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| Here is a shortie about The San Francisco-based band Halsted’s album "Life Underwater"... If you like a cool mix between The Jayhawks, Wilco, Jason Falkner mixed with a flavour of the californian sun you have the sound of this band. It's well done and the album sits on some really nice moments like "Rising Tide" and "White Hot City Lights". The vocalist and bandleader and songwriter Ryan Auffenberg sits on a very pleasant voice and here is a little pearl for you readers who like the bands I just mentioned. |
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Ham is a duo consisting of London fella Joe Cang (Vocals) and L.A dude Ken Rose (Guitars),their music has a nice mix of blues,alternative rock,60?s pop,west coast and singer/songwriter pop - if I close my eyes I can hear both Eric Clapton,Beatles,Steely Dan and Oasis on their debut "Bluffing with integrity" which will be available soon at their website.
The production is dry and very acoustic,but I think it suits the music rather well coz the songs has so much soul and feels alive without any studio effects.
They?ve got company with some big names in the business such as Kenny Aronoff-Drums (John Mellencamp) and Mike Rowe-Organ (Oasis) along with a few others.
Joe Cang?s soulful vocals can be compared with the best names in the business,I?ll give his Eric Clapton sounding voice 5 stars coz he sure can take lift the listener off the ground.
This is truly a nice album! |
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| These punk rockers are produced by the Lit member Jeremy Popoff and you can really hear it. Because this is modern rock/punk in the same school as he?s normally in. Well produced, melodic and quite good song writing makes this worth some attention if youre into this type of rock. It?s not as good as Lit or The Good Charlotte and you have heard it thousand times before, but they have a charming and edgy sound. Check it out if youre a punk-rocker or if you think that this will satisfy you. |
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Our webmaster did the review of Handsome Devil?s debut album from 2001,he said the same thing I?m about to say about their follow up released 2 years later.
This time they self produced half the album with Lit frontman Jeremy Popoff doing the rest,the California based band HD continues to play college inspired punkpop-rock a la Simple Plan,Lit and Bowling for soup on "Knock yourself out".
The album is filled with singalong choruses and catchy melodies,not a single bit of own personality but all performed with a huge dose of energy.
I really do like their cover of Kim Carnes 80?s hit "Bette Davis eyes",but the song that makes the adrenalin flow the most is the powerpop-ish "All right" - perfect for the mixtape. |
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The punkpop tendencies on Handsome Devil?s previous works are completely gone on their new album "Fully automatic", this time they?re more of a rocknroll band with punkrock vibes.
You could say this California based band sounds like a mix between Gun, The Georgia Satellites and Ramones now - they worked with Lit frontman Jeremy Popoff on their first two albums and I don?t know the producer on "Fully automatic" but it feels like Popoff should?ve been there to assist them with a few melodies because there are too many songs that passes by without any notice.
Singer Danny Walker has his limits for sure when it comes to his vocal range, their more rocknroll based punk is cool but the songs aren?t there. |
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Location:Norway
Discography:Freak show (2005)
Bandmembers:Bee - Vocals,Dagge "DJ" - Guitar,Tom Espen - Guitar,Hogne - Bass,Espen - Drums
Influences:Led Zeppelin,Metallica,Skid Row,Soundgarden
Will appeal to fans of:Shinedown,Big Wreck,Alter Bridge,Fuel
Album tracks Total length:49,11
1.Cancel me (3,21)
2.Freakshow (3,48)
3.Down (3,53)
4.Wait (3,33)
5.Today (3,27)
6.Northern lights (3,59)
7.Ultimate man (3,53)
8.Who?s laughing now (3,31)
9.The way (4,03)
10.It could be you (4,19)
11.Move on (3,57)
12.Please (3,21)
13.Sorry (3,59)
Kaj?s final words:These Norwegians must have felt honored to have worked with such a legendary producer as Eddie Kramer who has done many classic albums with bands like Kiss,Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin to name a few.
You can tell by their sound that they are huge fans of 70?s rock coz it?s both blues influenced and heavy in the same spirit as Black Sabbath but performed with a 90?s rock soul where my thoughts go to Soundgarden.
Take 33% classic rock,33% grunge and 34% tough modern rock to create the dirty rock of Hangface.
These guys don?t care about radio friendly choruses,it?s more about the riffs and the music - they don?t live or die by a hit so to speak.
A solid piece of work! |
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Hanne sits on a unique voice. It?s a voice with a cool ambient sort of modern jazz flavor. And the style of music is also sort of unique? Stina Nordenstam with a jazzedge is one way to quite easy explain the style of music for us Scandinavians. But for all you readers outside Scandinavia that haven?t heard Stina I can explain her music as a much more ambient and experimental Sarah McLachlan.
Hanne?s album is cool and it?s very professional all through. But I can?t really give it more than three stars cause there is a lack of good melodies that they forgot to write together with these sounds and the album tends to be just cool with just these sounds, grooves and experiments combined with her solid and cool voice. If there was a more melodic songwriter side added to the songs this album would in my ears be a killer because I really enjoy here jazz-voice and this freaked-out joy filled production. |
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A few words about Hanoi Rocks new Best of album that sums up their whole career. Yes, these Finnish glam heroes has influenced many bands such as Guns N´ Roses, Mötley Crue, Skid Row and Backyard Babies to name a few.
Singer Mike Monroe and guitarist Andy McCoy has now decided to part ways and this double album is a great summery for this band and gives the best for their fans.
The first disc contains 18 songs picked from their classic 80s albums and you get to hear songs like Don’t You Ever Leave Me, Tragedy, Taxi Driver, Boulevard Of Broken Dreams and lots of glam candy. On the 2nd disc that contains 16 songs are taken from their 3 last albums that were released between 2002 - 2008 with songs like People Like Me, Eternal Optimist, In My Darkest Moment and many more.
You also get an unreleased track called Grin and Bear It that should make the die-hard fans of Hanoi Rocks to run to the store and buy this album. Hanoi Rocks really deliver rock ´n roll from the heart. I´m not a bigger fan of this band but there are a couple of really good rockers. |
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Hansel is 5-piece band from Australia and new sensation on the planet right now.
Yes, these guys took me by surprise when I heard them first time and I must say that their debut 4-track EP is nothing but pure class.
These guys looks like they are from the 80s and deliver a fantastic mixture of AOR and straight ahead hardrock with a 80s touch.
The production is strong and the man behind that is Anton Hagop and he has done a great job with Mission To Rock.
The band is Jett Jones (vocals), Bustr Lacy (guitars/keys), Grind (guitars), Flint Stone (bass) and Thruster Jones (drums). Jett Jones is one of those singers that has a voice that grabs a hold of you and you can’t get him out of your head, yes this man can really sing.
They open up this EP with one of this years best songs called Murder 101. This is a freaking awesome up-tempo AOR-rocker with everything you want in a song. Big hooklines, no huge hooklines filled with outstanding melodies with fat keyboards in the background, big drums and the sing-a-long chorus is magic with fantastic background vocals and try to get this song out of your head?
If you’re a fan of 80s Bon Jovi, Johnny Lima and Wig Wam then youre in heaven, damn this hits you like Mike Tyson’s fist.
I’m still in chock after this opening track so my question was if they could keep up the same level for the rest of the album?
Well, not as good as the opening track but they rock really good.
Next up is Mission To Rock that is a strong hardrock song with a Bon Jovi and Skid Row vibe with a touch of modern Rock and strong riffs and powerful background vocals, nice song.
Shot Down For Love is a straight ahead arena rocker with heavy melodic riffs and pounding drums that runs into a rocking chorus.
Wildcat is a mixture of AOR and modern Rock and if you remember a band called Waltham then you know how this sounds like.
The chorus is superb with strong hooks and cool riffs. The harmonies in the chorus at the end of the songs is brilliant.
So don’t miss this new sensation from down under because this is an awesome EP with quality music with class. So if you want your music loud and 80s sounding, then Mission To Rock is your mission. So don’t hesitate. |
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| Last year Hansel released a 4-track EP called Mission To Rock and took me by surprise. These 5 youngsters from Australia rocked big time with their 80s stadium influenced hardrock/hair metal with touches of glam. The songs had strong melodies, hooks and huge catchy choruses in the same vein as Bon Jovi, Wig Wam, Steel Panther and Johnny Lima. Now they are here with their debut full-length album called Never Say Die and it’s filled with fantastic songs with memorable hooks, grinding guitars and a powerful sound. Singer Jett Jones has a great voice and the whole band sounds hungry and will blow away fans that love huge stadium rock. They have a very guitar oriented sound but the keyboards lies in the background on many songs in a fantastic way. The album opens up with the straight ahead rocker I Don’t Need Saving with strong riffs and a melodic chorus. Eruption is a stunning rocker with pounding drums and grinding guitars that builds up the song to a awesome catchy chorus with powerful background vocals, the chorus is so much Bon Jovi. Rock City is a party rocker with huge chorus with big choirs. On The Run is a superb rocker with great guitars and the melodies are all over this songs that has great twist and turns and the chorus is freakin brilliant. Wild Tonight has a damn catchy chorus with nice whoo whoo in the chorus and listen to the fabulous way they use the keyboards, class stuff. Between A Rock And A Hard Place is a wonderful piano ballad that has Guns n Roses feel over it. The only song from the EP is Murder 101 and what a song this is. This is a pure magic and it’s filled with everything a song should have. Yes, this is a song that will haunt you for the rest of your life because this is just awesome. The melodies are brilliant with fantastic keyboards and pounding drums and the sing-a-long chorus is huge with stunning hooks and big background vocals. I wrote on the EP review that this could be last years best song and I say it again this is a monster track, so if you have missed it then here’s another chance to get it. The only down side on this album is that the running time is just over 37 minutes and I want to hear more. Ok, better to have a short album with a top-notch quality than have a long with couple of fillers. No, Hansel is here to stay and don’t miss this outstanding album with big stadium rockers with memorable hooklines. Just turn up the stereo loud and let the world know about Hansel. Never Say Die is a first class hardrock album so don’t hesitate. |
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It?s gonna be interesting to follow Happyendings under 2004 and see what will happen to them. It?s a damn tough business t be honest but after having heard this 3 song demo that is produced by the great Jim Wirt (Hoobastank, Incubus) I think that the guys can go really far. I know that the band have had some major label interest and I wouldn?t be surprised if I would see them on some of the giants upcoming releases sometimes next year.
