Album review: WEAPON UK – Ghosts Of War
Pure Steel Records [Release date 27.09.19]
Weapon first came onto the scene back in 1980 during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal boom. The current line-up sees original duo – vocalist Danny Hynes and guitarist Jeff Summers – joined by drummer Darren Lee and bassist Tony Forsythe.
The title track opener sets their musical stall out nicely, pelting metal riffs backed by a pounding rhythm section and one of the many top notch solos from Jeff Summers. Touch of a Sabbath riff here and there and guest vocalist Clare Cunningham (ex-Thundermother) adds a further bit of class to the proceedings.
Weapon UK mix it up though as ‘Queen Of The Ride’ has a cheeky blues riff, bit like prime time Gillan. They even manage to get in a stirring ballad ‘Redman’, a chance for Danny Hynes to shine. His vocals remind me of Alice Cooper at times particularly on ‘All I Need’, not a bad comparison I am sure! Nice bit of guitar picking before it leads into a fully-fledged solo.
If you want a good old headbanger look no further than ‘Sea Of Hope’ or ‘Hell On Earth’, on each song the guitars and rhythm section fit each other perfectly. Weapon UK pay tribute to the excitement of the NWOBHM era in ’79 Revisited’ and listen out for the Radio 1 Rock Show jingle.
Weapon UK will certainly appeal to fans of classic rock as they have a metal sound, but are good on the melodies and lift themselves from the pub metal sound of many NWOBHM bands (sorry but to these ears many of the bands linked to that era didn’t find success for good reason!).
Two bonus songs, a rip roaring run through ‘Set The Stage Alight’ and Clare Cunningham returns on the Celtic themed ‘G.O.W’ Reprise’.
‘Ghosts Of War’ is a perfect album for those after a dose of classy metal/hard rock that has the NWoBHM vibe but adds a modern sheen. ****
Review by Jason Ritchie
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
Next session: Sunday 1 December
Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio
David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.
UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024
ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)
Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)
PDF - you can delete unwanted sections