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L.A.
T.A. 6,5/10 |
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LaBRIE
JAMES
A.S. 8/10 |
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LABYRINTH
T.A. 6,5/10 |
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LACK OF FAITH
A.S. 7/10 |
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LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE
T.A. 7/10 |
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LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE
G.K. 6,5/10 |
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L.A. GUNS
T.A. 8,5/10 K.P. 8/10 |
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LAKE OF TEARS
T.A. 8/10 |
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LARUSO
G.K. 6,5/10 |
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LAST AUTUMN’S DREAM
T.A.
7/10 |
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LAST AUTUMN’S DREAM
T.A. 7/10 |
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LAST TRIBE
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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LEASH LAW
G.K. 7,5/10 |
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LEGION, THE
T.K. 7,5/10 |
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LEGS DIAMOND
A.S. 8/10 |
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LEVIATHAN
T.K. 0/10 |
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LIESEGANG-WHITE
A.S. 7/10 |
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LIFEND
G.K. 6/10 |
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LIMA JOHNNY
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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LIONSHEART
A.S. 7/10 |
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LITTLE ATLAS
A.S. 8/10 |
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LITTLE KING
A.S. 8/10 |
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LIVERANI DANIELE
A.S. 3,5/10 |
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LIQUID GROOVE MOJO
A.S.
8/10 |
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LOCOMOTIVE BREATH
A.S. 7/10 |
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LOLAS
A.S. 7,5/10 |
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LONEWOLF
G.K. 4,5/10 |
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LORD BELIAL
T.A. 0,5/10 K.P. 0/10 |
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LOSING SUN
G.K. 5,5/10 |
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LOS NATAS
A.S. 0/10 |
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LOST FATE
A.S.
6/10 |
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LOST HORIZON
G.K. 8,5/10 |
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LOS PERROS
A.S. 5/10 |
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LOUD ‘N’ NASTY
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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LOVECHILD
T.A.
6,5/10 |
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LOWEMOTOR CORPORATION
A.S. 6/10 |
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LUCIFER WAS
A.S.
9/10 |
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LUGUBRE
G.K. 1/10 |
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LUNATICA
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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LYNCH MOB
A.S. 8/10 |
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LYNCH/PILSON
G.K. 7/10 |
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Do
you remember L.A. from the 80’s? They were a good and promising band
back then but they never make it, so they split up many years ago, in
1986. Last year they re-released their very good debut album, “LA”
through Escape Music. Now they decided to gather some songs from the demos
that they had all those years and they release them under the title “Unfinished Business”. This is not exactly the new work of the band
but it contains some songs that they never released in the 80’s and
they thought that they were good enough and they had to be released. I’m
not opposite to this idea cause the CD has some really good hard rockers
like “High On You”, “Down The Cross”, “Last Night”, “News On
The Loose” and “Point Of Uncontrol”… but I do not know why they
have chosen this time period to release it… they could have done it
years ago. But it’s better late than never. Who knows maybe if this
album sells good then they will reconsider the fact to release new
material. I must also tell you that the album has two live songs (“Gates To The Sky” & “Hunted”) and the sound is quite bad. The album, in general, is not bad… and
has its moments but for sure is not better than the debut of the band. The
production is fine and as it is profound has an 80’s sound. The lovers
of the band and of the 80’s will surely get it right away. As for those
who do not know them, try to listen to their debut album first and then
try this one… or prefer the limited edition of “Unfinished Business”
which includes the complete debut album as bonus disc!
Dream
Theater’s voice has been very busy lately. He keeps participating in a
bunch of projects (something that happens with all the members of Dream
theater actually). Well, James offers us here his third personal album (if
we count in the previous releases by Mulmuzzler), which to be honest to my
ears seems to begin exactly were “Train Of Thought” stopped. I actually
feel that some ideas from this album could have found a place within the
previous DT album. Consequently you might understand that the approach here
is hard and heavy, something that becomes evident even by the opening
thunderous “Crucify”. Besides James here we find Matt Guillory (Dali’s
Dilemma), Mike Mangini (Extreme, Annihilator, Steve Vai), Bryan Beller and
Marco Sfogli, who despite being unknown so far has done a very nice job on
the guitars of the album. LaBrie avoids the long and complicated songs here,
adopting a rather direct way to express himself. I wouldn’t necessarily
call the outcome progressive with the traditional meaning of the term, but I
cannot either put under a single tab. I wouldn’t even call it just heavy
metal, as the band experiments a lot with various samples and effects, while
the whole approach is very dark and deep. It’s definitely not the album
that you would easily digest (how could it?). Imagine a more down to earth
approach than OSI and a lot of heavy guitars under a Dream Theater prism and
you might be close to the sound of the CD. I think that LaBrie here presents
the best solo/project album he has ever done (inferior only to that amazing
Frameshift).
