Connor Bracken and the Mother Leeds Band are a young American band of whom great things are expected! September saw the release of their eagerly awaited second album Nightbird Motel, and all the signs are that this crew have a very promising future in front of them. Happily, Velvet Thunder were able to catch up..
Interview with Joakim Sterner of Necrophobic
Necrophobic are currently riding on the waves of deserved recognition. Finally. These Swedish black/death worshippers have always put out quality albums, but through the years, something was always missing – was it the production, the distribution, or something else. With 2018’s masterpiece Mark Of The Necrogram, the band released a career highlight and now, two..
Interview with Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Fates Warning)
Joey Vera is an old school legend – nothing less. Pulling the fat strings in Armored Saint since 1982, and also being a central figure in prog veterans Fates Warning for the last 23 years is an impressive CV, to say the least. We have new albums coming out from both his main bands (Armored..
EDDIE VAN HALEN – The Man Who Redefined Rock Guitar
He might not have been the first man to put all of his trademark licks and tricks into practice ... but he was unquestionably the first man to put them all together in one exhilarating, joyful, exuberant ball of sheer rock and roll adrenaline Guitar photos: Bryan Cline On Monday 6 October the news filtered..
Voodoo Six – The Interview
I am ashamed to admit that I only very recently stumbled across Voodoo Six, even though the band have been around in one form or another since 2003. Given that their sound has all the classic hallmarks of Alter Bridge, Creed, Slash, Pearl Jam, Velvet Revolver, HIM, Avenged Sevenfold, Zal Cleminson’s Sin Dogs….how I've managed..
LEE KERSLAKE, 1947-2020: PASSING OF AN ‘UMBLE WIZARD
Saturday 19 September 2020 saw the passing away of drummer Lee Kerslake, with the principal cause of death being prostate cancer. He had already confounded doctors' predictions for himself twice over, so his demise does not come as a surprise. It does, however, come as a profound sadness to all of those who had known..
Interview- Heathen guitarist Kragen Lum
It has been a decade since bay area thrashers heathen released their last album the evolution of chaos. guitarist kragen lum talks to velvet thunder about the band's reformation in the new milennium and brings us right up to date with the story of the astonishing new album empire of the blind. Heathen (L-R): Jim..
(c) Lori Linstruth
Arjen In Transitus
It's been a busy few years for Arjen Lucassen since the release of the last Ayreon studio album The Source in 2017. Firstly, the colossal Ayreon Universe was a lavish stage production, a star-studded retrospective that spanned a quarter century's worth of music. Not to be outdone by his own opulence, Lucassen bravely upped the..
Interview with Geoff Thorpe (Vicious Rumors)
Vicious Rumors have been carrying the flag of US power metal for more than 4 decades now and Geoff Thorpe, as the only original band member remaining, knows the story best. The perseverance this band has soldiered on with through personal tragedy (the loss of legendary frontman Carl Albert in 1995) and the grunge dominated..
Photo: (c) Lee Wilkinson
Rick Wakeman – From The Centre Of The Earth To The Red Planet
Those of us who teethed musically in the '70s were blessed to witness the flourishing of a triumvirate of amazing keyboard players: Tony Banks, Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. All three were in their prime and playing in bands also at their musical peak. Yes were my favourite band in those years, and while Jon..