KISSIN' DYNAMITE: "Kissin' Dynamite"

Dynamite Records 2026

Rating RRRRr

Rating by Kimmo Toivonen

Just a a couple of months after seeing Kissin' Dynamite live at Malmö Melodic and being blown away, vocalist Hannes Braun announced his departure from the band. This self-titled album is his "farewell album", although he's planning on continuing behind the scenes as a songwriter and in other roles, just not performing. The band has a huge challenge in finding a suitable replacement, as Hannes was pretty much the face and the voice of Kissin' Dynamite. We'll see whether they bring in someone famous or a new face - my money's on the first option.

This album contains 6 new songs and 7 re-recorded versions of songs from the band's first two albums. The opening track is the first single "Glory Days", a nostalgic, anthemic song with a massive chorus. For an outsider, the band has been living their "glory days" during the last few years with chart-topping albums and sold-out arenas, but in this song Hannes is looking back at the early days, when the days were more care-free and easy. "I Salute You" is a salute to the band's fans and features Saltatio Mortis, a German medieval metal group and bagpipes. It's anthemic for sure, but for me it's just okay. 

I thought "Heartattack" was one of the new songs, as I didn't remember it from "Steel Of Swabia". I kind of wonder why, because the chorus is annoying as hell! I dug up the original version and sure enough, the 2026 version sound bigger and more powerful and Hannes doesn't sound like a teenager, but still... not one of my favourite songs of theirs, quite the opposite. 

"Night Is Calling" is one of the new ones, and an instant hit for me, the kind of melodic dynamite the band has been delivering lately. Amaranthe is guest starring on "Out In The Rain", another "Steel Of Swabia" remake. Again I had to check out the original, and I must say I prefer the new version. The original didn't make it to my "Best Of KD" playlist, but this will. The same goes for "Love Me Hate Me", originally from their second album "Addicted To Metal", the new version sounds massive! I enjoy the "campfire version" of "Lie For Me" (from "Steel...") much more than original, the acoustic guitar work is excellent and the song somehow oozes warmth. The original was a bit gloomy.

The new song "I'll Be" has been one of my favourite songs of the last few weeks. It may be made of tried and tested elements, but it still sounds fresh and exciting. Lyrically it could be interpreted as Hannes' pledge to his band mates - "Don't surrender, I'll follow your path, You know that I got your back.. I'll be the one that you can count on, I won't let you down, I am there for you".

"Steel Of Swabia" 2026 with Primal Fear and Dragonforce members guesting is another worthy update, as is "Against The World", which benefits of Hannes' matured vocals and the updated production. "Nothing Breaks Like A Heart" is a good new song, but maybe just "an album track" rather than a potential hit. "Only The Good Die Young" is again a Steel Of Swabia remake, and just like the others, I think it sounds better.

The final song "Good In Goodbye" is a very poignant song to end this album. This Bon Jovi-sounding ballad is a heartfelt letter to the rest of the band and the band's fans. I can imagine Hannes having a hard time singing this at the last concerts, there's so much emotion in it.

I am not sure whether this "half new, half old" album was the best way to say farewell. Of course I would have preferred an album of all-new songs and maybe a full remake of the first album as a bonus, but probably that wasn't an economically viable solution. Especially now when the album came out on the band's own label for the first time.

PAUL LAINE: "The Long Road Back"

Frontiers 2026

Rating RRRRr

Rating by Kimmo Toivonen

Back in 1989, Bruce Fairbairn produced an album called "Stick It In Your Ear" for a young Canadian artist Paul Laine. It was released in April 1990 and while it didn't make Laine the new Bon Jovi, the album left a lasting impression on many hard rock fans. Laine went on to become Danger Danger lead vocalist and to many other projects such as Darkhorse, Shugaazer and The Defiants. Lately he's fronted Trooper, a Canadian rock institution. 

"The Long Road Back" is his third solo album, 30 years after the second one. Was it worth the wait - most definitely! If you liked his first album or The Defiants, this is an album you can buy without hearing a note. Not that you'd have to, thanks to all the streaming services. This album sounds like a natural successor to "Stick It In Your Ear", except for the lyrics, which are loaded with nostalgia and reminiscing about the days gone by and old flames. Musically these songs are not that far from what The Defiants have released, ranging from very 80's sounding, Bon Joviesque material to slightly more modern sounding melodic rock. 

