Oct 17, 2011 11:19
Hard Rock Heavy Metal |Power Metal
Glyder were formed back in 2004 and hail from County Wicklow in Ireland.
With 3 albums under their belt, the band have established quite a little reputation on the live circuit from touring constantly with various world renowned artists such as Thunder, DIO, Gotthard, Y&T.
"Back Roads To Byzantium" is their fourth release after the band reformed earlier this year with three new members.
This new line-up all in their 20’s has added a new fire to Glyder.
New singer Jackie Robinson has a classy rock voice that sometimes hints at Paul Rodgers and Phil Mogg, full of warmth whilst still having the power to make you sit up and take notice. New drummer Des McEvoy and bassist Graham McClatchie have formed a formidable partnership, being both able to pound out some killer rhythms, as well as bringing a huge amount of emotion and feel to the music.
Often compared in the past to Thin Lizzy thanks to duel guitar riffage of founder members Bat Kinane & Pete Fisher, the band has now broaden their musical horizons with the new album.
Glyder are still operating close to the classic rock sound that has made them one of the most invigorating bands of the last decade, but this time they have also added elements of hard and even melodic rock resulting in a more mature and rounded end product.
From the start, you'll find that the band retains their Classic Rock roots, but with a touch of hard rock heaviness, as on the opener "Chronicled Deceit".
Yet, on the follower "Long Gone", a fast-paced rocker, Glyder tones things down for a more melodic rock, even AOR, sound.
Strong melodies, a superb rock groove, and playful and catchy hooks propel the songs "Fade To Dust" and 'Don't Make Their Mistakes', featuring strong guitar solos and indepth songwriting.
"Down And Out" has a plaintive guitar and atmospheric bass line, while the uptempo next track, the bluesy swagger of "Something She Knows", shows how the band have grown, with an accessible chorus and hook laden guitar motif giving this song a commercial tinge previously unheard in the Glyder cannon.
That's evident too on the pure radio friendliness and accessibility found on "Even If I Don't Know Where I'm Gonna Go".
New vocalist Jackie Robinson proves his talent and finesse on the acoustic driven closer "Motions Of Time".
Glyder are back in great form. "Backroads To Byzantium" sees the band delivering a Classic Rock album with an impressive sound plenty of verve, harmony and energy that instantly command attention.
The entirety of this recording is bolstered by solid song composition and skilled musicianship, with great melodic guitars, a terrific rhythm section (I love the cymbals sound here) and a classy vocalist.
This album has been crafted with attention and care in a manner that makes it familiar yet challenging and friendly yet fierce.
"Backroads To Byzantium" is the most pure Classic Rock disc heard in years, definitely one I'll be replaying time and time again. Very Recommended
1. Chronicled Deceit
2. Long Gone
3. Fade To Dust
4. Even If I Don't Know Where I'm Gonna Go
5. Don't Make Their Mistakes
6. Down And Out
7. Something She Knows
8. Two Wrongs
9. End Of The Line
10. Motions Of Time
Jackie Robinson – Vocals
Bat Kinane – Guitars and Backing Vocals
Pete Fisher – Guitars
Graham McClatchie – Bass
Des McEvoy – Drums
Download
Steel Panther have gained a massive amount of notoriety with their brand of '80s Sunset Strip hair rock revival.
The band had their biggest break to date with the fun and hilarious track 'Death To All But Metal' from their 2009 release ‘Feel The Steel’.
Having already set the bar high, "17 Girls In A Row" - the band’s first single from their upcoming album ‘Balls Out’ - proves that Steel Panther are more than one-hit wonders.
This single delivers exactly what Steel Panther is known for and what late eighties music fans are certain to embrace.
From the very start, "17 Girls In A Row" exudes an attitude reminiscent of the best rockin' Motley Crue and Poison.
Tracklist:
01 - 17 Girls In A Row (Explicit Version)
02 - 17 Girls In A Row (Edited Radio Version)
???????? Heartland / The Distance / Virginia Wolf ????????? 11 ?????? ???????? "Rhyme & Reason", ? ???????? ??? Neil Murray (Whitesnake/Gary Moore) play Bass and Gregg Bisonette (Dave Lee Roth) Drums!
You will be hard pressed to find a much better Melodic Hard Rock album than this one.
It’s remarkable that this album ever saw the light of day as Dennis ‘Fergie’ Frederiksen (ex Toto/Trillion/Le Roux/Mecca) was diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer in June of last year and for most people that would have been that. However, Fergie decided to seek alternative cures and this very Summer announced positive results. He continued to work on his solo album throughout this time and what has now emerged is simply sensational! This is a truly striking album with fabulous songs that have been placed all over it like brightly coloured lights on a Christmas tree!
Opener ‘Angel (Mirror To Your Soul)’ just has this incredible uplifting feel to it with energetic pacing, smooth melodies and a gorgeous honey-coated chorus. The moment it finished it had me reaching for the replay button! ‘Elaine’ follows and what you get from Fergie is an amazing passionate vocal performance atop a mid tempo rock beat with keys aplenty singing about trying to win back a former lover. ‘First To Cry’ has a keyboard led precursor to a glorious chorus with a lovely guitar tone throughout the whole song reminiscent of Signal with Mark Free and then you get ‘Follow Your Heart’, a simply gorgeous Steve Perry era Journey-esque epic ballad. Quite stunning!
This opening quartet will already have you reaching for the payment options on Frontiers’ website even with eight songs still to pass through your ears. The title track ‘Happiness Is The Road’ is a co-write with Jim Peterik and has a very typical Survivor positive uplifting vibe to it whilsts ‘Writing On The Wall’ is a fast paced number with interesting Magnum style keys and a nice tone on the guitar supplied by one Nathan Eshman. ‘The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be’ is a positive ballad of sorts with strong sentiments on a driving beat and again swathed in plenty of keys. Acclaimed keyboard player Eric Ragno (Takara/Vox Tempus/China Blue/Ted Poley/Danny Vaughan/Tony Mills etc) I believe plays the majority of these parts but a certain Mr Dennis Ward is credited with bass plus guitars, keys and background vocals. My guess is during the production process, Ward would have added additional parts where necessary. The production, incidentally, is first rate, but then when has Dennis Ward ever delivered a poor production? He has to be up there amongst the premier class of producers for sure. Dik Bruinenberg is listed as drummer and as I’m. unfamiliar with this guy, I would hazard a guess he’s a German guy that Dennis knows and has been brought in on recommendation.
If I was pressed on standout songs on this album, then it would be a little bit like trying to choose a favourite between your children. The aforementioned song ‘Angel (Mirror To Your Soul’) and ballad ‘Follow Your Heart’ are up there as is 'Love Waits For No One’, a classy mature sounding ode to a lost love, a recurring theme throughout the album. And I would also have to include ‘The One’ which features a nice keyboard refrain, a glorious chorus with multi-layered backing vocals and a fabulous outro guitar solo.
You will be hard pressed to find a much better Melodic Hard Rock album than this one. Toby Hitchcock’s solo offering is running right up with this one but nevertheless, this is a truly mesmerising release from a man who’s been at the top of his profession for many years. As the saying goes: form may be temporary, but class is permanent!
1 Angel (Mirror To Your Soul)
2 Elaine
3 First to Cry
4 Follow Your Heart
5 Happiness Is The Road
6 I Still Believe In Love
7 Lyin' Eyes
8 Love Waits For No One
9 Writing On the Wall
10 Future Ain't What It Used To Be
11 One
12 Saviour
BandEnergy Strike Info: Extra Formation Style: J Melodic Power Metal Years: 2010 Info: mp3 VBR Info: 65 mb Upload: Depositefiles Info: :Japan All star Japanese metal band featuring members of AZRAEL, GROUND ZERO, AREA51 etc. The band plays excellent melodic power metal like LOUDNESS and this CD so far has only been releasedin Japan, so it's your big chance to grab this title now!!
1.Hunger out
2.Riding on the sky
3.Strike back for your life
4.Under the war
5.Calling
6.Always
7.Thunder force
8.Danger in this game
9.Running to your heart
10.One by one
11.Rise up again
??????
Recording Engineer by Daisuke Takizawa
Mix & Mastering by
Bazooka Studio
Artwork by Katsunori Goto
Layout Design by Shirao
Tracklist
1. Checkmate (5:51)
2. River’s Edge (6:48)
3. If (3:48)
4. The Shelter (7:52)
5. Pillars Of Sand (9:09)
6. October 1917 (3:34)
7. Behind The Curtain (8:46)
8. Aftermath (16:43)
Total time: 62:31
Line-up/Musicians
- Luca Di Gennaro / Keyboards and Programming
- Claudio Casaburi / Bass
- Fabio Manda / Vocals
- Antonio Mocerino / Drums and Percussions
- Antonio Vittozzi / Guitars
Features guest stars like Marco Sfogli (James LaBrie) in “River’s Edge” and Arno Menses (Subsignal, ex Sieges Even) in “Aftermath”
About this release
Produced by Soul Secret and published by Galileo Records, mixed and mastered by Markus Teske and the entire artwork was created by Alexandra V Bach.
