Reviews

Years of hard work sometimes fall flat, even with the best intentions.

Without Udo Dirkschneider on vocals, Accept have pulled their own standard out of the hat with a new studio manifesto that stands proudly next to the golden Accept catalog of the eighties. A new Accept is born for new times.

With Roxy Music, "Avalon" proved the old saying that it's best to bow out while you're still on top. An art rock masterpiece that keeps wowing new generations of music gourmets, it was the cherry on top to close out their career.

With "Solo in Soho", Phil Lynott took a big step toward cementing his own credibility, and right when Thin Lizzy were slowly running out of steam in the creative cauldron.

The Final Frontier releases the brake on submitting to the traditional elements of the classic Maiden sound. A skilled injection of creative challenges delivers a striking freshness that heralds a new milestone in Maiden's career.

"The fact is, the crowd isn't nearly as fired up as the one we see on the "Comin' Atcha Live!" DVD. Apparently Europe has cooled on the band a bit, and of course the band has only itself to blame. Its absence from European stages was simply…

Alive In Europe is a perfectly decent release as a compilation-style live album. The onstage execution of the material is top-notch, but to really capture the band's live presence in 2010, it should've been a double CD!

An album for guitar rock fans is on the way from the Slovenian scene! 10 thematically varied tracks, richly laced with first-rate guitar escapades. A witty, joyful, playfully inspired debut!

»The Art Of Balance« is exactly what the album title hints at. It keeps the direction of its two predecessors and stays in the heavier corner of melodic hard rock, British-style. It's more varied than Primitve Soul.

"Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch" is yet another Zappa classic, or rather yet another in the string of the artist's masterpieces, and as such it long ago became a must-have piece of furniture for every music gourmet.

"Nonrenormalizability" is yet another great solo album from The Gak Omek, and pretty much anyone can dive into it without a problem.

If "Infestation" had come out about two years after "Detonator", Ratt would be classics today! It sounds like grunge never happened and glam metal is still in full bloom. What a killer comeback album!

"Krautrock From Hell" might be the best work yet from the German neo-krautrockers, packed with experimentation and the familiar tricks they use to conjure one very specific atmosphere.

Just like a Formula 1 race, they can be seriously obnoxious on the ears, but every now and then they're so honest in substance that the effort of listening kind of pays off.

"Metropolis" is a killer new comeback album from FM, the tailors of British AOR rock! With it, FM have picked up exactly where their story left off in the mid-nineties. FM just know how to do it!

A surprisingly well-woven middle path between a straight-ahead, rock-solid backbone and a subtle AOR-flavored dose of melodic payoff brings a fresh, newly inspired studio document to the horizon

"Facemelter" is Y&T's manifesto, capturing the band's magic so deftly that it can stand shoulder to shoulder with the classics of the eighties. The power and fury of this band are nowhere near gone!

A dazzling, freshly inspired new gem added to the one-of-a-kind Blind Guardian art collection. With it, these superb power metallers have tapped right into the heartfelt "A Night At The Opera" magic.

"My Grandmother's space suit" is an album that belongs in every collection. It wins you over so subtly that you'll have to spin it again, even if you're not quite sure why.

"Cookin' in Mobile" serves up a marathon of first-rate tension, thrilling sparks and a teasing swell of emotion.

Canadian mad genius Devin Townsend returns with the first part of a four-part musical story, Ki.

With "Aerial", The Last Embrace show a clearly defined musical profile for the first time in their career. It further cements the musical identity, the authentic platform, of this young French prog rock outfit.

The basic motto of Flyspoon's music is the creation of destructive energy that enchants the listener and unconditionally rocks them into a state of stupor. It embodies an unusual combination of noise and infectious "groove" rhythm rhetoric.

Don't fall for this holey product, which hasn't got a shred of dynamics or life, and therefore none of the "balls" to convince you these guys are playing "hard," the way stoner rock demands.

The debut from a raw, ragged Belgian alternative rock outfit that can push you to the brink of sanity or lead you to catharsis, and will mostly appeal to music gourmets with the thickest skin.

