Album Reviews

Myon are a melodic rock band from Finland.  “Call of the senses” is their new single and is taken from their forthcoming album, Vitalworks, which is due for release in 2012.  Vitalworks will be the bands fifth album. Call of the senses a great track – very radio friendly with …

The title of the project is a bit of a moutful – Metal for Cancer Dragon slayer All star Project, but its fairly simple if you split it up – ignore the Dragon slayer part, and focus on the rest – “All star project” and “Metal for cancer” – that …

If you fancy spending your Christmas gift money on something guaranteed to blow the festive cobwebs away then you could do a lot worse than give this album a go. Released via Pure Legend Records at the end of October it boasts 9 blistering slabs of Power Metal that fair …

First up tonight was a new band – Snakecharmer.  Although the band is new, the members aren’t – they’re all well known experienced musicians.  Original Whitesnake members Micky Moody and Neil Murray have teamed up with Laurie Wisefield (Wishbone Ash), Harry James (Thunder, Magnum), Adam Wakeman (Ozzy Osbourne) and Chris …

  Clocking in at just under 50mins,the debut cd from Bolton/Wigan based thrashers Derision pulls no punches from the mauling riffs of opener Pain Of Conviction to the lightspeed buzzsaw riffs of closing track Final Solution.Quite simply,as debut albums go, the quality of material here is on a par with …

First things first , thankyou Mick Staley  of MGTV for inviting Planetmosh. Despite a couple of last minute changes to the line up, and worst of all, the eleventh hour cancellation of the Hog Roast which resulted in my having to console myself with packets of Mr Porky’s scratchings, I …

  Where to start with this one eh?31 tracks on 2cds and a bonus live dvd as well.Metal Blade Records,due to demand,have re-released Servants Of Chaos from the vastly underrated and sadly disbanded Cirith Ungol.Originally released as a dbl cd in 2001,Servants Of Chaos contains rare,demo,live and unreleased tracks from …

The night opened with some Taiwanese black metal courtesy of Chthonic.  Chthonic supported Arch Enemy last year when they played London, so they’ve got plety of fans in the crowd tonight.  Tonight the band arent wearing their face paint, and I have to say, Bassist Doris looks better without the …

This debut release really grabs you by the throat, pins you up against the wall and shakes you into submission. SIX HOUR SUNDOWN fronted by none other than Lauren Harris have quite simply found the perfect formula of hard, kick ass riffs and solos, neck breaking drums and bass all …

Midlands based band Agincourt had their work cut out on the nwobhm stage,having to follow 2 awesome sets from Stampede and Bronz but they rose to the challenge by giving us 8 tracks from their excellent debut album ‘Angels Of Mons‘. Even a few technical difficulties arising from Paul Anderson’s …

Well,here we are again,Hard Rock Hell V,the annual  festival that goes from strength to strength and part of the weekend’s festivities was a stage devoted to nwobhm on Saturday afternoon from 12pm-17.30pm.The proceedings were opened in style by a 40min classic hard rock set from Stampede who have just finished …

There can be few more iconic venues in the UK than Liverpool’s Cavern Club, steeped in musical history that is rivalled by even fewer, even if it is musical history that has been pulled down brick by brick, moved and reassembled in its present location. Descending the stairs into the …

When you think of Knoxville, Tennessee , you don’t really picture a five-member band fronted by a female who’s screams can give any guy on the music scene a run for his money. But, Straight Line Stitch is just that. Somehow, vocalist Alexis Brown can dance on the fine line …

Hailing, and hailing very loudly from Liverpool, Lazarus Syndrome have composed  4 tracks of melodic brutality. The Flatline e.p is not available yet but is mixed and ready for release. Apparently a lazarus syndrome is an awakening from the dead. Well,judging by the quality of Flatline, the band are certainly …

Dylath-Leen return with their superb new offering ‘Cabale’. ‘Cabale’ follows the bands 2008 release ‘Semion’ and whilst the wait has been far too long the result is well worth it. From the opening track ‘Never Rising Sun’ the tone is set for an all out assault on the senses with …

  Deluxe edition is certainly an understatement of this dbl cd digipack which also includes a 16 page booklet charting Diamond Head’s history to the present day written by Dave Everly with comments by guitarist Brian Tatler,one of the founder members and the only one remaining in the current line …

The lineup tonight was originally supposed to include White Wizzard as the main support, but tonight they were missing.  Apparently there was a small notice near the entrance advising of this but like many people I didnt see it, and there was nothing mentioned about there absence. They managed to …

“The sound of metal so loud it cracks the beams”.A line taken from Manowar’s song Gloves Of Metal and judging by volume levels reached at Leeds Carling Academy last Friday night,i would not be surprised if this were true.Their new p.a system certainly delivered but it had a few glitches …

Fallstaf is a unique band – they play Brass metal – or Trombone metal to be more precise.  While this sounds like an oddity, its no more strange than Apocalyptica playing metal on Cellos, or Van Canto doing A Capella metal.  Other bands have used various unusual instruments – Chthonic …

From their beginnings as Zodiac in Furstenfeld,Austria,the signing to Noisehead Records earlier in 2011 prompted a name change to Blasphemist to fit a new musical direction.The 6 piece band play technical/melodic/death metal and considering this is their debut album,they now have an arsenal of excellent material for future gigs. Considering …

“Cold Comfort” is the fifth album from Dutch heavy rock band Autumn.  Autumn are a band that I’ve heard about regularly but for some reason I’d never got round to listening to them till now.  After listening to the album a few times I wish I hadnt put off listening …

Tonights bill was a packed lineup – Sencelled, Dynazty, Tainted nation, Miss Behaviour, Jettblack, and Electric Boys – six bands.  All apart from Jettblack had been touring together, but only London were lucky enough to get Jettblack. Sencelled were first up.  Going on stage five minutes after the doors opened, …

The ninth annual gathering of Female Fronted Metal took place again at Oktoberhallen in the pretty Belgian town of Wieze. The festival kicked off on the Friday night with a three band lineup to ease everyone into the packed weekend ahead. First up were Greek power metallers BARE INFINITY (7/10), …

Behemoth fans are in for a treat with this release. Demonica is a 2xcd 23 song compilation box set compiled from demo’s,unreleased and re-recorded songs.Only 10,000 are for sale and include an A5 digipack,slipcase and a 44 page book with rare photos and lyrics. The bulk of Demonica comes from:- …

Well this is a true phoenix rising from the flames story!Dutch metal band Martyr,formed in 1982 in Utrecht,Holland but disbanded in 1987 are now a full time band again.Circle of 8 is released via Metal Blade Records on November 8th.Martyr were also featured on the Metal Massacre VI compilation also …

  Agincourt.Even by the name of the band,one can conjure up what is in store here.Classic hard rock/ metal played by experienced musicians.To my ears it is unashamedly NWOBHM.Big riffs,catchy hooks/choruses,no ott guitar solos,just written to fit the mood of the song and a lung busting vocalist.The vocalist here is …

Supporting Evile at this gig,2nd onstage on a 4 band bill,Apollyon shook the rafters of Central Station with a set of lightspeed technical thrash metal.The 3 piece from Queensferry took no prisoners with frontman/bassist Gareth Owen summoning the ever growing crowd to the front.With only a short set in front …

To put it bluntly,on the 10th date of an 18 date tour,Evile lay waste to the rabid Wrexham crowd on Wednesday night.The Central Station is getting a well deserved reputation for booking some killer bands and Evile are a worthy addition to that ever growing list. I’ve seen the so …

From the riff that heralds the opening of the title track to the breakneck ending of closer The Wolf At Your Door,Lord Volture have created a heavy metal monster of an album.Released on Nov.11th, Never Cry Wolf contains 11 epic tracks. Epic is the only way to describe it as …

It’s not long since young South Wales rockers The Dirty Youth released their debut single, Fight, and they’ve quickly followed it up with their debut album – Red light fix. A quick look at the publicity photos will instantly conjure up comparisons with bands such as Paramore, but once you …

Out of the Dark, Sunday 9 October – Islington Academy, London.  Review by Rowena Lamb, photos and some additional reviewing by Ant May. As the days get shorter, the appropriately named Out of the Dark festival arrived in London bringing with it five great bands – Tristania, Van Canto, Serenity, …

If Torture Garden do not take this comment the wrong way then their 2nd release Dead Romantic could be the soundtrack for the armageddon.It is so crushingly overbearing the listener feels like the weight of the world is on their shoulders.It would be unfair to dismiss it as a doom …

Well this is an interesting concept.A metal album created over the internet by 2 musicians who did not meet up until after the album was finished.Vocalist Brandon Hoover from North Michigan USA searched the internet site Compose to assemble a band.He came across a guitarist Carlos Enriquez from Florida who …

As usual,when reviewing an album,i listen to it before i read up on the band so i dont know what to expect.Look And Behold,the debut album from Sydney,Australia based band Lo! begins with the instrumental Hath.It sounds like an intro for a death metal band but surprisingly segues into Deluge(Carrnivorous …

Phew,this is intense stuff to say the least and definitely not for the faint hearted.I can honestly say that when i played this it was like hearing Slayer’s epic Reign In Blood for the 1st time.So basically if you like gutteral vocals,buzzsaw rhythm guitars with searing solos topped off by …

