I knew SHYLOCK was born for greatness. We reviewed their "Welcome to Illusion" back in 2004 and that received 4.5 stars and then "Devotion" in 2007 and it got 4 stars, but it’s been a couple years now and the new SHYLOCK album "RockBuster" is about to hit the airwaves.

What can we expect? Well Matthias Schenk (lead vocals) has always been a favorite of mine and the seductive guitar playing of Johannes Amrhein is outstanding but can the new release measure up to past work? I really think so and I hope the melodic rock world will take notice of "RockBuster" as it is outstanding.

My first couple spins of the disc it seemed just pretty good. The songs were well written and they had great catchy choruses but by the fourth spin I was singing along! Let’s break down some of the tracks starting with the opening tune, "Damn Good". I promise from the first note you will get images of BONFIRE meets BON JOVI. SHYLOCK is an unbelievable band that captures your senses with killer hooks and AOR vibes flowing through every track. The soaring guitar by Johannes matches any melodic rock guitar god. You really get the total package and the opening track just explodes. With track two, "Dawn", it gets a little heavier but the vocal prowess of Matthias snatches you back to reality showing these guys need to be heard on the big stage. Not only does SHYLOCK deliver the goods but at points they also push the levels of rock to new limits and can also be considered as melodic masters.

You might think certain songs don’t have longevity but just check out SHYLOCK’s cover of TIMEX SOCIAL CLUB’s "Rumours"… just amazing!!!

"Sunshine vs. Rain" brings a sensitive side with this great ballad by the band and the phenomenal vocals of Matthias put him in the elite status with fellow countrymen like Germany’s Claus Lessmann (BONFIRE) and Michael Voss (MAD MAX, CASANOVA). Don’t think for a minute SHYLOCK just writes power ballads and AOR tunes, check out "Just For U" and now you know these boys can kick it in to high gear too… raw power on this one.

You gotta figure you would never hear the kind of guitar work these days you heard on classic melodic releases but Johannes is just outstanding and never disappoints, not only do you get clean smooth riffs but this guy soars, slamming the strings like you never heard!

I love the next track called "Strong". Have a couple glasses of wine, lay back and enjoy. It will blow your mind, and just figure we haven’t gotten to my favorite track on the album yet… DAMN!!!

You gotta check out "Moment", this might be my favorite track. This would be playing on every rock station in the US if it got the right support. Just a great tune!!!! Come on sing along…

Even the last two songs "We Are" and "Wrong Planet" would be a featured single on other artists’ releases. If you’re looking for an outstanding release without filler then this is it.

This is our first 5 star review of 2010 and I recommend melodic music fans pick this one up!