Reviews roundup – Karelia vs. Paul D’Adamo

Reviews roundup – Karelia vs. Paul D’Adamo

KARELIA
Golden Decadence
Music for Ever

If you went to a show on the Michael Schnker Temple Of Rock tour and couldn’t be arsed queuing in the bar, then you may have stumbled across French eclecto-rockers Karelia. Now whether they got the gig because Rudolf Schenker plays the solos on a couple of tracks is anyones guess, but I’m sure they’re eighties hard rock meets Rammstein electro would have come as a bit of shock to some.

Apparently this is album number five for Karilia, so they’ve got some form, although it’s been five years since the last one. For folks who have been following them, this sees a new lineup with only singer Matt Kleiber and guitarist Jack Ruetsch remaining from the last album, alongside new boys Sam Clauss (guitars), Phil Sissler (bass) and Fr-edd Seller (drums). And no, that isn’t a typo. I would also like to report that this is an absolute blast of an album.

It really does pull off the trick of mixing eighties hard rock, some classic heavy metal and industrial electro rock. Now, a few folks have tried this over the years, and they usually end up skimping on the metal, or it sounds like they’ve just dropped some FX for the sake of it. Not this one. It’s built from the ground off and rocks like a bastard, albeit a 21st century electro bastard. For sure, it’s a couple of tracks too long, but when it works as it does on ‘Ride It Wild’ and ‘Body’s Falling Apart’, then it’s quite glorious.

If this is the future of Euro-metal, then I’ll be very happy indeed.

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PAUL D’ADAMO
Tell Me Something
Melodic Revolution Records

This album first came out a couple of years back, but is now reissued with a bonus DVD. Now I can’t tell you about that as I’ve only been sent the CD to review, but I’m more than happy to do so, as this is a bit of a peach. Especially for Genesis fans. Because Texas based singer / songwriter Paul D’Adamo REALLY REALLY likes Genesis. And Phil Collins. So not only has he written some Collins / Genesis influenced tracks, he’s rearranged some less well known Genesis tracks, then got some Genesis / Phil Collins collaborators to play with them on the album. Now that’s dedication.

And it’s really enjoyable if you’re a fan of seventies prog tinged rock. Well I am, so you’ll get no complaints from me. The musicians are faultless throughout but then you don’t get to play with the likes of Phil Collins, Genesis, Supertramp, Elton John and James Taylor if you’re a bit rubbish. Of the originals, the title track ‘Tell Me Something’, is the highlight, a jazz tinged number that would have sat happily on an eighties Phil Collins solo album. Off into Genesis covers land, and ‘Entangled’ gets a gentle reworking that really works, while ‘Doesn’t Anybody Stay Together Anymore’ from the Phil Collins album “No Jacket Required” benefits from some mighty fine percussion.

D’Adamo himself has aa very listenable voice and in his words, this is “a synthesis of pop, jazz, fusion and progressive rock” that works a treat. Apparently the bonus DVD features a behind-the-scenes documentary called “Paul D’Adamo: Something To Tell”, where he film crew travels through Albany, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Nashville and New York City witnessing how the production of the album unfolds.

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