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Category: Hard Rock Hideout Search Bar
3 Sweet Cheater – Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’ (Release Year – 2006)
When I picked up this new Sweet Cheater disc, I must admit that I had low expectations. Just the name of this disc made me think I was going to regret picking it up. Much to my surprise, Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’ is far better than I ever could have imagined.
There are elements in every song that remind of just about every popular 80’s Big Hair Hard Rock act you can thing of. One might complain that they are a copy cat band, but they sound like so many different ones, its actually refreshing to hear.
Take one listen to All Fired Up and see if this doesn’t remind you of old L.A. Guns.
Summer kind of sounds like old school Kix. The keyboard driven One Love is a cool L.A. Guns meets Poison sounding ballad.
The very Kix like Money’s Tough is a killer track, as is the slower paced It’s Our Love.
One listen to Dancin on My Grave, and I thought singer Mike Chappel started sounding like Steven Pearcy.
Holding Out on Love is like a fusion of Poison and L.A. Guns. I’ve Got You sounds like a Poison track as performed by Kix (if that is possible).
Ratt shows up again on the very cool Romina. (Ok…its Steven Pearcy’s vocal clone Mike Chappel 😉 )
Subway Train is a good rocker and a great way to end this disc. This track actually sounds better than anything that was on the last Ratt CD.
This disc has to be the surprise of 2006. Perris Records has found one hell of a band in Sweet Cheater. Fans of the 80’s Big Hair sound, and pop metal in general, are going to eat this up. I expect that this will be in my play list for many years to come.
I have added a couple of videos below. You can also hear a few of their songs on their myspace page at: www.myspace.com/sweetcheaterband
Check these guys out! You will be glad you did!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Summer (Live)
All Fired Up (Live)
Track Listing:
- All Fired Up
- Summer
- One Love
- Money’s Tough
- It’s Our Love
- Dancin On My Grave
- Holding out on Love
- I’ve Got You
- Romina
- Subway Train
Sweet Cheater is:
- Charlie Leger – Guitar
- Tom Flaherty – Guitar
- Mike Chappel – Vocal
- Mark Rahilly – Bass
- Tommy Leger – Drums
4 Big Cock – Year of the Cock (Release Year – 2005)
Big Cock features former Lynch Mob, and Cry of Love vocalist Robert Mason, and former King Kobra guitarist Dave Henzerling a.k.a. David Michael-Philips.
Sonically, this music reminds me of a cross between Lynch Mob and Mr. Big, with a dash of sleaze thrown in for good measure.
There are quite a few catchy numbers on this somewhat short disc. 12 songs and a 25 second filler track to close this disc for a total run time of under 36 minutes.
Bad Motherfucker is immediately infectious and will set your hopes high for the rest of the disc. I Want It All has a very Lynch Mob feel to it. I like this track a lot.
Cinnamon grates on my nerves every time I hear it. I do not like the lyrics at all. I usually skip to King of Cool which is a (no pun intended) a very cool track.
Carrie’s In Love slows it down, and sound a lot like a Mr.Big track. I never cared for that band much, but I do like this track pretty well.
Mean Street Machine kicks it into gear. This is a great track.
I had to look at the credits to see if George Lynch was playing on Take It Off. The layered guitars on this song sound exactly like an older Lynch Mob track.
Dynamite rocks pretty heavy, but lyrically could have been a little better.
My first reaction when hearing Hard To Swallow was wtf is this crap. It sounds like a fusion of 50’s music, and Mr. Big. I still skip this track.
Thank God, Old No. 7 didn’t follow the pattern of the last track. It is a pretty good song, but no where near as good as You Suck the Love Out of Me. Some of the vocals remind me of Axl Rose’s growliness on a old G N R track.
Year of the Cock closes this disc with a mid tempo rock song. It is an ok song, but certainly not classic.
As a whole, this is a pretty decent debut effort from these hard rock veterans.
Both Big Cock discs are getting released to wider distribution in January, so you should be able to find these in more retailers soon.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Bad Motherfucker
- I Want It All
- Cinnamon
- King of Cool
- Carrie’s In Love
- Mean Street Machine
- Take It Off
- Dynamite
- Hard To Swallow
- Old No. 7
- You Suck the Love out of Me
- Year of the Cock
- Thank You, Good Night
7 Randy Piper’s Animal – Violent New Breed (Release Year – 2006)
Former W.A.S.P. guitarist Randy Piper, and Zan Clan guitarist Chris Laney connects for a very W.A.S.P. like CD in Randy Piper’s Animal’s “Violent New Breed”.
Vocalist Rich Lewis could be a Blackie Lawless clone vocally.
Chris Laney also lent his producing talents, so this is one great sounding disc, from beginning to end.
The track “Violent New Breed” will grab you immediately. This is one kick-ass, hard rocking tune.
The heavy pace continues on “Morning After”. I can hear some Zan Clan like backup vocals on this one. This track is very cool!
“Hey You” cranks it up again. This song reminds me of a KISS song, both sonically and lyrically.
“Eye of the Storm” may be my favorite song on this disc. This is a well written song and the guitars are absolutely killer.
The tempo slows way down on “Turn and Walk Away”. This power ballad really delivers. Rich Lewis delivers an excellent vocal on this track, and Randy Piper’s guitar shines greatly. This song screams radio hit!
Lyrically, “Animal In Me” could have used a little more work. The music is good, but it is my least favorite track on this disc.
“Hellchild” sounds like a W.A.S.P. anthem. The keyboards on this track kind of give it that screechy horror type of feel, but are strangely annoying at the same time. The rest of the song is very good though, and would translate well live.
“Salt” is another excellent, heavy track with Zan Clan like backing vocals. This track sounds as if could have been at home in the late 80’s. It is very cool!
“In The Mirror” is a low to mid tempo number that seems to get better with each listen. The guitar work here is superb.
Just the title of “B.O.O.M.” seems to carry the W.A.S.P. spirit. The keyboards return in a minor fashion on this track, and I think they should have left them out. It would have sounded better. Aside from that, this is a cool hard driving track and it ends “Violent New Breed” in good fashion.
There is more to like on this disc than I expected. Chris Laney’s addition to this group takes it over the top. Many of these songs would translate well live. For W.A.S.P. fans, picking this disc up is a no-brainer. For all other Hard Rock, and metal fans, you ought to stop by the band’s myspace page (www.myspace.com/randypipersanimal) and give some of these tracks a listen. I think this is a great disc, and well worth the price of admission!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Violent New Breed
- Morning After
- Hey You
- Eye of the Storm
- Turn and Walk Away
- Animal in Me
- Hellchild
- Salt
- In The Mirror
- B.O.O.M
Randy Piper’s Animal is:
Randy Piper – Guitar
Rich Lewis – Vocals
Chris Laney – Guitar
Jackie Livengood – Bass
Johan Koleberg – Drums
2 Demon Angels – Time of Confusion (Release Year – 2006)
It has been a long time since I have heard any new material from former MSG lead singer, Robin McAuley. I enjoyed the MSG albums he sang on, so I was kind of excited about this release.
The first thing I noticed is how short this CD is. Only 8 tracks, under 35 minutes in length.
Luckily, this CD does out perform quite a few other 2006 releases with more tracks.
