Let me introduce to you JAKE MAYHEM from New Jersey. Jake is a multi- instrumentalist and did everything on his own on his debut CD 'Waiting for tonight. The 80s AOR/Melodic Rock on 'Waiting for tonight' is in the style as artists such as STAN BUSH, PHIL CHRISTIAN, LANCE POWERS, JOE ROBINSON and PHIL VINCENT, only a few levels lower. Especially the lead vocals are much weaker, and also the production is not really impressive. Furthermore I have to add that most of the songs sound pretty identical to each other, so there isn't much variation in the song style.

There are 10 songs on the CD and most of them sound just nice. The songs are titled "Straight for your heart", "Nothing else is enough", "Savage chains of love", "Crying eyes", "That's all you need", "Tears don't fall", "Hold on to my heart", "Waiting for tonight" and "High speed to anywhere". These 9 songs are all 80s typed cheerful uptempo AOR/Melodic rockers in the style of afore mentioned artists. The only song I haven't mentioned yet is the great semi ballad "Forever after now" which has some REO SPEEDWAGON similarities.

This JAKE MAYHEM is playing nice AOR, but he still has some work to do, to improve his music. Maybe the next CD will be much better, I should recommend a new vocalist, a better production and more variety in the songs (he should learn something from NORWAY, also from New Jersey!). Still you need to check out Jake's music, because Jake is another AOR performer from New Jersey. Check out his music at: http://www.mp3.com/jakemayhem or visit his own site at: http://www.oocities.org/jakemayhem and e-mail him at: jakemayhem@hotmail.com And don't forget to check out the interview I had with Jake.

Rating: 7,5/10

DOXA is the latest new sensation in the Christian AOR scene. Actually this band is not really a new band, because they were formed back in 1988 and have already put out 3 interesting CDs. The band hails from Milan, Illinois, USA and they sent me a promotional selection CD that features 10 songs of earlier recordings. 5 songs are taken from 'Send me' (released in 1992) and 5 tracks are taken from the band's 1996 release 'The story of our lives'.

I almost couldn't believe what I heard, because almost all the included songs are pure 80s AOR/Pomp orientated and sound like a mix between FAITH NATION, LE ROUX, PREVIEW, SWEET COMFORT BAND and CRYSTAL. This DOXA is one of the best bands I discovered lately, so expect much more info (interview and reviews of all their albums) very soon on our site. I also can't believe that none of the AOR related sites has talked about DOXA, because these guys are up there with the big boys of the genre. Anyway, the CD starts 5 songs from the DOXA album 'Send me'.

Opener "Hold on" is a fantastic 80s AOR/Pomp tune a la FAITH NATION. The calmer ballad "Eternally" follows and features some lovely BOSTON typed harmonies. The following 3 songs are super sensational and almost AOR CLASSICS! First there is "Master's plan". This song starts as an early 80s melodic poprocker with handclaps (a la RICK SPRINGFIELD), but then comes the chorus and we are in AOR HEAVEN. The chorus of "Master's plan" is pure Classic 80s AOR and sounds like a mix between BATTLECRY, LE ROUX, WHITE SISTER and HYBRID ICE.

More of the great 80s AOR can be heard in the uptempo "Sing our praise", a great little tune a la ALLIES (their debut), late SWEET COMFORT BAND, BROTHER BROTHER, HYBRID ICE… Then comes the best DOXA song (on this compilation CD), namely "Great I am". This is a superb early 80s AOR/Radiorocker a la PREVIEW, late SCB, FAIR
EXCHANGE, CRYSTAL… "Great I am" has a lovely Classy AOR chorus that will never get out of your head after you heard it the first time.

After this wonderful AOR attack, the following two songs are a little less sensational. These songs as well as the remaining 3 tracks are all taken from the DOXA CD 'the story of our lives'. They are a little less pure 80s AOR based, because a lot of acoustic guitars are being used and sometimes there's a 90s edge, nevertheless, still some songs are quite superb. The melodic lead and harmonyvocals haven't changed a bit! "Dead-n-gone" is the only weak song on this CD. This song is a groovy melodic rocker (a la GUARDIAN).

The next track "The story of our lives" is a nice close-harmony ballad in the NELSON style. The closing 3 songs are again very sensational. "Share it with you" is a superb classic 80s hookladen AOR tune with wonderful harmonies. This cheerful uptempo AOR/Radiorocker sounds very much like THE PROMISE. The terrific 80s Power AOR ballad "Necessary pain" follows and is right up there with FAITH NATION, HARLAN CAGE, SURVIVOR, JOURNEY AOR ballads. The song also has those wonderful piano-keys and melodic harmonies, so a dream for AOR fans.

The final track "Lay it down" is an amazing superb classic 80s midtempo AOR song a la STONE SOUP, ARTICA, SHOOTING STAR, SURVIVOR, HARLAN CAGE. Yes, this DOXA is the new AOR sensation. A total must for fans of Classic 80s Christian AOR (FAITH NATION, first ALLIES, late SWEET COMFORT BAND), but also the regular AOR fans (HARLAN CAGE, PREVIEW, LE ROUX, CRYSTAL) will certainly enjoy this AOR masterpiece. I hope to review all 3 albums and do an interview with DOXA as soon as possible. In the meantime, check out their site at: http://www.doxamusic.net and e-mail them at: doxa@3bells.com

Rating: 9,5/10

SILENT CRY comes out of Austria and I had expected something typical German/Austrian orientated Melodic Hardrock a la BONFIRE, JADED HEART… but this is definitely something different. The first 10 songs are a mixture of pure Blues, Pop and Folk, only the song "Rock & Roll Jesus" is a nice typical 70s Hard Rock song a la BAD COMPANY.

It surprised me that the last 4 songs captured some very good melodic rock. "Evil eyes", "Last reserves" and "Revelation" are very good 70s typed melodic rocker like URIAH HEEP, UFO…The last mentioned song is even a bit AORish. These 3 songs sound very melodic and feature some great vocals and harmonies. If the whole CD was like this, then SILENT CRY would have been a very interesting band. Now it's hard to label them in one particular style.

If you like Blues/Pop, you'll love the first 10 songs, for fans of 70s melodic rock, I can only recommend 3 songs from the end of the CD. More info on SILENT CRY at: http://www.oocities.org/SunsetStrip/Bistro/8069/silentcry.html and e-mail them at: Fritz.mayr@xpoint.at or Atlantis@computonic.at

Rating: -

Out of the Pittsburgh, USA area comes RELAPSE. This band sent me their CD 'Brace yourself' which consists of 11 songs. This band is playing 90s typed Hard Rock/Metal with elements of both melodic bands and those very heavy alternative bands from this decade. 3 songs on 'Brace yourself' can be mentioned as melodic rockers. These are "Something out there", "Not ready" and "Bringing me down", 3 good melodic rockers. More songs in this style on a future CD would be interesting, now the other 8 songs are sometimes pure 90s Metal with Alternative influences (a la PANTERA), so not really something of interest for Melodic Rockfans. Anyway, you can still check out this band at: http://www.relapserocks.com and e-mail them at: bluejean@sgi.net

Rating: 6/10

This pretty girl is coming out of Los Angeles and her 5-track CD contains typical Female Fronted Pop/Rock like we hear it today the day. This talented songwriter has written all the music and lyrics for her debut CD. Musically this is westcoast influenced pop-rock in the style of JAIME KYLE, PATTY SMYTH, early SASS JORDAN. The first song, "Don't ask", is a 90s typed ballad and not really something special. Next track "Everyone" is much better, this is a nice westcoast typed uptempo rocker in the style of earlier mentioned artists. The song has a very good chorus that sticks in your head pretty soon.

Up next is "I might forgive you", a nice melodic poprock ballad that sounds very radio-friendly and brings memories of ELLEN SHIPLEY, PAT BENATAR and VENUS AND MARS. Following track "Whats it gonna take" sounds like a crossover country AOR ballad with a nice radio based chorus, kinda like a mix between SHANIA TWAIN and 70s HEART. Closing track "The gardner" is a piano popballad. Check out this talented lovely looking girl at: http://www.mp3.com/Jorie and e-mail her at: sweettunes@aol.com

Rating: 7/10

'2f2g' is the follow-up to TANDYM's critically acclaimed debut 'City out of time' that featured the AOR classics "Annie" and "Don't walk away". Of course the new CD isn't that AOR based as the band's debut, because I haven't heard any song that can compete with the two mentioned songs of their debut. Nevertheless I wanted to discuss this new CD. The CD contains 11 brand-new tracks and musically the band is playing a mixture of early 80s AOR/Mainstream Radiorock and Progressive Poprock.

Not all the songs are convincing, because especially towards the end we get to hear some weak tunes such as "Understanding", "Out of the blue", "Battlelines" and "Feels like summer" that sound a bit slow and boring sometimes. The first part of the CD features the best songs of this new CD. "Too far too gone" (early 80s AOR with some progressive influences), "Worry about you" (uptempo 80s radiorocker), "My eyes" (uptempo 80s AOR/Radiorocker like DAKOTA meets THE PROMISE) and "No reason" (good AOR song with a lovely chorus a la DAKOTA) are songs that show TANDYM at their very best. Still I miss the magic they had on songs like "Annie" from their debut.

Sometimes the band sounds a bit average, but at times they can really rock out well. Another comment I need to add here is that the vocals are also a bit weak sometimes and maybe the band needs to introduce a second vocalist (a new member perhaps) to make the sound of TANDYM a bit more attractive. Still check out this hot new release of TANDYM at: http://www.tandym.com and e-mail them at: saffprod@aol.com

Rating: 7,5/10

Band from Virginia, USA playing Progressive Melodic Rock. Their CD 'Fallen angel' contains 3 songs that remind me a little of STYX, MYSTERY, and old QUEENSRYCHE… The band sounds very professional and their songs are quite good. The CD starts with "Fallen angel", a very good semi pomprockballad with some progressive influences. This opener reminds me of a mix of aforementioned bands.

Next track "Dying side of reign" is a bit weaker, and is slowtempo progressive melodic hardrock. The final track of this interesting mini-CD is "Tangled web", a good uptempo melodic rocker and very different from the other progressive influenced songs. I wonder how this band sounds live, because they also play cool covers of bands like JOURNEY, NIGHT RANGER, DOKKEN…

Anyway, check out this band at: http://www.oocities.org/wingsofmercy and e-mail them at: wingsofmercy@yahoo.com

Rating: 8/10

I got this mp3 CD with 3 songs from a guy called J. SMITH. He is playing all the instruments on his tunes himself, so you may ask why he added the moniker HIGH WATT as artist/band name. Simply, because he would like to play his songs live and therefore he needs other musicians and when that happens he wants to call the band HIGH WATT. Anyway, J. Smith is quite an interesting multi-instrumentalist, only his vocals are not quite superb, but also not that bad. Instrumentally it all sounds pretty good.

The first song "Come on everybody" is a nice slower tempo 70s typed melodic rocker a la BAD BOY, STEVE GRIMM BAND, old TED NUGENT and some hints of NICK GILDER. A fine start, but the other two songs are a bit weaker. "Hold on" is 70s Glam Rock all the way and reminds me of acts like SLADE, MUD, GARY GLITTER… Closing track "Don't you know" is a weak rocker.

Nevertheless, this guy is playing the instruments very well, only the songs are not always
convincing and also the vocals are sometimes a bit average. Check out these 3 mp3's at:
http://www.mp3.com/jsmithandhighwatt and e-mail him at: jsmithandhighwatt@hotmail.com

Rating: 7/10

Two years ago guitar virtuoso Danny Master's released the excellent "Electric Babylon" cd, this cd was full of excellent playing with very stong and infectious melodies, "Electric Babylon" also featured the odd song or two which at the time was compared to Fair Warning.

Now Danny is back with a brand new album, the nice thing about "'Till The Moon Goes Away" is this time Danny has taken a more song orientated route that keeps in tune with the diversity of his slick guitar playing, one minute he can play surf guitar a'la Dick Dale and the next minute he can just rock out with the best of some of today's top players (Blues Saraceno, Eric Johnson and Shawn Lane come to mind) - vocally Danny's voice is similar to Michael Voss (Casanova), GlennHughes and Tommy Heart (Fair Warning) amongst others, the songs approach various angles of musical creativity, from jazz to rock and metal with
a touch of da blues and southern boogie. Each song is perfectly performed by Danny's band which consit of "The Stone Cold Blues Band" featuring Michael Kleinman, Mike Marecak and David Harms.

Songs to listen out for are "Land Of The Free" "Bad Heart Condition", "Stone Cold Blues" and the subtle "Baby, Your Too Late". One of the albums finest moment is "A Matter Of Time" which has a classic rock vibe with a great chorus to singalong to.

