Monthly Archive: November 2023

Swedes SAFFIRE, one of the most impressive melodic hard rock acts appeared in recent times, is working on a new album and remixing their celebrated CD ‘For The Greater Good’ for a re-release. Meanwhile, they are releasing new material in the form of the 3-track EP entitled ”Starhunter”.
With the band’s usual polished production these new songs pack everything Saffire is about, groove, hard rock energy, melodies and a little bit of everything sprinkled on top.
These songs will be exclusive for this EP release, not planned to be included into the next album.
More than a palatable appetizer!

Next December 1st Frontiers Music present the reissues of three classic albums from Denmark AOR / melodic rockers FATE ; “If Not For the Devil”, “Ghosts from the Past”, and “V” – all being made available digitally globally in remastered form, including previously unreleased tracks.
Overwhelmed by the unexpected response to the reissues of their Eighties albums, in 2006 Fate decided to give it another shot. Comeback album “V” was recorded and produced by Tommy Hansen – who also did Fate 1990’s “Scratch’n Sniff” – and was greeted as the perfect follow-up for the band’s fourth album, despite the gap of 16 years.
”V” was followed by ”Ghosts From the Past” (2011), and then this ”If Not For the Devil” (2013) solidifying the return of one of Copenhagen’s favorite melodic hard rock sons.
Now augmented with a previously unreleased track, ”If Not For the Devil” 2023 remaster sounds fabulous.
“If Not For The Devil” delivers the traditional Fate melodic / AOR numbers, but also some harder, darker tracks placed in the second half of the disc…

Next December 1st Frontiers Music present the reissues of three classic albums from Denmark AOR / melodic rockers FATE ; “If Not For the Devil”, “Ghosts from the Past”, and “V” – all being made available digitally globally in remastered form, including previously unreleased tracks.
Overwhelmed by the unexpected response to the reissues of their Eighties albums, in 2006 Fate decided to give it another shot. Comeback album “V” was recorded and produced by Tommy Hansen – who also did Fate 1990’s “Scratch’n Sniff” – and was greeted as the perfect follow-up for the band’s fourth album, despite the gap of 16 years.
”V” was followed by ”Ghosts From the Past” (2011), including some line up changes but maintaining Fate’s melodic rocking delivery and a stupendous midtempo AOR tunes.
Now augmented with a previously unreleased track, ”Ghosts From the Past” 2023 remaster sounds fabulous.
The premise for ”Ghosts From the Past” was to bring back Fate’s melodious rock sound of the Eighties. And they have succeeded. The overall musical style recalls to one of the best Fate, 1990’s ‘Scratch ‘N Sniff’ album, basically thanks to the melodic and punchy guitar work by Torben Enevoldsen. The extensive use of keyboards – a trademark of the band’s most glorious moments – is welcomed, and the band found a very good vocalist on Dagfinn Joensen which has a clean and tuneful voice reaching high notes easily with versatility…

Swedish 5-piece DIZZINESS was founded in the early ’80s and the band toured the Scandinavian circuit spreading their mix of hard rock and melodic metal. Including into the line up virtuoso guitarist Lars Boquist (later in melodic rockers Pole Position) and with a sound similar to first Europe, 220 Volt, Treat, Praying Mantis, etc – DIZZINESS self-released a single in 1984.
Then DIZZINESS recorded their debut album “On The Rocks” in 1986. However the small record label which agreed to release the album drop the deal at the eleventh hour, and “On The Rocks” never got released. DIZZINESS had the chops, the musicianship, but disappointed with their bad luck, the group broke up soon after.
Fast forward 2013 and reissue label No Remorse Records finally released “On The Rocks” as part of their Swedish Hard n’ Heavy Series, remastered and including as bonus tracks that two-sided ’84 single.
That original CD version is already a rare collector’s item, but now 2023 it is repressed again in 500 copies with slightly different layout…

Dutch multi-instrumentalist RON COOLEN pleased us a couple years ago with his debut album plenty of classic hard rock sound from the ’80s. The record featured many star guests, including world class singer Keith St John (Burning Rain, Kingdom Come, Montrose, Lynch Mob) performing most of the songs.
Now the creative partnership with St John gets full involvement as the vocalist co-write & performs on the entire upcoming new CD entitled “Here to Stay“. The album features as well performances of 7 world class guitarists: George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob), Gus G. (Firewind, solo artist, ex-Ozzy Osbourne), Timo Somers (Supersonic Revolution, Ayreon, ex-Delain), Christopher Amott (ex-Arch Enemy, ex-Dark Tranquillity), Satchel (Steel Panther), Per Nilsson (Scar Symmetry, Meshuggah) and Joey Concepcion (solo artist, Dark Tranquillity).
Of course “Here to Stay” is a guitar driven album, however showcasing the unique vocals of Keith St John as well, something that elevates the quality on any song. This is classic hard rock, with an occasional modern touch, even a progressive feel on a couple of numbers. We find midtempo rockers and a ballad too, all really well done…

Next December 1st Frontiers Music present the reissues of three classic albums from Denmark AOR / melodic rockers FATE ; “If Not For the Devil”, “Ghosts from the Past”, and “V” – all being made available digitally globally in remastered form, including previously unreleased tracks.
Overwhelmed by the unexpected response to the reissues of their Eighties albums, in 2006 Fate decided to give it another shot and welcomed Mikael Kvist (from Swedish prog metal band Elsesphere) as their new drummer. “V” was recorded and produced by Tommy Hansen – who also did Fate 1990’s “Scratch’n Sniff” – and was greeted as the perfect follow-up for the band’s fourth album, despite the gap of 16 years.
Eleven songs pass in review and all of them are catchy tunes, characterized by strong hooks and the incredible voice of Per Johansson (he used to be known as Per Henriksen, but later changed his name) so reminiscent of Jorn Lande.
Now augmented by two previously unreleased tracks from the same 2006 sessions, “V” 2023 remaster sounds fabulous…

International all-female hard rock quintet COBRA SPELL strike with their debut album, “666“, out December 1, 2023, via Napalm Records. Founded in 2019 by up-and-coming guitar phenomenon Sonia Anubis (ex-BURNING WITCHES), COBRA SPELL‘s current lineup is completed by the skillful, powerful sky-high vocals Kristina Vega, Twitch streamer Noelle dos Anjos on guitar, Hale Naphtha on drums and Roxy Herrera on bass.
Together they have already toured with numerous established bands such as ROSS THE BOSS, ENFORCER and EVIL INVADERS, and released two EPs, Love Venom (2020) and Anthems Of The Night (2022).
With these aces under their studded leather belts, COBRA SPELL are gearing up to introduce their first full-length, aiming for nothing less than ’80s rock ‘n’ roll domination.
At places sleazy, at others glammy, then metallic and why not pop-metal, “666” is a fun record since its title, taking all the ’80s cliches from the genre and turning them into something really enjoyable…

Last year’s FLAMES OF FIRE self-titled debut got very good feedback for their classic hard rock sound and now they are back with 2nd album titled ”Our Blessed Hope”. Founder Christian Liljegren (Narnia, Audiovision) and Mats Åke Andersson states that they love artists and bands like Dio, Iron Maiden, Stryper, Rainbow, Sweet, Queen, Petra, Kayak, Kansas, Uriah Heep and Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force to name a few… and you know what? in one way or another you’ll hear these influences on this album.
One of the advantages of the close-knit and co-operative Scandinavian scene is that all work together and band members come and go. In this case Flames Of Fire really is a super-group of sorts with past and present members of Narnia, Audiovision, House Of Shakira, Royal Hunt and more.
This is very melodic classic stuff written and executed with passion for good hard n’ heavy rock n’ roll…

MITCH MALLOY officially debuted as solo artist with his stunning self-titled album on a major label in 1992. But there was another story before, far from an overnight success. Mitch actually put together a band in 1986 under his last name – MALLOY – they recorded 12 original songs for shopping labels and they had all worked hard at trying to snare that elusive record deal, without luck.
These original 1988 recordings were released on CD some years ago thanks to European label Now & Then under the title “Malloy 88”. Although the original “Malloy” tapes got lost along the way, there were still the original mixes left and I must say that the sound quality in very good. This is true 1988’s melodic rock.
Originally Mitch decided to give Now & Then the tapes ‘as they were’, untouched. However the transfer to CD resulted lifeless flat. So years after Mitch Malloy did his own remaster of “Malloy 88” and put the whole thing on his website for all fans to enjoy.
This is ”Malloy 88 / Mitch’s own remaster” never officially released and a collectible. Only at 0dayrox.

Alongside their very good new album featured yesterday here, rockers HITTEN are reissuing a revised, remastered, remixed version of their debut album, now re-titled “First Strike With The Devil (2023 Revisited Version)“. While HITTEN right now are playing an energetic mix of late ’80s / early ’90s Americanized hard rock, in their origins they had a traditional heavy metal sound.
Back in 2014, the quintet still had a lot to prove and – barring the questionable cover art – did a good job on debut album First Strike With The Devil. Perhaps the influence of groups like Riot, Lizzy Borden and Iron Maiden seem slightly too obvious, though seeing Striker and the Swedish speed/heavy scene becoming bigger on the weight of the same sound may have encouraged Hitten too.
This refreshed version of the album hits like an uppercut straight to the jaw – heavy, crunchy, classic metallic…

As requested here’s the overlooked BONFIRE album “Strike Ten“, originally released 2001 but here in its AFM Records / YesterRock reissue remastered by expert Toni Übler, including a bonus track previously only featured in the Japanese edition of the CD.
Some things never change, amongst them you can find Bonfire. This band has been around since the ’80s and never followed trends – their motto is timeless classic hard rock. “Strike Ten” punch hard, it’s emotion packed rockin’ stuff that will blow your mind cells away and leave you begging for more.
This record immediately rejoins their collection as one of the best albums they did (with Fireworks and Point Blank). Songs like ‘Strike Back’ for example, which reminds me a lot one of their old song (‘You’re Back’ from the Point Blank album) is a killer. Its riff will certainly make you headbang as for the chorus melody is simply huge, and don’t even get me started on the exceptional guitar solo.
Compared to the original release, this remaster adds punch and stronger razor guitar attack, crisp and clear…

“Billy’s back from the dead… with a message from Hell!!!” Many fans of metal / hard rock are also fans of horror movies. It’s a combination that goes great together.
“Rocktober Blood” was released by Vestron Video in 1984, a slasher flick around a fictional heavy metal singer, Billy “Eye” Harper. The film features US metal band SORCERER and showcases their talent and music. SORCERER previously did the soundtrack for the movie “Stunt Rock” featured at 0dayrox some time ago.
”Rocktober Blood Soundtrack” include SORCERER songs especially written for the film, featuring the excellent lead vocals of Nigel Benjamin (former vocalist for Mott The Hoople, and London), all great US metal tracks.
But there’s more; the songs performed by Billy’s backing vocalist – the ‘Lynn Starling’ character – are done by female singer Susie Major and her real band Face Down – these are terrific female-fronted melodic rock tracks in the Pat Benatar style! At the time of these recordings Susie was only 19 years old. Why this girl didn’t become a major star later is mystery.
Now Lunaris Records presents the original motion picture soundtrack for ”Rocktober Blood Soundtrack” in its fullest, 11 tracks remastered. Originally released seven years ago available for the first time ever on CD, now is being reissued on vinyl as well.
”Rocktober Blood OST” still demands top dollar from soundtrack and heavy metal aficionados worldwide, so hurry up, this is a limited edition. A very, very enjoyable pack of ’80s culture, U.S. classic metal and female melodic rock.
Awesome stuff!

While hard n’ heavy rockers HITTEN early albums are firmly planted in a classic heavy metal sound, since their fourth LP the group have turned more melodic mainstream. And that’s reinforced with the band’s new album entitled “While Passion Lasts” hinting even more at that late 80s / early 90s hard rock sound, but still largely infused with that old school metal approach which is the foundation of Hitten’s own sound.
With a polished production and mastered by genius Erik Martensson (Eclipse), “While Passion Lasts” sounds million bucks. Musically think a mix of Skid Row circa 1988, Danger Danger (Paul Laine era), and early Hurricane, add some Van Halen and a touch of heaviness in the vein of Eclipse or Dynazty, and you get a pretty good idea of HITTEN’s power.
Clean, strong lead vocals, huge multi-part choruses, a sharp twin guitar attack and a crushing rhythm section explode over a varied songwriting, making “While Passion Lasts” a very impressive rockin’ platter…

Since their debut album seven years ago, S.N.A.K.E. have been honing their own melodic hard rock / AOR sound which expanded with their second, also an indie full length. Now very good record label Lions Pride Music take notice of S.N.A.K.E. prowess and signed the band for the international distribution of their new album simply titled “Three“.
With a polished production handled by themselves and with the help in the mix / mastering from two cats whom ‘know something‘ about this genre – Ivan Gonzalez (Raintimes, 91 Suite) and Jona Tee (H.E.A.T) – “Three” resulted a terrific platter of keyboard-driven, layered-harmony AOR / melodic rock with Scandinavian / Euro influences.
Take a part of Wild Rose, other of Diamond Dawn or Lionville, a dash of White Widdow, some vintage Tobruk, and a pinch of contemporary acts Brother Firetribe and One Desire, and you’re close to S.N.A.K.E. delivery.
One of the best ‘new bands‘ from the AOR / melodic rock underground scene now with a solid label support and international potential success, S.N.A.K.E.’s “Three” is one of the best CD’s in this genre we heard this year.
Don’t miss these guys!

And finally arrived this 2023 Japanese release of METALLICA‘s mighty second album ”Ride The Lightning”, a very Limited Pressing, priced-down reissue featuring the album’s remaster originally only available into the Deluxe Box Set from 2016. Released past April, this Limited Pressing is already sold out.
The expensive “Ride The Lightning Deluxe Box Set” included the album newly remastered but you gotta buy the whole package including the CD, 2 LP, many live shows playing the same songs, a CD with interviews (?) a very expensive – and honestly, not interesting – box. There was no standalone album remastering available.
Well, now this Japanese reissue finally featured ”Ride The Lightning” latest remastering at a very good price. And the refreshing, revitalized sound quality really worth to have it.
Over the years fans have been asking for a fresh remaster of “Ride The Lightning”, an album recorded with a tiny budget and one deserving a ‘refresh’. This remaster is very, very good, and brings new life to it…