I haven't posted for a while mostly because I've been obsessed with old albums I've discovered and this is not what this blog is about for me. It's about promoting what is new because despite the cries that rock and metal are dead. It's just not true. I'm going to share with you my top five releases from this year that I heavily recommend. I know the year isn't technically over yet but if something new comes in I'll let you know No.1 Judas Priest's 'Firepower' is the definition of heavy metal from the legends that created it. A well deserved top spot. No.2 Doomsday Outlaw take the second spot with 'Hard Times'. Only on their second album they have delivered a belter and hopefully have a lot more where this came from. No.3 Album number 3 comes from local (to me) stoner groove metallers Witch Tripper. 'I, of the storm' is another second album that see's the band reach a new level and one that should defin

Release date : Oct 19th Track Listing: 01 Neon Lights 02 Who Are You 03 Breathe It In 04 Better Way To Be 05 Your Colours 06 Too Close Delayed Departure are a 5 piece alternative rock band from Farnborough. I first came across this band with the single 'Ocean' from the last E.P release 'Consequences'. It was a track that I loved and was patiently waiting to hear what this next collection of tracks was going to be like. The recommendation is that they are for fans of You Me At Six, Mallory Knox & Deaf Havana. I couldn't tell you what any of those sound like but if it's true I'll have to check them out as well. The comparison I would loosely draw is with InMe at least from the instrumental section of the band. We're off to a good start with the first song and lead single for the E.P 'Neon Lights'. It opens up with quite a bouncy guitar riff with a layer of atmospheric lead that leads into more uptempo verse. The chorus sees v

Released : 21 Sept 2018 Long Branch Records Track Listing: 1. Animals 2. Party Monster 3. Soul & Chemicals - Studio Session 4. Tunnel vision - Studio Session Whilst perusing through my emails checking out what's new, I came onto this band and it hit me straight away. This is a band I'm going to love. I've not heard of them before and now I'm disappointed that hadn't. Siamese are a Danish, what I might describe as a 'pop metal' band. The email says 'soulful metal' and their Spotify bio says 'RnB core'. These are all correct to some degree. It is a rare mix of metal instrumentation with pure pop melodies and vocals. This won't be to everyone's taste but sits very well with me. They remind me of one of my favourite but now disbanded groups Forever Never. The first track is the new single 'Animals'. With its overlaid synth and low syncopated guitar chugging it's a very modern metal sound with a very tigh

Release date - 14.6.18 Record Label - Independent  Track Listing  1. Bloodbath 2. Natural Downer 3. Lately 4. Break Ground The Full Bug are a hard rock band from Tel Aviv, Israel. They responded to my call for new music on twitter and straight away from a 30 second Spotify link I knew it was my type of thing. According to the band's website 'The Full Bug' is slang for 'give it all you've got'. It's a phrase I've never heard before so I learned something new as well. I would say this band are a blend of hard rock/metal/stoner/groove/blues and that sits well with me. The E.P. is a short listen coming in at around 14 mins total. In that short time is does pack quite a big punch. Blood bath, Natural Downer and Lately are all heavy hitters with big drums, big guitar riffs and big rock vocals. I've grouped these three together because there isn't much that separates them style wise. That's not to put them down. The qua

Release date - 10.8.18  Record Label - Frontiers Music SRL Track Listing 1. Apocalypse 2. New Rise 3. The Ritual 4. King Of Madness 5. Blood, Sweat, & Fear 6. Supernova 7. Hail To The Fear 8. Hounds Of Justice 9. The Beast 10. Eye Of The Storm 11. Cannonball 12. Fight Against Evil (Bonus Track – Deluxe Version) 13. Into The Fire (Bonus Track – Deluxe Version) 14. My War Is Over (Bonus Track – Deluxe Version) It's been a while since I posted a review. Partly because I've been listening to different genres of music that don't fit this blog. Partly because I've been in the mood to listen to old music and the albums I've already reviewed. Another reason is not much has stood out to me recently to feel like I need to tell you about. That was until today. Primal Fear have been going for 21 years and it was only today I have given them the time of day. I heard the song 'The Ritual' on Down the Front podcast #86 and in the first 1

