Aussie melodic rock legends Noiseworks are back with a reunion tour and a ‘new’ album that was recorded several years back but shelved for various reasons. Most notably the cancer battle of guitarist Stuart Fraser, which would eventually claim his life.
So this album and tour is a tribute to him – with Southern Sons’ Jack Jones filling in for the live dates.
The official fourth and likely final Noiseworks album is a mix of classic and modern, with the band reliving its trademark sound from the first two albums in places, but then also delving into the heavier, groovier feel of the lesser liked third album.
The mix works pretty well here, but the standout songs are clearly the ones that lean towards the classic/melodic side. The opener Heart & Soul is among the band’s best tracks – a great feel good anthem.
Amerika is another highlight – a song which is quite literally half classic (the chorus) and half modern and heavier (the verses).
Elsewhere the ballad Long Way delivers a nice sentiment, the decade old Sunshine sounds better today than it did when originally released as a single and Low is a modern moody rocker with a killer vocal from the always amazing Jon Stevens. One In A Million picks up the pace with another good hook before delving back into the album’s familiar mid-tempo groove on Let It Go.
Unfortunately the album is over too soon, and closes on a low note, as the acoustic ballad Ocean Girl isn’t as strong as the rest of the material and the 50 second Touch (Epitaph) isn’t long enough to go anywhere.
All in all, take 34 minutes minus the last two tracks, you get 28 minutes of high quality modern melodic rock, excellently produced and performed by some of Australia’s best musicians.
A great long EP, or a little short for an album.
To add to the conversation, the physical CD packaging is a disgrace – a thin cardboard gatefold with no booklet, no lyrics, little info and bad album cover art. Not much effort has been put into this aspect.
Once you get past the absolutely horrendous “drum” sound and the somewhat muddy mix, the new House Of Lords (or on this occasion, House Of Spiro), offers some of the band’s best tunes in several years.
A production budget would have raised the quality of this record to sit alongside some of my favourite HOL records. I love the return to a more interesting musical landscape, a touch progressive even, much like parts of Sahara and Demon’s Down.
The overall energy is similar to Demon’s Down too. But this is a different band again. As suggested earlier, the biggest influence and difference here is the genius of Mark Spiro. He has co-written most of the album, with his influence so strong there are at least 3, maybe 4 songs that are more Spiro than HOL. He is simply all over this record and his vocals can be heard on most tracks. In fact, he could feel unjustly denied a duet credits on We’re All That We Got and Better Off Broken.
His influence over Change (What's it Gonna Take) delivers one of my favourite House Of Lords songs in years, The Both Of Us also impresses.
The guys lose the plot a little towards the end, $5 Bucks Of Gasoline is about as catchy as it sounds and The Chase goes nowhere.
Overall, despite that drum sound and the overall missing production elements, this is a very enjoyable record and their best in a few years. Spiro and James Christian have delivered some great songs for the most part and most of the record runs very smoothly.
Much hype for this debut album from this Los Angeles based melodic rock band, touted as a modern equivalent to the Big 3 (Foreigner, Styx and Journey). And despite the obvious shortcomings in the album’s production quality, the opening anthem ‘Until The Dawn’ certainly gets your attention.
Unfortunately, that’s clearly the album’s best track. The guys have talent and the singer has a sure set of lungs on him, but when the album is dominated by ballads (a couple of very good ones) and the rockers fall short, the song consistency comes to light and the production issue becomes something that can’t be ignored.
I compare this more to Two Fires – a band with huge potential and great performers – who couldn’t get all elements to come together for that killer album.
There is a sense of comfort when diving into a new NEWMAN album. Much like Ten, Vega (to name just two), you know exactly what you are going to get, and Steve Newman never disappoints. With a history dating back to his debut in 1997 that stretches over 2 decades and 15 releases, you are always going to have albums that fans rate more highly than others and differing opinions of just which those albums are.
But one thing you cannot deny is that NEWMAN delivers something great on every record. And of course, ‘Ignition’ is no exception. There a few twists in the tail, the electro-Def Leppard-groove of the title track is certainly one, but mostly this is just classic Newman.
Another collection of strong, classic melodic rock.
I could be a lazy reviewer and just write 'Axel. Rudi. Pell'. You’d still know exactly what to expect from the German guitar wiz and his right-hand man, Johnny Gioeli. I’ve expressed some disinterest in the last couple of albums, due mainly to the restrictions of delivering the same formula album after album, but I’m very happy to declare this album head and shoulders above the last couple of records, with stronger songs and some terrific melodies – delivered by both guitar and vocals.
While there are no surprises, this album’s surge of urgency has definitely re-sparked my interest in Axel’s unmistakable style. I think fans will be more than happy.
Having been bombarded with several hundred new releases in the last few years, THE UNITY had until now slipped under my radar. Let’s fix that right now, with their newly released album ‘Pride’.
The 6-piece German hard rockers fit beautifully alongside the likes of Masterplan, Dynazty and maybe Eclipse even, with 12 cracking rock tracks with surprisingly melodic chorus hooks.
The band keep delivering right until the last track, which itself is a standout anthem. The initial pressing of the expertly produced and mixed album comes with a bonus 5 track live disc. Now its time to go investigate the band’s first two albums. Great stuff.
Artists, bands, labels, managers, songwriters….listen up, pay attention and understand - this is how it’s done.
H.E.A.T have thrown off the experimentations of Into The Great Unknown (which I still think was great in its own way), ditched long-time producer Tobias Lindell and gone all in-house for their remarkable 6th album.
The result is H.E.A.T ‘II’, an album that doesn’t just politely knock on your door, rather it sees the band roll up in a 49-ton bulldozer, run over your lawn, crash through the door and bulldoze right through your house and out the other side.
This is a no holes barred, take no prisoners, earth shattering slice of classic melodic hard rock, where every single element is simply perfect. And every element helps make the other aspects of the album sound even better.
Crash drums like an absolute madman, his playing not only more powerful and bombastic than ever, but it’s also more technical and truly ear shattering.
Dave shreds harder and faster than ever before, making this the band’s heaviest album to date. Some of the guitar solos are mind-blowing.
Jona brings an equal dose of keyboards, helping balance the aggression with melody and adding several extra layers of ear candy.
Jimmy takes on his role with his usual dominant presence, grooving right alongside Crash as Scandinavia’s tightest rhythm section.
And what can I say about Erik? We already know he’s an alien from a galaxy far far away, where freakish lung capacity and megaphone vocals are commonplace, but here on earth he stands alone as the finest rock vocalist anywhere. And here he screams, wails, harmonizes and produces angelic tones that every other singer should strive for.
It’s simply a stunning performance by Erik and the whole band.
Additional credit must go to the guys for the production and mix. If anything, it is even better than ever, they clearly learned a lot from their time in the studio and this record reflects that. Absolutely flawless.
4 songs have been previewed in full, each one giving a solid indication of the rest of the album. There’s 11 ass-kicking tracks, the only ballad being Nothing To Say – a ballad so good it also kicks your ass. 11 tracks and 11 different vibes. Its very cool. It’s edgy, it’s menacing, it’s anthemic and melodic and it’s fresh.
Of my observations on the album, it is worth noting that the songs all that have influences from the past, but also strike a clear new path forward.
The guys have used some different chorus styles and structures in places and while some of the choruses may not match the anthemic heights of Living On The Run or Point Of No Return, the songs actually deliver the knockout hooks in the verse or post-chorus bridge. It makes for a really interesting learning curve for the album, as the chorus is normally the most obvious point of familiarity when first getting to know any record.
Highlights are almost impossible to spotlight as not matter what song you play last is the one stuck in your head afterwards.
I do have a particular love for the hard edged fast moving Dangerous Ground; the classic Heat sound of Come Clean; the menacing We Are Gods and its brilliant post-chorus hook; the punchy multi-hook Adrenaline (with a nod to Eclipse’sRunaway in the chorus) and Heaven Must Have Won An Angel, which has a strong Brother Firetribe vibe to it. But that said, I now feel mean for not mentioning other songs. They’re all brilliant.
This review is way longer than it needed to be. We’ll cut to the bottom line.
It’s perfect. The easiest 100 I’ve ever given. Take a bow guys.
Another near-perfect slice of ass kicking hard rock. Sweden’s most consistent masters of hard rock drenched in melody, delivered an album that stayed true to the band’s sound, while bringing in a few new tricks. Bottom line - instantly catchy, powerful, memorable and melodic as hell. My most played album of 2019 and the best.
2. THE DEFIANTS – Zokusho
The dreaded second album curse was avoided simply by delivering another perfect mix of modern meets classic melodic hard rock. Steve West on drums added a new dynamic and made it even more ‘dangerdangerous’. Killer songs and killer performances. If anything…I felt a few songs were a minute longer than they needed to be, but very minor point.
3. DEGREED – Lost Generation
I love every record these guys are done as they increasingly modernise and deliver wonderfully written songs that really could (should) be all over commercial radio. This album is so utterly infectious and the production is world class. More melodic brilliance from Sweden. I thought the intro and mid-album interlude hindered the pacing, but very minor point there.
4. CRAZY LIXX – Forever Wild
The guys have dabbled with styles in the past, but for album six they went full 80s, with blazing guitars, anthemic songs and killer choruses. A monster production made this album one of their very best – maybe their best ever. Whatever they did here, they nailed it and need to keep this going!
5. WORK OF ART – Exhibits
For the band’s final album, they simply did what they’ve always done – they delivered a piece of ultra-smooth, ultra-cool, ultra-AOR heaven. These Swedish wizards use the template of past masters of the genre, yet manage to sound fresh and original. Not their best album, but still essential.
6. CRASHDIET – Rust
It's like, everything good is from Sweden, and sleaze-rockers Crashdiet don’t buck that trend. They too have varied up their sound over several records and several singers, but each and every time they have delivered something memorable. They do it again right here – nice to hear something fresh and original alongside more familiar sounds.
7. UNRULY CHILD – Big Blue World
A little bit of extra grunt and some excellent songs. Possibly the smoothest melodic rock band this side of anywhere, Unruly Child create a unique style of commercial American AOR. I hope they keep making records for many years to come. Marcie Free remains a revelation on vocals.
8. VIANNA – Forever Free
The surprise package of the year for me. Just a really great dose of high energy melodic rock/AOR with big choruses, melodic verses and some fine performances all-round. New-comer AOR vocalist Bryan Cole and vocal legend Terry Brock supply lead and backing vocals, making this an even sweeter sounding record.
9. STARBREAKER – Dysphoria
The dynamic Tony Harnell finally teamed up again with the talented guitarist/producer Magnus Karlsson for a new chapter in the Starbreaker name. And we got exactly what we wanted – powerful modern hard rock with breathtaking vocals and rifftastic guitars, both driven by a monster production.
10. ALLIANCE – Fire And Grace
Production quality was down on the last near perfect album, but plenty to like here with the outfit's usual style and grace. Robert Berry’s perfect AOR vocals drive the album as always.
11. LEVERAGE – Determinus
A big vocalist change and a long time between drinks for these guys - that placed a big question mark against Leverage before this release. Urban Tale’s Kimmo Blom uses the rough side of his powerful voice (didn’t know he had one!) and as in previous efforts, the songs are excellent – a slightly progressive melodic hard rock/metal style. Great stuff in the end.
12. TESLA – Shock
I’m surprised more fans didn’t go for this. There seemed to be a decent number of complaints online after its release, but this Def Tesla record stands on its own as a quality piece of music. Sure it was a little light and Phil Collen obviously over-influenced production and writing, but it’s a cool record. Cooler than the last few Leppard albums!
13. GATHERING OF KINGS – First Mission
A lack of distribution and the availability of physical copies didn’t dampen the hype around this super prog-pomp melodic rock record. Some terrific performances and lots of great vocals. Another big Scandi winner.
14. FIRST SIGNAL – Line Of Fire
It's Harry Hess. It's essential. Daniel Flores takes over some instrumentation and production, so it has that 'wall of keyboards' sound that he brings to most records, but a good selection of songs from the Frontiers regulars, and Harry getting to do something out of the Harem sound always makes for a good listen.
15. X-ROMANCE – Voices From The Past
House Of Shakira’s Andreas Novak featured on vocals – some catchy and traditional Scandi melodic rock that does the job nicely.
16. PRETTY MAIDS – Undress Your Madness
Battling cancer, Ronnie still manages to deliver more energy and attitude than most and while this could simply be described as ‘another Pretty Maids album’, it’s the quality throughout and the consistency of the band that makes it an album to admire.
17. NITRATE – Wide Open
More classic 80s melodic rock with a modern production. Midnite City in vibe and sound thanks to Rob Wylde's co-writing with founder Nick Hogg, plus Osukaru’s Philip Lindstrand jumps in for vocals this time around.
18. ROULETTE – Now
It's Scandi, it’s powerful, it's melodic and it's wonderful! Another band to add to the list of new-era modern melodic rock bands to devour for their classic melodic rock style.
19. SOLEIL MOON – Warrior
Soft and smooth, a little AOR and a little Westcoast; a quality record largely thanks to the vocals of Larry King.
20. WAKE THE NATION – Heartrock
It's Scandi, it's powerful, it's….you know the drill. This time the band are Finnish, and their second album moves them up in the power rankings for bands to watch out for.
21. FIND ME – Angels In Blue
Still quality, but perhaps the weakest album of the project’s 3 releases, but still good enough to make the Top 30. Overdone on the keyboards again, but Robbie LaBlanc sounds amazing.
22. CARL DIXON - Unbroken
He most certainly is unbroken. Another high-quality release from the Coney Hatch founder. It may be a solo record, but it has the 80s Hatch feel, with a modern touch.
23. TOBY HITCHCOCK - Reckoning
Well short of the debut, with Daniel Flores in charge of production this time around. The album is buried in too many keyboards (a Flores trademark), but the songs are mostly memorable and Toby’s voice shines as one of America’s best ‘new-era’ AOR vocalists.
24. SOTO - Origami
Jeff Scott Soto’s own band for delivering modern hard rock/melodic metal delivers album number 3, which continues the growth of the band and their sound. The best of the 3 without doubt.
25. LOVEKILLERS – Lovekillers
Tony Harnell strikes again! Two albums in the Top 30 for 2019 is quite the accomplishment. This is another of those ‘project’ releases, with Alessandro Del Vecchio the man alongside Tony, working somewhat collaboratively. The style is something many fans have wanted to hear from Tony for a while now and some (but not all) of this album works to satisfy that demand. It's very good – but not quite great. More song consistency and a move away from a standard 'Frontiers project sound' would help album number 2.
26. RESTLESS SPIRITS – Restless Spirits
Lords Of Black guitarist Tony Hernando assembled an album’s worth of melodic songs and some of the genre’s leading vocalists including Johnny Gioeli, Deen Castronovo, Dino Jelusic (Animal Drive), Alessandro Del Vecchio. A few outstanding songs but its also a little inconsistent.
27. TONY MILLS – Against The law
Talk about saving your best for last. Another very consistent artist and an all-round good guy. Tony delivered one of his best ever performances before bowing out after a long fight with cancer. RIP Tony. Thanks for the tunes.
28. JIM PETERIK & WORLD STAGE – Winds Of Change
The ever reliable Jim Peterik always delivers. Great songs and great singers once again such as Mike Reno, Dennis DeYoung, Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, Danny Vaughn and Lars Safsund. There’s enough info right there to ensure a purchase.
29. HARDLINE – Life
Not as immediate as some Hardline releases and that’s a little strange to say considering the sound is more along the traditional style the band is most loved for. But as with all Hardline releases, there is quality here worthy of inclusion in the Best Of list.
30. EDGE OF FOREVER – Native Soul
Alessandro Del Vecchio tops off another busy year with his third mention in this list. This time it's back to where he came from, bringing a tasty new slice of traditional European melodic rock with his own band Edge Of Forever.
JUST OUTSIDE THE 30:
ROCKET LOVE – Greetings From Rocketland
HOUSE OF SHAKIRA - Radiocarbon
AXE - Final Offering
LONERIDER - Attitude
MORANO - Incognito
91 SUITE - Starting All Over EP
DAVID GLEN EISLEY - Tattered, Torn and Worn
ART NATION - Transition
JIMMY BARNES - My Criminal Record
STATION - Stained Glass
GREGG ROLIE - Sonic Ranch
ROBERT TEPPER - Better Than The Rest
BLACK STAR RIDERS - Another State Of Grace
MIKE TRAMP - Stray From the Flock
BURNING RAIN - Face The Music
COLORVINE - Wake Up
DREAM THEATER - Distance Over Time
FIGHTER V - Fighter
MICHAEL BORMANN'S JADED HARD - Feels Like Yesterday
NOT EVEN CLOSE:
ROXY BLUE - Roxy Blue
WHITESNAKE - Flesh And Blood
BLOOD RED SAINTS - Pulse
DAVE BICKLER - Darklight
SAMMY HAGAR AND THE CIRCLE - Space Between
SHARK ISLAND - Bloodline
THUNDER - Please Remain Seated
NO CHANCE:
QUIET RIOT - Hollywood Cowboys
L.A. GUNS - The Devil You Know
BRYAN ADAMS - Shine a Light
KANE ROBERTS - The New Normal
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN - Blue Lightning
TORA TORA - Bastards Of Beale
NOTE: There are NO MRR titles included in my Best Of, which is the usual method I employ. While I love them all, it for for others to judge those and I think MRR had a great year, if feedback is anything to go by.
The eagerly anticipated new Harem Scarem album Change The World is out March 6. There is a Japanese Deluxe Edition which includes a bonus track and DVD, which you can order now from CD Japan.
Most of the world went nuts at the brilliance of United, so what can the band possibly do to deliver a credible follow-up to one of their best records ever?
Well...they simply do it all over again! Change The World is every bit as impressive and memorable as United and maybe even better! Once again, the new album is chock full of massive choruses, huge harmonies and layers upon layers of guitars.
The album is a little heavier in places, with 5 uptempo rockers included, and features without doubt, some of the best Harem songs of their entire catalogue.
I can't see any Harem fan not being as blown away by this as they were with United. Change The World is another absolute cracker!
PS. Listen out for the 1, 2, 3 punch of tracks 2, 3 & 4 - Aftershock, Searching For Meaning and Death Of Me. Oh my!
California hard rock veterans, ANGELES release new album Fire It Up, in stores on 13 December through Dark Star Records.
Formed way back in 1979, ANGELES came up through the same Hollywood clubs that spawned the likes of Motley Crue, Ratt, WASP and more. Friendly rivals with all their contemporaries, ANGELES made their mark on the early 80's Sunset Strip scene but never managed to grab the gold ring that some of their friends did.
They did, however stay active throughout the years and Fire It Up - produced by Matt Thorne (aka Matt Thorr of Rough Cutt and Jailhouse) - is their twelfth release and debut for Dark Star.
UK hard rockers Collateral have released a music video for their new single “Mr. Big Shot” from their forthcoming debut full-length album, which will be available on February 21, 2020 via Roulette Media Records / Cargo Records UK.
Passion is a new British hard rock band inspired by the 80’s and 90’s giants of the genre. First single, “Trespass on Love” was actually the first song written for the album and the spark that ignited singer Lion Ravarez (a/k/a Dan Rossall) to start the band. "It was from here that I decided to go on and assemble PASSION as a band and produce our debut album,” says Lion. "The song is perhaps a little more mellow than the rest of the album, but it's certainly rich with influences that hail from the melodic rock and AOR genres. We wanted our first music video to showcase PASSION's attitude and sense of humour, it's very tongue-in-cheek. We hope that anyone new who discovers us will understand that we just want to put a smile on their face. The music video was directed by Jay Hillyer and we shot the footage at Impossible Nightclub in Manchester, UK."
The concept behind PASSION is simple: great musicianship, great songwriting, memorable melodies and hooks, serve the song first. "In addition to this,” continues Lion "we wanted to create an act using fictional characters (hence the names) as we feel humour is positive, after all this is the entertainment industry. Don't let that confuse you though, we're not a joke band. We're deeply passionate about creating high quality rock music and we're also very enthusiastic about entertaining an audience.”
PASSION play straight up melodic hard rock, with bold and excitable hooks and alluring musicality. "We love soulful vocals with razor sharp highs, memorable guitar riffs, and tasteful solos. If you like "songs", then you'll enjoy PASSION. I'm confident that we can make a mark on the rock and metal scenes the world over, it just takes time, but we’re gonna get there, I promise,” concludes Lion.
An absolute must for fans of AC/DC, Aerosmith, KISS, Danger Danger, Foreigner, Journey, Ratt, Van Halen, and the like.
