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HOT NEW REVIEWS
130R '130R' (INDEPENDENT/UK IMPORT)
SENSATIONAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a huge fan of
80s/90s AOR/Melodic Rock, but since the turn of the decade it rarely happens
that I am blown away, but 130R nails it 100.000%, The band is playing the
catchy hookladen Arena-AOR/Melodic (Hard) Rock like it was done in the late
80s/early 80s in especially the USA by bands like TYKETTO, FIREHOUSE, ICON, RED
DAWN, JADED HEART, SLYBOYZ, KNOW ILLUSION, NELSON and countless others, so I
think the fans of this sound will understand what this is all about. They
completely destroy all the FRONTIERS RECORDS wanne-be classic retro melodic
hardrockbands out there. 130R is the real deal and their debut album is
definitely a contender for album of the year 2023! The band is coming out of Newcastle
Upon Tyne, UK and features guitarist/vocalist Edward Box (VENDETTA/solo
recordings), bassist Neil Lough (SWAPPERS ELEVEN, EDWARD BOX), drummer Mick Robson
and vocalist Ian Humphrey. 10 songs are included in total, and from start to
finish this is AOR/Melodic Rock heaven! Opener All You See is a superb catchy
uptempo melodic rocker with a damn catchy chorus, while following Rush is even
better, as this is prime time late 80s/early 90s midtempo Melodic Rock like the
very first TYKETTO classic Don't Come Easy. Ian is an unbelievable singer, and
perhaps one of the finest singers I have heard in the past 25 years in the
AOR/Melodic Rockgenre! His voice is close to DANNY VAUGHN, with a bit of JIMI
JAMISON (SURVIVOR circa Too Hot To Sleep era) here and there. Damage Is Done
follows in a similar setting, yet a bit heavier, but featuring a brilliant hook
like the classic LILLIAN AXE days and let's not forget the excellent melodic
soaring guitarsolo that is also present. Face In The Crowd has a cool 80s
guitar riff, and is once again a big anthemic midtempo melodic rocker with
catchy hooks and a super strong vocal line during the lovely chorus. One More
Day is perhaps the best uptempo AOR/Melodic Rock of 2023! This incredible song
has got it all, which is picture-perfect vocals, hooks, guitarsolo's and a killer
chorus! Next track Another War is a tough midtempo melodic rocker in the
SURVIVOR 'Too Hot To Sleep' style. If You Could See Me Now is another
sensational uptempo Melodic Rocker with a killer chorus and like every song
amazing vocals and guitarwork out of the classic rockbook! Season Of Denial is
a vocal duet between Ian and Edward, and it's a lovely epic semi AOR Melodic
Rockballad that once again reminds me of a cross between TYKETTO's debut Don't
Come Easy, SURVIVOR's Too Hot To Sleep and RED DAWN's Never Say Surrender. Up
next is Barricades, which is the first slightly weaker song, but still is a
nice midtempo heavy rocker, while The Circle Turning closes the album in a
lovely midtempo melodic rock direction a la ROXUS, TOUR DE FORCE, RED DAWN,
SURVIVOR circa Too Hot To Sleep and TYKETTO. What more can I say about this
album than the fact that you need to save all your money for this 130R CD, just
like you did last year with NESTOR's CD in 2021! Now that would be a nice
combination for an European tour, these 2 new giants in AOR/Melodic Rock,
wouldn't it! Hopefully it will be released on vinyl soon, because this one
truly deserves to be played loud and proud on the record player! Make sure not
to miss this 130R and check them out at: https://edwardbox.com/
(Points: 9.2 out of 10)
DAWES 'MISADVENTURES OF DOOMSCROLLER VINYL
RECORD' (HUB RECORDS/ROUNDER RECORDS/UNIVERSAL MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
I never would have thought that the 70s FM/Westcoast
sound of bands like STEELY DAN, AMERICA, KENNY LOGGINS, LITTLE FEAT, PLAYER,
POCO and such would make a comeback through new young bands in the 2010s/2020s,
but thanks to YOUNG GUN SILVER FOX, MONKEY HOUSE, SUBER DP, DAWN PATROL,
VENICE, PAGE 99 and a few more, we are pleased with a whole new revival of this
lovely picture-perfect sound of the 1970s. DAWES is a Californian band I
followed and reviewed in the past, and their new album Misadventures Of Doom
Scroller is basically a pure classic 70s West Coast album that has a lot of similarities
to aforementioned bands. Produced by JONATHAN WILSON, it has of course the
harmony vocals reflecting the real origins of the West Coast sound (THE BYRDS,
BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD, CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG, THE EAGLES), yet it all
sounds a bit modern and rockier, so therefore the comparison to YOUNG GUN
SILVER FOX. 7 long songs are included on their new album, which I received on
vinyl, and it is by far their finest record so far, because they are now
completely focused on smooth melodies, strong vocals, memorable hooks and
choruses, all jam-packed in this laid-back groovy soft-rock sound of the 1970s
(PLAYER meets STEELY DAN and a softer TOTO) that leaves room for improvisation.
The band is formed around brothers Taylor (guitars and vocals) and Griffin
Goldsmith (drums), along with Wylie Gelber (bass) and Lee Pardini (keyboards),
and there is no single weak moment to be found here, as it is all non-stop West
Coast at an incredible high level. Songs like Someone Else's Cafe /
Doomscroller Tries To Relax, Comes In Waves and Everything Is Permanent (pure
YOUNG GUN SILVER FOX!) on Side-A are absolute future West Coast classics and
are a must-hear for fans of any of the mentioned bands. Side-B of the wonderful
vinyl record I received from the label digs in a slightly more uptempo
direction, especially during the superb opener Ghost In The Machine that sounds
like a cross between STEELY DAN and LITTLE FEAT, with a sorta jazzy fusion
touch here and there as well, while Joke In There Somewhere connects classic CROSBY,
STILLS, NASH & YOUNG and VENICE. Concluded, we are pleased to have another
modern Westcoast classic released in 2022, so make sure to check them out
a.s.a.p. if you're a fan of this laid-back smooth Californian sound. More info
at: https://dawestheband.com/
(Points: 9.0 out of 10)
DAN NAVARRO 'HORIZON LINE' (REDHEN RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)The American singer/songwriter/guitarist/voice actor
has already a long career as a musician, but his cousin DAVE NAVARRO of JANE’S
ADDICITION and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS) is probably better known, which is a
pity, because Dan’s albums are really good. He is a gifted singer with an
amazing voice (a bit reminding of CHRIS REA), and also his new solo album
Horizon Line is a pleasure to listen to. 10 songs are included, and there is a
long list of guest musicians appearing. Highlights are the AORish midtempo Rose
In The Window (with a lovely guitarsolo by BRIAN WHELAN), the calmer
singer/songwriter piece Come Around (January’s Child), the uptempo westcoast
poprocker Horizon Line, with it’s smooth guitar solo by Brian again, and
closing track Sleep Tonight, a beautiful piano ballad where Dan absolutely
shines as singer. Without a doubt, this is a highly recommended album to the
fans of real timeless music. More info at: www.dannavarro.com
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
THOSE BARREN LEAVES 'W.I.A.B.R.' (INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN
IMPORT)
THOSE BARREN LEAVES is a Swedish band or should I say
duo, consisting of Marit & Martin Deubler Holmlund, with additional keys by
Klas-Henrik Horngren and drums by producer Kristoffer Ragnstam. They were about
to record a rocking album together when covid caught all of us, so the 2nd
album of THOSE BARREN LEAVES took longer to finish, but now W.I.A.B.R. is
released. It starts with Feel, which is a nice calmer female fronted melodic
pop/rocker with a sorta 90s vibe and some alternative/college rock influences
slipping through. Next song Million Forever features male vocals and is a very
strong uptempo melodic powerpop/rocker in an early 80s style. No Sides slows
things down and is a beautiful calmer epic psychedelic gothic rock tune with a
late 60s/early 70s influence of the JEFFERSON AIRPLANE kind, and once again
featuring superstrong female vocals. As you can see there is a lot of diversity
going on here, which makes it a pleasure to listen to the 12 included songs.
