· VIDEO ·

TANIA KIKIDI - "Escape" (Promo Video)

TANIA KIKIDI - "Rock & Roll Paradise" (Teaser Promo Video)

· reviews ·

This album has been out two years now, so there is not much news here, except perhaps for those who missed it at the time of release and are yet to give it a listen. Tania Kikidi is a well established artist in her native country, Greece, but as far as I am aware, Rock & Roll Paradise is her first international release.

This album, released by Grooveyard Records in 2021, was one of the hottest and most exciting releases that year and made Tania an immediate star attraction on the global rock scene and for a very good reason; she is an immensely talented vocalist and really packs a heavy punch when it comes to delivering well-crafted hard rock tunes as this album bears witness. Her professionalism oozes through every note she delivers, and her striking power and energy makes her unique and in a category of her own. It is hard to think of another female singer so strikingly hot and urgent and who attacks with such thrust and force, armed with vocal range that equals that of Purple’s Ian Gillan! Tania’s undeniable star quality is laid bare on this album for everyone to experience!

The songs on the album are written by Stavros Papadopoulos, the mastermind behind some of Europe’s most exciting and best known rock projects; Super Vintage, Freerock Saints, King Mountain and Revolution Highway to name some. Stavros is also responsible for arranging the songs, the album’s production values and, unsurprisingly, skating over it all with his guitarwork that not only has long established him as one of the continent’s greatest rock guitarists but arguably (and with Super Vintage in mind) Southern Rock’s foremost guitarman.

Stavros’s versatility as a musician and songwriter comes as no news to those familiar with his output over the last decade or so. He is very much a rock musician/guitarist/songwriter through and through, but within the genre there is not a style he hasn’t mastered and tried his hands on. Stavros has worked with and produced music with some brilliant singers before, writing, arranging and playing what fits and suits the artists and their individual styles. And that is very much the case here; his songs are written to perfectly fit Tania’s style and musical personality, hard rock as great as it gets and that really push Tania to the very limits of her abilities – a spectacular show of rock’n’roll talents at the peak of their game. But, having said so much, I will also have to eat my words here. Tania is not the kind of artist that takes backseat to anyone; Stavros may have written the songs, but Tania has made them her own and very much so.

This album was one of the best releases of the year and, arguably, the best in its category. The era of the “classic” rock album, the historical landmarks that made the music, may have passed but Rock & Roll Paradise is as much a classic as any hard rock album can be. It certainly puts Tania up there with the best of the great voices of rock, a much welcome revelation to so many of us who have lived through decades of rock’n’roll and come to believe that there is nothing new under the sun. Come another day, come another surprise!

As I write this some fantastic news are out: another Tania album is out in a few weeks time – life is good! In the realm of rock Tania Kikidi is the most exiting artist to enter the stage in years and her new album, again with Stavros at the helm, promises to be an absolute cracker. And that comes as a no surprise; Stavros and Tania are artists with nothing left to prove, we can only expect them to give us greatness!

THOR INDRIDASON / (July 2023)
 

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Greece has presented some good stuff now and then, unfortunately not that often. However, in the last 6-7 years there’s been a bunch of good stuff with a nice 70s vibe coming out with bands like Universal Hippies, King Mountain, Hard Driver, Freerock Saints and Super Vintage. One guy has a finger in each of the pies, guitarist, singer, producer Stavros Papadopoulos. So also here, meaning my expectations are quite high. Tania kicks off the opening track and immediately shows how things are done! Power-rock, hard rock, riff rock – classic hard rock with great melodies, fat guitars and Tania’s rocking voice as the icing on the cake. This starts out really good! “Queen Rider” continues in the same vein. It’s kinda hard to describe the style more than saying it’s 100 % rocking classic and quite timeless hard rock in the same musical territory as classic Dio and Victory, but with Tania’s voice as a new element putting them in a lane of their own. “Freedom Highway” invites you to some serious riffing with a nudge to the old Zep school, but a chorus closer to southern rock. “Night Burner” fills upp the riff account again and this one brings classic 70s bands like Teaze, Moxy and Riot to mind, and a riff that made me think of Whitesnake’s “Still of the Night”. Without going through each and every track on the album I’ll say that the overall quality is high, the song material is quite uniform but still varied enough to make it an interesting album. The fact is that the album rocks my world in every track! If you like classic hard rock with great riffs and a singer with the right rock edge, this album is a must. The production, as Stavros’ productions usually is, is dynamic yet fat and powerful with kick ass guitars and drums that sound natural. High scores there as well!

Janne Stark / Stark Music Reviews (November 2021)
 

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Out of Greece comes lead singer TANIA KIKIDI and as soon as I heard her voice I knew this was going to be a great journey! Rock & Roll Paradise is her first CD, and besides Tania on vocals, the other involved musicians are guitarist/bassist/piano/keyboardplayer/producer/songwriter STAVROS PAPADOPOULOS and drummer CHRIS LAGIOS. Together they recorded 12 great rocking tunes that combine elements of 70s classic rock and 80s melodic hardrock. The first couple of songs are superb high quality uptempo melodic hardrocksongs, both Rock & Roll Paradise and Queen Rider are really sensational in a style of classic LITA FORD, PHANTOM BLUE, VIXEN and such 80s female fronted acts. Tania is an incredible lead singer with the perfect voice for this kind of rock and roll. The material is not just uptempo straight-ahead, but also quite groovy here and there, such as can be heard during Freedom Highway and Night Burner that both also feature catchy melodic choruses, with big fat guitar riffs as well, reminding slightly of HEAT (the German band that released 1 album in the 90s on ROCKWERK RECORDS), IF ONLY and LAOS. The superb Daughter Of The Wind has a classic HEART touch meets LANA LANE approach, with once again fantastic vocals and a sensational melodic rock/AOR chorus that will blow away any fan of classic female fronted AOR/Melodic Rock! Almost halfway the CD I am safe to say that this is one of the best female fronted rockalbums in ages! Other highlights on the debut CD of Tania are In The Eye Of The Storm (uptempo classic 80s DIO guitar riff driven melodic heavy rocker with a superb melodic pure 80s catchy chorus), the midtempo groovy melodic rocker You Keep Me True and the lovely Escape. I am deeply impressed by the voice and the 12 included songs of TANIA KIKIDI, which are not only perfectly sung, but also the guitarwork is phenomenal and above all, the songs are really catchy, so a must-have for any fan of female fronted melodic hardrock!

