Reviews: Arion, Kaiser, Seventh Station, The Move (Simon Black, Dan Sierras, Chris Tsintziras & Mark Young)

Arion - The Light That Burns The Sky (Reigning Phoenix Music) [Simon Black]

Finland’s Arion have, as usual, taken their time following up 2021’s excellent Vultures Die Alone, but then a four-year album cycle is the norm for this onetime bunch of Eurovision hopeful Melo / Sympho Power Metallers. 

That last release was a high-water mark of that year for me, so I was keen to see what had had changed in the intervening years. 

The answer is not a lot, and that’s fundamentally a rather good thing, as what they do has a fairly unique sound in an over-crowded genre which is why they probably appeal more to the Modern Metal crowd than their pigeonhole would suggest. They’ve just dialled it up somewhat, were such a thing possible…

The reason for this is the same as last time out – an honest, brutal and on the nose set of tracks whose blistering delivery gives no quarter to the casual listener, and demands the attention for forty-five rather brutal, yet laced with pop melody minutes. 

As last time out, the technical and progressive touches lift this beyond the sameness that litters Power acts, but doesn’t intrude beyond adding that extra touch for the technically inclined. 

Even the most casual sounding fill from the drums has a rippling cacophony of interplay from the rest of the band that makes it all sound so damned easy, which it most clearly is not and a production that really captures this subtlety without reducing the overall suckerpunch from the band. 

What really helps add the slight edge of brutality is Lassi Vääränen’s raw and edgy vocals, which border on the extreme whilst simultaneously sounding both clean enough and rock and roll enough to appeal to just about anyone.

When you take your time between releases, you set the bar of expectation high but they band have delivered here. Whereas their previous release had a more commercial overall feel, the move to Reigning Phoenix seems to have lifted the barriers, and the harder edge dominates on this release, and is all the stronger for it. 

These eleven tracks really mean business, to the point where one is drawn back round again for more, which in an age of such limited attention spans is no mean feat. 

Perhaps a little more tonal variety was needed this time round, but I’m not complaining about what landed here. It’s a long way from Eurovision now, and thank whatever deity you prefer for that. 9/10

Kaiser - 2nd Sound (Majestic Mountain Records) [Dan Sierras]

HEAVY, HEAVY and more HEAVY! That’s what the trio of Kaiser brings on its latest album 2nd Sound. The bands follow up to its debut full-length LP 1st Sound, does not lack in heavy hitting riffs and punishing beats.

From the get go, Brotha brings an onslaught of heaviness that only the best in the stoner rock genre can bring. They continue their blitz of riffage on the second track 1.5 Dozen with a blistering attack on the senses. Followed up by Meteorhead that shows no mercy with their assault of low-end fuzz. And the next track Oversized Load is exactly that, and oversized load of fuzzy goodness and a chunky bass riff.

Stood Still dials it down a notch with an acoustic offering that shows the range of this great album. But right after that track, the monster awakens with the song Awaken Monster, which I consider an EPIC offering on this already grand album. 

The second single to be released A Clockwork Green, which has a groovy little intro and outro, is yet another dose of thick riffage that we’ve become accustomed to at this point. And finally, coming in at just over ten minutes, Aftershock brings a little bit of Sabbath-y, sludgy goodness.

I can’t say enough good things about this album. Buy it, download it, stream it, whatever your preference of listening is. There’s no doubt this album will be on a lot of year end lists! 10/10

Seventh Station – On Shoulders of Giants (Layered Reality Productions) [Chris Tsintziras]

Seventh Station revel in their unconventionality on their third release On Shoulders Of Giants. Paying gratitude to the band’s classical heritage, they have released the album through Dutch record label Layered Reality Productions. On Shoulders Of Giants is a an album that leans heavily on the multinational membership. 

Seventh Station features members from Slovenia, Türkiye, and Israel they are a progressive entity in the fullest sense, their music being avantgarde and  experimental. The album’s songs are expansive but never boring, they all have their own character, switching between various movements in the same song. 

Throughout this album there are various music contributions, with the members drawing from their own heritage. Any listener should give time to the album to get into the advanced melodies. 7/10

The Move - Message From The Country (Esoteric Recordings/Cherry Red Records) [Mark Young]

The Move seem to fall into that category of bands that are famous for their members did next and yet from forming in 1965 they managed an almost continuous presence in the UK top 40 up until 1968/69 and in that time were bestowed with the honour of having the first song ever played on Radio 1 when it commenced broadcasting in 1967 (Flowers In The Rain, for those keeping score). 

You might know one of their members as Wizzard as the chap responsible for I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday and you will have heard of the band that came next, with a certain Mr Jeff Lynne.

Lynne’s involvement came about following a change in personnel and as I understand it the original intent was to progress with E.L.O following the release of their first album with Lynne and Wood but due contracts there was one more album required as part of that recording contract – I’m happy to be corrected on this and I’ll expand a little on this later in the review.

It’s the overlap between the latter days of The Move and the Early days of ELO that feels visible on this release, especially with that descending chord progression that runs through Message From The Country which is fantastic. I don’t pretend to know what came first and I won’t embarrass myself by paraphrasing Wikipedia for that information but to me there are moments on here that would not be out of place on those early E.L.O albums.

In terms of composition, this final Move album goes everywhere – there’s country, there’s Elvis, swaggering 70’s rock and just a touch of glam here and there which would be everywhere in a few short years and a lot of it really holds up in 2025 as prime examples of British rock. 

Others are definitely a product of the times, such as No Time with its flute refrains and harmonies that echo the Bee Gee’s in execution and captures that British whimsy so well. There’s the Elvis tinged Don’t Mess Me Up and the bass driven Until Your Mama’s Gone that signposts Suzy Quatro’s Devil Gate Drive that shows when they needed to, they had the chops to rock out. 

Its likely forgotten that they had a level of grit when you consider the bloated monster that E.L.O became and on this one there is a guitar tone that is similar to the one deployed by QOTSA on their last album. Despite these stylistic leaps they don’t sound out of place, and one thing that it can’t be accused of is playing safe in how the tracks are placed together. 

There is a real sense of a joined mind on here, of a commonality in how the songs should be put together and they are all centred around some sublime arrangements such as The Words Of Aaron where the repeated riff allows everything else to spring from it and in some ways represents the last embers of the 60’s in its sound. That is not to say everyone is a cracker. My Marge is their version of The Beatles Honey Pie, which looks back to the music hall for inspiration and I can largely take it or leave it. 

My Marge closed the original release out and this release includes single content to round off with.

Of the extras, Chinatown is an example of a song written in a time when looking for a lady of the night was a suitable topic so I’ll leave it there but its another example of that ‘Jeff Lynne’ sound that would come later whilst Down On The Bay takes influence from Chuck Berry and is a straight-up R&B rocker which probably takes too much influence from its source, and I would say the same for California Man, where they are suitable singles but I think aren’t as good as the album overall.

How it sounds is something else, and it sounds great. The bass punches through, so you hear every note that is struck and its apparent that this has been a labour of love to put the necessary shine to it. The accompanying liner sheets are also pretty cool and I think that this would be quite the package on vinyl where you could really immerse yourself in it and enjoy as you would have done in 1971. 

The triple guitars on Tonight shine, full of warmth and character and the harmonies are quality and the likes of Do Ya that forms part of the extra content show the direction of traffic British rock was taking in the early 70’s.

It would be nice to see this, the band get a little more recognition amongst fans of guitar music, and this is the sort of release that could help it happen. There are good songs on here and I think fans of alternative / psychedelic / 70’s rock will find a lot to love. Fans of the band know what this is about and should welcome this release warmly. 8/10