Mr. Big is probably best known for their two greatest hit singles to be with you & wild world. If you lived in the nineties, your ears where definably plaqued to death with these two songs. Now, why the hell dig up Mr. Big after all those years? Well, 'cause there's more than meets the ear. The band got overlooked in the whole Seattle explosion, and they still are to this day. Mr. Big plays a highly 80's influenced hard rock/glam metal with great hooks, and radio friendly choruses. They do a great job balancing their "radio friendly" sound with intense guitar solos & shredding - hell even bass solos makes their way into the musical universe of Mr. Big. Bump your head opens with the uptempo hard rocking "Colorado Bulldog", a full blown ass kicker of a song which features really great bass playing by Billy Sheehan. It's easy to understand why, he is considered one of the best hard rock bassists. Next track "Price you gotta pay" is nearly as good, a solid rock song with a good 80's stadium rock feel to it. Third track is the albums first ballad, & while "Promise her the moon" is good craftsmanship, it's really a bit of a let down, if you are into the more intense and rocking parts of Mr. Big. Not a bad track, but I'm just not into radio-ballads, so here I'm biased. Luckily we get treated with another great track "what's it gonna be", that really sounds like a big 80's rock-fest. Fourth track is the infamous "wild world" - again, it's simply not for my ears, but hey it was a descent hit single, so it's probably just me, that doesn't get it. Following "Wild World" is "Mr. Gone", which is an uptown melodic rocker, that is followed by the slightly better track "The Whole World is Gonna Know". After the two solid rockers, it's of course time for another ballade...hmm.... it's ahem....another radio-friendly- kiss-your-girl-and-wave-your-hands-and-lighters-track... guess that says it all. The string of ballads is broken by another catchy rock song "Temperamental" a really solid track on the album. After that it's ballad time again with "Ain't seen love like that" - I'm just gonna skip that track, and jump to the last on the album "Mr. Big", which is another good mid-tempo rock song that slowly builds into a guitar-fest overdrive. Now, all in all Bump you Head is a really solid hard rock album, but unfortunately theres just too many ballads on it. If you are looking for some of the best hard rock out there, and you can live with the ballads, you should really pick up Bump Your Head. If you are lucky you can probably find it in the bargain bin.

Don't get surprised if you are blown backwards by the musicianship - 'cause these guys can really rock!

Diretone plays one hell of a groove metal!

Now, Diretone is both a great groove metal record & at the same time a little to closely tied to their inspirations. In a genre that has grown stale with Pantera wannabes, we are in dire need of something fresh. Diretone plays a really solid heavy grove metal with nods towards thrash metal icons like Metallica & Megadeth. The sound is very rich, and the production is top notch. Like Adrenalin Mob, Diretone are here to groove the hell out of you without overcomplicating things - and that is a mission accomplished! The musicianship at display is solid and very tight, and you know right from the very first track, that these guys know how to play! The choice to play straight forward groove-metal pays off, as it's hard not to get infected with the groove bug. This is an album, that really deserves to be played loud at parties - expect people running wild though!

My biggest beef with an otherwise impressive debut is the vocals. It's not that lead singer/bass-player Lars Hørning can't sing, but he borrows to much from James Hetfields way of singing - sometimes it's actually hard to hear it's not Hetfield on vocals. In my book it's definitely a draw back, as most of the groove-scene is crying for original acts to appear, and Diretone could really have delivered on that point. There's a fine line between homage and copying, and I think Diretone is in danger of crossing that line with the vocals.

All in all Diretone have created a really great album, and if you can get passed the "Hetfield" singing, you are in for a joyride in the groove-metal roller coaster. With Diretone and acts like Adrenaline Mob my faith is slowly becoming restored in groove-metal. I can only hope Diretone can continue to grow, and develop their own sound. Right now we have a promising debut, the next thing we need from them, is a album that really shows us, they can stand on their own two legs - yeah it's a lot to ask, but I'm sure they can pull it off, and we desperatly need original bands on the groove metal scene.

