Heart of The Pack (darkfall Mountain Pack, #14)

Oh, My Girl, the second album by singer/songwriter Jesse Sykes and her band the Sweet Hereafter – led by Phil Wandscher – picks up where her debut, Reckless Burning, left off. Songs are played at cough-syrup tempo, production is sparse, instrumentation equally so, offering just enough of a frame for the melody and lyrics to hang themselves on, and everything, absolutely everything, is underplayed. There is plenty of dynamic tension, but little to no dynamic range. Yes, this is a good thing. Sykes' ghostly voice, which hovers about her words more than inhabits them, has enough old-world folkiness, raw – if intentionally muted – willingness, and lonesome country pain in it to carry off these tunes with authority. Produced, mixed and engineered by multi-instrumentalist Tucker Martine, Oh, My Girl is full of slow, dipping passion, moody expressionism and poetic smarts to make it stand out in a sensual, narcotic way from the rest of the gothic alterna-twang pack. And one more thing: Sykes has more emotion in the grain of her halting, cracking voice than a whole army of Margo Timmins'es – so let the comparisons stop now, please.

HEART LINE is the new AOR/Melodic Rock project by French guitarist and producer Yvan Guillevic (YGAS, PYG, United Guitars). Surrounded by a fantastic team, the group consists of vocalist Emmanuel Creis (Shadyon, Equinox), keyboardist Jorris Guilbaud (Devoid, Shadyon), drummer Walter Français (Shadyon) and bassist Dominique Braud (YGAS, EBH). Formed in 2020, HEART LINE has strongly been inspired by legendary 80’s bands, from Whitesnake, to Foreigner, Journey, Winger, Bad English, Giant, and many more. Powerful and melodic, the quintet takes us back to the beating heart of the 80’s, with heroic guitar solos and soaring vocal lines, supported by a stunning rhythm section and virtuoso keyboard licks. The brilliant artwork was designed by Stan W. Decker. HEART LINE are currently working on setting up a tour for 2022.

The German symphonic metal band Beyond the Black return with their fifth full length record, the self-titled Beyond the Black. German Symphonic Metal shooting stars Beyond the Black look back on a stratospheric success story. Already their 2015 debut album hit like a bomb in their home country. Songs Of Love And Death besieged the German Top 15 for weeks and lead up to the band being awarded the Metal Hammer Award 2015 for "Best Debut". It's successor Lost In Forever (2016) entered the German charts on #4 right away and paved ways for a huge tour from Germany over countries like UK, Russia or Japan. Since the band's live debut in 2014 they have played the world's biggest Metal festival Wacken Open Air several times and toured as a support act for heavyweights such as Aerosmith, Korn, Scorpions, Saxon or Within Temptation.

Why mess with a great formula if there's no need to change? The Pretenders espoused this winning philosophy on the magnetic Pretenders II, a spectacular sophomore record that lived up to the promises of its breakthrough debut and replicated the 1979 effort's distinctive, can't-miss musical and lyrical flair. Part pop, part new-wave punk, part R&B, part soul, and 100% pure melodic rock n' roll, Pretenders II continued to send the quartet on its quick rise to the top and still serves as an admitted inspiration for bands ranging from Kings of Leon to Garbage. The key to the record's enduring appeal lies in the chemistry between iconic frontwoman Chrissie Hynde and inventive guitarist James Honeyman-Scott. Akin to legendary pairings like Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, or Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the male-female duo operates as an inseparable team, with one member rousing the other and driving them to greater heights.

In 2022, we celebrate Vaughan Williams's 150th birthday, and the pinnacle of Albion Record's contribution to this important milestone is this Pan's Anniversary album, which contains five world premiere recordings.