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CONTENTS
Vince Neil Pretty Maids Vanden Plas Primal Fear Skill In Veins + Triosphere Shining Line Grand Illusion Reviews Drive, She Said Masterplan John Waite Y&T Triumph
Melodic Rock Fanzine
The official Frontiers Records magazine Year #6 - Nr. 3 / Issue #38 Editor-in-chief: Elio Bordi Design: Elio Bordi Writers: Bruce E.J. Atkinson, Fulvio Bordi, Duncan Jamieson, Barry McMinn, Vitale Nocerino, Rob “Ezy” Bone, Fabio Mainardi. 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©2010 Frontiers Records. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Printed in Italy.
Band: Vince Neil Album: Tattoos & Tequila Interview with: Vince Neil Interviewed by: Fabio Mainardi
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VINCE NEIL - Tattoos & Tequila (Frontiers Records)
After 15 years from his last solo effort, Vince Neil recorded "Tattoos & Tequila" in the winter of 2009 with his solo band long time companions, Dana Strum (bass guitar) and Jeff Blando (guitar), both of SLAUGHTER along with drummer Zoltan Chaney. The album includes two new songs, "Tattoos and Tequila" and "Another Bad Day" (originally written by Nikki Sixx for Mötley Crüe’s release of New Tattoo in 2000), co-produced by Vince, Jack Blades (Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper) and Marti Frederiksen (Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Buckcherry) and nine cover of classic and influential rock tunes produced by Vince and Jack Blades (Damn, Yankees, Night Ranger). In a recent interview, Vince stated "It's rock 'n' roll. That's it. It has nothing to do with MÖTLEY CRÜE. Tattoos & Tequila is basically my life." We can’t do anything but be in agreement with that statement. Both Vince new tracks and the covered ones have a classic ballsy rock flavour in them that’s typical of Neil vocals and sound. Since that first notes the listener is catapulted in Vince world, the rock and roll world. Having said that, best cuts are without no doubts the title track, the hard rock redemption of Elvis “Viva Las Vegas” together with Cheap Trick “He's A Whore”. All in all a good and fresh classic Rock album with Vince’s signature sound well spread all over it. Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (90/100)
Question: How is working with your solo band a different experience than working with Crüe? Answer: Mainly because everything’s equal in Mötley Crüe. In my solo band I kind of have the last word on everything because it’s my band, but of course my guys have a huge say in everything else, too. But it’s fun. It’s looser. Mötley Crüe is not strict, but it is very structured, I guess that’s what I’m saying. With the production and all that stuff that goes on with Mötley Crüe, in my band we’re loose, man. We go out and have a good time. Q: I noticed some familiar names like bassist Dana Strum (Slaughter) and guitarist Jeff Blando (Warrant). A: We’ve been together for about four years or something like that and I don’t really remember how we all got together (laughs). It seems to me before Blando was in the band we had a guy named Keri Kelli and he went to go play with Alice Cooper, then I think Jeff came in to replace him and stayed. I can’t remember who was playing bass, but then we brought Dana in and have been together ever since. The drummer we have now, Zoltan (Chaney), replaced Will Hunting who went to play with Evanescence. With solo bands, it’s just kind of tough because I’m with Mötley Crüe and that’s my band and so sometimes these guys get offers from other people and they can’t say no. They have to make a living, too. So some people leave and people come and we’ve been together for about four years or so and just have a great time. Q: In addition to your music career, you’re also an accomplished businessman at Vince Neil Ink and restaurateur of Feelgood’s Bar And Grill. Did those interests develop from being involved in the entertainment industry? A: You can’t just do Mötley Crüe your whole life. Well, I mean you can, but you have to have other interests, too, at least I do. The tattoo shops were just an extension of something that I love. I’ve been getting tattooed my whole life. Living in Las Vegas, this is just a great opportunity to put a couple of tattoo shops here. We have one right
on the Strip—I’m the only tattoo shop on the Strip—and one in the Rio Casino. And then with the nightclubs, it’s the same thing, too. ‘Hey, let’s go out to a cool rock ‘n’ roll bar.’ I have one that just opened up in West Palm Beach and one just opened up in Vegas, and some coming in San Diego and Phoenix and New York City very soon. That all goes along with my tequila. I own a tequila company so…I think if you have all of the vices, you’re set. I have rock ‘n’ roll; I have gambling in Vegas (you can actually sit and play Blackjack at my tables while you’re waiting for a tattoo); I have the tattoos; I have liquor. You know, just stay with the vices. Now I just need pornography and cigarettes and I’m all set. Q: Would you like to tell us also about The Skylar Neil Memorial Foundation (www.skylarneil.org) and the charity work you’re doing in your daughter’s memory? A: On Nov. 8 [we had] our fifth annual poker tournament. It’s been at the Hard Rock for the last four years and I’ve changed it over to The Rio Casino because, as you know, The Rio has been hosting the World Series Of Poker. So what we’ve done is to put the Skylar Neil Foundation tournament in conjunction with the World Series Of Poker tournament and ESPN. The final table is coming up so a lot of the pros play in my tournament. We have a big prize and the winner, just like any other poker tournament, gets a $10,000 bracelet. It’s a big-time tournament and raises a lot of money for the Skylar Neil Foundation. And we have our golf tournament set for the 14th year. That’s been sold out every single year for 13 years and this one shouldn’t be any different. It’s just nice to, at the end of the year, to be able to sit down and write a check to different organizations that we feel deserve money. Q: Charitable work speaks volumes and is so, so important. What you do with the Skylar Neil Foundation is really commendable. Of course it came out of a tragedy, though. Do you think being a member of such an iconic, respected band has helped you through some
tough times? A: Yeah, that’s one great thing about music. You can express yourself in things like that where a lot of people who don’t find different outlets like that, whether it be painting or writing or things like that, anything that goes wrong in your life can come out in ways that are not good. We’re lucky, being musicians, to be able to put our feelings in song and let other people experience it along with us. We’re very, very fortunate. Q: Back in the band's wildest days, did you ever look at yourself in the mirror and say, "I'm pushing things too hard?" A: I tried to be sober back then, but it was tough because there was no support system. After I got into the accident in '84 (which left a passenger in Neil's car dead) and I did some jail time, I was ordered by the court to be sober. . . . You have to stop when you want to stop, and back then, I didn't want to stop. I wasn't ever really a drug guy; I just like to drink. Q: What do you think about touring solo? A: It's looser. It's a lot of fun because it's not so structured ... But my band, we just go out and we don't have a set list or anything. We just go out that night and we sit down and we go, "Well, what do we want to play tonight?" And we throw down some songs and just go and play. It's everything from tons of cool cover songs and classic Mötley stuff and stuff from solo records and everything in between. You can't do that in Mötley. I just go out and have a lot of fun. It's fun being in Mötley, but this is a lot of fun too. I enjoy playing the smaller places too. You never get a chance to do that in a band like Mötley Crüe. So I get kind of the best of both worlds. Q: How was life in the old days? A: Back in the old days, in the 80s and 90s, we were living like animals. But it doesn’t happen that way anymore. We were excessive when we were younger, because we could get away with it and that’s what the times were like. But these days, we have our fun on the stage and that’s about it. MRF | 5
Band: Pretty Maids Album: Pandemonium Interview with: Ronnie Atkinson Interviewed by: Duncan Jamieson Question: Your sound has always moved forward through the years. One of this record’s successes is Morten Sandager’s contribution on keyboards adding new layers to the songs. What do you feel he brought to the band’s sound now he’s a permanent member of the band? Answer: Well Morten has been a real treat to the band, absolutely and apart from that he’s been co-writing to of the songs as well. For twenty years we haven’t had a perrmanent keyboard player and we decided that now was the time to have one, since it really allways was a part of the original formation of a Pretty Maids line up. He’s a super nice guy, with a good set of ears and brought a lot of enthusiasm with him into the project. Q: Another success is Jacob Hanson’s production which gives the record a huge sound and a modern sheen. What was it like working with him? A: We just clicked from day one and the chemestry was there right on the spot. Like with Morten, Jacob is a really easy going guy who at the time likes to go into the detail of each individual song and that’s what we did. And as you say he’s managed to give the sound a modern twist and at the same time stick to the original sound and style of the band. Q: How did you go about penning the songs for this album? A: You know more or less all the songs were actually written in about two months Focus on:
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( Nov/dec 2009 ) just prior to walking into the studio, so everything was and to a certain extent still is very fresh. This is quite an award way of doing it in PM regi, since we always used to write the stuff over a long period and then rehearse it just prior to the recordings. But this time it was completely different, but it gave a good result. Q: It’s a very consistent record with great tracks throughout. I particularly like ‘Little Drops of Heaven’ and ‘I.N.V.U’. What are the standout tracks for you? A: Well I guess it’s simply an overall melodic album weather we ‘re talking the more heavy tracks or the more mellow stuff. I don’t know if i have any particular favorite tracks as such. I like em all, more or less. Q: You’ve had a good relationship with Deep Purple, with Roger Glover, Ian Gillian and Ian Paice all contributing on previous discs. Like Purple you’ve stood the test of time. What do you put down to The Pretty Maids longevity? A: Basically down to the continuing friendship of me and Ken. And the fact that i think we as a band has released some good and steady material during the years and allways sort of been sticking to our roots throughout the years. On stage we always gave it everything we had and we still do. I mean give people what they want and paid for both on stage and on record.
