Quick plays: MOON LETTERS, SILVER NIGHTMARES, MITCHELL’S KISS OF THE GYPSY

MOON LETTERS Thank You From The Future Website

Moon Letters hail from Seattle having formed in 2016 and this is their second album. Their line-up consists of guitarist Dave Webb, vocalist and flautist Michael Trew, drummer Kelly Mynes, bassist Mike Murphy and keyboardist John Allday.

Moon Letters are definite lovers of 70s prog and psychedelia with nods to Yes, Gentle Giant and Genesis. In fact on a song like ‘Isolation and Foreboding’ you’d be mistaken for thinking you are listening to some long lost prog album from that era. Full of harmony vocals, Moogs and more time changes than a horologist’s workshop. ‘Child Of Tomorrow’ unleashes yet more musical delights and one for the headphones to capture the song in all it’s glory.

Lovers of classic 70s prog need to check out Moon Masters pronto. Impressive. ***1/2

SILVER NIGHTMARES Apocalypsis Bandcamp

Formed in Palermo in 2018 by bassist Gabriele Esposito, drummer Alessio Maddaloni and keyboardist Gabriele Taormina, Silver Nightmares, now release their debut album ‘Apocalypsis’. It is a concept album concerning the historical excursus of the human beings headed for a reckoning.

It is the musicality that attracts the listener on this one, be it the horns on ‘Saphiens’ or the strings and guitars mix on ‘Intangible’. Grandiose and pomp to the max! ‘The Weird Black Cross’ recalls Brit prog/power metal band Intense, as the song is indeed an intense listen.

I am still not overly taken by the vocals – sorry! However, it is a decent prog metal listen and the band have certainly crafted an enjoyable concept piece. ***

MITCHELL’S KISS OF THE GYPSY Unfinished Business MR Records

As Kiss Of The Gypsy celebrate thirty years since their release of their debut album they have seemingly split into two factions. This version features vocalist Tony Mitchell, as he explains, “Even though KOTG was only a small part of my journey, I was & still am very grateful to all the fans that supported us & continue to support my work. As it is the 30th anniversary, I thought the time was now right & I would write a brand new KOTG album rather than just bonus tracks for the solo album & so went head on into prioritizing this.”

He’s joined a by a top draw line-up of British based rock musicians – Demon’s Paul Hume and Nigel Ogden, Dare bassist Nigel Clutterbuck and Ten’s Darrel Treece-Birch.

There are some proper, fists in the air rockers like ‘Duty To Party’ and ‘Remedy’.'Foolin’ has a more bluesier sound, whilst ‘Sin City’ suits Tony Mitchell’s grittier vocals to a tee. Cracking bit of slide guitar play from David Hinds of the Bounty Hunters.

The musical stops are pulled out on the ballad ‘Time To Heal’. Big production, big guitar solo and big gospel inspired backing vocals provide the album’s stand out moment.

‘Wild Horses’ rounds the album off in style.

The musicians around Mitchell add the music’s overall appeal as they sound like a band who have been around for ages and have that natural groove, something often missing on albums released in the past few years.

Great fun and fans of not only the original Kiss Of The Gypsy album, but anyone who likes catchy hard rock are in for a real treat with this album. ***3/4

Reviews by Jason Ritchie

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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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)