CONTENTS04 Ecl ipse06 Asia07 Hess08 Tr iumph09 Prayer10 Oxygen12 Reviews14 Fata l Force1 5 Threshold1 7 Wigel ius19 Mi l l ion Dol lar Re load20 Loverboy

Melodic Rock FanzineThe official Frontiers Records magazine

Year #8 - Nr. 4 / Issue #51

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: ECLIPSE - Bleed & Scream (Frontiers Records)

One of the most anticipated albums of recent years has to be the second Eclipse album,and now we see the guys return with the stunning “Bleed and Scream”, the follow upto their acclaimed 2008 opus “Are You Ready To Rock”. The album is a blistering HardRock release that once again brings the vocal and song writing talents of ErikMårtensson to the forefront of the scene, along with the stunning guitars of MagnusHenriksson, the flailing drums of Robban Back and the soaring keyboards of JohanBerlin. From the opening mêlée of “Wake Up Call” and title track “Bleed and Scream”,you know you’re listening to one, if not THE album of the year. The album boasts elevenglorious rock songs that will simply blow you away. Mårtensson has never sounded bet-ter, delivering the goods track after track. The overall musicianship is impeccable, theresimply aren’t enough superlatives to say how good this album is. In my book there areno albums worth 100 / 100 but this one comes damn close. Barry McMinn (99/100)

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band. eclipse

album. bleed and scream

Interview with. E.Martensson

interviewed by:. barry mcminn

Question: Well what can I say“Bleed And Scream”, what analbum! Congratulations, itrocks big style!Answer: Thanks! Yeah, it's a hardrocking album driven with a lot ofshredding guitars and riffs. Butwithout loosing the melodieswhich still is our main focus insongwriting. Q: With the band making suchan impression with the lastalbum, did you feel you reallyhad to pull out all the stops onthe new album?A: Absolutely. We new that wehad to raise the bar a lot to beatthe last album. And I'd say wemanaged to make everything bet-ter with this one. Better songs,better played and better sounding.I must say that I'm really happywith the album ind it's by far thebest music I have ever done. Q: When did you first realisethat you’d managed to takeEclipse to the next level with“Bleed and Scream”.A: When you start to get all thesongs together and we started torecord them we knew that thiswas a great album. But I'm not sooptimistic while writing andrecording so I still had my doubtsbut when it was finished all thedoubt was gone. Q: The album is real in yourface rock n’ roll, was this theband’s intention from thebeginning, to hit hard and fastor was it just an organicprocess that came together byaccident?A: Absolutely. I know that a lot ofpeople know me from WET andother AOR projects, but personallyI prefer to listen to a lot heavierstuff. We write for ourselves whenit comes to Eclipse and we don'tcare what people want or expectfrom us. When we did this album Iwanted to do the album I wouldlove to find in the record store.Rock n roll and heavy but stillcatchy and melodic. That's actual-ly a quite good way to describeour style of music.Q: What about the lyrics? Isthere a common theme thatlinks the songs of the album?A: Absolutely. The songs and thelyrics are more moody and darkand lean towards a more seriousside than on the previous album.But it's not a theme album of anykind but the lyrics have kind of thesame feeling to them throughoutthe album. With a few exceptions Imust say.Q: Can you please be so kind todo a track by track of thealbum?A: Wake Me Up: A quick, classicEclipse rocker with a contempo-rary sound and a contagious cho-rus. Classic chunky steroid-riffsthat´ll appeal to all you hardrock-ers!Bleed and Scream: A dark, dra-

matic mid-paced song with a slightsymphonic touch in the main riff.An uplifting chorus strong enoughto break into any chart.Battlegrounds: A true classic gemthat´ll probably out-live the mostof us. Timeless melodies that willmake you dream of Kings andQueens from a long lost kingdom.About to Break: Our very 1stattempt to write a classic powerballad. But everytime we try towrite classic stuff it comes outsounding like new Eclipse-stuff :-)We thought we´d increase thepopulation a little. Hence a ballad.You´ll see you will like it! Wewon´t tell anyone ;-)Falling Down: Our take on "BadBoys" by Whitesnake. Could beit´s bastard son. Or is it the otherway around? Hmmmm...Ain´t Dead Yet: A homage to theclassic Scandinavian hardrock witha hint of Swedish folk-melody. Willappeal to those of you who liked"Under the gun" from the lastalbum.Contains the highest vocal note onthe album.S.O.S.: A contemporary, moodypop song with a heavy riff and astrong chorus. A potential radio-hit.Take back the fear: Time for somedouble bassdrum kicking. A fast,heavy and furious rocker that willmake the neoclassical metal fansgo nuts. Magnus went "Yngwie all-in" for the guitar solo.The Unspoken Heroes: Containsloads of classic Eclipse steroid-riffs, with a chorus that will stickon you for a long time.A Bitter Taste: The last song wewrote for the album. Started outas an instrumental piece which weadded lyrics to. It quickly becamea favourite for us. An epic songthat builds up more and more asthe song goes.After the End of the World: Thissong initiated a new approach tosongwriting for us. We tried lots ofstuff we´d never done before.Impossible guitar-riffs with weirdtunings. This is the song for theapocalypse! We strongly believethis song is cursed. Don´t listen toit! Don´t even look at it!!!Nooooooo...!!Q: After The End Of the Worldis a very particular song. Couldyou tell us more about it?What will be after the end ofthe world?A: It's a great song and it's one ofthe songs that kind of set thesound and feel of the wholealbum. The lyrics are more aboutall these people who have certainbeliefs and say that the end of theworld and humanity is approach-ing. We have survived all of thedoomsdays so far and I'm prettysure we'll outlive a few more. Sothe songs is more about that andnot about the end of the world. Q: It’s been four years since

“Are You Ready to Rock”, sowhy the gap between albumsand will we have to wait fouryears for album number three?A: First of all, I have beeninvolved in writing, producing andmixing a lot of albums since thelast Eclipse album so it's not thatI've been lazy. But we didn't wantto rush a new album either as wewanted to make our masterpiece.We have been writing on and offfor sometime on this album but I'dsay the real writing started in thefall and winter 2011. Hopefully itwill not take another four yearsuntil the next album!Q: What are the differencesbetween this new album “AreYou Ready To Rock”?A: It's better in every single way.Better songs, better played andbetter production. I love thealbum and it's by far the bestmusic I've ever done in my life.Q: The album has more than afew great moments but arethere any songs that epitomizewhere Eclipse are this momentin time, musically and asband?A: I'd say that all of the songsshows pretty good where Eclipseis 2012. I must say that I reallylike all the songs on the album.Even the Japan bonus track isreally great which they seldomare.Q: You also got involved withthe W.E.T album. Any news onthe much-anticipated followup?A: Yes, most of the album isalready written, recorded andmixed. It will be a really goodalbum. Maybe a little heavier thanour debut album but still extreme-ly melodic.Q: You work also as producerand songwriter. When youhave a good song for anotherproject, don’t you think toreserve it for Eclipse?A: No, I don't spare anything.Honestly. When some artist orband wants a song from me Ialways try to give them the bestpossible song even if it would fitEclipse great. I'm pretty sure mycreativity and inspiration will lastfor many more albums. Q: You supported Deep Purplelive. What have you learn formthem? Was it a special experi-ence for you or just a normaldate for a rock band?A: Not much. It was just an open-ing gig but of course it was anhonor and very fun to meet theguys in the band as I considerDeep Purple to be one of the bestbands ever. Q: What most fans want toknow is will Eclipse be touringin 2012 or early 2013?A: We are at the moment makingplans for a European tour in late2012, so we will definitely see youout on the road this year!

