CONTENTS04 First Signal06 Terry Brock07 Terra Nova08 Stan Bush09 Kiske / Somerville preview10 Sister Sin11 Wheels Of Fire12 Reviews15 Joey Summer17 Kickhunter19 Tony Harnell & The Mercury Train20 Yoso22 JornMelodic Rock Fanzine

The official Frontiers Records magazineYear #6 - Nr. 4 / Issue #39

Editor-in-chief: Elio BordiDesign: Elio BordiWriters: Bruce E.J. Atkinson, Fulvio Bordi, DuncanJamieson, Barry McMinn, Vitale Nocerino, Rob “Ezy”Bone, Fabio Mainardi.Headquarters and general contacts:Frontiers Records - Via Gonzaga 1880125, Napoli - ItalyTel: +39.081.2399340/7753Fax: +39.081.2399794E-mail: elio@frontiers.itWebsite: www.frontiers.itMyspace: www.myspace.com/frontiersrecordsEditor and publisher: Frontiers RecordsUS Headquarters: usa.frontiers.itCopyright©2010 Frontiers Records. All rightsreserved. Reproduction in whole or in part

without permission is prohibited.Printed in Italy.

Focus on: FIRST SIGNAL Feat. Harry Hess - First Signal (Frontiers Records)It has been just over a year since our ears have been graced with the final sounds of Harem Scarem. InAugust of this year we’ll be able to hear the ‘post-scarem’ First Signal of lead vocalist Harry Hess! Yes, Mr.Hess has delivered another masterwork, teaming up with, amongst others…Dennis Ward! ‘First Signal’ isthe duo’s debut of what is hoped to be a long string of releases! “This City”—the opening track of thealbum leaves no doubt that the musicians assembled for this luxurious musical expression are at the topof their craft! Partnering with multi-instrumentalist and producer; Dennis Ward has produced a magicalreturn to form. “First Signal” is an elegant and powerful set of aural delights. Both Harry and Dennis soughtout new outlets for their musical expressions and invited a few friends with them. Enlisting such talentedsongwriters as Erik Martensson, Mark Baker, and a host of others, --- combining those Talents with thesegreat players: Chris Schmidt, Michael Klein, Eric Ragno and fellow Harem Scarem vocalist DarrenSmith…they have created a solid, adventuresome melodious musical statement. Dennis Ward also han-dled the production chores, and arrangements…giving Harry amble room to deliver each and every songwith heart felt emotion, drenched in a tuneful rich vocal style.! “First Signal”…a muscular, towering, andexciting collection of musical gems…coming to you loud and clear. Bruce E. J. Atkinson(92/100)

Band: First Signal

Album: First Signal

Interview with: Harry Hess

Interviewed by: Bruce E.J. Atkinson

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Question: Harry, I would liketo begin with a question Iasked of you the last time wetalked, during the release ofHarem Scarem’s last album…at that time I asked in partthat I felt there would besome future collaborations,and lo and behold we haveone… First Signal! Please letus in on how this all started!?Answer: Well, Serafino fromFrontiers called and asked if Iwould be interested in being thevocalist on a project and I washappy to do a rock record again. Q: As one may expect… thereare many similarities withthis current work, and yourwork with Harem Scarem…however there is obviouslymore… much more, pleasetake us through your creativeprocess as it is directed toFirst Signal.A: This was really a simpleprocess for me with regards tomy involvement becauseSerafino compiled the songs andpitched them to me and with theexception of a few I thought theywere great melodic rock songsand something I could do a goodjob singing. After we decided onthe 11 that we both liked Dennisdid all the production work and Ijust sang them the way I thoughtthey worked best with my voice.Q: Again, your label isFrontiers Records… a labelthat is famous for supportingArtists… you must be happywith this fruitful partner-ship…A: Yes, we have done manydeals in the past and for thisstyle of music they are one ofthe best labels out there.Q: In the press release, weread that First Signal is anexciting new Studio Project,however the name is veryinteresting and implies a lot,and secondly the perform-ance on the debut sounds sosolid and cohesive… anychance that you will take thisout on the road?A: I don’t know… It’s very earlyto tell what the reaction is but itwas made for fans of melodicrock so I would assume that peo-ple are gonna enjoy it. I wouldassume that if it becomes a suc-cess we will look at all the possi-bilities.Q: Yourself and Dennis Wardare accomplished producers,and no doubt have otherprojects on the burners…does this hamper your plansfor First Signal’s futureendeavours?A: Not for me, Dennis did themost time consuming work on

the project but singing willalways be a part of my life so Ican see myself doing things likethis in the future.Q: It is also nice to see thatyou are working with DarrenSmith again… so!...d o youtwo have anything up yourcollective sleeves!?A: We’re are not smart enoughto have anything up our selvesexcept Darren has a few tattoosup there…Q: What do you think aboutthe actual melodic rockscene?A: Well I guess it’s a decliningstyle of music were you don’t seea lot of new artists so it’s a lot ofolder musicians doing the samething over and over but hopeful-ly doing a good job of it. It’s anera of musicians that can actual-ly play, which is nice…Q: What advice would youpass onto “young” musi-cians?I never really felt like there wasa specific moment but lookingback I can say that getting arecord deal was obviously a bigstep in the right direction.Before Harem Scarem I startedby playing songs I was writingfor publishers in Toronto andthey hooked me up with talentedwriters so I really worked on thatright from the beginning and ithelp with networking and gettingmusic to the right people.My advice would be to hook upwith talented musicians ( notjust friends ) and really be com-mitted to working hard and writ-ing great songs, without songsthat the world needs to hear itdoesn't matter how fast you canplay or how good you look (unless you're the people in mydream band ).Q: Here there are some gen-eral questions, I’d like tohave your point of viewregarding those matters! :)You surely have a long careerin the music business: do youthink that something haschanged since the beginningin the music universe? Whatin particular?A: Yes, everything is constantlychanging and it's always beenthat way. I believe you alwayshave to evolve and grow to sur-vive in any industry and devel-oping as an artist is no different. Q: What do you enjoy doingin your spare time?A: I have two kids so other thanworking on music I try to spendsome time at home with the fam-ily.Q: You are from Canada, cor-rect? So musically who doyou feel is Canada's greatest

export?A: I'm actually very proud of theimpact Canadian artists havehad on an international level. Forsuch a small population we havehad a lot of big internationalbands and comedians. It's playmusic or freeze! and this makesus funny. Mike Myers, Jim Carey,I rest my case.Q: If you have to make somenames about people to keepan eye and ear on, whatnames would you suggest?I?m asking you this becauseyou are also a well knownproducer? :)A: I wrote some songs on thenew " Die Mannequin " recordand a band to look out for fromCanada is " My Darkest Days " Ico-wrote a song with them called" Every Lie " which was producedby Chad from " Nickleback ".Q: Can you tell us three of thehighest and lowest points sofar in your musical career?A: I always say that this job islike being on a roller coaster, alot of ups and downs and yourass hurts when it's all over.High point: 1. Signing our deal with Warner.2. Sold out tour of Japan.3. Recording in Italy, Belgiumand Indonesia.Low points: There have been somany it not really fair to justpick three, but here goes: 1. Definitely being stuffed intothe back of a van for 18 hours todrive to a gig for 5 people. (Thathappened a lot in the early days) 2. A girl and her friend werestanding beside me once and Ioverheard one of them say "Thatlooks like the singer for HaremScarem" and the other girl said:"NO! the singer for HaremScarem isn't that ugly." 3. Signing our deal with Warner.Q: What do you think aboutinternet and the downloadingof music?A: It’s made it extremely difficultto make a living in the musicbusiness unless you were sellingmillions of records and werealready established but I guess ifyou ask Hannah Montanna andLady Ga Ga how the music biz isthey would say it’s pretty damgood.Q: In closing… it is so good tohear you in such strongvoice, and with a group ofaccomplished musicians /friends! First Signal bringsus some very ‘heady’ musicalexpressions… THANK-YOU!!...and here’s hoping we canhear more!A: Anytime!!!!! Thank you…

