Archive: CD, DVD & DEMO REVIEWS 2005 & OLDER

Archive: CD, DVD & DEMO REVIEWS 2006

DECEMBER

3HM - Three Headed Monster (CD)	USA	December 2007	Mario van Dooren
Style: Melodic Instrumental Metal	Running time: 40:38 (Tracks: 8)
3HM (Three Headed Monster) consists of four former high school friends who play an all-instrumental blend of genres, varying from power and thrash to prog and old-fashioned heavy metal. 3 Headed Monster came into existence in 2001 (first under the name "Baptismal By Fire") after the four friends decided that it was time to put aside their friendship... and start a band. The band started playing show after show and gained a cult following in the New England area based on their crazy live antics and songs filled to the brim with guitar shred. 3HM writes enjoyable instrumental metal songs, the dual guitar shred of Chris and Chris and the great rhythm section of Paul (Bass) and Andy (Drums). Normally when I listen to instrumental bands than they are mostly solo projects of guitarplayers which have formed a band around themselves to express their ideas and to give their own music a more serious sound. 3HM is not of this kind; this is pure heavy metal!! Not songs that are written to fullfil some guitarsolos but real, complete, metalsongs that sound superb! Personally I dont even miss a singer in this kind of music. Melissa Records released 4 albums till now but this is their best if you ask me. Musically it reminds me to the early years of bands like Megadeth, Fates Warning and I even hear some Slayer riffs back in some of their songs. Great stuff and if you ask my opinion; better no singer than a moderate/mediocre singer! Keep continuing this musical direction guys! Only little complain is the short running time of the CD.
Recordlabel: http://www.melissarecords.com Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.hardlifepromotion.nl/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/3headedmonster			90/100

AGANKAST - Walking with Angels…Running with Devils (2CD)	United Kingdom	December 2007	Kees Schijven
Style: Thrash Metal	Running time: (Tracks: 17)
Again a new album from UK's thrashers Agankast, a double album this time, there has been some changes around this band since I reviewed their last album. To start with, founding member guitarist Rob Matthew (ex-Atomkraft) has decided to step down now after the recording of the album, and has been replaced by 17yr old riff machine Steven Gray. Also due to complications they had to change the name of the band, which is now called Insanita. This however doesn't effect their music in any way. Back to the new album, the first disc 'Walking with Angels' is similar to what they have done before, great thrash anthems, with great riffs and guitarwork in them. The songs are all on the long side, with an average of 7 minutes, slow chugging songs but never boring. Then on the second disc 'Running with Devils' a full on thrash approach, which takes the band in a new direction, which is also where they are taking the band on the live scene. Theres absolutely no doubt about it; great thrash metal, with songs like 'Heathen', 'Razorwire' , 'End it all' and title track 'Running with Devils'. Great riffs, full speed thrash metal, which makes me very curious to their live performance, this is the good stuff. Well now you know I like it, but give it a try for yourself and find out, the British know how to make some serious thrash metal! The only thing which could have been done a bit better maybe is the production of the album, but for a self produced album certainly not bad at all, I guess they didn't find a label yet, but this should only be a matter of time, cause quality stands out here!
My Space: http://www.myspace.com/agankast			75/100

ANCIENT CREATION – Evolution Bound (CD)	USA	December 2007	Kostas Kounadinis
Style: Power Metal	Running time: 49:54 (Tracks: 9)
Ancient Creation is the latest addition to the Melissa Records camp, a label which specializes in power metal. This Missouri based band presents us its debut after a few years of underground presence. According to the press note the intention of the band is to present us some old school power metal with progressive elements. I think that the guys more or less achieved that goal. Evolution Bound is power and progressive metal but the old school term doesn't apply in every single song. For example the death growls don't sound very old school to me. And the production isn't the best possible since I think that the band needed a more "razor sharp" sound. On the other hand the quintet surely knows how to play. The nine songs vary from dark mid tempo to fast paced power metal tunes and I wouldn't go too far if I said that these guys reminded me of Destiny's End. Steve Bentley's voice bears a striking resemblance to that of James Rivera but the similarities expand to the song writing and performance field too. Well I guess that "Evolution Bound" will appeal to most fans of the American power metal sound and all these guys who want their metal rough!
Visit their website: http://www.ancientcreation.net Recordlabel: http://www.melissarecords.com Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.hardlifepromotion.nl/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/ancientcreation			75/100

BLACK CRUCIFIXION – Promethean Gift (CD)	Finland	December 2007	William Nijhof
Style: Black Metal	Running time: 37:53 (Tracks: 8)
Black Crucifixion started in early years of the 90s. This band hasn't released much material and what they released they did that on a very small edition. Their first demo was released in 1992, and after that they released an MCD. In 2006 they released the Faustian Dream record (which was a re-release of their demos). So this one is their debut. This record contains 8 tracks of dark and rare black metal. The first four songs are new and the sound great, not spectacular but good, the songs are very dark and doom. The guitar riffs aren't typical black but heavier. The drums are pounding through every song with fury. The vocalist has a very dark and filthy voice not heavy but very dark. All the songs contain a very high atmosphere in it. The other four songs are old songs that sound old (terrible performance and production). They are more raw as black should sound in those years. I like the new songs more then the older ones. All though black metal isn't my favourite music I think that this band hasn't stopped evolving in time. This is their first full length release in ten years and its well worth checking out!
Visit their website: http://www.paasto.com/bc Recordlabel: http://www.soulsellerrecords.com			70/100

CULT OF THE FOX – Cult of the Fox (CDemo )	Sweden	December 2007	Marco van Empel
Style: Heavy Metal	Running time: 16:29 (Tracks: 4)
Cult of the Fox is a band coming from ‘Skåne län Sweden’ and has been in progress for several years, but the band was officially formed in early 2007. Cult Of The Fox sounds like pure, honest, true 80’s Heavy Metal! The music is not from a very high level but that’s absolutely no problem to me! The music has got a great spirit and sounds good in the ears. Cult Of The Fox even sounds a bit like Dutch Heavy Metal Legends ‘Hammerhawk’! In my opinion… A great true, honest Heavy Metal demo for real Underground Metal Maniacs!
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/cultofthefox			70/100

