Rock Reviews - Classic. AOR. Prog. Metal.
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A blog dedicated to followers of Rock music.
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Born in the late 60's, Chesy hails from a Welsh mining village with a long name and was pretty glad when he got the Hell out of there. He got into Rock/Metal in about 1980, thanks to a TISWAS related incident (Rainbow video for All Night Long) and thankfully has never looked back.
Chesy often sang solo in the school choir, but thanks to a puberty related incident his voice is now completely bolloxed, although in his own head Paul thinks he sounds like a blend of Coverdale and Dio (R.I.P).
He was brought up on the classics - Deep Purple, Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, Rush, Whitesnake and loved melodic rock and the Hair Bands of the 80's. (Nowadays, he has progressed a little and prefers a more technical and/or progressive metal - Dream Theater, Rush, Symphony X, Porcupine Tree, Pain Of Salvation, Spock's Beard. He hates Black and Death Metal (can't stand the grunting) but for some unknown reason loves the magnificent Opeth! He wont stop this blog until his beloved FM finally play the likes of the NEC as a headlining act!!!
Groundbreaker is the new project featuring
Steve ”The Voice” Overland of F.M and
Robert Sall of Work Of Art and W.E.T.
These two gentlemen are both mainstays in the melodic rock arena, so when these guys get together expectations are
high and unsurprisingly they’ve come through.
Anybody who is familiar with F.M already
knows that they’re going to be listening to in my opinion the greatest voice
that has ever graced the melodic rock scene and I don’t think I’m alone
considering the amount of acts that have collaborated with Steve. Robert Sall has
brought together a phenomenal cast of musicians to record has opus and has written
songs that are a perfect fit for Steve’s vocal style he hasn’t written the next
F.M. album.
Groundbreaker is a collection of upbeat fist
pumping melodic rock that you will want to play over and over again, I only
heard this album for the first time today and it has been on repeat for the
last 14 hours (it’s now 10pm). This is an album that you don’t have to break
down song by song to review it because I say this with my hand on my heart that
in my opinion there isn’t a single weak track here and that this is the perfect
melodic rock album, in fact I think it’s so good that I had multiple eargasms!!!
Whilst
I do look forward to new albums by both established and new artists I don’t get
excited however in this instance I am genuinely excited, I’ve already
pre-ordered this gem and the 14th of September can not come fast enough
so that I can get my grubby little mits on the physical version of
Groundbreaker, put your hands in your pockets open your wallet and get out your
card if you’re going to pre-order any release year this is the one you should.
You can spend £300m on a
footy team and not guarantee any success. Can you put two European Masters of
melodic rock together and bring guaranteed success? Not necessarily. It has worked here, and this is what Frontiers Don,
Serafino Perugino has done in bringing Steve Overland and Robert Säll together
to make Groundbreaker. Lets face it, it wasn’t going to be difficult to put a project together when both
parties have experience in such matters - Säll with W.E.T., and Overland with Shadowman. So it
wasn’t ever going to be abject failure. You know what they say, ‘form is temporary,
but class is permanent’. Both these fellas are undoubtedly a class act.
The album started with a conversation happened
between Frontiers President Serafino Perugino and Overland, eager to
start a collaboration with new and exciting musicians from the European melodic
rock scene. The idea was immediately work involve Robert Säll of Work of Art in
the picture and use Alessandro Del Vecchio’s production. Overland
immediately loved the material that was submitted and consequently they started
to work on songs.
"I’m
the main composer for about half of the songs but Ale and Steve wrote a lot as
well,” tells Robert Säll. “I
had to write songs with Steve´s voice in mind and that was new and very
inspiring to me. But for any fan of FM or Work of Art, I think they will be
very familiar with the sound of this record!"
With Säll writing 50%
himself, then these songs have more than a Work Of Art and FM sound to
them. One thing is for certain, these songs are as finely polished as the brass door
knocker at Mr Sheene’s factory.
