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Gig review: PAUL McCARTNEY- 02 Arena, London, 18 December 2024
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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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Category Archives: PURE METAL (All posts)
Album review: ELVENKING – The Pagan Manifesto
AFM Records – Out Now. Even though they have been earning their chops performing Folk infused Power Metal for the last seventeen years, the members of Italian sextet Elvenking do not really perform the style of music that I would … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged album, Elvenking, folk, Italian, Italy, power metal, review, The Pagan Manifesto
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Album review: SABBATH ASSEMBLY – Quaternity
Svart Records – Out Now. By all accounts, our world looked a far more spiritually uplifting and inviting place forty odd years ago – a period when art, philosophy and all other forms of human expression were experiencing a renaissance. … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged Review of album by metal band Sabbath Assembly called Quaternity.occult
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Album review: COLTSBLOOD – Into The Unfathomable Abyss
Candlelight – Out Now. Coming up with a fresh and unique musical proposition in this day and age is quite a challenging undertaking but nothing seems to be able to stop young bands like the Doom/Sludge Metal trio Coltsblood from … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged album, Coltsblood, Doom Metal, Into The Unfathomable Abyss, review
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Interview with LARRY BARRAGAN (Helstar) – 12 June 2014
Larry Barragan, guitarist and sole founding member of the American Power Metal institution Helstar, has been living and breathing Metal since the band’s inception back in 1982 and his passion and love for the said genre is certainly reflected in … Continue reading →
Posted in ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/Rock Stars, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Interviews
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Tagged Helstar, interview, Jeff Loomis, June 2014, Larry Barragan, metal, power metal
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Gig review: ANGRA – Camden Underworld, London, 24 June 2014
Support Act: Stormborn Review by Yiannis (John) Stefanis Photos by Yiannis (John) Stefanis Planning a gig in London during the Football World Cup in full swing is equivalent to commercial suicide for most bands but the fact that it’s been … Continue reading →
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Gig reviews
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Tagged 24 June 2014, ANGRA, Camden, gig, London, metal, power metal, review, Underworld
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Interview with TIM BOWNESS – 19 June 2014
Singer, songwriter, record label owner…Tim Bowness has stuck his skilled fingers in many different musical pies over the years but “Abandoned Dancehall Dreams”, his first proper solo effort, finds the Englishman finally fully taking charge of his artistic destiny. Having … Continue reading →
Posted in ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Interviews
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Tagged Abandoned Dancehall Dreams, interview, June 2014, rock, Tim Bowness
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Album Review: TIM BOWNESS – Abandoned Dancehall Dreams
Inside Out – Out Now. Tim Bowness is a much sought after singer/songwriter who is best known as Steven Wilson’s creative other half in the experimental Art Rock / Dream Pop outfit No-Man. Various collaborations have resulted in an impressive … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged Abandoned Dancehall Dreams, album, No-Man, prog, progressive, review, rock, Tim Bowness
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Album Review: OPIUM WARLORDS – Taste My Sword Of Understanding
Svart Records – Out Now. Last time I decided to write a review for one of Sami Albert Hynnien’s musical projects, I was not impressed by the offering in question.I like to consider myself as a fairly open-minded person but … Continue reading →
Posted in ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged album, metal, Opium Warlords, review, Taste My Sword Of Understanding
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Album Review: RAGE – The Soundchaser Archives
Nuclear Blast – Out Now. It was not very long after they released their debut album “Reign Of Fear” back in 1986 that the German Thrash/Power Metalers Rage were first brought to my attention and subsequent heart-stopping performances, one in … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged album, power metal, Rage, review, The Soundchaser Archives
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Album Review: TORTORUM – Katabasis
W.T.C Productions – Out Now. Born three years ago and bred in Bergen, the unofficial capital of Scandinavian Black Metal, this Norwegian trio has a very important heritage to live up to. This a task that the lads in Tortorum … Continue reading →
