Category Archives: ALBUM REVIEWS

Album review: LUNA ROSSA – Sleeping Pills & Lullabies

Posted on June 30, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Firefly Music [Release date 10.06.13] www.lunarossa.co.uk Panic Room have been one of my favourite bands to emerge over recent years, and Anne-Marie Helder one of the finest vocalists on the circuit. So I was looking forward to this ‘side project’ … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged acoustic, album, Anne-Marie Helder, Jonathan Edwards, Luna Rossa, Panic Room, pop, progressive, review, rock, Sleeping Pills & Lullabies, Tim Hamill | Leave a comment

Album review: GROUNDHOGS – United Artists Years 1972-1976

Posted on June 29, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

EMI [Release date 20.05.13] ‘Split’ with its black and white glossy gatefold sleeve was a staple in the knowing rock fan’s early-1970s collection. The Groundhogs, led by one-time John Lee Hooker sideman Tony ‘TS’ McPhee, were also a staple on … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged album, BBC In Concert, Black Diamond, blues, Crosscut Saw, Groundhogs, Hogwash, review, rock, Tony McPhee, United Artists Years 1972-1976 | Leave a comment

Album review: MARILLION – The Singles Vol.2, 89-95

Posted on June 29, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

EMI [Release date 22.04.13] This collection is a reissue of the now deleted 12-CD box set (2002) when all the singles had a nice repro card sleeve. The album charts the band’s more commercial Hogarth era from 1989 (and ‘Season’s … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged 89-95, album, collection, compilation, Marillion, review, rock, Steve Hogarth, Steve Rothery, The Singles Vol 2 | Leave a comment

Album Review: SPLIT SOFA – Coloured Dream

Posted on June 28, 2013 by alanjones

Self-released – 3rd April 2013 Good news folks – dig out the kaftans, it’s 1967 all over again. If the so-called ‘Summer Of Love’ did it for you way back in the day when The Fabs, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album review, Coloured Dream, Psychedelic Rock, Split Sofa | Leave a comment

Album review: AVANTASIA – The Mystery Of Time

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Yiannis

Nuclear Blast – Out Now. Some may find this pretty hard to believe but it has been two whole decades since the German vocalist/songwriter Tobias Sammet released his first documented musical contribution, specifically to Edguy’s 1994 demo release “Evil Minded”. … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews | Tagged AVANTASIA | Leave a comment

Album review: TICKET TO THE MOON – Dilemma On Earth

Posted on June 25, 2013 by alanjones

Brennus Music – Released November 2012 The tidal wave of superlative progressive rock emanating from continental Europe shows no sign of dissipating anytime soon and, for all aficionados of the genre, surfboards should be waxed-up and this … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Dilemma On Earth, Progressive Rock, review, Swiss, Ticket To The Moon | Leave a comment

Album review: MOCKINGBIRD – Live Cuts! Wizzfest, Belgium 2013

Posted on June 25, 2013 by david.wilson

Self Release (Release date – 20th July 2013) All too often new bands try too hard to conform to the latest trends and jump on whatever bandwagon is doing the rounds at that point. It’s refreshing then … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged 2013, album, Belgium, CD, classic rock, Irish, Live Cuts!, Mockingbird, review, rock, Wizzfest | Leave a comment

Album review: OLIVA – Raise the Curtain

Posted on June 25, 2013 by jason

AFM Records Oliva is of course Jon Oliva of Jon Oliva’s Pain, Savatage and Trans Siberian-Orchestra (TSO) fame and this is his solo album. It differs from his JO Pain albums in that he handles most of the instruments himself, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Jon Oliva, Oliva, Raise the Curtain, review, rock, Savatage, Trans Siberian Orchestra, TSO | Leave a comment

