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CONTENTS
W.E.T. Mastedon Spin Gallery Nostradameus 101 South Arch Rival Stargazer Reviews Soul Doctor Los Angeles / Blackwood Creek The Murder Of My Sweet Preview Blanc Faces On The Rise Cinderella
Melodic Rock Fanzine
The official Frontiers Records magazine Year #5 - Nr. 6 / Issue #35 Editor-in-chief: Elio Bordi Design: Elio Bordi Writers: Bruce E.J. Atkinson, Fulvio Bordi, Duncan Jamieson, Barry McMinn, Vitale Nocerino, Rob “Ezy” Bone, Alessandro Ariatti. Headquarters and general contacts: Frontiers Records - Via Gonzaga 18 80125, Napoli - Italy Tel: +39.081.2399340/7753 Fax: +39.081.2399794 E-mail: elio@frontiers.it Website: www.frontiers.it Myspace: www.myspace.com/frontiersrecords Editor and publisher: Frontiers Records US Headquarters: usa.frontiers.it Copyright©2009 Frontiers Records. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Printed in Italy.
Band: W.E.T. Album: Wet Interview with: Jeff Scott Soto Interviewed by: Alessandro Ariatti
Focus on:
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W.E.T. - Wet (Frontiers Records)
Let us be serious, very serious and very simple: I didn’t hear anything like that since Signal’s “Loud And Clear”! This is probably the best Jeff Scott Soto “project” ever, and I don’t think I’m overstating. A pair of examples? “One Love”, the first single/videoclip, an outstanding song that could equal the best Foreigner hits, the big ballad “Comes Down Like Rain”, with its dramatic and intense feeling in the vein of the most atmospheric and emphatic Journey. Jeff Scott Soto, along with Robert Sall (Work Of Art) and Erik Martensson (Eclipse), created proudly W.E.T., an alchemic union between some the most inspired AOR artists around the world. This album shows both sides of this genre: strong muscles in songs like “Invincible” and “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is”, gentle flowers in beautiful tracks such as “My Everything” and “If I Fall”. W.E.T. shines brilliantly in any situation, and that’s a fact. Because of their songwriting, of course, but also for the impressive vocal performance of a Jeff Scott Soto literally touched by grace. 99/100? Only because perfection is not of this world. Alessandro Ariatti (99/100)
Question: Hello Jeff. At first can you introduce this new outstanding project, called W.E.T.? Answer: W.E.T. was simply created to represent the three Frontiers Records Swedish bands that comprise this new project. The bands are Work Of Art, Eclipse and Talisman, and I think that the monicker W.E.T. sounded better than E.W.T. , isn’t it? So, here we are! Q: The album is simply beautiful! How did you create such a masterpiece? A: I give the main credit to its creators, Erik Martensson and Robert Sall. These guys were approached by Frontiers to create an album of songs in which I was later asked to sing on. In the beginning, it was supposed to be just a studio project but, for circumstances beyond our control, it is turning into more of something like that. We’re discussing live shows and even a follow up album. Q: You already answered to my next question, because I wanted to ask you about future live shows. A: Yeah, I believe I already answered that. Next question, please. Q: The first single/video “One Love” is one of the best AOR song I ever heard. How do you feel about this huge track? A: It has all the elements of a strong AOR song, I agree. Catchy melodies, heavy guitars and a big production. What else can I say? We didn’t go into knowing the outcome would be so overwhelming, but it seems that so many people love this song. It could end up being a signature song for us! Q: I saw Marcel Jacob on the videoclip: was he intended to part of W.E.T. before his passing? A: Yes, when we were asked to do videos I thought, since there was no real band in place here, anyone could be a part of the visuals performing on the videos: so why not take the three bands that comprise the name and use members to actually complete a line up. Since Erik did all the bass on the album, the natural choice was to ask my longtime musical partner Marcel to join in. Little did I know we would be capturing the last images of him alive. It is very emotional and special
to me to have him on there. A: Jeff, you were a big friend of Marcel Jacob. What’s your best memory about him? A: Like choosing a song as a favorite, how could I choose 1 moment in time with someone I shared 25 years of friendship with? All I can say is I miss him as I miss a brother, I miss our music, laughter & hope of more in the future. I can only live my life with his memory & make sure it continues in my future actions. RIP Q: Another great song is “Brothers In Arms. What can you tell me about this song? A: This is a question I think only Erik can answer. He is in charge of both items on this song, music and lyrics. However the video really captures first the brotherhood of being in a band and being friends, then the middle section shows the US troops serving overseas as the theme shifts to the bond that comes from serving your country. Q: Do you have any favorite song on the album? A: There are many, but the three songs we chose for videos are amazing for starters. “If I Fall” and “One Day At A Time” are also my favorites. Q: If you had to describe “W.E.T.” with your own words to the readers of this magazine, what would you say about it? A: I would say that, if you want classic AOR with heavy guitars, great musicianship and strong melodies, this is the album you’ve been waiting for! Q: How much is important your experience with Journey, for a band as W.E.T? A: Not as much as my personal influence from the man himself, Steve Perry. I never intend to sound like or steal his vibe, it is naturally in my blood, in my soul as he was such a strong musical presence since I was a teenager. I had the same style going into that band as I bring across here, I think their fans may here hints of what it could have sounded like had I remained with them. Q: Is this your most AOR project? A: Not at all, 75% of my career has been AOR so this is just another extension of my work. Q: How much is important the emotional side of your
music and how much is important the technical side? A:I have been involved with so many technical bands in the past that I do find it difficult to be too 'normal', I guess in my head the listener wants to be taken somewhere musically as well as emotionally so I try in everything I do to give as much of both that fit within the context of the songs. It's impossible to do that on all songs but making the effort is always appreciated later. Q: It seems that many fans wanted to hear you sing melodic rock, was it something you were avoiding, or something that does not come naturally for you? Although you had an attempt on your 2nd solo album, you were always into heavier stuff. A: I have many colors that make up who I am, I hate putting myself in any one genre especially for too long. My dear fans have grown with me to know they can always expect me to deliver quality music that represents me as me & not me as a genre. I take pride in tapping into the many things I am influenced by. Q: Which have been your greatest and worst moments in your long career? A: Honestly I dont care to look at or see any bad things of my career, in life & success you have bad with the good to help with future decisions & choices. My top moments are my years with Talisman & my new solo career, my bandmates in my solo career have all been amazing & rewarding to me in too many ways to count. Q: What are your plans for the immediate future (solo, projects, bands, tours?) A: I am currently on a tour with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra that goes until January. From there I have 3 shows in Greece with my solo band, an appearance with another band in Berlin late January then straight to Sweden for a memorial show being held for Marcel Jacob. Then I have another possible tour with TSO for an album that is just coming out called Night Castle that I am a big part of. From there, we’re discussing some other ideas I can’t reveal just yet. MRF | 5
Band: Mastedon Album: 3 Interview with: John Elefante Interviewed by: Barry McMinn
Question: Why has it taken some ten years since "Lofcaudio" to release a new Mastedon album? Answer: Because Mastedon originally was not indented to be an on going band-project, but sometimes over time, (and it does takes time), you realize that some things are special, too special to leave on a shelve. Peoples appreciation of Mastedon has also shown us that there has been an appetite for this music and 3 is the result!! Q: You’ve not been idol in those ten years, what have you been up to? A: Producing, spending lots of time with my family, writing, and some normal hiatus from something I have been doing professionally since I was 12 years old. But the fever is back more than ever. Q: How do you think this album stands against your earlier releases ‘It’s a Jungle Out There’ and ‘Lofcaudio’? A: They can’t be compared, each record has it’s individual place. I never sit down to write a record and say Focus on:
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man I’ve got to really top the last one, you always strive to do better things but at each stage of life different things happen musically. Q: What made you decide to have just yourself as the sole vocalist on this album, unlike the previous two albums that featured guest vocalists? A: Well there was no premeditated thought that went in to that other than I really wanted to sing the whole record. Q: When you were putting this album together did you ever go back and listen to the previous albums and try to recreate that sound or was this going to be a whole new album with a whole new approach? A: To the first part of your question absolutely not!! To the second part, I did not attempt a whole new approach I just began to write and this record took on a life of it’s own. Q: Speaking of ‘It’s a Jungle Out There’, Frontiers are re-releasing that album in late November, is this a remastered version or just
MASTEDON - 3 (Frontiers Records)
the same album repackaged? A: It has been re-mastered. It includes bonus tracks: Islands in the Sky (live) Right Hand (live) and Wasn't It Love from California Metal 1987, I think. Q: Back to ‘3’, you’ve a number of guest artists on the album how did you get these guys involved in the album? A: I played them demo’s for friends at the early stage of the the record and all of them said when and where? That was an indication to me that I might have pretty good songs written here!! Q: The album is a great mix of rockers and ballads a couple of my favourites are ‘Water In Wine’ and ‘The Western World’, are there any tracks that have a special meaning to you if so which and why? Yes, “One Day Down by the Lake”, first because it is a real tribute to so many genres of music that has been such a huge part of my life. Second because I have lived this lyric in, and third because my friend Kerry Livgren has his signature all over the song.
