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HOT NEW REVIEWS
When I
read the bio of STEAMHAMMER and got to the point that at a certain time in
music history one of the members of that band recorded an unreleased album in
the early 80s with the legendary late JEFF FENHOLT on lead vocals (JOSHUA,
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR), immediately I became interested in what that was all
about, so hopefully these tapes will someday be released officially, because
after all Jeff sang on one of the greatest records released in the 1980s
(JOSHUA’s Surrender). Anyway, it concerned the original guitarist of
STEAMHAMMER, MARTIN PUGH, who worked with Jeff on a new ARMAGEDDON album, but
of course we are here to talk about the new album of STEAMHAMMER, a short-lived band that was active between
1968 and 1974. They released 4 albums during that rather short period of 6
years, and now almost 50 years later they are back with a new album, and
besides Martin as only original member, the other musicians are bassist/keyboardplayer
PETE SEARS (ex-JEFFERSON STARSHIP, STARSHIP), vocalist PHIL COLOMBATTO and
drummer JOHN LINGWOOD (he joined the band already back in 1972, and worked with
many bands and musicians the following decades). Musically speaking the 8
included songs are pure classic early 70s/late 60s blues rock/heavy rock like
classic FLEETWOOD MAC of the 60s era and CANNED HEAT, with many highlights on
this strong comeback album. The finest ones are the lengthy songs Wailing Once
Again and 24 Hours that also have a slight jazz-fusion-blues kinda touch. Nice
to see a really old forgotten band returning and capturing the band’s old
signature sound. More info at: www.mig-records.de
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
PURPENDICULAR FT. IAN PAICE OF DEEP PURPLE
'HUMAN MECHANIC VINYL RECORD' (METALVILLE/PIAS/THE ROCK)
Thanks to Theo of THE ROCK I received a wonderful
silver vinyl record of the new album of the British/Irish band PURPENDICULAR.
This band was formed back in 2007 by Irish singer ROBBY THOMAS WALSH as a
tribute to his favorite band DEEP PURPLE. They became one of the biggest DEEP PURPLE
tribute bands throughout the years, although they also released 2 albums with
their own self-written material. Along the way even the legendary DEEP PURPLE
drummer IAN PAICE became involved and on this delayed 3rd album Human Mechanic,
which should have been released much earlier but due to covid it took 2 years
longer than planned, Ian plays drums. The rest of the band is completed by
bassist Nick Fyffe, Hammond/keyboardplayer Christoph Kogler and guitarist
Herbert Bucher. The music is as expected clearly DEEP PURPLE orientated
hammond/organ driven classic 70s heavy rock/hardrock, yet with an own identity
and also memories of bands like URIAH HEEP, KANSAS, WHITESNAKE, RAINBOW and
such, but overall DEEP PURPLE influences pass by a lot of times. On this vinyl
Ian's incredible drumming sounds marvelous as always, with a catchy funky vibe,
while the hammond/organ really gives you that classic 70s feeling and to finish
it off, the vocals of Robby are clearly dangerously close to IAN GILLAN of DEEP
PURPLE. I can only imagine how this will sound live, with here and there a DEEP
PURPLE classic tune thrown in for good measure. These guys are the real deal
and the fact that they deliver own original self-written material that does
compete with DEEP PURPLE's last couple of albums, it gives them a big push
forward for sure and a bright future ahead of them. 10 songs are included in
total, of which the highlights are Something Magical, The Nothing Box, Human
Mechanic and the lovely calmer ballad Soul To Soul. The material is mostly
midtempo and as mentioned, it is pure 70s orientated, sounding extremely
authentic. Check them out, especially if you're a DEEP PURPLE fan! More info
at: www.purpendicular.eu
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
FANTASTIC CAT 'THE VERY BEST OF FANTASTIC
CAT' (BLUE ROSE MUSIC/KLANDERMAN PROMOTION/BERTUS)
Bringing together 4 different singer-songwriters and
call them FANTASTIC CAT is a challenge, but the result of this new so-called
supergroup is absolutely sensational! Completely in the tradition of THE
HIGHWAYMEN, THE TRAVELLING WILLBURYS, a stripped DAMN YANKEES, CSNY and many
more, this is a typical American supergroup that makes music you can hear on
the radio while driving on the American highways. The music of this new
superband is classic rootsy American Heartland Rock with a clear 60s/70s
American radio sound, which means strong lead- and harmonyvocals are melted
with traditional 60s folk rock and 70s singer-songwriter in a mixture of
ballads and uptempo rockers that reminds of a cross between CROSBY, STILLS,
NASH & YOUNG and CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL, and basically you then have
10 inspiring songs that recall the good old days, although there is much more
to be heard musically speaking (even some late 70s American AOR/powerpop
influences can be traced) . FANTASTIC CAT’s debut album is ironically called
The Very Best Of, and the band’s line up consists of ANTHONY D’AMATO, DON
DILEGO, BRIAN DUNNE and MIKE MONTALI, along with a few additional musicians
playing piano and drums. The best songs among the 10 included are the superb
New Year’s Day (uptempo rootsy heartland rock at it’s best, even a bit BRUCE
SPRINGSTEENish), the sensational CALEXICO/THE WAR ON DRUGS orientated uptempo
rootsy Americana AOR/poprockers Nobody’s Coming To Get You (pure late 70s
orientated with a very catchy chorus a la JOHN COUGAR meets THE BABYS!) and The
Gig, and the beautiful ballads Fiona (with incredible shared lead vocals) and
Ain’t This The Strangest Town. Without a doubt, this is a huge surprise and a
highly recommended album to anyone who likes really good music! More info at: https://www.fantasticcatband.com/
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
BEAU
JENNINGS & THE TIGERS 'HEAVY LIGHT' (BLACK MESA RECORDS/KLANDERMAN
PROMOTION)
American singer-songwriter BEAU JENNINGS has been in
the scene for almost 2 decades and after being part of a band called CHEYENNE
and working with several well-known acts, such as SURFAN STEVENS, he launched a
solo career with as backing band THE TIGERS (Chase Kerby/Guitar, keys, MICHAEL
TREPAGNIER (bass), DUSTIN RAGLAND (drums) and JOHN MCCALL (keys). Heavy Light
is the new album, and after a TOM PETTY kinda start with the slowtempo
Sunflower, things get pure modern uptempo Americana/Heartland poprock with the
rather catchy The Comeback that reminds me a lot of THE WAR ON DRUGS. It gets
slightly rockier during I’m Reaching, Lord that has some nice groovy bluesy
rock riffs although like most other songs also here we have the TOM PETTY
comparison again. On the other hand, we can also find some mystical darker
songs that recall a sorta BOB GELDOF meets MARK KNOPFLER meets NICK CAVE meets
ROBBIE ROBERTSON calmer direction (like during the songs I Know These Guys and
Colorado). However, Beau and his band sound at their best during heartland rock
pieces like the aforementioned The Comeback, Heavy Light and May This Song Be
In Your Heart (PETTY meets SPRINGSTEEN). Check out more info at: https://beaujennings.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
THE
DESLONDES 'WAYS & MEANS' (NEW WEST RECORDS/KLANDERMAN PROMOTION/PIAS)
Out of New Orleans, Louisiana comes THE DESLONDES, a
band that mix influences from folk, rock 'n' roll, bluegrass, R&B, American
roots music, blues, gospel and country, and Ways & Means is their 4th album
so far. The band consists of Dan Cutler (vocals/stand-up bass), Sam Doores
(vocals/guitar), Riley Downing (vocals/guitar), Cameron Snyder (vocals/percussion),
and John James Tourville (fiddle/pedal steel), and their new album starts calm
and folky, with also an Americana kinda approach, yet during 3rd track Ways
& Means things get a bit more uptempo and rockier, while the shared lead
vocals also gives each and every song a different twist, such as can be heard
during the bluesy dark TOM WAITSish South Dakota Wild One. Basically what makes
the band standout is the diversity of styles that introduce a bit of
everything, ranging from folk, Americana, blues, singer-songwriter and some old
time rock and roll/soul/R&B. The shared lead vocals that were already
mentioned earlier in the review, this also contributes to this diversity and
all together their new album Ways & Moans is a lovely piece of music. Other
highlights are the catchy uptempo melodic rocking Howl At The Moon, the
semi-westcoast ish ballad Dunes (a la VENICE) and the strong catchy
semi-southern rock ballad Tomorrow Morning. Check them out at: https://www.deslondes.com/
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
JENNY
