by Kev Rowland | Aug 19, 2018 | Reviews
This is the debut album from a band who were actually formed as long ago as 1983. They managed to secure some good tours and even signed a record deal in the Eighties, but by 1990 they had broken up and that was the end of it, at least until September 2013 when they reformed for a one-off gig. That has led to them supporting Aerosmith, Foreigner, UFO and Scorpions along the way and touring the UK with FM and Romeo’s Daughter. They have also performed at major festivals such as Hard Rock Hell AOR, Download, London Calling, Ramblin’ Man, Steelhouse, Rockingham and the Frontiers Rock Festival in Milan. They have now finally released their debut album, but what should be a totally joyous occasion has been dampened somewhat due to founding member, bass player and close friend Paul Boyd losing his battle with cancer in 2017. Paul appears on the album and the band is respectfully dedicating its release to his memory.
As soon as I heard this I was taken back to the Nineties, and particularly to a magazine called Frontiers. Unlike the other fanzines around at the time these guys had gone glossy and it was much more like a “proper” magazine. One of the real delights was the cover CD that came with each issue which introduced me to bands I would have never have heard of otherwise (this was pre-internet and the media hated melodic rock nearly as much as they hated prog). As soon as I started playing this I had to turn to my library as this was reminding just so much of bands like The Loveless and Be Sharp, both of whom featured on the second cover CD before the now-famous Frontiers label had emerged. NHA is melodic rockers with strong hints of Bad Company, some Foreigner, a tad of classic Journey, the melodic side of UFO and possibly even some later Whitesnake. What it doesn’t sound like at all is a band releasing their debut in 2018, but if this had come out thirty years or more ago then I am sure that we would have been hearing a great deal about it.
It is great that the guys finally seem to be getting some real recognition, and we can only hope that it keeps going in the way that it has to date. As it is, this is a melodic hard rock album that has that edge that removes it from AOR yet will still be appreciated by fans of that slightly softer genre. Strong harmonies, hooks, and a great production, this is well worth looking out for.
8/10 – Kev Rowland
by Kev Rowland | Aug 19, 2018 | Reviews
Although born in India, Noshir has been living in New York since 1995, and this exposure to Indian classical music and Bollywood has obviously fused with his love of jazz to create something that is almost timeless and seamless as it flows like a river. Here we have a sextet performing as a solid unit, each allowing the others to shine when they need to and providing the supporting role, and also more than happy to take the lead when the time is right. Mody is an incredibly fluid guitarist, capable of deft runs when he needs to or sitting there providing the direction for others to follow.
There are six tracks on the album, all originals, with just one (slightly) less than ten minutes in length, allowing the musicians to all find the groove and follow and drive when the need is right. Often the band is playing as a quartet, with Mike Mullan (saxophones) and Benjamin Hankle (trumpet, flugelhorn) coming in to add their touches when the time is right, but everyone understands that at times the biggest impact is for them not to be playing at all. There is a delicacy, and more than a hint of Latin in proceedings, with Mody, obviously influenced by early Carlos Santana and Al Di Meola, but throughout it is the innate sense of melody that really makes this such an interesting album to fall into it.
When playing this I often find myself closing my eyes and just getting into the feel, the rhythm, and soul of the album, as it truly is a beautiful piece of work. Definitely for those how to enjoy their jazz to have soul and majesty, without things being thrust into your face.
www.noshirmody.net
7/10 – Kev Rowland
by Kev Rowland | Aug 19, 2018 | Reviews
This is the third solo album from McCarty, but he will always be thought of as the drummer of The Yardbirds, the only man who stayed true to that group through all its different versions since they first came together to support Cyril Davies in 1963 (as a side note, if you have never come across this amazing blues harmonica player you need to do so!). His vocals may not be as strong as they used to be, but in fairness, he is 75 later this year! Here he provides vocals, acoustic guitar, and some drums, and he has been joined by fellow Renaissance co-founder John Hawken on a couple of numbers with delicate piano. Mind you, probably the most surprising guest is Alex Lifeson, who provides lead guitar and synth guitar on “Soft In A Hard Place”.
