Every once in a while you find yourself hell-bent on getting your own way on a one-way smash-and-grab trip through a brick wall! This is the main topic of the new Single Hit The Wall of the Austrian heavy metal crusaders Speed Limit , the first appetizer of the new album Cut A Long Story Short. The now released EP Hit..
Twister – Only The Strong Survive EP
Twister previously got rave reviews, your own Velvet Thunder included, for their debut album Cursed and Corrected, released in the Autumn of 2020. The album distilled five years worth of them growing as a band and as fine young chappies in the North East, each track capturing everything that had happened to them personally and..
The Riven – Peace and Conflict (The Sign Records)
I have to say from the outset I'm so, so mightily pleased to have come across these guys - this could well be my album of the year! Since the release of their debut self-titled album from 2019, the group has recruited a second guitarist, enabling more dynamic twin guitar arrangements and colourful melodies to..
Green King – Hidden Beyond Time (The Sign Records)
Spoiler Alert - this is NOT some sort of alcohol-fuelled musicians' collaboration with a British brewery! This particular brew of Green King is in fact a Finnish heavy metal group, and Hidden Beyond Time is their debut album! And exceptionally good it is too - in fact any self-respecting fan of NWOBHM bands (Iron Maiden..
Oath Sc – Hallowed Illusions (Independent)
Sometimes when doing reviews, you stumble across something completely unknown to you but nevertheless makes you think "wow!". Evoking the glory of late 70's pub rock married to early 80s garage bands and so much more, Oath is a reverb-drenched haze of pulsating riffs and serpentine solos. Imagine a cross between Graham Parker and the..
Saxon – Carpe Diem (Silver Lining Music)
Last few years were rough on Saxon, to say the least. First, in 2014, was the Nigel Glockler scare with a brain aneurism, then in 2019 Biff Byford underwent a successful heart surgery, and everybody knows what followed in 2020. Anyway, we were all lucky to have arrived safe in 2022 and witness Saxon’s 23rd..
CAULDRON – Into The Cauldron (Dissonance Productions / Cherry Red)
...as perfect a clutch of NWOBHM jewels as I could imagine outside of an original 1980 12-inch EP... who can honestly say it isn't a special sort of thrill to briefly feel as if you are once again full of teenage energy and ambition, with the world hopefully at your feet? That's what this release..
Seven Sisters – Shadow Of A Fallen Star Pt. 1 (Cherry Red Records)
Seven Sisters is a band from London, which has been active since 2013. Both their eponymous debut and second album The Cauldron And The Cross were really convincing in mixing US speed metal with NWOBHM. For third full length Shadow Of A Fallen Star Pt. 1,coming out on October 22nd, the band's rhythm section is..
Dead Man’s Whiskey release new single on 21 July
New music incoming! – Dead Man’s Whiskey are delighted to release their brand-new single and title track Breakout from their upcoming new EP on Wednesday 21st July 2021. The single is accompanied by a music video, which the band will premiere on Wednesday 21st July 2021. After a year of lockdowns, writing and recording, the 5-piece London hard rock band are back with a..
Voodoo Six release new video: ‘Never Beyond Repair’
NEW SINGLE "NEVER BEYOND REPAIR" NOW AVAILABLE TO STREAM Voodoo Six released the second single ‘Never Beyond Repair’ on Friday 11th December. Taken from their recently released album Simulation Game, critical consensus is that they’ve raised themselves to another level with this latest work. The band have signed a deal with Explorer 1 – a new Hollywood based full-service music company the..