CONTENTS04 Richard Marx06 Hardl ine07 Wig Wam08 Sonata Arctica + Luca Turilli’s R.09 The Murder Of My Sweet10 Polut ion12 Reviews14 Driver15 End Of September17 Great White19 Circus Maximus21 Shadowside + Hartmann22 JornMelodic Rock Fanzine

The official Frontiers Records magazineYear #8 - Nr. 3 / Issue #50

Editor-in-chief: Elio BordiGraphic & Design: Elio BordiWriters: Bruce E.J. Atkinson, Duncan Jamieson, BarryMcMinn, Vitale Nocerino, Rob “Ezy” Bone, Fabio Mainardi,Tommy Hash, Primo Bonali.Headquarters and general contacts:Frontiers Records - Via Gonzaga 1880125, Napoli - ItalyTel: +39.081.2399340/7753Fax: +39.081.2399794E-mail: elio@frontiers.itWebsite: www.frontiers.itFacebook: facebook.com/frontiersrecordsofficialTwitter: twitter.com/frontiersrecEditor and publisher: Frontiers Records s.r.l.Copyright©2012 Frontiers Records. All rightsreserved. Reproduction in whole or in part

without permission is prohibited.Printed in Italy.

Focus on: RICHARD MARX - Inside My Head (Frontiers Records)With over 30 million record sales and writer of 13 number one songs, the name of RichardMarx is synonymous with great melody rich music. Now with this new album he returnsnew songs that prove there are still quality artists out there producing top class, qualitymusic. This album is pure Marx, from the opener ‘Had Enough’ the quality is there for allto hear. The years might have gone by but the vocals are still as fresh as when we firstheard them on his self titled solo album way back in 1987. The album continues its impres-sive path with the stunning ‘Wouldn’t Let Me Love You’, the sublime ballad ‘Like Heaven’,the semi -acoustic ‘On The Inside’, the subtle soundscapes of ‘Through My Veins’ and‘Loved’, two beautiful keyboard accompanied songs. Marx even brings a little jazz funk intothe mix on ‘Come Running’ and ‘Scars’, before showing his rockier side with the excellent‘All Over Me’ and the album closer ‘Part of Me’. This new studio album is what the fans havebeen crying out for, and with a bonus “Best Of” CD containing his hits and more, be pre-pared to get Richard Marx inside you head once more. Barry McMinn (92/100)

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artist. R. Marxalbum. inside my head

Interview with. r. marxinterviewed by:. barry mcminn

Question: First of all congratula-tion for your new album, it’s amasterpiece! Let’s start from thebeginning. How has the musicindustry changed since back inthe ’80s when your first hit single“Don’t Mean Nothing” hit the air-waves? Do you think it haschanged for the worst or for thebetter?Answer: I don’t know if there is a realdefinitive answer to that question.How has it changed? How hasn’t itchanged — it is just night and day.On one hand I think the accessibilityas we all know is a lot easier. But Idon’t know if that is a good thing. Iam not even talking about illegaldownloading. I am talking aboutbeing able to have your entire musiccollection on hand. On one hand, Ithink that is so amazing. Somewherealong the way, as music physicallygot smaller do did people’s sense of

importance of it. I have three sonswho are between 17 and 20 yearsold. They love music but they andtheir friends, it is not as a top priori-ty list. It is not like when I was a kidand I would stand in front of a recordstore waiting for the new PeterGabriel record to be released at 10.A.M. I don’t really know if there isanybody out there. Maybe TaylorSwift’s fans or Justin Bieber’s fanshave that real trendy thing that hap-pens for a couple of years where theiryoung fan base gets really excitedabout new stuff. Generally speaking Idon’t think there is much artist ele-ment of people following someone’scareer year after year. People don’tmake a point of listening anymore.The days of sitting down listening to awhole album and reading the linernotes, I think those days are goneforever unfortunately.Q: You come from a very musical

background. Your Dad, Dick Marxwas a musician. What was it likesinging with him at five years oldand singing the jingles for someof the best know television com-mercials?A: He was a total pro. He was a verygifted composer, arranger, and pro-ducer. I learned a tremendousamount working with him. I hit theDad lottery. I had the coolest Dadever. The fact that I got some of hisDNA through the musical bloodlinehas been a great help to me. On topof everything else I try and explainthis to people, I grew up with animmensely talented father but afather that adored every second ofhis job. I didn’t grow up around a guywho was punching in and punchingout and hating his work. My Dadloved what he did. I am so glad thatI do too. It is something that I don’tever take for granted.

Q: You’ve written a lot of songswith other people, and a lot ofthem have become hits. Do youhave a sense of which one tendsto surprise people the most?A: Not really. I guess the ones thataren’t as obvious to people are theJosh Groban song (“To Where YouAre”) and probably the Keith Urbanstuff, like “Better Life,” because it’scountry. I mean, to me, a lot of coun-try now is ’80s pop with steel guitar(laughs), and Keith is a really moderncountry artist. He can do the tradi-tional thing all day long, but he’s real-ly more of a crossover artist, so Ithink that what I do lends itself toKeith pretty effortlessly. And he’snever trying to get me to be a coun-try guy, he’s always wanting me tojust be me and write melodies that Iwould normally write, and we go fromthere. But I don’t know. There aresome songs that I’ve written withother artists that haven’t come outyet that I think would be more sur-prising. I’m hoping those happen,because they’re off the beaten path.That’s what I’m really most proud ofin my songwriting career — except forpolka (laughs), I’ve pretty much writ-ten songs in every genre and had suc-cess in every genre. So that’s proba-bly something that I hold up that’sunique in terms of my career. It’sprobably the only thing that’s uniqueabout my career. But it’s kind of fun.It never gets boring. This record I justfinished producing is really a country

record. The artist, George Canyon, isvery big up in Canada and he’s a realsort of George Jones kind of voice,real old-school country. And it’s reallyfun to go in and live in that world,because it’s not a normal place for meto be.How about your collaborationwith your sons? All three of themhave great voices — I saw thatnice video on your site of the kidsat Christmas, and I heard you dida concert together. What’s yourrole in working with them?A: Well, my role is a tightrope,because on one hand [Brandon] hasto do his own thing and find his ownway. There’s a part of me that wantsto make everything easy for him andif I could sort of hand him a career, Iwould, but on the other hand, I wanthim to struggle. I want him to appre-ciate it and know what goes into thisstuff. The only thing that’s a drag isthat it’s not the same playing field aswhen I started. I had so many oppor-tunities available to me — being ableto do a variety of things as I could —when I moved out to L.A. when I was18, I took work as a keyboard player,as a guitar player… I would producepeople’s demos for 50 bucks. I woulddo background vocals on people’sdemos or records. That whole menuof possibilities is gone. People doeverything in-house, and the studiosystem as we knew it, where record-ing studios, you could literally just… Iremember when I was making my

first couple of records, Rod Stewartwas down the hall making a recordand David Lee Roth was down the hallmaking a record, and sometimesthey’d go, “Hey, can you come andsing a part for me on this?” It wasvery collaborative, and like a commu-nity, and it’s completely not like thatanymore. So I worry about that formy kids, but they’re really good. Imean, they’re really talented.Brandon, my oldest, is probably myfavorite singer out there. All nepotismaside, I really think he’s an incrediblesinger. And his songwriting is leapsand bounds ahead of what I was doingat that age. But he’s gotta kind of findhis own way, and especially if he’sassociated with me, I don’t think it’s agood thing for him. It’s somethingwhere I want him to just do his ownthing. So he’s trying to find his way. Ithought [the concert] would be goodbecause he has very little performingexperience, and I thought, well, it’sgonna be a friendly crowd, becausemy fans are going to want him to begreat, so he came up before me anddid four songs by himself. His brotherhelped him out on one or two, and itwas great. The audience loved him.He did great. It was his first time out.This weekend, he’s opening for an actat some venue in Chicago, which kindof came through a friend of a friend ofhis. It’s with him and his band, andwe’re going to go out and watchthem. It’s exciting, but it’s also scary.I wish I could wave a magic wand.

