Category Archives: ALBUM REVIEWS

Album review: EARLY JAMES – Medium Raw

Posted on December 22, 2024 by jason

Easy Eye Sound [Release date 10.01.2025] ‘Medium Raw’ is the third album from Early James and one, as the album title suggests, recorded with a sound that thrives on a lived-in, real-world ambiance. Dan Auerbach (the Black Keys) once again … Continue reading →

Album review: MICKY JUPP – Times Like These

Posted on December 21, 2024 by petefeenstra

Conquest Music [Release date : 13.12.24] Described by The Guardian as “a quietly but profoundly influential figure in British pop music”, much of Micky Jupp’s influence has come via his songs being covered by the likes of Dave Edmunds, The Judds, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, blues, country, Dave Edmunds, Dr Feelgood, Elkie Brooks, Hank Williams, JJ Cale, Johnny Cash, Leon Redbone, Micky Jupp, NICK LOWE, R&B, review, Ricky Nelson, rock& roll, Roger Chapman, singer, songwriter, the Everly Brothers, The Judds, Times Like These | Leave a comment

Album review: MAGNUM – Live At KK’s Steel Mill

Posted on December 20, 2024 by GRTR! HQ

SPV Steamhammer [Release date 10.01.25] Twelve months on from Tony Clarkin’s passing, and marking 50 years since he formed the band with Bob Catley, Magnum’s latest (and maybe last) live hurrah allows us more grieving time. The band had put … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Bob Catley, classic rock, Live At KK's Steel Mill, Magnum, review, Tony Clarkin | Leave a comment

Album review: WITHIN SILENCE – The Eclipse Of Worlds

Posted on December 13, 2024 by brianmc

Ulterium Records [Release date : 06.12.24] On their third album now, Slovakian Power Metal band, Within Silence have reached the point where their grasp is the equal of an ambitious reach. From the moment the opening track, ‘Land Of Light’ … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews | Tagged Iron Maiden, Martin Klein, power metal, review, Richard Germanus, Slovakia, Stratovarius, The Eclipse Of Worlds, Ulterium Records, Within Silence | Leave a comment

Album review: WE ARE BODIES – The Love Was All We Had

Posted on December 13, 2024 by jason

Bandcamp [Release date 06.12.24] We Are Bodies is the British duo of Dave Pen (BirdPen, Archive) and Robin Foster. They create anthemic electro-prog soundscapes that combine guitars and electronics with lyrical subjects inspired by love, loss, paranoia and….robots! Now, before you … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, electronic, indie, melodic, progressive, review, The Love Was All We Had, We Are Bodies | Leave a comment

Album review: DELLA NOVA

Posted on December 12, 2024 by jason

Facebook [Release 13.12.24] Della Nova is a project born from the early days of lockdown, and has been meticulously crafted by Alex, the band’s frontman. The new album has been four years in the making, having gone through various changes … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, alt metal, debut, Della Nova, metal, modern rock, review, rock, self-titled | Leave a comment

Album review : STATUS QUO – Driving To Glory

Posted on December 12, 2024 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 06.12.24] You’ve really got to hand it to whoever guides Status Quo through the pop and rock music jungle. Brilliantly marketed, with ads that hit all the right notes in the right places, Quo’s latest … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Cherry Red, Driving To Glory, ELO, Mike Paxman, pop, review, Rhino Edwards, Rick Parfitt, rock, Status Quo | Leave a comment

Album review : BLUE OYSTER CULT – Live In NYC Third Night (2 CD+DVD Deluxe Ed)

Posted on December 8, 2024 by brianmc

Frontiers Music [Release date : 13.12.24] The third time’s the charm. In 2022, Donald (Buck Dharma) Roeser and Eric Bloom, plus “new boys”, Richie (Band Geeks/Jon Anderson) Castellano, Danny Miranda and Jules Radino celebrated their 50th Anniversary as the Blue … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Buck Dharma, Danny Miranda, Eric Bloom, JK Rowling, Jules Radino, Live In NYC, Patti Smith, review, Richie Castellano, rock, Secret Treaties, Third Night | Leave a comment