There are quite a few solid tracks. Movin On sounds like a very heavy MSG track, and is the best track by far. Let’s Dance and Gonna Get It are both pretty good as well. Gonna Get it has very Schenker like guitars on it. Let’s Dance cranks the tempo up with driving guitars and drums to match. This is a fun track.
Victoria also sounds like that a track that could have been left off of an MSG album. This is 80’s pop/metal that is as good as it gets. I love the guitars on Promise, and We Belong.
Won’t Let It Go is my least favorite track here. I don’t know if it is McAuley’s vocals or the lyrics that do not work for me here, but I just couldn’t get into this song.
Freedom is another decent track that sounds like it could have been at home in the late 80’s.
Sadly, Robin McAuley has left Demon Angels to go sing for Survivor. I am sure its a higher paying gig, but he left a potential band on the rise. Its a shame based on this hard rocking release. This band has loads of potential. I can only hope that Demon Angels can find a new singer as talented as McAuley and put out a follow up release to this excellent hard rocking disc.
Here is the lone video from Time of Confusion:
Freedom
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Gonna Get It
- Movin’ On
- Let’s Dance
- Victoria
- We Be Long
- Freedom
- Promise
- Won’t Let It Go
0 Jon Oliva’s Pain – Maniacal Renderings (Release Year – 2006)
I didn’t think I would hear too many new quality releases to close out 2006, but I could not have been more wrong. Jon Oliva’s Pain, is one Heavy Metal release that took me by surprise.
This disc starts off with a very strong track, Through the Eyes of the King, which is unmistakably Savatage in style! This track is one of the best metal songs I have heard all year.
The title track Maniacal Renderings is a progressive number that stretches past 7 minutes. Parts of this song remind of Queensryche, in a good way.
The Evil Beside You starts off slow and kind of reminds me a little of Queen in style, but then breaks into another Savatage style rocker. Time to Die turns up the heaviness, and at times sounds like Black Label Society backing up Oliva. ( At this point, this reviewer has a big evil grin on his face ).
Push It To the Limit cranks the tempo way the hell up. I can see people in a mosh pit, slamming to this song. The bass rhythm on this song reminds me of Anthrax at times.
Who’s Playing God returns to more of a Progressive Metal style. This almost reminds me of a heavy Queen song. Timeless Flight also starts off with that Queen styling, but in a very heavy sense. This is one of those progressive tracks that is technically brilliant. It is one of those songs that make you wonder if you are hearing a CD that may one day be considered classic.
Holes is another heavy track that could easily fit on any Savatage CD. Lots of heavy guitars, rhythm and bass. At first I didn’t like this track, but I had to give it a couple of listens. You have to hear the way this song ends. Awesome!!
End of Times is another prog rocker with plenty of crunching guitars and heavy bass. This is another decent song with excellent guitar work. I didn’t care for this song too much.
Still I Prey For You Now is a slow short number that fails to excite me. I was hoping for something a little more powerful at this place in the record.
The Bonus track features 2 tracks in 1. Reality’s Fool is another slow tempo number that almost seems out of place. A few seconds later another instrumental track continues the fantastic solo work of the late, great Chris Oliva.
As a whole, this is a very strong effort from Jon Oliva’s Pain. Savatage fans should be rushing to pick this up. Progressive Metal fans will likely enjoy this too. If you don’t like either of those, this disc may not appeal to you. I have always liked Savatage, and felt they were very under rated. This disc stands up to any of the Savatage records out there, and is one of the best new releases of 2006.
Rating:Out of 10
Below are a couple of live videos of songs that are from the Maniacal Renderings CD. If you like these, you are going to love this CD!
Evil Beside You
Maniacal Renderings
Track Listing:
- Through the Eyes of the King
- Maniacal Renderings
- The Evil Beside You
- Time To Die
- Push It To the Limit
- Who’s Playing God
- Timeless Flight
- Holes
- End Times
- Still I Pray for You Now
- Reality’s Fool (Bonus Track)
2 Violent Divine – S/T (Release Year – 2006)
Occasionally, I will plug a new band in my music reviews, if they fit in the Hard Rock and Heavy metal genre. When I read that the influences of Violent Divine, were Motley Crue, and Guns ‘N Roses. I had to give them a listen.
I listened to 3 tracks, one time each on myspace and I said, ok, where can I get this…..NOW! I don’t buy much from ITunes, but they actually had this, so I said why not, besides, it beats going to the local record store on December 24th.
This kind of sounds like a fusion between 80’s Hard Rock and today’s current hard rock scene. This comes across as a fusion of Metal and Punk and a dash of sleaze with big drum beats, great guitars and catchy lyrics. There are a few immediate stand out tracks: Let’s Go, Rush You, and Levitate, but there honestly isn’t a bad song on this disc. I dare you try to listen to this disc, and try not to head bang! It is a well produced, fun to listen to debut effort by this Swedish based 4 piece.
This is definitely worth your money if you are looking for a new band that kicks ass!
Here are a couple of video’s to give you a taste of Violent Divine!
Rating:Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Let’s Go
- Love Revolution
- The Morning Show
- Levitate
- Enslaved
- Slow
- Rush You
- Apocalypse
- Ghost in the Machine
- Malfunction
- Misery
- Down the Line
3 Riot – Army of One
Mark Reale of Riot may be an Army of One. He is lone founding member of Riot, and has held this band together for over 30 years now.
Why Mark or Riot, hasn’t received more recognition in the music community is a mystery to me. With a style that falls between Joe Satriani, and Michael Schenker, you don’t have to listen to Army of One very long before you say “Wow”!
With that being said, how do the songs, on Army of One stack up. In my best Guiness Stout voice, they are “BRILLIANT!!“.
With Mark Reale’s and Mike Flyntz guitars and Mike DiMeo’s amazing vocals, I can’t imagine any hard rock or metal fan not enjoying this CD. This is melodic metal as good as you are going to find it anywhere! It is hard for me to pick out highlights on this disc, as I truly enjoy the whole thing. The Bonus Track of Road Racin’ Live, a track that was on the 1979 release Narita, is excellent. It sounds better now than it when it was first released. Johnny the Seal has something to smile out about when he hears this disc. 🙂
Check out this video of Reale and Flyntz dualing guitars….awesome!!
Rating:Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Army of One
- Knockin At My Door
- Blinded
- One More Alibi
- It all falls down
- Helping Hand
- The mystic
- Stay Alive
- Alive in the City
- Shine
- Stained Mirror (Instrumental)
- Darker Side of Light
- Road Racin’ (Live)
2 Eddie Ojeda – Axes 2 Axes
Here is an excellent hard rocking release that came out in January of 2006. I stumbled on this by accident when I was looking for some Twisted Sister news.
I heard a couple of songs on myspace, and had to pick this up.
Axes 2 Axes starts out with a heavy number Tonight, sung by Ronnie James Dio, and followed up with a blistering instrumental, Axes 2 Axes. Please Remember is a pretty good rock number sung by Eddie.
Dee Snider does a good job covering the Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby, with some backing vocals by Terry llous from XYZ. This is a far superior cover than the torrid, Leader of the Pack, cover from Twisted Sister’s Come Out and Play album.
