Category Archives: 4 Stars

Edge of Forever – Let the Demon Rock ‘n’ Roll (2005)

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EdgeForever_LetDemon4 out of 5 Stars!

From Italy, the group Edge of Forever released a trio of powerful yet melodic albums in the new century, mainly Hard Rock bordering on Progressive Metal and Pomp Rock yet touched with AOR.

When it comes to Let the Demon Rock ‘n’ Roll, the band’s second album, catchy tunes such as “Crime of Passion,” “Mouth of Madness,” “One Last September,” “Feel Like Burning,” “The Machine,” and the title track barrel from the speakers with the force of a hurricane, while dramatic and hard-hitting ballads (“A Deep Emotion” and “Edge of Forever”) add variety. With his range, tone, and style of delivery, vocalist Bob Harris often reminds me of singers such as Glenn Hughes or Göran Edman. Meanwhile, bassist Christian Grillo and drummer Francesco Jovino construct a powerful sonic foundation, and the grand and rip-roaring instrumentation includes a perfect balance between Matteo Carnio’s blazing guitars and Alessandro Del Vecchio’s impressive “pompish” backgrounds and Prog-Metal-esque keyboard leads, which would seem almost right at home on albums by Time Requiem, Adagio, Space Odyssey, or basically any other group featuring Richard Andersson on keyboards.

And speaking of comparisons, the band’s overall musical style has much more in common with heavy yet occasionally commercial artists such as Rainbow, Heaven & Earth, Sunstorm, and Eden’s Curse as opposed to lighter and “pure” AOR groups such as Journey, FM, Babys, or Shy. So don’t let the AOR genre designation fool you—Edge of Forever has a mighty edge indeed, one that’s loaded with scads of hummable melodies.

Please also note, Let the Demon Rock ‘n’ Roll was produced by Bobby Barth, long-time vocalist and guitarist of the hard-rockin’ and melodic Florida band Axe, who may have aided Edge of Forever in keeping its style on this particular musical path.

Regardless, even through it’s been many years since the band’s lineup changed (leaving keyboardist Alessandro Del Vecchio as its vocalist) and its last album (2010’s Another Paradise) saw the light of day, Edge of Forever has subsequently signed a multi-album deal with Italy’s renowned Frontiers label and is supposedly working on new material for a comeback platter. Therefore, I’m thrilled to know the band has not fallen into oblivion, thus leaving my previous fears of possible dissolution in the dust.

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Solstice – Prophecy (2013)

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Solstice_Prophecy4 out of 5 Stars!

Solstice is a shamefully obscure band from the U.K. that released only five studio albums between 1984 and 2013, with Prophecy being the most recent. Although with only five studio releases in a twenty-nine-year period, with numerous lineup changes through the decades, plus the band taking lengthy breaks, the reason for Solstice’s continued obscurity is certainly understandable. After all, it’s not like the Prog-Rock community has been continually bombarded with announcements from the band regarding fresh material, news of upcoming album releases, world tours, etc., right?

Be that as it may, Solstice plays majestic, engaging, complex, and often-hypnotic Symphonic and Neo-Prog material with Prog-Folk influences, and with the band featuring female vocals, I’m sure many fans of artists such as Magenta, Flamborough Head, Curved Air, Mostly Autumn, Thieves’ Kitchen, and Introitus will find much to savor here.

On Prophecy, the band shows its gift for successfully offering up a delicate balance of acoustic-based passages along with electrified fare, typically with a dreamy atmosphere on which the serene vocal melodies float. This is never more evident than on both the opening tune “Eyes of Fire” and on the lengthier “West Wind.” Then, on “Keepers of the Truth” and “Blackwater,” the band adds a larger degree of fiddle to the overall instrumentation, and with the more upbeat tempos, often creates a sound similar to early Kansas, only melded with a group such as Magenta (thanks to the female vocalist, of course).

My favorite track, however, is the seventeen-and-a-half minute epic “Warriors,” which takes the listener through numerous moods and tempo shifts, with both acoustic and electric segments seemingly united in a perfect marriage, and lovely vocal segments loaded with rich background harmonies. Here also is where—due to the electric guitar and synth trading off enjoyable solos in the lengthy middle Neo-Prog section, and the vocals popping in with rhythmic accents—the band once again reminds me primarily of Magenta. Simply beautiful and captivating in its tunefulness and scope.

All in all, although Prophecy is not an essential item for Prog-Rock enthusiasts to add to their music collections, it’s nevertheless a splendid release that contains enough alluring moments to justify its replay value. And as mentioned earlier, fans of female-led Symphonic and Neo-Prog bands, especially those who prefer a somewhat lighter, more acoustic touch, will certainly delight in the material.

