VADUZ: "Better Days"

Rating: RRRR
Label: TwoSideMoon 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom


Here's the fun surprise from out of nowhere. The (his)story of U.S. melodic rockers VADUZ dates all the way back to 1987 when Brian Wade (vocals) and Ringo Lee (guitars) played in a band called Blind Ambition. Before long they changed their moniker after the capital of Liechenstein (!?) They soon replaced the original bassist with Jimmy Krio and discovered drummer Matt Finn. The band toured smaller venues in the states and recorded two indie albums before they decided to call in quits in 1993.

Fast forward to present date, the reunion, and the rather smashing new, kicking it old style, melodic hardrock CD, 'Better Days'. Hardly original U.S. hair-metal, but never derivative, thanks to Wade's emotive performances and songwriting. Indeed, he's the rather confident and strong vocalist in the grand tradition of CJ Snare (Firehouse), Jani Lane (Warrant) with merely the hint of Eric Martin (Mr Big). Not quite as great as the latter of course, but he won't disappoint.

Some of the material (such as "Enemy") taking on a more 'Dog Eat Dog' (Warrant) melancholic lite, while "Lowdown Blues" is the traditional blues/rock number. However, 'Better Days' - overall a powerful salute to hair-metal and sing-a-long anthems of the eighties. There is some real charm in the likes of 'Working Band', 'I Saw The Light Again', and the pure innocence of the power ballad, 'Thy Kingdom Come'. Bless you for giving us proper, borderline cheesy, but oh-so catchy, soft-rock with positive, thought provoking lyrics.

Nice production by Tom Tatman (responsible for 300 records including Stone Sour's 1st Gold album). Recommended if you're into Warrant, Firehouse, Idle Cure.
www.facebook.com/pages/Vaduz/
www.cdbaby.com/cd/vaduz

BOIL: "aXiom"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Vicisolum 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom


Step right in... 'The Madhatter said to Alice'. Nervousness, depression, strapped down, medicated, sedated, restrained. The spanking new episode of Geordie Shore? Nah. Merely some of the brand new topics found at the latest album from the Aarhus, Denmark rockers of Boil. The inspirations of "Axiom" came out of a series of interviews the band (with the help of various mental institutions and organisations) arranged with a number of people suffering from mental disorders, especially paranoid schizophrenics suffering from delusions.

...And before you ask. No, they didn't talk to yours truly even though I believe to be an ancient Norse God with the power to either praise albums/bands or... ehem, not praise them? Maybe next time, huh? So this is Mental Metal? It's however the rather strange concept album largely based on the extensive notes from the bedlam sessions. Mixed and mastered by the reknowned Swedish producer Jens Bogren (Opeth, Soilwork, Symphony X) and featuring artwork by Travis Smith (Nevermore, Opeth, Katatonia), expect nothing but proper craftsmanship.

The darn good and darn right refreshing album can be loosely defined as Progressive Metal, or the collection of complexity and catchiness with elements of poly-rhythmic modern metal and just the hint of electronica. Highly technical and sonical metal music with a different rhythm of the heart. One thing's for sure, they do not march to the beat of a normal/standard drum. Jacob Løbner goes through several stages of vocal flexibilty and it's clearly the full spectrum on display here. The blend of prog, melodic rock, as well as alternative nineties rock/metal, may not appeal to everyone. However, it's sheer quality throughout the album.
www.boilmusic.com
www.facebook.com/boilmusic

MOTHERSHIP: "Mothership"

Rating: RR
Label: Ripple 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom


Mothership - Mothergoose - Motherfooker! The opening instrumental piece entitled, "Hallucination", should provide enough of information and give the hint of what to expect from the Texas based band consisting of Brother Juett (Kyle on bass and Kelley on guitar). It's basically stoner metal and the combination of seventies heavy rock fuzz and the grinding guitar work of NWOBHM.

Geezer (the clueless reviewer) believe them to have an AC/DC like sound on a track like "City Night". Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, they sound like your average garage band inspired by the likes of Black Sabbath, The Stooges, Mountain, Motorhead/Hawkwind, and early Iron Maiden (the Paul Dianno era). Thus ending up in the similar kind of category as Graveyard and all the other cult/underground acts of today's metal scene. I can't say that I agree with the press-sheet since they believe them to have the swagger of Molly Hatchet and ZZ Top???

They are however pretty decent at what they do and it's plain to anyone who's ever listened to several different music styles to find out where they are coming from. Not a bad album and proper stoner-lite fans may appreciate this more than your average non pothead.
www.facebook.com/mothershipusa

TASTE: Taste

Rating: R
Label: AORHeaven 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom


We are not amused! (Bad) Taste were probably aiming for a simple laid-back production with matching material. Sadly the result has no real musical identity and the one dimensional vocal style cuts like a knife. AOR Heaven should definitely know better than releasing an unfinshed production. The harsh reality. 4-track demos of the eighties sounded better than this. Need more info? Rather than throwing Irish confetti at the band - original sheet as written by the label follows. Make your own mind up. Straight to the bin...

Attention: Press-release as written by the label - not the reviewers opinion: "Taste was formed by the two brothers Christoffer and Felix Borg the day before new year's eve in 2009. First, Taste was only supposed to be a side-project, because both also had played in other groups. But it didn't take long before the Swedes decided to turn Taste into a full band. During the two following years, they wrote and recorded five songs inspired by the 80's and bands like Europe, FM, Giant, Valentine and White Lion. Since they never met any suitable band members to complete the line-up and therefore couldn't play live, the brothers decided to record their first full-length album themselves. Taste had a vision to blend a vintage 80's sound with a fresh modern production. The self-titled album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Christoffer Borg in his own studio".
http://www.facebook.com/tastetheband

Black Rose: "Turn On The Night"

Rating: RRR
Label: Doolittle Group 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen
Welcome to the time machine! This time we're going back to... 1984! Seriously, everything about this album sounds, looks and probably smells like it was recorded 30 years ago! Black Rose have absolutely no modern pretensions, they're doing it like it was done back then.
Although the band is from Sweden, they sound very British. Do you remember the snappy tag "New Wave Of British Heavy Metal"? Well, Black Rose would have fit right at home among those bands, possibly representing the more melodic, slightly U.S. influenced side of it. Tokyo Blade, Heavy Pettin, early Def Leppard... or if Iron Maiden had gotten a serious melodic rock bug after their first couple of albums.
Vocalist Peter Thederan has a pleasant raspy voice which reminds me of Graham Bonnet at times, guitarist Thomas Berg delivers effective if tried-and-trusted riffage and the rhythm section of Peter Haga (drums) and Anders Haga (bass) keep this Metal Train on the rails. As for the production... well, if the mission was to make an album that sounds like it was recorded in the early eighties on a low budget, I'll have to say that the mission has been completed. A bit rough around the edges...
The album's best ingredient is the most important one - the songs. The band has obviously paid attention to the choruses, as there are a few really catchy ones on the album. "Rise Again", "Turn On The Night", "Our Wisdom" and the ballad "We Were Winners" for example. The choruses kind of take you by surprise as the verses are more in the NWOBHM vein.
If this was a demo or a self-financed album, I'd say go and find a producer, work on your songs and maybe write a few more and then record a great album. But as this is a legit release, I'll just say "a good effort" - three R's.
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W.E.T.: "Rise Up"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Ah, "The difficult second album"... after spending their formative years writing songs for the first album, most bands struggle coming up with material for the second effort. W.E.T. aren't exactly a typical band - the songs for the first album were written "on demand" from the label and I guess that goes for this second album too. Anyway, the first album was one of the highlights of 2009, so the guys must have felt some pressure to come up with a decent follow-up. You might think that four years is plenty of time to write a new album, but not in this case. The three core members Jeff Scott Soto, Erik Mårtensson and Robert Säll have been quite busy, I think they've written at least a half a dozen albums between them since the release of the first W.E.T. album! Especially Mårtensson has been delivering quality albums one after another - Toby Hitchcock, Eclipse, Jimi Jamison... but apparently the well hasn't run dry yet.

If you liked the first W.E.T. album, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this one either. It isn't quite as loaded with smash AOR hits and there are a few filler'ish tracks on it, but I guess it says something when even the weaker songs are at least "okay".

To quickly sum it up, when it comes to those smash hits, I'd say that there are two of those on this album. The first single "Learn To Live Again" is one of the best songs of 2013, and "What You Want" is only a step or two behind. Almost as good are the opener "Walk Away", "Shot" and "Still Unbroken", maybe even "On The Run". Surefire "Best Of W.E.T." material, all six of them. That leaves us with six other songs, which are all "okay" or better, but still... Maybe I'm greedy, but I was hoping for more. And to be honest, even though Mårtensson's well isn't dry, his trademark tricks are perhaps a little too evident on some of the songs. Still, easily one of the highlights of the year so far, and now that the band's been added to the Firefest line-up, I'm looking forward to hearing some of these songs live.
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WHEN THEY WAKE: "Be Your Own Hero"

Rating: RRRR
Label: TwoSideMoon 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

No compromise - no rules. Proper craftsmanship and ambitious musicians dedicated to the cause of trying to create music history and their own path to/of success. Melodious, emotional, melancholic - three words that pretty much sums up the Swiss power-trio of When They Wake. Elected 'Best New Talent' in a contest by The Swiss radio station Radio SRF3 in December of 2012, the lads are now releasing their debut double album - "Be Your Own Hero".

That's right. 2-CD! 21 songs! Very ambitious and straight against the wind and not to mention the trend of merely d/l the one or two songs from name-your-fave site here. Sure, it's pretty tame stuff if you do not appreciate emo and varied tunes, and there's hardly anything on here to please the strickly Slayer fan. Nevertheless, the whole she-bang glows with that Story Of The Year vibe and Bullet For My Valentine heaviness.

Very EMO at times and the melodies speak of loneliness and lack of orientation, and how to overcome this with courage, will, or simply just through music? Originals, they are certainly not, but the catchy sentimental slobber gets you in the heart everytime? I like the concept, their professional approach, the production, and the majority of songs even if it's a stretch to include twentyone fookin' tracks. At times simply too much of the melancholic piano interludes as well as the cello, violin, and choirs. But overall the highly recommend act if you're into commerical melodic rock. Check out links for more info asap.
www.whentheywake.com
www.facebook.com/whentheywake

STRATOVARIUS: "Nemesis"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Edel/EarMusic 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom


Those lucky enough to have heard the first single off "Nemesis" have already begun to spread the tangible buzz about the album. Yours truly thought perhaps that "Unbreakable" came out sounding a bit too poppy? Not to mention the lack of a proper guitar solo? Ehem, their former guitarist/founder and overall almighty leader must be spinning in his grave. No... wait... he's not actually dead? no?

Going through the vast back catalogue which they have out further attests to Stratovarius' broad appeal, each record (ever since the loss of their original leader) exploring a slightly different thread of their melodic sound. The virtuoso keyboard player Jens Johansson (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, Dio) at the very centre of attention and I miss the proper guitar/keyboard interludes of the good old days. Lo and behold, the ebony and ivory man shines likes a radioactive star on "Nemesis", but whatever happened to the matching six-string genius?

