Category Archives: ALL POSTS

Album review: SPREADING THE DISEASE – Insurrection

Posted on January 30, 2018 by jason

Facebook page [Release date 26.01.18] I reviewed Spreading The Disease’s EP a couple of years ago and that featured the awesome song ‘Bulldozer’ – a song that did what it said on the tin, namely rolling over the listener with some … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/Rising Stars, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews, Pure Metal/Interviews | Tagged album, band, Breed 77, Insurrection, interview, modern metal, Pantera, review, Rising Stars, SLIPKNOT, Spreading The Disease, Thrash | Leave a comment

Gig review: GIANTS OF ROCK – Butlins, Minehead, 26-29 January 2018 (Day 3)

Posted on January 30, 2018 by GRTR! HQ

Chantel McGregor - GIANTS OF ROCK - Butlins, Minehead, 26-29 January 2018 (Day 3)

Day 3 – Sunday As the final day started we wouldn’t have been surprised to see Bobby Kimball sliding out of the curtains reminiscing about his appearance on Toto IV but … instead Chantel McGregor got the juices flowing with … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS, Special Events | Tagged 28 January 2018, blues rock, Butlins, Chantel McGregor, classic rock, Deborah Bonham, festival, Giants Of Rock, jazz fusion, Larry Carlton, Minehead, Nazareth, Slade, Snakecharmer, Somerset | Leave a comment

Gig review: GIANTS OF ROCK – Butlins, Minehead, 26-29 January 2018 (Day 2)

Posted on January 30, 2018 by GRTR! HQ

John Verity - GIANTS OF ROCK - Butlins, Minehead, 26-29 January 2018 (Day 2)

Day 2 – Saturday John Verity opened up shop on a damp Saturday with a thoughtful blues rock set, not overplaying his own solo material (new album: Blue To My Soul) and treating us to some familiar standards including ‘Cocaine’ … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS, Special Events | Tagged 27 January 2018, blues, Bobby Kimball, Boston, Butlins, classic rock, festival, Fran Cosmo, Giants Of Rock, Hawkwind, John Verity, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, melodic rock, Minehead, progressive, Somerset, space rock, Toto, Uriah Heep | Leave a comment

Gig review: GIANTS OF ROCK – Butlins, Minehead, 26-29 January 2018 (Day 1)

Posted on January 30, 2018 by GRTR! HQ

FM - GIANTS OF ROCK - Butlins, Minehead, 26 January 2018 (Day 1)

News during the week that Wetherspoons had taken steak off their menu may not have been of great interest until we learn that Butlins also get their meat from the same source that is currently “under investigation”. The loss of … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS, Special Events | Tagged 26 January 2018, Butlins, classic rock, Curved Air, festival, FM, Giants Of Rock, Magnum, Martin Turner, melodic rock, Minehead, progressive, Somerset, Wishbone Ash | Leave a comment

Gig review: JOANOVARC, HELL’S GAZELLES, KILLIT, BLACK WHISKEY – Giants Of Rock, Minehead, 26-29 January 2018

Posted on January 29, 2018 by GRTR! HQ

KILLIT - Giants Of Rock, Minehead, 26-29 January 2018

A spotlight on some of the upcoming bands that graced the Giants of Rock stages in 2018… Dubbed the ‘new queens of rock’ JoanovArc immediately impressed with an energetic and high-quality performance. Big drums, powerful bass, nice heavy guitar and … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged 26-29 January 2018, Black Whiskey, blues rock, Giants Of Rock, gig, hard rock, Hell's Gazelles, Joanovarc, Killit, Minehead, review | Leave a comment

Gig review: THE GREAT BRITISH ROCK & BLUES FESTIVAL, Skegness, 19-22 January 2018

Posted on January 26, 2018 by jason

I’ve enjoyed various Butlins music weekends over the years but 2018 will be the first where I’ve done two such weekends on the trot. My Butlins blow-out started off with the Rock & Blues weekend in Skegness – with just … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS, Special Events | Tagged 19-22 January 2018, Atomic Rooster, Bernie Marsden, Butlins, Dr Feelgood, festival, Nazareth, review, Skegness, Stray, the Great British Rock & Blues Festival | Leave a comment

Quick plays: LUKE JACKSON, TOM TOWNSEND

Posted on January 25, 2018 by jason

LUKE JACKSON Solo, Duo, Trio First Take Records [Release date 09.02.18] Luke Jackson has been steadily building a name for himself since his debut album ‘More Than The Boys’ was released in 2013. Indeed, he has been nominated for the BBC … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays | Tagged albums, blues, folk, funk, jazz, Leave It Up To Me, live, Luke Jackson, pop, Quick Plays, review, singer songwriter, Solo, Tom Townsend | Leave a comment

