Album Reviews

Bad Touch leave a great touch on the ears with their latest studio album Shake A Leg released via Marshall Records on October 5th. On seeing the running time at thirteen tracks I was a bit apprehensive about it’s length but could not be more wrong as it captivates from …

Hardcore Superstar (HCSS) hits you right in the face from start to finish, with their new smasher ‘You can’t kill my rock n roll’!  Forged in Gothenburg, Sweden back in 1997 and after a brief hiatus and a couple of member changes, they have continued to embed their footprint on …

“Into the electric castle” was the third Ayreon album and was released way back in 1998. Now 20 years on, it’s being reissued including being released on vinyl for the first time. Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen isnt the type of person who’d be content with just re-releasing something so he …

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 …

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 …

Epica’s latest release is something a bit different (and tha’s an understatement). It started out normal enough – in the summer of 2017 the band won a vote held by the Metropole orkest. This award winning Dutch orchestra were going to record with the winners. Given Epica’s use of orchestras …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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. …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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. …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Way back in 1997, Edguy’s first official album was released – Kingdom of Madness. Now over 20 years on, the album has just been remastered and reissued. The reissue has two bonus tracks – the 2001 version of “Wings of a dream” and a live version of the same song. …