Inside Out 2007
Review by Martien Koolen,
13 April 2007

Being a Saga fan for a very long time already I really love this double live album which was recorded in Switzerland. Saga’s 4th studio album „Worlds Apart" (released in 1981!!) was their breakthrough album in Europe and the USA. So, now the band framed all nine songs from that famous album with long-time live classic songs like „Ice Nice", „Humble Stance", „Don’t Be Late" and some newer songs.

If you like the music of Saga then this is their „ultimate" live album as all their best songs are featured here. Highlights for me are „The Pitchman", „On The Loose", „Time’s Up", „Don’t Be Late", „You’re Not Alone" and „How Long".

Diesel n Glory 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
12 April 2007

Al who? Al Atkins was the original vocalist of Judas Priest back in the early 70's (approx: 1970-1974). The average Priest/metal fan may have noticed that several tracks on the early Priest albums were actually co-written by Atkins. "Demon Deceiver" is his overall 5th solo album and you may also recall a "Dreamer Deceiver" from the past? Yup, this and, "Victim Of Changes", are two Judas Priest tunes that Atkins co-wrote and decided to re-record for his latest solo album.

The rest of the material is all brand "new" though and the entire album simply oozes of denim, leather, and classic Heavy Metal. Indeed, Atkins goes for the jugular, staking his claim for a pole position in the metal race with a pretty solid release that delivers classic heavy metal for the classic heavy metal fans. There's absolutely nothing "new" about the music and you won't find a single metal riff post-1985 on this CD. It's old school and old school only with the *hell's bells* sound of Raven, Grim Reaper, and of course Judas Priest, constantly ringing in your ears.

Frontiers 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
10 April 2007

PANTS!!! ... ehem, knickers, boxers, socks, and strange looking hats. You may draw your own conclusion of previous sentence... but I'd like to make a couple of things perfectly clear. One - I'm not an old fan of the band that basically hates all changes of their "original" sound or whatever (I didn't listen to a Night Ranger album up until ten years ago). Two - there's absolutely nothing wrong with down-tuned guitars (it's the quality of the melodies that counts). Three - it's always interesting to hear a bunch of +50 musicians as they try to copy the modern rock sound (the kids will hate 'em for being old - the old will hate 'em for sounding too young).

It's just that for each great song (Tell Your Vision, You're Gonna Hear It From Me, Whatever Happened, Hole In The Sun), there's a really daft one (Drama Queen, There Is Life, Rockstar, White Knuckle Ride). Sure, "Hole In The Sun" may lack the invention and innocence of say, "Dawn Patrol", but nontheless produce pleasant, upbeat tunes every now and then. It's basically guitars, guitars, and more guitars. Not even sure why keyboardist Michael Lardie (ex-Great White) is a member of Night Ranger ála 2007? He's probably just there to play "Sister Christian" and other oldies live on stage.

"Tell Your Vision" is indeed a great opener and a superb mix of guitar oriented rock ála Damn Yankees and the modern rock sound of today. The song basically kicks like a mule to the head and it's all very impressive to say the least. The follow up, "Drama Queen", starts out like a decent guitar rocker but suffers from a really plain and boring refrain. "You're Gonna Hear It From Me" kicks once again like a mule and it's one of the better and most uptempo Night Ranger songs ever!!!! Seriously, this baby kicks like the bastard sons of Gene Simmons (KISS) and Ted Nugent!!! Ehem, well, or the two of them together in a new rock band. "Whatever Happened" is the modern rock of today and it's a fun new-punk song with a really catchy refrain. "There Is Life" is a piano ballad that reminded me a lot of Gowan and Night Ranger ballads of the past. Not nearly as good though and you never get a firm grip around its message or inner strenght.

Reprise 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
12 April 2007

"Blunt-force trauma, furious-sounding, in-your-face, throat-punching grooves", shouts the press release when describing the new Static X album. Friggin' right too, it's all here!!! They're letting you know exactly what's on their minds from the word go and opening track, "Cannibal", could possibly even scare the crap outta' your ol' Grandma. Let's face it... there's no such thing as "horror" metal anymore and you could frankly not shock anyone in the year of 2007 (unless you get arrested for sexual relations with a minor: ex-Static X guitarist, Tripp Elsen).

But ok, reading through the rather confusing lyrics of "Cannibal", you'll find out that Wayne Static is afraid of being eaten alive by some giant reptile??? And there's the usual stuff about him being a long-time vegetarian of course (that's sooo not metal - just ask Blackie Lawless). "No Submission" was however included on the Saw II soundtrack and gave fans an early taste of the album. Guitarist Koichi Fukuda has also returned to the band since the Elsen episode, and you can finally find some real guitar solos on the songs.

AOR Heaven 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
10 April 2007

At one time (after their impressive debut album), Razorback were rather promising Melodic Metal hopefuls and they've unfortunately blossomed into At Vance wannabes. Even more now ever since Swede, Stefan Berggren (Snakes In Paradise, Company Of Snakes, Snakes Everywhere Really) has joined the band. Well, At Vance hired fellow Swede, Mats Leven (ex-Treat, Swedish Erotica, Yngwie Malmsteen ,etc), to shout along to the teutonic melodies and I guess it felt quite natural for Munke to look at Sweden for vocalists.

Immergent 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
9 April 2007

Ian Gillan is the original siren and this is the CD + DVD, "Deluxe Tour Edition" of his Inn. I guess you'll either hate or love the re-recorded versions of classic Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, - "Speed King", "Smoke On The Water", "Trashed", etc. I must however disappoint you all with saying that I quite like the idea... even though I'm not totally sold. It's sooo re-freshing to listen to newly recorded studio versions of the classics as they were frankly not always blessed with a top-notch production (especially in the early 70's). And how can you not enjoy "Speed King", with a ravishing Joe Satriani at the top of his game? On the other hand, it's mainly intended for the die-hards as the CD doesn't feature many or any new tracks really. Well, if you don't include "Unchain Your Brain" and "Bluesy Blue Sea" as new stuff of course.

The guest list is quite remarkable though as it features musicians such as: Joe Satriani, Janick Gers (ex-Gillan, Iron Maiden), Uli John Roth (Scorpions), Ronnie James Dio, Jeff Healey, Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), Joe Elliott (Def Leppard) and Ian's fellow Purple People, Steve Morse, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice [what? no Blackmore ;-)]. There's tons of wicked collaborations and old Gillan material such as, "No Laughing In Heaven", truly shines again with a frantic Michael Lee Jackson and Don Airey at guitars and keyboards.

LZ Records/NL Distribution 2007
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
13 April 2007

Bonfire is one of my all-time favourite bands, but I've yet to see them live. That'll happen one day I hope, but until then, this DVD will be the closest thing to a real Bonfire gig. Of course it isn't really comparable, but good fun all the same.

The DVD was filmed at Firefest III in Nottingham last year, where Bonfire played an excellent set of classic tracks and a couple of new ones from their latest studio album "Double X". I don't think that anyone was disappointed by the fact that the band concentrated on the "Fire Works" and "Point Blank" album tracks, those two albums are the band's milestones anyway.

Vocalist Claus Lessmann still has a strong voice, and he's a good frontman. Hans Ziller seems to be band's "musical director", and his guitar work is very good. The rest of the band, the "new guys", are worthy additions to the band as well.

While watching the DVD, I was interested to hear how they had changed the arrangements to the classic tracks, as many of them featured keyboards and huge choirs. Well, the choir parts sounded okay for most of the songs, with all the band members singing backing vocals. The lack of keyboards did make the more keyboard-heavy songs like "Sweet Obsession" sound a bit flat. But all in all, a good show. The Firefest audience seemed to be enjoying themselves too.

The bonus tracks include 5 music videos, standard eighties stuff with lots of hair and serious posing. "Starin' Eyes" must have cost a small fortune to make, with a big set and a lot of actors and explosions. If there's a storyline in the video, I didn't get it! There are also 3 live songs from a Rockpalast TV concert, but they are pretty much ruined by a lousy sound. The "behind the scenes" footage contains the usual entertaining nonsense and a cameo appearance by the notorious Bailey Brothers, who are seen harassing the band to take a couple of dozen photos with them. Oh well...
www.bonfire.de 2007

MajesticRock 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
8 April 2007

The whole point of calling your band something like Jaguar is to project an powerful and nature-wild image of a beast in motion. Indeed, it really doesn't matter if you're projecting a wild-cat or a rapid-fast car, since we're talking about NWOBHM in its purest and wildest form. This is a live recording from December 1982 and the U.K. cult band was apperently on tour in Holland. I don't quite understand why the Dutch thought so highly of Jaguar at this particular occation??? Considering they had not yet released their 1983 debut album "Power Games" at the time (Neat Records).

MJS Publications 2007
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
13 April 2007

Four people were murdered at Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio on 8 December, 2004. A deeply disturbed young man attacked the band on stage, killing the band's guitarist, their security guy, one member of the venue's security staff and a fan of the band. The guitarist was former Pantera member Dimebag Darrell.

"A Vulgar Display Of Power - Courage And Carnage at The Alrosa Villa" is a very detailed book about the unfortunate incident. Author Chris A. has taken months and months to make sure that all details are covered. In the first part of the book, ge goes briefly through the history of Pantera and Dimebag Darrell, but really concentrates on the three other victims, Jeffery Thompson, Nathan Bray and Erin Halk. Another significant character is the killer Nathan Gale. Chris A. has done a lot of interviews with the family, friends and associates of the victims and the killer, and thanks to those, he can bring the reader really close to the subjects. They truly deserve the recognition they are now finally given in this book.

The second part of the book is a second-by-second raport of the actual shooting and the events leading to it. To say that's it's detailed would be an understatement. It's a gruesome story, but it is interesting and relies only on facts. A lot has has been written about the event, and Chris A. goes his way to dismiss all hearsay and rumours.

In the last part of the book, there are touching memorials written by the family members of the victims, and Chris A.'s "Final Notes" section. While throughout the actual story his writing has been very objective, in the final notes he offers some well-informed, thoughtful opinions.

Inbetween the chapters of the book, short "Dime Time" segments offer a little relief from the otherwise heavy and sometimes disturbing story. They are little stories about Dimebag, as told by his fans and friends. He seemed to be a really cool and positive guy who always had time for his fans, and his death was definitely a great loss for the metal community.

While there are no Pantera or Damageplan CDs in my record collection, this book will get a place in my book shelf. It's not your ordinary rock book, it's a compelling story about four men who died too early. May the rest in peace.
www.avdop.com
www.myspace.com/avdop

Frontiers 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
5 April 2007

"In This Life" - a nostalgic 80's trip or a fantastic soft-rock album? Well, it's definitely like I'am ten years old all over again and hanging out with my friends "mullet" and "large shoulder pads" [spandex was never a friend of mine]. It's the same feeling you can get as you drive a Lamborghini in the game "GTA Vice City", and the loud-speakers are blasting out all these smooth rock songs of the past. Nostalgia... sure, but nostalgia alone does not make for great albums.

However, there's nothing even remotely under achieving about Stan Bush's new CD, in fact, it would be fairer to say that "In This Life" is closer to perfection than any another Bush album before it. Straight to the point, Stan The Man has managed to record his best solo effort ever and it's not just a stroll down memory lane. The songs are more complete and full of emotion and even though some of them are borderline cheesy (especially the ballads: The First Time and Southern Rain), I'd still have to say that it's difficult to find any real fillers. However, keep in mind that you need to be a fan of the utterly slick U.S. Power Pop/Rock of the 80's to truly enjoy this album (huh? you don't say?). It's not like Stan invented a completely new genre or style here - it's just more of the goodies. In fact, the whole CD would have been perfect as a movie soundtrack of highest quality back in the days.

Ume/Universal Republic 2007
Review by Alan Holloway,
09 April 2007

It's been too long since John Mellencamp graced us with an album of original songs, so "Freedom's Road" has been greeted with a lot of interest by his deeply passionate fans worldwide. There has been some criticism that he allowed the track "Our Country" to be used in a Chevy commercial, but sometimes you have to bite the bullet to get your music heard these days.

Even though Mellencamp is responsible for some genuine hard rockin' songs in the past, these days he has moved firmly into the arena known as Country Rock, where steel guitars abound and finger shredding solos are thrown out and replaced by slow burning, catchy numbers that follow you around like a celebrity stalker.

"Freedom's Road" follows on nicely from 2001's "Cuttin' Heads" with a strong selection of songs filled to the brim with intelligent, thoughtful lyrics and some well constructed melodies. Sometimes you wonder what country he thinks he's living in, with "The Americans" telling us how tolerant and respectful our Yank cousins are, but generally the lyrics evoke images of a worn out country with a proud heritage. In a brave step he even includes a song, "Rural Route" that seems innocent until you realise it's about a little girl who was abducted and raped, based around a harrowing true story. "Cherry Pie" this ain't, but it's powerful stuff.

The beauty of a good Mellencamp track is the hummability, and "Freedom's Road" doesn't disappoint. Songs like the title track, "My Aeroplane" and the first single "Our Country" will get in your skull like head lice with a pneumatic drill. Gentler songs, like the Joan Baez duet "Jim Crow", still impress, but may not survive on your iPod for the same length of time.

If you're already a fan, then this will not disappoint, and lapsed fans from way back will find a man still clinging on to his ideals, unfashionable as they may be. If you've never heard the man, I suggest you pick up "The Best That I Could Do", his excellent Greatest Hits compilation. Otherwise, "Freedom's Road" is a solid slice of countrified rock that will please all fans of the music type, and get them thinking a little too, which is never a bad thing.
www.mellencamp.com

Martie Peters Group/NL Distribution 2007
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
5 April 2007

Martie Peters is known to some for his work as the lead singer of Push, a melodic hard rock band that recorded a few albums during the late nineties. The band's "poor man's White Lion" sound appealed to some, but I wasn't a big fan of theirs. Therefore, I wasn't exactly biting my nails waiting for this album to arrive to my mailbox. However, the other day the mailman did indeed bring me a copy, and I have to say I was positively surprised. Yes, Peters still sounds like Mike Tramp, but his new band doesn't just emulate the sound of White Lion, they've found a sound of their own.