DEPRESSED MODE – Ghost of Devotion (CD)	Finland	December 2007	William Nijhof
Style: Melodic Doom Metal	Running time: 51:16 (Tracks: 9)
Depressed Mode started in 2005. In 2006 they signed with Firebox Records and now they released their debut "Ghost of Devotion". This album contains 9 tracks of pure old school doom metal. All the songs have great variety and the production is great. The guitar riffs are very very slow and heavy. The drums are also just the way how it must be slow and slower. There are two vocals on it a female and a male. The voice of the female is great and not annoying. Normally I don't like a female voice in doom metal because in my opinion it takes away the darkness in a song, but in this case I must say that it sounds great (not to hard in the mix, only as backing vocal). Tthe lead singer has a very dark and heavy grunt that reminds me a lot of Ataraxie (France doom metal band). Even the keyboards aren't annoying and give a very dark dimension to the songs. When I listen to this album I feel really relaxed and in a trance, well done! If you like bands that sound like Ataraxie, My Dying Bride then you should buy it!
Visit their website: http://www.mikseri.net/depmode Recordlabel: http://www.firebox.fi MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/depressedmodedoom			80/100

DUG PINNICK – Strum Sum Up (CD)	USA	December 2007	Ronny Elst
Style: Psychedelic Rock	Running time: 54:28 (Tracks: 14)
"Strum Sum Up" is Dug Pinnick's second solo album for Magna Carta, after "Emotional Animal" in 2005. Of course is Dug known as King's X bassist and lead vocalist. His newest album is featuring Wally Farkas of Galactic Cowboys, and he also got the help of Billy Idol's guitar wizard Steve Stevens and Army of Anyone's Ray Luzier, amongst others. Half of the album is composed of two-part rock suites, containing extended jam sections. The music on "Strum Sum Up" reminds a lot of King's X music ; a mix of prog, grunge, funk, soul, blues,rock, pop and psychedelic with Dug's characteristic voice.
Visit their website: http://www.dugpinnick.com Recordlabel: http://www.magnacarta.net MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/dugpinnickpoundhound			71/100

GAMMA RAY – Land Of The Free-Part II (CD)	Germany	December 2007	Ronny Elst
Style: Melodic Power Metal	Running time: 65:18 (Tracks: 12)
Gamma Ray exist since 18 years, when Kai Hansen decided to leave Helloween. They never have been so successful as Helloween, although they play more or less the same style. In 1995 they released their classic "Land Of The Free" album, which is considered as their best album through fans and press. Now, 12 years later they release the follow-up, "Part II". Still all Gamma Ray ingredients are the same ; fast-paced, anthemic, deeply melodic, diverse, many choruses, amazing solos and Kai's characteristic voice. So nothing has changed that much since their start. They still sound like a mix of Priest/Maiden and old Helloween. At the end of November, Gamma Ray and Helloween will start the Hellish Rock 2007/08 tour. The fans can look forward to a full 70-minute Gamma Ray show with their own stage set, plus a nightly session together with Helloween, likely to feature a number of classics from Kai Hansen's own Helloween era!
Visit their website: http://www.gamma-ray.com Recordlabel: http://www.spv.de Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.pettingzoo.nl/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/gammaraymyspace			87/100

GARY HUGHES – Veritas (CD)	England	December 2007	Kostas Kounadinis
Style: Melodic Rock	Running time: 62:42 (Tracks: 12)
There is no need to hide that Gary Hughes is one of my favourite artists. The leader of British hard rock legends Ten, has been composing magnificent music for years. And although his recent Ten effort wasn't equivalent to his previous ones, he still remains a highly acclaimed composer and performer. Just for the record and for those who aren't familiar with his works I'll mention both Once and Future King project albums, the Bob Catley solo albums and his previous solo efforts. Veritas is his recent venture, an album I had been waiting for eagerly. Mister Hughes didn't prove me wrong. From the very first moments you get the picture. This is the typical Gary Hughes work. Great melodies, emotional performances and catchy choruses are all over the place. Hughes at his best. He also brought along some of his colleagues at Ten plus a handful of top notch British musicians. Veritas is a cross between Precious Ones (his previous solo album) and the mellower moments of Once and Future King. I enjoyed every single moment of it, sitting back and listening to it over and over again. It's the kind of album you could listen to repeatedly for several times without even noticing, lost in its beautiful melodies. If you are into melodic rock and A.O.R. then you shouldn't miss this one.
Recordlabel: http://www.frontiers.it Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.roughtrade.nl/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/garyhughesband			89/100

HELLCITY 13 - Hellcity 13 (CD)	Finland	December 2007	Marco van Empel
Style: Sleaze / Pop / Gothic/ Hardrock	Running time: 39:13 (Tracks: 10)
Hellcity 13 is a new, sensational band from Finland that plays dark streetrock. You can describe this band as a Sleaze/Pop/Gothic/Hardrock band in the vein of bands like 'The Rasmus' and 'Him'. They have already released one mini cd and my opinion about their first full length is absolutely the same as the last time I reviewed their mcd for Marios Metal Mania. Definitely no bad music but not oldschool enough for me. I prefer real Scandinavian Sleaze Rock and not this kind of Gothic Glam. In a musical way it’s from a good level and the music sounds pretty good actually. But hell no, it’s not really my taste of music. I’m sorry, please keep the gothic influences away next time !
Visit their website: http://www.hellcity13.com/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/hellcity13			60/100

HELLOWEEN – Gambling With The Devil (CD)	Germany	December 2007	Ronny Elst
Style: Melodic Heavy / Power Metal	Running time: 57:38 (Tracks: 12)
"Gambling With The Devil" is Helloween's twelfth studio album. These German guys were one of the first European speed/power metal bands in the 80's and they still are playing good metal songs. Probably they will never release albums like "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" Part I & II anymore, but "Gambling With The Devil" is a more than decent album. The album opens with the intro "Crack The Riddle", with Biff Byford (Saxon) as a gues speaker. The other eleven songs range from classic heavy/power metal till a lot more softer material. The focal point of this diverse album is a three-part epos consisting of the chapters "The Bells Of The Seven Hells", "Falling To Pieces" and "I.M.E.", which represent the ambiguous album title that thematically covers all the songs. Vocalist Andi Deris is singing good (although he's certainly not a Michael Kiske!) and the guitarists Weikath/Gerstner are playing execellent guitar solo's over and over again! "Gambling With The Devil" is a good mix of old and new (read : more modern) Helloween stuff, a combination of melody and power. Sound and song-wise comparable with their albums "Master Of The Ring" and "Time Of The Oath".
Visit their website: http://www.helloween.org Recordlabel: http://www.spv.de Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.pettingzoo.nl/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/helloween			84/100

