Frontiers [Release date: 10.06.22]
The Venus 5 are: -
Karmen (Hellcats) Klinc
Jelena (The Voice finalist, Romania) Milovanovic
Tezzi (Infinite & Divine) Persson
Erina (The Voice finalist, Albania) Seitllari
and the woman with only one name, Herma, of the SNB band.
A disparate group of singers, brought together by the label, definitely not for their looks, we are assured, no way.
The writers, Jake (Amaranthe) E Lundberg, Stephen (Within Temptation) Helleblad and Per Aldeheim, who’s penned material for H.E.A.T. and Def Leppard have written some decent songs, as you might expect. The problems lie elsewhere.
At times it’s a stretch to accept that the 5′s attractive appearance doesn’t take precedence over content, as their voices, individually and collectively, frequently come close to being swamped by Aldo (Secret Sphere/ Sweet Oblivion) Lonobile’s heavily programmed, symphonic pop metal arrangements. As producer and arranger, he mixes a variety of influences, blurring the line between pop and metal, but his objective seems unclear.
Almost without exception, each track is full on, overwhelming metal melting pots of contrasting yet related sounds. It doesn’t always work. Good songs like the catchy ‘I’m A Lioness’ and the operatic ‘Bride With Blackened Eyes’ are suffocated by overdone arrangements.
But on those occasions where Lonobile strikes a perfect equilibrium, it works a treat. ‘The Simulation’s slightly deprogrammed production – still big, still with a tightly packed arrangement – has attitude and edge, mainly thanks to whoever handles the vocals here… a little bit Avril Lavigne, a little bit Gwen Steffani.
And he goes on to show that cutting edge programming can work if you pare it down a little. The infectious pop metal chorus of ‘Monster Under Your Bed’ along with the big, airy, Eurorock sound of ‘Inside’ suggests that if he’s aiming for Amaranthe and Evanescence territory, then at last his aim is true. ***
Review by Brian McGowan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
Next session: Sunday 19 January
Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio
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.
UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 3 December 2024.
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
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)
PDF - you can delete unwanted sections
