In the early 90's Unruly Child made their debut - still it is one of my all time favorites featuring Mark Free on vocals. Later they released "Waiting for the Sun" with Kelly Hansen on vocals and now they have released "III" with Philip Bardowell ex Magdalen on vocals and featuring two of the founding members Bruce Gowdy on guitars, bass and drums and Guy Allison on keyboards, loads of organ, bass and drums - making up for the abscence of Jay Shellen and Larry Antonio.
New vocalist Bardowell adds a more mature and progressive touch to the slick, smooth and very well produced album. I will not say that this is easy to digest - it is very intelligent, rich and powerful, and to me it had to spin a few times before it clicked! But it did! Bardowells vocals is similar to Lou Gramm on tracks like "Falling" and "Shades of Love" but over all he leaves a strong impression covering a great variety within the tracks. A great record!
I simply have to mention the "cover" of their own song from their debut - "Unruly Child" - this track got some some new life and simply is a classic rock song.

Chrush 40 is a melodic hard rock project powered by the songwriting of San Francisco-based Japanese guitar player Jun Senoue and lead singer Johnny Gioeli from Hardline. In the press material to this debut release it says: ".. the songs have high energy, contoured with smooth melodies and chorus sections featuring Johnny's emotional vocals and Jun's unique style of guitar".
But let's not forget to mention the guys in the background the former Loudness rhythm section Naoto Shibata on bass and Hirotsugu Homma on drums - and the two bonus tracks featuring the two top-vocalists Tony Harnell from TNT and Ted Poley. An explosive album with a lot of positive energy and exquisite musical skills.

Firefly a new melodic rock sensation from USA featuring well known and experiences musicians. The whole project started out with vocalist/composer/producer John Pratt he gathered a few people around him like keyboardist Michael Alemania who worked with Vixen and Wilson Philips, guitarist John Thomas who worked with Jennifer Batten, Vixen and Graham Bonnet, guitarist Bob Gilles known from his performence on Jesse's Powertrip, bassist Roger Feits who previously worked with Jeff Paris and last but not least ace-drummer Ron Wiksö known from The Storm, Foreigner, Cher and Gregg Rolie.
This cocktail can't be that bad - and "Automatic" is a GREAT album featuring some storming performence through the album - and there are numerous memorable tracks througout the album like the powerful "Ride the Fire" and/or the catchy "Every Measure" - boy, can those guitars shred!

Featuring the talents of keyboard maestro Vitalij Kuprij, super vocalist John West, guitar artist Roger Staffelbach, drummer Mike Terrana and 6-string bassist Kevin Chown Artension is THE neo-classical, progressive metal band - only being matched by Royal Hunt and/or Stratovarius. "New Discovery" is the second release on Frontiers Records. The bands amalgamation of melodic symphonic and power metal, with a lot space for instrumental escapades of this five outstanding musicians is reaching their top level with an amazing songwriting and probably the best sound production ever!

Frontiers Records has made this "Rock the Bones" appetizer to get some reactions on some of the already released records and some records to come in 2003 - and i'm already excited about every single release in the near future. It will be great to hear the new Ten-album, and the new Ramos, the new Drive she said, and ...., and....
The album is ideal for the car stereo - every CD is nearly 80 minutes, so take a long trip out in nowhere and play it LOUD!

Mikael Erlandsson from Gothenburg in Sweden is one of the most promising singer/sonwriters in Sweden today - according to the press material.
Mikael Erlandsson started out as a drummer in a punk band! But soon he became a hit in Sweden with the band Studs. He participated in the European Song Contest in 1990 with the band N'Gang. In 1991 he did a big tour in England with the band Crash - but in 1994 he released his first solo album called "The One" and in 1995 "Under the Sun". In 1996 he was elected as "The best release during 1996" in the Japanese BURRN magazine. The same year he did warm up jobs for Tina Turner and a support tour with Bryan Ferry. He released an album 1997 called "Unfamiliar".
This album named "the Gift" is a vitamin bomb - Roxette on amphetamine! Here are singable melodies gallore combined with great musicanship from Erlandsson himself on lead vocals and keyboards, Mats MP Persson on guitars, Jan Eliasson on guitars, Christer Jansson on drums and Claes Andreasson and Torbjörn Wassenius on acustic guitars.

