Fergie FREDERIKSEN: "Any Given Moment"

Rating: RRR
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Fergie Frederiksen, best known as the vocalist of Toto on "Isolation" album, is back with his second album for Frontiers. Just like his previous one, this is a rather typical Frontiers product with songs penned by their trusted circle of songwriters and produced by one of their almost "in-house" producers, Alessandro Del Vechhio. Fergie's easily recognizable vocals keep it all together and naturally he's been given songs that have some links to his past. Take "Let Go" for example... the "Hold The Line" keyboards aren't in it by accident I believe. Not that he was in Toto back then, but anyway.. There's also a remake of Toto's "Angel Don't Cry" on the album.

"Easy Listening Melodic Rock" (ELMR) is a term I came up with to describe an album like this. It's easy to listen to, pleasant all the way through yet somehow lacking that extra spark. "Any Given Moment" is very much an ELMR album. No, I don't expect this term to catch on...

There are really no weak songs on "Any Given Moment", the production is good, Fergie sings his heart out... but although the likes of "Price For Loving You", "Candles In The Dark" and my personal favourite "When The Battle Is Over" are perfectly good songs, they're still two or three steps from being GREAT. That will be the reason why this album will probably end up being swept away by the flood of new releases in my household.

I can still recommend this album to the AOR fans, especially those who have enjoyed Fergie's previous works. His voice is in good shape, despite the health issues he has been battling over the last few years. Actually, just recently we heard the sad news that Fergie's cancer has returned and he'll have to fight it again. If you want to support him, you can - buy this album or donate to his GoFundMe project (link below).
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DEATH DEALER "War Master"

Rating: RR
Label: Steel Cartel 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

"Wimps and posers, leave the hall!" A new metal supergroup is born, with vocalist Sean Peck, guitarists Ross the Boss and Stu Marshall, bassist Mike Davis and drummer Rhino. The band's called DEATH DEALER and they are Very Metal. Well, what would you expect from a band that features former members of Manowar, Rob Halford, Lizzy Borden and Cage - easy listening pop?

I may be a wimp or a poser for saying this, but listening to "War Master" is a very heavy experience. The band isn't an extreme metal band, their music is pretty traditional Heavy Metal, somewhere between Manowar and Judas Priest, but somehow listening to this album is like taking a serious beating. The songs are rather monotonous and unmemorable, but I guess the biggest culprit is still vocalist Sean Peck. His performance is so uncompromising and intense that I can't bring myself to listen to the whole album from start to finish at once. Make no mistake, he has the pipes as the Queensrÿchian ballad "Children Of Flames" proves, he just chooses to sing at FULL FORCE for the rest of the album. I can almost see the veins in his forehead bulging. There's not much room for light and shade, it's just WHHHHAAAAAHHH.... I guess that's a recommendation to some of you, and I'm happy if that's how you like your metal. Yes sir, there's no wimpy keys or sing-along melodies here, this is just about as metal as metal can be. I'll get my coat.


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NIVA: "Magnitude"

Rating: RRRR
Label: AOR Heaven 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Last year Swedish singer Tony Niva released an album under the band name of OXYGEN, and now he's back at it with NIVA. I guess he ran out of oxygen... to make things more confusing, I can tell you that the Oxygen album was actually released a year before in Japan as a Niva album.

I liked the Oxygen album but the lack of real killer songs meant that I haven't listened to it after having written the review. With new albums arriving on an almost daily basis, that's what happens to many albums which are just "good". "Magnitude" has already gotten more spins than its' predecessor, and I'm pretty sure that a song or two from this album will remain in my personal powerplay for quite some time.

Sometimes I wonder what it is that they put into the water in Sweden, because these Swedish songwriters just seem to come up with endless amounts of melodies and hooks. Is it some kind of Abbacteria? Whatever it is, Tony Niva and his collaborators Roger Ljunggren and Marcus Persson are seriously infected by it.

Compared to the Oxygen album, this one sounds a bit harder-edged, but at the same time the melodies are catchier. The spirit of ABBA is definitely alive in these songs. Just listen to "Always Somewhere" or "Do It Again" - if those aren't influenced by the songwriting of Björn and Benny, I don't know what is. The standout track of the album isn't one of the most Abbaesque songs though, it's the opening track "Never Too Late". It's just one of the most shamelessly, gloriously pompous and bombastic tracks I've heard lately, and the chorus is pure ear candy.

If this album doesn't reach a wider audience than the AOR community, I wouldn't be surprised if some of these songs ended up being re-recorded by other artists later on. There are some potential pop hits among them...
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OPPOSING MOTION: "Laws Of Motion"

Rating: RRR
Label: Lion Music 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

I'm afraid that "Laws Of Motion" has been way too long in the ever-growing folder of "albums to review", so a review is long overdue. Let's get to it...

This Birmingham (UK)-based band is signed to Lion Music, so it comes as no surprise that their music is progressive metal. So you'll get plenty of long, complex songs with virtuoso playing... not exactly my cup of tea, but I do hear a lot of promise. Take the first real track "Forever's Edge" for example - somehow the band's way of working with melodies reminds me a lot of latter-day Lillian Axe mixed with Kamelot. It's not the first song only, both of those comparisons pop up on the other songs as well. Not a bad thing at all, especially when the band does have a style of their own, the influences are subtle and possibly coincidental. I wouldn't be surprised if they hadn't even heard of Lillian Axe.

What else? Well, Vocalist Ludo Desa has a fine voice, too bad it's somewhat buried in the mix. Despite there being no keyboard player in the band, the keys are featured heavily, and add a lot of nice textures to the songs.

Should the band find an extra dose of memorable melodies to their next batch of songs, who knows where they can go.
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FIND ME: "Wings Of Love"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Yet another project from Frontiers Records' assembly line, with the usual suspects behind the songs and the music? Okay, the name in the album cover could have been Khymera, From The Inside, Over The Edge, Sunstorm or one of the more well-known singers in their rooster, but nope, Frontiers wanted to put together a new project. The result is the strangely named Find Me. It is built around vocalist Robbie LaBlanc (Blanc Faces) and drummer/producer Daniel Flores, with songs provided by the reliable songsmiths of the Frontiers Empire. More of the same from the assembly line? Yeah... but you know what? As long as they've got songs of this quality, Frontiers can release as many of these projects as they like. Besides, this album might just have the best production of them all. Flores has added some "modern" touches to the album, but otherwise "Wings Of Love" has a rather classic AOR sound, I'm thinking of bands like Survivor or Journey here.

