Album Reviews

  Of Fate And Sanity is the debut album from progressive death metal band Apallic.  A follow up to their Somnium EP released in December 2015.  Hailing from the north west German town of Emden, the five piece, who formed in 2014, according to their website have produced an album the concept of which deals …

Last year, Ritchie Blackmore made a long awaited return to rock after years of only playing folky medieval music with his band Blackmore’s night.  He played a tiny handful of gigs in Europe and none elsewhere, with a  new Rainbow lineup that featured an unknown singer, Ronnie Romero on vocals.  …

It has been 12 years since Life of Agony‘s last record and many question marks as to whether or not we would ever see another one. The re-energised band hit the festival circuit a few years back and proved without a doubt they were still a force that could cut …

If you thought that Temples Of Artifice, the debut album from Twisted Illusion was as mad as the film One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, then the follow up double album Insight To The Mind Of A Million Faces sees the cuckoo laying a clutch of eggs in it and …

Well this certainly cleared a few insomnia fuelled cobwebs at 7am on a Sunday morning! The Infinite Growth Paradigm Vs Finite Resources (Mk II) from Exeter based Codex Alimentarius, formed in 2009 will be releasing this six track E.P on June 1st. Looking at the band line up saw me …

99% of Joe Bonamassa Live At Carnegie Hall – An Acoustic Evening is, without any shadow of doubt, the perfect recorded live experience, with the missing 1% coming down to the sheer jealousy reserved for those lucky enough to have actually been there. Ah well, at least the rest of us …

Up for review today is the outstanding new album ‘Under Your Spell‘ from the incredibly talented ‘The Birthday Massacre‘. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the band here is a little background on their development and their exciting journey to date: in 1999 the band formed, independently produced …

They might have been darlings of the nu-metal explosion in the early 00’s, but Papa Roach are a band who understand that times and trends move on and, have endeavoured to follow this over what is now a 24-year career. Evolving their sound from the huge riffs and rapped vocals …

Since 1990, Ice- T has vehemently made a stand against authority with his band Body Count. Inspired by Black Sabbath, Suicidal Tendencies and Slayer, his lyrics deliver a much more powerful message than the watered down commercial rap that the radio force feeds us. The subject matter of his lyrics …

Scottish Pirate Metal band Alestorm are back with their new album – their fifth studio album.  If you’ve listened to Alestorm before you’ll probably be expecting songs about Rum, Mead, Wenches, Pirates, Quests and Treasure.  If that’s what you’re expecting then congratulations, you successfully predicted the lyrical content of the …

  Biters a Punk/Rock ‘n’ Roll band formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 2009 release their second album ‘The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be‘ via Earache Records today (19th May 2017). This follows their critically acclaimed 2015 début album ‘Electric Blood’ and several EPs. Energetic live performances with tales of …

        Anathema return with ‘The Optimist’ but how does it stand up to its most recent and perhaps most comparable predecessors , 2012’s highly influential ‘Weather Systems’ and 2014’s incredible ‘Distant Satellites’ I believe it was a certain Winston Churchill that once said “To improve is to …

If there is one thing you are guaranteed with any SikTh release it is that it will not be an easy listen.  No relaxing, sitting back and quietly enjoying it.  No sticking the tunes on in the car to while away those kilometres.  No headphones on to relax you off to sleep …

Laying angelic female vocals beside venomous male screams, She Must Burn are taking black metal on a new adventure. There’s a courageous spirit at the heart of She Must Burn, a determination to see their risks through to the bitter end. Female fronted black metal in itself so rarely hits …

The year is 2014. The new £1 coins were announced in the March budget, England crashed out of the World Cup in the opening round and the Church of England allowed women to be ordained as bishops. It also marked the first time that power metal titans Dragonforce recorded an …

Dig Deeper are a rock band from Norway.  They released their debut album in 2012 following it up with a second album in 2015, and now in 2017 they’re releasing a new EP, “Stars tonight”. There’s a definite psychedelic feel to the music, and when you throw in the vocals …

Blood command are a punk band from Bergen, Norway that formed almost ten years ago.  They’ve released three EPs and two albums with the last album (Funeral beach) getting great reviews, and now “Cult drugs” is their third album. The album kicks off with “CTRL+ALT+DELETE”, which I have to say …

Christopher Rayson is an English singer/songwriter who lives in France.  He’s about to release his debut solo album, “It’s been going on”. He cites Oasis, Crowded house, Fleetwood Mac and the Beatles as influences and recorded the album in a studio in France close to where Oasis recorded “Standing on …

In an ever-increasing digital age, the simple notion of being sent a physical copy of an album to review is a rather heart-warming move. So when Are You Listening?, the debut album by Swedish/British outfit The Franklys arrived with a handwritten note that hoped yours truly would enjoy the record, …