News: Albums of the Month (August – December 2024)

Posted on December 7, 2024 by GRTR! HQ

A quarterly feature highlighting album releases rated highly by the GRTR! review team and worthy of your investigation MARY COUGHLAN Repeat Rewind (Strange Brew) … it is everything you might expect from a vocalist who has a rare ability to … Continue reading →

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Album review : STORACE – Live And Let Live (plus bonus live CD)

Posted on December 7, 2024 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date : 13.12.24] Marc Storace’s Live and Let Live is an album born in the depths of the Covid pandemic. Skipping through the “singer meets musician, they swap ideas” part of the plot, the album was eventually recorded … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Alice Cooper, Bad Company, Chris von Rohr, Covid, Eazy Money, Fernando von Arb, KROKUS, NWOBH, review, Scorpions, Storace, Swiss | Leave a comment

Album review: THE BLACK CROWES – Happiness Bastards

Posted on December 6, 2024 by Davoski

Silver Arrow [Release date: 15.03.24] Well, seeing as I picked this as one of my albums of the year, I really ought to review it! Released in March, it is refreshing to pen a few words about an album I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, classic rock, Happiness Bastards, hard rock, review, southern rock, The Black Crowes | Leave a comment

Album review : ILLUSION FORCE – Halfana

Posted on December 6, 2024 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date : 13.12.24] Five year veterans of the Japanese rock/metal scene, Illusion Force have now been recognised by Frontiers’ Music as indeed, a force to be reckoned with worldwide. They cite Dragonforce and Helloween as being among their … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews | Tagged Dragonforce, Frontiers, Gagaku, Helloween, Illusion Force, Japan, Jinn Jeon, metal, review, rock, Shiramoura brothers | Leave a comment

Album review: MOGGS MOTEL – Moggs Motel

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Davoski

Steamhammer/SPV [Release date: 06.09.24] When frontman Phil Mogg called a halt to UFO’s Last Orders European tour in 2022 on Doctor Doctor’s orders, I thought that was the end of the road. I was disappointed, not only because I was … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, classic rock, hard rock, Moggs Motel, Neil Carter, Phil Mogg, review, UFO | Leave a comment

Album review : LAZY DAYS – The British Progressive Sounds of 1975 (3-CD set)

Posted on December 2, 2024 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 06.12.24] 1975: all around the UK, a huge variety of rock and pop genres, sub genres, splinter groups and so forth were fighting it out for recognition, and ultimately, sales. The summer of love was … Continue reading →

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Album review: BRAZEN ABBOT : Eye Of The Storm and Bad Religion

Posted on December 1, 2024 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date : 13.12.24] Prior to his Rock Opera project, Nostradamus (2001), classically trained Bulgarian multi-instrumentalist, Nikolo Kotzev had founded Brazen Abbot. The band’s second and third releases, Eye Of The Storm (1996) and Bad Religion (1997), have now … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged Bad Religion, Brazen Abbot, Eye Of The Storm, Frontiers Music, Goran Edman, Joe Lynn Turner, melodic hard rock, Nikolo Kotzev, Nostradamus, review, rock opera, Thomas Vikstrom | Leave a comment

Album review: CORY MARKS – Sorry For Nothing

Posted on December 1, 2024 by jason

Century Media [Release date 06.12.24] Album number three from Cory Marks, with his last album, 2020’s ‘Who I Am’, making the UK and Australian country charts, plus number 16 in the album charts in his native Canada. The single of … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Bad Wolves, Cory Marks, country, country rock, hard rock, Mick Mars, Motley Crue, Nickelback, review, rock, Sorry For Nothing | Leave a comment

Album review: ELECTRIC TEMPLE – High Voltage Salvation

Posted on November 29, 2024 by GRTR! HQ

Eonian Records [Release date 06.12.24 ] An interesting trend in recent years has been for vocalist/frontmen to spread their largesse, perhaps due to economic as much as creative reasons. So, for example, we have that arch moonlighter Ronnie Romero in … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Andrew Freeman, Electric Temple, heavy rock, High Voltage Salvation, Mat Starr, Mike Duda, review, Tony Childs | Leave a comment

