Here's another high quality band from Sweden. This band is called TOKEN and their debut CD has been released on MTM MUSIC. The band features former members of SCUDIERO, DAMNED NATION, FATAL SMILE and RADIOACTIVE, and the CD they will release very soon on MTM is one-helluva Classic AOR album (in the style of the first ALIEN classic, DAVINCI, 80s TREAT, FATE). The production, the songs, the hooks, the choruses, just about everything you wish to hear on a classy AOR record is present on TOKEN's album!

This band can easily be put next to other 'new' Scandi AOR heroes such as T'BELL, SAHARA, URBAN TALE, BLIND ALLEY, RADIOACTIVE… The whole CD is a highlight, so it's hard for me to pick my favourites out of the 12 included tracks on 'Tomorrowland'. The material ranges from midtempo to uptempo and in between there's space left for a few ballads.

To give you an idea of a few of the highlights (and the songtitles), I should add the songs "How does it feel" (great uptempo AOR), "Human" (superb midtempo AOR), "Eternally yours" (lovely huge AOR ballad), "Dark side of fate" (great midtempo AOR), "Wings of desire" (big uptempo melodic rocker, not unlike DREAMTIDE/FAIR WARNING) and "Last to know" (excellent big 80s AOR ballad) as my personal favourites, although the rest is almost as good as these tracks. So, TOKEN is yet another addition to the ever-growing list of new Scandi-AOR sensations, so buy this CD a.s.a.p.! Don't forget to check out the interview with TOKEN on the interviewspage!

Rating: 9/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

'The journey will never end' is the fifth CD of German melodic rockers JADED HEART. They started in the mid 90s with the release of their fantastic debut 'Inside out' on Long Island Records. In Japan they became big stars, and their albums sold very well over there. Now we are in the year 2002 and besides a first solo-CD, lead singer Michael Bormann also has a great new CD out with his band JADED HEART. The production is superb, but that's not a strange thing when you have a producer called TOMMY NEWTON (HELLOWEEN, SCORPIONS, VICTORY) available for your new CD. The new album of JADED HEART follows the same paths of the band's earlier records, although some new influences can also be noticed, such as the experimental rap-nu-metal in the song "We'll drag you down", but fortunately that's the only song that sounds not like JADED HEART, because the remaining 12 tracks are all winners for the JADED HEART fans and melodic (hard) rockfans in general.

Notable track is the BACKSTREET BOYS cover "Larger than life" that now sounds like a great uptempo melodic rocker! But the band is at their best on their own songs that are mostly midtempo orientated. My favourite tracks are "The journey will never end" (fantastic big midtempo melodic rocker, just classic JADED HEART), "On the rise" (strong semi melodic rockballad), "Only human" (lovely midtempo AOR ballad, very 80s, like BRYAN ADAMS, DEF LEPPARD…), "I'll be there" (midtempo melodic hardrock with a big chorus) and "Dangerous destiny" (catchy uptempo melodic rocker). Despite one mistake (the terrible song "We'll drag you down"), this new JADED HEART album totally rocks melodic all the way, so go grab yourself a copy of this excellent release!

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

This is the fifth CD of the Italian Fantasy Power Metal band RHAPSODY and I think also this new album will find it's way to the fans of the band. 'Power of the dragonflame' is again filled with melodic power metal that has a lot of 'classical' and 'medieval' influences as well, but not all songs are fast this time, because the band now also has a lot of diversity in their songs, such as the midtempo "The march of the swordmaster", the ballad "Lamento eroico" (Italian lyrics) and the 20-minutes counting closing track "Gargoyles angels of darkness" (a great epic progressive melodic metal piece). Still, the band is mainly focused on faster uptempo melodic power metal with as highlights the songs "Power of the dragonflame", "Agony is my name", "Steelgods of the last apocalypse" and "The pride of the tyant". So, this is yet another recommended piece for the fans of RHAPSODY and melodic power metal!

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

A few years ago I reviewed and interviewed TIMMY, a Californian Symphonic Pomprockband, and back then they announced there was a new CD in progress. Now we are in the year 2002 and TIMMY has released their new CD, which is titled 'The damn thing's still alive'. The new record sounds very good and is an improvement of the band's earlier releases. Especially the production is much better now. Musically we are again spoiled with classy keyboard orientated 80s AOR/Pomprock a la ARC ANGEL, ASIA, WHITE SISTER, RATHSKELLER, HOBBIT, THRILLS, so this is a very interesting release for fans of that lost genre. There are 10 tracks on the CD, and strangely enough the only weak song opens the album, namely the Bluesy AOR song "Don't cry" that reminds me of BAD COMPANY (like their early 1980s records).

Happily, the rest is very good and even quite sensational. Next track "Rumble" introduce excellent keyboardsounds not heard since the mid 1980s, while the song itself is a nice uptempo melodic rocker. The following 4 tracks are the real sensational tracks on offer here. First there is the great early 80s AOR/Pomprocker "No man's land" (like ARC ANGEL, LE ROUX), a song with a big sound and many lovely keys and synths (pure 80s). More impressive keyboardwork can be heard at the start of "Witchin' time", while the song is an excellent uptempo AOR/Pompous Melodic Rocker in the style of the very first WHITE SISTER classic and PROPHET's debut record. The high class AOR/Pomp continues on "Night scope", a midtempo Pomp-AOR piece that has a lovely catchy chorus and brings back memories of FORTUNE'85 and also HARLAN CAGE's debut.

