Chris OUSEY: "Rhyme & Reason"

Rating: 7 /10

Label: Escape Music 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

I'm puzzled. Heartland vocalist Chris Ousey teamed up with two well-known and respected AOR magicians for this album, yet the result isn't magical, merely just "good". Out of all the releases of 2011, I thought that this was one of the safest bets to be a killer album, with both Tommy Denander and Mike Slamer in the team. I wouldn't call it a big disappointment, but it's not quite the album I expected it to be.

The album definitely sounds excellent, the production is superb, glossy, warm and all the nice adjectives you can come up with. Ousey sings well, and if you've got people like Slamer, Denander, Neil Murray and Gregg Bissonette playing the instruments, there's not really room for improvement, is there?

The reason why this album isn't in my Top 10 of 2011 is in the heart of it all - the songs. While most of the album's tracks are good, the real killers are nowhere to be found. "Mother Of Invitation", "Bleeding Heart" and "A Chemical High" and a couple of the others are certainly very good tracks, but then there are the likes of "Motivation" and "Watch This Space", which somehow sound cold and hollow. It's as if they could've used an extra injection of melody.

ANGELINE: "Disconnected"

Rating: 7 /10

Label: Avenue Of Allies 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Swedish melodic rock band Angeline were actually formed back in 1987, but only released their first album 2010. Now that they've got their motor running again, they didn't waste any time coming up with their second effort.

"Disconnected" is a nice slice of modern melodic rock, comparable to the recent output of Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and Europe. It's a well-produced album that sounds contemporary yet it's still easily accessible to those into more vintage melodic rock style. Especially the vocal production is excellent.

The standout tracks for me are the irrestistably energetic opener "When The Lights Go Down" and the superb power ballad "Found", with which Nickelback, Daughtry or David Cook would certainly score a massive international hit. I must also mention the title track, which is very much in the vein of Bon Jovi... there's the talkbox, a chorus with some very familiar lyrics and an air of familiarity in general. A decent track though. The Jovi connection pops up again a bit later, with "Solid Ground" which sounds like an outtake from "The Circle", complete with a Coldplay-influenced chorus that JBJ & co seem to churn out these days.

There isn't a song on the album that I'd rate as "bad", but still there are way too many songs that sound just "okay". "Disconnected" is how I feel about them indeed. When they do get it right they're onto something special, I just wish it would happen more often. Good, but not great. Yet.

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WILD WET: "Cocktail In Bloodshed"

Rating: 5 /10

Label: Indie 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Wild Wet are a young sleaze rock band from Italy. This is their first album, and it does show some promise. The next Guns'n Roses they aren't just yet, but give 'em a few years and they might evolve into something.

The band are capable of writing pretty decent hard rock tunes and have an ear for melody, but the vocals (and lyrics) might be a bit too much. "Dnl Crystal" has a really thick Italian accent and things don't improve when drummer "Matt Nyx Frye" takes over for one song. That one song ("Ashtray") is by far the weakest song of the album, strangely reminding me of the wellknown Finnish weirdos 22-Pistepirkko and their quirky, "homemade" amateur sound. Don't go there, guys...

Tracks to check out: "Before You Die", "Last Tattoo" and "Crazy Little Star". My advice for the band would to get a frontman with a better command of the english language.

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ARENA: "The Seventh Degree Of Separation"

Rating: 9 /10

Label: Verglas Records 2011

Review by Martien Koolen

My last review of a new Arena album - "Pepper's Ghost" - was back in 2005, so it took these progressive rockers 6 years to come up with a new album, but what an album it has become! Singer Rob Sowden left the band in 2010 and he was replaced by
Paul Manzi; later on bass player Ian Salmon also left the band and he was replaced
by good "old" John Jowitt. So, this is the first album with the new vocalist and it
is again a conceptalbum dealing with the last hour here on earth and the first hour
in the after life; if there is one of course.... It is a rather morbid theme and the
booklet is also filled with dark and rather gruesome pictures, but the music is
wonderful.

The album opens with the spoken words of Manzi before "The Great Escape"
evolves into a bombastic prog rock track with some mean and lean guitar hooks by
John Mitchell. The latter being very present at this album as he upgrades this album
by his marvellous guitar licks, riffs, hooks, melodies and amazing solos.. In
"Catching The Bullet" - the longest track on the album - he plays one of his best
guitar solos ever. "One Last Au Revoir" features an amazing addictive VERY catchy
chorus, while follow up "The Ghost Walks" is again filled with very dark lyrics.
"Close Your Eyes" is a rather experimental song, while "Bed Of Nails" has
outstanding guitar melodies and wonderful vocal passages. But as I already mentioned
before, the absolute highlight is the longest track called "Catching The Bullet"
where Mitchell and Co go wild and this is what I was waiting for. I truly wished
that the entire album was like this, but the other 12 songs are really awesome neo
prog songs as well.

The weakest link is still Nick Pointer, as the other musicians Nolan (keyboard walls
all over the album), Mitchell (superb guitar playing), Jowitt (great bass player) and
new singer Manzi really kick ass! This album grows on you and it is certainly one of
the highlights of this year! Buy it, put it in your CD player and enjoy it over and
over again....

Website

WOLFSBANE: "Wolfsbane Save The World"

Rating: 8/10

Label: Self Released 2011

Review by Alan Holloway

If we’re honest, British metal hopefuls Wolfsbane never really set the World on fire, or even singed much of it, but were still admired for their full on attitude and cheeky aggression often served with tongues wedged firmly in cheeks. The music was pretty good, too, and that has helped them stay lodged firmly in many people’s memories since their last, self titled release way back in 1994.

As we all know, frontman and head Howling Mad Shithead Blaze Bayley jumped ship to have a good bash at superstardom with Iron Maiden, a move that unfortunately showed him to be a square peg in a Bruce Dickinson shaped hole. It seems that the rest of the band has finally forgiven him, as the optimistically titled “Wolfsbane Save The World” features Bayley along with original band members Jase Edwards, Jeff Hateley and Steve ‘Danger’ Ellett.

Seventeen years is a long time, and it’s fair to say that Wolfsbane have learned a few things, something that is very apparent from the sheer quality of the songwriting on the album. Whilst Blaze has been busy being as metal as a Cyberman’s cock with his own band, the Wolfsabane material isn’t half as intense, with more melody being let in as well as a hefty dose of variety. Not to say that this isn’t a metal album, cos it is, but there’s a lightness of touch that allows the songs to breath and not be swamped by fist punching and goat sacrificing. Almost a metal version of Terrorvision, Wolfsbane are the good time that wanted to be had by all.

There’s certainly several salutary songs secreted here (try saying that when you’re pissed), and in “Starlight” there’s even a ball breaking belligerent ballad. There’s your typically straightforward rockers with catchy hooks, like “Smoke & Red Light”, “Who Are You Now” or “Teacher”. Let’s be honest - Wolfsbane are at their best when they go at it full tilt, and they don’t disappoint on the new disc, which has plenty of this sort of thing. Other slower tracks go over well, although “Child Of The Sun” pops up near the end and proves to be the only track that doesn’t seem to go anywhere. “The Illusion Of Love” mixes balladry with full tilt melodic metaliciousness, though, and should be a great draw live.

