Category Archives: ALBUM REVIEWS

Album review: WALTER TROUT – Sign Of The Times

Posted on August 3, 2025 by petefeenstra

Provogue [Release date 05.09.25] Walter Trout’s ‘Sign of the Times’ is an uncompromising rock album with a bluesy heart and insightful lyrics penned by himself and his partner Marie Trout. It’s an album rich in story telling, unflinching social observation … Continue reading →

Album review: FIRST LIGHT – Elemental

Posted on July 31, 2025 by andynathan

Pride and Joy Music [Release Date 25.07.25] There are not enough British AOR bands around, so it is always a pleasure when one arrives with some pedigree. First Light released an EP a couple of years ago and, on top … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, Carl Sharples, Dave Hardman, First Light, melodic rock, Phil Manchester, Warren Passaro | Leave a comment

Album review: BEN GRANFELT – It’s Personal

Posted on July 31, 2025 by petefeenstra

Pete Feenstra chatted to Ben Granfelt for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio playing tracks from the new album ‘It’s Personal’. First broadcast 27 July 2025. A1 Records [Release date 30.05.25] ‘Its Personal’ is Ben Granfelt’s 21st solo album and his … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview | Tagged Al Stewart, album, Ben Granfelt, blues, fusion, Gringos Locos, guitar, Guitar Slingers, interview, It's Personal, Jari Saminen, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, JJ Cale, Los Bastardos Finlandeses, Masa Maijanen, Pink Floyd, review, Robin Trower, rock, soul, Stoney Curtis, The Leningrad Cowboys, Wishbone Ash | 1 Comment

Album review : YESTERDAY & TODAY – S/T and Struck Down (Remasters)

Posted on July 31, 2025 by brianmc

Rock Candy Records [Release date 18.07.25] 1972 : In the days before they abbreviated to Y&T, they called themselves Yesterday & Today, after the Beatles’ latest US album release of the time, allegedly. The band line up got shuffled a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Cream, Dave Meniketti, hard rock, review, Rock Candy Records, Struck Down, UFO, Y&T, Yesterday & Today | Leave a comment

Album review: STAR CIRCUS – From The Wreckage

Posted on July 25, 2025 by GRTR! HQ

Renaissance Records [Release date 13.06.25] There’s a big debate going on about the use of AI and whether it compromises modern music making and musicians. After a lifetime of exposure to classic rock I for one am receptive. Time and … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, classic rock, From The Wreckage, melodic rock, review, Star Circus | Leave a comment

Album review : KIX – Kool Atomic Kix (8 CD Boxset)

Posted on July 23, 2025 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 25.07.25] Something of a pop metal institution, KIX, the band, the brand, retired gracefully from the musicbiz in 2023, more than forty long years after the self titled debut album hit the streets. CD1 : … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews, Pure Metal/News | Tagged Bob Halligan Jnr, Kerrang!, Kix, Music Week, Nick Gilder, pop metal, review, StereoGum.com, Taylor Rhodes, Tom Allom, Xavier Russell | Leave a comment

Album review: VOODOO RAMBLE – In The Heart Of The City

Posted on July 23, 2025 by GRTR! HQ

www.voodooramble.com [Release date 01.07.25] Slowly but surely over the past few years our Blues Rock/Features Editor Pete Feenstra has been supplying lyrics and melodic ideas to a number of significant artists in the current blues rock scene. This is Pete’s … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, blues, blues rock, Boris Zamba, classic rock, In The Heart Of The City, Marcus Flynn, Mick Pini, Muddy Manninen, review, Voodoo Ramble | 1 Comment

Album review : THE BONESHAKERS – Live To Be This

Posted on July 23, 2025 by petefeenstra

Pete Feenstra chatted to Randy and Jenny for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio playing tracks from the new album. First broadcast 10 August 2025. Gulf Coast Records [Release date 18.07.25] It’s tempting to interpret The Boneshakers album ‘Live To Be … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview | Tagged album review, Betty Davis, Bobby Rush, Charlie Musselwhite, Coco Montoya, Don Was, Eddie Hinton, Iggy Pop, Jenny Langer, Jimmy carpenter, John Wooler, Lenny Castro, Mark Pender, Randy Jacobs, Ron Holloway, Screaming Jay Hawkins, The Boneshakers | Leave a comment

Album review : JIMMY WEBB – A Life In Words And Music (7 CD Boxset)

Posted on July 21, 2025 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 25.07.25] By the time Jimmy Webb got to Phoenix he had won every conceivable music award, he’d written hit after hit after hit, most notably for The Fifth Dimension, Richard Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Glen Campbell … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged Boudleaux Bryant, boxset, Carly Simon, Glen Campbell, Jimmy Webb, Linda Ronstadt, PF Sloan, review, The Highwaymen, The Wrecking Crew, Words And Music | Leave a comment

Album review : ENUFF Z’NUFF – Extra Cherries

Posted on July 19, 2025 by brianmc

Cleopatra [Release date : 25.07.25] Enuff Z’Nuff have released 6 albums in the last ten years. The latest, Extra Cherries is the 20th since the 1989 debut. The band, plagued by illness, worn down by constant touring, has seen members … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Chip Z'nuff, Daxx Nielsen, Enuff Z'Nuff, Jason Camino, Luis Kalil, Mott the Hoople, review, Rick Nielsen, Steve Brown, Steve Stevens, The Beatles | Leave a comment

Album review : CATS IN SPACE – Chapter 1 (Remastered 4 CD boxset)

Posted on July 16, 2025 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date 25.07.25] Now out of print, CIS’s first 4 sold out album releases have been dusted down and polished up by Cherry Red Records’ Tech experts. Chapter 1 is a 4CD clamshell, containing : CD1 : Too … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged 10CC, Cats In Space, Daytrip to Narnia, Greg Hart, Mick Wilson, power pop, review, Scarecrow, Too Many Gods | Leave a comment

Album review: KILL THE ROBOT – S/t

Posted on July 15, 2025 by jason

Dark Lab Recordings [Release date 18.07.25] New band Kill the Robot, although main man Stephen Gibb has an impressive band CV including spells in Saigon Kick, Crowbar, Black Label Society and more. Oh, and his dad is Barry Gibb of … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, alt rock, Barry Gibb, Bee Gees, Electronic Rock, gothic, indie rock, Kill the Robot, melodic, metal, Pink Floyd, review, Stephen Gibb | Leave a comment

Album review: ALICE COOPER – The Revenge Of Alice Cooper

Posted on July 15, 2025 by david.wilson

EarMUSIC [release date 25.07.25] In much the same vein as Jake and Elwood Blues, Alice has decided to get the band back together, not sure he is on a mission from God though on this occasion! This album has brought … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged 25th July 2025, album, Alice Cooper, Billion Dollar Babies, blues, Bob Ezrin, CD, Dennis Dunnaway, EarMusic, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Neal Smith, review, rock, Schools Out, The Blues Brothers, The Revenge Of Alice Cooper | Leave a comment

Album review : HONEYMOON SUITE – Wake Me When The Sun Goes Down

Posted on July 15, 2025 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date : 25.07.25] Words to live your life by. As one who frequently mainlines on the band’s uncut 2006 Anthology, Feel It Again, a new Honeymoon Suite album is cause for celebration. Previous album, Alive was the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Alive, Clifton Hill, Covid, Derry Grehan, Desmond Child, Honeymoon Suite, Johnny Dee, melodic rock, Mike Krompass, Mutt Lange, review | Leave a comment

Album review: FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH – 20 Years Of Five Finger Death Punch – Best Of Volume 1

Posted on July 14, 2025 by david.wilson

Better Noise Records [Release date 18.07.25] Over the past 20 years Five Finger Death Punch have become a band that can headline arenas and festivals worldwide, but world domination hasn’t come without it’s share of trials and tribulations. No matter … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged 20 Years Of Five Finger Death Punch, album, Bad Company, Battle Born, Best of volume 1, Better Noise Records, CD, Five Finger Death Punch, Gone Away, In This Moment, Ivan Moody, Jason Hook, Maria Binks, metal, rock, Under and Over It, Zoltan Bathory | Leave a comment

Album review : SEALS & CROFTS – Gold and Rainbows – The Warner Bros Years 1969-78 (5-CD Boxset)

