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SABATON
A.S. 6,5/10 |
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SACRED
G.K. 4/10 |
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SACRED STEEL
G.K. 5,5/10 |
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SADLER MICHAEL
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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SAFE HAVEN
T.A. 5,5/10 |
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SAGA
A.S. 6/10 T.A. 3/10 |
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SAIDIAN
T.A.
7,5/10 |
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SAIDIAN
G.K.
7/10 |
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SAKURAI
T.A. 5/10 |
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SAL
T.A. 8/10 |
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SALEM HILL
A.S. 7/10 |
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SANDERS KARL
G.K. 7/10 |
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SANDSTONE
T.A.
6/10 |
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SARGEIST
T.K. 1/10 |
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SARISSA
G.K. 7,5/10 |
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SARUMAN
G.K. 3,5/10 |
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SATURNUS
T.A.
7,5/10 |
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SATYRICON
T.A. 7/10 |
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SAYIT
T.A. 5,5/10 |
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SCAR CULTURE
T.A. 5/10 |
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SCAVENGER
A.S. 6/10 |
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SCHEMATISM
A.S. 8/10 |
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SCHIZTOME
T.A.
5,5/10 |
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SCENT OF FLESH
G.K. 2/10 |
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SCHULDINER CHUCK
T.A. |
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SCHULDINER CHUCK
T.A |
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SEAR BLISS
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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SECOND HEAT
T.A. 6,5/10 |
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SECRETS OF THE MOON
G.K. 7/10 |
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SEETHINGS
A.S. 4/10 |
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SEPULTURA
G.K. 8/10 |
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SETHERIAL
G.K. 5/10 |
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VII GATES
T.A. 7/10 |
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707
A.S.
7/10 |
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707
A.S. 8/10 |
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7 TIMES SUICIDE
T.A.
5,5/10 |
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SEVEN WISHES
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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SEVENTH ONE
G.K. 6/10 |
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SEVERED SAVIOR
T.K. 7/10 |
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THE SEWERGROOVES
T.A. 5,5/10 |
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SHADOWS LAND
G.K. 5,5/10 |
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SHAPE OF DESPAIR
G.K. 7/10 |
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SHARK ISLAND
T.A. 6,5/10 |
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SHAW STEPHEN
T.A. 8,5/10 |
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SHINING FURY
A.S. 5/10 |
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SHIVA
A.S. 8,5/10 |
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SHORTINO / NORTHRUP
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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SHOOTING STAR
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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SHOWSTRIPSILENCE
T.A.
3,5/10 |
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SHUGAAZER
T.A. 8,5/10 |
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SILENT SCYTHE
G.K. 6,5/10 |
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SILENT RAGE
T.A. 7,5/10 K.P. 7/10 |
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SILVER
A.S.
6,5/10 |
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SILVER
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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SILVER
G.K.
6,5/10 |
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SILVER DIRT
T.A.
6,5/10 |
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SILVER SERAPH
T.A. 7/10 |
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SIMMONS GENE
T.A. 2,5/10 |
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SIMPLE MINDS
T.A.
6,5/10 |
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S.I.N.
A.S.
7/10 |
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SINERGY
A.S. 7,5/10 T.A. 8/10 |
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SINGLE BULLET THEORY
T.A. 6/10 |
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SINNER
K.P. 7/10 |
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SIRENIA
K.P. 8/10 |
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It wouldn’t be surprising if I found out that the band comes from Germany,
as the singer bears a German-like accent. The music here is heavy/power
for the crowds. What do I mean by that? Simply that the band presents a
kind of euro-power metal that can be approached by anyone. This is not
bad, and to be honest the band plays well here. Some good (although
cliché) riffs and melodies, “deep” vocals, many choirs, double bass
drumming and so on are the elements constituting this album - which must
be the debut. The band must have an obsession with War World II, as most
of the lyrics refer to battles of that era. It might be a concept album,
but I only have the promo CD and not the booklet and I cannot tell for
sure. You know now, Blind Guardian, Avantasia, a small portion of Manowar
is what you will find her. If you are not bored by the whole thing, then
this might be a good buy.
Sacred is a new-coming band from Spain and the “Beyond The End Of The World” CD is its debut album. Their sound reminded me a mixture of 80’s heavy metal with hard rock elements. The vocalist (Uri Canalias) is a little bit annoying sometimes and he has to try harder in the future. Their music is not original at all and something in their sound bothers me, but I couldn’t find what it is. Maybe it’s the production or the luck of inspiration… Try something more interesting!
The fifth album of Sacred Steel is released and most of their fans already know how the band would sound. Sacred Steel is a band that does not change very much its style through its releases, but it instead stays static and only produces tracks under its common sound. Their 80’s metal is for once again mixed with epic and thrash metal elements. The vocals are some times melodic and epic and others sound like coming from a death metal band! I really have no problem with the vocals of Gerrit Mutz, but I don’t like them when he tries to sound like Messiah Marcolin from Candlemass... The guitars are still fast in most of the songs and aggressive. The rhythm section is very wild and fast like coming from a thrash metal band. The songs are simply good, but I don’t think that anyone will listen to these tracks for more than two or three times cause they have nothing to offer. After some hearings, it becomes boring despite the fact that there are some wonderful refrains and riffs… The production is very good and I believe that the fans of the band will be satisfied. For the rest, one hearing will persuade you that there is nothing really interesting here… Listen to these tracks and decide: “Open Wide The Gate”, “Your Darkest Saviour”, “Screams Of The Tortured”, “At The Sabbat Of The Possessed (The Witches Ride Again) and “I Am The Conqueror (Come And Worship Me)”.
I bet that most of you know Michael Sadler, the voice of Saga. “Clear” is his debut official solo album, although he has also released in 1998 “Back Where You Belong” album which was an online and limited release. Michael seems to be in good shape and his performance on the CD is very good. “Clear” is a soft rock, pop album with some Saga, gospel and R&B influences. It belongs in the light music category and it is not a Saga album
by any meaning. Michael released a personal album and managed to make it in the way that he wanted to and without the fear of creating a new Saga album. It is true that the album has a very soft and light vibe and an 80’s feeling as well. To tell you the truth I like it a lot. Why? Because I have far too many years to listen to such a release that is soft without becoming cheesy and it has a strong song-writing as well. I have listened to this album many times now and I always get the same feeling… it’s like I’m listening to my favourite Radio Gold station like I did almost 7 years ago! What a sweet and warm feeling… so, as you have understood I have my reasons for loving this album. Coming to the songs of the album I must say that “Who’s Sorry Now” can become the hit of the album, as it will surely satisfy every single pop-rock fan out there. Other highlights of the album are: “Who’s Fooling Who”, “Too Much Time On My Hands”, “Can’t Let Go”, “Lonely”, “One Minute”, “In The Name Of Love”, “Surrender Your Heart” and “Clear”. The production of the album is very smooth and clear and was made by Michael and Gwen Sadler. I must also add that in some songs the L.A. Choir is participating. “Clear” is a very well-written and well-produced album for the lovers of the 80’s soft rock/pop, melodic music. The Saga fans will get it
anyway...
Safe Haven is Michael Vescera’s new project. No Michael does not play hard rock or heavy metal music with Safe Haven but, believe it or not, melodic rock/AOR music! Hard to believe that a hard rock/metal vocalist decided to play melodic rock music and to work on a different kind of music that he is used to. But is that thing absolute wrong? No, after all who can say that? Can’t someone experiment with other music styles as well? Of course he can and we will be very glad if the result is good. Talking about Safe Haven someone can tell right away that the band is more than influenced from Journey although sometimes they also brought on my mind Shy, especially on some hooklines. The production is just good and I do not believe that the album can “seduce” many AOR fans. Why? Because in the very end you can understand that Michael’s voice does not fit this style of music best. Yes, he does it well but this is not his favorite music style and that’s obvious. The music is ok, although it’s not something very original and they do not offer something totally new but if you listen to this album then you would probably play some Journey songs in order to get what this release didn’t give you… originality lets say. This is not a bad album but I prefer to listen to Michael singing hard rock/metal music than AOR… after all he can do it better.
