Blue Violet 2008
Review by Satu Reunanen
May 2008

MoonMadness has had their debut underway for a long time, also going through singer and drummer changes, Antto Tuomainen and Heidi Bergbacka being the bands fresh"men". In between the album process they've been gigging, also supporting Yngwie Malmsteen, and releasing one track singles, which have gotten good rotation on radios. Their 70's-80's classic rock style is easy for anyone to digest, and for the old Feedback members Otto Hallamaa (guitar) and Juha Leppäharju (bass) playing this type of melodic rock came natural. Their earlier bands, including a Deep Purple cover band, weren't far from what they're playing today.

Having reviewed the bands each release since 2006 I still stand behind those good words. MoonMadness is still strong, and since their first single release "Thunder" they're now even stronger. This debut includes all the single songs, and finally after the one track releases "All In Between" shows the bands capability in the whole rock genre. Releasing their demons, or moreso angels, they with ease churn out exceptional classic rock ballads and rockers. "Stroke Of Midnight", "Shot Through The Wing", "Too Much To Lose", the straight shooter "Torn", truely Purple-mannered "Ain't No Angel" and the thundering "Thunder" are the rockers, while the melancholic "Before It's Too Late", a chillingly longful track "Victims Of The Moon" and the closing track, mid-tempo rocker "On The Edge Of Madness" are more or less ballads and/or emotional rides.

Phil Vincent 2007
Review by Alan Holloway,
14th May 2008

Okay, here's another release from rock workaholic Phil Vincent, once more going under his solo guise after the slightly disappointing Circular Logik album. Straight away, “White Noise” is an improvement, with Vincent delivering some first class melodic rock with “How Long”, a song that throws a catchy riff with some great harmonies that immediately makes me sit up and look forward to the rest of the album.

Thankfully, “White Noise” is as consistent an album as Phil Vincent has ever made, scrubbing away the averageness of Circular Logik with some proper classic rock that will delight existing fans and hopefully win him a few more. As per usual, Vincent does just about everything himself, save for some lead guitar on seven of the thirteen tracks, as well as writing and producing the album. By now he should know what he's doing, and the album sounds pretty good, with a decent mix that doesn't short change any of the instruments. Musically, this is no frills classic hard rock that mixes up the likes of Deep Purple, The Scorpions and Whitesnake, along with a dozen lesser bands. There's plenty of big riffage and some excellent guitar solos, with most of the songs following a well tested template.

“White Noise” can be seen as a positive album for Phil Vincent, delivering some good music. Whilst it doesn't leap out and kick you straight in the balls like some of the better albums of the year so far, it should stand the test of time as a solid, enjoyable disc that is worth coming back to if only to play a little air guitar to.
http://www.philvincent.com

SunCity 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
15 May 2008

According to the info-sheet, the Johnny Crash CD should feature Dizzy Reed and Matt Sorum of Guns N' Roses fame. Not that easy to check and confirm actually, since there's absolutely no info about any band member in the sheet nor CD booklet. But... I did find a small pic of the former Jeff Paris drummer, Matt Sorum, so I guess it's ok, then?

The music of Johnny Crash is straight and simple Acca Dacca stuff with a sleazy twist. Every other track will either have you thinking about AC/DC or Junkyard. The three-chords are literally flying across the room and it's hardly the most original sounding release of the year.

"Monkey See Monkey Do" is the most basic 'meat and potato' rocker of them all. Its simple, raunchy riff, vaguely reminiscent of each and every Acca Dacca tune of the Brian Johnson era, will do just fine on any friday night. "Mama Don't Care (What She Don't See)" is a rather predictable, but strong on adrenaline, rocker in the vein of Junkyard and Skid Row (the 2nd album - 'punk' tunes). But it certainly works and I can't blame them for wanting to sound like these fine acts.

Plastic Passion 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
13 May 2008

"Marseille" is the fourth album from Hundred Million Martians. Although the band is based in the same corner of Finland as I am, these are the first songs I've heard from them. I've seen their name in the local magazines every now and then, but somehow I was under the impression that they are some sort of a boring, pseudo-intellectual college pop band. Shame on me, as I've now learned that they are actually a decent pop-rock band.

The band has an interesting selection of tunes which range from the almost Ramones-like "Across The Street" to the Rolling Stones-flavoured swagger of "UC/BC", with a couple of more indie-tinged pop tracks in between. My favourites are among the more uptempo rock tracks, of which the opening trio of "New Year's Eve", "Backseat Of My Car" and "Life Ain't That Bad, Girl" stands out. With a little help from fellow Turku-based rockers Ben's Diapers, the band has put together big background vocals for these tracks, making the choruses quite strong. The "men's choir" is used throughout the album, and on a few occasions it sounds a bit too much, bringing up images of a quartet of elderly gentlemen in suits and ties humming the choruses next to a rock band...

Even though the song material is varied enough, as an album experience "Marseille" is doesn't really work that well. The somewhat one-dimensional vocals of Jyrki Mäkelä work ok in small doses, but after a while they tend to start irritating me.

PS. Hanoi Rocks fans might be interested to know that Michael Monroe is featured on three of the tracks, playing harmonica and saxophone.
wwww.hundredmillionmartians.com
www.myspace.com/hundredmillionmartians

Playground 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
15 May 2008

"On The Verge"... of a nervous breakdown. Indeed, there's no real temptation in listening to a full CD of mediocre vocals. Asgård was formed in Krasnodar/Russia in 2003. The lyrics are all in the language of "English", however, the eastern accent will spoil an otherwise fun, melodic, power metal album.

Honestly, it's like watching a Eurovision Song Contest, half of the competition wouldn't know how to pronounce "live" from "life". Ehem, not that 'Opus' ever took part of the euro crap, if you can recall a rather horrible pop-hit of the 80's. The music on the other hand is pretty good though. Steeped in the U.S./U.K. rock of Rainbow, Crimson Glory, and Yngwie (yeah, he's a swedish meatball), Asgård doesn't want their band to be seen as a part of the Russian folkmusic. And who can blame them. There's actually far more to the band than such a restrictive tag would suggest, and it's just too much of a stereotype really, poor lead vocals if you're an Russian act.

ZinkMusic 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
8 May 2008

Robbie Dupree, one of those artists which I've only heard about and never actually had the pleasure of listening to in the past. "Time And Tide" is my very first encounter with the man and his music and I can honestly say, I would/could not have appreciated this sort of stuff as a kid or teenager (too bleedin' soft and corny).

I believe you get a broader, more open-minded, approach to music as you enter adult-hood. If not, well, then you're basically a juvenile, narrow-minded, piece of %¤¤#"%. But seriously though, what about Dupree? Well, there's absolutely no intent of being 'hip' or modern, nevertheless, "Time And Tide" is a timeless display of bona fide smooth, soulful, jazzy, westcoast music, which just as easily could have been recorded in 78', 88', 98', or for that matter, 2018.

There's no gimmick, merely an musician's honest endeavour to produce the best friggin' soft platter of the century. Indeed, there's no better representation of ultra-smooth "Westcoast" music. He's practically building bridges out of air and turning water into wine (easy now, he's not the actual savior, you know), right infront of your eyes... ehh... ears. It's so easy somehow, simplicity at its finest content, yet, complicated enough to have you scratching your head in disbelief. Excellent production, colourful texture, killer vocals, and overall top class performance and musicianship.

