First up today were Mercy Isle, a band with a mix of European and American members.  They play a mix of rock and symphonic metal – which sounds like a slightly odd mix, but it works very well.  Keyboard player Joop de Rooij is no stranger to MFVF having played …

An early start means it’s always a struggle to get up and out for the first full day of MFVF, but it’s one of those festivals where you don’t want to miss a band even if you haven’t heard many of the bands before as I’ve never left disappointed. Evig …

Fridays at MFVF are normally more a social affair than anything else.  Yes there are usually some bands on, but it’s a chance for people who havent seen each other recently to catch up.  With no MFVF in 2015 then it was two years since I’d seen some people, and …

In an unprecedented move for Metallica, the band will release music videos for each song from their forthcoming album, Hardwired…To Self-Destruct starting today at 12:00 PM EST on www.metallica.com and simultaneously with editorial partners around the world for every two hours.  New songs and their videos will premiere right up …

Cvlt (As Fvk) is the new album from Californian industrial rock band Death Valley High.  I have to confess they’re a band I havent listened to before, so for this review I was diving into the unknown.  After listening to the first few songs, my reaction can be descrbed as …

Tonight’s opening act is Canadian musician Colin James. He’s not playing with a full band – instead he’s joined by Chris Caddell performing as a duo.  Both spend the set seated playing acoustic guitar while Colin James sings. As well as some of his own material, he plays a Muddy …

MVKA welcome new signing ZEAL & ARDOR. Imagine this: Tarantino’s Django sacrifices a goat on stage while intimidating slave chants roar and screeching guitar riffs burn in the background. Then the rhythmic chain rattling evoking a satanic summoning makes way for the eerily familiar melodies of Norwegian black metal. This …

Ahead of the re-release of their catalyst debut album ‘Ember To Inferno’, firebrands Trivium have unearthed a rare demo for fans to get their hands on early. For pre-orders of ‘Ember To Inferno’ (set for release on December 2 via Cooking Vinyl), fans will now receive ‘The Storm’ as an …

In March 2016, a few weeks before the release of the Santana IV album, the classic lineup of Santana played a reunion show at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. The show featured songs from the new album as well as songs from their first three albums.  Now that …

Broken Witt Rebels are riding high after their recent win of the ‘Best Rock Act’ award at the Unsigned Music Awards held at Troxy, East London on Thursday 27th October 2016. The award follows an incredible year for the band which included 460,000 views of their ’Guns’ music video on …

Tonight’s support came from Sheffield based Bang Bang Romeo.  They’re fronted by Anastasia Walker, a singer with a nice powerful voice which suits their vintage rock sound.  It’s a good set and goes down well with the crowd, getting the night off to a good start. Next it was time …

On 27th July 1996, Bryan Adams played a show at Wembley stadium in front of a crowd of over 70,000 fans.  It was a show packed with hits, and now 20 years on, it’s finally getting a DVD release.   It’s a bare-bones release with no extras which is a slight …

In June 2016, Ritchie Blackmore made a lot of fans very happy by playing three rock concerts.  The legendary guitarist retired from playing rock many years ago and since then has only played with his medieval band, Blackmore’s night.  These shows then represented the first chance for an entire generation …

On their last few UK tours, I’ve missed seeing Barb Wire Dolls as their gigs have always clashed with something, so I was looking forward to my first time seeing them.  Sadly it appeared I was in a minority – I walked into the venue to find it almost empty, …

Nickelback may be a band that people love to mock, but the simple fact is they make albums of rock music that sells millions of copies, and have a huge fanbase.  Add to that the fact that when I’ve seen them before they’ve put on a great show, and the …

On 31st December 2015, Motley Crue brought their existence as a touring band to an end, having signed a legally binding declaration that they would stop touring as Motley Crue.  The final show took place at the Staples centre in their hometown of Los Angeles and saw fans travelling from …

Kai Hansen is a German heavy metal legend as a member of Helloween and then Gamma Ray, and more recently his work with Unisonic.  This album celebrates his 30 year career in metal.  Rather than just doing a Gamma Ray album he’s done a solo album, and alongside him on …

Austrian band Cornerstone are back with a new album, Reflections. It’s been five years since their last album, “Somewhere in America” and in that time the and have changed singer.  Sadly I’ve missed them whenver they’ve come to the UK, but definitely want to try and see them live at …

In 2014 Status Quo released an acoustic album – “Aquostic: Stripped bare”.  It was a bit of a shock to suddenly hear the classic songs we know and love being done acoustically, but like many fans, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Clearly plenty of other fans enjoyed it too as Quo …

The organisers of Metal Female Voices Fest have announced the lineup for the Friday night of the event.  Whereas Saturday and Sunday will be normal band sets, the Friday will be a more intimate acoustic affair with a great lineup of musicians and singers performing.