Opinion

After a hearty cooked breakfast, we wobbled over the road to the Elizabethan Suite for day two of Grimm Up North Fest. Even at 13.00pm a dedicated number of rockers had assembled for opening act SYZ. Formed in 1981 and fronted by the perpetually entertaining Roy Hinson, they rocked out …

I spoke to Anneke van Giersbergen recently about her new band, Vuur. ok you have a new band, Vuur, which means Fire in Dutch.  With the exception of Jord Otto you played with all the band members on the Gentle Storm tour. Presumably that means you enjoy working with them. …

With The Kentucky Headhunters’ Richard Young having combatted his fear of flying when he came to see and open for his son’s band Black Stone Cherry in summer 2016; 2017 sees the band return to the UK and being reunited with the same support band, the UK’s Bad Touch, for …

Yes, that is spelt correctly. Not grim up North, but Grimm Up North! So called as it was a two day heavy metal festival in Bury, Manchester, organised by Kevin Wynn to raise funds for ongoing medical bills for Steve Grimmett, lead vocalist with Grim Reaper. On a South American …

American head charge’s European tour reached Milton Keynes after a relentless three weeks soft touring with not a single night off – a schedule that is hard for bands to sustain. It’s a four band lineup and the night gets under way with German band Reptil. I always try and …

South Wales trio, THE STARLING RADICALS take no prisoners, with a sound built around loud, brazen slabs of rock, the band delight in pleasing and offending in equal measure, and their output is as potent as it is prolific. Pulling from Nirvana, Stereophonics and the Manic Street Preachers, THE STARLING …

Brit Punk Rockers OVER TO YOU make their mark with the release of their new single ‘Storm Chasing’, which is out on 6th October. With that in mind, we asked the guys to introduce themselves:     -What is the full band line-up, who plays what? Sam Yesner – Main …

Tonight was my first time seeing one of Dan Reed’s solo shows. With his band, Dan Reed network the shows are full of energy, but his solo material is quite different. Tonight’s sold out show was at the lovely St Pancras old church, just behind St Pancras station. It’s a …

When Arjen Lucassen announced on Facebook earlier this year that for the first time in 22 years, Ayreon would play some live shows, the fans understandably went nuts. With no promotion or advertising, the two dates at 013 in Tilburg sold out within the hour (that’s 6000 tickets sold with …

A couple of months ago, I spoke to Glenn Hughes about the new Black Country Communion album.  Now with the album release approaching we’re able to bring you the interview. What made you decide the time was right to do another Black Country Communion album? Joe came to me.  I …

Highly rated alt-rocker PEUR will reveal their new single, An Exercise in Abstinence, on Friday 13th October. We sat down for a chat to find out more……   What is the full band lineup, who plays what? Joe Lomax – Vocals and guitars, Ryan Greenhalgh – Bass and electronics, Sam Tempest …

Rising Brit post-hardcorers THE HIDING PLACE are set to take on the UK with their engulfing sound, which calls to mind the likes of Underoath and Funereal For A Friend. The band reveal a new track ‘Are You Even There’ on Friday 15th September. We had a sit-on with the …

A few weeks before they played at this year’s Bloodstock festival, I had the pleasure of speaking to Arch Enemy vocalist Aliisa White-Gluz (and briefly Michael Ammott who had been delayed en-route) about the new Arch Enemy album, Will to Power. Lets start by talking about the new live DVD …

Multi-cultural Londoners, DECRYPTED plan their assault on the UK backed by a slew of influences panning from Death Remains, Killswitch Engage, to Hacktivist. DECRYPTED release the track ‘EOEE’ on 29th September. Prior to this, we asked the band to introduce themselves:   What is the full band line-up, who plays what? …

Another year, another stupendous Rockwich returns! Organised by Prometheus Promotions, they managed to book twelve top quality bands to play in 12 rocking hours. Midday opening act, Wakefield based The Sourheads, fronted by the barefooted ball of energy Jake who looked like he was born to be onstage, ripped through …

When thinking of Finnish rock stars people will bring to mind Hanoi Rocks. However with her tenth studio album Stolen Hearts receiving huge acclaim, and a European tour which sees her play seven U.K. dates during September, Helsinki based slide blues guitarist, vocalist and writer Erja Lyytinen is determined to …

Brit rock n rollers BLACK CAT BONES reboot their new EP ‘Down To The River’ on Friday 29th September. We ask the band to introduce themselves:   What is the full band line-up, who plays what? Jonnie Hodson – Lead Vocals, Harmonica; Rimmer – Lead Guitar; Ash Janes – Drums, back …

Sunday at Bloodstock Open Air Festival, a bitter sweet one  as it’s the final day but this year it turned out to be the strongest day! A great start came from Kettering based hard rockers  Switch Blade City featuring Sean Seabrook on lead vocals, the best dressed frontman of the …

“Saturday, Saturday, Saturday nights alright” as Elton John wisely put it and describes today’s bands perfectly! Hotel fry up and straight off I go to Bloodstock Open Air Festival again with the first trip of the day to the New Blood Stage to witness Preston based lunatics Ward XVI. Shuttle …

Doesn’t time fly! My tenth Bloodstock Open Air Festival and definitely the most enjoyable due to the quality of the bands on show. Over one hundred played this year and I managed to catch over forty of them over the weekend playing on four stages. A mad dash to the …