AFM Records [Release date 16.01.15]

Serious Black can only be described as a European metal super-group due to the presence of former/current members of Helloween/Masterplan, Blind Guardian, Edenbridge, Visions of Atlantis and Bloodbound. Sounds extremely promising…

The band started as an idea by Roland Grapow and Mario Lochert back in late 2013. In January 2014 they were joined in a Munich studio by ex-Blind Guardian drummer Thomen Stauch, Edenbridge guitarist Dominik Sebastien and  ex-Dreamscape keyboardist Jan Vacik. They eventually settled on American based Swede Urban breed (real name…who knows…).

Things kick off in style with the perfect power metal of I Seek No Other Life. The melodic rock of High and Low follows featuring some fluffy keyboards.

Sealing My Fate, Akhenaton, My Mystic Mind…the songs just pass by…all well played, concise and pleasant enough but nothing sticks in my head. Repeated plays don’t seem to help either.

Title track As Daylight Breaks starts with piano, orchestration and vocals and slowly builds into what can only be described as a power metal power ballad! Nice.

The artwork is poor…just who chose such a revolting shade of green??

Unfortunately the concept of this super-group is actually more exciting than the actual finished product. It’s not to say it’s bad but nothing really shines on here.

Enjoyable but ultimately not memorable enough…must try harder next time.  ***½

Review by Phil Berisford

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 1 December 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)

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