Each of the dozen tracks is enjoyable and I especially like the fact that most of them are uptempo. The only ballad "Eternally" is actually my least favourite song. It's not a bad song at all but somehow it sounds a bit too much like "an AOR ballad by the numbers". Then again, the Frontiers army of writers (Kronqvist, Mårtensson, Del Vecchio, The Martin brothers among others) have come up with plenty of goodies to compensate for it. You might already be familiar with the video track "Road To Nowhere" and its' explosive chorus, but there's more: "Another World" is an intense, hard-edged AOR song, while the more mellow "Dancing To A Broken Heartbeat" has a nicely uplifting, Journeyesque chorus. Then there's "Fireflight", "On The Outside" and especially "One Soul", all top-notch songs... the Def Leppard-like "Unbreakable" isn't far behind either.

A special mention must go to the voice of Find Me, Robbie LaBlanc. His soaring vocals bring these songs to life in a very special way. In fact, I may have to dig up the Blanc Faces albums, haven't listened to them in ages...
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FARRADAY: "Shade Of Love"

Rating: RRR
Label: AOR Heaven 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

The first notes of "One Way Ticket To Hollywood" are actually your ticket to 1986, as Greek melodic rockers Farraday sound uncannily like an indie AOR band of that era. They've got the flashy guitar solos, sweeping keyboards and bigger-than-life snare drum sounds... the somewhat "echoey" and hollow sound does give away the fact that they didn't have a major label budget or an experienced producer to work with.

When it comes to the songs, Roy Da Vis (voc/gt/kbs) and Stathis Spiliotopoulos (drs/ bs) have come up with 10 likeable tracks along the lines of early Bon Jovi, Aldo Nova, Surgin and the likes. My favourites are "Breakin' Down" (I'm always a sucker for "Runaway"-like keys) and "Can't Wait On Love", but none of the songs are too bad.

What really keeps me from enjoying this album more are the vocals. Roy Da Vis has a decent voice, but I just can't stand his nonchalant singing style. It's as if he's trying way too hard to hide a possible greek accent by slurring the words. The accent stays hidden all right, but one cannot really comprehend all the lyrics. For the next album, he should really concentrate on being more articulate and less "cool".
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HOUSTON: "II"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Livewire/Cargo Records 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Houston made quite of a splash in the AOR scene with their debut album. It was an unashamedly 80'ies sounding selection of soft rockers with big hooks, awash with keyboards. "II" follows the debut quite nicely and naturally. Producer Ricky Delin has joined vocalist Hank Erix and drummer Freddie Allen as a full-time member on keyboards, with Tommy Denander guesting on guitar and Soufian Ma'Aoui on bass.

The opening trio of "Glory", "I'm Coming Home" and "Return My Heart" is quite amazing, each one of the songs armed with gloriously catchy choruses and keyboard hooks. I can't help but think that the band sounds like a younger sibling of Brother Firetribe, the slightly wimpy one that has spent a lot of time with his Toto and Journey records...

"Talk To Me" is a slower track, while "Back To The Summer Of Love", "24 Hours" and "On The Radio" are again more uptempo soft rocking with smooth choruses. They might be a bit too sugary for some of you... "Losing" is maybe two degrees heavier, and among my favourite tracks - great chorus and cool keys.

"Just Friends" might come with a dentist's warning for extreme sweetness. It's a duet between Hank Erix and Minnah Karlsson, who was the runner-up in Swedish Idol 2010. Minnah's vocals are impressive, but somehow the storyline and the cuteness of it all is just too much... The album closing track "Believe" is a decent enough track, very Totoesque ("Isolation"-era), although I must say that the accapella intro could've been edited out - the "choir" sounds like they're all almost asleep!

Houston have managed to create a rather appealing sound for themselves. Although their Rock is that of the softest kind, there's still energy and passion in their songs. You might call them cheesy or sugary, but at least they're not bland! First class wimp rock.
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SHANNON: "Circus Of Lost Souls"

Rating: RRR
Label: Mad Association 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

I may be wrong, but I think that Shannon are the very first French hard rock band I've reviewed. And they're not a bad act to start with - this is their third album apparently and at its' best it's very good. Big choruses, swirling keyboards and powerful guitar work are the main ingredients, but there's more...

"Ride To Live" is a very suitable opener, anthemic and catchy in a decidedly German way, reminding me of Human Zoo, Bonfire and Axxis. I'm not so sure about the almost cookie monster-like backing vocals though. "Forever Now" takes a couple of steps towards power metal, while "Halfway To Heaven" has a bit of a Fair Warning-vibe. Great chorus, but what's wrong with the backing vocals again? Some drunken pirates screaming there if you listen closely, very strange.

"Can't Stop The Rain" is a pretty classy power ballad in the finest 80'ies fashion, followed by a fastpaced Acceptish track "Don't Get Me Wrong" (rather average) and more melodic "Dust To Dust" (good). Next few tracks are unfortunately quite bland, riff-based rockers with hints of AC/DC and early Gotthard. The Bon Jovi-like "In Your Eyes" sees the band returning to a more melodic style, but "Drive Me Crazy" takes them back to the AC/DC'ish format.

The band has chosen an eighties' pop cover to close the album. I admit I have a soft spot for rocked-up pop tracks, but Shannon's version of Bronski Beat's "Smalltown Boy" just doesn't work. Maybe it's because I never liked the song to start with, I don't know.

The melodic, hook-driven side of Shannon's material could be the band's ticket to the A-list of Euro hard rock, with the standard accadacca riffage they'll probably remain mere local heroes. But what do I know, Airbourne are duplicating the AC/DC sound to a tee and they're well on their way to stardom.
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MYSTERY: "2013"

Rating: RR
Label: Metalapolis Records 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Australia's answer to Finland's Sturm Und Drang! Yep, Mystery was formed in 2010 when the guys in the band were only around 12-13 years old. Now they've reached the mature age of 15+, and their first album has been released.

