PLAYER: "Addiction EP"

Rating: -
Label: Frontiers 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

The seventies' soft rockers Player have reformed and are working on new music. This digital-only EP is the first taste of what's to come, featuring two new songs and a remake of their US#1 hit "Baby Come Back". Player 2012 features the original members Peter Beckett (guitar, vocals) and Ronn Moss (bass, vocals) along with Rob Math (guitars), Johnny English (keyboards) and Craig Pilo (drums).

I've never been too familiar with Player, apart from the hit single I've only one of their albums ("Spies Of Life") quite a few years ago and I seem to remember it being very soft westcoast rock. Beckett's early nineties' solo album "Beckett" I do own and like. Ronn Moss is more familiar to me as "Ridge" in the Bold and The Beautiful, a soap opera which is very popular over here in Finland for some strange reason...

I didn't really know what to expect from the band after all these years. I was hoping for something more in the vein of Beckett than the Player of old, and to a degree, that's what I got. "Too Many Reasons" is a very decent AOR track with a harder edge than the old Player material. The remake of "Baby Come Back" is still hardcore "yacht rock", but the more organic arrangement adds a bit of roughness to it. The "titletrack" "My Addiction" is actually the weakest of the three, a lazy pop rocker with an unimpressive chorus. So... if these songs are anything to go by, I'd say there's a 50/50 chance that the new album will be a good one. Then again, that's usually the case, right?

VARIOUS ARTISTS: "Working Class Dogs - A Tribute To Rick Springfield"

Rating: 8/10
Label: Melodicrock Records 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Now this is a fun tribute album! The "Working Class Dogs" in question include both modern rock bands like Waltham, Fig and Handsome Devil and more traditional melodic rockers like James Christian, Mitch Malloy and Steve Newman all celebrating the very fine music of Rick Springfield. What's noteworthy is that while the artists put their own stamp to the songs, in the end these versions are very faithful to the originals. No-one has tried to be too clever with these classic songs. Also, it's particulary interesting to notice how well these songs suit the slightly punky vibe of some of the "younger" acts on the album.

The production quality of the songs varies quite a bit, from the pristine sound of "Souls" (Eric Martin, Eric Ragno and Vic Rivera) to the demo-like quality of "Calling All Girls" (Brand New Machine) and "Beautiful You" (Clay Howard). With 20 songs on the album, there's still enough quality material to keep any Rick Springfield quite happy.

If one of the goals of a tribute album is to generate interest towards the artist that's being honoured, I must say that this album has served its' purpose: I think I will dig up my Rick Springfield CDs now, and put together a seriously mindblowing "Best Of Rick Rock" compilation. "I feel the big beat..."

REINXEED: "Welcome To The Theater"

Rating: 5/10
Label: Liljegren Records / Doolittle Group 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

I've actually liked some of the previous Reinxeed albums I've heard, but with "Welcome To The Theater" Tommy Reinxeed and his band is really testing me. I'm afraid I'm failing the test, as this album is just TOO MUCH. Apparently these songs were influenced by movies, and by listening to it those movies must have been nothing but BIG spectacles. You can imagine huge armies with swords in the air, dragons flying above and giants stomping around...

Just about each one of the songs on the album is ultra-fast and heavily orchestrated. The use of the orchestration can only be compared to that of Nightwish, but somehow Reinxeed's way of doing it is much more overbearing. I guess I could've dealt with it if there had been some remarkably great melodies in the songs, but no... Somehow I feel that Tommy has lost his touch or become obsessed in making everything bigger than everything else. Okay, "Somewhere In Time" and title track and couple of others have traces of what I liked in Reinxeed's music, but otherwise, this is a case of "not enough cake, too much icing".
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HARDLINE: "Danger Zone"

Rating: 9 /10
Label: Frontiers 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Vocalist Johnny Gioeli has once again revived HARDLINE. "Danger Zone" is the band's fourth album with its' fourth recording line-up. Johnny himself is the sole remaining member of the original band, that featured his brother Joey and Neal Schon (Journey) on guitar, Todd Jansen on bass and current Journey drummer Deen Castronovo. On the new album, the band consists of European musicians Alessandro Del Vecchio (keyboards), Thorsten Koehne (guitar), Anna Portalupi (bass) and Francesco Jovino (drums).

With Del Vecchio contributing heavily to the songwriting, some have said that the band has more of an "European" sound now. I don't know about that, but the most of the modern rock leanings of the previous album have been ditched in favour of more of a traditional melodic hard rock sound. I did like "Leaving The End Open", but I prefer this style.

I have no specific info on who actually wrote what, but I can tell you that there are a few real gems on the album. The opening double-punch of "Fever Dreams" and "10.000 Reasons" will have most melodic rock fans gasping for air, they're both superb melodic rockers with massive choruses. The thumping title track is a good one too, although not in the same league as the previous two track. "What I'd Like" has an air of familiarity to it, it's a breezy rocker very much in the vein of Yngwie Malmsteen's "Heaven Tonight". "Stronger Than Me" is one of the tracks I like less, a ballad with a contemporary sound and a slightly boring hook.

Next up is a familiar song, "Never Too Late For Love" which has previously been recorded by Phil Bardowell. It's one of my favourite tracks of the last few years, and Hardline do it justice. "Stay" is a good, melodic track too with a great build-up to the chorus, which itself could have been stronger though. The repetitive "I Don't Wanna Break Away" I could've done without, it's clearly the weakest track on the album.

"Look At You Now" features a nice melody and a cool, relaxed vocal from Johnny. It's followed by the AOR Monster that is "Please Have Faith In Me", which is just dripping with melody. Yes, it's one of my favourites here! "Show Me Your Love" sounds remarkably like Talisman to these ears, but that's not a bad thing. The album is closed with the metallic "The Only One", which is the one track that fans of Johnny's work with Axel Rudi Pell might enjoy the most.

A big thumbs up for everyone involved in creating "Danger Zone", it's an album that can proudly stand alongside the classic debut. It may be a bit different, but the essence of Hardline is still there.
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SAXON: "HEavy Metal Thunder - Live"

Rating: N/A
Label: UDR/EMI 2012
Review by Alan Holloway

Surely one of the bands that sweats the essence of Heavy Metal, Saxon are a British institution who never stopped pushing forward, even in the bad old nineties, constantly tweaking and refining their sound, yet never selling out (although there was a bit of an airbrushed period, admittedly). As well all know, Germans love this sort of thing, and it’s no surprise that Biff Byford and the lads have played the glorious Wacken Open Air festival a few times. In a bit of a genius move, someone has had the bright idea of sticking on the best of their 2004, 2007 and 2009 shows on one DVD, which is jolly nice of them.

This has been released in a few different formats, but what we have is the most common, and serves up not only the 30 track DVD, but also a double CD with a further 24 tracks from Glasgow in 2011, meaning there’s a few tracks from their last, great album, “Call To Arms”. It should (and does) go without saying that the performances on both DVD and CD are exemplary. I’ve been watching Saxon live on and off for 28 years now, and I have never seen them put on a below par performance. They obviously love Wacken and all it entails, and the response shows that Wacken certainly loves them back. There’s no track doubling up at all, and the 30 songs perfectly reflect the band’s illustrious career, with something for fans of any era. The stage sets are bright and exciting, the camerawork swooping, the sound beefy and the band tight as damp leather trousers.

The CD’s do offer some of the same tracks as the DVD, but to be honest it’s not too much of a worry, and it’s also good to have something you can lob onto your iPod. Surprisingly, 9 of the tracks, (including “Princess Of The Night”, “Demon Sweeny Todd” and “Never Surrender” as well as tracks from the last album), are not on the DVD, so not only does it work as an additional source of material, it’s a great memento for anyone who saw the last tour.

“Heavy Metal Thunder - Live” is an absolute peach of a package, and old and new Saxon fans alike will find something for them. If you’re a lapsed fan who gave up in the 90s perhaps, then this is a great time to kickstart those fond memories and also get into some of the material you’ve missed.
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SCYTHE OF ORION: "Sun-Dial"

Rating: 7/10
Label: TSM/Indie 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Scythe Of Orion and their first long play release, "Sun-Dial". I quite like this, it's different. Mystical metal music and not just another female fronted Goth act. The Finland based band certainly are a promising and fresh prospect. Keyboardist Kristian Wrang bring a certain dreamy atmosphere of mystic to the table and the violin (by Maarit Koivisto) merely add yet another layer of myth and medieval ways. There is a certain angular, folk-rock meet pop influence at work here which gives most of the eleven tracks a different take at the standard symphonic/prog/goth metal as of lately.

The lyric tells about the values of today's world. There are songs about greed, the use of power, and the state of nature. It's been mastered by Mika Jussila at the famous Finnvox studios and their lead singer Anu Lamminsaari is a very confident and strong vocalist. Unfortunately, the vocals are perhaps a tad too strong and heavy on the accent and could at times almost be mistaken for J-Pop or ABBA-ish? I do however enjoy Anu's sweet voice! The same goes for the almost innocent approach of catchy tracks such as "Ice Soldiers", "Perfect Silence", "Catch My Dreams", "From Behind" or "Listen My Friend". It's a fun meltpot of very melodic symphonic metal, ABBA, folk-rock, neo-classical Goth and J-Pop? (again, intentional or not).

Main songwriter Petri Lamminsaari (guitar) cites Arjen Lucassen's Ayreon-recordings as one source of inspiration, but there are several others and the chances of finding Scythe Of Orion as just another copy-cat act are actually quite slim. It's definitely different from the rest. I don't understand why there's a CD-R in the digipack though? It's really not too expensive to get the real deal nowadays and especially not if you're a company of five or six musicians. Final verdict: Neat!
www.scytheoforion.com

FOUREVER: "Solitarium"

Rating: 6/10
Label: Fastball Music 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

According to the press-release, the first all-girl metal band to ever tour Egypt! Yeah? The Bangles did walk like an Egyptian already back in the eighties though. I don't believe it's relevant (it all comes down to the quality of their music) if they're a band consisting of women (yes, the correct term here would be women or even better musicians, definitely not girls) or if they've been touring the pyramids of Egypt.

Orignally formed in Olofström, Sweden in the year 2000 as a four piece (hence the name and why forever never last) but are nowadays a power-trio lead by twin sisters: Mia (vocals/guitar) and Nina Moilanen (drums). They grew up listening to their dad's Rainbow, Iron Maiden and Uriah Heep records, and their debut album simply oozes of denim and leather. Don't go thinking it's all retro though as their melodic metal melodies are actually steeped somewhere in between the classic NWOBHM and the Goth metal of the 00's. This piece of evidence can also be found in Mia's vocal performances as her influences (intentional or not) are coming through loud and clear. There are hints of the old skool guard and quite a lot of Amy Lee from Evanescence.

"Solitarium" is quite the raw and basic sounding power-trio album with not too many layers of guitars and not a single piano note to be found on the record. Of course, there are tons of bands doing similar things out there on the web, but what sets Fourever apart is the almost hypnotic beat and arrangements. Tracks such as "Shout Shout My Name", "I'm Sorry", "Solitary", "No More", and my personal fave, "Stand Alone", are all worthy of your instant attention. They are still a work in progress though and I do miss out a couple of hooks and sing-a-long moments.
www.fourever.net

LAMERA: "Mechanically Separated"

