NORDIC UNION by Nordic Union
(Frontier Records)
NORDIC UNION is the name behind the new musical collaboration between singer Ronnie Atkins of PRETTY MAIDS and Erik Martensson of ECLIPSE and W.E.T. fame with guest appearances by Thomas Larsson, guitar solo on "Every Heartbest" & "Wide Awake", Fredrik Folkare, guitar solo on "Point Of No Return" & "Hypocrisy" and Magnus Henriksson, guitar solo on "The War Has Begun". The music, the vocals, the songwriting, the production - all are amazingly well done. After my initial listen to the album I am really digging all the tracks especially the guitar driven opening,"The War Has Begun", "Wide Awake", "Every Heartbeart", "When Death Is Calling", "Falling" and the melodic gem, "True Love Awaits You". Ronnie Atkins' vocals just sound incredible here. Of course, it helps that the songs he's singing are all extremely well-written and the production, courtesy of Erik Martensson is impeccable along with his powerful and impressive guitar work. Between the melodies and the solos he's definitely doesn't hold anything back. Overall, what Ronnie Atkins and Erik Martensson have created with Nordic Union is melodic hard rock at it's best, and a highly crafted debut release which is very complete - no fillers here. This album is diverse, musical, heavy and performed with passion. Great production and musicianship. I'm sure this one is going to get some serious replay time for me for months to come. Who said you can’t have hard, melodic rock with hooks anymore? - Highly Recommended
Tony @The Dedicated Rocker Society
GREETINGS FROM THE ELECTRIC WASTELAND by The Gloria Story
(Wild Kingdom)
Swedish based rockers, The Gloria Story are back with their sophomore release, 'Greetings From The Wasteland'. Filip Rapp – lead vocals, guitars, Fredrik Axelsson - vocals, lead guitars, Carl Ahlander – guitars, Jocke Rang - bass, backing vocals and Henrik Siberg – drums. Following up their smash debut release, 'Shades of White', the lads kick up their mashup of punk rock attitude with hard rock energy to a whole new level. This swedish five-piece rock and roll machine storm into the cracking opening title track, "Beast Of The Northern Light" the guitars are clear and loud, the bass and drums pound at your heart, the and Filip Rapp has a rock solid voice. Album highlights also include; "Bang Bang (Pull The Trigger)", "Look Left, Walk Right", "Cardinal Sin" and "Electric Wasteland". Every track has wonderous hooklines, some great harmonies. Drawing gleefully on every pompous cliché that the annals of rock history can offer, The Gloria Story play rock and roll the hedonist's way: jeans are to be stonewashed and bloodflow-restrictingly tight; hair must reach the collar; guitar solos always use the whole neck; and if a song clocks in at over four minutes, it's already getting cold. This is truly re-invented and re-grooved 70′s rock. The Gloria Story is a quick fix that probably won’t save the whales or the rain forrest – but most likely your next party! - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society
FOR THE GREATER GOOD by Saffire
(AOR Heaven)
Following up to their debut release 'From Ashes to Fire" Swedish based rockers, Saffire are back with their sophomore release, 'For The Greater Good'. A well written and well balanced powerhouse rocker of an album. Saffire is comprised of Tobias Jansson (vocals), Victor Olsson (guitar), Magnus Carlsson (bass), Anton Roos (drums) and Dino Zuzic (keyboards). There is a nice mix of heavy and melodic arrangements with sing along choruses aplenty, loads of riffing guitar. The band's Deep Purple and Rainbow influences are very apparent, with Tobias Jansson 's vocals in fine and powerful form. 'For The Greater Good' will certainly rock you in spades, right from the opening riff of "The Great Escape" through "Casters Of The First Stone" and the rocking title track through my personal favourites, "Heartless", "Dandelion's Shame", "Shadowland" and "Blame It On The Rain". 'For The Greater Good' is a album definitive of a band that is comfortable in its own skin and knows where it is heading, it really is a strong album. A modern album that definitely has that old school hard rock feel. With this album it becomes clear that Saffire is a rock band with a rather unique style and sound clearly differentiating themselves from other bands that are currently on the scene. No sophomore slump here that's for sure. Great job gentleman! - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society
LIVE AT THE PHOENIX
by Harem Scarem