Also please note, along with the five tunes described in this short review, the album also contains three additional “bonus” tracks. “Find Yourself,” “Return of Spring,” and “Earthsong” were originally recorded back in 1984 for the band’s debut album Silent Dance, but were remixed by Steven Wilson from the original tapes for inclusion on Prophecy. Although none of these tunes adds any extra magic to the main bulk of the album, it’s still nice to compare the band’s past and present style, which, frankly, hasn’t changed all that much.

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Nocturnal Rites – Grand Illusion (2005)

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NocturnalRites_GrandIllusion4 out of 5 Stars!

From Sweden, Nocturnal Rites released a string of eight studio albums between 1995 through 2007—most of them containing above-average material, in my opinion—with Grand Illusion being the second to last in the series. Although the band started out as a slamming Death Metal act, Nocturnal Rites quickly developed into one of the most consistent Power Metal groups, always delivering the goods in a highly professional and generally well-produced manner, despite various lineup changes as well as adjustments to the level of aggression and the amount of melodies included on each of its albums, which, in my eyes, always served to keep things from getting too stale. I realize that some longtime fans of the group have their preferred albums or periods of the band’s history; I pretty much like all the albums about equally, although I do seem to find myself playing the latter albums a bit more often these days.

Nevertheless, this collection (like always) features thundering and melodic Heavy Metal/Power Metal in a variety of tempos, with full and sizzling guitars, rich and grand keyboards, a rock-solid rhythm section, and a powerful vocalist who easily falls into the Jorn Lande style of “belting out the jams.” On tunes such as “Our Wasted Days,” “Deliverance,” “End of Our Rope,” “Fools Never Die,” and “Still Alive,” the band often reminds me of artists such as Firewind, Thunderstone, Kenziner, Tad Morose, Masterplan, Sonata Arctica, and At Vance, with memorable riffs driving the catchy material, hints of Progressive Metal included for extra spice, all wrapped up in a bold and bombastic package.

After the band released its next album, 2007’s The 8th Sin, Nocturnal Rites seemingly disappeared from the scene. Since the album received what I eventually decided was cruel and unfair criticism for being “too melodic” or “too keyboard heavy,” I had feared the worst, that the band members had collectively decided “screw it” and had called it quits. But thankfully, Nocturnal Rites returned a full decade later with the 2017 album Phoenix and a new guitarist in the ranks. Now I’m hoping the guys stick around for a good long while.

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Savage Circus – Of Doom and Death (2009)

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SavageCircus_OfDoom4 out of 5 Stars!

On occasions when I find myself craving something bombastic, driving, and wickedly savage, I often turn to the German band with the perfect name for delivering the goods—Savage Circus.

Of course, with the band’s strong connection to Blind Guardian (original BG drummer Thomen Stauch initially formed Savage Circus to satisfy his own yearning to duplicate the sound of his former band’s early albums), the music on this release is of a similar nature, only with what sounds like the beasts of hell adding even more demonic aggression to the fury. Ironically enough, however, Stauch didn’t perform on this album due to health problems, but the remainder of the band carried on in the same fashion with a replacement drummer.

Like 2005’s Dreamland Manor, the band’s debut album, Of Doom and Death is loaded with ballsy, riff-heavy tracks such as the ferocious title tune, as well as “Chasing the Rainbow,” “From the Ashes,” “The Ordeal,” “Empire,” and “Legend (of Leto II).” Lovers of “speed-demon” Power Metal, with lightning-quick yet melodic guitar solos, dense and dastardly instrumentation, complex song arrangements, and dramatic and powerful lead vocals with multi-layered background harmonies in the same tradition as Blind Guardian (or even Queen) will likely savor much of the material on offer here.

But be warned: Of Doom and Death is definitely not for the weak of heart, but if you possess long-lasting stamina and a rugged constitution, then by all means, play it loud!

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John West – Mind Journey (1997)

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JohnWest_MindJourney4 out of 5 Stars!

To me, New York State’s John West (Royal Hunt/Artension/Feinstein/Badlands) is one of the most shamefully obscure vocalists on the Metal/Prog-Metal scene. Considering West possesses a powerful, wide-ranging, and soulful voice that often brings to mind Glenn Hughes, and the musical style on his solo albums is similar to Yngwie Malmsteen, Rainbow, Adagio, and (not shockingly) Artension, I’m amazed he’s not more well-known or highly lauded in the industry.

Be that as it may, West’s first solo effort, Mind Journey, not only showcases his excellent vocal abilities on tracks such as “The Castle is Haunted,” “Hands in the Fire,” “Eastern Horizon,” “Dragon’s Eye,” and “Lost in Time,” but could very well have been released under the Artension moniker—the band he was fronting during the year of this release—despite the different lineup of musicians. Not only is the overall Heavy Metal style with a Neoclassical bent and a touch of Prog-Metal so similar, but the album seems more like a band effort (lots of wicked guitar and keyboard solos from George Bellas and Matt Guillory respectively) as opposed to simply being a vehicle for a vocalist to display his enormous talent.

Therefore, for fans of the aforementioned groups, as well as lovers of versatile vocalists who might have easily worked with Ritchie Blackmore had he been invited to do so, Mind Journey is an album that may be of interest to you.

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Mr. Mister – Pull (2010)

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MrMr_Pull4 out of 5 Stars!

Back in 1985, it seemed I couldn’t go a few days (even a few hours) without hearing music being played on the radio by Mr. Mister, the AOR/Pop Rock band that had just released its catchy sophomore album called Welcome to the Real World, which contained the wonderfully addicting tunes “Kyrie,” “Is It Love,” and “Broken Wings,” along with a host of other potential hits. Not only did the band include creative musicians and songwriters, but seemed destined for a long and lucrative career.

But when the band released its more innovative and somewhat-progressive third album, Go On, things suddenly went awry. Since the record label’s “mega hit machine” had stopped churning out instant Top Ten singles, RCA Victor was not happy, and amidst the fallout, the band lost its original guitarist, Steve Farris. And to make matters even worse, the group (with numerous guest guitarists, including Yes’s Trevor Rabin) recorded material for a fourth album planned for release around 1989/1990, with even more experimental AOR-oriented material included, and the record company executives (ie. royal and blundering noodleheads) decided to shelve the collection of tunes since it “wasn’t pop enough.” Morons!

Regardless, Mr. Mister’s remaining musicians—drummer Pat Mastelotto, keyboardist Steve George, and bassist/vocalist Richard Page—ended up disbanding in frustration when other labels also refused to accept the material.

Therefore, the eleven-song collection named Pull is an “archival” album that finally saw the light of day twenty years after its original creation. And yes, the album as a whole is indeed more experimental than 1985’s best-selling Welcome to the Real World, but it’s also a top-quality release, with intriguing melodies, lush instrumentation and harmonies, and Richard Page’s warm, pitch-perfect, and instantly recognizable voice front and center. Okay, so tracks such as “Close Your Eyes,” “Learning to Crawl,” “I Don’t Know Why,” “No Words to Say,” “Waiting in My Dreams,” and “We Belong to No One,” might not be instantaneous hit-single material, but the collection of tunes makes for an often-riveting AOR album, beautiful Pop Rock melodies with Prog-Rock leanings when it comes to song arrangements and keyboard instrumentation. Although the overall sound still has Mr. Mister’s undeniable stamp on it, the style is also not too far afield from the material artists such as Toto were recording in the late-’80s/early-’90s, and it’s occasionally similar in scope/style to Page’s 3rd Matinee project, the material he recorded with keyboardist Pat Leonard (Trillion/Toy Matinee) for the 1994 album Meanwhile.

So, although a previously “shelved” album might be considered by some people as being made up of “undeserving/poorly produced/low-quality material,” that is so far from the truth in the case of this particular album. In fact, many of the tunes on Pull are what I would deem as some of Mr. Mister’s best work, and any fan of the original group looking to hear this ultra-professional band delving into more adventurous sonic territory may enjoy this “archival” gem as much as I do.

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Edith – Dreams (1993)

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Edith_Dreams4 out of 5 Stars!

Talk about obscure and hard to locate! Dreams, Edith’s third release, is the one album I was finally able to track down and acquire through the years by this defunct Italian band from the 1990s.

The well-produced music offered on Dreams is pleasant, non-offensive Neo-Prog material, with tunes such as “Silent Whispers,” “Balance of Love,” “Out,” and “Africa” being generally melodic with a decent (albeit somewhat-quirky) vocalist who delivers the English lyrics with only the slightest of accents. Keyboards—mostly grand piano and spacey synths—tend to dominate the overall sound-picture, while both electric and acoustic guitar are also used in equal balance, with the six-string solos being sparse yet ever-tasteful. Moreover, on the tune “Friends,” the surprise appearance of woodwinds and an organ solo add extra spice to the album’s overall instrumentation. And through it all, the bassist is frequently given a chance to shine, his melodic runs acting as a solid backbone with the diverse yet often laid-back percussion. And speaking of laid-back, on tracks such as “I Dream of You,” “Endless Times,” “In the Darkness,” and “Dreamland,” the easygoing rhythms and flowing, unobtrusive background instrumentation become almost hypnotic in regards to the overall moodiness and almost New Age-esque atmospherics.

