· VIDEO ·

TANIA KIKIDI - "Wings Of Freedom" (Teaser Video)

· reviews ·

Greek vocal powerhouse Tania Kikidi follows up the excellent 2021 album “Rock & Roll Paradise” with a new belter of an album. The album kicks of with the rockin’ “Rise” that almost touches on classic 80s metal and bands like Riot or Metal Church, but with a more 70s sounding chorus. All the instruments, mixing and mastering are handled by the multi-talented Stavros Papadopoulos who does a killer job sounding like a whole band of different musicians. The title track continues and again I have to say vintage Riot does come to mind, and that is in my book by no means a bad thing. On the contrary, the early discography of Riot are among my favorite records. This is definitely classic metal with a new touch. “Loud And Proud” touches on 70s heavy rock and made me think of bands like Rockicks and Hydra, with Tania taking the vocal department to a whole new level. A killer track! “Broken Dreams” is a cool up-tempo classic rocker keeping the pace up going into a kickin’ cover of Sass Jordan’s “High Road Easy”. Tania and Stavros do a great job with it, but it’s almost impossible to surpass the unearthly energy and power of Sass, Brian Tichy and Stevie Salas, but a great version, nonetheless! “Heart Painted Blue” is a cool, heavy bluesy number giving the album another touch of color. “Confession” takes us into a Dio:esque landscape with a touch of Sabbaths “Heaven And Hell”, while “Breaking It Down” kicks off with riff heaven. Heavy, funky and rockin’ with Tania’s voice as the icing on the cake. “Bleed” keeps the riff machine going, while “Pain” revvs up the metal machine again, going back into vintage Riot territory.”Foolish Lover” is a cool, bluesy ballad kicking off with a killer solo from Stavros. The album finishes with the beautiful acoustic ballad “Sea Of Tears”. A very nice ending to a kick-ass album! Killer vocals, awesome playing, killer production and a cool cover to match it! Get it!

Janne Stark / Stark Music Reviews (November 2023)

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I call that extremely effective: a multi-instrumentalist hires a top-quality singer and releases an album with her. But you don't want to know anything about the term project, because this sound experience feels like it's a band with a classic influence. Of course, the project idea often matured in different places during the pandemic and allowed musicians of different backgrounds to try out new things. Once seasoned band members came together to cover songs by their idols, another time creative sound tinkerers took advantage of the situation to get as many like-minded people as possible at one table. Stavros Papadopoulos (Super Vintage, Revolution Highway, Freerock Saints, among others) is one of those artists who refined all their talents into a complete work. This is to be taken literally. With singer Tania Kikidi on board, the guitarist, composer, producer, mix and mastering expert created the successor "Wings Of Freedom" after their joint debut album "Rock & Roll Paradise". The title surprise coup is apt in both cases. However, if the label Hard Rock stands for the debut album, the follow-up album can be assumed to be Heavy Metal without any exaggeration. The pithy riffs allow no other interpretation. The acoustic introduction to “Rise” doesn’t change that. After just a few seconds, the opener turns into hard sounds and hits the core. An announcement that is valid for all following tracks. Singer Tania delivers the right voice and goosebumps. Meanwhile, Stavros Papadopoulos gets everything that is necessary for collective music making.

No big words are needed about “Wings Of Freedom”. Stavros Papadopulos is a prolific guitar hero of modern times; a true, legitimate axe-ripper, riff master who is fully committed to the R.O.C.K. and is no stranger to the Grooveyard circle, with his great riffing and fiery lead guitar mojo that speaks the truth of guitar rock," the press release aptly states.

If you're in the mood for hearty rocking music characterized by hard guitar riffs and a strong female voice, you should get "Wings Of Freedom" or put it under your gift table in a few weeks at the latest. Tania Kikidi's tube is made for metal. It's exactly her music. Here we are dealing with two artists who reflect Central European listening habits. Folklore from her home country of Greece is absent. These sounds don't exist on the production. Two albums from zero to one hundred percent that immediately score points are not a given. They bring joy and show us what talent lies beyond the musical countries of origin of rock music.

You can safely give yourself a special tip. The message that should be sent to Stavros Papadopoulos is that the singer is being treated with great respect, with the composer dedicating the album to her. The multi-instrumentalist could easily have named the work after himself - with Tania Kikidi as a (guest) singer. There are quite a few projects in which the musical mastermind is the focus.

The playing time of the twelve compositions with a total of 58 minutes is very decent. “Wings Of Freedom” is just fun and really gets your pulse going.

The tracklist includes 12 tracks and is released by Grooveyard Records.

Mario Keim / RockTimes (October 2023)

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A little over two years ago female singer Tania Kikidi hailing from Greece released her first rock album in the English language entitled "Rock & Roll Paradise". She worked closely together with Stavros Papadopoulos who wrote the songs, produced the album, and played guitar. There were also some guest musicians on call as well. It was quite an appetising record with Tania showing to be an all-round rock singer.

Here we are, some two years later and Tania Kikidi is back with a vengeance. Again, working with Stavros who this time played all instruments and we are curious what she has on offer this time. "Rock & Roll Paradise" proved that she could sing and that she had a big set of pipes. On "Wings Of Freedom" she has put the vocal ladder even up higher and during some songs ("Confession" and "Heart Painted Blue’’ as main examples) her reach is just incredible. Power, passion, and melody are the main ingredients that she brings to the table.

I wrote in the review of "Rock & Roll Paradise" that although Tania sounded heavier, she reminded me a bit of the great Sass Jordan. So how surprising is it to find a cover version of the Sass Jordan track ,,High Road Easy’’ on "Wings Of Freedom"? Not so surprising for me but it takes guts and courage to take on a song by Sass Jordan, as she is one of the best in the business. But Tania is on her way to be one of the best female rock singers in the business as well as her version is very strong indeed.

What is also strong is the total sound that Stavros managed to create. The whole record sounds cool, and Stavros lets that guitar rip on and off on this album with twelve songs. There is plenty of variety to be heard here but as Stavros is the main composer you hear a lot of classic rock influences in Tania’s music. It is a style that suits her down to the ground, if you ask me. Obviously, the songs have been written with her voice in mind but as always is the case with Stavros Papadopoulos the riffs and solos are playing a very important role as well.

Luckily "Wings Of Freedom" counts several excellent compositions. I already mentioned the songs ,"Confession’’ and "Heart Painted Blue’’ but also the rock ballad ,"Foolish Lover’’ is an absolute highlight for me. Yet again Tania goes all the way combining passion and power with a great vocal melody. When you hear other songs such as,"Loud And Proud’’, "Rise’’, the title-track and album closer ,"Sea Of Tears’’ (acoustic based ballad), the important variety factor is covered as well. I would have preferred for "Sea Of Tears’’ to be somewhere halfway through the album perhaps as now the album has a bit of a fading end, but hey, if that is the only point of criticism for "Wings Of Freedom" you must realise by now that there is not much wrong with this release.

Michel van de Moosdijk / Headbanger's Lifestyle (August 2023)

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The level is a bit unconceivable for Greek standards as the duo of composer and vocal teacher is wide enough to be confined to the borders of our country. The quality of the writing, the pluralism as well as the emotional approach with a 1980’s flavour will impress fans of Dio, Whitesnake, Judas Priest, Quartz, Leatherwolf etc.

The tracklist includes 12 tracks and is released by Grooveyard Records.

Kostas Vaxevanos / Metal Invader (August 2023)

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