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Latest Album Reviews
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Latest Gig Reviews
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Gig review: BLACK EYED SONS- The Lexington, London, 16 December 2024
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Gig review: BRAVE RIVAL – Thames Side Brewery, Staines, 8 December 2024
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Gig review: STRAY – The Cavern, Raynes Park, London, 7 December 2024
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Gig review: THE SHEEPDOGS, THE COMMONERS – Islington Assembly Hall, London, 5 December 2024
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Gig review: GUN – Barrowlands, Glasgow, 14 December 2024
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Gig review: THE DAMN TRUTH – The Grace, London, 26 November 2024
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Featured Album Reviews
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Album review : STATUS QUO – The Early Years 1966-69 (5 CD boxset)
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Album review : TRAPEZE – Don’t Stop The Music – Complete Recordings Vol 1 1970-1992 (6 CD Boxset)
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Album review: RAINBREAKERS – Face To Face
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Album review: H.E.A.T. – Tearing Down The Walls
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Album review: DANNY BRYANT – Temperature Rising
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Quick plays: KRISTINA STYKOS, DANNI NICHOLLS
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Features
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Tag Archives: power metal
Feature: GRTR!@20 Anniversary – Metal – Primer
During the period 2003-2023 metal had morphed into various guises. Brian McGowan tries to keep up with it and surveys the period… Heavy Metal is a musical phenomenon that continues to gain in strength and popularity, worldwide. It has the … Continue reading →
Posted in ALL POSTS, FEATURES, GRTR!@20, The Primer
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Tagged 2003-2023, Avenged Sevenfold, Blind Guardian, Edguy, Helloween, history, metal, power metal, Rammstein
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Album review: RING OF FIRE – Gravity
Frontiers [Release date: 11.11.22] Spend an hour with Ring Of Fire’s new album, Gravity, and you’re sure to find the music impossible to nail down. It’s a moving target. A neo-classical, Prog/Power Metal sub genre, or maybe that’s a a … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged album, Aldo Lonobile, Artension, Johnny Cash, Malmsteen, Mark Boals, neoclassical metal, power metal, prog metal, review, Secret Sphere, Shining Black, TSO, Vitali Kuprij
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Album review: DRAGONLAND – The Power Of The Nightstar
AFM Records [Release date: 14.10.22] First album in ten years from Swedish Power/Melodic Metal band, Dragonland. A lot can change in ten years. A lot can stay the same. This is Dragonland expanded, more ambitious, with a finely developed movie … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged album, Anders Hammer, Elias Holmlid, Hans Zimmer, Jacob Hansen, Jesse Lindskog, Johan Nunez, John Williams, Jonas Heidgert, melodic metal, Olof Mörck), power metal, review, symphonic metal
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Album review: IRON SAVIOR – Reforged Ironbound Volume 2
AFM Records [release date: 26.08.22] You could argue that Piet Sielck and Kai (Gamma Ray) Hansen kick started the entire Power Metal genre in Europe when the former Helloween bandmates formed Iron Savior in 1996. That was then. More recently, … Continue reading →
Album review: PAUL DI’ANNO’s BATTLEZONE – Killers in The Battlezone (3CD Boxset)
Cherry Red [release date: 24.06.22] The career of the currently wheelchair bound singer, Paul Di’Anno has been a journey of detours, dead ends, drug addiction and detainment. His public profile as a musician began with heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. … Continue reading →
Album review: STARCHASER – Starchaser
Frontiers Music [Release date: 06.05.22] If you have an insatiable appetite for the genre, this meat and 2 veg power metal album from new band, Starchaser might provide reasonable, short term sustenance. It began life as a Kenneth (Tad Morose) … Continue reading →
