CD-Review: AVANTASIA - "Moonglow"

Oh Tobias Sammet ... you have big shoes to fill. The mastermind behind the worlds most famous Metal Opera AVANTASIA has released a bunch of amazing records in the past, but especially with their 2016 output "Ghostlights" he raised the bar even higher. It was a stunning masterpiece from start to finish. The follow-up , called "Moonglow" , will arrive in just a few weeks and I'll tell you in this review if it can compete with the stunning Avantasia catalogue.

CD-Review: Shakra - "Snakes & Ladders"

How fast time passes by - it feels like yesterday when singer Mark Fox rejoined the Swiss Hard Rockers of Shakra. It did not even take them two years to release the follow-up to their highly acclaimed reunion album "High Noon". I think it is the shortest period of time between two albums when it comes to these guys. So is "Snakes & Ladders" a rushed record or an essential album in Shakra's band history?

CD-Review: Art Nation - "Liberation"

So here we have another Melodic Rock band from Sweden, called Art Nation. Sweden is always a seal for approval when it comes to quality rock music, so it was no wonder that the debut album from these guys hit the melodic rock community really hard back in 2015. They came out of nowhere and they succeeded all the way. With that said, now two years later they are ready for their second strike, named "Liberation".

Quick-Reviews: Ayreon, Julian Angel, Harem Scarem

Hey folks,

here are some albums to rock your spring and there is something for everybody, whether it's Hair Metal, Progressive Metal or Melodic Hard Rock! Check it out!

- AYREON - "The Source"
- JULIAN ANGEL - "The Death Of Cool"
- HAREM SCAREM - "United"

Quick-Reviews: Bon Jovi & Pretty Maids

Hey folks,

first of all I wish you guys a Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed the time with your loved ones.
After a long break (I think 3 months) I finally found the time to write some new stuff here. I posted my review to the forthcoming GOTTHARD album some hours ago and now I'd like to write something down to two major releases from the end of last year:

- BON JOVI - "This House Is Not For Sale"
- PRETTY MAIDS - "Kingmaker"

CD-Review: Gotthard - "Silver"

25 years in musicbusiness is a very long time and not every band formed in the early 90's is still around these days. But the Swiss guys of GOTTHARD stood the test of time. With "Silver" they celebrate their 25th anniversary - and it was a very moving quarter century. Started as a Hard Rock band in a time where this kind of music was simply dead, Gotthard quickly became one of the top acts of Switzerland with various number one records in their home country. In the late 90's they changed their musical direction from Hard Rock to more radiofriendly Soft Rock, just to hit everyone in the face in 2005 with a newborn, fresh heaviness on their outstanding record "Lipservice" (one of my all-time favorites).

Quick-Reviews: Sonata Arctica, Kee Marcello, Meat Loaf

Hey folks,

long time no update, but I needed some time to collect a few albums for review, because August and September didn't offer many interesting releases. But now I can present you a pretty decent mixture of sub-genres: Prog/Melodic-Metal, classic Hard Rock and some theatralic Rock.

- SONATA ARCTICA - "The Ninth Hour"
- KEE MARCELLO - "Scaling Up"
- MEAT LOAF - "Braver Than We Are"

Quick-Reviews: Steven Tyler, Kissin' Dynamite, Miss Behaviour (July 2016)

Here are three more "Quick-Reviews" for you guys. This time I got something for Hard Rockers, AOR fans and even for Country lovers:

- STEVEN TYLER - "We're All somebody From Somewhere"
- KISSIN' DYNAMITE - "Generation Goodbye"
- MISS BEHAVIOUR - "Ghost Play"

Quick-Reviews: Dare, Trick Or Treat, Phantom 5 (July 2016)

Here are three more "Quick-Reviews" for you guys. This time I got something for Hard Rockers, Power Metal fans and Melodic Rock lovers:

- DARE - "Sacred Ground"
- TRICK OR TREAT - "Rabbits' Hill Pt. 2"
- PHANTOM 5 - "Phantom 5"

