CONTENTS
04 R i c h a r d M a r x 06 H a r d l i n e 07 W i g Wa m 08 Sonata Arctica + Luca Turilli’s R. 09 The Murder Of My Sweet 10 P o l u t i o n 12 R e v i e w s 14 D r i v e r 15 E n d O f S e p t e m b e r 17 G r e a t W h i t e 19 C i r c u s M a x i m u s 21 S h a d o w s i d e + H a r t m a n n 22 J o r n Melodic Rock Fanzine
The official Frontiers Records magazine Year #8 - Nr. 3 / Issue #50 Editor-in-chief: Elio Bordi Graphic & Design: Elio Bordi Writers: Bruce E.J. Atkinson, Duncan Jamieson, Barry McMinn, Vitale Nocerino, Rob “Ezy” Bone, Fabio Mainardi, Tommy Hash, Primo Bonali. 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 Facebook: facebook.com/frontiersrecordsofficial Twitter: twitter.com/frontiersrec Editor and publisher: Frontiers Records s.r.l. Copyright©2012 Frontiers Records. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Printed in Italy.
artist. R. Marx album. inside my head Interview with. r. marx interviewed by:. barry mcminn
Question: First of all congratulation for your new album, it’s a masterpiece! Let’s start from the beginning. How has the music industry changed since back in the ’80s when your first hit single “Don’t Mean Nothing” hit the airwaves? Do you think it has changed for the worst or for the better? Answer: I don’t know if there is a real definitive answer to that question. How has it changed? How hasn’t it changed — it is just night and day. On one hand I think the accessibility as we all know is a lot easier. But I don’t know if that is a good thing. I am not even talking about illegal downloading. I am talking about being able to have your entire music collection on hand. On one hand, I think that is so amazing. Somewhere along the way, as music physically got smaller do did people’s sense of Focus on:
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importance of it. I have three sons who are between 17 and 20 years old. They love music but they and their friends, it is not as a top priority list. It is not like when I was a kid and I would stand in front of a record store waiting for the new Peter Gabriel record to be released at 10. A.M. I don’t really know if there is anybody out there. Maybe Taylor Swift’s fans or Justin Bieber’s fans have that real trendy thing that happens for a couple of years where their young fan base gets really excited about new stuff. Generally speaking I don’t think there is much artist element of people following someone’s career year after year. People don’t make a point of listening anymore. The days of sitting down listening to a whole album and reading the liner notes, I think those days are gone forever unfortunately. Q: You come from a very musical
background. Your Dad, Dick Marx was a musician. What was it like singing with him at five years old and singing the jingles for some of the best know television commercials? A: He was a total pro. He was a very gifted composer, arranger, and producer. I learned a tremendous amount working with him. I hit the Dad lottery. I had the coolest Dad ever. The fact that I got some of his DNA through the musical bloodline has been a great help to me. On top of everything else I try and explain this to people, I grew up with an immensely talented father but a father that adored every second of his job. I didn’t grow up around a guy who was punching in and punching out and hating his work. My Dad loved what he did. I am so glad that I do too. It is something that I don’t ever take for granted.
RICHARD MARX - Inside My Head (Frontiers Records)
With over 30 million record sales and writer of 13 number one songs, the name of Richard Marx is synonymous with great melody rich music. Now with this new album he returns new songs that prove there are still quality artists out there producing top class, quality music. This album is pure Marx, from the opener ‘Had Enough’ the quality is there for all to hear. The years might have gone by but the vocals are still as fresh as when we first heard them on his self titled solo album way back in 1987. The album continues its impressive path with the stunning ‘Wouldn’t Let Me Love You’, the sublime ballad ‘Like Heaven’, the semi -acoustic ‘On The Inside’, the subtle soundscapes of ‘Through My Veins’ and ‘Loved’, two beautiful keyboard accompanied songs. Marx even brings a little jazz funk into the mix on ‘Come Running’ and ‘Scars’, before showing his rockier side with the excellent ‘All Over Me’ and the album closer ‘Part of Me’. This new studio album is what the fans have been crying out for, and with a bonus “Best Of” CD containing his hits and more, be prepared to get Richard Marx inside you head once more. Barry McMinn (92/100)
Q: You’ve written a lot of songs with other people, and a lot of them have become hits. Do you have a sense of which one tends to surprise people the most? A: Not really. I guess the ones that aren’t as obvious to people are the Josh Groban song (“To Where You Are”) and probably the Keith Urban stuff, like “Better Life,” because it’s country. I mean, to me, a lot of country now is ’80s pop with steel guitar (laughs), and Keith is a really modern country artist. He can do the traditional thing all day long, but he’s really more of a crossover artist, so I think that what I do lends itself to Keith pretty effortlessly. And he’s never trying to get me to be a country guy, he’s always wanting me to just be me and write melodies that I would normally write, and we go from there. But I don’t know. There are some songs that I’ve written with other artists that haven’t come out yet that I think would be more surprising. I’m hoping those happen, because they’re off the beaten path. That’s what I’m really most proud of in my songwriting career — except for polka (laughs), I’ve pretty much written songs in every genre and had success in every genre. So that’s probably something that I hold up that’s unique in terms of my career. It’s probably the only thing that’s unique about my career. But it’s kind of fun. It never gets boring. This record I just finished producing is really a country
record. The artist, George Canyon, is very big up in Canada and he’s a real sort of George Jones kind of voice, real old-school country. And it’s really fun to go in and live in that world, because it’s not a normal place for me to be. How about your collaboration with your sons? All three of them have great voices — I saw that nice video on your site of the kids at Christmas, and I heard you did a concert together. What’s your role in working with them? A: Well, my role is a tightrope, because on one hand [Brandon] has to do his own thing and find his own way. There’s a part of me that wants to make everything easy for him and if I could sort of hand him a career, I would, but on the other hand, I want him to struggle. I want him to appreciate it and know what goes into this stuff. The only thing that’s a drag is that it’s not the same playing field as when I started. I had so many opportunities available to me — being able to do a variety of things as I could — when I moved out to L.A. when I was 18, I took work as a keyboard player, as a guitar player… I would produce people’s demos for 50 bucks. I would do background vocals on people’s demos or records. That whole menu of possibilities is gone. People do everything in-house, and the studio system as we knew it, where recording studios, you could literally just… I remember when I was making my
first couple of records, Rod Stewart was down the hall making a record and David Lee Roth was down the hall making a record, and sometimes they’d go, “Hey, can you come and sing a part for me on this?” It was very collaborative, and like a community, and it’s completely not like that anymore. So I worry about that for my kids, but they’re really good. I mean, they’re really talented. Brandon, my oldest, is probably my favorite singer out there. All nepotism aside, I really think he’s an incredible singer. And his songwriting is leaps and bounds ahead of what I was doing at that age. But he’s gotta kind of find his own way, and especially if he’s associated with me, I don’t think it’s a good thing for him. It’s something where I want him to just do his own thing. So he’s trying to find his way. I thought [the concert] would be good because he has very little performing experience, and I thought, well, it’s gonna be a friendly crowd, because my fans are going to want him to be great, so he came up before me and did four songs by himself. His brother helped him out on one or two, and it was great. The audience loved him. He did great. It was his first time out. This weekend, he’s opening for an act at some venue in Chicago, which kind of came through a friend of a friend of his. It’s with him and his band, and we’re going to go out and watch them. It’s exciting, but it’s also scary. I wish I could wave a magic wand.