On "Wasteland for broken Hearts" the Canadian multi-instrumentalist Hirsh Gardner - formerly known from his work with the band New England - has recruited guitarists like Jim Smith, Buddy Sullivan and John Fannon. Bassists are Jim Sambartino, Chris Carvallo and Gary Shea and on keyboards there are Jimmy Waldo and Dave Smith.
The album shows a good variety in the AOR/melodic rock genre - from the herat wrencing ballads like "She is Love" with a big big chorus - but the album also shows the more rockier sides on tracks like "Bad Cowboy". So if you are into bands like Journey, Boston and/or even Survivor Hirsh gardner is definitely you man! - Good and solid work.

This is what Melodic Rock with THE specific Scandinavian sound is all about!
The Norwagian dou On the Rise will release their self titled album in February 2003 - this is an hors d'eovre from that album, and if this is what to expect and can guarentee you a feast for a meal ! On the rise was formed in Bergen and is featuring the talents of guitarist/vocalist Terje Eide and vocalist Bennech Lyngboe. Terj has been around since he was 16, when he won a local talent contest. Later he joined Heaven & Hell - a rock institution in Bergen in the mid 80's. In 1986 he won The Norwegian Nationalk Rock Championchip on national TV with the band The Heat. He is an wll known guitarist, singer and backup singer in Norway.
Bennech Lyngboe started as a singer/songwriter in 1987. He released a self financed single "Leaves of Fall" in 1995 - and got a cult status. Together they met in early 2001 and backed up by producer Eirik Gronner, Zsolt Meszaros on drums, Jan Kleveland on bass and Asbjörn Vie on keyboards they made this - sounding like a mix of Nelson, Boston and/or Toto with a straight line to Scandinavian melodic acts like Skagarack. The first track "Beat of your Heart" is an absolute killer track - the immediately hummable melodies and catchy choruses and musicianship par excellence is a killer. I'm looking forward to their debut, schedueled february the 24th 2003.

Uli Jon Roth has always had a reputation as a musicians musician. Be it as a member with Scorpions, founder and mastermind of his own "band" Electric Sun or as a solo artist, whose brilliant symphonic rock concept Sky of Avalon caused a little stir its mystique melange of classical music and rock. On this live release he has joined forces with a whole battery of guest stars like: Jack Bruce on bass, Clive Bunker on drums, Michael Schenker on guitars, Phil Mogg on vocals, Pete Way on bass, Don Airey on keyboards and Barry Sparks on bass.
As you can see on the tracklist it covers a variety of time and artist from Jimi Hendrix and Cream to UFO and Roth's own work. It very much covers Uli Jon Roth's career and influences - so to me it was great!

Featuring the talents of Frank Breuninger on vocals, Steffen Doll on guitars, Winny Zurek on bass, Uwe Mayer on drums and Claudio Nobile on keyboards Dark Sky is a powerful German Hard Rock act in the classic veins of Bonfire and Fair Warning. It is kindda unfair to make comparisons with these two bands, because Dark Sky very much have an identity of their own.
There are several great tracks here but opener "Bartimaeus" are among the better - with a driving and powerful guitar riff and some of the same qualities you will find on "Fading Light" - with a very catchy chorus added!