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Focus on: HARDLINE - Danger Zone (Front iers Records)Keeping the flames of Melodic Rock high, “Danger Zone” is a most welcome releasefrom “Hardline”. Technically the group’s fourth album, it could be considered theirfirst, since the group could be “Hardline 2”. Founding member, Vocalist JohnnyGioeli has regrouped ‘Hardline’ with a distinct Pan-European taste. Teaming up with‘Edge of Forever’s Allessandro Del Vecchio, Mr. Gioeli has produced a gem! Fromthe opening cut “Fever Dreams”—the rock just oozes out! Fantastic keyboard/gui-tar interplay thanks to Alessandro and Thorsten Koehne… “Danger Zone” deliversup ever so tastey soaring musical forays that drive to the heart. DrummerFrancesco Jovino lays down the beat with great authority and is reinforced by thestrong arm of Bassist Anna Portalupi! Each track on “Danger Zone” is performedand sung with passion, with a capital ‘P’. The album just continues to build… Simplya striking musical journey from start to finish. Bruce Atkinson (92/100)

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Question: “Danger Zone” marksa re-invention of sorts forHardline… Let’s talk about theevents that spurred you on…Answer: Well it was by way ofSerafino / CEO of Frontiers Recordsthat has always been the drivingforce behind keeping it all going…He’s been a fan since record 1 anda believer in the Hardline musicalstyle. Q: With Alessandro now fully inthe group… Has he kind of re-ignited the fire? A: Yes, he was just a young kidwhen Double Eclipse came out…haaaaa... Punk… And he obviouslyblossomed into a fantastic musi-cian, engineer, producer, writerand tree trimmer… haaaaa… kid-ding… he doesn’t trim trees… Atleast, I don’t think so. Q: The new record also harkensback to your first couple ofefforts… Is this the style ofmusic that you are most com-fortable with?A: With this style… yes. This iswhat I grew up with… It’s what Iknow… And love. It’s music to menot some of the bullshit out there.

I feel its freshness too…like a carair freshener… ha. Q: The group sounds strongerthan ever… I would imaginethat the recording process gen-erated some surprises…Pleasant ones at that!?A: Yes, it was quite amazing tohear it building and coming togeth-er… a very 3D experience for me.Q: In recent years ClassicMelodic Rock experienced asort of "come back", after hav-ing been practically ignored bythe mainstream audience formore than a decade. Do you seethis as a new start for theband? Do you think you willrelease new albums regularlyfrom now on?A: Honestly, I'm not sure of anycomeback with this style ofmusic... Actually, it's quite dead inthe States... Like... In the gravedead. But in Europe the fans standstrong to what they love...dedicat-ed and persistant to keep thesound alive... That's really freakin'cool. And Serafino... keeps theflame burning. I never know exact-ly what I'm doing next...I surprise

myself sometimes! haaa... So, I'mnot 100% sure if I will make moreHardline albums or not... but.... Ilove this new lineup and think Aleand I can write some killer tunes...so if you ask me would I? Theanswer is absolutely. Q: With a solid record, andrecord label… It seems the skyis the limit for Hardline. Canwe expect some live appear-ances during 2012? A: I agree… I think there are manypaths we can take and sustain ifthat’s what the group wants to do…I limit my stress to minimal grayhairs… So, I’m good to go for a rideon this one… Let’s have some fun…Q: Thanks for answering theseshort questions…and congratu-lations on an excellent newalbum….as is my tradition… Ilike to have my guests leave uswith the last words…so, please,go ahead! And thanks ever somuch! A: Thanks for believing in musicthat makes you feel… makes youthink… Can sustain you…and touch-es you in ways that only music can.Crank this shit. See you all soon…

BAnd. hardlinealbum. danger zone

Interview with. j. gioeliinterviewed by:. b. atkinson

Focus on: WIG WAM - Wal l Street (Front iers Records)Glam, Teeny, Sporty and Flash are back and unlike the Dow Jones, the band’s valueis most definitely on the up and rising. This is pure Wig Wam, an album full of richmelodies and good time rockin’ that gets underway with the title track and first sin-gle ‘Wall Street’. From here on in the good times don’t just roll, they rock. As thealbum continues to impress with the lick filled thumper ‘OMG I Wish I Had A Gun’and the classical overtures of ‘ Victory is Sweet’ that has a West End, Broadwaymusical vibe. But if you like a good old school rock tune, then the likes of ‘TheBigger The Better’ and ‘Wrong Can Feel So Right’, the latter that I think all fans ofthe band have probably said at some time or another. The album keeps producinggreat tunes, with ‘Try My Body On’ and the funky ‘Natural High’, leading the way forthe album closer, the instrumental gem ‘Things Money Can’t Buy’. All great songsshowcasing that this band are the class act we all know they are, and beyond thestage personas and the lipstick, Wig Wam really are a force to be reckoned with inthe world of Melodic and Hard Rock. Barry McMinni (92/100)

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Question: It’s been threeyears since your last studioalbum, why the wait betweenthis album and ‘Non Stop Rockn Roll’? Answer: We started the tourJanuary and ended December2010, so when we were done wehad some obligations to do. Glamwent back to his Queen tributeshow, witch I also contributed instudio and live sometimes. I wentback to producing in my studio.Q: Has this been a work inprogress over the three years,or did you just take time out toconcentrate just on thealbum?A: We made time in the endbecause the various projects wehave. Some of the material westarted last year.Q: The bands larger than lifestage persona is brought outon your studio releases, howimportant is it that the studiosound mirrors the sound youhave in your live performance?A: I think all is natural. We don’tthink much about it. Its just whathappens when you put the four ofus together in the studio or on a

stage. There is room for fun;-) Itsnot something we thought out butwhen we hit the stage, we are likean underdog that wants to takeeveryone for a ride, and we fearnothing. When I perform, I needto be there a hundred % in everysituation, and I want the gig to bethe best I ever did. And that hap-pens every night.Q: ‘Non Stop’ … Was the bandsfirst simultaneous worldwiderelease and got rave reviews,did you feel any pressurewhen you worked on the newalbum to follow its successnow the whole world knowwho Wig Wam are?A: I don’t think so. Att least not i.The best work you can do is whenyou don’t think about things likethat, and just try to have fun mak-ing music. You have to trust youtaste, and hope that the samepeople will like this one too.Q: The album mixes the uptempo rockers with some gen-tler ballads in typical Wig Wamstyle, but are there any trackson the album you’re particu-larly proud of and why?A: I listen to, Wall Street, Victory

is sweet, bleeding daylight, Tideswill turn, One million Enemies,Things money cant buy. Goodsongs and when I lay down myproducer hat, I can enjoy someguitar work I have done. It hasbeen so much fun playing guitaron this album.Q: The band gave us a taste ofthe new album with the single‘Wall Street’, with us all at themercy of the banking world,how important is it for bandsthese days to take control oftheir own destiny? A: It’s the most important thingyou can do after learning to play.It has taken us many years tocontrol our destiny. If you canthandle money or do to muchdrugs, most bands go down thedrain. There goes the R&R lifestyleillusion down the drain too… ha haQ: Will the band be taking tothe road to promote the newalbum and if so will you bestepping out beyond yournative Norway?A: We are doing promo and plan-ning gigs as we speak. Of coursewe are coming out of Norway fortouring.