Indie 2008
Review by Endre 'Bandi' Hübner
7 May 2008

Taking a look at the artwork for the obvious reason Icon's classic album "Right Between the Eyes" came into my mind. When I played the album I thought to myself it was pretty much Icon in 2008: bombastic melodic rock with catchy hooks and a great sound. Hard to believe it is an independent effort.

Taking a further look at the photos of the CD booklet one will see we are not talking about teenagers but seasoned veterans, hence the instrumental confidence and the studio experience. The band produced the album themselves and the result is as good as a major label release, sometimes even better. The song material lives up to the classic late 80s/early 90s materials, obvious comparisons would be bands like Treat, early Pink Cream 69. Heaven's Edge, etc. Yet this ain't no nostalgic material but absolutely fresh stuff full of energy. Sometimes I had a hard time believing the songs were recorded these days and not back in '89 or so, they really sound so authentic. When taking a look at the photos of the guys (they do look as bad as Dr. House) you have to ask yourself how they managed to conserve so much energy for so many years.

Massacre Records 2008
Review by Satu Reunanen
May 2008

German melodic progband Dreamscape decided to re-record a selection of songs off their first two albums, "Trance-like State" (released 1998) and "Very" (1999). All the songs have been re-arranged and completely re-recorded. The bands discography also includes "End Of Silence" (2004) and "5th Season" (2007). Roland Stoll was the singer on the latter one and "Revoiced", but his place has now been given to Mischa Mang. Since the first two albums both had different singers it seems like the vocalist spot is really windy in the band.

This year should treat the fans with another album, "Breathing Spaces", and hopefully Mang will stay longer than just one or two albums. "Revoiced" includes a bonus, the title track from their forthcoming album, which shows the talents of Mang, and his deep tone sounds good, he's quite the Tobias Sammet when he's not screaming. The song has various influences and tempos and jumps from feeling to another using heavy riffs and pianos. Another bonus is the video "When Shadows Are Gone", which wasn't included in the promo cd. Mang isn't the only change in the band. Their drummer is mentioned to be Michael Schwager now, who doesn't play on this album though.

Metal Heaven 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
7 May 2008

This was supposed to be an exclusive double CD package, where disc two hold bonus tracks from the archive of Soul Doctor. Yeah? well, we've merely received disc one for review though, nevermind the rest, it could probably not stand the RockUnited test.

"That's Live!" was recorded over Europe (yup, it clearly reads 'over' on my CD) between 2005 and 2007. Bloody 'ell, it took them 48 months to record 13 tracks? There's however an unmistakable confidence about Soul Doctor's retro rock swagger. Almost too much of a self belief at times, these German euro contenders setting out on a well trodden path of melodic hardrock music.

Gravitas Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
9th May 2008

A few years ago, I enjoyed listening to and seeing Brit hopefuls The Ga Gas, a band that was all guitars and attitide and seemed tied together with other new exciting bands such as Hurricane Party, The Glitterati and The Black Velvets. It was a pretty exciting time for fans, but none of the bands really made the impact they should have, with the Black Velvets vanishing and Hurricane Party now trading under their new name Heavens Basement. The Ga Gas called it a day as well, but have resurfaced as Slaves To Gravity with a new album that presses pretty much the same buttons as they did before.

“Scatter the Crow” is, if I'm honest, a rather grungy album. It makes you think of the mid nineties and bands like Send No Flowers or Pearl Jam, thrusting bass heavy riffs and mournful vocals at you like a child poking a tiger with a stick. The problem is that, good as it is, it never really gets going, never reaches out through the speakers and gives your brain a good shake. You can listen to Slaves To Gravity and know you're listening to some damned fine grunge rock, but it's hard to really care that much if it doesn't reach the parts other albums reach. “Scatter The Crow” is a pretty good album, and I'll lay money on them being shit hot live, but as a whole it doesn't pull all the strings that I hoped it would.
http://www.slavestogravity.com

DM 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
3 May 2008

"The Inner Circle" is a independent Prog-Rock album by Germany's Dante. First of all, I really must congratulate the lads for an excellent display of design and concept on their twenty pages booklet. It's the work of vocalist Alexander Göhs, appearantly a rather skilful photographer and art director (check out his site at MySpace).

Secondly, Dante have achieved a sound and production that compliments their IQ [the band - not their actual intelligence :-)] vibe and overall nice Prog-Rock influences. "The Inner Circle" is a growing, rather professional sounding CD that will surely appeal to people who like their Prog without the metal edges and melodies of the late 80's acts.

WildKingdom 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
4 May 2008

Gemini Five - fast earning themselves the tag of "Sweden's new sleaze sensation" in the early 2000. We're writing down 2008 now and they are fading quick like a flower in the presence of Lemmy. Though they are still hanging on to their rockabilly sleaze, the Swedes now lack all the trademarks of proper quality rock.

Frontiers 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
7 May 2008

I don't get it... why would you try so hard to erase your musical past??? Michael Kiske is clearly ashamed of his Helloween past, considering he's been constantly trying to piss off his old fan base, you know, ever since he left the pumpkins. It's funny though, according to the info-sheet, Kiske is one of the most respected and loved singers of the scene. Really? all this must have been taken place some time before he basically named all the fans "idiots" for still enjoying the Helloween albums.

"Past In Different Ways" is Kiske's laidback take at the Helloween material which he wrote. The acoustic arrangements are indeed basic and they've sometimes even changed around the key to make them sound better? But the thing is, Kiske sings the melodies at the top of his lungs, like it would still be the loud power metal of the past and not the acoustic rock of this CD.

Polygram Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
1st May 2008

I'll be honest, and admit that Def Leppard's 2006 covers album "Yeah!" left me pretty cold, even arctic at times. There were a few good tracks but mostly it was pretty dire and looked like the final throw of Def Leppard's career dice was a double one when they needed a couple of sixes. Two years on, and "Songs From The Sparkle Lounge" has arrived to coincide with the bands much hyped co headlining tour with recently rejuvenated rock monsters Whitesnake. The good news is that The Leps are back with an album that should delight the loyal fans that have stuck with them over the last 28 recording years. The bad news? There isn't any, which i suppose is more good news.

At first, this album didn't quite ring my bells, and on first listen I was happy to dismiss it as a good album but nothing more. A couple more spins and the songs started to worm their way into my head, and I found myself eagerly awaiting certain tracks (Elliot's "Bad Actress" being a pure hard rock standout). A bit later I found myself looking forward to hearing the ballad (the very White Lion-esque "Love") and I knew that the album had me. In fact, the only thing that I don't look forward to is opening the booklet and looking at a picture of Rick Savage that, quite frankly, makes him look like Suzi Quatro after a makeover...

