Tag Archives: melodic rock

Album review: NESTOR – Teenage Rebel

Posted on June 2, 2024 by jason

Napalm Records [Release date 31.05.24] Album number two from Nestor sees the band signed to a big label, namely Napalm Records, home to fellow lovers of a good 80′s melodic rock riff, the Night Flight Orchestra. According the band’s bio … Continue reading →

Gig review: BRYAN ADAMS – Royal Albert Hall, London, 14 May 2024

Posted on May 31, 2024 by andynathan

Two years ago, I was present all three nights as Bryan Adams played a memorable residency at the Albert Hall, playing a classic album each night (subsequently released in less than satisfactory fashion on DVD). I thought that was a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged AOR, Bryan Adams, Gary Breit, gig, Keith Scott, melodic rock, Pat Steward, Reckless, Sol Walker | Leave a comment

Album review: CASEY MAUNDER – Get Out and Push

Posted on May 25, 2024 by jason

Facebook [Release date 13.05.24] Casey Maunder is back with the follow-up to his enjoyable debut album ‘Until Your Heart Stops Beating’. That album was jammed packed with riff led hard rockers and pleasingly ‘Get Out and Push’ follows on nicely. Opener … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Casey Maunder, Get Out and Push, guitarist, hard rock, melodic rock, review, rock | Leave a comment

Album review: FM – Old Habits Die Hard

Posted on May 24, 2024 by andynathan

Frontiers Records (Release Date 03.05.24) FM appear to be constantly on tour, and yet between that activity they somehow find time to consistently write and release a new album every two or three years. ‘Old Habits Die Hard’ actually marks … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, FM, Jim Kirkpatrick, melodic rock, Old Habits Die Hard, Steve Overland | Leave a comment

Album review: REMEDY – Pleasure Beats Pain

Posted on May 24, 2024 by jason

Escape Music [Release date 24.05.24] Remedy released their debut album at the tail end of 2022 and it earned rave reviews (including from this reviewer!), although being independently released it didn’t get the full coverage it deserved. Enter Escape Music … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Erik Martensson, Escape Music, hard rock, melodic rock, Pleasure Beats Pain, Remedy, review | Leave a comment

Gig review: MIDNITE CITY- Downstairs at The Dome, London, 11 May 2024

Posted on May 21, 2024 by andynathan

Midnite City gigs used to be quite rare down south, as the melodic rockers concentrated on the north and Midlands where that particular scene always seems more established. Yet in relatively short order, 11 months after they played Camden’s Black … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged gig, Josh 'Tabbie' Williams, melodic rock, Midnite City, Rob Wylde, Ryan Briggs, Shawn Charvette | Leave a comment

Gig review: FM – Arlington Arts Centre, Newbury, 18 May 2024

Posted on May 19, 2024 by jason

To quote Led Zeppelin, “It’s been a long time since I rock and rolled”, and as much as I love music my live mojo has been in retirement, bar supporting local folk gigs. However, when a band as classy as … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged AOR, Arlington Arts Centre, classic rock, Collateral, FM, gig, melodic rock, Newbury, review, rock, Saturday 18 May 2024, Steve Overland | Leave a comment

News: Albums Of The Month (January – March 2024)

Posted on May 8, 2024 by GRTR! HQ

MYRATH Karma (earMUSIC) They have big songs and even bigger ideas on how to present them live and are not short on confidence in their collective abilities, and rightly so. ‘Karma’ will only serve to further the Myrath cause … Continue reading →

Posted in Albums of the Month, ALL POSTS | Tagged 2024, albums of the month, blues rock, February, heavy rock, Jack J. Hutchinson, January, Magnum, March, Medicine Head, melodic rock, Myrath, pop rock, progressive metal, rock, South Of Salem, Walter Trout | Leave a comment

EP review: BARBARA – Happy Days

Posted on April 28, 2024 by jason

Website [Release date 22.05.24] Barbara are Henry & John Tydeman, songwriting brothers from Brighton and have played music together since they were children. They started the band proper in 2020 and decided on the name ‘Barbara’ because they wanted a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews | Tagged 70's pop, Barbara, baroque pop, chamber pop, disco, ELO, EP, Happy Days, melodic rock, Paul Weller, pop, pop rock, power pop, review | Leave a comment