Q: The classic guitar and vocal pairing of Ken Hammer and Ronnie Atkins has been the lynchpin of the band throughout the years. What kind of relationship do you two have? A: We still do have a tight relationship after all these years. In the old days we used to have our Ego clashes but with age we’ve become more loose, we still have aor arguments though. These days we’re living in different parts of the country so we very rarely see each other in private but we’re on the phone on a day to day basis. I guess you could say that we shared the same dreams and goals and we did from day one and quite quickly found out that to reach all that, we kind depended on each other. We went through ups and downs throughout our career, but we allways managed to have a laugh out of it anyway. Q: I love this new record and think it will please your existing fans and bring some fans aboard too. How do you feel it compares to your previous records? A: Oh I just think it works a lot better as an album than what we’ve done in recent years, better songs, overall melodic and a real good production. I as I used to say and still does, sometimes you make a good record and sometimes you make a great one, this time around I think we did a great one, and we’re all very happy about it and can’t wait to go out and play these songs live.
PRETTY MAIDS - Pandemonium (Frontiers Records)
Combining the power of metal with more refined AOR melody to great effect since the eighties, these Danish rock legends have produced their best record in aeons. It’s stronger than their last Frontiers outing “Wake Up To The Real World” on a number of counts. Jacob Hanson’s production is massive and bang up to date, new member Morton Sandager’s keys add an extra dimension to their sound, the heavier numbers are more up-tempo and the songs all possess huge hooks. There’s not a duff track on it, making it one of the best, most consistent records of their entire career. Ronnie Atkins remains one of the few vocalists who can slip effortlessly from heavy metal hollering to AOR crooning in the same song and his long term guitar foil, Ken Hammer unleashes some seriously meaty riffs. The Primal Fear sounding “It Comes At Night” and the epic Saint Deamon like “Pandemonium” rock hard and loud. “Little Drops Of Heaven” and the Def Leppard style vocal on “Breathless” are the two of the best ballads you’ll hear all year. A splendid release for their loyal fan base and good enough to attract a new audience. Duncan Jamieson (94/100)
Band: Vanden Plas Album: The Seraphic Clockwork Interview with: Sthephan Lill Interviewed by: Fulvio Bordi Question: First of all, all my best compliments for a stunning release such as “The Seraphic Clockwork”. Please, would you like to start introducing it and showing the story behind this very particular concept album? Answer: Thanks for your compliments. In one sentence: The story of the concept album was written by Andy Kuntz and tells about a journey in time. The protagonist, who lives in 16th century Rome, comes under the spell of an Old Testament prophecy. He travels back to Jerusalem in the year 33 anno Domini where he must face his God-given destiny. Q: In your opinion, what is the main difference between two complex albums such as this one and the previous “Christ 0”? A: I think the musical base is the same for both albums, as they both show the characteristic style of Vanden Plas. The difference is: on TSC we partly sound even more heavy, more breakable, more symphonic and more complex. I feel that we were much more adventurous on The Seraphic Clockwork than ever before. Focus on:
Q: In my humble opinion, today Vanden Plas sound different than the past mainly in the guitar sound, heavier and more “evil”; and a still more symphonic and theatrical keyboards approach. Is it the right impression? What do you think about? A: You´re right. I think that my penchant for music of the tougher persuasion shines through more than ever before on this album. Heavy riffs, elaborate keyboard and orchestra arrangements plus catchy hook lines come together in a perfect symbiosis. Q: Great melodies and huge instrumental paths have always been among Vanden Plas’ best qualities. For example, “Scar For an Angel” refrain is a real gem and its refrain will make surely thrill every listener. How did the band find inspiration this time? A: That´s hard to say. Every time I write the music, I try to combine heavy riffs, melodic hooks and complex instrumentalparts. But most important is to write a catchy chorus, so Andy is able to create his outstanding way of performing his vocal-lines.
A: Do all composition come from the same writing sessions period? Q: No. “The final murder” for example I wrote just before we started the recordings of Christ O. But it was a bit too late for that CD. So this song was already “booked” for the next album. But most of the songs are written during the last 2 years. Q: How did you get in touch with Frontiers Records for this new collaboration? And are you totally satisfied of the work made together for “The Seraphic Clockwork”? A: Bottom Row Promotion, our former management, was making the contact between Frontiers and us. The collaboration is really young, but for the moment it seems that it was the right decision to sign at Frontiers Records. They are really interested in our work and take care about the new CD 100 %. Q: Next programs? When will we see the band live around soon? A: It depends on the plans we have with our theater-engagements. We haven´t played live during the last years too often, so we have to change that.