It’s been ten years since the last Mastedon album "Lofcaudio" and boy have brothers John and Dino Elefante come up trumps with their latest release simply entitled ‘3’. The album is pure Melodic Rock as it should be great rhythms, superb songwriting and fine musicianship. What about vocals? Well in the past the band has featured various singers on their albums, but now we get the full power of John Elefante’s vocals for an entire album. This is without a doubt the band’s finest release and one of the Melodic Rock albums of the year, from the superb opening flurry of ‘Revolution Of Mind’ and ‘Slay Your Demons’ you just know what is to come will be equally superb. With highpoints in bucket loads, my favourites have to be ‘Water Into Wine (Fassa Rokka)’, the excellent ‘Western World’ and ‘Lying’, just to name three, but this album is much more than three tracks, it’s what every Melodic Rock fan has been waiting for. If you’re into the likes of Foreigner and Bad Company then take a listen to this album, it has everything these two classic bands had and so much more. Barry McMinn (95/100)
Band: Spin Gallery Album: Embrace Interview with: Tommy Denander nterviewed by: Fulvio Bordi Question: My best congratulations for this incredible release! No doubt “Embrace” sets your music’s quality still beyond your debut “Standing Tall”. Do you agree? Which are, in your opinion, the main differences between them? Answer: Thank you so much, this album means so much for me and Kristoffer. For a long time i didn't even want to touch another Spin Gallery album cause the first one was such a success and a really strong album but one day i started playing around with a few new ideas in the studio that sounded like typical Spin Gallery songs so i called Kristoffer and told him that i though we should do the album we always wanted to do together. He loved the idea but was also a little sceptic to using the Spin Gallery name, when this project started around 1998 it was me and Kristoffer under the name Cinema and later it became a trio of singers and i was only the producer plus song writer so Kristoffer thought that we should maybe do this as Cinema but i came up with the name Spin Gallery and i own it plus the first album was 100% my sound and vision so i though it would make more sence to keep the name since so many know it already. We absolutely wanted to keep the sound of the band but the things me and Kristoffer never really liked about the first one was that the vocals sounded too over produced and pitch corrected with a million dubs on everything, not so much feeling and dynamics in the vocals plus a couple of songs felt a little off so this time we were going for a sound that matches all the Focus on:
way, more dynamic vocals, deeper lyrics and of course it's 5 years later so i think i am a better writer, musician and producer today as well. I still love the first album a lot and think we all did a great job on it but i'm much more proud of this one and i know kristoffer feels the same. Q: Did you work on songs following a different process this time? A: It was almost the same as the first album, i wrote all the music again but on the first one i also wrote all the melodies and co wrote the lyrics to catch the vibe and concept i had in my head but with Kristoffer i sometimes had a little melody idea for a chorus that he worked out of but mostly i could just let him run free with the music and he always came up with brilliant melodies and lyrics, very deep and meaningful stuff that fits the music we're doing. Q: Let’s talk about Kristoffer Lagerstrom’s performance on the album. Besides being great performer and melody maker, anyone can listen how his vocals carve so perfectly with the rhythm section’s dynamics. What’s your point of view? A: Kristoffer is a brilliant singer and song writer plus one of my best friends since many years, i've used him for backing vocals and some lead stuff on so many albums over the years including Prisoner, Rainmaker, Radioactive, Talk Of The Town, Jim Jidhed, AOR, Sayit, LA Project etc and he is always so fast and perfect to work with. I think this is finally the album where he gets to show what a great singer he is, he will never
be a raw sounding David Coverdale type of singer but we both share a huge love for Richard Page (Mr Mister), Peter Gabriel, Sting and a bit more laid back type of singers. He came up with some amazing melodies on this album that completely knocked me to the floor cause a lot of the songs had very odd beats and not so normal chord changes but he made the songs sound more easy and accessable in a perfect way. Q: The album features Robin Beck and Dan Reed as guest appearances. How did you get in touch with them? And did they also contribute to the songs’ composition they performed in? A: Robin and Dan are both 2 of the very best friends i have, i've written and co produced a lot of Robin's last albums and we have an amazing friendship plus she is still the greatest femmale rock voice in the world i think!! Dan has become a soulbrother for life and i can't say enough amazing things about him, i've become a full member of his band and we've played Stockholm, London, New York first and last week 4 shows in Sweden, Paris tomorrow and Vienna on Nov 24th and next year we're touring the world together. Me and Kristoffer didn't want to have a ton of big name guests on this album, we don't need them to prove that we're good haha... we just want a couple of great friends to add some perfect spices to the stew and they both delivered top class stuff as always. They had no part in writing the songs but as always added their ideas for little melody changes etc.
SPIN GALLERY - Embrace (Frontiers Records)
Here we are, this is a crack! Described as a new, updated and contemporary sounding mix of classics masters as Toto, Mr.Mister, Cannata, 1th Avenue, this new upcoming new sensational collaboration between singer/songwriter Kristoffer Lagerström and talented guitarist/songwriter/producer Tommy Denander, is going to quake the entire Melodic Rock scene with a real new breeze, or so I truly hope. Since the opener “Embrace”, and the following “Stone By Stone”, “Just A Momentary Why” we can note how melody and music are set in a new particular mode with a superb use of choirs and a very original syncopated rhythm work. I really love the melodic hooks the refrains are done and the harmonic solutions adopted along the entire tracklist. Keyboards and guitars arrangements are astonishing such as for “Brilliance Of The Drugs”, a true Melodic Rock masterpiece. The album is also a real star singers parade, featuring duets with Robin Beck and Dan Reed, while Glen Marks on drums completes the musicians’ line-up. This is a pure Melodic Rock gem with no weak moments or fillers left and is a must for anyone looking for something really new to listen to. Awesome release of the month! Fulvio Bordi (92/100)
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Band: Nostrdameus Album: Illusion’s Parade Interview with: Jake Fredén Interviewed by: VItale Nocerino Question: Can you make a brief history of the band's beginning? What bands were you in before you formed Nostradameus? Answer: It all started at Wacken Open Air 98. It was me and Freddy who sat there and enjoyed ourselves in this great atmosphere. We thought that we were going to put a band together just to play for fun in two local rock-competitions. We were going to play one own song ("Master Of The Night") and two Gamma Ray songs. On the second competition there was this guy who sat in the jury who loved us. He asked if we had a demo-tape, if not, we could record one for cheap money in his studio. This guy was Magnus Lundbeck, who has recorded both our records so far. It’s because of him that we're alive :) Me and Freddy met in a metalband called WIZ... then it is history! :)
Q: How can you describe this new album? How has the music progressed since the first CD "Words Of Nostradameus", really appreciated by metal fans? A: I think that it has got a more mature sound and songwriting. It’s also a little bit heavier than "Words Of Nostradameus". Also the choirs are better this time. We put quite much effort on the guitar playing as well. Q: Nostradameus cares about its lyrics. Can you tell now something about your lyrical approach? A: We try to write quite simple texts without using too difficult words and so on. What’s the point of lyrics if noone but englishmen understands them? Q: Musically, which bands do you consider to be your main
influences? A: We would lie if we don’t name old Helloween and Gamma Ray. But also other groups like: Stratovarius, Judas Priest, Hypocrisy. We are now developing a little bit from all these bands to get somewhat own style. It’s becoming more and more aggressive/heavy/melodic metal. Q: What influences you as a guitarist? What guitarists do you like and do you take influences from? A: Great guitarists and influences are: Yngwie Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, Joe Satriani, Glenn Tipton, K. K. Downing, Andy La Roque... Q: what will be the next Nostradameus activities? Will a tour follow? A: We are dealing for some tours but nothing is decided yet.
