Reviews

VALENTINE..'LOVE LIKE GOLD'

(Sony) Reviewed 31st October 2010

Valentine is a ravishing young singer songwriter and pianist from German who is endorsed by Sir Paul McCartney (you know, the cheeky one in that Liverpudlian beat combo that had a few hits) who said “This girl is amazing”, I tend to agree my old Macca. She has released two previous albums but this is the first on the mighty Sony label and it sees a complete change of style away from the piano ballads that dominate these earlier works. This is lush orchestral keyboard pop, akin to Madonna’s ‘Ray of Light’, Katie Melua’s ‘The House’, both featuring William Orbit, Goldfrapp’s more orchestral and organic album ‘The Seventh Tree’, and Within Temptation’s gentler moments. We are certainly NOT in brainless synthetic Britney/Cheryl, lip sync, all style and no substance territory, otherwise Dave would throw me off the highest turret at Ravenheart Towers. Groovy tangoing opening title track ‘Love Like Gold’ features a Vocoder, the long extinct, hideously complicated, vocal processing contraption used on ELO’s ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ (I remember myself and Robert Plant’s keys player Jezz Woodroffe trying to use one, what a nightmare). The next three songs, ‘Black Sheep’, ‘White Bird’ and ‘Creatures of the Night’ (is there an animal theme going on?) remind me of Coldplay’s ‘Viva La Vida’, awesome anthemic songs stuffed full of rich multi layered vocals, melodies catchier than superglue, and sumptuous synths. Next two ‘Superhero’ and ‘Tonight’ are more danceable Madonna (or Madge as I call her) electro pop tunes, time to shake a leg and dance around your handbag/manbag. ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is a dramatic and moody Ultravox meets Within Temptation song, followed by a pair of sweet bouncy pop tunes, ‘Catch Me’ and ‘No’ (she’s such a tease). Finally we have the dreamy orchestral ‘My Town’, the fabulous Within Temptation gone pop ‘Nobody Knows’, and lastly the lighter waving, or to be more health and safety conscious, mobile phone waving anthem ‘Universe’. In the Ansoticca review I mentioned Europe’s forests must be packed with gothic babes, well guess where Valentine is in her video for ‘Black Sheep’? (On the Female Voices Blog). I must get my binoculars out and do a spot of bird watching. With Sony behind her and a totally new ultra commercial sound this young lady is about to go Global with a capital G. I review a lot of metal stuff, but I found this absolutely adorable, a little ray of sunshine in these dark days, a love like gold 9.5/10 (Reviewed by Phil)

VAMPYRE HEART..'GHOST OF TIME'

(Promo/Demo) Reviewed 27th February 2010

Firstly, I want to say that the UK certainly has some unsigned talent scattered around this amazing country of ours. At the same time, Bournemouth sure is not known as a rock mecca. But hiding somewhere down there is a duo who go by the name Vampyre Heart. Vampyre Heart consist of D Soul and vocalist Summer. The style of music I would class as Gothic/Electro, and I feel that some of the songs here would go down well in clubland. We have the hideously catchy 'Don't Shelter Me', the hauting and atmospheric 'Killing Me' and the rockier 'Hell Asked Why' . 'Ride The Wind' is a personal song involving an incident in Summer's life. Check the band out at www.myspace.com/666vampyreheart as from what I understand, Vampyre Heart with Summer's sexy and rather distinctive vocal style, is creating a few waves in the USA at the moment. And you can either contact the band or Ravenheart Music for further info. Interesting stuff! 8/10 (Reviewed by Dave).

VANGUARD..'HYDRALCHEMY'

(Shadow World Records) Reviewed 7th October 2009

Aimee stumbled across Vanguard by accident via Last FM. And when I learnt that they are a Gothic Metal Band from Finland, well I just had to investigate further! Finland of course being the mecca of all things rock and metal. And boy, am I glad I checked this band out further, and indeed, after a little bit of hunting around, I was able to track a copy of this cd down. Utilising both clean female and harsh male vocals, 'Hydralchemy' is a very catchy offering indeed. Kicking off with a brief intro that then leads us straight into the heavy but melodic 'Spellbroken', I knew I had a winner here - right up my (and Aimee's) alleyway. Heavy guitars, keys and the dual vocals of both Suvi G (female) and J. Grym (male) feature throughout. I quite frankly love it. Check out 'Scion' for a song that will hang around in your head for ages (and ages). And the ballad 'Untold', featuring the cello of Aapo Romu I just love! This album so happens to be very good! And the digi-pak also includes as a bonus track, a cover of Type O Negative's 'Black No 1'. Awesome stuff! 9/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

