Album Reviews

Maybe it’s just my age, or because I’m going deaf? Or perhaps shadowy echoes of my past, listening to the likes of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and others. But I do love a band that uses a deep thumping base beat! Now it’s my chance to listen to The Driftwood …

Two relatively new bands from Northern Ireland have come together to unleash this monstrous split vinyl onto an unsuspecting public. Nomadic Rituals released a full length “Holy Giants” last year which was well received and this one track “The Great Dying” is picking up where it left off. Its 2 …

All That Remains have been maturing well since they formed in 1998, hitting position 13 in the billboard charts with their last album ‘A War You Cannot Win’. The Order Of Things is their seventh release due out on 24 February 2015 and is produced by ‘Josh Wilbur’ (Lamb of God/Gojira/Hatebreed). …

Damn me, it’s bloody great to see Furyon back! With a new album and follow-up to the ridiculously superb Gravitas, it’s been three years since their debut album first introduced their stomping hard-edged rock to our ears… and they’ve just picked up right where they left off. Lost Salvation continues …

From their 2006 beginnings as Reign Of Terror to a name change to Reign Of Fury leading to a two year split before reforming as a punk band called Ransom (featuring three current members of Reign Of Fury), their songs became more metal orientated so they reverted back to Reign …

Hailing from Greece, this fact you would grasp even before reading the accompanying text. This is a new duo being released on Iron Bonehead productions and this is the first demo tape. They are certainly paying homage to their fellow countrymen such as Rotting Christ and Varathon. Starting off with …

Having released their first demo away back in 2002, this debut album by Peruvian devils Goat Semen has been more than a decade in the making.  In the intervening years, the band have released a few split EPs, deliberately designed to tantalize their fans – among whom they have reached …

A brilliant 13 song offering released in late 2014, Once, Forever & Again by London-based The See See showcases the band’s latest sonic journeys, and is the subject of this week’s Pop Focus. Once, Forever & Again, The See See’s third full-length studio effort, finally breaks some ground and gains a …

Hailing from Dublin, Red Enemy are a five piece signed to Mediaskare Records, boasting shows alongside names like Parkway Drive, Unearth, and Tesseract. Following on from their second EP, the well received ‘What We Are Contained In Is What We Are’, the eponymously titled ‘Red Enemy’ is the bands first …

This whole package is quite a mystery. No songtitles they are just labelled I and II, no country of origin, no pictures and no members names. The only information available is that it s coming out on Iron Bonehead productions. This leaves us with the music on its own merits, …

The Dreaming are an American industrial rock band who rose from the ashes of the powerhouse that was Stabbing Westward. Formed by lead vocalist Chris Hall and drummer Johnny Haro The Dreaming have two full length albums and a handful of EP’s to their name. Rise Again was titled by …

As is well documented throughout music history, the biggest change a band can make in terms of lineup is their singer. Guitarists and drummers are skilled enough to be chameleons and play note-for-note renditions of songs written by former members, but bring in a new vocalist and there is more onus …

South African blues musician Dan Patlansky released his debut album in 1999 and is now releasing his seventh album, Dear silence thieves.  His second album saw him signed to a major label, and in 2006 he became just one of six musicians in Africa to receive a guitar and amp …

It has been nine long years since 2006’s impressive ‘Falling In Between’ and this latest Toto release ‘XIV’, during that time Toto split up and then reformed. This version of Toto has original members Steve Lukather, David Paich, Steve Porcaro and also sees the return of the original bass player …

          I do not, as a rule, review albums that have been out for a considerable length of time, unless it is a classic Metal album from the distant past that is celebrating a milestone anniversary of course. However, in the case of Agatha’s “Gravis Atque …

Over the past 12 months or so, vocalist Simon Wright has proven himself to be a man who not only likes to keep busy, but also is capable of delivering music in diverse styles – and each time to great effect.  Around this time last year, he led Leeds technical …

@planetmosh review Versive by .@versiveofficial. Versive are a four piece alt-rock band from Dublin, Ireland who have recently released their debut EP, also called Versive. A three track EP, it’s a good taster from a band with obvious talent and the drive to go places.  Opening track Blackout is fast …

Love them or hate them, Venom turned a lot of heads and eardrums around with their debut 1981 release of  Welcome To Hell and it’s follow up Black Metal in 1982. Although they were tagged in the NWOBHM genre they heavily influenced many thrash and black metal bands. Original guitarist …

If proof were ever needed that certain things get better with age, then look no further than to Michael Schenker, as his re-emergence over these last few years with his Temple Of Rock band is nothing short of staggering. ‘Spirit On A Mission’ is the latest album from Schenker and …

“Time and Trauma” is the sixth studio album by Alaskan metal band 36 Crazyfists. The album will be released in the UK in about a week or so and it is awful; words cannot describe how awful it is. It sounds like something ripped from a failed metalcore abortion from 2006. Avoid …