MOJO RADIO - Rise (CD)

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Another stellar blues rocking release from Grooveyard Records. Torn Asunder opens the album pretty cool with acoustic guitar, distorted harmonica and Adam Zierten’s bluesy vocal delivery, a bit similar to Paul Rodgers actually. This was however just the calm before the storm, as all hell breaks loose shortly after. Groovy, heavy blues rock at its best! Wailing slide guitar, groovy bass and drums with a ton of swagger. Throw Free, The Black Crowes and Gov’t Mule in a blender and this is what would probably come out. No need for further explanations. Each and every track delivers and this is a 100 % safe buy!

Janne Stark

Country: USA

Year: 2013

Label: Grooveyard Records

SNAKE HEAD RITUAL - Snake Head Ritual (CD)

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Ok, I may be partial, but Grooveyard Records have a special knack for digging out outstanding bluesy, riff-oriented great bands! Blindstone, Gugun Power Trio, Tony Spinner, Plankton, the list goes on. Snake Head Ritual is another name to add to that list.This band taps on that good old vintage riff based southern rock vein of classic bands like Point Blank, Blackfoot and Molly Hatchet, witch a strong touch of vintage Cactus at times.  The riffage is unmistakeably seventies and the vocal delivery from Kevin Chez sounds like it could have been ripped from an old unreleased early seventiesrecording by Fanny Adams or Truk, back when the singer showed some true feeling in his vocal delivery. The riffs are timeless and the delivery is stellar. This band grooves, twists and turns and there’s no damn way I can sit still while listening. Ten great tracks is all it takes to make an album that makes you long for the next release. Montrose did it, Mountain did it, now Snake Head Ritual has done it!

Janne Stark

Country: USA

Year: 2013

Label: Grooveyard Records

BLACK MOUNTAIN PROPHET - Notorious Sinner (CD) - corrected

Jarrod England is one helluva singer. He proved it in Rufus Huff and here he proves it again, now in Black Mountain Prophet. Rufus Huff is gritty, raw, bluesy hard rock and Black Mountain Prophet actually have some similarities with Rufus, especially in songs like I’m Ready, which is high class classic bluesy hard rock with a touch of vintage Humble Pie or Free. The same goes for the catchy I-can’t-stop-singing-along-rocker Too Much Of A Good Thing. Groovy, rocking, bluesy and so damn good. Bob Watkins and singer Jarrod are two helluva great guitarists! Jarrod also has some really tasteful slide playing under his belt, besides handling drums and bass in some songs. Don't you just hate such talented people ;-). Wish I was... It actually took a few spins for this album to really sink in, but now it’s become one of my favourites! It ranges from good old bluesy hard rock to up-tempo rockers like Speed Freak and cool heavy stuff like the title track. This one, just like Poor Ole Broken Heart balances between wanting to break loose and rock out, but still keeping a cool restraint vibe with Jarrod’s gritty, bluesy soulful voice all over it. If you’re missing bands like Cry Of Love or King Karma, this one’s definitely for you. A killer!!

Janne Stark

Country: USA

Label: Grooveyard Records

Year: 2013

DEVILLE - Hydra (CD)

Swedish stoner rockers Deville has released some pretty interesting stuff before, but Hydra takes the band to a new level for me. Opening rocker Lava really kicks the listening experience into instant high gear! I really like Bengtsson’s clean, but strong voice in combination with the hard driving fat guitars. They remind me a bit of The Quill at times, which is quite okay in my book! I’m happy to say next track, Iron Fed, continues this pleasant musical journey with its intense, back-beat power-rhythm, while In Vain takes it all down a bit with a cool pace. At times it feels wrong decimate Deville by calling them a stoner band, since they have so many more influences in their sound and style. They are not overly distorted in the guitar department and the vocals are cleaner than the general stoner band. There are great riffs, there are cool mellow parts, there are are nice variations in tempo and rhythms. There’s a bit of Truckfighters, a bit of Dozer, a bit of The Quill, even a bit of Mustasch at times. It’s also quite melodic. Let It Go, for instance, actually gave me a bit of a King's X feel with a modern melodic chorus. Most of all, they have really hit home when it comes to the song quality on this album. A killer rocker that needs to be thoroughly checked out!