So when it comes to Dreams, there’s truly nothing outstanding being delivered in the musical spectrum, nothing earth-shattering to forever alter the Prog-Rock genre, but the music is certainly enjoyable enough, and I’ve found myself being drawn to this album countless times in the past few years, especially when I’m in the mood for serene and uncluttered musical nourishment. And better still, the album leaves me wishing I could locate the band’s other releases to see how they stack up. Additionally, no other major groups instantly spring to mind when attempting to compare this band to others—apart from perhaps the occasional nods to mellower aspects of IQ, Pallas, or Hogarth-era Marillion—so that’s also a positive trait for Edith.

Therefore, I firmly place this band into the category of “talented and overlooked…with albums difficult to locate.”

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Edith_Dreams

Michael Stanley Band – Heartland (1980)

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MSB_Heartland4 out of 5 Stars!

Recently, after engaging in several conversations regarding how true talent, even brilliance in music, often goes both unrecognized and unrewarded, I got to thinking about the music industry as a whole, which has always been one baffling beast. It continually fascinates me how some out-of-the-gate and “just okay” rock groups or solo artists become instantaneous household names, showered in both plaudits and financial rewards based solely on either a single tune (a one-hit-wonder) or a handful of “so-so” songs, (often composed by outside songwriters, I might add), whereas an endless stream of highly gifted and deserving acts, religiously touring and performing all-original, hit-worthy material, continually languish in the shadows, struggling to break into the big-time after years and years of reliably generating top-quality work. Well, in truth, the absurdity of this unjustness doesn’t so much fascinate me as it simply pisses me off.

One such act that immediately sprang to mind during these conversations was the Michael Stanley Band, the city of Cleveland’s “best kept secret” (or, rather, a secret to most of the world outside of Ohio and several surrounding Midwestern states). How this band never broke big in America, let alone elsewhere, is still a mystery to me. MSB seemed to have everything going for it—instrumental prowess, songwriting chops, a distinctive sound, well-produced albums, a loyal fan base in Ohio where the band regularly sold out arenas and stadiums, and a major record label with oodles of moolah for which to promote their artists.

Anyway, when the band got snatched up by EMI America and released its fifth album, Heartland, in 1980 and finally started receiving regular airplay, thanks to the catchy hit single “He Can’t Love You,” I thought perhaps MSB had finally caught a break, that it would soon get major recognition throughout not only the U.S.A., but the world. Other tracks such as “Lover,” “Say Goodbye,” “Don’t Stop the Music,” “Voodoo,” “I’ll Never Need Anyone More (Than I Need You Tonight),” and “Hearts of Fire”—well, heck, pretty much every one of the eleven songs on this platter—proved quite memorable, and with the band including two chief songwriters (guitarist Michael Stanley and keyboardist Kevin Raleigh), there seemed no end to the creativity and sing-along choruses. Moreover, both songwriters had recognizable voices (the gruffer, deeper-voiced Stanley and the clean, soaring Raleigh), and their timbres blended together as tastefully as Kahlúa and cream, which gave the band an even wider commercial appeal. The fact that several tunes also featured a wailing sax (artfully supplied by the late Clarence Clemons—the band would recruit a full-time sax player shortly after this album was released) lent MSB a bit of a Springsteen vibe and should have also helped to propel the band to the top of the rock ‘n’ roll heap.

But after Heartland, despite the giant stride forward, nothing much happened for the group. Certainly, MSB continued delivering above-average material (with the albums North Coast, MSB, and You Can’t Fight Fashion being released in the subsequent three years following Heartland), yet the band simply could not catch that ever-illusive break. As stated earlier, the reasons why remain a mystery, but I chalk it up to lack of radio play and the overall apathy of the record company executives who neglected to provide the necessary promotion and finances. Regardless, this cluster of four albums—from 1980’s Heartland to 1983’s You Can’t Fight Fashion—remain special to me and I still listen to each of them on a regular basis.

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West, Bruce & Laing – Why Dontcha (1972)

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WestBruceLaing_WhyDontcha4 out of 5 Stars!

Why Dontcha is the first of two albums released in the early ’70s by the “supergroup” power trio composed of guitarist Leslie West and drummer Corky Laing (Mountain), who team with bassist/keyboardist Jack Bruce (Cream), for highly electrifying and straightforward Blues Rock with a touch of Soul and Heavy Psych.