Musically these four guys plays nice music somewhere between punk/pop and modern rock like their big influence Eve 6 and according to those three songs not a penny weaker.
The first one ?Always in love? is a strong opener and would easily have fit in on any of Eve 6?s albums in my opinion with a lovely verse and catchy chorus.
If the opener is a great tune-I must say that the last track ?Miracle? is an even better one with a little slower melody not as far away from the arena rock inspired band Mars Electric.
Maybe a future single? Probably!
It?s a pity that we ?only? got three tracks here cause I would like to hear more, but hopefully we can see a full album release in a year or something. So if you?re into the bands like Sr-71 and Eve 6 I suggest you to go to their website and listen to the soundclips available there. You won?t be disappointed! |
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A new British band to look out for,they released their first single "Breathe for me" in Nov.2003 and directly got attention from press and gained new fans.
Happy Life comes from London and sounds a bit like another U.K band FEEDER,their new single "The way you hate me" is a perfect modern rock song with lots of hit potential that is truly made for the radio and cruising in the car.
Keep in mind that their upcoming album is titled "Sweet resort" and will be out this summer,it?s not much to say about this new promising band than they will contribute to a happy life while listening to their addictive music. |
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WOW!,energetic modern rock loaded with so much ammo that you could describe this British band Happylife to be the Rambo of Rock......they?ve got it all! - big choruses,a wall of guitars,strong versemelodies,fat production and shockingly good arranged songs that will make your ears fall off.
They have already released 3 singles from this debut that hits U.K stores today - "Breathe for me",Silence when you?re burning" and the latest "The way you hate me" which I did a review of this summer.
They are negotiating for a Scandinavian distribution as we speak but we?ll get back with more info in that matter as soon as we know - sit back,relax and think if a mix of Lost Prophets,Feeder and Muse could be something worth checking up?!
Well in that case,HAPPYLIFE is the answer to that question........my top 20 album list of 2004 is already full but now I have to squeeze this mutha in too...*phew*! |
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| Hungarian hard rockers Hard are back with a new album and joined forces with Baltimoore singer Bjorn Lodin. Hard´s previous album Traveller was a nice surprise and I was looking forward to their new album. Beau Hill (Warrant, Winger, Ratt) fame producer got hooked by Hard´s album and remixed some of the tunes. So I thought that he would produce their new album but no Hill on this album. Mr. Lodin has produced this album with nice result. Now that Bjorn Lodin is in the band they have changed the sound to more bluesy flavoured hardrock sound and leans more to Bjorn band Baltimoore. I think it’s a shame because their sound on Traveller was great keyboard driven melodic hardrock/AOR. The keyboards are almost gone and that’s a minus for the sound and the songs has lost the melodies and hooklines. Still this is a nice melodic hardrock album with nice songs but it I think it would have been stronger if they would have followed their sound from the previous album. The cover version of Baltimoore´s My Kind Of Woman feels unnecessary. The title track is a nice way to open up the album, it’s a hardrock rocking song with strong melodies. The ballad Love Goes With Anything reminds of Tyketto, great song. A very solid hardrock album and if your into the early sound of Baltimoore then you will have a good time with this album. |
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| German hard rock band Hard Riot debuted with the EP "The hidden truth" in 2009 and then signed with Pitch Black Records for the release of their debut full length "Living on fast lane" in April. They are Michael Gildner - Lead Vocals, Andreas Rockrohr - Guitar, Marco Kleindienst - Bass and Carmine Jaucci - Drums, this 4 piece band are influenced by Metallica, AC DC and Scorpions and the result sounds like a mix between classic rock and NWOBHM. It´s a solid production and their singer is pretty good but most songs are mediocre except for "Tears in the rain" that truly rocks, it bring thoughts to Samson the Nicky Moore era. |
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Did you know that?
While playing w/ rockabilly bands in the late ‘50’s, Ronnie James Dio began using the name “Dio” as a tribute to NY gangster Johnny Dio.
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latest reviews
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