Many of the metal and hard rock bands out of Germany are veterans that are getting a little long in the tooth but there's a new, youthful vanguard on the scene too, including this Dresden-based five-piece. Alpha Tiger plays melodic metal made for big radio airplay; leading the way here are cuts like "A Long Way of Redemption" with its hook-filled chorus and screaming guitars, the Motorhead-fast "Shut Up and Think" and "Lady Liberty," an indictment of how American-style freedom sometimes gets people killed, set to a classic metal groove. And "Revolution in Progress" shows the prog-metal side of the band as it gives the group's three guitarist room to play more than the expected riffing. Alpha Tiger isn't reinventing the wheel but singer Stephan Dietrich has great pipes, the band is extremely tight and the songs are not derivative; good idea to keep your eye on this tiger.

Poison
ICON 2
Ume

If you bought the Poison ICONS compilation last year you may be wondering what's up with ICON 2. Well, this set contains everything that is on ICONS, all the hits like "Unskinny Bop," "Every Rose Has its Thorn," "Talk Dirty to Me," "Nothing But a Good Time" and so on. ICON 2 appends a second disc and a bunch of deeper cuts like "Little Willy," "What I Like About You," "Until You Suffer Some (Fire and Ice)," "Cry Tough," "Love on the Rocks" and more.

Red Jacket Mine
Pure Delight
Showpony