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AOR HEAVEN ::: N E W S L E T T E R ::: 11/09/2020 |
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Howdy melodic rockers,
Wonderful times for classic AOR- and
melodic rock lovers as the next couple of days will see
the release of crackers from AT THE MOVIES, BROTHER
FIRETRIBE and FM singer Steve Overland.
On top our new releases for September
from the likes of ATLAS, DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH and
TRISHULA are expected towards mid/end of next week.
Have a great week
Georg & Monika
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DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH - Diamond In The Rough +2
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A: 11 € |
B: 13 € |
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DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH from Canada is finest stuff for fans of GLASS TIGER, LEVEL 42 (!), SPANDAU BALLET (!!) und TOTO. Originally released in 1989, the band could’t really make it, for whatever reasons, although signed to Virgin Records back in the day. Unbelievable given the quality of tracks like “Walk On The Wire“, “Run From The Dark“ or ´“Thief In The Night“, they have got every ingredient a typical late eighties hit needed to have. Certainly rather pop that rock, with many tracks meeting the requirements of melodic rock and AOR fans, though. Limited to 500 copies and with liner notes by Dave Reynolds. Rik Emmett (g, TRIUMPH) guests with a guitar solo on one song.
MARTIN STARK
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Listen: https://youtu.be/ICzD3Gqe9-E |
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ATLAS - Parallel Love
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A: 11 € |
B: 13 € |
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Album number two by British melodic rock outfit offering progressive bits and pieces at times, too. “Parallel Love“ deals with various relationships of different kinds, although not being a true concept album. ATLAS offer a reasonable amount of heavy guitars, as well huge keyboards and a singer (Craig Wells) who really rocks and brings a little bit of crispiness into play. Definitely heavier in total than the strong 2018 debut “In Pursuit Of Memory“ but also a logical evolutional step. Mostly melodic rock, the record offers a little bit more complex sounds at times. ATLAS is a band not to lose track of.
MARTIN STARK
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Watch: https://youtu.be/Z0QFg8C_ta4 |
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TRISHULA - Time Waits For No Man
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A: 11 € |
B: 13 € |
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TRISHULA, whose mainman is Neil Fraser (g, ex TEN, RAGE OF ANGELS) who once again works with Welsh singer Jason Morgan play melodic hard rock and AOR. “Time Waits For No Man“ delivers diverse and astonishing songwriting as well as a pristine but powerful production. Surprisingly enough, though, it’s partly not the guitars but rather the keyboards standing in the center of attention here (“How It’s Supposed To Be“ or “The Mighty“). But then there are magnificent guitars, too (e.g. “Hear No Evil“). Also check out “Fallen Hero“ and “I Just Might“, the latter with a slice of gospel. But also “Make Up Your Mind (Take Your Time)“ is nothing but a true melodic highlight. Definitely no time wasted here.
MARTIN STARK
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Watch: https://youtu.be/so8AGOTYJdE |
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EXPECTED NEW RELEASES !!
AT
THE MOVIES - Movie Hits Of The 80s
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A: 12,5 € |
B: 15 € |
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Confined to their homes under quarantine like the rest of us, a bunch of
Scandinavian metal and hard rock musicians decided to put their idle time to
good use with a new project called AT THE MOVIES, which is devoted to covering
music from the iconic films of the 80s. The project was created by renowned
Scandinavian producer Chris Laney (Pretty Maids) and drummer Allan Sørensen
(Royal Hunt, Pretty Maids) and feature ace singers like Björn Strid (The Night
Flight Orchestra) and Ronnie Atkins (Pretty Maids). Their new and powerful
versions of 80s classics like "No Easy Way Out", "Maniac", "St. Elmo's Fire", "The
Heat Is On" or "Far From Over" is pure fun and the perfect entertainment during
this crazy times !
Watch:
https://youtu.be/hUOB5Mjq3P4 |
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BROTHER FIRETRIBE - Feel The Burn
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A: 13 € |
B: 15,5 € |
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Finnish AOR giants BROTHER
FIRETRIBE are back with album number five. Even though Emppu Vuorinen (g,
NIGHTWISH) left, the band around frontman Pekka Ansio Heino is ready to strike.
Massive AOR and magnificently well-produced anthems like the recently released
single “Rock In The City“ or the extremely melodic “Arianne“ and “Chariot Of
Fire“ are Champions League. Their best effort so far and all previous albums
have been absolutely superb! Eighties AOR as it should be!