"Love Me Or Leave Me" was the first song released from the album, and it's an uptempo track with a great chorus, very much in the Danger Danger vein. "Don't Let Me Go Tonite" has a strong New Jersey vibe and Paul isn't hiding his admiration for Springsteen and Bon Jovi. Then it's time for a midtempo song, a semi-ballad if you will. "Someday" could have been a great Danger Danger song, maybe it originates from those years, but it's a damn fine song as a Paul Laine one anyway. "Come Back To Me" sounds like a cousin of "Don't Let Me Go Tonite", a nice song but not quite as captivating as "Don't...". Then it's time for my favourite song of the album, "Save Me Saturday Night". It's one of the songs that doesn't have that nostalgic vibe, instead it's a celebration of, well, saturday night. The chorus is just enormous and the song has a great groove. It might owe a little to certain Bon Jovi anthems, but since they aren't doing this sort of music anymore, I don't mind.

"Her Name Is Trouble" and "Heaven And Earth Collide" bring this album closer to 2026 musically, even though I had no problem being somewhere in the past. "...Trouble" is a potential modern rock hit, while "Heaven..." Is a very stylish balladic track. "Bad Habit" is another contemporary sounding rocker, reminding me of Nickelback. "Kiss Me California" sounds like a Desmond Child / Diane Warren ballad from the early nineties, something that Aerosmith could have ruled the airwaves with back then. "The Ones That Got Away" takes us back to the New Jersey vibes of the first few tracks, nostalgia and Bon Jovi.

Tere's no denying the Jovi influence on the closing track, the big ballad "Now That You Don't Love Me Anymore", which might be my favourite of the slow songs on this album. They're all good though, so I'll continue debating with myself. You don't have to, you can go and check out this album and just enjoy yourself!

Rock Blog #58: Kamelot, Amberian Dawn, Sha-Boom, Turn

KAMELOT may have released one of their best albums. "Dark Asylum" (RRRRr) sees them going for a more melodic, hook-driven approach and vocalist Tommy Karevik positively shines on each of the songs. There was a time when Kamelot were a bit too progressive and didn't really do that much for me, but I kept on believing... and that faith has been rewarded with an album full of catchy, melodic metal songs. It's not like they've started to write simple pop songs, these songs are theatrical, intricate and multi-layered, but contain some of the finest melodies I've heard from them. "Ashen World", "Dark Asylum", "One Last Masquerade" and "Godlike Alchemy" are already Kamelot Klassics in my books, and "Ivy, My Dear" is one of their finest ballads. The other balladic track "Beneath The Moon (Tunglið) is a strange one: it is short, lullaby-like song in Icelandic with lead vocals by Rannveig Sif Sigurðardóttir and Sólveig Sara Leupold.  

Apart from the two ladies mentioned, the album features several guest vocalists sharing singing duties with Karevik: Tobias Sammet ("One Last Masquerade"), Ignacia Fernández ("Ashen World" and "Sanctuary") and Clémentine Delauney ("Sanctuary"). Lea-Sophie Fischer plays the violin on "Beneath The Moon".

This is a concept album, set in RavenHill Asylum, but the songs work as individual pieces as well. To be honest, I haven't really tried to get into the story, I have just enjoyed the athmosphere and the songs.

AMBERIAN DAWN have returned with a new singer Nicole Willerton and their first new original songs since "Looking For You" in 2020. Yes, they released an album in 2022 but it was an Abba tribute.  It seems that a whole album of Abba ended a chapter in their story, as that particular influence has been pushed aside and "Temptation's Gates" (RRRr) is heavier and more aggressive than their last few albums. Double bass drums galore and there's even some growling...

Since I jumped on the AD ship in 2017 when they released "Darkness Of Eternity", their first album with a strong "Abba Metal" vibe, I have had trouble getting into their updated sound. It's not because of the new singer - Nicole sounds very different to Capri but I like her voice too. It's the songs - at first I thought they've gone too metal, but little by little I started to find those "missing" melodies. There are still bits and pieces of Björn & Benny's legacy in there after all, and Tuomas Seppälä's melodic sensibility is intact. A quick look at the credits shows that Nicole has taken a strong role in the band, she has co-written all the songs and taken care of the lyrics.

The standout tracks for me are the first two ("Temptation's Gates" and "The Vision Of Dreaming") and the bombastic closing track "Phantasmagoria". And I just realized that Nicole sounds a bit like Kim Wilde fronting a metal band! 

SHA-BOOM released a couple of fun, poppy hard rock albums back in the day, and were really popular in their home country Sweden and Norway. In 2012 vocalist Dag Finn resurrected the band and released a rather good "The Race Is On" album, but that resurrected proved to be short-lived. Now he's back for another try, with an old fan helping him out. That fan is called Erik Mårtensson of Eclipse. 

Despite the 30something years in between, "Another Nail In The Coffin" (RRRR) sounds like a natural successor to the early Sha-Boom albums. Finn and Mårtensson have really managed to re-create the care-free, lighthearted vibe of "R.O.C.K.", with original member Peo Thyrén co-writing four of the tracks. Virtually all of the songs have big sing-along choruses, the kind that should work very well live. There are some moments where you can tell that Mårtensson has been involved, but these songs do not sound like Eclipse, they sound like Sha-Boom.

TURN from Germany sent us an old-school package - a CD and an accompanying letter which was actually in Finnish! Full points for the effort and investment, knowing how expensive it's to send anything via mail these days... things were very different back in 2001, when we reviewed the band's previous album "Turn Back Time". I had to go and search the archives for that review, but I did find it - I believe it was Bandi who was very impressed by the band, the name of the writer has been eaten by the cybermoths or something. Anyway, now, just 25 years later, bassist Pete Bonfert has put together a new line-up and they're giving it another go with a new album "Come Alive" (RRRr). The one name in the line-up that I recognized is Swedish guitarist Oscar Bromwall, who you might know from Fans Of The Dark, Code Red and Palace. On vocals there's Mario Mosca from Italy and on keys Fab Jablonski from Portugal, so this new version of Turn is an international band.

Having not heard the band's older material (as far as I remember), I'll take these songs as they are... I can't really hear Bandi's comparisons to Foreigner and Journey anymore, Pete and his new guys have gone for a more hard rocking sound, although still decidedly melodic. Maybe the band's German origins are influencing me, but I'm hearing Craaft, Bonfire, Kissin' Dynamite in these songs - not too shabby, right? You can add some Van Hagar type of summertime hard rock sound to the mix as well. The thing that holds me back from liking this more is the vocalist - Mario Mosca certainly has enough range but I feel he's somehow over-the-top and wailing a bit too much for my taste. When he doesn't overdo it, he actually sounds very good, check out "Save Your Heart" for example.

I noticed that couple of songs sounded very familiar, and indeed they were: "Matter Of The Heart" was previously recorded by Bonnie Tyler for The Wraith soundtrack and the U.S. band Wild Horses. A good cover choice, not something that has been done by a million other bands. The other one was "About Love", a song by Mitch Malloy.  

Rock Blog #57: Catalano, Dan Lucas, Pride Of Lions, Michael Sweet, Creye

Clearing of the desk continues... some of these have been waiting for their time for quite some time, some are newer. This batch doesn't contain any real gems, but each one of them do have a selection of good songs and are worth checking out.

When the name of the band is CATALANO, and I instantly thought they’re from southern Europe. When I heard their music, I had second thoughts - they have that Scandi-Sleaze sound of Crashdïet, Hardcore Superstar etc… but no, they come from Australia! Roxxi Catalano is the band’s vocalist, and you might remember him from the band De La Cruz.

”Perfect Storm” (RRR) is the band’s first album. As I said, the band has nailed the Scandinavian Hard Rock style, but of course it all goes back to the 80’s and the likes of Mötley Crüe, Ratt and Dokken. Most of the songs of this album are on the sleazier side of hard rock, with rough, snarly vocals, good riffs but fairly weak choruses. For the title track and the last two songs of this the band moves into a more melodic style: ”Perfect Storm”,  ”Unrequited” and ”Foolish Hearts” remind me of Dokken, Harem Scarem and Heavens Edge, with Roxxi switching to a cleaner vocal style.  ”Unrequited” gets my vote as the album highlight.

The first solo album from DAN LUCAS was called ”Canada”, but he is in fact a German singer. ”Canada” was a fine piece of early nineties AOR, but I haven’t really gotten into his other albums. His recording career got a boost when he won The Voice Senior in 2019, and now ”Age Is Just A Number” (RRRr) is his second post-comeback album. 

With age, many artists mellow out and start writing slower, less vocally demanding songs. Lucas hasn’t really done that, there’s some rather energetic rockers on this album. He’s not afraid to go for those high notes either. Of course his voice has changed a bit from the ”Canada” era, it’s more raspy but still recognizable. Interestingly enough, his voice reminds me of Rik Emmett of Triumph… another Canadian connection. The songs themselves are solid enough, no-frills melodic rock songs. Some of these remind me of latter-day Bon Jovi, some are more in the vein of Journey and Bryan Adams. 

PRIDE OF LIONS took the AOR world by storm back in 2003 with their debut album. Since then, Jim Peterik and Toby Hitchcock have released several albums, with ”Unbridled” (RRR) being the 8th studio album.On this one Jim Peterik sings most of the songs for some reason. Maybe the songs are very personal to him or something, but I would have certainly preferred to hear more Hitchcock. He does join in on most of the choruses though… Regardless of the lead singer, I’m afraid most of the songs leave me cold. ”Edge Of Forever”, ”I Can See In The Dark” and ”I Can’t Let Go” are among the best ones, but to be honest, compared to the best of older Pride Of Lions material, they don’t stand a chance. 

