Tag: Jeff Scott Soto

Jeff Scott Soto, Gary Schutt, Michael Voss, Neal Grusky – ’24th of June: Alive ‘N Kissing’ (1995) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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Back on June 24th, of probably 1995 (I think) at a place called Kühners Landhaus in Kissing, Germany, a group of musicians and friends gathered together for a small promotional show. Those four friends were Jeff Scott Soto, Gary Schutt, Michael Voss and Neal Grusky. That short little show was released as Promo and limited to only 500 copies by Long Island Records and released sometime in 1995. I’ve been wanting this one for quite a long time and finally bit the bullet and bought it as it wasn’t too expensive, but is on the pricier side of things.

It is a very relaxed show and the guys have a lot of fun with it but when the music plays, it is all business and all perfection. They are in front of a very polite and yet receptive crowd and they whip through 6 tracks with Jeff on vocals for 5 and Michael Voss on 1 track. They are joined by Mike Foerster to help out on acoustic guitar as this is an all acoustic set. No drums, simply guitars and vocals. An intimate setting and the guys doing what they do best.

The CD opens with Gary Schutt calling for Jeff to come to the stage so they can start the show. When Jeff does finally arrive, they kick in to a beautiful rendition of Jeff’s band Takara’s song “Restless Heart”. The original version is a power ballad with some great keyboards and a big chorus. Here, it is stripped down to its bare essence with Jeff giving such a stellar rendition. There is no explosive moments like in the regular version, it is reserved and even more emotive than the original. Jeff sounds amazing and sounds as good or even better than the studio version. Simply stunning.

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The Collection: Ep. 71 – August 2025 Wrap-Up

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We are now into September, so it is time for the monthly wrap-up so lets see what 2 Loud 2 Old Music added to the collection this month. This is the August 2025 Wrap-Up and we have a little vinyl, a whole lot of CDs, a DVD and even some 8-Tracks. Plus, I finally obtained a Holy Grail item I’ve been searching for a very long time. So much to go through including a couple new Rock Candy CDs in the collection, some Kiss and even a couple Box Sets. Lots of great new and old stuff to go through and show for this month so I hope you enjoy the show!!

So go check it out as it will be live tonight, September 1, 2025 at 7pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

And here is everything…

Ellefson-Soto – ‘Unbreakable’ (2025) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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The debut Ellefson-Soto album was released back on October 7, 2022 and only 6 months later, David Ellefson and guitarist Andy Martongelli wasted no time in starting to write the next album. Starting April 2023, work began on the songwriting and over the next year and half the two would collaborate with Jeff Scott Soto on what would become the second Ellefson-Soto album called ‘Unbreakable’. Funny enough, it all started with a cover song. David suggest they cover and a Queen song and David knowing Jeff’s obsessive love of Queen, knew this would draw him back in. That cover was of “Death On Two Legs”. Then it was off to the races and squeezing things in when they could as these guys are always extremely busy. The band recorded the album at Rogue Studios in Wembley, UK by Alessio Garavello and produced by Chris Collier.

The band brings the veterans together with former Megadeth bassist and Grammy winner, David Ellefson and journeyman powerhouse vocalist, Jeff Scott Soto joining forces yet again to deliver something unique for the guys. Throw in the young guns of guitarist Andy Martongelli from Arthemis and drummer Paolo Caridi of Hollow Haze, The Bad Guy Experiment, and Cosmic Dead Ringers and the two dynamics merge to form a modern rock band that throws everything at you from thrash, to power metal, to even a little punk while still bring a heavy modern sound that takes this album to the next level.

The sound of this album is just as heavy as the first with a real modern rock sound. The band feels like they are way more comfortable with each other and they have developed their own sound and style and this whole album feels right. It feels collaborative as you can hear and feel all the elements that each member brings to the table. They also brought in a little help as well as we get not one, but two duets on the album. One with the great Tim “Ripper” Owens (Judas Priest) and another with the amazing Laura Guldemond (Burning Witches). It is not that Jeff can’t handle the vocals all by himself because we know he can, but It is a chance to spread their wings and show what this band is capable of doing while keeping things fresh for the listener.

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Talisman – ‘Besterious’ (1996) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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Sometime during 1996, Jeff Scott Soto and Marcel Jacob were completely thrown for a loop when a best of album was released in Japan for their band Talisman. No one told them. The album was called “Besterious” and consisted of all songs that were previously released from the band. In response to this, Jeff and Marcel, along with Empire Records, decided they were going to release their own band approved version of a greatest hits compilation. It was called “Best of…” and it was chock full of hits plus a ton of previously unreleased tracks that any diehard fan would want to buy. I should know, I bought it!! We have previously talked about “Best Of”, so now lets go through “Besterious”.

