In Color

Swedish melodic prog metal band Cullooden is the latest band to emerge from the Roastinghouse management stable.  Their debut, Silent Scream, sits nicely besides bands like Circus Maximus, Withem, and Seventh Wonder.  Strong anthem-like vocal harmonies permeate the album.  Plenty of nice soloing throughout the album.  Keys are featured but the real star of the show is the guitar work.  Highly recommended."If I have to put on a specific metal sticker on this debut album, it has to be something like this: Modern, melodic metal with big jagged shards of prog metal/rock. This Swedish trio in Cullooden is giving us a disc, which is very technical and at the same time it's a very melodic album. 'Silent Scream' is a metallic gold bar. It contains adult, progressive metal tracks played with ultra strong harmonies and Cullooden is fronted by one of the strongest and widest new rock voices I've heard in a long time.Fredrik Joakimsson owns the talented voice, and he handles the highest tones just as perfect as in the harsher and darker tunes. I hear musical influences that reminds me of Dream Theather or maybe even more from their compatriots in the magnificent progressive metal band Seventh Wonder and the Norwegians in Circus Maximus.Cullooden is not another beginner's project, which has released a 'quick shot' album, nope they knew what they were going to record on 'Silent Scream' and the songs are so overwhelmingly worked through both musically and lyrically. The album is also extremely well produced. I have to stick my neck out and say that it is perfectly produced, there is absolutely nothing to complaint about.What attracts my interest a little more than normally is the elegant flirts with the melodic hard rock, like in 'Our Only Desire' and in 'An Interesting Fact', which are some of my favorite tracks on this album. The heavy bass rhythms are pressing in the background, but it's easy listening and melodic nonetheless. The quality rhythmic metal that has been mixed with the progressive tones becomes an insanely congenial overall impression. Every track has it's own personality and I've used much of my time to sort this album in and out and my final conclusion is this: A new shining progressive metal star is appearing on the metal heaven and it's called Cullooden!'Silent Scream' will most likely be played over and over again for a long, long time to come when I want life-inspiration or just want to hear at succulent melodic metal or world-class quality prog metal. I love it!The album is recommended for most metal fans, although the melodic/progressive metal fans will most likely worship this masterful album release!" - Power Of Metal

"This is a classic live album by my all-time favorite rock band. It includes many of the band's classics from their three successive classic rock albums "Infinity" (1978), "Evolution" (1979), and "Departure" (1980). Needless to say for any true Journey fan, these songs sound great live.Many of these performances go far beyond the studio versions. Take the jam that comes out of "Walks Like A Lady"--a 3-minute song that turns into 7 minutes live. Songs like "Line Of Fire", "Feeling That Way", "Anytime", and "Wheel In The Sky" absolutely rock. The inclusion of the live track "Dixie Highway" and the new (at the time of release) studio track "The Party's Over (Hopelessly In Love) are also fantastic.This is what a live album should be. The crowd is very prevalent throughout the album, and the interaction between the band and the crowd is left unedited in many spots. Clearly, this band was as special live as they were on their studio albums. (They still are, by the way, as I just saw the current lineup at "The Big E" in Massachusetts on September 29th--their last show of this year's tour.) This is a fantastic live album of some of the best classic rock of a generation. Highly recommended."

Remastered with 3 bonus tracks."Electric Light Orchestra continued on their winning Top 40 ways with the release of Discovery. Now pared down to the basic four-piece unit, Jeff Lynne continued to dominate the band and they still got their hits (this time around it was the smash "Don't Bring Me Down"). Elsewhere on the disc there was, of note, "Last Train to London" and "Confusion." Though Discovery charted well, it was becoming obvious that ELO were starting to run themselves out of useful Beatles hooks with which to fuel their hit-making machine." - Allmusic

After a 10 year absence Enchant are back.  The band started in 1993 making them one of the earliest prog metal band.  Actually they are sort of an interesting band in that they seem to exist in both the prog rock and prog metal realms.  Some metal fans think of them as a bit lightweight and some prog rock fans think they are too heavy!  One thing is for sure they are wildly successful.  This is definitely prog but it never loses sight of the melody.  Fronted by the great Ted Leonard (who is now doing double duty with Spock's Beard) this one is a no-brainer - whether you are metal or prog head.  "irst impressions are the similarities to Spock’s Beard. Hardly surprising since Ted Leonard has been singing with them since 2011. He’s been with Enchant longer; their first CD came out in 1993. And familiarity doesn’t breed contempt here, fortunately.Bay area progressive rockers, they steer a straight course composing guitar-structured songs that they extemporise over. Guitarist Douglas A Ott is also the band’s main producer, with The Great Divide having been recorded at his own studio, but if in the past the band’s followed his direction they’re now more involved after a ten year gap working on other projects. Also, while integral, Ott doesn’t dominate Enchant’s sound but flows in and out adding a hard rock bias to their generic musical flavouring. Drummer/percussionist Sean Flanegan and bassist Ed Platt have the solidity of early Kansas and musically there are some pretty snazzy and often too brief keyboard solos from Bill Jenkins.A rolling cyclical bass line forms the basis of opening number ‘Circles’ with Leonard pondering life going round well, like a circle – while the lyrics aren’t profound they feel right and though this isn’t a concept album, despite the band stating otherwise, there are common themes concerning the human condition in a loosely existential manner. Mainly straight verse and choruses ‘Circles’ breaks out into more complicated time signatures before an acoustic comes to the fore, vocals return, an electric guitar take over and it concludes with a nicely warm keyboard solo. ‘Within An Inch’ follows with a steady rock backbeat over which Ott’s playing echoes Camel’s Andy Latimer interrupted briefly by some John Ellis punk-styled sirening. ‘The Great Divide’ follows suit in a more epic manner, the arrangement akin to Genesis in their golden period.Enchant don’t play with the fairies, despite what their name suggests. If anything they’re two steps removed from an AOR sound leaning in towards early Asia with some latter day Beatles thrown in, and a less grandiose take on Spock’s Beard. One might refer to them as technically proficient rather than emotionally overwrought, meaning there is a heartfelt flavour to their songs, and they tend to grow on you.The subdued opening to ‘Life In A Shadow’ throws a brief curveball echoing the Canterbury sound of Hatfield & The North before a heavy chorded chorus takes this into a rocking tune with soulful harmonies. ‘Deserve To Feel’ pours on the technical drumming and dribbling triplet bass figures with some flashy pyrotechnics predominantly on guitar but with keen keyboard flourishes, moving into a more intricate musical score as Jenkins and Ott trade inspired lines towards its conclusion. Likewise, ‘Here And Now’ builds reflectively moving towards emotional drama.Finely composed, played well, Enchant’s The Great Divide might not have you falling under its spell, but you may well be surprised how you find yourself being drawn to playing it." - The Midland Rocks

Their first real prog effort. Killer keyboard excursions in an ELP vein.Japanese import.

"Considered to be the some of their finest work since Agents of Fortune , this flight of dark fantasy, which includes the Top 40 hit, Burnin' for You , will satisfy the souls of Cult fans everywhere!"