Cardiff University Great HallThursday 7th March 2022Review and photos – Danni Wilkins/Rob WilkinsA few weeks ago I saw a post on Facebook from Halestorm regarding their upcoming “Evening With…” tour. I almost didn’t dare look. Covid was once again rising rapidly and the difference in restrictions surely meant that what …

Swedish metallers Sabaton have just dropped their tenth studio album ‘The War To End All Wars’, and we were lucky enough to grab a chat with Sabaton guitarists Chris Rörland and Tommy Johansson when the band made a special visit to the Heugh Battery Museum in Hartlepool the day before …

There was something very apt about German folk metallers Feuerschwanz choosing to officially release their latest album ‘Memento Mori’ on December 31st, 2021. If ever there was a band tailor-made to bring the second-shittest year in recent history to a conclusion and put a well-needed smile on so many faces, …

German folk-rock/folk-metal singer/songwriter and musician Ben Metzner is a busy man of late. His main band Feuerschwanz are gearing up for the arrival of their latest album on New Year’s Eve, and his other project dArtagnan have just released a brand new live cd/Bluray in the form of ‘Feuer & …

The recently released self-titled debut solo album from Welsh songstress Chez Kane (Kane’d) has been one of THE success stories of the year so far. With Crazy Lixx vocalist Danny Rexon working with Frontiers Music to scout and produce new artists, fate brought Chez to the attention of Danny and …

On her new album ‘The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest’, Dutch singer-songwriter/guitarist Anneke van Giersbergen has produced her most personal album to date. Rather than going down a prog-metal route, ‘The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest’ is an intimate, acoustic album with some extra flourishes added. We spoke with Anneke …

English rock legends Thunder are gearing up for the release of their thirteenth studio ‘All The Right Noises’ (out 12th March 2021 on BMG). Set to be one of the best albums of 2021, ‘All The Right Noises’ is Thunder at their very best, and lead guitarist, songwriter, and producer …

Glasgow rockers The Swamp Born Assassins put the time in lockdown to good use by reimaging four of their tracks in an acoustic style. Having road-tested the approach, first with an instore appearance at a local HMV, then as part of Guy Bellamy’s ‘Spirit of Wildfire’ festival-on-the-radio, The Swamps knew …

With a combination of ultra-clean vocals and full-on guttural growls, Swiss powerhouse vocalist Melissa Bonny is one of the rapidly rising stars in today’s metal scene.  As well as featuring in Rage Of Light, Bonny is also turning heads with her new band Ad Infinitum. The quartet has just released …

Dutch multi-instrumentalist Arjen Lucassen’s legendary Prog project Ayreon will release the epic new album ‘Transitus’ on September 25th via Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group. As with any Ayreon album, it is an explosive and expansive affair and features the instantly recognisable Tom Baker as the narrator, along with the two …