Guitarist – November 2015

Dutch alternative rocker and songwriter Anouk became not only one of the most successful performers in her native Netherlands, but also managed to duplicate her success throughout much of Europe. Born in 1975 in the Hague, Anouk grew up with music in her family; her mother was a singer in a blues band. By the time she was 18, Anouk had joined a local R&B group, but it was short-lived – she left soon after, having been accepted by and subsequently attended the Rotterdam Music Academy…

Continuing the very successful From The Vault series of classic, previously unreleased Rolling Stones live shows this release is taken from their performance at the Tokyo Dome in 1990, one of ten shows from the 14th to the 27th February at the venue which were the culmination of the Steel Wheels World Tour. These were the first concerts The Rolling Stones ever performed in Japan, their previous attempt to tour there in the early seventies having fallen through…

While Children of Bodom are used to personnel shakeups, the departure of longtime guitarist Roope Latvala before the recording of I Worship Chaos posed a challenge. A member since 2003, he was an integral part of the band's sound. This left vocalist/guitarist Alexi Laiho handling all six-string chores alone for the first time, making this COB's debut as a quartet. It was recorded in a converted warehouse rather than a conventional recording studio, and delivers a more spacious sound. Laiho and bassist Henkka Seppälä tuned half a step lower for each song, resulting in a much darker, heavier attack. Opener "I Hurt" is classic COB with a knotty, technical death metal riff, labyrinthine scalar flights, and piercing melodic interludes…

Twelve months have passed since US born/ UK based singer songwriter David A Saylor released his most recent album - Strength Of One. Sticking firmly to the same path, David is soon to release his new album, "Built 2 Fight" an album chock full of tracks that prove traditional AOR songs and Mr. Saylor's signature vocals are a match made in heaven. While 2015 has already seen the release of a few quality AOR cd's, DAS brings something different to the party with his raspy vocal soaked in a wall of elegant instrumentation, employing the perfect balance of rock and melody that is sure to keep both the AOR purists and hard rock community happy…

"Scream" is the stunning debut album from British hard rock band Lifeline. A true duet album with a classic British rock sounding that also combines songs that verge on melodic rock and hard rock along with tunes firmly seated within the AOR genre. "Scream" features 12 tracks packed with monstrous riffs and soaring melodies that seamlessly combine the vocal styles of Nigel and Lee without ever losing their individuality. The quality of the material combined with the first class musicianship makes this a debut album every self-respecting fan should check this out! After an introduction by Khalil Turk (Escape Music), Nigel Bailey (Three Lions, Bailey) and Lee Small (Shy, Phenomena) were determined to make an album together and share vocal duties. Paul Hume (Demon, Lawless) was approached as producer and as guitarist for the band…