DEVILICIOUS – The Esoteric Playground (CDdigi)

Bearded rockers Devilicious made their debut not that long ago, and now follow it up with yet another slab of raunchy, diesel infused heavy rock. I liked the debut and the follow-up does not disappoint me. This one feels a bit more rock ‘n roll and a bit looser. The band reminds me quite a bit of Volbeat with a touch of Hellacopters and Motörhead in a threesome with Mustasch. Mikael Jacobsson has quite a personal voice which fits the style perfectly, but it may not be for each and every one. Just like Volbeat, it sounds like Elvis has been an inspiration, especially in a song like Red Heat In Bed. Good and solid production!
Janne Stark
Label: Rambo
Country: Sweden
Year: 2012
Link: www.devilicious.se

THE GLORIA STORY - Shades Of White (CD)

OK, I’m not sure if it’s a bit charming or if I get pretty annoyed. But, come on, the opener “Valentino” is such a Thin Lizzy rip-off it makes my skin crawl. Opening phrase “Valentino’s got a friend or two” may as well have been “Valentino’s got a booky shop”, both melody and phrasing, “waiting for me honey” may well have been “waiting for an alibi” – plagiarism or tribute, it’s a bloody fine line. Well, the band does step out of the ”tribute” corner and prooves to be more original than that. However, the album shows quite a lot of influences, such as the guitar harmonies and the way they are recorded, the Phil Lynott influences in the vocals. But, they do find their own ways in the songs. Tracks like When Hearts Cease To Bloom and Highway sounds like if you’s thrown Lizzy, The Hellacopters and Swedish glam-poppers The Ark into a blender. The Gloria Story has a strong pop oriented side, which becomes a bit too much for me. What they do, they do good, though. A decent enough album that should attract fans of the aforementioned bands as well as fans of vintage Kiss, T Rex and even Bowie in his more rocking 70s outfit.
Janne Stark
Label: Rambo Music
Year: 2011
Country: Sweden
Link: http://www.thegloriastory.com/