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Focus on: ASIA - XXX (Front iers Records)

Output since their reunion in 2006 has been steady and their third studio album sincethen co-incides with their 30th anniversary. It’s a fine record that shares more in com-mon with their 80s releases than their last two outings. It combines their ability tomix beautifully constructed pop melodies with rock atmosherics. On the last album“Omega” Geof Downes and his keyboards won the man of the match award but on thisrecord it’s John Wetton who wins that accolade. His distinctive voice, despite his heartsurgery, sounds as robust as ever, and he sings some delicious melodies and comesup with some thoughtful, honest sounding lyrics. It’s a mature sounding album withthe the band interplaying and bouncing off each other with finesse. Songs such as“Tomorrow The World”, “No Religion”, “Faithful” and “Face On The Bridge” are strongadditions to their catalogue. The pop melodies might lighten some of the rocking butthe songs seap into your head after several spins, and it’s a record you’ll want toreturn too. A pleasingly solid release and shows that after thirty years their specialbrand of pomp-pop AOR hasn’t dimished in quality. Duncan Jamieson (92/100)

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Question: Since you got backtogether again in 2006, each ofthe three subsequent studioalbums have had a different feel;“Phoenix” with more progmoments, “Omega” had you try-ing out some styles that we had-n’t heard from you before suchas a couple of Beatles infuencedtracks and a folk number. “XXX”has more in common with yourinitial 80’s releases with its mixof rock and pop melodies. Howwould you describe the soundand direction of “XXX”?Answer: That’s a fair appraisal Iwould say. Certainly we were look-ing to have some connection withthat original album on XXX. Probablythe songs are generally more up-beat and pacey, than on the previ-ous 2 albums. I think we maybewanted to show that we still hadsome life in us!Q: It sounds like the songs werewritten either starting from thevocal melodies or keyboardideas. How does the writingpartnership of Wetton / Downesdiffer in its approach on an Asiarecord from what you do for theIcon releases?A: Most of the songs John andmyself write stem from ideas that

have been developed from thepiano. We usually sit around thepiano when we throw up the ideasthat we have been working on indi-vidually. As far as allocating songsto various projects, I think we knowinherently what has the stamp of anAsia-orientated song.Q: Were all the songs writtenespecially for this album or werethere some ideas left over fromthe’Omega’ record?A: No, this is all brand new stuff. Ithink when we get together, we liketo start with a clean slate so tospeak. Generally, unused ideas fromprevious albums have been exclud-ed for a reason.Q: You’ve been very productivesince you got back together withworld tours, 3 studio albums anda livealbum You sense thatyou’re enjoying a creative spurt,and your enjoying the ride morethis time round. How does themood in Asia of 2012 differ fromthe atmoshere in the 80s?A: Yeah, I think we’re all enjoying itmore this time around. It’s a case ofnot having to think too hard about itall, as we are in a no-pressure situ-ation. And I guess this must alsohelp the creative process overall.Certainly, the atmosphere is a lot

more relaxed about the band thesedays than it was in the early 80s.Q: As well as the great music,there are some interesting lyricsand memorable lines in theresuch as on’Al Gatto Nero’. Was‘Faithful’ written for someone inparticular and what inspired thelyric on’ The Face On the Bridge’and ‘No Religion’?A: John’s probably the best personto ask about the lyrical content ofthe songs, as he is mainly responsi-ble for that side of things. However,I can tell you that ‘Faithful’ was notinsprired by any specific situation.It’s a title I came up with because Ithought it sounded phoneticallypleasant – John did the rest!Q: In the last 30 years Asia hashad its fair share of ups anddowns. What have been some ofthe personal highlights for you?A: It would be hard to disguise thesatisfaction of coming from nowhereand taking the world by storm inApril, 1982. Sure these were greattimes, but I think in recent years wehave proved that there is still plentyof great Asia music to experiencenow, and in the future, and is stillvery enjoyable for us to perform.There are many highlights, toomany to mention.

BAnd. asia

album. xxx

Interview with.geoff downes

interviewed by:. d. Jamieson

Focus on: HESS - L iv ing in Yesterday (Front iers Records)

“Living In Yesterday” is Mr. Hess’s first full stab at going about this without a groupsetting. Harry has enlisted a multitude of musical friends, including former HaremScarem band mates, and has maintained control over the whole project. Harry hasalso produced this expedition. His production skills just seem to get better with everyproject he undertakes. “Living In Yesterday” is: beauty in song, muscular in music,and gigantic in production! There is quite a European feel to this record… somethingthat is a direct reflection of Harry’s involvement with more and more EuropeanArtists. A vehicle of ever growing maturity and vocal talent from this Canadian son.An effort that pushes Mr. Hess in to new ground… Exploring musical plateaus that hehasn’t ever visited before, and giving us a work that is simply colossal! A rich collec-tion of songs that simply rocket out of the speakers. “Living In Yesterday” is a loudstatement of the future, Harry Hess’s musical future… Strapping, emotive, melodicand forceful! Thank you Mr. Hess… Thank you!! Bruce Atkinson (90/100)

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Question: First, I understandthat you are pursuing more pro-duction in your efforts, as wellas songwriting. Is “Living InYesterday” a direct result ofyour Producer aspirations? Answer: I actually released a solorecord about ten years ago called“Just Another Day“ that was muchlighter sounding but I would say thisrecord came out of me signing apublishing deal with Universal as awriter and co-writing many songsover the last few years. Then Ipicked the songs that I thought Icould record as a “Rock” record.Q: I also understand that youhave been working on thisrecord for quite awhile…anyreason or reasons that it hastaken as long as it has?A: I really did it in between otherproduction and mixing work. It’svery difficult to get motivated towork after a day of working onanother record so I would steal aday here and there…Q: It must have been a thrillworking with all of the musi-

cians that you have as guests onthe record...A: Yes, I really wanted to get a fewguest players on the record and Ithought it would make sense to geta few guitar solos for some playersthat I liked.Q: Let’s talk about some of yourguests… Tommy Denander andMagnus Karlsson in particular…A: I met Tommy in Sweden on awriting trip a few years ago and Iwrote a song on the record with himcalled “I Don’t Wanna Want You” sohe was an obvious choice… I justcalled Magnus out of the blue andasked him to do a solo and heagreed. Same with Chris Green andHowie Simon, I just sent them thesong and they did some great stuff…Q: You have also enlisted thecreative skills of former HaremScarem bandmates… Which iswonderful. Do you feel that youhave actually ventured furtherout than the Harem Scaremalbums? A: Yes, I think they are world classplayers and people I work with all

the time on various recordings,business as usual in that regard. Idon’t think I’ve done anything dif-ferent on this record that I haven’tdone in the past, I’m just trying towrite songs that I think are goodand hopefully other people like aswell.Q: The songwriting can leavegoose bumps on the listener…Did you write all the material, issome of the work a collabora-tion, and if so… With whom?A: Yes, all the songs on this recordexcept the title track “ Living InYesterday “ are co-writes. Some ofmy co-writers were: TommyDenander, Danny Orton, Brian Melo,Daniel Flores, Fredrik Berg, TonyCornelissen, Gavin Brown.Q: Being released by Frontiers,and the last group album beingreleased by the same label…youmust be very happy with yourrelationship with Frontiers…A: It’s been great, I think there is amutual respect between us and Ihave been very impressed with theirefforts on all of our past releases…

