Reviews

If you have ever been to Bloodstock Open Air, you know its like no other festival in the country… or even the world. The fans are extra passionate, the bands are extra loud, the costumes more elaborate, the beer is extra refreshing, everything is better at Bloodstock. Last year saw one of the biggest Bloodstocks ever with metal titans Ghost ...

Airrace were originally formed in 1982 and are probably best known these days as the band that saw the musical debut of drummer Jason Bonham. That is a disservice as the band put together by the former More guitarist Laurie Mansworth could stand easily without him. The 1984 release of their debut album, Shaft Of Light, saw the band supporting bands ...

Enuff Z’nuff formed in 1984 and released their self-titled debut five years later. Founding members, Chip Z’Nuff and Donnie Vie along with guitarist Derek Frigo and drummer Vikki Foxx enjoyed huge success with that album and the two singles from it – ‘New Thing’ and ‘Fly High Michelle’. Bass player and vocalist Chip is still in the band today and has recruited ...

With the departure of original vocalist Jeffrey “Nothing” Hatrix and guitarist Tommy Church, Volume III shows US alt metallers Mushroomhead can live on. Despite their inconsistent lineup, they have been consistently entertaining, and the DVD reflects that. From official high definition music videos and live recordings to clips shot from a phone camera, they are all equally as immersive. It opens ...

Manchester-based The Room 1985 trio included Sam Stone (vocals/bass), Chris Crysand (guitars/synths) and John Hulse (drums/programming). They mix electronica with various rock genres and a chunk of psychedelia thrown in. Their self-titled debut came out in 2017 and they follow that up now with The Bliss, if you imagine Floyd all synthesised up and performed by Dépêche Mode, you’ll be close to their ...

Twelve years on from their debut, Daughtry are set to release their fifth album called ‘Rattle That Cage’.  Firstly, let’s dispense with the American Idol rubbish – Chris Daughtry and his eponymous band have always been rock and not the fluff that the Idol stuff suggests. In saying that, the new album, is different to the previous releases in that it ...

Mad Max are celebrating 35 years of producing quality metal fused AOR and musicians Michael Voss (vocals/guitar), Jürgen Breforth (guitar), Axel Kruse (drums) and Thomas “Hutch” Bauer (bass) have titled their new release with the imaginative moniker ‘35’. The album sounds like they are still firmly planted in the 80s, but there is enough originality to give it a genuine ‘new’ tag. ...

The Pineapple Thief is about to unleash their 12thalbum called Dissolution. Always classed as prog, in my mind this band is one of the few of that ilk that actually fulfils the definition of progressive. They do not just pump out 20-minute songs and call it a concept album. Sure, there are concepts in the Thief’s music and the themes this time ...

Whilst most certainly a beloved genre of music, it would be critically safe to say that the genre of metal has certainly had its peaks and troughs over the years. Some periods of time are saturated with formulaic slices of generic predictability, whilst other times are exciting, invigorating, and unpredictable. Right now in metal music, we are on the verge ...

Germany’s Mob Rules are close to celebrating their 25th anniversary as purveyors of power-metal, and Beast Reborn is their 9th album together. You could say they’ve been around long enough to be called veterans yet, as can be heard, they still retain the same infectious enthusiasm for the music which propelled them to begin in 1994. Compared to other albums ...