Classic Rock Presents AOR 13 - Cold As Ice
CD, 2014, Heftbeilage, Cardsleeve

15 of the Coolest New Melodic Tracks

Spielzeiten laut Software (iTunes)

Classic Rock Magazine / Classic Rock presents AOR 13 December 2014
TEAM ROCK

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Bild 1: Cover
Bild 2: Backcover
Bild 3: CD
Bild 4: Hefthülle aus Pappe - Cover
Bild 5: Hefthülle aus Pappe - Backcover
Bild 6: Heftcover
Bild 7: Pappcover mit CD

Alright, stop, collaborate and listen: it's winter, it's getting a little chilly out there, and you really should accessorise your denim get-up with, you know, a scarf from the Steven Tyler House Of Cravats to keep your neck warm, and invest in a set of snow-chains for your cowboy boots, lest you find yourself sprawled on the pavement after a lethal encounter with some black ice. And unless Foreigner, Styx, Journey and Boston are playing down at your local (with original line-ups intact, natch), this really is the season to batten down the hatches and hibernate indoors, until the weather outside closer resembles the climate down on the Sunset Strip. But yeah, we know - you still wanna rock. Well, that's where this issue's CD comes in, a pristine primer of the best melodic rock and AOR the season brings and - if we're not being too bold - the perfect Soundtrack for your Christmas party or New Year's shindig.

01 VEGA – All Or Nothing Three must be the magic number for melodic rockers Vega, as their third album, Stereo Messiah, will surely deliver them the globe-straddling success they deserve. The title of this sneak preview is a sharp precis of the group's ethos, as Vega dedicate themselves heart and soul to full-blooded, surging AOR, the songcraft of brothers Tom and James Martin delivered with exacting perfection by vocalist Nick Workman.
Taken from: Stereo Messiah on Frontiers.

02 NIGHTINGALE – Lucifer's Lament You can't judge a book by its cover and, similarly, you can't judge a band by their gothic accoutrements. Case in point: Nightingale, who started life as the none-more-goth project of Swedish rock auteur Dan Swanö but now, almost twenty years later, have evolved - like the ugly duckling becoming the graceful swan - into a gloriously melodic, grand and deliciously pomp-y AOR concern. Ignore the 'metal' title - this song's lush.
Taken from: Retribution on Inside Out.

03 NUBIAN ROSE – War War! Good god y'all! What is it good for? Ab-solutely nuthin'... unless we're talking at the song, War, by Nubian Rose. We are? Because if so, War, like most of tracks from the Swedish heavy rockers' second album Mental Revolution is good for raising one's pulse-rate to a pleasing gallop, in time with the group’s bombastic riffage, colossal melodies and the banshee howl of Sofia Lilja, a frontwoman without compare.
Taken from: Mental Revolution on Livewire/Cargo.

04 SHAFT OF STEEL – Spinning Vortex Of Love Serious young men, the lads behind Shaft Of Steel. Purveyors of melodic metal from old London Town, this sextet juggle NWOBHM riffage with celestial fusillades of synthesiser and keyboard and the soaring, emotive vocals of frontman Robert Fenning, delivering a grand and deeply satisfying sound that, on songs like Spinning Vortex Of Love, invites moshing and lighters-waved-aloft equally. So go get Shafted!
Taken from: Shaft Of SteelEP on Shaft Of Steel.

05 DONNIE VIE – Haunted Since deciding enough was enough with Enuff Z'Nuff, former frontman Donnie Vie has trodden a long and winding path as a solo artist, but there's some logic to this lifetime Beatles-fan's footsteps leading him to his latest release - a double CD entitled The White Album. The bright power-pop tuneage that makes up the lion's share of the album is elegantly tempered by darker fare like Haunted, offering a more mature flavour of Vie.
Taken from The White Album on Livewire/Cargo.

06 GAELERI – Wannabe Not, you'll be glad to learn, a cover version of the Spice Girls' deathless anthem from the 90s, but the sound of a long-dormant rock beast stirring from years of slumber. Formed in Helsingborg, Sweden in 1992, Gaeleri's life-affirming riffage won a dedicated following until the group ran aground 12 years on. But now their connection is renewed, and on the evidence of Wannabe, age has certainly not withered them.
Taken from: Gates Of Rome on Roastinghouse.

