King Kobra’s 2011 comeback disc turned its back completely on the brilliant AOR sounds that filled the grooves of the band’s 1985 classic ‘Thrill of a Lifetime’, preferring instead to indulge in shameless musical chest-beating and overly macho clichés. Overall, it wasn’t as bad as 1988’s absolute stinker ‘King Kobra III’, but it represented a far cry from their best work. Although it is their sixth release, they’ve chosen to call their 2013 outing ‘King Kobra II’, since it clearly picks up the mantle where the self titled record ended, pairing the band’s founding members with ex-Rough Cutt vocalist Paul Shortino for more leather-based party rock anthems.
Tag Archives: frontiers records
MAGNUS KARLSSON – Free Fall
Swedish guitarist Magnus Karlsson will be familiar to some rock fans as a collaborator on Jorn Lande and Russell Allen’s trilogy of albums, having lent some meaty musical chops to the works of those powerhouse vocalists. ‘Free Fall’ – Karlsson’s solo debut – follows in the melodic power metal tradition, with a roll call of impressive vocal talents helping to breathe life into his material, as well as some killer lead guitar work throughout.
DE LA CRUZ – Street Level
There have been some great bands exported from Australisia over the decades. Crowded House have blessed us with near-perfect and often very thoughtful pop; Cold Chisel raised the bar for no-nonsense rock ‘n’ roll; Peter Garrett and Midnight Oil proved – perhaps more than any of their American counterparts – that hard rock and politics can go hand in hand and still shift millions of units. Something UK and US audiences rarely associated with the southern hemispheres is sleaze/glam rock. Frontiers signings De La Cruz are here to help fly that flag.
PLAYER – Too Many Reasons
Those of a certain age should already be familiar with some of Player’s previous work, since the pop-rockers scored a huge US hit in 1978 with ‘Baby Come Back’, a track which even entered the UK chart peaking just inside the top 40. In their 70s heyday, the band toured with Heart, Boz Scaggs and even scored a place as support band for the slightly worse-for-wear Eric Clapton on his ‘Slowhand’ tour.
PINK CREAM 69 – Ceremonial
When Pink Cream 69 first appeared in the 80s, their brand of Germanic hard rock found an instant audience in Europe. Over the years, working through various line-up changes, the band have soldiered on, intermittently issuing albums in the melodic rock/melodic metal vein, but in the UK and US, never really gained more than a cult audience or that necessary shift from seeming like a second division band.