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Band: Terry Brock

Album: Diamond Blue

Interview with: Terry Brock

Interviewed by: Fabio Mainardi

Focus on: TERRY BROCK - Diamond Blue (Front iers Records)Terry Brock’s musical career started back in the 80’ as a background vocalist on Kansas album"Drastic Measures" and then joining the british Melodic Rock band Strangeways, but he is bestknown as current vocalist in Giant. Now he presents us his solo effort “Diamond Blue”, pro-duced with the collaboration of guitarist / producer / songwriter Mike Slamer, they alreadyteamed up in Seventh Key and on the Slamer album “Nowhere Land”. “Diamond Blue” showsup all the energy and capability of this amazing artist both as a singer and as a writer. We caneasily consider this work as a master piece in AOR, from the roaring opening track through-out all the following tunes, Terry’s melodic vein combined with the exciting Mike Slamer gui-tar parts presents us a well crafted Rock album with many brilliant episodes to be remem-bered and to be sung along soon after. Blistering solos, epic choirs and catchy melodies allrounded up with Terry unmistakable voice, a must have for all the Melodic Rock fans out there.Take also note that Terry is in the process of recording of the highly anticipated Strangewaysreunion CD to be released this fall still on Frontiers. Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (90/100)

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Question: You released"Diamond Blue". Tell me a littlebit about the recording of thisalbum?Answer: Mike and I recorded the CDat his home studio over an extendedperid of time. I also did some back-ing vox in Panama City Beach,and atBilly Greer's studio in Jacksonville.We had a blast,but it took quite along time...Q: What represent for you analbum as this one?A: This album is the CD that I havealways dreamed of making,but neverthought that I could. That is a directresult of Mike's knowledge,hardwork,and guidance...Q: How long did it take to record'Diamond Blue'? A: Forever... hahahahaQ: Was it hard to choose thesongs for the album?A: Not really... Serafino, Mike and Iwere in agreement from the begin-ning on the direction, which made iteasier...Q: How has your approach to

writing, recording and touringchanged over the years?A: I just keep trying to learn, growas a writer and artist and musician,and work at my craft evry day...Q: What's the one track thatyou're the most proud of?A: I am proud of them all, but "TheRain", "No More Mister Nice Guy"and "Diamond Blue" are favorites.Q: You've had band experiences,but you also work as solo artist.Do you prefer going solo?A: Not necessarily. I actually reallyenjoy the experience of swappingideas and creating music with oth-ers.Q: Could you tell me about yourexperience with Strangeways?A: It was a great period of my life. Ilearned SO much about writing andrecording and experiancing differentcultures. I am blessed to have beenin that band... and...Q: Any plans to rejoinStrangeways?A: YES !!!! I already have. We areworking on a new CD right now.

Q: What's your best memoryabout your experience withStrangeways?A: Making such great records, andplaying in so many cool places...Q: What's your opinion aboutyour work with Giant?A: I am also very proud of the newGIANT CD... Working with John,Mike, David, and Dann was a reallyrewarding experience for me, as Isaid in the liner notes... Those guysare REAL pros, and I'd love to do itagain...Q: What you remember aboutyour experience with Kansas? A: I was very young, and was learn-ing how to handle being a professinalfrom the best possible teachers... itwas amazing..Q: Are you happy with all thesuccess you've had and whatelse would you like to accom-plish?A: I would love to tour more,but Iam generally VERY happy with mysuccess up to this point. I'm a luckyman...

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Band: Terra Nova

Album: Come Alive

Interview with: Fred Hendrix

Interviewed by: Marco Spaeth

Question: The promo sheet says thatyou entered the studio in 2008 torecord “Come Alive”. Now we havemid 2010. Did you really work thatlong on the new album?Answer: Well we did start in 2008 withthe album. I had a lot of bad luck in mystudio with equipment failing so I movedto the Art Sound Studio in Belgium andhad Jean-Pierre Kerkhofs mix the album.The writing, recording, mixing and ofcourse a lot of experimenting took abouta year and a half. After that Frontiers tookabout a half year or so to plan the besttime for release. Good work takes time!Besides I don’t like to rush things anyway.Q: Did you write the new materialbefore you entered the studio or didyou write any songs during therecordings?A: I always write my stuff before I entera studio. The arrangements we do duringthe recording sessions. A lot of good turnsup during recording and experimentingbut I know the big picture of each songbefore we start recording.Q: “Come Alive” features the sameline-up as your debut album “Livin’ It

Up” in 1996. Why did you put theoriginal line-up together again?A: Well simply because it felt goo and allthe guys were enthusiastic about it. Wehad big magic back then so I hope wehave the same result now once more!Q: Was the chemistry right backwhen the original line-up wastogether again or did it take sometime?A: That’s the great thing about TerraNova. We all like the same things / musi-cally so getting back together is veryeasy. It takes a just a few minutes andthe right vibe is back again. That’s whyit’s a joy to work with these guys!Q: Were there any hard feelingsbetween the original members thatyou had to settle before workingtogether again?A: No, I’m happy to say there wereabsolutely no hard feelings after all wesee each other every once and a while, inspite of our own projects.Q: How would you describe the styleof “Come Alive” compared with yourprevious albums? Would you call itthe album “that you should have

recorded after “Livin’ It Up”?A: For me it was important to make thebest Terra Nova album ever. It wanted tocreate a cross-over between the firstTerra Nova albums and a little flavour ofmodern style rock. Could this one havebeen released after the first album, Ithink it be very possible.Q: Did Fred’s experiences with theTWO OF A KIND album influence thewriting or recording for the newTERRA NOVA album in any way?A: No, in no way. T.O.A.K. was a total dif-ferent project and music but also veryenjoyable to work on.Q: What are your three favouritesongs on the new record and whatmakes them special to you?A: First one is “Fighting Yourself” which isabout having faith in yourself, daring togo your own way, to stand up for one self.It’s dog eat dog world, so if you don’t biteyou will get bitten! Second is “Holy Grail”which is just a great Pop/Rock track andit’s a little different than we used to do.And the third is “Under Pressure” which isa simple love song but in the real TerraNova tradition of writing and arranging.

I guess that most of you, readers, know this band, right? TERRA NOVA, built around the twoHendrix brothers (Fred on vocals and Ron on keyboards), debuted in 1996 with the amazing album“Livin’ It Up”, followed by the successful “Break Away”. Their style, a classic Melodic Rock/AORenriched by some Pomp arrangements and powerful guitar parts, appealed especially the Japanesefans, that led the group to a major tour of the Far East in 1998. Unfortunately after a slightly weak-er third album, the band split up, just to come back together some years later. And here we havethem again, ready and willing, with “Come Alive”, the band’s 5th studio-album and their first full-length release over the last five years. The sound, obviously, hasn’t changed thru the years, andthe first notes of the title-track immediately show us a solid and clever songwriting, with some awe-some vocals and a very good production. Journey, Foreigner, Signal, House Of Lords and Ten cometo my mind, here and there, during the play of this Cd, yet Terra Nova have their own sound. Veryrecommended if you like Classic Melodic Rock keyboards-oriented! Primo Bonali (90/100)

Focus on: TERRA NOVA - Come Al ive (Front iers Records)

Band: Stan BushAlbum: Dream The DreamInterview with: Stan BushInterviewed by: F. Mainardi

