Category Archives: ALBUM REVIEWS

Quick plays: THE GRAHAMS, CHRIS MURPHY

Posted on December 7, 2016 by GRTR! HQ

THE GRAHAMS AND FRIENDS Live In Studio When we reviewed husband and wife Americana duo Alyssa and Doug Graham’s studio album Glory Bound last year – a ‘good time’ release that retraced the railroad lines that created the Americana musical … Continue reading →

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Album review: METALLICA – Hardwired…To Self- Destruct

Posted on December 5, 2016 by david.wilson

Blackened Records [Release date 28.11.16] Before I plunge into a review of Metallica’s latest opus I would like to offer up a cautionary tale to all aspiring bands, be afraid…. Once upon a time there were two snotty nosed teens … Continue reading →

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Album review: ALTAVIA – Kreosote

Posted on December 3, 2016 by alanjones

White Knight Records [Release date: 07.10.16] Following in the giant footsteps of all those great Rock Progressivo Italiano pathfinders such as PFM, Le Orme, Celeste and Finisterre come AltaVia with their own take on the genre. I say their own … Continue reading →

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Album review: ENUFF Z’NUFF – Clowns Lounge

Posted on December 1, 2016 by jason

Frontiers [Release date 02.12.16] Been awhile since any new material from Enuff Z’Nuff, 2010′s ‘Dissonance’ to be precise. This is not quite a new release, as the songs on here were first written back in 1988-89 by Chip Z’Nuff and … Continue reading →

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Album review: HANOI ROCKS – Strange Boys Box

Posted on December 1, 2016 by jason

Cleopatra Records [Release date 21.10.16] Vastly underrated yet hugely influential, Finnish legends Hanoi Rocks are said to have sold one million albums back in the Eighties. That is not many when you consider that without them we would not have … Continue reading →

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Album review: NOSOUND – Scintilla

Posted on November 30, 2016 by Yiannis

Kscope [Release Date 2.9.16] Italian maestro Giancarlo Erra has been honing his craft under the Art/Progressive Rock moniker Nosound since 2002 and, according to the press release issued by the band’s current label Kscope, in studio album number six entitled “Scintilla”, … Continue reading →

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Album review: BIG BIG TRAIN – A Stone’s Throw From The Line

Posted on November 29, 2016 by jason

English Electric Recordings www.bigbigtrain.com [Release date 02.12.16] Following on from their latest excellent studio album, ‘Folklore’, released earlier this year, Big Big Train deliver a live seasonal treat for their fans. This double CD was recorded from across the three … Continue reading →

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The Best of 2016: top albums, top live acts – the reviewers’ choice

Posted on November 28, 2016 by GRTR! HQ

The Best of 2016 - sponsored by earMUSIC

The Best of 2017! Popular vote from 4 December… The Best of 2016: Popular Poll Between 5-16 December we invite readers and listeners to vote for their own favourites and also add their own personal choice. Voters can also opt-in … Continue reading →

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Album review: TYKETTO – Reach

Posted on November 27, 2016 by andynathan

Frontiers [Release Date 14.10.16] Four years ago, the much-anticipated release from Tyketto’s original line up, ‘Dig In Deep’ fell rather flat – it was not a bad album in its own right, but failed to live up to the impossible … Continue reading →

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Album review: PRETTY MAIDS – Kingmaker

Posted on November 24, 2016 by Phil Berisford

Frontiers Records [Release date 04.11.16] “Kingmaker” is Pretty Maids’ 15th studio album if you include 2014’s superb “Louder Than Ever” which contained re-recordings of old tunes plus 4 newbies and it continues their run of high quality releases. The Danish … Continue reading →

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Album review: GUS MONSANTO – Karma Cafe

Posted on November 24, 2016 by GRTR! HQ

[Release date 05.09.16] Brazilian Gus Monsanto may not be a household name in terms of wider rock recognition, but since at least 2004 his name has cropped up repeatedly on other people’s albums, mainly metal-related. He’s worked with French band … Continue reading →

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Album review: PYMLICO – Meeting Point

Posted on November 23, 2016 by GRTR! HQ

Apollon Records [Release date 07.10.16] We’ve had an obsession with all things Scandinavian in recent years and the fourth album from Norwegian instrumentalists Pymlico contributes to this Nordic sense of intrigue. Wholly instrumental, prog/jazz fusion in approach, the band is … Continue reading →

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Album review: KAIPA DA CAPO – Darskapens Monotoni

