Wednesday, August 29, 2018

BODINROCKER - Eye to Eye

Rating: RR
Label: Hemifrån/Bearman 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

'It's time for a vacation - Let's go on holiday'. The opening track is literly everything you could ever wish for from the straightforward Gothenburg rocker Anders Bodin and his clever moniker of Bodinrocker. It's fun! it's catchy! it's boogie! It's one of the best Status Quo-esque songs in ages. What else do you need? Keep it simple! Keep it catchy! Keep it coming? Unfortunately. This is not the standard of the album and to each great track, there's at least two or three dodgy ones.

For instance, "Brown Bear", sounds darn lethal on paper or your screen, but its claws are blunt, shaggy fur, and its roar? Worse than Ted 'Motormouth' Nugent and his awful redneck music of the seventies. Seriously. Poor Teddy recorded merely one great song during the era (Cat Scratch Fever) and Lemmy's version is just sooo much better (Motörhead). Sonically, and this being my second stab at the artist/band, Bodinrocker still riding hard on the boogie woogie era of the late sixties very early seventies. They endeavour to tread the same path and route of the classic acts, but take away the actual route, time, era, and classic.

The band lower the intensity level a notch or three for the barely rocking of "New Sweden", the historical stab at Sweden's second and latest colony in North America. The first? The vikings - the last is yet to come. It certainly boogies and maims its instruments for all its worth. There's a certain innocent charm and swagger to this album, not least considering the solid rhythm section of Stefan Deland (bass) and Klas Anderhell (known as the two from Sven-Ingvars). I'm really fond of tracks such as "Roller Coaster Ride" or the closing track of "Life Ain't Fair", which combines hook and captain. By the way. You may also recognize Bodin from Gothenburgs' Ambulance Service as seen in the reality TV series of '112 På Liv och Död'. Final verdict: DOA. DOA. Tongue-in-cheek. There's still life. We just need to kick-start the heart. bodinrocker.se

WEEND'O - Time of Awakening

Rating: RRR
Label: Nineteen-73.co.uk 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Weend’ô? Sacrebleu! I'm told it's pronounced Window and the French quartet are certainly doing their best to keep things complicated and Proggy. Indeed. It's Prog-Rock/Metal at its fullest and I think I'm in love with their lovely singer/keyboardist Laetitia Chaudemanche. I know. Clearly not the professional way to start up a review with such a remark. But honestly... what a name... Laetitia Chaudemanche... it sounds like something from an ancient story book and the lead vocals are simply floating above or over the complicated compositions. The name is however more original than her singing. It's the rather typical casted singer as of lately and strongly influenced by Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gathering).

The arrangements are airy (lots of space) as well as musically challenging, modern crystal clear production, yet with a retro sound. It's something of a concept album where side one features 'Time Of Awakening' Parts 1, 2 and 3. The concept is kind of out there and speak of a new and true evolution of mankind. That we are entering a new period in the history of man and woman. And as soon as the opening part starts, the keyboards are making you feel like you're catapulted back to the hairy seventies and why not Alan Parsons and Van Der Graaf Generator. Never quite as 70s or good though, but they've nearly managed to capture a certain keyboard spirit that all of the bands from this period had.

Don't go thinking it's all seventies though, since they have clearly borrowed the "modern" riffs of TOOL for use in their arrangements. Don't think it's anything "modern" about TOOL for that matter. They've been around the blocks for the last 25 years or more. Dream Theater vs Alan Parsons Project, that's one way to describe the music. Final verdict: 'I keep on being amazed by the phenomenon of life'. Emotionally charged and loaded with six prog tracks (plus the bonus radio edit of Angel Dust), Time Of Awakening is perhaps just a bit too airy, spacey, dreamy. Spice up the song material next time and we're definitely cooking.

DANIEL TRIGGER - 'RIGHT TURN'



RATING: RRRR

LABEL: MELODICROCK

REVIEW BY:ALAN HOLLOWAY



Daniel Trigger is a new name on me, which is odd because he's been making melodic and hard rock music for over 15 years now. Coming back to his more melodic roots after some heavier albums, 'Right Turn' will come as a bit of a bolt from the blue for those who were as oblivious about him as myself.

The bizarre first impression I got from opener 'Penitence' was that this guy must be from Europe, as his nasal, slightly accented vocals certainly point to a Germanic origin. I can imagine him singing, for example, an early Bonfire album and doing a fine job. Well, I felt a right tit when I read the biography and found out he was from Birmingham in England. Putting this aside, it's the music that matters (as ever), and straight from that opener there's plenty to like about Daniel Trigger. Second track 'Days Gone By', for example, uses the classic AOR staple of remeniscing about the good ol' days, and contains a chorus that will stick in your head all day. After that the gears are shifted down to a more countrified area, as 'Drive' replaces bounce with mosey. The quality remains high, though, and the album pretty much continues in this vein, alternating between classic, upbeat AOR and mid paced country rock, with the AOR getting the lion's share. It's a bit like Johnny Lima and Bon Jovi (this century's Bon Jovi, anyway) getting together and getting the best out of each other.