Musically, "Songs From the Sparkle Lounge" is stuffed full of great melodic rock. It's not immensely innovative, and those who want 'another Pyromania' will be disappointed once again. Realists, however, will enjoy a well crafted rock album from a band that, like Whitesnake, have proved that they can still make it happen where it really counts. The opening riffs to album leader "Go" rattle out from the speakers, followed by a thundering bassline that reminds me of "Slang" but a little better. It's a good start, an aggressive opener that says Leppard may be melodic rock but that doesn't mean they can't wave their balls in the air every so often. Single "Nine Lives" has more of a traditional riff and melody akin to "Armageddon It". Throughout the album some superb melody lines are dragged out, with all the band except Rick Allen contributing to the writing pretty equally. With only one ballad it's a full on hard rockin' album, with all the other tracks being well paced and designed to be listened to with a smile on your face and a foot that won't stop tapping.

"Songs From the Sparkle Lounge" is, for me at least, the most complete album the band have produced since "Hysteria", and even then it's more concise and not worried about impressing listeners and critics with how awfully clever it's being. I didn't think that Leppard as a band could match Phil Collen's side project Man-Raze, but I would rate both albums as being as good as each other, although this is more clean cut. If you're going to see any of the gigs this Summer then this, as well as Whitesnake's "Good To Be Bad", is pretty much an album you just have to get.
http://www.defleppard.com

Escape 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
2 May 2008

Welcome to the magnum opus of Alliance. To be frank, I sort of gave up on this "super-group" years ago - Robert Berry (Hush, GTR, Ambrosia), Gary Phil (Boston, Sammy Hagar), David Lauser (Sammy Hagar), Alan Fitzgerald (Night Ranger). All of their previous attempts had been nothin' bout disappointments and average rock. It seems like they've finally found their "Road To Heaven" though, since this is a great collection of songs in a classic sort of way and style.

Indeed, they are no longer stuck in their early albums rut. They have progressed, but managed to do so without compromising themselves too much. They've basically taken what they already had and improved on the formula with a more basic rock approach. You'll find more influences of Bruce Springsteen, John Cougar Mellencamp, and Tom Cochrane, than ever before, and it works nicely along with the Giant (Last Of The Runaways), Bad English, and Night Ranger sound.

Tracks such as "Make A Stand" and "Anything Goes" are almost classics in their approach, complemented by Robert Berry's distinctive vocal style in the vein of Dan Huff (Giant). The excellent keyboard work by Fitzgerald makes tracks such as "Like Me Like That" and "Broken Glass" sound like stuff off the first Bad English album (great!). "Comin' Home" is a rough guitar rocker with matching vocals in the style of Mellencamp and Huff. "Walkin' Away" is a 50/50 affair in the style of Tom Cochrane vs. Giant, and "Remember Those Days" borrows quite a lot from the sound of The Last Of The Runaways.

Demolition Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
24th APril 2008

Some of you may be aware of Joseph Poole, better known as Wednesday 13, from his work eith the Murderdolls or even Frankenstein Drag Queens From the Planet 13. He's a busy little chap, apparently having a lot of fun making horror themed music, something he's been doing for over ten years now with quite a bit of success. Whereas fellow shock rocker Marylin Manson sparks outrage wherever he does (mostly for no good reason, admittedly), Wednesday 13 comes across as more mischievous scamp than Satan worshipping loony.

One look at the tracklisting tells the listener exactly what to expect here, as titles like “Scream baby Scream”, “Gimmie Gimmie Bloodshed” and “All American Massacre” suggest that perhaps Mr 13 isn't a fan of kittens and bunnies (unless they're being decapitated or something). Musically, it's nowhere near as bad as it could be, with the songs coming across as pretty well thought out, meaty and often quite catchy, despite the themes. It's an easy thing to compare him with Alice Cooper, so why shouldn't I do that? Wednesday 13 and Alice would go well together, perhaps augmented by a bit of the Misfits for good measure. Sure to delight rebellious teenagers everywhere, “Skeletons” is a good piece of horror rock that isn't half as nasty as it first appears.
http://www.myspace.com/officialwednesday13

Frontiers 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
23 April 2008

Wow, "Never Again" is a great opener for an album. It's such a great little number that I started thinking in big words and a raving review. It's definitely just as good as the best of Asia. However, they were always about hits and misses anyhow. Seriously, I discovered the band in the mid 90's and I could never really understand all the fuzz about these geezers.

"Phoenix" is however the ultimate Asia reunion with the original line-up of John Wetton (vox/bass), Steve Howe (gtr), Geoff Downes (keys) and Carl Palmer (drums). What they have basically come up with here is a carbon copy of their first two albums. It's very much the sound of 1982/83 and it's like they've never even heard about any other music during all these years.

SubSound 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
28 April 2008

"The Death Of A Man Called Icarus" - a geezer of the Greek Mythology. Icarus' father, Daedalus, attempted to escape Crete, where he and son were imprisoned at the hands of King Minos. Ehem, due to a rather bizzare coupling between the Queen and a bull??? (don't ask). The result: the Minotaur (please see previous request). Anyhow, to make a long and rather boring story short. Father and son escaped on wings of wax, Icarus flew too close to the sun (which of course melted his wings, duh!) and crashed into the sea (aka the Icarian Sea).

... And what did we learn from this story? Yes, too much acid will eventually melt your brain, damn hippies. The music of Zeroin is a completely different story though. Their freshness and competence makes for an truly enjoyable CD in the style of rock of today. It's once again a Italian act who works inbetween genres and with both synth and metal influences. It's typical though, once you play the disc, it takes a slow time about getting started. However, just when you're about to check for misprint, the CD literally explodes into a cascade of dark, catchy, modern rock/metal.

MetalHeaven 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
28 April 2008

Give me one reason to stay and I'll give you M.ILL.ION reasons to leave. Simply replace, stay with buy, leave with not, and you'll get one helluva starting point for a lousy review. Not at all. It's not quite as bad though. However, I must admit that I''m feeling a bit disappointed, especially since their previous album turned out to be such a winning concept.

The first five tracks are actually all steeped in a similar mode as the "King Size" album. Thus why they are all winners too. Splendid hammond work by the ever so present Johan Bergqvist, plus soaring vocals by Ulrich Carlsson, gets the album quickly into hyper speed.

Indeed, "Thrill Of The Chase", "Menace To Society", "Slave To You", "The One Above", the latter heavily inspired by the Deep Purple sound and featuring a fine chorus in the vein of Scandi-Rock, are all pleasing to the fan of previous M.ILL.ION release. Very high-class, very metal, and also very much like the King Size album. That's also my biggest objection for not liking this to the point of giving out a eight, nine, or even a perfect ten rating (well, I haven't handed out a perfect ten in six, seven, years time).

Racing Junior Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
24th APril 2008

Animal Alpha have finally got round to releasing a full length album, and it's exactly what you would expect if you've been following them since the release of their debut album “Pheromones” in 2005. the Norwegian quartet have become known for blistering live shows at various festivals. 2008 sees them release this, their second album, but is it good enough to launch this slightly nutty band into the public consciousness?

One thing Animal Alpha don't do is subtlety. “YPFTWSBYONTE” is an album stuffed full of shouty, melodic, weird metal mayhem guaranteed to get an audience distributing dandruff as the guitars scream out aggressive riffs time after time. Vocalist Agnete Maria Kjolsrud is the scary focus of the band, looking and singing like a demented circus clown who has finally snapped after years of pies in the face. With the heavy music and her powerful yet offbeat vocals, Animal Alpha can be compared to Brit Metal goddesses McQueen, if they replaced their current singer with Bjork (if Bjork was in the middle of a really bad period at the time). This is a powerful album, with some great songs like “Bundy” and most recent single “Pin You All”, but it tails off a bit towards the end, as if keeping the momentum just wore the band out.

From the reviews I've seen, I may be in the minority, but Animal Alpha aren't quite the band I'm looking for. They have some good songs and a crazy visual style, but in the end there's not quite enough punch in the album to keep me coming back for more. Regardless, it's pretty entertaining for the most part, and those that are curious should check them out, especially on video.
http://www.animalalpha.com

ZinkMusic 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
25 April 2008

Okie-dokie. Daniel Andersson from little Sweden is a new name on the Westcoast scene. His music is however representive of the sound created in California during the late seventies and very early eightees. It's very laidback stuff in the vein of Steely Dan, Marc Jordan, etc. and with one feet standing in the soul genre too. In fact, the opening track had me thinking about both Eric Gadd, Steely Dan, and rather dozy elevator music.

Gesundheit!!! Here's a thought for ya'. How come foreign people always write songs about America (U.S.A.) instead of their homeland??? Seriously, they've spent a lifetime at home and yet, a couple of friggin', "Days In L.A." is enough to throw it all out through the window and, 'let's re-write my entire background history'. Yes, I get that we are ALL inspired by the MUSIC of all the great bands from the states. But, c'mon, at least your LYRICS should/could tell stories about something else than "L.A." and like the opening track of this CD, "Glamorous Hollywood". It's so, 'been there, done that', and by much greater bands from the actual U.S. of A

LionMusic 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
25 April 2008

Emir Hot is appearantly THE Yngwie Malmsteen wannabee of the Balkans. Seriously, look no further if you crave for another widdly-widdly guitarist in the vein of the barking mad Swede. This fellow has been spending most of his teens at his parents basement with a guitar and amp as only companions.

It's Neo-classical, melodic metal, the balkan way, and "Sevdah" is merely their way of saying: bollocks. Nah, just kidding, it's supposed to be their word for the entire eastern balkan music genre or sumthin (ahh, ignorance is bliss). Emir does however mix both styles into his guitar playing and thus why the rather suitable title. He even went to back to Bosnia to record some traditional instruments (Emir lives in London nowadays) and mixed and mastered the album in Croatia.

NuclearBlast 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
24 April 2008

Hmmm... a weary album, this, it switches from being decent metal to utterly dull with ease. The digi version comes with a bonus DVD, I'm told. I'm not entirely sure it helps though. In places, "Carved In Stone", sound a little like their early albums, but elsewhere it merely sound like unoriginal thrash and bad Rage rip-offs. It's remarkable stale at times and the tawny lay-out doesn't add any colour whatsoever to the big picture.

Avenue Of Allies 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
2 May 2008

"I'm going through the motions - simply going through the motions". Nah, there's no such lyrics on the disc, but it sure would fit the lack-lustre experience of listening to Frozen Rain. This my friends is AOR by numbers and I believe they've skipped three and four and went straight for the eight ball in the left corner pocket (that's enough snooker for a while, yeah?).

Frozen Rain does lack the two most important ingredients when it comes to music. #1 - a decent vocalist, #2 - decent material. I could actually end the review right here as there's nothing much else to write home about. But here goes anyhow. There are actually five different lead vocalists and not one of them half decent enough to cope with the hi-pitched harmonies. Sure, you could probably get away with murder and vocalists such as these, if you're playing loud heavy metal or noisy punk rock, but smooth AOR? I think not.

AFM Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
17 April 2008

"Delusions Of Grandeur" (an interesting title by the way) is Circle2Circle's fourth album and this one is definitely heavier than the previous concept album "Burden Of Truth". Guitarplayers Andy Lee and Evan Christopher are dominantly present at this great melodic power metal CD. Their riffs and solos really set the tone on this album, like e.g. in songs like "Dead Of Dawn" or "Waiting".

Zak's vocal parts are again, as usual, out of this world and this is particularly noticable in breathtaking songs like "Echoes" and the absolute highlight of this CD called: "Every Last Thing". By the way this is also the first single of the album and it is a song that will stick to your ears for a very long time as it is one of the best Circle2Circle songs I have ever heard!! Other great songs are "Seclusion"(with a Savatage-like intro), "So Many Reasons" (featuring an awesome chorus) and the powerful titletrack.

Sony/BMG Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
17 April 2008

Satch's 13th studio album is again a must for guitar freaks all over the world. However if you are a beginning amateur guitar picker - like yours truly - then you might get frustrated listening to Joe's six strings fireworks. "Super Colossal" dates already from 2006 but the wait of two years was worth it, as the new songs are even better! This is pure instrumental bliss as Joe's impressive breadth of styles never leads to guitar boredom. His solos are again very distinctive and his Ibanez does wonderful things again...

The opener "Musterion" starts with mysterious bass riffs followed by Satch's dazzling solos with lots of vibrato. "Overdriver" - the title says it all - features lots of powerhouse chords, dreamy solos and even some Jimi Hendrix-like rock passages. One of my favourites is "Revelation", a song with those typical Satch gooseflesh melodies at some time even reminding me of Steve Morse. "Come On,Baby" has a cool, jazzy like intro followed by sparkling solos, piano parts (played by Joe himself) and even some tambourine.... The longest track is:"Asik Vaysel" and this one features some Middle Eastern motifs and of course again some smashing solos. Last but not least we are treated to a flamenco flavoured song, so with acoustic guitar passages and solos, but luckily also with lots of electric solo playing.

AFM Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
18 april 2008

This is Jon Oliva's third album with his "new" band JOP and I must say that it is probably his best so far... "Global Warning" is a very diverse CD with lots of heavy songs but also with pure melodic songs dominated by the incredible voice of the Mountain King!! Once again several new songs are based on ideas Criss Oliva had recorded on those now famous tapes discovered by Jon's wife in that shoe box..... "GW"is an almost perfect blend of heaviness, sensitive yet bombastic arrangement, crazy humour and musical depth that we all have been waiting for.

The opening, title track, features a great bombastic Trans-Siberian-like musical intro followed by some dark Savatage-like stuff. "Before I Hang" and "Adding The Cost" are mainly aggressive rockers and songs like "Look At The World" or "The Ride" bring back memories of those good old "Streets" days!

Retroactive 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
15 April 2008

"Fire It Up" is actually a re-recording of X-sinner's "Peace Treaty" sessions, recorded in 1991 at the infamous Pakaderm Studios in California. The band were however not at all pleased with the production of the Elefante Brothers and decided to leave the label. Unhappy with the final product and the lack of biting guitars, they (Rex Scott, ex-Zion: vocals, Greg Bishop: guitars, Rob Kniep: bass, Mike Buckner: Drums) re-recorded the whole she-bang in Australia and edited it later in the states.

They've always been labeled as the Jesus rockers mix of AC/DC and Def Leppard and you won't get a better description here. It's very much the sound of Def's "High N' Dry" and "Pyromania" albums vs. the entire back catalogue of Acca Dacca and especially the era of Bon Scott and early Brian Johnson. I'am personally very fond of their first album (Get It - 1989) and original singer, David Robbins, who also sang on the first Mastedon release by the Elefante Bros.

Killbee Records 2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
21 April 2008

Ever since Kilpi emerged to the Finnish metal scene, they've divided opinions. Those who are against the band sometimes seem to be the most vocal ones, dismissing the band because of their lyrics or because of the melodic nature of their songs. Melodies and occasionally romantic lyrics are for wimps of course - "real men" can not listen to this kind of music. Well, I prefer Kilpi to the "Äijä-Metalli"-bands, because for my money, the magic of music is in the melodies. If that makes me a wimp then so be it.

"IV" is the fourth (what a surprise!) Kilpi album and while it doesn't offer any major suprises when it comes to the music, some changes have taken place "behind the scenes". Guitarist Pete Kilpi wasn't able to contribute much to the songwriting, and he asked the others to step up to the plate. They did, and especially drummer Janne Kattelus proved to be a true writing force to be reckoned with. What's more, none of the guys tried to drastically change the band's style, these songs are easily recgonizable as Kilpi material.

While I think that "the definite Kilpi album" is yet to be released, I must commend the band for their rather good track record. Each one of the Kilpi albums has had a few tracks which have become staples in their live set, and despite a few dodgy tracks here and there, all of their albums have been quite good. "IV" is a good addition to the band's discography, and I'm sure that a few of its' tracks will become big fan favourites.

The first single "Tuli, Vesi, Ilma ja Maa" is a good opener, with its' powerful riffs and a somewhat funny chorus. The very "teutonic" macho choir reminds me a lot of Accept and Hammerfall. I have a feeling that this one might remain in the band's setlist for quite some time, and unlike some of the band's previous singles, this shouldn't be too wussy for real metal fans! "Sisäinen Vihollinen" doesn't really move me one way or another, decent enough track but forgettable. The melodic "Seireeni" is much better, and among the stronger tracks here. "Järjen Riemuvoitto" is quite the opposite, a heavy, plodding rocker that wouldn't be out of place on a Kotiteollisuus or a Trio Niskalaukaus album. It does sound a bit out of place on a Kilpi album.

The next four songs all get my vote, each one of them has a good chorus and fine melodies. "Kunnes Kuolema Meidät Erottaa" is Pete Kilpi's sole contribution to the songwriting, a very strong song with a bit of a Queensrÿche vibe, while "Elämän Vanki" sees lead guitarist Aleksi Summe taking charge of the songwriting. Apparently there's no shortage of songwriters in the band, as this is a very good song too. Both "Musta Sade" and "Tähti" rank high on my list as well, especially "Musta Sade" which just might be the best song of the album.

"Keskiyön Cowboy" might have uncharastically "sleazy" lyrics which have gotten the song some attention, but that doesn't help when the song is a rather average, straight-forward rocker. "Riko Hiljaisuus" is anything but average, this breezy and upbeat track is one of my favourites. Pete Kilpi has said that every album of theirs will always have one "AOR"-type of a song, and obviously it's this one on "IV". "Vettä Peilissä" closes the show, it's a heavy and long track that is basically quite ok, but somehow I just can't get a grip of it.

To sum it up, another solid, well-produced release from the band, not necessarily their best album but not their weakest either.
www.kilpi.com

Retroactive 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
15 April 2008

Now, if X-Sinner are recognized as the religious mix of Def Lep & AC/DC (see review elsewhere on this site), White Cross were always hailed as White Metal's version of RATT. Low and behold, this is yet another re-recording as "Nineteen Eighty Seven" was the year of the band's very first album. Indeed, they are all present here, "Who Will You Follow", "Enough Is Enough", "He Is The Rock", "Lookin' For A Reason", "No Way I'm Goin' Down", "Seein' Is Believin", etc. and they all sound beefier and better than ever before.

First thought(s) while listening to the CD: lead guitarist and band leader Rex Carrol (ex-Fierce Heart) is an unsung guitar hero. He's been criminaly underrated and sadly not enough appreciated in the metal scene. It takes merely a couple of minutes to realise, the flashy solos and intelligent riffing belongs up there among the ranks of Vito Bratta and Jake E Lee (or very close to).

Silverdust Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
12 april 2008

This is the 10th year anniversary album of Psychopunch. "Moonlight City" is also the 7th album of the Swedish punk/rock band Psychopunch. The 10 new songs are again a musical mix of punk, rock and roll and rock and you can hear the band's characteristic riffs and catchy melodies throughout the entire CD. Melody and power walk hand in hand and Psychopunch present themselves as one big impact on this new album.

The album opens with the Guns N'Roses sound-a-like "It Remains To Be Seen", being a dirty rock and roll up tempo track with a rather distorted guitar solo. Follow up "Hush Now Baby" is again up tempo, with rather "raw" vocals and a nice slide guitar solo. "On My Own" is one of the highlights, being a mid tempo somg with aggressive vocals, nice melodic passages and a sparkling guitar solo. Some of the tracks even remind me of a band like Monstermganet and the so-called stonerrock genre.

42nd Street Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
10th APril 2008

The debut album by Canadian born David Mader has turned out to be quite a find. I was pointed at it by an article in a magazine, had a listen on his webpage and decided I might be interested in this. It's another example of how easy it is these days to track down new music from around the world. Man, I love the internet!

“90 Days Of Rain” is most assuredly not a guitar heavy album, and falls squarely into the light and fluffy area of AOR music. There's a long list of comparisons that can be drawn up, throwing in the likes of Richard Marx, Bruce Hornsby, Glen Burtnick and Matchbox Twenty, but Mader manages to have his own voice in the midst of these contemporaries. It's the sort of music that I could imagine Ronan Keating singing, as it's inoffensive and well written, but luckily Mader has a much better voice than Keating could ever have, perfectly suited for the music he is singing. As I said, this isn't heavy music, but it certainly is good music, and as an album it really grows on the listener.

David Mader should be a name to watch in the AOR field, because he obviously has a natural talent for it. Personally, I'd want a few more lively tracks such as the excellent “Stand As One”, but even though this is an album that 'proper' metalheads would call wet, it's the good kind of wet that can only come from... well... 90 days of rain, I suppose.
http://www.davidmader.com

UK Division 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
13 April 2008

Gothic, 80's New Wave??? The ltalian five-piece act of Lost Reality are without a doubt a mystery. Just when you thought you'd found the secret behind their success, they pull out another rabbit from out of nowhere. Indeed, it's difficult to pen down the sound of the band as they're working in between genres and with an constantly open mind to new ideas and effects.

It's more or less electronic, synth music of the 80's, plus a very Gothic approach, and just a hint of the industrial formula. It's always easier to name-drop some acts of the past. So, if you could imagine a sub-conscious mixture of The Mission, Depeche Mode, and just a touch of the latest record by Good Charlotte, you'd still not get the entire picture.

