Metal Music Reviews from Stephen

DESTINE Illuminate

Album · 2012 · Hard Rock

4.50 | 1 rating

I'm completely stunned with DESTINE's latest album, 'Illuminate', that really throws the blinding spark of enchanting melodic rock outfit with a twist of modern element. They build a perfect bridge to accommodate both fans from the 80s and also the young generation of the 2000s. The balance composition of uptempo and energetic tracks to the ethereal ballads, from the midtempo sing-along tunes all the way to the crashing upbeat monsters made 'Illuminate' a strong contender to stay on top of the mind of this genre's fans.

'Four Leaf Clover' is a massive start but 'Stay' even kick the ball higher. The band swayed into a slower territory at 'All The People', a beautiful downtempo moment, not really their best offering but I find it's quite satisfying. 'Wait Forever' is flawlessly brilliant. I love everything from the splendid intro to the bombastic chorus. 'Thousand Miles' is another ballad pick and I think it's better than 'All The People'.

Onto the second half, I'm seeing an even better game played by the band. 'Unbreakable' is a solid fast-paced track, 'Best Kept Secret' has different vibe with a slow start before erupted with an awesome beat, and the last two tracks are definitely winners. The production is also great and some folks might think this band is too young and light for their taste, but sweet melodies are the main attraction here and if you're into that thing, 'Illuminate' is one of the best pick of this year!

16 days ago
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Report #268006

CASABLANCA Apocalyptic Youth

Album · 2012 · Hard Rock

3.50 | 1 rating

Stephen

Another fresh band from Sweden and this time they're playing with a good mix of classic melodic rock and 80s power pop. That may not sound very metallic but I think it's interesting to see how they blend the heaviness of the usual rock style with a sweet flavor of the pop element. For example, the opening track, 'Apocalyptic Youth', both Roxie and Stenemo put up a solid riffs and the chorus chant is just lovable. The follow-up track, 'Deliberately Wasted', is energetic, punchy, and incredibly uplifting.

Perhaps one thing that can bug some people's mind is the simple arrangement, but if you're in this for the fun, I guess songs like 'The Juggler' and 'Rich Girl' are worth the price. 'Love and Desperation' reminds me of MUSE's stampeding riffs that can be found in their latest album. However, despite of the great production, CASABLANCA suffered with a weaker second half. From 'Secret Agent of Lust' all the way to 'A Lifetime On The Run', you might agree that it just can't beat the hits from the earlier part of this album.

This album, even though only carries the torch from the past without any groundbreaking inventive sound, is very entertaining. Light, but didn't fall deep into the blandness of the average modern pop rock stuffs, and quite different from the rest of Sweden sleaze metal gang.

21 days ago
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Report #267857

BABY JANE In The Spotlight

Album · 2012 · Glam Metal

4.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

'In The Spotlight' marks a fresh start of the new sleaze metal sensation from Sweden, BABY JANE. Carrying the torch together with the likes of CRASHDIET, DYNAZTY, and HARDCORE SUPERSTAR, the awakening of these bands in the last few years made your head spin and think 'was Sunset Strip eventually relocated to Europe?'

'Raise Your Fist' kicks the door with such a gigantic riffs and massive chorus. 'My Behavior' slows down the tempo but not the quality. The band pumped up the momentum even further with another crazy track, 'Face Against The Wall'. If you pay attention to the vocal part, you may spot a little accent trouble, but talking about how he handles the screaming and singing style, Freddie deserved two glasses of beer here.

'Upside Down' is a piano ballad attempt to ease the assaulting waves of aggressive tunes, and it's a perfect insertion before they cracked up high with the best tune of the album, 'In The Spotlight'. The next tracks such as 'Next In Line' and 'Adrenaline' are as great as the rest but 'Night Explodes' might be the closest contender to the title track. The production is awesome and this album creates a surprising blast from start to finish!

27 days ago
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Report #267645

WILD FRONTIER Stick Your Neck Out

Album · 2003 · Hard Rock

4.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

WILD FRONTIER is surely not a familiar name to many people outside melodic rock realm. Emerged from German where bands like SCORPIONS or ACCEPT are huge, this genre isn't a prospective career especially considering that year 2003 is a pretty bad year for classic style of rock, but hats off to this band, carrying the torch of this music and 'Stick Your Neck Out' is really a very satisfying result that puts my attention closely to this band.

'Wild Wind Blows' and 'Alive' opened the album in a midtempo mood and both are wonderful attempt by the band, but not until 'There For You' was played that I turned my head around. It's an acoustical easy listening piece, fits to be aired in an evening radio show, a very lovable tune. The singer's vocal is reminiscent of Joe Elliot, so it's a really friendly ride for fans of the 80s.

'Walkaway' is an astonishing ballad and so is 'I Can Hear You'. 'Through Your Eyes' might be the weakest ballad but that song itself is still quite okay too. 'Shake Your Body' is another winner with its groovy riffs; 'Life Has Just Begun' blew me away with its splendid chorus; 'We Will Be One' could be the heaviest and also a big slab of great hard rock track, but 'Hard To Control' conquers this album and rise as the best of the bunch.

Overall, a solid album and if you dig the melodic rock scene, this one is an awesome catch and deserved at least 80%!

34 days ago
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Report #267325

OSUKARU Salvation

Album · 2012 · Hard Rock

3.50 | 1 rating

Stephen

'Salvation', the full length debut by the fresh Swedish melodic rock outfit, should have delivered last year but somehow, it only saw the light of day in early 2012. Comprised of 9 songs with an intro, OSUKARU tried to play in the comfort zone of Scandinavian AOR, with a classy guitar fill. Several songs inside were taken from the previously released EP, such as 'City Lights' and 'Never Too Late' from the 'Never Too Late EP' and also 'Change of Heart' and 'T.M.Y.S' from 'GBB2LA'.

'Highway To The Stars' is a smooth opening tune, but 'Hot Blooded Woman' is a bit patchy I guess. 'City Lights' is the first winner, the solo is perfectly executed, and overall a very good midtempo song. 'Till The End of Time' is a beautiful ballad with a neat memorable chorus. 'Never Too Late' boosts the tempo, still wrapped up with sensational melodic hooks.

'Change of Heart' is simply the best track. It sways tenderly with a bold sax touch, and everything from the verse to chorus is simply mindblowing. 'Tear It Down' and 'T.M.Y.S' are okay, but 'Promised Land' is somehow the better track. The production is warm and acceptable, but I guess OSUKARU needs at least two more punchy tracks and several weaker tracks could have been tweaked better.

A good start and I expect an even better result in the second record to come!

42 days ago
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Report #266905

ROMEO'S DAUGHTER Rapture

Album · 2012 · Hard Rock

4.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

After almost 20 years, ROMEO'S DAUGHTER return to the scene caught many fans off guard as both albums by them were praised as great underrated AOR records. 'Rapture' will surely please the long time fans as the sound reference is totally like the old time, a slight updated sound is inevitable to keep up with the era, but the classic hooks and familiar voice of Leigh Matty will turn your head and think 'is it 1988' again ?

'Trippin' Out' may start with a patchy verse, but you know the chorus is right on track. 'Bittersweet' and 'Cannot Be The One' are instant faves. I spotted a bumpy road on 'Keep Walking', but the next tremendous slow ballad, 'Lightning' and the energetic track, 'Alive' are giving me a hint that this album will be a big success.

Turns out my intuition are right. 'Fly Away' is a huge contender to 'Lightning', 'Make My Dreams Come True' and 'Precious Thing' are two beautiful gems, 'Talking Love' is definitely the best track here, what a flawless tune! The last track, 'Will Be', is a splendid acoustical piece, and the chorus is just mindblowing.

The production is pretty good and I know some of AOR fans might think this is too light, at some point, I swear I can sense THE CORRS writing style here, but if you ask me, this album has the quality needed to match the first two albums. Great job and very enjoyable album!

43 days ago
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Report #266881

STALA & SO. It Is So.

Album · 2011 · Glam Metal

2.75 | 2 ratings

Stephen

STALA & SO, a name that might have been more fitted in a train company or gold stores, but despite that weird pick, this Finnish poppish glam outfit unleashed a set of enjoyable and uplifting songs in 'It Is So'. One thing that bothers me is the singer. His singing style and timbre isn't my fave but I'm not saying he's bad here, it's just that probably one of the troubling part of this album is him.

'Got To Believe' is a nice opener. An energetic melodic rock with a catchy chorus but shamefully was followed by two average songs. '(Won't Let You) Down Again' is back on track but 'Pamela' stood out as the champion. What an astonishing song! 'Bye Bye' is a great acoustical power ballad tune, 'Happy Day' is more of an easy listening tune and perhaps the last strong track of the album.

The band derived influences from 70s glam rock and combined it with modern power pop. The unusual mix reminds me of ENUFF ZNUFF where late 60s style can be put together with 80s glam. Pretty good album, and fun. 70% isn't too much I guess

50 days ago
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Report #266453

WALLNER / VAIN Wallner / Vain

Album · 2012 · Hard Rock

3.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

The fresh hard rock duet of Wallner and Vain might not bring any new ingredients to the table but the combination of Vain's nasal vocal with Wallner's lightning pick were like made for each other and synchronized perfectly, creating a comfortable listening atmosphere for the genre fans. I didn't expect that Vain is Croatian because from the way she sings, you might even think she's Japanese. Wallner's extra-ordinary guitar playing was kickin' every edge of the songs here, he's a truly accomplished axeman.

After the instrumental intro, 'Dreamstealer' starts raging wildly and the chorus is awesome. 'Streets of Rage' focused on the furious riffs and both are a nice start of the album. However, 'Fourteen Twenty Eight' is a weak filler, which they can't afford having one considering that it's only a short album. The next two tracks are pretty good but 'Soul Monster' steals the show for me. This is clearly the best tune and the solo is just spectacular. 'Indestructible' somehow reminds me of DYNAZTY's 'Brand New Day', the riffs are heavy and splendid, but the whole song isn't as great as 'Soul Monster'.

The production is good and overall I guess this duet has prospective career ahead, as long as they're building up their songwriting skill slowly, I bet by third or fourth album, they can release a legacy to be remembered. This one is a good hard rock album with predictable flaws for an indie debut.

50 days ago
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Report #266452

SLAM ST. JOAN Saved By Grace

Album · 1993 · Glam Metal

4.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

I bought this blindly from a friend without any information at all except a hint that they're sounding like SKID ROW meets SPREAD EAGLE, now that's some really interesting combo. At a first glance, I did agree with that comparison, only I will add that they also have the LILLIAN AXE element, especially from the early days. Rob Creek's vocal reminds me a lot to Phil Lewis from L.A.GUNS, so it's a completely sleaze / hard rock style and I dig it a lot.

'Saved By Grace', which is also the album's title, is a brilliant tune. The chorus is awesome, but however the next two tracks were a bit sloppy, even though I still think both are good. 'Emotional Suicide' is a unique acoustical ballad piece, again, the chorus is awesome and sounds very different than the typical slow song from a regular glam band. 'Just Like The Blues' shows their bluesy side with some chugging riffs. George Karl and Ray Rodriguez proved to be a lethal guitar combo here.

'Eyes' is another winner, highly addictive hard rock piece with fantastic riffs. 'Your Light' is a nice and smooth acoustical ballad and 'Best of Me' is a beautiful southern rock song. The production is good and I'm glad I took this over for quite a cheap bargain. If you love sleaze and glam, I bet you'll like this one a lot. 80%

2 months ago
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Report #265551

NEWMAN The Art of Balance

Album · 2010 · Hard Rock

3.98 | 2 ratings

Stephen

'The Art of Balance' continues the consistency of NEWMAN's output, being one of the most underrated British hero of melodic rock, this album has some great songs that I like such as the uptempo opener 'Hero To Zero' and 'Edge of The World'; the heavy rock of 'The Miracle'; or the mid-paced AOR gem, 'Stay With Me', which should have been among his best written songs ever.

What slightly lack of this album is there are only three really stand-out tracks that's worthy of 9/10 rating or above. Aside from 'Stay With Me', the other two are 'Wish You Well', wrapped up with great riffs and blasted with great chorus, and the last song, 'Stronger', I'm impressed with how well he wrote this tune and smartly pick this song to end the album.

'Endless' and 'Your Surrender' are the weaker songs but some other recommended tracks are 'Tumble Down', 'Find My Heart', and the tender ballad, 'Forever'. As always, NEWMAN provided a tremendous production and it's really an enjoyable album by him. 85%

2 months ago
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Report #265524

ROYAL HUNT Show Me How To Live

Album · 2011 · Progressive Metal

3.34 | 5 ratings

Stephen

Long time singer, DC Cooper, finally went back to ROYAL HUNT after 13 years, a big hooray from the fans camp. He has a great vocal, I must admit, but sadly, I don't know why ROYAL HUNT's music didn't fascinate me much, perhaps because they're standing undecided in the middle of prog area and heavy metal, hence I can't really appreciate the big value of Cooper's contribution.

What offered here is basically an old time formula, for those who's familiar with Cooper's earlier era should find this easier to digest. Progressive metal with neoclassical element, but this time looks like they reduced the prog weight a bit and played with more straight forward heavy metal routine. 'One More Day' for example, this is symphonic and heavy metal combo while 'Another Man Down' started slow before building up the tempo, and both are pretty good track.

'An Empty Shell' is the weakest tune here but on the contrary, 'Half Past Loneliness' has the best chorus here and stands up as the greatest song. The sixth track, is the longest but the first half of the song didn't really grab my attention, but after the upbeat instrumental, I can see that this is not a bad track at all.

I found that this album probably will be enjoyed immensely by fans of Cooper and long time ROYAL HUNT fans, but to me, this is quite average and even the best track isn't really memorable by any stretch. You're okay with it, but in no time, it's traceless and you might completely forget about it. 65-70%

2 months ago
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Report #265523

BRASS KITTEN Across America

Album · 2001 · Glam Metal

4.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

BRASS KITTEN was revived by Perris in 2001 for a blitzing glam release, 'Across America' and I'm going to say, judging by the year of its release, this is definitely an oasis in the desert. Steve Philbrook has an amazing vocal and a wide range, the songs are mostly energetic, very melodic, and right in-your-face. 'Crossfire' is a mindblowing opener; 'Can't Hold Back The Young' is reminiscent of PRETTY BOY FLOYD style; 'Too Far Gone' is a nice and simple ballad; and 'Bite The Bullet' is a great no-frills hard rock tune.

There are some fillers scattered here such as the second track, 'Sweet Love Affair' or the eight track, 'Can't Get Enough', but that's only the weakest songs I spotted. 'Fit To Be Tied' and 'Wait Another Day' are still pretty good. 'Country Song' is an easy listening acoustical piece, I love this track and 'Quit Your Bitchin' is an ass-kicker sleazy thing similar to DANGEROUS TOYS.

Unfortunately the volume level is quite low but the production isn't bad considering it's an indie recording. This album isn't going to win any award, but for fans of glam that's yearning for some serious rock and roll salvo, BRASS KITTEN is a neat catch.

2 months ago
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Report #265316

MECCA Undeniable

Album · 2011 · Hard Rock

3.25 | 2 ratings

Stephen

Almost ten years in silence, MECCA finally released their sophomore record, 'Undeniable', which received mix opinions from AOR community. Some call it their best, half of them call it pretty worthless. I suspect people that don't like it probably because it's kinda overhyped with nothing's new and kinda softer than the debut. I must agree that it's not really great as some has stated, but there are great moments here, an undeniable fact.

'Perfect World' and 'Closing Time' are pretty decent but 'Ten Lifetimes' brought up the momentum. Ironically, it's not an uptempo tune, it's a slow one, but the song is just so moving, and the solo is very nice. 'Life's Too Short' is unique with a spoken verse like a motown song, the chorus is good, but 'I Know' and 'Did It For Love' strike better. The latter reminds me a lot to TOTO and among my personal fave.

On the second half, the quality is still maintained and my pick is 'Deceptive Decadence', a great piano-driven track, lengthy, and similar to some songs in SLAMER's 'Nowhere Land'. 'As I Walk Alone' is very mellow, almost westcoast like, probably not suitable for fans of rock, but this made such an awesome midnight song.

Joe Vana's vocal is amazing, the production is also nice and smooth, but one thing that you need to pay attention is that it's a pure AOR record, with a little hint of hard rock in some songs, so people expecting heavier music should stay away, but for those who's looking for a sanctuary in the dead of the night, 'Undeniable' is a good option

2 months ago
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Report #265315

WOLFSBANE Wolfsbane Saves The World

Album · 2012 · Traditional heavy metal

3.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

Bayley maybe wasn't built for IRON MAIDEN but if anyone being the best frontman for WOLFSBANE, he's no doubt the perfect pick. They're back again and trying to save the heavy metal world with eleven adrenaline-pumping songs, carefully picked and crafted, and lots of variety added, including some groovy element and punkish slab, as well as ballad.

The opening track, 'Blue Sky', is a very good start, the chorus is ultra melodic and catchy enough to be the track of the day. Even though I personally pick 'Smoke And Red Light' as the best song here, this has such an amazing party vibe on the chorus. 'Teacher'is an enjoyable uplifting tune; 'Starlight' is a good straight forward ballad; the pure metal madness in 'Live Before I Die' is an interesting attempt; and the great groove in 'Did It For The Money!' deserved an applause.

However I have not very confident with several other tracks such as 'Buy My Pain', I'm not sure the punkish thing is really an excellent choice of diversification for them; 'Illusion of Love' and 'Who Are You Now?' sounds like a left-over filler; and 'Child of The Sun' is quite slow and dreary. The production is also good and overall, it might take more than few spins to enjoy, but I guess WOLFSBANE did a satisfying job here.

2 months ago
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Report #264827

KEEL Streets of Rock & Roll

Album · 2010 · Glam Metal

4.00 | 2 ratings

Stephen

What a great comeback of a glam metal legend, KEEL. 'Streets of Rock & Roll' contained most of things that you like from the band. Soaring vocal, roaring guitars, heavy and energetic riffs, killer solos, pounding drums, that kind of stuffs that probably will remind you a lot to the heyday of the 80s. The opening title track pumps up the heat; 'Hit The Ground Running' is a good track but the next one is even better, 'Come Hell or High Water', I don't believe if this track can't move your toe and shake your head. I spotted a little volatility in this disc, meaning there are several weaker tracks like 'Gimme That' or 'Hold Steady', but there are also few winners such as 'Does Anybody Believe', 'No More Lonely Nights', and 'Live'.

Ron's vocal isn't as great as it used to be, but 20 years has passed so that's totally expected. The performance is tight and I'll gladly say this again, a very nice come back by the band that created a big hit of 'The Right To Rock' and 'The Final Frontier'. Deserved at least 80% and I'm sure this will receive a frequent spins by many!

2 months ago
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Report #264562

STRANGEWAYS Native Sons

Album · 1986 · Hard Rock

4.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

One of those albums that was highly praised by AOR community and I must agree to the fact that STRANGEWAYS have some really spectacular songs here and a monumental achievement of their career, songs that were remembered even after they're all gone. 'Only A Fool' and 'So Far Away' are two songs that I've been talking about, and the other two, which is slightly weaker but still excellent are 'Where Do We Go From Here' and 'Face To Face'.

But there is couple of duds here such as 'Stand Up And Shout', quite similar to the groovy opening track of 'Dance With Somebody' and 'Shake The Seven' which is an inferior tune. However, 'Goodnight L.A' is a nice lullaby ballad and 'Empty Streets' is also a good midtempo track. I think the remastered version is better, the sound production is great and you also get 4 bonus live tracks. 85%

2 months ago
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Report #264561

PANZER PRINCESS Get Off My Back

Album · 2011 · Glam Metal

3.50 | 1 rating

Stephen

A strange combination of HANOI ROCKS and JUNKYARD with a little GNR touch, so what we've got here is a mix of classic glam, aggressive punk element, and southern roll, definitely not for everybody, but I must admit they do have some nice tunes here. The title track is a winner, I'm impressed with the tense riffs and awesome chorus; 'Bumville Judge' is punkish and the riffs also are very nice; 'I'll Be In Your Way' and 'Asshole, Bastard' are full of GNR flavor.

There are several low points such as 'A Mess' and 'Oh No!', 'Get Off My Back' is a good track but the rappin' part isn't working well for me and 'Sadat Bloody Sadat' could have been better. I'm not sure about Kelly Morgue's vocal, I don't think he's really a strong singer but the rest of the gang played their instruments tight and fine.

Other fave tracks here are 'No Good', 'Gag Me, Cuff Me', and 'Rob The Bank'. The production is surprisingly great for an indie band, but sadly you can only find this in CDR format and not silver pressed. Good and satisfying and a harmless 75% type of album.

2 months ago
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Report #264560

FATE Ghosts From The Past

Album · 2011 · Hard Rock

3.50 | 1 rating

Stephen

Honestly, I felt a little disappointed with this album, but not because it's bad, merely for the reason that I'm setting my expectation bar too high while all I've got is a decent hard rock tunes with only a few standouts. 'Children of The Night' is one of them. The guitars are very nice, the chorus is hooky, and the solo is just magnificent. This is clearly the best track and they're right all the way by putting this as the set opener.

The other great tracks are 'All That I Want', a keyboard colored track, again with some nice riffs and splendid chorus. 'Seeds of Terror' is also nice, but the verse is somewhat weaker and 'Daddy's Girl' as well as 'I Believe In Rock N Roll' are pretty good. The new singer's voice is mindblowing, I think it fits nicely with the music they offered. The rest of the tracks are between 7/10 and 7.5/10.

The production is great so that's a plus point here. If only 'Miracle' and 'The Last Time' have better choruses or 'Moving On' and 'At The End of The Day' have better verses, I think I'll rate it higher, but for what its worth, 75% is a reasonable rate.

2 months ago
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Report #264559

DIAMOND EYE Sound of The Guns

EP · 2011 · Hard Rock

3.50 | 1 rating

Stephen

If you have heard the 'Alive and Kickin' album before, it'll be no surprise as 4 songs here were included in that package, but even if you have own that album, 'Sound of The Guns' is a must buy since it contains the song 'Closer To The Sun', which to me, is the best song of the five and you can only find that song here.

But even if you have already had that album, the studio version of songs like 'Waiting For Me' or 'Machine' are a treat. DIAMOND EYE has done a marvelous job of keeping the arena rock fire burning, they really remind me a lot to KISS and how Will sing is like he was taught directly by Paul Stanley himself. 'Atlantis' is a good track but I kinda prefer 'Tonite' and that track should have been included here, although there's a possibility they're saving some of those tracks like 'Been Away Too Long' or 'Last One Standing' for a full-length album later on.

'Sound of The Guns' is an awesome heavy metal driven song and a good example of how they combine the glam element with 80s metal. The production here is also great, so overall this is a good EP by a promising band. Lookin' forward to the full studio album and hopefully they have one out this year.

2 months ago
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Report #263557

SLAYER Reign in Blood

Album · 1986 · Thrash Metal

4.36 | 91 ratings

Stephen

'Reign In Blood' is considered a groundbreaking release by SLAYER, the first album to enter Billboard 200 and highly praised by thrash fans all over the world as a pure five-stars album, but I honestly think this is one of the most overrated album in the history of thrash. Comparing this to 'Master of Puppets', 'Peace Sells', and 'Among The Living' which were released around that time, 'Reign In Blood' is definitely at the bottom list, but that doesn't mean that this is a horrible album.

It has its moment, but as an overall album, I'm not sure whether it's realistically can be valued above 70% because apart from the fact that it's too short of an album, exposing the fact that SLAYER writing capability is limited and half of these songs are basically felt the same. Outstanding tracks are no doubt, the legendary 'Angel of Death' and 'Raining Blood'. Other songs I like are 'Piece By Piece', 'Altar of Sacrifice', and 'Postmortem'.

Five other tracks are basically kinda disappointing, especially 'Necrophobic' and 'Jesus Saves'. With brutally fast tempo, I don't see any variation in the singing style and riffs pattern. 'Criminally Insane' and 'Reborn' are also felt too flat, probably only 'Epidemic' is a bit better. With only half great tracks in a 29 minutes album, I need to underline the weakness of the songwriting creativity and quality. This is an okay album, but definitely not a great one.

2 months ago
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Report #263555

KIK TRACEE No Rules

Album · 1991 · Glam Metal

3.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

I swear I heard Axl-style singing here and not to mention some Appetite-For-Destruction's influenced riffs and rhythm in many of the songs here, but I can safely say that KIK TRACEE is a poor man's GUNS N' ROSES. Without the originality and came out too late, the band was shuffled out quickly without a trace and after this single album, they're gone off to nowhere. But I can tell you that this ain't bad at all, yeah they should have cut the duration to 45 minutes and left out several fillers, but if you play it loud as suggested, the effect is quite dramatic and somehow it's still enjoyable, well if you do like some good ol sleaze rock of course.

Several outstanding songs for me here are 'Mrs.Robinson', the acoustical ballad of 'Big Western Sky' which weirdly reminds me to L.A.GUNS big hit, 'The Ballad of Jayne' in some ways; 'Tangerine Man' and 'Rattlesnake Eyes are pretty nice; and 'Lost' is also a nice ballad. Other tracks are quite okay like 'Don't Need Rules', 'You're So Good', and 'Trash City', but I think I'm fine without 'Generation Express', 'Soul Shaker' that ripped off 'Mr.Brownstone', or 'Velvet Crush'.

It's an okay release, usually you can find it pretty cheap in the nearest pawn shop, just make sure you don't overpay it, it kinda fits nicely into your sleaze collection, and works much better if you dig GNR or L.A.GUNS. 70%

2 months ago
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Report #263416

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION 2

Album · 2011 · Hard Rock

4.10 | 11 ratings

Stephen

I'm amazed with a bunch of extremely high ratings for this one because my ears didn't tell me the same. I came as a casual classic rock fan but aside from the fact that this is indeed a Zeppelin/Purple injected rock with a band of seasoned veterans, Hughes and Bonham to name a few, the songs just don't work fine for me.

I hardly find any memorable tracks at all, in fact, good track is a scarcity here. I like 'I Can See Your Spirit', the riffs are nice, the chorus is good, but even this song that I considered the best here is probably an average one. 'The Outsider' has a good guitar/keyboard duel just like in the old Purple days, 'The Battle For Hadrian's Wall' reminds me to Zeppelin a lot, while 'Save Me' is slow and doomy, with a little Middle-eastern flair, but sadly those three still can't please my appetite.

Sadly, 'Man In The Middle', 'Smokestack Woman', 'Crossfire', and 'Cold' are terribly disposable fillers for me. 'Faithless' might be a good indication to be a radio track but still not sure whether it can prevail in the first week. This is one of the few albums that was praised highly all over the world but didn't work out for me.

2 months ago
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Report #263415

WHITE WIDDOW Serenade

Album · 2011 · Hard Rock

4.50 | 1 rating

Stephen

Melbourne-based melodic rockers WHITE WIDDOW returned with an even stronger output in 'Serenade'. Sounding almost identical to their debut, the band kicked up the bar to a higher level with a more polished and well-crafted songs in the veins of Def Leppard's Hysteria/Adrenalize era and also wrapped up with European smooth AOR.

You can't find any fillers here, if you're really a fan of AOR, really it's just amazing to hear some heartburning songs like 'Cry Wolf', 'Strangers In The Night', or 'Serenade'. Granted there are few weaker songs such as 'Show Your Cards' or 'Mistake', but even those songs are still enjoyable. 'Do You Remember' is the most obvious Leppardized track, 'Reckless Night' is flawless, 'How Far I Run' is also stunning, but shame that the chorus is too similar with JOURNEY's 'Never Walk Away'.

This album is full of sugar-coated hooks, sing-along choruses that might remind you to the hey-day of arena rock back in the 80s, and the production is excellent. Definitely better than the debut, a 90% from me, and was in my final top ten list last year. Superb!

2 months ago
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Report #263414

VAIN On the Line

Album · 2005 · Glam Metal

4.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

The first album in ten years, 'On The Line' is highly anticipated by their cult followers and it's also a surprising move because VAIN decided to went back to their debut style. This is a similar approach with their latest album, 'Enough Rope', but the difference is 'Enough Rope' is clearly identical with 'No Respect' while 'On The Line' is a bit varied, probably a slight cross with 'Fade' and with some other elements too.

Every single song is just enjoyable, but as far as I recall, nothing really stood out like in 'No Respect' or 'Enough Rope'. The best tracks here are 'Drag Me', which strangely also reminds me of GOO GOO DOLLS; 'On The Line' is catchy and dark; the atmospheric ballad, 'Turn To Stand'; and two other uptempo songs, 'Lie For Love' and 'Keep Shining On'.

Two weaker songs are 'Last Sin' and 'Cover Me', both are slower tunes but I won't call em filler though. 'So Free Now' is melodic and 'Slave' has some nice grooves. All in all, this is a very good release by a very good and underrated band. The production is also great. One of those albums you desperately need to buy especially if you're a fan of VAIN.

3 months ago
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Report #262845

EVILE Five Serpent's Teeth

Album · 2011 · Thrash Metal

3.66 | 4 ratings

Stephen

EVILE turns their head to METALLICA here and what I'm trying to say is that EVILE probably sounds more METALLICA than the original band themselves, just like GRAND DESIGN and DEF LEPPARD case. Not only the whole sound but even Matt Drake sang like James Hetfield. Last time I checked, 'Infected Nations' did have that Bay Area vibe, but 'Five Serpent's Teeth' really worship that single god and the output is very much a cross of 'Kill em All' and '..and Justice For All', with a hint of KREATOR and SLAYER's aggressive stance.

I don't have any issue with that, a young band playing something classic they love, and me hearing something I love, is definitely what we called 'a click'. Looks like EVILE intended to stay in the Bay thrash revival scene and don't wanna mess with any modern ground. The title track, the grooviness of 'In Dreams of Terror', or the best song here, ‘Cult’, are among the winners. 'Origin of Oblivion' is also fantastic, the assaulting tempo with acrobatic riffs is too good to be true.

I must admit there are few bumpy tracks. 'Eternal Empire' is quite decent and 'Xaraya' is a failed attempt of EVILE tickling with modern thrash style. That only strengthen the fact that they excel at playing the old style. The last four tracks pick up the momentum. 'Centurion' is my fave, the tempo is cleverly building up and the chorus is just excellent. 'In Memoriam' kinda reminds me to 'Nothing Else Matter', 'Descent Into Madness' and 'Long Live New Flesh' are precious as well.

If you think you had enough with METALLICA's descendants or simply prefer to just listen to their old albums, 'Five Serpent's Teeth' might not a good idea to buy, but if you appreciate the current thrash revival scene and eager to see how the young band evolve, I'll say this album won't disappoint you at all. 80%

3 months ago
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Report #262687

TRAPEZE Medusa

Album · 1970 · Proto-Metal

3.79 | 5 ratings

Stephen

TRAPEZE is a very unique band. Some called it a LED ZEPPELIN pier. I don't argue with that as I've heard the Zep touch indeed, but Glenn Hughes brought his funky groove too and I heard some doom/bluesy element of BLACK SABBATH. 'Medusa' is my introductory record to the band, recommended by a close friend who really dug classic rock and he said this is a must try. After couple of spins, I must say, it's a good album but not sure whether it can match any of the first four LED ZEPPELIN albums.

'Black Cloud' is a massive opener, I can safely say this is the best song they made here and good choice of putting it as the first track. 'Jury' is slow and very BLACK SABBATH to these ears. However, I found it a bit repetitive with the 8-minutes duration, but the song itself is dynamic and lively, I like it too. 'Your Love Is Alright' puts Hughes groove into life, a good one and better than the next track, 'Touch My Life'.

'Seafull' is a beautiful bluesy ballad and I was told that this song is quite famous in Indonesia back in the 70s. It was featured in a slow rock compilation and many older folks knew this band from this song. The last two songs are okay but don't have the appeal like the first two. All in all, a good record, I gave this 75%, and maybe this don't reflect the true score as I'm only a casual fan of classic rock, but yeah good record.

3 months ago
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Report #262507

CHRIS OUSEY Rhyme & Reason

Album · 2011 · Hard Rock

3.25 | 2 ratings

Stephen

'Rhyme and Reason' was one of my most anticipated albums of 2011, especially when I read that Mike Slamer and Tommy Denander are involved and Chris Ousey's vocal is undeniably amazing, ever since I first heard him in HEARTLAND, but I think I set my expectation too high. Looks like Slamer wasn't contributing a lot of writing and instead Denander took care of this business and unfortunately the album kinda lacks the outstanding songs necessary to boost the final score.