Artist. hess

album. living in yesterday

Interview with. harry hess

interviewed by. b. atkinson

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Question: It has been so great andmemorable to see you all togetheron the Sweden Rock Festival!What about about your feelingwhen you hit the stage onceagain?Answer: It was kinda like the first dateof a tour in the early days… Excited,nervous, and really afraid that youwould forget your parts.Q: Could you tell us what had beenthe trigger for this reunion?A: It was the two Hall of Fame induc-tions we were honored with in 2007and 2008. Because we spent so muchtime together, any of the bad vibesthat were hanging around were blownaway like dust in the wind. And… Welaughed a LOT!!!Q: Did you rehearsed a lot beforethe show? How did you get alongplaying together again?A: We played together pretty muchevery day for 6 weeks. The work washard, but we had a great time.Q: It has been difficult to trackdown the set list for the show?A: The set list was dictated by theTriumph hits, Gil and Rik singing alter-nate songs, AND, the contest that ranon the Sweden Rock website, wherethe fans sent their ultimate set list infor consideration. I think that overall,we got over 90% of the requestedsongs into the show.Q: Will your fans be treated withother shows like the one at the

Sweden?A: Right now, there are no plans forshows in 2012.Q: You played with the help ofDave Dunlop on additional guitar,can you tell us more about him?A: Dave is one of the top players inCanada. The new young gunslinger.He really helped keep us focusedbecause he was a huge Triumph fangrowing up. He also plays with Rik a loton his solo gigs.Q: Triumph has always been com-pared to that of Rush, I think part-ly because you’re all from Canadaand a trio. Has that been a frus-trating comparison or flattering?A: I’m totally flattered with that (com-parison). The real comparison is thefact that, as you alluded to, we’re bothfrom Canada, we’re both fromToronto, both three piece bands. Afterthat, it changes. I’m way better look-ing than Geddy! (Laughs). Rik’s waybetter looking than Alex.Q: Your music, Triumph music fea-tures a lot of progressive stuff, butalso some straight forward rock-’n’roll stuff. How easy or difficultwas it to get that music throughthe listeners back then, in the late‘70s, and ‘80s?A: I think we were pretty lucky,because by the time we started mak-ing records in 1976, we started tohave some really good success inCanada in ’77, and ’78, and a big suc-

cess in America in ’79 with our record-ings. I think we were just differentthan any other band. We weren’t aheavy metal band per say, we weren’ta pop band, we weren’t a progressiveband. We were a miss-mash of all thatstuff. So, Triumph had it’s own identi-ty, so I think that helped us get suc-cessful, because Triumph was differentthan anybody else. They tried to com-pare us with Aerosmith, that didn’twork, they tried to compare us withAC/DC, that wouldn’t work, they triedto compare us with Journey, that did-n’t work… so, we had our own littlebutton hole, a niche where we weretrying to sit into. Radio stations adapt-ed our music as part of the format,which certainly without that we would-n’t have had the big success we had,we would have done OK, but we werestapled on the radio in North Americafor many many years because of ourstyle. We were part of the fount ofradio. It was different because when-ever a song went on the radio it wasTriumph, it couldn’t be anybody else…Q: Have you ever though therewould be a Triumph reunion sometime and have you considered theidea to enter the studio to recordnew music?A: Actually, prior to the reunion, when-ever I was asked if it would happen,my answer was “Never Say Never”. Myanswer to your new music question isthe same. ;)

It took 20 years to see Triumph reunion taking place. After almost two decades apartvocalist/guitarist Rik Emmett, bassist/keyboardist Mike Levine, and vocalist/drum-mer Gil Moore joined forces again and hit the Sweden Rock Festival stage with DaveDunlop on additional guitar. And soon after that performance here we are with avisual and sound testimonial of that night. Both CD and DVD have the same tracklist, while the DVD have several bonus features, including the on-site press confer-ence, a cool "behind-the-scenes" segment and a photo gallery. Both you choose theCD or DVD you will be stormed away by the legendary live shows energy of theCanadian trio that seems not having paid the toll of all the years passed. The virtu-oso guitar work from Rik Emmet is still there with the pumping drumming from GilMoore and the amazing bass lines from Mike Levine. This CD is the sum up of a glo-rious career and of a memorable performance. A must have for all the loyal Triumphfan but also for the Heavy classic Rock. Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (90/100)

Focus on: TRIUMPH - L ive at the Sweden Rock Fest iva l (Front iers Records)

BAnd. triumph

album. live at sweden rock

Interview with. mike levine

interviewed by. fabio mainardi

Question: I would like to beginwith talking about the first go-around that you started in2005… An album entitled“Wrong Address”… Was thisthe actual debut of Prayer?Answer: Yes, it was. Before that Ihad done many things with manydifferent bands and projects, but“Wrong Address” was was thedebut for Prayer. It all started witha high school band 1976, weplayed Dr. Feelgood, Stones andstuff like that. First album was“Anyway You Want It” with IC-ROCK 1982. We also did anotheralbum with that band called “HardBeat” 1984. After that band brokeup and I started a new one withTANNA 1985, we did three albumsand hundreds of gigs all over and itwas fun and we were doin´ okay. Ialso recorded another album 1993with Tanna, but the line-up wasnot the same. Years went by, Ibecame a family man and I did allkinds of demos and recordingsevery once in a while, until 2004Prayer was formed. We were notsupposed to make an album, wejust went to soundmix to recordsome of my songs. It all went well,and we thought... Why not to sendit to someone? We had nothing tolose anyway. So, I sent one copy

to Escape Music, they liked it, andthat´s how it all got started.Q: I realise that ‘Prayer’ is avision of yours, Tapani… So thequestion must be asked, whyso long between recordings?A: After the first album the feelingwas good. We got good reviewsand pretty soon we startedrehearsing new material, but littleby little things began to change.We recorded another album, mixedit, we even had the lay outs andcovers and everything ready... ButI decided to pull the breaks. Idon´t want to go to all childishdetails, I don´t think that is impor-tant now, afterwards all I can sayis that it was the right thing to do.We had so many clashes and dif-ferent opinions and point of viewsthat it was impossible to go on forme. It is funny how some peoplechange, when they get their nameor picture on an international web-site or magazine... Unbelieveble inthis case. After that, it took sometime to get things straight, andafter a while I contacted some ofmy fellow musicians, for exampleJukka Ihme, he was born in thesame small town as me, I trustedhim 100%. And now he plays onthe new Prayer album! I was in nohurry, I thought that the songs

ain´t gonna disappear anywhere,we rehearsed every once in a whileand did some demos and so on. Ialso wrote new songs all the time,spent a lot of time with my kidsand my family. But like they say, italways feels when you look backthat the time flies so fast. All andall, I want to thank Escape Musicfor their understanding andpatience, thanks guys, really!Q: “Danger In The Dark” yournew album, does it representthe ‘ideal’ band for you?A: All things considered, at themoment, yes. I have known allthese guys a long time, we allknow where we´re coming from.I’ve know Mika for some thirtyyears, he is the only hopelessone... hahaa, but like I said, Iknew that already! We all haveour families and jobs and every-thing under balance and to makemusic is just an extra privilidgeand we really appreciate that. Weare very fortunate that we couldaccomplish this and we respecteach other and their talents. Theseguys are not “the new kids intown”. And we don’t care howmany people like us or not, it´sjust a record after all, nothingmore, we have no pressure whatso ever.

Focus on: PRAYER - Danger In The Dark (Escape Music)

BAnd. Prayer

album. danger in the dark

Interview with. mika pohjola

interviewed by. b. atkinson

We can look at this release as a re-introduction to the talents of Finnish musician TapaniTikkanen! Although still under the moniker of Prayer… ”Danger In The Dark” arrivesseven years after their debut, “Wrong Address”. This second effort marks a strength-ening of the group. Now a five piece, ‘Prayer’ is still led by Tapani and comes with aharder, fuller sound. A record that showcases the Rock attitude of its creator. Tapani haswritten each musical passage as well as sung them. “Danger In The Dark” is majesticin its presentation, a depth contained in each song that is seldom heard, and not sac-rificing melody for potency. As one progresses through the ten tracks, you are openedup to a broad spectrum of music… Constantly rich and diverse. Each musical creationwill touch upon many Rock stylings from such influences as City Boy, Pink Floyd, andMott The Hoople. Each piece is an instantaneous classic! Tapani plays and sings in thegrand tradition of the great English Rock and Progressive Rock musician, and writesgrand story telling lyrical compositions that hold you close. Hopefully ‘Danger In TheDark’ is just the beginning for this revitalised Artist. Bruce Atkinson (88/100)

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Question: Some people may recognise the nameTony Niva from metal bands Niva and Lion'sShare. What was the catalyst that made youdecide to go in a more Melodic Rock meets AORdirection with Oxygen?Answer: I grew up with melodic music which my fatherplayed every day at home. AOR and Melodic Rock hasbeen an important indigriance when expressing vari-ous emotions and moods in my music. It was thereforenatural to finally get to this genre, which to a certainextent influenced my music and musicality throughoutthe years.Q: Can you tell me about the guys in the bandand how you got together?A: I met Roger Ljunggren already in the 80's when wehad planned to start a music group which later on ranout of steam and I moved to Gothenburg. It was earlymorning when Roger called me up in the summer of2011 and asked if I had given up the music and won-dered if I could consider to contribute to a recording forthe Eurovision contest. I thought it sounded excitingand we therefore recorded the song "Janitor Of Love"with a producer who I became a good friend with,Marcus Persson (keys). Since the board didn't like oursong we decided to create a demo so we asked BenganAndersson (drums) and Plec Johansson (bass guitar) ifthey where interested in being involved and theyaccepted.Q: There's a lovely mix of upbeat rockers and bal-lads. It sounds like there was a lot of care takenwith songs that must have been time consuming.How long did it take to write and record thetracks for “The Final Warning” and what was thewriting and recording process like?A: There are three songwriters in Oxygen. Ideas tomusic and lyrics emerge in each of us. We meet tocomplete the songs in its proper arrangement and exe-cution. Many of the songs have the ideas to the melodyand lyrics emerged in the early stages while it tooklonger for some others. Overall has the process gonevery smoothly since we've been through musical barri-ers and also been marked by the same type of musicand that's why I think we work so well together.Q: “The Final Warning” is an unusual album titlefor a debut. What's the idea behind the title?A: Originally, this is Escape Music's idea to name thealbum to Final Warning. The title is taken from one ofthe songs with the same name and we thought itsounded great. The song is about global warming andhow important it is to start with ourselves, with theindividual human to accomplish a change.Q: There's a good 80s rock vibe to the music.What bands have influenced you?A: It is a great mixture of different music styles andnot just those who surround us during our formativeyears, but also modern music which has shaped theway we create the musical style that today is Oxygen.Q: What are the plans now the record isreleased? Any chance of live gigs in Europe thisyear?A: As I see it the plan is to release a second OXYGENalbum and then maybe have a tour to follow up withdepending on how the album will be received.

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BULLET - Full Pull (Nuclear Blast)One of my fave new Metal bands, also if strongly rooted in the classic ‘80s Metal sound, Swedish five-some Bullet returns with their 4th album, “Full Pull”, and with their unmistakable and anthemic mix ofAccept and Ac/Dc (especially in the guitar-department), enriched by these rough and sharp-like-razorsvocals, courtesy of Hell Hofer. Recorded in their home-country with producers Nicke Andersson(Hellacopters, Entombed) and Fred Estby (Dismember) and mixed by Tobias Lindell (Europe, HarcoreSuperstar), the new album features 11 powerful, catchy and very old-school Metal-track that will makejump and scream any real headbanger, starting with the powerful “Midnight Oil”, passing thru theinstant anthem “Running Away”, and arriving to the classic old school Hard-Rock tune “Freeriding” andto the final “Warriors” (what an Accept’s “Metal Heart”-era déjà-vu!!!). That’s music meant to be playedloud and proud, that’s the Metal-sound that the band feels, breathes, eats and shits every day… and,as for the previous three works, that’s a must-have album if you still trust in Metal. And I really do.So, horns up and bang your fuckin’ head to the mighty Bullet! Primo Bonali (90/100)

RUSH - Clockwork Angel (Roadrunner)Co-produced with Nick Raskulinecz, Clockwork Angels marks the band’s first concept album. The storyis about a young man fighting his enemy, the Watchmaker, who wants to drive the world into a sort ofdictatorship. Lyrics apart Rush are still able to create the magic with blistering riffs and melodic chorus-es. Hands down, Clockwork Angels was worth the wait. Rush's music spans from heavy metal to rockprog, from classical to electric jazz. And the more you listen to the album the more you figure many moreinfluences throughout the tunes. Best track to me is the title track, quite a concept album into the con-cept album. It sounds like a magistral mix between a Zeppelin and a Yes classic pushed to the limit. Theup tempo opener “The Caravan” is Rush at its peak and I do believe that "Halo Effect" will enter the topfive band's classic power ballads. To be mentioned also is "Headlong Flight", a seven-minute flights intoRush musicianship and technical abilities, where the listener is driven into an amazing journey among somany musical genres. What to say more, 36 years are gone but Rush are still delivering top notch musicfull of creativeness and gaining legions of fans, chapeau! Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (90/100)

H.E.A.T - Address The Nation (Ear Music)Europe – H.E.A.T. Same record label (EarMusic). Same country (Sweden). The funny thing isthat Europe decided to stop being Europe and evolved into an Heavy Blues Rock band, whileH.E.A.T. decided to take their role and becoming the new Europe! Clearly influenced from theclassic Scandi AOR-Melodic Rock sound of the ‘80s (Treat, Skagarack, Glory and obviouslyEurope), H.E.A.T. delivers, with this new “Address The Nation”, another (the third in a row!)first-class album, full of keyboards-driven radio-friendly tunes, catchy choruses and amazingvocal melodies, courtesy of their new singer, the “Swedish Idol” winner Erik Gronwall. Theproduction of Grammy award-winning Tobias Lindell is stellar, and songs like the first single“Living On The Run” with its crystal clear and epic melodies, and the heart-breaking ballad“The One And Only” might become huge hits. Definitely one of the best albums, in the genre,of 2012. Young rockstars outclass old masters… Primo Bonali (90/100)

DORO - Under My Skin – A Fine Selection of Doro Classics (AFM Records)The Metal-Queen returns with this new Work, a “best of”-Compilation including 32 of Doro’sClassics + 3 videos, spanning thru her long and glorious solo-career (started early ‘90s whenshe left her own band WARLOCK). As usual for albums like these, this Double-CD Compilationmight be a nice addition to any Metal-fans collections, but obviously most of the Doro-fans willsurely already have most of the material here included. Anyway, some nice extra-material onthe “Under My Skin” 2Cd are the versions of “I Rule The Ruins”, “Metal Tango”, “Fur Immer”,“Love Me In Black”, “Always Live To Win”, “Let Love Rain On Me” and “Tausend Mal Gelebt” per-formed with the Classic Night Orchestra, plus the acoustic version of “Rare Diamond” and the2007 version of “All We Are” , which mean a new way to listen to some of these Doro classics!All in all, a good retrospective for the blonde Lady, with a Metal heart and a strong and pow-erful voice. When the going gets tough, the tough get going… Primo Bonali