'Right Turn' is a cracker of an album, not weighed down by ballads and with plenty of energetic, catchy tracks from start to finish. Many albums tend to tail off in the second half, but Daniel Trigger keeps things fresh, even closing with two high energy rockers, 'Rock n Roll Party' and 'Wheels In Motion'. This is a fresh slice of AOR that will make any wimp rock fan pee their pants with joy. It may have taken me many years to find Daniel Trigger, but I hope to hear more from him in the future.


Daniel Trigger Bandcamp

Thursday, August 23, 2018

The KENTISH SPIRES - "The Last Harvest"


Rating: RRRR
Label: Nineteen-73.co.uk 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Blimey! Canterbury calling - It's The Kentish Spires and their offering to the Gods of early seventies Prog-Rock. Seriously. In the year of 2018, it's nearly impossible to find a new group of musicians with such a rich tapestry of British/English sounds and styles. Everything from the excellent production by guitarist Danny Chang (award winning composer/producer in the field of musical scores and songs for film and television) via all that brass and woodwinds to the wonderful diction and pronunciation of singer Lucie V (former frontwoman at Thunderstick - Samson/Iron Maiden), reek of Folk and Prog-Rock which made the Canterbury scene THE place to be in the early 70s.

At least that's what I'm told. Canterbury was probably never the place "to be" since people tend to go slightly bonkers when it's all about nostalgia. Pretty much like Woodstock, it was probably just a field full of mud, shite, and acid tripping hippies. Unless you're into the Canterbury Cathedral of course, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and seat of the Archbishop.

But I digress. This is an impressive debut album and you can instantly pick up various bits and pieces of acts such as Camel, Caravan, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Soft Machine and Van Der Graaf Generator. Indeed. The full music spectrum with all the old prog instruments including several different saxophones, flute, clarinet, hammond, and of course the mellotron. We must never forget the mellotron. What would we be without the mellotron?

It's a celebration of classic prog, but also the old harvest festival, and going back to the place where it all started. Danny Chang wanted to evoke the feeling of the more simple way of living that he experienced as a child in Kent in the early 60's. Actually. The title track is the great epic apocalyptic tale about the very last harvest before earth refuses to grow any more food. Lucie V, not your typical Goth/Siren influenced singer as of lately. She's got 'soul' and the distinctive warm voice that will gladly take you on a trip around the moon and back again. The band decided to compose several tracks about Kent and its ancient history. It's however not a concept, it's an album of many hues and textures, the title track alone proves that the Kentish Spires are anything but one trick ponies. Final verdict: Old school. Old sound. Old dogs (with the exception of Lucie of course). Old tricks. New favourites.

facebook.com/TheKentishSpires

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

DESTINIA: Metal Souls

Rating: RRR
Label: Frontiers 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Rip. Rip. Rip and destroy! All hail the latest guitar hero Nozomu Wakai and his project of Destinia. Pay attention fans of proper heavy metal and old school shredding in the eighties formula and style. Metal Souls, new album release from the band of the land of the rising sun, the first to feature vocalist Ronnie Romero (Blackmore's Rainbow, Lords of Black) and the excellent rhythm section of Marco Mendoza (Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, etc) and the legend behind the drums, Mr. Tommy Aldridge (Whitesnake, MARS etc).

Destinia, featuring music composed, written and produced by Nozomu himself. Hailed in Japan as an artist who could bring forth a rebirth of authentic and melodic heavy metal in the 21st century, has been recognized in the Japanese hard rock and heavy metal scene for his contributions on guitar, compositions and sound directions on releases by the countrys' leading musicians and animes.

It's got the swagger of mad neo-classical guitarist meet Ronnie James Dio obsessed/possessed vocalist. Kicking off with a series of hits to the body, Metal Souls goes for the jugular in a crescendo of skillful licks and crunching tricks. Pulling on a colourful spandex rock finesse and driving six-string hairspray melody, the likes of Metal Souls, Rain, Promised Land, are pulsating. Vivid guitar work and arrangements that are well executed only not all too original or groundbreaking. It's Dream Evil and Loudness meets MacAlpine and Yngwie Malmsteen. At times Romero's accent and pronunciation is a bit sloppy and he's definitely singing Raise Your Feast rather than Fist. Once you've noticed it, you're stuck with the fun experience throughout the track. We really do like the vocalist though. It's been nicely produced by Wakai, mixed by Fredrik Nordström at studio Fredman and mastered by Jens Bogren. Final verdict: Extra Superb guitarist - decent/nice material. Not too shabby.