The big problem here is the weak verses because most of the songs actually have good choruses. For example, 'Motivation' should be a huge uptempo tune, 'Give Me Shelter' should be amazing too, 'The Reason Why' could have been a spectacular ballad, but all verses sound tired and very average, and dragged 'em down to only 'good' status. The perfect arrangement should be like 'On Any Other Day' or 'By Any Other Name' which is simply the best songs here, but sadly, you can't find any other tunes like that.

'A Natural Law' is a good ballad but 'To Break A Heart' is dull and unbearable. The rest of the tracks are good, perhaps at 7/10 value, but I really expect much more than this. The production is great and Ousey's vocal is awesome as usual. However, looks a definite grower type of album, sounds sophisticated and mature, and I'm pretty sure you need to spend time to really appreciate the whole album. 70%

3 months ago
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Report #262506

SHAKRA Power Ride

Album · 2001 · Traditional heavy metal

4.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

'Power Ride' is the third album and many fans called it their best. I tend to agree with it but then I found that most of SHAKRA's albums are in the same quality and quite similar to one another so it's difficult to really pick which one is the best. One thing that's obvious is 'Power Ride' is more melodic than the first two albums and greatly outlines the awesome vocal delivery of Pete Wiedmer.

'Why Don't You Call Me' is a monster opener. 'The Sun Will Shine' and 'In Your Eyes' are also equal in strength, and the semi-ballad, 'Out In The Rain', was slipped nicely before they crank this up again with 'Get It All Out'. Muster and Blunier did a fantastic job here with a monstrous riffs and abundant melodies. Probably only 'A Dollar Too Much' that can compete with that song.

'She's My Pride' is passable filler and I'm glad that's the only poor thing here. The rest are very solid, from the dark vibe on 'Tell Me' all the way to the heart-pumping, 'The Way Back Home' and 'Too Close'. You'll also be greeted with an outstanding backing vocal and some incinerating solos all the way from first song to the end. The production is also great. If you're new to SHAKRA, take 'Power Ride' for the starter, you won't be disappointed.

3 months ago
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Report #261884

CORNERSTONE Somewhere In America

Album · 2011 · Hard Rock

3.50 | 1 rating

Stephen

CORNERSTONE was building an ambitious link with 'Somewhere In America' that connects three different platforms which are melodic hard rock/AOR, alternative rock, and pop. Not only it contains multi-genres, the sound and vibe is also bridging the 80s / 90s decade with the current era. This various blend reminds me to the Japanese most-famous band, L'ARC-EN-CIEL, where they also mix a lot of different styles into their music and it's effective of gaining a lot of multi-background fans.

'Stay' is a decent opening track, I can think of other better tracks to start the album, but good thing is they build up the momentum with toward the fifth track. 'Breathing For You' is a very smooth poppish ballad, and so is 'Right or Wrong'. The nice riffs that started 'Like A Stranger' promised you that it's going to be an excellent tune, and the heavenly chorus sealed the deal, this is simply the best track of the album.

'Being Unaware' is energetic and joyful, 'High And Low' is also awesome, the rest are quite okay with 'Oblivious' being the weakest here. To sum up their music, I can picture of HEART meets SOUL ASYLUM with probably WILSON PHILIPS touch on some ballads here. Probably not a very accurate description, but you might get the rough idea. Good album !

3 months ago
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Report #261883

TWISTED SISTER Love Is For Suckers

Album · 1987 · Glam Metal

3.50 | 6 ratings

Stephen

If there's something bad in the mind of TWISTED SISTER's fans regarding this album is that apart from a difference in style compared to their earlier albums, two days after its release date, Dee Snider announced that he's no longer a part of the band. Beau Hill was behind the production desk and at first, 'Love Is For Suckers' was intended to be Dee's solo album but the label scrap the idea and asked them to release under TWISTED SISTER brand.

Considering that 1986 is a year full of commercial hits from the fellow glam bands, this album tried to adapt with the climate, producing several songs that are potential for airplay such as 'Hot Love', the title track, 'Tonight', and the ballad, 'You're All That I Need'. I understand if some fans didn't like this at all, because they expect the band to keep playing the raw and wicked hard rock like the old days, but I'm one of the few who enjoyed it a lot.

'Me And The Boys' is another fun track, sounds anthemic and even though slightly sloppy at chorus, this is truly a strong track. 'One Bad Habit' is addictive and as great as 'Hot Love', these two are the best on this album. 'Yeah Right' is probably the worst filler, if only they replace it with a better song. Having the remastered version is nice, especially for the four bonus tracks alone.

Beware that if you prefer the olden days, this might not suitable for you, otherwise, it's a solid underrated album and I think deserved to have around 80%.

3 months ago
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Report #261740

NICKELBACK Here and Now

Album · 2011 · Hard Rock

2.57 | 2 ratings

Stephen

'Here and Now' marks the seventh release of Nickelback and looks like they try to calm the music down and introduced more midtempo and ballads, probably to help them gain more new listeners through the radio and media. I've heard a friend said that he read a horrendous report on Classic Rock Magazine, stating this album a disastrous 20% rating, while I don't crazily think that way, this album sure has too many flaws.

A wall divided this album by two obvious sides and I call the first side their best, and the second one is their trash. 'When We Stand Together' is a great acoustical / commercial tune; 'Lullaby' and 'Trying Not To Love You' are two awesome ballads; and they're smart enough to save the best song for the last. 'Don't Ever Let it End' has the best chorus here and overall the song is the peak of this album.

Now, aside from 'Bottoms Up' which I think is still pretty good, the rest are average to horrible, like 'Midnight Queen', 'Gotta Get Me Some', or 'Everything I Wanna Do', I recommend don't even bother at all. Despite that fact, I concur that Nickelback should deserve more appreciation especially from the 80s rock community because I can hear the influence since 'Dark Horse', which is no coincidence was produced by Mutt Lange, a man from that decade.

This is an average modern hard rock album and if you prefer only to have couple of killers, try those tracks I mentioned before and forget the rest, but if you can find it for a $1 or $2 at your nearest pawn shop, this isn't utterly bad like some has told. 60%

3 months ago
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Report #261739

KROKUS The Blitz

Album · 1984 · Traditional heavy metal

2.08 | 5 ratings

Stephen

KROKUS didn't cover any new ground with 'The Blitz'. They're on the eight album with this and it's basically a good hard rock album that pays tribute to AC/DC. The first song, 'Midnite Maniac', are among their most popular track, but also many recognize THE SWEET's cover, 'Ballroom Blitz', which also reminds me a lot to early VAN HALEN style here. This song is one of the highlight of the album, along with the midtempo radio friendly track, 'Our Love', and the energetic, 'Ready To Rock', but the best of the best is 'Rock The Nation'.

Despite the cheesy title, the glam metal riffin' with an anthemic chorus of this song blow any mind's away. Two poor fillers, 'Out To Lunch' and 'Hot Stuff', contributed to the low rating compared to other KROKUS' album, but I don't see it as a terrible album like some has stated. Even songs like 'Out of Control' or 'Boys Nite Out', even though didn't have the capability of climbing up the chart, both are still accessible and enjoyable to these ears. 'The Blitz' is quite reasonable at 70%

3 months ago
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Report #261673

L.A. GUNS Waking the Dead

Album · 2002 · Glam Metal

4.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

2002 is surely a bad year to produce a glam album, I mean, who's going to buy that when nu-metal still rule the world, but thumbs up to Phil Lewis and the gang to deliver such a classy release in the midst of a horrible heavy metal year. 'Waking The Dead' shows L.A.GUNS try to revive their early days sound, but also attempt to adapt with the current climate, resulting in a 75% classic style and 25% modern touch.

Hits for me here are the opening song, 'Don't Look At Me That Way'; the melodic hard rock 'Revolution' and 'Lost In The City of Angels'; 'The Ballad' which is quite obvious, is the ballad of this album; the sleazy 'Hellraisers Ball'; and the fast-paced closer, 'Don't You Cry'. 'OK, Let's Roll' and 'Waking The Dead' are okay, the latter has almost-growly vocal which I believe they never tried before, and 'Frequency' could be the worst song here.

I know lots of fans dig this but I also know that many of the 80s generation missed this because they think by 1993, the game is over, but if you can find this, I strongly recommend you to buy it. It has that punchy riffs they used to have, Lewis scream crazily good here, and the songs are mostly enjoyable. A great criminally-underrated album!

