Opinion

Heading down to the Electric Ballroom tonight really did have a Hard Rock Hell reunion feel to it.  Not only were many of my colleagues and friends going to be there but it was another opportunity to watch Kobra And The Lotus and Buckcherry perform – twice in one week.  …

In terms of heavy music, Liverpool seems to have become a bit of a relic of the North-West touring circuit in recent time. Seldom is Liverpool graced with a gig of this calibre (the odd Def Leppard gig in the Echo not with standing), the overwhelming majority of bands hitting …

After some 15-plus years very firmly at the top of the local tree, NI death grinders Condemned shocked many fans a little earlier this year when they announced their decision to call it a day. The reason was not the usual ‘internal divisions’ or ‘musical differences’ bullshit that many acts …

Arriving at the Roundhouse I felt rather old – being at least twice the age of most the schoolkids queuing up outside the venue.  Enter Shikari certainly don’t seem to attract many people over the age of 16 if this crowd was anything to go by.  The night started with …

The night started off with Hounds.  Dear god, what idiot thought they’d be a good band to support Stone Sour?  I can only assume they paid to get on the tour, as they were so unsuited musically it was shocking.  Normally when a band is either awful or just the …

I didn’t manage to catch their set at Hard Rock Hell VI but I did meet up with them afterwards for what I can only describe as a simply hilarious interview.  Yes I didn’t see them live, but they get my vote everytime after this. Their new album ‘GET EVOLVED’ is …

Planetmosh had the pleasure of talking to Epica guitarist Issac Delahaye deep in the bowels of the HMV Ritz in Manchester just before the band took to the stage as part of their U.K. tour. Aside from the current tour we talked about the Metal Female Voices Fest in Belgium, …

I sat down with IAMI at Hard Rock Hell VI for what turned about to be more of a random chat.  Easily one of the most instructured interviews I did, it is also by far the longest and one of the funniest.  So  grab yourself a seat, get comfy and enjoy. …

Ahead of their set at Hard Rock Hell VI, I had a chat with Marc Neudeck (bass and vocals) and Steve Campkin (drums) from Slam Cartel.  If you missed their set at HRH VI then get yourself up to Manchester on 20 December for their big finale of the 2012.    

While at Hard Rock Hell VI, I got to chat to Josh from Buckcherry ahead of their headlining set on Sunday about touring, tattoos, and their soon to be released new album ‘Confessions’. The album is out of 19 February 2013, but if you can’t wait that long, then their …

I caught up with Ben from Night By Night at Hard Rock Hell VI to chat about the rationale behind the band’s name, touring, their upcoming album and, well, just a bit of randomness as well.   http://nightbynight.co.uk/  

Sunday morning comes around all sunny and clear…well ok not necessarily for the whole day as it did bucket it down as well, but you get my meaning.  This was the last day of the festival and today was all about Stage 1.  Why?  Well, cause that was the only …

Saturday dawns bright and brings with it the promised of yet more great bands, beer and festivities.  There were so many bands on this day I wanted to camp by both stages and just watch everything.  But, short of cloning myself and creating a psychic link with said clone, this …

With four days this year the line-up was jam packed full of bands and there were a lot to choose from.  Things kicked off on Thursday which was party night with the crowd really getting into this year’s theme by dressing up Western style.  I didn’t manage to get to …

Epica prove to Manchester why they are a true force to be reckoned with.   The Ritz in Manchester is a cracking venue without doubt and tonight’s gig promised to be one most worthy of playing within it’s hallowed walls as the Epica world tour arrived on the latest leg …

I had the opportunity to catch up with Cauldron on their ‘Europe’s Lost Tour’, discussing their new album and how the fans have taken the transition from Goat Horn to Cauldron and their headline European tour. Enjoy!                      

Australia has been producing some quality metal and rock acts of late and another, Mammoth Mammoth, recently released their third studio album last month through Napalm Records that was pretty cool to the ears as you can read from our recent review. We caught up with guitarist Ben Couzens to …

It started outside the Academy itself. First, a man called Dino Canizares walked out of the main doors, posed with some fans, then made his way round past the long line of people queuing for entry and made his way (presumably) to the tour bus. Minutes later, a taxi pulled …

With Huron taking to the road for a brief tour of the UK with ragga punk metal meisters Skindred, we caught up with guitarist Rimmy Sinclair to talk about their EP and tour and what lies ahead in 2013. Hi Rimmy, thanks for taking the time to chat to us …

A change of any band member is always hard, but somehow seems harder when it is the singer, the front man of the band. Some bands manage this well and others do not, thankfully for us, Night By Night are one of the former. Warning us that their set was …