Excellent reissue label Bad Reputation has just released 1983’s “Arc Angel“, the self-titled album from Jeff Cannata band/project ARC ANGEL considered among the best American AOR/pomp rock albums of all time. Ready for its 40th Anniversary, this amazing record has received a deserved fully remastered audio, including three bonus tracks and a complete booklet.
Some time ago Jeff Cannata remastered the album by himself (released through his own record label), however in limited quantities and now impossible to find. This Bad Reputation reissue sound quality is top notch.
Simply put, Arc Angel, founded together by vocalist Jeff Cannata and keyboard player Michael Soldan, created in 1983 this masterpiece regarded as one of the greatest AOR albums of all time. Session bass on the album came from future Bon Jovi man Hugh McDonald, drums by Chuck Burgi (Rainbow, Balance), synths by Jeff Bova (David Lee Roth, Meat Loaf), while James Christian (House of Lords) sung backing vocals on almost all tracks.
Arc Angel was dismissed by stupid U.S. critics as a Boston / Kansas clone, but became a huge hit album in Europe, and today is considered a timeless classic.
You do not need more details, “Arc Angel” is a MUST HAVE, a MANDATORY album into your ’80s AOR collection.

The properly titled “High Class Rock ‘N’ Roll” is the third album by Northern Irish rockers SCREAMING EAGLES, and believe us, lives up to its name. “High Class Rock N Roll” is their first release in a long time. The pandemic disrupted their plans, leading them to go their separate ways before regrouping. But now they’re back, under the watchful eye of Will Maya (who produced The Answer’s recent return to form), and they’ve never sounded more focused.
You need about 30 seconds of lead track ‘Thunder and Lightning’ to find the band’s groove. It’s classic rock meets AC/DC, Northern Irish style, and that’s about it. Frontman Chris Fry describes it as “a face-melting powerhouse of an anthem, it’s raw, energetic and we think it captures just what the Screagles do best. You’ll wish your sound system could go to 11”…

Swedish modern female-fronted metal act METALITE is gearing up for the release of their new album ‘Expedition One‘ coming out on January 19, 2024 via AFM Records. Advanced singles from the opus surfaced, showcasing how strong and powerful new material the band has to offer.
‘Expedition One‘ tells a fictitious story about life on our planet in the year 2055. The record inspires with a wide range of diverse compositions and an intelligent sci-fi story that couldn’t be more topical. In addition, their fourth album offering manifests the musicians’ artistic development.
Here we are able to hear some of the songs that combine the quintet’s many strengths: powerful and at the same time precise guitar riffs and solos, anthemic melodies courtesy of vocalist Erica Ohlsson, driving rhythms and cleverly positioned keyboard parts. ‘Expedition One‘ was produced by guitarist Edwin Premberg, and was mixed & mastered by renowned Jacob Hansen.

With the just released new TERJE album some of you asked for his band ON THE RISE stupendous AOR albums. Originally put out by Frontiers music in 2003, self-titled debut CD “On The Rise” went out of print, but was reissued some time ago including the original Japanese edition bonus track.
The core of this Norwegian AOR act consisted of Terje Eide (vocals/guitars) and Bennech Lyngboe (vocals) – but rather than take the programmed way out, they are accompanied by a full studio band which has greatly enhanced the sonic quality – On The Rise surprised the AOR / Melodic Rock community with this debut album.
“On The Rise” features a full melodic AOR sound and a balanced mix carrying a certain European air, wisely mixed with a very commercial blend of hooks / harmonies, a sense for a big production sound akin GIANT, RICK SPRINGFIELD / NELSON type of layered melodies, and TOTO’s technical finesse…

With the just released new TERJE album some of you asked for his band ON THE RISE stupendous AOR albums. Originally put out by Frontiers music in 2009, ON THE RISE’s second album for Frontiers Music, ”Dream Zone” (out of print now) delivered more quality material, rich in harmonies, melodic rock hooks and classy AOR melodies.
ON THE RISE had a wonderful debut album and after a long six-year wait ”Dream Zone” this follow up CD demonstrated that the magic and quality was still there. Plenty of smooth vocals and keyboard / synth fills the record is dominated by excellent guitar playing in the style of Steve Lukather and Tommy Denander, all served with class songwriting. Production is crystal clear and polished, timeless.
Highlights include the upbeat melodic vocals of “Lifeline”, the high impact choruses of “Get Out Of Here”, the Toto-ish “No Time To Lose”, and the great guitar riffs / solos of “Tomorrow Never Dies”…

Swiss rockers KISSIN’ BLACK are back with their unique music balancing between soft dark new wave-ish goth and hard rock. And that succeeds with the new album ”Veleno” (”Poison” in Italian), 13 new songs capturing passion and diametrical energies fusing them into KISSIN’ BLACK’s very own sound. As if this were not enough, an extra impulse is injected into ”Veleno” by the collaboration with “Dark Rock Star” and singer of the band HELL BOULEVARD, Matteo vDiva Fabbiani.
The Italian title song releases emotions that capture its full depth in Giu Mastrogiacomo’s native language. The frontman’s voice, velvety, rough, and emotionally charged, carries soothes wanderlust.
KISSIN’ BLACK rock music is definitely something different, at places really dark with an ’80s goth feel and occasionally morose, but it has much in the way of melody and optimism too…

ERIC SARDINAS is a bona fide road dog. He’s been playing shows all over the world for decades. Perhaps because of that traveling he hasn’t released a studio record since 2014’s raucous Boomerang. His new album ”Midnight Junction” is a wooly collection of originals and a lone cover. Longtime compatriots drummer Chris Fraizer (Whitesnake, Foreigner) and keyboard player Dave Schulz (Berlin, Goo Goo Dolls) appear alongside new bassist Koko Powell (Sheila E, Lenny Kravitz) with producer Matt Gruber helming the boards.
While the guitarist / vocalist doesn’t change up his blues-rock seasoned formula all that much, some longtime criticisms of his work are no longer valid. A startling example is in the lyrics: While Sardinas isn’t writing poignant originals, he is employing fewer cliched blues metaphors and imagery. What’s more, the vibe here, while typically rowdy, is less “serious.”
That means ”Midnight Junction” is a rocking party record top to bottom with some truly stellar moments…

BLADE, an up-and-coming hard rock band from Finland unveils their debut album “Joker And Clowns”. Including nine hard-hitting original tracks and one cover of the iconic “Maniac” by Michael Sembello (Flashdance movie soundtrack) this provide to you a pretty good idea of BLADE’s musical style and influences.
Are you ready to rock? Yeah, Blade is ready to conquer the hearts of classic melodic hard rock enthusiasts worldwide. I don’t think the cover art and especially band name quite give you the full perspective about what musically the band is about.
Despite their noticeable Eighties influences, BLADE are an interesting band that seem to have several dimensions to their sound. At their core they’re playing Melodic Hard Rock, but they have the ability to switch gears from song to song to take the listener on an journey that keeps you guessing. All with a very good, polished, potent production…

Formed in 2010, American rock band THE GREAT AFFAIRS initially started as an outlet for singer/songwriter Denny Smith’s acoustic-based material, but have since transformed into a melodic rock band with classic influences from the greats. Their new CD “Sleepwalker” is potent mix of retro pop and rock that immediately feels good.
Rather than focus on a specific genre, The Great Affairs decided to “let the songs lead the way.” And it definitely shows. The opening track, “When Love is the Drug,” has an ’80s pop&rock feel to it with big backing vocals, a lot of melody, and a driving guitar riff.
On the other hand, songs like “Gettin’ Outta Sight” falls into the style of ‘80s Californian hair rock, a tune similar to the bluesy rocking side of Great White ot Tesla. The song, with the lead vocals of drummer Kenny Wright are the perfect compliment to an intermittently grubby riff and slide guitar combo…