3 months ago
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Report #261672

ANUBIS GATE Anubis Gate

Album · 2011 · Progressive Metal

4.29 | 18 ratings

Stephen

I spun this with no historic experiences with ANUBIS GATE's previous albums before so I have no idea what to expect but the result is ultimately rewarding as I stroll the whole album in single spin only to find myself amazed with how the level of musicianship and the depth of the songs are quite a high leap above the average line.

'Hold Back Tomorrow' blew me away instantly, especially on the extremely melodic centerpiece of the song. 'The Re-Formation Show' tried to pull down the tempo and added up a dark atmosphere, just like in the even slower song, 'World In A Dome', both are good but 'Facing Down' attracts my attention more with its dancey arrangement, and God how beautiful is the aggressive pace at 'Desiderio Omnibus' that coupled again with an incredible melodic notes.

There are at least two tracks that I still can't appreciate much. 'Oh My Precious Life' has that psychedelic feel but didn't work out fine with me. 'Golden Days' is only a decent semi-ballad track, not bad but I can live without it. 'Telltale Eyes' is an opposite direction from their melodic side and I love the great instrumental duel here. The last two tracks are the highlights. 'River' sounds very mysterious, chills me to the bone with its gloomy nuance and served as a wonderful bridge to the next track, 'Circumstanced'. This is the longest track, strangely I’m sensing this is a relaxing tune but still sounds very heavy, amazing arrangement and one of my personal fave!

I love this album, though I haven't been able to grasp the whole album fully and might not give this a higher score like the others, I'm convinced that 80% is really the bottom line of this album. 4 stars for an applauding achievement!

3 months ago
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Report #261670

LANCE KING A Moment in Chiros

Album · 2011 · Progressive Metal

3.01 | 3 ratings

Stephen

Apart from my utmost respect to Lance King for his massive vocal performance back in his BALANCE OF POWER days and his idealism with Nightmare Records, I can't help myself to say that 'A Moment In Chiros', his solo debut, is a very average output. The main problem is there's no single song that's strong enough to strike you hard in the first spin. Probably only 4-5 good tracks here with the most outstanding tracks are 'A Sense of Urgency' and 'A Given Choice', but that two tunes alone can't save the terribly mediocre second half.

It's obvious that the first 4 tracks are the goodie but as soon as you've heard the title track, not to mention it drags too long at 7 minutes, you know you'll ran into trouble. 'Infinity Divine' is the last good track, 'Joy Everlasting' starting to ruin the mood, but then 'Sacred Systems' and 'Transformation' finish the game badly.

This album contains a healthy mix of progressive part and melodic metal, and the production is good, but sadly the songs don't speak much. I'm not sure whether I can recommend this to a casual fan, but if you're a fan of Lance King himself, a spin or two won't hurt. 55% at best!

3 months ago
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Report #261669

SEBASTIAN BACH Kicking and Screaming

Album · 2011 · Hard Rock

2.50 | 1 rating

Stephen

After a struggling comeback in 'Angel Down', a record that's too metal for him and too many excessive screaming, SEBASTIAN BACH tried to play a safer way, a hard rock record that he excels in 'Kicking and Screaming'. Despite the album title, Bach reduced the unnecessary screaming part and focus more on the normal singing, but obviously, it only draws a picture of how poor his vocal has deteriorate in the past 20 years, especially if compared to his prime era in SKID ROW.

Nick Sterling, a young talented kid, was found by him and I myself also impressed with his playing here. The biggest problem is on the songwriting department. If Bach can't sing as well as he used to, at least he needs to ask help from a prominent writer, but loads of average songs scattered here definitely not a good idea to capture a new market.

Some good songs I found here are 'Kicking & Screaming' with a modern riffing style; 'Dance On Your Grave' which sounds like a left-over of 'Slave To The Grind' but still too modern for my taste; the three ballads here are also enjoyable, 'I'm Alive', 'Dream Forever', and 'Wishin'; and the heavy tune, 'One Good Reason'. Sadly, those are in the 7/10 range except 'Wishin' that I rated higher.

Several other awful songs such as 'Live The Life', 'As Long As I Got The Music', or 'Lost In The Light' are among tracks that I always skipped. 'My Own Worst Enemy' is also Bach at its worst vocal performance. It's a disappointing result, to be honest, far from what I expected and judging by many rave reviews, this is a big let down, especially considering that Bach is one of my fave singers of all time. He seriously needs to team up with a great writer, Chris Laney or Dennis Ward could be a great choice.

3 months ago
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Report #261203

IMPELLITTERI Wicked Maiden

Album · 2009 · Traditional heavy metal

3.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

First album in five years but IMPELLITTERI kinda failed to impress me much with 'Wicked Maiden' and the sole reason is because it lacks of really great tracks except for only two songs that I think are his astonishing achievement in this album. The first, 'Wicked Maiden', is an extra-fast beast and Chris' magnificent shredding is always steals the show, and the second is 'Garden of Eden', check out the riffs, this is what he's been missing on the rest of the album, and Rob Rock sounds totally awesome here.

Some songs have nice riffs such as 'Weapons of Mass Distortion' or 'Hi-School Revolution' but there's no spark that can made them your fave tunes. 'Eyes of An Angel' is promising, it has the 80s hard rock element that I really love, nothing's wrong with this, but I've heard hundreds of better songs. Not to mention 'Holy Man' being the worst track here and the closing track, 'The Battle Rages On', is too average to bother.

The production is great and if you're a big fan of this shredder, I don't think 'Wicked Maiden' can do you wrong. Also recommended for fans of power metal because Chris' style is always a border between it and heavy metal, but don't expect a consistent album. If you can live with several fillers, I'm sure you'll done fine with this. 70% from me

3 months ago
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Report #261201

DARK FOREST Dawn of Infinity

Album · 2011 · Traditional heavy metal

4.60 | 7 ratings

Stephen

'Dawn of Infinity' should have made IRON MAIDEN proud. Imagine blistering melodic riffs, epic feel, pounding rhythm, sing-along hooks, every good thing you can find in most Maiden songs are here. But they're more than a shallow copycat even though it's hard to find anything original inside. DARK FOREST also was influenced by RAINBOW, JUDAS PRIEST, and DEEP PURPLE, and with those lethal combos employed, the band successfully provided a thrilling environment for heavy metal fans.

'Hourglass' started well, the huge riffs will swallow you right away and so did 'The Green Knight'. Much more melodic than the previous, this is my fave track although later on, you'll find a better track on the second half. 'Seize The Day' feels patriotic and 'The Tor' has that epic/colossal touch and it's no surprise, this song ended up as the longest track here.

The only thing that denied me from giving this a higher score is that I don't think Will Lowry-Scott's vocal is as strong as the rhythm section. 'Through A Glass Darkfly', in my opinion, is the best song they made here. Came up second are 'The Stars My Destination' and 'Black Delta'. On average, the second half is slightly better but the whole album is enjoyable and there are no useless fillers around, which is a great thing.

Fans of traditional heavy metal shouldn't pass this, a great indie record and I hope they get a better recognition. 80%

3 months ago
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Report #261199

HAREM SCAREM Voice Of Reason

Album · 1995 · Hard Rock

2.50 | 2 ratings

Stephen

After the first two monster albums, HAREM SCAREM did an extremely risky experiment with 'Voice of Reason'. Combining the grungy era of 1995 with symphonic element of QUEEN and dark-oriented hard rock riffage, the result is a very contradictive output than the earlier records that alienates many melodic rock fans. To me personally, this is among my least-fave albums but not necessarily bad by any means.

I rarely pull this out of the shelf for some spins because the inconsistency of songs quality and you're required to have a certain mood to really enjoy the whole album. There are many better songs in the first half than the second with the most notably goodies here are the mid-tempo ballad of 'Blue' and 'Let It Go'; the psychedelic tune with superb solos of 'Warming A Frozen Rose'; and 'Breathing Sand' with a struggling verse but splendid chorus.

On the second half, 'Candle' is great but I like the acoustical version better, which was featured as a bonus track in the Japanese release. 'Necessary Evil' is also nice, but tracks like 'The Paint Thins', 'I'll Be Brief', or the catastrophic 'Untouched' are quite awful. Pick up those great songs and combine it with their 'Live and Acoustic EP', and they possibly can have an awesome third release.

Measuring this album with those upper songs and the passable fillers, I arrived at 70%. Still a good album by a high-quality band, but not a good pick for starter though.

3 months ago
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Report #261107

MORTAL SIN Pyschology of Death

Album · 2011 · Thrash Metal

3.50 | 1 rating

Stephen

Probably still vivid in thrash fans memory of how good is 'Face of Despair' when it first came out in 1989 and MORTAL SIN was then known for the first Australian band that plays the Bay Area style. Fast forward 18 years later, they return to the scene with 'An Absence of Faith' and then 4 years afterward, 'Psychology of Death' was born with a sound exactly identical to their 80s days.

With only two surviving original members on board, Mat Maurer on vocal and Andy Eftichiou on bass, MORTAL SIN delivered a high-octane adrenaline-pumping thrash assault and some of my faves here are 'Blood of My Enemies'; 'Paralyzed By Fear' and 'Doomed To Annihilation' with super-classic riffs that sounds very TESTAMENT to my ears; 'Deny', and 'Down In The Pit'.

The rest four songs are also good, but kinda felt too formulaic with the same repeating pattern. Some galloping drums intro, fierceful riffs sweeping in, put some screaming, keep up the fast-paced rhythm, and ends the song. Not a sin to do that actually, but the qualities of the songs are inferior to the better tunes. The production is okay, not very applauding, but acceptable.

'Psychology of Death' is a nice Sydney's oldschool thrash release, not going to impress hordes of new crowd, but a decent treat for the long-time fans. 75%

3 months ago
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Report #261097

VISIONS OF ATLANTIS Delta

Album · 2011 · Symphonic Metal

3.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

My search for a better prog/power metal outfit last year was stumbled on this. I'm not sure I have heard their previous albums before, but based on the only information that this is a female-fronted band, I expect something great in the border of SYMPHONY X and WITHIN TEMPTATION, but how unfortunate when all I got is a mediocre symphonic metal band. Sure there are some great moments here. 'New Dawn', is the best tune, a power metal track that has commercial touch and sounds very melodic, I'm in love with this right at the first spin.

'Twist of Fate' and 'Elegy of Existence' are two nice tracks, but apart from that three strong tracks, VISION OF ATLANTIS bored me with lots of poorly written tunes, such as 'Where Daylight Falls' or 'Conquest of Others'. 'Memento' is actually pretty good, gave me a thought of a colossal musical score when I first spin it, but the 6:38 duration isn't really full with goodie and they could have shorten it couple of minutes off.

'Black River Delta' isn't bad and the ballad, 'Reflection', is also far from horrible, but with only 3 great tracks, this album was struggling to fight to the top table of any prog fans end-year list. To me, a 70% top and perhaps will go down to 65% after a while.

3 months ago
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Report #260900

CORNERSTONE Human Stain

Album · 2002 · Hard Rock

3.50 | 1 rating

Stephen

'Human Stain' is the second attempt of CORNERSTONE trying to emulate the classic sound of RAINBOW, especially the Dio years, and Doogie White did an excellent job of filling the singer's shoe here. However, as great as this album goes, I spotted a little inconsistency in songs quality especially on the second half. My personal picks here are 'Future Rising' and 'Midnight In Tokyo' being the best of the bunch; the uptempo 'Unchosen One', the classic hard rock piece of 'Some People Fly' with Hammond organ in it, and the majestic power ballad of 'Singing Alone'.

The rest are average to good. 'House of Nevermore' is a ballad that's similar to AXEL RUDI PELL style and 'Sail On Stormy Waters' could be a lost RAINBOW track. Perhaps, 'Forever Young' is the only weakest filler here. The production is great and I guess if you dig the style, 'Human stain' is worth to buy. Good album and I'll give it a 75%.

3 months ago
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Report #260899

RIOT Immortal Soul

Album · 2011 · Traditional heavy metal

4.00 | 1 rating

Stephen

Five years after 'Army of One', RIOT returned with a new singer, Tony Moore, to replace the long-time shouter, Mike DiMeo, but sadly, like SHY, a great album was the last album for Mark Reale whom passed away recently after losing the battle to Crohn's disease. Production was handled by Bruno Ravel that's famous with DANGER DANGER which is surprising to me and I think Moore's vocal is quite superior on the upper range but DiMeo still won the normal range.

The first two tracks are absolutely stunning. 'Riot' is really heavy and fast-paced, the chorus is just perfect and 'Still Your Man' reminds me to IRON MAIDEN a lot. 'Crawling' is dark with chugging riffs, but overall a decent track. Good thing is that this is the only weak track here. 'Wings Are For Angels' is like the first tune, more power metal than the rest and among the best here. 'Fall Before Me' is a nice semi-ballad tune and 'Sins of The Father' blasted with a superb riffs.

What makes it interesting, when you think of the first half that's fully loaded with metal tracks, you can't expect that RIOT will play with hard rock tunes on the second half. 'Whiskey Man' and 'Believe' are two obvious examples and both are excellent tunes too. 'Echoes' is a good one, but not as strong as those two. The vocal harmonies are awesome and production is great, Ravel did a good job here. A strong album and without Reale, I'm not sure they can keep up the pace in the future, but good luck to them and hopefully they will stay strong on their game.

3 months ago
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Report #260898

BANG TANGO Pistol Whipped In The Bible Belt

Album · 2011 · Hard Rock

3.00 | 2 ratings

Stephen

BANG TANGO has always been a second-class band, some glam fans dig it, some others let it go like a flying kite. I kinda like the funky groove in it and they seemed a little bit heavier than EXTREME, but I much prefer EXTREME to them, and I never rated 'Dancin' On Coals' or 'Psycho Cafe' as high as 'Pornografitti II'. I think 'Pistol Whipped' tried to revive the glorious 1991 days and I'm pretty sure if anyone likes 'Dancin' that much, there's no reason to pass on this.

For me, this album is sort of a hit-and-miss, some great tracks here are 'Bring On The World', totally funk-ed up with a splendid chorus; 'Live Life' is an even better track; and 'Drivin' is more radio-friendly with a breezy sing-along chorus, but they also put up quite a few horrendous fillers such as the failed-attempt of AC/DC style, 'Our Way'; the ballad, 'Have You Seen Her', which blatantly ripped off 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door' on its verse and basically a generic track; and the title track is also quite bad.

The composition are mostly quite safe, good but not impressive, like 'Dick In The System' or 'Boom Box Seance', listenable but won't bite you hard like 'Bring On The World' or 'Live Life' did. The production is also good. A nice come-back but it's right in the middle line between 65%-70% although I think I might favor the upper rank with more spins sinking in.

3 months ago
6 comments
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Report #260691

TESTAMENT The New Order

Album · 1988 · Thrash Metal

3.99 | 26 ratings

Stephen

Second album that broke TESTAMENT to the mainstream success, thanks to several singles they spawned including the AEROSMITH cover, 'Nobody's Fault'. Even though I think the debut is untouchable, 'The New Order' do have lots of tracks that I love and never got bored until today. 'Eerie Inhabitans', for example, is a stunning opener; 'The New Order' has brutally fast chorus and spectacular solo; 'Disciples of The Watch' always gets my head banging constantly; 'Nobody's Fault' is surprisingly an excellent rendition of classic song; and 'A Day of Reckoning' is also marvelous.

Half of this album is good but not more, and probably 'Hypnosis' is the useless filler. 'Musical Death' is also quite similar but slightly better, the solo is a nice effort. Ironically, the two singles that introduced TESTAMENT to more audience, aren’t the best part of this album.

Production is as usual, quite thin but as you expect from old thrash band. I guess 'The New Order' remains one of the underrated albums of the past, should have received much better appreciation, and deserved at least 80%.

3 months ago
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Report #260690

SUN CAGED The Lotus Effect

Album · 2011 · Progressive Metal

3.35 | 5 ratings

Stephen

'The Lotus Effect' is one of the most volatile prog-metal disc I ever heard in 2011. I know several others but the point is, SUN CAGED seems to excite you with a splendid melodic kick, and then bored you instantly with some mediocre tracks, and then push you up to the sky with some nice shred and scream, and torn you to pieces with couple of worst prog-metal tracks I ever heard. That's a huge roller coaster ride but not in an incredibly fun way.

