Here we go again as a similar song once said. Curious weather in Bury before the first full day of Grimm Up North 2019 as we had rain, hail, snow and sunshine within an hour so that was a sign of a metal storm to come and it did with …
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Since the sheer delight of the first Grimm Up North Festival in 2017 we have had to wait just over a year for the sequel and what a weekend it was! 23 bands over 3 days giving their all to a room full of metal heads to say a big …
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Jeez, how have I not heard of Fractions before? A band that slipped past my eagle eyed radar who will be releasing a rather excellent single called Soundness Of Mind on January 29th 2019, free to download on all digital outlets featuring stunning artwork from Andy Pilkington at Very Metal …
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In my opinion, the NWOBHM movement started in Newcastle Upon Tyne and Raven burst onto the scene when they signed to local label Neat Records in 1980 and released their classic single ‘Don’t Need Your Money’. They still play with the same verve, point proven on this warts and all …
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One of the most impressive debut albums I’ve heard in 2018 comes from Midnight Prophecy as their self titled nine track opus has more gallops than the Grand National and more cheese than Wallace and Gromit could ever eat! On a more serious note they have raised the bar high …
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It’s a miracle! It’s a Christmas miracle! Our saviour is here! No no no, not that fictional story we were told at school but the debut album Physical Copy by the five wise members that make up Cadence Noir! The eight year wait has finally come to fruition with a …
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All the gigs I’ve been to in 2018 met their Waterloo at the Waterloo Music Bar on Friday 22nd December 2018, a date that will be forever etched in my memory as this little gem of a venue was packed to the rafters with four sets of high octane rock …
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G * A * S * S Mark II or Ginger Associated Secret Society was formed by Ginger Wildheart for fans a few years ago. He would write three songs a month for a year that they had access to and then choose the best of them for a general …
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Tonight at the Tivoli was a night of two twenty five year anniversaries the first of which was seeing Wolfsbane here again for the first time since that time gap. Their fans, known as HMS or Howling Mad Shitheads turned up last night in full voice and mine is shot …
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It’s great being old sometimes especially when the lead singer from Deus Mori asks you if you like black metal, would you like to review their debut EP And From The Trenches Bore Darkness and you can reply with “I saw Venom in 1985 so yes it would be a …
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Once in a while an album comes out to reaffirm that rock is not dead (so that’s a big middle finger in the air to Billy Corgan and Gene Simmons) as Bridgend based Those Damn Crows do it with ease on the release of their debut Murder And The Motive. …
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Seven More Days stunning debut album Little Dark Pleasures proved to be a big big pleasure when it was released this year. It oozed confidence with ten tracks of hard rock and they played eight from it at Eleven supporting the Scopyons. It was my first time seeing them and …
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On November 16th, The Black Bullets assault the airwaves with their brand spanking new single ‘When The Devil Comes Knocking’. I heard it first live at one of their gigs a few weeks ago at Percys in Whitchurch and the power it created there has been captured in the studio! …
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Another fantastic night at Eleven in Stoke as Bad Touch played their finest set I’ve seen from them over the last five years, supported by Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics and Daxx & Roxane making it the best gig I’ve attended so far in 2018. Touring on the back …
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Before giving Little Dark Pleasures by Seven More Days a proper grilling, I blasted it out a few times in the car to and from four night shifts in the week. First play made me think it was “Pompous and who is that on guitar?” and the second play, “Grandiose …
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Yet another episode in my long running saga of checking out the support bands at gigs and not just watching the headliners! This time it was the very raucous Electric Rebels from Manchester, opening a Falling Red show. Formed just over a year ago, they are kicking up some dust …
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A chance viewing of Stormrider came with them supporting Troyen at the Salty Dog in Northwich recently and my standpoint of watching the opening band was well rewarded with their very impressive set! Formed in Manchester early 2017, they have released a four track EP titled Heavy Metal Machine that …
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Primal Instinct, debut album by London based Superfecta showed promise in 2014 and is a great stepping stone towards 2018 release Disconnect, currently available on CD from Skyfire Interactive/Skyfire Records and on MP3 from Amazon UK. A change in line up seems to have tightened up their songwriting, point proven …
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Jeez. Where do you start to capture in words just how momentous this Ross The Boss Band gig was at Eleven last night? It was to be the last leg of the UK tour before heading off to Spain today and a totally over the top set contained a few …
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This gig proved that diamonds really are forever as veteran NWOBHM band Diamond Head delivered a gem of a set to a packed out Eleven in Stoke including super-fan Mike Lace from Macclesfield which made it his 260th gig by them! This was one of the biggest and loudest crowds …
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PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal