JARED JAMES NICOLS is old school hard rock. "Louder Than Fate" is the fourth output of the guitarist, vocalict and songwriter and a burst of energy. Loud, honest, and deeply human, this is JARED JAMES NICHOLS at his absolute best, putting his heart and soul into the ten tracks on the album. Bluesy and at the same time riff-orientated guitars with cool hooklines. Listening to, for instance, "Ghost" or "Bending Or Breaking" you can literally smell and actually feel the Live Club he often plays in. Strong effort for lovers of e.g. THUNDER and QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE. Produced and mixed by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STONE SOUR, STEEL PANTHER). (MS)

FATAL VISION, Canadian melodic rockers, with a new album. Frontman Simon Marwood seems to be a triue workoholic as songwriting, vocals and much more is his responibility alone. "Four Sides To Every Story" is the best effort of the busy band so far and showcases material that should easily please fans of ALICATE, ROULETTE or MASON. "No More Tears To Cry" with its almost epic break and "Girl Against the World" with an irresistable chorus are great first impressions. The sound has improved, too, and highlights the fourteen tracks which cover the whole range of the genre pretty well. (MS)

TURN BACK TIME from Borås/Sweden consists of Christer Green (g/b/keys) and Henrik Svedberg (keys), who use different singers but the songwriting and most of the instruments remains with them. Henrik sings one song ("High"), too. TOTO's "Girl Goodbye" perfectly matches with the rest of the material. Bits and pieces of classic rock and Westcoast spice up the traditional AOR of the duo in a very interesting way. Tracks like "Dancing In The Rain" or "Into The Light" stick in your ear and make you want to hear more. WORK OF ART and CARE OF NIGHT fans should pay special attention here! (MS)

L.E.G.A.C.Y. is a new project of guitarist Hernán Cattaneo of Argentinian band NEON RIDER. The sound is very melodic, too, with some arena rock moments. "Midnight Riot", the debut of the band, will definitely appeal to fans of, for instance, the likes of GRAND DESIGN, NEON RIDER or HEARTLINE. Just check out the powerful title track as well as "A Place I Called Home" and "My Inner Peace", which exactly showcase the stylistic range of the material. Basically, one could say, it's AOR with balls! Songs that are meant to be performed live, though. Thumbs up! (MS)

A fabulous record with timeless but extremely pleasant sounds. ROMEO from Italy play rock music somewhere between retro a la THE DARKNESS and originals like CHEAP TRICK or THE DOGS D’AMOUR with minor elements of pop, punk and hard rock plus much more. "Italian Guy" offers a lot of incredible intense THIN LIZZY vibes. Frontman Max Colliva (v/g) sings without accent and you don't need much fantasy to picture the guys playing the big stages soon. Curious? The aforementioned song plus the single "Frankfurt Lights" are really good teasers. (MS)

A live document recoreded on the recent farewell shows of the band around George Lynch (g, ex-DOKKEN) is about to be released. There are three songs from Lynch' famous DOKKEN era, like the electrifying "Paris Is Burning", among the twelve tracks in total. The sound on "The Final Ride (live)" is comparatively raw and energetic, capturing the (last?) LYNCH MOB line-up with Gabriel Colon on vocals pretty well. The guitars by the master himself are superb as usual and, actually, that's what the band LYNCH MOB is about foremost, isnt' it? Comes with a DVD! (MS)

The new and third output of the Danish band follows the path of the first two and beatiful records without a compromise. A little bit of TOTO here, pretty much soft rock there and a healthy portion of Scandinavian AOR/Melodic rock allover. Frontman Chris Catton not only sings fantastic, he also produced "The Wanderer" first class together with the rest of the band, whereas Erik Martensson (ECLIPSE, W.E.T.) took care of mix and master. The wonderful "Hold Your Heart" is just one example of the sheer quality in terms of melodies, harmonies and arrangements which are simply out of this world. What a record! (MS)

Swedish vocalist ERIK GRÖNWALL, formerly of H.E.A.T and SKID ROW, and most recentlich touring with MICHAEL SCHENKER with his new solo effort. Probably one of the best voices around in melodic rock music fully delivers here with a great vocal range. "Praying For A Miracle", rather slow in the beginning, and the melodic "Born To Break" are just two fine examples of these honest and personal compositions wrapped in an authentic and fresh production. Unlike with some of his former recordings, GRÖNWALL doesn't scream anymore but uses his brilliant voice way better. One of the most exciting releases of the year for sure. (MS)

REXORIA from Sweden with their fourth album. Frontwoman Frida Ohlin and the guys fully deliver here. Two exclusive duets featuring Mike Andersson (TUNGSTEN) and Johnny Gioeli (AXEL RUDI PELL, HARDLINE) shine, too. The production and the songwriting foremost made a huge step forward compared to the earlier efforts of the band. "Dancing On The Ruins" or "Dominion" are good first teasers. Fans of METALITE, DELAIN, NIGHTWISH or DYNAZTY will cry tears of joy. Fallen Dimension" is a massive surprise! That's how symphonic power metal should sound like today. (MS

Cool US metal from North Carolina comes across the great pond in form of "Show No Fear". CRIMSON STEEL around frontwoman Tina Langevin don't take prisoners and offer typical eighties metal in the vein of OMEN, SACRED REICH, CIRITH UNGOL or HELSTAR. Authentic, raw and powerful sounds are paired with versatile songwriting here. The playful guitars arean additional argument, though. Tina Langevin sounds like a cross between Jutta Weinhold (ZED YAGO, VELVET VIPER) and James Rivera (HELSTAR) at times. Rivera guests on "Bleed Into One", too. Massive! (MS)

 Swedish Sleaze band CONFESS easily transfers the good old sound into the here and now. "Metalmorphosis", their fourth effort in total, brings a certain heaviness and also really cool melodies. Even on record you notice the massive live experience of the band. Everything from songwriting to the fine vocals and the powerful production is top class. The title song is pretty epic in the beginning and "Running To My Death" is a rather fast and heavy rocker(. Of course, the northeners can play slower, too, like in "Beat Of My Heart". Thumbs up! MS)

BLUD Blud from London/England and their melodic hard rock in the vein of . DANGER, TUFF, TIGERTAILZ or FASTER PISSYCAT xxx. BLUE BLUD, that could arouse attention with their 1989 album "The Big Noise" recoreded one or the other demo prior to it and partly released them, too. This collection paints an exciting picture of a then hungry band. You can't expect a top-notch production, though, but that would actually not fit the band, too. Just check out the secret hit "It Never Rains In England". BLUE BLUD did have way more potential than they showcased up to 1991 on their two albums in total. (MS)