Pretty Maids - 'It Comes Alive' (Frontiers) 4.5/5

Now there are a couple of odd facts about Danish melodic metal merchants Pretty Maids. Firstly, despite twelve critically acclaimed albums and lord knows how many singles and eps; and being almost household names in their native Denmark, they have never achieved much success beyond their home boarders, with the possible exceptions of Japan and parts of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Secondly unlike many other acts, they have never issued a live album... until now (ok there were two live archive compilation releases but they don't really count as true live albums).

Now as I have said before in this blog, live albums are a bit like a certain yeast based spread, you either love the raw in your face sound and raw live on stage attitude and atmosphere, or you see them as an excuse to fob fans off with rehashes of old material. Now I am firmly in the former camp, I love live albums and I gotta say this one is pretty damn good.

Recorded in Switzerland on the bands recent Pandemonium tour, this 21 tracker is a great cross section of Pretty Maids impressive career. It blends some of their more recent material such as Wake Up To The Real World and Pandemonium with a shed load of the bands old faves such as Future World, Love Games and Hell On High Heals. In fact, if  you have yet to experience the wonderful worlds of Pretty Maids, then this album is a damn good place to start to get to know them better.

The performances from the band are first rate, and the response of the crowd is equally enthusiastic and infectious as the assembled faithful scream the hooks and chant along at every opportunity. All good stuff, well nearly, there is a rather tedious and over long version of Please Don't Leave Me, a big rawkin' power ballad, and a track I have never really liked, but thankfully its followed immediately but a storming ten minute version of the bands classic anthem Red Hot And Heavy that ends the album in fine style.

In short this is over all a great record and Pretty Maids fans will love it up, and those who are Pretty Maid curious will find this one a good starting place

Excellent

For fans of .. Royal Hunt, Vow Wow, Primal Fear, Gamma Ray etc....

Awake - "Forever More" (Lion music) 4.5/5

It's been four years since Cambridge prog/melodic metal outfit Awake last hit us with an album, and there has been a lot happening since. Line up changes, tours with the likes of Magnum and Everygrey, live BBC sessions and a number of praise winning festival appearances, but now at last we have the new studio album in the form of "Forever More".

And what a corker it is. Right from the off it's easy to see that this release is a more complete and rounded offering than it's predecessor, 2007's "Illumination",  The over all sound is more polished, the new guitar paring of brothers Andrew and Steve Coles bring a new heavier and more purposeful diamention to the sound, Keys player Craig Burkitt, who I felt was a bit of a spare wheel on "Illumination", seams to have found a place in the band at last and adds more to the over all sound than just a vague synth wash. Even vocalist Simon Shedwell sounds more at home here than on previous releases, his voice seams less edgy and somewhat smoother over all, and it fits into the Awake sound all the better for it.

There are 12 tracks on offer here, all pretty damn impressive. If you've not encountered the band before, imagine if you can a sort of subtle blend of Royal Hunt, Iron Maiden, Marillion (Fish era), Magnum and perhaps classic Queensryche, all rolled around a core of Judas Priest and seasoned with hints of Rush and Fates Warning. We get cuts like the beautifully realised, almost balladic Closing The Door, the vast and epic power rock of the closing title track, the driving prog metal of Bleed From You and the anthemic Drift Away; all of which go to show what a superbl;y talented and wonderfully diverse outfit Awake really are.

Highlights? well, Mr Shadwells vocals on the intro to One Wish are spine tingling, the guitar work and riffage on Out Of Control is to die for and then there is my favourate cut on the album King, with is sweet piano intro, Wishbone Ash style twin guitar lines and sadly plaintif vocals, a real shiver maker if ever there was.

Over all this is a great record, it shows that Awake are a band who are on the up and rightly deserve a place at the top table of British metal. Highly recommended.

For fans of... Iron Maiden, Royal Hunt, Evergrey, Dignity, Charred Walls of the Damned....