The second album of the Swedish PRISONER is pretty much a sensational keyboard orientated AOR record. The band around mega guitarist TOMMY DENANDER have delivered an album that fit right into the releases of T'BELL, STREET TALK, TALK OF THE TOWN and DAKOTA from the past few years. This album is filled with top-notch hookladen AOR in the classic 80s tradition. There are 13 songs on the album and the only songs that are just nice are the opener "Deadend" and the last couple of tracks, of which I need to add that the cover of the BRITNEY SPEARS hit "You drive me crazy" is well done as I really thought I was listening to some great AOR tune and then suddenly I knew I had heard before in an unpleasant version, but PRISONER's version is definitely a lot better!

Anyway, left are about 9 fantastic pure AOR songs that are a dream for people who are into the classy early 80s stuff of acts like TOTO ('Isolation'), DAVID ROBERTS and I even noticed some early FM similarities. My favourite tracks are "Jasmine" (mix of DAKOTA, LE ROUX, T'BELL and TALK OF THE TOWN), "Hold on" (very laid back, like FRANKE AND THE KNOCKOUTS meets early FM on a hot summernight), "One step closer" (pure 80s AOR a la TOTO's 'Isolation'), "I am right here" (another classy laid-back AOR tune, if only radio would play this, then it would definitely turn out to a monster hit all over the globe!), "Return my heart" (summer uptempo 80s AOR, just having fun and not looking back) and the JOURNEY/STREET TALK typed semi AOR ballad "One way".

This record is definitely one of the highlights this year and I need to recommend it to every fan of the AOR genre, especially people who like the keyboard orientated sound of acts like T'BELL, TOTO, LE ROUX and DAKOTA will definitely like this album.

Rating: 9/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Less than a year ago Canadian rockers VON GROOVE released an album titled 'Dancin' off the edge of the world' on MTM MUSIC and guess what, they have released an acoustic album on Z RECORDS only a few months after the MTM release and now they have released a full new album on the English label. Yes, these guys are definitely showing that they switched from label in order to bring out real good music, because that last studio album on MTM was hopeless, a very weak groovy 90s typed melodic hard rock album. It was their second mistake in their career, because the band's second album 'Rainmaker' was also one to forget. But the new CD 'The seventh day' (their 6th album is much better than the last two releases. 'The seventh day' is a cross between their melodic hard rock debut and the band's AOR record 'Test of faith'.

There are 10 songs on the album and especially the beginning is quite excellent. A song like "Lily" is really classy 80s good old-time uptempo AOR/Melodic Rock, full of hooks, a great verse and an even catchier chorus that makes you remembering the times bands like LOVERBOY, BON JOVI and HONEYMOON SUITE were making good music. Anyway, "Lilly" is the best song VON GROOVE ever put on record, so it is definitely something special! Other great songs are the lovely AOR/Melodic Rockballad "The best in me" and the uptempo melodic hard rock songs "Believe in this one", "Oxygen" and "Guns over London". These guys surprise me every time with a new record that sounds totally different than anything they've done before. Recommended to all VON GROOVE fans and anyone who digs good 80s typed melodic hard rock in the style of HEAVENS EDGE, DOKKEN with an occasional 80s LOVERBOY typed AOR tune.

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

'The truth and little more' is the debut of the Swedish melodic rockband ECLIPSE and they play good old Scandi AOR/Melodic Rock from the 80s in the style of EUROPE, TREAT, DAVINCO, DALTON, BAD HABIT, TALISMAN, but I also hear some similarities to the old HAREM SCAREM. Opener "Midnight train" sounds a bit groovy at the start, but once you hear the excellent melodic chorus you're hooked onto the Swedish typed 80s melodic rock until the end of the album. My favourite tracks are "The truth" (excellent uptempo Scandi melodic rock with some cool keyboards that even STRATOVARIUS fans will enjoy), "The only one" (cheerful 80s summer typed AOR/Melodic Rock a la DAVINCI), "Message of love" (semi melodic rockballad), "I believe in you" (those harmonies set your heart on fire!), "I thought I had it all" (a deadringer for fans of the HAREM SCAREM debut classic) and "Songs of yesterday" (great melodies during the chorus). A good effort from this hot new Swedish band!

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

I reviewed this band a long time ago, but back then they offered only a couple of songs and now there is full-length CDR in the shape of 'Was it all?'. ZERO ZERO is a female fronted band from Bremen, Germany and some of the songs on the band's new album sound very sensational. Musically they play in the style of ALYSON AVENUE, PRIVATE LIFE, WITNESS…, so basically this is pure 80s AOR and it really sounds huge sometimes. However, towards the end of the CDR things start to sound more like typical Hard Rock a la DORO, LEE AARON… But let's start with the beginning of the album.

Opener "Stairway to love" is a good 80s fun uptempo melodic rocker a la LITA FORD, LEE AARON, CHRISSY STEELE… Next track "Stand up" is a fantastic midtempo AOR song in the style of the first ROBIN BECK and Swedish newcomers ALYSON AVENUE. The great uptempo AOR rocker "Sooner or later" follows. Then we're right into AOR HEAVEN with the superb midtempo AOR song "With or without you" (hello ALYSON AVENUE!). The following track "I leave you now" starts as a poprocker, but the chorus is classy AOR (like WITNESS and early TONE NORUM). These first 5 songs are totally AOR HEAVEN and a dream come true for fans of female fronted AOR. Everything just sounds perfect! Then we get to hear the song "Here we are" and that's the first letdown, an average uptempo MHR song a la DORO. The AOR ballad "Lover in my arms" is up next and is a whole lot better, especially the 80s keyboardsounds that can be heard all through the song.

The following 3 songs are in the category nice, but nothing special. Closing track "I need your smile" is a good semi AOR ballad. The hidden track is one you absolutely don't need to hear as it is a terrible house track. Anyway, the first 5 songs are really killer AOR tunes in the style of WITNESS, HEART, ALYSON AVENUE… but the rest is just nice Hard Rock.
Nevertheless, this Berlin based band is one to watch out for and I can really recommend it to every fan of female fronted AOR/Melodic Rock. More info at: www.mp3.com/zerozero and e-mail them at: obrockmann@t-online.de

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

Multi-instrumentalist ELLIOTT AARON comes out of Michigan, USA and the first song on his debut CD is a real good start. The song is called "Only God knows why", a good uptempo melodic rocker in a 80s tradition. Unfortunately the following 7 songs are sounding a bit average. A song like "10 drinks" isn't bad, but the 90s typed drum machine is spoiling it. The vocals on this song remind me of Vince Neil and add a touch of 80s Glam. We're really into the 90s with the metal song "Underdog blues". Much better are the last 3 songs that are as good as the opening song. I m talking about the semi melodic rocker "Twisted by fate", the semi melodic rockballad "You know who" (with AOR influences) and the melodic rocker "Cloud number 9". These last 3 songs and the first song really show that ELLIOTT AARON can make good music. The rest of the CD is not really interesting for the fans of melodic rock, but may appeal to people who like the 90s experimental Hard Rock/Metal sound. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.mp3.com/ElliottAaron and e-mail him at: candk419@ms.n.com

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

At one time, vocalist/guitarist Ken Cree played in a local Hardcore/Punk band (!), but with his second solo-CD 'Across the miles' he walks the path of AOR/Melodic Poprock and there is absolutely nothing on this record that could predict he was playing in a Hardcore band. Anyway, the CD is pretty much a fine record with ups and downs. There are some similarities to the early work of BRYAN ADAMS, SCOTT SUDBURY and a TOM KIMMEL. Opener "Across the miles" is a good uptempo melodic poprocker. Next track "Happy" is a nice semi melodic rockballad a la BRIAN SPENCE, TOM KIMMEL and DANNY WILDE. "Story in your eyes" is a fine AOR ballad, while "A lonely place" is a good melodic rockballad. Then we get to hear the best song, namely the uptempo AOR rocker "The dreamstealer" with some great piano/keyboardplay. The second part of the CD is a little less good, with poppier tunes such as "Forever man", "Erase" and the acoustic "Love me again". Ken also sent me a CDR with 4 new songs, but I have to say that these songs were a bit too pop orientated for me. Only the ballad "Found my way" and the semi melodic rocker "The queen and I" didn't sound that bad, but overall the first 5 songs of his second CD are his best work. More info at: http://www.mp3.com/Ken_Cree and e-mail him at: scuzzles@yahoo.com

