MR BIG - BACK TO BUDOKAN
Out October 16th 2009 / Frontiers Records

Fresh off the back of a Japanese reunion tour comes this new Mr Big live album and DVD.

This may well be the definitive Mr Big live document. All the hits are there. From the opening blast of “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy”, through “Alive And Kicking”, “Just Take My Heart”, “Price You Gotta Pay”, “Addicted To That Rush” and even “Shy Boy”, nothing is left out. There are several covers, some expected, some less evident. Argent’s “Hold Your Head Up” and Purple’s “Smoke On The Water” fall in the latter category, while tracks like Cat Stevens’ “Wild World” and The Who’s “Baba O Riley” have gained a steady place in the band’s set list. Naturally everybody gets ample solo spots to showcase their respective abilities.

I was fortunate enough to catch the band on their current tour of Europe and can vouch for the authenticity of the performance. The band really is this good!

For Mr Big fans this is an obligatory purchase. For those new to the band it’s a fantastic starting point. Highly recommended!

Review by Joost.
Rating - 90%

Does the World really need another female fronted, keyboard driven metal band?
Joey DeMaio seems to think so, as he has seen fit to release Holy Hell on his label Magic Circle Records.

Holy Hell really isn’t a bad band, but everything sounds so generic and by the numbers it’s hard to get warm or cold about it. All the boxes are ticked, from the siren like female vocals through the pompous arrangements right down to the band’s cookie cutter image.
Musically, if you think of a mix between Kamelot and Nightwish you’re not too far off the mark. Latter day Manowar makes a showing in the piano interludes and some of the song structures as well. Execution is flawless but unfortunately soulless as well.

The highlight of the album is Joe Stump’s guitar playing, which by itself almost warrants purchase. He’s putting the critics to rest with some very tasteful playing. His typical style doesn’t always mesh organically with the band though.

If you’re a fan of the bands mentioned above you can add several points to this review. For me it’s just too contrived to convince. Joe Stump is the saving grace.

Review by Joost.
Rating – 70%

 

 

After the halfhearted reunion album “IV” and a not very inspiring live DVD, Winger are back with new album "Karma".

Winger were always slightly more complex than their contemporaries. The contrary rhythms of opening track “Deal With The Devil” are a perfect illustration. “Big World Away” sees Kip showing his rougher side, with some very aggressive singing and riffing. The initial pace of the album is pretty high. It keeps on rocking through tracks like “Pull Me Under” and “Stone Cold Killer”. The pedal comes off the metal for the epic “Supernova” with its brilliant chorus. Classic Winger stuff, right down to Reb’s standout solo! After the ballad “Always With Me” the album stays at a slower pace, culminating in the epic “Witness”. Reb Beach is on a roll throughout the album. His playing on every single song is simply outstanding.

Overall, the band seem to have opted for a harder sound, more akin to “IV” and “Pull” than the cheery lightheartedness of the first two albums. It’s an update that works in most places, but unfortunately it does go to the detriment of catchy choruses. There are still plenty of hooks, they’re just not as hooky anymore…

Criticisms? Well, a couple of faster songs, or even ONE faster song wouldn’t have hurt the second half of the CD.

All in all  this albums was a very pleasant surprise.

Rating - 88%
Review by Joost

Jaded Heart have been going at it since 1990, with a steady line of releases straddling the melodic rock and metal genres. I have to admit they completely passed below my radar and this is actually the first album of theirs I’ve heard from start to finish.

What the band serves us is a mix of melodic metal with some hard rock hooks and a couple of proggy ideas thrown in for good measure. There’s a nice variation in tempos, from fast tunes like “Blood Stained Lies”, “Freedom Call” and “Exterminated” to mid tempo or more epic tunes like “Fly Away” or “Rising”. “Hell Just Arrived” is a standout track. Majestic and powerful.  Of course there are ballads as well. “One Life One Death” suffers from some ill-placed synth sounds but is otherwise not bad. “Come To The Feast” puts a bluesier twist on things.

The band manages to avoid the pitfalls of most European metal bands; the singer knows his range and the drummer doesn’t stuff every song with rolling thunder bass drums. The keyboards sometimes seem like an afterthought, but in other places work perfectly. The hard rock influences serve to help their cause as well.

A solid album.

Rating - 83%
Review by Joost

Former vocalist of Accept, Bangalore Choir and current Gypsy Rose vocalist David Reece has had a long career, yet this is his debut solo album.  No doubt Reece has a great voice, perhaps one of the overlooked voices of the hard rock genre yet I feel with “Universal Language” that isn’t really going to change. 

Whilst one cannot fault Reece’s vocals the song writing is average at best.  Guitarist Andy Susemihl (ex UDO) is a solid enough player, who generally makes all the right noises, but unfortunately this is very safe, very predictable and very uninspired material.  The production doesn’t help, although everything is clearly audible its lacks excitement and sounds very stiff.  The drums sound particularly digital to these ears too further adding to the stiff feel.  There are a few moments that do manage to rise outside the mediocre “All The Way” and “Flesh And Blood” deliver enough to keep you interested. But elsewhere the album moulds into a stream of too many same paced tracks with little to help separate them from the pack. The dull uninspired album cover does work well with the material though!

