Wow, this is an interesting and very cool release. RICK ROCK is a vocalist/guitarist/ keyboardist from Canada who sent me his CD 'Radio city" (released in 1994). Musically this is a big surprise, because RICK ROCK is playing pure 80s mainstream North American AOR/Radiorock reminding me of JIMMY MARTIN, STAN BUSH, JIMMY LAWRENCE, RICK MATHEWS, RICK SPRINGFIELD (his early 80s AOR records) and those type of artists. Rick has a great voice and the songs sound very polished and are pure 80s keyboard orientated AOR/radiorockers.

Opener "Star" is a nice little tune, a pure 80s AOR/Poprocker. Next track "Radio city" has it all, because this is a classy 80s AOR/Radiorocker (including keys, harmonies, hooklines and a great melodic chorus) in the style of STAN BUSH, DAVID CARL BAND… A song like this is reminding me of the good old mid 80s when you watched a US movie and the actors in the movie turned up the radio in their cars and you heard such polished AOR/Radiorock as this song of RICK ROCK. Rick slows things down on the next track "You belong to me", this is a very polished 80s Radio MOR ballad in the RICHARD MARX style (many many keyboards over here!).

The 80s AOR/Radiorock sound is back on the next track "On the line", a song sounding like a cross between JOE ROBINSON and early 80s RICK SPRINGFIELD. Then coems the best song of the whole CD, namely "In and out", this is a very classy 80s Summer AOR rocker a la STAN BUSH, LANCE POWERS… Just listen to those beautiful harmonies,
hooklines and wonderful piano-keys (which gives this song a Pomp touch) that make this song a winner for fans of pure AOR. This super melodic song is just pure STAN BUSH! The second part of the CD is a little less impressive and definitely softer.

"When the lovin's on" is a pure 80s Radio Ballad (a la FORTUNE's "Stacy") with a disturbing sax solo. Up next is "Lost love", a danceable poprocker in the late 80s mainstream European Poprock sound (like the RICK SPRINGFIELD record 'Tao' and
MR. MISTER). "Know how to win" is back in AOR/Radiorock territory again. This song is pure early 80s AOR/Radiorock with TOM KELLY harmonyvocals. There are some Pomp influences on this song, though most of all this song is just pure RICK SPRINGFIELD (circa 'Working class dog'). Another Pop ballad is "Save me now" with the saxsolo, this song is too soft for the AOR fans.

Closing track "The traveller" makes it all up, because this is prime-time midtempo AOR with super melodic harmonies and very good vocals from Rick, this song reminds me of the debut from GARY HUGHES. This RICK ROCK is a total must for fans of polished 80s North American mainstream AOR/Radiorock a la STAN MEISSNER, MICHAEL ZEE, RICK SPRINGFIELD, STAN BUSH (a little softer), JIMMY MARTIN, JIMMY LAWRENCE… More info at: http://www.skybusiness.com/rockman2 and e-mail him at: rrock3@home.com

Rating: 8/10

Another multi-instrumentalist to attack the AOR/Melodic Rock scene! LEON EVANS comes out of the U.K. and he sent me a Demo Tape with 12 of his own original songs. He did everything on his own, so we can easily call him a talented multi- instrumentalist. The music is very AOR/Melodic Rock orientated. At times he can be compared to STAN BUSH, PHIL VINCENT, JOE ROBINSON… but Leon is playing a tad heavier, putting the guitars upfront most of the time.

The melodic rock on this tape is best comparable to DANNY DANZI, JOHNNY LIMA, DANGER DANGER… Anyway, the songs are pretty good and it all starts with "Falling rain". This is a classy 80s AOR rocker a la BIG MOUTH, PHIL CHRISTIAN, RICK
MATHEWS… The next two songs ("Change of heart" and "Wait till tomorrow comes") are both superb cheerful uptempo AOR/Melodic rockers with very catchy sing-a-long choruses, though the songs also have some biting guitarwork. Then we get to hear "Jodi's anything but…", a calm start and then suddenly we get to hear a wonderful catchy chorus that reminds me of a cross between JOHNNY LIMA and BONFIRE! A song like this should get this guy signed to KIVEL RECORDS or Z RECORDS asap! Anyway, also the next track "Fallen tears" is very good, a semi melodic rockballad. These first 5 songs are totally wonderful and sensational and a must for fans of mentioned acts.