FRED MIKA: Withdrawal Symptoms

Rating: RR
Label: Rock Company 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Fred Mika? To be honest... it doesn't ring a bell.. but there might be a gong? Oh the sheer joy of making fun out of drummers. Kindly introduce yourself to the audience: My name is Mika. I live on the second floor. I live upstairs from you. Yes I think you've seen me before. If you hear something late at night, some kind of trouble, some kind of fight. Just don't ask me what it was - Just don't ask me what it was - Just don't ask me what it was. Mika, Luka, it's all Vega. Yes indeed. Some of these songs might just remind you of a second rate version of VEGA - the band and not the lovely Suzanne, and it's not music from the point of view of a person who is abused for that matter.

Fred Mika on the other hand is the chap behind the drums in Sunroad, a Brazil based Christian metal and hard rock act credited with six full-length albums and one EP over a twenty-year period. Blimey. Yours truly has unfortunately never heard of Sunroad and thus ending up feeling a bit sad and left out in the cold. It's a project featuring many lead vocalists and the following are singing lead on the tracks. Carl Dixon (Coney Hatch, April Wine, Guess Who). Michael Voss (Mad Max, Casanova, MSG). Steph Honde (Hollywood Monsters). Haig Berberian (Dogman). Andre Adonis (SunRoad). Rod Marenna. Daniel Vargas and Mario Pastore. Where the last five are all from sunny Brazil.

The self-produced album has taken bits from modern melodic rock which might trend towards the rougher end of melodic metal but still allows room for details to shine through. Lyrics... ehem... here's the direct quote from the opening track, 'Wired In' (lead vocals Carl Dixon) - 'I have to find my shapeless soul in this sack. I know it's bad, so bad, weird side effect', end quote. I haven't got a clue to what they're talking about and the same goes for the majority of tracks. The actual 'Wired In' track is a little cracker steeped in commercial AOR and melodic rock though. Carl Dixon is no doubt the best singer on the record closely followed by the 'Mad Max', which in this case is Michael Voss and not some old racist from down under aka Australia. The rest are not too impressive and the songs are frankly not that interesting nor intriguing.

Thursday, August 16, 2018

CLIF MAGNESS: Lucky Dog

Rating: RRRR
Label: Frontiers 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

'Step right up take your best shot. Don't be shy gimmie everything you've got. No right to do me wrong. Knock me down I'm coming back twice as strong'. Words that speaks directly/straight to/from the heart? What can I say? Clif's a fighter and the lyric on the opening track, "Ain't No Way", pretty much sums up the whole idea and concept behind the 'Lucky Dog' album. It's not exactly about politic, the complex storytelling, or out of the box arrangements that will leave you stunned and confused in the following months to come. It's simply just the great melodic rock album that oozes of quality and class songwriting and production.

To be perfectly Frank or Urban. Lyric content will most likely also appeal to your average teenager or fans of Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson. And yes, Magness produced and wrote songs to above mentioned artists as well as all kinds of artists such as Clay Aiken, Joe Bonamassa, Céline Dion, Amy Grant, Steve Perry, Wilson Phillips. Magness has a Grammy for the song The Places You Find Love from Quincy Jones' Back On The Block and was nominated for an Oscar. Very posh. You may also recall the great Planet 3 and his first solo effort from the year of 1994.

What to expect if you haven't heard his music? Production/harmonies clearly inspired by the work of David Foster and that's always a big plus in my books. Uptempo rockers such as "Ain't No Way" and "Shout", could just as easily have been on any of the latest albums by Night Ranger. "Unbroken", superb semi-ballad and I believe that's David Foster calling wanting his eighties sound back. Add Planet 3 and you're closer to the core. "Love Needs A Heart" is a semi-ballad duet with Robin Beck and a nice slice of AOR. Clif goes Todd (Rundgren) in the "Rain" [Todd in the Rain??? Not to be confused with Robin Beck's Tears in the Rain :)] and the Nelson twins are mad they couldn't come up with "All Over My Mind".

Conclusion. All you need is hooks and the catchy approach? One thing's for sure. There's plenty of both and it's the great fun summer album that yours truly enjoy. Don't hesitate to pick this up if you're into classy melodic rock. Perhaps you'd wish for a bit more, dare I say, mature lyric content? You know... considering the age of the man. Nothing too pretentious and I certainly do not except John Keats. But... there's more to life than Avril Lavigne lyrics. Tongue-in-cheek people. Tongue-in-cheek. So what if he's stuck in his teenage set and mind and never bothered to grow up? You Lucky Dog!!! Highly Recommended.