Rating: 2/10
Label: Transhumanz 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Bloody'ell... I can't understand a word of what Thomas Franklin sings or rather growls. GWRRUURRLL, GWWAARRR, GNNNUUURR?? I do enjoy some of their arrangements as Lamera combine core elements with thrashy passages and Tool-like (the band) riffing. But for fecks' sake, the vocals are so extremely boring (monotone) and out of date. It's like if you've been traveling back in time to the year of 1998. Do people still find this interesting? dodgy vocals? Lamera from Germany, Austria, Switzerland? is touring Europe since 2006 with the likes of Maroon, Neaera, Emil Bulls, Ektomorf, Hackneyed. Are they Smurfs or band names? Probably both as on the one hand they're quite tiny and blue and on the other hand they're bloody annoying. Sadly, Lamera are not one band that makes much sense in the metal scene of twenty twelve. "The Cycle" track with its catchy modern uplifting beat and clean vocal refrain - the only real keeper in my book.
www.lamera.org

AHOLA: "Stoneface"

Rating: 8 /10
Label: Playground 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

AHOLA is the new band of Jarkko Ahola, the vocalist of Teräsbetoni and one of The Northern Kings, the all-star Metal cover project. The language has changed into english and the epic, heroic "Manowar Metal" of Teräsbetoni has taken the backseat. With this band Jarkko Ahola has chosen to go for a more hard rockin' style, taking influences from the 70'ies and 80'ies classic hard rock bands. Thanks to his recognizable voice and songwriting style, there are some similarities, but for the most part AHOLA is a different animal altogether.

I have nothing against Teräsbetoni, but I must say that this album showcases Ahola's talent much better. There's no question that he is one of the top vocalists in Finland, and on "Stoneface" he truly shows his versatility. Not to mention that there's hardly a trace of a Finnish accent in his voice.

The album is full of melodic heavy rock songs with a production to match the quality of the songwriting. While you might hear similarities to the greats like Rainbow, Dio or Whitesnake, the band isn't trying to recreate classic tracks, they are putting their own stamp on the songs.

With 14 songs and an interlude (and fourteen minutes of silence and an outro), the album is perhaps a bit too long for its' own good, but I understand that the band wanted to stretch their boundaries. I could've easily done without the jazzy "Hurt You" and the "Mötorhead-tribute" "Eat Me Alive", not to mention the silence and the outro, but I guess those out-of-character songs are important to the band. I can't complain much though, as there are some real gems on the album, like the steamroller-like opener "DonWana", the catchy "Hurricane" or the positively massive "The Spell". Yeah, this is good stuff!
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John TAGLIERI: "Lucky #9"

Rating: 7 /10
Label: Leap Dog Music 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

After one album under the band name of "TAG", our old friend John Taglieri returns as a solo artist with this 6-track EP. If you're familiar with Taglieri's music, you know what to expect - melodic rock comparable to likes of Goo Goo Dolls, Vertical Horizon and Train, but with a hint of the vintage early eighties' AOR sound.

Just like on the TAG album, Taglieri opens the album with its' strongest track, the excellent "Losing Me". Plenty of attitude and melody in an appealing package is how I'd describe this song. "I Never Knew" has a similar "break-up song" theme, yet it's a slower and even darker song, not to mention very good too.

Having exorcized his demons with the previous two tracks, Taglieri comes up with the sentimental "Without You". To be honest, it sounds a bit sugary after the two "angry" tracks. It's still a decent, melodic ballad with the kind of hook that those profilic country songsmiths of Nashville could come up with. The moody "Dying Alive" would have been a more suitable follow-up to the first two tracks though.

The first single "Make Me Believe" is a happy little acoustically-driven mainstream rock track tailormade for radio play. At the time of writing this, it's enjoying success on Amazon's Adult Alternative chart. Congratulations for that, but I must say I prefer the other tracks of the album.

I'm not totally sold on the production, the EP sounds a bit muddy at times, but for an indie album it's not too bad.
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FREEDOM CALL: "Land Of The Crimson Dawn"

Rating: 6 /10
Label: SPV 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

The seventh album from Freedom Call doesn't offer you any surprises. It's full-on melodic power metal with epic songs, massive choirs and lyrics about flying free like an eagle, power and glory, warriors and black leather tights (I kid you not!). The band has an ear for a hummable melody and a catchy riff, so I doubt that any of the die-hard fans of the genre are going to be disappointed. However, for the casual listener the band's Power, Pomp and Glory sounds a bit overbearing at times. The stadium-sized choirs border on being ridiculous, especially when it's hard to understand what they're singing. I suspect that in the intro of "Warriors" the lyrics might go "Warrior, Oh Warrior" but they sound like "Worrya, euphoria"... and I'm not sure but it sounds like they sing about a "Happy Metal Party" in the last track of the album.

Despite of the above comments, there's something quite likeable in the "Happy Metal" of Freedom Call. With fourteen songs, this album album is simply too long though, and by dropping out a few of the weaker songs it would have been a stronger package. Recommended for fans of Helloween, Edguy, Axxis and that sort of stuff... It's a bit silly at times but fun nevertheless.
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The SUNPILOTS: "King Of The Sugarcoated Tongues"

Rating: 8/10
Label: HoneyTrap Records 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

The Sunpilots from down under released their debut album in 2008 to rave reviews in Australia including a MusicOz Award, an Indie Album Of The Year and two Indie album of the week awards from Australian press. Doesn't really say too much about the quality of the band as the Ozzies rave about everything from Crocodile Dundee to Kylie, Yahoo Serious, and Oz burgers. Hmmm, Rolling Stone magazine thinks they're a must see live act. Nope. Close but no cigar. Wait, the all live in a small flat in Berlin and have clocked up more than 100,000 kms in their 1996 VW Transporter to play at more than 160 shows and festivals across Europe. Okay, now they have my full attention and respect.

Their sophomore release, 'King of The Sugarcoated Tongues' - a concept story set in a dystopian future where society has collapsed. It's an 8 chapter/song story about the human need for security and the freedoms we are willing to trade in return. Ambitious work and both the story and music had me captivated from the opening track "3 Minutes To Midnight" to the closing of "Exodus". Catchy and at the same time complex music. It's progressive lite, Muse and Coheed & Cambria influences are mixed with some old skool bands such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. To be completely honest, I can also hear quite a lot of Skunk Anansie, and more poppy influences such as on the opening '3 Minutes To Midnight'.