HELSTAR - Sins of the Past (CD)	USA	December 2007	Mario van Dooren
Style: US Power/Speed Metal	Running time: 1:02:52 (Tracks: 13)
At the present time Helstar features the nucleus of the legendary "Remnants of War" line up. Lead vocalist James Rivera has finally reunited with co-founder and guitarist Larry Barragan. Along with guitarist Rob Treviño, bass player extraordinaire Jerry Abarca and featuring Russell Deleon on the drums, this is the line up most people have wanted to see reunited. Helstar originally began it's quest in 1982. The line up consisted of James Rivera (vocals), Larry Barragan (guitar), Tom Rogers (guitar), Hector Pavon (drums) and Paul Medina (bass). By 1984 the band had signed with Combat Records and recorded its first album entitled "Burning Star". Helstar recorded "Remnants of War" in 1985 with a new and powerful line up. Helstar signed with Metal Blade records and produced two albums for the label: "A Distant Thunder" & "Nosferatu". It was the last album Helstar would record for Metal Blade. Later they recorded "Multiples in Black" with the help of Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson as producer. This would be the last proper album Helstar would record. James Rivera has enjoyed much success staying busy with several projects. He is considered by some to be one of the most legendary metal vocalist ever. He has recorded with Destiny's End, Seven Witches, Killing Machine, Distant Thunder and and Vicious Rumors (which he recently left after a bottle fight with Geoff Thorpe in which James got wounded). Larry Barragan, Rob Treviño, and Russell Deleon have also resurfaced with a new band named Eternity Black. They have released a self-titled 5 song EP as well (see Archive CD/DVD reviews). Helstar has recorded eight full length albums spanning over two decades. "Sins of the Past" is more a kind of a compilation album. The band re-recorded 11 songs from their earlier stuff and added a few new songs to this album. Not really an addition for your collection if you already own their original albums. Only nice to win some new fans. Hope they reach that goal with this album because for me personally its a useless release. The new recordings are not even better than the original. The 2 new songs are both in the same style as the older Helstar stuff.
Visit their website: http://www.helstar.com/ Recordlabel: http://www.afm-records.de/ Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.rockinc.nl MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/helstar			--/---

IGNITOR - Road of Bones (CD)	USA	December 2007	Mario van Dooren
Style: US Metal	Running time: 52:50 (Tracks: 11)
Out of Texas comes Ignitor. The band was formed when guitarists Stuart Laurence and Beverly Barrington, bass player Brendon Bigelow, drummer Pat Doyle, and vocalist Erika joined forces in the summer of 2003. Influenced by 80s masters Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, Ignitors music is a blend of classic true metal with the power of today's true/powermetal bands. Their MiniCD "Take to the Sky" was already Demo of the Month by Germany's Rock Hard magazine. 2006 saw a lineup change, with Beverly leaving and Annah Moore joining the fold. Ignitor has shared stage space with great bands like W.A.S.P, Distant Thunder, M.O.D., Beyond Fear and Jag Panzer. This is the bands first full length album and its a very good one! Musically its pure US-metal but still it sounds different because of Erika's voice. She sometimes reminds me to Nathalie Geyer of Mystery Bleu (except that Nathalie has her typical French accent). This is, again, a great release from the Cruz Del Sur recordlabel and I cant wait to see these guys/girls on stage in Europe because I missed their performance at the KIT festival in 2005.....
Recordlabel: http://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/ Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.hardlifepromotion.nl/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/ignitor			80/100

KILLING FROST – Falling From The Sky (CD)	Japan	December 2007	Ronny Elst
Style: Melodic Power Metal	Running time: 51:57 (Tracks: 10)
Killing Frost is a solo project of Tetsu Kishi. Tetsu Kishi was active as a guitarist of other Japanese power metal bands such as Idiot Savant, Tytan's Claw and As Dusk Descends. He started to play live in April 2005, for which he found other musicians to help him. At the same time he began the making of new songs and the production of the full album. He completed his first album "Falling From The Sky" after production periods of more than two years. Vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards and drum programming are all performed by Tetsu Kishi. He only got some help for backing vocals from other Japanese vocalists. The album starts with a cool Iron Maiden guitar riff, and continues with mid and up-tempo melodic power metal songs. Influences can be heard from Scandinavian, Italian and Japanese melodic power metal bands. Especially early Helloween comes to mind when I listen to the album. Tetsu is an excellent musician and also his vocals are good enough (maybe his English can improve a bit). He did a nice job for a solo project!
Visit their website: http://www.killing-frost.com			81/100

KING LEORIC – Thunderforce (CD)	Germany	December 2007	Ronny Elst
Style: Melodic Heavy Metal	Running time: 54:25 (Tracks: 11)
This is the second full length album from these German metal guys. In 2000 they already released a demo and in 2002 their first album "Piece Of Past". When I listen to their latest album, "Thunderforce", I can't believe that they aren't signed yet! King Leoric plays a great mix of Teutonic Metal, NWOBHM and U.S. Metal. Their songs have a lot of variety in tempo – midpaced, up-tempo and even some balladesque parts. Bands to refer at are Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Manowar, Rebellion, Running Wild, Accept and, more recent bands like Majesty and Messiah's Kiss. With Jens Wunder they have the perfect vocalist for their metal music. He sings very powerful but stays always melodic too, without singing too polished. Currently the band is working on their third album "Lingua Regis", which will be another killer album in my opinion!
Visit their website: http://www.king-leoric.de			89/100

LA VENTURA – A New Beginning (CD)	The Netherlands	December 2007	Mr. Globetrotter
Style: Gothic Nu-Metal	Running time: 37:38 (Tracks: 10)
After the split of the Dutch band Orphanage, drummer Erwin Polderman found female vocalist Carla Douw and a few other musicians to start a new band. The musical direction was gothic metal, but after hearing the album, I decided that gothic nu-metal was a better label for La -Ventura's music. La-Ventura were signed for a record deal with a US label after being discovered on MySpace, but due to several deadlines not being respected, the band decided to make the cd themselves. The production of the album was eventually done by a producer-friend, and so this album saw the light of day after that friends of the bandmembers took care of several stages of realising and releasing this cd. The outcome is a refreshing debut ! The song "Trefoil" is obviously their oldest track; carefully developed, a song that resembles Evanescence in more than one way, setting the course for the rest of the tracks. With diverse songs like "Cry", La-Ventura will probably and hopefully reach a higher status. I think this band has a lot of potential, and they should really aim for a status in the ranks of, for example, Within Temptation. The band has produced a bombastic debut, full of musically high-end performances, and of course, very important, a steady and gorgeous frontwoman.
Visit their website: http://www.la-ventura.com Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.hardlifepromotion.nl/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/laventura			90/100