Focus on: STAN BUSH - Dream The Dream (Front iers Records)After almost one year and a half of hard work we can now grab and listen the new Stan Bush 11thstudio album, “Dream the Dream”. Produced with the long time friend and guitarist Holger Fath,“Dream the Dream” contains another cool collection of melodic rock gems penned by Stan andHolger and a bunch of big names in the music industry such as Bobby Barth (Axe, Blackfoot), CurtCuomo (KISS, Eddie Money), Ed Tree and Lenny Macaluso. Previous collaborations with stellarartists likes the ones as Alice Cooper Ron Nevison, Giorgio Moroder, Mick Jones, Desmond Child,Peter Frampton, Paul Stanley and Jim Vallance, just to name a few have built up in Stan a selfconsciousness and a great capability to generate amazing powerful melodies and big guitars riffwith punching drums and groovy bass lines in the back, performed by Matt Laug (currently oneof the best rock drummers in the L.A. area) and Matt Bissonette (David Lee Roth, Rick Springfield).Out of the 11 new songs the opening track “Never Hold Back“, “Two Hearts”, and “More Than aMiracle” have a dynamic and cinematic feel that will launch them atop the charts without anydoubts, but “Dream of the Dream” shows off also some romantic and love ballads like the titletrack and “I'm still here” that will make you really dream of...Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (89/100)

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Question: What can you tellme about the making of“Dream the Dream”?Answer: We worked on the newalbum for a year and a half, andI’m very happy with it. The lastalbum, “In This Life” got greatreviews and though we had towork really hard, I think we’vegot ourselves another amazingalbum. Holger and I worked onbuilding up the songs in hishome studio with vocals, guitars,and keyboards, and laterbrought the tracks to a big stu-dio to overdub the final bass anddrums. After some final tweak-ing we mixed there as well.Q: You wrote with a lot ofvery talented artists andmusicians, who’s yourfavourite?A: Probably my favorite song-writer I ever worked with isJonathan Cain from Journey. Wewrote together after Journeybroke up and we discussed start-ing a band together.Q: You are an Emmy awardwinner, what this represent-ed for you and how didchange your career?

A: Winning the Emmy Award forsong of the year for televisionwas amazing! It added credibili-ty to me as a songwriter and anartist. It was big accomplish-ment and something to be proudof.Q: Most of your songs have acool dynamic and cinematicfeel, is that a natural charac-teristic of your way to writetunes or in some way you gotechnically for it?A: Thanks for the kind words. Itry songs that have an interest-ing melodic twist, and especiallylike a big dramatic chorus. Theanthemic style of the eightieskind of stuck with me I guess.For me, a songs works best whenthe melody sticks with you.Q: Do you normally first laydown the basic lines of yoursongs or do you start formthe text?A: I geherally start with thechords and melody, and thelyrics come later. Once I have achorus melody, I think a title andwork backwards. Once I havethe chorus nailed, the verse lyriccomes together easily.

Q: Together with your longtime friend Holger Fath, yougot to have two amazingmusicians on the rhythm sec-tion, Matt Bissonette on bassand Matt Laug on drums.Could you tell us somethingabout their contribution tothe album?A: Holger Fath did an amazingjob with the song arrangementsas well as guitars, keys, etc...He had the rough bass and drumtracks first while we built up thesongs, and then we brought inMatt Bissonette and Matt Laug tolay down the final bass anddrums. They did a great job!Q: You performed really greatconcerts in Europe in thepast. Have you any definedplan to Tour Europe in thecoming months? A: Nothing definite at this point,but I would love to perform thereagain. Possibly another festivallike the one in '07 in Germany. Ireally appreciate the fan supportand for information, tours, etc.,they can check outstanbush.com.

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The collaboration between vocalistMichael Kiske (Helloween, PlaceVendome) and American singerAmanda Somerville is one of thehighlights of the season in Rockmusic. The two singers were put togetherthanks to the input of FrontiersRecords President SerafinoPerugino. ”I did a duet with afemale singer on 'Breathing Water'by Indigo Dying”, explains Kiske.“It was so nice that he offered mea chance to make an album of allduet songs with a famous femalesinger."This exciting album sees MatSinner (Primal Fear, Sinner) andMagnus Karlsson (Starbreaker,Primal Fear) handling most of thesongwriting (with contributionsfrom Sander Gommans formerly ofAfter Forever and AmandaSormeville herself), with Sinneroverseeing the production & mix atvarious recording studios inEurope.Amanda Somerville is theAmerican singer-songwriter andvocal coach who was tapped to

replace EPICA vocalist SimoneSimons on the band's NorthAmerican tour with SYMPHONY Xdue to Simons' health issues.Amanda was also featured onKAMELOT's latest release, "GhostOpera", and recently toured withAVANTASIA. She last year releasedher long-awaited solo album,"Windows". A Michigan native,Amanda has resided and workedmainly in Germany and theNetherlands since 1999. She hascollaborated with several otherbands in the metal scene alongwith producers Sascha Paeth andMiro, and co-wrote the rock opera"Aina". Two videoclips were filmed for thesongs "Silence" and "If I Had AWish" in Nurnberg, Germany.Joining Kiske and Somerville forthe shoot were bassist and maincomposer Mat Sinner, guitaristSander Gommans (AfterForever), drummer Rami Ali andkeyboardist Jimmy Kresic(Voodoo Circle). The clips weredirected by Martin Mueller of RCNTV, who previously helmed the

videoclip production for Unheilig,Subway To Sally, Helloween,U.D.O. and Gotthard etc.The single, "Silence", will precedethe release of the full-length CD onAugust 20th.Musicians:Michael Kiske - VocalsAmanda Somerville - VocalsMat Sinner - Bass & BackingVocalsMagnus Karlsson - Lead Guitar,Guitar, KeyboardsSander Gommans - AdditionalLead GuitarMartin Schmidt / Ramy Ali -DrumsJimmy Kresic - Keyboards.Tracklisting: Nothing Left To Say;Silence; If I Had A Wish; One NightBurning; Arise; End Of The Road;Don't Walk Away; A ThousandSuns; Rain; Devil In Her Heart;Second Chance; Set A Fire (*Bonus track)DVD: Silence (videoclip); If I HadA Wish (videoclip), The Making ofKiske / Somerville.

Question: Firstly let me say whata wonderful album True Sound ofthe Underground is. Answer: Thank you!Q: How long did the album taketo put together?A: The writing process took about 3months for this one and about thesame to record the whole thing. Wehad a lot of days off though duringthe weekends and such it was prob-ably only 6-7 weeks of actual record-ing.Q: Who writes the songs for theband is it a joint effort or it oneindividual?A: Its me (Dave) and Jimmy whowrites all lyrics and music. We putdown all tracks in our portable studioand introduce them to the rest of theband afterwards.Q: How would you compare thisalbum to “SwitchbladeSerenades”?A: It definetly has a more Metaledge, more consistant and just bet-ter. Some tracks on "Switchblade"felt a little too soft and lacked theaggression you want when perform-ing them, so we tried to avoid on thisnew one and make 11 kickass songs

through and through.Q: How has the band evolvedover the years, has your soundchanged?A: Our sound hasn’t actuallychanged that much over the years, Ithink its important to keep somekind of consistency and red linethrough each album. We havedefinetly evolved to a tighter unitand sharpened the sound over theyears since we played together for solong and done so many toursQ: The band have had some pret-ty high profile support slots overthe last couple of years but willyou be doing a headline tour ofyour own soon?A: I hope so but doing these supporttours with bigger bands get usexposed to a lot more people andeven to those who may not be yourusual Sister Sin fan, which is a greatway to expand our fanbase and agreat promotion tool as well. Ofcourse we hope to do a headliningtour for ourselves in a near future, sofar it has only been for randomclubgigs. Q: As a female fronted band inmale dominated genre do the

band feel any extra pressurewhen it comes to studio or liveperformances?A: No not really, Liv has more ballsthan most male singers out there!Ha,ha.Q: Does the band have a vision ofwhere you would like to be in 5years time?A: Doing headline tours at 1000 peo-ple capacaity venues would be sweetand affording to have a real tourbus.We have never had the goal to be ahuge arena band or anything so wewould definetly settle with thatQ: What does the future hold forSister Sin anything we shouldnote down in our diaries?A: Yeah we´re touring U.S until endof October, first with MSG and LynchMob and onto a couple of dates withBlack Label Society, Clutch andChildren of Bodom followed by a TBAtour. Also making plans for a 5 weekEurope run from November tilDecember... Keep checking in atwww.myspace.com / sisterssin oncein awhile for tourdates. Buy ouralbum when it´s out on the 23rdJuly, it kicks ass and you wont bedisappointed!