Quick-Reviews: Volbeat, ToxicRose, Bonfire (June 2016)

As announced yesterday, today I'll give you my first "Quick-Reviews" that will show you my opinion on some new records, but without the "PR blah-blah" ;)

This time with the following records:

- VOLBEAT - "Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie"
- TOXICROSE - "Total Tranquility"
- BONFIRE - "Pearls"

Important Announcement - June 2016

Hey folks,

I know, I know, plenty of time passed by since the latest update on this blog and I can only apologize for that. I think you guys noticed that since last year the regularity of updates on this blog decreased sharply. This is due to new responsibilities I took in my day job. There are lots of things going on right now - not just in my job, also in my private life. So there is simply not enough time to focus on this blog - and to be honest I'm also not in the mood to sit down in front of my computer right after work where I sit the whole day in the office in front of another computer. It is much more important to me to spend the free time I have with family and friends right now. I just got to that point where I had to set priorities ... and yeah, that's the honest truth: I can't ensure writing countless reviews and other stuff in the (complex) way I did before. It's a lot of work and it takes a lot of time writing this stuff. Please keep in mind that I'm running this site on my own. There is nobody who is helping me out here. With that said I also want to say sorry to the many bands out there, who write me E-Mails with requests for doing reviews on their albums. I have to select very carefully what fits to my own taste in music. It wouldn't be fair to criticise bands and music styles I'm normally not listening to.

I know that sounds worse, but I also don't want to shut the whole thing down. So I decided to do some more little updates from time to time. First I'll start with "Quick-Reviews", which means I collect some albums over a certain period of time and I'll give you my opinion on them, but in a very short, very focused way without talking so much about unnecessary things. Maybe this also fits perfectly to the zeitgeist nowadays. I mean, who of you still reads long texts? For sure, maybe I'll do one or two longer reviews on very special albums again, but not in the nearer future.
Furthermore I'll try to continue doing interviews, since that doesn't happen that often I'll take the chance to do it if I have the opportunity. When it comes to live-reports I'll concentrate on shows/musicians I have not covered yet.

So these are the consequences that I have drawn to keep "Rock & Metal 4 You" still running and I hope you understand my points. THANK YOU!

All the best to you guys and keep on rockin'!!!

Thomas

CD-Review: Dynazty - "Titanic Mass"

The Swedish group Dynazty is one of those bands, who always deliver high quality with each new album, but surprisingly nobody seems to care about them. If musicbusiness would be fair this band should have conquered the world by storm with their infectious Metal anthems. Started as a Hair/Sleaze Metal outfit they reinvented themselves back in 2014 with their latest album "Renatus", which was simply one of the best albums of the year. Now their fifth record "Titanic Mass" hit the stores and Dynazty continue where they left off with "Renatus".

CD-Review: Treat - "Ghost Of Graceland"

It's kind of a surprise to hear something new from the legendary Scandi-Rock act Treat these days, because three years back they announced the end of the band. To be honest in my opinion it was a good decision at that time, because with their previous album "Coup De Grace" Treat were on the top of their game. It just couldn't get any better. CDG was praised by press and fans all over the world and so it seemed acceptable to me to end the journey when you are at your best - just to keep the legacy alive. With that in mind the new record "Ghost Of Graceland" has big shoes to fill. I'll tell you if the resurrection of Treat can live up to its hype.

CD-Review: Dion Bayman - "Don't Look Down"

Australian multi-talent Dion Bayman was the surprise act of the year for me back in 2013. With his smooth melodic rock and a sense for beautiful melodies he hit the spot in every way. He continued this path on the folowing album "Afterburn" in 2014, where he did some fine tuning here and there. It was another very infectious record. Now nearly two years later Dion comes along with his new effort, called "Don't Look Down".

CD-Review: Reckless Love - "InVader"

The Finish Glam Rockers Reckless Love impressed me very much with their latest record "Spirit" back in 2013. To me it was a huge step into the right direction - more Rock'n'Roll than Pop. Reckless Love had always an image problem.They were often ridiculed as a boygroup. That was partly justified, because especially their second album was hard on the edge to a generic Pop-Rock album. With their fourth record "InVader" they finally crossed that line for the worse.