BAnd. wig wamalbum. wall street

Interview with. teenyinterviewed by. b. m,cminn

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Primo Bonali: Hello guys! How are you? First of allmany congratulations for your new GREAT album,"Stones Grow Her Name". Would you like to intro-duce it to our readers?Henrik Klingenberg: Hi, I'm fine thanks for asking. Ournew album Stones Grow Her Name is probably the mostrock'n'roll of our our albums so far. We went for a morestraight-forward approach and tried to make a soundthat's closer to our live shows.PB: In my opinion the new album sounds slightlyheavier than your previous ones. Do you agree? Isthis new album reflecting what the band is musical-ly now?HK: Yeah, the album is quite heavy with the guitars morein the front than before. I think whenever we make analbum that is a snapshot of where the band is at thattime. So, definately yes, at the moment this is prettymuch where we are musically. Don't know what the situ-ation will be in a couple of years but right now this is it !!PB: With so many successful albums on your shoul-ders and a big label like Nuclear Blast now with you,have you felt some pressure for this new Work?How was your expectations about the album, andhas the work in studio been as planned?HK: When we work on albums we don't really feel anypressure, at least I don't. It's just starting now when thealbum is done and you wonder if it will be a success orwhat the hell will happend. We expected to get the newsongs properly recorded and mixed and that of course didgo almost exactly as planned, but as said the biggestthing right now is to see how the album will do, and ofcourse to get back on the road playing the new stuff forpeople.PB: Talking about the songwriting, what has beenthe process you've used?HK: It's been like with the past few albums: Tony writessongs and makes demos of them and the we get togeth-er at our rehersal place for about 6-7 weeks and work outthe arrangements and such things. After that we recordour parts and mix the whole thing.PB: What about the themes you're developing lyri-cally on the album?HK: It's mainly based on human events, fictional love sto-ries and such. Of course our first single I have a rightmakes a statement about childrens rights but as usualthere's all kinds of stories going on on the album so nowuniversal theme this time.PB: Touring-plans in the next months?HK: We start off with summer festivals in Europe and fromthere we'll do clubshows in the fall, first in Finland andthen in Europe. After that I guess it's the rest of the worldthat needs to be covered. The last world tour was over180 shows in almost 40 coutries so with this one I believewe'll be on the road for quite some time as well.

Vitale Nocerino: Luca, you just finished the workon the new record. How do you personally feelabout it? Luca Turilli: In one word… wasted ha ha! Well, honest-ly, it has been the greatest artistic effort of my wholelife as musician. A spiritual and a physical effort too.As you can imagine I really „live“ and „feel“ everynote of my albums and this one has taken me com-pletely. Artistically this album has been a real journeythrough other dimensions. The studio work to have itdone and „ready to go“ seemed to be eternal and stillnow I am not realizing the work on it has really fin-ished ha ha. VN: Last year, you decided to leave RHAPSODYOF FIRE and create a new band, with “old” and“new” members. How does this new line-up feelfor you?LT: In reality it is not true that I and some other bandmembers left RHAPSODY OF FIRE. It was a commondecision from both sides. It simply happened a splitbetween me and Alex Staropoli as the working feelingwas not the same anymore after so many years ofartistic sinergy. After the 10th official album releasedand the end of the fantasy saga on which all the musicand lyrics of the band were based until that point, wefelt the artistic perspectives were not the same any-more. Therefore we agreed on a friendly basis to keepboth the name RHAPSODY and to start a new adven-ture with the same artistic possibilities. Dominique(guitar) and Patrice (bass) decided to follow me in mynew RHAPSODY band while Alex Holzwarth preferredto not make a choice, loving and respecting the bothof us in the same way. Therefore Alex and I have nowthe chance to have his amazing drumming in bothbands. The new one is just the perfect line-up for me.They are for sure great musicians but at the sametime they are also great and positive people and this,honestly, is even more important for me. We are unit-ed and feel to be almost like a family. I consider thisas essential for a band, especially before facing a newheadliner tour like the one we are preparing to sup-port our new album.VN: The whole album is something huge – like aHollywood movie, or a whole classical sympho-ny. How long did you work on it? LT: It took me 5 months to compose this album and 4further months to produce it in the studio of my friendSebastian. But putting it like that I probably don‘t giveyou the idea of the right amount of work really need-ed to get it done. In these 9 months I personallyworked at the rhtyhm of minimum 14 hours per day,leaving and breathing for it. Holidays… this is a wordI erased from my dictionary a long time ago ha ha.The fact ist hat I love my work and for me composingand writing music is the best gift I had from life.

Question: Good to have youback. How does it feel to havethe new record finished?Answer: Thank you! It feels reallygood to be back and with a newalbum and a stronger sound. Twoyears have passed between thereleases but it’s been a hectic peri-od for us promoting and touring for“Divanity”. I loved every second of itthough :) Q: There are great commercialmoments such as “Fallen” andthen there is material like “BlackSeptember” with its complexarrangement. Do you think it ismore diverse than the debut?A: I think we pulled together astronger album than “Divanity” witha more even sound through all thesongs although they vary in styleand commercial value. On “Bye byelullaby” we added more guitars andguitar solos, the compositions are abit heavier and faster but we stillhave that cinematic sound that mostfans have showed to love and thatnot many other bands have pickedup yet. I think that if you liked“Divanity” you are going to love“Bye bye lullaby” and if you haven’tdiscovered us yet you should pickup a copy at you local record storeand give us a try. You won’t regret

it! You mix up more modern sym-phonic and gothic sounds withsome more traditional, bigmelodic rock and pop hooks. Isthis what you set out to achieveor has it happened organicallyas a result of the different musi-cal tastes of the band members?A: Right from the start it was alwaysimportant for us to write the kind ofsongs we would like to listen to ourselves. Both Daniel and I are bigfans of the kind of music you hear inmovies and the impact that particu-lar sound has on you, I mean if youhave tried to watch a movie withoutthe sound on you know what Imean. To try and combine that withour song writing seemed like thenatural way for us to begin and itfelt so right when we heard the finalresult for the first time. We couldn’tlist any band that we knew of thatused that specific element for theirsound and it’s always nice to beunique and to break new ground. Q: Your debut “Divanity” waswell received when it came outin 2010. What opportunities didits success open up for you?A: The support we had from ourrecord label at the time (FrontiersRecords) regarding the promotion

was great and opened many doorsfor us. We got the chance to play atsome of the biggest festivals theselast two summers such as SwedenRock Festival, Raismes Fest and ofcourse Wacken open air! We werealso featured in many of the biggermagazines such as Burrn, ClassicRock, Close-up, Sweden rock maga-zine, Rock hard, Metal Hammer andBreak out to mention a few. In 2010we also got the huge honour to haveJapanese rock star/model/actressAnna Tsuchiya record a cover of oursong “Follow the rain” called “Shoutin the rain” for her album “Rule”.She actually released that song as asingle and recorded a great videotoo. But the best thing about havinga successful debut release is that itopens up for a band to grow andevolve and to get the chance torelease another album.Q: What are Murder Of MySweet’s plans and have you gotany gigs lined up?A: Today we focus on getting thisalbum out there. I would love to goon tour this summer or this fall andthen I already have so many ideasfor a follow up so I really need to getback in the studio and write somemore songs. We’re also makingplans for a music video.

Focus on: THE MURDER OF MY SWEET - Bye Bye Lul laby (AFM Records)

BAnd. the murde of my sweetalbum. Bye Bye Lullaby

Interview with. Angelica Rylin interviewed by. duncan jamieson

Daniel Flores (Crash the System, Mind’s Eye) returns with the second The Murder Of MySweet record. At heart they are a melodic rock band, even more so on this one than thedebut, but they dress their sound up with modern symphonic sounding keyboards and dark-er, gothic, down tuned riffs. However, the defining element to their character is lead singerAngelica Rylin. She’s the star of the show here, singing as clearly as a bell. She’s versatilewith a good range, wrapping her tonsils round some ripe pop melodies. The uber-catchy“Fallen” and “Unbreakable” could by Britney Spears, backed by a metal band. “Meant toLast Forever” and “Idolise” aren’t a million miles from the infectious, up-tempo AOR ofFrontiers artist Issa. There are some more ambitious arrangements, as you would expectfrom Flores, on the likes of “Violently Peaceful”, “Resurrection” and “Waiting For The 27th”.The Murder Of My Sweet continue to eke out their own niche, balancing melody with thegothic, symphonic vibe that’s currently in vogue in metal circles; a combination that couldsee them appeal to a broad audience. Duncan Jamieson (90/100)