MEKONG DELTA - Lurking Fear (CD)	Germany	December 2007	Mario van Dooren
Style: Progressive Thrash Metal	Running time: 49:35 (Tracks: 10)
In 1985 MEKONG DELTA came into the metal scene as a mystery band, with the story being that the members were under contract to other bands and thus could not reveal their true identities. Early lineups featured Rage mainman Peavey Wagner (and other Rage members as well), but by the time of the first album "Mekong Delta", a firm lineup was established, consisting of the following members: Keil (Wolfgang Borgmann), Rolf Stein (Frank Fricke, then in Living Death), Vincent St. John (Reiner Kelch, also of Living Death), Bjorn Eklund (Ralf Hubert), and Gordon Perkins (Jorg Michael, then in Rage). The band continued to use pseudonyms for several years (Uwe Baltrusch was listed as Mark Kaye, and Uli Kusch as Patrick Duval). Eventually the real names were revealed, and by 1990 (when Dances Of Death was released) all but Jorg Michael were using their true names. The music of MEKONG DELTA is best described as Germanic thrash, with strong progressive and classical tendencies. "Kaleidoscope", "The Music Of Erich Zann" "The Principle of Doubt" are their most consistent releases. The band has also covered several classical pieces and these have been re-released as the Classics compilation. Mekong Delta has now a new vocalist: Leo Szpigiel--formerly of Angel Dust, Crows, Duke, and Scanner and Peter Lake (Theory In Practice) plays the guitars. Mekong Delta, which reformed in 2005, still sound like in their old days; progressive thrashmetal with a lot of classic elements in their songs. Mostly all the songs are up-tempo which suits me very well. Their style nowadays is a mix of the stuff they already had before their break in 1997. So expect a more thrashy variant of bands like: Hades (USA), Watchtower & (old) Sieges Even. Fav. songs: 'Immortal Hate' & 'Defenders of the Faith'. The original CD contains a bonus DVD "Live in Frankfurt".
Visit their website: http://www.mekongdelta.eu/ Recordlabel: http://www.afm-records.de/ Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.rockinc.nl MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mekongdeltaband			88/100

MICHAEL LEE FIRKINS – Blacklight Sonatas (CD)	USA	December 2007	Ronny Elst
Style: Instrumental Rock/Blues/Country	Running time: 46:58 (Tracks: 9)
Michael Lee was born in Nebraska in 1967. He started playing acoustic guitar at the age of 8. Mostly self taught, he also took lessons at a local music store. That time he was heavily into Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Black Sabbath. He soon played in local bands and in church from the age of 12 until 18. Michael's musical influences were expanding ; Jerry Reed, Chet Atkins and Albert Lee were among his new favourites. He recorded a 5 song demo of instrumental guitar tunes which he has sent to Shrapnel Records. They signed him and a release of his first solo album was soon to follow in 1990. His first release sold more than 100.000 copies and he was praised in every guitar magazine as a great new talent. He also won the Edison award, which is Holland's version of a Grammy. Michael released 3 more records for Shrapnel. Howling Iguanas (1994) was a blues rock album echoing past influences. The third, "Chapter Eleven", followed in 1995. It had even more diverse music styles. "Cactus Cruz" was the last album for Shrapnel in 1996, a blues rock explosion of guitar. In 1997 he recorded "Decomposition" an album of mostly covers. His latest album, entitled "Blacklight Sonatas", released by Magnatude Records, is once again a diverse instrumental guitar album, which showcase Michael's impressive guitar playing. It is a mix of rock, blues, country riffs, funk and jazz. One of the songs is a cover of the Ram Jam classic "Black Betty".
Visit their website: http://www.michaelleefirkins.com Recordlabel: http://www.magnatuderecords.net MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/michaelleefirkins			73/100

MOLESKIN – Generator (Mini CD)	France	December 2007	Kostas Kounadinis
Style: Stoner Rock	Running time: 28:46 (Tracks: 6)
Moleskin originates from France. The band was formed in 2002 and this is its debut EP after a demo and several live performances. The press brochure characterizes Moleskin as a Stoner Rock band, a genre that I really can't relate to. The music isn't that slow or heavy compared to other stoner rock bands; it has its faster moments and the resemblance to Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age is more than obvious (especially Q.o.t.S.A.). Moleskin is pretty much your typical stoner rock band with lots of rock elements of the 90ies (Noir Desir is one of them; the band even got its name from a Noir Desir song). It's really up to you to decide if this kind of music is appealing or not.
Visit their website: http://www.moleskin.fr MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/moleskinfrance			50/100

OVERKILL - Immortalis (CD)	USA	December 2007	Mario van Dooren
Style: US Thrash Metal	Running time: 49:21 (Tracks: 10)
After Overkill released a self-financed EP in 1984, Overkill broke onto the scene in 1985 with "Feel The Fire", a crushing thrash assault on Megaforce Records. By 1987's "Taking Over", the band had worked their way up to a deal with Atlantic Records. 1988's "Under The Influence" and 1989's "The Years Of Decay" represent Overkill in their prime. Sid Falck would replace Rat Skates on drums. 1991's "Horrorscope" would bring great changes for Overkill. Gustafson left the band to pursue other interests. In his place, the band recruited two guitarists, Rob Cannevino and Merritt Gant (ex Faith Or Fear), making them a 5-piece engine of destruction. "I Hear Black" (1993) saw the departure of Sid Falck, and the arrival of Tim Mallare. The band released several other albums but I lost my interest in their latest releases (Killing Kind, From The Underground and Below, Necroshine, Fuck You! And Then Some, Coverkill, Bloodletting on Metal-Is, Wrecking Everything, Killbox 13). Now with Bodog Music, the band is set to rejoin forces with Jonny and Marsha Zazula, previous owners of Megaforce Records, who are now part of the Bodog Team in the United States.The new album "Immortalis" features Overkill's latest lineup, which, along with founders Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and D.D. Verni, includes guitarists Derek "The Skull" Tailer and Dave Linsk, as well as the newest member to join the band, drummer Ron Lipnicki. Because im not familiar with the latest releases of Overkill; I only have the old stuff to compare Overkill's latest album with. The album starts agressive and sounds superb! Songs like 'Devils in the Mist', 'Shadow of a Doubt', 'Chalie get your Gun' & 'Hell is' could have been on their first releases which shows that the band stays true to their roots. Of course, which is very smart, it all sounds much more modern. Bobby Blitz is still singing/screaming in his typical style and that has always been one of the things that made Overkill original. Ive seen the bands several weeks ago as support of Motörhead and live the band is also very fanatic on stage. Overkill will always be a great live band and their newer stuff has a lot of recognizable, great songs but also some "space-fillers' tracks. But way back they had the same problems because I still hate their main stay song 'In Union we Stand'. Nevertheless this is a very good album and it suits me that Bobby Blitz can still thrash old-school because after his debacle on the album of The Cursed I had my doubts about him. Gladly he is not letting us down this time....Good album!!!
Visit their website: http://www.wreckingcrew.com Recordlabel: http://www.bodoglife.net/ Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.bertus.nl MySpace: http://profile.myspace.com/overkill			82/100

