Album Reviews

In an alternate universe somewhere, Tesseract are one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. The quintet from Milton Keynes have trailblazed through their career with their odd time signatures, mid-range distortion and polyrhythmic riffs, releasing three superb albums along the way. Somewhat stifled by an ever changing frontline, …

The debut album from Dutch band Synergy Protocol is certainly not an album comprised of disposable, mindless tracks. No, this is heavy, symphonic progressive rock with all the Gothic and Classical influences that this brings with it. ‘Odd To Get Even‘ is a collection of hard edged songs that sound …

Some albums just grab your attention don’t you think? I’ll readily admit to not having come across California’s Cardinal Wyrm previously but upon stumbling headfirst into the promo for new release ‘Cast Away Souls’, I was completely and utterly hooked. Now signed to Svart Records, a label that just seem …

Tesla debuted Mechanical Resonance to critical acclaim in 1986 and it quickly gained platinum status. Now, fast forward to 2016 and the band are celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of their stunning debut. This new offering means Mechanical Resonance is captured live in its entirety from Salt Lake City. First of …

Beth Hart is back with a new album – Fire on the Floor.   In the last few years her career has reached new heights, helped in part by her two collaborations with Joe Bonamassa which brought her to the attention of a wider audience.  An appearance on Jools Holland’s Hootenanny collaborating …

Texan guitarist Eric Johnson may not be as well known as guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Steve Vai or Carlos Santana, but he is one of the world’s top guitar players, having been voted one of the 100 greatest guitarists of the 20th century by Musician magazine and been named …

“An Evening with Todd Rundgren: Live at the Ridgefield” is the fourth live release from Todd Rundgren.  It’s a surprisingly low number for a man who released his debut album in 1970 and has released a steady stream of studio albums ever since.  As well as his own musical career …

There is something instantly warm &  welcoming about Illustr8rs opening track ‘Your Animal’. There’s a snappy riff with enough meat to entice, and then the vocal beams like a neon sign. Scott Sharp excels throughout this ep, and in Your Animal there’s a very cool Robert Plant vibe. A big …

Sometimes, all you want in life is a loud, bouncy rock album to relax to on a Sunday afternoon. Well, you’re in luck; British-born RavenEye have provided just that. NOVA, out on Friday 23rd, is the full-length debut from a band that have already directly supported The Darkness, Halestorm and Slash …

What must it be like growing up in a city, dreaming of filling your local venue like all your heroes have done before you? Then ask yourself, what must be like to fulfil that dream? Ask King King, whose sold-out hometown concert at O2 ABC in Glasgow on 14th May …

FyreSky’s debut EP ‘The Circle’ has left me very pleasantly surprised.  It may only contain 5 tracks, and be recorded in a ‘Live Lounge’ style, but this doesn’t diminish the fact that the songs are all fundamentally quite strong. It opens with ‘Magik Woman (Ritual Beginning)’, all dark incantations and …

This new band hail from America and are paying homage to the gods of old whilst keeping their own identity. Demon Bitch formed in 2011 and play in a style which fuses power metal and high octane speed metal with dexterity and passion. The playing is superb, however the production …

Airbourne are a band you can rely on to put a smile on your face whilst you headbang like a loon and with Breakin’ Outta Hell, their strongest album to date, get those neck muscles ready when its released via Spinefarm Records on September 23rd 2016. Their fourth studio release …

Joe Bonamassa really needs no introduction now; I think he has single handedly given the blues its well-deserved kick up the butt and re-ignited the scene. There are so many blues artists coming to the fore: King King, Aaron Keylock, Dan Patlansky, Aynsley Lister, Sari Schorr and many more that …

  Marillion have long since been pioneers of sailing your own ship. Advocates of crowdfunding before crowdfunding was even a thing, they are ambassadors for the freedom of speech and creativity that can only be found in not having to tow the line. It’s no surprise then, that Marillion’s 18th …

Deep Purple said farewell to founding member, keyboardist extraordinaire Jon Lord with this concert recorded at the Birmingham NEC Arena in 2002. Previously available only as part of the Around the World Live box set, the cover of the DVD of Live at the NEC won’t win any marketing awards, …

It’s a bit of a strange one this, back in 2015 this concert was released as a CD, which was superb, so to get the DVD version of the same show through the post I was beyond excited. However my excitement was short lived when I discovered that four songs from …

While we all wait for Vader to release their next album “The Empire,” which has been put back to 4th November 2016 we are provided with a little teaser which is the Iron Times EP.  Four songs to keep us ticking over until the November onslaught.  This release can be bought in varying vinyl versions …

Never one to rest on their laurels, The Sword have veered away yet again from their swashbuckling roots with new release Low Country. Formed in 2003 in Austin, Texas they trail blazed onto the music scene with some seismic stoner/doom metal. Their 2015 release of High Country saw them go …

Over the past few years, Canadian alt-rockers July Talk have dedicated their time to extensive tours through America and Canada celebrating the release of their self-titled debut album back in 2012. This saw the band achieve a gold record in Canada, and receive the Juno Award for Alternative Album of …