The fifth studio album from Finnish doom metal heavyweights, with a sludge twist and a lively, garage-style sound production, is the cure for genericness and a real reason to pay attention.

"Songs From The Road" is anything but a sweet treat that Healey fans would wolf down with great relish, even though the album hides a fair amount of first-rate guitar fire.

On "Aura," the old cats found just the right formula to satisfy longtime fans and newer converts alike, while successfully reviving Asia and getting them ready for the challenges of the 21st century.

"When the flowers were singing …" isn't exactly a turning point in today's music, and Kwoon aren't reinventing the wheel, but the result is more than solid and definitely welcome, keeping post rock afloat.

“The Battle of Ego” is a cracking trip through hard rock landscapes packed with progressive touches, edging close to the sound of Britain's Porcupine Tree.

Incurabili is an abstract, blues-inspired experiment that sprouted last year from the cabbage patch of two seasoned figures of the local "underground" music scene.

"Panorama" is just the thing to fill the gap in the jazz-rock scene of South American music culture, with the band staying true to the original jazz-rock sound of the '70s.

The cornerstone of a French experimental progressive metal act with a seriously catchy female vocalist, though it needs a bit more attention in the future to nail down the predatory tightness of its lead motifs.

"You Are What You Is" is yet another timeless Zappa masterpiece, on which the legendary composer and satirist outdid himself, swinging his merciless hammer at every pore of modern American society.

On "There is no sound in space," Sudakow puts more soul into the music itself than he did on "Green," digs deeper into the space sound he found before, and ditches the fusion "virus" that's all too common in metal these days.

With "Green", James Sudakow proves why they call him the violin Jimi: the album packs in his long-running experiments with all sorts of electric violin playing techniques.

"Entropia" is completely instrumental, and the song structures are seriously complex. Still, Kumina.org never goes overboard: the complexity comes from great music, not the other way around.

German black metal outfit Dark Fortress are back two years after Eidolon with another concept album, Ylem

Terraform is the second album from the project led by the musical mastermind of Swedish keyboardist and arranger Carl Westholm. Its evocation of the energies of Ayreon and Beyond Twilight feels remarkably appealing today.

"Coyote" is Kayo Dot's most "personal" release yet. Toby reportedly poured more of himself and his musical loves into it than ever, and you can hear it in the very structure of the songs.

The debut from Zagreb's metalcore butchers is seasoned with the musty gloom of the morbid, and it's built for the ears of the thick-skinned elect. The band serves up messages we've heard before, but in an appealing way.

If you're looking for where the genius of Markus Stauss begins (maybe mostly with Kayser's help, admittedly), this record is it.

Blues rock had never before flaunted such a singular aroma and such an inimitably full flavor, not until the arrival of Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, the blues sensation going by the stage name Taj Mahal.

The "English-language debut" from a five-piece all-female band who enjoy superstar status back home in Finland is a bid for a commercial breakthrough on the international stage. It keeps its consistency intact, and at a high level of…

The Blind Faith debut confirms again and again how hard it was for the creative threads, hastily woven together within the band, to flow, and that's despite the undisputed renown of its members.

The closing chapter of the "Iconoclast" trilogy is another quality Heaven Shall Burn album, but in its drive to push the extreme side of the metalcore sound to the max, it shortchanges variety in the arrangements a bit.

Predictable American rock optimists of the 21st century, with the musical naivety of Jimmy Eat World's view of the world, raised on their moms' and dads' Cheap Trick vinyl records

With their new album, GD2D have veered away from the riff-heavier songs of the debut and added more stoner rock feel and psychedelia. It's a move that successfully cements their distinctive voice

A new, flexible and wittily expressive studio album that serves up a fresh, different yet unmistakable studio document from a band that has never been afraid to play with the provocation of musical experiment.

The story Bosanski psiho spews out is brutal, and "Zivot je raj" is an album that will sober you up, that is, if you don't put a bullet in your head first.