Album Review: MAYHEM – Esoteric Warfare
Seasons Of Mist – Out Now. Suicide, Murder, church burnings…when one considers that such extreme events have influenced the productive process of the Norwegian Black Metal outfit Mayhem since pretty much day one, seven years without releasing any new material … Continue reading →
Album Review: CARNIFEX – Die Without Hope
Nuclear Blast – Out Now. Carnifex is a new name to me, but the Californian Deathcore quintet has been playing loud and thought – provoking music for quite some time now. It was back in 2005 that this outfit was … Continue reading →
Album Review: CARNIFEX – Die Without Hope
Nuclear Blast [Release date 03.03.14] Carnifex is a new name to me, but the Californian Deathcore quintet has been playing loud and thought – provoking music for quite some time now. It was back in 2005 that this outfit was … Continue reading →
Album Review: MEKONG DELTA – In A Mirror Darkly
Steamhammer/SPV – Out Now. A good thirty years since their inception, and German Prog Thrashers Mekong Delta continue to be an unknown entity for quite a few Metalheads out there – a state of affairs that surprises and annoys me … Continue reading →
Album review: TRIPTYKON – Melana Chasmata
Century Media – Out Now. When Celtic Frost decided to ‘pull the plug’ for a second time in their career back in 2008, the world of extreme Metal began mourning the loss of perhaps its most innovative and influential bands. … Continue reading →
Album review: BURZUM – The Ways Of Yore
Byelobog Productions – Out Now. Since his release from prison back in 2009, Kristian “Varg” Vikernes has found himself in a truly creative mode, with every passing year witnessing the release of another new Burzum album. His first recordings as … Continue reading →
Album review: MOUNT SALEM – Endless
Metal Blade – Out Now. 70s Heavy Rock is back in fashion. I do not suggest for a moment that bands like Black Sabbath, Cream and Pentagram ever stopped being a massive influence on young artists, especially those of a … Continue reading →
Album review: VADER – Tibi Et Igni
Nuclear Blast [Release date 30.05.14] Line-up changes have been a constant feature in the life of the Death Metal combo Vader since their inception back in 1983 but, as their relatively modest album collection clearly suggests, every new addition has … Continue reading →
Album review: DESTRANGE – Are You Kidding Me? No.
Metal Blade – Out Now. Attracting the attention of a label as established and well respected as Metal Blade is no easy feat, however, Italian Technical Metalers Destranged have achieved precisely that. It was on the strength of their 2012 … Continue reading →
Album Review: VAMPIRE – Vampire
Century Media – Out Now. As someone who has been actively supporting extreme Metal bands for the last thirty or so years, I am both pleased and proud to find genres such as Thrash, Death and Black Metal in such … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged album, heavy metal, review, Vampire
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Album review : U.D.O. – Steelhammer Live From Moscow
AFM Records [Release date 23.05.14] I’m not really a fan of live albums and these days they are a dime a dozen with certain bands releasing what seems like endless streams of them. So what does Mr Udo Dirkschneider have … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged album, heavy metal, heavy rock, review, Steelhammer Live From Moscow, U.D.O, Udo Dirkschneider
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Album review: FLOTSAM AND JETSAM – No Place For Disgrace 2014
Metal Blade – Out Now. For better or worse, Flotsam And Jetsam will always be known as the band where ex-Metallica bassist learned his skills and that is perhaps the reason why “Doomsday For The Deceiver” (1986), the band’s debut … Continue reading →
Gig review: THE FLOWER KINGS – O2 Islington Academy, London, 8 May 2014
Support Act: Sound Of Contact Review and photos by Yiannis (John) Stefanis Performing a show in London on the same day that Yes are headlining the legendary Royal Albert Hall is the worst scenario for any Prog Rock band and … Continue reading →
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Gig reviews
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Tagged gig, Jonas Reingold, prog, progressive, review, rock, Roine Stolt, Simon Collins, Sound Of Contact, The Flower Kings
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Album review: ADMIRAL SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVELL – Check ‘Em Before You Wreck ‘Em
Rise Above – Out Now. The first time I came across an article featuring the name of the Psychedelic/Hard Rock/Heavy Metal trio…Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, I have to admit I was probably put off by it – the name, I … Continue reading →
Album review: BIGELF – Into The Maelstrom
Inside Out – Out Now. Back in 2010, Prog Metal’s finest band Dream Theater went on the road in support of their then latest album “Black Clouds & Silver Linings” and with them brought us as an opening act the … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged album, Bigelf, Into The Maelstrom, progressive metal, review, rock
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