Heavy Metal Resource Reviews-Metal Church, Roxanne, Magic Dance, Johnny Gioeli, and Steelheart

Index

Second album since the return of Mike Howe on lead vocals and another reminder of why he is so liked as a metal frontman. I was always a pretty big fan of both Howe and David Wayne. I just wanted one or the other in the band and with the death of Wayne a few years back, Metal Church was once again completed with the return of Howe. Musically, the band has been very solid on this last two albums. 'Damned If You Do' is similar in style to the previous album'XI', but I was also thinking 'Blessing in Disguise in a few places as well. Some of my favorite tracks such as 'Guillotine' and 'Monkey Finger' have a very cool groove to them. The music is as heavy as you would expect from the band and the chemistry is just right with this group of guys. You would always love to see a full reunion or as much as it can be, but this version of the band is great! Sold record!

Release Date: December 7, 2018

The return of Roxanne. Been many years since the band released their debut album, and quite honestly, they should have been very big. 30 years later we get the sophomore follow up 'Radio Silence' and it doesn't miss a beat. The band have a great blues influenced melodic hard rock sound and have put together a very good batch of songs including a few that have made it to Youtube such as 'Go Fuck Yourself', 'Super Bad' and 'Someone to Kill'. If you were not familiar with this band, these videos give you a good idea of how the album sounds. I found the album to be consistent and a very good listen. This band could have really been the next big thing, but get another shot at it with this record. It's up to us, the fans, to get the word out and get people educated on the way things used to be. Glad to have you guys back! Very good release 30 years in the making!

Release Date: October 26, 2018

This band is new to me. They also blew my doors off with this latest record. The music is a melodic hard rock AOR style with very rich sounding tones. As I was making my way through the record the first time I was astounded by the sheer quality and confidence of each song as it played on. Frontiers is an amazing label as they put a lot of these bands out there for people to hear and the roster is of the highest quality. This band and this record fit in very well with the label's other artists. As we always mention, you can check out their sound via Youtube. There is a very retro sound to the band which will have a large amount of appeal to fans of 80's melodic hard rock. The video for ' Never Go Back' is totally retro in many ways including sound, visuals, etc. This record is a very easy recommend for fans of the Frontiers label and melodic rock in general!

Release Date: December 7, 2018

Sometimes it just feels right to do something different. Johnny Gioeli has earned the respect of many and is one of rock's more respected vocalists. 'One Voice' is Gioeli doing something out of his norm. It's still a rock record, but has a very different feel than what he does with Axel Rudi Pell or Hardline. The music is a laid back melodic rock sound that his voice fits perfectly. Some fans will probably compare the sound of this record to the more recent sounds of Bon Jovi or artists like him. It's another side to Gioeli's musical personality and even though it is quite different than his normal musical offerings, it is still quite good. Keep in mind that this is a solo record and usually artists will get different sounds out there on these releases. Give it a shot as I think fans are going to like this album as it stands on its own merits. A different side of a very good musician and singer!

Release Date: December 7, 2018

The latest release by Steelheart is a live set filmed in Milan and showcases a very good set. It was nice to see the heavier side of the band represented so well as most fans will identify with the band with their more melodic tunes. You do get those songs as well such as 'She's Gone' and "I'll Never Let You Go'. It was equally nice to hear tracks like 'Blood Pollution', 'My Dirty Girl, and 'Livin' the Life'. I was also pleased to check out 'We All Die Young' which fans will remember from the 'Rock Star' soundtrack. The only track I would love to have added to the set was 'Lips of Rain' from the last album which is a personal favorite. The set and delivery were great. Fans will love this concert! The set comes with a CD and a DVD, but unfortunately there will be no stand alone Blu Ray like some of the frontiers live packages. Definitely worthy of your time and cash!

Release Date: December 7, 2018