Tag Archives: pomp rock

Album review: GHOST – Skeleta

Posted on November 26, 2025 by jason

Loma Vista Recordings [Release date 25.04.25] Album number six from Ghost, produced by Gene Walker, who is actually Ghost main man Tobias Forge, as said Gene Walker name is a pun on the Swedish word gengångare i.e ghost, zombie. Interesting variety … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews | Tagged album, Ghost, hard rock, melodic, metal, Papa V Perpetua, pomp rock, review, Skeleta, Tobias Forge | Leave a comment

Album review: LIGHTSPEED – Delta

Posted on August 31, 2025 by jason

Website [Release date 15.09.25] Back in 2006 Canadian prog rockers Lightspeed released their third album ‘Waves’ and now we have their fourth album, ‘Delta’, which has had a challenging creation which including the passing of the band’s guitarist Gene Murray … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, classic rock, Delta, Gene Murray, Lightspeed, pomp rock, prog rock, review, rock, Rod Chappell | 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: WHITE WIDDOW – Reissues

Posted on June 17, 2025 by jason

Pride & Joy Classix [Release date 27.06.25] White Widdow were formed in Melbourne, Australia in 2008 and centred around the Millis brothers Jules (vocals) & Xavier (keyboards) with guitarist Enzo Almanzi. They have released five studio albums to date, with … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged album, AOR, Crossfire, melodic rock, pomp rock, Pride & Joy Music, reissues, review, Serenade, White Widdow | Leave a comment

Gig review: MAGNUM – The O2 Forum, Kentish Town, London, 21 January 2025

Posted on January 26, 2025 by Davoski

It is just over a year since the sad passing of Tony Clarkin, Magnum’s songwriter, guitarist and inspiration. And now the rest of the band have reformed to celebrate his glorious words and music. Titled ‘A Passage Through Time’ this … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged 21 January 2025, Bob Catley, classic rock, Forum, gig, live, Magnum, melodic rock, pomp rock, review, Tony Clarkin | Leave a comment

Feature: The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness – MAGNUM (December 2023)

Posted on December 1, 2023 by GRTR! HQ

Photo: Darren Griffiths They nearly folded in 1983, played the arenas in the late 1980s, and nose-dived in 1995. But – fifty years on – Magnum remain magnificent Magnum have figured prominently in our coverage at GRTR! since 2003. This … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, GRTR!@20, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview, The GRTR! Grotto of Greatness | Tagged albums, band, Bob Catley, classic rock, gigs, interview, Magnum, melodic rock, pomp rock, radio, retrospective, review, Tony Clarkin | Leave a comment

Gig review: CATS IN SPACE – Wilde Theatre, South Hill Park, Bracknell, 20 July 2023

Posted on July 25, 2023 by andynathan

Despite latest album ‘Kickstart the Sun’ being for me their finest achievement, Cats in Space’s autumn tour in 2022 was still bedevilled by audiences a fraction of what they deserved. It therefore represented a bold gamble when, post-tour, the band … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged Andy Stewart, Cats In Space, Damien Edwards, Dean Howard, gig, Greg Hart, Jeff Brown, melodic rock, pomp rock, soft rock, Steevi Bacon | Leave a comment

Interview: MARK MANGOLD

Posted on July 11, 2022 by jason

KEYS is a collaboration between keyboardist Mark Mangold (Touch, Drive, She Said, Michael Bolton, Cher, Paul Rogers and others) and singer Jake E (Cyhra, Amaranthe, and others). Featuring live performances with three keyboardists and a huge battery of keyboards, this … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/Rock Stars | Tagged AOR, Cyha, House of Lords, interview, Jake E, keyboards, keys, Mark Mangold, melodic rock, pomp rock, porg rock, Touch | Leave a comment

Album review: FIND ME – Lightning In A Bottle

Posted on March 10, 2022 by brianmc

FIND-ME-lightning-in-a-bottle-COVER_600x600

Frontiers [Release date: 11.03.22] Find Me is Robbie LaBlanc, a rock vocalist who enjoys iconic status, and Daniel Flores (and his band) who’s on the same path, if not the same trajectory. The duo have been breathing new life into … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, Daniel Flores, eighties, Frank Stallone, Frontiers, Mark Free, melodic rock, pomp rock, review, Robbie Blanc, Signal, Staying Alive movie, Vince DiCola | Leave a comment