The thing is, if you were ever a Wolfsbane fan you are going to love “Wolfsbane Save The World” as it’s like they never went away but got even better. Blaze sounds very good, although his voice is still instantly recognisable, and the band are tight as you like. The perfect antidote to arty modern European metal with pretty pictures on the cover, it’s great to see the HMS’s back at last. All together now… AWOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

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MINEA: "Voittaja"

Rating: 8 /10

Label: Jiffel/Noste Records 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

A couple of years ago I reviewed the first album by this band. I quite liked it and compared them to the likes of Kilpi, Stryper and The Rasmus. Now on their second album the band has taken a couple of steps towards melodic hard rock or even AOR, which should sound good to most of our readers. At least it sounds good to me, and I would say that this album is a more balanced package than the debut.

AOR as in "Album Oriented Rock" would be a really good term for this album, because it's very good from track 1 to track 10. Just about every song contains memorable melodies and fine playing, and I find it very hard to name any highlights. Still, there isn't a "song of the year" candidate here, merely just 10 good to very good songs.

A couple of things prevent me from giving this a higher rating. First of all, some of the lead vocals have been over-tweaked, and the voice of Reijo Tiitinen has gotten an annoying "robotic" tone. The other thing is the fact that two of these songs sound disturbingly familiar... "Huutaa Lujaa" borrows a lot of things from "One Love" by W.E.T., not a bad source as it is one of my favourite songs of the last few years, but anyway... even more obvious is "Tulen Talo", which lifts its' riff and verses straight from Hardline's "Takin' Me Down". The chorus is different, and a really good chorus it is too, but still... "oops?".

Despite those little "flaws", I must say that this is a very good album, and one that could appeal to many of our readers if it wasn't for the language. You can listen to samples on the band's Facebook page - those melodies are universal, even if you don't understand the lyrics...

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ELOY : "The Tides Return Forever"

Rating: 7/10

Label: Artist Station 2011

Review by Martien Koolen

This is a re-release of the album which was originally recorded back in 1994. "The
Tides Return Forever" is a classic Eloy album with some of the best songs of this
German prog rock band.

Now Eloy mastermind Frank Bornemann has managed a great remix of the title track as
a bonus song, making this album even more recommended to any prog rock fan. For me
the best songs are still "Fatal Illussions" and "Company Of Angels", featuring a
classical choir. So, if you still have not got this album, now is your chance!


Website

SOUL SECRET: "Closer To Daylight"

Rating: 8/10

Label: Galileo Records 2011

Review by Martien Koolen

About 3,5 years ago I heard some music from the Italian prog metal band Soul Secret
for the first time and later on I reviewed their debut album called "Flowing
Portraits". I really liked that album and now, finally they have released a
follow-up album with the title: "Closer To Daylight".

The new album is in line with
the debut, so musically speaking there are no great surprises, but the line up
changed and that has taken its toll on the sound of the band. Michele Serpico used
to be the singer of the band but as he was ill his vocal parts on the debut album
were sung by Mark Basile. Next singer was Arno Menses who made a guest appearance on
the epic song but the new singer actually became Fabio Manda, so can you still
follow this.... Besides changes of vocalists bass player Lucio Grill was replaced by
new comer Claudio Casaburi.

Well so far so good, how about the music? Well the sound
of singer Manda is higher and in fact he did a great job adding a real new dimension
to the sound of Soul Secret. The eight new songs can still be described as powerful
prog metal tracks with a high Dream Theater influence. But the band absolutely has a
sound of their own and I think that on this album their sound has become more
distinct and therefore I really think that this album is a lot better than their
debut.

Soul Secret invited a couple of important guest musicians like Anna
Assentato, whose voice shines in "If", Marco Stogli, who played guitar on James
Labrie's solo albums and of course singer Arno Menses, who takes care of the vocals
in the epic song "Aftermath". The latter is THE absolute highlight of this album as
it is a prog metal epic gem, clocking over 16 minutes, filled with amazing tempo
changes, solos and superb vocal passages.Other great songs are "Behind The Curtain",
"Pillars Of Sand" (really guitar oriented) and the opener "Checkmate". If you liked
their previous album and if you like Dream Theater and VandenPlas then this album is
a must for you; play at maximum volume if you can!!


Website

LEST: "Odysseus"

Rating: 4/10

Label: Artist Station 2011

Review by Martien Koolen

Lest is a French progressive rock band formed in 1995 and this album called
"Odysseus" is their debut. The group consists of Pascal Rameix (bass guitar),
Sebastian Mauve (guitars and vocals) and a guy called Kickers on drums. The first
thing that caught my attention was the horrible voice of Mauve, meaning that he
screams, his voice is rather nasal and his pronunciation is definitely not English
enough... Mauve's vocals really get on my nerves in songs like "Sir Knight" or
"Innocence & Experience" as he really sounds as if he were dying.
Therefore the best song is of course the very short "Birth", which features a nice
guitar melody.

All the songs are reasonably complex but also very chaotic as the compositinal
skills of Lest leaves much to be desired yet. Musically speaking some of the songs
sound promising but as soon as Mauve's voice enters the song it is over for me.
Also take a look at the childish cover and you know what to expect from Lest; at the
moment not very much...

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NIGHTWISH: "Imaginaerum"

Rating: 8/10

Label: Nuclear Blast 2011

Review by Alan Holloway

You have to admire the massive brass balls on Nightwish’s creative force Tuomas Holopainen, a man who refuses to sit on his laurels and rake in the cash. After the furore that was the departure of lead Diva Tarja Turunen, he escaped with just a few death threats, a first class new vocalist (Anette Olzon of Alyson Avenue) and the best album of his career in “Dark Passion Play”. This is not a man you want to be sitting at a poker table with.

Things rarely get more Gothy and up their own arse than a band called Nightwish calling an album “Imaginaerum” (a made up, pretentious word). The only way to make them seem more aloof would be to make it a concept album. They did? Oh…. Well, it had better be fucking good, is all I can say.

Okay, so that’s the background out of the way. What we have here is a concept album that at some point next year will be accompanied by a full length movie, although it has been designed to stand on it’s own two feet and should not be considered a soundtrack album. This, of course, has not stopped just about every reviewer referring to it as one, but they are fools, fools I tell you!

“Imaginaerum” is an album of quite a few layers, and is not something you’re likely to fall instantly in love with. This is deliberate, and you really should expect to slog through it a few times before you are able to appreciate what has been done here, something it has in common with lots of other concept albums. Starting off with a gentle, Finnish language and soft music intro, the first real track is the stormingly good single “Storytime”, but don’t expect a whole album like this. There are a few basic, upbeat tracks thrown in like the wonderful Celtic influenced “I Want My Tears Back” and the more power metal sty lings of “Ghost River”, rounded off by the dramatic but furiously catchy “Last Ride Of The Day”. These tracks are Nightwish barrelling along with catchy hooks and tons of attitude, really ramming home why they are sometimes referred to as “ABBA Metal”. Hey, ABBA wrote some damned catchy songs!