Overall a good voice, but one that has been involved with far superior material and is probably best viewed as a missed opportunity.

Rating - 30%
 

German neo-classically tinted power metal exponents At Vance are back with album number 8 in “Ride The Sky”, as with its predecessor VII the band still have excellent vocalist Rick Altzi at the helm who is the perfect foil for Olaf Lenk’s Malmsteen inspired guitar work.   Stylistically the band deliver few surprises with this their 8^th effort, the band have a sound that has won a legion of fans so why bother to alienate them. 

 Opener title track gets things off in cracking fashion before the more mid-tempo “Burning Like Fire” has a commercial punch reminiscent of Malmsteen work on “Odyssey”.   “Last In Line” is a double bass drum led assault, high tempos, high energy yet a little bland in places.  Next up is a cover of Bad Company’s “Wishing Well”, which begs the question why?  The song has been covered to death does it really need a new rendition especially as all that is being done is upping the gain levels of the original – Altzi’s vocal do sounds good here though.  The power metal charger “Salvation Day” restores a sense of normality to the album whilst Lenk goes all classical on us for his interpretation of the 2^nd set of Mozart’s Summer – again the question why has to be asked, leave this kind of thing to Uli Jon Roth folks.  “Power” makes up for this however being another charger of a track with a cracking chorus which all power metal fans will shake their heads at in glee.  The obligatory power metal ballad is served by “You & I” which appears to follow Yngwie’s “Save Our Love” a little too closely for comfort in places even down to Lenk’s solo.  “End Of Days” is a quick neo-classically tinted track, although again a little bland in places sadly.  “Fallin” falls outside the expected norm, a mid tempo groove is the bedrock this track, an epic with great melodic content, nice chord progressions and excellent vocal melodies – great stuff.  “Farewell” closes the album on a heavy note, a slightly disjointed riff powers along the verses yet the track has a great bridge and chorus and ends up being a strong closer.

 With their 8^th album At Vance mostly deliver the goods.  A couple of moments feel like filler material (the covers), and one or two of the originals do just sound a little bland and sterile.  That said when the band are on they are really on and the likes of the title track and “Fallin” are extremely strongs.  Hopefully on the bands 9^th this will be the case for the majority of the album.

 Rating – 82%

Lion Music continue their conquest to become the leading force in progressive metal with new signing, Swedish act Status Minor.  This is a name I remember hearing on the underground a year or so ago so its nice to see they have picked up a deal, and with just one listen to their debut “Dialog” its not hard to see why. 

 The band’s brand of progressive metal is heavier than some, but still with a keen melodic edge, the band don’t go overboard with instrumental segments but rather work these into songs, in fact the sound and quality is not a million miles away from label mates Tomorrow’s Eve so that gives some idea as to the quality on offer here.  Yet the band have their own distinctive edge, with guitar tones from Sami Saarinen that manage to avoid the same cliché amp tonality often heard whilst vocalist Markku Kuikka has a rich powerful voice perfectly suited to the bands sound.  Opener “Something More” is a bold statement of intent, big riffs, pompous keyboards and a tight rhythm section will all draw you in immediately.  The band do occasionally drift outside their prog metal sound with “Stand And Think” having some power metal qualities about it and this is a standout track along with the 15 minute closing title track “Dialog” which is a prog metal epic in all aspects of the words, lots of glorious riffs, great vocal melodies and this develops into a play of sorts with the spoken voice dialog between mother and daughter. 

 Overall Status Minor have delivered a great debut, with a rich strong production and mix, this is a band that you feel, like label mates Seventh Wonder could develop into something very special indeed.  One to check out.

 Rating – 88%

Another Swedish band contending for our attention. Not quite as epic or true as most of their competitors, Manimal go for a more proggy approach. If you think of a mix between old Fates Warning and Primal Fear you’re about there.

Opening track “Shadows” kicks off proceedings nicely. Most songs have pretty decent melodies, riffs and leads, but the pace is often broken by breakdowns like in “Living Dead”, a decent song that has all life sucked out of it because every time it gets going it’s stopped dead in its tracks by a break. “I Am” sounds like modern day Dream Theater with Ralf Scheepers on vocals, one of the stronger tunes on the album. “Human Nature” is a fierce up-tempo head banger. Another stand out track. Most of the other tracks are generic Euro prog metal, unfortunately. It’s almost like you’re listening to two different bands. On the one hand, there’s the Primal Fear inspired power metal, and on the other the rather generic prog tracks. The band should choose a direction and stick with it. Maybe they can develop in the future and make a more homogeneous mix, but for now they’re not there yet.

Overall the musicianship is beyond reproach and production is more than OK, but the songs just aren’t consistent or very exciting.

Rating - 67%
Review by Joost