At the end of 2012, UK melodic prog rockers The Room released their debut album ‘Open Fire’. Its mix of pompy melodic rock with proggy flourishes really struck a chord with some listeners and in the live setting, the band really excelled. Their level of professionalism was hardly surprising given the seasoned musicians involved (vocalist Martin Wilson and guitarist Steve Anderson had previous links with Grey Lady Down), but it was also good to hear a bigger focus on chorus based material, even if the band sometimes insisted on keeping a strong hold onto epic track lengths.
Tag Archives: melodic rock
THE ROOM – Open Fire
In the 1990s, British progressive rockers Grey Lady Down released a few very enjoyable discs. Their second album, ‘Forces’, is one of the best cult releases of the era, chock full of fine music. With his slightly warbly vocal style, Martin Wilson often found himself in the “acquired taste” category, but if nothing else, his performances always made GLD’s work instantly recognisable.
SHAFT OF STEEL – Shaft Of Steel EP
In an age where so many melodic rock discs seem to suffer from average production values, it’s a pleasure when one comes along that sounds almost as sharp as those great releases from the late 80s. Although only an EP, this debut release from London based Shaft of Steel is a bright and shiny affair where everything crunches in the way melodic rock always should, with its four songs delivered with plenty of enthusiasm.
THE V – Now Or Never
Veronica “The V” Freeman will be familar to some as the vocalist with power metallers Benedictum, a US/Euro outfit who often favour bombast over decent songs. Her first solo release, 2015’s ‘Now Or Never’ (released via Frontiers Records, home of the previous two Benedictum discs) retains a fair amount of heaviness, but brings in a much welcome melodic element. The dozen featured numbers hark back to the days of classic eighties sounding metal, with tunes regularly casting Freeman in a Doro Pesche-esque mould.
REVOLUTION ROAD – Revolution Road
Snakes In Paradise, a Swedish band with an unhealthy Whitesnake obsession, released two rather fine albums back in the early-mid 90s. A self-titled/self released disc in 1993 set the bands bluesy AOR stall out for all to see, before a follow up ‘Garden of Eden’ [released on the now defunct MTM Music label] offered much more of the same a couple of years on, with a slightly bigger budget and increased confidence. The band were great at what they did and a good proportion of that greatness laid in the hands of vocalist Stefan Berggren, a man with a confident and natural delivery carrying more than a hint of Europe’s Joey Tempest in his style. SIP were never going to make the world think differently about big eighties rock sounds, but they gained a loyal fan base. Berggren’s talent had not gone unnoticed: after the demise of his own band, he was invited to become vocalist with Company of Snakes, a classic hard rock vehicle for ex-Whitesnake men Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden.