The Poodles: Sweet Trade.
I got exposed to the fantastic track Flesh And Blood by a coincident, and just loved it form the first spin! The melodic chorus is just so extremely catchy! To my surprise, the rest of the album lived up to my positive impression of the band; Hard Rock at it's finest.
Vinnie Vincent Invasion: All Systems Go.
Being a big Kiss-fan, I finally got around checking out Vinnie Vincent's solo stuff. An overall very strong record, featuring sex-crazed lyrics, sing-a-long-choruses and capturing melodies, all laced with the charismatic vocals of Mark Slaughter. To be honest, I don't think Vinnie is the best guitarplayer in the world, his abilities lies in the songwriting department, but there's just something about his over-the-top style, I find quite charming!
Pink Cream 69: Thunderdome.
What can I say about this masterpiece, without sounding totally obsessed about Pink Cream 69? I guess I can only say that if you like anthemic choruses, wild guitar soloing, chunky riffs and soaring vocals, you won't go wrong with this one! Gods Come Together is a song I can never tire off, the melodic chorus and simple-yet-so-effective riff wins me over every time!
Ratt: Everything.
I'm not really big on the Glam/Sleeze-style, but I've actually become quite a huge Ratt-fan! It all started with the best of Ratt 'n' Roll, and right from the first godly intro riff to You're In Love, I was exactly that. What a perfect song! Later, I discovered the rest of their backcatalogue, and was very surprised about the consistency of their career. It seems I can never get tired of albums like Invasion Of Your Privacy, Dancing Undercover or Detonator. Stephen Pearcy's vocals are full of attitude and fits the music perfectly, and I love the sound of the band overall, but what really lift the songs to another level, is the wonderful guitarwork of Warren DeMartini. His wild shedding and melodic solos adds that edgy profile, I too often find missing in this type of music.
Communic: Waves Of Visual Decay.
The first time I laid this disc in the player, I wasn't too sure what to think, but something compelled me to listen to it again. And again. Until the album slowly started to fall into place and make sense. The music of Communic is extremely emotional, creating melancholic, yet dreamy atmospheres. Frozen Asleep In The Park is one of the saddest, most moving songs I've heard in a long time!
Europe: Start From The Dark.
When I first listened to Start From The Dark, I was surprised to say the least. Is this Europe? But after repeated listening, everything started to fall into place until the album settled as one of my absolute favourite Europe-records! The dark and eerie atmosphere in songs like Start From The Dark and the fantastic Flames shows a whole new side of the band, and while I admit it took a while to get used to and accept this new direction (especially the modern guitar sound), its been totally worth it, when the record unfolds its true magic!
Edguy: Tinnitus Sanctus.
Tobias Sammet took a lot of musical chances lately. Some of them I wasn't too ecstatic about (neither Rocket Ride nor The Scarecrow was the glory rush it should have been), but with Tinnitus Sanctus he hit bull's-eye! With this album's perfect mixture of a vast heap of styles, I start to grasp, what the band tried to accomplish on Rocket Ride, and this time, they succeeded!
Wizard: Thor.
Fast, ballsy, full of power and oozing of that classic Metal feeling, Wizard continue their quest to bring real Metal to the masses! Full review coming soon!
One Man Army and the Undead Quartet: Grim Tales.
Johan Lindstrand of melodic Death/Thrash band The Crown formed this awesome band after the demise of The Crown. Pretty melodic but very Thrashy at the same time. A delight to the ear, but still full of attitude, Grim Tales is a hard-hitting, yet catchy beast!
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