Event Reviews

It was like Halloween in Manchester for this second time this year when German Horror Punk band The Other played at Tiger Lounge, a small basement venue on Cooper Street, near Manchester Town Hall and conveniently close to one of Manchester’s Wetherspoons pubs The Waterhouse. Although The Other have been …

The Vintage Caravan were founded in Iceland in 2006 by singer Óskar Logi and former drummer Guðjón Reynisson, who were only 12 years old at the time. In 2012 they were joined by Alexander Örn on bass and released their second studio album Voyage in their home country, before it …

Tonight’s show started with Dan Patlansky, a South African blues guitarist.  His music is very different to Satriani’s, but what they have in common is that both are great guitarists.  Despite that I wasn’t sure how well Dan Patlansky would go down with the Satriani fans, but happily they weren’t …

As I already had plans to go down to The Big Smoke to see Spike and Tyla’s Hot Knives, and inflict myself upon my brother, I was pleased to see that The Poodles were doing a one off UK gig in Camden the same weekend. I haven’t heard much of their …

Tonight’s gig kicked off with a set from Shawn Jones, a Californian musician who has worked with the likes of Waylon Jennings.  It’s a very simple setup – just him playing guitar and singing.  It maybe a simple setup but it works well – there’s nothing to distract from what …

Now this is a night I had been anticipating eagerly.  It’s a rarity that every band on the bill is this talented and delivers such a powerful live performance, and I am so happy to say I was not disappointed!  This show was one of my favourites I’ve attended this …

Over the last 11 years I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen Cradle of Filth perform, they were really important to me growing up; I remember ‘Midian’ was one of the first cds I ever bought!  Tonight the Koko is packed out after the successful release of Hammer …

Arriving at the O2 Institute Library there was already a pleasingly a large queue for tonight’s show. Unusual in its design, you enter the venue through a set of doors onto the small balcony, which provided a good view of the already growing crowd at the barrier. It was disappointing …

Tonight’s show was completely sold out, and if you’ve seen Joanne Shaw Taylor perform then you’ll know why.  Unlike most shows I attend in London where it gets a lot busier in time for the headline act, audiences at the Stables are very good at turning up early to watch …

A veritable Smörgåsbord came to Manchester Club Academy last Monday. With Michael Monroe from Finland and his band, which brings together celebrated musicians who have played with such greats as Hanoi Rocks, New York Dolls, Dogs D’Amour and Danzig, to name but a few. I was anticipating some top notch …

Probably the most famous band I know from Atlanta, Georgia is The Black Crowes. There’s a new band on the block also hailing from Atlanta, these guys are Biters, they’re not brand new, as they formed in 2009, but I only got to hear about them when their debut album …

Tonight’s show had an early start – usually on a weekday that means the first band plays to an almost empty room, but tonight there was a large queue outside well before the doors opened. First up were Xandria, the German symphonic metal band now fronted by Dutch singer Dianne …

The night kicked off with The Treatment.  Having last seen the band at their secret show in Milton Keynes which featured their new lineup although the new members hadn’t been announced at that stage.  I’d been impressed then so was looking forward to seeing how singer Mitchell Emms and Tao …

After 3 electric gigs in 7 days, the next 4 of this tour by Bernie Marsden would be acoustic affairs, the first of which was at the Crown Hotel in Nantwich aided by guitarist Jim Kirkpatrick. On entering the venue I was a bit confused as it was in a …

As the nights start drawing in and evenings are getting dark earlier we head into a busy season for gig goers. The thirteenth, unlucky for some and what would otherwise, have been a quiet Sunday night in September, brought Gunzo to Club Academy in Manchester. Gunzo, not to be confused …

The first Redemption Festival was held on the 12th September 2015 at Warehouse 23 in Wakefield. Redemption Festival is a charity event to raise to raise money for Barnsley Hospice and Wakefield Hospice. With ten bands and a couple of comedians the event started just after 1pm with festival organiser …

So how is the best way to spend a Bank Holiday Sunday? Watching mindless television or doing D.I.Y around the house? No! Get up early and head off to Rockwich and watch 15 bands play from midday until midnight for a measly £10! Apologies to the bands I missed whilst …

