“Anyone already familiar with the most popular, debatably metal bands of the 80s (Def Leppard, Whitesnake) will understand what’s going on with Lionheart. Big power chords in the verses, big vocals in the choruses, crunchy but accessible riffs, and an overly of keyboards that sometimes take the form of a piano and sometimes something synthier. Dragonfly largely makes for an upbeat, easy-going sort of listen.” Lions and bugs and Brits, oh my!
“What more is there to say about a prog supergroup? How about one that exists as a re-tooling of the now-defunct Sons of Apollo. Part of the melodic core of that group remains the same, with Derek Sherinian (Planet X, ex-Dream Theater) and Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (Art of Anarchy, ex-Guns n’ Roses) returning on flamboyant keys and virtuosic fretted and fretless guitar madness, respectively, to helm the adventures of Whom Gods Destroy.” Smote by prog?
“Timechild takes the feel-good sounds of hard rock past and fuses a modern-looking, 00’s radio melancholy to form their own brooding yet bolstered identity. Cuts from Blossom & Plague don’t feel far away from the T-injected dad jams of a band like Tremonti or the soulful and virtuosic AOR thump of Winery Dogs, but this unheralded Danish act plays without a notion that bands like that even exist.” Time, tide, and plague.
“Every so often a comment in a review regarding some act we didn’t receive promo from gets me curious enough to do some research. This is what led me to L.A.’s Wings of Steel. A young, unheralded duo made up of guitarist Parker Halub and vocalist Leo Unnermark, they unleashed a very ambitious, wide-ranging ode to classic 80s metal this month and it deserves attention. You see, this titanic twosome is highly talented and on Gates of Twilight they attempt a daring blend of traditional and epic doom metal with a side of cock rock that on paper simply should not work. Yet in the hands of these mad scientists work it does, and the monstrosity they create is 666% Steel bait!” Steel vs Steel.
“Screamer doesn’t shout in the face of tradition—they never have and, predictably so, never will. Yes, here in this brand new year of 2023, young(ish) names chase the 40-year (or more) legacy of established icons like Rainbow, Van Halen, and Judas Priest, and there’s nothing wrong with that as many such surviving progenitors have trouble playing after bingo hours these days.” Still sreaming in the night.
“Let’s roll the clock back six years. It was September 2014, and the name El Cuervo was but a Spanish noun and nascent writer in the Angry Metal Guy world. The Editors™ mandated Skyscraper’s Elevation on said writer, a charming and catchy, if somewhat toothless, AOR record. Their impressive crooner, named Lee Small, struck said writer to a sufficient extent as to bother Googling his other projects. It was later discovered that he was fronting a long-defunct-but-then-revived hair rock band called Lionheart, whose 1984 release called Hot Tonight is well worth the time of any fans of men in leotards.” Tight bloomers, rock boomers.
“Aeromantic hardly breaks new ground for these excitable Swedes. By this, I mean that it is seemingly purpose-built to mainline dopamine directly to my brain, being, as it is, more 80s than the 80s. Each NFO release reaches deeper into this era, and Aeromantic nails the schmaltzy, overblown tone which has come to characterize the retrospective view of it.” Aeroma therapy.
“You know that crazy uncle? The one who apparently fronts some sort of sketchy 70s band? Yeah, that one. You see him at the family barbecues, usually a bit more belligerent than a man of his age should be, kind of embarrassing himself on occasion. You think, “There’s no way this dude is in a band.” Then you find yourself, against your best judgement, at one of his gigs, and you realize that whoa, he’s actually a decent singer, and he’s playing in a decent band. It goes against all instincts, but it’s true, and even though you don’t want to, you find yourself drawn to them. Well, that uncle may be none other than Johan Fahlberg, and the band may be none other than Lugnet.” Uncle Lugnet!
“Hair metal! Is there a more maligned subgenre? Given the way it warped the general public’s image of metal, and for how long, it’s hard to imagine one. But for sheer, raw fun, it can be very, very hard to beat, especially on the rare occasion one finds it executed well. But what does ‘well’ mean in this context? Is it even really possible for that word to apply to hair metal?” Hair today, gone tomorrow.
“AMG.com has ridden the The Night Flight Orchestra (“NFO”) horse pretty hard since the release of their first album in 2012. The illustrious Dr. Fisting (then masquerading as Fisting Andrew Golota) was their discoverer and therefore the designated reviewer thus far. Now that he is absent, presumed dead, I have taken up this mantle to impart opinions on a band that our founder abhors.” New tickets to paradise.
