DOGPOUND - III
Lion Music - Out Now

Swedish melodic metallers Dogpound serve up their 3^rd album simply entitled “III” with not even a hint of worrying about the so-called “difficult third album” syndrome.  Quite simply the band have chosen not to stray too far off the formula which served them well on debut “The Hellbum” and “A Night In The Gutter”, yet the new offering sees the best production and an even keener sense of energy which powers along glorious melody after melody along with a slight absorption of some melodic rock sounds heard from across the Atlantic Ocean. 

This is the kind of the music that will appeal to listeners of all but the softest melodic rock but is also likely to bring onboard fans of punkier bands such as The Offspring and Bad Religion thanks to the guitar work and super addictive choruses.  The opening 1-2 punch of “My Own Sin” and “Glass Jar” will leave you in no doubt the band mean business and this opening brace should tell you if this sort of thing is for you or not.  “Born A Winner” is one of my favourites with a great vocal delivery from Henrik "Hea" Andersson which combines beautifully with incessant riff from Micke Dahlqvist.  The band apparently wrote around 25 tracks for the album before settling on the 14 you ultimately hear on the album and this shows consistently track after track.  Not only have the band improved in the song writing department but the individual performances also kick serious ass.  The aforementioned absorption of more American sounds is likely to see them open up to a new audience yet without a big change that will alienate fans picked up on the first two albums. Aside from the tracks mentioned so far other highlights include the bouncing “Dead & Gone”, the Alter Bridge-ish “One”, the slamming groove of “Other Way Around” and the highly impressive “Undivided” which will appeal to a number of fans from numerous genres.  The album is full tilt with little compromise throughout aside from the piano led closer “Rain Must Fall” which shows a new side to the band and is a nice way to close the album bringing the listener back down with its relaxing vibe.

Dogpound have come of age with “III”.  Confident in their own sound and abilities, this album is absolutely dripping with powerful sounds and first class performances.  Give this album a chance (as with the bands previous releases it will need a few spins to fully realise itself) and you will be richly rewarded.  

Rating – 90%

 

Stratovarious vocalist Timo Kotipelto needs no introduction being one of the most distinctive voices on the metal scene. After two and a half years with the main band Timo is now back with a new solo release, entitled "Serenity". Led by a great production the album hints that it will hit all the right notes throughout and this does run true for the first half with the second half likely to fair depending on your musical preferences.

Opener “Once Upon A Time” is a fairly standard up-tempo number which does a decent job of kicking the album off but it’s the slightly reduced tempo of the Rainbow-ish “Sleep Well” which will really make an impression (and did on Timo’s native Finnish fans reaching the top 10 national charts!), its smooth addictive melody and slightly darker verse finds Timo staying in the lower registers of his range and this effect if nothing short of superb with the guitar of Tuomas Wäinölä and keyboards of Janne Wirman merging to glorious effect.   The title track "Serenity" is not a million miles away from the more commercial offerings of Stratovarious with another melodic chorus that keeps ringing in your head.   “City Of Mysteries” is track with its roots firmly rooted in the melodic metal market yet doesn’t possess quite the same strength as its predecessors.  “King Anti-Midas” is powered along by a strong rhythm over which parping keys give a Nordic charm to the track, here Timo allows his vocals to soar into the higher registers than much of the other material yet comes back down to a lower octave for the chorus which has a very strong native Scandinavian music bounce to it.  The quality then sadly drops for “Angels Will Cry” with its far too predictable double bass drum rocker which is the kind of thing you would hear Stratovarious do in their sleep before the incredibly sickly ballad “After The Rain” will have you reaching for the skip button quickly.  “Mr Know It All” does see the proceedings back on track with an almost prime Dokken like assault (with the addition of keyboards) although the chorus does not come close to comparing in the quality stakes to the rest of the track.  “Dreams & Reality” suffers from not only a very predictable title (it seems like every power metal band has to have a track titled it) yet like its predecessor does suffer from a key element of the track not matching the rest of the track in quality (in this case the verse).  The 8 minute closer “Last Defender” begins acoustic before symphonic elements bring the rest of the band in yet its never really gets beyond a meandering crawl which despite having a nice instrumental section yet generally comes across as too long.

“Serenity” is somewhat of a mixed bag, with the album suffering from a reduction in quality throughout the second half.  I personally would have preferred to have see Kotipelto stay within the more direct offerings heard in the first half and if this had been the case the album would have been highly recommended.  As it is the album does warrant the attention of traditional metal fans and I am sure the legion of Stratovarious fans that propelled the album high in the charts will not find a lot to go wrong with, but for the more casual fan you may find this a mixed bag also but the quality of the first half warrants the mark below.