01. The Rising
02. Tear Off Your Chain
03. Future Never Dies
04. Spirit Of Steel
05. Scars
06. The Wind Blows
07. T.F.F.B.
08. No More Tears
09. Bash Out!
10. The Time Has Come
11. The Phoenix
Bonus CD:
12. Against The Wind [Stratovarius cover]
13. Rock You Like A Hurricane [Scorpions cover]
14. Secret Loser [Ozzy Osbourne cover]
15. 1789 [Silver Mountain cover]
16. Kiss Of Death [Dokken cover)
17. Never Die [Yngwie J. Malmsteen cover]
18. Street Lethal [Racer X cover]
Akribi are a new female fronted Progressive Metal band who combine excellent technical musicianship with some great melodies and excellent (but also unique) vocals. Black Morning Sun is their debut album. I was excited when I saw one of my RYM friends had rated it 5 stars, and thankfully it took no time for me to discover that he was right.
The overall sound here certainly reminds of Dream Theater, particularly their early work. The musicianship is extremely impressive, as is required if you want to match DT. The keyboards in particular are fantastic and vary quite a bit, from more traditional keyboard sounds, to more of piano style, and some really strange sounds on "Where the Water Meets the Sky" that really make that song special.
I usually don't care too much for keyboards (even with DT I occasionally find them annoying), but on this album they are amazing. The guitarist also does a very impressive job, as does everyone else. And as you'd expect, there are tons of great solos and several extended instrumental sections (including an entire instrumental track in "Blue Clay"), and these sections manage to be extremely technical without ever becoming boring or feeling like they drag on, probably because the band is so good at what they do.
For all the technical prowess the band displays, they do have some very strong songwriting, though the first minute of "Puppies of War" could immediately turn people off, as the band goes into full Progressive mode right from the start, beginning the with a crazy stop and start sequence. But once things calm down the song is actually quite straightforward, which could be said for some of the others as well. Actually, in the middle of my second listen I discovered I already had parts of "Surface", "Angel Kiss" and "The Plains of Nevermore" stuck in my head, so that's a very good thing for this type of album.
Speaking of which, those last two I mentioned are the ballads, and they definitely sound like they would work well in a broadway musical. Yes, they are somewhat cheesy, but being a fan of cheesy ballads I think both of those songs are fantastic, and Jessica certainly does an excellent job with the softer vocals, as opposed to her usually more powerful style, which is also fantastic.
And that finally brings me to the highlight of the album. "The Sum of it All" has quite the dark tone to it, and this works very well. The instrumental sections are strong as always, but the chorus is where things really pick up: Jessica is particularly animated there, with her voice sounding even more powerful than usual, and it could possibly annoy some people, but she is most definitely hitting the right notes, and does a fantastic job as always. She even has to hold one note for around 2o seconds, and does that perfectly. Overall it's my favorite song on the album, with "Angel Kiss" and the ultra epic "Carry the Rain" being close behind. The title track is a less cheesy ballad as compared to the other two, and while it's my least favorite on the album, it's still very good, and closes the album nicely.
Overall, this could best be described as a female fronted Dream Theater, and it gets everything right. Considering my thoughts on both that band and female vocals in general, it should come as no surprise that I loved every second of this. It's up there with Wolverine's "Communication Lost", Flaming Row's "Elinoire" and Fuseboxx's "Animated" as one of my favorite Prog albums of the year.
1. Puppies of War
2. Where the Water Meets the Sky
3. Surface
4. Angel Kiss
5. Blue Clay
6. Carry the Rain
7. Wither and Die
8. The Plains of Nevermore
9. The Sum of It All
10. Black Morning Sun
Oct 4, 2011 22:34
Heavy Metal |Power Metal Melodic Rock | AOR Progressive Rock
BandD-I-O-N Info: Intelligent Design Style: Melodic Prog Metal / Melodic Rock Years: 2011 Info: mp3 VBR 200 Info: 70 mb Upload: Depositefiles Info: :UK / USA
?? ?????? Chandler Mogel (Outloud)!
Tracklist:
01 - I Believe
02 - The Sign
03 - I Can Save You
04 - Broken
05 - Reborn
06 - Intelligent Design
07 - A New Star
08 - Killing Machine
09 - There's Only Time
10 - Forever
11 - Someone
By SandFord
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Chandler Mogel (Outloud) - Vocals
Dion Smith - Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Synths, Programming
Charlie 'Z' Zeleny - Drums, Percussion
