SMR 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
9 December 2008

The REAL Egyptian sun God would probably react to the production of 'Black Sun' with the words of: 'We are not amused'. OK, we are clearly not the reincarnation of RA, and the closest we've ever been to Egypt is the old river of denial. However, they surely must have messed up during the final mixing somehow as I've also got a cd-r copy with more punch and better sound (pre-mixing?).

I'am otherwise rather pleased with the new CD of RA. Certainly not the most original sounding mainstream rock CD as of lately, but I do appreciate their songwriting style and the idea of throwing in as many hooks as possible into a album. I'm a sucker for songs like: "Broken Hearted Soul", "Faulty Information", "The First Step", "Durn Turn Away", where they mix vicious, aggressive, guitarwork with smooth vocals and catchy choruses. It's basically Pop goes Hardrock or vice versa if you like.

Johanna/BackStage 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
12 December 2008

Ehhh, I had no idea that Johanna (the record label) was still up and running. I do have an idea about Hanoi Rocks and their music though. Frankly, I never understood the greatness about this band in the past and especially not the early years. It could have something to do with me being into the mainstream hardrock sound of the early 90's and not the awful rock of "Up Around The Bend". I still hate the song and any cool band would obviously cover "Run Through The Jungle" anyhow.

But I'm glad to say I was wrong about Hanoi Rocks and to be honest, my taste in music have changed throughout the years. They had the Glam image reminiscent of New York Dolls, but musically they were more epileptic and a mix of Punk, Glam, R&B, UK Indie Rock, and merely with a hint of traditional hardrock. In fact, a song and dance number like ,"11th Street Kids", have more in common with UK indie rock of its era than actual hardrock.

"Oriental Beat" is basically the sound of The Clash, "No Law And Order" blend punkish vibes with U.K. ska and it's once again the sound of the Clash all over the place. "Taxi Driver" is The Stones with a rockabilly twist and "Cafe Avenue" is just good old fashioned rock... and "Love's An Injection" is frankly put a fantastic song from the year of 1982, ancient, but darn catchy.

PRR/SPV 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
9 December 2008

Whatever happened to the fine art of time traveling? Lost no more as Presto Ballet appearantly found it somewhere along the way. They've somehow also managed to retrace the long gone sound of 70's Pomp and overture. Indeed, this is the side project of Metal Church guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof and it simply reeks of late 70's and early 80's Pomp/Symphonic/Prog rock.

Merely seven tracks on this CD, like all those really old albums, and four of them are all nine minutes or even longer. Quirky arrangements mix contrast of hammond, mellotron, synths, lushy melodies, and push the once restricted late 70's Pomp sound over the edge and into the modern era of today. Well, it's mostly a retrospective take at music as they stay pretty true to the sound of Styx, Zon, Kansas, Hobbit, with just a hint of Rush.

RecordHeaven 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
4 December 2008

Magnolia is a Swedish band playing early 70's blues hardrock in the vein of Mountain, November, Free, Cream and Jack Bruce. All lyrics are sung in their native language and Abramis Brama fans should feel right at home. The band monicker is straight off the Blue Cheer song ' Mangnolia Caboze Babyfinger' and not to be confused with latter days success stories in the movies or otherwise for that matter.

It's down and dirty, dynamic sounding CD with a live feeling and it's definitely been recorded in the spirit of long gone days. What's more they pull it off quite well and should also be very appealing to fans of early Pugh (swedish cult musician of the early seventies). Musically, the power trio of Ronny Eriksson (vocals, bass), Mark Tholin (guitars), Anders Hedström (drums), all play as adequately as any seriously 70's connected band did. Tracks like "Kung Bore" (the king of winter) and "Vägskäl" (crossroads) are literlly filled with smart and simple rock arrangements and power drumming.

GEP/SPV 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
7 December 2008

Surely we know all about old dogs and new tricks? Well, here's one that won't roll over and play dead or fetch anything even remotely new or past the seventies and eighties ideas for what the music industry should be all about. Martin Orford is best known as the keyboardist and main songwriter with U.K. Prog rock icons, IQ. An outspoken critic of the internet and the free music culture and he recentely announced his complete withdrawal from the industry at the end of 2008.

"The Old Road" is all about old ideas, the traditional way of making music, cricket on the village green, idyllic country pubs and trains with a steam engine on the front. Orford thinks 'it's unashmedly retro and damn proud of it'. While I do agree with a lot of things, one will also have to understand that old days are forever gone and things will never be the same again. And Orford do understand, he just doesn't want to be a part of the "new" way of making music.

The CD features an all-star line-up including John Wetton (Asia), NIck D'Virgilio and Dave Meros (Spock's Beard), John Mitchell (It Bites, Arena), Gary Chandler (Jadis), Dave Oberle (Gryphon) and Steve Thorne. The lyrics are 'slightly' bitter at times and speak of 'taking the old road - leaving the download' and 'no-one stopped and cried on the day the music died'.

ZinkMusic 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
2 December 2008

Yet another new ZinkMusic release with the Steely Dan comparsion written all over the press release. No doubt, some of these tracks are quite similar in both style and formula to above mentioned music group. However, the overall vibe of the Swedish duo of Smooth Reunion is utterly jazzy and perhaps even more in the vein of mid seventies Chicago (the band - not the actual city).

Like mentioned before, this is a sparkling new duo consisting of Josef Melin (vocals, guitars, bass, keys, harmonica) and Samuel Andre (drums, percussion, vocals). The material ranges from laidback to ..ehh... laidback stuff and I know a lot of people would merely think of this as 'elevator' music. I wouldn't personally go *that* far though.

PRR/SPV 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
4 December 2008

I still haven't figured out if this is like the most brilliant idea ever... or just plain stupid. OK, I'd probably have to go with the latter if you really twist my arm. Nashville based recording engineer/producer Mark Hornsby and Nick D'Virgillo of Spock's Beard fame have teamed up to re-record the entire Genesis album, 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' as a tribute to the band.

Why, you ask? Well, the answer would be too complicated and it's probably one of those ideas that sounded great on paper and not as much in the real world. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I hate what they've done, I just don't see the point of re-recording this or any album for that matter. Music is like footprints in the sand, it's meant to be there for the moment and slowly fade away as the tides are changing. Better yet, if the music really reached out and touched you, it'll stay with you forever as a fond memory of a special era and time.

Universal/MMS 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
7 December 2008

I really believed in Nerved and thought they had something going for them with their quirky songwriting and cleverly done arrangements. Thus why this second album is actually more than a just a minor let down. I don't mind the new singer, Johan Ekelund, since he's just as "impressive" as the original one. I don't mind their new influences with everything from Thrash Metal to Techno and modern electronic rock.

Not at all, however, what I do mind is the gob average songwriting and overall uninspiring keyboards. There's no real bangers to pep things up, no masterplan, just pure unadulterated blandness. Okay, so the Marilyn Manson inspired, "Run But Can't Hide", might represent a new way of thinking, but even that gets quickly boring due to a rather weak refrain. "Takin' Its Toll' sounds more like a mish-mash of Ministry and Papa Roach leftover and it just doesn't work.

Zink/Bonnier 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
11 December 2008

Oh blimey, "Lisa" is undoubtebly THE wimpiest ballad of the year. It's so syrup you could use it on your pancakes. So horrid you could merely use it as an warning example of how-not-to-write a slow song. The Swedish duo of Shineth - consisting of Sebastian Roos (vocals, guitars, bass) and Anders Berlin (drums, keyboards), haven't otherwise shed that 2008 rock sound totally, but they seem to be on their way.

"Lost Magic Place" is the second attempt at stardom and they have refined their style with an overall rougher and somewhat harder edge. The CD features an duet with Jenny Farkas (who?) and also sees former Yngwie Malmsteen, Treat, and Swedish Erotica singer Mats Leven guesting on backup vocals on a couple of tracks.

RecordHeaven 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
9 December 2008

Hippies rejoice - Barr is an acoustic six-piece orchestra playing Psychadelic lullabies in the spirit of Pentangle (who?), Popol Vuh (huh?) and Fairport Convention (ok, one out of three ain't bad). Everything you hear on this record is made as one session and it's appearantly been recorded in merely two days. Arrrggghhh... the horror, the horror!!! Bloody'ell, they keep sending me this hippie nonsense just to wind me up :-))

AFM Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
27 November 2008

When I listened to this album for the first time I thought I was listening to the new Yngwie Malmsteen album... But no, it was the debut of Axel Beyrodt's new project/band called Voodoo Circle. So, if you are really into classic hard rock music, like e.g. Rainbow, Dio and especially Malmsteen then you will LOVE this cd. Alex plays like a true guitargod and in the absolute instrumental highlight of this album: "White Lady Requiem" I think I died and have gone to guitar heaven....

His musical colleagues on this album - David Readman(vocals), Mat Sinner(bass),Mel Gaynor(drums) en Jimmy Kresic (keys) - are ofcourse also worth mentioning. Especially the warm Coverdale-like timbre of Readman adds another dimension to this music. "We'll Never Learn", the second highlight of this album is again filled with breathtaking guitar parts and arpeggios, but also with amazing vocals and great melodies. In fact there cannot be found a weak song on this album, at least if you like your classic hard rock stuff with lots of guitarpicking.

Frontiers Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
3rd Decmber 2008

I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for White Lion, ever since I bought the “Pride” album when I was younger. Sure, they went a bit off track in later years, but there was always a core of decent songwriting behind Mike Tramp’s unique, throaty delivery. This DVD is a recording of their 2005 Bang Your Head set, and is sure to please fans of the band.

As they weren’t headliners, the set is only an hour or so long, interspersed with snippets of an interview with Mike Tramp that is actually quite interesting. The performance from Tramp and what was passing for White Lion at the time (and still does, I believe) is pretty good, even if the early evening timeslot means the lighting has a hard time competing with daylight. There’s some great tracks, a favourite of mine being “Little Fighter”, though it would have been nice to hear “When the Children Cry”. Even so, the likes of “Hungry”, “Lonely Nights” and “Wait” should keep you happy.

As live DVD’s go, this isn’t exceptional but does deliver a solid performance with good sound and visual quality apparent. Good stuff that will bring a smile to the face of White Lion fans everywhere.
www.returnofthepride.com

Demolition/DVE 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
19th Novemvber 2008

To some, Wednesday 13 is a bit of a second rate Alice Cooper, whilst his fans no doubt see him as the new king of horror rock. The true answer is somewhere in between, although mainly because Alice recently hit a massive home run with his “Along Came A Spider Album”. Wendy is no slouch, however, as this DVD and CD live package shows.