Another sensational track is the uptempo AOR rocker "I 4an I (tooth 4a tooth)" that reminds me a lot of 1980s NIGHT RANGER (their classic period). "You've gotta have it" is together with opener "Don't cry" a let-down, as this is also a Bluesy rocksong and very much guitar based, and in general has nothing to do with the excellent keyboard orientated Pomp/AOR of the rest of the CD. Happily, "Partyin' angel" picks up the classy 80s AOR style again, as this is a great uptempo piece that sounds very much like SYNCH, DAKOTA and RATHSKELLER, and also features again classy keyboardwork in the best 80s tradition. Moving on with the semi melodic rocker "Change the channel". Closing track is the uptempo simpler Hardrock song "MPH". The best part of this CD are the tracks 3, 4, 5 and 6, that basically are all 4 pure classic 80s AOR/Pomprockers in the style of ARC ANGEL, WHITE SISTER and FORTUNE 1985. Some of the rest is slightly different, but with this CD TIMMY proves that they are definitely one of the better sounding US underground acts at the moment. More info at: http://www.rudolfmusic.com

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

The past 10 years I reviewed quite often demos and CD's of the Swedish Melodic Hardrockband BLACK ROSE. Well, it's now the year 2002 and I am glad to be able to review their latest CD, and finally, a label signed this great band. The German label SHARK RECORDS signed BLACK ROSE, and the result is this CD. Musically they still play high quality Melodic Hardrock. This new CD contains 16 tracks and is probably their best recording so far. The production is very good and most of the songs are very impressive. The best tracks are "Belong together" (great powerful melodic rocker with some prog influences, kinda like AT VANCE, PINK CREAM 69 and NARNIA), "Decisions" (great uptempo melodic rocker with a strong slower chorus, kinda like MILLENIUM and HAREM SCAREM, with MALMSTEEN type of guitarstyle), "Forever lost" (good melodic rockballad with some very nice AOR type of keys at the start), "Wild child" (great keys at start, the song itself is a fantastic uptempo AOR/Melodic Rocker like TEN meets ALIEN, very strong and maybe the best BLACK ROSE song ever recorded), "Lying eyes" (another great uptempo melodic rocker) and "Always tomorrow" (fun 80s orientated uptempo melodic rocker). This is definitely a nice comeback from a Swedish band that has been around for so many years now. More info at: http://way.to/blackrose

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

EMERALD is a Swiss band and they released their debut 'Rebels of our time' back in 1999. This album included some great melodic rocksongs such as "Forever free" and "I will remember" (both a bit like WHITE LION) and also some Power Metal tunes such as "Let the lightning strike" and "Independence" (very cheerful sing-a-long chorus). Everything already sounded pretty good back then and in the years to come the band worked on a follow-up. Now the new album has been finished and it is called 'Calling the knights'. Musically they still play a good mixture of melodic rock orientated songs and Power Metal tunes. The production has improved, the artwork is impressive and some of the songs even sound better than the ones on their debut.

The CD starts with a couple good progressive melodic hard rocksongs titled "Emerald knights" and "Unreasonable violence" (a bit Metal orientated). The following 3 songs ("Hard to be true", "Across the sea" and "Victims of society") are very good uptempo melodic rockers that sound a bit like URIAH HEEP. The best song has definitely got to be "You belong to me", a lovely AOR/Melodic Rockballad with a very nice piano/vocal intro. The song develops into a very impressive rockballad that even has got hit potency. The band rocks again on the fast uptempo Power Metal song "Shadowknight" with lyrics that should please all MANOWAR fans.

The final two tracks ("Medieval steel" and "Battlefield") are midtempo and very melodic. The CD
also contains 2 bonustracks taken from the band's wonderful first release ("Independence" and "I will remember", both also described at the start of this review). Although the band says they are playing Metal, I think there's enough to enjoy for the all-round melodic rockfan as well. Check out this band at: http://www.emerald.ch

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

'Live+' is the new CD of Swedish melodic rockers HOUSE OF SHAKIRA. It's not really a new CD, because as the title predicts, this is a live CD. 'Live+' contains 13 songs recorded on a warm summer night in June 2001. The sound and production is from a very high level, and of course, the musicians are playing their instruments very well, and above all, lead singer Andreas Eklund is doing an excellent job. The strong melodic hardrock of HOUSE OF SHAKIRA really sounds great live. Highlights are "In your head", "Nearly orgasmic", "Miracle" and "Method of madness", while also the JOURNEY covers "Stone in love" and "Separate ways" do sound perfect and come dangerously close to the originals. For more info on this Live CD, go to: http://www.house-of-shakira.nu

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

'Cruiser' is the title of the debut solo-CD of SHY lead singer TONY MILLS. The music style on Tony's first solo-CD is slightly different than the stuff he released with SHY, but this CD can still be described as a pure AOR/Melodic Rockalbum. I heard some clear similarities to classic 80s US AOR (JOURNEY, SURVIVOR, 38 SPECIAL). The production is very impressive, and so are most of the included 10 songs. The CD is actually quite sensational, with many highlights, such as opener "Only love knows shy" (strong melodic rocker) and "Keep the faith", a very strong great semi AOR song that reminds me of JOURNEY.

Or next track "As sure as the river runs" which is even better, as this is a superb classic AOR ballad that sounds like a cross between ALIAS and the Dennis DeYoung STYX ballads. This song is a very powerful and huge song that is as good as all those AOR ballads that topped the US charts back in the 1980s. Anyway, the CD continues with the calmer emotional semi-AOR-ballad "When two worlds collide", a clear SURVIVOR type of song. Things get rockin' again on the great classic 80s AOR tune "Walking away from love". "We've got the night" is the first track that reminds me of SHY, a nice uptempo AOR rocker. Then comes a nice semi-AOR ballad called "Hearts under fire".

Following this ballad is the uptempo AOR rocker "Into the unknown", a good song. A little weaker is the southern influenced AOR rocker "Dressed in music", a song that keeps reminding me of 38 SPECIAL when they weren't into AOR. Closing track "Don't look in the mirror much" is another favourite track of mine, as this is a great semi AOR ballad. So, basically this Z RECORDS release is very interesting, and not only a must for SHY fans, but also recommended to anyone who likes classy well-performed and produced AOR/Melodic Rock with an 80s twist!

Rating: 9/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Out of Virginia, USA comes the melodic metal band TWISTED TOWER DIRE, a band that already played at the World's biggest festival (Wacken Open Air in Germany), and 'The isle of hydra' is their second CD. I must say that this band really impressed me a lot, because they sound really fantastic. They mix up 80s US Power Metal and today's progressive power metal genre and make it sound super melodic at times. I couldn't find any weak song among the 8 included. The lead vocals are very good, and the sound quality is really huge.

Highlights on the CD are "The dagger's blade" (very strong uptempo melodic metal), "Ride the night" (best song, a superb uptempo melodic rocker with a very catchy chorus filled with hooks and harmonies in a way STRYPER once did in the early 1980s!), "The longing" (9 minutes of pure melodic metal) and the closing track "Dying breath" (very melodic acoustic ballad with a hidden track right behind it). At times, the band reminds me a lot of HAMMERFALL on songs like "Sign of the storm" and "Final stand", while also some clear IRON MAIDEN influences are
notable ("The isle of hydra"). The band takes all these influences and melt it into one exciting melodic metal sound, so go check out their site at: http://www.ttd.cjb.net and e-mail them at: twistedtower@earthlink.net

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

The new JADED HEART CD has just been released on MTM MUSIC, and at the same time, lead singer MICHAEL BORMANN also presents his first solo-CD on Z RECORDS. Musically though the two CDs are quite different, as JADED HEART is a real melodic hardrock release, while Michael's solo CD is more like a calm AOR/Ballad orientated piece. That doesn't mean this CD isn't interesting, because Michael has released a great CD that sounds like a cross between BRYAN ADAMS and FAIR WARNING. The CD has a stripped down sound (kinda like SAVANNAH and MELODICA did on their acoustic/ballad CDs), but still is very good and super melodic all the way.

Although you can't find any rockers here, still the included songs are all wonderful (semi) ballads. My favourite tracks are "Can't stop missing you", "How many times" (not the GUILD OF AGES penned tune by Michael), "The one I hate", "Children of the earth" and "Gotta have some fun". It's like, if you love one song, you will be hooked onto the whole CD, as this CD contains only quality (semi) AOR/Melodic Rockballads. Recommended if you like FAIR WARNING, BRYAN ADAMS and the ballads of JADED HEART and BONFIRE.

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Guitarist PAUL NELSON already has had his 15 minutes of fame a lot of times, because he played and recorded with many well-known acts (such as LIEGE LORD, EXTREME, STEELHEART, DIO, DOKKEN, KISS). More recently he played with his former band LIEGE LORD at the Wacken Open Air in Germany, in front of 35,000 people. Anyway, he has a new solo-CD out called 'Look', a decent relaxing instrumental guitar based blues/rock CD. The 5 songs included on the disc sound pretty good, with as highlights the songs "Diagonal blue", "Rocking chair" and "Out of nowhere". This CD is highly
recommended to anyone who likes instrumental rock. More info at: http://www.paulnelsonguitar.com and e-mail them at: Liegelord2@aol.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Out of Las Vegas comes KONA WIND, a hot new female fronted rockband. The band consists of lead singer Gina, guitarist Rene Gonzales, guitarist Shana Ann Golden, bassist Martin Thompson and drummer Robin Combs. The start of their debut CD is quite good, especially opener "Come into my world". This song is a great Sympho-AOR Ballad like HEART and LANA LANE. Next track "Ache" is a rather good Sympho Pomprocker with some strange 80s Synthesiser sounds, not unlike GROUNDSTAR ('Forced landing') and JET (does anyone remember those bands?). Anyway, unfortunately these are the only two songs that are really good, because the remaining 7 songs are just so and so… The semi melodic rockers "Fadin away", "What am I doing" and "Bite my neck" are nice, but not as good as those first two tunes. The bluesy "Would if I could" and "Halloween Blues" are nothing special, while the last two songs on the CD are acoustic tracks. I hope the band can put some more songs like those first 2 tracks on their next CD, because both "Come into my world" and "Ache" prove that KONA WIND could write a winner and make a very diverse record. Check them out for yourself at: http://www.konawind.net and e-mail them at: info@konawind.net

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

This is a very interesting band from Canada (and do not confuse this FATE with the fantastic same named Danish combo from the 80s), and their debut CD 'Time to move on' was released some time ago, but that doesn't matter, because the included music on that CD as well as on the promo CD (which is a promo CDR of songs to be included on the band's upcoming new album) are from a very high quality. Somehow, this FATE is making a mixture of 80s AOR/Pomprock, 90s Progressive Rock/Metal and some 70s Hardrock, making them sound quite unique. Sometimes you can clearly hear some RUSH influences on their debut CD, but I am pretty amazed how good this young band sounds (and not many young bands can say that!).

That first CD 'Time to move on' has many highlights, such as "Sixteen months" (great keyboardwork, nice melodic prog metal), "What will it take" (semi prog aor ballad with a very strong chorus), "Jacob the liar" (cool keys, straight-forward uptempo melodic progressive hardrock la RUSH) and closing track "A glance into eternity" (best song, starts as a very melodic rockballad, but then gets a twist into a huge progressive rocker with a big keyboardsound). Concluded, the debut CD of the Canadian FATE already showed that this is a very talented band. However, their upcoming CD will be even better, because the band also sent me a promo CD containing 5 new tracks. It seems the band has now a more mature sound that sounds really big, and is comparable to the big Euro Prog Metal bands like VANDENPLAS, THRESHOLD, MIND'S EYE…

Songs like "Between love and lies" (great melodic neo-prog metal a la VANDENPLAS, with a very strong chorus), "Tangled web" (uptempo prog metal) and "Transcendence - Standing on the edge of a dream" (nice keys at start, best song, a great uptempo progressive melodic rocker) show that we must keep our eyes open for this FATE. I hope I can review a new CD soon, in the meantime, go to their site at: http://www.fateband.com and e-mail them at: fates_triumph16@hotmail.com

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

This is a high quality progressive metal band from Brazil and of course the link to ANGRA can easily be made on some of the songs on the debut CD of VULGATA. There are 8 tracks on the album, and 7 of them are sung in their own language, in Portuguese that is, but it isn't disturbing at all. The production is also quite good, and if you're into bands like ANGRA, THRESHOLD, IVANHOE… then this VULGATA will definitely be interesting for you as well.

The best songs on VULGATA's debut CD are "La grimas de fogo" (AOR keys at start, good prog metal), "Portais" (melodic prog metal with lots of instrumental parts, but also very good vocals), "Cataclisma" (great uptempo melodic prog metal) and "Homens mortais" (best song, great melodic rocker). This VULGATA is yet another quality band from Brazil, so go check out their site at: www.vulgata.cjb.net and e-mail them at: vulgata@vulgata.zzn.com Their next album will be sung in English, while at the moment the band is preparing a song release for the CD of a well-known Brazilian Magazine.

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

SARGON is a band from Barcelona, Spain, and their CD 'The oath of akkad' contains very nice melodic metal (80s meets today's metal genre). I heard comparisons to PRETTY MAIDS, TIERRA SANTA and even RHAPSODY. The band sings in English, so no worries to those of you who don't like bands singing in the Spanish language (like TIERRA SANTA does). I have to admit that SARGON is a very impressive band, because all included 5 songs are really great. My favourites are "The legend of sargon", "Heaven falls down" and "Dragon's heart", all uptempo melodic metal pieces. Fans of mentioned bands should go to: http://www.sargon.es.vg and e-mail them at: oriol_nieto@hotmail.com

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Out of Ohio, USA comes BINDER, a band formed around the female lead singer Leanne Binder. She has released two CDs so far. The first one under the moniker of BINDER. This is the CD '2 drinks til midnite', an album that sounds like a late 70s female fronted rock record, in which Blues meets AOR, not unlike the ROSSINGTON COLLINS BAND, DIXON HOUSE BAND and NIGHT. Leanne has a very good voice, and some songs on the CD are quite good, such as "Never wanna lose you" (beautiful pure AOR ballad like HEART), "Take my heart" (very strong AOR, early 80s orientated), "Only a heartbeat away" (great AOR ballad) and "In your arms" (nice melodic poprocker). The remaining 6 tracks on that first BINDER CD are slightly more bluesier rocksongs, such as "Sweet Angeline", "Rock and roll soul" and "Carry me back", not bad songs at all, but sometimes a bit too bluesy approach for my taste, still a comparison to early HEART can be made at times.

Anyway, Leanne Binder also released a CD under her own name, together with THE STEEL CITY BLUES BAND. This CD contains 9 well-produced songs and is musically heavier and more Hardrock based than the BINDER CD, which is a good thing. This CD reminded me a bit of HEADPINS, ZIA LINDBERG, CHEETAH, SHAKIN' STREET, TANTRUM and even THE RUNAWAYS sometimes, so definitely more late 70s/early 80s pure Hard rock'n'roll. Highlights on the LEANNE BINDER solo CD are "Heartbreak" (early 80s melodic hardrock, with some very good guitarplay, song sounds like TANTRUM), "4 outta 5 men" (70s heavy rocker a la SHAKIN' STREET, RUNAWAYS, CHEETAH), "Simple song" (another good heavy rocker) and the remake of the BINDER song "Never wanna lose you" (remains to be a wonderful pure AOR ballad like 80s HEART). Not all songs are that good, because the groovy rockers "I don't wanna hear", "The answer" and the last two songs didn't make such a good impression on me.

Still, the 2 CDs show that BINDER has some good stuff on offer here. Recommended to fans of female fronted rock'n'roll (the old fashioned way!). More info at: http://www.binderocks.com and e-mail them at: Binderocks@aol.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Here's a band from San Diego, California, and they sent me a Demo CDR containing songs the band recorded throughout the years. Musically, GYPSY CHILD is playing melodic heavy rock in the late 80s/early 90s style, so raw and edgy but quite melodic at times, very much comparable to TESLA, LA GUNS, WARRANT… The best songs on the demo CDR are "Man in the mountain" (nice semi melodic rocker), "Mystery Jimmy" (good semi melodic rocker), "Hidden pictures" (nice AORish semi-ballad) and "One more night" (best song, great semi melodic rockballad, with some great harmonies, very much like the late 1980s, kinda like DAMN YANKEES). I can highly recommend GYPSY CHILD to anyone who likes their melodic rock'n'roll to sound groovy, raw and with an edge, kinda like TESLA, EVERY MOTHER'S NIGHTMARE, LA GUNS, WARRANT... More info at: www.mp3.com/gypsy_child and e-mail them at: ddial@san.rr.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

