Treat really are on a blinder since reforming and this, their third studio album since then, is a testament to the ability of the band to keep delivering each time, yet do so in a fresh manner each time. 

Tunguska is the perfect companion piece to the timeless classic Coup De Grace and the album between, the more modern sounding Ghost Of Graceland.Tunguska has elements of both – the modern forward momentum of Ghost and the classic anthems of Coup. 

In all honesty – if you’re a fan of Scani melodic rock, all three are as essential. Period! So we have another high energy album here featuring 12 amazing compositions – all layered in vocal harmonies - 10 mid-up tempo tunes and a couple of monster ballads. Tomorrow Never Comes and the impossibly good Build The Love are genre defying classics. 

The diversity among the tracks might give some fans reason to rate this downwind of the last 2 albums, but I embrace this evolution in Treat’s history. Best Of Enemies, Creeps and Man Overboard are probably the most challenging songs to dissect, but for me they still kill and add texture between the anthems of Always Have, Always Will; Progenitors and Rose Of Jericho. It doesn’t stop there though, Riptide, All Bets Are Off and Undefeated give the last half more energy than the first. 

The only caveat I will impose is the sequencing. I would not have chosen the running order of the songs as has been done here. I think there are a couple of options to make it even smoother. Highly digestible Scandi melodic goodness right here. The band can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned, and this makes 3 from 3 in the classic album stakes.

The choruses are huge, the hooks even bigger and the sound is baby bum-cheek fresh. The harmonies really are something! I just love these guys. Get it!

There is a sense of comfort when diving into a new NEWMAN album. Much like Ten, Vega (to name just two), you know exactly what you are going to get, and Steve Newman never disappoints.

With a history dating back to his debut in 1997 that stretches over 2 decades and 15 releases, you are always going to have albums that fans rate more highly than others and differing opinions of just which those albums are. But one thing you cannot deny is that NEWMAN delivers something great on every record. And of course, ‘Ignition’ is no exception.

There a few twists in the tail, the electro-Def Leppard-groove of the title track is certainly one, but mostly this is just classic Newman.

 Another collection of strong, classic melodic rock. 

Toby Hitchcock is one of the voices of the last decade or so. Since his Pride Of Lions debut, his powerful tenor has been front and centre for some of the genre’s best anthems and most epic ballads. Any Toby Hitchcock is good Toby Hitchcock. And for the most part, this album is no different. Songs are delivered by the who’s who of the AOR scene, with at least another 4-5 classic songs here – Queen Untouchable, Promise Me, No Surrender and This Is Our World. Man, the guy can sing. 

I like that a lot of the album is uptempo and flows at a pretty hectic pace. I don’t think this is as strong as Toby’s Erik Martensson-helmed debut. Even though this album is also a Swedish production, the differences are quite stark. Reckoning sounds firmly planted in the 80s, with the keyboards and production style a more distinct European in flavour.

The songs are enjoyable but not to the same level as the debut or Pride Of Lions. There is one issue that desperately needs to be addressed. The keyboards. We need to talk about the keyboards. As has been the case with all Daniel Flores productions, the keyboards dominate. They are the highest element in the mix, aside from vocals and there are just way too many layers of them. There is no letup in the sonic bombardment. There needs to be more space for the rest of the instrumentation to breathe. Even during guitar solos the keyboards still dominate.

I like Daniel a lot – very talented and sweet guy – but there must be an intervention. The keyboards are simply overbearing, and the production style is becoming very repetitive. Find Me (all 3), the second First Signal album, the Palace debut, Cry Of Dawn and now Toby Hitchcock – largely all sound the same.

So moving forward I hope some individual personality can be infused into these projects. And that's the main essence of what's missing here - its own personality. That said, there’s still plenty to enjoy and Toby’s vocals are powerful, emotional and totally immersive. Fans of Find Me, Daniel’s other AOR work and 80s keyboard melodic rock will enjoy.

Much hype for this debut album from this Los Angeles based melodic rock band, touted as a modern equivalent to the Big 3 (Foreigner, Styx and Journey).

And despite the obvious shortcomings in the album’s production quality, the opening anthem ‘Until The Dawn’ certainly gets your attention. Unfortunately, that’s clearly the album’s best track.

The guys have talent and the singer has a sure set of lungs on him, but when the album is dominated by ballads (a couple of very good ones) and the rockers fall short, the song consistency comes to light and the production issue becomes something that can’t be ignored.

I compare this more to Two Fires – a band with huge potential and great performers – who couldn’t get all elements to come together for that killer album.

Once you get past the absolutely horrendous “drum” sound and the somewhat muddy mix, the new House Of Lords (or on this occasion, House Of Spiro), offers some of the band’s best tunes in several years. A production budget would have raised the quality of this record to sit alongside some of my favourite HOL records.

I love the return to a more interesting musical landscape, a touch progressive even, much like parts of Sahara and Demon’s Down. The overall energy is similar to Demon’s Down too. But this is a different band again. As suggested earlier, the biggest influence and difference here is the genius of Mark Spiro. He has co-written most of the album, with his influence so strong there are at least 3, maybe 4 songs that are more Spiro than HOL. He is simply all over this record and his vocals can be heard on most tracks. In fact, he could feel unjustly denied a duet credits on We’re All That We Got and Better Off Broken. His influence over Change (What's it Gonna Take) delivers one of my favourite House Of Lords songs in years, The Both Of Us also impresses. The guys lose the plot a little towards the end, $5 Bucks Of Gasoline is about as catchy as it sounds and The Chase goes nowhere. 

Overall, despite that drum sound and the overall missing production elements, this is a very enjoyable record and their best in a few years. Spiro and James Christian have delivered some great songs for the most part and most of the record runs very smoothly.

You’d have to be almost dead not to get caught up in the infectious fun that is Tokyo Motor Fist. The name might conjure up thoughts of an ancient form of Japanese bondage, but at least they didn’t name themselves Trixter Danger.

Yes, the most talented Steve Brown (Trixter, Guitar) and the always flamboyant Ted Poley (Danger Danger, vocals) team with the rhythm section of Greg Smith (Ted Nugent, Rainbow, Alice Cooper) and Chuck Burgi (Rainbow, Blue Oyster Cult, Joe Lynn Turner) for what amounts to a meeting of the New Jersey chapter of the Melodic Rock Mafia, to create an infectious slice of classic 80s melodic rock that you just have to rock along with. While the album may not have the polish of a major 80s budget, it does pass the crankability test and shines when at maximum volume.

Following his great recent solo album, Ted Poley again delivers a powerhouse vocal while Steve Brown provides the backbone of the sound, his soulful guitar playing filling the air between hooks and choruses. The album is also a tribute to his songwriting prowess.For the most part this delivers exactly what you’d expect – a mix of modern day Trixter’s smart melodic rock and Danger Danger’s hands in the air party anthems. Look no further than the opening salvo of Pickin' Up The Pieces, Love Me Insane, Gimme Your Good Lovin Shameless and Black And Blue to deliver plus the moody feel good ballads Love, Get You Off My Mind and Don’t Let Me Go work to balance the record and provide breathing space between the rockers.

You're My Revolution brings out the double kick drums for a rousing tempo boost, but its Put Me To Shame and Done To Me where Steve Brown’s connection to Def Leppard seems to get dialled up. For a minute I thought I was listening to Sweden’s Leppard loving Grand Design.

How could fans of the two principle artists not be happy with this? It delivers exactly what you might have been hoping for, perhaps exceeding expectations with the strong hooks and great performances.No complaints here and given the positive fan reaction so far, one would have to think that this will develop further just as the ‘other’ D2 side project The Definants has.

Is it too soon to call Brother Firetribe legends of the Finnish AOR scene? Perhaps with this album, it is time. Their 5th studio album might just be their most accomplished yet. It certainly has the slickest production, the smoothest sound and the band’s most commercial modern rock approach to date.

The beauty of this album is perhaps the band’s ability to keep things reigned in a touch more than usual, without losing their edge. Past albums have seen them go all in with over the top anthems, but this album feels a little more restrained, a little more calculated towards the end goal – to deliver a world class modern melodic rock album that will help drive them into a bigger audience.

Naturally arming yourself with 10 killer songs is the way to achieve this feat and BFT do just that. From the subtle, but urgent opener I Salute You, to the sultry moodiness of Night Drive and the tempo altering intensity of Life Is A Beautiful Lie to the most obvious 80s anthem Rock In The City which closes the album.

The masterful production comes courtesy of Jimmy Westerlund, the who brought the same updated intensity to the latest One Desire album. If all these points appeal and you love an equal dose of guitars and keyboards with sultry strong vocals, then Feel The Burn is a must have record.

Not sure how to categorize this one. Perhaps if Poison were a Christian band from the Midwest?

Martin Perticone is the Argentinian behind the band, but to my ears there is still a lot of work to do to take the next step and compete with today’s melodic rock artists.

The production and mix feel underdone and the songs are a little awkward in places as a result.

Steve Overland (FM) takes lead vocals on the opening track, but I didn’t even pick it was him such is the mix. Eric Martin takes lead vocal on two versions of the same song – a present enough acoustic driven pop rocker. After those tracks there is only 6 others to take in and while uplifting in its premise, the finished product feels like half an album. It needed more songs and a sharper sound to make an impact. And something completely different for the artwork. It looks like record for an independent rap artist.

A nice throwback to old school harmonies and a mixed acoustic/electric uptempo approach, but like I said, still a lot of work to do.

The mighty Jeff Scott Soto celebrates his birthday week with the release of a brand-new solo album that seems him paired for the first time with Frontiers in-house go to guy Alessandro Del Vecchio. That will draw some automatic presumptions over the sound and style of this record, which I must immediately dispel.

This is not a project release that has Jeff phoning in his vocals. Fans of Jeff will already know that he doesn’t put his name on anything that doesn’t include his heavy involvement, and this is even more true of a record that bares his name.

Tasked with production and music, Alessandro has worked in partnership with Jeff, who wrote all the lyrics and additional melodies. And the in-house band isn’t the usual ADV crew, with long-time Soto/JSS drummer Edu Cominato taking command of the kit and really belting out a powerful performance.

What I love about this record – and what I told Jeff after he sent me the album some months ago - was that I thought Alessandro had done a superb job in crafting a set of songs that play like a JSS Greatest Hits record. Throughout the record you hear parts of Jeff’s career, solo as well as a taste of Talisman, Yngwie Malmsteen and even WET. I can hear parts of Lost In The Translation, Prism and Damage Control.

Wide Awake (In My Dreamland) sounds like the best of all parts of Jeff’s career, wrapped up in a seriously well produced and sounding package. On top of that, Jeff himself sounds as fresh as ever.

This is a classic Jeff Scott Soto record.

To showcase just a few of the songs, the album opens with one of the best solo tracks of Jeff’s career is the Talisman sounding Someone To Love, this is just everything fans love about Jeff.

Paper Wings again heads back to the heavy groove of Talisman, mixed with some Yngwie guitar hero stylings.

The heavy but melodic Love Will Find A Way has groove, funk and driving attitude that wraps up several eras in one song.

Between The Lines is a superb AOR ballad while the dark and heavy Wide Awake (In My Dreamland) is almost at the opposite end of Jeff’s spectrum.

No filler, just winner after winner, with the inspired paring of ADV and JSS really delivering for fans. As already stated, this is the best of JSS comprising of 11 new songs and another killer live set as a 10 track bonus disc.

Essential!

For those unfamiliar with my affinity with Night Ranger, they’ve been close to my favourite band since 1985 and have rarely disappointed throughout their distinguished recording career.

They’re also responsible for a couple of my most loved live albums over the years.

Add in solo albums, favourite songs and general songwriting prowess and you should get the picture - Night Ranger are melodic rock royalty.

With that status, each album is therefore highly anticipated. For a band recording since 1982, with 12 studio albums to their name (yes, I’m including the marvellous Mojo record), they have a remarkably consistent catalogue. And in the last decade they have continued to prove that veteran bands can still deliver fresh, energetic and engaging new music.

The guys peaked with the flawless Somewhere In California in 2011 and followed it up with the also excellent High Road in 2014. Don’t Let Up slipped a little off the pace in 2017, so fans were anxiously awaiting the band’s 2021 statement.

And I’m sorry to deliver the point of view that the band has missed a step here, delivering for me at least, their weakest album since 2007s inconsistent, modern-rock dominated Hole In The Sun album. And the reasons are very similar to why. Basically, the band has again veered off path, leaving some of their much-loved trademark sound behind. There are less harmonies, much less keyboards and a whole lot less of Kelly Keagy on this record. And while the band’s most popular songs showcase their knack of delivering emotional uplifting mid-tempo anthems, here the band is either rocking hard, or not. There’s not much middle ground.

Track By Track:
Opening with the furious rocker Coming For You, the band are off to a flying start and make up for the lack of a sing-along chorus with added raw power.

Bring It All Home To Me adds those layered with harmonies, which is a plus and its dominated by some sterling shred work from Brad Gillis, which culminates in the closing minute, but overall the song straddles the line between styles. Strip the guitars and add a banjo and it wouldn’t sound out of place on country radio. A theme that makes repeated appearances on ATBPO.

Breakout sees a welcomed increase in keyboard presence and is another track that races along at breakneck speed. Being the lead single there are considerable public comment on this track and many bemoan the lack of a big chorus. I say that note and appreciate the excellent melodic bridge that leads into the short, sharp chorus. A track that sounds great to me.

Hard To Make It Easy is the first major left turn and will be one of the songs I edit out on my playback version. I simply don’t need honky-tonk Night Ranger and while the song ‘rocks’, it isn’t in a way I can appreciate and is another almost-country song.

On the first ballad of the album, Can’t Afford A Hero, the band stop hiding behind the pseudo-country hints and come out as a full country flavour acoustic driven track that’s more Shaw/Blades or Garth Brooks than Night Ranger. I’m sad to say it’s another hard pass for me.

Now, the start of Cold As December has my full and immediate attention. The opening riffs and melody hint at an anthem of epic proportions, with intricate keyboard and guitar parts lighting up my ears. But without warning at the 48 second mark, the song abandons the entire premise to become another pretty bland screamy hard rocker. The melodic refrain makes a brief return at 3.35 for a few seconds, but I’m left wondering where that song went and why we were left with the one here.

Dance is a feel good mid-to-up tempo rocker with another strong Shaw/Blades vibe and a reasonable chorus, but again, it’s not Night Ranger.

The ballad The Hardest Road sees the first appearance of Kelly Keagy on lead vocals. Where has he been? It’s a warm vocal, but the song is reminiscent of the other Beatlesque ballads Night Ranger have delivered on the last two albums.

The attitude filled hard rocker Monkey has some recent era Night Ranger familiarity to it, but the chorus is horrible. “‘Cause I’m your monkey, well I’m your money, I’ll be your junkie?” Guys…c’mon.

A Lucky Man is another decent track, but it’s another with a strong rock-n-country-pop vibe and I just don’t think this is Night Ranger.

Closing the album is a good rocker sung by Kelly again, which is welcomed. Tomorrow is one of the more traditional Night Ranger sounding tracks and will likely rate as one of the fan favourites.

And that is And The Band Played On. Honestly, as much as I love all things Night Ranger, I’m not afraid to make a stand when something doesn’t live up to my high expectations.

To me, this is more a Jack Blades solo album. And that isn’t meant as an insult in any way. Rather it is more a point of reference to describe what I think this album is. Less ‘Night Ranger’ and more dominated by outside influences and styles. Ones I’d rather hear on solo albums, than on a new Night Ranger album. We only get them every 3-4 years, so for me, I want to hear Night Ranger at their very best each time.

I might add for the record - I'm not at all opposed to a band trying something different, but to do that successfully, the songs really have to be there. For me, that isn’t happening here.

I absolutely love this album. It has everything I love about the two principles behind it and a added freshness that has been missing in some recent AOR releases.

Art is Work Of Art – that is, vocalist Lars Safsund, who is his usual blindingly good self, delivering a classic vocal that gives me the best of WOA, but more so, I hear him stretching out with some of the more adventurous material on offer and he knocks it out of the park.

Illusion is one of my favourite pomp songwriters, Grand Illusion’s songwriter/producer Anders Rydholm. Fans of Grand Illusion can hear Anders’ trademark pomp AOR all over this record and there are a few tracks which could easily be Grand Illusion tracks.

But there’s so much more on offer here. There are a few tracks that are completely bananas. It’s part classic rock opera and part falsetto overture and it sounds so good. Lars is extraordinary in his varied vocal delivery. There’s Queen, ELO and Styx influences throughout.

But it isn’t every track – its mixed in and around some traditional WOA style keyboard-AOR mixed in with some typical Grand Illusion pomp. There is a good dose of piano and some sentimental ballads, but also a few driving guitar tracks.

All in all it is quite the mix, but the superb quality of the songs and the performances make it work cohesively.

I won’t make a point of highlighting any particular songs as id like the listener to hear it fresh start to finish. Just be assured that this is a quality piece of work.