OVERLAND: ”Epic”

Rating: RRRR
Label: Escape 2014
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Are you hoping that FM would return to the sound of their first two albums "Indiscreet" and "Tough It Out"? That might not happen, but this new album from the band's vocalist Steve Overland is the closest thing to those two classics I've heard. Steve's superb and soulful vocals, polished production by Mike Slamer and Christian Wolff, not to mention some of the best AOR songs I've heard lately... Yes, this is pretty damn "epic"!

The super-smooth "Radio Radio" opens the album and while it's not the song I would have picked as the first track, it's still very good. The slightly more edgy "If Looks Could Kill" could have been a better opening track. It sounds like it could've been sitting comfortably on the "Tough It Out" album next to "Bad Luck"... a superb chorus and fine guitar work. "Stranded" is another AOR monster of a song with another killer chorus - this album is sounding pretty good so far, right?

"Rags To Riches" is one of the songs more hard rockin' songs on the album. I don't have any credits but I guess it's one of Mike Slamer's songs - I hear echoes of Seventh Key in it. A decent song but not one of my favourites. The semi-balladic "Liberate My Heart" bridges the gap between then and now, I could imagine this one on a recent FM album and on a mainstream radio playlist.
Then, "Down Comes The Night"... as far as I'm concerned, AOR doesn't get much better than this: cool keys and guitars, great vocals and a chorus hook that catches you off guard. This is by far the most played track on my mp3 player during the last couple of weeks, really addictive. The Totoesque "If Your Heart's Not In It" is a good song too, but maybe it suffers a little of its' placement next to the previous song...

The bluesy "Rock Me" is one song that really doesn't do much for me, and lately I've been skipping it to get to the "good stuff", which in this case means "So This Is Love", an uptempo AOR gem with the kind of keyboard work I've always been a sucker for... the laid-back, midtempo "Wild" is a good one too, leading the way to the "epic" closing track "The End Of The Road", which again reminds me of Mike Slamer's work with Seventh Key and his own solo project Slamer.

So there... to be honest, although I rate Steve Overland really highly, I wasn't expecting this album to be this good. His previous projects outside FM have been decent enough, but nothing spectacular, and I was expecting this to be along the same lines. I'm glad to be wrong! Almost a five-R album, but maybe one killer track short of that.

PS. On some tracklistings for this album a song called "Time For Letting Go" is mentioned as the 12th track, but it's not on my promo version...

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DOGFACE: "Back On The Streets"

Rating: RRR
Label: AOR Heaven 2013
Review by Rich Dillon

It’s been more than ten years since Dogface graced the shelves of a record store (is there even such a thing anymore?) with an album of new material, but they’re back. This rabid dog has unleashed “Back on the Streets” back in November 2013 and features a brand new line-up. Vocalist Mats Leven (Treat, Candlemass, Yngwie Malmsteen among many others) and guitarist Martin Kronlund (Lover Under Cover) return to build on where they left off with Dogface’s Unleashed in 2000 and In Control in 2002.

 This 2013 incarnation of Dogface looks a lot like the roster of fellow Swedish band Lover Under Cover. Already having their guitarist Martin Kronlund aboard, Lover Under Cover’s rhythm section of bassist Mikael Carlsson and drummer Perra Johansson (Coldspell) also join the pack replacing Stefan Egeman and Patrik Engelbrektsson respectively. Leven, Kronlund and Carlsson are all credited with keys and/or Hammond organs, formerly a position held down by Anders Skoog.

“Footsteps on the Moon” leads the charge in a heavy kind of plodding along fashion giving the listener a glimpse into the vocal talents of Leven. “Can’t Face Tomorrow” is up next and ramps up the energy in a fast paced rocker. “Higher” features some tempo changes, strong guitar work and is another showcase for Leven. “The Fall” slows the pace and begins to lose my interest but “Back on the Streets” is an absolute gem and without a doubt the best of the lot. Unfortunately my attention span is gone again with “Fired” and “Get Up” follows similarly not offering much meat & potatoes to them. “Start a Fire” is a little more rocking with a harder edge and allows Leven to show his vocal prowess. The shortest cut, “Crazy Horses”, is gritty, grinding and rivals “Back on the Streets” for top of the heap while “Freaking Out” closes the record in a 70’s infused psychedelic style.

While this album plays fairly well from start to finish, it did take a few listens to really grow on me and I found that Lover Under Cover (I compare to that band as the only difference is in the vocalist) just edges it out for a better release overall. Dogface certainly has something to build on and would sit well in your collection. It was still enough to cause me to search out the other two Dogface efforts.
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MONTANY: ”Biogenetic”

Rating: RRR
Label: Montany 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

This Dutch band approached us in the old-fashioned way - by sending a CD for us to review. In this age of digital promos, I'll have to give them an extra mention for that... call me old-fashioned but I like tangible things more than files. Now onto the music.

The first few moments of the opening track "Of Fire And Ice" are enough to make a hardened metal head to run for the hills - 14 seconds of techno sounding synth parp! Then the band leads us into more familiar waters with modern metal riffs. Vocalist Patrick van Maurik manages to sound like James LaBrie, Mike Vescara and Lizzy Borden during the first song, and later on he'll add both Geoff Tate and Vince Neil to the list. I guess I don't have to tell you that he has a rather high-pitched voice? Strangely enough, throughout the album he sounds kind of angry, even during the melodic love songs! His slightly over-the-top performance tends to irritate me a bit...

"Biogenetic" is definitely an interesting album with varied songwriting and clever arrangements. The band combines progressive elements and power metal to lush melodies and keyboard textures quite nicely, even within one song! Their finest moments for me are "hidden" in the middle of the album, "Without You" and "Miles Away" represent the band's melodic side. Elsewhere you'll hear that the band is influenced by Dream Theater and eighties' Queensryche, but that isn't a bad thing, is it?

Website

VANDENBERG'S MOONKINGS: "Moonkings"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Mascot Records/Warner 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

The dutch version of guitar virtuoso extraordinaire Adrian 'Adje' Vandenberg (Whitesnake, Teaser, Manic Eden) is back with a brand new young band and old fashioned style. Blimey. We all thought he'd retired his six-string for good after spending the last 15, 16 years as the fat cat judge in various talent contests (I'm not going to mention crap "Idol" though) or as the art-painter, several European galleries planned exhibitions of his work. The turning point came already in 2011, when Adje was asked to write a song for FC Twente, the football club from his hometown of Enschede that had become the champions of the Dutch premier league the year before. Thus the beginning and start of the Moonkings and the though of recording a new album.

