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Gig review: CHEZ KANE- Fighting Cocks, Kingston upon Thames, 2 April 2026
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Gig review: BRAVE RIVAL – The Stables, Milton Keynes, 14 March 2026
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Gig review: A VERY SPECIAL EVENING OF MOTT THE HOOPLE – Riverside Studios, London, 27 February 2026
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Gig review: EMERALD MOON – Le Marquee, Peyrignac, Dordogne, SW France, 7 March 2026
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Category Archives: PURE METAL (All posts)
VINTERBLOT – Nether Collapse
A bit of Pagan death metal this time all the way from Bali in Italy. This is the debut album from the 5 piece although they released an EP back in 2010 to critical acclaim. Brutal about sums up Vinterblot’s … Continue reading
4 ARM – Submission For Liberty
Antipodean thrashers 4 Arm have been peddling their wares for the past 8 years and have gathered a good fan base and a number of equipment endorsements along the way. This is the band’s 3rd album, the others being 2005‘s … Continue reading
FOURTH AUTUMN Mock The Weak
Fourth Autumn are clearly a band with a with a sense of humour, all be it of the black variety. This is the Welsh death metaller’s debut album and the band describe their sound as a mix of Behemoth, The … Continue reading
ANVIL – Strength Of Steel,Pound For Pound,Worth The Weight
ANVIL – “STRENGTH OF STEEL”, “POUND FOR POUND” & “WORTH THE WEIGHT” Reissues, SPV (2011) Despite many years of exposure to the music industry, I am always amazed by its unique way of operating and the mass of contradictions that … Continue reading
VADER – “WELCOME TO THE MORBID REICH”
VADER – “WELCOME TO THE MORBID REICH” NUCLEAR BLAST (2011)
ORPHANED LAND (Yiossi Sassi) INTERVIEW
Orphaned Land is a band that is famous for its unique blend of Oriental sounding Metal and the high energy performances that they have been giving ever since they first came together as a band twenty years ago. In view … Continue reading
NAPALM DEATH (Mark “Barney” Greenway) INTERVIEW
2011 has been quite a fulfilling year in terms of impressive album releases and good quality live shows and as someone who grew up supporting the extreme Metal scene I could not think of a better way to end it … Continue reading
ORPHANED LAND Gig Review
ORPHANED LAND Gig Review Support: ARTWEG / ARKAN London / Borderline, Tuesday 22nd of November 2011 Review by Yiannis (John) Stefanis The story of the Israeli Prog/Folk Metal outfit Orphaned Land is not that of an average band. Apart from … Continue reading
LOCK UP (Anton Reisenegger) INTERVIEW
Anton Reisenegger is one of the most pleasant people you can ever wish to meet in the music industry. When not recording albums with either Criminal or Pentagram (Chile), his ‘own’ musical projects, Anton handles guitar duties for the Grind … Continue reading
GORGOROTH (Pest & Infernus) INTERVIEW
It is very rare for me to find myself in the situation that I have to do an interview with a band for an album that I have not yet listened to but in the case of Gorgoroth the circumstances … Continue reading
THE DEVIL’S BLOOD (Selim Lemouchi) INTERVIEW
There are only a handful of albums that managed to create such a massive impression on me as “The Thousandfold Epicentre”, the second studio album of the Dutch Occult Rockers The Devil’s Blood, so grabbing the opportunity of doing an … Continue reading
THE QUILL (Mags, Christian, Jolle & Robert) INTERVIEW
When my good friend Mike asked me to arrange an interview with the members of a band called The Quill, I did so without having listen to a single note of their latest album “Full Circle” – an album that … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Pure Metal/Interviews
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MY DYING BRIDE – The Barghest Of Whitby
MY DYING BRIDE – “THE BARGHEST O’WHITBY” PEACEVILLE (2011) Yorkshire-based Doomsters My Dying Bride have never been the kind of band which shies away from experimentation. Clear evidence can be found in any of the band’s recordings including “Evinta” – … Continue reading
NAPALM DEATH (Mark “Barney” Greenway) INTERVIEW
NAPALM DEATH (Mark “Barney” Greenway) INTERVIEW 2011 has been quite a fulfilling year in terms of impressive album releases and good quality live shows and as someone who grew up supporting the extreme Metal scene I could not think of … Continue reading
VENOM – Fallen Angels
Venom, now there is a name from the past. My earliest encounter with Cronos and co was way back on the early 80 ’s Channel 4 rock programme ‘ ECT’ playing ‘Too Loud For The Crowd’, happy days. The band … Continue reading
THE DEVIL’S BLOOD – The Thousandfold Epicentre
THE DEVIL’S BLOOD – “THE THOUSANDFOLD EPICENTRE” VAN RECORDS (2011) Two years ago, during one of my numerous pilgrimages to beautiful Germany whilst visiting a very dear friend of mine, I was introduced to the sounds of an album entitled … Continue reading
DIABOLOS DUST – Ruins Of Mankind
DIABOLOS DUST – “RUINS OF MANKIND” MASSACRE RECORDS (2011) The music industry has changed dramatically over the years when it comes to finding and supporting young talent. Back in the 80s, all a band had to do was to record … Continue reading
DESCENDING – New Death Celebrity
DESCENDING – “NEW DEATH CELEBRITY” MASSACRE RECORDS (2011) Greece may indeed be a tiny country, especially when compared to places like Germany and UK, however both its contribution towards, and support of Metal music over the years has been undeniable. … Continue reading
SYMPHONY X interview – Jason Rullo
When the American Progressive/Heavy Metal quintet Symphony X first released the amazing “Paradise Lost” back in 2007 I was one of those people who felt that the New Jersey outfit had pretty much reached the pinnacle of their creativity. Three … Continue reading
DARK TRANQUILITY interview – Mikael Stanne
Mikael Stanne has a reputation of being not only one of the best frontment in Death Metal but also one of the kindest and most accommodating people in the music business – something that I eventually had to find out … Continue reading
Gig review: SAXON – London Koko, 20 December 2011
Saxon is one of those bands that I have seen more times than I can count, but I have never lacked the motivation to attend any of their shows. What was it that made their performance at the London Koko … Continue reading
Posted in GIG REVIEWS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Gig reviews
Tagged 20 December 2011, Biff Byford, gig, heavy metal, heavy rock, London Koko, review, Saxon
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VALLENFYRE – A Fragile King
VALLENFYRE – “A FRAGILE KING” CENTURY MEDIA (2011) Human loss is dealt with in a personal way by anyone affected by it, but it has also been one of the topics that art, as a channel for conveying human emotion, … Continue reading
WARBRINGER – Worlds Torn Asunder
WARBRINGER – “WORLDS TORN ASUNDER” CENTURY MEDIA (2011) The year 2004 is a seminal one for Thrash Metal as it witnessed the birth of a number of young acts who are directly responsible for what has been widely recognised as … Continue reading
PAIN OF SALVATION (Daniel Gildenlow) INTERVIEW
The ability to embrace change is an important quality for any Prog-orientated band to have, especially so if that band happens to be as brave and musically diverse as the Swedish powerhouse Pain Of Salvation. When I arranged to do … Continue reading
NAPALM DEATH Gig review
NAPALM DEATH Gig review Support: Flowers Of Flesh And Blood / The Atrocity Exhibit London Underworld – Friday 16th December 2011 By Yiannis (John) Stefanis Twenty one years ago, and still at a fairly impressionable age, the author of this … Continue reading