PICTURE OF THE MOON – Ageless day (Mini-CD)	The Netherlands	December 2007	Michel van Hassel
Style: Progressive Metal	Running time: 16:21 (Tracks: 3)
Picture of the Moon is a young progressive metal band originating from the eastern part of Holland. The first line-up consisted of students who were studying at the University of Twente. After putting out a demo in 2004 called "Waxing Crescent" this is their second EP. This time they recorded 3 songs each of them running over 5 minutes. The producer is the young and talented musician Joost van den Broek (After Forever). The current line-up consists of Michiel Borkent (vocals/keyboards), Rudolf Saathof (drums), Frans Klaver (guitar), Alex Rosenhof (lead guitar) and Sander Rhebergen (bass guitar). The EP starts of with pounding drums, keyboards and a heavy guitar-riff. 'Black Roses' develops into a beautiful but heavy song, that offers a duel between keyboards and guitars. Combined with high clear vocals this up-tempo song marks a good start. The second song "No Break Space" starts slow with boring vocals. Luckily the use of some grunt-vocals and the music itself make this song more interesting. The song gets better towards the end and delivers some atmospheric parts, a lot of keyboards and double-bass drums although the vocals remain a bit boring. The last song is the title-track and is a very up-tempo song, using a megaphone to ad some deformed vocals. This is a great song which combines different styles and offers clear vocals and some grunting. All musicians show their skills in this song and still it remains a song which is a compliment. The guys are also working their way up through gigs like Progpower Europe in Baarlo and Face your Underground in Belgium. We'll just have to wait for a full length album to know how far these guys can get in the business.
Visit their website: http://www.pictureofthemoon.net Recordlabel: http://www.darkbalance.com MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/pictureofthemoon			83/100

PETER PAN SPEEDROCK - Pursuit Until Capture (CD)	The Netherlands	December 2007	Ad van Osch
Style: Speedrock / Rock	Running time: 33:00 (Tracks: 13)
PETER PAN SPEEDROCK from Eindhoven Rockcity, has a well known name here in Holland and they have built a huge live reputation over the past years. I'm sure that every metalhead, rocker, hardcorefreak, rockabilly and psychobilly has seen this band at least once or twice (I have seen them 36 times so far). Well, for "Pursuit Until Capture" PPSR again choose for Tomas Skogsberg as their producer ("Spread Eagle" (2005) was the first album Tomas did for PPSR) who did a great job because the album sounds great. Only this time the vocals were produced by the band themselves. I had to get used to this album first because "Pursuit Until Capture" is less speedrock than on their former albums. It's more rock this time. But of course after several times listening to "Pursuit Until Capture" the album gets better and better. The CD starts with "Speedfreak Blitzkrieg" which is a short intro for "(Hangin' With The) Wrong Crowd". On the title track PPSR used a little bit piano (Jerry Lee Lewis style) for the first time, which gives the song a real rock and roll sound. A few songs ("Speedfreak Blitzkrieg", "Heatseaker", "Gimme Some" and the GBH cover "Sick Boy") I already knew, because PPSR had these songs in their set list for a couple of months before this album was released. My favorite songs of this CD are "Evil Sweet Thing", "Bottle-O-Dope", "(Hangin' With The) Wrong Crowd", "Cool-School Drop-Out", "Gimme Some" and of course "Heatseaker" which already is a live classic now. However "Premium Quality…Serve Loud" and "Spread Eagle" are still my favorite albums, "Pursuit Until Capture" is a great album too. Go see them at their own festival SPEEDFEST #2 on December 8th, 2007.
Visit their website: http://www.peterpanspeedrock.nl Recordlabel: http://www.suburban.nl/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/peterpanspeedrock			88/100

RAVENDUSK - Astroblack Advent (CD)	Poland	December 2007	Suzanne de Volder-Ruiter
Style: Black Metal	Running time: 47:01 (Tracks: 11)
This band from Poland, not yet very well known, was co-founded in 1997 by guitarist Patryk Syry. The first months the guys where busy with composing songs and getting their gear together. They played several shows in the local scene of Lublin and the band had to deal with several line up changes. In 1999 they financed their first demo with four songs named "Tears shall Burn". A year later a new album was recorded while they also signed a record deal with "Metal Age Prod", a label from Slovakia. "Shadow Cast" was released in 2002 and could be described as gothic/black metal. In June 2004 Patrik left the band and the following years more line up changes took place but also live shows were done and new songs written. In 2005 a promo tape was recorded by the name of " Astro Black" but guitarists kept on leaving and new ones joining and at last in 2006 Ravendusk found two new guitarists. After a lot of promotion Ravendusk received good reviews for "Astroblack" in the underground press. In February of this year the band signed up with Mondongo Canibale Records and they recorded this full length cd " Astroblack Advent" which is a combination of new songs and songs from the demo "Astro Black" with new arrangements. But not long after the release again one of the guitarists left the band, hopefully the guys keep their band together for a while now… The most recent line up is now: Marcin Gorniak-vocals / Tukasz Duleba-guitars / Wojciech Lichota-guitars (left the band) / Grzegorz Kulawiak-bass / Dominik Stryjecki-keyboards and Dariusz Tomasik on drums. The music on "Astroblack Advent" can be called melodic black metal in the style of Dimmu Borgir, Limbionic Art or Cradle of Filth, the keyboards are clearly present but the aggression has not gone away. The music is well played and Marcin's voice is deep and growling. He does not scream but that is ok, he sounds aggressive as it should be with Black Metal. The songs are varying; tempo changes and keyboard fills without losing the speed and rawness in the songs. This is a good cd and worthy of your attention if you like melodic black metal.
Visit their website: http://www.ravendusk.pl Recordlabel: http://www.mondongocanibale.com MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/ravenduskpoland			78/100

REVOLUTION MOTHER - Glory Bound (CD)	USA	December 2007	Ad van Osch
Style: Speedrock / Metal / Hardcore	Running time: 36:00 (Tracks: 11)
Revolution Mother is a brand new band (formed in late 2005) who have released a very fine debut album (it seems they have released a 5 track EP in 2006 too). This four piece band exists of Mike Vallely (also a skate-god) on vocals, guitarist Jason Hampton, bass player Colin Buis and Brendan Murphy on drums. The band's debut album "Glory Bound" was released in June 2007 and has eleven tracks. Revolution Mother plays a mix of speedrock, metal and hardcore. The openings track "Come On" is a song who could have been from Dutch speedrockers Peter Pan Speedrock. This is one of my favorite tracks of the album. Second song "Above The Crawl" has a great drive, a fantastic song and also one of my favorites. Songs like "Bullet" and "Burning From The Inside" reminds me to the Rollins Band very much. The album features also a cover which is Black Sabbath's "Holy In The Sky" (from "Sabotage") and is done very well. I would say, this is an album who's absolutely worth checking out. Let's hope they will come to Europe very soon for some live shows!!
Visit their website: http://http://www.revolutionmother.com Recordlabel: http://www.cementshoesrecords.com/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/revolutionmother			86/100