'Seamripper' is a monstrous opening set, with a death metal pattern rolling in, the early part is highly melodic and complex, yet it provides an easy access to the whole song. 'Tip-Toe The Fault Line' is where DREAM THEATER meets PORCUPINE TREE, and check out the solo, it's a madness! And to the next 6 tracks, I'm experiencing a painful journey. 'Shades of Hades' is a torture to my ears, and 'Pareidolized' is only slightly better. 'Reductio Ad Absurdum' is quite boring but kudos to the great singing here.

The only track I can accept is 'On Again/Off Again', but hope soon arise again with 'Parasol', an easy listening type of track but I love the simplicity of it. 'Wave The Banner' is a nice short track, and nothing's really memorable until 'Let It Wash Away', which is a good closer. With a running time of over 70 minutes, you must be a real hardcore fan of this band, or the genre, to really enjoy this album.

I don't think I can stand the whole album in one single spin without taking a break, it's just unbearable, but 'The Lotus Effect' isn't a horrible album at all, some good moments, some listenable tunes, I can avoid some tunes and I'm doin' fine. It's just that I don't see a good reason to grant this any score above 60%, probably even lower.

3 months ago
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Report #260618

NIGHTWISH Imaginaerum

Album · 2011 · Symphonic Metal

3.27 | 6 ratings

Stephen

Four years in silence and they came up with this ? I can't help to say but I'm totally disappointed. Well not too much because I haven't expecting anything from that camp since Tarja left and the only thing that interest me now is Vuorinen's side project, BROTHER FIRETRIBE, but with a long tour coming ahead to support this new album, looks like there'll be no new BF album until 2013 and that just pissed me off.

I don't have any problem with Olzon's vocal like many other. I think she's okay even though I have to admit she's inferior and less powerful than Turunen, but weakness of this album is obviously on the fact that they're forcing too much to blend the album with the upcoming movie, hence making the whole sound is like a colossal movie score and not a great metal album like what they had done in the past, not to mention the painful 75-minutes duration and only half of the songs that I'm fond of.

'Storytime', the first single, is the most appealing track for me. The dark nuance made you feel like you're trapped in a wicked circus, the massive choir is awesome, I love this song. But aside from the fourth track, 'I Want My Tears Back' which is a nice commercial track with Celtic melodies, the first half was swarmed with mediocrity. 'Ghost River' has nice riffs but lack of beautiful chorus and 'Slow, Love, Slow' is contradictive to any of their style which is sounds like an old American jazz. The intro on 'Scaretale' is too long and with 'Arabesque', both will be good as score but not metal.

The second half is better. 'Turn Loose The Mermaids' is melancholic and 'Last Ride of The Day' is the classic Nightwish all over the place. The problem is in 'Song of Myself', they bored me to death after the first 3 minutes, and I can't believe I had wasted the 13-minutes of my life for it. Maybe I was expecting a contender to their classic, I'm not a hater of concept album anyway, in fact I have many albums that I love, but not this one.

As a soundtrack album, 'Imaginaerum' might do okay, but as a symphonic metal album, I'm on the other side of the river. 65% at best and I know they’re better than this!

3 months ago
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Report #260332

LOST IN THOUGHT Opus Arise

Album · 2011 · Progressive Metal

3.80 | 9 ratings

Stephen

'Impressive!' is the first word that popped in my mind as soon as I finish spinning LOST IN THOUGHT debut, 'Opus Arise' for the first time and it only took me another spin to fully appreciate the true talents this young band have and how they evolved from a huge DREAM THEATER influence. Deane Lazenby is even a clone of young James LaBrie and how Chris Billingham hits his drums, nothing that I can think of but Mike Portnoy's trademark style.

But they're not merely a copycat, I can sense some strong prog/power touch like in PAGAN'S MIND in their music, and since they're a young band, I'm pretty sure time will help push their growing skills to the max. Out of 8 tracks, my pick of the better tracks are 'Blood Red Diamond', a sweeping melodic intro and this is a less-prog straight forward metal pattern with an astounding great composition and the vocal part is really excellent; 'Delusional Abyss', again with a strong melodic start, it eventually erupted to an explosive prog tune; and the best track here is 'Lost In Thoughts', no shortage of awesomeness from the beginning to the end.

Another promising track here are 'Seek To Find' and 'Assimulate, Destroy', now the latter is interesting with a taste of India at the intro, it walks into a very mysterious atmosphere and packed with chugging heavy riffs. Duration were ranged from 5 - 7 minutes, now this is very good to provide a bridge to a non-hardcore progheads, because the music is also very melodic, I can see folks that into traditional heavy metal or casual progmetal fans might enjoy this one a lot and still they have enough space for instruments exploration but not dragged out too much.

The production is also great. I hope they will come up with a better result and more original in the second album, but not forgetting the melodic part which is their expertise as well. A nice debut and deserved to have at least 80%!

3 months ago
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Report #260331

EDENBRIDGE Sunrise in Eden

Album · 2000 · Symphonic Metal

3.09 | 3 ratings

Stephen

Think of a more progressive approach of NIGHTWISH with some neoclassical elements and less speedy in rhythm, and you'll get EDENBRIDGE. 'Sunrise In Eden' marks their first step and in a glance, I didn't realize this is already 12 years old. Year 2000 isn't a bright year for non-mainstream metal, especially when alternative/nu-metal still reign the world, but EDENBRIDGE deserved an appreciation for this idealistic mission, giving something fresh for the community.

The concept is actually pretty interesting but what bugs me is the lack of strength in songwriting. When you heard NIGHTWISH or WITHIN TEMPTATION, you can always find two or three songs that strike you fast and hard in the first spin but you can't find that here. Best tracks here perhaps only the ballads 'Forever Shine On' and 'Take Me Back' with Sabine's angelic vocal, but then you started to doubt, why would a metal album's highlight are in ballads.

Because the fastest tracks here are relatively weaker. 'Cheyenne Spirit', is good but it's hard to say it's a memorable tune. 'Wings of The Wind' is complex but boring to be honest. 'Midnight At Noon' is a good and safe uptempo track. The title track started with a nice oriental intro, but the 8-minutes duration is painful as they walk with a very average tune.

Another low thing here is that 'Holy Fire' is totally a waste, chaotic track with no good melodies at all. 'My Last Step Beyond' that serves as the epic part of this album, running in 10-minutes, isn't bad, but not great enough to catapult this album to any point beyond 65%-70%.

In the end, it’s just a medicore debut, buy only if it's extremely cheap and recommended to symphonic metal enthusiast only.

4 months ago
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Report #260166

SHY Shy

Album · 2011 · Hard Rock

4.25 | 2 ratings

Stephen

It's ironic and extremely sad to see a great guitarist created an awesome album that can match his peak in the 80s and just passed away in the same year. Heart go to Steve Harris and his family for this catastrophic loss but on a positive note, SHY brought a fruitful record with newly-joined singer, Lee Small, to replace the iconic screamer, Tony Mills, who went to their competitor, TNT.

'Land of A Thousand Lies' is an incredible start. After a long intro, the track blasted into a monstrous melodic hard rock tune, the chorus is utterly mindblowing. SHY combined the classic style with heavy metal, and you can check those tracks like 'So Many Tears' or 'Pray', the merge is obvious there, and both are fantastic tunes, especially 'Pray'. Lee Small caught me by surprise with a superb singing technique, and at some point, I slightly prefer him over Mills because there's a point that you grow tired with the glass-breaking shrilling shout of Mills.

But they also crawl back to their AOR roots, 'Only For The Night' and 'Over You', for instance, are flawless 10/10 quality type of songs. The uptempo 'Live For Me' reminds me to JOURNEY's classic, 'Separate Ways' while 'Ran Out of Time' and 'Save Me' aren't as good as those three, but still a winner in my book.

However, there's a volatility in songwriting and I spot some weakness in at least four tracks. 'Breathe' is a predictable ballad, if not generic. 'Blood On The Line' isn't really interesting, 'Sanctuary' is actually pretty good but too long, and 'Union of Souls' is the weakest link. And the production isn't great, you've heard lots of other albums that beat this sound.

SHY, despite of some acceptable minus, has accomplished a difficult mission to offer an outstanding album for this great year of 2011. I rated it 85% and placed it at #12 in my final list. A solid record and a legacy of Harris to be remembered!