Welcome to the show! It is time to play another round, to get the blood rushing, and yet still have time to bang and tango. Oh My Lord, indeed - STALA & SO. Those eclectic party boys from Finland - are back together and still having fun. This jubilant and motley crew is never all alone, as long as they have fans to please. So get ready to rock the slack off your tenacious, diseased mind.

Consisting of two ex-members of LORDI, and playing pure 80s style Hard Rock, these pop stars spring into action, ready to the stay the night, romance the women, and play with delight. "Play Another Round" is their second full-length, and the songs themselves really hold up to scrutiny. Fans of HARDLINE, T&N, EUROPE, THE SWEET, BLACK 'N BLUE, SHARK ISLAND, WILDSIDE, MILLION DOLLAR RELOAD, ELECTRIC BOYS, SLEEZ BEEZ, T.N.T., D-A-D, etc. will surely find this style appealing.

Sampsa Astala tends to shout, since he does not have the best voice, but he sings clear and with little hesitation, given his thick accent. Sami J. and Pate Vaughn keep the twin guitar attack flowing in the Classic vein al 'a: THIN LIZZY, AEROSMITH, WHITESNAKE, KROKUS, etc. Never once do STALA & SO. imitate the sound or horror fashion of LORDI. They are as opposite as DIMMU BORGIR and CHROME DIVISION.

"Rock Until I'm Done" reminds me of the "Rock Until You Drop" mentality of classic DEF LEPPARD, while "Tokyo Delights" honors BON JOVI.  "All She Wrote" is a power ballad in the vein of POISON, and "Shot In The Dark" is an acoustic rendering of the Ozzy favorite. I love the energy and positive vibe of "Life Goes On", the passion and sincerity of "All Alone", or the honesty and playfulness of the Guns 'N Roses inspired "Rockstar". It looks like as an added bonus track there is a new version of the upbeat "Pamela" which appeared on their first album.

I am grateful that they never cross over into the X-rated zone which STEEL PANTHER has popularized and now done to death. STALA & SO. Are happy and gay, in the true sense of the term, and they will not let you down, because I say it so. Alright, so there you have it, again, another solid ball of Rock with great lyrics, decent pronunciations, festive guitars, and overall a rollicking vibe, and that is all she wrote....