Focus on: NOSTRADAMEUS - Illusion’s Parade (AFM Records)
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With five studio-albums behind them, and a new album ready to be released on November 20, Nostradameus are, without doubt, one of the strongest bands in the socalled European Melodic Power Metal scene. The new album, called “Illusion’s Parade”, honestly, does not add any new element in the band’s offer, still keeping the same much-appreciated way of writing and performing songs. The album has been produced in the popular “Roasting House Studios” in Sweden, and it features a powerful and crystal clear production, with guitars and vocals always upfront. I personally think that the vocal lines of Freddy Persson are the real “plus” here, as any song on “Illusion’s Parade” benefits of Persson’s melodies, passion, emotions and ability to “describe” what he sings. I could easily compare him to Jorn Lande. To sum up, if you like bands like Stratovarius, early Sonata Arctica, and At Vance, give this Cd a chance. Rob “Ezy” Bone (85/100)
Band: 101 South Album: No U Turn Interview with: R.S.Craig Interviewed by: Barry McMinn Question: What made you decide to return now with a new album after your hiatus from the scene and some 7 years since ‘Roll The Dice’? Answer: Well, I contacted some of my favorite musicians in the world and asked them if they would work with me expecting them to say no! Ian Bairnson, my all time favorite guitarist from the Alan Parsons Project band said YES as did Chris Thompson from Manfred Mann and that helped me make the decision to start a new album. Working with Ian is a dream come true for me and I cannot tell you how much fun it is to drop one of his brilliant solos into a new track. He is the best guitarist in the world in my opinion and such a modest man as well! Q: This new album sees a change in line-up, what prompted this change? A: Well, I have always wanted to work with better musicians than myself and in this case it happened and you can hear the quality in the music we made together. But we still had Billy Liesegang, Mike Turner and David Pasillas on guitars and so the usual guys are back working with me and how lucky I am to have so many good musicians on the 101 South team. This is a fun band to work with and with no big egos to deal with! Just good musicians who get the job done and do it with it with a cool attitude! Q: ‘No U Turn’ is a fine example of purebred AOR. How important was it to keep to the same stylings of the bands previous albums? A: Guess you just cannot do something too radically different because the fans may not like that although in the future I may do more 'left field' using many new friends I can now count on to help me make better and more memorable tracks in the future. Q: There is an air of the classic AOR bands of the eighties about the album, was this intentional or did it just turn out that way? A: No, not really. That is just my own style and I am from that era and love the great music that was made by bands like Foreigner, Toto and Journey. When you sit down to write new songs you just don't think '80s' or '70s' - you just do what comes naturally! And I am just very lucky that people seem to like what I write and record so why change direction??!! Q: How long from its initial conception to its final mix did the album take to complete? A: It seemed to drag out for far too long but I took my time in order to make sure it was good (in my opinion) and sometimes I did not work on the music for many weeks when other things were happening. It took about six months in time although I do work fast and could have done it in a couple of months if there had been no distractions!
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Band: Arch Rival Album: In The Face Of Danger Interviewed by: Vitale Nocerino Question: Please acquaint us with the band in a few words. Answer: ARCH RIVAL hails from the Midwest USA (Ohio) and although our debut CD wasn’t released until 1991, our style could be described as very 80s influenced, albeit with more of a hard rock or street element. We feature strong musicianship, and our vocalist Steve Snyder has a heavy soul & blues influence, and those things separate us from a lot of the more “pop-esque” 80s bands. Along with Steve on vocals, ARCH RIVAL features myself (Michael Harris) on guitar, Greg Martin on drums, and Gary Rigmaiden on bass. We have 3 studio CDs and 1 EP and now this Rock-A-Holics “In the Face of Danger” CD re-master / re-release w/DVD. Q: Why did you take such a long “break” from music with ARCH RIVAL ? Are you back for good? A: We’ve never broken up, but we have become logistically-challenged. In 1994 I re-located to Dallas, TX and Steve re-located to Focus on:
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Florida, both 1000 miles away from our home base of Dayton, Ohio, yet we still managed to record our “Third Degree Burns” CD in 1997, an EP last year, and plan on recording another full CD soon. Q: How did the re-release came around? How did you hook up with Rockaholics? Are you happy with your collaboration so far? A: Actually one of their A&R guys, Dee, contacted me regarding doing the ARCH RIVAL “In the Face of Danger” re-release, since he had picked the original up while he was in the UK, at some point and liked it very much. I was excited about, and I eventually presented him with the DARKOLOGY debut as well, which he really liked, so we did both deals. We are highly optimistic to work with such a “hands on” label! Q: Please tell us a little more about the release itself. We’ve only seen a trailer of the DVD… A: The original ARCH RIVAL “In the Face of Danger” CD has been re-
mastered (including the original bonus track, the Beatles “Revolution”) and the CD includes a couple of live bonus tracks. The DVD is basically the whole record live, from some shows we played in the 90s which we were fortunate enough to have videotaped back in the day by our friend Beecher Dale / Tecknomancer who had a professional camera crew back then. Q: Is there going to be new music from ARCH RIVAL? What about a tour / festival appearances? A: Last year ARCH RIVAL recorded an EP of 4 new tunes and included 4 re-mastered tunes from our previous CDs, and several never before released live tunes (which are different from the live tunes on the “Face of Danger” re-release.) and we did a reunion show in Dayton for our great fans. We are presently writing new tunes and plan on recording a full CD soon. Yes we’re totally open to fest appearances and will be playing some more solo shows in 2010.
ARCH RIVAL – In The Face Of Danger (Rock-a-holics Classics)
For whoever doesn’t yet know Michael Harris, he’s an american virtuoso guitarplayer, known especially for his amazing solo-albums. But – before he started his solo career - he also played in some bands, like Zanister, Chastain and Arch Rival, just to name the most important ones. “In The Face Of Danger” is Arch Rival’s shining debut, originally out in 1991, and sporting a melodic Metal/Hard Rock influenced by the biggest “classic” names of the genre like Maiden and Scorpions, but also Dokken and Fifth Angel. The overall playing is, of course, outstanding, and the vocals too (courtesy of Steve Snyder) are simply brilliant. The whole thing has been remastered, and it will feature a full DVD containing 10 live-tracks + 2 promo video clips, in a de-luxe digipack format. Can we ask more??? Rob “Ezy” Bone (85/10)
Band: Stargazer Album: Stargazer Interview with: Tore André Helgemo Interviewed by: Arne Asbolmo Question: Hi guys, can you please introduce us to the band and tell us about how you started? Answer: Back in 2001 I wanted to do something with the material I had written over the years. It took a little while to get there, though. In 2005 I created F.R.I.E.N.D. after diverse line up-changes since 2003, and when I teamed up with William Ernstsen in March 05, things were getting interesting. We did an EP with F.R.I.E.N.D called “Window to the world” in 2006. When legendary producer Rune Nordal heard the EP, he wanted to work with us and in early 07 we recorded the single “So now you’re leaving”, which we handed a copy to Norwegian Broadcast Radio (NRK), and they put it on the A-list at once, and it stayed there for over a month! But things weren’t all clear yet. We now started recording on what was meant to be our first full length album. But when we reached April 2008, William and I could not stand the result of the production, so we scrapped the whole thing! We changed the line-up, we changed the band name to Stargazer, and we started in September 08 recording the songs from scratch again! Now, here we are, very well satisfied to finally have finished our debut album! Q: You have two famous Norwegian musicians in your band. How did the co-operation with them start? A: I guess you refer to Morten “Morty Black” Skaget of TNT-fame and Steinar Focus on:
Krokstad of Stage Dolls-fame. Well, Mr.Skaget told me one day in early 09 to call him if I needed his help in anyway, and I did. I asked him if he would help us on our record and he would do so right away. I also asked him if he could make his long time partner Steinar Krokstad to join in on the drums. And, as simple as that; there we had the dream team of groove;-) Q: How do you work when you write new songs, and does any other of the members participate in the song writing process? A: I most often write all of the songs. Starting out with the melody and a basis of a lyrical theme, working my way out from there, adding the chords after the melody line is set. I want it to be strong both lyrical- and melody wise. The lyrics and songs live through me in a way, and I through them. I rehearse the song before I present it for my partner(s), in that way it is easier to make changes along the way, when I already have a profound song from the start. The riffs can often come along at the same time that I write, because I often get hooks coming like riffs into my head, and I play for William, and he kind of raffinates the guitar playing. He is a true perfectionist and artist with the guitar! I play the guitar like my tool. Therefore I also thought it was a good idea to let William handle all the guitars on the record, and I concentrated on lyrics and singing. Although I write a song, I am very open to what oth-
STARGAZER - Stargazer (Avenue Of Allies)
ers might add to it, when they instinctively feel something to add. It just makes it more interesting. The guitar arrangements are very up to William, with solos and adons and so on. And we always seem to agree on that!;-) Q: The production sound is very good, how did you get it to sound so proficient, and can you tell a bit about the production. A: William’s good warm tone on the guitar is made by no accident nor coincidence, but hard work from day one throughout his years as both performer and instructor. William has got a sponse on Majik boxes, and has got his own custom-made Majik Box, from the same technician as both Doug Aldrich of Whitesnake and Brad Whitford of Aerosmith are supplied with. When we got it together and started from scratch again September 08, we didn’t in fact use that much time. But we did go back and fix it everytime we wanted something to be fixed. So every little detail on this record has been looked over by us. William and I also got confident on being producers and let Rune Nordal more be recording engineer, we had learnt that we knew exactly what we wanted, so we were going to get it, no matter the cost!;-) So then it was a moment there when Mr. Nordal said a little bit frustrated: “ If you’re gonna do it this way over again, you never get finished!” But we did, to everyones satisfaction;-)
Stargazer is the duo of singer and main song writer Tore André Helgemo and guitar player William Ernstsen, an accomplished and versatile virtuoso on his instrument. Morten “Morty Black” Skaget (Ex-TNT) on bass and Steinar Krokstad (Ex-Stage Dolls) on drums are the rhythm section on this great sounding production courtesy of Rune Nordal (TNT, Stage Dolls). The stunning and multifaceted sound of the guitars on this album is a perfect work of art and it lifts the record high above the bulk of many other releases. From the first bars of the chart ready opener “I Needed You” with its monster hookline to the last staccato riff of “Window To The World”. The record delivers an impressive number of arena ready, diversified Melodic Rock anthems like “Push Me”, “Keep The Good Times”, “Working On The End” and “Dancing On Your Grave”, as well as the smoother tracks like “This Is The Night” and the ballad “The Cage”. Truly an album having all the ingredients to be found on the Top 10 lists of fans and music editors as well. Gregor Klee (90/100)
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JSS - One Night In Madrid DVD / One Night In Madrid 2 CD (Frontiers Records) Anytime you’re going to put a JSS cd into the player or you’re going to one of his concerts, one thing you can put for sure: you’ll never miss to get his incredible load of pure bolstered energy! This is a very prolific moment for Soto, after releasing his new solo effort and the new exciting Hard Rock project W.E.T., “JSS One Night in Madrid” (out now in both DVD and CD packages) shines to be another unmissable manifesto of what Jeff Scott Soto and his solo band are able to build up along an entire concert. As Jeff explains just during the exhibition, Madrid is the place where he exactly did his first ever solo show about six years ago and this gig in some way celebrates this new chapter in his solo activity. The concert get so deeply intense since the very first notes and the tracklist features, besides his solo albums songs, even classics from Talisman. The band performs in perfect shape with and outstanding sound and Jeff really kicks butts pushing songs to reach intensity peaks as only his soul, heartshaking, elegant, powerful voice is able to do. Great! Fulvio Bordi (90/100) 101 SOUTH - NO U Turn (Aor Heaven) Born out of Harlen Cage in 1999 by keyboardist Roger Scott Craig, 101 South saw the best of the L A Session scene coming together for this project, amongst them being vocalist Gregory Lynn Hall, guitarist Mike Turner, bassist Chris Julian and drummer Hans Geiger. Now in 2009 Scott Craig and Lynn Hall return with a new line-up that includes singer Chris Thompson (MANFRED MANN) guesting on the track ‘Blue Skies’, whereas the guitar credits go to Billy Liesegang (NINA HAGEN a.o.), Ian Bairnson (ALAN PARSONS PROJECT) and David Pasillas and the album ‘No U Turn’. Again it’s an album of pure AOR featuring the fantastic vocals of Lynn Hall being just one of the highpoints on the album. What can I say about this guys vocal that hasn’t been said before. He comes across as a mix between the best parts of Lou Gramm mixed with a touch of Paul Young, adding some soul to this rather special voice. The album as I said is great AOR from beginning to end, right from the classy opener ‘When You’re In Love’ to the likes of ‘End Of The Game’ and the superb ‘Blue Skies’, which sees Chris Thompson behind the mike for this one. A must for fans of Journey, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner and the like. This is AOR for the new age. Barry McMinn (85/100) MASTEDON - It’s A Jungle Out There + 3 (Frontiers Records) After John Elefante replaced Steve Walsh in Kansas and contributed the lead vocals to the albums Vinyl Confessions and Drastic Measures, he left the group following the departure of its other Christian members Kerry Livgren and Dave Hope. Elefante proceeded to put together a seven song demo, but when he was unable to secure a solo deal, he joined forces with his brother Dino and helped produce the California Metal compilation for Regency Records. The two, however, ended up one track short and, as a result, added a song originally written for Kansas entitled "Wasn't It Love" under the name Mastedon. When Regency later requested a full length album, the seven songs from the demo formed the foundation for Mastedon's 1989 full length debut It's A Jungle Out There. If you do not have this album, buy it NOW! It is one of the best pomp rock album ever and it is classic. This reissue includes full lyrics and three bonus tracks “Wasn't It Love" (from the compilation “California Metal”) and live versions of “Islands In The Sky” and “Right Hand” recorded live at Cornerstone in 1991. Vitale Nocerino (98/100) BLACKWOOD CREEK - S/T (Frontiers Records) There is a saying…”you can’t ever go home again”—fortunately for us Rock Lovers, Kip and Nate Winger and Peter Fletcher never believed that saying! Blackwood Creek… the self-titled album of the front man of Winger and his original group takes this power trio back to their Colorado roots in the early seventies. Blackwood Creek was a hard rock staple on the area’s music scene… consisting of Kip Winger, brother Nate and Peter Fletcher. Now, some forty years on— the trio has come full circle, making a powerful musical statement in the process. Embodying several veins of musical expression…this album is rich, soulful, emotive and all framed into a rock solid slate of performances. The group’s sound is fresh, however displaying their collective & extensive musical influences. All three members have noted musical careers, and perhaps, the most well known is Kip Winger and his outfit Winger. This, though, has not diminished the magic present that these three original musical comrades can produce. Each member of Blackwood Creek shine through on each musical venture… giving us eleven very tasteful musical expressions. Much like an albatross given to wing, soaring straight in to our musical heart! Blackwood Creek are the genuine thing… enjoy!! Bruce Atkinson (88/100) FIRE - Thrill Me (Avenue Of Allies) Fire hail from Malta and their second album delivers eleven power cuts, produced to the highest order by guitar player Robert Longo. The tracks combine outstanding melodies and infectious hooklines with the raw live power of the band. The CD opens with the title track “Thrill Me”, a cracking Hard Rock anthem, followed by the equally rocking “Get It On”. “Always There” has a winning groove and an irresistible hookline in the best AOR vein. Dave Meniketti of Y & T or Danny Bowes of Thunder would have loved to sing the bluesy power ballad “No More Pain” for any of their bands outputs. Other highlights are the stomping, hard rockin’ and still very melodic tracks “Where Are We Goin’“ and ”Lost Without You”. For the final thrill Fire have saved a six minute epic with an atmospheric opening of keyboard sounds, a sublte organ in the background and another glorious guitar performance. It’s called “Back Home” and it is a fine and worthy closing track of a Classic Hard Rock album, that is a very satisfying affair in every respect. Gregor Klee (90/100) MARILLION - Less is More (Earmusic) I won't bother to resume here the history of Marillion. "Less is More" is not a real new album, but rather one of the usual band's extravaganzas with their own music. This time they have decided to re-record some of their songs (all taken from the Hogarth-era, so the a-Fish-ionados can safely stay away from this) in a stripped and mostly acoustic form. While it has to be said that listening to the entire album from start to finish may be a bit difficult, as the pace of most of the tracks is fairly slow, the whole thing works as the arrangements are quite different and give the songs a very fresh perspective. One my band's ever favourite recent tracks "Interior Lulu" is treated in a very interesting way and also songs like "Hard as Love", or the very delicate version of "Memory of Water" and the immortal "The Space" absorb your attention from start to finish. There is also a new track called "It's Not Your Fault" which is basically another intimate piano & vocal number. So... not for everyone really, but the fans will dig this one. Mario de Riso (80/100) 12 | MRF
LOS ANGELES - Neverland (Frontiers Records) Italian, Ex-Vision Divine singer Michele Luppi returns with his Los Angeles project which showcases his vocal talents on a fine set of, mostly self penned, AOR tunes reminiscent of Signal, China Blue and Radioactive. His elastic voice soars like Mark Free on the Richard Marx’s song “Nothing to Hide”, the ballad “Promises” and “City of Angels”. Just listen to his vocal gymnastics on “Higher Love” or the Glenn Hughes tinged “Neverland” to hear what he’s capable of. Although, occasionally he over annunciates on some words, betraying his accent which detracts a little from the overall effect. All over the record are old school guitar solos (courtesy of Tommy Denander, Joey Sykes, Roberto Priori and George Lynch) that mirror the melodies and will tick all the boxes of any AOR fan. “Wait for You” has the kind of keyboard, guitar and vocal interplay that’s likely to induce an AORgasm. Fabrizio Grossi’s production was criticised on the first Los Angeles record but he’s upped his game on this one, and it sounds much better. Closing track”Paradise” is the musical equivalent of driving down the sunset strip with the top down which I’m sure is the vibe Luppi intended; definitely job well done. Duncan Jamieson (90/100)
DARKOLOGY - Altered Reflections (Rock-a-holics Classics) With a solid and outstanding line-up of guitarist Michael Harris (Zanister, Arch Rival, Chastain), drummer Brian Harris (Firewind), bassist Mike Neal and vocalist Kelly Sundown (Beyond Twilight), Darkology makes now his debut with "Altered Reflections", a powerful, technical, still melodic Heavy Metal album. Their influences span from traditional Metal (think to the heaviest Judas Priest or Savatage) to a more extreme and modern sound (sometimes the singer looks so close to Phil Anselmo), passing thru the more complex approach of bands like Symphony X and Savatage; the result, anyway, is quite original and exciting, recalling in some songs Iced Earth, Beyond Twilight and early Nevermore. Everything marches at full speed here, the guitar-riffs, the vocals, the rhythm section… and the sensation is to be on an Heavy Metal rollercoaster! You’ve been warned!!! Rob “Ezy” Bone (87/100)
SWORDS – The Reason Why (Steelheart Records) The history of Swords dates back to 1981, when the band was formed in Padova, Italy, and to 1985 when they had their debut with the EP “The Black Opera”, a quite heavy effort. After this release, the band opted for a more melodic approach, influenced by the biggest names of the US Hard Rock, bands like Extreme, Tesla, Whitesnake and Winger. Their first full-length album, “The Reason Why”, originally released in 1992, is now reissued on Cd, with a fully re-mastered sound and an amazing artwork. It’s hard to believe that this band was never heard before outside Italy, as the foursome shows first-class songwriting and amazing technical ability. The Cd features – as bonus – another version of the same Cd re-recorded 2 years later for a possible UK release (that, unfortunately, never happened). More than 75 minutes of “classy” Hard Rock. That’s value for money! Rob “Ezy” Bone (85/100) THE STEVE GRIMM BAND - History Of A Bad Boy (Anthology 1989 – 1995) (Avenue Of Allies) Steve Grimm first met success with his legendary band Bad Boy. For more than a decade Bad Boy was one of the most successful live acts of the American Midwest. During the time between the ending of the 80s and the middle of the 90s Steve's passion for music concentrated on The Steve Grimm Band, recording a total of 21 songs with the group. For the brand new single disc collection “History Of A Bad Boy” all tracks were digitally remastered, the songs of the vinyl EP “Prisoner Of Passion” and the cassette EP “Turn The Key” are available on CD for the first time. With his own band Steve builds upon the musical legacy of Bad Boy while he concentrates on a more complex song writing and a more melodic sound. The components of the bands radio ready US AOR meets Midwest and Heartland Rock can also be found on albums by bands like Franke and The Knockouts, Prism, Shooting Star, Cheap Trick and in the early works of Survivor and Night Ranger. The Steve Grimm Band delivers a magnificent piece of American Rock history, full of rocking anthems with catchy hooklines and fine musicianship, as you can hear on marvelous cuts like “She's Ready”, “Hurt So Much”, “Turn The Key”, “Be Somebody” and “Heaven's In Your Heart”. Gregor Klee (85/100)
LITA FORD - Wicked Wonderland (Earmusic) The 80’s hard rock queen Lita Ford returns with her first new album in 14 years titled Wicked Wonderland. In general the album is the perfect union between the original Lita Ford sound and what is caled “modern” music.The production on Wicked Wonderland is top notch, but the production can not help the weak songs, and i think there are some of them i really don’t like. Best moment of the album are “Inside”, the opener “Crave” and “Truth” and the album has some difficoult moments that makes the overall work really hard to listen to. If you are a die-hard Lita fan from years ago or you are someone new who just heard Lita for the first time while at the movies check it out. Lita Ford fans and metal heads will not be disappointed and maybe some fans of moder rock or Alice Cooper could really be interested in Wiched Wonderland. Welcome back Lita! Vitale Nocerino (70/100) ROCK THE BONES Vol. 7 (Frontiers Records) Here weare with the Rock The Bones Frontiers Records Compilation volume 7. The cd include some of the current and upcoming label hits and does feature some very interesting premieres such as the new GIANT single “Promised Land” which will be included in the band’s anticipated fourth album to be released in 2010, THE MURDER OF MY SWEET debut single “Bleed Me Dry” and “The Beauty Of Dreams” from Brazilian Aorsters AURAS. The complete tracklist include Winger: Deal With the Devil; Mr. Big: Take Cover (live); Giant: Promised Land; W.E.T.: One Love; Cinderella: Gypsy Road (live); Danger Danger: Hearts on the Highway; Lynch Mob: Smoke and Mirrors; House of Lords: Cartesian Dreams; Mastedon: Revolution of Mind; Stryper: Murder by Pride; Out Loud!: We Run; The Lou Gramm Band: Baptized by Fire; Jaded Heart: Love is a Killer; Jorn: Rock and Roll Angel; Blanc Faces: Falling From the Moon; The Murder of My Sweet: Bleed Me Dry; Auras: Beauty of Dreams. An amazing compilation for your trips! Vitale Nocerino MRF | 13
Band: Soul Doctor Album: Way Back To The Bone Interview with: Chris Lyne Interviewed by: Barry McMinn
Question: How long did the album take to put together? Answer: The song-writing took about 9 months. The recordings and mixing itself later took another 3 months. Q: When putting an album like this together in the current rock climate how important is it to keep that trademark Soul Doctor sound but still be what fans require of a band today? A: We think that there should be - in general - a bigger focus to put more efforts on classic trademarks such as melodies, groove, creativity and great hooks. And this is exactly what we are trying to do. Q: Each of the band’s albums have out done the last, no mean feat in itself. What keeps the band motivated to keep on producing such great rock albums? A: This answer is simple: we like the music which we are creating and we are permanently working on our musical progress. Both Tommy and me orientate our daily routine around this band, so there is constant work on everything. This makes it very easy to try and develop new ideas and I think the recordFocus on:
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ing results in the end profit from this. Q: This new album is straight shooting Hard Rock with some great tracks like ‘First Man On The Moon’ and ‘Welcome To The Party’ being just two of my favourites. Which tracks on the album really hit the mark for you? A: Oh my god, I like all the songs ! I like the epic songs like First Man On The Moon or Here comes the night, and take a look on Can´t Stand Losing - what a real catchy hit! And of course the real rockers like Love Crashed Down or Coming Home.You see, it is very difficult for me to pick up one song as my favorite. Q: Have the band any live dates lined up to support the release of the new album? A: We’re currently working on it, talking to promoters both in Japan and Europe for some live shows. Also, there will be some festivals coming up next year. We will keep you updated as soon as the first gigs will be confirmed. Q: How do you think the bands sound has developed since your
‘See You In Heaven’ album? A: “See You In Heaven” is a song from our second album “Systems Go Wild” which was released in 2002. The album title of our new record already answers this question a bit: “Way Back To The Bone”. This means something like: back to the roots. The basic sound of Soul Doctor defines itself in our roots which comes from the Classic Rock genres. This basic sound is and was always there but we’re also trying not to repeat ourselves. “Way Back To The Bone” goes a bit back to our early works with some new stuff such as more keyboards added here and there. The epic feel already was there on the previous album “Blood Runs Cold” and is continued here with songs such as “First Man On The Moon” for example. So, the progress in our opinion basically lies in the quality of the recordings themselves and the variety of songs which we are able to write today. Q: Finally any last words for our readers? A: A big thank you to all our fans around the globe, especially our Italy fans, you are the best and we can not wait to rock your asses.
