Yearly Archives: 2020

Album review: ADAM SWEET – Sink Or Swim

Posted on August 23, 2020 by petefeenstra

Adam Sweet Music [Release date 11.09.20] Although credited as an Adam Sweet solo album, the conceptually titled ‘Sink or Swim’ is very much a band effort. Singer songwriter Adam Sweet has taken a step up by working with an A-team … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged ADAM SWEET, album, Americana, blues, funk, Garry Kroll, Ian Jennings, Jackson Brown, Josiah J. Manning, Kris Barras, review, rock, roots, Sink Or Swim, Steve Black, Storyville | Leave a comment

Album review: VICIOUS RUMORS – Celebration Decay

Posted on August 22, 2020 by jason

SPV Records [Release date 21.08.20] Vicious Rumors found a home at Germany’s SPV Records four albums ago. In fact, Europe’s always offered a warm welcome to the band, right from the start, back in 1985. Now, everything has changed. But … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews | Tagged album, Celebration Decay, Geoff Thorpe, metal, power metal, review, SPV, Vicious Rumors | Leave a comment

Book review: The Development Of Large Rock Sound Systems – Chris Hewitt

Posted on August 22, 2020 by petefeenstra

A Dandelion Records Book [Publication date 14.08.20] ‘The Development Of Large Rock Sound Systems’ is a book with no beginning and no end, but it has plenty of substance in the middle. Much like the other 7 books from the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged Adrian Maben, Alan Styles, Arthur Brown, Carey Chenoweth, Cat Stevens, Charlie Watkins, Chris Hewitt, Colosseum, David Martin, Dinky Dawson, Dire Straits, Fleetwood Mac, Hawkwind, Isle of Wight, Jim Marshall, Jimi Hendrix, John Hiseman, John Thompson, Johnny Winter, Led Zeppelin, Peter Watts, Pink Floyd, Pompeii, Rod Stewart, Roger Chapman, The Development Of Large Rock Sound Systems, The Faces, The Pink Fairies, The Rolling Stones, THE WHO, Tim Boyle, Weeley festival, WEM | Leave a comment

Album review: ONSLAUGHT – Generation Antichrist

Posted on August 21, 2020 by jason

AFM Records [Release date 07.08.20] When, on the 29th of April this year, the British Thrash metallers Onslaught announced that singer Sy Keeler had decided to once more part ways with the band, I felt pretty sad indeed. The band … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews | Tagged AFM Records, album, David Garnett, Generation Antichrist, metal, Nige Rockett, onslaught, review, thrash metal | Leave a comment

Album review: KATRINA – Hearts, Loves & Babys

Posted on August 21, 2020 by jason

KATRINA & THE WAVES – Hearts, Loves & Babys

Independent [Release date 28.08.20] Now a solo artist, Katrina, ex of The Waves, will always be known for her monster, worldwide hit, ‘Walking On Sunshine’. It can be an albatross as much as it can be a permanent passport to … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, country pop, Darren Loveday, Hearts Loves & Babys, Katrina, Katrina & the Waves, Kimberly Rew, melodic, pop, pop rock, review | Leave a comment

Album review: DEE SNIDER – For The Love Of Metal Live!

Posted on August 18, 2020 by david.wilson

Napalm Records [Release date 31.07.20] To front a rock band takes a few special ingredients. The candidate should be larger than life, outspoken, overblown, like the sound of their own voice, have massive self-confidence and not give a flying f**k for … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged AC/DC, album, CD, Dee Snider, For The Love Of Metal Live!, Gene Simmonds, Highway To Hell, live, metal, Napalm Records, rock, Twisted Sister, Under The Blade, We're Not Gonna Take It | Leave a comment

Album review: LEE ABRAHAM – Harmony/Synchronicity

Posted on August 18, 2020 by jason

F2 Music/Festival Music [Release date 04.09.20] ‘Harmony/Synchronicity’ was written and recorded during an intense 8 week period between April and early June 2020, and follows less than a year after Lee’s highly recommended ‘Comatose’ album. Lee is joined Gerald Mulligan … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Credo, F2 Music, Galahad, Harmony/Synchronicity, Lee Abraham, melodic, prog rock, progressive, review, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: BLACK ROSE MAZE

