Crazy Lixx, the biography!

Crazy Lixx is a Swedish hard rock band formed in 2002 in Malmφ, Sweden. The core line-up up until the first album consisted of vocalist Danny Rexon, guitarist Vic Zino, drummer Joιl Cirera and bass player Loke Rivano. The current line-up features guitarist Andy Dawson in Vic Zino's place. They were among the first bands to emerge in what has been known as "The New Wave of Swedish Sleaze" along with bands such as Crashdiet, Hardcore Superstar, Babylon Bombs and Vains of Jenna but just like their fellow genre-mates, Crazy Lixx have formed their own style and are now considered to be more of an 80's influenced hard rock band. The name is said to be inspired by a japanese plastic toy-guitar that Danny Rexon had as a child.
Danny Rexon, Vic Zino and Joιl Cirera all played in a heavy metal band called Blindead prior to the formation of Crazy Lixx and when Danny decided to form his new, more rock oriented band he asked Vic and Joιl to join and the core of the band was set.

At this time Danny Rexon was the rhythm guitaris of the band so Crazy Lixx set out to find both a vocalist and a bass player. The later position was filled a couple of weeks later by a childhood friend of Vic's, Max Flamer, who had previously played in a metal cover band with Vic and Joιl but they had a much harder time finding a vocalist. Though without a lead singer, the band set out to record their first demo in the summer of 2003 in hopes of attracting a vocalist and the band decided that Danny would do the lead vocals on the recording.

The first demo (recorded by Robert Ahrling at Flat Pig Studio in Malmφ) containing three now classical Crazy Lixx tracks; Death Row, Love on the Run and Bad in a Good way, all written by Rexon and Zino, was a huge leap forward for the band. The fact that the vocals came out as good as they did convinced the band that Danny should handle that part from now on and that they should instead find themselves a new rhythm guitarrist. The demo itself was printed in hundreds of copies and began circulating in the underground sleaze rock scene in Sweden.

A second demo was recorded in 2004 in a studio that Krizzy worked in. It was an over ambitious project where the band decided to record six tracks and the entire recording was spread out during a long period of time. The second demo (known as the Do or Die-demo) didn't come out quite as good as the band had expected but still contained some good tracks that have survived up to this date. The full tracklist was: Rock n' Roller Coaster, Over You, Do or Die, Daddy's Little Girl, Love is a Drug and Get on Your Knees and yet again Rexon and Zino stood for all the songwriting.

The line-up of Rexon / Zino / Cirera / Field / Flamer lasted a little over a year and ended abruptly when Krizzy and Max got into a drunk fist fight after a show in Kalmar, Sweden. Tensions had been growing between the two since the day Krizzy joined the band and it was really only a matter of time until it got messy. The rest of the band knew what they had to do and a short time later both the members were fired.

During the first months of 2006 Crazy Lixx entered and won a local music competition in Helsingborg and among the prices were gigs at summer festivals and a recording in the Palace of Noise (PON) studio outside of Helsingborg. The band used this to record the track No More Foolin' but up to date the song has never been printed. The summer of 2006 saw a lot of shows for Crazy Lixx including playing as opening act for Hardcore Superstar on Helsingborgsfestivalen and the band grew more popular for each new show.

The date was set to 1:st of July 2007 and the band decided to record their debut album with producer Chris Laney at Polar Studios in Stockholm. In the meantime the band continued to write songs for the album that they came to call Loud Minority and played various gigs including a 3-day mini tour in the UK and it all culminated with their appearence on Sweden Rock Festival 07. The band temporarly relocated to Stockholm and spent almost a month in the studio recording 13 tracks for the album.

The complete track list is: Hell or High Water (Zino / Rivano), Dr Hollywood (Rexon), Want It (Rexon), Love on the Run (Rexon / Zino), Make Ends Meet (Rexon), Death Row (Rexon / Zino), Heroes are Forever (Rexon), Do or Die (Rexon / Zino), Pure Desire (Rexon), Boneyard (Rexon / Zino), The Gamble (Rexon), Bad in a Good Way (Rexon / Zino) and No Guts, No Glory (Rexon / Zino). (The last two tracks were excluded from the first release of Loud Minority but can be found as bonus tracks on the Japan release of 2008.) The album mas mixed and ready in the fall and the album was finally released in November 2007, recieving great reviews from both media and fans and a second place on the national Swedish hard rock chart.

Just as with the single release, the official release party for the album was held at Club Crazy Nights in Stockholm and during the last few weeks of the year the band played a couple more shows before setting of to the UK as a support act for Hardcore Superstar in the middle of January 2008.

Crazy Lixx supports Hardcore Superstar on a couple of more gigs in Sweden and Zino plays two shifts, appearing as the guitarrist for both bands. The last gig with Vic is played in Hultsfred, Sweden on the 26:th of april 2008 and with the departure of Zino, touring for Crazy Lixx stops and the band announces that they are officially searching for a new permanent guitar player for the band.

Danny and his new found co-writing partner Andy spend the first 8 months of 2009 writing and demo-recording some 20 new songs that will lay the foundation of the follow up to 2007's Loud Minority. Out of the bunch, 12 songs are picked out and recorded in Polar Studios with producer Chris Laney during October of that year. By this time the band has already signed with the Italian record label Frontiers (Journey, TOTO, Winger) for their next release and in November the new album is finished and mastered.

The complete track list of the album, which goes under the name New Religion is: Rock and a Hard Place (Rexon / Dawson), My Medicine (Rexon / Dawson), 21 'Til I Die (Rexon), Blame it on Love (Rexon), Road to Babylon (Dawson / Rexon), Children of the Cross (Rexon), The Witching Hour (Rexon / Dawson), Lock up Your Daughter (Rexon), She's Mine (Rexon), What of Our Love (Rexon / Dawson), Desert Bloom (instrumental) (Conny Blom of Electric Boys), Voodoo Woman (Rexon / Dawson) and Lights Out! (Rexon). (The last track was excluded from the first European and US releases of New Religion but can be found as bonus tracks on the Japan release.)

A great 'new' band and for sure a band with a bright future........

http://www.crazylixx.com/

White Widdow / White Widdow (2010)

Hailing from Melbourne Australia, White Widdow was formed in 2008 by charismatic front man Jules along with Bassist Trent and Guitar virtuoso Enzo. From its inception the vision was always to write and perform 80's Arena style melodic rock and hard edged AOR inspired by artists such as White Sister, Survivor, Treat, Dokken, Aviator, Bon Jovi and Australia's own Roxus.

With their debut album, White Widdow is offering a great melodic hard rock album that will rock our worlds and they are canditates for one of the best releases of this year! Jules has a really impressive and charismatic voice, Enzo's guitar skills are awesome with some strong riffs and inspired solos and the rest of the band binds perfectly all together. The melodies are plenty, the big choruses and hooks will make every single fan to whistle the rythms for days and the production is solid.

The track that amazed me from the first listening is "Broken Hearts Won't Last Forever". This is, maybe, one of the best tracks during the last years. It has an 80's feeling in it, the chorus is pure melodic rock bliss and it's a song that could easily fit in every Danger Danger album back then! A fantastic tune! "Cross To Bare" is a great rocker in the vain of Treat's recent work while "We've Got The Wings" is a more AOR tune filled with some huge keyboards! "One More Day" is another up-tempo feel good rocker with a sing-a-long chorus line! "Fire And Ice" has a great melody and a memorable chorus, one of my favorite tracks from this album!

All in all this is a great debut album! One of the best debut albums during the last years and an album that will end up high in my Top 2010's of this year. Well done! Highly recommended for fans of Bon Jovi, Danger Danger, Treat, Harem Scarem and Survivor!

HeavyParadise's Rating: 10/10

tracks:

01 - Shoukai (Intro) / Tokyo Rain 02 - Broken Hearts Won't Last Forever 03 - We've Got The Wings 04 - Cross To Bare 05 - Don't Fail Me Now 06 - Spirit Of Fire 07 - Shadows Of Love 08 - One More Day 09 - Change Of Passion 10 - Fire & Ice

Bon Jovi's poll

So, here comes the new poll! Which, in your opinion, is the best Bon Jovi's album to date?
For me......"New Jersey" is their best album and, perhaps, one of the best hair metal albums ever!! 

I'm waiting for your answers.......

Gotthard's going to release a tribute album: “Heaven – Best Of Ballads Part II”

"Let me find my piece of heaven, let me find my way back home.“

This is the first line of the most successful GOTTHARD song ever. The ballad went gold and led the Swiss single charts in its year of release, 2001. Today, this song stands for so much more: since the news broke about Steve Lee’s tragic death on October 5, 2010 while on a motorcycle trip near Las Vegas, it’s “Heaven” that rock fans all over the world are listening to while mourning.

The best of ballads compilation “Heaven”, due in November, will pay tribute to Steve Lee’s unique voice and personality. From the start of the band’s history, the ballads were the songs which had that exceptional magic and they represent what makes GOTTHARD stand out in this market.