We also get to hear some cover tunes on this thirteen track album, Albert King's "As The Years Go By", Jimi Hendrix's "Red House", T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday" and The Lonius Monk "Around Midnight", which are all played respectfully.

"'Till The Moon Goes Away" is a very interesting album, Danny Master's is an entertaining player, he has a true sense of appreciation for his craft which really comes out in his songs, and that's the magical thing about this record, buy it and figure it out for yourselves.

Contact: lharvey@ldhpc.com or http://www.hapiskratch.com/dmasters

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

Here comes a nice lightweight rock/pop album in the style of The Counting Crows, Sting and The Jeff Healey Band from New Jersey based performer Shelly Riff. There are ten songs on Shelly's debut album - the best are "House Of Detention", this song borrows the intro riffs from Journey's "Remember Me", before calming down into a relaxed Jeff Healey pace, lovely song. "The Innocence" is a beautiful piano led ballad, and "Shine On Sweet Angel" is catchy with a 70's vibe a'la Lenny Kravitz.

Shelly Riff is an interesting artist, his songs are genuine and straight from the heart, if you would like more info on Shelly Riff then email him at: SRiff@aol.com or http://www.ShellyRiff.com

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

This Italian bands demo tape starts off strange, the psychedelic keyboards on track one "Per Qualcuno", have more in common with Primus and Ozric Tentacles than the hard rock bands they have been compared to. Track two "Nulla" kicks off with some gentle guitar playing but is let down by the poor sound quality.

Some of the songs on this demo go back to 1994, and it's those songs like "Solo Dentro Me" and "Virus" that get the rock rolling and remind me of a poor man's Rogh Cutt, Keel, Krokus and W.A.S.P.

Flip the tape over to side b, and things keep on the same level, the band are clearly enjoying themselves, which is half the battle, but unless they can get a decent production sound behind their material and sing the songs in English instead oif their native language - then I'm afraid Pioggia Spoca will remain underground in Italy. The songs on side b are better though with some nice axe work, but please approach this one with caution, unless that is you happen to speak Italian, then this may well blow you away.

Email: pioggia_sporca@iol.it

Rating: 5/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

As a precursor to the release of "The House of Atreus-Act-II", and to tie in with a couple of European festival dates, Virgin Steele, a band that may fairly be described as the most visionary and ambitious of metal bands, release a 30 minute ep. Opener "Wings of Vengeance" is from the forthcoming album, and melds a classic metal attack with stunning vocal harmonies, and lyrics steeped in the glories of ancient Homeric tales, whilst "Flames of thy Power", again from the forthcoming album sees mainman David DeFeis demonstrate range and control that other more media celebrated singers would sell their souls for!!

Also included is a version of the mighty "Prometheus-the fallen one" from 'The marriage of heaven & hell part II', an acoustic based take of "Gate of Kings" from '..Atreus Act I', which sees DeFeis exploring, for want of a better description, the Freddie Mercury areas of his voice, and delivering a poignant performance, and an alternate version of the rampaging "Great Sword of Flame".

But the stand-out track is "Agamemnon's Last Hour", which DeFeis just walked into the studio and felt compelled to write at the piano. It captures in less than a minute, the vulnerability of the great hero on the verge of leaving this world to take his place in the Hall of Heroes. Some may question the relevance of DeFeis' use of the Homeric tales in his writing, but surely the tales that are told, though ancient, are timeless, very human, and carry lessons for us all.

Additionally, drawing of one of the building blocks of Western Civilization is of more inherent value than making sure you've got the right media approved haircut and baggy jeans!! Granted there's a certain bias in my view, but Virgin Steele remains one of the great bands, and it's time people in the UK woke up to their glories. Try this ep,then buy the back catologue- you will never regret it!

Rating: 9,5/10 (Review by Andrew Paul)

Vision 180 are Bobby Loux and Jason Woods from California. Last summer the guys released a six track cdr demo which was full of mouth watering melodic rock and AOR similar to bands like Sunshine Jive, Two Fires, Van Halen, Faith Nation, Signal, Firehouse, Brian McDonald, Rokbox, Nelson and Stan Bush. Before this, the band were asked by The Storm frontman Kevin Chalfant to join up with him, Bobby and Jason declined the offer which apparently pissed Mr. Chalfant off.

