Album Reviews

He made a name for himself with Gallows and followed it up with Pure Love, and now Frank Carter is heading back to his roots. The enigmatic frontman has returned with his new band the Rattlesnakes and, ahead of a UK tour, has recorded the Rotten EP, due out on …

Bringing forth their 12th studio album, Sweden’s Unleashed has, with Dawn of the Nine, successfully continued an aggressive, fairly melodic saga. Their previous release, Odalheim, released in 2012, began this journey. Let’s pretend you’re a new fan, perhaps just introduced to death metal a little while ago, and your virgin …

The cast list reads like a veritable rock and metal who’s who. Based on the pedigree present, “Rise Of The Animal”, the latest long playing offering from Wolfpakk, promises great things. Happily, I can report, it delivers on those promises… in spades. From the outset they nail their colours firmly …

Proof that heavy metal does indeed transcend international boundaries in a way in which many other cultural experiences have not managed, Voice Of The Soul – who, of course, take their name from a track on Death’s 1999 album ‘The Sound Of Perseverance’ – hail from a part of the …

Last week saw the re-release of the self-titled debut album by Swedish folk power metal band Falconer. First released in March 2001, the new edition is a double-disc affair; the first is the full, remastered debut that came out all those years ago, whilst the second sees three brand new acoustic …

@planetmosh reviews Human by .@threedaysgrace on .@RCARecords Human is the fifth studio album from Canadian band Three Days Grace, released in the UK on April 27th.  In some respects though it can be seen as a debut, as they relaunch themselves with a new vocalist.  In some cases band members can …

Spin is the fourth album from Romeos Daugher.  It seems hard to believe but it’s 27 years since the release of their self-titled 1988 debut album.  Sadly the band split in the early Nineties, but happily reformed a few years ago and released the excellent album “Rapture”.  Now three years …

Shining were not a band to me until I got this review. I was totally unaware that they existed. Since then I have got very familiar with their back catalogue and their “controversial” outlook and themes. It with that said that these are not a happy or fun band; there is …

For some artists, there is one seminal song that, in the eyes of many from the outside looking in, must surely seem to hang around their necks like the proverbial artistic albatross.  For Jim Peterik, founder of Survivor, it must surely be ‘Eye Of The Tiger’:  despite the passage of …

Unrelenting, unstoppable and unbeatable, Danish thrash outfit Impalers have produced a solid classic with ‘Prepare For War’, out now through Evil Eye Records. With two original tracks allied with covers of two timeless classics from Mötorhead and Sodom, Impalers have struck a perfect balance to accompany their full-length record ‘God …

Dirt Box Disco who, in their own words, describe themselves as ‘Born in the UK from the malfunction of a terrible musical chemical laboratory experiment!‘ release their fourth album ‘Only In It For The Money’ via STP Records on 19th April 2015, with a series of album launch shows this weekend. …

To be honest, it’s not terribly hard to compare The Dirty Youth to the likes of superstar upstarts such as Paramore:  both bands have young – cute, if you’re so inclined to describe them so – female singers, and both play infectious pop-punk infused rock music.  The main difference, of …

Kiske-Somerville is the collaboration between former Helloween singer Michael Kiske (now with Unisonic) and Trillium singer Amanda Somerville.  Both singers have also worked with Avantasia as well as separately on various projects.  The pair released the album “Kiske/Somerville” back in 2010, and finally found time in their schedules to get …

The Quireboys released their ninth studio album ‘St Cecilia And The Gypsy Soul’ via Off Yer Rocka on 30 March 2015. They head into their fourth decade by bringing out this Four CD deluxe edition, which was preceded by the release of the ‘Gracie B’ EP on 16 March 2015. Whilst this is …

Swedish death metal time, and in the Pantheon of the “greats” of the genre we have Soilwork. Now, while I prefer the overall output of In Flames, Soilwork are an enjoyable band and have a very impressive body of work to put a live set from. So going into this …

This unique offering released via Morbid Skull Records called “Coalition of Death” is  a great idea: two small bands sharing the costs of making a record by splitting it into two separate halves. I must say this is very refreshing and enjoyable. I hope this split release idea catches on.The two …

Ah, Belgium. The home of chocolate, great beer and, er, Michael Preud’homme. Not so much known for its metal, though. That’s where Steak Number Eight come in. The quartet who play a mix of post- and sludge metal have had a steady rise in the UK; their second album All Is …

Welcome once again to the weird but wonderful world of Birmingham based Captain Horizon! This new single is a stunning taster lifted from their forthcoming album ‘Imitation Sun’, due to be released via Rocksector Records on May 11 with an album launch event on May 22 at the Birmingham Academy …

It’s only around 18 months since The Crunch released their debut album, but they’re now back with their second album – Brand new brand. In case you haven’t heard anything about The Crunch, the band itself may be fairly new but the members are all experienced musicians- Sulo Karlsson (Diamond …

I first came across Bulletproof Rose when I saw them supporting Dave Evans at The Towler in Tottington in June 2013. I was instantly hooked and, impressed by their raw and energetic performance, have seen them several times since, with a few line-up changes along the way. Bulletproof Rose have …