And seriously... what's your honest opinion about any band/group without a single original member? Let's just say it's a completely different act and sound. Keeping this in mind, "Nemesis" is a much more realized record packed with neat rhythm guitar work and lasting pop/metal tunes, whose epic, sing-a-long choruses, you can really sink your teeth into. It's no doubt a catchy, borderline kitsch record, but if you thought "Unbreakable" was pop, wait until you hear the digi-pack bonustracks and especially "Fireborn".

Final verdict: Yeah, I do complain about several things. However, when everything's said and done, "Nemesis" - not your mortal enemy and the poppy/catchy material wins you over in the end. In fact, this is probably their catchiest album by far. Short and direct material. So... why do I complain??

The BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH: "Leave The Future Behind"

Rating: RRR
Label: TwoSideMoon 2013

Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
Social awkwardness vs. musical talent? United by their love of computer games, action movies, and probably role-playing games such as dungeons & dragons, the members of The Blue Screen Of Death are finally ready to "Leave The Future Behind". And why not? They haven't managed to bring Southampton legend Matthew LeTissier back from the future, but at least the Saints are marching in to the beat of the same drum.

The Blue Screen Of Death are to my vast knowledge (yeah, right!) rather well enstablished within the Southampton (UK) area with regular gigs at The Joiners and The Hobbit. Features at Scuzz TV, NME, BBC 6 Music, and Kerrang Radio, plus live support slots with the likes of Orange Goblin, Dinosaur Pileup, Turbowolf, etc. has created a certain buzz. But what about the fuzz?

Why should you bother? Is it the extremely noisy/fuzzy guitar work? Their ability to come up with commerical psychedelica? The slightly over-the-top bass-lines? Or simply the blend of eighties and nineties alternative pop with the heavy riffage of Kyuss? At times very British/English and full of subtle influences, grooves, and sounds that dates all the way back to The Damned and Stone Roses.

Back after their previous, self-titled mini-album, which was a heavy and psychedelic piece, they are now adding a poppy vibe to their utter noise factory. "Leave The Future Behind" provide a funny, irreverent and rather alternative feel-good moment.
www.thebluescreenofdeath.co.uk
www.facebook/bluescreenod

SUBZTAIN: "Conflict Solution"

Rating: RR
Label: TwoSideMoon 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Commercial feel with heavy riffs, topped off with Swedish melodies and Nickelback-ish vocal harmonies. Subztain have been accused of playing around with different styles, techniques, and genres. Thus why it is no coincidence that their album sounds like a terrorist causing an explosion at the hard rock cafe. Bits and pieces of this and that all over the place. The rhythm section consisting of bass-player Andreas Morling (also lead vocalist) and drummer Mattias Nielsen - very groove orientated and bringing to mind the likes of Linkin Park vs. Alter Bridge.

They're from Upplands Väsby (Stockholm suburban), the home of Europe, Candlemass, H.E.A.T. but couldn't be futher removed from those acts. We shouldn't assume that they are automatically guaranteed the same amount of success though, since it's a completely different kind of ballgame at play with "Conflict Solution". Great overall sound and production by Chris Snyder (HEAT, Nightwish) and the mastering session took place at the classic Abbey Road Studios.

The songs are neat. They are the rather promising Swedish hopefuls, sadly they are also square and utterly safe as a friggin' Volvo. Not nearly as lame as Takida, but they probably need to step up the pace and remove the air-bags for the next ride.
www.subztain.com

SUNCROWN: "Follow Your Dream"

Rating: RRRR
Label: TwoSideMoon 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Patchwork quilt... what better way to describe Suncrown than as a piece of patchwork? The group's members have never actually met in person, only virtually over the internet and it's probably for the best, since they're literally based all over the place. USA native vocalist Darren Crisp and keyboardist Oleg Biblyi of Ukraine - the first to bond in mid 2011. They found a bunch of musicians online who shared their love for melodic epic/symphonic metal.

I'm not entirelly sure if you could call it a band since it's rather a project? But whatever. They found no less than six of them all around the world: Julian Furiani (vocals/Brazil), Kevin Ellerby (guitar/USA), Gustavo Bonfa (guitar/Brazil), Ugur Kerem Cerniloglu (Flute/Turkey), Ederson Prado (bass/Brazil) and Tim Zuidberg (drums/Holland).

Seriously mid-paced metal that tries to keep up with the best of projects, then surprises you by coming pretty close. Crisp is the consummate American metal head. Strong, slightly raspy vocals and for the most part it's a great combination. The soaring voice of Juliana works more towards the tradition of Tarja and Goth without getting into the worst operatic side of things.

It's true Suncrown's melodic symphonic mayhem isn't breaking any boundaries, but when they bring out all of their instruments and swap vocal duties, you're left feeling pretty satisfied as they ecourage you to "Follow Your Dreams". The epical arrangements and highly intense and tracks such as "Eyes Of The World" or the smashing title track are simply flawless. Recommended.
www.suncrownband.com

RIVERA/BOMMA: "Infinite Journey Of Soul"

Rating: RRR
Label: Retroactive 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom


Rivera/Bomma and their brand new release at Retroactive Records, "Infinite Journey Of Soul". Musically, they are a very Neo-classical unit. They combine and play Yngwie Malmsteen vs. Loudness influenced metal which is obviously drawn from the members various background, but they have also added a certain Rob Rock and Barren Cross richness and breadth to their crunchy melodies.

The flashy guitarwork and solos by Mister Rod Rivera, the band's real ace up their sleeve. Some may also say that he's a real deadringer (image-wise) for Stryper's Oz Fox. The Rob Rock lite vocalist Johnny Bomma, not quite as top notch all of the time and the operatic vocals may need some honing and time getting used to. Make no mistake, he could sing circles around your average metal shouter anyday of the week though.