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

This Californian band is playing pure 90s orientated poprock but with a good ear for a melody in each of the 16 included songs. The music will not attract people who are into the 80s AOR/Melodic Rock, but may appeal to a larger audience I think because DIAMOND HEIST's music is sounding updated and very radio-friendly. Songs like "How does heaven feel", "Something's changing" and "Control" are refreshing 90s typed poprockers. If you're fed up with the 80s typed polished rock we usually review, then check out this fresh new 90s typed rockband at: http://www.oddnote.com or http://www.mp3.com/diamondheist and e-mail them at: monkeybear@mindspring.com

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Multi-instrumentalist RA FAMOUS from Illinois has nothing to do with AOR or Melodic Rock in general, because the 5 songs on his debut CDR are pretty much Alternative 90s Pop orientated. I really can't do much with his music, as it is totally different than anything I ever heard. There are even some Industrial influences in the song "Thirty one". A little better is the uptempo rocker "Revolution" that indeed has references to the early 70s and may appeal to fans of ENUFF'Z'NUFF. Judge for yourself at: http://www.rafmous.com or http://www.mp3.com/rafamous and e-mail him at: RaFamous@hotmail.com

Rating: - (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

This Swedish band is one of the best I heard the past few months in the progressive melodic rock genre. Their 3 songs on the debut demo CDR they sent me sound awesome and are quite sensational. This band fills up their progressive rock with hooks, catchy choruses that feature very melodic harmonyvocals and you can hear some great keyboard and guitarwork.

Just listen to opener "Moment of clarity" and you're definitely hooked. This song has a killer chorus that sticks in your head after hearing it only once. Besides, also the keyboardsolos are simply fantastic and a must for anyone who likes Pomp and Prog/Sympho Rock.

Maybe you can compare the sound of KHARMA COSMIC to their countrymen of LION'S SHARE, but I think this band has an own style which should get them signed to a major label pretty soon.

Anyway, my favourite track of the CDR is the uptempo melodic rocker "Fallen from grace". This song starts calm with great piano-keys, but during the chorus it gets uptempo and very melodic (with a fantastic chorus a la CITA/SHOTGUN SYMPHONY).

Closing track is "Left without a word", a pure Progressive Rocker with DREAM THEATER influences. Although there are only 3 songs on the CDR, the playing time is over 20 minutes and what you get to hear is one of the best independent progressive rockbands at the moment. More info at: Kharma Cosmic and e-mail them at: kharmacosmic@hotmail.com Don't forget to read the interview with KHARMA COSMIC on our INTERVIEWSPAGE!

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

Remember the UK AOR band BRONZ who released the fantastic LP 'Taken by storm' in 1983 on Bronze Records, the same label as URIAH HEEP at that time. Well, it seems that they have reformed and 'Unfinished business' is the result. On the LP MAX BACON sang, but on this album we mainly get to hear bassist Paul Webb. He isn't as good as the GTR singer Max Bacon, but still at times enjoyable to listen to. Back to the music, I still have fond memories of BRONZ' music. The song and video "Send down an angel" are forever stuck in my memory. Did you know that actress EMMA THOMPSON played in that video which was her debut on screen? Anyway, we are here to talk about the new CD of BRONZ and not about some Hollywood actress.

There are 15 tracks on the album, of which 4 can also be found on the band's debut LP, but on this disc you can old demo versions with bassist Paul Webb singing. The songs on the CD were written and recorded between as far back as 1982 and 1999. You can clearly hear the difference between them, because in 1982 the band sounded like most other NWOBHM bands at that time (think of TYGERS OF PAN TANG, DEF LEPPARD, HEAVY PETTIN, UFO), but just like those mentioned British bands, also BRONZ sounded more and more American orientated as the years developed. So we even get to hear some pure AOR tunes from the late 80s and from the past few years, the band sounds like a typical progressive melodic metal band (think of PRETTY MAIDS, PRAYING MANTIS and some STRATOVARIUS).