Evil Duz is a pretty heavy track where Eddie just about sounds like Lemmy from Motorhead on this track. (Well sort of, maybe not as gravelly) .
Crosstown is another kick ass instrumental from Eddie.
Senorita Knows is a mid tempo track. It is my least favorite track, but it isn’t a bad song by any means. Love Power is a funky track with some slap bass playing by Rudy Sarzo. Eddie sounds like he is having fun on this song.
Funky Monkey is the third instrumental track on this CD. It is another great track. Eddie really struts his guitar work here.
The Reason is the sole ballad on this disc, and a good one at that.
Axes 2 Axes closes out with another great vocal by Joe Lynn Turner on Living Free.
Overall, Axes 2 Axes is a pretty quick disc to listen to. It clocks in under 39 minutes long. If you want to discover a good rock CD, and an excellent guitar player that deserves more credit than what he gets, check this disc out! The Dio and Dee Snider tracks almost make this disc worth picking up just by themselves.
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Tonight
- Axes 2 Axes
- Please Remember
- Eleanor Rigby
- Evil Duz (What Evil Knows)
- Crosstown
- Senorita Knows
- Love Power
- Funky Monkey
- The Reason
- Living Free
1 Ian Gillan – Gillan’s Inn (Dual Disc) (Release Year -2006)
I think most hard rock fans are going to find something to like about Gillan’s Inn. This is a great guitar rock album, and Ian Gillan sounds like he just started singing for Deep Purple yesterday. The production quality on this disc is nothing short of superb!
Unchain Your Brain , Hang Me Out to Dry and Speed King features the lightning quick Joe Satriani on Guitars. Simply Amazing!!
When A Blind Man Cries features Jeff Healey on guitars. This guy may be blind, but he is one hell of a guitar player! GREAT STUFF!
Sugar Plum has this guitar riff that is just infectious. Trashed features the heavy guitar of Tony Iommi.
Smoke on the Water…sure you have heard it a thousand times, but this one includes Steve Morse on guitars and the Violin of Sim Jones. You have to hear it to appreciate how good this sounds.
Men of War and Loving On Borrowed time also features the excellent guitar work of Steve Morse.
The Bonus track I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight with Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott to me is the weakest track on the disc.
As whole, every song is well produced and sounds great. The Dual Disc CD features a DVD side with the making of this disc. There are some cool videos and some bootleg Deep Purple material on here. The DVD also includes the whole album in 5.1 surround sound and stereo.
If you are a fan of Deep Purple, Ian Gillan or hard rock in general, you need to get this!
Rating:Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Unchain Your Brain
- Bluesy Blue Sea
- Day Late and a Dollar Short
- Hang Me Out to Dry
- Men of War
- When A Blind Man Cries
- Sugar Plum
- Trashed
- No Worries
- Demon’s Eye
- Smoke on the Water
- No Laughing In Heaven
- Speed King
- Loving on Borrowed Time
- I’ll Be your Baby Tonight (Bonus Track)
2 Twisted Sister – A Twisted Christmas (Release Year – 2006)
Finally! Another hard rock band gets into the Christmas spirit and releases a X-Mas CD in the big hair 80’s vein. Twisted Sister moves into an almost uncharted territory with this release. Sure Trans Siberian Orchestra (Savatage) did it first, but Twisted Sister was brave enough to do it in their name. Kudos to them for a releasing a CD that is fun to listen to. This is an X-mas CD for the headbangers out there! We finally have something that we can enjoy during the holidays, without falling asleep.
A Twisted X-Mas can be a little silly at times. Could you really expect to take this seriously? Nonetheless, Dee Snider and company sound as good as they did 20 years ago.
Personally, I find this CD a fun listen. If you are a fan of Twisted Sister, or 80’s hard rock in general, you have to pick this up.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
- Oh Come All Ye Faithful
- White Christmas
- I’ll Be Home for Christmas (With Lita Ford)
- Silver Bells
- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
- Let It Snow
- Deck The Halls
- The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting)
- Heavy Metal Christmas (12 Days of Christmas)
Twisted Sister is:
Dee Snider – lead vocals
Eddie “Fingers” Ojeda – lead guitar
Jay Jay French – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Mark “The Animal” Mendoza – bass, backing vocals
A. J. Pero – drums, percussion
1 Hydrogyn – Bombshell (Release Year – 2006)
I only discovered Huntington, West Virginia’s Hydrogyn yesterday. After reading that Michael Wagener produced this disc, I knew that I had to get this in my CD player quickly. Michael Wagener has produced more platinum acts than I can remember including Motley Crue, Skid Row, Metallica, Ozzy, Poison and the list goes on and on. He thinks Hydrogyn is going to be huge.
Judging from the first two tracks, he may be right.
Lead Singer Julie has a delivery that is similar to Pat Benatar, however I think she sings at a lower octave than Pat. The songs on “Bombshell” are mostly hard hock and maybe a touch of heavy metal at times.
Vespers Song starts the pace off right, and Blind is a kick ass rock song. Breaking Me Down reminds me a whole lot of Evanescense, except its a bit heavier with better guitar work. I’ve Been Waiting was on OK track. Confession is a pretty good song.
Look Away S.P. is heavier song, and is another great track.
Love Spoke reminds me of a country song with more heavier guitars. I didn’t care for this track.
Depending on which version of Bombshell you picking up, track 8 will be either a cover of AC/DC’s Back in Black, or Skid Row’s 18 and Life. My copy has Back in Black, and is a faithful cover of the original. I had to buy the 18 and Life cover from Hydrogyn’s website after hearing it on their myspace page. Both tracks are great!
The Sand is another cool track similar to Evanescense metallic style, but once again, it has a heavier feel to it.
Whisper slows it down acoustically, but picks up the pace about midway through. For some reason, this song also strikes me as a country song with heavier guitars in parts. I don’t really care for this track.
Circle picks it back up again mid tempo. I didn’t like this one very much either.
Book of Names is another good heavy track.
Come Back To Me goes back in the acoustic direction. This isn’t my cup of tea. Skip.
Mutilated Mind ends this disc with another heavy rock song. I don’t know what they did when they mixed the vocals on this track, but it has this multi layered sound about it, that I didn’t really care for. The song isn’t too bad though. It was good to hear this disc end on an upbeat note.
Similar to Doro’s – Warrior Soul there are really 5 or 6 stand out tracks here. The rest aren’t enough to keep me excited. Hydrogyn is one of those bands that could break out and be huge, if the writing was just a little more solid. It is a decent debut effort from a state that is not known to be a hotbed for Hard Rock Music.
I don’t think the ultra hot Julie will be unseating Doro Pesch anytime soon, but maybe we can have a hard rock and a metal queen.
The videos below will give you a taste of Hydrogyn.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Vespers Song
- Blind
- Breaking Me Down
- I’ve Been Waiting
- Confession
- Look Away S.P.
- Love Spoke
- Back In Black
- The Sand
- Whisper
- Circle
- Book of Names
- Come Back To Me
- Mutilated Mind
1 Doro – Warrior Soul (Release Year – 2006)
I must admit that Doro fell off my musical radar since her days in Warlock. Why that is, I don’t really know. The cover of this disc really caught my attention, so I had to give this a chance.
