All Stars "All Stars (Japan, Polydor, POCP-1036)"

NWOBHM All Stars is a one-off release from Grand Slamm records Inc. in 1991, and appears to be the brainchild of producer/songwriter Lea Hart. Hart brought in an array of notable musicians and vocalists from the British hard rock and heavy metal scene, including Dennis Stratton (ex-Iron Maiden, ex-Praying Mantis), Tino Troy (Praying Mantis), Biff Byford, Nibbs Carter and Nigel Glockler (Saxon), Paul Di'Anno (ex-Iron Maiden), Neil Murray (ex-Black Sabbath, ex-Whitesnake) and Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy), as well as full band performances from First Strike and Samson.

Tracklist:

All Stars "One Good Reason"

Backing Vocals – Lea Hart

Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Tino Troy

Drums – Nigel Glockler

Guitar – Chris O' Shaughnessy

Lead Vocals, Guitar, Backing Vocals – Dennis Stratton

All Stars  "She's Danger"

Bass Guitar – Neil Murray

Drums – Nigel Glockler

Guitar – Chris O'Shaughnessy, Dennis Stratton

Guitar, Backing Vocals – Lea Hart

Keyboards – Paul Airey 

Lead Vocals – Paul Dianno

All Stars  "Trapped"

Backing Vocals – Cris Bonacci, Kim McAuliffe, Lea Hart

Bass Guitar – Tim "Nibbs" Carter

Drums – Steve Clarke 

Guitar – Scott Gorham

Guitar, Backing Vocals – Chris O'Shaughnessy

Keyboards – Paul Airey, Toby Sadler

Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Biff Byford

First Strike  "Down And Dirty"

Backing Vocals – First Strike 

Bass Guitar – Billy Kulke

Drums – Dave Anderson 

Guitar – Dave Senczak, Dee Dowling

Lead Vocals – Mick White

All Stars  "Change Of Heart"

Backing Vocals – Lea Hart

Bass – Tim 'Nibbs' Carter

Drums – Nigel Glockler

Guitar – Chris O'Shaughnessy, Tino Troy

Keyboards – Toby Sadler

Lead Vocals, Guitar – Dennis Stratton

Samson  "Good To See You"

Backing Vocals – Samson 

Drums – Charlie Mack 

Guitar, Bass – Paul Samson

Keyboards – Toby Sadler

Lead Vocals – Garry Owen

First Strike  "Hold Tight"

Backing Vocals – First Strike 

Bass – Billy Kulke

Drums – Dave Anderson 

Guitar – Dave Senczak, Dee Dowling

Lead Vocals – Mick White 

All Stars   "The Answer Is You"

Drums – Nigel Glockler

Guitar – Chris O'Shaughnessy, Lea Hart

Keyboards – Toby Sadler

Lead Vocals – Biff Byford

Synth [Bass] – Terry Thomas

First Strike   "Girls Of The World"

Backing Vocals – First Strike 

Bass Guitar – Billy Kulke

Drums – Dave Anderson 

Guitar – Dave Senczak, Dee Dowling

Lead Vocals – Mick White 

All Stars    "Only Love"

Backing Vocals – Cris Bonacci, Kim McAuliffe, Mick White

Bass Guitar – Tim 'Nibbs' Carter

Drums – Nigel Glockler

Guitar, Backing Vocals – Chris O'Shaughnessy, Lea Hart

Keyboards – Don Airey, Toby Sadler

Lead Vocals – Dennis Stratton

With booklet and obi-strip.

True Brits "Ready To Rumble (Japan, Jimco Records, JICK-89083)"

True Brits were a Melodic Hard Rock band with Dennis Stratton guitarist from Iron Maiden, Clive Burr on drums also from Iron Maiden and vocalist Lea Heart from Fastway. Their fist album is "Ready To Rumble", released in 1992.