I haven't got any info on this band from Czech Republic, but I believe their CD 'Bigbit je v nas' is some sort of compilation CD with songs from the band's musical past, because included are 13 songs that were recorded between 1985 and 2000. Musically, PULS is playing pure 80s melodic metal like MAIDEN, PRETTY MAIDS, MAD MAX, DIVLE JAGODE… They sing in their own language, so it's not interesting to talk about the lyrics (as I don't understand a word of it), but the melodies in their songs are quite good, in fact the melodic metal of PULS sounds quite nice. The best songs are "Stapes si dal v mych snech" (great midtempo melodic rocker), "Klic k nahodam" (great melodic rockballad), "Zustavam rad" (another great ballad) and the uptempo melodic metal pieces "Bigbit je v nas" and "Maly vuz" (both like MAIDEN meets MAIDS). This is recommended to those of you into 80s melodic metal and don't mind that the band sings in the Czech language. For more info, e-mail them at: kratomi@seznam.cz

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

This is a band out of Texas, but they definitely don't play the typical Hardrock you would expect from a band out of that American State. No, this DEADWOOD FOREST is a playing late 60s/early 70s style of calmer experimental progressive rock like YES, PROCOL HARUM and PINK FLOYD did back then. It's really something else than the usual progressive rock, and actually they have an own style. To understand this type of music, you need to sit down and take a moment, and listen over and over again, and then after playing the CD a couple of times, you know what DEADWOOD FOREST is really meaning with their music.

This CD is definitely not recommended to people who just want to rock and don't look back, but on the other hand, I can give it a big recommendation to those of you who want to hear something totally different. Songs like "The pioneer", "King of the skies" (early 70s YES), "Dry" and "The ultraviolence" show that DEADWOOD FOREST is doing something very interesting. DEADWOOD FOREST's music will appeal to fans of early 70s YES, PROCOL HARUM and of course, PINK FLOYD. More info on them at: http://www.dwfmusic.net and e-mail them at: shroom@trinicom.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

The Californian band SAUCY JACK was discussed a long time ago over here, but now there's a new CD from these rockers. 'Mime is money' is a decent poprockalbum that melts influences from all decades all together in one particular style. The band is at their best during the uptempo melodic poprockers "Tell me you love me" (good harmonies, pure early 80s RICK SPRINGFIELD), "Harvest of souls" (slightly rockier) and "She wants it all" (quite catchy, pure 80s, like THE OUTFIELD). The slower songs are showing a different side of the band, such as on the bluesy "Steel strings" or the Alternative orientated ballads "Implosion", "Life goes on" and "Bubs". I still think the rockier tunes capture SAUCY JACK's best moments, making them sound like some sort of refreshed 70s/80s retro melodic poprockband. Check out their website at: http://www.saucyjack.net and e-mail them at: SaucyJK@aol.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

VALHALLA is a band out of North Dakota, USA and their CD 'Keeper of the flame' is very good. The band is playing a mixture of 80s US Melodic Power Metal and today's style of Progressive Metal. The CD has a high quality sound and production, and some of the songs are very good. The first 3 songs ("Magic begins", "Resine" and "Organised crime") are songs that could easily be on a classic 80s US Power Metal release (BURNING STARR, VIRGIN STEELE, RIOT), very good songs and still melodic enough to the non-metal fans. My favourite tracks though are the progressive metal songs "Through the darkness" and "Fool" (both sounding like THRESHOLD) and the AOR(!!!)/Melodic Rockballads "She lies awake" and "Hope you know".

So, in the end, the band sounds very diverse, making them interesting to fans of both progressive and power metal, but even an AOR fan will like a few songs (the two ballads). Go check out this quality band from North Dakota at: www.mp3.com/valhalla2 On that site people can listen to 3 of their songs, while the CD is sold through www.cdbaby.com , where you can also check out 4 songs. E-mail them at: destinyenterprises@hotmail.com

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Out of North Carolina, USA comes SOUL ANGEL, a rather interesting band that is mixing Blues with AOR/Melodic Rock, ending up sounding like a British bluesy hard rock affair, not unlike BAD COMPANY, WHITESNAKE and late FM. Macgowen Avent is the band's lead singer and he has a very emotional voice, somewhere a cross between Steve Overland (FM), Paul Rodgers (BAD COMPANY) and Glenn Hughes. Their debut CD has a very good sound quality, and the band sometimes really has an own identity which makes them sort of unique, although towards the end, things get a bit too bluesy, but in general, this is a very good album that mainly grabs back to a 70s rockstyle, yet with a slight 80s AOR approach.

