Album Reviews

Eternal Champion hail from Austin Texas and formed in December 2012, now they unleash their debut full length ‘The Armor Of Ire‘ in a blaze of classic heavy metal with a fantasy twist. This album follows on from 2015’s well received split with Gatekeeper, a single and a demo. The opening track …

The son of Be’lakor has been born and Countless Skies is his name. The Hertfordshire foursome of Ross King – Vocals and Guitars, James Pratt – Guitars, Phil Romeo – Vocals and Bass and Nathan Robshaw – Drums have produced a stunning debut album that has everything you would want …

It’s been two years since Die No More’s last album, ‘Evil Elected’ and the new EP ‘Destruction Complete’ is proper old school metal with some thrash thrown in. They give us fantastic solos, vociferous drums and straight up riffing guitars throughout. Opening track ‘Save Yourself’ starts with the sound of …

The title of this album is somewhat misleading, the lead man Jay Gambit has amazingly now in excess of 70 releases which to date have been mostly of a collaborative nature in experimental noise. This is the second album he has completed as part of a band. On offer here …

Theatres des Vampires are an Italian gothic metal band with seductive tones to tempt the most innocent of listeners to take a step into the darkness. I’ll give you a little insight into the band name itself, the members were inspired by the fictional Parisian theatre where vampires would pose …

Back in 1984 Sascha Konietsko’s “performance art project” became Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, quickly abbreviated to KMFDM. KMFDM pioneered the crossover between techno/dance and heavy metal, creating their unique sound in the field of Industrial Rock. This latest release ‘ROCKS’ is a personal ‘best of’ compilation by KMFDM protagonists …

Dec Burke’s body of work is expansive and impressive, with outings in Frost*, Audioplastik and Darwin’s Radio as well as solo ventures, his understated yet all-encompassing talent for fusing musical elements which defy absolute categorisation is pure 24 carat prog laced gold. Burke’s third outing under his own name follows …

Like a cool breeze on a hot, humid day Aynsley Lister’s eighth studio album Eyes Wide Open refreshes those parts some other blues / rock albums fail to reach. Packed with a variance of style, and a serving of understated panache, here is an assortment of 13 individually superb creations …

Heavy Psych Sounds recently compiled and released a first for America’s desertified hard rock act Mondo Generator – a two vinyl record or CD set, titled Best Of. While Mondo Generator was formed in 1997, it’s debut didn’t see the light of day until 2000, when a break in band …

Once in a while there comes along an album that makes you smile for no particular reason other than it is something to savour and you feel blessed to have heard it. Ray Wilson’s second album release inside twelve months, Makes Me Think of Home, is such an album. With …

The Dutch three piece return with their sixth full length offering ‘Eternal’, just released digitally but more interestingly, a planned limited edition vinyl release is set for later in the year         The band fall into the murky subgenre of post Black Metal meets Shoegaze but have …

I am a huge fan of this one, I have a few issues with it but overall I like it. It is filled with dread and atmosphere perfect for what the band were aiming for. With its Lovecraftian and cultic overtones this is some stellar blackgaze. The first issue I …

“It’s a little bit different,” says Joanne Shaw Taylor of her fifth studio album in a recent interview and she sure isn’t wrong either. Wild is a ride filled with pure emotion that’s been sprinkled with a touch of spice and seasoned with more than a dab of zest. From …

Kiss have always been a band you have to see live at least once in your lifetime, it really should be on every rock fan’s bucket list. In November 2014 KISS brought their legendary live show to The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino for a Las Vegas …

Tempt is a new band from New York City with an astonishingly young yet accomplished line-up that play 80’s melodic hard rock, and they play it well. What hits you the first time round is the clarity of the recording, this modern approach and new recording techniques give you a …

The Apocalypse Blues Revue was founded by drummer Shannon Larkin and guitarist Tony Rombola from rock band Godsmack.  They’re joined by Ray “Rafer John” Cerbone on vocals and Brian Carpenter on bass.  Shannon Larkin has this to say about the music…”A little heavier, a little darker, and has some punk …

It was a cold, miserable night as I sat aimlessly watching what was the start of the demise of MTV back in 1996.  Just one more video, if it’s not to my liking I’m off to bed I said to myself, and then it happened, four guys came on the …

Sinsaenum is a blacker, more throwback super group than what we are used to from the brain of the King of super groups, Joey Jordison. Jordison, formerly of Slipknot and currently of Vimic has teamed up with Frédéric Leclercq, the bassist of Dragonforce, and Attila Csihar of Sunn O))) and the mighty Mayhem.  …

Having given Sabaton‘s latest offering ‘The Last Stand’, a few spins by now, I would have to admit that it’s not, unfortunately, one of their strongest albums.  It seems a little uneven with some really strong songs and others that feel like they haven’t been given the full care and attention needed, …

On August fifth The Cadillac Three released their much awaited second album, Bury Me in My Boots, on Big Machine Records out of Nashville, Tennessee.  Where else would the pioneers of country fuzz record?  Singer/songwriter Jaren Johnston doesn’t have the name of that great city tattooed on his forearm for …