The two guys obviously had other ideas on where to take their music, so why should they become session musicians when they can easily achieve the success of the afforementioned bands on their own merit? All it takes is a bit of hard work, honesty ,love and appreciation for their art and the rest will follow. And this is exactly where Vision 180 come from.I am extremely happy to report that this this cd single is by far the bands best work to date.

The songs have a cleaner and crisper production sound - the first song "If This Is Love" is pure AOR. Bobby Loux's voice is note perfect, imagine a mix of Steve Perry, Timothy Lewis and Michael Sweet . The chorus of "If This Is Love" is very catchy and the melodies remind me of Firehouse and Terra Nova, a top notch song, sweet and simple, lovely really.

The second track is a nice song that plays at a relaxed pace and has some country based influences in Jason's guitar playing. The song is called "Beast Of Burden". This was originally written and recorded by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. I've never heard the original version of the song, but I'm tempted to check it out now as this song is great. The band have bought in singer Suzie Doucette to fill in the vocals, which is actually a duet between Suzie and Bobby. Suzie's voice reminds me of Janine Stange from Clear Blue. In fact the band sound so much like Clear Blue on this song - that for one minute I thought I had the wrong disc in the cd player.

Like Janine Stange, Suzie's can sing her ass of, her voice is very pure and natural and compliments Bobby's vocals. After you have listened to this cd, you will understand what Vision 180 are all about, their songs reflect different angles of everyday life. Vision 180's music is honest and passionate and the band are destined for greater things.Their debut album "More To Believe In" will be out soon and I for one simply cannot wait for the album!! HTTP://MEMBERS.AOL.COM/ROCKTO180 or Email: Rockto180@aol.com

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

Crazy Sweeper are a very good melodic hard rock band from Switzerland who have already released three great albums in the style of Gotthard, Fair Warning, Freedom Cage, Shakra, Talon, Dokken, Crystal Ball, Zeelion and Bonfire.

With these new pre-production demos - the band continue their momentum , as they rip into the first brand new song called "Down" which reminds me of "Big Bang Theory/Believe" era Harem Scarem mixed with the afforementioned bands. This is classy melodic rock with lots of guitars from Jean David Braillard and Emillio Porras, singer Laurent Progin sings some lovely harmony vocals into this pure melodic hard rock song.

The second and last track on the cd is a brilliant melodic rock version of The Eagles world wide hit "Hotel California", on this song Laurent almost hits a vocal line similar to Jeff Scott Soto and Don Dokken which left me quite impressed.

I really want to hear the new album now!! I can't wait as I think Crazy Sweeper are just about to release their strongest album to date, I can't wait to hear it and don't be to suprised if you find the band snapped up by one of the labels - watch this space for an interview with the band coming real soon.

Contact: daniel.peter@siemens.ch or http://www.homepage.iprolink.ch

Rating: 8,5/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)

There are some guitar players out there who simply show no style and color in their craft and are happy to churn out daft and stupid displays of virtuoso that has been done a hundred times before.

Then there are players out there, who remain unheard of but show substantial weight in the progression of guitar music. Slav Simanic and Stef Burns are two of the most underrated guitarist of the 90's who are setting new standards, J.D. Bradshaw can be added to this list.

J.D has fifteen years of experience behind him and is influenced by Ace Frehley, Vinnie Moore, Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani, it would have been so easy for him to copy the style of these guys, his music has no ego factor and J.D.'s music is about expression and feel and doing things his own way which in turn makes "Caught In The Act" so much fun to listen to, I hate to point out the obvious here, but I really think that the three instrumental tracks on this four track ep should have had a vocalist, I'm sure the labels would pick up on this guy instantly, just imagine Velocity without David Victor and you'll get the picture of this cd.

"Beltane" is a killer hard rock song (without vocals), J.D. takes on many dazzling displays of fretaction, his playing is fast and fun as he dabbles up and down the scales on his stick with aweinspiring ease, "Beltane" reminds me of guitar players Joey Tafolla and Reb Beach.

The third track "All The Way" is the first and only song here with vocals, J.D provides the lead vocals himself and does a great job on this crunchy 80's hard rock a'la Leatherwolf and Sword amongst others.

This is a groovy cd, I'm sure we are going to hear alot more from J.D Bradshaw in the future, J.D should approach the people at GUITARAPALOOZA, the home of Jennifer Batten, Jaye Foucher, Ron Thal etc, etc in a view to joining their annual tour.

Contact: Sixstringfever@yahoo.com

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Nicky Baldrian)