MORE CD/TAPE REVIEWS

By Lori Powers

Sedona - Dragonfly
I was never looking forward to hearing a CD as much as I was this one. With all the time and effort the band put into it, I knew it had to be great. They spent a great deal of time fine tuning it, and sent out a beta-version to friends to work the bugs out of the enhanced portion of the CD. The day that I got Dragonfly in the mail, I immediately put it in. It was everything I expected, and more.
Since the minute I heard Sedona, I was hooked. Their last CD was great, but Dragonfly is twice as good. The band seems to have matured so much in the last few years. They sound tighter than ever, and Mike’s voice blows the top off the “growl” meter. They recorded a CD that is very diverse and there isn’t one song on it that I didn’t throughly enjoy. This would definitely be my top pick CD of 1998. It is a perfect representation of the greatness that Sedona is capable of. When Dragonfly finds it’s way to the right record execs. desk, they’ll definitely be signed. Anyone would be a fool to pass these guys up.
Trying to pick a favorite song on this CD is a difficult task. My favorites vary but most often I’d choose “My Sacred Garden” and “Run Wild Horses.” “My Sacred Garden” is the most unusual song on the CD. If I didn’t know that it was a Sedona song, I’d have a hard time figuring that out. I’m not sure how to accurately describe why without knowing the technical terms, but I’ve never heard Mike’s voice sound quite like this before. It’s a calm, “trancy” rockin’ tune with a great beat. “Run Wild Horses” is a perfect example of the classic Sedona sound. Mike has that growl going and there’s so much emotion in his voice.
“Wrong” would be a hit on any “alternative” rock station. It’s a powerful song with a hint of what some consider to be an “alternative” sound, but to me, it just plain rocks!
“Waiting On The Call” is a great melodic rock song. The back up vocals really stand out in this song. The band is in perfect harmony and it’s songs like this that makes one realize that Sedona is made up of 4 great musicians (and not just the great voice that I talk about so often).
The other Fox brother, Ray, sings “All This Love.” Vocal talent definitely runs in the family. It’s a beautiful “love” song.
The last song on the CD is “Nowhere But Down.” I love it! I hear strong Def Leppard influences in this song.
Other songs include: “Filling Up The Holes,” “Highest Star In Heaven,” “Galileo’s Reach (an instrumental),” “Crazy” and “Mama’s In The Kitchen (rockin’ song),” all of which are great songs.
The enhanced portion of the CD is very cool, too. It contains many hidden goodies including video, a photo gallery, etc.
This CD is full of strong guitars, great drum beats, strong vocals, and tight backing vocals. Sedona is the total package. This is a must have CD. If I’ve peaked your interest and you’d like to check it out, go to their site at: www.sedonaworld.com.

By Kevin Brown

The Step Kings - Let’s Get It On! (Fantastic Plastic Records)
This is the second release from this hardcore band. The songs are a little better than on the first album, which still leaves them in the middle of the hardcore pack. This album is not for the youngsters due to the high frequency of profanity on the album (including three tracks explaining the many uses of the F word), though putting the parental advisory sticker in Spanish was a nice touch. The song I liked most on the album was “Independence Day” and I did start to like the songs more after repeated listenings, but on the flip side, their version of “Another Brick in the Wall” was the worst cover version of a song I have ever heard. For more information: The Step Kings c/o Fantastic Plastic Records, PO Box 212 Summit, NJ 07902-0212 or www.stepkings.com.

Various Artists - Universal Soldier: The Return Soundtrack (Trauma Records)
Why a sequel was needed for this movie is beyond me, but since I am not a movie critic, I will talk about the soundtrack instead. This is a great hard music soundtrack, though a majority of the songs on here are available other places. “Crush ‘Em” from Megadeth definitely lacks the edge of their previous material and the remixed version of “Fueled” by Anthrax made no improvements on a pretty good original version. The best songs on this album were “Awake” by The Clay People, “Bled for Days” by Static-X, “Securitron (Police State 2000)” by Fear Factory and “Chaos” by Skold. Unfortunately, the best song on the album is not even used in the movie and that is The Flys version of “Crazy Train.” Overall, this album is a good collection of music, but unfortunately is nothing new that fans of these bands don’t already own.