Chasing Dragons - Like Gravity  Chasing Dragons are a hard rock/metal band from Leeds that have been around a few years now. I first heard of them after walking in on them mid set during a Macmillan Fest held at Nottingham Rock City. At the time I wasn't blown away but I didn't think they were bad. I remembered them though. Earlier this year my band played Waynestock V at Wakefield's Black Mass Bar alongside them and after that performance I was sold. They are a good all round professional band. The only gripe you can have with them is the style isn't to your taste because there isn't a weak link in the group. Why am I writing about them? A new single has been released ahead of their album due out in October this year called 'Faction'. 'Like Gravity' kicks off with a riff that wouldn't sound out of place on a Machine Head album. Instrumentally it's kind of Megadeth meets Alter Bridge but what gives the band the unique sound is th

  Venue - The Slade Rooms - Wolverhampton 6.7.2018 At a loss for what to do with a free Friday night I reached out to the friendly Facebook community group 'New Wave Of Classic Rock' to see what was on offer and the best recommendation for me was this gig. I was only vaguely aware of Vega so I checked a few songs and liked what I heard so I committed myself and bought a ticket that morning. Let me tell you I was not disappointed. I feel like I haven't been to a gig in a while and this was a good reminder that live music is always better. I was smiling throughout the whole thing.   First up we had Devilfire. Due to unexpected traffic I missed the first half of the set but what I did see I liked. If you're a fan of guyliner, straight long hair and melodic rock and roll then you will like them too. I would say it felt to me like the Scorpions with a touch of Nickleback. Did I buy a CD? yes I did. I've given it a quick spin and although it's good I th

  Release date - 27th July 2018 Track listing 1. Dust Atlas 2. The Lady & the Devil 3. Mountain of Gold 4. The March Towards The Sun Urne (pronounced 'urn') are a brand new band featuring members from Hang the Bastard who I had  never heard of. I did a quick bit of research and I am not a fan of what I heard. What I am a fan of though is this new release 'The Mountains of Gold'. It may only be 4 track but they all clock in at around 5/6 minutes each so you get a good little metal session with it. I would say this band are for fans of Hatebreed, Slayer and Megadeth. It's production is super tight and crisp. The kind you might associate with Andy Sneap. I know for some in the metal community this is frowned upon as they much prefer a more raw sound but I love it. First track 'Dust Atlas' takes 2 minutes before you hear any vocals and in that time you are assaulted with riffs. Hardcore riffs, thrash riffs, doom riffs, black met

Released - June 8th © 2018 Napalm Records Handels GmbH Track listing 1. Bringer Of War 2. From The Sky 3. A Dying Machine 4. Trust 5. Throw Them To The Lions 6. Make It Hurt 7. Traipse 8. The First The Last 9. A Lot Like Sin 10. The Day When Legions Burned 11. As The Silence Becomes Me 12. Take You With Me 13. Desolation 14. Found Mark Tremonti is a guitarist I've followed since the end of Creed (wasn't a massive fan of that). His work with Alter Bridge and his previous solo albums though have all been worthy of well more than a passing listen. His skills on the guitar improve with every release and in the case of the Tremonti albums, so have his vocals. After a slightly disappointing release from his Alter Bridge colleague earlier in the year I was quietly confident that the next Tremonti release (this one) would not let me down. Largely I'd say it hasn't. The steady increase in quality from his previous 3 albums reaching what appear

Everyone Dies In Utah are a metalcore band from Texas U.S.A. Metalcore isn't a genre I'm overly familiar with and only really dip my toe in to if I'm honest. Always willing to give something a try, the new single 'X' from EDIU actually grabbed me from the first listen. For me it's similar to Atreyu and Killswitch Engage. That probably shows how much I know about the genre. What I can tell you that I do know is I enjoyed it. To my English ears the sound is very American. That's not a problem for me so if it is for you then maybe you should look elsewhere. Having looked back through a bit of their back catalogue It seems this track might be considered a ballad. It is also the most polished from the production side of things. If you don't like the sound of this track because it's not 'heavy' enough then check out their previous work because it isn't a great representation of their sound. For me it's actually better and I hope they