“PASSION” Tracklist:
1. Intensity
2. Trespass On Love
3. Too Bad For Baby
4. Lost In The Dark
5. Back
6. Victims Of Desire
7. We Do What We Want
8. Built To Please
9. She Bites Hard
10. Big Game
Line-up:
Lion Ravarez - Vocals
Chance Vanderlain - Guitar
Weston James - Bass
Bobby Laker - Drums
“Brave Tin World” is yet another fantastic album where the band delivers a fine slice of cinematic/symphonic metal. Often compared to musical giants such as Within Temptation, Nemesea, and Delain, The Murder of My Sweet are Sweden’s significant answer to those revered Dutch acts. Musically, the band’s new album follows the path of their previous record, "Beth Out Of Hell", with a more straight-ahead songwriting approach, while still offering the symphonic and cinematic elements the band is now well-known for. "Brave Tin World" showcases a Nordic sound that the members of the band grew up listening to and lyrically takes on issues in tune with our modern day life. "It's a more relaxed and mature album,” says producer and drummer Daniel Flores. "We're currently in transition with our songwriting, trying to bring out our identity instead of our chops. Sonically, we've taken a step further too, concentrating on more details than before."
Debuting with the first single, “Tin Soldiers” the band is truly stronger than ever. "The song seems like it's been growing in our heads for the past ten years. We just didn't know how to communicate it properly until now. It's sort of an adventure about a mature topic that is unfortunately still very much of an issue these days,” tells singer Angelica Rylin.
With Angelica Rylin carrying the vocals with her smooth, powerful voice, the wall of sound supporting the vocals is provided by Christopher Vetter on guitar, Patrik Janson on bass, and Daniel Flores on drums and keyboards. It’s easy to close your eyes while listening to The Murder of My Sweet and imagine you are listening to a movie soundtrack. It has that musical film production value that makes movies feel bigger than life, but translated to music.
"This album has something we've never accomplished before,” concludes Daniel Flores. "It's a perfect balance between heavy and light and the immersion is so substantial no one will be able to deny it."
THE MURDER OF MY SWEET’s aim is to create a distorted film noir vibe and experience by putting the wonder, sadness, humour and sheer zest of life into their music. By playing it to the point where the drama explodes, the music and the words become the utmost expression of the direct and ecstatic pure joy of being. THE MURDER OF MY SWEET have arrived again with an unforgettable thrill of a lifetime album. Whatever you do, don’t miss the show.
Tracklist:
1. Tin Soldiers
2. My Religion
3. Head Of The Snake
4. Reasons To Live
5. Safe In The Shadows
6. Hit The Ground
7. Everyone Wins
8. Memento
9. Keeper Of The Flame
10. Worth Fighting For
11. Alchemy Of Sins
Line-up
Angelica Rylin - Vocals
Daniel Flores - Keyboards, strings arrangements, backing vocals and Drums
Christopher Vetter - Acoustic and electric guitars
Patrik Janson - Bass
Frontiers Music Srl is pleased to announce the release of DECARLO’s debut album, entitled “Lightning Strikes Twice” on January 24, 2020. Today, the band has premiered the music video for the title track, which you can watch now!
The band DECARLO originated in Charlotte, North Carolina. Fronted by Tommy DeCarlo, best known for having performed with Boston since 2007, he co-founded the band with his son, guitarist Tommy DeCarlo Jr. As Tommy tells it, Tommy Jr. is truly the backbone of DECARLO. He has a great feel for what's going to work on stage, not just musically, but production wise, too and leads the charge in the band's performances. Of course no band is complete without a great supporting cast, which in DECARLO's case is provided by drummer Dan Hitz, bassist David Netta, and newest member Payton Velligan, who's a multi-talented keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist.
The band's debut album ,“Lightning Strikes Twice" is a very fine slice of melodic rock, deeply rooted in the sound of masters of the genre like Boston, Foreigner, Survivor, and REO Speedwagon."Without question, musically Tom Scholz has been my biggest influence. He along with Brad Delp created pure magic in the studio,” tells Tommy DeCarlo. "Brad with his amazing voice and Tom of course being one of the best songwriter/producers I've ever heard, touched not only me, but millions with their recordings. I could name quite a few other bands that influenced me as well, but none as much as the music of the band Boston!”
"We're very excited about the release of "Lightning Strikes Twice"!” continues Tommy. "As an artist/songwriter you're always going to be proud of your work, but there's nothing more gratifying than to please those who matter most...the fans! It's our hope that the music on this debut release will in some way/shape or form touch those who take the time to listen to it."