Vocalist Raj Siva-Rajah wails like a stormy wind in the trees. Marvelous theatrical singer with tons of soul and attitude. Add to this a metal jazzy/funky rhythm section with the occasional slap basslines, complex guitarwork and you're in for a treat. They combine several different styles in a way that doesn't actually sound quite like any other band, even if you obviously can pick up on the above mentioned influences. The love of melody and complex arrangements sets them apart from most of the pack. Final verdict: The Sunpilots have come up with an emotional inspiring record and it's very much an album effort. You definitely need to be open-minded and enjoy several different styles of music to truly get the best/most out of The King Of Sugarcoated Tongues...
www.thesunpilots.com

HUMAN TEMPLE: "Halfway To Heartache"

Rating: 6.5/10
Label: Escape 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

I've been reading the following statement about "Halfway To Heartache" where the puzzled reviewer thought of 'I Will Follow' as and I quote, "to be a strange track to open up things with, and it proves that the band of Janne Hurme is heading towards heavier stuff now and probably even more in the future", end quote. But you wouldn't necessarily agree about the 'heavier' note though. Sure, the fore-mentioned opener signals a more neo-classical approach perhaps mostly due to the guitar vs. keyboard interlude.

However, a lot of Scandinavian and especially Finnish acts are always more than keen to throw in a couple of notes in the tradition of Yngwie Malmsteen and Stratovarius. What puzzled me the most, the complete and utter mish-mash of different styles throughout the album. It goes from one side of the spectrum (pop rock) to melodic hardrock, neo rock, some kind of progressive lite, and at times, even the hint of eighties synth. Seriously, 'Because Of You', the bastard child of Brother Firetribe and Midge Ure (Ultravox).

Not to mention, there's a pretty darn decent cover of "Little Lies" (Fleetwood Mac) to be found on the Euro release. Not your ordinary release from the Escape label. It's actually a far cry from the U.S. traditional melodic rock and very much a Scandinavian affair. Keep in mind that old firm people aka AOR nerds are hardly amongst the most impressionnable and easily led people out there. They are blindly following the scene through their eighties memories and/or flashbacks and have to be dragged kicking and screaming to try something outside of their ordinary nostalgia trip. Brother Firetribe extra lite with quite a lot of poppy arrangements and pompous overtures? Sure, why not?
www.humantemple.com

BLEEDING UTOPIA: "Demons To Some Gods To Others"

Rating: 3/10
Label: WormHoleDeath 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Demons to some, Gods to others? What about bozos? a vast majority of the population will most certainly file Bleeding Utopia under the latter category? And as if that wasn't enough, they proclaim to be a thrash metal band? Perhaps the modern typed ones as Dew Scented or whatever (not that I'd call it thrash). But this is mostly plain old boring death metal/core firmly rooted into the sound of the mid to late nineties. It's unfortunately the worst possible era in the history of hardrock and metal. Geez, remember when Slayer decided to jump bandwagon and do this shit as well in the nineties? Oh, the horror, the horror! They haven't recovered as of yet really and their last classic studio album dates as far back as 1990 (Seasons In the Abyss).

For although at heart it's rather technical album based around groove and power riffing, Killing Utopia has gone over board with the monotonious setting synonymous with the 90's core and chosen to locate their songwriting at the far back of priorities. You may however find their music interesting if you're just about to enter the mosh pit and jump around like a tw*t for an hour. Infront of the stereo, in your MP3 player, or whatever (cassette recorder, sony walkman?), it gets quickly dull though. The songs are simply not good enough. Final verdict: The stamina, agility, and position play of Roger Johnson after a two day bender (FYI: Johnson is the captain of Wolverhampton W - football, premier league).
www.bleedingutopia.com

ALREADY GONE: "One Good Reason"

Rating: 3/10
Label: Indie/TSM 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Already Gone? - Hey, I'm outta' here!! They are a melodic rock quartet from the Midlands, UK, consisting of vocalist Luke Maskery (who appeared on ITV's 'Stars In Their Eyes' at age 18), guitarist Dan Nutt, bassist Tim Buxton, and drummer Vikki 'Vicious' Brown. I've been told they are influenced by classic rock acts such as Bon Jovi, The Eagles and Nickelback (according to the press release).

Hence my surprise (or rather not actually) as I spin the disc only to find out they sound absolutley nothing like their influences. A cynical may suggest that's it's nothing but a desperate marketing to attract the poor listener. Well, aren't all press-releases? Singer Maskery is often compared to the likes of Jon Bon Jovi and Steven Tyler? Not likey, if anything he's more towards the style of Joe Elliot and any other average U.K. melodic hardrock vocalist. Typical mid-range but compensates this with sheer attitude and energy.

Some of the 13 tracks. Opener, 'Cry Baby', tiresome hair metal. 'Stop, Drop, Rock N Roll', decent sleaze with a refrain sort of similar to Shotgun Messiah's 'Sex, Drugs Rock N Roll' (now, THERE's a great tune!). 'Sweet Dreams Baby', corny country rock and not likely to please fans of The Eagles (and yeah, Hotel California IS a smashing album). 'Sweet Lady Jane' may briefly have you thinking about the Def Leppard debut album (On Through The Night - 1980) and various blues rock influenced acts of the past. Best track off the album, "In Your Arms", the one and only track that also may remind you of Bon Jovi. Occasionally catchy with a constant tendency towards the uninspiring and aimless. They desperately need more songs in the vein of track #10 to 12 on the CD (In Your Arms, One Good Reason, Girls I Used To Know). Weird, most bands would have these songs at the beginning of their CD.