"Sol, poper in sanje" is the latest studio effort from Janez Bončina - Benč, who serves up a bit of a flirtation with the hard-earned credibility of a giant of Slovenian, and once also Yugoslav, popular music.

With One Life Stand, Hot Chip serve up something a shade different from its predecessor, which was a bit darker and more ambient, but the basic formula hasn't changed all that much.

"My Personal Holiday" cements the band's unique sonic and stylistic independence, even though it serves up less vivid artistic expression than its predecessor "Happiness Machiness".

Ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash has finally landed a solo debut too, and it turned out to be way more than solid.

"This Good Place" proves that Ajalon didn't earn the attention of cult musicians like Rick Wakeman and Neal Morse for nothing, and that it wasn't just the devout lyrics that did the trick.

With their third album, True have put out their most ambitious release yet, with a clearly defined direction that boldly fuses elements of grind, black metal, death metal and folk music!

GG Trio wants to bring something new and fresh to jazz fusion and show that the Corea and Davis brand of fusion isn't the only "real" one.

Emotion And Commotion is a mature, very good piece of work. Beck's lyrical passages charm perhaps even more than his explosive outbursts.

A laid-back, relaxed, carefully crafted pop/rock album that always sends you off toward chill-out mode and carefree good vibes.

Adam are a fresh discovery on the uncharted musical horizon of the Slovenian rock scene. They deliver a one-of-a-kind, finely balanced walk along the thin line between the challenge of experimentation and the definition of melody

With its debut "Gonilna sila", Aritmija takes its place right beside our best-known band of playful fusion, mixing jazz, rock, folk and, of course, ethno elements: Terrafolk.

Four years of a "break" brought a ton of freshness and creative hunger, and with it Blaze Bayley not only found himself again but delivered, out of his four studio albums, the best record of his career so far

Promise And Terror doesn't show any noticeable creative departure, but it keeps the high quality of its predecessor and Blaze Bayley's one-of-a-kind expressive face. The best thing you can inherit from NWOBHM today!

Whether the shift from lighter pop to a harder sound is just a short-term experiment or a genuine result of the foursome's creative growth, Bite me can definitely be called a success.

"Omega" is definitely not the best Asia have got in them, but we finally have an album that can boast the real punch of that unmistakable Asia charisma. "Phoenix" (2008) has been upgraded!

A "best of" compilation from a band that couldn't manage a single step of evolution over just four studio albums is smoke and mirrors and a flat-out marketing trick. Three new songs can't hide that.

"Black Rock" serves up clearly drawn strokes of skilled songwriting, which, as a rule, are boldly slathered in old-school rock-flavored arrangement grease.

With their first "best of" compilation, Doves have wrapped up a decade of "studio" history, earning confirmation of their successful, nearly thirty-year run making indie rock.

A shattering blast from Sweden's extreme metal innovators, captured live in Amsterdam: a document with the charisma of the real thing, one that drops you right into the venue and leaves you with zero desire to leave

The feel of Tango 3.0", compared to previous releases, is that the musical arrangements of the tracks, gathered on the album together in the most mature form yet, for the first time take the lead from the famous Gotan rhythm.

"The Dead Vegas" is a deeply convincing, high-quality record, tailor-made for anyone hunting for true musical "independence." On it, the Finnish indie rockers have broadened their already recognizable, confessional musical language.

These new alternative rockers bring nothing new to the table. The songs are written under heavy 80s U2 influence, with U2-style vocals and guitar. Throw in some keyboards and the whole thing smells a bit like Coldplay too.

Even though it feels like the band is struggling to find its true direction without Steven Page right now, the album still delivers the arrangement quality you'd expect.

The debut from New York outfit Elf Project, built around multi-instrumentalist Carl Schultz, is easily one of the most interesting things I've stumbled onto this year.

Corinne Bailey Rae's second studio album is not the record you'd expect. The singer-songwriter has matured further as an artist and delivers a very serious, deeply personal album that isn't chasing glitz or hits.