07 MARTINA EDOFF – Who You Are As a backing singer for chart-topping techno-pop artists like Dr Alban, in the 90s Martina Edoff had it all - success, money, a well-worn passport. But still she wanted more - to follow her true calling as a heavy-rock vocalist with a sideline in deft and wonderful power-balladry, like her heroines the Wilson sisters from Heart. 2014, then, is the year she makes it happen, and with material like the inspiring Who You Are, she can't fail.
Taken from: Martina Edoff on MRM.

08 STOLEN RHODES – Gone Stolen Rhodes hail from the birthplace of Bon Jovi - New Jersey - though their rousing rock is less Slippery When Wet and more Springsteen-goes-southern rock. Their deepfried anthems won them a place on Lynyrd Skynyrd's recent Simple Man Cruise trip, while this lead single from their second mini-album is rock'n'roll with a metallic edge and a dustbowl fringe, a high-drama thrill that begs your fist to pump.
Taken from: Slow Horse on Stolen Rhodes.

09 WHITE WIDDOW – Caught In The Crossfire Against all odds, these Aussie rockers are back. Despite the tragic loss of drummer George Kristy in 2013, and the exit of bassist Trent Wilson from their ranks, Melbourne's finest rock'n'roll heroes return with a third album of stadium-ready rock that sparks with the energy of life lived to its very limits, a hair-shaking, floor-quaking party packed with irresistible choruses and plenty of material for the air-guitarist in all of us.
Taken from: Crossfire on AOR Heaven.

10 GRAND SLAM – Waiting For Tomorrow A Swedish six-piece decked out in bandanas, eye-liner, bleach-blond locks and sunglasses-worn-indoors, you don't really need to listen to their debut EP Waiting For Tomorrow to get a sense of what Grand Slam sound like. But if you love tunes as huge as zeppelins, and wild and wasted, rock'n'roll with a sleazy charm, you really need to listen to Grand Slam's debut EP!
Taken from: Waiting For Tomorrow EP on Grand Slam.

11 DALTON – Ready Or Not Hot-rockin' Swedes Dalton released their last album a quarter of a Century ago, just as the glorious era of 80s rock was drawing to a close. So it's no surprise, then, that their Comeback album Pit Stop finds them sounding as fresh and lively as if they’d been preserved in ice since the last notes of their previous album rang out. Ready or not? Dalton are definitely ready, and this track suggests they've been raring to go for some time.
Taken from: Pit Stop on Frontiers.

12 NEONFLY – Better Angels Fresh off tours supporting kindred spirits Magnum and Dragonforce, London-based metallic rockers Neonfly are led by brilliantly named guitarist/songwriter Frederick Thunder. and their strangely compelling brew of wraught-iron riffs and excellent songcraft reaches fruition on their third album. Don't believe us? Take the brutal grace of Better Angels for a spin.
Taken from: Strangers In Paradise on Inner Wound.

13 XTASY – Million Miles Away Touring with Tigertail their native Spain this December, Xtasy’s time is now. A project born from the creative spark between singer Silvia and guitarist Jorge, Xtasy's polished symphonic, majestic debut album came together in that hotbed of AOR activity, Sweden, at Blowout Studios. Shaped by producer Erik Mårtensson (W.E.T., Eclipse), it’s what every AOR reader is after, no question.
Taken from: Revolution on MelodicRock.

14 LITTLE FISH – The Wake Up Call Just when you thought AOR had been swamped by more Swedes than a market veg stall, along come Littlefish, practitioners of the polished-rock arts from another corner of the Nordic regions - Denmark, to be exact. Copenhagen's finest are a three-piece blessed with an embarassment of riches: great songs, delivered with gusto by a band equally in love with Deep Purple and The Beatles. Cherish 'em.
Taken from: The Gordian Knot on Tutl.

15 DENNIS DE YOUNG & THE MUSIC OF STYX – Crystal Ball (Live) At the end of the 20th Century, Dennis DeYoung finally took permanent leave of Styx. But did that mean he'd quit playing the songs that made him famous, and that he made ubiquitous? Did it, heck! Live In Los Angeles captures DeYoung and band at one of their gloriously joyous concerts, revisiting Styx's unimpeachable songbook and offering fresh new takes on older material. This Version of Tommy Shaw's 1977 smash hit just crackles.
Taken from: Live In Los Angeles on Frontiers.