Posted on November 22, 2016 by alanjones

Foxtrot Records [Release date: 30.09.16] For all those progressive rock diehards out there who think that there has not been one note of music of any consequence written since the early seventies – prick up your ears, all your birthdays … Continue reading →

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Album review: KEE MARCELLO – Scaling Up

Posted on November 22, 2016 by andynathan

Frontiers [Release Date 14.10.16] Guitarist with Europe in their commercial heyday first time round, Kee Marcello’s solo career to date has been an unspectacular one, and even his otherwise enjoyable live shows made me inclined to check out his own … Continue reading →

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Quick plays: CIVIL WAR, STRATOVARIUS

Posted on November 22, 2016 by jason

CIVIL WAR The Last Full Measure Napalm Records [Release date 04.11.16] Civil War are back with a swift follow up to last year’s enjoyable ‘Gods And Generals’ release. They have trimmed down in size now down to two guitarists following … Continue reading →

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Album review: ELECTRIC SIX – Fresh Blood For Tired Vampyres

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Phil Berisford

Metropolis Records [Release date 07.10.16] American oddballs Electric Six are back with their 12th album in as many years…the strangely titled “Fresh Blood for Tired Vampyres”. To be honest I didn’t know they were still active and only remember them … Continue reading →

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Album review: CURVED AIR – Rarities Series Volume 2 – Curved Space and Infinity

Posted on November 21, 2016 by GRTR! HQ

Curved Air Records [Release date 04.11.16] 2-CD Volume 2 of a continuing series bring together a “then and now” of one of our treasured prog/psych bands. The first disc accommodates 1990s recordings with Francis Monkman on guitar and which evolved … Continue reading →

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Album review: HARDLINE – Human Nature

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Phil Berisford

Frontiers Records [Release date 04.10.16] Former super-group Hardline return with their 5th studio album “Human Nature” following on from 2012’s “Danger Zone”. Vocalist Johnny Gioeli and brother Joey formed Hardline on LA’s sunset strip back in 1991 and they found … Continue reading →

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Album review: THE MUTANTS – Your Desert My Mind

Posted on November 18, 2016 by petefeenstra

Killer Tracks [Release date 23.09.16] Fortified by a mission statement that reads: “The Mutants take to the underworld to plot and scheme with their network of punks, hippies, dandies, rude boys, lowlifes and degenerates to hatch a diabolical plan to … Continue reading →

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Album review: HEART – Live At The Royal Albert Hall

Posted on November 16, 2016 by GRTR! HQ

Eagle Records [Release date 25.11.16] CD/DVD/Bluray Call me Mr. Cynical. Heart announced their first UK dates since 2004 and we all waited in eager anticipation. Come the actual tour, we saw them in Manchester and noted the criminally short one … Continue reading →

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News: Albums of the Month (September-November 2016)

Posted on November 14, 2016 by GRTR! HQ

Albums of the Month (2016) September 2016 KISSIN’ DYNAMITE Generation Goodbye (AFM Records) …well played, well produced with well written, extremely catchy (but a little quirky) tunes…These guys don’t seem to know how to write a bad song! Kissin’ Dynamite … Continue reading →

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News: Albums of the Month (May-August 2016)

Posted on November 14, 2016 by GRTR! HQ

Albums of the Month (2016) Every month we publish our Newsletter which signposts latest additions to the website(s) and flagging up forthcoming tours and gigs. We also include a selection of the month’s best albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. … Continue reading →

News: Albums of the Month (February-April 2016)

Posted on November 14, 2016 by GRTR! HQ

Posted in Albums of the Month, NEWS, The Best Of 2016 | Tagged 2016, albums, April, best, blues rock, February, Get Ready to ROCK!, hard rock, heavy rock, March, melodic rock, metal, progressive, reviews, rock, singer songwriter | Leave a comment

Album review: IAMTHEMORNING – Lighthouse

Posted on November 12, 2016 by alanjones

Kscope – [Release date: 1 April 2016] Sometimes as a reviewer it’s very difficult to get across just what an album both as beautiful and as disturbing as this really sounds like – are mere words enough? It’s like trying … Continue reading →

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Album review: – LORDI – Monstereophonic – Theaterror vs. Demonarchy

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Phil Berisford

AFM Records [Release date 16.09.16] Finland’s masked melodic metal band Lordi, who will forever be widely known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006, follow up 2014’s “Scare Force One” with their 8th studio release, the split “Monstereophonic – … Continue reading →