LA TORMENTAROCK - reviews 2

The eternal Eric Martin the musician with boy's face, boy that takes making mischiefs from beyond 1983, since it began with a band called "415" and open in tour to the big ones of then as Foreigner or Molly Hatchet, to pass later to change the name of the band for the one of "Eric Martin Band" and later on to only be Eric Martin, later on became the voice of one of the biggest bands, "Mr. BIG" with Billy Sheehan, Paul Gilbert and Pat Torpey, idolized in Japan and U.S.A, at the moment is almost unknown its career in solitary in Europe, this Cd makes the number four under its own name and for him it means a turn to his roots.
Eric Martin has taken out for this album all that takes inside, all that could not make with "MR. BIG", more rockers compositions, with more dry, less introspective sounds that their previous work of 1998, is taken down with more gleaned rhythms, of course it is not the Eric Martin of fifteen years ago, he is a more mature musician, this is noticed in the quality of the compositions, in the melodies, moving away from the simple thing to look for more energy, it is difficult to find in the Cd an easy refrain or a melody boring, continuous turns in search of the surprise, and it gets it in songs as "Spaceman" "Marie" or "There Goes the Neighborhood." But he doesn't forget the good melodies "Untouchable", "Goin´ heals" or the two splendid ballads "Bigger Man" or "Everyday" offer us a plenty Eric Martin.
For the European edition two bonus tracks are included, a collaboration of Pessis with E. Martin "Only a Moment", good song, maybe the most commercial in the album and a version of "Just what I Needed" of THE CARS that was already almost 15 years ago a success and that now makes it return of the forgetfulness with renovated force.
In the Cd the collaboration is also noticed apart from Pessis of Jack Blades (NIGHT RANGER, DAM YANKEES) and the taken care production carried out by the own Eric Martin.
If you will look for in this "I´m goin´ sane" to the Eric Martin of Mr. BIG won't find it, on the contrary you will be to a musician that returns to its roots and he makes us understand because in the decade of the 80 and it leaves of the 90 he was one of the voices of the Hard Melodic Rock.

From Barcelona and preceded of very good critical on the part of people that has been able to see them play live, we receive this quintet, at the moment by a demo sent by the band, but that apparently very soon will have their first Cd out in the street, they have just recorded with the national label Vinny Records and the work is pending of blended, the launching is announced for final of 2002 or principles of 2003.
The quintet formed by Manu Esteve (voice), David Agüera (guitar), Sergi Hormigó (drums), Victor Muiño (bass) and David Ruiz (Keyboards), we are presented as another great promise inside the, until time, desolated view of the spanish recently Melodic Rock.
The demo, with an excellent presentation by the way, consists of 4 tracks with influences in its sound that travel from DOKKEN to MÁGNUM, from SURVIVOR to WHITESNAKE, and even SKAGARACK.
HARDREAMS leaves us its presentation letter and the honey in the lips, topics like "Pain", impressive, with a duration of almost 8 minutes, they give the idea that the music of these boys is worked that are not devoted to the short songs and the easy refrains, inside the Cd demo there is also place to demonstrate that they can sound with forcefulness, "After Hell" with very heavy guitars and an impressive voice that reminds us in occasions to the best Gary Barden (MSG, SILVER), makes that their songs are not anchored inside the melodic one, but rather they look for sounds something harder, more hard rock
We look then forward to their debut album, it will be necessary to be attentive to their performances.
(Recommended to contact them to obtain the demo)

New work of the Nordic band, this time in direct from Japan. The edition that we comment is the Japanese of Avalon Records that 2 Cds, the first of them with 14 tracks and the second contains with 3 (two live, and studio one). The finnish presents us a summary of the best thing of their two albums "Ecliptica" and "Silence", with a good selection of the songs, although more based on the second of them.
Of course they begin with an intro of more than one minute, starting from there there is no longer time to breathe, except when they allow it to you, "Weballergy" opens the fire with the force that these guys put in their music, to continue with "Kingdom for a Heart" with some magnificent keybs of Miko, we receive the first one taking of encouragement with "Sing in Silence", great composition that goes ascending of tone with Tony's good work vowel, continues with "False News Travel Fast" and another time to run, to accelerate the heart, "Last Drop Falls" one of the quiet and beauty songs of the band offer a relax instant before facing the careers, the quick rhythms and the magnificent melodies that know how to create demonstrated again with "Respect the Wilderness" (studio bonus track in the Japanese edition of "Silence") very quick and with a good vocal melody and "FullMoon", authentic hymn of the band, maybe one of the songs that more they have sounded of them as much in radio stations as in dives, in this occasion the choirs run in charge of the Japanese public. We pass over this way the meridian of the album and they has not still given us time to take a beer, but they continue, with "The End of this Chapter" that with a more elaborated sound and play of progressive it sounds excellently in direct, "The Power of One" (bonus track in the Japanese edition of the Cd) one of the best songs, together with the previous one, of their second work, is an excellent composition, fifty-fifty between the peace and the force harrowingly tragic of the guitar of Jani, it sounds incredibly in direct, carefully elaborated this song has everything, besides the guitar they highlight, enormous, the keybs and the choirs possibly here demonstrate us where are able to arrive in their music. This can be the moment summit of the Cd, although immediately they connect with two samples of their first work, "Replica" and "My Land"
Both different but beautiful, the first one is a calmer topic, with more feeling, while the second have more acceleration more force, it catches you, gives you a respiration and at the end leaves you without encouragement with their final, quick and overwhelming part, and already until the end there is not time to stop to think, "Black Sheep" another demonstration of the force of the band accelerates our heart again so that "Wolf & Raven" it finishes off us and leaves us without forces, although wanting that this followed a while more, go final of Cd.
Inside the Cd 2 meet more with 2 songs recorded live , "Blank File" with the one that the first work of the band began, the cane continues and it is that this people don't have limit, because at once they continue with "Land of the Free" for terminal this cane recital and good to make.

"Pacemaker "studio version of the track appeared in the Mcd "Wolf & Raven" of last year, it continues with the classic sound of the band, heavy guitars, a great melody and some good choirs.
We have not still made mention to the cover, I don't know if in Europe it will be same, but in her single lack Goku.
In short, a great live album, in my modest opinion, maybe one of the best of the last years, the finnish are at great level, yes certainly they miss some topics of the "Ecliptica", but we won't complain, as for the level of the band, it is possible that in some occasions Tony the vocalist seems about to not to arrive, but clear with the acceleration that you/they take, good very advisable for all the fans of SONATA and for the lovers of the good metal.

Cuts with the force of "Shadow of Love" or "Vicious Circle" they are those that are in the return of Frankie Banali (drums), Carlos Cavazo (Guitar), Rudi Sarzo (bass) and Kevin DuBrow (vocals), we refer, of course to the return of Quiet Riot. Another classic band of the ´80 that rewards us with a repertoire of unpublished songs again, (composed at the present time??, trunk bottom?? That their grandsons only know it), but with their original formation, yes with the one that harvested more successes. QR, at the present time on tour in U.S.A. with groups like Poison, Enuff z´nuff and Warrant and among stockings, having given 3 big shows in Spain, returns with their traditional style of "American Metal" and a CD of pure sound of the principle of the eighty offers us, with the peculiar voice of DuBrow, overwhelming and in occasions something torn and...... although this doesn't vary in the result of the CD..... with more hair than never!, where is the trick???, with songs as "Feed The Machine", "Blast From The Past" or those already commented before, which listens to the first one are already enjoying them or others as "Feel the Pain", "Guilty Pleasures" or the ballad that closes "Fly Too High", in which show us the rawwest part in the group. To also mention the song "Rock The House", total and that already reminds us to the classic of Slade and song cover by QR, "C´mon Feel The Noise."
Quiet Riot has returned and the eighty have been brought to the back in a CD that won't defraud its followers....... I wait.

2 of the best vocalists in Hard Rock of all the times meet to sing to duet, 9 songs, (more a cut each one in solitary), of pure class and a "feeling", difficultly equal. We are speaking, of course, of Glenn Hughes, the one that their term began in Trapeze and carried out a long career in solitary, without forgetting its step for Deep Purple, and of Joe Lynn Turner that besides also military in Purple, it went by groups like Fandango, (in its young years), Rainbow or Yngwie J. Malsteen. The CD, also bill with the collaborations of stars as Paul Gilbert, (Mr. Big), Akira Kajiyama, (Joe Lynn Turner) or John Sykes, (Whitesnake, Blue Murder).
Result: A replete work of good pleasure that reminds us a years waiters of these 2 not-too-young vocalists. Compositions of pure "Rock" as, Devil´s Road, Missed Your Name, Ride The Storm or Run Run Run, all of them impact from their first note with a Purple-Rainbow sound and with an important protagonism of the hammond that takes you behind several decades, but also, with the one added of having 2 impressive voices in the same song. But not only "the man lives of the heavy", in songs as Sister Midnight, Fade Away or the one that Mr. Glenn Hughes sings alone, Heaven Missing an Angel, we are, with songs something more calmed and that it takes out the more blues roots of the duet and especially of Hughes. The great ballad that Turner is marked in solitary to also highlight, Mystery of the heart.
Therefore: The meeting of Glenn Hughes & Joe Lynn Turner has turned out to be to the height of that waited, although really that one could wait of 2 alive legends that become gold all that "they play."
Authorized for all the public ones and specially recommended for nostalgic of the classic sound.

After almost 10 years that the British THE QUIREBOYS, published any really new album, (let us remember that after its first 2 works and the live mcd that there were among stockings of them, we have only obtained 1 recopilatorio, several reissue and finally a CD in direct that more it was worth them not to have published), Mr. SPIKE returns with its peculiar voice, broken and that when you listen, you recognize without a doubt that what you hear is QUIREBOYS.
To that the CD sounds?, Would you really believe that THE QUIREBOYS could change its style?, GRUNGE, maybe, CHANDALMETAL?, Do you imagine to SPIKE, with some pants with the first floor for the knees, in those that 3 enter as him, with goatee and the shaved head and with an I tremble of head, as if he/she had it connected to an electric power station?, NOOOooooo, the new work of QUIREBOYS, sounds to QUIREBOYS, no matter how much they are half stagnated with that peculiar ROCK´N´ROLL setentero, with topics as the one that there will be and he/she gives title to the CD, (THIS IS R´N´R), or SEARCHING, SIX DEGREES, C´MON, finds us to have revived the time of its first work, TO LITTLE WHAT YOU FANCY, or listening the means times like SEVEN DAYS or TO BE, or the rocanrolera TURN AWAY, or maybe the ballad SEARCHING that almost arrives to its I DON´T LOVE YOU ANYMORE.
In a principle this comment won't be very positive, the CD sounded to QUIREBOYS, but he lacked something, after a third he/she listens, I realize that although the disk doesn't have any 7 O´CLOCK or HEY YOU!, it deserves enough the pain. Personally, the last three topics are the best.
Calmly listen to it and enjoy it because THIS IS ONLY ROCK´N´ROOOOLLLLL!!!
RECOMMENDED ALBUMS:
THE QUIREBOYS: A Little Bit Of Fancy
THE QUIREBOYS: BITTER SWEET & TWISTED