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Upcoming Gigs & Albums
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Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD/Bluray) 2025
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Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD/Bluray) 2026
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Upcoming: UK & Ireland Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2026)
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Upcoming: Festivals UK & Europe (2026)
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Upcoming: European, USA & World Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2026)
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Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD) July 2022 – December 2022
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Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD) October 2021 – December 2021
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Latest Album Reviews
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Album review: BEYOND THE BLACK – Break The Silence
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News: Albums of the Month (October-December 2025)
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Album review: MIDNITE CITY- Bite The Bullet
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Album review: CHARLOTTE SMITH & DAVID CLIFTON – The Tree In The Wood
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Album review: JUDIE TZUKE – Now Or Never
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Album review: SPOCK’S BEARD – The Archaeoptimist
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Latest Gig Reviews
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Gig review: STEVE OVERLAND AND JIM KIRKPATRICK- The Weir, Brentford, Middlesex, 9 December 2025
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Gig review: JOHN OTWAY – Face Bar, Reading, Thursday 11 December 2025
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Gig review: CURVED AIR – The Sub Rooms, Stroud, 20 November 2025
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Gig review: MARTIN BARRE & FRIENDS – Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, 18 November 2025
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GRTR! Greats
Featured Album Reviews
Features
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Single & EP Reviews
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Tag Archives: album
Album review: RIGOR MORTIS – Slaves To The Grave
Rigor Mortis Records – Out Now. The story of Texan Speed/Thrash Metal quartet Rigor Mortis is a pretty fascinating one indeed. Having first formed back in 1983 by schoolboy friends Harden Harrison (drums) & Casey Orr (bass), they were the … Continue reading
Album review: EXODUS – Blood In, Blood Out
Nuclear Blast – Out Now. There has been a significant number of changes taking place in the line-up of the California-based Thrash Metal legends Exodus over the last thirty four years but none has come close to being more debilitating … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
Tagged album, Blood In, Blood Out, Exodus, metal, review
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Album review: WHITESNAKE – Live In ’84 Back To The Bone
Frontiers www.frontiers.it [Released 07.11.14] Here’s a song for ya. 1984 was a good year for British rock music – and is surely epitomised by Whitesnake’s Slide It In. OK, I’m biased, possibly, but Slide It In is by far my … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged 1984, album, Back to the Bone, classic rock, Cozy Powell, David Coverdale, hard rock, John Sykes, Jon Lord, live, Live In '84, Neil Murray, review, Tokyo, Whitesnake
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Album review: BRIAN TARQUIN & HEAVY FRIENDS – Guitars For Wounded Warriors
Purple Pyramid Records/Cleopatra [Release date 22.09.14] Brian Tarquin is a prolific producer/musician who in recent years has specialised in above-par tribute albums, such as those to Jeff Beck and Led Zep. This time he pays tribute to the ‘brave men … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Alex De Rosso, Billy Sheehan, Brian Tarquin, Brian Tarquin & Heavy Friends, Bumblefoot, Chris Poland, Chuck Loeb, Gary Hoey, Guitars For Wounded Warriors, Hal Lindes, Reb Beach, review, Steve Morse, The Flyin' Ryan Brothers
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Album review: STRYPER – Live At The Whisky
Frontiers Records [Release date 22.09.14] First we had a cover’s album, then re-recordings of old numbers and then finally a decent new album and now Stryper’s comeback continues with the obligatory live album (with me being cynical, this is a … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Christian metal, Frontiers, live, Live at the Whisky, Michael Sweet, Oz Fox, review, Robert Sweet, Stryper, Tim Gaines
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Album review: SIMON PHILLIPS – Protocol II
Inakustik [Release date 13.10.14] It’s been fourteen years since the release of ‘Vantage Point’, Simon Phillips’ last solo album. This is understandable given that for most of that period he’s been tied up drumming for Toto. But of course in … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Andy Timmons, Danger Danger, drummer, drums, Ernest Tibbs, instrumental, jazz fusion, Protocol II, review, rock, Simon Phillips, Steve Lukather, Steve Weingart, Toto
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Album review: VAINAJA – Kadotetut
Svart Records – Out Now. How I love discovering new bands; and I am especially referring to those which, though respectful of their musical influences, are not afraid to try to bring something new to the table. The latest such … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
Tagged album, Death, Doom, Kadoetetut, metal, review, Vainaja
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Album review: DARK FORTRESS – Venereal Dawn
Century Media – Out Now. Ever since their first demo “Rebirth Of The Dark Age” saw the light of day back in 1996, German sextet Dark Fortress has been one of the most prolific entities in the international Black Metal … Continue reading
Album review: KISSIN’ DYNAMITE – Megalomania
AFM Records [Release date 05.09.14] Kissin’ Dynamite are a young German rock band from the southern Swabia region of the country and even though they are still in their early twenties “Megalomania” is their 4th album. Debut album “Steel of … Continue reading
Album review: PHI – The Waves Of Sound Remain
Gentle Art Of Music [Release Date 03.11.14] Despite being described by Phi themselves as ‘art rock’ this Austrian 3-piece’s musical debut screams progressive rock all day long – although, it has to be said, the prog metal template of … Continue reading
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Tagged album, art rock, Phi, prog, progressive, review, RPWL, The Waves Of Sound Remain
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Quick plays: GRAND DESIGN, 220 VOLT, JUDE GWYNAIRE
GRAND DESIGN – Thrill Of The Night AOR Heaven [Release date 29.09.14] Grand Design are back with their 80’s influenced hard rock, or as I like to think Def Leppard with a helium infused vocalist! Vocalist Pelle Saether has a … Continue reading
Album review: IRON BUTTERFLY – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (reissue)
Salvo [Release date 27.10.14] In terms of psychedelic rock heavyweights of the late-1960s, they don’t come much heavier than Iron Butterfly. Sometimes even credited for inventing the heavy metal idiom - as epitomised by the 17 minute title track. The … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues
Tagged album, bonus tracks, heavy metal, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Iron Butterfly, pop, psychedelic, reissue, review, rock
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Album review: THE TEXAS FLOOD – Young Dogs, Old Tricks
To The Bone Records [Release date: 21.06.14] www.thetexasflood.co.uk Whilst relatively new-ish on the scene ‘The Texas Flood’ have done the groundwork and built up a solid fanbase by gigging and getting themselves out there. TTF entered a national competition, Highway … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Old Tricks, review, rock, The Texas Flood, Young Dogs
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Album review: STATE OF SALAZAR – All The Way
Frontiers Records [Release date 25.08.14] “All The Way” is the debut album from Swedish band State Of Salazar and the review could be condensed to state “yet another Scandinavian rock band releases yet another superbly produced slice of genuine 1980’s … Continue reading
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Tagged album, All The Way, AOR, Frontiers, review, State of Salazar
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Album review: MANFRED MANN – Lone Arranger
Creature Music [Release date 20.10.14] This is quite a challenging album to review. Quite how challenging it must have been to produce doesn’t bear thinking about. In fact, we are lucky enough to have an insight into that process. Manfred’s … Continue reading
Album review: WOLFBORNE – In The Beginning…
Karvorka Records [Release date – out now] This is the debut album from Wolfborne who hail from Vancouver. The premise was ‘to create a record to redefine rock music for the current generation’ an ambitious plan, so have they come … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Chris Witoski, funk, Funky Town, In The Beginning..., metal, review, rock, Sex Sells, Soil, UK tour, Wolfborne
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Album review: HELIX – Bastard Of The Blues
Perris Records [Release Date – out now] I got a bit of a surprise when this album popped through my door mainly because I had no idea that Helix were still in existence. I saw Helix back in 1983 in … Continue reading
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Tagged 40th anniversary, album, Alice Cooper, Bastard Of The Blues, Brian Vollmer, Canada, Helix, Kiss, metal, review, rock
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Album review: UNISONIC – Light Of Dawn
earMUSIC [Release date 04.08.14] Arguably, 2014 has already been a good year for the power metal genre: Gamma Ray, Edguy and Freedom Call, amongst others have spun out very worthy platters. German supergroup Unisonic have easily augmented that roster … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Dennis Ward, Gamma Ray, Helloween, Kai Hansen, Light Of Dawn, Mandy Meyer, Michael Kiske, power metal, review, Unisonic
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Album review: THE ARKANES – W.A.R.
SPV Records [Release date 19.05.14] A Liverpudlian four-piece discovered in the Cavern Club and flown out to Germany… sound familiar? Well no-one here is saying that guitar groups are on the way out. And thankfully no further Beatles references will … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile)
Tagged album, indie, review, rock, The Arkanes, W.A.R.
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Album review: OPETH – Pale Communion
Roadrunner Records [Release Date 25.08.14] Mikael Akerfeldt – the debate rages… Rather like Steven Wilson and Mike Portnoy, there are sections of the music press which are so sycophantic and so over the top in hyping up the Opeth frontman … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, The Best Of 2014
Tagged album, MIKAEL AKERFELDT, OPETH, Pale Communion, prog, Progressive Rock, review
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Album review: SOLSTAFIR – Otta
Season Of Mist [Release date 01.09.14] Iceland may be one of the most barren places on earth but the same cannot be said about its music scene – which is a rich gathering of like-minded and highly artistic people that … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
Tagged album, Iceland, metal, Otta, progressive, review, Solstafir
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Album review: THE HAUNTED – Exit Wounds
Century Media [Release date 25.08.14] To lose one founding member may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness… Now, I am not normally in the habit of paraphrasing Oscar Wilde when writing music reviews but this … Continue reading
Album review: U.D.O. – Steelhammer Live From Moscow
AFM Records [Release date 26.05.14] It was thirteen years ago that ex-Accept frontman Udo Dirkschneider recorded his solo band’s first ever live album in Russia and, if the AFM Records press release is to be believed, the very same logic … Continue reading
Album review: TUSMORKE – Riset Bak Speilet
Svart Records – Out Now. Some people may have all the luck in the world but then the majority of us have to try really hard in order to achieve our goals in life. Take Norwegian Folk Rock quartet Tusmorke … Continue reading
Album review: FLYING COLORS – Second Nature
Music Theories Recordings/Mascot [Release date 06.10.14] Flying Colors, the prog rock supergroup, are back with their second album just two years after their exceptionally strong debut release. Can they match that high standard? You bet they can! If anything this … Continue reading
