Category Cd Reviews

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Manchester band The Goddamn Electric formed in January 2010, and released their debut EP in late 2011. Now at the start of 2013 they are releasing their debut album – Snake Bite. The band are named after the Pantera song of the same name, and the album is either intended to sound wild, or it’s named after their favourite drink.

The band look like they’re going to have a good year with the release of their debut album, festival appearances already confirmed at Hammerfest, Scarfest and Les-fest, gigs with Massive Wagons and Jettblack, an album launch show and who knows what else is still to come.

Until I was sent the album to review I must admit I hadn’t listened to them at all...

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Angel Air/Border

Super groups are not a newly coined phenomenon. 1976 saw the rise of WIDOWMAKER, a band with plenty of rock pedigree. The lineup sported Steve Ellis on lead vocals, previously of LOVE AFFAIR and a solo career and guitarist Ariel Bender (real name Luther Grosvenor) of SPOOKY TOOTH, MOTT THE HOOPLE and STEALERS WHEEL fame. Today we would rank Bob Daisley (ex CHICKEN SHACK, ex. RAINBOW, ex. OZZY OSBOURNE, ex. URIAH HEEP, ex. GARY MOORE etc. etc.) and former HAWKWIND guitarist Huw Lloyd Langton at least as high. Drums on the album come courtesy of Paul Nichols (later on with IPANEMA KATZ) and some keyboards were supplied by Zoot Money, who played with a lot of Brit rock royalty.

This album is filled with cozy 70´s rock, often rather slow but at the same time mesmerizing...

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Magna Carta/Border

A band consisting of a progressive metal band´s vocalist, a renowned blues rock guitarist and a former drummer of a latter day American progressive rock band, would that suite anyone? Why not, as it is dUg Pinnick, Eric Gales and Thomas Pridgen who are at work. All members seem to have had their say in creating this album, and I very much like their individual styles. The info sheet promises a mix of KINGS X, THE ERIC GALES BAND and the MARS VOLTA, serving as a bas to attract fans of as diverse acts as CREAM, STEVIE RAY VAUGHN and TOOL!

Opener “Collateral Damage” is seventies groovy blues which is intriguing and has a distinct black sound to it, but it still only serves as a teaser of things to come...

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Frontiers/BAM

German chart success PINK CREAM 69 returns with their eleventh album, not counting EPs and live outings. Founded in 1987 the band still has guitarist Alfred Koffler in its ranks, and bass player/producer Denis Ward has been along almost as long. The rest of the band are vocalist extraordinaire David Readman, guitarist since 2007 Uwe Reitenauer, and the latest addition, drummer Chris Schmidt (SUNSTORM). The first era of the band included vocalist Andi Deris and ended sometime after the album “Thunderdome” (2004). The second era started in 2007, I wonder if they are on the rise or in decline?

If this album had been all in the playfulness and excellence of Eastern sounding opener “Land of Confusion” and the enjoyable mix of IRON MAIDEN melody and a distinct modern touch in ...

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Pure Steel Records/Sound Pollution

Sicilian band STEEL RAISER first showed themselves in 2008 with their debut “Race of Steel” in 2008. They have an obvious love of classic powerful heavy metal, and the info sheet mentions JUDAS PRIEST´s “Painkiller”. Vocalist Alfonso Giordano is described as a mix of Rob Halford, Udo Dirkschneider and David Wayne (METAL CHURCH, REVEREND). We all know what to expect…

Opner “Cyberlazer” displays a band going full-throttle with a most ok track, reminiscent of NWOBHM band BLITZKRIEG. They go for a further dose of the UK with “Finalizer”, but end up less successful than with the opener. What surprises me is that the iron vocalist that the info speaks about seems to be in a bit of problems with tracks like “Metal Maniac” and “The Executioner”...

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Angel Air/Border

On April 6 1995 WISHBONE ASH played the Rock Heroes Festival in Geneva. Their performance was captured for posterity and is now re-released with a Flash Player track of opener “The King Will Come”.

When ubiquitous guitarist/vocalist Andy Powell greeted the audience with “… We´re of cause WISHBONE ASH…” it has a doubtful ring to it. The original band was gone as original vocalist/bass player Martin Turner upped and left in 1991, drummer Steve Upton left both the band and the music business while Ted Turner lasted a live album longer that the two aforementioned. So in time for the 25th anniversary Andy met with a manager, Martin Looby, who in turn secured the band a spot on a rock festival in Geneva...

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If were to peel back the decadent layers of pop and drama of a typical Mumford and Sons song, to be left with only the raw, unflinching basics of its inner most rhythms you might come close to describing the sound of Frightened Rabbit. But not quite.
There’s something unique about this Scottish 5 piece; something more moody, more gripping, more earnest and more mysterious – breaking the mould of typical British indie/folk/grunge/bearded/pop rock (or whatever you call it) artists….
The latest album Pedestrian Verse is a deadly mix of stirring bass from Billy Kennedy, guitars that subtly texture verses one minute then crash and light up angrily the next provided by Andy Monaghan and Gordon Skene (who also throws keys into the shimmering mix), following the triumphant drumming of Grant ...

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’Variables EP’- after a bigger tour and being in the final of one of the most famous rock-metal contest of Scandinavia, these five guys from Västerås are ready to conquer the metal era. At least its seem so. Their first album will release soon- maybe in one month, but the hungry audience already got a chance to taste how the Drake disc will sound.

Following their first, electro, metal and also pop infulenced music video, there is a strong single already released from the soon appearing debut album few days ago. „This new tune, the single, called ’Judgement’- in its total essence, is about being yourself, being strong and not following everyone else, only your own life as a dream. At the same time, it’s about the hardships of being the outcast somehow...

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Lordi may have achieved worldwide fame in 2006 when they won the Eurovision song contest, but the band had been around a long time by then. The band formed in 1992, and by 1994 the costumes and masks had appeared. It would be easy to assume that the costumes and masks are a case of image over substance, but listen to one of the band’s albums and you’ll soon find that’s far from the truth. Lordi are actually a very talented band that you really should listen to – after all, a gimmick might get a band fame for a few years but no more than that, so for Lordi to last over 20 years suggests the music is good enough to stand on its own without the gimmicks.

Brief comments on a couple of songs..

The album starts with ”We’re Not Bad For The Kids (We’re Worse)” – a song that sounds like Lordi...

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Greek AOR band Wild Rose formed in 2004 and released their demo in 2005 before following this up with a single in 2006. After that they were quiet for several years, partly due to two members of the band having to carry out military service, so it wasn’t until October 2011 that they released their debut album – half past midnight. Since then they haven’t wasted any time and at the start of 2013 are ready to release their second album – Dangerous.

The Greek music scene seems to have been growing in prominence in the last couple of years. Before then most rock fans would have struggled to name a single Greek band other than Firewind, but Wild Rose are probably around the tenth Greek band I’ve listened to in the last six months, and the standards have been extremely high.

A lot of AOR is l...