If the name Mike Morton is unfamiliar to you, he’s frontman and lyricist with The Gift, once described by Anthony Phillips, someone who knows more than a little about prog, as being ‘one of the finest acts on the current prog scene.’ The Gift released their debut album, Awake and Dreaming, in 2006, which was..
Issa – Another World (Frontiers)
I don’t know about you, but it never seemed to rain when I was a teenager. I can’t really claim to be a carefree and optimistic kind of bloke all of the time, but still, when I think of the 1980s, it always seemed to be full summer, with the ice cream van chiming in..
Rossometile – Gehenna
Symphonic metal is so mainstream now that, as well as the big names that everyone knows, there are a host of smaller groups that do competent jobs but without an iota of originality. Coming across this album by an Italian group I’d never heard of before, I fully expected to hear fifty minutes of symphonic-metal-by-numbers...
Joe Bonamassa – Live At The Hollywood Bowl With Orchestra (J&R Adventures)
Blues supremo Joe Bonamassa must be starting to run out of ways to go above and beyond. It has only been a year since he released his last movie-quality live extravaganza, Tales Of Time, filmed at the spectacular open-air Red Rocks auditorium in Colorado. Since then, he has released the album Blues Deluxe Vol. 2,..
Big Big Train release ‘Last Eleven’ recorded live at Sweetwater Studios, touring in the summer
Following this year's Cruise To The Edge, Big Big Train travelled to Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne, Indiana to take part in a recording and mixing session run by Sweetwater chief engineer Shawn Dealey. This session gave the band an opportunity to record an alternative version of Last Eleven, the closing song on this year's acclaimed The..
The Cold Stares Reveal New Song “Blow Wind Blow” & Announce UK Tour Dates
The Cold Stares have revealed their brand new song, "Blow Wind Blow," taken from their upcoming album 'The Southern,' which will be released on September 6th via Mascot Records. You can watch the video below. Pre-order The Southern here - https://lnk.to/TheColdStares The band have also announced a run of UK shows for August and September starting on 30 August at The Carlisle in Hastings, before heading to the Ropetackle..
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION – V (J&R Adventures)
...the funk-rock pairing of Stay Free unexpectedly exhuming the irresistible clavinet bounce of Led Zeppelin's Trampled Underfoot with a chunky chorus to perfectly balance it. It's the very distillation of the Hughes Blueprint for a funk-rock hybrid, and he's rarely done it better. I am quite certain that I will not be alone as a..
Muddy Waters – Hard Again / I’m Ready / King Bee (Floating World Records)
The British blues boom of the 1960s begat many legends, but the figures who predated them are mightier still. Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, John Lee Hooker, the three Kings, BB, Albert and Freddie; Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy and the rest. But the single legendary figure to bear responsibility for detonating the British blues explosion..
BLUE ÖYSTER CULT set to release ’50th Anniversary LIve – Second Night’
Following the triumphant success of their 50th Anniversary celebration, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT is gearing up for the release of the eagerly anticipated 50th Anniversary Live – Second Night. This electrifying performance, which includes the band’s second album Tyranny and Mutation performed back-to-back, is set to hit the shelves on August 9, 2024 and promises to..
Kvaen – The Formless Fires (Metal Blade Records)
Sweden has always been prolific on the melodic black and death metal front, and Kvaen is another example of the talent this country has to offer in extreme metal. Jacob Björnfot, the creative mastermind behind the band(named after the folk who populated the area in the Viking era), has already released two solid albums in 2020..