Labyrinth have left me with the best impressions after their very good album, which was called "Returned To Heaven Denied". After that many people (including me) were waiting for the next step of the band. But Labyrinth never really managed to release a better album than "Return To Heaven Denied" and also a lot of problems came to light. The result to this situation was, Olaf
Thorsen, the mastermind, guitarist and composer, to leave the band. After that, the future seemed not to be very bright for Labyrinth. But in spite of all those bad times, Labyrinth managed to stay alive and they also released their new studio album. Probably they call it "Labyrinth". It is a habit for new bands to call their first album with their name, so that they can show the new start that they make, but also some other bands choose to call an album with their name even it is not their debut album, cause they might wanna tell us that this is a new era from the band and they want to make a "new" start. That is absolutely respectable for me. So, I will try to be as objective as I can. Labyrinth seem that they like to play heavy/power metal music and to write fast, mid-tempo and technique songs. Their style is not far away from "Returned To Heaven Denied", but it is not as close to Stratovarius as that album was. They added more heavy (and especially some American) elements in their songs and you can understand that, if you just listen to "Slave To The Night". Other good songs from this album are the opener "The Prophet", the powerful
"Livin' In A Maze", the mid-ballad "Neverending Rest", the intro-electro power "Synthetic Paradise", and the sensitive and my favorite one "When I Will Fly Far". Once again I must refer to the excellent and melodic voice of Roberto Tiranti who is a person that gives something more to the band. As an overview, I should say, that the new Album of Labyrinth is good, heavy and full of power. The fans of Italian power metal and of course the fans of the band should support Labyrinth.
This is the debut album of the Swedish band, which originally formed in 1997 with the intention to play progressive metal. But in the meantime band's members altered their musical approach and turned to a heavy guitar-oriented sound. This is what the band delivers in this first album: really heavy riffs - with direct references to Pantera, which eventually lead to very heavy songs. The sound is a mixture of nu-metal and doom influences, which remind me at times Metallica's "St. Anger". What distinguishes the band are the vocals, which are impressive, as Ronny Hemlin seems to own an amazing voice, capable to balance among paranoia, anger and despair. Yet, to my ears the whole CD becomes monotonous after one point, because there is not much change from track to track. For me the whole sound it "too much" and chaotic at times, so for my likes the CD is a "5". But because I have to be subjective and I know that there are many people who like this kind of aggressive heavy music...
The German goth-rockers released their new album in the heart of summer… thank God I didn’t listen to it at that time period ‘cause I would feel depressed right away and then I would surely rate them with a very low rate! Not joking anymore… this album as it tile describes is one the best goth soundtracks for Winter… now that it getting colder and colder here I can easily travel though gloomy, melancholic paths with my imagination sitting by the fire… Lacrimas should never release an album in the summer time… they must release their albums in the winter… I think that most of the goth-freaks will agree with me. Well, talking about the album, a little, do not expect any changes here… just the same dark, depress atmosphere of Larcimas, heavy guitars, melancholic vocals and no hope… in general! Those who like the previous works of the band will like this one too… and generally all the goth fans will like it as this album offer them all that a very good gothic rock album can offer. After all it contains maybe the best goth rock song of the year “Again
It’s Over”.
I’m
wonder why I haven’t heard of this German band in the past since “Ave
End” is the sixth full-length release of the band that exists since
1995! The band has also supported Amorphis in their last tour… The album
has some clear gothic, dark and atmospheric rock and metal influences in
the style of Type O Negative, Paradise Lost, Anathema and Him. If you
believe that this album has only calm tracks you will be surprised if I
tell you that there are some mid-tempo tracks, some electronic parts and
others have very heavy guitars despite the gothic feeling! The things that
make the album dark are the melancholic vocals of Christopher and the
keyboards/electronic parts, which create a strange atmosphere. The
production is very good and loud and the final result is very interesting.
I believe that these guys are very good on what they are doing, but they
seem to be waiting for something in order to create a masterpiece… The
fans of the gothic metal will love this album! Listen to the following
tracks and you will see if the band fits you: “Ave End”, “Sarah
Lou”, “Amber Girl”, “Astronautumn” and “Black”.
"Waking
The Dead" is the new album of the gunners from Los Angeles, and
it's one more album, which shows that the hard rock/poser metal genre is
rising from its ashes! The band from L.A. seems to be in a good mood and
in a good shape and songs like the homonymous, "Waking The
Dead", the amazing "Revolution" the full of energy
"City Of Angels" and the careless "The Ballad" are
the best proofs for all those things that I said before. I believe that
the hair/poser metal "movement" is coming back to 21st century
with a lot of impulse and supremacy! Also I must say that "Waking
The Dead" is one of the best works that L.A. Guns have ever
released and that is something very encouraging for the band itself and
for all their followers. This album contains songs that they will make
you go on the bend! In my opinion, the fans of the band should buy
"Waking The Dead" and all the hard rock/metal fans too. The
choice is up to you. 