Unfortunately the second part of the tape is weaker and shows a groovier hard rock orientated Leon Evans. Songs like "Good reputation", "Blinded", "Rich man's son" and "Better days" are examples of this less interesting style of Leon. Happily, there are also some worthy songs to check out later on such as "Little steps", this song starts as a semi-ballad, but after a few minutes we get to hear a catchy chorus in a pure classy 80s melodic rockstyle (old DANGER DANGER).

Also pretty nice is the MHR song "Dogs of war" that sounds like a mix between WHITE LION, PUSH, FIREHOUSE and PINK CREAM 69. I hope Leon can make more songs in the style of the first 5 songs of this tape in the future. Nevertheless, this English multi- instrumentalist is worth checking out, because he has some wonderful Melodic Rock tunes. His website is located at: http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/126/leon_evans.html and e-mail him at: Leonevans@talk21.com

Rating: 8,5/10

FAR Q is a band out of the New York area. This band is hugely influenced by 70s rockacts such as QUEEN, STYX, BOSTON and there are also some BEATLES influences to be heard on the band's self-titled debut CD. There are 9 songs on the album. The album's opener "Cryin'" is an average start, because this song does absolutely nothing for me. Next track "Angels" is a whole lot better, this is a nice melodic poprocker with a 90s groove and a radio-ready catchy melodic chorus.

"It's gonna be alright" follows and is a typical 90s rocksong with it's slowtempo, this song reminds me of ENUFF'Z'NUFF actually (including the BEATLES sounding harmonies). Much better is "Painless", a nice 70s typed semi rocker with a guitarsound a la BOSTON and vocals/harmonies a la STYX. This is an interesting song to check out. Also in STYX territory is "Pray for the children", only not in their 70s style, but more like the STYX album 'Killroy was here'.

The following 3 songs are the best ones of the CD and they really put up the rating I'm gonna give. First there is the midtempo 70s rocker "Over the rainbow" (BOSTON meets STYX). "Phenomenon" is up next, a rather great 70s midtempo rocker with a classy chorus that includes harmonies in the STYX/ANGEL style. This song is almost a pure Pomprock tune. Some great piano-keys and very nice lead vocals of singer Jaime Valentine introduce us to "Never again", a very good 70s QUEEN typed ballad. Although the song reminds me of HOBBIT, the similarity to QUEEN is hard to deny, because the structure of "Never again" is just pure 70s QUEEN.

The CD finishes off with a very silly song called "Rock out Christmas", which is not really something of interest for rockfans. Anyway, you can check out FAR Q at: http://www.mp3.com/farq and e-mail them at: Maddisonj@juno.com

Rating: 7,5/10

Out of Canada comes ANGUS JANES, a multi-instrumentalist who has been performing since the late 80s and recorded some songs, but because there was no interest in his music he stopped making it for some years. Happily, I discovered this talent, because the songs I heard of Angus are simply awesome 80s AOR in the tradition of such AOR heroes as ALDO NOVA, VAN STEPHENSON, BRYAN HUGHES… I can not believe nobody has been interested in this man's work, but I hope that will change soon due to my review of a tape he was kind enough to sent me.

The tape features 5 songs of which 4 are also featured in a remixed version. "Take flight" is definitely the strongest song on offer here. This song is a superb pure 80s semi AOR/Pomp ballad in the style of ALDO NOVA, ORION, VAN ZANT, RPM, VAN STEPHENSON, BEAU GESTE… Just listen to the wonderful harmonies, keyboards and the guitarsolo… everything sounds perfect in this song. If one of the guys at MTM MUSIC hears this song, then it wouldn't surprise me they are interested in signing this artist. Maybe the only complaint is the production which would be better, but I guess if some of the European AOR labels could help this guy in recording his music, the production will get much better. Anyway, this wonderful song "Take flight" blew me away and I think a lot of the other fans of pure 80s AOR will be too.

"Urgent love" starts with some hi-tech 80s AOR sounds (a la ROBERT TEPPER), but ends up being a rather cool 80s uptempo AOR/mainstream Poprocker a la MICHAEL MORALES, TIM FEEHAN and early JEFF PARIS. "This the age" is 80s Power Poprock like ALDO NOVA meets STARSHIP. "Nicole" is the least interesting song, this is a calmer poppy ballad and nothing special.

