BLIND EGO: “The Hunting Party”

Gentle Art Of Music 

Rating: RRRR 

Review by Martien Koolen 

"The Hunting Party" is Kalle Wallner’s (guitarist of RPWL) fifth studio album since his debut in 2007 and after a couple of spins I can honestly say that this is again a great new Blind Ego album, although I have some problems with the rather “odd” vocals of Kevin Kears. He normally supplies the lead vocals for the metalcore band Cyant.. Fortunately, Wallner’s guitar playing, picking, riffing, shredding, and soloing is again second to none and again the obvious comparison with legendary guitarist David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) is not hard to find. But, then again, who cares about that when you get goosebumps from several Wallner guitar solos on this awesome album. 

Wallner’s new album kicks off with the title track, a song with an extraordinary strong melody and beautiful soaring guitar solos, while follow-up "The Stranger" features a catchy chorus, and "Spiders" is definitely a harder song, a so-called up-tempo rocker indeed. The second part of The Hunting Party features the two longest songs: "In A Blink Of An Eye" – a very emotional track with a stunning guitar solo – and "Breathless"; the latter almost being a prog metal song packed with hard guitar riffs and really dark, mysterious tones. Finally, Blind Ego closes the album with "When The Party’s Over" and this one, a beautiful ballad, has some obvious Pink Floyd influences and of course again brilliant guitar picking by Kalle. 

Overall, The Hunting Party is a very enjoyable album, highlighting, again Wallner’s more than excellent guitar playing, but just for the records, for a new Blind Ego album I would choose another lead vocalist as Kevin Kears’ singing is not really my cup of tea, but as we all know, there is no account for taste; so enjoy this new album and play it LOUD. 

Listening tip: "In A Blink Of An Eye"

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DAYTONA: ”Garder La Flamme”

 

Escape Music 2024

Rating: RRRR

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Today is the release date of ”Garder La Flamme”, the debut album by Swedish newcomers Daytona. Featuring former and current members of Miss Behaviour, Eclipse and Osukaru, the band has taken on the mission to create an album in the style of late eighties hard rock/AOR scene. That’s an ambitious task, considering that the bands of the era usually had huge budgets, songsmiths and name producers helping them create polished and commercially viable products. 

I would say that Daytona have succeeded quite well. ”Garder La Flamme” is a polished and great sounding album with a strong late eighties vibe. ”Last Of The Runaways” by Giant has obviously been a huge influence, you’ll even find a lyrical nod to ”the days of innocence” in the majestic opening track ”Welcome To The Real World”. As for being ”commercially viable”, I’m afraid that’s not really possible for an AOR album in 2024, but I guess that band isn’t expecting to find themselves on the Billboard charts. Within the melodic rock scene, this is one of the more interesting debuts of recent years.

Apart from Giant, you’ll hear echoes of Toto, Foreigner and many others, but not in a ”copy/paste” way thankfully. My favourite track is the irresistible single ”Looks Like Rain” with ”Town Of Many Faces” being the runner-up. That song sees the band taking a bit of a departure from their chosen ”late eighties”  style, as there are 70’s styled disco elements in the song, similar to The Night Flight Orchestra’s material. 

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Rock Blog #36: a few reviews - A Neverending John's Dream, Timeless Fairytale, Victory, Sam Millar

Here’s a few new or at least not that old albums… let’s start with one of the strangest band names in recent history, A NEVERENDING JOHN’S DREAM. Their album ”Coming Back To Paradise” (RRRR) is a decent slice of keyboard-driven, slightly progressive AOR. Apparently this kind of an album has been a dream of band leader, vocalist/drummer Joan ”John” M. Heredia, hence the name. Thanks to John’s rather unique voice and the interesting arrangements, this doesn’t sound like a generic AOR album, John and co. have a sound of their own. There are touches of GTR, Zeno and Rush to be found here. My absolute favourite songs are the magnificent title track and ”Prisoners Of This Life”. 

TIMELESS FAIRYTALE are another band who have recently released their first album ”A Story To Tell” (RRRr). Masterminded by one Luca Sellitto from Italy, the band also features former Royal Hunt vocalist Henrik Brockmann. That might explain why I thought that ”damn, this sounds a lot like early Royal Hunt” when I first listened to this, without knowing who was in the band. It’s just not the vocals only, Timeless Fairytale definitely operates on the same field. You can hear some influences from Yngwie Malmsteen in his prime and Sonata Arctica. Good stuff, but I’m missing a couple of hard hitters, really memorable songs.

VICTORY have been around for decades, but I haven’t really followed their career since the mid-nineties. "Circle Of Life” (RRR) might be the first Victory album I’ve heard since ”You Bought It, You Name It”. And… it’s fairly standard riff-oriented hard rock. A few of the songs have decent melodies and hooks, but there are quite a few which do not, and they end up being instantly forgettable. Current singer Gianni Pontillo has a good, raspy voice that reminds me of their former singer Fernando Garcia and Marc Storace of Krokus and only original member Herman Frank churns out solid riffs, but it’s not enough in the end.

You know the label Earache? The home of Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, Carcass and the likes? One wouldn’t expect them to release one of the finest AOR albums of 2024, but that just what they’ve done! 

At its’ best SAM MILLAR’’S ”Virtual Summer” (RRRRr) is like a breath of fresh air to the genre. It’s a superb mix of 80’s melodic rock and pop, glam, synthwave vibes and modern touches. The choruses are positively explosive, just check out the first two tracks ”The Killing Floor” and ”Fooling Yourself” for example. And how many times have you heard the term ”Neanderthal Man” being used in a rock song, especially combined with a healthy dose of  ”na-na-na”s?  

Rock Blog #35: a round-up of recent releases: Nightwish, Eclipse, Fighter V, SteelCity, Wake The Nations, Stryper.

 Last week’s Friday was the release date of a few interesting new albums. Let’s have a look at some of them (and a couple of slightly older ones).

Finnish symphonic metal masters NIGHTWISH released their latest opus ”Yesterwynde”. As expected, it’s an ambitious, cinematic album with lots of textures, levels, nuances… having listened to it maybe twice, I can’t claim that I’ve given it the time it deserves. What can I say at this point is that it appeals more to me than their previous album, but does it appeal to me so much that I’ll play it a lot? I don’t know. There are no easy hits on it, maybe ”The Children of A’ta” being closest to that. Somehow, ”Yesterwynde” is closer to an opera or a symphony than a rock album… interesting, but not necessarily suitable for casual listening. I can’t rate this yet.

ECLIPSE released the sequel to their ”Megalomanium” album, called ”Meglomanium II” (RRRR). One might think that it’s some kind of collection of left-over material but that’s not the case. If anything, this might be the better of the two. It’s quite uptempo, ”in your face” and possibly the most modern out their albums. Still, the Eclipse sound and their melodic sensibility hasn’t been sacrificed. A great example of band evolving but not losing their essence. My favourite tracks at the moment: ”Apocalypse Blues”, ”Falling To My Knees” and ”Until The War Is Over”.

Swiss band FIGHTER V left a good impression with their first album a few years ago.  Now with a new singer Emmo Ecar they’ve released their second album ”Heart Of The Young” (RRRR), which is bound to raise their profile even more. Acar has a deep, raspy voice that took a while getting used to, but I really like his delivery, he’s an expressive and passionate singer. His voice reminds me a bit of David Reece (Accept, Bangalore Choir) and also Chris Cade from Melidian (an obscure late eighties band). Musically the band have  a sound straight from 1989, with smooth harmonies, cool riffs and great keyboards. If you need a more contemporary reference, think Brother Firetribe, H.E.A.T… My favourite tracks include the title track, ”How Long”, ”Miracle Heart”, ”Run N’ Hide Away” and ”Radio Tokyo”. When the band try to rock harder, as in ”Speed Demon” and ”Power”, they kind of lose their charm, but when they stick to the more melodic format they’re really good. 

STEELCITY’S ”Reverence” (RRR) has many ingredients which should make it a safe bet for me, but for some reason it just doesn’t resonate with me. Good vocalist in Roy Cathey, solid guitar work, keys and a hard rock style straight from the ”golden era”, with influences from Dokken, Skid Row… but it’s just okay. I don’t dislike any of the songs, they’re all pretty decent, but nothing really stands out. 

I won’t hide the fact that I’m friends with the guys in  WAKE THE NATIONS. I’ve heard the songs from their latest album already a few months ago, and my initial reaction was that they’ve moved too far from the AOR style of their previous albums. Now that I’ve listened ”Heartageddon”  (RRRr) again, I’ve changed my mind somewhat. I still prefer ”Heartrock”, their 2019 album to this new one, but I kind of understand their need to try new things. If they used to be firmly rooted in the eighties, now they’ve got another foot in the nineties… 

My favorite tracks: ”Don’t Call Me Tonight”, ”The Shadows” and ”Bulletproof”. Then there's ”Lifesaver”, which is just way too alternative rock-sounding for me...

The latest STRYPER album ”When We Were Kings” I’ve played quite a few times recently. I wasn’t won over straight away, but some of the subtle hooks found their way and I must say that this it’s a good one. Easily better than ”The Final Battle”, the previous one, but not quite as good as the one before that, ”Even The Devil Believes”. Anyway, if your only knowledge of this band is via their biggest MTV hits ”Honestly”, ”Calling On You” and ”In God We Trust”, you might be surprised that these days they rock a bit harder. Most of these songs have sharp riffs and they can be classified as Heavy Metal, pure and simple. Having said that, my personal favourites are the more melodic, hook-driven songs ”End Of Days”, ”When We Were Kings”, ”Grateful” and ”imperfect World”. RRRr. 

Rock Blog #34: Mike Tramp, Marko Hietala, The Swedes strike again...

 So, over a month has passed since the last entry, as I suspected after the sudden peak in activity in July/August. I thought I'll go through the list of new albums and write some reviews, but I really can't. I haven't had the time or drive to listen to them properly. It seems I've mostly listened to older stuff or bands that are "in the spotlight" for one reason or another. For example, we bought tickets to see Within Temptation next month, and I've been listening to their albums quite a lot. Same with Crashdïet, who we saw last Friday, there's a mini-review and photos on our Facebook page. And Nestor and Cruzh are coming to Finland next month too, they've been getting some airtime.

Anyway, there are a few things I want to write about. MIKE TRAMP has just released his second album of re-recorded WHITE LION songs, called "Songs Of White Lion, vol. 2". The songs have been re-arranged to suit Tramp's diminished range, and compared to the originals they sound very different. I tried to listen to them as if I heard them for the first time, but it was impossible. The original melodies are etched to my soul, and these versions just pale in comparison. Still, as some of them are among my all time favourite songs, even as "flattened versions" they are quite enjoyable. The slower songs like "You're All I Need" and "Road To Valhalla" work well. I still like the timbre of Tramp's voice. RRR. 

