Reviews for COMPILATION albums

MAJESTIC
Crusade
Z Records 

Dreamhunter: Kingdom Come*
Damned Nation: When The Truth Become A Lie
Great King Rat: Can You Feel It**
24K: Meeting This Way*
Seven Wishes: Life Goes On
Jekyll & Hide: Slave
Savannah: Two Young Hearts (Soul Version)**
Danny Danzi: Is Love A Lie
Eclipse: Far Away**
Ken Tamplin: You Never Give Up
Amaze Me: Without Your Love
Push: Never Again
Human Race: Weary Eyes**
*From The Forthcoming Album
**Previously Unreleased or Alternate Version.
Lillian Axe: Death Valley Daze
24K: Black Sheep*
Prisoner: Blind*
Damned Nation: Damage Is Done**
Shout: A.D./B.C.*
Danny Danzi: I Want To Spend My Life With You**
Amaze Me: Every Heartbeat**
Savannah: Left Out In The Rain
Great King Rat: Make It Last
Human Race: The Web
Push:  Soul On Fire**
Scudiero: Slave To Temptation
Southpaw: Holywater
 
*From The Forthcoming Album
**Previously Unreleased.
After MTM and Now  & Then/Frontiers Records it was Z Records' turn to release a sampler. And Z wouldn't be Z if they wouldn't approach it a little different. Crusade is a double album for the price of one and it's worth every single penny, I can tell you that. Eight previously unreleased songs and five songs from forthcoming albums certainly add their value to this album.
I'll review the songs by band:
Dreamhunter opens the album with Kingdom Come and if this song is representative for their upcoming album we're in for a treat! A fabulous song with hooks all over the place.
Damned Nation is present with my favorite song of their Road To Desire album (When The Truth Becomes A Lie) and the previously unreleased Damage Is Done which is not as good as the tracks on their album, but still a good song. 
Great King Rat donate the previously unreleased Can You Feel It. This is your typical American shout along song. Not bad, but I've heard better. The second Great King Rat track is called Make It Last and is much better than Can You Feel It. It's got some furious guitarwork and is on the whole a much more inspired tune.
Z's supergroup 24K (with Billy Sheehan and Peter Criss amongst others) brings us Meeting This Way, a hookladen track with a major 80's feel to it. Black Sheep is heavier and makes me think of Talas.
Life Goes On by Seven Wishes is very heavy, with a great riff and a cool, although short, solo.
The Jekyll And Hyde song is very heavy, almost metal. I like metal but this song just doesn't do it for me. The riff is cool but I'm not too fond of the vocals.
One of my favorite Z Records bands, Savannah, does a stunning version of the song I loved most from their debut album. An all acoustic version of Two Young Hearts. Complete different arrangement, same feel. I LOVE THIS SONG!!! Left Out In The Rain is the same song as on their album, which means it is fantastic...
The same can be said about Danny Danzi's Is Love A Lie. The song with the best solo of his Somewhere Lost In Time is one of the best songs on this album as well. I Want To Spent My Life With You is a great ballad that has only been released as a bonus track on the Japanese version of Somewhere Lost In Time. What a talent this man is and how fortunate Z Records has picked him up!
Eclipse's Far Away sounds very 80's. Melodic NWOBHM-like melody lines are the order of the day here. Even the production sounds like it's done in the '80's. The chorus sounds a little like Rainbow and I love the solo. All sorts of nostalgic feelings come up listening to this. 
Ken Tamplin's Never Give Up is one of his best songs ever. No further comments needed.
Without Your Love by Amaze Me really amazes me. I don't have the Wonderland album (yet) so I didn't know this one. What a terrific song! Every Heartbeat is a nice ballad.
Push's Never Again is a cool track the way White Lion used to do them. Soul On Fire is more in the Mötley Crüe and old Warrant vein.
Human Race's Weary Eyes sounds like Rainbow during their Graham Bonnet period or like every other band where Graham was involved for that matter. Incredible! Even more incredible is their song The Web!!! What a power they display on this one... One of my favorite tracks on this sampler.
Lillian Axe's Death Valley Daze opens side two of Crusade. Hearing songs like this I'm really sorry there are no plans for new studio material by this very underestimated band.
Blind, the song Prisoner contributed is a nice piece of work also. A real swinging song, with great vocals and ripping guitars.
Southpaw's Holywater ends this CD. A very heavy track with some contemporary influences. I read some bad reviews on their album, but if it sounds like this song I don't think it's all that bad.
A lot of value for your rmoney this one! 
Fred Monster
RATING 4/5

STRUTTER
Crusade

When this arrived on my doormat,i opened up the jiffy bag and i thought oh, cool the brand new TEN album!!! Low and behold i blinked again and i realised it was a compliation of material from the z records rooster.But's what's great about this cd is that's it's a double issue and features unreleased odd and sods from the z artists.
CD one opens up with Dream Hunter's "Kingdom Come".This track has a chorus from heaven that reminds me of Fair Warning jamming with Nelson but only heavier.This is an incredable song,totally irrasistable.
Next track is Damned Nation's "When The Truth Becomes A Lie " from their "Road Of Desire" opus,this is still a great hard hitting infectious song,Great King Rat pop up next with the previously unreleased uptempo and catchy "Can You Feel It".Why this track wasn't included on their last album is beyond me.This has arena anthem written all over ir.
And here we have the fisrt taster of one of z's new bands called "24k" which features bassist Billy Sheehan,and singer/songwriter Phil Naro."Meeting This Way" opens up sounding like Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" before the glorious harmonies and Phils singing turn this song around making it sound on par with The Mark Allen Band and The Storm.
The Dokken esquiste swedish hard rockers Seven Wishes pop up next with the brilliant high flying melodic attack of "Life Goes On",just listen to Pelle Andersson's vocals!swoon gasp,this makes the new Dokken album look tame and very lacklustre.
The underated Jekyll And Hyde are next and continue their fuel injected style of hard knocks!Then we have one of "Crusades" most awesome tracks,a piano led soul version of "Two Young Hearts" by z rock hereos Savannah,Earle's voice is just so god like and beautifull that the hair on your arms and neck will tingle with the sheer aweinspiring beauty of this classic song.
Danny Danzi is next, which is followed by another new act called "Eclipse" who are very much like Europe, this song features some shit hot riffs and is very infectious.Ken Tamplin offers us his tasty ballad "You Never Give Up",which is then followed by Amaze Me,Push and a brand new song from Human Race, fans of Rainbow, Talisman etc..will love this band!!!And that's the end of disc one, phew!!!
Disc Two conjures up much of the same with unreleased material from Damned Nation,a great ballad from Danny Danzi,Amaze Me,a new Push track called "Soul On Fire",as well as tracks from Lillian Axe,Ken Tamplin's Shout,Savannah,Great King Rat,the fantastic Scudiero, and the totally underatted Southpaw (whom i hope do a second album).
But disc two offers some more new bands in the shape of Prisoner who will turn some heads come the release of their album next year.Prisoner sound like Human Clay and much missed UK rockers Jagged Edge.
But track of the cd goes to 24k's "Black Sheep" this is heavy like Racer X,David Lee Roth,Hardline,Bulletboys,very fast catchy and melodic,the guitars go crazy and Billy Sheehan sounds shit hot!!
This compilation is utterly essential and an ideal purchase for your xmas and millenium parties.It looks as if the new millenium will be good for z records with some wonderful albums in the shape of 24k,Dream Hunter,Eclipse,Tyketto and Ken Tamplin's Shout to look forward to.The best rock compilation in years!!!!
released on: Z Records / Point Music  
Nicky Baldrian
RATING 10/10

INTERNET SITE
Crusade – Compilation
(Z RECORDS)

CRUSADE is the long announced compilation CD of Z RECORDS, the U.K. Melodic
Rocklabel that celebrates their two-year anniversary with the release of this CD. I
would not call this CD a best of the past two years, because there are too many
unreleased songs on the two discs. This makes it very interesting for every fan of the Z
RECORDS releases. The two discs contain 26 songs in total, so it's pretty much worth
investing your money. Disc one kicks off with a bunch of great tracks that are
unreleased so far.
DREAMHUNTER is a band that is going to release their debut pretty soon. Clearly
influenced by the old TREAT sound (note the bandname that is named after an album
of that Swedish band), this band is bringing some fantastic uptempo melodic AOR
rock in the best Swedish tradition. This can be heard in the opening track "Kingdom come" of this compilation CD. This song promises much for their upcoming debut release.
Another interesting release will be the 24K release. Their included song (on disc A) is "Meeting this way", a fantastic midtempo AOR track. Furthermore I would like to mention a song by a Swedish band called ECLIPSE (not the project of AGENT member Rick Livingstone). Their track "Far away" is a great uptempo 80s influenced Swedish melodic rocker like good old EUROPE.
Also unreleased on side-A is the SAVANNAH track "Two young hearts". This fantastic AOR track can also be found on their debut can also be found on their debut, but this soul version is new. Most of the rest of side-A can also be found on earlier releases of Z RECORDS. If you're not familiar with their earlier releases, I am pretty sure you will enjoy the great melodic rocksongs of bands like KEN TAMPLIN, PUSH and AMAZE ME.
Side-B of this compilation does contain some more unreleased material of acts like 24K, PRISONER, DAMNED, NATION, SHOUT, DANNY DANZI, AMAZE ME and PUSH. PRISONER is a hot new band that has the good melodic rocker "Blind" featured on this disc. The 24K song "Black sheep" is a bit on the weak side. This is also the case with the songs by HUMAN RACE, PUSH, SOUTHPAW and SHOUT. Nice melodic rock is the new DAMNED NATION track "Damage is done". But the two songs that really caught my attention are the unreleased songs by DANNY DANZI and AMAZE ME. AMAZE ME's track is called "Every heartbeat", a great midtempo AOR song like the first ALIEN album.
This is very promising for their upcoming 4th CD release.
The guy who really is stealing the show on this disc is DANNY DANZI. His track "I want to spend my life with you" is definitely one of my favourites on this disc. This song was not on Danny's European debut and could only be found on Danny's Japanese debut CD as a bonustrack. Happily, it can now also be found on a European release, so you don't have
to spend so much money to have this incredible song. Because "I want to spend my life with you" is a wonderful superb Classic late 80s Power AOR Ballad like early FIREHOUSE, DAMN YANKEES ballads that topped the charts ten years ago in the US. I swear if it was 1989/1990, this song would have been a definite number one in the USA. DANNY DANZI is a huge talent and I hope we can enjoy much more music in the future of him.
This compilation features many unreleased songs of the Z RECORDS signed bands and anyone that is missing the typical late 80s/early 90s Mainstream (MTV) American oriented Melodic Hardrock like TYKETTO, FIREHOUSE, WHITE LION, WINGER… should buy this compilation to discover new (mostly Swedish) bands playing this forgotten style.

THE MUSIC INDEX
Crusade
Z Records Compilation: For anybody who is unfamiliar with the bands on Z's rosta this is a perfect introduction. You get a selection of tracks that
have appeared on bands album's, you get some previously un- released tunes and we get tunes from forthcoming releases. My fave of the forthcoming tunes is Blind by Prisoner featuring Tommy Denander on guitar a classic rock tune. The 2 tunes by Danny Danzi are great and it shows how good is album is if he can leave these 2 off. There is something to fill most peoples taste on here and at £10 for a double cd is great value for money.