This band exists since 1976 and plays with the same line-up since 1978!!!However they never enjoyed much fame. They used to play some kind of art rock, and from the 17 albums they have released "Worlds Apart" and Heads of Tails" seem to be the better ones. This year's release leaves me with a bittersweet taste. It's not a bad album, rather a really confused one. The music here doesn't seem to have a clear direction. If I had to describe it - in order for someone who doesn't know them to understand - I could say that Saga plays a kind of pop rock. But again there are so many contradictory songs in here: "Breathing Lessons" and "Blind
Side Of The Heart" are mellow ballads, songs like "Too Deep" are more heavy, "Hands Up" reminds me of Peter Gabriel in his "Sledgehammer" days etc. Such a variety is not bad, but here the songs seem to be "weak". The melodies come to my hears as really confused - not solid, and to be honest the guitar has an enervating sound at times. In general the whole album seems really confused among rock forms, funky guitars, electronic sounds, and a use of
synths, which makes reference to Russ Ballard, but without his inspiration. I'd suggest for those who don't know the band, to, first, listen to it before buying it.
I
was waiting for Saidian’s new album, as its debut left me very good
impressions and I was sure that those Germans could do it better than their
debut. Thankfully, they totally proved me right and “
Saidian
was originally named Aria and was formed by the keyboardist Markus Bohr in 
Sakurai is a newcomer that was formed from the remains of Manchester band Ordium and from one of the founding members of Hooker. The band plays a mixture of alt. rock with stoner that has some Black Sabbath and few Tool elements. In order to play this kind of music and to be interesting enough you should have nice ideas and strong catchy tunes. In addition, Sakurai seems to be moving in very safe and predictable musical paths and that makes the listening of this MCD at times very boring. Considering the fact that the band is working at a full length album we should at least give them the chance to present us their new work and not to close the door against them so soon. Let’s only hope that the debut full length album of the band will be much better than this one.
SAL
is a newcomer band from Wales and “Dysfunctional” is its debut album.
This woman-fronted band plays a mix of rock, pop and punk music and I’m
sure that it will grab the attention of every young music fan out there.
Cat’s vocals are very emotional and if I were to describe her voice I
would say that it reminds me of Alanis Morrisette, Avril Lavigne and Skunk
Anansie’s Skin. It’s really strange that I like this album ‘cause
this kind of music is not my forte but when I see something truly good
(even when it’s not near my musical liking) I can tell it right away.
SAL is “doomed” to be the next big pop rock band in the world and have
a great success. Even though it is early for someone to argue so, I can
“foresee” a golden future for this band and a lot of air time and TV
appearances... it is also sure that soon you will see them in the first
places of the pop charts. The production of the album is very powerful and
clear and it was made by Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers, Mel C,
Catatonia, INME). “Dysfunctional” has a lot of good catchy songs but
my favorite ones and the ones that are gonna make a big impact are:
“Suffer In Silence”, “Run Away”, “Perfect”, “Death Ray”,
“Tomorrow I’ll Be Gone”, “The One”, “Wake Up”, “Less Than
Me” “The Break Up Song”, and “For Real”. SAL is a new band
that’s gonna be very popular in soon and every one will be talking about
it. The good thing with this band is that they really deserve to have a
big recognition than other bands that gained big popularity that they
never deserved. So, be it... if you love Brit pop rock music and you love
woman fronted bands then SAL is your next beloved group. Even if you pass
over them now... the big success of the group in the next few months, the
everyday’s air play and the video clips that you’re gonna watch very
often will “force” you to check ‘em out sooner or later.
Shall I call this “poor man’s progressive rock”? No, maybe the most precise description is “progressive rock for untrained ears, that would like to listen to prog music, but would never bear Sieges Even”. The songs here for sure carry the “prog” sign in the sense that there are some complicated solos and jazz influences embodied. However the structures of the songs are plain and the couples/refrains are approachable to anyone. You can imagine Spock’s Beard’s most plain sides of the past three albums. This isn’t bad at all. On the contrary it can provide a qualitative listening that does not become tiring at all. After all, the compositions are complete, providing some catchy refrains. Unavoidably there are some (very few) elements of melodic rock in here, which however are bind well with the rest influences. Arena, The Beatles, Yes and Journey are some of the groups that come to your mind by listening to this. Good effort.
Karl Sanders is the mastermind (guitars and vocals) of Nile, the death metal band that has been much influenced by the Egyptian mythology. You must be careful with this release, because the music included here has nothing to do with death metal or with metal in general! So, the fans of Nile shouldn’t run and buy it at once and they shouldn’t ignore it either… The solo album of Karl Sanders is full of eastern melodies, dark emotions and many acoustic and very few electric guitars. The music is dramatic, melancholic and it can surely calm you down because of the hypnotic melodies! I must also mention that David Vincent (ex-Morbid Angel) took part in the recordings and he made some vocals or better he made some speeches (with clear vocals…). I was very glad that I had the chance to listen to this album and I think I will become Karl’s fan, because he seems to be a very talented musician! This album is addressed to very open-minded people who want to discover some new frontiers of music. The tracks that I enjoyed most are: “Of The Sleep Of Ishtar”, “The Elder God Shrine” (with the excellent atmosphere created from the electric guitar).
Sandstone
is a newcomer band that was formed in 2001 in 
Why? Why? Why? What is the meaning of trying to copy a band in all levels, change the outfit details and release it? Why is Moribund helping this? Maybe this guy is Leviathan’s cousin, that misery cunt. Why is he singing? Is he expecting me to listen seriously when I see a black cover with an “Oh my God”! He is mutating, corpse painted face, and at the first note I start to think that I accidentally put “Transylvanian Hunger” instead of his
majesty (fake)! Why is there always an intro or, this time, a preludium? This is as cliché as it gets. There is absolutely no reason in purchasing this even if you are fans of Burzum and
Darkthrone. This is only for those folks who dress up like a metal hedgehog and walk around like orcs so that people think they drink blood and eat mosquitoes! I do not accept that kind of difference cause it’s fake. Why? Why do I feel miserable? Why am I doing this? Only for serial killers and brain damaged!
Sarissa is one of the oldest and most underestimated groups coming from Greece. The band has released a demo tape in 1987 and an album (“Sarissa”) in 1994. After many problems that the band had, Sarissa didn’t manage to move on and was split-up in 1995. Now Sarissa is back, with a contract with Black Lotus Records and released the “Masters Of Sins” album. The new line-up is: Nick Iglezos on vocals, Jim “A.D.” Selalmazidis on guitars, bass and keyboards and Bill Kanakakis on drums. Those of you who know the band, you can see that only Jim has remained from the original line-up. Their music style has changed from the past and the band now plays progressive/power metal. The guitars are very good arranged and are the whole album is full of melodies and wonderful solos. The bass and the drums are really good and heavy. The vocalist has a large range of vocals and sounds excellent! Another characteristic of the band is the wonderful classical orchestrations, which sound wonderful with their new music style. The production is very good and the album was recorded in their personal studio. The band has also made an excellent cover for the track “Starvation” which was originally composed by the most popular Greek rock band, Socrates! The best tracks are: “To These Powers (I Swear)”, “The Ancient Land Falls”, “Masters Of Sins”,
“Deathdance”, “The Struggle” and “Hypocrisy Crusade”. This is an album that you must listen if you love melodic power/progressive metal!