When I learned that the band consists of teenagers, the first reaction was to take their age into consideration in this review and cut them some slack. I decided not to, because they're now in direct competition against any other band and it's the music that counts for most record buyers. The music on this album isn't too bad, but compared to most recent releases of the genre, Mystery aren't quite ready to rival the big guns.

I've checked out some live clips of the band, and they certainly put on a good show. If I were on a festival with them in the line-up, I'd definitely go and see them. They haven't managed to capture their energy to the record though, there's a certain cloud of sloppiness that casts a shadow on these recordings.

The band's strongest track is the uptempo "Freedom" which reminds me of German rockers Mad Max and their 80'ies material. "Nonstop To Nowhere" and "Test Of Time" have decent choruses, but I can't say I'm too thrilled of the rest of their material. And the two covers... Dio's "Stand Up And Shout" is too big a song for vocalist Rocky Ravic even though otherwise the version is ok. The Men At Work cover "Land Down Under" then... well, just imagine Accept beating the song to death! I usually like rocked-up versions of pop songs, but this just doesn't work.

The better songs of the album show that Mystery might evolve into a good hard rock band, but when it comes to the whole album, maybe it's been a case of "too much, too soon".
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HAMMERFORCE: "Access Denied"

Rating: RRR
Label: Hammerforce 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Here's the second album from Russian Power/Prog Metal band Hammerforce. Well, they really couldn't be anything other than a Power Metal band with a name like that, right? The band's first album "Dice" was released in 2009, but it didn't really make an impact, and the band were struggling for a while.Some personnel changes took place and the band started working on new material. They decided to ditch the "usual" metal lyrical themes and to concentrate on real issues, and as a result, the lyrics of "Access Denied" deal with modern social problems.

What separates Hammerforce from the countless other power/prog metal bands is their use of keyboards. While their songs are pretty standard power metal with a lot of prog overtones, the keyboard work is rather interesting - they use a lot of techno/trance/dance-type of sounds and layers. Frankly, if it wasn't for the synths I'd hesitate to give this album three "R's" because their songs could seriously use some memorable hooks... but the somewhat innovative use of unusual sounds and the good production secure them that third "R". Now if only they could add some pop flavours into their otherwise interesting metal soup... that might be something quite special.
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Robin BECK: "Underneath"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Her Majesty's Music Room 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Ever since Robin Beck returned to the melodic hard rock style of her breakthrough album "Trouble Or Nothing", she's been one of the most reliable artists of the genre. I thought her previous album "The Great Escape" was another career highlight and I glad to report that "Underneath" is once again a very good album from the reigning AOR queen.

For "Underneath", Robin has reached out to new songwriters outside the genre to give her music a bit of a new, contemporary edge. Despite the new influences "Underneath" is still very much a rock album, but the new writers do add some new flavours to it.

"Wrecking Ball" gives the album a crushing start, showcasing the slightly modernized style yet boasting a big, rocking chorus. It's followed by something more familiar sounding, Robin's cover of "Ain't That Just Like Love", a track originally recorded by Fiona in 1992. This big, hook-laden rocker has always been one of my favourite Fiona songs and Robin's version is very good too. Production-wise I may prefer the original, but Robin's passionate vocals are in a league of their own. The modern pop/rock sound returns with "Sprain", which is okay but not one of my favourites.

The album's title track is something really special, a massive ballad with fine lyrics and a great vocal from Robin. It's penned by songwriters Annica Williams and Måns Ek and lyricist Charlie Mason, who has co-written most of the album actually. I wouldn't be surprised if it found its' way to the mainstream charts eventually - some major label artist will surely want to record it sooner or later.

"Catfight" and "Check Your Attitude" are two of the more contemporary tracks, taking Robin to the Katy Perry/Pink/Avril Lavigne direction. "Check Your Attitude" is rather good but I can't say I'm too fond of "Catfight", it just doesn't have enough meat around its' bones. But thumbs up for Robin, she sounds convincing singing these kind of "angry pop" tunes.

The rest of the album is more in the vein of "old school" Robin Beck, melodic hard rock with big hooks. Robin's husband and producer James Christian shares the lead vocals on the power ballad "Burnin' Me Down", while Christian's House Of Lords bandmate, guitarist Jimi Bell gets a co-writing credit for the energetic rocker "Perfect Storm". "Ya Can't Fight Love" is Tommy Denander's sole songwriting contribution to this album and a very good one it is too, a lively uptempo track with a great hook. "I Swear The Nights" is another fine power ballad but somehow the production doesn't do it justice. It might be just the mp3 I'm listening to, but it sounds somehow distorted. The Glen Burtnik-cover "Follow You" closes the album like it closed Robin's Firefest set last year, a good pop-rock song that suits the album's mood nicely.
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SANTA CRUZ: "Screaming For Adrenaline"

Rating: RRR
Label: Spinefarm 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

I was quite impressed by this Finnish band, when they supported Cinderella a couple of years ago. They had a great stage presence yet I thought their songs weren't quite on the same level. Now that their first album is out, I'm again impressed by their delivery yet I'm not completely sure about their songs. They've got a few really good ones, but then again they've got a couple that almost make me cringe.

Santa Cruz play unashamedly retro hard rock and "Screaming For Adrenaline" could just as well be an unreleased, undiscovered piece of "hair metal history" from 1991. You know, the kind of album that certain labels are releasing one after another - "They were local heroes, famous for their live shows and drew thousands of fans to their gigs. Then Grunge happened... but now we have discovered their unreleased album and bring it to you in its' full glory"... but nope, these guys weren't even born in 1991, so it's kind of strange that they have totally managed to duplicate the sound of the era. And it's especially the sound of 1991 and thereabouts. Guns'n Roses had already left their mark, and most "hair" bands had toned down their image and tried to toughen their sound. Santa Cruz would have been right at home in that time and space both musically and visually. I could imagine them battling against bands like Bang Tango, Southgang, Kik Tracee, Roxy Blue and other B-list groups who were active around that time... and probably winning most of them.