Other highlights are the 80s U2 ish midtempo pop/rocker Read Between The Lines,
the lovely semi-ballad Matters Of The Heart and the strong midtempo rocker Hang
Low. Definitely worth the wait and a highly recommended album! More info at: https://www.hemifran.com/artist/Those%20Barren%20Leaves/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
THE MYSTIX 'TRU VINE' (MYSTIX EYES RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN
IMPORT)
The most remarkable about THE MYSTIX is of course the
vocalwork, because lead singer JO LILLY has an incredible raw voice like we
know it from TOM WAITS, JJ CALE and JOHN LEE HOOKER. The music of this band is
blues/rock orientated with a desert/swamp/New Orleans/Tarantino touch,
reminding me of a cross between THEM DIRTY DIMES, ZZ TOP, JJ CALE, TOM WAITS,
JOE COCKER and JD MCPHERSON. The band comes out of Boston and was formed back
in 2002, and they have already released 5 albums so far. highlights on their
excellent new album Tru Vine are the uptempo Up Jumped The Devil, the
delta-blues of Change My Mind, the dirty mean bluesy Devil Try To Steal My Joy
and the midtempo smooth bluesy pop/rock/soul of I’ll Do It For You. THE MYSTIX
are a great band that live will probably impress even more! Check them out at: https://www.themystix.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
DAVE MASSEY 'DARKNESS AT DAWN' (POETIC
DEBRIS RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Out of the Washington area comes singer/songwriter
DAVID MASSEY, and Darkness At Dawn is his 6th CD so far. He plays classic
singer/songwriter with an Americana/Folk approach, much reminding of TOM PETTY
and some BOB DYLAN here and there, although vocally David sings exactly like
Tom. The best songs on his new mini-CD are uptempo pieces like Watch Your Back
In Hell and Party Of Lies (with DIRE STRAITS guitar riff). Check out more info
at: https://www.davemasseymusic.com/
(Points: 7.7 out of 10)
MONSTER 'LIFE SCIENCE' (PARAPLY RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN
IMPORT)
Here’s a great new Swedish band with a style that fits
somewhere between classic rock, americana, a little bit of country and a touch
of progressive folk, resulting in quite some diversity and a handful of very
strong songs. On My Way is for example a song that in the hands of DANNY VERA
would have been a huge hit in The Netherlands! Overall however MONSTER rocks a
bit harder than that, and there is no single weak moment to be found on their
debut album Life science. The band has an incredible lead singer called OLOV
LUNDBERG, who has the kind of voice that would make anyone jealous. He has an
own identity vocally speaking, although here and there he reminds me a bit of
DAVID BOWIE, especially during a midtempo tune like Spacechild, and also BARRY
HAY of GOLDEN EARRING comes to mind several times. A song like the Swedish sung
Skogens Man is an amazing classic 70s rock epic Hammond/Guitar driven
semi-ballad that reminds me of classic URIAH HEEP! And how about the GOLDEN
EARRINGish classic rockers Explorer and Save Me! As you can see, this band has
got a lot of potential to become much bigger in the future! We all know that
everyone only looks at the British Islands for new bands, but Sweden also has a
lot to offer and this MONSTER is just one of them! Check out MONSTER at: https://www.moenster.se/en/
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
JOHANNA LILLVIK 'THE LOVE HATE SYNDROME'
(PARAPLY RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Out of Boras, Sweden comes the talented
singer/songwriter/pianoplayer JOHANNA LILLVIK, and The Love Hate Syndrome is
her 2nd album so far. Her music is a mix of soulful pop, piano-based, yet with
a full rhythm section, and here and there some World Music influences. The
resulting album is a high quality diverse record that is completely based
around Johanna's soulful vocals. 12 songs are included in total and if anyone
is familiar with KRIS BERRY, then you will also love JOHANNA LILLVIK. There's
however more to discover, because she rocks during Busted and there's French
influences during the world music driven Wolves, while reggae influences can be
heard during Say What, Say Why. Concluded, there's more than meets the eye
here! More info can be found at: https://www.hemifran.com/artist/Johanna%20Lillvik/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
STEVE MCNAUGHTON 'JOURNEYMAN' (INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN
IMPORT)
Journeyman is the 4th album of Nashville, USA based
countryrock/crossover singer/songwriter STEVE MCNAUGHTON. There are songs co-written
with long time collaborator JAMES STEWART KEENE, and it also features
instrumentation and production from ROD MOTBEY, who plays guitars, bass, keys
and banjo, giving it a bluegrass kinda feeling here and there. There's also a
bluesy touch and even some melodic pop/rock crossover songs, all thanks to the
list of guest musicians. 14 songs are included, of which the highlights are
Take The Ticket, Sliding Doors, the AORish Cold Wind Blowing and the 70s pop
gem Chasing Tomorrow. Check out more at: https://www.stevemcnaughton.com.au/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
COURTNEY HALE RIVIA 'GROWING PAINS' (INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN
IMPORT)
COURTNEY HALE REVIA is a gifted singer/songwriter from
Texas with a great new album titled Growing Pains. She has a strong voice and
her music is a mix of country, bluegrass/folk and pop melodies. She does remind
me a bit of ILSE DE LANGE, but then less pop/rock orientated. The list of guest
musicians is quite long, and the sound/production of her album is quite
impressive. Among the 12 songs we can find a lot of great ones, such as the
uptempo pieces One Way Out, Rainbows At Night and the sensational Blood And
Water, although she also isn’t shy from a balladry song here and there and how
about the crossover aor-poprock-country piece Who Are You that reminds me of
JAIME KYLE. Courtney’s album sounds really good and is definitely one to replay
in the future. There’s enough hit potential included, so hopefully she’s lucky
enough to secure a hit song. More info at: https://www.courtneyhalereviamusic.com/
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
THE MINERS 'MEGUNTICOOK' (MATCH-UP ZONE
MUSIC/RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Megunticook is the second highest coastal mountain
along the Atlantic, and you can find it in the US state of Maine. It is also
the title of the debut album of the Philadelphia based band THE MINERS. This
band is formed around Keith Marlowe (lead vocals, guitar), Gregg Hiestand
(bass), Vaughn Shinkus (drums, vocals) and Brian Herder (pedal steel guitar),
and their music is nice relaxing melodic alternative country rock like a mix
between NEIL YOUNG and CALEXICO. 10 songs are included, and especially the
uptempo pieces such as Walnut Lane, Natalie and Apologize are very catchy
tunes. I loved the ballad Day The Drummer Died which is about a drummer from a
Metal band! THE MINERS are a nice little band from the USA you can check out
at: https://theminerspa.bandcamp.com/album/megunticook
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
DIANE PATTERSON 'SATCHEL OF SONGS'
(INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Touring in Europe during the summer and Hawaii in the
winter seems like a great life! DIANE PATTERSON is doing that and in between
she records albums, of which Satchel Of Songs is already her 7th album. Her
music is folk inspired calmer singer/songwriter music that is all about
stories, and she reminds me a lot of JONI MITCHELL. She is a gifted
singer/songwriter who deserves more attention. Check her out at: https://www.dianepatterson.org/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
PAUL GURNEY 'BLUE HORIZON' (TAILGATOR
MUSIC/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Singer/songwriter PAUL GURNEY comes out of New
Zealand, and Blue Horizon is his 2nd solo album. He has been in the music
business since the 1980s, mostly as member of the band THE DESOTOS. His music
is calmer singer/songwriter Americana in a traditional style, with a focus on
the lyrics and melodies. Paul is a gifted musician who will mostly be
appreciated by fans of the calmer 70s based singer/songwriter movement, such as
JIM GROCE, JAMES TAYLOR… More info can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/paul.gurney.399
(Points: 7.9 out of 10)
JEREMIAH JOHNSON ‘HI-FI DRIVE BY’ (RUF
RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Singer/songwriter/guitarist JEREMIAH JOHNSON comes out
of St. Louis, USA and Hi-Fi Drive By is his 7th album so far. He started
releasing albums in the early 2000s, but his career really took off when he
signed to RUF RECORDS in 2018. He gathered the finest musicians in his hometown
of St. Louis to record this new album, and as result it is a superstrong
classic American Blues record that provides us 10 sensational songs in the best
possible bluesrock style. Jeremiah is a gifted guitarist and has a soulful
voice, while his songs recall the classic blues of the past. PAUL NIEHAUS IV
joined him on bass, piano, guitar, TOM MALONEY on guitar and piano, and JOE
MEYER on drums, while as mentioned a long list of other musicians are on board,
including trumpet, trombone and saxplayers to give it a rich full classic blues
rock sound. It also marks the first release that Jeremiah has worked with
co-writers and co-producers Maloney and Niehaus IV, so this turned out really well!
The absolute highlight is closing track The Band, which has an amazing
SANTANAish vibe. Without a doubt this album is a must-have for the fans of real
classic blues rock of the BB KING school! More info at: www.jeremiahjohnsonband.com
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
WILL JACOBS ‘GOLDFISH BLUES’ (RUF
RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
At only 29 years of age lead singer/guitarist WILL
JACOBS from Chicago, USA delivers a sensational album in the shape of Goldfish
Blues on the German label RUF RECORDS. He has an amazing soulful voice, and his
music is a mix of blues, groovy 70s funky pop/rock and a lot of soul.
Especially the funky stuff like Goldfish Blues and Grooving With You is
absolutely fantastic, coming across like a mix between BB KING, RICK
JAMES/PARLIAMENT and STEELY DAN if that is possible. His music is quite
diverse, because there’s also calmer ballad ish material such as I Wish and a
lot of pure classic Blues during songs like One Day At A Time and You Do You,
while he also rocks quite dirty and mean in a song like Dirty Dog. Will’s voice
is incredible and I would love to see him live one day. Besides Will, other
musicians are guitarist STEF ROSEN, drummer BRIAN SAULS, organplayer MATTHIAS
FALKENAU and bassist THOMAS GERMANN, and together they created this wonderful
album you really need to pick up, because it’s definitely one of the finest RUF
RECORDS of the past few years! More info at: https://willjacobsband.com/music
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
BUILT TO SPILL ‘WHEN THE WIND FORGETS YOUR
NAME’ (SUB POP RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
The American band BUILT TO SPILL was formed 30 years
ago, and When the Wind Forgets Your Name is already their 9th album. The band
currently consists of Doug Martsch – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitars, who
is the only original member, Joao Casaes – bass and Le Almeida – drums, and
through the years they switched line-ups and labels several times. Their
previous album Untethered Moon dates back to 2015 and was released on WARNER
BROS RECORDS. Now they are back with a new album on SUB POP RECORDS. Musically
speaking it is clearly 90s college-rock/alternative rock orientated like a
cross between THE JAYHAWKS, R.E.M. and TEENAGE FANCLUB, although after 3 decades
they have created an own style by now. 9 songs are included, of which the
highlights are Fool’s Gold, the psychedelic 70s orientated Understood (with
nice Hammond organ/Guitar solo), Spiderweb and Never Alright. Nice return from
the underrated alternative rockband BUILT TO SPILL, and you have to give it
several spins to discover the beauty that lies underneath all of the songs. For
more info please go to: http://www.builttospill.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
FRANKIE COSMOS ‘INNER WORLD PEACE’ (SUB
POP RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
FRANKE COSMOS is the stage name of Greta Simone Kline,
a New York based singer/songwriter/guitarist who has released a lot of music
under different names the past 10+ years. Now signed to SUB POP, she releases
as FRANKIE COSMOS the album Inner World Peace. The included material is a mix
of altrock, dreampop, folk and singer/songwriter, sounding quite positive most
of the time. No less than 15 songs are included on the album, and it goes from
calmer to rockier pieces and everything in between. Done quite well, you can
hear more for yourself at: https://ingridsuperstar.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 7.8 out of 10)
AU SUISSE ‘AU SUISSE’ (CITY SLANG RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
AU SUISE are clearly 70s/80s influenced with a modern
take here and there. The music is primarily disco-synth-wave/80s hi-tech
pop/new romantic orientated and the songs on their same titled debut album are
quite catchy actually, with a funky touch and some dreampop alike melodies
slipping through, although the early 1980s are their main target most of the
time. They are a duo consisting of Morgan Geist and Kelley Polar, and AU SUISSE
is settled in New York City and New Hampshire. This is their debut album as
already mentioned, and it is quite a nice record to listen to from start to
finish. The highlights are Thing, GC (pure 80s, sorta like THE FIXX meets IDLE
EYES (Tokyo Rose) meets HUMAN LEAGUE), Pain & Regret (WHAM meets LIVING IN
A BOX) and the DEPECHE MODEish Eely. Quite a nice calm and very exciting
electronic pop/80s synthwave orientated act that delivers a high quality album
here which should be in the hands of anyone who misses the glorious synth
orientated 80s! More info at: https://ausuisse.bandcamp.com/album/au-suisse
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
HIGH VIS ‘BLENDING’ (DAIS
RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
Although at first sight the London based band HIGH VIS
looks and sounds a bit like a typical British Post-Punkband, eventually they
have a lot more to offer on their album Blending, because they are probably
also influenced by 90s alternative rock and even late 80s/early 90s hardrock of
THE CULT/THE ALARM/GUN kind, and sometimes they are sounding quite melodic
actually. Morality Test for example has an insane cool 80s Hair Metal riff, and
is basically a damn catchy uptempo rocker like THE CULT, while a song like
Blending is almost pure melodic rock and same can be said about the semi-ballad
Fever Dream. The band’s mixture of post-punk and altrock sounds at best during
uptempo pieces like 0151, Out Cold and Trauma Bonds, while closing track Shame
is a slowtempo psychedelic hardrock piece that even has a bit of KING’S X.
Opener Talk For Hours should also be mentioned as this is great somewhat
rougher alternative rocker like ALICE IN CHAINS with the Post-Punk vibe of the
British movement from the past few years. All together it is an interesting
diverse trip that should appeal to a lot of people out there I think. They are
labelled as Post-Punk, but when listening to their 3rd album you will discover
so much more, and therefore I can only recommend you to check them out at: https://highvis.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
SOLITAR 'BUS DRIVER IMMIGRANT MECHANIC'
(TONZONEN RECORDS/SOULFOOD MUSIC/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
The Stockholm, Sweden based MIKAEL TUOMINEN is the
multi-instrumentalist behind SOLITAR, a project that launches it's first album
release in the shape of Bus driver immigrant mechanic. The included music is a
mix of darker ambient shoegaze and calmer prog (PINK FLOYD), with a psychedelic
touch and some electronic and indie pop/rock music influences as well, while
the orchesta alike sounds create an original twist to the album. It all sounds
quite dark actually, while Mikael's voice has a sorta NEIL YOUNG kinda vibe.
Most of the 9 songs are in a slow tempo, with as most remarkable song the
TWISTED SISTER cover The Price! Mikael is also part of several other bands, but
with this release he wanted to express his personal feelings, and some of the
lyrics are telling us quite heavy stories, but nevertheless according to him it
is a very positive album. One of the highlights is the lovely Spegel Spegel,
which is sung in Swedish, and has some PORCUPINE TREE/STEVEN WILSON memories.
It Rains is a very short but interesting laid-back song, while A Flash In A
Glass Jar has a perfect kinda vibe that is almost impossible to describe what it
is (NICK CAVE meets PINK FLOYD meets STEVEN WILSON), but it's best to really listen
to it yourself. Please check his bandcamp site in case you want to know what
this album is all about: https://solitar.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
THE WILD CENTURY 'ORGANIC' (TONZONEN
RECORDS/SOULFOOD MUSIC/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
6 songs are on the first album of the Dutch band THE
WILD CENTURY, and musically speaking it is a mix of mostly retro heavy psychedelic
rock of the late 1960s (THEM/THE DOORS) and a tiny bit of Post-Punk from the
early 80s (TALKING HEADS/JOY DIVISION/BAUHAUS). They sound quite impressive
actually with the international sound of their debut album. The band consists
of Stan Aarts: vocals/guitars, Joris Verbogt: vocals/bass/guitar, Gerton
Govers: vocals/sitar guitar/guitars, Butsenzeller: drums/percussion and Paola
Pica: vocals/hammond organ. Their mix of raw slightly distorted vocals here and
there, a groovy guitar riff, a massive 70s hammond organ and a handfull of
dirty mean songs gives them an authentic original sound that will definitely
appeal to the fans of classic heavy psychedelic rock of the 70s, although as
mentioned somehow there's also a bit of post-punk slipping through here and
there. I am personally in love with the incredible Oh Yeah that despite it's
simplicity has the kind of stretched raw dirty mean psychedelic rocksound of
the early 70s we all love so much, kinda reminding me of the very first couple
of UFO albums from 50 years ago. A song like Carry On shows that the band also
can take a step back to a calmer bluesier approach like the PETER GREEN's
FLEETWOOD MAC era meets the calmer THE DOORS material, while Beauitul Queen is
a long song that feels like a world music influenced slow krautrocker that has
ELVIS alike vocals! There's enough diversity going on here to keep you
entertained from start to finish Check out this sensational new band at: https://thewildcentury.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
RYR 'TRANSIENT' (GOLDEN ANTENNA
RECORDS/BROKEN SILENCE/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Transient is the 2nd album of the German band RYR,
which is an Icelandic expression for weak, but this band is far from weak! RYR's
music is instrumental post-metal, and the 5 songs on the album are of an
incredible high level. Right from the start with the big massive sensational
sounding Doom Metal of Trajectory, it is clear that we are dealing with a band
that could easily become as huge as the other instrumental post-metal bands in
the world such as LONG DISTANCE CALLING. RYR consists of Marius - Guitars, Nicolas
- Guitars, Kay - Bass and Eric - Drums, and from start to finish this is the
way it needs to be done, so better make sure to check out one of the strongest
instrumental post-prog/doom metal releases of this year! More info at: https://goldenantennarecords.bandcamp.com/album/transient
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
GHOSTER 'SOMBRE CRAME' (ATYPEEK MUSIC/CREATIVE
ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
GHOSTER are from a town close to Paris, and their
album Sombre Crame is an excellent piece of instrumental early 90s Techno meets
dark Synthwave. They are a duo and the 4 songs on their new EP are a joy for
the ears if you happen to have experienced the techno era of the late 80s/early
90s, because that is what this all about (SPEEDY J anyone?), although as
aforementioned there's also a touch of dark synthwave to be heard. If you want
to hear something to dance to, then this is yours to take. More info at: https://www.facebook.com/ghoster.dance/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
OAK 'THE QUIET REBELLION OF COMPROMISE' (KARISMA
RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD DISTRIBUTION/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
The Quiet Rebellion of Compromise is the 3rd album of
the Norwegian progressive rockband OAK, and I have to say that is a sensational
record that first somewhere between AIRBAG, OPETH and PORCUPINE TREE, so it has
a darker almost mystical atmospheric calmer approach, yet sounds very melodic
and is easy to listen to. The band's new album was mixed by DAVID CASTILLO
(KATATONIA, LEPROUS, OPETH), and you can definitely hear that. The production/sound
is massive and basically this is a picture perfect album for the prog fantatics
among us. Right from the start with the superb Highest Tower, Deepest Well, you
are drawn into the OAK journey, and there's no way back thankfully, because
this is next to the new THRESHOLD album, another contender for best album of
the year 2022. The band's line up consists of the fantastic
singer/keyboardplayer Simen Valldal Johannessen, drummer Sigbjørn Reiakvam,
bassist Øystein Sootholtet and guitarist Stephan Hvinden. There's no single
weak moment to be found on this album, and for the progfans (and everyone
else), this is prog heaven from start to finish, with a focus on beautiful melodies
and dark calm passages, so no endless complicated structures or stretched
instrumental explosions. The absolute highlight is the amazing Demagogue
Communion, with it's glorious chorus sounding like a cross between OPETH and
THRESHOLD. Check out OAK's new album a.s.a.p. at: https://oakinoslo.bandcamp.com/album/the-quiet-rebellion-of-compromise
(Points: 8.9 out of 10)
GALLIA 'OBSCURA' (INDEPENDENT/BELGIAN
IMPORT)
Female fronted melodic cinematic symphonic (power) metal
in the style of EPICA, NIGHTWISH and WITHIN TEMPTATION is what this is all
about on the official full-length debut CD of the Belgian band GALLIA. The band
was formed as a power metal band back in 2014 by guitarist YANNICK MARRIS and
bassist LAURENS VANDEBROEK, while vocalist ELYN VANDENWYNGAERT joined the
following year and drummer TIES JEHOUL completed the band in 2020. During the
corona years GALLIA developed their own sound and recorded this first album in
absolute perfection, because right from the start with the superb Return of
Time we can hear that this is not just another band that wants to copy
NIGHTWISH and EPICA. Elyn is a powerful singer and the superb melodies and big
bombastic cinematic sounds show that GALLIA is a sensational band in this
genre. Of course NIGHTWISH and EPICA are easy comparisons to draw, but GALLIA
absolutely delivers almost non-stop memorable songs on this sensational debut
album. Highlights for yours truly are definitely Return Of Time, Blackout
Queen, Mirage (an epic original semi-ballad like AFTER FOREVER meets WITHIN
TEMPTATION, with some calmer breaks here and there) and . There is no single
weak moment to be found and therefore this album is a highly recommended piece!
GALLIA are another sensational new Belgian band to deliver a strong impressive
record, so there must be something good in the water down south! Check them out
at: https://gallia.bandcamp.com/album/obscura-2
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
VILA NAVIO 'A-MA-GO' (INDEPENDENT/XANGO
MUSIC)
André Coelho Rodrigues is the man behind VILA NAVIO,
and Amago is his 4th album so far. He is a Portuguese
singer/songwriter/guitarist/percussionist who is joined here by CLAUDIO MENDES
DA SILVA on trumpet and trombone and MARCO QUARRESMA on Portuguese guitar. His
music is a modern approach to the classic Portuguese traditional music,
involving elements of popular music with modern sonorities linked to
contemporary jazz and the presence of samples generated electronically. Without
a doubt, the 10 included songs show that Andre is connecting the past with the
future perfectly, and I completely understand if he is a rising star in
Portugal, because his new album is loaded with rather catchy tunes that combine
all the elements needed to combine the best of Portuguese traditional music and
modern pop/World Music. Check for yourself at: https://www.vilanavio.com/
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
MARIO LUCIO 'MIGRANTS' (MDC/PIAS/XANGO
MUSIC)
Singer/songwriter/poet MARIO LUCIO is a well-known
person at the island of the Cape Verde, because he is a respected musician and
he was from 2012 to 2016 Minister of Culture of Cape Verde. He now releases his
new album Migrants, which is a typical product of the Cape Verde Islands, which
musically speaking fits somewhere between African and Portuguese Fado music.
There is a lot of soul in his songs, and it’s a pleasure to listen to the 11
included songs on his 6th solo CD Migrants. He is a gifted singer and
guitarist, and it really makes you long for spending warm days at Cape Verde
this winter while listening to the positive vibe of his new album. More info
at: http://www.mariolucio.com
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
ADEDEJI 'YORUBA ODYSSEY' (ONE WORLD
RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
ADEDEJI ADETAJO is a very talented Nigerian
singer/songwriter/guitarists who plays guitar, keys, synths, kalimba, shekere,
agogo, udo and sings besides composing and arranging all of the included songs
on his 3rd album Yoruba Odyssey. He also gets help from Samuel Olawale on Keys
& Synths, Victor Ademofe on Trumpet, Godwin Phillip on Trumpet, Raphael
Lasisi on Tenor Saxophone, Sam Marlieri on Alto & Tenor Saxophone, Segun
Atoyebi on Alto & Tenor Saxophone, Timi Adewunmi on Baritone Saxophone,
Kostas Vasouras on Baritone Saxophone, Jim Staridas on Trombone, Wale Akindiya
on Bass, Kayode Kuti on Bass, Yoel Soto on Bass, Samuel Obinna on Drums, Laolu
Ajibade on Drums, Abiodun Oke on Congas & Shekere, Rodrigo Rodriguez on
Congas, Shekere, Timbales, Agogo & Timba, Taiwo Adeagbo on Talking Drums,
Batas, Omele & Sakara, Ebun Arowosegbe on Backing Vocals, Mary Shobowale on
Backing Vocals, Bola Adewole on Backing Vocals and Tunde Adetayo on Backing
Vocals. 10 songs are included in total, some of them quite long (even the 10
minutes mark is exceeded), making this album worth your money, because the 65
minutes are a fun joyful experience that melts different music influences.
Opener is the lengthy Oruku that shows right away the mix of all the world
music styles, while following Olomo Ki Lo is a very catchy tune that even has a
keyboardsolo, and Ojeje is an incredible strong funky tune like JAMES BROWN
doing an African traditional move. Jazz, Latin, Afrobeat, World Music, Disco,
Funk, Pop, etc. , it’s all included in the melting pot of this wonderful album
of Adedeji, and from start to finish this is the perfect summer record.
Hopefully next year he will perform at North Sea Jazz, because that is where he
definitely belongs with his cocktail mix of jazz, African, world music and
western funk. More info at: https://www.oneworldsmusic.com/adedeji-adetayo
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
EPINIKION ‘INQUISITION’
(INDEPENDENT/BELGIAN IMPORT)
For an independent release, the debut album of the
Belgian band EPINIKION sounds very impressive. The band was formed during the
beginning of the corona pandemic around lead singer ELEONORA DAMIANO, guitarist
ROBERT TANGERMAN, keyboardplayer RENATE DE BOER and bassist EMRE DEMIR, while
for additional guitars, bass and drums other musicians join the band. The
resulting first album Inquisition is an interesting bombastic female fronted
gothic symphonic power metal release with a focus on clean melodies and
soundtrack orchestral alike keyboardwork, kinda like EPICA, NIGHTWISH and
WITHIN TEMPTATION, yet of course with an own approach which is thanks to the
strong vocals of Eleanora. She has the perfect voice to lift this band above
the masses in this genre. Songs like Love So Subleme, On The Brink Of Despair,
In The Middle Of The Night, and
Strangers In The Dark are quite sensational pieces that will definitely appeal
to the fans of the modern female fronted bombastic sound like we know it from
all those bands we have heard in the past 25 years, yet EPINIKION surprises in
the fact they are close to the upper class with this highly recommended first
album! More info at: https://www.epinikion.org/
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
PHILOSOPHOBIA ‘PHILOSOPHOBIA’ (LASER’S
EDGE/SENSORY/SONIC RENDEZVOUS)
Although the members of the new German band PHILOSOPHOBIA
have been in well-established bands around the globe the past 2 decades, 2 of
it’s members were keen to join forces and record an album ever since. Together
with producer PHIL HILLEN (POWERWOLF, KAMELOT…) and LASER’S EDGE/SENSORY as
label, they recorded this strong first album. The band consists of Domenik
Papaemmanouil (WASTEFALL) – Vocals, Andreas Ballnus (PAUL DIANNO) – Guitars,
Kristoffer Gildenlöw (PAIN OF SALVATION) – Bass, Tobias Weißgerber – Keyboards
and Alex Landenburg (ANNIHILATOR) – Drums, and their music is high quality
melodic progressive metal at it’s very best, which is not strange considering
the members’, label’s and producer’s experiences over the past 20 years. DAMIAN
WILSON (THRESHOLD) makes a guest appearance on 1 song as singer, but thankfully
Domenik himself is also a gifted singer with a strong voice. The melodic prog
metal sounds really good and is in the typical school of LASER’S EDGE/SENSORY,
which is in the FATES WARNING, REDEMPTION, DREAM THEATER, THRESHOLD, SYMPHONY X,
KAMELOT, QUEENSRYCHE, etc. direction, so there’s even a tiny touch of Power
Metal here and there. Highlights on this wonderful debut album are I Am, Time
To Breath and As Light Ceased To Exist. The band has here and there a raw edge
(Voices Unheard), but also calmer ballad is included such as the beautiful
Within My Open Eyes that even reminds me of CITA! Don’t miss this album is all
I can say! More info at: https://lasersedge.bandcamp.com/album/philosophobia
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
SYMPHONITY ‘MARCO POLO: THE METAL
SOUNDTRACK’ (LIMB MUSIC/SUBURBAN)
SYMPHONITY is a band from Czech Republic formed around
guitarist/keyboardplayer LIBOR KNVAK, who already started his musical journey
about 30 years ago, but it was in the year 2006 when it became officially
SYMPHONITY. The rest of the band’s line up consists of keyboardplayer Johannes
Frykholm, lead singer Konstantin Naumenko, lead singer Mayo Petranin, bassist
Tomas Sklenar and drummer Josef Ciganek, and Marco Polo: The Metal Soundtrack
is their 3rd album so far. The music is not really original, but sounds huge
and impressive nevertheless. The bombastic neo-classical symphonic power metal
is sounding like a cross between RHAPSODY, LORD OF THE RINGS and LABYRINTH,
with a focus on fast paced songs that feature massive symphonic bombastic
instrumental parts and gang-alike choirs, but it’s always really melodic and
actually quite catchy! Fans of RHAPSODY will absolutely love this album! More
info at: https://www.symphonity.com/index.php?lang=cz&sekce=news
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
VIRTUAL SYMMETRY ‘VIRTUAL SYMMETRY
‘(LASER’S EDGE/SENSORY RECORDS/SONIC RENDEZVOUS)
Although self-titled, Virtual Symmetry is the 3rd CD
of the Italian/Swiss band VIRTUAL SYMMETRY. The band is formed around vocalist
MARCO PASTORINO, guitarist VALERIO AESIR VILLA, keyboardplayer MARK BRAVI,
bassist ALESSANDRO POPPALE and drummer ALFONSO MOCERINO. Eventually it started
as a solo project of Valerio, but along the way it turned out into a full band,
and all together these 5 musicians create high quality melodic progressive
metal in the style of ZERO HOUR, CIRCUS MAXIMUS, TOMORROW'S EVE, DREAMSCAPE,
SPHERIC UNIVERSE EXPERIENCE, MIND'S EYE, SHADOW GALLERY, SEVENTH WONDER, SIEGES
EVEN, PAGAN'S MIND, ANDROMEDA, SUSPYRE, LANFEAR, SUN CAGED, etc. etc. , so
basically this is technical melodic prog metal with a focus on both complex but
melodic instrumental passages that combines neo-classical guitarwork with
symphonic keyboards, while the high pitched vocalwork bring forward strong
melodic choruses during the mostly lengthy songs. 9 songs are included in
total, with a playing time of over 60 minutes, and all I can say that fans of
this modern day 2000s/2010s melodic technical progressive metal sound will
absolutely love this album. There are many highlights to be found, such as the
epic 20 minutes counting opener Virtual Symmetry that especially towards the
end has a beautiful part with a stunning chorus and an excellent soaring
guitarsolo. This first song is basically what this band is all about, because
it contains all the aspects we love so much in the prog metal sound. The
Italian influence of LABYRINTH and VISION DIVINE especially comes alive in the
high falsetto voice of Marco. Other highlights are the catchy My Story Unfolds
(SEVENTH WONDERish) and Butterfly Effect. Fans of aforementioned bands
definitely need to check out this impressive band at: www.virtualsymmetry.com
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
SEPARATE BED ‘SEPARATE BED’ (APOLLON
RECORDS/NORWAY IMPORT)
BOSSE LITSHEIM is a Norwegian musician who is known as
being part of the band AI PHOENIX, and now he has a solo project going called
SEPARATE BED. Along with TARJEI THOMASSEN and ROBERT JONNUM (KINGS OF
CONVENIENCE, ST. THOMAS) he recorded a great lo-fi dark ambient indie pop
record that reminds me of LAMBCHOP, FLEET FOXES, FATHER JON MISTY and MIDLAKE.
It’s calm, but very relaxed and quite melodic to the ears. 9 songs are
included, and it fits perfectly as background music. The only remark would be
that it’s only 30 minutes of playing time, which could have been a bit longer,
but nevertheless it’s a rather nice album and you can check for yourself more
info at: www.facebook.com/separatebed
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
JULIAN TAYLOR ‘BEYOND THE RESERVOIR’
(HOWLING TURTLE INC/FACTOR CANADA/IT’S ALL HAPPENING/WARNER MUSIC ADA)
JULIAN TAYLOR is a talented Canadian singer/songwriter
who has already released 11 albums since the early 2000s. He has already
achieved quite a reputation in the singer/songwriter world, and his new album
Beyond The Reservoir is another wonderful piece of music that combines the best
of pure Americana, singer/songwriter and folkpop. Of course there are
references to the 1970s singer-songwriter troubadours, and JIM GROCE and JAMES
TAYLOR are just 2 names that pop up while listening to the 9 songs (and
bonustrack) on this rather strong CD. Julian is an amazing singer with a golden
voice, and he is able to write beautiful songs that are accompanied by very
personal lyrics. Highlights on his new album are It Hurts, Wide Awake, Stolen
Lands, the excellent bonustrack 100 Proof and Moving. There’s also a touch of
LEONARD COHEN here and there. The record was produced by SAAM HASHEMI, and
besides Julian on acoustic guitar, vocals, piano and hand drums, other
musicians joining him are drummer GENE DIABO, bassist BARRY DIABO, drummer
SHAMAKA ALI, bassist ANNA RUDDICK, pedal steel guitarist BURKE CARROLL, violin
player MIRANDA MULHOLLAND and a few others. The resulting album is a must for
fans of calmer americana inspired folk/pop/singer-songwriter. More info at: http://juliantaylormusic.ca
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
AIDAN & THE WILD ‘REVELATION NEVER
CAME’ (REVANCHE RECORDS/IT’S ALL HAPPENING)
Actually the debut album of AIDAN & THE WILD was
already released back in 2021, but due to the corona pandemic and it’s
lockdowns, the decision was made to re-release the album with additional live
songs, so it gets another shot, which is also not that strange if you consider
the fact that the act only played 1 live gig after it was released the first time.
