Jag was the acronym for front man John Allen Garies and over the course of their relatively short career released three well-received discs; 'The Longest Road' in 1990, 'The Only World In Town' the following year and their final effort 'Fire In The Temple' in 1992. Jag hit its stride at a time when Christian AOR was peaking with the likes of Crossection, Halo, The Brave, Rachel Rachel and Guardian; shifting major units and drawing large, well-mannered crowds. White Heart connections abound on 'Fire In The Temple' with production by Billy Smiley and featuring then current and former members adding their instrumental prowess. Digitally remastered re-issue.

listen: https://youtu.be/p4uFzsvudXc

Jag started in 1987 when singer John Allen Garies released an independent cassette called "It's Your Choice" on the private label Steady Wind Records featuring 10 songs. That record got the attention of Billy Smiley, founding member of Whiteheart, which not only managed to get a deal for the band with Benson records, he also produced all their three albums. "The Longest Road" (1990)  starts off strong, with a very GIANT-like guitar intro and a serious Whiteheart-like rhythm. Again, the influence of both of these bands abound through the album and the mighty Dann Huff even guests on the track "Shake It Off". Digitally remastered re-issue.

listen:https://youtu.be/TZtznehCCE8

"The Only World In Town" (1991) JAG’s second album was “arena rock” all the way. Even more importantly, the songs on this album have some significance. First, Billy Smiley, while touring Australia with WHITEHEART, heard the hit song, "Hands Up In The Air'' from the band BOOM CRASH OPERA and worked with JAG to record it as the first song on the album. The song, 'Two Worlds Collide", was going to be cut and recorded by the band GIANT. Since GIANT already had 14-15 songs for their album, John talked Billy into making it a JAG song. Dann Huff played all the guitars, and it became the 4th song on the album. Digitally remastered re-issue.

listen: https://youtu.be/Aeu2WKkcLzQ

If you remember JAG – an AOR/Hard Rock band that put out three later style White Heart-ish albums in the 90s – then you will recognize this guy’s voice. Garies is where JAG got its name – his initials. He also mentions recording this album in 1986, but said it is best left forgotten. I’m not sure about that – it’s just that this is less heavy than anything JAG did. Its starts off almost lounge music sounding, but the guitars do kick in. It’s just really caught in the early 80s sound, even though it was recorded in the late 80s. No band members are listed, so it is either Garies doing all the instruments himself, or uncredited musicians adding other instruments. First time ever (officially) on CD, digitally remastered re-issue.

listen: https://youtu.be/qqAxNlW8BnM

Hard rock in the vein of PRETTY MAIDS or even NITROGODS. Some well-known players like Christofer Dahlman (ex ALYSON AVENUE, BAI BANG) or songwriter Torbjörn Månsson along with Roger Landin (d, ex CLOUDSCAPE). „2020“ is a hard rock and metal hybrid and well-produced with lots of balls, so to speak. Rimbert Vahlström (ex-SYRON VANES) on vocals. Rough, without ballads and free of keyboards. HELLSMOKE rocks like hell!

MARTIN STARK

watch:https://youtu.be/MnJAzHo-DrQ

The sixth PRIDE OF LIONS album since the band’s incarnation in 2003 is real killer. Jim Peterik (g/v, ex SURVIVOR, IDES OF MARCH) and vocalist Toby Hitchcock haven’t sounded that strong in a long time. Probably some even more SURVIVOR-sounding songs (e.g. “We Play For Free“ or “Sleeping With A Memory“) than on previous records and some nice surprises, too, to like the anthem-like “Flagship“ or the highly emotional “Now“. A really strong contender for the album of the year !

MARTIN STARK

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPvsZpwh2a8

Finally it’s there, the long-awaited debut of STARDUST from Hungary who put out an amazing self-released EP three years ago which spread excitement among AOR freaks. “Highway To Heartbreak“ includes songs by external songwriters like Mark Spiro or Tommy Denander but also the rest of the material is absolutely top class. You get everything from melodic anthems (“Runaway“ or “Heartbreaker“) to a fantastic ballad (“Perfect Obsession“). One hell of a record!

MARTIN STARK

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MqxjDcGXSc

Hardly a month without any BLUE ÖYSTER CULT re-release or live output. Finally here comes the long-awaited new studio album of the Americans, the first in almost two decades actually. And it really rocks and even though one or two real future classics are probably missing here, it’s still in the vein of classic BÖC, which means slightly progressive hardrock with meaningful lyrics. Nevertheless, material contains some fresh elements. That’s how it should be.

MARTIN STARK

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPW7KhN_ZM4

DGM are working hard in recent years. The Italian progressive metal band put out their tenth album right now. And they offer all the well-known and diverse qualities. “Tragic Separation“ is based on exceptional songwriting, brilliant musicianship, cool hooklines, surprising breaks and last but not least on the fantastic voice of frontman Marco Basile. It’s an impressive mix of bands like DREAM THEATER, SYMPHONY X and yes, also KANSAS to a certain degree.

MARTIN STARK

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJhyycfUUf0

You want melodic metal from Chile that is pretty heavy for the most part? Well, SINNER’S BLOOD is a great choice. Frontman James Robledo is reminiscent of Ronnie James Dio, Jorn Lande or even Russel Allen (SYMPHONY X) giving the band a pretty international sound. Apart from Robledo, it is multi instrumentalist and songwriter Nasson who is the heart of SINNER’S BLOOD. “The Mirror Star“ is one of the biggest surprises of 2020 in the given genre so far.

MARTIN STARK

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TaQHh7xppw

Heavy Bones was an early 90s semi-supergroup. Containing Joel Ellis on vocals(ex-Cats In Boots), Frankie Banali on drums(ex-just about everyone in the 80s, and rounding it out with guitar hero Gary Hoey and bassist Rex Tenison. The most misleading thing about Heavy Bones is their name. Maybe if they had a better band name, and better cover artwork, they would have been a little more well received. Heavy Bones released a pretty solid melodic hard rock record considering what was relevant at the time. There are some real gems here with songs like "4 A.M. T.M.," "Where The Livin' Is Easy," and "Summers In The Rain" are all great and easily the highlights. Digitally remastered re-issue from Bad Reputation records.

Watch: https://youtu.be/a5KXcWp3e8A