MICHAEL SWEET of Stryper is a very productive songwriter. He writes all the Stryper songs, but has also managed to write and record about a dozen solo albums, not to mention other projects like Sweet & Lynch, Iconic, Soledriver and Sunbomb. ”The Master Plan” (RRR) is his latest solo album, and it showcases his versatiity. These songs do not sound like Stryper, except for the distinct vocals of his. Musically the songs range from modern pop rock to dark and melancholic ballads, with all kinds of excursions to country’ish vibes and whatever the heck ”You’ll Lead And I’ll Follow” is… swing? I can’t say I like all the tracks, but there are some nice melodies there. My favourite track is probably the title track, which sounds a bit like a Christmas song, not the cheery kind but something a bit more dramatic.

I tried hard, but couldn’t get away from the Swedes! CREYE released their fourth album ”IV - Aftermath” (RRRr) in April. It’s their first with new lead vocalist Simon Böös, and it sees the band continuing their move into more modern pop/rock style. With their previous album the band brought in some heavier elements to some songs, but on ”IV” they’re pretty much gone. This is a polished, melodic album with a contemporary sound and arrangements. 

After first spin, I wasn’t very enthusiastic about these songs, but they’ve somehow grown on me, at least some of them. The opener ”Something Missing” might be the album’s heaviest song (in a not so heavy way though), and ”Bad Romance” has some cool hooks. No, it’s not a cover of the Lady GaGa song. The moody ”Left In Silence” is very good too. When it comes to the others, they aren’t bad but are often lacking when it comes to choruses. There’s a certain politeness that waters them down.

 

Rock Blog #56: White Skies, Crashdïet, Erik Grönwall, Mattador, The Devil Wears Nada

Here’s yet another desperate attempt to clear my ”To Be Checked” list. There’s just too much interesting music released these days! And I can’t say that I have a diverse taste in music, I just try to keep up with what’s happening in this melodic rock genre mostly. If I was one of those ”Oh I like all kinds of music”-types I would have lost my mind many years ago! I know, there’s probably a diagnosis for this type of behavior, but I doubt there’s medication for it.

First up, there’s WHITE SKIES from the UK. They released their first album ”Black Tide” in 2022, and I think I heard it back then and have a sort of a positive memory of it, but that’s about it. What we have now playing in the speakers is ”Shouting At The Hurricane”, their second effort. For some reason, I initially thought that this was a younger band, but having done my research I now know that most of the guys come from the thriving 80’s British hard rock/AOR scene and have played in bands like Samson, Ya Ya, Sam Thunder, First Strike and AOK, to name a few.

There’s definitely something very British in these songs. I can’t pinpoint what it is, maybe it’s some kind of a down-to-earth attitude and rawness, although at the same time these songs are well produced and polished. Anyway, Mick White’s raspy vocals are superb throughout the album and I like the guitar work and subtle keyboards and everything… but the songs could have used more hooks. After a few spins there’s one song that really stands out - ”Righteous Zone” has a truly excellent chorus. Otherwise this is well-done, enjoyable hard rock but somewhat forgettable. With this much talent in the band, I am sure that they can come up with a killer album one day. RRR.

I’ve liked CRASHDÏET since their first release. ”Art Of Chaos” is their 7th album so far, and the first with John Elliot on vocals. Guitarist Martin Sweet is the only member left of the line-up that recorded the first album, and now he’s the sole songwriter on this album.

For whatever the reason, ”Art Of Chaos” (RRRr) isn’t one of the better Crashdïet albums, but it isn’t the worst either. There are several good songs, like ”Silent Place”, ”Quitter” and ”Sick Enough For Me”, but I’m not sure whether any of those would be in my ”Top 20 Crashdïet songs” list. Maybe this is a bit of a transitional album, now that the band’s gone through the latest line-up and label changes?

And moving on… no, apparently we’re stuck in Sweden. ERIK GRÖNWALL has released his first album of original songs since leaving Skid Row, and ”Bad Bones” (RRRRr) is rather brilliant! With a little help from the likes of Jona Tee (H.E.A.T.), Anders Wickstöm (Treat) and Erik Mårtensson (Eclipse) he has come up with a selection of songs that shouldn’t disappoint any fan of his work in H.E.A.T.

My favourites are ”Born To Break”, ”Praying For A Miracle”, ”Lost For Life”, ”Twisted Lullaby” and the very poignant ballad ”Written In The Scars”. Hey, that’s half of the album! I guess that alone says something.