The night kicked off with Vine Messiah who played to a half empty room as people were still arriving.  Unfortunately their brand of heavy metal totally failed to find an appreciative crowd tonight – the audience were more interested in chatting at the bar than paying any attention to the …

In my rough notes the 1st thing i jotted down after hearing the album was “bonkers but brilliant”!The name of the band suggests they are a thrash metal band but that is not the case.I can hear a lot of nwobhm in here with Deep Purple style keyboards thrown in …

“One Meniketti,theres only one Meniketti”.This chant rang around the room a few times during the show as it did when Y&T played here exactly a year ago.The Academy 3 was full then and also last Sunday.They are still touring on the back of the excellent Facemelter album but surely a …

At the end of Stampede’s set i posted on my facebook wall “Stampede stampeded Manchester” and they certainly did with a fantastic 6 song set opening for Y&T on selected UK dates.Rewind to the beginning of the evening and Stampede opened the show in fine style with Shadows Of The …

Vida (I want you) is the first single to be released from the forthcoming album “Revival” – the third studio album by Irish rockers The Answer. Vida (I want you) is a great song with a nice catchy chorus, some great guitar work and a nice heavy blues rock feel …

With a city full of ‘new’ students, it’s difficult to gauge how many will turn up for a rock night, but a decent crowd materialised with a good mix of young and younger to listen to this 4 band lineup. First up were local lads RUNDOWN, who put in a …

When i review an album i play it before i look at any info so i can approach it with an open mind.So as soon as the opening track Timeless Days exploded through my speakers i thought “what a voice,this guy sounds just like Tim Owens”.So i played the album,looked …

  According to Peter Griffin (Family Guy) then the bird is the word. Well, it has now been replaced by React. It is the 2nd track on 3’s new album The Ghost You Gave To Me and it is a bona fide classic. When the radio stations, youtube, etc pick …

Before the review,a quick word about tribute bands.Love em or hate em you have to admire their dedication.Personally i love em as i appreciate that its done for the love of the music.Most tribute bands have full time jobs so only really get to play their gigs at weekends and …

Scythia are a folk metal band from Vancouver, Canada. The band released their debut album “…of war” in 2009, and this, their second album – “…of exile” is due to be released on 23rd September 2011. The music has a strong folk influence, and at times a medieval sound, but …

Hailing from Austria the band have been around in different guises for over 10 years, but only in the last few has the benefits of a stable line-up enabled Cornerstone to branch out and develop their brand of Female-Fronted AOR, culminating in this extremely catchy and melodic offering. Vocalist Patricia …

On this tour Mr Big have opted not to have a support band, but this is only because they want to have longer to play themselves. In a time when most bands play for 90 minutes or less, Mr Big have a two and a half hour set lined up …

If you need to release some tension by throwing back your head and screaming “woooarghhh” then this forthcoming album by Livarkahil will certainly help you do that.11 tracks of punishing metal starting with the Manowaresque call to battle chant of In Nomine Patris to the military drumming pounding through the …

    My second Metal Blade review of the week and this was the most challenging.The album in question is The Great Southern Darkness by French metallers Glorior Belli.Due for release on Sept 27th it took a few plays to get my head around it.Vocally wise its roots are set …

[media-credit id=4717 align=”aligncenter” width=”489″][/media-credit]No Americana opened the night’s entertainment.  The venue wasn’t very busy by the time they took to the stage but this young Birmingham band still gave it 100% and put in a good performance that went down well with the audience.   Six Hour Sundown were a …

    [media-credit id=4727 align=”alignnone” width=”300″][/media-credit] Hailing from Cincinnati,Rose Funeral have raised the benchmark in 2011 for their latest release Gates Of Punishment, tho the word bellow is more fitting than hail judging by the ferocity shown over the 11 tracks on display here.To be released on Sept.27th,Gates Of Punishment …

[media-credit name=”Lucky Thir 13n” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Lucky Thir13n is an oddly named band from Greece. “Lucky Thirteen” would sound right but “Lucky Thir13n” just doesnt read right to me, so I’m not sure why they didnt just call themselves Lucky Thirteen. The band have supported bands including Crashdiet and WASP as …

    [media-credit id=4727 align=”alignnone” width=”300″][/media-credit]To get straight to the point,Tears Of Blood is one of the heaviest/thrashiest cds i have heard this year.An unsigned band from Glasgow,Diementia have recorded 11 tracks that blew me away on 1st listen .From the opening rush of Corruption to the semi acoustic/thrash  of …

