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Upcoming Gigs & Albums
Latest Album Reviews
Latest Gig Reviews
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Gig review: BLACK EYED SONS- The Lexington, London, 16 December 2024
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Gig review: BRAVE RIVAL – Thames Side Brewery, Staines, 8 December 2024
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Gig review: STRAY – The Cavern, Raynes Park, London, 7 December 2024
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Gig review: THE SHEEPDOGS, THE COMMONERS – Islington Assembly Hall, London, 5 December 2024
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Gig review: GUN – Barrowlands, Glasgow, 14 December 2024
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Gig review: THE DAMN TRUTH – The Grace, London, 26 November 2024
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Featured Album Reviews
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Album review: ZZ TOP – Cinco: The First Five LPs
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Album review: THE SHARPEEZ – Live At Leo’s Red Lion
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Album review: DEF LEPPARD – Adrenalize (vinyl reissue)
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Album review: ACE FREHLEY – Space Invader
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Album review: BERGGREN KERSLAKE BAND – The Sun Has Gone Hazy
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Album review: THE DAVE FOSTER BAND – Maybe They’ll Come Back For Us
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Features
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Monthly Archives: October 2023
Album review : EDGE OF FOREVER – Ritual
Frontiers [Release date : 13.10.23] Alessandro Del Vecchio’s band, Edge Of Forever, have released some interesting albums over the last few years. Native American culture has been a constant theme. It clearly inspired a quartet of tracks on last year’s … Continue reading
Album review: DANDELION CHARM – Scream Inside The Tear
Bandcamp [Release date 20.10.23] Dandelion Charm, the husband and wife team consisting of Clare Fowler (vocals) and John Fowler (vocals, acoustic drums, guitars, bass, keys & producer), have seemingly been quiet release wise since releasing their excellent ‘Maybe Dreamers’ back … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Dandelion Charm, folk rock, prog rock, progressive, review, rock, Scream Inside The Tear
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Gig review: Quarantune Rocks Weekender 2023 -The Victoria Bikers Pub, Coalville, October 6 & 7 2023
Quarantune Rocks was created by friends Karen Clayton and Pamela Hinchliffe, during COVID-19 to support rock fans and live music in an online group. The not-for-profit festival is in its third year, run by music lovers and aims to support … Continue reading
Album review: PAUL RODGERS – Midnight Rose
Sun Records [Release date 22.09.23] I feared Paul Rodgers distinguished career might quietly be over when there was an ominous lack of activity in his camp either side of the pandemic, and indeed it has subsequently emerged that he has … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Bad Company, blues rock, Free, Midnight Rose, Paul Rodgers, review
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Album review : NUCLEAR ASSAULT – Radiation Sickness
Cherry Red/Dissonance [Release date : 13.10.23] Despite multiple break ups over the years, US Thrash Metal band, Nuclear Assault continued touring into the new millennium, only hanging their boots up last year. The band, formed by ex Anthrax bassist, Dan … Continue reading
Album review: SUBSIGNAL – A Poetry Of Rain
Gentle Art Of Music [Release date: 22.09.23] My fellow GRTR! reviewer Pete Whalley gave a four-star review to Subsignal’s previous album ‘La Muerta’ in 2018 – opining at the time that the band had “waved goodbye” to their metal tendencies … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile)
Tagged A Poetry Of Rain, Progressive Rock, review, RPWL, Subsignal, Yogi Lang
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Album review: ANN WILSON & TRIPSITTER – Another Door
Dualtone [Release date 29.09.23 US, 13.10.23 ROW] Ann Wilson, best known for Heart with her sister Nancy, decided that prior to starting the 2023 tour with her band Tripsitter, they would record an album of all-original material. This album also … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Ann Wilson & Tripsitter, Another Door, hard rock, Heart, melodic rock, review, rock
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Gig review: BYWATER CALL – The Grace, London, 9 October 2023
I had seen Meghan Parnell and Dave Barnes, the driving force behind Bywater Call, supporting Robert Jon and The Wreck back in February. I was mightily impressed, and particularly bowled over by Meghan’s voice. So this tour with the full, … Continue reading
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Tagged 9 October 2023, blues, Bywater Call, Dave Barnes, gig, live, London, Meghan Parnell, review, roots, soul, The Grace
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Gig review: WISHBONE ASH – Islington Academy, London, 5 October 2023
Wishbone Ash’s autumn tour with its London date at the Islington Academy has been a fixture on the gig calendar for many years, and more often than not these days seems to mark a significant milestone. I was one of … Continue reading
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Tagged 5 October 2023, Andy Powell, Bob Skeat, gig, Islington Academy, Live Dates, London, Mark Abrahams, Mike Truscott, Wishbone Ash
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Album review: LONG ROAD HOME – Are We Invisible?
