Monthly Archive: June 2022

HIT THE GROUND RUNNIN'

HIT THE GROUND RUNNIN’ – Lost In Translation (2022) HQ *only at 0dayrox*

AOR Heaven Records pleased us early this year with the reissue of Philadelphia based HIT THE GROUND RUNNIN’ 1989 cult album ‘Sudden Impact’ not only fully remastered, but adding a bonus disc with 9 previously unreleased tracks.
That reissue was arranged while the band was working on their new album which now sees the light of day titled “Lost In Translation”, including many songs written in the mid-Eighties.
Hit The Ground Runnin’ was founded in 1985 in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, originally under the name ”Free Delivery”. The band wrote and recorded their first songs in demo format for an original Free Delivery release that never happened.
As the band was re-branded into “Hit The Ground Runnin’” these songs were essentially “lost in translation” as the band was working on their 1989 album ‘Sudden Impact.’
Hence the title of the new album, including these 1985-86 songs newly arranged / recorded 2022. They manifest a wide variety of eclectic sounds and stylings within the Melodic Hard Rock, AOR and Pop-Rock genre and represent a unique time in the band’s early history as they were emerging within the Philadelphia rock scene back in the mid 1980’s.
You’ve seen it first at 0dayrox

DeGARMO & KEY / REMASTER

DeGARMO & KEY – The Pledge [Girder Records Digitally Remastered] (2022) *only at 0dayrox*

Some weeks ago we featured here the first DeGARMO & KEY albums fully remastered for the first time, now we have here the second batch reissue 2022, and their 1989 LP “The Pledge” is one of our favorites. And that’s simply because this is a 1988-89 production, perhaps the best era for this type od uber-produced, crystalline sounding album.
Led by keyboardist Eddie DeGarmo and frontman / guitarist Dana Key, between 1978 – 1980 DeGarmo & Key released 3 very good records mixing classic rock with lite progressive touches, but according to times they migrated to a more pop / rock / FM AOR style.
By the time “The Pledge” was written & recorded, DeGarmo & Key were into a full-on radio-friendly poppish AOR sound, and this album includes some of their most anthemic, bombastic songs from their career.
Original pressings on CD of this album has been sold for over U$D 100 on eBay and Amazon in the last few years. Thankfully with this reissue not only is affordable again, but the remastered job gets the album in its fullest…

GUNSHINE

GUNSHINE – Gunshine (2022)

Covid-19 resulted in most tours being postponed. However, while a lot of bands went on hiatus, New Years Day guitarist Austin Ingerman took advantage from the pause in touring to focus on his own material, and formed his own band GUNSHINE.
While spending all of 2020 and 2021 writing and recording their debut album, they honed in on what makes them stand apart, and what they do best: rock n’ roll. Ingerman has traded his 7-string Schecter guitar and more complex riffs in New Years Day for a good old 6-string Gibson Les Paul Standard to craft the feel-good music aimed for GUNSHINE.
GUNSHINE has joined bands like Greta Van Fleet or Dirty Honey who are reviving the classic rock sound of the ’70s and ’80s. And they rock. Hard.
Their seld-titled album “Gunshine” recalls the edge and bravado of rock’s greats such as AC/DC, Twisted Sister, and some Guns N Roses, but with an original, modern twist. Add that with a heavy-duty production value that sonically gives the songs a punchy, powerful analogue sound…

SARAYASIGN

SARAYASIGN – Throne Of Gold (2022)

Coming out of nowhere, “Throne Of Gold“, the just released CD from Swedes SARAYASIGN, is one of the best debut albums we heard this year.
Like the stories from the land of Saraya – that took place in different times but are still connected – SARAYASIGN own story as a band began over 25 years ago. While the group broke up with members working into different projects, transcending time and space fate brought them back together and here they are, over three decades later, ready to present their music to the world.
Like a lost treasure in the Swedish melodic hard rock scene, with some of the most outstanding musical craftsmen the genre has to offer, comes a beautifully crafted trajectory that reaches beyond traditional melodic hard rock.
With stellar guitar riffs, haunting melodies, arrangements in the style of the classic era from the genre with a modern sound & production, “Throne Of Gold” is an album you need to hear if you dig House Of Lords, Seventh Key, ’90s Queensrÿche, Final Frontier, etc…

RAVEN / REMASTER

RAVEN – Rock Until You Drop : The 4-CD Over The Top Edition [Cherry Red remastered + bonus] (2022)

Cherry Red Records are about to release via his Rock division label Hear No Evil RAVEN’s first album under the title “Rock Until You Drop : The 4-CD Over The Top Edition”. Originally appeared in 1981, ‘Rock Until You Drop’ is an essential LP from the NWOBHM movement.
This mega expanded 4-CD box includes ‘Rock Until You Drop’ remastered plus single B-sides / compilation only tracks, a disc of rare 1978 – 1980 recordings / demos, and two discs of incendiary live performances from 1982.
Raven released their debut LP ‘Rock Until You Drop’ in 1981 successfully capturing the energy of their live shows, the album picked up instant champions across the influential UK rock press, with key features in Kerrang! and Sounds. These would lead to important shows with Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake and Motörhead, among many others.
These self-styled “athletic rockers” were a huge influence on countless future bands which mentioned Raven as a huge influence, like Megadeth, Testament, Metallica, etc just to name a few.
A classic album from the early ’80s British metal scene, essential for fans of NWOBHM, and to newbies to understand the formative sound of the genre…

CELLAR STONE

CELLAR STONE – Rise & Fall (2022)

In recent years, Greece has turned out to be a real treasure trove especially for classic rock bands, with very good exponents inspired by the 70s / 80s / 90s ranging from metal and hard rock to AOR. CELLAR STONE also come from Greece and with their upcoming new album “Rise & Fall” they establish themselves into the international scene as a quality act.
“Rise & Fall” is classic hard / melodic metal with a groovy modern sound, according to the band their style is influenced from Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, UFO, to Iron Maiden and Metallica. I can see why CELLAR STONE has been chosen as opener act for UFO on their special farewell dates on July and October.
This quartet delivers a bluesy-based heavy rock/metal cocktail that contains the right balance of strong hooks, memorable songs, and versatility track to track to stack well against many of the bigger bands in the genre. On top of that the frontman of Black Stone Cherry, Chris Robertson, guests on the album with a fiery guitar solo on track “War We Can Win”.

DEREK SHERINIAN

DEREK SHERINIAN – Vortex (2022)

Sons Of Apollo keyboard player DEREK SHERINIAN will release a new solo studio album titled ”The Vortex”. As well as Sherinian and long-time co-writer, co-producer and drummer extraordinaire Simon Phillips, ”Vortex” features former The Firm bassist Tony Franklin and an incredible set of guitar players.
Just check the list: awesome Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens, Joe Bonamassa, Steve Lukather, Zakk Wylde, Sons Of Apollo bandmate Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Michael Schenker, Mike Stern and Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt… wow… just WOW!
“The choice of guitarist works itself out in the writing,” Sherinian explains. “Also, like in the case of Steve Stevens, we co-wrote the song together, so it was natural for him to play on it.”..

SHINEDOWN

SHINEDOWN – Planet Zero (2022) HQ

”Planet Zero” is the upcoming, seventh studio album by American rockers SHINEDOWN, set to be released on July 1, 2022. If you’re the sort that tends to ‘Shatter the glass when it’s half full’, then Shinedown are definitely seeing life through your lens. On the weirdly comforting track ‘Dysfunctional You’, this established and ever developing creative force are both flying the freak flag and saluting it. ‘I won’t be the ending that was written for me,’ frontman Brent Smith concludes on ‘Dead Don’t Die’, another song that finds strength in adversity.
”Planet Zero” was written during lockdown, a time when everything seemed to stop and people turned to screen-based comforts. This was a double-edged sword, as the band document capably on this seventh album.
Over two decades, Smith and co. have pushed the bounds just enough with each album, while still staying true to their Southern-influenced modern rock. At first glance, ”Planet Zero” looks incredibly weighty, with some 20 tracks. About a half dozen are short interludes. Regardless, the 14 full-length songs makes are expansive experience.
Between tracks, robot-voiced instructions leave us in no doubt that we are, or were, being asked to conform – but the music itself flies in the face of such stricture. It has medicinal, spirit-reviving properties. Comfort against the machine…

MASTERS OF REALITY

MASTERS OF REALITY – Masters Of Reality [re-mixed re-release + extra track] HQ

As requested, here’s the underrated debut album from MASTERS OF REALITY, a highly praised self-titled debut also referred to as ‘The Blue Garden’ due to the artwork of its original release. Signed by Def American Records, this retro-rockin’ crew from Syracuse, NY, debut ”Masters Of Reality’‘ appeared in January 1989 and immediately ended up on the cover of Kerrang! magazine regarded as one of the best releases of that year.
The music biz can be truly wacky at times. Where else could a band get a Kerrang front cover, unanimously favorable reviews for a brilliant debut album, watch that LP do little to nothing in sales even as it’s being praised to the high heavens, and then get a second chance from a new record label after the first company couldn’t break the album? – Only in the music biz.
In 1990, Delicious Vinyl record label – friends of the band – bought the rights to the album. Adding one new song (the haunting “Doraldina’s Prophecies”), the team re-mixed, re-sequenced, re-packaged and reissued the album 18 months after its initial release.
This is that re-mixed version quite hard to find on CD, much better than the original except for the cover artwork…

BILL CHAMPLIN / PAGE 99

PAGE 99 – For Imagination’s Sake +1 (2022) HQ

Berklee musician John Nixon’s project, PAGE 99, aims to keep alive the great West Coast AOR musical ideals of the 1970s and ’80s, and following on from their critically acclaimed debut last year, their second album is already here, titled “For Imagination’s Sake“.
The title track is a remake of a Sons Of Champlin song, and guess what, the stainless Bill Champlin joins on lead vocals, as well as legendary session guitarist Paul Pesko (Hall & Oates, Madonna, Glenn Hughes). There’s other guest appearances like Swede AORster Peter Friestedt on guitar.
Classic chord progressions, sophisticated melodies, and top-level musicianship are values that should never be lost or diminished in this genre, and PAGE 99 not only take care of it, but also add a fresh updated approach. If you love that classic FM Radio sound, you can’t get it better than this. Seriously.
More melody-oriented and varied in styles than its predecessor, the AOR appeal of this album is enhanced by a cover of Finis Henderson’s classic ‘You Owe It All To Love’ and Mark Jordan’s ‘Dance With Me’ from his stupendous album ‘A Hole In The Wall’…

REMASTER / UNRELEASED / V.A. Lost Jewels Series

The ”Lost US Jewels” Vol.11 HAGAN BANG! BANG! (2021)

Here’s another installment from great ”The Lost US Jewels series”: Volume 11 featuring melodic hard rockers HAGAN (later re-branded BANG! BANG!) and the album including their Eighties recordings from 1986 to 1989 fully remastered from the original master tapes.
Whilst New Orleans isn’t synonymous with Melodic Hard Rock bands, it did deliver the likes of Lillian Axe and Zebra, with the latter sharing management with Hard Rock hopefuls, HAGAN. Quite why HAGAN never made it from out of the clubs is a story that’s been told a thousand times by countless other bands.
Sounding like a more melodic version of W.A.S.P, with a hint of Dokken, Icon and Bon Jovi thrown in, HAGAN eventually morphed into BANG!BANG!
Armed with a different singer, BANG!BANG! were more like Hard-Rock hooligans, with a side order of Metal. On the likes of ‘Let It Go’ and ‘First Time’ you’ll hear echoes of Malice and Icon nestled amidst the Dokken-like riffs, thundering drums and customary gang vocals. Now fully remastered, the recordings from both outfits is a must have for the cult-classic aficionado and essential for fans of Dokken, Malice, Icon and W.A.S.P.

REMASTER / THIN LIZZY

THIN LIZZY – The Boys Are Back In Town; Live At The Sydney Opera House October 1978 [Japan SHM-CD] (2022) HQ

One of the most iconic musicians is responsible for influencing thousands of bands and is still being talked about, and with the release of Phil Lynott – While I’m Away it’s quite apparent why. The documentary is accompanied with a remix of ”The Boys Are Back In Town : Live At The Sydney Opera House October 1978”, which includes 5 new songs that were not a part of the original release – all newly remixed / remastered 2022
In 1978 Thin Lizzy was perhaps at it’s peak of popularity, and the concert in Australia shows the magnitude of their power and stage charisma. The line-up consisted of Phil Lynott (of course) and guitarist Scott Gorham, with Gary Moore returning on the other guitar. Brian Downey was unable to make the tour due to an illness, and American drummer Mark Nauseef filled in. Gary Moore is smoking hot on the guitar, and Phil’s vocals are amazing on every track.
Sound quality is great, even more on this Japanese SHM-CD

REMASTER / THEN JERICO

THEN JERICO – The Big Area [digitally remastered]

In a time when America was producing the most exciting melodic & hard rock bands, UK gave birth to a vast number of excellent rock&pop acts. THEN JERICO is one of them, and although they enjoyed considerable success, truly deserved major stardom.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of their first album, original line-up reunited for a British tour playing songs from that debut alongside their classic second album “The Big Area” in its entirety. These CD’s has been difficult to obtain for a number of years, so both were re-released digitally remastered.
Packing great songs, superb musicianship and first class production, “The Big Area” is a rousing, intelligent Rock&Pop album, and put ‘Rock’ very first in the music development. The yearning, stadium-thumping “Big Area” (a worthy huge hit) starts us off in style, while follow-up (in the charts too) “What Does It Take” is another hook-filled …

THE BLACK MOODS

THE BLACK MOODS – Into The Night (2022)

It’s really cool when we discover bands that never heard before and impress at first listen. And this happened with THE BLACK MOODS new album ”Into The Night”. This is the American power trio third effort, and the one destined to make ’em known world-wide. ”Into The Night” has a dozen tracks that seriously rock but still have variety so that each is unique; the arrangements are tight, the vocal harmonies are spot on and the musical balance between the musicians gives each one ample opportunity to shine.
Produced by Grammy Award-nominated producer Johnny “K” Karkazis (3 Doors Down, Disturbed), the set blends the most elemental components of classic rock and roll music into new songs that achieve a nearly-perfect balance of guts, glory, guitar, and big-league hooks.
Take as example third track ‘Saturday Night’: it’s that kind of breezy, fun-loving cross between hard rock and power pop harmonies, anywhere on the line between Cheap Trick and Van Halen at their poppiest, with the usual Saturday night theme. Fun, fun, fun.
The Dead Daisies pick up THE BLACK MOODS as tour support act for a reason…

THE HIGH KEYS

THE HIGH KEYS – A Little Too Heavy [’70s album previously unreleased] (2022)

This post is especially focused to readers of this website with love for Seventies rock – and there’s many of you who will enjoy this; the unreleased 1970-72 album from American rockers THE HIGH KEYS. The title of this one – “A Little Too Heavy” – might be very well-put, as the record was almost too heavy to be issued at the time of its recording – finally seeing the light of day after way too many years in the vault… 50 years!
Produced by Ron and Howard Albert – the legendary Fat Albert Productions (Wishbone Ash, Procol Harum, Crosby, Still, Nash, etc) and recorded at famous Criteria Studios in Miami, this powerhouse album finally sees the light of day.
The set’s a tremendous bit of American proto hard rock driven by fuzzy guitars and organs, and at the same time the group utilizes elaborated harmonies at all the right moments. A perfect example of THE HIGH KEYS sound is the title track “A Little Too Heavy”, a commanding opener mixing organ flourishes with heavy lead guitar runs for a searing hard rocker that proudly displays their Vanilla Fudge influence.
The Fat Albert productions team really helped ensure that the whole thing came out beautifully during recording – and the whole set is hardly a half-baked set of demos or raw tapes – but instead a top-shelf record that would have been right at home in the major record racks of the time…