The influence of GNR is pretty obvious on many of the songs, especially when it comes to vocalist/guitarist Archie's falsetto screeching. It's very Axl-like, but frankly I've never been a fan of his and to me it's more like fingers on a chalkboard. Thankfully Archie doesn't use it in every song. You might also hear echoes of Poison, Dokken, Skid Row and even that aforementioned Bang Tango in some of the songs.

My favourite tracks include High On You" which has the biggest melodic chorus of the album, "Sweet Sensation", the party anthem "Let's Get The Party Started" and "Aiming High". The latter does feature Archie shierking on it like a cat in heat but the glam-tastic monster riff saves the song. More like these for the next album please! Forget about songs like "Nothing Compares To You" and "Lovin' You (Is Just For Playing)" which sound like Poison's left-overs...
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MARC BOLAN at The BBC (6 CD) T REX

Rating: 6 CD Comp.
Label: Universal 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Marc Bolan - The BBC 6 CD BOX SET - Said to be the most ambitious and complete collection of BBC recordings so far. They've spent years collecting, researching and compiling the best sources where possible. A few of the sessions and concerts did exist in the BBC archive but those which did not have been sourced from BBC Transcription Discs, off air recordings made on reel-to-reel tape recorders and in one or two instances cassette tapes. It's throughout the box-set a mixture of music, poems and radio interviews (mostly John Peel) not always up to standard of todays music industry. You simply have to take the good with the bad

Breaking down the musical standard of U.K. past, the ex-mod and model Marc Bolan set out on a magical journey through time and space. Not to mention music. Disc one contains the only session recorded by his first band, John's Children, recorded for the BBC Radio One – Saturday Club in June 1967 and also includes the John Peel's Top Gear programme between November 1967 and December 1968. A total of 30 tracks and amongst groovy titles such as 'Dwarfish Trumpet Blues' and 'Frowning Atahuallpa' (the latter features one of the first commercial Hare Krishna chants on record) lies a deeper meaning and thought connected to the folk-rock psychedelica movement aka make love not war.

It's the pre-glam stuff and you just have to be open minded as to what Bolan was actually trying to say. The lyrics are rather typical for its hippie era as they are heavily based along poetic lines, some are clear, some are hidden, and some are just the result of too much weed and various toxica. For instance, the prophet got zapped and "Scenescof" came out as the result of the very far-out and groovy happening. Oh those crazy hippies. 'My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows' - the 1968 debut album by Tyrannosaurus Rex really tells us the story of the movement. Normally.. not my kind of music, but... Marc Bolan and a few other acts (George Harrison) are so superior to the rest of the schmucks and thus why their music ending up on the must-have list. Two-man band unplugged with Bolan on vocals and guitars, and Steve Peregrin Took on backing vocals, drums, pixiphone, percussion. Hardly everything is included though, the whole 5-song-session around "Cloud Fall" and one or two more complete 1968 sessions are missing.

Disc Two (23 tracks) contains 4 Top Gear sessions plus 3 interviews for the Night Ride programme recorded in June 1969 and the In Concert performance recorded in January 1970 / tracks). Add to this 3 poems and the previously unreleased (not broadcasted) version of "Wind Cheetah". Again, do not expect this to sound like 2013, but most of the BBC material works just fine in the digital era. Disc Three (14 tracks) contains the Top Gear session from October 1970, 2 songs from the long lost Bob Harris session from November 1970, a Dave Lee Travis session from December 1970 and 5 songs recorded live for the December 1970 broadcast of the John Peel Sunday Concert. By now they've gone electric and things are starting to sound glam-ish but not quite there yet. "Elemental Child" - obviously inspired by Jimi Hendrix as it captures the spirit of the first and original guitar hero. The cover of "Summertime Blues" - okay but hardly essential and slightly out of place.

Disc Four (18 tracks): 8 songs recorded for the Radio One Club (March-July 71) the session recorded for the Bob Harris 'Sound of the Seventies' in August. The interviews with Tony Norman (71) and Keith Altham (72) and the short christmas jingle. It's glam-bam-thank-you-mam' as our mad poet goes through the "Hot Love, "Jeepster", "Get It On", as well as "Telegram Sam" for the '72 Peter Powell show. Disc five (16 tracks) interviews with Andrew Salkey, Johnny Moran and Nicky Horne. Disc six (17 tracks) interviews with Anne Nightingale, Michael Wale and Insight. Disc 5 and 6 contain mixes which were exclusively recorded for the BBC between May 72 and January 74. "Metal Guru", "The Slider", "Children Of The Revolution", etc. etc. are all a fun listening experience. I do not have the sleeve notes so I can't comment on the book with a new essay by Mark Payress (Author, 'Marc Bolan – A 20th Century Superstar'). Final verdict: if you're going to pick up merely one Bolan box-set in your life - this is indeed the one to get..it on.
http://www.marc-bolan.com

DEEP PURPLE: "Live In Copenhagen 1972" DVD

Rating: DVD
Label: Edel/ear-music 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Popcorn, check. Cola, check. Remote, check. Play, check. Hey... there's no colour? Goddamntv... crapdvdplayer. I'll teach them to mess with the legend... what? huh? According to the box video is in black and white. Surely a mistake? I don't feel like watching 133 minutes of the dogs-only version of live in Copenhagen 1972. Crapdanishtv. Why the black and white in 1972? 1942, sure. But if they could put a man on the moon, etc. Whatever. The first nine tracks are simply not in colour and recorded on March 1, 1972, when DP took to the stage at the KB Hallen in Copenhagen, Denmark. The place burned down to the ground in 2011 but that's another story and not connected to 'Smoke On The Water'. In fact, DP did not play the song in Denmark as they prefered to perform several other songs from the by then soon to be released 'Machine Head' album.

The Danes and especially the sound engineer (the drunk geezer on the soundboard) did not react well as he decided to ignore Glover completely during the opening numbers. Gillan is however at the top of his game, wailing through the marvelous "Child In Time". Paice goes bezerk during 'The Mule', and Blackmore's on fire during 'Space Truckin'. In fact, I believe they had to rebuild his Strat at the beginning of the first encore (Fireball). This gig has previously been released on VHS in the eighties and I believe there's also the Japan only DVD from the mid-00? Video and audio is restored and digitally remastered in 2013 though and makes for overall goody entertainment. Just pretend that you're a grumpy Bulldog while watching (some of you are howlers anyhow) and simply try to look past the ancient equipment at Danish TV.