Just to make sure that this blog entry isn’t dominated by the Swedes, let’s have something from Puerto Rico, okay? MATTADOR is the band, and ”III” is their comeback album. During their first run in the late eighties and early nineties they released two albums, of which I am familiar with ”Save Us From Ourselves”. I had it back then, but eventually sold the CD. Now that is available for streaming, I have checked it again and it has its’ moments, maybe I shouldn’t have sold it.

Mattador were never a straight-ahead AOR or Hard Rock band, but with ”III” they’re spreading their wings even more. The first three songs are heavier than before, slightly reminding me of Queensrÿche. Then they go into AOR mode for the next two tracks, only to switch into Zeppelin mode for ”Crawling”. Then a funky, melodic rock style for ”Some Kind Of Crazy”, which is followed by a bit Guns’n Roses-like ballad. ”Portal” is an instrumental in the style of the first few songs, while ”Slow Down” reminds me of Kik Tracee. ”No Way Out” closes the album in Queensrÿche style again.

The band is obviously talented and ambitious, but for me this is album is a bit all over the place. ”III” gets ”RRR”.

I guess it doesn’t come as a surprise that we go back to Sweden for the next act? THE DEVIL WEARS NADA have released their second album, which I’ve been waiting for with high expectations, after hearing their great single ”Last Forever” some time ago. ”In Lust We Thrust” (RRRRR) does not disappoint, clearly the single wasn’t an accident. The band can churn out that kind of catchy bangers one after another it seems. While I can hear the 80s influences, The Devil Wears Nada doesn’t sound as retro as some of the other bands. What’s more, they’re still young guys so there’s hope for melodic rock! The genre needs bands like this.

The songs such as the aforementioned ”Last Forever”, ”Misery In The Room” and ”Elephant in The Room” should be all over rock radio, this is the kind of music that could cross genre borders and appeal to masses. There’s really no weak tracks here, and I have to give extra points for the lyrics, some of which are quite clever and different. Check out the horror story ”Dead & Breakfast” for instance… I wonder how Lordi hasn’t thought of that title already?

This is my favourite album of 2026 so far, and I have a feeling that It’ll still be at least among the top 3 once this year is over. Now, what are you waiting for, go and check it out!

Rock Blog #55: Malmö Melodic pre-festival special

 We’re a few days away from Malmö Melodic festival, and I’ve been listening to the artists performing there almost exclusively for the last few days. I put together a playlist of the most recent material from each artist, and as it happens, many of them have released new albums recently. I’ve already reviewed some of them, but let’s go through a few more.

FIGHTER V’s third album ”Deja Vu” didn’t make that much of an impression after the first spin, I thought it was okay but nowhere near as good as their previous one. But I stand corrected, it’s a good one. I might still prefer its’ predecessor ”Heart Of The Young”, but ”Deja Vu” has plenty to enjoy. The songs aren’t carved from the same wood, there’s a lot of variety.  There’s the groovy, almost funky title track, then a couple of synth-driven tracks (”Victory” and ”Break Those Limits”) which remind me a bit of Beast In Black and that sort of stuff and then there’s the more AOR-type of stuff like ”For All This Time” and ”Hold The Time” with its’ infectious ”Runaway” keyboards. I also realized that vocalist Emmo Acar could do a fine job in an Eddie Money tribute act! ”Walk On Water” from the Moneyman’s repertoire - there’s an idea for a cover song for Fighter V. You’re welcome! This album gets a RRRR rating. I’m really looking forward to seeing the band live!

ALIEN released their latest album ”When Yesterday Comes Around” (RRRr) last year, but I never reviewed it. I guess it’s because I never really warmed to it. The Alien discography hasn’t been the most consistent one, they started with an AOR classic but then got lost in the shuffle of vocalists and whatnot. I did like the original line-up’s ”comeback album” ”Eternity”, a ”true return to form”, to use an old cliche. ”WYCA” does have its’ moments, ”In The End We Fall” and ”If Love Is War” being the highlights. The rest of it is absolutely enjoyable, not bad by any means but somehow not that memorable. There are bluesy moments and maybe a bit of 70’s classic vibe in the songs. Jim Jidhed’s vocals are outstanding as always, just check out the Perryisms of ”I Remember”… As for the Malmö Melodic setlist, many songs from the debut, the first two songs from this and a few from ”Eternity”, please!