It's nice to see a band developing their style, although I need to add here that their LP 'Taken by storm' still has some cult status for me and is not beaten by the new CD. Nevertheless, fans of the band can easily buy this CD as it features some great stuff. Opener "Stay alive" is one of the new songs and I must say that this new sound is very good. The sound quality is quite superb and the song itself is a great uptempo melodic heavy rocker with some 80s typed Pomp keyboards. The song reminds me of a cross between BALANCE OF POWER, RAINBOW and PRETTY MAIDS. A definitely highlight this first new song of BRONZ! The following 7 songs are all from the demo sessions for the debut LP, so we're heading back to 1982-1983. 4 of these songs also landed on the band's debut, among which is the original demo version of the classic "Send down an angel".

The other 3 unreleased demo songs are nice rockers that sound like URIAH HEEP, of whom they also covered a song that can be found on this CD. I am talking about the HEEP song "The other side of midnight", typical 80s uptempo Hard Rock. The song "Enemy of the heart" was recorded in the early 90s and with this song, BRONZ was moving into AOR territory with a very radio-polished keyboardsound. The CD also has some instrumental tunes, such as "Freedom like God" and "Guitar symphony no. 5".

There's also another unreleased BRONZ track from 1984. This is "Breakout", a song that was recorded live in Denver back in 1984 and is the only song that features original vocalist MAX BACON. The song itself is a good uptempo 80s typed melodic rocker. Another new song, recorded in 1999, is the straight-ahead uptempo MHR song "Good lovin' hot lovin" (a bit like the TRUE BRITS compilations).

All in all, a nice collection for fans of BRONZ, because these 15 songs are all new to them. People who never heard of the band, I would rather recommend first to listen to "Taken by storm", because that is the classic LP you should have and then comes this CD. Nevertheless, the artwork on the CD also deserves my compliments, because the pictures are really great. More info on BRONZ at: http://www.bronz.co.uk

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

ADAGIO is a band formed around the French guitarist Stephan Forte. On his debut CD he is helped by PINK CREAM 69 singer David Readman, ELEGY drummer Dirk Bruinenberg, bassist Franck Hermany and the Ukrainan keyboard virtuoso Vitalij Kulprij, while the production was done by PC'69 bassist Dennis Ward.

Musically ADAGIO is playing progressive melodic heavy rocker with clear similarities to ROYAL HUNT, VANDENPLAS, while guitarist Stephan Forte is showing some MALMSTEEN typed guitarsolo's. The best songs are opener "Second sight" (cool keyboardbreaks and a very melodic chorus) and the uptempo progressive melodic HR song "The stringless violin" (with cool keyboardplay once again that gives the song a classical touch). There are also some faster Metal songs on the album (In nomine…" and "Panem et circences") as well as very progressive songs ("The inner road") and even a great cover of the LED ZEPPELIN classic "Immigrant song". A good debut from this French musician and people who like the heavier side of progressive rock/metal need to check this out.

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

After 3 full-length studio albums and a mini-album, the Japanese metal band CONCERTO MOON has now released a live CD. CONCERTO MOON is one of the bands of the new generation of Japanese bands, to follow the footsteps LOUDNESS, VOW WOW, EARTHSHAKER and others from the 80s. The music of the band is pretty heavy and on this live CD I need to add that I think the vocals are a bit too much at the background. If you want to hear a Japanese Metal band playing a style somewhere between RIOT, MAIDEN and RAINBOW with a lot of keys as well, then this band is yours. Besides, 9 live songs, there are also 3 bonus studio tracks. One song is instrumental ("Norman Island"), while the other is featured in two versions (instrumental and with vocals). This last mentioned track is called "When the moon cries", a great uptempo melodic hard rock song with a very 80s typed Japanese rock approach (BOW WOW, EARTHSHAKER). This song shows a very good Japanese band and is a little different than the rest of their material. Anyway, if you're keen on Japanese Melodic Metal, then this is the band for you!