This was the sort of a gig that was not meant to be really. Draconian’s debut U.K. appearance was meant to have been some months previous but things happened and things did not happen, which resulted in this show being the replacement. The venue itself was ideal. If you have …

After the lovely hot weather of Saturday at Ramblin’ Man, Sunday was not so nice – rain for most of the day with it being heavy for much of the afternoon.  An effect of this was clear on the main stage – instead of bands playing at the front of …

This was the first Ramblin man festival, and while it’s clearly similar to the old High Voltage festival, there are some big changes.  Firstly it’s not in London, but instead is in Maidstone.  It’s rare to find a big rock festival venturing away from London or the Midlands, but Maidstone …

After a hearty breakfast it was time to slap on the sun cream after being fried alive on the first day of Bloodstock and head off once more for more metal. First call of the day was not the beer tent but to the New Blood stage at the ungodly …

Sunday is always a bitter/sweet day at Bloodstock for me as on the plus side you have another day of metal but on the minus side when the day is over you have to wait another year for the next one. First band of the day on the Sophie Lancaster …

Another year another Bloodstock and 2015 was one of the best I have attended to say the least. All 4 stages threw up some incredible performances although 2 out of the 3 main stage headliners were below par for me. I headed off from my hotel in Tamworth early so …

First of all an apology and correction, if you have read yesterday’s review you will need to know that actually Garage Days are Austrian and Fireforce are Belgian so your man from Nick Hellefort was correct, they WERE “ze Germans”! After yesterday’s full metal onslaught I approached today with some …

Saturday dawned bright and sunny and off I went for the second day. Special mention as well at this point to the sponsors of the acoustic stage all weekend, Metal Nation Radio. Not cos they were really nice guys who worked damn hard all weekend to broadcast live from the event …

Massive Wagons/Skam – The Yorkshire House, Lancaster: 17th July 2015 The Seventh night of the Out of Our Rocka’s tour (usually two of ‘Off Yer Rocka’ bands Massive Wagons, Skam, Texas Flood and Pig Iron with local support) saw Massive Wagons and Skam playing The Yorkshire House in Lancaster, conveniently …

What do we know about SOS Festival then? Sponsored by Rocksector records and organised by them and Chris Appleton (founder member of Fury UK and now playing with Absolva amongst other things) who also compered it, it’s now in its 8th year and showcases some of the label’s talent, along …

AC/DC – Glasgow, Dublin and London 2015 Review AC/DC must surely rank as one of the greatest bands of all time! Formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young with Dave Evans initially on vocals, followed by Bon Scott from 1974 until his untimely death in 1980, and for the …

As yet another old saying goes, “All good things must come to an end”, so bleary eyed we headed off to the main stage for the final day of Wildfire Festival in more glorious sunshine. Another 11am start and opening band, Sheffield based trio Silverjet faced a packed out tent …

Saturday! The second day of Wildfire and the sun has put his hat on, as the old song once said. At the unholy hour of 11am, first band on the main stage were Leeds based The Idol Dead who were the perfect opener for the change of weather with their …

Wildfire Festival, previously known as Les-Fest in recent years returned in 2015 with an extra stage with over fifty bands spread out over three days, thus making the event in Wiston the place to be! The brain child of Dave Ritchie, his towering presence could be seen throughout the weekend …

A rare sweltering hot day in London again, yet the Boston Rooms still pulls a crowd of metal heads melting in black and leather but more than happy to be there for a metal show, and we really were in for a treat! Up first we have 4 piece heavy …

Tonight was one of just three UK dates on the current Primus tour.  It’s a tour that see’s them without a support act – instead, Primus play two sets. The first set was a fairly normal set (well as normal as Primus get anyway), with songs taken from their various …

Tonight’s gig was ZZ Top’s only UK show, which would normally be more than enough to make this a gig not to miss, but to make it even better, the support act was Thunder, so two great bands on one bill. Coming on stage to the sounds of the ACDC …

Tonight’s gig kicked off with a set from the Dave Hanson band.  They’re a four piece band from Leeds, fronted by Dave Hanson on vocals and lead guitar, and play music that is fairly laid back – a mix of blues and funk.  It’s very good but did feel a …

Die No More a young four piece NWOBHM band from Cumbria formed in  2011, since then they have impressed people with their energetic live shows. They released self-financed, four track, début EP ‘Blueprint’ in 2013 which led to them being signed by Rocksector Records with whom they released their debut …

Monday 8th June saw around a thousand Nightwish fans descend on the Finnish port city of Turku for the first ever Nightwish cruise. After checking in at the passenger terminal (in the case of some fans, many hours before boarding), fans waited for the ship to arrive for them to …

Where to start with this incredible evening! A huge turnout of support and 6 talented unsigned bands, showing just how alive and exciting the local music scene is right now. There is such a supportive vibe here at the iconic Purple Turtle tonight for the Metal 2 The Masses London …

So after all the preliminary heats, quarter finals and semi finals, the Cheshire region of  the Metal 2 The Masses final attracted about three hundred metal heads at the Box in Crewe to watch Skeletal Damage, Headpress, Obey and Synapse battle it out for a place on the bill at …

It barely seems almost a year ago since I attended Les-fest, now renamed Wildfire, an annual 3 day classic rock & metal festival situated in the picturesque setting of Wiston Lodge, South Lanarkshire in Scotland. Now in it’s 4th year it has gone from strength to strength and organiser Dave …

Generally when you go and see a band do a headline tour, you get a set of 90 minutes, or maybe two hours if you’re very lucky, but with Gov’t Mule because they don’t have a support act they do two sets and as a result you can expect them …

Tonight was the long awaited return of Rock Goddess, playing their first London gig in 32 years.  Judging by the amount of old rock fans dressed in Denim and Leather it’s fairly clear that a lot of the fans tonight are here because they remember Rock Goddess from the 80s, …

It’s not every day a fellow music journo is 50 but the big day arrived for Woodstock Punkrock, owner of PunkBob and a celebration was arranged at The Boathouse in Cambridge, a spacious white pub on the banks of The River Cam, didn’t look like a place for punk but looks …

2015 started badly for Vardis when drummer Gary Pearson, who had doggedly searched for guitarist Steve Zodiac to reform the band again after a 30yr hiatus, decided to quit after the band had only been back together for almost 2yrs. Fans wondered what the future would hold but a few …

First up tonight was Belfast band, No hot ashes.  They are a band that formed in the 80’s before splitting a few years later.  After 25 years apart they reunited a couple of years ago.  As you’d expect, most of the set is songs from the 80s but they do …

Way back in 1939 Winston Churchill described the Russians as being “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” I can’t help thinking this is also an apt description of Ginger Wildheart‘s Songs and Words show. It’s not a gig, It’s not stand-up comedy. It’s not theatre. It’s not …

The Fifth NLC/Rockin’ For The Children Festival took place at The Maze, Nottingham over May Day Bank Holiday Weekend 2015. This now annual event is organised by David Tonge (AKA Big D) and his family and friends with a lot of time and hard work going into the organising. Last …

The night opened with Irishman Miles Graham.  He performs doing vocals and playing acoustic guitar, and has two musicians with him, one on the Cajon (a box shaped drum that the drummer sits on as he plays), and one on bass.  His set is very good – a classic singer-songwriter …

The night kicked off with Tristan Mackay, a solo performer and former busker. He plays with an acoustic guitar and uses a device to record short bits of playing then replay them in a loop which means he’s able to play more complex stuff than if he just used the …

Tonight’s gig opened with Dutch band Stream of Passion, who are supporting Anneke van Giersbergen on this Gentle Storm tour, and two of the members also perform on stage as Anneke’s band. Stream of Passion are a band I’ve seen several times and they always impress.  Singer Marcela Bovio has …

Rebellion, is a small bar/venue/nightclub on Whitworth Street Manchester, near to Deansgate Rail Station and Deansgate Locks and conveniently close to Manchester’s tallest building Beetham Tower, which houses The Hilton Hotel (should you wish to stay there for a rocking night out), although having spotted the picture of the accommodation …

