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Upcoming Gigs & Albums
Latest Album Reviews
Latest Gig Reviews
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Gig review: ANTHRAX – Hammersmith Apollo, London, 23 November 2024
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Gig review: BLACK STONE CHERRY – Wembley Arena, London, 23 November 2024
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Gig review: SQUEEZE – Roundhouse, London, 22 November 2024
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Gig review: CARDINAL BLACK – Sub 89, Reading, 15 November 2024
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Gig review: SUZI QUATRO – London Palladium, 13 November 2024
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Gig review: HRH XVII, Great Yarmouth, 7-9 November 2024
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Featured Album Reviews
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Album review: NINEBARROW – A Pocket Full Of Acorns
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Album review: THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT – The Complete Albums Collection
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Album review: THE TREATMENT – Waiting for Good Luck
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Album review: STORMTROOPER – Pride Before A Fall (The Lost Album)
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Album review: ALTER BRIDGE – Pawns & Kings
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Album review: HOUSE OF LORDS – New World, New Eyes
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Features
Single & EP Reviews
DVD Reviews
Book Reviews
News
Author Archives: brianmc
Album review: FANS OF THE DARK – Video
Frontiers [Release date : 11.10.24] There’s a lot to love about Fans Of The Dark’s third album, Video. Their last album, Suburbia, was a nostalgic look at the life we led in the eighties – primarily teen culture, home entertainment … Continue reading
Album review : D-A-D Speed Of Darkness
AFM Records [Release date 04.10.24] Not often we review a museum piece. Copenhagen’s Peoples Museum is celebrating D-A-D’s 40 years in the music business this year. The band itself is recognising this milestone with a double album of brand new … Continue reading
Album review : AGENT STEEL – Mad Locust Rising, Live At Hammersmith Odeon (CD/DVD Deluxe Digipak)
Cherry Red [Release date : 27.09.24) 20th June 1987. Agent Steel headlined a line up that included Onslaught and Nuclear Assault at the Hammersmith Odeon, most famously known for Motorhead’s “No Sleep ‘Til…” The band had been unable to avoid … Continue reading
Album review : POUR A LITTLE SUGAR ON IT – The Chewy Chewy Sounds of American Bubblegum 1966-71
Cherry Red [Release date 27.09.24] Born In The USA, Bubblegum Pop was a late sixties phenomenon. If you only listen to one of the 91 tracks (yes, 91) on this 3 CD anthology, let it be the Boxtops’ million seller, … Continue reading
Album review : SINNER’S BLOOD – Dark Horizons
Frontiers [Release date : 27.09.24] On their second full studio album on the Frontiers’ label, Sinner’s Blood ramp up the menacingly brooding rhetoric on their new recording, Dark Horizons. Chilean duo, Nasson – songwriter, producer, guitars, and James Robledo – … Continue reading
Album review : ECLIPSE – Megalomanium II
Frontiers [Release date : 20.09.24] Eclipse vocalist Erik Martensson and guitarist, Magnus Henricksson, with help from the Crusner rhythm section, have created an enviable reputation over the years. And no doubt fans of this high performing Swedish melodic hard rock … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged Eclipse, Erik Martensson, HEAT, Magnus Henriksson, Megalomanium 2, melodic hard rock, review, Sweden
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Album review: THE NAIL The Nail
Frontiers [Release date: 13.09.24] Well, this is interesting. The Nail are a trio of young musicians… Girish Pradhan, a vocalist being mentored by the label, last fronting George Lynch’s End Machine. And two guitarists, brothers Efe and Reis Ali Eroglu, … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged Cenk Eroglu, End Machine, Frontiers, George Lynch, Girish Pradham, hard rock, review, The Nail, Winger
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Album review : FIND ME – Nightbound
Frontiers [Release date : 13.10.24] With imaginative cover art that could be taken from a John Connolly novel, Find Me – Robbie LaBlanc and Daniel Flores – deliver their fifth studio album. And it’s reassuringly familiar. It’s good to hear … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged Daniel Flores, Find Me, Frontiers, Harem Scarem, melodic rock, Nightbound, review, Robbie LaBlanc, Signal, Styx, Unruly Child
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Album review : STRYPER – When We Were Kings
Frontiers [Release date : 13.09.24] When We Were Kings is Stryper’s 12th studio album. The line up remains Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet, Oz Fox and Perry Richardson, solid for nearly seven years now. When we reviewed their last two albums, … Continue reading
Album review : VICTORY – The Circle Of Life
AFM Records [Release date : 13.09.24] Battle hardened bands like Victory know that treading the boards for 30+ years teaches you stuff. You learn to map new paths to the same destinations. In reality, there is no substitute for experience. … Continue reading
Album review : BLACK WIDOW – Sabbat Days, The Complete Anthology 1969-72 (6CD Boxset)
Cherry Red [Release date : 30.08.24] Formed in 1969, English band, Black Widow – the “Godfathers of Occult Rock” - initially rivalled Black Sabbath. This 6 CD box set anthologises the band’s recordings. They were basically a Prog / Hard … Continue reading
Album review : RING THE BELLS AND SING – Progressive Sounds of 1975 (4 CD boxset/Remasters)
Cherry Red [Release date : 30.08.24) Ring The Bells And Sing is one more in a carefully (and imaginatively) curated series of Progrock sounds from the Cherry Red label. This one focuses exclusively on 1975. Always good to have some … Continue reading
Album review : THEN JERICO – Before The Future: 1984-89, 4 CD Boxset
