CHRIS DUARTE GROUP: "Lucky 13"

Rating: RRRR1/2
Label: Blues Bureau International
Review by: Martien Koolen

Chris Duarte, guitar player and singer, emerged on the music scene out of Austin in the early nineties and his debut album Texas Sugar/Strat Magik was an excellent blues album which gained lots of great reviews and sold rather well. Since then Duarte has released more critically acclaimed CDs like Tallspin Headwhack (1997) or Love Is Greater Than Me (2000). Duarte's albums/songs have alwasy been rooted deeply in the blues with a rock and roll edge. The new album Lucky 13 continues in the tradition of contemporary blues rock with bursts of fusion, pop and heavy psychedelia throughout. Duarte's guitar playing brings back memories of magical guitar players like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robin Trower and Jimi Hendrix and I must say that Lucky 13 is Duarte's best album by far, featuring some of his most impressive and extended guitar work to date. The album opener You Know You're Wrong grabs you by the balls right away and Duarte does not let go till the final  impressive instrumental Jump The Trane, which is filled with lots of sleazy, swampy, dirty, jazzy and funky guitar passages and solos. Absolute highlights on this album are: Let It Go, an amazing blues ballad with smashing solos, Weak Wheels, a typical Duarte blues/boogie song, Minefield Of My Mind, an impressive instrumental song with howling and screaming guitar solos and Setting Sun, a slow blues track in the veins of Stevie Ray Vaughan with melodic organ parts and again breathtaking guitarwork. On this album you will find NO fillers as all the tracks are just guitardriven and therefore a MUST for fans of amazing guitarsongs. THis is the best blues rock album I have heard in a very long time and I can only say: buy or die and by the way: Joe Bonamassa eat your heart out with this Lucky 13.

THOMSEN: "Unbroken"

Rating: RRR

Label: Artist Station

Review by: Martien Koolen

Thomsen released their debut album Let's Get Ruthless five years ago and the critics and fans were very pleased with that album. Why it took 5 years to make a new album is a mystery. But now you can enjoy Unbroken, twelve new songs composed by bandleader, and guitar player Rene Thomsen. He was assisted by a lot of guest musicians like e.g. Udo Dirkschneider (UDO, Accept), Robert Soeterboek (Ayreon, Star One), Mathias Don Dieth (UDO), Vinnie Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio) and Bobby Jarzombek (Halford, Fates Warning). The songs on the album are all power metal tracks featuring fast guitar solos, pounding drums and lots of very recognisable melodies.Highlights are the opener Draw The Curtains, New Horizon, In Steel We Trust and the instrumental Six Thirteen 64 where Thomsen shines as a guitar picker. On the last two songs of the album, One and Tears Of The Sun, you can hear the new voice of Thomsen called Denis Brosowski, former singer of Iron Fate, who is considered as one of the strongest German vocalists of this time.  So, anyone who likes traditional German-like power metal should at least listen to Unbroken once and then decide to buy the album, because it is a very audiolicious album!

www.thomsen-unbroken.de/

EVERGREY: "Hymns for the broken"

Rating RRRR
Label: AFM Records 2014
Review by Martien Koolen

 I have always been a fan of the music of Evergrey and that was mainly due to the wonderful, dark, melancholic vocals of Tom Englund. Sad but true the band never really made a commercial breakthrough and for a while it looked like that Glorious Collision (2011) was their final album. Luckily that did not happen and now Evergrey released their best album so far, called Hymns For The Broken. This new CD contains 12 great songs, filled with amazing melodies, catchy choruses, heavy hooks and riffs, superb guitar solos and last but not least breathtaking vocals by Englund.

The albums kicks off with the dark, instrumental The Awakening, which is in fact the ìovertureî for one of the highlights of the album: King Of Errors. It is also the first single of the album and it is an amazing song which I cannot get out of my hearing system for a very long time. Archaic Rage is another highlight of the album and The Fire is a remarkable song with its power riff and beautiful children's choir.

Evergrey saves the best for last, because the last two epic songs The Grand Collapse and The Aftermath are perfect examples of how progressive metal should sound like. Both songs have great melodies, lots of diversity and are flooded with atmospheric keyboard work and grinding guitar sounds and solos. But above all there is the melancholic, deep, melodic voice of Englund which sets the standard for this sort of music; very impressive.

Hymns For The Broken is as good as it gets, being a metal roller coaster of very high quality. So, check it out and you will NOT be disappointed and be sure to play it at maximum volume, so that you can enjoy it even more. Evergrey is back with their best album till date, without any doubt!!

TEN: ”Albion”

Rating: RRRR

Label: Rocktopia 2014
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Gary Hughes and his merry men have teamed up with the new label Rocktopia, formed by Kieran Dargan and Bruce Mee of Firefest and Fireworks magazine. It’s kind of a ”back to the roots” thing for Ten, as their first album was one of the earliest releases of Now & Then records, of which Bruce Mee was a part of.

I don’t know if I should say that ”Albion” is musically a return to the roots too, as Ten have been quite faithful to their style over the years. I do know that it is a much stronger album than their previous one, the disappointing ”Heresy & Creed”. In fact, now that I’ve been listening to it a lot, it’s slowly climbing towards the top of the list of Ten albums. Surely it’s among the better half of their releases.

The production/sound problems that plagued some of the Ten releases as a few years ago are nothing but a distant memory now, ”Albion” sounds very good. Even though there are now three guitarists in the band, there’s room to breathe, the album’s not a full-blown shredfest.

