The word supergroup can sometimes be overused, even applied to bands whom seem nothing of the sort, but Frontiers signings Phantom 5 fall squarely into that category, with every member having already made a name for themselves as part of a German melodic rock band. Vocalist Claus Lessmann will be best known to most as a founder member of Bonfire; Michael Voss recorded as a member of Demon Drive before joining Bonfire and touring with Michael Schenker; drummer Axel Kruse scored previous accolades with the much loved Jaded Heart and guitarist Robby Boebel first found fame as a member of the brilliant Frontline. That line-up alone would stand Phantom 5 in good stead with regard to past experience and future potential, but the addition of ex-Scorpions bassist Francis Buchholz is the icing on the Euro cake. In terms of German melodic rock line ups – short of including of Matthias Jabs – you’d be hard pressed to find a better band of brüders.
Tag Archives: frontiers records
DRIVE, SHE SAID – Pedal To The Metal
Mark Mangold is an AOR legend. He first made waves as a member of American Tears, but for most AOR fans, will be better known as a member of melodic rockers Touch, makers of one the best early 80s rock discs and openers of the very first Donington Monsters of Rock Festival. That performance might now be better known for Touch’s bassist/vocalist having an incident with a bee, but it meant the band’s place in the rock history books was secured. Following Touch’s premature split, Mangold worked with Michael Bolton and eventually teamed up with vocalist Al Fristch to form Drive, She Said in 1989. In their original lifespan, the band recorded three very enjoyable melodic rock discs. The following years saw Mangold carving out a solo career, playing with other short lived bands and also sporadically reforming Drive, She Said. Say what you like, but you can’t say he hasn’t been busy.
KHYMERA – The Grand Design
Khymera are an example of a band with a fairly fluid existence. Originally formed as a project for Italian musician Daniele Liverani and sometime Kansas man Steve Walsh, they gained a following despite not always being as impressive as Walsh’s Streets, or hitting the highs of another band from the Kansas family tree, the mighty Seventh Key. Walsh only appeared on the debut LP, subsequently handing lead vocal duties over to Pink Cream 69 man Dennis Ward for the next two releases – works that seemed well respected within the AOR community.
BLOOD RED SAINTS – Speedway
Vocalist Pete Godfrey first came to the attention of the melodic rock community as frontman of the short-lived (but very promising) In Faith. Realising that being part of a full band would have better career prospects, he formed Blood Red Saints with Rob Naylor (previously of Angels Or Kings) and then enlisted the talents of Gary Hughes’s sometime guitarist Lee Revill. The result is a debut album with some hugely enjoyable melodic hard rock tunes – tunes that constantly hark back to the golden age of 1985-1989 – which should very much appeal to a cross-section of melodic rock buffs.
MAGNUS KARLSSON’S FREE FALL – Kingdom Of Rock
Back in 2013 Magnus Karlsson released an album entitled ‘Free Fall‘, a disc of hard rock collaborations with various guest vocalists that yielded mixed results. Mixed, maybe, but when those collaborations worked, in terms of classic hard rock, they hit the spot.