First up tonight was The Pearl Harts.   Unusually, they’re a two-piece band – other than the Graveltones they’re probably the only two-piece I’ve seen. Unlike the Graveltones, both members of the Pearl harts are petite ladies. They took to the stage in front of a very quiet venue, but …

The night kicked off with 2 cards of 25, a London based Hard rock band.  It’s certainly an unusual name which presumably has some meaning, but ignoring the name, what you have here is a very good hard rock band.  Singer Diego Gutierrez has a good voice, and is helped …

Tonight’s gig was the first time Blind Guardian had played the UK in just under 5 years, so it’s no surprise that there’s a good turnout tonight.  While it’s not sold out it’s clearly not far off that judging by how packed the place is. The night opened with Israeli …

Ben Poole was a name that had crossed my ears recently and so I was looking forward to catching him tonight at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. He sings with a smooth caramel vocal and plays mellow songs with that trusty blues nod of the head. He dedicated ‘Time Might Never Come’ …

First tonight was Joanne Shaw Taylor, a performer who has headlined this venue herself just a few months ago, but tonight is supporting the legendary Robin Trower.  As a result she has a shorter set than usual and so the set contains less from her new album than normal and …

Tonight’s gig was the start of the first UK tour for U.D.O in many years – in fact I can’t even remember when they last came to the UK.  Happily though former Accept vocalist Udo Dirkschneider has managed to bring his band to the UK, and he’s brought a couple …

Normally when you have a midweek gig in London, the first band plays to a half empty venue, but when the doors are an hour earlier than usual then its usually an almost completely empty venue, so it was a surprise tonight to arrive at the venue to find a …

The support act tonight was Niall Kelly and his band.  Nially Kelly plays guitar and sings and is backed by his wife on violin and vocals plus a guitarist, bassist and drummer.  By the time they start, not long after the doors open, the venue is already fairly busy and …

Situated off the beaten track, the courtyard outside the Rescue Rooms in Nottingham is certainly one of the few places I don’t mind queueing to get into a show. With a few benches, umbrellas with patio heaters and the public bar everything adds up for a relaxed atmosphere leading up …

I saw Bad Touch about eighteen months ago when they supported The Quireboys at Club Academy, Manchester (reviewed here). They have been out on tour supporting The Answer on their ‘Raise A Little Hell Tour’ and I caught the gig at Sheffield Corporation last night. Mark Ashby for PlanetMosh reviewed …

Tonight’s gig was at Oslo.  No, not the Norwegian capital – it’s actually a music venue in London.  It’s a similar size to the Barfly and being located right next to Hackney Central station it is a bit further out than most of London’s popular gig venues so I was …

A small slice of Swedish rock came to Manchester last Saturday. Hardcore Superstar fresh from an appearance at Hard Rock Hell United in Wales on Friday 13th brought their ‘When We Touch The Sky Tour 2015’ to Manchester Club Academy. With Bonafide and NitroDive as support. The problem with playing …

Things haven’t gone smoothly for The Agonist’s latest tour.  It was originally supposed to be supporting Otep but they pulled out so The Agonist took over as headliners and brought a couple of other bands along on the tour.  Last time they played in London the Garage was only around …

Tonight was the first night of Joe Bonamassa’s four night run at the Eventim Apollo (or as Joe put it – “it’s the Hammersmith Odeon”).  It’s not sold out, but isn’t far off – which is pretty impressive for a Blues artist as not many could sell enough tickets to …

I’ve been very lucky recently, in that last month a friend won tickets to see Thunder play an acoustic show at PMT (which stands for Professional Musical Technology) store in Manchester and then only last week another friend, Arwel, won tickets for the Black Star Riders acoustic show at the …

Tax the heat were the first up on this all-British bill.  The Bristol band have a very smart image with their suits – something you don’t see very often, with Joe Bonamassa being one of the few other acts to dress in a suit on stage. The band have a …

Knock Out Kaine, a four piece Rock band from Lincoln, released their second album ‘Rise of the Electric Jester’ on 2nd March, with an album launch show in their hometown of Lincoln. The first night of their UK tour (see poster and any additional dates here) took place at The Salutation …

The Amorettes had the job of opening the bill on this tour.  It must be a fairly daunting task opening for two bands of this calibre, but these Scottish ladies showed no sign of nerves as they took to the stage.  It’s a good sign that the venue was already …

Tonight’s gig was billed as An evening with Night Ranger, and is the first time they’ve been to the UK to do more than one show – as well as tonight’s gig they are also appearing at the HRH United festival in Pwllheli at the weekend.  Tonight’s gig has no …

Valentine’s Day loomed bright but breezy in Carlisle and after a day opening all my cards, erm make that looking round Carlisle Cathedral, Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery, the market  every charity shop I passed and several fine cafés I’d built up an appetite for Rockmantic 3, Day 2. …

Tonight’s gig kicked off with support act Snow White’s Poison Bite.  Even before they start to play, they seem like an obvious choice to support Wednesday 13 as they take to the stage with the faces painted as skulls, so they fit the night’s horror theme.  Once they start to …

First up tonight was Laurence Jones, a very young (21 years old) blues guitarist.  I saw him support Joanne Shaw Taylor at her album launch last year and was impressed by his short acoustic set.  Tonight was a ful eletric set and he was accompanied by his producer, Roger Inniss …

I last saw the Quireboys in November last year which was a plugged in gig. It was a high energy show as always but their latest UK tour is an acoustic affair minus Dave Mc’ Cluskey on drums and Nick Mailing on bass guitar but the Live Rooms gig last …

First up were Starset.  The centre of the stage was taken up by a large glass touchscreen with various audio controls that the singer used.  The band are very striking visually – apart from the singer the rest of the band were in black outfits that looked like lightweight versions …

Tonight was the second night of Within Temptation’s Hydra Theatre tour which started a few nights earlier in Almere.  As with previous theatre tours, the only dates are in the Netherlands – partly due to the fact the tours require a proper theatre rather than standard music venue. Why? Well …

Arriving shortly before the doors open on this cold Friday night, there were already a handful of folks waiting outside in the patio area beside the Nottingham Rescue Rooms main entrance. As the door time came and went, accompanied by the rumblings of a sound-check from deep within the venue, …

First up tonight were SHVPES (who were formerly known as Cytota).  They kicked off as they meant to go on, with a fast heavy set (basically hardcore).  The shouting style vocals and lack of any noticeable melody meant I wasnt over-impressed by them, and clearly the crowd thought the same …

Rockmantic is becoming an annual event hosted around Valentine’s Day (hence the name) by Raz White. I went to Rockmantic 1 but couldn’t make last year. This year Valentine’s Day fell on on a Saturday so I was looking forward to a bit of Lurve as I braved the Friday …

As I wait outside Camden Underworld to review and photograph Primitai, I notice in the back of my interview book I had written “Primitai, wish I had heard more” from when I first caught them supporting Edguy, thankfully I have got to see them a few times since and was …

Tonight’s gig seemed to be a long time in arriving – I’d been hearing good reports for several weeks from friends who had been to earlier dates on the tour – this was a pretty long UK tour before the bands head over to Europe.  It’s a great lineup – …

Four piece, London based, metal band Savage Messiah were the opening act on Amon Amarth’s current UK tour. I headed down to the Manchester Academy 2 on a cold Sunday, and luckily found some free parking within a five minute walk. Just made it as I picked up my ticket …

Tonight’s gig was my first time since the work to upgrade the NIA had been completed.  Now named the Barclaycard arena – which is bound to cause confusion with the Genting Arena (the NEC), it’s looking a lot better and the facilities are certainly improved.  That’s lucky really as tonight …

StOp, sToP a Hard Rock/Glam Metal band, founded by front-man Jacob in Barcelona in 2009 and, now based here in the U.K. party hard and tour relentlessly. I saw them when they played at Rebellion Bar in Manchester last year and was pretty much blown away, so it was with …

Tonight was my first gig of the year, and what a great way to kick the year off – three great live bands on one bill. First up were Finnish band Battle Beast here on only their second visit to the UK.  Last time they played London they gave headliners …