SOUL DOCTOR - Way Back To The Bone (Metal Heaven)
Well November 2009 is turning out to be a corker for great new releases and another one to add to that list is the latest Soul Doctor album ‘Way Back To The Bone’. Led by the mighty vocal prowess of Tommy Heart and the guitar skills of Chris Lyne, the band have come up trumps with a real classy Hard Rock album. From the opener ‘First Man On The Moon’ there’s no doubting that this is another great album from the band from Berlin. Great guitars throughout and with Heart you know you’re gonna get a great Hard Rock vocal. The album is purebred rock of the highest calibre with some outstanding slices of rock with ‘Lightning And Thunder’ carrying on where the opener left off. The straight shooting rock of ‘Love Crashed Down (Boom Down)’ and the riff filled ‘Welcome To The Party’ are just a couple of the many highlights on this excellent fifth album from the band and a must for all fans of great sounding Hard Rock. Barry McMinn (87/100)
Band: Los Angeles Album: Neverland Interview with: Michele Luppi Interviewed by: Duncan Jamieson
Question: Ciao Michele! Good to have you back with your Los Angeles project. Answer: It’s great to be back! It took me a while to sing the whole Album but we’re all very satisfied with the result. Q: The album sounds great and you’ve got some big name contributions. How did you get them all involved? A: Thank you. We tried to take this project to the next level without losing “freshness”. As usual, we have to thank Serafino, Mario and Elio @ Frontiers for the special guests and, most of all, to keep AOR alive all over the globe. This label helped out to give a brand new life to a branch of Rock that could easily have been lost today…I’m very proud to be in the same rooster with bands I used to listen when I was a kid. Q: Your voice is capable of some vocal gymnastics. Do you have a vocal coach? A: Wow, thank you, I appreciate your deep listening... I’m a Vocal Coach myself, I’ve been teaching pro since ’98 and the study of the voice is always a good excuse to explore new fields within my songs. Basically, I’ve always been my own teacher, even when I was attending Musician Institute in LA. I’ve always tried to achieve a better sound, different colours of my voice in order to make my singing more and more interesting. You may love or hate my work but it has to be perfect (at least to my ears!), deep and interesting; it’s a must for every artist. Q: You sound quite a lot like Mark Free at times. How do you feel about that comparison? What vocalists do you admire? A: It’s funny because Mark is the only one I’ve been compared to my whole life! Actually, Tomie Reeves and Robin Randal gave me “Long Way From Home” while I was attending MI… I know so many people love that album. Probably we have in common the “Free Tone” (it’s not a joke!), which means that you don’t have to suffer all the time to have a nice sound. My lines are more “Rhythmic Oriented” but I take it as a compliment. I admire so many singers for so many reasons, but I’ve never had the wish to sound like any of them. Let’s say I only “try through me” some little details that I borrow from singers that can make my voice “One Of A Kind” instead of doing what “it has to be done” for people’ sake, if you know what I mean. Over the years I’ve changed my tone and made it heavier and heavier, maybe just to see how far I could go… Fortunately, singing AOR Albums keeps me in the right balance… Metal can be cool to improve your strength and power, but if you wanna make real Music you need to take care of your sensibility, and Melodic Rock is the best choice for that purpose; actually it’s not a choice at all, AOR has always been the best way to express myself. Q: What are you up to next? A: Right now I’m touring Italy with Killing Touch, producing vocals on a few Albums including Maurizio Solieri for whom I wrote Lyrics and sang a great ballad, I teach full time my own method named “Voice Control” giving seminars and workshop all over Italy. I’ve recently built a State Of The Art studio specialized on Vocals I’m so proud of… I keep working on many fields because they’re so connected and complementary… I love being in my studio as much as I love singing live, and teaching clears my mind… 16 | MRF
Band: Blackwood Creek Album: Blackwood Creek Interview with: Kip Winger Interviewed by: B. Atkinson
Question: First, gents… the reforming of Blackwood Creek marks an almost “full circle” for all of you. What inspired you to reform and how does it feel… playing together after almost twenty years? A: The Chemistry was still there, because it was the first band We played in all of our sensibilities were formed in that band. I took all of that into the bands I was in after Blackwood Creek. Q: Has your collective accomplishments in the last twenty years altered the vision of ‘Blackwood Creek’? A: Only in the sense that the songwriting has changed,. We are much better song writers now. I know exactly how I wanted the production to sound. In the old days we were a bit more psychedelic. Q: Being that you have grown up in musical families, especially the Winger brothers… is making and performing music now second nature? A: Yes it is, although I always try to continue to do something interesting in term of not repeating myself. Somehow no matter how lang you’ve been doing music, it always seems to be a blank slate with every new song or every new show... as if you’ve never done it before. That’s what keeps it exciting. Q: Congratulations on your upcoming new record! Let’s talk about the differences of recording now, and the first time round: A: Well obviously , I know a lot more about recording now. And it’s easier to get what I want out of a project. As a three piece there is only so much I wanted to tackle in the studio because the live shows would suffer if you have too much in the recording. We have a lot of recording from the old days that we may release on a lark. Q: Is the new release brand new compositions or can we expect some ‘revisiting’ of older songs, just so we can get re-acquainted? A: It’s all new songs, some new songs have a few old riffs but I don’t believe in reharshing old songs unless it’s for a specific project. Music is something that continues to flow in the atmosphere , it’s not too hard to come up with something new. Q: Is ‘Blackwood Creek’ only a recording venture or can we expect to see the band performing live? A: We are hoping to do some live shows, As I said the chemistry is still there and the other guys sing like birds so it would be a lot of fun. Q: Are you all happy with the updated ‘Blackwood Creek’… and what ambitions do you have pertaining to the future of the group? A: I’m very happy with the record , it ‘s very unique.