Janne Stark

Country: Sweden

Label: Small Stone Records

Year: 2013

Format: CD

TWENTY TWO HUNDRED - Carnaval De Vénus (CD)

Twenty Two Hundred
Carnaval De Vénus
Tonequake Records

It's not often these days that an album hits me so hard it gets stuck in my CD player. It does happen now and then, but not like in the "old days". When the debut album by Australian band Twenty Two Hundred started spinning in the player, my listening experience was initiated by the track 7X Down, with its killer heavy riff, raw-edge bass and Tony Cardenas-Montana's rough bluesy voice. Just like fellow-Australians, Tracer, they also produced an outstanding groove making it impossible to sit still. Next track, Got It Bad, started with a gnarly, distorted, wah-wah tinged walking bass, soon accompanied by some swing drums, resting on Tony's almost jazzy added vocals, to just break loose in a crushingly heavy chorus with the whole band. Another track, with a riff that smashes everything in its way, the riff I wish I'd written, and probably Leslie West, too if he hears it, is Hitman. Here, Mark Wells delivers a guitar solo with the wah-wah at large, which fills its perfect role in the song. Stone Cold starts with a treacherous calm with some funky bass, slick drums and Tony's awesome cool voice. This song also delivers a sledgehammer chorus and a killer guitar solo. Also subsequent track, The Sun, rests on a cool funky groove in the verse, while the chorus again crushes! This is one of the things I love with this band, their feeling for nuances, to keep one part down while crushing in the next. Create some tension, like waiting for the Christmas presents. Guitarist/bassist Mark Wells has also produced the album, and I must say he has done an awesome job. He has created the same type of feel Kevin Shirley has done, especially with Tracer. Very dynamic, analogue and at the same time fat but atmospheric. That he lights up the guitars, like in the aforementioned tracks and Shot Down, lets the drums, bass and vocals handle the verse, and then let the brutal guitar loose in the chorus. I love that! I also love the band's cool mix of seventies hard rock, funky heavy rock and a big dose of groovy southern rocking blues. Outstanding groove and the band sound incredibly tight, like if they had been doing pre-production for months to feel each other off as musicians, alternatively played a hundred gigs together. Whatever, Twenty Two Hundred's album has been spinning frantically ever since I received it, and so has their first EP, and they will keep on. One of the best surprises of the year so far, and definitely a favourite! 
Janne Stark
Label: Tonequake Records
Country: Australia
Year: 2013

THE KILLBILLY 5'ERS - Welcome To Town – Now Get The Hell Out (CD)

I heard about this country rock band from some friends and even though I’m a big fan of southern rock, the word country doesn’t sit well with me. When I finally checked the band out, I was totally blown away! Man, this was no washed up Waylon Jennings copies, these boys rock!! I recently discovered the band Texas Hippie Coalition, and I immediately compared The Killbilly 5’Ers to THC. However, where I found the latter fell a bit short on the consistency of the songs, KB5 don’t. The album kicks off with the rocking stomper Burn Down The Trailer Park and continues with the up-tempo rocker Up Shit Creek. The band’s strengths are many, from the killer dual lead work from benders Wincent Persson (ex-Violent Work Of Art) and Ola Af Trampe (Grand Illusion, Code) to the vocal strength of Ola “Alo” Karlsson. The rhythm section featuring bass player Daniel Tegnvallius and drummer B-O Kjellsson keeps the wagon swinging and swaying. The mix is heavy, yet dynamic. The guitars are heavy and detuned, but they also leave some space for acoustic additions such as in steamroller rockers Tupelo. Another bass-crushing rocker is entitled All Fed Up, and the vocals here reminds me a bit of early Volbeat with its stompy rhythm. A cool heavy rocker, indeed! Speaking of cool rockers, another driving “can’t sit still when hearing this”, is I Don’t Know What It Is (But I Want It), which I suspect will go down great live. Humor is another nice ingredient in the band’s songs, not only with titles like A Dick And A Douche, but listen to the stonkin’ No Bull and it’s guitar licks. Awesome! The album ends on another high note – Good Thing I’m Bad. I honestly can’t find a weak song on the album. The band manages to be consistent, yet keep it fresh and new twists and turns on the same heavy, down and dirty country-sih heavy riff rock. If you’re into bands like Texas Hippie Coalition, Hogjaw or Preacher Stone, lend these Swedish southern rockers your ears!
Janne Stark
Country: Sweden
Year: 2012
Label: private 