With the first ballad compilation “One Life One Soul” from 2002, the Ticino based rockers were successful in extending their audience. “Heaven – Best Of Ballads Part II” picks up where its predecessor left off and mainly includes ballads that were released after the year of 2002. “Have A Little Faith” and “Falling” can be found in their previously unreleased acoustic piano versions, whereas “What Am I” is a completely unreleased track.


“We had that track finished for our last album “Need To Believe””, remembers guitarist Leo Leoni. “But it did not fit in with the rest of the album so we decided to keep it for the time being.”

The very intimate piano version of “Have A Little Faith” was recorded by Steve Lee in 2009 with the purpose of releasing it on a possible second “D-frosted” acoustic album.

But this is not the only reason the band chose to release a ballad album. “Nobody’s really in the mood for a driving rock song at the moment.” states bass player Marc Lynn. “This ballad compilation might also help our fans to cope with their sadness and grief.”

„Heaven – Best Of Ballads Part II“ represents the most successful era of a band that has been together in the same line-up since the late 80s and which would only be split by death. It stands for eight years of band history in which GOTTHARD had their big international break-through and were awarded diamond status for more than one million copies sold in their home country. No other band is such a symbol for Swiss music history as GOTTHARD.

“Heaven” also represents a memorial for one of the greatest and also most human personalities of the rock business. “We lost not only one of the best rock voices of the world, we also lost a really exceptional person, friend, brother and musician.” states drummer Hena Habegger. “Despite his tremendous success, Steve Lee always had his feet on the ground and never lost his sensitivity for the environment.” “Heaven” conveys that deep respect which Steve Lee had towards anyone, any time. The compilation will only be issued as a simple but very elegant all black digibook version.

The Poodles / Metal Will Stand Tall (2006)

A really impressive debut album by the Poodles! A great combination of 80's hard rock with a modern touch of the new generation of European melodic hard rock. It's an album that pleases every fan of this gerne and in the end leaves you hungry for more!

The band consists of Jakob Samuel (Jekyll and Hyde) on lead vocals, the mighty Pontus Norgren (Great King Rat, Jekyll and Hyde, Talisman and Zan Clan among others) on guitars, Pontus Egberg (Lion's Share, Zan Clan) on bass, Christian Lundqvist on drums and Mats Leven on backing vocals!

So, what about you are going to hear from 'Metal Will Stand Tall" is big loud guitars, powerfull and emotional vocal lines, pounding drums, a strong musicianship and a solid production! Every single track rocks here! "Night Of Passion " is the perfect up-tempo track, the self titled song is pure melodic heavy bliss, "Rockstar" is more commercial, "Song For You" is a fantastic tune and "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes" has a monsterous chorus line!

All in all, this is an amazing debut album from The Poodles and, perhaps, one of the best debut albums during the last decade! Buy it!
HeavyParadise's Rating: 9,5/10

Tracks

1. Echoes From The Past 4:39 2. Metal Will Stand Tall 3:24 3. Night Of Passion 3:00 4. Song For You 4:35 5. Shadows 3:03 6. Lie To Me 3:39 7. Rockstar 3:29 8. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes 3:39 9. Don't Give Up On Love 3:49 10. Number One 3:24 11. Kingdom Of Heaven 3:14 12. Crying 4:06

THE POODLES BIOGRAPHY!

The band was formed in the fall of 2005 and six months later they participated in the Swedish leg of Eurovision song contest. The debut album, 'Metal Will Stand Tall', was released shortly thereafter in Sweden, Japan and Russia. It climbed to the top of the Swedish charts and the first single, 'Night Of Passion', went gold after only three weeks!! Not long after, it achieved platinum status and was the most downloaded song for three weeks straight!! "Metal Will Stand Tall" features songs written by some world's premiere song writters such as Holly Knight.

On the 25th April 2007, they released the first single from their follow up album "Sweet Trade". The song 'Seven Seas' was written together by the famous actor Peter Stormare. On the song 'Seven Seas' he portrays the pirate 'Black Sam' who sings a duet with the lead singer Jake Samuel.

"Sweet Trade" was released in Sept. 2007 in Sweden, all of Europe and in Russia. The second single, 'Streets Of Fire', became the band's biggest selling single to date, achieveing double-platinum status! Shortly after the release of their second effort the band headed out another tour over Europe, this time with the Swiss hard rockers GOTTHARD!! The response from crowd and organizers alike made it possible for the band to head out on their own head-line tour in the spring of 2008 with 17 sold-out shows!!