MARTIN STARK
Watch:
https://youtu.be/cfirMzhV2N0 |
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OVERLAND - Scandalous
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A: 12,5 € |
B: 15 € |
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FM frontman Steve Overland
puts out solo albums regularly, too. His fifth effort in roundabout 14 years.
Finest melodic rock with lots of soul and blues elements. Incredible output of
the Briton over the years. Scandalous is only the lack of attention outside the
melodic genre, the attention which Steve Overland deserves due to his
magnificent talent. Just check out the easy-going “Closest Thing To Heaven“.
Brian Tichy (ex BILLY IDOL, ex FOREIGNER) on drums! Great stuff!
MARTIN STARK
Watch:
https://youtu.be/YFxeuMkKrek |
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HOUSE OF LORDS - Demon's Down +2 (digitally remastered)
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A: 12,5 € |
B: 15 € |
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"Demons Down" (1992), the third House Of Lords album represented widespread
changes for the band. Apart from James Christian and Gregg Giuffria, the rest of
the band is new feat. cracks like Sean McNabb (Rough Cutt), Tommy Aldridge
(Whitesnake) and Dennis Chick (VVSI). All of the songs were co-written by
Christian and Giuffria, with renowned songwriter Mark Baker (Signal) also
joining in on the co-writing credits. With a slightly heavier sound this is as
an absolute classic, a rarely-parallelled moment in melodic rock history. Even
"Metallic Blue" (co-written by Mike Slamer) kicks out the shit of the Steelhouse
Lane version ! Simply a must have ! Bad Reputation re-issue, digitally
remastered, 2 bonus tracks.
listen:
https://youtu.be/h50eODlzEy0 |
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CATS IN BOOTS - Kicked & Clawed +8 (digitally remastered)
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A: 12,5 € |
B: 15 € |
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Based in Los Angeles and nudging shoulders with every Sunset
Strip wannabe (including Quiet Riot, Rough Cutt, Mötley Crüe, and Dokken) CIB
found a new path forward by developing a huge following in Japan that quickly
manifested into a series of major record companies falling over themselves to
get the band to sign on the dotted line. Put in the studio with AC/DC engineer
Mark Opitz, the band crafted one of the era’s best, if ultimately overlooked,
slices of prime time Hollywood sleaze grating hard rock. The hooks were huge.
The guitars cut and thrust. The production sounded like a million dollars and
front man Joel Ellis screamed and preened like he had been born to boogie. Bad
Reputation re-issue.
watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cLty1nEzPE |
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CROWN OF GLORY - Ad Infinitum
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A: 13 € |
B: 15,5 € |
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“Ad
Infinitum“ sounds like a typical power metal album from the usual suspects from
Sweden. But it’s actually Swiss and offers a great body of melody, a powerful
production and a considerable bandwidth stylistically. There are some classic
rock elements, some uptempo passages and beautiful ballads. CROWN OF GLORY know
their style and will please fans of SERIOUS BLACK, MOB RULES or AVANTASIA, too.
In addition to that, there are lots of symphonic sounds as well on “Ad
Infinitum“.
MARTIN STARK
watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r3Q2HxRuUo |
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WINTER'S VERGE - The Ballad Of James Tig
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A: 12,5 € |
B: 15 € |
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WINTER’S
VERGE from Cyprus are worth to be checked out. Orchestral melodic power metal
with strong hooklines, a great production and some folk elements that meet all
the requirements of the genre and will please fans of RHAPSODY (OF FIRE) or
MAGIC KINGDOM for sure, although the faster parts are pretty rare. The album is
highly conceptual lyric-wise and contains basically no fillers. Just listen to
for instance “A Thousand Souls“ or “I Accept“.
MARTIN STARK
watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0-sm6pOyyE |
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A.O.R. - Next Stop : L.A.
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A: 13 € |
B: 15,5 € |
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“Next Stop : L.A.” (2001) was the follow up to the critically
acclaimed “L.A. Concession” debut album. Mastermind Frederic Slama offers us a
proper re-release of this much sought after CD. Music wise it’s a deadringer for
bands like TYCOON or the MICHAEL THOMPSON BAND carrying a great mix of 80s AOR
tunes and soaring westcoast tunes feat, such well known guests like MICHAEL
THOMPSON, RICHARD PAGE, STEVE GEORGE and CARLOS VEGA. 80s AOR / west coast fans
must give it a try ! |
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WILDNESS - 10/30
ROB MORATTI - 10/30
IMPERIUM - 10/30
PRIDE OF LIONS - 10/09
BLUE OYSTER CULT - 10/09
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