Mr Quinn – Long Way To Hollywood (CD)

The band dates back to the 80s, which may not be that surprising when you listen to the album. This is classic seventies Deep Purple/Rainbow/Whitesnake style hard rock. Despite the long history of the band, “Long Way To Hollywood” is the band’s second album, released three years after the debut. I did like the debut, but this one is actually a few steps up the ladder. Johan Paavola is a really good singer, and even though he has quite a smooth and melodic voice, he does roar a bit from time to time. The mix is well-balanced and classic sounding, which suits the music perfectly. The songs may not be earth shattering, but they are highly enjoyable. It’s definitely as far from the terms “modern”, “nu” and “loops” you can get, and that is just fine by me. A classic sounding album for fans of classic hard rock.

Janne Stark

Label: private

Country: Sweden

Year: 2016

Dust – Soulburst (CD)

Not to be confused with the 70s namesakes, who released two albums. These Swedish retro rockers should however appeal to the fans of the aforementioned. Dust’s first effort really struck like me a sledgehammer! Outstanding 70s sounding riff oriented hard rock with a touch of the mighty Badlands. The debut was a self-financed affair, while they have now been picked up by the appropriately named Attitude Records. This is also, I was told by one of the members, why they decided to re-record two songs from the debut. This means that for us “old” fans this release features seven new tracks to suck on. The album kicks off with “Sun Rising” which instantly shows the band hasn’t changed their winning concept from the debut. Next up is “The King Is Coming” which really shows the band’s Badlands influences with the mighty Roger Solander sounding like Ray Gillen’s long lost cousin. Johan Niskanen is a bluesy riff machine with a lot of tasty leads under his belt, often skipping the rhythm guitar during the solos and leaving it up to the tightly knit power rhythm package of bass player Bernt Ek and drummer Örjan “Dr Rock” Englin to fill every crack and crevice. It’s however not all power riffs and heavy rhythms. “Waiting For You” is a cool blues oriented ballads, with a hint of vintage Whitesnake (when Dave still had a voice and they were a blues rock unit). “Free” is based on almost the same, more or less sacred and forbidden but still often used, riff pattern of Hendrix “Freedom”. A tad too close, but still a great song. “Soul Stealer” is another cool riff rocker in line with the rest of the album. The album closes with a cool Univibe drenched guitar floating on top of the groovy rhythm package and Solander soaring above it all with his bluesy melodic top notch vocals. All in all a solid follow-up to a killer debut! If you’re into bands like Badlands, King Karma etc., don’t miss these guys out!

Janne Stark

Year: 2016

Label: Attitude Records

Country: Sweden

INGLORIOUS – Inglorious (CD)

Wow!!! Just f***ing WOW!!! I’ve seen there’s been a bit of a hype around this band and before hearing them I was not really paying attention thinking it was just one more, no offence, decent but not overly exciting melodic rock project. Well, suck me sideways! Wrong was I!! I damn near stood in attention after the sneaky intro had finished and the first riffs of opening track Until I Die rolled out of the speakers like a raging steamroller! The first band that came to mind was the long lost Badlands fronted by the highly missed Ray Gillen. The power, the riff and the intensity of phenomenal power house vocalist Nathan James just hit me like a brick! One track doesn’t do an album, of course, which second track Breakaway helps to overcome. This one started out with a touch of Aussie rockers Electric Mary with a Whitesnake sounding chorus. High Flying Gypsy provides a bit of Kashmir-feel to the guitar rhythm, but there end the similarities. Another killer bluesy rocker. Holy Water starts out with a cool bluesy riff, the pumping bass and drums come in and we’re now in Whitesnake meets Purple territory, with Nathan hitting that soul-rattling Hughes vibe. A big, powerful, yet cool and bluesy ballad. A dirty, mean, gritty, ugly and lonely guitar starts off the track Warning, joined by a cool slide guitar. Break. Hell breaks loose! Inglorious may not be bastards, but they sure sound like a bunch of bad boys! Bleed For You also enters into a cool, bluesy Whitesnakey vibe, but better than anything that band has done since 1984. Ok, Girl Got Gun is yet another slow piece. It’s a great track, but I hope you’re not falling asleep, guys, are you? Well, You’re Mine answers the question. Nope! The track Inglorious sticks out a bit with it’s simple halftone descent metallic riff, followed by a Magnum-like passage, making me wonder where this one’s heading. It’s a bit like if Led Zeppelin and Magnum had a love child, and that’s all good in my book! Unaware starts off with a soft piano intro, after which the heavy riff masters take over and turns this into a heavy, yet cool riff-oriented hard rocker with a modern melodic rock chorus. Some bluesy 7-chords, a bit of wah and we’re home free! Even though the album closer is entitled Wake, I think Goodnight would be more appropriate. Acoustic guitars and vocals and then 3 minutes into the song some very unplugged sounding drums and a bluesy guitar solo enter. Kind of a Badlands-vibe to this one as well, actually. This will most likely be the cigarette lighter (now iPhone) moment of the glorious Inglorious live show. Damn fine album, indeed!

Janne Stark

Label: Frontiers

Country: UK

Year: 2016

Video: https://youtu.be/SJTdvTfEFGc