HARDLINE’s ”Shout” (RRRr) has gotten some rave reviews, and it does sound very powerful, I’ll give them that. I have a feeling that some these songs might work just fine in a live setting. The title track is bound to be a crowd favourite and I definitely want to hear it next weekend. ”Mother Love” is another, one of the more AOR’ish songs of the album. Then again, there are a couple of songs that sound suspiciously similar to classic tracks from the band’s legendary debut, and I’d rather hear the originals than them. The Scorpions cover ”When You Came Into My Life” is well executed, but I never really considered it as one of their best, so… Maybe it’ll be in the setlist, and it might blow me away, who knows.

SARAYASIGN. ”Shadows Of The Dying Light” (RRR) is their third album, and I really should like them more. They fall into the same category as Perfect Plan, Arctic Rain and a few others, but are arguably fairly heavier. I keep thinking of Allen-Lande, Masterplan or Magnus Karlsson’s Free Fall. All bands I like, but somehow I haven’t gotten into this band yet. Maybe they’ll convert me from the stage, we’ll see. From this album, my pick is the opening track ”Worlds Apart (Shadowlands)”. 

CAUGHT IN ACTION made it to my ”Top 30 of 2025” with their ”Out Of The Cold” album (RRRR). To the last position, but to the list anyway. I don’t recall reviewing the album, so let’s have a listen… Oh yeah, solid stuff, very typical Swedish AOR sound, but good songs!  ”Nathalie” and ”Shot In The Dark” get my vote as the best tracks of the album. 

BOULEVARD’s latest one ”Talk Without Speaking” (RRR) has flown below my radar. It was released in early May, and I admit that I haven’t given it that much airtime. I liked their previous album and I think there’s a place and time for this album, but it’s not going to be a favourite of mine. It’s polished, meticulously produced and somehow poetic, but maybe it goes a bit too much into the style of Sting, Peter Gabriel and that kind of ”thinking man’s adult rock”. There’s a couple of gems here that I hope they have in the setlist though: ”Heaven Help Me” (massive chorus) and ”Start All Over Again”. The band does have a tendency to great magical moments live, so I’ll be looking forward to their set anyway. 

Apart from these, I've already reviewed the latest albums from Tyketto, Eclipse, Midnite City, Emotional Fire, Brother Firetribe, Art Nation and Wig Wam elsewhere. 

I'm looking forward to checking out each one of the bands in the festival line-up, even the ones that I'm not too familiar with, not that there are too many of those. It will be a fantastic weekend!

RockBlog #54: Keys, Black Swan, Tyketto, Eve, Chez Kane, Hokka

It's been a while since the last time, so here's a rather decent portion of words of wisdom, opinionated bickering or plain old nonsense from an old geezer about some new and new-ish albums from yours truly... you decide, the truth is out there. But yeah, I'm almost up to date when it comes to new releases of our genre... "almost" being a fairly vague description.

KEYS - the project of Mark Mangold (Touch, Drive She Said) and Jake E. (Amaranthe, Cyhra) has released their third album ”Infinity Parabellum” (RRR) this year. The idea of Keys was that Mangold creates all the music with keyboards, except for vocals of course. Alex Landenburg plays drums on some of the tracks.

I have heard the previous two albums and compared to them, this latest effort sounds better, especially when it comes to the drums. The overtly plastic and programmed sound of the earlier stuff is mostly gone. 

Songwise the material ranges from modern metal of ”Catapult” and ”Jannus” via the AOR of ”When The Night Calls” to the hazy seventies prog weirdness of ”Lost In Time”. Mangold and Jake E. are definitely not trying to play it safe. At times this is quite fascinating, but some of the material just goes over my head.

The supergroup BLACK SWAN’s third album ”Paralyzed” (RRRR) might just be their best one so far. Featuring Robin McAuley on vocals (McAuley Schenker Group, Grand Prix, Survivor), Reb Beach (Winger, Whitesnake), Jeff Pilson (Dokken, Foreigner) and Matt Starr (Ace Frehley, Mr. Big), this is more like a real band than one of the many Frontiers Records’ projects, as the members are writing the songs themselves and even taking care of the production duties. 

If you’ve enjoyed McAuley Schenker Group, Winger and Dokken albums, I’m pretty sure you’ll find a lot to enjoy  on this album as well. McAuley is one of those 80’s vocalists who can still deliver, his vocals are superb throughout the album. There are some subtle traces of the members’ past here and there, but nothing that screams ”old song rehashed”. It doesn’t get much better than the opening track ”When The Cold Wind Blows”, one of the best new hard rock songs I’ve heard lately, although ”Paralyzed”, ”Death Of Me” and ”If I Was King” and a couple of other are challenging it quite well. 

It’d be great to see this band live - they could potentially put together an amazing setlist, with the best of their own songs and some classic tracks from their previous bands. 