VANDEN PLAS - The Seraphic Clockwork (Frontiers Records)
We’ve been waiting for a while, but the expectation has been prized so good at last. “The Seraphic Clockwork” sets Vanden Plas turn back with an outstanding new chapter pushing the band still more beyond what they did with the previous “Christ 0”. This new exciting concept album, based on a very , original, peculiar story, features compositions performed with a still heavier, evil guitar sound, but at the same time with still more symphonic parts, high skillful class arrangements work, great melodies and stunning inimitable vocal performance by Andy Kunz. The rhythm section really kicks with a very deep performance underlining with both energy and delicate touch all the very different tempos and moods along all the entire album. Very difficult for me to find out the best album’s moments: all the tracklist is a real whirlpool of emotions capturing listener until the final note; and pushing play again on the player will come natural. Maybe this is the best work Vanden Plas has ever made, a masterpiece fusing together very high quality songwriting, master instrumental performances and sparkling sound production. “The Seraphic Clockwork” is already a top all-time classic for both Prog Metal and Melodic Rock fans. Awesome! Fulvio Bordi (98/100)
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Band: Primal Fear Album: Live In The USA Interview with: Mat Sinner Interviewed by: Bruce Atkinson Question: The last time we chatted, it was in regards to “16.6…”, to me, your strongest and most diverse Work to date… since the release you have been busy touring, and now are releasing not only a Live CD, but a DVD as well… very ambitious! Answer: No time to lose, but it is our FIRST official Live album – we think it’s time for this release now:) Q: Mat is producing the entire project as always and we know that he will give his best as he did for our first DVD. Achim Koehler is mixing the audioa and the 5.1 as he did the “16.6” album mixes. A: We worked with the people of the ProgPower festival in Atlanta, recorded some more material in Los Angeles. Then we recorded three shows on the European leg of the “16.6” tour – in the end, we all agreed that the performance in Europe a lot of more powerful, coordinated and played with more passion. It’s always a difference to play your own headliner show or on a fes-
tival – that’s the reason we used more of the shots from the concert in Switzerland, but there are still some shots of the Atlanta concert, like the outstanding duet of Ralf & Pamela Moore on “Fighting The Darkness” … Q: Did you use one show, or are we seeing several shows in a compilation? A: Most of the material is coming from the show in Switzerland, parts from the Atlanta show, but we have a 45min Bootleg section with scenes from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Japan, Russia, Europe etc. I think this is a very interesting part of the DVD too, with a lot of funny parts and jokes! Q: With the release of “16.6…”, and the past roadwork, are you happy with the results? Please go through some of the tour highlights… A: Lets start with the only downer – our tour bus got a terrible accident in ice cold Norway last November – what a bizarre moment. But everything else was what you call “a fantastic year” for Primal Fear
& Metal. We charted with the “16.6” album in Germany, Sweden & Japan on Top 50 positions. We started the “16.6 Tour” with superb visits in Japan & Russia. South America with a “NO SLEEP” ….. but we’re very happy tour. Great fans & great shows! Then the US & Canada with some overwhelming moments, we will never forget in the music capitals, followed by a very successful & amazing headliner tour in Europe. A year full of highlights! Q: A lot of roadwork seems to be planned, any plans for recording? A: I’m producing the forthcoming Michael Kiske / Amanda Somerville album and was spending a lot time in this fantastic project. Then he was very busy with the Primal Fear DVD and Live album. If we’re coming back from North America, we will continue with the recordings of Ralf Scheepers first solo. The songwriting is done and Ralf will realize his long time plan and there might be a new SINNER album on the horizon. Primal Fear will be back in the recording studios and in full force in summer 2011.
F o c u s o n : P R I M A L F E A R - Live In The USA (CD) + 16.6 All Over The World (DVD) (Frontiers Records)
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In my Review of Primal Fear’s last release, I said “…a collective Work of Epic Proportions”, and in this recorded document of the group’s last tour of the United States, it too is of Epic Proportions!! Culled from their Atlanta show, “Live In The U.S.A” is just that - Live -Raw - and Powerful. The group’s performance is par excellent! Peak to Pinnacle energy throughout and the assembled faithful respond accordingly. Those gathered were treated to a set full of fan faves and some brand new material that garnered their unabashed approval! Primal Fear’s “Live In The U.S.A” is a living testament of this group’s power-grace and balance… and the passion of their playing, quite simply, has to be seen to be believed! The DVD version “16.6 All Over The World” is an incredible visual performance of the band with all the last videos, making of and bonus material. If you are a fan of the band you have to buy the limited combo - pack with the cd and dvd... abolutely a luxury item! Primal Fear live is an unforgettable experience… catch them this year, if you dare!! Bruce Atkinson (90/100)
Barry McMinn: How did you get involved with Alessandro De Vecchio? Andrea Lanza: I knew his reputation and I have often attended his gigs. I actually met him after one of my own live performances at a Rock festival. On that occasion I spoke with him for the first time. From that time on I visited him more often and we became friends. BMM: Whose idea was it to put the band together and how did you approach each of the guys who perform on the album? AL: The basic idea of this band came to my head when I wanted to play the songs I had written. I had a clear idea of the rhythm section (drums and bass) and I already knew the right musicians. I had the chance to meet Francesco Jovino (U.D.O.) a long time ago, he was the drummer I admired the most ! Then he told me about this great bassist: Nik Mazzucconi. The two play together in Edge Of Forever and Moonstone Project and it was the best rhythm section I could imagine ! Fortunately, they accepted my request to play on my album. Regarding the voice, Alessandro helped me to find the right singer: Gabriele Gozzi. After listening to one verse sung by him I knew that was the voice I was looking for ! I had the band of my dreams. BMM: Did you have a vision for the album as regards to sound before you entered the studio or did it just come together when you started recording? AL: I already had a clear vision of the sound of the album before entering the recording studio. The excellent work of Alessandro, who immediately understood my ideas, has greatly contributed to the creation of the album and the final result is exactly what I had in mind. BMM: Where does the name Skill In Veins come from, what does it represent to you? AL: At the beginning the main reason for the name Skill in Veins was basically in the musical phonetics of the phrase, I like how it sounds. But it also voices the desire to do well what you love to do. BMM: When the band all came together how long did the album take to put together? AL: The songs were already written by me and thanks to the invaluable contribution by each individual in the band, we needed only 8 days in studio to give birth to the album. BMM: What plans do you have for the future of the band? AL: We would like to do as many gigs as possible with this band, in line with the commitments of each of us and to keep on writing new songs for the next album! ROCK ON!
