From the ashes of The Black Bullets we have the Newbury based the Small Town Saviours to banish our blues away, point proven by their latest single ‘Cry’, an ear warming breath of fresh air power pop. It rushes in with the sugar sweet chorus and a gritty lead vocal …
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A winning performance at the Bristol leg of the M2TM 2019 resulted in Voluntas securing a slot on the New Blood Stage at Bloodstock Open Air Festival. I’ve been to the last ten and as long as they keep booking bands like Voluntas then I’ll keep on returning! Their debut …
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“The Gods made heavy metal and they saw that it was good. They said to play it louder than Hell, we promised that we would”. Those Manowar lyrics perfectly sum up the attitude that Stormrider have conjured up once again with their brand new EP, What Lies Within and what …
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I’ve been to many Massive Wagons gigs over the years but this one with my eyes and ears saw them reach their full potential. Whether it comes from opening up recent stadium shows with Status Quo and Lynyrd Skynyrd above them, I’m not sure but this performance at the Live …
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Recently released EP A New Dawn from NWOBHM band Troyen is aptly titled due to the addition of new bass guitarist Mark Nortley and by the superhuman recovery from a triple heart bypass operation undertaken by lead guitarist/vocalist Steve McGuire, one of two original members since their formation in 1980, …
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What a gig to kick off the album release for Vapours by Fahran at Percy’s Cafe Bar, a little gem of a venue tucked away in Whitchurch, Shropshire. The venue was pretty much packed as they took to the stage following impressive opening sets from Hollow Illusion and Kamino. I’ve …
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I normally avoid arena and stadium gigs like the plague but if one band was going to change my mind, then it has to be Rammstein, especially as they are only doing one UK gig here in 2019. Tickets were bought last November and the last eight months have seemed …
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There are two points to consider on this fine EP The Fate Of Elision, the brand new release from Stoke based Quiet The Thief. One is what the title means and most importantly, who has spiked their oatcakes to get them to write heavier songs? This fierce five track opus …
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I had not planned to review this gig but being the last date on the tour and also no support bands meant that over two hours of music was promised by Twisted Illusion so it would be a shame to not document it. Notes were kept to a minimum so …
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Two gigs in two days for me at the Star And Garter, a new venue to me and very impressed with the acoustics, atmosphere and the bands they have playing there. Headliners Hollowstar were supported strongly by Florence Black and gig openers Matt Mitchell & The Coldhearts who warmed a …
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I very much doubt that Spreading The Disease will ever record anything acoustic as they continue to batter us into submission once more with the Mindcell EP. Currently available on their webpage for £8 it certainly hits hard and heavy. Opener ‘Obsession’ is a full on rant from the off. …
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Considering this was only the second Falling Eden gig, the first being way back in August 2018, they may have been nervous being first on a three band bill but any doubts were blown away as they tore into set opener ‘Falling Eden’. Their debut album Our Time Is Coming …
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I can remember Leeds based nutters Blind Haze play a hangover curing set at Bloodstock Open Air Festival a few years ago and it’s good to see they have still got that fire as they hit the ground running with their latest EP Red Light Fever. It’s currently available for …
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Vader, a band I’ve heard of but criminally have heard nothing by until now and I have certainly got a lot of catching up to do judging by the quality of soon to be released EP via Nuclear Blast called Thy Messenger. Formed in 1983 in Olsztyn, Poland, they open …
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Formed just over a year ago, I’ve seen early promise a few times from the Takeaway Thieves at the Waterloo Music Bar in Blackpool and they have carried that vibe with them into the studio for their debut EP This Is Rocknroll ,currently available on CD and digital music sites …
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Ding ding! Round 1 of day 2 and first band of the day, London based District 13 gave us a highly entertaining nonet of songs considering they had been on the road since 4am. A dizzying array of musical dishes was served up for Sunday lunch as they kicked off …
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Festival organizer Martin Short has a change of name for his annual festival and venue for 2019 so the Badass Bash now became Rockforce Festival and it was certainly a force to be reckoned with as 16 bands, all playing for free shook the rafters of the Waterloo Music Bar …
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If Saturday night’s alright for fighting then surely Friday nights are alright for obeying as Stoke based metallers Obey unleashed their seismic new studio album Swallow The Sun at the well attended Underground in Stoke. A four band bill saw openers The Secret Elephant and Banzai Pipeline bring the noise …
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There must be something in the water (or scrumpy) in Postbridge, Devon for Torqued to create the totally unhinged recently released The Coup De Grâce EP. The trio of Marc Cleave, Kurt Johnson and Rimmy Sinclair have created some of the heaviest music I’ve heard in quite sometime as they …
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So the dreaded last day of a fantastic 3 days at Grimm Up North Festival 2019 comes far too soon as first band of the day Sellsword proved to be one of my most enjoyable sets of the weekend as the York based lunatics hammered out just four songs due …
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PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal