Yearly Archives: 2014

Album Review: TOWERS – II

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Yiannis

Aeolian Empire – Out Now. Two years after they were first formed, Portland-based Sludge/Stoner/Doom metal merchants Towers had to face a massive problem, the departure of their then guitarist. How did they decide to deal with this? In a way … Continue reading →

Album Review: SHIN TO SHIN – Shin To Shin

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Yiannis

A389 Recordings – Out Now. I did not make much of a link to the debut release by a band called Shin To Shin when I first spotted it in my Inbox, since the name was totally unfamiliar to me … Continue reading →

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Album Review: OVERLAND – Epic

Posted on March 7, 2014 by andynathan

Escape Music [Release Date 24.02.14] Few can keep up with the prolific form of Steve Overland. The man with the golden tonsils has kept up a steady stream of releases whether with the reformed FM, Shadowman, The Ladder or under … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, epic, FM, Mike Slamer.melodic rock, Overland, review, Steve Overland | Comments Off

Album review: ALICE COOPER – Billion Dollar Babies

Posted on March 6, 2014 by GRTR! HQ

Audio Fidelity [Release date 01.03.14] There’s been something of a glut of Alice Cooper re-issues of late – Trash and Hey Stoopid, The Eyes Of Alice Cooper and Dirty Diamonds, and Brutally Live – to name but a few. This … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged album, Alice Cooper, Audio Fidelity, Billion Dollar Babies, reissue, review, rock, SACD | Leave a comment

Album review: JOE BONAMASSA & BETH HART – Live In Amsterdam

Posted on March 6, 2014 by GRTR! HQ

Provogue (CD and DVD) [Release date 24.03.14] I have to say I’m not a huge Bonamassa or Beth Hart fan – individually or collectively. To my mind Bonamassa is overhyped, and if my painful Liverpool Echo Arena experience is anything … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, beth Hart, blues rock, CD, DVD, guitar, guitarist, Joe Bonamassa, Live In Amsterdam, review | 1 Comment

Album review: ASIA – Gravitas

Posted on March 6, 2014 by GRTR! HQ

Frontiers [Release date 24.03.14] Crop rotation is something those of us of a certain age will recall from O level geography – leaving land fallow and rotating crops leading to bigger and better harvests. Certainly over the years there’s been … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, Asia, Carl Palmer, Geoff Downes, Gravitas, John Wetton, melodic, review, rock | Leave a comment

News: Ex-Nightwish singer ANETTE OLZON chats to Get Ready to ROCK! Radio

Posted on March 6, 2014 by GRTR! HQ

Sunday 9 March, 22:00 Get Ready to ROCK! Radio In this week’s ‘Assume The Position’, David Randall chats to Anette Olzon about her new album, and plays tracks from ‘Shine’. GRTR! Reviewer Pete Whalley described the album as a contender … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, NEWS | Tagged album, Alyson Avenue, Anette Olzon, interview, March 2014, Nightwish, pop, rock, Shine, singer, Sweden, Swedish, symphonic metal | Leave a comment

Album review: 10cc – Live In Concert (Clever Clogs)

Posted on March 6, 2014 by GRTR! HQ

Wienerworld [Release date 10.03.14] For the past few years Graham Gouldman has been touring “with friends” and keeping alive his 10cc legacy, bolstered with his own early history as tunesmith to The Yardbirds and The Hollies amongst others. This 2007 … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged 10CC, album, Clever Clogs, Graham Gouldman, Live In Concert, March 2007, pop, review, rock, Shepherd's Bush Empire | 1 Comment

Album review: BEHEMOTH – The Satanist

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Yiannis

Nuclear Blast – Out Now. Some artists are so unbelievably driven that even what seem to be insurmountable problems cannot stop them from achieving their goals. Nergal, founding member and leader of the Polish extreme Metal quartet Behemoth, is the … Continue reading →

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Album review: JOE LOUIS WALKER – Hornet’s Nest

Posted on March 5, 2014 by petefeenstra

Alligator Records [Release date 25.02.14] Joe Louis Walker rips into the incendiary title track of ‘Hornet’s Nest’ with a riff heavy piece that suggests it’s a kick ass rocking album. Truth is, it’s a more adventurous album than that, but … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Bruce Springsteen, Chris Kid Andersen, Curtis Young, Hornet's Nest, Jesse Stone, Joe Louis Walker, Keith Richard, Michael Black, Mick Jagger, Muscle Shoals Horns, Ray Walker, Richard Fleming, Tom Hambridge, Willie Dixon | Leave a comment

Album review: W.E.T. – Live In Stockholm

Posted on March 4, 2014 by andynathan

Frontiers Records [Release date 21.02.14] The nearest to a supergroup in the current melodic rock world, W.E.T. have within a short space of time become one of the darlings of the genre. So hot on the heels of last year’s excellent … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Eclipse, Erik Martensson, Jeff Scott Soto, Live In Stockholm, review, Robert Sall, Talisman, W.E.T., Work Of Art | Comments Off

Album review: THYRIEN – Hymns Of The Mortals – Songs From The North

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Yiannis

Massacre Records – Out Now. The idea of working with a record label is still quite appealing to most young Metal bands out there, with the most eager ready to enter the best possible recording studios even before the ink … Continue reading →

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News: Get Ready to ROCK! Radio – March 2014 Highlights

Posted on March 4, 2014 by GRTR! HQ

March 2014 Highlights More information at the dedicated website All times, GMT Tuesdays 19:00 Pete Feenstra Rock & Blues In the first hour of our Tuesday blues rock marathon, Pete signposts upcoming and established artists who need your attention Saturdays … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, NEWS | Tagged Anette Olzon, Ann Wilson, Eric Rivers, Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, H.E.A.T., highlights, Lisbee Stainton, live, March 2014, session | Leave a comment

Album Review: STRAY – Live in Japan 2013

Posted on March 2, 2014 by jason

Angel Air www.angelair.co.uk [Release date 10.03.14] Stray hail from the golden age of classic rock in the 1970’s, but somehow missed out on the mainstream recognition and rewards hoovered up by the likes of Humble Pie, Quo and Thin Lizzy. … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, blues rock, DEL BROMHAM, Live in Japan 2013, review, rock, Stray | Leave a comment

Album Review: ALISTER ATKIN AND THE GHOST LINE CARNIVAL – To Evangeline

Posted on March 2, 2014 by jason

[Release date 03.04.14] The second album from singer/songwriter Alister Atkin is inspired by the coast and maritime life of Nova Scotia. Overall, it’s a pleasant, almost beautiful offering, and plays to the strength of Atkin’s smooth, honeyed voice. Sometimes layered … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, ALISTER ATKIN AND THE GHOST LINE CARNIVAL, review, rock, singer songwriter, To Evangeline | Leave a comment

News: TONY CLARKIN talks about the new Magnum album, Escape From The Shadow Garden

Posted on March 2, 2014 by GRTR! HQ

Photo: Noel Buckley Sunday 2 March, 22:00 Get Ready to ROCK! Radio The new Magnum album, ‘Escape From The Shadow Garden’ is released on 24 March. In this week’s ‘Assume The Position’, David Randall plays tracks and chats to Tony … Continue reading →

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Album review: PATSY MATHESON – Domino Girls

Posted on March 1, 2014 by jason

Tomorrow Music/Proper Music www.pastsymatheson.co.uk [Released 31.03.14] Two years on from the excellent ‘Stories Of Angels & Guitars’ Patsy Matheson is back with a new album and a departure in that she uses a lot more guest musicians, along with a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album review, Domino Girls, folk, Patsy Matheson, singer songwriter, Waking the Witch | 1 Comment

Book review: Led Zeppelin Then As It Was – At Knebworth 1979

Posted on March 1, 2014 by jason

(Fully revised & updated version) Tight But Loose Publishing www.tightbutloose.co.uk An updated version of the book chronicling Led Zeppelin’s two Knebworth gigs in August 1979 (the original book was published on the concert’s 30th anniversary in 2009). It was a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged book review, classic rock, Dave Lewis, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Knebworth, Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin Then As It Was - At Knebworth 1979, Robert Plant, Tight But Loose | Leave a comment

Album review: WISHBONE ASH – Blue Horizon

Posted on March 1, 2014 by GRTR! HQ

Solid Rockhouse Records [Release date 04.03.14] If you can set aside the bitter dispute over the trading name, there is no doubt that Andy Powell has worked tirelessly to produce albums that are completely befitting the Wishbone Ash heritage. He’s … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Andy Powell, Blue Horizon, Bob Skeat, Joe Crabtree, Muddy Manninen, Pat McManus, review, rock, Wishbone Ash | Leave a comment

Gig review: DEADLY CIRCUS FIRE – Camden Barfly, 27 February 2014

Posted on February 28, 2014 by jason

First time I have seen a gig at Camden’s Barfly and it’s a small, but perfectly formed venue and a good sound. I only caught the last two songs by openers Reverted who played energetic thrash metal, although they have … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged 27 February 2014, Camden Barfly, DEADLY CIRCUS FIRE, gig, review, rock | Comments Off

Album review: ADAM SWEET – Small Town Thinking

Posted on February 28, 2014 by jason

NEO Music Adam Sweet’s full debut was released at the end of 2013 to favourable reactions. It is easy to see why. This is a sublime, often laid back album of confidence, competence and genuine talent. Only in his mid-twenties, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged ADAM SWEET, album, blues rock, review, rock, Small Town Thinking | Comments Off

Album review: HOUSE OF LORDS – Precious Metal

Posted on February 28, 2014 by jason

Frontiers www.frontiers.it [Released 21.03.14] The ninth album from veteran Melodic/Arena rock band House of Lords finds the band playing with the attitude and energy of a band half their age. With “Precious Metal” the band are mixing their classic sound … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, hard rock, House of Lords, James Christian, melodic, Precious Metal, review | Comments Off

Album review: CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX – White Light Generator

Posted on February 27, 2014 by david.wilson

Cool Green Recordings ( Release date 17.03.14) Crippled Black Phoenix are a difficult band to review. This is mainly because they refuse to conform and are, therefore, hard to pigeon hole. Perhaps this is something that should be celebrated in … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, CD, Crippled Black Phoenix, indie, Live In Poznan, prog, review, rock, White Light Generator | Leave a comment

Album review: ROCK CANDY FUNK PARTY – Takes New York, Live At The Iridium

Posted on February 27, 2014 by GRTR! HQ

Provogue [Release date 24.02.14] A few years ago a few stellar musicians got together to explore some funky vibes. This stellar cast included, latterly, none other than Joe Bonamassa and this side-project was to some extent overlooked as Joe wore … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, CD, DVD, funk, jazz fusion, Joe Bonamassa, review, rock, Rock Candy Funk Party, Takes New York Live At The Iridium | Leave a comment

Album Review: ROBERT CRAY – In My Soul

Posted on February 27, 2014 by petefeenstra

Provogue [Release date 31.03.14] He may be a 5 times Grammy Award Winner and the youngest living artist to be inducted into the ‘Blues Hall Of Fame’, but Robert Cray is always looking for a fresh and meaningful context for … Continue reading →