Album Reviews

Let’s all be honest with ourselves here: Anthrax are forever going to be the runt of the Big 4 litter. There was never any question that they would open the shows with Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica back in 2011/2012, and they will always be lower than them on festival bills. …

Back in September I reviewed Wolfmother’s 10th anniversary release and commented that it seemed as if they had been around for a lot longer than a single decade.  I also mentioned that the new album to be released early 2016 would be only their fourth studio album in that time.  …

As I sat down to write this review of this, the hard-to-believe-it’s-actually-his-20th-album, from Rick Springfield, a little note popped up on my Facebook feed, pointing out that the very date on which I started typing marked the 35th anniversary of the release of his breakthrough album. ‘Working Class Dog’… For …

Let’s get this clear from the start:  I hate fucking so-called “reality” TV “music” shows.  Never watch them.  By and large, they’re ego-stroking vanity trips for equally vainglorious multi-billionaires merely seeking to embarrass weird and random selections of wannabe has-beens into making complete dicks of themselves and earning undeserved adulation …

Over the course of the past decade or so, the Pure Steel family of record labels has established itself as a stronghold of the classic-meets-New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal sound, whether it be via its own multiple imprints or equally numerous distribution deals.  It has a reputation for picking …

With the ten-track Dead Dawn, Sweden’s death metal behemoth Entombed A.D has returned to a scene the members helped to form, offering its second album under this moniker. Two closely related questions in most fan’s minds seem to be ‘where does Dead Dawn hit stride, and does it measure up …

Formed in India in 2003, death metal band Third Sovereign, certainly have their genre down to a refined art which can easily compete on the world stage. Opening with the time honoured tradition of eerie intro, the band are straight down to business with the raging ‘Grave of Humanity’. This …

If I mention the name Wendy James to any hot blooded male of a certain age the reaction ranges from Cor to Phwoar!!! Usually with a reference to the iconic video for I Want Your Love by Transvision Vamp. Wendy did indeed have the good looks to rival Marilyn Monroe …

The word legend is one which is often, and even more frequently inappropriately, bandied about. But, it is a description which definitely does apply to one man: a guitar player from the humble back streets of east Belfast whose name is cemented in the mythos of the Irish, and subsequently …

For almost two decades now, Primal Fear have been one of the cornerstone acts of the European power/speed metal scene, standing alongside the likes of Accept and Helloween and certainly matching both of them in terms of both artistic contribution and musical pedigree. While they may not have enjoyed the …

The Rebelles are three female singers – Tracie Hunter, Elizabeth Westwood and Phoebe White.  Tracie has already released three solo albums and toured extensively; Elizabeth formed Westworld with Generation X guitarist Bob “Derwood” Andrews; Phoebe has worked with a number of blues musicians and is currently a soloist in the …

Killit are a London based rock/metal band, although the band members orginate from Hungary, Israel, Angentina and the UK, so a pretty diverse group.  “Shut it down” was the first single from the band and has racked up over 90,000 views on youtube since it’s release.  They’re now releasing their …

This album from Big Boy Bloater may get listed as a Blues album, but I think it’s more rock and roll than Blues.  It’s got a sound that draws from fairly equally both Blues and Rock’n’Roll, so there’s plenty to appeal to quite a wide range of people.  The gravelly …

The Treatment’s first two albums and I have never really got along, we have had our moments of course, but ultimately I was never satisfied with what was on offer, each song seemed to sound like any other, just re-arranged a bit, and nothing really stood out, so eventually they …

Last week saw the release of ‘Love and The Death of Damnation’, from the South California-bred Country style singer / songwriter, The White Buffalo, also known as Jake Smith. From past releases, Jake has been known for his diverse storytelling abilities through the medium of music. This new album is …

The name Rasmus Bom Andersen may not be familiar with most rock/metal fans but since joining legendary NWOBHM band Diamond Head in 2014 as their lead singer, his debut European tour with them fired up the band enough to want to work on a new studio album, their 7th since …

      Convulse return to the forefront with ‘Cycle Of Revenge’, which incredibly is only their fourth album since surfacing in the early 90’s, an extended hiatus for many a year contributing heavily to that statistic of course.   As with most promo blurb Planetmosh receives along with any …

Colour Of Noise are a classic rock band from Brighton, England! In their own words ‘We are steeped in the spirit of the late 60’s British Blues Boom and early 70’s Stadium Rock, but cannot escape the urge to deliver songs with a steam-powered intensity.’ At the tender age of eleven …

Up for review today is the upcoming EP Some Thing by Petrol Girls; a post-hardcore four piece London based feminist band. The Petrol Girls write about the problems they face upon their lifetime and the struggles we have had to face which they portray very well throughout their varied tracks …

Quite why a French duo decided to name themselves after the capital of Mongolia is anyone’s guess, but over twenty years later Ulan Bator are still going strong, even if founding bass player Olivier Manchion left at the turn of the milennium. Remaining member Amaury Cambuzat has valiantly continued on …