VARIOUS..'BEAUTY and BRUTALITY'

(Femme Metal Records) Reviewed 14th July 2010

I am never really sure how to go about reviewing compliations. However, it is great that there are compilations out there featuring the female fronted genre, and Caz and her partners in crime at Femme Metal proudly continue to fly the flag for this type of music. This cd is a double featuring 31 tracks of some of the best that the genre has to throw at us. Some of the music on offer here will be familiar to many that love female fronted rock and metal, whilst some tracks may not be that familiar. And as the title suggests, this double package offers the more melodic and the somewhat heavier stuff too. Of the familiar, Revamp are featured with a track from their debut ('Head Up High'), and Epica open cd2 with 'Unleashed' (from Design Your Universe). Of the less familiar, I am overly impressed with Dama's 'Rainy Roads', that track coming from the unreleased 'EIRWEN' album. This Femme Metal double whammy gets released in October, proceeds to Macmillan Cancer Research. Well worth checking out..9/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

VARIOUS..'DEMONIC and DIVINE'

(Femme Metal Records) Reviewed 19th August 2009

Female fronted rock and metal is alive and well. And most of these femme bands do not sound like Evanescence or Nightwish as some sections of the media will have you believe. Femme Metal is a project that the delectable Caz runs from Kent (my home county too), and here is a double compilation cd featuring a whole host of Femme Metal Bands. Where do I start? Let's just say there is some awesome music on offer here within the 30 tracks, and as a consequence is sure worth checking out by fans of the melodic, symphonic and gothic female fronted genre. Furthermore, proceeds from the sale of this little package goes to The Macmillan Cancer Support and Cancer Research UK. A great buy...get it from www.FemmeMetalStore.Net/ ...9/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

VELVETSEAL..'LEND ME YOUR WINGS'

(Dark Balance) Reviewed 2nd August 2009

The debut album from the Hungarian four piece, who describe their music as symphonic dark metal, which just about sums it up. This is perfect for fans of Sirenia and Delain. Gabee has a good voice, and possibly the world’s longest eyelashes, and the songs are all good, in particular ‘Lend Me Your Wings, ‘The Devine Comedy?’, and the ballad ‘Where Statues Cry’. In fact the whole album is good, but perhaps lacks the wow factor to lift it into the premier league. A very promising debut and all in all a really good listen. 8/10 (Reviewed by Phil Wooldridge)

VENA VALLEY..'PLAYGROUND'

(Insanity Records) Reviewed 24th July 2010

Poland has a long history of loving prog rock going back to the days before the curtain fell and pioneers like Pendragon were one of the few Western European bands to explore this untapped market, becoming very successful in the process. Vena Valley started out in 2003 (recording a demo debut), I believe that the album was recorded back in 2007 but not released until last year, and I have been desperately trying to get hold of a copy since I first heard them some months ago. Leading from the front is Justyna Krysiak, a sultry, striking, blonde bombshell with an excellent, expressive, pop-rock voice. Their music hovers around Porcupine Tree, Riverside, Muse, Ayreon and Touchstone. They pack a hell of a lot into each of the songs which all last around the four minute mark - lots of great melodies and hooks; atmospheric keys, sounds and effects; glistening and meaty guitars; changes of power, pace and intensity; a mix of the dreamy, funky, jazzy, driving and pounding; all of which makes it fascinating to listen to. The crowning glory is the final cut ‘Libido’, an awesome cracker of a tune that will stay in your head long after disc stops spinning, I have put the official video for it on the blog http://thefemalevoices.blogspot.com/ for your delectation and delight. It is all topped off with top quality production and sound – crystal clear, powerful and beautifully balanced. Don’t ask me how to get a copy outside Poland, I had to borrow one from John at Progressiveland, but you can start with their Myspace www.myspace.com/venavalley and the record company at http://www.insanity-records.pl/, if you succeed you will be rewarded with a rare treat. They inhabit a world not too dissimilar to Muse, they’ve got the looks, hooks and melodies that will appeal to the mainstream, but their music is intelligent enough for the prog crowd, meaty enough for metal fans, and with a gothic edge that will attract those who love gothic rock/metal. I’m off for a swing in their playground, 9/10 (Reviewed by Phil).

