Jorn - 'Live In Black' (frontiers records) 4.5/5

Norwegian metal master Jørn Lande is a busy bugger. Not only is he working his nuts off with Masterplan and Allen Lande; guesting on albums by Avantasia, Push king and ex Uriah Heep keys wizard Ken Hensley; performing in rock operas AND organizing Ronnie James Dio tributes, but he can still find time to record and tour with his own solo project Jorn. And it's with Jorn that this his latest release comes. Live In Black, is of course a double live CD set, recorded at last years Sweden Rocks festival and comes with a DVD to accompany the live audio albums (sadly the DVD was not issued in the promo package I received so I'll leave that out of this review).

Now it is my sad duty to report that I'm not 100% up to speed on this guys career, all I've heard is the odd Masterplan track and a few tracks off his Ken Hensley collaboration; and I'm now beginning to wonder what I have been missing, cos I'm liking what I'm hearing here very muchly. Not only does Mr Jørn sound uncannily like the late great Ronnie James Dio in his vocal inflection, range and delivery, whilst his band comes over like a glorious mixture of Dio, Tony Martin era Sabbath and Accept with a hint of the Judas Priests thrown in as well. In short, all the great metal stuff that provided the sound track to my youth. The overall result is a live album that easily stands alongside the likes of Live Evil, Live After Death and the other great metal live albums of years gone by.

Highlights? Well the power wail of Stormcrow is spine tingling, the relentless plod and pound of Spirit Black is truly epic, the riffing on Man Of the Dark is to die for and Soul of The Wind has just gotta be a true metal classic. Hell I'm not normally one who cares too much for cover versions, but there's a version of Thin Lizzy's Are You Ready on here that can only be described as a belter.

I'm now gonna go off and track down the rest of this guys stuff and I'll advise anyone with a taste for good old school metal to buy this album, and do the same.

For fans of.. Dio, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Helloween etc...

Work Of Art - 'In Progress' (frontiers records) 4/5

There is a lot of good stuff coming out of Sweden at the moment, so far this year we have had some killer product from Royal Republic, In Solitude, Sister and now pop-proggers Work Of Art are here with their second studio album to show us that not only does Sweden still rock like a good 'un, but they can do it in all genres.

Coming from the same starting point of the likes of Asia, Magnum and Saga; In Progress is one of the best pop-prog albums I've come across in a good few years. The opener The Rain sets out Work of Arts stall in fine style and the rest of the album keep up the pace, even the odd p*w*r b*ll*d like Once Again is saved from lighter waving naffness by some tasty guitar work and some epic key changes.

Highlights include the synth driven stomp of Never Love Again, the Magnumesque Eye of The Storm, with its off the wall moog solo; the Styx influenced Call On Me and the surprisingly headbangable Emeile. however for me the best track on offer here is Until You Believe, which has a touch of the Cheap Tricks about it.

No doubt about it, you'll have to go along way to find an album in this genre that is this good and this memorable. Highly Recommended.

For fans of... Magnum, Asia, Cheap Trick, Saga, Styx, etc...

Xorigin - 'State Of The Art' (frontiers records) 3/5

There is a place where AOR, prog rock and hard rock meet, and if you look at that point carefully there you will find Norwegian outfit Xorigin. Now as far as I can make out, this lot have been around for a good few years, but have only just got around to issuing their debut album. And I gotta say its not a bad effort.

Sounding like a multi band horror smash between Europe, Loverboy, It Bites, Vow Wow and Glory; State Of the Art is a nicely performed 11 song package with some great cover art work. Over all it reminds me of American melodic rock legends Drive, She Said, especially on tracks like Too Late, Crying For You and The One For Me. And that leads me to my main issue with this album. just like Drive, She Said, you know there is a damn fine hard rock band in here somewhere, but they just don't quite deliver the goods when you want them to. Everything is a little to restrained and too controlled. Where as Europe, Loverboy and especially Vow Wow really knew how to cut loose and rip it up from time to time; Xorigin just tend to play it a little too safe. While this restraint works well on softer more AOR type numbers like Said And Done and In The Blink Of An Eye, when it comes to the rockier tracks like Gina, your just wishing they would live a little more on the RAWK side and really give it more stick.

Still this IS an old metal head speaking, and over all the album is very pleasurable and contains a really nice surprise in the form of What Love is All About, which sounds like Big Generator era Yes, and is a track worth getting the album for in its own right.

In conclusion - Try before you buy, unless your a real AOR head.

