CD-Review: Trixter - "Human Era"

American Hard Rockers TRIXTER are one of those bands that were washed away by the Grunge wave in the early 90s. Their self-titled debut was released back in 1990 - not the best time to start with infectious Glam Rock. Nevertheless it gained a huge fanbase and for a moment Trixter were celebrated as the next Rock sensation from New Jersey with hitsingles like "Give It To Me Good" or "One In A Million". But then the music world changed and the second record, which followed in 1992, wasn't that successful anymore. After Twenty years Trixter returned with their third album "New Audio Machine", that showed Trixter back on track and hungry for more. The follow-up "Human Era" will hit the stores on June 5th. Can the band surprise us again?

CD-Review: Nelson - "Peace Out"

It's always stunning how fast time is passing by. Five years ago the Nelson brothers Matthew and Gunnar started their big comeback with their album "Lightning Strikes Twice". So talking about their forthcoming record "Peace Out" you could easily say this is a second comeback. They describe the new effort as "return to the traditional Nelson sound" and "their future classic", so let's see if this is the truth or just PR rubbish.

CD-Review: Halestorm - "Into The Wild Life"

Halestorm are one of those bands who came out of nowhere and became one of the most successful Hard Rock bands of the new generation in a short period of time. It took them just two albums to get good chart positions and a Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance (song: "Love Bites (So Do I)"). Their latest record "The Strange Case Of ..." was a fantastic well-crafted, modern Hard Rock album that combined straight heaviness with catchy, radio-friendly melodies. This mixture really worked for me and now three years later the follow-up "Into The Wild Life" will hit the stores on April 10th, 2015.

CD-Review: The Poodles - "Devil In The Details"

The Swedish Hard Rockers of THE POODLES are well known for their continuity in the Rock & Metal scene, because they released already six studio records in nine years. That's a huge number. Unfortunately, the songmaterial got weaker and weaker with each new album and everybody who read my review to "Tour De Force" knows that this was my personal low-point in Poodles history. I received a lot of criticism for this review, but it was just my honest opinion. So now, two years later The Poodles released their sixth album "Devil In The Details" and as you can imagine, my expectations weren't that big. 

Exclusive Interview with Amanda Somerville (Kiske/Somerville, Avantasia, Trillium)

She has one of the finest female voices in Rock & Metal: Amanda Somerville. The Michigan singer/songwriter/vocal coach is a real workhorse. In the last 15 years she was part of countless projects and background singer on many Metal records from Kamelot, Epica, Avantasia and the list goes on and on. At the moment she is on tour with Rock Meets Classic. That was the perfect time for me to meet her and ask her some questions about the new Kiske/Somerville album, the Metal community, talent shows, Rock Meets Classic and much more. Check out this interview and get a closer look at this talented woman.

Live-Report: Rock Meets Classic 2015 (Leipzig, March 25th, 2015)

Another year, another Rock Meets Classic tour in Europe! In 2014 I attended this show for the first time and everybody, who read my live-report knows that I was totally blown away by this fantastic mixture between Rock hits and Classic arrangements, performed by various Rock legends such as Alice Cooper, Joe Lynn Turner or Uriah Heep. The line-up last year was the best I've ever seen and so I was excited to see who will be part of the show this time around. Yeah, what can I say? The line-up has again many well-known Rock'n'Roll superstars to offer.

CD-Review: Kiske/Somerville - "City Of Heroes"

When the first Kiske/Somerville album was released in 2010 the resonance of fans and press was great , so the question was: will there be a sequel? Everybody was hoping so. In the meantime there was lots of talking. Michael Kiske and producer Mat Sinner told me already in 2013 a new Kiske/Somerville record is on the way and it will be great. But then another two years went by and now "City Of Heroes" will finally hit the stores on April 17th. Can this album keep up to its high expectations?