The bonus tracks (Strange Kind Of Woman, Smoke On The Water, Space Truckin') are in colour as they were recorded 29th May, 1973, at Hofstra University, New York. The two G-Men (Gillan, Glover) would leave the band shortly afterwards and the singer does not exactly look pleased during some of these numbers. Perhaps nothing new to the die-hard fan, but the 2013 remastering should provide for better sound quality than previous issues. Neat.

The MOODY BLUES: "Timeless Flight" 4CD

Rating: Comp.
Label: Universal 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

The Moody Blues - Timeless Flight - 4 CD Anthology. An exhausting career retrospective spanning the years 1967 to 2003. Containing singles, key album tracks, previously unreleased mixes and live favourites. The majority is nontheless already released elsewhere although it does include a couple of rare and unreleased numbers. The whole package does however impress with its 40 page book, unseen photographs, and liner notes by Mark Powell.

My personal knowledge about the utterly moodie brommies? Very limited. Prior to receiving this smashing 4-disc box-set (there's also the 17 disc box set), yours truly had merely been listening to some dusty old compilation record featuring their ten 'best tracks' or whatever. I knew nothing, absolutely nothing about The Moody Blues and their music beyond the standard hits of "Tuesday Afternoon", "Gemini Dream", "The Voice", and not to forget the ultimate tear-jerker, "Nights In White Satin". I really should have continued to play my ten track album though. It's by far their best material and I can't believe that a wimpy number such as, "I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)", could end up as #4 in their all-time top five as voted by the fans?

They have sold over 50 million albums though, received 18 platinum discs, and surely must be regarded as classic rock? But to be completely honest, their middle-of-the-road, baroque/soft progressive pop has more in common with Chris De Burgh than great all-time U.K. artists such as Pink Floyd, ELO, or The Beatles. The other way around actually as De Burgh's first album did not see the light of day until 1975. But truth be told. I constantly find myself thinking about De Burgh and his ultra soft pop music while listening to the early seventies material. Chris - the massive MB fan/stalker/copy-cat artist?

"Nights In White Satin" - (sadly) heads and shoulders above all their other compositions and it features the classical Neapolitan chord which especially Beethoven used during the Moonlight and Hammerklavier Sonata.
http://www.moodybluestoday.com

BLACKLIST UNION: "Til Death Do Us Part"

Rating: RR
Label: HeadFirstEnt. 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Blacklist Union's latest offering to the Gods of groovy metal reads 'Til Death Do Us Part'. Not the most original title but whatever. The music's modern but grungy edgy and thankfully not quite as predictable as most rock acts in the unholy year of 2013. L.A. GUNS' Tony West screams at ya' with the sophisticated swagger of a cat in heat. The guitars provided by Jon E Love (Love/Hate?) shriek and howl like a dog to the moon. And I believe there's a proper animal behind the drum-kit too.

According to several press statements, West's vocals often draw comparisons to a young Ozzy Osbourne? Are we listening to the same record? Sure, tiny bits and pieces of the prince of fookin' darkness, but just as much/little of the Bang Tango and Jane's Addiction. The songs themselves are raunchy/gritty without ever hitting the mark. Songs are written with Anthony Valli who people may remember as a member of Crazytown (the 'Butterfly' song , etc.), several members of Salvia are involved, and producer Chris Johnson (Goldfinger, Josh Todd, Hillary 'Fookin' Duff) at the controls. Tony West himself has appeared as the redneck white trash on The Jerry Springer Show, Maury Povich, Geraldo Rivera, The Riki Lake Show (twice), The Richard Bey Show, and some of these clips even made it onto the great Talk Soup. Geez... are we supposed to laugh or cry?

MAYORS OF MIYAZAKI: "Holy Cop"

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

Yours truly hasn't been this confused since last time we dug up Katie The Preacher from the graveyard. You know it's wrong but it feels so good? The noisy-punky U.K. power trio of Mayors Of Miyazaki are coming at ya' like a runaway freight train in the night. Creating a massive wall of terror and back and forth shouting vocals between the male and female vocalist. According to the band we are now listening to Math-Punk? In reality it's the hardcore vs. punk experience only slightly edgier and complex than your average punk. You're at times reminded of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Television, several hardcore acts, and actually just the hint of King's X (their most progressive stuff), only not as great of course. "Holy Cop" is indeed noisy as hell and if this, their second album, is intended to broaden their appeal I can only see it strengthen their cult status and underground following. It's raw, priminal, and frankly just not as great as expected. The rhythm section does impress however and their arrangements are quirky to say the least. Now if only they could throw a couple of choruses into the mix...
http://www.mayorsofmiyazaki.com

A PALE HORSE NAMED DEATH: "Lay My Soul To Waste"

Rating: RRR
Label: SPV/Steamhammer 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

The post Type O' Negative version of Sal Abruscato sound as if he's singing with the weight of the world on his shoulders. It's dark, twisted, doom and goth metal featuring lyric that deals with everything inbetween the morbid to the darn right macabre. There's no happy ending. You're all going to die. We're constantly losing the battle of life and humanity is nothing but a sad and tiny place of the universe. Indeed, it's dirty rotten filthy stinking gloom. And we all know what came riding on a pale horse in order to bring total darkness and destruction (nope, not Clint Eastwood).