Simply put… DECARLO ROCKS! If you are a classic AOR/Melodic Rock fand, you simply can’t miss this debut album.
Magnum guitarist Tony Clarkin is a man who seems to never stop working. He is responsible for writing all the material released by the band, and on top of that he produces their albums from the very first demo to the final mix. 'As soon as the album is finished, I start to collect new ideas,' he explains. 'That's how I've worked since the early seventies, for me that's the ideal method.' On their latest album The Serpent Rings Clarkin and Magnum's other original member, vocalist Bob Catley, prove all over again just how perfectly this established system works.
Magnum have recorded eleven new songs which feature all the traditional strengths of the British act and also live up to the band's ambition to explore a more rock-oriented direction. The new album, The Serpent Rings, presents Magnum the way the musicians themselves like it: rocking and at the same time melodic, straightforward but also a little playful, powerful as well as sensitive with enchanted lyrics but also with a socio-critical approach.
The Serpent Rings was recorded by the Magnum line-up consisting of Clarkin, Catley, keyboardist Rick Benton and drummer Lee Morris, plus their latest addition, bassist Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69, Place Vendome, Unisonic, among others), who joined the fold to replace Al Barrow.
Magnum's major European tour has been scheduled to start in March 2020, initially with a number of headlining shows, to be continued by a first-rate package together with Gotthard from Switzerland. This extremely successful collaboration first passed the litmus test a few years ago, and Clarkin, Catley & Co. are very enthusiastic: 'Along with some classic numbers, we will also present four or five songs from The Serpent Rings,' the band promises, providing even more reasons for their fans to mark the dates in their calendars.
Today will see the arrival of the first album teaser for the new album.
"The Serpent Rings" will be released January 17th, 2020 through Steamhammer/SPV as CD digipak, 2LP gatefold version, limited box set, download and stream:
Faithsedge have released a video for the song ‘Back from this " , the second single taken from the band’s new album ‘Bleed For Passion’.
Bleed for Passion’ is the new album from the US Melodic Hard Rock group. Produced, mixed and mastered by former Dokken guitarist Alex De Rosso, ‘Bleed For Passion’ takes the listener back to the days of big guitars and powerful melodic vocal lines of the 80's and early 90's, but keeping an up to date view on the lyrics and subject matter. The band features singer/songwriter Giancarlo Floridia, Mr.Big/Ace Frehley drummer Matt Starr, ex-Stryper bassist extraordinaire Timothy Gaines and Alex De Rosso himself.
The powerful cover artwork was made by Federico Mondelli (Frozen Crown/Be The Wolf). The album is available on Scarlet Records (and on Spiritual Beast in Japan).
Pinnacle Music Group are absolutely thrilled to announce that the legendary guitar virtuoso MARTY FRIEDMAN will be returning to Australia, for the first time with his full “Super Band” across four VERY intimate venues.
With a career of over thirty years with some of the world’s biggest heavy metal acts on top of an absolutely monumental solo career, Marty Friedman is a household name for guitarists across the world, and Australian fans get the chance to see the legendary shredder himself tear it up onstage in four incredibly intimate venues, giving fans a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience Friedman’s guitar wizardry closer than ever before
ULTIMATE VIP PACKAGES AVAILABLE! You all have heard how great the VIP packages were for Marty`s US and Europe tours-this time will top even that! What you get with this great package:
- Meet Marty and have ALL your items signed - no limit
> - Photo with Marty - with your own camera
> - Chat with Marty - no rush through
> - Exclusive Marty Friedman guitar pick - the exact same on one he uses
- And the rarest of the rare-the VIP only CD, “M--Marty`s Vault 4: Wicked Sh*t From Japan”
If you know anything about the previous VIP packages, you will know that participants all received “Marty`s Vault 1, 2 & 3” Those are not available anywhere anymore. The new 75 minute Marty`s Vault “4” cd continues in a series of Marty`s recordings that he has done in Japan that have not been heard outside of Japan and contain some of Marty`s finest and favorite playing of his career. This is a must have for any Marty collector and is not for sale anywhere and ONLY available with the VIP package.
