Ant May

I spend half my life at gigs or festivals and the other half writing the reviews and editing photos, and somehow find time for a full time job too. Who needs sleep - I've got coffee.

Erja Lyytinen interview

I spoke to Finnish blues guitarist Erja Lyytinen to talk about her new live album and upcoming tour dates. Your new album “Live in London” is due for release on 8th June.  Why choose London to record it? Well London is the centre of music in Europe isn’t it, and …

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Sirenia interview – May 2015

I spoke to Sirenia composer and main man, Morten Veland to talk about the new album – Seventh life path.  Morten writes all the music and plays it, so I spoke to him about the writing process.  Hear what he had to say here….            

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BLOODSTOCK reveal ten more bands, plus more club nights

With 2015’s festival season officially underway, BLOODSTOCK still has plenty to reveal about the summer’s premiere metal weekender. Ten more bands, to start with… Joining the Sophie Lancaster Stage line-up on Friday are MESSIAH’S KISS (https://www.facebook.com/MessiahsKiss), featuring former session musicians for Tony Iommi and Saxon. Saturday sees the addition of …

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Download goes Cashless

The rumours are true. We can’t trust Download Dog anymore so the festival is going absolutely cashless this year – the first major UK festival to do so. Which is pretty epic. Not only will it reduce queues for the bar and food stalls, it removes the faff of cash …

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Soulsteal – Tenebris

Soulsteal are a Doom/Death Metal band from Cyprus that formed over ten years ago.  They released their debut EP in 2009, then in 2012 followed this with their debut album.  Now three years on, they are releasing their second album, Tenebris. The songs are fairly short with almost half clocking …

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FM – Robin 2, Bilston – 2nd May 2015

First up tonight was Belfast band, No hot ashes.  They are a band that formed in the 80’s before splitting a few years later.  After 25 years apart they reunited a couple of years ago.  As you’d expect, most of the set is songs from the 80s but they do …

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Beth Hart to perform first UK solo show

Following the release of her critically acclaimed album “Better Than Home“, and her triumphant May 2015 UK tour, Grammy nominated singer-songwriter, Beth Hart will perform a rare, first-time solo concert in the intimate surroundings of the Union Chapel in Islington, North London on Monday 14th December. Tickets, priced £35.00, will …

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Beth Hart – Barbican, London – 8th May 2015

The night opened with Irishman Miles Graham.  He performs doing vocals and playing acoustic guitar, and has two musicians with him, one on the Cajon (a box shaped drum that the drummer sits on as he plays), and one on bass.  His set is very good – a classic singer-songwriter …

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Deep Purple – Long Beach 1971

Over the last couple of years, earMUSIC have released several live albums from Deep Purple – “Paris 1975”, “Copenhagen 1972”, “Stockholm 1970” and “Graz 1975”.  Now the band’s show at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California, on July 30, 1971 is being released.  The concert features the Mk II …

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Triaxis – Zero hour

British band Triaxis are about to release their third album – Zero hour.  The album was recorded following a Pledgemusic campaign to raise the funds, and which reached its goal on the day the campaign launched – such is the support the band have from their fans.  The band’s first …

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RavenEye – Breaking Out

British band RavenEye may be a new name to many, but fans who saw Blues Pills on their latest UK tour will have seen RavenEye supporting them.  I saw their set in London and was really impressed, so the fact they’re releasing an EP in May is good news. RavenEye …

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Aonia announce Sunset Symphony UK Tour

Critically acclaimed seven-piece symphonic/progressive metal band, Aonia is embarking on a short tour of England from the 27th to 31st of May, along with the French Gothic metal band Alwaid and York-based melodic metal band Lost Effect. Tour dates are: 27-5-15 – O’Riley’s, Hull 28-5-15 – The Shed, Leicester 29-5-15 …

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Secret Rule – Transposed emotions

Italian band Secret Rule are a fairly new band, only forming at the start of 2014, but little more than a year later, they’re already releasing their debut album – Transposed emotions.  In addition to writing and recording an album in little more than a year after forming, they’ve also …

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Anneke van Giersbergen interview – April 2015

I spoke to Dutch singer Anneke van Giersbergen shortly before she played the Garage in London with The Gentle Storm, her new project with Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen. The Gentle Storm is your latest project with Arjen Lucassen.  You’ve worked together before haven’t you? A few times.  The Ayreon album …

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King King – Reaching for the light

This year has already been a great year for fans of the Blues or Blues-Rock, but it still manages to keep on getting better, and the new album from King King definitely raises the bar for rivals to match.  Their great live performances on their recent tour have set expectations …

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