The New York based band LIVESAY is a total must to check out, because the two CDs they have released so far are filled with high quality 80s AOR/Melodic Hard Rock with touches of Pomp Rock and some really great guitarplay, keyboardsounds and vocals. The late 80s typed AOR/Melodic Hard Pomprock of LIVESAY also has a lot of groove elements in the rhythm section and the sound/production quality is from a very high level, not heard since the big 80s productions! All in all, this band needs to be signed very soon to some big AOR label here in Europe, because the quality of this band beats a lot of other
signed acts. The same titled debut CD of LIVESAY was released in 1996 and can be compared at times to TOUR DE FORCE, WHITE SISTER, PROPHET and SHOTGUN SYMPHONY, while the band also has influences of WHITESNAKE, MR. BIG and EXTREME.

Sometimes, the band reminds me a lot of the MTM act SUNSHINE JIVE, who
also had pure AOR songs and some groovy melodic rockers in their repertoire, but I need to add here that LIVESAY sounds a lot more professional and also has a fantastic guitarist. This guitarist is also the leader of the band, namely Gregg Livesay, who plays his guitar a la YNGWIE MALMSTEEN. The first CD contained 9 songs and my favourites are definitely "Evil eyes" (Huge late 80s midtempo AOR/Melodic Pomprock with fantastic guitarsolos and lovely harmonies), "Stop believing" (superb classic 80s uptempo AOR/Melodic Pomprock in the WHITE SISTER style, with classy hooks, harmonies and a big chorus!)
and "Heart break" (another classic AOR rocker like TOUR DE FORCE with a MALMSTEEN typed guitarsolo).

Besides these fantastic pure AOR songs, the band also put some groovy melodic hard rock songs on their debut CD, such as "Red room", "No way out" and "Earth shake", these songs are very well played of course, but just nice to hear and stylish moving into a VAN HALEN/EXTREME meets WHITESNAKE typed rockstyle. Nevertheless, the band proved on their debut CD they were ready to conquer the underground scene with their well-shaped AOR/Melodic Rock.

Happily, the story isn't over yet, because LIVESAY just released a new CD entitled 'Darkest hour'. This CD only contains 7 songs unfortunately, but what you get to hear is a dream for fans of high quality AOR/Melodic Hard Rock a la TOUR DE FORCE, PROPHET and
SHOTGUN SYMPHONY. It had been 4 years since their debut and so things have changed a bit. Musically the band didn't change a bit (happily), but the line-up is quite different. Pete White was the lead singer on the debut CD, while Anthony Cross now handles the lead vocals. I must admit that Anthony sings better, and vocally falls in the category of STEVE PERRY meets GEOFF TATE, not bad at all! The second change in the line-up is the switch from bassist, Pete Ronda went and Alan Mark became the new bassplayer. The other 3 bandmembers are still the same, so the line-up is completed with Keith Michaels on drums, Tony Stahl on keyboards and of course guitarist Gregg Livesay.

The new CD starts with the intro "Awakening", a very cool keyboard instrumental for the first real song "Darkest hour", the titletrack of the CD. "Darkest hour" is a great midtempo melodic rocker with a superb keyboard solo (that reminds me of the glorious Pomp Rock days from the late 70s) and also a lovely MALMSTEEN influenced guitarsolo. All in all, a great start! Next track "With or without you" is my favourite track of the whole CD and also the most AOR typed tune. This late 80s typed uptempo melodic pomp hardrocker is a perfect cross between TOUR DE FORCE, PROPHET, WHITE SISTER and SHOTGUN SYMPHONY. Fans of any of these acts should grab a piece of paper and write the name LIVESAY down on their wantslist a.s.a.p.

The rest of the CD is not so AOR based, but still enjoyable melodic hard rock. The groovy slow tempo rockers "Looking for tomorrow" and "Love'n'chains" are not far away from VAUGHN and TYKETTO. The band also does a MONTROSE cover, the bluesy slow tempo "Voyager", well done! The CD closes with "You won't see me fall", this song is another groovy melodic rocker, but with great early 80s typed AOR/Pomp synthesisers (just check out the superb start of the song). I had to do a long review on LIVESAY, because their music is really high quality AOR/Melodic Hard Rock.

