House of Lords - World Upside Down
Finally a good HOL release... after the last one was so disappointing, and James Christian's solo album kinda just OK, I was expecting this to be a turkey. Oh its great to be so wrong. "Field of Shattered Dreams" has my pick right now, terrific song from a really great album. Full review to come very soon.

Edguy - Rocket Ride
What can I say? I love me some Edguy... my favorite track currently is "Superheroes". Just so freakin' catchy and Tobias sounds awesome! Probably end up being one of my favorite albums from this year before its all over.

Guitini Project - II & III
Having never heard II, I am tackling them both at once, so far so good...Tony Martin is always a pleasure to hear fronting anything.

Anderson Laine Readman - Three
So another CD with the title of three... this one is really kickin' though. I love the voices of both Laine and Readman and with the short running times and powerpacked songs, its a great disc to whip through without dedicating alot of time to it. Sometimes you just want to be entertained and not put alot of deep thought into anything you know?

Jeff Scott Soto - Essential Ballads
JSS has a great voice, and although I have become a little tired of it over the years due to his plethora of projects, I am always eager to hear what hes going to come up with next. This compilation of tunes (+3 newies) delivers in a big way. A JSS anthem song was recently broadcast during a NBA playoff game... just thought Id mention that since melodic rock is often not given such a gigantic audience.

Da Vinci - Da Vinci
This should be a big seller... you know, with The Da Vinci Code movie hype and all that. Do you really think it was coincidence that this is getting a release the same month the controversial movie is getting put out? Ah of course not. Their second album is much better, maybe someone will dig it out of the vaults one of these days.

Stratovarius - Visions
I fondly remember when this was unleashed upon an unsuspecting public. Although, I had forgotten about a couple of the songs on the disc, mainly "Black Diamonds" and the repetitive but still awesomely hauntingly rocking "The Abyss of Your Eyes". Its hard to believe this one is almost ten years old...

Last Autumn's Dream - Winter in Paradise
Winter is coming... or is it already here? Full review to come soon of this one too. Not a bad disc really....

Survivor - Reach
There are a handful of songs here definitely worth the time to revisit and replay. Jimi is just such a great vocalist, I adore his voice and love hearing him sing again and again. Too many ballads perhaps, but it doesn't sully the quality of the other songs.

Written by Alanna
Wednesday, May 17, 2006