Album Reviews

Welcome back Scarborough, North Yorkshire based band This House We Built, and what a return as it takes some bravado, not to just attempt a song of this magnitude, but to put a twist on the John Farnham 1986 classic ‘You’re The Voice’, but to emerge with heads held high. …

Farnham based skate rockers, Kit Trigg have just released a very impressive four track EP, ‘Goin For Glory’, via Earache Digital Distribution. These tracks show great promise, point proven by the title track of the EP. An attention grabbing main riff drives this feelgood headbanger along, punctuated by shout em …

Welcome back Takeaway Thieves, who formed five years ago in Blackpool, recently releasing a new single ‘Sundance’, playing their biggest gig so far this weekend at Planet RockStock, Trecco Bay Holiday Park, Porthcawl, on Sunday, December 3rd which surely should have them singing, “Oh we do like to be beside …

Leaf Band UK, recommended to me by a friend, Julian Lloyd who saw the Stoke-On -Trent quartet recently at the Underground in Stoke, return with a recently released single, ‘Get Back On My Feet Again’. Pronouncing themselves as “A real rock band – No backing tracks allowed!”. Forming in 1992, …

My first hearing of The Rods was from their self titled album in 1980, followed up by Wild Dogs in 1982, two essential purchases of mine back then, but are the band still relevant almost forty five years later? Hell yeah they are, as they unleash a brand new single …

To be honest, there isn’t that much to pick apart here from the original version of ‘Man In The Box’ by Alice In Chains, but Jared James Nichols keeps close to it’s essence as he covers his version of it. It’s released ahead of his UK and European tour, supporting …

2024 looks like it’ll be off to a great start, as Joanne Shaw Taylor releases a new single, ‘Wild Love’, taken from a forthcoming studio, released by Joe Bonamassa’s Journeyman Records. She states, “I love this track, I wanted it to be dark and sexy. I think with the boy’s …

Beginning in 2011, Orange County, California rockers Robert Jon & The Wreck flex their muscles for their latest single ‘Hold On’. They proclaim,” It’s a powerful, classic rock track that hits close to the heart for touring musicians like us, pondering how long we can hold on to this life …

Welcome back These Wicked Rivers, as they unleash ‘Force Of Nature’, brand new single taken from a forthcoming album of the same name on March 1st 2024, via Fat Earth Records, and judging by the potency of the single, the album will be a must buy! The Derbyshire based five …

Wounded Cross return from the wastelands to unleash their latest single ‘Monument Of Bones’ to tackle the subject of our environment and focusing on climate change, asking, “What will be left of our planet if we continue down the path we’re on?” It’s the first single taken from an upcoming …

For sheer power and precision, you can’t go wrong with a power trio, point proven by Cream, my personal favourite of the genre, and fortunately for myself, have been asked to review ‘Heavenly Cream – An Acoustic Tribute To Cream’, to be released on Friday, November 3rd, 2023 via Quarto …

Welcome back to the lonesome cowboy on the trail, Troy Redfern, with his latest single ‘Getaway’, not to be confused with Troy Tempest from 60’s TV programme Stingray, although he does whip up a storm for four fiery minutes of hurricane damaging ferocity. Beginning with a guitar tone so dirty …

Essex based Grace and Aaron Bond husband and wife rock band, When Rivers Meet return with their recently released third studio album, Aces Are High, that follows their 2020 debut, We Fly Free and the 2021 Saving Grace. Once again it’s a privilege to review their work and Aces Are …

Photo credit : Laura Schneider. Songs don’t really get more touching as this as Elles Bailey releases ‘Mumma & Me’, a brand new release from Elles’ brand – new EP, due for release in early Spring 2024. She croons sublimely over soothing keyboard nuances, wringing every last drop of emotion …

Welcome back Joanne Shaw Taylor with her brand new single ‘Black Magic’, second single taken from a forthcoming studio album to be released by Joe Bonamassa’s Journeyman Records in 2024. Joanne proclaims, “I originally wrote the music for my album ‘Nobody’s Fool’, intending for it to be an instrumental called …

Montreal rockers The Damn Truth are back to blow your speakers and your minds with their brand new video single ‘I Just Gotta Let You Know’ to coincide with current UK dates supporting Glenn Hughes as well as headlining dates of their own. These four fiery minutes of the song …

Morlocks deliver a bewildering array of Industrial, Neoclassical, and truly Alternative music on their third full-length release. Bugger me, that was a hell of a heading to start a review off with! But, as you will see as you read on dear hearts, it’s all true!! I had never heard …

Sophomore album from these Finnish Tech-Death wizards doesn’t disappoint Relative newcomers to the technical side of death metal, Finland’s Omnivortex released a strong debut back in 2020 called “Diagrams of Conciousness“. Following that now in 2023 is “Circulate” continuing as strongly as the last album left off. First things first: …

This is close to being one of my favourite live albums of all time as Night Ranger celebrate their 40th anniversary with ‘40 Years And A Night With Contemporary Youth Orchestra’, due for release on October 20th 2023 via Frontiers Music SRL on CD/Vinyl (inc. ltd editions), DVD, Blu-Ray and …

For a debut album this is very, very impressive as Tailgunner unleash Guns For Hire via Fireflash Records. The five piece band have British heavy metal flowing through their veins for ten potent songs, opening up with ‘Shadows Of War’. It slams in full force from the off with earworm …