For fans of... Yes, Asia, Journey, Glory, Europe, Drive She Said

Toby Hitchcock - 'Mercury's Down' (frontiers records) 3.5/5

With US proggers Pride of Lions taking a couple of years out, it is inevitable at the solo albums would come crawling out of the wood work - and so we have this effort from vocalist Toby Hitchcock to keep the fans deck happy until the Pride reforms.

First impressions are that Mercury's Down is a tad more commercial than POL. This is less Asia / Mystery and more Toto / Journey so to speak. Not that that is a bad thing on the whole, I'm not adverse to a little stadium AOR once in a while, and as stadium AOR albums go this isn't a bad one.

You have some fantastic rock out tunes on this album, Strong Enough features some guitar work to die for, If It's to Be (It's Up To Me) is a belting feel good anthem in the Journey mode; 'I've got what it takes now, I'll make my own breaks now...' - whilst Just Say Goodbye hits home with all the power and verve of a classic Night Ranger track. And there can be no doubting that Mr Hitchcock has the perfect voice for the genre, he comes over like a pumped up Steve Perry meets Lou Gramm on steroids; supreme power, perfect control and pitch perfect.. All good stuff.

OK there a couple of tracks where where this album sinks towards stadium rock cliche, most noticeably on the  inevitable power ballad One Day I'll Stop Loving You (lighters at the ready people) and on the opening sections of the John Farman-esque A Different Drum. But thankfully those moments are more than off set by tracks such as Tear Down the Barricades and the title track closer.

In short a worthy addition to the canon of AOR must haves

For fans of... Journey, Toto, Survivor, Night Ranger, Loverboy

Trivium - 'In Waves' (roadrunner records) 4/5

Now I know I'm going against a certain trend here, I know its fashionable to slag off Trivium as having sold out, and lost their 'metal core' roots. But hell I'm going to nail my colours to the mast and say this is the first Trivium album I really like. OK the older albums may have been heavier, more 'core, more moshpit friendly and less commercial than In Waves, but they never really impressed me, they were ok ,but other bands did it better, far better in some cases, and I found a lot of Triviums output boring.

But with In Waves, their fifth full length release I am glad to say they have matured as a band and are showing there is more to these Florida noise merchants than pubescent mosh music for 'core scene kids, and are beginning to show Trivium are an intelligent outfit, that has something to offer to the wider rock world in general.

On tracks like Watch the World Burn, Black and Inception of The End they are heading into Megadeth, Iron Maiden and Armored Saint territory, sweet guitar solos, catchy hooks and killer - yet controlled riffage. There is still a fair bit of 'core in here as well, numbers like At Skyline's Severance are still moshable enough to keep your average pit happy, and my fave track on the album 'Caustic Are The Ties That Blind' manages to blend face shredding growled trash with a middle section that wouldn't sound out of place on a Blue Oyster Cult album (I kid you not).

I have a good feeling about this album, this could be the one that promotes Trivium from the championship league of 'core wannabe's into the premier league of world metal bands. I know some of the less open minded metal fans may equate this with 'selling out', but anyone with half an ounce of musical intelligence will understand this is progress and will be glad to see the maturing of a great band who are bound to conquer a wider audience with this great album. Highly Recommended.

for fans of... Megadeth, Underoath, Machine Head and great metal in general.

Aliases - 'Safer Than Reality' (basick records) 3/5

There nothing essentially wrong with this debut release from UK progressive metalcore outfit Aliases, It's well played, ticks all the right boxes for the genre... fairly complex song structures... CHECK, shouty death grunt vocals interspersed with some melodic vocalisations... CHECK, jerky chuggy riffs with 'star burst' bits of guitar widdling... CHECK etc etc etc. In fact its a damn fine and very listenable little mini album.

It's just that as a whole this album stays a little too close to its title, and comes over more than a little safe. The complex structures just aint as complex as say Periphery, the riffage doesn't let rip in the way Terakai does, the vocals are set to stun, rather than to kill like Skin The Pig. In short each time you listen through you find the experience enjoyable rather than memorable and your wishing the experience was a little more full on, a little more intense.

You see there is a lot of this sort of stuff coming out of the UK at the moment, and a lot of it is extremely good, and whilst I can't find any real fault with Safer Than Reality, I can't find anything here to make it stand out from the crowd either. They come close in a couple of places, such as on Sirens and The Reality of Beliefs; but even those tracks tend to fall slightly short of being truly memorable.

In short... Close but no cigar

For fans of... Terakai, Skin the Pig, The Bled, Pay No Respect...

Grifter - 'Grifter' (ripple music) 4.5/5

OK, first up, PLEASE do NOT confuse this outfit with a rather limp indie shoegaze band from the states of similar name. If you want angst ridden teeny post rock walk away now and save yourself a whole world of pain and possible ear damage... If however you want to hear some down and dirty good old biker rock from Plymouth in the UK, then stick around, cos I think you'll like.

