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Category Archives: ALBUM REVIEWS
STEVE THORNE – Crimes & Reasons
GEP/SPV 2012 www.steve-thorne.co.uk Steve Thorne returns with his fourth album, playing the majority of the instruments bar Nick D’Virgilio (Cirque Du Soleil/ex-Spock’s Beard) and Bob White on drums with Tony Levin and Gary Chandler (Jadis) also guesting. Also former IQ … Continue reading
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Tagged Crimes & Reasons, IQ, Jadis, Martin Orford, Nick D’Virgilio, Spock's Beard, Steve Thorne, Tony Levin
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INFERNAL OVERDRIVE – Last Rays Of The Dying Sun
(Small Stone Records 2012) www.smallstone.com Infernal Overdrive are a four piece fronted by Marc Schleicher (lead guitar/vocals) and they meld classic 70′s rock from the likes of Cactus, Grand Funk Railroad, Blue Oyster Cult and more modern bands like QOTSA … Continue reading
DEAD CELLS – Tear Down The Heavens
Dead Cells play rock music. This may sound like a simplistic statement, but that is exactly what you get, straight ahead, no frills rock which is refreshing to hear. The band formed a couple of years ago and have released … Continue reading
MAD MAX – Another Night Of Passion
SPV www.spv.de Mad Max have always had a cult status in the melodic rock world after their 1987 album ‘Night Of Passion’ received rave reviews but never sold like it should have. There have been various Mad Max line-ups in … Continue reading
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Tagged Another Night Of Passion, Mad Max, Michael Voss, SPV
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SONIC STATION – S/T
Frontiers Sonic Station is the brainchild of Swedish guitarist/composer Alexander Kronbrink who describes his project as West Coast AOR, and while this may not be the greatest album I have heard so far this year, it is far from the … Continue reading
KEYSTONE – Flight To Paradise
Park Records www.myspace.com/keystonerocks Now this self-produced and independently released CD tweaked the old interest as Robert Berry was involved (Three/Alliance), although on closer inspection of the credits he only adds backing vocals (along with bass/drums/Hammond/keys) and doesn’t get a lead … Continue reading
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Tagged Keystone, Robert Berry
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PRAYING MANTIS – Time Tells – No Lies
Time Tells – No Lies 4.5/5 (Rock Candy) Metalmorphosis – 30th Anniversary Album (Japan Edition) 4.5/5 http://www.praying-mantis.com/ NWoBHM legends Praying Mantis, led by brothers guitarist Tino and bassist Chris Troy, have always played at the melodic end of hard rock, … Continue reading
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Tagged Praying Mantis, Rock Candy
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GRAND PRIX – Samurai
Rock Candy In the early 80s Grand Prix were one of Britain’s premier pomp rock outfits, mixing the Britishness of Magnum with US influences from the likes of Kansas, Styx and Journey. 1983 and Samurai was the band’s third album, … Continue reading
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Tagged Grand Prix, Rock Candy
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CANDY – Whatever Happened To Fun
Rock Candy This four piece LA band released just one album in the mid 80s that sadly dropped straight off the radar. Strange, given that the band’s sound mixed two of the scene’s two largest exports: melodic sleaze/glam and power … Continue reading
SHERIFF – Sheriff
Rock Candy Canadian AOR / hard rock from 1982, that somehow didn’t take off at the time. The music is incredible in that the songs are strong, the guitar work outstanding, and Freddy Curci’s vocals with a range to match … Continue reading
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Tagged Rock Candy, Sheriff
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SUNSTORM ‘Emotional Fire’
Frontiers Records’ Sunstorm project reaches a third album, again uniting ex Rainbow, Yngwie and Purple singer Joe Lynn Turner with some of their in house favourites including producer and Pink Cream 69 member Dennis Ward to produce some upbeat, old-fashioned … Continue reading
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Tagged Joe Lynn Turner, Sunstorm
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LACUNA COIL – Dark Adrenaline
LACUNA COIL – “DARK ADRENALINE” CENTURY MEDIA (2012) Milan-based Atmospheric/Gothic Metalers Lacuna Coil have managed to capture the attention of fans and music media through a string of highly successful commercial-sounding releases and through a really clever marketing strategy – … Continue reading
K-Lacura – Portraits Of The Faceless (S-a-N PR)
