Event Reviews

So, after a Friday of absolute mayhem, perhaps the Saturday of Download would be a more chilled out affair? You might have thought so too with UFO (6) opening the Main Stage; the audience wasn’t the biggest but there was enough there to get heads nodding and ‘Doctor Doctor’ made …

Welcome to the first in a three part review of the 11th annual Download Festival. Once again, rock fans from all over the world descended on the hallowed turfs of Donington Park in Derbyshire for a five-day extravaganza that saw the festival outdo its previous years’ lineup by quite a …

Tonight was going to be a special gig – the first ever gig by new band, The Crunch.  A new band they may be, but the members are all experienced and certainly aren’t new to the music scene.  Singer Soren ‘Sulo’ Karlsson was the singer with Blues-rockers Diamond Dogs, Bassist …

It’s a real shame when additions to a bill are not made public. That’s what happened when I arrived at the Exchange in Bristol on Sunday evening. The venue’s website said doors opened at 7.30pm, however it turned out that, along with the three bands advertised, a further FOUR groups …

So here I am, at the first ever Helfast Metal Festival to be held in Northern Ireland. 5 hard rock and metal bands spread over several fun filled hours. This was one gig I was eagerly anticipating. Seeing Altus perform their first ever gig. Checking out Warcrux since I last …

An unusually sunny evening set the backdrop for this beauty of a gig, casting this amazing little venue into a sepia haze. The Hop is a hidden gem, stuffed down a grimy side-street, this converted mill has it all, 3 stages (that I know of), a huge beer garden, some …

Lists.  Love ’em or hate ’em (personally I’m of the latter school of thought), they seem to be an inescapable fact of life.  Subjective as they are, they are ubiquitous:  “what’s you’re top ten favourite metal albums?”, “who are your top five best guitarists?”, “what’s your favourite list of lists?”.   …

When Gloryhammer announced their first ever gig, I decided that I had to be there – their debut album has to be one of the best power metal albums of the year, so a chance to see their debut gig wasn’t to be missed, even if it involved a long …

It seems somewhat weird going to a heavy metal gig that isn’t actually a heavy metal gig – there’s chairs where the mosh pit should be, for feck sake – but, then, it is Scott Ian and there are few more metal than he! Always known as one of the …

A sunny Thursday afternoon finds me heading off to Glasgow to catch the mighty Canadian trio, Rush in concert on their Clockwork Angels tour.

The setting in the Classic Grand is very intimate for tonight’s show. The stage is dimly lit. The front section of the room has a few tables and stools close to the stage. There was gentle lighting around the small venue, which had plenty of space for people to chill …

Tonight’s gig was to be a very special one.  Firstly it’s being held at a site that is very special to rock and heavy metal – the headquarters of Marshall amplification , in a theatre they have just behind the factory that makes the iconic amps.  Secondly tonight is the …

2010 was the release of “Beyond Hell/ Above Heaven” and now Volbeat return with their fifth album “Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies”.  It demonstrates their metal heritage more than they have in any previous albums.  The album comes across as a musical journey combing the genres from the past few decades into something …

Wildest Dream – formerly known as ‘Wrathchild…be thy name‘, are a local rock duo from the East midlands made up of Edd Smith and Terry Crofts. Mostly performing as a rock tribute band, they have though written and sung their own songs along side the many greats they enact.   …

Today was the day something strange happened – the sun came out before the bands started, and stayed out all day.  Warm sunny weather at an outdoor festival in the UK – not a common occurence but one that people were very happy about.  Today at the festival was celebrating …

Overnight rain had left parts of the festival site rather muddy, so conditions underfoot weren’t great in a couple of the busy places, but generally the site was still fine and easy to get around. Zombie met girl are first up on the main stage.  With a rock/punk sound it’s …

This was my first time at Bearded Theory.  It’s held in the grounds of Kedleston Hall, so the setting is beautiful – festival-goers walking from the car park to the campsite cross a bridge over a weir by a lake, with a  nice view of the hall  on the hillside  …

When you’ve spent three days at a music festival, it takes a special gig to make you want to go out the next night.  Fortunately for me, I was heading to such a gig after three days at Bearded Theory – the arena tour of Journey, Whitesnake and Thunder.  That’s …

I cannot be the only one struck by the irony of the coincidence… just days before Black Star Riders – basically, Thin Lizzy with a bit of makeover – release their much-vaunted but ultimately disappointing ‘debut’ opus, the one band acclaimed by many as the natural heirs to the crown …

Doors opened for tonights gig at 6.15pm – and early starts on a weeknight generally mean reduced attendance early on, and that was certainly the case tonight. First band, Killfloor mechanic went on stage pretty much as soon as the doors opened.  Heavy and loud with a mix of clean …