Heavy Metal Resource Reviews- Pink Cream 69, Jeff Scott Soto, Galactic Cowboys, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Sweet & Lynch

Index

I have a core of bands that I consider to be my elite hard rockers. A handful of bands that deliver each time they release and the quality is always there. Pink Cream 69 is in that core. When the scene had shifted in the 90's to a less friendly to hard rock sound, I shifted to listening to more bands that were prominent overseas. This is where I discovered Pink Cream 69. The band has been around for quite awhile now and have a decent sized catalog. 'Headstrong' is definitely a strong album in that catalog. It holds on to what makes this band good offering up more traditional rockers with a decent amount of flash. As a bonus, there is a live show with a superb track selection from Ludwigsberg from a few years ago. This package is a lot of bang for your buck. I'm glad to see this band still going strong and this album definitely lives up to their standards!

Release Date: November 10, 2017

Jeff Scott Soto is one of the most ambitious vocalists in the music world today. Hot off of the Sons of Apollo release is his latest solo record 'Retribution'. My first introduction to his work was through the band Eyes in the early 90's. There was obviously a ton of melody involved in the music and he does this well. What he also does well is deliver heavy music in equal fashion. This album has moments of both and are up to what you would expect from his solo work. You get a bit of a different feel to each project or band he is involved with. This is definitely in line with his solo works and not too far off of many other projects he's done. I liked it quite well and really found the strength to be in the heavier side of the album. It rocks out but never totally loses his trademark finesse that has graced so many other songs in the past. Solid release by a great vocalist!

Release Date: November 10, 2017

This band has was one of the few bands I embraced through the 90's. A decent heavy sound with a bit of a progressive feel that would lean more towards somebody like King's X then say Dream Theater. I was pretty ecstatic to see this band make a comeback. It's been quite a while since they released and they did a stellar job bringing the bands core sound back the genre once again. This album to me feels pretty complete. It has some really cool grooves to it such as 'Internal Masquerade' or even one of my favorites 'Next Joke' The former has a video up on youtube that you can check out. The overall vibe of this record is pretty heavy. Twelve consistent tracks that only Galactic Cowboys could deliver. I'm hoping this turns into a decent new beginning for the band as I always liked their sound. Probably my favorite album since 'Space in Your Face'!

Release Date: November 17, 2017

I dabbled in Pretty Boy Floyd's music back in the days of 'Leather Boyz', but honestly, didn't follow them quite as much as I was okay with Glam music, but listened to heavier stuff. 'I took a sample of the bands latest effort 'Public Enemies' and was surprised at the intensity. It's actually much heavier than I remember the band being, but at the same time never loses the Glam feel that they were known for. The music has a catchy hard feel overall and fits the Frontiers roster well in my opinion. Releases through the years have had some time between them and it will be interesting to see if this becomes a bit more regular as I know fans of the band would love. This is definitely a decent record with memorable hard rock music that gives the band a good lift off to their continuing career. If you were a fan of this band or the Glam sound in general, this is for you!

Release Date: December 1, 2017

Second record featuring Stryper's Michael Sweet and amazing shredder and Lynch Mob guitarist George Lynch. I felt that these guys brought good chemistry with their first release and was happy to hear that 'Unified' would be released and continue the great music. Another great record both in terms of musicianship and songwriting. You can just tell that these guys collaborating just works. The songs are solid and memorable and delivered with the power you would expect from these veteran musicians. Lynch has kept very busy with a variety of things and this doesn't seem to take away from anything he does with other musicians. The Sweet & Lynch sound is evident here and the tone and feel are what you would expect after an album under their belt. It's been a good year for Frontiers and releases like this one are part of the reason why! Solid!

Release Date: November 10, 2017