BERKEL 'THESE ARE THE SOUNDS LEFT FROM LEAVING' (OUTSIDE MUSIC/KLANDERMAN
PROMOTION/V2)
These Are The Sounds Left From Leaving is the 3rd
album of Canadian singer-songwriter JENNY BERKEL. She sings and writes her own
songs, while also playing keys and guitar. Other involved musicians on this new
album are KACY ANDERSON (harmonies), RYAN BOLDT (bass, guitar), MARSHALL BUREAU
(drums), DAN EDMONDS (piano, guitar), KELLY LAROCHETTE (harmonies),. SIMON
LAROCHETTE (baritone guitar), CLAYTON LINTHICUM (guitar) and COLIN NEALIS
(violin, double bass). Her music is calmer but beautiful modern
shoegaze/dreampop meets old fashioned Americana/Folk, and the resulting new
album is a joy to listen to with all those memorable melodies. There are some
jewels to be found here, such as the stunning songs Lavender City, Under A Sky
and You Think You’re Like The Rain. Her voice is angelic and her music is
breathtaking, so if you’re becoming interested please go to: https://www.jennyberkel.com and https://jennyberkel.bandcamp.com/album/these-are-the-sounds-left-from-leaving
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
LUKE
WINSLOW-KING 'IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK' (GHOST RIVER RECORDS/KLANDERMAN
PROMOTION)
LUKE WINSLOW-KING is
an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer, and lyricist
who is currently based in Spain, but originally he is from Michigan. He has
been in the music business since the late 90s, starting as a young kid and
slowly he developed an own sound and managed to release 6 albums. If These
Walls Could Talk is his 7th album, and without a doubt it's a joy to listen to
this talented musician. Opener Slow Sunday June is cool uptempo rootsy rock and
roll tune, while the darker Americana vibe of Lissa's Song is really stunning,
sounding like a laid-back version of JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP, and the fantastic
swamp bluesy boogie rock of Watch Me Change shows what an incredible singer
Luke is. Another highlight is the lovely uptempo semi-rocker Winds Of Aragon,
which has some beautiful melodies and a great classic rocking guitarsolo. And
how about the sensational groovy midtempo heavy blues rocker Have A Ball, which
will whet the appetite of JOE BONAMASSA / BLACK KEYS / KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD
fans. Some of the calmer songs like Love At First Sight have a slight soul-jazz
approach in a way it reminds me of early JOHN MAYER. In the end, this is definitely
a recommended album to check out! More info at: http://lukewinslowking.com/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
LERA
LYNN 'SOMETHING MORE THAN LOVE' (ICONS CREATING EVIL/KLANDERMAN PROMOTION/PIAS)
Out of Houston, Texas, USA comes American singer,
songwriter, musician, and actress LERA LYNN, who delivers her 7th album with
this Something More Than Love. It is a beautiful album with lovely melodies
sung by the angelic voice of Lera. Her music is calm, relaxed and melodic, with
influences from the 70s and 80s. There are likewise comparisons to KACEY
MUSGRAVES, which is not that strange considering the fact that Lera’s partner
(and also co-producer/performer) is TODD LOMBARDO, who is known for working
with Kacey. Anyway, the music is a mix of dreampop, singer-songwriter and
relaxing calmer melodic pop/rock (here and there uptempo, such as the catchy
I’m Your Kamikaze), with many highlights among the 11 included, but Black River
and Something More Than Love are exceptionally strong and sensational. Lera has
an amazing voice and each and every song is a pleasure to listen to, so go
check her out at: http://www.leralynn.com/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
DIESEL
PARK WEST 'NOT QUITE THE AMERICAN DREAM' (HAPPINESS RECORDS/KLANDERMAN
PROMOTION/SONIC RENDEZVOUS)
Formed all the way back in 1980, the British
alternative americana country rockband DIESEL PARK WEST returns with their 10th
album Not Quite The American Dream. Musically speaking they sound very
American, with a certain NEIL YOUNG meets R.E.M. meets TOM PETTY kinda
approach. The band’s current line up consists of John Butler(vocals, guitar,
piano, Hammond, bass, organ) and Rich Barton (guitar), with several other
musicians assisting, including Dave Bryant on drums. This new record was
recorded during the covid lockdown of the past few years, and it shows a band
that is keen on doing things slightly different with this raw American southern
vibe. Done well, you can check them out at: http://www.dieselparkwest.com/
(Points: 7.8 out of 10)
ADVENTURE
'TALES OF BELLE - PART 2: UNVEILED BY FIRE' (APOLLON RECORDS/NORWAY IMPORT)
Out of Trondheim,
Norway comes ADVENTURE, a band formed around Odd-Roar Bakken / keys, Terje
Flessen / guitars, Terje Craig / bass, vocals, Alf-Helge Lund / drums, Elen
Cath Hopen / vocals, keys, flute and Kjell Myran / vocals. They started back in
1996 and already released 5 albums, of which the previous one was part 1 of the
Tales Of Belle story that continues on this new album that is called likewise
part 2. Their music is pure classic neo-progressive rock, with here and there a
slight change in style, such as the neo-classical RAINBOWish hardrock piece
Golden Ore. However, most of the time it's pure neo-prog in the style of
PENDRAGON, CAMEL, IQ, KAYAK. Vocally it's not always sounding crystal clear,
but thankfully the big sound and songs are quite good and recommended if you're
a fan of any of the mentioned bands. Check them out at: http://www.adventureprog.com/
(Points: 7.8 out of 10)
THOMAS
BERGSTEN'S 'KOSMOS' (APOLLON RECORDS/NORWAY IMPORT)
Kosmos is an experimental, spiritual jazz-fusion prog
album from multi-instrumentalist THOMAS BERGESTEN (GUNERIUS, VERDENSVEVEN,
HARVEY STEEL SHOW), who recorded 4 long pieces. This album was born out of a
2-day session in Taakeheimen Lydrike with several musicians. Out of the 8 hours
of recording, this is the result on CD. From start to finish you're taken into
the world of Thomas that is sometimes experimental jazzy (Drive part 1) and at
other times calm, atmopheric and almost new age orientated (Drive part 2) or
proggy like the calmer PINK FLOYD days (Sun). There's even African/World Music
rhythms thrown in for even more diversity, which can be heard during Alybt. All
together a nice instrumental adventure that will please the fans of both
experimental jazz and prog, and as mentioned even other genres pass by on this
CD. More info at: https://thomasbergsten.bandcamp.com
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
BLACK PEARL 'BLACK PEARL' (REDLINE MUSIC/CADIZ/FRANCE
IMPORT)
Right from the very first few seconds of the debut CD
of BLACK PEARL, it is clear we are dealing with something really strong and
sensational. Opener Angel Town is a magnificent piece of melodic bluesy rock
with an amazing soaring guitar, beautiful soulful vocals and an overall vibe
that should please fans of JOE BONAMASSA and early WHITESNAKE, although BLACK
PEARL definitely has an own identity. The band or should I say project was
formed by PETE FEENSTRA, who lives in France, but is originally from The
Netherlands. He is a blues promoter, blues-rock DJ and songwriter, and he got London
based, Detroit vocalist/guitarist MARCUS MALONE and former WISHBONE ASH
guitarist/bassist/keyboardplayer and arranger MUDDY MANNINEN on board to join
him and record a full album as BLACK PEARL. There are several more guests, but
the 3 of them are actually the main core of the project. Muddy is an amazing
American singer, who did a lot in the past, starting with the band MARCUS in
the 1970s, They released 1 album that has recently been re-issued on CD by ROCK
CANDY RECORDS. Anyway, this album is a clear winner for fans of the current
popular melodic bluesy soul influenced rocksound. The album has no weak
moments, and besides the first song other highlights are Delivery Man, Price On
Love, and Moment Of Regret. Please do yourself a favor and check out this
sensational album! More info at:
https://blackpearlmusic22.com/
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
KEDA 'HWAL' (PARENTHESES RECORDS/XANGO
MUSIC)
KEDA is a duo formed around E’Joung-Ju, French-based
Korean musician, master of the geomungo (the six strings traditional Korean
wooden instrument) and Mathias Delplanque, renowned French electronic music
composer born in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Together they created an exciting
piece of music that was released in 2016 as a CD titled Hwal. Now 6 years later
it gets a re-issue and without a doubt what we have here is a really
interesting instrumental album that could be classified as World Music that
combines the best of the east, west and Africa into a diverse instrumental
sound that is mostly situated around unique rhythms and strange wicked noises.
People who appreciate the experimental side of krautrock and
industrial/electronic music in a world music setting, they might be surprised
and interested in this very original sounding album. Check out more info for
yourself at: https://mathiasdelplanque.bandcamp.com/album/hwal
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
MASONIK 'THE VEDANTIC CHAPTER'
(PARENTHESES RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
MASONIK is a group of musicians from Australia that
has been active since 2006, and so far they have released a lot of CDs and
DVDs. Their debut The Vedantic Chapter was originally released in 2010, and
this is now available again as CD. The line up on the album consisted of Basil
Psanoudakis - Turntables, Laptop & Bass, Paul 'Pax' Andrews - Saxophones
& Bass-Clarinet, Balvinder Singh - Sitar & Sarangi, Pranjal Bora –
Tabla, Wheldon Thornley – Keyboards and Tony Monaco – Vj. Their music is experimental
yet accessible instrumental proggy jazz meets a bit of kraut, and there is a
lot to explore when listening to the 7 long songs. The use of different
instruments than the usual guitar, bass and drums, that is giving the sound of
MASONIK an unique touch that you can check out at: https://masonik.bandcamp.com/album/the-vedantic-chapter
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
PETER KNIGHT & DUNG NGUYEN 'RESIDUAL'
(PARENTHESES RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
Out of Australia comes the duo Peter Knight (Trumpet,
Cornet, Prepared Piano, Voice, Laptop Electronics, Real Time Processing) and
Dung Nguyen (Dan Tranh, Prepared Dan Tranh, Dan Bau, Modified Electric Guitar),
and together they create a fascinating original and experimental sound that
could be classified as instrumental creative freestyle jazz that also has an
ambient and dark mystical haunting approach. Both musicians are members of the
band WAY OUT WEST, but for this album they have explored world music influences
and then in particular Vietnamese music. The resulting album is a lovely
journey throughout all kinds of unique sounds and I’ll bet also the open-minded
prog fans might like this. There’s also moments that recall New Age and
Krautrock, so it should appeal to a lot of people out there. Impossible to
compare, you should check it out at:
https://peterknight.bandcamp.com/album/residual
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
FRANCOIS ROBIN & MATHIAS DELPLANQUE 'L'OMBRE
DE LA BETE' (PARENTHESES RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
Out of France comes the duo FRANCOIS ROBIN (veuze
(bagpipes) / duduk / mizmar / violin) and MATHIAS DELPLANQUE (electronic device
/ synthesizers / sampling), and together they make original instrumental music
that combines World Music, Electronic Krautrock and Celtic Music, and
everything in between. The result is a stunning album that contains 6 inspiring
songs that mostly start calm, but develop into exciting bombastic songs that push
the boundaries away between world music, kraut, electronic and celtic music.
These 2 musicians deliver top-notch music that should be appreciated by a lot
of people, especially when played live. If you like for example WARDRUNA,
ZENOBIA or the instrumental side of THE HU, then you might also enjoy this
album a lot! Instrumental music at it’s very best! More info can be found at: https://lombredelabete.bandcamp.com/album/lombre-de-la-b-te
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
WINTER 'FIRE RIDER' (WINTERGOTHIC/FASTBALL/
BOB MEDIA/GERMAN IMPORT)
The WINTER project of multi-instrumentalist MARKUS
WINTER brought us besides previous albums in the past recently an album in 2021
and a best of CD this year, and now already a new album is dropped in the
mailbox. Although it all starts quite gothic HIMish with Unholy Blood, the
sound gets more uptempo classic melodic hardrock like a cross between BONFIRE
and 80s ALICE COOPER on the strong catchy Fire Rider. I think it all fits
somewhere between 80Ss/90s/00s gothic rock (HIM/SISTERS OF MERCY/THE RASMUS...)
