I have this constant worry that somewhere in Sweden there is a guy with a beer in his hand sat in a lonely bar just wondering why he is the only man in that country not in a rock band! For a nation with around 10 million inhabitants Sweden has certainly punched above its weight..
Constancia – Brave New World (Pride & Joy Music)
The Swedish hard but melodic rock band Constancia began life in 2007 with Brave New World being the third album to date and a superior and thoroughly enjoyable hard rock album it is too. It was put together by Mikael Rosengren formerly the keyboard player with the bands Scudiero and Token and he soon brought in..
Season Of Dreams – Heroes (Pride & Joy Music)
Season Of Dreams is a relatively new band that was formed by the French multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Jean-Michel Volz with the Swedish vocalist Johannes Nyberg and they released the debut album, My Shelter in 2020 so have followed it up very rapidly with the second release. Volz is the guitarist with the French heavy rock..
Angelwings – Primordium (Pride & Joy Music)
Angelwings initially formed in 2013 as a Nightwish covers band but shortly afterwards began writing their own material whilst still retaining that operatic/symphonic/Gothic flavour favoured by Nightwish and the many bands that have since followed their template. What does make Angelwings stand out is that they are from Gibraltar and, according to the publicity, are..
Nergard – Eternal White (Pride & Joy Music)
Nergard is a project that the Norwegian musician Andreas Nergård began in 2010 with the aim for it to be a studio based vehicle fronted by guest musicians from around the world. There have been two albums so far with Memorial For A Wish in 2013 and A Bit Closer To Heaven in 2015 which was..
My Refuge – The Anger Is Never Over (Pride & Joy Music)
My Refuge is a hard rock/power metal band from Italy which was formed in Milan in 2010 by guitarist Mauro Paietta, a man with a definite plan and an artist who more than prepared to chop and change the line-up to get what he wants. The band released their first EP in 2010 and it..
Upper Lip – Deep Within (Pride & Joy Music)
And now for something a little different. Upper Lip is a sleaze/bump 'n' grind rock and roll band from the wonderfully named Gozo which is an island in the Maltese archipelago islands and also known as the land of the Megalithic Temples and a quick look on the internet shows what can only be described..
Backwood Spirit – Fresh From The Can (Pride & Joy Music)
Sometimes, there is nothing like a bit of southern boogie and/or rock and roll for uplifting the spirit as it is such an elemental music that is simply irresistible to ignore and there is some sort of magic between the listener and the band that hauls you to your feet and gets your body moving!..
Stranger Vision – Poetica (Pride & Joy Music)
Stranger Vision is a new progressive metal band out of Italy which was formed in 2019 by the guitarist Riccardo Toni and vocalist Ivan Adami. They quickly brought in drummer Luca Giacopini, bass player Daniele Morini and Gabriele Sarti on keyboards to complete the team with Poetica being the band's sit up and take notice..
Silent Winter – Empire Of Sins (Pride & Joy Music)
The beginnings of Silent Winter go back to the mid '90s when they formed in Volos, a coastal city on the Greek mainland, and released a couple of demo tapes (remember them?) and played a number of gigs but the band subsequently folded. Fast forward to 2018 and the band reformed but with an almost..