Album Reviews

Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds released their latest album Legal High on EBN Central (their own label) in March with an album launch party at the Star & Garter on 26th March 2017 (reviewed here). Legal High was recorded at Crack Studios in Hulme, Manchester and produced by Kevin Foy. Cast …

The Graveyard Shift is an album I have been impatiently waiting for to be released this year; since that first glimpse Motionless In White gave us with 570 9 months ago it’s had my interest, after months of waiting I am pleased to say I was not disappointed. Immediately I …

Up for review today is the fifth installment from the incredible Seven Kingdoms ‘Decennium’. For those readers who are unfamiliar with the band Seven Kingdoms are an American power metal band who first formed in 2007 in DeLand, Florida. They have undergone a journey including few line up adaptations to …

  A Silent Wound is the new EP from French hardcore outfit Primal Age.  Hailing from the city of Rouen, north west of Paris, the five piece have produced an EP of original material and a medley of Slayer songs as a tribute to late guitarist Jeff Hanneman and Mika Adjennian …

An over the top album launch at Manchester Rebellion club for The First Chapter, the debut album from Bury based metallers Vice resulted in this review. They like to write long songs riddled with over the top guitar solos from Tom Atkinson and Jack Trelawny with Connor Summers smashing the …

Mammoth Mammoth (so good they named them twice) return to the fore with an unstoppable and uncompromising album ‘Mount The Mountain’, a release that sees them up the ante and push themselves up into the higher echelons of the music scene The band have been around for some ten years …

Up for review today I have Xerosun‘s new EP ‘This Dark Rage.‘ Xerosun are a five piece progressive melodic death band from Dublin via Wales and Poland.  On listening to ‘This Dark Rage’ I can see exactly why they are ones to watch out for and have recently earned their …

I caught a live set by Silverchild a few weeks ago when they were part of a four band bill at the Underground in Stoke and was so impressed I had to check out their recorded material, so here are my thoughts on their seismic The Red Desert EP. You always …

German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell releases his new album on 21st April 2017.  Entitled “The Ballads V”, it is as the name suggests, a collection of ballads.  You’re not wrong about the “V” either – yes this is his fifth Ballads album, which seems a lot even considering how long …

Formed way back in 2004, psychedelic rock band The Black Angels took their name from the title of a Velvet Underground song – “Black Angel’s death song”, and now have used the other half of that song title for the title of their new album, Death song. Death song is …

Some bands release new albums almost every year, but Ayreon isn’t one of them.  Ayreon albums tend to appear every three or four years, and when you listen to them you can understand why.  Ayreon’s albums are all concept albums and the stories are all interlinked.  Arjen Lucassen had said …

Little River Band are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1975. Over the course of the last 40+ years they’ve sold over 30 million records and had 13 US Top 40 hits.  As you’d expect over the years the lineup has changed significantly as members leave and are …

Late last year, Danny Bryant released a new version of his song “Prisoner”, recorded with a nine-piece big band.  It was a hint of things to come as he followed that up with some live shows in Europe, and is now releasing a live album recorded at those shows.  He’s …

Dirt Box Disco who, in their own words, describe themselves as ‘Born in the UK from the malfunction of a terrible musical chemical laboratory experiment!‘ officially release their fifth album ‘Poppycock’ via STP Records today (15th April 2017) with an album launch show at the Star and Garter, Manchester today. …

Liv Sin embarks on a new chapter with her hard hitting debut solo album ‘Follow Me’ After thirteen years playing in Sister Sin, when the band finally called it a day in 2015 it must have been a very strange feeling for vocalist Liv Jagrell . However, obviously not a …

It may be a daunting task when your next studio album follows an excellent double live album release but with ‘Don’t Let Up’, San Francisco veteran rockers Night Ranger make it look easy. Self produced and released via Frontiers Music its the perfect album to blast out in the car …

          My Silent Wake return with ‘Invitation To Imperfection’, and what a return it is, following on as it does from 2016’s excellent ‘An Unbroken Threnody’     One word that can never be used to describe My Silent Wake is ‘lazy’, as they always seem …

Ram Raid is the second EP from Spunk Volcano & the Eruptions and their fourth release following their debut self titled EP and debut album Injection in 2014 and follow up album Shit Generation in 2016. Ram Raid was released at the end of last month via STP Records. Dirt …

The sun is shining, spring is springing and the remarkable debut album from Ash Wilson, Broken Machine, is threatening to smash the windows with its sheer brilliance; could anybody wish for anything more? Oh the pleasure that waxing lyrical about an album of so much quality gives. With the gritty opening …

Erja Lyytinen’s tenth studio album Stolen Hearts is an absolute triumph of inventiveness, resourcefulness, joy and heartbreak. An album so rich in diversity, it makes newcomers to the Finnish guitarist’s/ vocalists skills wonder where she’s been all their lives and ardent followers wonder where this album has been all her …