...And here's the final result, the old fashioned way as they recorded the album pretty much live with vintage equipment. Completely analogue as they worked with tubes compressors, microphones from the sixties, and recorded everything with a neve desk from the seventies. Consequently the result sounds like 70s rock & roll but with a fresh take on production as the Moonkings consist of three youngsters aka former Stonefly vocalist Jan Hoving, Sem Christoffel (bass) and Mart Nijen Es (drums). Vandenberg wanted to build a bridge between the rock of the seventies and that of today, and it's the mix of Whitesnake, Led Zeppelin, Teaser/Bad Company and the hint of Alter Bridge.

Vocalist Hoving is steeped in the mode of Coverdale/Rodgers only not quite as superb... but darn impressive anyhow. They start up the album with "Lust and Lies", a song and dance number that reek of Whitesnake, but hardly the slick U.S. version. "Close To You" is next and it's very much the 50/50 mix of Zeppelin (verse/bridge) and Whitesnake (refrain). At this point you'll really start to feel the production as it's fat, warm, and you'll notice all the instruments with ease. The U.S. feel of the power ballad, "Breathing", complete with strings and everything is similar to the songwriting style of Diane Warren and all her hits. "Line of Fire" sound like Strange Fruit from the 'Still Crazy' movie (no pun intended), while "Out Of Reach" is the soaring ballad with plenty of soul and warmth.

There's no point in going on about all the tracks as it's the classic blues rock album with just the occasional modern twist. In fact, the Alter Bridge meet Southern Rock sounding "Feel It", easily the worst track off the album. The re-recording of "Sailing Ships" from the 'Slip Of The Tongue' album and once again feat. David Coverdale on lead vocal is sort of exciting on paper, but not quite on record. The new arrangement add little to the overall feel and it's kind of the half decent bonus track. It's easy to forget that Adrian spent 13 years (really?) with the Whitesnake band as they didn't record a lot of new material during the dark ages (the 90s). However, it's easily understood as you listen to the Moonkings. The man hasn't lost his fire and edge at all. Release date February 26th.
http://www.moonkingsband.com/
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Bruce BOUILLET: "The Order Of Control"

Rating: RR
Label: Mascot Records/Warner 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

How many more instrumental guitar records in the style of 80s Shrapnel and their average release does the world of today need? The former six-string bender at Racer X (yes, they had more of them than just Paul "Mr Big" Gilbert) gets the bleeding fingers syndrome with his alternate picking technique and dark harmonic feel. Bruce Bouillet's third solo album, "The Order of Control", feels like the order of chaos. There's however no order in chaos, only chaos, and only chaos is no order at all really.

Truth be told. I'm perhaps not the best of judge since I gave up my dream of becoming the next Yngwie Malmsteen a long time ago. Then again, if all reviewers were as good at playing the instruments as the musicians they judge... well, you know what's missing, yeah? But in my humble opinion, it's all too familiar somehow and the widdly-widdly compositions will certainly not knock you to the ground for its stunning originality. Virtuoso hard rock guitar albums are always going to be compared to Steve Vai's "Passion and Warfare", Joe Satriani's "Flying In A Blue Dream" or Malmsteen's Rising Force. Bouillet is a darn fine guitarist, there's no denying it. If you still believe in the Shrapnel dream that you could become the next guitar shredding hero, why not try and mimic this first, since it's pure 80s guitar stuff.

RPWL: "Wanted"

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

Wanted - The band that knew too much. How do you follow-up the epic and Nietzsche-themed album of Beyond man and Time? With something even bigger and better of course. To be frank... I thought of it as a step backwards (musically - see review at the site) and thus why I'm happy to report that Germany's Art/Prog Rock act #1 has managed to get right back on track with the sheer poetry of "Wanted". And if you're not familiar with RPWL (shame on you), there's no vocals ála broken English on this platter.

It's the 'larger than life' concept album based on the thought of absolute freedom, the liberation of spirit, the concept of no illusion, the perfect medicine against mental fatigue. It's Plato and Hippocrates and basically transferring the old Greek ideas to the modern world of today. Ambitious work to say the least and the very complex question and overall concept gets you right in the solar plexus.

The opening instrumental staccato track of "Revelation" is interesting to say the least. They started hammering on the keys as if there were no tomorrow and the overriding feeling of something grand just around the corner turned out to be true. The bombastic progressive rock of "Swords and Guns" gets the full monty treatment with big riffs and the smooth and catchy chorus part. At times very ELP and Pink Floyd-ish and the track of "Hide and Seek", RPWL and prog-rock at its very best, just wait for the bridge, argh, top notch.

They are constantly finding and inventing new methods to apply to old ideas and you'll end up in awe over the superb art/prog rock music found on Wanted. The guitar work is Gilmour-ish throughout the album and there's no doubt about their influences and inspiration. Tracks such as "Disbelief", "Misguided Thought", "Perfect Day", "The Attack", "A New Dawn", are all superb, catchy, moody, compositions in the genre and style of you-know-what. In fact, anyone into imaginative Art/Prog, Floyd, and RPWL, need to get hold of a copy on the release date of Mars 14th. I simply can't hand out 5 R's, that's nearly impossible in my world (you need to record something like "Wish You Were Here"), but it's 4 plus. Highly Recommended.
www.rpwl.net

Derek SHERINIAN: "Blood Of The Snake" [Re-issue]

Rating: Re-issue
Label: Armoury Records/Eagle 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Next Derek Sherinian solo album up for re-issue? Blood Of The Snake - originally released in 2006 and featured guest musicians such as Billy Idol, Slash (Guns N Roses), Yngwie Malmsteen, Brad Gillis (Night Ranger, Ozzy), John Petrucci (Dream Theater) and the usual all-star line-up of Zakk Wylde, Simon Phillips and Tony "Fretless" Franklin. It's however not the Derek's 'all instrumental' album for once as both Zakk and Billy can be heard shouting on one track each.

There's a lot of cool trading off between keyboard and guitar on the opening track, "Czar Of Steel. The level of musicianship is darn high and it's musically very Dream Theater-ish, not that strange considering that John Petrucci is the lead guitarist on the track. Next up, the Ozzy/Black Label Society sounding, "Man With No Name", featuring Zakk Wyde on lead vocals as well as guitar. It's the rather dark and evil composition with lots of wicked licks and tricks. "Phantom Shuffle", jazzy metal fusion at its highest level of form and feat. Brandon Fields on alto sax, plus the constantly flashy ebony/ivory of Mr. Keyboard. Kudos for being one of the few keyboard players to stride out with something a little different for a change

Billy Idol takes on the boring old song, "In The Summertime", Mungo Jerry's #1 one-hit-wonder from the ancient year of 1970. Slash on lead guitar doesn't help either, even if he approached this a lot different than what he normally does. "I played with my fingers instead of a pick. Sometimes I do off-the-wall stuff like that on outside projects. I used a talk-box towards the end of song as well", says Slash, according to the liner notes. Records like these are certainly not for everyone, but it's the solid pick up for anyone into mostly-instrumental high-tech stuff.