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

FIRST AID is a Canadian band and their two CDs are filled with high quality instrumental progressive melodic rock that sounds like SAGA meets RUSH with some 80s YES influences added for the pleasure. I really like both their albums, of which 'Coelacanth ale' is the new CD of the band. Not all the songs are instrumental, because there are also some tracks with vocals on it, such as the uptempo pomp/progressive rocker "Take it on the amber" (a song that sounds like IQ and RUSH). Also with vocals is the progressive rocker "City lights", a bit light but a definite winner for fans of SAGA and RUSH.

Most of the instrumental songs sound pretty good and my favourites among those are "Fraternizing with the enemy", "Fallen czar", "Is Bigger Better?", "Waiting", "15/16", "Because you need me" and "Ice age". This band really has a great sound and fans of mentioned band should really check out this FIRST AID.

Leader of the band is keyboardplayer SCOTT JACKS. He has also released a solo-album back in 1995, but that album is a bit too 'pop' orientated for me and has nothing to do with Progressive Rock (except for the opener "Another time another place" that tends to sound like the 70s sympho pop/rock of KAYAK). But FIRST AID has released two great albums, 'Stumbling boldly forward' in 1991 and 'Coelacanth ale' in 2000, and those record are a must for Progressive rockfans. More info at: http://www.music-industry.com/scott_jacks/ and e-mail them at: jacks@intergate.bc.ca

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem)

Loaded with all the right musical moves and twelve great songs, "Dead Soul Men" is the latest studio outing from Swedish metal trio Freak Kitchen. Throughout their career the band have been described as a mixture of Frank Zappa, meets Metallica, meets Steve Vai, although long time Freak Kitchen fans draw their own comparisons. For their fourth album lead singer/guitarist/keyboardist Mattias IA Eklundh, bassist Christian Gronlund and drummer Joakim Sjoberg have once again come up with a truly rocking new metal album that has once again been produced by Mattias and mastered by ex Skagarack frontman Torben Schmidt - and in true Freak Kitchen tradition the songs are always bizarre, experimental and humorous which takes on many degrees of musicality which defies categorisation.

The album bursts open with 'Silence' an excellent song with great soloing from Mattias. 'Gun God' is next and mixes Metallica with jazz fusion elements, a superb catchy song with lots of character.Even better is the guitar edged 'Ugly Side Of Me' which is one of my favourite songs and reminds me of early Vai material. I have to say that vocally Mattias is very similar to Metallica's James Hetfield, thus why the band often get compared to Metallica. Freak Kitchen however are more intense than Metallica and their songs captivate the imagination such as on 'Everything Is Under Control'. This song has a moshy riff, then the song changes mood and churns our some melodic riffs. This is another great song with great playing from all the cast.'Get A Life' is even faster with more great soloing from Mattias, this is another of my fave tracks as the soling is very complexed and manic and just blows my mind every time I hear it.'The Sinking Planet' is where the band show their King's X comparisons with the odd hint of Faith No More and Bumblefoot. I love this song because it's slightly different in style and has a slight melodic edge. The chorus is very catchy. Then halfway through the song Mattias dabbles with some jazz fusion experimentation's a'la Shawn Lane etc. which makes this a truly inspiring song.

The title track pops up next and is Metallica meets Faith No More whilst, 'I Refuse' once again hints of King's X and has a modern edge. 'Black Spider Flag' is another great song which is full on Freak Kitchen at their best, then the tongue 'n' cheek 'Supermodel Baby' turns out to be another fave track and is most addictive. Also scoring high points is the incredible 'Slap Me In The Face', a rifftastic rocking song built for live arenas, and is a killer song and perhaps the most commercial on the album. Lastly the band fade the album out with 'Shithead', and straight away we hear some Paul Gilbert/Steve Vai influenced guitar work. This another typical Freak Kitchen song and is very very catchy and has an almost funky edge to it a'la Extreme.Overall "Dead Soul Men" just follows suit with what Freak Kitchen have always done which is to try and write great songs with complexed and bizarre ideas and once again they have nailed it!!!

