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Upcoming Gigs & Albums
Latest Album Reviews
Latest Gig Reviews
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Gig review: COLLATERAL – Leo’s, The Red Lion, Gravesend, Friday 4 September 2020
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Gig review: THE DARKER MY HORIZON – The Victoria, Swindon, Thursday 27 August 2020
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Gig review: TOBY JEPSON – Online, Thursday April 23 2020
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Gig review: PAUL CARRACK – London Palladium, 14 March 2020
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Gig review: JAKE BUGG – Cambridge Corn Exchange, 5 March 2020
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Featured Album Reviews
Single & EP Reviews
DVD Reviews
Book Reviews
News
Features
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Feature: Albums that time forgot … CODE OF SILENCE – Dark Skies Over Babylon
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Feature: Albums that time forgot … BLACKTHORNE – Afterlife
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Feature: Gigs of the Millennium – ROCK FEST 2003, Wisconsin, USA
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Feature: Call Collect – An introduction to STEVE HACKETT
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Feature: Albums that time forgot – RANSOM – Trouble In Paradise
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Feature: Gigs of the Millennium – JOE BONAMASSA
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Tag Archives: heavy metal
Feature: Albums that time forgot … BLACKTHORNE – Afterlife
Music For Nations (1993) Graham Bonnet’s career started in the late 1960s with a conventional pop approach and early solo albums. It was only in 1979 when he came to Ritchie Blackmore’s attention as a potential frontman of Rainbow (replacing … Continue reading
Posted in Albums that time forgot, All Posts, FEATURES, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview
Tagged Afterlife, album, Alcatrazz, Blackthorne, feature, Graham Bonnet, heavy metal, heavy rock, Jimmy Waldo, review
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Album review: BLUE OYSTER CULT – Iheart Radio Theater NYC 2012
Frontiers [Release date 08.05.20] An invited audience of 200 lucky fans saw Blue Oyster Cult live on stage at the IHeart Radio Theater in New York in 2012. The event noisily celebrated the band’s 40th year together, expertly recorded by … Continue reading
Feature: What SAXON mean to me…
Saxon have been a life-long passion for Joe Geesin who has followed the band since the mid-1980s. More recently he has contributed sleeve notes and curation to several re-issues. And now he’s ready to write the band’s biography… Barnsley born … Continue reading
Posted in All Posts, FEATURES, What a Band/Artist means to me...
Tagged albums, Biff Byford, heavy metal, heavy rock, history, Paul Quinn, review, Saxon
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Feature: Albums that time forgot – GRAND PRIX – Samurai
Chrysalis [1983] Back in 1983 I ventured along to my first gig on my own at the tender age of 14 to see Iron Maiden at the Playhouse in Edinburgh (Friday 13th May to be exact) and what a show … Continue reading
Album review: CIRITH UNGOL – Forever Black
Metal Blade Records [Release date 24.04.20] Cirith Ungol are a band I have been aware of for many years (with a name like that, they are hard to ignore!) however until now I have been oblivious to their history or … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts
Tagged album, CD, Cirith Ungol, Forever Black, Greg Lindstrom, grunge, heavy metal, Jim Barraza, review, Robert Garven, rock, Tim Barker, Twisted Sister
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Feature: Call Collect – An introduction to DEMON
Jason Ritchie highlights the recording history of NWOBHM band Demon Formed in Stoke back in the NWOBHM the band initially lived up to their name with singer Dave Hill rising up from coffins on stage, along with lots of devil references … Continue reading
Posted in All Posts, Call Collect, FEATURES
Tagged classic rock, Dave Hill, DEMON, feature, hard rock, heavy metal, introduction, melodic rock, NWOBHM, prog rock, review
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Feature: Call Collect – An introduction to BLUE OYSTER CULT
Jason Ritchie picks out some of the key albums from the heavy metal masters Formed from the late 60’s band Soft White Underbelly, Blue Oyster Cult (BOC) are often dubbed ‘the thinking man’s heavy metal band’. But for me they … Continue reading
Album review: RAGE – Wings Of Rage
SPV/Steamhammer [Release date 10.01.20] Every family has a black sheep. That one relative who never gets invited to Christmas lunch. Rage are that family member, the unhinged uncle who is usually locked in an attic or roaming around the woods. … Continue reading
Gig review: BLACK SABBATH 50TH ANNIVERSARY PLAYBACK – Number 10, Hackney, 11 February 2020
Most of us listen to music while distracted by other things. Commute to work, at home or live venue. But what if there were no other distractions around you? Just you and the music, in the dark – would you … Continue reading
Posted in All Posts, GIG REVIEWS, Special Events
Tagged Bill Ward, Black Sabbath, blues, classic rock, event, Geezer Butler, heavy metal, Ozzy Osbourne, playback, review, rock, Tony Iommi