TOUR DATES Wednesday, December 11: Crowbar, Sydney
Thursday, December 12: Crowbar, Brisbane
Friday, December 13: Bendigo Hotel, MelbourneSOLD OUT Saturday, December 14: The Basement, Canberra
Sunday, December 15: The Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne NEW SHOW
“The new single “Pentagram” is based on a true story about someone I know. All of a sudden he decided that his Christian name was shit. The person in question changed his name and got it approved by the authorities. The reason of the name change was due to the fact that he late in his life became a Satanist.
LION’S SHARE of course has nothing to do with religion or Satan what so ever, but this true story is so strange and hilarious that we had to write a song about it. It will be in the live set at the upcoming spring gigs as well” says LION'S SHARE singer Nils Patrik Johansson.
In late 2018 LION'S SHARE released a new five track EP, plus its complete catalog - remastered with new artwork on streaming services and digital service providers for the first time. The LION’S SHARE catalog features appearances by members and ex-members of KISS, Megadeth, King Diamond, HammerFall, Wolf, Symphony X, Chimaira, Therion, YngwieMalmsteen, Candlemass, etc.
Mixers include top engineers such as Jens Bogren (Arch Enemy, Opeth, Symphony X, Amon Amarth) - Niklas Flyckt (one-time Grammy award winner and four-time nominee) and Ronny Lahti (Roxette, Europe, Glenn Hughes, Electric Boys etc).
LION'S SHARE guitarist Lars Chriss says: “We have all songs written for the next LION’S SHARE album and we’re almost done with the recordings. We have also started booking festivals and shows for 2020. The first two confirmed dates are in Germany on March 6 and 7.”
Frontiers Music Srl is excited to announce the signing of Her Chariot Awaits, a new band project featuring the artistic union between the awesome American guitarist and producer Mike Orlando(Adrenaline Mob) and highly regarded ex-Sirenia singer Ailyn on lead vocals. The band is currently wrapping up their debut album for release in early 2020.
This exciting new musical alliance came about through the vision of Frontiers, which put the two artists - each eager to create a new and exciting musical project - in touch with one another. The pair gelled very well, as listeners will be able to hear upon the album's release. Ailyn, especially, is excited to be able to explore new and very muscular, but still melodic, musical landscapes.
The resulting album, which will see the light of day in the first part of 2020, offers up songs that will excite all lovers of technical, aggressive and extremely catchy heavy metal music. Melting the well defined metal approach of Adrenaline Mob with more melodic hooks, Her Chariot Awaits showcases the incredible vocal talents of Ailyn. Here, she moves in a heavier and more straight ahead territory compared to her previous band, Sirenia.
Ailyn says, “After a two year break from the scene, I am pleased to announce my new collaboration with Mike Orlando on Her Chariot Awaits. I’m very honoured and thankful to be part of it. I’m looking forward for everyone to learn about this new adventure, which allowed me to experiment and explore a new side on my singing, working together with a great musician. Her Chariot Awaits is a new step forward on my music career and I can’t wait to share the beginning of this journey with all of you."
Mike Orlando says, “It was a pleasure to write and perform an album with a singer like Ailyn with music that is geared more towards the commercial side of rock. Ailyn has a beautiful voice and was great to work with in and out of the studio, as was as Jeff Thal on drums! I'm very happy with how the album is coming out. It's a great collection of hard hitting yet melodic commercial rock tracks, which I hope you all enjoy.”
The resulting album is going to leave people breathless and marks an amazing union of two great artists who still have a lot to prove - stay tuned!
Widespread reports this week on the health of EDDIE VAN HALEN.
Rumours have been gathering in recent weeks and the damn finally broke when TMZ reported that the legendary guitarist has been traveling back and forth to Germany for throat cancer treatment.
There has been no official response from the VAN HALEN camp, but I can confirm that the information posted is accurate. Eddie was diagnosed with throat cancer some time back now and has been travelling to Europe for at least the last 12-18 months seeking the best and most up to date treatments available.
I was told the treatments have helped and he's doing better currently. That is up to date info.
What I can add is confirmation that select VAN HALEN tour dates being planning were scuttled earlier this year when Eddie pulled the plug to concentrate on his health.
We wish Eddie all the very best with his treatment and recovery.
Here a track that many mums and dads will be able to relate to. Or just another chance to get to know that album that is way too good to be ignored :) Album Different was released in 2018 and the CD is available from https://rockcompany.nl and all formats are available in all good stores and platforms. Enjoy!
