Opinion

First up tonight were Fyresky, a fairly new band from Kent/Essex. I’d seen them play in August, and while four months isnt a long time, there was a clear improvement in how they sound and perform in that time. They’ve got a strong visual image and seem very confident, not …

I spoke to Lord Ragnar Wagnar, who performs vocal and guitar duties with The Heretic Order shortly before they went on stage at the Craufurd arms in December. OK The Heretic order formed three years ago. Does it feel that long? Not really. We formed the band at the end …

I spoke to Brittney Slayes, singer from Canadian band Unleash the archers when they played the Craufurd arms in Milton Keynes. You’re on tour with Orden Ogan across the UK and Europe. How has the tour been going? It’s awesome, the shows have been packed, quite a few of them …

Tonight kicked off with the awesome Dan Reed Network. With Extreme having the hit, “Get the funk out”, having Dan Reed Network support them is an inspired choice as there’s plenty of funk in their music. Dan Reed and his band clearly love performing and seem to be having just …

Eight years since they last played Manchester, London based punk rock band Towers of London are back. There was never any official break-up, more of a hiatus, with a single Shake It released in 2015 and a handful of gigs. They have a new (third) album set for release next …

Midway through their feline good current UK tour, NWOBHM legends Tygers Of Pan Tang stopped on by to sharpen their claws at Eleven. Run by Paul Hume, Demon guitarist and lead vocalist for Lawless, the year old venue is going from strength to strength and was near full to capacity …

South Wales bruisers I FIGHT BEARS hit you with towering vocals, crushing riffs and hammering beats. The highly-regarded quintet drop their self-titled debut album on Friday 16th February, and the metal beasts have just released their lyric video for Lost The Fight – https://youtu.be/cYHzAUj_tzY  . We thought it would be …

Judging by ticket sales tonight Stone Sour have reached that difficult point in a touring band’s career. They’re way too big for a tour of Academy venues, but arent big enough to sell out arenas, so with the venue tonight in full arena configuration it feels a bit empty when …

Brutai kicked things off tonight. I last saw them opening the Dogtooth stage at Download festival earlier this year and their set there was good enough that I was looking forward to seeing them again. Their music is nice and heavy but still has plenty of melody. It’s great progressive …

Tonight was my first time at the NIA since they changed it to the “Arena Birmingham” name – an obvious wasy of saying “We couldnt find a new sponsor so we left their name blank”. Like many fans I think they should have just reverted to its original name – …

So it’s early doors tonight and I get there just in time for The Wild!. The Wild! aren’t a band I had heard of before, but am glad I made the effort to get there early for them. The Canadian rockers (NOT American as lead singer Dylan Villain was keen …

The first band tonight was deathcore band Nycosia. They’re very heavy with growly vocals but sadly their songs just aren’t good enough to impress anyone tonight – they relly did fall flat tonight I’m afraid. a fact clear not just from the lack of cheering or applause between songs but …

Midland rock crew CRIMSON STAR drop their new EP, Bay View, on 19th Jan. We had the boys in for a chat….     What is the full band lineup, who plays what? James Shaw (Guitar/Vocals), Roger Ash (Bass), Ross Edgington (Drums/Vocals).   How and when did the band form? …

Brit Rockers SISTER SHOTGUN are set to release a new video for the magnificent ‘Silhouettes’. We sat down with the band to talk about their beginnings:   What is the full band lineup, who plays what?   Chloe Ozwell – Lead Vocals, Niall Wills – Rhythm Guitar/Backing vocals, Rob Hayes – …

UK Rock n rollers, Sourheads just released their explosive new album ‘Care Plan For The Soul’. We had the band down for a talk about their history and more: What is the full band line-up, who plays what? Jake Coxon – Vocals, Mik Crone – Guitar and Synth, Ben Taylor …

‘It’s hard to hold a candle in the cold November Rain’ sang Axl Rose on arguably the best song Guns N’ Roses ever did, but whilst his words from 1991 are more poetically inclined, it’s certainly true in Bristol tonight with winter doing its best to make everything as miserable …

Things didn’t get off to a great start tonight as the auditorium doors remained closed even a few minutes before the scheduled start time of 8pm. Finally an announcement was made – tonight’s support act, The Rainbreakers, would not be playing. That was a disappointment, but on the plus side, …

In contrast to Jonny Lang’s last visit to the Empire, this was a more sedate affair with floor seating rather than the standing he had on his last visit, which creates a noticeably different atmosphere. I prefer standing myself for blues rock gigs like this and given that we could …

When I arrived at the venue for tonight’s gig things didn’t look good. With just 20 minutes before Toseland were due on stage the venue was almost empty. Happily in the last ten minutes before they came on, the place quickly started to fill up, and by the end of …

Tonight’s Helloween gig was due to be something special. It’s part of their Pumpkins reunited tour which sees the current Helloween lineup joined by former members Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske. For many fans this was their first chance to see Helloween with these two members. There was certainly a …