Welcome to the first edition of 2009. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and are ready for another 12 months of fantastic album releases and live shows.

Last year really was a superlative year for quality releases, and we all hope 2009 will continue with this rich vein of form. If the new Bad Habit album is anything to go by, then we really will have nothing to worry about. This is an absolute monster of an album, combining songs of classic Scandi AOR with others of a more modern and adult melodic rock vibe. In short, a masterpiece which I never realised the guys had within themselves. And yes, you will be seeing them at Firefest 6 this October.

Ah yes, Firefest. Firefest 5 was definitely meant to be the last, and as such had all the stops pulled out to make it a weekend never to forget. And if everyoneıs feet hurt as much as mine at the end of the Sunday night, it will never be forgotten! Weıll never do a full weekend again - itıs just too much. So this year the intention is reverting back to the Friday night and all-day Saturday. Of course, if the credit crunch gets much worse, there is a real and genuine worry that the show might be cancelled for this year - especially if the pound falls any further against the US dollar and the Euro. Even now, the collapse of Sterling would mean costs would be 30-40% higher than they were back in October 2008.

For Firefest 5, Arfm and Firefest released a special CD, ŒThe Undying Fireı, which was supported by many great artists from our genre. On this wonderful album you will find unreleased tracks from the likes of House of Lords, Robin Beck, Shadowman, Newman, Valentine, Talon, Crunch, Heartland and others. If you havenıt already picked up this gem, then please do so. Not only is it a collection of fantastic songs that is sure to become a collectors item, you will be supporting both Firefest and Arfm in your purchase. The CD is available directly from Arfm, and the usual mail order outlets.

Speaking of Robin Beck, there has been much debate about the legitimacy of re-recording her debut, the classic ŒTrouble Or Nothingı. Does any artist have the right to go back and redo a piece of art from an earlier period? Johnny Lima did the same for his debut album, although few could argue the results there were vastly superior. The debate on Robinıs album, quality-wise, is not so clear cut. What is clear though, is that ŒTrouble Or Nothingı is 20 years old and not readily available on CD. Many new fans of melodic rock in their 20 and 30ıs have most likely never even heard this album, so for that reason alone my personal feeling is that itıs worthwhile. Add to that the fantastic four new tracks, and itıs a total winner. Imagine what Rainbowıs ŒRisingı would sound like today if it was re-recorded in a modern studio with all the available production tools and techniques. I would certainly love to hear that, and donıt prescribe to the opinion that classic works of art should be left alone and never improved upon (unless your name is George Lucas. (George ... nooooooooooooooooooo!!!)

Hope you are enjoying the new look full-colour magazine. Any comments, please feel free to drop me a line at the usual Email address. Until next issue ... keep the night light burning! (And this new Magnum album better rock!!)

-- Bruce Mee