Saruman is a death metal band coming from Germany. Their name is inspired by the wizard Saruman from The Lord Of The Rings trilogy of J. R. R. Tolkien. Their music can be characterized as black/death metal and in some parts doom/death metal influences are more than clear. Their difference with the thousand other black/death metal bands is that they use a cello in all their songs! The melodies in this album come mainly from the cello, because all the other instruments only add brutalism… The vocals vary from death metal to black metal and sometimes become very brutal. The guitars are heavy and aggressive and I think that they have many influences from doom metal… The drums are really extreme and will remind you the classic death metal drum playing and sound. The album is mid tempo except the very fast moments, which are really hellish. Here you can also find some very intros, which are very atmospheric. I read somewhere that Saruman is a mixture of At The Gates, My Dying Bride and Apocalyptica and I believe that the band has much more influences than the above three bands and that also Saruman have in no case the inspiration of the above groups. Actually, I think that lack of inspiration is their main disadvantage. I
don’t know if they can release something more interesting in the future, but if they want this to happen they need to try more… Finally, the production is not good and the album lasts only 34 minutes and contains one cover to Dimmu
Borgir’s “The Night Masquerade”...
Saturnus
finally returned back on action after almost 6 years of absence. The band
has released its third full –length album where it picks up from where it
has stopped. Grief, melancholy, darkness, despair and sadness… that’s
what this album exhales… Saturnus is totally one of the best doom/death
atmospheric bands in the genre and they have proved that with “Veronika
Decides To Die”. Melodies are becoming words of sadness that are echoing
in gloomy landscapes. If you want to have a better opinion about Saturnus
sound then I would tell you to imagine a mix of Katatonia, My Dying Bride,
(early) Anathema, (early) Paradise Lost and Draconian. The production is
very good and the sad tunes played by the guitars along with the atmospheric
keys will totally make you feel downhearted… if you are not strong enough
to bear the sadness of this album then stay away… a great soundtrack for
the Winter…
Satyricon
are back with a new album that is called 'Volcano" So as you have
already guessed they still play black metal music without the flutes and
in general their atmospheric elements that they use to have in their
first releases. The music style of their new album as I told is very
close to the Norwegian black metal scene with the known Satyricon
elements. I strongly believe that the black metal fans and also the fans
of Satyricon will like very much "Volcano" and songs like the
strange "Angstridden" that has some paranoid female vocals in
the middle of the song, and the "sick" atmospheric "Black
Lava" which is enriched with female vocals too and that lasts 14:30
minutes! Satyricon is one of the best bands in black metal music
nowadays and that's is a fact. Well, I don't think that with
"Volcano" they are going to gain more fans but their fan base
will continue to respect them. Satyricon is a band that releases very
good albums and believe this ain't gonna change with their new album.
Those who know them very well will for sure trust them again and again
and again. Black metal all the way!!!
"Louder" is the third in a row solo album of the guitarist Sayit. Those who have listened to Sayit's previous works will like of course and this one. Now for those who haven't listened to Sayit before I have to say that the band plays melodic rock music with some hard rock elements. No, the music isn't bad here and the album is also well produced (the known Tommy Denander is responsible for that). But the past three weeks I listened to many melodic rock albums and for sure I have a clearer aspect of which of them satisfied me totally. This is not happened with "Louder". The vocals here are very good, the guitars also excellent but the songs are rather flat and full of cliches and usually you surely know what's coming next after one song ends. That's exactly what I do not like to works like this one. All things here so fuckin' predictable and this album has nothing to offer you at all, especially if you are a fan of this genre. For sure there are better new albums to check out from bands like Radioactive (Denander's band) or Dreamtide so, I do not think that "Louder" will offer you something new at all. This album is only for the die-hard fans of the band…if the group has some!
Another
band of true metal heroes?? Hmm, not exactly, as Scavenger in this (I
think) debut album add some more elements that save the whole CD. So their
traditional heavy metal sound is embellished by some US power Metal
portions and a few prog brilliancies. The result is the creation of an
interesting heavy album that manages to not be boring at all, despite its
clichés. The duration of the songs is rather long, which is not
necessarily a drawback for a heavy metal band, the production is
(possibly) on purpose old-fashioned... and sometimes I feel as if I’m
listening to Savage Grace or Liege Lord. The band bows to the sound of
Iced Earth, but many Megadeth elements are here present too. The very good
effort has a huge drawback: the 
This
is actually the first live album from the american progressive rock
quartet Under The Sun. “Schematism ~ Onstage With Under The Sun” is
called from the band’s performance in 2001 at the NEARfest music
festival, held yearly in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and has been mixed by
producer/engineer Brad Aaron (of Kansas fame). I don’t know what is the
deal here, but in essence the album is the first CD of Under The Sun
played live, with the addition of one new song, “Souljourner”, which
lasts 13 minutes and is really great. In general, the band plays a kind of
prog rock, which at times travels you really far away. Great
improvisations, excellent musicianship, power on stage - by the way the
production here is really good. Indeed the band manages to mix prog with
hard rock and catchy refrains in a very original and distinctive way. To
be honest I didn’t know the band, but now I will try to keep an eye on
them, as they are indeed excellent. Now, for those who have the previous
album, I seriously don’t know if it does worth buying this one, but for
those who don’t, I seriously suggest to check out this band.
Schiztome
is a British band that was formed in 2000. After playing several shows
around UK, opening for bands like Breed 77, Brutal Device, Stampin’
Ground and Defenestration and releasing a self-titled 4-track CD and a
7-track CD which was titled “Puritanically Unreconstructed”, they
finally signed a deal with Casket Music they just released their debut
album. I would describe the music style of the band as a mix of thrash,
death and metalcore music. The sound is very heavy and the production is
very dynamic as well. Sometimes while listening to this CD bands like
Sepultura, Death, Stampin’ Ground, Slayer etc are coming on my mind.
“The Art Of Dying” is not a calm album for everyone’s taste... is
rather a violent heavy powerful one and it will appeal only to the fans
that like extreme brutal music. So, if you are tired the same brutal metal
bands then just try this one and judge on your own.
The second album of Scent Of Flesh is released by Firebox Records, since the band has left from Black Lotus Records. The brutal death metal that these guys play has influences from Deicide and Vader. So, as you can guess you can find ultra fast guitars and drums in most tracks, although that there are also some mid-tempo moments. Generally, I didn’t like the album at all and I must say that I listened to all the eight tracks of the CD with difficulty… There are very few riffs that are not interesting, their sound approaches much of the style of Deicide, the vocals are very brutal something that doesn’t make me happy and the production isn’t very good. I think that these Finish guys have to work much harder if they want to succeed something in the brutal death metal scene, because this album is meaningless and I can’t think of anybody that will like a band that copies the aforementioned groups. Finally, I must add that at the back of the booklet the band writes: “Hate Is In You. Unleash It!”, and I say that they must unleash their own hate first and not just coping others hate and aggression… Ignore them or you will loose!
Finally
here we have “Zero Tolerance II”. When “Zero Tolerance” was
released some months ago I didn’t see any bad intentions from the
side of the label because I wanted to listen to Chuck’s last recordings
even though they didn’t have a good sound at all. But I thought that the
whole thing would end in there. But I was wrong and now I’m really
pissed off. Ok, we all know that Karmageddon has done everything to
release the last Control Denied album but due to Chuck’s family that
thing is not possible at the moment… and I do not know if it will ever
be. I want to listen to Chuck’s last album... but I do not want to
listen to any new “Zero Tolerance” album again! The thing has become a
joke guys. Come on guys… the die hard fans of Death have already the “Death
By Metal” demo of 1984 and the “Reign Of Terror” demo of 1985. And
those demos are only for the record and only for the die-hard fans of
Death… that’s it. “Zero Tolerance II” has also some songs from a
live appearance of the band in 1990 at Live After Dark Club Texas, which
sounds really bad. I mean that the specific live recording was meant to be
(?) a bootleg of the band and now a label is realising it as an official
album? What? Didn’t get it… Well I do not want to see another CD like
this one because my reaction won’t be so civilized. Put this in you head
guys… till it will be an official release of the last Control Denied
album, do not try to trick us again… This is my last warning.