DIEDERIK VAN DEN BRANDT is the musician behind AIDAN, while his band THE WILD
consists of different musicians who joined him along the way. The music is
quite nice calmer melodic indie pop/folk pop in the style of MIDLAKE and FLEET
FOXES. The 10 original songs and the 4 live bonustracks are making this a true
winner for fans of this genre. There are some really beautiful songs on the
album, such as I Surrender To Thee, and I guess it’s only a matter of time
before there will be a breakthrough for this hit potential act. More info at: https://aidan-music.com
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
DRIFT 'NEW BLOOD TYPE' (INDEPENDENT/USA
IMPORT)
Out of Los Angeles comes the new band DRIFT, and their
album is titled New Blood Type. Not much info on the band actually, except for
4 guys wearing gas masks and playing a good portion of classic metal, with a
focus on strong vocals and biting shredding guitarwork. There's some
similarities to METAL CHURCH, OZZY OSBOURNE and SAVATAGE here and there, and I
have to admit that I really like this strong melodic metal band during
especially songs like Over The Edge, the proggy What's Out There (a la
EVERGREY), Matter Of Heart and the lovely catchy uptempo The Internet. The
album was mastered by the legendary TED JENSEN at the STERLING SOUND studios,
so you can bet the sound quality is of a very high level. What more can I say
than the fact that this is a very decent independent band from L.A. you need to
check out at: https://www.drift.la/drift
and https://officialdrift.bandcamp.com/album/new-blood-type
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
RESOLUTION ALLEY 'FADE OUT' (SPROUT TO
COOL MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
Out of Columbia, Maryland, USA (a city between Washington
and Baltimore) comes RESOLUTION ALLEY, which basically is the solo project of JASON
WILSON (EMERALD TIERS, SUSTAINED IN JADE, THE DARK AETHER PROJECT). Fade Out is
their 2nd album, although it is actually a four-song EP, where Jason composed
and wrote the lyrics, sang lead vocals and played keyboards and bass. Additional
musicians are drummer Manny Arciniega, a few guitarists (Dale Coleman and Ahren
Bucheister) and vocalist Laura Van Duzer on 1 song. Together they created a
very nice 80s influenced AOR/Melodic Rock EP that starts with the catchy
midtempo You Are... Following Ever After continues this style, and is in fact
slightly stronger, while Over And Over has a touch of 90s pop/rock and closing
track Fade Out is a calmer semi-melodic rockballad, and is probably the
strongest song on offer here, because it also has a proggy touch and quite
memorable melodies as well as a lovely soaring guitarsolo. It all reminds me
quite a bit of INNUENDO if anyone remembers that band. Check out this nice
independent American AOR/Melodic Rock album at: http://www.resolutionalley.com/
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
EVERSHIP 'THE UNCROWNED KING ACT 2'
(ATKINGSON PRODUCTIONS/USA IMPORT)
EVERSHIP returns with another sensational album, and
perhaps this Act 2 of The Uncrowned King is their finest so far. This
Smithville, Tennessee, USA based band (or project) is the conceptualization of
composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer/engineer SHANE ATKINSON (keys,
drums), and this new concept CD is the 4th album so far. He is helped by
several other musicians, including guitarist JAMES ATKINSON, guitarist JOHN
ROSE, bassist BEN YOUNG and several others guesting, such as MICHAEL SADLER of
SAGA during 1 song. BEAU WEST is the amazing vocalist on the CD and he does
sound a bit like DENNIS DE YOUNG, while the music of EVERSHIP is slightly more
Neo-Progressive/Symphonic Rock orientated than STYX, although here and there we
can definitely find some similarities (such as during The Voice Of The New Day
and The Law Of Ages, which is a grandiose epic pomp/prog rock ballad that also
reminds me of KAYAK, especially during the amazing soaring guitarsolo). If
you’re into SAGA, MYSTERY (Canada), ENCHANT, ARENA, KANSAS, KAYAK, STYX and
even QUEEN, then you will absolutely love this masterpiece, which has it’s
absolute highlights during Missive Pursuits (prog song of the year!),
Coronation (STYX meets MYSTERY (Canada), with a cool Arabic keyboard vs guitar
dual solo towards the end) and Uncrowned. There is this lovely slightly
bombastic 70s AOR melodic touch to the material, which gives it that typical
classic 70s American sound, and I have to admit that from start to finish this
album sounds like a picture perfect record to me! Any prog or music fan need to
get this CD a.s.a.p.! Now if only they could come over and perform at the
legendary prog rock concert venue De Boerderij, just like countless other
similar bands did and still do, then it would definitely be a memorable
majestic night of EVERSHIP music live on stage! For now, check out more info
at: https://www.evership.com/
(Points: 9.2 out of 10)
BOOGIE BELGIQUE ‘MACHINE’ (BOOGIE BELGIQUE
RECORDS/PIAS/THE ORCHARD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
BOOGIE BELGIQUE is a Belgian band founded by producer
OSWALD CROMHEECKE in 2012. It started as a bedroom project, but turned out into
a full band that creates semi-instrumental music which combines elements of
electronic music and jazz, yet with an own original twist that even touches
1930s music here and there as a homage in a song like Wonder, while the rhythms
are quite funky and groovy in a hip-hop/dance style, yet when there are vocals
added in 1 song (Risk) by guest vocalist YASSIN JORIS), we get to hear an
incredible melodic soulful retro 70s groovy sound that reminds me a lot of
BLACK PUMAS. 12 songs are included on this internationally sounding album,
which is by the way already the 6th album of BOOGIE BELGIQUE. There’s a great
instrumental vibe going on here, but if they would add more of those soulful
vocals like during Risk, then it would be even more interesting, although I
need to inform that quite a few songs do feature some chorus KHRUANGBIN alike
vocals (for example the lovely Tales Of Old and the beautiful How Deep Is The
Ocean). A surprisingly strong original album to check out at: https://boogiebelgique.bandcamp.com/album/machine-2
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
KAMALA ‘LIMBO666’ (TONZONEN
RECORDS/SOULFOOD MUSIC/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
KAMALA is a band from Leipzig, Germany, and they were
formed back in 2016, releasing their debut Your Sugar in 2019 on TONZONEN
RECORDS. 3 years later follow-up Limbo666 is released on the same label. The
band consists of vocalist Christian Kämper, guitarist Eric Glatzel, bassist
Hannes Gernot, drummer Henry Mitko and guitarist Theo Rolfs, and their sound is
a mixture of lightweight post-punk, new wave and psychedelic rock. 9 songs are
included, and it all sounds quite nice and melodic, in a sorta British way. The
only complaint would be that the vocals are not always superstrong and it would
be nice to see more of a raw edge to the band’s safe uptempo almost poprock
orientated sound. It’s only their 2nd album, so I think future releases will
become even better, because you can read between the lines that KAMALA is
definitely an interesting band to check out if you’re especially into the
lighter post-punk/wave sound of INHALER. Check them out for yourself at: https://kamalapsych.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
GUILLAUME BARRAUD & MATHIEU BELIS
‘ESTAMPES’ (T B & B PRODUCTIONS/INOUIE DISTRIBUTION/VEEV.COM/FRANCE IMPORT)
Composers GUILLAUME BARRAUD (Bansuri flute) and
MATHIEU BELIS (Piano) joined forces and recorded an album entitled Estampes.
Although there is a guest appearance of guitarist KEVIN SEDDIKI, the music is
based around the 2 instruments and surprisingly it works and they manage to
come up with an interesting mixture of experimental jazz/fusion, pop and
traditional world music elements. The 13 included songs are quite challenging
and leave a lot of room for improvisations, so it never gets boring and you
stay focused while listening to these 2 excellent musicians. More info can be
found at: https://guillaumebarraud.com/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
SULTANA ‘UNI VERS ELLE’(TRILOGIE
HALEXANDER/INOUIE DISTRIBUTION/VEEV.COM/FRANCE IMPORT)
Uni Vers Elle is the 3rd album of author, composer,
singer SULTANA. She is assisted by a long list of musicians, such as Fernanda
Primo : guitar, Manuel Delgado : flamenco guitar, Romain Chenard : keyboards,
Désiré Nkouandou : percussion / drums / backing vocals, Barbara Felettig :
bass, Pepe : bass and several others. She has an amazing voice and her music is
a beautiful mix of French chanson, World Music and Spanish/Latin music. The
result is a fun and summer friendly album that has a lot of potential radio
hits, such as Comme Une Evidence, Uni Vers Elle and the wonderful catchy Maria
Zaina. SULTANA is a highly recommended singer/songwriter who brings together
different worlds on her new album. More info at: https://www.sultana.fr/
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
LAURENCE JONES 'DESTINATION UNKNOWN'
(MARSHALL RECORDS/KINDA/ITALY IMPORT)
30-year old Liverpool, UK born LAURENCE JONES returns
with a sensational new album titled Destination Unknown. I have followed him
throughout the past 10 years, and every new release he seems to be getting
better, and I think this new album is perhaps his finest. Recorded at the the Marshall
Studio in Milton Keynes and mastered at the Abbey Road Studios, the 10 included
songs are basically sounding picture-perfect. Besides Laurence on vocals and
guitar, we can also hear BENNETT HOLLAND (Hammond, Synth, Piano, Backing
Vocals), JACK ALEXANDER TIMMIS (Bass) and SAMUEL JENKINS (Drums, Percussion),
and without a doubt, Destination Unknown is Laurence's most accessible record
so far, because it has a clear Classic Rock/AOR/Melodic Rock touch, although it
still has the bluesy rocksound he is known for. Imagine a mix between JOURNEY,
KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD and JOE BONAMASSA, then you're quite close, although
Laurence has definitely created an own identity by now.
The album starts with the big time hardrockin'
Anywhere With Me that is built around a classic rocking guitar riff and a
groovy funky touch that almost feels like LENNY KRAVITZ. Next track Can't Keep
From Loving You is a clear early 80s inspired uptempo southern fried bluesy
melodic rocker that reminds me just a little bit of VAN ZANT, 38 SPECIAL, SAMMY
HAGAR and such in their early 80s days. Give Me That Feeling is a great groovy
rocking tune, while Gave It All Away is quite a change in style, as this song
is basically pure classic 80s uptempo AOR/Pomprock, and I must admit it sounds
really fantastic, especially due to the combination of an exciting
piano-keyboard/hammond, catchy hook and extremely strong AOR chorus straight
out of the classic book of bands like JOURNEY, TRILLION, TOUCH, etc, and of
course the soaring guitar solo absolutely confirms the whole AOR feeling! Tonight
is up next, and this is a nice strong early 90s kinda bluesy melodic rock
ballad that feels a bit like BLUE MURDER mixed with EVERY MOTHER'S NIGHTMARE.
Towards the end of the song Laurence stretches the song with his fantastic
bluesy guitar solo in a WALTER TROUT meets JOE BONAMASSA direction. I Won't Lie
Again is uptempo melodic rock again, and the funny thing is that suddenly I
realise that Laurence reminds me of JEAN BEAUVOIR during his CROWN OF THORNS
period, so fans of that band will definitely love this new LAURENCE JONES
record. Holding Back is a very nice melodic rockballad with once again a
fantastic soaring guitarsolo a la NEAL SCHON. In Too Deep has a really cool 80s
GARY MOORE Melodic Hardrocking guitar riff, and also the song is a lovely
uptempo melodic hardrocker that also reminds me a bit of Y & T! Said And
Done is back to the classic 80s AOR sound again, and basically this is another
super melodic catchy tune that sounds like a cross between HUGHES / THRALL,
JOURNEY, ROXUS and AIRRACE. The titletrack Destination Unknown closes the album
in a beautiful bluesy melodic rock ballad setting, once again a perfect
combination of a lovely melodic vocals driven AOR chorus and a soaring bluesy
guitarsolo like GARY MOORE meets NEAL SCHON.