I am glad I did. This sounds just like the Warlock songs I used to remember back in the late 80’s.
Doro shows why she will continue by the reigning Metal queen for quite some time. I don’t think too many metal fans will have a hard time liking the majority of this disc.
You’re My Family starts the pace off right with a heavy rocking number. Haunted Heart sounds like it could have been on Judas Priest’s Angel of Retribution disc. Strangers Yesterday is an OK track.
Thunderspell kind of sounds like a heavy Pat Benatar song. I love this track. Warrior Soul is a low tempo almost haunting number. I didn’t really care for this song too much. Creep In My Brain is another very cool track.
At this point I start losing interest in the rest of the songs. The tempo slows down, on Above the Ashes and I think Doro’s voice works best on the faster numbers. My Majesty is an more upbeat rocker, and is a better song, but its not one of my favorites here.
There are also a couple of songs that are in German(In Liebe Und Freundschaft and Ungebrochen. They sound nice, but the only German words I understand is Farfegnuugen, weinerschnitzel and bier. 🙂
Shine on was just an average song to me, and not a very memorable way to end this disc.
There are certainly some moments of greatness on Warrior Soul, but the disc seems to fall off about midway through. It may not be the best disc you will buy all year, but it definitely wont be the worst.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- You’re My Family
- Haunted Heart
- Strangers Yesterday
- Thunderspell
- Warrior Soul
- Heaven I See
- Creep Into My Brain
- Above the Ashes
- My Majesty
- In Liebe Und Freundschaft
- Ungebrochen
- Shine On
3 Europe – Secret Society (Release Year – 2006)
Wow…this is a pretty tough CD to review. Fans of late 80’s and early 90’s Europe may find this release a little shocking.
Secret Society has a similar sound to Start From the Dark. There are a few modern rock almost Nu-metal sounding songs.
A couple of times, I had to check the credits to see if Joey Tempest was singing. His powerhouse vocals were so toned down, it didn’t sound like the same singer. At times he sings, what seems like, an octave lower than normal.
Personally, I think Joey is one of the the best singers out there. Why would they want to mess with his voice? It is a powerful instrument that they seemed to tone down this time around.
So how are the songs? If you can get past the initial shock of an almost 180 in sound from the late 80’s and 90’s version of Europe, you might actually like this. I am actually liking it more with each listen. John Norum plays like a madman on this disc. I always new he was a good guitarist, but he picked it up big time on Secret Society.
Here is a breakdown of the tracks:
Secret Society is the first track that may make you say….wtf?! Toned down vocals but excellent guitar work. It doesn’t sound like the Europe I was most familiar with, but its a good song. Norum starts slinging his axe around quickly and sets the tempo for this record.
Joey Tempest starts to sound like himself more on Always the Pretenders. This song still has the modern rock, heavy bass feel to it. It is a pretty good track. I could see this as being a hit in the United States, if they ever would play real rock on the radio.
The Getaway Plan is a more of the modern rock, heavy bass again. This song nearly ventures into the Soundgarden territory, then jumps back out of it again, as soon as Norum starts playing. It is my least favorite track so far, but it isn’t a bad song by any means.
The pace slows down with Wish I Could Believe. This song is really growing on me. This is a well written song. Tempest and Norum both sound great.
Let the Children Play is an interesting track that almost ventures into the Nu Metal area. This is another well written and Tempest sounds pretty decent here. The song finishes with kids singing the Chorus with Tempest. It sounds better than I can describe it. You have to listen to this song to understand it.
Human After All is another mid tempo modern rocker. There is plenty of noodling by Norum here. At this point, this song is starting to sound too much like some of the others on the disc. It isn’t a stand out track to me by any means.
Ah yes………Love is Not the Enemy picks up the tempo. I really like the groove to this song. This is a great track!
A Mother’s Son starts with some piano playing, and ventures into a low tempo modern rock song. This isn’t my cup of tea, but I can see that some people may like this track. It isn’t a bad song, but it is one that I will probably skip while playing this disc.
Forever Travelling is another mid tempo song. It is just an ok track.
Brave and Beautiful Soul almost comes across sounding like a U2 track. I like U2, but I am not sure if I like Europe sounding like U2. Another track that I am not crazy about.
I was hoping that Europe would close this disc with a powerful and high tempo rocker. Devil Sings the Blues is that same mid tempo modern rock formula that the rest of the songs on this disc have. Once again, it isn’t a bad track, but it isn’t great either.
If you are looking for the Final Countdown 2006 style, you aren’t going to hear it on this record. If you can listen to Secret Society with an open mind, you may enjoy it. This is one of those CD that is pretty good through the first half and kind falls off about midway through the disc. Nonetheless, it is another solid effort from Europe.
Rating:Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Secret Society
- Always the Pretenders
- The Getaway Plan
- Wish I could Believe
- Let the Children Play
- Human After All
- Love is not the Enemy
- Mother’s Son
- Forever Travelling
- Brave and Beautiful Soul
- Devil Sings the Blues
This video will give you a minor taste of the Europe 2006 sound.
0 Carmine Appice Project – Ultimate Guitar Zeus (Release Year – 2006)
The Carmine Appice Project is a CD that I absolutely had to hear.
All of the songs on this disc are written by Kelly Keeling and Carmen Appice with Tony Franklin on Bass, Appice on Drums and Keeling on vocals. All 3 are former members of Blue Murder. I hold that band in high regard. As you can probably tell by the front cover, each song has a different guitarist.
There is a stupid amount of talent on this CD. How do the songs stack up? Let me continue……….This CD isn’t what I expected at all. A few of the songs sound like well orchestrated Jam Sessions. It may appeal to some people, but I think I prefer a more concise musical effort but a solid 4 or 5 piece outfit. The mixing on the CD is horrible. Tony Franklin’s bass overpowers the rest of the music on just about every song. I am not impressed with the song writing either.
Days are Nights with Ted Nugent comes across as one of those Jam Sessions. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t great either.
Nobody Knew with Brian May was kind of boring to me.
Stash with Stevie Salas was just noise to me everytime I tried to listen to it. I skip this track every time now.
Where You Belong is a piano based number with Slash. I did not care for this song, I thought this was a poor use of Slash’s talent.
4 Miles High with Steve Morse has a good groove to it, but I did not care for the vocals on this song.
Gonna Rain with Richie Sambora is an almost Modern Rock song. There is a pretty good solo by Richie but as a whole this song is filler. I did not like this song.
This Time Around features Yngvie Malmsteen and Doug Pinnick. Awesome fretwork by Malmsteen, but this is just an odd combination. Pinnick’s vocals do not go with Yngvie’s high speed noodling.
Killing Time with Ty Tabor. More Filler. Skip!
Doin Fine with Vivian Campbell. This is a slower paced number. Did Vivian show up for this track? I can hear Tony Franklin. Oh wait….there he is….he showed up midway in this track. Did he phone this in?…..more crap!
Under the Moon and Sun with Edwar Winter on vocals and Mick Mars on Guitar. Edgar shines vocally on this track. Mick sounds pretty decent to. This is the best song on this CD.
Code 19 with Zakk Wylde. Zakk sounds great but this is a poor song.