On its debut album, each musician takes a turn at singing lead. But let’s face it, anyone familiar with the voices of these three individuals knows that none of them has the awesome skills to compete with the likes of Ian Gillan, Paul Rodgers, or Robert Plant, for example. Yet even through none of the guys has what I would consider supreme vocal talent, each musician at least holds his own and services the style of material quite admirably. Nevertheless, this is not an album for music-lovers merely seeking outstanding vocal prowess.

No, this album instead is for those who revel in wonderfully slick guitar, melodic bass, and thumping drums, and thankfully in this arena, each individual musician plays at the top of his game while working with his cohorts as a cohesive team. Indeed, some of the rousing and often-inspired performances on stomping and pounding tracks such as “The Doctor,” “Love is Worth the Blues,” “Third Degree,” “Pollution Woman,” “Turn Me Over,” and the scorching title tune often bring to mind the best work of both Mountain and Cream, and occasionally even surpass it, while a few other tunes—the piano-enhanced “Out into the Fields” and “While You Sleep”—offer up lighter moments, adding diversity to the package and showing the group’s potential.

Overall, fans of the individual musicians and their famous “parent groups” will certainly appreciate much of the material here, while devotees of other bands such as Cactus, Beck Bogert Appice, Humble Pie, Faces, and Free will also likely savor the often-fun and raucous material.

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Uriah Heep – Wonderworld (1974)

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UriahHeep_Wonderworld4 out of 5 Stars!

Uriah’s Heep’s Wonderworld shows a highly talented band at the apex of its career that suddenly found itself in a rather precarious position…and I’m not talking about the various poses the musicians display on the album cover.

After the brilliant album Sweet Freedom, not to mention the string of other high-quality releases that preceded it, Uriah Heep had developed some major dilemmas that threatened its future, what with an endless touring schedule, endless drug addictions, endless personal hassles and tax problems, endless…well, you get it. Therefore, the band, in the midst of its growing (and endless) struggles, and in a weakened condition, battled to keep its upward momentum going and eventually released Wonderworld just prior to its talented young bassist Gary Thain succumbing to ultimately insurmountable drug-destruction.

Although Wonderworld at the time of its release received even more crap reviews from the music press than the usual (and typical) amount of crap reviews “Heeped” upon the band (misspelling and pun intended) for previous albums, it was actually a damned fine release overall, with a handful of magnificent songs that still hold power to the present day. Personally, I find the title track, with the grand and glorious introduction featuring Mick Box’s slamming power chords and Ken Hensley’s Hammond and synth melody, one of the best album-openers in Heep’s history. Indeed, “Wonderworld,” within its mere four-and-a-half minutes running time, seemed to encapsulate all the band’s finest qualities—a Heavy-Prog arrangement with alternating dynamics, a seemingly fantasy-lush atmosphere, Gary Thain’s melodic bass riffs and Lee Kerslake’s thundering percussion, inspirational lyrics, spectacular background harmonies, and a dramatic performance by lead vocalist Dave Byron. Acting as the perfect “bookended” mirror of the opening track, “Dreams” closes the album in a similar bombastic fashion, with studio wizardry adding even more lush vocal theatrics to the already haunting tune.

Sandwiched between these two breathtaking tracks, however, are songs with varying degrees of quality. Although I concede that these tunes as a whole may not be the best material the band ever recorded, the majority of them still work for me (yet I can understand why other longtime fans of the group might not appreciate several of them). For me, however, the highlights include “The Shadows and the Wind,” a slow-building tune that showcases more of Heep’s signature harmony vocals, and “I Won’t Mind,” a lengthy and pounding Blues-Rock number quite different from the type of music that made the band famous. Moreover, “We Got We,” “So Tired,” “Something or Nothing,” and “Suicidal Man” may at first seem nothing more than uninspired rehashes of material found on the previous Sweet Freedom platter, there are enough enjoyable and savory moments, enough sonic “oomph” during each song, to keep me interested. In fact, the only tune that generally leaves me cold after all these decades is the piano-driven and orchestrated “The Easy Road,” but at least it closes out Side A, therefore, it’s easy to avoid. (Sorry, but for me, Heep was all about Heavy Metal/Heavy-Prog grandeur, and light ballads just didn’t seem to fit properly within the band’s repertoire.)

Sadly, Wonderworld would be the final Uriah Heep album to include its classic (and arguably its best) lineup of musicians (with Thain soon to be replaced by the talented John Wetton), and although it may not come as close to perfection as its previous four studio offerings, I still find it preferable to many of the albums that came later in the band’s lengthy and patchy career.

One final note: I know many people utterly detest the album cover, but I find it an absolute hoot, clearly remembering how it captivated me back in 1974 while roaming the aisles of my local record store. If anything, it’s definitely unique and attention-grabbing.

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