OXIGEN - Final Warning (Escape Music)Some of you may recognise Tony Niva’s name from the bands Axia and Lion’s Share. However, onOxygen’s debut debut he moves in a more melodic rock/AOR direction Niva has a good range andhis voice can take a phrase and make it soar high into the stratosphere, lifting the songs above theaverage.The nearest benchmark for his voice and music would be the Rob Moratti fronted FinalFrontier. His ability to warbble at a high register could have a marmite love/hate effect for some lis-teners. Personally, I love it. He’s backed by chugging guitars, sparkly solos and gently caressed key-boards that remind you of some the best Scandanavian melodic rock acts such as TNT,Glory andAlien. Uptempo “Anything For You” and “Janitor Of Love”(despite the odd title) stand out as the besttracks as does “I Remember”, a Steve Perry-esque ballad that will have you wanting to dig out yourold zippo lighter. On “Best Days Of Our Lives” his vocals might get a little too shrill but overall thisis an enjoyable romp. The Swedish band are welcome newcomers to the melodic rock scene . Youmight even say that Oxygen are a breath of fresh air. Duncan Jamieson (88/100)

LITA FORD - Living Like A Runaway (SPV)Lita Ford has a monumental task of overcoming one of the worst records in recent memory in her lastalbum Wicked Wonderland. It was obvious to all at the time that the album was glory ride for then hus-band Jim Gillette. Thankfully Lita realized this and threw him out, along with most of the out of char-acter influences of that hideous record. She's now back on track with the very enjoyable Living Like ARunaway. It's a far more enjoyable record with some tough contemporary rockers mixed in around afew more classic melodic rock songs that she was best at delivering in her early career. It may not beher best album, but it certainly excises the demons of Wonky Wonderland. Backed by a band thatincludes the awesome guitarist / songwriter/producer Gary Hoey, the album mixes old and new alikewith some very personal and insightful lyrics. A winner for Lita personally and a definite positive forlong time fans of the guitar / vocal legend. Gary Hoey's involvement is a real plus, both for fans of hisand the fact that he brought the best out in Lita. Andrew McNeice - Melodicrock.com (88/100)

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DORO - Raise Your Fists In The Air EP (Nuclear Blast)It’s been almost four years since her ‘Fear No Evil’ opus and soon the unadulterated Queen of Heavy MetalDoro Pesch will be back later this year with a new album ‘Raise Your Fist’. In between now and then we havea bit of a taster of what to expect from the new album with this four track EP ‘Raise Your Fist In The Air’. Aswell as the anthemic title track ‘Raise Your Fist’, the EP includes two new songs, as well as a French versionof ‘Raise Your Fist’. But let’s go back to the start with the first version of ‘Raise Your Fist’. This is typical Doro,a towering metal anthem with screaming guitars and power driven rhythms, all capped by the vocal mightthat is Miss Pesch. The anthems continue with the superb ‘Victory’, which starts off with an almost Sabbath’s‘Iron Man’ start, before the old school Heavy Metal takes over with Doro at her metal best. The metal queendoes have a penchant for a ballad or two and this EP has one of her finest with the haunting ‘Engel’, uponwhich Doro sings in her native German. The EP closes with that French version of ‘Raise Your Fist’, whichfinds the Queen of Metal showing off her vocal prowess again, only this time in French. If this is just a tasterof what is to come from the new album, then I for one can’t wait! Barry McMinn (90/100)

SHINEDOWN - Amaryllis (Atlantic)Shinedown have quickly become the modern rock band for me. They have everything I love about music –passion, drama, energy in spades and melodies big enough to hang your hat on. And best of all – they areunique. So many modern hard rock/metal bands out there have the same droll tone, but Shinedown, withtheir enigmatic frontman Brent Smith just ooze attitude and soul. And they are heavy! Everyone called theirSound Of Madness album a genre defining masterpiece and I agreed. I still love it and the attitude withinhasn't been matched until now. And the band themselves said they wouldn't make another record until thatone could be topped – Smith suggesting it could be years away. When news of this new album being under-way came through, I was skeptical. This another absolute masterpiece as far as I'm concerned and afterweeks and weeks of seriously heavy rotation. The same energy, attitude and passion is there and the albumcontains the same super heavy intensity and hard rocking feel as the last album, yet at the same time I feelit is a slightly more mature and more polished performance. Stunning. One of the best heavy records in mytime reviewing and another absolute classic from Shinedown to follow the already acclaimed The Sound OfMadness. Recommended for all fans of melodic but powerful music and an ear for the modern era, with allthe melody you'd expect from classic rock. Andrew McNeice - Melodicrock.com (91/100)

MARILLION – Best Live (Madfish)Here is a band that is no stranger to giving their fans tons of musical souvenirs, as every yearsomething new is conjured up as well as many "lost" albums and live concerts make their wayas reissues, they are coming close to becoming the KISS of progressive rock, well as close asthey could ever get. The latest coming from Marillion's box of goodies is this two disc live setfrom various performances spanning 2003-2011. Representing the band's lengthy catalog innew light, tunes "Warm Wet Circles/That Time of the Night," "The Invisible Man," "Man of aThousand Faces," & "Three Minute Boy" are amongst the twenty tracks spanning this two discset, again proving Marillion as a band on top of their gain as a continuous machine, being oneof progressive rock's to live acts. Even with all of the live releases and assorted rarities comps,the fans still devour them, and hats off to a band that maintains that kind of fanbase and tightgrip on their performances all across the board. Tommy Hash - Ytsejam.com (90/100)

FOREIGNER – Alive & Rockin’ (Eagle Rock)They are the band that just can’t stop, and why should they. These days, it’s just founding memberMick Jones who is the only original member still leading the way as Kelly Hansen (ex-Hurricane) haslong replaced Lou Gramm, and Jeff Pilson (Dokken), Jason Bonham, session musician Thom Gimbelamong others have joined the fold, so it’s safe to say that they still pertain to the supergroup mantraas it was when they formed, but most importantly they are still at the top of their game as a liveact (& in the studio as well). It’s a brief collection of live hits includes the classics “Dirty White Boy,”“Feels Like the First Time,” “Double Vision,” “Hot Blooded,” a cover of Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,”etc… and as the title says ‘Rockin’,’ there are no power ballads or any of the 80’s AOR that we alsolove, it’s just a rock and roll extravaganza performed tight, showing the crowd how it’s still done andhow their name is still an eminent entity on the live stage. As companion DVD has also been releas-es concurrently with this disc. Tommy Hash - Ytsejam.com (85/100)

DOCKER’S GUILD – The Mystic Technocracy (Season One) (Lion Music)The first in a five part series The Mystic Technocracy (Season One) mends a mixture of prog metal,symphonic rock, and neo-progressive rock – the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Douglas Docker,this album features a host of musicians who are more known for their involvement In the AOR scenethan in progressive rock, a good thing, considering that their melodic sensibility will lend to a charis-matic musical approach, yet there is certainly no minimalism. Along for the ride are John Payne,Göran Edman, Tony Mills, Amanda Somerville, Guthrie Govan, Jeff Watson, Gregg Bissonette, MagnusJacobson, Tony Franklin, & Donald D. Docker and the tracks themselves lend to each vocalist’s andmusician’s personalities. Dynamic and inventive, yet skillfully tuneful, this first installment of TheMystic Technocracy is enigmatic in both it’s technical and melodic delivery, again offering up the goodsfor those who want to hear great tunage and for those who want to dive head first into thought ori-ented music – there is something for everybody here. Tommy Hash - Ytsejam.com (80/100)

EUROPE – Bag Of Bones (Ear Music)Being a fan of this band since their early days, I’ve had to accept their evolution from the traditionalRainbow-influenced Hard Rock of their first two albums to the sensational keyboards-driven AOR-MelodicRock of their three biggest sellers (“The Final Countdown”, “Out Of This World” and “Prisoners InParadise”) to arrive to the latest chapter of their glorious career, which marked both, the end of their thir-teen year hiatus and a more “bluesy”, heavier and somehow dark sound. “Start From The Dark” (2004)showed the new way, but it’s with follow-ups “Secret Society”, “Last Look At Eden” and with the brandnew “Bag Of Bones” that the band completed the musical transformation. Definitely gone are the poppyand happy melodies of “The Final Countdown”-days, and for a guy like me who grew up, loved, fuckedand screamed at their biggest hits, that’s pretty hard to accept. I know we can’t stop the time, but, hey,with all this shit falling down to our heads these days, I definitely prefer to play on my stereo an happi-er and colourful album like last year immense TREAT “Coup De Grace” (just to name a band always com-pared to Europe) than this collection of dark and blues-influenced songs… Primo Bonali (75/100)

BAnd. fatal force

album. unholy rite

Interview with. t. enevoldsen

interviewed by:. f. mainardi

Question: Could you tell usabout “Unholy Rite” and itsworking process?Answer: Sure. I wrote all themusic and then recorded somerough demos for Michael to hear.He would then start working onthe lyrics, and later on, recordthe vocals at his own studio inNashville. Everything else wasrecorded at my studio, here inDenmark. Michael would thensend demos back to me for me tohear. I would get back to himwith comments and all of thistook place over the internet. Q: You are a very busy musi-cian with lots of project goingaround, why did you decide torecord again with the FatalForce moniker?A: I always wanted to do a sec-ond Fatal Force album and thematerial I was writing at thetime, simply fit the bill perfectly. Q: Can you introduce yourband members?A: First of all we have MichaelVescera on vocals. He has workedwith a lot of bands and artistsover the years, but he is probablymost known for his work with

Yngwie Malmsteen and Loudness.Our new drummer, DennisHansen, isn't exactly famous, buthe has played the drums formany years. Mainly however incover bands here in Denmark. Q: How did you interact on therecording of the album? Dideverybody had writing roles?A: No, not as such. I wrote all themusic, as well as the melodylines, and Michael wrote all thelyrics. I did however stronglyencourage both Michael andDennis to influence the overallsound as much as possible withtheir own personal sound andtouch. Q: Who do you consider thebest hard rock guitarist of alltime and who do you thingmay become a new “master”among young musicians?A: Wow, that's a very hard ques-tion indeed. I think it's impossi-ble to mention just one really,but if you were to twist my arm,I think I would probably have tosay Edward Van Halen. I just lovehis style and sound. As far asnew “master's” are concerned, Ihonestly don't have a clue,

sorry... Q: Have you new projectsunder your belt and or newalbum coming out in the com-ing months?A: I am currently working on myfourth all instrumental album,which should be completed in acouple of months, and we arealso working on a brand new Fatealbum right now. Apart from thisI am involved in a couple of proj-ects and will soon start workingon the second Acacia Avenuealbum. So there's quite a lotgoing on ;-)Q: Are you planning somedates to promote “UnholyRite” and where are you goingto tour?A: We currently have no livedates planned I'm afraid. I wouldlove for this to happen, but it isquite a challenge to have FatalForce do live gigs. Mainlybecause of the fact that everyoneinvolved are very busy with vari-ous other projects, but alsobecause we live so far apart.Still, I sincerely hope that wecan make it happen at somepoint!

After almost six years from Fatal Force's debut album, multi-talented guitarist and songwriter Torben Enevoldsen presents its follow up "Unholy Rites". While the album has beenavailable in Japan, where Torben is a highly renewed artist, since February this year, it isnow distributed also in Europe. Companions to Enevoldsen this time, who play guitars,bass and keyboards, are singer Michael Vescera (Obsession, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, ex-Loudness) and drummer Dennis Hansen. Vescera joined the band in early 2010, writingthe lyrics and recording all the vocals in his own studio in Nashville, while guitars, bass,keyboards and drums have been recorded at Enevoldsen's studio. The 10 tracks collectionis nothing more and nothing less then a decent heavy rock album. "Unholy Rites" is clear-ly a good technical exercise but without a clear direction and lack of real commitment. Thealbum is a mix of 80's Melodic Heavy Rock and modern Power Metal where obviously gui-tars are the center of all the productions. Best tunes the powerful opening “Run For TheCover”, the title track "Unholy Rites" where the Torben shredding skills shine and themelodic rock ballad “No One Will Listen”. Fabio “Deuce” Mainardi (86/100)

Focus on: FATAL FORCE - Unholy Rite (Metal Heaven)

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It’s been five years since the British prog metallers last release “Dead Reckoning”.There have been some changes since then including, sadly, the passing away of leadsinger Andrew McDermott. He’s been replaced by their former singer Damian Wilsonand you’ll know if you’ve heard him sing on the recent, excellent Headspace albumthat he’s singing better than ever. What separates Threshold from the majority of progmetal bands is their ability to fuse majestic, melodic choruses and musical passagessuch as on “Ashes”, “Return Of The Thought Police” and “Don’t Look Down” with themore urgent metal of “Liberty Complacency Dependency” and “Colophon”. It’s musi-cally and lyrically complex with some terrific invention from guitarists Karl Groom andPete Morten and keyboard player Richard West. This record makes a strong claim formelodic prog metal album of the year. Duncan Jamieson (92/100)

Focus on: THRESHOLD - March of Progress (Nuclear Blast)

BAnd. threshold

album. march of progress

Interview with. R. West

interviewed by:. D. Jamieson

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Question: Good to have a newalbum from Threshold. It’s takena while, you must have thoughtthe gods were conspiring againstyou when Damian Wilson got illbefore the pre-release shows?Answer: Ha ha, yes it was very disap-pointing to lose those shows, I wasreally looking forward to them. We'vedone about 60 shows together sinceDamian's been back and they weresome of the best ones we've done, soI hope it won't be too long before wedo some more.Q: What lead you to call the record‘March Of Progress’?A: It's a line from the opening songand it sums up the overall concept ofthe album fairly well. A lot of thesongs deal with the idea of the lifecycle of things, from individuals toempires, and how just as we get com-placent about our progress things cansometimes start to fall apart. So insome ways the title is more of a ques-tion that a statement.Q: You’ve always tried to moveyour sound on with each album.There’s more writing on this

album from other members of theband too. How would you say thisalbum differs from the previousefforts?A: It's nice that we've got more collab-oration this time. Our last album"Dead Reckoning" was only written byKarl Groom and me, and although itwas great to have total control of thestory for that album, this time it'sbeen cool to have Damian Wilson andPete Morten bringing their stories tothe table as well. Sonically we'vemoved forward on “March OfProgress” since the last album as wealways do. Obviously having a differ-ent singer makes a huge difference,but we haven't just made a follow-upto the last album Damian was on, thatwas a long time ago and we'vechanged a lot since then as both per-formers and writers. Hopefully you'llfind "March Of Progress" contains allthat was good about "DeadReckoning" combined with all that wasgood about our older albums too.Q: How has the sad passing awayof Andrew McDermott affected theband? Has it affected the music on

the new record?A: It was so sad, he was a lovely guyand he was in Threshold for a longtime, so it's hard to come to termswith knowing he's gone. He wasn'tinvolved with the writing in Thresholdso it hasn't affected the music in thatway, but we probably wrote slightlydifferently knowing how it wouldsound with Damian's voice.Q: How does it feel to be recordingagain with Damian?A: It felt a bit like a time warp, I stillremember recording him forThreshold's third album “ExtinctInstinct” fifteen years ago in thatsame studio, so it was strange tonotice how much time had gone by.I've produced him on other albumsover the years though, so we're prob-ably used to working with each otherby now!Q: What are your plans now therecord’s being released?A: Well, we've finished the recordingcycle so now we're looking forward tothe touring cycle. And hopefully itwon't take us five years to do anotherone!

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The world of Melodic Rock is often seen as an older generations music, but overrecent years there has been a surge of high quality young guns flying the flag forthis genre and one of those new generation of young artists to make us sit up andtake notice is Anders Wigelius. This young Swede brings the sound we love into thenow, while keeping one foot firmly in the roots of the genre with his band on theexcellent debut release ‘Reinventions’. From the opener Angeline you can feel your-self drifting back to the heady days of the 80’s when MR and AOR ruled the air-waves. The same high quality is present throughout this album as the melodic pathis walked along again with ‘Talking About Love’ and the stunning ‘My Cassandra’,with a few touches of AOR in between with ‘Do You Really Know’ and ‘Next To Me’.There is even a bit of bluesy rock thrown into the mix with the excellent ‘Piece OfThe Action’ and the tremendous ‘Too Young To Fall In Love’, but this is only half thestory, to find out the rest you have to buy the album, but I’ll let you into a secret,things get even better on the second half of the album. Barry McMinn (91/100)

Focus on: WIGELIUS - Reiventions (Frontiers Records)

Question: You started out in acovers band: Gamblers. Whatmade you take things to thenext level and start Wigelius theband?Answer: When I got the phone callfrom Daniel Flores I didn’t hesitateone second to take the next step. Ihave always wanted to have myown band in this genre! I’m sograteful for this opportunity and sohappy that I have all these killermusicians around me!Q: You’re just a young guy whowasn’t around when MelodicRock and AOR was at its prime,so how did you first get into thisstyle of music?A: I’ve always loved AoR ever sincethe day my father played me “Don’tStop Beliving”. Who would havethought that twenty years later Iwould make my own record on theirsame label?!Q: How long have you beenworking on the material for‘Reinventions’?A: Some of the songs are really old.

I wrote “Talking About Love”, “IReach Out” and “Love Can’t Be ThatMuch” four years ago. And the restjust came along the way. Half of thealbum is written after I got the con-tract and is influenced by all of us inthe band. Q: How was it working withDaniel Flores on the album, is hea hard taskmaster?A: We had a blast recording withDaniel! He’s a great guy and we gotalong fine! With his experience andgreat knowledge “Reinventions”became a perfect mix of old andnew! Q: Harry Hess mastered thealbum, how did he get involvedwith the band?A: It was Daniels idea to make hima part of the record. He did a greatjob and that’s no surprise consider-ing his huge career!Q: The album is pure MelodicRock gold, did you have a visionof how you wanted the album tostart from the beginning?A: No, not really. We just wanted to

make the music that we loved anddo it the way they did it back in thedays. In Wigelius we put a lot onemphasis in good melodies with ayouthful touch.Q: Have you thought aboutalbum number two yet?A: Yeah! We’ve already in theprocess of making new demos forthe next album. The Wigelius-storyis far from over with “Reinventions”!Q: Are Wigelius going to betouring in the not too distantfuture?A: Hopefully! We’ll just have to waitand see the response of this albumbut in our minds we’re basically sit-ting in the tour-bus! Q: Where would you like to seeWigelius going from here? Doyou have a grand plan for theband or are you just takingthings as the come?A: We wanna make the AoR-scenecome alive again! Most of the youngkids out there don’t know what thegenre stands for and we want tomake it commercial again.

BAnd. wigelius

album. reiventions

Interview with. A. wigelius

interviewed by:. b. mcminn

Question: With all of the road showsand tours you have been on, whendid you actually get down to busi-ness in recording this new release,“A Sinner’s Saint”?Answer: To say we actually sat down topurposely write “A Sinner`s Saint”wouldn’t actually be to accurate. It waskind of a case that in between gigs andtours we would always continue torehearse regardless and with that itseemed that a new song was beingbrought into the rehearsal room at leastonce a week. So we would knock it intoshape at rehearsals and that would hap-pen on a regular basis. If we had havetaken a scheduled period of time to“write” a record we probably would haveended up wit 40 – 50 songs! So I’d guessthat over a period of 12 months “ASinner`s Saint” got put written and puttogether .Q: Again, a strong record… Straight‘in yer face’ rock n’ roll… When yourecord is it live off the floor for themost part?A: Yes that’s fair to say, although we dorecord guitar solos and vocals after the

main guitar / bass / drum tracks aredone. It’s quite a straight forward simpleprocess for us .We don’t like to fuckaround that much in the studio withsounds etc. We know how we want it tosound and what we need to do before wego in, we like to get in there record it andget out of there as soon as we can !Q: Reading some other material andincluding your Press Releases, youraggressive attitude towards music isalso there towards the business sideof things… Which is a good thing!,however is it not taxing on the ener-gy levels?A: We are involved in all aspects of Million$ Reload business affairs. It’s just theyway we have always been, we want toknow who is doing what, and when, andwhere they are doing it. We know of somany other bands that didn’t pay atten-tion to the business end of things andended up getting screwed by their man-agers and agents etc in the long run. Weare determined to not be one of thosebands. We are pretty much hands – onwith everything, it never hurts to askquestions of those people who we deal

with on the business end. That way weknow exactly whats going on. It can betaxing at times but its gotta be done.Q: Is “Bullets In The Sky” your firstsingle off the album?... By the way,the video is just great!A: Thanks Bruce, yes its our first single.The video kind of gives off the vibe ofwhat we are all about. If you notice thereis a lot of live footage in the video… Andthat’s what we are all about… Playing live.The song “Bullets in the Sky” is about thefutility of war from a soldiers perspective.Soldiers are brave, courageous peoplebut I often wonder do they get scared?and do they feel sometimes that war isthe wrong way of dealing with disputesbut it’s a job they morally got to do?That’s what the lyrical content is about.However, people can interpret the lyricsin whatever way they feel is best suitedfor them. The late great Gary Moore oncesaid, that after you have written a songand it’s “out there” for everyone to hear…It doesn’t belong to you anymore, it’s thefans song at that point, and they caninterpret it the way they want to. I kindaagree with some of that sentiment.