PS. Goddamnit. Now I can't stop singing Todd to the music of Robin Beck. 'You can't see Todd in the rain. No matter how hard you try'...

SUNSTORM: The Road To Hell

Rating: RRRr
Label: Frontiers 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

This is the Road To Hell? Not entirely sure if Chris Rea would nod and agree? However. Hard Rock fans and yours truly are certainly no stranger to Joe Lynn Turner and his impressive back catalogue. From the successful stints fronting Rainbow, Deep Purple, Yngwie Malmsteen and through his heralded solo career, the New Jersey-born singer has had his vocal talents on display for decades. Time passes and merely the JOLT is as electric as ever before? Indeed. Lightning strikes as he's one of those singers that hasn't completely lost touch with his audience nor the flexibility of the pipes.

Overall, Road To Hell, merely slightly heavier than some of the previous Sunstorm albums and more towards the Malmsteen and Neo-Classical genre. Nonetheless. Opener, "Only The Good Will Survive", sounds pretty much as you would expect in the past, with the AOR and impressive guitar work by Simone Mularoni from prog metal rockers DGM's. The title track feature the Yngwie Malmsteen-esque riff and style and flashy Mularoni, constantly coming up with the fun lick and trick. "On The Edge", more of the same and I can't stop thinking about the JOLT fronted Yngwie album. On the other hand. "My Eyes On You" sounds like something Yngwie could do one-handed in his sleep. We've heard this particular riff and structure a million times before. Deja Vu dreams come true?

Hardly rocket science. It's one of those albums that are quite easy to put into context. Especially since it feature Joe Lynn Turner, his voice will instantly turn the average effort into something familiar, cozy and safe. Road To Hell sees the Sunstorm Project strive to drive their sound baby steps forward, while at the same time appealing to those fans which are reluctant at the prospect of change. It's not easy to please the long time fan. One word review: Solid... as a rock. Wait. That's more than one.

TWO OF A KIND - Rise

Rating: RR
Label: Frontiers 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

It's been eleven long years since the debut and I can't say we've been eagerly awaiting the follow-up. In fact. I completely forgot about the project and that Fred Hendrix, better known as main songwriter and singer for Terra Nova, heads up the band. Following several suggestions from Frontiers Records' president and A&R director Serafino Perugino, Fred hooked up with not one but two female singers, Esther Brouns and Anita Craenmehr.

Thus the birth of Two Of A Kind and while they're trying to be Heart, it's unfortunately more like spleen or even kidney. It's basically the AOR version of Ace Of Base and that's including the average vocals, musical compositions, and final production. While the slick AOR found in opening track "Here Is The Now" might be darn memorable, sharp hooks are sadly lacking from this point on. Track two feature the strong message and lyric such as 'Hey hey Two of a Kind is gonna rock your world. Hey hey we're the girls who're gonna kick some ass'. It's not going to come true simply because Hendrix wrote it. Action not words.

Truth be told. "Without You" is a fine tune and the same goes for the mellow and soft work of "Naked" and "Alienation". At times, "Rise" threaten to get the old ticker going like a runaway jackhammer in the night, but then the music loses the plot and goes back to missing the mark and your Heart for that matter. Final verdict: I keep hearing good things about Cher and the ABBA tribute album. Nah.

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

LESOIR: Latitiude

Rating: RR
Label: GentleArtofMusic 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Lesoir and their fourth attempt at world domination At heart, "IV Latitude" is a quirky album with an experimental progressive, dark and mysterious feel to it. This time more focused on Progressive melodies than blunt rage. However, it's difficult to pin point and I certainly wouldn't file this under simple and direct "Prog-Rock". The songs are almost like cyborgs, hybrids, misfits, or if you prefer freaks of nature? Ambient moments and doomy arrangements where female vocals work as the only light at the end of a v-e-r-y long tunnel.

According to the band, More than ever there is a clear, both experimental as well as ambitious balance between lyrics, melody, groove, and explosive dynamics. For instance, during the mixing process for Latitude there was the imperative intention of giving the music space to breathe. In reality, the contrasts are almost too much to bare and the lack of proper identity may just work against them. It's almost like they've decided to be quirky and strange instead of great, and thus why their agenda appear to have been added simply for the sake of strangeness. Let's face it. The Dutch act has been pissing against the wind for years and this release is unlikely to see the wind turned. Conclusion? Expect another year of piss stained pants?

Many pieces of art are limited by measurements, norms and formats - that is not the case with Latitude. Then again. It's not difficult to be strange or odd. The real challenge is to be strange, odd, and great. But hey, like the Meat Loaf once sang, two out of three ain't bad.

AIRRACE - "UNTOLD STORIES"


RATING: RRRR

LABEL: FRONTIERS

REVIEW BY: ALAN HOLLOWAY


For a band that released a debut in 1984 the disappeared from the face of the Earth, Airrace are doing a good job of refusing to bugger off. Resurfacing in 2011 with a very decent comeback album, it's fantastic that they're still going at it with this, their third release in 35 odd years. The reason it's fantastic is that if they'd been content to just release one comeback album we'd have been denied this little beauty, so welcome back (again) Airrace.

Although opener 'Running Out of Time' starts with a slow piano intro, it's clear as soon as it actually gets going that the listener is in for a treat. There's a big Bad Company vibe going on, and I mean the 'Fame & Fortune' era here, with a big, bouncy refrain getting straight into your brain. Follow up 'Innocent' ups the pace a bit, throwing in a Mama's Boys (AOR incarnation), whilst 'Eyes Like Ice' nestles comfortably between the two. It's odd, but I get a strong feeling that I'm listening to an album that was buried by a record company in 1991 and has been resurrected and given a good polish. It doesn't feel like a new album, but it does feel like an overlooked classic. Vocalist Adam Payne absolutely nails it throughout, and the band behind him don't put a foot wrong, either. Every song aside from the ballad 'Lost' is horrendously catchy, and whenever I finish listening I tend to just stick it back on again for the hell of it.

Reviewers will tell you that it takes a special album to make their private playlist, as there's a lot of competition. 'Untold Stories' makes it with ease, as it's right up my street in every way. The only reason it doesn't get full marks is that I personally found the 'Lost' rather boring. Aside from that, if you enjoy AOR that is unpretentious and, above all, fun, then this is the album for you. get it, enjoy it, repeat.

Official Facebook Page

Sunday, August 12, 2018

CHINAWHITE: Different

Rating: RRRR
Label: Rock Company 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Hell Yeah!!! This is a lot Different from the poor work of Challanges. It's been nine long years since I trashed their previous effort and gone are all the elements which made me dislike the album. The sick sounding hammond, the horrible mix, the stale arrangements. To be frank. Chinawhite are more or less reborn and US vocalist Phil Vincent (Tragik, D'Ercole - AOR underground hero) literary the icing on top of the cake. Vincent, the v-e-r-y confident singer and very much on top of things throughout the album. Experienced drummer Hans in´t Zandt (Praying Mantis, Mad Max, Vengeance) give extra oomph to the material.

Do however not expect them to sound like in the 90s. The Saga inspired rock is no longer relevant and you could almost put them up their against the likes of Saracen, Demon, Nightwing, and just a hint of Dare, but merely their 1991 album 'Blood From Stone' and not the rest of their back catalogue. It's sort of aggressive Symphonic Rock of the eighties... but on steroids. Not quite "prog rock" and neither simple straight rock. Nothing too disturning and perhaps still too soft in the ears of the blunt metal head?

I like the new Chinawhite though and it's definitely their best work up to date. Peter Cox is still the leader of the gang/main songwriter, and his guitar work on the record, slightly more aggressive than in the past. At times perhaps a tad too much upfront in the mix, but that's nitpicking. Always able to create the occasional hit song, it's not until now they've managed to maintain the standard throughout a whole album. For instance, Hello To The World", the 50/50 mix of Queensryche's soft moments during 'Empire' and the work of Boston and Tom Scholz. Sure, not quite as superb, but neither too far away. "Wings of the Wind" was also present on their previous album 'Challenges'. It's completely 'Different' as Cox felt the song deserved better. So they added new lyric and vocal melodies, Phil did an amazing job and the harmonies are just great. Final verdict: Have a go at something "Different" if you're into aggressive melodic symphonic 80s rock on steroids (yeah... I know).

TAD MOROSE: Chapter X

Rating: RR
Label: GMR 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
 
The Apocalypse dawning according to the Swedes of Tad Morose and the opening track off their latest album, Chapter X (that's 10/ten if you're not a fan of latin/roman or numbers for that matter). Then again, if we're going by song titles, it's all very deprived, dusty, cynical and preachy. I do recall praising the band and some of their earlier work featuring the excellent vocalist Urban. It's no wonder considering that we share the excellent name (latin strikes again - it'll never happen, but that's twice in just a couple of sentences). Acta est fabula plaudite.

