Album Reviews

Watching ‘Guitar Man’, it becomes abundantly clear from the off that Joe Bonamassa was never going to fail in his quest to not only make a career from playing the blues, but said career would be successful. In the dictionary under “driven”, it should simply say; “see Joe Bonamassa”, and …

Ignoring the cardinal sin of writing in the first-person for a moment; I’ve got a friend in America, Nashville to be precise. Massive old-school rock fan. The kind of guy who caught the likes of Aerosmith and Kiss the first time around in theatres. He messages me early 2019, asking …

Well well well, the Cats have sharpened their claws on studio album number four. The trademark Cats in Space 70’s-tinged AOR/power-pop/melodic rock sound is still very much prevalent, but ‘Atlantis’ packs more of rockier sound than previous albums. The guitars from Greg Hart and Dean Howard are more prominent than …

“Ginger gave me two instructions: “Loud guitars and loud crowd”….I didn’t have a choice in either as that’s what was captured during the recording” – producer Dave Draper Bastard Facebook memories. Rubbing it in every day with reminders that on this day, whatever year it was, that you were at …

The last 12 months have been one hell of a rollercoaster ride for Morgan Rose. A serious medical condition resulted in sudden life or death surgery which thankfully saw the well-liked Sevendust drummer come out the other side stronger. With a low immune system from the operation, Rose understandably faced …

Maverick – “an unorthodox or independent-minded person” Alan Nimmo on calling the new King King Album ‘Maverick’ – “I named the album ‘Maverick’ at a time when it was risky to do so. I made some bold moves and changes from band members to behind-the-scenes stuff. I guess that’s who …

Clutch makes it look easy. They really do. Watch them at a festival (yeah, if only), no fireworks, no histrionics, just four unassuming dudes that quietly plug in and go about the business of making some of the best, and grooviest rock and roll around today. And they have been …

The current pandemic has seen a rise in the number of covers hastily put together by well-meaning celebs (no, Wonder Woman, just, no), but for each time that ‘Imagine’ has been butchered, there is an album like this one. Don’t let the album title fool you for this is indeed …

With the change in seasons, and Autumn leading into Winter, the dark, miserable days are a fertile breeding ground for Swedish melodic death metal, perfect times for a new Dark Tranquillity album really. ‘Moment’ is their first since 2016’s ‘Atoma’, and the first with a new line-up which features two …

Striking while the plaudits from debut album ‘Forever Whatever’ are still ringing in their ears, Taunton-based “power-rock” outfit October Drift have put the downtime enforced by COVID to good use and released a quick follow-up in the shape of the ‘Naked’ EP. As the title suggests, this is the band …