Chuck Schuldiner… a great man… a great musician… a great songwriter… the journey finally came to an end… but does music really die along with the person who creates it? Isn’t music meant to last forever? Of course it is… someone can become immortal through his music… and Chuck has … although he is far away from us for about 3 years now. But his music is here… keeping us good company… as it always did. If I had to name three personalities from the rock/metal history that have influenced many bands, then be sure that one of them will surely would have been the great Chuck. The man with the Midas touch. If it wasn’t for him, then the most aggressive, hard and “sick” part of metal music would have never existed! He is the man who managed to touch our deepest feelings and make us love extreme music. He is the one who taught us how music can be aggressive and melodic at the same time… the man who was a fighter… and he never gave up a single fight in his life.
New album for the Hungarian atmospheric cult black metallers, Sear Bliss, which finds the band in a darker mood. Of course the atmospheric parts of the band are once more embellished by trumpet, trombone and synth but most of the songs have some high tempo parts with fast drumming and the known paranoid black vocals from Andras Nagy. I like Sear Bliss and I believe that “The Haunting” is by far their best album and it is very difficult to release something at least equal to that album. I also believe that Sear Bliss is one of the very few bands that plays black metal in such way and has fans not only from the black metal “society” but from other metal genres as well. “Glory And Perdition” has some very interesting atmospheric songs like “Birth Of Eternity”, “Glory To Perdition”, “Two Worlds Collide”, “Shores Of Death” and “Blood Serenade” that will please not only the fans of the band but also the black metal fans in general. The production is also excellent and clear and the artwork is just wonderful. After all Sear Bliss is a high quality atmospheric black metal band that has not disappointed its fans in the past and I do not think that it will ever disappoint them. In this point I have to mention that the known Attila Csihar (Aborym, Mayhem) is participating on “Birth Of Eternity” and on “Shores Of Death”. To cut it short, this album is recommended to all the black metal fans that like atmospheric and melodic elements in black metal. One of the best albums in atmospheric back metal music for 2004.
Second Heat is a newcomer band from Sweden consisting of the bassist Thomas Loyska (Alyson Avenue), the drummer Roger Landin (Cloudscape, ex-Alyson Avenue), the singer Thomas Bursell, the guitarist Patrik Svard (Cloudscape, Alyson Avenue) and the keyboardist/mastermind/songwriter Niclas Olsson (Alyson Avenue). The band plays powerful hard rock music (some times it flirts with heavy metal as well) with some really heavy guitars and many synth-melodies. The production is excellent and very heavy and that is the first thing that impresses you when you start listening to the album. The singer has a very good and powerful voice, which fits best to this kind of music, and in general the members of that band are not any new kids on the block when it comes to hard rock music. Most of them are playing together or have played in the past and that’s why Second Heat is very tight as a band. Best songs of the album are definitely: “Anything But Love”, “Naked Flame”, “Breath Of Gold”, “After You’re Gone” and “What Am I Gonna Do”. Listen to those songs and decide whether you like them and support them or not. “Second Heat” is a good album but I’m sure that they can do much better in the future. Waiting for the second step of the band.
Secrets Of The Moon were formed in 1995 in Germany and are considered to be one of the leading bands in the German black metal scene. All these years they have released many demos and have made hundreds of live appearances that made them one of the most popular live bands in Germany. The band consists of ex-members of Martyrium, as I found out. This album is full of frozen black metal riffs in the way that Darkthrone, Emperor, Satyricon and maybe Immortal, have taught us, but Secrets Of The Moon have combined this style of music with the mystery and the avant-garde elements of Celtic Frost, Arcturus and Ulver! I know that this is a difficult combination but these guys seem to know pretty well what they are doing and seem to enjoy the whole situation. This is the second full-length album for the band and I think that it can make them more popular; not only in Germany, but also in the rest of the world cause this album is really fresh. The theatrical elements make the extreme atmosphere more attractive, even for people who are not fond of black metal. Also the production is very good, although that the sound of the drums is too common for black metal groups… The best tracks here are “Crowns”, “Cosmogenesis”, “Miasma”, “Kaosthrone”, “Evolution Valour
Admission” and “Carved In Stigmata
Wounds”. In conclusion, I believe that this is not an unnoticed album and everyone who is open-minded and wants to listen to something fresh; this is a nice chance to meet these guys.
This band comes from Sweden and at least in this album (I don't know if it has released more) sounds terrible to me. The band tries to combine some nu-metal elements (especially in the guitars) with AOR, but the result is laughable for me. Soft songs with heavy guitars is the outcome, which leads to nowhere. I don't see why the band tries to sound so "aggressive", while at the same time it is evident that it targets commercial recognition. Some good ideas do indeed appear here, but are not enough to save the whole CD. The most terrible thing is that Metallica's "St. Anger" seems to be inspiring (for God's shake!!!!) for some bands especially production-wise. This is what we get here: horrible sound on the drums, distorted guitars that "burry" the voice, which comes from the back anyway. If Metallica earned that "3" as a grade from me for their lamentable last release, Seethings must take less...but at least there are some songs that can be listened to here. So...
The last time I heard something new from Sepultura was "Roots". After this great but also strange album I didn't have the chance to follow the band because I was never very a die-hard fan of the group and the opinions I heard about their last two albums were a bit mixed. The only good thing I used to hear, from almost everyone, was about the vocals of their new singer Derrick Green. Now that I had the chance to listen to their new album, Derrick's vocals impressed me a lot. I know that deep in the hearts of the fans, Max Cavalera will always be the best singer for this band but this is something that Derrick seems to understood very well and I think that he doesn't care in order to be free and make his job as better as he can. The songs are extremely powerful and I think that Sepultura have made a return to their past sound and that's not necessarily a bad thing because they have achieved the best mix that they could, of their old sound and their new ideas. I admit that I didn't expect anything better from Sepultura after "Roots" and the walkout of Max. Now I'm glad that I was wrong and I can assure you that Sepultura can, -and let's hope that will- offer us many great albums in the future to come. The production was once again made in Brazil at the AR Studios and it's very tough, heavy and clear. Alongside with the recordings, they were also looking for a new contract to release the oncoming album as they left Roadrunner. Finally, they signed with SPV and they are very glad because as the members said, SPV's people have a vision for Sepultura… The tracks, which are going to shake you up, are "Come Back Alive", "Godless" and "Apes Of God". All funs of the group will be very pleased with
"Roorback".
Forth album for the Swedish black metallers Setherial, who had many line-up changes within the ten years of their existence. This new album is the second within this year and the first for their new label: Regain Records. Don’t expect, in this CD any melodic- catchy songs or mid tempo tracks, because these guys play evil oldschool black metal, as they use to play for almost a decade. The only thing that has changed, in this new release, is the production, which is very good this time for their music style. The whole sound and atmosphere reminded me, very much, of another black metal group, Marduk, because of the blastbeats and the atmosphere prevailing. The drummer (Mysteriis) is the only member of the band that attracted my interest since his aggressive playing sounds like a bomber, in every track, from the beginning to the end! In addition, the guitars, the bass and the vocals are too accustomed… This album may be the best for the group but it is recommended only to those who sickly love Marduk and Scandinavian black metal in general. I wouldn’t recommend it to the simple fans of black metal since they won’t find anything new or really good in this album.