The album doesn't get a good start with "Fallen", which is one of the weaker tracks. It does showcase the modern vibe, but somehow Martie's vocals sound a bit annoying on this track. And I just don't like the song, simple as that. Things get better with the next few songs: "Chosen One" and "Shallow" are both fine melodic rock songs, while "The Clown" is probably the closest thing to White Lion on this album, reminding me of the WL song "It's Over". "Wish" is very catchy, modern pop rock and I quite like the balladic "For What It's Worth" too. Even better are the next two songs, the highly melodic duo of "Swimming In Your Blue Eyes" and "Silence Sits At My Throne". Fine, fine songs and better than anything that Push ever released.

"Kill The Pain" is a heavier, darker number and not one of my favourites, but still a decent one. Next Peters revisits his past with "Waitin' In Line", which is an old Push song. I remember liking it, but I believe I like this version even better. Excellent song with a strong chorus. "All I Have" is a contemporary sounding pop-rocker, yet curiously enough it borrows an idea or two from Don Henley's eighties' hit "Boys Of Summer". Another decent track, but again not one of my favourites. The title track of the album has been saved to close the album, and as far as I'm concerned, it could've been left to the "drawing board". It's the weakest song of the album, very bland musically. And that falsetto... can't stand it. Obviously it's an important song to Peters as he chose it as the title of the album, but... well, to each their own.

The fact that the opening and closing tracks are two of the weakest ones has a bit negative influence on the whole album. I was actually set on a lower rating, but a look at my notes revealed that those two tracks were the only ones that I disliked... in between them there are 10 more or less good songs, so an "8" it is then.
www.martiepeters.com
www.myspace.com/martiepetersgroup

Graves Records 2006
Review by Petri Kautto,
4 April 2007

I’ve heard it sounds pretty awful when a pig gets slaughtered. Should any human ever try to imitate that sound Lollo from Showstripsilence would be the closest match, no contest there whatsoever. But I have to give the band some credit because at least they know his fortes; he handles guitar and screams in the band.

Here’s a band that has decent punk/rock songs and a rough sound that would probably attract some people. But they are trying to stand out from the rest of the bands with a guy who sounds like death metal singer on acid. It is intolerable to listen to some of the songs just because this one guy ruins almost every one of them. And the funny thing is that they actually have a singer, Gento, who is also the other guitarist in the band. It’s because of him you can actually imagine how they could sound like if they hadn’t decided to include a screamer to the band.

Warner Bros 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
4 April 2007

Indie 2007
Review by Satu Reunanen
5 April 2007

Finnish melodic hard rockers MoonMadness have released another single after their great "Thunder", and their second release features "Torn" from their upcoming album and a live video of "Ain't No Angel". Since their last release they've switched their singer, and the new addition was found in Heidi Bergbacka, who's been with the band for some time now, and handles her duties as well as Satu Jaronen. Heidi is a good singer with a sound of her own, of course, but fits the bands sound perfectly. "Torn" is another good song from the band and good continuation to "Thunder", but the sound could be better. Hopefully the final product sounds better, because this has a demo feel to it. Otherwise "Torn" continues where "Thunder" left with, the band carries their rock legend influences deep (Rainbow, Deep Purple) and while "Thunder" was a faster and tighter rocker, "Torn" offers soft rock played with ease and backed with relaxed jamming.

Reprise/Warner 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
5 April 2007

Oblivion/SPV 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
2 April 2007

Praise the lord and pass the ammunition - here's the latest CD by The Mission. Ehem, anyhow, "God Is A Bullet" is a swaggin rock album that spits out classy melodies like bullets from a machinegun in the hands of a raving mad terrorist. I don't believe I've ever been this excited about an album by the U.K. rockers as they've clearly managed to hit a nerve this time. For instance, "To Love & To Kill With The Very Same Hand", is such a remarkable catchy and dramatic tune that it will forever change your view of how you ever used to look at The Mission.

I can honestly say that I didn't believe Wayne Hussey to be capable of writing top-notch material such as the songs featuring on "God Is A Bullet". Well, I'm sure most of us had written off the old Goth rockers of the 80's as merely something from the past. But this is like one hit after another and there's hardly any time to come up for air in between the tracks. Hold yer horses, there's a couple of duff moments as well, but I'd say it's still their overall strongest album up to date. It's a lovely mixture of their old Goth and a more "mature" sound that will bring to mind the classy music of U2 and even the latest album by Marillion. And no, I'm not talking about the Fishy version that wrote "Keyleigh" as the album "Marbles" is a completely different sound and band really.

The dark and gothic opening of, "Still Deep Waters", will soon explode into a couple of massive rock hits titled "Keep It In The Family" and "Belladonna". They will easily provide all your needs of Goth/Mission/U2/Marillion feel-good songs as they are probably the best songs ever penned by the band. Well, at least until the following and utterly remarkable "To Love & To Kill With The Very Same Hand" comes along with a hook that hits ya' like a sledgehammer over the head. This my fellow music lovers is a song that will instantly rip yer heart out and leave you bleedin' for more. The Gothic display of "Aquarius & Gemini" is blessed with angelic female vocals by Julianne Regan of All About Eve, who was the voice on early recordings such as "Severina" and "Beyond The Pale". The song and album also features cellist Caroline Dale (Page/Plant, Peter Gabriel, Oasis, etc). The CD continues with the sheer modern rock attack of "Blush", which can only be described as marvelously catchy. "Chinese Burn" won't rub ya' the wrong way as it's very much the sound of the 80's. "Father" is a nice breather and ballad that will most certainly please all the twisted little Goth rockers around the world.

Inside Out 2007
Review by Martien Koolen,
3 April 2007

I never knew that Alan Morse was such an excellent guitar player. Of course he played the "occasional" solos on the Spock’s Beard albums, but Alan’s guitar playing on his first solo album, with the sparkling title "4 O’clock & Hysteria" is really out of this world and therefore a must for guitar lovers all around the globe. Alan wrote all the material by himself and I must say that I never miss vocal parts on any of the 11 songs.

The CD kicks off with a track called "Cold fusion", featuring melodic, speedy, funky,sparkling and proggy guitar melodies and solos. The second extremely wonderful piece is called "R Bluz", which is dominated by amazing solos and bluesy, sometimes jazzy passages. One of my absolute favourites is "The rite of left", featuring an up tempo Satriani-like melody, great hooks and a smashing howling solo. However, the best song is called "Track3" in which Alan reminds me of guitar hero Neal Schon (ex-Santana, Journey). This song has a super gooseflesh ballad melody and a couple of truly heavenly solos.

This extremely well guitar album is balanced out with variety of styles like buoyant funk ("First funk"), country shuffle ("Drive in shuffle"), a siesta with mandolin ("Spanish steppes"), a fine acoustic based AOR song ("Major Buzz") and the piano/guitar ballad "Home".

Metal Heaven 2007
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
3 April 2007

Oh, it's those masked men again! Swedish Bloodbound released their debut album "Nosferatu" early last year, and it was a bit of a shocker. Their melodic metal style and outrageous image was a strange combination, but it worked. To the AOR fans the shock factor was to see Fredrik Bergh from the politely rocking Street Talk turn into a metal monster! With face-paint influenced by Norwegian church burning black metal bands!

The line-up of the band didn't last too long, and for a while, there was a lot of turmoil within the band. Finally, Bergh (keys, bass) and co-founder Tomas Olsson (guitar) added Tomas' brother Henrik as the second guitarist to the line-up, alongside drummer Pell Åkerlind. The last thing to do was to replace original vocalist Urban Breed, and the guys provided another shocker with their choice... German vocalist Michael Bormann! The former Jaded Heart singer and current vocalist of Rain, Zeno and Redrum, not to mention a solo artist, apparently wasn't busy enough with his projects, so he joined the band. This combination was again a strange one, but after hearing the album, I have to say that it works too. Bormann has never sounded as sinister as he does on this album. He is truly showing a different side of him, belting out metal anthems like there's no tomorrow!

The material on "Book..." doesn't stray too far from the sounds of "Nosferatu", but I'm glad to say that there's a bit more variety. "Nosferatu" sounded good, but unorginal, and while there's no escaping the obvious Maiden- and Helloween-influences, the actual Bloodbound-sound is slowly starting raise its' monstrous head. It's indeed Bormann's vocals that bring something unique to these songs, as he's not your average high-pitched power metal vocalist.

For my money, two of the 11 songs clearly stand out as something really special. First of them is the title track, an Accept-like metal track with razor-sharp riffs and a killer chorus that actually reminds me a bit of Lordi. The other standout is the ballad "Black Heart", which could very well be a hit single for the band, their "Always Will Be" or "Still Loving You". Naturally, Bormann shines on this one...

Other key tracks of the album are the two openers "Sign Of The Devil" and "The Tempter" which will surely go down a storm live, the very Helloween-like "Lord Of Battle" and "Black Shadows". The tracks that I like the least are probably the two fastest songs, "Into Eternity" and "Turn To Stone", which are frankly the kind of songs that every second rate power metal band churns out endlessly. You've all heard it before - super fast drumming and silly "Happy Metal" choruses. "Eagle Fly Free" but not quite. I must also say that "Seven Angels" is perhaps a bit too close for comfort to a few Iron Maiden songs...
www.bloodbound.se

MajesticRock 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
30 Mars 2007

Are Lightspeed the new Saga? Well, probably not, but they are definitely not a bunch of bozo's. "Waves" is actually their third album and a pretty accomplished platter it is too. I must confess that I had not heard a single note of their music in the past. They are however from Canada and Rod Chappell was the original bassist of ZON. The history of Lightspeed dates all the way back to the year of 1977, when Rod left Zon and formed a new band with his brother Gary (keyboards).

Well, what can I say? occasionally something appears out of nowhere just to hit ya' like a ton of bricks over the head. Something that defies all kind of trends and fashions as they are indeed stuck in a time-warp and the Pomp/Prog/Symphonic sound of the very early 80's. It really doesn't matter though as what we have here is a beast that dwells in a number of lovely soundscapes, it's a mysterious and poppy mix of Saga, Sugarcreek, and Zon. I also love the fact that a couple of the tunes are quite similar in style to the underground cult band, Hobbit.

Boosweet Records 2007
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
31 March 2007

Don’t be fooled by the rockstar look on the cover of this album, Kiko Loureiro plays pure jazz fusion but he does that with style. One can only trace hints of rock in his music but the Latin-American influence is more evident than the rock musician background. Anyway it is a great album for the open minded but not something the "average" rock fan would enjoy.

Besides Kiko’s playing Yaniel Matos’ piano virtuoso is an important part of almost all the compositions but the rest of the musicians also deliver a stunning performance. The sound is great and the mix is very balanced leaving enough room for all the instruments.

My personal favorites were the virtuoso (not a good word to describe it as all the tracks are virtuoso) "Havana", the moody "Anastacia" and the closing, laid-back "Recuerdos". As usual, you get quality instrumental stuff from Boosweet Records with this disc as well but make sure to play the soundbytes of the album on their website as it is as far from rock as Brazil from L.A.

SPV 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
2 April 2007

Freedom Call and the wild bunch will answer? "Dimensions" is their 5th studio album in eight years time and old fans will be quite familiar with their bombastic and poppy Power Metal sound. At best, the album sound very homely with the notable exceptions of the first opening tracks, "Innocent World" (even though I hate the children's choir!!!) and "United Alliance". However, I'm not quite sure where to look as track four opens up with the utterly corny line of "Hello Mr.Evil". It's not as bad as it sounds though, the song takes off like a rocket to the sky and will certainly cause people to launch their fists skyward in a rock united approach.

The following, "Queen Of My World" is simply too much of Rhapsody Of Fire though (zzz!) and "Light Up The Sky" borrow quite a lot from Robby Valentine and other strange objects that are simply too much and over the top (read: Rhapsody). Don't get me wrong, it's not crap, far from it actually, it's like a part of me both enjoy it and hate it at the very same time (if that makes any sense?). The titletrack is pure class and "My Dying Paradise" is even more pumpkin oriented rock than Helloween could ever present nowadays.

Frontiers 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
31 Mars 2007

Sue Willetts is a nice vocalist and the return of Dante Fox should be a nice welcoming for the melodic fans. Uhm, please pay attention that I wrote "should" and not "is", since there's unfortunately a huge difference between the two words. Sue is indeed at the top of her game with some impressive lead and harmony vocals. I noticed that someone even compared her with Ann Wilson (Heart), but that's clearly just a case of poor judgement and not enough of knowledge. She's ok... but not *that* friggin' good. Ann is a vocal Goddess for christ's sake.

...And don't you just hate this "female" vs. "male" b.s. A great vocalist is a great vocalist - no matter what, it really doesn't matter what's between the legs... or ears [well, there's a lot of airheads out there ;-)]. Anyhow, guitarist Tim Monford has managed to come up with a truck-load of lixx and trixx in the fine tradition of 80's rock. Opening track, "The Last Goodbye", is a gutsy power rocker in the vien of Romeo's Daughter's most uptempo material. However, the true essence and elements of top-notch quality music are sadly missing here. Where are the oh-so important hooks and memorable choruses that makes you want to play this over and over again. To be honest, the sappy ballad of "Hold Out Your Hand", sounds more like some poor outtake from the Eurovision Song Contest of long gone days.

MajesticRock 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
31 Mars 2007

Oh dear, what ever happened to all the great melodies and choruses of the past? It's like they've all been watered down to a degree were not even the best of jokers could hold the mask anymore. Nope, I don't mind the raw and almost punky guitars, the slightly "modern" approach, or the lesser sound of The Plot. I do not, I repeat, I do NOT believe that all artists should stay the same from birth to death and never progress or change. However, I did expect to find some kick-azz music and not just plain old dull collaborations with such great musicians as Michael Schenker (UFO, Scorpions) and Pete Way (UFO, Waysted).