VENTURIA..'HYBRID'

(Lion Music) Reviewed 7th September 2008

'Hybrid' is the 2nd Release from this awesome band that features the dual vocal attack of New York based Marc Ferreira and VENTURIA's female vocalist, French lass Lydie Robin. Marc Ferreira may well be a name known amongst AOR circles, but he is now well established with Venturia. 'Hybrid' is actually an apt name for this record, as it combines Metal with beautiful clean pop-melodies, technical progressive rock + classical and electronic music. Some awesome metal on this cd, with the opening Salvo of 'Swearing Lies' and 'Be The One', testimony to this. This cd sure is a grower that takes two or three listens, but basically we have an awesome slab of well produced technical metal here. Other faves on this up tempo release include the heavy and melodic 'Pearls Of Dawn', 'Will You Save Me' and 'Why? This Women's Life' (my fave track! Awesome vocals on this one). This is a good release from Lion Music that we have on our hands here, so check it out, live with it for a couple of spins and it will not disappoint! 8/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

VersaEmerge..'FIXED AT ZERO'

(Fuelled by Ramen) Reviewed 16th August 2010

American alt rockers VersaEmerge were formed in the early Noughties by guitarist Blake Harnage, releasing their first EP in 2005. They then went through more band members than they had hot dinners, picking up bassist Devin Ingelido along the way. In 2007 Sierra Kusterbeck got the job as vocalist despite lying about her age, claiming she was 18 when in fact she was only 16. The three of them are augmented by various bods when playing live. The music and vocals have obvious comparisons with a more alt rock Paramore, their fellow stablemates, but they are not afraid to go off piste. ‘Fire’ has an atmospheric opening that sounds like Guilt Machine, it then turns into a turbo charged rocker, before finishing with a coda that reminds me of Danny Elfman’s music for Edward Scissorhands. Other highlights include the opening rocker with a stutter ‘Figure It Out’ that has a touch of Muse about it; the monster title track ‘Fixed at Zero’ (video on Female Voices Blog) with its spiralling guitar riff that veers towards Lacuna Coil; and the closing epic ‘Lost Tree’ that opens as a string laced acoustic piece before a terrifying scream signals the band exploding into life. It’s all skilfully recorded by top producer Dave Bassett (Shinedown/Josh Groban but not the Wimbledon manager!). If you like alt rock and bands like Paramore, then this is well worth the investment, available from all the usual outlets, their Myspace is www.myspace.com/versaemerge. An emerging talent with a stunning lead singer that is worth a lot more than zero, 8.5/10 (Reviewed by Phil).

MARTIN VILLARREAL..'CELESTIAL DREAM'

(Ravenheart Music via Code7) Reviewed 4th May 2010

Martin Villarreal is a musician/composer from Uruguay, who sprung on the idea to record an album of ballads, featuring female rock singers. On this album are eight ballads and four instrumentals, featuring such artists as Ann Mari from Swedish Band ARCANA, Morgan Lacroix from MANDRAGORA SCREAM, Eirin Bendigtsen from WHERE ANGELS FALL and Christina Kroustali from DIE VERBANNTEN KINDER EVAS amongst others. This is a cool laid back release that features mainly just piano and orchestration - one for those lazy hazy days of Summer. The album will see distribution via Ravenheart Music in July. Contact Ravenheart Music for more details...8/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

VIOLET SUN...'LONELINESS IN SUPREMACY'

