Tonight’s gig was the first full Avantasia gig in the UK.  It’s hard to believe it’s taken so long – the band have been going for 15 years and recently released their seventh album, but apart from a set at Bloodstock festival a couple of years ago they haven’t played …

First up tonight was Ricky Warwick and the Fighting Hearts, who took to the stage in front of a half empty venue (a lot of SLF fans chose to drink at the nearby pub rather than watch the support act).  Ricky Warwick has changed his look dramatically – when I …

Tonight’s bill looked certain to be a good one – Sabaton and Alestorm plus Bloodbound.  The two main acts both pulled in a lot of fans – there were lots of Sabaton Tshirts being worn in the queue outside, and also a lot of Alestorm Tshirts plus people dressed as …

Divergent Concerts have announced the launch of a brand new one-day London metal festival for summer 2016.  The inaugural Rock On Green festival, which will be taking over the O2 Forum Kentish Town from 4pm onwards on Saturday 4th June, is set to present a packed bill of established names …

Stevie Nimmo will release his second solo album on 4th March.  His debut solo album was the acoustic “The wynds of life” which came out in 2010.  Why the 6 year gap?  Well as some of you will know, Stevie Nimmo hasn’t been taking it easy in those six years …

“Georgia Pine” is the second EP from Birmingham band Broken Witt Rebels, and is due for release in April.  If you haven’t listened to the band before, they have a sound that is part Indie rock, and part bluesy Southern rock.  While that may sound like a slightly odd pairing, …

Tonight’s show was part of Wednesday 13’s acoustic tour.  Billed as “An evening with..” There is no support act, and instead fans get a two hour show from Wednesday 13.  It’s more than a straightforward acoustic gig though as rather than just playing songs, there is far more to it …

Tonight’s gig saw Thunder playing Wembley Arena in London.  On arriving it was clear the gig wasn’t sold out as the back part of the arena was curtained off, but I’d estimate around 7000 as the attendance which is more than enough to justify playing a venue of this size …

The Rebelles are three female singers – Tracie Hunter, Elizabeth Westwood and Phoebe White.  Tracie has already released three solo albums and toured extensively; Elizabeth formed Westworld with Generation X guitarist Bob “Derwood” Andrews; Phoebe has worked with a number of blues musicians and is currently a soloist in the …

Killit are a London based rock/metal band, although the band members orginate from Hungary, Israel, Angentina and the UK, so a pretty diverse group.  “Shut it down” was the first single from the band and has racked up over 90,000 views on youtube since it’s release.  They’re now releasing their …

This album from Big Boy Bloater may get listed as a Blues album, but I think it’s more rock and roll than Blues.  It’s got a sound that draws from fairly equally both Blues and Rock’n’Roll, so there’s plenty to appeal to quite a wide range of people.  The gravelly …

BLOODSTOCK is breezing through February with another clutch of confirmations for 2016’s best heavy metal weekender. Headlining the Sophie Lancaster stage on Thursday night, our welcome party night, will be PHIL CAMPBELL’S ALL STARR BAND.  The Motorhead axeman will also officially open the newly christened ‘Lemmy’s Bar’ with the first …

First up were Crimes of Passion, or COP UK as they introduced themselves (apparently at the request of their label when they got signed).  I hadn’t had chance to check these guys out before the show, so wasn’t sure what to expect.  Opening bands can be a bit of a …

Tonight’s gig was originally due to be at Shepherds Bush Empire, but with major roof repairs there taking longer than expected it was moved to the larger Forum. By the time the opening act came on, the venue was pretty much full, so a great turnout. First up were British …

Avantasia are back with their new album.  As always it’s done on a grand scale with a whole host of guest singers and musicians, with guests this time including Sharon Den Adel (Within Temptation), Marco Hietala (Nightwish), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) and Geoff Tate (Queensryche).  Check out the full list …

Trans-Siberian Orchestra formed 22 years ago and have been massively successful selling over 10 million albums, and playing around 1600 concerts (selling 12 million tickets in the process).  What makes them so sucecssful?  Well their albums are a superb blend of classical and rock music and that appeals to a …

Simo will be a new name to most of you, but as an indication of how good they are, it was Joe Bonamassa who brought them to the attention of the record label – any band good enough to impress him is definitely worth a listen. So, what can you …

Tonight’s gig was completely sold out which is good to see especially since it’s midweek and it’s only a couple of months since the band played Wolverhampton civic hall a couple of miles away supporting Judas Priest, and fans had been queueing in the freezing cold outside the venue early.  …

Wipe away those January blues, because BLOODSTOCK has three more bands locked and loaded, ready to level Catton Park in August! The METAL ALLEGIANCE project joins the bill!  You never know who’ll show up on stage at a METAL ALLEGIANCE show, but the line-up confirmed so far includes Testament’s Alex …

Shortly after the release of their debut EP ‘Downfall’, FROM ASHES TO NEW have announced the release of their debut album ‘Day One’ and unveiled a video for the current single ‘Through It All’.  ‘Day One’ will be released on Better Noise Records/Eleven Seven Music on February 26th 2016. ‘Through …