VANITY INSANITY - Insanity Fair (CD)

 

I remember when I first came in touch with Vanity Insanity at the very cool and sadly missed Rock Out Wild festival in Sorsele, Sweden back in 2011. They showed great potential already back then with singer Viggo being quite the power-screamer! Today’s line-up features Viggo Svanberg Hanssen on lead vocals and guitar, Benjamin Bagge on guitar, Fredrik Bergström on bass and Johan Andersson on drums.

After a short intro, the title track kicks off in a powerful, hard driving classic sleasy vein. The mid-tempo Hider offers a bit more heavy riffing. I really like the fat and powerful production and the classic Marshall sounding guitar tone. Wheel Of Misfortune and Hold On offer some more classic sounding heavy riffing, with a strong late 70s/early 80s hard rock touch. Fake It ’Til You Make it draws a bit more from the classic era of Mötley Crüe and Ratt, at least before they go all Motörhead… and, aha, I see what you did there! The song if of course an ode to the band’s own influences. Any fans of the first two bands should definitely check this out! The album continues with yet another cool riff rocker in See Me Coming. Hell yeah! Slow, sleazy and stonery! Love it! Work, East, Sleep, Repeat starts off with an almost Rush-like rhythmic pattern, but soon enters into heavy, crunky sleaze-chugging territory, while the chorus is almost thrash-ish and may as well have been nicked off a F.K.Ü song. The album ends with Volountary Enslavement Of The Mind which sends the album off with another classic sounding sleazy hard rock offering. If you’re a fan of classic, melodic, sleazy hard rock with great musicians, high quality vocals and killer production, this one’s definitely for you! Well done, lads!

Janne Stark

Label: Vain Music

Year: 2026

Country: Sweden

Janne Stark's Top 10 of 2025

Janne Stark Top 10 2025

Here's my Top 10 of 2025, plus some honorable mentions!

1. A.C.T: Eternal Winter – The proggy Swedes never disappoint! Another stellar album! A quirky and melodic musical journey that should attract both prog and AOR fans. Always and still top-notch song writing and performance! 

2. The Mind Palace: Birthrite – Outstanding Swedish melodic hard rock with a unique singer, great songs and great production!

3. Danko Jones – Leo Rising – Danko Jones never fails. Yet another great rockin’ release from these raw rocking Canadians! Riffs meet garage with a punk attitude. Tight and rockin’! Love it!

4. Wytch Hazel: V: Lamentations – I just love these druid rockers, and even more after seeing them live in Sweden. Quirky retro hard rockers that may as well have released this album in the late 70s. Stellar stuff!

5. Inglorious: V – After some years of confusion Inglorious returns with a stellar riff monster. They are definitely back with a vengeance!

6. Warlung: The Poison Touch – Another stellar release by these retro heavy rockers mixing doomy riffs with solid melodic vocals and stellar harmonies. Their best album? Possibly! 

7. Dusty Rose Gang: A-one From Day One – I had to check several times to make sure this wasn’t a hidden previously unreleased early/mid seventies heavy rock album. The sound and style are so authentic it’s scary! If it was recorded in 1972 it would have been up there with Stray Dog, Captain Beyond and Sir Lord Baltimore.

8. Bone Church: Deliverance – The third album mixing the sounds of stoner rock, NWoBHM and classic 70s heavy rock into a perfect musical blend. The killers in a row!

9. Coheed & Cambria: Vaxis III: The Father Of Make Believe – C&C are back with a vengeance! Killer album in the vein of their best album “Good Apollo”. Melodic, proggy, quirky and with great songs! 

10. Armellino: Heritage Blend – Outstanding classic 70s sounding French hard rocker! Bluesy hard rock with swagger!

Honrable mentions:

Anthony Gomes: Praise The Loud – Current kick azz blues rocker with riffs that rock and a voice laced with barb wire! 

Arkado: Open Sea – A solid melodic hard rocker well worth an honorary mention. A stellar heavy AOR rocker with high class vocals and musical delivery. Solid song writing and great production, too!

Angeline: Rhythm Of One – With a load of albums under their belt these Swedish melodic hard rockers continue to deliver high-class guitar driven melodic rock. 

Harem Scarem: Chasing Euphoria – These Canadian melodic rockers are more of an institution by now. Can’t say they’ve ever released a bad album, even if there are some I like more than others. “Chasing Euphoria” is still another solid melodic rock release from the band. 

MoonDog: Time Is The Fire - Solid Danish hard rocker with a 70s touch!

