Category Cd Reviews

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Frontiers/BAM

Veteran JEFF SCOTT SOTO started out in the 80´s as a member of YNGWIE MALMSTEEN`s ever changing band, continued with the likes of EYES, TALISMAN, later on SOUL SIRKUS and since 1994 he´s been doing solo albums. The last few of them has been so soft they´ve been bordering on elevator music, or funk. For this his twelfth album all in all he seems to have injected the rock back into his output. Celebrity guests included Dave Meniketti of Y&T, Jamie Borger of TALISMAN/TREAT and Joel Hoekstra of NIGHT RANGER.

He still has it, that is for sure. I´ve seen him live on some occasions and he has gone more and more in the direction of funk. But here is Jeff back in the rock. Opener “Give a Little More” has a soft touch to the rockier style, not the most exciting cut to open with...

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Massacre/Sound Pollution

Italian six-piece metal band 5 STAR GRAVE return with their second effort. Modern, groovy, with street attitude and a bit of punk thrown in, the info has a lot to say. For years on from their debut “Corpse Breed Syndrome” the band returns to be politically incorrect again. Production comes courtesy of Tobias Lundström at Bohus Sound Studios, so what could go wrong?

The eleven tracks are a mix of three grades, 2, 3 and 4. The real stinkers are not found here, neither the really outstanding efforts. 5 STAR GRAVE utilizes several harsh voices, loops, a fine overall sound picture but messes it up, and I don´t think that this album will be anything but forgotten by 2015...

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Massacre/Sound Pollution

Thrashers DERIDE of Norway return with their third album. They soon opted for agro, after forming in Bergen in 1995. A self recorded EP and a demo secured them a deal with the Music Cartel. Two albums followed, “Scars of Time” in 2001 and “First Round Knockout” in 2003. The band went into hiatus for some time afterwards, returning with this release for Massacre. Today the band consists of original members Ole Walaunet, guitars and Tony Vetaas, bass/vocals, plus Kjetil Greve, drums, and Per Helge Lande, vocals.

The band has recorded the album themselves, and done a good job achieving an airy sound. The whole album seems devoid of refrains and filled with thrash in a modern form and shrill vocals...

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Livewire/Cargo

DONNIE VIE is the central figure of NUFF´Z´NUFF, the ever evolving pop metal band. 16 releases on he is on his own with a quartet. Live they do both band and solo stuff, but here is a brand new album from the singer/songwriter. There will surely be attitude and routine, but the rest?

The title track has Rock´n´Roll fuel paired with something catchy and compelling, plus a fun refrain. But the slow movers tend to take over the album, rendering it somewhat tame. “Wonderland” is BEATLES´Z´NUFF as usual, but it takes until “Lil´ Wonder” before the album is interesting again, leaving four cuts pretty slow and stale, though they show sign of craftsmanship. The rest of the album, four more songs, are perhaps both stereotype and emotional and rocking in a VIE way...

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Ear Music/Playground

Good ole mates Tony and Ian have been doing things on the side of their day jobs in BLACK SABBATH and DEEP PURPLE before. Once in a blue moon (1983 approximately) they even hooked up in SABBATH to conceive “Born Again”, to alarming reactions. Long after that incarnation they joined forces again in Rock Aid Armenia, which brought much better headlines. Later years saw them doing some studio sessions and started a rumor, which ended up as the WHOCARES. The project involved bass player Jason Newstedt, guitarist Linde Lindström of HIM, the late great Jon Lord and drummer Nicko McBrain. The project amounted to a couple of official tracks, but the duo has decided on a double album to help build a school in Armenia...

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Massacre/Sound Pollution

Newcomers HELLDORADOS has an info sheet filled with nice words from artists like Ralf Scheepers and Uwe Reitenauer. And they used the same studio in Hannover as SCORPIONS, HELLOWEEN and KREATOR, and the internet campaign is in full bloom. This creates great expectations, of cause. Further on the band is described as playing music with the hit potential of ABBA, the sleaze of GUNS´N´ROSES and the brutality of PANTERA. Now this better be something out of the ordinary!

The opening piano/synth intro is sedated, not wild. The opening spit in “Never Gonna Sop” is followed by a sticky riff, and an ok refrain. The sound is Old School hard rock, nothing like the info says...

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Escape/Sound Pollution

POLUTION was formed back in 1997, and have achieved two full-length albums, one in 2007, and this one now in 2012.
The band originally performed covers, and have supported the likes of AC/DC, KROKUS and JOHN COGHLAN (ex. STATUS QUO). Their debut “Overheated” is described as somewhat quirky, this time they opt for a more polished sound, somewhere in the region of GOTTHARD and KROKUS, or even NICKELBACK, argh.

But what about the voice!? After a short intro they go for the ok “Fire”, with a nice refrain and some force behind it…but the voice seems uncomfortable with the style? The pace is not always amusing, the songs are even vague at times, like “Forever and a Day”, and I don´t remember the lyrics...

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Massacre/Sound Pollution

CATAMENIA was founded back in 1995 by long-serving guitarist Riku Hopeakoski (and Mika Tönning, who left in 2003). Most of the band was replaced around 2010, apart from quite faithful bass player Miko Hepo-oja who has been in the band twice. Ten albums including this, which is a rerecorded best of, so we better say nine and a best of. The band has a loyal following, so I hope they stay loyal after this.

The epic Finnish style that is almost omnipresent is probably a wise choice. Dealing in highly melodic black metal the band has a fine sense of arrangements and their national folk music. The mix of heavy metal and black metal is delicate to me, but maybe not to others...

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Angel Air/Border

1979 saw the release of SAXON´s self-titled debut, and the success that followed with classics like ”Wheels of Steel”, “Strong Arm of the Law”, “Denim and Leather” etc. was unmitigated. In 1986 bass player and major song contributor Steve “Dobby” Dawson was fired and the formula was starting to crack. 1995 saw Graham Oliver being ousted, and the direction of the band change. The former members were involved in a bit of this and that, solo albums, UZI and then, in 1996, the release of the SON OF A BITCH, the name of one of the bands that initially became SAXON, album “Victim You”, featuring THUNDERHEAD singer Ted Bullet. The band metamorphosed into Oliver Dawson SAXON, and ex. SLASH vocalist John “Wardi” Ward was appointed new frontman...

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Limb Music/Sound Pollution

Austrian band DRAGONY started out as THE DRAGONSLAYER PROJECT in 2007. The nucleus of guitarists Daniel Stockinger and Andreas Poppernitsch plus vocalist Siegfrid Samer was soon augmented by more musicians. Opening for bands like AXXIS, FIREWIND and SONATA ARCTICA saw them add on drummer Frederic Brunner, keyboard player Georg Lorentz and bass man Herbert Glos. In early 2011 they changed names into DRAGONY, which was probably a wise move. The album was finished late last year, including guests like Ralf Scheepers of PRIMAL FEAR, Tom Tieber of ECLIPTICA and Katie Joanne of SIREN´S CRY. Mika Jussila did the mastering at Finnvox Studios and the band seems aimed at future glory, the info citing similarities to SABATON, EDGUY, KAMELOT…or?

The pompous opener “Of Le...