My favourite tracks can be found at the beginning of the CD, with such tracks like "Longshot" (slow bluesy AOR a la late FM/BAD COMPANY, with some very nice keyboardwork), "Run and hide" (nice bluesy semi AOR/Melodic Rockballad), "All a man needs" (pretty good midtempo AOR/Melodic Rock, bit like BAD ENGLISH and ATLANTIC), "Too close to the fire" (uptempo melodic poprocker), "Stand my ground" (semi ballad) and "If I could" (good semi AOR ballad, again a bit like BAD ENGLISH, yet less polished). So, basically this SOUL ANGEL is an interesting band for fans of classic Bluesy Hardrock (BAD COMPANY, late FM, WHITESNAKE), but also fans of BALTIMOORE and DREAM POLICE might like this, and even the AOR fan might find something he/she likes on this rather impressive CD. More info can be found at: http://www.soulangel.net and e-mail them at: info@soulangel.com or shadrack55@aol.com

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

I don't understand much of the title of the CD, but what I do know is that 1853 is a band from Sao Paolo, Brazil and they play plain Hardrock. It sounds very 80s to me, and reminds me of HELIX, yet with Portuguese lyrics. There are 13 tracks on the CD, and some are quite nice, but there's also some weaker stuff. The best songs are the uptempo melodic rockers "Dr. Rock'n'roll", "Supersticoes", "Futebol", "Pra la de Baghdad" and the instrumental "Ovo podre". These are all very nice songs, and I also need to add the midtempo AOR ballad "Rockdelia", which is maybe the best track on the whole CD, a very impressive song! On the other hand, there's also some weaker (groovier) material on the CD, such as "Eros perfeito", "Sereia", "Sem nome" and "O que esta fazendo". So, 1853 is a nice rockband, and you can check them out at: http://www.1853.net and e-mail them at: contato@1853.net

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Do not confuse this SEVEN WISHES with the same named German melodic rockband 7 WISHES or the band SEVEN WISHES currently signed with Z RECORDS. That's the first sentence I need to add in this review, because it might be a little confusing with all those SEVEN WISHES named bands, but this band is coming out of Karlsruhe, Germany and they have been playing for over 12 years now. 'The best of…' is a nice collection of songs the band wrote between 1988 and now, and for this best of CD they re-recorded everything. As I don't have any info, I can't tell if SEVEN WISHES released more albums, and this best of album might be considered as their first album, but one way or the other, SEVEN WISHES is playing very good melodic hardrock.

Not all songs are convincing, because "Keep on movin", "Round and round", "The way I am", "It's alright", "No tomorrow", "Only the dead will survive", "Number ten" and "Seven wishes" are all just plain hardrocksongs that sound like KISS with Gene Simmons on vocals, so nothing that sensational. On the other hand, the band sounds very impressive on songs like "Stand by my side" (good melodic rocker like WHITE LION, early WINGER), "Nobody" (very strong midtempo melodic rocker a la BONFIRE), "Halfway there" (another midtempo rocker), "Let your love shine on" (another very strong midtempo melodic rocker a la BONFIRE) and "Seven wishes" (best song, a catchy uptempo melodic rocker with a very good chorus). So, this is the third band called SEVEN WISHES and again a very good melodic rockin' band. Recommended to fans of BONFIRE, WHITE LION, DOKKEN, WINGER… More info at: http://www.sevenwishes.de and e-mail them at: alex7mueller@web.de

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Out of Minneapolis comes TOROK, one of many US rockbands that started in the local scene and now 'scored' a deal with a decent recordlabel. Their label is the well-known quality Prog/Metal label NIGHMARE RECORDS. The debut CD of TOROK is entitled 'Binge and purge' and in contrary what people might expect, this band is playing a groovy melodic heavy rockstyle that grabs back to the early 1990s (kinda like EVERY MOTHER'S NIGHTMARE and SKID ROW). Although I must add here that I think most songs are just nice, there is definitely some good quality music on this disc. The best songs are "Useless war" (late 80s melodic hardrock groove like WINGER meets EVERY MOTHER'S NIGHTMARE), "Free" (best song, slightly progressive metal, 8 minutes playing length as well) and closing track "Wings of a butterfly" (nice semi melodic rocker). I think this CD will be quite interesting if you're into any of the mentioned 'groovy' heavy rockacts.

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

A few months ago I reviewed the demo CDR of this band from Salt Lake City (the Olympic city where we Dutch people again showed last month that the Speed Skating event is still our pride!). Well, now KATAGORY 5 has signed with NIGHTMARE RECORDS, and they have released their first full-length CD. The CD is quite excellent, a mixture of pure 80s US Power Metal and Melodic Progressive Metal. Highlights on 'Present day' are "The call of midnight" (80s US Power Prog Metal like early QUEENSRYCHE), "The beginning of our end" (great melodic prog metal like FATES WARNING), "Morning light" (best song, a great semi progressive melodic rock ballad, a bit polished but with a very strong melodic chorus), "The forsaken" (great progressive melodic rocker with again a strong chorus) and "Present day" (great melodic prog metal). So, this is yet another highly recommended US Progressive Metal band!

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Out of Honduras comes EL PEZ, and their CD 'Peces electricos' is filled with poppy progressive rock. Sometimes it sounds a bit too calm, but the instruments are played well. Even the vocals are quite good, such as on the relaxing calm melodic ballad "El rojo y el azul", one of the highlights on the disc. However I had rather heard more rockers like the instrumental progrockers "Peces electricos" and "Calabozo para un rey". The best song on the whole CD is the progressive melodic rockballad "Propuesta de paz". The songs 3 until 8 are just too poppy and are not really uplifting, the band needs to add more rockers and some catchier tunes, because now there are a few standout tracks, and despite a few nice tracks, the real winners can not be found. However, this is a nice start for a band from Honduras, the first one I ever heard from that country. E-mail them at: dositeo@yahoo.com

