Melodic Rock

Label: AOR HeavenRelease date: April 30, 2021Production: EscapeAlbum length: 54.38 minGenre: AOR/Melodic RockRating: 9.0/10 Escape are a British band from West Yorkshire, fronted by the excellent guitarist and composer Vince…

Label: Frontiers Music Srl.Release date: March 12, 2021Production: Gary HughesAlbum length: 49.48 minGenre: AOR / Melodic RockRating: 8.0/10 Gary Hughes – a name well known to fans of the British take on eighties AOR, as well as to…

Label: Frontiers Music Srl.Release date: March 12, 2021Production: Jacob HansenAlbum length: 44.50 minGenre: Hard Rock/Melodic RockRating: 9.0/10 The Lord works in mysterious ways. Instead of a new Pretty Maids album, what's landed…

Label: Frontiers Music Srl. Release date: March 12, 2021Production: Alessandro Del VecchioAlbum length: 46.59 minGenre: Hard Rock/Melodic RockRating: 8.0/10 Lately it feels like almost every second melodic rock or hard rock album you…

Label: AOR HeavenRelease date: 1/29/2021Production: Anders RydholmAlbum length: 52.01 minGenre: AOR revival / Melodic RockRating: 8.0/10 Art of Illusion is yet another project born in a time when the devil (apparently for good)…

Label: Frontiers Music Srl.Release date: January 22, 2021Production:Album length: 42.00 minGenre: Melodic RockRating: 8.0/10 Creye are yet another relatively fresh, young outfit in the Scandinavian melodic rock and AOR pomp revival…

Label: Frontiers Music Srl.Release date: 22. 1. 2021Production: Wig WamAlbum length: 47.31 minGenre: Melodic Rock / Glam MetalRating: 8.0/10 Wig Wam, the Norwegian rockers who kicked up a whole lot of dust on the scene in the early…

Label: Frontiers Music Srl.Release date: December 4, 2020Production: Michael PalaceAlbum length: 47.25 minGenre: AOR/melodic rockRating: 9.5/10 Behind the name Palace hides Swedish composer, producer, vocalist and…

Label: AOR Heaven RecordsRelease date: October 31, 2020Production: Eric ModinAlbum length: 47.00 minGenre: Melodic Rock/AORRating: 8.5/10 If anyone can pull it off, it's the Swedes. Musically, nothing's standing in their way. That…

Label: Frontiers Music Srl.Release date: November 6, 2020Production: Alessandro Del VecchioAlbum length: 44.45 minGenre: Melodic RockRating: 8.0/10 “Wide Awake (In My Dreamland)” is the sixth studio album from one of the world's…

Label: Frontiers Music Srl.Release date: 9. 10. 2020Production: Adam StewartAlbum length: 50.48 minGenre: Melodic Rock / AORRating: 7.0/10 The AOR and melodic rock revival is still kicking, and it doesn't come exclusively from the…

Label: Frontiers Music Srl.Release date: August 7, 2020Production: LandfallAlbum length: 49.11 minGenre: Melodic RockRating: 7.5/10 Landfall have dropped their studio debut, "The Turning Point". They're a Brazilian melodic rock band…

“The debut album from Swedish melodic rock outfit Arctic Rain, led by veteran composer and keyboardist Pete Alpenborg, is going to make every die-hard fan of Scandinavian craftsmanship and proper AOR revivalism very happy.”

"A record that doesn't surprise and could, under the circumstances, have come out as the new Labyrinth album, yet brings tons of joy to all fans of Mark Boals' vocal feats."

"“Lions” is a new musical manifesto of exactly what the Tokyo Motor Fist debut put on the table. It brings no change, but it is once again a seriously bold and fun collision of the musical cross-section of Danger Danger and Trixter, with…

“‘Grit Your Teeth’ brings nothing new that the band hasn't already said plenty of times. The one change is a shift in production toward harder-hitting structures. Eleven by-the-book anthems that slot right into the mold of the band's older…

"“We Are the Night” is a fascinating, let's just call it melodic metal, release that once again bursts with a top-shelf dose of predatory pomp rhetoric, thanks to a new manifesto of big conceptual punch from Magnus Karlsson."

