DeVicious is a quality heavy melodic rock band from Germany with Black Heart now being the band's fourth album since its formation in 2016. They have steadily built up a solid reputation for quality melodic metal but, strangely, the first three albums all featured different singers but Black Heart now sees all of the musicians..
Nocturna – Daughters Of The Night (Scarlet Records)
Nocturna is a new Italian Gothic/Symphonic metal band put together by the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Federico Mondelli (Frozen Crown, Volturian, Be The Wolf) and the vocalists Grace Darkling and Rehn Stillnight. For some reason, Mondelli is credited on the album as Hedon and supplies the guitar work as well as the sublime piano throughout even..
SUZI QUATRO – The Albums 1980-86 / Back To The…Spotlight (Cherry Red / 7Ts)
Back To The Drive is not only the finest Suzi Quatro album, it is one of the standout rock albums of its entire decade. She was, indeed, back! Suzi Quatro has been experiencing something of a career resurgence of late, with an excellent last album (The Devil In Me), and a successful show at the..
Blossom Toes – If Only For A Moment (Reissue/Expanded) (Cherry Red/Esoteric)
In the maelstrom of late ‘60s music, groups came and went with alarming speed, and those that lasted more than one album had to be deft at changing styles to match the rapidly developing nascent rock scene. Some emerged to be powerhouses of the ‘70s while many faded away undeservedly (and some deservedly, it must..
Brave Rival – Life’s Machine
Brave Rival are a new quintet hailing from Portsmouth who were recently nominated for “Best Emerging Blues Artist Of The Year” at the UK Blues Awards 2022. I'm guessing they've been together since 2019, and they're so much more than "just Blues" (my parentheses), playing a wide-ranging mix of bluesy, soulful yet full-on classic rock that will appeal to..
Re-Machined – Brain Dead (Pride & Joy Music)
Re-Machined released a real contender for hard rock album of the year with Wheels Of Time in 2020 which was just so supreme, confident and assured for a debut release. It is amazing just how many fine metal bands have come out of Germany these days and the number seems to be ever increasing. The..
Flames Of Fire – Flames Of Fire (Melodic Passion Records)
Here we go with yet another new band coming out of Sweden but the musicians making up the band are not a set of hopeful newcomers but a team of skilled and very well established names with a wealth of quality music already in their back catalogues. Flames Of Fire is a power metal outfit..
The Spirit – Of Clarity And Galactic Structures (AOP Records)
The Spirit is a two-piece entity from Germany’s Saarbrücken with three full lengths and an EP under their belts. Their newest, third album Of Clarity And Galactic Structures was released last Friday and once again walks the fine line between black and melodic death metal, with more emphasis on the “black”. In fact, the more..
Pershagen – Hilma (Lovely Records)
Pershagen are a Swedish quartet that has just signed to Lövely Records, and released their third studio album Hilma at the end of April. They have a signature sound that is defined by strong cinematic songs, where colourful instrumental rock mixes psychedelic rock with indie, grunge and alternative rock - they were once described by..
Tenebra – Moongazer (New Heavy Sounds)
If you like your rock to be heavy, raw and bluesy then this one is definitely for you. The Italian region of Emilia-Romagna has a long and rich musical tradition. Giuseppe Verdi was born here, as were both the legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini and the opera singer that everybody knows: Luciano Pavarotti. Modern day counterparts,..