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Author Archives: brianmc
Album review : BONFIRE – Higher Ground
Frontiers [Release date : 24.01.25] 18th studio album from Bonfire. First on Frontiers. Nowadays, the band is founder/leader, Hans Ziller, with Dyan Mair on vocals; Ronnie Parks and Fabio Alessandrini form a solid rhythm section and Frank Pane twins up … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Bonfire, Claus Lessmann, Der Rauber, Frank Pane, Hans Ziller, Higher Ground, melodic hard rock, review, Ronnie Parks
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Album review : TIGERTAILZ – For A Few Dollarz More
Cherry Red [Release date 24.1.25] It didn’t take long for the Glam Rock genre, kicked off by Bolan and Bowie, to be appropriated by American bands like Motley Crue, Ratt, Cinderella and others. On the US west coast in the … Continue reading
Album review : AVATARIUM – Between You, God, The Devil and The Dead
AFM Records [Release date : 24.01.25] If anyone is going to have the inside information on the darkside of metal, it’s a psychosocial counsellor. And if anyone’s able to bring the genre’s competing emotions to life, it’s Avatarium’s vocalist / … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
Tagged Avatarium, Between You, Candlemass, Doom Metal, Evergrey, God, Hard Rock. Our Lady peace, Jennie-Ann Smith, Marcus Jidell, Psychosocial, review, Stockholm, The Devil and The Dead
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Album review : LANDFALL – Wide Open Sky
Frontiers [Release date : 17.01.25] Third album from Brazilian melodic hard rock band, Landfall, founded by Felipe Souzza and Marcelo Gelbcke in 2014, and fronted nowadays by noted vocalist, Gui Oliver. It’s unquestionably an album of two halves. The band’s … Continue reading
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Tagged Brazil, Felipe Souza, Giu Oliver, hard rock, Landfall, Marcello Gelbcke, review, Wide Open Sky
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Album review : WILDNESS – Avenger
Frontiers [Release date : 17.01.25] By the numbers – fourth album from Swedish Melodic hard rock band, Wildness, third with “new” vocalist, Erik Forsberg, and second on the Frontiers label. The band was formed by drummer, Erik Modin in 2014, … Continue reading
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Tagged Avenger, Erik Forsberg, Erik Modin, melodic hard rock, review, Swedish, Wildness
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Album review : THE BIG DEAL – Electrified
Frontiers [Release date : 17.01.24] The Big Deal are one of the many bands that Frontiers’ A&R man, Alessandro Del Vecchio has nurtured over the years. All of them have benefited in some way from his presence . . . … Continue reading
Album review : TOKYO BLADE – Time Is The Fire
Cherry Red [Release date : 17.01.25] The Cherry Red reach has increased dramatically in recent years, and Tokyo Blades’ latest album, Time Is The Fire will be getting a considerable PR push around the 17/1/25 release date. True heavy metal … Continue reading
Album review : THE HAMBURG REPERTOIRE, 2 CDs
Cherry Red [Release date : 10.01.25] It’s no exaggeration to say that popular culture in the UK – music, fashion, sexual mores, religion – experienced a revolution of mind, body and soul in the sixties. On of the prime … Continue reading
Album review: WITHIN SILENCE – The Eclipse Of Worlds
Ulterium Records [Release date : 06.12.24] On their third album now, Slovakian Power Metal band, Within Silence have reached the point where their grasp is the equal of an ambitious reach. From the moment the opening track, ‘Land Of Light’ … Continue reading
Album review : STATUS QUO – Driving To Glory
Cherry Red [Release date : 06.12.24] You’ve really got to hand it to whoever guides Status Quo through the pop and rock music jungle. Brilliantly marketed, with ads that hit all the right notes in the right places, Quo’s latest … Continue reading
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Tagged Cherry Red, Driving To Glory, ELO, Mike Paxman, pop, review, Rhino Edwards, Rick Parfitt, rock, Status Quo
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Album review : BLUE OYSTER CULT – Live In NYC Third Night (2 CD+DVD Deluxe Ed)
Frontiers Music [Release date : 13.12.24] The third time’s the charm. In 2022, Donald (Buck Dharma) Roeser and Eric Bloom, plus “new boys”, Richie (Band Geeks/Jon Anderson) Castellano, Danny Miranda and Jules Radino celebrated their 50th Anniversary as the Blue … Continue reading
Album review : STORACE – Live And Let Live (plus bonus live CD)
Frontiers [Release date : 13.12.24] Marc Storace’s Live and Let Live is an album born in the depths of the Covid pandemic. Skipping through the “singer meets musician, they swap ideas” part of the plot, the album was eventually recorded … Continue reading
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Tagged Alice Cooper, Bad Company, Chris von Rohr, Covid, Eazy Money, Fernando von Arb, KROKUS, NWOBH, review, Scorpions, Storace, Swiss
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Album review : ILLUSION FORCE – Halfana
Frontiers [Release date : 13.12.24] Five year veterans of the Japanese rock/metal scene, Illusion Force have now been recognised by Frontiers’ Music as indeed, a force to be reckoned with worldwide. They cite Dragonforce and Helloween as being among their … Continue reading
Album review : LAZY DAYS – The British Progressive Sounds of 1975 (3-CD set)
Cherry Red [Release date : 06.12.24] 1975: all around the UK, a huge variety of rock and pop genres, sub genres, splinter groups and so forth were fighting it out for recognition, and ultimately, sales. The summer of love was … Continue reading
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Album review: BRAZEN ABBOT : Eye Of The Storm and Bad Religion
Frontiers [Release date : 13.12.24] Prior to his Rock Opera project, Nostradamus (2001), classically trained Bulgarian multi-instrumentalist, Nikolo Kotzev had founded Brazen Abbot. The band’s second and third releases, Eye Of The Storm (1996) and Bad Religion (1997), have now … Continue reading
Album review : TAK MATSUMOTO GROUP – TMG II
Frontiers [Release date : 06.12.24] Through one of those close encounters you read about, Tak Matsumoto, guitarist and founder of leading Japanese rock band, B’z met up with Jack (Night Ranger) Blades and Eric (Mr Big) Martin in LA, in … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged B'z, Baby Metal, Budokan, Eric Martin, hard rock, Jack Blades, Japan, LiSA, melodic rock, Mr Big, Night Ranger, review, Tak Matsumoto Group
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Album review : POWELL PAYNE – Voila
Frontiers [Release date 6.12.24] There really should have been some kind of fanfare, a blaze of publicity, to accompany the release of Voila, debut album from Adam Payne, ex Airrace, and Mark Powell, ex Psycho Kiss. In this post-AOR age, … Continue reading
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Tagged Airrace, AOR, Frontiers, melodic rock, Peter Cetera, Powell Payne, Psycho Kiss, review, Richard Marx, Voila
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Album review : FAITH NYC – Love Is A Wish Away
Good Deeds Music [Release date 22.11.24] A Motown sound that isn’t a Motown sound. Faith NYC is Felice Rosser’s band, which comprises percussionist, Fin Hunt, and guitar man, Justin Adams. Rosser sings and plays bass. Born and brought up in … Continue reading
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Tagged Black Music, Faith NYC, Felice Rosser, Fin Hunt, Justin Adams, Motown, New York, punk, review, soul
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Album review : LUMINARE CHRISTMAS – Mistletoe Magic
Frontiers [Release date : 22.12.24] Founded by Chip Davis, leader of the 28 million selling, neoclassical ensemble Mannheim Steamroller, Luminare Christmas is a relatively new venture. Mannheim have two albums in the Top Ten Best Selling Christmas albums of all … Continue reading
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Tagged Chip Davis, Christmas, Denis DeYoung, Frontiers, Luminare, Mannheim Steamroller, Nutcracker, review, Styx, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi
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Album review : SUNSTORM – Restless Fight
Frontiers [Release date: 22.11.24] Restless Fight is Sunstorm’s third with Ronnie Romero up front, this time with a few more “progressive” musicians alongside. Influential Italian guitarist/ songwriter Aldo Lonobile – and currently Frontiers’ head of A&R for Europe – has … Continue reading
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Tagged Aldo Lonobile, Antonio Agate, Frontiers, hard rock, Italy, review, Ronnie Romero, Sunstorm
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Album review : STORACE – Crossfire
Frontiers [Release date 22.11.24] Crossfire is only the second Storace “solo” release from an artist whose gravel gargling vocals have fronted many million selling albums. Any fan of the hard rock genre will recognise the talent Marc Storace has surrounded … Continue reading
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Tagged AC/DC, Alice Cooper, Frontiers, Gotus, hard rock, Hollywood Vampires, KROKUS, Pat Aeby, review, Storace, Tommy Henriksen
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Album review : VAN ZANT – Always Look Up
Frontiers [Release date : 22.11.24] Here are the Van Zant brothers, Donnie and Johnny, vocalists respectively with 38 Special and Lynyrd Skynyrd (50 million album sales between them), looking forward, going back. In 2017, University Of Northumbria’s Professor of American … Continue reading
Album review : STARCHASER – Into The Great Unknown
Frontiers [Release date 15.11.24] Second album from Swedish Melodic Metal band, Starchaser. The title track, ‘Into The Great Unknown’, a successful marriage of image and drama and music, gets us underway with a flourish. (Actually the “image” comes from the … Continue reading
Album review: MARK WIRTZ – Dream Dream Dream The Anthology (5 CD Boxset)
Cherry Red [Release date : 15.11.24] Long in the making, this Mark Wirtz Anthology misses out nothing in the fascinating life and times of this musical virtuoso – composer, producer, performer, conductor, author, (and ultimately, stand up comedian). Too much … Continue reading
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Tagged boxset, Cherry Red, Dream Dream Dream, George Martin, Helen Ready, Keith West, Mark Wirtz, Marlene Dietrich, review, Teenage Opera, Tomorrow, USA, Yes
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Album review : VOODOO CIRCLE – Hail To The King
AFM Records [Release date 15.11.24] Love Whitesnake? Love Rainbow? Love Led Zeppelin? Here’s Voodoo Circle, just for you. 12 magnificent tracks. 60 magic minutes. Their finest hour. Sturdily melodic, hardbodied rock songs come at you relentlessly. You wait for the … Continue reading