Elsewhere there’s a couple of good instrumentals, notably the closing title track, in which Pip Williams gives us an orchestral medley of all the previous tracks. It’s something that’s been done before, but sounds brilliant. The orchestral side on the album is pretty big this time round, and those involved get full marks for integrating it so well into the guitars, drum and bass that are the anchors of the Nightwish sound. Alongside the instrumentals and foundation stompers we also get a jazz/blues ballad (“Slow Love, Slow”) that is surprisingly effective thanks to Anette’s sultry vocals and the expected long track (“Song Of Myself” which rolls in at 12 and a half minutes) that I was hoping would equal the previous albums awesome title track but loses points because the second half of it is deep, meaningful (and depressing) spoken word stuff that is eminently skippable if you’re not in exactly the right mood (although up to then it is great). There’s also a nice pipe led ballad in the shalpe of “Turn Loose The Mermaids”, plus a longer, deeper slowie, “the Crow, The Owl and The Dove”.

Yet another journey through the twisted mind of Tuomas Holopainen, “Imaginaerum” is not the masterpiece it wants to be, yet it has a great many things in it’s favour. Best appreciated in a dark room or through earphones, it’s a grower that continually rewards the listener yet will alienate those after a quick fix. However you look at it, it’s not as good an album as “Dark Passion Play”, but it’s no less of an achievement. If you get it, I would advise getting the version with the instrumental bonus disc, as it allows you to enjoy the album over again in a different way, and it also means people still banging on about Tarja can pretend in their tiny heads that she’s singing and then go on message boards to tell people how awesome it would sound.

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BEGGARS & THIEVES: "We Are The Brokenhearted"

Rating: 7/10

Label: Frontiers 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Beggars & Thieves were one of the last hard rock/hair metal acts of the late eighties rock boom that got signed by a major label. Their only album for Atlantic was released in 1990 and despite its' quality, it didn't storm the charts. It earned them a cult favourite status, and finally in 1997 they followed it up with "Look What You Create" on the now-defunct MTM Music label. In 1999 they released another album for MTM, only to disappear into the night again... they re-emerged in 2010 to play at Firefest and now they're back with a new album.

There's much to like about "We Are The Brokenhearted": the band has a cool, organic sound, vocalist Louie Merlino is one of the most soulful vocalists in hard rock and the songs themselves sound like the band had poured out their hearts into them. "Hair Metal" this is not, it owes more to Bruce Springsteen than Mötley Crüe, yet it actually doesn't sound much like Springsteen at all. Ever since that 1990 debut, B & T has had their own, dark sound.

So why I am not giving this a higher rating? Well, even though I like the album, it doesn't quite grab me the way a great album would. Now that I have played it a few times, I haven't found any standout tracks that I would like to listen again anytime soon. Because of the good qualities listed above, I really wanted to like this album more than I did, but the band could have used some real "hits". You know, the kind of melodies that one would catch himself/herself humming unexpectedly.

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ROYAL HUNT: "Show Me How To Live"

Rating: 9/10

Label: Frontiers 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

So, what were the odds that Royal Hunt would come up with an album like this in 2011? The band's output for the last 10 years has been... well, it has its' merits but to be honest with you, I haven't been too excited about albums like "Collision Course" or "Paper Blood". I actually haven't even heard their previous one "X". So, despite the fact that the band recently re-united with DC Cooper, the vocalist on their biggest albums "Moving Target" and "Paradox", I didn't dare to hope that they'd record a real killer album. I thought that the days of Andre Andersen writing big, melodic choruses were over, but I was wrong. Very wrong.

"Collision Course" was said to be a sequel of the "Paradox" album, and maybe lyrically it was, but when it comes to the music, "Show Me How To Live" is much closer to it in style. It's big, orchestrated, epic and layered, but in the heart of all this there are some exceptionally catchy and melodic songs. Not to mention the voice of Mr. Cooper, who is still one of the finest singers of the genre.

The highlights for me are "Another Man Down" and "Half Past Loneliness", to name a couple. As for the weaker tracks... well, I haven't really warmed up to "An Empty Shell", but that's about it! This is one of the strongest albums of the year, and definitely the best Royal Hunt album since "Paradox". Yes folks, the Hunt is on again!

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LEATHER BOYS: "Real Leather"

Rating: 3/10

Label: indie 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

In this day and age when most of the promos we get are in mp3 format, it always warms me up when someone sends an actual CD. The Leatherboys did, which earns them an additional point... unfortunately the contents of the CD do not really add much to that.

The band got as far as to the televised Spanish finals in the Eurovision Song Contest a couple of years ago, so I was thinking that they would surely have some commercial potential. Well, if they do then I don't hear it. The band plays generic sleaze rock which suffers of a severe lack of hooks or melodies. You can hear some of their influences, Guns 'n Roses, Aerosmith etc, but the songwriting is on a very basic level and they not ready to compete with the big guns yet.

The band plays reasonably well, but the singing is rather substandard throughout the album. There's more than enough of off-key moments here. Other than that, the production is okay... if the band had a better singer and better songs, they might have a chance. Now, I guess they'll remain local heroes.

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ALFONZETTI: "Here Comes The Night"

Rating: 7/10

Label: AOR Heaven 2011


Review by Alan Holloway

Matti Alfonzetti first came to my attention, as he did for many others, as the lead singer of Jagged Edge at the arse end of the 80s. After that fell to bits he has done all sorts of stuff, including writing for The Poodles, fronting Road To Ruin, and putting out a couple of very good solo albums. Well, nine years after the last one he’s cobbled together another first class set of tracks, writing, producing, singing, playing and probably cleaning the studio toilets as well.

I’ll freely admit that “Here Comes The Night” took a few spins to grab me, but when it did it certainly didn’t want to let go, and as I sit here I’m listening to it for the 6th time on the trot and quite happy to do so. Alfonzetti sounds as good as he ever has, and has done a decent job on the production as well. The songs are good, solid, hard rock fare that will be accessible to any fan of classic rock, and especially any existing fans of his work. Mostly mid paced, the best moment is when things heat up a bit on “Rock & Roll Heart”, but in truth there’s not a naff track in sight.

The wheel has unsurprisingly no been reinvented here, but Matti Alfonzetti has been a consistent provider of quality hard rock for many years now, and with “Here Comes The Night” he continues to a great job.

STEVEN WILSON: "Grace For Drowning"

Rating: 8/10

Label: Kscope Music 2011

Review by Martien Koolen

As frequent reader - if not then it is about time - of this website you may know that I am a huge Porcupine Tree fan. Founder, guitar player, singer and main composer Steven Wilson is a true workaholic and besides PT also involved in Blackfield and No-Man. In 2008 Wilson released his first real solo album and I found it rather too dark, too melancholic, too experimental and too weird even for my taste... Now, three years later Wilson comes up with a double album called "Grace For Drowning" and again it is dark, melancholic, experimental and sometimes weird however I think/feel that the music on this new release is much better than on its predecessor. CD1 called "Deform To Form A Star" kicks off with two instrumentals being "Grace For Drowning" and "Sectarian" and they are both rather jazzy and filled with lots of piano passages. These songs set the trend for almost the entire album as the more metal oriented work from Steven is again hard to find on this record. So if you only like Wilson's heavy music then I think that you might be disappointed, but give this album a chance and you will hear the beauty of it.

