HOT NEW REVIEWS
MARCH 15, 2004
STRUTTER'ZINE IS A MAGAZINE (PRINTED ON PAPER) FROM HOLLAND, WRITTEN IN ENGLISH THAT IS ENTIRELY BASED ON AOR, MELODIC ROCK, PROGRESSIVE ROCK, POWER METAL AND RELATED STYLES.  
STRUTTER'ZINE  
ZANDRAK 82 
2924 BC KRIMPEN AAN DEN IJSSEL 
THE NETHERLANDS 

SONS OF RILEY ‘SONS OF RILEY’ (BFP RECORDS/PERRIS RECORDS)

In the 1990s there was a band called EMPIRE, but since there are a lot of bands out there called EMPIRE, I need to add that they came from Baltimore, USA. They released a CD titled ‘Driven by rock’ in 1995, and the 14 tracks on this CD are quite diverse, somewhere falling in between 70s Rock, Bluesrock, AOR and Pop (Rock). Imagine a mixture between BEATLES, DAKOTA/JERRY KELLY BAND and 38 SPECIAL, and you’re quite close to the sound of EMPIRE. Highlights on the ‘Driven by rock’ CD were “Do you really love me”, “Across the city” (good midtempo rock a la JIMI JAMISON), “My life’s on hold” and “In and out of love” (strong 80s midtempo AOR), “Don’t cry” (strong vocals) and “Night club home”. There were also some weaker songs on the album, like the poppy “It really won’t matter to me” and “Mid life crisis”, but for a fan of 70s Rock/AOR this might be interesting to check out. However, the story goes on, because now there’s a band called SONS OF RILEY, which is the first solo effort by two members of Empire - brothers Tim Miskimon ( lead singer/songwriter/ guitarist /keyboards) & Mark Miskimon ( drummer).. Under this moniker they released a CD in 2002. Musically nothing had changed, so again we can hear a mix of some good AOR rockmaterial a la DAKOTA such as “Into the night”, “Run” and “Cindy” as well as a classy 80s AOR ballad “Maybe” (a la REO SPEEDWAGON), but also some poppier Rock&Roll like STONES/BEATLES/GOLDEN EARRING (“Never going back”, “Hardline” and “Waking up”), while there’s also some Bluesrock a la BAD COMPANY to be heard (“Hotel motel time”). Concluded, a very diverse CD by SONS OF RILEY, with ups and downs, but without a doubt both the EMPIRE and SONS OF RILEY CD’s are quality releases. EMPIRE is currently working on a new CD, to be released someday soon. More info on both bands at: http://www.basementfloor.com