CD Reviews
U.D.O.
Mean Machine
1988
AFM Records

U.D.O.
Man And Machine
2002
AFM Records
 

When singer Udo Dirkschneider left the German heavy metal band Accept in 1987 to form U.D.O., who would have thought how big of a name the band would become. Surely being named after Udo helped gain immediate recognition to jumpstart the new band. But it was his songwriting and unmistakeable searing vocals that helped the band gain worldwide notoriety. Continue reading →

CD Review
Buckcherry
Confessions
2013
Century Media Records
✰✰✰✰½
By: Joseph Suto

Buckcherry have just released their sixth studio release entitled Confessions. The band catapulted from nowhere in 1999 with their self titled release which ended up going gold based off strong songs “Lit Up” and “For The Movies”. The band released Time Bomb to less success which led to the band going on hiatus. When singer Josh Todd and guitarist Keith Nelson reconvened in 2005 with new members Stevie D (guitars), Jimmy Ashcraft (bass) and Xavier Muriel (drums), the lineup has remained the same ever since. Continue reading →

CD Review
Jimi Jamison
Never Too Late
2012
Frontiers Records
✰✰✰✰

When one thinks of Jimi Jamison the most common link that immediately comes up is Survivor. Jimi has been a big part of Survivor ever since he joined the band in 1984. Right from the start Jamison made a big impact as the bands first release with Jamison Vital Signs peaked at #16 on the Billboard Album Charts. Continue reading →

CD Review
Marillion
Sounds That Can’t Be Made
Ear Music
2012
✰✰✰½

By: Joseph Suto

Sounds That Can’t Be Made is Marillion’s seventeenth studio album as well as being their first album of all new material since 2008s Happiness Is The Road. The band’s current lineup has been intact since 1989s Season’s End, the first album where singer Steve Hogarth came aboard on. What Hogarth, along with guitarist Steven Rothery, keyboardist Mark Kelly, bassist Peter Trewavas and drummer Ian Mosley have done is once again raise their bar even higher and the result is quite a satisfying experience from the listener point of view. Continue reading →

CD Review
Hinder
Welcome To The Freakshow
Republic Records
2012
✰✰✰✰

By: Joseph Suto

Things have been kind of quiet on the Hinder front for much of 2012. They reconvened early in the year following their 2011 All American Nightmare tour and started the writing process for their next release. The writing took the band to new areas unexplored as they wrote about life experiences they have encountered as opposed to just writing about a theme or particular subject like they had in the past. Continue reading →