Gabor Kleinbloesem / Strutter'zine (November 2021)
 

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This album features Tania Kikidi. She is the ultimate hard rock vocalist. She covers all ranges of the vocal spectrum from melodic to all out powerful blasts. On top of that she has the rock attitude to pull it off. The music is written by the proverbial musical fountain of Stavros Papadopoulos. He of too many bands and projects to list here. Stavros has written these songs to perfectly showcase Tanias ability as a singer. His guitar playing is just outstanding as well. This is pure 70’s to 80’s rock done in todays world of the highest order. Plain and simple: it rocks. Dont hesitate to pick this up on CD as the album plus the layout & design artwork is worth it by Nyxian:Drift.

Gary Milligan / Amazon Review (August 2021)
 

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What Alessandro Del Vecchio is to Frontiers Records Stavros Papadopoulos is for USA-label Grooveyard Records. Stavros has some four band/projects on the go for the label (amongst them Super Vintage and King Mountain). He also produces solo-material and produces and writes for other artists that are connected to Grooveyard.

The Greek maestro and multi-instrumentalist’s latest project involves female Greek singer Tania Kikidi. Stavros provided the songs, the sound and production. But not only that. He also delivered a shitload of guitar riffs and solos to make Tania’s record ‘Rock & Roll Paradise’ a real joy to hear. As Tania as a singer brings it across as well with a very decent range, enough melody and some serious power in her pipes. She is not only a stunning woman to see but first and foremost a singer that can sing different genres as well. Just listen to how she handles the ballad "The Last Goodbye."

Luckily on `Rock & Roll Paradise’ Tania sings pure hard and heavy rock and does that with conviction. On several songs, like "Walkin’ On Badlands," she reminds me of a certain Sass Jordan. But in general on this record her style is a lot heavier orientated.

Thanks to the crunchy and overwhelming classic guitar sound by Stavros and a couple of other Greek guitar slingers invited to lent their talents to this album, ‘Rock & Roll Paradise’ matches up with its title.

If you like stuff in the style of Saraya, Chrissy Steele, Sass Jordan etcetera, have a listen to this record that has straight forward hard rocking songs with tonnes of guitar masturbation. Pretty sure Tania will reel you in with her voice and her hard rocking attitude. Yes people, they do know how to rock in Greece!

Michel van de Moosdijk / Headbangers Lifestyle (August 2021)
 

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Tania Kikidi from New Artaki, Greece, released her debut album "Disi Anatoli" together with Dickens Zoo in 2007 and it was followed by: "Piso Olotahos" (2012). "Run Through The Night" (2012) and the EP "Silent Partners Project" (2021) and on July 31, 2021 the album "Rock & Roll Paradise", which contains 12 songs and was released as a CD through Grooveyard Records. The band consists of: Tania Kikidi - vocals and backing vocals, Stavros Papadopoulos - lead guitar, bass guitar, piano and keyboards and Chris Lagios - drums and is assisted on this album by: Antonis Panagopoulos - lead guitar (track 1, 4, 5, 6 3 and 10), Antonis Vogiatzoglou - lead guitar (track 2, 3 and 8) and Joan Kolia - backing vocals (track 3).

The album starts with the title track "Rock & Roll Paradise", in which Tania Kikidi plays an excellent uptempo hard rock song, which has a catchy swinging rhythm that makes you dance (listen to this song via the youtube link below the review) and followed is led by "Queen Rider", a great swinging uptempo rock song, which has subtle tempo changes and contains a danceable rhythm, and "Freedom Highway", a solid swinging uptempo song with a catchy rhythm. This is followed by "Night Burner", also an uptempo rock song, which swings and has subtle tempo changes, "Daughter Of The Wind", a wonderful swinging rock song, again a great uptempo rock song and "Walkin' On Badlands", in which the band plays another nice to listen to hard rock song. In "In The Eye Of The Storm" Tania Kikidi lets me enjoy a fast rock song with a catchy rhythm, in "Feel My Soul Rockin'" I hear a song in a medium tempo, which has a danceable rhythm and in "You Keep Me True" the band again presents me with a swinging rock song, which has a fairly high tempo. Next up are "Save Me", a medium tempo song with subtle tempo changes and a catchy rhythm, "Escape", a delightful swinging uptempo song with a danceable rhythm and "The Last Goodbye", a beautiful song with a slow tempo. , which encourages shuffling and a worthy closing of this album.

"Rock & Roll Paradise" by Tania Kikidi is full of excellent uptempo hard rock songs, which are inspired by 80s hard rock and will certainly appeal to fans, but the highlight of this album for me is undoubtedly the ballad "The Last Goodbye ".

Carry Munter / New Underground Music (August 2021)
 

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