The opening three songs are among the strongest on the album, all boasting great melodies and hooks. Both ”Alone In The Dark Tonight” and ”It’s Alive” are ”The Best Of TEN”-type of material, and ”Battlefield” isn’t far behind. The title-track(’ish) ”Albion Born” has a bit of a celtic vibe and it’s not too bad either. The first of the ballads ”Sometimes Love Takes The Long Way Home” is taking the long way to get me under its’ spell, so far I’m not convinced. Same goes for ”A Smuggler’s Tale”. ”Die For Me” has a bit of a Whitesnake-vibe mixed with the traditional TEN sound, and it works quite well. ”It Ends The Way” is a peculiar song: once you get past the monotonous, surprisingly modern-sounding verses, you’ll be rewarded with one of the finest choruses of the album! Quite peculiar is the second ballad of the album, ”Gioco D’Amore” too. This song will polarize listeners for sure. There will be those who’ll laugh it off as a strange mix of Andrea Bocelli and metal, and then there will be those who’ll be totally swept away by the song. I’m happy to say I’m in the latter group. It took a few plays but now I rate this song as one of my favorites from this album AND one of my favorite TEN ballads. Great vocal from Mr. Hughes, and don’t let those italian lyrics fool you - this isn’t some half-hearted attempt to expand the band’s fan base. With the right exposure, it could very well do that though.

Apparently Hughes and co. didn’t want to end the album in the traditional way with a big ballad. ”Wild Horses” is good, somewhat understated melodic rock track, and leaves you wanting more. A good thing that you’ll get more by just pushing the play button again!


http://www.tenofficial.com

MOONLAND feat. Lenna Kuurmaa: ”s/t”

Rating: RRR

Label: Frontiers 2014
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Frontiers is at it again. Moonland is their latest ”project album”, this time featuring the former Vanilla Ninja singer Lenna Kuurmaa as the face and the voice of the project. The musical force behind this is Alessandro Del Vechhio, who has written most of the songs, produced the album and played the keys, some percussion and sung some backing vocals as well.

There are no real surprises when it comes to the music, this is well-excecuted AOR along the lines of Robin Beck and eighties’ Heart, maybe with some influences from the less symphonic side of Nightwish  and Within Temptation. Lenna signs beautifully but with a big of an edge, and Del Vecchio has created a warm and polished sound for the album.

Despite all of the above, I find it hard to really get excited over this album. Some of the album’s songs are pleasant enough, but ultimately a bit too bland for their own good. It’s just as if Del Vecchio and the other songwriters had been asked to write ”nice AOR songs”, when they should have been asked to come up with ”great AOR hits”! Or maybe they’re saving the hits for their own bands…

Luckily for Lenna, a few hits have found their way to the album anyway: the first single and video ”Heaven Is To Be Close To You” is first of them, despite its’ slightly clumsy lyrics. ”Open Your Heart” and ”Over Me” are the best midtempo AOR tracks on the album, but my biggest favorites are among the faster songs: ”Poison Angel”, ”Heart Made Of Steel” and especially the killer ”Cold As Ice”. The closing track ”Another Day In Paradise” is not a Phil Collins cover thankfully. It’s probably the album’s heaviest track and the biggest departure from the core AOR sound of the album. I don’t have the songwriting info, but everything about it screams ”Erik Mårtensson” of Eclipse/W.E.T. fame.

I don’t know if I’m being too critical since I do like most of the songs… if I were to use  ”half R’s”, this one might get that, but I’m sticking to the concept.

https://www.facebook.com/moon.land.52035

DALTON: "Pit Stop"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Frontiers 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Vrooom! After spending close to 25 years in the Pit Stop, the race is finally back on as the Swedes are finally ready (or not) to impress the Scandi-Rock fanatics with their latest offering to the Gods of AOR. Indeed. Pedal to the metal and kindly move/step aside H.E.A.T. as the geezers are back in town and this time it's personal.

Originally formed in very late 85/early 86 when drummer Mats 'Dalton' Dahlberg decided to leave TREAT, the band recorded two albums in the eighties before grunge came and swept it all away. Now they're all back together (the original line-up) and the sonic display and production by Eric Mårtensson (Escape, W.E.T.), one of the better sounding records to come out of the Italian label as of lately.

Opening track, "Ready Or Not", Scandi-Rock and classic Dalton meets AC/DC and Bosse Lindmark sings better than ever with just a hint of barbwire nowadays. Rather typical AC/DC-like background vocals too. The parp attack of "Hey You" gets you in the eighties mood in no time as Ola Lindström really let the keyboards rip. There's plenty of retro keyboards throughout the album and there's absolutely no need to worry about any weird influence or sound on Pit Stop. In fact. Most songs are from 1989/1990 and originally intended for the third Dalton album. Well. This is the third studio album by Dalton, but you know what I'm getting at.

The classy "Don't Tell me Lies" was on the RAW debut album and the same goes with 50/50 and TGIF. "Follow Your Dreams", smooth Dalton rock at their best. "Up & Down", catchier than the plague (ouch!). "Bad Love", yet another keyboard shocker with a retro sound. "One Voice", simply just one of those perfect sing-a-long melodic rock anthems with a message and touching lyrics. "Here We Are", starts up right away with its massive choir and the nearly British sound of the 80's (U2, The Alarm, Simple Minds) meets the traditional Dalton style. The rhythm section (Dalhberg & Anders Lindmark), tighter than ABBA-Agnetha Fältskog's pants in the 70's and the guitar work by Leif Westfahl adds plenty of attitude and spark to the compositions.