Musical highlight is the 23 minutes epic "Raider 2", a very complex song with lots of musical influences from the roaring seventies and while listening I got memories of notorious bands like Van Der Graaf Generator, King Crimson and even Camel. The guest musicians list on this abum is impressive as Wilson called in the help of Theo Travis, Nick Beggs, Jordan Rudess, The London Session Orchestra and the Synergy Vocals Choir, both led by Dave Stewart. The music on this album is overwhelming and after a couple of spins you seem to get addicted; so try it out, play the album at maximum volume and be amazed!!

www.gracefordrowning.com

www.stevenwilson.com

www.porcupinetree.com

GRAND ILLUSION: "Prince Of Paupers"

Rating: 9/10

Label: AOR Heaven 2011

Review by Alan Holloway

It’s occurred to me that I’ve been enjoying the album for ages now, yet haven’t bothered to review it, so sorry and all that, it’s no reflection on Grand Illusion, who actually rock like hurricanes. Big hurricanes, with knobs on etc. Coming from what seems to be the Land Of AOR, Sweden, Grand Illusion take just about everything you like about AOR and smush it together into one big, wonderful lump.

The standout performance on the album for me comes from vocalist Peter Sundell, who has a amazing voice very similar to Zeno’s Michael Flexig, and when he lets it loose you feel like punching the air in respect of the awesomeness of it all. Combine this with Anders Rydholm’s guitar solos that never outstay their welcome, as well as additional vocal duties from the silky voiced Per Svensson, and you get a band that is, at it’s core, quite impossible to fault.

The songs are pretty damned cool as well, and I suggest if you want a taster track down opener “Gates Of Fire” on YouTube. If you enjoy that (and you will if you are human and have functioning ears) then this is the album for you. It’s stuffed full of upbeat, melodic tracks and catchy choruses, helped by an excellent production job by Anders Rydholm, who is basically the creative force behind the band.

Certainly one of the best releases this year, “Prince Of Paupers” breaks no new ground but doesn’t have to. Melodic, well paced, catchy and occasionally possessing of moments that deserve to be preserved in ice for future musicologists to discover and marvel at, this is AOR in it’s purest form.

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DAYLIGHT ROBBERY: "Cross Your Heart... & Hope To Die

Rating: 7/10

Label: Solar Flare 2011

Review by Alan Holloway

The UK rock scene becomes a little more interesting this week, with the release of this, the debut album from Birmingham’s Daylight Robbery. It’s been a long time in the making, as the band were together in the 90’s but never actually recorded anything. This album throws together some of those songs and some brand new compositions, with the result being uneven at times but always interesting.

Now I don’t know what the balance is between old and new songs, but the first six tracks on the album are very solid melodic rock tunes, held together by a good blend of guitar, keyboards and some powerful vocals by Tony Nicholls. “Cross Your Heart” opens the album with purpose, and is a treat for fans of Shy, Magnum and Terra Nova, with a good, simple backing riff overlaid with keyboards and a nifty solo. Nicholls has a nice, strong voice that can reach some high points when needed, and the whole impression is of a band who know exactly what they’re doing. This carries on for the first six songs, which include an ambitious slower track “Crossing The Great Divide” which rolls in at 8 minutes and works pretty well. Track 6, “Real Love Is The Answer”, is a really cool melodic track with a catchy chorus that uses a similar structure to Madonna’s “Respect Yourself”, and one I keep coming back to.

The last four tracks seem more dated, possibly because they lack some of the subtlety of the rest of the album. They are faster and heavier, and tome sound more like a band still looking for an identity. As I said, I don’t know if these are earlier compositions, but the tone of the album definitely changes in the final third. It’s still pretty good melodic rock, but with less of the spit and polish of the first 6 tracks. Overall, however, this is a very good debut that’s been along time coming, and it gives Daylight Robbery a very solid platform to build on.

iTunes Link

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MAGNUM: "Evolution"

Rating: N/A

Label: SPV 2011

Review by Alan Holloway

After eight years in retirement (although we did get two excellent Hard Rain albums) 2002 saw the return of Magnum, retaining the original trio of Bob Catley, Tony Clarkin and Mark Stanway, aided and abetted by bass basher Al Barrow (who was also handy for a couple of album covers), and drummers Jimmy Copley and Harry James. Nine years gave us five albums of varying quality, and now Magnum have made the interesting decision to give us a “Best Of…” package comprising purely of tracks from these albums, plus two new ones to sweeten the deal.

Considering Magnum have been playing plenty of newer material on tour over the last few years, “Evolution” is a perfect jumping on point for anyone who is a lapsed fan. The real surprise is that the two tracks chosen from each album are, in my opinion, the best ones. There’s no ballads here, just big riffs and punchy melody, with some studio tampering to beef them up even more (although to be honest it’s not something that was needed or is, to me, that noticeable). The two new songs are the most interesting, as they turn out to be amongst the best on the album. “The Fall” has a superb melody and a nice, mid paced gallop to it, with a central melodic riff that will echo through your head for a long time - definitely the best track here. “Do You Know Who You Are” finishes off the album, and it’s another corker with a similar pace. Both songs could have graced “Vigilante” or “Wings Of Heaven”, and I sincerely hope that Clarkin keeps up this style for the next album, because it’s time for Magnum to be more upbeat and fun again.

So if you used to like Magnum and sort of fell by the wayside, “Evolution” is a perfect buy, and even if you have the albums that have been sampled, you really need to hear the two new tracks and enjoy the brilliant cover from Al Barrow himself. If this was a totally new album it would be a ten out of ten, so make of that what you will, but have a listen anyway.

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KILMARA: "Don't Fear The Wolf"

Rating: 7/10


Label: Rising Records 2011

Review by Martien Koolen

The "new" album by the Spanish power metal band Kilmara is a re-release and features 13 tracks. For the recording and producing of their second album they worked with no one less than Roland Grapow of Masterplan. The new abum is a lot heavier and more catchy than their debut album "Hunting Dreams". You can also hear an orchestra on the album as well as a couple of guest musicians. However the band needs to work on their own sound more or they will probably go under in the power metal world as there are so many bands that can compete with Kilmara...

The best songs on the album are - at least accoring to yours truly - "Let Sadness Be Destiny" (a power metal epic), "You Better Run" (really powerful and energetic) and "Show Me The Way", which is bombastic, fast and has some excellent riffs. However the boring semi-ballad "Blindfold" is completely redundant and the rest of the songs are so so, but not really catchy and classic power metal songs. The band needs to work on their compositational skills and their own sound and then I think these Spanish rockers could really get somewhere.

If you are a fan of heavy power metal music then you should at least listen to "Don't Fear The Wolf" and maybe or probably you will like it and buy the album. I am looking forward to their third album, featuring Kilmara with a distinct heavy sound of their own!

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MINUTIAN: Repercussions

Rating: 7/10


Label: indie 2011

Review by Martien Koolen

Minutian is a Finnish prog rock band and "Repercussions" is their debut album. If you listen to the album for the first time you will notice the rather old-fashioned high pitched vocals of singer Mikko Heino and the excellent percussion parts that give this album an extra dimension. The band has obviously been influenced by bands like King Crimson, Oceansize, Mastodon and Tool and especially the heavy guitar riffs do remind me of Tool.