Tracklist:

1.-She Goes Down  シー・ゴーズ・ダウン   4:13

Backing Vocals – Biff Byford, Clive Burr

Drums – Nigel Glockler

Guitar, Backing Vocals – Cliff Evans, Dave Senczak, Dennis Stratton, Lea Hart

Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Paul Dianno

Written-By – D. Senczak

Written-By, Words By – L. Hart

2.-Had Enough ホワット・ディーヤ・ウォント  3:52

Bass, Backing Vocals – Mel Gabbitas

Drums, Backing Vocals, Guitar – Clive Burr

Guitar – Dave Senczak

Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Dennis Stratton

Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Guitar – Lea Hart

Written-By – C. O'Shaughnessy, E. Clarke

Written-By, Words By – L. Hart

3.-What Am I Gonna Do ホワット・アム・アイ・ゴナ・ドゥ  3:46

Backing Vocals – Algy Ward, Dennis Stratton, Dougie White, Fast Eddie Clarke, Jackie Bodimead, Kim McAuliffe

Bass – Mel Gabbitas, Neil Murray

Drums – Clive Burr

Guitar – Dave Senczak, Mark Kulke, Scott Gorham

Keyboards – Jem Davis

Lead Vocals, Guitar – Lea Hart

Written-By – D. Senczak

Written-By, Words By – L. Hart

4.-It Ain't Over Till It's Over イット・エイント・オーバー・ティル・イッツ・オーバー  4:59

Backing Vocals – Biff Byford, Dave Senczak, Denise Dufort, Gary Barden, Geoff Brown, Kim McAuliffe, Paul Samson

Bass – Algy Ward, Mel Gabbitas

Drums, Percussion – Clive Burr

Guitar – Andy Scott, Cliff Evans, Dave Senczak

Keyboards – David J Burrows, Steve Mann

Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Programmed By, Guitar – Lea Hart

Lead Vocals – Dennis Stratton

Percussion – Steve Hopgood

Programmed By – David J Burrows, Mark Taylor

Written-By, Words By – L. Hart

5.-Show Some Emotion = ショウ・サム・エモーション  5:01

Backing Vocals – Billy Kulke, Denise Dufort, Dennis Stratton, Jackie Bodimead, Kim McAuliffe

Bass – Neil Murray

Drums – Gary Ferguson

Guitar – Cliff Evans, Lea Hart, Paul Chapman

Guitar, Backing Vocals – Dave Senczak

Keyboards – Don Airey

Lead Vocals – John Sloman

Written-By – B. Badhams, D. Airey, R. Hawthorn

Written-By, Words By – B. Marsden

6.-Caught Your Lie  コウト・ユア・ライ  3:16

Backing Vocals – Andy Scott, Dougie White, Paul Dianno, Paul Samson, Steve Clarke 