Final verdict: The third biggest melodic hard rock act out of Sweden in the eighties has certainly recorded an album better than any Europe album post-reunion. Oi! Tempest. I believe it's time to get back to your roots (Wings Of Tomorrow, Out Of This World) and stop messing around with your second rate '90's Dokken' sound. Give the people what they want, the lads of Dalton are now officially in the race and way a-head of you suckers.
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Billy IDOL: "Kings & Queens Of The Underground"

Rating: RRRr
Label: BFI Records/Playground 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

The idle idol's return to the recording studio at the approx. same time when there's a new book and autobiography to promote (Dancing with myself), surely no coincident? Not that we complain or do we? Nah. Quite the opposite really. It's nice to know that some things never change. Blonde, wearing leather and that evil sneer, and as always with his trusty sidekick at the six-string, the Atomic Playboy a.k.a. Steve Stevens. It's the familiar feeling as well as the rock n roll tradition? The Father Christmas of rebel yells and white weddings?

Speaking of Christmas (even though it's no longer political correct?). It's just around the corner and there's a great song by Frankie Goes To Hollywood that Swedish Television always used to air during the holidays (The Power Of Love). Well. Track seven, "Eyes Wide Shut", take most of its influence from that particular 'Power' song. Billy even sings/sounds like Holly Johnson and the verse(s) and overall feeling of the two songs are scary alike at times. However, the chorus part is way different.

It's otherwise a solid effort and especially since I had worries that Billy Idol might have gone haywire and off the deep end. But no, the blonde x-punk is still waving the eighties flag and it's the same radio-friendly rock slash pop as always. Opening track, "Bitter Pill", perhaps just a bit too slick and polite and not enough of the punky attitude? Pretty nice anyhow and it's American made rock with no intention to upset his old fan base. "Can't Break Me Down", yet another slick rocker. "Save Me Now", starts out just like an old Thompson Twins tune (Doctor Doctor) before it's transforming into classic Idol. The synth heavy "Postcards From The Past" kicks like a mule, while the title track takes a long hard look at the golden years and career of Billy Idol.

 Final verdict: Nothing stunning, nothing new or out of order, but a solid Idol album with darn solid material.
billyidol.com
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GRAND DESIGN: "Thrill Of The Night"

Rating: RRRR
Label: AORheaven 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

This was the album with which the Swedes of Grand Design would break on through to the other side and thus bringing down the reign of extremely high-pitch vocals and Def Leppard rock for the next century. However, they no longer sound like Leppard wannabees (if they ever did? I haven't heard the first couple of albums) and if anything it's the mix of Heavy Pettin, The Poodles, and just the hint of 220 Volt and TNT - early Harnell era.

Then again... the utter mad Glasgow legends of Heavy Pettin sounded an awful lot like Def Lep at times and singer Pelle Saether (ex. Zello, Unchained, Mindjive, Schizophrenic Circus, etc.) work in the same range as Hamie and the Poodles dude (hi-hi-high on emotion). The two guitarists, Dennis Vestman and Janne Stark (Overdrive, Locomotive Breath, etc.) are trading licks and tricks of the melodic NWOBHM tradition throughout the album and drummer Magnus Ulfstedt (Torch, Talisman, Mitch Malloy) bashed skins like as if he friggin' hate drums and wants to kill them all.

They start up the album with "U Got Me Good" and Hamie's probably laughing away in Scotland as it's spot on Heavy Pettin with a healthy dose of Yngwie Malmsteen (the main riff and guitar work). "Rawk N Roll Heart Attack" is more towards Def Lep but in reality it's perhaps more like Dynamite Sex Dose and Glorious Bankrobbers. I'd also like to point out, there's hardly any slick Mutt Lange rock to be found on this record. High N Dry? yeah, to a certain degree. Heavy Pettin, absolutely!

Bloody'ell. I notice that Erik "The Void" Mårtensson (Eclipse, WET) co-wrote two songs and he's literally everywhere nowadays (thus why I named him 'The Void'). "Thrill Of The Night" is however a very intense, powerful, and catchy album and a LOT better than expected to be perfectly honest. Recommended if you're into above mentioned acts and proper high pitch (melodic metal) vocals.
granddesignrocks.com
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CELEBRATING Jon LORD: "Various Artists"

Rating: Live
Label: earMusic 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Celebrating Mr. Hammond a.k.a. John "I'am the Walrus" Lord. No longer with us in the flesh only in spirit. However, the music and the reputation as the greatest(?) keyboard player ever will certainly live on as long as there are hard rock fans walking around on this planet. The good news first. Proceeds from sales of these CDs and DVDs benefit the Jon Lord trust, set up to fund projects to stop cancer or whatever (no, I didn't get the press release). The bad news. I seriously doubt the man himself would have picked these songs to celebrate his years as the musician?

CD 2 is just another Deep Purple (of today) concert with the following tracks: Uncommon Man. Above And Beyond. Lazy. When A Blind Man Cries. Perfect Strangers. Black Night. Hush. The latter the all-star turn-out with Bruce Dickinson, Rick Wakeman, Phil Campbell, Bernie Marsden, and Micky Moody. It would have been more interesting to have the Deep Purple members performing music from the Lord's solo albums and other projects of the past. Now it's just more of the same. Oh well.

