PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal

With the Northern Ireland rock and metal scene on somewhat of a high at the moment – no fewer than six bands from this small part of the world performed at the recent Hard Rock Hell, leading to rumours that next year’s event may be moved to Belfast – the …

Some photos of Massive Wagons at Hard Rock Hell VII.

Mia Klose’s acoustic set on Friday at Hard Rock Hell 7 went down a storm even with a bit of a power cut at the end.  After a full day of interviews I dragged them back to the media center on Saturday for another interview to find out what has …

There hasn’t been as much controversy about a Download headliner since My Chemical Romance topped the bill in 2007; even Feeder and The Offspring got better receptions in 2005 and 2008. But with a new album that reached #1 in both the UK and the US and a near-sold out …

The Imaginaerum tour has run for more than a year, and has seen major changes in the band.  Singer Anette Olzon left the band and Floor Jansen stepped in as a temporary replacement to enable the band to finish the tour.  Since the tour ended Floor has been made a …

Justin Lerner comes from New Jersey and has been playing guitar since an early age.  In 2006 he released his debut album, “The dividing line”.  Now, his second album “18th avenue” has been released.  Well calling it an album is a slightly debatable point – with just six tracks it’s …

Eyevory is a progressive folk rock band from Bremen, German.  They initially formed in 2009 under the name “Pink mercury” and in 2012 changed their name to “Eyevory”. They’ve previosuly released an EP, and Euphobia is their debut album. It’s a really interesting mix of styles – folk, pop, rock …

Some photos of Black Star Riders headlining the Friday of Hard Rock Helll VII

Austrian band Badhoven formed in 2001 and released their debut album “Behind the masquerade” the same year.  They followed this with “Believe” in 2005, and now eight years on, they’ve released their third album – Obsession. Although Austria may not be known for it’s rock and metal music, it has …

With the grey clouds broiling overhead heralding the true onset of a wet Belfast winter, and even the hardiest of ‘fleg’ protestors scurrying for the comfort of the gluhwein tents in the nearby Christmas Market to which they so vehemently object, the the most diehard warriors from the city’s metal …

Zombie Lake are a trans-Atlantic old school thrash metal outfit, instigated back in 2003 when bassist Derek Schilling, from New York hatecore crew Neglect, made contact with Martin Missy, vocalist with German thrash legends Protector:  as the pair’s personal friendship evolved so did their musical relationship and now, a decade …

Photos of some of the bands that played the Saturday of Hard Rock Hell.

Alestorm have released their first live DVD – Live at the end of the world.  Handily released in time for Christmas shopping, the DVD was filmed on their Australian tour at the start of this year. Presented in a nice hardback digi-book style case, you get a DVD and a …

Photos of Papa Roach headlining Birmingham academy on Tuesday night..

NiteRain a promising Glam/Sleaze band from Oslo, Norway released their début album NiteRain last month. The idea for the band came from singer Sebastian (Baz) Tvedtnæs back in 2006 and he joined forces with a classmate. However the band really started out in 2010 when Frank and Morten joined with …

NiteRain a promising Glam/Sleaze band from Oslo, Norway released their début album NiteRain last month. The idea for the band came from singer Sebastian (Baz) Tvedtnæs back in 2006 and he joined forces with a classmate. However the band really started out in 2010 when Frank and Morten joined with Adrian …

Photos of American Fangs supporting Papa Roach in Birmingham on Tuesday night..

The brewers of the legendary ruby ale Hobgoblin are back to continue their partnership with Bloodstock Open Air Festival. A collaboration which sees both parties teaming up to bring METAL 2 THE MASSES at Bloodstock 2014, offering breaking bands the chance to perform on the ever increasingly popular Newblood Stage.

Following the huge success of their big label debut, ‘The Mouths Of Madness’, earlier this year, this timely re-issue brings together san Francisco psych-doomsters Zodiac’s two pre-Nuclear Blast releases – the ‘The Through The Devil’s Doorway’ EP and 2011’s full-lengther ‘Capricorn’, both originally released on The Church Within Records – …

Zombie Lake is a multi-national band, hailing from both Sweden and the USA. Vocalist Martin Missy and crew deliver a brand of thrash-laced metal fairly close to an old-school Sodom vibe. The ten tracks of Plague Of The Undead are an aural feast, at least instrumentally. Atonal growling vocals are …