Posted on August 16, 2020 by jason

Frontiers Records [Release date 07.08.20] Black Rose Maze is Quebecois singer, Rosa Larichiutta. She comes to us via a major Canadian song contest, by way of The Trans Siberian Orchestra. So if you’re immediately imagining rock opera, and you’d be … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Black Rose Maze, melodic, review, rock, Rosa Larichiutta, symphonic rock | Leave a comment

Single reviews: JORDAN RED, IZAKMAN, MICHAEL COLTON, JD SIMO

Posted on August 16, 2020 by jason

JORDAN RED Hands The Built The World The latest single from Jordan Red is another impressive piece of modern alt rock, with massive riffs and impassioned vocals. The song is mixed and mastered by Romesh Dodangoda, who has worked with … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews | Tagged alt rock, blues, country, Izakman, JD Simo, Jordan Red, melodic, Michael Colton, review, rock, singles | Leave a comment

Singles review: DREAMS OF AVALON – Under the Gun & Young Wild Hearts

Posted on August 16, 2020 by jason

Two teaser tracks released over the last month by Joachim (Astral Doors) Nordlund’s Melodic Rock band, Dreams Of Avalon. The full album “Beyond The Dream” is due for release at the end of August, by the Metalville label. It’s unadulterated … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews | Tagged AOR, Astral Doors, Dreams Of Avalon, Joachim Nordlund, melodic rock, review, singles, symphonic rock, Under the Gun, Young Wild Hearts | Leave a comment

Album review: BLUE OYSTER CULT – 45th Anniversary Live In London

Posted on August 16, 2020 by jason

Frontiers Records [Release date 07.08.20] In 2017, to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Blue Oyster Cult’s debut release, a string of dates across Europe – festivals, stand alone headline gigs – was put in place, culminating in this concert at … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged 45th Anniversary Live In London, album, Blue Oyster Cul, Buck Dharma, classic rock, Eric Bloom, hard rock, review, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: FLYING COLORS – Third Stage Live In London

Posted on August 15, 2020 by jason

Music Theories Recordings [Release date 07.08.20] Filmed during Flying Colors’ 2019 US and European tour on the 14 December at Shepherd’s Bush Empire on the final night of that tour. They had only played nine shows on the tour, which … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Flying Colors, melodic rock, Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, prog rock, review, Steve Morse, Third Stage Live In London | Leave a comment

Album review: RAVEN – Metal City

Posted on August 15, 2020 by jason

SPV/Steamhammer [Release date 18.09.20] Athletic Rock legends Raven, long associated with the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, issue their new album (their fourteenth) and what a blistering revelation it is too. While 2015’s Extermination was universally well received, a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/Rock Stars | Tagged album, athletic rock, interview, John Gallagher, Mark Gallagher, metal, Metal City, Metallica, NWOBHM, RAVEN, review, speed metal, thrash metal | 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: ARCTIC RAIN – The One

Posted on August 14, 2020 by jason

Frontiers [Release date 07.08.20] Arctic Rain’s music is gloriously reminiscent of the melodic rock genre’s more hypnotic moments. On most tracks, you can tell that they have been thumbing through a dog eared copy of the Eighties’ AOR Blueprint. Doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, Arctic Rain, Frontiers, HEAT, melodic rock, review, rock, Survivor, The One, Treat | Leave a comment

Album review: ALAN HULL – Alright On The Night (Live At Clifton Poly 1975)

Posted on August 14, 2020 by jason

Singsong Music [Release date 18.05.20] This digital reissue from Singsong Music features an Alan Hull solo concert, originally recorded for Radio Trent at Nottingham’s Clifton Poly on 17th November 1975. It has been mastered from the original tapes and sounds … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Digital only, Reissues | Tagged album, Alright on The Night (Live At Clifton Poly 1975), Alun Hull, Lindisfarne, review, Singsong Music, Solo | Leave a comment