The production by the band may suffer from the typical low-budget sickness and the lacking of depth. Bass player Mike Lepond ceratinly won't be fully satisfied with his particular sound in the mix? I'm not entirelly sure if he's present throughout the album? Well, not quite as bad, but you get the idea. Final verdict: In the current metal climate it's always nice to witness a pure eighties guitar shredder album. I believe they face a serious struggle though as the material sits nicely inbetween great and bad - neat.
www.facebook.com/rivera.bomma

REQUINOX: "Through The Eyes Of The Dead"

Rating: R
Label: TwoSideMoon/OneNightStand 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Some singers owe their reputation to massive excess of booze and drugs. Some others due to extravagant life style and image. The majority of them are however either good, bad, or just plain ugly. Kenneth 'King Rock' Fjeldstand shall however be the first to fall under all the above mentioned categories. At times spot on and quite the forceful metal vocalist. Most of the time it's the painful listening experience as he stumbles across and around the place/record like poor Ozzy on LSD.


People including yours truly may say it sucks, but at least it sucks honestly. Sadly the vocal performances as well as music and lyric of tracks such as "Jackie The Stripper" and "Dance Of The Dragon" will probably go down in history as best/worst example of accidential metal comic performed by comedians... ehh, musicians. Musically reminiscent of Spinal Tap and Bad News, the Norwegians lads have adopted a certain style, which if you do it right, is going to be the cause of plenty of headshakes and giggles. They are obviously not aware of this since they proclaim to be the real deal... oh my.
www.requinox.com

DIAMOND DAWN : "Overdrive"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Pop quizz: name a young Swedish 6-piece AOR group with a vocalist who has a Woody Woodpecker haircut? No! Not that one! I'n talking about Diamond Dawn! Yeah, there are some similarities with the other b.a.n.d., but that doesn't mean that Diamond Dawn's first album isn't worth of checking out. They might not be on the same level as their rivals yet, but give 'em a couple of years...

The band's strongest songs have been placed early in the tracklisting. The first four tracks are arguably the band's finest ones so far. The title track starts the engine, a keyboard-driven track that reminds me of Bad Habit and Autograph - definitely "summertime AOR" that brings some sunshine into these dark days of winter. The first single and video "Take Me Higher" might be familiar to some of you already, it's a strong track with some great ingredients: a pumping bassline, stabbing keyboards and fine melodies. I wasn't sure about the understated chorus at first, but having listened to it more, I've grown to like it a lot. Sometimes it pays to do things a little differently. Never mind the "higher-fire" rhyming! "Cryin'" is another fine melodic rocker with plenty of nice keyboard work courtesy of Niklas Arkbro, while "Standing As One" is an anthemic AOR track with a big chorus.

The rest of the album isn't quite as good, although there are some songs that I want to mention... "Indestructible" sounds like Work Of Art in... well, overdrive and despite an unhealthy amount of "desire-higher-fire" rhymes it works quite well. "Turn It Up" has probably the silliest chorus of the album which doesn't work for me at all. "Give It All" is a good uptempo number, although the chorus might be too sugary for some. The band's obligatory ballad "Don't Walk Away" is nice, but as predictable as the title suggests. "Powergames" sounds like it just escaped from Europe's "Out Of This World" album, which is probably a recommendation of the highest order to some. I'll just add that it might have escaped to search for a better chorus for itself...

Okay, this review turned out a bit strange but you'll get the idea I guess. Diamond Dawn aren't certainly offering us anything particulary new, but at their best they put a new flavour to their brand of AOR. That's enough for me.
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ROCK CANDY FUNK PARTY: "We Want Groove"

Rating: RR
Label: Mascot 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
Rock Candy Funk Party (RCFP from now on) - like a massive curry at the not so respectable indian palace. You're not entirelly sure if you're going to end up completely satisfied or with the terrible runs. At least you can be sure of that your belly will be rather upset no matter what the outcome. Make no mistake... the fever/groove will invade your body and soon your legs will start shaking...

Indeed, RCFP - the brand new instrumential funk/rock/jazz project - featuring the two guitarists: Joe Bonamassa, Ron DeJesus. Bassist: Mike Merritt. Keyboardist: Renato Neto, and drummer/producer: Tal Bergman. Challenging and complex. Nine original compositions that are recorded and arranged in the seventies groove tradition. Eyebrows will turn sideways, up, and down, while you are trying to figure out the dudes strumming some vintage Strato/Telecaster and Gibson Les Paul through their sixties amps.

It's difficult to pin point the sound of "We Want Groove". They have basically decided to bring out the old ghosts out of their pedals and tubes. And as for the actual tracks? Well, I believe that the illusion of many would be shattered if I dared to mention the complete lack of thread and style. It's an awful mish-mash of smooth jazz, funky beats, and a massive groove in the size of seventies sideburns. Kind of boring in the long run and strickly for the spaced out instro freak.
http://www.rockcandyfunkparty.com

SILVER HORSES: "Silver Horses"

Rating: RRRR
Label: TwoSideMoon/7Hard 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Silver Horses are a bunch of old cowboys riding into the sunset on their... ehh, Silver Horses? Gold is better and platinum the best, if you ask me. Nevermind. Their self-titled eleven track effort is made up of classic seventies rock melodies and classy vocals that will have you standing up and take notice. Indeed, it's the old 'Headless Cross' resident (believe it or not, that's the name of the place where he lives) and RockUnited pal, Tony Martin of Black Sabbath fame. Let's face it, the man can do no wrong when it comes down to singing the blues.

