Geoff

Is this officially the end of the band? I have to be honest and admit that although I love some of the late 80's and early 90's Magnum stuff, I really haven't enjoyed their recent output at all. Just couldn't get into it all. I'm not going to say I suddenly love this album, but I will say it is a lot better, imo, than any of their recent output. If this is their last album, then I think it's a fair effort indeed. 'Run Into the Shadows' is one of the better Magnum songs I've heard in a long while. Rest in peace Tony Clarkin. A life well and truly, thoroughly lived.

Pretty weak album overall (in both song writing and production departments) but this is a pretty irresistible AOR tune and the album's only highlight for me;

Been a long time between drinks, but for anyone keeping score, they just released a new album; Love Will Fix It 1 . Backstabbers 2 . The Devil Made Me Do It 3 . Happy Birthday You Are Dead To Me 4 . Levitate 5 Whirlwind Of Doom 6 . The Ghosts That You Have Called 7 . Love Will Fix It 8 . Sick 9 . She Ain't Coming Home No More 10 . Dreams And Debris 11 . Oceans Of Grief 12 . Together Very nice album. I believe their last studio album of originals was in 2017, with 'Mixtape' from 2019 being a pretty solid album of covers. So I'm not sure if they broke up, or if they just got covid'd. I'm not sure and the wikipedia page seems to have stopped updating many years ago. Either way, new album is very well worth checking out. I mean this in a complimentary way as I think Nickelback are a solid band that cop rubbish from folk who don't actually listen to their craft and really know what they offer... but Emil Bulls kind of - not fully - but kind of come across as a German version of a band like Nickelback to me. A few sappy ballads, some very cool harder modern rock... I just dig it, and I think this is a good album. Some of my highlights; lol, pretty amusing video for a blatant pop hit attempt (don't know if there's actual truth to the break-up part of this video, which I suggested above); Good band. Do yourself a favour and check them out.

I've mentioned these guys in complete adoration before, but they previously had screams, I believe, as part of their gameplan, mixed in with massively heavy and atmospheric modern metal ballads. This was my favourite song off their last album ('Blindsight'), which I just thought was an absolutely massive song; Anyway, the reason I mention them now is that they just dropped a new EP and it's all very HH friendly. Not much hint of any screams left, and basically just straight emotive modern melodic rock / metal. And looks like there's videos for all four tracks on the new EP; If you're a proper human and you dig these tunes, be sure to check out their discography. Class band. From Denmark too. Bar Pretty Maids I can't think of many stand-out bands from Denmark, so throw them a high five or two. Love & Loss EP (2024) Blindsight (2021) s/t (2019) Midnight EP (2018)

I wonder if they're just a studio band? Do they tour? Are Last Autumn's Dream still active? I recall in the past he was doing an album for each of them in a short space of time, but don't recall recent LAD albums? Anyway, new album seems a bit more eclectic than usual? There is some real absolute garbage on here, like 'Around The World In A Day' and 'Come And Get It!' No one should ever have to hear songs like that, under any circumstances. 'I Belong To You' is a very bad closer too. On the flipside, though, there's always a bit of class with solid melodic rock like 'A Strike Of Lightning,' 'Juliet' and my pick of the album, 'We Are Young.' Nice songs. I know (or assume) this wouldn't be true, but it's almost kind of like they release albums with an intention to avoid the fanfare. They'd have to know that no one's really paying much attention to music at this time of year and by the time everyone sort of gets back into the groove there's new releases and their album's been bypassed again. I'd almost have to assume it's an intentional move to keep it quiet, otherwise they'd surely have to change their strategy, surely?

In my ears Monday week when I return to work.

Man, those three new songs are all beauties. Definitely something to really look forward to. Does the lead singer play bass in this band? Like Revolution Saints without the drum clips in their video, it looks a bit weird with no bass clips in all these songs...

Solid. I like it.

Love that song. Beauty. I agree the video looks stupid without any drummer clips too.

I wish this was true, but I think you might be off the mark again, cob. Looks like they’re playing at Wild Fest, in Belgium, with a killer line up. But not Glam Fest in Australia. Unless they’re a late addition? Like HEAT seems to be? That itself makes me very happy.