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From their Press Release: “As any discerning music fan knows, there are only two kindsof music: Rock and Roll.” These five Irish lads agree! And with a vengeance! “A Sinner’sSaint” will Rock you to the n-th degree and have you Rolling in ecstasy! The group’s sec-ond effort puts everyone on notice that straight-up Rock n’ Roll is here to stay! Yeah… Weare certainly being reloaded by this group! From the first single; “Bullets In The Sky” tothe last cut, “It Ain’t Over”, we have a huge slice of uncompromising ROCK!! “A Sinner’sSaint” tells us why heads have turned upon hearing these five, smartly composed andexact pieces of Hard Rock with a pulsating bluesed out back beat. Million Dollar Reloadain’t no “one hit wonder”, no this is an Irish rocked out power to be reckoned with…andembraced! Just one listen will invigorate you to the upper limits and having you wantingmore. Yes, these rockers can ‘Roll’ with the best of them. They deliver high energy effort-lessly, as well as highly emotive expressions such as ‘Broken’. The record, well, it is hard,high energy music that will move you, rock you to the very marrow of your bones. “ASinner’s Saint” is a huge slice of Rock n’ Roll Heaven!! Bruce Atkinson (91/100)

Focus on: MILLION DOLLAR RELOAD - A SINNER’S SAINT! (Frontiers Records)

band. Million dollar reload

album. A Sinner’s Saint

Interview with:. Phil and Sean

interviewed by:. B. Atkinson

Focus on: LOVERBOY - Rock N Roll Revival (Frontiers Records)

band. loverboy

album. rock n roll revival

Interview with:. m. reno

interviewed by:. d. jamieson

Lovin’ every minute of it? Pretty much. Once you get over the dissapointment that thisisn’t all new material from the Candadian band but three new songs and re-record-ings of some of their classic songs, it’s a fun listen. Of the new songs “Heartbreaker”,which has been available for a while, has the most nagging hook while “Rock ‘N’ RollRevival” has the sunshine feel good factor of much of Loverboy’s best songs. The re-recording process adds some spit and polish to the old hits and they come acrossshiny and new, reminding you how good these songs really are. The re-recordings arefailry faithful to the original versions but “Lovin’ Every Minute Of It” and “Hot Girls InLove” see the band stretch out and jam more than usual which will make die-hardswant to seek out these versions even though they’ll have the originals. The title trackstates “It’s a rock ‘n’ revival, it’s all about survival”. Their own survival over the lastthirty-three years has been assured thanks to the classy, upbeat radio friendly rockwhich you can hear on this disc. Duncan Jamieson (90/100)

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Question: Can you tell some-thing about this new album?Where and how was it record-ed?Answer: We recorded the firstsong at Mike's place in PalmSprings, USA. On my laptop, asusual. I saw a sign at theVancouver airport on my waythere from Calgary, that saidRock Revival, and it rolled aroundin my head until I got to Mike's.We set up on his dining roomtable, him singing into a mic Ibrought, and me going direct intothe computer, no amp. I turnedon Guitar Rig, a plugin in Logic,and lo and behold, as Tom Allomwould say, "Touch nothing imme-diately!" I recorded the wholesong ampless, an absolute firstfor me. That's "Rock 'n' RollRevival". The next 2 tunes wereco-written with Bob Rock, ourengineer/producer from the 80's,and his Nashville buddy, JarenJohnson. We recorded them atBryan Adam's studio inVancouver early last year. Iplayed through my 50 wattMarshall 900, and used my oldStrat I rebuilt in '74 for some ofthe parts. I made the neck fromscratch, it's still holding together,amazingly. You can hear it on the1st 2 Loverboy albums. Bob real-ly wanted to record it again, andwell, he's Bob freakin' Rock, whatare you gonna say? Loose andWeekend were recorded live inCharlotte in '95, but I mixedthem without any crowd sounds,trying for that" studio sound". Ithink you might be hard pressedto tell they're live, if I hadn't justlet the cat out of the bag. Therest of the songs were recordedin March 2012 at a huge casino inOntario, except for "Always onmy Mind", which was recordedlive in Winnipeg, Canada in 2005.Once again, that studio sound.Mike and I rewrote some of thelyrics, with the theme of thealbum title in mind. Continuity isKing. We sang it at his house inVancouver. How many housesdoes this guy have, for God'ssake? Also I redid the guitars on“When It's Over” at my house inCalgary. Once again that excel-lent Guitar Rig plugin, flange andall.Q: Your last record ‘JustGetting Started’ was a terrificalbum and one of myfavourites of 2007. Were youhappy with it and how wouldyou say the new record differsfrom that one?A: Glad you liked it. It had some

cool moments. I really enjoyedworking with the producers,especially singing my parts withMike. They had some prettyclever ideas for harmony parts,places I would never have gone.It was different from any otheralbum I've ever recorded in thatthe drums were recorded last,instead of first.Q: The bands of the 80s suchas Journey, Foreigner andNight Ranger are experienc-ing renewed interest in themat the moment. Have younoticed a resurgence in yourown fortunes recently?A: I would say we're having amajor resurgence. Our new man-ager Jonathan Wolfson justhooked us up with FrontiersRecords, and we're very excitedabout that.Q: You’re touring the statesthis summer with Journeywhich is something you didback in 1982, 30 years ago!How would you say theLoverboy live experience haschanged since then?A: You know, to me, every nightwe play is different from everyother night. One night we mightbe very faithful to the originalparts, sounds, and feels of theoriginal recordings, and the nextnight all hell will break loose,everybody's experimenting, try-ing stuff we've never played. Sofor me, it's night by night, notdecade by decade.Q: What tracks from the newrecord do you think will findtheir way into the live set thissummer and what kind ofsetlist can we expect?A: Well, we have anywhere from35 minutes to maybe an houropening for Journey, and whenit's 35, it'll probably be 6 “vin-tage" tracks, all from the album.When it's 60, I'm hoping some ofthe new tunes will get heard.We've been playing“Heartbreaker” live already, I'mlooking forward to trying theother 2 sometime soon.Q: Mike Reno lost 50 poundsrecently. How did he do it?A: I like to think he had 2 Hooterschicks in his room every night.Q: You have released a cata-logue of classic rock albumsover the last 30 years. Whichrecord do you think is the onethat has captured whoLoverboy are best?A: I'd have to say this new one.It's a diary of how we play now.It's looser, more experimental, alot of cool keyboard parts you

won't hear anywhere else, somedecent guitar playing. But thenI'm biased.Q: You’ve always looked likeyour having fun.In the 80swas life for you really like theway it was portrayed in your‘Lovin’ Every Minute Of It’video?A: I don't know about the partwhere the girls are helping mepaint my guitar. No one paintsmy guitars. No one.Q: When you Scott Smithpassed away did you considerstopping Loverboy?A: We definitely stopped.Stopped everything. Mike wasespecially devastated, we allwere really. He was our bestfriend, to everyone in the band.The first time I met Scott it waslike my brother had left town forthe weekend, was home now, andI was picking him up at the air-port. That easy, no pressure,never a bad vibe. It took a while,we tried a couple of new guys,and Matt's and my buddy Spiderfit the bill. Still does.Q; If you were to say "If Icould go back and change thisone thing about my careerthat I've had, I would..."A: In all honesty, out of sheerdesperation for some free time, Ileft Paul the reigns for a fewyears and he kind of went off andjust focused on his guitar thingand we all just kind of went "OK,whatever" - just so we could havea couple of weeks off. That wouldhave been a mistake that I willadmit to. And I am NOT criticizingPaul... I am criticizing myself.Q: You were inducted into theCanadian Hall of Fame in2009. Can you tell me aboutthat experience?A: This could turn into the BobRock story ;-). It's Bob andLoverboy, together again. Onlythis time on stage with 20,000people live, and who knows howmany on TV. The last time we hada really big night at the Junos, in'82, there were a few cameras offstage, maybe an interview ortwo. That's cool. This time wearrived, and we're ushered ontothe Red Carpet, you know thewalk between 2rows of screamingfans. Well maybe not screaming,more like curious I guess. “Heywait a minute, that's not JustinBieber.” No kidding. Still, reallybig time compared to '82. And areal pressroom, full of journal-ists. I think we did about 15National TV interviews. So thatwas pretty exciting.