Of course I like to wimp out a lot with slushy AOR melody after AOR melody so here's the top 20 list for when i have my old man's wuss rock hat on!
20. Airrace - Back to the Start
English stalwart AORsters returned with a top quality release. It's a shame they've split again as I guess the album was not a huge success for them. Good album with which to leave te scene though and especially the vocals which are stellat pretty much.
19. Bad Habit - Atmosphere
Released practically on January the 1st last year so a lot of time has passed but I still find it to be the band's best work. They have now had to split or regroup cause they've lost the use of the band name due to some copyright claim. The pning track In The Heat Of The Night was one of the best opening tracks to any album I heard last year. They upped the heaviness and minimized the wuss ballads on this release. Good job guys and try and come back with a new name.
18. Miss Behaviour - Last Woman Standing
A nice solid scandi AOR band with nice shiny keys and songs about the usual AOR hot topics such as chasing pussy and driving fast. Cool stuff!
17. Xorigin - State of the Art
Swedish unknowns deliver a dancetastic popy AOR gem here. It's very sugary and danceable but it is so well done. The charts should be bursting with bands like this if only people gave it a chance and reaslise how catchy it was.
16. Toby Hitchcock - Mercury's Down
From the pen of melodic rock genius Erik Maartensson and the young vocal genius Toby came a ready fire set of melodic rock gems to latch on to. To be honest I loved it but was expecting more. This is my moment is still a fantastic opener but the rest of the album whilst great enevr quite lives up to it for me.
15. Fergie Frederiksen - Happiness is the Road
Fergie is an old time AOR singer dude with countless singing slots and collaborations under his belt including solo albums and here is his latest after recovery from cancer. As a result the album is a triumphant return and his voice still sounds pretty much intact though slightly older or shall I say wiser than in his youth. The songs mainly written by his partner in crime Tommy Denander are full of brilliant musicianship and big choruses. An AOR gem and a must for any AOR fan worth his salt.
14. Lionville - st
Debut Italian AOR project from Stefano Lionetti hence the "Lion" part of the band name. The music is classy hook filled AOR with various name singers of the seen such as Lars from Work of Art, who happens to have a masterful voice for this style of music.
13. Serpentine - Living and Dying in High Definition
The sophomore release from the English newcomer AOR band and the last to feature Tony Mills on vocals as they have a new singer now. This album is light years ahead of the debut release. Philadelphia is one of the AOR gems of the year as far as individual songs go. If you like AOR, you're sure to like Serpentine. Oh and watch out for their new singer that boy has huge pipes.
12. Coldspell - Out From The Cold
The debut was good and the new one continues that trend. It's not a mind blowing release but the heavy crunchy guitar sound helps lift the album no end. The vocal melodies are well sung and the tunes are memorable making Coldspell a pretty enjoyable melodic metal band.
11. White Widdow - Serenade
The Aussie boys delivered a classy slab of AOR magic on Serenade of that there is little doubt. The keyboard sound was especially fantastic to listen to as well as the tasty melodic guitar on offer. The only thing that held the album back a touch was the singer's tendency to whine a touch on some parts. The choruses however were pretty much perfect and Cry Wolf is easily one of the songs of the year. All in all a melodic AOR gem from the underground.
10. Kimball Jamison - st
Two giants of AOR vocals collide head on in this Frontiers project and the results are exemplary. The usual suspects of the Frontiers production and songwriting are at force in this release doing exactly what you'd expect which is delivering the melodic goods. Of the two singers I think Jimi fairs slightly better overall as Bobby has the odd difficult moment although I must admit he does cover the harder vocal parts of the album. It maybe a typical manufactured Frontiers project but everyone puts their heart and soul into the songs and therefore it gets my stamp of approval.
09. Grand Illusion - Prince of Paupers
Absolutely adored Brand New World from last year or so and they are back again with another great release. These Swedish old boys know how to deliver melodic pomp rock with massive sound like taking drinking water. The harmony vocals especially are fabulous and a real joy to listen to as well as the fantastic layered production. This band really deserves to be far bigger than they are because they have yet to make anywhere near an average album.
08. Ten - Stormwarning
Been a fan of Gary Hughes' melodic rock troop for a long time now and I had fears that Ten might be over but luckily Gary finally sorted out his problems and delivered the best Ten album since Babylon more than ten years ago now. The production problems of recent albums became mere footnotes as this album is blessed with a fantastic and thick warm production thanks to Dennis Ward, the in house Frontiers guy for fat sound. Gary also managed to gain inspiration to deliver a punchy set of tunes with his usual lyrical skill and smooth vocal delivery. If you are a fan of the band and melodic rock in general you should be pleased with this album.
07. Stargazery - Eye On The Sky
A newly formed melodic metal band from old hand Finnish metal guys with just a fantastic singer to top it all off. Not every single song is amazing but at least 3/4 of the album is high quality melodic metal with memorable songs and a crystal clear heavy production. Stargazery deserve their place in the top 20 and could easily have placed higher had the competition not been so hot this year. Another of those jewels from the melodic metal underground and I hope they follow up the success of this album with another that is the equal if not better than Eye On The Sky.
06. Mecca - Undeniable
An AOR band that came out from hibernation to release a truly wonderful Westcoast/AOR record. Their debut came out in 2002 so it's taken Joe Vanna and co nine years to come up with the follow up but boy has it been worth the wait. This is destined to be a future AOR classic as the performances, song writing and production values will melt the heart of the most hard hearted believe me. The songs are beautifully crafted with super smooth melodies, which are not hard edged but not completely light either. There is just a perfect balance between melody and edge to make the album not far from perfection. The only one small gripe that I have is that the album could have had a couple of more rockers or upbeat numbers but it's a very minor complaint. As far as Westcoast, Toto influenced music goes this is about as good as it gets in the modern age.
05. Eden's Curse - Trinity
The recent news about Michael Eden's meltdown and departure from the band was untimely indeed as Trinity is probably the best Eden's Curse to date. Mind you if you're gonna leave you might as leave on a high and Trinity is one magnificent high by my reckoning. Ok some people won't be a great fan of Mr. Eden's vocals but I think they are perfect for the band. On this occasion it seems they worked very hard on the songs and production to make them the best that can possibly be and it shows in the final product. I also enjoy James LaBrie's backing vocals on many of the songs which add further depth and melody to the tunes. Not to sound like a broken record but in the end it's all about the memorable song writing and this album proved that Eden's Curse are melodic metal masters. What happens from now on is a bit of a dilemma for the band as they need a new singer and they'll also have to change the name you would think. I hope they continue and I hope Eden finds a new vehicle for his voice as he is a good singer and it'll be shame if he's not fronting any more melodic metal albums as good as Trinity.
04. Outloud - Love Catastrophe
Their debut album was good but to me the song writing wasn't quite there but they've totally remedied that problem on the sophomore release. The album is now chock full of catchy melodic metal songs with hooks galore both musically and especially vocally. I love the way the singer shapes his vocals so well to the music. The flawless thick production helps to lift the songs no end and we are left to enjoy this happy go lucky melodic metal album to the full.
03. Rob Moratti - Victory
Unfortunately Mr. Moratti got kicked out of Saga because they wanted Sadler back which is understandable as he is THE voice for that band, however Rob was undeterred and when news of this solo album filtered through, the AOR community had to sit up and take note and then some. This really is a full and unequivocable 'victory' for Rob and a fantastic pure AOR record. Rob has a very high pitched but highly melodious voice that takes some getting used to the first time you hear him, but believe me as an AOR afficionado, the guy has one of the best voices in the business and this album proves it. There are countless AOR gems here and you'll be looking a long time for an average tune that's for sure. It's hard to even pick a fave tune from this bunch as the quality is that high and Rob gathered a stellar cast of underground AOR musos to help him make this awesome album. Next in the pipeline is the new album from Final Frontier his band before he left for Saga and I expect another classy AOR masterpiece judging by Victory. Rob may not quite be a household name in AOR circles folks, but you'd be a fool to miss out on this release!
02. Work of Art - In Progress
There is genius at work in this band and this album proves it. A wonderfully melodic AOR gem from these fine Swedish gentlemen and you can better you bottom dollar there's plenty more to come. For now they have blessed us with their strongest set of AOR tunes yet and in Lars Safsund they have truly one of the best AOR singers in many a year. If you like AOR you love Work of Art it's pretty simple really.
01. The Magnificent - st
A manufactured Frontiers project with Michael Eriksen of Circus Maximus and Torsti Spoof of Finnish melodic metal masters Leverage. On paper it sounds great but the reality was even better! This really is a magnificent release indeed and a phenomenal set of tunes by Mr. Spoof and brilliantly melodic vocals from Mr. Eriksen. There's absolutely no hope of a clunker anywhere to be heard although of course some songs send me into ecstasy a little more than others. The production is also a million bucks, being edgy, chunky and crystal clear. The vocal melodies are pure ear candy and will be the musical equivalent of dunking your head in a vat of candy floss. I hope Frontiers books them for a follow up cause the debut is a monumental success.