SALEM - Necessary Evil (CD)	Israel	December 2007	Suzanne de Volder-Ruiter
Style: Thrash / Death Metal	Running time: 1.02.28 (Tracks: 14)
We don't hear much of this Israeli band, which was already founded in 1985! And still very much alive, it is only the fifth album and is a mix between thrash and death metal. But Salem created a style of their own with breaks and tempo changes and whispering voices in their own language. That may sound a bit strange for an outsider but when you listen to it more you notice that this is an unique style! Their career started with the demo "Salem" in 1986. Followed by "Destruction till Death" in 1987 and "Millions slaughtered Live" in '90. After the last demo they signed a deal with the German label Morbid Records. Working with this label they released the cd's "Creating with Sins" - 1992 and "Kaddish" in 1994. Before that album an EP with the single "Dying Embers" which was also released as a picture disc for the promotion for "Kaddish". Years later there was going to be a contract with the Israeli label BNE and the cd "Moment of Silence" was recorded and released. But unfortunatelly their was an miscommunication between the label and the band and the deal was off. In 2001 Salem was released from their contract with BNE and at the end of the year they signed up with yet another German label called KMG/System Shock; in September 2002 "Collective Demise" was released. Two years later Salem recorded a live DVD and this was released and gives a good impression of the band! And this year the fifth full length album "Necessary Evil "is released by Season of Mist. The current line up is: Ze'ev T- vocals / Lior M- guitar / Nir G-guitar /Michael G- bass / Nir N -drums.
Visit their website: http://www.salemband.com Recordlabel: http://www.season-of-mist.com MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/salemband			84/100

SAXON – To Hell And Back Again (2 DVD)	United Kingdom	December 2007	Mr. Globetrotter
Style: Hardrock/metal	Running time: approx. 5 hours (Tracks: 49)
Oldschool hardrock-metallers Saxon, founded in 1976 and successful since 1980 have released yet another live document. And what a document it is ! The band is seen on DVD1, before, during and after the release of the 2004 album "Lionheart", including releaseparty and live footage from their following tour, showing us festival performances of Wacken and Graspop, but also a few songs filmed in smaller venues. DVD2 consists of a few rare videoclips, including their latest single "I've Got To Rock (To Stay Alive)" which also features Lemmy, Andy Deris and Angry Anderson, followed by the bands performance at the Swiss "Rockstage" festival and a few clips, shot at "Rock For Asia". Unfortunately, the performance of the Judas Priest classic "You've Got Another Thing Coming" features Doro, whose vocal performance leaves a lot to be desired. Over 5 hours of Saxon material, that will undoubtedly please the Saxon fans, as well as the fans who lost track of Saxon after their big hitalbum "Power And The Glory". Biff is in excellent shape, and the fact that of course he is getting older doesn't bother me one bit. I commend the band for showing lots of insights to the fans that are related to recording an album and touring the world. In my opinion, Saxon has hit all the right buttons to please old and new fans, and after their fine latest release : The Inner Sanctum", the future looks great for them.
Visit their website: http://www.saxon747.com Recordlabel: http://www.spv.de Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.pettingzoo.nl MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/saxon747band			85/100

SEVERE TORTURE - Sworn Vengeance (CD)	The Netherlands	December 2007	Suzanne de Volder-Ruiter
Style: Death Metal	Running time: 36.00 (Tracks: 10)
Severe Torture from our little country on the North Sea started back in 1997 and released the first demo a year later and it was called "Baptized in Virginal Liquid". In 1999 a promo "Pray for Nothing" containing 2 songs was recorded and released as a 7" EP. Finally in 2000 a record deal with the Dutch label Fadeless Records was signed, Fadeless Records merged with Hammerheart Records the same year. Their debut album was also released that year: "Feasting in Blood". An American tour was done to promote the album. After this cd a 7" EP "Lambs of God" and "Butchery of the Soul" were released. In 2002 the second official album was released by the name of "Misanthropic Carnage" and again the band played an USA tour and some festivals there! After three years in 2005 a live album called "Bloodletting" was recorded and released as a farewell by Karmageddon Media, with the new record company Earache Records. "Fall of the Despised" was released in the same year. A large part of 2006 was spend on touring and playing summer festivals; Severe Torture went to the US again for the third time and also played in Germany and Austria and toured with Vader and God Dethroned. This cd "Sworn Vengeance" is now recently released and can be described as good solid Death Metal with mid tempo parts and breaks and excellent guitar work. Needless to say it does not get soft anywhere; the songs stay powerful and brutal. The guest growlers on" Sworn Vengeance" add an extra dimension to the cd. This is probably the best album the band made so far. You know what you can expect from this sextet, merciless Death Metal without any compromises. To promote "Sworn Vengeance" a large tour is already planned so if you get a chance to see them live on tour next year: don't miss them! Check their website for the exact tour dates.
Visit their website: http://www.severetorture.com Recordlabel: http://www.earache.com MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/severetorture			84/100

SHATTER MESSIAH - God Burns like Flesh (CD)	USA	December 2007	Mario van Dooren
Style: Modern Thrash Metal	Running time: 44:40 (Tracks: 9)
For a bio of this band you can better read the review of their predecessor album "Never to play the Servant" (October 2006). The band formed around ex-Nevermore/ex-Annihilator axeman Curran Murphy and ex-Breaker/ex-Archetype vocalist Greg "Wags" Wagner delivers their second album within circa 1 year. It counts me that Greg Wagner's voice is fitting better to the songs than they did on their debut album. He can express himself much more this time; you can hear that back in the songs. This album is a step forward in the good direction; I prefer this album above their debut! Expect a mix of Nevermore & Kragens-a-like metal with great songs and a very good production! Hopefully the band can make it to play at next years edition of Mario's Metal Meeting because this is a kind of metal that will be very much appreciated in The Netherlands! Fav. songs: 'Idolator', 'God burns like Flesh' & 'Stripped of Faith'. Great album!!!
Visit their website: http://www.shattermessiah.com Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.rockinc.nl/ Recordlabel: http://www.dockyard1.com/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/shattermessiah			92/100

