Album Reviews

The greatest selection of albums, reviewed and rated

Northward – Northward

Northward is Nightwish singer Floor Jansen and Pagan’s mind guitarist Jorn Viggo Lofstad. The pair met in 2007 and in 2008 wrote an entire album’s worth of material together, but never managed to find time to record them. In 2017 they got in touch again and finally recorded the album …

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Teksti-TV 666 – Aidattu Tulevaisuus

Finnish punk band Teksti-TV 666 aim to prove that you can never have too many guitars, so to that end, this seven member band have 5 guitars (on some songs it’s even more at six). That’s a lot of guitars, but does it work? Well yes and no. Having so …

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The Senton Bombs – Outsiders

When your live show is like four of the Inbetweeners necking a ruck of Monster drinks before going onstage to let all hell break loose, it must be a daunting task for The Senton Bombs to capture that vibe in the studio but with forthcoming studio album release Outsiders on …

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Cirith Ungol – Witch’s Game EP

California is a long way from Cirith Ungol, Tolkien’s fictional pass leading to the kingdom of Gondor. Somebody should have told the Ventura power metal outfit of the same name, as it seems they’ve let an orc or two loose on their upcoming EP ‘Witch’s Game’. A whopping 27 years …

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Villainous – Villainous EP

Pulling off a multi-vocal effort is easier said than done, coaxing each member to pick up the mic regardless of their similarities and differences. Bright young Brighton outfit Villainous somewhat effortlessly prove their range of vox make them stand out from the crowd through their eponymous debut EP. Through the …

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Mantar -The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze (2018)

Mantar came across the radar 2 years back when they had just released “Ode to the Flame”, whilst heading between stages at Hellfest and heard this unholy racket coming from the Valley stage. From the screens I could see 2 people knocking the life out of a drumkit and guitar. …

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Living The Dream

BUILD YOUR DREAM HOME Building the home of your dreams is a big deal.  For many, it’s the culmination of decades of dreaming, hours of planning and years of saving.  Whether you are dreaming of a cottage style home, a log home, a contemporary design, a ranch style or a …

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Vomit – Punk Rock Past and Present

Intro Who would have thought that historic market town Congleton would have heard of Punk Rock music but Vomit spewed forth from there over forty years ago! Forty-one years ago, to be precise, and they have recently self released a double album of tracks past and present. The album was …

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Evil Scarecrow – Chapter IV Antartarctica

Evil Scarecrow are back with a new album, and rather than making us wait five years like they did with “Galactic Hunt”, they’ve been hard at work and are releasing “Chapter IV Antartarctica” just two years after “Galactic hunt”. With most bands it would be safe to assume that a …

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MaYaN – Dhyana

MaYaN are set to release their third album shortly. Founded by Epica guitarist Mark Jansen, this symphonic death metal band is heavier than Epica and as well as having released two great albums, their live shows are always fantastic. It’s more like an ensemble than a traditional band with different …

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Joe Bonamassa – Redemption

Joe Bonamassa is back with a new album, Redemption. This is his thirteenth solo album (plus countless live albums, albums with Beth Hart, Black Country Communion albums, and albums from other side projects. It’s fair to say Joe Bonamassa’s output is prolific, but despite this, he never compromises on quality. …

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Saxon – Thunderbolt (Tour edition)

Back in February this year, Saxon released Thunderbolt, which has proven to be one of their best and most popular albums in recent years. Planetmosh reviewer Dennis Jarman certainly liked it – check out his review here. Now the band have decided to release a “Tour edition” version of the …

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The Drones – Will you stand in front of bullets?

Punk rock band The Drones formed in Manchester in 1976, making their debut at the Houldsworth Hall, Manchester with Generation X as support. They relocated to London and supported bands including The Vibrators, X-Ray Spex and The Stranglers. They released their debut album Further Temptations in 1977 and the follow-up …

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Satan – Cruel Magic

This is my second review of 2018 that features the majestic vocals of Brian Ross. The first being Blitzkrieg and now from Satan with their devilishly new album Cruel Magic. Currently available via Metal Blade Records who state in their press release that the album is “Ten tracks of searing …

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Alice In Chains – Rainier Fog

What’s the story with Rainier Fog,  is Alice in Chains (AiC) soldering on or have these four wise men, who have banded together like the musketeers brought us something new with Rainier Fog;  their sixth studio album to date and their third with singer/songwriter William_DuVall.   Rainier Fog gives you lyrics …

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Ben Poole – Anytime you need me

Ben Poole’s new album “Anytime you need me” comes out this month, and will be followed by a UK tour in November and December. There are two covers on the album. The first is the Eagles song, “Dirty Laundry”. It’s a great cover and his voice really suits the song …

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SAGA – So good so far – Live at Rock of Ages

In 2017 SAGA celebrated their 40th anniversary. No I’m not talking about the organisation for elderly people, I’m talking about the Canadian rock band of the same name. On reaching this landmark anniversary, they set off on a farewell tour which came to an end in early 2018 and the …

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Stratovarius – Enigma – Intermission 2

Stratovarius have a new album. Or is it an old one? Well it’s something in between. There are some new songs (three of them), there are some orchestral versions of existing songs (four of them) and there are a load of rare tracks such as songs that were previously only …

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