The PR blurb for Vector Seven’s latest opus entitled Dark Metropolis, due out on 21 October, tells us that it's "an innovative cross between cyberpunk and synthwave, a trailblazing pulsating album, that takes you on a ride through the metropolis driven by corrupted syndicates, cybernetic street gangers, and infinite hive wars. It is infinitely dark,..
IO EARTH – Acoustic Vol. 1
This isn't so much about showing a completely new side of the band, it is more a case of lifting a side of their identity out from its unassuming support role and giving it the chance to have its turn in the spotlight. And it turns out that they are very, very good at it...
SPIRIT – Sunrise And Salvation: The Mercury Era Anthology (Esoteric/Cherry Red)
Originally Spirits Rebellious, Spirit are among those bands who, despite being part of the late sixties West Coast milieu, have been largely left behind by the stellar rep of other bands of the era. They missed out on the first wave of psychedelia, and poor management led to their missing Woodstock. They’re not mentioned in..
Eddie Tatton – Canons Under Flowers (Stunted Records)
Lincoln's very own ace guitarist and session player, Eddie Tatton has signed a deal with Stunted Records for the worldwide release of his debut album Canons Under Flowers in a six-panel glossy Digipak format with 12 page booklet, set to hit stores on Friday 15th October 2021. Touted by Guitarist Magazine as far back as..
BLACK SABBATH – Technical Ecstasy (Super Deluxe Edition) (BMG)
Hopefully this beautifully put-together reissue will allow this most underrated of Sabbath recordings to finally undergo some long overdue reassessment. It surely deserves it! There is a certain received wisdom among Black Sabbath fan circles that 1976's Technical Ecstasy album was an abrupt shift in direction which represents the first dramatic loss in quality following..
Glass Hammer – Skallagrim – Into The Breach (Sound Resources)
The second installment of a trilogy is always the deepest part of the story... As a youngster, I quickly learned from movies such as The Empire Strikes Back and books like The Two Towers that the second instalment of a trilogy is always the deepest part of the story. With the latest musical offering from..
Hex A.D. – Funeral Tango For Gods & Men (Fresh Tea)
Will there be a better heavy rock album than this in 2021? I very much doubt it. Following on from last year’s excellent Astro Tongue In The Electric Garden, Norwegian psychedelic/doom/prog rockers are now back with an equally tongue-twisting title - one that is probably utterly meaningless but combines wonderfully with the (probably utterly meaningless)..
DAVE BRONS – NOT ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE LOST
If you have a Tolkien-loving prog fan in your life (and hey, that's a Venn Diagram with a sizeable intersection I'm sure we can agree!), then here's this year's Christmas present... If the name Dave Brons is familiar to some contemporary prog aficionados, it may be from his work with Celestial Fire - the superb..
SEIMS – FOUR (Dunk Records + others)
Australian experimental rock project SEIMS release new album 'FOUR' on 22nd October, through Australian labels Art As Catharsis & Bird's Robe as well as European vinyl label Dunk Records. For fans of: Battles, The Physics House Band, 65daysofstatic, Adebisi Shank, Alarmist & Three Trapped Tigers. The brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Simeon Bartholomew, SEIMS has evolved into..
The Pineapple Thief – Nothing But The Truth (live album, video), Kscope Records
The Pineapple Thief, one of the leading lights of Europe's experimental rock domain, led by post-progressive mastermind Bruce Soord and reinforced by Gavin Harrison (King Crimson) on drums, have announced the multi format release of Nothing But The Truth on Kscope on 22 October. Following the release of their latest studio album Versions Of The Truth in September 2020, the..