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BAnd. hardline album. danger zone Interview with. j. gioeli interviewed by:. b. atkinson
Question: “Danger Zone” marks a re-invention of sorts for Hardline… Let’s talk about the events that spurred you on… Answer: Well it was by way of Serafino / CEO of Frontiers Records that has always been the driving force behind keeping it all going… He’s been a fan since record 1 and a believer in the Hardline musical style. Q: With Alessandro now fully in the group… Has he kind of reignited the fire? A: Yes, he was just a young kid when Double Eclipse came out… haaaaa... Punk… And he obviously blossomed into a fantastic musician, engineer, producer, writer and tree trimmer… haaaaa… kidding… he doesn’t trim trees… At least, I don’t think so. Q: The new record also harkens back to your first couple of efforts… Is this the style of music that you are most comfortable with? A: With this style… yes. This is what I grew up with… It’s what I know… And love. It’s music to me not some of the bullshit out there. Focus on:
I feel its freshness too…like a car air freshener… ha. Q: The group sounds stronger than ever… I would imagine that the recording process generated some surprises… Pleasant ones at that!? A: Yes, it was quite amazing to hear it building and coming together… a very 3D experience for me. Q: In recent years Classic Melodic Rock experienced a sort of "come back", after having been practically ignored by the mainstream audience for more than a decade. Do you see this as a new start for the band? Do you think you will release new albums regularly from now on? A: Honestly, I'm not sure of any comeback with this style of music... Actually, it's quite dead in the States... Like... In the grave dead. But in Europe the fans stand strong to what they love...dedicated and persistant to keep the sound alive... That's really freakin' cool. And Serafino... keeps the flame burning. I never know exactly what I'm doing next...I surprise
myself sometimes! haaa... So, I'm not 100% sure if I will make more Hardline albums or not... but.... I love this new lineup and think Ale and I can write some killer tunes... so if you ask me would I? The answer is absolutely. Q: With a solid record, and record label… It seems the sky is the limit for Hardline. Can we expect some live appearances during 2012? A: I agree… I think there are many paths we can take and sustain if that’s what the group wants to do… I limit my stress to minimal gray hairs… So, I’m good to go for a ride on this one… Let’s have some fun… Q: Thanks for answering these short questions…and congratulations on an excellent new album….as is my tradition… I like to have my guests leave us with the last words…so, please, go ahead! And thanks ever so much! A: Thanks for believing in music that makes you feel… makes you think… Can sustain you…and touches you in ways that only music can. Crank this shit. See you all soon…
H A R D L I N E - Danger Zone ( F r o n t i e r s R e c o r d s )
Keeping the flames of Melodic Rock high, “Danger Zone” is a most welcome release from “Hardline”. Technically the group’s fourth album, it could be considered their first, since the group could be “Hardline 2”. Founding member, Vocalist Johnny Gioeli has regrouped ‘Hardline’ with a distinct Pan-European taste. Teaming up with ‘Edge of Forever’s Allessandro Del Vecchio, Mr. Gioeli has produced a gem! From the opening cut “Fever Dreams”—the rock just oozes out! Fantastic keyboard/guitar interplay thanks to Alessandro and Thorsten Koehne… “Danger Zone” delivers up ever so tastey soaring musical forays that drive to the heart. Drummer Francesco Jovino lays down the beat with great authority and is reinforced by the strong arm of Bassist Anna Portalupi! Each track on “Danger Zone” is performed and sung with passion, with a capital ‘P’. The album just continues to build… Simply a striking musical journey from start to finish. Bruce Atkinson (92/100) 6 | MRF
BAnd. wig wam album. wall street Interview with. teeny interviewed by. b. m,cminn Question: It’s been three years since your last studio album, why the wait between this album and ‘Non Stop Rock n Roll’? Answer: We started the tour January and ended December 2010, so when we were done we had some obligations to do. Glam went back to his Queen tribute show, witch I also contributed in studio and live sometimes. I went back to producing in my studio. Q: Has this been a work in progress over the three years, or did you just take time out to concentrate just on the album? A: We made time in the end because the various projects we have. Some of the material we started last year. Q: The bands larger than life stage persona is brought out on your studio releases, how important is it that the studio sound mirrors the sound you have in your live performance? A: I think all is natural. We don’t think much about it. Its just what happens when you put the four of us together in the studio or on a Focus on:
stage. There is room for fun;-) Its not something we thought out but when we hit the stage, we are like an underdog that wants to take everyone for a ride, and we fear nothing. When I perform, I need to be there a hundred % in every situation, and I want the gig to be the best I ever did. And that happens every night. Q: ‘Non Stop’ … Was the bands first simultaneous worldwide release and got rave reviews, did you feel any pressure when you worked on the new album to follow its success now the whole world know who Wig Wam are? A: I don’t think so. Att least not i. The best work you can do is when you don’t think about things like that, and just try to have fun making music. You have to trust you taste, and hope that the same people will like this one too. Q: The album mixes the up tempo rockers with some gentler ballads in typical Wig Wam style, but are there any tracks on the album you’re particularly proud of and why? A: I listen to, Wall Street, Victory
is sweet, bleeding daylight, Tides will turn, One million Enemies, Things money cant buy. Good songs and when I lay down my producer hat, I can enjoy some guitar work I have done. It has been so much fun playing guitar on this album. Q: The band gave us a taste of the new album with the single ‘Wall Street’, with us all at the mercy of the banking world, how important is it for bands these days to take control of their own destiny? A: It’s the most important thing you can do after learning to play. It has taken us many years to control our destiny. If you cant handle money or do to much drugs, most bands go down the drain. There goes the R&R lifestyle illusion down the drain too… ha ha Q: Will the band be taking to the road to promote the new album and if so will you be stepping out beyond your native Norway? A: We are doing promo and planning gigs as we speak. Of course we are coming out of Norway for touring.
WIG WAM - Wall Street (Frontiers Records)
Glam, Teeny, Sporty and Flash are back and unlike the Dow Jones, the band’s value is most definitely on the up and rising. This is pure Wig Wam, an album full of rich melodies and good time rockin’ that gets underway with the title track and first single ‘Wall Street’. From here on in the good times don’t just roll, they rock. As the album continues to impress with the lick filled thumper ‘OMG I Wish I Had A Gun’ and the classical overtures of ‘ Victory is Sweet’ that has a West End, Broadway musical vibe. But if you like a good old school rock tune, then the likes of ‘The Bigger The Better’ and ‘Wrong Can Feel So Right’, the latter that I think all fans of the band have probably said at some time or another. The album keeps producing great tunes, with ‘Try My Body On’ and the funky ‘Natural High’, leading the way for the album closer, the instrumental gem ‘Things Money Can’t Buy’. All great songs showcasing that this band are the class act we all know they are, and beyond the stage personas and the lipstick, Wig Wam really are a force to be reckoned with in the world of Melodic and Hard Rock. Barry McMinni (92/100) MRF | 7
Primo Bonali: Hello guys! How are you? First of all many congratulations for your new GREAT album, "Stones Grow Her Name". Would you like to introduce it to our readers? Henrik Klingenberg: Hi, I'm fine thanks for asking. Our new album Stones Grow Her Name is probably the most rock'n'roll of our our albums so far. We went for a more straight-forward approach and tried to make a sound that's closer to our live shows. PB: In my opinion the new album sounds slightly heavier than your previous ones. Do you agree? Is this new album reflecting what the band is musically now? HK: Yeah, the album is quite heavy with the guitars more in the front than before. I think whenever we make an album that is a snapshot of where the band is at that time. So, definately yes, at the moment this is pretty much where we are musically. Don't know what the situation will be in a couple of years but right now this is it !! PB: With so many successful albums on your shoulders and a big label like Nuclear Blast now with you, have you felt some pressure for this new Work? How was your expectations about the album, and has the work in studio been as planned? HK: When we work on albums we don't really feel any pressure, at least I don't. It's just starting now when the album is done and you wonder if it will be a success or what the hell will happend. We expected to get the new songs properly recorded and mixed and that of course did go almost exactly as planned, but as said the biggest thing right now is to see how the album will do, and of course to get back on the road playing the new stuff for people. PB: Talking about the songwriting, what has been the process you've used? HK: It's been like with the past few albums: Tony writes songs and makes demos of them and the we get together at our rehersal place for about 6-7 weeks and work out the arrangements and such things. After that we record our parts and mix the whole thing. PB: What about the themes you're developing lyrically on the album? HK: It's mainly based on human events, fictional love stories and such. Of course our first single I have a right makes a statement about childrens rights but as usual there's all kinds of stories going on on the album so now universal theme this time. PB: Touring-plans in the next months? HK: We start off with summer festivals in Europe and from there we'll do clubshows in the fall, first in Finland and then in Europe. After that I guess it's the rest of the world that needs to be covered. The last world tour was over 180 shows in almost 40 coutries so with this one I believe we'll be on the road for quite some time as well.
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Vitale Nocerino: Luca, you just finished the work on the new record. How do you personally feel about it? Luca Turilli: In one word… wasted ha ha! Well, honestly, it has been the greatest artistic effort of my whole life as musician. A spiritual and a physical effort too. As you can imagine I really „live“ and „feel“ every note of my albums and this one has taken me completely. Artistically this album has been a real journey through other dimensions. The studio work to have it done and „ready to go“ seemed to be eternal and still now I am not realizing the work on it has really finished ha ha. VN: Last year, you decided to leave RHAPSODY OF FIRE and create a new band, with “old” and “new” members. How does this new line-up feel for you? LT: In reality it is not true that I and some other band members left RHAPSODY OF FIRE. It was a common decision from both sides. It simply happened a split between me and Alex Staropoli as the working feeling was not the same anymore after so many years of artistic sinergy. After the 10th official album released and the end of the fantasy saga on which all the music and lyrics of the band were based until that point, we felt the artistic perspectives were not the same anymore. Therefore we agreed on a friendly basis to keep both the name RHAPSODY and to start a new adventure with the same artistic possibilities. Dominique (guitar) and Patrice (bass) decided to follow me in my new RHAPSODY band while Alex Holzwarth preferred to not make a choice, loving and respecting the both of us in the same way. Therefore Alex and I have now the chance to have his amazing drumming in both bands. The new one is just the perfect line-up for me. They are for sure great musicians but at the same time they are also great and positive people and this, honestly, is even more important for me. We are united and feel to be almost like a family. I consider this as essential for a band, especially before facing a new headliner tour like the one we are preparing to support our new album. VN: The whole album is something huge – like a Hollywood movie, or a whole classical symphony. How long did you work on it? LT: It took me 5 months to compose this album and 4 further months to produce it in the studio of my friend Sebastian. But putting it like that I probably don‘t give you the idea of the right amount of work really needed to get it done. In these 9 months I personally worked at the rhtyhm of minimum 14 hours per day, leaving and breathing for it. Holidays… this is a word I erased from my dictionary a long time ago ha ha. The fact ist hat I love my work and for me composing and writing music is the best gift I had from life.
BAnd. the murde of my sweet album. Bye Bye Lullaby Interview with. Angelica Rylin interviewed by. duncan jamieson
Question: Good to have you back. How does it feel to have the new record finished? Answer: Thank you! It feels really good to be back and with a new album and a stronger sound. Two years have passed between the releases but it’s been a hectic period for us promoting and touring for “Divanity”. I loved every second of it though :) Q: There are great commercial moments such as “Fallen” and then there is material like “Black September” with its complex arrangement. Do you think it is more diverse than the debut? A: I think we pulled together a stronger album than “Divanity” with a more even sound through all the songs although they vary in style and commercial value. On “Bye bye lullaby” we added more guitars and guitar solos, the compositions are a bit heavier and faster but we still have that cinematic sound that most fans have showed to love and that not many other bands have picked up yet. I think that if you liked “Divanity” you are going to love “Bye bye lullaby” and if you haven’t discovered us yet you should pick up a copy at you local record store and give us a try. You won’t regret Focus on:
it! You mix up more modern symphonic and gothic sounds with some more traditional, big melodic rock and pop hooks. Is this what you set out to achieve or has it happened organically as a result of the different musical tastes of the band members? A: Right from the start it was always important for us to write the kind of songs we would like to listen to our selves. Both Daniel and I are big fans of the kind of music you hear in movies and the impact that particular sound has on you, I mean if you have tried to watch a movie without the sound on you know what I mean. To try and combine that with our song writing seemed like the natural way for us to begin and it felt so right when we heard the final result for the first time. We couldn’t list any band that we knew of that used that specific element for their sound and it’s always nice to be unique and to break new ground. Q: Your debut “Divanity” was well received when it came out in 2010. What opportunities did its success open up for you? A: The support we had from our record label at the time (Frontiers Records) regarding the promotion
was great and opened many doors for us. We got the chance to play at some of the biggest festivals these last two summers such as Sweden Rock Festival, Raismes Fest and of course Wacken open air! We were also featured in many of the bigger magazines such as Burrn, Classic Rock, Close-up, Sweden rock magazine, Rock hard, Metal Hammer and Break out to mention a few. In 2010 we also got the huge honour to have Japanese rock star/model/actress Anna Tsuchiya record a cover of our song “Follow the rain” called “Shout in the rain” for her album “Rule”. She actually released that song as a single and recorded a great video too. But the best thing about having a successful debut release is that it opens up for a band to grow and evolve and to get the chance to release another album. Q: What are Murder Of My Sweet’s plans and have you got any gigs lined up? A: Today we focus on getting this album out there. I would love to go on tour this summer or this fall and then I already have so many ideas for a follow up so I really need to get back in the studio and write some more songs. We’re also making plans for a music video.
THE MURDER OF MY SWEET - Bye Bye Lullaby (AFM Records)
Daniel Flores (Crash the System, Mind’s Eye) returns with the second The Murder Of My Sweet record. At heart they are a melodic rock band, even more so on this one than the debut, but they dress their sound up with modern symphonic sounding keyboards and darker, gothic, down tuned riffs. However, the defining element to their character is lead singer Angelica Rylin. She’s the star of the show here, singing as clearly as a bell. She’s versatile with a good range, wrapping her tonsils round some ripe pop melodies. The uber-catchy “Fallen” and “Unbreakable” could by Britney Spears, backed by a metal band. “Meant to Last Forever” and “Idolise” aren’t a million miles from the infectious, up-tempo AOR of Frontiers artist Issa. There are some more ambitious arrangements, as you would expect from Flores, on the likes of “Violently Peaceful”, “Resurrection” and “Waiting For The 27th”. The Murder Of My Sweet continue to eke out their own niche, balancing melody with the gothic, symphonic vibe that’s currently in vogue in metal circles; a combination that could see them appeal to a broad audience. Duncan Jamieson (90/100)
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band. polution album. BEYOND CONTROL Interview with. Marcel Betschart interviewed by:. F.Mainardi Question: Here we are with your record producer Tommy Vetterli for this album? second album after named him “the Chainsaw”), Lead A: You probably won’t be surprised “Overheated” debuted in 2007. Guitar: Marcel Betschart, Rhythm we wrote all the songs together. Why did it take you five years to Guitar: Thisi Betschart, Bass: Every band member has its own come out with “Beyond control”? Andreas Betschart, Drums: Armin favourites and you would be amazed Answer: That’s not quite right as Betschart. Once in a while Polution is about the range within the band. “Overheated” was debuted in 2008. claimed to be a “band of brothers” Therefore every song is a sample of After the successful release we referring to the fact that four of the band member’s taste and not focussed on playing as many gigs as them have the same last name. We the result of some big influence. We possible, first in Switzerland and in find that quite amusing! The truth is think for that same fact it’s quite dif2009 and 2010 also all over Europe that only Armin and Andreas are ficult to classify Polution’s style. touring with Shakra and on our own brothers, the others are not even They call it Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, playing in countries such as related. Melodic Metal... In some store in Germany, Italy, Belgium, Q: You started as a cover band, Paris we even found our first album Netherlands and Czech Republic. By which are the artists/band you classified as “Death Metal”. Well, the end of 2010 we had gathered like the most to cover? that’s probably not the closest shot. enough new song material to start A: There were many favourite bands However, the variety within the song working on the second record but we we liked to cover including Metallica material is one of Polution’s big choose to totally focus on quality and Motörhead but we came a long strengthens. instead of quantity and therefore way since then. When we pick a Did you already played some of took our time. For the same reason cover nowadays we don’t focus on the new songs live? we choose to record analogue. It the band anymore but on the song’s A: Yes, we played “Follow Me” and proved to be the right decision. energy. Therefore there is no “All In” live at two gigs. They turned Listening to “Beyond control” you favourite “band-to-cover” anymore. out to be awesome to perform on will agree. When you started recording had stage and the audience’s feedback Q: Can you introduce Polution to you a clear vision of what direc- was very positive as well. So now our readers? tion the album would have we’re eager to play all the new songs A: The band is like a bunch of pals taken? on stage as even practising them is sharing their biggest passion. We A: Yes. With the first album we had great fun. like to fool around but as soon as it set quite a standard and now we had Q: Have you plan touring in comes down to music we prove to be excellent material that was every- support of the album any time heavy workers. We made big efforts thing Polution stands for: powerful, soon? to get where we are and don’t think straightforward and in-your-face. It A: Yes, back in Switzerland we’ll be we’re about to slow down. Polution is was out of question the second on stage soon and we’re currently a real down-to-earth band not inter- record would outmatch the first con- planning further tours through ested in clichés at all but in playing tinuing in the same style but in a Europe again. As soon as they’re good, honest and hand-made music. more sophisticated way. confirmed you’ll find them on our Line up: Lead vocals: Pascal Q: Which are the biggest influ- website, keep an eye on it. Gwerder (While producing the first ences you had writing materials Focus on: POLUTION - Beyond Control (Escape Music) Founded in 1997 and playing since 2005 the Helvetic Pollution debuted with “Overheated” in 2007 and now we are with their follow up “Beyond Control”. The band originally focused on cover-versions of bands like AC/DC, Metallica and Motörhead and their first love is still strong in their music. Although trying to develop a personal style based on catchy melodies and hard guitars, Pollution are not the kings of originality. The sound seems a good mix of Krokus, AC/DC and Gotthard but with some lack of personality. Out of the 12 tracks "Follow Me" and the ballad “Forever And A Day" represent the best moments followed by good songs such as "Fire", "The Band" and "War". "Beyond Control", not a bad CD at all, Pollution deliver an aggressive album full of hammering riffs and great melodies that will please numbers of rock fans around. Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (86/100) 10 | MRF
PLAYER - Addiction (Frontiers Records - Digital release) Although only a three song digital release… ”Addiction” shouts out clearly that ‘Player’ have returned! “My Addiction”, a brand new song from the group shows Player at their finest. A beautiful up-tempo song full of melody and positive lyrics. A modern love song for the Summer of 2012…almost West Coast, close your eyes and you can actually see the sunset over Los Angles!!R Ronn Moss is the singer on this song and it is really into the mood, amazing performance! “Too Many Reasons” let’s us know that these guys are serious about their comeback. A song full of attitude, mature musical forays, and one that will stick in your mind! The last song is the classic “Baby Come Back” in a new version, completely re-played. It is now more modern a more rough but always one of the best songs of the end of secenties! “Addiction” is just a sample of what we can expect from Player and their new full length album, which will be released later this year. Player in 2012?... Yes! — “Baby Come Back”!! Bruce Atkinson (90/100) SONATA ARCTICA - Stones Grow Her Name (Nuclear Blast) “Stones Grow Her Name” is not a typical melodic Power Metal album. As Sonata Arctica are definitely not a typical melodic Power Metal band. It looks like the finnish are not afraid to explore new territories, as the new album starts with these two very melodic songs (“Only the Broken Hearts” and “Shitload O' Money”) arriving quickly to “Losing My Insanity” (a fast Melodic Metal song with Prog Metal passages) and to the heavier (and a bit more confused, in my opinion) “Somewhere Close To You”, going to the AOR/Melodic Rock tune “I Have A Right”. With “Alone In Heaven” and on, the band go further and the sound incorporates influences from Blind Guardian to Dream Theater, arriving up to Queen. The band is in top-shape and especially singer Tony Kakko displays an incredible and various performance. Not an instant-hit, this is an album to discover and to taste slowly, play after play. Primo Bonali (85/100)
HARTMANN - Balance (Avenue Of Allies) When the former At Vance singer released his blinding debut in 2005, it was one of the melodic rock highlights of that year. Since then his albums have become a case of diminishing returns. I’m happy to report that”Balance”, his fourth album as Hartmann, reverses that trend. The best of the tracks are stacked at the beginning of the record, with the brilliantly catchy rockers “All My Life” and “Like A River”, in particlar, being as good as anything in his back catalogue. They show off his big, impassioned vocals that drip emotion and demontrate why he’s been sharing a stage recently with rock giants like IanGillian and Jimi Jamison. Closing the album with a cover of the much played Tears for Fears classic “Shout” and then two ballads (athough “Time To Face The Truth” is a peach) suggests the running order should have been rejigged. Having said that, some nice arrangement touches such as varied backing vocals and interesting keyboard textures compensate for a small budget and overall this is definitely a return to form for the German. You feel with Hartmann, however, to quote the title of his final track that “The Best Is Yet To Come”. Duncan Jamieson (90/100)
CRAAFT - Second Honeymoon (Yesterrock) Craaft is a German band from the late eighties featuring Klaus Luley, they released three albums. “Second Honeymoon” was their second one originally released in 1988. Yesterrock publish now once again this album remastered and with three bonus tracks, three demo songs from 1987. Probably this is among the most convincing vocals performance by Luley out of his works and sounds rawer and with a harder edge in respect of other projects he has been involved. Not much to say about production where the “German” attitude give us a classic for the time product. Songs wise there no one that really stand up to the others, the opener “Run away” and “Twisted up all Inside” meet my taste better but the songs are quite the same all along the album. It's an honest '80s album that bring onboard all classic themes form that era, from nice choruses and sinth all over the place but with a big lack of originality. “Second Honeymoon” is an AOR album like many others, nice to listen easy to forget. Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (85/100) LUCA TURILLI’S RHAPSODY - Ascending To Infinity (Nuclear Blast) Following the mutual decision of guitarist Luca Turilli and keyboardist Alex Staropoli to go separate ways, Staropoli will continue under the Rhapsody Of Fire-monicker and Turilli will use the original Rhapsodyname. What a messy situation! To join this “new” Rhapsody are two of the older Rhapsody-members, such as guitarist Dominique Leurquin and bassist Patrice Guers, plus new drummer Alex Landenburg (Annihilator, Stratovarius) and the sensational new singer Alessandro Conti (previously known as singer of Trick Or Treat). Presenting the new album, Luca Turilli describes the music of Rhapsody as “much more cinematic and grand than anything Rhaps! ody of F ire ever has done”… and with an album-title like “Ascending To Infinity” and songs like “Dante’s Inferno”, “Excalibur” and “Dark Fate Of Atlantis” you’ll surely have no doubts about it! What should I add? If you liked Turilli’s past Works, especially the most epic and operatic moments, you’ll love also this CD. Classical parts, cinematic interludes, orchestrations, epic choirs, pompous arrangements, everything is “big” and ambitious here. Not for all the MRF readers, but who likes the genre will go crazy for this. Primo Bonali (85/100)