The music on the entire album is extremely rhythmically oriented, but sometimes the band goes a little bit too far and the music comes across as rather chaotic. Personally I like the last track, which is instrumental, "Three By Five" the best as I sometimes have trouble with the rather "annoying" voice of Mikko. This song is also the heaviest song on the album and the rhythm section - drummer Antti Ruokola and the bass player Jouri Mikkola - are at its best here! Another great song is the longest track on the album called: "Isolation"; a well built-up song with great instruemtnal passages, but also some nice vocals.

All in all I can say taht Minutian has made a very decent debut album and I am already looking forward to their second, most probably, better release. Last advice: play at maximum volume!!

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THE ROCK FiLES: "A LiFE ON EARTH"

Rating: 9/10


Label: indie 2011

Review by Martien Koolen

TRF, better known as THE ROCK FiLES is a Dutch melodic rock band and with "A LiFE ON EARTH" they finally release their amazing debut album. It took almost ten years to finally release this album, but now you can enjoy this concept album over and over again. TRF is in fact Adjan Emmen's band, a guy who has been in the music business for more than 25 years already. Besides Adjan, the guitar player, the band consists of Jerry ten Bhomer (vocals), Rutger Klijn (bass guitar) and Pim Kooiman (drums) and on "SiNKiNG" Marco Hoogerheide plays the keyboards.

The eleven songs on the album are all beautiful melodic, symphonic rock tracks featuring marvellous guitar melodies and superb vocal parts. The lyrics deal with life on earth as we know it and in the end gives us a message of hope; stating that how miserable you feel or how low you have fallen there is always hope!

The music is dominated by the breathtaking guitar sound of Adjan and the heavenly vocals of Jerry, which seem to fit together perfectly just listen to the amazing opening track "LiFE" and you will be hooked...

"DESPAiR" is a nice semi-ballad in which Jerry shows what he can do with his amazing voice and Adjan's guitar melodies in this particular track are more than excellent. The instrumental "SiNKiNG" is the next musical highlight, featuring again some awesome guitar melodies and solos."PRECiOUS" is another ballad which really gives me goosebumps, mainly due to the astonishing guitar melodies and the emotional vocal passages; this is a song that truly reminds me of Queensryche's "Silent Lucidity"! The album ends with "FAiTH", a very well composed rock track with beautiful melodies and lots of diversity. After 51 minutes this album ends and then you will want to hear it again because the music really grabs you by the balls!!

A perfect debut and I am sure that we will hear a lot more from TRF in the future. If you like melodic,symphonic rock music with outstanding guitar work and excellent singing then A LiFE ON EARTH is a MUST!!
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BRIAN HOWE: "Emotions E.P"

Review by Alan Holloway

It’s a sad day for music when one of the most talented vocalists around decides to lay his recording career to rest, but that’s the case with Brian Howe, a man so much more than the label “former singer for Bad Company” ever suggests. Owner of one of the most soulful rock voices to come out of the UK, he can hold his head high against the likes of Paul Rodgers, Danny Bowes and Glenn Hughes. With this five track EP he has decided to give fans a personal, intimate goodbye, with no record companies involved.

It’s no secret that I am a massive fan of Howe’s vocals, from the time he revitalised a flagging Bad Company to his solo work, he imbues every song with a passion and emotion that gets deep into your being. “Emotions”, then, is the perfect title for his final release, with the songs very much on the mellow side, each dripping with, well, emotion. “I’m Still There” and “Runaway Train” have a bit more pace, but you’d have to have a heart of stone not to listen to the closing track “Christmas” and not feel something. Any of the songs here would have been welcome on Howe’s last full album “Circus Bar”, which was my album of the year for 2010 (and still gets played at least once a week). Vocally, Howe is as perfect as ever, balancing power with subtle nuance, lifting each song that little bit higher than another vocalist might have done.

If you’ve ever enjoyed one of the 7 albums Howe has been involved in (a shockingly low number, really) then you owe it to him, and yourself, to download this (from iTunes) and enjoy the swansong of a true Voice Of Rock. Hey, if enough of you do it he might just be persuaded it’s all worth doing again.


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The MAGNIFICENT: "s/t"

Rating: 9/10

Label: Frontiers 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

It would be quite pathetic if a band called THE MAGNIFICENT were merely "decent" or "mediocre". No such worries here, this band does live up to its' ambitious name, providing us one of the finest albums of the year. Built around the talents of guitarist/songwriter/producer Torsti Spoof (Leverage, Place Vendome) and vocalist Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus), The Magnificent isn't a typical "Frontiers" project. For one, the songs do not originate from the "usual suspects" (Peterik, Martensson, Martin bros etc), instead Spoof and Eriksen have pretty much done it themselves, with a little help from their bandmates in their other bands.

Fans of Leverage and Circus Maximus should take note that The Magnificent isn't quite as heavy as those bands. We're talking about highly melodic, keyboard-drenched AOR along the likes of Treat, TNT's lighter moments, Masquerade, Zinatra, Brother Firetribe... indeed, many of these songs would be right at home on a Firetribe album, and if BFT were to continue without Emppu because of his Nightwish duties, in Torsti Spoof they'd have a suitable replacement in the "inner circle". He throws in some very tasty guitarwork here, always very melodic. Eriksen does a good job too, at times sounding a lot like Joey Tempest. Finnish readers might get a chuckle out of the fact that there are moments where he sounds like a deadringer to one Ressu Redford (Bogart Co etc).

There's a cloud of familiarity hovering above the album - you'll probably find a few familiar sounding riffs or melodies here and there but nothing too obvious. Of course that could be said of most albums in the genre... The highlights of the album for me are "Cheated By Love" (very TNT'ish guitar work and a killer hook), "Fallen Angel" (a touching song about a tragic loss of a loved one), "Satin & Lace" and "Lost", to name a few. The only song that somehow doesn't work for me is "Bullets", but otherwise... it's all quite magnificent.

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Neil DANIELS: "Rock Landmarks: Judas Priest - British Steel"

BOOK

Label: Wymer Publishing 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Second book in the "Rock Landmarks" series, Neil Daniels' book about the classic Judas Priest album "British Steel" is a neat little package of information and anecdotes about the subject. It's a CD-sized book, intended to be stored next to your CD copy of the album in question I guess. A pretty good idea, even though the small size of the book is the reason why I'm reviewing it only now... I read it the same day I got it a few weeks ago and put it to a drawer, and since it's been out of sight, it's been out of mind too...

Daniels has previously written a good unauthorized biography of Priest, so he's definitely qualified to put together a book like this. What you'll get is a rather indepth look at the situation where the band was when it was about to start recording this, plenty of information about the recordings and the "aftermath" of "British Steel", the hit singles, videos and the tour that followed. There's a thorough and enthusiastic review of the album by the author and lots of additional info about the various versions of the album, even the tour dates of the "British Steel" tour. Maybe the only thing that's missing is the input from the band members. It would have been quite interesting to read what do they think of "British Steel" and its' songs these days.

If you're a fan of the band, this is worth picking up to accompany your copy of the album. The prices is comparable to the size of the book!