In many ways, this is an album of its time, and that time was probably either the late Sixties or mid-Seventies. But, Jim is producing psychedelic pastoral folk with hints of folk, and it is obvious that he is doing so because he wants and needs to, as opposed to being forced to. There is a gentle flow through the songs, and it is incredibly easy to listen to. This is never going to set the world alight, but for someone who has been involved with the music scene for 55 years, he is showing that he has lost none of his knack of writing good material, even if it may not have the punch of his heyday. Obviously, fans of his previous bands, and possibly even Rush completists, will search this out. But actually, if you just want something to play on a summer’s day that isn’t going to tax either the ears or the brain cells, then this could be the perfect sonic tonic. www.angelair.co.uk
7/10 – Kev Rowland
by Kev Rowland | Aug 19, 2018 | Reviews
Originally, the plan by Kristoffer Gildenlöw (Kayak, Pain of Salvation, Neal Morse) was to record a song to raise money for Bikers Against Child Abuse, something he’d done before for other charities. However, the project gathered steam, and eventually Breaking The Chains themselves became a registered foundation. Everyone involved with the project donates their time free of charge, and all profits directly go to the Dutch arm of B.A.C.A. BTC charity. More than 40 Dutch singers and musicians took part, and instead of just a single song, there is now a full album of original material. To put this all under one musical banner, so to speak, would probably be melodic hard rock, but there are some that could be included as prog metal, melodic metal etc. Considering that it contains so many players it isn’t surprising that it doesn’t really come across as a single entity, but it is joined by the intent and the quality of what is on display.
My favorite song is “Believe In Me”, with classy soaring female vocals with a melodic metallic background that is forceful, powerful and damn fine. It has hooks a plenty, and is one of those numbers where it is easy to just put it on repeat let it go for hours. Below is a list of all those involved, and given that some of those acts are very profile indeed let’s hope that it creates enough to generate serious sales and raise money for an incredibly worthwhile cause. If you enjoy melodic rock/metal then there is plenty of different styles here for you to enjoy, and even if you decided you didn’t like a single song (which I can’t believe) you will have still donated to charity, so what is there to lose? http://www.breakingthechains.nl
Bart Hennephof (Textures), Peter Strykes (LA The Voices, Vandenberg), Ruud Jolie (Within Temptation, For All We Know), Robby Valentine, Mike Coolen (Within Temptation), Adrian Vandenberg (Vandenberg, Whitesnake, Moonkings), Joe Tal (Textures), Ton Scherpenzeel (Kayak), Timo Somers (Delain), Ed Warby (VUUR, Hail of Bullets, The Gentle Storm), Robert Soeterboek (Wicked Sensation, Highway Chile), Ian Parry (Consortium Project), John JayCee Cuijpers (Praying Mantis), Johan van Stratum (VUUR, Stream of Passion), Wudstik (For All We Know, Ayreon), Frank Schiphorst (MaYaN, My Propane), Marjan Welman (Autumn, Vetrar Draugurinn), Margriet Mol (Asrai), Jan Willem Ketelaers (Ayreon, Classics Rock Show), Eric Hazebroek (Stream of Passion, Vetrar Draugurinn), Rick Bouwman (Martyr), Martin van der Meyde (4Eigner), Jan Bechtum (Picture), Karin Mol (Asrai), Arno te Loo (4Eigner), Sebas & Petra Honing (Equisa), Dirk Bruinenberg (Elegy, Place Vendome), Ivar de Graaf (Kingfisher Sky), Jan Bijlsma (Vengeance, The Last Element) , Peter Vink (Knight Area), Manon van der Hidde (Asrai), Ben Mathot (Ayreon), Anne Bakker (Blaze Bayley), Maaike Peterse (Kovacs, Kingfisher Sky), Jeroen Goossens (Ayreon), Marieke Bresseleers (Circle Unbroken), Harry den Hartog (Alanis) & Collin Leijenaar (Kayak, Neal Morse). Dutch rockers against child abuse.