Vitale Nocerino: The Road Less Travelled“ is the second Triosphere album. What happened between the release of “Onwards” (2007) and the new album? Marcus Silver: Its been two and a half years since the release of “Onwards”, and let me tell you, a lot has happened . We have been very fortunate that some of our favorite bands have wanted us as part of their tours, so we’ve done three tours with W.A.S.P, opened for Dio and travelled through all of Europe with Arch Enemy, Destruction and Kamelot. Last summer we won an american award for best metal album among over 40.000 contestants(!), and just three months ago our dream of signing with AFM records came through :-) Other than that most of my time and focus has gone into writing the new album. It has been a LOT of work, but now the record is finally done, and ready to be released May 28th :-) VN: From your point of view: what´s the difference between “Onwards” and “The Road Less Travelled”? To me it seems like the new songs are more melodic and very catchy. MS: I agree with you 100% there. The biggest difference is definitely that the vocals are more catchy, the songs are stronger and the production is a lot more open. “Onwards” was very riff based, whereas on “The Road Less Travelled” we really worked on keeping our edge, but at the same time leaving more room for the vocals. Now that we know eachothers strenghts we were able to get the best out of eachother, and most prominently we were able to write songs that would fit Idas voice perfectly. VN: The combination of female singer and a metal band is not unusual, but to have a powerful female singer that also plays bass, is. Is Ida Haukland the Suzie Quatro of the 21st century? MS: To be perfectly honest with you, I was never really a fan of female vocals until I met Ida. She just blew me away, and has more power than any metal singer I have ever heard, male or female. She has been compared to Dio and David Coverdale a lot, which I have never quite understood, but I do agree that she has more in common with some of the male classic heavy metal singers than the opera metal ladies. The fact that she is also a phenomenal bass player and song writer is a rare combination, so the Suzie Quatro of the 21st century is actually a good way to put it. VN: What are Triosphere´s expectations for the new album and plans for the near future? MS: We have great hopes and expectations for this album! We have worked on it day and night for almost three years, so I really hope people give it a chance. Also, I feel that we have found the right label and booking agent, which is very important for every band, so you could say that this is where our adventure begins. I want to tour as much as possible, and we are currently working on a few options for the fall. Our immediate plans are the release parties for the album here in Norway, as well as some shows with Kamelot. We’ll just have to see what the future holds, and hope that the record does well so we can come out and play for all of you. MRF | 9
Band: Shining Line Album: Shining Line Interview with: P. Monti Interviewed by: D. Jamieson Question: One of the great things about this magazine is being able to bring new music like yours to a wider audience. Can you tell us a little bit about your background in music and who has inspired you? Answer: Hi guys! First of all thanks for this interview, I always take my copy of Melodic Rock Fanzine in my favourite record shop in Milan! Regarding my background, I'm a huge fan of all the styles of Melodic Rock music, it doesn't matter to me if we talk about Hard Rock, Westcoast, AOR or all the styles close to them... if there are good arrangements, marvellous melodies and the right production I cannot resist! I don't have a favourite style for melodic rock music: American, European, Scandi... I love all of them! Talking about my inspiration, all for me started listening to Bryan Adams, Def Leppard and Bon Jovi in the beginning of the nineties... that was the real crossroad of my life! From that moment on I started a crazy search for new music... and now I am here. :) Q: In the past you contributed to bands that played heavier music. What is it about AOR which particularly appeals to you? A: Even if in the past my first band, called Sovversivo, was a hard/heavy Focus on:
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act with various influences, my heart was always beating for pure and classy melodies. My list of favourite artists grows every day thanks to the tons of music I listen to and that I always buy... I like both new acts and classic albums! I'm really hungry for new music... this year for example a lot of great CDs have been released on the market, and as a fan I'm delighted of this ! Every time a new album is announced I can't wait to listen to the first samples available ! If you want an image of me when I'm in a record shop, think for example of a child in a candy store... that's the same thing ! :))) Q: For a debut you’ve managed to get a stellar cast of guests involved. You’re the editor-inchief of Hardsounds.it. Did this help you to get big names such as Robin Beck, Michael Bormann, Bob Harris, Vinnie Burns and Harry Hess involved? A: I must say thanks to Hardsounds which started it all. With my webzine I have the honour to support and be in contact every single day with many artists of the scene, an activity that I also manage together with the partnership with some booking agencies in the organization of live events here in Italy... if there's a good live event
here in my country of the names that I love, you'll find me for sure in front of the stage! Thanks to this I also had the chance to personally meet my idols... experiences that I keep always close to my heart. Take for example Michael Voss & Mad Max, Erik Martensson & Eclipse, Vinny Burns or M.ill.ion... I had the honour to speak with them in some live dates that I supported with Hardsounds ! Q: What’s the next step for Shining Line and is there any chance of live shows? A: Now I want simply see the CD out, I can't wait to go to my favourites records shops and find it near to the ones of my idols! This is what I always had in my deepest dreams! I hope that in future me and Amos will have the opportunity to do a second chapter, but this depends mostly on the sales of this debut... I already have more than 10 great new songs written after the recording sessions of this first CD! For the live side, I don't really know... we are always open to any kind of proposal, and the line - up with Alessandro Del Vecchio on vocals and keyboards, Mario Percudani & Marco D'Andrea on guitars, and me and Amos on drums and bass could be a nice one to see live. We'll see !!! :)
SHINING LINE – Shining Line (Avenue Of Allies)
From out of nowhere (well, Italy actually) drummer and song writer Pierpaolo Monti aided and abetted by bass player Amos Monti create one of the most enjoyable purest AOR records of 2010 so far. It’s mixed and mastered by Michael Voss and comparisons to his Voices Of Rock records are inevitable. Like those records, the songs are sung by a who’s who list of top AOR singers. Pierpaolo’s songs sound like they’re from a long lost 80s teen flick; huge choruses and impassioned singing and guitar soloing are the order of the day. There are strong performances throughout but Erik Martensson (Eclipse/WET) on the golden hooked “Highway Of Love” and Harry Hess (ex-Harem Scarem) on” Amy” take top honours. Credit is also due to Alessandro Del Vecchio whose production helps give the record a cohesive feel despite all the different musicians involved (I counted 37!). Amongst the 14 tracks they even manage to squeeze in a 3 song suite that falls between the sound of Storming Heaven and The Michael Thomson band. This is a no brainer for lovers of that late 80s AOR sound. Duncan Jamieson (92/100)
Band: Grand Illusion Album: Brand New World Interview with: Anders Rydholm Interviewed by: B. Atkinson Question: Even though the press release says that Grand Illusion have been on hiatus for the past four years, Per… Anders, you both have been very busy during this time… please fill us in: Answer: Hi Bruce. Since we ended GI in May 2005 myself and Per have been working with lots of different albums. Code in 2005 2006, Overland in 2007 and 4 albums with Japanese artist H.E. Demon Kogure. Peter recorded an album with Torben Enevoldsen under the moniker, Decoy. So we have had a lot of work during these years. One of the biggest reason that we ended GI was that we all felt the need to work with other people. I have been playing with Per since 1980 and Peter since 1982 so we needed new input. Another reason for the break up was that we didn’t agree on the level of the commitment needed. Q: Your decision to bring back Grand Illusion is a very welcome one… what motivated you to record this new album? A: We have of course been thinking about it but it was H.E Demon Focus on:
Kogure that got the ball rolling. In 2008 Demon asked me to try and bring Peter back with Per to sing background vocals for the third album I produced for Demon. I asked Peter and he said yes. During those recordings both Peter and myself realised that we had missed working together so we recorded a couple of new songs just to check out what would happen. Both Peter and myself liked the result so we decided to try to make it a full GI album and a comeback. Q: The new album is coming out in late Spring… please give us a preview, what can we expect? A: We have focused on the melodies and the song-writing. Trying to make it a really melodic album with good songs. Still with our own twist, big background vocals, attention to details and over-the-top arrangements. It’s 6 years since our latest album was released, but we think that this new effort follow our old path but with an updated sound and approach. Q: Now, understanding who is the core of Grand Illusion, have
you solidified a performance line-up for live gigs, and are you planning to take the band out? A: The core of the Grand Illusion 2010; myself, Peter Sundell and Per Svensson and this will be the core also for future albums (as it looks right now). Commitment is important and we have decided that it’s better to keep it a small but devoted and hard working core. Yes, we will take out the band on the road. Both old members Christian (drums) and Ola (guitar) will help out on a couple of live gigs and we are actually starting rehearsing next week. I will play bass and sing backgrounds, Per sings and play keyboards and Peter will sing and maybe also play a little bit guitar. We have also been talking about maybe adding a second guitar player to finish the setup but we haven’t decided on anyone yet. Just to be able to do more varied arrangements and also make our background vocals even bigger. We will be doing some gigs starting with our release party in June so that we will be really well prepared for our FireFest appearance in October.
