ROUND-UP: MELODIC ROCK
Kryptonite Kryptonite FRONTIERS
let’s get the disclaimer out of the way: kryptonite are yet another of those ‘projects’ assembled by a record company. in these impoverished days it’s becoming a financial necessity for musicians to be in more than one band at a time and when Jakob samuel, voice of The Poodles, met alessandro Del Vecchio, in-house producer at Frontiers records and a writer for the likes of neal schon, Fergie Frederiksen, steve lukather and many more, the result was inevitable.
Though the results of such collaborations can be iffy, kryptonite – also featuring guitarist michael Palace, bassist Pontus egberg and drummer robban Bäck – are striking: as glacial and imposing as their namesake alien mineral. Best exemplified by chasing Fire,
across The Water and get out Be gone, the music is slick and hook-laden, fusing the clean, modern-sounding sensibilities of today’s scandi-aor acts with the timelessness of 1987-era Whitesnake.
Whether or not kryptonite will get to make a second record remains to be seen. on the evidence of this debut, though, such a prospect would be very welcome.
Rian Out Of The Darkness MELODICROCK
This stockholm-based trio were able to use countryman The murder of my sweet’s Daniel Flores as the producer of their debut album. Flores brings a fairly robust style to everything that he touches, and despite rian’s obvious worship of 1980s hard rock, a muscular backbone underpins the likes of out of my mind and Time of Your life.
Kickin Valentina Imaginary Creatures MIGHTY MUSIC
now onto a second album of thumping yet tuneful hard rock, atlanta four-piece kickin Valentina like to believe they’re creating their own genre. The truth is that imaginary creatures fuses together elements of rock’n’roll, hair metal, melodic rock and sleaze, though there’s no doubting the band’s commitment – or their quality.
World Trade Unify FRONTIERS
although two of their number went on to become members of Unruly child, World Trade were always too proggy for the aor fans, and too aor for the prog rockers. now back after an absence of more than two decades, this third album is largely insipid, bland and disastrously one-paced. The rather anaemic vocals of Billy sherwood are a further handicap.
Snow At Last… ESCAPE MUSIC
great white hopes of the sunset strip from 1978 to ’81, snow got back together several years back, and now feature the cavazo brothers carlos
(later of Quiet riot and ratt) and Tony (Hurricane). Despite being 30 years old, the kick-ass hard rockers that comprise
at last… have aged surprisingly well. as a bonus, initial quantities of the album come bundled with a live CD.