Martin is apparantly fond of Italy and working over there. This is yet another one of his Italo/UK projects and this time together with Italian guitarist, Gianluca Vialli. Oops, that's the former Sampdoria and Chelsea striker. The correct name is of course Gianluca Galli of Time Machine and Mantra fame. The vast majority of the songs and their structure pretty much vanished approx 35 years ago when all the dino acts either died, disbanded, or ended up doing the bandwagon routine.

I'm not saying it's unique, but increasingly unlikely sightings of the old rock actually remains to be discovered. Page and Blackmore, - no doubt Galli's biggest influences both tone/style wise as well as their songwriting along with Mr. Coverdale. For example, "Run" will most definitely remind you of Deep Purple's 'Burn' (the song, not the album), "Life and Soul" goes through half a dozen of old Led Zeppelin numbers, and "Diamond Sky" - the slow, mid-paced, Robert Plant tune. It's darn interesting to hear the Black Sabbath singer's take on music in the style of Purple, Led Zep, and Rainbow.

We have (almost) all the important ingredient and greatness of the classic rock acts at play here. Nicely done, Silver Horses. Nicely done.
http://www.silver-horses.com

SKULL BRANDED PIRATES: "An Oath Sworn On Broken Bones"

Rating: RRR
Label: TwoSideMoon 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Ahoy matey! Skull Branded Pirates from UK, Leeds? Sure, why not? It's really no biggie considering they gave us suicide bombers, 'Mad Dog' David Batty, as well as The Bailey Bros. in the past. We are no longer surprised by the midlands constant need to instigate rebellion or in this particular case, attempted mutiny. Pegged leg and a parrot? Raise the standard as the call of encouragement is heard across the seven seas - let's enroll more followers into piracy. Fair enough. I'll try and steer away from the most obvious jokes from now on.

"An Oath Sworn On Broken Bones" - the highly anticipated follow up to their 2009 debut, the touch of sea breeze, dodgy outfits, cannon fire and smoke. If you're prepeard to look past the image, you'll find their hard hitting music to rock harder and better than expected. Running Wild? Definitely, but, you will also find quite a lot of Skyclad amongst the merry crew.

Not to mention that vocalist - Captain One Ayed Wilson - works the rope like a Fish in the water. No seriously, if the former Marillion vocalist (Fish) ever decided to do pirate metal. Have a listen to the extremely moody title track if you don't believe your captain. Hardly everything that glitter is pirate gold, but you can't go wrong here, if you enjoy the above mentioned acts. What do you give pirates? 3 R's of course.... RRR!!!
http://www.skullbrandedpirates.com

DALLAS: "Over The Edge"

Rating: EP
Label: TwoSideMoon 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Who shot J.R.? Dallas are a new melodic rock outfit from Texas? Nope, San Francisco Bay Area - classic homeground and turf of Thrash, Hippies, and various hangarounds. They were however fonded at the Dallas Ranch - high up in the hills of Castro Valley, and their multi-talanted frontman (vocals, guitar, keys, programming, songwriter, producer) goes under the name of Bryan Dallas.

There's a very attractive high energy met catchy hooks charm about the compositions which should definitely appeal to those who have a soft spot for melodic hardrock mixed with power pop sensibilities. It's the rather gloriously fun blend of rock in the style of Def Leppard, Tower City, Winger, and smooth modern pop/rock fond at the background of basically any U.S. tv series of today. In fact, the ultra cool party tune of "Bring The Light" was recently featured on MTV's Underemployed. Wicked!

Their EP and tracks such as "This Love" and "Open Your Heart" - gets you at the solar plexus and leaves you gasping for air. Gorgeous melodic rock with just the right amount of bubblegum and power anthems. "I Close My Eyes", probably the best new power ballad in ages and very true to their eighties influences. Pay extra attention to vocalist Bryan Dallas as you get the full monty with soaring high-screams and Dan Huff-gruff. Great!
http://www.dallas.la
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The BITTER ROOTS: "Chiaroscuro"

Rating: RRR
Label: TwoSideMoon 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
The Bitter Roots, a band from Seattle, US of A, consisting of vocalist/guitarist Jeff Stetson (ManSaveMan, Into The March), drummer ben Koostra (Silkworm, Ein Heit) and new bass player Don Allen. This is clearly a more experimental outfit than your average grunge act, introducing quite the vivid ideas together with a more eighties alternative approach, as the band draws from Punk, Metal, Garage, and lots of Pop.

The sound of the album, overall, is vintage indie alternative and recorded live in the studio to analog tape. Right, there's no click track, auto-tune, samples or basically anything post 1992. Indeed, old skool alternative, "Chiaroscuro" is a record which jumps all over it's influences and heroes. It's their third full-length release and late 2012 it reached #26 on the itunes New Rock chart and has been on the College Music charts across the states.

Here and there, they'll remind you of Surferosa (the album) and The Church, and in parts, you can pick up a definite liking for Seattle's pride and joy aka Kurt Cobain. Not too shabby,
http://www.bitterrootsmusic.com
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SNAKECHARMER: "Snakecharmer"

Rating: RRRr
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
The Snakecharmers are obviously working hard to please the old fan of Whitesnake, Company Of Snakes, and vintage UK rock. Featuring two former Whitesnakes: guitarist Micky Moody and bassist Neil Murray, vocalist Chris Ousey (Heartland), Laurie Wisefield (Wishbone Ash) on guitars, and drummer Harry James (Thunder) should provide for classy blues rock.

Nontheless, any comparisons to fellow UK groups such as the fore-fathers or more recently Snakes (not to be confused with the Swedes of 'Snakecharmer' feat. Alien vocalist and Silver Mountain members) carry very little weight on the opening two tracks (My Angel, Accident Prone) as they suffer from obvious lack of quality in the songwriting department.