GRAND ILLUSION – Brand New World (Aor Heaven)
A four year sojourn exploring other musical territories, Mssrs. Rydholm, Sundell and Svensson have journeyed back together into familiar plateaus. Grand Illusion’s Twelve impressive cuts of melodious musical expressions, “Brand New World” displays a fresh attitude from these three extraordinary musicians. Enlisting the Talents of such guests as Mike Slamer, Tim Pierce, and Danny Jacobs… this “return to form” CD is rich and full… soaring vocals, and a heavy bottom end… thanks to the percussive talents of Gregg Bissonette. This album, although, a tad “harder” than Grand Illusion’s last musical statement, does show growth. The group also creates some beautiful moments and musical passages… combining light and heavy textures within each piece. “Brand New World” is a ‘return to form’ for the core musicians of Grand Illusion, however it is also an exploration of some new musical plateaus. A confident declaration. Bruce Atkinson (90/100)
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REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE - EP (Frontiers Records) (Digital release only) During his time with Stratovarious Timo Tolkki was a much troubled man with many of them well documented, but since his departure from the band and his new band Revolution Renaissance, Tolkki seems to have reborn again as a whole different man. The band success with their debut album ‘New Era’ and their more recent release ‘Age Of Aquarius’ ensures the name of Tolkki is once more associated with great power metal and not the mans personal life. Although it’s been two years since the debut album ‘New Era’ this is still an album that is worth its weight in gold as far as the power metal genre is concerned. This new EP once highlights what a ground breaking release this really was and with remixes and unreleased Stratovarius demo versions of some of the greatest Power Metal you will hear, this is definitely worth purchasing as an accompaniment to ‘New Era’. The acoustic versions of ‘Keep The Flame’ and ‘I Did It My Way’ are worth the ticket price of the EP alone, and for those Avantasia fans, check out Tobias Sammet on ‘We Are Magic’, it will rock your world. Barry McMinn (86/100) KISSIN’ DYNAMITE - Addicted To Metal (AFM Records) “We are addicted to Metal we are addicted to Steel”… what a “true Metal”-start for this german band called Kissin’ Dynamite, here at their second work, after the debut “Steel Of Sabia” (2008). Add to the package the backing vocals of the Heavy Metal hero Udo Dirkschneider (featured on the title-track) and you think to have the picture, right? Nah, sorry! In fact Kissin’ Dynamite are dealing, at the same time, with pure Metal anthems (“Addicted To Metal”, “Supersonic Killer”) but also with more Melodic Hard Rock tunes, like the Damn Yankees cover (with a slightly modern arrangement) “High Enough”, “Love Me Hate Me” a la The Poodles, and “Hysteria” (very Edguy-influenced). In between songs like “Run For Your Life”, “We Want More” and a couple more, that recall Helloween/Andi Deris-era and Bonfire. All in all a very good album, powerful and melodic, yet not original (but – at the end – who cares?), for all the Melodic Metal/Hard Rock fans out there! Primo Bonali (88/100)
SKILL IN VEINS - Skill In Veins (Avenue Of Allies) Well with the high influx of Scandinavian rock bands this year I’m glad to announce that Italy are flying the flag for the rest of Europe with new band Skill In Veins. The album is pure Hard Rock gold hitting on the styles of Skid Row, Firehouse, Guns N’ Roses and many others but still keeping that most important of qualities originality. The album opens up in fine style with ‘Can’t Ride My Soul’, an all out rocker that not only shows Lanza’s commitment to great Hard Rock but also his willingness to pump new life into the genre. Something that is great to see in a young artist. The album is full on good time rock n’ roll with some quite superb moments like ‘Youth Times’, a great anthemic rocker, then on the flip side of this there are some lighter moments like ‘Don’t Need You To Cry’ and even touch on the bluesy side of things with ‘Just One Drink’. Even the heavier tracks like ‘Sick Mind’ are full of melody rich licks from Lanza and Gozzi showing why he’s one of the rising stars in Italian hard rock these days, as he puts down some great vocals on this one. This is another great debut release in a year which has had some real gems, and this is right up there with best of them. Definitely one to watch in 2010. Barry McMinn (85/100)
BAD HABIT - Timeless (Aor Heaven) Bad Habit return with a best of album entitled Timeless. It features a collection of songs from the albums - Young & Innocent, After Hours, Revolution and Above And Beyond, as well as two new and previously un-released songs "Rock this town" and "Turning water into wine". The song selection is really weel done since you can find all the best tracks the band have released in his history. About the new songs, the first track "Turning Water Into Wine" is a pure Bad Habit song that reminds the Young & Innocent era. The second song "Rock This Town" is more on the modern side... little bit different from the BH tradition. If you doesn't have any Bad Habit album in your collection this is the right album to buy; if you have already all the BH discography, just think about it! Vitale Nocerino (70/100) SAVATAGE - Still The Orchestra Plays (EarMusic) Among all the Savatage greatest hits ever made along the years until now, this new one comes to be the best. “Still The Orchestra Plays”, in fact, is a double CD anthology including all the best examples from both the Chris Oliva Era and the most recent one. CD1 features the best Symphonic Heavy Metal songs aver made coming from the legendary golden age, when the band used to give life to classic masterpieces such as “Power Of The Night”, “Hall Of The Mountain King”, “Legions”, “Gutter Ballet”, “When The Crowds Are Gone”, “Ghost In The Ruins”, “Edge Of Thorns” and so on. CD2 features, instead, the following period starting from the “Handful of Rain” chapter, passing through all the great concepts “Dead Winter Dead”, “The Wake Of Magellan” and “Poets And Madmen”. The traklist also features three unreleased acoustic versions recorded in 2009 by Jon Oliva: “Anymore”, Not What You See” and “Out On The Streets”. “Still The Orchestra Plays” is a real school to make new Heavy Metal lovers comprehend the inner essence of this music and the manifesto of what this band has been along all its entire path. Fulvio Bordi (89/100)
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MARK SWEENEY - All In (Non-Stop Music) ‘All In’ is the second solo release from the Crystal Ball frontman and one that once again shows Sweeney as a true all round vocal force. Coming along for the ride with Sweeney on this album is producer Michael Voss, who has really brought out the best in Sweeney’s vocals on this Melodic Rock opus. The album is a mixed bag as regards to styles, with gentle ballads mixed with pop rock then some great hard rock tracks. The opening few tracks like ‘Line Of Fire’ and ‘Still Alive’ are in the gentle rock mode, but it’s when ‘Gimme A Sign’ gets underway that the album really starts to do it for me. There are a couple of guest appearance’s that are worth mentioning, first up it’s Morever and Offspring’s Pearl, who lends a great vocal to ‘Leave It All Behind’ and ‘Too Late’, which features Bruce Kulick and the superb ‘Moments’, which features Sweeney duetting with Robin Beck. Sweeney will like Michael Kiske before him, gain many more fans from the Melodic and AOR scenes with this real gem of an album. Barry McMinn (80/100)
TRIOSPHERE - The Road Less Travelled (AFM Records) The band around singer/bassist Ida Haukland definitely not only is an exceptional outfit because of their female singer. Their mixture of melody, power and excellent songwriting is incredible. It combines the best of gutsy Heavy/Power Metal with Scandinavian Hard Rock and some progressive influences. The opening track "Driven" immediately makes clear that powerful Metal sound and female vocals don´t have to be contrary. But it´s not only the singer/bassist frontwoman that keeps up the immensely high level, as all musicians perform in an excellent way. And when they rehearse and compose songs together, it´s just magic. With their second album Triosphere have now already recorded a piece of work that has the potential to become a future classic. Listen to songs like "Human Condition", the thrilling "The Anger And The Silent Remorse" or any other track and you will agree. The album is produced in the Jailhouse Studios (Denmark) by experienced sound master Tommy Hansen (Helloween, Jorn, Pagan´s Mind). Vitale Nocerino (80/100)
SHADOWSIDE - “Dare To Dream” (NL Distribution) Shadowside come from Brazil and have already released this album, "Dare to Dream", in Brazil only during the last year. Now, thanks to NL they have now the worldwide release so all the worldwide metal - heads can buy their it. Shadowside delivers heavy metal with the catchy flavor of melodic hard rock and the vocals are handled by the beautiful Dani Nolden; Her voice is strong and impressive and is one of the most relevant elements of “Dare To Dream”. The album was recorded, produced and mixed by Dave Schiffman (Audioslave, System of a Down, Six Feet Under) and mastered by Howie Weinberg (Iron Maiden, Metallica, Pantera, Rush, Aerosmith and several others),and is the second album they have released. Pure heavy metal full of amazing riffs and impressive hooklines, “Dare To Dream” is solid and full of creative heavy elements and will please you thanks to songs like “In The Night”, “Memories”, “Hideaway” and the deep ballad “Time To Say Goodbye”. Vitale Nocerino (80/100)
