Fozzy - Chasing the Grail
3.5 stars
Pro wrestling Renaissance man Chris Jericho and Stuck Mojo guitarist Rich Ward have developed a unique songwriting partnership. In 10 years, Fozzy has gone from metal cover band with a serious Spinal Tap fixation to an accomplished act that melds old and new metal into a satisfying stew. Chasing the Grail is their best work yet. Skip the ballads but keep the rest.

Ike Reilly - Hard Luck Stories
3 stars
Ike Reilly earns comparisons Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, maybe some Elvis Costello and any other big name rock and roll songwriter. Hard Luck Stories is his most "Dylan" album yet. Reilly mashes mouthfuls of lyrics with blasts of harmonica. He's having fun - singing about booze, drugs and all the results that follow the chemicals. Shooter Jennings and David Lowery (Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker) guest on two tracks. Reilly and Jennings warble their way through "The War on the Terror and the Drugs" - a mid-album highlight among a collection of quality songs. Reilly is good. He just happens to sound like artists who are iconic.

Carney - Mr. Green, Vol. 1
3 stars
Bandleader Reeve Carney is also a budding actor with roles in Julie Taymor's The Tempest as well as the long-promised Spiderman musical. The rest of the Carney band joined the show's orchestra - performing songs by Bono and The Edge - and found the free time to slap down a rock album. Mr. Green, Vol. 1 conjures classic rock with hints of electric blues, jazz and the poppier elements of Pink Floyd. It's a tight, well-produced record, but it is a little weird and likely to be a footnote in the saga of the singing webslinger. Sucks for Carney.

Bruce Kulick - BK3
2.5 stars
Bruce Kulick is best known as the longest tenured guitarist of KISS. In his 11 years with the band, he was present for some notable highs and lows of the band's catalogue. The only reason he left was due to the original lineup's reunion, but Kulick remained part of the KISS camp regardless. In between supporting Paul and Gene, Kulick worked on several hard rock projects. BK3 is his third solo album and is marked with the harder edges of KISS. Rougher than KISS, in a good way. The album also features a crew of guest stars from Kulick's career. Otherwise, the show is all his.

Austin Collins and the Rainbirds - Wrong Control
2.5 stars
Pleasant. Sufficient. Unremarkable. Austin Collins writes pleasant country rock songs in the Uncle Tupelo/Ryan Adams vein. These are songs sufficient to get girls with cowboy hats and a two-beer buzz dancing. Sometimes, that's all you can ask from a band this smooth and unremarkable.