Album Reviews

It’s not often that a review starts at the end. But with Charlotte Wessels’ hard-hitting new album ‘The Obsession’ the end is the only place to start. In 2021 Wessels created a song for her Patreon community called ‘Soft Revolution’; calling it special would be a huge understatement. Self-written/performed/and produced …

Nick Cave is a musician who simply never rests. Since the release of ‘Ghosteen’, the previous Bad Seeds album from 2019, he has (deep breath) released a collaborative album with bandmate Warren Ellis named ‘Carnage’, released 2 live albums, published 2 children’s books, published a book of interviews with journalist …

“Greatness is not born. Greatness is developed.” – Steven Van Zandt. Development from one album to the next is crucial in the growth of a band pushing through the ceiling to find a much larger audience than before. Repeat what has gone before and there is the risk of standing …

Blame Spotify and the rest of the faceless streaming sites. Bloody algorithms. The need to push an artist in one particular direction to find the playlist that best suits them can prove tricky for someone who defies pigeonholing. Someone like Elles Bailey. Is there simply a singer-songwriter category? Or is …

How to begin a review of Lodestar’s new album ‘Zonen’? Mention what has happened worldwide in the 27 years since the band last released an album? No, too easy. Plus, let’s be honest, half of the shit that has happened since the 1996 self-titled debut was released is hard to …

I think a lot of people have misgivings about Scene Queen (AKA Hannah Collins), given that her career can be attributed to starting on TikTok, and the fact that she’s a bright pink sore thumb in the world of metalcore, but you’d be dumb to discount her as an artist. …

“We really got Kittie’s comeback before GTA6.” – @bonkerzcodm4802 YouTube @bonkerzcodm4802 for the win. You get the picture though, yeah? The return of Canadian metal outfit Kittie has been a long time coming. Almost 13 years have passed since the Canucks last studio album – 2011’s ‘I’ve Failed You’ – …

Lucassen & Soeterboek’s Plan Nine – ‘The Long-Lost Songs’ is an adventure 30+ years in the making. The collaborative effort between Dutch musicians/artists Arjen Lucassen and Robert Soeterboek was originally planned for a release in the early 90s; but then Grunge hit and the hard rock/metal landscape changed dramatically. The …

Helsinki, 1993. Four classically-trained musicians form a cello quartet at the Sibelius Academy, and they name themselves Apocalyptica. All of them share a common interest; their favourite band just so happens to be Los Angeles’ very own Metallica. In the years following their formation, the guys would craft their own …

14 years between solo albums is a lengthy time, but it’s not like Slash hasn’t been busy since he released his 2010 self-titled debut album. 4 studio albums with Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators, countless tours with SMKC as well as the small matter of packing them in …