Impera - Legacy Of Life Album Review

Impera, the band is the brainchild of drummer J.K Impera who acts as the commander in chief in this state of rock.

”I started the band three years ago, and originally ex-Mötley Crüe vocalist John Corabi was on board to handle vocal duties”, J.K. says. ”However, our schedules couldn’t be matched, so I opted for a good friend of mine, who also happens to be one of Sweden’s best rock vocalists ever, Matti Alfonzetti”. In that choice alone, he found the goose that laid the golden egg!!!!

The whole band consists of solid musicians who have earned their wings through hard work with an impressive number of world-class stars over the years. Their combined CV reads as a who’s who in today’s rock. In various constellations they have played with Vinnie Vincent and Bruce Kulick from KISS, Brian Robertson from THIN LIZZY, John Levén from EUROPE and many more. Guitarist Tommy Denander alone has played with almost everyone. His track record is jaw-dropping, having made solo albums with key members of TOTO and performed on albums with Michael Jackson, Paul Stanley, Alice Cooper, Ricky Martin and Celine Dion. He recently toured Japan and Europe with Joe Lynn Turner of RAINBOW/MALMSTEEN fame, Toto’s Bobby Kimball and Chicago’s Bill Champlin. He is considered one of the world’s best session players and has contributed his axe work on an unsurpassed 2000+ albums. Yikes!!

Keeping the bass at a level where earthquake sensors go haywire, Mats Vassfjord is no stranger to bands, having toured with Scaar, and Grand Design and Laney’s Legion.

Alfonzetti has been a sought-after voice for years with domestic success with Bam Bam Boys, Road To Ruin and Skintrade, as well as international stints with Red White & Blues, Scott Gorham from Thin Lizzy and British band Jagged Edge with whom he shared stages with the likes of Lita Ford, David Lee Roth, Vixen and Dan Reed. J.K. Impera himself can brag about having played with a number of KISS members, Graham Bonnet, John Corabi, to mention a few.

The name is Latin for “ruler”, but will Impera truly rule the airwaves?? IMPERA’s style lies firmly on a classic hard rock ground with a dose of strong melodies collected from the AOR-world.

There are some vocalists that can make a good album great, and some have the ability to truly polish a turd. Matt Alfonzetti is such a vocalist. I have to add here that this album is no such turd to begin with, Im just stating a fact. His presence alone will surely made a difference to Impera’s bank balance over the coming months. Its nothing fancy here, just pure unadulterated classic rock tunes. ‘Turn My Heart To Stone’ is a great choice to open up the album, decent riff, and an even better chorus. The classic rock /melodic rock vein is in rich form from the off, with the likes of the high tempo 'Shoot Me Down' in particular, along with 'Sunset Rider' and 'Kiss Of Death' being definite highlights. Lots of people with think that this has been done before, but what hasn’t? I know plenty of my classic rock / melodic rock chums that will lap this stuff up in droves…and rightly fucking so!! It looks like the band have consulted the Heavy Metal Songbook Manual, as there a a few songs that have done the rounds before…I mean the song titles. 'Kiss Of Death, More Than meets The Eye, and Is This Love', but thankfully they don’t attempt to cover the originals

We have four very experienced guys doing what they do (very well) and the end result is a walk in the park to them, with a polished album indeed. At least 50% of the tracks are very good indeed, with the other half being reasonable but nowhere near that turd I first talked about

If I could give just one bit of advise to the founder J.K.Impera…drop the makeup matey, you look a bit of a twat. (See pic below!) It's a good job the albums good!!

SCORE: 75/100

Out on Escape Music from 19.10.12

Or here –

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Legacy-Of-Life-Impera/dp/B00910X0X4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350498678&sr=8-1

Tracklist:

01. Turn My Heart To Stone

02. Kiss Of Death

03. Break The Law

04. Shoot Me Down

05. Sunset Rider

06. Tell Me

07. More Than Meets The Eye

08. Is This Love

09. Show Me The Money

10. Deadend Street

For more info: www.impera.org / www.Escape-Music.com

line-up:

J.K. Impera (BRUCE KULICK, GRAHAM BONNET, VINNIE VINCENT, JOHN CORABI, BRIAN ROBERTSON) – drums

Tommy Denander (TOTO, PAUL STANLEY, MICHAEL JACKSON, ALICE COOPER) – guitar

Matti Alfonzetti (JAGGED EDGE, SCOTT GORHAM, SKINTRADE, ROAD TO RUIN, RED WHITE & BLUES) – vocals

Mats Vassfjord (VINNIE VINCENT, JOHN CORABI, SCAAR, GRAND DESIGN, LANEY’S LEGION) - bass

Issa - 'Cant Stop' Album Review

Isabell ‘Issa’ Overseen is undoubtedly a woman on a mission to drive her brand of melodic rock to the masses, with ‘Can’t Stop’, her third outing in a many years. With her now trademark sound, and let face it guys, her looks are certainly appealing when compared against other AOR artistes, thankfully!

Issa, the Norwegian Rock Diva, is back with a blistering new album “Can’t Stop”: a collection of carefully selected hidden AOR gems (some maybe so obscure that you’ve never heard them until now!) that the singer treats her own way.  These tracks have been originally included on albums by Mark Free, Aviator, 21 Guns, Atlantic, Regatta, Worrall, Blvd, Tower City and others.
 
Issa has created her own style and approach to Melodic Rock by mixing her peculiar and unique melodic sensibility with a rocking attitude which is unseen in today’s Pop singers: real rock with a commercial sheen. These reworking’s show how Issa is at ease when working on classic AOR musical material.
 
Her versions ooze class and update to the modern day some truly immortal melodies with some masterful arrangements provided by one of the popular ‘go to’ producers of recent times, Alessandro Delvecchio (Hardline).
 
Since her debut “Sign of Angels”, she has often been compared to such music stars as Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne and Amy Lee (Evanescence). Though she is now ready to take her legitimate place in-between the great AOR chanteuses such as Ann Wilson and Robin Beck.  Come on Frontiers, given the choice I’m sure she would prefer the former comparisons than the latter as there’s not many AOR acts making shitloads of money nowadays. But, “Can’t Stop” shows that Issa is a solid Rock Music star and a true uprising Rock diva, who can be a game-changer in this genre if this is the path she chooses to stay in.

As much as I love melodic rock, I must admit that many of my fave singers belong to the female persuasion as a female voice suits AOR superbly – Robin Beck, Pat Benatar, Leigh Matty, to name just three. As good as the originals are, cover versions either rock your boat or they don’t. I personally love a different take on an original and in Issa’s case, the songs have been so well produced that they are very fresh and sound original. Songs that maybe sound a little dated as originals have been brought back to life. It could have been east to turn out classics by the likes of Journey, Foreigner etc., but that Serafino bloke’s a smart cookie, picking such obscurities that adds to the intrigue and makes you want to check out the originals. If he was really clever, he would also be holding the rights to the originals

Anyway, Can’t Stop is chock full of old, and now new, classics. The shining highlights (for me) are the title track ‘Can’t Stop’ and Aviator classic given a production boost and a half, ‘If You Ever Fall’ a Mark Mangold slice of AOR greatness and Issa almost matches the original, ‘Power Over Me’ as catchy as that bastard Carly Rae Jepson song I can’t get out my head every time I hear the bleeding thing, ‘I Won’t Surrender’ (how the original wasn’t huge is a travesty!) and ‘Dream On’. Issa and Serafino have done a great job here in bringing long lost classics to a new (and old audience), although nothing is ever lost if you look on Youtube.  Great versions of great originals

85/100

Released Nov 2nd 

Frontiers

Just in case you don’t know, here’s the list of original artistes....

- Can´t stop (Aviator)
- Power over me (Atlantic)
- Wherever you Run (Regatta)
- Just A Wish (21 Guns)
- If You Ever Fall (Mystic Healer)
- Do You Ever Think Of Me (Unruly Child)
- Dream On (Boulevard)
- Stranded (Jaime Kyle)
- Heat Of The Night (Worrall)
- I Won't Surrender (Tower City)
- State Of Love (Mark Free)
- These Eyes (21 Guns)

 
 
ISSA
Issa (Isabell Oversveen) - Lead Vocals
Alessandro Del Vecchio – Keyboards
Mario Percudani – Guitars
Anna Portaluppi – Bass
Alessandro Mori - Drums

Soulspell - Hollow's Gathering Album Review

Soulspell’s Hollows Gathering contains a veritable feast of some of metals finest alumni. If you’re a follower of this fantastic genre (power metal/symphonic metal) then you know exactly what it says on the tin, or in this case the cd cover. Light vs dark, good v evil, soprano vs guttural, and most of all an over the top score with fast, frenetic musicians fighting it out for supremacy. It’s pretty mental stuff, but mental in a great way!!! Most people associate metal operas with Avantasia, but a new kid is on the block and they are here to kill the king and take his crown. OK it’s their third release, but who’s counting, as the quality on offer is something else.