Concluded, this new album of LAURENCE JONES is an
absolute winner that travels nicely between bluesy rock, classic rock and
melodic rock/AOR featuring great vocals and amazing guitarwork of Laurence. I
am very eager to catch him live soon! Meanwhile check him out at: https://www.laurencejonesmusic.com/
(Points: 9.1 out of 10)
JOSE RAMIREZ ‘MAJOR LEAGUE BLUES WITH THE
DELMARK ALL-STAR BAND FEATURING JIMMY JOHNSON’ (DELMARK RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
JOSE RAMIREZ is the first Latin Blues guitarist signed
to the American label DELMARK RECORDS, and Major League is his debut on the
label, although it’s 2nd solo albums release so far. He is only 34 years old,
but he has already established himself as one of the finest blues
guitarists/vocalists from South America. Jose comes originally out of Costa
Rica, and on this new CD he is joined by several legendary Chicago blues
musicians such as the 92-year-old JIMMY JOHNSON (sadly died earlier this year)
on guitar and 90-year-old BOB STRONGER on bass. Other featured musicians are
drummers WILLIE HAYES and ANTONIO REYES, Hammond organ player ROOSEVELT PURIFOY
(playing an original 1956 Hammond B3 Organ from CHESS RECORDS, now owned by
DELMARK RECORDS), guitarist BILLY FLYNN, bassist KENNY WATSON JR,
keyboardplayer ANDRE REYES JR, Latin percussionist EVAN HOFFMAN and vocalist
SHELLEY BONET. Together they create a wonderful authentic Chicago Blues
rocksound that truly captures that slow smoking hot steamy bar club approach.
The CD is split in 2 parts, because the first 4 songs are along with THE
DELMARK ALL-STAR BAND, while the remaining 6 songs were recorded with different
musicians at an other location than Delmark’s studios. I have to say that the
Delmark songs are closest to the authentic sound, but on the other hand my
personal favorite songs can be heard during the 2nd part of the album that do
reflect slight modern blues rock similarities (JOE BONAMASSA), with as absolute
highlights Whatever She Wants, Here In The Delta, and Are We Really Different
(including a nice Latin groove a la SANTANA). Besides 8 original self-written
songs, there are also 2 covers of the legendary Chicago Blues masters MAGIC SAM
and EDDIE TAYLOR. This album is definitely one to own if you call yourself a
blues rockfan! More info can be found at: http://joseramirezblues.com
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘PERU SELVATICO – SONIC
EXPEDITION INTO THE PERUVIAN AMAZON 1974-1978’ (ANALOG AFRICA/GERMAN IMPORT)
South America is a continent where music is a major
part of everyday life, but sadly over here in Europe we rarely hear original
traditional music from that part of the world. There is still so much to
discover, and thanks to a label like ANALOG AFRICA, there is now a wonderful
compilation CD with rare 1970s music recorded in Peru. It’s a true adventure
through the Peruvian landscape of the 1970s with a total of 18 short songs by a
total of 10 bands from Peru. The included music style is mostly an instrumental
mix of latin grooves, traditional Peruvian melodies and psychedelic rock in a
true authentic 1970s sound that easily makes you want to move and dance. The
songs are quite friendly, and here and there contain that typical late 60s/70s
psychedelic rocking surf guitar in a way it reminds me a bit of modern bands
like KHRUANGBIN and ALTIN GUN crossed with THE SHADOWS/TARANTINO alike music.
Highlights are coming from the bands LOS ZHEROS, LOS CISNES and RANIL Y SU
CONJUNTO TROPICAL, although each and every song is a recommended piece of music
history from a country where we hardly know anything musically speaking,
although I did review a great band called ALIADOS many decades ago! Most of the
recordings are very rare, and some of them appeared on vinyl 50 years ago, but
are extremely collectable, so this new compilation CD is a real treat! Check
out all info on this wonderful compilation record at: www.analogafrica.bandcamp.com
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
THIS HOUSE WE BUILT ‘THIS HOUSE WE
BUILT’ (INDEPENDENT/UK IMPORT)
Out of Yorkshire, UK comes the sensational new band
THIS HOUSE WE BUILT, whom are delivering a top-notch high class late 80s
sounding Arena Melodic Hardrockalbum in the shape of their same titled debut
album. They have a sound that both productionally and musically speaking is a
lovely mix of late 80s SKID ROW and FIREHOUSE, which can be heard right from
the start with the superb midtempo arena melodic hardrocker Fairweather Friend.
The band was formed in the middle of the first covid lockdown, and during the
following 2 years the band worked hard on getting this release done and now
they are performing all over the UK. THIS HOUSE WE BUILT is formed around SCOTT
WARDELL (vocals, guitars, percussion), ANDY JACKSON (vocals, guitars), OZ WARD
(drums, vocals) and WAYNE DOWKES-WHITE (bass), and as mentioned their sound
recalls the good old late 80s US hair days. Nobody’s Fool is a damn catchy
hookladen late 80s uptempo melodic rocker with all the ingredients needed to
keep the fans of bands like FIREHOUSE, DANGER DANGER, early BON JOVI,
SLAUGHTER, KNOW ILLUSION, PAUL LAINE and such entertained and dancing all
night. The somewhat more groovy and heavier Dead Man’s Shoes does touch SKID
ROW a bit again, but the sweet chorus has something WARRANT, NELSON or WINGER
could have done, although on the other hand LILLIAN AXE, TESLA and GREAT WHITE
and even ENUFF’Z’NUFF also come to mind towards the end of the song. We Are/We
Are is slightly more basic, with a groovy funky bass it has a real mid 90s
TALISMAN meets TESLA meets VICTORY kinda vibe. The lovely Fly Me Up The Moon
brings things in a semi melodic rock ballad direction, akin a lot to classic
FIREHOUSE actually. Following Walk The Line is a damn fine midtempo melodic
hardrock tune that again reminds me of the classic early FIREHOUSE sound. Up
next is There She Stands, a very nice semi melodic rocker that starts calm but
develops into a big time tune like BATON ROUGE. Back In The Ring is the
heaviest song on the album, while Old Haunts is a very calm piano-led pop
ballad. Closing track My Old Friend is a great midtempo melodic rocker with the
big rich sound of the late 80s again. All together this is a fantastic debut
album, which is a must-have for any well-respected melodic hardrock junkie out
there! Check out this sensational new band a.s.a.p. at: https://www.facebook.com/thishousewebuilt
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
OTIS ZOLA 'LEAVIN' BIRDS' (SIXTEENTIMES
MUSIC/SWITZERLAND IMPORT)
OTIS ZULA is a new Swiss band formed around
vocalist/guitarist PABLO JUCKER, bassist JOSE DAGO, drummer DOMINIK JUCKER,
keyboardplayer/vocalist SEBASTIAN SCHWARZ, guitarist DANIEL RABENSTEIN and
vocalist JULIA HERZOG. Together they recorded a wonderful debut album titled
Leavin' Birds that musically is soulful pop/rock in the style of BLACK PUMAS,
DE WOLFF, DAWN BROTHERS, MICHAEL KIWANUKA, VINTAGE TROUBLE, SVEN HAMMOND SOUL
and such. Pablo's vocals are absolutely wonderful and really captures an old
school 60s soul/R&B vibe like SAM COOKE, while the music moves in a similar
direction, yet with a slightly more rocking vibe in the style of the
afforementioned acts. A total of 9 tracks are included and from start to finish
this feels like a sensational album, and I'll bet live they will not
disappoint. The band is originally formed by members of the band THE DUES and
the JULIA HEART BAND, but with this OTIS ZULA they hit the right direction to
go internationally. A touch of southern rock a la LYNYRD SKYNYRD can also be
herad during a song like Million Miles, so basically this debut album of OTIS
ZULA is highly recommended to fans of BLACK PUMAS and DE WOLFF. More info at: www.otiszula.ch
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
TRISH
DISCORD 'VARIOUS ALBUMS' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
Out of New York City comes TRISH DISCORD, who is an
amazing singer and her music is a sorta calmer version of EVANESCENCE and
WITHIN TEMPTATION, also with some more hi-tech pop/rock influences. PARAMORE
meets NEW ORDER is a description I also saw, and you could more or less relate
to that as well. She was kind enough to sent me her 2 albums, of which The
Aftermath Of 2016 is her 2022 full-length album that opens with 23, which is a lovely
start and what follows are 9 more songs in the aforementioned described style,
with as other highlights Split, In Another Life and the catchy 80s inspired
uptempo Crashing. The only complaint would be that Trish also uses some
computer controlled autotune to her voice (and also a drummachine I believe),
which is a pity, because Trish is a great singer with a natural voice, so she
doesn't need that. It would be interesting if she would use a full band backing
her up and also that she would sing without any computer programmed tools, so I
guess live in one take would be the real deal here. The other album she sent is
a mini-album titled is This My Mental Breakdown? from 2020, which is not as
good as her new album, but already showing her talent, and also sounding more
natural during a catchy uptempo alternative melodic rocker like My Mind Is
Racing. Trish is a musician to keep our eyes open for in the future, especially
thanks to her strong voice and the melodies (and lyrics) she writes in her
songs. I am not sure, but I believe she does everything on her own, so that's
another big applause, although a real drummer next time would give her music a
more authentic sound. Check her out at: https://www.trishdiscord.com/
(Points: 7.5 out of 10)
VOODOO RAMBLE 'CAN'T WRITE A POP SONG
(WHEN YOU'VE GOT THE BLUES)' (THOROUGHBRED MUSIC LONDON RECORDS/CROATIA IMPORT)
VOODOO RAMBLE comes out of Croatia, and they create a
nice American orientated bluesy southern rock style that also leaves room for
other pop and rock influences (such as the cool 70s pomp synth solo during the
epic I Know It's You). The band is formed around
guitarist/singer/songwriter/producer ZAMBA, who started VOODOO RAMBLE back in
2010, and along the way bassist NINO and drummer MARIO joined him. Without a
doubt, this album Can't Write A Pop Song they created is a great piece of
music. IVANA GALIC appears as guest singer on 1 song, and she is a really
wonderful soul orientated vocalist, but Zamba himself is also able to sing very
well in a typical American southern fried soulful kinda way (just listen to the
excellent Too Bad For Heaven, Too Good For Hell and Man In Doubt. The music is
not that far removed from bands like LYNYRD SKYNYRD, BLACKBERRY SMOKE and
TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND, and I think live they will even sound better than here.