Rating – 80%

KNIGHT AREA - UNDER A NEW SIGN
The Lasers Edge - Out Now

Now what we have here took me totally by surprise. From the cover I was expecting some grandiose neo-classical or traditional metal sound but Dutch band Knight Area serve up some of the best new “classic” prog rock sounds since Mind’s Eye’s “Walking On H20” and it took me back to the classic albums of Yes and Genesis yet with a delivery that doesn’t smack of plagiarism but one of honesty and total love for the music. I also hear a few Pink Floyd touches which gives the music another dimension.

Opener “A Different Man” is relatively slow in tempo yet has some great guitar work, and keyboard work that fills out the gaps nicely as well as hearing a drummer that doesn’t play over the top (a common gripe with many prog bands these days] and it’s a captivating first track, and if I was to go down a track by track route for the remainder of the album you would get essentially the same thing written 6 more times. There are a couple of areas of deviation “Mastermind” sees the band get heavier into waters perhaps associated with the likes of Arena and Neal Morse with some of the heaviest guitar work on the album which again is very strong indeed. The instrumental “Under A New Sign” sees nice use of Mellotrons, Hammond organ, and flute along with lead synth and guitar interplay yet all the time keeping a check on where the music is actually heading. Album closer “A Different Man, part II” is arguably the highlight – sit back, relax and let the cool sounds of this one wash over you.

Every so often you get a nice unexpected surprise and this album is one of those moments. Just a great quality release from start to finish.

Rating – 90%
 

AT VANCE - VII
AFM Records - out now

At Vance are a band that have never rested on their laurels.  Led by enigmatic guitarist/composer Olaf Lenk the band have recently released their seventh album appropriately entitled “VII” and to rack up such a number of releases in 8 years is no mean feat.  The band have also proven to be a hotbed for hot vocal talent having had Oliver Hartmann and Mats Leven in their ranks and the new album sees former Treasure Land vocalist Rick Altzi join the ranks whose voice is somewhere between that of the aforementioned former vocalists yet with enough originality to make his own mark. 

At Vance have always been purveyors of quality power metal with neo-classical touches and “VII” sees no real deviation from this formula with opener “Breaking The Night” coming at you like a bat out hell, whilst the neo-classical touches of “Victory” will please all fans of the genre. Although its when Lenk and co do drop the pace a little to more mid tempo waters [compared to past releases] which has helped bring an air of more accessibility to the band perhaps best exemplified by the moody and classy “Shiver”, “Friendly Fire” and the highly melodic yet frustratingly short “Cold As Ice” (not a Foreigner cover) which is home to a great hook.

Overall “VII” is another strong presentation from the band and is a recommended purchase for fans of melodic power metal with more traditional touches.

 Rating – 85%

AWAKE - ILLUMINATION
Lion Music - Out Now

 

British based metallers Awake have been on the scene for a few years under the name Humanity who released one album.  Since then they have lost a guitarist, lost a record label (due to liquidation) and come through this with a new name – Awake and a great new record "Illumination" out now on Lion Music.

Listeners that appreciate crunching riffs with strong vocal melodies in essence a heavy direct sound as will Evergrey fans although the sound is a little more melodic than Swedish metallers.  The Everygrey reference is in small part aided by the album being produced by Evergrey mainman Tom Englund who has given the band a tight crisp presentation.  Opener “Disbelief” is a straight-ahead solid slab of melodic metal and to be honest I feel its one of the weakest tracks on the album, and also a little out of place with a lot of the music on the album in some ways sounding like the band have tried to write a single and this is their result so if you hear only this track bear this in mind.  With “Retribution” things gets darker and heavier and this is where I feel the band excel, showing great song writing craft with good play between guitars and keyboards and this is built upon further by the mid-tempo delights of “Crime Of Passion” which has great contrast between light and shade and is the kind of track that could propel the band into the top leagues.  The rest of the album follows a similar route with a high level of musicianship, some great vocal melodies and overall top class delivery such as the blistering “The Price You Have To Pay” and “Dream Within”.

Overall this is high quality slice of metal which shows a band that has a lot to offer.  Its not totally killer with a few areas that let the final product down a little, but there is enough here to more than justify its purchase and Awake are a band that show a lot of promise, lets hope its realised and the UK has a new metal band to shout from the roof tops about.

Rating – 85%

SPHERIC UNIVERSE EXPERIENCE - ANIMA
Sensory Records - Out Now

 

Spheric Universe Experience are a progressive metal band hailing from France with “Anima” being their second release having come out a few months ago on Sensory Records yet the bands roots date back to 1996.  Stylistically the band are along the lines of “Odyssey” era Symphony X with the keyboard touches of “Awake” era Dream Theater coupled with more traditional prog metal sounds.

Opener “Sceptic” reminding me a little of Evergrey yet kicking things off in impressive fashion.  This followed by a 2 minute instrumental that doesn’t really say a lot entitled  “Being” before “The Inner Quest” takes some of the themes and builds them into a vocal track with a great extended solo section in the middle. Sadly the mix of the album does let down the product a little with the drums being incredibly high in the mix and a general air of clutter which does make the music loose a lot of the punch which is obviously there.  I also have a few gripes with vocalist Franck Garcia whose voice doesn’t always work with the music and when he holds a note has a uneven vibrato which does sound out of tune a lot of the time.    These problems are eradicated in a few places notably the superb “World Of Madness” where all the instrumentation come together and showcase what the band are best at yet for the most part I feel that this is a band that are still working to find their home (a view that has not changed over repeated listens) and I hope they iron out my aforementioned gripes on their next album.

Overall it’s a good slice of progressive metal with a high class of musicianship that shows potential and gains most the marks accredited here, yet one that is ultimately not firing on all cylinders due to other factors.  Check out some clips first and make up your own mind.

Rating – 70%

JOOP WOLTERS - OUT OF ORDER
Lion Music - out now

Dutch guitar sensation Joop Wolters is fast gaining a reputation as one of Europe’s finest new breeds of virtuoso guitarists. Having been involved in the music scene on a recording level since 1995 with numerous solo albums and band projects under his belt, Joop’s trademark style is fast gaining a solid fan base around the world and with his soon to be released third solo album "Out Of Order", Joop has raised his performances to even greater levels.

 Opener "Broke" is dark with Joop showing a wide variety of techniques yet with a strong identifiable melody.  "American Desire" conjures up images of flying down a freeway with the top down in the Californian sun and I can see this one getting used on any number of surfing or skateboarding dvd's.  "Anthem" is highly melodic and reminded me a little of Steve Morse in places yet with Joop's highly distinctive legato style and ear for harmonisation.  "Cardiac" stumbles into jazz fusion where the bass work and drum programming by Joop is of very high quality also.  "Dropout" also has roots in fusion yet Joop's lead lines add a little more fire to what you might normally expect (and this quite welcome).  This diversity is followed throughout the course of the album and it never gets tiring or stale which says a lot about Joop’s strength as a composer.

 Overall “Out Of Order” is a very strong instrumental release and one that will hopefully open a few more doors for Joop.  Now we just need to hear him totally slay in a band environment – nice album cover by Carl Andre Beckston too.

 Rating – 90%

VITALIJ KUPRIJ - GLACIAL INFERNO / REVENGE
Lion Music - Out Now

 

Ukranian keyboard giant Vitalij Kuprij best known for his work with Artension and Ring Of Fire also has a healthy line of instrumental solo albums under his belt.  His latest work “Glacial Inferno” (here represented in a ltd edition double pack of the until now Asian only vocal album “Revenge) is to these ears the most accessible and direct he has done in some time and is a step up in every department over his last outing “Forward & Beyond”. For one the production is stronger yet still not perfect with the album mix tendering to centre around the middle of the stereo spectrum – some more width and a more even mix would yield a much easier listening experience.  Yet slight production discrepancies aside the album is strong partly due to the superb assembly of musicians Vitalij has plucked to support him namely Michael Harris on guitar, John Macaluso on drums and Randy Coven on bass.   

As expected by now the album follows a strong neo-classical meets progressive path (would you really expect anything less from Vitalij?) yet the compositions are stronger here than on the last release with more identifiable melodies, less all out blitzing of the keys from Vitalij and great rhythmic interplay between Macaluso and Coven.  The lead guitar of Michael Harris and keyboards from Vitalij trade lines with great intensity with the pairing work extremely well together adding a good balance to the tracks.  Opener “Symphonic Force” is as the title suggest intense, yet things back down for the superb “Liquid Rain” and the atmospheric “Divided Horizon” which has a killer groove and would make a great vocal track if Artension is ever resurrected (harking back to the band’s “Eye Of The Storm” debut). Other stand out track include the title track and Ring Of Fire-ish “Burning Ice”.  Overall a very solid album and despite needing a few spins to really absorb comes out recommended.

The added addition of the “Revenge” album is an even greater incentive, a vocal album in format which sees Vitalij rooted firmly in neo-classical stylings with a great mix of vocalists (Yngwie fans sit down now) including Joe Lynn Turner, Göran Edman, Doogie White, Apollo Papathansio (Firewind/Time Requiem), Chris Catena and Shawn Leahy with the same rhythm and guitar section as on "Glacial Inferno".  From the tracks here I have to wonder why Ring Of Fire ended up sounding as clichéd as it often did as these songs are great – rich in melody, intense instrumental passages and enough classical content to keep Yngwie himself happy.  In short a classy slice of neo-classical metal.

Overall this twin pack of “Glacial Inferno” and “Revenge” serves to present two sides of Vitalij Kuprij albeit in similar musical settings, yet the quality of musicianship is about as good as you can get with numerous tracks that are very strong.  Recommended.

Rating – 85%