RMB Records / AOR Heaven2008
Review by Kimmo Toivonen,
12 April 2008

Bormann's previous album "Conspiracy" was a big favourite over here at RockUnited.Com, scoring the Album Of The Year 2006 award. Understandably my expectations for the former Jaded Heart/Charade/Zeno/Bloodbound-vocalist were high, I was almost sure that he would come up with an album that could match the quality of "Consipiracy". "Capture The Moment" only succeeds in that on some areas: the production, the performances, the artwork... that doesn't really mean much when the songwriting is the weakest link.

The album kicks off with the rather good "Push Comes To Shove", a melodic, heavy rocker with a slow pace. Not the most energetic opener, but decent enough. The level of energy doesn't rise with the next song, another slow-paced track "Friends Will Be Friends". It's less appealing with its' big but predictable chorus. Third track "Come Take Me Higher" starts promisingly with cool keyboards, yet it turns into another plodding number with an average chorus. What is this, a "Collection Of Marches"?!

"Live Your Life" has a bit of a Bon Jovi-vibe ("It's My Life" and the likes), and it presents a very welcomed change of pace - an uptempo song at last! "I Wanna Hear Your Voice" is the first of the ballads, and while it may not offer anything new under the sun, it's a very strong song and one of the album's highlights. "Half Way Down" is another winner in my books, a very good rocker which sounds like it could've been co-written by Jeff Paris. It is in fact co-written by Niclas Olsson of Alyson Avenue fame.

With "I Will Hold The Line" we're taken back to the Midtempo City, but the song is thankfully a decent one. Next up, something even slower: "Love Is Magic" is a remake of the Jaded Heart ballad from the album "Trust", and it's always been one of my favourite Bormann-sung ballads. Whether we really needed another version of it is debatable... I kind of understand that Bormann would want to "re-claim" it by re-recording it though. At this point something faster and more urgent wouldn't have been out of place, but instead we'll get 4 more or less plodding numbers back to back... first up we've got "Glory & Pain", which has a chorus that sounds a bit like a less exciting version of Desmond Child's "The Price Of Loving You", also recorded by Bonfire... and Bormann was briefly their lead vocalist... is there a connection? "Don't Bother Me" features Edenbridge's Sabine Edelbacher dueting with Bormann (I guess it's her, she's mentioned as the featured female vocalist on the previous song?!), and while this song is a bit more uptempo than the other three, it doesn't have the most memorable melodies. The curiously titled "Doing Or Not" is a good song that reminds me a bit of Giant, while "Still Haven't Found It" rates as one of the better tracks too, thanks to its' strong hook.

"For Just A Little While" shines like a beacon in the dark, a rare uptempo song among the "marches" and ballads. What's more, it's the best song of the album with a glorious hook and plenty of melody. A few more like this wouldn't have gone amiss... Anyway, there's one song left, "Go Going Gone", a ballad for a change... a fine vocal from Bormann, and an OK song, if nothing more.

Time for the headcount: 14 songs altogether, and three of them were uptempo ones. That leaves us with 11 slower songs - not the recipe for a killer rock album in my books. I'll admit that most of the 11 slower songs aren't too bad, but still... just by trimming the tracklisting to 10 or 12 songs this would have been a stronger album.
www.michaelbormannpage.de

RecordHeaven 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
11 April 2008

"Groovy early 70's Jam - Hippie Rock" - reading the info-sheet, I sort of expected the worst. You know, a complete meltdown of acid rock and psychedelica outbursts in the style of The Doors, Woodstock, and everything that was basically crap and 'far out' in the hippie days. But Thank God... there's no need to be high as a kite while listening to the groovy rock of Siena Roots.

Their rather classic but somewhat "original" sound is based on heavy hammond organ, strat leads, bass riffing, and big drums with soulful vocals on top. It's a very diverse affair, "Far From The Sun", and you find alot of early Uriah Heep, Captain Beyond, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin within these tracks. OK, there's a bit too much flute & citar on a couple of the tracks, but it's overall a nice little hippie CD.

STC Recordings Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
14th APril 2008

Well, you can't keep a good band down, and Thunder never seem to stop working these days. After the well received “Six Of One...” EP, the rather predictably names “Half A Dozen Of The Other” follows the same format, giving fans three new songs and three live ones. The three new songs are all pretty impressive, showing no slowdown, a good feat for a band nearly twenty years old now. “Make My Day” and “Bette Davis Meltdown” are both good, hard rocking slices of the now familiar Thunder formula, whilst “I Believe” is a powerful new ballad that should knock people out live. The three live tracks are “Last Man Standing”, “Chain Reaction” and “Like A Satellite”, and it's no surprise that they are all well up ti scratch, something you'd expect from a band with so many live albums under their collective belts. In a nutshell, Thunder fans should certainly check this out (along with the previous one if you haven't already), cause the boys have still got it where it counts.
http://www.thunderonline.com

Andromeda 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
12 april 2008

Nexxt is an Italian metal band and after listening to this CD for a couple of minutes I already know that "Addicted To Sin" is not really my cup of metal tea. This is mainly due to the horrible Pantera-like vocals of singer/shouter Cristian Tricarico. The music can be best described as old-fashioned trash metal reminding me of the good old nineties....

Musically speaking this is not that bad, especially some of the guitar riffs and solos are quite serious headbanging stuff, but the real agivating throat of the lead singer kills all the fun for me. Even when the band decides to slow down a bit Tricarico keeps on shouting and grumbling like an angry young man!! The sound of the album also leaves much to be desired, so all in all the mark 5 is well deserved, sorry guys!

Universal/Polydor 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
11 April 2008

11 - Recorded mostly on tour, backstage and in hotel bathrooms. Yep, the Canadian rawker is possible dead broke (not!) and obviously dead tired of uptempo numbers in the old school of rock. Say hello to mid-aged, mid-tempo numbers, and wave goodbye to everything that used to be fun about Bryan Adams. Then again, pretty much all of his albums during the past 12-15 year period of time has been of substandard quality.

Bloody 'ell, "We Found What We Were Looking For", sounds a bit like a watered down version of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". Nothing wrong with sounding like U2, but that tune was pretty mellow for starters and it's not getting any better. The first single, "I Thought I'd Seen Everything", may cause a riot at Wal-Mart, as mature hausfraus will rush the gate to pick up another "average" platter. The comeback of Jim Vallance should provied the listener with quality tunes. However, he's only in for the ride on a couple of the tracks and it's not enough to kickstart this old rocker into a "Reckless" rage.

UK Division 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
13 April 2008

To sum up this review in merely three words: Mars Volta wannabee's (or would that be two or perhaps four words? nevermind). We've been swarmed by Italian acts as of lately here at RockUnited. Some of them worse than others, Soul Of The Cave, are however good at what they do. They have an interesting rhythm section in the two of Flavio Gamboni (drums) and Giovanni De Sanctis (bass). The latter also responsible for most of the vocals.

The other lead vocalist, Jack Serri, no stranger to the six-string, which he happily operates together with fellow string-bender, Paolo Boni. The four of them have created a slab of "Asphalt", not quite worthy of the Italian walkways and streets. It will however work as a warning example of how some acts may be too influenced by a certain sound or act.

UK Division 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
10 April 2008

Them Philosophy? What's up with that? Anyhow, this Italian quartet has an interesting sound and attitude. Their female vocalist spits out the lyrics like a mad raving valkyria in heat... and it's all a very intense and scary experience. Not to mention, she's not bad to look at either, well, I probably shouldn't have mention it, since it's got nothin' to do with the quality of their music (but can ya' blame me? yeah, you probably could, and sue me too - whatever).

"Thought Before Action" is most certainly a cross-over release where hardcore, emo, ska, and basic metal, comes together in a big melting pot. It's a frantic display of clatter drumming, really crunchy guitars, a funky bassist, and overall weird beats. The spirit of System Of A Down shines through on several tracks, even if they've taken a lot of other influences to create their CD.

T.O.N.Records 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
10 April 2008

Cherish and embrace the title of "Free Violence", because it certainly doesn't get any better afterwards. Multiplate a kick to the head a thousand fault and you'll get the result of Reflections (now there's a poor monicker for a hardcore act). You'll quickly run out of stamina and the lack of fatigue will eventually bring your brain to turn off your sense of hearing in a last desperate action of self-defence.

Review by Alan Holloway,
9th APril 2008

“Ere's a few new songs for ya!” is something that David Coverdale hasn't been able to shout for over ten years now. Regardless of what you thought of “Restless Heart” from 1997, there are gonna be plenty of people waiting in rabid anticipation to hear live versions of songs from “Good To Be Bad”, which is the spiritual successor to the mind bogglingly successful “1987”.

The album has been getting a goodly bit of hype, not least because of the upcoming double header tour with Def Leppard (not forgetting Thunder as well). The album cover is emblazoned with a big X, I assume because it's the band's 10th studio album. Amazingly, there have been more live and compilation albums of the band than there have been studio releases, with all of the compilations bar one coming out post 2000. It's fair to say that since “1987” Whitesnake have been a bit of a cash cow for the likes of EMI and Geffen, so it's nice to see this new album come out on SPV, a hardworking rock label.

Anyone who doubts the return of the 'Snake only has to listen to the title track, which is a glorious mix of Seventies and Eighties Whitesnake, with Reb Beach and album co-writer Doug Aldrich delivering riffs more monstrous than a mother in law convention, whilst Coverdale belts out some of his tackiest lyrics with style, including a cheeky little “To the bone” which will please fans of “Slow & Easy”. For sheer rock bollocks, this is up there with “Still Of the Night”, one of my favourite ever Whitesnake songs. Vocally, he doesn't miss a trick throughout the whole album, showing time and time again why he is regarded as one of the best rock singers of all time.

There's eleven tracks here, and it's a collection that should really please old school fans, as Coverdale and Aldrich haven't forgotten where this band came from. “All Fro Love”, for example, is more of a laid back bluesy number that could easily predate “1987”, and “Summer Rain” is the sort of soulful ballad that Coverdale would more likely have done in the late Seventies. For fans of the more recent kind of soppiness, “All I Want, All I Need” is more of a drippy ballad that will probably trouble the singles chart one day but leaves me rather cold. I've always preferred Whitesnake when they rock out to cheesy lyrics and big guitars, and “Good To Be Bad” does not disappoint in that area. “Lay Down Your Love”, “Best Years” and the title track have enormous riffs, whilst “A Fool In Love”, “Can You Hear The Wind Blow” and the cheeky “Got What You Need” carry on the good work with more of a retro feel. Trust me when I say that these songs are staggeringly good.

As an album, “Good To Be Bad” is right up there with the best the band have produced. The three slower songs break it up nicely, but in all honesty they left me wanting to skip forward or back to the rockier stuff. Coverdale is still a frickin' rock god, and you can picture him singing these songs with a glint in his eye and a big smile on his face. If you were ever a Whitesnake fan you have to have this album, and go and see the tour whilst you're at it.
http://www.whitesnake.com

Inside Out Records 2008
Review by Martien Koolen,
10 april 2008

This is the third and final part of the 03 Trilogy by Dominici. The first acoustic part was terrible, the second part was amazing and this last episode is again great. This is prog metal as it should be; heavy, melodic, lots of musical variety, amazing guitar solos and excellent vocal parts as well.

The CD opens with "King Of Terror", a fascinating prog metal track filled with lots of bombastic elements and a super speedy guitar solo. The best tracks are without any shadow of a doubt the two long epic tracks of more than 10 minutes called: "Enemies Of God" and "Genesis". Both songs are really heavy with Annihilator and Grip Inc. soundalike metal riffs. But these songs also feature melodic passages, like amazing keyboardsolos and again mindboggling guitar parts.

Valery Records 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
10th April 2008

The first time I listened to this album, before I did any digging, I was half convinced that it was a new, 'secret' Journey album. The voice, the songs and the guitar all pointed towards it. A few internet clicks later and it was apparent that Myland are a geuine group who just happen to sound almost exactly like Journey, but even now it's spooky listening to the album and having to tell myself it's not Journey.

Things are a bit clearer when you learn that singer Guido Priori is a bit of a Journey fan. Well, make that a lot of a Journey fan, inasmuch as recorded a whole album of Journey cover versions in 2005, an album that had several critics suggesting that the band could do a lot worse than give him a job. Personally, I'd like to hear the album myself. Let me say now that if this guy sang for Journey there would be absolutely no complaints, as his voice is a rich mix of Steve Perry and Steve Augeri. Myland appear to be some sort of Italian AOR supergroup (of a sort), and from the sound of “No Man's land" they've got a great bunch of musicians.

As good as the voice is, “No Man's Land" would be useless without some killer songs, and it's got them by the bucketful. One big difference between them and their obvious influence is the total lack of any ballads. If I'm honest, I find this refreshing, as it means I get to hear a whole album of fast paced melodic rock without having to sit through some soppy rubbish interfering with the rocking. Priori is very ably backed up by guitarists Hox Martino and Max Pesserini, with the likes of Kee Marcello and Tommy Denander helping out. As I write this, I'm listening to the track “Someday (Love Leaves You Lonely)" and it's so weird to hear the Journey chorus and the Journey guitar solo from a totally unconnected band. I know I'm going on about this, but it really is uncanny.

The bottom line is that if Journey had come out with this album it would be hailed as a triumphant comeback and all that bollocks. Some of the songs lack the spark of the Journey classics, but all are entertaining with great hooks and soaring vocals. Obviously, if you like Journey then you will really like “No Man's Land" - it's a very competent album full of great melodic rock that I know I will be playing for a long time to come. Their website says it all: Passion, Groove, Feeling & Melody.
http://www.mylandmusic.com

ZinkMusic 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
8 April 2008

The name really does say it all... or in this case... not!!!. There's so much more to, "Peter Friestedt's LA Project Vol:2", than meets the eyes, that it's almost silly. It craves your full attention and all ears as it's simply just a fun all-star project in the grand old style of: Chicago, Toto, Doobie Brothers (the later part of the 70's), and basically everything that were labeled as fine "Westcoast" music in the days.