SHYLOCK - Devotion (CD)	Germany	December 2007	Marco van Empel
Style: Hardrock	Running time: 56:23 (Tracks: 14)
Doing lots of gigs can raise a band to a higher level, and that's exactly what has happened to the German band Shylock. Since the release of their album "Welcome To Illusion" in early 2004, the band has been on tour constantly. They played headliner shows, showed up at several open air festivals and supported bands like 'Axxis', 'Bonfire', 'Crystal Ball', 'Gotthard', 'Jaded Heart', 'Krokus', 'Primal Fear', 'Shakra' and 'Vanden Plas'. Now in 2007 they have released a fabulous new album called: 'Devotion'. This new melodic powerfull Hardrock album has a great mainstream sound which is interesting to all kinds of people. The band has got some great catchy keyboard and guitarplaying and some really nice vocals. The album is absolutely a must for all fans of Melodic (Hard)rock. Great album and I am very curious about the next one, keep on the good work rockers!
Visit their website: http://www.shylockmusic.de/ Recordlabel: http://www.myspace.com/artistservice MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/shylockmusicde			80/100

STEVE GRIMMET - Personal Crisis (CD)	United Kingdom	December 2007	Marco van Empel
Style: Hardrock / Heavy Metal	Running time: 49:44 (Tracks: 11)
Steve Grimmett has a history that is nothing less than incredible, having what is widely regarded as one of the most powerful and original voices in rock & metal. As vocalist with the legendary Grim Reaper, Steve accomplished major success during the 80's with three highly acclaimed studio albums. After 'Grim Reaper' Steve spent a brief period with Onslaught and again enjoyed commercial success, including a single that charted in the UK . More recently Steve's success came in the form of Lionsheart , a powerful melodic metal band whose debut album reached number one in the mainstream Japanese charts. In early 2006 Steve assembled a touring band with the intention of playing a full Grim Reaper set at a series of European metal festivals & venues. Now, in 2007 Steve released a new master album! 'Personal Crisis' sounds different but maybe as good as the old classic material of the mighty Grim Reaper, I really love this new album! All the musicians did a really great job and the voice of Grimmet is just like I expect…Great ! His voice has always found the perfect combination of melodic hardrock and real heavy metal, perfect for me ! I’m sure all fans of good oldschool 'hardrock', 'aor' and 'heavy metal' will be happy when they listen to this new album which sounds like the good old days! Steve this is an album to be proud of my friend ! All fans of 'Dokken', 'Crimson Glory', 'Yngwie Malmsteen' and ofcourse the legendary 'Grim Reaper', buy or die!
Visit their website: http://www.stevegrimmett.co.uk/ Recordlabel: http://www.metalheaven.net Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.roughtrade.nl/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thestevegrimmettbandgrimreaper			95/100

THEODORE ZIRAS – HyperpyrexiA (CD)	Greece	December 2007	Ronny Elst
Style: Instrumental Metal	Running time: 40:28 (Tracks: 10)
Theodore Ziras was born in Poros, Greece. His musical training started at the age of 15. At the age of 18 he moved to Athens and he continued his studies in guitar, music theory, jazz harmony, rhytm and counterpoint. His first serious bands were the Greek power metal band Ice Divine (1994-1998) and progmetallers Guardian Angel (1997-1998). In 1998 Theodore left Greece and started at the Guitar Institute of London where he graduated 3 years later. In 2001 he returned to Greece where he released his first solo album, "Trained To Play". Almost 2 years later he released his second solo album "Virtual Virtuosity"(see Archive CD/DVD reviews 2004). A few months later he decided to record an album with vocals. Searching for the perfect vocalist was not easy, but with Jiotis Parcharidis he found the perfect one in his opinion. After almost 2 years of recordings the Euroforce album (see Archive CD/DVD reviews 2005) hit the market in 2005. During 2006 and 2007 he prepared his third solo album. This is his first solo album which he recorded with a real band. And what a band it is! Theodore on guitars, famous Derek Sherinian on keyboards, drummer Brian Tichy and on bass Theodore's friend and bandmember Manos Markopoulos. On "HyperpyrexiA" (=high fever situation) you can listen to a diversity of styles such as metal, shred, rock, prog, melodic, neo-classical and fusion, all mixed together in a unique way! Of course Theodore is the big star on this album with his phenomenal guitar playing, but sure there is also a lot of space for Derek, Brian and Manos. In my opinion the best solo album that Theodore recorded for the moment, a unique mix of melodic elegance and guitar virtuosity!
Visit their website: http://www.theodoreziras.com Recordlabel: http://www.sleaszyrider.com MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/theodorezirasguitar			91/100

THE RIPLETS - Rock (CD)	The Netherlands	December 2007	Ad van Osch
Style: Rock / Punk	Running time: 38:00 (Tracks: 11)
The third album of Rotterdam based all girl band THE RIPLETS is simply called "Rock", and they really rock on their new CD, but still with that punk attitude. On their debut album "Rock 'n Roll Beat" (2002) The Riplets sounded very raw and punky and on their second album "Love Special Delivery Boy" (2004) they played more poppy punk songs. But with adding ex-BAD CANDY guitar player Ryanne (alias Ryan Riot and also known as Elle Bandita) as a new member, this trio really rocks on their newest album. I have seen The Riplets in this line-up on October 25th, 2007 in the Mezz in Breda (it was a fabulous show), and man Ryan Riot is really a great guitar player, what a guitar solos she can play. Instead of the first two albums, who were produced by Perry Leenhouts and Vincent Koreman (TRAVOLTAS), they produced "Rock" by themselves and Janneke, Valesca en Ryan did a great job. The CD has 11 catchy songs. One of them is a cover of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" which is done very nice (listen to Ryan Riot solo and you know what I mean). Some of my favorite songs of "Rock" are "Love U Rock 'n' Roll", "My Turn To Play", "Jump All Night" and "Rock 'n' Roll Manifest". After a time off, because of the birth of Janneke's baby, The Riplets ARE BACK. Go see them live on the BATTLE OF THE SEXES TOUR with DE HEIDEROOSJES, MALLE PIETJE AND THE BIMBO'S and JEREMY'S in December.
Visit their website: http://www.riplets.com/ Recordlabel: http://www.sonicrendezvous.com/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/theriplets			80/100

THESSERA – Fooled Eyes (CD)	Brazil	December 2007	Michel van Hassel
Style: Progressive Metal	Running time: 64:47 (Tracks: 9)
Although this album was released in June 2006 it would be a shame not to review it. What these six young Brazilians have achieved on this debut-album is magnificent. They start of with a concept-album which is normally not the first choice for a debut. Responsible for this effort are Marcelo Quina (vocals), Nando Costa and Raphael Lamim (guitars), Marcelo Mattos (bass), Rodolfo Amaro (keyboards) and Fernando Cerutti (drums). In the first song of the album the main character (Andrew Hesser, a young artist) is celebrating his engagement to Jeanne Seamus as he faints. While being unconscious this marks the start of a journey into his past with all kind of memories ranging from very good to very bad. After regaining consciousness Andrew receives a phone-call from the hospital about his Jeanne being seriously hurt. He rushes over to the hospital but unfortunately she dies. After her death Andrew visits Kane and kills him, blaming him for Jeanne's death, making the nightmare even bigger. To make the story more realistic and lively there are some speaking parts that help you visualize the story. Musically the story results in a fine selection of progressive metal-songs like "Heaven's Gate" which offers over nine minutes of high quality progressive metal or "Party's on" with a jazzy intro. Besides singer Marcelo that delivers an extraordinary performance the musicians are extremely capable with Rodolfo Amaro being present throughout the album. Although the average age is low and this being a debut-album the result is a very mature and complete album that promises a lot for the future. In August/September 2007 Thessera did some live-shows in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland and hopefully we'll see them back again on stage or at least with a new album.
Visit their website: http://www.thessera.com Recordlabel: http://www.progrockrecords.com MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thessera			88/100