(Frontier Records)
One of the best rock bands ever to come out of Canada in my opinion is Harem Scarem. Harry Hess (vocals, guitar), Pete Lesperance (guitar, vocals), Stan Miczek (bass) and Darren Smith (drums, vocals). Since the band's debut release in 1991, and thirteen studio albums along with a number of live recordings these Toronto natives, have become true rock legends. The band's latest release, 'Live At The Phoenix' recorded at Phoenix Concert Hall in the band’s hometown of Toronto, Ontario on July 11th, 2015. This double CD plays like the best-of album Harem Scarem. This live performance is a GIANT upgrade compared to the band's previous live recordings. The first thing that unavoidably hits the listener is the album's faultless production; Not only are the instruments captured in great clarity but also the production offers huge drum sound (which is relatively hard to capture live). Disc one offers up ten tracks featuring fan favorites, "Garden Of Eden" "Saviors Never Cry", "Distant Memory" "Mandy"and "Killing Me". Disc two serves up ten tracks as well featuring, "Sentimental Blvd", "Stranger Than Love", "Saints And Sinners", "Change Comes Around" and closing out the show with the classic rocker, "No Justice". When you listen to this album all your troubles will disappear as you get caught up in the magic that only Harem Scarem can produce when they are playing live. Peter Lesperance on lead guitar gives the performance of epic proportions. Harry Hess gives a brilliant performance on vocals. The rest of band were definitely on their game that evening. You can really tell the guys enjoy performing live. A live recording is all about the atmosphere and 'Live At The Phoenix' is absolutely drenched with atmosphere. This, is classic Harem Scarem. - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society
SPEEDWAY by Blood Red Saints
(Frontier Records)
A stunner of a debut release, ' Speedway', by Blood Red Saints is straight ahead, melodic rock at it's finest. Influences like FM , Dare and Giant can be easily recognized in their sound. The band was formed by singer Pete Godfrey (In Faith) and bassist Rob Naylor (Angels Or Kings). Rounding out the band are, Lee Revill on guitar (Gary Hughes) and on drums Pete Newdeck (In Faith). This band sounds tight and energetic. There really isn't a bad song on the album. The guitar hooks are amazing, and the melodies lodge themselves in your head instantly. Speaking only for myself, the standout songs here are the album opener, "Kickin' Up Dust", "Mercy", "Best Of Me" and the mid tempo mover "Dangerous", laced with some tasty Lee Revill guitar licks. There are 2 more standouts, "Better Days " and made for rock radio gem, "Wrapped Up In These Arms". Everything blends nicely and I've enjoyed listening to the entire album several times over. The biggest treat, to me, is the killer vocals that Pete Godfrey delivers on this recording. His singing is incredibly easy on the ears and well suited to this style of music. The bottom line is 'Speedway' by The Blood Red Saints simply has everything that melodic rock fans want: catchy choruses, giant melody, and tasty guitar riffs. The performances by all involved are through the stratosphere and have laid down a very high benchmark for the band to reach should they return to record another album. What might follow could be mind blowing if this debut outing is anything to go by. - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society
DEF LEPPARD by Def Leppard
(Mailboat Records)
The lads from Sheffield, Def Leppard return with their eleventh studio album. The self titled album is the band's first since 2008’s “Songs From the Sparkle Lounge”. While I long for the glory days of the power and glory of, ' On Through The Night', 'High N' Dry" and "Pyromania", I'd say the lads did solid job with this album. Joe Elliot's vocals are solid and the six string interplay between Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen are tight as a glove. While the rhythm section between Rick Savage and Rick Allen is rock solid. Taking the blueprint of the vibe of 'Adrenalize' and 'Euphoria', delivering big melodic tracks in the form of, "Let's Go" and "Dangerous" (both would have fit nicely on 'Hysteria'). The melodic groove of “Man Enough”, and the arena rocking, “Sea Of Love”. Other highlights include, “Blind Faith”, "Wings Of An Angel" and “Battle Of My Own”. Some of the songs recall the sound of their past and other tracks move the sound forward. The way the songs have been arranged just fits. This is Def Leppard in the 21st Century. Having said that, as I mentioned, this an all around good album from the lads, and even if it still falls short from what we long-time fans really want, I'd still recommend it. - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society