..A sympathetic resonance of Fates Warning

The band is a mix of current and ex-members of renowned progressive metal band Fates Warning - so you know the bands pedigree should guaranty solid musicianship but also super high expectations. Luckily Arch/Matheos more than delivers on every front. A sympathetic resonance does have a strong Fates Warning sound, but still manages to stand on its own legs, and does not sound as a side project. Original intended as an EP, the project grew into a 55 minute progressive joyride. The record is very technical, and really showcases what we all love about progressive metal. It deserves to be played on a good stereo, to hear and appriciate the craftsmanship & complexity. The record is very guitar driven, and with Jim Matheos fingers on the fret-board, you're treated with both powerful riffs and beautiful melodic guitar-pieces. What I love about this album, is that even though complex & super proggy, it's never a record just for musicians. It's easy to pick up, even for non-progheads, with really strong melodies and hooks - I would go so far as to say, this could be a great introduction for most metal & rocks-heads into progressive metal.

It's impossible to review Arch/Matheos without giving a standing applause to the vocals delivered by Jon Arch. He has a very distinct way of singing, and takes the record to a whole new level. He sings in a very high pitched fashion, that suits the music perfectly, making it truly unique.

I am overly pleased with the record and would recommend it to all rock & metal-fans!

...For all you psychosane grooveheads out there...

The expectations for this release can be measured on an astronomical scale. When you have both Portnoy of Dream Theater & Allen of Symphony X joining forces, you are damn right to expect something freakin' awesome.

Yes, the EP is insanely good! So you can go purchase it now, and skip the rest of the review if you like.

If you are still reading on, what can you expect from this ep? Portnoy & Allen is smart enough not to release a progressive record. Instead, you get the heaviest groove metal recorded in a very long time. The throne of groove metal have not been claimed since Pantera disbanded. Sure, there's a lot of wanna be Pantera bands out there, but it's a genre in dire need of some new adrenaline! Adrenaline Mob more than delivers, and could easily be crowned the new kings of groove metal. Every track is a solid groove-fest. Tightly played & paying homage to the roots of groove metal, while still pushing the genre forward. Russels voice is spot on, and he really adds another level to the music - I would go so far as comparing him to the likes of Ronnie James Dio! Portnoy holds back on his progressive drumming, delivering solid rock drumming instead, which only underlines the bands effort to play infectious groove-metal & not prog. metal.

I can only really complain about one thing - the fact we only get 5 tracks, is not nearly enough to satisfy my hunger for more.

...Over-the-top power metal

ROF is back with yet another over-the-top cheesy symphonic power metal album, a style which they have dubbed Hollywood Metal, due to it's grandiose and epic hollywood blockbuster feel. Love or hate ROF, they are very technically proficient musicians, and they sure do now how to write epic power metal tracks with giant orchestras and choirs.

From Chaos to Eternity is the third part of ROF's Symphony of The Enchanted Lands Saga, now I must admit, I haven't been following the ROF lore, but it quickly becomes apparent that it's along the lines of Lord of The Rings storyline. Yes, it's extremely corny, but somehow it goes well with their insanely grand power-metal style. For all it's cheesy moments and laughable univers, this is also a very solid power metal album. The standard and production is very high, although the album isn't a stand-out from the rest of ROF's back-catalogue, it's hard not to be impressed with the mad skills and epic power metal at display here.

Expect blazing guitars, opera, a symphony orchestra, lyrics in both italian & english, giant choirs, epic sing-a long-chorus, singing with a Gollum voice, blasting drums & an insanely corny storyline. If you can wrap your head around on the things that is going on, you are in for a grand and epic tour-de-force through the univers of ROF

ROF is definitely an acquired taste, but it's hard not to tap your feet while smiling at the same time. Unless they release another album this year, this is going to be contender for the most over-the-top power metal release of the year.

Oh...and Christopher Lee makes a guest appearance again, Yes, THAT Christopher Lee!