Out of Mind with Neil Schon. Neil’s time is better spent in Journey, or Soul Sirkus, or cutting the grass (in the desert). Yawn!
Do You Think I’m Sexy with Pat Travers. Yes, its the Rod Stewart song with Carmen Appice on vocals. Oh my god, just when I thought this CD was bad, it gets worse. This is total crap.
G Z Blues is a bluesy number with Seymour Duncan and Steven Seagal (how the heck did he get on there?). This is pure instrumental and after the aforementioned tracks above, it was rather pleasing.
It has been a long time since a CD has actually pissed me off. This one has!. I doubt I will give this another listen. If you feel the need to buy this, I will sell you my copy!
Rating: 
Out of 10
0 House of Lords – World Upside Down (Release Year – 2006)
Thank you James Christian for returning House of Lords to its classic sound!
You can almost tell from the CD cover and the majestic intro Mask of Eternity, what kind of record you are going to get with World Upside Down.
Still after the lackluster effort Power and the Myth I was a little leery of what I would hear. It didn’t take long to put my fears aside.
This record takes the bull by the horns. There are powerful vocals by James Christian, Great guitars by House of Lords newcomer Jimi Bell. The rhythm section of B.J. Zampa and Jeff Kent are excellent as well.
There are a lot of songs to like on World Upside Down, with my favorites being These Are the Times, I am Free, Rock Bottom, Your Eyes, and My Generation.
If you are an old House of Lords fan, or a fan of melodic hard rock in the vein of Journey, this is a CD that you must own! This is one of the best Melodic Hard Rock records of 2006. Great Stuff!
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Mask of Eternity
- These Are the Times
- All the Way to Heaven
- Field of Shattered Dreams
- I Am Free
- All The Pieces Falling
- Rock Bottom
- Million Miles
- Your Eyes
- Ghost of Time
- My Generation
- S.O.S.
- World Upside Down
House of Lords is:
James Christian – Vocals
Jimi Bell – Lead Guitar
BJ Zampa – Drums
Jeff Kent – Bass, Keyboards and Background Vocals
2 Quiet Riot – Rehab
New Quiet Riot in 2006? who would have thought these guys would still be around.
This lineup on the CD includes Kevin Debrow on vocals, Frankie Banali on the drums, Tony Franklin on bass and Neil Citron on guitar.
Whether you will like this release or not is highly dependent on how much you like Kevin Dubrow. To me, Dubrow’s voice is like a fine wine. You may have to savor it, in order to like it. Unfortunately, I am a beer drinker, and I do not enjoy wine.
I really enjoyed a lot of Quiet Riot’s past material, but haven’t really heard anything since QRIII that has excited me too much. Rehab has not changed my opinion.
Musically, Rehab comes across as a classic rock sounding record. The music is good, but Debrow’s voice does not work well with the music being played here. There are too many mid tempo, modern rock songs. Gone are the stadium anthems of Quiet Riot’s past that made them so popular.
Here is a breakdown of the tracks: Free is a mid tempo almost modern sounding rock song with an occasional guitar squeal. Tony Franklin’s bass is quite audible here. It isn’t a good enough song to start this disc off with.
Blind Faith is another mid tempo rock song, and is rather forgettable. South of Heaven sticks with the mid tempo rock formula. It is a tad bit better than the first two songs, but its not enough to stop the tail slide.
Black Reign ups the tempo (finally). You can really hear Banalli pounding the drums in this one. This is the best tracks so far.
Old Habits Die Hard slows it back down again. Dubrow croons to this almost blues song with a background choir. I liked this song until the choir chirped in. That ruined it for me. This does not sound like a Quiet Riot song.
Strange Daze once again ups the tempo (thank God). This is one of the heavier tracks on the CD, and probably sounds the most like older Quiet Riot material. Lots of drums and guitars on this one.
In Harms Way goes back to the mid tempo modern rock formula once more. Sounds like filler to me.
Beggars and Thieves is a good song. It is one of the better tracks on this CD. Citron’s guitars finally show up on this track.
I didn’t care for Don’t Think at first. This song may be one that needs to grow on you. Neil Citron shows up more on this one as well.
It Sucks To Be You sounds more like a classic rock song to me, that it does a QR tune. I kind of like this track.
Evil Woman ends this record on a high note and is the major highlight on Rehab. Glenn Hughes shares the vocals with Dubrow, and he really shines here. There are some keyboards on this one, giving this track an almost Deep Purple feel.
Aside from a couple of tracks, the guitars seem to be anemic and the music strays away from what made Quiet Riot so popular. I think the absense of Carlos Cavazo and Chuck Wright really takes away from the Quiet Riot sound. They are greatly missed here. As a whole Rehab comes across as a very average sounding record. I don’t think its going to appeal to a lot of Quiet Riot fans.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Free
- Blind Faith
- South of Heaven
- Black Reign
- Old Habits Die Hard
- Strange Daze
- In Harms Way
- Beggars and Thieves
- Don’t Think
- It Sucks to Be You
- Evil Woman
5 Warrant – Born Again (Release Year – 2006)
When I saw that the new Warrant CD was out, I was a little hesitant about picking this up. I didn’t really enjoy the last couple of releases by Warrant, and I was afraid that this CD would be like the last two instead of the initial albums that made me love this band.
At no point was Jamie St. James a deterrent for me at all. I liked Jamie in Black ‘N Blue and I always thought that band was underrated. The last couple of discs with Jani Lane didn’t set my world on fire, so why not give Jamie a chance.
Thankfully, Born Again is a nice surprise! This CD has the vibe of the first 3 CD’s and is the best thing the guys have done since Dog Eat Dog.
Some could argue that the music is a little dated. I would argue, hell yes, its 80’s Hard Rock, and it still sounds great in 2006. I love this stuff! Why didn’t Warrant do this sooner?
Jamie St. James is a great addition to this band, and the return of Joey Allen has helped to strengthen the Warrant sound!
There are plenty of songs on here to like. My personal favorites are Devils Juice, a song that sounds like it could have been on DRFSR. I also like the rocking Dirty Jack, and Bourbon County Line. Angels is a pretty good song as well.
The amazing thing is, the whole vibe of this CD sounds like Warrant in their heyday, and that is hard thing for any band to reproduce. With each successive listen this CD has gotten better. The guys in Warrant have crafted a very enjoyable disc.
The future is certainly bright for Joey Allen, Erik Turner and company.
Here is the video for Bourbon County Line. I think if you like this song, you will enjoy this CD. I know I did!
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Devils Juice
- Dirty Jack
- Bourbon County Line
- Hell, CA
- Angels
- Love Strikes Like Lightning
- Glimmer
- RollerCoaster
- Down in Diamonds
- Velvet Noose
- Roxy
- Good Times
Warrant is:
Jaime St. James – Lead Vocals
Joey Allen – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Erik Turner – Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jerry Dixon – Bass, Backing Vocals
Steven Sweet – Drums, Backing Vocals
6 Buckcherry – 15 (Release Year – 2006)
I haven’t picked up a Buckcherry CD before now so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
I heard “Crazy Bitch” on the Boneyard (XM Radio 41) several months ago before this CD was released in the United States. To me, “Crazy Bitch” is the catchiest song I have heard in years. I finally decided to give this CD a chance to see how the rest of the material stacks up.