In spring of 2008, The Poodles participated a second time in the Eurovision song contest. This time they allied themselves with multi-platinum selling artist "E-Type", performing the song "Line Of Fire" which also raced the charts and was featured on an extended edition of 'Sweet Trade' that was re-released in the second quarter of 2008.

Late in the spring of 2008, the band proudly accepted the invitation to record and perform the official Swedish theme song for the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008! The result was "Raise The Banner", which was released on the 15th of July and was the number one hit single in Sweden for most of August 2008.

In May 2008 the guitarist, Pontus Norgren, decided to leave the band and the new guitarist who replaced P. Norgren was Henrik Bergqvist (Tiamat, Southfork). On June 6th, at the Sweden Rock Festival, Henrik made his debut with the band. Face with the important task of planning and recording their third album The Poodles choose to make a fresh start. The band felt that they needed to take charge of their career by finding new working partners who could better develop the band's objectives. They got out of their recording contract with Lionheart Intern. to release their third album on their own label, Rosehip Alley Records. The Poodles decided for the producer, and the name of him was Mats Valentin who had previously worked with the band on the two hit singles "Line Of Fire" & "Raise The Banner"!

The band also contracted legendary producer-mixer Mike Fraser to mix the album. Even though everyone in the band grown up listening to Mike's productions, they were stunned with the result!! "Clash Of The Elements" started in November 2008 and saw the release of the first single, 'One Out Of Ten' on the 16th of February 2009.

Nowadays, the Poodles and Frontiers records joined their forces and they are pleased to announce the release of THE POODLES live package on November 5th 2010. The package will include the live-CD "No Quarter" and the live-DVD "In The Flesh". There will also be a limited release of a luxury packaging, "No Quarter - Special Edition", including the live-CD and the live-DVD in a luxury digi-pak edition.


Discography : "Metal Will Stand Tall" / "Sweet Trade" / "Clash Of The Elements" / "No Quarter"
You can visit The Poodles at their official site : http://www.poodles.se/index.php

THE WORK CONTINUES!

The Poodles stated about their upcoming album : "Putting all other duties aside the work in the studio continues and it's sounding just awesome! We still have a few weeks of recording left but this is going to be a killer album, no doubt about it!"

http://www.poodles.se/index.php

Ignition / Ignition (2003)

This is an excellent Scandi melodic hard rock album! "Ignition", the self titled album, was released back in 2003 and it's one of these albums that every hard rock fan must own! It's a pitty that this band has released this one only and never come back with a follow up album.

Big chorus lines, hooks, inspired melodies, a very talented vocalist with a charismatic voice and some really huge guitar riffs and solos make this album an essential purchase.

"Down on My Luck" is the first track and it's a great way to start this little gem! An inspired riff, a cool groove, some big gang background vocals and there you have a standout track! A pumpin' bass line and a nice guitar solo plus the memorable chorus are things that you are going to hear from track number two, "Tell Me Your Mine". I don't know but when I hear this album, it reminds me, in some parts, the Dogface's albums with Mats Leven!!
Other highlights here are the up-tempo tune of "You Can't Fool Me No More", the acoustic "Should Have Done Your Right", the huge with the big chorus "First to Cry" and the moodier "Fire With Fire"!

Overall, this is a high quality and 'ballsy' melodic hard rock album with very good performances and a solid production! So, do a favour to yourself and buy this album!! Highly recommended for fans of Dogface, Last Autumn's Dream and Street Talk.
HeavyParadise's Rating : 9,5/10

 Tracks

1. Down on My Luck 2. Tell Me Your Mine  3. Father (Save Me) 4. Fire With Fire 5. You Can't Fool Me No More  6. Babylon 7. Night After Night 8. Goodbyes to the Good Times 9. Should Have Done Your Right 10. First to Cry 11. Time Is Running Out

Triumph : reissue the original catalogue

Triumph is one of Canada's greatest Hard Rock bands. With 10 classic albums released between 1976 and 1987, they have left an indelible mark on the history of Hard Rock, Melodic Rock and are nowadays considered among the forefathers of Progressive Metal.

Epitomizing the essence of the Power trio sound: Rik Emmett (guitar and vocals), Mike Levine (bass and keyboards) and Gil Moore (drums and vocals) are regarded as virtuoso musicians in their own right and great entertainers thanks to the Triumph concert spectacle that was second to none.

Frontiers Records is therefore proud to announce that the official reissues of Triumph’s 10 classic albums, in digipak version and with the original tracklistings, will be released on December 3rd.

