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/

Heavy Roller – Heavy Roller (LP)

I’ve always had a soft spot for Australian hard rock ever since I heard Stevie Wright’s “Evie” back in 1974. Soon enough AC/DC popped up and on it went with bands like Rabbitt, Taste and later on excellent bands like Tracer, Electric Mary, Wolfmother and Twenty Two Hundred. Add Heavy Roller to this lot. A new four-piece from downunder that rocks big time! The band’s self-released debut kicks off with “Heavy Roller” in a powerful mid-tempo vein, followed by no frills up-tempo heavy rock ‘n roller “Jug”, that will give fellow-Aussies Airbourne a run for their money. The band consists of Luke Earthling on guitar, Cam Roach behind the drums, Dwain du Plessis on vocals and guitar and Gater Springate on bass and backing vocals. “Barfly” kicks the album into AC/DC style gear and you can almost feel the beer start flowing. “Getting’ By” is a super groovy, bluesy rocker with cool funky guitar work and Dwain’s gritty vocals on top. Love it! Side A closes with the stomping bluesy rocker “The Raven” with harmonica on top. On to side B and we head straight into the heavy rocking “Undead World”. A cool guitar chugging number at a medium pace (as Adam Sandler so eloquently put it). “Scavengers Delight” continues in a mid-tempo, but still pretty intense vibe and in the chorus, they do rock it out. It made me think of what The Hellacopters would’ve sounded like if they were an Australian band. “Deceiver” again gets the riff machine moving, with an almost punkish intensity. “Demon In Me” brings it back down quite a bit to a very smooth, but still kinda Iggy Pop-style number, which of course breaks out into full mayhem in the chorus. A great driving rocker! Side B finishes at full throttle with up-tempo party rocker “Burning Dollars”. All in all, a really solid debut from these Aussie rockers. Already looking forward to their next release!

Year: 2021

Country: Australia

Label: Thong Knife

Link: https://heavyrollerrock.bandcamp.com/album/heavy-roller

GUDARS SKYMNING - "Olycksfågel" (CD/LP)

Band: Gudars Skymning

Title: Olycksfågel

Year: 2020

Label: Transubstans

Gudars Skymning (”Dawning of the Gods” or more like ”Holy Shit!!”) is one of the many high quality Swedish retro rock bands. On their seventh album they have however taken a slightly different path. It’s still retro, still fat riffs and still in Swedish, but “Olycksfågel” (a person with bad luck) is a concept album. The songs, at least some of them, are woven together with spoken words. Some tracks are quite theatrical in their approach and the album is highly dynamic. I really like it, I must say. It’s kinda hard to just pop in a listen to ONE song here and there, even if tracks like “Orions Schakaler” stands up for itself, but there’s a flow through the album that gets lost if you just pick bits and pieces. The production is first class with a clear analogue tough, but without sounding lo-fi or artificial 70s. I really like the guitar sound with its quite modest but very effective distortion. Several of the songs also build up in a really nice way, such as “Monoliten vid rikets gränd”, which seamlessly transcends into “Torn av glas” with its heavy and slow riffs. 

Janne Stark

Revolution Highway – Revolution Highway (CD)

Man, when this album kicked off I was immediately thrown back to when I first heard the debut album by Montrose back in 1973. Earthy, analogue hard rock with phat riffs, pounding drums and a singer that rips! David Fefolt is his name and he’s previously been heard in bands like FireWölf, Hawk and Masi). Nothing wrong with his past ventures, but this one kicks them top the curb! So, who’s delivering the guitar riffs if not the hardest working man in Greece, Mr Stavros Papadopolous of Universal Hippies, Freerock Saints and Super Vintage. He’s really proved to be a riff force to be reckoned with on his other releases, and here he really sums it up, blending his bluesy licks and his powerful riffing capabilities. Two songs in and I’m in hook, line, singer and rod! This is without doubt one of the best albums of 2018! If you’re into bands like Montrose, (the sadly underrated) Manic Eden or Badlands with a touch of heavier 80s hard rock (think Whitesnake “1980”) this one’s for you. As usual it’s got flawless, powerful production from Stavros. When I hear an intro and a riff like in “All The Way Down” a big smile just floats out all over my face. This ROCKS (yes, capital letters required)! There’s honestly not a single weak track on the album! My biggest problem will be, getting it out of my CD-player, as it will probably get stuck from melting of excessive playing. A killer album indeed (if you haven’t gathered that by now)!

Janne Stark

Country: Greece/USA

Year: 2018

Label: Grooveyard Records

Roadhouse Diet – Won’t Bend Or Break (CD)

Swedish southern style power pack Roadhouse Diet are back with a vengeance. They immediately deliver the proof in opener "Powerload", which is a pedal to the metal melodic, yet heavy and powerful rocker with a nice twiddling guitar solo, followed by yet another power-pack in the form of "Devilmaker". The band has now been reinforced by keyboard player Per Wiberg (Spiritual Beggars, Mojobone, King Hobo, Opeth, DeathOrgan etc) and his presence shows, especially in the second number with his Hammond organ beefing up the sound. The album is produced, mixed and mastered by singer/lead guitarist Jonas Kjellgren, a man of many skills. I just love the powerful, organic sound and his blazing guitar work. I also like that fact that he knows not to just drive the guitar amp at full blast, like in Hard Times Ahead, where the guitar just chugs along in the background, and then bursts out in the chorus. Dynamics, people, dynamics! The intro of the title track also provides the chance for Per Wiberg to channel his inner John Lord, and the track itself actually beings his former band Mojobone to mind with it’s kinda quirky rhythmic pattern, even though it was written by Kjellgren. Maybe he’s channeling his inner Per Wiberg? If you’re a fan of bands like the aforementioned Mojobone, and also bands like The Company Band, The Killbilly 5’ers, Hogjaw, Five Horse Johnson – down and dirty southern boogie with a modern twist and the lead boots firmly on – check it out! If a track like "Over The Top, Then Down And Out" won’t hit you like a love-brick in the face, you need to book an appointment with your doctor!

Janne Stark

Label: Mojoholic Records

Year: 2017

Country: Sweden

Closet Monster 96 – What’s Inside Trixie’s Closet? (CD)

There are a lot of albums out there that deserve to have more spotlight on them. Back in 1996 the album “What’s Inside Trixie’s Closet?”, by the band Closet Monster, was released, but unfortunately passed under most people’s radar. Not mine, however, and that was because Joe Romagnola, the mastermind behind Grooveyard Records, turned me on to the band. Well, what’s more suitable than for Joe to again put the spotlight on this hidden South Dakota gem. It’s actually quite hard to pinpoint what Closet Monster sound like. Singer Jon Koopman does have quite a distinct touch of Ozzy Osbourne, while the music ranges from slightly King’s X influenced songs to straight ahead riff oriented heavy rock. In 1995 the band Phychotherapy released an album entitled “Tell Me When It Hurts”. There are similarities, but since you probably haven’t heard about them either I guess it’s no point me mentioning them. But. I did. Anyway. All I can say is that this is a kick ass hard rocker with great melodies, quirky riffs and high-class vocals, played by a great band. If you missed it the first time, don’t repeat the mistake!

Janne Stark

Label: Grooveyard Records

Year: 2017

Country: USA