Stephen 'Human Zoo' is basically a part of GOTTHARD's turning point because entering year 2000, the band seems to convinced themselves to play a more European melodic rock style rather than the AC/DC driven no-frills hard rock. I found both sides of GOTTHARD is interesting and also to see them mixing the two styles in the setlist of their concert is also a fabulous stuff.

This album is a slightly higher step than 'Homerun', and there are three insanely perfect songs here that I still get the chill when I heard them. 'Have A Little Faith', a truly wonderful ballad with a beautiful violin that could make a perfect wedding song. 'Top of The World' is a roaring anthemic song and also an incredible gig opener. 'One In A Million', is a brilliant commercial track and I love this track a lot.

GOTTHARD also seems to focus more on the midtempo and ballads even though some heavy rockin' songs like 'Human Zoo' and 'Where I Belong' added colors to the whole album, but the mid-paced tunes such as 'Jamie's Not Alone', the acoustical ballad of 'First Time In A Long Time', and the closing song, 'What Can I Do' are other songs that I recommend. The production is also great, and overall this one is a pleasant album and I'll gladly rate this a respectable 85%

Stephen October 5th 2010, a sad day as the world mourned Steve Lee's tragic death in a motorcycle accident, right about a year after the release of "Need To Believe", which is obviously his last album after spending a lucrative 18 years with the band. Gotthard decided to move on and search for his successor, but I don't think it'll be an easy task to replace such a distinctive voice. "Need To Believe" itself, continues what's left in their prior record, "Domino Effect", still wrapping their melodic roots with some contemporary touch while centering all attention to their signature ballsy bombastic chorus.

"Shangri-La" may sound too modern at verse, but that soaring chorus can't go wrong. "Unspoken Words" and "Need To Believe" are purely melodic hard rock at best. "I Don't Mind" bring their classic sound to the front, nice riffs they have there. "Don't Let Me Down" is a passionate ballad and a proof that Gotthard is always got a thing when it comes to making slow songs. "Right From Wrong" circled with a dark atmosphere, very freshly sounding riffs, and that infectious chorus is simply flawless. "Rebel Soul" is similar to "Shangri-La" but better, the bonus track, "Ain't Enough", is a must have, an effective trick of luring the fans into buying the special edition version, but 100% worth the price.

"Unconditional Faith" is the only filler I can think of and "Tears To Cry" is an average ballad that you can skip, but the rest are just awesome quality show of Switzerland's legend. If you ask why I didn't give this a perfect 10, that's only because I prefer their old-school riffage style and those couple fillers should have been left out, but this is more than solid, an obligatory purchase for fans, and a brilliant buy for melodic rock / heavy metal folks.

Stephen "G" is the third release of Switzerland's household name, Gotthard, and also marked their last rock and roll style before departing to melodic rock territory on their newer releases. For those who's not familiar with them, Gotthard's musical style on this album is a combination of a swaggering smokey riffs of AC/DC or Jackyl, the howlin' rockin' of Whitesnake, and the traditional hard rock edge of Krokus or Scorpions. After two albums, Gotthard reached their peak here with an optimalized songwriting and sensational musicianship.

"Sister Moon" kicks in with a Whitesnake-meets-Zeppelin rocking piece, followed by a massive hard rock of "Make My Day" and a great rendition of Bob Dylan's classic, "Mighty Quinn". Steve Lee's voice has a very strong character and he moves back and forth from heavy tracks to slower ballads at ease. Check out how he flew on top of Leoni's marching riffs on "Fist In Your Face" and dive gently on radio-friendly tunes, "Let It Be" or "One Life, One Soul". Those are my favorites of the album along with other big numbers such as "Ride On", "Lay Down The Law", and "Hole In One".

If you prefer traditional heavy/hard rock and don’t really like melodic rock, "G" is a perfect choice and in my opinion, this is one of their heaviest albums to date. On the other hand, if you like melodic rock, this is still a good album with lots of great hooks but you might want to check their new releases such as "Lipservice" or "Human Zoo". Now if you like both style like I do, I can safely state, this is their masterpiece, the most complete offering from the band's arsenal, a must buy!

1967/ 1976 In the evolution from Hard Rock to heavy Metal some band plays a sort of metal AOR that is strange to consider Heavy Metal. Gotthard is one of these bands. From Switzerland Gotthatrd invent a sort of electro acustic Heavy Metal also if more close To Hard Rock than Heavy Metal. But this is only a detail.

Open is a good album but not for true metallers, for me. Only if you love Class Metal Gotthard and "Open" would be your album. The ingredients are: AOR rhythms, structure and arrangements, melodic guitars (with no great distorsions), Hard Rock flavor and power. Difficult to see, for me, a pure Trad Heavy Metal album in this "Open".

The cover is a black page with band name and title and... A lock cut in the paper! I already wrote about the songs. Interesting is also that I note the incredibly cover of "Blackberry Way" (The Move), a Progressive Rock song, extremely indicate for a band as Gotthard.

In definitive with "Open" Gotthard arrived to conceive a good album that, in theory, should appeal. Although it is aging very well I must admit that I prefer more American Class Metal bands (or Magnum). Gotthatd, in fact, gives me the idea of not being totally comfortable with these atmospheres: Too Hard Rock and POP. But "Let It Rain" is a pure masterpiece and, in general, "Open" is a great album. I do not know why... But "Open" does not satisfy me fully. It seems missing something... And the magic is too much. Strange feeling,no?