You sure about this, cob? Quick google and didn't find anything... seems like this new song has just been released? I'd hope an album to follow in 2024, but there doesn't appear to be one from last year? Could very well be wrong, though. As for the tune, it's very Catalano. Very similar vocalist, if not a tad toned down and dropped back in the mix a bit... but it's a cool song.

Predictable type of end, but a pretty interesting list with a few unexpected surprises. Obviously this is one person's view and that's cool. Each one of us would do it different so it's a cool read anyway. I didn't read every single thing on it, but some interesting must hears, I thought. 'Burning down inside,' with those shitty chorus drums, lol, after you've just played the immaculate 'Forever Young' and 'Wings?' To each their own, but I gawked. 'When I see you smile' from the Bad English album. Okay it's cool it's on the list, but on an album of absolutely killer AOR you're picking the big sappy pop hit ballad? I actually like the song, but surely not anyone's "must hear" from this album? Anyway, that's about it. Otherwise it's solid stuff. It's kind of cool that Diving For Pearls rates such a high mention. One of the highest ranked before it gets into more predictable territory.

lol, where was I during that time?? Not sure, but I totally missed this. 'The End' is pretty awesome. I also quite like 'Beautifully Broken' but I'm not mad keen on the first song, and these later two songs aren't on the album? Do they have other albums? I'll try to find that debut and see what I think anyway...

Sounds like it could be pretty good. Great sounding production. Album 'IV' due in Spring, I assume in the US? Meaning Autumn in Australia? Not sure because it's on Goldenrobot Records, which is an Aussie label, but they write the release date of this single backwards, so I assume they're talking US seasons. Release date of this single is allegedly 9th of February. Or February the Ninth, if you like things jumbled.

That's going to be an expensive cut. Thanks for the link, Andrew. Just downloaded the shit out of that. Love how the album sounds. I don't actually own a Farnham album, but plenty of his songs do I enjoy, and his voice is stellar. I know my brothers and I had one cassette tape back in the day, but not sure where that ended up. I should get his 80's albums, at least.