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Gig review: POWERWOLF – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, 28 October 2018
It is immensely gratifying to have a band, whose career you have been closely following since day one, reach such great levels of success – case in point here being the German Heavy/Power Metallers Powerwolf. Not many people were supportive … Continue reading
Gig review: PRIMAL FEAR – Biebob, Vosselaar, 12 October 2018
Ask me to compose a list with the best Metal albums for 2018 and you are almost certainly guaranteed to find Primal Fear’s latest studio effort “Apocalypse” somewhere near the very top. It may be a good two decades since … Continue reading
Posted in GIG REVIEWS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Gig reviews
Tagged 12 October 2018, Belgium, Biebob, gig, heavy metal, metal, Primal Fear, Ralph Scheepers, review, Riot V, Vosselaar
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Gig review: SAXON – Barrowlands, Glasgow,18 October 2018
Saxon, as Biff reminded us during tonight’s show, are rapidly approaching their 40th anniversary. With this in mind the band would be forgiven if they decided to slow down a bit and started taking things a bit easier. However, on tonight’s … Continue reading
Posted in All Posts, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 18th October 2018, Barrowlands, Biff Byford, Denim And Leather, FM, gig, Glasgow, heavy metal, Iron Maiden, Jim Kirkpatrick, live, Nigal Glockler, review, rock, Saxon, Steve Overland, Toby Jepson, Wayward Sons, Wheels Of Steel
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Album review: SAXON – The Eagle Has Landed
BMG [Release date 19.10.18] To coincide nicely with their latest opus Thunderbolt, we get this reissue of Saxon’s classic 1982 live album. This rounds off the BMG reissues of the Carrere and Phonogram catalogue. Originally a single LP, this comes … Continue reading
Gig review: IRON MAIDEN – 02 Arena, London, 10 August 2018
Photo: Andy Nathan It would not be an exaggeration to describe Iron Maiden as the people’s band. They inspire remarkable loyalty among their vast army of fans – I don’t think I have never seen a higher percentage of gig … Continue reading
Posted in All Posts, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 10 August 2018, Adrian Smith, Bruce Dickinson, Dave Murray, gig, heavy metal, Iron Maiden, Janick Gers, Legacy of the Beast, London, O2 Arena, review, Steve Harris
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Album review: SAXON – Denim And Leather, Power And The Glory, Crusader (reissues)
BMG [Release date 25.05.18] BMG continue with their Saxon reissue campaign and have produced fine editions of their fourth, fifth and sixth albums. And we can announce these the same week as the first three remasters (Saxon, Wheels Of Steel … Continue reading
Album review: RAVEN – Wiped Out
Dissonance Productions [Release date 27.04.18] Formed in the north of England in the mid 70s by brothers John (bass, and vocals) and Mark (guitar) Gallagher, Raven were a trio associated with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Playing what … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts, Reissues
Tagged album, hard rock, heavy metal, metal, NWOBHM, RAVEN, re-issue, review, Wipe Out
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Album review: SAXON – 10 Years Of Denim And Leather Live 1990/The CD Hoard (reissues)
Edsel [Release date 27.10.17*, 16.03.18**] Saxon seem to be enjoying a resurgence even more impressive than their 2007-2010 revival. With a remarkably relevant new album ‘Thunderbolt’ and a raft of reissues and box sets, we can at least luxuriate in … Continue reading
Album review: SAXON – Thunderbolt
UDR [Release date 02.02.18] Bastions of British heavy metal, NWoBHM stalwarts, basically if you like trad heavy metal, Saxon are where it’s at and have been for longer than I can remember. Album number 22 comes two and a half … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts
Tagged album, Biff Byford, heavy metal, metal, Motorhead, NWOBHM, review, Saxon, Thunderbolt
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Gig review: W.A.S.P. – White Rock Theatre, Hastings, 12 October 2017
Loud, brash, obnoxious, Blackie Lawless’s LA metal outfit W.A.S.P. burst on to the scene in the early 80s and were never far from controversy. Over time, however, the band evolved and their output started showing signs of growing maturity. To … Continue reading
Posted in All Posts, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 12 October 2017, Blackie Lawless, classic rock, gig, Hastings, heavy metal, metal, review, rock, The Crimson Idol, W.A.S.P, White Rock Theatre
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Album review: SAXON – Solid Book Of Rock (Box set)
Edsel/Demon Music Group [Release date 18.08.17] It seems that – exhausting the market for CD expanded or deluxe editions – 2017 might be the “Year of The Box Set” as labels try and find new income streams. We’ll be getting … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), All Posts, Reissues, The Best of 2017
Tagged album, Biff Byford, box set, Dogs Of War, Forever Free, heavy metal, heavy rock, Into The Labyrinth, Killing Ground, Lionheart, Metalhead, review, Saxon, Solid Book Of Rock, Sollid Ball Of Rock, The Inner Sanctum, Unleash The Beast
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