LOVE MACHINE – “Hungry For Your Love” (Steelheart Memories Records) The Melodic Hard-Rock style has never been so popular in Italy, especially during the ‘80s and the ’90s when the italian fans were way much more into Traditional Metal and Thrash/Speed Metal. Still, the Melodic Rock scene there was really strong and worth competing with the german and, in general, european one (U.S.A. was, obviously, another planet… but that’s’ another story), with names like Royal Air Force, Elektradrive, Axton, X-Hero and Love Machine on top of the genre. Coming from the Milano-area, this group, after a quite weak debut-album, released in 1992 “Hungry For Your Love”, a real masterpiece of classic European Melodic Metal/Hard Rock, clearly influenced by Scorpions, Bonfire, Victory, China and the likes. From the powerful opener “Waitin’ To A Closet”, to the final and very Scorpion-esque “Love Machine”, passing thru the beautiful ballad “To A New Sun”, the double bass-hymn “Fire” (very german!) or the sing-a-long anthem “Lady In Red”, this album is worth any minute. This reissue gives Love Machine a second chance as the band just reunited and is now ready to Rock the world! Life can be sweet sometimes… Rob “Ezy” Bone (88/100)
L.A. GUNS – “Live! A Night On The Strip” (Ear Music) Oh well, another L.A. Guns live album? What the f**k! How many of these live albums the band recorded and released during their career? Too many, if you ask me. So, the question now is: is there a point on releasing this? Or, better, to re-release this? In fact this Cd has been released for the first time back in 2000, and from then it came out in 3 different versions (basically with different coverartworks). So for all of you who still don’t have it, that’s a nice recording of the show played on the “Key Club” at the infamous Hollywood Sunset Strip, during October 1999, featuring the “classic” lineup of Philip Lewis (vocals), Tracii Guns (guitars), Mick Cripps (guitars), Kelly Nickels (bass) and Steve Riley (drums), so quite an event for the band! All the hits are there, "Sex Action", “One More Reason”,"Kiss My Love Goodbye", “Over The Edge”, “Never Enough”, “Electric Gypsy”, “The Ballad Of Jane”, "Rip’n'Tear"… the thing is that if you’re a L.A. Guns (as me) I guess you already have this Cd; if you’re not, you’d better start with their first two studio-albums… but for all the others, that’s a nice addiction to your beloved Sleazy/Street Rock albums collection. Primo Bonali (77/100)
FIRECRACKER – “Born On Fire” (Escape Music) First thing that hits you with Firecracker is some Yngwie styled guitar heroics, it certainly got my attention. But then the vocals kicked in. The band is a pre-cursor to the quality Swedish progmetal band Vindictiv, featuring the band's founder Stefan Lindholm. This is a softer, less progressive version of the Vindictiv sound, even though the 9 songs still nearly make a 50 minute album. There is some terrific guitar work on this album, but it is pretty clear to see why it never got a deal back in the day and I'm thinking it might have been better off left behind. The songs just don't have the attention grabbing melodies of Vindictiv and the move to Goran Edman was certainly a step up from vocalist Tommy Kerevik used here. He's a good singer, but just doesn't seem to fit in here. This is an ok album, but there is so much around these days that anything less than great is going to struggle to be remembered or make any kind of inroads into the market place. One for die hard Vindictiv fans perhaps. Melodicrock.com (70/100)
WICKED SENSATION – “Crystallized” (Metal Heaven) Wicked Sensation are back with this album entiteld "Crystallized". It includes all the typical trademarks that make the band famous among the melodic rock lovers: incredible melodies and heavy riffs. The production of Dennis Ward (PINK CREAM 69) one of the plus points and make the sound really huge. "Crystallized" also includes a guest appearance by no other than Helloween's singer Andi Deris on the song called "My Turn To Fly". Other special guests on the album are the guitarist Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon, Star One) involved on the song "Gimme The Night" and the keyboarder Eric Ragno (Graham Bonnet, China Blue) on "Give It Up". "Crystallized" impresses with a variety of first class songs, which definitely have a convincing impact. I’m sure you will be pleased by this album and you will give a lot of listen to it, just give it a try! Vitale Nocerino (85/100) MRF | 13
Duncan Jamieson: Your new record is effectively a greatest hits record with some new recordings added for good measure, including some classic songs that you wrote but were recorded by the likes of Michael Bolton and Cher. What prompted you to release this record now? Mark Mangold: We played at Firefest and Georg Siegl was there and invited us to do a new record partly new and partly compilation. DJ: The new recordings sound great and the old songs have worn well. The likes of ‘Don’t You Know What Love Is?’ has been a favourite of mine since I heard it on a monsters of rock compilation back in 1981. Which songs of yours on this CD sum up your music best or are particular favourites of yours? MM: Love "Fuk U Up".... the heavier stuff. DJ: Your new contract with Metal Heaven includes a record of all new material. Do you think there will be any changes to The Drive She Said sound and when do you think that new record will happen? MM: We are always loving to record new things... it's nice not to be locked into a "sound" and to be permitted to express our creativity, which was the basis of all our records. I don't know what you mean by the "Drive, She Said" sound... if you could express that to me... it may be easier to do more Drive, She Said records, ha ha. DJ: It seems you never quite got your due. Touch were great and your work with Michael Bolton on the ‘Everybody’s Crazy’ record makes it one of the best AOR records of all time. Drive she Said arrived at the same time grunge was climbing out of the swamp. Do you feel you never got the commercial success you deserved? MM: Yes... ha. But still working on it. DJ: You’ve worked with some big names in the past. Is there anyone you’d really like to work with or write a song for? MM: Ah, so many. I write in alot of styles and gravitate to great singers. I finished two CDs with a band called "The Radiant" that were kind of alternative...keyboard based. Also have actually done alot of pop, even some dance and hip hop. All about communicating and getting it out there; as Deep Purple said... "Difficult to Cure":))) DJ: You went down well at the Firefest in 2009. Have you got any more live gigs lined up? MM: Working on getting more gigs... putting it together... which is always a bit of a challenge. MRF | 15
Band: Masterplan Album: Time To Be King Interview with: Roland Grapow Interviewed by: Fulvio Bordi Question: Let’s introduce this so long awaited Masterplan comeback. “Time To be King” won’t absolutely disappoint old date admirers with a very consolidated band’s trademark; and, at the same time, it has the huge potential to catalyze the attention of still more listeners with a very high level songwriting. Do you agree? Is it the time to be king for Masterplan? Answer: Yes it is time for us now, to show the potential of the band with Jorn again as our front man , to show that we are one of the best bands outside, we have our own sound and trademark, yes it is Time To Be King for us ;-) Q: “Time To Be King” presents the band in awesome shape, performing great songs with a more mature sound and a still more straight songwriting, going right to privilege the “song” dimension. Do you agree? In your opinion, which are the main differences between “Time To Be King” and the past releases? A: Yes I totally agree, I guess we didFocus on:
n’t care so much about trends and what we did in the past, we wanted to continue with Jorn as a new band with fresh feelings and reloaded songwriting batteries, we are sounding like always, like Masterplan but more powerful and more direct to the point, we found the inspiration in our teamwork Axel, Jorn and me, we are very happy about the result. Q: Is “Time To Be King” to be considered some kind of concept album? I find some kind of connection in the lyrics along all the songs… A: Not really, Jorn has his style of writing lyrics and he is very into historical stories, like time to be king, lonely winds of war or blue europa, but on other hand he was very inspired also by private stories, like the black one and the dark road, which is my personal story, about me and my ex girlfriend, Jorn was in the studio last year in August when he saw my relationship breaking with her, it is a very personal album for us, especially for me. Q: Masterplan has today a very affirmed, personal and original
musical trademark. I think anyone can recognize the band by listening its songs since the very first seconds. Are you glad of the results the band has been gaining along the years? And in your opinion how much can the band still improve its potentialities? A: I am more than proud of that, it is the result of the constellation of the band members and also of the experience we have as musicians and songwriters, maybe also my passion for producing our albums, everything I learned from my studio work, especially working with Roy Z and Andy Sneap, changed my life and I think it is a big part of the Masterplan sound, Andy Sneap teached me everything which I always wanted to know about producing and guitarsound… together with the final mixing in Finland with Mikko Karmilla and Mastering with Mika Jussilla is our sound and secret I guess!! Q: Any tourdates already planned? A: Yes for November we are planning a big European tour and trying to play many festivals 2011...