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AT VANCE - Facing Your Enemy (AFM Records) With this being At Vance’s ninth release, and just as many line-up changes—“Facing Your Enemy” is a brawny and powerful musical statement. Founding member and guitarist Olaf Lenk seems to draw the best out of each member, whether new or not… And creates constant fresh viewpoints in song. Current vocalist Rick Altzi has been with the group sine VII, released in 2007. Showing great depth, Rick’s vocals drive this release to the upper echelons of the Heavy Metal spectrum. A classic line-up of guitar-bass-drums-and vocals, At Vance goes to the limits with this combination. The results are both solid and balanced. Great driving songs…great driven songs, with melodic undercurrents. A very interesting selection of music, “Facing Your Enemy” is perhaps this group’s strongest effort yet. Bruce Atkinson (88/100)
UDO - Celebrator (AFM Records) There’s much to celebrate; twenty-five years since Udo left Accept and went solo, almost ten years since he joined the AFM label and it’s his sixtieth birthday to boot. A cake and a few balloons aren’t enough for UDO. Instead, the living legend gives us twenty-five tracks over two CDs. Most of the material has been released as additional EP tracks before. Remixed it’s nice to have it all together, as unless you’re a diehard fan, it’s unlikey that you’ll have everything. Included are collaborations with Hammerfall, Lordi, Raven and Dora that keep the music varied. He re-works the Accept classic “Balls To the Wall” as a demented orchestrated lounge number which might not oust the original from its place in your affections but it does work in its eccentric way. The material here is as strong as the tunes that did find their way on to his albums. There are also three previously unreleased tracks with “The Tallyman” being classic UDO. His signature shredded vocals are matched on this one by an equally unhinged, gargling guitar solo. The living embodiment of Teutonic Metal, UDO demonstrates that his longevity can be attributed to a mixture of uniqueness and consistency. Duncan Jamieson (90/100) BOULEVARD - What’s Up (Yesterrock) Avoiding doubts, we are talking about the Swedish group from Gothenburg and not about the Canadian band of the same name. “What's Up” is the re-release of their 1987 album and here we are in the '80 at full force with fourteen tracks of melodic hard rock that takes back to classi band from the AOR scene such as Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Poison and Europe. Since the first note of the opener 'Solid As A Rock' start you are taken deep back to that period and sound, no doubts. And this is the good and the bad the same time as all tunes show a very dated sounding genre and we have to say that productions wise the work is below par indeed, giving the whole album a creepy sound and a very simplistic mix. It's sad because some tracks would have rocked really hard with a better treatment, some others instead are just quite at demo level and not even to mention. All an all a nice travel back in time that lovers of that period will appreciate. Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (82/100)
GOTTHARD – Firebirth (Nuclear Blast) The death of Steve Lee has been a real tragedy not only for this band but for the whole Rock world. Leo Leoni and his mates chose a new singer (the incredible Nic Maeder) and the overall sound of the new album speaks “loud and clear” the language of the continuity. Gotthard starts exactly from where they left with Steve; more, they decided to go back to their roots, and they recorded “Firebirth” at the “Yellow House Studios”, in Lugano, under the production of Leo Leoni and Paul Leni (who produced their previous successful albums, “G” and “Homerun”). The result is an incredible and somehow unexpected (due to the big loss just suffered) album, starting from the first emotional single “Remember It’s Me” (obviously dedicated to the departed singer) passing thru “Starlight” (where Maeder sounds so close to Steve Lee), the catchy “Yippie Aye Yay”, some more powerful and somehow modern tunes like “Fight” and “Give Me Real”, and the unmissable ballad “Shine”. The end is reserved to “Where are You”, an unbelievably emotional song as a tribute to Steve Lee. If you buy only a very few Cd in the year, this should be one of these! Primo Bonali (95/100)
SABATON – Carolus Rex (Nuclear Blast) Swedish power metal band Sabaton reach their seventh studio album, Carolus Rex, the last with the original lineup, in fact in the album the band still feature Daniel Mullback on drums, Daniel Mÿhr on keyboards, and Oskar Montelius & Rikard Sundén on guitars. Sabaton are a heavy metal band that loves keyboards too, and they use them as counterparts to the power of huge guitars dynamics. "Carolus Rex" is an epic yet a very ambitious album. The vocal harmonies are deep developed to open up for outstanding guitar solos, the choice to slow down a bit the tempo on many songs give a more solid edge to the music, helped by the new direction taken by the lyrics that abandoned the Sabaton usual World War II/Nazi Germany themes. You may like or not the genre but “Carolus Rex" is quite a good example of what epic power metal means and will surely widely appreciated. Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (87/100)
ACCEPT – Stalingrad (Nuclear Blast) The band led by the guitars Wolf Hoffmann and Herman Franks, the bass of Peter Baltes, the drumming of Stefan Schwarz and the mighty vocals of Mark Tornillo are back and back with all the venom and riff laden might that you associate with the Accept name. From the opening barrage of ‘Hung Drawn and Quartered’ and title track ‘Stalingrad’, you can almost taste the metal in the air, with Hoffman and Herman sharing the guitar duties like six string assassins cutting the air with licks sharp and fast. But it’s Tornillo that really shines on this album, the similarities to one Mr Dirkscheider are unmistakable, but this is only the start as he has a presence that matches his might. This vocal might is brought to light on the likes of ‘Flash To Bang Time’ and ‘The Quick and the Dead’, although where he really shines is the more sedate metal of the haunting ‘Shadow Soldiers’ and ‘Twist of Fate’. All in all this is one of the best Accept albums in recent history and equals the mighty ‘Restless And Wild’. I’m sure this will become a firm fan favourite when it’s finally released. Barry McMinn (90/100)
SHADOWSIDE – Inner Monster Out (Ulterium Records) Not known for exporting great rock bands…Brazil should be! Shadowside hail from Santos-Brazil and they have what it takes to become a major Metal Force! “Inner Monster Out” is the quartet’s third full length album. It begins with a driving, soaring and melodic Metal wave that propels this record to the highest of heights! From their official biography: “Power, energy, intensity. These three words defined Shadowside’s career path very well…”, and those same words describe their third effort… Power-this record RIPS!...Energy, there is no end to it! Intensity, yes!, each song is performed with it and so is the lyrical content! Winning fans all over the world, the group’s constant touring has produced a very tightly woven juggernaut of Hard Molten rock. Dani Nolden’s vocals have an indescribable quality… Strong and dynamic, yet melodic, just like the music it crowns! “Inner Monster Out” should further Shadowside’s career by legions, and bringing a whole nations’ Rock Music scene to world attention. Bruce Atkinson (90/100) MRF | 13
BAnd. driver album. Countdown Interview with. rob rock interviewed by:. f. mainardi
Question: Almost four years have passed since your debut album “Sons Of Thunder”. Which are the main differences between “Count down” and “Sons Of Thunder”? Answer: I'd say the the new album has a fresher writing and a new approach. For the songwriting we set out to have one solid foot in the traditional Driver sound and the other in a newer sound with new songs. The sound production of the album we geared toward the classic Ozzy / Dio sound of the 80's, no drum samples, and used old school studio effects, so we keep true to the 80's hard rock style that we love. Q: Did you write all songs recently or did you use some old demos form the early days? A: There are four older songs and six newer songs on the CD. They blend quite well together and we tried hard to keep it all in the same vibe as a complete album. Q: Can you introduce us who Driver are today? A: We have the same line-up as the 2009 “Sons of Thunder” CD: Guitar: Roy Z, Drums: Reynold "Butch" Carlson, Vocals: Rob Rock, Focus on:
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Keys: Ed Roth, Bass: Aaron Samson. Q: Musicians that played on the album will be onboard for next live performances? A: Yes, everybody is anxious to play live and get out there to see our fans and friends. Q: What your thoughts about technology in music recording? Do you prefer playing live in the studio or work out tunes separately? A: In the beginning stages of writing the songs, we work out the tunes seperately. I do like a live vibe in the studio, especially with drums, but today's technology makes it more convenient to record at one's own place and pace... So I like that aspect of it. With Driver, we go for a live vibe when we record, even if the band is not in the same room at the same time. Q: Where do you take inspiration about lyrics on this one? A: News. Political news, entertainment news, national news. I hear what's going on and try to comment on it in a new way. I also look into world history and the Biblical views on our current
D R I V E R - Coutdown (Metal Heaven)
events and then comment on them from my own personal viewpoint. Q: What your thoughts on current Rock scene? A: Currently... I have high hopes. I actually heard a guitar solo on the radio yesterday! Also, on youtube there are new young bands imitating the 80's rock sound... So that's exciting for me to hear because I love that style of rock. Q: What are your music influences and which are musicians / bands you like the most nowadays? A: Dio, Foreigner, Ozzy, Styx, Boston, Aerosmith... The classic rock acts of the early 80's. That's what made me love rock n roll so I think that was my main influence to pursue music in the first place. Todays bands... I like songs here and there but I haven't tapped into any main group lately. Q: Are you planning touring now? A: Right now we are seeking out promoters to see what may be possible for us this year. I hope we can put together a good run and get to play live for our fans and friends, especially in Europe!