The final track of the tape is "Fear in the city", a very nice 80s AOR rocker in the style of fellow Canadians BRYAN HUGHES GROUP, BEAU GESTE… This tape really shows that ANGUS JANES is someone who can't be ignored by AOR fans.

If you're a fan of the old ALDO NOVA record you urgently need to check out his music at: Angus Janes and e-mail him at: tinynic@home.com Hopefully he will be able to record some more music in the future, because he deserves it to be heard.

Rating: 8,5/10

XMILE is a very interesting band from Sweden. They are at the moment working on their first full-length CD, but this CD-single is a very good sneak preview. The CD-single contains two songs and musically this is very good melodic rock. The first song, "Something more", features male vocals (of Mikke Severinsson) and is a good cheerful 80s typed Melodic AOR
rocker.

The other song, "Hold on to your dream", features the lead vocals of female singer Lena Rif. She has a very good voice and the chorus of this song is awesome AOR a la HEART, ALYSON AVENUE, TWO PIECE PUZZLE, TONE NORUM (first two albums)… If a full-length CD would feature more songs like these with Lena on vocals, then we can welcome another sensational Swedish AOR band. Check out this band at: http://www.xmile.nu and e-mail them at: info@xmile.nu or
mikke@boras.office.se

Rating: 8/10

15 Years after the release of his debut album 'Doorway to a dream', multi-instrumentalist Lloyd Minthorne released a follow-up. Musically this is very space hi-tech AOR/Progressive Rock with some really weird parts mixed into. Sometimes it reminds me of JIM STEEL, VALENSIA, VALENTINE… although poppier at times. There are 12 songs on 'Just visiting
planet earth'.

The beginning is a bit too hi-tech and also very experimental. In the middle of the CD, we get to hear the best songs, namely "Visions" (good semi ballad), "Metamorphosis" (uptempo progressive AOR rocker), "Hold on to your dreams" (bit quirky uptempo progressive AOR) and "Deja-vu" (AORish a la JOE ROBINSON). I really like the keyboardwork on most of the songs, but sometimes vocally it lacks a bit.

Although some of the songs sound a bit quirky, this is something to check out if you want to hear unique progressive AOR that sounds totally different than anything else in our genre. More info at: http://www.synopticsounds.com and e-mail at: lloyd@synopticsounds.com

Rating: 7/10

This new band on Z RECORDS released a very good debut album titled 'Kingdom come'. DREAMHUNTER, probably named after the TREAT album, play typical 80s cheerful Swedish Melodic Rock a la AMAZE ME, DAVINCI, TERRA NOVA, ZINATRA (yeah I know these are two Dutch bands)… There are 11 songs on the album and it all sounds very good right from the start until the end.

The production is very good and reminds me of the good old big productions of the 80s. If you like one song, you'll love them all. My favourites are the uptempo AOR rockers "Kingdom come" (hello AMAZE ME!) and "Tell me why" (pure 80s, many harmonies, a bit like STAN BUSH), the AOR ballad "My days are counted" (TERRA NOVA style) and the midtempo melodic rocker "Young wild and free" (hello BONFIRE!). Fans of Scandi AOR/Melodic Rock will dig this a lot!

Rating: 8,5/10

Canadian Melodic rockers VON GROOVE surprised me when they switch from MTM to Z RECORDS a few months ago. They have just released a new CD on MTM 'Driving off the edge…' and a moment later Z RECORDS has put out a new VON GROOVE CD. The CD is titled '3 face past' and can more be seen as a best of. But this isn't the standard best of,
because '3 faces past' is a full acoustic/unplugged album. This CD sounds very poppy actually and radio-ready. On their regular 4 studio albums the band sounded pretty heavy, but this release shows that they can also sound very poppy.

Sometimes the CD reminds me of the SAVANNAH record 'Salem's lot', but that one was a classic and I am afraid this release is not that good. Some songs sound pretty weak ("The snake", "Better than ever" and "Rainmaker") and classy AOR tunes such as "House of dreams", "Tell it to me", "Fooling yourself" now sound like they have been covered by a westcoast band who tend to play in the veins of THE EAGLES! This is probably a once-only release of VON GROOVE and their next CD (on Z RECORDS) will be an interesting pure melodic rockalbum. This CD has nothing to do with VON GROOVE, except it's the same band playing their best songs in a Westcoast/Pop style.

