Asia. Asia
It just has this transparent youthful charisma; the way Heat Of The Moment slowly builds up and the powerful drive of Here Comes The Feeling are blessed moments, just great classic Rock.
Cage. Science Of Annihilation
With a massive attack on your system Cage delivers another superb Power Metal album.
Conception. Flow
Completely in a world of it's own, slightly ambient, very progressive, odd, emotional and rich in colourful atmospheres. Roy Khan handles the vocals delicately.
Damian Wilson. Cosmas
Soothing company for a quite evening, Damian's fantastic voice coupled with mellow, pleasant melodies is a delightful match.
Danger Danger. Four the Hard Way
It's not up there with the bands first albums; too many standard elements prevent it from really opening up. From time to time it shows potential and ends up as a pretty good album.
Entwine. Painstained
It fails to really stand out but with that said there is some quite decent and diverse Heavy Metal to enjoy here.
Foreigner. Double Vision (Re-release)
Hot Blooded is irresistible and I can't help being captured by the tender sentiments of You're All I Am. Not among Foreigners best albums though.
Foreigner. Inside Information
It took me some time to fully comprehend the potential of this disc. Out Of The Blue has this otherworldly and healing magic while A Night To Remember rocks big time.
FM. Indiscreet
I surrender! This is simply AOR heaven ready to sweep you over completely. Other Side Of Midnight, Belong To The Night, American Girls, Face To Face, hell, the whole thing sounds as a "best of". The bonus tracks on the reissue are excellent as well.
FM. Tough It Out
Worthy follow up, not as instantly memorable but it has charm, passion and will grow on you.
Grave Digger. Ballads Of A Hangman
I was hoping that this was the album that would resurrect the magic of medieval times, but it's only yet another overall solid release lacking that special epic fire the band once had. They sound great as a unit but the song writing becomes too uninspired in length.
Hardline. Leaving The End Open
With a moody, wry and dark hearted approach Hardline's new one is quite a challenge, but it pays off with time.
Iced Earth. The Glorious Burden
The first disc has some great songs as Waterloo and Declaration Day but the real sugar comes with the orchestral epic wonder of Gettysburg (1863). This was back when Jon still used his machine gun guitar riffing with massive effect and Tim "Ripper" Owens sounds very convincing.
Joe Lynn Turner. Rescue You
Some nice melodies but a thin production and a couple of unmemorable tracks holds it back a bit.
JSS. Beautiful Mess
A lot more experimental and diverse than his earlier efforts, some of it works out, some don't. It settles as an interesting and cool album.
Kreator. Pleasure To Kill
This Trash piece is just extreme on all accounts. Sometimes I wonder if there are one or two drummers in action here. Pure madness.
Lion. Trouble In Angel City
A weak production but some fine, melodic tunes among some rather OK ones.
Primal Fear. 16:6 - Before The Devil Knows You're Dead
Primal Fear puts out a large chunk of songs, pointing in different directions. Overall impression is positive with Riding The Eagle as a monster track. I'm not really hearing the Magnus Karlsson effect though.
Riot. Thundersteel
The album starts with hell and fire, just great classic Metal. The same level of excitement tends to drop a bit but overall a cool release.
Sepultura. Arise
Solid Trash with some exciting passages a long the way, still not that impressed with it's lasting appeal.
Stan Bush. The Child Within
This is one of his most anonymous albums, some delicate melodies here and there but it never really comes together.
Sunstorm. House Of Dreams
Joe Lynn Turner returns with the second Sunstorm album and again we are treated with some fantastic sounding Melodic Rock. Just listen to Gutters Of Gold or Don't Give Up for eminent examples of cracking musical skill.
The Storm. Eye Of The Storm (Re-release)
Classic AOR with a mid-tempo formula, some really memorable tracks and a few anonymous ones. Kevin Chalfant is a classy vocalist and shines brightly.
Tony O'Hora. Escape Into The Sun
Another stunning example of Magnus Karlsson's talents as performer, writer and producer. This album isn't as obviously amazing as the Allen-Lande discs but with time it grows into equal strength. Moody, compelling and with truly haunting harmonies. Tony's vocals are emotional, rich and a perfect match for the music. A Karlsson must have.
Ulysses. The Gift Of Tears
Progressive Rock with a dreamy sound, a bit too fragmented but also offering intriguing atmospheres.
| |