LOMMI – Life In Sepia (CD paper pocket)

Not sure about the name, but it may be a pun on Tony Iommi (whom we sometimes used to call Tommi Lommi). Anyway, brace yourselves for this new Swedish power trio featuring drummer Jörgen Tjusling and bassist Dennis Österdal who have played (and play) with bands like Eaglestrike and Human Race. A tight rhythm section indeed. This time they are fronted by singer/guitarist Jens Florén and form a trio who is more in the vein of Black Label Society in degree of heaviness, but with some elements reminding me a bit of early Alice In Chains in songs like Suffer. It’s all very raw, untamed and crude, but in a good way. I’m not always 100 % into the vocals, but for the most part Jens does the job really well. At times I’m a bit torn between feeling it’s a bit too crude, like in Honesty and Leaver, but I still digging it. It’s a bit like when I heard Motörhead for the first time, like watching a horror movie through your fingers, if you know what I mean. And Motörhead did grow into a long term musical friend of mine. Powerless Consciousness reminds me a bit like playing a Pantera single on 33, it sort of reminds of Walk, but slower and heavier. Back From the Dead is a really cool rocker, starting out almost reminding me a bit of Ghost, which only goes for the intro. A great chunky rocker indeed. It’s a weird album in the sense that it’s no favorite of mine, but I still keep coming back to it. I think we have a love/hate relationship. A good one, that is. 
Janne Stark
Year: 2012
Country: Sweden
Label: private release 

BEN GRANFELT – Melodic Relief (CD)

Finnish guitarist Granfelt has previously played in bands like Gringos Locos and more well-known English rockers Wishbone Ash. His solo albums have always been quite solid. Melodic Relief is in my opinion one of his most straight ahead easy-listenable efforts. It kicks off El Gringos Revenge which reminds a bit of Joe Satriani on Surfing With The Alien. The track just flows along displaying Ben’s great groovy playing, here exploiting his more melodic rock side of things. This is a track that would fit perfectly to a movie high-speed car chase. Oh Yeah! Continues the melodic journey, and solidifies the album title. GTR Tech brings on some cool retro sounds, but also guitar harmonies reminding me more of Wishbone Ash. The title of the album really makes sense as the songs are all very melodic, easy to grasp and easy to like as well. I’d call it mainstream, and that’s without being condescending, I say it as a compliment. These are songs that could easily be played on the radio or TV. The track where he really lets lose is the album closer, Because We Still Can, where Ben really lets his seventies freak flag fly with some cool Octavia soloing. It may not be the most musically challenging instrumental album, but this is a really enjoyable melodic guitar journey, I must say.
Janne Stark
Year: 2012
Country: Finland
Label: Sprucefield Oy 

SPIDERS – Flash Point (CD)

Spiders play rock & roll, and they do it well. Ever since their first 10” MLP they have proved they know how to take the influences from the late sixties/early seventies and turn them into good times modern retro hard rock. Hang Man reminded me a bit of vintage Motörhead in the intro riffing, while Love Me draws more on early Who type energetic rock. Singer Ann-Sofi Hoyles helps give the band their own sound, but also makes me think of Amercan garagy rockers Suffrajet, which ain’t no bad thing in my book. I also find some resemblances with Graveyard, especially on the new Lights Out album. Spiders write good catchy tunes as well. Flash Point also has been given a nice crunchy, yet dynamic mix, making this a nice package. It may not be a hundred percent up my alley, as I’m more into the heavy riffing stuff, but Spiders do what they do very well, and it’s an album I will be popping into the player every now and then. Good songs, great drive and a great tight band!
Janne Stark
Year: 2012
Country: Sweden
Label: Crusher Records 

CLARK LANE - Smalltown Misery (CD-R)