Damn it, now I REALLY need to listen to 'Second Coming' with Shotgun Messiah... 'Red Hot' - makes me wanna cry but I like it... weirdorama, psychodome - the lights are on but nobody's home... heartbreak blvd... splatterpunx on acid - yeah!
www.alreadygone.co.uk

VENGEANCE: "Crystal Eye"

Rating: 5/10
Label: SPV/Steamhammer 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

"Crystal Eye" is the rationalistic titled new album by Dutch cult metal legends Vengeance. Originally with Arjen Lucassen among their ranks and signed to CBS Holland after only one live performance in 1983, the band has been a on/off project for ages and the line-up has changed around quite a bit since really. But I digress as usual, you're probably not interested in finding out more of the same old boring trivial facts regarding their background history anyhow.

What's up with their music of twenty twelve? Well, their guitar driven agenda powers the album along at what seems a steady beat and pace, which quickly becomes rather one dimensional actually. Perhaps mostly due to lack of killer hooks and/or sing-a-long moments? Merely tiny bits and pieces of the band's bouncing, youthful? enthusiasm of the past are to be found on "Crystal Eye". Barbwire vocalist 'Neon' Leon Goewie do spark like a morbid kind of Las Vegas show on a couple of the tracks.'Whole Lotta Metal','Bad To The Bone' and the powerballad, ' Promise Me'. But to be frank, the rockers from Holland are mostly plodding along to mid tempo AC/DC vs. Priest rock/metal and it does show that not even the coolest of monicker can save them in the end (Vengeance is a pretty cool name for a metal band though). To quote their live album from 2007, 'same, same, but different'...

WILD FRONTIER: "2012"

Rating: 7/10
Label: Music By Mail 2012
Review by Alan Holloway

I know it’s not a new thing to have a band pop up that I’ve never heard of before, so it was no surprise to learn that Germany’s Wild Frontier have been recording an album every four or five years since the early 90s and in that time never darkened my personal doorstep. “2012” is their fifth such album, and although it contains nothing new it is still a nice piece or work.

Wild Frontier certainly seem to come across as a very, well, German band. Take bits of Bonfire and The Scorpions and mix liberally with the likes of Dokken, and you might well find Running Wild at the bottom of the bowl. Jens Walkenhorst has a slightly grating voice that takes a few songs to get used to, sort of like Klaus Meine with a bit of a sore throat, but by my second playback of the album I was quite enjoying myself. Thirteen tracks full of nice retro melody and thumping hard rock backing later I was actually enjoying “2012” much more than I had initially thought I would.

When they get going, such as on the blistering “It’s All Over Now”, or “Another Lonely Day Without You”, Wild Frontier can hold their own with the best melodic hard rock acts in Europe. There’s some cracking songs here, along with some more average ones (“Why Don’t You Save Me”, “Stay Tough”) and a sorely misguided cover of ABBA’s “Gimme Gimme Gimme”. The good certainly outweighs the bad, and whilst this isn’t anything big or particularly clever, “2012” is anything but a disaster
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T.REX: "Electric Warrior" [super deluxe]

Rating: Reissue
Label: Universal/A&M 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Yet another pointless reissue of a classic album? The super-duper deluxe edition of the 1971 album by T.Rex, Electric Warrior, 3 discs (2CD/1DVD). The album topped the UK album charts twice, from December 18th 1971 to January 29th 1972 and again from February 5th to February 19th 1972. The first disc, the original album plus single A and B sides, all you ever need really since its the beginning of the first wave of glam. Seriously, why bother with crappy sounding outtakes, dodgy demos, wacky versions and single vocal mixes???

Make no sense whatsoever. Why spend money on crap if you already have a copy of the very classy 'Electric Warrior' album? I can't find a single reason to why you should, no matter if you're a die hard fan of the Bolan man. And any die hard fan already have the dodgy sounding demos and faulty versions anyhow. Disc 3 is a DVD, and it doesn't include the surround mix, but does include ten performances, two of them, the official promo videos of 'Get It On' and 'Jeepster'. Other performances originated from Germany's Beat Club, the Empire Pool Wembley, where the latter are outtakes from the T. Rex film 'Born to Boogie'. Get It On or Rip Off? - you be the judge.

AXEL RUDI PELL: "Circle of The Oath"

Rating: 3/10
Label: SPV/Steamhammer 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Question: what's even more boring than Yngwie Malmsteen? Well, I'm sure you all know the answer. Don't get me wrong, Yngwie could do no wrong in the eighties, early nineties. People literally idolized him back then and though of the donut loving Swede as a God! It's all been slightly repetitive in the past decade or so, but at least he's got a legacy. Ehem, Axel Rudi Pell on the other hand, not as much.

You don't have to be a genius to figure out who produced Circle of The Oath? Yes, it's the guitarist again (surprise, surprise!) and it barely sounds like there's any other instrument on the record? The songs? does he ever come up with something new? no, never! 'You can't beat the same beat' is unfortunately a sentence that's forever tied to Axel Rudi Pell. The average rock fan wish someone would tie Pell's hands together though and give the poor guitar a rest. But hey, the characteristic ARP sound maintains as the song structure hasn't really changed in the past twenty plus years. The title track is a keeper though and 'Bridges To Nowhere' could possible work as well. The other tracks are so 'been there, done that', it feels like an endless experience of deja vu.

HALESTORM: "The Strange Case Of..."

Rating: 10/10
Label: Roadrunner 2012
Review by Alan Holloway

“I have a feeling there’s a better second album coming from Halestorm,” I mused in 2009 after hearing the Pennsylvanian band’s first album. Although it was good, it was all a bit stadium rocky with a girl singing. Close, but no banana, as they say. To be honest, they fell right off my radar until recently, when a friend insisted that their new album would be right up my street, pushing a copy at me before running off and kicking a puppy. I need new friends, I know, but I am glad he gave me the CD as it’s as good as anything I’ve heard so far this year.