As I noted, this was released only in Japan and there is only one version and it is on CD. No other variants of this album exist. It was released on June 12, 1996 and I have the CD. It comes with the prized OBI Strip and has 17 previously released tracks. Sometimes, a simple greatest hits is all you really want and if that is what you are wanting, then this will nicely fit that bill. The songs range from their debut album all the way to their 1995 album, ‘Life’. I don’t believe there has ever been a compilation released that covers their entire career. I think one is definitely needed.

“Break Your Chains” kicks off the album like it did on the debut album. It is one of four songs taken from that album. Jeff’s voice is like velvet as he soars through the verses and that chorus is as catchy as they come. It is a heavy song almost a cross between Dokken and due to the keyboards, Europe. The guitar solo is great with a slight flamenco sound before total shredding begins. It has all the trappings of that era that any 80’s rock fan would love.

“Dangerous” is a pure rocker. The “yeah, yeah” to start is right out of the Joey Tempest playbook. A song about wanting revenge for having his heart broken doesn’t come across too scary as Soto’s voice is silky smooth and angelic it is hard to imagine he is really dangerous, but damn it is such a great song. The guitar solo is dangerous and rips through you as they shred the skin off their fingers as fast as they are going.

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W.E.T. – The Albums Ranked Worst to First

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As we now know as we have review five studio albums, W.E.T. is a culmination of some great artist including Robert Sall of the band Work of Art (The “W”); Erik Martensson of the band Eclipses (The “E”) and Jeff Scott Soto of the band Talisman (The “T”). All three bands are Swedish bands and all on Frontiers so it made it easy to bring these three guys together. Rounding out the current band are Magnus Henriksson (Eclipse); Jamie Borger (Talisman) and Andreas Passmark (Work of Art & Royal Hunt). All in some shape, form or fashion have been a small part of one of the three founding bands.

What started as a possible one-off project with Frontiers Records, the first album came out in 2009 and 16 years later we are now through 5 albums and one live album and a ton of great music. There is not a bad album in the bunch as ALL 5 scored a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars or better. Not many bands can do that in my book. So, which ones are better than the others, let’s take a look.

THE WORST (NOT REALLY) – ‘APEX’ (2025)

I can’t really say this is a bad album at all because it isn’t.  If I had any complaint it is the same as I usually give for any Eclipse album. And that is that the songs can be repetitive, the stylings are all similar with little variety, however, the songs are so catchy and hook-laden that you don’t mind in the end.  As I said earlier, this is the sweet spot for Jeff’s vocals and my favorite style for him to sing.  Erik Martensson’s fine song writing is on full display. How he can write so many great songs is beyond me with this and Eclipse.  The guitar playing, the keyboards, the bass and the drums are in perfect harmony on these releases and they don’t know how to make a bad album.  My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars.  This is a brand new album so it could be a grower, but it is here because it doesn’t really offer anything new from the first four.

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Jeff Scott Soto – All The Albums Ranked Worst to First (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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It took me 20 months to get through Jeff Scott Soto’s catalog and have been through 89 reviews of items in my collection. That is an insane amount of albums, singles and collector’s pieces to have in a collection, let alone one artist. Jeff started way back in 1984 with Yngwie Malmsteen and has been on over 50 studio albums, numerous live albums, compilations and tribute albums, soundtracks and anything else you can think of and it was a personal goal of mine to visit every single one. I don’t think you will find any website with a more extensive collection of Jeff Scott Soto Reviews then right here at 2 Loud 2 Old Music.

Not every album he has done is good..not at all, but most of them for me are at least a 3 out of 5 or better. And the ones that aren’t, have at least a few songs to add to an already impressive playlist. Along this journey, I have had the pleasure of meeting Jeff twice after his shows and he has been so kind each time and signed numerous album covers for me. However, I was never able to get the interview I had hoped for, but I am not giving up hope as one day it will happen. Until then, let’s go through every studio album where Jeff is the main singer and rank them from the worst album to the best album and everything in between.

There are 53 studio albums that I have where Jeff is the featured singer and we touch them all. I hope you enjoy the walk though the albums and maybe find something you would like to hear. If you discovered at least one album as a result of this series, then my work is done. If not, “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU???”…kidding. Sorry, lost my head there. Enough of this chitchat, let’s get to the list.

Updated May 2025

First, the ones that scored 2 or less out of 5 Stars

THE WORST: Bakteria- ‘Defecate! Suffocate! Mutilate! Masturbate!’ (1992/2009)

Musically, it is pretty freaking heavy. Uptempo, speed metal vibes at time and as the sticker says, a mixture of Metal/Sludge/Crust/Punk. All I know is it sucks. Jeff sings in almost a growl, that is deep and completely unrecognizable as it is borderline guttural vocals at times. I listened to this in the car on the drive home from work one day and I thought to myself, “If I have a wreck and die, the police and my family are going to wonder what the hell I was in to with that crap playing in my car.” I was actually a little embarrassed to be listening to it. I am a little embarrassed to actually own this and have it in the collection, but my Soto Collection isn’t complete without it sadly. My Overall Score is a 0.0 out of 5.0 Stars! And that is being nice. It is the WORST ALBUM I HAVE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE!!!