VII Gates is α band that was formed in Sweden late in 1999. After some demos they fortunately managed to release their debut album through Sound Riot records. So, if you wondering what we’ve got here, then I must tell you that we have a band that plays heavy metal music in the vein of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and generally 80’s pure metal with some power and prog elements from song to song. I had quite long time to listen to a heavy metal album, and when I say heavy metal, I do not mean all those true metal shits that are being released by thousands every month! Well, I must admit that I enjoyed a lot while listening to “Fire, Walk With Me”. The band is on the right path and I believe that their next release will, and must, be a step higher than this one, cause they really can do it. Also I have to say that Kee Marcello of Europe, Chris Amott of Arch enemy and Armageddon, Tommy Denander of Radioactive, Janne Stark of Locomotive Breath and Stefan Ingelstrand and Apollo of Time Requiem have helped them with the recordings of this album. The production of “Fire, Walk With Me”, is good, although it could have been stronger but that’s something that the band will work out better on their next release. Songs like the opener “Bounded By Hate”, the metallic-folk “The Saviour”, my beloved moody mid-ballad “So Far Away”, the heavy melodic “Love Bullet” and the prog atmospheric “The Madman Inside” will appeal to all the fans of good heavy metal music. I’m really happy when I see bands like this one and especially new bands that have the strength, the power and the will to go no and release something truly good and above all they respect themselves and their fans. Personally, I’m waiting for the next album of the band to see their progress.
For
those who might not know much about the band, I have to mention that 707
is an AOR group that formed in 1977 and made a big break back in the
80’s with their album “Megaforce” and the self titled song that
gained much airplay at that time. Some months ago the specific album
(which melodic rock fans should check out) has been re-released, paving
the way for the release of this “new” work of the group… which is
not so new cause it has been written in 1982, 22 years ago and never make
it due to some problems that they had with their label back then! So, now
after so many years MTM Music finally released this “lost” album where
707 presents their melodic rock in a bit more “harder” forms. Good
melodies, multiple vocals in the refrains, solid rhythm section etc. Plus
the production is very good. I don’t think that the band expects the big
break now in 2004-5. However this work can attract many melodic rock fans.
However I personally feel that the “smash hit” is missing from this
album - however all songs are fun to listen to.
Ho-ho,
this is retro listening! 
7
Sweden’s
Seven Wishes released their third work and their destination is to stay
alive in the cruel music industry. The band has worked more on its sound,
this time, and presents its best album to date. They combine very well
American hard rock (Dokken) along with European hard rock (Frontline and
Bonfire) and the result is really good. The production of the album is very
good and heavy and gives another plus on the album. “Destination: Alive”
has some very good hard rock songs like: “Cross My Heart”, “Won’t
See Me Cry”, “Fortune Teller”, “Follow The Stars”, “Goes Around
Comes Around”, and “All That I Wanted”, and two very sensitive ballads
“Time To Say Goodbye” and my beloved “Gone With The Wind”, which
will surely please most of the hard rock fans. This album is not an easy
album and it will grow on you after several listenings. If you consider
yourself as a melodic hard rock fan who loves the American and the European
hard rock scene, then keep an eye on those guys ‘cause they are good.
Seventh One was formed in Sweden by Christoffer Hermansson (guitars) and
Johannes Losback (guitars) in 1997. The band released its first album
titled “Sacrifice” in 2002 under Massacre Records. Now, it’s time for
their second release under Armageddon Records, this time, which belongs to
Lars Ratz (bassist of Metalium). Their music style is typical heavy/power
metal in the style of Helloween, Blind Guardian and Gamma Ray and Metalium,
although they have also some American power metal influences. The vocalist
Rino Frebh has a very strong and theatrical voice and sings with great
passion. The rhythm section (Jorgen Olsson on bass and Tobias R.Kellgren
on drums) is as powerful as it should be... Finally, the guitars are
heavy, melodic and have some clever ideas. Generally, the album has some
very good moments, nice refrains and it is full of melodies, but it cannot
escape from the standards of the typical heavy/power metal bands... Lars Ratz has made the production for this CD, which is clean and really
powerful. The best tracks in order to understand if this album fits you
are: “How Many Tears”, “Mercenaries Call”, “Gallows Pole”, “Where Infinity
Ends” and “Shattered Glass”.
Despite
the fact that my favorite bands are bands that when I first listened to
them I heard something unfamiliar and that I don’t like bands that play
as if we were 15 years back, I passionately enjoy the Florida Death Metal
tradition. I don’t know if Severed Savior are from Florida but they are
from the US and they play US fucking Death Metal! And they’re playing it
good. I strongly believe now that this Florida shit will either be great
or trash. These guys are great. I like the song titles, I like their
groove, I like the fact that I learned about an existing demo, cause this
is their debut, and if the production (not bad) was better these guys
would have an 8. This one will be removed from the “promo shit” pile
and join my CD case. The songs are short (24 min. 8 tracks), the members
have wisely studied their masters/influences (Cannibal Corpse, Morbid
Angel, Deicide, Death) without serious copying, have done a lot of
practice, and the vocalist sounds like Benton but even better! So I’m
looking forward to buy their next better-produced (I hope) album. Hail
Gore!
It is true that I have listened to many hard rock n’ roll albums during the last couple of years. This thing shows that the specific scene is alive and always ready to make the big breakthrough but also many times made me wish that weren’t so many similar bands in the specific genre. I believe that the biggest band in hard rock n’ roll music of our time is The Hellacopters and it is very difficult for any band to take their place. Coming to The Sewergrooves I must tell that they are a good band with rock n’ roll attitude and the will to play the music that they love. Till now everything seems to be ok. But while listening to this CD I thought sometimes that I was listening to The Hellacopters! Of course with no so good songs but the Hellacopters feeling and attitude was there all the time. Even the way that the vocalist sings brought on my mind Nick Royale. They have some good ideas from song to song but they must be a band with its own personality… and not trying to be the new Hellacopters. If they haven’t reminded me so much of Nick Royale’s band then the grade should have been higher. So, till the next
time....jpg)
Shadows Land were formed in 1995 in Poland. I don’t know what is your opinion about the metal scene in Poland, but I think it’s sick and very extreme. Think of the most known Poland groups and you will understand what I’m talking about… These guys didn’t succeed to prove me wrong, cause their music is very weird and sick for me. The “Ante Christum
(Natum)” CD, which is their first full-length album, is based in the death
metal music. Apart from this kind of music you can find some black metal
and maybe doom metal influences. Their mainly characteristic is that they
are a very technical band. Their technical skills are mainly used to
create music that will disturb you, at least that’s what I felt when I was
listening to this album! I think that I can characterize them as a
progressive death freak band! On all the hearings of this album, I didn’t
know if I wanted to turn off my stereo or press the repeat button… Anyway,
the vocals are brutal but have a strange tone. The guitars and mainly the
drums and the bass are very technical and it is admirable how they can
combine this complexity and create “music”! Also the keyboards give a
modern-industrial feeling to their sound and create an unhealthy and
chaotic atmosphere when they are used. I think that there is something
wrong with the metal people in Poland and the only thing they know (or
want) to do, is to make us feel uncomfortable...
The six musicians of Shape Of Despair strike back again with their third album titled “Illusion’s Play”. The doomsters from Finland will not surprise those who have listened to them in the past, but they can offer wonderful depressive journeys… Their music is almost obsessive because it is very slow and atmospheric. The keyboards of Jarno Salomaa (ex-Rapture) and the violin (Toni Raehalme) create dark and painful feelings. The male vocals of Pasi Koskinen (Amorphis, Ajattara, To Separate The Flesh From The Bones) vary from clean to death metal and the female vocals (Nathalie Koskinen) add an angelic atmosphere to the album… The guitars (Jarno Salomaa and Tomi Ullgren (Rapture, Thy Serpent)) are not used in the whole album, but when they are used, they sound heavy and slow like coming from a funeral! The same goes for the rhythm section, which consists of Sami Uusitalo (Finntroll) on bass and Samu Ruotsalainen (Finntroll, Rapture) on drums. The lyrics are very depressive and are mainly referred to pain, loneliness and misery… You will not be able to listen to this album at any time of the day, because it is very melancholic and can affect your mood… All the tracks last more than 6 minutes and the bigger one approaches the 17 minutes, but you will not get bored. The album is advised to those who liked the band’s previous albums and to those who can stand this mourning kind of
music...