Things do get better from track three (To The Rescue) and onward as you receive a display of exceptional songs and close to impeccable performance in every single department, including vocals that nod appreciation to proper blues. Mid-tempo numbers that oozes of class and feature hummable melodies with background vocals in the old tradition of R&B and gospel. Amazing work by Moody and definitely an inspired return from a guitarist that has been sadly overlooked at times. Not as flashy and fast shredding as several other former Whitesnake guitarists, but plenty of soul.

Remove/skip the lacklustre display of the first two tracks and end up with nicely done Whitesnake, Bad Company-ish rock.
http://www.snakecharmer.org

COMA: "Don't Set Your Dogs On me"

Rating: RR
Label: Edel/Earmusic 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
They may not put you in a state of COMA, but unfortunately, the poles don't have too much going for them in my humble opinion. It's all urban metal meets poor man's commerical U.S. rock and rap-metal, the likes of which we've heard so many time before and just recently. Don't get me wrong, they might have improved since last we heard them (see review archive) and as we have stressed so many times before, this is not what we would label as the term of crap metal or crappy musicians. It's just more of the same stuff the Yanks have been force feeding us with ever since the turn of the century. It's like a long and endless celebration of the average American '2000 rocker stuck in a timewarp somewhere in the heart of suburbia, US of A. The songs are neither total crap nor ever good, what it is, is an typical document of average pole and his serach for the American dream and the ultimate average metal album. Well, guess what? This is it, you've found it! The perfect example of so-so music. Don't Set Your Dogs On me?

TEXAS HIPPIE COALITION: "Peacemaker"

Rating: RRR
Label: HeadFirstEntertainment 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
Texas Hippie Coalition may seem to have suffered bats and knives from folks who have decided that a bunch of rednecks from the George Bush JR and SR state, can't possibly be for real or any good for that matter. Yours truly are still not sure about what exactly they're trying to sell us, you know, considering the awful moniker and their outlaw agenda. And to name your latest album after the old revolver, "Peacemaker", oh the irony, the irony.

Nontheless, musically they have arguably far more to offer than your average outlaw act. Their own patended - Red Dirt Metal - in reality the wicked mixture of Pantera, Black Label Society, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top. Armed with guitars, cars, cowboy boots/hats, booze and tattoos, this is about as Southern-fried as chicken and/or any insane schmuck at death row.

What makes several tracks (Hands Up, Damn You To Hell, Wicked, Sex & Drugs & Rock and Roll) so good is that they sound like they came together effortlessly and simply through playing the old Pantera riffing (take a bow, Wes Wallace) and let Big Dad Ritch rip behind the microphone. It's hardly rocket science. Ultra thick, crunchy metal, and heavy as funk, producer Bob Marlette (Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, etc.) manage to get the best out of the band. very decent indeed.
http://www.texashippiecoalition.com

JORN: "Symphonic"

Rating: R
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
I honestly thought this would be the live in concert, orchestra vs. rock album by the mighty Jorn. You know, similar to what Deep Purple and much later KISS did. Imagine the sheer and utter horror as you find out that "Symphonic" is basically the remix album. The classical arrangements were added to the already existing (old) studio versions, and some tracks were remixed to give more room to the orchestra. It's not like it's work by proper string musicians for that matter. What's next? The swinging jazz, be-bop, hip-hop, or why not the Stock Aitken Waterman remix? Now, these three Englishmen took down a whole generation single-handedly by producing utter crap throughout the eighties and into the nineties. Jorn Lande is indeed the powerhouse vocalist, most of the songs are good, let's move on and forget about these versions a.s.a.p. The DIO track 'Rock and Roll Children' - nice, but pointless.
http://www.jornlande.com

TRICK OR TREAT: "Rabbit's Hill Part 1"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Valery Records 2012
Review by Alan Holloway
From small acorns do mighty oaks grow, and so it is here, with what started out as a Helloween tribute band morphing into a fully fledged melodic metal band in their own right. Not only that, but they’ve only gone and released a concept album based around the classic novel about rabbits, “Watership Down”. Okay, not the most metal of concepts (unless you kill all the rabbits with an axe or something) but bugger me if it doesn’t work.
Fusing melodic power metal with atmospheric acoustic pieces and spoken word to help the story is not an easy task, but Trick Or Treat do a sterling job, although it probably helps if you are a fan of the source material, like I am. Vocalist Allessandro Conti certainly shows why he was deemed capable of singing classic Helloween songs, and to be honest that should tell you all you need to know about his excellent voice. The rest of the band thunder along happily, with some cool traditional power metal drumming banging away like a rabbit with it’s tail on fire at the back, courtesy of Luca Setti. The album ends with a metal cover of the classic track “Bright Eyes”, made famous by Art Garfunkel, and to give the boys credit it’s a good version that resists the temptation to go too overboard on the metal when they don’t have to.
“Rabbit’s Hill Part 1” is, above all else, a strong power/melodic metal album, with the fact that it successfully incorporates a literary concept a bonus. The booklet is very well put together with some great art, but for some reason no one is credited for it. It helps to sell the whole concept very well though. Part 2? Yes please.
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THE FIRE: "Supernova"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Valery Records 2013
Review by Alan Holloway
Although this album arrived with no fanfare and even less information, it seems The Fire have been around for a few years, with this being their third full length album. Another on the ever expanding and ever diverse Valery Records label, The Fire are probably the least Italian sounding Italian band I’ve ever come across.
When you first put on “Supernova”, you certainly get a mixed message. First track “Supernova” will make you think you’ve go9t a band heavily influenced by Muse, but it’s followed by “See You Next Time”, a song that comes right out of the “U2 For Dummies” book. The thing is, it’s as good as anything U2 ever did, a brilliant song in every way. Then you get the single, “Follow Me”, which is a smooth, melodic thumper that deserves to be a hit all over the world but probably won’t be. All through this, and the rest of the album, The Fire sound very, well… British. There’s more than a hint of the kind of music Gun do at their best, all beautifully laid down but with one eye on chart success, evidenced by the fact that the hooks go deeper than a javelin. Vocalist Olly Riva has a great voice, built for stadiums, and the production brings the whole thing out to a tee. Yep - I really like The Fire.
There’s a bit of a drop in quality with the quirky but ultimately unsatisfying Waltzin’ Monnalisa, which I’m sure some will like but it leaves me a bit cold and interrupts the flow of the album like a brick to the face. Towards the end The Fire find it a little hard to keep up the very high standard of the first half, but there’s still a plethora of solid, melodic tracks that fall on the rock side of the Indie divide. “Italians are not just good lovers”, it says on their website, and I can’t disagree with that. Check out the video to “Follow Me” on YouTube, and if that floats your boat you really should buy this album.
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RAGE OF ANGELS: "Dreamworld"