It's a new-ish vocalist nowadays and a new chapter in the history of the band (yes -it's X). Unfortunately nothing on the Chapter X album live ups to the highs of the band and their back catalogue, with a large number of fillers and stale arrangements. Closest to the Urban Breed era would be the decent work of Slaves To The Dying Sun. It has the sheer attitude, guts and blood needed to really come across as Conan Metal. The others are either sonically flat or lacking proper vocal melodies. It's heavy, it's power, but you can simply forget about finding the memorable riff or the decent shout-a-long refrain.

It's perhaps a bit harsh. However. I prefer to be loudly singing-along to my power metal hymns as I ride to the battle field while bashing my plastic sword against my ditto shield. Make no mistake. Christer Andersson as well as Kenneth Jonsson are fine guitarists with passable true metal-esque execution and performances as well as technique and tone. It's just that song-wise Chapter X is as bland an album as you could expect from the likes of Bon Jovi or even Take That.

TEMPERANCE Of Jupiter And Moons

Rating: RR
Label: Scarlet Records 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

According to the info-sheet and I quote, 'with three modern melodic clean vocals, Temperance is the one and only band in the world to feature this twist of vocal harmonies both in the studio albums and in its live shows', end quote. Okay. Not sure about any of that. It's nontheless album four from the Italian group and it marks the debut of vocalists Alessia Scolletti and Michele Guaitoli. It's funny... or rather unusual, strange, and darn right peculiar. I absolutely love Italian culture, art, calcio, food, passion, language, etc. etc. I can listen to Italo melodies and/or opera all day and all night (sung in their native language of course). However, there's nothing more annoying than listening to three modern melodic symphonic metal vocalists singing with heavy accent and rather broken English. Seriously. These guys and gal will definitely benefit from a serious workout on accents as well as pronunciation (especially the lads). Alessia Scoletti has at least the strong potential to become one of the voices in the genre and there's lots of time to work things out for the future.

It's the standard set-up featuring crystal clear female vocals and the male grunt. It seem like vocalists of today (thanks to the mighty power of the internet) should be a lot more confident and provide stronger lead vocals than what's on display here. I guess these fellows are merely using internet for games and porn, huh? If you're going for the title of successful professional singer, why not have a go at one of the free English vocal studies at youtube or whatever. Heck. I'd do the same regarding typing, if not for a really dodgy connection. It's still the stone age at my place.

"Of Jupiter And Moons" is the latest one step forward, two steps back, album from the Italian quartet. Mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Epica, Amaranthe), with the cover artwork by Yann Souetre (Ayreon) and the official photo set by Tim Tronckoe (Nightwish, Ghost), Temperance is going to spread Italian guts and music all over the world! Final verdict: Good music, not so good, you-know-what.

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

FREQUENCY DRIFT: Letters to Maro

Rating: RRRR
Label: GentleArtofMusic 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Cinematic Progressive-Rock. Frequency Drift and Letters to Maro. This is their most direct straight to the point work up to date, yet they've painted a landscape which you could walk around in its vivid structure for hours and hours. Hell. You would probably get lost in the woods along the way and finally wander off to the nearest pub. It's not exactly top-twenty easy-listening, there's no easy and direct path. You definitely need to spend some serious leisure time with the compositions. All this in mind I really enjoy their atmospheric art/prog-rock.

The angelic voice of Irini Alexa and the eletronic harp, definitely at the centre of attention throughout the album. Stunning and haunting vocals which might just remind you of the way Mike Oldfield used to work with female singers in the eighties. Throw in tiny bits and pieces of Toyah, Kate Bush, Fiona Apple, and you're closer to home. Expect layers and layers of backing tracks and beautiful vocals on display.

Dimensions of sound that are as complex as they are experimential, Alexa uses her emotional eloquence in her voice as well as song writing style on 'Letters to Maro'. Do however not expect to find many or any headbanging prog-metal moments on this record. Nope. It's more towards the magical, mediveal, atmsopheric, folky-kind-of prog and for instance, "Neon", borrow quite a lot from Oldfield and Nerissa Schwarz (Sythesizers, harp, mellotron) seems to be a major fan of the man. To make things simple and not always 100% correct. Think Oldfield - not Dream Theatre.

The strength of the album, there are no real downers nor massive uppers for that matter. The music is soft and not far off pop music on several occasions. It's the proper album effort and you can easily enjoy it without skipping tracks. Recommended.

Monday, August 6, 2018

GIOELI-CASTRONOVO: Set The World On Fire

Rating: RRR
Label: Frontiers 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

The former Hardline duo (Gioeli-Castronovo) driven by the power of melodic rock and apparently also melodies composed by Alessandro Del Vecchio. Let's face it. Rock can by something as simple as one chord hitting the right nerve at the right moment. It can also be something as complex as a group of people coming together and creating the sophisticated rock album. This is uber glossy and simply filled with great vocals and harmonies,  Set The World On Fire, are taking the listeners on a ride throughout the eighties scene and car cruising moments under the cover of neon lights.