Stand Alone - Never Stand Alone Stand Alone are a hard rock trio from Bradford. The easiest band to compare them to is Stone Broken with a slightly punkier edge. Whilst going through the bands that have been sent to me, I watched the video for the new single 'Never Stand Alone'. I had never heard of them before today and I'm guessing that you hadn't either. I listened to a handful of other bands that had obviously much more money to spend on videos and recording but I found myself going back to Stand Alone and listening a few more times.  I think I'm just a sucker for harmony vocals particularly if it's a minor third. This single has plenty of them and in the second verse there a tasty 3 part harmony that's like magic to my ears. Whilst many bands are going for technicality, intensity or obscurity, Stand Alone are keeping their eye firmly on melody and that's something I like. As I eluded to before it's not the most polished produc

Release Date - 25.5.18 Record Label - Long Branch Records Track Listing My Favourite Stranger Burn Celebrity Summer Wires Blacklight Shadow Pray to the Creature Vertigo Mouth of the Wolf Pins and Needles Toru's Maze Years I first became aware of Black Orchid Empire catching them support InMe on their most recent tour. I liked them enough to buy the last album 'Archetype' from the merch stand. They told me they have a new one coming out soon and this is it. I'm not going to pretend like I knew what 'Yugen' meant and for those of you that would like to know, it's a Japanese word for 'Subtle yet profound beauty'. I think it's an ambitious title having listened to it a few times but there is a ring a truth to it. Black Orchid Empire are not your typical alt metal band. Whilst bringing the heavy syncopated riffs they never lose sight of melody. Combined with clean almost pop like vocals they tread a fine line that lands them in

Release Date : 11.5.2018 Record label : Frontiers Track Listing  Hard Times Over and Over Spirit That Made Me Into the Light Bring It on Home Days Since I Saw the Sun Will You Wait Break You Come My Way Were You Ever Mine Too Far Left to Fall Now seems to be a good time for new underground hard rock bands pushing themselves to the forefront of the scene. Doomsday Outlaw are a good example of that. I was told the day after their Debut album 'Suffer More' was released Frontiers got into contact with them to hear it based on a review in Classic Rock magazine. I have a lot of respect for Frontiers because they are willing to takes chances on new music and usually they get it right. This is one of those times where they have. The three singles that were released 'Over and Over', 'Spirit That Made Me' and 'Bring It On Home' all carry on the same style as 'Suffer More' which is a sort of groove blues hard rock with a pinch of co

  Venue - The Hairy Dog, Derby 7.5.2018 Line up Black Orchid Empire Tigress InMe   It's a bank holiday Monday and it's red hot. After spending the day at work I decide the spend the end of the day in a sweaty venue watching one of my current favourite bands (InMe) and 2 bands I've never heard of before. The first band up is Black Orchid Empire. I admit when they first walked on I thought I was in for some down-tuned screaming metal. What I actually got was a good, clear, and melodic voice with spot on harmonies provided by the bass player. There were still some heavy riffs combined with some non standard time signatures though. I was very impressed and bought a CD and listened to it on the way home. It's good but doesn't do the live show justice. If they come back near me I'll definitely try to see them again. Tigress were next up but I have to say the music was not for me. Don't let that put you off goin

  Venue - Real Time Live - Chesterfield  4.5.2018 Real time live is a venue I have a lot of love for having played the stage many times and seen many bands perform on it. The stage is big, the lighting is great and the PA sounds fantastic. If you can't sound good in here then you've got no chance. Line up Jizzy Pearl  Doomsday Outlaw Emperors Of The Wasteland First to the stage we have Emperors Of The Wasteland from Derby. The sound that came from the stage right from the beginning was very powerful. All the instruments were very clear and hard hitting. The way hard rock is meant to be. Nick (bass) was very animated on stage doing away with any notion that bass players should be heard and not seen. This in stark contrast to the guitarist who, maybe because of his physical build, reminded me of a doorman at a nightclub. Whilst he wasn't moving around too much it suited the riffs he has playing. No nonsense rock. Al&#

Kovax - cobolt Release date - May 7th 2018    Kovax are a noisy/shouty metal band from Leeds launched in 2016. When they sent me the new single to review I was a bit hesitant as I'm very much a fan of the 'album' and not singles as seems to be the trend nowadays. I listened to it a few times anyway and it started to grow on me so I thought I'd say something about it.    It's not a genre of metal that I'm overly familiar with so I can't speak to much of the influences but what came to my mind was Raging Speedhorn/Machine head with a delicate touch of Skindred based on this single. The song is not very long at 2:22 but it packs a massive punch and the riffs sound huge. The chorus is melodic enough and the breakdown at the end will keep anyone that loves a good 'pit' happy. I had a quick listen to the previous album for a bit of context and I can tell you that from almost every angle, 'cobolt' is a massive step forward. The produc