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STEEL PANTHER: "Balls Out"

Rating: 7/10

Label: Universal Republic 2011

Review by Alan Holloway

Okay, it’s time to put on your ironic spandex pants and leopard skin headband, as Steel Panther have decided to do a second album - not much of a surprise after the success of the first. As before, the Steel Panther is a confusing beast, peddling mostly childish comedy songs with a style and flair that would have delighted sleaze rock fans of the mid eighties. So are we being homaged or is the piss being royally taken? I’m still not sure…

Perhaps the best fact about Steel Panther is the fact that vocalist Ralph Saenz used to front a Van Halen tribute band and was called Dave Lee Ralph. Now that’s funny. This also means the guy can sing, and as with everyone in Steel Panther there’s certainly no shortage of musical talent. Saenz (who uses the name Michael Starr in the band) can belt out “Supersonic Sex Machine” (a track that Reckless Love would kill for) like a pro, and when you have a lead guitarist with the talents of Russ Parish (“Satchel”) it’s good to see they are being utilized to the full, as “Balls Out” contains some monster riffs and searing solos.

As ever, though, the real debating point of Steel Panther is their longevity. It’s like watching a live comedy DVD - you love it the first time but the jokes don’t get better when you hear them again and again. Steel Panther have an advantage in that the songs are very well written, but in the end they are pretty standard glam metal distinguished by the fact that no one else writes lyrics quite like this. The lyrics are, well, filthy. They are at their best when there’s a bit of cleverness involved, such as single “If You Really Really Love Me” and “Just Like Tiger Woods”. Unfortunately, most of them are incredibly low IQ stuff, like “17 Girls In A Row” or the rather self explanatory “It Won’t Suck Itself”, a track that sounds a lot like Motley Crue at their peak.

So once again I am torn by a Steel Panther album. On one hand, the music really is pretty good, pure 80s Hollywood Strip metal, all hairspray, bandannas and venereal diseases. The other hand has the fact that the lyrics are often embarrassing to listen to, and it really can feel like they’re just making fun of music I love. If that’s true, anyone who buys it is being taken for a fool. Suffice to say, if you loved the debut, this will certainly float your boat, but those who think it’s all a bit silly should go and get the new Vain album for their sleaze needs.

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FASTWAY: "Eat Dog Eat"

Rating: 8/10

Label: SPV/Steamhammer 2011

Review by Alan Holloway

When you see that Fastway are releasing their first album for 20 years or so, you have to wonder if anyone is really going to care that much. Fastway, although hinged on the presence of Motorhead man Fast Eddie Clarke, were always a bit of a revolving door of a band, and this resulted in albums of varying quality, my favourite being the “Trick Or Treat” soundtrack from 1996. Unsurprisingly, the band has gone through more line up changes since they played at Hard Rock Hell a few years ago, and now consists of Clarke, Toby Jepson (vocals/bass) and Matt Eldrige (drums).

Although Jepson has his own habit of bouncing around different projects, he’s a safe bet for a decent vocal any day of the week, and as a result “Eat Dog Eat” sounds great, with Clarke laying down some melodic, bluesy riffs and throwing in plenty of nifty solos along the way. Musically, the sound is nicely between UFO and Little Angels, taking some of the better bits from both, with the result a surprisingly decent album. “Deliver Me”, “Fade Out”, “Leave The Light” on and “Sick As A Dog” all fly by early on with the album broken up by a cracking ballad (well, half a ballad with a rocky finish) in the shape of “Dead & Gone”, with Jepson relishing the chance to utilize his brilliant vocal range and grab bag full of emotion.

Refreshing, solid and crunchy, “Eat Dog Eat” is a welcome return for both Clarke and Jepson, playing off the talents of both in just the right way. Here’s hoping they manage to stick together to do some more.



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SOUL SELLER: "Back To Life"

Rating: 7/10

Label: Avenue Of Allies 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

This Italian hard rock band has been around since 1999, and they've even called it quits once, but the passion of the founding members Dave and Mike Zublena didn't go away. So, a couple of years ago they decided to give it another shot, and the result is here for all the world to hear - the album "Back To Life".

With new guys in the band and the services of producer Alessandro Del Vechhio enlisted, the band has come up with a decent melodic rock album. Musically they're standing somewhere between Journey, late eighties' Whitesnake and Bon Jovi of the same era. Especially vocalist Michael Carreta's voice reminds me of young Jon Bon Jovi.

The album starts strongly with the catchy "Wings Of Freedom", followed by the summertime AOR of "Change Your Heart Tonight" and the melancholic "All I Can Promise". The latter has a truly fine chorus.

Despite the guest vocals from Oliver Hartmann, "Keep On Moving" isn't one of my favourites, but it does show a harder side of the band. Hell, is that an Accept riff I hear?!

"Old Hero's Prayer" and the fine ballad "Hell Of Tears" are my favourites among the remaining tracks, but while some of the other tracks do have their moments, they're still somewhat forgettable. Hence the rating, although it was a close call... Not bad at all.

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ISSA: "The Storm"

Rating: 8/10

Label: Frontiers 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Norwegian AOR queen Issa follows her excellent debut with a rather fine second album. "The Storm" isn't quite as bombastic as the first album, but there's still plenty of big choruses and larger-than-life emotions.

Produced by Daniel Flores, this album is probably the most "experimental" out of the three Frontiers releases of October 2011. AOR purists need not to worry though, no drastic measures have been taken. The overall vibe of the album is just a bit more modern than that of Kimball-Jamison or Fergie Frederiksen.

For me, the album's key songs are the catchy first single "Looking For Love", "Black Clouds" and "What Does It Take". All three are blessed with superb choruses, colourful arrangements and excellent vocals. Other noteworthy songs include "Take A Stand", not a particulary strong song but its' goth leanings add a darker shade to the album. The two ballads have plenty of hit potential, especially "Invincible".

Thanks to a few songs which are merely "nice" in a slightly bland way I'll refrain from rating this any higher than I have done. Good album nevertheless.

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RECKLESS LOVE: "Animal Attraction"

Rating: 8/10

Label: Universal 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

So, the colourful glamsters are back with a new album. It's the "difficult second album", and the stakes are high. The record company is obviously expecting big things after the rather successful debut and the headway the band made during the last 18 months. The band certainly got themselves a high profile in the Finnish media thanks to numerous TV appearances, but there's a downside to this - the critics and enemies are now waiting with their knives sharpened... that's the way it goes here.

I liked the first album a lot, and I like this effort too. The band hasn't lost their knack of writing big hooks, and the production by Ilkka Wirtanen is glossy and polished. Maybe there aren't quite as many standout tracks as on the first album, but this is by no means a disappointment.

The Crüe-meets-Leppard vibe of the title track is the grand opener, and it's a big, BIG anthem. "Speedin'" is a bit of a throwaway and it could've been buried further down the tracklisting, as "Born To Break Your Heart" would've been a better second track. This is a cool, breezy track with a nice twist in the lyrics. The first single "Hot" I've grown to like a bit more over the last few months, but it's not one of my favourites. And that guitar solo... what the hell?

"Fantasy" is the album's big ballad, and if the band intend to do it like it was done in the eighties, it's the single number three. Very Def Lep again, maybe a bit sugary for some but I like it. "Dirty Dreams" could be a single candidate too, thanks to one of the best choruses of the album.

"Dance" is a bit of a departure for the band, even more than the controversial "Hot"... this dance-rock hybrid reminds me of The Rasmus actually. I don't know, it's okay but I'm not overtly into it. After the trickery beats, something more rockin' is needed and "Fight" is just that, a high-energy rocker with Olli Herman snarling the lyrics like he means it. "Switchblade Babe" is another rocker driven by Pepe's riffs, followed by my favourite track of the album, "On The Radio". With a Bon Jovi-vibe and a massive chorus, this song has brought some much needed sunshine to these dark autumn days.

