Born from the fires of Chicago, Illinois, Sins Of A Nation, a hard charging modern metal band, is on its way to being a new sensation in the music scene. Formed in 2007 by its original members Frank "Hammer" DePinto and Ralph "Riff" Sorce they began developing a clash of sounds to create the perfect lineup with pro players from the Chicago area. Each member has had a big part of the music scene and has played in front of some incredible acts. They have been at work in the studio at Farview Recordings where famous guitarist David Shankle former guitarist of Manowar does all of his recordings for his projects and have made some noise with their release of three new songs. Sins Of A Nation are currently endorsed by AMT Electronics, Spectraflex cables, and Strociek Music to name a few. They have traveled to three different states and handed out copies of their latest EP, to give you an Idea of the determination of their members.

Georgia Bootsali at HeavyMetalCosmos.com had this to say about Arachnes' 2011 CD "A New Day", "A New Day is a twelve track album with a Deep Purple cover as a last track (“Fireball”). The musical style is a progressive/power metal married with neoclassical elements. If time travel was possible I guess that Arachnes could easily provide the soundtrack to this experience under their jazz, blues, operatic oriented arrangements and their unique technic to move from one musical style to another without being too pushy or hard on your ears and mood. Solid, powerful, sensitive, delicate full of musical exploration and soul searching. A New Day is a perfect title for this optimistic and virtuoso release. A must have!"

Pervadelic's "Songs For Pervs" disc is filled with modern rock would-be hit singles from the minds of guitarist Jeff Kollman and drummer Jono Brown. Singer songwriter stuff. Lyrics are quite Pervy. Style of Jet, U2 , Beatles, Maroon 5 and Sting. Not for the closed-minded guitar shredders whom only dig instrumental stuff - these are written for pervs!

With two critically acclaimed albums behind them in the 2003 self titled debut and 2007's follow up Artemisia, Sun Caged took time to work on the material that makes up "The Lotus Effect". Musically their album is the most diverse effort yet from Sun Caged, containing both the heaviest and most mellow things the band has done. Moments of complex poly-rhythm contrast with very groove based melodic parts, and of course brilliant solo sections, and singable choruses all which give the band their own distinctive sound. Lyrically the album tries to find themes in specific stories and circumstances that can be extracted and turned into universal and relatable feelings and ideas. Politics, relationships, personal reflection, intertwined with modern interpretations of concepts found within ancient eastern philosophies. In short, the lyrics try to find deep meaning in simple everyday truths, without preaching or sounding grandiose or pretentious or telling anyone what to do or think.

James Byrd is a name synonymous with some of the finest guitar work committed to tape. "Beyond The Pillars" is a unique release any fan of the former Fifth Angel guitarist will have been longing to hear and serves as a reminder of just how good a songwriter and musician Byrd is. Comprised of 14 never before heard performances and 7 new songs, "Beyond The Pillars" is literally a lost album. The material's origins date to when James Byrd began writing and recording with vocalist Freddy Krumins within days of departing Fifth Angel in the summer of 1987, with much of the music material Byrd had originally intended for the second Fifth Angel album. "Beyond The Pillars" sounds like no other album from an American group before or since.

Lion Music are proud to introduce the debut release "ProgXpriMetal" from Vargton Projekt, a new band based around some of the finest musical talents to have emerged in recent years from Sweden in guitarist Mats Hedberg, Grammy winning drummer Morgan Ågren and vocalist Bjorn Jansson. "ProgXpriMetal" as the title may suggest is a varied and special release that will satisfy the extremist metal and hard rock fan and Zappa freaks too with its wide ranging sound. Stylistically, "ProgXpriMetal" is high output heavy guitar and drum oriented music with modern nods to the likes of King Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Yet there are also deft moments of subtlety and atmospheric passages all of which manages to sound open and inviting to the casual listener.

"Lord Of Winter" features neo-classical guitarist Norman K. Anderson's continuing development as a composer and player, delivering fourteen tracks of classically inflluenced metal. Instrumental fans get a treat as well, as Anderson has included the instrumental work "Fantasia Suite Opus #3 In B Minor". Anderson's other original material is delivered with the baroque, gothic compositional style he blazed on other CDs in his catalog, "Awakened", "Victory And Valor" and "Mirror, Mirror", as well as the instrumentally oriented "Master Of Illusion". Dazzling, fiery solos can be found throughout "Lord Of Winter"; favorites include "The Legend", "Making Me Bleed" and the instrumental opus.

"Oblidian" is new music produced by Lucian Tu and featuring Michael "Byron" Moreno on vocals. Both Lucian and Byron are Santa Barbara natives with various musical collaborations originating from their early teenage years. Oblidian is the first full length album by Lucian Tu since his 2001 debut album "Oblique Effect". Oblidian’s musical genre is primarily vocal-oriented rock/metal with progressive rock and metal leanings. The music covers a wide range of moods, tempos, and styles with a little something for rockers of all varieties. Oblidian’s music is a fusion of rock music energy and thematic lyrics based on imaginative fiction.

Mattsson is a name that has become synonymous with melodic progressive metal fused with symphonic, neo-classical and ethnic touches. This direction is continued and taken to a higher level for "Tango", the fifth album to be released under the Mattsson banner. Led by guitarist/composer Lars Eric Mattsson, "Tango" sees the collaboration between Mattsson and vocalist Adrienn Antal who first paired up on 2008's "Dreamchild" release build upon its predecessors impressive foundations for this overall heavier release. Yet "Tango" is arguably more accessible for the first time listener with tracks such as "Believe", "I'll Find Another Way" and the title track epitomising this commercial aspect. To add another voice to the album Mattsson has called upon Status Minor vocalist Markku Kuikka who darker style contrasts nicely with Antal's. "Tango" is 11 tracks clocking in at close to 73 minutes of some of the heaviest riffs and most complex musical passages to date from Lars, yet within the musical virtuosity there is a common theme of melody with the albums lyrical inspiration coming from everyday life and the state of the world.

Guitarist Jeff Kollman and drummer Jono Brown have put the finishing touches on the 10-song JKB sophomore album, "Empower... Devour!!!". The follow-up to 2006's "Bleeding The Soul" features appearances by JKB alumni Kevin Chown (Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats, Tarja Turunen) on bass and Charlie Waymire (Speak No Evil) on drums. Special guests include drummers Shane Gaalaas (B'Z, Cosmosquad) and Joel Taylor (Allan Holdsworth, OHM) on one track each. "Empower... Devour!!!" features plenty of riffs and solos for the guitar fanatics.

Some people will have you believe that we all eventually mellow with age. However, UFO's much acclaimed lead singer Phil Mogg's new band, Sign Of 4 (or properly, Mogg And The Sign Of 4), have come to the party fully intending to kick dust in the face of anyone who thinks that's what to expect from the new four-piece rock outfit. The group's debut album, "Dancing With St. Peter", starts in fine fettle with the loose, phase drenched riffs of the album's opening track, "Overload", proceeding to erupt into life, and in doing so setting the tone for an highly impressive eleven track set. This album was never going to be a sedate affair. Teaming up with guitarist Jeff Kollman (Mogg/Way, Cosmosquad, Edwin Dare) drummer Shane Gaalaas (MSG, Glenn Hughes, Yngwie Malmsteen, Uli Jon Roth) and bassist Jimmy Curtain, this is an album that sparkles with melody and is driven by personal passion and combines guitar based rock and soulful blues perfectly. The album's title, "Dancing With St. Peter", a track about the reality of living life a little too close to the edge for comfort, drips with eerie percussions and dark chords.

"In This Place" is the latest of seven CD releases from guitarist/composer Waldon Reed, Jr. Returning with more tone and technique guitar explorations together with trademark compositional complexities "In This Place" showcases the intimate and often jaw dropping vocal deliveries of Jane Renwick Fry. Lyrically, "In This Place" examines facets of ‘belief and unbelief’ amidst truths found in the Christian faith. With musical roots deep in progressive ideals, Reed uses highly structured forms with kaleidoscope-like harmonic progression to create the platform for unpredictable moments of intense expression ranging from somber to explosive. Two of the nine tracks are instrumental and give an affirmative answer to the question: is there anything left to say on the electric guitar? While current trends in Christian music would have us believe that Christian and creative are mutually exclusive terms "In This Place" proves that it needn’t be so. Two instrumentals include "Unsound" and "The Hope We Have".

"I'm On A Mission" is Daniel Wentworth's first solo CD with vocals - a heavy guitar record that will blow you away. Motor City guitarist Daniel Wentworth has teamed up with guitarist and vocalist Derek St. Holmes on the album's first eight tracks, then serves up two blazing instrumentals in the Wentworth intro tradition - "Far Too Long" and "Rampage". A rock guitar barn burner, "Too Hard To Please", "Litigation Blues", "A Million Years" clearly lay out the four piece band's new "mission" - a nice compliment to the first three Wentworth CDs, "Caught In A Jam", "Axe To Grind" and "Daniel Wentworth. Once again, you'll experience a full-blown riff primer and book of super-tough solos over aggressive composiions.