Feature: MAGNUM Month @GRTR! – Memorabilia

Posted on March 1, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Magnum in the Millennium Introduction The Studio Albums The Live Albums Singles Reissues Collections Memorabilia What Magnum Means To Me… Magnum are a highly collectible band, as you might expect with their ascendancy in the 1980s coinciding with a burgeoning … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, Magnum Month @GRTR! (March 2022) | Tagged classic rock, Magnum, melodic rock, memorabilia, merchandise, pomp rock | Leave a comment

Feature: MAGNUM Month @GRTR! – Collections

Posted on March 1, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Magnum in the Millennium Introduction The Studio Albums The Live Albums Singles Reissues Collections Memorabilia What Magnum Means To Me… WHAT MAGNUM MEANS TO ME … Sweep away almost 40 blurry years of rock/metal memories and I see a picture … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, Magnum Month @GRTR! (March 2022) | Tagged album, anthology, Bob Catley, classic rock, collection, compilation, Magnum, melodic rock, pomp rock, review, Tony Clarkin | Leave a comment

Feature: MAGNUM Month @GRTR! – Reissues

Posted on March 1, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Magnum in the Millennium Introduction The Studio Albums The Live Albums Singles Reissues Collections Memorabilia What Magnum Means To Me… WHAT MAGNUM MEANS TO ME … When I was a teenager, probably about 13 or 14, and getting into rock … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, Magnum Month @GRTR! (March 2022) | Tagged album, Bob Catley, classic rock, Magnum, melodic rock, pomp rock, reissue, review, Tony Clarkin | Leave a comment

Feature: MAGNUM Month @GRTR! – Live

Posted on March 1, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Magnum in the Millennium Introduction The Studio Albums The Live Albums Singles Reissues Collections Memorabilia What Magnum Means To Me… WHAT MAGNUM MEANS TO ME … My own history with Magnum begins in the spring of 1985. I’d been getting … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, Magnum Month @GRTR! (March 2022) | Tagged album, Bob Catley, classic rock, live, Magnum, melodic rock, pomp rock, review, Tony Clarkin | Leave a comment

Feature: MAGNUM Month @GRTR! – The Studio Albums

Posted on March 1, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Magnum in the Millennium Introduction The Studio Albums The Live Albums Singles Reissues Collections Memorabilia What Magnum Means To Me… WHAT MAGNUM MEANS TO ME… I first came across Magnum by chance as they opened the Monsters Of Rock bill … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, Magnum Month @GRTR! (March 2022) | Tagged album, Bob Catley, classic rock, Magnum, melodic rock, pomp rock, review, Tony Clarkin | Leave a comment

News: MAGNUM Month at Get Ready to ROCK! – 50 Years, New Album, UK and European Tour (March 2022)

Posted on February 4, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

Ahead of their UK and European tour in late March/April 2022, Get Ready to ROCK! will be celebrating the band Magnum throughout the month of March. Magnum celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2022. They developed from a band playing cover … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, NEWS, Special features | Tagged album, anniversary, AOR, Bob Catley, Europe, Magnum, melodic rock, pomp rock, Tony Clarkin, Tour, uk | Leave a comment

Album review: MAGNUM – The Monster Roars

Posted on January 3, 2022 by GRTR! HQ

SPV/Steamhammer [Release date 14.01.22] 50 years on, and studio album number 22, there’s no keeping Magnum down – not even a pandemic. Whilst the band will be frustrated by the tour cancellations following the release of ‘The Serpent Rings’ they … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, Bob Catley, Dennis Ward, Magnum, melodic rock, pomp rock, review, Rick Bernton, The Monster Roars, Tony Clarkin | Leave a comment

Album review: DENNIS DE YOUNG – 26 East, Volume 2

Posted on July 1, 2021 by andynathan

Frontiers Records (Release date 11.06.21) This is an album I’ve been looking forward to for 12 months since the release of Volume 1. That represented the former Styx singer’s return to his melodic rock roots in far better fashion than … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, Dennis De Young, Jim Peterik, melodic rock, pomp rock, Styx | Leave a comment