Gig review: KING KING – Bath Forum, 20 January 2018

Posted on January 24, 2018 by GRTR! HQ

Bath has never been a hot bed for rock/blues gigs but tonight the temperature rose to fever pitch when King King arrived in town and shook the Georgian buildings to their very foundations. After the issues that Alan Nimmo has … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged 20 January 2018, Alan Nimmo, Bath Forum, blues, classic rock, gig, King King, review, rock, Wayne Procter | Leave a comment

Album review: LONG DISTANCE CALLING – Boundless

Posted on January 23, 2018 by jason

Inside Out [Release date 02.02.18] Germany’s Long Distance Calling – guitarists David Jordan and Florian Füntmann, bassist Jan Hoffman and drummer Janosch Rathmer – have been around since 2006 and although their last album featured guest vocalists, on this album … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Boundless, instrumental, Long Distance Calling, Post-rock, progressive, review, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: DOWN ‘N’ OUTZ – My ReGeneration/The Further Adventures Of

Posted on January 23, 2018 by jason

Frontiers [Release date 01.12.17] The Down ‘N’ Outz were formed by Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, when he was asked to be involved in the Mott The Hoople reunion shows in 2009. For this he was backed by Quireboys’ members Paul Guerin … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues | Tagged album, classic rock, Def Leppard, Down N Outz, Ian Hunter, Joe Elliott, live, Mott the Hoople, My ReGeneration, Quireboys, re-issue, review, the Further Adventures Of | Leave a comment

Book review: JACKIE MCAULEY – I, SIDEMAN: The Story Of Me In The 60′s & 70′s

Posted on January 22, 2018 by petefeenstra

www.jackiemcauley.com – 253 pages paperback [Publication date: December 2017] Jackie McAuley’s ‘I Sideman: The Story Of Me In The 60′s and 70′s’ is an eloquently written, partial biography by a multi instrumentalist and vocalist who takes three quarters of the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged acoustic, Bonzo Dog Band, book, Brendan Bonass, Celtic rock, Charlie Watts, folk, Frank McCourt, Gene Vincent, Henry McCullough, I Sideman, Irish, Jackie McAuley, Jimi Hendrix, JOE COCKER, John Peel, Judy Dyble, Kim Fowley, Lonnie Donegan, Marvin Rainwater, Miami Show band, Paul Brady, Paul McCartney, Pete Brown, review, Royal Showband, The Kult, Them, Trader Horne, Van Morrison, Vangelis, Viv Stanshall | Leave a comment

Album review: FIVE GRAND STEREO – Sex & Money

Posted on January 20, 2018 by jason

Five Grand Stereo [Release date 26.01.18] Five Grand Stereo are Chris Singleton (vocals/guitar/piano), Jane Fraser (vocals), Stelios Kalisperides (guitar), Michael Kirkland (sax/synths), Zane Maertens (bass) and Ben Woollacott (drums). Chris Singleton has of course released a series of excellent pop/rock … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Chris Singleton, David Bowie, debut, Five Grand Stereo, melodic, pop, review, rock, Sex & Money | Leave a comment

Gig review: OPERATION: MINDCRIME (Geoff Tate) – Muni Arts Centre, Pontypridd, 14 January 2018

Posted on January 20, 2018 by GRTR! HQ

OPERATION: MINDCRIME - Muni Arts Centre, Pontypridd, 14 January 2018

I won’t bore you with the details of the acrimonious Queensryche break up and fall out that followed, but in summary after a court case in 2012/14 Geoff Tate is the only person that can perform the classic Operation Mindcrime … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged 14 January 2018, GEOFF TATE, gig, hard rock, Muni Arts Centre, Operation: Mindcrime, Pontypridd, progressive metal, Queensryche, review | Leave a comment

Album review: THE DELLA GRANTS – Live Sessions

Posted on January 19, 2018 by petefeenstra

Self release [Release date 22.11.17] Whether or not The Della Grants take their name from Muddy Waters grandmother or the American roots reggae singer Della Grant, there’s certainly a musical meeting of minds on an album that references blues, soul … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Americana, Andy Boulton, blues, Chris Barron, Della Grant, Leicester, Live Room Sessions, Max Manning, Muddy Waters, review, rock, Rolling Stones, soul, The Band, The Della Grants, The Faces, The Spin Doctors, Tom Best, Tom Walker, Tony Robinson | Leave a comment

EP review: BLACK TREE VULTURES – Sanity Isn’t Perfect

Posted on January 19, 2018 by jason

Straight outta Bournemouth (with an attitude which says “f**k you, Compton !”) come spunky pistols Black Tree Vultures with their manic and muscly debut EP, Sanity Isn’t Perfect. Tipping the hat to several heavy rock protagonists and oozing piss-and-vinegar confidence, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews | Tagged EP, metal, review, rock, Sanity Isn't Perfect, the Black Tree Vultures, Voodoo Six | Leave a comment