STRUTTER
MUSICALLY CORRECT (VOLUME FIVE)
(Z RECORDS)

Latest sampler cd from Z Records crams in a wopping eighteen tracks. As with the latest MTM sampler, this offers punters a chance to sample the cream of the labels acts before purchasing. So what do we get on this cd then, well we get tracks from 21 Guns, Burning Rain, Vaughn, Contagious (hello Tony M.), Rainmaker, Enuff Z'Nuff, Savannah (hello Tony S.), Pontus Norgren, Damned Nation, Dream Hunter, Von Groove and Phil Naro.
Interestingly we get some to hear new songs from the forthcoming albums by Burning Rain, Bonaire, 24K, Eclipse, Prisoner, Seven Wishes,so lets concentrate on these.
The first of the songs is 'The Only One' by Swedish mob Eclipse, this song is layered with wonderful melodies and superb vocal harmonies, a dreamy melodic rock song and an album to look forward to next year. Next up is old chestnuts Prisoner featuring Geir Ronning and Tommy Denander with a brand spanking new song called 'One Way', this shows the band maturing rapidly, this song is very much in the Tall Stories vein and is a killer melodic rock/AOR song, can't wait for album number two due next year.
24K have caused a bit of a stir recently with the cover art work to their new album 'Bulletproof' which features a drawing of a man with a gun to his head, anyway 'Stone Heart' is a brand new song from the afforementioned album, the song is groovy with a great chorus line, nextwe hear a new song from the much anticipated new Burning Rain album, it's called 'Fireball' and rocks like a baby in a cradle, this song almost scared me as it is very heavy, melodic and catchy as hell, take a listen to the chorus and you'll be hooked, I predict big big sales for Burning Rain who are also appearing at Z Rock in 2001.
One of my favourite Z bands Seven Wishes offer us a new song called 'Face That Evil ' which proves that the band will be around for many years to come, a stomping melodic rocker with great riffs and killer Don Dokken esq vocal harmonies, this album should also sell by the truckload.
New boys Bonaire air the last of the new songs, Bonaire play pure melodic rock layered with great keyboards and satisfying vocal melodies and killer production sound, one to watch for in 2001.
It's clear that Z Records are becoming the leader of the pack, with so much quality melodic rock and AOR on offer it's no wonder that the Z 2001 show is almost selling out. If you haven't got your tickets yet then to save dissapointment, make sure you get them before xmas as the current rate predicts the show to be a sell out by then. Strutter of course will be there as usual and we will bring you complete coverage of the show which is being held at The Ritz in Manchester, England as well as exclusive interviews with the bands.
Nicky Baldrian
RATING 8/10

MIDWESTERN SKIES
Z RECORDS SAMPLER "Musically Correct 5" 2000
(Z Records)

Few words about this sampler from Z Records. This sampler contains 18 tracks and 6 of them are forthcoming releases. The rest is already released and I think many of you have stuff like Savannah, Rainmaker, 21 Guns and Vaughn to mention few. But lets talk about the songs that we can look out in the future. The new Swedish act Eclipse with their "The Only One" is a great melodic mid-tempo AOR song in the veins of Snakes In Paradise, Europe and Street Talk. This can a album to look out for. Seven Wishes contains their melodic hardrock a´la early Dokken. Their "Face That Evil" is a nice melodic rocker with a catchy chorus with good melodies. 24K´s "Stone Heart" was a big disappointment, this was a weak and boring track. Prisoner´s "One Way" contains were the debut album ended. This is in the same style and is a nice track nothing more. From the forthcoming second album from Burning Rain they have picked out the song "Fireball" and this in the same style as their debut. Bonaire sound like a more AORish Scudiero with nice keyboards. OK song but nothing more. Z Records has some good acts to look out for like Eclipse that sounded really good.
Juha Harjula

AOR SITE
ROCK THE NATIONS
(Z -Records)

"Just like that!" as the late Tommy Cooper used to tell you. Just like that, another double CD compilation courtesy of Europe's No1 hard rock haven Z Records is bestowed upon us in all its glory. Yes, it's 34 tracks from old faves from previous acquaintances, plus a selection of surprise inclusions from bands I bet you didn't realise were now on the label. See, some of you haven't been paying enough attention lately, have you. To bring you up to date, the compilation delves into the history books a fair distance to bring you old chestnuts from the last couple of years including Danni Danzi ('Save Us'), and Damned Nation (I Got What It Takes), so we hope that's woken you up there. The Danzster also has a corking newie 'Eternity' (which actually appeared on the Musically Correct Vol 4 CD a year back), so be ready for more from the New Jersey six-string wizard later this year.
Since last year's Crusade comp' the magnificent Mr Alger has his mits round another mountainous load of bands past and the biggest surprise inclusions of this package have to be Brit legends Shy and Tygers Of Pan Tang. The Brummie act have certainly reinvented themselves if this seven-minute demo is anything to go by. Their trademark parp-riddled pub metal seems to have been swapped for a sort of Poley-era Danger Danger-meets Savannah style output, and it works well. Tony Mills also seems to have watered down his voice (only a slight bit) but these changes might do their career more good than bad. The Tygers sound like they've hooked onto modern times a tad, too without defacing it with any nu-metal meanderings.
Danish rockers Sons Of Angels last seen about a decade ago, return out of the blue with a new album on the way. This toon from it, 'Love You Too Much' is amongst my favourites on the two discs combined, alongside the Shy track, the two Danny Danzi tracks, plus the selections from Prophet. The respected New Jersey outfit signed earlier this year and as well as having a new offering out soon, have had two of their earleir albums re-pressed under Z's administration. 'Sound Of A Breaking Heart' is my pick of the two. Arabia, Liddel Rush Thrall and recent Z2001 stars Burning Rain fall amongst the most impressive of the other new acts. Von Groove and recent fellow ex-MTM transfers Jaded Heart more than pay Z their dues here - that killer new Groove CD 'Seventh Day' is out there on a record shop shelf near YOU, don't forget.
21 Guns are the other most significant signs, lately, with their 2nd album 'Nothing's Real' that finally sees a UK release after four years. Be warned, this, the title track may be very impressive but don't expect it to sound like anything like anything off it's great predecessor 'Salute'. And in case you're wandering, yes they have a new singer, and Solli is his name. Prisoner's 'I Don't Wanna' is another top take and was especially enjoyed when they opened their Z-2001 slot with it. The new 24K and Seven Wishes songs both come from 10/10 rated albums. Just sit back and enjoy this comp which as it happens is also rated:
Dave Atrill
RATING 10/10