NASHVILLE PUSSY: "Up The Dosage"

Rating: R
Label: SPV/Steamhammer 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Plod Rock. I could/should end the review with those words. There's hardly anything more to say really. Try as I might, I can't imagine people finding the strange mix between hillbilly and tacky to be well-crafted material worthy of your attention. Then again, just the simple fact that I don't enjoy it will most certainly attract hordes of ogres, trolls, and goblins to camp out at their doorstep. Why not? It's just not my cup of demon blood and what a boring old place this would be if we all thought the same about everything.

"Up The Dosage" should/could be my kind of music though. It's got a little bit of ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Motörhead, and how can you not enjoy a song title like "The South's Too Fat To Rise Again". Then again, I'd rather just play me all those band and leave this in the bin. It's basically the redneck, white trash, boot stomping, beer drinking, midget throwing, hog kissing, mud wrestling, hillbilly hell. What's wrong with that? Well, to quote this other reviewer, "The best way I can describe this album is like a keg of beer and a full on raging house party. It's as fun as being completely smashed and awash in alcohol fueled euphoria. You know what I mean right?", end quote. Yes... we all know what you mean. You're a drunk with s**t for taste :) Final verdict: It's all been done before and with much better result.

BLOODGOOD: "Dangerously Close"

Rating: RRR
Label: Doolittle Group 2014
Review by Rich Dillon

When hearing the term “Christian rock or metal” the name that most comes to people minds is Stryper given their mainstream commercial success, but there are many others in the genre hiding behind the curtains of mainstream success. Bloodgood is one such band having originally formed in 1984 and issuing their debut offering, Bloodgood in 1986. They have released five studio recordings, three live albums and two DVD’s. While Bloodgood did not achieve the commercial success that Stryper found, they have been touted as a vital stepping stone in the maturing process of Christian Rock.

The band is now comprised of founder and bassist Michael Bloodgood, original vocalist Les Carlsen, drummer Kevin Whistler, guitarist Paul Jackson and Stryper guitarist Oz Fox. In late 2013 Bloodgood released Dangerously Close, their first studio album in some 22 years. Dangerously Close starts off with “Lamb of God” which has also been released as a video. “Lamb of God” starts off well with a good charging, grinding style riff, but before the end of the song my mind wanders and it just can’t hold my attention. This happened on three listens, tuning back in again somewhere around the fourth song of “I Will”. Again zoning out and completely missing “Bread Alone” coming back in for “Pray”, I’m just not compelled by the songs here. “Man in the Middle” is a great song, a little Dio-esque somehow and probably the best of the lot.

 Dangerously Close seems to contain a more progressive sound to me than that of Christian rock frontrunners, Stryper. The songs one on one are quite good in a mix or playlist and while I want to like it I find that the songs of Dangerously Close just can’t hold my attention for the whole album. I should state that this has nothing to do with the messages contained therein.
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LOVER UNDER COVER: "Into The Night"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Escape Music 2014
Review by Rich Dillon

I’m not sure if Sweden has always been a veritable hotbed for great rock and roll of a variety of styles or if I’ve only recently become attuned to it. Lover Under Cover is a relatively new band out of Gothenburg Sweden founded by multi-talented Mikael Carlsson who plays bass guitar, guitar, keyboards and supplies backing vocals. With Carlsson is vocalist Mikael Erlandsson vocalist of Last Autumn’s Dream and Tommy Denander’s Radioactive. The two had originally had a relationship that began way back in 1982 when they were both members of a southern rock style band called Rain. Always wanting to work together again they formed Lover Under Cover and issued a debut album, "Set the Night on Fire" in 2012. Martin Kronlund serves as producer and guitarist for "Into the Night" and Perra Johansson (Coldspell) sits behind the kit. Johansson, Kronlund and Carlsson are also a part of the new Dogface band as well.

"Into the Night" leads the melodic rock charge with “A Fight”, the keyboards being in the forefront until the song kicks in fully. This keyboard laden melodic masterpiece sets the tone perfectly for the whole album. “Into the Shadows” follows flowing right into the opening guitar riff of “Miracle” featuring a group vocal catchy chorus. Next up was a surprise when I first heard it and it took me several minutes to place the song. A cover version of Martika’s “Toy Soldier” originally recorded in 1988 and played constantly throughout the house courtesy of my sister in our youth. Not a favourite of mine then, it sure sounds different here and is an odd choice for a cover I think, but they pull it off quite well. “Crushing Stones” is next in rotation and is an upbeat masterpiece in what I would call the gem of the album. “Life Is Easy” and “Playboy No. 7” follow in the same vein, the latter with a little of a harder edge, dirtied up a bit maybe. Another showcase for catchy, hooky riffs and soaring vocals is “The Game is On” while “Fantasy Man” and “Closer to the Truth” are a little more on the ballady side and represent the weaker side of the album to me. “No Place Like Home” sits in the close out position and is also the longest composition contained herein beginning with soft piano. Even though this album that started out strongly lost it’s lustre in the final three cuts this terrific melodic rock offering is still well worth the purchase price for fans of the genre.

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MAD HATTER'S DEN: ”Welcome To The Den”

Rating: RRR
Label: Inverse Records 2014
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

”Welcome To The Den” is the first full-length album from Finnish melodic metal band Mad Hatter's Den. Despite their relatively young age as a band, they've put together a decent album of traditional metal with touches of power metal and progressive rock. The band's most well-known member is vocalist Taage Laiho (ex-Altaria, Kilpi, Ghost Machinery), who is one of the better metal/hard rock vocalists in this country. His performance is very good, as usual. No wonder that several bands are using his services.

The album sounds really good. Vintage Hammond sounds and more contemporary synth sounds trade places seamlessly from one track to another, and the guitarists showcase their skills yet the album never turns into a mindless shredfest. A certain lyrical clumsiness that's common with Finnish bands singing in english rears its' ugly head here too, but not too often. My biggest problem with this album is the fact that the songs are lacking in great hooks and tend to blend into each other somehow. There are a couple of standouts though, namely "Shadow Lord" and "Sharks Of Power", both very good hard rockers with strong hooks.

Anyway, if you're into 70ies and 80ies heavy rock á la Iron Maiden or Deep Purple you should definitely check out this album. Fans of eighties' Finnish metal legends Iron Cross could also give this a spin, as there were several tracks here that reminded me of that band.

Website

DEAD BY APRIL: ”Let The World Know”

Rating: RRR
Label: Universal 2014
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

With their third album, Dead By April proudly stay on the strange path they've been on... Their music is a rather curious mix of death metal and boyband pop. Yes folks, they are mixing hardcore screamo vocals, blast beats and crunchy guitars with keyboard loops and Backstreet Boys-esque vocals and sugary sweet choruses. See, I told you they are a strange band!

I think DBA might be onto something, but somehow I don't think they've really found the right balance. At times the mix of metallic aggression and ultra-melodic choruses works nicely, but at times they sound like one of those "mashup" videos... And as melodic the choruses are, some of them are a bit too repetitive and similar to each other. The clean vocalist Zandro Santiago sounds like he's about to burst into tears in every one of these songs, and I am not particulary impressed by the very processed nature of his vocals.

The highlights for me were ”Beautiful Nightmare” and "Done With Broken Hearts", to name a couple. Each one of these songs did have a decent chorus, but maybe they could've used some additional help to make them great. Max Martin maybe?

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Derek SHERINIAN: "Black Utopia" [Re-issue]

Rating: Re-issue
Label: Armoury Records/Eagle 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

The re-issue of Derek Sherinian's sophomore solo album, "Black Utopia", the same basic line-up as the debut (see review elsewhere on this page) only with the fine recruitment of Yngwie Malmsteen, Billy Sheehan, Al Di Meola, and Jerry Goodman. The following statement from the liner notes and according to Sherinian and I quote, "I remember wanting to make a darker follow-up record of Inertia. A lot of this material was written post 9/11 and the world had an eerie vibe at the time, which reflected in my songwriting", end quote.

Starting up the record with the short intro of "The Fury", the excellent follow-up of "The Sons Of Evil", surely both will have you thinking about the early days of Rising Force as Malmsteen's trademark neo-classical runs leap through the mix. Another Sherinian quote from the booklet, "I must say that Yngwie is the most exciting guitarist I've worked with. He listens to a track ONCE and lays his solo in just ONE take. It's mind boggling to witness such unbridled fluidity from a musician".

The overall darker tone of the album, clearly not always to Derek's advantage in my humble opinion. It gets a bit too close to the rather typical Zakk Wylde album and simply not enough of the sweeping keyboards. "Axis Of Evil" is interesting with its three-way trade-off among Zakk, Yngwie and Derek. It's also the first time we ever hear Yngwie Malmsteen shredding in mixolydian mode. "Stony Days", the spacey composition featuring Steve Lukather and the ever so present work of Tony Franklin and his fretless bass. I still prefer the debut over this, but the Luke' and especially Malmsteen's tracks are out of this world. Release date: February, 10th at midprice.

AGHARTI: "Change"

Rating: RRR
Label: Wormhole Death 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

The latest in a long line of female fronted metal acts since the start of the second wave of Goth and the likes of Nightwish. It's the rather typical line-up and vocal performances which obviously include soaring female vocals and the aggressive male backup growler. Agharti was formed in Croatia in the spring of 2009 and their musical influences including grunge, rock and all kinds of metal really. They've played as a support act for Epica and their first full album is released by Wormhole Death records in Italy.

"Change" contains keyboard oriented music from as far left field as Goth and Symphonic Metal (not far at all in other words), peace loving mantras from the likes of Gandhi, Mandela and Dala Lama, classical overtures, and no doubt millions of other things that will go unnoticed for now. It's the melodic alternative style that's sort of dynamic and balanced between personal experiences and social observations. If all this sounds too weird, try not to worry too much as it's certainly listenable and lead vocalist Tina Bukic is the strong and not quite as operatic singer as usual with bags of energy, charisma and attitude.

Favorite headbanging tracks (Mendacity, Rise Again, Words Unspoken, To A Friend, Awaken) are uplifting numbers with layers of symphonic keyboards by Ivana Mrduljas (also back-up vocals) and catchy choruses. They are sort of hidden away at #8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and the album could do with the 'Change' of track listing in my humble opinion. The only "problem" with Agharti, they'll remind you of all the acts in the same category: Within Temptation, Epica, Nightwish, etc. Obviously not a problem if you fancy another slice of the pie. Solid effort.
www.agharti.eu

ANGRA: "Angels Cry 20th Anniversary Live"

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

Sepultura came to massive fame in the early 90s but the world knew nothing, and I do mean absolutely nothing, about any other metal act from the land of Romario and Ronaldo. Angra came through the more traditional and at the time underground melodic Heavy/Symphonic/Power Metal scene with their debut release, "Angels Cry". Recorded and engineered in Germany by Sascha Paeth in the year of 1993, hardly anyone took notice at first with the exception of Japan. The album reached Top-20 in the chart and sold eventually gold in the land of the rising sun.

Fast forward the twenty odd years and the Sao Paulo-based five piece are recording their 20th Anniversary live album infront of their home audience at the HSBC stadium. Lo and behold, Angra are not playing their debut release in its entirety? Something which I find remarkable and strange considering its title and that they're supposed to celebrate the 20 years since the "Angels Cry" album? Never Understand. Streets Of Tomorrow. Lasting Child. They are all gone, vanished, nowhere to be seen/heard, missing in action, etc. and instead you'll find the standard setlist as well as recent tracks.

It's perhaps not the brightest of idea to release the 'Angels Cry' 20th Anniversary live album, if you can't even be bothered to play the songs? I don't know. Guest musicians such as ex-Nightwish vocalist Tarja Turunen (lead vocals on the Kate Bush cover "Wuthering Heights"), Uli John Roth (ex-Scorpions) and string quartet Familia Lima, might just make up for any weird decision? The double CD release of the event will surely not disappoint the hardcore fan, the rest of you might just have to wait for the movie, ehh... DVD.
www.angra.net

VITAL SCIENCE – “Imaginations On the Subject Of Infinity”

RATING: RRR

Label: Power prog

Review By: Alan Holloway

An Estonian and Latvian collaboration, Vital Science’s members have come from the bands Distant Light and Shadow Cry, with this preposterously titled album kicking off the new band’s career. Unsurprisingly, it’s Prog, but definitely not the wimpy kind – Vital Science are power prog (and are on the Power Prog label, appropriately) and proud of it.

After the obligatory mood setting (and, as usual, rather pointless) short intro, “IOTSOI” chugs away like a guitar driven train, throwing up nine tracks that certainly remind me of early Dream Theatre or Symphony X. The instrumental sections of the songs are handled very well, with neat, intricate guitar trading off with keyboards and wandering all over the place without getting dull. The songs are all of a decent length, but none outstay their welcome, clocking in between 5 and seven minutes at the most. My main problem with the band is vocalist Alexy Boyykov, partly because he hasn’t got the most tuneful voice and partly because I can hardly understand a word he is singing (I am pretty sure it’s in English).

“IOTSOI” has gained plenty of good reviews, and it definitely shows a bunch of talented musicians hard at work. I can’t get into it as much as I’d like due to the vocals, but this is by no means the majority view. I suggest you listen to the track at YOUTUBE and not here (Alan) and if you like it then there’s a high chance you will like the whole album

Vital Science (Facebook)

EMERGENCY GATE: ”Remembrance (The Early Days)”

Rating: RRR
Label: TZR / TwiLight 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

This is a new EP from German "Melodic Death Core" band Emergency Gate, apparently showcasing their earlier material. I reviewed their latest full-length album a year ago, and gave it a two-R rating, stating that the hardcore screamy vocals ruined some decent songs. I guess I like their early stuff more, as most of these songs feature melodic choruses with clean vocals, and somehow the screaming doesn't annoy me as much as it did on the previous
album. Maybe because there's less of it.

In my previous review I compared EG to bands like Kamelot, Rammstein and Therapy?, but somehow these tracks remind me of The Sentenced, To/Die/For and other dark, gothic Finnish bands. I didn't better, I could imagine that EG were a Finnish band. Strange.

The stand-out track of the EP is the band's cover of Haddaway's nineties eurodance smash "What Is Love". Whether it's a stand-out for the right reasons is entirely up to you... It features Haddaway on vocals, with the band blasting out some sort of techno-core in the background and Matthias Kupka adding some delicate screams to the whole thing. Hilarious and disturbing at the same time... I guess I kinda like it!

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Johnny LIMA: ”My Revolution”

Rating: RRRRR
Label: Johnny Lima 2014
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

"My Revolution" has been long process for Johnny Lima. It's his fifth album and he put it together without a record label, using IndieGoGo platform to collect funding from the fans for the final touches. Now the album is ready, and those of us who funded it have been living with the songs for a few weeks. I guess most of us have come to the same conclusion - this is a career highlight for Johnny and one of the best albums of the last few years. Yes, it's that good!

Johnny has taken his time with the album and you can hear it. The production is excellent, balanced and rich in details, but without great songs that wouldn't really matter, would it? Well I'm happy to report that "My Revolution" is full of great songs, ranging from sleazy hard rock to melodic pop/rock. The old catchphrase of "something for everyone" applies to this album to a degree, but it doesn't mean that it sounds like a mixed bag of this and that.

At the time of writing, there are still copies of the "limited edition CD" available on Johnny's site, and I strongly suggest you try to get your hands on that. The official release will only contain 11 songs instead of all the 15 tracks on the ltd. ed. CD. I am not completely sure which four tracks will be omitted, but as they're all good, you're going to miss some gems anyway.

The highlights among the 15 tracks are almost too many to mention, but I'll give it a shot anyway. The "revolution" starts with two superb hard rock tracks, the bombastic title track and the uptempo "Happily Ever After You", both armed with lethal hooks and a bad attitude. "Fill You Up" is the next highlight, lyrically as subtle as Kiss at their worst or Steel Panther, but that Crazy Frog-like keyboard hook is infectious. If the lyrics weren't as sleazy as they are, this could be Johnny's ticket to crossover success - for example, my six-year old daughter keeps singing along to the "ah-eh-oh-o-oh" hook everytime we listen to this in the car. And no, she doesn't understand english yet... the song isn't really suitable for english-speaking children! "Blame It On Love" is one of the more AOR-type of songs, slightly reminding me of Bon Jovi's "In These Arms" when it comes to the overall vibe. I already liked it when it was previewed at Firefest (2012), and the studio version doesn't disappoint. "Tell Me Lies" is a powerful rocker in the vein of Gotthard's "Anytime Anywhere" with great keyboard work, while "Nowhere Left To Go" is a track resurrected from the previous album's sessions. I always wondered why it didn't make the cut back then, I guess so did Johnny, as it is featured here. A superb track á la early Bon Jovi.

If I have understood correctly, the awesome pop-rocker "Deeper Into You" is in danger of being left off the normal version, as is the haunting piano ballad "Maybe You're Right, Maybe It's Wrong" and the hyper-melodic "Naturally Beautiful". My three easy choices to drop would have been "Dirty Girls", "Show Them Who You Are" and "Into The Light", all decent tracks but not quite in the same league as the others. The fourth one would be really hard to choose, thankfully I don't have to! So again, get the ltd. edition!

For fans of Johnny's previous albums, this is obviously an essential purchase, but basically everyone interested in the kind of music we cover should give it a go. Highly recommended.

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Derek SHERINIAN: "Inertia" [Re-issue]

Rating: Re-issue
Label: Armoury Records/Eagle 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Armoury Records/Eagle are about to re-release (February) the first five instrumental solo albums by Derek Sherinian (Kiss, Alice Cooper, Dream Theater, Yngwie Malmsteen, Billy Idol, etc). This one, "Inertia", originally released at Insideout Records for the European market in 2001, gets the 2014 midprice treatment and expanded liner notes. I'm not really a big fan of all-instrumental albums, but Derek Sherinian's album "Inertia" really struck the right chords for me already back in 2001.

This is just a fun mixture of jazz fusion, prog, metal, and pretty much everything in-between. And what about the rest of the musicians on this CD? Well, with a lineup of drummer Simon Phillips (also co-producer/co-writer), Tony Franklin (bass) and the two legendary guitar players Steve Lukather (Toto) and Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne), it simply can't go wrong or bad... now can it? Add that Sherinian runs like a possessed demon over the keys and you'll get one of the best instrumental albums of the early 00's

You can also find a cover of the Edgar Winter Group classic, "Frankenstein", which I never expected that someone would cover ever again. Then again, many of the tracks here (like "Astroglide") do show a lot of influences from bands such as Edgar Winter Group and Emerson Lake and Palmer (ELP). Don't expect this to be 'ELP' all of the time though, since with players such as Lukather, Franklin, and Sherinian, you'll get a very melodic side too. Tracks like "Inertia", "Mata Hari" and "Evel Knievel" are filled with melodic melodies, powerful riffs, and metal fusion. Liner notes by Sherinian, Phillips and Lukather. The latter believe this to be "a highlight in my discography and among the best recorded work of my whole career".

RING OF FIRE: "Battle Of Leningrad"

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

Not to be confused with The Battle of Stalingrad. Lenin, Stalin, they're all the same. Dead. Never discuss politics at the online music mag? The seige of the city of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) lasted for 872 days and more than 1 million people succumbed to starvation. Operation Barbarossa. Uncle Germany vs. Mother Soviet Russia. Nazis vs. Commies. Von Leeb vs. Popov. WWII at its coldest peak and Finland and Mannerheim at their worst. The strategy board game player in me - finally awake after years of slumber.