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W.E.T. – ‘Apex’ (2025) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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As we now know as we are on their now fifth studio album, W.E.T. is a culmination of some great artist including Robert Sall of the band Work of Art (The “W”); Erik Martensson of the band Eclipses (The “E”) and Jeff Scott Soto of the band Talisman (The “T”). All three bands are Swedish bands and all on Frontiers so it made it easy to bring these three guys together. Rounding out the band are Magnus Henriksson (Eclipse); Jamie Borger (Talisman) and Andreas Passmark (Work of Art & Royal Hunt). All in some shape, form or fashion have been a small part of one of the three founding bands.

The album was released on March 28, 2025 a good 5 years after their last release and way too long between albums. I am sure getting these guys schedules to all coincide at the same time is not an easy task, but they managed it thankfully. A band I thought was going to be a one-off project now has 5 albums and a live album spanning over 16 years since the release of the debut back in 2009. If you love solid, melodic hard rock, this will not disappoint. And as usual, Erik Martensson is handling the productions so you know the sound is going to be amazing and it is.

The album opens strong with “Believer” and it is worth every minute we’ve waited since the last release. Jeff sounds amazing and I have to admit this is his wheelhouse and my favorite style of singing for me. The guitar solo on here is blistering fast and just rips right through the song. The drums are pounding and all is immense and powerful. The sound is more Eclipse than Talisman or Work of Art, but I’m good with that. Erik does most of the writing so that Eclipse influence is going to flow through.

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The Collection: Ep. 55 – April 2025 Wrap-Up

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As we end another month, it is time to go back and see what 2 Loud 2 Old Music added to the collection. This is April 2025 and we have lots of vinyl, CDs and even some 8-Tracks. So much to go through including a new Rock Candy collection, new items for the Kiss collection and a couple Box Set collections. Lots of great new albums and old ones to go through and show for this month so I hope you enjoy the show!!

So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, May 5, 2025 at 7pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

And here it all is if you can’t watch…but please watch!!

D’Luna – ‘Monster’ (2024) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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If you’ve followed along when I did the Jeff Scott Soto Series, you will notice a trend where Jeff can’t say no. If a friend of his asks him to sing on their album, he usually says yes, even when he shouldn’t. Is this project one he should’ve said NO!? Let’s find out.

Guitarist, Dave Deluna, is the namesake behind the D’Luna name. This is his album, his concept, his everything…well, Jeff Scott Soto does contribute to the song writing as well, but this is Dave’s baby. I am not familiar with Dave at all before this album and the only reason I know about it is because of Soto as if you can’t tell from the number of reviews I’ve done on Jeff from the list at the bottom, I’m a big fan.

The rest of the band consists of Philip Bynoe (bass), Dan Meyers (keyboards), Oren Halmut (drums) and occasional guests on certain songs. And if you need to describe the style of music on this album, it would be heavy! Heavy guitars, heavy drums, heavy bass and straight up heavy rock. Throw Jeff in the mix and all should be right with the world…right???

The album definitely starts out strong with the title track “Monster”. Nasty riffs, with an almost Vai-esque style to it (for a brief moment at least). Jeff’s vocals are strong, intense and serious. But there is a cool surprise with this one as it also features King’s X, Dug Pinnick, on vocals with Jeff. The two make a powerful force. The guitar work on this one is solid, no denying that my only complaint is the solo doesn’t match the song really.

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Art of Anarchy – ‘Let There Be Anarchy’ (2024) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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Art of Anarchy has been around since 2011 and this is only their third album. Granted, these guys have been busy with other projects, however, their biggest problem has been lead singers. They are now on their third album and third lead singer. It started with Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots, then it was Scott Stapp from Creed and now it is Jeff Scott Soto for their latest album, ‘Let There Be Anarchy’. Hmmm…did you notice a trend on the singers names????

And the fact they have had three lead singers, two of which have been sued by the band for lack of promotion, you start to wonder if the problem is the singers or the band. I personally think it is a combination of both because Weiland and Stapp are not known for being the most stable personalities, but I am sure the band had to play a role too. For me, the biggest problem with Art of Anarchy is that they have no sense of identity. Three albums, three very different sounds and nothing that makes them cohesive so you know it is the same band. No signature sound. And that my friends, bugs the crap out of me.

The band is full of talent as you have Tony Dickinson on bass, Jon Votta on guitar, Vince Votta on drums and Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal on lead guitar. Their current singer is the only reason I bought the album as it is none other than Jeff Scott Soto (and if you notice at the bottom of the post, I’m a massive fan as I’ve done 86 posts on him to date). That is a lot of talent.

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