AOR EUROPE
ROCK THE NATIONS II - The Sequel
Z Records 2002

Rock The Nations II - The Sequel, is a collection of the very best from Europe's number one in Hard Rock. Yep! That's what it reads on the front cover of this 2-CD compilation from Z-Records. Sure, this is indeed a nice bunch of hard rock bands, though I'm not sure if everybody would call this 'hard rock' today.
Then again, who cares what Marilyn Manson, loving pot heads think or say. This is 'our' kind of music and I guess you can either call it Melodic Hardrock or Hardrock. If you're more into the 'hard rock' of Tool or Pantera, you better just get the hell outta' here.
What you get here is double CD with 35 tracks with the 'best' from this English label. For midprice I may add, so it's for sure (!?) value for your money. 'Humanimal' (Talisman) with the song "Turn Away" are for sure, one of the highlights here. It's really something out of the ordinary rock music. Forthcoming albums with 'Shy', 'M2', 'Ace's High' seems to be interesting, according to the rough tracks included here. It's also nice to hear that Swede's and rookies 'Dogpound' are still as enjoyable as I at first believed them to be. [Check out the demo review in our archive] The song "When The World Comes Down" is a hit! Other bands included on this 2-CD compilation are: Rainmaker, Von Groove, Sons Of Angels, 21 Guns, Naro, Amaze me, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Vaughn, Silent Rage, Westworld, Lidell-Rush & Thrall and many, many more. Pretty much a must have if you like to check out some good hardrock at midprice.
Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

AOR EUROPE
MTM Volume 5
MTM 2000

Review by Kimmo Lauttalammi 8-12-00 The latest in the line of MTM samplers, "Volume 5" features the same elements as the previous ones, some tracks from recently released albums, tasters from future releases and those bonustracks that the Japanese fans are spoilt with.
The familiar tracks include material from Alfonzetti, Raine, Joe Lynn Turner, Kharma, 101 South and Shameless. I might as well lump in the Axe and Doug Howard tracks, as those albums are already available too. The tracks are quality MTM stuff, with a lot of variety, from the bluesy rock of Joe Lynn Turner to the glam rock of Shameless.
Onto the tasters...Dogface is mentioned as being a recent album, but as I understand it won't be released this year, so it'll qualify. "Right Between The Lies" is a pounding heavy rocker, while Carl Dixon's "Into The Future" is a bit more AOR'ish, reminding me of Mama's Buys circa "Growing Up The Hard Way". OK, if not an instant classic. Elements Of Friction, the much-hyped supergroup introduce themselves with an excellent cover of Kansas' "One Man, One Heart". Radioactive, the Tommy Denander project are a bit of supergroup as well, with Fergie Frederiksen handling vox on "On My Own", an uptempo track in the best Toto-vein. John Angelina's Amen perform a Beatles cover "Eleanor Rigby", and give it a rather heavy treatment. Not your typical AOR stuff for sure.
The three tracks that will make the completist collectors happy are "Stranger" from House Of Shakira, a good unreleased ballad, and the Japanese bonustracks from Metropolis ("Love And Desire") and Brian McDonald ("Some Hearts").
Some will say that I'm nitpicking here, but I feel that this isn't as strong a compilation as the previous volumes. It's mainly due to the fact that chosen songs from the already released albums aren't always the best choices. What's more, the tasters do not make me as eager to hear the whole albums as the tasters on the previous volumes did (except for Elements Of Friction). But I guess I really am nitpicking, this IS good stuff!
RATING 4/5

MUSICSCENE
MTM Volume 5
(MTM/SPV)

Die unter AOR-Fans nahezu Kultstatus besitzende Serie von MTM-Samplern wird auch mit dem 5.Teil ihrem Ruf gerecht. Insgesamt 16 Songs von Bands des Labels befinden sich auf dem aktuellen Werk, wovon "Love and desire" von Metropolis und "Some hearts" von Brian MacDonald Japan Bonus Stücke darstellen und rund ein Drittel der Nummern als Appetizer für bisher nicht erschienene Alben von Axe, Carl Dixon, Dough Howard of Stun Leer, Elements of Friction, Radioactive und John Angelina’s Amen einen nicht unerheblichen Kaufanreiz darstellen. Zusätzlich befindet sich mit "Strangers" eine bisher unveröffentlichte Nummer von House Of Shakira auf dem Album, worin schon allein deshalb nicht nur Sammler zuschlagen sollten.
Alexander Karapidis

MELODICROCK.COM
MTM 5th ANNIVERSARY
MTM Music

MTM have passed through their 5 year anniversary and have marked it with a celebration compilation release. This release features many of the unobtainable (without great expense) Japanese bonus tracks from the label's recent releases, plus a number of very good exclusive tracks.
Plus, and the best part of all I dare say, is the one track preview of the upcoming Dare album Belief. The track Silent Thunder is as cool as they come - pure AOR.
Adding exclusive new tracks to the compilation is Guild Of Ages (in two different forms!), Doug Howard, Tommy Denander (a cool cover of the Toto track Mad About You) and House Of Shakira's much sought after version of Stone In Love.
Plus the best bonus track that never made the wide release - Kharma's Cold As Ice. Killer blues hard rock in a major Deep Purple style. One of the best AOR compilations out there - get it!
RATING 90/100

AOR WEBSITE
MTM Compilation Vol. 6 "5th anniversary MTM"
(MTM)

The 5th anniversary of MTM is celebrated with a cd filled with yet unreleased in Europe songs and is good also for those who already own each MTM artist.
The start is given by GUILD OF AGES and the nice paced melodic hard rock "Everybody", a little weaker than the song on their recent "Citadel", then there's a brand new song by DARE ("Silent thunder") confirming that Darren Wharton goes on the path of the late "Calm before the storm"
KHARMA and 101 SOUTH won't let you disappointed with the songs on offer and SNAKES IN PARADISE performe a pretty nice semi ballad. JADED HEART show their muscles with the anthemic class rock "Under the sky of Africa" (the first song on the Japanese version of "IV") and STORYTELLER gives us a good time with the
cheerful "She always smiles".
HARLAN CAGE come with their usual pomp rock with "What a fool I've been" and the excellent DOGFACE release "Suicide", a song by Thin Lizzy already on the double tribute cd to Phil Lynott. "Innocent touch" is a semi ballad by ELEMENTS OF FRICTION and I'm still of the opinion that Robin McAuley doesn't fit EOF at all!
"Back in the life" has been reasonably left off the debut solo album by DOUG HOWARD and is the weakest song of this compilation. TOMMY DENANDER and his RADIOACTIVE play a cover of "Mad about you" (from Toto's "Mindfields") and I'm really curious to know more about FUEGOS DEL MUNDO that have recorded a song "If I loose this feeling" that mixes AOR and Santana. HOUSE OF SHAKIRA are graced with two songs, that are the tough AOR "Wish to survive" and a strong live version of Journey's "Stone in love".
There are surely moments of great interest, but maybe nothing you can live without.

STRUTTER + UNDERTOW
MTM ROCK RADIO HITS + MTM 5TH ANNIVERSARY'
(MTM MUSIC)

Both these releases primarily showcase the labels AOR and melodic rock artists. The first release "Radio Hits" features a variety of songs from bands that your already familiar such as Jimmy Lawrence (what happened to him?), Metropolis, Rick Springfield, David Carl Band, Bad Habit, Jaded Heart etc..
One suprise was new AOR outfit SVEN BUSH who performs a stunning melodic ballad called 'Faith' which is similar to French solo artist Garou. Overall "R.R.H" offers nothing new to die hards, but for new fans who haven't heard any of the aforementioned artists, this is a good place to start, however I'd sooner point you in the direction of the labels "Anniversary Compilation" which is much better as it features some great unreleased material from Guild Of Ages, Dare, Kharma, House Of Shakira, Storyteller etc...
The Dare song 'Silent Thunder' is superb and features lovely Celtic influences and superb melodies, this song takes us back to the style of Dare's debut "Out Of The Silence" and acts as a teaser for their fourthcoming new album which on the strength of this beauty will be a killer.Another killer unreleased AOR track is the brilliant 'Corey' from Michael Morales, and so is new band Fuegos Del Mundo. This band show Latin influences and this song is dead catchy, the vocal harmonies are pure AOR and this album is gonna blow the AOR brigades socks off. Lend an ear to Prisoner's Tommy Denander who has recorded a decent cover of TOTO's 'Mad About You' which is pretty good.
As compilations go "The Anniversary Comp" is the pick of the two, simply because most of the unreleased tracks are some of the best songs these bands have done. Oh and don't forget to check out House Of Shakira's fantastic cover of Journey's classic 'Stone In Love'....
Nicky Baldrian
RATING : - ROCK RADIO : - 7/10
RATING : - ANNIVERSARY COMP : - 8.5/10

MIDWESTERN SKIES
MTM MUSIC "Volume 7"
2001 (MTM Music)

MTM has released their 7th compilation with couple of interesting forthcoming releases. The track from Snakes In Paradise "Fire & Rain" is really good and it makes me looking forward to their new album. Loud n Clear´s "Tell Me Why" is a awesome song that is a mixture of the debut albums from Brett Walker and Michael Morales. The new album from these guys will be a superb album if rest of the tracks are as good as this one. Jaded Heart delivers a very typical rocker that we have heard from this guys before. Nice but nothing more. One of the latest acts on MTM is Wicked Sensation that gives us good melodic hardrock in the veins of Axxis, Shylock and Fair Warning. The unreleased track from Denander/Ronning called "Burnin" is OK. This is a song that a guy named Cue had a big hit in Sweden couple of years ago. Well this is a good compilation with few surprises.
Juha Harjula

ON THE ROCKS
MTM Music "Volume 7“
(MTM/SPV)

Playing time: 71:33 min.
Featured acts: WICKED SENSATION / DARE / JOE LYNN TURNER / SNAKES IN PARADISE / KING KOBRA / DENANDER & RÖNNING / SHYLOCK / LOUD’N’CLEAR / GUILD OF AGES / RADIOACTIVE / AXE / JADED HEART / A.C.T. / TARAXACUM / CIRCLE OF PAIN