If you’re a fan of these guy
already then it really is the biggest no brainer since you convinced yourself
to buy legwarmers in the 80s. Its like settling down on the comfiest of sofas,
or chatting with a best mate that you haven’t spoken with in years; you get my
drift, right?
‘Over My Shoulder’ is pure
melodic simplicity at its best, Overland is Overland, the Ronseal vocalist of
his generation, singing with a soul and passion that few can match, and with Säll’s
guitar its quickly realized that this is a match made in Heaven, well Italy.
‘Will It Make You Love Me’ sounds like it should be a ballad, but it’s a song
with one of the hookiest choruses you’ll hear this year, and any other year.
‘Eighteen Till I Die’ and ‘Only Time Will Tell’ just pick up the batton and
carry on the high quality, with the guitar, vocals and keyboard right up, front
and centre. ‘Standing Up For Love’ has the parpy, moody opening, extends into a
punchier and heavier track with some really nice harmonies; think Michael
Bolton.– not that one, the one before
he became the housewives choice. Yes that one.
‘Tonight’ is the first (sort
of) ballad on offer and it’s a good one, but not the best on here. The trophy
goes to ‘Something Worth Fighting For’. If something like this attracts the
attention of Mrs Chesworth on a first
listen (who is by far the better reviewer out of the both of us) then I know
it’s a good one, and the more I hear it, the more I like it. It’s like
waterboarding, only in a fun way! It sounds familiar, like you’ve known it for
years, and deserves to win an award, as its that good. Overland projects his vocal prowess,
showing emotion and passion in his vocals, and in this one song alone, proves to the World why he is called ‘The Voice’.
This is one project that
definitely has legs and could see the partnership blossoming and around for
many years to come, and could outlive their current day jobs. In leaving the
knob twiddling to Del Vecchio its enabled them to create one of the best
melodic rock albums of the year, if not the best. I could imagine this in full
Foreigner mode live, with a choir ramping it up to eleven!
‘The Sound Of A Broken Heart’
highlights the assets of all here, itseverything coming together for the greater good. It’s the five guys
working in harmony. ‘First Time’ comes with Overlands trademarked ‘whoa-ohhs’
and starts off as one song, and switches the chorus to a more powerful force
and back again. It’s a nicebalance and
very 80s. ‘The Days Of Our Life’ is an upbeat song and typical Summer song that
would have dominated MTV. The album is over way too quickly with ‘The Way It
Goes’ and I have pretty much run out of platitudes at this point.
Groundbreaker have come to
the party with eleven songs all being of great quality, with not a duffer in
sight, proving you don’t need to come armed with 17 songs and a running time of
75 mins. It’s the best 2635 seconds you will hear all year!
The keyboard sounds and
overall production on this are just fab, and I have to give credit to
Alessandro Del Vecchio.
Frontiers have been pumping
out a lot of albums the last couple of years with many being average at best.
There have been some nuggets from them along the way, but now’t comes close to
this for the label.
Sod the young guns. Guys if
you want to up your game then you need to be watching (and listening to) the
older guard, as four of the best melodic rock albums this year have come from
NHA, Airrace, Perfect Plan, and now Groundbreaker. They’ve upped their game,
now up yours.
If you’re a fan of melodic
rock, and you don’t like this, then you’re not listening hard enough.
You have to give
the lads of The Radio Sun a bit of credit. They have some serious work ethic. ‘Beautiful
Strange’ is their 5th album in 5 yrs, 4 if you call it calendar
years (think about it!).Their fan-base
has been growing with every passing release. I know this for absolute FACT.
Their star has ascended these past three years appearing at HRH AOR, and
ripping up with each and every appearance.
This isn’t being
too critical, but I don’t think you will ever see an ‘Operation Mindcrime’ type
album from TRS, or that time when Megadeth went a bit soft and did a proper
melodic rock album. It’s just not in The Radio Suns make up to go all left
field completely. They have a sound that is distinct, thank to Jason Olds
pipes, and play to their power/pop-rock sensibilities. If you want change, then
this is where Black Majesty, and Starchase come in. Despite that, I hark for a
change.
