melodic hard rock | Musicosity

melodic hard rock

Kip Winger

A former bassist of Alice Cooper's band during the mid eighties, Kip Winger went on to form Winger together with guitarist Reb Beach, keyboard/guitarist Paul Taylor and drummer Rod Morgenstein (formerly of Dixie Dregs). Taking the name from its leader, Winger specialized in winning melodic metal formula, with strong influences from bands like Van Halen, AC/DC and Whitesnake The band's eponymous debut in 1988 sold over a million copies on the strength of singles like "Seventeen" and the ballad "Headed for a Heartbreak

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Redrum

There is more than one artist with this name: 1) Redrum - (often stylized as REDRUM) is a Japanese indie/shoegaze rock band who formed in 1996 with the decisive goal of becoming a band similar to Portishead for Japan. The members of the band consist of Yumi (vocals), Tsuyoshi (guitar) and Kazi (drums). The role of bassist officially changed two times and was helmed primarily by Soto who joined the band early on and stayed until his departure in December 2004. Their catalogue of works consists of only a few proper albums, several mini albums and maxi singles.

Read more about Redrum on Last.fm.

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Royal Hunt

ROYAL HUNT recently released their new - 11th - studio album: "Show Me How To Live". The band once more joined forces with former lead singer DC COOPER to continue the magic of Royal Hunt. To those who are discovering and re-discovering the band, here are the members:

ANDRE ANDERSEN - was born on December 16th in Moscow, Russia. He studied piano since he was 5. He is a mix of Danish and Georgian "royal" blood and is a musical genius who can virtually play any instrument, compose, write lyrics and produce all at the same time.

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Harem Scarem

There is more than one artist with this name: 1) Harem Scarem is a Rock band hailing from Ontario, Canada, formed in 1987. They renamed themselves Rubber in 1999 and released two albums under that name. In 2001, they went back to the Harem Scarem name. In the Summer of 2007 they announced they "will officially break-up after one more studio album." 2) Harem Scarem emerged from Melbourne's mid-80's indie scene, but, it could be argued, were closer in sound to classic Australian blues-rock from a decade before (Dingoes, Coloured Balls, Chain, Rose Tattoo etc.

Read more about Harem Scarem on Last.fm.

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Danger Danger

The quintet -- Ted Poley (vocals), Andy Timmons (guitar), Bruno Ravel (bass), Steve West (drums), and Kasey Smith (keyboards) Landed a deal with Epic in 1989. The same year saw the release of the group's self-titled debut, spawning the single/video "Naughty Naughty," which enjoyed a few airings on MTV's Headbanger's Ball program. The album failed to break the group through to the big time, but the group stuck to their guns and issued further albums: 1992's Screw It, 1995's Dawn, 1998's Four the Hard Way, and 2000's Return of the Great Gildersleeves.

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Black 'N Blue

Black 'N Blue was a Heavy Metal band that was labeled to be the "next big thing" in the mid 80's, but despite having a loyal fan base, they never broke through commercially.
The group was formed by Jaime St. James (vocals), Tommy Thayer (guitar), Jeff Warner (guitar), Patrick Young (bass) and Pete Holmes (drums) in Portland, Oregon in 1981. By relocating to Los Angeles, they made their debut on the first Metal Massacre compilation with the song "Chains Around Heaven", before landing a major label deal.

Read more about Black 'N Blue on Last.fm.

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Axxis

In 1988 after sending in only one demo song AXXIS were signed to EMI Electrola. The debut album "Kingdom of the Night", 1989 which was already released in Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia and the USA sold 100 000 copies immediately. It became the best selling debut album by a Hard Rock band in Germany in 1989. "Axxis II" marked a similar huge success in 1990, followed by the authentic and energetic live release "Access All Areas" a year later. The ambitious "The Big Thrill" became a best seller in 1993.

Read more about Axxis on Last.fm.

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Atlantic & Lion

Very little is publicly known about Atlantic & Lion at present, other than their members are drawn from Sheffield, Preston, and London, and that the band have made three tracks available to stream, and to download for free, on their bandcamp. Without a band facebook page, the social media anchor for most bands, Atlantic & Lion are certainly not giving too many secrets away, however their latest track ‘I Forgot to Say’ should quickly distract any pangs of curiosity and plunge your attentions into a blissful sea of reverb drenched garage rock.

As Atlantic & Lion currently have no official releases, ‘I Forgot to Say’ stands as the band’s most recent, and most developed, demo. However the track doesn’t suffer from the usual pitfalls that demos are notoriously known for, and instead 'I Forgot to Say' actually benefits from the lo-fi nature of its recording. Fuzzy vocals are balanced upon the jaunty swathes of guitars and echoing percussion, which allows the lyrical nature of the track to retain a resonance without overshadowing the instrumentation. What’s more, while the track could easily be cropped to the more recognizable four minute mark, the final two minutes provide a blistering period of guitar shredding that propels the record from engaging and pleasant, to an experience I’m craving to see live. It is this epic outro that not only cements this track as a well crafted piece of music, but also displays the exciting potential Atlantic & Lion possess in developing their sound further. With rumours the band are currently booking shows for early 2012, I’m certainly keeping my eyes peeled for any dates within a 100 mile radius of wherever I happen to be come the new year.

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Band