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Upcoming Gigs & Albums
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Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD/Bluray) 2025
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Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD/Bluray) 2026
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Upcoming: UK & Ireland Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2025)
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Upcoming: UK & Ireland Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2026)
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Upcoming: Festivals UK & Europe (2026)
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Upcoming: European, USA & World Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2025)
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Upcoming: European, USA & World Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2026)
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Tag Archives: heavy metal
Gig review: SAXON – Hammersmith (Eventim) Apollo, 15 November 2025
A wonderful evening of classic rock at Eventim Apollo (that’s the Hammersmith Odeon in English), and well attended it was too, having the aura of a sellout. And after Saxon vocalist Biff Byford’s recent health scare (now clear of cancer), … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged Accept, Biff Byford, classic rock, Dirkschneider, gig, Hammersmith Apollo, heavy metal, metal, November 15 2025, NWOBHM, review, Saxon, Udo Dirkschneider
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Album review : TOKYO BLADE – Beware The Blade – Classic, Rare and Unreleased, 4 CD Boxset
Cherry Red [Release date : 21.11.25] A 4CD boxset of the best of Tokyo Blade’s 14 albums (and more). It’s not called a “Best Of”, but that’s what it is. CD1 : selections from Midnight Rendezvous (1984) and Night Of … Continue reading
Album review : RISING STEEL – Legion Of The Grave
Frontiers Music [Release date : 29.08.25] Third full studio album on the Frontiers’ label from French metallers, Rising Steel, who remain a solid line up. Steel Zard – drums, Tony Steel – guitar, Steff Leadmaster – lead guitar , Stone … Continue reading
Gig review: QUARANTUNE ROCKS – The Victoria, Coalville, Leicestershire, 17 May 2025
As many of you know, Quarantune Rocks was set up as a music haven during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Established by music fans for music fans, it quickly grew into a friendly, music supporting group that decided as soon … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS, Special Events
Tagged classic rock, event, festival, gig, heavy metal, heavy rock, Joanovarc, King Kraken, Quarantune Rocks, Revenant
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EP review: HAXAN – Death Of Me
www.haxan.co.uk [Release date 28.05.25] South Wales rock trio Häxan return with their highly anticipated EP ‘Death Of Me’, a blistering follow up to their acclaimed debut album, ‘White Noise.’ Produced by Grammy nominated Romesh Dodangoda (Motörhead, Bring Me The Horizon, … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews
Tagged Death Of Me, EP, hard rock, Haxan, heavy metal, metal, review
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Album review : RAVEN – Screamin’ Down The House (4 CD set)
Cherry Red [Release date : 25.04.25] Formed in the north of England by brothers John and Mark Gallagher, during a time of social upheaval in the UK, Raven forged their own reflective version of NWOBHM, a proto-thrash metal that found … Continue reading
Album review : SICK’N'BEAUTIFUL – Horror Vacui
BLKIIBLK/Frontiers [Release date 18.04.25] Sick’n’Beautiful’s fourth album and their first release on Frontiers’ debut “heavy music imprint”, BLKIIBLK. Horror Vacui is an artistic concept, roughly translated from Latin as fear of empty spaces. Fronted by the sexually alluring Herma Sick … Continue reading
Album review : WRATH – Children Of The Wicked (3 CD set)
Cherry Red [Release date 31/01/25] You’d need a degree in modern sciences to play with Chicago USA band, Wrath. Such is the technically demanding nature of their thrash metal sound. The cover depicts a fresh face bunch of lads who, … Continue reading
Album review : TOKYO BLADE – Time Is The Fire
Cherry Red [Release date : 17.01.25] The Cherry Red reach has increased dramatically in recent years, and Tokyo Blades’ latest album, Time Is The Fire will be getting a considerable PR push around the 17/1/25 release date. True heavy metal … Continue reading
Feature: PHIL VINCENT’s Baker’s Dozen
A Baker’s Dozen, in which various musicians choose 13 songs – a baker’s dozen – to make a playlist. The following rules apply – Maximum of three songs from any artist Maximum of two songs from any album Maximum of two … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES
Tagged Bakers Dozen, Beatles, feature, hard rock, heavy metal, Jon Butcher Axis, Judas Priest, melodic rock, metal, Phil Vincent, pop, prog rock, Queen, RAVEN, Thin Lizzy
