This is the 1st album by supergroup Transatlantic consisting of ex Spock's Beard singer Neil Morse, The Flower Kings guitarist Roine Stolt, Marillion bassist Pete Trewavas and ex Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy. They formed as a sideproject in 1999.

The music on this disc consists of only 5 songs with the first clocking in at 31 minutes! I really like the variation, song quality and also heaviness on the album. It has a good sound and production and there's always something happening in the songs but it's also kept together in a professional way. Well, these guys are no beginners! A great album!

Swede Roine Stolt has recorded with the band Kaipa in the 1970's and The Tangent in the 2000's and also appears on other band's albums as well as some soloalbums in he's own name. American Mike Portnoy had prior to this album played with both Dream Theater and Liquid Tension Experiment.

1)All of the above (8,5) 31 minutes of good progressive rock!

2)We all need some light (9,0) Fantastic ballad!

3)Mystery train (8,5) Strange but very good heavy rocker.

4)My new world (7,5) 16 minute jazzy prog.

5)In held ('twas) in I (7,5) A 1968 Procul Harum-cover.

Score: 8,20

Neil Morse-vocals, guitars and keyboards (b.1960)

Roine Stolt-vocals and guitars (b.1956)

Pete Trewavas-vocals and bass (b.1959)

Mike Portnoy-drums (b.1967)

After 8 albums of progressive art rock Styx turned into more radiofriendly keyboardbased and melodic rock/pop. They also got a big hit with "Babe" which reached nr. 1 on the american charts. The album peaked at nr. 2 so this was a truly successful album. But is it any good? There's some great melodies and as always with this band, great vocals, but it's way too cheesy and melodic but I don't blame them for trying to reach the charts after releasing 8 albums. Here and there some of the former progressiveness of Styx can be heard, that's when they are really good but this album is actually not worth having. They made better music earlier in the 1970's. Exceptions is the fantastic folkinspired "Boat on the river" and the Tommy Shaw-progressive "Love in the midnight".

Drummer John Panozzo died of liverfailure caused by alcohol,  in 1998.

1)Lights (6,5) Very melodic ballad-orchestral rock with T.Shaw on vocals.
2)Why me (7,0) Typical D.De Young theatrical and dramatic musical rock.

3)Babe (6,5) Cheesy but good sweet ballad with De Young on vocals.

4)Never say never (7,0)

5)Boat on the river (9,0) Fantastic acoustic folk music song with Shaw at he's best.

6)Borrowed time (6,5) More rock at last.

7)First time (6,0) Very cheesy ballad.

8)Eddie (7,5) A good rocker with J.Young on vocals.

9)Love in the midnight (9,0) A fantastic melodic progressive rocker with great vocals from Shaw.

Score: 7,22

Tommy Shaw-vocals, guitars and mandolin (b.1953)

James Young-vocals and guitars (b.1949)

Dennis De Young-vocals, keyboards and piano (b.1947)

Chuck Panozzo-bass (b.1948)

John Panozzo-drums (1948-1998)

Since the last album "Motörizer" in 2008 nothing had changed in the Motörhead camp. In the world of heavy metal it had happended that Ronnie James Dio had died of cancer and this album, released 7 months after Dio's death, is dedicated to him. This is Motörhead's 20th album. If "Motörizer" was a good album, this one is even better, all tracks are good rock 'n' rollers in the typical Motörhead vein. It must be difficult to variate the quite narrow kind of music this band represents but somehow they gets away with it, album after album. Also it got some good reviews from the press. Buy this album, it rocks! 

Lemmy has been with Motörhead since it was founded in 1975, Phil Campbell since 1984 and swede Mikkey Dee since 1992.

1)Born to loose (7,5)

2)I know how to die (8,0)

3)Get back in line (8,0)

4)Devil's in my head (8,0)

5)Rock'n'roll music (7,5)

6)Waiting for the snake (7,0)

7)Brotherhood of man (6,5)

8)Outlaw (8,0)

9)I know what you need (6,5)

10)Bye bye bitch bye bye (8,5)

Score: 7,55

Lemmy-vocals and bass (b.1945)

Phil Campbell-guitars (b.1961)

Mikkey Dee-drums (b.1963)

Stoned Guitar was a band from New Zeeland and this is their 2nd album released in the middle of the wave of psychadelica, acid rock and experimental music and this is no exception to the "rule" at the time. It is very Jimi Hendrix-inspired escpecially the vocal style. It is not at all among the better albums I have heard in this style; the songs are monotone and very very noisy with a lot of, dare I say, stoned guitar...

Maurice Greer still fronts the band in 2013 and Billy TK is still a well known and active musician in New Zeeland. Larry Waide is dead.

1)Black Sally (7,5) Heavy, noisy, slow rocker with a good refrain and a wild guitar solo.

2)Stoned guitar (1,5) I don't understand this. Just terrible guitar-cat-that-gets-killed-noise.

3)Jug-a-jug (7,0) First terrible noise for 3 minutes and then a very Hendrix-inspired very noisy song but with some good guitar playing.

4)Midnight sun (6,0) Monotone riff in this 10-minute slow hard rocker.

5)Tomorrow (5,0) Melodic acoustic that sounds like Bob Marley's Redemption Song.

6)Railway and gun (3,0) (Rory Gallagher) 9-minute slow blues with noisy guitar playing.