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Question: Here we are with yoursecond album after“Overheated” debuted in 2007.Why did it take you five years tocome out with “Beyond control”?Answer: That’s not quite right as“Overheated” was debuted in 2008.After the successful release wefocussed on playing as many gigs aspossible, first in Switzerland and in2009 and 2010 also all over Europetouring with Shakra and on our ownplaying in countries such asGermany, Italy, Belgium,Netherlands and Czech Republic. Bythe end of 2010 we had gatheredenough new song material to startworking on the second record but wechoose to totally focus on qualityinstead of quantity and thereforetook our time. For the same reasonwe choose to record analogue. Itproved to be the right decision.Listening to “Beyond control” youwill agree.Q: Can you introduce Polution toour readers?A: The band is like a bunch of palssharing their biggest passion. Welike to fool around but as soon as itcomes down to music we prove to beheavy workers. We made big effortsto get where we are and don’t thinkwe’re about to slow down. Polution isa real down-to-earth band not inter-ested in clichés at all but in playinggood, honest and hand-made music.Line up: Lead vocals: PascalGwerder (While producing the first

record producer Tommy Vetterlinamed him “the Chainsaw”), LeadGuitar: Marcel Betschart, RhythmGuitar: Thisi Betschart, Bass:Andreas Betschart, Drums: ArminBetschart. Once in a while Polution isclaimed to be a “band of brothers”referring to the fact that four ofthem have the same last name. Wefind that quite amusing! The truth isthat only Armin and Andreas arebrothers, the others are not evenrelated. Q: You started as a cover band,which are the artists/band youlike the most to cover?A: There were many favourite bandswe liked to cover including Metallicaand Motörhead but we came a longway since then. When we pick acover nowadays we don’t focus onthe band anymore but on the song’senergy. Therefore there is nofavourite “band-to-cover” anymore.When you started recording hadyou a clear vision of what direc-tion the album would havetaken?A: Yes. With the first album we hadset quite a standard and now we hadexcellent material that was every-thing Polution stands for: powerful,straightforward and in-your-face. Itwas out of question the secondrecord would outmatch the first con-tinuing in the same style but in amore sophisticated way.Q: Which are the biggest influ-ences you had writing materials

for this album?A: You probably won’t be surprisedwe wrote all the songs together.Every band member has its ownfavourites and you would be amazedabout the range within the band.Therefore every song is a sample ofthe band member’s taste and notthe result of some big influence. Wethink for that same fact it’s quite dif-ficult to classify Polution’s style.They call it Hard Rock, Heavy Metal,Melodic Metal... In some store inParis we even found our first albumclassified as “Death Metal”. Well,that’s probably not the closest shot.However, the variety within the songmaterial is one of Polution’s bigstrengthens. Did you already played some ofthe new songs live?A: Yes, we played “Follow Me” and“All In” live at two gigs. They turnedout to be awesome to perform onstage and the audience’s feedbackwas very positive as well. So nowwe’re eager to play all the new songson stage as even practising them isgreat fun.Q: Have you plan touring insupport of the album any timesoon?A: Yes, back in Switzerland we’ll beon stage soon and we’re currentlyplanning further tours throughEurope again. As soon as they’reconfirmed you’ll find them on ourwebsite, keep an eye on it.

Focus on: POLUTION - Beyond Control (Escape Music)Founded in 1997 and playing since 2005 the Helvetic Pollution debuted with“Overheated” in 2007 and now we are with their follow up “Beyond Control”.The band originally focused on cover-versions of bands like AC/DC, Metallicaand Motörhead and their first love is still strong in their music. Although try-ing to develop a personal style based on catchy melodies and hard guitars,Pollution are not the kings of originality. The sound seems a good mix ofKrokus, AC/DC and Gotthard but with some lack of personality. Out of the 12tracks "Follow Me" and the ballad “Forever And A Day" represent the bestmoments followed by good songs such as "Fire", "The Band" and "War"."Beyond Control", not a bad CD at all, Pollution deliver an aggressive albumfull of hammering riffs and great melodies that will please numbers of rockfans around. Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (86/100)

band. polutionalbum. BEYOND CONTROL

Interview with. Marcel Betschartinterviewed by:. F.Mainardi

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PLAYER - Addiction (Frontiers Records - Digital release)Although only a three song digital release… ”Addiction” shouts out clearly that ‘Player’ havereturned! “My Addiction”, a brand new song from the group shows Player at their finest. A beau-tiful up-tempo song full of melody and positive lyrics. A modern love song for the Summer of2012…almost West Coast, close your eyes and you can actually see the sunset over Los Angles!!RRonn Moss is the singer on this song and it is really into the mood, amazing performance! “TooMany Reasons” let’s us know that these guys are serious about their comeback. A song full ofattitude, mature musical forays, and one that will stick in your mind! The last song is the classic“Baby Come Back” in a new version, completely re-played. It is now more modern a more roughbut always one of the best songs of the end of secenties! “Addiction” is just a sample of what wecan expect from Player and their new full length album, which will be released later this year.Player in 2012?... Yes! — “Baby Come Back”!! Bruce Atkinson (90/100)SONATA ARCTICA - Stones Grow Her Name (Nuclear Blast)“Stones Grow Her Name” is not a typical melodic Power Metal album. As Sonata Arctica are def-initely not a typical melodic Power Metal band. It looks like the finnish are not afraid to explorenew territories, as the new album starts with these two very melodic songs (“Only the BrokenHearts” and “Shitload O' Money”) arriving quickly to “Losing My Insanity” (a fast Melodic Metalsong with Prog Metal passages) and to the heavier (and a bit more confused, in my opinion)“Somewhere Close To You”, going to the AOR/Melodic Rock tune “I Have A Right”. With “AloneIn Heaven” and on, the band go further and the sound incorporates influences from BlindGuardian to Dream Theater, arriving up to Queen. The band is in top-shape and especiallysinger Tony Kakko displays an incredible and various performance. Not an instant-hit, this is analbum to discover and to taste slowly, play after play. Primo Bonali (85/100)HARTMANN - Balance (Avenue Of Allies)When the former At Vance singer released his blinding debut in 2005, it was one of the melodic rockhighlights of that year. Since then his albums have become a case of diminishing returns. I’m happyto report that”Balance”, his fourth album as Hartmann, reverses that trend. The best of the tracksare stacked at the beginning of the record, with the brilliantly catchy rockers “All My Life” and “LikeA River”, in particlar, being as good as anything in his back catalogue. They show off his big, impas-sioned vocals that drip emotion and demontrate why he’s been sharing a stage recently with rockgiants like IanGillian and Jimi Jamison. Closing the album with a cover of the much played Tears forFears classic “Shout” and then two ballads (athough “Time To Face The Truth” is a peach) suggeststhe running order should have been rejigged. Having said that, some nice arrangement touches suchas varied backing vocals and interesting keyboard textures compensate for a small budget and over-all this is definitely a return to form for the German. You feel with Hartmann, however, to quote thetitle of his final track that “The Best Is Yet To Come”. Duncan Jamieson (90/100)CRAAFT - Second Honeymoon (Yesterrock)Craaft is a German band from the late eighties featuring Klaus Luley, they released three albums.“Second Honeymoon” was their second one originally released in 1988. Yesterrock publish nowonce again this album remastered and with three bonus tracks, three demo songs from 1987.Probably this is among the most convincing vocals performance by Luley out of his works andsounds rawer and with a harder edge in respect of other projects he has been involved. Not muchto say about production where the “German” attitude give us a classic for the time product. Songswise there no one that really stand up to the others, the opener “Run away” and “Twisted up allInside” meet my taste better but the songs are quite the same all along the album. It's an hon-est '80s album that bring onboard all classic themes form that era, from nice choruses and sinthall over the place but with a big lack of originality. “Second Honeymoon” is an AOR album likemany others, nice to listen easy to forget. Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (85/100)LUCA TURILLI’S RHAPSODY - Ascending To Infinity (Nuclear Blast)Following the mutual decision of guitarist Luca Turilli and keyboardist Alex Staropoli to go separate ways,Staropoli will continue under the Rhapsody Of Fire-monicker and Turilli will use the original Rhapsody-name. What a messy situation! To join this “new” Rhapsody are two of the older Rhapsody-members,such as guitarist Dominique Leurquin and bassist Patrice Guers, plus new drummer Alex Landenburg(Annihilator, Stratovarius) and the sensational new singer Alessandro Conti (previously known as singerof Trick Or Treat). Presenting the new album, Luca Turilli describes the music of Rhapsody as “muchmore cinematic and grand than anything Rhaps! ody of F ire ever has done”… and with an album-titlelike “Ascending To Infinity” and songs like “Dante’s Inferno”, “Excalibur” and “Dark Fate Of Atlantis” you’llsurely have no doubts about it! What should I add? If you liked Turilli’s past Works, especially the mostepic and operatic moments, you’ll love also this CD. Classical parts, cinematic interludes, orchestrations,epic choirs, pompous arrangements, everything is “big” and ambitious here. Not for all the MRF read-ers, but who likes the genre will go crazy for this. Primo Bonali (85/100)AT VANCE - Facing Your Enemy (AFM Records)With this being At Vance’s ninth release, and just as many line-up changes—“Facing YourEnemy” is a brawny and powerful musical statement. Founding member and guitarist OlafLenk seems to draw the best out of each member, whether new or not…And creates constant fresh viewpoints in song. Current vocalist Rick Altzi has been with thegroup sine VII, released in 2007. Showing great depth, Rick’s vocals drive this release tothe upper echelons of the Heavy Metal spectrum. A classic line-up of guitar-bass-drums-andvocals, At Vance goes to the limits with this combination. The results are both solid and bal-anced. Great driving songs…great driven songs, with melodic undercurrents. A very inter-esting selection of music, “Facing Your Enemy” is perhaps this group’s strongest effort yet.

Bruce Atkinson (88/100)

MRF | 13

UDO - Celebrator (AFM Records)There’s much to celebrate; twenty-five years since Udo left Accept and went solo, almost ten yearssince he joined the AFM label and it’s his sixtieth birthday to boot. A cake and a few balloons aren’tenough for UDO. Instead, the living legend gives us twenty-five tracks over two CDs. Most of the mate-rial has been released as additional EP tracks before. Remixed it’s nice to have it all together, as unlessyou’re a diehard fan, it’s unlikey that you’ll have everything. Included are collaborations withHammerfall, Lordi, Raven and Dora that keep the music varied. He re-works the Accept classic “BallsTo the Wall” as a demented orchestrated lounge number which might not oust the original from itsplace in your affections but it does work in its eccentric way. The material here is as strong as the tunesthat did find their way on to his albums. There are also three previously unreleased tracks with “TheTallyman” being classic UDO. His signature shredded vocals are matched on this one by an equallyunhinged, gargling guitar solo. The living embodiment of Teutonic Metal, UDO demonstrates that hislongevity can be attributed to a mixture of uniqueness and consistency. Duncan Jamieson (90/100)BOULEVARD - What’s Up (Yesterrock)Avoiding doubts, we are talking about the Swedish group from Gothenburg and not aboutthe Canadian band of the same name. “What's Up” is the re-release of their 1987 albumand here we are in the '80 at full force with fourteen tracks of melodic hard rock that takesback to classi band from the AOR scene such as Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Poison and Europe.Since the first note of the opener 'Solid As A Rock' start you are taken deep back to thatperiod and sound, no doubts. And this is the good and the bad the same time as all tunesshow a very dated sounding genre and we have to say that productions wise the work isbelow par indeed, giving the whole album a creepy sound and a very simplistic mix. It's sadbecause some tracks would have rocked really hard with a better treatment, some othersinstead are just quite at demo level and not even to mention. All an all a nice travel back intime that lovers of that period will appreciate. Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (82/100) GOTTHARD – Firebirth (Nuclear Blast)The death of Steve Lee has been a real tragedy not only for this band but for the whole Rock world.Leo Leoni and his mates chose a new singer (the incredible Nic Maeder) and the overall sound ofthe new album speaks “loud and clear” the language of the continuity. Gotthard starts exactly fromwhere they left with Steve; more, they decided to go back to their roots, and they recorded“Firebirth” at the “Yellow House Studios”, in Lugano, under the production of Leo Leoni and Paul Leni(who produced their previous successful albums, “G” and “Homerun”). The result is an incredibleand somehow unexpected (due to the big loss just suffered) album, starting from the first emotion-al single “Remember It’s Me” (obviously dedicated to the departed singer) passing thru “Starlight”(where Maeder sounds so close to Steve Lee), the catchy “Yippie Aye Yay”, some more powerful andsomehow modern tunes like “Fight” and “Give Me Real”, and the unmissable ballad “Shine”. Theend is reserved to “Where are You”, an unbelievably emotional song as a tribute to Steve Lee. Ifyou buy only a very few Cd in the year, this should be one of these! Primo Bonali (95/100)SABATON – Carolus Rex (Nuclear Blast)Swedish power metal band Sabaton reach their seventh studio album, Carolus Rex, the last withthe original lineup, in fact in the album the band still feature Daniel Mullback on drums, DanielMÿhr on keyboards, and Oskar Montelius & Rikard Sundén on guitars. Sabaton are a heavy metalband that loves keyboards too, and they use them as counterparts to the power of huge guitarsdynamics. "Carolus Rex" is an epic yet a very ambitious album. The vocal harmonies are deepdeveloped to open up for outstanding guitar solos, the choice to slow down a bit the tempo onmany songs give a more solid edge to the music, helped by the new direction taken by the lyricsthat abandoned the Sabaton usual World War II/Nazi Germany themes. You may like or not thegenre but “Carolus Rex" is quite a good example of what epic power metal means and will sure-ly widely appreciated. Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (87/100)ACCEPT – Stalingrad (Nuclear Blast)The band led by the guitars Wolf Hoffmann and Herman Franks, the bass of Peter Baltes, thedrumming of Stefan Schwarz and the mighty vocals of Mark Tornillo are back and back withall the venom and riff laden might that you associate with the Accept name. From the open-ing barrage of ‘Hung Drawn and Quartered’ and title track ‘Stalingrad’, you can almost tastethe metal in the air, with Hoffman and Herman sharing the guitar duties like six string assas-sins cutting the air with licks sharp and fast. But it’s Tornillo that really shines on this album,the similarities to one Mr Dirkscheider are unmistakable, but this is only the start as he has apresence that matches his might. This vocal might is brought to light on the likes of ‘Flash ToBang Time’ and ‘The Quick and the Dead’, although where he really shines is the more sedatemetal of the haunting ‘Shadow Soldiers’ and ‘Twist of Fate’. All in all this is one of the bestAccept albums in recent history and equals the mighty ‘Restless And Wild’. I’m sure this willbecome a firm fan favourite when it’s finally released. Barry McMinn (90/100)SHADOWSIDE – Inner Monster Out (Ulterium Records)Not known for exporting great rock bands…Brazil should be! Shadowside hail from Santos-Braziland they have what it takes to become a major Metal Force! “Inner Monster Out” is the quartet’sthird full length album. It begins with a driving, soaring and melodic Metal wave that propels thisrecord to the highest of heights! From their official biography: “Power, energy, intensity. Thesethree words defined Shadowside’s career path very well…”, and those same words describe theirthird effort… Power-this record RIPS!...Energy, there is no end to it! Intensity, yes!, each song isperformed with it and so is the lyrical content! Winning fans all over the world, the group’s con-stant touring has produced a very tightly woven juggernaut of Hard Molten rock. Dani Nolden’svocals have an indescribable quality… Strong and dynamic, yet melodic, just like the music itcrowns! “Inner Monster Out” should further Shadowside’s career by legions, and bringing a wholenations’ Rock Music scene to world attention. Bruce Atkinson (90/100)

