Bite Size Review

2021 was an excellent year for me discovering new music and the major highlight came from Montreal based The Damn Truth with their third album Now Or Nowhere that crossed the line between rock and roll tinged with psychedelia. 2022 sees them returning to the UK in February as support …

You can see why Elles Bailey was named artist of the year at the UK blues awards 2020/2021 judging by the quality of her latest single ‘The Game’, the fourth single taken from her upcoming studio album Shining In The Half Light, released on Earache Records February 25th 2022. The …

Now this is the way to start a new year as England based thrashers Tailgunner rip through their debut single ‘Guns For Hire’ fast and furiously in just over three fiery minutes to take our minds off all the shit that is currently going on to prove that music is …

One of the three guises of Sahil Makhija is Demonstealer who have just released their second astonishing EP The Holocene Termination. Over the last twenty years he has pushed the boundaries of Indian metal Worldwide with Demonstealer and Demonic Resurrection. This four track firestorm rages hard, leaving me breathless at …

Eschewing from my usual heavy metal reviews, I thought for this Christmas Eve I’d tackle something not so straightforward and my train of thought lead me to Chester based Disconnected Souls who have recently released their stunning new single ‘Petrichor’. Petrichor is actually a natural phenomenon, a distinctive Earthly scent …

Chilean natives Non Residents unleash their latest single ‘Comfortably Tied’, taken from their debut album Against Police Brutality. They formed in 2019 in Brooklyn, New York and this is where they filmed the video for the single on a shoestring budget that captures the feel of their struggle. These four …

Although included in the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) movement in the late 1970’s, London based Praying Mantis preceded the genre as they were formed in 1973 by brothers Chris and Tino Troy who still remain in the current line up. They chose a more melodic route, point …

Stoke On Trent based bruisers Brutal Ruin bring some yuletide brutality courtesy of their latest single ‘Sideshow’. In just under four minutes they conjure up a feast by channeling the early rawness of Venom, the industrial grind of Godflesh and pummel along on some devilishly hellish grooves, all pinned down …

The Hot Damn! Billed as an all-female rock supergroup but judging by their performance on latest single ‘I Didn’t Like You Anyway’ released today on December 3rd 2021 via Rock People Management, I’m inclined to say they are more like a fiesty fantastic four! Their debut single ‘Dance Around’ was …

South Wales based trio The Autumn Killers have really hit their stride in 2021, point proven by their recently released studio album Darkside via Skyfire Records and they have just released ‘Do You Want It’, the second single taken from it. It’s four fabulously frenetic minutes of futuristically tinged metal. …

Musically, when I think of Nashville, country music springs to mind but the duo of Stacey Blood and Laurie Ann Layne soon shattered that assumption with their release of Act 1 – All Blood, No Treasure. Act -1 is the first of 4 installments from the forthcoming coming album All …

Jim Kirkpatrick, mainly known for his current tenure of thirteen years playing lead guitar for FM is also no slouch with his solo material, highlighted by the Ballad Of A Prodigal Son album released in November 2020, receiving praise from Blues Matters of “England’s equivalant to Joe Bonamassa”. High praise …

Bad Touch seem to also have a magic touch as they once more delve into their musical archives and release another single prior to their November/December 2021 tour, aptly titled the ‘Better Late Than Never Tour’. This time they cover what I think is their hardest song to date, the …

Rewind over 40 years to when I was about 17/18 before the internet came to be, so any music info came via magazines or The Friday Rock Show on Radio 1. Sounds magazine was my musical bible and in the late 70’s there was an upsurge of up and coming …

To these ears Joe Bonamassa transcends from just being a guitar hero into a storyteller with a lead vocal to match on his latest single ‘Time Clocks’, the title track of the album of the same name due to be released on October 29th 2021. It’s the third single taken …

Normally November is a nondescript month but fear not for 2021 as Stoke On Trent nutters Black Coast release another single ‘Mental’ from their forthcoming studio album Outworld on the 19th. An added bonus is the album launch at The Underground in Stoke the same day. The song certainly lives …

One of my major highlights of 2021 has come from mindblowing Montreal party starters The Damn Truth and you could certainly bet that they would be the last to leave! Their third studio album Now Or Nowhere was unleashed on April 25th and a go for the throat nine songs …

I’ve been a fan of Blaze Bayley since he sang for Wolfsbane in 1984 -1994 and subsequently when he joined Iron Maiden from 1994 – 1999, releasing two fantastic albums X Factor and Virtual XI with them, then up until the present day he has embarked on a successful solo …

I first came across When Rivers Meet in November 2020 when I was asked to review their debut album We Fly Free and its eccentricity got them an easy 5/5 rating from myself. So fast forward to 2021 with ‘Testify’, the first single taken from forthcoming studio album Saving Grace …

Taking a step back from his usual guitar histrionics, Troy Redfern shows a softer side to his repertoire with recently released ‘Stone’, the 4th single taken from the highly impressive The Fire Cosmic album. A lilting intro sets the scene perfectly with dreamy guitar lines and a heart melting vocal …