I bet that when someone hears about a new metal super-group their mind goes to ill-fated releases by some really hot metal names. It’s true that I don’t have the best opinion about the so called super-groups, either. But before we throw all efforts to the recycle bin we must first hear what they have to say. That was the case with Reverence. I approached them with caution at first but then I was floored by the musicianship and the metal quality of the album.
 

I happened upon this band, coincidentally, as another band with the same name had released a new album around this time-period and I sorta confused them. Gladly enough, I then realized that this band, Knightmare, is a newcomer from Australia (the Australians are coming with full force this period) and “In Death’s Shadow” is the band’s long awaited & long in the making debut release. They did release an EP called “Unholy” in 2008 but since then the band’s line-up has changed a lot. So, nowadays the band consists of the two founding members, the vocalist MICKoWAR and the guitarist/keyboardist Luke Besley and the newer ones, the guitarist Jim Munro & the bassist Matt McConaghy.
 

I honestly wasn’t expecting anything spectacular to come my way as 2012 is ending and just about all the albums have taken their way so far. Well, never say never, huh? From the moment “Invicta” came to my notice, it became the number one priority for me to hear. Due to the album’s independent nature I wasn’t aware of it till now. I guess it’s true to get it better late than never. I think it’s needless to speak about the band for it is well-known but in any case I will only say that The Enid was formed in 1974 by the keyboardist/songwriter Robert John Godfrey (ex-Barclay James Harvest).
 

Were I to guess which country this band is coming from, arbitrating by its music style I would probably choose Europe and specifically Scandinavia. I was rather surprised when I found out that The Advent Equation are hailing from Mexico. They have been around since 2008 but they only released an EP on the same year, entitled “Sounds from Within”. Having worked more on their style and especially on combining various things from the music genres they love the most, the time has finally come to present their debut album worldwide.
 

Jimi is, undoubtedly, one of the three golden AOR/melodic rock voices of all time. Let’s be clear on that. As he used to sing back in his “Vital Signs” days… “it’s the singer not the song… when it’s coming from the heart…”. Who can deny that? He can effortlessly turn a mediocre tune into a great one! And you know what, Jimi is a natural talent… either you born with that or not.
 

I always look out for new bands and especially indie ones that have something to offer and they need support for they do not have a major label behind them to deal with the appropriate PR. This time I happened to notice Vaudeville, a newcomer from Minneapolis. Although they’re influenced by a bunch of bands that I do not quite fancy, their music (that’s the oxymoron) pleasantly surprised me or should I say caught me off guard?
 

I had almost forgotten of that project until I saw it on my promo list and was surprised for a second. I was trying to remember when the last time I had heard from the guys was, and I realized it was 8 years ago. I remember they had an AOR approach in their music mostly influenced by Journey & Survivor but are things the same nowadays?
 

It seems that for every band there’s a special time when they can create and present the album that can/will mark their whole career. Vision Divine is, without any doubt, one of the best heavy/power metal bands that come from Italy. Since 1998, the year of their formation, they kept releasing very good music. In any case, Olaf Thörsen & Fabio Lione are among the top names of the Italian metal scene.