Ear Music

It seems that once again, Stratovarius has managed to deliver us a good album. Their 16th studio

album so far,  since their formation in 1984.  They did a tour to promote this new album, which also

brought them to Belgium, at the Biebop.

They still play power metal, but it seems they have gone back to their earlier sound.  This also implies

you don’t have to expect new gimmicks on this album, it’s good, old fashioned Stratovarius stuff, with

the o so familiar Timo Tolkki vocals., which you either hate, or love. And once again I’m flabbergasted

What the heck is this I thought.  From the first moment on, I hear nothing but grunts and growls, interspaced with some more normal singing.  The rhythm is ferocious, fast paced, you cannot understand what they are singing.

I guess what these Frenchies bring us, is a mix of death metal, and despite the fact that this band was founded in 1992, has toured extensively and has released a score of albums before, this is the first time I had to listen to this band, and it will also be the last.

This is a type of music/album I absolutely hate !

Circle II Circle is and was fronted by Zak Stevens, and since their beginnings some years ago, I guess it was 2001, they have always sounded a bit like Savatage, which may not sound as a wonder, as Mr. Stevens fronted this band between 1992 until 2000.

Thunder is one of these bands that seem to have been around since God knows when.  Despite existing for some 25 years, this is only their tenth studio album.  Of course there was a hiatus of some three years, since they split up in 2000, and reunited in 2002, and again disbanded in 2009, only to start playing together again in 2011.

Ear Music has been reissuing some of  Deep Purple’s back catalogue, and this is the latest release in this series, a live recording dating back to 1971, recorded at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach – California, where they played as opener for Rod Stewart and The Faces.

While Rick Springfield  was born in Australia, and scored his first top ten hit there in 1972, he subsequently moved to the USA, and had a nr. 1 hit over there, as well as in Australia with ‘Jessie’s Girl’, for which he also received a Grammy award for best male rock vocal performance.  More top ten hits followed with ‘Affair Of The Heart’ and ‘Love Somebody’.  He also performed as an actor, playing Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime drame ‘General Hospital’. 

Jeff Scott Soto is back with a brand new album, and the world will know it !   Being born in the same year as yours truly, Jeff is a person that since the early eighties has appeared in countless bands and projects, as well as doing solo-albums, but it’s been years since I’ve heard him rocking like on this album.  What he brings here is metal in it’s purest form.

Devil’s Train released their self-titled debut album, which was highly acclaimed.  Many thought this would be a one-off release, but the band around former Mystic Prophecy singer R.D.

Having just reviewed the ‘Best of’ album by Gamma Ray, here’s the new album by another band that at it’s beginnings hade a sound quite similar to Helloween, but have developed their style over the years towards a more progressive metal sound.

Maximum Overload is the sixth studio album for Drragonforce, and is released on Ear Music, a new label that is part of the Edel Music Group.

What they bring us on this album, is basically the same what they have always done, very fast speed metal, but also very melodically.  How their vocalist Matt Hudson manages to sing at this fast a pace is a mystery to me.  I guess a normal person would end up with a knot in his tongue…