I really don't know what to make of "Coconuts", a silly rocker in the vein of David Lee Roth's solo stuff, with Olli doing his best DLR impressions. It's not really much of a song but it's kinda funny... actually it reminds me slightly of another song with "Coconuts" in the title, Fate's "Beneath Da' Coconuts". I compared Reckless Love to those Danish rockers in my review of the first album, and now they sing about coconuts too. Strange.


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Bobby KIMBALL & Jimi JAMISON: "Kimball Jamison"

Rating: 8/10

Label: Frontiers 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

A few eyebrows when it was announced that Mat Sinner would produce an album by two AOR vocalist legends, former Toto singer Bobby Kimball and ex-Survivor Jimi Jamison. Yes, it's Mat Sinner of Sinner and Primal Fear fame, but Teutonic Metal sound isn't what he has created for the AOR veterans, this is album never strays away from what is the essence of the genre. We're talking about finely produced melodic rock, powerful when needed and subtle and soft when the song requires that. Besides, Mat Sinner hasn't always played metal or raunchy hard rock, his band Sinner did flirt with keyboard-driven AOR sounds on their late eighties' albums...

Provided by songwriters like Jim Peterik, Erik Martensson, Robert Sall, Richard Page and Randy Goodrum, the majority of the album is solid AOR material. Two tracks stand out for me, the superb "Can't Wait For Love" and the hard-hitting "Kicking And Screaming", both really magical tunes with big hooks and fine performances from both of the vocalists, not to mention the backing musicians. Then again, there are two songs that somehow make me cringe: "Get Back In The Game" is a bit of a throwaway uptempo romp, with the two gentlemen trying a bit too hard to prove that "the geezers can still rock", while "Your Photograph" has a cabaret/musical feel which doesn't appeal to me.

If you're a fan of either of the vocalists or both, this is a pretty safe purchase. Both guys still have their voices, and I especially liked Jamison's raspy delivery here. Musically "Kimball Jamison" is closer to Survivor than Toto, so don't expect to hear anything like "Rosanna" or "Africa". This is a pretty hard rockin' effort.


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Fergie FREDERIKSEN: "Happiness Is The Road"

Rating: 9/10

Label: Frontiers 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Dennis Ward as the producer, songs from the top writers of the genre and a well-known vocalist... yes, sounds like another Frontiers "project" and October seems to be the month of projects, as the other two October releases, Kimball-Jamison and Issa, are somewhat similar albums.

The well-known vocalist here is Fergie Frederiksen, a familiar name to most AOR fans, thanks to his work on Toto's "Isolation" album and a few other bands/projects such as Le Roux and Frederiksen-Phillips. Fergie's recent history hasn't been the happiest one, as he has suffered of Hepatitis C and a liver cancer, both of which have been beaten. Now the future looks brighter, and I guess "Happiness Is The Road" for him. Nice!

One thing that Fergie can surely be happy about is this album, which is the strongest one out of the three "project" albums released by Frontiers this month. Superb production & musicianship, good songs and fine vocals are the reasons for this.

Frederiksen's history with Toto isn't forgotten on the album, but there are only some light touches of "Totoism" here. Mostly this is a much harder-edged AOR album which suits me just fine. The album gets a flying start with a couple of uptempo AOR gems ("Angel" & "Elaine"), followed by a fine version of "First To Cry", a track written by Mark Baker. Strangely enough, House Of Lords covered it on their latest album too, released a month or so ago, on the same label! I actually prefer Fergie's version, it's somehow fuller and rolls along more effortlessly.

The grandiose, dramatic ballad "Follow Your Heart" is very good, but the title track leaves me a bit cold. Sure, it has Jim Peterik's trademarks all over it, but it's just nice, likeable enough but that's about it. "I Still Believe In Love" sounded familiar, and indeed it's the David Roberts song from his album "The Missing Years", reviewed by me in May. I said it was a fine AOR song then and it still is, one that should appeal to the fans of Fergie's Toto years.

The next two tracks could've been just as well saved as the bonus tracks for the Japanese version or something, because they are the weakest two of the bunch. "Lyin' Eyes" isn't too bad but forgettable all the same, and the soft rocking of "Love Waits For No One" doesn't work for me at all.

The uptempo and intense "Writing On The Wall" is more like it, while "The Future Ain't What It Used To Be" IS my kind of soft rocking, melodic to the core and anthemic at the same time. Two additional AOR jewels have been saved to the end, the majestic "The One" and the almost progressive "The Savior". Both of these tracks feature keyboard player Eric Ragno in the leading role, and he really enhances them with his fantastic playing.

To be honest, I wasn't really expecting this album to be this good. I thought that Fergie would have been pushed to the Toto mould, but thankfully this is more rocking, more uptempo than I expected. Excellent!

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GREG X: "Dream"

Rating: 7/10

Label: Greg X Music 2011

Review by Alan Holloway

Greg X (not to be confused with vocalist Greg X Volz) is a London based guitarist (and teacher) who you probably haven’t heard of. This isn’t a problem, because if he has his way his name will be shouted from rooftops, or wherever two of three long haired lads are gathered to make devil horns and play air guitar. It was nice to get a fully packaged CD with a proper inlay with words and everything on it! Add to that a personally hand written note and Greg X already has me more interested than many more well known artists.

Mind you, I certainly sat up and decided to take notice when I realized that his vocalist was none other than Ken Tamplin, best known for his work with god botherers Shout (although this isn't a Christian album). Add to this a producer by the name of John Payne (Asia) and I get the feeling that Greg must be quite well respected in the music world. It’s all been cobbled together under his own banner and label, and I would urge people not to be put off by the rather yawnsome cover, as Greg X is worth taking notice of.

Unusually for an album made by a guitarist with that guitarist’s name on the cover, “Dream” certainly isn’t a guitar album. There’s a solitary instrumental track, “Victory”, to close the album, and it’s quite the little beauty, with the guitar histrionics reigned in to allow the melody to shine through, resulting in a marvellously uplifting piece of music. Otherwise it’s all standard melodic rock, often very good and occasionally not so good. The stand out track for me is “Dream The Dream”, which is one of the better AOR tracks of 2011 and shows that Greg knows how to put a good tune together. “As The World Spins Round” opens the album well, whilst “Love & Hate” has a great beat and some sterling work from both Greg X and Tamplin.

Obviously a labour of love, “Dream” is a solid melodic rock album that shows plenty of promise. It’s great to hear Ken Tamplin again, and Greg X himself pulls off some very nice work throughout. Aside from a rather weak drum sound, John Payne produces pretty well, and although there’s only 8 tracks the length feels just about right. I want you to go to Greg X’s website and get your free download of “Dream The Dream”, and if you like it go ahead and buy the album, because you won’t be short changed.