After almost four years after the 2008 debut album Driver are back with “Countdown” the follow-up to “Sons Of Thunder”. Originally formed by members of the super group M.A.R.S. in the late Eighties, Driver is run by vocalist Rob Rock (Impellitteri, Warrior, Joshua, Avantasia, Axel Rudi Pell) and guitarist/producer Roy Z (Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford, Tribe Of Gypsies) along with original drummer Reynold 'Butch' Carlson (Jag Panzer, Joey Tafolla, Tribe After Tribe), Ed Roth (Glenn Hughes, Ronnie Montrose, Impellitteri) on keyboards and Aaron Samson (Odin, George Lynch, John 5) on bass. “Countdown” is a compilation of new material and several old demos resurrected by the band, such as “Destiny”, “Thief in the Night” and “Always on my Mind”. Recorded and mixed at Roy Z's California-based studio and mastered by Maor Appelbaum (Halford, Sepultura, Yngwie Malmsteen) the album sees number of contributions such as bassists Ray Burke (Life After Death, Bruce Dickinson) and Daniel Cordova (Shades Of Crimson, Vengeance Rising), as well as veteran vocalist Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen, Royal Hunt) and bring back the listener to a classic Driver-style sound the reminds the glorious and powerful sound of the early 80's heavy metal. Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (86/100)
BAnd. end of september album. end of september Interview with. e. tordsson interviewed by:.b. mcminn
Question: For those unfamiliar with the band, can you give us brief history of End of September and how it all came together? Answer: It all started with me writing songs on my own in 2009. I found vocalist Victoria and made a two song demo. Victoria left the band and I started the search for a replacement. In 2011 I found vocalist Elin and soon after that Johan and Johan joined on bass and drums. Q: How long did it take before the band received label interest - how did you go about getting signed? A: Ulterium Records showed their interest after hearing the first demo with Victoria. And they've been involved during the whole process with finding a new vocalist. So the signing process has actually been extremely long. What are your (commercial) expectations for this your debut album? A: The problem with music business are you can never expect anything. What you think might work might Focus on:
not and vice versa. What we're hoping for is to be able to make another record and get out on tour. Q: Are you pleased with how the new album turned out? Do you have a favourite track that for you epitomizes what End of September are all about? A: We are very happy with how everything from artwork to production turned out. Although I think every musician wants to do things even better. That's what drives us to make another record. I think what epitomizes us best are a mixture of more than one of our songs. I like all songs in a way but Isolated and Silence are my favourites at the moment. Q: When you set out to start the new album, did you have a style in mind or was it formed out of the songs already written? A: I had it roughly figured out when I started writing the first songs. Then I've made some minor changes along the way but the main plan were always there. Q: Lyrically there are some pretty strong messages in some of your songs. Where does such
inspiration come from? A: I write all lyrics out of life experiences and that's what inspires me. And many of our lyrics can be interpreted by the listener in different ways. Q: What makes you different to other bands in the female fronted metal scene? A: When I started this band I knew I wanted to sing a bit myself but I didn't want to front the band. So I figured that the best complement to my voice would be a female fronting. Neither one of us listens to female fronted metal. So I don't see us as a female fronted metal band. We're just a metal band that happens to have a female fronting. And that's what makes us different. Q: Do you have any plans to play live for the new album? A: Yes, we already have a few gigs booked and more coming. Our first ever gig will be as a support to Amaranthe here in Sweden, and then we have a couple of other shows and festivals confirmed for the summer. We’re hoping to hit the stage as much as possible during 2012 and 2013!
E N D O F S E P T E M B E R - End Of September (Ulterium Records) End Of September is the brainchild of guitarist Erik Tordsson who started working on End Of September back in 2009, but then when vocalist Victoria Sundberg left the band, things went into a two year hiatus, until vocalist Elin Redin was found along with the remaining band members Johan Nöjd (bass) and Johan Svensson (drums), who completed the lineup. The band mix of modern metal and melodic metal with some symphonic tones, that really show the band are on to something rather special and this mix combined with Tordsson’s song writing and the majestic tones of Redin, are the perfect recipe for success. The album is very focused on the big guitars sounds and the vocals of Redin, unlike some bands in the same genre, they have lessoned the gruff male vocals (they are still there in places but remain a secondary force). With great songs like album opener ‘Isolated’, the heavy bass ridden ‘A Place To Go’ and the excellent ‘Inner Voice’, all showing the complexity of the bands overall sound. This band aren’t one trick ponies, they can mix things up and produce great tunes in the process. Definitely a band with a big future. They might be named End of September, but this debut album is just the start. Barry McMinn (90/100)
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BAnd. great White album. elation Interview with. mark kendall interviewed by:. D. jamieson
Question: What differences were there in terms of songwriting and how you worked together in the studio? A: Terry vibrates differently than Jack. He contributes musical ideas and when we are all in the same room the creative energy is at a high level. We always do what's best for the song and not our egos. We had more ideas stemming from jamming together, which is different than in the past. In the past I would have a musical idea, I would show it to Jack and then I would show him the vocal melody ideas I had and he would write down words and we would rehearse and record. Now there is way more spontaneity. Q: Terry was, of course, in XYZ. The album he cut last year with Bridger shared a lot of the same blues rock influences as Great White. How long have you known Terry and how did you decide he was the man for the job? A: I have known of him for years but not personally. The only song I was familiar with from XYZ was Inside Out. Our agent I believe suggested him Focus on:
when we needed someone to fill in. The first time I met him was when he flew out to fill in for Jack Russell. We had no rehearsals with him and he basically learned songs on the airplane. I guess he was kind of familiar with our music. I was blown away by his performance with such little notice. I am a pure blues guy and so is Terry. The reason Great White sounds the way it does is because everyone has different influences and that's what makes a band sound like a band. After doing almost 80 shows with him there wasn't even a question that we wanted him in the band. His voice melts into our bands music perfectly and playing and writing together is an absolute blast!! Q: How have the fans taken to Terry when you’ve played live? A: The fans have accepted Terry with open arms. The Promoters and fans have really welcomed Terry. His energy on stage is off the charts killer. He's the real deal and a complete professional in every way!! Q: Has the new blood in the band fired your creativity for this record?