Soulspell’s Metal Opera is a Brazilian Heavy Metal project conceived by drummer Heleno Vale. Many singers play different characters in a story concerning the conflicts among human emotions in a way never broached before. These characters face situations of internal conflict as they are requested for making decisions which, without their knowledge, affect and change the course of the present, future, and even past of all the other characters. Although the story takes place in the present, many historic events are also tangled in it. Soulspell story intends to make us wonder how a fifteen-year-old boy, a powerful evil dragon, or even a simple humble lumberjack, by simply living and believing, can interfere in the lives of all in every possible dimension. 

 The Maestro! Heleno Vale

The first Soulspell album “A Legacy of Honor” was released in 2008, and the second one “The Labyrinth of Truths” during 2010. Now Soulspell is finally here with ACT III in their Metal Opera, with the album entitled “Hollow’s Gathering”.

With incredible guest appearances from metal icons such as Tim “Ripper” Owens [ex. Judas Priest, Iced Earth], Blaze Bayley [Iron Maiden], Michael Vescera [Obsession, ex. Loudness, Malmsteen], Markus Grosskopf [Helloween], Amanda Sommerville [Avantasia], Matt Smith [Theocracy] and many more, “Hollow’s Gathering” is an epic metal album filled with fantastic performances and nice diversity. Soulspell also showcases the talents of local artists such as Jefferson Albert [Vandroya],

Leandro Caçoilo [ex. Eterna], Daísa Munhoz [Vandroya], Iuri Sanson [Hibria], and Vale is truly flying the flag for Brazillian artists

 Just listen to the opening track (and album title) Hollow’s Gathering. It’s like an all-star version that most would save for an encore, but in this instance Vale puts all his cards on the table right from the off to orally attack the listener/fan. Nothing is spared, to the point where I think I can actually hear someone playing a kitchen sink!

With something like 20 singers in use, it’s hard to pinpoint them exactly, but who cares if the end result is as good as it is. ‘A Rescue Into The Storm’ is almost a polar opposite to the opener in terms of style, calmer, but be no means lesser in quality. ‘To Crawl Or To Fly’ is a high energy song featuring the talents of Amanda Somerville. ‘Anymore’ starts of a with a haunting vocal over acoustic, (and reminds me a bit of Anneka Van Giesbergen), and is one of my fave vocal performances. ‘Change The Tide’ is Power Metal personified, with the operatic dials turned firmly to 11. Vale’s drumming is in the foreground on this track, and is one of the finest tracks on the album. ‘From Hell’ is a dark intro to ‘The Keepers Game’, a song featuring the unmistakeable vocals of Mr Blaze Bayley and borders on more ‘old school’ 80s metal.

I never used to think much of Tim Ripper Owen as he never really featured on my radar, but after witnessing his vocals in the UK recently, a personal apology is due. I am mightily impressed in this bloke’s vocal range and he does the same on ‘The Dead Tree’ which includes a nice keyboard passage similar to Dream Theater’s Rudess. 

The excellent song-writing from project founder Heleno Vale, together with the excellent performances from all the members and guests involved and the top-notch production of the album, definitely makes “Hollow’s Gathering” a wet dream for fans of epic power metal. The massed stars are the ones who will receive the plaudits, but Vale has assembled a mighty fine collection of local Brazillian talent. He should be made Minister for Export in his homeland

I hope it sells well, as the quality is just amazing and a definite highlight of 2012. It needs to as it must have cost him a fortune to get this many people to perform, even if most contributed from their sheds at the bottom of their gardens!

