Category Archives: ALBUM REVIEWS

THE BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH – Leave The Future Behind

    Two Sides Moon (Release date – out now) In my experience the blue screen of death is very rarely a good thing so is naming your band thus asking for trouble? This particular incarnation are a four piece … Continue reading

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STONE SOUR – House of Gold and Bones, Part 1

Roadrunner       Sour feature Corey Taylor on vocals, who sounds very different than the other band he is in Slipknot. Stone Sour have proved a massive success to date and on this new album they have the first … Continue reading

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STEVE LUKATHER – Transition

Steve Lukather - Transition

Mascot Records (Release date 21.01.13) There is a lot to like about ‘Transition’ from the production quality, the sincerity, to the musicianship.  The lyrical themes are again based on Luke’s recent musical and personal rejuvenation and in truth the album … Continue reading

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DBA (Geoff Downes/Chris Braide) – Pictures Of You

DBA - Pictures Of You

X2X Records DBA is a collaboration of Geoff Downes (Asia, Yes) and Chris Braide (producer for Lana Del Rey and David Guetta amongst others).  If it owes something to the duo’s overt pop sensibilites as evidenced by Downes with The … Continue reading

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VOODOO VEGAS – The Rise Of Jimmy Silver

www.voodoovegas.com Debut album from this young band featuring Lawrence Case (vocals), Nick Brown (guitar), Meryl Hamilton (guitar), Ash Moulton (bass) and Matt Jolly (drums) and they have highly rated producer Pedro Ferreira (Therapy?/The Darkness). The album is neatly presented as … Continue reading

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Quick Plays: AEROSMITH, ZZ TOP, MAGNUM, FREEDOM CALL

LOVER UNDER COVER – Set The Night On Fire (Escape Music) Lover Under Cover is a new band emerging from Sweden, providing rock aficionados with another slice of Scandi rock. Mikael Erlandsson from Last Autumn’s Dream and Salute fame has … Continue reading

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SNAFU – S/t

snafu

Angel Air www.angelair.co.uk         Snafu was formed in 1973 by vocalist Bobby Harrison, who had just left the band Freedom (and before that was in Procul Harum) and former Juicy Lucy guitarist Micky Moody. Joining them were … Continue reading

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ROUGH CUT – Rollin’ Thunder EP

www.facebook.com/roughcutband (Released 7th Jan) Not the 80′s US hair metal band (although they had an extra ‘t’) but a young UK based four piece consisting of Jack Simkin (vocals/guitar), Simon J Court (guitar), James Simkin (bass) and Jes Hartley (drums). … Continue reading

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Album review: DAVE KILMINSTER – Scarlet – The Director’s Cut

DAVE KILMINSTER - Scarlet - The Director

www.davidkilminster.com Dave Kilminster is perhaps best known as a session guy – the one who answers Keith Emerson’s and Roger Waters’ call, and who has also appeared in Heather Findlay’s band more recently.  ‘Scarlet’ is Dave’s first solo album, perhaps … Continue reading

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MARTIN HARLEY BAND – Mojo Fix

60/20 Records www.martinharley.com Martin Harley is set to release this, his fifth album, in February and he is a very talented slide guitar player who has been heavily influenced by Ry Cooder. In fact listening to songs like ‘Rum Shack’ … Continue reading

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Album review: ROYAL HUNT – 20th Anniversary: Special Edition

ROYAL HUNT – 20th Anniversary: Special Edition

Frontiers[Release date 23.11.22] Denmark – home of Hans Christian Andersen, Lego, those rather nice pastries, motor-mouth Lars Ulrich and of course…Royal Hunt. The title says it all really – this is a celebration of the last 20 years of Royal … Continue reading

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THE JAM – Classic Album Selection

Universal This is a gem of a package: The Jam’s six classic albums presented as individual vinyl-replica CDs, released to mark the 30th anniversary of the band’s split in 1982. I can’t believe it’s 30 years! Emerging from the punk … Continue reading

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Mercury Underground, Waking Theo, City Of Ashes, When We Were Wolves

MERCURY UNDERGROUND – Mercury Underground EP Anchorage Records (Release Date – Out Now) Mercury Underground are a three piece from Glasgow. The guys play a blues infused hard rock which has a lot to commend it. There are three tracks … Continue reading

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SHAWN JONES – Struggle Makes You Stronger

High Drive Records www.shawnjonesmusic.com (Release date 11th Feb) Shawn Jones has already released four studio and one live album prior to this new album. He has also been out on tour with BB King, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray amongst … Continue reading

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SNAKECHARMER – Snakecharmer

Snakecharmer

(Frontiers Records) Release date 21.01.13 It’s unusual when a ‘superband’ is greater than its constituent parts.  But, if anything, Micky Moody and Neil Murray have created a wonderful vehicle – at last – for Chris Ousey (Heartland, Virginia Wolf ).  His … Continue reading

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ROB COTTINGHAM – Captain Blue

www.robcottingham.co.uk (Released 4th February)       The second solo outing from Rob Cottingham, a founder member of Touchstone, whose guitarist Adam Hodgson also appears on the album. Other guests include Heather Findlay (ex-Mostly Autumn), Steve Hackett and the narration … Continue reading

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A LIFE ONCE LOST – Ecstatic Trance

Season Of Mist – Out Now Metalcore has always been my least preferred genre and chances are that this will continue to be the case as most bands of this style tend to be fairly generic and predictable in their … Continue reading

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KRUK – Be 3

Metal Mind Productions www.metalmind.com.pl         New album by the Polish band Kruk who have made a name for themselves in their home country and this album will surely gain them wider notice. They love their classic 70′s … Continue reading

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AVATAR – Black Waltz

    Gain/Sony Music ( Release date – out now) This is the 4th album from Swedish industrial metallers Avatar and a release that they hope will propel them to new heights. The band blend industrial metal with full on, … Continue reading

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GRAVEYARD – Lights Out

Nuclear Blast – Out Now I have always been a strong believer that the creation of new music is a process where old ideas are recycled and presented from a fresh and modern perspective. Nowadays there are plenty of such … Continue reading

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ALICE COOPER – Old School 1964-1974

    Universal ( Release Date – Out now ) It’s rare that an artist can have a career spanning 5 decades and still be as relevant and popular as they were in their heyday. Alice Cooper is no ordinary … Continue reading

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DEACON BLUE – Reissues – CD and DVD

Deacon Blue - Raintown

(Edsel) The first thing to say about these reissues: this is how it should be done.  Reissuing the original albums with just a handful of bonus tracks wouldn’t suit Edsel and they have really come up trumps.  In some cases, … Continue reading

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WORLD FIRE BRIGADE – Spreading My Wings

    Frostbyte Records (Release Date – out now) The three members of World Fire Brigade have collectively sold over 10 million records between them. The three gentlemen in question are Brett Scallions, frontman of Fuel, Sean Danielsen, singer and … Continue reading

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Quick Plays: MAX NAVARRO, FLIPRON, JOHN WHEELER, PIG IRON

MAX NAVARRO – Hard Time www.maxnavarro.com Max Navarro has been releasing music since 2002 and this is his third album, although according to the PR blurb he is already working on his next album It is a mix of catchy … Continue reading

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Y&T – Live at the Mystic

FRONTIERS RECORDS www.frontiers.it For a band of their longevity, Y and T live albums have been thin on the ground. In fact the only one I can recall was 1985’s Open Fire, which with its single disc track listing came … Continue reading

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