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Tag Archives: melodic rock
Album review : AUSTEN STARR – I Am The Enemy
Release date [13.02.26] The label have teamed new kid on the block, vocalist Austen Starr, with Joel (Revolution Saints/ Whitesnake) Hoekstra, and together they’ve written a bunch of edgy rock songs that allow both talents to shine. The garagey ‘Remain … Continue reading
Album review: DENNIS CHURCHILL-DRIES – Crazy Is This Life
AOR Blvd Records [Release date 30.01.26] Former White Sister and Tattoo Rodeo vocalist Dennis Churchill-Dries is back with another album packed full of classy melodic rock. He’s joined by Steve Newman on guitar & keys, along with Newman drummer Rob … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, AOR Blvd Records, Dennis Churchill Dries, hard rock, melodic rock, review, rock, Steve Newman, Tattoo Rodeo, White Sister
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Gig review: MIDNITE CITY – Black Heart, Camden, London, 24 January 2026
Midnite City continue to entertain with their feel good revival of the glammy melodic hard rock sounds of the late eighties (or hair metal as it was never called in the day). This show was originally scheduled for November but … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged gig, glam rock, hair metal, melodic rock, Midnite City, Miles Meakin, Nasty Ratz, Rob Wylde, Shawn Charvette
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News: AEROSMITH, SAVATAGE, CAMBRIDGE FOLK FESTIVAL (February 2026)
Acid Reign will release a new album ‘Daze Of The Week’ on May 15. Aerosmith (pictured) release ‘Aerosmith (Legendary Edition)’ on March 20 as a limited-edition deluxe 5LP box, a 4LP slipcase, black and colour vinyl, 3CD, CD, and digital. Steven Tyler and … Continue reading
Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, Band Entrees & Exits, Books, Festivals & Large Events, Gigs and Tour News, Listening Post, NEWS, PledgeMusic/Kickstarter Campaigns, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/News, Re-issues/special editions, RIP
Tagged Aerosmith, albums, AOR, blues, Cambridge Folk Festival, folk, gigs, melodic rock, metal, news, re-issues, RIP, Savatage, special editions, tour dates
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Album review: PHIL THORNALLEY – Stacked
Facebook [Release date 23.01.26] Here at GRTR! Towers we love the work of Phil Thornalley, be it his solo pop/power rock delights or with Astral Drive, a band whose albums should be in any self-respecting music lover’s collection. On his … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Casey Shea, melodic rock, Phil Thornalley, pop punk, pop rock, power pop, review, Stacked
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Album review : AUTUMN’S CHILD – Melody Lane
Pride & Joy Music [Release date 23.01.26] Mikael Erlandsson: 9 solo albums, 17 albums with Last Autumn’s Dream, 10 collaborations (with Tom Galley, Tommy Denander and others). Melody Lane is his 6th (since 2019) with Autumn’s Child, his fourth on … Continue reading
Album review: PETRA – Hope
Girder Records [Release date 12.01.26] 2026 could well be the year of the comeback and one highly anticipated is this new album from Petra, their first studio album since 2003’s ‘Jekyll & Hyde’. Petra have been touring on and off … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Bob Hartman, Christian rock, Hope, John Schlitt, melodic rock, Petra, review, rock
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News: DEMON, QUEEN, PETRA (January 2026)
The All-American Rejects release their first album since 2012. ‘Sandbox’ will be released in February via Too Lost. Alt Blk Era have announced a new EP, ‘Our World’, which will arrive on May 22 via LAB Records. Tori Amos releases … Continue reading
Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, Band Entrees & Exits, Books, Festivals & Large Events, Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Gigs and Tour News, NEWS, PledgeMusic/Kickstarter Campaigns, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/News, Re-issues/special editions, RIP
Tagged albums, AOR, blues, DEMON, folk, gigs, melodic rock, metal, news, Petra, Queen, re-issues, RIP, special editions, tour dates
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News: Albums of the Month (October-December 2025)
A quarterly feature highlighting album releases rated highly by the GRTR! review team and worthy of your investigation. We try and pick out a cross-section of albums that reflect the range of genres reviewed at the website. The star rating … Continue reading
Album review: MIDNITE CITY- Bite The Bullet
Pride and Joy Music [Release Date 21.11.25] Unapologetically promoting themselves as ‘hair metal’ when other more self-conscious bands might balk at the description, Midnite City are impressively now onto their fifth album since 2017. Rob Wylde’s men are not about … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, hair metal, melodic rock, Midnite City, Miles Meakin, review, Rob Wylde, Shawn Charvette
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Album review : ROB MORATTI – Sovereign
Frontiers [Release date: 12.12.25] Rob Moratti’s all star cast is arguably more famous than he is : Joel Hoekstra, Tony Franklin, Felix Borg, Fredrik Bergh and Pete Alpenborg. Alpenborg’s written stuff for Harry Hess, Robin McAuley, Kee Marcello, Tommy Heart … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged Epica, Fredric Bergh, Frontiers, Joel Hoekstra, melodic rock, Pete Alpenborg, review, Rob Moratti, Sovereign
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Gig review: STEVE OVERLAND AND JIM KIRKPATRICK- The Weir, Brentford, Middlesex, 9 December 2025
In all my years gig going, I don’t think I’ve ever been to one this close, just ten minutes walk from my house. That it should be by two members of FM, a band I’ve devotedly followed for 40 years … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged acoustic, AOR, FM, gig, Jim Kirkpatrick, Lara Brewer, melodic rock, Steve Overland
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Album review : BRAZEN ABBOT – Live And Learn and Guilty As Sin (CD reissues)
Frontiers [Release date : 12.12.25] Classically trained Bulgarian multi-instrumentalist, Nikolo Kotzev founded Brazen Abbot in 1995. He could play every stringed instrument known to rock’n’roll mankind, but needed a singer. Over these two reissues, released simultaneously, the cream of European … Continue reading
News: BRYAN ADAMS, THE KARMA EFFECT, THE GEMS (December 2025)
Bryan Adams releases ‘Bryan Adams & Friends: A Great Big Holiday Jam’ on December 8 via Bad Records – the same day the Christmas special of the same name premieres on Citytv and streams on Citytv+ in Canada. Asia release … Continue reading
Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, Band Entrees & Exits, Books, Festivals & Large Events, Gigs and Tour News, NEWS, PledgeMusic/Kickstarter Campaigns, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/News, Re-issues/special editions, RIP
Tagged albums, AOR, blues, Bryan Adams, folk, gigs, melodic rock, metal, news, re-issues, RIP, special editions, The Gems, The Karma Effect, tour dates
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Album review : CASSIDY PARIS – Bittersweet
Frontiers Music [Release date : 21.11.25] Bittersweet is Australian songbird, Cassidy Paris’s second long player on the Frontiers Music label, a follow up to the debut, New Sensation. Paris was “discovered” in her youth, and subsequently mentored, by Paul (Danger … Continue reading
Gig review: JIM KIRKPATRICK – The Cavern, Raynes Park, London, 12 November 2025
Jim Kirkpatrick has been an even busier man than usual this year- with FM’s acoustic tour, new album and further tour, in between helping out The Sweet as Andy Scott got back to full fitness. Now a brief run of … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 12 November 2025, Bernie Marsden, blues rock, FM, gig, Jem Davis, Jim Kirkpatrick, Leon Cave, London, melodic rock, Ollie Collins, Rory Gallagher, The Cavern
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Album review : CHEAP TRICK – All Washed Up
BMG [Release date 14.11.25] Cheap Trick’s best since Rockford. Some people thought it was all over, thus the tongue-in-cheek title. It’s no exaggeration to call this 40 minute album’s worth of expertly crafted songs a heavy hitting tour de force. … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged All Washed Up, Cheap Trick, Daxx, melodic rock, review, Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersen
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Gig review: KINGDOM OF MADNESS – The Carlisle, Hastings, 7 November 2025
Kingdom of Madness, formed by one-time Magnum keyboardist Mark Stanway and boasting four past band members or contributors, have even doing a great job recreating the classic Magnum years before the original band split up in the mid-nineties. Their touring … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 7 November 2025, Alan Bell, AOR, Brian Badhams, Chris Dando, gig, Hastings, Kingdom Of Madness, Magnum, Mark Stanway, melodic rock, Mickey Barker, Mo Birch, review, Richard Bailey, The Carlisle
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Gig review: MIKE TRAMP’S WHITE LION – Camden Underworld, London, 5 November 2025
The White Lion itch is one that singer Mike Tramp feels the need to scratch every so often, despite the quality of his work with Freak of Nature and more recent stripped down and more personal material. On some of … Continue reading
Album review: D’ERCOLE – Reactance Theory
Rock Company [Release date 05.11.25] It’s album number eleven from D’Ercole and lost count of the number of albums featuring the talented & never seemingly out of the studio Phil Vincent! Joining him are the D’Ercole stalwarts – drummer B.F. D’Ercole, … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, D'Ercole, hard rock, melodic hard rock, melodic rock, Phil Vincent, Reactance Theory, review, rock, Vince O'Regan
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Gig review: ROMEO’S DAUGHTER – Pizza Express, Holborn, London, 2 November 2025
2025 has seen Romeo’s Daughter explore a side to themselves that they have never previously pursued in their career with shows in an acoustic format. At the start of the year they recorded a live album in Barnoldswick, Yorkshire and … Continue reading
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Tagged 2 November 2025, acoustic, Andy Welsford, AOR, Craig Joiner, gig, Leigh Matty, London, melodic rock, Pizza Express Holborn, Romeo's Daughter, Steve Drennan
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News: THE DAMNED, SAMMY HAGAR, MAID OF STONE (November 2025)
Black Swan release their new album ‘Paralyzed’ on February 13 on Frontiers. Blackwater Drowning will release their new album ‘Obscure Sorrows’ on February 27. Brother Cane will release its first new album in 27 years, ‘Magnolia Medicine’, on April 17 on … Continue reading
Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, Band Entrees & Exits, Books, Festivals & Large Events, Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Gigs and Tour News, NEWS, PledgeMusic/Kickstarter Campaigns, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/News, Re-issues/special editions, RIP
Tagged albums, AOR, blues, folk, gigs, Maid of Stone festival, melodic rock, metal, news, re-issues, RIP, Sammy Hagar, special editions, The Damned, tour dates
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News: Albums of the Month (July – September 2025)
A quarterly feature highlighting album releases rated highly by the GRTR! review team and worthy of your investigation. We try and pick out a cross-section of albums that reflect the range of genres reviewed at the website. The star rating … Continue reading
Posted in Albums of the Month, ALL POSTS, NEWS
Tagged 2025, albums of the month, Americana, August, blues rock, classic rock, hard rock, July, melodic rock, metal, Progressive Rock, roots, September
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Album review : LEAH MARTIN-BROWN – Love & Other Crimes
Frontiers Music [Release date 24.10.25] Australian born, but now resident in Europe via the USA, amazingly gifted singer Leah Martin-Brown releases her debut album on Frontiers Music this month. She’s got a lot going for her before we hear a … Continue reading
Gig review: BRAVE RIVAL- 100 Club, London, 15 October 2025
There is no harder working touring band than Brave Rival, but of their many shows this was a special one, a well attended Central London showcase for their new (and excellent) ‘5 to 4’ EP which marks a new chapter … Continue reading