After four minutes of pure Westcoast rhythms in the lovely hands of "Cheyenne" (Track: 2), vicious saxophone and trumpet honks and sweet harmonies, you'll be lucky to stand on your own two feets. The CD features a great list of musicians and the lead vocals by: Bill Champlin (Chicago), Joseph Williams (Toto), Michael Ruff, Randy Goodrum, Bill Cantos, Lou Pardini (Koinoia), and Stefan Gunnarsson. The latter recognized as the longhaired piano player in a very popular (prime-time TV) friday music show in Sweden.

This is obviously not a "party album". Well, it could be to some. However, the sheer class speaks for itself and there's hardly a dull moment to be found. Well, the only downer(s), 2 out of 10 tracks are instrumentals. I'am personally not that much into the smooth guitar play of "Closer To Home" and "Waiting For You". Nice? yeah, but it's just such a waste, considering all the great vocalists on this project (especially since there's only 10 tracks). Opener, "Where To Touch You", sung by Joe Williams and you will be reminded of Toto at their very best in my opinion. Killer harmonies by Joe, Champlin & Gunnarsson, and instantly a homerun for the Westcoast fans.

Champlin takes over lead vocals on above mentioned "Cheyenne". Co-written by Goodrum this track comes out sounding like Chicago meets The Doobies (Michael McDonald). Marvelous, smooth, stuff. "One More Night", Joe is back behind the mike for "One More Night", and it's Toto flavoured music with a bridge in the vein of Lionel Richie (excellent!). "There Ain't Nothin", vocals by Bill Cantos who co-wrote the piece with among others: Friestedt. Very smooth and that horn section again. "Love Is Gonna Getcha", I would not object if someone had told this was a Michael McDonald tune. It's actually Lou Pardini behind the mike though. "Love Is A Powerful Thing" is a Michael Ruff song with the man himself as lead vocalist. His Stevie Wonder influences shines through even though it's a "Westcoast" tune. Randy Goodrum sings his "Careless Mockingbird" and everybody stops in their tracks. It's merely Randy, a piano, some strings, and Friestedt's guitar, but the message goes straight to th e heart.

Alkemist Fanatix 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
8th APril 2008

I get a bit disheartened with Italian rock sometimes, as all I seem to hear is lots of substandard doom and gloom metal that couldn't raise a smile with a vat of nitrous oxide. Back One Out seem to be the opposite, delivering middle range pop punk, some of which wouldn't be out of place on a Blink 182 album. They certainly don't sound like anything else I've heard from Italy, so that's a good start. Back One Out are a bit of a mystery, as I can't seem to get on their website, so all I know is that they are talented and they obviously like pacey, punky music. Even the inlay I have doesn't mention the band members or anything except the song titles. Thus, this review is a short one, but I would certainly not be averse to finding out more about the band. Fans of the likes of Simple Plan, Sum 41 and the various bands featuring members of Blimk 182 should really enjoy “Helpless", as it sounds very American. The songs are full of melody and frenetic drumming, the singing is pretty generic but because of this works just fine, and it's all well produced. If this band were hooke dup with a big record company they would be all over Kerrang TV and touring their asses off. As it is, “Helpless" will probably float by most people, but hopefully it will be the start of big things for a talented band.
http://www.backoneout.com

Frontiers 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
8 April 2008

Damned if you do - damned if you don't. Indeed, it's not an easy task, pleasing past and present fans of White Lion and Mike Tramp. Some will probably think it's daft to record a CD with the old sound and monicker, especially since there's no guitar hero aka Vito Bratta by Mike Tramp's side. Others will think of it as nostalgia... and some will probably see this as the second coming of christ.

But honestly, it all comes down to the quality of the songs and everything else is b.s. Just think about all the other acts with merely one original member and you'll quickly understand that's it not all about Bratta vs. Tramp. Their 80's effort, "Pride", is an all-time classic and everyone should have at least one copy of the CD at his/her home. "The Return Of The Pride" is frankly just a mish-mash of great songs and truly awful moments.

It starts out just fine with the epic tune of "Sangre De Cristo" (play length: 8.44). It's a great mix of the first Lion album and the driving guitar rock of Freak Of Nature. "Dream" is an ok attempt of re-creating the past sound of mid-tempo tunes with Tramp's categorical voice at the centre of attention. "Live Your Life" may be a rocking tune... but it's been blessed with one of the cheesiest choruses of the year. "Set Me Free" sounds like a mix of Stairway To Heaven and Broken Heart, and it works out just fine in the end, two thumbs up. "I Will", features great keyboard work and some truly uninspiring vocals by Tramp. Honestly, it sounds like he's singing through the motion without any emotional string(s) attached.

Retroactive Records / Artist Worxx / MusicBuyMail 2008
Review by Satu Reunanen
April 2008

Continuing on the thrash/speed scene, Ultimatum are one of the bands, that enjoy more from underground fame than being right there on the same level with the real thrash monsters like Exodus and Overkill. I've pretty much lost the connection to the thrash scene in the last ten years, but as an old fan of the music Ultimatum, already formed in 1992 now with four full lengths, never became familiar for me at least. Bearing the significant marks this scene became known from, Ultimatum doesn't lose much in comparison to its predecessors with their shredding style, they thrive from primitive forces.

Surprisingly a Christian band, which is still a strange combination in thrash and death metal scene, Scott Waters executes his vocals close to Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth (Overkill) or Steve Souza (Exodus) style, growling partially in death metal style, then doing some raw and harsh bits very monstrous kind of way. Where's the Christianity in this, I wonder, but we're not in church now. The whole band keeps it pretty tight, although not too serious, which shows in few arrangements, but vocals matter here the most, and Waters' sound might not appeal all.

Retroactive Records / Artist Worxx / MusicBuyMail 2008
Review by Satu Reunanen
April 2008

From the label that houses Christian bands comes Titanic with their third full length. Featuring a new singer in David St. Andrew, they also have a guest in Stryper-drummer Robert Sweet on the two bonus tracks, remakes from their debut, which close this album. Not to be mixed with the Norwegian Titanic that was active between 1969 to 1979, this American cousin released their debut "Maiden Voyage" in 1995, followed by "Screaming In Silence" in 2002, which never found their way to my hands, but if they were anything like "Full Steam Ahead", their brand doesn't move me much. They've got their moments though in their guitar driven, crude and straight approach, even some catchy choruses like heard in “Shovel The Coal" or "Sons Of Thunder", and good old enthusiasm to what they do.

Massacre Records 2008
Review by Satu Reunanen
April 2008

The Canadian speed/thrash legends Exciter, formed 1978, are back with a new album, their debut "Heavy Metal Maniac" seing the light of day already in 1983. "Trash, Speed, Burn" shows the shrieking talents of new vocalist Kenny Winter, who delivers what was on order. Strangely some bands manage to stay true to their sound, even with an amazingly long career such as Exciter has behind, and they still get their strength from that raw 80's thrash sound, where the hectic, sometimes Manowar-type guitars are there right on top, and both guitars and drums have that worn out, sharp sound.

Alkemist Fanatix 2008
Review by Alan Holloway,
8th APril 2008

Apparently, The Shiver have been together for over three years now. Their modest aim is to make it in the music world, but on the strength of their debut that's not all that likely to happen. These young Italians may have ambition, but after three years all they have delivered is a very below par Goth rock album.

“Inside" has had ever