Do they sound anything like their previous art and dance performance group? Definitely. It's very much chapter two of the Negative story and that's not that strange considering that Abruscato's a founding member and fellow ex-Negative member Johnny Kelly bashes the skins. They do however inject a certain large amount of sludge and grunge into their melodies and thus becoming bleaker and more towards the style of Seattle's greatest of the early nineties. While they are never quite as brilliant as their previous atc, A Pale Horse Named Death has kept the flag flying and stuck to their gloom. I only wish they had more songs in the style of "Shallow Grave" as it's their best track and definitely closer to the Type'O formula. Look no further if you're into disturbing creepy metal.
http://apalehorsenameddeath.com

GURU: "White"

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

Metal Guru, they are certainly not (see Marc Bolan review elsewhere). White is in fact the rather strange mix of Westcoast and Melodic Metal as if they've decided to record the not so likely tribute album to Tommy 'Mental' Denander (don't bother). GÜRU from Spain are obviously inspired by Scandi as well as soft rock and they might even describe their music as Radioactive Toto. We don't always tend to agree though as there's no real spark in the dark. It should literally glow in the dark since that's the least to expect from radioactive stuff. Simply ask the poor Chernobyl kids and that's no joking matter. Track two, 'Straight To Your Heart', best of the bunch and comes complete with dut-dut keys and everything. Very nice, darn catchy, but-oh-so polite and sterile. The following song and dance number goes through the motion and may lack the spirit of rock n roll. The next one reminded us of Jan Johansen and his sappy Euro-vision material. The rest of the tracks are all very mid-tempo and trampled upon by the different styles and genre changes. Back to the drawing board and better luck next time.

The NEW BLACK 7: Hangovers & Heartbreak

Rating: R
Label: HeadFirstEnt./Route3 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Oh, the pros and cons of America. We sure do enjoy the majority of the music styles from across the pond. Two of them that sadly do not belong in the category of two thumbs up: Country & Rap. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy my Public Enemys and Eagles. However, they've been flogging a dead horse for the past twenty years and both genres are now as interesting as watching wet paint dry. The New Black 7 (not to be confused with The Old Black Seven?) is an intoxicating dose of country music with a shot of 90 proof rock & roll added for good measure. Yeah, sure, but that's exactly the reason to why the rest of the world can't stand Bon Jovi post 1996...

Two versions of the utterly horrible 'Fly Me To Freedom'? Christ oh mighty... where's my shotgun? They've managed to include everything you absolutely hate about sentimental b.s. and U.S. country. It's no wonder that noone outside the states are interested in modern twang and honky tonk. It's bloody awful. They gave up their rock/pop dreams and decided to sell their souls to the hillbilly devil? We have a similar concept over here in Sweden - dansband music - where talented musicians are selling out their dreams for the pleasure of watching drunk people dance (old geezer folkmusic style) along to the same old song. Oh the horror, the horror.
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MY ENDLESS WISHES: "s/t"

Rating: RRR Label: Doolittle Group 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

"Within Temptation Goes To Church"... The influences of Swedish Christian Rock act My Endless Wishes are perhaps a bit obvious. They kick off their first album with a riff that "might" remind you of WT's "Faster", and it surely isn't the last time you'll get this deja vu feeling... but let's not hold it against them, it's not they are merely trying to rewrite the WT hits all the time. They mix it up a little with some influences from other bands like Skillet and Evanescence. Not to mention the pop sensibility that most Swedish bands seem to have, it shines through.

Vocalist Frida Viberg has a voice that reminds me a little of the former Nightwish vocalist Anette, she has similary down-to-earth, organic sound. She is definitely not a operatic singer, which gives the band a little bit of identity of their own.

The album is well-produced and sounds suitably pompous for this kind of music, and it's hard to pick out a favourite song because the quality is quite consistent. I guess my favourites are on the first half of the album, with the balladic "Angel" being a good example of the aforementioned Swedish pop sensibility and "Waiting For A Sign" taking a step towards the sound of Skillet. The second half suffers a bit of the fact that some of the songs are quite similar to each other. Still, the somewhat poppier sounding "Paradise" with its' Nightwishy melody and the dramatic piano ballad "Once Again" get my vote.

Three "R's" feels a bit low for such a quality release, but but since we don't do halves, It'll have to do. A real standout song or two would have earned the band an additional "R", now we "only" get a dozen rather good songs.
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Magnus KARLSSON'S FREE FALL: "s/t"

Rating: RRRRR
Label: Frontiers 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

One of Frontiers Records' reliable songsmiths is Magnus Karlsson, the Swedish guitarist/songwriter/producer. During the last decade or so, he's been heavily involved in some of my and possibly your favourite albums, such as the three Allen/Lande albums, Bob Catley's "Immortal" and Starbreaker's two albums. Many metal fans will know him as one of the Primal Fear axemen or from his earlier bands Last Tribe and Midnight Sun.

For his first solo album, Karlsson has written a really impressive set of songs, and to sing them, he's gathered a really impressive list of vocalists. And if that doesn't impress enough, he also proves that he's a very good singer himself on three of the tracks. In fact, those three songs ("Heading Out", "Ready Or Not" and "On Fire") are among my favourite songs, they're highly melodic and catchy ones and Karlsson's smooth voice suits them perfectly.

If you're familiar with Karlsson's work, you'll know what to expect - gloriously melodic metal and hard rock songs. That's what you'll get, ranging from the heavier tracks like "Higher" (sung by Primal Fear's Ralf Schreepers) to "Stronger", a superb balladic pop/rock track with TNT/Westworld/Starbreaker singer Tony Harnell on vocals. I could easily imagine someone like Pink scoring a massive hit with this song... but I'm glad I get to hear it sung by Harnell instead, he does a great job as usual.

Other highlights include the powerful "title track" "Free Fall" with Russell Allen and the melodic double treat of "Us Against The World" (vocals: David Readman) and "Our Time Has Come" (Mark Boals). There are really no weak moments on this album, even the tracks I haven't mentioned would be highlights on an ordinary melodic metal album.

The production by Karlsson himself and Daniel Flores (mixing and mastering) is great, and Karlsson has obviously taken his time with the guitar parts - there's some fine axemanship on this album. I really couldn't ask for much more, so the rating is a no-brainer... folks, we have an Album Of The Year contender here!
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NEWMAN - “Siren”

AOR Heaven 2013

RATING: RRRR

Review by: Alan Holloway

Are you ready to rock? Of course you are, or you wouldn’t be reading this. One person who is ready, willing and able is Steve Newman, the vocalist, guitarist and general head honcho of Newman. This is a man who knows the cardinal rule of rock music: if you name the band after yourself you can’t get fired. “Siren” is the ninth full album since 1998, and it’s been two years since the very well received “Under Southern Skies”, with no reason to suspect that the new disc won’t be afforded a similar reaction.