Album review : TAK MATSUMOTO GROUP – TMG II

Posted on November 29, 2024 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date : 06.12.24] Through one of those close encounters you read about, Tak Matsumoto, guitarist and founder of leading Japanese rock band, B’z met up with Jack (Night Ranger) Blades and Eric (Mr Big) Martin in LA, in … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged B'z, Baby Metal, Budokan, Eric Martin, hard rock, Jack Blades, Japan, LiSA, melodic rock, Mr Big, Night Ranger, review, Tak Matsumoto Group | Leave a comment

Album review : POWELL PAYNE – Voila

Posted on November 28, 2024 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date 6.12.24] There really should have been some kind of fanfare, a blaze of publicity, to accompany the release of Voila, debut album from Adam Payne, ex Airrace, and Mark Powell, ex Psycho Kiss. In this post-AOR age, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Airrace, AOR, Frontiers, melodic rock, Peter Cetera, Powell Payne, Psycho Kiss, review, Richard Marx, Voila | Leave a comment

Album review : RUTHLESS BLUES – Nice Work

Posted on November 25, 2024 by petefeenstra

Bandcamp [Release date 01.11.24] ‘Nice Work’ is an aptly titled album for a band who always managed to convey their natural exuberance in a straight forward mix of old school rock and blues. This is Ruthless Blues first studio album … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, bass, blues, Clive Edwards, drums, guitar, Hammind, harmonica, John Irish Earle, Martyn Taylor, Nice Work, review, Richard Taylor, rock, Ruthless Blues, sax, Stevie Smith | Leave a comment

Album review: PHIL VINCENT – Master of Deception

Posted on November 22, 2024 by jason

Bandcamp [Release date 22.11.24] This is Phil Vincent’s 26th solo album! That is excluding the various bands he appears with like D’Ercole and Tragik. Mastered again by Jacob Hansen (who certainly seems to have added some punch to last few … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, hard rock, Master of Deception, melodic rock, Phil Vincent, review, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: CROSSBONE SKULLY – Evil World Machine

Posted on November 20, 2024 by jason

Better Noise Music [Release date 22.11.24] Crossbone Skully is the band formed by Alice Cooper and Hollywood Vampires guitarist Tommy Henriksen. He’s joined by guitarists Anna Cara and Sam Koltun, bassist Chris Wyse and drummer Alex Boch. That’s not all … Continue reading →

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Album review : FAITH NYC – Love Is A Wish Away

Posted on November 19, 2024 by brianmc

Good Deeds Music [Release date 22.11.24] A Motown sound that isn’t a Motown sound. Faith NYC is Felice Rosser’s band, which comprises percussionist, Fin Hunt, and guitar man, Justin Adams. Rosser sings and plays bass. Born and brought up in … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Black Music, Faith NYC, Felice Rosser, Fin Hunt, Justin Adams, Motown, New York, punk, review, soul | Leave a comment

Album review : LUMINARE CHRISTMAS – Mistletoe Magic

Posted on November 18, 2024 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date : 22.12.24] Founded by Chip Davis, leader of the 28 million selling, neoclassical ensemble Mannheim Steamroller, Luminare Christmas is a relatively new venture. Mannheim have two albums in the Top Ten Best Selling Christmas albums of all … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALL POSTS | Tagged Chip Davis, Christmas, Denis DeYoung, Frontiers, Luminare, Mannheim Steamroller, Nutcracker, review, Styx, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi | Leave a comment

Album review : SUNSTORM – Restless Fight

Posted on November 17, 2024 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date: 22.11.24] Restless Fight is Sunstorm’s third with Ronnie Romero up front, this time with a few more “progressive” musicians alongside. Influential Italian guitarist/ songwriter Aldo Lonobile – and currently Frontiers’ head of A&R for Europe – has … Continue reading →