Watching Wendy and his band live hints a lot more at the Ramones than Alice, as it’s mostly head down, full tilt rock with more swearing that a tourettes clinic. Just make sure you don’t put on “I Love To Say Fuck” when you’re gran’s round for tea. The titles are generally tongue in cheek, such as “Happily Ever Cadaver” and “Till Death Us Do Party”, with the music uncompromising and entertaining. The visuals are rough and ready, capturing the atmosphere nicely, and coupled with top notch untinkered with sound this makes for a DVD (and CD) that will entertain you for as long as you can still hear the word “Fuck” without cringing.
www.wednesday13.com

Demolition/DVE 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
19th Novemvber 2008

This DVD and CD release sees a welcome live recording of the original sick mother fuckers, Twisted Sister. Recorded in London in 2004, this is, apparently, the first uncensored commercially released TS concert in over 25 years. Anyone who has seen the band will know that this means you get a cracker of a show with lots of swearing and some great songs. The DVD (and CD) contains the entire one and a half hour show, from “What You Don’t Know...” through to “S.M.F”, with 14 other tracks in between. There’s no over the top pyros or elaborate stage sets, just five men who should know better by now, dressed in colourful clothes and make up, rocking the fuck out of The Astoria. Add to this Dee Snider’s usual entertaining monologues and the welcome inclusion of my favourite “Come Out And Play” along with “Like A Knife In The Back”, “Shoot Em Down”, “Ride To Live” and all the usual suspects you would expect. As a live DVD this is exactly what you want – Twisted Sister at their best, clearly recorded and well filmed, the manic atmosphere captured exactly how you would want it to be. A must for any TS fan.
www.twistedsister.com

Indie 2008
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
29 November 2008

I have to admit that I was biased. Having seen the doomy artwork of this album and the rather average shorthaired emo passer-by looks of these Finnish dudes (except for the singer) I didn't expect much from their album. I was awfully wrong. These five Finns delivered a fresh melodic metal album that never fails to amaze. With a little exaggeration not being really enthusiastic about the genre since Helloween's "Keeper…" you can believe me we really have something extraordinary here.

I can't remember the last time I have heard an independent release with this good sound, with such perfectionist songwriting and such a clear concept of where the band is heading to with their music. Take the best and most bombastic moments of your favorite melodic metal bands of the 80s and refresh them with an up-to-date sound, remove all the instrumental insecurities, add perfect front and backing vocals and an extra dose of adrenaline and you get what Masquerage delivered here.

Frontiers Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
29th November 2008

Eric Ragno is a very busy boy. The American keyboard player has gained a very favourable reputation, working with the likes of Ted Poley, David Readman and Danny Vaughan. This year sees his latest project, China Blue, overcoming a poor logo and album cover to deliver a fine piece of melodic rock.

The standout name in the band, for me anyway, is one Tony Mills. Mills is on superb form throughout the album, reigning himself in when necessary, but also not afraid to let himself let go with some of his finest melodic screeching since “Brave the Storm” all those years ago. He’s joined on guitar by Josh Ramos, and Ramos must be stoked that he’s involved with an album that has so much more depth and staying power than his rather poorly received recent effort with Hugo Valentino. His talents, as well as those of Ragno himself, are well showcased on the instrumental title track. It’s Mills who pulls the album together, though, with some excellent vocals, notably on the standout track “I Feel Like Dying”, which has a chorus that just won’t quit.

Overall, “Twilight Of Destiny” is impressive, but a few tracks seem to be holding it back from true classic status. Nonetheless, it’s still a very good album that deserves to be listened to by all fans of true melodic rock.
www.myspace.com/chinabluebluemusic

Polydor 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
2nd December 2008

Well, this is a review I never thought I’d write. It’s taken Axl Rose thirteen long years, millions of record company dollars and countless band lineups to make, and at the end even he has to admit that "Chinese Democracy" may be many things, but it certainly isn’t a Guns n Roses album. It’s a vanity project that gullible execs fed money to in the hope that one day it would allow them to scrape some of it back, but on the plus side at least everyone gets a free Doctor Pepper out of it.

I really wasn’t expecting to like this. The first few listens brought no real pleasure, mostly because I had to try and get the fact that Axl Rose is a twat out of my head and concentrate on the actual songs. There are 14 of the buggers here, and it must have been quite hard to resist the old double album temptation that turned "Use Your Illusion" into two flaccid albums instead of one brilliant one. Thankfully, "Chinese Democracy" is a single disc stuffed with some pretty decent tunes, although if I’m honest a cut down version of eleven or twelve songs would have been better.

Songs such as "I.R.S" , "Scraped" and the title track certainly give the impression of a healthy band, whoever ends up being in it. The old GNR sound is alive and well here, with meaty riffs and pounding bass nailed together by Rose’s angst filled wailing. "Better" almost makes the grade as well, but ends up sounding like it’s a classic track played at the wrong speed, which robs it of any power it should have had. Elsewhere it’s not all good news, as Axl messes up the blues on "The Blues", and goes on a journey of self indulgence with "The Catcher In The Rye". There’s no "Sweet Child Of Mine" here, or even a "Patience" or "November Rain". "This I Love" is a soulless, messy ballad with a good guitar solo plonked in the middle, whilst "Street Of Dreams" tries hard to be "November Rain" but never really grabs the listener. "If The World", another slow track, also fails miserably and should never have been included on the album.

The good news is that Rose can still bang out the odd exceptional song. On Chinese Democracy" it’s "Riad & The Bedouins", a song that takes the traditional GNR sound and runs with it, with the result being a song that I just can’t stop playing. Out of the fourteen tracks, only half of them really work like they should, but those tracks really do send a shiver down your spine. Elsewhere, there’s a general lack of soul, with songs only redeemed by some excellent guitar solos, or others showcasing Rose’s need to create epics rather than good songs. The closest he comes to succeeding is on "Madagascar", a track that cries out for a cool video.

So should you buy "Chinese Democracy"? It’s certainly got some great tracks on it, but prepare for some disappointment as well. It was never going to be able to live up to all the hype, but in the end it’s always going to be worth a listen.
www.gunsnroses.com

“The Dividing Line” is a solo effort in the truest sense of the word, with Berry singing, playing all the instruments and producing. He does a good job, too, although he may find it a bit tricky live...

Berry has been hanging around the music scene for a long time now, and you may know him from Alliance, or even GTR. He’s done a few solo albums over the years, and seems to favour rock music that is more laid back than in your face. The album certainly starts off well, with the title track bouncing along nicely without causing any undue bouts of headbanging. In fact, most of the album bounces along nicely, as Berry knows the value of a good tune well played. It’s all a bit unadventurous, but contains some pretty decent songs in a melodic west Coast vein that should appeal to lovers of the likes of REO Speedwagon or Styx (although Berry’s vocal is much lower). The biggest problem the album has is running out of steam at the end, where three slower songs sit together and tilt the balance into the negative just by being too darned slow after plenty of mid paced tracks.

“The Dividing Line” doesn’t break any new ground, and nor does it particularly stand out as a must have album. Even so, it has several really good mid paced tracks that are a joy to listen to. It’s a shame that it doesn’t carry on throughout the whole album, but even the ballads are pretty good, really, although Journey shouldn’t lose any sleep. A good album.
www.robertberry.com

Indie 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
27 November 2008

Dream Aria is a Canadian band with a female singer, releasing their second album. The music on this album is a mix of Enigma, Jane's Addiction, Renaissance and Lacuna Coil. The music is rather powerful and there are obvious classic progressive rock characteristics. "Labyrinth" is a great up tempo track with an amazing guitar solo, while the title track is more laid back and ambient like, altough in the end you also get a fairly nice guitar solo.

"serpent Nile" is not really my cup of tea as it mellow and new age like and the vocals of Ann Aria Burstyn tend to get on my nerves here.... "Rebecca" is also a rather mediocre track, too mellow and too elctronic! "Pandora's Box" and "Flower Duet" are the "rockiest" songs of the album, excellent guitar work and some real pure rock work dominate these songs.

Indie 2008
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
29 November 2008

Danger Avenue is a Swedish band who characterized themselves in their promo material as "kind of old school" as they really wanted to have a CD out, so they have recorded a self-produced 5 track EP. Well, they have sent me a circular badge with it, betcha it can't get any more old school than that! lol

If we disregard the obviously lacking production (weak sound, unbalanced mix with the cymbals and the vocals too much in the front, constant EQ problems: lots of highs, very few middles and lows) and concentrate on the music and what these guys aim to represent with it, we may really enjoy this album. The entire image is built on 80s clichés and so is the music but I do not mind it at all. As you may have guessed they sound a lot like Danger Danger here and there, especially at the opening "West Coast Angel" with huge choruses and happy melodies. "The Distance" is another of a westcoast midtempo stomper but "Boarding Pass" reminds me of the best moments of Enuff z' Nuff as it features some cool Beatles influenced acoustic parts and a refrain with a big hook.

AFM Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
27 November 2008

This new single consists of 3 new songs, which will not be on Doro's new full length album, which will be released in the beginning of next year. "Celebrate" is the first song on this EP and it is a typical Doro metal hymn, featuring some nice guitar solos. Then you have two other versions of "Celebrate", one featuring Biff from Saxon, singing a duet with Doro and the third version is a female version. Guest vocalists on the third "Celebrate" are: Floor Janssen(After Forever), Angela Gossow (Arch Enemy), Veronica Freeman (Benedictum) and Sabine Classen (Holy Moses).

Lion Music 2008
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
14 November 2008

John Jeff Touch may not be a household name in melodic rock YET. But having heard his first solo album I'm pretty sure it will change. He has worked with Lars Eric Mattsson in Vision before, so his vocal abilities were no secret to me before. He wrote, arranged, and produced this entire album and the result is a stunningly fresh, moody, and vivid progressive rock album with lots of memorable melodies and hooks.

The problem with modern progressive rock albums is that songwriters tend to forget about hooks and melodies while they try to squeeze far too much musicianship in one track. This is not the case here, exactly the opposite; the songs are extremely melodic with big hooks, yet none of them is any bubblegum pop-rock. The opening duo of "Message" and "Loving U" may be the most poppy tracks of the entire album with their refrains filled with hooks but fans of a more progressive approach also get their share with tracks like "Sometimes" or "Crystals". The almost one hour long running time gives a lot to discover, vivid arrangements including numerous string pads, saxophones, flute, acoustic instruments won't let you get bored in case you are sensitive for such things. I certainly am therefore I enjoyed the album from beginning to end.