and 80s melodic hardrock, so a combination of the afforementioned bands would
fit WINTER's music really well, although there's much more to discover. Other
highlights are the catchy uptempo melodic gothic rockers That Much is True
(BILLY IDOLish), Child Of The 80s, Pray, You've Been On My Mind and I Want It
Black. I must admit that this is really good stuff that will be appreciated by
especially the fans of hard hitting but melodic 80s inspired uptempo gothic
rock meets melodic hardrock. If for example CHARLIE SEXTON, BILLY IDOL, THE
CULT, SISTERS OF MERCY and such are your favorite acts, then do check out
WINTER a.s.a.p. at: https://www.facebook.com/WINTERpalehorse
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
FLYING CIRCUS 'SEASONS 25' (FASTBALL/BOB
MEDIA/GERMAN IMPORT)
Seasons 25 is the 25th anniversary of the 1997 debut
album Seasons of the German band FLYING CIRCUS. To celebrate this event the
band decided to re-recorded the original 12 songs and release it as Seasons 25
on FASTBALL MUSIC. The band's line up consists nowadays of MICHAEL DORP
(vocals), MICHAEL RICK (guitar), RUDIGER BLOMER (keys, violin), ROGER WEITZ
(bass) and ANDRE RODERIGO (drums), so there were some changes throughout the
years. The resulting release contains the re-recording on CD1 and a remastered
version of the original 1997 Seasons album on CD 2. I have to say that this new
version sounds lovely, as it is a real winner in the hands of high class
melodic progressive rock that sounds like a cross between MYSTERY (Canada),
SAGA, STYX and PINK FLOYD, with as highlights opener The Jewel City, the semi
prog/pomp ballad Follow The Empress, the sensational URIAH HEEPish uptempo
melodic rockers Antigone's Lament And Triumph and Supersonic Man, and the epic
progrock closing Never Again with it's playing time of 10 minutes a grand
ending of a very strong album. The remastered original version sounds better
than ever, but somehow this new updated re-recorded version is definitely
FLYING CIRCUS at their very best! Check out this fabulous band at: http://www.flying-circus.com/
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
HEMESATH 'SO SCHON' (ECHOZONE/FASTBALL/BOB
MEDIA/GERMAN IMPORT)
Every decade had a few very popular German speaking
acts, such as NINA HAGEN, NENA, RAMMSTEIN, etc. and especially RAMMSTEIN of
course became the biggest band on the planet, and in the slipstream a lot of
new rockbands singing in the German language emerged everywhere from Germany
the past 30 years, and HEMESATH is one of them. Their music not that far away
from RAMMSTEIN, yet quite melodic sometimes and combining melodic metal in
classic German teutonic bombastic style with a modern approach. Songs like
Heile Segen and Elysium are very strong, and actually fans of ACCEPT, SINNER,
PRIMAL FEAR and such will definitely like this, although as aforementioned
everything is sung in the German language, and the RAMMSTEIN influences are
also present, yet the choruses are very melodic. Mix it all up and you have
HEMESATH with their strong massive sounding new album So Schon. Check out more
info at: https://www.hemesath.band/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
MOON LETTERS 'THANK YOU FROM THE FUTURE'
(INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
Out of Seattle comes the band MOON LETTERS whom were
formed out of various Seattle Prog bands (WAH WAH EXIT WOUND, SPACEBAG, PANTHER
ATTACK!, BONE CAVE BALLET and THE AUTUMN ELECTRIC) back in February 2019. They
released their debut album Until they Feel The Sun in June 2019 and now follow
it up with Thank You From The Future. The band's line up consists of Kelly
Mynes (Drums, Percussion, Moon Screech), Mike Murphy (Electric Fretted and
Fretless Bass, Vocals, Percussion, Earthen Grumbles), John Allday (Electric
Piano, Organ, Synthesizers, Virtual Orchestra, Vocals, Mercurial Chant), Dave
Webb (Electric Guitars, Metal Toolbox, Shovel, Primordial Grunts) and Michael
Trew (Lead & Backing Vocals, Flute, Acoustic & 12-String Electric
Guitar, Percussion Experiments, Barbaric Yawps). Their music is obviously
influenced by the 70s multi-layered bombastic massive theatrical prog/pomp
rocksound of bands like STYX, KANSAS, YES, QUEEN, KAYAK and such. Sometimes it
also reminds me of ROBBY VALENTINE (especially when you listen to a song like
Mother River with it's big symphonic prog complexity being mixed with lots of
vocals), so I think by now you'll get the picture what MOON LETTERS is all
about. Most important in that field of rock is that it's all done at a high
level, including a big production, excellent musicianship and the lead- and
harmonyvocals are in place all the time. Thankfully MOON LETTERS have succeeded
to make it all sound picture perfect, with as highlights the fantastic opener
Sudden Sun (SAGA meets MYSTERY - Canada, so a bit more symphonic progrock), the
amazing Isolation And Foreboding as part of The Astral Projectionist, and Child Of The Tomorrow. Without a doubt,
the sympho/prog fans out there have another winner here with this MOON LETTERS,
a superb band that can easily be mentioned alongside some of the other
newcomers in American progworld such as TIME HORIZON and EVERSHIP. Do not miss
this fantastic album release, so go check out MOON LETTERS at: https://moonletters.bandcamp.com/album/thank-you-from-the-future
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
HAVEN OF ECHOES 'THE INDIFFERENT STARS (INDEPENDENT/CREATIVE
ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Right from the start with the superb opener Sirensong
we are heading into a sensational calmer melodic progressive rock direction
with a focus on crystal clear vocals and melodic choruses in a way it reminds me
of acts like classic MARILLION, ENCHANT, CAMEL, RUSH, yet with a slight prog
metal touch of the SUBSIGNAL/THRESHOLD kind. It's done at an incredible high
level, and since it's their debut album we are very pleased to inform you about
this new band. HAVEN OF ECHOES is actually a project duo consisting mainly of
singer/songwriter/guitarist PAUL SADLER of the band SPIRES, and
multi-instrumentalist ANDREAS HACK of the band FREQUNCY DRIFT. Guest musicians
are drummer WOLFGANG OSTERMANN and NERISSA SCHWARZ (electric harp, keys), and
together they recorded 6 songs, which are quite lengthy, especially the 12
minutes counting closing track Let Them In. It's a very enjoyable album from
start to finish, and if you're into any of the aforementioned bands, then you will
absolutely love this melodic progrock journey. Definitely recommended to check
out! More info at: www.havenofechoes.com
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
BRENNENSTUHL 'NO' (TONZONEN RECORDS/CREATIVE
ECLIPSE PR/SOULFOOD MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
The Augsburg, Germany based band BRENNENSTUHL creates
a sorta jazzy meets bluesy aci krautrock style that is almost impossible to
compare. The voice of female singer Eva is described as a mix between ERYKAH
BADU and TESS PARKS, so all together this band does something quite interesting
and unique. Just when you think you're listening to a jazz album the mood
changes to a bluesy and/or rockier setting, while the mixture of all these
styles and Eva's voice is giving BRENNENSTUHL an own identity that can be heard
throughout the 12 included songs on their new album No. Sometimes quite
complex, while at other times it feels quite melodic and accesible, although
the band always tries to do things differently than what you might ecpect. This
is one of those albums that you need to listen to a few times before making a
good judgement. Live the band will probably impress even more, as they can then
completely dive into the free-jazz/prog experimental wayof improvising on
stage. Check them out at: https://brennenstuhl.bandcamp.com
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
BJORN RIIS 'A FLEETING GLIMPSE' (KARISMA
RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
AIRBAG co-founder/songwriter/guitarist BJORN RIIS returns
with a mini-album that is sorta dedicated to his major influence PINK FLOYD. He
even got DURGA MCBROOM on board here, and she was one of the backing singers of
PINK FLOYD during the 80s and 90s. 4 songs are included, and they all have that
typical progressive rocksound we know from Bjorn's other solo albums and his
stuff with AIRBAG, yet this one feels a bit more PINK FLOYDish than the others.
Well done once again and a nice way to wait for the next solo album of Bjorn,
which will be Everything To Everyone. More info at: www.bjornriis.com
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
MAJOR PARKINSON 'CHAPTER I: VELVET PRISON'
(APOLLON RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Bergen, Norway comes MAJOR PARKINSON, a band
formed around Jon Ivar Kollbotn - vocals, Eivind Gammersvik - bass, Lars
Christian Bjørknes - synth, Øystein Bech-Eriksen – guitar, Sondre Veland – Drums,
Sondre Skollevoll – guitar/backing vocals/backing synth and Claudia Cox - Violin,
live vocals. In the past 20 years they released 4 albums, starting in 2008 with
their same titled debut album, and now 14 years later their fifth album Valesa:
Chapter 1: Velvet Prison is released. Their music is very original, as it is a
mix of all kinds of influences, such as 80s synth pop, gothic rock, industrial,
80s pop, progressive rock and much more. The main ingredient however is 80s pop
melodies with a lot of synths, which reminds me of a cross between TEARS FOR
FEARS, DAVID BOWIE, OMD and DEPECHE MODE, but then with an own identity for
sure. Gothic Synth Pop with a proggie touch is perhaps a nice description,
although it's best to check out this diverse album for yourself, because it
contains a lot of great hit potential material, such as Saturday Night (TEARS
FOR FEARSish), Live Forever (kinda WHITE LIESish), the proggy dark edgy The
House (like a light gothic version of EVERGREY) and the unbelievable mash-up of
Moma that mixes each existing music genre ranging from punk to prog to pop to
metal. This band has an unique sound that is catchy and pop orientated, but
still captures elements of synth, prog, gothic and new wave slipping through in
each and every song, although even a part of NICK CAVE/LEONARD COHEN/TOM WAITS
can be heard in the vocal department, just listen to a song like Jonah. Who
knows this will be their big breakthrough album! More info at: https://majorparkinson.bandcamp.com/album/valesa-chapter-i-velvet-prison
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
NAKED SOLDIER 'NAKED SOLDIER'
(SIXTEENTIMES MUSIC/SWITZERLAND IMPORT)
Out of Basel, Switzerland comes NAKED SOLDIER, a band
making their debut with this same titled album. Their music is heavy gritty
stoner rock and the band's line up consists of PATRIK CAMINADAR (vocals), NOE
BURGER (bass), JANICK SIDLER (drums), JONAS NANN (guitar) and OLIVER CORRODI
(guitar). 9 songs are included and most of the songs follow the same midtempo
heavy direction of opener Green Pool. NAKED SOLDIER are a nice new band to the
genre and they deliver some great material on this first album that will
definitely appeal to fans of KYUSS, FU MANCHU, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, etc.
More info at: www.sixteentimes.com/naked-soldier
and https://sixteentimes.bandcamp.com/album/naked-soldier
(Points: 7.5 out of 10)
SILENT RUNNING 'FOLLOW THE LIGHT' (DOOR
RECORDS/NORTHERN IRELAND IMPORT)
The Belfast, Northern Ireland based band SILENT
RUNNING was quite active during the 1980s, with a total of 3 major label
releases, which you still see regularly in the record shops, and they toured
with many of the great acts at the time. Fast forward to 2022, the band was
inactive for about 30 years, but they now make a sensational return with their
4th album Follow The Light. The band's current line up is almost the same as in
their heydays, which is Peter Gamble (vocals), Tony Scott (guitar), Richard
Collett (bass), Paul Rocks (keyboards), and Gary Kirby (drums), so only
original drummer Ian Gault is not present, while they always switched
keyboardplayers through the years. Anyway, the sound of their new album is
superb, easily close to their 80s melodic poprock sound, in fact, I could
easily call this a pure 80s AOR/Melodic Rockalbum, because when hearing uptempo
songs like Live Right Now, Darkest Hour, Shadowland and Wildfire, it's as if
we're listening to a classic 80s AOR/Melodic Rock dream record in the style of
Canadian/Australian acts like HAYWIRE, HONEYMOON SUITE, early HAREM SCAREM,
LOVERBOY, GLASS TIGER, 1927, PSEUDO ECHO and such! Closing track Tonight This
World Belongs To Me even reveals a bit of INXS, and of course the band's 80s
poprock sound is present all over the place, so any fan of real good classic
80s poprock will be delighted to hear about the return of SILENT RUNNING. Their
CD is a must-have, and hopefully it will be released on vinyl as well in the
near future! More info at: https://silentrunning.band/
and https://silent-running.bandcamp.com/album/follow-the-light
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
ANDERS BUAAS 'THE EDINBURGH SUITE' (APOLLON
RECORDS/ CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Norwegian guitarist and composer ANDERS BUAAS returns
with a new album that is a suite called The Edinburgh Suite, which consists of
2 long songs that feels like the classic 70s instrumental melodic bombastic
symphonic rock of acts like CAMEL, KAYAK, THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT, MIKE
OLDFIELD, and PINK FLOYD, yet with a typical Scottish Folk touch here and
there, but there's much more to discover during this 2-part suite journey about
the magnificent city of Edinburgh. Although the music is instrumental and no
vocals are involved, it is a joy to listen to the wonderful melodies created by
Anders on a lot of various instruments. He got help from some well-known
musicians as well, such as bassist TONY FRANKLIN, drummer MARCO MINNEMANN,
keyboardplayer RICHARD GARCIA and CHRISTIAN M. BERG on mallets and percussion,
and the resulting album, which is his 7th album so far, it is a must to hear
for anyone who likes to hear real original synth/keyboard orientated music the
way it was created back in the 1970s by people like ALAN PARSONS, JEAN-MICHAEL
JARRE and MIKE OLDFIELD, yet it still sounds refreshing and up-to-date
thankfully. More info can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/anders.buaas
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
PATRIK JANSSON 'GAME CHANGER' (SNEAKY FOOT
RECORDS/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Out of Sweden comes
multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter PATRIK JANSSON, who already released
quite a few albums the past 15 years, of which we reviewed his previous album 4
that was released as the PATRIK JANSSON BAND. He is a gifted musician and a
wonderful singer, and he did almost everything on his own. He is influenced by
all kinds of music genres, although blues rock is the main ingredient on Game
Changer. Opener I Still Want You is a lovely melodic slow blues rocksong with a
bit of early WHITESNAKE crossed with JOE BONAMASSA, yet Patrik definitely does
have his own signature. There's a lot of diversity going on, some boogie rock and
roll in a song like Feel Bad Boogie, instrumental blues (Rays Of The Sun), a
reggea influence during the lovely catchy melodic pop influenced Time To Make
Some Changes, jazz is all over the place in a song like Something's Gotta Give
and also quite a bit of classic rock as already mentioned. Another highlight I
would like to point is the superb JOE BONAMASSA ish slow bluesy rocker Show Me
Your Love Is Real and the uptempo THIN LIZZYish classic rocker Leave Me Alone
is also a great tune Patrik delivers a great diverse album, and he shows that
he is a gifted musician with also a great voice, and fans of especially modern
bluesy melodic rock should check out his new album. More info at: https://patrikjanssonband.com/
Points: 8.3 out of 10)
THE BONESHAKERS 'ONE FOOT IN THE GROOVE'
(INDEPENDENT/MAC RADIO PROMO/USA IMPORT)
Based in Detroit, THE BONESHAKERS is a band that has
been active since the mid 1990s, and so far they have released quite a few
albums Formed around guitarist RANDY JACOBS of WAS NOT WAS and powerhouse
vocalist JENNY LANGER, the duo presents us a great mix of classic rock, soul,
blues and funk. Together with a list of guest musicians whom played with major
acts like ROLLING STONES, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD, ARETHA
FRANKLIN, etc, they recorded 10 songs, of which a few are originals and others
are covers. The resulting new album One Foot In The Groove is a fantastic
bluesy funk rock album with fantastic guitarwork of Randy and superb powerful
vocals of Jenny, while the rhythm section and backing singers all sound picture
perfect for this kind of true original raw rock music. Jenny reminds me a bit
of TINA TURNER, and the music is really wonderful to listen to, and hopefully
we'll be able to catch them live someday soon. Meanwhile check them out at: http://www.randyjacobs.com/randy-jacobs-bio/the-bone-shakers/
RUSTY WRIGHT BAND 'HANGIN' AT THE DEVILLE
LOUNGE' (SADSON MUSIC/MAC RADIO PROMO/USA IMPORT)
Although I know quite a lot of musicians with the name
Wright, I was unfamiliar with RUSTY WRIGHT. He comes out of Michigan and has
already released 7 albums the past 16 years, and Hangin' At The Deville Lounge
is therefore already his 8th album. He is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and
producer, and there's some wonderful blues rock to be found here with also very
strong soulful vocals of Rusty. He truly is an amazing performer who deserves
to become much bigger. 12 songs are included in total, and right from the start
it is clear that we are dealing here with something sensational. House Of
Spirits and Evil In Disguise are beautiful calmer JOE BONAMASSA ish bluesy
semi-rockballads with soulful vocals, while a song like No One Cares At All is
a great uptempo boogie influenced rocker that feels a bit like SEASICK STEVE
meets ZZ TOP. This mixture of slower and uptempo songs, along with the superb
soulful vocals, it makes this a pleasant warm listening from start to finish.
