I’m not saying that German Cheeno are the new Queensrÿche. They’re not. But then again…there’s something about them that reminds me of my great heroes of the late 80s and early 90s.

It’s not because Cheeno sounds like an oldschool heavy/hardrock band. They don’t. And it's not just because they have also created a concept album and even pulled it off nicely. No, it’s something else.

When ‘Operation: Mindcrime’ came out it belonged to the harder end of the rock spectre, but wasn’t musically extreme. I like to think of that record as a state-of-the-art rock album that captured the zeitgeist and encompassed songs of amazing quality.

‘The Next Step Will Be The Hardest’ does have a few amazing songs as well, and in a day and age where the boundaries of the definition of hardness in music have been moved several inches by the mainstream acceptance of Metallica, System of a Down, etc., Cheeno belongs at the harder end of the rock spectre as well – without being extreme at all.

But there is solidity in the riffs, there’s a certain hard edge that just makes it metal in my ears, and that without ever losing the ear for a catchy chorus (take for instance one of the main pieces of the album, 64 AD)

And Cheeno have one great asset: singer Jennie Kloos. She’s got an excellent voice, dynamic and versatile. She doesn’t get too girlish, and she never tries to be too manly. She manages to move and compel the listener in a way that reminds me of…yes, exactly, Geoff Tate. And that, ladies and gentlemen, to me at least, is true musicianship and quality.

Do try this at home.