Threw together a cheeky little list that looks a little like this; 35     -    Nowhere Left       -    Places We Couldn't Belong ; new band to me - modern emotive rock done very well. 34          Taylor Acorn       -    Certified Depressant ; pretty cool (mini) album lifted by the super catchy 'Psycho' tune, which I enjoy greatly. 33          Hot Milk     -    A Call To The Void ; another band new to my ears... I just dig this. Heap of very catchy "pop punk" / modern rock tunes all over it. 32          Lift The Curse     -    Rise With The Flames ; these guys release an incredible amount of songs and in 2023 alone they released two albums, with 15 songs each. This is my preferred of the two, but they are an incredibly consistent band and I don't think they've recorded a song I actually dislike yet. As one might expect, with that many songs not every one is a 10/10 killer, but there's a lot of very cool songs and I dig this. 31     -    Khymera      -    Hold Your Ground ; off the top of my head, this one is probably their third best album, after the first two, and a return to form, of sorts, after a few albums I didn't love. 30          Beartooth    -    The Surface ; highly rated amongst experts of this type of music, and it's a good solid album from start to end. Quality band. 29     -    Marvelous 3  -    IV ; not quite on par with their best two albums, but not far off it and a pretty awesome surprise that came from nowhere, to me. Had no idea this was on the cards, so I was happy to see it pop up. 'Kill A Motherfucker That Breaks Your Heart' is one of the highlights of the year too. 28     -    Bad Wolves   -    Die About It ; another super consistent band who do what they do very well. Very nice modern heavy rock. 27          The Maine    -    The Maine ; such a mad fan of this band. Again, as consistent as balls and such an enjoyable listen, every time. Another great album in a great discography. 26     -    Boys Like Girls    -    Sunday At Foxwoods ; like Marvelous 3, had no idea this was going to happen almost until it was in my ears... and again, another beautiful surprise. Like M3, probably not quite on par with their first two, but not far off the debut (hard to get anywhere near 'Love Drunk'). This one sounds a bit more like BLG mixed with The Night Game this time around, which is not a bad thing at all. Really strong album. 25    -    Meredith Hunter    -    Proud to be Different ; late entry into my list, but I really like this. Super consistent, quality album from this Czech Republic band. Not something you say every day. But it's a very good album. 24     -    The Motion Epic    -    Saturday Night Motel Music ; anyone who knows these guys knows this was going to be quality, like everything else they do, and it is. Beauty. 23     -    Station      -    And Time Goes On ; really nice album. Always liked these guys, but this one has a better, fuller sound and - as expected - some killer songs. One of their best. 22     -    The Word Alive     -    Hard Reset ; high quality modern rock album, delivering on many levels, song after song. 21     -    Revolution Saints  -    Eagle Flight ; not a popular pick, but something about this album resonated with me and I have none of the gripes others seem to have with this. Great vocals, and songs I found myself enjoying consistently. Good album, if taken at face value. 20     -    Issa   -    Lights of Japan ; another artist people have issue with, but always solid to me and this is one of her better albums in recent years. Would sit in the top half of her discography, I would assume. Good stuff. 19     -    Vega   -    Battlelines ; whereas this probably isn't one of Vega's best, but Vega on any level is still pretty great, and this is still a very good album, as one would expect from the band. 18     -    Night Rider  -    Night Rider ; doubt many heard this one, but it's a pretty sweet mix of styles of rock and metal. Very nice collection of tunes. 17     -    Cyan Kicks   -    I Never Said 4ever ; really strong female fronted rock, with the immense title track lighting the room every single time I spun it (in abundance) this year. 16     -    Broadside    -    Hotel Bleu ; almost a little surprised how high this rated in my list, but such is the class of this band that even if I admit I was a tiny bit underwhelmed with this album - not because it was bad at all; just quite different to what I expected - a good band is a good band and even with a different vibe this time around, they still absolutely nail it and it's a very good album. 15     -    Solence      -    Hope Is a Cult ; without even a near contest, 'Rain down' possesses the most monstrous riff of the year and thankfully the rest of the album backs up the absolute killer nature of that song. Which is not to say they're all that good (but what is?!), but it's still a really good album throughout. 14     -    Care of Night      -    Reconnected ; like other bands on this list, this isn't their best album but like others on this list, even when they're not at their absolute best, they're still pretty damn good anyway. Hoping they get back to their best, but this is still a really nice return to recorded music. 13     -    Kala   -    Diary of a Depressed Creative ; bit emo-ish, I guess, if that's still "a thing" with the kids, but this is a stampede of excellent "pop punk" / modern rock tunes. Love this album. 12     -    Wind Walkers       -    What If I Break? ; and speaking of really good albums, here is another. Immense tracks on another super high quality album. Nothing to dislike on this one. 11     -    Heavens Edge       -    Get It Right ; a debut-like production job would no doubt have propelled this one up the list a bit, but even as it is, with it's pretty basic production job, it's a great return from these guys. One of the best recent albums from a band from back in the day in that I can recall. 10     -    Fly By Midnight    -    Fictional Illustrations ; hadn't ever heard of this band, but gave it a listen after I saw it on a Mr AOR list at some point, and I love it. A lot lighter than the other modern bands on my list, but super sweet tunes with killer hooks and melodies. Really enjoyable album. 9      -    ModX   -    Secrets ; surprised this is as high on the list as it is, but quality is quality and this is quality. I don't really connect with this album as much as other albums listed above it on this list, but it is very classy and a well polished product. Hard to fault, really, other than that it doesn't have that emotive impact I crave in my music. 8      -    First Signal       -    Face Your Fears ; some of the best melodic hard rock songs of the year have a home on this one. Maybe let down slightly by the ones that don't quite hit the mark, but the best of this album is absolutely killer, and the ballsier sound is well received by this guy. 7      -    Creye  -    III: Weightless ; pure class. Loved these tunes every time they hit the playlist this year. Not much more to say than that it's just a great album. 6      -    Tempt  -    Tempt ; bit of a cheeky wildcard in the list. Love that they bring something a little fresh to the table, and absolutely nail it. Big label quality production, and killer tunes to match. Unconventional at times, but they pull it off. Can't wait to hear more. 'Burn me down' possibly the song of the year? 5      -    Nitrate      -    Feel The Heat ; to be frank, the shitty production is such a letdown on this one. Very disappointing, because it doesn't need to happen in 2023, but, a good song is a good song and this album has a lot of those. I truly wish the care had been taken in getting this to sound right, but I do still enjoy the songs a lot. 4      -    Kent Hilli   -    Nothing Left To Lose ; gotta say this is a massive surprise, as one could argue that the melodic rock world has been a little over-saturated with Mr Hilli in recent years, but as I've said a few times, a great song (and voice) is a great song (and voice) and I can't deny the quality of songs on offer here. Just a really good modern melodic rock album. 3      -    Midnite City       -    In At The Deep End ; a bit like Nitrate, except this one is very well produced and the best songs are better too. Absolutely rock solid reliable band, guaranteed to be in the top 5 any year they release new music. Love it. 2      -    Degreed      -    Public Address ; three of the big guns from recent years round out my list and this is another band that doesn't release anything that is not excellent. Another album full of huge songs and a constant highlight when they hit the playlist. Absolute class. 1      -    The Defiants       -    Drive ; almost seems like a "safe" #1 because it's so predictably good. Just couldn't go past it, to be honest. I found a few moments on this that were familiar to recent Defiants and D2 albums, but all ideas, one could argue, that were worth resurrecting. I'd have a really hard time faulting this one. Just excellence. I do also want to note that my most highly rated and most enjoyed set of tunes from 2023 was actually an EP. And that EP, of course, is; LeBrock - Gone (EP) ; like others up the top end, a very familiar pair of faces at the top end of my lists in recent times. Absolute excellence, and my favourite recordings of the year.