Tracklist:
1. Stand Tall
2. Where Will You Run To
3. Eye For An Eye
4. Fire & Rain
5. Do It
6. Burnin’
7. Lovers In Chains
8. Tell Me Why
9. Wicked Games
10. Crimes Of Passion
11. The Crown
12. Kid Is Going Demo
13. Take It Easy
14. Believe In You
15. Winter Sun

The same each year! As the end of the year draws near, MTM Music once again present a compilation CD which features a mixture of highlights from the year, some tracks from forthcoming albums and previously unreleased songs. Since I assume that the most of you are already familiar with the available albums from acts like DARE, AXE, GIULD OF AGES or CIRCLE OF PAIN, I want to confine myself to the previously unreleased material on “MTM Music – Volume 7”. WICKED SENSATION’s “Stand Tall” is a very good appetizer taken from their forthcoming album “Reflected”. Due to the awesome vocals of Robert Soeterboek (AYREON) the mid-tempo rocker sounds similar to WHITESNAKE, though the songwriting and production are a little more Melodic Metal oriented. The demo version of “Fire & Rain” from SNAKES IN PARADISE’s third effort “Break The Barrier” really has you hungering for more. The song features a great hookline but can’t deny its similarities with WHITESNAKE at the times of “Slip Of The Tongue”. “Burnin’” is an unreleased demo from the duo Tommy Denander and Geir Rönning who you know by their work with RADIOACTIVE, PRISONER and RAINMAKER. “Burnin’” is a very softly instrumentated Westcoast ballad which suffers a little bit from the lack of a big production. Nevertheless Geir Rönning’s emotional and powerful vocals are a real treat! “Tell Me Why” is another demo taken from LOUD’N’CLEAR’s forthcoming debut “Disc-Connected” which reminds me a little bit of a more commercial and catchier issue of ENUFF Z’NUFF. Undoubtedly a good song, but I hope the album will include a few harder tunes than this. JADED HEART’s “Kid Is Going Down” gives a fortaste of their next album “The Journey Will Never End”. It’s a solid and typical JADED HEART rocker with excellent vocals by Michael Bormann, though the band has already written stronger songs than this. The last previously unreleased track is an acoustic version of TARAXACUM’s “Believe In You”. Their debut “Spirit Of Freedom” didn’t overly impress me, but this acoustic version has real class! In particular because Rick Mythiasin’s high vocals fit perfectly with the soft acoustic guitars and the symphonically arranged keyboards and background vocals. This version would have been a real enrichment for “Spirit Of Freedom”. All in all “MTM Music – Volume 7” is a good compilation which is worth its money, though it is not as strong as the MTM 5th Anniversay CD.
MUSIC: 79 % PRODUCTION: 68 - 85 % PRESENTATION: 66 %

ROLAND'S WORLD OF PROG
MTM-Music - Volume 7

Und ein weiterer Sampler mit netten Melodic-Rock-Songs der Bands, die bei Herrn Hässler unter Vertrag sind. Netter Querschnitt der aktuellen (und bald kommenden) Alben von u.a. Dare, Joe Lynn Turner, King Kobra, Guild of Ages, Radioactive, Axe usw. usw.

ROLAND'S WORLD OF PROG
MTM-Music - Volume 8

Auch im Jahr 2002 beglückt uns das Deutsch-Schwedische Label MTM Music mit einer Compilation seiner Bands. Und die passende Balladen-CD wird sicher vor Weihnachten noch folgen. Ganz gut bis klasse sind die Songs von 'Hughes Turner Project', 'Rondinelli' und 'Radioactive' (hier gibt's z.B. den Japan-Bonus-Track von der 'Ceremony Of Innocence -CD)'. Der Rest ist typisch MTM, also mittelklassiger bis ganz netter Melodic Rock. Und die Bands die bei MTM unter Vertrag sind, werden immer unbekannter.

REVELATIONZ
MTM Compilation volume 8

This compilation features the latest MTM releases and some unreleased tracks.
On this site you will find full reviews of Hughes Turner Project, Rondenelli, Street Talk, Chalice and Affair. So I encourage you to go read the full reviews. Therefore this review will concentrate on some of the other artists on this compilation.
Top track is Jeff Northup's collaboration with Paul Shortino on The Kid is Back in Town. The song was also included on Paul Shortino's album "Back on Track". Jeff Northrup has a unique playing style and his playing can also be heard on the forthcoming XYZ release. XYZ have reformed with Jeff Northrup as lead guitarist and Sean McNabb handling the bass playing on the album. The rough mix of Tango is sounding pretty groovy and I expect a great comeback album.
Biloxi seem unaffected by their 9-year album break. Biloxi picks up where they left with their album "Let the Games Begin". Ignition is a Swedish newcomer band and the pre-taste Fire with Fire sounds promising for the forthcoming album. Moreover, there are respectable tracks from Loud & Clear, Token and Crystal Blue.
This compilation gives a great overview of the MTM artists. If you want to be updated on the Melodic/Hard Rock scene this compilation is perfect. If you dig some of the artists then remember to buy the full albums.
Michael

STRUTTER
MTM MUSIC VOLUME 8'
(MTM MUSIC/SUBURBAN)