Maybe not all the songs are pure classic 80s AOR, still the musicians are playing it very well and the two CDs sound very convincing. This band sounds very professional and if they had been there in the big late 80s, a record deal would be no problem. Let's hope one of the European labels will sign this band a.s.a.p., because the high quality Melodic Rock I heard will succeed for sure if it gets an European release. Check out LIVESAY at: http://www.jdpro.com/livesay and e-mail them at: bambamfih@aol.com Of course an interview will appear on our site very soon.

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

ASHER comes out of Clinton, Ohio, USA and they sent me a very professional press kit and musically their debut CD 'Forces of nature' sounds rather impressive. The band has a very good female vocalist called Theresa Michaels, who also looks pretty good. Instrumental this band also is in good shape with Guitarist/Keyboardist Brian Haskins as an outstanding musician who does his job very well. The songs of ASHER can also be labelled as high quality melodic rock, so all in all, this ASHER is a great new band coming our way. The CD has a very impressive production as well, so I really had a great time listening to this melodic rock record that sounded not unlike WITNESS, 80s HEART, LAOS, ROMEO'S DAUGHTER and you name the rest.

The CD starts with the semi melodic rocker "Devil inside", a song with heavy guitarparts, but very melodic vocal lines. Up next is the best song of the CD, namely the classy huge 80s AOR/Melodic Rocker "Tears of blood" that has a really big 80s melodic guitarsound and the song itself is a real winner for fans of female fronted melodic rock a la ALYSON AVENUE, WITNESS, 80s HEART… Then comes a short instrumental piano/keyboard song titled "The fallin" which is followed by the semi melodic rocker "Dreams". Things slow down on the calmer melodic ballad "Tonight".

The second part of the CD features 3 very good uptempo fun 80s inspired melodic rockers a la ROMEO'S DAUGHTER, LAOS and LEE AARON ("Get out of my way", "Turn it up" and "Up all night"). The remaining songs of the CD are the intro "Interlude" and the good piano led ballad "All wounds should heal". In general, this ASHER is a definite winner for every fan of female fronted melodic rock, but because they sound so professional and just everything sounds crystal clear, the average melodic rock fan will also definitely find something of interest in ASHER. Pretty soon an interview with the band, but for now, check their site at: http://www.asherrocks.com and e-mail them at: digital@raex.com

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Man, this Swedish band is sounding really impressive on the demo CDR they sent me. The album is titled 'On the way' and it took many years to finish, but pretty soon the official CD release of 'On the way' will be available. For now, I got the demo CDR version, but it already impressed me so much that I am definitely gonna write a lot about this wonderful new AOR band. BLIND ALLEY consists of songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Magnus Olsson who sings on two songs, vocalist Hans Dimberg who sings on six songs and guitarist Pierre Glans who also sings on two songs. I didn't even notice the CD featured different singers, because they all sound more or less the same and also are very good.

Musically BLIND ALLEY mixes pure AOR with some elements of Westcoast and Pop music, although AOR seems to be the preferred style. I hear clear similarities to acts like T'BELL, DAKOTA, MARK SPIRO, TOTO, VAN STEPHENSON and PROMOTION. Almost all the songs on the CDR are impressive AOR songs and if I have to pick my favourites, I would choose "In your hand" (lovely westcoast AOR ballad a la TOTO, T'BELL, MARK SPIRO, VAN STEPHENSON), "Internal affairs" (huge AOR with catchy hooks), "Walk on water" (huge AOR with a superb AOR HEAVEN chorus, kinda like METROPOLIS/STAN MEISSNER), "Don't wanna wait" (another huge westcoast AOR ballad) and "Wings of the wind" (another very catchy superb AOR chorus).

The production is also very good and I can only add here that this band is a total must for fans of pure AOR, especially if you like any of the mentioned acts, then this BLIND ALLEY must be heard a.s.a.p. Check out their site at: http://www.mp3.com/blindalley and e-mail them at: magnusol@hem.passagen.se Very soon an interview with Magnus and co.

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Guitarist Alex Perry from Newcastle, UK sent me a demo tape with demos of his bands RIPSHOT, DIRTY JACK and some personal demos he made. The first two songs are from the band RIPSHOT. "Soul dancers" is a kyboard orientated mid 80s AOR/Poprocker a la JOHN PARR. The other song of RIPSHOT is called "Is it all a dream", an uptempo pure 80s aor/poprocker a la STARSHIP with BILLY SQUIER typed vocals of Alex Perry himself. Alex decided to change the bandname from RIPSHOT into DIRTY JACK and also recruited a new singer called Ian Mckechnie who definitely has a better and a more melodic voice than Alex had on the RIPSHOT recordings.