8/10 – Kev Rowland
by Kev Rowland | Aug 19, 2018 | Reviews
In 2014, keyboard player Osirion unveiled the first full-length album from his atmospheric, neo-classical/ambient solo project – Dreamfire. Nearly fifteen years in the making, ‘Atlantean Symphony’ was an exploration of the worlds of myth and legend, a doorway to ancient mysteries. It was an independent release, but gained critical acclaim, but feeling drained from the long-term effort of putting the album together, Osirion withdrew and was only coaxed back into the light at the end of 2017 when he was approached by Minotauro Records to remaster the album, add some bonus tracks, and have it reissued with new artwork and booklet design.
I missed the album first time around, but am glad that I have caught up with it this time as in many ways this is a story without words, something that is more than just another single artist keyboard album. If I had to state his style, then it would be somewhere between Jean Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream and Rick Wakeman, but with additional effects that tie the music together. For example, “The Rains of Castamere” starts slowly with simple piano, which moves into cello, but throughout it is the sound of the rain and the threatening storm that makes one “see” what is happening in the darkness. The whole album is much more of a film soundtrack with orchestral and symphonic references than a solo musician striving away in his studio. Incredibly visual, the music demands close attention and for the listener to be swept away in the majestic glory of it all.
When listening to it, I discovered that I often had my eyes closed, just being drawn into the fantastical world being portrayed in front of my very ears. This is an album should never be played in the background but should only be listened to when the time can be given to pay close attention. Yet again it shows that a master musician doesn’t have to play at three thousand notes to the bar, but instead needs to know exactly when the moment is right to either play or not to play, capturing the feeling and emotion of the piece being far more important than displaying musical virtuosity and dexterity. www.dreamfiremusic.co.uk
8/10 – Kev Rowland
by Kev Rowland | Aug 19, 2018 | Reviews
In the mid-Eighties, I was working in Torquay and went into the local record store looking for a particular album. While I was in there I was incredibly impressed by the music that was being played over the shop’s speakers, so much so that in the end I stopped looking for the album I had originally gone in for and instead asked who the band was. I was told that it was Dokken, and it was their third release ‘Under Lock and Key’. I had never heard of them but walked out of the store with their CD under my arm – the reason it has stuck in my mind it is the only time I have ever bought an album having heard it being played in a shop.
Over the years it is safe to say that Don Dokken and George Lynch haven’t always seen eye to eye, and although they have released some great albums together, the line-up has been rather fraught, to say the least. So it was something of a surprise to hear that not only had the classic line-up got together for some shows in 2016 but that they had recorded a new song as well as a couple of acoustic numbers. Finally, it has all been put together by Frontiers Music, and we can hear the band as it has always meant to be, these four and no-one else. I do have a minor niggle that the live albums opens with the new studio track, as that should be at the end of the album instead of the beginning, and to be honest, it isn’t the classic they would all want it to be, but when the live set commences then all is forgiven.
Dokken has never had a strong powerful voice in the way of other singers but does have range, and this very fragility gives them a sound that is quite different to other rock bands. Add to that the chemistry between all four, the fact that Mick Brown and Jeff Pilson have really strong voices, and that George Lynch is still a bona fide guitar god, then you have a band who thirty years after they exploded into the scene are still able to produce the goods. Listen to “In My Dreams” or “Breakin’ The Chains” and you will see exactly what I mean, these guys have the hooks and the balls and it is just a shame that they just can’t keep it together, but perhaps it is being on the edge that provides the spark. Fast forward to 2018, and Lynch and Pilson are currently not involved, as they have reverted back to the line-up immediately prior to these shows with guitarist Jon Levin (who has been in the band since 2003) and bassist Chris McCarvill (since 2015), but who knows for the future? Until that time, if you want to hear Dokken as they were always meant to be, then this is the album to get. Melodic hard rock rarely gets much better than this.
8/10 -Kev Rowland
