Reviews

Whenever I start to think about writing a review I always try and think back to a past link I’ve had, probably while photographing a band.  It always make me think of this….. ….. but actully, I digress.  When thinking of Amy Can Flyy I always remember their bass player (not their current one before I get anyone in trouble) coming up ...

All new city-thrashonistas, these days, seem to come from Stavanger, The Oil Capital of the south-west Norway. Home of glamorous doomsters such as Theatre of Tragedy, Tristania and Sirenia – the place appears to be a fertile breeding ground for the many rising stars of the ear-blasting, thrash-metal persuasion. Now, from the Kingdom of Norway comes Overthrow. Having already played ...

Fans of Faye, while you may not have heard that name just yet don’t worry, because it won’t be long before debut album Designed to Be  will be resonating through the ears of anyone with a sense of hearing. When I read the press release for this Stourbridge 5 piece I was taken aback, so much so that I spat out ...

After staring at my laptop screen for about half an hour or so, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is a difficult album to describe succinctly. Very basically, it sounds like BWP have taken a hard look at Root Of All Evil and Sleep Paralysis and picked and chose the best sounding elements of each release and then neatly ...

The Russian AN602 hydrogen bomb is the most powerful weapon ever created. It was built and tested in 1961.The resultant explosion created a mushroom cloud that was seven times higher than Mount Everest. It was named the ‘Tsar Bomb’. And so is this band. You do not think of sunny Malaga (Spain) as a fertile place for an Armageddon inducing, ...

Releasing a Greatest Hits album can sometimes end up being a tricky business for a band. Do it too early in their career, and they risk looking pretentious. Too late, and nobody cares. But it can be a powerful tool if released at the right moment, with the right set of songs on it. And that’s exactly what rockers 3 ...

So lets start with Monuments. Instrumentally they are heavier than a sledgehammer of dark matter to the cranium but with that comes a perfectly melodic accompaniment.  What lets the London quintet down is vocalist Matt Rose’s seemingly crisis of faith.  Does he want to sing cleanly, with a gruff edge, scream or rap?  Is it still 2000 and people are ...

‘Broken Jaw’ is the first release with Light You Up’s new front man: Guildford’s Tom Napier. He brings a passionate new sense of substance to the 5-piece band. With the addition of his soulful singing, and remarkable vocal range, the band has created an album full of fresh, newly minted, melodic moments. Shouldering the sure-footed single Foxfire, the mini-album also ...

Deftones returned, for all intents and purposes, with their breathtakingly brilliant 2010 release Diamond Eyes. Having released two relatively sub-par albums in the period between this and the now modern classic White Pony, some had begun wondering if the band would ever release another truly great album again. Building on the successes of Diamond Eyes, Deftones returned to the studio ...

I’m not usually a fan of melodic hardcore, I often find all the twists, turns and taking the scenic route incredibly tedious. I’d love to say exactly the same about Departures latest release, but I can’t. If there are any melodic hardcore cynics out there reading this, this might be the album that changes your mind. Hopefully it’s not a ...