In The Beginning (1976) / Rock and Roll Machine (1977) / Just a Game (1979) / Progressions of Power (1980) / Allied Forces (1981) / Never Surrender (1983) / Thunder Seven (1984) / Stages (Live) (1985) /The Sport of Kings (1986) / Surveillance (1987)

All CDs have been remastered and feature an extensive booklet including lyrics. In addition, Frontiers will issue a very limited collector’s edition Box Set entitled “Diamond Collection” which will include all the 10 albums in vinyl replica, and will feature the artwork from the original vinyl edition of the albums.

While future plans remain uncertain for the band, and after the recent reunion shows, the time to re-live the impressive legacy of their music has come. This new set of reissues is a real present to the Triumph fans, both old and new, who now have the opportunity to own these timeless masterpieces of Classic Rock. Enjoy !


http://www.frontiers.it/ , http://www.triumphmusic.com/

SCHEEPERS Solo Album Update!

From Primal Fear's official site :

"Today, two fantastic lead guitar solos from none other than Victor Smolski arrived in the recording studio for Ralf's solo album - thx Victor, killer job! Achim Koehler has already started to mix the tracks at his Indiscreet Audio Studios in Stuttgart, Germany - more updates on the progress of the music - soon! Don't forget - Primal Fear - Spain Tour - Mid November - check out the dates!"

http://www.primalfear.de/start.html 

APPEARANCE OF NOTHING - ALL GODS ARE GONE

Swiss band Appearance of Nothing was founded 2004 by Pat Gerber (Vocals/Guitar), Yves Lüthi (Drums), Omar Cuna (Bass) and Marc Petralito (Keys). After a short experimental period the band began to write their own songs. Since then Pat and Omar both share the part as lead singers which adds additional variety to the songs.

In 2005 the first self-produced demo Behind Closed Doors was released, which gained a lot of positive reaction, so the band decided, together with their new lead guitarist Peter Berger, to take a big step forward. In 2008 WASTED TIME was released and the band engaged Markus Teske as producer who worked together with famous bands such as "Vanden Plas" and "Symphony X". What we have with this highly acclaimed release is a very symphonic and highly enjoyable sound that brings together the best elements of Dream Theater, Symphony X, Saga and Vanden Plas. Arrangements are grand and lush with powerful keyboard passages and strutting guitars, all backed with a great rhythm section.

In the years 2008/2009 Appearance of Nothing concentrated on playing headliner shows, as well as shows as suporting act of GURD and at the Swiss RAW festival in front of 4000 people on the main stage.

It’s 2010 and Appearance of Nothing have a new recording: All Gods are Gone. The album has a considerably more aggressive and more modern attitude. Not only the sound but also the collaboration with vocalist Dan Swanö (ex Edge of Sanity/Nightingale). The first track Mirrors Eyes is actually a follow up to the song Man in the Mirror from Wasted Time. This is one seriously good recording, although with a more modern approach this new release should see the band attracting new fans as well as keeping their current fan base more than happy.

The album is going to be released, by Escape Music, on 21 January 2011. Produced by Markus Teske, Bazement Studio & Marc Petralito, Mixed & Mastered by Markus Teske.

Russell Allen - Jorn Lande / The Showdown (2010)

Jorn Lande and Russell Allen or Russell Allen and Jorn Lande, if you prefer, whichever the name the order, it does not change the fact that they are two of the strongest voices of the metal community during the last years.

Regarding Jorn Lande, whatever we'd say, it's not enough. He has released almost thirty albums whether these are solos or projects or group works. I would say that most of them are superb. Which should I mention first? "The Duke", "Spirit Black", from his solo career, his debut with Masterplan, ARK, Allen/Lande or his participation in the albums of Tobias Sammet (Avantasia). And, despite the fact that some people may blame him that he tries to sound like David Coverdale and R.J. Dio (R.I.P.), no one can dispute that he is a great talent.

Russell Allen, on the other hand,  is the singer of the progressive metalers Symphony X, whith whom he has released six studio albums and one live. With Symphony X, he tried to get the title of the best progressive power metal group as well as the title of the best progressive album.
We are coming now to Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear, Starbreaker, Kiske/Somerville), who is responsible for this project. This man has the touch of "Midas" as whatever he touches the last years, becomes a success. A fantastic guitarist with a unique talent as a composer, he tried to get together these great two voices and the result was three very good melodic metal albums.

The three of them released two very good albums and we coming, happily, to 2010 with their third chapter called "The Showdown". the truth is that this album is heavier than their first one. But that does not mean that it lacks the elements of their previous releases, i.e. the catchy choruses, the strong melodies and the unique performances of Lande and Allen. in my opinion, the disadvantage of "The Showdown" compared to the fantastic "The Battle" is the lack of  memorable songs that grab you from the first listening. "Bloodlines" is the first song that impressed me from "The Showdown". A mid-tempo tune with a really catchy chorus and nice guitar leads of Magnus Karlsson. Other highlights are "We Will Rise Again", "The Artist" and "Eternity".