On a particularly dark and extremely wet Glasgow evening the black clad masses ascended once more onto the streets of Scotland’s largest city for the one and only Kreator had arrived. German thrash at its best. Even though this would be my fourth time seeing them live it will be …

Unfortunately the majority of the Unity Works crowd did not turn up until later on in the evening but to those that saw Defy All Reason’s set  they were in for an early Xmas treat as the band made the most of their stage time after their long trip from …

On the Ninth Day of Christmas PlanetMosh gave to me Nine Ladies Dancing and there were at least nine ladies dancing at Dirt Box Disco’s Sold Out (again) gig at the STP Records annual Christmas get together at the Star and Garter. Although I think the boss knows I like writing about …

To say 2014 has been a big year for Vardis and their patient fans is an understatement. Following their reformation in 2013 after an almost 30 year hiatus, they played their 5th gig of 2014 at the Unity Works in Wakefield. This was a homecoming gig at a venue they …

Tonight was my first time visiting Sub89 in Reading, and I have to say I was impressed. It’s right in the city centre, just a couple of minutes walk from the railway station.  The best part was when I get inside – the sound quality.  The volume was loud but …

British band Heart of a Coward were first up – going on stage just a couple of minutes after the doors opened, so very few fans were there at the start of the set, and since their set was a ridiculously short 15-20 minutes, the venue wasnt exactly busy by …

On a particularly wet and windy Glasgow evening the most anticipated gig of the year in Scotland (for me at least) is about to commence. The insane powerhouse of Death Metal that is Sweden’s At the Gates are in Glasgow once more and they do it like no other. With …

Rock City, the iconic rock venue in the heart of Nottingham, was the venue for the third night of the ‘Blast From the Past’ tour from the Fabulous, Flamboyant Finnish, Glam Rock Four, Reckless Love. I have seen them four times before and, so far, have always enjoyed their shows, …

On previous tours, Epica have skipped the UK when doing the European leg and instead done a separate UK tour of around half a dozen dates in small-medium sized venues, but this time they’ve included a single UK date on their European tour, and it’s here at the Forum, which …

Tonight’s show was the first of two to celebrate the band’s 30th anniversary.  Time certainly flies as when I thought about it I realised the first time I saw Fields of the Nephilim was 26 years ago. The first act tonight was Dolomite minor, a Southampton based band.  I say …

Dublin has been a hotbed of gigs for the last couple of weeks and this one came at the end of a 3 night run, Saxon and Sabaton having played blistering shows over the previous 2 evenings. It is Sunday night in Dublin and the hordes came out from North, …

Krokodil were first up.  They’re a very heavy band and tonight seem to have the volume set to “bleeding ears” as it is at times uncomfortably loud, and the bass is so high that anything you touched was vibrating.  There are some great heavy riffs in the music, but to …

First up tonight were British band Voodoo Six.  It’s not long since their singer quit the band due to health reasons, and as the band haven’t had time to find a permanent replacement, tonight’s gig is performed with a stand in singer, Nik Taylor Stoakes from Fire Red Empress. Voodoo …

Friday the 28th of November 2014 was ‘Black Friday’ for many. Fortunately for me the main black in my Friday was being worn by the line of Delain fans waiting outside The Cathouse in Glasgow for the last date of Dutch symphonic metal band Delain’s short UK tour. The doors opened promptly …

Tonight’s support act was former Whitesnake guitarist, Bernie Marsden.  He plays a mainly acoustic set alongside one other musician, Jim Kirkpatrick (also on guitar).  He kicks off with “Linin’ track” and”Wedding day”, both from his new album, Shine, but it’s not long before he’s onto some Whitesnake material, which understandably …

Tonight’s gig saw two great bands on one bill, even if it was an odd pairing.  Supporting Volbeat on this tour are Hatebreed – a great band, but far heavier than Volbeat. Hatebreed got things off to a very heavy start, and it quickly became apparent that while they charged …

It was later than the advertised door time as I pulled up alongside Rock City on this November Monday night. I know The Pretty Reckless have a good size following but I was still surprised just how long the line waiting for doors stretched back, snaking round the corner and …

