Maverick - Big Red (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock

Label - Metalapolis Records

Track listing:

01. All For One
02. Free
03. The One
04. Mademoiselle
05. Forever
06. In The Night
07. Whisky Lover
08. Renegade
09. Beyond The Gates
10. Asylum
11. Fly Away

Maverick are a five-piece from Northern Ireland whom have been building their fan base since 2012 and now four years later unleash Big Red, sure to be a sure fire hit amongst fans of late 80's early 90's rocks hard rock bands such as Babylon Ad, Motley Crue and Skidrow!
One of the first things that  you will notice throughout this album, from start to finish, are the huge guitar riffs from lead guitarist Ryan Balfour and the strong pipes of his brother and lead vocalist David Balfour.
This becomes evident very early on, just check out the opening salvo of “All For One” and “Free” which feature  these aspects, including an outstanding harmonising section from the rest of the band (and a bass solo from Richie Diver).
The  Belfast lads have never shied away from expressing their musical influences from the likes of Poison to Winger to Warrant to Motley Crue and Skidrow, and while you hear an influence of each of these bands throughout the album they were shown predominately in the catchy love song “The One” and the party classic “Whiskey Lover” that will have anyone listening to this album up dancing with a bottle of Jack in hand, the guys never loose their own identity.
There was even a tasteful Thin Lizzy / Dokken mixture added to the following track “Renegade.”
In fact "Mademoiselle" could very easily be a transitional track between Skidrow's debut album and the mighty Slave To The Grind, and sees vocalist David Balfour easily tackling Seb Bach's vocal style! Definitely my favourite track on the album!
One track that deserves a special mention is “Asylum”. This tune features some huge special guests in The Poodles' lead vocalist Jakob Samuelsson and a guitar solo from Alice Cooper’s former guitarist Kane Roberts. Maverick supported The Poodles on their last European tour, this friendship then blossomed into what we have now, a powerful vocal duet between David Balfour and Jakob Samuelsson.

In Big Red Maverick have proven themselves to be a force to be reckoned with, and manage to bring memories of the rocking late 80's and early 90's flooding back.

Very Highly Recommended!

Rating: 9/10

Maverick are:

Lead Vocals: David Balfour
Guitar: Ryan Sebastian Balfour
Guitar: Terry McHugh
Bass: Richie Diver
Drums: Mike Ross

The Poodles - Devil In The Details (2015)

Genre - Hard Rock / Melodic Rock

Track listing:

01. Before I Die

02. House Of Cards

03. The Greatest

04. Crack In The Wall

05. Baby

06. Everything

07. Stop

08. Need To Believe

09. Alive

10. Life Without You

11. Creator And Breaker

12. Borderline

 

 

THE POODLES launch their 6th rocket full of catchy melodic hard rock tunes titled "Devil In The Details".
Following the evolution of the band's sound evident on the previous, celebrated CD, The Poodles continued their collaboration with producer Mats Valentin and on "Devil In The Details" they sound bigger than ever.
All in all, The Poodles have had over ten 'top 10' singles in Scandinavia so far - which makes them one of Sweden’s most successful Rock bands - and I'm sure this new album won't be an exception of success.
We already heard the advanced singles "The Greatest" and "House Of Cards", the first a cool, anthemic midtempo ballad full of magic, while the latter shows a groovy, marching melodic rock feel with a punchy riff and a scorching guitar solo.
Both are good tracks, but the best is yet to come.
Opener "Before I Die" is a terrific Melodic Hard Rocker with pumping verses and a glorious, quasi-epic chorus. The aggressive guitar is softened by orchestrated synths, and the solo is really original. A highlight for me.
After the aforementioned advanced singles, "Crack In The Wall" brings some mysterious and interesting sounds, then on the chorus the melodic magic explodes. It's a very elaborated, different song and one of the most personal ever created by The Poodles.
"(What The Hell) Baby" adds catchiness and even a bit of modernity, while "Everything" is a little Melodic Rock GEM (akin H.E.A.T) and of course another highlight.
"Stop" is an ok rocker, just a bit generic, but next "Need To Believe" raise the bar again, a slick mid-tempo semi-ballad with a lot of AOR charm and a classy Swedish feel.
"Creator And Breaker" has a punchy commercial refrain, while "Borderline" finds The Poodles adding a poppy smell to the song's melodic rock skeleton. I'm not completely convinced with the result on this last tack, but at least the band are trying something different.
As said, "Devil In The Details" continues with the evolution of The Poodles' sound evident on the previous CD, but here is more notorious.
And how it sounds The Poodles 2015?
Half of the album is in the trademark Poodle's fashion full of catchiness, while the other, although still melodic, finds the band exploring new frontiers. Don't be scared, always on a Melodic Rock foundation.
Some tracks are really elaborated musically speaking, featuring a prominent bass sound to add more groove, but not in the heavy manner, but more power-pop oriented. On some songs works really well with the band offering something new. On a couple, not that good.
Anyway, "Devil In The Details" is a great record. I like The Poddle's bravery to explore new sonic territories avoiding the repetitive safe side. Most of the album rocks, and in a very, compelling melodic way.
Recommended.

Rating - 9/10

The Poodles - Tour De Force (2013)

Genre - Hard Rock / Melodic Hard Rock
Label -

Track listing:

01. Misery Loves Company
02. Shut Up!
03. Happily Ever After
04. Viva Democracy
05. Going Down
06. Leaving The Past To Pass
07. 40 Days And 40 Nights
08. Kings & Fools
09. Miracle
10. Godspeed
11. Now Is The Time
12. Only Just Begun
13. En För Alla För En (bonus track)


Tour De Force is the fifth album to be released by Swedens daftest named band, The Poodles.

The Poodles like to play for pure enjoyment, throwing reasonably basic party rock anthems at you, full of riffs and melodies. The formula has always been rather simple - even if the songs are not - for The Poodles: big rock groove, strong melodies, hooks in lyrics & arrangements and ripping guitar solos wrapped up in metal edged melodic hard rock. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Period.

If you've ever heard a Poodles album before then yoiu should pretty much know what to expect. "Tour De Force" will not bring many surprises to the table. What you're looking for is an album that is strong enough to carry the Poodles name, and this one certainly does that job well.
"Misery Loves Company" is up first and it's a fantastic way to kick things off, and if you are new to The Poodles’ charm then you will be in for a treat with this barnstormer of an opener which is part D-A-D part Motley Crue, but 100% Poodle rock. In saying this though the sound of the whole record is very much of that late '80s / early '90s Scandinavian scene where acts such as Treat and Swiss Gotthard all flourished in, however the sound is mixed in with a healthy dose of the current music scene to make things contemporary.

The catchiness follows with the fun, tongue in cheek "Shut Up" and the bouncing "Happily Ever After". "Viva Democracy" in particular is a thumping heavy groove rocker (by The Poodles standards anyway), lyrically tackling the current dire situation the world finds itself in.
"Going Down" meanwhile reminds me of some of the aforementioned early '90s European hard rock bands attempts to harden up their sound but here it sounds and feels like the right thing for the band to be doing, rather than simply being a forced attempt to move with the times.
"Tour De Force" continues rocking in good way with consistent tunes in "Going Down", "Kings & Fools", "Now Is The Time" and "Miracle", complete with some eighties cowbell. Then "40 Days and 40 Nights" finds them settling down with a more commercial, poppy radio flair.
The Poodles have really done themselves proud with their fifth album "Tour De Force", a CD faithful to the band's trademarks: powerful guitars and pumping bass/drums combined with sweet melodies and some equally harmonic vocals that – all of them – eventually build a sold strong record that jumps from Scandi Melodic Rock to powerful Hard Rock and vice versa.

Add to this the songs which have their own spirit enhanced by a punchy production and what you get is a rocking album that shall sound appealing, as the rest of their discography, to any fan of the genre.

Very Recommended.

Rating 9/