BAnd. driveralbum. Countdown

Interview with. rob rockinterviewed by:. f. mainardi

Question: Almost four yearshave passed since your debutalbum “Sons Of Thunder”.Which are the main differencesbetween “Count down” and“Sons Of Thunder”?Answer: I'd say the the new albumhas a fresher writing and a newapproach. For the songwriting weset out to have one solid foot inthe traditional Driver sound andthe other in a newer sound withnew songs. The sound productionof the album we geared toward theclassic Ozzy / Dio sound of the80's, no drum samples, and usedold school studio effects, so wekeep true to the 80's hard rockstyle that we love.Q: Did you write all songsrecently or did you use someold demos form the early days?A: There are four older songs andsix newer songs on the CD. Theyblend quite well together and wetried hard to keep it all in the samevibe as a complete album.Q: Can you introduce us whoDriver are today?A: We have the same line-up asthe 2009 “Sons of Thunder” CD:Guitar: Roy Z, Drums: Reynold"Butch" Carlson, Vocals: Rob Rock,

Keys: Ed Roth, Bass: AaronSamson.Q: Musicians that played on thealbum will be onboard for nextlive performances?A: Yes, everybody is anxious toplay live and get out there to seeour fans and friends.Q: What your thoughts abouttechnology in music recording?Do you prefer playing live inthe studio or work out tunesseparately?A: In the beginning stages of writ-ing the songs, we work out thetunes seperately. I do like a livevibe in the studio, especially withdrums, but today's technologymakes it more convenient torecord at one's own place andpace... So I like that aspect of it.With Driver, we go for a live vibewhen we record, even if the bandis not in the same room at thesame time.Q: Where do you take inspira-tion about lyrics on this one?A: News. Political news, entertain-ment news, national news. I hearwhat's going on and try to com-ment on it in a new way. I alsolook into world history and theBiblical views on our current

events and then comment on themfrom my own personal viewpoint.Q: What your thoughts on cur-rent Rock scene?A: Currently... I have high hopes.I actually heard a guitar solo onthe radio yesterday! Also, onyoutube there are new youngbands imitating the 80's rocksound... So that's exciting for meto hear because I love that style ofrock.Q: What are your music influ-ences and which are musicians/ bands you like the mostnowadays? A: Dio, Foreigner, Ozzy, Styx,Boston, Aerosmith... The classicrock acts of the early 80's. That'swhat made me love rock n roll so Ithink that was my main influenceto pursue music in the first place.Todays bands... I like songs hereand there but I haven't tapped intoany main group lately.Q: Are you planning touringnow?A: Right now we are seeking outpromoters to see what may bepossible for us this year. I hope wecan put together a good run andget to play live for our fans andfriends, especially in Europe!

After almost four years after the 2008 debut album Driver are back with “Countdown” the fol-low-up to “Sons Of Thunder”. Originally formed by members of the super group M.A.R.S. in thelate Eighties, Driver is run by vocalist Rob Rock (Impellitteri, Warrior, Joshua, Avantasia, AxelRudi Pell) and guitarist/producer Roy Z (Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford, Tribe Of Gypsies) alongwith original drummer Reynold 'Butch' Carlson (Jag Panzer, Joey Tafolla, Tribe After Tribe), EdRoth (Glenn Hughes, Ronnie Montrose, Impellitteri) on keyboards and Aaron Samson (Odin,George Lynch, John 5) on bass. “Countdown” is a compilation of new material and several olddemos resurrected by the band, such as “Destiny”, “Thief in the Night” and “Always on myMind”. Recorded and mixed at Roy Z's California-based studio and mastered by MaorAppelbaum (Halford, Sepultura, Yngwie Malmsteen) the album sees number of contributionssuch as bassists Ray Burke (Life After Death, Bruce Dickinson) and Daniel Cordova (Shades OfCrimson, Vengeance Rising), as well as veteran vocalist Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen, RoyalHunt) and bring back the listener to a classic Driver-style sound the reminds the glorious andpowerful sound of the early 80's heavy metal. Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (86/100)

Focus on: DRIVER - Coutdown (Metal Heaven)

14 | MRF

End Of September is the brainchild of guitarist Erik Tordsson who started working on EndOf September back in 2009, but then when vocalist Victoria Sundberg left the band, thingswent into a two year hiatus, until vocalist Elin Redin was found along with the remainingband members Johan Nöjd (bass) and Johan Svensson (drums), who completed the line-up. The band mix of modern metal and melodic metal with some symphonic tones, thatreally show the band are on to something rather special and this mix combined withTordsson’s song writing and the majestic tones of Redin, are the perfect recipe for success.The album is very focused on the big guitars sounds and the vocals of Redin, unlike somebands in the same genre, they have lessoned the gruff male vocals (they are still there inplaces but remain a secondary force). With great songs like album opener ‘Isolated’, theheavy bass ridden ‘A Place To Go’ and the excellent ‘Inner Voice’, all showing the complex-ity of the bands overall sound. This band aren’t one trick ponies, they can mix things upand produce great tunes in the process. Definitely a band with a big future. They might benamed End of September, but this debut album is just the start. Barry McMinn (90/100)

Focus on: END OF SEPTEMBER - End Of September (Ulterium Records)

BAnd. end of septemberalbum. end of september

Interview with. e. tordssoninterviewed by:.b. mcminn

MRF | 15

Question: For those unfamiliarwith the band, can you give usbrief history of End ofSeptember and how it all cametogether?Answer: It all started with me writ-ing songs on my own in 2009. Ifound vocalist Victoria and made atwo song demo. Victoria left theband and I started the search for areplacement. In 2011 I found vocal-ist Elin and soon after that Johanand Johan joined on bass anddrums. Q: How long did it take beforethe band received label interest- how did you go about gettingsigned?A: Ulterium Records showed theirinterest after hearing the first demowith Victoria. And they've beeninvolved during the whole processwith finding a new vocalist. So thesigning process has actually beenextremely long.What are your (commercial)expectations for this your debutalbum?A: The problem with music businessare you can never expect anything.What you think might work might

not and vice versa. What we're hop-ing for is to be able to make anoth-er record and get out on tour.Q: Are you pleased with how thenew album turned out? Do youhave a favourite track that foryou epitomizes what End ofSeptember are all about?A: We are very happy with howeverything from artwork to produc-tion turned out. Although I thinkevery musician wants to do thingseven better. That's what drives us tomake another record. I think whatepitomizes us best are a mixture ofmore than one of our songs. I likeall songs in a way but Isolated andSilence are my favourites at themoment. Q: When you set out to start thenew album, did you have a stylein mind or was it formed out ofthe songs already written?A: I had it roughly figured out whenI started writing the first songs.Then I've made some minorchanges along the way but the mainplan were always there. Q: Lyrically there are some pret-ty strong messages in some ofyour songs. Where does such

inspiration come from?A: I write all lyrics out of life experi-ences and that's what inspires me.And many of our lyrics can be inter-preted by the listener in differentways.Q: What makes you different toother bands in the female front-ed metal scene?A: When I started this band I knewI wanted to sing a bit myself but Ididn't want to front the band. So Ifigured that the best complement tomy voice would be a femalefronting. Neither one of us listens tofemale fronted metal. So I don't seeus as a female fronted metal band.We're just a metal band that hap-pens to have a female fronting. Andthat's what makes us different. Q: Do you have any plans to playlive for the new album?A: Yes, we already have a few gigsbooked and more coming. Our firstever gig will be as a support toAmaranthe here in Sweden, andthen we have a couple of othershows and festivals confirmed forthe summer. We’re hoping to hit thestage as much as possible during2012 and 2013!