Album review: REACH – The Promise Of A Life

Posted on March 27, 2021 by jason

Facebook [Release date 23.04.21] Reach was founded in 2012 and settled on a power trio consisting of Ludvig Turner (vocals, guitars), Marcus Johansson (drums) and Soufian Ma´Aoui (bass). Reach have released two albums prior to this one and have played … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, alternative, melodic, modern rock, Muse, pomp rock, Queen, quirky, Reach, review, rock, The Promise Of A Life | Leave a comment

Album review: TOUCH – Tomorrow Never Comes

Posted on March 14, 2021 by andynathan

Escape Music [Release Date 26.03.21] Here’s a reunion few ever expected to see. Touch are most famous to the wider world as the band that opened the first ever Monsters of Rock at Download in 1980. Many years later I … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, Craig Brooks, Doug Howard, Glenn Kitchart, Mark Mangold, melodic rock, pomp rock, Touch | Leave a comment

Book review: ROY WOOD, KANSAS (On Track…)

Posted on March 8, 2021 by jason

Sonic Bond Publishing Roy Wood: The Move, ELO & Wizzard by James R Turner The ‘On Track…’ series gets to one of my musical heroes, Roy Wood. An interesting musician to cover, as although he still tours, Roy Wood has … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged AOR, book, classic rock, ELO, glam rock, Jeff Lynne, Kansas, Kerry Livgren, melodic rock, On Track, pomp rock, prog rock, review, rock 'n' roll, Roy Wood, Steve Wlash, The Move, Wizzard | Leave a comment

Album review: ART OF ILLUSION – X Marks The Spot

Posted on December 8, 2020 by jason

AOR Heaven [Release date 29.01.21] This is the debut album by Art Of Illusion, a duo consisting of composer and producer Anders Rydholm (Grand Illusion) and singer Lars Säfsund (Work Of Art) – see what they did there with the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Anders Rydholm, AOR, Art Of Ilusion, Grand Illusion, Lars Safsund, melodic rock, pomp rock, review, Work Of Art, X Marks The Spot | 1 Comment

Album review: AMERICAN TEARS – Free Angel Express

Posted on October 18, 2020 by jason

Deko Entertainment [Release date 23.10.20] Since Mark Mangold brought back American Tears in 2018 they are now onto this, their third album – the sixth in the band’s history. This latest, ‘Free Angel Express’ features Alex Landenburg (Stratovarius, Kamelot, Rhapsody) … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, American Tears, Dave Brubeck, Free Angel Express, hard rock, Jazz rock, Mark Mangold, pomp rock, prog rock, review, rock, Touch | Leave a comment

Album review: DUKES OF THE ORIENT – Freakshow

Posted on August 14, 2020 by jason

Frontiers [Release date 07.08.20] Dukes Of The Orient – vocalist John Payne (ex-Asia, GPS) and keyboardist Erik Norlander (Last In Line, Lana Lane, Rocket Scientists) – return with their second album. Dukes Of The Orient has more of a band … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Asia, Dukes of the Orient, Erik Norlander, Frontiers, John Payne, melodic rock, pomp rock, prog rock, review | Leave a comment

Album review: KANSAS – All Just Dust In The Wind The Legendary Broadcast

Posted on May 21, 2020 by jason

Coda Records Ltd (blue vinyl) This beautiful release (I’ll call it that because it’s great to look at and even better to listen to) features US rock band Kansas at their peak. Coda Records have been doing a fine job … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, All Just Dust In The Wind The Legendary Broadcast, classic rock, Kansas, live, pomp rock, prog rock, progressive, review, Steve Walsh | Leave a comment

Album review: PATTERN SEEKING ANIMALS – Prehensile Tales

Posted on April 19, 2020 by jason

PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS - Prehensile Tails

Inside Out [Release date 15.05.20] Pattern-Seeking Animals were formed by producer and writer John Boegehold (synths, keyboards) teaming up with current members of Spock’s Beard – Ted Leonard (vocals, guitar) and Dave Meros (bass) – plus former Spock’s Beard member … Continue reading →