Here is another release from Copro/Caket Records, which is different from the rest albums that the label has released so
far... Darren Smith (guitars) and Jason Abel (vocals) formed the Laruso in 2002. The band plays a mixture of alternative, groovy/nu-metal, melodic metal and sounds interesting enough, if we consider that this is their debut album. The influences of the band are: Faith No More, Alice In Chains, Linkin Park (nu- metal in general). The vocals are sometimes aggressive and others melodic like most of the nu- metal
bands... The guitars (Darren together with Carl Bown) are groovy, aggressive, melodic and you will be able to listen to a few interesting riffs here. Finally, the rhythm section (Simon Hills on bass and Max Williams on drums) sounds very good and groovy! The production is very good, “sharp” and that’s a plus for every new-coming band... If the album lasted more than 38 minutes and if I was a fan of this kind of music I would certainly pay more attention to this album, but now I think that the grade below represents a general aspect for this
album... My favorite tracks here are: “Same”, “Falling Apart”, “Under” and
“Follow”.
I really liked the debut of this Scandi-super melodic rock band and I was
excited that they will offer us good albums in general in the near future.
I was disappointed by the band’s second album and thought that I was
never going to hear from them again. So, the band changed label and here
it is again presenting its new album. “Winter In Paradise” is a very
good album equal (or maybe slightly better) to the band’s debut and I
believe that many AOR/melodic rock fans will like it as well. The truth is
that Mikael Erlandsson is giving a great vocal performance throughout the
album and so the others guys do. Nice rhythms, catchy melodies and good
songs in general. Of course “Winter In 
Last Autumn’s Dream is another super project that was formed after Mikael Erlandsson’s record company in Japan came up with the idea of putting him together with the guitarist Andy Malecek (Fair Warning, Dreamtide) for an album-project. So, after the project was formed, they also needed some other musicians for the bass, the drums and the keyboards… and they just couldn’t have found better musicians than Ian Haugland, Mic Michaeli and John Levén from Europe! In my opinion, the line-up is excellent! But the most important here are of course the songs of the album. When a band-project has too many good musicians, the result very often is below from what a fan expects and that’s was my big questions when I took this album in my hands. Will it be good? Ok the line-up is fantastic, but will the album have good and strong melodies and songs? To be honest, I listened to the album far too many times, again and again and again… and my opinion after all those hearings has not change at all. “Last Autumn’s Dream” is a very good melodic hard rock album with catchy melodies and strong hooklines that the fans of this genre will surely enjoy it a lot. It is not something that will drive us nuts, but for sure it is so well written and well produced that it won’t disappoint anyone. Besides Mikael and Andy, that are responsible for the songs here, know very well the secrets, of how to write a good, melodic rock song. Highlights of the album are without doubt the opener rocker “Again And Again”, the ballad “Guardian Angel”, the hard rocker “Break The Chains (Of Destiny), the sensitive ballad “The One”, the melodic rocker “I Never Let You Go”, the pop-rocker “Movin’ On” (which will remind you songs from Erlandsson’s personal albums) and the incredible, mellow, sad “Going Home”. To sum it up, here we got a very interesting, melodic hard rock album that every fan of this genre should at least listen to.
Last Tribe have already released the third album of their carrier. As I believe, the third album is very important for any band cause its shows the future and the capabilities of the band. Last Tribe passed the test with success as they released once again a very beautiful, melodic and heavy album. Thus, as you have understood Last Tribe plays heavy metal music with many power and melodic elements, and some prog influences from song to song. The songs are very powerful and heavy along with melodic and memorable choruses. That's exactly the strong point of Last Tribe. They can combine with success heavy riffs with good hooklines. The production also is very strong and clear. In my opinion the best songs of the album are without doubt the heavy opener "Healer", the homonymous "The Uncrowned", the semi-ballad "Sacrifice" (maybe it will bring on your mind Dream Theater's ballads), the heavy, melodic dynamite "The Chosen One", the heavy rocker "Sound Of The Rain", and the guitar driven "Call Of The Tribe". This album is recommended to those who like heavy music along with melodious choruses and a strong production. The fans of the band will like "The Uncrowned" a lot.
Leash Law were formed in 2003 by the great guitarist Rick Renstrom (Rob Rock, solo) and the vocalist Wade Black (Crimson Glory and Seven Witches). After two masterminds decided to form a band, they found three more very talented musicians and created this super-group. The names of these musicians are: the drummer Richard Christy (Death, Control Denied and Iced Earth), the bassist Stephen Elder (Rob Rock) and the guitarist/keyboardist Emo Mowery (Nocturnus). The conclusion is an album that is basically based on the American heavy metal but is also influenced from the European power metal! You may think that this combination is not interesting but believe me, that these guys made it really interesting! Virtuoso guitars, wonderful solos, high tone vocals, many melodies, progressive parts and powerful music are all included here! Rick Renstrom is a real guitar hero and also a very talented musician just like Wade Black, who is the perfect mix of Rob Halford and Tim Owens. The production is pretty good, but I believe that it could have been a little bit better, because now it reminds me of the productions that the heavy metal groups used to have back in the 80’s… The lyrics are most referred to the wars and governments/politics and are really interesting. Finally, I must mention that the Greek Black Lotus Records made a very important step for its future in the worldwide music scene by signing this special group from America. Generally, this is a very interesting debut album and I am waiting for their next release anxiously…. Listen to the following tracks and feel the heavy metal power inside you: “Fight”, “Stealing Grace” (the best track of this album and probably one of the best of 2004, because of the theatrical vocals and the wonderful guitar work), “Banion”, “Better When Betrayed”, “Martial Law” and “Hellhole”.
