Spiritual Beggars - Ad Astra

Led by former CARCASS / current ARCH ENEMY six-stringer Mike Amott, Sweden's SPIRITUAL BEGGARS have been making critically-acclaimed, SABBATH-inspired "stoner rock" albums for about half a decade so far, and their songwriting skills are rapidly improving with each successive release, as clearly evidenced by their third—and finest—full-length CD to date. Much to the band's credit, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS have not altered their style or attempted to deviate from the tried-and-tested formula in order to attain greater commercial success. Instead, they have focused all their efforts on tightening up their songwriting and perfecting their execution, which is virtually flawless, as the band deliver 12 songs of crushingly heavy, riff-laden metal that is as catchy as it is powerful.
As before, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS appear to be unconcerned with the prospect of breaking new musical ground, and there is admittedly very little on Ad Astra that has not been done before in one form or another by countless other similar sounding acts. However, where this trio clearly excel is the quality of their songwriting, and you'd be hard-pressed to find another band in this genre of music delivering material as strong as "Angel of Betrayal" or opener "Left Brain Ambassadors".
Featuring excellent production courtesy of Fredrik Nordstrom, Ad Astra is a must-have for fans of old SABBATH fans as well as for anyone with an appreciation for thick, guitar-heavy music done with a decidedly retro feel.

Ace Frehley - Origins Vol.1

To be frank, covers albums are getting to be so passé it becomes subjective to taste and artist loyalty to avoid thinking of them as contract fillers. However, Ace Frehley's on a roll right now, and we like where he's at, so we'll cut the man some slack. After all, in the past, he's done respectable covers of ELO's "Do Ya", SWEET's "Fox On the Run", the STEVE MILLER BAND's "The Joker" and with KISS, the ROLLING STONES's "2000 Man". He also scored a hit for FREHLEY's COMET with Russ Ballard's "Into the Night".
A recipient of a tribute album himself, "Return of the Comet: A Tribute to Ace Frehley", all revolves 360 degrees in the rock cosmos as Ace drops "Origins Vol. 1" upon his fans. Twelve covers, including three KISS classics, and he does a solid, sometimes tremendous job. Coming to Ace's way-back party is Slash, John 5, Lita Ford, PEARL JAM's Mike McCready and, drum roll over top a banner declaring “The Rumors Are True (to an Extent),” Paul Stanley.

Ratt - Tell the World: The Very Best of Ratt

Ratt's signature sound encapsulates anthem-heavy hard rock embellished with irresistible pop hooks and killer lead vocals. After making a name for themselves with hit "Round and Round," the band went on to have monumental successes with "Back for More" and "Wanted Man." These and more are included here!
If you already own the first of Ratt's greatest hits "8191", there is not much difference on this new release. 5 songs out of the 20 are different. The 5 being tracks 1,7,18,19, & 20. One thing to take note of, the above song track listing is correct, EXCEPT for the last track. It is not 'No One Can Stop Us Now', it is an MTV Unplugged version of 'Way Cool Jr'. The CD is still a good one to buy, if you don't own a greatest hits from Ratt already.