Capturing all the emotional force and fury of today’s rock scene. THE MURDER OF MY SWEET has arrived with a sound and statement that demands your attention. As band names go – perhaps there’s never been a more fitting, so apropos than THE MURDER OF MY SWEET – A name inspired by the 1944 movie “Murder, My Sweet”. The path, beliefs and concept which the five members of the band share – the journey each of the members has endured finally led them to one another, building up to this point, to realizing common goals. Formed by drummer, songwriter and producer Daniel Flores who after a few false starts of what was to become THE MURDER OF MY SWEET just by coincidence came across the magnificent singer Angelica Rylin – well endowed with the right look, voice and talents, being exactly what Daniel was searching for. The rest of THE MURDER OF MY SWEET’s line up was then rather easily recruited – guitarist Daniel Palmqvist, bass player Johan Niemann and keyboardist Andreas Lindahl all being mentally, creatively and spiritually the right combination to complete the perfect match. THE MURDER OF MY SWEET is simple yet stirring musical statement that expands the boundaries of what great music is all about. THE MURDER OF MY SWEET’s sound is rich in influence and yet distinctly unique. The lush melodic cinematic landscapes reflect the diversity of the five members own musical experiences. From Angelica’s soaring vocal melodies and sweeping choruses to the explosive layers of guitars from Palmqvist and the thrilling orchestratic keyboard arrangements painted by Andreas Lindahl backed by the bombastic and dynamic rhythms of Niemann and Flores. The
resulting collaborations are a work both haunting and uplifting – fuelled by the curiosity of seeing where their burning ambitions will take them. The material is mainly written by the wonder team Daniel and Angelica – but not without the inspiration spark and input from the other three members – with songs based on personal experiences, movies and books. The
collection of material which has been selected for the bands debut album “DIVANITY” include all from dark subject matters to pure fiction. “Kiss of Death” takes a glimpse into the state of love where you give up your self for the desire to have or to do something that you know you should avoid while “Bleed Me Dry” describes the feeling of being different and wanting to go your own way in life. ”Follow The Rain” is all about break-
ing a pattern from where you make the same mistakes over and over again into becoming a person with control of your life. The track “Storms Of The Sea” is a beautiful tale of a young woman on her quest around the world to seek her long lost lover and “No Evil” is the band’s encouragement to embrace the dark rather than being afraid of it. The grand finale of the album is the larger than life and described by Rylin and Flores as THE MURDER OF MY SWEET’s own “Bohemian Rhapsody” – a track call “Death Of A Movie Star”. A massive piece of music which will showcase THE MURDER OF MY SWEET’s dynamics with a sense of playfulness by switching from soft, rippling sounds and beats to limitless rage with beautiful melodies. Magnificent layers of voices shake hands with immeasurable capacity of energy. THE MURDER OF MY SWEET’s aim is to create a distorted film noir vibe and experience – put the wonder, sadness, humour and sheer zest of life into their music tour de force. Playing it to the point where their drama explode – as the music and the words becomes the utmost expression of direct and ecstatic joy of pure being. The name “DIVANITY” is the bands own expression of diva, divine and vanity - all of them being essential ingredients in their debut album. Mixed/ produced by Flores and proudly mastered at CUTTING ROOM by Swedish phenomenal sound engineer MATS LINDFORS (Gorgoroth, Candlemass, Glenn Hughes, Talisman), “DIVANITY” will be released by FRONTIERS RECORDS in January 2010. THE MURDER OF MY SWEET races ahead with an unforgettable thrill of your lifetime flavor – And whatever you do – don’t miss the show.
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Band: Blanc Faces Album: Falling From The Moon Interview with: Brian LaBlanc Interviewed by: Alessandro Ariatti Question: Your self debut album was released in 2005 and was very well acclaimed. Were you satisfied with its result? Answer: Yes I was happy with the way it turned out. I have not listened to the recording in a long time but recently did get a chance to listen again and I actually enjoyed it ! Q: Tell me about the songwriting process for this second album. Was it more difficult than the first one? A: I would say it was a little harder this time only because I was going through a lot of changes personally. So , I had to deal with all that and still come up with some good songs. Q: You worked with the same team but, just some weeks after the completion of the album, Kyle Woodring passed away. I imagine you would like to dedicate "Falling From The Moon" to him. A: I don't know what to say about Kyle's death. I'm still in shock. He made the whole recording process very easy for me. I totally trusted him as a drummer and just let him do his thing. Our engineer would tell me that we have a take... sometimes I didn't even listen back to the track. I'm realFocus on:
ly picky about drummers and to have Kyle there was a real blessing. He was a perfect fit for us musically and as friends. I really don't know how I will replace him. We totally dedicate the new CD to him. Q: Are there any favourite songs on the album? A: One of my favorites is "I come Alive" ...it's one of my favorites that we've ever done... Kyle is really banging on this one. Also I like "Falling From The Moon” and "I Will". Q: Many classic AOR bands are returning, I mean great names like Journey, Survivor, Foreigner, Danger Danger. Do you see a bright future for this genre, or do you think it will be more a cult following? A: I have given up trying to determine trends in music. I think you need to record what comes natural to you and what you enjoy. I learned this from my favorite singer of all time Gino Vanelli. Q: Especially after a debut album it is very important that a new band follow up with a new album after one or two years. Aren’t you afraid that some fans could have forgotten the name Blanc Faces?
A: I really don’t worry about much other than the health of my family and friends. Hopefully some of our fans are still left… I think there is some good stuff on the new CD. Q: Many journalists say that you are one of the biggest hopes in Melodic Rock. Isn’t it a little bit funny for you cause you’re not twenty years old any more… A: I didn’t know people said that about us! That’s pretty cool! I’ll keep going as long as I can… at least till 80 or so… ha ha… hopefully I have some more songs in my brain that have not come out yet. I really do think Sophia my daughter will be helping out a lot. By the way …definitely not 20 any longer …though I still feel like it most days… Q: Did you hear any new AOR/melodic rock band that impressed you particularly in the last years? A: I'm sorry to say I don't listen much... Q: Have you already planned any live gig in support of "Falling From The Moon"? A: We are working on plans to hopefully come to Europe during the winter months. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me. God bless !
BLANC FACES - Falling From The Moon (Frontiers Records)
Robbie and Brian LeBlanc’s debut album, under the monicker Blanc Faces, exploded with a bang in the summer of 2005, catching the attention of the entire melodic rock audience all over the world. That album showed that the time for great melodies, big choruses, and catchy hooks was not over: some people could suppose it was a problem matching such a comparison. Well, “Falling From The Moon” shows that LeBlanc brothers did not loose their extraordinary talent for the songwriting, with twelve stunning tracks in the vein of great acts like Survivor, Foreigner and Journey. Blanc Faces confirm the team of the superb debut album, featuring Kyle Woodring (RIP, man) on drums, Jeff Batter on keyboards , Butch Taylor and Michael Patzig on lead guitars, under the supervision of Dennis Ward’s production. The title-track, “I Swear To You”, “Everything” and “I Will” are simply AOR classics, timeless songs that we will hear again and again, absolutely destined to stand the test of time. Blanc Faces are “rising to the moon”! Alessandro Ariatti (92/100)
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Band: On The Rise Album: Dream Zone Interview with: Terje Eide Interviewed by: Duncan Jamieson Question: Hi Terje how’s life? Answer: Life is wonderful, inspirational and colourful in the world of music in Bergen, Norway. Q: It’s been six years since the first record came out. What’s taken you so long !? Answer: Time's moving fast for sure. It's been a long interesting journey by developing and enjoying the process. Lots of preperations that was needed to be done until I felt I could complete a satisfying album. And of course I've also been back and forth by writing music for others as well as helping out with different projects. All together a good way of keeping the inspiration intact until I felt there was enough positive energy to make a new one ! Q: What happened to Bennech Lyngboe who contributed vocals on the first record? A: I think he continued in a natural way by following his own path in music. Q: How do you feel this record differs from your debut? A: It's better in many ways. The sound is a little rougher. The songwriting has developed and become more mature in its style and the way it's written. Q: With you playing so many instruments and singing it must Focus on:
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be a laborious process in the studio? How did you go about the recording process? A: It's always a pleasure to have the freedom to make an album by following every step of the way. Being creative and taking the challenges as they arrive. Quite fun ! I did most of the basic recordings in my home studio, but the drums and all the guitars was recorded and engineered by Eirik Gronner in Ravnaberg studio. We were pretty much back and forth during lots of times until we were all satisfied with the result. Q: The harmony vocals must have been difficult to record. A: Not at all. I've got a great passion for harmony vocals. I did the same on the debut album. Q: You always come up with great melodies. Where do draw your inspiration from? A: Thanks ! I'm inspired by so many things. There's no recipe for this part. It comes out of the blue or when I'm enjoying my time with music in general. Suddenly there's a catchy melody line to follow, to keep and develop. Q: There are some great tracks on the record like “Lost Your Track”, “Alive” and “Howling at the Moon”. Which tracks standout for you and why?