Musically also Alex' guitarwork is much better on the DIRTY JACK recordings, because he know only has to focus on his guitarplay. The songs are also a whole lot better and take us right into pure AOR/Melodic Rock. There are 4 DIRTY JACK songs on the tape and especially the first two tracks impressed me much. These are the lovely uptempo pure 80s AOR song "One more time" (with great keys and hooks a la AGENT, BYSTANDER and JOURNEY) and "On the run" (fantastic semi AOR ballad a la BAD ENGLISH and JOURNEY). These two songs are definitely the highlights of the tape and with some more songs in this style on a future full-length CD release, this DIRTY JACK can easily be called the latest new AOR sensation from the U.K.!

We're not done yet, because there are two more DIRTY JACK songs on the tape, namely the late 80s typed melodic rockers "Hate hope love and desire" and "Hanging round" (both a la JET RED). These two songs are a lot less sensational than the other two DIRTY JACK tracks, but still nice to listen to. The tape finishes with 5 demo recordings of guitarist Alex Perry himself. These are nice poprockers with some bluesy influences (kinda like HUEY LEWIS meets BENNY MARDONES), but they never reach the level of DIRTY JACK. I really hope for more DIRTY JACK songs in the future, because they're definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of good quality JOURNEY typed AOR. More info at: http://www.mp3.com/alex_perry and e-mail him at: alexperry@madasafish.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

This band from West Virginia, USA is playing pure good old American orientated 80s melodic rock a la DOKKEN, WHITE LION, early BON JOVI… Some of the members played in a band called CRY WOLF before they joined this band, but I can inform you that this was not the Californian CRY WOLF that released two great Melodic Rock records. Musically ONE EYED GYPSY is not that far away from the other CRY WOLF, and so we have here a great new band to check out.

The presskit the band sent me contained a lot info and it has been some time ago that I got such a decent press package, so this was already a good start. The press info mentioned they played support for acts like 38 SPECIAL, MOLLY HATCHET and DR. HOOK. Influences come from SURVIVOR, WHITESNAKE, JOURNEY, KISS, and QUEENSRYCHE and live they play cover songs from their influences as well as from BRYAN ADAMS, STYX, TOTO and other Classic Rockacts.

The CD contains 10 well-performed songs that are all worth checking out and are all pure melodic rocksongs. The best songs are "It takes no prisoners" (great midtempo 80s melodic rocker a la DOKKEN), "Give it up" (great uptempo melodic rocker a la early BON JOVI), "Not gonna fall in love again" (melodic rockballad), "Heart attack" (uptempo melodic rocker) and the closing track "Touch tomorrow". This last mentioned track is also the best track, as this is a lovely semi melodic rockballad a la CITA. The only average song is the rocker "In my America". This ONE EYED GYPSY is a must for fans of melodic rock a la DOKKEN, NORWAY, early BON JOVI and CITA. More info at: http://www.oneeyedgypsy.homestead.com and e-mail them at: oneeyedgypsy@wirefire.com

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

ZYRIS are coming out of New Jersey and their debut CD is a very good melodic hard rock album that sounds very much like other 80s orientated acts such as FIREHOUSE, DOKKEN, SINNOCENCE, NELSON… The band has been on the scene for a little while now, because back in the beginning the band had a guitarist called ZAKK WYLDE. He left the band and ended up playing in OZZY OSBOURNE's band. Now ZYRIS has released their first full-length CD and actually it is a very good record as the melodic rock of these guys is from a high quality. There are many harmonyvocals in their songs and last but not least, the sound and production quality is very impressive for an independent band.

The CD starts with the great pure late 80s Melodic Arena/Hard Rock song "All for you" that sounds like VAN HALEN meets HEAVENS EDGE. Next track "Should have told you" is really a classy piece of a late 80s semi melodic rockballads like we heard from bands such as DAMN YANKEES and FIREHOUSE over a decade ago. It even gets better on the following song, "Only pony", this is a lovely fun 80s typed uptempo melodic rocker that is easy to sing-a-long and has hooks all over the place.