G R E A T W H I T E - Elation (Frontiers Records)
A: Absolutely, but Michael and I have always worked well together. This was a complete band effort in every way and we do enjoy each other. Q: You’ve always been a classy hard blues rock band but back in the 80’s you were lumped in with the fluffier LA hair metal bands. Do you think the connection helped or hindered your progress? A: To tell you the truth, I didn't pay that much attention to all that. I have just always felt like we are a rock and blues band, but if someone wants to include our hair with that, more power to them. Q: What are your plans now and is there a chance of seeing you coming over to Europe anytime soon? A: We will definitely come to Europe! We want to help get our new music to the people!! I want people to hear our new record, even if they don't buy it, lol. All kidding aside, we are going to play live all we can and there are plans to tour Europe in the works. Thanks to all the Great White fans for all the years of being a part of our music and supporting rock and roll. We love you all!!!!!
The much publicised split between the band and singer Jack Russell means “Elation” is a new start of sorts for Great White. The band have gone with the seasoned Terry Ilious (XYZ, Bridger) as Russell’s replacement. Personally, I think it works a treat. He sings as well as I’ve ever heard him as if he’s out to prove a point. His elastic, bluesy voice is a good fit for the band’s trademark 70sindebted, bluesy, hard rock. It sounds like they’re having a blast as they rip through twelve tracks that show them back in love with the music they grew up with. A rough and ready production adds to the organic feel of the record. Highlights include the very Led Zeppelin sounding “(I’ve Got) Something For You”, the Bad Company throb of “Heart Of A Man” and the bouncy “Shotgun Willie’s”. “Feelin’ So Much Better” with its “Now the poison has gone/it’s time to move on feeling so much better” line sounds like a thinly veiled dig at Russell. Regardless of the mud being thrown from both camps in the press, on record it’s all smiles as this is a great, old-school rock album. Duncan Jamieson (92/100)
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band. circus maximus album. nine Interview with:. mats haugen interviewed by:. d. jamieson Question: What’s been happening in your lives since 'Isolate' that’s kept you away for so long? Answer: Since 'Isolate', besides being in “hibernation” :) we have had tragic and happy events. Some of us has experienced loss and 3 have become parents. That plus several unlucky incidents with the production being HD crashes, injuries and so on, is some of the reasons why we have not being able to finish the album until now. Q: It’s another great album from you. It’s even more melodic but heavy and with lots of ideas going on that reveals more layers with each listen. A: Thanks! We are really happy with 'Nine'. It was in the cards all along since our previous release that we had to do something else this time. We needed to have a production that would match the songs and justify the quality of them. In fact, its got fever layers than both 'Isolate' and 'The 1st Chapter' so taking it to pieces might feel easier for the listener. At least on some tracks. We also clearly wanted a different mix this time. A good friend of us, Christer Cederberg was the one we ended up using. He usually does more pop oriented production ( Besides the new 'Anathema' album he did ) so he had the exact tools we needed to challenge ourselves and Focus on:
the new songs. He truly is one of the best in the business. Regardless of the genre. Q: The last record was a concept album. What was the idea behind this record? A: Where the material on The 1st chapter and Isolate is more fictiv, 'Nine' is grounded in life experiences and from life itself. The idea behind 'Nine' is routed in keeping things naked and raw. This concerns everything from the album cover to the songs, lyrics and mix. Q: What is the significance of the title “Nine” A: Everyone is the architect of their own future" Spiritually, the number 'Nine' symbolizes that in several ways. Then we have 9 songs to top it. Hence the title 'Nine' Q: Although you write most of the songs, how much do they change from their conception to how they turn out after input from the rest of the band in the studio? Which songs on the new record changed most? A: I think the pre-production that was made on this one was in total more studied than before. More or less everything was well thought out when we started the final production/recordings. One thing that is amazing in the band is that when everyone is laying their work on the
C I R C U S M A X I M U S - Nine (Frontiers Records)
songs. That is when the magic really happens! Especially the bass on this one. It sounds so amazing! I believe the songs that changed the most is 'The One' and 'The Last Goodbye'. They had a little different outcome than on the pre-production. Q: How do you think the world of prog rock has changed in the five years since you’ve been away? A: I think the world of prog is somewhat the same since our last endeavour. Although it has had more commercial success with bands like Muse and more Metal bands like Mastodon and Opeth and so on. Like in all genres, music is always somewhat evolving. Some people will always prefer the traditional recipe while others not. Q: Have you got any gigs or festivals lined up anytime soon? Which new tracks do you think you’ll try out in your live set? A: We have plans for several gigs and tours in the near future. In late august we are planning a tour in Norway followed up by a tour in Europe. We will and we are ready to do a lot more shows than ever. When it comes to the songs I think we will try to do most of them live if not the whole album. We have some old songs that we the know the crowd want to hear so of course we have to make some exceptions on the coming setlist.
After a five year gap since their last album “Isolation”, the Norwegian melodic prog band are back on their third album sounding as bold and as impressive as ever. It takes until midway through the second track “Architect Of Fortune” when the music shifts gear that the band’s trademark sound re-emerges; progressive arrangements, heavy, emotive guitar, keyboards and Michael Ericksen’s great melodic rock voice. “Game Of Life” and “Reach Within” have enough hooks to appeal to the melodic rock fraternity in the way Vanden Plas do. Whereas the more ambitious heaviness of “Used” and the great drum barrage that drives “The One” will appeal more to the serious prog metal fan. Despite a couple of longer tracks they’ve decided to keep songs more focussed than the sprawling approach of their debut. There’s still a lot going on in each track, meaning it takes some living with before it really gets beneath your skin. The addition of acoustic guitar on the intro to “Burn after Reading” and the Yes-like “The Last Goodbye” adds further colour, showing how Mats Haugen’s song writing has continued to develop, enhancing the band’s majestic, ethereal prog metal sound. Duncan Jamison (95/100)
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Duncan Jamison: You’ve got a solid band with you. Can you tell us about these guys? Oliver Hartmann: It’s really what you can call a solid “band” because we didn’t have any changes in the line up since the first gigs in 2005 when touring with the album “Out in the cold”. Just our keyboard player Juergen Wuest left the band after the production of “3” to take more care of his solo project. But since then we’re touring as a 4piece-band what is perfectly working. We have Armin Donderer on bass, who is a former member of Paradox and Freedom Call, and Mario Reck on second guitar. Both are great musicians and I’m happy to have them in the band. We have Dario Ciccioni on drums and since last year he is also taking care of additional backing vocals during live shows – and he’s doing an amazing job – am I right? DJ: There’s a really good balance of songs not surprising, given the name of the record!) from uptempo rockers like “All My Life” and “Like A River” to some songs where you ease off the gas like “Dance On The Wire”. How long did you work on the tracks on “Balance” and what does the title allude to? OH: We’ve been working on this album a bit longer than we used to in the past – close to two and a half years now. The main reason is that I was touring a lot with other projects like AVANTASIA in 2010 and ROCK MEETS CLASSIC last winter so I didn’t have the time to really concentrate just on HARTMANN. That’s why the songwriting for the new album somehow happened in steps. The idea to call the album “Balance” came up by our guitar player Mario while searching for a fitting title. Somehow this album has the right balance of everything that is important for us as band regarding the music. On the other hand the inner balance in general is important for everything you do in your life. There’s no black without white, no good without bad, no ying without yang. The goal is maybe to find the right mixture of both sides to lead your life into the right direction – and sometimes it’s really like dancing on a wire, haha ;-) DJ: How do you feel you’ve developed as a solo artist since your debut? OH: I think everything developed in the right direction. “Out in the cold“ was the first record in 2005 and already received great critics. But it was the first record where I was the only songwriter and it was a real solo project. With the following albums “Home” and “3” we had the chance to develop and fine tune our style and the songwriting and I think “Balance” really has the perfect mixture. We decided to produce the album with Sascha Paeth again, who was also involved in all other HARTMANN albums. He knows our style and really likes our music – and he did a perfect job on this one! Q: What’s the next step for you and the band? You’ve got some German gigs lined up. Can we look forward to seeing you live in other parts of Europe this year? OH: Right now we are looking forward to some touring in summer and we are still working on doing the support for a well known band we already accompanied in the past. Besides that we hope to also tour outside Germany this time, hopefully also outside Europe in autumn but let’s see how things will develop.