A.C.T – Eternal Winter (CD)

 

A.C.T is and has in my opinion always been one of Sweden’s top rate progressive bands. It’s rare that a band doesn’t have at least one low in their career, but these guys have been on a high since day one. So, is it about to change? The short answer is – No! The band’s new, seventh, full length album kicks off with the track “The Family” in the classic A.C.T mode. Melodic, quirky and slightly proggy, not over the top. This is classic A.C.T material, ranging from soft keyboard parts to happy, up-tempo melodic quirkiness. “A New Beginning” starts off as a cool melodic poppy ballad, going into some heavier chord changes, still keeping the melodies of course. Really nice arrangement with lots of cool little surprises and some Saga-esque guitar/keyboard melodic soloing. A great track, indeed! “When Snow Was Magic” also starts off very soft and tender and then turns into a waltz type almost musical kind of number with a Christmas theme shining through. A beautiful song with Herman almost roaring in the third verse. Fantastic choirs, too! The start of “Waiting For The Sun” takes us back into classic A.C.T proginess with some cool funky guitars found in the verse, too. Another quite poppy number, it turns out, but with some heavy proggy riffing thrown in, and a cool up-tempo solo parts with keyboards and guitar. A nice blend, indeed! ”This Special Day” kicks off with some really cool heavy guitars and Styx-style keyboards, moving into a very poppy verse, a crushing heavy bridge. This one has turned into one of my absolute favorites on the album. Love the vibe and the quirkiness (yes, I use that word a lot when it comes to this band). Lots of stuff happen in this one! Moving on to “Signs” which also starts out pretty mellow with keyboards and vocals, but it still has a feeling of heaviness lurking in the shadows, and yes, there it is! The next verse moves into a cool up-tempo vibe, then into half-tempo heaviness. As usual we don’t know what to expect next, and the songs moves through a lot of different vibes and motions. Another killer song, indeed! “Home” kicks off in high gear, moves into half-tempo and then into slow mode. And that’s just the first 20 seconds! Soft, melodic and cool verse, but of course it doesn’t end there. The song floats in and out of different textures and vibes, but with that traditional A.CT ease and without feeling forced. Another cool guitar/keyboard interplay solo and a cool heavy section breaking it off, going into the guitar solo, back into another keyboard/guitar interplay that just gives you goosebumps. I change my mind, THIS is actually my favorite song. The album finishes with “The Big Parade” which could have been an old, resurrected show number, or something Freddy Mercury might have come up with. A cool way to end the album, totally unexpected! 

Janne Stark

Label: Actworld

Year: 2025

Country: Sweden

TEAZE – Live At Liege (CD)

TEAZE – Live At Liege

Back in 1980 when we started up my old heavy metal band Overdrive, I had a soft spot for Canadian hard rock. I was a big fan of bands like Rush, Triumph, Max Webster, Goddo, Mahogany Rush, and of course Teaze. So much that we even did a cover of Teaze’s “Rockin’ With The Music” as one of the first songs we played together. I then had the great pleasure of finally seeing the band live in 2023 and I was totally blown away by the power and vitality that flew off the stage! Before the show I saw in Sweden the band had also played at the Golden Age Rock festival in Belgium, and they had the good taste of recording the show. The live CD, entitled “Live At Liege” perfectly brings back the memories of seeing the band at the Time To Rock Festival in Sweden. The power is perfectly captured even on CD, with Brian Danter’s powerful vocals, the intense drumming from Mike Kozak and the biting guitar work from Marc Bradac and the band’s only new member Charlie Lambrick. It’s like time stood still. The song selection shows the band’s musical width ranging from classic rockers like “Gonna Have A Good Time Tonight”, “Back In Action”, “Young And reckless”, "On The Loose", “Come On, Hold On” to more melodic stuff like “I’m Not Gonna Cry Anymore”, “Roses And Chrome”, “Heartless World” and the perfect power ballad “Touch The Wind”. One of my favorites is the back-beat power rocker from the band’s self-titled debut album, “Flames Keep Growing”, a kick-ass tune, indeed.  A killer set-list and the mix is in your face, hot and powerful and makes me want to see the band live, again, like NOW! 