As usual, Newman himself does the lions share of the work, partnered up with his usual drummer Rob McEwen. Tourring guitarist Shaun “Da Prawn” Bessaant and Robert Sall both get a track each to show off their own guitar skills, but this is the Newman show, make no mistake. As ever, it’s an incredibly solid offering, full of hard hitting melodic rock, more guitar than keyboards and full of Newman’s standard ‘take no prisoners’ attitude. His vocals are as good as ever, and the clean production (by Steve himself, natch) really allows the songs to stand out. The stall is set out with opener “Scar Of Love”, an immediately catchy track with a cool, angry guitar riff. Much like opener “Hero To Zero” from 2010’s “Balance” album, it doesn’t let up, although thankfully on this album there’s no annoying (and poinyless) intro, as we’re straight into the action with no twatting about. There’s a couple of slower tracks toward the end, and whilst “When It Comes To Love” is a great, powerful ballad, “The Foolish One” tends to drag a little. That said, it’s the only track of the twelve on offer that does, and it does have a great solo which helps.

“Siren” will naturally delight existing Newman fans, and with any luck will win him some new ones. It’s up there with his best work, with this and the last two albums all coming over very strongly indeed as quality hard melodic rock. If you like melodic rock that has a little bite to it and doesn’t have songs about cruising down highways then Newman is pretty much a must have, as with “Siren” his winning streak continues unabated.

Website: http://www.newmansound.com/

MEMORY OF A MELODY: "Things That Make You Scream"

Rating: RRR
Label: MOAM 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Thankfully, melody isn't only a memory for this interestingly named band. Despite their name and occasional hardcore leanings, their songs do have decent amounts of melody and hooks. The band has definite crossover appeal, as their heavier material could appeal to the fans of bands like Bullet For My Valentine, while their more melodic material has similarities to Black Veil Brides, HIM, Shinedown and even Nickelback. A cynic could say that they're modelling themselves on everything that's popular on rock radio... but I kind of enjoy most of their tunes.

The album starts with "Mask", one of the more "sinister" tracks. Machine-gun riffs and cookie monster screams are balanced by Mario Galdos' melancholic vocals. It's effective as an opener, but I prefer the highly melodic "Till Death Do Us Apart" and "Things That Make You Scream" (check the video). The next couple of tracks fail to impress: "Pieces" goes a bit too far to the screamo direction and "Intersections" just isn't particulary interesting with it's grunge-ish chorus. The next real highlight is "Skin Deep", a slightly Shinedown-like ballad that might earn some serious airplay for the band. "Reach" is another balladic track that could be a potential radio hit too.

The last few tracks are a mixed bag. I kind of knew that "Ultra Violence" wouldn't be one of my favourites just judging by the title, and no surprise, the good ol' cookie monster raises its' ugly head again. "The Core" is better, even though the band try hard to ruin it by screaming the last 20 seconds. The closing number "Truth In Lies" is an instrumental with a "Master Of Puppets" vibe, not bad but somehow it feels like an unfinished song waiting for vocal melodies and lyrics. It could have been just as well left off the album...

What more? Well, the production of "TTMYS" is top-notch, courtesy of Bryan Scott (The Union Underground, Evil United), easily comparable to any major label release in the genre. That's pretty impressive since the band has no label backing. That might just change one of these days.
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LOST WEEKEND: "Evermore"

Rating: RRR
Label: AOR Heaven 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

UK AOR band Lost Weekend have been a bit "lost" to me since their third album "New Religion" some ten years ago. They've released a couple of albums inbetween, but I haven't heard them, and apparently the band was on "ice" for a couple years. I guess now the weekend's over, and the guys are back at work again. Manic Monday...

According to the bio the band ventured into a heavier territory a few years ago, but they've found their way back to the AOR land since then. "Evermore" is definitely a full-on AOR album with plenty of keyboards and sweet melodies, it's never particulary heavy despite the two guitarists in the band.

Most of the tracks on the album fall into the category of "nice AOR songs", easy on the ear yet lacking that punch to make them stand out. "Be Who You Wanna Be" and "Ain't No Friend Of Mine" are my favourites among them, while "Love Will Find You" and the modern-day Bon Jovi-like "Perfect Day" don't work that well. Still, they aren't too bad either...

After repeated playing, two tracks rise above the others, and they are both on the balladic side of things. "Falling By The Wayside" is a very nice ballad, but even better is "Angel Sublime". This might just be the band's finest song so far, a very touching semi-ballad with a bit of a Magnum-vibe. No wonder the band wrote Magnum-singer Bob Catley's "Spirit Of Man" album some years ago...

Because of the two aforementioned songs, the fourth "R" wasn't far away. Maybe a killer uptempo track would have tipped the scales...
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CHASING VIOLETS: "Jade Hearts"

Rating: RRR
 Label: AOR Records 2013
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

The lovely Fontaine sisters Melissa and Sarah are already following up their debut album with their second effort "Jade Hearts". According to their website this album represents their rockier side. Well, it might have a little bit more bite than the first one but basically it's more of the same. To the fans of the debut that's good news I guess, but for us who weren't totally won over by it this new album is unlikely to change things too much.

Producer/songwriter Fredric Slama hasn't tried to change the formula that was used on the first album, except for the fact that there are no ballads included. There are some guest vocalists dueting with the girls (Göran Edman, Bob Harris and Mikael Erlandsson) and top AOR session guys like Tommy Denander and Eric Ragno provide some of the instrumentation, just like on the first album. And just like on the first album, Slama's songs are melodic and nice, even though some of his lyrics and vocal melodies still sound disturbingly clumsy to my ears. There's just too many words! The production sounds slightly better than on the first album, but at times it's a bit sterile.

The first few songs are among my favourites, especially "Web Of Lies" and the title track, but towards the end the quality starts to fall. Take "The Scarlet Nymph" for example - I don't know if the idea was to have a bit of a quirky Stevie Nicks-vibe in the chorus, but it doesn't work at all. The raspy vibrato sounds just out of tune and out of place and the wailing backing vocal adlibs don't help either.