Bruce Atkinson: I would like to begin with a brief history of the band… And what it is like being from Brazil, musically speaking... Dani : Being in a Metal band here is usually an uphill struggle but at the same time it's extremely entertaining, I can't tell you how much fun I have shocking the old ladies who think I'm going to eat their hearts or something like that (laughs). We had no idea what would happen after the release of our first demo... in less than a year, we built a good national reputation which soon led to the release of our debut album, Theatre of Shadows. We toured a lot nationally and when we were getting ready to record the second album, Dare to Dream, the label put together a short US tour and that was our first international step. It was so successful that it led to a second one, then a third and for a long time, we were playing more in the United States than in our country. After lots of gigs we decided that it was time to stop for a little bit and focus on new material, which is the Inner Monster Out album that is coming out now! BA: Let’s look at your new effort…”Inner Monster Out”…a great collection, what did you want to accomplish with this record, and have you succeeded? D: We basically wanted to get out of Sweden, where we recorded the album, with the best material of our careers and I'm pretty confident that we did it. We wanted to come up with something we could enjoy playing live and listening to, something we would really stop to listen to on the radio and actually want to buy it if it was done by somebody else. Musical differences were embraced on this album. Our drummer Fabio is a thrash metal fan, Raphael loves modern, melodic death metal like In Flames, as I do as well, but I'm a hard rock fanatic for example. So we just accepted it all and wouldn't stop working on a song until we managed that all members were truly happy with it. BA: You also seem to have a huge and loyal fan base right at home…which must inspire you to push on… D: It definitely does... the main reason is the music of course, but the fans indeed add fuel to the fire and a lot of it. Seeing those happy faces singing the song I wrote in my bedroom, in the tourbus... it's priceless. Having them come to you saying your music changed their lives or they relate to the lyrics you wrote, or they use your music as inspiration... when I'm down, all I have to do is to think of those people. How can I ever be down with such a special thing going on in my life? It really keeps us going... their wish for our music definitely makes me happier about writing and playing!
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band. JORN album. Brig Heavy Rock... Interview with:. Jorn Lande interviewed by:. B. Atkinson Question: What are your feelings for this new album? Answer: We've been busy playing shows and touring a lot, and we just didn't find the time to do another album, suddenly 3 years flew by. The only time we spent in the studio last year was to mix the "Live in Black Album". The first original plan was to have a new studio album released sometime in 2011, but we just couldn't find the time or energy to make it happen. When recording and mixing I always wish I could spend another month or so before finishing an album, but times are moving faster so we need to be more productive and speed up things to keep our ship floating these days. It's the way of the new and modern world we live in. My favorite song is the title track "Bring Heavy Rock To The Land" and I also like "Live and Let Fly" from the special edition a lot. Q: How would you describe the musical direction? More melodic? Traditional Metal? A: I think it's an album in a similar tradition to before, more hard rock oriented than Metal I would say. As usual it's not just one type of musical expression all the way through the album, but a variety of musical landscapes within the categories of rock and metal. Focus on:
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Q: What are the musicians playing on the album? Is Tommy Hansen producing? A: I am producing it myself like before. In many ways Tommy is a co-producer, but his role is mostly important in the mixing stages. Q: Are you planning a new tour? A: No tour at the moment, but we will do some individual shows this summer. We have been talking about doing a more extensive tour in 2013, but it's to early to say exactly when and where right now. The line up is almost the same as the last few years exept we've had a couple of guitar players come and go. Since J V. Lofstad left the band we've had a few that for various reasons couldn't stay with us on a more permanent long termed basis. Jimmy Iversen also played on "Spirit Black", but of private reasons he couldn't join us on tour after the album got released. Jimmy is now back and this time not only for the album itself, we have already been touring together for almost a year now and the pairing of Tore Moren and him works very well. Q: Why did you choose to rerecord the MASTERPLAN song and the Cristopher Cross cover? A: When writing "Time To Be King" I heard a different and more rock oriented arrangement in my mind, and
after the Masterplan album was released I couldn't stop thinking about how it would sound if it was recorded with this alternative arrangement. I don't know which one's better, I have ended up liking both versions. I have always loved "West Coast" oriented music, older albums from artists/bands like for example 10cc, Pages, Santana, Little River Band, Eagles,Toto, and so on, and I thought "Ride Like The Wind" would be a good song to do Jorn style. Saxon also released a version of this song in the 80's, and the arrangement we made ended up beeing a mix between the original verison and Saxon's. It's also a fun song to sing and play, most songs from back then usually come more natural since they were not just put together in a computer before knowing how it feels to play them within the band physically. I feel that modern song writing is more about mathematics and how to put musical pieces/sections together using a studio program, while the writing prosess in the old days were more natural when artists physically had to play and sing to write a song. It made everything so much more natural. I guess that's why we love to listen and play music from the past, before advanced technology, when talent had to be genuine.
J O R N - Bring Heavy Rock To The Land (Frontiers Records)
The master has returned! Jorn’s seventh is upon us. ”Bring Heavy Rock To The Land” will do that and more! Opening with “My Road”, Jorn takes us on a Hard Rock ride of our lives. He states so passionately that he and his musical soldiers are on a mission to play and sing ROCK to the world. Pure Rock. Searing Heavy Metal, this effort sees Jorn in his finest form. All the elements are here. Power, pulsating rock n’ blues and a heavy bottom end. Superbly executed, this outing may just be the Masterstroke we have been looking for! Surrounded by the expertise of Willy Bendiksen on drums…Tore Moren-guitar, Nic Angileri on bass and guitarist Jimmy Iversen: Mr. Lande gives us his finest vocal performances. A rich, textured & energetic performance, “Bring Heavy Rock To The Land”, lands squarely on the bullseye. As is tradition with Jorn, his cover on this record is an unlikely interpretation of “Ride Like The Wind”, and is nothing short of brilliant! This ride we are taken on is one containing many soundscapes, enabling each band member to showcase their high caliber of talent. Performed and sung with zeal…this seventh outing of Jorn’s is classic. Bringing back Heavy Rock to the land… Bring Rock back to you! Duncan Jamieson (94/100)