Very late last year, I was introduced to Boston’s Seven Spires, with their second album, Emerald Seas, and immediately fell in love with them, largely due to vocalist Adrienne Cowan (who surprisingly used to be the keyboard player for deathcore act, Winds of Plague). Her range and power on songs like “Bury You” , “Succumb” […]

So Benedictum isn’t exactly a new band, but somehow they’ve flown under my radar until Dominion, their third release. My first impression wasn’t the best, either. When the techno-dance beat at the beginning of the opening title track kicked in, I thought perhaps taking this record on was a really bad idea. But by the […]

Denmark’s Pretty Maids have spent the better part of 30 years putting out their brand of melodic heavy metal music. Always striking a balance between barn-burning metal aggression and near-AOR catchiness, the band has been arguably one of the more consistent bands in our beloved scene. Never quite achieving the success of contemporaries like Def […]

On May 16th of this year, the heavy metal community was dealt a crushing blow with the passing of one of its true living legends, Ronnie James Dio. As the vocalist for Rainbow, Black Sabbath/Heaven And Hell and his own band Dio, he was an integral part of some bonafide classic albums. The man was, […]

I’ve long been an admirer of Jorn Lande’s voice. It’s classic in every sense of the word — powerful, distinctive and memorable. He also surrounds himself with top-notch musicians who can deliver solid hard rock numbers. So I always look forward to a new record, and Spirit Black doesn’t disappoint.The title track lets the listener […]

While many people associate vocalist Joe Lynn Turner with the final glory days of Rainbow, the man has remained prolific throughout the rest of his career. Enough so, to release a handful of solo albums and also participate in countless projects of other artists over the years. Sunstorm is one such project, or to be […]

Do bands have to abide by the rules of labels they sign contracts with? I guess it’s true to some degree, and there is a lot of evidence showing the most unusual transformations occurring throughout the history of metal. Something like this happened to Pathosray, a promising Progressive Metal five-piece from Italy as soon as […]

When it comes to contemporary Power Metal from Germany, Primal Fear seem to be an outfit that nearly every fan of the genre holds in great respect and keeps an eye on. Everything Mr. Sinner & Co have been bringing out since their highly-acclaimed self-titled debut is top-class, perfectly-crafted material. Even if you’re not too […]

Swedish metal with all its forms and branches has been in an exceptionally flourishing state for the last decade or so, and I dare to claim its Power Metal scene would be the real pick of the basket for any first-timer to the genre. You no longer need to turn to the pathfinders like Helloween, […]

TRENTON, N.J. – Frontiers Records is proud to announce the release for the second Sunstor album, “House of Dreams.” This AOR masterpiece, featuring former Rainbow, Malmsteen, and Deep Purple vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, will be out in America on May 19 via Frontiers/Super D and in Japan on King Records. The first Sunstorm album saw […]

One of the easiest ways to get me to listen to an album is to record a song with Jorn Lande on vocals. While he’s not my favorite singer – not even in the top five, really – he seldom disappoints. Lande has one of those timeless rock voices, just enough smoothness and just enough […]

This album has had all the anticipatory promo one would expect from a classic band. Yes, Dokken is a classic band. The band’s first 4 albums are legend amongst fans of ‘80s Metal. Call them a “Hair Band” all you want, but Dokken had something few of its peers at the time did…musicality. To lump […]

Just in time to cure drag me out of my Power Metal funk, along comes Saint Deamon with an album that is already on my Top Releases of 2008. I was getting burned out on all these Power Metal bands still going to great lengths to reinvent the wheel that Gamma Ray had already worn […]