Is Buckcherry a one hit wonder? Read On.
Let me start by saying, “WOW, THIS IS A GREAT CD“!!!
This has to be the easiest thing I have ever reviewed on my blog! I like just about every song on the CD. That is rarity for sure.
There are plenty of good rockers on this album. “Out of Line”, “Onset”, “Sunshine”, and the kickass, nasty rockers, “Crazy Bitch” and “So Far”. It doesn’t end there though, the Rockabilly flavored “Next To You”, the Bluesy “Brooklyn”, and the AC/DC styled tune “Broken Glass”. “Everything” screams hit, and ought to be the next single.”Sorry” is one of the better ballads I have heard in a while.
The only song that I didn’t care for much is the country twinged “Carousel”, and even it isn’t that horrible.
This CD is so good, I went searching for the videos so you could have a taste of what this CD sounds like.
“Next To You”
“Crazy Bitch” [ PG Version]
“Sorry”
If you like these songs, you will likely the rest on this Disc! This is one of the best hard rock CD’s in 2006. Highly recommended!
Rating:Â 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- So Far
- Next 2 You
- Out of Line
- Everything
- Carousel
- Sorry
- Crazy Bitch
- Onset
- Sunshine
- Brooklyn
- Broken Glass
Buckcherry is:
Josh Todd – lead vocals
Keith Nelson – guitar
Stevie D. – guitar
Xavier Muriel – drums, percussion
Jimmy Ashhurst – bass guitar
4 Frameshift – An Absence of Empathy
This release snuck by me, and probably quite a few other people too.
I paid a visit to Sebastian Bach’s myspace page after watching that Supergroup show he was in, on MTV, and found out about this one.
This is Sebastian Bach singing vocals for a Progressive Metal group.
Apparently, this is a concept album, ala Operation Mindcrime, but I haven’t dug into far enough to find out what the actual story is.
Amazingly, this is the best that Sebastian has sounded since the Skid Row CD – Slave to the Grind. This gives me hope that some new Skid Row sounding material could be on the horizon, if Bas ever gets around to doing it. This CD sounds nothing like Skid Row however.
This is Progressive Metal and will likely appeal more to fans of Dream Theater, Spock’s Beard, Vanden Plas, and Angra than it will Skid Row.
I don’t think the average listener is going to get into this on the first listen. This is one of those CD’s that take a couple of listens to grab you and pull you in.
After a few listens, there a certainly some stand out tracks:
Human Grain is probably the easiest listen. Just One More, and Miseducation are halfway decent prog rockers. Push the Button is growing on me. How Long Can I Resist is pretty good.
With this being a concept album, some of the songs get a bit too long, clocking in at over 9 minutes in length. As a whole, I find it hard to listen to the whole CD in one sitting, the initial three tracks are good, but then the pacing starts to slow down and it looses my attention. There are enough decent tracks on here worth giving this a spin or two.
This is definitely a CD for the Progressive Metal fans out there. Sebastian Bach fans may enjoy this too.
Rating :
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Human Grain
- Just One More
- Miseducation
- I Killed You
- This is Gonna to Hurt
- Push the Button
- In an Empty Room
- Outcast
- Blade
- How Long Can I Resist
- When I Look Into My Eyes
- What Kind of Animal
7 Judas Priest – Angel of Retribution
The Metal God has returned to Judas Priest, and we can all be thankful of that!
I was beginning to lose interest in Judas Priest. I did not enjoy the Ripper Owens releases, so I was quite happy to see that Rob Halford returned to front JP.
Judas Priest Angel of Retribution seems to take off where Painkiller left off, and that is a great thing. Judas Priest shows no sign of slowing down with age.
This CD is full of excellent guitars aka Glen Tipton and KK Downing, and pounding double bass drums ala Scott Travis, and of course the excellent vocals of Rob Halford.
There are some great tracks on this CD. The heavy Judas Rising, the crunching guitars of Deal with the Devil, the wailing Halford on Revolution, the rocking Wheels of Fire. Hellrider sounds like it could be the cousin to Nightcrawler. Even the slower numbers on this CD, Angel and Worth Fighting For are very good. It is hard not to find something to love on this CD.
This is a very strong release from Judas Priest. If you haven’t picked this up, you need to get this today!! One of the best Metal CD’s to come along for a while!
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Judas Rising
- Deal With the Devil
- Revolution
- Worth Fighting For
- Demonizer
- Wheels of Fire
- Angel
- Hellrider
- Eulogy
- Lochness
4 Queensryche – S/T (Release Year – 2003)
Ok, you are probably asking yourself, Why is he reviewing a CD that had music that is 23 years old. (Well the music is anyway)
Well, I stumbled on this CD in my local music store to find that this ’83 classic has been re-released in 2003, totally remastered with 10 additional tracks from the 1984 Live in Tokyo that was only available on Laserdisc and never released on compact disc.
I figured the live tracks had to be worth the price of admission, especially to hear Geoff Tate when he could still hit the high notes.
If you are a metalhead like myself, the first few songs on this disc need no introduction. Queen of the Reich, Nightrider, Blinded and Lady Wore Black are all Queensryche classics. Its great to hear these songs in their finest form. Its amazing how much the band sounded like Iron Maiden in its initial incarnation.
You get the same tracks live plus The Prophecy a rare track that recorded for Rage for Order but never released, and a few tracks that ended up on The Warning.
This has pretty good sound for a live disc. I only had this on cassette previously (I know, some people are probably saying, what is a cassette? or course they probably said, whats a laser disc too!) LOL!
Bottomline, the live tracks were worth picking this one up again! When Geoff Tate and company were in their prime, very few bands were better than them. This CD is a great listen for any Queensryche fan.
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Queen of the Reich
- Nightrider
- Blinded
- The Lady Wore Black
- Nightrider (live)
- Prophecy (live)
- Deliverance (live)
- Child of Fire (live)
- En Force (live)
- Blinded (live)
- The Lady Wore Black (live)
- Warning (Live)
- Take Hold of the Flame (live)
- Queen of the Reich (live)
0 Godhead – The Shadow Line (Release Year – 2006)
A buddy of mine lended me his copy of this CD, and I decided to give it a spin.
It is hard for me to review a CD like this, as I am clearly not a fan of bands who follow the corporate main stream rock formula, especially in the Nu-Metal category.
At first listen, I was thinking awww man, not another Nu-metal group. Haven’t we had enough of Linkin Park? That may be an unfair comparison, as I think Godhead may be better than that.
I have not ever heard any music by Godhead before, so I do not have a frame of reference to know how this stands up to their past material. I did realize a few things after a repeated listen.
Vocalist Jason Miller has a strong voice. The music does not overpower his voice. Occasionally, you can hear an actual undistorted guitar playing, but its not often enough for my tastes. There are some cool drum beats on a couple of tracks.
My biggest problem with Godhead is after a listen or two, every song ends up sounding roughly the same. It is that same Industrial sounding guitar/bass combination that every mainstream band in the 90’s have used. It is overdone, and a bit boring to me now.
I can see where this CD would appeal to the younger generation of metal heads who grew up listening to this distortion rock. They may even think this is a great CD.