But... is it all glamour, GTA Vice City, bright lights, AOR music that make you want to move your feets, or a world where one bloke (Del Vecchio) writes all the songs and you might just get tired of all the projects and the samey sounding recordings? Well... let's see if she floats. Nothing new under the sun (lyric/music-wise) and it's really not about the unique experience rather than a decent album effort with plenty of layers and at times clever arrangements. Perhaps a tad "too clever" at times as the material tend to get on your nerves with its "hey-look-at-me-stuck-in-second-gear-going-nowhere" kind of beat. Again, it's uber slick and those harmonies by Johnny Gioeli & Deen Castronovo are straight out of AOR heaven. It's just a bit too pretencious and sterile, yeah? no?

The production is a bit muddy and not quite as clear as you'd like your AOR. Some of Del Vecchio's projects are good, others bad, while the majority are right smack down the middle of the road. On the other hand... many people surely do enjoy the Journey-esque styled music. And we didn't even mention once that Castronovo has been sentenced to four years probation after pleading guilty to domestic abuse once again. Final verdict: Music-wise, Not too shabby, but nothing earth shattering.

DARE: Out Of The Silence II

Rating: N/A
Label: Legend Records 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Question: Why do acts/artists go down the re-recording route as well as getting the sudden need or urge to re-visit their past? Answer: Simply just to get back the control of their songs and hopefully make some money in the process. Then again. Their old record company could simply just re-release the original recording and people would still buy them in ship loads (since we all prefer originals). In my humble opinion, this is more or less a case of 'damned if you do, damned if you don't'.

Dare is probably best known for their singer/songwriter Darren Wharton, who first rose to fame in the early eighties playing keyboards with legendary Irish rock band, Thin Lizzy. The band's superb debut 1988 A&M album "Out Of The Silence", recorded at Joni Mitchell's Bel Air Studio in Los Angeles and produced by Nickelback producer Mike Stone has now been re-recorded as Out of The Silence II. Having gained cult status among AOR fans throughout Europe while touring with Europe (the band - not the continent), the UK act has sadly never managed to reach the wonderful heights of the classic debut. Nearly each track draws in the listener, they hang on to each and every word, each hook. In fact. Every household should have at least two copies. With this release nothing has been added to the re-recordings. Nothing extra, no bonus.

They're not going to make much money from old recordings and probably the same with this. They should just get back into the studio and record a brand new album. Preferably somthing that rocks and doesn't make you fall a sleep halfway though (hint-wink). Me thinks the band should do what others (sorta') did in the past and put a disclaimer sticker on their product saying, "This album in no way endorse a disbelief in being bloody pointless". Because that's the album in one word if you're a long time fan - pointless. The original record sound better, the band was DARE I say young and hungry, and you can't ignore the eighties styled production and sound. For the record, I don't dislike or have a grudge with any past or present members of DARE. Quite the opposite. I really like the 1988 album. It's always originals over re-recordings and that goes for all musicians out there. Even if we understand the logic behind these records.

AMERICAN TEARS: Hard Core

Rating: RR
Label: Escape 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Mark Mangold (Touch, Drive She Said) - one of the good guys of AOR. He's been out there on the frontline and at the very final frontier for the last +40 years. Fighting dragons, ogres, goblins, pestilence, plague, windmills, grunge, and what not really. Clearly mad about his precious keyboards and keeping the ebony/ivory glowing like radioactive cats in the dark. American Tears was Mangold's first real band and the keyboard driven trio released its first record, "Branded Bad", on Columbia Records in 1974. They broke-up already back in 1978 and the band evolved into the critically acclaimed band Touch. 40 years on and American Tears is sort of back on track, however, in reality, it's merely Mangold and a bunch of dusty old music instruments from the seventies.

That's correcto mundo. Mangold sings, tickle the bones, as well as get groovin' on bass and drums. The other band members are nowhere to be seen or heard. It's the whole she-bang including Hammond organ, synths, mellotron, clavinet, electronic melodica and playing progressive music which shows its early 70's agenda. Eclectic in their approach, the music range from agressive keyboard based extravaganzas to sleepy/dopey melodies of the past. I've always enjoyed the work of Mangold with the exception of American Tears. Frankly... many of their compostitions bore me to tears and nothing on "Hard Core" could convince me otherwise.

It's not a question of music style or simply just too dated. But it's sadly not enough "Van Der Graaf Generator", and too much "Moody Blues" on the record (and they only recorded one great song and you all know which one). It's all about the song material - not up to his usual melodic rock standard.