CD-Review: Wolfpakk - "Rise Of The Animal"

Just two years after their second release the "Wolfpakk" is back. The allstar-project of Michael Voss (Mad Max, ex-Casanova) and Mark Sweeney (ex-Crystal Ball) goes into the third round with "Rise Of The Animal" and the duo Voss/Sweeney managed it again to invite many famous guests to join the wolf pack in a short period of time. So the concept is still the same: we have a huge number of well-known musicians here, who leave their own mark on this album, but is this really enough? Let's find out!

CD-Review: Scorpions - "Return To Forever"

Oh, who we have here? Who would have believed that the legendary Hard Rock band from Germany would release another album? I think the answer is: Everybody! Their 2010 record "Sting In The Tail" was announced as the last Scorpions album together with a farewell tour and I still remember that nobody of my friends believed this. It was so obvious that the chapter "Scorpions" wasn't closed. I mean in the following years they released a live Blu-Ray in 3D, then the "Comeblack" album with cover songs and a MTV Unplugged record. No, it was just a matter of time and this time has finally arrived. Yesterday "Return To Forever" hit the stores. Are the Scorpions still hungry for more or is it just the need of money?

CD-Review: H.e.a.t - "Live In London"

The Melodic Rock sensation from Sweden released a terrific album last year. "Tearing Down The Walls" made it on # 01 of my album of the year list and so I was very excited for the first live album from this fantastic band. If you want to know what makes H.e.a.t so special as a live act, then take a look at my live-report from Berlin, which I did last year. It was a phenomenal performance and the question is can H.e.a.t transport this energy of their shows into your living room?

CD-Review: Issa - "Crossfire"

Norwegian Rock singer Issa Oversveen seems to become more and more the AOR queen of this generation. With her new album "Crossfire" she picks up where acts like Robin Beck, Heart or Roxette stopped in the early 90's. She says that this album is influenced by those musicians and so she has big shoes to fill. Fans of Issa had to wait 4 long years for a follow-up to her second record "Storm", that features new original material. "Can't Stop" was released in 2012 but this one just consisted of cover songs. Was it worth the wait?

CD-Review: Last Autumn's Dream - "Level Eleven"

It's impressive how many albums the Scandinavian band Last Autumn's Dream has produced since their start in 2004. With "Level Eleven" they release their 11th album in eleven years. This is a huge number. Most bands that are around for 20 years now aren't so productive. Now you might ask if this is always a good thing and to be honest although Last Autumn's Dream produced always good albums a certain continuity found its way in recent LAD records. Can "Level Eleven" add something new to the whole thing?

CD-Review: Jorn Lande & Trond Holter present DRACULA - "Swing Of Death"

While Age Sten Nilsen released his new album "Shanghaied" a few weeks ago, former Wig Wam guitarist Trond Holter comes up with his new DRACULA project in the next few days. It features Jorn Lande on vocals and is supposed to be a Rock Opera concept album about the life of Count Vlad the III - or as we call him: Dracula. The story deals with his inner struggles between love and his curse and it combines facts of the historical person with some elements of the Bram Stoker figure.

Special: Forthcoming Rock & Metal Releases in 2015!

Hey folks,

for all of you, who can't wait to see what the new year has to offer I created this list of bands who are currently working on a new album that is supposed to be released in 2015. These are just the records I'm looking forward to. It's not that much like last year, but that was to be expected because many of my favorite bands released their albums this year. But hey, so in 2015 there is more room for some surprises, right? :) Which album is your most wanted record in 2015?

Album Of The Year 2014: # 05 - 01

Hey folks,

we finally made it: these are my personal top five albums of the year and I can tell you one thing: it was very, very hard for me to put these 5 records in a ranking order, because every single one of them impressed me so much this year. In the end every record could have been on number one. Now take a look and don't forget to tell me which 5 albums belong to your favorites! Feel free to write it in the comments below!

Album Of The Year 2014: # 10 - 06

Here we go again, folks! It's Christmas Eve - at least here in Germany. And for all of you, who still need a Christmas gift this album of the year ranking is a true blessing. Today I reveal # 10 to 06 of my personal best albums of the year!