Yeah, 'Back Into Your Arms Again' is my favourite song on the album. I think it's a good album. All trivial nonsense aside, it's the best album I've heard Russel on since 'Can't Get There from Here' in 1999, and probably as far back as 'Vicious Circle' from Guns... though the first Brides of Destruction album was pretty cool. Either way, it's the best I've heard from these guys in a long while. Very well produced too. Jack sounds good, but yeah, definitely different. But not in a bad way. He sounds to me like someone who's lived a life. And definitely a lot better than many of his peers. As for Guns - do I actually really notice it's him most the time? Early listen says not really, but maybe that'd change with future listens. I kept thinking of Contraband as I listened to this, thinking that it's definitely not Guns' usual style and I'm kinda surprised he's actually playing on something this "commercial" / melodic. It's a curveball from both guys, to be completely fair, but like I said, not a bad thing. I don't think you could realistically expect a better album from the chaps. Very solid stuff.

Man was I surprised to see this one pop up. Some decent ideas on this one with a few pretty cool choruses. But it's a bit unpolished overall, both in terms of production and song writing. Not horrendous, but I feel like there was an opportunity to release a better product than this. Production quality is a real bummer, especially considering their debut was quite well produced, over 20 years ago. I actually don't think I've heard their other two albums. Must rectify that...

So, so good.

Oh man, I think it's terrible. But I'm not 100% sure. I am 99% sure I did pick this up once and used it as trade fodder, but I can't think exactly what it was like. I initially thought it was a thinly produced female fronted plain rock band, but a couple of song names make me doubt it. What are you aiming to pay for it? I do feel like it is bad, but unfortunately I can't say it with complete conviction. Be sure to let us know your thoughts if you pick it up.

Perhaps? Probably more similar in musical quality. I was just thinking who might be the highest selling Australian artist within Australia. Doesn't seem too easy to find that info. Looks like Kylie Minogue is, worldwide, and also looks like a John Farnham album is the highest selling album by an Australian, in Australia. So maybe it's John Farnham?

Saw this on Instagram or something of the sort a day or two ago. Pretty shocked, I was. He had quite the career and steers a decent song or two from his drum kit. Rest in Peace.

Sad news. Was a part of some great tunes through the years... may he rest in peace.

'Kill A Motherfucker That Breaks Your Heart' is defo one of the best tracks of the year.

lol, but you get what I mean, ay? 99% of people outside Australia wouldn't be into those bands but they're somewhat worshipped by many here. Not all by all means, but they're huge here, and nowhere else (I assume). Just drawing the parallel with Popeda that they're so huge in Finland (the biggest, in fact?) and not known anywhere outside the joint.