To those not around at the time, it’s difficult to explain just what made the Pink Fairies great. Musically they were a multiple car crash involving psychedelia, heavy metal, MC5 proto-punk and hints of prog. With a big sense of humour and a lot of drugs. Did I mention the drugs? They did like the..
Netherbird – Into The Vast Uncharted (Eisenwald)
Fifteen years after their formation, Swedish black/death extremists Netherbird are ready to release their fifth album. Only two original members are left, namely guitar player Pontus Andersson (a.k.a. Bizmark) and frontman Johan Fridell (a.k.a. Nephente), but the present line-up has been forming for the last 10 years. One of the latest additions to the band..
Entombed A.D. – Bowels of Earth (Century Media Records)
It was exactly five years ago when legendary L.G. Petrov decided to launch this incarnation of Entombed, adding “A.D.” at the end to not stir further confusion with the (seemingly) ongoing band with Andersson, Cederlund and Hellid in the line-up (court disputes and everything aside). Bowels of Earth comes after two solid enough albums (2014’s..
ACHIEVERS – The Lost Arc
The Achievers are an electric pub blues band with more than a hint of the gospel about their good-time, upbeat rock’n’roll. Every song on this, their second album, is an original, mostly backed with multi-part harmony vocals. Traditional and quirky at the same time, upbeat and joyful yet lackadaisically laid-back, there’s no doubt this is..
HUIS – Abandoned (Unicorn Digital)
Michel St-Père is on a roll. His main band Mystery released one of the best albums of their career last year (the tremendous Lies And Butterflies). The band he plays guitar with, Huis, released their third and best album Abandoned this past spring. From Quebec, Huis are a highly melodic band in the neo-prog style,..
DISTRICT 97 – Screens (MindScan Records)
One gets the impression that D97 are not one of those bands who will sound corny in ten or fifteen years' time. Chicago-based heavy prog band District 97 have revealed their fourth studio album Screens, serving up another slab of their uniquely powerful music to the hungry fans that waited four years since their previous..
AARON ENGLISH – Songs From Somewhere Else (Eronisongs)
American singer/songwriter Aaron English has been a very busy man, taking his music to all over America, Europe, and Africa – where he founded a charity (International Youth Project). His latest release, Songs From Somewhere Else, reflects this diversity of influences. The songs largely reflect a sense of hope in a troubled world, and pay..
PATRICK MORAZ – Reissues (Esoteric)
Esoteric Recordings have turned their attention this year to the works of legendary keyboardist Patrick Moraz, steadily reissuing out of print titles from his back catalogue in chronological order and ensuring that they remain available to the many fans who might otherwise be shelling out for old, used copies online. The ongoing series begins with..
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE – Sweeping Up The Spotlight: Fillmore East 1969 (Floating World)
It’s always with a little trepidation that one picks up one of these old vintage recordings: very often, despite a nice cover and tempting tracklist it can turn out to be a bootleg-quality audience recording which does the artist more of a disservice. Happily, that is far from the case here, as this fairly bursts..
RENAISSANCE – Live At Carnegie Hall (Deluxe Edition) (Esoteric)
Few will question the pedigree of this landmark live album from a Renaissance who were at the very peak of their powers. Recorded with backing from the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in June 1975, and released a year later, the original double vinyl album contained a virtual ‘best of’, in largely definitive versions as the..