Poley Rivera 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
17 November 2008

"Only Human" is the third collaboration between Ted Poley (Danger Danger vocalist) and guitarist Vic Rivera (from AdrianGale). The previous two were released as Ted Poley solo albums, but on this album Rivera is more in charge, taking care of the instrumentation, production and the songwriting.

The album kicks off with the Autograph-like "Keep On Fighting". Not the best opening track since it's a bit of a throwaway track, uptempo and energetic but forgettable. I'm not sold on "Top Of The World" either, which is basically an OK song, very much in the D2 vein. Rivera lays down some tasty solos and Poley sings like his life depended on it, but the chorus hook just doesn't elevate the song to another level. The moody title track is another OK song, but again, something is missing. I want to hear something that's more than OK, please!

...and "Did We Just Have A Moment" leaps out of the speakers. Interesting intro... solid verse... heyyy, this chorus is more like it! Next up, another moody mid-tempo track called "Insanity", but one with a very strong, melodic chorus and a cool solo from Mr. Rivera. Yep, things are looking brighter.

"N.W.S." is probably the most "modern" track, reminding me a bit of The Disturbed with Stryper singing harmony vocals! That might sound odd but it actually sounds pretty good to these ears. "The Bigger They Come" takes us back to more familiar waters, sounding like a distant cousin of the Danger Danger track "Beat The Bullet". And in my books that's a good thing - this song is one of my favourites. The happy-go-lucky summertime vibe of "Delirious" is hard to resist too, and why should I, it's a good song. The same goes for "Fire At Will", a hard rockin' track with a catchy hook. The album is closed with a couple of slower tracks: "Breathe Deep" is probably my favourite of the three mid-tempo songs, and the album's only real ballad "Crossing The Ocean" is a decent song too.

My initial rating for the album was 7, but now that I've put my thoughts on paper (well, okay..."to writing"), I think it deserves a better rating, despite the slightly less impressive first three songs. Damn it, I believe the same thing happened with Ted's previous album - the rating changed at the last minute.
Poley Rivera Myspace

? 2008
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
12 November 2008

White Lion, Guns n' Roses, etc. What's the point of dragging the name with you when the music is nowhere remotely near of what the names represent to the people hearing them? Well, that's exactly the question with the new Steelheart album. Mr. Matejevic, the extremely talented dude of Steelheart fame has decided to go down the very same road Mike Tramp and Axl Pose did.

„Good 2B Alive" may be a good album under the name Nickelheart or something (note the obvious Nickelback plug) or any other name as it is a decent, modern, heavy rock album with electronically enhanced vocals, detuned guitars and all the other ingredients that made bands like Korn and the alikes popular a few years ago. Popular in a certain circle but definitely not among "classic" Steelheart fans, including me. Matejevic can still sing when the songs give some room for that which does not happen too often on this album, he could still deliver brilliant melodies but that would not be trendy enough for a modern rock album so you won't get them.

Rising Records 2008
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
12 November 2008

When we get into this business we all dream about becoming the next David Coverdale / David Lee Roth / whoever else you idolize, standing on the stage in Donington or somewhere in Tokyo in front of ten thousands of people who sing along to your every word but at least to your refrains and choruses. But how the fuck could sing along with you if your own band can't?!

Mind Gone Blind is a bunch of talented guys who forgot why they have started this whole thing and wrote songs that can not be remembered and can not be sung along. Imagine a melodic rock album with not one single line of backing vocals or chorus. It simply does not work this way. Musically Mind Gone Blind is on the slightly psychedelic side of melodic hard rock, obvious comparisons would be The Cult, Blackeyes Susan, etc. but I have to be cautious with these comparisons as those bands pay attention to memorability. There's a cool guitar work from Shane Younie and Gary Moyes' vocals are okay, he is not off-key or anything, sometimes he remotely reminds me of Ian Astbury (which is a compliment) but there is not one memorable vocal melody he sings. Even after a dozen spins I can't remember any of the refrains. Therefore I guess the audience of Donington couldn't either.

Round Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
13 April 2007

I’ve been avoiding writing this one up, because sometimes words fail even me. Tradgedy… are a bit of a silly bunch with silly names out to have a laugh. There’s nothing wrong with that, and I’m sure they’re a good laugh live, but that’s not really much of a reason to buy this album.

The songs are good, but that’s because The Bee Gees wrote some insanely catchy tunes. The result of metalling them up is surprisingly similar to Wig Wam at times, and at others painful to listen to. If you think that Electric Six are metal geniuses you might actually get something out of this, but in the end it’s not half as clever as it wants to be.
www.letsmaketragedyhappen.com

Rising Records 2006
Review by Martien Koolen,
1 November 2008

Tessmarka is a South Essex quartet, that released their debut 6-track mini-album back in 2006! Their music is a mix of Ash, The notorious Ramones and some Southend-based indie punks; so you can expect punchy, pop-infused punk and in your face rock and roll; you wish... In other words rather boring, predictable cross over music, which could do well on your local bachelor party.....

"The Reason" is a punky up tempo rock and roller, followed by a one tempo, kind of sleazy rock and roll track called: "Miss Imagination". The third song "Starting Over" is a semi-acoustic poppy, dull ballad with rather sweet vocals. "Better Than You" is a very short (1:47) punky, boring song, while "Ready To Roll" is again rather poppy and a mid tempo song. The mini-album ends with the longest (4:30) track "Committed", and it is a kind of stoner, cross over song, featuring a rather weird howling guitar solo. All's well that ends well, I would say. Practice makes perfect, guys.

Racket Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
31 October 2008

I truly have a love/hate relationship with Marillion as some albums are sheer magical and then they release an album which I would almost describe as sheer symphonic crap. "Brave" and "Marbles" are really magnificent symphonic rock albums while "Marillion.com" and last year's "Somewhere Else" were rather "horrible". Now, they come up with a rather ambitious double album called: "Happiness Is The Road" and after listening to it a lot - really a lot - I can truly say that this is a great album, although album 2 called: "The Hard Shoulder" is without any doubt superior to part 1 called: "Essence".

"Essence" is more melancholic and definitely less "rocky" than part 2. The album kicks off with "Dreamy Street", filled with piano and almost whispering vocals, followed by "This Train Is My Life', which is rather melodic and it is one of the better songs on this CD. The titletrack is also worth listening to, as it builds up nicely to a heavier ending; in fact this could be Marbles stuff."Liquidity" and "Nothing Fills The Hole" are however rather mediocre songs, at least for Marillion standards! "Woke Up" is again a rather simple, but very pleasant song to listen to, while the musical highlight of this first CD is ofcourse the song: "Happiness Is The Road". A brilliant Marillion song that sounds just right and I wonder why there is not much more of this material on this album... Ofcourse this is not a great album like "Brave" or "Marbles", but it is ten times better than "Somewhere Else" and I must say this CD is a real grower, the more you listen to it, the better it becomes. Favourite tracks: "This Train Is My Life" and "Happiness Is The Road". Especially the title track of the double album features a breathtaking, gooseflesh shout-a-long chorus, in other words a true Marillion gem!

"The Hard Shoulder" starts with the amazing song "Thunder Fly", a rather rocky atmospheric track featuring a great emotive, bluesy solo by mister Rothery. "The Man From The Planet Marzipan" is another musical highlight, here Mark Kelly's keyboards really set the mood for this one and it kind of reminds me of "The Invisible Man" from the Marbles album. "Asylum Satellite#1" is again a very melancholic song with great piano passages and even more impressive guitar work. This one really is a new Marillion gem of the highest standards. Unfortunately two rather mediocre songs - "Older Than Me" and "Throw Me Out" do not have those high musical standards......

D2 Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
4th November 2008

A while back I got a re release of an old (well, the 90’s) Marshall Law album, and it was, to put it mildly, rubbish. Easily summed up as hackneyed Brit metal that was rather a chore to listen to, it went straight on to the Never Play Again pile, so I wasn’t really looking forward to this new one, despite assurances from D2 that it really was quite good.

Well, as you’ll have deduced from the mark, this sixth effort by the band (or what remains of them) actually is a decent metal album. It’s been hanging around for about a year, waiting for the right deal, but has been worth the wait. The fifteen track finished product is a worthy continuation of the band’s career, and should see them moving up from the lower divisions to join the big boys, although admittedly they’ll still be more Bolton than Manchester United.

Marshall Law still features the snarling but effective vocals of Andy Pike as well as original guitarist Dave Martin, but as far as original members are concerned that’s all she wrote. It’s been a good while since they last stuck their heads out into the metal world, and unsurprisingly they haven’t delivered anything too groundbreaking with “Razorhead”. That said, it’s full of decent metal tunes, big assed riffs and some decent song structure that will set them apart from the more shouty bands. Andy Pike can carry a tune well and has a voice somewhere between Rob Halford and Blaze Bayley. Indeed, this album would serve as a good companion to Bayley’s excellent recent release “The Man Who Would Not Die”, with both showing the charms of resilient Brit metal at their best.

With “Razorhead” , Marshall Law are happy to be a metal band with few frills, and what makes it a decent album is the fact that they have obviously worked hard on the songs, with over an hour of material with no duff tracks. It’s not going to break any conventions or even tread new ground, but this is an album that should please plenty of metalheads this year.
www.marshalllaw.co.uk

Transcend Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
4th November 2008

It’s all gone a bit Retro Corner this week, as Untamed release an album that refuses to set foot outside the 80’s regardless of how horribly you threaten to dismember it’s Gran is it doesn’t. “Insanity Bound” is a rather by the numbers attempt at classic British metal that falls short of it’s ambitions yet remains an interesting album nonetheless.

Although only 8 tracks are offered, all but one clock in at 5 or 6 minutes, a fact that nicely demonstrates Untamed’s attitude to writing. Each song is allowed to roam where it will, with multiple solos and style changes, and you get the feeling that one day they might make a great album when it all comes together. This, however, is not the album. “Insanity Bound” tries very hard to get into your head but in the end is just not that special. The songs are often a little tired, and the attention wanders to more exciting things, like picking your nose. Opener “Blood Soldiers” get’s it the most right, and should prove a good starting point for future endeavours. Apart from this, though, it’s all pretty stereotypical 80’s metal, but not actually that good even for 80’s metal. I’m not sure how old the band are, but it comes across as a demo from some teenagers that would have you patting them on the back for a good effort, but giving advice on how they should proceed. I hope Untamed get some of that advice and take it, as I have a feeling there’s better to come.
www.untamedrock.co.uk

Rising Records 2005
Review by Martien Koolen,
1 November 2008

Sharp Practise is a band from the UK and their second album called:"Radiocity" is nothing more than a rather boring heard it all before poprock album. Just listen to horrile tracks like "Choice Not Freedom" or "Family Of Nations", a semi-acoustic singalong (lalalalala...) popsong and you want to push the stop button right away... "Paint My Dreams" sounds like a second-hand INXS song and "Light Of The Day", featuring a sax solo, is even more boring.

Frontiers 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
25 October 2008

Modern this, modern that - what do people mean anyway??? It's not the 80's/90's anymore, if you merely fancy the sound of long gone days... well... stick to your old records and nevermind about the present. You're going to miss out on a helluva lotta good music though and the latter especially goes for the new Tesla album.

Their latest effort, a tiny, round, plastic, little thing [compact disc for those desperately stuck in the eighties], combines the elements of the past with the sound of today and it frankly kicks like a mule to the head. "Forever More" is a great improvement on their previous album and also a perfect display of what can be done with classic hardrock in the year of 2008.

Stellar guitarwork, big drums, raspy vocals, all the ingredients to turn your average working day to a party weekend. Opening title track, "Forever More" is a moody rocker with a slightly down tuned vibe. Great stuff though. "I Wanna Live" and "One Day At The Time" are two uptempo rockers in the classic tradition of the band. "So What" and "Fallin' Apart" will have the rednecks running for the hills as it's more "modern" rock than any southern stuff of past and present century. "Just In Case" and "Pvt.Ledbetter" are two fine ballads and a great showcase of Tesla beating Aerosmith at their own game.

ZinkMusic 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
27 October 2008

Sweet mother mercy... I can literally hear the old gospel of Steely Dan is coming back to haunt us all again. Please keep in mind that I had not experienced their albums prior to this very year. I've been going through their back catalogue recently and "Aja" is still a brand new small masterpiece in my ignorant world.

Hey, at least my manic fear of the 70's and old stuff is finally gone, huh. The 60's next? Nah... I'm not *that* open minded, especially since all those ancient studio recordings sounds like crap. Nevermind the rambling fool, JaR is a new music project by Jay Graydon (Airplay, Planet 3) and another famed songwriter/musician, namely, Randy Goodrum (Christopher Cross, Chicago, Michael McDonald, Toto, Steve Perry, etc, etc).

Metal Heaven 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
26 October 2008

Crystal Eyes are a metal band from Sweden, and "Chained" is their sixth album. I don't think I've heard any of their previous albums, and because of that I wasn't really looking forward to reviewing this album. If their previous albums had been any good, surely I would have heard the buzz, right? Not necessarily of course, since the band's previous albums have been released on a smaller label, and they may not have been promoted that heavily. And to be honest, with the number of albums released each year, some just do not get the attention they deserve. I hope that "Chained" does, as it's a very decent metal album!

The anthemic, Hammerfall-like "Ride The Rainbow" takes no prisoners, and proves instantly that Crystal Eyes are not your "thirteen in a dozen" metal band. They aren't the world's most original band, but that doesn't really matter, because their melodic metal is very enjoyable. Superb twin guitar attack, driving rhythm section and excellent vocalist is a good foundation for a metal band, and with good songs, they can't really go wrong. The slower and heavier "The Fire Of Hades" reminds me of Hammerfall again, but "The Devil Inside" is something different. The straight-forward opening riff and vocalist Nico Adamsen's opening scream had me thinking of Lordi, and what they might sound like with a real vocalist. The brilliant chorus only added to that "vision", and I must say I like it. I might add that the song has a bit of an Accept-vibe to it too.

The next song that stands out is the hard rocking "Fighting", which has a definite German Metal sound to it. I'm thinking of a hybrid of Accept, Scorpions and Bonfire here. Another song that I have to mention is "Lonely Ball Of Fate", which is blessed with a very Edguy-like, catchy chorus. The remaining songs aren't too bad either, so this is a pretty safe purchase for anyone into melodic metal. It surely goes to my A-list of releases of 2008.
band website
Myspace

LionMusic 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
21 October 2008

Ehhh... this is actually starting to worry me. I'm getting more and more into 'geezer' music with each new year. The 70's doesn't scare me anymore and I guess it's true after all, you do become more open minded towards music with time. And I don't care any longer if people think it's weird to enjoy both Lionel Richie's "Hello" and "Dead Skin Mask" by Slayer. Who cares? I'am still afraid of hippies though... smelly, brain-dead, acid, creatures of the past... I totally agree with Cartman on the subject [LOL].

OTR (On The Rocks) are unfortunately a little bit too much 'hippie' at times. Nontheless, it's very much the sound of the early/mid seventies as it features the legendary John Lawton (Uriah Heep, Lucifer's Friend) on lead vocals. Focus guitarist, Jan Dumee, plus a marvelous Brazilian rhythm section of Ney Conceicao on Bass, Xande Figueiredo on Drums and Marvio Ciribelli on hammond/keys, and the OTR line-up is complete.

I kid you not, "Mamonama", could just as easily have been in a vault for approx: 34 years. Everything from production, songmaterial, to the excellent performances by all musicians involved, sure do sound like a dream come true for the spacey hardrock fan 'ala 1974. Think Deep Purple's "Stormbringer", Uriah Heeps "Wonderworld", Lucifer's Friend's "Banquet", the latters somewhat symphonic and jazzy approach, and you're very close to home.

Tuupa Records 2008
Review by Satu Reunanen
October 2008

The now unfortunately buried Finnish band TheRMS managed to release a second album before their funeral. Sad to see them come to this decision after a long career starting 1996. They sounded promising and on their second album continued where they left off with their debut five years ago, holding on to melancholic metal influences and spicing it up with horns and whatnot. Anyhow, even that they discontinued, I will still review this one. Maybe you can find the cd somewhere.

Like said in my earlier review, the band sounds like a mix between Charon and Sentenced, very melancholic and dark. Yet there's joy of playing shining out and the grungy guitars give them a very sparky heavy sound, while singer Juha Simola gives the band a more traditional rock touch with his clean and powerful vocals. Everything, including the production, is very balanced and a treat for the ear, they've done a great job once again with everything.

LionMusic 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
19 October 2008

Make sure to double check the title of the CD as you won't get a better description really. "Hybrid", to say the least. Venturia are a blur of prog, metal, pop, goth, and electronica. I haven't heard their first effort so I can't really compare the two. However, going by the info-sheet, the balance between male (Marc Ferreira) and female vocals (Lydie Robin) are now equal and they've gone for a more 'modern' approach, veering away from the classical prog metal of the debut.

One thing's for sure though. I would still file this under 'prog metal', but you need to be open minded to other genres as well. You will find a lot of the same kind of atmosphere that made acts such as Evanescence and Nightwish successful. The more aggressive male vocals vs. the softer and angelic female ones. Sigh... the stereotypes are literally flying across the room as I type this on my computer.

StreetSymphonies 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
22 October 2008

"Get Up Get Loose Get Off"... oh... Get Lost!!! Johnny Burning is a new Sleaze act from Italy with a female vocalist. Ehh... nope, erase the latter... Manuel is a bloke, but dude sure sounds like a lady. Incredibly thin and squeaky voice on a grown man and it's certainly not every man's poison.

Take the worse notes from Heavy Pettin's Hamie, Crue's Vince Neil, or Slaughter's Mark, and you're not even close to the lady-like vocals of poor Manuel. Bloody'ell, it's the Fawlty Towers all over again (que?). All jokes aside though, the music of Johnny Burning is far better than its frontman. Simplicity at work as they combine 80's L.A. Glam/Sleaze with good effect and style.

ProgRockRec 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
25 October 2008

This is to my knowledge our first encounter with a band from Venezuela. Sure, it's obviously all about 'location, location, location', if you're into the broker's market and business. However, RockUnited could not care less about where you're at, from, or where you're going. Your music on the other hand... très important, muy importante, sehr wichtig, molto importante, skit-snack...

RC2 was formed in the music town of Caracas, Venezuela during 1999 as a result of of Radio Clip's dissolution. Radio Clip was an emblematic band that released four albums in their native homeland between 1988 and 1994, selling thousands of albums and concerts across the country. After a number of changes in personnel and geographic location (they now live in Spain), the band set out to conquer the world through a mixture of classic progressive sounds, Latin American rhythms and jazzy passages.

MetalHeaven 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
23 October 2008

'Cuz I'm TNT and Dynamite'... ehh... better make that 'shite'. I'am not going to spend a lot of time complaining about LeTekro and his manic desire to become a hippie musician 'ala 2008. We all know RockUnited's and especially yours truly's policy when it comes to pure flower-power and psychedelic b.s. Woodstock is basically the root of all evil (musicwise) and I can't believe that anyone could ever fall for the old trick of 'summer of love, peace, and understanding'.

MetalHeaven 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
24 October 2008

Minortone Entertainment 2008
Review by Satu Reunanen
October 2008

Another band hailing from the Finnish Oulu metal scene is ZeroCrowd, who bring forth that more brutal approach so typical to the bands from the Northern territory. Going through many member changes in their ten year career and a namechange from Treachery, they finally released this two-track single this year, from the original plans of 2006 release. Meanwhile their debut awaits for 2009 release, the guys will be in the studio as I'm writing this.

Just like the guys say, they have a kick-ass drive. You might not be into the brutal vocal department, but singer/guitarist Ari Kokko does clean parts too, and the band is very melodic and melancholic. They rock with intensity, Children Of Bodom comes close in comparison, although the keys played by Aarne Kangas aren't doing that Halloween-movie type of stabbing sound, instead Aarne plays with a smooth touch more similar to those gothic type of bands. Also the guitar work by both Ari and Pauli Heikkinen give something new and inspiring to this scene, they're not all too serious with how it should be in the genre, but have a few playful and groovy moments as they go.

Immergent Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
12th October 2008

Les Paul must be filled with Duracell batteries, or if not he's a testament to the enduring power of rock, clocking in as he does at 93. Following on from the 2005 “and friends” album, this one is titled “Children Of the Future”, and is a great collection of mostly blues based music that is going to be a long time on my playlist.

Now let me get one thing straight, and that's that I am not a big fan of blues music. I prefer Gary Moore when he rocked, I don't think Joe Bonamassa is God, and I don't give an arse whether Robet Johnson sold his soul to the devil. Despite all this, I can appreciate a good blues song when I hear it, and recognise that when it's done right (i.e: with soul) then it's a wonderful thing. For an example of this, check out Les Paul and Hiram Bullock on “Walls Come Tumblin' Down”, a traditional blooooooze romp that works like a charm and could have come from any time in the last 50 years. Nice.

It's not all traditional blues stuff, though. Johnny Rzeznik from The Goo Goo Dolls provides a great vocal on a cover of U2's “All I Want Is You”, and there's a fantasticly emotional vocal by Edgar Winter on the piano based “Dying To Live” (originally an Edgar Winter song anyway). Joan Osbourne brings a nice soul vibe to Wendy Matthews' “I Don't Wanna Be With Nobody But You”, and even Mick Hucknall pops up to impress with “I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know”.

It's not all guest vocalists, of course, and there's a ton of guitarists lending a hand throughout. Nobody gets too flashy, with all the guitar flowing with the songs. Amongst the guests are the likes of Slash, Joe Bonamassa, Richie Sambora and Peter Frampton. Oh, and some guy called Les Paul, of course...

“Children Of The Future” really is an album to be treasured. It's nothing that will jump out and strangle your Grannny or make you bang your head, but it is a very good collection of quality songs played by some of the best in the business, led by the Daddy of guitar music. If nothing else, it would make a great Christmas present for just about anybody you know.
www.lespaultribute.com

Townsend Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
20th October 2008

So what's behind the album title? Are Thunder planning, after 20 years, to go out with a Bang? Personally I hope not, as life would be much duller without an album and a stack of live DVD's every so often from the lovable lunatics.

“Bang!” Is the 9th studio album, following on from the rather excellent “Robert Johnson's Tombstone” back in 2006. Fans have been kept entertained this year with the release of some rather good EP's featuring tracks that didn't make the album (although none are in any way naff), but there's nothing like a full Thunder album to brighten up your day.

“Bang!” certainly doesn't disappoint, with all the Thunder trademarks firmly stamped all over it. The opening duo of “On The Radio” (catchy pop rock) and “Stormwater” (balls out catchy heavy rock) set the album's stall out nicely, and you know your in for a treat, albeit a treat with nothing really new in it. Thunder, you see, have found themselves a rut (like many of their contemporaries), and are content to sit in it and do what they do best. Thankfully, what they do best is make excellent blues based British rock music, so there's really no problem.

It's all here, from well crafted ballads through to cheeky mid paced jaunts and all out rockers. As usual, the soulful tones of Danny Bowes hold it all together, although this isn't to undervalue the rest of the band. Luke Morley, for instance, has once again managed to write an album (and three Eps) without a penning a duff track. “Bang!” will keep Thunder fans nice and happy, and as that's it's job then it's a job well done.
www.thunderonline.com

SPV/Steamhammer 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
23rd October 2008

Axel Rudi Pell is another one of those European metal acts that has been merrily delivering albums left right and centre for years now without your truly being aware of them except for when a live DVD came my way last year and I wondered how I ever could have missed them. “Tales Of The Crown" is the twelfth studio release from the German guitar man, and it's nothing if not a solid, likeable offering.

The thing is, Axel Rudi Pell does classic rock, and he does it very well. It's blatantly European, filled with big hooks and cool guitars, and you just can't dislike it if you like melodic hard rock. It's like all your “Rainbow shag The Scorpions” fantasies come true, blending traditional hard rock with distinctly Germanic structures and doing a fine job all the way. Pell unsurprisingly leads the way with all the guitars, but many kudos have to go to vocalist Johnny Gioeli (Hardline), who has a great voice that just suits the music down to the ground. After all this time, Axel Rudi Pell has cemented his reputation by playing quality melodic hard rock, and “Tales Of The Crown” doesn't change a winning formula. Some great songs, catchy hooks and a truly standout instrumental (“Emotional Echoes”) make this an album that will carry on giving pleasure for years to come.
www.axelrudipell.de

The Unit Music Company 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
23rd October 2008

According to the promotional gumf, this debut album from Hate Gallery has “Fire in it's eyes” and “puke on it's shoes”. Let's be honest – if that described a person you'd avoid them like Sarah Palin with a loaded shotgun, so it's probably not the best way to get people interested in what turns out to be quite a cool new band.

Hate Gallery are headed by Janne Jarvis, a ten year veteran of the British rock scene who has a voive built for sleaze. Him and his bandmates bring what is best about Britain, Sweden and Finland to the table in a cocktail of melody and attitude, culminating in an album that, if I'm honest (and I always am), is the aural equivalent of a drunken night out with Pete Doherty and Courtney Love.

“Compassion Fatigue” belts along from the off, hurling cocksure attitude at the listener whilst swaggering around like the first kid at school to get pubes. This is heavy sleaze, like a blend of 3 Colurs Red's 1st album and anything by Backyard Babies and Hanoi Rocks. Throw in a bit of Queens Of The Stone Age and leave to simmer and you might just get Hate Gallery.

This isn't a deep album, but it's lively and fun. Not as good a sleaze debut as Dear Superstar perhaps, but a full tilt slice of rock and roll mayhem that hits the spot then kicks it in the balls for good measure.
www.myspace.com/hategallery

Metal Heaven 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
25 October 2008

Swedish Cryonic Temple play melodic metal, representing the heavier corner of the genre. I'd say that they've been somewhat influenced by 80'ies thrash metal, with elements of early Metallica, Anthrax and such bands combined to more melodic approach and anthemic choruses. Not a million miles from what When The Empire Falls came up with earlier this year, actually.

The album's well produced, the musicianship is faultless, the band has a good vocalist and they've got rather well-written songs, so there's really no reason why I shouldn't like this. To an extent I do, but I've tried to figure out why I am not more into this album... and I believe the reason lies within the songs and the vocals. While both are good, some of the hooks could be sharper and Magnus Thurin's vocals are a bit one-dimensional - he's like a bleedin' air siren, singing high and loud on all songs! This, and the fact that some of the songs sound a bit samey, makes this somewhat less appealing. Better enjoyed in small doses.
/www.myspace.com/cryonictemple

The Unit Music Company 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
23rd October 2008

It's off to sunny Sweden again for the return of bass heavy retro rockers Stonewall Noise Orchestra, featuring the amusing line up of Singe, Snicken, Jansson, Jonas and Pillow. Well, it amused me, but maybe you have to be English...

From their sound, Stonewall Noise Orchestra owe a big debt to Queens Of The Stone Age, as it's all pounding drums and booming bass, although the songs don't measure up quite as well. Structurally it's all quite sound, with vocalist Singe wailing away like Ozzy after a few singing lessons (it's never too late, Ozz). There's some nice guitars, and when they get going it's all rather entertaining and built for the banging of heads and the waving in the air of devil signs. The only problem is that for every balls out moment that has your inner metalhead getting all excited, there's two that stall like a duckling trying to get up a flight of steps. There's few instant melodies, and despite playing it non stop for a few hours I still couldn't hum you any of the tracks. That said, it is a quite enjoyable album to listen to, just a little too much on the stoner rock side for my liking.
www.snoband,com

Hopeless Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
11th October 2008

If nothing else, The Human Abstract are different. Any effort to pigeonhole them is met with another blast of eclectic music that makes you take another sideways look at “Midheaven” whilst still unsure whether you actually like it or not.

The band start out pretty proggy, then layer this with some aggressive metal overtones, along with time changes that would have made Primus proud. “Midheaven” bounces around frantically, trying to do too many things at once and doing them all quite well. It goes downhill when the singer switches from his perfecly adequate singing voice to a gutteral shout, but this thankfully doesn't happen all the time. They gravitate seamlessly between out and out rockers and melancholy ballads, although the slower songs do go on a bit, like a teenagers love poetry. When they get it right, however, The Human Abstract are nothing short of fascinating, and you know you'tr in for a muscial rollercoaster for the next few minutes. Apparently they're quite good live, and I can imagine that to be true.

In the end “Midheaven” is not a great leap musically, but it is an interesting musical mix up that shows talent and inspiration. It's not all great, but there's enough here to warrant further investigation.
www.thehumanabstract.com

Metal Mayhem 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
20 October 2008

HEEEEEAVYMEEEETAL! These German rockers took their first steps back in the eighties, and released their first album in 1988. The album was a success, but the following years didn't go too smoothly for them. The band eventually broke up in 1996. In 2002 the band returned, and have since then released their long-awaited second album in 2005, merely 17 years after the debut. "Metal Style" is their third album.

At best, "Metal Style" is pretty tasty and catchy metal á la classic ACCEPT, rockin' riffs and melodic hooks. At worst, "Metal Style" is generic, boring metal with schreechy, accented and over-expressive vocals. Indeed, it's vocalist Mat Rein Jaehnke whose voice and vocal style you'll have to like to really enjoy this album. I must say that I really don't, because I find his style a bit too over-the-top and unintentionally comic.

The highlights of the album are "Into The Fire", "Out In The Streets" and "I Bet You Win", all catchy tracks with strong choruses. Unfortunately they are in the minority, and the remaining tracks include such gems as the plodding "The Iron Flag", the horrendously dull "That's What I Am" and "I Can't Get Enough", which simply doesn't work at all.
band website
Myspace

Indie Recordings 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
9th October 2008

I am getting some very weird shit sent to me lately, and unfortunately a lot of it just isn't the sort of music I would ever choose to listen to. Although not amongst the worst, Norway's Enslaved certainly fall into the category of 'Please God, No More' with this, their 10th album.

The thing is, I've been reading up on them and this album has been really well received, with people liking the odd way it fuses black metal (well, they are from Norway), prog and synth pop. Make no mistake, they really do this, and quite effectively, but it still doesn't make it any fun to listen to. The sonmgs themselves have an underlying melody of minor riffs and keyboards, over which is laid some quite laid back, Hawkwind like vocals. On top of this comes some ghastly growling vocals that push each track firmly into dark metal territory. Repeat and rinse for what seems like forever (in reality about 50 minutes) and it soon gets pretty tiresome despite the occasional attempt to inject a bit of life.