MajesticRock 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
30 Mars 2007

This is a couple of 2-CD re-issues of the Powerquest albums "Wings Of Forever" (2002) and "Neverworld" from the year of 2004. Not quite sure why they've already been re-issued though since it can hardly be a case of forgotten gems or out of prints. Well, ok, the first album was originally released at the Underground Symphony record label (huh, who?), the latter however is a Now & Then/Frontiers release and still very much at market (find it at your online CD stores bargain bin). You can also find a review of "Neverworld" in our archives and I'am not going to upset anyone with any silly remarks here. This special edition comes with a bonus DVD with videos, gallery, and a making of the album ducumentary.

The U.K. Power Metal act Powerquest includes three ex-Dragonforce members and their 2002 debut is traditional Euro Metal in the vein of Freedom Call and Rhapsody. Very bombastic at times and with plenty of double-bass drumming at the centre of your attention. This special edition comes with two original demo versions of "Glory Tonight" and "Follow Your Heart", plus a bonus DVD disc. Yep, disc two is all DVD with live footage from The Underworld at Camden - 2004, the video of "Glory Tonight" and other bonus features such as a gallery and background material. Although the production is sometimes rather tinny (much due to the programmed drums) and treble-heavy, "Wings Of Forever" boats Power Metal attitude in spades and full colours.

WTOrecords 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
31 Mars 2007

Tiffany Nicole is young, fresh, and sparkling fun like a newly opened can of Coca Cola. Her lead vocals are unfortunately sometimes flat like the same can of beverage after a day out in the sun. A bit harsh perhaps... she's only seventeen (kip - are you paying attention?), and has still a lot of time on her hands to learn all the tricks of the trade. I should probably blame the producer here, there's things you can do in the studio afterwards to fix the correct pitch of the vocals (well, duh!).

Frontiers 2007
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
28 March 2007

Blessed with one of the weirdest names in rock, Pink Cream 69 have been around since the late eighties. Apart from a few dark years during the nineties, their albums have been of high quality, and "In10sity", their 10th album, continues that trend. While the first PC69 album with Andi Deris on vocals and those strange lyrics will forever have a special place in my CD collection, the "new" band with vocalist David Readman has proved to be longer-lasting and more reliable formation. Once they ditched the grunge crap, they have released one solid album after another. It also helps that bassist Dennis Ward is an excellent producer, making sure that the PC69 albums sound like a million bucks.

The band start their 10th album with the anthemic "Children Of The Dawn". A solid opener with a big chorus, which is played in a slower tempo than the verses. I generally don't like that, but it works okay in this song. There's no slowing down in "No Way Out", a fast and intense track. The first verse of the song reminds me of My Chemical Romance actually, but once we get to the chorus, it's familiar PC69 territory.

I'm not sure about "Crossfire". It's slowish and a bit repetitive, but I've kind of grown to like it... at least more than I first did. Some vocal melodies sounded familiar and it took me a while to realize that they reminded me of something by Anastacia! With "I'm Not Afraid" I don't have the wonder whether I like it or not - I do. Lots of energy and a highly melodic chorus. The same goes for "The New Religion", although it doesn't reach the same heights.

"The Hour Of Freedom" is a slow'n heavy number but with another decent chorus, while "Stop This Madness" is a typical PC 69 track with again a strong chorus. Good album tracks, but not necessarily highlights of the album. "Desert Land" is a short 90 second interlude, which leads us into "Out Of This World", possibly my favourite track of the album. The vibe of the song reminds me a lot of Queensrÿ:che's classic "Operation: Mindcrime" album.

"It's Just A State Of Mind" is another good album track, while "Wanna Hear You Rock" borrows heavily (and intentionally, I believe) from Skid Row's "Monkey Business". The lyrics and the Skid Row vibe do compliment each other, even though I don't rate the song as one of the album's better ones.

The "European bonus track" "My Darkest Hour" is once again a solid album track, a hard rocker with a good chorus. The album is closed with a ballad, the excellent "Last Train To Nowhere", which leaves a good aftertaste of this album.
www.pinkcream69.com

Pie Music/NL Distribution 2007
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
27 March 2007

Mark Sweeney is the vocalist of Swiss melodic metal band Crystal Ball, and this is his first solo album. Together with another vocalist Michael Bormann (Jaded Heart, Zeno, Bloodbound etc) he has put together a set of songs which are quite far from the euro-metal sounds of Crystal Ball, more in a laidback AOR style. If comparisons are what you need, the style reminds me of latter-day Bon Jovi, Stan Bush, Bryan Adams or Bormann's recent project Rain.

Bormann's influence is quite obvious on the album, as he has solely written 4 of the tracks and co-written the rest with Sweeney. He has also produced, arranged and pretty much played all the instruments, so this album is at least as much Bormann's creation as it is Sweeney's.

While Bormann scored well in our last year's poll, not everything he touches turns gold. First of all, I'll say it straight: I don't like Sweeney's voice. It's a matter of taste, he's not a bad singer but I just don't like his sound, simple as that. He sounds like a cross between young Mike Tramp and Robby Valentine, kind of a boyish voice that just doesn't work for me. Secondly, the song material isn't particulary interesting.

The album starts with two rather dull balladic tracks, the first of them is actually the first single "Singing For You". Strange choice. The album really kicks into gear with "Superman", a catchy pop rocker, followed by a couple of rather decent songs. "I'm Back" is a Bormann-penned track and one might think that the lyrics have something to do with his break-up with Jaded Heart... maybe, maybe not. "Don't Hold Back The Tears" is a good melodic rocker, but I'm not that fond the next two ballads, the very Bon Joviesque "Might Be Love" and "The Reason", which sounds like a contemporary rock radio ballad.

The world might not need yet another song called "Heaven", but that's what we get. it's actually one of the better songs of the album, an uptempo track with a Scandi-AOR sound reminding me of Return or Talk Of The Town. "Must Be Paradise" is an uptempo AOR track too, but perhaps a little bit too "AOR by numbers". The last four songs are all generic and rather dull ballads, except for "Now Or Never", which is a faster track and probably my pick of the bunch, with a very good chorus.

Bormann has succeeded in this project as a producer, as it sounds very good, but as a songwriter, I have a feeling that he's keeping his best songs for himself. Most of these songs are the kind of stuff that he can probably write in his sleep. Disappointing.
www.marksweeney.ch

Heartlines 2006
Review by Martien Koolen,
29 March 2007

Cheope is an Italian prog metal band formed in 1999 and in their biography is written that all five band members are fans of Dream Theater and Metallica. Well, if you listen to "Risen" you think that this is the latest Metallica clone as the singer Erik Scutti really tries to imitate mister Hetfield. But let me be clear about this, there is only ONE James Hetfield, dudes!! The singer is also the most irritating component of Cheope’s progressive metal music as most of the time the vocals are forced and rather "unnatural", like for example in "Colors" or "Again".

The music on this debut album is rather chaotic, boring and not very inventive as I heard it all before, but then a lot better of course. Why do these guys not try to compose a good song first before they record a rather complex concept album? Go back to the basics and write a good rock song first, especially if you want to play prog metal, a good and original compostion is THE key to a good album. Most of the songs on this album are too much of the same, there is no diversity and the band does not really have a sound of their own, yet...

Casket 2006
Review by Martien Koolen,
29 March 2007

This Italian metal band was formed in 2001 and in the beginning the group played melodic death metal. After the release of their first demo the band broke up, but Giacomo Mambriani (guitar player) decided to restart the band, however playing a different kind of music now. Their music on the official first album "Points of view" is a mix of nu metal, rock and electronics. What bothers me most however are the horrible grunt parts, I really hate that stuff as it has nothing to do with singing whatsoever...

The electronic beats and loops on this album also are a bit strange as the mix with the grunts and the headbanging and trashy riffs do not really fit in with the music. It all sounds a bit chaotic and weird, just listen to songs like "Listen", "Bleed" or "Silent" and you will catch my drift. There is almost no originality in most of the songs and the compositions are rather weak and predictable.

Sounds Of Deluge 2007
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
25 March 2007

"Fill The Void" is a reissue of the first (and last) album of FENRIS, an early nineties progressive power metal band. The band was formed from the ashes of THE INTRÜDERS, apparently a popular 80'ies metal band in the Northern Germany. I haven't heard of them (or Fenris), so guess they didn't make too many waves outside their home turf. If the umlauts are anything to go by, they must've been real METAL!

The bio states that The Intrüders were pretty traditional metal, but with Fenris the band members decided to go prog. And sure enough... they've packed the songs with tempo changes and complicated patterns, and only one of the songs is less than 5 minutes long. Technical and demanding stuff indeed... but at the same time, I don't find it too enjoyable when all the songs are full of annoying stop-and-go riffs and rhythms. The songs never really take off, they just speed up on the runway, only to hit the brakes and then speed off again... and again.

Positive points would be the singer's rather likeable voice (a bit Manowar'ish, mixed with some Virgin Steele), and the production is quite good too. Can't blame the musicianship either. If only they hadn't tried so hard to be complicated and too clever for their own good...
www.metalmailorder.com

High & Loud 2007
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
26 March 2007

"Serenity" is the second single taken from Kotipelto's album by the same name, to be released on 11 April. The first single "Sleep Well" did pretty well on the Finnish charts and got a lot of airplay as well. This song doesn't have the novelty value of being a soundtrack song, so we'll have to see how it fares. It's a good, melodic hard rock track, if nothing out of this world. The distinctive vocals of the Stratovarius frontman will draw comparisons to his main band, but the music does have a slightly different vibe. While Stratovarius is more metal, Kotipelto steers more towards melancholic hard rock.
www.kotipelto.com

Mastermind Recordings 2007
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
26 March 2007

"Stanley plays dark and melodic alternative rock", states the press release. They take their influences from Radiohead, Mew, Placebo and Foo Fighters, and this song is from their debut album, to be released later this spring.

"Halo" is jangly brit-pop flavoured song that offers nothing for me. I don't hate it, but now that I have played it a few times, I have no urge to listen to it again. The sound of the band reminds me a bit of their fellow Turku-based band The Crash, the same attempted British accent and the same overall vibe. Stanley does sound a bit more "manly" than The Crash though.

I wouldn't be surprised if this song ended up in a TV ad some day soon. It's the kind of stuff that ad producers seem to favour these days as the background music of some cute little love story - slightly alternative, but not too obtrusive.
www.stanleyband.com

Epic/Sony 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
19 Mars 2007

If it ain't broke, break it!!! The tattooed twins have skinny girlfriends and a massive amount of money and fans all over the world. Yet (or perhaps just because of it?) they have decided to get rid of their old sound and replace it with a lot of new and fancy stuff. "We threw out 50 or 60 songs and pretty much started over", Benji says. They've also decided to replace producer Eric Valentine (old favourite since his T-Ride days), and returned to work with Don Gilmore (Pearl Jam, Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park). Gilmore wanted to reinvent the band and make people ask themselves, is that really Good Charlotte?

Excellent plan and especially the part about Gilmore. The press-release is full of remarks such as "Don wanted a fresh, new us", and Joel says, "we'd keep bringing songs to Don and he'd be like, nah, it's not what I'm looking for". Ehem, well, they now have an easy way out if this revival thing should fail... simply blame it on the prodcurer. I don't believe we're listening to a failure CD though, not at all. Sure, "Good Morning Revival" will disappoint some and many others will find it as a necessary and a natural progress and part of their evolution revolution. It's interesting to see exactly how far away they've moved from the early punk-rock elements. The dead members of The Ramones would be spinning in their graves if someone should ever proclaim this to be a "punk" album.

This is basically a mish-mash of 80's Pop, dito Arena Rock, and the odd weirdo track. In fact, The Gorillaz-like, "Keep Your Hands Off My Girl", turns out to be a rather misleading tune and not really representative of the overall sound. OK, I honestly believed "Dance Floor Filler" to be a new song with Sweden's Melody Club. Not to mention that the opening verse of "Victims Of Love", sounds an awful lot like a song and dance number by the Russian duo of Tatu. However, the rest of the material takes its stylistic cues from the basic concept of U.S. Power Pop. Power Pop indeed, but they are also sporting heavier influences, the model being updated 80's music with an indelible sharp pop edge though. For instance, "Something Else" is a basic Cheap Trick number with just a hint of Enuff Z'Nuff for god's sake. Very catchy, close-to, or darn-right corny, with a refrain that hits ya' right between the eyes. "Broken Hearts Parade" is another homerun in the more familiar sound of Good Charlotte. "The River" is a blistering, unforgettable rocker about sin and redemption that traverses the dark side of L.A.

Inside Out 2007
Review by Martien Koolen,
23 March 2007

This new band called Slavior in the classic trio format is one of the first rock surprises of this year. This CD is filled with heavy, fresh and modern hard rock, designed for the "masses". The band consists of Gregg Analia ( Tribe of Gypsies, vocals), Wayne Findlay (MSG, guitar, keyboards and bass) and former Fates Warning drummer Mark Zonder.

All the 10 songs are heavy rock with certain progressive aspects and the sound of Slavior is a mix of bands like King’s X, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Jelly Jam and the Deftones. "Swepty away" is the first killer song on the album, featuring a headbanging intro followed by RHCP vocals and some Deftones and King’s X characteristics. "Another Planet" has a killer groove, a great chorus, excellent vocal parts and a howling,screaming short guitar solo. However the definite musical highlight is the last track called "Red Road". This one really reaches out to progressive territory with strings, amazing twists and turns, a very melodic chorus and a long mind boggling guitar solo.

Dockyard1 2006
Review by Martien Koolen,
23 March 2007

This is the second album of the Swedish metal band Moonlight Agony. The group was founded in 1999 and their first album called "Echoes of a nightmare" was released in 2004. The music on that CD was a blend of Sonata Arctica and Thunderstone, meaning dark symphonic power metal pure.

"Leaving solitude" is the opening song of the new album and it is an up tempo Stratovarius like power metal track with typical high-pitched vocals and speedy guitar and keyboard solos. "You betrayed me" reminds me of Rhapsody mainly due to the extreme bombastic sound, the strings and the classical parts. "Through the desert storm" is again a pure power metal song with staccatto riffs and Kotipelto vocals. And so the album goes on and one wonders where the originalty and the diversity is...

MTM 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
19 Mars 2007

The Swedish band, MarysCreek, was founded by power vocalist Mats Nilsson in early 2004. Their demo songs were quickly starting to create a buzz in the music community with positive reactions from fans, reviewers, publishers and radio, who often compared them to Soundgarden and King's X.

Well, to be frank, they do play a fun mixture of guitar based melodic hardrock and heavy groove with a modern production and crunchy riffs. But... I can't really hear that much King's X or Soundgarden for the matter. Sure, there's a hint of grunge into their music. However, do you guys remember the Swedish band, Mental Hippie Blood, from the mid-90's??? They were all ex-Glorious Bankrobbers, Treat's Anders Wikström was a band member for a couple of months, and they had a minor MTV Headbanger's Ball hit in Europe with: "Law Breaks The Law". Well, this could just as easily have been a brand new CD with Mental Hippie Blood!!! The sound of Maryscreek is in fact as close to identical to MHB as you can possible get without actually being identical (uhm, yeah).

AOR Heaven 2007
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
22 March 2007

Well, well, how to put it? Do you like whipped cream? Yeah? Do you like marinated paprika? Like that too? Now do you like the two together in one dish? I loved Peter Sundell’s work with Grand Illusion and I really appreciated Torben Enevoldsen’s songwriting but under the moniker Decoy they came up with a very average effort that is too metal to be melodic rock, too progressive to be AOR and too simple to be progressive. Obviously the idea was to have best of both(? - best of all) worlds, yet in the end it turned out to be none. Some power riffs topped with awful lyrics and though the vocals, the musical performance and the production are bombastic the final product just doesn’t do the trick.

The album kicks of with two heavy metal tracks “Divided" and the title track; both are okay, nothing more, nothing less. Then the weirdest track of the album comes titled “Brothers in Arms"; it starts as the cheesiest Journey or even worse REO Speedwagon ballads then turns into the midtempo rocker that lyrically is basically an anthem of the Association of Ukrainian Assassins for Hire. You have to hear it to believe! Then “Heavy Metal Thunder" kills all the hopes I ever had about the album. The title says it all… “Make A Stand" starts like a bad Metallica imitation, then slows down and drags its leg till the end and though “Break Through" and “Forever and Ever" show some promise, the uptempo “My Religion" is the road back to average-land.

“How Long" recalls Grand Illusion both musically and vocally, it is probably the best track of the entire album, Peter really shines on this one; the lyrics are horrible though. Another okay track comes then “Peace of Mind’ finishes the album, another better than average number but it’s not enough to save the album or restore my faith. I don’t know what happened to these guys (first of all they look like the left defender and the goalkeeper of some weird German football team; Eintracht Braunschweig anyone?), I can’t even blame the label for pushing them to deliver too fast as it is obvious that a considerable amount of time and efforts were invested into the production. It’s all about the songs after all and they are definitely lacking, cliché heavy metal riffs and lyrics that would embarrass even a 15 year old poet-wannabe. Well, maybe the next time.

MTM 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
21 Mars 2007

Scelerata is a young and talanted power metal band from Brasil, formed in 2002 and are now stepping into the spotlight with a v-e-r-y technical debut album. There is one problem though. Superlative musicianship alone does not make for great albums. They have obviously been listening to the entire back catalogue of Helloween and Angra, and there's absolutely nothing wrong about their influences. Heck, they have even managed to get one of their heroes and also biggest supporters? Edu Falaschi (Angra) to sing the song "The Spell Of Time", which also turns out to be one of the highlights of the album.

Nontheless, Scelerata are glorified Power Metal by numbers, and thus as interesting as all the other Power by numbers bands are. You've heard it done so many times before that you instantly can tell what the next, beat, riff, or lyric, will provide. In vocalist Carl Casagrande, they have a singer of high intensity, but their second hand Angra blast fails to ignite any of his real powers. Ambitious guitar work, fast and aggressive double bass parts are only to be expected really. It's difficult to single out any killer tracks though as they're all pretty... well... average.

UK Division Records 2007
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
22 March 2007

I normally do not do this but I let the promo material of this album speak for itself now. Read carefully as I quote it word by word: “The Ilid project is simply the union of two personalities extremely sensible and particular. As soon as Ronnie and Natascia met, no doubts rised up concerning the meaning of their musical affinities. Immediately, just after a few seconds, their eyes met into a deep expression that made me understand they just did not want to get closed. I saw reflected in their eyes the Will and the Desire keeping their eyelids opened as for them to see in the heart and soul of each other…" etc. etc.

Horrible, ain’t it? And the music is at least as twisted as these sentences are here. Although Ronny’s guitar work and the rhythm section are all okay (nothing as special as the bio suggest, just good, old hard rock with some progressive touches, Natascia’s vocals and lyrics are horrible. It adds a non-welcome psychedelic touch to all the songs (they are well-written songs, good vocal melodies would turn them into enjoyable rock tunes but instead) we get some suicide music like the worst moments of The Cure. The vocals are bordering being off-key, are mixed too much in the front, leaving Natascia’s mistakes exposed to the light.

There are four tracks on the album, all of them blessed with cool drum-bass patterns, some really good guitar-work here and there, “Sacred" even has a great piano-base but the vocal melodies (or the lack of them) pretty much ruins all of them. Normally when you are 16 you learn NOT TO include your girlfriend in your band. It’s never too late to learn, dudes. Get a singer and try again the next time!

SwedMetal 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
18 Mars 2007

There's apparently a golden rule in the hardcore scene that goes along the lines of: as long as you're aggressive and angry as hell, then you're good. Well, you could actually pen down a similar agenda about most rock genres, however, it's all utter nonsense of course. The latest Violent Work Of Art is a sonic display of 100% industrial noises and zero melodies. Get depressed to the over abused screaming, weird rhythms and overall annoying sound, marvel at the imaginative titles of "A Sad Creation", "Silence is The Enemy", "Scars", "Lord Of Flies" and "Misery Loves You", and get freakin' mental by the lack of good material.

Frontiers 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
20 Mars 2007

Yeah, a "Demo Anthology" with 37 tracks on a double disc do sound great on paper (or PC screen), but it's perhaps a bit of a let down in reality. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my Winger albums and it's not like I'am too posh to headbang along to the beat of "Seventeen" (well... ok). However, this 2-CD set is strickly intended for the raving mad stalker fan as merely 10 out of 37 tracks are previously "unreleased" stuff from the past.

Seriously, who's really all that interested in demo sound quality, muddy recordings, and basically... ehh... "demos" of 27 songs that all ended up on the first three Winger albums? Uhm... yes, stalker, you may put down your hand now. The rest of us will continue to play the regular CD's, thank you very much. It's not like these versions are all that different from the final production.

Frontiers 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
19 Mars 2007

Fist fighting Dokken!!! If, like me, you have a soft spot for the most troubled of L.A. outfits, then this live recording should be savioured. It's raw, dirty, in-your-face, live music from Conception 1981 and it's still the early days of the band. It's prior to receiving a recording contract in the states and also prior to the infamous fist-fights within the band (even though trouble was merely waiting around the next bend).