A: It's difficult to make a favourite track on the new ON THE RISE album, 'cause every song has got the good vibes. "Alive" is one of those tunes that was quite joyful to record. Q: You’ve got Eric Ragno guesting. How did he get involved? A: Yeah, that's true. It was really nice to get Eric Ragno on board. Such a great musican and collegue. He contacted me on the net and offered his service one day. All of a sudden a good team was born. He added some wonderful bits and pieces on piano and keyboards. It all came together in a good way. Q: With you playing so many instruments and writing the material, did you consider releasing the record under your own name? A: Would've been quite natural to do so, but this project has been created and performed as ON THE RISE, so it's quite natural to keep it that way! Q: Is there any chance of you performing live in the near future? A: Never say never. It will be considered while the new ON THE RISE album is getting released. Q: Will we have to wait another six years for the next album? A: Hopefully not. There's no need to wait that long until next time.
ON THE RISE - Dream Zone (Frontiers Records)
When On the Rise’s debut appeared in 2003 the song “Beat of Your Heart” was one of my favourite tracks of that year or indeed any year. The rest of the album didn’t quite reach the same heady heights but I’m delighted to say this follow up is a stronger, more consistent affair. Effectively a one man band now; Bennech Lyngboe, the other member of the band on the first record, has gone and Terje Eide sings lead and backing vocals, plays guitar, keyboards and bass It’s prime AOR, somewhere between Work of Art, Bad Habit and Nelson. Eide’s strength is his ability to come up with insanely catchy melodies. “Lost Your Track” is the best song; a majestic AOR song with great harmonies and parping keys. “Edellyn” is a ballad that if a boy band recorded it, it would be top of charts tomorrow. It must have been a painstaking process producing all of the guitar parts and harmony vocals. These harmony vocals add real depth to the songs such as “No Time to Lose” which is a dead ringer for Kansas. This is the kind of artist Frontiers was born to support. Duncan Jamieson (90/100)
Band: Cinderella Album: Live At The Mohegan Sun Interview with: Eric Brittingham Interviewed by: Duncan Jamieson
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CINDERELLA - Live At The Mohegan Sun (Frontiers Records) Back in the day Cinderella had it all; heavy metal muscle, chart friendly songs, the glam good looks and the patronage of Bon Jovi. This record captures them live in 2005 but it could have easily have come from a decade earlier as all the songs come from the four albums they made between 1986 and 1994. Tom Keifer sounds even more like Brian Johnson of AC/DC live than he does in the studio and the original line up show why they were once the belle of the ball. It’s effectively a greatest hits package and all your favourites are here. You get the early classics of “Shake Me” and “Nobody’s Fool”. Then there’s the successful mainstream hits “Don’t Know What you’ve Got (Til it’s Gone)” and “Gypsy Road”. Then the bluesier, more mature material like”Heartbreak Station” and “Shelter Me”. By the time of their fourth album, represented here by a rollicking “Still Climbing”, the fickle glam crowd had ditched their make-up for grunge. A couple of previously unheard tracks wouldn’t have gone a miss but this is a timely reminder of what to expect on their rocking return to the live circuit next year. Duncan Jamieson (90/100)
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Question: Hi Eric, It’s a real privilege to be able to ask you a few questions. How are you? Answer: I'm good. Been busy with my new baby girl. I'm a stay at home dad right now and she takes up most of my time. Q: The live album rocks. What’s better? Playing live or working in the studio? A: Thank you. The album was recorded completely live from the board with a couple of live mics. There were no over-dubs and it was not a multi-track mix, so what you get is what it was. As far as playing, I enjoy both but I play live a lot more than doing studio work lately. Q: Can you remember the first gig you went to? A: Yes, I went to a school dance when I was about 10yrs old and saw a live band playing. I knew right away that was what I wanted to do and was playing there a year later. Q: How has your audience coming to gigs changed since your early years? A: Some things never change. The audiences are still basically the same now as they were years ago. There are sometimes more people at gigs and sometimes less but I you see the same types of fans at all. Q: You’re coming to Europe in 2010. How do you feel about that? A: Actually, there has not been anything booked yet. We would love to do a European tour and hope it happens. Q: You’ve still got the original line up, unlike most bands from the same era. How have you managed not to fall out!!? A: We parted ways with our drummer, Fred, before the Still Climbing album and did a tour with a different drummer. The band broke up after that tour. We reformed a few years later and agreed to always keep the band the original line-up. Q: This album is a reminder of how many great songs Cinderella wrote. What do you remember now about those glory days when you were all over MTV and selling records by the bucket load? A: The late 80's was a whirlwind. We kept busy constantly touring, recording and doing press and promotion. We were fortunate to have such great experiences and are still able to bring our music to people today. Q: What happened to your
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life after Cinderella stopped recording in the 90s? A: I mainly took time to spend with my family but also worked on some personal music projects. Q: How come you have this live material from 2005? Do you use to record live shows, even when you do not have a live album in the plans? A: We sometimes record our shows for self improvement purposes and didn’t really intend to use any as a record. This recording was the mix from the board and a couple of live mics. There were no overdubs nor was it a multi-track mix. This is completely live with all the ugliness intact. Q: Cinderella sold millions of records in the early days but still remains one of the most underrated bands of the 80s and 90s: would you change anything in your story to make it bigger? Going back would you accept any compromise? What do you think penalised Cinderella in the end? A: First, I don’t feel as if Cinderella was penalized. We focused more on the music rather than self promotion. I would not change anything we did. I think that the millions of fans who bought our records is recognition enough. Q: How would you describe your artistic relationship the band? Who is your perfect “partner in crime” within the band? A: I think we have a good working relationship and everyone contributes creatively to the band whether it’s the music, live show, or the marketing of the band. Q: Why after “Still Climbing” in 1995 you first decided to split? And what brought you back after and how that happened? I mean, it just happened or you talked about taking a break, and then discussed the coming back? A: Our contract was up at the label and they chose not to renew, so we went our separate ways. We had no record label nor did we have interest from promoters to tour, so we pursued other ventures. Three years later, we were asked to participate in a local benefit show and played a show with the original line-up. The show felt good and we decided to try to do more shows. Q: Everyone would love to
hear some new material from you. What are the chances of that happening soon? A: I would not rule out the possibility of Cinderella recording a new album, but there are no plans to do so any time soon. I've released 3 solo albums with a side project called Naked Beggars and the second one included our guitar player Jeff LaBar. Tom has also been working on a solo album for several years now. Q: What direction do you think the music would take? A: I could not say for sure, but I think the style would not be far different from what we've done before. Q: You were one of the 80s rock bands that dug a little deeper and wore your love of your blues on your sleeve. Which artists do you listen to these days? A: I listen to a lot of different styles of rock and some country. Some of my favorite newer bands are Seether, Black Stone Cherry, and Hinder. I still listen to a lot of music from the 60's and 70's. Q: Reunion became a kind of fashion in hard rock in the last few years: which band in your opinion had the best benefit artistically off it? A: I think that any band that can put their differences aside and give their fans the closest thing to the original band lineup benefit greatly. Sometimes it’s impossible due to a members personal demons and that’s a shame. Q: How is the music business different now than it was in your early days, how is you perception of it different now? A: When Cinderella started out, the big record labels were in total control of the industry. The ultimate goal was to get signed and record in a great studio. Today, many records are basically made at home on a computer and released independently. The practice of digital downloading is making the sales of hard copy albums less in demand and the illegal downloading is hurting sales. Q: Before Cinderella leaves the ball, is there anything you’d like to tell Melodic Rock readers? A: We're going to keep playing and trying to bring the best show we can to our fans for a long time to come.