BURNING RAIN – EPIC OBSESSION

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Out now on Frontiers

Burning Rain was always my favourite of Doug Aldrich‘s bands, with its high octane approach on both albums. After more than 10 years, Burning Rain is back with a brand new album.

Let me start off with the negative : it’s less intense than the first two. That doesn’t mean it’s a snoozefest like so many reunion albums turn out to be. It just lacks some of the mania of the older material.

And… that’s it as far as negatives are concerned. This is a great album with quite a big Zeppelin and Whitesnake influence. Doug’s killer guitar playing pervades every song and the band is tight as ever. The slightly more old school approach suits Keith St John’s voice very well.

No complaints about production either.

Highly recommended.

Rating – 90%
Review by Sancho, suffering from some pleasure burns.

ANVIL – HOPE IN HELL

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Released 27th May 2013 on SPV

“Anvil – The Movie” reinvigorated Anvil’s career both commercially and musically. Bigger budgets brought better production along with renewed inspiration.

New album “Hope In Hell” continues to benefit. The slow, pounding title track may be an odd choice for album opener, but things fall into place from second track “Eat Your Words” on, which hints at classics like “Motormouth”. From there on in, it’s typical Anvil fare : old school metal with plenty of manic drumming, manic guitars and Lips’ distinctive voice. “The Fight Is Never Won” sounds like another track off classic album “Forged In Fire”. Come to think of it, the entire album gives me the same chills I got when I heard FIF for the first time.

Production is up to snuff, crisp and open yet powerful.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Anvil, and their decline was painful for me to witness. It’s good to see them enjoying some much deserved popularity these days.

Their best album in many a year, no self respecting metalhead should be without.

Rating – 92%
Review by Sancho

UDO – STEELHAMMER

 

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Released 24th May 2013 on AFM Records

Writing an UDO review can be as easy as copy/pasting your last review, really.  Some albums have more of an Accept vibe, others are slightly more contemporary, but basically you know what to expect. Does their latest release break the pattern?

“Steelhammer” is a fairly safe release, with some keyboards thrown in for added flavour and some excellent guitar playing. Unfortunately, precious few of the songs manage to ignite the spark. After the strong opening salvo of the title track, things start going downhill. “Metal Machine” is as pedestrian as metal gets and they manage to follow it up with the even more groan-inducing “Basta Ya”… Fortunately there’s tracks like “Death Ride” to even things out a bit. The second half of the album is actually better than the first.

It doesn’t help that Udo’s voice is starting to show serious signs of wear (ballad “Heavy Rain” is painful), or that the guitars sound very synthetic.

Personally, I liked predecessor “Rev-Raptor” a lot better, as that one sounded far more inspired.

If you’re an UDO fan, chances are this album won’t disappoint. If you’re looking for an introduction to the band, you’d be better off checking some other releases first.

Rating – 78%
Review by Sancho

FAIR WARNING – SUNDANCER

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Released 24 May 2013 on SPV / Steamhammer

After the unpleasant taste left in the mouth by Axel Rudi Pell’s latest live offering , Fair Warning deliver the perfect teutonic tonic.  Hopefully this band should need no introduction to our readers, classy melodic hard rock performed by truly great musicians in Tommy Heart (vocals), Helge Engelke (guitar), Ule Ritgen (bass) and CC Behrens (drums).  Sundancer marks the bands 11th album and once again yields high dividends in the songwriting department.

Tommy Heart is a wonderful vocalist, powerful with great melody  and pitch whilst guitarist Helge Engelke’s  guitar work with is A1 as ever, the guy knows how to utilise a variety of amps and guitars to build textures within tracks and his fluid lead work is as awe-inspiring as ever – think a rockier Uli Jon Roth.  Bassist Ule Ritgen (formely of Roth’s Electric Sun) is again his busy yet solid self and it’s a delight to hear his flowing bass lines combins with CC Behrens hard hitting style.

Highlights come from most tracks but the punchy opener “Troubled Love”, “Jealous Heart” and the anthemic “Living On The Street” all combine soaring melodies with punchy riffs and commercial hooks.

Well produced (as ever) with good artwork  (a nod to the bands classic Rainmaker album), Sundancer sees the band get close to the quarter of a century mark with fine apblomb.  If you haven’t heard this band before this is as good a place to start as any.

Rating – 89%

AXEL RUDI PELL – LIVE ON FIRE

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Out now on SPV / Steamhammer

German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell releases his 3rd live album (to my knowledge) in a career spanning 20+ years.  You probably know the drill by now, great band, great vocalist in Johnny Gioeli and a good set of songs, all ruined when it comes to Pell’s “solo antics”. I find it quite amazing that in his extended career he’s never learnt to bend a string to pitch or develop a vibrato that sounds anything other than hack, both key elements of Blackmore’s style he failed to rip off. Kirk Hammett and Axel really should join forces.