Other highlights are the GARY MOORE meets WALTER TROUT ish No Man Is An Island
(stunning song!) and the Southern Rock orientated Devil In The Details. Do not miss
this wonderful sensational soulful melodic blues rock album, so go check out
more at: https://rustywrightband.com/home
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
MARK HANSLIP & ANDREW CHEETHAM 'STRING
AND GRID' (DISCUS MUSIC/NO MAN'S LAND/UK IMPORT)
Out of Manchester comes this free improvisation duo that consists of
MARK HANSLIP (tenor sax) and ANDRE CHEETHAM (drums), whom together deliver an
album titled String and Grid. As expected the music is complex improvised
freestyle jazz stretched as far as possible with only a sax and drums, which
makes it quite interesting to listen to. 4 long songs are included and both
Mark and Andrew show their skills with an outta-control sax and a complicated
drumstyle, it makes this album a recommended CD to jazz and drum musicians who
like to hear new improvisations that are possible to do with their instrument.
More info at: www.discus-music.co.uk
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
BRACKENBURY BIANCO 'WAYWARD MYSTIC'
(DISCUS MUSIC/NO MAN'S LAND/UK IMPORT)
BRACKENBURY
BIANCO is a duo that consists of FAITH BRACKENBURY (violin, viola, vocals,
effects, pedals) and TONY BIANCO (drums, percussion, keyboards), and like most
other releases on DISCUS MUSIC also this record has a lot of improvisation and
free jazz music included. The album is an incredible instrumental journey
through all kinds of musical styles. Of course it is experimental most of the
time, but this freestyle jazz album keeps the melodies going and the 8 long
songs offer so much that it is a guarantee you will revisit the album over and
over again. Every time you will discover something new, especially since the
songs have lengths between 12 and 26 minutes of playing time, and there is a
lot of improvisation going on. 2 full-length CDs filled with high quality
music. Tony is delivering the goods during his drumsolo’s, while he also
provides some interesting keyboardwork, and Faith is an unbelievable violin
player, which combined all together gives this album a rich full sound.
Although a guitar, bass or sax is not present, there is not a single moment you
are actually missing it. There’s quite some progrock kinda feelings all over the
place, especially when you listen to the stunning opener Hymn Of Hildegard, but
also Arabic/World Music influences are present in a song like O Frodens Virga.
However, there’s so much more to hear on this impressive 2-CD set by Faith and
Tony. Musically perfection I would say and for more info you should check out
their label’s site at: www.discus-music.co.uk
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
MARTIN ARCHER, JOHN JASNOCH, SARAH FARMER,
LEE BOYD ALLATSON 'WASP HONEY' (DISCUS MUSIC/NO MAN'S LAND/UK IMPORT)
MARTIN ARCHER (sax, flute), JOHN JASNOCH (bass), SARAH FARMER (violin,
electronics) and LEE BOYD ALLATSON (drums) joined forces to record together the
album Wasp Honey that mainly consists of a mix between free jazz, improvisation
and some classical music. It is actually extremely experimental that doesn’t
fit any category I think, but despite Martin’s major involvement, he lets the
other musicians do their thing as well, with here and there even an interesting
bass guitar solo, while the drumming also taps out of the extreme freestyle
improvised jazz department, and the violin/electronic is just what is needed to
give this album an even more own kinda identity. I even think that fans of the
extreme side of instrumental avantgarde kraut might find something of interest
here, but I do feel that this is one of those records that will mostly appeal
to musicians as to discover new strange noises and sounds that are created from
start to finish on this CD. More info at: www.discus-music.co.uk
(Points: 7.8 out of 10)
BLACKLIST 9 'FED BY DESTRUCTION' (AVLIS
RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
The Southern Californian band BLACKLIST 9 was founded
back in 2013 by drummer LONNIE SILVA (BLACK SHEEP, IMPELLITERI) and his son
KYLE SILVA on guitar. They released a demo and an album throughout the
following years, but in 2019 they were joined by lead singer MAX SORG and
bassist JOSH LEE MAY, and since then they worked hard on their new album, which
is now released in the shape of Fed By Destruction. The music is typical
American orientated, mixing the screams of metalcore with the clean melodies of
melodic metal, sorta like a mix between PANTERA, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and
DISTURBED, with every now and then a more melodic touch in songs like the DAVID
BOWIE cover Jean Genie and 4th Step. Personally speaking I prefer the clean
vocals, because Max has a great powerful melodic metal voice, but he screams
also quite a bit, which in it’s genre is sounding pretty good, but for a
melodic metal fan might become disturbing at a certain point, especially during
songs like Mercurial and Breaking Bone. Anyway, Max sounds at best during the
lovely closing song Fade that is almost sounding a classic 80s melodic metal
semi-ballad. Concluded, this band tries to connect both worlds, but hopefully a
future release will bring them in the melodic metal mode only, so a drop of
their metalcore screams and aggressiveness. Check them out for yourself at: www.blacklist9official.com
(Points: 7.8 out of 10)
RAVE IN FIRE 'SONS OF A LIE' (IRONOXIDE
RECORDS/SKOL RECORDS/GABRIEL MEDIA GROUP/SPAIN IMPORT)
Sometimes something special arrives from out of
nowhere! Out of Spain comes the sensational new female fronted Melodic Metal
band RAVE IN FIRE, whom deliver their debut with the CD Sons Of A Lie. The band
has a terrific lead singer (Selene Perdiguero), a superb guitarist (Juanjo
Negrete) and a tight rhythm section (Sara Carretero (bass) and Jaime Susanna
(drums)), and together the foursome recorded 8 fantastic songs. The superb
uptempo melodic hardrocksongs Sons Of A Lie, Bite The Fire, The Healer, Never
Forget and Memories are absolutely sensational and they capture all the
ingredients to become classics in the future to come. It’s like we stepped back
in time to the mid 80s when female fronted melodic hardrock/metal became more
and more prominent in the scene with acts like WARLOCK, VIXEN, ENVY,
GIRLSCHOOL, LITA FORD, LEE AARON, BITCH, SACRED CHILD, MEGHAN, LYDIA VON
HUSTON, RASCAL and countless more. Not a single weak moment to be found here,
and it definitely helps that Selene is one of the greatest 80s alike female
metal singers I have heard the past few years. Early 80s LEE AARON meets FIFTH
ANGEL could be a nice description of this album, and without a doubt it’s a
must-have for anyone into the classic 80s melodic metal sound! More info at: https://raveinfire.bandcamp.com/album/sons-of-a-lie
(Points: 9.0 out of 10)
COSMIC GROUND 'ISOLATE' (TONZONEN
RECORDS/SOULFOOD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
DIRK JAN MULLER is a musician who has released a
number of records throughout the past 30 years as part of the psychedelic
krautrockband ELECTRIC ORANGE. However, since the early 1990s he has also
worked on pure electronic music like it was done in especially the 1970s by
KLAUS SCHULZE, TANGERINE DREAM and countless others in Germany. It took until
2012/2013 before Dirk would release an album as COSMIC GROUND, and now 10 years
later he already releases his 7th album titled Isolate. The music is pure
synth/mellotron/modular systems based 1970s instrumental electronic kraut in
the aforementioned classic German style of TANGERINE DREAM. You might also call
it calm haunting ambient drone music that fits as background music in
sci-fi/horror movies of the 1970s and 1980s. It is fascinating that Dirk is
able to create these interesting trance like sounds that seem to take you out
into the universe for some reason. It might all feel a bit on the dark side, it
does have it's charm and the 6 included songs are a joy to listen to if you're
a fan of that classic 70s German electronic krautsound. More info at: www.cosmicground.de
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS 'CAGED IN HELICES' (MY
REDEMPTION RECORDS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Here we have an incredible high class instrumental
progressive post-metal album created by a band that consists of Dutch drummer
Yuma van Eekelen, Swedish bassist/synthplayer Fred Jacobsson and German
guitarist Christoph Teuschel. BEHIND CLOSED DOORS is the name of this Northern
European band that explores the borders of post-rock, post-metal and
progressive rock/metal with zero technical corrections, so this is the real
deal on 6 songs that go from calm to extremely heavy, bombastic with orchestral
alike sounds to calm and peaceful. If you’re into LONG DISTANCE CALLING for
example, then you will probably be surprised by BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, because
they go one step further on their new album Caged In Helices. Well done and
highly recommended to the open-minded real musicfans out there! More info at: https://behind-closed-doors.bandcamp.com
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
WIZRD 'SEASONS' (KARISMA RECORDS/PLASTIC
HEAD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
The Norwegian band WIZRD was formed at the Jazz
Conservatory in Trondheim, Norway by bassist/lead vocalist HALLVARD GAARDLOS
(SPIDERGAWD, DRAKEN...), guitarist KARL BJORA, keyboardplayer VEGARD LIEN
BJERKAN (SOFT FFOG) and drummer AXEL SKALSTAD (SOFT FFOG). Their music is
basically quite complex but still melodic and memorable with a lot of room for
improvisations without forgetting to include some great symphonic 70s rock
choruses, although overall WIZRD sits in the progressive corrner, with a slight
jazzy touch sometimes. Seasons is their debut album, which starts quite nice
and complex with the nevertheless melodic progressive rocking Lessons and Free
Will. Following Spitfire is a faster paced uptempo heavy psychedelic rocker
that combines the 70s HEEP/PURPLE approach with a tiny bit of early 80s NWOBHM,
although during the chorus it's back to classic 70s progrock again. The vocals
are not always superstrong, but instrumentally speaking WIZRD truly delivers.