This album however is a great collection of self-written songs that capture the
true American soulful bluesy southern rocksound, yet done by a great trio from
Croatia! Highly recommended to fans of any of the mentioned bands. More info
at: https://www.voodooramble.com
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
TOEHIDER 'I HAVE LITTLE TO NO MEMORY OF
THESE MEMORIES' (BIRD'S RIBE RECORDS/MGM/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)TOEHIDER is an Australian project between
singer/multi-instrumentalist MIKE MILLS and graphic designer ANDREW SALTHMARSH,
and I Have Little To No Memory Of These Memories is their 5th full length album
so far. Mike did everything on his own, and I must say it sounds really amazing
from start to finish, sounding like a huge band or project, but as already
mentioned he did it almost all on his own. Andrew is responsible for the album
artwork, and if we have to describe TOEHIDER it is a pure epic progressive
rock/prog metal journey that is based around catchy Rock Opera melodies and
instrumental prog breaks. This new album is actually one long song that last 47
minutes and 47 seconds, and from start to finish it is a sensational ride where
the massive QUEEN/VALENTINE alike vocal harmonies and Progressive Rock/Metal
Opera breaks a la DREAM THEATER come together perfectly multiple times
throughout the song, and there is a lot more to discover because inside this
long song are actually separate songs that also show TOEHIDER’s love for
SAVATAGE, RUSH, TRIUMPH, BLACK SABBATH, DIO and such classic rock and metal,
while even a pure 80s instrumental VINCE DECOLA kinda Rocky 4 synthwave part is
featured, so a lot of diversity is going on here (like a trip down memory lane
of music history!). This is definitely a highly recommended album for sure, and
an enjoyable ride each and every second! More info at: www.toehider.com
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
NIX & THE NOTHINGS 'HERE GOES NOTHING'
(APOLLON RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
NIX & THE NOTHINGS is a band from Bergen, Norway,
and Here Goes Nothing is their debut album. The band consists of NICOLAI HERVIK
OLSEN (guitar, vocals, harmonica), JULIA FLO GALAASSEN (bass, vocals), ANDRI
SZARVAS (guitar, vocals), DANIEL ROGNES (farfisa, piano, percussion) and
TORGRIM NAMDAL (drums, percussion), and musically speaking we are heading
straight into classic 60s Garage Rock. 10 songs are included in total, and they
have a real raw dirty mean sound that sounds quite gritty due to the harsh
vocals and uptempo fuzz guitar/organ driven classic punky rock and roll
approach, kinda like classic THEM. Highlights are Caveyard, Why, All Night Long
and Movin On. Nice band with a strong debut that will be loved by fans of
classic 60s garage rock! Check out this band at: https://www.facebook.com/nixandthenothings/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
MICHEL FERNANDEZ QUARTET 'GLOBAL WARNING'
(ATYPEEK MUSIC/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Saxophonist/composer MICHEL FERNANDEZ is coming out of
France, and he recorded a great pure jazz album. He is also not shy to develop
an own style that takes influences of blues, Caribbean and Brazilian cultures.
However, Global Warning is definitely all about pure Jazz, which can be heard
during the 10 included songs on the album. If you’re a fan of the old school
Jazz like we know it from MILES DAVIS, CHET BAKER, ART BLAKEY and such, then
you urgently need to check out this sensational record. More info at: https://michel-fernandez-quartet.com
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
KING BUFFALO 'REGENERATOR' (STICKMAN RECORDS)
Formed in 2013, the Rochester, New York based band
KING BUFFALO has already released quite a lot of albums so far, and during the
corona period they even managed to record 3 new studio-albums, of which
Regenerator is the most recent one. The band is a real classic power rock trio
consisting of vocalist/guitarist Sean McVay, bassist Dan Reynolds, and drummer
Scott Donaldson. Their music is however revealing more than just classic rock,
because it is an interesting diverse cocktail of late 60s psychedelic rock
(HAWKWIND), 1970s classic rock/hardrock (BLACK SABBATH), a sparkle of early 80s
post-punk wave in the bass department (BAUHAUS and early THE CURE), some groovy
progrock influences in the drums (and keys) section and here and there fuzz dominated
stoner rock when the guitars are turned up, while vocally Sean has a prog kinda
relaxing clean voice like STEVEN WILSON. This all combined gives KING BUFFALO
an own identity, kinda like KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD and MOTORPSYCHO.
7 songs are included on this new album, and there is no single dull moment to
be found here, because each second of this record offers something exciting and
fresh, and I'll bet live these guys will absolutely deliver a top-notch show. I
am safe to say that if they will get their much deserved break, KING BUFFALO
might become one of the major acts in the world in the future to come. They
have a sound that will appeal to a wide variety of music fans, and a song like
the uptempo rocking Hours even has the potential to become a hitsingle, while
the ALICE IN CHAINS alike Avalon (with a symphonic keyboardsolo!) gives the
band another new face not heard during the first couple of songs. They rock for
sure, but also throw in influences of kraut, prog, post-punk and much more
other music genres, while never forgetting the melodies both vocally and
instrumentally. These are 3 musicians from New York whom are destined to become
a huge band in the near future. They work very hard and hopefully they will be
able to start touring over here in Europe, because Regenarator is one of the
most original and finest sounding albums of 2022! Check them out at: https://kingbuffalo.bandcamp.com/album/regenerator
and http://kingbuffalo.com/
(Points: 9.2 out of 10)
SAMAVAYO ‘PAYAN’ (NOISOLUTION RECORDS/EDEL
DISTRIBUTION/GERMAN IMPORT)
The German trio SAMAVAYO has been around for over 20
years now, and they managed to released quite a lot of records so far. Their
latest one is titled Payan, and thanks to a performance at Rockpalast I was
made aware of this strong band, because their sound is really huge, namely a
great combination of a Fuzz/Doom (BLACK SABBATH) and ALICE IN CHAINS, while
classic rock and 70s power rock influences can also be heard on this 7 songs
counting new album Payan, but there's much more to discover. The band consists
of Behrang Alavi (Vocals, Guitar), Andreas Voland (Bass, Vocals) and Stephan
Voland (Drums, Vocals), and opener Afghan Sky shows right from the start that
we are dealing with an amazing high class band that connects classic Doom Metal
and Stoner Rock with some unusual Arabic/World Music influences as well, and
this makes them standout far above the rest in the heavy doom/stoner genre.
BLACK SABBATH meets ORPHANAGE meets MOTORPSYCHO meets TOOL meets MYRATH might
be a good description, although the band definitely has built up an own sound
by now. The uptempo Shot Shot Shot Shot follows and this song has this huge
energetic sound that would make OZZY jealous! Althoug the music is quite heavy
and heavy stoner doom guitar riff orientated, the drum rhythms have this Arabic
touch (especially during the album's finest song, the sensational Payan), and both
vocally and instrumentally speaking it sounds extremely melodic and quite
catchy most of the time. There are guest appearances by members of acts like
ELDER, COOGANS BLUFF, GREENLEAD and even a cover of a popular Iranian pop
superstar (GOOGOOSH) is included, so I can easily highly recommend this album
to fans of real classic Hardrock/Metal in the most possible stoner/doom/BLACK
SABBATH direction you can think of, yet with an interesting Arabic touch
sometimes! More info can be found at: https://www.samavayo.com/ and https://samavayo.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
MUD MORGANFIELD ‘PORTRAIT’ (DELMARK
RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
In the music business being a son or daughter of a
famous musician/singer is not always a benefit, because you might get attention
very easily, the downside is that every single time you’re compared to your
parent(s). MUD MORGANFIELD is the oldest son of MUDDY WATERS, and likewise he
always stood in the spotlights as the son of the great late Muddy. Although Mud
already released several albums in the past, his new album Portrait is his
debut on the legendary DELMARK RECORDS label, and the 14 included songs are not
just MUDDY WATERS alike blues, because right from the start we get to hear a
rich soulful bluesy rocksound in the shape of Praise Him that also contains
Gospel influence, but of course here and there (Son Of The Seventh Son) we get
to hear the slow bluesy sound we know from his dad’s music. Anyway, Mud is in
contrast to his dad not a guitarist, but only sings and writes, although he
does also play some bass. It’s an enjoyable ride through the worlds of Chicago
Blues, Rock, Soul and Gospel/Motown, and besides a few covers, Mud wrote a lot
of the songs himself. He got help from a list of guest musicians, including
guitarists RICK KREHER, BILLY FLYNN, MIKE WHEELER, etc. It’s on the other hand
not a real new album, because only the first song was recently recorded, while
the remaining 13 tracks were all recorded back in 2011. Hopefully Mud will
record a full new album in the style of that 2021 song Praise Him, which showed
him at his very best. Meanwhile, check out more info at: www.delmark.com
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
DAVE WELD & THE IMPERIAL FLAMES
‘NIGHTWALK’ (DELMARK RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Guitarist/vocalist DAVE WELD comes out of Chicago and
he is a devoted musician of the classic Chicago Blues music sound. Together with
his band THE IMPERIAL FLAMES (Jeff Taylor (drums, vocals), Monica Myhre
(vocals, percussion), Harry YaSeen (piano, organ), Kenny Pickens (bass) and
Rogers Randle Jr. (alt- en baritonsax)), he recorded Nightwalk, which is the 5th album
they did together since starting in 1991. The resulting album is a groovy
rocking boogie-blues rockalbum that actually reminds me a bit of SEASICK STEVE
and BILLY F GIBBONS, which means it sounds very raw and authentic, with a
hard-hitting guitarsound and quite some uptempo rocking tunes. There are many
more guests appearing on the album by the way, and the 12 included songs are a
joy to listen to if you want to hear real authentic bluesy rock and roll.
