After Hours – Against The Grain (2011)
Wow, what a strong month for melodic rock label AOR Heaven, first comes along the debut Big Life album featuring Steve Newman, then hot on its heels comes the unexpectedly excellent Against The Grain by the reformed UK AOR-sters After Hours. Now I say unexpected because this is a band that have been defunct for just a little under a quarter of a century with their last release coming in the shape of their debut effort Take Off from 1988!
V.A. Tribute to Jason Becker – Warmth In The Wilderness 2012
Warmth in the Wilderness is a tribute album to guitar virtuoso Jason Becker. It features many artists such as Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman, Mike Campese, Anders Johansson, Lars-Eric Mattsson, Paul Nelson, Jeff Pilson and other groups as well. A second tribute album was released in 2002, with the title “Warmth in the Wilderness Vol. 2 – A Tribute to Jason Becker”.