These guys come from Norway. Yes… yes Black Metal! Everything here is Black Fucking Metal. Their name, their singer (who’d love to be Dani Filth), the guitar sound, the studio (Abyss). From the first notes of this record your mind goes to Dimmu Borgir, Old Man’s Child and all the Tägtgren productions. They also have an ambient feeling, which reminds Limbonic Art and Diabolical Masquerade with the exception that there are no keyboards on this recording. This fact makes me enjoying them more. The songs and arrangements are great and they play r-e-a-l-l-y good! This is their debut album and they have released “Bloodaeons” demo in 2000 and “Awakened Fury” EP in 2002 which both sold high so the band obtained a good reputation and respect to the underground. Blood drinkers worldwide you should buy this one and although I didn’t hear anything new it will still satisfy every fan of the bands above.
That’s
a great come back of the American band! After almost twelve years the
Californian hard rockers return with a “shiny”, direct album of pure old
fashioned hard rock, in the vain of Purple, Whitesnake, Aerosmith, Free, Van
Halen etc. This must be the ninth studio album of the band that exists since
1975 (all these years they have toured with Ted Nugent, Y&T, REO
Speedwagon, Sammy Hagar, Triumph, Rush, Nazareth, Bob Seger, Riot, Styx).
All this experience seems to be solidified in the new album, which honestly
kicks ass, especially if you are a rock fan. Don’t be misled by the label
that releases this one - the music has nothing to do with AOR. Legs here
adapt a rather straightforward rock approach, which in songs like “Good
Time” refers directly to AC/DC. After all, the mood, variety and quality
of the album guaranties a good time indeed!
A band name that needs sewing (there is another
progressive band with that name.) One-man project that would love to be Burzum. But Burzum is Varg Vikernes a Norwich psychopath. Here we have an American peanut-butter tit who is totally consumed by misery (fake). His voice, his face, his cover, his mother, her mother every fucking aspect of his life is misery. (Hey, look I am avant-garde! The first track is entitled “Introit”! “Fucking Your Ghost In Chains Of Ice”, that’s an evil one dude! We are gonna make it (Before smashing both my stereo and of course this CD I should let you know that Moribund records is very proud of their new discovery and the promo on the back says: (Attempt to sell and the razor will greet your flesh). Well just to inform you, I am not planning to sell it even to my worst enemies, I am not recommending anyone to listen to it, I am just going to write something on every copy of this crap, rephrasing the company’s motto: (Attempt to buy it…………).
This is a project album (following the fashion) of two very talented
musicians. On the one hand we have the vocalist Doogie White (Rainbow,
Malmsteen, and Cornerstone) and on the other hand we have the guitarist Bill
Liesegang (Rod Steward, 101 South, John Wetton, Motorhead). Liesegang had
also released a solo album (under his name) in 1996 (“No Strings Attached”),
but this time he seems to not have done all the work on his own. Those who
know the works of the two musicians know what to expect. those who don’t can
get an idea by looking at the bands they’ve played for, as the music here is
a mix of all those. To my mind the outcome is closer to the second fantastic
work of Cornerstone. Of course the songs are based on Bill’s sharp riffs and
melodies. The production is very good, giving some good breathing space to
the songs, while it sounds quite modern and heavy. Hard rock is what we get
here, and if there weren’t some very “modern” sounds like in the song “Last
Temptation”, that according to my opinion are irrelevant to the sound of the
group, the grade would have been even better.
Lifend
is a band coming from Italy, which has released its debut album, “Innerscars”,
under the Cruz Del Sur label. The band was formed in 1999 and started
playing songs from Moonspell, Dimmu Borgir, Anathema and Edge Of Sanity as
a cover band. Their own music can be characterized as melodic death metal
with black metal, gothic and electronic influences. The band has three
vocalists (!): one female (Sara), who does the atmospheric-gothic vocals,
Alberto, who does the clean vocals, the screams and he also plays the
guitars and finally, Roberto who does the brutal-death metal vocals and
plays the bass. Their music has differences from other melodic death metal
bands because of the three vocalists, the acoustic guitars, the acoustic
drums (Matteo) and the use of the saxophone! The guitars (Andrea and
Alberto) are melodic and reminded me of the sound of other melodic death
metal bands... The drumming and the rhythm section are in general very
good and powerful. The lyrics are in English although that there are some
parts it the Italian language... Finally, Alex Krull (Atrocity) made the
production, which is clean and dynamic. Generally, this is an interesting
release from Cruz Del Sur, but I believe that few people will find out
this band and even fewer will give them the chance and buy this album...