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GRAND DESIGN: "Idolizer"

Rating: 4/10

Label: RAOR Heaven 2011

Review by Alan Holloway

A couple of years ago, our own Kimmo Toivonen said of Swedden’s Grand Design that “the Def Leppard influence is so overbearing”, and boy, he wasn’t kidding. It seems that they are quite happy to be known as Leppard clones, however, because they’ve not changed a bit in the intervening 2 years, and “Idoliser” (shit, even the album title is like a Def Lep one) is yet another album the Sheffield superstars never got round to making.

There’s really two ways to take this sort of thing. You can be angry that Grand Design are basically a bunch of rip off merchants, with many tracks being close to carbon copies of Leps standards, or you can sit back and enjoy what are, after all, good melodic rock songs. Well, I tried the latter, but the former kept bubbling to the top, I’m afraid. I accept that it’s hard to be truly original in the melodic rock genre, but to so blatantly take off another band is pretty shameful.

So if you want a Leppard clone album with such godawful titles as “Let’s Rawk The Nite” or “OughttoGraugh” then this is certainly the album for you. To be totally fair, the music is really very catchy, the harmonies good and the songs harmless melodic fluff with catchy tunes. The low score is because every time you listen to it you will, track by track, be aware of just which Def Leppard song they are plagiarizing, and that sours what would otherwise be a fun listening experience.

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CHICKENFOOT: "III"

Rating: 9/10

Label: Ear Music 2011

Review by Alan Holloway

Supergroups, whether they think they are one or not, seem to be all over the place lately. The title of “Bestest Supergroup Evar”, however, seems to be between Black Country Communion and the Sammy Hagar led Chickenfoot, who have cheekily titled their second album “III”, because “It’s so good… we jumped right past having to make a second record”. Quite a boast, Mr Hagar, but at least it’s not a hollow one.

The band’s first album was pretty much universally applauded, mainly because it was a great, tight album with plenty of good songs on it. Sometimes that’s all you need, people, and Chickenfoot haven’t tried to fix what wasn’t broken. The heaviest influence on “”III” is unsurprisingly Hagar, mainly because he will always stamp his presence on anything he sings on, and this in turn throws in some healthy comparisons with Hagar era Van Halen. My personal favourite track, “Different Devil” is actually one of the more laid back tracks, with a chorus that wouldn’t been out of place on Hagar’s self titled 1987 classic album, or even VH’s “F.U.C.K”. There’s no clue as to who wrote what anywhere, which is pretty annoying. There’s a 3D picture of each band member, but personally I’d rather have had a proper booklet, like what they used to do, ya know?

It’s not surprise that there is absolutely no filler on the album, just like the first, and although the tracks have a similar feel they’re all refreshingly different, if you see what I mean. Despite the inclusion of guitar legend Joe Satriani, the album doesn’t feature a great deal of shredding, with the erstwhile guitar hero content do just do his job as part of the band, although he certainly flies when let off the lead. There’s even a bit of social commentary, with “Three & A Half Letters”, where Hagar reads from letters by pissed off Americans desperate for a job in trying times before letting rip on the chorus. It’s very effective, and shows another side to the band with the silly name.

The 3D packaging is a tired gimmick, the album name is a confusing gimmick, but Chickenfoot are still anything but a gimmick band. As a fan of Sammy Hagar for many years, I can confidently say that “III” stands up well to plenty of his classic releases, and is the perfect follow on from his Van Halen years. Funky, rocky, melodic and angry, this has something for everyone.

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YÖ: "Kiitos Ja Kunnia - 30V. Juhlakokoelma"

Compilation

Label: Poko Records 2011

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

This compilation features the hits of YÖ from the last decade and a few new songs. Yö has been around since the early eighties, they had their first "glory days" on that decade and for a while they were the biggest band in the country. They went through some lean years during the late eighties and the nineties but seriously bounced back in 2001. The newly-found success has lasted to this day, and with this album already going gold after a few days on the market, it seems that there's no stopping them.

I used to like the band as a kid, and just like many others, I've rediscovered them during the last few years. While their eighties' hits are still firmly stuck in my head, I think that they are a far better band these days. This double album is a carefully put together set of their hits and album tracks, and only a few of my favourites from their recent output are missing. Regardless of the language, I think that fans of melancholic, melodic rock could enjoy tracks like "Särkyvää", "Deadline" or "Rakkautta Vain", just to name a few.

The four new tracks on the album are all more or less worthy additions to the album, although not quite up there with the best of the tracks. The first single "Onnen Hohteessa" is my favourite of them. "Kun Nuoruus Katoaa", written and sung by the band's original songwriter Jussi Hakulinen, is a theatrical 8-minute epic and somewhat out of place here, but I've got to hand it out to Hakulinen - he has written some very challenging vocal melodies for himself.


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CORNERSTONE: "Somewhere In America"

Rating: 5/10

Label: Atom Records 2011

Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Cornerstone - their previous attempt at world domination ended up in the bin. Indeed, their first CD, 'Head Over Heels' - as much fun as watching a Rob Schneider comedy. By the way, could someone please stop him from filming ever again. I don't get it though? Why do Cornerstone share stages with eighties hard rock acts such as John Waite, Ted Poley, Iron Maiden's Dennis Stratton, as well as their performance at Z Rock Festival in the U.K.

Are they really so desperately clueless to where and when to promote their music and sound? Why do they promote themselves in magazine's such as Powerplay and Fireworks??? I hate to bring the news for Cornerstone - but you guys are NOT, I repeat, NOT even close to being in the same category and style as any of the above mentioned acts and mags. Sure, bits and pieces of melodic hardrock every now and then, but... you could say the exact same thing about Bruce Springsteen.

They certainly have just as much in common with 80s indie pop, Bangles-rock, Berlin (the band, not the city), Linda Rondstadt, and various radio friendly female fronted power-pop with merely a hint of modern country. I can't believe the s**t I'm reading regarding other reviews and what the reviewers are saying. I quote, "a mixture out of AOR like Journey, Asia and Toto with a female voice", end quote. Ehem, sure, if you've been smoking a lot of s**t for the last twenty years. Any good? Well, if the previous one were/was Rob Schneider - this one will surely entertain you just as much as any Adam Sandler movie. Neat, nice vocal harmonies, a couple of really strong melodies, but hardly up there among the real stars.

www.cornerstone.co.at/

SINNER: "One Bullet Left"

Rating: 5/10

Label: AFM Records 2011

Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Mat's certainly been quite a busy Sinner over the past years working on projects such as Godless Shiva, Jamison/Kimball, Kiske/Somerville, Scheepers, Voodoo Circle and of course Primal Fear. Sinner is however his first love with a nice background history that dates all the way back to the very early eighties. They were sort of the first wave of teutonic heavy metal which became later everyman's Running Wild, Blind Guardian, Helloween, Rage, etc, etc. I can't recall any Thin Lizzy influences whatsoever on their early records though?

Weird? But, much like previous attempt (Mask Of Sanity), "One Bullet Left" is basically two completely different sides/dogs of hard rock fighting over one album. Teutonic Lizzy? Well, it's still better than those blokes touring as Thin Lizzy nowadays. But to be completely frank, it's just not working out in the long run. The T-Lizzy sounding tracks are basically rip offs and the teutonic metal ones are few and barely enough to please this particular reviewer. Sinner is obviously obsessed by the thought of channeling the sound of Phil Lynnot, but it's hardly the most original idea in the history of hard rock. Final verdict: Too schizo and hardly above average.

www.sinner.de/