Finally, all the old VOW WOW albums have been re-released. As such, my rather compact collection (two CDs) has tripled in size in a very short time. Thanks to the albums being available only as Japanese imports, this was not exactly cheap, but it was money well spent anyway.

The "Cyclone" album in particular had me in its grasp right away. It's true that especially where Melodic Metal is concerned, there are tons of releases both by new bands and old heroes, and they're cheaper as well. However, the Japanese simply are far better than 90% of the scene, in my opinion anyway. And let's be honest here: bands such as STRATOVARIOUS or TNT, which are roughly comparable to VOW WOW, have been putting out mediocre stuff at best for the last few years. Of course this album is a bit dated as well, but makes up for it with one hell of a righteously fresh sound.

These songs boast extremely high levels of balanced arrangements, powerful melodies, awesome backing vocals, madly rotating axes and hellaciously rocking keyboard parts right where and when they're appropriate. Just listen to the Hammond organ at the beginning of "Rock Your Cradle": it just doesn't get any better than that. Also take into account the wicked chorus and you'll agree this simply is insanely good. If you enjoy vocalists that feel at home in the higher ranges yet still have a powerful voice, VOW WOW and their fronter Genki Hitomi are something you should not miss. Besides, if you ever want the opportunity to OD on such incredible songs as "Hurricane", "U.S.A.", "Siren Song" and so on, you will want to own this CD anyway.

(Online May 14, 2007)