Opinion

There is an awful lot of buzz around Aaron Keylock. Kerrang! declared him the “New Solo Superstar” in the 2015 Fresh Blood List, whereas  Metal Hammer wrote in 2014: “It’s ludicrous that someone as talented as Aaron Keylock is a mere 16 years old but if anyone can shred like Gary Moore, …

Anticipation ahead of seeing Joanne Shaw Taylor was understandably high.  Having seen her in  the support slot for Joe Bonamassa earlier in the year and, also, on Later … With Jools Holland recently, Shaw Taylor certainly has established herself as an artist of sublime skills. Then add to the mix …

Dennis from PlanetMosh talked to Anvil drummer Robb Reiner prior to their set at Rebellion in Manchester, 21/10/2016.

Four years after their last visit to Dublin Bowling For Soup have had a farewell tour, a reunion, and now have a brand new album ‘Drunk Dynasty’ under their collective belts. The question is are they still as relevant and irreverent as ever? The sold out venue (first time to …

Feeder return to the live stage in support of new album, All Bright Electric. After a four year hiatus expectations are high, as evidenced by the lines of fans around the block. This is an old school touring schedule, release and tour the album as soon as possible. Early shows at …

On their last few UK tours, I’ve missed seeing Barb Wire Dolls as their gigs have always clashed with something, so I was looking forward to my first time seeing them.  Sadly it appeared I was in a minority – I walked into the venue to find it almost empty, …

Here are an evil Lucky 13 metal bands, representing a variety of genres, for you to listen to, plus learn the Wikipedia versions of their name origins. The rules: Only metal is included; no rock, blues, or punk feature in this round. No origin stories from anywhere but Wikipedia are …

UK Newcomers Renegade Twelve are destined to rise from the underground, as they release their hugely compelling self-titled debut album, out in stores on Friday 27th January 2017. For now, we grilled the guys with some questioning….. What is the full band line up? Sam Robson-Lead vocals, Jacob Mayes, Dan potter- Dual …

Nickelback may be a band that people love to mock, but the simple fact is they make albums of rock music that sells millions of copies, and have a huge fanbase.  Add to that the fact that when I’ve seen them before they’ve put on a great show, and the …

It’s been a busy old year for Birmingham blues queen Joanne Shaw Taylor. A string of gigs supporting blues legend Joe Bonamassa on his British Blues Explosion concerts to Beck, Clapton and Page. Then there was a support slot with Glenn Hughes across the USA. Next up were festival appearances …

At one time or another, even the very biggest bands were unknown. The Beatles, for instance, were just another quartet of leather-clad rockers playing in a pokey Liverpool tea bar until Brian Epstein was handed a rough copy of them singing My Bonnie. Bad Touch first came onto my particular musical …

The nights are drawing in, the temperature is dropping and somewhere in an animated world a gothic city is preparing to sing ‘This is Halloween’ all over again. Curiously, this is the first show at the Fleece in a good number of months where the audience are queuing round the …

With her ninth solo studio album released, Beth Hart can confidently claim to be on fire right now. Fitting really, given that the title of that ninth album is Fire on the Floor and is arguably her freest, most emotionally unhindered release to date.   Her previous recording, Better Than …

As the season saunters into autumn I found myself at The Slade Rooms in Wolverhampton for the second time in my life this time to see StOp, sToP a flamboyant three piece originally from Barcelona and Bulgaria and now based, not too far from Wolverhampton, in sunny (sometimes) Birmingham. Opening …

Outstanding is an often overused term. When used to describe former Procul Harum guitarist Robin Trower however, there is hardly an adjective more fitting on this evidence. Yet this isn’t a night owned solely by Trower and his superb backing band of Richard Watts on bass and vocals and Christopher …

A Saturday night out in Manchester was something I hadn’t experienced for quite a while, so I was looking forward to this, the third show of the current tour by Glasgow’s Attica Rage. I really enjoy the Rebellion Rock Bar as a venue, it seems to be able to maintain …

It’s always a great pleasure to catch up with the Glasgow Hard Rock guys known as Attica Rage. With a storming new album (Warheads Ltd) firmly under their belts, I had the pleasure of talking to main songwriter and vocalist Jonny Parr, and got the lowdown on the production process …

The night began with local heroes and solid groove meisters Morass of Molasses (7). Regrettably, there weren’t many in attendance at the time, but that didn’t show on the faces of the seasoned musicians on stage. A tad sloppy at times and playing songs that are more or less well …

Sometimes it can’t be helped – bands just have an off day. If someone tells you they’ve never played a bad show in their life then they’re lying on a level akin to politicians. At times the performance is sloppy and disjointed, at others it boils down to outside influences like a …

Brit Garage rock trio ‘Indigo Bones’ are prepared to set up with their new self-titled debut EP, out in January. Before then, here’s an introduction to the band…..     What is the full band line-up, who plays what? Chris – Guitar / Vox, Marty – Drums and  on Mark – Bass …