"With 'New World – New Eyes,' House Of Lords once again make their fans happy with a full-blooded record, and the lovers of this genre too, a genre that's pretty archaic in a lot of ways these days."

Gathering Of Kings will appeal to fans of the Scandinavian sound and approach in melodic rock revivalism. Even on their second album, they're not reinventing the wheel, or inventing any "musical Einstein"

"With »V«, Grand Design remain the ultimate "party time" band. Fans of that radio-friendly 80s rock sound will gladly give this album their attention despite the constant flirting with the look and work of Def Leppard, and it should go down…

"Synchronized is another top-notch chapter from this long-running British AOR outfit. Fans of the British take on the genre will be thrilled, and for the revivalists (the younger crop of melodic rock bands) it'll once again serve as a handy…

"This live document is an essential piece in the collection of any fan of this exceptional vocalist. And if you want more than just the digital version, take comfort in the fact that the very same concert keepsake will come as a bonus CD…

"Let's wait for the new FM first, but I can already say with a straight face that »Ignition«, Newman's twelfth album in a row and, by the way, one of the best of their career, ranks among the top releases of the year in that archaic genre…

"Harem Scarem today stand in a class of their own among bands in the same genre, quality-wise. Experience, talent, know-how, inspiration! It all adds up every time into a perfect melodic rock cumulus!"

""Master Of Illusion" draws inspiration from the time-honored staples of AOR, hard rock and even glam metal, and the result is Ward's vision of melodic rock, which is also seriously sharp on the production side and satisfyingly…

"If you're into melodic rock, the album »Rise« is going to be right up your alley. It's played, written and produced at an exceptionally high level, and the quality shows. With names this big behind Revolution Saints, you wouldn't have…

"»Radiocarbon« is the work of battle-hardened old tomcats who know exactly how a composition has to be built in the genre sphere they've been prowling for years, so it grabs you instantly and completely. Innate Swedish perfectionism and…

"The Serpent Rings" is very much cut from the same cloth as its predecessor. Magnum conjure up the magic of their golden era (the 1980s) with real success, but for all the 'corrections' they still can't hide Catley's fading vocals.

"'Paradigm' is an album where Eclipse merely keep up the level of quality songwriting they've already reached, without developing in any way anymore. That's why 'Paradigm' can no longer surprise you in the slightest."

"So what we've got here is an incredibly strong, emotional and masterfully composed piece of work, the final artistic statement from Tony Mills, a perfect vocalist whose far too early departure leaves a very real hole in the modern melodic…

"»Attitude« is, and we say this with zero modesty, already one of the highlights of 2019 for AOR/melodic rock albums! "

»Life« is a quality new album from Hardline, packed with righteous rock slaps in the face, with three average ballads wedged in between. That doesn't take away from the essence of the record, which is its credibility.

"Keys of the Kingdom" is one of those 'late-period' The Moody Blues albums that prog rock fans can pretty much write off, with only rare flashes of the old atmospheric magic that once made them one of rock's most innovative bands.

"»Dysphoria« takes the Starbreaker project to a completely new level of expression and character. Strikingly fresh in both production and style. Given the consistency and quality of this new effort, it would be wonderful if the project ever…

"Toby Hitchcock is back with an album that's exactly what you need if you've been missing a new record from Pride Of Lions for a good while now."

"The material used on the Devil's Hand debut must be a leftover stash of songwriting for a possible new Seveth Key album, which has been nowhere to be seen for ages now, years in fact."

