Album Reviews

Led Zeppelin. Just those two words immediately conjure up images of thunderous drums, crushing riffs, a grinding bass line covered by a howling blues scream. From 1968 until John Bonhams untimely death in 1980 the foursome could boast eight albums each crammed with timeless classics that still hold the benchmark for truly great rock. Since 1980 the remaining three have ...

Florida based melodic / hardcore / punk outfit Rescuer have released ‘With Time Comes The Comfort’ (January 15th 2013.) The album had already made the Absolute Punk’s ‘Most Anticipated’ list for 2013. Describing Rescuer as “One of the most exhilarating bands Rise Records have signed for years…” http://www.absolutepunk.net/ This 5 piece play their own brand of fresh hard-won power-trips, with ...

The Greek symphonic black metal act ‘Nightfall’ was formed in 1991. The band apparently split up in 2005 (although no official announcement was ever made) but the band was rebuilt in 2009 when American guitarist Evan Hensley was invited to join up, and German drummer and producer Jörg Uken replaced George Kollias on drums. This new line-up attracted the interest ...

If you’ve seen The Blackout on tour, you’ll know one thing. The Blackout like to party. So much, in fact, they’ve dedicated their latest release to it. 2013 marks the band’s 10th anniversary, and after the more grown-up feel and emotional maturity showcased in previous release Hope,  expectations are likely to be high. The album starts off with ‘Start The ...

The Rolling Stones… How many front-men have taken tips from Mick Jagger? There’s even a very catchy tune by that terrible lot Maroon 5 claiming they have the ‘moves’ like him. How many guitarists modelled their playing, their intensity, their groove on Keith Richards? How many budding songwriters have used those two as muses when writing, hoping that they may ...

‘The Gift of Life’ is the second offering from Swiss metal noise makers Dreamshade, who with the help of producer Jacob Hansen (who has previously worked with Amaranthe and Volbeat) put together something that at first glance could easily be dismissed as ‘just another metal album’. However, this is not the case with ‘The Gift of Life’. As soon as ...

Formed in Bologna, Italy in 1999, Malnàtt has moved away from the folk approach of the early albums to focus on much more extreme and experimental sounds. ‘Principia Discordia’, Produced by Simone Mularoni (DGM, Empyrios) is the fifth full-length album released by Malnàtt and is a tale told in an unexpected way. Malnàtt’s humorous approach contrasts superbly with their obscure ...

From the early days when every teenager with a fringe had ‘Juneau’ lyrics splashed across their MySpace page to the softer alt-rock dalliances of ‘Tales Don’t Tell Themselves’, Funeral For A Friend have steered the course of the music scene exploring a variety of sounds and elements of the rock genre. Previous release ‘Welcome Home Armageddon’ featured a return to ...

Ios own individual mixture of post-hardcore and progressive music gained them enough local success (in Birmingham) to record a self released EP which triggered a career spawning two full length albums since. The dawn of 2013 saw the release of Io’s 3rd album, Our Disintegrating Museum which is set to continue their amazing run so far. Firstly, Our Disintegrating Museum ...

Lisbon’s heavy rock ensemble – Miss Lava – have unleashed their fierce new brute-baby into the world. Their terrorizing new album, ‘Red Supergiant’ has been released by Raging Planet Records. The crypto-domes have splintered, the ash-clouds have been scattered, and the lava has spurted forth. So, all we can do is submit to the violent forces created by these bearded ...