Johnny Lima is a person that started his “carrier” in music when he was twelve years old and his father bought him his first guitar. Child of Portuguese immigrants in California, he showed very early in his childish years, that he wanted to deal with music. After some failed attempts to find the ultimate rock band to sing, in 1996 he released his first solo album. So, “Made In California”, is his third solo album and maybe the best that he has released to date. His music style is rather influenced from bands like Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and singers like Bryan Adams. He always pays further attention in the melodies of each song, that’s why when you listening to his albums time flows pretty good and you never get bored. This album, except the excellent production that it has, it also contains very good songs such as, the heavy opener “Made In California”, the melodious “Best Night Of My Life”, the happy “Go On”, the superb Bon Jovi-like ballad “We’ve Got Tonight”, my beloved melodic rocker “Another Girl”, the beautiful rocker “Love Ain’t Enough”, and the fantastic catchy “Something About You”. To sum it up, Johnny Lima released a very beautiful melodic rock album that will at least sound interesting to the ears of the rock fans. For sure this is the best work of Johnny till now.
Are
you ready for some british hard rock??? 
The
group from Florida seems to have been around for a while, but I have to
confess that I haven’t heard anything from them in the past. Anyway, this
must be the third or fourth album of the prog quartet and it sounds very
interesting. It seems that the band has changed its sound a bit towards a
more experimental approach. Unlike other prog rock/metal releases here
vocals (and vocal melodies specifically) play a crucial role for the
construction of the songs. The album flirts a lot with traditional prog
rock, but it is offered through a very modern prism, where one can
distinguish (apart from the influence of modern prog rock bands like Beard
and Porcupine Tree) influences from brit rock meddling with the songs
(Radiohead, Coldplay). The styles of the album vary so much, that it can be
described as adventurous: piano (and Queen elements) is mixed with
“haunting” guitar melodies, followed by electric outbreaks. The band
seems to have digested its influences very well, being thus capable to
deliver solid tracks - despite the complex structure and mood variations.
Yes, I can say that this release is a very pleasant surprise to my ears.
This
one is really cool. Interesting hard rock that embellishes many-many
elements of other musical genres, managing however to remain its
“rock” approach. The band is around for almost a decade (formed in
1996 by mainman Ryan Rosoff) but this is only the second full-length
studio album. So, the surprise is even bigger. The album is a concept one
about the story of someone who is moved to change the world after watching
what happened to Columbine High School (check Michael Moor’s documentary
Bowling for Columbine). Apart from the touching story, the musical context
is also great... after being treated by the magical touch of Terry Brown
(Rush) who was charged with mixing the album. I can hardly give a
definition of the music here, other than modern rock (not in the vein of
british neo-rock bands though). Van Halen, Rainbow, Radiohead, REM, Muse,
along with a few punk, strong AOR and bits of psychedelic elements create
the amalgam of Little King’s music. The bass is solid as a rock, the
drums play a crucial role in the constructions of the songs and everything
is bind together in the best possible way. Special effects, different
moods, variety of tunes. A very good album indeed that hopefully will
introduce the band to larger audience.
To use an English phrase, sometimes artists “over egg the pudding”. What do I mean by that? Look at
Daniele’s case: within two-three months he released three CDs, one with Empty Tremor, the rock Opera Genius and this personal album which in essence is a “soundtrack” to the Genius rock opera. And I ask you: how can all these things be of top quality? Hardly, if ever! So here we get the weakest of the three efforts. An instrumental album of almost 80 minutes of prog rock/metal music, that to be honest has nothing to offer. It is really difficult to compose interesting and not boring instrumental music, and this is not the case here. In technical terms the compositions are good, but lack in substance.
I’d suggest you to first check on Empty Tremor’s last album, which kicks ass, and then the original Genius rock opera. And definitely by pass this one.
This
is possibly the best promo I’ve heard from a band I didn’t know in a
long time! It’s not only that I like the style here - this blues, southern
approach - rather that the album is great indeed. A CD that restores all the
best qualities of the genre - a CD that we can listen to without skipping
any track. When Muddy Waters and The Blues Brothers meet the Outlaws, Allman
Brothers Band, Blackfoot and 38 Special in the best possible way, we are
talking about Liquid Groove Mojo. The only drawback one could note is that
the whole thing isn’t anything really new, rather carries many clichés.
Ok, so what?? It does indeed, however the group isn’t here to change our
view for the world - it is here to give us 50 minutes of good music. Mostly
mid-tempo songs carry us away somewhere in the American south for a few
beers. Why should we resist? Especially when the album contains the amazing
7-minutes long elegy “Storm Warning” (which by the way makes clear
reference to the mid-period work of Thin Lizzy)?
Another group coming from Sweden. And although it exists since 1995, this is its first album...well it is complicated as it seems that part of it had been released in the past but only by a small company and not properly. So the band here adds three new tracks, a former Japanese bonus track ("Captured" - which is among the best ones) and a cover on Europe's "Scream Of Anger" and offers a "delicious" package. Is it good? Yes, very good. And what I like is that they play old-fashioned hard rock with many metal elements of high quality. Based on great melodies band's members evolve excellent hard rock songs with heavy guitars and harmonies that sometimes remind a lot of Thin
Lizzy. To be honest the whole CD reminds of Lizzy's "Thunder And Lightning" days. Especially the three first songs of the album kick ass and rock you to the bottom! Plus band's members seem to be cool guys with much sense of humor. But what is more important is the music, which is really good especially for someone who likes Whitesnake's 80's period etc. Recommended.