Album review: VON HERTZEN BROTHERS – Red Alert In The Blue Forest
Doing Being Music [Release date: 18.03.22] Described by the 3 Von Hertzen Brothers – Kie, Mikko and Jonne – as 70 minutes of art rock, ‘Red Alert In The Blue Forest is a concept album written separately by all 3 brothers … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
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Tagged album, Caravan, Chris Squire, electro, folk, Jethro Tull, Jon Anderson, Jonne Von Hertzen, Kie Von Hertzen, Mikko Von Hertzen, power metal, prog, Pye Hastings, Red Alert In The Blue Forest, review, rock, symphonic rock, Von Hertzen Brothers, Yes
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Album review: SHEWOLF – SheWolf
Frontiers [Release date: 18.03.22] Aiming to climb the Power Metal mountain, SheWolf release their self titled debut album this month. Led by stunning Greek vocalist, Angel Wolf-Black, the band, The Hunter (guitars), The Predator (bass) and Alpha (drummer) might sound … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged album, Angel Wolf-Black, folk, Greek mythology, lockdown, Nightwish, pandemic, power metal, prog, review, Selene, Within Temptation, Wolf
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Album review: NEW HORIZON – Gate Of The Gods
Frontiers [Release date: 11.02.22] New Horizon is a H.E.A.T. splinter group, or splinter duo, to be precise. Being almost famous gives you room to try other things, and so Jonah Tee and Erik Gronwall have been given the opportunity to … Continue reading →
Album review: SERIOUS BLACK – Vengeance Is Mine
AFM Records [Release date: 25.02.22] Sixth album from Power Metal band, Serious Black. Their reputation for international membership has continued throughout a 7 years and counting career. German founding member, Roland (Helloween) Grapow bailed early on. US vocalist Urban (Tad … Continue reading →
Album review: TRICK OR TREAT – Creepy Symphonies
Scarlet Records [Release date 01.04.22] ‘Creepy Symphonies’ is the seventh studio album from Trick Or Treat, who always entertain with their music. Like Freedom Call, Trick Or Treat like to think of their music as happy metal. Vocalist Alle Conti … Continue reading →
Album review: BATTLE BEAST – Circus of Doom
Nuclear Blast [Release date 21.01.22] Album number six from Battle Beast, after a bit of a gap since 2019’s highly enjoyable ‘No More Hollywood Endings’. Their line-up remains the same, namely Eero Sipilä (bass), Pyry Vikki (drums), Janne Björkroth (keytar), … Continue reading →
Album review: TOKYO BLADE – Fury
Dissonance/Cherry Red [Release date: 21.01.22] It’s interesting to note that Tokyo Blade’s current members, including guitarist Andy Boulton and vocalist Alan Marsh, were with the band almost from the beginning, but left and rejoined at various intervals since the band’s … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
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Tagged Alan Marsh, album, Andy Boulton, heavy metal, lockdown, power metal, review, Thin Lizzy, Tokyo Blade
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Album review: EDGE OF FOREVER – Seminole
Frontiers [Release date 21.01.22] Edge Of Forever’s mainman, Alessandro Del Vecchio’s description of the band’s fifth album is worth reading. You get the gist, but its over the top, disconnected language gives the impression it’s an outtake from Spinal Tap. … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
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Tagged album, Aldo Lonobile, Alessandro Delvecchio, Edge Of Forever, hard rock, Hardline, Marc DeSalvia, power metal, review, Secret Sphere
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Album review: THE FERRYMEN – One More River To Cross
Frontiers [Release date: 21.01.21] The Ferrymen are Magnus (Freefall/ Heart Healer) Karlsson, Ronnie (Lords Of Black/ Rainbow) Romero and Mike (Rage/ Axel Rudi Pell) Terrana. One More River To Cross is their third album on Frontiers, and this is a … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
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Tagged album, Axel Rudi Pell, Freefall, Frontiers, Lords Of Black, Magnus Karlsson, melodic metal, Mike Terrana, power metal, Rage, Rainbow, review, Ronnie Romero, the Ferrymen
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Album review: SONATA ARTICA – Acoustic Adventures: Volume One