That was surely on of the most unbelievable re-unions of the last years! Shark Island out of nowhere came back to life! That was fantastic and I really couldn’t wait to listen to the band’s new songs. On the way I found out that the songs that the band has recorded were old demo songs. The band gathered the better songs from some old demo and re-arranged them and recorded them from the begging. No re-masters of things like that here. The songs might belong to the past but the band gave them a new fresh air. The truth is that I was expecting things to be in the vein of “Law Of The Order”… but then again what’s the point for the band in recording “LoTO pt2”? The first thing that you will notice by listening to this album is that sounds more acoustic than it should be. Yes I like acoustic guitars and songs but, in my opinion, the album lacks of power and electricity. On the other hand the band seems to be in a good shape and Richard Black performances are excellent! This guy has a terrific voice than can transform any kind of song! The album also has some very good songs like: “Blue Skies”, “Stranger”, “Go West”, “Welcome Goodbye”, “Down To The Ground”, “Looking For The Sun”, “Heaven” and “If I Had A Dream” that will please most of the band’s fans. Overall “Gathering Of Te Faithful” is not a bad album neither a very good one. Maybe the next album that will contain new songs will be more powerful and fresh.
Stephen Shaw is a very special person. He was the guitarist of Rock Candy back in the 80’s and after they split up, he joined his brother David in Bittersweet. Stephen right now is working as a tour manager of many well-known bands like System Of A Down, 12 Stones, Crazy Town, Nothing Face, Drowning Poll and many others and he is very known to the whole music industry. Although he is a very hard working person, he likes to write music as well.
So, “Good Times” contains songs that Stephen has written in the past
along with the help of some of his friends. All the songs of the album are moving between glam, hard and melodic rock paths and they will surely satisfy all the friends of Stephen and naturally the fans of good qualitative american hard rock music. It’s true that some songs will travel you back to 80’s but this is not bad at all. I love that “sweet” 80’s feeling that the songs of the album exhale and the production as well. Highlights of the album are the excellent moody rocker “What’s Done Is Done”, the homonymous “Good Times”, the semi-ballad “Junkyard Ballerina”, the glam-rocker “Let Go” and the incredible acoustic anthem “I’ll Be Alright”. All the nostalgic
old fans of good rock music should bite this release right away. I do not have anything else to say about Stephen or this album cause it speaks for itself. Go to:
This is the debut album of the Italian band, whose mastermind is drummer Ross Lukather (Death SS, Labyrinth and Athena). If I didn’t know they are from Italy I would bet that this is a German band, because the music here is typical euro-power metal of the German school (or shall I say Finish school from now on?). One can never argue that the music is bad here. On the contrary the compositions are good, performance of each member is top class and the production is crystal-clear. Then what is the problem? That there is not an inch of originality. We’ve been listening to the same things since 1987, and especially after Stratovarius’ success in the mid-90’s it seems that hundreds of bands are trying to reap some benefits. The whole CD is as if I’m listening to one single track.... which I’ve heard again in Sonata Arctica’s last album. If one is stuck to this sound, he/she will enjoy the CD, but I find it boring. However there are some very good songs in here, like “Last Sunrise”. Plus a bunch of famous Italian artists give a helping hand: Oleg Smirnoff (Eldritch, Death SS, Vision Divine), Morby (Time Machine, Labyrinth, Domine), Terence Holler and Martin Khyn (Eldritch), and Robert Lukather on soprano sax. It won’t change our
life...
Ok, I can assure you that this group is the answer to those who argue that traditional heavy metal-hard rock cannot be fresh, innovative and that we have heard everything already many-many times. Not that Shiva provides here something completely new, rather have created an amazing mixture of various kinds of heavy music in such a way that the sound is interesting and rigorous. And of course this is bad for other groups of the traditional genre that play the same things again and again. The two members of the band, Mats Edstrvm (guitars, keyboards, background vocals) and Anette Johansson (lead and background vocals), have created a heavy pandemonium inviting us to dance. By the way Anette’s vocals give a strange, ethereal tone to the heavy songs. All those who have broken their backbones headbanging with Warlord, Helloween, Savatage, Judas Priest have now found an amazing album which blends all these influences in a modern blender and presents them with attitude, originality and passion! Astonishing songs of all possible moods and tunes march in front of us and I feel I’m in the middle of a tornado called “Completely Strangers”! I know I’m really harsh on the band with my grade...
Paul Shortino and Paul Northrup are here again after 11 years in order to offer us a second album after their successful “Back On Track” in 1993. Of course times have changed since the early 90’s but those two men can rock us pretty good again cause… that’s their way of living. So, what do you really expect to listen to here? What else than good hard rock music with nice vocal melodies. After all, those who know about the past of those two musicians know exactly what they are gonna listen to by getting this album. As for the others just to say that Paul was the singer of bands like Rough Cutt, and Quiet Riot, and on the other hand Jeff Northrup has played guitar for bands like Black Sheep, Cage, and XYZ. Well do not wait to listen to “Back On Track” part 2 here… as I told before times are not the same anymore but be sure that those two guys can still offer us interesting songs like the opener “Here I Am”, the excellent homonymous “Afterlife”, the sensitive ballad “Like A Stone”, the smooth rocker “Feel Again”, the catchy “Gypsy Soul”, the instrumental “Mark My Words” (which brought on my mind Santriani) and the second ballad of the album “Prisoner”. The production of the CD is very good and strong as well. This album is not only for the “old” hard rock fans but also for the new ones who like good rock melodies and raspy vocals. Ahh… I almost forgot to say about the artwork of the album… the girl in the cover is… truly an angel!
That was a good comeback. Shooting Star decided to release new material after a long time period and the final result was more than good. This time of course the mastermind of the band Van McLain (guitars) has joined forces with Kevin Chalfant (Two Fires/The Storm) and that seemed to be a very smart move. Kevin is in perfect shape and has delivered some excellent performances on this album. I’m sure that his great vocals made the songs of the album even better. Just listen to: “Runway”, “Without Love” (a sooo 80’s Journey like song… Kevin signs ala Perry), “George’s Song”, “Everybody’s Crazy”, “Temptation”, “I’m A Survivor” and “What Love Is” in order to get my point of view. My only objection here is about the flat production but I’m sure that this will change in the next release. I’m so glad that the old ones are returning with good works and showing to the young guys how good melodic music should be played! Recommended to the fans of the band and to all the AOR lovers.