Album review: JONO – Life

Posted on January 18, 2018 by jason

Frontiers [Release date 01.12.17] Jono joining Frontiers will be good for both parties, as Jono will get greater exposure to their marvellous mix of pomp, rock and prog, whilst Frontiers have a band who I am sure as Mr Halford … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Jono, Life, melodic, Muse, pomp, progressive, Queen, review, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: THE DARK ELEMENT (featuring Anette Olzon & Jani Liimatainen)

Posted on January 16, 2018 by GRTR! HQ

Frontiers Records [Release date 10.11.17] After Anette Olzon’s unceremonious departure from Nightwish in 2012 she took stock, brushed herself down, and fashioned the beginnings of a solo career. ‘Shine’ was released in 2014 and was one of my favourite albums, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Anette Olzon, Jani Liimatainen, Nightwish, pop metal, review, Sonata Arctica, symphonic metal, symphonic rock, The Dark Element | Leave a comment

Album review: MICHAEL LANDAU – Rock Bottom

Posted on January 16, 2018 by petefeenstra

Provogue [Release date 23.02.18] From the free form intro of ‘Squirrels’ to the Noirish spoken word intro and melodic resolution of ‘Speak Now, Make Your Peace’, Michael Landau takes up on a complex musical journey that promises much and delivers … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, BB King, blues, Brendan Perry, David Frazee, David Garfield, Dead Can Dance, fusion, guitar, jazz, Jim Morrison, John Cale, Joni Mitchell, Karizma, Michael Landau, Miles Davis, Pink Floyd, review, rock, Rock Bottom | Leave a comment

Quick plays: BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN, ALL THE LUCK IN THE WORLD, RAINTIMES

Posted on January 16, 2018 by jason

BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN Hearts Of Glass Proper Music [Release date 09.02.18] www.bethnielsenchapman.com Beth Nielsen Chapman’s latest album is nearly all her own songs, with many of them being re-recorded versions where the piano on the originals is replaced by guitar. … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays | Tagged A Blind Arcade, albums, All The Luck In The World, alternative, Beth Nielsen Chapman, country, folk, Frontiers, Hearts Of Glass, inide, melodic, melodic rock, Raintimes, reviews, the Storm, Von Groove | Leave a comment

EP review: ALEX JAMES BRIERLEY – Listen

Posted on January 16, 2018 by jason

Intense Pulse Records [Release date 23.02.18] Alex James Brierley is a young rising star who has been playing the piano since he was six and has toured supporting the likes of Space and Scouting For Girls. On this EP he has enlisted … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/Rising Stars, Single and EP reviews | Tagged Abbey Road, Alex James Brierley, EP, indie, interview, Listen, pop rock, review, Rising Stars, singer songwriter, Steve Levine | Leave a comment

Album review: MICHAEL SCHENKER – A Decade Of The Mad Axeman

Posted on January 15, 2018 by jason

[Release date 28.01.18] A completely mad axeman indeed, Michael Schenker is one of the world’s shining lights when it comes to rock and metal guitar. Whether with Scorpions, UFO, the Michael/McAuley Schenker Group, UFO again, solo or his own Temple … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged A Decade Of The Mad Axeman, album, best of, classic rock, collection, Gary Bardens, guitarist, review, rock, Scorpions, UFO | Leave a comment

Album review: SAXON – Thunderbolt

Posted on January 15, 2018 by jason

UDR [Release date 02.02.18] Bastions of British heavy metal, NWoBHM stalwarts, basically if you like trad heavy metal, Saxon are where it’s at and have been for longer than I can remember. Album number 22 comes two and a half … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Biff Byford, heavy metal, metal, Motorhead, NWOBHM, review, Saxon, Thunderbolt | Leave a comment

Album review: LEAVES’ EYES – Sign Of The Dragonhead

Posted on January 11, 2018 by jason

AFM Records [Release date 12.01.18] Back in April 2016 Leaves’ Eyes parted ways with singer Liv Kristine, which led to various accounts of how the departure came about surfacing on social media and ill feeling between both parties. So this … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews | Tagged album, Leaves' Eyes, metal, review, Sign Of The Dragonhead, symphonic metal | Leave a comment

Album review: KAYAK – Seventeen

Posted on January 10, 2018 by jason

Inside Out [Release date 12.01.18] Kayak was founded in 1972 by keyboardist/composer Ton Scherpenzeel, who is the sole remaining original member, as the band release their seventeenth studio album. Ton is joined in Kayak by singer Bart Schwertmann and guitarist Marcel Singor, … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Andy Latimer, Camel, Kayak, melodic, prog, prog rock, Progressive Rock, review, Seventeen, Ton Scherpenzeel | Leave a comment

Album review: BLOOD RED SAINTS – Love Hate Conspiracies

Posted on January 10, 2018 by jason

AOR Heaven [Release date 26.01.18] Blood Red Saints return with their second album and joining the original trio of Pete Godfrey (vocals), Rob Naylor (bass) and Lee Revill (guitars) are guitarist Neil Hibbs (ex-Shy) and Andy Chemney on drums. There are a … Continue reading →