Other highlights are the fantastic prog masterpiece All In As It Should Be and
the 70s BUDGIE meets B.O.C. meets FM (Canada) melodic classic psychedelic
rocker Fire & Water. There is a lot to discover on the debut album of this
Norwegian band, so make sure to check it out if you're a fan of 70s
psychedelic/progressive rock. More info at: https://facebook.com/WIZRDTHEBAND
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
H.C. BEHRENDTSEN 'H.C. BEHRENDTSEN'
(SCHATULLE BOMM/RECORD JET/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Leipzig, Germany comes H.C. BEHRENDTSEN, a trio
that mixes all kinds of influences that range from indie, college rock from the
1990s, some world music to progrock. Their same titled debut album contains 9
instrumental songs that seem to take you into various directions. Lightweight
most of the time, it is quite experimental here and there as well, with a focus
on the rhythm section and a jangle ish guitarsound. Done quite well, you can
check them out at: https://hcbehrendtsen.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 7.2 out of 10)
POLY-MATH 'ZENITH' (NICE WEATHER FOR
AIRSTRIKES RECORDS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
The London/Brighton based instrumental 5-piece POLY-MATH
has already released a number of records, and their new one is titled Zenith.
This is an exciting instrumental record that combines heavy complex progrock
with a few metal riffs and some jazz here and there, ending up sounding like an
interesting band to check out. 8 songs are included and there are a few real
beauties included that take the best of progrock and jazz into an own signature
sound that will definitely appeak to the open minded fans out there. The band
is formed around drummer and sound engineer Chris WOOLLISON, bassist Joe
BRANTON, guitarist Tim WALTERS, keyboardist Josh GESNER and CHRIS OLSEN joined
them on this album on sax, which likewise gives them the jazz touch. The music
is a must-have for sure if you want to hear high quality complex hard hitting
instrumental progressive rock with a jazzy touch a few times. More info can be
found at:. https://wearepolymath.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
MAGICAL HEART 'HEARTSONIC' (FASTBALL
MUSIC/BOB MEDIA/GERMAN IMPORT)
A few years ago we reviewed the debut album Another
Wonderland of the German band MAGICAL HEART, and now they follow it up with
their 2nd album Heartsonic. Mixing and mastering was done ACHIM KOHLER (PRIMAL
FEAR, BRAINSTORM, SINNER), who gave the band a typical German Melodic Heavy
Rock/Metal sound. The album sounds massive and reminds me of typical German
Melodic Hard/Heavy Rockbands such as SINNER, BONFIRE, PINK CREAM 69, HELLOWEEN,
TRANSIT, VICTORY, MAD MAX, etc. etc. The band's line up consists of Christian
Urner (vocals), Gernot Kroiss (guitars), Robert Frenz (bass) and Kilian Kellner
(drums), and 11 songs are included, of which the highlights are the uptempo
rockers Bad Habits, Heartsonic, My Own Way and How Will The Story End.
Definitely a must-have for fans of the pure German Melodic Metal sound (PINK
CREAM 69 meets HELLOWEEN)! More info at: https://magicalheart.de/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
DEVILSBRIDGE 'SENSE OF' (FASTBALL
MUSIC/BOB MEDIA/GERMAN IMPORT)
Sense Of is the debut album of the Swiss band
DEVILSBRIDGE. The band is formed around bassist STEVEN DRT, guitarist VANY
SHADE, vocalist DANI NELL, guitarist TOM WHITE and drummer JC DAISY, and their
female fronted powerful melodic metal sounds massive and quite strong. Dani is
a fanastic singer with a huge rock/metal queen voice who can easily lift the
material to higher places. Although opener Illusion is quite heavy, things get very
melodic as from Reality onwards, reminding a bit of BATTLE BEAST. Other
highlights on the CD are 7th Sense, Survive and Time. DEVILSBRIDGE truly
deliver a great first full-length record, and thanks to the amazing pipes of
Dani, it is something worth checking out at: https://www.devilsbridge.ch/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
THE WIDE 'SMILE' (ECHOZONE/BOB
MEDIA/GERMAN IMPORT)
Smile is the follow-up to the 2018 debut album
Paramount of the band THE WIDE, which has it's origins in Germany, although
some members originally are coming from Scotland, England and Switzerland.