10 STONES by Stone Machine
(Lions Pride Music)
If ever we needed a solution to the self consciously stylised over-hyped "art-pop-rock" being peddled in the so-called mainstream music industry, ladies and gentlemen, we have Stone Machine. Jason Mays (vocals), Dirk Blevins (guitar), Matt Parkins (guitar), Jamie Hall (bass, backing vocals) and Jeremy Hall (drums). The band's latest release, '10 Stones' is a best of compilation featuring ten smoking tracks from the bands first three releases. "Dirty Sweet", "South Mama" and "Queen Without A Crown", from their self titled debut. From the band's sophomore release, 'American Honey' you have, "Better Days", "Long Road" and "Corn Bread". From their third release, 'Rock Ain't Dead", you get the titled track and "Mr. Blues". Plus 2 previous unreleased tracks, "Use You Up" and "Slowdown" featuring Dirk Blevins on vocals. High-energy, soulful and powerful blues rock that will really get you up and shakin' what you've got. Classic rock fans will eat this up. Exuberant rock music played with guts, power and shedloads of skill that captures perfectly the excitement and joy of the shared experience which is great Rock `n Roll. Yes, their Free and Zeppelin influences shine brightly, but this is no cheap 70's rip off outfit. Stone Machine is set to re-energize and revive the blues rock and take it to a new generation. "21st Century Classic Rock" at it's finest. - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society
THE GRAND DESIGN by Khymera
(Frontier Records)
'The Grand Design' the latest release from AOR sensation, Khymera is an absolute gem. There is no filler at all! The whole thing is just a stellar combination of great songwriting, awesome playing, and incredible production quality. The band is comprised of Dennis Ward: bass guitar and lead vocals, Felix Michael Klein: guitars, Eric Ragno: keyboards, Jim Rybkost: piano, additional keyboards and Bohnke: drums. There are some great melodies here and some very sweet keyboard work. The songs are full of melody and hooks and rock enough to satisfy fans of this music. Album highlights, melodic gems, "Never Give Up On You", "Tell Me Something" and "Night To Remember". For the romantic of heart the band offer up, "Streetlights" and the album closer, "Where Is The Love". Hats off to Dennis Ward for an excellent job in the vocal and production department. Overall, 'The Grand Design' is simply a great melodic rock album front to back. An essential listen for anyone that loves the band's self titled debut and is highly recommended to fans of intense melodic rock. - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society
BITTER SUITES FROM THE RED ROOM
by Shane Gaalaas
(Junkman Records)
Drummer extraordinaire, Shane Gaalaas (B'z) returns with his fourth overall and first ever all-instrumental recording, 'Bitter Suites From The Red Room'. For those of you who aren't familiar with Shane Gaalaas he is one of the most amazing innovative drummers around. Period. Before playing with The B'z, He landed gigs with Swedish guitar god YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, followed by a stint with the MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, as well as tours and albums with VINNIE MOORE, ULI JON ROTH, and GLENN HUGHES, among others. In the late 90’s, he was a founding member of highly regarded progressive band COSMOSQUAD as well as extreme metal quartet DIESEL MACHINE. This dude is freaking SICK! On, 'Bitter Suites From The Red Room' Shane Gaalaas stretches the limits of his musical abilities. Not only does he play drums on the album, he also did all programming and rhythm guitars as well as the bulk of the bass and lead guitars. It is simply mind blowing that someone can conceptualize & compose this kind of stuff let alone perform it to this degree. The compositions on this album are extremely complex and never really lets the listener get too comfortable with the deep grooves before the piece moves to the next tantalizing yet tension filled musical theme. Highlights are, "El Niño Overture", "Silverstrand Sedation", "Grind 2.0 (The Salacious Elixir)", featuring Tak Matsumoto of The B'z, "Wherever Giorgio Dare Roam" featuring Jeff Kollman on guitar and "Ototoxic Gaalbladderas". After a few times through it all starts to make more musical sense and the ideas start to take on some relative familiarity. So as a instrumental music fan I highly recommend this album to all the like minded freaks out there looking for more brain candy. 'Bitter Suites From The Red Room' offers a refreshing take on the jazz rock-fusion thing. Can music be smooth and jagged at the same time? Can it calm you and excite you in the very same breath? Somehow, this album finds a way. Or, at least, it does for me. - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society
