The Senton Bombs – Coaster (single review) Just when the UK needs cheering up, here come The Senton Bombs to save the day with ‘Coaster’, the fourth track taken from their forthcoming 2021 untitled studio album. ‘Coaster’ is a very personal song as frontman Joey Class says it’s “A special …
Read More »Jim Kirkpatrick – Gravy Train
On September 4th 2020, guitarist Jim Kirkpatrick took a break from his duties with FM and Rhino’s Revenge to dish out a glorious twelve-track solo album Ballad Of A Prodigal Son. It amassed rave reviews from the music press including a 5/5 rating from myself. Said album covered a helluva …
Read More »Ayreon – Transitus
Arjen Lucassen is back with another Ayreon album. The amazingly talented multi-instrumentalist is unusual in that whereas most musicians with several projects will sit down and write for a specific project, Arjen writes and goes where the music takes him, so a writing session may evolve into a new Ayreon …
Read More »Voodoo Six – Simulation Game
Links to the band can be found below :- https://www.voodoosix.com/ It’s been too long since we’ve had any new music from Voodoo Six, in fact it was the Make Way For The King album in 2017. So here we are waiting for October 16th 2020 for the highly anticipated follow …
Read More »Amaranthe – Manifest
By now I’d imagine most metal fans have heard Amaranthe at some point. The band have ben going for a decade, releasing their self titled debut album in 2011, and have been busy touring ever since, either on headline tours, support slots or festivals. They stand out from the crowd …
Read More »Smogg – Entertaining Evil – Part 1
One man Manchester mutha Smogg returns with the first part of a double header entitled ‘Entertaining Evil ‘, and it’s brutal. As soon as opener ‘Sulphur-Exhaled ‘ begins you’re battered with speed, ferocious drumming and Pantera style riffage. It’s relentless. It’s unforgiving, and ‘Damned In Exile ‘ holds no mercy …
Read More »Thirteenth Sign – The Ashes Of A Treacherous Silence
They’ve been around a while have these guys. Since 2006 in fact, when their first EP ‘Oracles Of Armargeddon ‘ announced itself. One EP and three full length albums since that debut release, comes latest offering ‘The Ashes Of A Treacherous Silence ‘. Inspired by Queensryche‘s classic concept album ‘Operation …
Read More »Virus – Evilution Apocalypse
Since forming in 1986, it seems ok to label Virus a veteran thrash metal band and after all these years, they are still raging away like lunatics, point proven by current album Evilution Apocalypse, released via Combat Records. They like to stretch these songs out, many of which are over …
Read More »BlitZ – Fight To Survive
It’s not very often I use the phrase “Riff after riff after motherfu**ing riff” but this Nottingham based trio called BlitZ, formed in 2015 have easily garnered that accolade with their second studio album, the stadium rock of Fight To Survive. ‘One In A Million’ is a ballistic opener and …
Read More »Sander Cohen – Channelling Hank
This first EP from UK quartet Sander Cohen, is short, sharp, and straight to the point……and bloody good as well. Take a mixture of Nirvana and possibly Mudhoney and you have Sander Cohen. Opener ‘F**k You And Everything You Stand For ‘ is full of heavy guitars and screaming vocals …
Read More »Ryan Hamilton & The Harlequin Ghosts – Nowhere To Go But Everywhere – review
Our favourite Texan rocker Ryan Hamilton and his UK based band The Harlequin Ghosts have just released their second album Nowhere To Go But Everywhere via Stevie Van Zandt’s ‘Wicked Cool’ label. The distance nor the presence of Covid19 and its restrictions has hindered Ryan Hamilton & The Harlequin …
Read More »Rory Gallagher – The Best Of Rory Gallagher
Back in the day, my introduction to rock music was to buy live albums, so for me to discover Rory Gallagher, essential purchases were Irish Tour 74 and Stage Struck and that was all I bought so I’ve jumped at the chance to review the upcoming The Best Of Rory …
Read More »Dropdead – Dropdead
Dropdead finally present their long awaited third album in an incredible thirty year career.The band state on Bandcamp: “Musically, this album is a bit different from previous recordings, style-wise and vocally, with the latter being delivered so the words have an impact more so than just raw screaming.With 23 songs …
Read More »The Pineapple Thief – Versions of the Truth
What is the truth? A difficult question to both ask and answer in a society where facts are disposable commodities and the accepted reference point for truth has made way for a contentious ‘post-truth’ era. The latest installment from the British-prog rockers, ‘Versions of the Truth’, attempts to address just …
Read More »Airforce – Strike Hard
When the NWOBHM genre started to get into the music magazines like Sounds, Kerrang etc and bands of that ilk were getting played on the Friday Rock Show, it was a very exciting time for me in my late teens. I bought as much as I could at the time …
Read More »Napalm Death: Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism
Let’s be honest, 2020 has been a sh*t year. From the Australian bush fires, to the explosion in Lebanon, and of course the plague that’s swept world and caused nearly one million deaths worldwide. It’s like the world is in a never ending state of grieving. And one of those …
Read More »Kid Klumsy – The Faces Don’t Fit – review
Kid Klumsy have released their lastest epic EP ‘The Faces Don’t Fit‘ which boasts seven kick-ass tracks including a cover or two. 2020 sees the third CdEp release from Kid Klumsy on STP Records, following on from 2018’s Spit Your Dummy Out and 2019’s Singing Our Souls, the bands …
Read More »Raven – Metal City
Well stone the crows! NWOBHM legends Raven have really upped their game with new studio album Metal City. Brothers Mark and John Gallagher remain from the original line up formed in Newcastle Upon Tyne 1974. For many years I’ve said this is where NWOBHM started and I still do. Released …
Read More »Ward XVI – Metamorphosis album review.
Metamorphosis, the follow up album to the debut The Art Of Manipulation seems to be taking longer to arrive than the Scorpions depart on their farewell tour! Second albums can be strange things when they have to follow a groundbreaking debut which is what Ward XVI, the Preston based lunatics …
Read More »Thundermother – Heat Wave
Thundermother, a new band to me and another that has slipped past my radar, even though this all female four piece founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 2010. Heat Wave is their fourth studio album currently released by AFM Records. It’s an absolute banger of an album which wears its heart …
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