It's the grim history of future past. Well, let's face it... humans are stupid and doomed to eventually repeat their mistakes. Hitler and co. thought the city would give in after a couple of weeks but the blockade lasted for 872 days and caused famine due to lack of utilities, water, food supplies. This resulted in the deaths of up to 1,500,000 soldiers and civilians and the evacuation of 1,400,000 more, many of whom died during evacuation anyhow.

It's the grand epic concept story and work of keyboard wiz: Vitalij Kuprij (music/arrangement), guitar hero: Tony MacAlpine (music) and former Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist: Mark Boals (words/melody). The doom and gloom attitude lay like a heavy metal carpet on the doorstep of Ring of Fire as they stand face to face with the darkness, the cold, the hunger, the bloodshed, the madness. To be completely honest, we expected even more of the terror, the horror, and basically trauma of this awful blockade (lyrically), but I guess that's just me being morbid and gruesome?

Music-wise, it's dark neo-classical hard rock (Mother Russia, Battle Of Leningrad) mixed with symphonic metal and tons of keyboards, pianos, choirs, etc. It's epic, doomy, and you can't help to shout along to the words from "They're Calling Your Name" and the lines of and I quote, "You don't remember and you don't care. Screaming voices. Ghosts out there". end quote. Suddenly, in between all the great, heavy, and rather dark neo-metal, the heartfelt power ballad, "Land of Frozen Tears". Listen to the opening strong lyric, you know exactly what they mean and it's an uncomfortable feeling. It's been what?, 9, 10 years since their previous album and they deliver their best effort so far. Produced by the above three wise-men and mixed and mastered by Timo Tolkki (also bass).

SWEET GUM TREE: "The Snakes You Charm & The Wolves You Tame"

Rating: RR
Label: Dreamy Bird/Cadiz 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

 "Hey Ginger, beware. They're not going to treat you right out there. Sooner or later they'll be back again to bury your head. Bury the redhead in the playground sand". Indeed. We all agree it's not okay to treat people differently because of skin colour, religion. or whatever really. Gingers on the other hand are still very much the main target to bullies all over the world. Then again, it's barely acceptable to be French in the U.K. and Arno Sojo of Sweet Gum Tree may struggle to find love for his dreamy melancholia.

Ten years as a singer and guitarist in various modern rock and electro bands paved the way for Sojo's new solo incarnation of a somewhat different nature. Influenced by the timeless beauty of vintage records, it embodies his quest for a smoother, more organic sound. Quite the poet as the lyrics speak of posh sinews and not always direct messages. The lush arrangement on the other hand goes under the banner of acoustic textures and bittersweet melodies, showcasing a poetic chamber pop.

Produced by David Odlum (Gemma Hayes) and Peter Deimel (Deus) and among the guest musicians, we can find Isobel Campbell (duest on 'Bird Of Passage'). Tinderstick drummer Earl Harvin and Marty Wilson-Piper from Oz legends, The Church, two of Sojo's strongest influences. Add to this an entire string section, french horns, clarinet, and trumpet. The string arrangements are nice and the melodies are... well, sort of nice too. It feels however like you've been here before, the remarkable feeling of dejá vú? It's all too lightweight and surprisingly ordinary.

DAUGHTRY - “Baptized”

Rating: RRRR

Review By: Alan Holloway

A while back I gave a glowing review to Chris Daughtry’s “Break The Spell” album, using the phrase “Nickelback meets Bon Jovi”, and I still stand by that as pretty much the flavour that was achieved. It’s two years later, though, and either Daughtry or the powers behind him have decided that he needs to go in an even more radio friendly direction, hence the poppy delight of “Baptized”.

This album has received plenty of criticism for being wet, and it certainly is damp to the extreme, but that doesn’t stop it being highly enjoyable, especially if you are a teenager or an older person who loves the idea of The Goo Goo Dolls and Pink doing an album with Sandi Thom and Fun, which is sort of the direction Daughtry has pointed himself in now.

Although Daughtry himself co writes all the tracks here, he has utilized the talents of the likes of Sam Hollander, who has had plenty of success with songs for Train, Good Charlotte, Gym Class Heroes and Cobra Starship, and also Martin Johnson, frontman and writer for Boys Like Girls (plus many others).  So what we get is an album that’s very squarely aimed at the teen demographic, full of light, catchy music that doesn’t really rock all that hard. The thing is, it still works incredibly well.

My own favourite track is “Long Live Rock & Roll”, which is as far removed from the Dio classic as it’s possible to be. Instead it’s a similar track to “I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker”, with Daughtry going on about growing up and loving eighties rock music, basically. It’s got a similar vibe, also, to The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Rebel Sound”, and it helps that that was one of my top tracks from last year.

So whilst Daughtry is turning into a wimp, musically, he’s at least surrounding himself with people who know how this shit should be done. The ultimate saving grace is, of course, his superb singing voice. Some songs that would have been average by anyone else end up being soulful purely because he sings them. Fans of the previous albums may balk at the dilution of his signature sound, but there’s still a lot to like about Chris Daughtry. 

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Julian ANGEL's BEAUTIFUL BEAST: ”Kick Down The Barricades”

Rating: RRR
Label: Platinum Blonde Records 2014
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Julian Angel continues his mission to bring back the spirit of '89 with the third Beautiful Beast album. Now with Ramy Ali on drums (Freedom Call/Evidence One) and Frank McDouglas on bass, the Beast is more of a band again, compared to the previous album which was pretty much a solo effort for Julian.

I was hoping that ”Kick Down The Barricades” would have been the ultimate Beautiful Beast album, but unfortunately I don't like it as much as I liked the previous one "California Suntan". I feel that the songs on that one were stronger, although "Kick..." does have its' moments too.

The first three songs are all rather fine examples of what Beautiful Beast is all about. "Bad Boys Never Dance" is an impressive opening, with riffs straight from 1989, very vintage sound and Julian singing better than ever. The chorus is one of my favourites of the album, even though it might owe a little to another song about bad boys and their habit of running wild. "Big Stuff" has a bit of a funky edge á la The Electric Boys and a good singalong hook. The catchy "Can't Stand The Fiction" is the kind of smooth hard rocker that Firehouse used to write back in the day, and along with the opening track, it's my favourite song of the album.

"Shock 'Em Dead" is a Ratt-like groovy rocker, but the hook doesn't really work for me. The obligatory ballad "The Night Cries Out For You" is nice and melodic, but somehow it sounds like it was written because "there has to be a ballad on the album!". Still, it's a masterpiece compared to what comes next...