Alfonzetti is a powerful melodic band based in Stockholm, Sweden - fronted by former Jagged Edge, Bam Bam Boys and Skintrade vocalist/guitarist/drummer Matti Alfonzetti.
The new album is slightly more heavy and up to date hard rock than the debut "Ready" from 2000. The line-up features guitarist Stefan Bergström (ex Skintrade, Baltimore) and bassist Mikael Höglund (ex Thunder, Great King Rat).
Together they deliver a nice packed unit with good grooves and lot of power! Memorable tracks are: "The Bitter End" which is a softer, more classic melodic rock number, with a big vocal hook and a mellower ballad feel, and "My Machine" which rocks along with very large attitude and later bursts into a classsic melodic rock chorus that reminds me of the debut...

Genius is a rock opera in 3 chapters. "A Human into Dreams' World" is the first one. The second and third chapter shall be released during the next two years.
The music and lyrics has been competely written, arranged and produced by the Italian multi-instrumentalist Daniel Liverani from Empty Tremor and Khymera. Liverani also plays guitar, bass and keyboards on the album supported by drummer Dario Ciccioni. But the real deal here is the use of different singers in the cast of characters: Mark Boals, Lana Lane, Daniel Gildenlöw, Joe Vana, Steve Walsh, John Wetton, and Midnight just to name a few.
The music style is very varied featuring a unique and spectacular blend of Melodic Rock, Heavy Metal and Progressive Metal styles for 72 minutes of music powered by a winning cast of some of the best singers from all the ages and style!
To be continued...........

Up until now Fatal Attraction has mostly been well known in homeland Sweden - but also maged to stir some action in Japan - like many other Scandinavian melodic acts. In 1996 tehy released their first full length album called "End of regulation Time". On their debut the influences reahed from jazz to symphonic rock. Experimental and playful as a debut should be.
This 4 tracker is a hors d'eouvre for a forthcoming album with the working title "Simplicity Rules". And if these 4 tracks represents the whole album - it will be a good one. "Unknown world" is very catchy up tempo track, "Valleys of Heaven" is the big ballad, "Perfect Dream" is catchy and more AOR-ish and at last there is a guitar based track called "Silver Song".
Fatal Attraction is Anders Fältsjö on vocal, Tomas Nilsson on Guitar, Patrick eriksson on keyboards, Magnus Petersson on bass and Mattias Sjögren on drums.

Morning Wood is Tony Harnells un-plugged album (almost) and feature the talents of Al Pitrelli (played on almost every hard rock album) on guitar, Chuck Bonfante from Michael Bolton and Saraya on drums and Danny Miranda from Blue Öyster Cult on bass. The album is a very fine gem indeed, Tony Harnells voice is as always outstanding - but the tracks are a mix of old and new stuff. Opener "Not scared anymore" is a new penned by Harnell and Miranda with a very catchy chorus. Stephen Stills 1971 track "Love the one you're with" is excellent - so is the version of Eagles "Desperado". But the whole album is great, and definitely one the best un-plugged albums of all times. With hints from TNT (of course), Heart, Allman Brothers and Supertramp. I'm lookin forward to hear the new stuff from new projects Westworld and of course the re-united TNT.
The line up for Westworlds new CD "Cyberdreams" is: Tony Harnell of course - but supported by guitarist Mark Reale (Riot), bassist Bruno Ravel (Danger Danger) and drummer John O' Reilly (Rainbow, Blackmore's Night).

This is the first recording with Southern German hard rockers Kaminari - the Japanese word for thunderstorm. According to their press material the Japanese Kanji character symbolizes the energetic sound of the band: "..a melodic symphony af heavu Thunderstorm and rock 'n roll lightning. The bands distinctive style incorporates features of traditional hard rock and classic heavy metal". The variet of the music is increased by the diversity of the lyrics; the songs are about historic events, literary figures and science fiction stories.
The band features the talents of Roland seidel on lead vocals, Bernd Wick on lead guitar, Timo Reichle on guitar, Jens Ribow on bass and Pascal Vannier on drums. Keep up the good work on tracks like "Stairway to the Galaxy"
The debut album is produced by Achim "Akeem" Köhler who previously worked with Primal Fear and Sinner.