MASTERPLAN - Time To Be King (AFM Records)
As the title suggests, maybe this is really the time to be king for Masterplan. After more than three years absence, the band headed by talented ex Helloween axeman Roland Grapow comes back with a new, fresh, assaulting release featuring Jorn Lande back on vocals. “Time To Be King” assures the band a new decisive quality step forward with a new set of songs making up an ideal crossing point between a smart, well rounded songwriting, melody and energy. All the band pushes down very heavy and at the same time compositions seem to go still more straight to the point giving still more importance to the “song” oriented dimension. Today, with this new upcoming effort, the entire band looks like still more as an unique entity and Jorn Lande’s voice is always a warranty to assure his irreplaceable trademark in both performance and songwriting. Surely “Time To Be King” won’t disappoint all the band’s fans and first time admirers, making the band conquer new ones with its fascinating, sincere and quality Heavy Metal with great melodic hooks and absolutely no compromises. Well done guys! Fulvio Bordi (90/100)
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Band: John Waite Album: In Real Time Interview with: John Waite Interviewed by: Fabio Mainardi “In Real Time” is a raw and energetic live recording, with excellent musicians on stage. Would you like to introduce them to us? Answer: Tim Hogan is a hard-core bass player. He’s rooted in the late 60’s / early 70’s music that we both love so much – from the New York Dolls to Mott the Hoople and Free to Humble Pie. We seem to know all the same records and have the same reference points. He reminds me of Johnny Cash – he wears black all the time. He has a wicked sense of humor and drinks Guinness. Luis Maldonado (lead guitar) is our notso-secret weapon. He plays with enormous fire and accuracy, and never fails to surprise me when we play together. He’s kind of spiritual and thoughtful and always on 10. Billy Wilkes (drums) is the engine of the band and our timekeeper, and sometimes compass. He’s from the Southern U.S. and brings an enormous amount of drive to the rhythm section. We couldn’t do it without him. Everyone likes Billy. Q: Do these songs come from Focus on:
one show or you taped many of the recent tour dates? A: We had a string of nine shows in the same venue and recorded each show. All the shows were pretty good, but the last performance was the one where we didn’t care about the detail – we just played. I think about 90% of the album comes from that final show. Everything went right, and everyone was going for it. There was no question about which songs to pick. The songs spoke for themselves. Q: Basically we may find the history of you career throughout the songs of the album, from the old hits like “Change,” “Missing You,” The Babys’ “Back On My Feet Again” or Bad English’s “Best Of What I Got” and “When I See You Smile”. Are you satisfied with this songs list or there were other recordings you wanted them to wind up on the album? A: “Suicide Life” and “Downtown” are real favorites live, and I wish they could have been on the record. “Isn’t It Time” is also a crowd
favorite. The good news is we would like to record a second live album and release it later in the year as a follow-up. Q: I guess each song has a story of its own, would you like to share with us which are the tunes you feel more next to you. A: They’re all great songs. They sound different every night, and sometimes we take them places they haven’t been before. Anything can happen at any particular gig. We play by feel, and depending on the audience’s energy. You get back what you give, and the band always gives 100%. Q: Are you going to tour after that? A: We tour all the time. We go out and play gigs. It’s what we do. Europe is somewhere I’m very interested in playing. We’ve done two tours there in the last nine months. We’d like to come back and do a third. The European audiences are different, and I’m interested in playing to those people. Being European myself, it means a lot.
JOHN WAITE - In Real Time (Frontiers Records)
John Waite got his first recognitions as the lead singer and bassist of The Babys, a British group which had a certain success in the sales charts and solid followings of concerts goers back in the ‘70. After an exciting 10 years solo career, Waite joined former Babys bandmates, Jonathan Cain and Ricky Phillips along with Neal Schon from Journey and drummer Deen Castronovo, to form the supergroup Bad English. which ballad "When I See You Smile" went to #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 and earned a Gold-certified single. “In Real Time” is his new live CD recorded on tour last year with John Waite’s new band. It’s way to cool listening again to all his classic hits like Change,” “Missing You, “Back On My Feet Again” from The Babys years along with Bad English’s “Best Of What I Got” and “When I See You Smile”. All songs, spanning John entire musical history, shine of real new live while performed live. Digging this album you may also listen John singing an historical rock gem, such as Led Zeppelin “Rock and Roll”. This record shows what Rock music is in its simplicity, as John himself stated lately: a three-piece band with a singer. No frills, no strings, just straight ahead rock’n’roll songs in their raw true form. Fabio Mainardi (90/100)
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Band: Y&T Album: Facemelter Interview with: Dave Meniketti Interviewed by: Barry McMinn Focus on:
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Y&T - Facemelter (Frontiers Records)
Well it’s finally come, after 13 long years Y&T return to the studio for their new album ‘Facemelter’ and as the title depicts this is Meniketti and co. returning with what is without a doubt a true and complete Y&T experience. “Face-melting” is a term that has been with Y&T since the mid-'70s, when a rabid fan ran backstage and told the band, "you melted my face!", which inspired the group's first publishing company:"Facemelting Music". This one is for the bands army of fans who have stayed true to the band over the years. Right from the opening track ‘Prelude’ and ‘On With The Show’, right through to the final few chords of ‘Losing My Mind’, this is what they’ve been crying out for since 1997 and the band last studio release. The album rocks as only Y&T can with great tracks like ‘Shine On’, the superb ‘How Long’, the hard rockin’ ‘Blind Patriot’ and ‘I Want Your Money’, but these are just a few of my favourites from the album. But this isn’t just a four track wonder, this is thirteen, count ‘em, thirteen face-melting Y&T future classics, and with John Taylor Dismukes called upon once again for the cover artwork, this just adds to the authenticity of the album. A great return and I for one can’t wait to hear this album performed live because that’s where Y&T songs belong, on the live stage. Barry McMinn (90/100)
Question: So it’s been 13 years since the bands last studio album, why now return to the studio and a new album? A: During some of the years between the last CD and now Y&T wasn't always a very active band. Since we really went full time again in 2003 we had initially been satisfied to tour for the fans that had not seen us in a long time, or for the first time. But since then, it became increasingly evident that we needed to do something new again. At first I believe it was mostly that we felt we wanted to do a new CD for the fans, but mostly it has turned out that it was something we had to do fro ourselves. Y&T needed to be creative and vital again in the present day and not just a band that lives on their past accomplishments alone. This turns out to be very important for us and the piece that felt missing the last decade. Q: I understand the majority of the album was recorded live with the band together, was this important to the band to do things this way? A: Yes, Y&T has always been a band that was a better live band than what the studio albums came off like. We knew that we had to do the best we could to get that live feel of Y&T into a studio album and we went at it in the best way we knew how to achieve that. That meant that we wanted to play everything as a band live in the studio and keep all the parts, just fixing any little blunders along the way, rather than only keeping drums and overdubbing all the parts afterwards. We even left solos with just a single rhythm guitar underneath, exactly as it would be live because we just didn't want to do a standard overproduction on this CD. Q: When you decided to do a new album did you have any preconceptions of how you wanted ‘Facemelter’ to sound? A: All we cared about was the final product before going into record - that we had enough good material and that it rocked. We simply wrote whatever came into our heads, as we always have. No worked out ideas of trying to recreate older popular albums. That would have been a disaster as far as the way we do things. We have
