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"

VOLBEAT - "Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie"

"Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie" is the logical continuation of the previous record from 2013. That means you get less heavy rockers and a lot more melodic jewels. Yes, I say jewels, because I always liked those catchy anthemic songs much more than the heavy stuff from this band. I know that this album splits the fan community because it sounds more "commercial" (which isn't always a bad thing), but with anthems like "The Gates Of Babylon", "Mary Jane Kelly" and "You Will Know" you have plenty of great tracks with amazing hooks, superb guitar work, an in-your-face produciton and of course the strong and unique vocals of band leader Michael Poulsen. If you like melodic Hard Rock/ Metal with a twist you shouldn't miss this! Rating: 10/10

BONFIRE - "Pearls"

Here we have another very controversial record, because "Pearls" offers just re-recordings of some Bonfire classics - with David Reece on vocals. You can love his voice or not but he is a gifted singer. Personally I like his work with Bonfire and he gave each old song a new twist. I like many of those new version even more than the old ones, because of their different arrangements and some much better guitar solos (listen to "Stricke Back" or "Don't Go Changing Me") from Hans Ziller. Maybe some 80's classics are missing on this one, but with "Goodnight Amanda", "Give It A Try", "Heat In The Glow" and "American Nights" you find a bunch of hits here that will turn each new listener to a Bonfire fan! Rating: 9/10

TOXICROSE - "Total Tranquility"

Somewhere between Mötley Crüe, Crashdiet and Hardcore Superstar this Sleaze Metal outfit, called ToxicRose, presents its debut album "Total Tranquility". I was a huge fan of their EP they released back in 2012. It took them a very long time to release the final album. Maybe my expectations were too high, but sadly "Total Tranquility" can't hold the high level of songwriting they showed before. There are some catchy tunes here that are fun to listen to (check out "World Of Confusion" or the title track ) but very soon it all gets repetitive and replaceable. If they would have put the best songs of this album on a second EP this would have been solid stuff, but here it is sadly just slightly above average, although the musicianship is fine. Rating: 6/10