The rest of the CD is a little less sensational, but still well performed melodic hard rock that reminds me of late 80s acts such as WINGER, WARRANT, HEAVENS EDGE, DANGER DANGER and so on. One track I would like to add here is the beautiful semi melodic
rockballad "To be". Fans of the typical late 80s US Arena/Melodic Rocksound of mentioned bands should check out ZYRIS at: http://www.zyrisonline.com and e-mail them at: happydogrecords@aol.com

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

This is a rather interesting female fronted melodic rockband from France. Their music sounds like a cross between LANA LANE and HEADLINE. There are 10 songs on the album and only the closing track "Give us power" is a weak song, because the other 9 tracks are all great 80s typed melodic rocksongs. My favourite tracks are the uptempo melodic rockers "Love song for a liar", "Celtic pride" and "Blood from my blade" (all 3 in the style of VIXEN) and the semi melodic rockbalads "Time to fly" and "Down to hell". The band also has some faster uptempo melodic heavy rockers on the CD, such as "For blood is life", "Sword in the stone" and "Moonstone" that also sound pretty nice. All in all, I really like this CD and especially fans of female fronted melodic rock will agree with me. The closest comparisons I came up with are the 80s bands D.C. LACROIX and BLACKLACE, this MOONSTONE fits right in between those 'lost' acts.

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

RAPTOR is a German band and the CDR they sent me covers 11 well-produced songs. The band from Hannover has a pure 80s high quality melodic rocksound a la PRETTY MAIDS, BONFIRE, and WHITE LION… It all sounds pretty good to me actually, and there really isn't a weak song on the album. This is a damn good band with some really nice melodic (hard) rocksongs. The opener "Need for speed" is the heaviest song, this is a fast melodic heavy rock a la PRETTY MAIDS, but just like that band, also RAPTOR is much more melodic on the rest of the CD.

My favourite tracks are the uptempo melodic rockers "Rise again" and "First love" (both a la STRYPER), the semi-ballad "Gwendolyne" and the midtempo melodic rockers "Love me now" and "Hold on". If you like good typical late 80s US Melodic Rock'n'roll in the style of mentioned bands, then do check out this RAPTOR at: http://www.raptor-music.de and e-mail them at: webmaster@raptor-music.de

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Band from New York that is playing pure Progressive Rock on their debut CD 'Sightings'. The production of the album is not really impressive, but the musicians play very well on the CD. The songs are not always convincing, but the progressive rock of the band has some nice things to offer on a couple of songs. The keyboardwork on the track "Everyday" for example is very impressive. My favourite track is the progressive rocker "Riding the wake" with a very good chorus and nice melodies and hooks as well. In the same style is the song "Henchmen to the premise". Nothing sensational here, but still worth checking out if you're a fan of 70s typed Progressive rock. More info at: http://www.mp3.com/arrival and e-mail at: helfrich@localnet.com

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

A few weeks ago I reviewed the new CD of German melodic rockers DOMAIN (who have been on the scene for almost 15 years now) and so do not think they have already another new album out. No, this DOMAIN comes out of North Carolina and play Melodic Rock with a progressive edge. The production of the CD sounds a bit like a demo, but musically these guys are in good shape. The first song, "Apathy", is a good melodic rocker with some progressive influences.

The next song "Day in day out" starts with a guitar riff a la BRYAN ADAMS' "Run to you", but the song itself is totally different and is a nice uptempo melodic Hard Rock tune. Some more nice guitarwork can be heard in "You say…I say", although the song is nothing special. More or less, the rest of the CD just continues where it started with nice semi melodic rockers and occasionally some progressive rock influences. The best song remains to be the first cut, while the rest is just nice. E-mail this DOMAIN at: domdegrp@netpath.net and check out their music at: http://www.domain-rock.com and www.mp3.com/-domain

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

'Handle with care' was also the title of an album of the 80s French/Luxembourg settled band FISC. This new band REVENGE has just released their debut CD titled 'Handle with care' and musically it sounds like a lot like FISC. Nevertheless, the melodic hard rock of REVENGE sounds pretty good and also the production is very well, so in other words, is a nice album to listen to. The American orientated late 80s melodic hard rock captures influences from 80s CRUE, KISS, KEEL, RATT on the heavier note, while the band also has some DOKKEN/PC'69 typed songs on their debut CD. And of course the already mentioned FISC must have been a big influence.