I
must admit that I was expecting, judging by the cover of this album, that
this band would play a kind of brutal gore death metal music but those
Italians proved me wrong. Well here we have punk music that mixed with rock
n’ roll and with nu-metal elements… I cannot say that this album
contains original music but… you know what… many bands can play that
American nu-rock, nu metal punk RnR music better than these Italians. They
do what they can in order to sound like Americans and in the end they will
confuse you. If they were in the USA then I think that should have got a
chance to play in any soundtrack of those silly/cheesy shit nu age comedies
like “American pie” etc… but I’m sorry here in Europe this kind of
stuff does not sell at all… next one please…
Shugaazer is the new “modern” child of Paul Laine. Yes, you are reading
right. The singer of Danger Danger, Paul has formed his own band where he writes the most of the songs and seems that he decided that now is the
time to release the first album. All the fans of Danger Danger who are smiling with that, better be prepare to listen something absolutely new
from Paul and his band. Shugaazer are not playing hard rock music, like Danger Danger, but
they play pop/rock music with many modern and fresh elements. No, do not be captious, cause “Shift” is a very interesting
album and in some songs the band rocks pretty good! Paul managed to present a different site of his talent and this album is absolutely as the
title says… it is a shift for Paul and his band. Personally, I wasn’t really happy when I learned about the music style of Shugaazer but believe
me, when I listened to the album (about 7-8 times since then) I understand
how wrong I was! “Shift” is an excellent melodic pop/rock album that is
full of freshness! Maybe in the rest of Europe people like that kind of music but, believe me, here in Greece the fans are very few and it’s not
the specific kind of music or the bands which are responsible for that thing. Other occasions are responsible for that, but it is not time to
talk about them yet. So, I think that “Shift” will satisfy all those that
love songs with strong choruses and in general with great vocal melodies. Therefore songs like the hit “Kozmonaut”, the pop/rock ballad “When Ya
Gonna Break My Heart”, the modern pop/rock “Stepped Into My Universe”, the
tremendous, rocker “Beautiful”, the outstanding “Song For Lennon”, the
heavy “Enough” and the, outstanding, catchy “Something Worth Waiting
For” (maybe the most melodious song of 2003?!), will make you love this excellent album. Also to mention that the fresh, modern and very
impressive production of the album was made by Paul Laine! You do not have
an excuse to miss this incredible album cause if you do, I’ m sure that after some time you will regret it. Those who trust Paul, better buy
“Shift” as soon as they can and they will surely listen to some of the
best songs for this year.
This band comes from Sweden and the “Suffer In Silence” album is their debut album. Their music is a mixture of American Power metal and Swedish Death metal, adding some thrash metal elements. The CD starts with an atmospheric and almost sick sampler and after this the first aggressive riffs come against you! The whole album has some very good and catchy riffs (Tommy Djukin is the guitarist), together with some wonderful power metal solos. The vocalist
(Tobbe Jansson has recorded the vocals, but now he has been replaced by Fredrik Eriksson) screams in most of the tracks, but there are also some more aggressive/hardcore vocals, which add a nice variety in the album. Also the catchy riffs of some tracks can stuck on your mind even with the first hearing! The drums make an aggressive attack, since they sound like coming straight from a thrash metal band. The production is good and clean (although it can become better in the future releases, especially in the way that the drums sound…) and it is almost appropriate for this kind of music. Generally, this is a nice album, but I am sure that these guys can produce much better music! Fans of Iced Earth, Leash Law and At The Gates can listen to it with satisfaction! Best tracks: “Longing For Sorrow”, “Old World Disorder” “My Only Family”, and “Backstabber”.
Silent
Rage's comeback was better than I was expecting! The new album which has the
fitting title "Still Alive" is really alive and kickin'! Silent
Rage are finally back after many years and they have wrote some remarkable
songslike the homonymous "Still Alive", the powerful
"Remember Me" (which will remind you Billy Idol) and the excellent
"Unchained", which was written by the legendary Dianne Warren.
Some songs of this album are really nostalgic and they might remind you the
good old bands like Kiss, Motley Crue and Poison. Also the cover of Alice
Cooper's "Is it My Body" is truly cool. Maybe the mighty grunge
scene once stopped their way back in the 90's but now after all those years
the band is back and the grunge genre has disappeared! So, that thing shows
that the band members actually love the music that they play! The people
that liked Silent Rage and they were disappointed from their long absence
all those years,will like this comeback album! Personally I enjoyed
"Still Alive" very much.
This
is the side project of 
Although Silver is a quite new band (their debut album was released in 2001), the members of the band are not only “old” in the rock scene, but they also know rock music better than many other musicians. If you are thinking that you have heard those things many times before, and finally the line up was not so impressive as you were expecting, then read below to see who is who. Well, we have Gary Barden (ex-M.S.G., Statetrooper, Praying Mantis) on vocals, Bernie Torme (ex-Gillan, Ozzy, Desperado) on guitars, Don Airey (Deep Purple, ex-Ozzy, Whitesnake, Gary Moore) on keyboards, Bertram Engel (Peter Maffay, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Palmer) on drums and Colin Hodginson (Schon+Hammer, Whitesnake) on bass. Are you impressed? So, they also invited some friends of them to help them with the recordings like, Tommy Denander (Radioactive, AOR, Prisoner) on guitars, Marco Minnemann) Paul Gilbert, ex-H-Blockx) on drums. In this point I must mention that the mastermind behind Silver and also the producer of the band is the great Michael Voss (Casanova, Demon Drive, Mad Max, ex-Bonfire). So, after the presentation of the band let’s focus on the music part (and the most important) of this album. Silver, as it is obvious, plays melodic rock music with many A.O.R. and hard rock elements from song to song. The opener song of the album is the “difficult” “Intruder” and I call this song “difficult”, cause it needs many listenings to get use to it and then, surely you’re gonna love the very smart verse that it has! Other songs that you gonna like is the outstanding melodic (and my favorite one) “I Don’t Love You Anymore”, the mellow “Shine On You”, the rock ‘n’ roller “Come On”, the amazing gloomy ballad “When The Lights Go Down (Jovel Song)”, the rocker “Kismet” and the atmospheric ballad “How Does It Feel”. Michael Voss as said before made the production and it is really very good. So, whoever loves melodic rock music, memorable songs and excellent hooklines, better check out Silver right away. Being strict…
Silver comes from Norway and the “White Diary” album is their first
full-length album. Although they come from a classic metal country, these
guys play a mixture of punk and rock
Silver Dirt is a newcomer Swiss rock band which started as a Led Zeppelin
cover band under the name of Zoso. When they started recording their own
songs they changed their name to Silver Dirt and they finally released this
indie album. The band is influenced by Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, AC/DC,
Krokus, Electric Angels, Guns n’ Roses, a little of Sex Pistols (their
music has some punk elements as well), and all those big bands that mixed
up rock n’ roll with hard rock music in the past. Their songs are not
bad at all and they are very powerful. The production is fine and
in-your-face as a rock n’ roll production should be. “Sonic Boom” is
a nice album that it won’t offer you something new but it will keep you
good company if you like in your face hard rock n’ roll music and you
also like beers. It’s better to see those kind of bands on stage
‘cause their show should be full of energy. If you like to support
a new hard rock n’ roll band that knows how to play good rock n’ roll
music then do not think twice.
Silver
Seraph is a band from Sweden and as I have guess that this is their
first homonymous album. Well the members of the band, as anyone can see,
love bands like Rainbow, and Malmsteen. The music that they play is
symphonic hard rock with many neoclassical metal elements. The whole
thing might seem a bit confusing, but the things are so simple. Just
listen to songs like "7th Day Of Babylon", "Desperate
Heart" (with the sweet melodic chorus), "Black Rain" and
the incredible mid-ballad "Loving You". The members of the
band seem to like best the 80's metal scene when the specific genre was
actually popular. In fact this is not a bad thing, cause it proves that
the band is playing the music that they truly be keen on and admire. As
a matter of fact, the band's playing pretty good and naturally this
album will be appreciated, from the fans of Malmsteen and Rainbow and
generally the fans of symphonic hard rock/metal music, a lot. If you
consider yourself as a fan of this genre just try in some way, to listen
to Silver Seraph. Perhaps this album isn't the best of the year, but the
guys here have made a beyond doubt nice work that's full of passion and
honesty! Personally I'll wait for the next effort of the band to see if
they will have a progress as a band and as musicians. Before I finish,
this review I'll suggest you to listen to "Silver Seraph" and
decide for yourselves. 