Additonal : - Mattias has just signed a solo deal with STEVE VAI'S new label and has also recorded a track for the Jason Becker Tribute cd "Warmth In The Wilderness" www.lionmusic.com/jasonbecker www.freakkitchen.com

Rating: 9/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

I must have been one of the only people who couldn't get their paws into the Frederiksen/Philips album, which is now six years old! Although there was one song on that record that was a bit of a classic called 'Oh Dianne', the rest of the album just seemed somewhat tame. AOR websites have been shooting off about this release for months, and for once we have a supergroup that lives up to the hype. E.O.F. play prime time AOR and hard rock and features Ricky Phillips, Robin McAuley, Tommy Aldridge and Marcus Nand. The quality of the music is along the lines of Giant's 'Last Of The Runaway' album, a good referenece point seeing as Giant man Dan Huff has had a helping hand in the songwrting department which also features the magic scribblings of Mark Spiro, Jonathan Caine, Neal Schon, John Waite and Dan Reed.

Two songs that stood out for me are the bluesy Dan Reed penned 'Who Is This Talkin' and the glorious AOR class of the Greg Giuffria/Mark Spiro penned 'Havana'. The songs are very infectious and the production is top notch which kicks off with 'Read My Mind' where the band go into full cruise control complete with top roof down. This is one of the catchiest driving songs on the album and comes straight from the Mr.Big school of top rock and has some great bass pumping from Ricky Phillips More class can be heard on the melodic 'One Man One Heart' which sounds very European, also the two lush ballads 'Kings Of Fools' and 'Forever' and the last song 'Innocent Touch' are the stuff of what good songs are made of. So what we get is one of the best albums of this genre since The Storm's 'Eye Of The Storm', E.O.F will leave fans of wimpem in dreamy AOR heaven. Essential stuff.

Rating: 9/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

Ah my old buddy and genuine rock god returns with his third post Van Halen effort. Sam the man's new record, shows as much lyrical and musical diversity as it shows typical one way to rock stadium anthems, particularly on 'Serious Juju' which has a dead mean bass and guitar part.

Hagar's vocals throughout this album are as what you would expect, magic! but what I enjoyed about this album is the vibe and crunchiness of the songs which all shine with the typical Hagar tounge n cheek lyrics we've all come to expect, but "Ten 12" also reminds me of Sam's Montrose days and his "Marching To Mars" album and features great bluesy riffs thrown in here and there on songs like 'The Real Deal' and the balladish 'Little Bit More', whilst the acoustic 'Tropic Of Capricorn' smells of Caribbean off shore winds and is a great catchy song with a great "Mas Tequila" kinda vibe.

'The Message' is a classic Hagar tune, I love his vocals and guitar riff on this track, it's on this tracks that the Voice Of America shines in all it's glory, a perfect single.

'Deeper Kind Of Love' is aslo great, how on earth can you ignore a song like this? Sammy Hagar has probably one of the most distinctive voices in rock. It's scary how much this album rocks, try turning up the volume up to max and feel your walls vibrating as your neighbours yell at you to turn the old boom box down as songs like 'Protection','Shaka Doobie (The Limit)', 'Let Sally Drive' and the headbanging Metallicaish '3 In The Middle' send gigantic shock vibrations across the rock world's nightclubs.

And on a humourous note it's only Hagar who can get away with singing "Happy Birthday" to himself on the song "Ten 13" which is Hagars D.O.B and contnues the traditon of songs like 'Shag' and 'Mas Tequila'.

Buy this album folks and listen to it at full volume and all will come crystal clear why Hagar felt he had to leave the ranks of Van Halen.

Whilst VH have lost their creative energy and lost a huge amount of fans after the awful "3" album, Hagar has delivered three top notch solo records in one go. One hopes that the Roth reunion will ignite their creative sparks once again, but we all know that they're doing it for the money, where as Mr. Hagar is doing it simply for the love of the music, and it shows as "Ten 13" is a damn fine album that is well worth buying. Remember folks there's only one way to rock - and that's the Hagar way!! Recommended www.redrocker.com

Rating: 10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

For those of you who have watched Germany's Jaded Heart progress from TV contest winners to tours with Glenn Hughes and Mothers Finest will agree that with each release the band just got incredibly stronger and stronger thanks mainly to Michael Bormann's classy voice.