Slaughter - Back to Reality (CMC International Records)
Slaughter could have very easily packed it in after the tragic death of guitarist Tim Kelly. To their credit and to the delight of Slaughter fans, they kept on going. The band does not miss a beat with new guitarist, Jeff Blando. He brings more of a blues edge to the guitar sound and music. This album does seem to contain more mellow songs than their past albums like “Headin for a Dream,” “Silence of BA” and “Nothin Left to Lose.” My three favorite tracks were “All Fired Up,” “Love is Forever” and “On My Own.” This album may not attract any new fans, but the old ones should be happy with the results of their latest release. Don’t forget to pop the disc into your computer CD-Rom for some cool info and video footage of the band. For more info: www.slaughterweb.com.

Tiles - Presents of Mind (Magna Carta Records)
Tiles plays progressive rock that is musically between Yes and Dream Theater. This is a pretty solid disc overall, but nothing really stands out to me. With 12 tracks on the album, three are instrumentals and another two are live tracks. This should give the listener a good idea of how this band sounds. My favorite tracks were “Static” and “Taking Control.” Add Tiles to the list of good progressive rock bands that Magna Carta signs. For more information: www.tiles-music.com.

Ice Age - The Great Divide (Magna Carta Records)
Musically, this band plays very good progressive/power metal. The vocals seem to be the weak link and the lyrics are somewhere in between the music and vocals. My favorite track is the instrumental “Spare Chicken Parts.” This being said, I think this album would have been more enjoyable if it was instrumental. For more information: www.ice-age.com.

Rhythm Trip - Return of Da’ Dragon (Digital Dimension)
Rhythm Trip takes rap lyrics and adds a bass, guitar and drums, where a band like Stuck Mojo starts with the heavy music and works the lyrics around the music. My favorite songs are “Go 4 Broke,” “ILLznik” and “Da Good Life.” “Goddess” kind of reminds me of Living Colour and the female vocals throughout the album are an interesting touch. There is more name dropping on this album than on any other album I have ever heard. They mention everyone from Barney Rubble to Pantera to former NFL player Reggie White. I will admit that the lyrical content of this album is pretty clever, but they do use their share of four letter words. The best thing about this album is that they create the potential to draw listeners from both the rap and heavy rock crowds. For more info: Rhythm Trip, c/o Rawdawg Bookingz, 230 Rt. 17 South, Lodi, NJ 07641 or tripsquad@usa.net.

P.O.D. - The Warriors EP (Tooth & Nail Records)
Their recent signing to Atlantic Records should help bring this hardcore/rap/metal band a wider audience. P.O.D. stands for Payable on Death and they plan to cash in in heaven. Their christian influence is evident, but not totally in your face. The acoustic instrumental, “Rosa Linda” was very good and “Draw the Line” also stood out. Check these guys out if you like your Christian music a lot heavier than the Sunday church service. For more information: www.payableondeath.com.

Jester - Digitalia
The second album from these New Jersey rockers finds them continuing where they left off. They slow it down on a few songs (“More Than I Know” and “Give It Back”), but those songs are just as good if not better than some of the rockers on the album. My favorite songs are “Digitalia,” “Radio,” “Anything & Everything,” “VooDoo” and “Rock and a Hard Place.” This is a very good album and shows this band didn’t fall into a sophomore slump. For more info: www.JesterRocks.com.

Kemestry - One Way Ticket
This melodic Canadian metal band is harking back to the day when metal was king. The music and lyrics are first rate. Even on a slower song like “One Way Ticket,” they still project a metal edge that gets your head banging. They seem to have the right “Kemestry” to take the heavy metal world by storm. My favorites songs are “Wasted Crazy,” “Why?,” “Danger Zone” and “Desire,” though the entire album is very good. Be on the look out for these guys, they should go far.