For me, The Radio
Sun is all about Summer rock, which in Australia is a bit more prolonged than
Blighty (maybe not this year). And it’s the summer feel that you get from TRS
at any time of year. This is mainly down to the fact that all they guys wade in
with some sumptuous harmonies.
We join The Radio
Sun on Sunset Strip in ’84 with their Hair Metal riffage and pulsating beat for
‘Hold On Tight’. Its at the heavier end of what TRS do, akin to the likes of
Dokken or Ratt, and it’s the side I like of TRS the most. More metal riffs
Janevski! Please?
‘Believe In Me’ is
typical fare for these guys, the type of song they easily compose in their
sleep. It’s all about the chorus and melody and its what they do ever so well.
‘Should Have Listened In My Sleep’ is definitely one of the highlights and
demands repeat listens. Its positive vibe powers along, so dig out those
hairbrushes (if you have any hair) and get stuck into some air vocals. ‘As Long
As You Want Me’ should be one of the first and obvious choices for radio play.
‘Miss Wonderful’ is one of those songs where you just fall back and melt into
the sound and the solo in particular. ‘Have You Got What It Takes’ is what I’m
saying! I want this heavier and more of this edgier sound. Keep the melodies,
ramp up the riffs. ‘I Don’t Want To See You Cry’ again typifies The Radio Sun,
its upbeat, punchy enough and with a touch of pop. That said, I don’t think its
possible to make Jason Old sound like there’s anger in his vocals! They work
with the tools they have and produce results. ‘Hearts On Fire’ and ‘Five Years
After’ are both melodic as hell. Title track ‘Beautiful Secret’ is a definite
for the live set as the chorus is great. The riff is bugging me as it reminds
me of a classic, but that’s what 51 does for you. It will come to me in about
3-4 months I’m sure. ‘Standing Tall United’ finishes with a quick shuffle of
the feet and a quick one-two, with Janevski showing his chops.
I’m a fan of The
Radio Sun, and I like what they do. As a live band they are even more fantastic
and I’ve watched them grow into the band they are today. My gripe? Play me a
song in five years and I may struggle to tell you what album its off. Its not a
bad thing, but I would love to see just one album where TRS go for the kill,
like a ‘Back For The Attack’, ‘To Hell With The Devil’, or ‘Invasion Of Your
Privacy’. TRS have one of these in them, I’m certain of it. In the UK I would
say that ‘Beautiful Strange’ (or any other TRS album) is a Ronseal album, i.e. it
does what it says on the tin. BUT…just once, I want to be grabbed by the scruff
of the neck, like the ‘Hold On Tight’ and ‘Have You Got What It Takes’, but at
a more sustained level. Well done fellas.
King Company was formed in early 2014. Drummer Mirka ”Leka”
Rantanen (Raskasta joulua, Warmen, ex-Thunderstone, ex-Kotipelto, etc) had
already been thinking about forming a new hard rock / melodic metal band for a
long time. He wanted to play with people with whom he had worked before and who
he knew as both good musicians and friends. First, he contacted guitarist Antti
Wirman (Warmen) who was also the first to join. The singer Pasi Rantanen was in
Mirka’s mind from the beginning, as they had played together in a couple of
bands before (Thunderstone, Warmen). After keyboardist Jari Pailamo (Kiuas,
Ponies To Kill), and bassist Time Schleifer (Enfarce) joined the band, this
super-group was ready to start working.
The band’s original name was “No Man’s Land”. In the autumn
of 2014 they entered the famous Astia Studio to record their first 3 song demo.
Shortly after this Antti Wirman got a temporary gig as the touring guitarist of
Children Of Bodom, which limited their rehearsal time, but still the band
managed to write more and more material. Co-operation with Heta Hyttinen &
Ginger Vine Management began and eventually led to a recording contract with
Frontiers Records. This was the band’s dream come true, and the debut album
recordings could begin. In 2015 the band played very succesful gigs in Helsinki
and Jyväskylä. The nearly sold out venue “On The Rocks” witnessed the band’s first
live performance as they played a set full of songs from the upcoming album.