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

This is a Canadian band, and they sent me an independent CD that features a guest performance by BRIAN VOLLMER from Canadian Rock legends HELIX. ANIMATE is playing a mixture of 90s type of heavy rock/metal and progressive melodic rock, although I'm afraid the band is leaning too much towards today's heavy rock genre, which can be heard on songs like "Living with…", "Negative" and "Deceiving myself". The band is at their best on the songs "Crosshairs" (progressive melodic heavy rocker, good guitarplay) and the DEEP PURPLE cover "Highway star". This cover shows that the band can play good uptempo classy hardrock, so let's hope they can make more own songs in this style next time, because the groovy and 90s type of heavy rockers which are now on their CD included are nothing that special. More info at: www.alpachyderm.com

Rating: 6,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

MISSIN 3RD GEAR is a typical Independent/Demo US Rockband. They come out of North Carolina, and their CD is available through mp3.com. The production may not be terrific, but I really like some of the songs of this typical US Rockband. They mix up all kinds of influences into their hard rockin' music. There's some Bluesy Hardrock in songs like "Come on", "Take it" and "Feeling crazy", all 3 reminding me of 70s BAD COMPANY. A little bit less interesting are the Country influences in "I can't hear you cry". Songs like "Looking for you" and "Moonlight" are both surprises, as they both are good early 80s orientated melodic radio/poprockers like TOMMY TUTONE, EDDIE MONEY and JOHN COUGAR in his early years. The best songs however are the melodic rockballad "Angel" and the semi melodic rockballad "Crybaby" (nice guitarsolo as well). So you see, this is a nice typical independent band from the USA, with its ups and downs on their CD. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.mp3.com/Missin_3rd_Gear

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

TWISTED TOYZ are a band from the North of Germany, and Oliver Phillips (of EVERON) produced their latest CD 'Fragments of a distant thunder'. The frontcover looks very familiar, as I do remember that the fantastic Neo-prog band LANDMARQ used the same cover painting for one of their albums. Nevertheless, TWISTED TOYZ has nothing to do with progressive rock, as they play typical 80s German melodic hardrock/metal a la PINK CREAM 69, VICTORY, RESTLESS, NO TROUBLE, STORMWITCH… The sound is very good, and some of the songs are quite catchy, but still the German accent and the simple structure may not interest everyone.

One of the strongest songs on the album is opener "Wings of tomorrow", an uptempo melodic heavy rocker with a very catchy chorus. Unfortunately the rest of the album is not that good, but still highly recommended if you like typical German Heavy Metal. Songs like "Distant thunder", "Carpe noctem", "Heading for the starlight" and the covers "Another brick in the wall" (PINK FLOYD) and "The traveller" (CHRIS REA) are simple but effective uptempo hard rock pieces like RESTLESS, ACCEPT, VICTORY… I had rather heard some more melodic stuff, like the opening track and "Shadowlands" (great melodic chorus, semi progressive melodic rocker a la PC'69). Check out the band for yourself at: http://www.twistedtoyz.de and e-mail them at: vollhart@t-online.de

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

DALTONIA is a band out of Chile and they sent me their debut CD. The album has a very good sound and production, while musically they play instrumental progressive rock. It's not completely instrumental, because the band uses in most songs a spoken word vocal, so no real vocals, but more speaking out some sort of poem, because that's where they got their influence from. Anyway, the best songs are the pure Neo-prog tunes "Es hora?" and "Kine we mapu ta ni yalalun", with some interesting
keyboardwork. Fans of instrumental progressive rock (with spoken word lead vocals) will enjoy this a lot, although I hope the band can also include some songs with real lead vocals next time. Anyway, it's a quality band that you can check out at: http://www.daltonia.es and e-mail them at: mayor@itn.cl.cel

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Fans of funk rock and melodic indy metal a'la Electric Boys crossed with Alice In Chains with hints of Pearl Jam and U2 may want to check this out from US based band Big Al And The Kaholics. Check out the rather stirring 'You Choose' with it's Pearl Jam meets U2 style harmonies,,through to sexy numbers like 'Hot Carl' which features the rather gracious sound of a woman orgasming, and that all the track is.
Things move into more indy flavoured sub pop during the hugely catchy 'Nudey Bar' which reminds me of one or two other bands, oh boy is this song great. I can just imagine Aerosmith making a meal out of this song and really funking it up. 'Behind Closed Doors' is also a good song bearing U2 with oooo 101 other bands. Overall the album is varied and well performed and fans of the aforementioned bands may enjoy this little shit kicker. www.kaholics.com

Rating: 4/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

Frontman Claude Dubé used to front a band called London from Hollywood in the early eighties. He then hooked up with producer Ron Payne (Dokken), fine tuning his production skills before forming the Dubay Band in the mid eighties. The first song on this album is called ''Spirtual Quest' which is a fantastic song with equisite soaring vocals and harmonies, the listener is treated to nine more magical songs in this vein which crosses paths with AOR and pop/rock a'la Journey, Gowan, Urgent, Glen Burtnick, Richard Marx etc.. 'Peaceful Warrior', 'Calling You Up' and 'Elevator Man' all continue in this vein whilst the ballad 'Alone' stirs up plenty of emotion and the instrumental 'Earth School' sounds like Dare without the vocals and produces plenty of atmosphere to keep guitar fans happy. Sometimes acoustic, sometimes electric but always the songs are performed with class and skill which makes for an enjoyable album that is extremley well put together. www.dubayband.com

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

Aaaaaaaahh yes the return of one of my all time favourite independent bands. US rockers World's Apart never fail to amaze me with their gigantic blend of hard melodic rock that is very much in the vein of Firehouse thanks mainly to lead singer Jay Davids who is a dead ringer for CJ Snare and also Mitch Malloy. This is their third CD and they keep getting stronger and stronger, if you want big melodic rock check out opener 'Day Job', the chorus hooks itself into you and has a similar vibe to Firehouse's 'Mama Didn't Raise No Fool' and 'Overnight Sensation', a great song with some really tasty licks from guitarist Jason Granucci.

