GRAND – Second to None

RELEASE YEAR: 2024  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/grandthebandsweden/ Swedish melodic rockers Grand are back with a new, pristine-sounding album that leans heavily towards AOR, which is no bad thing in my book, and I could easily see this outfit appealing to fans of Def Leppard, the Joe Lynn Turner-fronted version of Rainbow, and late eighties/early nineties Foreigner just…

HELMET – Left

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://www.helmetmusic.com/ Noise rock pioneers Helmet surely need no introduction as their impact on fans, critics, and other artists has been (and is) rather significant, and their influence on genres such as nu metal and alternative rock is undeniable. It is as simple as that, really. Page Hamilton (vocals, guitars) may be…

VYPERA – Race of Time

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/Vyperaofficial Vypera hail from Sweden and dabble in hard rock and heavy metal that harken back to the eighties in terms of sound and style, which is usually a very good thing in my book, but sadly, this sophomore effort of theirs is a bit disappointing in that it lacks those…

PRIDE OF LIONS – Dream Higher

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://aprideoflions.com/ I am still quite enamored with Pride of Lion’s superbly crafted Fearless LP from 2017 and to a slightly lesser extent the follow-up from three years later entitled Lion Heart. Dream Higher bears all the hallmarks of its predecessors in terms of its sound and style, but sadly, the songwriting…

HOLLOW ILLUSION – Invisible

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://www.hollowillusion.com/ Norwegian hard rockers Hollow Illusion are undoubtedly good musicians, but their previous offerings have failed to truly impress me; they had plenty of promise and potential as well as some good ideas without being solid or thoroughly enjoyable affairs. The latest output, Invisible, is definitely a marked improvement on its…

HOUSE OF SHAKIRA – XIT

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/HouseofShakira/ These melodic hard rockers from Sweden impressed me with their Radiocarbon LP from 2019, and I was curious as to what this brand-new opus of theirs would be like and whether it would sound like the natural successor to the aforementioned record and be just as cool and exciting as…

KHYMERA – Hold Your Ground

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…

INFINITE & DIVINE – Ascendancy

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/infiniteanddivine/ This scribe was quite enamored with the debut album titled Silver Lining by the Swedish outfit Infinite & Divine that came out a couple of years ago, which ticked a lot of boxes for me. So naturally, I was hoping for more of the same and some classy, memorable symphonic-inspired…

CHEZ KANE – Powerzone

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…

KILLER KINGS – Burn for Love

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?…

ORIANTHI – Live From Hollywood

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/Orianthi The latest output by the accomplished Orianthi is a live offering that was shot and recorded back in January this year at the Bourbon Room in Hollywood. Backed by a brilliant cast of musicians including renowned drummer Glen Sobel (Alice Cooper, Hollywood Vampires), the guitarist tears through songs both old…

FIRST SIGNAL – Closer to the Edge

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: First Signal – Startside (facebook.com) Melodic rock with a slick and sophisticated vibe to it is the order of the day here, and as with the outfit’s previous outputs, things are once again spearheaded by The Murder of My Sweet’s Daniel Flores on drums and keyboards and Harem Scarem vocalist Harry…

HOUSE OF SHAKIRA – Lint XXV (Remastered Anniversary Edition)

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/HouseofShakira/ Swedish melodic rockers House of Shakira recently released this nicely packaged double disc edition of their debut offering “Lint”, which is turning 25 this year. The booklet contains some interesting liner notes, but more importantly, you get a remastered version of the album as well as an entire disc containing…

KRAEMER – All the Way

RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/erikkraemer12/ The brand-new outfit named Kraemer, which is essentially a project designed to display the talents of vocalist Erik Kraemer (Simulacrum), will release this eleven-track effort of theirs in just a few days, and what we have here is basically hard rock that is well-played and nicely produced but which lacks…

BLOODY FALLS – Burn the Witch

RELEASE YEAR: 2021  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/BloodyFalls     Finnish act Bloody Falls dabble in groove metal with prominent overtones of thrash metal and melodic death metal to it. Rumbling and aggressive but always with a keen focus on weaving appealing melodies into the mix, this ten-track effort by the Finnish quintet shows potential and hints at…

AYREON – Transitus

Over the past 26 years and 10 epic albums, Arjen Lucassen has made a firm name for himself in progressive rock/metal circles with his Ayreon project. Each release has been an epic tale filled with rich characters, impressive chops, and vocal guests from all areas of the metal spectrum. 2004’s "The Human Equation" and the…

LORDS OF BLACK – Alchemy of Souls Part II

I was quite pleased with the Spanish power metallers’ previous offering, namely the first part of the "Alchemy of Souls" (2020) musical narrative, and so naturally, I was keen on hearing how this brand-new effort of theirs would sound. As it turns out, it is a bit of a mixed bag with respect to quality…

ALIRIO – All Things Must Pass

The incredibly talented Brazilian vocalist Alirio Netto (Shaman, Khallice) released these ten tracks of his not that long ago via Frontiers and "All Things Must Pass" is melodically strong and pretty damn impressive with respect to its massive sound and punchy production.  As opposed to numerous other releases by the label, Alirio’s brand of hard…

SPEKTRA – Oveload

Spektra is a brand-new outfit hailing from Brazil and "Overload", which was produced by the skilled combo of Alessandro del Vecchio (who seems to appear on nearly every Frontiers release these days!) and Jeff Scott Soto, is the group’s debut offering. Actually, Del Vecchio and Soto have either written or co-written all eleven tracks that…

BLOOD RED SAINTS – Undisputed

The British melodic hard rockers known as Blood Red Saints quite recently unleashed this eleven-track effort via Frontiers Records, and what these gentlemen conjure up is something akin to a cross between FM and Def Leppard, which means that you get a fair number of tasty melodies, solid hooks, and big choruses that are dying…

Load More