I know the majority of Pell’s fan are not musicians and do not have such a keen ear for technique, and to be fair he can pen a good song in the classic Rainbow/Purple/RJD era Sabbath vein but if it weren’t for his band holding it all together then would anyone really be giving this guy props?

Plus points, running time is decent, good sound and it looks like the accompanying DVD is well shot.

Long term Pell fans will buy this.  Newbie’s should probably stick to a studio album and guitarists with a keen ear for pitch and taste will avoid like the plague.  I want to like this. Alas I can’t.

If you ignore the solos – 78%
Overall rating – 40%

SEBASTIAN BACH – ABACHALYPSE NOW

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Out now on Frontiers

Ever since quitting Skid Row (I thought they sacked him? – Ed), Seb’s career has been a bit shaky. His last two solo albums were rather decent though. Almost inevitably we are now treated to a live album.

Much like Paul Dianno, Bach mostly relies on material from his former band’s first two albums to form the core of his live set. Unlike Dianno, he has surrounded himself with top notch musicians.

Bach’s voice has held up quite well, all things considered. No surprises in the set selection with the big Skid Row hits represented and the odd solo track thrown in for good measure. Nick Sterling (no longer in the band by now) impresses with some very nice guitar work.

Production is excellent but for some reason not consistent. Some tunes sound a lot less live than others.

For your money, you get two concerts in a 2CD/DVD package. Obviously there’s plenty of overlap between the sets, with only a couple of songs different between the gigs.

Not indispensable, but very entertaining.

Rating – 82%
Review by Quicksand Sancho

PRETTY MAIDS – MOTHERLAND

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Out now on Frontiers Records

Pretty Maids have been on a pretty strong run, culminating in 2010′s excellent “Pandemonium”.

On this year’s “Motherland” most of the typical PM elements are included, but unfortunately there’s been a fair amount of contemporary melo-metal injected into the proceedings.

Whereas the Maids used to have the perfect balance between keys and guitars, the former have now taken over the mix. I suppose the Nightwish generation will love those big washes of synthesized tone, but I’m less impressed. The cod Harry Potter interlude “Confession” might raise an eyebrow or two.

That’s not to say this is a bad album. These guys usually manage to craft strong tunes and there’s no denying their skills as instrumentalists. Despite the keyboard overdose, “The Iceman” is a killer song. The following track, “Sad To See You Suffer” is as trite as it gets though…

“Motherland” is a subdued release. Ronnie Atkins and Ken Hammer sound restrained and the overall energy vibe seems low, despite the obvious attempts at contemporary heaviness. The title track is about the only one that comes close to capturing classic Pretty Maids intensity. Take it up a notch for the next one guys, and don’t overthink it.

Rating – 75%
Review by Sancho

STRYPER – SECOND COMING

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Like plenty of bands before them, Stryper have done an album of re-recorded classics. The same question applies that applies for all of them : why?

Especially when the new versions stay so faithful to the originals you can barely tell the difference… It has to be a matter of rights and royalties I guess.

If you’re new to Stryper, you will want to check this album out. There’s rock solid versions of some of their best songs with a consistently good production. The only sign of the times is some very minor rough spots in Michael Sweet’s vocal delivery. For some tunes, this actually works better than the too smooth performance on the original versions.

There’s also two new songs. They’re decent, a mix between classic Stryper and the better moments on Reborn, but you won’t be buying the album for these two tracks.

In conclusion, this is an enjoyable album, but the final score depends a bit on your outlook. If these were all new songs, this album would rate a score of 95. Deduct points at will for the lack of new material.

Review by Sancho.

MASTERMIND – INSOMNIA

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Out now on Lion Music (as featured on the old V1 site in 2010).

Returning after an absence of close to 10 years are the American rockers Mastermind. Led by brother guitarist/vocalists Bill and drummer Rich Berends the band have built up an impressive back catalogue before seemingly disappearing from the scene after 2000’s “Angels of the Apocalypse” which saw release on Inside Out.

Now the band are back after an self released ep in 2005 with their seventh full length album in “Insomnia” released on Lion Music on Feb 19th. Long time band cohort/guest Jens Johansson (Stratovarius/Malmsteen) provides keyboard solos whilst the album marks the album debut for vocalist Tracy MacShane, a female vocalist with a great ballsy voice. Often labelled as prog rock band the band exhume some prog rock sensibilities on ‘Insomnia’ but mostly this is hard rock covering a wide gamut of styles that fall under the rock banner, all well played written and aided by a nice warm production.

