RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: http://www.frontiers.it/album/5838 Tommy DeCarlo (Boston) possesses an impressive set of pipes and is undoubtedly a great singer and front man, but this album entitled Dancing in the Moonlight, which is primarily written by Frontiers Records’ in-house composer and musician Alessandro Del Vecchio, is a huge letdown and utterly forgettable. AOR and soft…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://robmoratti.net/ The talented Rob Moratti (ex-Saga) has a new record out that showcases both his excellent singing and great compositional skills, and although it is a slick and polished offering that falls somewhere between melodic rock and AOR, it also possesses some nice (albeit subtle) prog rock flavors and heaps of…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0dVETbP5NLiYQFPtVIA3Na The Brazilian melodic rock/AOR outfit known as Tarmat is a real pleasant surprise to these ears as this quartet delivers some incredibly well-written, pristine-sounding tunes that lean toward the magical vibes of Toto, Journey, Boston, and to a lesser extent Europe. Did you say earworms and irresistible hooks? Fear not…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.enuffznuff.com/ Their 17th studio album sees Chip Z’Nuff and his skilled bandmates in fine form as they deliver a well-crafted slab of power pop, which essentially means that all the group’s trademarks with respect to melody lines and atmospheres and so on are firmly in place throughout and that the mixture…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/autographband/ The latest release by Autograph is a bittersweet affair in that it is both musically solid and a hugely enjoyable listen but sadly, it also marks the last recorded output by founding member and bass player extraordinaire Randy Rand as he passed away before this well-written album saw the light…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ECxgPVegGSXTfZyVzJ786 Featuring the inimitable Johnny Gioeli (Hardline) on vocals, Enemy Eyes is truly a delight to these ears in that this skilled new outfit combines classic heavy metal with hard rock, and the result is deeply satisfying to immerse oneself in. First of all, it genuinely sounds like a true and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/ArcOfLifeRockBand/ I was quite enamored with the self-titled debut album from last year by these gentlemen and thought that it contained some superbly written and exciting prog rock tunes with heaps of atmosphere and cracking good ideas to them. In many respects, Don’t Look Down offers more of the same, and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/mantricmomentum/ An epic and melodic heavy metal opus by an act featuring the talented Christer Harøy (Divided Multitude, Crossnail) and Terje Harøy (Pyramaze) sounds like just the thing to keep me entertained today, so let us spin this visually appealing release a handful of times and see what happens, shall we?…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/AboutUsNagaland/ It is not often that something as exotic as kick-ass and dynamic hard rock from India finds its way to my mailbox, but I am really grateful that this vigorous and passionate opus by About Us did as this is a fantastic debut album. Energetic and chock-full of good ideas, the talented ensemble merge the old with…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.chezkane.com/ I really liked the previous album by Chez Kane (i.e. the self-titled one from 2021) and find her a terrific singer with a lot of charisma, but this latest LP of hers, which was written and produced by Danny Rexon from Crazy Lixx, lacks those truly hook-laden and memorable delights…
Back in October 2022, I received a promo copy of a most impressive and dynamic slab of kick-ass hard rock entitled Resurrection by the Swedish outfit named Wildness. Apart from crafting melodically strong and hook-laden tunes that are outright irresistible, what makes this particular band so great is the fact that they also weave different…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMifUtcBLBs The two skilled vocalists that are Anette Olzon (ex-Nightwish) and Russell Allen (Symphony X) have teamed up with multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Magnus Karlsson for another epic slab of melodic metal full of grandeur and lofty ideas. Army of Dreamers is essentially huge-sounding symphonic metal swathed in sweeping keyboards, soaring…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://taboo.band/ Taboo is a sparkling new hard rock/melodic heavy metal outfit from Denmark that includes one legendary guitarist named Ken Hammer (Pretty Maids) in its ranks, and this is a crunchy, modern-sounding opus that packs a serious punch and contains some stellar compositions. Sharp as a razor and as heavy as…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/RingOfFireMetal Mark Boals (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, Shining Black) possesses one of the greatest voices in rock, and it is pretty much always a treat to listen to something that features his unique voice, which leads me to this brand-new album by neo-classical power/progressive metallers Ring of Fire. It has been eight years…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.rising-steel.fr/ The previous offering by these French metal freaks, more specifically the loud and crushing Fight Them All (2020), was an entertaining albeit slightly uneven ride through power metal, NWOBHM, and thrash metal. I am pleased to announce that nothing has changed in the outfit’s camp as the latest effort titled…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/GinevraRock/ What a wicked surprise this potent slab of melodic heavy metal/hard rock is. Featuring the talented singer Kristian Fyhr (Seventh Crystal), renowned guitar-slinger Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear, The Ferrymen), kick-ass bassist Jimmy Jay (H.E.A.T.), and drummer Magnus Ulfstedt (Nordic Union), it is safe to say that these dudes know exactly…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/erinyesmetal/ The Erinyes is a rather interesting new project by Frontiers Records in that its three female vocalists deliver some divine melodies and harmonies on top of a thick blanket of epic-sounding power metal, or symphonic metal, if you will. Musically, everything holds up well without the songs necessarily being outright…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/KillerKingsRock/ Killer Kings is a new project by Frontiers Records in which vocalist Gregory Lynn Hall (ex-101 South) and the kick-ass guitarist Tristan Avakian have joined forces and are backed by Nicholas Papapicco on drums and the ever-present Alessandro Del Vecchio on bass and keyboards. Not exactly a bad line-up, right?…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/grandthebandsweden/ The Swedish outfit named Grand recently released this self-titled offering of theirs via Frontiers Records, and I must say that this is a highly promising debut album that shows potential and hints at even greater things to come. With their roots being firmly planted in melodic rock and AOR, these…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.instagram.com/iamorianthi/ The hugely talented Orianthi is keeping busy and staying creative these days, which is great to see, and her latest LP entitled Rock Candy is a fine entry in the awesome lady’s discography. That hard and sharp sound of the record suits the material quite nicely, and I love the…