Posted on July 13, 2025 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 18.07.25] Harmony rock and pop duo Seals and Croft’s biggest hit single came early on in their career. 1972’s ‘Summer Breeze’ (later covered by the Isley Brothers) was the title track from the duo’s fourth … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Baha'i Faith, box set, Dash Crofts, Diamond Girl, Gold and Rainbows - The Warner Bros Years 1969-78, Jim Seals, review, Seals & Crofts, singer, soft rock, songwriter, Summer Breeze, Warner Bros, Yacht rock | Leave a comment

Album review : V/A – American Power Pop 1980-89 (3-CD Boxset)

Posted on July 12, 2025 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 18.07.25] Almost 80 tracks over 3 CDs…the third and final volume of Eighties’ American Power Pop will be released on the Cherry Red label later this month. Once again it’s a treasure trove of material. … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged 1980-89, album, American Power Pop, box set, Cheap Trick, Eric Carmen, Marshall Crenshaw, power pop, review, Rick Springfield, The Bangles, The Go-Gos, The Rubinoos, Utopia | Leave a comment

Album review: STYX- Circling From Above

Posted on July 10, 2025 by andynathan

Alpha Dog 2T/UMe (Release Date 18.07.25) While many ‘heritage’ classic rock acts on both sides of the pond have chosen to give up on writing new material and rely on their legacy catalogue, in recent years Styx have proved a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, James 'JY' Young, Lawrence Gowan, melodic rock, pomp rock, Styx, Tommy Shaw, Will Evankovich | Leave a comment

Album review : DEGREED – The Leftovers

Posted on July 10, 2025 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date 18.07.25] Only a year after their last full length studio album, Public Address, Degreed now release The Leftovers, a 9 track EP. The title is self explanatory, but there’s a negative connotation there, hinting that these tracks … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Alexi Laiho, American AOR, Degreed, Johnny Hates Jazz, melodic rock, Public Address, review, synthwave | Leave a comment

Album review – DOUBLE VISION – S/T

Posted on July 8, 2025 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date : 11.07.25] For many years, Double Vision were a Foreigner covers band, as the band name might suggest. They’ve now been given the opportunity by the Frontiers’ label to make their own way. It’s fronted by … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Chandler Mogel, Double Vision, Foreigner, Frontiers Music, melodic rock, Mick Jones, review | Leave a comment

Album review : LAGUNA – The Ghost Of Katrina

Posted on July 6, 2025 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date : 11.07.25] A choir and a spoken word intro, in Spanish, introduces us to Mexico’s rock festival junkies, Laguna. And that’s the thing about putting the miles in. You learn what works and what doesn’t. Then … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged AOR, Bon Jovi, Frontiers Music, Jimmy Westerlund, Laguna, melodic rock, Mexico, One Desire, review | Leave a comment

Album review : ETERNAL IDOL – Behind A Vision

Posted on July 4, 2025 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date : 11.07.25] Eternal Idol have had a brand refresh. Behind A Vision is a more considered album, incomparably better written and better acted out than Renaissance (2020), the band’s second and most recent album. And again, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Behind A Vision, Eternal Idol, Fabio Leone, Frontiers Music, Nick Savio, Progressive Rock, review, symphonic metal | Leave a comment

Album review : GIRLSCHOOL – Running Wild – Live in London 1984 (CD & DVD)

Posted on July 3, 2025 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 11.07.25] We’ve said it before (and will no doubt say it again), Girlschool experienced their share of heartache… label let downs, revolving door membership issues, conflicting views on musical direction and the struggles to sustain … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Camden Palace, Criss Bonacci, Denise Dufort, Gil Weston, GIRLSCHOOL, Jackie Bodimead, Kim McAuliffe, London, Play Dirty, pop metal, review, Running Wild | Leave a comment

Album review: ORIANTHI – Some Kind Of Feeling

Posted on June 29, 2025 by GRTR! HQ

Woodward Avenue Records [Release date 27.06.25 (digital); 15.08.25 (CD), 19.09.25 (vinyl)] There’s a fair amount of “competition” at the top of the female rock guitarist/vocalist ladder and there’s no room for complacency. Orianthi will probably be forever known as the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALL POSTS | Leave a comment

News: Albums of the Month (April – June 2025)

Posted on June 28, 2025 by GRTR! HQ

A quarterly feature highlighting album releases rated highly by the GRTR! review team and worthy of your investigation. We try and pick out a cross-section of albums that reflect the range of genres reviewed at the website. The star rating … Continue reading →