TYKETTO’s ”Don’t Come Easy” is a classic album in the genre, which would have made them superstars if it had been released a few years earlier instead of 1991. Still, they did reach a cult status, and after a few years’ break (1996-2004) they have been active in the scene again, although vocalist Danny Vaughn is the only original member these days.

”Closer To The Sun” (RRRr) is the band’s latest album, and it’s been hailed as ”a return to form”, ”the best thing since the debut” and so on, but I’m not that convinced. The band’s overall sound and especially Vaughn’s vocals are somehow instantly likeable and welcoming, but when it comes to the songs, I feel that some of them are fairly ordinary. There are moments of brilliance, such as ”Starts With A Feeling” and the ballad ”The Picture”, but then again, ”Donnowhuddidis”, ”Harleys & Indians” and a couple others leave me cold. It’ll be interesting to see whether these songs come to life when I hopefully get to hear some of them live in Malmö later this year.  

Then something a bit different… EVE is a Finnish solo artist, who’s been on a hiatus for years. His full name is Jarkko Eve, and in the eighties, he was the bass player in Dingo, a band that broke all the records during their short existence. Eve left the band soon after the release of their first album, and started a successful, if again fairly short-lived, solo career. I rate his first two albums highly, he had a sophisticated, international sound although he sang in Finnish. Big hooks, cool arrangements and charismatic vocals. 

Now, some 40 years later, Eve returns with a new album, and the description above is a valid as ever. With Finnish producer/songwriter guru Jimmy Westerlund (One Desire, Giant) adding his touches to the album, ”Viimeinen Mohikaani” (RRRRr) is easily one of the best albums of the year. Definitely worth checking out even though it’s sung in Finnish, the music is excellent! Lots of 80's rock and pop stylings, but with a modern touch. This is Finnish Adult Oriented Rock in 2026. 

CHEZ KANE continues her collaboration with Crazy Lixx’ Danny Rexon, who has written and produced her two previous albums. If you’re familiar with those, you can pick up this one knowing that the style hasn’t changed. These songs are tributes to the glory days of 80’s female rock artists - Vixen, Lita Ford, Lee Aaron. I might even add Samantha Fox to the list. The album is called ”Reckless” (shout out to Bryan Adams there!) and as the ”top shelf magazine”-type of artwork might suggest, the lyrics are full of passionate nights, tongues of love and other  steamy scenes. Chez hasn’t been too shy before, but she and Danny have really gone a bit more reckless with this one.

The Vixenesque title track opens the album and it’s one of my favourites: big hooks and a driving groove. Next pick would be ”Night Of Passion” ( Hey there, Mad Max!), which has a bit of a synth wave vibe and it also takes me back to some eighties’ soundtracks. The pulsating, throbbing keys of the mid-tempo banger ”Tongue Of Love” make it irrestistable, and it gets the the third slot on my favourites’ list. The fourth and final place goes to ”Bodyrock” ( Hello, Lee Aaron!), which again has that soundtrack feel - isn’t there a movie called ”Bodyrock” too? As for the rest of the songs, they’re all decent enough and have grown on me, but at this point ”RRRR”-rating will have to do. 

HOKKA is a new band founded by former Blind Channel singer Joel Hokka and Pauli Rantasalmi, ex-The Rasmus guitarist. Their debut ”Via Miseria IV” (RRRR) could be described as a tailor-made album for anyone into the dark, melancholic Finnish rock/metal sound of the last twenty years or so. You can hear The Rasmus, HIM, Blind Channel and others in these songs. The first single was ”In The Darkness”, and it’s very much in the vein of The Rasmus at their very best - the hook is immense, we’re talking about a Desmond Child-sized chorus! The Rasmus-comparison pops up in some other songs as well. ”Heart Said No”, ”Angels Fall” and a couple of others have a strong HIM influence, while the bouncy ”Bon Apetit” takes a left turn to the direction of Muse. Anyway, big hooks galore and apart from the choruses, the band has really paid attention to bridges too - check out the ultra-melodic bridge of ”Blackbird” for example. 

RockBlog #53: Induction, Tailgunner, Dennis Churchill Dries, Lou Gramm

INDUCTION is a band from Germany, and ”Love Kills!” (RRRR) is their third album. The leader of the band is Tim Hansen, son of Kai Hansen (Helloween, Gamma Ray), and Tim is following in his father’s footsteps, playing melodic metal. I don’t hear direct links to Halloween or Gamma Ray, although Induction isn’t too far stylewise. Their sound is closer to Beast In Black and Powerwolf, the newer generation of Power Metal. Gabriele Gozzi’s high vocals draw comparisons to Beast in Black, as well as some of the arrangements. 

