229, London. 16 November 2019 Photos: Simon Green It’s always interesting to step outside of what you believe to be your wide circle of musical knowledge as you quickly realise that your circle is just a tiny circle in a universe of many other circles of almost infinite possibilities. It’s also a good thing to..
Nightwish – Decades – Live In Buenos Airies (Nuclear Blast)
Nightwish can loosely be described as a symphonic rock band, and they’re among the market leaders in the genre. They’ve come a long way since their beginnings as an acoustic band in mid-9'0s Finland and, alongside the Von Hertzen Brothers, are the most successful musical export from the country. Their ability to blend coruscating blasts..
Live Review – Monster Truck
The Parish, Huddersfield 22 November 2019 Photos: Ian Jenkinson When we have the sad situation that music venues up and down the land are closing their doors, it is encouraging to see that The Parish in the West Yorkshire town of Huddersfield is going from strength to strength. A good old fashioned rock pub –..
InME – Jumpstart Hope (Killing Moon Records)
Gosh, where to start, because this is a very long way from the beginning! InME are an Essex-based band who have been around for a surprisingly long time – their debut album Overgrown Eden was released in 2003 and reached #1 in the UK Rock Album Charts. Six successful studio albums later, and having toured..
IO EARTH – HOMETOWN XMAS SHOW 15th DECEMBER
Christmas Party at Hare & Hounds Sunday 15th December 2019, 7:00pmHare & Hounds106 High St, Birmingham B14 7JZ, UKSpecial Guests: HekzTickets: £15.00 Doors: 7pmHekz: 7:30pm – 8:30pmIO Earth: 8:45pm – 10:30pm Venue open until 11pm Back in their home town IO Earth bring their eclectic blend of musical styles to the Hare & Hounds for..
Heavy Feather – Debris and Rubble (The Sign Records)
Surreptitious (or not!) replaying of classic rock / blues-rock greats from the late 60s and early 70s such as Cream and Free is wonderful enough. But when you stumble across talented young(ish!) musicians creating and playing new stuff in the same vein with the same levels of energy, honesty and passion as said Household Gods,..
Black River Sons – Poison Stuff
Poison Stuff is the debut album by French Southern Rockers, Black River Sons. They are a new band, although seasoned musicians, all hailing from Lille. They are a four-piece with Emeric on lead vocals and guitar, Baptiste on guitar, Said on bass and Vincent on drums. These guys look, play and act the part of..
DELUXE ‘MONSTERS OF ROCK’ ILLUSTRATED HISTORY BOOK COMING UP IN JANUARY
“What motivates 50,000 spotty, greasy young people to don tribal uniform and bang their heads in pseudo-nihilistic fashion at these muddy affairs?” Pondered Chris Roberts, a writer for Sounds music paper, despatched, or maybe sentenced, to a field in the middle of the UK in August 1985. The answer was the Monsters Of Rock festival,..
FAST BUCK – Night Games: The Complete Recordings (Cherry Red)
The Ancient Mariner is a genuine lost classic, while other tracks like Movie Madness, Standing On Broken Glass and Rebel Without A Cause all point to what could have been a dynamite second album You know that feeling when something has unaccountably passed you by and you simply can’t understand why or how it happened?..
MICK RONSON – Only After Dark: The Complete MainMan Recordings (Cherry Red)
Every student of 1970s rock should have a copy of Slaughter On 10th Avenue – and the addition of Play Don’t Worry and the treasure trove of extra material on here make it a desirable item for anyone on the periphery of this man’s world. Mick Ronson needs no introduction to either anyone following David..