Focus on: SISTER SIN – Sound Of The Underground (Metal Heaven)

Band: Sister SinAlbum: Sound Of The UndergroundInterview with: DaveInterviewed by: Barry McMinn

My first taste of female fronted metallers Sister Sin was when the band were the sup-port for W.A.S.P. in April 2007 and live the really impressed. They then got me real-ly hooked with the album ‘Switchblade Serenades, which was released the followingyear, so I was really looking forward to the new album ‘Sound Of The Underground’.The band have really upped their game with this new release, this is great Heavy Metalfull stop. The album is dominated by the excellent vocals of Liv who delivers the goodstrack after track and with Jimmy firing out the licks like a machine gun, this is a albumfor fans of pure bred metal. Tracks of note have to be the opener ‘Sound Of TheUnderground’, the anthemic ‘Outrage’ and the old school metal of ‘24/7’. Like I saidbefore this band can stand up against any of the more established metal bands aroundand as I witnessed they not only deliver the goods in the studio, but they can also doit live. Definitely one to watch out for. Barry McMinn (85/100)10 | MRF

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Question: First let’s establishjust who is “Wheels Of Fire”…is it just you, or a band, duoor….A: In the beginning the name forthis project was “Dave Rox”, but inaccordance with Gregor Klee atAvenue of Allies we decided tochoose a more agreeable and sell-able moniker for the band. SoDave Rox turned into Wheels OfFire. Although it all started frommy head and my heart, Wheels OfFire is a real band. Davide “DaveRox” Barbieri, on vocals, StefanoZeni on guitars, Marcello Suzzanion bass, Fabrizio Uccellini ondrums and Andrea Vergori on key-boards.Q: Teaming up with MicheleLuppi must be most satisfyingfor you…how did this relation-ship begin? A: I met Michele in 2004. He wasmy vocal coach at that time. Iremember that during a lesson heheard some demos of mine and heoffered his help to record analbum. His great experience madethe difference in the arrangement

of the songs. You can also hearhim playing grand piano on a cou-ple of songs and bass on“Hollywood Rocks” and “You’re SoCool” and singing backgroundvocals.Q: I realise that you started inLos Angeles, are you stillthere, and what are yourthoughts on the city’s currentmusic scene?A: I guess there must have been amisunderstanding Bruce. I havealways lived in Italy and Italy iswhere I started. The first time Iwent to L.A. was in 2005, and itwas really incredible, a dreamcome true. I remember that walk-ing down the sunset strip, I feltjust like I was hypnotized, I lookedall around me trying to imaginehow it could have been in its glorydays. I spent 15 minutes in frontof the Whisky-A-Go-Go just look-ing at it. Creepy!Q: Tell us some of your influ-ences and musical heroes…A: I grew up listening to AOR &Melodic Rock from the 80’s. So myinfluence are bands such as Bon

Jovi, White Lion, Europe, DangerDanger, Winger and so on.Q: Let’s talk about your newalbum… ”Hollywood Rocks”… Iunderstand you have collabo-rated with Mr. Luppi…and itsounds like a very successfulpartnering…A: Michele did an amazing work,and his contribution in this projecthas been really significant.Through these years spent onworking on the album, we havedeveloped a great understanding,I trust him and he trusts me. Ithink this is very important espe-cially in a working relationship. Iexpect great things from our col-laboration in the future.Q: Now, where do you want togo from here?A: I consider “Hollywood Rocks” astarting point, that’s why we arealready working on new songs, soyou won’t have to wait so long forthe second act! Plus we are plan-ning some live shows starting inSeptember and we hope to havethe opportunity to play abroadvery soon.

Band: Wheels Of FireAlbum: Hollywood RocksInterview with: Davide BarbieriInterviewed by: B. Atkinson

Focus on: WHEELS OF FIRE – Hol lywood Rocks (Avenue Of Al l ies)Wheels Of Fire are actually a showcase for vocalist Davide Barbieri—possibly bet-ter known as Keyboardist Dave Rox… whom kicked around the L.A. music scenefor years before settling in to singing. Teaming up with ex-Vision Divine’s MicheleLuppi. Davide has produced a very up-tempo melodic collection of Rock/PowerAOR. We start off with the high energy title cut “Hollywood Rocks” and reallydon’t get off the energy scale until the very end of the album. A very richly tex-tured voice, Davide matches with equally rich and layered music compositions.Even his ballads can be epic in proportion. Hopefully the musicians that Davidehas assembled here, will be with him for the long haul…Stefan Zeni on guitars…Andrea Zingrillo on drums and bassist Roberto Galli… as together, they create anexhilarating sound! “Hollywood Rocks” brings back the singer in AOR, you won’tbe sorry when you pick this one up! Bruce E.J. Atkinson (80/10)