Rating: 6,5/10

'Disconnected' is the new studio-CD of FATES WARNING. There are 7 songs on the album, well, actually only 5 tracks, because opener "Disconnected part 1" is an intro and closing track "Disconnected part 2 " is an outro. In between are 5 songs that show a very progressive, but melodic FATES WARNING. First there is "One", a very good progressive melodic rocker with a lovely melodic 80s chorus. Up next is the slowtempo "So" with a nice melodic chorus, this song is a bit too progressive for me.

"Piece of me" is less melodic and even show some 90s heavy rock influences. Very experimental is the following track "Something from nothing", a very long epic, almost new age typed song with many instrumental and spoken passages. This song shows a never-heard-before FATES WARNING. The fans of the old FATES WARNING will surely enjoy the next track "Still remains", basically a dream for the fans of classy 80s progressive melodic rock. Some ups and downs, but the FATES WARNING fan need to buy this fine new CD of the band.

Rating: 7,5/10

Out of Ohio, USA comes multi-instrumentalist CHAD ERIC SNELLING who has released a very nice little CD. There are 9 songs on the album and musically Chad is playing Melodic Hardrock with some 90s influences, but most of all KISS similarities can be made throughout the CD. His vocals are very melodic and pretty good actually. The songs are not always convincing, but most of the time very nice to listen to. Opener "Liberation" is a moody 90s typed semi-ballad, not really something special.

The following songs are much better. First there is "Diamond shine rain", a good 80s typed melodic rocker with many KISS influences. Up next is the classy uptempo melodic rocker "The growing season", one of the best songs on the CD. This lovely tune reminds me of the old BRYAN ADAMS. "Untitled love song vol. 1" follows and is a nice melodic acoustic ballad. "Better than ever" follows and is like the opening song, another moody 90s semi-ballad.

Next track "Time to rock&roll" is a great uptempo melodic rocker (a la 70s KISS) and has a very good melodic chorus, the vocals of Chad sound very much like Paul Stanley in this song. "Reach" is a nice melodic rocker. The closing two songs are weak. Conclusion is that the CD has it's ups and downs and well you have to check out for yourself what you think of this talented musician at: http://www.chadsnelling.tripod.com and e-mail him at: mrglitter@hotmail.com

Rating: 7,5/10

This band from Hamburg, Germany is singing in the German language. There are 6 songs on the CDR they sent me and musically it is pure melodic hardrock. Songs like "Harley-luja", "Das pralle leben", "Heut' nacht" are nice straight ahead hardrocksongs a la early GOTTHARD, KROKUS, AC/DC…

On the other hand, the band sounds very melodic on the slower songs such as the good melodic rockballad "Es wird Tag auf St. Pauli". Instrumental the band sounds very good and professional. If you don't mind your melodic hardrock sung in German, then check out OHRENFEINDT at: http://www.ohrenfeindt.de and e-mail them at: gusmotion@hotmail.com

Rating: 7/10

AGENT COOPER is a band from Atlanta, USA. Their same titled debut CD from last year is a very 90s inspired record and has not much to do with melodic rock. The start is not bad at all, the songs "Wasting away" and "Don't get up" are nice midtempo melodic rockers with very fine choruses. Though these songs have some 90s rock influences, they are melodic
enough for the 80s rockfans. But after the first two songs, the band falls into pure 90s Alternative/Rock on songs like "A 13 year", "Disinfect your mind" and "Helmet head". Hopefully the band has more songs in the style of the first two songs of this CD on a future record. More info at: http://www.agentcooper.com and e-mail them at: agentcooper@agentcooper.com

Rating: 6,5/10

There are a million and one melodic rock bands out there at the moment, trying to re-write the classic rock book. Sweden's House Of Shakira are one of those bands whose material improves with each album release.

"III" as you can guess, is the bands third album and first for MTM, and the band have rarely sounded better. The album contains a walloping fourteen songs in all, best of the bunch are the Extreme/Steelheart-ish "Wings", "Miracle", ""Time That Passed", and "Pellucid Part 2", all the songs bare comparisons to most eighties band, but House Of Shakira are hugely talented musicians and a cut above most of the other bands around today, they mix there own original style with the aforementioned comparisons and thus "III" is a very rewarding album which oozes class every step of the way my only complaint is that album may be a little too long with some songs like "Black And Blue Skies", "Unspoken" and "Unforgiven"
being slightly mediocre, never the less get "III" bought pronto.

Rating: 9/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

I really enjoyed Dream Hunter's dreamy melodic rock and AOR debut for Z records. There are eleven wonderful songs on "Kingdom Come"

Dream Hunter's lead singer (I don't know his name because it's not listed in the liner notes) reminds me of Ratt's Stephen Pearcy and David Victor from Velocity, the songs to talk about are the mighty keyboard layerd melodies of the title track - this song has powerful melody lines and axe work , "Anyway You Want It" is very very catchy a'la Ratt, Treat, "Night After Night", is another top favorite and the mega "Long Cold Winter" is Scandi melodic rock at it's finest, huge melodies, vocals the lot, just check out the killer axe work, very impressive - a song that sits alongside bands like Pretty Maids, It's Alive, After Hours,
Tragic Hero, Trick Blue and of course Ratt and Bon Jovi.

In contrast "Kingdom Come" has it's fair share of dreamy ballads - "My Days Are Counted", "You Take My Breath Away" both in general are excellent and very pure. The whole cd is very enjoyable and Dream Hunter play everything that fans of the genre love. Buy and enjoy.

Rating: 9/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

For my money I'd rather go with New York's GLADSHOT Gladshot remind me of John Cougar Mellencamp , U2 and The Police and the songs are great light weight pop for the over 30's. I particular enjoyed the excellent "Never Been To Vegas" which is pure adult pop (not aor), also cool is "Feel You" this song has lot of hit potential,"Perfect Kiss" is also another nice song. Singer Mike Blaxill reminds me of Henry Lee Summer, he has that southerny type of voice. Overall I enjoyed this album very much and for more info go to http://www.arielpublicity.com or http://www.gladshot.com

Rating: 7/10

Continuing in the same style as Gladshot is New Jersey quartet DARBY JONES. "Racket On The Seventh Floor" is a groovy pop album with some very nice guitar playing from Nick Cavagnaro. The music is very much like GLADSHOT and the songs are catchy and groovy with tons of hit potentials like the cool "Shannon" which is my favorite song on the cd. For more info on the band go to http://www.arielpublicity.com or http://www.darbyjones.com or email darbyjones@hotmail.com

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

Another UK act to listen out for are HERO from Darlington near County Durham. The bands fantastic self financed debut "Crack Of Dawn" is an album full of catchy aor/pop songs a'la Pat Benatar, Bonnie Tyler, Berlin, Two Piece Puzzle etc, with lots and lots of keys, take track one "It's A Miracle" built around a lovely keyboard melody, lead singer Jana Cain has a wonderful voice and this song is sweet and simple.

Other nice songs are "Crack Of Dawn", the soothing ballad "In Your Eyes", "A Little love" and "Somebody's Child". My favourite song though is the brilliantly catchy "Curisoity", now this is pure AOR a'la Pat Benatar etc.. I love Jana's voice on this song. This is a really enjoyable record of traditional eighties pop/aor. You can check out Hero by going to
http://www.mp3.com/Hero

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

From Cape Coral in Florida comes a man with the most cheesy name in rock RIKKI ROXX, go figure music fans, despite the name, his record "Out Of The Spotlight" isn't that bad at all, which is a relief.

Basically "Out Of The Spotlight" is a three tracker promotional tool to introduce himself to the rock world. The first song "Double Struggle", is mainstream hard rock and would suit a label such as Z records or Kivel records. He reminds me of a mixture of Johnny Lima and Joe Elliot, "Double Struggle" is a fairly catchy introduction to the mans music which is followed by "The Days Of Memory", a super ballad.

The final song "The Spotlight" is not bad either and with a bigger sounding production and a name change Rikki could land himself a record deal without a problem. The afforementioned last track shows he's not afraid to bring in the keyboards too, so the overall conclusion is let me hear some tunes pronto and then I'll make my mind up he he!! No serisoulsy this boy has talent, and given a break like Danny Danzi, who knows what could happen. I for one would like to see him live someday. I look forward to your next release Mr.Roxx.

Email: Rikkiroxx@juno.com or z-ya@juno.com

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

Continuing the instrumental theme is new comer STEPHANE VAILLANT. Mr. Vaillant is a hot dog shredder a'la Patrick Rondat and Todd Duane, but without a vocalist his music will simply be limited to the guitar hero genre, which is a shame as he shreds like a demon and has a perfect sense of melody. Best track is "Charlie Is Dreaming" which reminds me of Jeff Beck, Jeff Healey and Danny Masters.His album "Crazy Stuff" is out now on Brennus records.

Rating: 6,5/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

California's ZOE'S GARDEN play modern rock much like American Icon. Zoe's Garden are from California, their new three track mini cd is the follow up to the band debut "Planting The Seed". Now this record I much prefer as the songs have more harmonies and hit hard with their catchy lyrics that bare comparisons to Pearl Jam and Matchbox 20, only a little bit more melodic and very entertaining. I'd sooner listen to bands like ZOE'S GARDEN than the crap we are forced to listen to at nightclubs. Zoes Garden are a cool band for fans of moden indy rock and you can contact them Liquidnikl@aol.com or http://www.mp3.com

Rating: 6/7 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

"Strange Days" is the new album from ACCOUSTIC JUNCTION. The songs have a nice tempo about them but are not necessarily an essential purchase as they become boring after repeted plays. The band remind me of Counting Crows, R.E.M, John Cougar Mellencamp, Hall And Oates, and other bands in this category. The best song is "Oh Me Oh My" which reminds me Scott Sudbury and Bryan Adams. The band have potential, the songs are there, but I feel with a little more kick in the guitar department then Accoustic Junction would sound a whole lot better, still not bad, and if your interested then visit http://www.arielpublicity.com or http://www.accousticjunction.com

Rating: 6,5/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

Fans of Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston will love this new album from New Jersey's LETICIA WALKER. This is an album full of soul, a little bit of soft rock and alot of enchanting ballads.

"Forever" is actually a pretty damn good album, I'm really drawn to Leticia's voice, the title track is a lovely song,"As We Live And Breathe" is the first song to feature guitars, this is a good song, other cool songs are "A Mother's Love" now this one has some nice keyboard melodies, it's defintley a pop song but it's pure pop and needs to be heard, as does he excellent "If We Cross That Line" and the bouncy "Your Friend". I enjoyed this little album which was a suprise, as after the first couple of songs as I was ready to dismiss it, I advise Leticia to start listening to bands like Pat Benatar, Fleetwood Mac etc.. as I think this would suit her voice alot more.

Email: contiguousmusic@aol.com

Rating: 6,5/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

Reaching towards the heavier side of metal are SORE PLEXUS from Germany, whose debut album "Haptephobic", is fast furious and in your face speed power metal. I liked track four "P.Domain" which has a cool outburst of frantic shredding from Dirk Nowak. This song also features some Indian influences and is my fave song of the cd. Since the cd came out the band have gone through numerous line up changes and hope to get back on the road before the end of the summer with the release of more material. So hopefully we'll hear more from these guys in the near future. Not a bad effort, I feel this band will grow with each releasae, in the meantime if you wish to purchase this cd then visit the band's website http://www.soreplexus.com

Rating: 6/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

Three guys and One girl outfit I FOUND GOD come from Los Angeles. Their self titled debut takes it's influences from Led Zeppelin, Janes's Addiction and The Smashing Pumpkins with lots of power riffs. The band are ok if you like the afforementioned bands, but for me I'll take it or leave it.

Email: Christy-ifg@msn.com or http://www.tarerecords.com/ifoundgod.html

Rating: 6/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

This is another fun modern power pop/rock record. DARLING are from London UK, and their new album "Celibrity Slave" is pure Brit rock, a'la Reef, Terrorvision and Duran Duran.

Never the less this is a groovy little album with lots of catchy songs. I thin that lead singer Valentine Guinness has a very enjoyable voice which makes the song rich and varied, by far one of the best bands out of the Brit rock scene in recent years.

Rating: 6/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

From New Jersey is ART GORDAN a mutli-instrumentalist. This three track album is ok, but not essential listening. The only track really worth mentioning is "Rockit Baby" which has some nice riffs and a good backbone chorus quite similar to Skid Row and Kix. And that's your lot I'm afraid.

To contact Art Gordan try http://www.mp3.com

Rating: 6/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

Supplying a diet of Blind Melon, Jane's Addiction and Helmet are Ohio's HATE DIES HARD. This is rock built for the readers of Kerrang rather than the readers of Strutter, but we can find one or two interesting tracks on "Further" in the form of "Pretty Something", "Wonderlust" and "Last", personally the groups problems lie with their vocalist Sean Barringer who can't sing to save his life, except on the afforementiones songs which suite his voice alot more.

http://www.hatedieshard.com or Email: HDHmail@aol.com

Rating: 5/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)