Album review: MAT SINNER – Back To The Bullet

Posted on June 25, 2013 by jason

Re-issue AFM Records Mat Sinner released this long lost solo album back in 1990 in between releases from his own band Sinner and long before the formation of his current band, Primal Fear. AFM have seen fit to re-release Back … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged AFM Records, Back to the Bullet, Mat Sinner, Primal Fear, Sinner | Leave a comment

Album review: EMILY MAGUIRE – Bird Inside A Cage

Posted on June 24, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

GRTR! only ‘discovered’ British born singer songwriter Emily Maguire with the release of her third album – ‘Believer’ – in 2009. As a calling card it was a sufficiently strong hand to make me browse her back catalogue and the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Bird Inside A Cage, Emily Maguire, review, singer, songwriter | Leave a comment

Album review: THE DOOBIE BROTHERS – Live At Wolf Trap

Posted on June 24, 2013 by petefeenstra

Eagle Records/ Eagle Vision [Release date 25.05. 12] Somebody once said that despite having sold over 40 million records The Doobie Brothers could probably walk into your local pub and nobody would recognise them. And while that is stretching a point … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, DVD REVIEWS | Tagged guitars, harmony singing, John McFee, Keith Knudsen, Michael McDonald, Mike Hossack, Pat Simmons, Skylark, The Doobie Brothers, The Eagles, Tommy Johnson | Leave a comment

Album Review: MILLENIUM – Ego

Posted on June 23, 2013 by alanjones

Lynx Music [Release date 25 May 2013] Despite the wave of fabulous progressive rock emanating from Eastern Europe at the moment, don’t get the idea that Millenium are just another new Polish band riding on the coat-tails of the likes … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Ego, Millenium, Poland, Progressive Rock, review | 1 Comment

Quick plays: UGLY GUYS, JOEL SARAKULA, NOEGA, MAD CHICKENS

Posted on June 20, 2013 by jason

UGLY GUYS – Lost in the Badlands Angel Air www.angelair.co.uk The Ugly Guys feature Paul Shuttleworth and Vic Collins from the legendary 70’s pub rock band the Kursaal Flyers and the band take their name from a Kursaal Flyers song. … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays | Tagged album, Building Skyscrapers, Colour The Atlas, JOEL SARAKULA, Lost In The Badlands, MAD CHICKENS, Noega, Poema Sinfonico, reviews, The Golden Age, UGLY GUYS | Leave a comment

Album review: X CONTRACT – Territory:Hours

Posted on June 20, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Phillipa Records [Release date 19.08.13] Given the Brits love affair with all things Danish after the great success of ‘The Killing’ TV crime series, X Contract should clean up. We really liked their debut in 2012 – ‘Dearest Dream’ – … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Danish, Denmark, review, rock, Territory:Hours, X Contract | Leave a comment

Album review: TARJA – Colours In The Dark

Posted on June 19, 2013 by jason

Ear Music [Release date 02.09.13] Tarja Turunen is back with her eagerly anticipated new solo album, her first album of new material since 2010’s ‘What Lies Beneath’. The musicians featured on the album include some notable names – Doug Wimbish … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Colours in the Dark, Nightwish, review, rock, symphonic metal, Tarja Turunen | Leave a comment

Album review: PLANET GRAFFITI – Bad News

Posted on June 17, 2013 by petefeenstra

Planet Graffiti [Release date 01.05.13] Planet Graffiti is a Portsmouth based blues-rock power trio who have recently enjoyed 2 nationwide tours with New Jersey’s Billy Walton Band. ‘Bad News’ is their second album and despite the pessimistic title, it’s a sprightly, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album review, Billy Walton Band, blues, Brent Hutchinson, Donna Peters, ELO, guitar, Jeff Lynn, Peter Green, Planet Graffiti, Robin Trower, rock, Rupert Peters, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Tubes | Leave a comment

Album review: HAMILTON LOOMIS – Give It Back

Posted on June 16, 2013 by petefeenstra

Ham-bone Records [Release date 06.13] Some artists spend their whole careers trying to nail their sound to label and package it. Hamilton Loomis is a fiercely independent musician who stridently walks away from all that. He even left his blues … Continue reading →