Album review: JOE BONAMASSA – A New Day Now (20th Anniversary Edition)

Posted on August 13, 2020 by petefeenstra

Provogue [Release date 07.08.20] While it’s hard not to be sceptical about a project like this – Joe Bonamassa’s relentless marketing campaign has now come full circle with this special 20th anniversary release – this remixed and re-recorded version of … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Al Cooper, album, Black County Communion, blues, Bob Dylan, Creamo Liss, Free, Glenn Hughes, Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Joe Bonamassa, Kevin Shirley, Led Zeppelin, New Day Now, review, Robert Plant, rock, Rory Gallagher, Steven Van Zandt, Tom Dowd, Tony Cintron, Warren Haynes | Leave a comment

Album review: ROD CLEMENTS – Stamping Ground

Posted on August 13, 2020 by jason

Singsong Music [Release date 28.08.20] To mark the 20th anniversary of Lindisfarne founder member Rod Clements’s solo album “Stamping Ground”, Singsong Music are making it available again on digital platforms. The album is entirely self-penned (or co-written) and begins with … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Digital only, Reissues | Tagged album. solo, Kathryn Tyckell, Lindisfarne, review, Rod Clements, Stamping Ground, Syd Griffin | Leave a comment

Album review: JOSH TURNER – Country State Of Mind

Posted on August 13, 2020 by jason

Snakefarm Records [Release date 21.08.20] In the world of country music, an album of duets is definitely not a lonesome trail! Nor in fact is an album of country standards – in fact they are well worn trails. However, that’s … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, country, Country State Of Mind, Josh Turner, Randy Travis, review | Leave a comment

Book review: On track…THE WHO (Every album, every song) – Geoffrey Feakes

Posted on August 12, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 17.08.20] One of the good things about any book like this, it encourages you to either dig out old vinyl or notice that you’ve missed something. In the case of The Who they released their latest … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged book, classic rock, Every Album, Every Song, Geoffrey Feakes, John Entwistle, Keith Moon, mod, On Track, Pete Townshend, pop, review, rock, Roger Daltery, THE WHO | Leave a comment

Book review: On track…DREAM THEATER (Every album, every song) – Jordan Blum

Posted on August 12, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 17.07.20] This volume reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the series’ premise. Jordan Blum’s careful expose of all the albums reveals how indebted he is to other writers, websites and magazines. And, let’s be honest, Wikipedia. … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged book, Dream Theater, Every Album, Every Song, James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, Mike Portnoy, On Track, progressive metal, review | Leave a comment

Feature: Albums that time forgot … BLACKTHORNE – Afterlife

Posted on August 12, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

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 | Leave a comment

Book review: On track…10cc and Godley & Creme (Every album, every song) – Peter Kearns

Posted on August 11, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 17.08.20] In the hot summer of 1976 I was checking roll-on roll-off cargo at Liverpool Docks and realised I was looking at a consignment of music gear. It turned out that 10cc were coming over from … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged 10CC, book, Eric Stewart, Godley & Creme, Graham Gouldman, Kevin Godley, Lol Creme, pop, pop rock, review | Leave a comment

Book review: On track…GENTLE GIANT (Every album, every song) – Gary Steel

Posted on August 11, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 17.08.20] The only time I saw Gentle Giant live was when they “supported” a film about Jimi Hendrix at Liverpool Stadium. Due to the poor PA system it was just cacophony. Giant’s music is so full … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged book, Gary Steel, Gentle Giant, On Track, review | Leave a comment

Album review: LEGACY PILOTS – Aviation

Posted on August 10, 2020 by GRTR! HQ

Laterne [Release date 23.07.20] I do find in these strange days of Lockdown I am automatically drawn to the unusual and the previously unknown in terms of bands and albums. Maybe even the underdog. And especially those that don’t necessarily … Continue reading →