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V.A. - Power Ballads Compilation Vol. 1 (Frontiers Records)This is really an amazing idea! This is what we need to enjoy our summer! PowerBallads Compilation is the first volume of the Frontiers Records ballads collection. Onthis album you can find the most intense and beautiful power ballads songs releaseddurig these years by Frontiers Records. How can you resist if you have the possibilityto listen to, on the same album, songs like “After All These Years” by Journey, “MasterOf Sorrow” by Allen / Lande, “Can’t Let Go” (Giant), “My Guardian Angel” (PlaceVendome), “Comes Down Like” Rain (W.E.T.), “Holding On” by Jeff Scott Soto,“Interrupted Melody” (Pride Of Lions), “Sweet September” (House Of Lords), “On A DayLike Today” (Winger), “Imperfection” (Glenn Hughes) and many more from the incred-ible Frontiers Records rooster? If you are searching for the soundtrack of your summer,this is the album you need! Vitale NocerinoANGELINE - Addicted To Metal (Avenue Of Allies)This Swedish outfit have been playing since the 80s, but tragedy and bad luck have meant thatthis is their first full album. With very little expectation, I was pleasantly surprised as this is agreat, modern sounding record with twelve consistently good songs. ‘Pray’, ‘Another Night’ and‘Confessions’ are humongous melodic rock tracks, so similar to Harem Scarem that I had to checkI had the right CD in the player the first time I heard it. They’re no one trick pony though astracks like ’Fuel To Your Fire’ and ‘Love And Affection’ possess a groove Glen Hughes or Jeff ScottSotto would be proud of. The riffs have modern crunch without forsaking melody. Jocke Nilssonwraps his tuneful tonsils round some memorable hooks. The mid album one, two punch of‘Blackout’ and ‘Good Is Getting Better’ is terrifically upbeat and ‘Someday, Somehow’ has beengoing round my head for days. Bands like Angeline are helping to breathe new life into the melod-ic rock genre on a record that furthers Avenues Of Allies growing reputation for promoting newquality AOR. Duncan Jamieson (90/100)BREED 77 - Insects (EarMusic)Hailing from Gibraltar, the band Breed 77 was formed in London, which has remained their baseever since, and from which they have travelled all over the planet touring their 4 albums – includ-ing appearances at prestigeous european festivals such as Download, Rock Am Ring and Wackenand have shared the stage with everyone from Metallica and Megadeth to Black Sabbath and TheMelvins. Mixing their native mediterranean influences with contemporary rock and metal, in acombination of English and Spanish, Breed 77 have come up with an exciting fusion that makesthe band really interesting the rock and metal scene. Insects probably is the best album the bandhas ever made; songs like the perfect opener “Wake Up”, the title track “Insects”, along with “TheBattle Of Hatin” and “Wake Up” can easly show how this band is amazing. The quality sound isreally good too, the album is mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound Studios and co-producedby Guillermo `Will` Maya... so buy this album and see them live! Vitale Nocerino (88/100)RANSOM - Better Days (Yesterock)Some of you might remember the band called Ransom (put together by professionalproducer/songwriter/musician Don Cromwell and long-time Eddie Money guitarist, Tommy Girvin),that released, during 1997, on MTM label, a great debut-album called “Trouble In Paradise”, thatreceived some nice feedbacks from both, international press and fans. After 13 years Cromwelland Girvin return with a new record strongly influenced by the 80’s, that continues somehow thesound of the debut. That said, this is not a “classic” Melodic Rock or AOR album; the Cd openerand title-track is an energetic tune with a classic King’s X-feel, the following “Stay With Me Tonight”an acoustic and “rural” song, “Learn To Be Alone” a nice ballad that recalled me Bryan Adams,while “Heaven Knows” is a Pop-driven song that will definitely make sing a lot of people! More Rockthan Hard Rock or AOR, “Better Days” is a Cd worth to be checked out if you want a good sou!ndtrack to share with friends and family during this hot summer. Primo Bonali (83/100)WILD SIDE - Speed Devil (Escape Music)“Speed Devil”, the second effort of Norway’s Wild Side… and their first on an International level, has aninteresting vibe to it. First — Wild Side have filled out their sound and membership. Now sporting a twinguitar stance along with a brand new vocalist, this quintet are serious about their hard rock sound.Some very tasteful and unique guitar runs coupled with vocals that have to be heard to be believed,“Speed Devil” is full of surprises. Joachim Berntsen has a range and texture that will amaze. Wild Sidemay be young, but show a combined musical maturity that is beyond their years. They are tough sound-ing, yet melodic… heavy yet emotive and each member plays like there is no tomorrow! Another amaz-ing thing: two of the members produced this effort, Drummer Ronni Arntzen, and Guitarist Tom Grana…what an excellent job! Escape Music obviously has seen and heard the grand potential of these fiveyoung Norwegians… now it is our turn. Ante up to eleven tracks of hard rock heaven in “Speed Devil”— an exceptional effort from the Wild Side. Bruce E.J. Atkinson (85/100)HOLY WATER - The Collected Sessions (Perris Records)Holy Water is the band compsed by members of Doro Pesch (Warlock), Quite Riot,Widowmaker, Saraya, Prong and Foreigner: David Knight (vocals), Thomas Jude (guitars),Freddy Villano (bass) and Tony Galteri (drums). Back in 1989 Al Greenwood (Spys, Foreigner)discovered this band and recorded some songs with them that never ended on any albumuntil now. Composed by nine songs, it opens with The Green Machine Sessions, three-songset featuring the brilliantly amazing super AOR single "I'm Not Worried Anymore”. The fourthtrack is the Grand Slam Session “Once Is Not Enogh”, followed by the classic “If I Knew Then”,recorded in 1989 at NYC's infamous Studio 1212. The Mask Sessions presents the cover song“Crocodile Rock” and as for the two new songs, we have the Stevie Wonder cover "Living ForThe City" and "All I Need" (they are under the name “The Perris Sessions”). If you are amelodic rock fan this is for sure your next must-buy! Vitale Nocerino (89/100)

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STATE COWS - State Cows (Avenue Of Allies)The name aside State Cows is the brainchild of Daniel Andersson and Stefan Olofsson, two guys fromUmeå Sweden, a town that is apparently home to many West Coast devotees and this is brought forwardin this self titled debut album. This album is the one for all those sunny summer days, with the car topdown and the radio blasting out your favourite tunes, you know the type of thing, just look at the coverartwork, even the cows have their shades on! With that whole West Coast relaxed sound you know whatto expect, stunning guitars and great mellow vocals and this one has all that, it even has a horn sectionthat really catches the vibe of that 80’s West Coast sound. Standout tracks include ‘New York Town’, fea-turing guest guitarist the Grammy award winning Jay Graydon, the guy that probably started to wholeWest Coast movement, the stunning ‘Mystery Jane’, which includes some great horns and keyboards, andthe groove filled ‘Painting A Picture’.There is a niche market for this style of rock music and a revival inparts on this album is sure to waves amongst the devotees of this style of music, and with Grayson inthe mix this will also help the album reach a wider market place. Barry McMinn (75/100)H.E.A.T. - Freedom Rock (EarMusic)The brightest hope of Melodic Rock (that's what the specialists have been saying about the swedish sex-tet in the past couple of years) is back with their second album "Freedom Rock" which gets finally thewell deserved hance of a wider distribution all over Europe. This time the band decided to go for a slightheavier and more guitar oriented approach, but no worries the melodies, hooks and good time feelingis still all over the record. Similarly to their compatriots Treat, H.E.A.T. deliver the goods in every songof the album, thus making "Freedom Rock" a really cool release, particularly in songs like "Black Night",which sees the German Metal star Tobias Sammett appearing, sharing lead vocals with Kenny Leckremo,"Everybody Wants to Be Someone", a song closer to the first album stylewise, "Nobody Loves You (LikeI Do)" and the big ballad "Shelter". Still every track on offer is a clear winner and only if one really wish-es to be hyper-critic, could wish for a little more variety in the songwriting. But it's just the second albumand the guys have still room to improve. A really good one! Mario de Riso (90/100)JANE BOGAERT – 5th Dimension (Yesterock)Playing an active and relevant role in the music scene as back-up vocalist for artists like A-Ha, Thin Lizzy, Al Jarreau and Al Bano (!), Jane Bogaert releases now her solo debut-album,a very strong Work clearly influenced by the classic ‘80s Melodic Rock/AOR sound, with obvi-ous comparisons to acts like Femme Fatale, Witness and Heart, and female-vocalists suchas Robin Beck, Saraya and Pat Benatar. From a personal point of view, I love this kind ofsound coupled with a passionate and strong female voice, which is fully the case here. Addto this a couple of “stellar” guests as Jeff Scott Soto (who’s singing a duet on the sweet “Stillthere for you”) and Joe Lynn Turner (on the rockin’ “Give It Up”), and what you have is anun-missable album! Highlights of the album are “ “Still There For Me”, “Give It Up”, the bal-lad “Crazy”, “The Lady Needs An Upgrade” and “Open Your Heart” The perfect Cd for thesummer. In one word: gorgeous. Primo Bonali (90/100)THIRD EYE – Recipe For Disaster (Escape Music)Based on a (real?) story of a man diagnosed with the “Attention Deficit Hyper-Activity Disorder” and“Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”, this very unique concept-album reflects musically the lyrical theme;so what you have here is, obviously, not an easy-listening or a traditional Melodic Rock album; on theopposite, the sound goes from the technical Progressive Metal a la Dream Theater and Pain Of Salvationto the powerful US Metal a la Iced Earth, passing thru a lot of tempo-changes and some aggressivemoments (where the story tells the madness of the main character). In the clean parts, the vocals arevery strong and powerful, with a good use of the vibrato (Dickinson docet), and somehow - in certainpassages - the vocalist might also recall the unforgettable Midnight (R.I.P.) of Crimson Glory fame. Theguitars lines are intricate and sharp like razors, the arrangements clever and accurate. All in all, a goodalbum, yet obviously not for any of you, readers. But if you want to invest time on this, you’ll come outwith an hidden treasure. Primo Bonali (83/100)FRANCIS ROSSI – One Step At A Time (EarMusic)Francis Rossi is 50% of Status Quo, the legendary British Boogie Rock band: a very recognizablevoice and widely known artist which has had a career going on for the last 40 years or so. "One Stepat a Time" is Rossi's second solo album and it is not at all very far away from what you would expectfrom him, offering just extravaganza in slightly different styles, particularly with some more bluesy("If You Believe"), ballad (the title track) and pop-rock number. Other than that, this is exactly whatyou would expect to hear from him and this is no surprise since those songs have been originallywritten for Quo and for one reason or another never finished on an album. There is also a new ver-sion of Quo's old hit "Caroline" which is now dressed as a groovy shuffle with the famous riff quot-ed in the outro. Anyway the vibe is very good time oriented and this is the kind of record that youcan play in the background of a nice party, particulary if the guests are in their late 30's and 40's.No surprises here, but just nice songs and rock 'n roll. Mario de Riso (75/100)8 POINT ROSE – Primigenia (Escape Music)Heavier than Third Eye, more progressive than Third Eye and infinitely more classy than Third Eye. If youare going to spend some money on a metal release, make it this one. Swedish metallers 8 Point Rose havea really big sounding record here – with riffs, beats and progressive twists throughout. This is a seriouslyheavy record, yet the vocals remain ever likable. Marcus Nygren has a pleasant tone – when screaming ordiving into the darker, lower notes. It makes all the difference. The band has toured a bit and it shows in thecohesive nature of the songs here. You can tell if a band has gelled, even in the studio. For a metal album,the songs here are relatively short. All around the 5 minute mark and the guys haven't forgotten choruses– take a listen to the metal anthem When Chaos Rules Our Lives. A heavier and less progressive DreamTheater might be one description, but the guys have their own sound. Like I said – seriously heavy in places,but equally melodic in other areas.A solid debut – unlike that of Third Eye. These guys will definitely be backfor more and I'll look out for that. Andrew McNeice - Melodicrock.com (84/100)

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Question: You’ve got the mostAOR sounding name of all time.Is it your real name? Answer: Hello. Thank you! I reallyappreciate it. No, unfortunately it isnot my real name. I am of Greekdescent, which you will notice whenI tell you that my last name isPolycarpo. My first name is Joel.And by the way, I am a big fan ofBilly Joel, just like my mother usedto be. Probably that's the reason formy first name... haha. But my"nickname" comes from the schooldays. I got this nickname for beinga big fan of the Marvel comics char-acter "Scott Summers" (Cyclops).Also, it was kind of a joke of my col-leagues because of my eyeglasses,(I’m wearing eyeglasses since I’m 6years old.) Later I started using"Summers" and so, Joey Summer.Someone suggested that Joeysounded better and more directthan Joel. So, I adopted this nick-name. I don't think that I could useJoel Polycarpo anyway. Sounds likea bishop, perhaps an actor, butdefinetely not a Rocker! haha

Q: This is your first Englishspeaking album; your debut wasin Portuguese. Why the change? A: Well, I always sang in Englishsince I started out singing and play-ing in my first bands still as ateenager. You are correct, my firstsolo album, "Nascer", hasPortuguese lyrics. But singing inPortuguese, I certainly would nothave a huge exposure like I'mexperiencing with this album,"Written On The Horizon". Q: It’s a good album full ofmusic that reminds you of AOR’sheyday back in the eighties.What is it that appeals to youabout this kind of music? A: Thanks for your kind wordsregarding my album! I love thiskind of music. I was sad when in themiddle of 90s this magic soundseemed to be lost forever in themiddle of the "grunge" movement(turbulence). But bands likeWhitesnake, Uriah Heep, Eagles,Chicago, Journey, seemed to defythe test of time and the musicaltrends. This inspired me to keep

writing songs and waiting for theright time to release them. I thinkthat we are living in a great time forHard Rock/Metal and good vibra-tions comes from Europe to theworld! I'm glad, because I couldn'tbe happy doing a different kind ofmusic, I really love what I'm doingnow. Q: Which tracks do you thinkbest represent your music? A: I think the whole album repre-sents very well who I am, what Iwant and what I believe in. Eventhe cover artwork which was mychoise because it really touchedme! But I can highlight the onesthat move me the most for specialreasons. I really love to sing/play"Anymore", "Rise Up", "Written OnThe Horizon" and "Lorea". I will lis-ten to these songs forever with ahuge pride! Q: What’s next? Is there anychance of you coming toEurope? A: Well, I hope to present the newalbum, "WOTH" as much as I canlive on the stage.

Like Aura, N.O.W and Higher Dreams, Joey Summer is a new name to add to the list of greatAOR coming out of Brazil. This is his second record, but his first in English. The rocking ‘RiseUp’ and Michael Bormann penned ‘Anymore’ kick off the record in the bombastic style of oldJaded Heart. Much of the album relies on mid-paced tracks with lavish choruses and a bigkeyboard sound that reminds you of Drive She Said on ‘Lorea’ and the best track ‘Don’tBelieve’, a co-write with Goran Edman. There’s a Toto feel to soppy ballad ‘It’s Only Love’ and‘Tables Turning’ is a good Alliance type rocker. Kee Marcello wrote the closing track ‘Rough RideTo Paradise’ and it would’ve fitted perfectly on an old Europe album. Summer adds some tastyold school soloing throughout and his emotive voice is ideal for this genre, however a fewstretched vowels betray his accent at times, which detracts slightly from the fun. Like theBrazilian team at the World Cup, this could do with a bit more flair in places but overall this ahighly enjoyable slice of 80s indebted adult rock. Duncan Jamieson (85/100)

Focus on: JOEY SUMMER - Wri t ten In Stone (Avenue Of Al l ies)

Band: Joey SummerAlbum: Written In StoneInterview with: Joey SummerInterviewed by: Duncan Jamieson

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Question: Hello guys! How areyou? First of all, my congratula-tions for your new great album,some Classic Rock delivered theway as it should always be!!!How do you feel about thisalbum? Proud of your Work,right?A: Yes, indeed, we are very proudon the new album. It’s a perfectmixture of Classic Rock / Hard Rock/ and Southern Style. Put it togeth-er so you get K I C K H U N T E R!While HEARTS & BONES has been anexcellent Classic Rock album wemade kind of a developmentthrough LITTLE MONSTERS whichturned into perfection on ALL IN tothe ultimate KICKHUNTER handwrit-ing of Rock ´n´ Roll music. Q: Your album sounds very ener-getic and melodic from the firstnote to the very last one. In myreview I’ve written that yoursound has its roots more in thetraditional ‘70s Rock than in the80s sound. Do you agree? Whichare your most important influ-ences, musically talking?A: I would say our greatest influ-

ences are good old Hard Rock andSouthern Rock. That is what wehave in our souls and I guess youcan hear in a lot of parts. Theadventure to be on tour with LynyrdSkynyrd in 2003 totaly changed ourconscience about southern rockmusic and I can tell theseguys/brothers are a big influence inour music. But off course you knowwe are born and raised in Europe sothere is also a lot European influ-ences in us which is related to thewhole eighties Hard Rock scene fromEngland and I would lie if I wouldsay we are not having that sound inour music!Q: Why have you decided toinclude 2 cover-songs in thealbum? And why have you cho-sen, besides the popular world-wide-hit of Blondie’s “Call Me”,the awesome Victory “Check’sIn The Mail”? Great choice, any-way, my friends!A: That was what I was trying tosay… by chosen a song like “Checksin the mail” you can hear our eight-ies Hard Rock influence. Victory andeven the old Accept has been one of

our personal heroes. Hermann Frankis a close friend to the band btw.Q: Where your monicker,Kickhunter, comes from?Honestly, when I approachedthis album and read your mon-icker, I was expecting an albumof US Hard Rock / Hair Metal…and I was totally wrong!A: Hahaha….yeah the name….Stefaninvented the name on a BBQ nightwhile we were listen to our favouritesouthern rock music and we gotaware we are just hunting the Kick…and that’s how we turned into thename KICKHUNTER.Q: How did you get in touch withAFM Records?A: Stefans call…Q: Any touring-plans?A: When our release party tour forALL IN is over we will concentrate onour Live program. We are planning aUS tour with our friends and labelcolleagues from CIRCLE TO CIRCLEand several shows all over Europe.We hopefully get the gig on the nextLynyrd Skynyrd cruise which youknow if you ever been on board is aone in a lifetime experience.