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Album review: ISAAK – The Longer The Beard, The Harder The Sound

Posted on June 16, 2013 by jason

Small Stone Records www.smallstone.com Italy is not the first country you would associate with stoner rock, yet Isaak hail from there and have previously released a couple of albums under Ghandi’s Gunn, but changed their name to Isaak last year. … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album review, Doom, Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd, Small Stone Records, stoner rock, The Harder The Sound, The Longer The Beard | Leave a comment

Album review: CHRIS WHILE AND JULIE MATTHEWS – Infinite Sky

Posted on June 16, 2013 by petefeenstra

Fat Cat Records [Release date 04.02.13] Chris While and Julie Matthews have been a musical partnership for 20 years, both as members of The Albion Band and as a multi instrumental duo. Julie has made her name as an award … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Andy Cutting, Brian Hargreaves, Chris While, Christchurch, country rock, Eddie Reader, Fairport Convention, folk, Gretel Bergmann, Infinite Sky, Julie Matthews, Kellie While, Martin Simpson, New Zealand, roots, South America, The Albion Band, vocals | Leave a comment

Album review: AIRBOURNE – Black Dog Barking

Posted on June 15, 2013 by jason

Roadrunner Album number three from Aussie rockers and AC/DC worshipers Airbourne. Their previous two albums were not too bad but lacked that certain something to keep me coming back to the albums. However on this album they may have just … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged AIRBOURNE, album, Black Dog Barking, review, Roadrunner, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: INTERNATIONAL RESCUE – No Country For Old Men

Posted on June 15, 2013 by petefeenstra

Cowboy City Records [Release date 17.06.13] Formed in 1980, International Rescue originally built up a sizeable following in Bridlington and the East Yorkshire region culminating in an appearance on Channel 4′s The Tube. They subsequently lost their record company deal … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged acoustic, album review, Bridlington, Chaz Cook, Cormac McCarthy, David Waller, Edwyn Collins, Flock of Seagulls, International Rescue, Joel Cash, melodic pop, Orange Juice, Radio 2, Stephen Skinner, The Beatles, The Blue Nile | Leave a comment

Album review: BONNIE TYLER – Rocks And Honey

Posted on June 14, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Celtic Swan Recordings [Release date 6.05.13] Bonnie Tyler was asked back in the 1980s to represent the UK at Eurovision but politely declined. With success since those heady days coming primarily in Europe and relying heavily on past glories, she … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Bonnie Tyler, David Huff, Desmond Child, Eurovision, Nashville, pop, review, rock, Rocks And Honey, Vince Gill | Leave a comment

Album review: THE WYNNTOWN MARSHALS – The Long Haul

Posted on June 14, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Wynntown Recordings [Release date 15.07.13] Whether their album title is a play on The Eagles’ last long player of the 1970′s or not, there are distinct similarities in style between The Eagles West Coast country rock sound and that of … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged acoustic, album, country, Eagles, review, rock, The Long Haul, The Wynntown Marsahals | Leave a comment

Album review: STONECRAFT – Behind The Door

Posted on June 14, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

www.stonecraftmusic.co.uk Behind The Door is the third album of acoustic, alternative, Celtic music from multi-instrumentalist singer / songwriter Andy Morgan, and singer / songwriter Viil Hov Fjose. And while Andy started out as a rock guitarist who developed an affinity … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged acoustic, album, Behind the Door, folk, instrumental, review, Stonecraft | Leave a comment

Album review: FAY & LATTA – Beauty In Chaos

Posted on June 14, 2013 by GRTR! HQ

Avid GRTR! browsers may have spotted our 2009 review of Brit female fronted heavy rockers Exoterik’s ‘Butterfly In Your Hand’ – an album we saw as throwing down a gauntlet to the Evanescence pop / rock dynasty. We noted then, … Continue reading →