PERFECTAMUNDO
by Billy Gibbons & The BFG's
(Concord Records)
'Perfectamundo', the highly anticipated debut release from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, the legendary, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top fame is simply PERFRCT! A premium blend of Blues, Jazz, Latin and Rock sensibilities, as Billy Gibbons explores songs with a new backing band, The BFG's, (also the name of his Hot Sauce) a handpicked group of musicians recruited for this debut outing. Those who were expecting a ZZ Top kind of recording may be surprised, but certainly will not be disappointed. The years and influence "The Reverend" Gibbons spent hanging out with the legendary Latin percussionist, Tito Puente back in the 60's shine brightly on this amazing release. Two Blues standards kicks off the album, "Got Love If You Want It" (Slim Harpo) and "Treat Her Right" (Roy Head), I love Gibbon's arrangement on both tracks giving them a Tex-Mex vibe. Speaking of, three of the tracks penned by Billy Gibbons', "Sal Y Pimento", "Hombre Sin Hombre" and "Piedras Negras" are a ridiculously catchy Tex-Mex buffet complete with timbales and congas. Other highlights include, "Picking Up Chicks On Dowling Street", a grove laden take on the Blues classic, "Baby, Please Don't Go" and the title track. It's obvious that Billy Gibbons had a blast putting his debut outing together and I for one totally dig it. - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society
RADIO EXILE by Radio Exile
(HighVolMusic)
Usually most AOR bands nowadays think they're better then everyone else and deliver dreadful performances but not Radio Exile. Chandler Mogel (vocals), Charlie Calv (keyboards), Jimmy Leahey (guitars, backing vocals), Kenny Aaronson (bass), Dave Anthony (drums, percussion, backing vocals. The band's debut is pure melodic rock gold. Every song has that vintage AOR/arena rock feel, and every aspect from the songwriting to the musicianship to the vocals to the production is absolutely top notch. Radio Exile are very much in the same vein as Toto, Journey, Survivor, etc. What impresses me is that they've taken up the fight for melodic rock without apology and have hit us with a brilliant debut album of music that sounds as if it might have been recorded by any of the above mentioned bands in their heyday. Highlights include the awesome chorus hook of the energetic opener "High Road High Price", the massive power of "Soulfire", the intense rock groove of "No Pity On The Highway " the quality chorus hit of "Higher Than The Sun ", and the emotional vocal melodies of the melodic gem "A Cross On Stone ". The album is strong and cohesive, and it's impossible to think any melodic rock fan wouldn't enjoy this record. It sounds fresh and loaded with punch. If high energy feel good rock is your thing, then your so gonna love Radio Exile. - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society
WHISKY FINGERS by Voodoo Circle
(AFM Records)
21st century Classic hard rock juggernauts, Voodoo Circle return with the follow-up to, 'More Than One Way Home‘, with album number four in the form of , 'Whisky Fingers'. David Readman on vocals (Pink Cream 69), Alex Beyrodt on guitars (Silent Force, ex-Sinner), Mat Sinner on bass (Sinner, Primal Fear), new members, Francesco Jovino (Primal Fear, ex-U.D.O.) on drums and Alessandro del Vecchio on keyboards. The new album finds the band serving up their unique style of combing vintage and contemporary rock and taking it to a whole new level. All eleven tracks offered are tight and include all of the classic influences of hard rock, blues, ballads, and everything in between. Resulting in a powerful mix of the 70's and 80's "Deep Purple meets Whitesnake" vibe topped by rock solid production, granting perfect audibility to all instruments. Highlights include the lead off single, "Trapped In Paradise", kicking things off in rocking fashion. The bluesy swagger of, "Heartbreaking Woman", powered by Alex Beyrodt's tasty guitar playing. The awesome power ballad "Watch and Wait (I Got My Eye on You) ", the memorable melodies of "Heart of Stone", the massive rocker "Straight Shooter " and the epic sound of the album closing, "Been Said and Done". All in all, this is a solid release! Powerful and emotional and, in my humble, opinion this is Voodoo Circle's best album to date. 'Whisky Fingers' is a no holds barred, balls to the wall, unashamed hard rock album that MUST BE PLAYED LOUD AND PROUD!! - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society
2113 by Carousel
(Tee Pee Records)
Pittsburgh based rockers Carousel return with the follow up to their monster debut, 'Jeweler's Daughter' with their second album, '2113'. Dave Wheeler on vocals and guitar, Chris Tritschler on guitars, Jim Wilson on bass and Jake Leger on drums. The band's sophomore effort delivers their trademark formula of classic influenced stoner rock. It isn't often an album makes you wish you could hop a time machine back to the 70's. But such is the case with '2113'. The album is filled to the brim with the sort of big riffs and memorable choruses that make this band so damn good. All nine tracks served up are guaranteed to rock your socks off. Tracks like `Trouble', `Buried Alive in Your Arms,' `Jim’s Song' and a killer cover of the Joe Walsh classic, "Turn To Stone", are among some of albums highlights. Killer stoner rock grooves that will have your head involuntarily bobbing. The bottom line here is, ' 2113' is a heavy slab of guitar rock that should please anyone who's into bands like, Thin Lizzy, Motorhead and Corrosion of Conformity. It flat-out rocks, and that's really all that matters. - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society
THE TRANSCENDENCE
by Honeymoon Disease
(Napalm Records)
Swedish based retro rockers, Honeymoon Disease deliver the rock and roll goods with their debut release, 'The Transcendence'. The band is comprised of, Jenna Disease - Vocals & Guitar, Acid Disease - Guitar, Anders Bergstedt on bass (note: Nicklas Hellqvist has replaced Anders Bergstedt and will be touring with the band in November) B. Disease - Drums. One of the most noticeable things about this recording is the live-in-the-studio sound. Giving a spontaneous feel to the album. In a word, this album is infectious. Honeymoon Disease have a unique groove-centered sound that's difficult to categorize but impossible to get out of your head. If I were to compare them,
I would say they are comparable to classic rock bands like DEEP PURPLE, THIN LIZZY or RAINBOW. You can pretty much pick any of the songs on this album at random and find an absolutely killer single-worthy rocker. “Higher”, “Stargazer”, “Imperial Mind”, “Gotta Move”, “Break Up”, “Bellevue Groove” and "Brand New Ending” are particularly convincing. Too many rock bands nowadays approach songwriting as a matter of cutting-and-pasting riffs together in Pro Tools; Honeymoon Disease's music feels organic, as if the songs were honed from some epic jam session. The end result is a damn good album with plenty of style and attitude. Fans of old school hard rock will really like this album.... a lot. More of this, please! - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society
QUARTER LIFE COME UP, Ep
by Southern Gentleman
(Southern Gentlemen Music)
From beginning to end, 'Quarter Life Come Up' the debut seven song Ep by Southern Gentleman, the three piece rock band hailing from South Florida is chock full of some of the best rock music you will ever hear. The sound quality is very upfront, and will rock the finest of speakers. All tracks have a sense of gravity and taste. Excellent hooks and catchy choruses will get these songs inside your head, guaranteed. There is a good mix of harder, heavier tracks, "Born This Way", "Get It On", and "You & I" with melodic gems like, "If You Just Believe", and "Love At First Sight". The diversity in the cuts keep the mind hungry to hear that next track. Great vocals & lyrics and a fresh, expressive but tight performance. The music and beats are great and the lyrics are extremely heartfelt and original. There is meaning behind the music. There are few rock bands these days that can put out an album that is truly worth listening to through and through and that one will not tire of. This is one of them! 'Quarter Life Come Up' by Southern Gentleman comes highly recommended to any rock music fan and a refreshing new band that has a great future ahead of them. - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society