MRF | 17

The much publicised split between the band and singer Jack Russell means“Elation” is a new start of sorts for Great White. The band have gone with theseasoned Terry Ilious (XYZ, Bridger) as Russell’s replacement. Personally, I thinkit works a treat. He sings as well as I’ve ever heard him as if he’s out to provea point. His elastic, bluesy voice is a good fit for the band’s trademark 70s-indebted, bluesy, hard rock. It sounds like they’re having a blast as they ripthrough twelve tracks that show them back in love with the music they grew upwith. A rough and ready production adds to the organic feel of the record.Highlights include the very Led Zeppelin sounding “(I’ve Got) Something For You”,the Bad Company throb of “Heart Of A Man” and the bouncy “Shotgun Willie’s”.“Feelin’ So Much Better” with its “Now the poison has gone/it’s time to move onfeeling so much better” line sounds like a thinly veiled dig at Russell. Regardlessof the mud being thrown from both camps in the press, on record it’s all smilesas this is a great, old-school rock album. Duncan Jamieson (92/100)

Focus on: GREAT WHITE - Elation (Frontiers Records)

Question: What differences werethere in terms of songwriting andhow you worked together in thestudio? A: Terry vibrates differently than Jack.He contributes musical ideas andwhen we are all in the same room thecreative energy is at a high level. Wealways do what's best for the songand not our egos. We had more ideasstemming from jamming together,which is different than in the past. Inthe past I would have a musical idea,I would show it to Jack and then Iwould show him the vocal melodyideas I had and he would write downwords and we would rehearse andrecord. Now there is way more spon-taneity.Q: Terry was, of course, in XYZ.The album he cut last year withBridger shared a lot of the sameblues rock influences as GreatWhite. How long have you knownTerry and how did you decide hewas the man for the job? A: I have known of him for years butnot personally. The only song I wasfamiliar with from XYZ was Inside Out.Our agent I believe suggested him

when we needed someone to fill in.The first time I met him was when heflew out to fill in for Jack Russell. Wehad no rehearsals with him and hebasically learned songs on the air-plane. I guess he was kind of familiarwith our music. I was blown away byhis performance with such little notice.I am a pure blues guy and so is Terry.The reason Great White sounds theway it does is because everyone hasdifferent influences and that's whatmakes a band sound like a band. Afterdoing almost 80 shows with him therewasn't even a question that we want-ed him in the band. His voice meltsinto our bands music perfectly andplaying and writing together is anabsolute blast!!Q: How have the fans taken toTerry when you’ve played live? A: The fans have accepted Terry withopen arms. The Promoters and fanshave really welcomed Terry. His ener-gy on stage is off the charts killer. He'sthe real deal and a complete profes-sional in every way!!Q: Has the new blood in the bandfired your creativity for thisrecord?

A: Absolutely, but Michael and I havealways worked well together. This wasa complete band effort in every wayand we do enjoy each other.Q: You’ve always been a classyhard blues rock band but back inthe 80’s you were lumped in withthe fluffier LA hair metal bands.Do you think the connectionhelped or hindered your progress? A: To tell you the truth, I didn't paythat much attention to all that. I havejust always felt like we are a rock andblues band, but if someone wants toinclude our hair with that, more powerto them.Q: What are your plans now and isthere a chance of seeing you com-ing over to Europe anytime soon? A: We will definitely come to Europe!We want to help get our new music tothe people!! I want people to hear ournew record, even if they don't buy it,lol. All kidding aside, we are going toplay live all we can and there are plansto tour Europe in the works. Thanks toall the Great White fans for all theyears of being a part of our music andsupporting rock and roll. We love youall!!!!!

BAnd. great Whitealbum. elationInterview with. mark kendall

interviewed by:. D. jamieson

Question: What’s been happeningin your lives since 'Isolate' that’skept you away for so long?Answer: Since 'Isolate', besides beingin “hibernation” :) we have had trag-ic and happy events. Some of us hasexperienced loss and 3 have becomeparents. That plus several unluckyincidents with the production beingHD crashes, injuries and so on, issome of the reasons why we have notbeing able to finish the album untilnow.Q: It’s another great album fromyou. It’s even more melodic butheavy and with lots of ideas goingon that reveals more layers witheach listen. A: Thanks! We are really happy with'Nine'. It was in the cards all alongsince our previous release that wehad to do something else this time.We needed to have a production thatwould match the songs and justify thequality of them. In fact, its got feverlayers than both 'Isolate' and 'The 1stChapter' so taking it to pieces mightfeel easier for the listener. At least onsome tracks. We also clearly wanteda different mix this time. A goodfriend of us, Christer Cederberg wasthe one we ended up using. He usual-ly does more pop oriented production( Besides the new 'Anathema' albumhe did ) so he had the exact tools weneeded to challenge ourselves and

the new songs. He truly is one of thebest in the business. Regardless ofthe genre.Q: The last record was a conceptalbum. What was the idea behindthis record?A: Where the material on The 1stchapter and Isolate is more fictiv,'Nine' is grounded in life experiencesand from life itself. The idea behind'Nine' is routed in keeping thingsnaked and raw. This concerns every-thing from the album cover to thesongs, lyrics and mix.Q: What is the significance of thetitle “Nine”A: Everyone is the architect of theirown future" Spiritually, the number'Nine' symbolizes that in severalways. Then we have 9 songs to top it.Hence the title 'Nine'Q: Although you write most of thesongs, how much do they changefrom their conception to how theyturn out after input from the restof the band in the studio? Whichsongs on the new record changedmost?A: I think the pre-production that wasmade on this one was in total morestudied than before. More or lesseverything was well thought out whenwe started the finalproduction/recordings. One thing thatis amazing in the band is that wheneveryone is laying their work on the

songs. That is when the magic reallyhappens! Especially the bass on thisone. It sounds so amazing! I believethe songs that changed the most is'The One' and 'The Last Goodbye'.They had a little different outcomethan on the pre-production.Q: How do you think the world ofprog rock has changed in the fiveyears since you’ve been away?A: I think the world of prog is some-what the same since our last endeav-our. Although it has had more com-mercial success with bands like Museand more Metal bands like Mastodonand Opeth and so on. Like in all gen-res, music is always somewhat evolv-ing. Some people will always preferthe traditional recipe while others not.Q: Have you got any gigs or festi-vals lined up anytime soon?Which new tracks do you thinkyou’ll try out in your live set? A: We have plans for several gigsand tours in the near future. In lateaugust we are planning a tour inNorway followed up by a tour inEurope. We will and we are ready todo a lot more shows than ever. Whenit comes to the songs I think we willtry to do most of them live if not thewhole album. We have some oldsongs that we the know the crowdwant to hear so of course we have tomake some exceptions on the comingsetlist.

MRF | 19

After a five year gap since their last album “Isolation”, the Norwegian melodic prog bandare back on their third album sounding as bold and as impressive as ever. It takes untilmidway through the second track “Architect Of Fortune” when the music shifts gear thatthe band’s trademark sound re-emerges; progressive arrangements, heavy, emotiveguitar, keyboards and Michael Ericksen’s great melodic rock voice. “Game Of Life” and“Reach Within” have enough hooks to appeal to the melodic rock fraternity in the wayVanden Plas do. Whereas the more ambitious heaviness of “Used” and the great drumbarrage that drives “The One” will appeal more to the serious prog metal fan. Despitea couple of longer tracks they’ve decided to keep songs more focussed than the sprawl-ing approach of their debut. There’s still a lot going on in each track, meaning it takessome living with before it really gets beneath your skin. The addition of acoustic guitaron the intro to “Burn after Reading” and the Yes-like “The Last Goodbye” adds furthercolour, showing how Mats Haugen’s song writing has continued to develop, enhancingthe band’s majestic, ethereal prog metal sound. Duncan Jamison (95/100)

Focus on: CIRCUS MAXIMUS - Nine (Frontiers Records)

band. circus maximusalbum. nine

Interview with:. mats haugeninterviewed by:. d. jamieson

MRF | 21

Bruce Atkinson: I would like to begin with abrief history of the band… And what it is likebeing from Brazil, musically speaking... Dani : Being in a Metal band here is usually anuphill struggle but at the same time it's extreme-ly entertaining, I can't tell you how much fun Ihave shocking the old ladies who think I'm goingto eat their hearts or something like that (laughs).We had no idea what would happen after therelease of our first demo... in less than a year, webuilt a good national reputation which soon led tothe release of our debut album, Theatre ofShadows. We toured a lot nationally and when wewere getting ready to record the second album,Dare to Dream, the label put together a short UStour and that was our first international step. Itwas so successful that it led to a second one, thena third and for a long time, we were playing morein the United States than in our country. After lotsof gigs we decided that it was time to stop for alittle bit and focus on new material, which is theInner Monster Out album that is coming out now!BA: Let’s look at your new effort…”InnerMonster Out”…a great collection, what didyou want to accomplish with this record, andhave you succeeded?D: We basically wanted to get out of Sweden,where we recorded the album, with the best mate-rial of our careers and I'm pretty confident that wedid it. We wanted to come up with something wecould enjoy playing live and listening to, some-thing we would really stop to listen to on the radioand actually want to buy it if it was done by some-body else. Musical differences were embraced onthis album. Our drummer Fabio is a thrash metalfan, Raphael loves modern, melodic death metallike In Flames, as I do as well, but I'm a hard rockfanatic for example. So we just accepted it all andwouldn't stop working on a song until we managedthat all members were truly happy with it.BA: You also seem to have a huge and loyalfan base right at home…which must inspireyou to push on…D: It definitely does... the main reason is themusic of course, but the fans indeed add fuel tothe fire and a lot of it. Seeing those happy facessinging the song I wrote in my bedroom, in thetourbus... it's priceless. Having them come to yousaying your music changed their lives or theyrelate to the lyrics you wrote, or they use yourmusic as inspiration... when I'm down, all I haveto do is to think of those people. How can I everbe down with such a special thing going on in mylife? It really keeps us going... their wish for ourmusic definitely makes me happier about writingand playing!