Personally, I prefer some hard rock with a little more teeth and a lot more guitar playing.
Hopefully, this band will evolve into something better than this. Jason Miller’s voice is too good to waste away behind music like this.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Trapped In Your Lies
- Hey You
- Gift
- Fall Down
- Push
- Another Day
- Once Before
- Unrequitted
- Through the Cracks
- Goodbye
- Your End of Days
- Inside Your World
1 Whitesnake – Live… In The Shadow Of The Blues
How does 4 new Whitesnake tracks sound to you? Worth the price of two CD’s? Do you like live CD’s?
Typically, I don’t usually go after live CD’s, but I had to make an exception for Whitesnake. I love this band and I always will.
The lineup for this version of Whitesnake could arguably be the best of them all.
Coverdale on vocals, Tommy Aldridge bashing the hell out of the drums, Doug Aldrich (House of Lords, Lion, Dio) on guitars, as well as Reb Beach (Winger), Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy, Blue Murder) on the bass, and Timothy Drury (The Eagles) on the keyboards. I saw this same six members play live, and it was nothing short of an amazing experience. I had no problem picking up this CD after seeing that show.
You have to hear this CD to appreciate it. Coverdale is in fine vocal form here. Doug Aldrich may be every bit the guitar player that John Sykes is (and John is one of my favorites). He is absolutely awesome!! Tommy Aldridge how the hell do you do it after all of these years?!? This is truly great stuff for any Whitesnake fan!
The 20 Live tracks and 4 new studio tracks. How can you pass this up? The four studio tracks are pretty decent too!!
Ready to Rock is a fast paced kick ass rocker with some serious axe shredding by Aldrich. If You Want Me – I’ll Come Running is another great rocker, which is a little heavier on bass, and sounds great. All I Want Is You slows it down mid-tempo and sounds like it could be the cousin of Is This Love. It is another great track! Dogturns the heat back up another fast paced rocker with the trademark Coverdale howl! Excellent stuff!
I can’t say enough about this release by Whitesnake. I love this lineup. The live tunes kick ass and the new tunes leave me wanting more. You have to be crazy not to pick this one up! 
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
CD1
- Bad Boys
- Slide It In
- Slow An’ Easy
- Love Ain’t No Stranger
- Judgement Day
- Is This Love
- Blues for Mylene
- Snake Dance
- Crying in the Rain
- Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City
- Fool for your Loving
- Here I Go Again
- Still of the Night
CD2
- Burn
- Give Me All Your Love Tonight
- Walking In the Shadow of the Blues
- The Deeper The Love
- Ready An’ Willing
- Don’t Break My Heart Again
- Take Me With You
- Ready To Rock (New Track)
- If You Want Me – I’ll Come Running (New Track)
- All I Want Is You (New Track)
- Dog ( New Track)
0 Wig Wam – WIG WAMANIA
As you can probably tell by the cover off this CD. Wig Wam is an 80’s parody band much like the Darkness and the Poodles.
The major difference here, they sound almost as good as their Big Hair peers.
There are lots of songs to like on this CD. Rock My Ride is a fun rocker. Gonna Get You Someday and Slave to Your Love could have been on a Bon Jovi CD. Dare Devil Heat and Kill My Rock N Roll reminds me a little of the Scorpions musically (but not lyrically) and are very upbeat. A R ‘N’ R Girl Like You starts off with this My Sharona guitar lick, but turns out to be a superior song. The closer Breaking All the Rules reminds of a mix between Bon Jovi and Savatage, if there could be such a thing.
I don’t know what it is about this CD that I like so much. The musical style comes across as sounding very familiar, but when I try to figure out which band they sound like exactly, I can’t put my finger on it . If you can get past the cheese factor here, you might like this disc.
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Wig Wamania
- Rock My Ride
- Slave to Your Love
- Gonna Get You Someday
- Bygone Zone
- Dare Devil Heat
- Kill My Rock ‘N’ Roll
- The Riddle
- At the End of the Day
- A R’N’R Girl Like You
- Can’t Get her (Out of My Bed)
- Breaking All of the Rules
2 Zan Clan – We Are Zan Clan…Who the F**k Are You??! (Release Year – 2005)
Here is another CD that totally took me by surprise.
I stumbled on this CD, thanks to Sleazeroxx.com a few months ago, and I still listen to this one today.
Zan Clan consists of singer Zinny Zan from Shotgun Messiah and Pontus Norgren (Talisman, The Poodles). If you have ever liked Shotgun Messiah back in the 80’s and early 90’s you will know what to expect vocally. Personally, I liked those guys, but the reason I picked this up, is Pontus Norgren is playing on this disc.
I first discovered Pontus on a Talisman disc with Jeff Scott Soto. I thought then, and still think he is a great unknown talent to people in the U.S. He is one of the best guitarists I have heard for a while.
Zan Clan sounds like a band stuck in the big hair 80’s era, and all I can say is THANK GOD! I love this type of music!.
This CD is filled with infectious songs that you will like on the first listen. My Current favorites are “Go Go Go”, “High Speed Junkie”, “Mess ya up”, and the blazing cover of Cheap Trick’s “Surrender“. A fun CD that will appeal to all big hair era Hard Rock fans.
For more information on Zan Clan, check out the band’s website. You can buy this CD at the Hard Rock Hideout Amazon.com Storefront at this link.
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Go go go
- Heart n soul
- High Speed Junkie
- So Damn Good
- Mess Ya Up
- Silver Bullet Toy
- Heart Died Young
- Deja Vu
- Jinxed
- Can’t Get You Out
- Outro
- Surrender
Zan Clan is:
Zinny Zan – vocals
Pontus Norgren – guitar and backing vocals
Chris Laney – guitar and backing vocals
Eggy Egberg – bass and backing vocals
Johan Koleberg – drums
7 Krokus – Hellraiser (Release Year – 2006)
It is always great when you can pop a new CD into your player and know immediately that you are going to love it.
Krokus’ latest CD Hellraiser is one of those kind of CD’s.
The first song kicks it up, and the whole CD doesn’t let up. Suprisingly, this CD stands up to anything Krokus has ever done, and actually may a bit better from some of their older stuff.
This CD sounds like it could have been written in the middle of the 80’s hard rock scene, and personally, I could not be happier. It reminds me of AC/DC in a sense, but it is better than the last couple of discs those guys put out, and definitely more melodic.
Plenty of sing along lyrics, kick ass drums, and guitar solos in just about every song. This is what made 80 hard rock great, and Krokus Hellraiser one of the best new Hard Rock CD’s in 2006.
My current favorite tracks are Hellraiser, Too Wired to Sleep, Spirit of the Night, and Midnight Fantasy.
I love this Disc!! Absolutely great stuff!! Buy It!!
Rating:Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Hellraiser
- Too Wired to Sleep
- Hangman
- Angel of My Dreams
- Fight On
- So Long
- Spirit of the Night
- Midnight Fantasy
- No Risk No Gain
- Turnin’ Inside Out
- Justice
- Luv Will Survive
- Rocks Off!
- Walking in the Spirit (Bonus Track)
8 Paul Stanley – Live to Win
Paul Stanley has released his first solo album in 28 years. Does it live up to the hype? Read on.