Ok,
this must be a joke by the webmaster! The fool might have thought that if
he gave me two 60’s retro rock albums at the same time he could travel
me to the past, with the secret hope that I might get stuck there so that
he can get rid of my reviews! Otherwise I can’t explain where on earth
did he find in the year 2004 two similar albums that sound as if they have
been released in the early 60’s. Whatever I wrote for Jeremy, stands for
Lolas as well. The Beatles, Animals, Kinks and Motown Record’s groups
seem to have been resurrected in order to haunt some musicians who could
continue their musical tradition. Lolas present a bit more
“modernised” approach that makes same references to the early punk
movement. Some Oasis influences are also present here, along with some
riffs. Special reference should be made in CD’s last song “Ingrid Has
A Plan”, that has heavier riffs and presents a heavier (very good) side
of the band. Both albums (Jeremy’s and this one) share the same grade,
as really good vessels for a journey back in time (although, and despite
webmaster’s hope, I managed to return)!
Lonewolf has been in the metal scene more than a decade, since they were
formed in 1993 in France. The band released some demos back then and in 1996
they were split-up. In the year 2000 the band became active again and the
“Unholy Paradise” album is the band’s second release, since they have
released one more album in 2002 (“March Into The Arena”) under another
label. Their music style is oldschool heavy metal and two bands that came
into my mind when listening to this album are: Grave Digger and Running
Wild. The tracks are very predictable, as I believe, but the band has added
some epic elements, which make the final result a little bit better… The
vocalist (Jens Borner) sounds wild and he is a mixture of the vocalists of
Running Wild and Grave Digger. The guitars (Jens Borner and Damien Capolongo)
are rough and heavy enough. The rhythm section (Felix Borner on drums and
Dryss Boulmedais on bass) sounds really good and the thundering drums
together with the heavy bass will remind you past eras of this music. The
production is not good and the album sounds like have been recorded 20 years
ago. Generally, I found this album boring and I couldn’t find a meaning
for this release. Only the die-hard fans of the 80’s heavy metal may find
some interesting tracks here.
The evil band Lord Belial are back with a new album
"Angelgrinder". Well to say the truth the music style of the band hasn't change at all
(as I was expecting it) and they continue to play fast Swedish black metal with many mid and
low-tempo breaks. But if you're not fan of this band don't try to listen to
"Angelgrinder" cause you will regret for losing your time in
vain! But if you are already a fan of this band, you will surely like their new
album. Well, and now I would like to say something that I have already said
before, but I will say it once again. It is very naive for bands like Lord Belial to believe that if they put some make up on their
faces, wear a pentagram in their necks and also make a very evil artwork, that they will be really very bad
(in my humble opinion Michael Jackson is more bad than those ridiculous
guys!) and they'll manage to sell some copies of their pathetic album! Wake up
guys! It's better to try to write a good song first, and then to deal with your
image. Also I hope that all those black metal bands will stop using that annoying
drum-machine in their albums. People are not stupid! Writing the epilogue of this
review, I have to add that I hardly managed to listen to this piece of
shit!
Losing
Sun is coming from Wales and has been around the metal scene for eight
years, but “Inertia” is the band’s debut album. Through the years they
have supported bands like Sepultura, Ill Nino, Killing Joke, Napalm Death
and others. Their music sounds a little bit strange and it is influenced
from many kinds of aggressive music. Their music style reminded me of bands
that I had listened to in England last year, but I don’t even remember
their names now… The band has something of Alice In Chains, Cornerstone,
Audioslave, Funeral For A Friend etc. The vocals (Paul Kellahar) have a big
variety and sometimes sound calm and others aggressive or even “brutal”.
The guitars (Marcos Phillips) are groovy and aggressive, but a little bit
monotonous for me... Finally, the rhythm section is very good with technical
bass lines (Mattiaus Morggz) and great/ clever drumming (Jayce Lewis)! The
problem is that all the tracks sound almost the same and the album lasts
about 31 minutes. Despite the good production the band has to try more in
order to compose better tracks in their second releases… Best Tracks: “Dirtnap”,
“Inertia”, “Shimmer”.
As I have written, bands from his label manage to grind our balls with
boredom, while sometimes become enervating! Well, this time both the label
and the band overdid theirselves!!!! The poor me thought the Colour Haze was
the one of the worst CDs I heard last year... until I listened to this
one!!! Four 20 minutes long songs of doom rock (or as they like to call it
“stoner rock”). Needless to say that we shit within our socks from boredom!
In a way this was a perfect move as the production here is completely shit.
They must have recorded it in the cesspool!
This
is the debut album of the Greek band, which was formed back in 1998.
