Album Reviews

Upon scoring an opening slot on the Mötley Crüe/Def Leppard American stadium tour, ex-Biters frontman Tuk Smith must surely have done a little celebratory jig. No need to point out what happened next, but the good news is that Smith and his band The Restless Hearts are still scheduled to …

“Putting only our name on it is a statement – This is LAMB OF GOD. Here and now.” – D. Randall Blythe. Understatement of the year. Blythe does however perfectly sum up five years of studio silence from the outfit from Richmond, Virginia. What preceded studio album number eight, is …

Norfolk groove merchants Bad Touch return with album number four, ‘Kiss The Sky’. Although it will surely be a case of ‘Kiss The Ground’ when (fingers crossed) Bad Touch pull up outside The Waterfront Studio in Norwich on April 7th next year, for the opening night of a tour which …

With the release of ‘Misery, German symphonic metallers Beyond The Black knew that they were going to ruffle more than a few feathers. Hence it was the first new music from studio album number four; ‘Hørizøns’, to be released. Quite a bold statement of intent really. In essence ‘Misery’ is …

East Anglia based alt-rock outfit Dead Reynolds return with their sophomore release; ‘Frontier’. Four high-energy, uplifting tracks that don’t hang around, from a band championed by both Classic Rock Magazine and Kerrang Radio. Names such as Funeral For A Friend, Frank Carter, and Deaf Havana are usually thrown into the …

Grammy nominated duo Larkin Poe return with their fifth album ‘Self Made Man’, and the first thing of note is how instant the album is. No gentle easing in, as soon as the first few power chords of opening track ‘She’s A Self Made Man’ kick in, courtesy of Rebecca …

On album number six; ‘Grit Your Teeth’, Vega come flying out the traps with ‘Blind’. A sense of urgency, a statement of intent, call it what you will but this is Vega ramped up to the max. Great pacing, fantastic riffs from Marcus Thurston and the usual high quality vocals …

Nothing quite offers up tales of outlaws, sinners, and redemption as the old American West. Outlaws and gunslingers make for interesting characters, and let’s be honest here; after playing Red Dead II for hours on end, everyone likes to think that they have a little bit of outlaw in them. …

So, after the initial novelty of Netflix binge sessions wore off, what better way for a pair of musicians to survive lockdown than get into their home studio and record some new music. Verity and Alex White came up with an EP; ‘After The Storm’, and the limited first edition …

For their third album; ‘Semaphore’, London based trio Black Orchid Empire have gone down the concept album route. Intro track ‘Emissaries’ has a slight tip of the hat to Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, and serves notice that the concept is Sci-Fi related. Kubrick’s masterpiece is a unique movie that …