EVlLYN STRANGE positively sparkle (you can almost Mourning Phoebe feel their enjoyment), while the THIRTEEN 772 MUSIC melodic skills of violinist jerry Goodman are evident on a good Mourning Phoebe deal of the album, in among the is the debut contributions of the rest of the release by this stellar cast. Odd time signatures powerful trio and imaginative modulations pop comprising British up throughout, and each piece has brothers Phillip its own atmosphere, and functions (vocals//:>ass)and AI (drums/ in its own right, as opposed to keyboards) Strange and Swedish merely serving as a showpiece for the guitarist Mikael johannesson. They guests. Jazz-rock fans will simply lap have been around since 1996 and it this up! OS has taken quite a while for this release but they can be justifiably proud of it as it is an enterprising FAIR WARNING rock album taking US melodic Sundancer elements and combining them with STEAMHAMMER RECORDS the earthier British metal and adding a little Scandinavian flair.The Remember the vocals are strong, insistent and 80's when German expressive and they know how to • artists such asThe write catchy and hook laden rock Scorpions, with Johannesson providing the Michael Schenker, magical spark that brings it all to Accept, Doro etc life.This is a promising and strong were at the forefront of Heavy debut that ticks all the right boxes Metal/Rock? Well, Fair Warning and is well worth checking out. are a German band very much in the The CD is available from samevem .. www.evilystrange.co.uk. let'sjust This seventh album in a 20 year hope that the follow up doesn't take career has a big sound, heavy on as long to release as Mourning both oomph and melody and is very Pboebe has. Te reminiscent of the aforementioned names and, although the big hair and spandex is long gone, the ANTOINE FAFARD overall sound evokes memories of Occultus 1tamitis 80's metal. All this adds up to a UNICORN DIGITAL solid if unspectacular album but it's all been done before. sw This is the second solo release by composer and bass FASTTRAIN UNION player Antoine Fast Train Union II Fafard, and FASTTRAINUNION.COM features a vertiable who's who ofjazz-rock icons. There Fast Train Union ,- are eleven tracks here, and all are his are another hard work (clearly all double-tracked, FATESWARNING own compositions bar the final rock band to have since John Wetheritt is the sole Darkness In A Different Light track, which is his take on Johann sprung out of guitarist), which brings to mind INSIDE OUT MUSIC Sebastian Bach's Prelude No 2 in C Canada, which echoes ofThin Lizzy,Wishbone Ash Minor - very effectivelyarranged for appears to be a and judas Priest at various points. It Stalwarts of the bass guitar! Each piece was thriving breeding ground for this will be interesting how this comes •••. / progressive metal apparently composed with specific type of band right now, with across live, with only the single ~ scene, Fates players in mind - the author then Monster Truck having recently come guitar in the sonic palette. Warning have hoping to persuade each of these to out with their splendid latest Overall this is an excellent listen. ~.I~~.w..~_"7~N:.;' peen around since contribute! He's actually done an offering. It's hard enough for the metal-beads LE] the early Eighties excellent job: for example, the way Slightly less heavy than the Truck, to get into, while it also possesses and have been as vital to the genre's that saxophonist jean-Pierre Zanella Fast Train Union specialise in a the melodic savvywhich will keep development as the likes of lets loose on 'Good Reasons' melodic strain of hard rock, but the attention of those who like a Queensryche and Dream Theater illustrates just how suitable that without the smooth AOR sheen that good tune filling their riff sandwich. but have never scaled the heights particular piece's environment is for description sometimes conjures up. As the title suggests, this isthe that those bands reached. They have him -you can almost hear him Kiss are an obvious touchstone, as band's second effort, following the had numerous personnel changes revelling in it - and Simon PhiUips Sean Potvin's vocals are quite self-titled debut (remember the days but the quality of the music and responds accordingly with equal reminiscent of Paul Stanley at times, when it was quite the done thing for guitarist Jim Matheos has always zest! Indeed, all the guests are but the comparison is to the better bands to come out with albums remained constant. The current allowed to flourish on their and more inventive Kiss output, suffixed 3, 4 etc?), and by all version of Fates Warning sees respective pieces; and percussion is with certainly none of the cliche- accounts that first record is more of Matheos being joined by vocalist by no means the least-featured ridden output from the Crazy the same fare. A good, solid, 'classic RayAlder, Joey Vera on bass, Bobby medium here, as the likes of Phillips, Nights era in evidence. There is also rock' album - and after all, isn't that jarzornbek on drums and fellow Terry Bozzio and Magella Cormier a significant amount of twin-guitar what we're here for? SP guitarist Frank Aresti so there is still