Unfortunately it is still very hard for metal bands to sign good contracts
and release albums in the domestic market. However Lost Fate seems to have
made it... but the result leaves us with mixed feelings. This is because
despite the good ideas and interesting compositions of the group, the
production of the album is not so good. Consequently the songs seem to be
“buried” in a retro, yet moody sound that doesn't help at all. Pity,
because the band seems to play a kind of power/progressive metal that has
still much to say, despite the loads of similar releases. Nevertheless if
you are interested in bands like Conception or Elegy you could check this
one out, as the compositions are very good indeed. The grade is
significantly lower, due to the bad production.
When the Swedish band Lost Horizon released their debut album "Awakening
The World", I didn't pay much attention to the group and I couldn't believe that they could ever release something really interesting. Now, at their second album, they have two new members in the band, one guitarist and a keyboard player. This change made them almost a new group! Their new album is something amazing and it was a surprise and a shock for me. The album begins with a magisterial overture, which prepares you for what you are going to face next. The following track, "Pure" is a power metal track that is full of inspiration and represents the style of the whole album. All the next songs are so great that you will want to
listen to this album many times after the first listening. You will find here technically, melodic and catchy songs. I have to be mentioned to the vocals of Daniel Heiman that are amazing and are changed according to the needs of every song! Almost at the end of the album there is a track named "Highlander (The One)" which is the best song of the album and one of the best tracks I have
listened to so far in this year! It combines melody with emotions and it gives you the sensation that you are in front of Highlander as he waves his sword in front of you!! It has great epic moments and wonderful lyrics. Other really magical moments are "Lost In The Depths Of Me", "Cry Of A Restless Soul" and "Think Not Forever". As a whole, this is a power metal disk, which has everything that a power metal fan requests. Finally I must say that some moments of the tracks will surly remind you the best moments of Manowar, Rhapsody, Fates Warning and some progressive metal groups… The production, the artwork and the lyrics are really perfect. No one can stand in their way now and I'm sure that they will conquer the metal community! I'm
anxious to listen to their next album!!! Hail to Lost Horizon!
I’m afraid I cannot give you much detail about this one. I don’t know the band. This is a live record, but I’m not sure if the songs have been released in the past in studio albums. Now, in musical terms the band plays punk rock and roll. In its attitude it reminds a lot of the Ramones, but the sound is not quite close to the american band. You can find some guitar solos here, plus a more rock and roll approach. The band plays well, but the production is really bad. I don’t know if it sounds like that on purpose (in order to give it a cult dimension), but the result does not sound good.
Loud
‘N’ Nasty is a Swedish band that was formed in 1998. I bet that most
of you have heard the band’s previous album “Teaser Teaser” which
was released last year. “Too much Ain’t Enough” is not the new work
of the band but rather a re-release of a 12” vinyl that was originally
released in 2002 through Hellbound Records along with two bonus tracks.
For those who haven’t listened to the band in the past I must say that
they play 80’s American hard rock in the vein of Ratt, Motley Crue, L.A.
Guns and W.A.S.P., and they do it pretty well. It’s so hard to believe
that those guys are not Americans! Then again the sound of this album is
kind of “old” but good and sometimes you will feel like you are
listening to an 80’s recording. The songs here are good, without
breaking any new ground, but with a lot of power, attitude and passion. My
beloved tracks from this album are: “Too Much Ain’t Enough”, “Me
And The Boys”, “Little Miss Pretty”, “Leave Me Alone” and the
hymn “Hellbound”. I’m a big 80’s hard rock fan and honestly I
liked this album a lot, ‘cause the songs have an 80’s feeling and I
would recommend to all the American 80’s hard rock fans to check out
this release and in general this band ‘cause it has a lot more to give!
Have a Loud ‘N’ Nasty listening...
Lovechild
is a total new band that comes from 
It seems that this world is full of lunatics! How else can I describe a band that plays hard rock and argues that its debut album is a concept one, which is supposed to be the soundtrack for the ancient Roman winter solstice celebration? I really find it hard to combine the straight rock (occasionally hard or r-n-r) with anything that has to do with paganism etc. Anyway, the band has released formerly two singles with help from HIM's Ville Valo in the backing vocals. Don’t know if the band finds that as a credit, but I call it a disadvantage, unless the target audience is young cheeks. Now, in musical terms the whole CD is interesting, with the female singer Claudia Carnal giving some good performances - although her tone is love it or hate it. The sound varies from Motorhead-like riffs, to Lake Of Tears, Nashville Pussy etc. But then in songs like “Child Of Lies” (which is great indeed) we get a more metal oriented approach. The whole listening is interesting indeed, but I would suggest you to first listen to a couple of songs before investing.