Rating: RRR
Label: Escape Music 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Not to be confused with the late eighties' Christian Metal band, this Rage Of Angels is a project/band put together by ex-TEN keyboard player Ged Rylands. It's an "all-star" effort with several lead vocalists and lead guitarists, with the "main band" being Rylands on keys and guitar, Pera Johanssen on drums, Michael Karlsson on bass and Neil Fraser from Ten on guitar.

The album has already recieved some rave reviews, but I'm afraid mine isn't going to be one of those. The album does have its' moments and the performances are outstanding, but some of the songs aren't too exciting.

The album starts with the heavy, yet melodic title track with Matti Alfonzetti on vocals. This is probably the most Ten-like track on the album, connecting Rylands' past with the present. Harry Hess takes over the microphone on "See You Walking By", which much lighter in its' approach, a pretty standard AOR track, albeit quite nice. "Through It All" is somewhere between the previous two when it comes to the heaviness. It's my favourite track of the album, featuring fine vocals from Robert Hart (ex-Bad Company) and a strong chorus. The song actually reminds me of Yngwie Malmsteen's finest era, when his songs weren't just excuses for widdling.

Danny Vaughn of Tyketto sings "Over And Over", which is again very much in the AOR mould. It's another good song, although the chorus doesn't elevate the song to the next level as I hoped it would. The harmony vocals of the chorus are pretty funny, are they singing "Doo-Wop, Doo-Wop" there? I guess not. Anyway, so far, so good, the first four tracks get a thumbs up, but then things start to fall apart a little.

Primal Fear vocalist Ralph Scheepers adds a somewhat sinister edge to "Falling", which is a heavier melodic rock track. With a good chorus this song might have worked, but the one it has is a bit of a letdown. The big ballad "The Beating Of Your Heart" is dramatic and features a good vocal from newcomer David Reed Watson. Despite all the pathos it carries, it sounds kind of bleak, almost depressive.

"Spinnin' Wheel" is basically a simple pub rock track, rescued by Danny Vaughn's great vocals and fine, melodic chorus that reminds me of Boston and Magnum. Then it's time for the album's instrumental epic "Requiem For The Forgotten Soldier". It's a heavy track, almost Sabbath-like in fact, with Vinny Burns (Ten, Dare), Ralph Santolla (Millenium, Iced Earth), Xander Demos and Martin Kronlund shredding on top of it all. One for the guitar freaks. "We Live, We Breathe, We Die" is another big ballad, and while it isn't quite as bleak and dark as "The Beating Of Your Heart", it doesn't really appeal to me either.

The first half of the album was good, at times great, but the second half didn't really do it for me, apart from one rather fine chorus. That's three R's then.
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SAXON: "Sacrifice"

Rating: RRRR
Label: UDR 2013
Review by Alan Holloway

37 years and twenty studio albums… you’d think that Saxon didn’t have any more heavy metal left in them, but faced with the mammoth task of following up the excellent “Call To Arms” they’ve stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the fookin’ park yet again.

Whilst I enjoyed Saxon’s more heavy metal output that kept them afloat for much of the late nineties and noughties, I always preferred their more melody led output, where they mixed ball achingly heavy riffs with catchy choruses and a natural flowing style. As with their previous release, “Sacrifice” takes what’s best about Saxon in their NWOBHM days and Saxon as a heavy metal band and squeezes them together to hopefully keep everyone happy.

With that said, you’re not going to get anything really new here, as Saxon are one of those bands that aren’t prone to too much experimentation. Regardless, whilst bands like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath have their copycats, I have still never heard another band that have a sound quite like Saxon. This is partly due to Biff Byford’s unique vocal sound, a sound he will be lending to Avantasia in a couple of months. He sounds as good as he ever has here, and I can vouch for the fact that he can also carry it off live as well, a true metal god if ever there was one.

The only skippable moment on the whole album is that old bugbear the unnecessary intro. A pointless minute and a half at the beginning of the album, all “Procession” manages to do is piss me off, but at least it can be skipped rather than being bolted on to the first song proper, the belting title track. It kicks in with a crunchy riff, some neat wah wah work and Biff riding the lot like a surfer on a wave. It’s a heavy song, but never sacrifices (no pun intended) melody for simple power. From here on it’s non stop, without any ballads or plodding metal grinders in sight. “Warriors Of The Road” is worthy of extra attention, a fast and very melodic piece that should kick ass live, and even when things slow down a bit for “Night Of The Wolf”, it’s all about atmosphere, bringing to mind the likes of “Dallas 1pm” or “Crusader”. I have a felling that this one might just get it’s claws (pun definitely intended) into the live setlist for a few years to come. The only sort of let down is the album closer “Standing In A Queue” which is a good song musically but is let down by some pretty naff lyrics about, well, standing in queues.