If you are picking this up, and thinking you are going to get a new KISS sounding CD, you are wrong. I would say that Live to Win is closer to the Bon Jovi style of music than KISS.
This CD is laden with a bunch of pop metal tunes some of which are obviously better than others. The title track Live to Win is pretty decent, and is one of the better tracks on the CD. Lift sound more like a modern rock tune and isn’t too bad. Wake Up Screaming starts with that electronic drum beat thing going on, and for some reason, this song gets on my nerves. Stanley’s voice cracks in a couple of places here as well. Everytime I See Your Around slows it down, and is not a good song to follow up W.U.S. I usually have to skip those to songs.
Bulletproof picks up the pace a little bit. Its another decent Pop Metal effort. I could almost hear this one on a KISS album.
The lyrics for All About You makes me think about Happy Bunny. 
It is an ok song.
Second to None, slows it back down again, and it is a better song than I expected it to be. It’s Not Me is a mid tempo pop/rock and it is a pretty decent song.
Loving You Without You Now slows it back down again. I do not like this song at all. It grates on my nerves.
Where Angels Dare ends this disc with a pretty good rock number. If more guitars and bass were added to this song, this could also easily be a KISS song. Not a bad way to end this disc.
I have listened to this a few times, and I don’t love or hate this disc. I think the guitars and bass on some of these songs are pretty thin. Stanley’s voice is certainly the focal point of all of the songs here. Paul sounds great on most of the tracks, but I can hear his voice crack in a couple of places. Its a solid effort from Paul Stanley. This disc makes me wonder how good a new KISS CD with new material would sound today.
Rating:Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Live to Win*
- Lift
- Wake Up Screaming
- Everytime I See You Around
- Bulletproof*
- All About You
- Second To None
- It’s Not Me
- Loving You Without You Now
- Where Angels Dare*
Best Tracks*
2 Megadeth – The System Has Failed
Thank you Dave Mustaine!! After listening to a few CD’s that ventured away from the Hard Rock category, this CD was extremely pleasing to hear!!
Strangely, I did not pick this CD up when it first came out. I found it at a bargain on in my local CD shop last night.
This CD is going to make a lot of Megadeth fans happy. It is heavy driving metal right from the first track, and doesn’t let up. If Mustaine has nerve damage, you sure as heck can’t hear it here.
There are quite a few good tracks here with my favorites being: Die Dead Enough, Kick the Chair, Tears In a Vial
The tracks I would consider filler are so rocking with Mustaine’s blazing guitar, I even like those.
While not perfect, you aren’t going to find too many Hard Rock/Metal CD’s better than this.
This makes me look forward to the new Megadeth CD coming in 2007!!
Pick this one up, if you haven’t already!!
Rating:Out of 10.
Track Listing:
- Blackmail the Universe
- Die Dead Enough
- Kick the Chair
- Scorpion
- Tears In a Vial
- I Know Jack
- Back In The Day
- Something That I Am Not
- Truth Be Told
- Of Mice and Men
- Shadow of Deth
- My Kingdom
3 Bo Bice – The Real Thing (Release Year – 2005)
Out of all singers I have discovered on TV, Bo Bice is the best of them all, hands down.
He has the best voice, and to me is still the best new talent to come off the TV screen.
Does the Real Thing reflect this? Yes and no. First off, RCA forced Bo to do songs in this Pop/Rock style.
Bo Bice would be better suited for a Skynyrd style rock album than a bunch of pop tunes. The amazing thing is, on The Real Thing it works, it just isn’t what you would expect from a southern rocker like Bice.
So The Real Thing is mainly a collection of Pop Rock tunes. There are no bad song on this disc, but some are certainly better than others. Personally, I think the title track, The Real Thing is kind of lame. RCA released this as a single, along with a lame video. What the hell were they thinking. Its not even close to being, one of the better songs on the disc.
You’re Everything was written by Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger. I like this track a lot.
The Jon Bon Jovi/Richie Sambora track Nothing Without You is also pretty good.
Lie…It’s Alright has a pretty good groove and is kind of cool.
Valley of Angels, Whiskey Women and Time, Cinnamon and Novocaine are Bice penned tracks, and shows off his writing skills. All 3 are great tracks, and show what kind of CD Bo would have made, if not overpower by RCA’s strong-arm. Sadly, 2 of these are only available on the DVD side of The Real Thing Dual Disc CD/DVD, so most people never got the chance to hear these.
Even though I would not consider this music hard rock by any means, I like this CD. There isn’t a track on this CD, where the music overpowers Bo’s voice, and that says what kind of talent Bo Bice really is. I can only hope that CD #2 will be more in the Southern/hard rock vain I would expect.
Rating: out of 10
Tracking Listing:
- The Real Thing
- You’re Everything
- U Make Me Better
- Nothing Without You
- My World
- Remember Me
- Hold On To Me
- Lie…It’s Alright
- It’s My Life
- Willing To Try
- Valley of Angels
- Whiskey, Women and Time (Dual Disc only)
- Sinner in a Sin (Dual Disc only)
- Cinnamon and Novocaine (Dual Disc only)
3 Rockstar Supernova
Let me start by saying that I hate reviewing CD’s like this. My expectations were quite high for this CD, and it was a let down. I decided to give it a couple of more listens before reviewing, and my opinion changed very little.
For those of you who didn’t watch, Rock Star Supernova is the project( I call it a project, because I just don’t get a band feel from this CD) of Tommy Lee, Jason Newsted and Gilby Clarke. They did a talent search on CBS looking for a lead singer for this project. The end result was virtual unknown Lukas Rossi. The show was fun to watch, but this CD is not what I would consider a fun listen.
The collective talent of these three musicians is quite impressive, as are the bands they came from( Motley Crue, Metallica, Guns and Roses)
Rockstar Supernova sounds nothing like any of these, and to me that is a little disappointing. Strangely enough, the weakest point for me on this CD, are the vocals of Lukas Rossi. The man has great stage presence, but I question his voice. His vocals seem to get washed out by the music on a few tracks.
After listening to a few songs, I found myself saying, where is the “Rock”, I must be missing it. This is a little too poppy for my tastes.
I decided to crank this CD up in my car….maybe that would help. It did improve the sound a little bit. I heard a few things that I missed the first time around. Tommy Lee does sound great on the drums. A couple of songs are ok.
Leave the Lights On grew on me a little bit after a few listens. It’s All Love slows it down and Rossi’s vocals are a little better here. Headspin was a Lukas Rossi original that was sung on the TV show. It is one of the better tracks on the CD. The Dead Parade almost sounds like a left over song from the John Corabi era Motley Crue.
Bottom-line, some of the tracks, are certainly better than others. This is one of those CD’s that may take several listens before it grows on you. I can’t usually make it to the end before I want to listen to something else. I feel like I am being generous with my rating here.
Rating: 
out of 10
Track Listing:
- It’s On
- Leave the Lights On
- Be Yourself(and 5 Other Cliches)
- It’s All Love
- Can’t Bring Myself To Light This Fuse
- Underdog
- Make No Mistake…This Is The Take
- Headspin
- Valentine
- Social Disgrace
- The Dead Parade