Yet another contender to enter the UK hardcore/ nu metal ring, K-Lacura are straight from the mean streets of Didcot, Oxon. The band were formed by school friends back in 2006 and this is their debut album. Citing the likes … Continue reading
VARIAH – Betrayfull Sins
Variah hail from wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen, formed in 2009 by Enrique Justiniano and Martin Winslow from the ashes of several experimental projects featuring the pair. They took a heavier direction at this point and were joined by three other like-minded … Continue reading
STONE AXE – Stone Axe II
Do you remember the 70’s, a time of flared trousers, big sideburns, three day weeks and huge bands of the classic rock variety ? Stone Axe most certainly do and although the band were formed in Washington in 2007, their … Continue reading
SEVEN – Under Eye
This is the second album release from this London based quartet and it is a bit of a gem. The band play a heavy melodic prog, think Tool mixed with a bit of Slipknot and Korn’s bass sound and you … Continue reading
SILVERDOLLAR – Morte
$ilverdollar formed in Sweden back in 1996 as a covers/ tribute band to all things metal, releasing a CD of covers in 2002. In 2006 the band took the plunge for their 10th anniversary and wrote their debut album entitled … Continue reading
OLIVER DAWSON SAXON – Motorbiker
(Angel Air Records) Summary : Not as good as Oliver & Dawson’s stint in the original Saxon Anyone expecting Graham Oliver and Steve Dawson’s version of Saxon to come out with an album harking back to the days of the … Continue reading
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Tagged Angel Air, Oliver Dawson Saxon
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TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS – Live! At The Bitter End, New York
(Angel Air Records) Summary : Nice performance but a live recording lacking atmosphere? A polished live performance from the turn of the century released as part of Angel Air’s reissuing of a number of Tommy James album. Subtitled (at least … Continue reading
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Tagged Angel Air, Shondells, Tommy James
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JEFF SCOTT SOTO – Damage Control (Frontiers 2012)
Jeff Scott Soto is back with a straight ahead melodic hard rock album after his last solo album, ‘Beautiful Mess’ with its more funky/soul vibe, alienated much of his fan base (a damn shame in my book as it is … Continue reading
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Tagged Damage Control, Jeff Scott Soto
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NOLOVELOST- NOLOVE LOST (Independent 2011)
Every so often , from the multitude of self- produced and promoted releases, comes a gem and the debut album from this North Carolina melodic rock band is one such. The members are all veterans of previous regional bands, and … Continue reading
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Tagged AOR, Head East, Nolovelost, Styx
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NANCI GRIFFITH – Intersection
Now I confess I am not much of a lover of country music in its more traditional form but I have long been a fan of Nanci Griffith’s work, mainly due to her voice and the excellent songs she produces, … Continue reading
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Tagged alt country, Intersection, Nanci Griffith
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GARY JOHN BARDEN – Eleventh Hour
Escape Music This English vocalist has been around for a long time. Currently doing voices for MSG, Barden has also contributed in writing songs with Gary Moore which ended up on “Corridors of Power” (which is probably why we hear … Continue reading
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Tagged Escape Music, Gary John Barden, MSG
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THUNDERSTICK – Echoes from the Analogue Asylum
Thunderstick is claimed to have paved the way for NWOBHM in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The masked drummer, who slammed skins for Iron Maiden in the early days, formed his own outfit utilising female vocalists. While the journey … Continue reading
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Tagged Iron Maiden, Rocky Horror Show, Samson, Thunderstick
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Golden Resurrection – Man with a missio (Lilegren Records)
Christian Liljegren is still hard at work in the studio, this time with the sophomore release of his Golden Ressurrection project, entitled “Man with a … Continue reading
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Tagged Golden Resurrection
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