Album Reviews

At the end of July 2021, Bernie Marsden released an album of blues covers called Kings that introduced me to songs from Freddie, Albert and B.B King as part of the ‘Inspiration Series’ that came after a backstage conversation with Billy Gibbons about their influences and heroes. It came out …

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 …

So one of my final reviews this year sees 2021 end in a fairytale dream come true courtesy of Suzy Starlite and Simon Campbell who fell in love onstage and married following a whirlwind musical romance. Their recently released The Language Of Curiosity album was written, recorded, engineered, played and …

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 …

Black Hill Cove ‘Broken’ heralds new name on the block “Broken” is the rather splendid debut from Black Hill Cove who formed during the 2020 Covid lockdown. Based in Lisbon, Portugal this three-piece have produced a rather splendid slab of what I’d prefer to call groove metal. Because that’s what …

Quebecoise four piece Outre-Tomb have released their third full length Abysse Mortifère on Temple Of Mystery Records. If you know anything about Quebec, then you will know that it has produced some of the best and nastiest metal in the Canadian scene. Outre-Tomb is no exception to this rule, and …

Finnish black metal horde Morgal bring forth the Nightmare Lord on their superb first full length album. Morgal have been hitting the black metal world hard in the face since 2015. With a demo, 3 EPs, a split with fellow countrymen Exitius, and a solitary live album, Nightmare Lord sees …

Plague Bringers is the eighth full length album from the prolific one man melodic blackened death metal machine that is Bryan Eckermann. Yep, I had not heard of him either before this release, which considering my preferred choice of music is unusual! A swift bit of research though comes up …

Crooked Shapes, a new band to me from Reading have just released their self titled, self produced debut album and they’ve done a fine job with both. I love reviewing three piece bands, point proven by opening track ‘Fire’. It packs a punch with knockout blows in the lowdown and …

To say that The Autumn Killers have changed their musical direction is an understatement. The last time I caught them at a gig they were kicking out the jams at a Rockwich festival but now they have incorporated samples into their arsenal and to these ears it’s worked. Already released …

In the mid-1970s when I was a spotty teenager, there was no internet to find out new rock/metal bands so you had to rely on your local record store, The Friday Rock Show on Radio 1 or music magazines. My bible was Sounds that went on to turn into Kerrang. …

Let’s get one thing straight here, Exodus are my favourite thrash metal band EVER and as long as they keep on blasting out on albums like their latest release Persona Non Grata, then they always will be. My lifelong appreciation of their music started with their debut Bonded By Blood …

Is there such a thing as the perfect album? If there isn’t then Black Coast are having a good crack at it as the Stoke based bare knuckle brawlers stoke up the fires of hell with these twelve neck twisting songs on their latest album Outworld, out on November19th . …

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 …

Soundtrack to a failing world… Cradle of Filth never fail to divide opinions, but new album Existence Is Futile may narrow the divide some. Eschewing the all out Gothic horror that has been their mainstay over their long history, real life horror is now brought in. To quote from Dani …