Anyway, the best songs are the melodic rockers "Glorified", "Keep the fire burning" and the ballad "Fortress". The band takes a step into the 80s LA Glam/Sleaze sound during "Shake it" and "Nasty for boys". This band is a total must if you dig the American orientated Hard Rock of the 80s, but if you're keen on AOR/Melodic Rock material, then this band is not something you are longing for.

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

The members of the French act GLENROCK already have been playing in local bands ever since the early 80s, but this CD is their first so far. The music of GLENROCK is typical Melodic Hard/Heavy Rock and I hear similarities to bands like PINK CREAM 69, BONFIRE and above all, PRETTY MAIDS. The band hasn't got the high quality of those bands, but still there's some good material on 'Pure hard'.

The CD starts pretty well with the quality 80s typed Melodic Hard Rocksongs "Kingdom of peace" and "Never too late" (a la BONFIRE), but after this start, the band continues to produce some average Hard Rock songs like "Long live rock and roll", "Luck is on my side", "Have a good time" and "Repense a bon". These 4 last mentioned tracks bring the level down, but towards the end we can hear a few more interesting melodic rocksongs, such as the fun melodic rocker "Pretty girls" and the AOR orientated uptempo rocker "Theophile dans la nuit" which is not only the closing track, but also the best song of the whole CD! Not a sensational record, but also not a bad record, it has it's ups and downs,
and is interesting for people who collect all that is Melodic Hard Rock orientated…

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

The songs are played well, but it just isn't good enough to make it winner…, these are my thoughts after hearing the CD of STILL SQUARE. The band used to be called SQUARE, but due to the fact there are a few other bands with that name, they changed it to STILL SQUARE for the re-issue of their only LP released in the mid 80s. Yes, this is actually a re-issue of the lost LP of this French Hard Rock outfit. They cut the LP for a Parisian label in 1985 and this 'Rock stars' is a re-issue with the addition of 4 bonustracks that were recorded before and after the release of the original LP. The whole album has a pure early 80s Hard Rock/Metal sound written all over, and comparison to THE RODS and SATAN JOKERS are easily made.

The best songs however are the ballad "Chanson pour toi" and closing track "Revoltes". This last mentioned song is the final track on the CD and is one of the 4 bonustracks. "Revoltes" is totally different than the rest of the CD, as it was recorded in 1987 (the year the band broke up) and reflects an AOR orientated style. The band added a keyboardplayer to their line-up and this result can be heard in this fantastic hookladen uptempo AOR rocker "Revoltes". It would be interesting if the band could make a new album in this style, then we could have a winner. For the most part now, this album is only recommended to those if you
who count TRUST and SATAN JOKERS as their winners…

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

This French band is now made up of 3 members and their first full-length CD 'Awakening' is fully instrumental, but their mini debut CD from a few years ago featured a singer. Nevertheless, they play a style that also instrumentally may sound nice. The music on 'Awakening' is a mixture of heavy 70s progressive and 90s heavy metal, quite unique and at times very complex. The first few songs are pretty weak and just pure 90s groovy metal. The songs "Alchemist", "The quest part 2", "The way" and "Flying to survive" are much better and also have lots of keys involved. Quite a complex CD if you ask me and only recommended to people who like experimental instrumental progressive metal.

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

LION MUSIC from Finland released two new CDs, but both have already been released years ago, but these two re-releases contain bonustracks, new artwork and now they are officially available through the whole of Europe. The first CD is from Danish guitarist Torben Enevoldsen. His CD 'Guitarisma' was released back in 1998 in Holland, but now has been re-released through LION MUSIC with the addition of a bonustrack. Last year I also discussed Torben's second CD 'Hevay persuasion', but as I never heard his debut, this re-release was actually the 'second' album I reviewed of Torben.

Anyway, the instrumental 80s typed melodic hard rock on the CD sounds very impressive, but my favourite track is definitely the only song with vocals on it. This is the great uptempo melodic rocker "Time ran out", with lead vocals of Kenny Lubcke. Why doesn't Torben co-operate with Kenny and just make a full CD with vocal songs, that would be really cool! Nevertheless, guitar freaks really need to buy this CD if they haven't got the debut of Torben. Almost forgot, the additional bonustrack is called "Zantac".

