It is very appropriate that two of Italy's leading progressive metal bands should release their latest albums in the same month which means that we have a feast of rock to revel in as DGM join Secret Sphere in putting out another hard rock masterpiece. DGM came together in 1994 and I actually spent my..
Secret Sphere – Blackened HeartBEAT (Frontiers Music)
Secret Sphere is a quite outstanding Italian rock band that has successfully fused symphonic and progressive metal with a hint of pomp rock to become probably one of the best bands you have never heard of or maybe only just have a passing acquaintance with. In truth, I simply cannot understand why they have not..
Vitalines – Wheels Within Wheels (Frontiers Music)
Vitalines is another new project on the Frontiers label which has been put together by US vocalist Robbie LaBlanc (Blanc Faces, Find Me, T3nors) and the Swedish musician and songwriter Tommy Denander. LaBlanc is a phenomenal melodic rock vocalist with a powerful yet golden voice and Denander has worked with and written songs for many..
Kings Crown – Closer To The Truth (Frontiers Music)
Kings Crown is a new melodic hard rock band put together by a talented team of Swedish musicians with the aim of creating an old-school rock album built on the solid platform laid down back in the '70s by the imperious Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Rainbow and Bad Company. If your tastes in music look backwards..
Magnum – Great Adventure – The Jet Years 1978 – 1983 (HNE Recordings/Cherry Red Records)
Sometimes I wonder if the Cherry Red label was set up purely for me as it seems that just about every release they put out is something that I either want, need or just simply desire! I must admit that Magnum has been a guilty pleasure of mine since the 1970s and the Tony Clarkin/Bob..
Nitrate – Feel The Heat (frontiers Music)
Feel The Heat is the fourth album by the Nottingham melodic rock band Nitrate which was formed in 2015 by guitarist and keyboard player Nick Hogg (although he seems to concentrate on bass these days) with the remit to supply superior and hard punching melodic rock with the style and glitz of Def Leppard, the..
Bonfire – MMXXIII – Don’t Touch The Light Fireworks, Point Blank (Re-RecordeD)
Roger Daltrey famously sang the iconic line "I Hope I Die Before I Get Old" in the song My Generation back in 1965 which became something of an anthem for the angry youth of the world but I doubt very much that he and Pete Townsend thought that they would still be preforming the song..
Iron Savior – Firestar (AFM Records)
Music truly is the spice of life and it is the amazing variety of styles available that makes it such a joyous journey with every day bringing more delights to revel in and savour (no pun intended). Now, as we all know, there is music that brings immediate satisfaction and is easy to assimilate but..
Weapon – New Clear Power (Pride & Joy Music)
The NWOBHM movement spawned a plethora of bands ranging from the essential to the interesting but never, ever was there a bad band and you have to remember that we rock fans were fed up of the airwaves being full of punk and disco so every new metal band was something to revel and delight..
Hit The Ground Runnin’ – Control Yourself (reissue) (Pride & Joy Music)
Several other Hit The Ground Runnin' albums are already reviewed elsewhere on the Velvet Thunder website and these show the band to be an AOR outfit originally out of Canadian but subsequently relocated to Philadelphia. The band began life in 1985 with the name Free Delivery which was changed to Hit The Ground Runnin' the..