Self Release [Release date 31.10.23] ‘Are We Invisible?’ is a promising debut album by Long Road Home, a new British guitar and keyboard driven veteran rock-blues band, with bluesy, proggy, AOR and occasional southern rock influences. They don’t so much … Continue reading
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Tagged album, AOR, Are We Invisible?, Billy Gibbins, blues, boogie, Dave Norman, Deep Purple, Derek White, Ian Salisbury, Lee Morell, Long Road Home, Mike Sebbage, Procol Harum, review, Robin Trower, rock, Scott Hunter, southern rock, Steve Summers, ZZ Top
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Album review: THUNDER – The Thrill Of It All, Giving The Game Away, Shooting At The Sun (Reissues)
WIN These reissues! Click or tap here! BMG [Release date 20.10.23] As our retrospective feature in ‘The GRTR! Grotto’ series attests Thunder have firmly entrenched themselves with fans in the millennium, in spite of a couple of stop-starts. It’s fair … Continue reading
Album review : NITRATE – Feel The Heat
Frontiers [Release date : 23.09.23] Nitrate’s founding member and bassist, Nick Hogg has again opted for vocalist Alexander Strandell and the Martin (Vega) brothers (who also produce) to round out the band on his latest, (and fourth) album, Feel The … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged Alexander Strandell, AOR, Danger Danger, Glen Frey, Heart, Issa, John Waite, Martin Brothers, New Wave, Nick Hogg, Nitrate, Paul Laine, review, Vega
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Album review: TREVOR RABIN – Rio
InsideOut Music [Release date 06.10.23] Rio is the first vocal led album Trevor Rabin has released since ‘Can’t Look Away’ in 1989. He has been busy in the interim with both solo instrumental releases and he has also become a … Continue reading
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Tagged 6th Oct 2023, album, Big Mistake, country, Insideout Music, National Treasure, Oklahoma, Owner Of A Lonely Heart, progressive, Push, review, Rio, rock, Trevor Rabin, Yes
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Gig review: BLACK STONE CHERRY – Islington Assembly Hall, 29 September 2023
Black Stone Cherry have for the last decade been big enough to headline arenas in the UK- in contrast to their still middle ranking status back home. The Kentucky foursome are constantly on tour here and must be up there … Continue reading
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Tagged Ben Wells, Black Stone Cherry, Chris Robertson, gig, John Fred Young, southern rock, Steve Jewell
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Album review : KINGS CROWN – Closer To The Truth
Frontiers [Release date : 13.10.23] Melodic Hard Rock’s European union of British vocalist, Lee (Shy/Sweet) Small and Swedish Guitarist Martin (Gypsy Rose/Phenomena) Kronlund looks like being a huge success. Small’s voice is the kind of thing which prompts awe not … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Anders Skoog, Frontiers, Glenn Hughes, Kings Crown, Lee Small, Martin Kronlund, melodic hard rock, Phenomena, review, Seventies Rock, Shy, Sweet
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Quick plays: HASSAN BIN RASHID, LOUIS DE BERNIERES, RYAN YOUNG
HASSAN BIN RASHID My 21 Grams [Release date 06.10.23] Not everyday you get offered to review an album by a proper prince, in this case Bahraini Prince, Hassan bin Rashid. ‘My 21 Grams’ is his fifth studio album as he … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays
Tagged alternative, folk, Hassan bin Rashid, Louis de Bernieres, melodic, My 21 Grams, Pearl Jam, pop, Quick Play, review, rock, Ryan Young
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Album review: GARRET T. WILLIE – Same Pain
Self release [Release date 15.09.23] Canadian rock bluer Garret T. Willie has a wise head on young shoulders and it goes some way to explaining his song craft. His 7 studio cuts co-written with bassist Parker Bossley are full of … Continue reading
Album review: BLACKLIST UNION – Letters From The Psych Ward
Cargo Records [Release date 15.09.23] Big, slick, dark and dirty, “Letters From The Psych Ward” is the latest album from Blacklist Union, the band’s sixth, and first for eight years. The album embraces decades of musical influences and therefore sounds modern … Continue reading
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Album review: WARD KNUTUR TOWNES – Unanswered
Betty Beetroot Records [Release date 06.10.23] Ward Knutur Townes found their sound when the world fell silent in 2020. These three singer-songwriters, (Lucy Ward, Svavar Knutur and Adyn Townes) were selected to take part in a virtual global music sharing experiment … Continue reading
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Tagged Adyn Townes, album, alt folk, folk, Lucy Ward, melodic, review, Svavar Knutur, Unanswered, Ward Knutur Townes
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Gig review: KATRINA LESKANICH- Half Moon, Putney, London, 28 September 2023
Now only really remembered for two major singles, in the second half of the eighties Katrina and the Waves were one of my guilty pleasures. Their sixties inspired guitar based sound stood out among the then dominant synthesisers in the … Continue reading
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Tagged Darren Loveday, gig, Half Moo, Katrina and the Waves, Katrina Leskanich, Nicki French, pop rock, power pop
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Book review: Decades – MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND in the 1970s by John Van der Kiste
SonicBond Publishing [Publication date: 27.01.23] After seeing the Earth Band live this Summer and being very pleasantly surprised, I found this book in my pile of review material and so I’m following up that excellent gig in Budapest with a … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS
Tagged 1970's, book, Manfred Mann, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, prog, review, Sonicbond
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Album review: IMPELLITTERI – The Complete Beast 1987-2009 (6 CD Boxset)
Cherry Red [Release date: 06.10.23] Every Impellitteri album from 1988 to 2009. Nine in all, and the band’s 2 EPs. Plus a score of bonus tracks. All shoehorned into 6 jampacked CDs. (Such was the weight of heavy metal contained … Continue reading
Album review: IRON SAVIOR – Firestar
AFM Records [Release date 06.10.23] Iron Savior’s 2020 album, Skycrest, signalled a new era of Power Metal. Three years later, the voyage of the mothership has apparently been sidelined temporarily, to allow a celebration of Teutonic and indeed, in places, … Continue reading
Feature: The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness – THUNDER (October 2023)
Lightning may have struck twice for Thunder but since their 2011 comeback they have produced some of their best work via albums and shows Photo: Darren Griffiths The millennium has marked the “second coming” of several bands who had differing … Continue reading