Well… what do we have here? Second solo album from Mr. Simmons after so many years huh? Is there any profound reason that Mr. Simmons decided to release a new solo album after so much time? Of course… every artist and every band releases a new album when they want to express themselves and have something new and fresh to offer. But I do not think that Mr. Simmons had those things in his mind while he was recording this album. Maybe the only word that was inside his head before and after the recordings was money… and only money! Why? Does he have no money? No, there is no way… he had become rich due to us so he has a lot of money. I can simply say that he is a very greedy person. So, he offers us some leftovers b-side songs of Kiss like “Sweet & Dirty
Love” and “Carnival Of Souls”, a stupid cover on “Firestarter” of Prodigy, some ridiculous-synth-pop-wannabe-ballads like “Waiting For The Morning
Light” (the great Bob Dylan has co-written and also participating in this song), “Beautiful”, “Now That
You’re Gone”, “Whatever Turns You On”, “If I Had A Gun”, “I Dream A Thousand
Dreams” and finally some crap rock songs like “Weapons Of Mass
Destruction” and “Black
Tongue”, in order to convince us that they are truly good songs and we (the loyal fans) must get them if we really love artists like him! But there is no chance! Gene Simmons has set us a trap like Metallica did a year ago with the absolute crap “St. Anger”. Why should we continue to support such artists if the only thing that they care about is money?
Haven’t we paid them enough all those years? What else do they want from us?! Retirement is the only word that comes on my mind… retirement now!
One
of the best bands of new wave/pop-rock music of the 80’s is presenting
its new studio album and is sure that it won’t disappoint anyone of
their loyal fans. The music of this album is moving between the band’s
80’s era (“Once Upon A Time”) and still has some 80’s U2 elements
on it. The production is very clear and the band is in a very good shape.
Some songs from this album are going to gain some air-play just like in
80’s and these songs in my opinion are: “Stay Visible”, “Home”,
“Different World”, “The Jeweller”, “Black & White” and my
beloved “Dolphins”. The whole album has a gloomy, mood atmosphere and
it is sure that some of you gonna feel nostalgic about the 80’s. As I
said before this album won’t disappoint anyone and it will leave you a
sweet melancholic feeling after the first listen. I like this album even
though Simple Minds is not one of my favourite bands but they have given
the message with “Black & White 050505” that they are not joking
at all. A good album that will satisfy all the fans of the band.
Do
you like straight hard rock, with heavy metal extensions and melodic rock
feeling?? Then this is your record for this month. S.I.N. is the band of
guitarist Deddy Andler and British singer Jason Marks This is the second
effort and it is quite impressive indeed. The band manages to balance upon
the aforementioned genres, presenting a straightforward approach to hard
rock. The sound of the album takes me back to the first albums of Casanova
and the later works of Pink Cream 69. Of course at times you can
distinguish common influences with Danger Danger, Jaded Heart, Great White
and Dokken. Not bad huh? Yes, and of course the production is crystal
clear, as the album was produced by the duo of Andler & Frank at CBV
Studios in 
Sinergy's third album is a hymn to heavy metal
music. Straight, pure heavy metal with heavy guitars, following Judas Priest's and Iron Maiden's
lessons. However they are far from being just cheap immitators, as they embelish their music with a variety of
sounds, power metal bridges, multiple voices etc. The production is crystal clear and close to the modern heavy metal
sound. To be honest I didn't expect to listen to something that good. The advantage of the
album, in comparison to other reckordings of the same genre, is that you don't have to listen to the first song and be sure that you have heard the whole
album. On the contrary the songs vary to each other as you can hear straight fast songs like Spit on your
Grave, songs with refrains directed to excite the crowd in the gigs like
Violate, and rythmic songs like Suicide by my side. My only unpleasant observation goes to
Kimberly, as she doesn't have to try and sound that bad, in order to convince us about her being a good metal
vocalist.
“Behind Eyes Of Hatred” is the second release of the promising extreme metal band Single Bullet Theory. The band plays a mix of death/heavy metal music along with some melodic metal parts while the vocals sometimes are brutal and others are melodic. This music style is becoming very popular and many bands are producing albums in this style nowadays. Just not forget that one of the bands that started the whole thing was Soilwork… a band that has influenced every band of this genre. But there are bands that can easily play this kind of music successfully and others that are trying to combine extreme and melodic metal music with no success at all. Single Bullet Theory is one of those bands that can easily play this kind of music and they have some very good ideas from song to song. They maybe have some more death elements on some songs but I like the way that they combine brutal and melodic vocals. Of course they must create a more personal sound in the future if they want to differ from the other bands. The production is very good and modern (James Murphy is responsible that) and the band’s performance is very good as well. So, if you like this kind of music and you also like extreme metal music as much as you like melodic metal then do not forget to check out songs like: “Cold As Stone”, “The Needle”, “Retribution” and “Hollowed Out” and then decide on your own. Just to add that the album has a cover of Metal Church’s “Badlands” and that the double CD edition includes a DVD with James Murphy speaking about the band, tour shots, interview and other stuff.
"There will be execution" is the…scary title of Sinner's new album. For the fans of the heavy metal community, Sinner are well known, as is one of the Germany's oldest bands of this specific genre. The bandleader Mat Sinner (also a member of Primal Fear) is in front of the "lights" for more than 20 years. So, getting back to the new album, I found out that Sinner went into a much heavier direction… The pretty dark lyrics get accompanied by aggressive riffing. But hearing the eleven songs of this album -that they hardy kept my eyes and ears open-, I concluded that there were two, or maybe three remarkably songs but that was all! Sinner are offering us a dynamic album, but as far as it concerns me, it was very hard to find the element of inspiration and originality. So, I heard familiar melodies and twice-told riffs, and I thought why should I wait for Sinner's album to hear the same stuff for once again? Many of the songs (for example "Locked & Loaded" or "Requiem For A Sinner" sound really monotonous in spite the crushing drum attacks from Saxon's drummer Fritz
Randow. Nevertheless, I must underline that songs like "The River" as a mid-tempo rocker is one of the most melodic tracks on the album and a nice change among all these heavy headbangers but also there is the beautiful ballad "Crown Of Thorns" -only carried by soft acoustic guitars, and the raw vocals by Mat Sinner, those two were definitely excellent songs. Well, I don't know if you're going to like this album or not, but I' m sure that if you are a fan of Primal Fear or of Thunderhead you shouldn't miss
it!
After about a year since their debut album, Sirenia are back with a brand new album entitled “An Elixir For Existence”. For those who are familiar with the music style of the band, this album will be more than welcomed. Moving to known music paths Sirenia play a fine mixture of gothic metal/rock with classical influences and some black and death metal elements. I liked a lot the nine songs of this new album and the whole result succeed to find the gold balance between dynamic and powerful rhythm guitars and the atmospheric keyboards that were spiced with melancholic piano and violin melodies and ethereal vocals. The fabulous female French singer Fabienne Gondamin has done an excellent job in the along with the male singer. Although the atmosphere changes frequently not only from song to song but also on the same song, this is not coming up with a confused result. Some of the tracks that I really enjoyed were the dynamic “Metal Symphony” with a tremendous piano melody as well as a great guitar riff, the fabulous “Voices Within” that is moving on the same way, the nightmarish “In My Darkest Hours” the atmospheric and mysterious “Save Me From Myself”. Surprise of the album was the last instrumental song “Seven Sirens And A Silver Tear” which has an amazing melody that stuck in my mind for days even if it is rather depressing. Well my only objection could be that I expected from Sirenia to go a step forward and not to stay in their previous “safe” form, which make them as one of the promising goth bands of our time. But in spite this; they managed to release another fine album, which the fans of this genre will really enjoy!