Guitarist Patrick Hemer debuts first solo album, More Than Meets the Eye

12 December 2011 Entertainment

Probably best known for his work with Horizon, guitarist Patrick Hemer steps out on his own with his first solo album More Than Meets the Eye. The album, like most of its kind, is an platform for Hemer’s rather impressive neo-classical guitar style in a tradition melodic heavy/power, sometimes, progressive metal context. In this sense, [...]

0 comments Read more →

Ephrata borough council, power mad and money hungry, seek to raise taxes on property owners

7 December 2011 Ephrata

The disturbed and economically challenged Ephrata borough council is seeking to raise taxes on property owners. These political animals seem unable to control their power mad lust for money. We’ve elected them to keep our town’s financial house in order, but they are unable to do so. The council appears unwilling to balance the budget, [...]

0 comments Read more →

With ‘Show Me How to Live,’ Royal Hunt returns with D.C. Cooper and one fine album of epic melodic metal

5 December 2011 American Culture

The creation of keyboardist Andre Andersen, Royal Hunt has been going strong for better than 20 years. Their first mainstream success came in the mid-Nineties with Moving Target (1995) and Paradox (1997) with D.C. Cooper on lead vocals. Recently, following a reunion tour, Andersen asked Cooper to return to the Royal Hunt fold. The result [...]

0 comments Read more →

Theocracy’s As the World Bleeds offers an exciting blend of Christianity and epic melodic heavy metal

23 November 2011 American Culture

Another three years has passed and so Atlanta’s Theocracy returns with their third album As the World Bleeds. Considering the strength of its predecessor, Mirror of Souls, this album was born with certain expectations already in place. Fret not fans as you will not be disappointed.

0 comments Read more →

High Spirits ‘Another Night’ is classic American melodic hard rock

14 November 2011 Entertainment

At first listen, Chicago’s High Spirits’ second long-player Another Night seemed both anomalous and typical of melodic hard rock. With a strong and speedy pace and an super abundance of twin guitar solos the songs smack of early NWOBHM. Yet these are surrounded by equally harmonious and melodic chord vocal arrangements, nearly taking the edge [...]

0 comments Read more →

This new chili recipe hits all the right hot spots

5 November 2011 American Culture

Revised:  January 24, 2012; change below in italics. I found an interesting recipe for chili with beans in, of all places, a calender from Classic Rock magazine. The use of tomato paste, parsley, and spices other than a quick dose of straight generic chili powder was appealing. After several experiments with this recipe, I came [...]

0 comments Read more →

A Moment in Chiros: Lance King’s solo debut a tour de force of melodic progressive power metal

30 October 2011 American Culture

Okay, so here’s the short review: Buy this album. If you dig well-composed and entertaining melodic progressive power metal with powerful and versatile vocals, then Lance King’s first solo project, A Moment in Chiros is simply primo material. So head on over to Nightmare Records and order the album; otherwise read on if you want [...]

0 comments Read more →

Fierce and entertaining classic metal from UK’s Intense, latest album, The Shape of Rage

19 October 2011 Entertainment

English metal band Intense has been plugging away at their craft for 20 years. Now signed to Germany’s Pure Legend Records, the band delivers their third full length album, The Shape of Rage. While 20 years only puts them back to the early Nineties, one listen to this disc find that their roots go deeper [...]

0 comments Read more →

Knight Area’s Nine Paths: simply great melodic progressive rock!

10 October 2011 American Culture

Knight Area’s fourth release, Nine Paths, is simply a great sounding album of melodic progressive rock. Earlier works were likely gathered under the symphonic rock genre also. But Nine Paths seems to find Knight Area upping the rock ante just a bit. With that said, don’t think that founder, composer, and keyboardist Gerben Klazinga is [...]

0 comments Read more →

Cole slaw with cilantro and sauteed garlic, a fresh and delicious alternative to the traditional mayo slaw

6 October 2011 American Culture

I stumbled across this ‘different’ recipe for slaw salad in a grocery store flyer. There’s no mayonnaise, traditional white vinegar, paprika, celery seed or some combination of these ingredients. The garlic gives the salad some bite, and a smoky flavor. The cilantro brightens the whole salad for a fresh feeling. After several tries, I discovered [...]

0 comments Read more →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →