CD-Review: Stamina - "Perseverance"

I love the unexpected. Why I'm telling you that? What I mean is it's always exciting to get promo-material from bands you've never heard of before and sometimes you are so surprised that you weren't familiar with a band that delivers this kind of quality music. Same with the Italian Melodic Metal band STAMINA. Founded in 2006 by guitarplayer and songwriter Luca Sellitto the band has released two records so far and I think many of you didn't recognize this. In February their third effort "Perseverance" hit the stores. Let me tell you what you can expect from this one.

CD-Review: Sebastian Bach - "Give 'Em Hell"

Sebastian Bach (ex-Skid Row), the man with tha largest flap in Rock, released a few days ago his new album "Give 'Em Hell". Bach takes every opportunity to tell everybody how great he is and of course he said this from his new effort as well. If megalomania is a disease, Sebastian Bach suffers from it. But what lies behind these big words? Let's find out!

Live-Report: SONATA ARCTICA - Pariah's Child World Tour (Leipzig, 18.04.2014)

First of all I hope everyone of you had a great Easter weekend. For me it started with my first Sonata Arctica show ever. During their "Pariah's Child World Tour" the Finnish Melodic Metal heroes visited Leipzig, Germany on April 18th, 2014. When I arrived at the location ("Hellraiser") I didn't know what to expect from a Sonata Arctica show. I didn't watch any live-videos, I just wanted to be surprised this time.

CD-Review: H.e.a.t. - "Tearing Down The Walls"

H.e.a.t. - the melodic rock icones (yes I would call them like that because they never failed so far) from Sweden came out of nowhere in 2007 and with their first two albums they really set a sign in the melodic rock world. At this time no other band was able to transport this 80's mood in such a fantastic way. Then the big shock: singer Kenny left the band, but luckily the band found in Erik Grönwall another gifted vocalist and the third album "Adress The Nation" was another highlight and their best album so far. Now the new record "Tearing Down The Walls" is out and it has big shoes to fill.

CD-Review: Confess - "JAIL"

The "New Wave of Sleaze Metal" gained a huge fanbase over the last ten years and especially Sweden is the stronghold of Sleaze. Year after year new bands try to find their place in the scene. Some days ago the new Sleaze Metal band CONFESS released their debut album "JAIL". Let's see if they can keep up with the rest of the scene.

CD-Review: Edguy - "Space Police: Defenders Of The Crown"

Here it is - "the best and heaviest Edguy album ever" and by the way "the best Heavy Metal album of all time". At least it was announced like that by mastermind Tobias Sammet. It is well known that Tobi is a little megalomaniac and you shouldn't take everything too serious, but last year he said his new Avantasia record would be the best one and he was damn right. It was my album of the year. So if Mr. Sammet says "here is the best Edguy album ever" expectations are high and what you can read in the press sounds also very promising. So, can this new record do justice to its big hype?

Live-Report: Rock Meets Classic 2014 (Leipzig, 30.03.2014)

Mat Sinner is a genius. Point. Beside his acivities with Primal Fear and Voodoo Circle he made a name for himself with "Rock Meets Classic" in recent time. Year after year he presents us Rock Legends, such as Lou Gramm (Foreigner), Bobby Kimball (Toto), Ian Gillan (Deep Purple), Robin Beck, Bonnie Tyler or Steve Augeri (Journey) together with his Mat Sinner band and the Bohemian Symphony Orchestra Prague. You see, the guestlist is pretty long. This "Rock Meets Classic" celebrated its 5th Anniversary and it was a blast. With Alice Cooper (feat. Orianthi), Mick Box & Bernie Shaw (Uriah Heep), Joe Lynn Turner (ex-Rainbow, ex-Deep Purple), Kim Wilde and Midge Ure (Ultravox) Rock Meets Classic featured the best line-up ever. But let's start at the beginning.

Exclusive Interview with TONY KAKKO (Sonata Arctica)

If there is a band that went through many musical changes in the last ten years it has to be the Finnish Melodic Metal band SONATA ARCTICA. When metalheads hear this name they are happy or getting angry. The band is known for Power Metal classics like "Ecleptica" or "Silence", but those records went hand in hand with more progressive albums like "Unia" and "Days Of Grays". The fanbase is split. Now Sonata Arctica come along with a new album, called "Pariah's Child" and it has the difficult task to please old and new fans. Singer and songwriter Tony Kakko took the time to talk with me about the new album, musical development, critics ... and wolves. Here is what he had to say.