For this album, it's easy to see why Fatally Yours was chosen for last month's "Band of the Month". With all five songs on this EP, it's not bad for their debut album.

They start off with what Thompson and the rest of the band hope to be their first single. "Exit Sign" delivers as a solid, inspirational hit song, blending sounds of Three Days Grace and Evanescence and lyrically ending on a positive note. The following track "A Stabbing Friend" sounds like another hit song, with hammering guitar and beastly drums accompanied by heavy, heartbreaking lyrics. Basically, the beginning of the record stabs and sells.

The next three tracks help cool off the rage of that last song. The title track "Every Moment gives off this "Life or Something Like It" theme, making sure that listeners would re-learn to live every day as if it was their last. "Horror Fashion" becomes upbeat, but haunting with a gripping and addictive rhythm section. And finally, "Calling Out" tells the chilling story of heartbreak: "So long, she starts calling out for me..."

Offhand, get this record and play it loud.

The driving rhythm and guitar in the intro to "Melodramatic Yellow" captures me immediately and reels me in to the point of being hypnotized. The implementation of the vocals just has me bound, there's no escaping a good song and this was a great song to entice the listener into swimming further upstream for more nuggets on to be found on TDM. SOTR don't play when it comes to delivery, whether it's musically, lyrically or otherwise. Emotional guitar work, Zeppelin influenced perhaps with the straight ahead Rock and Roll sound evidenced on "Dreams In The Rain" that is SOTR trademark, close your eyes and imagine. These guys are Rock and Roll, they live it, write about it and perform it with an intensity that other bands could only imagine, they're the real deal. Cool songs over all but "Lady Conundrum," with it's soulful, bluesy guitar, and it's smoky spoken word and 21225, which may or may not be about Brooklyn abound on this disc. There's also some sort of Sea Shanty intro., song or whatever...there's a lot going on here. Check it out the guys at www.facebook.com/sonsoftheradio or www.sonsoftheradio.com

The founding members of Queensrÿche - guitarist Michael Wilton and drummer Scott Rockenfield, along with original bassist Eddie Jackson, guitarist Parker Lundgren and new vocalist Todd La Torre - have rebooted the brand with a new self-titled album. Written together as a band, this album is a return to the classic, heavier sound that has been missing in action for 20 years. Sonically, it slots in somewhere between 'The Warning' and 'Rage For Order', yet it is not at all dated. Co-producer Jimbo Barton, who worked on 'Operation: Mindcrime', 'Empire' and 'Promised Land', maintains a modern edge on this aggressive, tight effort. The only complaint hard-core fans could have is that the album is not long enough. The 11 songs clock in at 35 minutes, perhaps long enough in today's short attention span scene, and definitely strong enough to leave us wanting more. Perhaps the greatest difference in this compared to any of their past work is the lyrical content. Queensrÿche has always been a serious, often dark, band. This album does touch on many sensitive subjects, yet it maintains a spirit of optimism and empowerment. As illustrated in the song 'Redemption', we can all "search and you'll find the answers to be the change that you want to see". Rockenfield and Jackson drive these songs forward with urgency and power. Wilton and Lundgren riff and solo like it's their last night on Earth. La Torre soars and dives with incredible range and tone. Queensrÿche has been reborn, and that is going to make a lot of people very happy.

There is a reason for this band opening and closing the outdoor Spring Concert Series, presented by Mile One. At their first performance in the Parkville 7900 block, the band first admitted that no one wanted to do a story on them. But drummer Ron Campbell said, "Just so you know, we were kidding about no one wanting to interview us."

Still, the band worked the family friendly crowd like no other. It showed in their concert and it sure showed on their album.

All of their songs are originals, with the exception of the blues cover "My Babe". "Never Kissed Before" has a classic rock style, which has that single-worthy hook. Even better than that comes "Faint Breath of Love", which is slow and lovely, as if they took the instrumental chord progression and solos of "Sleepwalk" and finally put words to it. By now, it's quite obvious that this is a great blues rock band reminiscent of BB King and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

The next thing that happens is the album quickly changes for a moment with the "Under the Boardwalk" similar tune "Trust Love". Sure, it has an upbeat register and rhythm to go along with positive lyrics, but it sounds like it's not their style.

As for the rest of the album, there are a few songs that still need work, like "Tryin Not to Think", but there are some wonderful gems in the middle of the album. "I Tried Blues" has that echoing film noir base, with keyboardist Mark Reilly on trumpet. In fact, Reilly does a bunch of things on this record, including a great harmonica solo in the beginning of "My Babe". And my personal favorite is "Give it Up to Me", a hard and rough BB King style blues, where lead singer Michael Hays's vocals are perfect.

The album does go to show that all four band members have talent and experience. The album sounds incredible with hard solos and chord progressions, and every band member is extremely strong to keep their music going. If they find their niche, which I'm hoping is the blues, the four of them will become The Blues-Rock Brothers of our generation.