Country: Canada

Year: 2024

Label: Self-released

ANGELINE – Rhythm Of One (CD)

ANGELINE – Rhythm Of One (CD)

Swedish melodic rockers Angeline are something of an institution. I kinda compare them to House of Shakira. They do their thing, and they are dependable, they have a personal sound and touch, and the quality is always high. Both bands are musically quite close, too – classic high quality melodic hard rock/AOR. “Rhythm of Love” offers no unpleasant surprises, on the contrary, it’s, as usual, a high-class melodic rock product. Dynamic, powerful yet tight production. “Peace, Love & You”, I would have though was named “You live and you learn”, as this is how the chorus goes. Classic melodic rock, just as previously described. “Got Me Running” on the other hand offers some edgy and cool up-tempo riffing with a chorus that goes heavy. Great solos from Jan-Erik Arkengren. What I also like about singer Joachim Nilsson is that he has that typically bluesy British vibe that you hear in singers like Steve Overland or Pete Godfrey, which I really like. “Something’s Gotta Give” and “Now You See Me” are both a bit more traditional light-weight AOR, while ”Hope, Love & Everything” rocks it out a bit more with a great edgy vibe to it. It’s songs like this one I really appreciate with this band and stuff I think sets them apart a bit. This also applies to the title track with the rough edged neck pick-up Strat-intro and its cool hard rocking vibe with interesting rhythmical twists that I love when they do. A KILLER track, indeed! “Can’t Get Enough” is another heavier hard rocking track, with a classic 80s AC/DC-ish guitar riff. Phat and nice chorus choirs almost with a Def Leppard touch. “When We Were Young” takes us back to AOR land, with a strong vintage Bryan Adams vibe to it. “Heal” also offers up some solid hard edged melodic rock with great vocals from Joachim. Album closer “Til The Bitter End” is a straight-ahead, no frills party rocker. Nothing new under the sun, maybe, but when the sun shines, we do like it anyway. A solid album!

Country: Sweden

Label: private

Year: 2025

Eynomia – Sea Of Tears (CD)

Eynomia – Sea Of Tears (CD)

US melodic metal band Eynomia released their debut album “Break Free” in 2018. Seven years later the follow-up is here. The album kicks off with “To The End” which I guess could be placed somewhere between power metal and prog metal. A cool and energetic up-tempo track with killer vocals from Phyllis Rutter. A great quirky guest solo from Michael Abdow. “Jekyll And Hyde” keeps the pace high and something I pointed out when I reviewed the band’s first album, is that I shall admit I’m not a huge fan of power metal, but this band manages to keep it on the right side of power metal, much more interesting and proggy enough to make me a believer and I’m also a big fan of Phyllis who has a raspy quality to her voice that sets her apart from most other female power metal singers, something I really like. Great guitar solo from Chris Bickley in this one, too! “Mask Of Vengeance” takes it down in tempo and adds a heavy melancholic touch that almost reminds me a bit of Evergrey, which I really like. Here they also add the guest vocal talents of Mike Vescera, which gives it a new dimension. I shall however point out I’m however not 100 % happy with the mix of the album. It sounds a bit dense, overpowering and compact and listening to the entire album in one go gets you a bit of auditory fatigue. The title track does offer a short bit of relief with its soft start. “Reborn” is another cool melodic proggy tune with stellar vocals from Phyllis. “The Demon Inside” is another killer track with a heavy vibe with a sort of medieval melodic touch to the chorus. “The One” takes it all in a different more straight-ahead melodic direction which offers a nice new vibe. This one I would actually label power metal with its sing-along chorus, but Eynomia still manage to keep it interesting. “Time Will Come” takes us back into the heavier melancholic sphere. A power number, indeed! The album finishes on an up-tempo note with “Set Back”, a proggy metal number with lots of cool twists and turns and Phyllis getting all bluesy and raw in the mid section – love it!. Conclusion – a splendid album that should attract fans of both melodic metal, power metal and more proggy stuff. Highly recommended!

Country: USA

Label: self-released

Year: 2025

Moon Dog - Time Is The Fire (LP/CD)

Moon Dog  - Time Is The Fire (LP/CD)

Danish hard rockers Moon Dog finally follows up their debut 7” single with a full album. The single showed much promise, and the album does not disappoint. Opening track “Jaguar” is a cool mix of classic seventies sounding hard rock with a touch of early Styx.  Styx really comes to mind also in the opening choir parts of next track “Beautiful Women”, while the riff part has a heavier vibe, but it changes pace 180 degrees into a soft jazzy vibe which really comes as a surprise. A really quirky and cool track with a ton of different flavors. Singer Fjeder Stavnstrup has a past in hard rockers Hero and he also sings in Glam Gang MooreLizzy, Stuff Upper Lip and previously fronted Queen tribute band Queen of Denmark. “War, The War” continues in a heavier and darker vibe and shows the versatility of the band. “Bitch” takes us on yet another journey. It almost has a hint of old classic melodic quirky rockers City Boy. Here Rikke Holst Johansen handles the lead vocals which gives the album yet another flavor. Cool guitar solo from Fjeder as well. “My Black Soul” starts out like a left over from Deep Purple’s “Perfect Strangers” with some distorted Hammond from Lars Rahbek, while the chorus has a progressive twist to it. A really cool track, indeed! “Sow A Letter” is another dark and quirky track with some really cool twists and turns, while next track “Escape” is a happier funky melodic rocker that even features a piano solo. I also must say I really like the dynamic, dry and in-your-face mix of the album. Side two of the vinyl finishes with the title track,  another cool and pretty heavy number with a touch of Deep Purple but a bit more soft-progressive, almost a bit Magnum-inspired it sounds like. A killer track to end the album! The CD-version (included with the vinyl) features four more non-vinyl tracks. Really nice looking artwork, great production and mastering and an album I’d highly recommend you to check out!