Clark Lane is a Swedish band I’ve kept my eyes on for some time. Their previous demo showed tremendous potential, and I was actually quite surprised to see yet another demo instead of a debut album. These guys really deserve to get their album out. It’s not easy to describe the band’s sound as, even though there are influences from various places, they do have their own sound. Opener Smalltown Misery is a great melodic rocker with nice biting guitar work that reminds me a bit of TNT, while the songs fits in somewhere between Dizzy Mizz Lizzy and 3 Doors Down. Alive continues with a cool vibe that makes me think of Canadians Tonic in their heavier moments, still very contemporary and melodic. This band is definitely radio material. Great vocals, great musicians, killer songs with great arrangements and top notch production. What I really like is the quirkiness that pops out now and then in the riffing, melodies and arrangements. Expectations made me think of Hoobastank in the initial riffing, but this is actually a bit heavier, and this band takes quite different ways melodically, plus there’s a great guitar solo. This is really, really good stuff! Kharma and especially Wreckingball are even heavier with a touch of King’s X in the riffing, but with a totally different vocal vibe. Both are outstanding songs! All five tracks are actually killer and this band deserves all exposure they can get! This is new and fresh with a nod to the (semi-) old school.
Janne Stark
Country: Sweden
Year: 2012
Label: none (CD-R demo) 

GERMÁN PASCUAL - A New Beginning (CD)

Germán started his career fronting progressive metal band Afterglow, which later became Mind’s Eye. I remember praising his vocals on the band’s first MCD. However, as fate had it, Germán’s career took another turn and he disappeared from the scene for many years. He then returned and became the front man of neol-classic metal band Narnia, when Christian Liljegren decided to take a time out. After one, really good I must say, album entitled Curse Of A Nation, the story ended and the band was put to rest. Germán now joined the man he replaced, Christian Liljegren, in the bands DivineFire and Golden Resurrection. Now, finally, he has released his first solo album. This is a bit like Germán picking the best pieces from his former bands, the melodic yet heavy side of Narnia adding a bit of proggy quirkiness from Afterglow, all of it topped with his class A vocals! A New Beginning is a great piece of semi-proggy melodic metal, quite close in style to Swedish colleagues Cloudscape, but still with its own sound and touch. However, fans of the aforementioned should definitely check this out! Besides Germán’s excellent vocals, the guitars are handles by the swift handed Martin Hall, the bass by Raphael Dafras and the keyboards are handled by Guilherme Oliviera. Unfortunately the drums are programmed, which gives it a generic sound and stiffness I don’t really like. My only complaint I should add. There are some guests that should be noted, such as CJ Grimmark’s excellent solo on Face Of The Blind, which Thomas Plec Johansson handles the guitars and great soloing on two tracks, where his neo-classsical sounding lead on Open Your Eyes is a killer. Call For The One has a different, quite energetic touch in the verse, while the bridge and chorus takes it to a heavy edge. Nice blend, indeed. The song material is really solid and consistent and the album is a safe buy for fans of bands like Cloudscape, FullForce or classic Symphony X for that matter. The album, like Narnia, Golden Resurrection and DivineFire carries a pretty devout Christian message. The overall album, minus the very different operatic Canción Con Todos, is maybe a lacking a bit of variation, but it’s still a good affair. The programmed drums can be a bit annoying (to a seventies fan like myself), but aside of this – great work!
Janne Stark
Year: 2012
Country: Sweden
Label: Nightmare Records 

STORMHOLD - Tales Of Astraal (4tr CDR)

Stormhold is another new band following in the trails of the classic Swedish wave of eighties heavy metal and bands like Steelwing, Enforcer etc., but with the addition of a folksy touch, a bit similar to bands like The Storyteller and Falconer. This shows quite clearly already in the intro The Legacy. Legion Of The Brave rocks it up in the vein of the aforementioned bands. The band sounds good, even though I can’t say they bring anything new to the table. If you don’t, you better do what you do damned great. To be honest, the band does a really good job, but to me I feel this has been done so many times, and slightly better in many cases. The songs are good, the musicians do their job very well, too. The vocals are usually the weak link. I’ve heard much worse, and they are by no means bad, it’s just that, if you want to stick out and rise above the rest in this genre, you better tick all the boxes, and I’m afraid the vocals is one box that’s not ticked for me. Especially in Godric Hammerfist I feel the song lacks a bit from inadequate vocal power and clarity. Westybay starts off sounding quite Iron Maiden influenced and musically it does kick ass. Still, it does fail to really impress me. Again, I’m afraid it’s the vocals that doesn’t hit the mark for me. The production is quite ok, very analogue and retro, which fits the genre, but they could probably push it up a few notches, especially the drum sound. Quite promising despite the flaws if you’re a fan of classic retro metal.
Janne Stark
Country: Sweden
Year: 2012
Label: none (CD-R demo)