CD 1 do feature a couple of oddities though and the first couple of tracks are the most interesting ones in my opinion. Paul Weller (The Jam) sings "Things Get Better" and "I Take What I Want" (feat: Micky Moody) from the Artwoods daze/days and it's a lot more fun than listening to the same DP stuff. "Silas And Jerome” and "I'm Gonna Stop Drinking" are from the Paice/Ashton/Lord project and both sung by Phil Campbell from The Temperance Movement. Paice, obviously behind the kit and Bernie Marsden at the six string. Then you have Glenn Hughes and Bruce Dickinson singing Purple songs. No sign of either Blackmore nor Coverdale though. Nice and cozy, but hardly essential stuff.
celebratingjonlord.com

BULLETRAIN: "Start Talking"

Rating: RRR
Label: AORheaven 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

After Bullet... here's Bulletrain. What's next? Bulletin? They are all Swedes though and they are all very true and loyal to the sound and fashion of the eighties era. Formed in the south of Sweden (Helsingborg) in 2006 and consisting of Sebastian Sundberg (vocals), Mattias Persson (guitar), Robin Bengtsson (guitar), Niklas Mansson (bass) and drummer Jonas Tillheden, the five are now finally releasing their debut album at AOR Heaven.

They have that 50/50 mix of Sleaze and Melodic Hard Rock and you may just notice similarities to previous Swede-acts such as Nasty Idols, Snakepit Rebels, and Swedish Erotica. Perhaps not quite the classic Scandi-Rock record but it feels a much more complete album than several other releases in this particular genre of rock. Nonetheless, I still believe that "Start Talking" could merely benefit from another top notch uptempo track or three in the vein of "From The Bottom Of My Heart". This is one helluva cool and catchy tune and definitely up there amongst the very best of them.

The typical but-darn-catchy power ballad, "Even With My Eyes Closed", gets you in the heart every time and it's the wicked lighters in the air moment. What? Excuse me. Nokias in the air? [kindly replace the suggested brand with your personal type of phone]. Sadly I have absolutely no idea what they're singing about on "Dicing With Death"? I believe the singer could either slow down here or work on articulation?

The album was produced by the duo RamPac (Crashdiet and Mick Mara) and mixed by Buster Odeholm and it sounds good. The decent debut and I'm sure we'll hear plenty more and better records from these guys in the future to come. Not too shabby.
bulletrain.org
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Teri TIMS: ”Teri Tims”

Rating: RR

Label: Z Records 2014
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Who’s fooling who? ”It’s been a long time coming but finally we can confirm that Teri Tims debut album will be released during September of this year through Z Records.” A-hem. I reviewed this album already in December 2001. Almost 13 years ago! Nothing much has changed, even the cover photo is the same, just slightly photoshopped. I guess I can just use my original review. Let’s take a look at it:

”Let me start this review by saying that Teri Tims is probably the best female vocalist to have emerged from the AOR scene during the last few years. She has a voice that can be described as a combination of Alannah Myles, Shania Twain and Debbie Davis (of cult AOR band Witness), and I might add that she has got the looks to match too...Paul Sabu, his husband and the producer/co-writer of this a album is talented guy too, having produced and penned some excellent songs for the likes of Silent Rage, Alexa and Only Child. Unfortunately, 1 + 1 isn't always two, this time it's more like 1 and a quarter!

There are two major problems with this album: the songs and the production. I would say that the thin and lifeless production is the biggest flaw, I think that a more vivid and powerful sound might have helped a few of the songs to come to life, but now they just sound like pre-production demos. The programmed drums and the metallic guitar sounds do not appeal to me at all. Actually, the closest reference soundwise would be those early Shania Twain demos that Mr. Sabu also produced.

When it comes to the songs, there's at least light at the end of the tunnel: there are a few quite good songs here, like the awesome AOR track "Midnite In Your Eyes", very Sabu-like "Rock Hard" and the new country-ish ballad "Home Is Where The Heart Is". However, many of the other songs do not have hooks sharp enough to raise them above the dull production. And what the hell is "I Can Never Dance Enough" anyway? A country rock track with a Nu-metal chorus?

If it wasn't for Teri's brilliant vocals, my rating would've been lower. The next time around I sincerely hope that Teri and Paul will a) write quite a few songs as good as "Midnite In Your Eyes" and b) hire a drummer for gods sake!”

I don’t know whether all or some of these songs were re-recorded, remixed or whatever, but they still sound uninviting, sterile and lifeless. Teri’s fine vocals are the only saving grace of this album. And to be honest, I don’t know how I rated this album as worthy of 6 out of 10 (the system we were using back then), on the strength of three decent songs (the "awesome AOR track" above may be stretching it a bit) and good vocals… otherwise, I still stand by my original review.

https://www.facebook.com/TeriTimsOfficial

Jimmy BARNES: "Hindsight"

Rating: Comp.
Label: Mascot 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

I'm not entirely sure why I enjoy this as much as I do? It's just another compilation album? Not quite right as the ozzie legend and friends are celebrating the 30 years as the solo artist with reworking his old tunes with the help of some of the musicians he's met along the way. Jimmy Barnes is a national treasure down under and sadly not as appreciated in the rest of the world? You could probably add John Farnham to that list for that matter.

To be completely honest. I still haven't heard a single album with Cold Chisel and that's probably like cursing in Church in Australia? I do have close to most of the Barnes' solo albums though and whatdoyouknow, not a single track to be found on this comp from one of my favorite albums with the man, "Freight Train Heart". Hells bells. Jimmy co-wrote several of those tracks with Des Child, Jim Vallance, and Jonathan Cain and Neil Schon of Journey fame. The latter two are actually guest appearing on Hindsight and the tracks "Going Down Alone" and "Working Class Hero".