A new project, with retro sounds and styles built on funk, disco rhythms, lively synthesizer work and soft-hued guitar "licks", brings a quality studio debut to the Slovenian mainstream.

On Massive Aggressive, Municipal Waste throw down some solid crossover and take on the wolves of Chernobyl, severed heads, upside-down churches and more.

Aerosmith's long-awaited comeback leaves us with mixed feelings, mostly because the whole approach feels worn out and past its expiration date, keeping Tyler's crew stuck in the past.

Despite the cold shoulder from critics at the time, this superstar crew of musicians nailed the job and made a classic that has become a real rarity over the years, a lost gem for fans of everyone involved.

Mežek doesn't surprise with his new release, staying instead on his tried-and-true expressive turf. The sense of playfulness and joy from the previous album has been replaced almost entirely by seriousness in the deeply personal Mežek's…

With Sestop, Zmajev rep have taken another step forward (much like Moonlight Sky did with I Am), and as the band keeps maturing, we can probably look forward to even better goodies from them down the road.

"Expresso II" is another jazz-rock fusion treat from Moerlen's Gong, and fans of inventive, witty takes on blending jazz and progressive rock can still enjoy it today.

After all the earlier dithering, Coco Montoya has finally slipped into predictable, annoyingly dry soul waters with "I Want It All Back".

Carl Cino has made a great album that's a modern take on fusing the two dominant genres, jazz and rock, and it puts the guitarist in the company of masters like Mike Stern.

The cult classic from Rijeka rockers Laufer has followed its vinyl reissue with a CD reissue too. The Best Off... is an album that belongs in every household's record collection

"Toleranca" is once again a brighter, lighter and more upbeat album than its predecessor "Unca Fibre" (2006). It's an artistically mature record, the most Western, Anglo-American-leaning album of Gibonni's pop-art charisma.

Préliminaires is one of those albums that blends acoustic blues with touches of modern production, and going by what we heard, you can't accuse Pop of lacking creativity.

3 Inches of Blood crown their career so far with Here Waits Thy Doom like a sparkling jewel!

Altare Thotemico, a band from Ancona, are a mix of musicians from every generation: veterans with a vision of so-called classic prog, and youngsters with fresh neo-prog ideas.

»A Strange Utopia« is meant for the most "thick-skinned" fans of prog rock and metal erotica to discover! But in all its shredding of motifs, it won't find the proper conclusions that would define a musical character.

"With "Riot Squad," Paradox don't just prove that their defiance more than paid off. They also prove that you can still squeeze out a thrash metal album today that comes close to perfection in musical expression"

"Riot Squad" confirms that Paradox have found their stability. The album is a perfect blend of old-school Euro thrash metal heritage, set in sharp contrast against a modern, optimal, high-potency production.

Stranci are back with their second studio album "Kirjetukinor?" at just the right time, because with the flood of new party rock bands in Slovenia hiding behind a fake punk label, the scene is crawling with them.

On the one hand, you could praise Feedback for sticking to their artistic vision, but on the other, it's not smart to cling to the same old thing like a drunk hugging a fence.

"Enfant Terrible" is built from simple, predictable, short and punchy moves of the strict minimalism that the indie rock approach demands. A Slovenian-foreign collaboration that works in its own right.

With its new album, Fintroll lean ever deeper into symphonic territory. They no longer hide their black metal side. Keyboards carry more and more weight in the sound. They're just not that into jokes and the rough-and-tumble stumbling of…

A six-year album cycle is a move that has paid off big for German prog metallers AtmOsfear. They stretched out the arrangements and served up the most mature, polished album of their career.

"Nature/Existence" is a superb debut from Venezuelan progressive metallers, proving that even in a genre that's currently starved of originality, there's still plenty of room for thrilling musical arrangements.

Groove Manifest stands out for its originality and clarity of message, but musically it unfortunately doesn't convince.

Lads who probably grew up crunching Kellogg's cornflakes and playing Age Of Empires, and so heard about Caesar and Rome, will surely come clean and show you who the real deal in rock is.