Album Reviews

Hailing from Toronto, Breached – right from the opening bars of the title track of this five-song EP – are a band who it is extremely difficult to pigeonhole… and most definitely not in a bad way. Leaning quite heavily on the post-grunge sound of the likes of Alice In …

Now and again an album comes along that crushes your preconceptions under the heel of your size 11 New Rock boot… Just as I was sincerely starting to believe that almost every new young band coming out of mainland Great Britain was content to churn out second-rate, copycat emo-core nonsense, …

Whether we believe in it or not, like it or otherwise, the so-called “festive season” – when everyone is supposed to be nice to each people we loathe and despise for the rest of the year, indulge in rampant consumerism, eat horribly overcooked poultry for days on end, and whatever …

Breaking a silence which has lasted nigh on 15 years, Austrian progsters Mayfair should really have stayed in a state of hibernation, as this is a truly awful album with very little to recommend it to more than the casual listener. Yes, the four musicians are most definitely accomplished (vocalist …

Legendary grind merchants Brutal Truth teaming up with Bastard Noise on paper is a proposition that should produce a noise of catastrophic proportions. Alas it is not to be, this collaboration has produced an experience that fades into the background along with a hundred other Power Electronics style projects. Dan …

Every now and again, an album emerges from the vaults of rock ‘n’ roll history that represents a snapshot in time:  a moment when those who produced it were right at the top of their game, while at the same time on the cusp of transformation and transition… This is …

Levin Minnemann Rudess is the new power trio studio project featuring instrumental virtuosos Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel), Marco Minnemann (Necrophagist, Paul Gilbert, The Aristocrats), and Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater, solo). On this eponymous 14-track debut opus, released in 2013, you’ll hear ample reason to appreciate the skillful depth …

Asa, the latest studio release from one-man-band Falkenbach, delights us with intense electric guitar, folk elements, abundant melody, varied tempos, and fluent usage of a near-extinct Germanic language. Ranging from the sub drop and blastbeat to the pan flute and acoustic guitar, this ‘Viking metal’ record is packed with consistent, …

When we talk about bands and music, bands who are real and step up to the mark. Bands who provide sounds that seem old, familiar but also fresh, vibrant and put on that awesome live performance. Of recent times The Answer and Rival Sons are names that spring to my …

Follow up album that sees a real step up in class.     Wolverhampton based band Winter Storm return with the follow up to 2010’s well received debut album “Serenity In Darkness”. The music definitely falls into the Dark Gothic category but has a wealth of depth and atmosphere to …

Leaves Eyes return to top form with their heaviest album to date.   If it’s one thing Leaves Eyes do not do, it’s sit around doing nothing, a matter of two years since the excellent “Meredead”, the band return with all guns blazing for what is their fifth studio album. …

Rob Dukes fronted Generation Kill return with sophomore album We’re All Gonna Die, following up their 2010 debut Red, White and Blood. It may be broadly termed as a thrash album but its roots and grooves run far, far deeper than that surface perception. This album is a grower. Invest …

Absolva have unleashed a “Fan Pack” containing a live cd and dvd, ( though these can be ordered separately ) recorded at the band’s sell-out headline show at Wizzfest, Belgium earlier this year. On the strength of this dvd alone, this british metal trio comprising of Chris Appleton – lead vocals & lead guitar, …

Hailing from Scunthorpe (“The Industrial Garden Town Of The North” as he describes it), AOT70FB is the work of one Wayne Goodchild, who perhaps can perhaps best be described as a “bedroom producer”.  Having previously enjoyed moderate success under the monicker of Cardboard Dead Boy, he has sought to refine …

  Hailing from Antwerp, this five track E.P. from Wings Of The Fallen has been out for a while now but I must admit, was one that had slipped under my radar, until now. The first thing that impressed me was the fact that this release is the result solely …

For lovers of 'old school', this CD will be right up your street. Don't take my word for it, go to their website and rock out to a great band.

....so if you’re in need of a classic sounding metal album that evokes images of ‘olde worlde’ battles and chivalrous knights, this delivers in bucketloads.

UK heavy metal quintet Heart of a Coward have just released their sophomore album, ‘Severance’, a year after their debut ‘Hope and Hindrance’ crashed into existence. Formed in 2007; after several line-up changes they are now a solid and refined unit lead by ex-Sylosis frontman Jamie Graham. Taking the ferocity …

Switzerland based rockers ‘Sideburn’ have just released “Electrify”, their first since the lineup change way back in 2012, three young guns in the form of Lawrence Lina with Mike Riffart on Guitars and Bass player Nick Thornton joined the old pro’s Roland Pierrehumbert on Vocals, and Lionel Blanc on Drums to bring …

Blues singer/guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor is having great success at the moment.  Despite only being in her 20s she’s released three albums; has played in front of a large crowd (and a massive television audience) with Annie Lennox at the Diamond Jubilee concert in London; has won a number of …