Opener “Desire” sets the ball rolling in fine style, pretty straightforward in style and intent but home to a catchy melody and a thunderous bottom end. “Break Me Down” is more left field, darker, slower, moodier and not without some stoner properties. The riffs are slow, doomy and satisfying, however the band travels into a glorious more up-tempo solo section where Bill gives his vintage Gibson a nice workout with his fluid, liquidy warm tone and the orchestration builds beneath before working its way back to the chorus. “One More Night” sees a nice airy acoustic vibe enter with Bill giving us a lead vocal before the track builds for the chorus. The solo sees Bill build layers of guitar in a more textural way than a typical solo before the dual vocals harmonise nicely. “Meltdown” seems to exhume some dark Seattle alternative flavour and its dark vibe pictures a visual nightmare of sorts. McShane uses her voice in a variety of ways here showing her versatility, the track’s icing comes in the guise of a superbly dirty toned solo from Johansson acting like a red rag to Berend’s bull guitar – very nice.

“Piggy World” is home to an aggressive spiteful vocal delivery from McShane, which despite its aggressive verses finds some melodic resolve for the chorus. The track does feel a little out of place to the rest of the album but is still likeable enough. “No Answer” is much more laid back, almost introspective in its approach with a great melancholic feel whilst the heavy riffs and more classic melodies return for “Broken” which has a nice exotic feel to it. Being home to an almost trance inducing chant line refrain, the track marks McShane’s finest vocal performance on the album along with another fluid solo from Berends, arguably the most accessible track on offer.

“Night Flier” will appease all 70’s prog enthusiasts with its instrumental format and fusion/jazz feel. Berend’s guitar takes off in a big way here and again Jens Johansson helps build more tension with his keyboard solos. “Nietzsche” comes across as a fusion of Pink Floyd but with a darker, more troubled vibe. Largely thanks to the machine like vibe of the throbbing bass and drums which lead way to more layering from the guitars whilst Johansson’s keyboard tone here send shivers down my spine – tantalisingly scared but warm at the same time, the track finds a nice resolve at its conclusion leaving my nerves calmed somewhat. “Last Cigarette” closes the album in more dark style, with a variety of parts laid across its slowish tempo yet is a nice finisher.

With “Insomnia” Mastermind have produced a very solid seventh album with a sound that is unique to the band, yet at the same time classic in its approach. Sonically the band have their own sound happening with the warm production, kudos go to Bill and Rick Berends for producing such a warm and individual sounding album (and McShane for a great vocal performance), which took me back to the days when sound production helped shape an albums character. “Insomnia” is such an album with its own character, its a dark album in a lyrical sense, heck even the album title hints at this and you wonder if the band have slept for the last decade? Perhaps now the album is done they can rest easy in the knowledge they have produced a very enjoyable, individual and skilful release in “Insomnia”.

Readers wanting an original slice of rock music that will reward further with each listen check out the album now.

Hot Spots : Desire, One More Night, Night Flier, Nietzsche
Rating : 90%

THE UNION – THE WORLD IS YOURS

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Out now on Payola Records

The World Is Yours marks the third release from The Union, a band based around guitarist Luke Morley (Thunder) and vocalist Peter Shoulder (Winterville).  As a massive Thunder fan I must admit I’ve always wanted to like this band, and whilst the songs have by no means been duffers I’ve always had a hard time truly getting into them.

That said I went into listening to this record with positive hopes and fortunately I have been rewarded.  Trying not to think of Thunder is probably the best way to approach this, and whilst Morley’s trademark song craft and guitar work is always going to offer up nods to his past, (“What Doesn’t Kill You” and “This Is A London Song” especially) The World Is Your certainly sees this listener hearing a future for an outfit now forging their own sound.

Granted Morley’s influences often permeate through certain riffs and melodies, for example the delightful Zeppelin style acoustic/electric  title track and the classic Tom Petty airy breeze of “Tonight I’m Alive” may not show a individual style but these are still good songs pure and simple.

Elsewhere t the likes of “You’re My Jesus”, “The Perfect Crime”, “Tangled Up In You” and the acoustic lull of “Lost To The Wind” are very good modern classic rock.  Essentially this is about good songs, no excess instrument flash but mature writing with a clear idea of direction.  And it certainly packs a bigger bang than Thunder’s last effort.

Overall, the difficult third album proves no stumbling block and I look forward to album number.

Fans of classic rock check it out.

Rating – 86%