To create "Unsexy", Julian has taken Aerosmith's "Rag Doll" and Poison's "Unskinny Bop", smashed them into pieces, mixed the pieces and put them back together using a glue that was probably called "Extreme Sticky Stuff". Okay, if you absolutely adore both "Rag Doll" and "Unskinny Bop" you might love this song, but to me this sounds a bit too obvious.

To wash away the bad taste of "Unsexy", the next song should have been a killer, but... "Kick Down The Barricades" might have the honour of being the title track, but that doesn't help, it's just very average. The acoustic-tinged "Shake Me Back Home" is a little better, sounding like a combination of Tyketto and Poison. I also like "High On Love", which sounds like it could've been on White Lion's "Big Game".The closing track "Six In The Red" isn't too bad either, reminding me of Ratt and Kix.

This is not the album I hoped it would have been, but it can still be recommended to Hair Metal enthusiastics. Julian doesn't mess around with modern influences for sure, this is very authentic sounding 80'ies stuff. There's just way too many "okay" tracks, a couple of dodgy ones and not enough killer for me, I'm afraid.
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RED DRAGON CARTEL: "Red Dragon Cartel" (Jake E Lee)

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

Red Dragon Cartel - the long awaited return of former Ozzy and Badlands guitarist Jake E Lee. No doubt one of the more exciting guitar heroes of the 80s and the Las Vegas flashy six-string bender is finally ready to take on the world with the power of wicked licks and party tricks after a long hiatus. The self-titled debut at Frontiers Records came together with the help of Las Vegas friend Ronnie Mancuso (Beggars and Thieves) and speak generally of melodic heavy rock and metal in the style of the late 90s sound.

It's neither pop nor brutal metal and there's definitely not a lot of the blues melodies ála Badlands or Ozzy riffs to be found within these tracks. Opening track, "Deceived", one of few moments in the old guitar shredding mood and attitude. It's merely a shame that vocalist Darren James Smith a.k.a. the former drummer of Harem Scarem, give raspy a bad name as he huff and puff along to the melody during the verse. This became extra obvious when Cheap Trick legend Robin Zander guest appears as lead vocalist on the excellent rock of "Feeder".

The next track, "Fall from The Sky", the excellent Alice in Chains-light ballad. However, those lead vocals during the verse, awww, they make Paul Di'Anno (ex-Iron Maiden) sound like friggin' Barry Manilow on the following sing-a-long, "Wasted". Great party song though. "Slave" remind us of KISS during Carnival of Souls and I really enjoy Lee's tone and biting guitar work here. "Big Mouth", stomp metal feat. lead vocals by Maria Brink from In This Moment, while "War Machine" brings back the sound of Ozzy and Black Sabbath. Sass Jordan guest appears on "Redeem Me" with plenty of soul and blues in her voice as always.

Lee's trademark style shines throughout the album and merely the lack of killer vocals makes us shy away from giving it more R's...
http://www.reddragoncartel.com/

BASTARDOGS: "No Pain No Gain"

Rating: RRR
Label: Street Symphonies 2013
Review by Rich Dillon

Sleaze rock/metal may have hit notoriety on the sunset strip in the 80’s with bands like L.A. Guns, Motley Crue and Faster Pussycat but the genre is alive and well in Italy of all places! That’s right Bastardogs began culminating in Genova Italy in 2010, going through a few line up changes and rearrangements during the formative years. Bastardogs have unleashed their debut recording, No Pain No Gain, in December 2013, serving up a heaping plateful of dirty sleaze rock. We now find Bastardogs consisting of the trio of original creators, Bonne (vocals/rhythm guitar), Andy (lead guitar) and Atta (drums) joined by Cosme (bass guitar). The band name leaves a little to be desired and has me a bit weary right off the get go but let’s give the music a listen before we judge.

The album artwork depicts a wanted poster for crimes of “incest, incitement of hatred, multiple murder, rape, lewd acts, feminicide and crimes against humanity”…..sounds absolutely charming! No Pain No Gain leads off with “N.U.S.U.” (I’m not sure what the acronym stands for as I can’t fully make it out after a couple of listens) paying homage to the genre and doing quite well at setting the sleazey tone for the record. Titles like “Sex Machine”, “Last Night”, “Drinkin’ My Brain Off” and “Bite You Down” all follow in the paths blazed in true sleaze fashion by the greats of the genre. "Bite You Down" serves as a good representation of the whole album and was released by the band in single format in August of 2013 and can be heard through the above you-tube link. Also available on you-tube from the Street Symphonies Record label is the longest cut of No Pain No Gain with "Zombietown" featuring the song lyrics in the comments section. “Snakehead”, “Edge of Youth” (concerning the passing of fellow rockers such as Dave Leopard of Crashdiet) and “The Pit” complete the album’s selection fulfilling a good fun time of upbeat party rock. Most of the tracks are under four minutes in length with two clocking in at less than three minutes, so the total run time is a bit on the light side.

While No Pain No Gain won’t win any awards it’s a good helping of party rock dripping with sleaze and it’ll be interesting to see what the Bastardogs have up their sleeve for the future.
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PRIMAL FEAR: "Delivering The Black"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Frontiers 2014
Review by Rich Dillon

Primal Fear may not be a household name over here in North America, but the German power metal outfit has issued 10 albums since 1997, most charting well in countries like their home of Germany but also in Japan and Sweden. Primal Fear was founded by former Gamma Ray vocalist Ralf Scheepers and Sinner bassist Mat Sinner. With a few line up changes over the existence of the band we now find drummer Randy Black, Swedish guitar wizard Magnus Karlsson (having worked with Sinner previously on Kiske/Sommerville and Ralf Scheepers’ solo album) and guitarist Alex Beyrodt. Beyrodt and Sinner have been working together on several projects such as the bands Voodoo Circle, Silent Force and Sinner, all issuing albums in 2013. Primal Fear is ready to attack the world in 2014 supporting Delivering the Black with a tightly packed world touring schedule. For the upcoming Delivering the Black world tour Karlsson announced that he would be unable to participate as he does not want to be away from his young children for an extended period such as that, so original founding member Tom Naumann will be stepping in for the tour.

Delivering the Black starts off with the charging riff of “King for a Day” which has a forthcoming video as well. “Rebel Faction” is a power metal gem with thrashy overtones. “When Death Comes Knocking”, considered the lead single as it has received the video treatment, was unleashed prior to the album’s official release, a brooding, grinding, epic sounding composition at over seven minutes runtime sits in the third slot. “Alive & On Fire” is a little more old school metal sounding and may well be my choice for top of the heap. “Delivering the Black” offers another fine cut, matching and maintaining the pace leading into another thrashy style track with “Road to Asylum”. Power metal opus, “One Night in December” clocks in at over 9 and a half minutes before “Never Pray for Justice” resumes the assault. “Born With a Broken Heart” slows the pace down showcasing Scheepers vocal abilities and featuring the assistance of Leaves’ Eyes vocalist Liv Kristine. High speed, balls to the wall “Inseminoid” closes out the offering on a fast and furious note.