Album Of The Year 2014: # 15 - 11

Hello my friends,

2014 was an incredible year for our beloved genre. So many fantastic records hit the stores, you just can't count them and I think not one single "best-of list" does justice to the huge flood of Rock and Metal releases. Every single ranking list just captures a little glimpse, depending on various musical tastes - and so it is with my album of the year top 15 list. This ranking is a very subjective one, those records are the ones that found their way back into my CD-player over and over again and so I don't care about the scores I've given those albums. All records in this list have at least a final rating with 8 out of 10 points, but that's it. This list comes just straight from the heart.

And now let me give a huge THANK YOU to you people out there! Yes YOU, the readers of my blog and the ones, who supported "Rock & Metal 4 You" since the very beginning. You are the reason why I can do what I love to do. How much worth is a webzine without its readers? So thanks for stopping by from time to time and reading my stuff. Very special thanks go also to Denys Jaime from MyGlobalmind Webzine and to all the great musicians I had the pleasure to work with in 2014! The list is pretty long, so I can't thank everyone individually, but you know who you are! :)

I can't wait for the things to come next year with all of you guys! With that said I wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hopefully some great records found their way under your Christmas tree. ;)
And now let's start with the first part of my album of the year ranking!

Exclusive Interview with Åge Sten Nilsen (ex-Wig Wam, Ammunition, Nordic Beast)

"It's hard to be a Rock'n'Roller" told us singer Åge Sten Nilsen with his former band Wig Wam already over a decade ago. Being in a band is a tough business sometimes - even so tough that it becomes a heavy load, so there is nothing left but to end the whole thing. Åge Sten Nilsen has experienced it himself: finishing with Wig Wam and starting from the beginning with two new bands: Nordic Beast and Ammunition. The latter released an excellent album this year, so it was time for me to talk with Åge about the new record as well as Glam Rock in general and of course about the end of Wig Wam. What happened behind the curtain? Find out what he had to say in this very honest in-depth interview. You'll be very surprised!

Special: TOP 15 Songs Of The Year 2014!

Hey folks,

various websites and magazines are publishing their "best of 2014" lists these days, so I'd like to jump on that train too and today I'll reveal the 15 best songs of 2014. For sure this is my personal taste, so maybe you guys have other favorites. Would be nice if you could put your top 5 songs of the year into the comments under this post. I'm very interested in what you think! All in all I must say that 2014 offered tons of great songs, but there are particular tracks that really stuck in my head the whole year. Those are the ones that are worth to be mentioned here.

CD-Review: Harem Scarem - "Thirteen"

So, folks here it is: my final review for this year. Canadian Rockers Harem Scarem did a little comeback last year when they released a re-recording of their highly acclaimed second album "Mood Swings". This one offered also three new tracks that were so enjoyable, so it was clear that an album with completely new material has to follow and now I'm holding this piece of work, called "Thirteen", in my hands.

Special: The biggest disappointments in 2014!

Hey folks,

it's December, that means in the next few weeks you'll be flooded with ranking lists from various blogs and magazines and altough there are four weeks left til the new year kicks in I'd like to start with my first list. That's simply because I haven't so much time at the moment and there will be six more posts about my top 15 songs/albums of the year. So, to ensure that you'll get all these posts till the end of December I have to start now. Yeah and as always I'd like to start with the biggest disappointments of this year. Please keep in mind that this is a very personal and subjective ranking. If you'd like to read something that is objective as hell, then you have to read something different :) And now let's go!

CD-Review: Neonfly - "Strangers In Paradise"

Are you ready for some more feel-good Power Metal? Then here it is: the UK-Rockers of Neonfly released their second album "Strangers In Paradise" yesterday and I must confess I didn't had this on my radar. I knew that the recordings for this album were already finished months ago, but the band had problems to find a record label. Now finally here it is. Was it worth the wait?