(Melodic Rock Records) Reviewed 10th November 2010

Violet Sun is a brand new project by former Thy Majestie’s vocalist Dario Grillo and lovely singer Alessandra Amata. Although Thy Majestie is a symphonic power metal band in the mould of fellow Italians Rhapsody, Violet Sun is a totally different proposition, and as well as singing Dario plays all the instruments bar drums, played by Alex Grillo, and piano by Alessandra. Their basic template reminds me of a more powerful version of the melodic metal Kiske Somerville album both musically and vocally but with added Delain, Kamelot and Avantasia, exemplified by ‘Dust in the Wind’, ‘Inside Out’ and ‘Where Is My Way Home’. Upon this framework songs like ‘When the Lights Go Down’ and ‘My Flame Still Burns’ add a little more Dream Theatre prog, ‘Cross the Line’ a touch of Nightwish symphonic, ‘Falling in Love’ some Heart AOR complete with sax solo, the galloping ‘Pray on the Grave’ a spot of Ayreon weirdness, ‘Break Your Chains’ a soupcon of jazz with some more sax, and the epic ‘Synthetic Pleasure’ a hint of the souq. Interesting question, when was the last time you heard sax on a metal song? I’m stumped. It is all superbly produced, performed and sung with great synths and an unusual lightning fast staccato rhythm guitar sound and style that gives the music real oomph whilst giving the rest of the instruments space to breathe, it brings to mind someone like Lanvall of Edenbridge. The only minor quibble is that some songs are slightly stretched out, a spot of judicious pruning wouldn’t go amiss, and occasionally they over egg the pudding, for example ‘Falling in Love’ could have been shortened without the unnecessary prog bit to let the song shine. If you like melodic and/or melodic prog metal then you will thoroughly enjoy this wonderful album, more info can be found at www.myspace.com/violetsunofficial, a most excellent 9/10 (Reviewed by Phil)

VIRGIN ISLAND..'FANTASY OR REALITY?'

(Self Release) Reviewed 19th May 2010

No, this is not Richard Branson’s latest holiday resort in the Caribbean, but a melodic rock band from land locked Bavaria in Germany, a country that appears to hiding some excellent groups at the moment like Rawkfist and Onyx Eyes, a fact born out by this being their second album. They are lead by the wonderful, distinctive voice of Ulrike Peetz-Kunkel, whose vocals range from the almost Tarja’ish semi operatic to Hazel O’Connor. They have obviously raided their extensive record collections, taking their favourite bits from bands like Within Temptation, Tarja, Domina Noctis, Cars, The Runaways, Katrina and the Waves, Cher, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy and goodness knows what else to create groovy, catchy, melodic, driving rock songs that are instantly recognisable, but totally new. The outstanding ‘Don’t Turn Back’ (this would make a great single) together with ‘I Don’t Need’ and ‘Let’s Get High’ are classic power pop/rock songs with galloping verses and sing-along choruses, while ‘Disappointment’ and the title track ‘Fantasy or Reality?’ are more symphonic with soaring melodies. You also get the lovely solo guitar and voice ballad ‘Wherever You Will Go’ (it is great to hear a song kept nice and simple for a change without any histrionics), the slow brooding Black Sabbath bluesy shuffle ‘Sweet Hell’ with it’s atmospheric gothic passages, the strutting gothic rocker ‘The End of Our Dreams’, and the anthemic final cut ‘Let’s Stop The Wars’. It you look at the song titles, you can guess the style, so the music and lyrics fit perfectly together. The whole album is a total joy to listen to, very easy on the ear, with lots of variety and interesting instrumental bit and pieces. They don’t create anything dramatically different, but who cares, just enjoy the music, if it isn’t bust, don’t fix it. After all, ‘no man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main’ (John Donne). Take a cruise to their Virgin Island (it is Island, not Islands, by the way) website, http://home.arcor.de/virgin-island/frame.htmwhere you can sail away with the CD from the band’s fan shop or follow the link to the Get Your Music store. A delighted Virgin Islander gives this a 9/10 (Reviewed by Phil)

VISIONS OF ATLANTIS..'TRINITY'