Sony Music is releasing today ”Reunion [25th Anniversary Expanded Edition]” and expanded / remastered version of BLACK SABBATH iconic live album recorded by the original line up, originally released in 1998. “Reunion” was recorded in November 1997, at the Birmingham NEC, home city of Black Sabbath.
The commemorative edition features the album’s remastered track list, as well as remixed versions of “Psycho Man” and “Selling My Soul”, both studio tracks released on the original version of “Reunion”, now remixed by Danny Saber.
“Reunion – 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition” features great Sabbath classics such as “Snowblind”, “Paranoid”, “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”, “War Pigs”, “Sweet Leaf” and “Into The Void”. The new mastering is much better.
The new remixes really transformed the studio tracks into almost ‘new songs’, resulting quite different to the originals. Really worth hearing…

Inspired by the late 80s AOR, Melodic and Hard Rock scene, NITRATE is the brainchild of Nick Hogg, a Nottingham-based musician who after playing in a few bands in the early 2000s, decided to get into songwriting. He was absent from the scene for several years until, in 2015 he decided to give it another shot.
Hailed by many fans and critics as a breath of fresh air for the melodic rock / AOR community, their three albums so far sported a battery of arena-ready songs that took a listener back to a time when Def Leppard ruled the airwaves.
The new record ”Feel The Heat” continues where 2021’s Renegade left off, mixing all Hogg’s influences from AOR and Arena Rock from the 80s such as BON JOVI, JOURNEY, BAD ENGLISH and especially DEF LEPPARD (Pyromania / Hysteria era). Hogg teams up again with VEGA’s Tom and James Martin, whom co-wrote almost the entire album (and also play guitar & keys) together with Robert Hodson. Alexander Strandell (Art Nation, Crowne) is once again handling the vocals showing why he is one of the most in-demand singers of the entire international scene.
A true belter of an album that sits firm among the elite of the genre…

Classic melodic rockers STATION are back with their much anticipated 5th full length album “And Time Goes On“. From hard rocking tracks like “Over & Over” to ethereal journeys like “Touch”, STATION is once again showing their diversity of sound while still maintaining their own unique identity – always inspired by the ’80s.
These New Yorkers not only are getting better and better with each release, they are silently crafting some serious cult classic songs that will kept fresh in years to tome. Yeah, “Over & Over” is timeless melodic hard, however updated to modern times thanks to the crisp production design.
“And Time Goes On” is the kind of albums that back in the day, when you went to your record store and asked for a pre-listen, got you instantly hooked…

Hailing from Bergen, Norway, TERJE Eide (vocalist, multi-instrumentalist & producer) first captured the public ear at age 16, as singer, guitarist and songwriter. His musical career began in earnest a year later, after winning a local talent contest. He later enjoyed a stint with the band Heaven & Hell, a rock institution in Bergen in the 80s. In 1986 he won the Norwegian National Rock Championship on national TV with the band The Heat. He started his own band a few years later.
In 2000’s Terje started a studio project that later on became ON THE RISE. A demo was made in early 2001 which immediately raised the interest of Frontiers Records who signed the project in June 2002. The debut album “On The Rise” was released in 2003, one of the finest Melodic Rock / AOR platters of that time. A few years later, Terje put together the songs on the long awaited follow-up album, entitled “Dream Zone”.
Now 2023, TERJE will release his latest solo album titled “Recalibrate“, a dynamic collection of stylized AOR tunes and polished melodic rockers served with a fresh sound production.
This is really well crafted Scandinavian stuff in the vein of Spin Gallery, 101 South, Grand Illusion, some Blanc Faces, and of course, On The Rise…

In 1973 it was announced that Deep Purple – at the time, one of the biggest rock bands in the world – had a new vocalist, a young unknown singer from the north of England called David Coverdale. David wrote and recorded three studio albums with Deep Purple, all of them classics; Burn, Stormbringer & Come Taste The Band.
The fiftieth anniversary of this momentous event is now celebrated with the Special Gold Edition of The PURPLE Album.
Cherry picking the best tracks from Deep Purple’s Mark 3 and Mark 4 line- ups, all newly remixed and remastered for 2023, WHITESNAKE’s twelfth studio album features Reb Beach on guitar and Michael Devin on bass, joined by Joel Hoekstra on his first Whitesnake album, plus drummer Tommy Aldridge reappearing on a Whitesnake studio album for the first time since 1989’s Slip Of The Tongue.
”The Purple Album [Special Gold Edition]” is pure gold indeed…