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Upcoming Gigs & Albums
Latest Album Reviews
Latest Gig Reviews
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Gig review: SOUTH OF SALEM – Thekla, Bristol, 27 March 2025
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Gig review: JIZZY PEARL’S LOVE/HATE – The Underworld, Camden, March 13 2025
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Gig review: GRAHAM GOULDMAN – Cadogan Hall, London, 20 March 2025
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Gig review: THE DARKNESS – G Live, Guildford, 11 March 2025
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Gig review: FISH – O2 Academy, Glasgow, 9 March 2025
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Gig review: WILL WILDE- 100 Club, London, 4 March 2025
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Featured Album Reviews
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Album review: FOGHAT – Road Fever – The Complete Bearsville Recordings 1972-75 (6 CD boxset)
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Album review: ATOMIC ROOSTER – Sleeping For Years (The Studio Recordings 1970-1974)
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Album review: JUDIE TZUKE – Peace Has Broken Out
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Album review: THE DOOBIE BROTHERS – Cycles, Brotherhood
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Album review: CATS IN SPACE – Daytrip to Narnia
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Album review: JD SIMO – JD Simo
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Features
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Tag Archives: melodic metal
Album review: ACCEPT – Too Mean To Die
Nuclear Blast [Release date 29.01.21] Accept, the German masters of heavy metal for more than 40 years and key influencers on bands such as Metallica and Iron Maiden, return with their 16th studio album – ‘Too Mean To Die’. Accept … Continue reading
Album review: IRON SAVIOR – Skycrest
AFM Records [Release date 04.12.20] Installed like a figurehead at the prow of European heavy metal, Piet Sielck’s Iron Savior proudly trail the story of this classic musical movement behind them. You could argue that along with Kai Hansen, Sielck … Continue reading
Album review: IRON MASK – Master Of Masters
AFM Records [Release date 05.12.20] For those who live and work outside Power Metal territory, bands like Iron Mask sound much like every other Power Metal band. When you’re on the inside though, perspective comes easy. Different musical styles readily … Continue reading
Album review: SORCERESS OF SIN – Mirrored Revenge
Bandcamp [Release date 27.11.20] Sorceress Of Sin formed in 2020 in Cambridge, based around vocalist/lyricist Lisa Skinner and her husband, drummer Paul Skinner. By day they run a post office but after hours they go all power metal! Joining them … Continue reading
Album review: PHANTOM ELITE – Titanium
Frontiers Records (Release date 22/01/21) On their second album now, Phantom Elite grew from the seeds of an HDK tour band, embracing Progressive Rock, Contemporary Metal and Symphonic Rock, evolving into what we see today. Fronted by Marina (Avantasia) La … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Amanda Somerville, Frontiers, HDK, Marina La Torraca, melodic metal, metal, Phantom Elite, prog metal, review, Titanium
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Album review: EDENBRIDGE – The Chronicles of Eden Part 2
SPV/Steamhammer [Release date 15.01.21] Second best of from symphonic metal band Edenbridge, with this volume drawn from their studio albums 5-10. Edenbridge, who have been around now for over twenty years, revolve around original members vocalist Sabine Edelsbacher and songwriter/multi-instrumentalist … Continue reading
Album review: VANDEN PLAS – The Ghost Experiment, Illumination
Frontiers [Release date 04.12.20] Vanden Plas are something of an institution in their native Germany, and indeed increasingly in the wider world. The Ghost Experiment, Illumination is their 12th studio album. So many Progressive Rock bands succumb to Must Have … Continue reading
Album review: MAJESTICA – A Christmas Carol
Nuclear Blast [Release date 04.12.20] ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens is one of my all-time favourite books and has been adapted for TV and film many times. Now we have Swedish symphonic metal band Majestica giving their take on … Continue reading
Album review: LORDS OF BLACK – Alchemy Of Souls Part 1
Frontiers [Release date 12.11.20] Album number 4 from Spanish metallers, Lords Of Black, founded by virtuoso Spanish guitarist and songwriter, Antonio Hernandez. There’s been the usual pack shuffling as members come and go over the years since formation in 2014. … Continue reading
Album review: PYRAMAZE – Epitaph
AFM Records [Release date 13.11.20] “Epitaph” is the sixth album in sixteen years from Danish metallers, Pyramaze. This is a band who rebuilt their line up in 2015, after significant loss of key members in 2011. That shakeup reflected an … Continue reading
Album review: LAZARUS DREAM – Alive
Pride & Joy Music [Release date 13.11.20] Lazarus Dream was put together by vocalist Carsten Lizard Shultz (Evidence One, Domain, Dead Heroes Club) and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Markus Pfeffer (Scarlett, Winterland). Joining the pair are drummer Markus Kullmann (Sinner, Glenn Hughes), percussionist … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Alive, Carsten ‘Lizard’ Schulz, Domain, Evidence One, hard rock, Lazarus Dream, melodic metal, melodic rock, review, rock
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Album review: DGM – Tragic Separation
Frontiers [Release date 09.10.20] Tenth album from Italian Prog Metallers, DGM. In which they examine the notion that the journey (of life) is more important than the destination. With all of the tracks, there’s a direct correlation between the events … Continue reading
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Tagged album, concept album, DGM, Frontiers, melodic metal, prog metal, review, rock, Tragic Separation
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Album review: LEAVES’ EYES – The Last Viking
AFM Records [Release date 23.10.20] Leaves’ Eyes are nothing if prolific, with eight albums, eight EPs and a live album since they formed back in 2003. ‘The Last Viking’ marks the final part of the band’s Viking trilogy, telling the … Continue reading
Album review: RISING STEEL – Fight Them All
Frontiers [Release date 04.09.20] Second album from Grenoble’s finest metal band, Rising Steel. And you can see the tongue in their cheek from space. Allegedly. The band’s amusingly phallic name is the first Freudian nod and wink. And then, endearingly, … Continue reading
Album review: STRYPER – Even The Devil Believes
Frontiers [Release date 04.09.20] Stryper’s 13th studio album, “Even The Devil Believes” follows hard the heels of “God Damn Evil” (their fourth on Frontiers). When you’re hot you’re hot. Vocalist/Guitarist/producer, Michael Sweet lets loose a high pitched howl as he … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Even The Devil Believes, melodic, melodic metal, metal, Michael Sweet, review, Stryper, white metal
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Album review: SHINING BLACK
Frontiers Records [Release date 10.07.20] For afficionados, these are instantly recognisable protagonists. Shining Black matches up Mark Boals, a gun for hire vocalist, with the perhaps lesser known Olaf Thorsen, guitarist with Labyrinth and Vision Divine. It plays out along … Continue reading
Album review: MAGNUS KARLSSON’S FREE FALL – We Are The Night
Frontiers [Release date 12.06.20] Album number three from the Free Fall project fronted by Primal Fear guitarist Magnus Karlsson, who has been busy of late having had a hand in the recent Allen/Olzen album also released by Frontiers. Karlsson handles … Continue reading
Album review: SMACKBOUND – 20/20
Frontiers [Release date 12.06.20] Finland’s Smackbound paid their dues playing clubs as a covers’ band. Their debut album, “20/20” is a distillation of all the styles and stuff they performed on stage…with added songwriting. And the songwriting shines brightly. It … Continue reading
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Tagged 20/20, album, debut, Frontiers, melodic metal, metal, review, Smackbound, symphonic metal
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Album review: SOLITUDE WITHIN – Disappear
The European metal scene has never been healthier, as each week reveals more and more bands to fall in love with. Belgium Symphonic rockers Solitude Within can rightly stake their claim as part of the leading pack with their 2017 … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Disappear, epic metal, melodic, melodic metal, metal, review, Solitude Within, symphonic metal
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Album review: PRETTY MAIDS – Maid In Japan
Frontiers [Release date 22.05.20] Pretty Maids have been around since the early 80’s, with original members vocalist Ronnie Artkins and guitarist Ken Hammer joined by bassist Rene Shades, Chris Laney on keyboards, guitar and drummer Allan Sørensen (who left the … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Chris Laney, classic rock, DVD, live, Maid In Japan, melodic hard rock, melodic metal, Pretty Maids, review, rock, Ronnie Atkins
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Album review: PHIL VINCENT – Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday
Rock Company [Release date 10.06.20] Solo album number 22(!) from Phil Vincent, who tends to indulge his love of melodic hard rock and the Beatles more on his solo efforts. The album runs the spectrum of melodic rock, from the … Continue reading
Album review: ESOTERICA – In Dreams
Esoterica [Release date 20.04.20] The dictionary definition of Esoterica is ‘things understood by or meant for a select few’. No one could ever accuse the London based sextet of either as their open-hearted take on modern rock is growing legions … Continue reading
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Tagged album, Esoterica, gothic, In Dreams, melodic metal, metal, New Order, review, rock, symphonic metal
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Album review: LEGION – Redemption
Rock Company [Release date 18.03.20] Amazingly this is Legion’s eleventh studio album since forming back in 2010. The band’s line-up has also stayed pretty consistent with vocalist Phil Vincent and guitarist Vince O’Regan joined by bassist Gavin Cooper, drummer Any … Continue reading
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Tagged album, hard rock, Legion, melodic metal, metal, Phil Vincent, Redemption, review, Vince O'Regan
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Album review: DYNAZTY – The Dark Delight
AFM Records [Release date 03.04.20] Dynazty’s first three albums culminated in the stirring melodic rock of “Sultans Of Sin” in 2012. By 2014, they had radically recalibrated their sound, trudging through the bland power metal of “Renatus” (2014) and “Titanic … Continue reading
Album review: INTENSE – Songs Of A Broken Future
Pure Steel Records [Release date 27.03.20] It has been nearly nine years since we last saw an album from Intense, during which time they have been busy inside and outside of the music scene (see interview below). The album was … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/10 Questions, Interviews/Rock Stars, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews, Pure Metal/Gig reviews, Pure Metal/Interviews
Tagged album, Intense, Karl Groom, melodic metal, metal, power metal, prog metal, review, Songs Of A Broken Future, Threshold
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