Don Dokken was asked to remix the original tapes of, "Breaking The Chains", when he found some long lost and forgotten 2-inch tapes of this very live recording. It's 10 tracks of pure energy from a U.S. independent hardrock band at the time and it includes 3 unreleased tracks that never made it to the studio recording of above mentioned album. "Goin' Down", "Hit And Run" and "You're A Liar", fits nicely in with the rest of the Dokken material from the early 80's.

Inside Out 2007
Review by Martien Koolen,
14 March 2007

Ray Alder is probably one of the best rock singers in the business and I have always been a huge fan of Fates Warning. However as the band does not exist anymore – at least not to my knowledge – I can give my complete attention to Alder’s "new band" called Redemption. That American prog metal band based around group leader Nicolas van Dyk – guitar player, keyboarder and sole songwriter – has produced its best album so far. Van Dyk proves with "The Origins of ruin" that he has a special musical gift, by composing intelligent prog metal songs in a style that transcends genre boundaries. The music combines complexity, heaviness and addictive melodies drawing on influences as Kansas, Rush, Zero Hour, Dream Theater and especially Fates Warning of course.....

The CD starts with "The surrounding silence", an up tempo prog metal song of the highest quality followed by "Bleed me dry", that opens with a very melodic guitar solo, followed by heavy riffs, piano parts and amazing vocal passages. Most of the songs are really infectious, like for instance the epic "Memory", also filled with sparkling guitar solos. Absolute highlights are: "Man of glass" (a real Fates Warning song), "Blind my eyes" (filled with very emotional vocals and amazing guitar arpeggios) and "Fall on you" (a very diverse, melodic prog metal track).

This CD is a collection of brilliant songs based upon human weaknesses, missing communication, deceit and accepting bribes, fanaticism and intolerance, self-doubt,anxiety, hope and love.... So lyrically and musically there is a lot to enjoy on this spectacular album and I am sure that with this album Redemption will establish themselves among the champions league of prog metal groups.
www.redemptionweb.com

Inside Out 2007
Review by Martien Koolen,
14 March 2007

Thought Chamber is a new prog metal band based around Michael Harris (Arch Rival) and Enchant vocalist Ted Leonard. Their progressive metal is extremely complex and it shows great diversity. So you can also hear musical elements like funk and groove. Harris wrote all the songs for this debut album over a period of time between 2001 and 2004, only the instrumentals "Accidently on purpose" and "Mr.Qwinkle’s therapy" were composed together with Rob Stankiewicz (drums) and Derek Blakley (bass guitar).

"Premonition", the third instrumental kicks off the album and it is a great opener with outstanding solos and swinging rhythms. "Sacred treasure" is the first track with vocals and Leonard sings even better than with Enchant. "A legend’s Avalon" features a great guitar intro, followed by Dream Theater riffs and Enchant melodies. The second instrumental song "Mr.Qwinkle’s therapy" is one of the highlights as it is very guitar dominated and it features a great keyboard – guitar battle.

Sony/1965Records 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
13 Mars 2007

The View are a bunch of Dundee-lads who are apparently full of suprises and tricks. You need to give up your preconcieved ideas about Scotland, their highlander theme, and yuk, all that deep fried pizza, candy bars, well, you name it - they'll frie it!!! (please remind me again, why are there so many fat kids?). The fantastic four: Kyle Falcone (vox,gtr), Keiren Webster (vox,bass), Peter Reilly (gtr) and Steven Morrison (drums), doesn't actually play a certain kind of music, rather they create a wicked collection of sounds of ramshackle pop and baggy U.K. rock with just a hint of punk.

"Hats Off To The Buskers" is like an emotional and fun rollercoaster ride on the guitar friendly side of things. Yes, even Pete Doherty of the Babyshambles thinks they're great and that's not even the best of promotion, huh? You know, considering that Pete's mental and high on smack all of the time (well, at least according to British media and they wouldn't lie, would they?). Anyhow, The View were formed out of the ashes of old covers band at school, playing everything from Squeeze to Sex Pistols. After deciding just over a year ago that their ambition stretched further than hanging at pubs and clubs, they began writing material for a proper album release.

Escape 2007
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
13 Mars 2007

Neverland is a Progressive Metal band, not to be confused with the Interscope/Atlantic act of the early 90's, from Switzerland, not to be confused with Sweden - the land of vikings. They were formed in 1999 by guitarist Daniel Hubner and drummer Boris Stoll who first met while studying music in Zurich. The search for an singer turned out to be difficult task, but when Mike Zotter joined in 2003 the group was finally ready to take on the world... not!!! Zotter left shortly before the recording of "Schizophrenia" and Jean Marc Viller, a power vocalist from Bern, joined the band just in time to record the album.

My first reaction to this was to yawn and get ready for a second rate Dream Theater, Symphony X, Royal Hunt, slab of an album. Yep, I was right too, but bugger me if this isn't a pretty darn decent effort after all. You see, Neverland aren't a bunch of wannabes trying to scab a lift on the prog-metal bandwagon. Well, it can't hardly be described as a bandwagon if all the acts sound exactly alike for more than 15 years???

Noise head Records 2007
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
13 March 2007

"Thrash Metal mixed with Hardcore" was the kind of description that didn't make the RockUnited staff fight over this album, so I was stuck with the task of reviewing this. I don't know why in the first place it was sent to us, since this kind of music isn't really favoured by us. We do cover a wide variety of styles, but this kind of aggressive, unmelodic stuff is very unlikely to find any friends over here...

What's good about this album? Well, it's well-produced. The riffs are skull-crushing and hard as nails. The packaging is stylish. The band can play for sure.

So why only a "2", you ask? Well... the songs sound very alike, they are very unmelodic and on top of everything, the vocals sound more like vomiting and screaming at the same time than actual singing. If the "cookie monster" effect was used from time to time, I might be able to tolerate it, but no, frontman Michael Kronstorfer screams all the way through the album... Wait! There was a second or two of somewhat clean singing in the first track - that was probably the best song of the album.

Ia a way it's a pity that labels send us these gargle metal albums... dozens of metal sites could have given this a better review, and found some qualities in it. I just don't get this kind of stuff.
www.beforethefall.org
www.myspace.com/beforethefallorg

Nuclear Blast 2007
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
13 March 2007

"My Mind's Eye" is a the latest single from Norwegian Goth/Metal/Rock band Sirenia. According to the band's website, it's getting "massive airplay" accross the Europe, so you may have heard it on your favourite station. It's surely a very radio-friendly, melodic rock track with touches of Nightwish, Within Temptation and the likes, Vocalist Monika Pedersen has a nice, not too operatic voice, and the chorus is very catchy. To summarize, this is a good pop-rock song dressed in metallic, gothic fashion. Nothing new under the sun, but very good.

The band has released their latest album a while ago, and if this song is anything to go by, it's worth checking out. You can check out the song on the band's MySpace page.
www.sirenia.no
www.myspace.com/officialsireniaspace