Author Archives: brianmc

Album review : ATOMIC ROOSTER – Friday The 13th (The BBC Sessions 1970-1981)

Posted on August 18, 2026 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 28.08.26] Lucky for some. This neatly packaged 2 CD set follows hard on the heels of the band’s all new recording, Circle The Sun, released (and reviewed here) in October last year. This “new” set … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Arthur Brown, Atomic Rooster, Carl Palmer, Cherry Red, Chris Farlowe, Friday The13th, John Peel, review, Vincent Crane | Leave a comment

Album review : MICKEY THOMAS Over The Edge

Posted on August 17, 2026 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date: 21.08.26] Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and Starship’s history is well documented online. Mickey Thomas was Starship’s vocalist through the eighties. By 1989, the band’s output had dropped to zero, and Thomas hadn’t released any solo material since … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Freddy Curci, Jack Blades, Jefferson Starship, Jonathan Cain, melodic rock, Mickey Thomas, Neal Schon, Over The Edge, review, Richie Kotzen, Steve Lukather | Leave a comment

Album review : GRAND – Guilty Pleasure

Posted on August 16, 2026 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date : 21.08.26] We asked 3 separate AI sources… Gemini, Co pilot and Claude: “describe the melodic rock / AOR music of the eighties, specifically 1984”. We’ll publish the results sometime. Then we took this new release from … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged AI, AOR, Claude, Co Pilot, Frontiers, Gemini, Grand, Guilty Pleasure, melodic rock, review | Leave a comment

Album review : ODDLAND – Unilluminate To Illuminate

Posted on August 14, 2026 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date : 21.08.26] At last, after 3 albums at the fringes, Oddland is now pushing the boundaries of structure and tone to the outer edges of Prog Metal. It’s a scary place to be if you can’t … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Oddland, Pain of Salvation, prog metal, review, Soan, Unilluminate To Illuminate | Leave a comment

Album review : TOKYO BLADE – Hoist The Colours High

Posted on August 13, 2026 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 21.08.26] The unquenchable flame that is Tokyo Blade is about to release its 14th studio album in a career lasting the best part of 50 years. Hows that for durability? Hoist The Colours High is … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Alan Marsh, Andy Boulton, Hoist The Colours High, NWOBHM, review, Time Is The Fire, Tokyo Blade | Leave a comment

Album review: LALU : A Mythmaker’s Demise

Posted on August 2, 2026 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date : 31.07.26] Looks like Progrock supremo, Vivien Lalu’s got the band back together for his fifth album.In fact today’s Lalu is a lot like yesterday’s Lalu, both in compliment and style, with Mekong Delta’s Martin LeMar … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Frontiers Music, Joop Wolters, Martin LeMar, progrock, review, Simon Philips, Vivien Lalu | Leave a comment

Album review : ICONIC – II

Posted on July 29, 2026 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date : 31.07.26] Long haired, MTV look rock bands are well and truly back in fashion, in an under the mainstream radar kind of way. Cue Iconic. Recruited from headline bands Stryper, Whitesnake, Blue Murder, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Leave a comment

Album review : LEMMING PROJECT : Hate and Extinction, 2 CD Edition

Posted on July 28, 2026 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 31.07.26] If you consider the Death Metal genre to be defined by heavily distorted, low-tuned guitars, guttural vocals, and fast blast-beats, then Lemming Project is the archetype. This is a band – Thomas Jasjke, Torsten … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Pure Metal/Album reviews, Reissues | Leave a comment

Album review : MANIA – Changing Times (CD Edition)

Posted on July 23, 2026 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date 24.07.26] German Speed / Power Metal Band, Mania released one EP, Wizard Of The Lost Kingdom (which is in no way as corny as the title suggests), and one full length album, the cult classic, Changing … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Leave a comment

Album review : ZAN / CODY – Beautiful’n Damned

Posted on July 20, 2026 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date 24.07.26] As most will know, Zinny Zan and Harry Cody are both ex Shotgun Messiah, a band from the past whose two remaining members, rebranded, are making a future for themselves. There are some exciting tracks … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Beautiful'n Damned, Frontiers Music, Harry Cody, review, Shotgun Messiah, Zinny Zan | Leave a comment

Album review : TESLA – Homage

Posted on July 14, 2026 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date : 17.07.26] Tesla released their debut album, Mechanical Resonance in 1986 and now release their eighth, Homage, forty years later. Six studio albums and five live albums in between, and a relatively stable line up over … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Elvis. Supertramp, Etta James, Frontiers Music, Homage, Jeff Keith, Mechanical Resonance, Motown, Queen, review, Tesla | Leave a comment

Album review : ELECTRIC MOB – 2 Make U Cry And Dance (Digital Deluxe Edition)

Posted on July 5, 2026 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date :10.07.26] Having tasted Electric Mob’s 2 Make U Cry And Dance, originally released in January 2023, the self employed music media’s effusive praise led to this:- A digital reissue with an additional six (live) tracks from … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Aerosmith, bonus tracks, Capital Moto Week, digital, Electric Mob, Frontiers Music, G'N'R, Latin America, review | Leave a comment

Album review : PRIDE OF LIONS – Unbridled

Posted on July 2, 2026 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release Date : 10.07.26] Pride Of Lions remain Jim (Survivor) Peterik’s band, with Toby Hitchcock on vocals and Mike Aquino on guitar. Aquino’s explosive intro to ‘Unbridled’, this new album’s opening track, might remind you of Giant and … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged AOR, Frontiers Music, Jim Peterik, Michael w Smith, Mike Aquina, Paul Simon, Pride of Lions, Survivor, Toby Hitchcock | Leave a comment