TNT: XIII

Rating: RR
Label: Frontiers 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

'Oi, oi, oi!!! See me ride out of the sunset - On your color TV screen. Out for all that I can get - If you know what I mean'? Sadly unworthy the Nobel moniker since its hardly TNT? Clearly no dynamite, they certainly won't win the fight, definitely no power load, but you can still watch them explode... or rather implode? The Norwegians can/could still make good music in the new century though. In fact, My Religion is my favorite TNT album... closely followed by Tell No Tales. “XIII” is the bands' thirteenth studio album to date and founding members Ronni Le Tekro (guitar) and Diesel Dahl (drums) are still with us alongside bassist Ove Husemoen and new vocalist Baol Bardot Bulsara (Triple B - Oi!), who has replaced the once again departed Tony Harnell. The result? Let's just confirm that 13 is not your lucky number, huh?

So...it's basically TNT and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad album? Look what the cat dragged in? Yeah I know it's Poison and not TNT, however, this is kind of icky, sticky and frankly sort of messy, exactly like any poor dead creature which your cat is bringing home infront of your feet(s). It's all down to the material and you'd wish the A&R person could have been more in control, and simply had informed Le Tekro that you need to return with better, stronger, material, prior to recording the album. It's not too loud, too modern or too aggressive. It's simply just a bit dull.

TNT are taking us on a magic carpet ride throughout their private wasteland. It's a very mixed bag containing a couple of absolutely storming tracks (Come Together, Tears in my Eyes) where you can taste and feel the heydays. Triple B, not all bad on the pipes. Sadly the rest are poor man's version of TNT and sort of stuck in second gear. It's frankly just a terrible, terrible mess, lyric which seems to be the work of a twelve year old kid and some uninspiring guitar work. Simply just not cool enough. A&R to the rescue? Sadly not. There's absolutely no point in going any further. I'd say cherish your fond memories of TNT and wtach out for #13. 'So lock up your daughter. Lock up your wife. Lock up your back door and run for your life'...

LYNYRD SKYNYRD: Collected

Rating: N/A
Label: Universal 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Lynyrd Skynyrd - The band that during their golden era (the hairy seventies) ruled over all the hillbilly rednecks and white trash people in the states. It's all just a wee bit tacky. They were constantly flying/waving the Confederate flag as well as proudly proclaiming that 'the south will rise again' while playing the classic numbers of Sweet Home Alabama and Free Bird. Heck. You could buy t-shirts and various merch featuring the band's logo and their proclaimed statement. Rock heroes or basically just a bunch of not-so-good people? Or both? So what if the last original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, abandoning the Confederate flag signified the band cutting its ties to racism in 2012, they were still using it on stage and at various locations..

Universal Music releases a 3CD set entitled Collected and it's the same old songs as ever before. Nothing new or completely unreleased songs. Business as usual? Sure, there are some early recordings, demo versions and various rare-ish live recordings to be found on the third and final disc. However, it's mostly stuff that die-hard fans already have. I guess it's mostly intended towards the next generation and finding new hillbilly and white redneck people out there. Do I enjoy some of these songs? Absolutely. Do I find the whole "Southern Rock" a bit too Trump-ish? Absolutely.

REBELLION: A Tragedy In Steel Part II

Rating: R
Label: Massacre 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Never judge a book by its cover? However, the captured text on the front cover clearly reads "A Tragedy In Steel" and nothing could be further correct as well as direct to the point. You'll be crying, hurling, and shouting at the arrangements, compositions, excellent vocals (no?), and not to mention radical titles such as 'Dowerless Daughter'. 'Thankless Child'. 'Stand Up For Bastards'. etc. It's... like... if... the... braindead children of Frankenstein's Monster and Bride decided to put on a metal show set in Shakespeare's drama.

Oh c'mon, it surely can't be that bad? It's just the old eighties Power Metal with a singer that clearly enjoy to show off his brilliant impression of Boris Karloff on fire while in character as Frankenstein's Monster? No? Well... strange... because that's what the lead vocals will remind you of the most... Boris Karloff on fire!!! Expect no resurrection, nor the mighty power of lightning as they stuggle to find a single dry match in this dark cornor of metal.

The Rebellion's new album is characterized by its dark and gloomy atmosphere, weak arrangements and ludicrous vocals. Sadly on this release, the Rebellion's ideas are still more work-in-progress and let's head back to the drawing board. At least Shakespeare must be greatful that he's long gone and six feet under ground... or never truly excisted at all in the first Place?. But seriously... picture it... Boris Karloff on fire!!! Oh the horror, the horror.