The union of ex-Whitesnake men Micky Moody and Neil Murray with powerhouse vocalist Chris Ousey, Wishbone Ash guitarist Laurie Wisefield and Thunder skinsman Gary ‘Harry’ James was always likely to create a strong band unit. Under the name Snakecharmer, their debut collaboration – along with keyboard player Adam Wakeman – served as concrete proof. Since the album pushed all the right buttons and a little more, their live show was probably going to be equally as solid; and when Snakecharmer played a one-off show at the Islington Assembly Hall in London, a gathering of classic rock fans got to experience the then still relatively new gathering of old friends first hand.
Tag Archives: rock
DIAMOND DAWN – Overdrive
Sometimes it feels as if half of Sweden were raised on Journey and Survivor and in AOR terms have chosen to keep the dream alive (to borrow a phrase from an old Now & Then Records sampler) with their own punchy melodic rock bands. For those who’ve enjoyed the melodic rock and AOR over several decades, quite understandably, many of these bands have felt somewhat “second division” (and most of those in turn have seemingly signed to Escape Music). There have, however, been a couple of bands whose early works could stand proudly against releases from AOR’s eighties heyday. Both Work Of Art and Wigelius have wowed genre buffs with their near perfect records between 2010 and 2012; joining them in the early part of 2013 is Gothenberg’s Diamond Dawn, whose debut release ‘Overdrive’ is rather splendid.
Snakecharmer release new video for ‘Accident Prone’
Melodic rockers Snakecharmer have issued a new promo clip for their song ‘Accident Prone’ which can be viewed below.
The band – comprising of ex-members of Whitesnake, Thunder, Wishbone Ash and Heartland – release their debut album on 28th January. [Read a review here]
The band are also playing an album launch show at Islington Assembly Hall on February 23rd.
SARACEN – Marilyn
Saracen have been making music since the 80s, and their debut album ‘Heroes, Saints and Fools’ saw the band lumped in with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. They disappeared during the 90s and resurfaced with a fourth album in 2006. That album, ‘Vox In Excelsio’ was released by the UK melodic rock label Escape Music, who also reissued some of Saracen’s earlier work.
The band’s 2011 project is an adventurous work – a musical tribute to the life and work of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe featuring a selection of guest vocalists, including Robin Beck in the lead role. Before we even begin to look at the merits of the music, however, the sleeve art must be bought into question. Yes, it looks like the artwork on so many other Escape Music releases, but that’s not the real issue. The big problem here is its suitability: who decided a knight’s crest and Saracen helmet (adorned with the “s” from the band’s logo) would be suitable packaging for a concept album about Marilyn Monroe?!! There must have been literally hundreds of other far more suitable artwork designs out there.
JUDAS PRIEST – Sad Wings Of Destiny
Judas Priest’s debut album, 1974’s ‘Rocka Rolla’ hints at a potentially very talented band, but is ultimately let down by some plodding arrangements and somewhat leaden production values. Everything about Priest’s second album, ‘Sad Wings of Destiny’ (issued by Gull Records in 1976) is in a completely different league, right down to the fantastic album artwork (‘Fallen Angels’ painted by Patrick Woodroffe).