TNT Vinyl & CDs

Review: Following on from 1989's majorly successful and admittedly more commercial sounding fourth full-length Intuition, Trondheim glam metal-tinged hard rock heroes TNT would find themselves on the radar and eventual roster of Atlantic Records, who in 1992, would distribute the band's fifth album and first on the major label, Realized Fantasies. Praised by fans for its exceptional production with ludicrously bombastic percussion the whole way through, the project saw a sonic retracing of their more hardened edges, so as not to lose sight of their creative prowess. That being said, cuts such as the cheerful 'Easy Street' and epic ballad 'Lionheart' seem like they were purposefully designed to keep snooting record label execs off their proverbial backs. Never mind what glassy eyed nostalgia-baters say, Realized Fantasies goes hard as hell while delivering barrages of riffage, melody and playfully epic grandeur.

Review: More explosive rap classics get pressed up to handy and battle-ready 7" here courtesy of the TNT label. This seventh volume in their on going series of old school dynamite joints kicks off with a banger from Blu Cantrell. 'Breathe' (feat Sean Paul) has the reggae man dropping his trademark bars in stylised vocal form with Cantrell''s own delivery offering a clean, icy counterpoint over nice low end bump and Cali-style synth lines. Paul again features on the flip, this time adding his words to Beyonce's huge pop hit 'Baby Boy'.