I can't say that "The Showdown" impressed me! It's a very good album with some really strong moments and great performances. The fact is that after their huge debut album it's very difficult, in my opinion, to release an album as equal as 'The Battle' was!
HeavyParadise's Rating: 7,5/10

Tracks:

 01. The Showdown (5:56) 02. Judgement Day (5:53) 03. Never Again (4:58) 04. Turn All Into Gold (4:01)05. Bloodlines (5:06) 06. Copernicus (5:02) 07. We Will Rise Again (5:53) 08. The Guardian (4:40) 09. Maya (4:24)10. The Artist (5:10) 11. Eternity (5:35) 12. Alias (4:45) [european bonus track]

New album from Motorhead!

Motorhead's new studio album will be released on December 13th and will be titled "The World Is Yours".
The band's new album was recorded with longtime producer Cameron Webb.

"The World Is Yours" track listing:


01. Born To Lose 02. I Know How To Die 03. Get Back In Line 04. Devils In My Head 05. Rock 'N' Roll Music 06. Waiting For The Snake 07. Brotherhood Of Man 08. Outlaw 09. I Know What You Need 10. Bye Bye Bitch Bye Bye

SWEDISH EROTICA.....THE BAND THE MYTH! THE OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY

The first SWEDISH EROTICA line up of this Glam outfit comprised of guitarist Magnus Axx, bassist Ken Sandin, ex-TNT vocalist Dag Ingebrektsen, ex MADISON guitarist Dan Stomberg and drummer Magnus Nybratt under the monicker of SWEDISH BEAUTY. This incarnation recorded one track for a Norwegian Rock compilation album before Nybratt and Stomberg left. Replacements were found in Anders Allhage (known more commonly as Andy LaRocque and presently a member of KING DIAMOND) and Jamie Borger on drums.

 

SWEDISH BEAUTY folded during 1988, but were resurrected as SWEDISH EROTICA shortly after by Axx and guitarist Morgan Le Fay. The band's first line up included ex MADISON vocalist Goran Edman, but he was soon to leave to join JOHN NORUM and later YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and in came Tony Niva who appears on the first single 'Down Town'. The debut album “Swedish Erotica” entered the Swedish charts in 1989.

For the debut album, the band's line up consisted of vocalist Mats Leven, Axx and Morgan Le Fay on guitars, Johnny D'Fox on bass and ex D.D. BAND drummer BC Strike. Leven was to leave in 1990 for TREAT and ABSTRAKT ALGEBRA. More recently Mats has been working with YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, TALISMAN and SOUTHPAW.

 

Later line-ups of the band included (yet again) bassplayer Ken Sandin (formerly of ALIEN and DA VINCI) and vocalist Anders Möller. BC Strike toured as live drummer for SHOTGUN MESSIAH during their US-tour whilst recordings for the 1995 album 'Blind Man's Justice' were taking place, so Jamie Borger took over the drumstool once more. However, upon the release of the second album Möller's other act, BLACK INGVARS, suddenly scored a major hit record resulting in a national tour, effectively putting SWEDISH EROTICA on ice.

 One thing that always haunted and annoyed the band was the material, the embryo for the second album, that never got released due to their label. They always felt it contained some of their best work. It was a shame to let it go to waste. And this was also something that Magnus, Mats and Morgan discussed from time to time.

In 2005 MTM MUSIC is releasing this album, the 7-track demo with the original line up; Mats Levén on vocals, along with the earlier demo tracks which is now part of Erotica history. Times have changed, people have since then moved on, older (but perhaps not wiser), trends have come and gone and along with the latest metal and glam revival down memory lane and resurrection boulevard this just might fit right in. The album is released in a golden “MTM 10-Years Anniversary Edition”.

swedish erotica discography :

• SWEDISH EROTICA (1989)
• BLINDMAN'S JUSTICE (1995) 
•  TOO DAZE GONE..(2005)

http://www.swedisheroticatheband.com/

 

 

Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the release of JEFF SCOTT SOTO’s double live album “Live at Firefest 2008” on December 3rd 2010.

Firefest has become a pivotal event in the Melodic Rock season in Europe. Born from the ashes of the ‘Gods of AOR’ festival, Firefest started in 2004 and not only did they continue the tradition of Europe’s finest Melodic Rock/AOR festivals, but exceeded all previous expectations.