Formed by a group of veterans from the Plymouth area rock scene, Grifter have been around since 2003 and have chalked up a long list of self released eps that have won them friends and rave reviews all over the UK, and now they are hitting us with their first full length album. And worra album it is; dripping classic hard rock sensibilities from first to last this album just rocks. There's the smattering of all the greats in Grifters balls out rock approach; ZZ Top, AC/DC,  Juicy Lucy... even bits of some of those great but forgotten NWOBHM outfits like Split Beaver, Handsome Beasts and After Dark. Basically this right up my musical alley. It ain't original, it ain't cleaver, it is just rock and roll with a capital RAWK.

There's 11 tracks here, and each one is a stomping greasy down and dirty biker bash floor filler, and with titles like Asshole Parade, Strip Club, Piss And Gas et al. you know EXACTLY where these guys are coming from; and in a time when too many rock bands are trying to be over cleaver and too flash for their own good Grifter are a breath of fresh air.

Highlights? well the album is one long highlight, but I will confess the damnation boogie of Young Blood Old Veins with its message of keep on rockin' strikes a particular chord with this aging old rocker 'THE CLOCK'S TICKING - BUT I'M NOT LISTENING..' Hell yeah!!

Buy this album, and play it LOUD!

For fans of -  Dumpy's Rusty Nuts, Handsome Beasts, Airbourne, Rose Tattoo, AC/DC, ZZ top etc

Imperial Vengeance - 'Black Heart Of Empire' (transend records) 4/5

This is the second full length album from Essex 'steam metal' outfit Imperial Vengeance, and after their flirtation with World War One on their debut release 'At The Going Down Of The Sun', they now step back in time and serve up a delicious slice of metallic Victorianism that can only be described as a complete gem. This album even sounds Victorian, with its haunting orchestrated passages, gin palace pianos and penny dreadful narrated sections. Hell if they really did have heavy metal in Victorian England I could well image Charles Dickens being in this band, or at least serving up some lyrics for them.

The albums first four tracks: Scenes Of Inked Treachery / Black Heart Of Empire / The Voice Of Thelema / The Ghost Of Light form a nice little conceptual suite in the aforementioned 'penny dreadful' style. (Apparently, on release the album will come with a 'penny dreadful' novella to accompany it - sadly my advanced review copy didn't come with it, so I can't comment). But from what I can make out it's a dark and twisted tale of hauntings, death and terror... all good stuff.

Beyond the concept section the album continues in much the same vein. Main man C Edward Alexander (ex Cradle Of Filth) is in fine form, with barked vocals, driven guitar work and powerful orchestrated sections, and there's some tasty operatic vocalisations from guest song bird Lori Lewis (vocalist with Therion) to provide the perfect counterpoint to the Blind Beggar knife fight brutality; this is most true on The Devil In The Detail, which for me is the standout track on this really rather excellent album.

Now I wonder if this is available on wax cylinder?

For Fans of... Cradle Of Filth, Cathedral, Within Temptation, Whitechapel etc..

The Effect - 'Everything Has Gone' (self released) 4.5/5

I'm constantly being left in awe of the shear weight of musical talent that is coming from South Wales at the moment, especially from the Swansea / Llanelli area, and now to add to a canon of names like V0iD, Nine Plan Failed, Anterior etc we have The Effect, a band that can be considered as one of the very best of the current crop.

This young Swansea based quartet, none of which are over 18, play a catchy brand of commercial post indie rock that has a bit of the Muse / Lost Prophets vibe to it, and they play it with a drive and passion few others can match. This debut self released six track mini album is an almost perfect show case for their talent. From the opening chiming guitars on Plastic Hearts, via the anthemic Everything has Gone (Wake Up) with its hook that compels you to yell along and the soft and whimsical Can't Forget Your Love which sounds a little like their compatriots Tiger Please (and I mean that as a compliment - I LOVE  Tiger Please) to the epic closer of Left Wing (and Right Wing Are Both Parts Of The Same Bird) every track is an almost perfect mix of driven head bangy bits, guitar synth washes, intelligent lyrics, up lifting choruses and some wonderful mellow moments.

My only real criticism is that I feel they could let go a little more on some of their heavier riff driven moments, especially on the song Tremble - I can't help feel that if they beefed up those moments a few more notches, in the way say Funeral For A Friend do in places, and kept the rest as they do already then they would have some real killer product on their hands. But I'm sure given a bit of time, a bit more experience and an outside producer that will come. After all The Effect are a young band at the start of their careers, and therefore, as good as they are, must still be viewed as a work in progress. And a quick word on the production, which the band did themselves, apart from the above point, they have done a fine job on the whole and should be praised for their efforts.