Anyway, musically speaking they bring an indie alternative pop/rocksound that
sounds very British, with DAVID BOWIEish vocals by
vocalist/guitarist/pianoplayer PETE BROUGH. The 10 included songs are a nice
mixture of uptempo and midtempo pop/rock songs with strong melodies. It all
starts with the catchy uptempo I Believe and what follows is a great journey
through THE WIDE's Smile that definitely has the potential to become bigger in
the future. Check them out at: https://www.facebook.com/thewidefearkillinglove/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
LILLIAN AXE 'FROM WOMB TO TOMB' (GLOBAL
ROCK RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
One of the most underrated bands from the late 80s
Hair Metal era is definitely LILLIAN AXE. This band from New Orleans released a
couple of sensational original high quality melodic hardrockalbums on major
labels between 1988 and 1993, and after a short pause they continued to release
new albums on smaller labels. Throughout the years their line up changed
several times, and only original guitarist/keyboardist STEVE BLAZE and bassist
MICHAEL MAXX are left from the first line-up from 35 years ago. In addition we
have now on board lead singer BRENT GRAHAM, who has a fantastic voice a la
MICHAEL SWEET by the way, drummer WAYNE STOKELY and guitarist SAM POITEVENT. Together
the 5 musicians created a wonderful new album titled From Womb To Tomb, which
is basically a high quality melodic progressive rock/prog metal orientated
record. It sounds somewhat different than their past work, which was a bit more
melodic hardrock orientated, but thankfully this new development has led to a
superb sounding album that has many highlights. There's hints of THRESHOLD,
ENCHANT and even QUEEN influences can be heard during the bombastic melodic
progressive rock/prog metal sound on this new LILLIAN AXE album. It is a close
call to masterpiece when you hear a song like Neverending Me that sounds like a
wonderful picture perfect mix between SAVATAGE, QUEEN and THRESHOLD, with it's
massive sounding multi-layered harmonyvocal STRYPER driven chorus and glorious
BRIAN MAY/BOSTON ish guitarwork. Other highlights are opener I Am Beyond, the
epic piano driven ballad Migrating North and the glorious sounding QUEEN meets
MUSE meets SAVATAGEish Dance of The Maggots. The melodic bombastic epic
choruses are making this journey throughout 16 songs a fantastic album and it
is definitely one of the better sounding albums of 2022! More info at: http://www.lillianaxe.com/
(Points: 9.0 out of 10)
HONEYVEIN 'HONEYVEIN' (APOLLON RECORDS/NORWAY
IMPORT)
Although the debut CD of HONEYVEIN is a real DIY
effort, he gets a tiny bit of help of musicians from the bands DOBBELTGJENGER
and MAJOR PARKINSON. It concerns here actually a project formed around
multi-instrumentalist BASTIAN VELAND from Norway, who did almost everything on
his own on this fist same titled CD. He is also a member of DOBBELTGJENGER, so
there is already a connection to the band. Musically speaking HONEYVEIN is
kinda experimental, although still accesible in a way it has a sorta electronic
alternative rocksound most of the time. 12 songs are included, and despite I
already gave a short description, HONEYVEIN is actually a melting pot of all
kinds of influences. A song like The Pulp might be something PRINCE could have done,
although overall the music is a bit more industrial/alternative rock
orientated. Not bad at all, because Bastian shows he is a gifted musician who
is able to write a catchy pop tune in a package that brings him also in an
alternative rock setting. Job done well and you can check him out at: www.facebook.com/honeyveinmusic
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
FRIENDSHIP 'ALCHEMIST OF YOUR DESTINY'
(APOLLON RECORDS/NORWAY IMPORT)
Although the bio mentions that this is recommended to
fans of NINE INCH NAILS, BILLY IDOL and such, musically speaking it is slightly
different. After listening to the first couple of uptempo rockers on the new CD
of Norwegian band FRIENDSHIP, it is clear that this is more or less in a pure melodic
rock direction, with here and there a sleazy gothic rock and roll touch. The
band is formed around lead singer FREDRIK SKALSTAD, who also plays drums. Songs
like Seize Your Life, Been Longing and Into The Wall are great catchy uptempo
melodic rockers, while as aforementioned a few of the other songs are slightly
rawer and rockier, showing some sleaze/glam rock and roll influences. On the
other hand you also have a ballad like Never Forget and a great midtempo
melodic rock tune like In The Now should also be mentioned. Although it might
not all sound really original, Fredrik does a great job, as he has a fantastic
clean voice and the songs he writes are quite strong. Check for yourself if
you're a melodic rockfan at: www.facebook.com/friendshipnorway
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
SAVAGE REPUBLIC is a legendary underground band from
L.A. that was active during the 80s (and reformed in the 2000s), but unlike
many of the British bands from that era, they never got much attention, which
is a pity if you listen to this ‘new’ CD that contains a full concert of the
band from late 1981. The sound is quite good and the packaging is beautifully
done in the familiar letter-size layout like all INDEPENDENT PROJECT RECORDS
releases. The band was formed around PHILIP DRUCKER (vocals, percussion), MARK
ERSKINE (drums, percussion), label founder BRUCE LICHER (guitars, bass, voice)
and JEFF LONG (vocals, bass, guitar), and although it all starts quite
experimental with a sorta post-hardcore screaming song, it gets more
interesting with Next To Nothing that could be classified as a strong midtempo
post-punk tune like we hear it nowadays from a band like LIFE or THE MURDER
CAPITAL. It goes this way throughout the concert with songs that are based
around screams and angriness sometimes as in a hardcore kinda way, but also a
lot of (instrumental) interesting post-punk orientated pieces. There’s a lot of
big bombastic world music/tribal kinda percussion/drums, 80s gothrock like
bass/electric guitarwork and so it is actually far from the hardcore as we know
it. Except for the hardcore/extreme punk screams here and there, the guitars
and rhythms are in a post-punk kinda dark direction that even remind one of
BAUHAUS and JOY DIVISION in their most dark underground period. Interesting
band for sure, quite experimental and nowadays they would do extremely well if
they perform such a concert over here. Hopefully I will be able to track down
their regular studio albums as well, because SAVAGE REPUBLIC is one of those
bands you just need to hear more from. Check out more info at: https://www.independentprojectrecords.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
BRUCE LICHER 'EXPLORATORIUM' (INDEPENDENT
PROJECT RECORDS/IT'S ALIVE MEDIA/USA IMPORT)
Now this is a really interesting piece of work that
was originally recorded in the summer of 1997 on a cassette 4 track at the home
of BRIAN LICHER, who is the founder of the bands SAVAGE REPUBLIC and SCENIC as
well the label INDEPENDENT PROJECT RECORDS. His solo stuff was done on just an
old Roland synthesizer by himself, which gives the 4 songs on the now
re-released album a classic sorta 80s sci-fi/synthwave meets 70s krautrock
meets 80s soundtrack vibe like a cross between TANGERINE DREAM and THE
TERMINATOR. The sound is massive and sensational, especially if you’re into the
instrumental synth side of life! Brian is an amazing person who did so much in
his life, and I guess this new CD release of his 25 year old solo recordings is
another recommended piece of work you need to check out at: https://www.independentprojectrecords.com/
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
KENNETH MINOR 'RETIREMENT' (UNIQUE
RECORDS/THE ORCHARD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
KENNETH MINOR is a band from Austria and their new
album is titled Retirement. The band consists of Bassist Andreas Lüttke,
drummer/keyboardplayer Florian Helleken and vocalist/guitarist Jörg Christiani.
The music is sorta a mix of Indiepop, Powerpop, Heartland Rock and a touch of
Garage Rock, which can best be heard during the uptempo pieces like Crew Love's
Coming, which sounds a bit like a cross between TOM PETTY and THE KINKS. Jorg
has a good voice that reminds slightly of PAUL SIMON, with a bit of TOM PETTY
thrown in for good measure, but the music rocks a bit more than these 2
gentlemen. Anyway, KENNETH MINOR is a strong band with a potential sound that
could bring them into higher places. Check them out for yourself at: https://kennethminor.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
THE MANANA PEOPLE 'SONG CYCLE, OR MUSIC
FOR THE END OF OUR TIMES' (UNIQUE RECORDS/THE ORCHARD/CREATIVE
ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
THE MANANA PEOPLE is a duo from Germany with a sorta
70s approach, featuring strong clean pop melodies like it was common to do back
in the day, yet also with a bit of experimental folk, spooky synths, art pop
and other music freakness here and there. Song Cycle, Or Music For The End Of
Our Times is their latest album, and without a doubt it is a strong effort that
is actually quite catchy sometimes. ALAN PARSONS PROJECT and 10CC come to mind
sometimes, yet with a modern take like a mix between FATHER JOHN MISTY and TAME
IMPALE, and some JOHN GRANT meets RUFUS WAINWRIGHT parts as well. Imagine a
cross between all these acts, then you might end up with THE MANANA PEOPLE.
Done quite well and very cleverly sounding because it's always melodic and
catchy, but with an unusual rhythm section in the background (like 10CC and
GODLEY & CREME also did 40+ years ago), this is definitely a recommended
album that will surprise you for sure! More info at: https://themananapeople.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
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