If your into "Slippery When Wet" then you will love Jaded Heart who have always stuck to their guns and deliverd fine melodic hard rock albums like "Mystery Eyes" and last years killer "Jaded Heart IV".

"Diary" celebrates the bands ten year history and pulls tracks from their entire back catalouge including cuts like 'Hold On To The Line', 'Live And Let Die' (which is one of Michael's best perfomances, check out the child’s choir intro which works really well).

The high standard continues with ‘Walk On A Wire' the guitar pumping 'In The Night', ‘How Many Tears’and 'Heaven Is Falling' whilst ‘Inside Out' has managed to stand the test of time - the ballads 'What Is Love' and 'Excuse' both provide strong emotional moments of class.

The band include two new tracks and a cover version of The Beatles classic 'Help' to delight fans with. 'Ain't Gonna Play With Fire' was recorded in 1994 whilst 'Champions' is a beautiful semi ballad with a great sing a long chorus.

Bormann is currently working on a solo album called 'First Shot' of which he sent me demo samples of, and I have to say it sounds awesome. Jaded Heart will be back with a new album soon, until then check this out; it’s defintley value for money.

(Review by Nicky Baldrian)

Experimental jazz fusion is what makes Derek Sherinian's new album so special and enjoyable, add to the fact the album includes an all star cast of Zakk Wylde, Steve Lukather and Tony Franklin makes this album even more appealing than your average guitar albums.

Sherinian you may remember played keyboards on Dream Theater's "Falling Into Infinty" opus and has also been involved with many other projects.

Produced by Sherinian and Simon Phillips each track on this album is technically perfect and precise and hugely inspiring. I really haven't heard an instrumental album this good since Vai's "Passion And Warfare", each time you listen to "Inertia" you hear something different, which is really great and kept me sussing out the songs for hours

From the heavy purring jam of "Evel Knievel" (with Zakk Wylde), and the superb 'Goodbye Porkpie Hat' (with Steve Lukather) to jazzy/progressive piano/guitar pieces such as 'La Pera Loca' and 'Rhapsody Intro' which all flow with exotic melodies reminding me of Jason Becker and Marty Friedman, especially 'Rhapsody Intro' which bursts into a great experimental piece that features Viril Donati from Planet X.

This whole album is very inspirational, check out songs like 'Mata Hari" and 'What A Shame' which are just technically perfect, need I say any about this record? You know what do it and you know it makes sense, get it bought pronto. I'm biased!!

Rating: 9/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

Amazing, completely and utterly amazing!! At long last Sony Music have singed an AOR/MOR/POP artist in the vein of Journey, Michael Bolton and Bob Segar, which can only mean great things for the endangered AOR scene in general, it's so good to see the label supporting AOR again, and like Journey, Garou could very well be the one to bring this much loved genre back into the commercial mainstream.

Garou is from France and the only draw back with this cd single is that the songs are sung in his native French language. However that doesn't stop the songs from being attractive, particularly the second track, a huge ballad which is almost a blatant rip off to Journey's "When You love A Woman" right down to the piano melodies. The song is called 'Que L'Amour Est Violent' (or 'Love Is Violent') and has been written by none other than missing in action AOR god ALDO NOVA. If you close your eyes you can almost imagine that it's Perry and Bolton singing this song and not Garou. It's a massive weepy with a great rocking catchy glossy chorus which is crying out for English vocals.

"Seul" (or "On Your Own"), is the song which gave Garou a hit in France and is a poppy number in the Michael Bolton circa "Soul Provider" vein, the vocals once again are very powerful. The third song on the cd is called ''L'adieu' (or 'Goodbye') is another great power ballad in the Journey vein with hints of Bob Segar and has a very emotional chorus, all Garou needs to do is lay down some English vocals and he could be massive on a worldly scale and not just in France.Just because this style of music isn't so popular in this country doesn't mean that other worldly territories have totally ignored it, as I said Garou hit the French charts with 'Seul' which means that people a ready once again to appreciate an art form of music that will never never die. Garou is a superb singer and the music is super produced and glossy, I can't wait to get the album.I have requested an interview with the man, so hopefully in a few weeks time you will be able to read all about the mans history and plans for the future.

Rating: 9/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)