(Napalm Records) Reviewed 11th April 2007

If you are into symphonic metal a la Nightwish, this cd is for you. This is Visions Of Atlantis 3rd offering. Their previous, 'Eternal Endless Infinity' and 'Cast Away' were ok, but they never quite cut it for me. I felt that perhaps there was a little something missing in the vocal dept. But this latest 'Trinity', is an awesome improvement. Vocals are now provided by new female vocalist Melissa Ferlaak, with clean male vocals by Mario Plank. On their previous releases, I always found Mario's vocals too nasally, but even he has improved! As for the cd itself. It's great stuff, kicking off with 'At The Back of Beyond', followed swiftly by the very melodic 'The Secret', it is obvious this cd will follow the path trodden by Nightwish. 'Passing Dead End' is another up tempo number with Nightwish Influences. 'The Poem' is a slower track with the main vocals provided by Mario. Indeed, the interplay between the two vocalists works well throughout the album. 'Return To You' showcases Melissa's operatic vocals very well. Indeed, all the tracks on this cd are good, finishing with the hymn like 'Seven Seas'. Ok, I think that some reviewers will slag this album because the obvious Nightwish Influences. I will judge 'Trinity' by the music alone. Good production too. Go and buy on 25th May. We like it. 8/10 (Reviewed by Dave).

VIVEYNNE..'BECOMING JANE DOE'

(Independent Release) Reviewed 2nd June 2009

Viveynne is an awesome band from Canada fronted by the lovely Mikaila (Mikki), and the cd (ep) on offer here features 8 tracks that run in at around 27 minutes in total. This is the perfect way to showcase this young girl's vocals, and believe you me, awesome vocals we have here too. The record gets underway with 'Blood To Bleed' that starts slowly with Mikki's soaring vocals instantly making an impression, and the band then joins in giving the song a bit of uummph!! Next up we have the awesome title track, a haunting song that vocally reminds me of Amy Lee (as do other songs on this release), and an excellent song it is too. This little epic continues with the more upbeat 'This Phobia' and I am speechless at the quality of the music on offer. Other highlights for me are 'Goodbye Good Morning' and 'Come Crawling', but having said this, all the music is of an extremely high quality. I just want to say something here and maybe Mikki is fed up with the reference. But she is only 14 years old, writes all the material herself and plays piano and synths, and her band sound a tight unit. This is an act that I am sure has the ability to take on the heavyweights on mainland Europe where this type of sound is more or less the mainstream. Record labels, check out www.myspace.com/viveynne and then start your orderly queues here - enough said! 8/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

VOICES OF DESTINY..'FROM THE ASHES'

(Massacre Records) Reviewed 22nd January 2010

Voices of Destiny hail from Germany and feature the vocals of front lady Maike Holzmann, with occasional dual male vox from Lukas Palme, who is also in charge of the keyboard dept. 'From The Ashes' is their debut offering and I suppose follows a tried and tested formula - female fronted (in a 'near' at times operatic style) with occasional male but not overdone gruff vocals. Kicking off with the rather catchy 'Ray Of Hope', it seems we are onto a winner here. Not bad, not bad at all! 'Twisting The Knife' keeps the momentum going as does 'Return From The Ashes'. 'Ice Cold' slows things down a touch, well so you think, until the guitars, keys and drums kick in! The album kinda continues in a similar vein. Okay, I have heard all this before, but for a debut it ain't bad. I quite like 'Apathy', a slower number, nice use of accoustic guitar coupled with keys giving this song a cool atmosphere, while 'Bitter Visions' is another slower and rather hauting tune. In summary, if you are into Within Temptation, Coronatus and the like, this little platter is worth parting with your hard earned cash. Release date is 26th Feb, and it can be pre ordered from the normal outlets. 8/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

VRILLION..'SOURCE OF POWER' EP

(Self Release) Reviewed 13th October 2009

This is the debut EP from ‘alternative’ gothic metal band Vrillion from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. They are fronted by Chloe who has a clear, folky voice. The first track ‘Flesh is so Easily Torn’ has a quirky, Rhapsody like vibe, with medieval folk influences. The next song ‘The Crazy Clown Song’ is the sort of madness Diablo Swing Orchestra would come up with. The fact that I saw them play it at the Madhouse with their young fan club wearing Stephen King Clown masks only made it even more surreal. The next 3 songs are Nightwishesque, the catchy ‘Killer Instinct’, ‘Reason’ with a lovely flute intro courtesy of Chloe, and the suitably anthemic ‘The Battle’. The CD ends with the medieval folk metal of ‘Sweet Mistress’. This is a highly enjoyable 30 minute listen, and I would love to see them given the opportunity to record a full album in a really good studio. Go and have a look at their Myspace site, www.myspace.com/vrillion , the EP should be out shortly. 8/10 (Reviewed by Phil)