"»Untold Stories« is considered one of the best hard rock releases of 2018, or AOR too, if you like. With it, Airirace bridge the influential seventies with incredible juiciness, add a nostalgic AOR flirt from the eighties, and fuse the two…

"So this album is aimed at listeners who keep up with what Revolution Saints and the new (and old) Hardline are doing, and who feel at home with the golden era of AOR (Journey, Bad English). »Set the World on Fire« is a really nice album.…

“Turn of the Tide” confirmed that BJH had pulled off a fairly successful transition into the eighties as a slimmed-down lineup. Despite a few ugly misfires and some shortcomings, especially on the keyboard front, it was still a solid and…

The often-overlooked "Silent Nation", which boasted excellent production from Payne, was in many ways not your typical Asia album, and that's exactly what remains one of its biggest draws today.

»Victory« is also going to go down a treat with fans of classic AOR sound, decently "reheated," "translated," and "repackaged" for new times. That said, White Widdow have started repeating themselves, and at this rate they'll have a hard…

"“Groundbreaker” is easiest to describe as a kind of Work Of Art album, but with the FM singer on vocals."

release date: September 14, 2018 label: Frontiers Music Srl. album length: 52:25 production: Peter Mansson & Anders Wikström rating: 9.5 / 10 Treat are long-lived Swedish hard rockers, a band with the track record of Europe's…

Label: Frontiers Music Srl. Release date: 22.01.2016 Production: Eric Martensson Album length: 44.01 Genre: Melodic Rock / Hard Rock It's been five months since this album officially dropped, but it's still well worth a spotlight,…

"In all honesty, Saga were the absolute winners if you compare the two bands' sets. Besides a fascinating setlist, the whole band was in phenomenal form from start to finish, and they were rewarded accordingly with longer applause than…

"Unlike the other bands, Night Ranger also didn't use any canned backing vocal tracks. They're bursting with energy! And that's a really good sign, because the new studio album »High Road« is about to hit the scene, and let's hope a…

"Stryper lived up to their headliner billing, despite the stellar Pretty Maids and Eclipse ahead of them, who for many were the highlight of the second day's festival sets."

"If I may add a personal note: after years of waiting, seeing Tesla again finally made it happen, even though I'd have loved to hear at least a few more songs than the "modest" thirteen. Tesla, Rockline is already looking forward to your…

"Foreigner, Europe and FM are bands that each have their own path and identity, and every one of them managed to add its own little piece to the mosaic of yet another unforgettable concert experience tonight."

"The chemistry between the backing trio of Bell, McCarville and Zampa is outstanding, and House Of Lords suck you in with the hypnotic magnetism of a thoroughly convincing set. As long as James Christian's health holds up, there's nothing…

"With their Trieste show, Harem Scarem showed off the magic of live AOR perfection, built on top-notch technical chops and real chemistry on stage."

"An album that clearly hints it'll pass the test of time with ease. We waited 27 years for it. Times have changed, so only listeners who lived out their "teenage" years in the mid-eighties will really cherish it."

"Where the melody and energy of Survivor, Pride Of Lions, and the solo work of Jim Peterik or Jimi Jamison live, the inspiration for "Mercury's Down" lives too. "

"Since Journey don't have as many hits in Europe as Foreigner, and given their tamer stage dynamics and less fiery crowd interaction, this time Foreigner stole the show from them by a hair!"

"We witnessed a top-notch live show, the kind only seasoned old cats can put on, still pouring their whole heart into their music. "

"The lights dimmed at Alcatraz, a venue that vaguely recalls Ljubljana's Kino Šiška, except the floor isn't stepped. The intro? Want a double vision? You got it. Double Vision it is. Of course, if you're in Milan at Alcatraz at that hour.…

Label: Frontiers Music Srl. Release year: 2008 Production: Tony Harnell & Magnus Karlsson Album length: 52.43 min Genre: AOR / Melodic Rock Starbreaker are the band that pleasantly surprised fans of old-school melodic hard rock with…

Label: Frontiers Music Srl. Release year: 2005 Production: Fabrizio Grossi Album length: 52.27 min. Genre: AOR / Melodic Rock Starbreaker is an international project made up of superb musicians. I'll say it right off the bat: this…