Other guests includes Keith Urban, Baby Animals, Tina Arena & Joe Bonamassa (Stone Cold), The Living End (Lay Down Your Guns) and Steven Van Zandt (Ride The Night Away). Add to this his family (Mahlia Barnes, Diesel) and you're in for a treat. The pipes are still intact and "Lay Down Your Guns" is (still) one helluva' tune with all that pushing and showing going on. Suze & Baby Animals does a smashing duet out of "Time Will Tell" and the same goes for Urban and "Good Times". Definitely worth the revisit since there's plenty of top notch belter vocals to be found. No worries mate. Joe Cocker down under to the rescue once again. What a little ripper!
jimmybarnes.com

PHI: "Now The Waves Of Sound Remain"

Rating: RR
Label: Gentle Art Of Music 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Art-Rock from Austria? The power trio of PHI are signed to the label owned by RPWL (Gentle Art Of Music) and "Now The Waves Of Sound Remain" is an album that sprawls across many different genres and styles. The songs are generally slow, atmospheric, dark, and rather moody. They have that Tool meets Rush meets Alice In Chains meets Porcupine Tree sort of sound going on and they are certainly groovy and progressive at the same time.

Lengthy passages and power drumming are merely to be expected as the three continues to explore the boundaries of rock on their second album release. They have clearly set themselves an agenda to be as quirky and arty as possible, unfortunately not always blessed with clever song material though.

In fact. Their sonic tapestry might just be a tad too invert and dare I say boring to please this particular reviewer. The structure of their arrangements are mainly if not solely focused on the band instead of the actual listener a.k.a. buyer of their product. It's designed for a reaction of the extremes at the dark and moody side of Prog/Math. Music intended to upset the listener? as the compositions are either stuck at second gear or simply just not going anywhere.

Some of the time-changes and breakdowns are darn interesting though and it's clear that months of effort have gone into 'Now The Waves Of Sound Remain'. The title track is also something to build on for the future (10+ minutes of Progmageddon). Nonetheless. It's sadly just not enough to keep us interested in the long run.
phi-band.com

KORIA KITTEN RIOT: "Rich Men Poor Men Good Men"

Rating: RRR
Label: GAEA/PrescriptionPR 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Reikko. Toimi. Vänskä. Rahkonen. Anttila. A group of killer Goblins and Uruk-Hais from the Tolkien saga? Nah. There's no need for alarm. Koria Kitten Riot simply hail from Helsinki/Finland and these are very traditional names over there. The indie Rock/Pop act recorded their third album, "Rich Men Poor Men Good Men", in Berlin and it was mastered by Doug Van Sloun (First Aid Kit, Bright Eyes, She & Him). It sounds like a million bucks considering the budget and it goes hand in hand with the quirky material and arrangements.

They certainly have the ability to blend Indie Rock with singer/songwriter and quirky folk/country stuff. There's a rather sinister slant to the lyrics as they deal with everything from mass murderer, the sinking Titanic, to the alcoholic violinist and what not really. Exploring the world through other people's eyes and dreams seems to be the main plot here, it's a varied album with many different colours and faces. The story-telling of Reikko works in the old tradition of singer/songwriter and there's plenty of pedal steel, mandolin, and soft keys to be found on this record.

There's really so much variation across the CD that's it's difficult to pin down the sound of Koria Kitten Riot. They claim to take influences from artists such as Elliott Smith, Neutral Milk Hotel? (no, we haven't heard them) and Wilco, but this does not tell the entire story of the band. Have a closer look at the material and you might just pick up everything from Tom Waits to 80's indie pop and laid-back moments such as Everything But The Girl. Overall this is a solid album with excellent production and very decent material indeed.
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BULLET: "Storm Of Blades"

Rating: RR
Label: NuclearBlast 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Originally known as Teaser, Bullet was formed in 1978. Discovered by Dieter Dierks in 1981, signed with Polydor and recorded their debut album in 82 (produced by Dierks). Wait a minute... these guys are from Sweden and it's clearly not the same act that gave us "Execution" and "No Mercy". Still they have the Teutonic display and attitude and it's very much the sound of (original) Bullet, Accept, Priest, and the hint of AC/DC. What's more. They're signed to Nuclear Blast in Germany and singer Hell Hofer (really? now they're just taking the piss) comes out sounding like the bastard son of Udo Dirkschneider and Brian Johnson.

The artwork (see cover pic) is straight from the back catalogue of any Heavy Metal act of the 80's and the same can be said about the riffs. Maybe I'm missing the point completely here, but I can't imagine why this platter would appeal to the heavy metal kids? Sure. They are very traditional and a couple of moments such as "Hammer Down" and "Coming In Loud" are some of the funniest pure Heavy Metal tracks as of lately. However, it's cliche-villé and deja-vú-town at its highest population and we've heard it all before (way too many times).

The drumming powers the album along at what seems like a steady beat and the guitars are louder than hell. Yet there's something missing? Well. If anything. They brought out the trad. heavy metal fan in me and I believe it's time for another spin of Restless and Wild... ahhh... fast as a shark!!!

John TAGLIERI: "Days Like These"

Rating: EP
Label: HeadfirstEntertainment/Vanity 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Last time out I reviewed an release by John 'Tag' Taglieri and was asked who he? I believe the short answer was former Jersey rocker gone soft(er) and more towards the style of country and the singer/songwriter genre. Not entirely correct since we are now at his 12th release, "Days Like These", and the 6-track EP is sort of the return to his roots and melodic rock. This is not old school or strictly uptempo by any stretch, but it's darn nice and professional done.

