Category Cd Reviews

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SPV/Playground

Formed in 1998 by GAMMA RAY drummer Dan Zimmerman and vocalist/guitarist Chris Bay, the band went on to stardom, healthy sales, extensive touring and unexpected member changes. Their debut “Stairway to Fairyland” got them a good start in 1999 and all in all this is their seventh full-length release. Today´s lineup lacks Dan, who left in 2010, but Chris remains, while guitarist Lars Rettkowitz, bassist Sammy Saemann and drummer Klaus Sperling complete the ranks. 14 new tracks are on offer here, all fantasy and no doubt power metal with some imagination added.

The bag-pipe sounding “Age of the Phoenix” does a respectable job as an opener, but the almost silly and somewhat ESC friendly “Rockstars” does it even better...

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It’s that time of year again – its time for the Eurovision song contest. To coincide with the contest, the album is being released with all the entries on it. While most of Europe seems to take it very seriously, in Britain its always been regarded as a bit of a joke – which presumably explains some of the entries we’ve put forward over the years.

I’d love to have had introductions between the songs by Terry Wogan – his presentation of the TV broadcast was always entertaining and I can’t help thinking that him doing some talking between the songs on the album would have boosted sales.

The songs are very variable in terms of style ranging from Euro-disco, to ballads, to pop, and also in quality – from the extremely good to the truly awful...

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Steamhammer/Playground

The story of UFO dates back to 1969, and goes on and on. The voice of Phil Mogg has always been there, the nucleus of Pete Way, bass, Andy Parker, drums, plus Michael Schenker is perhaps the names most people associate with their heyday. Schenker left in 78 though so to be fair there´s also much to be said about the years with Paul Chapman, Neil Carter and Paul Raymond. But back to 2012 and the incarnation of the ubiquitous Phil Mogg, the nearly as present Andy Parker, plus Paul Raymond and “new boy” guitar wiz Vinnie Moore. The battles of old seem to be toned town, and much of the party rumors may have left with Pete Way. The new album has been a talker, and praised highly by many…let´s see…

Opener “Fight Night” capitalizes on the patented UFO sound, boost...

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Massacre/Sound Pollution

Israelian progressive death force PREY FOR NOTHING releases their second album. Drummer Iftah Levi, bass player Amir Salomon and guitarist Yaniv Aboudy had been in one of PAUL DI`ANNO´s may backing bands around the world. After a tour they decided on disbanding their old unit, DAMNATION, and become more faithful to their mutual musical taste. Completed by vocalist Yotam “Defiler” Avni the quartet debuted with “Violence Divine” in 2008. To follow suit with DEATH and TESTAMENT the band was joined by second guitarist Tal Behar and toured Israel. Massive hitters with metallic brilliance are promised, and they can appeal to fans of both OPETH and BEHEMOTH according to the info.

The vocals are not over the top, and their mix of prog and melodic death metal light...

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DKS Music/BAM Finland

Finnish band ANCARA has lots of eighties touch, not least the pedigree of the musicians. The band debuted in 2008 with “The Dawn”, followed by an EP, “The World”, which reached the top ten singles chart in Finland. Second attempt, “Beyond the Dark” was yet again a native hit in 2007, and now we get a third album, somewhat belated album.

The un-eighties sound of “We Paint December” fills my head. The chorus is big enough but there is no clear decade bound sound, as promised. The slight hit feeling of “Far from Grace” is not bad either, but… There is an overuse of pop/rock in some tracks and the feeling of fillers sometimes appears, as in the closing track “Farewell” and the somewhat off “Nicole”...

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Eugene Twist is a singer/songwriter/musician from Glasgow. On this his debut album, he not only wrote the songs, but sings them as well as playing guitar, drums and various other instruments. It’s not totally a one-man show though – he does have a group of musicians playing other instruments – bass, keyboards, violin, clarinet, saxophone, cello and extra guitars.

The music is a kind of easy-going relaxed pop music, which is really pleasant and enjoyable to listen to. Whereas many singer/songwriter/musicians seem to go for more of a busking style with the sound really being dominated by a guitar and the vocals, Eugene Twist has produced an album with a richer more varied sound – having those extra musicians involved has really paid dividends.

Brief comments on a couple of songs…

The albu...

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Dead Belgian are a band from Liverpool who play the songs of Jacques Brel. For most people in the UK, Jacques Brel is an unfamiliar name – he was best known in France and his home country of Belgium. Born in 1929, he was a Belgian singer and actor and died in 1978, and this is where the band take their name from – he’s a Dead Belgian singer. Most of his songs were recorded in French, but his songs were translated and performed by performers including Ray Charles, John Denver, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Andy Williams and more. With artists of that calibre performing his songs you get the idea that he’s obviously a very talented songwriter.

The four members of the band each rought their own influences to the band, from European folk to prog rock...

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Cyclone Empire/Sound Pollution

Spanish band DARKNESS BY OATH hasn´t really impressed me n the past. Since their formation in 2002 they have been addicts to the Gothenburg sound, even featured on a tribute to AT THE GATES. The first demo came in 2005, their debut followed a year later and a second assault in 2009. Slightly rearranged the band now consists of vocalist Aritz Nabarro, guitarists Tristan Iniguez and Alain Castano, bass player Gorka Otero, and drummer Asier Bilbao. Guests on the album are Anders Björler of AT THE GATES and Mario Iliopoulos of the excellent NIGHTRAGE.

Openers are a wicked thing, this one is windy, at first acoustic and slowly transgressing into an electric upstart of a song that is only in its first stages...

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Cyclone Empire/Sound Pollution

Formerly known as DEVASTATOR, this straightforward band admits to being in for a rocky ride by naming themselves after being in a BLESSED CURSE situation. The trio of Tyler Satterlee, guitars/vocals, Derek Bean, bass, and Patrick Hamby, drums have been at it since 2001, first as ATROSITY, well, well, and now as a descriptive title. Two EP´s, two demos, the latter two reused here and recorded with Juan Urteaga of EXODUS and HEATHEN fame. For fans of a.o. TESTAMENT and DEATH ANGEL says the info, sounds promising…

Gaaaah! “Bleeding Cross” sets the pace right from the start. Riffs galore and a fine solo go straight for the throat, lovely. The grooves are always there, they may hail from California but the tag Bay Area is inevitable...

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Inner Wound/Sound Pollution

Swedish quintet ANDROMEDA dates back to 1999. Six albums and one DVD later they are well-known in Scandinavia and Europe. They have played ProgPOwer USA and Slottsskogen Goes Progressive, and this is said to be their most mature effort so far.

This might be over the wall even in prog circles. Opener “Preemptive Strike”is a piece of advanced musical gymnastics, and quite heavy for its kind. “Lies´r´Us” heads down the same path, twisted even to the limit of not being engaging. They get away far better with the compelling “Stay Unaware” and the rather cozy “Survival of the Richest”. A tad of heedless thrash is probably present in the stomping “False Flag” but everything pales in comparison with the chanting “Chosen by God”...