Some of things I've written above might sound a bit negative, but in the end there's quite a lot to like here: the girls have nice voices, the songs are mostly quite good and I like the harder-edged, more uptempo style. I won't rate it over the debut but it's not weaker either. Now let's see whether these songs pop up on Slama's next AOR (the band) release...
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EDENBRIDGE: "The Bonding"

Rating: RRRR
Label: SPV/Steamhammer 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

This was a much anticipated album and one which I hoped wouldn't disappoint like so many others which promised us the full orchestra treatment. Indeed, "The Bonding" holds the symphonic metal pieces together with the help from approx: 60 professional musicians from the Orchestra Klangvereinigung of Vienna. The arrangements and orchestral score by Lanvall takes on a dramatic figure/persona without going completely overboard and over-the-top. However, it's a grand part of the story and thus blending nicely together with the melodies of Edenbridge' and the soaring voice of Sabine Edelsbacher.

Did it disappoint? At first spin... slightly. Not exactly instantly catchy. You certainly need to spin this on several occasion to really get the full picture. I don't believe you're supposed to get the message at first spin anyhow. Too many layers and too much detail work, consisting of everything from the naughty french horn section to the rather impressive background vocals and choirs by dutch cult legend musician Robby Valentine (the bastard son of Freddy Mercury and Mozart).

The entire album becomes based around passion, emotion, and grief, where "Death Is Not The End" stand out as the winning concept. "Star-Crossed Dreamer" and "Far Out Of Reach", it's like if you're listening to Edenbridge' answer to one of those Dream Theatre semi-ballads of the early nineties. Actually, the lead guitar work of Lanvall (tone, amp sound) may at times remind you of John Petrucci. The epic closing title track as well as the duet between Sabine and Eric Martensson (Eclipse, and several other projects at Frontiers) culminates in pure symphonic metal mayhem. Melodic, bombastic, and very posh - the true definition of Edenbridge in the year of 2013. Highly Recommended.
http://www.edenbridge.org
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FUCHSIA: "II"

Rating: RRR
Label: PrescriptionPR/Sound Pratices 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Are you fed up waiting for your favorite act to release their brand new record? Has it been... 2, 3, 4 years already? Pathetic. You're all pathetic! The poor (and by now mostly dead of old age) fanbase of Fuchsia are literally pissing themselves after nearly 42 years!! That's right... it's merely been four decades since last they could sit back, relax, and enjoy some new music.

Christ oh mighty. Imagine all the music styles and sound technology created and invented ever since and then just as quickly remove the thought out of yer head. Why? Simply because "II" sound like it was still the very early seventies or the late sixties for that matter. FUCHSIA is the cult U.K. progressive folk rock act which debut album was recently listed in Mojo as the forgotten classic? Progressive only up to a certain point in time as they've hardly "progressed" during the last four decades. I'm not taking the piss though (sort of but not really), since it's a mighty decent, laid-back, prog-folk-rock album with plenty of fantasy and psychedelia influences.

The songs by band leader Tony Durant (Vocals/Guitar) are definitely the result and children of the original psychedlic prog/folk rock revolution. Durant really sounds as if he's enjoying life and the vocals are sort of typical for its era. Softly spoken at times and rather dramatic laid-back the other. He's definitely not the shouter and a song like, "Crossing The Big C", could have been the work of George Harrison during the same period (1970-73). Otherwise true to the old guard and contemporaries such as Jade. Look no further if you're into laid-back folk/prog of the very early seventies...

http://www.fuchsiamusic.com

VICTORIUS: "The Awakening"

Rating: RRR
Label: SPV/Steamhammer 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Victorius - underground metal heores from Germany and just recently signed to SPV/Steamhammer. This young up and coming five-piece are out to cause an wave of positivity and melody. Opening track, "Age Of Tyranny", breaks the speed of light with rather typical but oh-so catchy melodic power metal. "Starfire", the following title track, "The Awakening", and "Land Of Hope", shockfull of melodies and hooks in the vein of the first couple of albums with AXXIS. Very catchy and bombastic stuff and so bright I had to wear me shades while listening to these numbers. You could literally hear them shouting... 'Bono you tw@'.

Forget about the insane pace of Dragonforce etc. since these lads has gone back to basic and produced a very melodic affair in the tradition of Axxis, Scanner, (early) Pretty Maids, and even some of the speedy work by Blind Guardian/Helloween. Add to this crystal clear and high soaring vocals and not to mention flashy guitar work by the two six-string benders (Dirk and Steven) and you're in for a small melodic metal treat. I'm however not too keen on the rather typical galloping German Power Metal tunes as of lately. Mostly speaking of "Demon Legions" and "Through The Dead Lands", since both are sadly the major deja vú experience. The clichés are furiously flying across the room as you pick up the occasional lyric of ancient gates, hellfire, and any old fantasy role playing game really.

Final verdict: The pure melodic tracks are top notch. The galloping ones are not. Overall not bad at all.

MASTERPLAN: "Novum Initium"

Rating: RRR
Label: AFM Records 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Novum Initium - latin for 'a new beginning'. So are they Jorn again? Nope, the Norwegian is nowhere to be found. He's been in and out of the band several times already... but I believe he's gone for good? Frankly I do not know nor do I care for that matter. I do however know that former RIOT vocalist Mike DiMeo is nowhere to be found either and instead we get Rick Altzi from fellow German act 'At Vance' to perform behind the microphone. Smooth is hardly the correct vocal description, however, a little thing like raspy whiskey flavor quite clearly does nothing to halt his enthusiasm for singing the melodic power metal.

Founder/guitarist and almighty leader Roland Grapow (Helloween) plays his guitar with metalized virtousity that mixes teutonic rock and galloping classical elements in an impressive style. The flashy solos and at times overlong notes gets you in the heart everytime. The actual tracks leave much to ask for this time and they tend to drift along in an aimless stream of clichés and melodies of the past. It's not their best album by far and I believe we've heard a majority of these melodies before and better performed by the band for that matter. "Keep Your Dream Alive" is no doubt the safe and sturdy rocker without ever hitting the nerve. Don't get me wrong, it's nice... but hardly the masterplan.
http://www.masterplan-theband.com