“The Strange Case Of…” inspired by Jekyll & Hyde in that it showcases, apparently, two sides of the band, grabs you from the off and doesn’t let up. Vocalist Lzzy Hale (still can’t afford that extra vowel) almost beams with attitude, like Avril Lavigne when she was hungry and up for a bit of ass kicking. Gone is the safe stuff as well, leaving some nicely paced rock tracks that straddle melodic rock and modern punk pop with a healthy dose of pure exuberance. When they slow it down for “Here’s To Us”, it still works beautifully, and this song should one day make them a fortune if there is any sort of deity looking over rockers. If you want to get a good idea of what Halestorm 2012 are about, just check out the lead track and single “Love Bites (& So Do I)” on YouTube and it pretty much sums up the hunger, melody and sheer brass balls that the band have cultivated since the debut.

Not to be dismissed as a band for young people with a pretty girl singing, Halestorm have produced an album that does not let up for a second, and I seriously can’t stop playing it. They get away with titles like “Rock Show” and “American Boys” without losing credibility, and quite frankly stand head and shoulders above any other young American band out at the moment. As close to perfection as this sort of music gets, and for that they get my first 10 of the year, and I’m now off to listen to it again.
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PHENOMENA :Awakening"

Rating: 6/10

Label: Escape 2012

Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

There's a popular tv series in Sweden about our language (accents) where the main theme song is "Dance With The Devil" from the first Phenomena (1985). Perhaps not that strange considering the wacky tv-host, original and very much former Crystal Pride drummer, Fredrik "Bongo" Lindström. However, what once started out as an ambitious concept album brought to life by Tom Galley (the brother of Mel - Whitesnake, Trapeze, etc.) and based around short stories revolving around a theme of supernatural phenomena, nowadays, just another AOR project with little or any reference whatsoever to the supernatural.

I have no idea if Tom Galley has any major part in Awakening (besides co-producer), but there's a couple of blasts from the past here. For instance, the song, Homeland, written by Galley and Glenn Hughes and originally found on the latters 1994 solo album "From Now on" is now performed by Rob "Mickey Mouse" Moratti (Saga, Final Frontier). Otherwise, the overall style of the album is at times similar to the 2nd and 3rd album in the Phenomena series, rather than their debut. Clearly not quite as impressive, but it's at least proper craftmanship and a decent cast of singers/musicians.

The opening two tracks, Smash It Up (Lee Small on Vocals, Mat Sinner Bass, Magnus Karlsson Lead Guitars) and Reality (Toby Hitchcock on vocals and Mike Slamer on Lead Guitars), had me constantly thinking about 'Dreamrunner'. Old skool melodic rock like in the mid eighties (1987 actually). Close your eyes and you can almost imagine it being John Wetton and Ray Gillen (R.I.P.) and the days of Dreamrunner. Well, not quite (heh!), but it's darn good anyhow. "Going Away" (James Christian vocals and Tommy Denander on Guitars) doesn't work out as well as the fore-mentioned ones. The same goes for "Gotta Move" (Ralf Scheepers on vocals) and I always tend to skip this track (plodding stuff).

How Long (Lee Small on vocals and Martin Kronlund on Guitars) dates back to the traditional Phenomena sound. Neat! Fighter (Terry Brock on vocals and Steve Newman on Guitars) is wacky and uncommerical with an excellent performance by Brock. Dancing Days (Niklas Swedentorp on Lead Vocals with all Coldspell members), is not pleasing to these ears and better off leaving alone. Stand Up For Love (Chris Antblad with JAVA Gospel Choir) has absolutely nothing to do with Phenomena as it's a rather typical Antbland pop/rock/gospel song. Which makes ya' wonder really, what exactly did Mr.Galley do other than letting them use and record an album under the Phenomena banner/monicker?

TRIXTER: "New Audio Machine"

Rating: 3/10

Label: Frontiers 2012

Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

People always pick on me for loving the first two albums with the U.S. hair-metal band, Firehouse. Guilty at charge though. I can't get enough of the somewhat cheesy, but extremely catchy, "All She Wrote", and what not really off their early work. Yeah, well, at least I'm not raving about Trixter. One of the lamest hair-metal acts of the era? "One In A Million", need I say more? Probably not since it's extra cheesy with hardly any substance nor purpose whatsoever. Thank God that Grunge aka Kurt Cobain came along to snuff out bands like these...

Ehem, fast forward to twenty twelve and here's the comeback album. Damn, where's Kurt? six feet under ground? and these schmucks are still doing the hair-metal? No, of course not, they've been jumping on every bandwagon since and now it's finally time to return to their roots (read: cheese). Overall, the songs are slightly better?, more rootsy, not quite as corny (huh?), and Steve Brown does rip and shred like a proper guitarhero throughout the album. "We take pride in the fact that we are one of the few bands of our genre that have all original members," says Brown. That's pretty funny, considering it's the only thing "original" about the band.

The opening track (Drag Me Down) feature the annoying 'na-na-na' choir of the past (Shotgun Messiah did it in style though) and the following one (Get On It) goes through the mandatory 'woah-oh's'. Sigh, We're off to a dodgy start indeed. "Dirty Love", slightly better, poor man's Def Leppard. But we'll have to wait until track five (Live For The Day) for the first sign of decent songwriting. "Ride", yet another track in the poor man's Def Lep style. The lead single "Tattoo's & Misery" is however a feel good tune and sadly one of few good moments. "The Coolest Thing" with its more contemporary sound - easily the best track...

The riffing and a couple of cool sing-a-long moments (special guests collaborated with the band in the songwriting department: Glen Burtnik of Styx and solo fame and Snake Sabo and Rachel Bolan of SKID ROW) are simply not enough to save this from being below average. There's nothing wrong about the musicians nor hair-metal. In fact, we take pride in the fact that we are writing about the genre as well as everything else that either rocks or pops. These songs are however not up to standard...

www.trixterrocks.com

DEPARTURE: "Hitch A Ride"

Rating: 4/10

Label: Escape 2012

Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

I do have a couple of Departures in my vast music collection. I barely recognized the style and music of the past though. Truth be told, I haven't played their pervious discs in years, but they had more of the old "pomp" and vocalists such as Dave Baldwin (Tradia) and keyboardist Dave Rosenthal (Red Dawn) among their ranks. It's still the brainchild of American multi-instrumentalist Mike Walsh and he's as usual responsible for most things on this record.