The German label MTM MUSIC has released volume 8 of it's compilation discs. This disc is filled with 16 songs, of which 12 have already been released on the CD by the performing artist/band. Nevertheless, this CD is a nice collection of great songs by bands like BILOXI, HIRSH GARDNER, RADIOACTIVE, ETERNAL FLAME, LOUD'N'CLEAR, TOKEN and STREET TALK. But the real interest goes out to the 4 unreleased songs. XYZ is featured with the song "Tango", a weak groovy Hardrocksong, I hope their new CD scheduled for early next year is better. Much better are the songs by the Swedish bands IGNITION and CRYSTAL BLUE. IGNITION's song "Fire with fire" is a great strong semi melodic rockballad a la JADED HEART. CRYSTAL BLUE has already released 2 CDs about 10 years ago, but is now working on a re-start with a new CD release on MTM early next year. The previewed song here is the great semi AOR ballad "Someone". Last but not least is the Swedish performer MIKAEL ERLANDSSON, and his song "Excuse me baby" is a good midtempo melodic poprocker that sounds a bit modern (not unlike BON JOVI/BRYAN ADAMS). So, a few promising releases for next year (IGNITION and CRYSTAL BLUE) and further another nice compilation of great quality AOR/Melodic Rock from MTM MUSIC.
Gabor Kleinbloesem

AOR WEBSITE
MTM Music "Volume 8"
(MTM Music)

The now usual ‘Volume’ now with 16 songs, ten out of which (by Rondinelli, Biloxi, Hirsh Gardner, Street Talk, Eternal Flame, Affair, Chalice, Loud & Clear, Token and JK Northrup) are taken from the albums you already know; "Against The Wall" didn’t appear on recente live by Hughes Turner Project and "Remember My Coscience" was out of Radioactive’s "Ceremony Of Innocence".
So four are the previews of the next MTM’s releases. The first one is a temporary mix of "Tango" by XYZ, a rough heavy rock quite far from what the band did years ago. Then let’s go with Swedish bands Ignition (with song "Fire With Fire") and Crystal Blue (with "Someone") both featured with two Scandinavian semi, catchy and perfectly performed, with hints of Jaded Heart and Bad Habit in the choruses and in songwriting, but I do wish the official release will have a better and ‘fatter’ sound than the one here on offer. Last but least is "Excuse Me Baby" by Mikael Erlandsson, a delightful mid tempo close to pop rock with ‘moderne’ influences. Nothing about Diving For Pearls, it’s time to get worried?

MELODIC JOURNEY
MTM Music Vol 8
MTM / SPV

Runde 8 für das Münchener Label und dessen Samplerreihe. Wie bereits die 7 Vorgänger kann auch die achte Ausgabe des MTM-Samplers wieder mit einer Reihe neuen, bis dato unveröffentlichten Tracks als auch mit einigen Highlights der letzten Releases aufwarten und überzeugt dabei einmal mehr. Bereits erhältlichen Sachen etwa von Hughes/Turner, Rondinelli, Street Talk, Radioactive, Eternal Flame, Affair, Chalice... stehen mit Mikael Erlandsson, Ignition, Hirsh Gardner, XYZ, Biloxi und Crystal Blue gleichwertige Gegner gegenüber, von denen vor allem Biloxi und Crystal Blue mit ihren Beiträgen zwei der Highlights dieser Scheibe darstellen. Mehr gibt´s eigentlich dazu fast schon nicht mehr zu sagen, außer dass sich diese Zusammenstellung mal wieder alleine schon durch die wahrscheinlich günstige Preisgestaltung beim Händler deines Vertrauens lohnen wird.
Stefan Koller
NOTE: 7,5    Sound: 7

ROCK REPORT
MTM Music Volume 8
2002 MTM Music

For anyone who can’t afford to buy most of MTM Music’s releases, here’s “Volume 8” of their ongoing compilation series, which always hit the streets at the end of the year. 12 of the album’s tracks are known from recent releases, but what makes this compilation really interesting is the inclusion of 4 tracks, taken from forthcoming albums that will be released at the beginning of next year. Those tracks are printed in bold! Track listing: Against The Wall (HTP), Naughty Dragon (Rondinelli), Listen (Biloxi), Tango (XYZ), Wasteland For Broken Hearts (Hirsh Gardner), Hare And Hounds (Street Talk), Remember My Conscience (Radioactive), Fire With Fire (Ignition), King Of The King (Eternal Flame), No Substitute (Affair), Leave You Tonight (Châlice), Tell Me Why (Loud & Clear), Shine On (Token), The Kid Is Back In Town (J.K. Northrup), Excuse Me Baby (Mikael Erlandsson), Someone (Crystal Blue). The price for best new song goes to Crystal Blue’s “Someone”. Buy several copies of this compilation and give them away during the holidays.
review by CL
RATING 5/6

ROCK AREA
MTM Music Vol. 8
MTM Music

Munich's MTM Music now offer their 8th own label compilation which offers lots of cool stuff from recent releases such as RADIOACTIVE, BILOXI, HTP, RONDINELLI, ETERNAL FLAME, AFFAIR, LOUD & CLEAR and CHALICE amongst other, but also some cool unreleased tracks from forthcoming releases including artists such as the re-reunited, these days very modern sounding XYZ, MIKAEL ERLANDSON, CRYSTAL BLUE and INGNITION which all make hungry for more. Over-all, this compilation is worth checking out for people who would like to get a great over-view about MTM's latest stuff but also for people who already have some of their latest releases since the unreleased tracks are all great pieces of melodic hard rock and worth the money alone.

