Andromeda. Chimera
A unique album mixing catchy melodies and technical structures. Overall a very good effort.

Bon Jovi. One Wild Night - Live 1985-2001
Runaway live from Japan 1985 sounds so fresh and vivid but the sound is too often quite noisy, but overall decent. Just Older rocks big time.

Damian Wilson. Let's Start A Commune
A stirring album with some amazing and uplifting melodies, moving ballads and a voice beyond comprehension.

Dream Theater. Metropolis Pt.2: Scenes From A Memory
A coherent narrative with all the drama, magic and soul you could ever wish for.

Dream Theater. Score
Innocence Faded, Under A Glass Moon and The Spirit Carries On are exciting highlights on disc one. On the next two CD's the most excellent Octavarium Orchestra provides an ingenious dimension, the 46-minute Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence gets a new thrilling life (the original being fantastic too of course) and the Metropolis version is down right spine chilling. This band is beyond dreams and simply rules live.

Eden's Curse. Eden's Curse
Solid Heavy Rock album with a bunch of delicate moments and strong harmonies.

Firewind. Between Heaven And Hell
A powerful debut indeed, but the songs varied in quality and only a few stand out.

Iron Maiden. Death On The Road
A delightful and competent double live CD even though it's no Live After Death.
The sound gets a bit muddy but is overall powerful and crunchy. An energetic Wrathchild and forceful No More Lies are two of the best treats.

Machine Men. Scars And Wounds
Quite impressive debut from the Finnish Classic/Power Metal band. The lead guitar melodies are excellent.

Mercenary. First Breath
Aggressive and raw debut with a bunch of good songs and some that fade too quickly from memory. This is before "clean" vocalist Mikkel joined the band and I'm not really a fan of the harsh vocals from Kral when they dominate, the female passages add a dynamic dimension though.

Mercenary. Everblack
You could begin to spot their potential here, not the most dynamic album but some really competent compositions along the way.

Orphaned Land. Sahara (Re-release)
It has its captivating moments, but also appears fragmented at times and a bit unmemorable. Interesting ideas here but far from as musically fulfilled as Mabool.

Primal Fear. New Religion
It's a good album but not as worked through as Seven Seals. I miss the really strong tracks but the band can certainly play and Ralf has some thrilling moments.

Sieges Even. Sophisticated (Remastered Edition)
The title gives a good hint of what to expect. You have to be on you toes to keep up with this fascinating firestorm of twisted ideas.

Threshold. Clone
A futuristic scenario painted with a thick and precise pencil. Solid release.

Threshold. The Ravages Of Time
2 CD's packed with some of the bands greatest compositions make this worth considering for newcomers. If you own the back catalogue, then the four radio edited tracks is the extra weight you get, so not that much value for your money here, but you get a varied selection of this band successful career until now.

Written by Tommy
Tuesday, November 27, 2007