Reviews of albums, EP’s, DVD’s, music books and more
Whilst most bands that channel the Rock sounds of the 70’s take the easy option and the well-worn path of aping Sabbath or Zeppelin in all their muscular glory, there are some out there whose […]
For Dio fans this is an interesting historical document – recorded in the October of 1983 just three months after their live debut it precedes the RAINBOW IN THE DARK CD which was […]
Following up last year’s widely acclaimed ‘Desperate’ album so soon just shows the grit and determination of Barb Wire Dolls, it perhaps also shows that despite how good that album was it didn’t quite set […]
It’s a name that perhaps won’t be familiar to many but Jelly Ellington may well be a name on the rise. Hailing from NC and basing himself in Texas, Ellington has created an album that […]
There was a time at the end of the eighties and start of the nineties when, even before the rise of Grunge and the tumult of record label greed that stopped 80’s rock in its […]
I must admit that back in the day I never really got into Mr Big even though there were tracks like ‘Green Tinted Sixties Mind’ that were just sparks of real genius. The fact that […]
Hard Rock meets Melodic Metal in a fiery wave of guitar, great songs and real attitude to create a debut of some real weight from Gamma Ray members Michael Ehré (drums) and Henjo Richter (guitar) […]
‘I Go For the Cheap Ones’ isn’t as it turns out a song about bargain shopping, what it is however is a nice punk edged slab of rock pop which at two and a half […]
OK here we go again 51 seconds of rain isn’t a first track, but the groove that builds up to bursting on ‘Vespucci’ makes it all worth it. There’s a clunky garage ethic to the […]
With an opening track like the rebel-rousing ‘Bastard of Society’ you know from the off that the ever-reliable H.E.A.T. has stepped it up even further. It’s a track that takes up the gauntlet, races for the […]
Mix a post Grunge vocal with a bassy Sabbath soundtrack and progressive leanings you get a taste of Italy’s Doctor Cyclops’ first offering on Local Dogs – ‘Lonely Devil’, their second ‘D.I.A.’ sounds more like […]
It’s been six long years since we had a studio album from the legend that is Alice Cooper (which coincidentally that was the last time we got to speak to the man himself) and there’s always […]
42 Decibel of course already have plenty of solid runs on the board: if you heard them before and liked what you heard then you’ll love this. Blues based hard rock may well be one […]
UK grungy rockers Temple Of Lies are back with another album “The Serial Killer Suite”, a little over a year after their brilliant 2016 release “From Sand” which scored one of our top picks […]
There’s a lot of hype around ‘The Night Fight Orchestra’ and their brand of keyboard heavy, riff-laden vintage flavoured rock and when you first hear opening track ‘Midnight Flyer’ you get it. It sounds like […]
I don’t think there is any doubt in many people’s minds that Jorn is one of the singers of his generation the only reservation I’ve ever had is that in this ever changing world where […]
It’s no secret that I’ve long been an admirer of The Erotics and Mike Trash’s ability to write the prefect ‘fits in the air’ punk-fuelled sleazy barroom rocker and so whenever a new release rears […]
Muscular hard rock with vocals that feel like they’re whiskey soaked at the bottom end and vaguely Soundgarden-like at the top end, make the driving rocker that opens this album ‘Celebrate and Kneel’ and interesting […]
Empire (in this instance the German Hard Rockers with guitarist Rolf Munkes at the helm) released four albums in the years between 2001 and 2007. On each of these releases, Munkes was accompanied by a varying line-up of numerous well-known musicians. First album ‘Hypnotica’ featured […]
There’s a frenetic energy, frantic repetition and almost punky feel to opener ‘Reap What You So;’ that’s it’s hard to know what’s coming next, what does is the wonderfully jazzy staccato noise of ‘The Game’ which […]
As iconic singers go for time and place and distinctiveness you can’t go past names like Kevin DuBrow who once fronted this revered band famous for being the first Metal act to have a US […]
If you wanted to get to the nub of things this sounds like a cross between Journey at their most AOR and Strangeways, but just fails to capture the best of either. On opening track […]
How do you encapsulate a decades long career, sixteen albums and a fan-fuelled desire for an acoustic album in one fell swoop? The answer is ‘Sonny Landreth Recorded Live in Lafayette’ which does all of that […]
There’s an almost vintage Rockabilly vive to opener ‘My Devotion’ that has me thinking of Australia’s own Living End or a far, far lighter tae on Bullets and Octane. In reality though L.A.’s Warner Drive are […]
After some very solid releases over the past few years Chris Gibb’s Graphic Fiction Heroes may just have released their best material so far. Lead track from the new EP ‘The Great Divide’ written by […]
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