The new single from MARKO HIETALA took me by surprise - big chorus, haunting keyboards and Marko's great vocals of course. Certainly one of the best songs I've heard from him in quite a while. Here's the video:

And then the Swedes. Goddamn it, they just churn out these catchy tracks one after another. Here's a set of new Swedish hard rock videos:

FANS OF THE DARK - Meet Me On The Corner

SMOKING SNAKES - Rocking To The Morning Light

Daytona - Looks Like Rain

Eclipse - Still My Hero

Rock Blog #33: Kissin' Dynamite, Sonata Arctica, Smokin' Aces, New Horizon, JD Miller

 I guess you can expect weeks and weeks of silence after this sudden burst of blog entries... we'll see. But anyway, here we go again!

KISSIN' DYNAMITE's "Back With A Bang" (RRRR) was a hugely anticipated release, and indeed it went straight to #1 in their home country Germany on its' release week.  It's a good album, although not quite as brilliant as their previous album. There are a couple of songs that among the best ones released this year, but there are also a number of songs that leave me a bit cold. My favourites include "My Monster", "Queen Of The Night" and "The Devil Is A Woman", which sounds so much like recent H.E.A.T. material that I had to check whether they've been co-writing. Nope...  The second half of the album is less to my liking, the songs aren't bad but not great either.

SONATA ARCTICA claim to have gone "back to the roots" with their latest album "CLEAR COLD BEYOND" (RRRr). Yeah, I'll buy that, it's mostly uptempo melodic metal and maybe a bit more straight-forward that most of the material they've released during the last few years. Tony Kakko has a theatrical style to write and sing and it's an acquired taste, but I like it. Stand-out tracks: "California", "Dark Empath" and "First In Line".

Swedish SMOKIN' SNAKES play sleazy hard rock, and "Danger Zone" (RRRr) is their debut album. Their sound is a bit diffenrent to most of the other sleaze bands, I'd say they have a more metallic edge, think ACCEPT and LORDI. Razor-sharp riffs, rough vocals and some catchy choruses , "Lady Luck", "Restless And Wild" (not an Accept cover!), "Rocking To The Morning Light" for example. The  vocals of Brett Martin are what holds me back from giving them a better rating, there's not a lot of variety in his delivery. 

NEW HORIZON is a power metal project by H.E.A.T. keyboard player Jona Tee. On the first album he enlisted his former bandmate Erik Grönwall to sing, but on this second album "Conquerors" (RRRRr) on vocals he's got another well-known Swedish singer, Nils Molin of Dynazty and Amaranthe. A worthy replacement! While the songs on the album sound very familiar at times, I can't deny that they are all quality melodic metal, and at their best, bloody brilliant! "King Of Kings", "Messenger Of The Stars", "Apollo"... great stuff in the vein of Sabaton, Battle Beast with a touch of H.E.A.T. melodies. Not a weak song in sight really. Molin's bandmate Elize Ryd is featured on the balladic "Before The Dawn" and "Alexander the Great" is an Iron Maiden cover.  

I don't know what to make of JD MILLER. Their latest album "Empyrean" (RRRR) isn't definitely "just another AOR album", which is a good thing. They aren't trying to bring the eighties back with it, instead they play modern day melodic rock/metal with lots of different influences. They are heavy, yet they have some highly infectious pop hooks ("Out Of Control" as the best example). Some songs have an industrial, modern vibe, but they also have very smooth harmonies. Take "One In A Million" for example - it kicks of with eerie keys, crunchy guitars and aggressive vocals, but then they get to the chorus, which reminds me of Autograph or something! Then they jump into a midsection straight from a Rocky soundtrack with pulsating keys... all this and more in 3 and half minutes. Anyway, I was a bit unsure about the rating, but now that I played this again, it's such an ambitious and different album and it gets better after every spin, so it deserves 4 R's. I think these guys are onto something!  

Rock Blog #32: Reviews! Again! Judas Priest, Bruce Dickinson, FM, Lionheart, Issa.

 I'm on a roll! More reviews coming your way right now, only a couple of days after the previous bunch! Let's start with a few legendary artists.

Some have called the latest JUDAS PRIEST album "Invisible Shield" (RRR) as one of their best. I don't know, for me they were at their best during "Defenders/Turbo" era. Yes, I might be a heretic. A few of the songs on this album are very much in "Painkiller" vein, fast and/or furious with simple refrains, probably pure gold for those who enjoy their Priest as heavy as possible. I prefer them when the inject a bit more melody to their metal, luckily there are a few songs like that on the album: "Gates Of Hell", "Crown Of Horns" and "Fight Of Your Life" for example. With 14 songs, there's just too much to absorb, a trimmed-down version with the 10 best songs would get a better rating. 

I am not a huge Iron Maiden fan, and I haven't really listened to much BRUCE DICKINSON's solo material either. I didn't have any expectations for "The Mandrake Project" (RRRr), knowing that Bruce does what he wants and it could be anything. I was positively surprised though, this album is fairly traditional heavy rock with modern influences. Dickinson being the voice of Iron Maiden and one of the songwriters, there are a bound to be similarities and indeed there are.  The most obvious one is "Eternity Has Failed", a very close relative to the Maiden song "If Eterenity Should Fail" from "Book Of Souls".  My favourites are the Ghost-like "Many Doors To Hell", "Afterglow Of Ragnarok" and "Mistress Of Mercy".

FM are AOR veterans, and "Old Habits Die Hard" (RRR) is their 14th album. Their first two albums from the eighties are classics, but they've released decent stuff since their reformation too. However, I find it hard to get into these tracks. All very well constructed and immaculately sung by the great Steve Overland, but somehow they are just... unexciting. There are glimpses of their greatness here and there, but overall "Old Habits Die Hard" is one of their weaker efforts.

LIONHEART had their brief moment in the early eighties, when they were dubbed as the first "NWOBHM supergroup", with ex-members from Iron Maiden, Tygers Of Pan Tang and Def Leppard. Once they got around to releasing their first album, some of those members had been replaced and their "Hot Tonight" album turned out to be polished AOR. The band didn't last for long, 1986 it was over for them. Fast forward to 2016, when the band reformed with new vocalist Lee Small. Since then, they've released three albums, "The Grace Of A Dragonfly" (RRRR) being the latest one. The albums by the reformed band have been slightly heavier than "Hot Tonight", I could even say "more british-sounding", and this one follows on the same path. Anyway, they've got some fine, melodic songs, with big hooks here:  "V Is For Victory", "Little Ships", "Just A Man" and "UXB", to name a few.

ISSA's latest album "Another World" (RRRR) was one that I had big expectations for: the Martin brothers James and Tom have written and produced it, and their track record has been quite good. It is a decent album, no doubt about it, but maybe I was expecting something even better... oh well, if I put my unrealistic hopes aside and look at "Another World" as it is, there's not really much to complain about. All songs are good, the arrangements are lively and colourful and Issa herself belts out the songs with passion. My choice as the best song: "The Hardest Fight".

Rock Blog #31: Palace, Amaranthe, Black Diamonds

MALMÖ MELODIC is going on as I write this, I should be there but it wasn’t possible this time. Apparently some really good sets have been played by bands like Houston, Romeo’s Daughter and Grand, to name a few. Maybe next time…

Meanwhile, I’ve been listening to a lot of music now that I’ve been on my own a couple of days, catching up on new releases and looking back at some old ones. 

The most listened artist this week has been PALACE, who just released his best album so far, ”Reckless Heart” (RRRRr). It’s tailormade for beautiful summer days and nights: uplifting, melodic, catchy! Some of the melodies have that annoying ”where have I heard this before” thing, but somehow it doesn’t bother me much, because the songs are so good!  There’s a song called ”Back To ´85” which might give you a clue about the style - the 80’s vibe is very strong here. You need references? How about Toto, Alias, Journey, Brother Firetribe, Nestor… that sort of ear candy.

I revisited the whole Palace back catalogue yesterday, and I think my second favourite album is ”Rock And Roll Radio”, with ”One 4 The Road” and ”Master Of The Universe” close behind. Strangely enough, Palace’s second album ”Binary Music” doesn’t really work for me, none of the songs made it to my ”Best Of Palace” playlist.

AMARANTHE’S ”The Catalyst” was released in February and it kind of slipped through the cracks after the first spin. I gave it another go the other day, and I like it. A few albums ago I was slowly losing faith in the band, but they’ve found their magic again. The title track, ”Damnation Flame”, ”Interference”, ”Outer Dimensions” and ”Resistance” are among my favourites. ”Bangers”, as the youngsters call ’em. RRRR

BLACK DIAMONDS, Swiss sleaze rockers left a positive impression with their previous album ”No-Tell Hotel”, and their latest one ”Destination Paradise”  (RRRR) is at least as good as that one. The vocals of Mich Kehl have that nasal snarl dominant in the glam/sleaze genre, but musically the band isn’t really that sleazy at all, their songs are melodic hard rock with strong hooks. Check out ”After The Rain”, ”Paradise” or ”Everyday Heroes”! Oh yeah, they cover Belinda Carlisle’s ”Leave A Light On”.

To be continued any day now!

Rock Blog #30! 30! A milestone reached!

So this is the 30th blog entry since I started this freeform babbling... Oh well, it's just a number and there are no festivities planned for this "milestone". Let's get down to business!

Last week was full of major concerts here in Finland. Metallica played two gigs in Helsinki on Friday and Sunday and Judas Priest conquered Tampere on Wednesday. THE Gig for the Finnish AOR fans took place on Tuesday, when JOURNEY played here for the very first time. 

Here's a few words about the gig... Arnel Pineda! I know, "he's not Steve Perry" and yada yada...  but his vocals were terrific and he brings a lot of youthful energy to the show (he's  only 56 years young!).

With Deen Castronovo and Jason Derlatka both singing lead on one song each and everyone in the band singing backing vocals - this band has plenty of vocal power available! 

The whole band was great, especially Neal Schon is a real guitar hero with a melodic touch. I could have lived without the extended soloing though, as good as he was.  

I do find it strange that the tour is called "Freedom Tour", named after their latest album, but not a single song from that album was played. Only songs from the "Golden Perry era", up to 1986... then again, this has happened with many bands/artists before, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised anymore.

I filmed some clips and put together this video below. Yep, we didn't have the greatest seats and that wire was slightly annoying. But what I've heard, the sound was at times very loud and messy down there in the standing area, we didn't have that problem. Win some, lose some.

Brother Firetribe supported, they played a solid set. Vocalist Pekka might have been a bit nervous in the presence of "AOR gods", because he didn't entertain us with his usual comedic banter...then again, it's the songs that matter and we got those.

Last Friday was the release day of "FOREVER", the new BON JOVI album. The rather good "Living Proof" single raised my expectations and I knew that this was going to be at least somewhat better than the depressing "2020" album, their worst album of all time in my books. 

After a few spins I think "Forever" is on the same level as the last few Bon Jovi albums before the previous one - a few good songs but a lot of fairly forgettable material. "Living Proof" is the stand-out song, very much in the vein of "It's My Life", "Bounce" and other their more rocking songs of the last 25 years. "Walls Of Jericho" is the second "anthem" of the album, simple yet effective pop-rocker with a singalong chorus. "Na Na Na's" and "One More Time With Feeling" taking us back to the "New Jersey" album nicely. "The People's House" is a throwback to "Keep The Faith" era and an okay track too. I also like the darker "Waves", it's a good mid tempo track with a clever chorus. I've kinda grown to like "Legendary" too.

The rest of the tracks don't do much for me I'm afraid. I don't really dislike them but... The uptempo tracks "We Made It Look Easy", "Seeds" and "Living In Paradise" sound like the band is driving with the hand-brake on. The more balladic songs may have poignant lyrics but the melodies aren't really memorable. As for Jon Bon Jovi's voice, he sounds decent enough, all things considered. RRR.   

The previous Friday (31st of May) was the release day of an album I was anticipating quite a bit more than the Jovi one - NESTOR's second album "Teenage Rebel". What is with the Swedes that they keep on releasing stuff that just destroys all competition? Just a couple of weeks ago Remedy released a fantastic new album, and now Nestor does just the same! 

"Teenage Rebel" gets my second RRRRR rating this year, it's the perfect soundtrack for summer of ´24, oozing nostalgia, eighties, swirling keyboards, killer hooks and blazing guitar solos. Tobias Gustavsson and co. could be accused of just recycling all the classics from the eighties, but they do it so well that I can only enjoy. I can hear the ingredients - Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Van Halen for example - but what these cooks make of them is something of their own, a delicious dish called Nestor. 

REMEDY: "Pleasure Beats The Pain"

Escape Music 2024

Rating: RRRRR

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

The second REMEDY album takes me back to the golden era of late eighties and BIG albums. You know, the kind of albums you knew right away after the first spin that it was something special, with a half a dozen surefire hits on it. ”Pleasure Beats The Pain” is like that. Sure, it has a couple of songs I don’t like as much as the others, but it has hits. A lot of hits. Unfortunately it’s unlikely that they’ll conquer the Billboard charts, but in my world the will rule the playlists this summer and onwards.

The first Remedy album was a great one, my album of the year 2022. Usually most bands struggle a bit with their second album, but apparently Remedy didn’t get the memo of ”sophomore album curse”. They have just done it again, releasing a strong contender for this year's best album. Probably they didn't even break a sweat over it, lucky buggers!

Although I said this album takes me back, it's not really a retro-sounding album, the production is up to date and the songs have some rather clever, even unique hooks. I might have mentioned it before, but I hear a little bit of The Rasmus at their best in some of these songs. Then again, I do hear touches of Abba, Bonfire and even Queensrÿche here and there. But most of all, it's Remedy I hear.

The "hits" of the album for me are the first eight tracks, and right now I might say that "Moon Has The Night" could be my favourite, but I really don't know, it might also be "Crying Heart" or "Hearts On Fire". All three come with gigantic choruses, soaring vocals, neat little nuances and tasteful guitar solos. But so do the other 5 tracks...

The somewhat Van Halenesque "Girls Got Trouble" is by no means a bad song, but somehow it stands out as the "obligatory party rocker". I kind of understand its' inclusion and it might be a fun live track to play. "Something They Call Love" is an acoustic ballad, and if you ignore the lyrics, it could be a lullaby. Maybe it's a very personal track to someone and therefore an important piece of the puzzle, but for me it's just okay. The debut had one of the best ballads of recent years in "Sundays At Nine", so they're certainly capable of writing brilliant slower songs. Who knows what they have in the vaults... Anyway, on any scale this is a monster of an album and even with the two last tracks slightly lowering the overall score, I can easily round up my rating to full 5 R's. 

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Rock Blog #29: Welcome Summer 2024!

Apologies for the lack of updates. All sorts of things have taken up my time, but I hope I can write these blog entries a bit more often from now on. We’ll see. 

Retro flashback! As I write this, I’m listening to the MTM Classix version of the first RPM album, which I found today from a second hand shop (or ”fleet market”, to be exact.) A mint, unopened copy for a few euros - a good deal, especially since I didn’t have this album before. It features the well-known songsmith Robert White Johnson on lead vocals, and few of these songs have been covered by other artists such as Van Zant (”2+2”) and Blackfoot (”A Legend Never Dies”). This re-issue comes with 5 bonus tracks. Good early eighties AOR! RRRR.

Then, let's move to the newer stuff:

NIGHTBLAZE is the latest project from Italian guitarist Dario Grillo. With vocalist Damiano Libianchi (Perfect View), bassist Federica Raschellà and drummer Alex Grillo he has created a fine melodic rock album. There’s a certain melancholic feeling in these songs that appeals to me a lot, and while Nightblaze isn’t re-inventing anything, their songs have a touch of originality. RRRR.

IAN WILDE is from Portugal, and he’s the singer in an alternative metal band Wild Freedom. On his first solo album ”Dream Hunter” he’s presenting us a more melodic side of himself though. Vocally he’s a dead ringer of young Michael Voss, and indeed, musically these songs sound like the could have been taken from the cult classic Mad Max album ”Night Of Passion” or Casanova’s debut. Okay, maybe those albums are on a different level, but if they’re among your favourites, you should check out ”Dream Hunter”. Wilde injects some retrowave synth sounds to some of the songs too, ”Born To Shine” is a good example of that. RRRr.

”Defiance” is the latest album from veteran rockers PRAYING MANTIS. They’ve released solid material since the early eighties, but I haven’t ever really gotten into them. This album won’t make a difference I’m afraid. It’s pleasant, mostly mid tempo melodic hard rock and if you’ve liked their previous albums, I’m sure you’ll like this one too. Something just doesn’t click for me though, and Russ Ballard’s ”I Surrender” stands out easily as the best song. RRR.

I loved the ART OF ILLUSION album released a couple of years ago. Now the guys behind it, Anders Rydholm and Lars Säfsund have released a new album, but quite righftfully under the monicker of RYDHOLM SÄFSUND, as it is a very different beast to the Art Of Illusion one. ”Kaleidoscope” is the name of the album, and it’s highly polished, at times even jazzy one. Think Toto, Chicago at their jazziest, with lots of horns and brass instruments and funky rhythms… A few very good choruses doesn’t save this from going way too deep into the yacht rock waters, so it’s only RRR from me. Immaculately executed and sung of course, but I sure hope the duo will return to the Art Of Illusion style one day.

Can’t say that SEBASTIAN BACH is BACK even if I wanted to, because he really hasn’t been away. There’s always an online fight between him and someone else going on, but he also raised his profile in more positive way (I think?) by appearing in Masked Singer. Anyway, the latest chapter in his solo career goes by the name of ”Child Within The Man”, and… it’s not too bad. The album doesn’t really offer any standout tracks, but it’s decent hard rock / metal with a contemporary sound, somewhat lacking in the hook department though. Actually, didn’t I say something similar about the last album of the band he used to be a part of? Favourite song: the ballad "To Live Again". RRR

CRUZH: "The Jungle Revolution"

Frontiers 2024

Rating: RRRR

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

"The Jungle Revolution" is the third album from Swedish hard rockers CRUZH. The band recently added a second guitarist Johan Öberg to the line-up, which might be the reason for their slightly toughened, sleazier sound. Still, their love for Def Leppard, Bon Jovi et al. still through. Songs like "Angel Dust", "Split Personality" and "Gimme Anarchy" are very much in the vein of Crash Diët and other new sleaze rockers, but then again, Cruzh have always had a bit of a glam vibe. 

My favourites are on the melodic end of their spectrum though: "Winner" is the love child of "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" and Skagarack's "Hungry For A Game" - very familiar ingredients but freshly baked with cruzhed candy on top. The single "FL89" would be a summer hit in some other dimension, and the moodier "Killing In The Name Of Love" will delight the fans of the first Cruzh album. The title "SkullCruzher" suggests something extremely heavy, but it's probably the most keyboard-driven track of the album, with a healthy doze of Whoa Whoa's. The album's ballad "From Above" might just be the band's finest slow song so far, a delicate, understated number with beautiful melodies and a heartfelt vocal from Alex Waghorn.

https://www.facebook.com/cruzhofficial

Rock Blog #28: Hooray Sweden! Heja Sverige!

The new president of Finland, Alexander Stubb officially started his work today. You might think I'd be in a patriotic mood and share some Finnish music today? I could do that, but I won't, because our western neighbours have released a whole lot of good tunes today!

Let's start with Eclipse. They released their latest album in September, yet they are already offering us new material in the form of "Apocalypse Blues". It's not a blues track, don't worry! 

My personal favourite album of 2022 was the debut from REMEDY. The next on is on its' way, to be released in a couple of months. "Sin For Me" was the rather excellent first single, but the second one is something even better. The actual video premieres today (March) at 8 PM, here's a link to it:

If you can't wait and just want to hear the song, here you go:

Another RockUnited favourite is CRUZH, who have also released a new song "Angel Dust". They have a new album called "The Jungle Revolution" coming out soon. 

ARKADO released a new album last week. I've yet to hear it in full, but what I have heard I have liked. Here's their latest video;

TRANSATLANTIC RADIO released "Fever Dream" a few days ago. A bit of a synthwave vibe there, or what do you think?

ALICATE are yet another new Swedish band with a new album on its' way, and they also have taster of things to come. They're not going to win the prize of the most original song title with "Heaven Tonight", but it is a good song.

Guess what? ANETTE OLZON has a new album coming out soon! And here's a video, "Heed The Call"!

Last but not least, a track from an album reviewed in last weeks Rock Blog (#27). They're Swedish, and they're GRAND. Here's "Kryptonite".

ROCK BLOG #27 - First album reviews of 2024: Exit Eden, GOTUS, Autumn's Child, Russell - Guns, Robert Hart, Grand, Honeymoon Suite.

 We’re 8 weeks into 2024, and it’s time to take a look at the albums released so far in the genres we cover. Or at least the ones I’ve heard. 

I have to say that this year’s releases have been a little underwhelming. It’s safe to say that the ”Album Of The Year” hasn’t been released yet, nothing that I have heard so far has excited me that much. Well, I did have a sneak peak preview of the second REMEDY album to be released by Escape Music later this year, and that one IS a strong contender, even though what I heard was merely an unfinished version.

I liked the first EXIT EDEN album released a few years ago. It was an all-covers album and featured 4 female vocalists, Amanda Somerville, Anna Brunner, Clementine Delaney and Marina La Torraca. Somerville has left the band late last year, and they’re continuing as a three-piece group from now on. On the new album ”Femmes Fatales” (RRRR) they’re continuing with a mix of covers and original songs, mostly written by Anna Brunner together with Hannes Braun of Kissing’ Dynamite, who is also the producer of the album. The cover versions are very good, maybe "Separate Ways", "Poison" and "Alone" are kind of safe choices but they're well executed. Marillion's "Kayleigh" gets a symphonic metal treatment too, and I'm not really sure that it works. Pet Shop Boys' "It's A Sin" and Mylene Farmer's "Désenchantée" are very different to the originals, and I like these metallized versions. The original songs are mostly very good, theatrical melodic metal songs not that far from Avantasia's output. At the moment, my pick out of the originals is "Buried In The Past". Tomorrow it might be something else...

The (mostly) Swiss supergroup GOTUS features former members of Gotthard and Krokus, and they play just the kind of music one might expect - hard rock! Vocalist Ronnie Romero was in the Gotthard offshoot Coreleoni and guitarist Mandy Meyer was in Gotthard for several years, not to mention Asia, Krokus, Katmandu, Cobra and other projects. Their self-titled album includes versions of Gotthard's "Reason To Live" and Katmandu's "When The Rain Comes", and it's a safe bet for fans of Gotthard, Whitesnake and hard rock in general. It probably won't be the best album you'll hear this year, but solid stuff anyway. RRRr.

Between 2003 and 2018, Michael Erlandsson released 14 albums with Last Autumn's Dream. When that band went on a break, he formed AUTUMN'S CHILD and "TELLUS TIMELINE" (RRRR) is their fifth album.  If you add a couple of albums with Love Under Cover and his solo work, he's been a reasonably busy fellow, wouldn't you say? The new album is a good example of the high level of songwriting he's managed to maintain, along with his co-writers. Most of the songs on this album are catchy AOR tracks with sharp hooks, my favourites being "A Strike Of Lightning", "Gates Of Paradise" and "Never Surrender". Then again, there are a few songs with strong Beatles- and early Abba-influences which don't really push the right buttons with me.

RUSSELL - GUNS is yet another project masterminded by Frontiers Records. The main characters  are Jack Russell, best known as the vocalist on Great White's biggest albums and Tracii Guns, of LA Guns fame on guitars. The songs are written by Alessandro Del Vechhio, Tommy Denander and a few others, not Russell or Guns though. The songwriters have probably had a mission to mix classic Great White sound with LA Guns' sleazier style, and I guess they've somewhat succeeded in that.  It's just that the songs themselves aren't very memorable, apart from a couple of exceptions. It's a shame, because Jack Russell still sounds good and I'd love to hear him sing better material. Rating for the album "Medusa": RRr.

ROBERT HART's new album "Circus Life" (RRR) has been written by FM's Steve Overland and Steve Morris (Heartland, Shadowman, Lonerider etc), who are no strangers to bluesy classic rock style. Hart himself is a former Bad Company singer, so this combination makes sense. He released a couple of more AOR'ish albums back in the day, and compared to those, his delivery is much rough-edged these days. There are some AOR touches here too, with Steve Overland providing smooth backing vocals and melodies. A few tracks wouldn't sound out of place on any of the latter-day FM albums, if sung by Overland, but I guess that's no surprise.

"Second To None" is the second album from GRAND, a Swedish AOR group, and it's a bit of a roller coaster! The band definitely doesn't stick to a formula, they are taking risks with their songs. I applaud their bravery and versatility, but at the same time I have to admit that I like them the best when they don't venture too far from AOR. The album starts with three perfectly good AOR tracks "Crash & Burn", "When We Were Young" and "Leave A Scar", but then something strange happens. They hit rock bottom indeed with the plodding, bluesy "Rock Bottom", and "Sweet Talker" isn't much better. It sounds like an experiment to mix Van Halen with Toto, not entirely an unappealing idea... but this time it doesn't work. "Lily" is probably a favourite to those who enjoy the smooth sounds of yacht rock, but for me it's the third miss in a row. Thankfully the band bounce back with the killer "Kryptonite", possibly my favourite track of the album. Among the remaining tracks there's another gem called "Achille's Heel" and the ballad "Daze Of Yesterday", which reminds me of "Edge Of The Century"-era Styx. Anyway, there's more good than bad, and at their best GRAND lives up to their name, so my rating is RRRR.

HONEYMOON SUITE were serious contenders to make it to the big league back in the eighties. The were a major success in their home country Canada, but things didn't work out that well elsewhere. The band wasn't very active in the nineties, but they returned to the scene in 2002, and have been sporadically active ever since, with new releases every now and then. In 2017 I was close to seeing them live at Rockingham in the UK, but they cancelled their appearance. Their new album "Alive" (RRRr) has been a long time in the making, the first single from it was released way back in 2019. What's good about it is that while the band has taken a lot of modern influences, they still sound like Honeymoon Suite. Vocalist Johnnie Dee doesn't seem to have aged at all vocally and the band can still write fine melodies, when they put their heart into it. So, it's decent stuff, but a few real standout songs would have elevated my rating to full four R's. At the moment only "Broken" might make it to my Best Of HMS playlist. As bonustracks, the band has re-recorded two old songs, "Love Changes Everything" and "New Girl Now".  "Love Changes..." is one of my favourite tracks from the band, and it stands head and shoulders above the rest of the material.

MAGNUM: "Here Comes The Rain" (an AI enhanced review)

This is an experiment with AI: I asked ChatGTP to write a review of the new Magnum album in my style. The first attempt was pretty good, but way too long and there were some facts wrong, songs that are not on the album mentioned etc. 

I asked it to correct the facts, mentioned my favourite tracks and the sad news of Tony Clarkin's passing... After a few attempts, this is what I would have written, according to ChatGTP. I definitely notice some straits of my writing here... I pretty much agree with everything here, except for the bit about "Some Kind of Treachery" and "Broken City" having "humor-infused lyrics". Maybe some other tracks, but not those two.

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Magnum's "Here Comes The Rain" is a symphonic rock journey that demands attention, with two standout tracks leading the way – the exhilarating opener "Run Into the Shadows" and the gripping "After The Fire."

"Run Into the Shadows" kicks off the album with a thunderous proclamation of Magnum's enduring prowess. Tony Clarkin's guitar mastery creates an anthemic, powerful, and hook-laden anthem. Bob Catley's vocals soar, setting the stage for the entire musical expedition.

"After The Fire" stands out as a gem, showcasing Magnum's ability to blend melody and power seamlessly. The combination of Clarkin's guitar riffs and Rick Benton's keyboard magic creates a sonic landscape that's both majestic and captivating. The song's dynamic shifts and emotive delivery make it an instant classic.

While these tracks shine as the album's crown jewels, the entire record is a testament to Magnum's musical finesse. Tracks like "Some Kind of Treachery" and "Broken City" provide moments of introspection, while the humor-infused lyrics keep the experience entertaining.

In the wake of Tony Clarkin's recent passing, "Here Comes The Rain" takes on an added layer of poignancy. It stands as a tribute to a guitar legend who poured his heart and soul into every note, especially evident in the opening track and the mesmerizing "After The Fire."

In conclusion, "Here Comes The Rain" is a celebration of Magnum's enduring legacy. Whether you're raising your lighter to the heavens or air-guitaring with abandon, Magnum's latest effort is a rock odyssey that demands to be experienced.

ROCK BLOG #26: The Best Albums Of 2023 - "The Turbo Dozen"

 It’s never easy, and it takes time, putting together a list of favourite albums. For 2023 I had trouble figuring out a Top 10, but then I thought: ”who’s forcing me”? No-one! So I chose 12, and since ”The Dirty Dozen” is such a cliché, I went with ”The Turbo Dozen”! 

1. Nitrate - Feel The Heat

(With their fourth album, Nitrate have definitely reached the premium league of modern AOR. Songs, production, the whole package - masterclass!)

2. The Defiants - Drive

(Ravel, Laine & Marcello did not disappoint with their third effort. Summertime anthems with massive hooks was the name of the game, but they do work during other seasons too - I’ve tested!)

3. Crowne - Operation Phoenix

(The Swedish supergroup produced another killer album, even better than their debut. Alexander Strandell is the vocalist of the year, with two albums in top three!)

4. Strangerland - Echoes From The Past

(The surprise album of the year - no big names involved but big-sounding AOR nevertheless.)

5. Kent Hilli - Nothing Left To Lose

(Hilli hooked up with One Desire producer Jimmy Westerlund and the result was a great slice of fine AOR.)

6. Theocracy - Mosaic

(The Metal Album of the Year for me. Matt Smith has a way with the melodies!)

7. Ten - Something Wicked This Way Comes

(Ten have their unmistakable style, and I like it. Gary Hughes has a way with the melodies too!)

8. Temple Balls - Avalanche

(Finland! I didn’t choose this because they’re from Finland, I chose it because it’s catchy hard rock, with a little help from Jona Tee of H.E.A.T. and Crowne.)

9. Vega - Battlelines

(A new line-up, but still solid as ever.)

10. Creeper - Sanguivore

(A very late addition to the list. Imagine a mixture of Goth Rock and Jim Steinman’s greatest moments, and you’re close to this!)

11. Streetlight - Ignition

(Retro sounds from Sweden, very much in the vein of early-to-mid-80’s AOR.)

12. Winger - Seven

(A strong comeback album from Kip & Co.)

During the painstaking process of choosing the Top 12 albums, all of these albums were also in consideration.

All good ones all worthy of a solid RRRR rating. In no particular order:

Cassidy Paris - New Sensation

Care Of Night - Reconnected

Overland - S.I.X.

VV - Neon Noir

Issa - Lights Of Japan

Autumn’s Child - Starflower

Arctic Rain - Unity

Khymera - Hold Your Ground

Creye  - III: Weightless

First Signal - Face Your Fears

Robin McAuley - Alive

All My Shadows - Eerie Monsters

Seventh Crystal - Wonderland

Kamelot - The Awakening

Stormwarning - s/t

Lordi - Scream Writers Guild

Floor Jansen - Paragon

Revolution Saints - Eagle Flight

Grand Design - Rawk

Mecca - Everlasting

Perfect View - Bushido

Heavens Edge - Get It Right

Circus Of Rock - Lost Behind The Mask

Art Nation - Inception

Tanna - Kohtalon Tuulet

Degreed - Public Address

Mitch Malloy - The Last Song

Houston - Re-Launch III

Gabrielle De Val - Kiss In A Dragon Night

Tempt - s/t

Rian - Wings

Transworld Identity - Seven Worlds

Eclipse - Megalomanium

Masaki - Feed The Fire

Midnite City - In At The Deep End

Ronnie Atkins - Trinity

Lazy Bones - Eye Of The Sky

I know I forgot some or didn't have time to check them out, but I had to draw the line somewhere. Otherwise I would have published this list in July... 2025!