Band: KickhunterAlbum: All InInterview with: Rollie FeldmannInterviewed by: Primo Bonali

Focus on: KICKHUNTER - A l l In (AFM Records)I approached this album in a wrong way; the name of the band was making me immediatelythink of a powerful US Hard Rock/Hair Metal, so what I was expecting here was a band deliver-ing some sharp guitar-riffs and high pitched vocals a la Skid Row/Slaughter. My fault. In fact thisCd has its roots more in the traditional ‘70s Rock than in the 80s sound. The first two songs “MineAll Mine” (very Status Quo-esque) and especially “Revolutions” (6 minutes and a half long) speakvery clear, with a good use of the classic Hammond B3, played by Pascal Kravetz (Springsteen,Robert Palmer, Joe Cocker) and the very melodic and warm voice of Jorg Wesenberg, plus twofemale vocalists (Melanie Black and Ela). Add to this a general Southern-Rock feel (more evi-dent in “Feels Like Home”, “Shy Shy Shy”), some Progressive Rock arrangements (“Ocean) andsome very well played cover songs (the awesome Victory hymn “Check’s In The Mail” and theworldwide-hit of Blondie’s “Call Me”), and you have a very good Cd that could appeal to most ofyou, readers, especially the ones into the Classic Rock. Primo Bonali (85/100)

Focus on: TONY HARNELL & THE MERCURY TRAIN - Round Trip (Frontiers Records)Tony Harnell is known to many as the original frontman with Norwegian rockers TNT, butthroughout the Melodic and Hard Rock fans he is much more, with albums with the bandsStarbreaker, Westworld and also his solo material. This new chapter in the Harnell story withnew band Mercury Train has taken some of Harnell’s finest rock moments from all the bandsmentioned and completely reworked them, some of them are almost unrecognizable andsome take a few listens. This is a sort of studio jam album, almost unplugged in places withthe likes of ‘Intuition’ and ‘10K Lovers’ given a real slung down funk groove feel, while ‘MonthOf Sundays’ is given a simmering ballad feel which highlights what a great voice Harnell has.Then there’s the superb version of ‘Northern Lights’, which will make you want to play thisversion more than the original. The new version of ‘Shame’ has been totally revamped for thisalbum and sound really good with a guest vocal by Sandi Saraya. Some say you shouldn’tmess with the original classics but Harnell and The Mercury Train have done just that andgiven them a new feel some will like and some won’t, but all in all a good album if you’re intothe unplugged and more mellower rock. Barry McMinn (90/100)

Band: Tony Harnell & T.M.T.Album: Round TripInterview with: Tony HarnellInterviewed by: Barry McMinn

Question: What made youdecide to do an album like‘Round Trip’ in the first place? Answer: I was performing someshows with this band in New Yorkand when Serafino heard about it heasked me if I wanted to record a livealbum. Instead I decided to record astudio album that reflected what wedid live. As the album developed I saw anopportunity to bring attention tosome great songs that were passedover the first time around andbreathe fresh air into others. I did-n’t want to outdo the original ver-sions, I just wanted to make a funalbum.Q: How did you get togetherwith guys in the band and howdid you come up with the nameThe Mercury Train? A: These guys were all friends ofmine from the local scene in NewYork and of course my wife Amy.The name was taken from a projectin the 30’s in New York called TheMercury Train project which was ahigh speed train from Manhattan toLong Island.

Q: So how did the recordingprocess go for this new album,did you all get together in studioor was it more file sharing? A: Not much file sharing at all actu-ally. The whole band was in the stu-dio for the bulk of the music record-ing and I recorded the vocals at myhome studio.Q: Will there be an entire albumof new material in the nearfuture? A: Yes, many songs are written, it’sjust a matter of choosing the bestones and moving forward with it.Q: How did you pick the tracksfor the album? A: I asked the fans what theirfavorite songs were and then puttheir favourites together with mine.Q: Where there any songs youdidn’t include on the album thatyou wished you had? A: I’m sure, but I can always do avolume two in a few years :)Q: Looking back over yourcareer, what have been thehighs and lows and would youchange anything if you had thechance to do so?

A: There are plenty of things onecan always wish they had or hadn’tdone but what’s the point? Can’tchange it now. So I just look for-ward.Q: You’ve already done a fewlow profile shows but are youtaking to the road for moreshows once the album isreleased? A: Hopefully so, that is the plan. Ifthe album does well and peoplewant to see us live then we’ll bethere!Q: What is the best piece ofadvice you could give to anyonewishing to become a singer in arock band? A: Make sure you are a strong per-son and study the business andmake sure you can handle the upsand downs. Ultimately, believe inyourself regardless of what otherssay.Q: So where does Tony Harnellgo from here, what can we lookforward to in the not too distantfuture? A: More music and more live per-forming :)

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Band: Yoso

Album: Elements

Interview with: Billy Sherwood

Interviewed by: Vitale Nocerino

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Focus on: YOSO - E lements (Front iers Records)A “supergroup” formed by TOTO’s vocalist Bobby Kimball and YES’ main members TonyKaye and Billy Sherwood, YOSO combines perfectly the trademark of the two mentionedbands in a new fresh and exciting sound that might be simply described as Classic Rock.Take, for example, the opener “Yoso”: you could easily think that this is a song takenfrom the YES’ songwriting, but the vocals, more Rock and solid, bring the song to anoth-er dimension; the following “Path To Your Heart” is more a Toto-song, yet some “classy”arrangements recall the name of Yes, and a classic Rock ballad like “Where You’ll Stay”should be an huge hit if this would be a perfect world! “Walk Away” is another gem ofRock de-luxe with awesome vocals (Kimball is in top-shape here!), “The New Revolution”a nice and fresh tune with a great keyboards-work, “To See The Truth” a Blues-influencedballad with Progressive arrangements. If TOTO and YES mean something for you (as itshould be), this is an essential purchase. Enough said. Primo Bonali (92/100)

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Question: Can you tell mesomething about the birth ofYoSo? When and how did youdeicide to create this newband?Answer: Bobby Kimball was fre-quently coming over to my studiodoing various sessions, I pro-duced a lot of tribute records andhe was a guest on a several. As aresult of hanging out a conversa-tion began "let's write somesongs and see where it goes..."That was the beginning of Yosoas a concept. After we had writ-ten 4 or 5 songs we knew wewere onto something special andstarting discussing turning it intoa band.Q: What does It means themoniker YOSO?A: Yoso is combining elementswe bring by proxy of who we areand where we have been andwhere we are going. The name isa made up word (as far as iknow) and that was another rea-son for it, when naming a newband more often then not whatever you think of has alreadybeen claimed by another band...Yoso is an original word (as faras i know) and there by unique tous in that regard.Q: Can you tell me somethingabout the making of“Elements”? (song writing,recording sessions…)A: I wrote music... and a lot of it.I then passed that music along toBobby who returned to the studiowith lyrics and we recordedvocals. It was a very easyprocess working with Bobby, hashas an amazing voice and a greatsense of lyrics as well. The entirerecord was written by the 2 of us.It started as a idea with songwriting and developed into some-thing much more serious once weknew what we had created.Q: What do the lyrics talkabout?A: Lyrics are always taken in bythe listener in different ways...To that end people will take awayfrom them what they mean themto be, that said they are verywell crafted and up lifting in a lotof ways. I come from a place ofpositive thinking about life ingeneral and the possibilitiesthere of... Bobby's lyrics reflectthe same sentiments.I did have a hand in some lyricwriting on the record but themajority of it was handled byBobby.Q: What kind of novelty orinnovation a fan of Toto andYes could find on this newalbum?

A: Fans of both YES and TOTOwill find a familiar sound and tex-ture to it all but they will experi-ence an entire new sound withinthat familiarity... and that's theYoso sound. I'd never had imag-ine looking at the Yes communityand merging it with the Totocommunity musically speakingbut... it ends up being a greatcombination to work from. Yesand all it's progressiveness andToto rooted in classic rock, bothincredible musical, these 2worlds colliding have createdwhat we have now in Yoso. Thatsaid there are no imitations tak-ing place, rather Yoso has a clearidentity to it's own being."Balancing all the elements" asthe title track expresses. We areexcited to share this new soundwith the world and show it offlive too !!Q: Did you find any difficul-ties or pressure during thesong writing process? Did youfear the judgment of your oldfans?A: Song writing was easy, as Iexplained above I made themusic, owning my own studio Ihave the luxury of creating at allhours of the night and day, I gotvery inspired to present music toBobby and he in turn had thesame energy with the lyric andthe vocals. In all a very enjoy-able process and went swiftlyonce it was set in motion. Re:judgment's of old fans... I'venever been one to worry aboutwhat anyone thinks about themusic I'm creating. I learned along time ago it's true the oldsaying "if you don't like it no oneelse will". I always approachmusic from my own perspective.For example I have several soloCd's with songs 11 minuteslong.... some would say "that'sway too long for 1 song". I say"That's what I want to do, and soI shall". Music is after all "art"and I love painting with all thecolors in the box for my art...www.billysherwoodhq.com iswhere my solo works can befound for anyone interested intaking the ride. With Yoso I knewto remain within the commonwalls of music in terms of struc-ture and format... this 1st Yosorecord is built upon classicthemes and arrangements andbig vocals. We plan to expandthe horizons musically speakingfor Yoso future but the 1st debutCD reflects the starting point forYoso and is a solid base to buildfrom, we will be getting moreadventurous with things as we

proceed, for now there is plentyof adventure waiting to be dis-covered on the debut "Yoso" CD.All that said there is somethingfor Yes, Toto and most importantnew fans of Yoso.Q: Are you already workingon a tour?A: We start playing live in Augustback east... there are a lot ofgigs getting booked as we speakso we shall be out there playingin 2010 and beyond.Q: How did you feel in work-ing together in the studio?Are you old good friends alsoin the real life?A: I've know Bobby for decadesas well as TK. We are all goodfriends. Working in studio is easyand professional and forwardmoving always. What more canyou ask for.... there is nothingworse than a bad vibe and slowprogress in studio. Yoso has noneof that, it's always a pleasure.Q: What do you think aboutthe actual rock scene? Do youthink that in the new nilleni-um, governed by MTV, therewill be still place for a bandlike YOSO?A: Internet has changed thelandscape for everything. I don'tthink any one source has ulti-mate power to govern anymore...You-tube has circumvented themain stream and as a resultthings are happening and peopleand talent and bands etc... arebeing discovered in unique waysand with unconventional meth-ods. That's a good thing for theart of music. There will always bea place for good music andbands... people love seeing con-certs. Until we are all digitizedand projected onto a stage ithink the song will remain thesame for a long long time... yesthere is a place for Yoso and weare here to claim it.Q: Do you consider YOSO as aproject or like a band with along future?A: Yoso is a band. We have beenat this a while getting thingstogether behind the scenes forwhat now is our official launch.With the record release onFrontiers and tours beingbooked, we have plans to reachescape velocity and remain inorbit for a long long time... Aproject is something I produce alot of, a band requires a differentlevel of commitment, time, ener-gy, shared vision and mostimportant desire to "go for it"and continue going for it... with-out a doubt Yoso is a real band...and a really good one :)

22 | MRF

Question: When and why did youdecide to do a whole album ofRonnie James Dio’s songs?Answer: I thought about the idea to doa tribute to Ronnie several years ago.Parts of the album was recorded lastyear, but some of the songs wererecorded in October/November 2008,during the same period as we did "SpiritBlack". "Song For Ronnie James" waswritten in 2009 and recorded this win-ter. When most other artists changedtheir style and direction to fit a newtrend trying to suit the market, Ronniestood on the barricades and did what hebelieved and loved to do. Ronnie wastrue to his heart, and became a role-model and example to follow. When Iwas insecure about which way to go,and not sure what to do with my career,I only had to look to Ronnie to recapturemy focus and fire. Because of his pres-ence and never ending strenght, Inever lost the will to go on. I also wishto give Ronnie the credit for not onlymaking me a better singer, but also abetter person. In a world of arrogance,he represents the opposite. Many peo-ple are too busy trying to reinvent thewheel, forgetting the talent, quality and

originality of the people that paved theway, like Ronnie James Dio. I touredwith Ronnie about 10 years ago and heis the kindest, most caring and sincereartist I have ever met. He cared forpeople, was lojal to his fans and showedmuch respect and gratitude for the loy-alty that his fans showed him.Q: You’ve got a great mix of hisclassic tracks and some of his lesscelebrated songs. How did youchoose the songs that made therecord?A: I picked most songs based on what Iliked, and not based on which oneswere the most popular ones. I alsothought that the original versions ofsongs like "Last In Line", "Holy Diver"and "Rainbow In The Dark" were tooobvious to record, plus the fact that theoriginal versions of these songs soundso good, that I believe they can't bedone any better. I always preferred thedarker and heavyer side of Ronnieswork, plus the more uptempo classichard rock/metal songs. A song like"Shame On The Night" is an epic darkmasterpiece that many people haveforgotten, and a song like "Push" is agreat song to remind us of the later Dio

era.Q: There’s a whopping big produc-tion with everyone soundingimmense. It sounds like everyonehad a blast making this album.A: Everyone loved recording thesesongs. We can all relate to the musicRonnie put his trademark on, whetherit's Rainbow, Black Sabbath / Heaven &Hell or Dio.Q: ou sound terrific on the record.Were any of the songs a challengefor you to sing? A: All the songs were a challenge tosing. Ronnie’s dedication and perfec-tionism was unique.Q: Has it hurt that some peoplehave suggested that some of theDio tributes have been cashing inon his name? A: I try not to read too many of thecomments or discussions on the inter-net. I'm only human, so of course Ithurts me when people think they knowme and say bad things. Fortunately,most people are positive and able to seethings from an objective point of viewand I have recieved massive supportfrom all over the world and I am deeplygrateful for that.

This project was started even before Ronnie James Dio was diagnosed with cancer anddefinitely has the spirit of a sincere tribute and not quick cash in. Although vocally Jornis most often compared to David Coverdale, his music does have that dark and overblownedge, unmistakably influenced by the music of Dio, Black Sabbath and Rainbow. This iscertainly no karaoke record. A modern, in your face production, adds a fresh vibrancy tothe twelve covers, with a storming drum sound and big fat guitars. Jorn sounds immenseand suitably stentorian on the classics ‘Shame On the Night’, ‘Don’t Talk to Strangers’and ‘Stand up And Shout’. Some less celebrated songs such as ‘Sunset Superman’ and‘Push’ get a welcome airing and there’s one original track, the eight minute ‘Song forRonnie James’, which starts acoustically, before a dark riff heralds in the metal. Although,sadly, no longer with us the quality Dio’s songs ensures his legacy will continue. As Dioonce famously sang, “Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll!”. Duncan Jamieson (90/100)

Band: JornAlbum: DioInterview with: Jorn LandeInterviewed by:Duncan Jamieson

Focus on: JORN - Dio (Front iers Records)