Country: Denmark

Label: Supersonic CPH

Year: 2025

Janne Stark's Top 13 of 2024

 

1. Thin Lizzy – 1976 – What a GRAND re-issue and respectful and interesting re-remixes. A quality packed gem indeed! 
2. The Watchers – Nyctophilia – Daring to take at least half a step outside of the Black Sabbath void was a solid choice. Still as heavy and solid but with a more personal touch!
3. Worshipper – One Way Trip – Here’s a band that manages to sound original in this day and age. Heavy, chunky, groovy, yet melodic heavy rock!
4. Black Country Communion – V – Back with a vengeance! In my opinion their best album!
5. Judas Priest – Invisible Shield – Another bunch of “oldies” that kick a lot of the newer bands’ butts to kingdom come!
6. Jupiter Cyclops – Age Of Ufonaut – If there’s such a thing as stoner heavy metal, this is it! Killer heavy riffage with a stoner touch.
7. KITSA – Dead By Dawn – If Black Sabbath and King’s X decided to get hitched and get a baby, this may have been it! 
8. Black Debbath – Bortkastet hardrock vol 1 – Can’t help but love these Norwegian heavy rock weirdos! They do know how to riff!
9. Deep Purple - =1 – They may be old but man, they still know how to write solid songs and make them sound great on record. Classic hard rock
10. Alunah – Fever Dream – A band I got into quite recently. Killer female fronted heavy rock!
11. Evergrey – Theories Of Emptiness – Heavy, melancholic, melodic, typical Evergrey, but still different. Their best album in a long time. Killer album!
12. F.K.Ü – The Horror And The Metal – I wouldn’t say I’m a huge thrash metal fan, but I do have a soft spot for F.K.Ü. Their explosive power, tightness, killer songs and tongue in cheek approach just makes me smile and bang! Love it!
13. Lydsyn – Højspænt – Power rock in Danish? Yup, it works! 

Honorable mentions:

The Quill – Wheel Of Confusion

Trapeze – Lost Tapes Vol 2

Green Lung – This Heathen Land

Alicate – Heaven Tonight

Dug Pinnick – Thingamajigger

Freak Kitchen – Everyone Gets Bloody

Moggs Hotel – s/t

 Janne Stark’s Top 15 of 2023

So here’s my Top 15 of 2023 (with some extra honorary mentions). If you miss some stuff it may actually be because I actually haven’t heard it (or maybe it wasn’t to my liking enough to make the Top 15). 

Wytch Hazel – IV: Sacrament – Outstanding proggy hard rock, like a mix of classic Demon and heavy Jethro Tull with a NWoBHM touch.

Cloud Catcher – Return From The Cauldron – Ball busting US powerful riff rockers do it again! 

A.C.T – Falling – My favorite Swedish pop-progsters never disappoint! 

Blindstone – Scars To Remember – Martin sure knows how to riff!!

The Cold Stares – Voices – US blues rockers that deliver yet another killer album!

Dirty Honey – Can’t Find The Brakes – The 70s rules! Dirty Honey proves it!

Beastmaker – Body And Soul – Previously unreleased demos, yet, bloody great stuff! For fans of classic Black Sabbath.

Vandenberg – Sin – Mats Leven has sure brought a new touch to this excellent classic band!

Timechild – Blossom & Plague – The Danes manage to follow up their debut with an even better album! 

Prins Svart – Till vårt försvar – Mats Leven, again, delivers the goods with these excellent Swedish riff rockers!

Tania Kikidi – Wings Of Freedom – Tania has leather coated vocal cords, perfect for this bluesy metal album!

Ego Planet – Ego Planet – More outstanding heavy riff rock! A KILLER debut!

Bloody Dice – Bloody Dice – A new Danish power combo that shows that Danish Dynamite is still highly explosive!

Zhiva – Into The Eye Of The Storm – Excellent heavy melodic Swedish rockers!

Future Elephants? – The Past Was A Blast… - Just love these slightly quirky Swedish progy rockers!