As with all the Primal Fear album covers, the bird of prey is prominently featured in the artwork and any fan of their past work will surely enjoy the progression and direction of Primal Fear’s latest effort Delivering the Black.

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ASSIGNMENT: "Inside of The Machine"

Rating: RR
Label: Mausoleum 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

When Assignment and company starts describing themselves and their latest effort as an ambitious and entertaining work of melodic progressive metal, you know it's not going to be the entire truth. Are they melodic and progressive? Absolutely. Only in style and not quite as much on record though. Let me type it down like this. If anything, 'Inside Of The Machine', try to come across as the perfect mixture of Melodic Rock, Symphonic ditto, and Progressive Metal. It feels however like something not quite right, correct, or ready for showcase?

The constant copy/cut/paste work of pro-tools? and the really gritty barbwire singers (Michael Bormann, Carsten Kaiser, and at times Mats Leven) tend to get on your nerves in the long run. The production, too thin and somehow noisy to fit the melodic prog and let's not mention the drums as they are simply not there in my book. However, Gert Sprick behind the keyboards delivers top notch stuff from the word go. The compositions are difficult to tell apart with the exception of the opening tracks and especially 'Upload the System' and 'I Am The Machine' are great. The first being the nice and long instrumental piece and the latter killer metal reminiscent of Judas Priest and Malmsteen.

I do not normally have any problem with singers such as Bormann and Kaiser, but they feel forced and strained somehow. Not as confident as usual on this particular record. Let's blame it on production, huh? Perhaps you're not meant to include raspy lead vocals on complex ultra melodic prog albums? I don't know, but some thing's out of order and merely the performances by Levén (Treat, Yngwie Malmsteen, etc) and Robin 'First Time' Beck, saves the Assignment from complete failure.
http://www.assignment-music.com//

Neil DANIELS: "High Stakes & Dangerous Men - The UFO Story" book

Publisher: Soundcheck Books
Review by The Bailey Brothers

Another skilfully researched and executed book by prolific rock journalist Neil Daniels. This time the subject is UFO who the Bailey Brothers have loved right back from the classic Schenker era. It’s a rollercoaster journey spanning over four decades and captures the highs and lows of one of Britain’s best loved and icon rock bands. The only thing lacking is current interviews with founder members Phil Mogg & Pete Way. Although they make the headlines for their off stage booze n drugs antics, everyone who has contributed to this book is in total agreement that them and other members of UFO have written some outstanding rock anthems.

Stories of Mogg falling off the stage and Schenker not turning up for gigs is nothing new but did you know Mogg had to sign on the dole in the 80’s as he was that broke? Or that John Norum (Europe) almost joined UFO? This is an honest book that not only plays homage to those who played in UFO but also those that nearly did.

Another key factor in UFO being relevant today is the bands willingness to graft; they have toured the world and back and fans have stayed loyal, although they should have been up there with the giants of rock as their history, discography and contribution is immense. I would have preferred a few more interviews and stories than reviews of albums gone by but the info collated is very impressive. Like many fans we would love to see Pete Way still up there with the band and we wish him well, he’s a really nice guy. UFO may have hit “Rock Bottom” from time to time but they have bounced back and still are a class act. This book chronicles their journey very well.

In years to come books like these from Daniels will become I’m sure the place to go for detailed information on the rock Genre and although internet is king you can’t beat a good book and this is one of them
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SWITCHBLADE - "Heavy Weapons"

RATING: RRR

LABEL: Killer Metal Records

Review By: Alan Holloway

Close your eyes and let your mind wander back to the glory days of NWOBHM, and you'll be in synch with Israel's Switchblade, from their logo and debut album cover to their no frills, riff heavy, metal for muthas.

Iron Maiden comparisons are unavoidable here, especially when Lior Stein starts to wail His air raid siren vocals are not as good as Bruce Dickinson's, but to be fair to him he does have a strong set of pipes that play in a similar fashion. The music is fast and furious for the most part, taking inspiration from the likes of Maiden and Priest as well as Accept, the chugga-chugga of guitars building up to fist-in-the-air choruses and the obligatory guitar solo. There's nothing wrong with any of the musicianship here, and Switchblade do exactly what they have obviously set out to do - make a heavy metal album.

There's been a lot of positive press around the band, mainly because old fart reviewers (like myself) appreciate the no frills NWOBHM approach that Switchblade do so well. If looked at critically, however, if "Heavy Weapons" had been released in the early 80s it would not be ranked up there with the greats. This is second division NWOBHM, although a fine piece of it. There's plenty of energy and some good songs, but ultimately Switchblade are a pale imitation of those they worship.

Band Facebook: Switchblade

THE BREW: "Control"

RATING: RRRR
Label: Jazzhaous Records
Review By: Alan Holloway

Before you even listen to their fourth album, you have to admire The Brew, at least a little bit. The thing is, the album is called "Control" and the songs are as follows: Repeat, Eject, Mute, Pause, Shuffle, Fast Forward, Skip, Stop, Play and Rewind. This is a charmingly ambitious thing to do, especially when the titles accurately suit the songs concerned, so well done to The Brew, and double well done for making such a great album to go along with the idea.

The Brew are another young British band, waiting for their chance to take the world by storm. "Control" is a very powerful album, full of massive chords and soaring vocals, not a million miles away from BlackWolf, 2014's other early 'Best Album' contender. The Brew are all about mixing powerhouse riffs and electric pacing, coming over like Led Zeppelin as recorded by The Virginmarys, Wolfmother and (at least on "Shuffle") U2 when they used to be good. It's a melting pot of influences, but what really comes through is the sheer power of the whole thing. This is heavy rock for people who like to bounce around with a beer in one hand and a devil sign in the other, banging their heads to something that is equal parts melody and power.

Kudos have to go to Jason Barwick, who not only provides the huge vocals throughout, but also lays down some excellent lead guitar. Bassist Tim Smith and Drummer Kurtis Smith make up the band, and the end result is another trio that make enough noise for twice that number. With "Control" and the debut from BlackWolf I have to say that this week has renewed my faith in the UK's ability to produce proper kick ass heavy rock bands. Take a listen to the single "Repeat" below the review - if you like it then you owe it to yourself to buy this album when it's released in February. 

 Official Website: The Brew