicious Rumors, Alice Cooper, solo), while Jason Bonham (Bonham, Led Zep connection, etc.) is their new skinbasher.
The material is actually bluesier than on "Sharks" or anything they've done recently. I "blame" much of this upon Vinnie Moore as his excellent guitarwork (and co-writing on some of the tracks), adds a groovier vibe throughout the CD. It may not be fair to compare "You Are Here" with UFO's golden era during the 70'ies (1974-79). However, I'm afraid that everybody will do this anyway and this is indeed a step back in time, every now and then. Sadly without reaching all the way though as some of these songs are rather dull in the end. It won't take away anything from rockers such as "Daylight Goes To Town" (the best song in ages), "Black Cold Coffee", (flashy guitar work by Moore), or "The Wild One" though. Other highlights include "Slipping Away" and the semi-ballad "Baby Blue", where Mogg actually do sound better than ever. "You Are Here" was recorded in Hanover/Germany by producer Tommy Newton and the band presence is definitely stronger than in recent years. Mogg proudly admits that "there is a homogenous feel of cummunal spirit in the band". The album lacks however a couple of rememberable riffs and hooks in certain places. OK, but still pretty far from their best work.
www.spv.de
Nothing To Say/Rick Inc. 2004
Review by Martien Koolen,
1 February 2004
Their previous album “Ange ou Demon”(2002) seems to have awaken a real interest in heavy metal made in France. That album was elected among the 10 best new 2002 releases by the readers of Burrn Magazine, it was also CD of the month in Heavy Oder Was(Germany) and even in Holland and Greece they got good reviews.
I really cannot understand all this fuzz about this rather mediocre heavy metal band; they add nothing new to the genre. It is typical standard power heavy metal from the first track “Empire Virtuel” till the last one “Enfin Delivre”. The songs are filled with double bass drums, high-pitched vocals and very familiar guitar riffs. The best tracks are probably “Hors la loi”, “Maudits”(which sound like Pretty Maids in their “Future World”-days) and “Enfin deliver”; a song with a slight Vandenplas atmosphere.
But what I “dislike” most is the fact that all the songs are sung in French. And that is a language that is absolutely NOT suitable for this kind of music! Bear in mind however that this is my opinion, and maybe there are some people out there who like this. Listen to it for yourself and decide what you think. Check out the CD-Rom track “Future World”, a live video clip with Pretty Maids.
www.manigance.net
RufRecords 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
1 February 2004
"You Can't Stop The Boogie Man" (Quote - Omar & The Howlers/2004). Yeah baby! It's the blues... and we're talking about the real deal from Texas/USA here. If those Gary Moore albums from the early 90's are still you're only encounter with the "blues", than I'm afraid you've been had. This is the true, red, white & blue, roadhouse sound, with everything that goes with that.
The Texas Hall Of Fame member Omar Dykes (vocals/guitars) latest effort is however a bit of a dissapointment. There are simply too many slow-songs included on "Boogie Man" and I wish there were more rockers like the smashing title track. Nonetheless, Omar is held in the highest regard by blues rockers in the states and the guestlist is rather impressive. Joining him on this release are songwriters and musicians including Stephen Bruton, Terry Bozio (best overall drummer?), Chris Duarte, Alejandro Escovedo, Ray Willie Hubbard, Darden Smith, and 'Double Trouble' Chris Layton & Tommy Shannon, the infamous rhythm section of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan band.
Omar's voice is quite similar to ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, something which becomes especially clear on uptempo tracks like "Boogie Man", "Bamboozled", "Shakin'", "Bad In A Good Way", or "Mississippi Mud". The latter reminded me also of the bearded band's (ZZ Top) material in the 70's. Slow and very boring tracks like "White Crosses", "Drowning In love", "Right Here In The Rain", and "All The Love We Can Stand", are all below average and adds very little to the over all picture. Bottomline, I expected a lot more of this all-star line-up and I believe I will only play the uptempo tracks in the future.
www.rufrecords.de
Perris Records 2004
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallström,
30 January 2004
"None Blacker" is the latest Metallica tribute album with mostly unheard of and/or very obscure acts. One of the biggest names and also the biggest suprise of the bunch, is Lillian Axe's guitarist Steve Blaze, with a rather interesting cover of "Master Of Puppets". Stevie handles the vocal parts too and does a nice impression of a drunken thrasher. The guitar work is nothing but excellent and Kirk Hammett could probably pick up a thing or two here. Not to mention that Metallica wrote great songs with guitar solos back then (hint, hint!). No need to worry though as only the "real" Metallica, which includes all albums between "Kill 'Em All" to "Black Album" (self titled), has been covered on "None Blacker".
"Wherever I May Roam" is actually covered by sleaze rockers 'Every Mother's Nightmare'. One thing's for sure, the voice of Rick Ruhl isn't exactly suitable for this kind of music. No offense Rick, but you do the sleazy thing much better and I believe it's better to stick with that somehow. Something which also becomes clear after a while is that almost "anyone", can play these songs better than Metallica. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of this Metallica era... but Cliff Burton (R.I.P.), was the only genius/real musician in the band. "Kill 'Em All" is actually quite horribly performed (technically) and there were/are tons of better thrash musicians out there.
'Brutal Faith' do a brutal version of "Jump Into The Fire", where the singers sound like if he'd just swallowed a chicken. 'Blessed Agony' do an even meaner "Ride The Lightning", where the singer sound like if he'd just swallowed Cradle Of Filth's singer. Then you have 'Enertia' doing both "Sad But True" and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)", and 'Animal Mother' does a rather nice "For Whom the Bell Tolls". "None Blacker" needs a couple of more "well-known" acts to become really interesting though. Obviously for Metallica fans mostly and not 'that' essential really. Could perhaps be fun with a couple of beers or twenty at your next pre-football party.
www.perrisrecords.com
Nothing To Say/Rock Inc. 2004
Review by Martien Koolen,
1 February 2004
Another French rock band that tries to “conquer” the heavy rock world. Mainly influenced by Megadeth, Judas Priest and Crimson Glory (I do not hear it??) this quartet rather sounds like a clichéd Spinal Tap band from the eighties.
There really is nothing innovative or original in their music; it is outdated and „stale” hard rock that confronts you with the same guitar riffs over and over again. Where is the creativity or the cleverness in the compositions?? Furthermore the voice of Sylvain Mollard starts getting under your skin after three tracks and then you still have to listen to 5 tracks more.....
No, it is all stereotyped and weary stuff; from “Absinthe” till “En Enfer”; boring old sounding hard rock. But there is one good song on the album; namely the instrumental "Royaume d’Ades", a guitar driven, melodic metal hymn, which sounds so good because of the absence of vocals.
Nothing left to say really…….
www.malediction.fr.st
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