Not many bands have the chance to play on ‘that’ stage nowadays and when Bruce Mee and Kieran Dargan have realized the demand for particular artists to continuing rounding up annually. Jeff Scott Soto was no stranger to ‘that’ stage. He performed at the Gods festival in 2002 putting up an amazing show that was mirrored with a live CD/DVD. So when the call came to Jeff about the new and continued version of this proven festival, he wasted no time in answering “Of course!”.

But not all good things come easily… “Unfortunately the date clashed with my commitments touring with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in the US for their annual Winter Tour” recalls Jeff. “This meant a week of 12 hour rehearsals in the US, leaving on a Friday to land in London on a Saturday morning, bee-line it up to Nottingham for 4 hours in traffic, meet with the band for 30 minutes, as they were wrapping up the ONLY rehearsal we had prior to the show (the last time we had played together was nearly a year prior!), straight to the venue and onstage within the next hour!”

But once onstage, the warmth of the crowd and the energy transmitted by the electricity of the event was such that Jeff and his band stormed through our 70 minute set like gangbusters! It was the first time the songs from the “Beautiful Mess” album were performed in Europe and the last show the original JSS band featuring Howie Simon on guitar, Dave Dzialak on drums and Gary Schutt on bass played together.

In JSS words: “Here it is in all its glory, a little extra something for you all to help me remember this wonderful night of music and memories”.

Unruly Child / Worlds Collide (2010)

I'm very pleased that one of my all time favorite band is back! "Worlds Collide" is the brand new effort from Unruly Child and it's a very good album. Their first huge self-titled album was and still is one of the best melodic rock albums ever. After this, they released two more albums. Meanwhile they released an effort with some unreleased tracks, with two different singers. Both were good AOR releases but they didn't achieved to create something like their debut.

So, after 18 years, Unruly Child are back and they are showing that the fire is still burning. After a lot of listenings of this album, I'm convinced that "Worlds Collide" is, maybe, one of the best comeback albums during the last years. It combines all the great melodic elements of the past mixed with some more modern AOR elements and the result is this superb album!

"Show Me The Money" is the opener track, an ala "On The Rise" tune, and it shows that the Unruly Child of 2010 are back fullforce and ready to rock! "Insane" is another hard rockin' track with a good guitar work and Free's voice on top form! "When We Were Young" is one of the best tunes from "Worlds Collide". It has an incredible and a catchy as hell chorus line! It's one of these tracks that stick in your mind for days.

"Tell Another Lie" and "Talk To Me" and "You Don't Understand" are all nice mid-tempos/ballads with nice melodies and overall good arrangements. "Life Death" is a moodier hard rockin' tune with some low tuned guitars by Bruce Gowdy and shows the modern side of Unruly Child. A very good track! 'Very First Time" is the first single out of this album and it's a strong melodic rock anthem with a memorable chorus.

All in all this is another high quality melodic rock release that will end up high to my Top 2010's list! A big must have album for every melodic fan!
HeavyParadise's Rating :9/10

Tracks: 1. Show Me The Money 2. Insane 3.When We Were Young 4. Tell Another Lie 5. Love Is Blind 6. When Worlds Collide 7. Talk To Me 8. Life Death 9. Read My Mind 10. Neverland 11. Very First Time 12. You Don't Understand

Heavy Paradise's interview with Johnny Lima!

Johnny Lima is well known as a solo artist. He has released some really strong efforts such as his debut album, "Shine On", "Made In California" and recently the "Livin' Out Loud". Strong hooks, big melodies, very good guitar work and a very charismatic voice are all elements that can describe Lima's music. Below you can read some very interesting things that Johnny Lima told to Heavy Paradise.

-Hello Johnny! Firstly, I would like to thank you for accepting my invitation for this interview. It's great to have artists like you in Heavy Paradise!

Thank you! The pleasure is all mine! I appreciate the support.


-Can you tell me a few things about how you've started?

Well, my parents bought me my first guitar when I was 12. I wanted to do this since I was 4 after seeing Kiss on TV. I just started writing songs as soon as I picked up the guitar. Fast forward a few years, I started singing for a group called Cheshire Cat when I was 19. Then that band evolved into Attitude. It wasn't until I was 25 when I went solo. The rest they say, is history. HAHA!!


-For me, when I hear or read somewhere your name, the first thing that comes in my mind is your second awesome release "Shine On". A great commercial melodic hard rock album and an album that sounds like a 1989 release!. How tough is for an artist to release a good hard rock album in the late 90's or 00's?

Releasing an album is easy. You go into the studio, lay your magic down, and then you press CDs. It's selling them that is the hard part. Although it's much easier to reach a huge amount of people these days thanks to sites like Facebook, Myspace, etc. But it's still extremely hard to sell an album. There's so much music out there for people to choose from.


-I have all your albums and I have to admit that every single release can be rated from very good to excellent! Which of your albums do you like more and why?

I like Made In California and Livin' Out Loud. Mainly because of the songwriting and production. I've grown as a songwriter as well as a producer and it shows in every one of my releases. I think from a songwriting and production standpoint, Livin' Out Loud is my best album. And if my next album doesn't top Livin' Out Loud in my eyes, then it's time for me to quit. As long as I'm progressing as a songwriter and producer, I'll continue to do this.

-As a guitar player and a singer/songwritter, which is more difficult? To write a catchy tune or a riff?

Writing a riff is easy. Writing an entire song could be easy, or it could be a long drawn out process. For me it's both. There's songs that took me less than an hour to write, and then I have songs that took me months. I don't feel like writing is difficult for me though. Coming up with a killer hook is just as natural to me as breathing. Finishing a song is where I run into problems. It's not because it's hard for me, but it's because I'm lazy and easily get sidetracked by other things. HAHAH!


-How do you see the melodic hard rock scene of today?

I think it's fine. Much better than it was in the 90's. However, it's still tough to break into the mainstream. I don't think it's because the style of music. I think it's more because most melodic rock artists don't have a money tree growing in their backyard. It takes lots of money to promote and market an artist. If you have that kind of money, any artist could be huge. Without the money, then the chances of you becoming a huge success is very slim.

-Is there a new melodic band that you've heard recently and impressed you?

My two favorite new bands are The Rasmus and Crashdiet. The Rasmus just blows me away with their songwriting. They've created a great new sound mixing elements of different styles of music. I think "Livin' In A World Without You" is one of the best songs written in the last 10 years. They're very melodic, and I like melody!! Crashdiet's "It's A Miracle" is another one of those songs that really blew my mind. It's nothing really original, but then again, neither is my stuff. Crashdiet puts a new spin on a style of music that I and many others have done for years. But they have a fresh approach and I think that's why so many people love that band, including me. They're this generation's Motley Crue.


-Your recent work "Livin' Out Loud" was an excellent album! But I also have to say that it was a bit heavier than your previous albums. What was the reaction of your fans?

The reaction was fantastic. Both from the fans and the critics. It was definitely a step in the right direction for me. My next album will be a little different. I think with the next one I'm going to bring back more keyboards, but make it even heavier and more melodic. Livin' Out Loud was a straight ahead rock album. Heavily influenced by the styles of AC/DC, Motley Crue, etc. I think I want my next album to be more complex in the production. More complex arrangements, but still have the main ingredients of my sound. So there will still be lots of melody, hooks, and vocals that people have come to expect from my albums.


-With which artists have you shared the stage?

I shared the stage with lots of artists when I performed at the Gods shows in England back in '99 and '00. However, I forget most of them.


-If you had to release an album with covers only, what will they? Which are your influences?

Funny you mention this, as I was having a discussion with some people on my Artist page on Facebook. I was asking them if I were to make a covers album, which songs did they think would be good for it. They gave me a lot of good ideas. Here's just a few that I think would be cool to do:

Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield

If You Could Only See by Tonic


Tough Guys by Reo Speedwagon


I Love Rock 'n Roll by Joan Jett


Lady Strange by Def Leppard
..Just to name a few.

-Tell me what's new in the Johnny Lima camp? Are you recording any new material?

Right now I'm finishing work on Jamie Allen's solo album. Jamie Allen is a singer I met out of Missouri. Great guy and great songwriter. I'm performing on his album as well. I'm doing all the guitars, drums, bass, and keys. As well as the backing vocals. As soon as I'm done with that, I need to prep some of my tracks from Livin' Out Loud because they're going to be released for the ROCKBAND game. And in the near future, I'm going to prep tracks from my other albums as well. For now, it's just going to be tracks from Livin' Out Loud. I'm also going to be working on the new Miss Crazy album but there's no definite date set for that yet. I'm also going to be working on a couple of solo albums. First will possibly be a covers album. Just so I can give some to the fans that will hold them over until I finish a new solo album with original material.


-Any message to your fans?

Thank you very much for all your support. Don't forget to check me out on myspace at www.myspace.com/johnnylima  and come visit my artist page on Facebook. The link is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Johnny-Lima/313910255604 .


-Thax a lot Johnny!

Thank You!