Live-Report: AVANTASIA - "Ghostlights" World Tour 2016 (Berlin, March 4th 2016)

It's been three long years now since I saw the Metal Opera Project Avantasia live on stage. It was my third Avantasia show, so I already knew what to expect: over three hours of pure Melodic Metal entertainment with a huge number of guest singers. The guys around mastermind Tobias Sammet started their "Ghostlights" world tour on March 4th 2016 in Berlin. The venue "Huxleys" was sold out as well as other upcoming dates on the entire tour. I have to admit that the venue isn't that big (there is space for around 1.500 people), but Huxleys is still one of my favorite places in Berlin.

CD-Review: Dream Theater - "The Astonishing"

Although American Prog Metal heroes Dream Theater are around for so many years now and they've gained a large fanbase, their newest piece of work "The Astonishing" is my first contact with this band. As far as I've seen it, this album splits the fanbase pretty much. Some people think it is a boring record, others praise it as a true masterpiece. Maybe the truth lies between those opinions. Because I never listened to Dream Theater before I can give you a more objective opinion on this album in my review.

CD-Review: Serenity - "Codex Atlanticus"

End of January was an amazing time for Symphonic Metal fans. With  Avantasia's "Ghostlights" and Dream Theater's "The Astonishing" (which is supposed to be a Rock Opera this time with many symphonic elements) fans of this particular genre are pretty busy for the next few months. It wasn't the best idea from the Austrian Symphonic Metal band SERENITY to release their fitfth opus "Codex Atlanticus" on the same day. After many listens I just can say it's a shame that this album is so overlooked, because it deserves better.

Exclusive Interview with Mark Fox (Shakra)

When vocalist John Prakesh left Swiss Hard Rockers SHAKRA two years ago, nobody thaught that former singer Mark Fox would return to the band, but as you see: mircales happen all the time and Shakra present us one of their strongest releases with Mark Fox on vocals. With that in mind it was time to talk to Mark about his return, reunions in general, his solo activities and of course the new album "High Noon".  Check out what he had to say below.

CD-Review: Ecliptica - "Ecliptified"

Metal from Austria? Beside Symphonic Metal heroes Serenity I can't remember so many other bands of this particular genre from this country. Although Ecliptica are named after the debut album of Sonata Arctica they are not a Symphonic or Power Metal band as you might expect it. Ecliptica describe their music as "Metal'n'Roll" and they are around for quite some time already. Their new album "Ecliptified" marks their thrid record in band history and it shows the band from a more different side.

Exclusive Interview with Tobias Sammet (Avantasia, Edguy)

Tobias Sammet, the mastermind behind the German Power Metal band Edguy and of course the head of the Metal Opera project Avantasia, has reached a lot in the last 20 years. Playing shows in over 40 countries and countless chart entries are just a few of them. His biggest achievement seems to be the work with his own heroes on Avantasia. In just a few days the next masterpiece, called "Ghostlights", will hit the stores and just a month later Tobias Sammet will attend the preselection round of the Eurovision Song Contest in Germany. So there were several reasons to talk to him again. But this isn't just another interview out of hundreds. This time it was important to me to involve the Avantasia/Edguy fans, so I asked those people in a fan forum for their questions and the resonance was great. Thanks to all those people from all over the world who sent in their questions! There were so many, so I couldn't use all of them, but I selected a few and combined them with my own questions. Read the result below.

CD-Review: Shakra - "High Noon"

When singer Mark Fox left Shakra back in 2009 nobody thought these guys will ever team up again. It seemed to be impossible because it was a quiet ugly break up with lots of bad blood. Fox was replaced by John Prakesh and just after two albums Prakesh left the band in 2014. I don't know what it is, but Shakra always had problems to keep their singer. To me it was a huge surprise when I heard the news of Mark Fox's return on the new album, called "High Noon". Now it's finally here and it feels like Fox never left the band.