FEINSTEIN "Third Wish"
by Axl Van Stradlin

Cover: 7 Evil Barbara Edens out of 10
It's a old school cover with artwork of some demon looking guy coming out of a lamp... apparently granting the polisher of said lamp their "3rd wish"... get it? RAWK!

Booklet: 6 Shockers out of 10
The same background theme as the cover, all the lyrics, thanks and credits are found within. But it's the photos that really grab you by the balls! Is this Ronnie James Dio's father? No! It's David Feinstein, formerly of the Rods and the lead guitarist/princple songwriter and presumed brainchild of Feinstein. He also happens to be Ronnie's cousin. I'm guessing he was born somewhere around the turn of the century... the 20th century. He's flashing what I can only think is the universal "2 in the pink, 1 in the stink" hand signal, aka the shocker, for some reason I really can't figure out. He's decked in the full leather attire which as an old school metaller nearly brings a tear to my eye. There is a full shot of the band also and these guys leave no doubt when you see their photo what type of music they like and they look pretty pissed.

Songs: 8 Rockin' Cuzins out of 10
It doesn't take long into this CD to realize that it's serious business. The vocals of John West (Royal Hunt) are impressive and fit perfectly to this style of music, which has almost a classic power metal feel to it. I don't know what Feinstein summoned when he rubbed that lamp, but he seems to have conjured the ghosts of bands like Helloween, Deep Purple and Rainbow for his own sound. His guitar chugs along and drops some very memorable riffs and grand solos. It's also worth mentioning the production on this CD is far beyond what I would have expected. It's almost flawless. Stand-out tracks are the outstanding epic "Far Beyond", exhausting air-guitar track "Rule The World", and muscular "Masquerade". The CD closes with an instrumental called "Inferno" and in what I consider a rarity in today's musical world, when
it's over you're left wanting to go right back to the first track and start the assault over again.

Comments: Well, I'm not going to win any Dio fans over with this comment but as much as I love Dio, this is better than anything he's done in a while. *ducking* This is a great CD and worth repeated listens. Go buy it and get this blasting on your stereo as soon as possible, David could pass of old age any moment.