In closing, “Sacrifice” is as good as any Saxon album of the last thirty years (and a bit). It’s everything you love about the band musically and lyrically, and it really is astonishing that they can keep making such exciting music after all this time without sounding tired or repetitive. Simply put, this is a must buy for any Saxon fan, even those who drifted off years ago. Saxon are still here, so stand up and be counted with them.
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THUNDERFUCK & THE DEADLY ROMANTICS : "Starfucker" EP

Rating: N/A
Label: Self Released
Review by Alan Holloway

Okay, this was never going to be pretty. Four tracks, including the charming “Fucked By Rock & Roll” and a cover of Def Leppard’s “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad”, winding their way from Canada via a band who know exactly how to make people sit up when they hear their name.

TATDR are not a subtle band, you won’t be surprised to hear. I was expecting a heavy dose of sleaze rock and that’s pretty much what they do, although with a metal edge. The music is very, very basic low down rock & roll with hints of 70s punk thrown in, and although there’s some fun to be had it’s all rather tiresome after a couple of listens. They seem like a band who are doing all they can to be offensive and sweary, without having bothered to make some songs that will stick in your head and make you want to share this wonderful new band. Thunderfuck himself has a guttural vocal style that adds little to the songs, and is a big factor as to why their Def Leppard cover sucks more balls than a ball sucking machine.

So have a giggle at the name if you like, but steer well clear of this.
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EDGE: "Heaven Knows"

Rating: RRR
Label: Escape Music 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Edge is a new Swedish AOR band with a sound comparable to Treat, The Poodles and Return. If you're a fan of "scandi-AOR", you'll probably like this, but whether you really love it is another thing. I am a fan of the genre indeed, yet I'm not completely sold on the band's material. It's good, but that final touch which would make it great is still missing.

Vocalist Jonas Forss has a voice that sounds like a mix of Jakob Samuel (The Poodles) and Knut Erik Østgård (Return), a high-pitched raspy one. I'm not the biggest admirer of such voices, but I think his voice is suitable for this material. There's plenty of lively keyboard work on the album, melodic guitar playing and most of the tracks are pleasantly uptempo, so there's plenty to like. And I do like this, but not as much as I hoped I would. Maybe it's the fact that while listening to this album, I get a strong feeling of "I've heard this before" - the songs are just so typical examples of polite Scandinavian AOR. Maybe a bit more "edge" wouldn't have been a bad thing... Pun intended.

Anyway, tracks like "Little Girl", "Right Now", "I Could Never Live", "How Long" (with the reclusive, rarely heard guitar player Tommy Denander making a surprise appearance)... well, pretty much all of them are good melodic rockers. A couple of real standouts would have been nice to lure me back, now I'm afraid this album might end up being overshadowed by the other releases of 2013. A decent start, hopefully the band steals the show with the album number two.
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PINK CREAM 69: "Ceremonial"

Rating: RRR
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Ever since they crawled back from the dark pit they fell into during the nineties, PC69 have constantly delivered fine melodic hard rock albums. "Ceremonial" continues on the same path, but somehow it doesn't work for me as well as their previous few albums. It's not a bad album by any means, but maybe it lacks a killer song or two. And packs a filler song or two.

The first half of the album contains most of the band's stronger songs this time, with "Wasted Years", "Special" and "Find Your Soul" as the highlights. The first two are lively, energetic uptempo tracks with strong hooks, while "Find Your Soul" has some echoes from the grunge era, yet the chorus is pure melodic bliss.

On the second half of the album the quality drops a little. "Let The Thunder Roll", "Right From Wrong" and "Passage Of Time" have their moments but they kind of sound like "PC69 by numbers" with familiar sounding melodies. The throwaway rocker "I Came To Rock" is probably the weakest song of the album, but "King For One Day" is like a breath of fresh air - a semi-balladic type of a song that reminds me a bit of Europe (the band, not the continent!) and Whitesnake. The lighter approach works well in contrast with the heavier nature of the rest of the album. "King..." would have been a good closing track, as the last song "Superman" doesn't really add anything to the album.

"Ceremonial" is a great sounding album as usual, thanks to the band's bassist Dennis Ward who just happens to be one of the favourite producers of the genre. Vocalist David Readman sings as convincingly as always, and the band plays well, so it's down to the songs why this album doesn't get more "R's" than just three. With the two weakest songs removed, I might have given this that one additional "R", but now it's a case of quantity over quality... as it usually is these days.
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ANGELINE: "Life" EP

Rating: - (EP)
Label: Vegna Music 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Angeline's latest release, this 4-track EP is a versatile one. The band kick it off with the title song, which is a rather catchy, straight-forward melodic rock song. It reminds me a little bit of latter day Harem Scarem, with its' fine harmonies. "Can You Feel It Now?" is a modern rock track with the ever-so-popular Coldplay-influenced drum pattern during the chorus. I don't understand everyone's fascination with it, it's like trying to drive with the handbrake on... The song could've been great with a more rollicking chorus, now it's the weakest part.

From modern rock the band moves smoothly to 70'ies retro-rock á la The Rival Sons and the likes with "Into The Fire". It's good for what it is, but I'm not too much into the style. The last song is a ballad "Days Go By", and the band has a go at another style again - the song has a bit of a country vibe, maybe along the lines of Bon Jovi's "Lost Highway" album. It's nice and organic sounding, but not really the kind of song that leaves a trace...

The EP was briefly given away as a free download, now you can find it from Spotify and Itunes. A bit of an experiment I'd say, hopefully the band sounds more focused on their next album and doesn't try to jump into the retro-rock bandwagon. Or go country.
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