20. Airrace - Back to the Start
English stalwart AORsters returned with a top quality release. It's a shame they've split again as I guess the album was not a huge success for them. Good album with which to leave te scene though and especially the vocals which are stellat pretty much.
19. Bad Habit - Atmosphere
Released practically on January the 1st last year so a lot of time has passed but I still find it to be the band's best work. They have now had to split or regroup cause they've lost the use of the band name due to some copyright claim. The pning track In The Heat Of The Night was one of the best opening tracks to any album I heard last year. They upped the heaviness and minimized the wuss ballads on this release. Good job guys and try and come back with a new name.
18. Miss Behaviour - Last Woman Standing
A nice solid scandi AOR band with nice shiny keys and songs about the usual AOR hot topics such as chasing pussy and driving fast. Cool stuff!
17. Xorigin - State of the Art
Swedish unknowns deliver a dancetastic popy AOR gem here. It's very sugary and danceable but it is so well done. The charts should be bursting with bands like this if only people gave it a chance and reaslise how catchy it was.
16. Toby Hitchcock - Mercury's Down
From the pen of melodic rock genius Erik Maartensson and the young vocal genius Toby came a ready fire set of melodic rock gems to latch on to. To be honest I loved it but was expecting more. This is my moment is still a fantastic opener but the rest of the album whilst great enevr quite lives up to it for me.
15. Fergie Frederiksen - Happiness is the Road
Fergie is an old time AOR singer dude with countless singing slots and collaborations under his belt including solo albums and here is his latest after recovery from cancer. As a result the album is a triumphant return and his voice still sounds pretty much intact though slightly older or shall I say wiser than in his youth. The songs mainly written by his partner in crime Tommy Denander are full of brilliant musicianship and big choruses. An AOR gem and a must for any AOR fan worth his salt.
14. Lionville - st
Debut Italian AOR project from Stefano Lionetti hence the "Lion" part of the band name. The music is classy hook filled AOR with various name singers of the seen such as Lars from Work of Art, who happens to have a masterful voice for this style of music.
13. Serpentine - Living and Dying in High Definition
The sophomore release from the English newcomer AOR band and the last to feature Tony Mills on vocals as they have a new singer now. This album is light years ahead of the debut release. Philadelphia is one of the AOR gems of the year as far as individual songs go. If you like AOR, you're sure to like Serpentine. Oh and watch out for their new singer that boy has huge pipes.
12. Coldspell - Out From The Cold
The debut was good and the new one continues that trend. It's not a mind blowing release but the heavy crunchy guitar sound helps lift the album no end. The vocal melodies are well sung and the tunes are memorable making Coldspell a pretty enjoyable melodic metal band.
11. White Widdow - Serenade
The Aussie boys delivered a classy slab of AOR magic on Serenade of that there is little doubt. The keyboard sound was especially fantastic to listen to as well as the tasty melodic guitar on offer. The only thing that held the album back a touch was the singer's tendency to whine a touch on some parts. The choruses however were pretty much perfect and Cry Wolf is easily one of the songs of the year. All in all a melodic AOR gem from the underground.
10. Kimball Jamison - st
Two giants of AOR vocals collide head on in this Frontiers project and the results are exemplary. The usual suspects of the Frontiers production and songwriting are at force in this release doing exactly what you'd expect which is delivering the melodic goods. Of the two singers I think Jimi fairs slightly better overall as Bobby has the odd difficult moment although I must admit he does cover the harder vocal parts of the album. It maybe a typical manufactured Frontiers project but everyone puts their heart and soul into the songs and therefore it gets my stamp of approval.
09. Grand Illusion - Prince of Paupers
Absolutely adored Brand New World from last year or so and they are back again with another great release. These Swedish old boys know how to deliver melodic pomp rock with massive sound like taking drinking water. The harmony vocals especially are fabulous and a real joy to listen to as well as the fantastic layered production. This band really deserves to be far bigger than they are because they have yet to make anywhere near an average album.
08. Ten - Stormwarning
Been a fan of Gary Hughes' melodic rock troop for a long time now and I had fears that Ten might be over but luckily Gary finally sorted out his problems and delivered the best Ten album since Babylon more than ten years ago now. The production problems of recent albums became mere footnotes as this album is blessed with a fantastic and thick warm production thanks to Dennis Ward, the in house Frontiers guy for fat sound. Gary also managed to gain inspiration to deliver a punchy set of tunes with his usual lyrical skill and smooth vocal delivery. If you are a fan of the band and melodic rock in general you should be pleased with this album.