However, they now have a Swedish lead vocalist (Andi Kravljaca) and he's not all that impressive to/in my ears. Sure, there's nothing remotely wrong about his set of pipes and he's clearly capable of singing the melodies. But (and there's a BIG but), I find him to be completely soulless and typical of the Scandinavian nature somehow (cold, sterile, neat, clean). "Soldier of Fortune", one of few times when he actually gets down and dirty and tries to capture the feeling and mood of the song, instead of just singing it out loud with no real punch nor attitude. "Lovsick", makes ya' sick in the stomach as it sounds like any East European entry for the Euro Song Contest. Most of the songs will have you thinking about the Euro spectacle actually, and we all know that Walsh can do so much better really.

FIREWIND: "Few Against Many"

Rating: 8/10

Label: Century Media 2012

Review by Alan Holloway

For me, Firewind are one of those bands that it’s almost impossible to dislike, as they cater for all sorts of rock music tastes, with their always entertaining mixture of melodic power metal. “Few Against Many” is their seventh album, followi9ng 2012’s excellent “Days Of Defiance”, and I’m glad to say that this is yet another instance of Greeks bearing very cool gifts indeed.

The most instant thing about Firewind is always their fluid, melodic style, where smooth, catchy tunes are bolstered by blistering guitar solos. As ever, Gus G is given free reign to throw all sorts of guitar shapes at the wall, with just about all of them sticking like bastards. Apollo Papathanasio delivers some great, higher pitched vocals throughout, in what I would call a now traditional European power metal style. The album starts off incredibly confidently, with “Wall Of Sound” a traditional Firewind sounding track, but they slow down to a more chugging, metal style with follow up “Losing My Mind”, and whilst it’s a good song, it’s lack of real fuidity makes the six and a half minute runtime stretch a bit. Thankfully, it is, for me, the only potential weak spot on a very solid album full of well paced, guitar driven kick ass rock music. Things do slow down for “Edge Of A Dream”, which features Apocalyptica, but in all honesty it’s a cracking ballad.

“Few Against Many” wisely doesn’t try to reinvent the Firewind brand. They’re not as fast and furious as the likes of Dragonforce, but sit between them and the more traditional heavy metal bands, providing speed without overkill and melody without being wimpy. Fact is, metal fans, that if you like Firewind this is yet another solid album.

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FLYING COLORS: "Flying Colors"

Rating: 9/10

Label: Music Theories Recordings 2012

Review by Martien Koolen

A new supergroup has arisen; Flying Colors consists of Neal Morse (keyboards, vocals), Mike Portnoy (drums, vocals), Dave LaRue (bass guitar), Steve Morse (guitar) and Casey McPherson (vocals) and together these guys have made an amazing
debut album.

Right from the start these super musicians grab you by the balls and they do not let go till the last note is played. Opener Blue Ocean is a very catchy, wonderful song with an outstanding guitar solo from ex-Dixie Dregs and now Deep Purple member Steve Morse. Followed by the roaring rocker Shoulda Coulda Woulda, these two songs form a perfect opening for this spectacular album. Kayla, one of my favs, is rather complex, filled with beautiful harmonies and the almost bittersweet yet powerful vocals of Casey McPherson, who you might know from the bands Alpha Rev and Endochine. Also notice the breathaking guitar solo in that song which is split in two by some astonishing vocal passages.

The heaviest song on the album is without any doubt All Falls Down, where Steve and Mike really get it on; keep on headbanging, guys! Another surprise on this album is Mike doing the lead vocals on Fool In My Heart, but we already know from the last Transatlantic album - listen to Salty Dog - that Mike can actually sing rather well. Better Than Walking Away is the second ballad on the album and again Steve and Casey steal the show in that one.

Finally we are treated to an epic prog rock song, clocking in at precisely 12 minutes, called Infinite Fire. This song wraps up the album perfectly; as it is complex, diverse and reminds me of prog icons Yes and Genesis. An almost perfect song for an almost perfect album. The production of this masterpiece was done by Peter Collins (Rush, Queensryche) and he did a more than remarkable job. Flying Colors is a must for prog rockers and it will not leave my cd player for a long time to come. Let's hope that these guys will also be going on tour with this outstanding debut album.

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WALKALONE: "The Stand"

Rating: 8/10

Label: Playground 2012

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

This band's name and their home country of Finland might make you think that they're just another post-HIM rock band with a slight case of depression and tendency for drama. Especially when their album opener "Echoes" starts with the lines "Heart full of hope/Turning to stone"... Yeah, I should listen without prejudice, because Walkalone may have a dark undertone in their lyrics and music, but they don't sound too depressed. In fact, the aforementioned first track of the album is actually a rather cheery, uptempo track with a killer pop-rock hook. Quite a contrast to the not-so-cheery lyrics. And they follow it with another hit potential melodic rocker with an apt title - "Drama Kills". Superb stuff - kind of like the lovechild of Duran Duran and HIM! I heard some similarities to Scottish rockers Gun too.

The first two tracks are the strongest ones of the album, but the rest of the album is quite good too. The band's "signature song" "Walkalones" and "Roll The Dice" are my two picks among the remaining songs. The weakest track of the album is probably "Break You", which features my biggest pet peeve in modern rock during the chorus - the yawn-inducing "coldplay rhythm".

The production is good, the arrangements are colourful and the band sounds good, so what's there not to like? Nothing really. Good stuff. Check 'em out!

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PAUL SABU: "Bangkok Rules"

Rating: 7/10

Label: Z Records 2012

Review by Alan Holloway

I was a late convert to Paul Sabu, having managed to avoid most of his stuff apart from the album he did with Alexa back in 1989. I knew the name, knew his Dad played Mowgli years ago, and knew he was supposed to rock out with his cock out (not literally), but that was it. Last year, his new label Z Records threw out a best of compilation, “Call Of The Wild”, and I was hooked. When I had finished kicking myself for not having heard his stuff before, I resolved to keep track of his movements, which has led me to this, his first original album on Z.