CRR Score: 85/100

www.facebook.com/soulspellmetalopera

Tracklisting: 

01. Hollow's Gathering

02. A Rescue Into the Storm

03. To Crawl Or to Fly

04. Anymore

05. Adrian’s Call

06. Change the Tide

07. From Hell

08. The Keeper’s Game

09. The Dead Tree

10. Whispers Inside You

line-up:

Vocalists:

Amanda Somerville [Avantasia, Trillium]

Blaze Bayley [ex. Iron Maiden]

Carlos Zema  [ex. Outworld]

Daísa Munhoz [Vandroya]

Gui Antonioli

Iuri Sanson [Hibria]

Jefferson Albert [Vandroya]

Leandro Caçoilo [ex. Eterna]

Lígia Ishitani

Lucas Martins

Manuela Saggioro

Mário Pastore [Pastore]

Matt Smith [Theocracy]

Michel Souza

Michael Vescera [ex. Loudness, Yngwie Malmsteen, Animetal USA]

Nando Fernandes [ex. Hangar]

Pedro Campos

Tito Falaschi [Almah]

Tim "Ripper" Owens [ex. Judas Priest, Iced Earth]

Victor Emeka

Musicians:

Cleiton Carvalho – Guitar

Edu Santos – Drums

Fábio Laguna – Keyboards

Fernando Giovannetti – Bass

Frank Tischer [Avantasia, Edguy] – Piano

Gabriel Magioni – Keyboards

Gabriel Viotto – Drums

Heleno Vale – Drums

Leandro Erba – Guitar

Marco Lambert [Vandroya] – Guitar

Markus Grosskopf – Bass

Rodolfo Pagotto [Vandroya] – Guitar

Rollie Feldman [Circle II Circle] – Guitar

Thiago Amendola – Guitar

Tito Falaschi [Almah] – Bass

discography:

2012: Hollow’s Gathering [Inner Wound Recordings]

2010: The Labyrinth of Truths [Inner Wound Recordings]

2008: A Legacy of Honor [Inner Wound Recordings]

Mixed by: Matt Smith [Theocracy] at Theocracized Studios

Mastered by: Miro at Gate Studio [Kamelot, Rhapsody, Avantasia]

Produced by: Tito Falaschi [Angra, Almah]

Artwork by: Felipe Machado Franco [Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire, Iced Earth]

Label info

www.innerwound.com /info@innerwound.com

Great new scheme from AFM!!!

M.E.P.R. NEWSLETTER FOR AFM RECORDS AUGUST 21ST 2012

AFM Become An 'E-Card' Carrying Member Of The Best Free, New Music Club Around   <>    Hi everyone!! Welcome to the latest news from M.E.P.R........ AFM   Last week saw the release of a brand new scheme from AFM to increase awareness of new albums and material before the respective albums hit the streets and beyond. Please publish this to your web sites and news feeds asap... Magazine Editors - if you should want to carry physical cards as part of this promotion, please get in touch. The AFM Music Club and V.I.P. Area is a new idea from the guys at AFM to give ordinary members of the public free access to downloadable music well in advance of the album being released and beyond.     Easily accessed by going to www.afm-records.com/free and registering with the code MG52K2V, this service aims to give members direct access to the top tracks from bands such as Ministry, Fear Factory, Orden Ogan and Elvenking, straight to the public by means of an email alert or physical membership card which was last in use as part of the labels huge U.D.O. celebrations at this year's Wacken Festival, and is also backed by this YMLP campaign and a full campaign on Facebook.  <> Artists currently included in the first batch of songs in the Music Club include 1. Ministry - Double Tap 2. Fear Factory - Recharger 3. Vore - The Unseen Hand 4. The Murder Of My Sweet - Black September 5. Nightmare - Shattered Hearts 6. Kissin' Dynamite - I will Be King 7. Ektomorf - The Cross 8. U.D.O. - Hardcore Lover (Remix) 9. Crystal Viper - Witch's Mark And 10. Words Of Farewell - Ever After    ....amongst many more, but the label with be updating the list monthly with alerts going out in advance to all registered users. Whilst the V.I.P. Area currently allows members free streaming of the brand new At Vance album "Facing Your Enemy". Ektomorf's "Black Flag" album (released here September 3rd), just one of the releases featured in the new AFM Members Music Club now. www.afm-records.com/free Registration Code; MG52K2V