Music Reviews: Sweet, At Vance, Ancient VVisdom, Brand New Sin, Dark New Day, Job for a Cowboy and Stormwarrior

It's time for a new column, and this one will be a bit eclectic.

Sweet have released a covers album called New York Connection and the only question has to be this: Why? The only decent tracks on here is "New York Groove" that was made famous by Ace Frehley from Kiss, and "Join Together" (originally by The Who) is ok. The rest range from god-awful, like the Dead Or Alive cover "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)," to the almost mind-blowing bad version of "On Broadway". Sweet are a band with some great songs but avoid this waste of a CD like the plague.

At Vance have released a cracker of an album in the form of Facing Your Enemy. Take equal parts Whitesnake and Rainbow, and then mix it with a touch of power metal to taste. I could not get enough of this and deliberately spaced reviewing it last week so I could have another seven days with it. This might even be their best release to date. Top quality hard rock for your listening pleasure.

Ancient VVisdom come from Texas, despite sounding like they popped out of the Scandinavian wilds. This is prog-tinged, dark, and folky rock which is both melodic and creepy all at the same time. A Godlike Inferno takes a few listens to sink in but when it does, there is a lot to like about it. Who knew Austin could spawn such a band?

Brand New Sin deal in a modern form of rock that is quite popular. United State is their latest release, and it is suitably full of angst with a touch of whine. Probably not what I would find myself listening to much, but for what it is, it is done well.

Article Author: Marty Dodge

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