Book review: On track…MAGNUM – every album, every song – by Matthew Taylor

Posted on April 27, 2024 by GRTR! HQ

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 26.04.24] The merits of these “On track…” books lie in the authors’ comprehensive trawling of sources as much as subjective opinion. Matthew Taylor’s expose of Magnum drives a balance between the two. He has used a … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged Bob Catley, book, hard rock, Magnum, Mark Stanway, melodic rock, On Track, review, Tony Clarkin | Leave a comment

Gig review: MR. BIG- Shepherds Bush Empire, London, 23 March 2024

Posted on March 31, 2024 by andynathan

Mr.Big’s last UK tour was here six years ago and when original drummer Pat Torpey passed away months later, the band were effectively put on ice. However the surviving three members have decided to go out one more time, with … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged Billy Sheehan, Eric Martin, gig, Jared James Nichols, Lean Into It, melodic rock, Michele Luppi, Mr Big, Nick D’Virgilio, Paul Gilbert | Leave a comment

Feature: DANNY VAUGHN at Fairycroft House, Saffron Walden, May 24 2024

Posted on March 27, 2024 by jason

A new venture at a smaller venue is the focus of our feature and emphasising the continuing importance of grass roots music promotion… Feature by Jason Ritchie Not content with photographing rock and roll artists under his Mart’s Arts Photography … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, INTERVIEWS, Interviews/10 Questions, Interviews/Backstage Heroes, Interviews/Rock Stars | Tagged acoustic, AOR, Dan Reed, Danny Vaughn, Fairycroft House, Friday May 24 2024, gig, interviews, Martin David Porter, melodic rock, Motorhead, rock, singer songwriter, Tim Atkinson, Tyketto, Wurzel | Leave a comment

Album review : CRUZH – The Jungle Revolution

Posted on March 10, 2024 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date : 22.03.24] Welcome to The Jungle Revolution, third album on the Frontiers label from Swedish band, Cruzh, and their second with vocalist, Alex Waghorn, winner of Idol Sweden in 2017 (singing Journey’s ‘Faithfully’). Among their admitted influences … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Alex Waghorn, Cruzh, eighties, FM, Idol Sweden, Journey, Jungle Revolution, melodic rock, review, Toto | Leave a comment

News: EPICA, KATE BUSH, LOVERBOY (March 2024)

Posted on March 2, 2024 by jason

THOSE DAMN CROWS – Islington Assembly Hall, London – 24th February 2023

Jon Anderson’s 1988 album ‘In The City Of Angels’, is to be reissued on May 3 through the Floating World/Voiceprint. Babylon A.D. release their new studio album ‘Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day’ in May. Sebastian Bach releases his latest solo album, ‘Child Within … 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), Re-issues/special editions, RIP | Tagged albums, AOR, blues, Epica, folk, gigs, Kate Bush, Loverboy, melodic rock, metal, news, prog rock, reissues, RIP, rock, tour dates | Leave a comment

Album review: VEGA – Battlelines

Posted on February 15, 2024 by andynathan

Frontiers Records [Release Date 08.09.23] First of all an apology – Vega’s seventh album was released in Autumn 2023 but dropped under my reviewing radar at the time! It is the first since the departure of the Martin Brothers who … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Battlelines, Billy Taylor, Marcus Thurston, melodic rock, Nick Workman, Pete Newdeck, Vega | Leave a comment

Gig review: JACK J. HUTCHINSON – 02 Academy 2, Islington, London, 8 February 2024

Posted on February 15, 2024 by andynathan

Going somewhat under the radar, except for those in the know, Jack J Hutchinson has just put out his fourth album in the last few years, ‘Battles’, receiving a rave review from Jason Ritchie in the pages of GRTR! For … Continue reading →

Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS | Tagged blues rock, Charlie Rachael Kay, gig, Jack J. Hutchinson, melodic rock, New Wave of Classic Rock, Phil Wilson, Skinny Knowledge | Leave a comment

Album review: REVOLUTION SAINTS – Against The Winds

Posted on February 14, 2024 by jason

Frontiers [Release date 09.02.24] Album number five from Revolution Saints, the band led by Journey vocalist/drummer Deen Castronovo who first debuted in 2015. Revolution Saints had a major line-up change back in 2022 with Deen Castronovo joined by Foreigner bassist Jeff … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged Against The Winds, album, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Deen Castronova, Foreigner, Frontiers, hard rock, Jeff Pilson, Joel Hoekstra, Journey, melodic hard rock, melodic rock, review, Revolution Saints, Whitesnake | Leave a comment

Album review : HONEYMOON SUITE – Alive

Posted on February 12, 2024 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release Date : 16.02.24] They are indeed, performing here in the instantly recognisable melodic style that defined their key albums. There’s none of the artificial complexity that some bands seem to think is necessary as they move into the … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Alice Cooper, AOR, Derry Grehan, Desmond Child, Honeymoon Suite, Johnny Dee, melodic rock, Mike Krompass, review, Steven Tyler, Von Groove | Leave a comment

Album review: ROBERT HART – Circus Life

Posted on January 30, 2024 by jason

Escape Music [Release date 26.01.24] A new solo album by former Bad Company and Distance singer Robert Hart is always a ‘must listen’ for any melodic hard rock fan. On this album he is joined by Heartland’s Steve Morris and … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR, Bad Company, blues rock, Circus Life, FM, hard rock, Harry James, Heartland, Lonerider, melodic rock, review, Robert Hart, Solo, Steve Morris, Steve Overland, Thunder | Leave a comment

News: ELLES BAILEY, HEART, BON JOVI (February 2024)

Posted on January 30, 2024 by jason

JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR - O2 Ritz, Manchester, 17 March 2019

Lee Aaron will be releasing a covers album ‘Tattoo Me’ via Metalville Records on April 26. Ayreon release ’01011001 – Live Beneath The Waves’ through Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group on May 17. Elles Bailey releases a new EP ‘The Night Owl & the Lark’ on February … 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, Bon Jovi, Elles Bailey, folk, gigs, Heart, melodic rock, metal, news, prog rock, reissues, RIP, rock, tour dates | Leave a comment

Album review : MAMA’S BOYS – Runaway Dreams 1980-92 (5 CD boxset)

Posted on January 20, 2024 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 26.01.24] CD1: Official Bootleg (1980) CD2: Plug It In (1982) CD3: Turn It Up (1984) CD4: Relativity (1992) CD5: Singles, B Sides and Rarities Three boys from Co. Fermanagh conquer the world. Well no, it … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, Belfast, boxset, eighties, Hawkwind, Irish Folk Music, Kerrang!, Mama's Boys, melodic rock, Nazareth, Phil Lynott, review, Slade, Sounds, Thin Lizzy | Leave a comment

Album review: TIMSON AOR – Forever’s Not Enough

Posted on January 12, 2024 by jason

Bandcamp [Release date 12.01.24] As the Bandcamp blurb states, Timson AOR are “A band landing 40 years late!! Reviving the classic 1980s Hard Rock, Power Ballad era we all love and miss.” To be fair, many artists have tried to … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged album, AOR. Forever's Not Enough, melodic rock, review, Timson | Leave a comment

Album review : GRAND – Second To None

Posted on January 10, 2024 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date: 19.01.24] With the DNA of eighties AOR coursing through its veins, Swedish band, Grand compete with outfits like Wigelius, Eclipse, HEAT and WET in recreating the genre’s past glories in a post Melodic Rock world. On their … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS | Tagged 1927, AOR, Australian Crawl, Eclipse, Frontiers, HEAT, Jakob, Mattias Oloffson, melodic rock, Svensson, WET, Wigelius | Leave a comment

News: Albums Of The Month (October – December 2023)

Posted on January 8, 2024 by GRTR! HQ

HANFORD FLYOVER Source (Fruits De Mer Records) There are several bands operating in the psych/blues rock space and female fronted such as Dead Feathers and Blues Pills, and even label mate Crystal Jacqueline. But Hanford Flyover are less late sixties Jefferson … Continue reading →

Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), Albums of the Month, ALL POSTS | Tagged 2023, albums of the month, Ann Wilson, blues rock, Care of Night, December, Hanford Flyover, instrumental, melodic rock, November, October, prog, progressive, Robin Trower, rock, Sari Schorr, Trevor Rabin, Tripsitter, Will Pike | Leave a comment

News: KREATOR, ARCH ENEMY, DAN PATLANSKY (January 2024)

Posted on December 31, 2023 by jason

Art Of Anarchy release their third studio album, ‘Let There Be Anarchy’, on February 16 via Pavement Music. Jon Votta (guitar),Vince Votta (drums) and guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal are joined by vocalist Jeff Scott Soto and bassist Tony Dickinson. The Black Keys new album ‘Ohio Players’ is due … Continue reading →