“Bangkok Rules” isn’t going to shatter anyone’s preconceptions of Sabu, and stays true to the brand with big choruses, skyscraper riffs and the man himself’s throaty but wonderfully AOR vocals. Appropriately for a man whose Dad played jungle boys, when the album hits the highs the music makes you want to beat your chest like a gorilla and punch the air like it spilled your pint. The title track, followed by the album’s stand out track “Rock Don’t Run”, kick things off in fine style, and although there’s plenty of other impressive tracks (“Live Or Die Trying” has an awesome chorus) it’s these two that stick in the mind the most. It’s hard not to enjoy a song called “Rocked & Loaded”, especially when Sabu is singing it, and “Love’s Got A Mind Of Her Own” rolls along nicely after an intro that sounds amusingly like Sweet. So yes, there’s plenty of good stuff here for Sabu fans, but it’s not all plain sailing, as when the pace slows so does the enjoyment. Whilst “Read My Eyes” is a good, if not great, ballad, the slow grinder “Black Star” does nothing for me and the plodding “Code Blue” isn’t staying on my iPod, although I suspect it may have a better lease of life when played live.

I know that this album was written, at least in part, by Vince O’Regan, but have no idea about who else had a hand. I do know that there is a real gulf between upbeat, party rock tracks like “Rock Don’t Run” and the slow, grungy “Black Star”, whoever wrote them. Out of the eleven tracks, only three don’t do much to move me, with the rest more than making up for it with their energy and fun. I can’t see Sabu fans being disappointed with the overall product, but would have preferred a few more bouncy anthems.

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CRAZY LIXX: "Riot Avenue"

Rating: 7/10

Label: Frontiers 2012

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

The first impression of this album was a bitter disappointment. It sounded like the band had morphed into a Hardcore Superstar wanna-be, and as if the melodies of their previous material had been thrown out of the window. Now, having played the album a few times, it has started to show its' true colours and what do you know, everything's not lost after all.

While it's true that the band has added a big dose of sleaze into their sound, there are still quite a few melodic gems among the less appealing "street rock" material. The opener "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" combines the best of both worlds, as does the anthemic and melodic title track. "Fire It Up" reminds me a bit of Cinderella's "Shake Me" and that's not a bad thing at all, while "Downtown" is totally 80'ies Kiss. "Heatseeker" has a strong chorus, but I'm not that fond of the plodding tempo of the verses. The ballad "Only The Dead Know" has to be mentioned too, it sounds like the more morbid cousin of Great White's "Save Your Love" and Kix' "Don't Close Your Eyes".

If the band were after a very authentic late eighties/early nineties sound, I must say that they succeeded in it perfectly. If this album had been presented to me as an undiscovered band from 1991, I might have been fooled... and had this album been actually released back then, it would nowadays be a cult favourite alongside the likes of Outlaw Blood, XYZ and Roxy Blue... not necessarily one of the million sellers.

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LULLACRY: "Where Angels Fear"

Rating: 6/10

Label: Playground 2012

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

After a few years away from the scene, Finnish metal band Lullacry has returned with a new album under their collective belt. Just like on their previous albums, the band still plays melodic metal with female vocals, combining elements of 80'ies metal to a more modern soundscape. And just like their previous albums, I kinda like their music yet it's the kind of stuff that won't get too many spins after this review is done, save for a song or two.

The album is well produced by Mikko Herranen, who also sings a duet with the band's vocalist Tanja Lainio on the album. The balladic "Feel My Revenge" is one of the better tracks of the album. It might even bring some unexpected rewards for the band, as Herranen is currently successfully competing in the popular "Voice Of Finland" TV show. Other highlights of the album include "Still An Angel", "Thousand Suns" and "Where Angels Fear", all relatively catchy tracks with big hooks. Quite why the band chose "Bad Blood" as the first single and video I don't know, as it's one of the album's more average tracks. Some of Tanja's vocal lines are like fingernails on a chalkboard - I hardly doubt that it's the effect they were after.

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TYKETTO: "Dig In Deep"

Rating: 7/10

Label: Frontiers 2012

Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Tyketto's first album "Don't Come Easy" (1991) should have made them superstars, and songs like "Forever Young" and "Wings" should have been chart-topping hits. As it turned out, the album and its' songs became much-loved favourites but only among the die-hard hard rock fans. Whether it was the turning tide in the music biz or the teen spirit or whatever is quite irrelevant now, what's more important is that the "Don't Come Easy" line-up of Danny Vaughn, Michael Clayton, Jimi Kennedy and Brooke St. James (plus a new keyboard player Bobby Lynch) is back with a new album.

Clicheed as it may sound, but I feel that "Dig In Deep" is a natural-sounding successor to the first two Tyketto albums. 20 years have passed and understandably this has affected the band's sound and songwriting, but the core elements of Tyketto are still evident. None of the songs have the urgency and magic of those early Tyketto classics, but they're good in their own, more subtle way. Danny Vaughn's excellent lyrics are one of the band's strengths, there aren't enough "storytellers" like him in melodic rock these days. It's his lyrics that raise some of the weaker tracks to a higher level.

The production has recieved some criticism, but for what it's worth, I think the album sounds good and natural. More "classic rock" than "glossy melodic hard rock" I would say. Maybe a little more "gloss" here and there wouldn't have been out of place though. Anyway, the band plays well and Vaughn puts in a superb performance as usual, he still remains one of my all-time favourite vocalists.

The album's standout track for me is the powerful and catchy opener "Faithless". To be frank, the album could've used a couple of other similary strong tracks. Instead the band offers us several nice, more or less acoustically driven songs like "Battlelines", "Here's Hoping It Hurts" and "Evaporate". They're all good, but somehow I was hoping for more. I really wanted to love this album, now I "only" like it...

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