Venue - Rock City - Nottingham It's Thursday night and you've got work early on Friday. On the one hand you have to be well rested for work to pay your bills. On the other hand there's free metal to had at a good venue near you. I know which one I care about more. The event was arranged as a 30th birthday party for somebody and from being there it looked like everybody had a good time. First up we have Down In One. Local band Down In One are a beer fuelled heavy metal band with a touch of groove. A few songs in and the band have set the bar for the night with chunky riffs and screaming vocals. If you like your metal with big, sweaty, hairy balls and enough girth to leave you needing stitches then this band is for you.  They had the birthday boy up on stage for a requested cover of the Clutch song ' X ray vision'. I'd never heard the song before and it sounded good enough for me to want to check it out so that was a success. They finished with Mad

Released - 30.3.2018 Track Listing: 1. Black Magic 2. Too Much Of A Good Thing 3. Killed By Love 4. In It For The Money 5. Golden Days 6. Playing Tricks On Me 7. Make The Best Of What You Got 8. Follow Your Heart 9. Do You Love Me Enough 10. Stronger 11. Love Is The Law   32 years after FM unleashed their debut album 'Indiscreet' they hit us with their latest release 'Atomic Generation'. In the scheme of things I'm late to the FM party after hearing about them when Planet Rock had 'Crosstown Train' on the playlist in 2013. Since then I've listened to the entire back catalogue and have seen them live 3 times so I've got some reference to talk about this release. It has the same general feel as the last 3 albums but with a bit more different influences on show. for those whose don't know the FM sound, it's like Def Leppard and Journey's less popular brother. Whilst they don't have anywhere the level of fame as those t

Release Date - April 14th 2018 Track Listing 1. White Lines 2. State Of Mind 3. I Of The Storm 4. Poonstar 5. Roll The Dice 6. Hell Bound 7. High In The Sun 8. Cut Me Loose 9. The Road, It Hurts  I'm fairly new to Witch Tripper having only heard their first self titled album a few months ago. It was at an event where my band shared to the bill with them that I first saw them. Based on that performance I had to see them again. I did. I wrote a review of it here . A selection of songs from this release were played at said gig and I now have to good fortune to be able to tell you what I think of the whole thing weeks before it's release.  In a comparison to the first album the production is noticeably improved. It's less raw with a thicker and deeper guitar tone. Their self professed style is 'Stoner/Groove Rock and Roll' and largely I would agree with that based on the first album. This second album takes that and adds what I would call more tradit

Date - 23.3.18 Venue - The Hairy Dog  City - Derby Cost - £5   Line up : Primal  28 Double Ritual King Witch Tripper  This is the first time I've been to The Hairy Dog and I don't think it will be the last . The stage is as good as any small club gig I've been to the lighting effects, projector backdrop and smoke we're all used to good effect and added to the joy of watching these bands. I'll get onto those now... First up we're Primal. I'd never seen or heard these before. A Nottingham 3 piece (drums, guitar, vocals) that when I first saw them thought 'Where's the bass?'. It turns out they don't need them because their 1 guitarist sounds like 3 with all the effects that he uses. The sound reminded me of Rival sons/Royal Blood. Not really my kind of music but not bad by any means. I got the impression they are a band that hasn't gigged very  much because the whole thing for me lacked confidence. The vocalist barely loo

 Released - 9th March 2018 Track listing 1. Year Of The Tiger 2. The Great Beyond 3. Blind Faith 4. Devil On The Wall 5. Ghost Of Shangri La 6. Turning Stones 7. Haunted By Design 8. Mother 9. Nothing But A Name 10. Love Can Only Heal 11. Songbird 12. One Fine Day I've followed Myles Kennedy from the beginning with the first Alter Bridge album right through to his second complete Slash album. I have a lot of time and respect for him and think his voice is one of the best in modern rock/metal music. His first solo outing with 'Year of the tiger' takes a rather drastic turn of style from all the previous albums he has appeared on by stripping back the distorted guitars and going for a much more acoustic feel and a wide range of styles within that framework. The versatility of this man knows no bounds. What I will say is that this album is a grower. There aren't any obvious stand out 'hits' for me. Had it been anyone else after first listen I pro