Well,
this is one of the biggest surprises of the year so far! The band exists
since the early 70’s but this is only its third album, which comes four
years after “In Anadi’s Bower”. Without having heard anything from
this band in the past I can tell you that I’ve been thrilled! Basically
because the sound here is both old-fashioned and unique!! Quite a
combination huh? Well, imagine the darkest, most macabre blues you’ve
ever heard and you get the deal. And not only because of the lyrics, which
are “nocturnal”, but also because the music is suitable for after
midnight… rides. Imagine a mixture of Black Sabbath, Black Widow, Uriah
Heep, Blood Sweat and Tears, Cream and Gary Moore in his bluesy days and
you get a picture. Blues scales, accompanied by hammond, multiple vocals
and creepy melodies! The whole puzzle is completed by and astonishing
cover on Captain Beyond’s “Armworth” – what a choice!!!! Don’t
ask me to outline some songs... it’s unfair... however I just have to
mention the blues anthem “When The Crossword’s Done”, with the
choirs and fragile melodies, that for me is among the best songs of the
year! You have to do whatever needed to buy this album.
Here we go again! Lugubre releases their first full-length album! Well I truly don’t know who gives a shit about that! Maybe I am exaggerating, as you may think, but if you were obliged to listen to this CD you wouldn’t think about this. Let’s see what can I say about this album. First of all, their music style is oldschool black metal that I have heard thousands of times in the past. Secondly, their image with the corpse painting, the satanic symbols and all this stuff is something very ridicules, in my opinion, and only laugh can bring me. If these guys were to sell ten pieces of their album in the whole world, their image will make them sell two or three pieces! Also the opinions that the band expresses through the booklet (which, I point out, that does not contain any lyrics, but only the fake beliefs of the “band’s” members) are making the whole package a really tragedy. Listen to what Lugubre support (two or three lines from the booklet): “massmurder, suicide, war, drugs abuse, everything that decreases the human population” and finally they wish “death to all of you” and “kill yourself”! I wonder, if someone of the two or three guys that will buy this CD does
fulfill what the band wishes to them, who will be left to support them… ?!
When I took the promo-CD of Lunatica in my hands I was pretty unwilling to listen to it. I thought… Oh my God another Nightwish clone on my way… and I really do not like Nightwish at all. So, some days ago I took the big decision to give it a chance… put the CD in the CD-player while I was doing some work on the internet… and while I was working, I had really forgotten what I was listening to… I thought… hmmm that’s a good song… which band am I listening to?? Well… Lunatica grabbed my attention even though I must admit that I was a little biased in the beginning. “Edge Of Infinity” is the third work of this Swiss band and although I haven’t listened to the next albums I think that this release is for sure a mature piece of work. It’s not only the angelic voice of the female singer Andrea Dätwyler that will please you. This band has also good songs… nice melodies, a very professional and flawless production and the potential to make a breakthrough. I will not say the cliché that Lunatica can become the new Nightwish. ‘cause I do not like Nightwish and I think that this band do not have much to do with Nightwish… yes their arrangements are really close but Lunatica has catchier and even sometimes more pop-based songs that can get them to a bigger audience as well. After all, the band has its own personality and from time to time it should get rid of some similarities with other bands if it want to go further. As I had said in the past… the third album always shows if a band can go far or not… and Lunatica proved that they can go very far… trust them not only if you love the aforementioned band but also if you like well-played melodic music with great angelic vocals… nevertheless “Who Are You” is a big hit!
Things here are a bit complicated. That's because this CD is a compilation of old tracks by Lynch Mod and Dokken re-executed in modern style and a bit more heavy and "metallic". Don't ask me what is the meaning behind this effort, as I don't like looking for motives behind any kind of artistic creation. The question here is: "Is the material here good"? Well, I find it very good. Those stuck to the past will say that the classic, original executions are better, and they might be right. But I bet that every fan of the group would be interested to have alternative versions of some songs he/she likes. After all as a compilation the CD is satisfactory, carrying most of the all-time classic songs of the two bands. To be honest the sound reminds me a lot of Pretty Maids (of the "Future World" era). To be true I welcome such listenings, as I see them as good gifts for the fans. As for the rest, they should better start with the originals.
George Lynch and Jeff Pilson are ex-members of the hard rock band
Dokken, as most of you can probably remember. It took them many years to work together, again, after the break up of
Dokken, but this doesn’t seem to have influenced the chemistry between them. The question is: did it worth waiting for so long a cooperation between those two musicians? The answer is without doubt: Yes! The style they choose to play is the one they know very well: intelligent guitar rock with catchy rhythms and refrains.
Pilson, who also sings in this album, plays the bass. His playing is very good but the surprise, is his voice, which is very melodic and majestic in a way (his singing actually fits exactly this kind of music). Lynch who is a great musician and has his own style, plays all the guitars. His playing is extremely good and I think that I haven’t heard him playing like this in the past! He has reached a point that he can only be compared with great and famous virtuoso guitar players. The drums are played by Michael "Fro" Frowein who gives to the tracks the exactly aggression and power they need. The album contains catchy moments like “ When You Bleed” and the “ Evil That You Are”, soft melodic tracks like “ Ever Higher” and “ Closer To None” and excellent moments like “ Vaccine”, “ Beast In The Box” and “ Zero To The End”. Anyway, this album is essential for every Dokken fan and a very nice listening for melodic rock fans.