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...

Released - March 2nd 2018 via Spinefarm Records Track Listing Worth Fighting For Let Me See It All Heartbeat Away Home Follow Me I Believe Doesn't Matter Anyone Just A Memory Other Side Of Me The Only Thing I Need