Honorary mentions:

Care Of Night – Reconnected – Killer AOR!

Sour Cream – Sour Cream – More killer retro riffing!

Sass Jordan – Live In New York Ninety-Four – Sass rocks! What a killer live album!!

TANIA KIKIDI – Wings Of Freedom (CD)

Greek vocal powerhouse Tania Kikidi follows up the excellent 2021 album “Rock & Roll Paradise” with a new belter of an album. The album kicks of with the rockin’ “Rise” that almost touches on classic 80s metal and bands like Riot or Metal Church, but with a more 70s sounding chorus. All the instruments, mixing and mastering are handled by the multi-talented Stavros Papadopoulos who does a killer job sounding like a whole band of different musicians. The title track continues and again I have to say vintage Riot does come to mind, and that is in my book by no means a bad thing. On the contrary, the early discography of Riot are among my favorite records. This is definitely classic metal with a new touch. “Loud And Proud” touches on 70s heavy rock and made me think of bands like Rockicks and Hydra, with Tania taking the vocal department to a whole new level. A killer track! “Broken Dreams” is a cool up-tempo classic rocker keeping the pace up going into a kickin’ cover of Sass Jordan’s “High Road Easy”. Tania and Stavros do a great job with it, but it’s almost impossible to surpass the unearthly energy and power of Sass, Brian Tichy and Stevie Salas, but a great version, nonetheless! “Heart Painted Blue” is a cool, heavy bluesy number giving the album another touch of color. “Confession” takes us into a Dio:esque landscape with a touch of Sabbaths “Heaven And Hell”, while “Breaking It Down” kicks off with riff heaven. Heavy, funky and rockin’ with Tania’s voice as the icing on the cake. “Bleed” keeps the riff machine going, while “Pain” revvs up the metal machine again, going back into vintage Riot territory.”Foolish Lover” is a cool, bluesy ballad kicking off with a killer solo from Stavros. The album finishes with the beautiful acoustic ballad “Sea Of Tears”. A very nice ending to a kick-ass album! Killer vocals, awesome playing, killer production and a cool cover to match it! Get it! 

Janne Stark

Label: Grooveyard Records

Year: 2023

Country: Greece

Link: https://grooveyardrecords.com/

RUFFYNZ – III (CD)

What could go wrong with a line-up boasting guests like Pat Travers, Pat Thrall, Bumblefoot, Tony Franklin, Dave Meniketti, Derek Sherinian and a line-up featuring the legendary Carmine Appice, Lizards’ bass player Randy Pratt guitarist JZ Barrell and singer Ed Terry? Judging from the heavy funky opening track “Street Corner High” – nothing it seems! Ed has a really cool gritty rock voice with fits perfectly with the heavy funky rock vibe. Killer solos by the two Pats as icing on the cake! Great heavy and analogue sounding mix by JZ Barrell further enhances the experience. “Looking For The Edge” introcuces an almost psychedelic vibe to the mix and Ed actually reminds me a bit of Eric Martin in the verse. With a mix of Bumblefoot and Derek Sherinian adding their vibes to the song it really gets far out (in a good way). “Malevolent Fool” feels like a blues for the new decade. Heavy, chunky and brutal with a modern touch, and Tracy G adding his guitar weirdness to it pushes it yet another bit. “Red Lines” is another heavy and funky rocker with Randy’s fuzzed out power bass leading the way. This one is also adorned with a bit of Bumblefoot geetar majik. “Playhouse” is a slightly softer, almost soul funk-oriented, number that sees Carmine re-unite with his old Blue Murder colleague Tony Franklin. It also features some cool harp playing from Randy (who used to help out in Cactus as well). “Electric Mind Control” takes us back into the heavy funk mode with Randy adding some cool nasty wah-wah to his bass. On this one Vinnie Moore adds a solo. The cool shuffle number “Cadillac Walk” features former Cactus colleague Jim McCarty on guitar, adding some cool slide vibes to the album. “Far Too Long” takes us back into the heavy riff territory. The mix is ultra-heavy with bass taking lead and fuzzing it out into oblivion! Dave Meniketti delivers a rippin’ solo. “Warm Oasis” is kind of an odd number with an almost jazzy touch. The album finishes with the heavy and brutal “Hanging” featuring Tracy G. Ruffynz is Randy Pratt’s baby and it does show in the heavy bass department, but it fits perfectly with the heavy funky vibe of the songs. It’s not your run of the mill funky rock album, but has a lot of interesting twist and turns and the vocal and musical contributions are top notch! A highly interesting album to really sink your teeth into!

Janne Stark

Label: Hyperspace

Country: USA

Year: 2023

Link: https://www.hyperspacerecords.com/

KING MOUNTAIN – Wrath Of The Gods (CD)

This is the fourth physical album (their sixth in total) in that many years by Greek bluesy stoner rockers King Mountain. On guitar and vocals, of course, the multi-talented Stavros Papadopoulos. The album starts out pretty cool and calm to burst into some really heavy, almost doomy riffs. It evolves into a really nice semi-soft, heavy bluesy number, the ones you usually find in the second half of an album. It almost has kind of a King’s X vibe to it, as well. Interesting! “Firebringer” brings in a bit of classic metal into the mix. “Evil Deadly Nights” is as slow and doomy as they come, while “Midas Touch” is a nice acoustic ballad that turns into a slow epic heavy number. “Until the Day I’m Gone” is another crushing metal number. “Axecalibur” is crushing riff monster featuring some killer bass playing from John Christopoulos and brilliant soloing from Stavros while “Retribution” is another heavy rock hitter. I’m not sure why this band is often labeled as a “stoner” band. This is classic heavy rock with some heavier passages and quite a nice variety in the song writing. A great album indeed!

Janne Stark

Label: Grooveyard Records

Country: Greece

Year: 2023

Link: https://grooveyardrecords.com/

REMUDA DUST – The Speedball Years 1999-2001 (LP)

Ozium keep chugging out great stoner/retro hard rock. Next up is Swedish retro/stoner band Remuda Dust. The band released the three-track EP “Superhighway" in 2000 and then nothing more happened. Now Ozium is finally releasing an album with the bands collected work. Eight tracks, recorded between 1999 and 2001 (as the title suggests). Remuda Dust is a pretty rough-edged, slightly garagy unit. The guys look and sound quite young (which they probably at the time) and especially the vocals have that young and unruly touch to them. “Facing The Engine” on the other features some really mature sounding guitar solos. “Cactus Canyon” is almost punky in its attitude, with a touch of Sator at times. The first three tracks were featured on the band’s only release, and you can clearly that the track “Bleed”, produced by Janne Bark, that ends sida A, is recorded at a different occasion. The guitars are fat, fuzzy and really brutal. A great high-energy track. The tracks on side B were produced by Johan Carlsson and the opener “Baby Blue” opens with some pure barbwire guitar. This is definitely garage stoner in its purest form. Raw and unpolished with a punkish attitude. I came to think of that this is probably what it would have sounded like if The Sonics had reunited as a stoner band. “Emotional” continues in a more boogie-oriented vein. The guitars sound like they have been in a frying pan for about four hours! “Tijuana” continues in a heavier vein, and is probably my favorite on the album. “18-wheeler” ends the album in a more up-tempo stoner-shuffle vein. This is raw, rough, juvenile, powerful, crunchy, fuzzy stoner rock straight from the crotch!

Janne Stark

Label: Ozium Records

Year: 2023

Country: Sweden

Link: https://oziumrecords.bandcamp.com/

Future Elephants? – The Past Was A Blast… (CD/LP)

Future Elephants? Current Dinosaurs? I don’t know about the elephants, but these guys sure aren’t no dinosaurs. They may have been in the game since Jeebo walked around in shorts, but these guys manage to find ways to up the old game of prog-infused rock. This is the third outing from this band, and it sure doesn’t disappoint. Singer/guitarist Roger Holegård (of Neon Rose fame), guitarist Dante Holmberg (formerly of Uppåt Väggarna, Strix Q etc), bass player Anders Lundguist and drummer Sigvard Frenzel again being out a really nice slab of music. We get a nice variety of sounds and colors We have rockers like “Shake The Snake”, passing semi-soft almost pop-folksy songs like “Ground Floor Man” on to the classical sounding intro of “Walking With a Dead Man” that goes into some really cool heaviness with a touch of Jethro Tull. Side one of the vinyl ends with the odd semi-ballad “Rain” with moody, yet slightly proggy twists. Side two starts with another cool slightly proggy semi-heavy number named “Bring In The Judge” with a really powerful chorus. “The Planet’s Crusaders” goes in a different direction, bringing in some blues rock with a quirky guitar melody that really gets stuck in your head. For some reason it made me think of Dire Straits “Money For Nothing”, but better. “Peter’s Demons” takes us back to the proggier regions with a touch of vintage Blue Öyster Cult. Really cool guitar solo from Dante, too. The album ends with another killer straight ahead rocker entitled “Drink” with more of Roger’s excellent lyrics. He mixes tongue-in-cheek stuff with some deep meanings, which I really like. I’ve been a fan of his lyrics since back in the Neon Rose days. I also really like the analogue sounding production, very modern retro. The sound is great, the playing is stellar and Roger’s vocals fits the music like a glove. What’s not to like? Get it!

