RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/OneDesireBand The Finnish melodic hard rock outfit known as One Desire is bloody marvelous, and its five members sure know to craft a big and juicy tune filled to the brim with soaring vocals, stadium-sized riffs, and more hooks that one can possibly digest. Having said that, their previous live effort…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/album/6JLKckkEpI8YDQtzCkXGdd?si=_TVE0GwPQpC6lRiUhWrq4Q The enormously talented Joe Vana and his inspired project named Mecca are back with their fifth album, and this is a gorgeously melodic offering that displays class, sophistication, and depth. The vocals and harmonies are pure ear candy and there is an understated sense of beauty to these superbly arranged…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/RevolutionSaints/ The third album by the star-studded project named Revolution Saints sees a significant change in personnel in that the supremely talented Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake) and bad-ass bassist Jeff Pilson (ex-DIO, Foreigner) have replaced Doug Aldrich and Jack Blades respectively. Deen Castronovo is still manning the drum stool and handling the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7LDB2IlMsof4n8sxOexPz7 Featuring the three incredibly skilled vocalists Kent Hilli, Toby Hitchcock, and Robbie LaBlanc, T3nors is a melodic rock/AOR project by Frontiers Records that has been in the works for a few years. There is no shortage of quality musicianship here, and the slick and glossy production suits the song material…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/khymeraaor/ Melodic rock is what Khymera is all about, and this follow-up to Master of Illusions from 2020 is certainly a polished and great-sounding affair yet one that lacks truly mind-blowing and memorable compositions. These gentlemen sure know their way around their instruments and the recording studio, and there are plenty…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/creyesweden/ There was a lot to admire and cherish about the previous output by these melodic rockers from Sweden, and it is most satisfying to discover that this latest effort of theirs delivers too and leaves very little to be desired in terms of quality songwriting. A loud, crisp, and bright…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/firstsignalband/ The previous effort by First Signal (Closer to the Edge, 2022) was neither particularly impressive nor as cohesive in terms of quality as it could have been, and although this follow-up entitled Face Your Fears is also somewhat uneven and contain a number of filler tracks, it is quite the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7tibwgLd3lI7eXXPwIJ8sH This debut album by vocalist Nevena came out late last year via Frontiers and is in many ways a mixture of melodic hard rock and AOR. The Serbian singer has teamed up with songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Michael Palace, which is a great move on paper, but while the two of them are…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://paulsabu.com/ Sabu is the brainchild of the wildly talented musician/songwriter/producer Paul Sabu who is known for his work with David Bowie, Alice Cooper, and Madonna among many others, and what a thrill it is to hear him tear it up on this exquisitely crafted solo album of his titled Banshee. While…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://journeymusic.com/ Journey surely need no introduction as these stalwarts of melodic rock/AOR have been around for ages and are responsible for some of the most well-known and popular anthems known to man, so let us cut to the chase and briefly touch on this latest offering of theirs, which is a…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/landfallofficial/ I was very fond of Landfall’s debut album titled The Turning Point (2020) as it boasted great songs with a sense of immediacy and youthful vigor to them, so naturally, I was curious as to how their latest offering, Elevate, would turn out. Sadly, it fails to capitalize on the…
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: 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.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.facebook.com/wildnessofficial/ An excellent slab of melodic rock courtesy of the Swedish outfit Wildness is what you and I are going to discuss ever so briefly here, and you know what? I will kick things off by stating that Resurrection is a hugely enjoyable listen and a well-composed collection of tunes that…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/HouseOfLordsB/ A new LP by US hard rockers House of Lords is usually welcome news, and this inspired offering is big, loud, and colorful. Embracing their 70s influences fully and channeling everything through their own unique filter has resulted in a varied and engaging work charged with passion and spirit. Actually,…