Recruiting musicians such as Kenny Arnoff (John Mellencamp, Bob Seger, etc), Eric Ragno (Alice Cooper, Paul Stanley), Rich Redmond (Ludacris, Kelly Clarkson), makes this a neat packaging and simply just a nice surprise. Truth be told. Taglieri is no stranger to the concept of Jersey Rock and the Bon Jovi connection is definitely present throughout the EP. I believe they recorded the album titled "These Days" and several tracks will have you thinking about the group and their sound from above mentioned platter and forward on up to present date.

For instance, laid-back tunes/ballads such as "Thin Air" and "Finish Line, as close as you ever get to Jon Bon Jovi without actually meeting the man. That's including rough vocals and everything. Closing track, "Toasting The Man In The Moon", is however a really dodgy tune and hardly worth the bother. It's all well and good taking the melodic route, but when there's no point or edge to it, it seems like a bit of waste of time. Overall a nice little EP and Tag still manage to come up with some nice material.
johntaglieri.com
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IN FAITH: ”There’s A Storm Coming”

Rating: RRRRR

Label: Rocktopia Records 2014
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

UK-based In Faith is the collaboration of vocalist Pete Godfrey, guitarist Tony Marshall and drummer Pete Newdeck. Especially Marshall and Newdeck are quite well-known figures in the melodic rock scene, the latter as the ex-drummer of Eden’s Curse and the frontman of Tainted Nation and Marshall as the guitarist of Contagious and Vaughn and as one of the key figures of Firefest. Supergroup? I don’t know, but they’re pretty damn superb anyway!

A few people have already rolled out the superlatives in their reviews of this album, and I can’t help but join the praise brigade: ”There’s A Storm Coming” is possibly the best debut album I’ve heard in years, and definitely one of the top albums of this year.

”Radio” opens the album and it can only be described as one of the best Winger songs they never recorded. Everything about the song reminds me of Kip & Co… the flashy guitar work,  Pete Godfrey’s very Kip-like phrasing and timing, the melodies… still, as much as it reminds me of Winger, the song itself can not be accused of being a carbon copy of any particular song of theirs.

The AOR gem ”Does It Feel Like Love” offers some really fine melodies and a completely different vocal style from Godfrey, who reveals another side of his voice. The official Firefest anthem ”Church Of Rock’n’ Roll” is the only song that has been previously available from the band. When I first heard it a year ago I thought it was a good song but not necessarily anything more. Now having listened to it a few extra times, I’ve got to admit it - it’s damn catchy in a sinister, subconscious way… you never know when you catch yourself singing it. Autograph meets Winger…

The first of the ballads is called ”Where I Wanna Be”. It’s a big power ballad with massive, harmony-drenched chorus. Maybe a touch of Harem Scarem there, possibly. ”Addicted” contains a killer riff and a killer chorus, while the second balladic track ”If That’s What Love Means” has a bit of a contemporary edge with some cool, moody keyboards. The stomping ”All Or Nothing” isn’t a favorite of mine, but it’s still a pretty cool song with a Hardline vibe. ”In Flames” has another great riff and a chorus to match it. The dramatic ”A Million Ways” is another winner. ”Leave Me Alone” is the third ballad-type of a song, and clearly the weakest of the three. That doesn’t mean that it’s a turkey though, it’s nice enough.

One of the stronger tracks is saved for the last: ”Bitter End” contains another monster riff courtesy of Tony M. and another huge chorus. Elements of vintage Dokken, Harem Scarem, Winger… maybe with a touch of Scandinavian AOR somewhere in between?

Yes folks, I think we’ve got something special here. The only problem with this album is… how on earth can In Faith top it with album number two? Not that I’m asking them to… it’s enough if they release an album that’s only as good as this one!

http://infaithofficial.com
http://www.facebook.com/infaithband

WILD ROSE: ”Hit’N’ Run”

Rating: RRRR

Label: AOR Blvd Records 2014
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

A couple of months ago I reviewed David A. Saylor’s solo album, and said that I’d like to hear him sing in a bit more hard rocking style. That’s just what he does with Greek melodic rock band Wild Rose. ”Hit’n’ Run” is the band’s third album and Saylor’s second one with them.

Wild Rose aren’t exploring the boundaries of the AOR genre with this release, as they’re pretty much sticking to the tried and trusted formulas. Somehow they still manage to breathe life into them. A lesser band could have turned these songs into a real snoozefest, but Wild Rose play them convincingly. Saylor’s soulful vocals are excellent and Andy Rock’s lively guitar playing adds a nice metallic edge to the music. Not to mention the keyboards by Dirty Haris, which ”make my day”, if you excuse the pun…

Wild Rose play traditional AOR that reminds me of acts like Drive She Said, FM and Alien. Just by looking at the song titles one might think that they’re even a little bit too traditional - ”Don’t Walk Away”, ”Stay”, ”I’ll Be There”… they aren’t going to win any prizes for ”original song titles”. The lyrics are more of the same, typical AOR fodder with heartache, declarations of love and other relationship stuff. It’s the music that elevates this to the next level, the songs are well-crafted melodic rock with strong melodies.