The first two songs ”Virtual Insanity” and ”War Of Hearts” are very much in BiB vein, but excellent nevertheless, catchy like the flu! As the title suggests, ”Steel And Thunder” is an old school Power Metal track and probably the closest thing to the Hansen family legacy. It reminds me more of Axxis though - not to be taken too seriously. The song that lead me to discover this album was ”Strangers To Love”, a delicious mix of AOR and Power Metal, with Clémentine Delauney of Visions Of Atlantis sharing the lead vocals with Gozzi.

The title track ”Love Kills” and ”I Am Evil” are both rather straightforward, catchy songs, while ”The Veil Of Affection” is a double bass drum driven power metal track, yet I keep thinking that it has a bit of a H.E.A.T. vibe too. Or maybe Jona Tee’s power metal offshoot New Horizon more likely. 

The last song ”Empress” builds up nicely to the chorus, but the actual chorus is a bit funny. I keep hearing the choir singing ”Kiss the princess, something something dark”, and I can’t get over that… points for the Accept-style guitar solo with the strategically placed familiar melodies!

If induction’s metal could be described as ”Happy Euro Metal”, UK’s TAILGUNNER play very traditional, slightly more aggressiveI metal - think Iron Maiden, Judas Priest… ”Midnight Blitz” (RRRr) is their second album, and their career seems to be on an upward trajectory. I can see why, they are very good at this Power Metal thing. 

The album is solid metal from the first track to the last, but what they need are a few standout tracks to elevate them to the next level. Th title track and ”Tears In Rain” are pretty close already. If you’re into classic metal sound, do check them out!

DENNIS CHURCHILL DRIES is best known as the vocalist of cult AOR heroes WHITE SISTER and its’ more bluesy, southern rock-flavoured successor TATTOO RODEO. ”Crazy Is This Life” (RRR) is his second solo album.

Produced by DCD and Steve Newman, this album is closer to White Sister than Tattoo Rodeo in sound and style, Before you get all excited, it’s still quite far from the Pomp Glory Days of White Sister. More synth sounds than Rodeo’s Hammonds though, and the blues and southern rock influences are evident on 2 or 3 songs only.

The standout track is the opener ”Angeline”, which is very much in the vein of White Sister indeed. Unfortunately it could have used a little crispier production. Somehow the other songs sound better. As for the rest of the tracks, ”Bring Back Yesterday”, the title track, ”Don’t Look Back” and ”I Never Thought It Was Love” are good ones too. ”I Never Thought…” is very chorus-heavy, and that chorus sounded familiar right away… it took a while to realize that the melody reminds me of ”Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx - a completely different type of a song though! 

I have eagerly waited LOU GRAMM’s ”Released” (RRRR) to be… released ever since I heard the first single ”Young Love”. This is album is a collection of previously unreleased songs from Gramm’s archives, dating back to the late eighties and early nineties. The songs were dug up from the vault, polished and finished recently. They’re all co-written by Bruce Turgon, one of my favourite songwriters with a definite style of his own. 

”Young Love” features Vivian Campbell on guitar, which suggests that it is a leftover from the Shadow King era. That album is one of my all time favourites, and this song would have fitted into it quite nicely. ”Lightning Strikes” has that Shadow King vibe as well, a certain very enchanting darkness, trademark of Turgon’s songwriting. ”Walk The Walk” is a gritty rocker, I hear a bit of ”Urgent” in it, while ”Long Gone” takes me back to the two first Lou Gramm albums, a laid back rock track with a nice chorus. The vocal sounds like it was recently recorded. ”Heart And Soul” is a bit average, but ”Long Hard Look” sounds better, another gritty rocker with several ”Turgon touches”. Why it didn’t make it to album by the same name I can’t understand…

The piano-led version of ”True Blue Love” transforms the pop-rocker into a heartfelt ballad. Next up is ”Deeper Side Of Love”, an okay track with an understated chorus. There are familiar elements in the mid tempo AOR track ”Time Heals The Pain”. Apparently some ideas of it were recycled to Foreigner’s ballad ”Until The End Of Time” on ”Mr. Moonlight” album.  ”Time Heals...” does have an excellent chorus of its’ own, and it’s one my favourites on this album. The very Shadow King-like ”Word Gets Around” could have used a stronger chorus, but otherwise it’s a cool song with tasty keyboards and a brilliant vocal from Mr. Gramm, as usual. 

Frankly, this album came pretty much out of the blue,  but I am happy these songs were indeed ”released”. Bruce Turgon’s songwriting and the voice of an absolute AOR legend Lou Gramm, that’s a match made in melodic heaven!