Spitfire - The Dead Next Door (Solidstate Records)
This hardcore album has some of the most unintelligible lyrics I have ever heard on any album. The lyrics are included I could not even follow along since I had no idea what the vocalist was even saying. Even if you could understand him, the vocals seemed too buried in the mix. The music was OK and got heavy at times, but just seemed to drone on. “DJ Jazzy Steve” was a total waste of disc space and the rest of the album was not much better. For more information: Spitfire c/o Chris Raines, 1527 S. Seabreeze Tr., Virginia Beach, VA 23452 or spitmail@aol.com.

Overmars - Overmars
Even with only three songs on the cassette, I can tell these guys are going somewhere. The songs, “Chloe,” “Coming Alive” and “The Sun” are all fine examples of rock with an attitude. They kind of remind me of Danzig with their sound and vocal delivery, but are not as dark. Hopefully there is more where this came from. I am looking forward to hearing it. For more info: http://members.aol.com/ovrmars/index.html

Mullmuzzler - Keep it to Yourself
This all star band is lead by James LaBrie, the lead singer for Dream Theater. The music has some similarities to Dream Theater, but is not a direct copy of their sound. Some of the songs are funkier and slower than DT stuff. The horns on “Beelzebubba” were a good addition to a song that seems to be about Bill Clinton. My favorite songs are “Statued,” “Beelzebubba” and “Lace.” I think this album would appeal to fans of Dream Theater, as well as fans of progressive, well crafted music in general.

the rumors - Pacific (Cellar Records)
This is a pretty good pop CD that would fit on any current Top 40/Hit radio format. Nothing too terribly original here, but the CD is quite enjoyable to listen to. “The Nashville Song” strays a bit from the path with it country tendencies, but does not seem out of place. My favorite songs are “Yesterday Again,” “Seven Years” and “This Time.” It seems like the rumors have all the tools to make a serious run at the pop charts. Fans of music on the lighter side would be advised to check this band out. For more information: Cellar Records, 116 N. Peoria Ave., Dixon, IL 61021 or www.rocknhardplace.com/cellar/index.htm.

Cutters - Sonic Wave Love (CMC International Records)
I was interested in hearing this album because it is not the normal type of band that is on CMC. The music seems to be influenced by pop, rock and electronica. The album would have flowed better if they had settled on one direction. I did like the album better on the second listen, but it still really did not grab me. For more info.: Cutters, P.O. Box 4500-263, Bloomington, IN 47401 or www.cutters.tierranet.com.

Abusement Park - Electric Spanking Session (Surf Records)
This is the type of band that if you close your eyes, you would think you are at your local metal club. They sound like a local band that plays for the fun of it and gets a CD out when they get enough money together. The production is not the greatest with a very noticeable drop out in the first song. My favorite songs on the album are “Depression Obsession” and “Manufacture God.” If you like to support local metal bands no matter what part of the country you live in, then this CD would be a good addition to your collection. For more information: Abusement Park, P.O. Box 2014, Tempe, AZ 85280 or webpst.com/abuse*ment*park.

Extol - Burial (Solid State Records): This album would be best described as Progressive Christian Death Metal. All your favorite Death Metal qualities are there including growling vocals, fast drumming and in your face guitar. The only difference here is that the lyrics are totally Christian based. Musically, these guys make Stryper sound like easy listening!! If you think it is hard to understand a Death Metal vocalist when he sings in English, give a listen to the three songs on this CD sung in Norwegian. My favorite song on the disc is “Superior.” This album is another quality entry into the Christian metal catalog. For more information: Extol, Bjerkelundsveien 99, 1340 Beckestua, Norway or check their site at: www.solidstaterecords.com.

Overkill - Necroshine (CMC International Records)
Welcome to the latest album by one of Thrash Metal’s best bands. Overkill is still wrecking necks after all these years. They have always put out great CDs and this one is no exception, though the true Overkill experience is still their live shows. They put out some serious energy and you are drained after the show. Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth has always had one of those love/hate kind of voices. I have always like it because it sounds different from other front men. The addition of former Liege Lord vocalist, Joe Comeau on guitars and backing vocals on the past three albums has really strengthened an already mighty band. My favorite tracks on this album are “My December,” “Revelation,” “Stone Cold Jesus,” and “I Am Fear.” I recommend this CD to any fan of metal. For more information: Overkill Wrecking Crew, P.O. Box 229, E. Hampton, MA 01027 or www.wreckingcrew.com.

Project 86 (BEC Records)
This disc has hints of both Rage Against the Machine and Limp Bizkit. The only thing that could set them apart from a handful of other bands is the fact that they are a Christian band with lyrics that very much show their religious influences. My favorite song was "Six Sirens." For more information: Project 86, 5405 Alton Parkway, Suite #5a-777, Irvine, CA 92604 or E-mail: project86@iname.com.

Embodyment - Embrace the Eternal (Solid State Records)
Simply put, if you want to hear death metal with a positive message then this CD should be in your collection. All the growled vocals and heavy music are still there. I can’t say any songs really stood out to me though. Overall, this just shows that Christian music does not have to be slow and mellow to get the message across. For more information: Embodyment, P.O. Box 99601-306, Arlington, TX 76096-9601.

Selfmindead - Selfmindead (Solid State Records)
I had read about this band and was looking forward to hearing the disc. Unfortunately I should have stopped with what I read because it was more impressive than the music is. They play hard alternative, but are on the lower end of the scale. The singer has a nasally voice that got on my nerves after about the second song, Burial. Cool band name, wish I could say the same about the CD. For more info.: Solid State, P.O. Box 12698, Seattle, WA 98111 or www.solidstaterecords.com.

Shango - Metal Mafia (Back Room Records)
Shango has a pretty good power metal groove going here, but that is the best thing about this release. The lyrics have their moments and the singing is OK. They do get my vote for one of the better album covers I have seen in awhile. For more information: Metal Mafia USA, 1330 54th St., Brooklyn, NY 11219 or E-mail MetalMafia@aol.com.


By Lori Powers

Paradise Alley - Heartbreakers and Homewreckers
This CD was a tough one for me to review because I had trouble finding the right words to describe it. I’m not really sure why. They’ve got that glam/sleaze thing going on that I love. It’s raw, fun music with a slight "early years" Faster Pussycat sound. I can imagine a Paradise Alley concert being a great night of dancing and partying. The CD contains 12 tracks. So far, my favorites include "Little Suzie" (great beat), "Walk It," (the perfect "get lost" lyrics), "No Time To Cry" (a great ballad), and the rockin’ "Cryin’" (that starts off with a harmonica). Their lyrics have all the things that 80’s glam band were famous for such as women, drugs, Hollywood, sex, alcohol, etc. If you like it Sleazy...Paradise Alley is your band. Check out their site at: http://www.delinquent.com/paradise.html or e-mail: KRied101@aol.com.

Seasons Of The Wolf - Self-titled
No glam or sleaze here...Just some hard rockin’ metal music. With the first listen I was most impressed with the band. Barry plays a mean guitar! Took a second listen for Wes’ voice to grow on me. Not that he has a bad voice...I was just instantly drawn to the music. The CD contains 7 songs. All very heavy rockin’ tunes. Wes has a very wide vocal range pulling off the lowest of the low and those "necessary for a great metal song" screams. My favorite songs on the CD include: "Victim Of Darkness" and "Electric Dimension." I also really like "Quiet Earth" (an instrumental). Can’t wait to hear more from this band. For more info. write to: Earth Mother Music, P.O. Box 339, L.B.K., FL 34228.

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