Project Steiger Defiance (2003)

Cats and Dogs is the sixth studio album by Swedish hard rock band Talisman released on 12 May 2003 on Frontiers Records. The release of the album was followed by a tour in Europe, which included a headlining slot at Gods of AOR Festival in the UK, a performance at Frontiers Showcase in Italy, a new appearance at the Sweden Rock Festival and a show at the Lokerse Festival in Belgium. Talisman were a Swedish hard rock band characterized by an international melodic/powerful sound. Talisman was formed by bass player Marcel Jacob, who had previously played with Rising Force, John Norum Group and Power.

Tomas Bodin's regular job is to play the keyboards for The Flower Kings but as usual some of these musicians and especially if they are a member of The Flower Kings have too many ideas and one musical life doesn't satisfy them any longer. They need to have a solo project. And seemingly Tomas Bodin also has a lot of good ideas left over. But the music on his solo albums is quite different, it's a mix between Jazzrock/Fusion and Retro Prog, all instrumental. And of course the whole sound is keyboard dominated.

Shadow Zone is the third album by the band Static-X, released on October 7, 2003. Marked by many personnel and stylistic changes, the album sports a much more melodic sound than any other work in their catalog, while still staying in the confines of their industrial metal and nu metal sound. It was the only album to feature drummer Josh Freese and the first of two albums to feature guitarist Tripp Eisen.

For this project, members of the Flower Kings (guitarist Roine Stolt, bassist Jonas Reingold, and drummer Zoltan Csorsz) and one ex-member of Van der Graaf Generator (sax player David Jackson) team with the core of Parallel or 90 Degrees (singer/keyboardist Andy Tillison, guitarist Guy Manning, and keyboardist Sam Baine), hence the name of the group. Parallel, tangent – take a few seconds to figure it out. Stolt and Tillison share an undisputable love for old-school symphonic prog rock and epic songs. They indulge in both here. "In Darkest Dreams" is the main course, an eight-part, 20-minute suite that adds some of the Flower Kings' bright colors to Po90s usually darker (VDGG-esque) delivery.

The Black Noodle Project is a French band that has actually been around for some time, releasing their demo in 2003. There used to be more members, or maybe they just sort of come and go as the winds of life steer them. I’m not sure. Right now, there are two members: Sébastien Bourdeix on guitars, keyboards, bass, and vocals; and Tommy Rizzitelli on drums. For this record, vocalist Sab Elvenia of the band The Fundamental Wisdom of Chaos guests on three tracks. I should say that, if you haven’t already, you should check out Sab’s band—they are quite unique.

Barb Wired Tour Vol. 2 is the second of two volumes of Empress Valley’s ambitious nine disc compilation of important tapes from Ron Wood’s New Barbarians side project in support of his solo album Gimme Some Neck. Picking up where The Drug Dealer Tapes Vol. 1 (Empress Valley EVSD 196/200) leaves off, Vol. 2 contains four discs with another hour of the tour rehearsal tape along with two complete shows…