Cherry Red [Release date : 23.08.24] If ever a band deserved recognition it was Then Jerico. And it still does. Having performed a few acoustic gigs this year, founder member Mark Shaw has put together an electric show for the … Continue reading
Album review : FANNY – The Reprise Years 1970-1974 (4 CD set)
Cherry Red [Release date : 23.08.24] Signed by Reprise Records (owned by Frank Sinatra) in 1970, all girl group, Fanny, recorded and released 4 albums between then and 1974. Formed by sisters June and Jean Millington, on guitar and bass, … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged Charity Ball, Cream, Fanny, Fanny Hill, Frank Sinatra, Millington Sisters, Mothers Pride, Reprise, review, Richard Perry, rock, seventies, sixties, Todd Rundgren
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Album review : JON ANDERSON AND THE BAND GEEKS – True
Frontiers [Release date : 23.08.24] An almost 80 year old Jon Anderson, and the Band Geeks will be finishing off their second annual US tour in September. Just about when their first album, True, is being released by Frontiers. Quite … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Blue Oyster Cult, Brian Wilson, Jon Anderson, review, Richie Castellano, Shine On, social media, True, Yes
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Album review: JOE MEEK’S TEA CHEST TAPES – From Taboo To Telstar (3CD Anthology)
Cherry Red [Release date 16.08.24] Legendary British Music producer, Joe Meek, cut his electronics’ teeth in the 1950s, operating and maintaining the complexities of the RAF’s radar equipment. His transition to recording studio maestro led to a groundbreaking series of … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged Cherry Red, Geoff Goddard, Joe Meek, John Leyton, Post-war, review, Tea Chest Tapes, Telstar, The Tornados
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Album review : MIKE TRAMP – Songs Of White Lion Vol 2
Frontiers [Release date 23.08.24] Few musical artists get the chance to rerecord their old material. Still fewer improve upon the originals. White Lion’s material usually had more to say than your average rock song, lyrically it was more illustrative in … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Frontiers, Led Zeppelin, Marcus Nand, Mike Tramp, Rerecordings, review, Vita Bratta, White Lion
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Album review : RICHARD PINHAS / HELDON – Le Plan and Winter Music
Other Side Music [Release date 02.08.24] It somehow seems right that “avant garde” is a French language term for something that is aesthetically innovative, especially a “work of art”, which these pieces of music from French musician, Richard Pinhas surely … Continue reading
Album review : GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS I Like It (3 CD Anthology)
Cherry Red [Release date 16.08.24] As the sixties’ “Merseybeat” pop explosion recedes further into the past, ten album, multiple hits band, Gerry And The Pacemakers seem less and less likely to get the credit they deserve. And so this anthology … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged 3 CDs, Brian Epstein, Cherry Red, George Martin, Gerry, Liverpool, Merseybeat, Pacemakers, review, Rodgers Hammerstein, Sinatra, The Beatles
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Album review : PARALYDIUM – Universe Calls
Frontiers [Release date : 09.08.24] The success of a Progressive Rock album is almost totally dependent on creating a unique sonic landscape. The reviews of Paralydium’s previous release criticised the band’s lack of ambition. That there was no apparent attempt … Continue reading
Album review : JIM PETERIK and WORLD STAGE – Roots and Shoots Vol 2
Frontiers [Release date : 09.08.24] Peterik needs no introduction, but we’ll introduce him anyway. Most famously, he was guitarist and songwriter with Survivor, as well as several other charting bands. It’s all well documented online. But that was then. Nowadays, … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged AOR, Chicago, Frontiers, Jason Scheff, Jim Peterik, melodic rock, Neil Donnell, review, Survivor
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Album review : BLUE OYSTER CULT – 50th Anniversary Live : Second Night (2CDs+DVD)
Frontiers [Release date : 09.08.24] BOC’s 1972 album, Tyranny And Mutation (their second), continues to get 4 and 5 star reviews in the mainstream music media in its many reissued forms… special vinyl editions, special Japanese releases, 1990 and 2001 … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged 50th anniversary, album, Blue Oyster Cult, Buck Dharma, CD and DVD, Eric Bloom, Frontiers, live, review, Sony Hall New York
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Album review : MISTER MISERY – III
AFM Records [Release date : 02.08.24] Looking like a reimagined Kiss in a Gothic horror movie, Mister Misery’s dress and music sense could not be more theatrical. Nor could it fit the music any better, and vice versa. On III, … Continue reading
Album review : PRODUCERS – self titled (5 CD Boxset)
Cherry Red [Release date : 26.07.24] To call them a Supergroup would be a cliché. This collection of musicians transcends tired headlines. Chris Braide, Trevor Horn, Steve Lipson, Lol Creme and Ash Soan need no introduction to tuned in music … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues
Tagged Ash Soan, boxset, Cherry Red, Chris Braide, Daryl Easlea, Lol Creme, Princes Trust, Producers, review, Stephen Lipson, Trevor Horn
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Album review : TORME – The Bernie Torme Archives 1985-93 (5 CDs)
Cherry Red [Release date : 26.07.24] A second volume of remastered material taken from Bernie Torme’s extraordinary career. He was a guitarist and a songwriter whose personality and positivity affected everyone he worked with. A musician with “lightning in his … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged Archives Vol 2, Back To Babylon, Bernie Torme, Dee Snider, Demolition Ball, Gary Owens, John McCoy, LA Guns, Phil Lewis, review, Samson, TNT
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