Duncan Jamison: You’ve got a solid band with you.Can you tell us about these guys?Oliver Hartmann: It’s really what you can call a solid“band” because we didn’t have any changes in the line upsince the first gigs in 2005 when touring with the album“Out in the cold”. Just our keyboard player Juergen Wuestleft the band after the production of “3” to take more careof his solo project. But since then we’re touring as a 4-piece-band what is perfectly working. We have ArminDonderer on bass, who is a former member of Paradoxand Freedom Call, and Mario Reck on second guitar. Bothare great musicians and I’m happy to have them in theband. We have Dario Ciccioni on drums and since lastyear he is also taking care of additional backing vocalsduring live shows – and he’s doing an amazing job – amI right?DJ: There’s a really good balance of songs not sur-prising, given the name of the record!) from up-tempo rockers like “All My Life” and “Like A River”to some songs where you ease off the gas like“Dance On The Wire”. How long did you work onthe tracks on “Balance” and what does the titleallude to? OH: We’ve been working on this album a bit longer thanwe used to in the past – close to two and a half yearsnow. The main reason is that I was touring a lot withother projects like AVANTASIA in 2010 and ROCK MEETSCLASSIC last winter so I didn’t have the time to reallyconcentrate just on HARTMANN. That’s why the songwrit-ing for the new album somehow happened in steps. Theidea to call the album “Balance” came up by our guitarplayer Mario while searching for a fitting title. Somehowthis album has the right balance of everything that isimportant for us as band regarding the music. On theother hand the inner balance in general is important foreverything you do in your life. There’s no black withoutwhite, no good without bad, no ying without yang. Thegoal is maybe to find the right mixture of both sides tolead your life into the right direction – and sometimes it’sreally like dancing on a wire, haha ;-)DJ: How do you feel you’ve developed as a soloartist since your debut?OH: I think everything developed in the right direction.“Out in the cold“ was the first record in 2005 and alreadyreceived great critics. But it was the first record where Iwas the only songwriter and it was a real solo project.With the following albums “Home” and “3” we had thechance to develop and fine tune our style and the song-writing and I think “Balance” really has the perfect mix-ture. We decided to produce the album with Sascha Paethagain, who was also involved in all other HARTMANNalbums. He knows our style and really likes our music –and he did a perfect job on this one!Q: What’s the next step for you and the band?You’ve got some German gigs lined up. Can we lookforward to seeing you live in other parts of Europethis year?OH: Right now we are looking forward to some touring insummer and we are still working on doing the support fora well known band we already accompanied in the past.Besides that we hope to also tour outside Germany thistime, hopefully also outside Europe in autumn but let’ssee how things will develop.

Question: What are your feelingsfor this new album?Answer: We've been busy playingshows and touring a lot, and we justdidn't find the time to do anotheralbum, suddenly 3 years flew by.The only time we spent in the studiolast year was to mix the "Live inBlack Album". The first original planwas to have a new studio albumreleased sometime in 2011, but wejust couldn't find the time or energyto make it happen. When recordingand mixing I always wish I couldspend another month or so beforefinishing an album, but times aremoving faster so we need to bemore productive and speed upthings to keep our ship floatingthese days. It's the way of the newand modern world we live in. Myfavorite song is the title track "BringHeavy Rock To The Land" and I alsolike "Live and Let Fly" from the spe-cial edition a lot.Q: How would you describe themusical direction? More melod-ic? Traditional Metal?A: I think it's an album in a similartradition to before, more hard rockoriented than Metal I would say.As usual it's not just one type ofmusical expression all the waythrough the album, but a variety ofmusical landscapes within the cate-gories of rock and metal.

Q: What are the musicians play-ing on the album? Is TommyHansen producing?A: I am producing it myself likebefore. In many ways Tommy is aco-producer, but his role is mostlyimportant in the mixing stages.Q: Are you planning a new tour?A: No tour at the moment, but wewill do some individual shows thissummer. We have been talkingabout doing a more extensive tour in2013, but it's to early to say exactlywhen and where right now. The lineup is almost the same as the lastfew years exept we've had a coupleof guitar players come and go. SinceJ V. Lofstad left the band we've hada few that for various reasons could-n't stay with us on a more perma-nent long termed basis. JimmyIversen also played on "SpiritBlack", but of private reasons hecouldn't join us on tour after thealbum got released. Jimmy is nowback and this time not only for thealbum itself, we have already beentouring together for almost a yearnow and the pairing of Tore Morenand him works very well.Q: Why did you choose to rere-cord the MASTERPLAN song andthe Cristopher Cross cover?A: When writing "Time To Be King" Iheard a different and more rock ori-ented arrangement in my mind, and

after the Masterplan album wasreleased I couldn't stop thinkingabout how it would sound if it wasrecorded with this alternativearrangement. I don't know whichone's better, I have ended up likingboth versions. I have always loved"West Coast" oriented music, olderalbums from artists/bands like forexample 10cc, Pages, Santana,Little River Band, Eagles,Toto, andso on, and I thought "Ride Like TheWind" would be a good song to doJorn style. Saxon also released aversion of this song in the 80's, andthe arrangement we made ended upbeeing a mix between the originalverison and Saxon's. It's also a funsong to sing and play, most songsfrom back then usually come morenatural since they were not just puttogether in a computer before know-ing how it feels to play them withinthe band physically. I feel that mod-ern song writing is more aboutmathematics and how to put musicalpieces/sections together using astudio program, while the writingprosess in the old days were morenatural when artists physically hadto play and sing to write a song. Itmade everything so much more nat-ural. I guess that's why we love tolisten and play music from the past,before advanced technology, whentalent had to be genuine.

Focus on: JORN - Bring Heavy Rock To The Land (Frontiers Records)

band. JORNalbum. Brig Heavy Rock...

Interview with:. Jorn Landeinterviewed by:. B. Atkinson

The master has returned! Jorn’s seventh is upon us. ”Bring Heavy Rock To The Land” willdo that and more! Opening with “My Road”, Jorn takes us on a Hard Rock ride of our lives.He states so passionately that he and his musical soldiers are on a mission to play and singROCK to the world. Pure Rock. Searing Heavy Metal, this effort sees Jorn in his finest form.All the elements are here. Power, pulsating rock n’ blues and a heavy bottom end. Superblyexecuted, this outing may just be the Masterstroke we have been looking for! Surroundedby the expertise of Willy Bendiksen on drums…Tore Moren-guitar, Nic Angileri on bass andguitarist Jimmy Iversen: Mr. Lande gives us his finest vocal performances. A rich, textured& energetic performance, “Bring Heavy Rock To The Land”, lands squarely on the bullseye.As is tradition with Jorn, his cover on this record is an unlikely interpretation of “Ride LikeThe Wind”, and is nothing short of brilliant! This ride we are taken on is one containingmany soundscapes, enabling each band member to showcase their high caliber of talent.Performed and sung with zeal…this seventh outing of Jorn’s is classic. Bringing back HeavyRock to the land… Bring Rock back to you! Duncan Jamieson (94/100)22| MRF