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Finish Guitarist LARS ERIC MATTSSON has been releasing albums ever since 1985 and almost his whole back catalogue has now been re-issued by LION MUSIC, and this fully instrumental album 'Electric voodoo' is one of the last to be re-issued. The album was first released as 'Electric woodoo/the exciter' back in 1991. What you get to hear on the CD is impressive instrumental hard rock that reminds me in the heavier parts of AXEL RUDI PELL. The best tunes are "Apocalypse", "Green cats" and "Way out". Also this re-issue comes with a bonustrack, namely "Sacrifice of love". Another winner for guitarfreaks! Website Lion Music: http://www.lionmusic.com

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

It's a pity that the production of this CD is sounding a bit average, because musically it all sounds very sensational. The CD of WAYNE EWARDS contains some fantastic pure 80s AOR/Melodic Rocksongs that have influences from acts like JOURNEY, SURVIVOR, FOREIGNER, ALIAS and UFO. Wayne comes out of Tennessee and plays guitars on the album, while singer Todd Turner did the vocals (and boy he can really sing very well!). The album is not the official release, but just a sneak preview of things to come, as it will eventually develop into a full-length concept CD release in the near future.

For now, the 7 tracks of the CDR show the capabilities of Wayne and company. The first song, "Eye to eye", is a good progressive melodic rocker with a very catchy chorus. Basically we're into AOR HEAVEN on the next track "Call me". This song has some lovely keyboards (a la FOREIGNER) and is a fantastic pure 80s typed midtempo AOR tune in the veins of ALIAS, BAD ENGLISH and JOURNEY. The only negative point I have to made here is the production which just isn't that good, but the song itself really is a killer AOR tune. Next track "Ice cold" captures the classic 80s melodic rocksound in all forms, because this is a lovely uptempo hookladen AOR rocker.

"Midnight lady" is another AOR killer, this one is reminding me of acts like UFO, STRATUS, LITTERER and RAGE (UK). "Breakdown" follows and is yet another stunning AOR rocker in the style of SURVIVOR/LUCIFER'S FRIEND. The last two songs are the only fillers on the record, because "Setting sail" and "Wayne Edwards Live" are both weak instrumentals that fail to succeed the high quality of the first 5 AOR tunes.

If the production would be better, than this CD could've easily been one of the best independent records out there at the moment. I can't wait to hear more of Wayne Edwards and can only hope for a better production on the full-length CD next time, because then we can launch this guy as the latest AOR sensation. Check out his site at: http://www.mp3.com/wayneedwards and e-mail at: Wayne_Edwards_Online@yahoo.com

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

This Italian band has been on the scene for a while. They already released 5 CDs and started in the late 80s playing Progressive Rock/Metal. 'Imago mundi' was released back in 1993 and is definitely their best effort. This CD is filled with high quality Progressive Rock that even reflects an own style. The production was very good and most of the songs sounded very impressive. My favourite tracks of that CD are "Justice" (with great keys/synths and clear KANSAS influences during the chorus), "Serenity" (great uptempo Sympho Rock a la ASIA) and "Courage" (good midtempo progressive melodic rock with again great keyboardsounds). At times the band sounds like a heavier version of the old MARILLION (like "Virtue" and "Furniture"), while at other points they sound like a progressive metal band ("Disharmony" and "Egoism"). This all combined made their 4th CD 'Imago mundi' unique in the progressive rock/metal scene and it is hailed as one of the highlights of the last decade. I would rate this with 8,5 points out of 10.

The new CD, which was released last year on the German label Dragon's Music, is titled 'Drachenblut' and unfortunately it isn't as good as the previous CD. Although the CD, with it's medieval lyric approach has some nice progressive rock/metal to offer in songs like "Blue fire", "Dragon's blood", "Drachenfels" and "Memories from Sigurd's past", most of the CD sounds just o.k., but is nothing special compared to the previous CD from 8 years ago. Hopefully the upcoming new CD, 'Ragnarokkr', which will be released in September, will bring us the magic of the band's 4th CD 'Imago mundi' again. Check out the band's website at: http://www.dragonsmusic.de and e-mail them at: dragmus@web.de