After the first gigs began the debut album recordings. The
album war recorded and mixed by Janne Wirman and Kal Kaercher and mastered in
by Mika Jussila. At this point Frontiers Records suggested a name change to
avoid confusion: there already were two other bands by the same name. The band
changed its name to “King Company” and released its debut album ”One For The
Road” in 2016.
I’m
going to brutally honest I really struggled with K.C’s debut album One For The
Road so I was a touch apprehensive when I heard a second album was on the way however
my fears were unfounded. Opening track Queen Of Hearts is a fantastic track
reminiscent ofDrive, She SaidsDrivin’ Wheel, a lightning fast mix of
keyboards and drums that sent shivers down my spine and had me hooked before
I’d even heard a note of Leonard F. Guillans searing vocals.
This
album is a superb mixture of melodic hard rock and lighter waving ballads and I
loved every minute of it. It’s not very often I say this but in my opinion King
Company have achieved something quite rare and it’s an album that whilst there
are a couple of slightly weaker songs there isn’t a truly bad track on this CD.
What I have noticed while playing this album is that my enjoyment increases
with every listen. With Queen Of Hearts King Company have taken the ingredients
of early 90’s rock music mixed them together created an album to feast on.
I
highly recommend that you open your purse or wallet and invest in Queen Of
Hearts you won’t be disappointed.
SCORE 10/10
Band
Members
Leonard
F. Guillan - vocals
Antti "Eversti" Wirman - guitars
Jari Pailamo - keyboards
Time Schleifer - bass
Mirka "Leka" Rantanen – drums
TRACK LISTING:
Queen Of Hearts
One Day Of Your Life
Stars
Living In A Hurricane
Under The Spell
Never Say Goodbye
Learn To Fly
Berlin
King For Tonight
Living The Dream
Arrival
PRODUCED BY: King Company
STUDIO: Beyond Abilities
Studios, Soup Studios
RECORDED BY: Janne Wirman,
Tero Kostermaa, Antti Wirman, Jari Pailamo
MIXED BY: Janne Wirman at
Beyond Abilities Studios
I’ve thought about doing something like this for quite some time. Either....
-a
classic album that needs revisiting (is it as great as it was back in the day,
or even better?)
-an
argument for album that was never a classic, but it should be.
-or,
an ‘every home should have one’ contender.
My contender
for a classic album, is Icon’s 1985 masterpiece ‘Night Of The Crime’. It’s a
classic album to me, but to any fan outside of AOR then its one that would
unlikely appear on their radar. It complies with two out of my 3 statements
above.
Ask anyone
what their favourite melodic rock / AOR album is and I doubt they will pick
anything later than 1992. The obvious choices are Journey’s ‘Escape’, Foreigner
‘4’, Strangeways’ ‘Native Sons’, Def Leppards ‘Hysteria’ (my fave Lep album is
Pyromania), or something like Aviator, FM, Signal, Giant, and even Michael
Bolton. Ask 10 different AOR fans and you will probably end up with 9 different
answers. The list is always a decent one and one that you can argue down the
pub for hours.
If a band
has a song that turns up on your radio, car stereo etc and you never touch the
dial or turn it off, no matter how many times you’ve heard it, then it’s a classic.
Multiply one track by 10, and ‘Night Of The Crime’ is a perfect album for me.
There’s not a single duffer in sight. Fuck, even the gaps in the tracks are
worth listening to as they ramp up the excitement level for me.
They were
formed in 1981 by high school buddies Dan Wexler (Guitar), Stephen Clifford
(Vocals), and Tracy Wallach (bass). By The time it came to NOTC, in came John
Aquilino (guitar) and Pat Dixon (drums). The album was released through Capitol
Records and was produced by that talented fella Eddie Kramer, and mixed by
another legend, Ron Nevison, and it features songwriting talent Bob Halligan
Jr. For whatever reason I cannot understand to this day, Clifford walked during
the mixing process for personal reasons. Fuck, and double fuck.
Any
producer/mixer worth their salt can polish a turd. They can make poor albums
sound average, and make average albums sound good. One thing they can’t do is
to make a shit album- or an average, or
even good album, great. There has to be something ‘there’ already. Icon came to
the table with a great set of songs. Much to the point where they are that good
a set, the Produced would have to be a complete tool to fuck it up. Thankfully
everything aligned for one of THE rock albums of the 80s.
Right from
the opening bars of ‘Naked Eyes’ the Icon and Kramer set the whole tone of the
album. The guitar sound on ‘NE’ is just fantastic, and Clifford’s vocals are
crystal clear. Nothing is fighting with each instrument to be heard. Bass lines
and drums thump away at your body, particularly on Hungry For Love. More on
that later.
Full album on YouTube (above)
‘Missing’ is
an AOR gem, from the opening parpy keyboards and the wailing backing vocals,
before the wonderful bridge and chorus. ‘Missing’ is one of the top songs of
this genre bar none. ‘Danger Calling’ is one of the more harder edged songs on
offer, but again the chorus is instantly memorable. ‘(Take Another) Shot At My
Heart ‘ has that Wexler guitar tone that should have made him a household name.
‘Out For Blood’ builds on the DC sound and is a twin guitar lovers wet dream of
a number, particularly the intro, and is the nucleus of 'NOTC'.
‘Raise The
Hammer’ moves slowly along with its pounding and menacing beat, and ‘Frozen Tears’
is the obligatory 80s AOR ballad, and sounds like its straight out of an
eighties soundtrack. ‘Whites Of Their Eyes’ is as good a song as any of their
hair metal counterparts could muster. ‘Hungry For Love’ was put on a
compilation tape by my mate, this was my Icon intro and gave me the fuel to
find this album by hook or by crook. It’s a power ballad of the highest
quality. The bass note 39s in is just immense. I still play this song as loud
as any of my equipment will manage to go. The album is over all too quickly
with the powerful and anthemic ‘Rock My Radio'.
Yes others
will spout Journey as the greatest AOR band, and they truly deserve their place
in rock history. ‘Night Of The Crime’ has a very high bar set for this genre. Cliffords
vocals are some of the best ever to be set in vinyl, and Wexler and Aquilino’s
guitars are to die for making ‘NOTC’ my contender for an ‘every home should
have one’ and a classic album of AOR or any other genre.
The actual
‘crime’ is how the hell Icon didn’t become a huge band, as the talent is
undeniably on show here. The fact that it went tits up before they had the
chance to finish what they had started is a crying shame. Icon are the only band from the 80s
that I would literally kill to have seen back in the day.
After more
than 40 years in the business and with a renowned breakthrough in the early
80’s with ACCEPT behind him, as well as several million records sold worldwide,
Udo Dirkschneider from Solingen/Wuppertal, Germany, is one of the biggest rock
legends in the business. U.D.O. has enjoyed well over two decades in the
spotlight. Regardless of changes in the metal scene or the U.D.O line-up, the
band has never deviated from Dirkschneider’s vision of serving up traditional
balls-to-the-wall, no-nonsense heavy metal.
The German metal gods U.D.O. roll over us with a
heavyweight made of steel and metal better than ever! With 'Steelfactory', U.D.O
return to their core competence, clearly influenced by their past shows with
DIRKSCHNEIDER, the songs in their rousingly simple straightness have a hymn
character, as it is only known from the past. 'Steelfactory' has become a
timeless metal album and thus the impressive statement of a master of his craft.
With its earthy, punchy and handmade sound - with the participation of the
Danish producer Jacob Hansen (among others Volbeat) - 'Steelfactory' meets the
nerve of the time, which may be triggered again since the successful
DIRKSCHNEIDER tour worldwide.
New album 'SteelFactory' will be released on 31st August.
