With apologies to all stargazers out there - Solace actually delivered their fifth studio album Fading Failing Ruin just after the summer solstice, and in time to celebrate the anniversary of their 30th year as a band (well... it's been a hectic summer!). All the heaviness, experience, and obvious maturity of their songwriting across three..
See You on the Other Side, Ozzy
Ozzy Osbourne. No matter who you are, that name instantly conjures up some sort of visual. I'm hard-pressed to think of a more formidable musical presence in my young life. To a boy of ten years old, dropping the needle on records like Blizzard of Ozz and Paranoid was an utter revelation, and I'd sit,..
The Lunar Effect – Sounds of Blue and Green (Svart Records)
Wow! This is the genuine article - a full-on recreation of 1969 heavy psych-rock! The Lunar Effect are a quartet with a flair for humungous hair and a penchant for fuzzy, snarling retro-riffs who have been rattling the rafters since their formation in 2016. Starting as a grunge outfit with a retro hard-rock impulse, they..
BLACK SABBATH – LIVE EVIL: SUPER DELUXE EDITION (BMG)
There is simply no argument between this and and previous CD remasters, let alone the original vinyl and single-disc edited CD release. This is simply superior by any criteria you wish to apply to it. Remixing can be an expensive luxury when done too safely, or too drastically for the sake of it. Here it's..
BLACK SABBATH – LIVE EVIL (40th ANNIVERSARY SUPER DELUXE EDITION) SET FOR JUNE RELEASE
4-CD And 4-LP Sets Feature Original Album Remastered - Plus a New Mix of the Full Album Black Sabbath’s first official live album, Live Evil, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year with a new Super Deluxe Edition that introduces newly remixed and remastered versions of the acclaimed double album. LIVE EVIL (40th ANNIVERSARY SUPER DELUXE..
BLACK SABBATH – Heaven And Hell / Mob Rules : Deluxe Reissues (BMG)
At the time when Black Sabbath released Heaven And Hell in 1980, with ex-Rainbow man Ronnie James Dio improbably replacing the departed talisman Ozzy Osbourne, there was an uncertainty in the air about whether the new line-up, and new material, would be accepted by the fans who had grown up with the distinctive voice and..
Patriarchs In Black – Reach For The Scars (MDD records)
All roads lead to Black Sabbath! When New Jersey scene veteran Dan Lorenzo (Hades, Non-Fiction) was looking for musicians for his new project, Overkill's Bobby Blitz gave him the idea of knocking on John Kelly's (Danzig, Type O Negative) door, because - according to Blitz - "he would fit your riffs perfectly". Blitz was right..
Djiin – Meandering Soul (Klonosphere records)
FFO Kadaver, Blue Pills and Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats Djiin is a psychedelic stoner-rock band from France whose name is inspired by spirits and other beasts from Semitic beliefs and traditions. Influenced by 70’s progressive rock and krautrock bands, doom scene and heavy rock from the glory days of the early-Sabbath era, as well..
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..
BLACK SABBATH – ‘Technical Ecstasy’ Deluxe Edition Due October 1st
4-CD And 5-LP Versions Of Black Sabbath’s Seventh Studio Album Features The Original Album Newly Remastered, A Brand New Mix Of The Album By Steven Wilson, Plus Previously Unreleased Outtakes, Alternative Mixes, And Live Tracks Black Sabbath embraced change in 1976 when the heavy metal innovators started managing themselves and began exploring different sounds on..