Rating: 8,5 and 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Band out of San Jose, California that sent me a demo tape with two of their original songs. The songs are called "Here comes the night" and "Mirror", both well-played uptempo melodic rockers with an 80s approach. Although the band has been influenced by 80s acts like STRYPER, POISON, WARRANT and MR. BIG, their music is not really in this style, because the rock has a slight updated 90s approach as well, which is probably due to the fact the band also takes influences from FOO FIGHTERS and CREED. On the other hand, the band's major influences come from DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW and all these bands combined gives you the sound created by RED MOON RISING. If You wonder how this sounds, you can check it out for yourself at: http://www.mp3.com/redmoonrising and e-mail them at: red_moon_rising2000@yahoo.com

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Multi-instrumentalist ROBIN VAGH was already introduced by Nick Baldrian last week, but here's a second opinion review by yours truly. Robin comes out of Sweden and he plays all the instruments himself on his debut solo-CD. He also wrote and produced everything, so this is definitely a true 'Robin Vagh' CD. Musically he is playing 80s-typed uptempo AOR/Melodic Rock with a lot of keys and catchy hooks. Instrumental it sounds very good, but the fact that didn't impress me much are Robin's vocals that are not really sensational. The songs are rather good AOR and quite similar to JOE ROBINSON and PHIL VINCENT.

Most of the songs are in the same uptempo style, so there also isn't much variation, a ballad or two wouldn't hurt. But some of the songs are really good, such as "Sands of time", "Sleepwalking", "Hypnotized" and "Rebecca". If you're keen on catchy 80s uptempo AOR/Melodic Rock with a lot of keys and a 'safe' sound and you don't mind the vocals are not really impressive, then you might want to check out ROBIN VAGH's music at: http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/158/robin_vagh.html and e-mail him at: silfvenius@ebrevet.nu

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

LIGHT WAVE from France is based around one person, Alex Rouen, who is only 17 years old and already is playing guitar, keyboards and drums. He has even released two albums and the demo tape I received featured 4 songs that will end up on this upcoming third album. The tape is filled with good quality instrumental progressive rock/metal. I wonder how it would sound if vocals were added, because Alex impresses me a lot with the instrumental songs on his tape, so with some vocals it could even sound more appealing. Anyway, check out his songs at: http://www.mp3.com/light_wave and e-mail him at: alexcocow@wanadoo.fr

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Band out of Michigan, USA that released two CDs so far. Their debut is from 1997, while the new disc is a multi-media disc that looks really terrific. The debut CD is filled with slow tempo dark melodic rock that sounds updated for today's rock format, but happily still is quite melodic at times. There are 8 songs on the album and it is hard to compare this band, because they have quite an own style. The best songs are the semi melodic rockballads "Like a glove" and "Pouring rain", both pretty nice to hear. The only rockers are towards the end of the CD, namely the uptempo "Down from heaven" (with 70s groove elements) and "Leavin this town" (semi-rocker).

The new disc titled 'Video disk 2001' is very impressive as it is a movie of 25 minutes that contains 5 songs of the band and some great movie like footage. There is a video of one of the songs and some live coverage and it's really nice to just sit and watch this well-produced CD Rom on your PC screen. I wish more bands could come up with something like this. Anyway, you can also check out BIRDS OF PREY for yourself at: http://www.birdsofprey.fm and e-mail them at: RicheyBOP@aol.com

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

The CD 'Way of life' of the Swedish band PEARLY WHITE is filled with good typical 80s melodic hard rock, not unlike 220 VOLT and SILVER MOUNTAIN. The first 6 songs are really good and catchy, such as the uptempo melodic rockers "Way of life", "Fight 'em back", "Rock'n' roll will do" (POISON meets WHITE LION while fighting with TREAT) and the semi melodic rockballad "F.I.L.". I really liked these songs, but unfortunately the last 4 songs on the CD were a bit disappointing, because songs like "She adores you", "Trials of life" and "H.M.W." are pretty average Hard Rock songs.

Anyway, the band also sent me two demo CDRs with recordings that took place in 1999 and 2000. I have to add here that the 16 included songs on these two CDRs are not as good as the band's CD 'Way of life'. The songs that can be labelled as nice melodic rock are
"Fortune and glory", "Fairy tales", "Trier man", "Persecute" and the acoustic ballad "Refugee". Well, the CD is pretty good, but the CDRs are just o.k., but not always convincing. Check out PEARLY WHITE at: PEARLY WHITE and e-mail them
at: Lasse.wester@hem.utfors.se

Rating: 7,5/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)