Janne Stark

Label: Rock Music Production
Year: 2023
Country: Sweden

Matti Norlin & Anders Norudde – Blåställ (CD)

Matti Norlin started his career in metal bands like Wizard and Ninja, but soon slided into the blues with solo releases and the excellent band Badge. Here’s another release in the blues school. This time together Anders Norudde on violin, bagpipe, cow horn (?), Willow flute and various odd instruments. ”Håll käft” (shut up) starts off with its cocky attitude dealing with the current machine based music. Cocky up-tempo blues with odd musical coloring. ”Aldrig riktigt nöjd” (never completely satisfied) reminds me of ”Come On In My Kitchen” by Robert Johnson, but when I checked the credits it was actually an old Muddy Waters number. “Flaska kär” (bottle dear) is a classic porch blues, where I kinda feel the fiddle is more in the way than helping. The guitar would be enough here. All in all I really like the songs, I love Mattis vocals and his guitar playing, but I do feel there are sometimes a bit too many instruments, where I feel some don’t really fit in, or at least get a bit too much space in the music. 

Janne Stark

Label: private release
Year: 2022
Country: Sweden

Highproject – Highproject (CDr)

Highproject is a Swedish progressive rock band featuring former Zello keyboard player Anders Altzarfeldt. Opening track “1000 People” reminds me a bit of vintage Asia, but with a slightly heavier edge. This was a really nice surprise! The album was one of the many Corona albums where the members recorded each at their own home/studio. You honestly can’t hear it. It all sounds very “together”. Besides Anders, the band features Stefan Andersson (Sonic State Capital) on bass, Bjarne Forsbom on guitar, Mikael Grönroos (ARA) on drums and Robert Johansson Lind (ARA, Heathen’s Eye, Ability) on vocals, acoustic guitar and percussions, plus guest singer Lovisa “Loa” Pigani. “Trust In Me” continues in the same vein, but also draws close to vintage classic prog bands like Nektar and Yes, and even a bit of early Saga here and there. Robert is an excellent singer with a broad range and a strong voice. Great melodic feel, too! The arrangements are quite intricate and there are a lot of different themes and passages in the songs which makes this a really interesting listen. “Prime Time” initially offers some pretty heavy and intense guitar riffing, but it soon switches gears into a heavy, yet dynamic vein with really cool keyboard patterns coloring the musical landscape. This is really brilliant, I must say! “Rhayader Goes To Town” is the only cover out of the six numbers, originally written by Camel. Even though I’m a big fan of progressive rock and bands like Kayak, Nektar, Yes etc., but I’ve never really listened to Camel. Listening to this song, I realize I probably should. I don’t know how close to the original these guys do it, but this is a really intricate and interesting song, indeed. Quite playful and with some really cool twists. This album REALLY deserves a proper release!! I know lots of prog fans who would drool over this! 

Label: private release

Country: Sweden

Year: 2023

Link: https://www.highprojectband.com/

Craig Erickson – Modern Blues (CD)

Craig Erickson is a true groove master. He’s been true to the heavy, groovy blues rock since his debut “Roadhouse Stomp!” in 1992. It’s been a few years since his last physical album "Sky Train Galaxy", which was released in 2015. “Modern Blues” is really an example of what you read is what you get. Of course, “modern” can mean a lot of things. In this case it’s not about samples, machine generated grooves or auto tune abominations. It more the vibe. It’s blues and it’s rock and it doesn’t sound dated, which would qualify as “modern” in my book. The guitar is definitely in the forefront, and it’s Craig handling both guitar, bass, keyboards and vocals, only taking some help from drummer Jeff Sipe. I’ve always felt Craig has a pretty strong Robin Trower vibe to his vocals and playing, and it’s no different this time around. The vocals are pretty relaxed, yet rough, but no high pitch screaming, rather the missing link between James Dewar and Billy Gibbons. The guitar playing shines throughout the album and some songs that kinda stick out to me is the incredibly cool fuzzed out “Bring Love Back Again” with its funky vibe and brutal guitar licks and also the heavy, yet dynamic “Brokedown World” with its subtle but really beautiful Uni-Vibe Strat tone. I also can help to mention another song that sticks out a bit, which is “Wildfire”, which starts out a bit reminding of vintage southern rockers The Outlaws, but goes into a more funky direction. A really cool number with some intense and outstanding guitar solos with a cool fusion oriented vibe to them. Highly recommended!