Hailing from Norway gives any band kudos to start with, but having ex members of Cult of Deception, Immortal and Thy Grief in the line-up can only mean you’re going to get noticed. Although the band’s roots are deeply embedded in the Norwegian Black Metal core, this cleverly constructed 10 …

[media-credit id=4717 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Seven Thorns are a Danish power metal band that were formed in 1998.  This is their second album – their first being the 2007 release “Glow of  dawn”, although legal issues that affected it’s release mean that the band describe this new album “Return to the past” …

Sacred Legacy have crammed as many genres of metal as possible into this offering. Although described as Death/Thrash Metal, you can easily throw in equal quantities of Metalcore, Powermetal and Melodic, as well as some good old piano-ivory-tinkling on the instrumental ‘Black Velvet Part.1’. To the stuck-in-the-mud purist, all this …

[media-credit name=”voodoo highway” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Voodoo Highway are a new band from Italy.  Only formed in Spring 2010, they’ve already released an EP and now this their debut album, the oddly named “Broken Uncle’s Inn”.  Voodoo Highway play very 70’s feel hard rock in fact listening to the album you can …

“See you on the ground” is the debut album from German melodic death metal band, Deadend in Venice. Deadend in Venice have stuck to the standard formula for vocals for bands with death metal influences and who have a female singer – the female singer sings clean vocals with screams/grunts/growls …

Always wanted to know more about Female Fronted Metal but were afraid to ask? Then this could be just the ticket. This two disc set is available now to pre-order from www.femmemetalstore.com with a general release due on September 26th, with the added bonus of supporting the N.S.P.C.C. The album …

[media-credit id=4717 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]If you’ve never come across Van Canto before then you could be in for a shock – Van Canto do what sounds at first like a crazy idea that couldn’t possibly work, but somehow they make it work.  The old saying goes “There’s a fine line between …

Coma Divide are a new band from Germany.  I’m not clear if the name was a deliberate reference to the album of the same name by Porcupine Tree, but it’s bound to cause confusion when trying to do internet searches for instance. Coma Divine consists of singer Sonja Kraushofer, who …

“Pursuit of honor” is the debut album from Battlecross.  As you can probably tell from the spelling of the title, Battlecross are from the USA (Detroit to be precise).  The band was formed in 2007 and are best described as Thrash metal. Battlecross have definitely gone for speed and power …

“Blood of the Saints” is the fourth album from German/Romanian power metal band Powerwolf. The album starts off with an intro that sounds like music from a horror film – rich gothic feeling music including what sounds like a church or cathedral organ along with a raspy voice speaking in …

“Darker days”  is the third studio album from Stream of Passion.  As the band is a female fronted symphonic metal band, you might have assumed that they originate from the Netherlands (home of so many great bands of this genre including Epica, Within Temptation, Delain, Revamp and many more, and …

This release consists of the first Bitch EP (Damnation alley) from 1982 and their first album (Be my slave) from 1983.  Both have been remastered and sound better than they’ve ever sounded before.  As well as the album and EP on a CD the package also includes a DVD containing …

First up tonight are the opening band, Method Cell, and industrial synth band from Nottingham.  They take to the stage in front of a tiny audience – being a saturday the doors open earlier than normal at 6pm, and they are on stage just a few minutes later.  The band …

HRH NW Chapter Launch 2nd July 2011 Rascals, Bangor. Bangor in North Wales may not be the obvious choice to launch a Hard Rock Hell Chapter but once the diehard legion of fans had arrived, clinked a few glasses and posed for the obligatory Facebook bound photos we climbed the …

Written by Dennis Jarman , photos by Sean Larkin Hot on the heels of a sold out Canadian tour and the release of their stunning new album Juggernaut Of Justice,the mighty Anvil returned to the UK last week.I caught their show in Manchester last Wednesday and it was their best …

Tornado were formerly known as Nemesis Divina, but changed their name to avoid people wrongly assuming they were a black metal group (Nemesis Divina also being the name of an album by black metal band Satyricon).  This release is the bands first album.  The band have been described as “Slayer …

Sarah Jezebel Deva should be a well known name to a lot of metal fans. She was backing singer for Cradle of filth for 14 years and has sung on almost all their albums and she’s also been a member of Therion and Mortis. She also had a solo project, …

Upon recieving Core Project’s Singularities Part 1 CD, I didn’t know what to expect, having never heard the band before and getting no insights from the albums artwork. This boosted my curiosity and I could no longer wait to find out what Core Project was about. In went the CD …

After hearing a few tracks from Nuclear’s newly released, third studio album – Jehovirus, on the band’s Myspace profile, I was anticipating the moment that the package containing the album would hit the mat at the PlanetMosh towers. After opening the package, I was already impressed before even hearing the …