It was a very unique era of debaucherous legend, the embodiment of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll, so who wouldn’t want to emulate that. Sleaze/glam rock is one of those love it or hate it genres in the rock world and one that is making a resurgence thanks to countries like …

The first act tonight was She Makes War, aka Laura Kidd.  She’s a solo artist that performs playing guitar and ukulele and singing.  She uses a technique where she sings a short section which is recorded using a foot pedal, and the recording is then played back on a loop, …

Tucked behind Camden’s Electric Ballroom is a funky little venue called The Stillery, where the lovely folk at Spinefarm Records had invited Planet Mosh for the worldwide album premiere of Finnish band Santa Cruz’s second album, for which the band themselves only received the master copy four days earlier. The …

For the fourth time this year I headed out to see The Quireboys, although the first time at this particular venue, this year. So far an acoustic show at  Sheffield Corporation, a full band show at The Picturedrome, Holmfirth and I was lucky enough to get tickets for one of their 30th …

Tonight’s bill was a very diverse one.  Supporting rock legends Motörhead were punk legends, The Damned, and German cowboy rock band The BossHoss. The BossHoss kicked things off early – on stage at 7.10, not long after the doors opened.  Despite the early start there was already a decent sized …

The current Lacuna Coil tour can only be described as a “mixed” lineup. In the UK it is a co-headline tour with Motionless in white, with Devilment as support. The night kicked off with Devilment – the new band featuring Cradle of Filth frontman Dani Filth on vocals.  Sadly his …

Hot on the heels of his first album release in over ten years. Billy Idol, King of the Punk Rock sneer graced three UK venues with his ‘King Rocker’ presence. I was lucky enough to catch him at Manchester, O2 Apollo on his last night in the UK before he …

Despite the rubbish weather you could feel the excitement in the air, as fans queued up in the rain to see one of the most recognizable guitarists in the business. First up though, was Monster Truck who are everything you would want in an opening act. With their lively brand …

Today was the final day of the festival, and a slightly shorter day than the Saturday, but with some great bands playing. Aria Flame were the first band of the day. An American band, they’re here today with several special guests.  Firstly Joop de Rooj who joined them on keyboards, …

Today was the first full day of the festival.  Having sorted out wristbands etc on the Friday, we were able to skip the queue at the box office and head straight into the venue on arrival. The first act of the day was Dutch band La Ventura.  I’d seen them …

It’s that time of year again. Leeds is swamped with figures in black heading towards Leeds University, ready for a night of music and mayhem, except this year we are also celebrating 10 years of Damnation. This years show is completely sold out and we look forward to a fantastically varied line …

Tonight’s show was advertised as having an early start – with the doors opening at 7pm, Asia were due on at 7.30.  Things went as planned and Asia came on at 7.30 and kicked the night off with two songs from their very first album before playing a track from …

On 26th June 2008, my first real taste of live music photography was shooting Def Leppard and Whitesnake at Wembley Arena with their support band which to that point I did not know called Black Stone Cherry. Jump ahead six and a half years of hard work and not only has …

I caught Skid Row on their United World Rebellion tour this month. The aim of this tour, which was their fourth visit to the UK in eighteen months, was to play in venues and places they haven’t played before which included some venues I have been to and love, The …

Friday night saw fans from around the world gathering at the Oktoberhallen in Wieze just outside the Belgian town of Aalst for a weekend of female fronted metal bands. As always the lineup had plenty of variety, from symphonic metal to Japanese metal, to Thrash, a Doom and more.  MFVF …

This year’s Damnation Festival marks ten years of extreme metal chaos at Leeds University. Hard to believe it has only been ten years. There have been many interesting line ups for this fest and a few surprises over the years (namely Carcass when they had their “last ever re-union show”) …

We don’t celebrate Sundays? What’s not to celebrate when Nashville Pussy are in town?! I’d heard great things about this band so I was more than happy to head into Manchester for a Sunday gig at The Roadhouse, a small basement venue on Newton Street, conveniently near to Manchester Piccadilly …