Album Reviews

This four track E.P from South London based metalcore band The Last Legion is an inspiring effort in this now over crowded genre. They blend strong technical metal intent with an aggressive attitude, hardly new, but they do it well enough. The musicianship within the band is skilled and vocalist …

“All Around The World” is the 8th studio album from Sweden’s Glam/ Melodic Hard Rock group Bai Bang. “Livin’ My Dream” from 2011 was one of my favorite albums of the year, simply because it never strayed too far away from the trusted 80’s formula for rock music songwriting, wild …

Love them or hate them  Airbourne are here to stay and if they keep making albums as strong as Black Dog Barking then their future is safe. I’ve been a fan since the release of Running Wild in 2008, seen them many times and they have always destroyed whichever indoor …

The first notes of Immolation‘s ninth and latest studio album, Kingdom Of Conspiracy, blare out from my speakers as I sit down and begin to listen. I reminisce: they were a killer band ‘back in the day’. Then I quickly realize: they still are. This newest disc drives that home …

‘Tales’ is a Gothic masterpiece, one of the genres best albums of the year so far.   The bands roots lie within the beautiful borders of the Canary Islands, where their earlier recordings were a much more Doom Metal affair. Although  Tears Of Martyr have retained aspects of those earlier …

Japanese Metal is on the up and this band are at the forefront.   The internet can be blamed for a great deal of the worlds evils that’s for sure, however one thing it can be proud of is the not inconsiderable part it has played in opening the ears …

What can be said? Joe ‘Satch’ Satriani has been at this music composing and recording game for longer than many of the readers of this review will have been alive. Many musicians cite Joe Satriani as one of their core influences, due to his consistently high-quality musical output across decades. …

This is easy-listening, good time, rock and roll at its very best, performed with great aplomb and a natural blues swagger from an artist whose maturity brings a huge richness and diversity to the tracks on this album.

I like it when new bands are formed and they do old school thrash/speed metal.   Intöxicated are a speed/thrash metal band from Osnabrück, Germany.  They were formed in 2009 and this is their first full lenght album. Their lyric themes are Alcohol, Partying, Sex and Motorcycles. Their music style …

Symphonic metal band Suncrown are one of the new breed of bands who’s members have never met.  They got to know each other over the internet, and with the benefits of modern technology recorded their parts separately before they were all mixed together.  It’s an approach that is getting more …

Finnish band White Flame formed in 2002, and ‘Cougar’ is their third album.  Musically they are rock – some hard rock elements, and some more melodic.  Def Leppard, Aerosmith, Reckless love, Gotthard and The Electric boys are all bands whose names spring to mind while listening to this album – …

‘Backstabber’ is the third album from Finnish band Masquerage.  The band’s singer, Kimmo Peramaki was formerly with Celesty.  The band was founded in 2000 but it was only in 2004 with the addition of bass player Mikael Kontolampi that the lineup was completed.  The band describe themselves as Melodic Metal/Hard …

Arrow-Haze are a Belgian band who count Pink Floyd, Dream theatre and Queensyche among their inspirations.  Given that then you might expect their music to be firmly in the Prog-rock camp, but in reality it’s not quite that simple.  Yes there is a strong Prog element, but there’s also a …

‘The wake of man’ is the self titled debut EP from Melodic rock band ‘The wake of man’.  Having said that, listening to the EP I wouldnt describe them as “melodic rock” – that conjures up images of a much softer music, more like Foreigner, whereas The wake of man …

The Oxford Coma come from Phoenix, Arizona and describe themselves as “Progressive psychedelic grunge”.  The band formed in 2011, and in 2012 raised the funds to record their debut album via a Kickstarter campaign. Progressive Psychedelic Grunge is an interesting description and one that could mean almost anything really.  Listening …

,OakwindDark Radio was formed in 2010 by Diogo Ferreira and Flavio Silva but only finalised the lineup in 2012.  They’ve now recorded their debut album, Oakwind, and are planning to tour during the year. The vocals are great.  They’re very varied, at times reminding me of The Cult’s Ian Astbury, …

The Crunch may be a new name, but the members certainly aren't new to the music scene. Singer Soren 'Sulo' Karlsson was the singer with Blues-rockers Diamond Dogs, Bassist Dave Tregunna was in Sham 69 and Lords of the new church, Terry Chimes was drummer for The Clash, and Guitarist Mick Geggus was part of the Cockney Rejects.

Post Hardcore bliss, a musical experience not to be missed.   If you are a fan of the post hardcore, post rock, post metal scene and let’s face it, many of us are, myself included, then the choice of bands and different variations of the sub genres is pretty much …

In 2011 Blues-rock singer Beth Hart and Blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa teamed up to record and release 'Don't explain', an album of Soul cover versions. They covered songs from artists including Ray Charles, Tom Waits, Etta James and Aretha Franklin. Now two years on they've teamed up again to release a second album of soul covers - Seesaw.

Three years is a fairly standard gap between album releases, but given the fanbase that H.I.M have following them, it must have seemed a lifetime. Still, that’s the span between 2010 release Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice and Tears on Tape, their eighth album that was released yesterday in the …