Reviews

The Augusta, Georgia, four piece LUMEN‘s (not to be confused with the Russian band of the same name) latest release Sharing An Eye really states its intentions from the opening moments of ‘Moon Reader’. Such a display of exemplary brutality cannot fail to go unnoticed, and while it is one thing to start that way, LUMEN use it as a benchmark, ...

Spilt EP’s are always interesting to review. They are something of a rarity these days, and are undoubtedly a risk, as there is so much potential for things to go wrong if not done well. This, thankfully, is not the case for Seattle based bands Into the Storm and Smooth Sailing. Of the six tracks that make up ‘Split’ that ...

The Godfather of Shock Rock, Alice Cooper, is bringing his supergroup in the capital tonight after having put together some of the best musicians under one name –  Hollywood Vampires. The band’s name, which comes from a celebrity drinking club formed by Cooper in the 70s, has seen guest appearances by Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh and Cristopher Lee ...

Paragnosis… The obtaining of knowledge through an external source. But then you knew this already, didn’t you? Most musicians start off with just instruments, then look for a vocalist who fits into and complements the band’s style, but Paragnosis did things differently. After releasing their debut single in 2015, they decided to pursue their brand of Prog Metal with the ...

Spock’s Beard are an American progressive/symphonic rock band who, in many ways symbolise the ethos of what Prog rock is all about. The ethos of Spock’s Beard has always been about moving forward and attempting to do something different. That they can still do this despite the loss of the stellar talented prog legend Neil Morse says something about the ...

German composer Klaus Schulze is an amazingly prodigious artist and composer of electronic and ambient music. Whilst today he’s known for his usage of synthesizers and Moogs, he began his musical career as a drummer and played on Electronic Meditation, the first album by German purveyors of electronic music, Tangerine Dream. His leaving reduced the Dream to a three piece ...

Danish band Odd Palace are building up quite a name for themselves within the modern prog community, with one well received EP under their belt and a good number of festival performances since its release. Now they are here with debut album Things To Place On The Moon, looking to raise their stature within the scene. Odd Palace are unashamedly ...

Thirty odd years ago Fargo, led by bassist Peter Knorn made significant ripples in 80s rock scene and then seemingly faded away – Knorn went on to manage some luminaries in rock including Glenn Hughes apparently. Fast-forward to the present day and Fargo are reborn, still with Knorn at the helm, along with Arndt Schulz (Guitars), Nikolas Fritz (Drums) and ...

Away from his day job, House of Lords singer James Christian has built a reputation as a fine solo artist, having released 3 albums prior to this one. The first was back in 1994 and the third in 2013. His latest, Craving, includes co-writes and guest appearances from such luminaries of the Melodic Rock world as Tommy Denander, Chris Pelcer, ...

It may have been a few weeks ago now, but a slow recovery from a concussion since the Blind River album release show is testament to just how good and busy it got. It is no secret how much we (and very much I) have championed these guys since first coming across them last year, and bands like them are ...