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New Music Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, AOR, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal
Recent Reviews
April 2024
- Vanden Plas: The Empyrean Equation Of The Long Lost Things
- Praying Mantis: Defiance
- King Zebra: Between The Shadows
- About Us: Take A Piece
- Blue Oyster Cult: Ghost Stories
March 2024
- Cruzh: The Jungle Revolution
- Whom Gods Destroy: Insanium
- The Prog Collective: Dark Encounters
- Lords Of Black: Mechanics Of Predacity
- Lipz: Changing The Melody
- The End Machine: The Quantum Phase
- Stargate: Escaping The Illusion
- Turbulence: Binary Dream
- Sonata Arctica: Clear Cold Beyond
- D'Luna: Monster
- Big Big Train: The Likes Of Us
- Benjamin Croft: We Are Here To Help
February 2024
- Traveler: Prequel To Madness
- Lionheart: The Grace Of A Dragonfly
- Honeymoon Suite: Alive
- Durbin: Screaming Steel
- Smoking Snakes: Danger Zone
- Revolution Saints: Against The Winds
- Striker: Ultrapower
- Show N Tell: The Ritual Has Begun
- Robert Hart: Circus Life
January 2024
- Corvus: Immortals
- Caligula's Horse: Charcoal Grace
- Grand: Second To None
- Neal Morse: The Restoration - Joseph - Part Two
- The Rods: Rattle The Cage
- Gotus: Gotus
- Metalite: Expedition One
- Cobrakill: Serpent's Kiss
- Jack Russell & Tracii Guns: Medusa
- Jim Peterik & World Stage: Roots & Shoots Vol. 1
- The Grandmaster: Black Sun
Overland: Epic
Sometimes I wonder who gets to name an artist's album. Is it the artist himself, the label, or maybe the publicist? Steve Overland's third solo album is titled Epic. Talk about great expectations. Yeah, I get his history, the many great bands (FM, Shadowman, et al) with which he has performed, and the simple fact that Overland is both a gifted singer and songwriter. But is Epic indeed epic, that is, grand or monumental?
Overland: I think there's something on the floor.
Perhaps, foregoing any certain answer to the question, the best thing to say is that the album is consistent with Overland's AOR melodic rock roots, both in the music and his vocal style. If you love any of the aforementioned bands, or AOR melodic rock in general, Epic will be right up your alley. A song like the opener Radio Radio is pure AOR smoothness. Others like Down Comes the Night and So This Is Love sound like they've had some Eighties Toto nuances, from the synths, dropped in. Another song, Rock Me, is not what you think. It's not so much a 'rocker' but a tune with heavy groove and sharp guitar. And sharp guitars abound on this album. Curiously, being an AOR album, there's not a single ballad here. As said before, most of Epic is straight melodic rock, and that's the bottom line. Whether it's grand, profound, or monumental, I'll leave to your ears.
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In Short
Vocalist Steve Overland returns, once more, with his familiar vocal style in the context of his musical roots, classic AOR melodic rock. What's not to like?
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New & Notable
Three years have passed since Sweden's Cruzh dropped their second long-player, Tropical Thunder, also introducing their new singer, Alex Waghorn. Now the band returns with The Jungle Revolution ... [ Read More ]