Label: Fervor Records 

Country: USA

Year: 2023

A.C.T – Falling (MCD)

My favorite Swedish melodic progsters are back again! After two EPs, they now deliver what could be considered a classic 70s vinyl length album, clocking in a 30 minutes and 8 seconds, but would today be considered a mini-alnum. The album starts with the short “Fall In” intro which is just a short runway into the excellent heavy and melodic “Digging A Hole” with some really cool technical mid-sections. This is A.C.T in their prime. An outstanding song, indeed! Next up is “The Girl Without A Past” where we get to revisit Emilie who first had a song of her own on “Today’s Report”, and who still has problems with her memory. It’s a quirky song that starts out quite soft, but picks up into a pompy and theatrical chorus. There’s a lot of classic early Saga in the keyboard/synth arrangements, I feel. Lots of different vibes and parts, which really makes this listen experience a thrill. Next up we have the kinda stroll along, pretty straight forward and slightly poppy “Breathe”, a song you can’t help bobbing your head to. Despite being “straight forward”, it of course has some really cool and quirky passages, especially in the solo section. With A.C.T “straight forward” isn’t really the same as AC/DC “straight forward”. There are different levels , you know. “A Race Against Time” gets us into a heavy, energetic proggy intro with a pretty naked verse that moves into a power bridge. Another hard hitting number that shows A.C.T has so many more tricks to show us. This is brutal!! “One Last Goodbye” is really classic sounding A.C.T in their strutty, prog-pop vein. As usual the vocal layers and harmonies are exquisite, the musical technicalities and arrangements are out of this world. “The Earth Will Be Gone” gets us back into the theatrical and pompy world, of course with some reggae-infused parts thrown in for good measure. A very interesting vocal mid-section which really enhances the theatrics, and almost moves us into a Broadway musical. These guys never cease to surprise and amaze. Listening to this CD is definitely the best spent 30 minutes today! 

Janne Stark

Label: ACT World

Country: Sweden

Year: 2023

Top 19 of 2022

 

      

1. King’s X - Three Sides Of One
2. The Dead Daisies – Radiance
3. Clutch – Sunrise On Slaughter Beach
4. Slowtorch – The Machine Has Failed
5. Deadeye Navigator – Lunar Hippies/The Great Binge
6. ZZ Top – Raw
7. Alter Bridge – Pawns & King
8. Wolfnaut – III
9. Mephistofeles - Violent Theatre
10. Sahg – Born Demon
11. Avatarium – Death, Where Is Your Sting
12. Sahara – III: Hell On Earth
13. Shinedown – Planet Zero
14. Crobot – Feel This
15. Mano De Mono – Chameleon Tongue
16. Riot Act - Closer To The Flame
17. Threshold – Dividing Lines
18. Ghost – Impera
19. Jethro Tull - The Zealot Gene

Some other albums not from 2022, but I've listened a LOT to:

• Master Massive - Time Out Of Mind
• Mount Carmel - Get Pure
• Hippie Death Cult - Hippie death Cult
• Mephistofeles - (((I*m Heroin)))
• The Cold Stares - Heavy Shoes
• Twenty Two Hundred - Carnaval de Venus
• Dirty Honey - Dirty Honey
• Chronus - Idols
• Dunsmuir - Dunsmuir
• Cloud Catcher - Trails Of Kozmic Dust
• Bone Church - Acid Communion
• Patriarch - First Hand: Second Verse
• Prins Svart - Inte här för att stanna
• Toehider - To Hide Her
• Beastmaker - Inside The Skull

The Jolly Company – 10 Acts To Astound And Amaze (CD)

There has come quite a bunch of high-class progressive acts from the little country of ours such as ACT, Jono, Kharma, Add The Jolly Company to the list. “Hear The News” kicks off in the true pomp/prog mode with hints of bands like Klatuu, Queen, ACT, City Boy. “Paris Summer Love” certainly has some severe Queen overtones with multilayered harmony vocals from the extremely talented Göran Edman (Madison, Malmsteen, Kharma etc). The project was initiated (and written) by former Crossroad Jam/Backwood Spirit keyboardist Peter Emilsson. The line-up also features Peter’s former Crossroad Jam colleague Joje Lindskoog on drums, Jonathan Lindskoog also on drums, Stefan Jonsson on guitar, Niclas Boson on bass and Anneli Axelsson on backing vocals. If you’re into intricate, orchestrated, theatrical, melodic proggy pomp rock, this album is a MUST. The songs are top notch, the musicians brilliant and Göran’s vocals are really the icing on the cake. My only disappointment is in myself and that it took me so long to really listen to and review this masterpiece!

Janne Stark

Country: Sweden

Year: 2021

Label: Self-released