In short, a great debut from a band, that if there is any justice in the world are set for big things.

For fans of... Tiger Please, Muse, Funeral For A Friend, Lost Prophets.

Queensryche - 'Dedicated To Chaos' (roadrunner records) 1.5/5

While I've never been the worlds biggest Queensryche fan, I will admit they have always been a band I've admired for their musicianship and approach to their music... that is until I tuned into this, their latest full length album.

To say I was disappointed is a vast under statement. OK the album starts well enough with Get Started, with a catchy hook and passable riff, and the following number Hot Spot Junkie isn't too bad, even if it is a little Queensryche by numbers. However then the good news ends and its all down hill from there. Got It Bad sounds like a bad attempt at a Prince cover with a ham-fisted Sitar player droning away in the background. Wot We Do is naff MTV synth rock. Around the World is a failed attempt at a power ballad with sub Foreigner stacked Harmony vocals and so the rest of the album continues with only some tasty guitar work on At the Edge to shed some hope on the musical disaster.

Even Geoff Tate, a guy once hailed as as one of the best voices in rock sounds jaded and seams to be just going through the motions. I've given this album repeated listens and tried to like it, but sadly this piss poor offering is light years from the glory years of Operation Mindcrime. FOR FANS ONLY.

For Fans of... once great bands who are content with going through the motions.

Stone Axe - 'Stone Axe : Delux Edition' (ripple music) 4/5

This is a weird one. The band looks like they come crawling from the early 70's acid rock scene, sound like they are left overs from Woodstock and even the album cover yells retro archive material at you. Yet Washington (US) based stoner rock outfit Stone Axe (a duo in the studio and a quartet live) have only been around since 2007 and are part of that interesting 'retro rock' movement that is doing interesting things stateside along with the likes of Crash Street Kids, The Muggs, Antique Scream et al.

This is their second eponymous full length release and its a a very catchy little opus. Rooted firmly in the classic sounds of the likes of Foghat, Blue Cheer, Led Zep and the like it certainly sets out to keep alive the flame of old style stoner rock and achieves the goal with ease. Tracks like The Skylah Ray and Black Widow are as trippy as hell and feature some damn fine extended instrumental passages that make you want to skin up something illegal and listen to in a darkened room at very loud volumes.

On this deluxe edition of the album there are 10 great studio tracks that stand up to repeated darkened room listening, but its on the eight live bonus tracks the band really come into their own. The live tracks have more power, more spirit more of a wow factor and I'll admit that I'm spinning the live tracks more than I'm playing the studio ones, the live version of Diamonds and Fools being particularity note worthy with it's AC/DC on hash stoner boogie beat and Bon Scott-esque vocalisations.

In short a damn fine album. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

For Fans Of - Blue Cheer, The Muggs, Spirit, Grand Funk Railroad etc

IRON CLAW - 'A Different Game' (ripple music) 5/5

One of the great pleasures about this radio DJ lark is your constantly finding great music. Sometimes its a great young band that  comes out of nowhere and bites yer balls, other times, such as with this gem, its a band that's been around for years, and has previously slipped right under your radar. Iron Claw have been around for a long time, a very long time. They formed in the Scottish boarders way back in 1969 and until 1974 they plugged away straddling the line between heavy metal and art rock with out really making much head way. Then in 2009 a compilation of their back catalogue was released to a fair amount of critical acclaim. This prompted the inevitable reformation and now we have the bands first new material in over 30 years.

And what a release A Different Game is. Thirteen cuts of top grade old school rock and metal, expertly produced and played with a fire and a passion Scottish folk hero William Wallace would be proud of. You get the doomy grindhouse riffage that tips a hat to likes of Black Sabbath and Stone Ground (remember them?); blues tinged work outs that Juicy Lucy would have been proud to call their own; country boogie classics that reminds you of the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Grinderswitch - hell there's even the ghost of Heep / Rooster style heavy prog floating around the tracks in places. Yet the whole sounds like one band, and a damn fine one at that.

After repeated play thoroughs I am finding it almost impossible to select any individual track out as a stand out moment' its all very very good and is rapidly becoming a must play on my walkman; although I will say my personal faves on the album are See Them Fall, which reminds me a tad of the very early Saxon material, the spine tingling Love Is Blind and the raw riffage of Saga.

If this album had come out in the 1970's or even in the NWOBHM era Iron Claw would have been huge, but even now this album will assure the band a cult status at the very least. BUY OR DIE

For fans of - Classic old school heavy metal / hard rock