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Album review : IMPELLITTERI – War Machine
Frontiers [Release date : 08.11.24] Chris Impellitteri has always had something to say about the world and the way of it, illuminated by the occasional religious overtone. This new album, his band’s 16th, is not much different. We should be … Continue reading
Album review : BROTHERS OF METAL – Fimbulvinter
AFM Records [Release date : 01.11.24] Fimbulvinter (the great winter) is the third album from Swedish eight man band, Brothers Of Metal, arriving hot on the heels of the very well received Emblas Saga. The Nordic countries have their own, … Continue reading
Album review : VICTORY – The Circle Of Life
AFM Records [Release date : 13.09.24] Battle hardened bands like Victory know that treading the boards for 30+ years teaches you stuff. You learn to map new paths to the same destinations. In reality, there is no substitute for experience. … Continue reading
Album review : MISTER MISERY – III
AFM Records [Release date : 02.08.24] Looking like a reimagined Kiss in a Gothic horror movie, Mister Misery’s dress and music sense could not be more theatrical. Nor could it fit the music any better, and vice versa. On III, … Continue reading
Album review : UNCLE SLAM – Will Work For Food and When God Dies (2 CD Reissue)
Cherry Red [Release date : 26.07.24] Uncle Slam’s roots grew and blossomed in the fertile ground of Punk and Thrash, California style, in the late 80s, taking shape initially in the form of Suicidal Tendencies. Then splintering off into various … Continue reading
Album review : PAUL DI’ANNO’S WARHORSE
BraveWords Records [Release date : 19.07.24] The music here serves as a fully realised reminder of the gifts that vocalist Paul Di’Anno has displayed numerous times, originally with Iron Maiden, and then anything he’s been involved with since. Despite (or … Continue reading
Album review : KRYPTOS – Decimator
AFM Records [Release date : 05.07.24] On their magnificent seventh album now, Indian heavy metal band, Kryptos still have their eyes on the prize. It’s always tantalisingly out of reach for most bands. Few ever get their hands on it. … Continue reading
Album review: VICIOUS RUMORS – Welcome To The Ball (Remaster)
Rock Candy [Release date : 24.05.24] Rock Candy Records are perhaps, unfairly, more associated with AOR and Melodic Rock than they are Metal, but among reissue labels they have no peers when it comes to value judgement. The always underrated … Continue reading
Album review : ANVIL – One And Only
AFM Records [Release date: 28.06.24] There’s Old School Heavy Metal bands, and there’s Anvil. On their 20th album now, the aptly titled One And Only, these Canadian legends have shed any pretence of “modernising” their sound, reaching back to the … Continue reading
Album review: BLACK SABBATH – Anno Domini 1989-1995
BMG [Release date 31.05.24] Another solid box from BMG, and four long out-of-print albums get a release. This set features Headless Cross (1989), Tyr (1990), Cross Purposes (1994) and Forbidden (1995). And before anyone goes “The Tony Martin Years”, this … Continue reading
Gig review: JUDAS PRIEST/Saxon/Uriah Heep – Wembley Arena, London, 21 March 2024
For a band that so proudly proclaims their British roots, there is a case that Judas Priest have simply not toured their home country enough. In the eighties they largely neglected it for the USA with the result that I … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged Andy Sneap, Bernie Shaw, Biff Byford, Brian Tatler, Doug Scarratt, gig, Glenn Tipton, heavy metal, Judas Priest, Mick Box, Nibbs Carter, Phil Lanzon, Richie Faulkner, Rob Halford, Saxon, Uriah Heep
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Album review: LILLIAN AXE – The Box Vol 2, The Quickening
Cherry Red [Release date : 29.03.24] The Quickening is the second instalment of a two part series documenting the recorded life and times of metal’s most underrated band, Lillian Axe. There are six CDs. CD1: Deep Red Shadows (2010) w/7 … Continue reading
Album review : SMOKING SNAKES – Danger Zone
Frontiers [Release date : 16.02.24] Swedish band, Smoking Snakes, release their debut album, Danger Zone this month. The banal band name and cliched album title will surely raise a wry smile on the face of even the most ardent genre … Continue reading
Album review : KMFDM – Let Go
Metropolis Records [Release date : 02.02.24] KMFDM’s 23rd album is a mixed bag of sights and sounds, each one contributing to a predominant image of a patchwork musical quilt. Each track is an auditory outcry, all cleverly stitched together in … Continue reading
Album review : LILLIAN AXE – The Box Volume One Resurrection
Cherry Red / HNE [Release Date : 24.11.23] Lillian Axe is the thinking man’s heavy metal band. Even if you hadn’t heard the music, mainman Steve Blaze (writer/guitarist/producer) writes a cracking set of liner notes. Here is just a glimpse: … Continue reading