And my
suggestion is go out and buy it. From the moment ‘Tongue Reaper’ hits you, and
through Iron Maiden’s Wasted Years sounding ‘Make The Move’ you’re hooked.
The german
influences are plain to see and hear, together with some Greek Mandolin thrown
in on ‘Keeper Of My Soul’. It’s very 80’s rock, but, being my age, I think
that’s what makes it more enjoyable.
Udo
Dirkschneider’s prominent voice in ‘In The Heat of The Night’ takes me back to
Accept’s great era. There’s some great
crowd pleasers here, including 'Raise The Games’ superb verse riff and Egyptian
tinkling. ‘Blood On Fire’ kicks heavy although the chorus lets the song down
slightly, Some great duel guitar work in this also, together with a clever
tongue in cheek solo!
As we claw
our way through the album it’s apparent how solid this effort is. A very good
heavy metal album that will please all of Udo’s followers and Accept’s I’m
sure. Definitely an 8 from me.
Score 8/10
Reviewed by Sty
Track Listing
1)Tongue Reaper
2)Make The Move
3)Keeper Of My Soul
4)In The Heat
Of The Night
5)Raise The Game
6)Blood On Fire
7)Rising High
8)Hungry And Angry
9)One Heart One Soul
10)A Bite Of
Evil
11)Eraser
12)Rose In The
Desert
13)The Way
BAND MEMBERS:
Udo Dirkschneider
- Vocals
Andrey Smirnov – Lead Guitar
Fitty Wienhold - Bass
Sven Dirkschneider - Drums
The
European power metal combo Primal Fear has been kicking around the metal
underground for years, refining their brand of melodic riffing and soaring
vocals. Their sound, highly influenced by Gamma Ray(who has traded members with this band) and Judas
Priest , was introduced on their 1998 eponymous debut. The following year found
them gathering a press following when Jaws of Deathgarnered positive reviews from most
respectable metal critics. On top of that, their European popularity flourished
as power metal enjoyed moderate success in the overseas mainstream.
Nuclear
Fire followed in 2001, leading to their first U.S. appearances in the guise of
several large metal festivals throughout the year. They returned to the studio
in early 2002, recording and releasing Black Sun by the end of spring. 2004's Devil's
Ground and 2005's Seven Sealssaw the
band expanding their fan base via a run of heavy touring, including a European
and Japanese tour with Helloween, and 2007's New Religion featured a guest
vocal from Epica's
Simone
Simons, as well as ambitious orchestral arrangements from Matz Ulmer and Mat
Sinner. 2009 saw the release of the band's eighth studio long player, 16.6
(Before the Devil Knows You're Dead), followed in 2012 by a string of
well-received LPs that included Unbreakable (2011), Delivering the Black
(2014), and Rulebreaker (2016). In 2017, they issued the live album Angels of
Mercy as well as the single "If Looks Could Kill."
Although
they’ve been going for over 20 years now 'Apocalypse' is the only Primal Fear
material that I have knowingly heard. I have listened to 'Apocalypse' several times
now and it is a good album. However,it
did not impress me enough to make me want to go out and buy their extensive
back catalogue. There isn’t actually anything wrong with the album but sadly
there wasn’t a single track on the album that made me sit up and think 'holy
sh*t that’s a great song'. What I did notice is that the composition of
'Apocalypse' is extremely well done and it flows beautifully; the atmospheric
opener reaches a crescendo that sets the tone for the rest of the album.
Although I couldn’t pick a track that really
stood out, what I did hear was a very polished melodic metal album that will
have any self respecting rock fan shredding their air guitar and double kicking
their phantom drum kit to the blistering paced 'New Rise' and 'The Ritual'. 'King Of Madness' does slow things down a touch
then the breakneck speed resumes with 'Blood Sweat And Fear'. For the next five
tracks the foot comes off the accelerator slightly, almost coming to a halt when 'Eye Of The Storm'
fades out. However, there was one shot of nitrous left in the tank and when it was
hit 'Cannonball' came flying out of the blocks to bringing the album to a high
speed conclusion.
