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.
