Melodic Rock Info

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We all know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But when a record turns up on your desk bearing the kind of artwork you’d find on a gothic market stall t-shirt, you can make a pretty good guess at what the music contained beneath the hooded, scythe-wielding Grim Reaper on the front.

The album in question is Birmingham rockers Nightblade’s album ‘Servant to Your Lair’. It’s a record that offers little in the way of surprises from the moment you pick it up; brittle, brash guitars, hard-rock solo-orientated, lyrics laden with shadowy clichés.

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Coming from Virginia, Jake Nielsen is a talented multi-instrumentalist, composer and music teacher. Perspective, his first album, is the culmination of over 10 years of composing and playing. For inspiration, Nielsen draws from a triumvirate of influences. On the musical side, it’s Billy Joel, in his early years, and Dream Theater, in his latter years. Lyrically, he looks to his Mormon faith and religion (not to be confused with orthodox and evangelical Christianity) for inspiration. Additionally, Nielsen did all the vocals and performed, or programmed, all the instruments onPerspective, except for the cello on A Still Small Voice.

Nielsen also cites recent influences including Ben Folds Five and Neal Morse. Actually, it might be best to describe Nielsen’s style, considering this musical and inspirational sources, as a Mormon version of Neal Morse (a confessing Christian), with heavier weight given to the piano. While hardly dismissing his compositional skills, which are exceptional, the piano work within Perspective is his greatest strength. You can hear echoes of Billy Joel, yet with a classical music style ramped up by a progressive rock injection; it’s a vibrant interpretation.

01. The Show Must Go On (Queen Cover)
02. La Llave (Edit Version)
03. Heart of a Lion (Cover Judas Priest)
04. Muere la Noche (Orchestral Version)
05. Y Las Sombras Quedarán Atrás (Acoustic Version)
06. Fire of Hate (Demo Version)
07. Seasons of Darkness (Demo Version)
08. La Llave (Live)
09. Entre Luces y Oscuridad (Live)
10. En La Tempestad (Live)

Despite the fact that long as life shall separate us from Timo Rautiainen is the fourth solo album, so even the disc will be sure to compare the neck shot at the time. Of course, this is not surprising, because after all, Trio heavier by far one of the most important influences in the Finnish music. Parables are guaranteed for as long as Timo boards publish either solo or as a head shot, so I do not do yourself any of the exceptions.

Previous solo albums none of his own yardstick, received grade excellent, but every solo album since then has been somewhat contradictory feeling. Each disk has had its climax, but also has its own downs, and sometimes even those steep. The fourth sector, however, goes even further and can be lethally immediately to the top to say that Till death do us part is by far the very Rautiainen, “a solo album.”

Warhorses in more ways than one is an extraordinary phenomenon in the local music scene. The seemingly pre-programmed suicide by switching from Hip Hop for diametrically guitar genre they bomb casually with fat charts quotations henceforth. This sold-out arenas and a fan base, as they had been since the Cretaceous go. Their second album “En Garde” to this success is certainly still increase

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Michael Addison is set to release his first full-length album “Blinding Shadows” on October 2nd, 2012. Reeling from the success he garnered from his last EP “Always You” and the single of the same name, he hit the studio with producer Larry Marciano at the helm, to create a truly powerful rock album that magnifies Addison’s talent for rock arrangements. Addison returned to the studio with the same team from his previous go-round. Christine Wu (Justin Timberlake/Usher) and Ryan Hoyle (Collective Soul), as well as newcomers, vocalist’s Adam Brooks (of TV’s “The Lying Game” and the band The Good Mad) and Vanessa Bryan each exhibit exceptional contributions.

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“A Legend To Believe In” comes alive through its hymn-like, epic songs. The orchestral sections of the album are fabulous and not at all intrusive, while the guitar work on all twelve tracks is of the highest standard. Fans of classical-speed, highly melodic Metal with impressive vocals will have no excuse to pass over this first class album.

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First global compilation REBELLION Teutons, who collect stages between 2005 “Sagas of Iceland – The History of the Vikings – Volume I” until 2009 “Arise: From Ginnungagap to Ragnarok – History of the Vikings, Vol III”, from by “Miklagard – The History of the Vikings – Volume II”.

It will go on sale on Friday October 5 thanks to Massacre Records label, and is available only on iTunes, Musicload, amazon and other digital platforms.

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Hailing from Springfield, Massachusetts, Doug Ratner & the Watchmen’s main claim to fame is getting banned from a popular TV show, Mass Appeal, in their hometown, for their song Bomb in the Backseat. It appears the show neither listened to the song nor understood it’s meaning. They only heard the references to bombs and explosions. O well.Ratner and company play a blend of classic guitar rock with some modern alt references. Here’s the skinny on their debut EP Lessons Well Learned. First, if you give it more than a few spins, it will grow on you. But the significant songs are three.

01. Each the Others World Entire (3:15)
02. Dancing to Keep from Crying (3:41)
03. Jealousy (3:55)
04. Unbelievably Good (3:45)
05. Start a Fire (3:12)
06. Nervous Reaction (4:33)
07. Bombarded in Rio (3:14)
08. I Got a Power of My Own (3:48)
09. I Can Shake It (4:54)
10. In the Nighttime (6:24)