Forever Never - I Cant Believe Its Not Metal

(Genre - Hard Rock / Metal Label - Independant)

Track Listing -
01 - You're The Voice (John Farnham)
02 - Who Is It? (Michael Jackson)
03 - Still Of The Night (Whitesnake)
04 - Boombastic (Shaggy)
05 - We Close Our Eyes (Go West)
06 - Future Love Paradise (Seal)


Essex boys, Forever Never offer up an Ep of cover versions, nothing too original there, but they do off up 6 good cover versions, which is something a little different for a covers release.
The Ep starts off with a metalized version of the John Farnham classic (?), You're The Voice, which works very well. The guys keep the song pretty true to the original version, with vocalist Renny Carroll pulling off a pretty good John Farham impression, but this version has been galvanized in metal, the guitars scream high in the mix. A great start!
Next up is a brave choice of covering a Michael Jackson track, Who Is It?, and again the guys pull it off very well, a great laugh.
Next up is Forever Never's reworking of the Whitesnake classic, Still Of the Night. Now personally I would have thought that this should have worked really well, but for some reason, it just doesn't feel right to me. Maybe it’s just that Renny just isn’t a match for the mighty David Coverdale, I don’t know, but it’s the low point of the Ep so far.
What follows is as surprisingly good as it is shocking. A metal version of Shaggy's Boombastic. Now I never thought that I'd live to see the day when I actually enjoyed listening to this song, but here I am singing along a thoroughly loving Forever Never's cover version. It’s a strange world!
The Ep closes out with a pretty standard and uninspired version of Go West's We Close Our Eyes and a brilliant version of Seals Future Love Paradise, which gives Renny a great opportunity to showcase his singing talents.
As a stop gap release to see the band and the fans through to their next full album, this collection of covers is a great little diversion. A fun Ep by a band that are not afraid to enjoy themselves, great.
Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended.

website - http://www.forevernever.com/

Rating - 8/10

Ritual - Ancient Tome

(Genre - Metal / Hard Rock Label - Heaven and Hell Records)

Track listing -

01. Give It To Ya Straight
02. Get Back, Stand Back
03. No Longer Feel
04. Tight
05. Let the Metal Play
06. If I Had Your Love
07. Rock & Roll Demon
08. Claw To the Top
09. Evil In Your Heart
10. Love in the Shadows
11. Friend or Foe
12. Dark Star
13. Rid of the Bitch
14. Sweet Lady
15. Overload
16. Electrified

Ancient Tome is a collection of standout tracks from Ritual, a band that at one point were considered to be New Jerseys most promising band! Unfortunately for whatever reason, Ritual failed to crack mainstream success and grab a hold of that elusive record deal. The band’s sound is definitely melodic metal / hard rock, in the vein of Motley Crue, Quite Riot etc.
The songs displayed here are all of high standards even though there’s nothing here that was ever going to set the world on fire. As an album, Ancient Tome sets itself up very well, there’s a good and varied mix of material and styles here to keep the listener interested. This album will probably find more favor amongst the fans of 80's hard rock / hair metal, although I can see Steel panther fans loving it too!
A good overview of a bands output, a short stroll down memory lane if you will.
Well worth checking out if you remember the band, or are a fan of the genre of music, or even just a fan of 80's hair metal bands.

website -
www.myspace.com/ritualonline
rating - 7/10