Album Reviews

OK, cards on the table, I really like Amaranthe.  There I’ve said it.  Ever since coming across Within Temptation a decade or so ago I have had a soft spot for the the female fronted melodic death metal genre and with Maximalism. Amaranthe have managed to keep me hooked in it. With this …

Glenn Hughes’ latest offering, Resonate, should come with some kind of health warning. Loud, proud and indisputably ballsy, this is an album that demands to be played with the volume switch cranked so far over to the right the woofers in your amps will complain. From the very instant the …

Rock Wolves are an all-star trio springing forth from a dynamic heritage of German thoroughbreds. Showcasing the unmistakable talents of ‘Herman Rarebell’ (Scorpions) on drums, ‘Michael Voss’ (Mad Max) guitar and vocals, and ‘Stephen “Gudze” Hinz’ (H-Blockx) on bass. This astounding, diverse and fresh sounding debut will be unleashed to …

Soothsayer hail from Ireland and have been described as doom merchants, however there is a lot more on offer here than doom. They present two hefty tracks with a mixture of influences which have been moulded together to give a unique and dense sound.  The First track “Umpire”, begins with a …

In 2014 Status Quo released an acoustic album – “Aquostic: Stripped bare”.  It was a bit of a shock to suddenly hear the classic songs we know and love being done acoustically, but like many fans, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Clearly plenty of other fans enjoyed it too as Quo …

They might be headlining the O2 Arena in November, but Alter Bridge are one of those bands that often slip under the radar when we think about bands who could top the bill at Download, for example. Maybe it’s the band members’ other commitments – Myles Kennedy’s touring with Slash and …

Raw passion is the underlying spirit that bursts through on the second of Simon Townshend’s former USA Only releases, Denial.  An album that in its entirety examines addictions – personal and witnessed – this is a musical statement with balls and introspection that is never burdened by laconic remorse or …

Okay. Where to start? Simon Townshend – younger brother of a certain Pete and son of jazz saxophonist, Cliff – certainly knows what it takes to make an album stand out and that’s very definitely what the remastered version of the 2012 release Looking Out, Looking in does. An invigorating …

Formed in 2008, Shotgun Rodeo are a four piece heavy metal band hailing from the city of Trondheim, Norway. Following on from their previous EP releases ‘Dead End Massacre’ (2012) and ‘Guilty as Charged’ (2013), the band released their debut full-length album, ‘World Wide Genocide’. Seamlessly cruising across a sea …

You would think with a name like Elder Druid this band had been sacrificing goats to some other worldly God these past few years.  Not so, once you find out that it is a group of former school friends and sometime students from Ballymena in Northern Ireland who have embraced …

Rising from the ashes of punk’s sad downturn in recent years, The Decline reissue their second venture ‘Are You Gonna Eat That?’ to a scene in desperate need of such a rapturous shake-up. Under a title freshly plucked from a Mean Girls-esque sophomore comedy and showcasing artwork more controversial than …

Whiskey Myers fourth outing “Mud” follows up their acclaimed 2013 release ‘Early Morning Shakes’ however don’t expect more of the same. Dave Cobb is back in the production seat and as a result has pulled out some of their best work yet. Having entered the studio, and in addition gained two …

SubRosa have been described as an experimental sludge-doom metal band from Salt Lake City, Utah. Coming from a well known religious hub makes this band that little bit more intriguing. This album is inspired by the Sci-fi novel “We” written in 1921, the book describes a familiar future wherein human …

2016 sees the release of (hed)P.E.’s 10th and outstanding studio album Forever! which is the much anticipated follow up to the highly acclaimed 2014 album ‘Evolution’, which was ultimately hailed by Metal Hammer Magazine as “(hed)P.E.’s finest album since their heyday.”  Jahred had this to say about his record, “In …

It doesn’t seem to matter what some people touch, everything just turns to gold. You either have it, or you just go home mate because you don’t. Bryan Scott (The Union Underground) is the gold finger in the case of newly formed American rock band Into The Fire. Conceived in …

Last Great Dreamers are a London-based band that date back to the early 90s, imploded after a couple of years and then reformed in 2014. They consist of Marc Valentine on lead vocals and guitar, Slyder on lead guitar and vocals, Steve Fielding on bass and Denley Slade on drums. …

Hell’s Gazelles are a young band from Oxford. The members are Cole Bryant -Vocals, Nath Digman- Guitar, Dan Podbery – Bass and Luke Evans -Drums. This EP is their first recorded output. It blasts into your ears with the aural assault of Intro, a 45-second burst of drums and heavy …

Death Resonance from Soilwork is a collection of tracks that probably should not work but does in a kind of strange way.  Two new offerings, Helsinki and Death Resonance, along with 13 rare, previously unreleased and remixed tracks gives us an opportunity to hear how the Soilwork sound has progressed over the years. Normally you may wonder as …

Different: not the same as another or each other; unlike in nature, form, or quality. Eclectic: deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources. These are just two definitions of separate words that sum up to perfection Your Desert, My Mind the new album from …

It might seem like a paradox, but it’s just as likely for a band to evolve their sound over time as it is for them to stick to their guns. Both have their merits – AC/DC are the surefire answer when you think of a group who have never strayed …