melodic rock

(6/10) It's not easy to write a review for this album. Normally I don't want to be influenced by anything more than by listening to an album a few times in a row, which shapes a picture about the release and the included songs. What makes it less easy...

(8/10) Fans of bands like The Poodles, Narnia, … look out. Something new is on its way. Members of the mentioned bands, plus some more melodic rock passionitas from Sweden, started Heartwind. The six-piece band releases their debut “Higher and Higher”...

(8/10) Since a few years Bonfire is gaining more and more momentum again. The latest releases have been all pretty good, showcasing a band that found their way back into the spotlight. Bonfire these days is very much Hans Ziller, founding member and main...

(8/10) W.E.T. doesn’t belong to the bands that flood the scene with releases. The debut, simply entitled “W.E.T.” was published in 2009 and it was “Rise Up” that marked the second delivery of this mainly Swedish rock outfit. Five long years after having...

British rock pioneers Magnum are a regular guest on Markus' Heavy Music Blog. Several CD reviews have been posted as well as some live reports of which the latest one dates back to May 2016 when the legendary band played a show at Waterfront in Norwich,...

(7/10) As the band's name predicts, Lione/Conti consists out of no less than Fabio Lione and Alessandro Conti, both having an history with Rhapsody / Rhapsody Of Fire. In addition Alessandro Conti is also part of Italian power metal outfit Trick Or Treat,...

(8/10) Former Wig Wam singer Age Sten Nilsen and Erik Mårtensson (Eclipse, W.E.T. and Nordic Union) founded Ammunition back in 2014. The debut “Shanghaied” saw the light of day in 2015 and was a very positive surprise. The musical CV of founders and band...

(9/10) Introducing Magnum feels like carrying sand to the beach. I can't imagine that there are fans of rock and metal that never heard at least the name of the British hardrock legend. Guitar wizard Tony Clarkin and singer Bob Catley began in 1972 and...

(8/10) Panorama is a quite new metal outfit with a history that takes us back into 2008, Swiss guitarist Sammy Lasagni met Adagio frontman Christian Palin on tour. Already then the two musicians found some solid ground when it comes to music. The guys...

(7/10) Writing a review about Raintimes on a grey November day with rain outside feels like a perfect match. It’s definitely ‘raintimes’ today in The Netherlands and therefore it’s not a too bad thing to get some musical sunrays out of the speakers. In...

(8/10) What gets out of the speakers extremely well is the new longplayer of California-based rock outfit Babylon A.D.. This is even more surprising while considering the fact of the quintet being in a kind of ‘on-off’ situation over the last years and...

(8/10) Jeff Scott Soto is a busy man these days. Not only that he enriched the excellent Sons Of Apollo album with his brilliant voice, he also recorded a new solo album entitled “Retribution”. We don’t need to beat around the bush; Jeff Scott Soto belongs...

Melodic rock dinosaur Magnum will release their new album entitled "Lost on the Road to Eternity" on January 19th via Steamhammer/SPV. It will be the band's 20th studio reocrd and it's the first one with two new band members Rick Benton (key) and Lee...