Album review : STATUS QUO – The Early Years Vol 2 (1970-72) 5 CD Boxset

Posted on June 28, 2026 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 03.07.26] Status Quo’s past, present and future promise seemed to be crammed in to 3 short years, 1970-72. In their early years, for what turned out to be one of the UK’s most durable bands, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Box sets, Reissues | Tagged Argentina, boxset, Cherry Red, Dog Of Two Head, Early Years, Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon, review, Status Quo | Leave a comment

Album review : NINA ANTONIA AND THE LUNAR MOTHS – Dropping Like Butterflies

Posted on June 25, 2026 by brianmc

Creation Youth [Release date 26.06.26] Released via Alan McGee’s Creation Youth imprint, this is the first album from Antonia, an acclaimed English author, and it arrives with strong countercultural credentials and a clear commitment to literary ambition. The problem is … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Alan McGee, Creation Youth, Dropping Like Butterflies, Lunar Moths, Nina Antonia | Leave a comment

Album review – PALLAS – The Midas Touch Boxset (8CDs+DVD)

Posted on June 23, 2026 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 26.06.26] Once upon a time there were two bands called Rainbow. Ritchie Blackmore won the toss, and the other changed their name to Pallas. This was 1974. Two years ago Cherry Red released a 6CDs … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Box sets, Reissues | Tagged Beat The Drum, Cherry Red, neo prog, Pallas, review, Scottish, The Cross and The Crucible, The Midas Touch | Leave a comment

Album review : MASTERPLAN – Metalmorphosis

Posted on June 18, 2026 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date : 26.05.26] There’s power metal bands and there’s Masterplan. Never getting the credit they deserve. It began life as a splinter group. Founders, Uli Kusch and Roland Grapow were originally a key part of Helloween, leaving … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts) | Tagged Helloween, Mark Mynett, MASTERPLAN, power metal, review, Rick Altzi, Roland Grapow, Uli Kusch | Leave a comment

Album review : NAZARETH – Born Under The Wrong Sign (5 CD Boxset, 1976-79)

Posted on June 18, 2026 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 26.06.26] The seventies were Classic Rock’s golden years. And this boxset is rock ‘n’ roll gold. Five remastered Nazareth albums from 1976-1979. With an abundance of bonus tracks. CD1 : Close Enough For Rock ‘n’ … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Born Under A Bad Sign, Cherry Red, Close Enough For Rock'n'Roll, Expect No Mercy, Nazareth, No Mean City | Leave a comment

Album review : MATTADOR – III

Posted on June 14, 2026 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date : 19.06.26] Mattador are a Puerto Rican melodic rock band who were on the up and up, 1988 to 1995. They released two albums and toured with top bands like Aerosmith and Iron Maiden. Then they … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Abraham Millet, Aerosmith, Carlos Benitez, Frontiers Music, Iron Maiden, Mattador, Michael Villegas, Miguel "Tito" Rodriguez, review | Leave a comment

Album review : LYNCH MOB – The Final Ride (Live)

Posted on June 10, 2026 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date : 29.05.26] George Lynch was always known for his incendiary axework in a live setting. Never straying too much from the album the song came from, but adding enough to make it seem fresh and new. … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Frontiers Music, Gabriel Colon, George Lynch, hard rock, Jimmy Danda, live, Lynch Mob, review | Leave a comment

Album review : VANDEN PLAS – AcCult II

Posted on June 8, 2026 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date 12.06.26] Some 30 years after the band’s Accult album, Vanden Plas follow through with their long promised second all acoustic effort. Stating the obvious perhaps, but the real test of a band is its ability to … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Pure Metal/News | Tagged AcCult II, acoustic, Andreas Lill, Andy kuntz, Frontiers Music, metal, review, Stephan Lill, VANDEN PLAS | Leave a comment

Album review : SPREAD EAGLE – The Brutal Divine

Posted on June 6, 2026 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date : 12.06.26] This is US rock band, Spread Eagle’s fourth album in 25 years, and second album on the Frontiers’ label, not very hard on the heels of 2019’s rather good Subway To The Stars. Ray … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Frontiers, hard rock, New York, Ray West, review, Rob DeLuca, Spread Eagle, Subway To The Stars, The Brutal Divine | Leave a comment

EP Review : THE 69 EYES – I Survive

Posted on June 4, 2026 by brianmc

BLKIIBLK Records [Release Date : 05.06.26] The world’s longest lasting glam/rock/goth band, the 69 Eyes, have been going for more than than 30 years, with the same personnel. Must be doing something right. The aptly titled I Survive is a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews | Tagged BLKIIBLK, EP, Finnish, Glam/ Goth/ Rock, Jyrki69, review, The 69 Eyes | Leave a comment

Album review : QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE – Who Do You Love? The Recordings 1967-1972 (7CD Boxset)

Posted on May 31, 2026 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date 29.05.26] Quicksilver Messenger Service – yet another of the “summer of love”s musical heroes – bubbles back to the classic rock surface. These are the real heroes, an authentic rock band who, for better or worse, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged California Bay Area, Cherry Red, Dino Valente, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, John Cippolina, Moby Grape, psychedelic, Quicksilver Messenger Service, review, Summer of Love | Leave a comment

Album review : MARTIN PAGE – The First And Last Freedom

Posted on May 28, 2026 by brianmc

IroningBoard Records [Release date 01.04.26] On his 11th album now, successful songwriter (‘These Dreams’, ‘We Built This City’, ‘King Of Wishful Thinking’ and many more) Martin Page’s softly softly approach to his own material remains untouched. He tells us : … Continue reading →