07. Stargazery - Eye On The Sky
A newly formed melodic metal band from old hand Finnish metal guys with just a fantastic singer to top it all off. Not every single song is amazing but at least 3/4 of the album is high quality melodic metal with memorable songs and a crystal clear heavy production. Stargazery deserve their place in the top 20 and could easily have placed higher had the competition not been so hot this year. Another of those jewels from the melodic metal underground and I hope they follow up the success of this album with another that is the equal if not better than Eye On The Sky.
06. Mecca - Undeniable
An AOR band that came out from hibernation to release a truly wonderful Westcoast/AOR record. Their debut came out in 2002 so it's taken Joe Vanna and co nine years to come up with the follow up but boy has it been worth the wait. This is destined to be a future AOR classic as the performances, song writing and production values will melt the heart of the most hard hearted believe me. The songs are beautifully crafted with super smooth melodies, which are not hard edged but not completely light either. There is just a perfect balance between melody and edge to make the album not far from perfection. The only one small gripe that I have is that the album could have had a couple of more rockers or upbeat numbers but it's a very minor complaint. As far as Westcoast, Toto influenced music goes this is about as good as it gets in the modern age.
05. Eden's Curse - Trinity
The recent news about Michael Eden's meltdown and departure from the band was untimely indeed as Trinity is probably the best Eden's Curse to date. Mind you if you're gonna leave you might as leave on a high and Trinity is one magnificent high by my reckoning. Ok some people won't be a great fan of Mr. Eden's vocals but I think they are perfect for the band. On this occasion it seems they worked very hard on the songs and production to make them the best that can possibly be and it shows in the final product. I also enjoy James LaBrie's backing vocals on many of the songs which add further depth and melody to the tunes. Not to sound like a broken record but in the end it's all about the memorable song writing and this album proved that Eden's Curse are melodic metal masters. What happens from now on is a bit of a dilemma for the band as they need a new singer and they'll also have to change the name you would think. I hope they continue and I hope Eden finds a new vehicle for his voice as he is a good singer and it'll be shame if he's not fronting any more melodic metal albums as good as Trinity.
04. Outloud - Love Catastrophe
Their debut album was good but to me the song writing wasn't quite there but they've totally remedied that problem on the sophomore release. The album is now chock full of catchy melodic metal songs with hooks galore both musically and especially vocally. I love the way the singer shapes his vocals so well to the music. The flawless thick production helps to lift the songs no end and we are left to enjoy this happy go lucky melodic metal album to the full.
03. Rob Moratti - Victory
Unfortunately Mr. Moratti got kicked out of Saga because they wanted Sadler back which is understandable as he is THE voice for that band, however Rob was undeterred and when news of this solo album filtered through, the AOR community had to sit up and take note and then some. This really is a full and unequivocable 'victory' for Rob and a fantastic pure AOR record. Rob has a very high pitched but highly melodious voice that takes some getting used to the first time you hear him, but believe me as an AOR afficionado, the guy has one of the best voices in the business and this album proves it. There are countless AOR gems here and you'll be looking a long time for an average tune that's for sure. It's hard to even pick a fave tune from this bunch as the quality is that high and Rob gathered a stellar cast of underground AOR musos to help him make this awesome album. Next in the pipeline is the new album from Final Frontier his band before he left for Saga and I expect another classy AOR masterpiece judging by Victory. Rob may not quite be a household name in AOR circles folks, but you'd be a fool to miss out on this release!
02. Work of Art - In Progress
There is genius at work in this band and this album proves it. A wonderfully melodic AOR gem from these fine Swedish gentlemen and you can better you bottom dollar there's plenty more to come. For now they have blessed us with their strongest set of AOR tunes yet and in Lars Safsund they have truly one of the best AOR singers in many a year. If you like AOR you love Work of Art it's pretty simple really.
01. The Magnificent - st
A manufactured Frontiers project with Michael Eriksen of Circus Maximus and Torsti Spoof of Finnish melodic metal masters Leverage. On paper it sounds great but the reality was even better! This really is a magnificent release indeed and a phenomenal set of tunes by Mr. Spoof and brilliantly melodic vocals from Mr. Eriksen. There's absolutely no hope of a clunker anywhere to be heard although of course some songs send me into ecstasy a little more than others. The production is also a million bucks, being edgy, chunky and crystal clear. The vocal melodies are pure ear candy and will be the musical equivalent of dunking your head in a vat of candy floss. I hope Frontiers books them for a follow up cause the debut is a monumental success.
