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| HARD ROCK SPECIALISTS |
| REVIEWS - IN BRIEF 2005 |
| PRIMAL FEAR - Seven Seals (Nuclear Blast) - "ALBUM OF THE YEAR"!
The finest ‘traditional metal album of the year’ by far – every song is a winner and the band delivers and then some - showing they’re deadly serious contender. Quite simply - the perfect metal release! (10/10) BUCKCHERRY - 15 (Atlantic) Back with plenty of bite and shit-loads of attitude – Josh and the boys return to top form with this – their third instalment of sleazy, dirty rock & roll! CLASSIC! (9/10) BLACK LABEL SOCIETY - Mafia (Riot) B.L.S. give us their most hard rock influenced effort yet with plenty of meaty riffs, catchy tunes and enough balls to satisfy most of the fans – Top notch! (8/10) GOTTHARD - Lipservice (Nuclear Blast) Finally, these talented lads from Switzerland seem to be getting the recognition that they deserve. This CD is chock full of great commercial hard rock - of the highest calibre! (9/10) BON JOVI - Have A Nice Day (Universal) The strongest album by New Jersey’s finest in years - there seems to be more spirit and drive this time around with numerous songs, having that essence - of their ‘glory days’?! (8/10) BEAUTIFUL CREATURES - Deuce (Independent Import) Back with album # 2 and it almost equals their excellent "self titled" debut of 2001 - with plenty of the same ass-kicking hard rock to sink your teeth into! Forget GNR - this is what kicks ass! (8/10) STRYPER - Reborn (Frontiers) Holy smoke – a very tight, tough, ‘come-back’ release from the Christian darlings of hard rock showing plenty of style, strength and an updated sound that makes you wanna scream, hallelujah! (8/10) CHARON - Songs For The Sinners (Independent Import) Less doom, more rock - works exceedingly well - for this underrated Goth rock band out of Europe with an album that has all the right ingredients, to hopefully make more people take notice this time around! (8/10) LA GUNS - Tales From The Strip (Independent Import) The best consistent release from these veterans from Hollywood since ‘91’s “Hollywood Vampires” - proving that there is after all, life in the old dog yet – and it’s great to hear! (7/10) DREAM EVIL - The Book Of Heavy Metal (Century Media) One of the highlights of the year - as far as ‘traditional metal’ is concerned, with more riffs than a Zakk Wylde songbook, just beaten across the finish line by consistency! (8/10) SENTENCED - The Funeral Album (Century Media) Delivering a tough, angst ridden metal album - with heaps of melody and tasteful thought provoking lyrics, this is a very fine release by this veteran outfit! (8/10) GEMINI 5 - Black Anthem (Riot) This time around we have stronger songs, better production and a band announcing that they want to be taken seriously in the Goth Rock world! (8/10) EXODUS - Shovel Headed Kill Machine (SPV) Mean, nasty and down right vicious – just the way we love ‘em - with enough hardened metal to satisfy old fans and hopefully convert a whole new generation! (8/10) EDGUY - Superheroes (SPV) Another punchy, lovable set of songs on offer here from this exceptional band that always makes you smile, bang your head and above all else, enjoy! (8/10) IMPELLETTERI - Pedal To The Metal (SPV) Expertly played and executed metal from one of Europe’s finest, classiest bands delivering with their usual dose of outstanding rock with no fillers within earshot! (8/10) BLACK LABEL SOCIETY - Kings Of Damnation (Shock) Highly dangerous ‘Best Of’ package by Black Label Society featuring many of their memorable moments including material from Zakk’s solo album – great stuff! (8/10) MOTLEY CRUE - Red, White & Crue (Universal) Back together and creating good hard rock again - with 3 new songs that really do shine on this, their umpteenth ‘Best Of’ package. A step in the right direction! (7/10) STARBREAKER - Self Titled (Frontiers) Good debut side project for TNT man, Tony Harnell offering loads of commercial hard rock songs with plenty of class, style and above all else, melody! (7/10) IOMMI - Fused (Riot) The metal riff master, Toni Iommi returns with old velvet voice himself – Glenn Hughes to present one of the ‘classiest’ releases of the year! (7/10) TYRANT - Live Bootleg (Independent Import) No nonsense, obnoxious hard rock from one of Australia’s finest caught here in all their glory – live with no bullshit overdubs, a 100% genuine rock and roll band! (7/10) THE 69 EYES - Devils (Independent Import) The slickest sounding and most commercial effort yet by this Goth rock act from Finland, with an avalanche of good songs that should add to there already growing fan base! Hello America! (6/10) HIM - Dark Light (BMG) Villo & the boys come up trumps with an album destined to open many doors around the world, especially in the US - for this Finnish Goth rock act that have strong songs, impeccable production with world domination not that far away?! (7/10) KIX - Thunderground (Independent Import) Baltimore’s boogie boys return after a decade, sounding no different with plenty of party anthems to blow away the blues in their own lovable, zany way – don’t ya just love ‘em! (7/10) STRATOVARIUS - Self Titled (SPV) Their most commercial sounding effort yet and it seems to of paid off with plenty of new fans discovering the band after years of neglect having some very good songs on offer! (7/10) BRUCE DICKINSON - Tyranny Of Souls (Riot) Solo album # 6 for the sometime Maiden front-man helped along by good strong songs, clever arrangements and plenty of muscle to please most! (7/10) AUDIOSLAVE - Out Of Exile (Sony) Equally consistent follow-up to their impressive debut - with much of the same formula that gained the band a large following with good modern, retro rock! (7/10) HAMMERFALL - Chapter V- Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken (Century Media) Traditional euro metal of the highest calibre with a band that - has a truck-load of tasty, meaty riffs, good songs and definitely the right feel for METAL! (7/10) TNT - All The Way To The Sun (Riot) Great to see this Norwegian band back with an album full of their trade mark commercial hard rock with a couple of tougher sounding tunes along for the ride. Tony Harnell has been busy this year! (7/10) VANISHING POINT - Embrace The Silence (Riot) These Australian prog-rock exponents delivered a bona fide ‘world class’ release with meticulous precision that surprised and impressed a hell of a lot of people! (7/10) MOLLY HATCHETT - Warriors Of The Rainbow Bridge (SPV) Southern rock merchants return with a very solid, slick production and some damn good songs along for the ride. Now where did I leave my 10 gallon hat? (7/10) HELLOWEEN - Keeper Of The Seven Keys – The Legacy (SPV) Long-time favourites for a legion of fans return with another instalment of their ‘Seven Keys’saga and like the previous efforts, it’s pretty damn good! (7/10) IRON MAIDEN - Death On The Road (EMI) Undoubtingly, they are a British Metal Icon but another LIVE album - Good, but ‘Live After Death’ is still their best ever - live release! (6/10) BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION - Runaway Brides (Shrapnel) Great title, shame about the contents – now that Nikki has bailed it seems that the main writing talent has taken all his ideas with him leaving a limp, insipid band with no song-writing skills – truly awful! (2/10) JUDAS PRIEST - Angel Of Retribution (Sony/BMG) The return of the Metal God - didn’t ignite the band like many of us had hoped or expected, instead 4 O.K. tunes and an album of below average songs from these metal Icons – so very disappointing! (4/10) THE DARKNESS - Hell And Back Again (Warner) Sorry, but if this is the best hard rock band out of the UK - then we are in a lot of trouble! If they are the 'saviours' of British Rock - god help us! These guys are a joke - Freddie Mercury must be rolling in his grave! (2/10) HANOI ROCKS – Another Hostile Takeover (Demolition) It’s so sad when a band can’t match their previous release which had all the right things going for it, this time round it doesn’t have the substance it should have! (3/10) ENUFF Z NUFF – ? (Pony Canon) Great so see ‘em back but this album lacks the good songs of their ‘heydays’ So without the goods this is lack lustre to say the least! (2/10) FIREBALL MINISTRY – Their Rock Is Not Our Rock (AFM) What happened guys? The bands’ last outing was fairly good by comparison but this is a real stinker with weak, directionless, bland music! (3/10) JOURNEY – Generations (Frontiers) It has its moments – well a couple of songs are O.K. but most of this CD suffers from songs that don’t really go anywhere, maybe next time! (4/10) |
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