What amazes me more than anything is how come nobody has singed these guys yet? Come on Frontiers, Z Records and MTM, you have an album here of superb production quality and the artwork sleeve is of label standard, very glossy and attractive and they look like a rock band and they have the songs, what more could you want?. Check out 'Never Get It Back' which shows the bands style maturing blending melodic rock with nu breed rock, just listen to those huge Mitch Malloy style vocals, I cant get this song out of my head, brilliant song.'On An On' has an It's Live/Dan Reed Network/Bon Jovi strutting vibe, whilst ''Cover My Eyes' again shows the bands maturer side and is a simple and effective melodic pop/rocker.

Check out the rather interesting guitar intro on 'Wrong Decision', no widdly mayhem here, instead a refrained piece that comes at you like Firehouse, those vocals, oh my god just listen to Jay hit those high notes. 'Fallin' is also quite interesting because it starts as if its going to plunge into an alternative style tune, luckily though this is a catchy melodic number with a great chorus. The guitars then start to burn on 'Freedom', 'Say A Prayer', 'Diamond', 'My Time' and 'Mine' which are all killer songs which left me singing the choruses for days, Firehouse/Bon Jovi eat yer hearts out!!!

'Man' is also really good and very catchy again a'la Firehouse and Mitch Malloy, in fact the riff could be right off Malloy's 'Anything At All', magic stuff, whilst 'Card Houses' again reminds me of Mitch Malloy and final cut 'Bing Bang Bong' has it's foot firmly in the rock mould thus the album as a whole is a perfect balance of catchy melodic rock songs topped with a great production. World's Apart are the real deal and if your not convinced then check out their reviews on their homepage www.worldsapart.com

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

Seven 13 are a US based band who mix together prog rock with melodic rock. 'Out Of Control' is a totally superb piece of melodic rock, Justin Ballad rips a guitar storm whilst Kenneth Michael's vocals are dark and melodic, remonds me of Phil Vincent a very powerful song with gentle keys from Amanda Adams. What I like about the bands sound is that it is often quite elegant, I thoroughly loved 'Haunted' which is my favourite track, check out the piano parts which are beautiful, the song itselelf has a simialr vibe to Harem Scarem's 'Blue' and is just compeltely stunning and also reminds me of Robbie Valentine., beautiful, operatic pure genius.

Showing more similarites to Robbie Valentine is the excellent 'Don't You Wish' and 'Outcasts', the lyrics on the latter are really interesting, there is literally so much talent pouring thrrough this band that it sickens me as why they remain unsigned. Momemts of this album even lean toward the same progressive style as Spock's Beard, and it's Amanda's totally enthralling piano work that inspires this album. Another superb song is 'Whenever You Close Ypur Eyes' which is heavier again like Harem Scarem and even Metallica, this is another of my favourites. Check out the ballad 'Venus' and the very catchy 'If You Want Me' and 'Dianne' which is stunning.Overall this is nothing short of brilliance, a very pure thought provoking albuma dn a band to watch out for in the future. check them out @ www.seven13band.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

As soon as the first song breaks in the first thing that come to my mind is Motley Crue jamming with Ratt, Arcade, ZZ Top and Deep Purple. 'Ready To Fight' is the first song and reminds me of Arcade's 'Dancing With The Angels' and possessives a nasty guitar part built around Stephen Pearcy/Vince Neil style vocals from singer Captain Joe Kirk. Well I have to say that this starship from US rockers Dog Leg Preacheis a pretty solid hard rock affair, tons of razor shape bluesy riffs which even bring early Whitesnake to mind at times. I kinda dug the next track which is called 'Long Gone' which is very solid and comes across again in a similar vein as Motley Crue and Mr.Big with tons of slamming bass riffs and chunky guitar work from Albert Fish and Razzmus T.Brown.

This is an independent recording so you don't get a perfect sound quality, the feel is very raw and the band sound as if they had a whole lot of fun recoring these songs, it certainly feels as if their hearts are in it. There's a whole lot of references that you can spot throughout this thirteen track demo, from Sammy Hagar style rockers to ZZ Top and Mr.Big/Burning Rain style rockers, through to Aerosmith style boogie swaggers it's all here. Just imagine how this would sound polished and mastered up. Mr.Big get a look in on 'Hang Me', this is such a catchy song, were really cooking on this one baby, just listen to those sharp blues riffs.

I like the fact that the guitar work dominates the records, but it's not your widely diddely style guitar work, no sir Razzmus' playing is straight from the classic rock book, a'la Ronnie Montrose, Ted Nugent etc.. The band appeal to AOR fans to as the song 'Rain' is another favourite track which even reminds me of Heartland crossed with Mr.Big and is a shit hot AOR/melodic rock track with the only let down being in the production ranks, but rest assured the band are hugely talented and the songs just flow with an easy feel. From the excellent 'Weapon With Legs', the jazzy jangely pompy 'Love Is Gone', the completely awesome attack of 'Troible Coming' (Plant and Coverdale eat yer heart out), the boozy 'Hot Summer Nights' and the guitar drilled 'Dark Angel' again and again this band prove there worth and deliver great catchy songs which I'm totally loving to death.

Where they go from here I don't know, I sure hope that they can clean up the sound and get these songs properly released, so labels listen up, check out Dog Leg Preacher, they bark up all the right rock n roll trees and you know they'll be faithful for you!! Excellent stuff. www.screamingskunk.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)