Personal highlights would be Don’t Ever Change Your Ways (uptempo raw boogie
woogie blues rocker), Don’t Tell Mama (excellent vocals by Monica) and Cry,
Cry, Cry (once again excellent vocals by Monica). Definitely one of the blues
highlights of 2022! More info is available at: www.delmark.com
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
BOB STROGER & THE HEADCUTTERS ‘THAT’S
MY NAME’ (DELMARK RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Bassist/vocalist BOB STROGER is 90 years old and he has already appeared on 30 album releases of the DELMAR RECORDS label, but somehow That’s My name is his first solo album on the label. Together with the Brazilian band THE HEADCUTTERS, he recorded a strong Chicago Blues style album that sounds really impressive for someone who is only 10 years away from 1 century old! He wrote some of the songs himself, while others are covers. Done very well, this is an enjoyable old school Blues record. More info at: www.delmark.com
(Points: 7.9 out of 10)
DEMETRIA TAYLOR ‘DOIN’ WHAT I’M SUPPOSED
TO DO’ (DELMARK RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
DEMETRIA TAYLOR is the daughter of guitarist EDDIE
TAYLOR SR, who played in the band of JIMMY REED. Doin’ What I’m Supposed To Do
is Demetria’s 2nd album on DELMARK RECORDS, and the 12 included
songs are sung really well by her, while as musicians we can hear Billy Flynn
(guitar), Mike Wheeler (guitar), Deitra Farr (vocals), Carlos Showers (guitar),
Larry Williams (bass), Brian James (keyboards) and Melvin Carlisle (drums). The
music is a mix of blues, pop/rock and modern R&B, sounding really smooth
and quite melodic. Demetria has a great voice and her songs are definitely a
pleasure to listen to. There’s a great groovy, almost funky laid-back vibe to
the music that will even be of interest for fans of BLACK PUMAS, yet Demetria
is going most of the time for a slightly more relaxed bluesy approach. Usually
the female singers in the blues genre go for that powerhouse vocal approach,
but Demetria is singing really relaxed and laid-back, giving the music this
lovely smooth vibe that is very pleasant to listen to. More info at: www.delmark.com and https://demetriataylorblues.com/
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
SATIN ‘APPETITION’ (ART OF MELODY
MUSIC/BURNING MINDS MUSIC GROUP/ATOMIC STUFF PROMOTION/PLASTIC HEAD/ITALY
IMPORT)
Appetition is the 3rd album of
multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter SATIN, who is definitely focus on
bringing pure 80s AOR without any concessions. Opener Going Your Way is exactly
the kind of classic 80s uptempo AOR/Melodic Rock the way people want to hear
it, so that means hookladen melodic harmonyvocals chorus and soaring guitar
driven soft rock like we remember it from bands such as JOURNEY, SURVIVOR,
FOREIGNER, ASIA, AVIATOR, etc. etc. SATIN does a really good job here,
especially since he does everything on his own! 10 songs are included and what
sets them apart from the overproduced FRONTIERS RECORDS releases is the fact
that it sounds more authentic and also much more relaxed, such as can be heard
during the DARE/very early GARY HUGHES ish Angels Come, Angels Go. Other
highlights on this rather surprising strong new AOR/Melodic Rock album are the
uptempo pieces Waiting For Another Man and Jenny (I’m Bringing You Down), the
midtempo JOHN PARR/JOHN WAITE ish Still Waiting, and the extremely catchy
chorus of the lovely midtempo 80s ohrwurm Looking At You (kinda reminds me of
VINNIE KAY if anyone remembers him?). I was familiar with SATIN’s earlier
albums, but time passed by since the last one, which was released in 2017, so I
am safe to say that this is his best album so far! Recommended to fans of 80s
AOR/Melodic Rock in the best American style you can imagine! More info at: https://www.facebook.com/officialsatin
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
STREETLORE ‘STREETLORE’ (ART OF MELODY
MUSIC/BURNING MINDS MUSIC GROUP/ATOMIC STUFF PROMOTION/PLASTIC HEAD/ITALY
IMPORT)
STREETLORE is a new Italian band formed around LORENZO
NAVA (keys), ANDREW TRABELSI (guitars, keys), MATTEO SERRA (guitars), ANGELO
SASSO (bass) and LUCA FERRARESI (drums), while as special guests they have a
long list of vocalists that also include the legendary TERRY BROCK (STRANGEWAYS,
THE SIGN), DION BAYMAN and SUE WILLETTS (DANTE FOX), who all sing on 1 song,
while the rest of the songs is sung by mostly Italian vocalists of other
‘smaller’ Italian AOR/Melodic rockbands. In total 11 songs are included, and
the music is 80s inspired AOR/Melodic Rock. Opener Brothers is basically pure
80s BON JOVI/PHANTOM’S OPERA/DANGER DANGER/THE HEATish uptempo melodic rock,
but done quite well actually, and a must-have if you like this classic New
Jersey Hardrock sound of the 80s. The album follows more or less this style,
and of course it was predictable that the absolute highlights are the songs
with Terry, Dion and Sue on vocals. Crossroad is an incredible classic 80s AOR
rocker, Shadows And Lies is a great semi-AOR ballad and Gone is a sensational
midtempo melodic rocker in the best 80s Arena Rockstyle (PAUL LAINEish). These
are the songs that really make an impact, and if only they could have done the
vocals on all of the songs, then it would have been a masterpiece, because it’s
the singer not the song is what Jimi sung almost 40 years ago! Anyway, a nice
AOR/Melodic Rockalbum to check out at: www.burningmindsgroup.com
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
KRELL ‘DESERTS’ (SNEAKOUT RECORDS/BURNING
MINDS MUSIC GROUP/ATOMIC STUFF PROMOTION/PLASTIC HEAD/ITALY IMPORT)
Deserts is the debut album of the Italian band KRELL.
They are formed around Luca Bonzagni – Vocals, Paolo Caridi – Drums and
Francesco Di Nicola - Guitar, Bass, and despite all of them played in the legendary
band CRYING STEEL at some point in their career, they never played together in
that band. The music is quality melodic hard/heavy rock/metal that is quite
close to CRYING STEEL, yet with a slight modern approach to keep things fresh
and up-to-date, although of course the 80s influences are basically everywhere.
10 songs are included in total, and the album has a nice diversity in tempo,
midtempo, groovy and uptempo, and it rocks from start to finish in a really
pleasant way. All together a nice debut album, and you can check them out at: http://www.facebook.com/krellproject
EVEN FLOW ‘MEDITERRANEO’
(INDEPENDENT/ITALIAN IMPORT)
Mediterraneo is the 3rd EP CD of the Italian band EVEN
FLOW, a very decent melodic progressive/power metal band with a typical Italian
progmetal / vocal sound like we know it from bands such as TIME MACHINE, CIRCUS
MAXIMUS, DGM, LABYRINTH, ELDRITCH… It’s a mini-album, so only 5 songs are included,
but from start to finish the music is of a very high level. Although this
concerns an independent release, the sound and production is massive! The band
was formed about 25 years ago by the brothers PIETRO PAOLO LUNESU (guitars) and
GIORGIO LUNESU (drums), and along the way current vocalist MARCO PASTORINI and
bassist LUCA NEGRO joined them. So far they released 2 full-length albums,
played and recorded with quite a lot of well-known musicians/producers from the
prog/metal world, such as MARK ZONDER (FATES WARNING), MIKE LEPOND (SYMPHONY
X), JOOST VAN DEN BROEK (AFTER FOREVER), TOMMY HANSEN and many more. Now they
are completely on their own with this new EP CD that contains as already
mentioned high quality melodic progressive metal with a focus on melodies, both
vocally and instrumentally. DGM is a close call here and there (especially
during the fantastic Ray of Light), and also LABYRINTH comes to mind during the
chorus of the uptempo Revelation Day, while closing track Mediterraneo has a
slight bombastic symphonic metal (including Arabic melody) influence like
KAMELOT and MYRATH. EVEN FLOW is a band that should be bigger in the prog metal
world, because they are as good as the big boys in the league like DGM,
ANDROMEDA, PAGAN’S MIND, THRESHOLD and such. Check out this wonderful new EP CD
and more info on them at: www.facebook.com/bandevenflow
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
SOLITUDE WITHIN ‘WHEN KINGDOMS FALL’
(BOXFISH RECORDS/BELGIAN IMPORT)
When Kingdom Falls is the 2nd album of the Belgian
female fronted Symphonic Melodic Metal band SOLITUDE WITHIN, who were named
after the well-known EVERGREY song Solitude Within. Due to corona it took a
little longer, but eventually the band has now released the follow-up to their
debut Disappear. They were formed back in 2017, and the line up consists of
EMMELIE ARENTS (vocals, keys), FRE DELAEY (bass), HANS SARAZYN (drums),
JEAN-PAUL LAFFARGUE (guitar) and QUINCY VAN OVERMEIRE (guitar). Both the
beautiful artwork of the new album and the big sound/production is definitely a
big plus, and thankfully the music is also quite impressive. Emmelie has a
strong voice and the material is of a very high level. The band’s sound is
typical female fronted symphonic bombastic melody driven metal that is not far
removed from the well-known bands in the genre, such as AFTER FOREVER, WITHIN
TEMPTATION, EPICA, DELAIN, EVANESCENECE, NIGHTWISH, etc. etc. Although it all
reminds quite a lot of aforementioned bands, SOLITUDE WITHIN do it really well
and come up with beautiful melodies throughout this strong new album. 11 songs
are included in total, and from start to finish it’s an enjoyable adventure
that find it’s absolute highlights during the songs Further Away, When Kingdom
Falls, Astray and Land Of Disarray, but basically every song is a winner!
Without a doubt, this is a band to check out a.s.a.p. if you’re a fan of the
female fronted symphonic melodic metal genre, and it wouldn’t surprise me if
they have that lucky break with one of their songs to enter the national radio
stations, because some of the material is deadly catchy! Check them out at: www.solitudewithin.be
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
DRENALIZE ‘EDGE OF TOMORROW’
(INDEPENDENT/FRENCH IMPORT)
DRENALIZE is a French band, and Edge Of Tomorrow is
their 2nd album so far. Their music is 80s orientated Melodic Hardrock with
influences from DEF LEPPARD, WHITESNAKE and SCORPIONS, although a few modern
influences can also be traced (such as the slight growling towards the end of
the song Passage En Force). However, most of the time it’s like we stepped back
in time to the mid 1980s when there were a lot of French bands doing this kind
of melodic hardrock. I remember BRENNUS RECORDS releasing a lot of those 80s
albums on CD as well as new bands in the 90s doing this style, such as the
long-forgotten JANNYLEE and SWALLOWS, which were both great French bands. Now
in 2022 we have DRENALIZE, a band formed in 2013 around vocalist CHRIS VOLTAGE,
drummer ALEX GRICAR, guitarists JULIEN ANGEL BRUNO and MAX WAYNN, and bassist
RICK THUNDER. Opener Strangers In The Mirrors is a pretty catchy uptempo
melodic hardrock song in the classic SCORPIONS, while following No Miracle is
more midtempo orientated, but also has that SCORPIONS reference, which is
partly due to the fact that Chris reminds me a lot of KLAUS MEINE. Other
highlights are the melodic rockballad Thirty More Records (immediately this
song reminds me of that legendary French or Luxembourgian band FISC from the
1980s), and the catchy chorus driven uptempo melodic rockers Into Madness,
Something To Believe In (with a lovely soaring guitarsolo) and Edge Of
Tomorrow. Nice album, although for some perhaps sounding a bit dated and cliché
tingled, but it still is a great nostalgic trip down memory lane in the world
of 80s melodic hardrock. More info at: https://drenalize.bandcamp.com/album/edge-of-tomorrow
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
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