to write for how we feel now, not try to duplicate something we did 25 years ago. Not fair to the band or the fans to not have something that is real and uncalculated. Q: How did the song writing for the album take shape, did you all bring ideas to the table? A: Yes, everyone was free to bring ideas into rehearsals and song writing sessions. It became obvious which ideas we would go with as we all decided as a group which were the strongest prospects. It was a very natural process and we were pleasantly surprised that it wasn't a struggle to turn on the creative juices again after having been away from it for so long. Q: Obviously with this being the bands first album in some 13 years, did you feel any pressure going back into the studio? A: The main pressures were the deadline for the record to be delivered and the initial anticipation about how easy or hard it would be to get creative and come up with really great ideas again. After a few weeks of writing in January 2008 it became clear we had nothing to worry about as far as song writing was concerned. And as far as the deadline to be done in time, we needed that to get this finished, otherwise we would have probably taken another year. Q: With a band like Y&T fans are going to compare this new album to the likes of ‘Black Tiger’ and ‘Meanstreak’, how do you as a band feel this album stands up to those classics and the bands other albums? A: I feel this is every bit as classic as those albums and I have an idea this may end up being one of the albums that future CDs will be put up against. Of course, it's up to the fans to make that determination, because we realize that with anything new it will be scrutinized by our work from the past gems. Only time will tell, but by the reactions so far to 1 minute clips that some of the fans have heard, it's looking good. Q: The band will be appearing at this year’s Melodic Rock Festival in Chicago, will you be showcasing the new album there?
A: We haven't had the time to work up a lot of new songs yet, considering the CD just got completed 2 weeks ago, but we will be debuting at least 1 or 2 new songs from the CD for the first time live at the festival. Q: You’ve brought in John Taylor Dismukes once again to do the artwork on the album. Did you have any input on how you wanted the cover to look? A: Yes, Phil had the concept for the front cover art and he was the one that talked directly with Dismukes to get his vision as close as John and he could get it. We knew from the beginning that John was our man because we wanted this to reflect that great and timeless artwork we had on Black Tiger, Meanstreak and In Rock We Trust. Q: Looking back over your career, what has kept Y&T going when so many other bands have fallen by the wayside? A: The commitment of our fans to the band is the biggest reason, followed by the fact that we always believed in ourselves and never doubted our abilities for a moment. Plus, this is one of the best jobs one could ever have - when we look at the alternatives nothing comes close to the feeling of playing these songs live for the great fans we have. It's like a celebration every night. Q: The band has always been a solid touring band, will this continue and what plans have you to take ‘Facemelter’ to the masses worldwide? A: We will be doing a full worldwide tour for Facemelter playing more shows than we've ever played in a year. And this marks the first time in 2 decades that we will actually go across the US for 6 weeks in a tour bus. And of course we will be touring Europe for 2 months during the year and Japan as well. Q: Finally any last words for the army of Y&T fans out there? A: Our fans have always inspired us to be the best we can every night and have given us the incentive to continue our career. We're lucky guys to have such a dedicated fans base and the best way we know how to thank them properly is to give them 100% at everything we do. And I know we will always give that back to them.
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Band: Triumph Album: Greatest Hits Remixed Interview with: Gil Moore Interviewed by: Fulvio Bordi Question: “Greatest Hits” is the best way to start this new deal with Frontiers Records. This double disc set (CD+DVD) features all the best songs along the glorious Triumph career in a new remixed version and in a very elegant, deluxe package. How did you select all the songs? Did you follow a particular standard? Answer: Firstly, thank you for the compliments!!! We actually polled the fans that visit our website regularly as well as from the Sweden Rock gig we did. They submitted the ideal set list to us online. Then, we put all the songs into a hat, and picked the first 14. Q: When did you realize it was the right time to release this greatest hits? A: In 1989, when MCA put out the Classics album with very little input from the band. The music was fine, but the packaging was horrible. In only took 20 years for us to get it done!!!! But it was worth the effort!! Q: If you had to make a Triumph Focus on:
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concert today, would this be the complete ideal track-list for the live performance? A: Perhaps, but not in the order of the CD. And, probably 14 is too many songs for us to do in concert. Q: The track-list features as final song the cover “Love Hurts”. When did the band record it? Has it a particular meaning for you? A: That was recorded during the Triumph V.2, Edge of Excess album sessions with Phil X on Guitar. It was not released then and has sat in can till now… It was an obvious re-mix and a song that nobody has heard before…I mean by Triumph. I always loved Nazareth. Q: Let’s talk about the DVD disc. It features eleven promo videos, plus very interesting material. Please, would you present it? A: The DVD took forever to get finished. We kept adding more tracks... then we took the old promo videos, and had them stretched into 16:9 widescreen. Considering their age, they look very cool
that way. Most of the audio is mixed in 5.1. The surround sound really brings the experience to life, especially with the live concert footage. Q: I think this release is the best way to represent all the band’s musical progression along the years. All songs show perfectly how much important is Triumph’s legacy to Hard Rock history. How all the fans have to considerate this release? A definitive closing chapter, or a hope for a new Triumph return? A: I want the fans to know that we put this package together with them in mind. And, we don’t look at this as a closing chapter at all. Although, if this was the last product we ever released, I just as proud of the presentation 1o years from now. We always have looked at every opportunity as a new beginning… so you never know what 2011 will bring. Q: Which is the best advice you’d give to today’s newcomers artists? A: The same advise I gave for the last 30 years… Don’t quit your day job!!!!
TRIUMPH - Greatest Hits Remixed (Frontiers Records)
This is not a simple greatest hits, mates: this is history. Triumph turn back on the line with a double disc deluxe package (CD+DVD) featuring the best this band has made along their glorious career. The CD includes fourteen all-time legendary hits which contributed to make history in Melodic Rock, starting from “Allied Forces”, “Follow Your Heart”, “Magic Power”, “Fight The Good Fight”, “Never Surrender” and so on until the closing “Love Hurts”, a previously unreleased cover version of the hit made famous by Nazareth along the Seventies, now re-interpreted with the unique, magic Triumph’s touch. All songs come out remixed by Rick Chycki (Aerosmith, Rush) sounding still greater than the original ones. The second DVD disc is a must as well, featuring eleven promo videos, three bonus unreleased live song videos and the Triumph’s Canadian Music Hall of Fame Night. This elegant digipack double disc includes a very rich booklet with several photos and linear notes, and is an ideal starting point for new fans and a new “must have” for old date ones, enjoying the possibility to listen to all the Triumph’s most important hits dressed in a new class mix work. Fulvio Bordi (94/100)