Score: 5,00

Maurice Greer-vocals and drums

Billy Te Kahika-guitars

Larry Waide-bass and guitars

Swedish Sabaton here maybe released their best album. They continued their march of heavy metal very much inspired by war, this time they tell stories of the swedish empire as it was way back when the swedish armies concured the north of Europe. The music is fantasticly powerful and choirs and big orchestras are everywhere on the album. They have managed to create great powerful and also good songs with sing-a-long lyrics that are great live and makes peoples fists point to the sky and necks to nod! This is truly an remarkably good album that has a lot of what I want to hear in good heavy metal! If you don't have it, buy it!

1)Dominium maris baltici (-)

2)The lions from the north (9,0)

3)Gott mit uns (8,0)

4)A lifetime of war (8,0)

5)1648 (9,0)

6)The Carolean's prayer (8,5)

7)Carolus rex (9,0)

8)Killing ground (8,0)

9)Poltava (8,5)

10)Long live the king (8,5)

11)Ruina imperii (8,0)

Score: 8,45

Joakim Brodén-vocals

Oskar Montelius-guitars

Rikard Sundén-guitars

Pär Sundström-bass

Daniel Mullback-drums

Daniel Myhr-keyboards

Ghost, a band with a pope from hell and the rest of the band beeing anonymous, even on stage, dressed in their caps. They have created a tremendeous hype and I understand why. The mystique that surrounds this band is apealing to a lot of people and a live show is something very different. Then you are fooled to believe the music is death or at least heavy metal? Nothing could be more wrong! This is melodic hard rock very much in the vein of 1970's Blue Öyster Cult, which also were very mystique in those days. In fact it sounds so much BÖC that Ghost could easily be confused with them.

The album reached nr. 28 on the Billboard chart even though the band had trouble finding an US distributor due to their explicit cover work showing painted naked body parts and satanic things. It reached nr. 1 on the Billboard Hardrock-chart and also on the Swedish national charts.

Compared to the 1st album I find this as a pretty boring album. On the 1st there were some really powerful, heavy and also good melodic songs, here it just tuffs on and on in the same mud. No track is bad but there's really something missing.

1)Infestissumam (-) Intro.

2)Per asprera ad in ferni (8,0) Great main riff and mystique rhythm and melodic chanting chorus.
3)Secular haze (6,5) Monotone and not much happening.

4)Jigolo har megiddo (7,0) Uptempo and not much to talk about even if there's is some nice parts.

5)Ghuleh/zombie queen (7,0) First a mystique part and then an uptempo melodic "Beds Are Burning"-tempo.

6)Year zero (6,5)

7)Body and blood (6,0) Blue Öyster-copycats once more. Not at nearly as good as BÖC though.

8)Idolatrine (6,0)

9)Depth of Satan's eyes (7,0) Nice heaviness in this one. It makes me nod my head.

10)Monstrance clock (6,5)

Score: 6,72

Papa Emeritus II-vocals

A group of nameless ghouls-guitars, bass, drums and keyboards

This album is something new in Clapton's 20-album long career since the focus is on the flow and pure simple quality in music which are changing between blues, New Orleans jazz, standards, roots etcetera. I suppose it's a natural way to develop he's music now when Clapton is 65 years of age. The music abilities and taste grow with age that's for sure.

Nice to hear that Kim Wilson still got it on harmonica and that Derek Trucks from The Allman Brothers Band plays on the record and as many times before J.J Cale, who died in 2013, playes he's trademark sleazy swamp blues together with Clapton. There are many more well known artists on this album; such as Doyle Bramhall II who started his career with Stevie Ray Vaughan and has played with many blues greats since; Shreyl Crow and Steve Winwod among others.

1)Travellin' alone (5,5) Heavy shuffle-like blues with weird singing.

2)Rocking chair (6,5) Derek Trucks on slide guitar. Jazz-tune including piano.

3)River runs deep (9,0) Featuring J.J Cale so naturally this is mellow, slow, bluesy and sensetive with a great feeling. A great track!

4)Judgement day (7,5) Kim Wilson on harmonica in a good blues.

5)How deep is the ocean (6,5) Good jazzy song.

6)My very good friend the milkman (5,5) Big-band jazz with trombone and piano.

7)Can't hold out much longer (7,0) An old Little Walter-slow and heavy blues featuring Kim Wilson.

8)That's no way to get along (6,5) J.J Cale again in this slow 6-minute bluesy shuffle.

9)Everything will be allright (6,0) Cale once more and Paul Carrack on Hammond organ.

10)Diamonds made from rain (7,5) Shreyl Crow on vocals toghether with Clapton. Nice ballad with great vocals from Clapton!

11)When somebody thinks you're wonderful (3,0) Happy-happy jazz.

12)Hard times blues (6,5)

13)Run back to your side (7,5) Derek Trucks on guitars again in this uptempo bluesrocker. Good song!

14)Autumn leaves (7,5) Sweet, melodic jazzy ballad. Feeling!

Score: 6,57

Eric Clapton-vocals and guitars (b.1945)

J.J Cale-vocals and guitars (1938-2013)

Doyle Bramhall II-guitars and percussion (b.1968)

Derek Trucks-guitars (b.1979)

Jim Keltner-drums (b.1942)

Willie Weeks-bass (b.1947)

Walt Richmond-piano, keyboards and organ

Kim Wilson-harmonica (b.1951)

London Sesson Orchestra-strings