TOURETTES – Treason Songs (CD)	Australia	December 2007	William Nijhof
Style: Death Thrash Metal	Running time: 41:23 (Tracks: 12)
Tourettes started to become a name in the metal scene in 2004. They released their debut album in 2006 by Armageddon Music. This is their second release and I must say that it sounds great. The music is well composed and the production is great. The guitar riffs have a lot of variety in it, the guitar riffs are also very progressive and technical with great solos and the drums are very groovy but not to annoying. There is a very relaxed sound in the songs. Now the vocalist, the grunts of this female is great. Not to brutal and well listenable. If you like death thrash metal then you're going to enjoy this record.
Visit their website: http://www.tourettes.com.au Recordlabel: http://www.armageddonmusic.de Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.rockinc.nl/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/tourettessf4l			70/100

TRIBUZY – Execution Live Reunion (DVD)	Brazil	December 2007	Kostas Kounadinis
Style: Power Metal	Running time: 61:40 (Tracks: 12)
Renato Tribuzy is a Brazilian singer and composer. A couple of years ago he put together a very ambitious project under the Tribuzy moniker. He gathered huge household names such as Roland Grapow, Bruce Dickinson, Roy Z, Mat Sinner, Michael Kiske, Kiko Loureiro, Dennis Ward and Ralf Scheepers and recorded the "Execution" concept album. As you can easily imagine the album caused some stir not only because of the guests but for the good music it contained too. Tribuzy didn't stick to the album but materialized the whole concept in to a live performance! So this DVD is a testimony of this huge collaboration. The track list contains the Execution songs plus the Dickinson classic Tears of the Dragon. All the guests that appear on the Execution album, also appear on the stage of Credicard Hall at Sao Paulo. This is a giant achievement nonetheless. The filming is great. Many cameras and many different angles captured an amazing light show plus the great performances of all musicians. For those who don't know what Tribuzy is all about, I would describe the music as Judas Priest inspired metal, powerful and melodic. This is a great chance to own some great music and I would recommend this DVD not only to those who want to explore the Tribuzy music but also to the fans who have already bought the Execution album.
Visit their website: http://www.tribuzy.com Recordlabel: http://www.locomotiverecords.com Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.rockinc.nl/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/tribuzyband			86/100

VENGEANCE – Same/same….bit different (live)(CD)	The Netherlands	December 2007	Mr. Globetrotter
Style: Hardrock	Running time: 45:39 (Tracks: 10)
Vengeance was one of Hollands most popular hardrockbands in the eighties. After having released excellent albums like "We have ways to make you rock", "Take it or leave it" and "Arabia", the band had almost reached a divine status. Unfortunately, various line-up changes and the highly underrated comeback-album "Back from flight 19" caused a definite split at the end of last century. The band resurrected again last year with their second comeback-album "Back in the ring". This album has put Vengeance right back in the hardrock ranks, and during their tour with Sinner and Axel Rudi Pell, recordings were made to release this live album, marking Vengeance's 25th anniversary in 2008. Those who have seen one of their latest shows will acknowledge the fact that it's still a party to attend. Musically, opinions differ. I have heard and read that the band gained lots of new fans, where the fans from 20 years ago found that it was not "their" Vengeance anymore. It is only fair to say that it isn't because it can't. I must place myself somewhere in between. Musically, I am not that impressed after hearing the album through a headphone. Also, I hate the drumsound which could have been a lot better. But is it fair to compare Vengeance 2008 with Vengeance 1983-1999? In that perspective, the title of the album is well chosen. Also, the album is very short (45 minutes) compared to the huge amount of available songs. Instead of Rose Tattoo's "Bad boy for love" I had preferred songs from their debut and "Flight 19". And I suspect that in 2008, we will see a live DVD being released. That will do more justice to the show that Vengeance puts on stage nowadays. A must have for die hard fans; an album to listen to first for the older fans who are used to hearing Arjen Lucassen, Oscar Holleman and Peer Verschuren.
Visit their website: http://www.vengeanceonline.nl Recordlabel: http://www.metalheaven.net Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.rockinc.nl/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/vengeancebackinthering			79/100

Winger - Live: (CD)		November 2007	Marco van Empel
Style: AOR/Hardrock	Running time: 96,64 (Tracks: 19)
Winger was formed in 1987 by top musician 'Kip Winger' as a new succesfull American aor/melodic hardrock act. Their debut album: 'Winger' was released in 1988 on Atlantic Records, and scored platinum in the U.S and even gold in Japan and Canada. 'In the Heart of the Young' was released on Atlantic Records which became 'RIAA platinum' in the U.S. and gold in Japan. 1993, Winger releases the critically acclaimed 'Pull' on Atlantic Records. The track "Down Incognito" was a smash at radio. And the last releases were Winger - IV from 2006 which was really great, and their Demo Anthology (2007) which was amazing too! Now, not even one year later Winger released a great double Live album. Kip Winger is always doing a great job and 'Winger – Live' sounds really great again! It's a little bit louder than on their old records but who cares it’s still 100% Winger and it rocks your socks off! The production is great and the musical style of Winger’s music is still very American! Winger found the perfect combination of 'AOR' and 'Melodic Hardrock/Metal'. The ballads of Winger are always my favourites, I really love their ballads, those are killer! The new stuff of Winger is a bit louder than the old stuff, but whatever, it is still real Winger material and that's most important of all! It’s very strange but Kip has never played here in Holland or Belgium, we really need his music here too! Winger is still one of the best American Melodic Hardrock bands from the past and now, and that’s why it’s so fucking strange he had never played here in Europe? Please Kip, come to Holland and give us a great show like you did here on this two cd’s! 'Winger – Live' is a must for every Melodic Headbanger, Amazing stuff!
Visit their website: http://www.wingertheband.com/ Recordlabel: http://www.frontiers.it Promotion The Netherlands: http://www.roughtrade.nl/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/wingertheband			90/100

NOVEMBER