Despite the abysmal cover, “Vertebrae” isn't an abysmal album, but it is rather bland and repetetive. I'm amazed they've managed to churn out ten albums without being found out, but if they float your particular metal boat then feel free to climb aboard. Me, I'm going to hide inder the covers with a Bob Catley album and hope the nasty men go away.
www.enslaved.no

SPV/Steamhammer 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
21st October 2008

Until watching them live a couple of times this year I didn't have a lot of time for Girlschool. It's not that I thought they were shit or anything, just that I'd never really bothered, mentally consigning them to the “I probably won't like this much “ section of my brain. Well, I soon found out that they were a great live band and so was looking forward to this, their 30th anniversary album. 30 years! Is this a new genre... Granny Rock!

It won't come as a surprise to know that Girlschool haven't toned down their music in any way, and nor have they started acting their age and singing about knitting or nice cups of tea. Like musical soulmates Motorhead, they specialize in mostly head down metal that despite itself manages to stand out from the crowd. “Legacy” takes it all a little further with plenty of guest apperances from Tony Iommi and Neil Murray to an unsurprising appearance by Lemmy. Ronnie James Dio even turns up to sing a bonus version of the song “I Spy”, aided and abetted on guitar by Iommi on a real stomper of a track.

“Legacy” should ensure that Girlschool stay firmly in the minds of rock fans everywhere. Its a bold, loud energizing album with some nifty songwriting and some amazingly fresh sound when you consider the time the band has been going. There's some rollicking singalong tracks, such as “Spend Spend Spend” or “Just Another Day”, although every track is guitar heavy all the way. McQueen may be waiting in the wings to steal their crown, but Girlschool show here that they're not letting go without a fight. You order the jelly and I'll bring the bikinis, cos it's gonna be a hell of a scrap!
www.girlschool.co.uk

SPV/Steamhammer 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
20th October 2008

It's weird to think that Kai Hansen formed Gamma Ray almost 20 years ago, maybe because they've only released 7 albums in that time. Productive they ain't, but musically they've always managed to hit the melodic metal nail squarely on the head.

“HYTAFLIM” is a predictable but enjoyable 2 hour romp through the band's back catalogue, featuring 22 songs that will be familiar to Gamma Ray fans and no less than enjoyable to anyone else. Hansen has always had trouble writing naff songs, and there's not a dull moment delivered all the way through. As with most live albums it's really just a case of hearing the songs in a different setting, and if you're a fan you really would be better going for the DVD edition, something I wish I had been sent, as it sounds like everyone is having a lot of fun!
www.gammaray.org

Maybe Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
11th October 2008

We Made God are another bunch of oddbods from Iceland, a country that doesn't seem to think in the same way muscically as everyone else. Sometimes this can be a good thing, and at other times you get a new Bjork album. We Made God have been compared to a mix up of Sigur Rose and The Deftones, and their debut album certainly backs this up.

Firstly, to call this an album is a bit cheeky. There's 25 minutes of music, with the last track fucked around with so it lasts 16 minutes, 5 of which are dead air. I suspect if it wasn't for this it wouldn't have been long enough to call an album, so bear this in mind. Aside from this skulduggery, I'd have to say that each song sounds like it goes on for at least half an hour, lulling you to sleep with ambient noise before springing loud guitars and silly shouting on your slumbering form. As annoying as these parts are, it's actually a relief from the mind numbing dullness of the slow parts. Only on the arre occaisions that they really manage to crank it up are We Made God even remotely entertaining. Judging by the recent news, this could well be the soundtrack to Icelands fading economy. Absolutely pointless rubbish.
www.myspace.com/wemadegod

Firefest productions 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
24th September 2008

Cards on the table here, I have been an FM fan since I saw them support Gary Moore 23 years ago, and as such was looking forward to this, their first ever live DVD, like an alcoholic looks forward to opening time. Filmed at last years Firefest in Nottingham, England, the DVD contains FM's complete set, their first gig for donkey's years. The big question, naturally, is can they still cut it as a band?

It's with great relief that I can give the answer to the above question as a massive, 110% 24 carat YES. Although understandably looking a little older these days, FM have lost absolutely nothing. It helps that the set list here contains 14 tracks that would in themselves make a perfect Best Of compilation, but the clincher is the quality on offer, not just in the musicianship, but also the sound quality and DVD presentation. Those lads over at Firefest have done a remarkable job here, with the sound quality as good as any live DVD I've seen in the past, complimented by unobtrusive but effective camerawork. It's not just the band that sound great, though, as the crowd are fully wedged into the mix, giving a fantastic atmosphere as they whoop, holler and sing along almost as loud as vocalist Steve Overland himself.

I don't have a clue what the rest of the band have been doing during the quiet years, but we know that Steve Overland has kept pretty busy with several projects, most recently the top class Overland album. As such, it's no surprise that if you listen to the full concert CD that comes in the package it's like being transported back to the late Eighties, with Overland's voice as good as it ever was. Mind you, the rest of the band are equally flawless in their delivery, with special kudos to Andy “Barnstormer” Barnett, who reminds the viewer just how much classy guitarwork went into the songs. Elsewhere it's solid, workmanlike displays from Merve “The Swerve” Goldsworthy on bass, Jem Davis on keyboards and Pete Jupp on drums. The set list is plucked mainly from the “Indiscreet”, “Tough It Out” and “Aphrodisiac” albums, propped up by the likes of “Run No More” (FM go Bad Company) and “Only the Strong Survive”. This means you get “Breathe Fire”, “Face To Face” (complete with intro singalong), “Burning My Heart Down”, “That Girl” and many more, each one a stone cold melodic rock classic.

For FM fans, this really is a must have package. Destined to be one of the most played DVDs in my collection, “Back In The Saddle” is a melodic rock fan's wet dream, and I hope it's the start of a new lease of life for FM. As we used to say back in the day... Buy Or Die.
www.fmofficial.com

LionMusic 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
7 October 2008

Not one, but two, instrumental pieces as the first pair of opening numbers on this 15-track CD seems like a rather strange and daring concept. Ok, the first one is a soundtrack-score, a fanfare-keyboard intro, possible inspired by Kiss and their famous car-crash accident of "Detroit Rock City". It's also the beginning of this concept album based on the fate of a small town, a tragedy, aka the crash, and the loss of a family member (who'll end up as a coma patient).

"Mercy Falls" is the third album release by Seventh Wonder and it's definitely their magnum opus. This isn't just another average Prog-Rock effort, nah, it's frankly put a small masterpiece of music, and you'll find large parts of 'Pomp' and Melodic Metal on this platter too. Imagine the close to perfect mix of Yngwie Malmsteen during 'Eclipse', Dream Theater (Images And Words) and some of the grand pomp of Robby Valentine and Queen, and you're definitely a bit closer to the core of "Mercy Falls".

Still they have their very own original Prog-Metal sound and it's a utterly melodic, complex, album, that just keeps getting better for each spin (up to a certain point of course). Vocalist Tommy Karevik is like a updated and more diverse version of Goran Edman (Yngwie Malmsteen, Madison, Glory), and there are just marvelous guitar/keyboard interludes to be found throughout the record. I really can't single out any tracks or even mention any 'highlights' as they're all part of this superb concept album.

Silverwolf/SPV 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
6 October 2008

Greetings & Salutations - the young paladin of Ivanhoe has returned from his latest crusade with a brand new platter of metal. Actually, there's no need to worry about any boring episode of the dungeons & dragons epoch as the music speaks for itself.

"Lifeline" is the 6th studio album by the teutonic band that once started out as Germany's answer to Dream Theater (well, at least according to the press release). Indeed, the up-tempo Progressive, Power Metal, outfit Ivanhoe are brash and lively and, thank God, not of the introverted nature that seems to be the standard stereotypes of the genre. They gladly mix the eclecticism of frisky newcomers with overall classy arrangements of old school Fates Warning and Queensryche.

Demolition/DR2 Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
2nd October 2008

Have you ever sat around moaning that their just aren't enough quality trash rock bands in the UK? Have you? Well, I haven't, and if I'm honest you should stop bloody whining about it and go form your own quality trash rock band. Alternatively you could just check out Manchester's Dear Superstar, because they might be just what you're looking for.

After their first album brought about 'heroic acclaim' (sez the press release), Dear Superstar have been touring with the likes of Bullet For My Valentine and can soon be seen with Firewind in the UK. They have, it must be said, rather silly names, like Smeth, The Minge and Amadeus, but it's not really any worse than Axl, Slash & Duff I suppose. Musically, Dear Superstar are a glorious mash up of Hanoi Rocks, Guns & Roses, Poison and The Ramones, and not at all the sort of band that usually pops up around these parts. The album gives ten songs, all of which are an absolute blast with catchy hooks, big choruses and short but sweet guitar solos. Vocalist Micky Satiar has a perfect voice for this sort of music, spitting out words like he hasn't a care in the world, even though we know he secretly just wants to be held. The rest of the band fill in the musical gaps with aplomb, sounding like they've been together for a decade or two, not four short years.

'Heartless' is unashamed party rock, throwing hooks at you like a demented angler in a goldfish pond. It's not to be taken too seriously, but is a great album nonetheless. Dear Superstar have recorded an album here that should put them right on the rock map all over the world, and if you have even a passing interest in sleazy rock you should go and get this.
www.www.myspace.com/dearsuperstar

Inside Out Records/SPV 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
8 October 2008

Karmakanic is of course the band of Jonas Reingold (bass player with The Flower Kings) and with this third album the band releases its most diverse album to date as the music on "Who's The Boss In The Factory" is in fact classic progressive rock with some fusion and jazz thrown in. The album opens with the amazing epic track "Send A Message From The Heart", which is the best Karmakanic song ever! This is real prog rock in the best tradition of the Flower Kings as it is filled with breathtaking guitarsolos, great melodies and fantatsic tempo changes and melodies. Jonas even invited his five-year-old son to sing the first verse, to get the lyrical context of the song clearer. Unfortunately the rest of the songs cannot "compete" with this brilliant opener as the high musical level decreases bit by bit....

"Let In Hollywood" is a rather simple song and the title track, altough rather diverse, cannot really hold my attention for the entire 13 minutes as some parts are too dull or too jazzy."Two Blocks From The Edge" features some nice prog rock passages and even some real Flokis characteristics, but I really do not like the sax solos. The album ends with "Eternally", the weakest song of the album, filled with strings, vocals, piano and a "not my cup of tea" accordion solo. It is really a shame that this album does not have more songs like "Send A Message From The Heart", because then my mark would have been much higher, maybe next time??

Demolition/DR2 Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
2nd October 2008

Californias I Hate Kate are a hard band to hate, unlike the Kate they named themselves after (allegedly). Former Zebrahead man Justin Mauriello fronts the three piece, who are obviously trying to attract fans of the likes of Panic At The Disco, My Chemical Romance and Blink 182.

For me, there's a few tracks here that have the same, driving beat of Queens Of The Stone Age, whereas “I'm In Love With A Sociopath” rolls along the same lines as Brit hopefuls Fortune Drive. Elsewhere it's party fun time with the horrendously catchy “Bed Of Black Roses” and “Sorry I Can't Write”, with the album broken up by the decent ballad “It's You”. Mauriello has the right sort of voice for the collision of pop punk and Emo the band produce, and the music is fun if not at all technical.

“Embrace The Curse” will slot nicely into your CD collection alongside Simple Plan or All American Rejects. It's nothing too deep, but it is a very good example of the sort of thing 'The Kids' (and me) seem to like these days. Well worth a listen.
MySpace

Z Records 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
07 October 2008

"So this is Eden..." I believe that it was John Waite who sang those words, and the band was Bad English. This "Eden" is English too, and whether the band is bad or good is up to you to decide. I'm on the fence.

Put together by vocalist Nick Workman (Kick) and guitarist Vince O'Regan (Pulse, Alibi, Bob Catley), the band is somewhat of a British supergroup. As "super" as one can be in the underground hard rock genre anyway. Their first album "Open Minds" didn't recieve a lot of acclaim, and the band's current label has been reassuring that "Oblivion" wouldn't be anything like it. I haven't heard the said album, so I can't comment, but I can tell you what I think about these songs.

The album starts with a pompous, somewhat TEN- and Whitesnake-like stomper, the title song. Big chorus, tasty keys and heavy riffing. Decent production and solid performances from everyone involved lead me to expect a good album, but unfortunately that's not what was in the cards. None of the remaining songs (apart from one) managed to really move me in any way - decent enough hard rock tunes with similarities to Zeppelin, Thunder and most probably to the band's seventies favourites. Nothing wrong with that, but I just happen to find this sort of rockin' slightly boring.

The one tune which did move me was "I Don't Do The Blues", but it moved me for all the wrong reasons. While I like Workman's vocals in general, his singing on this track totally puts me off. Especially the chorus sounds just plain wrong, as if he's totally out of tune. Maybe the song was written to be sung a bit unconventionally, don't know, but I do know that it grates me.

What else? Well, I like the album cover, strong colours. The band photos though... Were they taken in the morning after a heavy night of drinking? I've rarely seen a more unhealthy looking bunch of guys!
band website
Myspace

Demolition/DR2 Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
6th October 2008

Hailing from Newcastle, The Sound Ex (formerly The Sound Explosion – go figure) are one of those bands who seem to straddle the Indie and hard rock scenes without quite fitting in with either. More successful attempts have been made by the likes of Feeder and Lostprophets, and there's enough here to hint that The Sound Ex might do better next time.

“Palomino” is a competent album with some catchy tunes, but the majority of songs just won't stick in my head. I listened to it six times in a row (yeah, I have too much free time) and still couldn't hum any of the songs without help. Kit Endean has a very average voice, which doesn't help, and nor does the fact that for a band that claim to amalgamate punk rock and soul, The Sound Ex don't have a great handle on writing a neat chorus. The overall feeling here is that the band would sound great live, with some frenzied playing evident all over the place, but in the studio they're more like a caged tiger that would rather be munching on tourists.

So, I can't really go too much on “Palomino”, although I can hear a lot of promise in The Sound Ex. There's some good music in here, but next time it needs to be bolstered by more complete songs.
www.thesoundex.com

Gordeonmusic 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
5 October 2008

According to the lyrics, "Invisible Walls", are all about: 'Chimning bells of decay, we can not defy, are hunting for more to numb the tears we cry. Timeless is the dawn and the setting sun - who cares in the rush we're searching for the light. We will tear down the wall of estrangement, set the boundaries free. Hold on, beware of, searching for more that's beyond your reach, fear the fall - time is the wall' (end quote).

Yeah, your guess is as good as mine. I don't have a clue to what they're talking about really. Dodgy material, heavily accented vocals (pronunciation - not of this world), and lyrics that are frankly just unbearable, unadvisable, unamenable, unanswerable, unbelievable, un-anything really (unholy?).

Artist Station Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
8 October 2008

This is Nikki Puppet's third album and again in my opinion a very disappointing and extremely predictable album. The music of the German female fronted rock band is so cliche that it is almost impossible to listen to for more than 5 minutes. All songs sound a like, rather old-fashioned, and have those typical rock/metal characteristics that I truly hate. Like e.g. the almost same build up of every song, the rather nasal German accent of singer Nicky Gronewold, the almost childish lyrics and cliche song titles like: "Falling In 2 Pieces", "Come Back" or "Turn Back Time". The latter being the obligatory, horrible acoustic ballad of the album.

Just listen to mediocre rock songs like "Pricks" or the title track, with "amazing" lyrics like: "man in blue, it's up to you, you're just a power seeker" and you will agree with me that this is NOT a good record. The only two reasonable songs are: "Come Back" (with a Black Sabbath riff?) and "Scream", the rest is just boring German rock/metal. This band will have to grow a lot if they will ever get a decent review by yours truly.

Vigilante Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
8 October 2008

Willie Basse was frontman of the rather unknown band Black Sheep, the iconic LA band from the eighties. Now, he releases his solo album called "The Money Grind" and on this album you can also listen to Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow), Mitch Perry (MSG) and Geoff Nichols (Black Sabbath). The CD features 14 songs, all with a metal and blues based musical foundation; so you can expect heavy guitar riffs, howling solos, bluesy tempos and classic rock guitar riffs. However the sound of this album is really mediocre and sometimes it even sounds like a demo; e.g. in a song like "It's Over". The high-pitched vocals in songs like "Unloveable" or the title track are really out of place and sound like something from twenty years ago....

The best two tracks are "Guitargasm" and "Immortal" as both are instrumental ones filled with nice guitar shredding, riffing and soloing. The rest is in fact very under average classic rock which starts to get on my nerves after a couple of songs. To make things worse the album ends with a horrible acoustic ballad called "You're Not There".... Willie Basse proves in some songs that he can play his guitar, but if that is the only recommendation for an album which lasts almost an hour than I would advise you not to buy this rather weak album.

Inside Out Records/SPV 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
8 October 2008

Unitopia is an Austalian band and "The Garden" is their second album. Their music is a mix of bands like The Flower Kings, Van Der Graaf Generator, King Crimson and Men At Work, resulting in prog rock mixed with lots of jazzy and funky influences. It is a double album and that is truly more than I can handle, as most of the songs are too experimental to really appreciate them. The compositions are very complex and the band puts too much of everything and nothing in one song. Take for example the two epic tracks "Journey's Friend" and the title track, which are crammed with crazy tempo changes, horns, clarinet, sax, riffs, piano and lots of vocals. These songs are so jazzy and crazy that it is really hard to focus on the music.

Other songs like: "When I'm Down", "Here I Am" or "I Wish I Could Fly" are so boring and tiresome that I almost fell asleep, in other words; Unitopia cannot find a good balance in their songs. Really "horrifying" songs are: "Love Never Ends"(a duet with strings, yawn!) and "So Far Away", which is nothing more than a classical piano intermezzo. There is no musical coherency on this double concept album and I think that this band first should try to write good songs and decide what sort of music they would like to play before they come up with another too complicated and pretentious album. This is a very tough nut to crack, only for real prog die hards????

ProgRockRec 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
8 October 2008

Beware of high-pitched operatic female vocals of the most annoying sort and kind. Factory Of Dreams is basically a solo project by Hugo Flores (Mind's Eye, Project Creation, etc). He's the person responsible for material and production, plus that he handles all the music instruments bar fretless bass (Chris Brown).

So what about the vocals? yeah, Jessica Lehto is the name and an Edenbridge/Nightwish wannabee is the game (only worse). Female, male, it really doesn't matter, you know. However, if you sound like you've been inhailing laughing gas prior to your singing (David Surkamp of Pavlov's Dog anyone?), well, then you're bound to end up in the 'love' or 'hate' section, there's nothing in between really.

Honestly, I don't mind a song or two... but a full CD of this kind of "singing" and I'll be climbing the walls. Kate Bush is/was however marvelous at coming up with unique and interesting vocals of the high-pitched nature. Then again... she never actually did the 'opera' throughout a entire album and she's a waaay superior vocalist. Actually, the structure of the song "The Piano In The Sea", does sound like something Kate could have done in the past.

Rovena/Cargo 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
9th October 2008

My Ruin are pretty well known now, mostly because of their strikingly loud vocalist Tarrie B. “Alive On The Other Side” is a fan pleasing live CD and DVD package featuring 15 songs recoreded in Leeds as well as plentiful backstage and bonus footage. What's not to like?

Well, if I'm honest, the main thing not to like is the music. It's standard shouty metal made worse by Tarrie B's unbearably loud, harpy like vocals. If the music behind her was pretty special I could at least try to appreciate it, but it's not – it's bog standard heavy rock. So, if you're a My Ruin fan you're going to love this, but I'm just bored with this sort of shouty bollocks. Yeah, it's another short review of something I don't like, but I've got a feeling that you won't like it either, so why bother wasting everybody's time...
www.myruin.com

MusicBuyMail 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
5 October 2008

Massive and slightly disturbing news. The singer of the band apparently swallowed a rooster just prior to entering the studio. The vocals of Timo Behrens are truly nasal, squeaky, hi-pitched, and supposedly inspired by the era of early Helloween (prior to Kiske). In layman's terms, the bloke can't sing half as good as he may believe.

The voice is rather heavily accented too and along with the wishy-washy metal pattern of the album, this is truly the work of a tragedian. I am horror-struck by the sheer quality of the songs. They speak of the eternal fight between darkness and light and other various subjects already taken care of by Helloween in the past. It's galloping power metal with a gargantuan teutonic approach and special guest appearances by Lotta (Rhapsody Of Fire), Teske (Red Circuit) and Rathke (J.R. Blackmore Group).

Synthetic Symphony/SPV 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
7th October 2008

OhGr is the current project from former Skinny Puppy frontman Nivek Ogre, with “Devils In My Details” their second album. Ogre and programmer Mark Walk have teamed up once more to produce an album of such mind numbing awfulness that words really cannot convey how much I hope never to hear it again.