ON THE ROCKS
MTM Music - Volume 8
(MTM)

Playing time: 70:32 min.
Featured acts: HUGHES/TURNER PROJECT, RONDINELLI, BILOXI, XYZ, HIRSH GARDNER, STREET TALK, RADIOACTIVE, IGNITION, ETERNAL FLAME, AFFAIR, CHALICE, LOUD’N’CLEAR, TOKEN, J.K. NORTHRUP, MIKAEL ERLANDSON, CRYSTAL BLUE

Recommended:
“Tango”: This very well produced rough mix version is an appetizer from the highly anticipated XYZ comeback album. The song is a surprisingly heavy and very tight mid-tempo rocker of which vocal lines have a slight Modern Rock twist. Not classic XYZ, but definitely a cool song that makes us HUNGRY for more!
“Fire With Fire”: If this song is a indicator of the quality of IGNITION’s upcoming debut album then we can look forward to a excellent Melodic Hard Rock album! “Fire With Fire” captures us with its highly matured songwriting and instantly igniting chorus that thrills from the first cymbal crash!
“Excuse Me Baby”: A very promising song from Mikael Erlandson’s third album “The Gift”. If you can imagine a Melodic Rock version of THE REMBRANDTS then you have a very good idea of how this song would sound. While the verses are pretty relaxed and unobtrusive, the chorus is simply irresistible and pure ear candy!
“Someone”: A song from CRYSTAL BLUE’s third album. MTM are still negotiating with the band and we can only hope that they can sign them to their label since “Someone” is a superb Melodic Rock track that combines the finest elements of TREAT, SWEDISH EROTICA and early CASANOVA!
Summary:
The yearly “MTM Music” compilations already have tradition. One more time the label has put together a very interesting mix of already released highlights and previously unreleased material. No need to say that the material from acts like the HUGHES/TURNER PROJECT, BILOXI, STREET TALK or LOUD’N’CLEAR is first-class and must be checked out by every Hard Rock and Melodic Rock fan! Nevertheless, it is the very strong songs from the upcoming albums of XYZ, IGNITION, CRYSTAL BLUE and Mikael Erlandson which make it a necessity to get this album. It seems that MTM have some really great albums in the can for 2003!
RATING: 89 % PRODUCTION: 85 %

AOR EUROPE
MTM ROCK BALLADS: "Thomas Hässler Presents: We Care"
MTM Music 2001

"Against terrorism for the benefit of all innocent victims" Now here´s something we all can relate to!!! 9-11 [2001] will forever be remembered as the day of horror! I must admit that I couldn't believe my own two eyes... watching the two planes crash into the twin towers of World Trade Center on TV... was like watching a film or something from another planet. Unbelievable... but sadly, oh so true.
MTM records co-owner and one of Germany´s finest soccer player Thomas Hässler (the capital T in MTM) presents Rock Ballads "We Care". A double CD where all the artists have acted spontaneously to come together and donate their rock ballads for this beneficial album. Further more, the info sheets informs you that proceeds from the sales will be donated to Germany´s charity fond "Hilfe for die terroropfer 11 September" (help for the terror victims).
With an impressive lineup consisting of: Bad Habit, Dare, Metropolis, Kharma, Radioactive, Think Out Loud, Axe, Joe Lynn Turner, David Carl Band, Public Domain, Harlan Cage, Sunshine Jive, Ransom, CITA, 101 South, Sven Busch, Snakes & Paradise, Brian McDonald, Von Groove, Fergie Frederiksen, Velocity, Fiore, RTZ, Jaded Heart, Jimmy Lawrence, Michael Morales, House Of Shakira, Doug Howard, Elements Of Friction, Danger Danger and Circle Of Pain is this a reason as good as any to donate some of your money to the innocent victims, and most of all... to "fight back" terrorism. Enough said, action speaks louder than words...
Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

ROLAND'S WORLD OF PROG
MTM-Music - Rock Ballads

Zugunsten der unschuldigen Opfer des Terror-Anschlags in New York und Washington hat die Plattenfirma von Thomas Hässler (MTM-Music) eine Doppel-CD mit Rock-Balladen (von Künstlern, die bei MTM unter Vertrag sind) herausgebracht. Dare, Radioactive, Axe, Joe Lynn Turner, Harlan Cage, Cita, Fergie Frederiksen, RTZ, House of Shakira und Danger Danger sind unter anderem darauf vertreten. Erstaunlich ist, daß bei einem Verkaufspreis von 19,99 DM (für eine Doppel-CD) noch ein Erlös herauskommt. Da frage ich mich doch, warum ich z.T. für eine Einzel-CD über 30.- DM zahlen muss. Auf jeden Fall ein prima Sampler, wenn auch der Anlass für diese Veröffentlichung nicht erfreulich ist.

ASAPROD
MTM Music
Rock Ballads "We Care" (2001)
(MTM Records / M10)

Le 11 Septembre 2001 a été une date qui a boulversé le monde. Thomas HASSLER, l'un des dirigeants de MTM (Le "T", c'est lui) a décidé d'aider l'Amérique à sa façon. En sortant une compilation de ballades issues du catalogue de MTM dont l'intégralité des bénéfices iront à des oeuvres caritatives qui viennent en aides aux victimes et leur famille.
Cette initiative est louable et débouche sur une double compilation comportant pas moins de 31 ballades. Pourquoi des ballades et bien je pense que le sieur Thomas a pensé que cela serait plus porteur, et il doir avoir raison. On revisite ainsi le catalogue de MTM de CAPTIVE HEART à CIRCLE OF PAIN en passant par PUBLIC DOMAIN, RANSOM, BAD HABIT, DARE, KHARMA ou encore JADED HEART ou RADIOACTIVE. Pas d'inédits ni de bonus japonais mais juste une collection de titres déjà présents sur les albums sortis.
Alors si vous vous sentez solidaires des victimes des attentats du 11 Septembre et que vous voulez passez près de 2h30 blotti contre l'être aimé, foncez !! Sinon ....
Luc
Note Générale : 4/5
Genre : AOR
Production : 4/5