If I had to pick just one song from the album, it would have to be ”Give In To Me”, which reminds me of Desmond Child’s songwriting. Thankfully I don’t have to, so I can mention a few other rather fine AOR tracks, such as ”Stay”, ”Can’t Wait On Love” and ”Together”... good stuff.


http://wildrose.gr
https://www.facebook.com/wildroseaorevo

VEGA - 'Stereo Messiah'

RATING: RRRR+
Label: Frontiers
Reviewer: Alan Holloway

When Vega release a new album you can guarantee that several reviewers will say that it has “Album of the year potential”. Vega, you see, don’t get bad reviews, at least not in the melodic and classic rock press. ‘Stereo Messiah’, out later this month, is their third album and I can guarantee that the trend will not be broken, mainly because it really does have album of the year potential. There. I’ve said it.

‘Stereo Messiah’ works solidly on the principle that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Built firmly on the soaring vocals of Nick Workman, the songs all play to his strengths in the best possible way. These are the sort of songs that you can start to sing along with almost straight away, as the choruses are uniformly massive and catchy. Workman himself is like a more restrained Geoff Tate, taking hold of notes and flying round the room with them, without a doubt one of the finest vocalists the UK has to offer.

Along with eleven new compositions, there’s one cover version, namely Def Leppard’s ‘10x Bigger Than Love’. The version here doesn’t add much to the original to be honest, but the original is one of Leppard’s best of the ‘Slang’ period so it’s a pleasure to listen to. Whereas the Vega tracks have a natural smoothness to them, the Leppard track is more crunchy and bouncy and it feels odd that a ‘guest’ track should be one of the most memorable on the album. Hmmm…

Elsewhere we get ten new solid rockers and a ballad to close the album with. To be honest, every one of the faster tracks is spot on, and will delight existing fans. ‘All or Nothing’, ‘Ballad Of The Broken Hearted’  and ‘Gonna Need Some Love Tonight’ are all HUGE in the chorus area and immediately hook the listener. The rest are not far off, making ‘Stereo Messiah’ yet another highly accessible Vega album that will get in your brain after the first listen. My only criticism is the final track ‘Tears Never Dry’, as it, for me’ is a rather limp (if lyrically moving) ballad. It would work better with a little beefing up, I feel, but for now it might just fall off of my iTunes list.

If you like Vega you’ll be anticipating the release of ‘Stereo Messiah’ with good reason. It stands up against the previous two releases with ease, and should end up on many a top ten list at the end of the year. This is solid British melodic rock with balls bigger than King Kong, so if you haven’t been introduced to Vega yet this is a good time to remedy that. 

 Official Facebook Page

MATTERSPHERE - S/T

RATING: R
Label: Waterfront Records
Review By: Alan Holloway

When writing a press release, it’s important to bung in the name of a few massive bands in the hope that the reviewer will be lazy enough to agree with you. It does help, however, if your band could reasonably be compared with the bands you use, whereas the trio of Black Sabbath, Def Leppard and AC/DC on Mattersphere’s press release are as out of place as Chris Rock at a KKK meeting.

Australian newcomers Mattersphere are certainly a band in the classic rock vein, but unfortunately don’t cut the mustard musically. Creatively, ‘Mattershpere’ is a black hole of uninspired riffs, token guitar solos and as much musical flair as a broken metronome.

So what’s wrong here? For starters the production is overly biased towards the vocals, and this doesn’t help when the vocals are not very good to start with. Vocalist and songwriter (handy to have just one person to blame) Eddie Deakin can stay in tune okay, and doesn’t shout or grunt, but his voice lacks any empathy or passion (I’m sure he has it, I just can’t hear it). The songs themselves could have come from any pub rock band you’ve seen in the last thirty years, with the only saving grace some good, if functional, guitar solos.

Whilst Mattersphere are fully competent at playing their instruments, the songs and vocals mean they are unlikely to garner much positive attention outside of their immediate social circle. The best thing about the album is the cover, so avoid.

Official Site 

SIX MINUTE CENTURY: ”Wasting Time”

Rating: RR

Label: Nightmare Records 2014
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Don’t know why, but I was expecting something quite different. Modern metal or proggy art rock or something, because of the band name and the artwork probably… instead Six Minute Century gives us an album that sounds like it could have been released in 1987. By a band that’s not quite sure about their direction, so they’ve thrown all their influences into the mix. That means that they play somewhat progressive, at times thrashy, melodic power metal.

Vocalist Chuck Williams steals the show more than often, but not necessarily in a good way. His vocals are definitely an acquired taste, slightly reminding me of Lizzy Borden but way more piercing. I guess it’s down to the songs too - if he had more interesting melodies to sing, I could probably tolerate them better. I do like Lizzy Borden…

Somewhere along the line we’ll get an instrumental track with the bass player Michael Millsap being the main soloist. Not the most usual choice, and probably because of that ”Czardas” is one of the better tracks of the album. I thought I heard some familiar melodies of some Finnish folk songs in it, but I might be wrong…  anyway, a little bit later,  in the track number 11, ”Hell’s Gate”, the Bass Solo makes a comeback.

”Wasting Time” is an ambitious album, there’s plenty of tempo changes, furious playing and high-pitched singing. Unfortunately the songs don’t have much in the way of hooks or anything else for me to hang onto. Recommended for those who like their eighties’ styled metal kind of complex and anti-commercial. And bass enthusiasts.

http://www.sixminutecentury.com

FLYLEAF: "Between The Stars"

Rating: RRRR
Label: earMusic/Loud&Proud 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

I'm a sucker for simplicity. Then again. The same goes for complexity. So what's my point? I guess... great music is great music no matter genre or style. Yeah. Let's move on. Flyleaf are at the same tricky situation as when Nightwish replaced Tarja T. and thus the old saying of 'you can't please them all', etc. Simply wave goodbye to singer Lacey Sturm and the alternative/metal sound of the past (including the deranged cookie monster in the background) and say hello to Kristen May (ex. Vedera) and their new Power-Pop sound.

I like this a lot actually. Very poppy, sunny, funny, catchy. The hooks and keys are literally flying across the album as it seems to be tailor made for their new vocalist aka Vibrato May. The completely new band, you say? Sort of. Possibly also the most anticipated CCM album of the year and the real surprise in my opinion. First single, "Set Me On Fire", the heaviest track off the album and it's still softer than a kitten. Power-Pop heaven starts with track two, "Magnetic", vibrato May at her best and it's all about the hook. It def seems like they're ready for a new and challenging direction

"Platonic" sounds like an improved version of The Cardigans and the mix of indie rock/pop. "Head Underwater" is just fun and uplifting stuff (very poppy). "Sober Serenade", one of those lift your hands towards the sky anthems and power-pop to the extreme. The pure 80's styled tracks of "City Kids" (which actually sounds like Stevie Nicks doing the Flyleaf cover) and "Blue Roses" (Belinda Carlisle doing circles in the sand) are just catchy and radio-friendly to the extreme. Not to mention the super fun, "Home", that in all honestly could have been the work of anyone from Taylor Swift to Miley C. "Avalanche", excellent power-pop and Kristen does the Stevie Nicks and Belinda Carlisle-light thingy (vibrato) with her voice again (yeah, baby!). "Ship of Fools", great alternative power-pop.

Also included on the Euro release is the demo (Tied To The Broken), an live version of "City Kids" and the two bonus tracks of "The Haunted" and "The Wedding". A total of 18 tracks and merely just a couple of fillers. Power-Pop supreme, baby! They are definitely turning over a new leaf and I like it.
flyleafmusic.com
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The SIXXIS: "Hollow Shrine"

Rating: RRR
Label: Glassville/Border 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

The SixxiS from Atlanta, U.S. of A are a bunch of highly talented and entertaining musicians, blending heavy, alternative, and Prog Rock on their debut album, "Hollow Shrine". Consisting of Vladdy Iskhakov (vocals/violin), guitarist Cameron Allen (winner of the Bend-Note Guitar Competition in Paris), Mark Golden (bass, synth), JBake (drums) and Paul Sorah (guitar), they are all experienced musicians having performed with artists such as Mariah Carey, Ledisi, Divinity Roxx, Ashton Jones, Jennifer Holiday, Angie Stone. etc

The project was started on June 6th, 2006 (06/06/06). When one of the guys noticed this, the band decided to take advantage of this coincidence and be creative with the name. What about the music? Well. "Hollow Shrine" is a complex and intriguing creature. When it all fits together, this album is a entertaining piece of craftsmanship, blending Prog, the heaviness of Tool, and the hint of the Eastern European. Vocalist Iskhakov is in fact from the former Soviet Union (there's however no need to worry about any accent in case you were worried), and growing up with Easter European music had a huge effect on his songwriting.

I wouldn't file this under "Prog" though since it's really more about emotion and power but not to the point to where it would get overbearing. Also, a sound that had an inner intensity and simply just heaviness and at times even sadness about it. "Dreamers" which opens the album mixes some intense riffs with sections that are clearly out there and different from your ordinary metal album. System of a Down did something similar in the past, but it's definitely their own sound and not some riff-off or copy act. "Waste Of Time" takes you on a journey through East and all the twist and turns of Mother Russia. The instrumental "Coke Can Steve" is impressive work and more like Jethro Tull on super-steroids. I'm especially fond of the quirky rock of "Opportune Time" and "Out Alive". Very melodic and at the same time smack on heavy.

Final verdict: Interesting and ambitious work and The SixxiS are definitely on to something greater here.
thesixxis.com

FREAKINGS: "Gladiator"

Rating: RRR
Label: Indie/Thrash 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Mosh! Mosh! Mosh! Argh!!! I love the smell of old skool Thrash/Speed in the morning me. It's so FreaKings good to get up early out of bed and headbang along to the vicious melodies found on "Gladiator". Thankfully there are still acts out there such as this utter mad power-trio from Switzerland. They still believe in Thrash Metal. In fact, they named a song after the genre (track seven) and the chorus simply goes and I quote, "This Is Thrash Metal - Thrash Metal Attack". What more can you ask for really?

"Life is hard, blunt and merciless. Sometimes unjust and not fair. Nobody said it would be easy. But do not give in, do not give up". The lyrics to "The Life" speaks of the struggle and obstacles in your way, but there's help to be found, a well-chosen statement since there's a christian bibel and CCM connection to the three of FreaKings. Never overbearing or too much as they keep things simple and very much metal.

Bible quotes and the odd vision were always fodder for the mad Thrash scene after all? Listening to vocalist/guitarist Joe conjure up his finest Kreator, Tourniquet, Slayer, Deliverance, and S.O.D. style and shouts, alone worthy of your attention. The above bunch were all wicked bands so anything bearing their influence is well worth a gander. It's strictly old school Thrash and there's absolutely no need to worry about any modern growls or stuff. Just to clear up any possible confusion (surely not?). This is well worth a look and listen (at the link below) if you're into above mentioned acts and the late 80's/early 90's sound and genre. Neat!
freakings.ch