HardReviews 2
by Martin Popoff
Time Requiem - The Inner Circle Of Reality
(Regain)Richard Andersson begat Majestic which died so Time Requiem could live. Now onto their second album, the band is a florid, brisk, prog and power metal machine with ballerina melodies deep into the heart of Yngwie and Bach, the latter of which is covered for the album's last track. But it's done well, and vocalist Apollo Papathanasio is up to the task with a sonorous tone and a crack understanding and internalization of every vocal melody put forth by Yngwie's army of sacrificial lambneths. A little too many COB-styled keys on here though, but drummer Zoltan Csorsz makes up for it by stealing the show more than periodically. So yeah, frankly I'm sick of the 350 rapid-fire Bach melodies on here, but the performances and the prog create pleasant diversions and "huh, fancy that..." moments at a similar rapid fire frequency.
Rating 7Kevin DuBrow - In For The Kill
(Shrapnel Records)The Quiet Riot guy with more hair now than then doing covers? A disaster, right? Not even close. DuBrow knows his classic glam bam hard-bodied rock star rock. He picks them well, he sings them great, and his band is on fire, adding all sorts of licks and tricks with energy and taste. Production's big enough too. The only downfall is when the guy gets too bluesy and obscure with his choices, things like Black Sheep Of The Family, Stay With Me, Red Light Mama, Red Hot and Drivin' Sister being either too well-traveled or to rudimentary to please even those of Metal Health's generation. But lordy... Burn On The Flame (Sweet), Razamanaz (Nazareth), Speed King (Deep Purple), and Modern Times Rock And Roll (Queen) all smoke, Kevin's pipes having no trouble strafing these proto-metal classics, his crack band of veteran fanatics helping to render them white hot.
Rating 7.5
