Rawk roundup – David Reece vs. Sideburn vs. Epysode

Rawk roundup – David Reece vs. Sideburn vs. Epysode
David Reece
Compromise
AOR Heaven

It’s been a busy old time for David Reece, since the former Accept singer, re-emerged in 2008. A Gypsy Rose album, two Bangalore Choir albums, a Tango Down record, a Reece Kronlund CD and a solo record. Six album in five years, and here comes number seven, the follow-up to “Universal Language”.

However, it seems like he many finally have ran out of tunes, as this is the first of those records that caused more of a ho-hum, rather an a hoo-rah. He’s still in fine voice, and his backing band of Ronnie Parkes (7 Witches), Jack Frost (7 Witches / Savatage), Kelly Peterson and Paul Morris (Rainbow, Doro) are excellent. Chuck in guest slots from Christian Tolle and Andy Susemihl, and mixing and production from Joey Vera (Armored Saint) and Martin Kronlund, and everything sounds fine.

But aside from a handful of killer tracks – ‘Evil Never Dies’, ‘Treasure Hunter’, ‘Disaster’, ‘Coast To Coast’ – there’s a bit of a filler feel to numbers like ‘Along For The Ride’ and ‘End Of It All’, never mind the awful mess of the Creedence Clearwater Revival cover, ‘Fortunate Son’. So you end up with a good album, not a great one, which is a step down from where he’s been over the last few years.

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Sideburn
Electrify 
AOR Heaven

I like Sideburn. Their no frills AC/DC-athon approach to music is one I relish, so I’m delighted to see them back in action. Mind you, this is a new Sideburn, what with two new guitarists – Lawrence Lina and Mike Riffart and a new bass player in the shape of Nick Thornton. The latter is an Australian, so now they have a legitimate link to the music they love. Which leaves singer Roland Pierrehumbert and drummer Lionel Blanc.

Luckily, it seems to have made absolutely no difference whatsoever as they power through some boogie and blues anthems like ‘Bite The Bullet’ and ‘Black Powder’. They get a wee bit bluesier on tunes like ‘Travellin` Man’ and turn in a fine Rose Tattoo impersonation on ‘Destination Nowhere’. All of which makes me a very happy man, indeed.

Even better, if you buy the CD, you get some bonus tracks not available for download. Take that, The Kids! ANd they are, ‘Rockstar’ from the Adidas Rockstar event in 2012, ‘Lazy Daisy’ and ‘Never Kill The Chicken’ (both live). Now, let’s rawk!

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EPYSODE
Fantasmagoria
AFM

Prog metal time, now, with “Fantasmagoria” from Epysode, the follow-up to their debut, “Obsessions”. And in news guaranteed to moisten the nether regions of 14 year old boys everywhere, it’s a full blown concept album. Hurrah!

Band leader Samuel Arkan has really pulled out the stops, and managed to get an array of guest vocalists and musicians to take part with Tom S. Englund (Evergrey), Henning Basse (Melium, Uli Jon Roth), Ida Haukland (Triosphere), Matt Marinelli (Borealis), Tezzi Persson (Between The Silence), Mike LePond (Symphony X), Léo Margarit (Pain Of Salvation), Julien Spreutels (Ethernity) and Simone Mularoni (DGM) all taking part.

Musically, this will line up nicely on the shelf alongside your Kamelot and Evergrey albums, with some great songs and performances. Arkan himself defines the album as a “Supernatural Thriller Prog Metal Concept”, and he seems to have got that band on. The best track round my way is the title track, a duet between Englund and Ida Haukland, which is one of the songs of the year. Magnificent.

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