Bass – Mel Gabbitas

Bass, Backing Vocals – Geoff Brown

Drums – Clive Burr

Guitar – Trev Thoms

Guitar, Backing Vocals – Dave Senczak, Dennis Stratton

Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Jem Davis

Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Guitar – Lea Hart

Written-By – D. Senczak

Written-By, Words By – L. Hart

7.-Don't Take These Dreams Away = ドント・テイク・ジーズ・ドリームズ・アウェイ  4:15

Backing Vocals – Denise Dufort, Jackie Bodimead, Kim McAuliffe

Bass – Tim Nibbs Carter

Drums – Steve Clarke 

Guitar – Dave Senczak, Fast Eddie Clark, Lea Hart, Tino Troy

Keyboards – Don Airey

Lead Vocals – Gary Barden

Written-By – C. O'Shaughnessy

Written-By, Words By – L. Hart

8.-We're So Far Away  ウィアー・ソー・ファー・アウェイ  4:07

Backing Vocals – Biff Byford, Billy Kulke, Clive Burr, Kim McAuliffe, Mark Kulke

Bass – Neil Murray

Drums – Gary Ferguson

Guitar, Backing Vocals – Dave Senczak, Lea Hart

Keyboards – Jem Davis

Lead Vocals, Guitar – Dennis Stratton

Written-By – C. O'Shaughnessy

Written-By, Words By – L. Hart

9.-This Man's On Fire  ジス・マンズ・オン・ファイヤー   4:40

Backing Vocals – Clive Burr, Dougie White, Mick White, Paul Dianno, Steve Clarke

Bass – Neil Murray

Drums – Dave Dufort

Guitar – Cliff Evans

Guitar, Backing Vocals – Dave Senczak, Dennis Stratton

Keyboards – Jem Davis

Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Lea Hart

Written-By – D. Senczak

Written-By, Words By – L. Hart

10.-What D'ya Want  アンド・ザット・エイント・オール  4:43

Backing Vocals – Biff Byford, Bram Tchaikovsky, Bruce Bisland, Clive Burr, Denise Dufort, Kim McAuliffe, Paul Dianno, Paul Samson, Tino Troy

Bass – Mel Gabbitas

Drums – Nigel Glockler

Guitar – Andy Scott, Dave Senczak, Lea Hart

Guitar, Backing Vocals – Dennis Stratton

Lead Vocals – Dougie White

Written-By – C. O'Shaughnessy

Written-By, Words By – L. Hart

11.-And That Ain't All = ハド・イナフ  6:01

Bass – John McCoy

Drums – Thundersticks

Guitar, Backing Vocals – Paul Samson

Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Nicky Moore

Written-By, Words By – P. Samson

Issued in a standard jewel case with 24-page booklet including English release information and lyrics, Japanese lyrics and commentary, the latter credited as:

(1992. 6. / 大森庸雄 - TSUNEO O'MORI/AQUARIUS)

Also includes an obi.

From the back cover:

Under License from HEARTBEAT MUSIC

℗ 1992 JIMCO RECORDS: a division of JIMCO JAPAN CORP.

Praying Mantis "Katharsis (Russian Edition, IROND CD 22-2009)"

Katharsis is the eleventh album by British heavy metal band Praying Mantis, released in 2022. A music video was produced for the album's opener, "Cry For The Nations" as well as "Closer To Heaven."

Reception has been "generally positive" after its release. Rock Hard gave it a solid rating, labeling it as "nicely arranged, 'fluffy' hard rock." Positively, a review from Metal1 stated in their review that while it might not be the strongest album in their career, "Katharsis is definitely a well-made, multi-layered and, above all, extremely high-quality rock record of the British style." A more critical review from Metal.de stated how Praying Mantis delivers solid melodic AOR, and that the troupe knows how to make stadium rock and avoid breakaways. However, they added that the record doesn't contain any big hits and has no real long-term standing effect. "People who tend towards Hard Rock or NWoBHM shouldn't be happy with this disc. Fans of melodic stadium rock should try the work, but don't expect any major highlights." Blabbermouth spoke well of the album, and showed appreciation towards tracks such as "Cry For The Nations," "Sacrifice," "Wheels In Motion," and "Don't Call Us Now" which they stated as "an infectious pop-rock shuffle, with the album's strongest chorus and faint echoes of rock opera and Jethro Tull." Moreover, they criticized songs like "Ain't No Rock 'N' Roll In Heaven" and "Long Time Coming" for being straightforward and prosaic in that they pale in comparison with the album's deeper cuts. Concluding with that, at its best, "Katharsis tells of a veteran band with plenty of gas in the tank and a strong grip on their highly distinctive identity."

Tracklist

1. "Cry For The Nations" 4:55
2. "Closer To Heaven" 4:08
3. "Ain’t No Rock’N’Roll In Heaven" 2:46
4. "Non Omnis Moriar" 4:16
5. "Long Time Coming" 4:16
6. "Sacrifice" 5:11
7. "Wheels In Motion" 5:31
8. "Masquerade" 4:28
9. "Find Our Way Back Home" 5:03
10. "Don't Call Us Now" 5:53
11. "The Devil Never Changes" 6:32

Rainer Kalwitz – artwork

Steve Mann – mastering

Andy Burgess – producer, arrangements

Tino Troy – producer, arrangements