Atomic Fire Records [Release date 21.01.22] After Sonata Artica toured in 2016 with an acoustic set and then again in 2019. From these two successful tours the idea was born to capture these versions on two acoustic albums, the second … Continue reading →
Quick plays: BLACKLITE DISTRICT, NORTHTALE
BLACKLITE DISTRICT – 1990 AK19 Entertainment, LLC [Release date 31.12.21] Kyle Pfeiffer is better known by the name Blacklite District and has been releasing music since 2011. The album title gives a little clue to the sounds contained within, as the … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews, Quick Plays
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Tagged 1990, album, Blacklite District, Helloween, Kyle Pfeiffer, metal, modern rock, NorthTale, nu-metal, Nuclear Blast, power metal, review, symphonic metal
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Gig review: ALESTORM – Barrowlands, Glasgow, 5 December 2021
For those who are unfamiliar with Glasgow, the Barrowlands Ballroom shares its name with Barra’s market which takes up a lot of the surrounding area. The Barra’s market used to be a huge affair which attracted people from all over Scotland looking … Continue reading →
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
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Tagged 5th December 2021, Alestorm, Angus McFife, Barrowlands, Bootyard Bandits, Captain Yarrface, Christopher Bowes, Drink, gig, Glasgow, GLORYHAMMER, Hoots, live, Luke Philp, Mate Bodar, metal, Mexico, pirate metal, power metal, rock
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Album review: MANIMAL – Armageddon
AFM Records [Release date 3.12.21] Armageddon is Swedish Power Metal band, Manimal’s 6th release. What it lacks in subtlety, it makes up for in bravado and sheer power, with the rough edges sanded down by a bunch of resilient, tough … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged AFM Records, album, Armageddon, Henrik Stenroos, Manimal, power metal, review, Samuel Nyman, Sweden
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Album review: RHAPSODY OF FIRE – Glory For Salvation
AFM Records [Release date 26.11.21] Italian symphonic metal legends Rhapsody (for that is what they were originally called) return with their 13th studio album and is the second in the The Nephilim’s Empire Saga concept series, and follows on from … Continue reading →
Album review: INSANIA – V Praeparatus Supervivet
Frontiers [Release date 12.11.21] Few bands get back together after a 14 year breakup, but that’s what Sweden’s Power Metal band, Insania have done. Twin vocalists, twin guitars, bubbling bass and ahhh… that double kick bass drum thump on the … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts)
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Tagged album, Frontiers, Helloween, Insania, Iron Maiden, power metal, review, Sweden
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Album review: BEAST IN BLACK – Dark Connection
Nuclear Blast [Release date 29.10.21] Beast In Black, the band that love to mix synths, Europop beats and their love of Anime into the more traditional power metal mix. This is the band’s third album with both of their previous … Continue reading →
Album review: BURNING POINT – Arsonist Of The Soul
AFM Records [Release date: 22.10.21] Finnish band, Burning Point have never found their way into the vanguard of European Power Metal. To their credit, despite being handicapped by lacklustre albums and personnel changes, they’ve kept moving forward. Now, five years … Continue reading →
Album review: THE GRANDMASTER – Skywards
Frontiers [Release date 15.10.21] Grandmaster is vocalist Nando Fernandez of Brazilian metal band, Sinistra, paired with incomparable metal guitarist Jens (Edguy) Ludwig. It’s a match made in Frontiers’ HQ. The songs have been written by, and the album produced by … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
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Tagged album, Alssandro DelVecchio, Edguy, Frontiers, Jens Ludwig, Nando Hernandez, power metal, review, Sinistra
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Album review: LORDS OF BLACK – Alchemy Of Souls II
Frontiers [Release date 15.10.21] Fifth album from metallers, Lords Of Black, the Ronnie Romero/ Tony Hernando band. They brand themselves as a “Progressive” Power Metal band. You can see strong hints of how this plays out when first viewing the … Continue reading →