This album is stuck somewhere between Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails and the inner reaches of Niviek Ogre's twisted mind. To some, this dilaogue heavy industrial electronica mess will be art, but to me it's just shit. Apparently it's “the most intimate excursion” into Ogre's head ever, and if that's the truth he is a very odd chap indeed. There's nothing here that's catchy, nothing that's really all that musical and nothing to go back to for a second time. Skinny Puppy fans may get something out of this, I suppose, but then they are the target market, whereas I am just a bored reviewer who has lost 42.2 minutes of his life.
www.ohgr.org

Escape 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
23 September 2008

Wow, "My Way, My Time" is a really impressive CD opener and more or less a 50/50 mix of progressive and melodic metal. I find myself shouting along at the top of my lungs to the extremelly catchy refrain. Try and imagine a mix of Dream Theater (Images And Words era) and Fifth Angel and you're pretty close to its core. And it's certainly not a one-song-album on display here as most of the tracks are a wet dream come true for fans of really melodic, progressive, metal.

Silent Call is a new band from Sweden and "Creations From A Chose Path" is their debut album at Escape Music. However, the band members are not all spring chickens and/or new kids on the block. Vocalist Andi Kravljaca used to scream up front with both Seventh Wonder and Elsesphere, and the others blokes are all experienced musicians: bassist Tobbe Moen (ex-Red Fun), drummer Mikael Kvist (Fate, Elsephere), Daniel Ekholm (guitars) and Patrik Ulfstrom (keyboards).

Retroactive 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
30 September 2008

Jesus saves... but Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores on the rebound. Nope, His Witness are not a bunch of mad soccer hooligans and will probably not appreciate the joke. However, they are very much into the former bloke (the goal keeper and overall savior: Jesus) and the almighty one (aka: the manager, aka: God). There's no need for any hairdryer treatment though, the lads has been playing the game quite superbly and are actually a goal up at halftime.

They are obviously very good at crossing (hah!). They have a very reliable striker upfront (Ken Redding - vocals), a rather impressive dribbler/creative midfielder (Ronee Pena - guitars), a hardworking 'mad-dog' (Ray Kilsdonk - bass), and a steady man at the back of defence (Jimmy Pena - drums). Ok, that's enough of football (that's soccer for you people in the states) talk and let's merely focus on the band and their music

The album, "Kingdom Come" was recorded by Randy Thomas (Allies, Sweet Comfort Band) and mixed at the legendary studio of the Elephante bros, Pakaderm, way back in 1988. It's been in the vault (a garage actually) for the past twenty years and now finally sees the light of day. Thus why they have this 80's Pure/White Metal thing going on right down to their shoe-laces. This is frankly just a fun guitar album in the vein of BloodGood, Messiah Prohpet, Saint, and Barren Cross (minus their most obvious Maiden influences).

Playground 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
01 October 2008

I make no apologies for liking The Rasmus. I didn't like the band's previous incarnation, the the-less Rasmus, which was a quirky funk rock band with energetic but forgettable songs (give or take a couple), but ever since they added the "The" to their name, I've liked them. It's not because of the "The" (is this becoming slightly confusing or what?) of course, it's because they started writing songs with immense hooks. Their pop sensibility does make them one of the more hated bands by "serious" rock fans, and some stereotype their fans as 16-year old girls with a lot of black eyeliner, but I don't think that's true. In this day and age, you don't sell 2,5 million albums by appealing to just one demographic.

When I heard that The Rasmus would be collaborating with Desmond Child on this album, my expectations went through the roof. Mr. Child has been responsible for some of my all-time favourite songs, and his knack for a monster chorus combined with the band's talent for great melodies couldn't possibly add up to nothing less than a masterpiece, right? Well, no. I'm not saying that this is a bad album - take a look at the rating - but somehow I'm slightly disappointed. I realize now that my expectations were probably a bit too high. I was hoping for choruses that would make my heart skip a beat, something that Child AND The Rasmus have both managed to create before. I didn't get that, instead I got a nice, melancholic album that sounds very much like... The Rasmus. Superb production of course, and some new nuances - more keys and programming than before, but not that far from the last couple of albums the band has released. That is probably good news to some, who were afraid that Child would turn the band into Bon Jovi or something. Me - I was actually hoping that he would have brought in some of that positive energy that made tracks like "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "Livin' On A Prayer" so good.

The overall vibe of "Black Roses" is a dark, even depressive. "Dead Letters" or "Hide From The Sun" weren't exactly happy albums either, but at times all the misery in these songs is almost too much to handle. Even a bouncy song like "Your Forgiveness" is full of "cold hearts made of stone" and "bleeding from your last kiss". Oh Lauri what have you done, all those little girls have to go and fix their make-up again! What was that I said about stereotypes?

Anyway, the combination of The Rasmus and Desmond Child does work, maybe not to the extent I was hoping for, but there's no denying that there's a handful of very cool melodies here. "Livin' In A World Without You", "Ten Black Roses", "You Got It Wrong", "Dangerous Kind" and "Lost and Lonely" are all very good tracks and I don't actually dislike any of the songs, but is there a killer hit among them? Time will tell, all I know that none of the songs totally floored me. The overall quality of the album still shines through.
band website
/www.myspace.com/therasmus

Snapper/Kscope 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
27 September 2008

Lunatic Soul is the debut solo CD from the lead singer and creative force behind the Polish band, Riverside. Indeed, Mariusz Duda is the bloke's name and Progressive Rock is his natural game. However, the repertoire is rather vast and expending as his latest project is more about free falling than keeping it safe.

He's definitely been looking/thinking outside of the box and towards a darker and quite spacey formula. Duda described the album by saying "I touched upon a vital subject on this record, namely... death. What came out of this was a conceptual journey to the world beyond full of refelections on transience and all we may want to leave after we pass (if we want to leave anything). In the sphere of music, it will be intriguing".

Yeah, he's obviously high as a kite or simply just another disillusional art/prog rocker. The latter probably... since we know these geezers to be very 'serious' and down to earth [it's snobs doing posh music for God's sake - no laughing matter ;-)]. Duda produces some remarkable sounds on this record though, from a shimmering restful stream of laidback Peter Gabriel like music (The Final Truth) to a tidal wave of rushing Pink Floyd arrangements.

Frontiers 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
26 September 2008

Honeymoon Suite - one of those great Canadian acts of the 80's are returning to the scene with a brand new poppy rock album. It's clearly not the eighties anymore (the era of the honeymooners), but they've certainly tried to recaptue the feeling of going 'back to basic' and their roots. It's a step in the right direction since that "lemon" release, which merely had a remarkable bitter after taste.

The title "Clifton Hill" is taken off the Niagara Falls, ON, location where the band was formed some 25 years ago. And to merely add more nostalgia to the bonfire (burn baby burn), the circle is now complete as they've hired the same producer (Tom Treumuth) who did their debut release in 84'. Do however not expect a full return to the 80's sound as they're mixing both worlds on this record (new, old). Opener, "She Ain't Alright", is straight off the songwriting formula of "Racing After Midnight" though. A nice little guitar rocker with a radio friendly hook.

"Tired Of Waitin' On You" is a 50/50 affair of the old and a more temporary sound. It's sugar sweet power-pop in the best tradition of Harem Scarem. "Riffola" kicks off with a killer riff by Derry Grehan and "Ordinary" is one of their better ballads. Johnnie Dee sings his heart out on this and the following track, "The House". Both tracks talk about "going back, see how things how changed, see what time has done, faces and their names". The latter is reflecting back to "those days" and thinking/dwelling about their past as a band and friends.

AFM/Border 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
25 September 2008

I'm gobsmacked by the band's 'sort of' untruthful press release: 'Best Newcomers of 2007 according to RockUnited.com'. No way Eden's Curse would end up at best newcomer among the reviewers... well... not unless we'd all start doing coke and crack at the same time [...again ;-)]. This could of course be a satiric remark by the band, since we didn't exactly jump up and down of joy while reviewing their debut, but somehow, I doubt they have the comic relief and distant to their music. Well, it should of course read the readers poll thing and I'm not the one to question that.

Yes, it's all about the music, not the actual people, but unfortunately some folks believe it to be the same thing (bad review = bad people, good review = good people). It's all b.s. We do not make any difference between old and new stuff anyhow. The follow-up to last years pragmatic release is a slightly more even affair. It could be lenity talking [or the C&C mix], however, the songs aren't quite as repeative and dull as the first time around.

Extra kudos for the vocal harmonies as they are simply put outstanding throughout the record. Tony Harnell (TNT, Starbreaker), Doogie White (Rainbow, Cornorstone) and Carsten Schultz (Evidence One, etc), do a magnificent job on the backing vocals position. The actual band line-up is the same though: Michael Eden (vox), guitarist Thorsten K (Demon Drive), bassist Paul Logue (Cry Havoc), keyboardist Ferdy Doernberg (Axel Rudi Pell, Uli JOn Roth) and drummer Pete Newdeck (Steve Grimmet).

Spinefarm 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
24 September 2008

I certainly did enjoy the music of Dragonforce in the beginning of their career (check out the archive if you don't believe me - the first CD ended up at #11 of the year). Sure, they had this fast, faster, dragonfast!!! thing going from the start, but it was quite entertaining up to a certain point.

I believe they've reached way beyond that point a long time ago though. It's still ultra-fast but it's starting to sound awful weary and blunt. They're basically stuck in ultra overdrive and it's very much a one trick pony at play here. It's basically a massive beatdown of surreal guitar riffing and wind-up rabbit drumming that obviously doesn't click together in perfect harmony.

MetalBlade/Border 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
23 September 2008

Christ oh mighty... please save us from the Swedish folk power metal music of mediEVIL (medieval) times!!! Possessed by demons and other various satanic creatures (frogs, ducks, kippers, and not to forget, squirrels, oh I hate those squirrels!!!), the Falconers has been mixing the traditional Swedish folk-music with metal for the past decade or so.

Yes, yes, we are clearly "Among Beggars And Thieves" (doesn't surprise me at all really), and you better hold on to your stash of cash. Well, unless you fancy a renaissance version of Spinal Tap of course. They've been working on this platter for quite a while and according to the sheet... the lyrics are mostly about: "the misery, poverty and hard times of medieval Sweden". Ehem, excellent, it's however rather unfortunate that the entire CD is a bad trip casualty that reflects their manic desire of dressing up like nancys and bards of long forgotten tales. I blame the history past... I really do...