Fastway - Eat Dog Eat

Genre - Hard Rock / Heavy Metal

Track listing -

01. Deliver Me
02. Fade Out
03. Leave the Light On
04. Loving Fool
05. Dead and Gone
06. Sick as a Dog
07. Freedom Song
08. Do You Believe
09. Love I Need
10. On and On
11. Only If You Want It

With a line up featuring the likes of Toby Jepson - Vocals (Little Angels, Fastway, Gun, Toby and the Whole Truth), Eddie "Fast" Clarke - Guitars (ex-Motörhead, Fastway), Steve Strange - Drums (Fastway), and John McManus - Bass (ex - Mama's Boys, Celtus, Fastway) it would be fair to say that we could expect something special from this album, and to be fair it delivers. What we get here is eleven very finely crafted songs combining the blistering guitar work of the legendary Eddie Clarke withe the amazing vocal talents of Toby Jepson, this makes for a great combination and some great hard rock moments.
Every song has something to offer but the real gem here for me is "Dead and Gone", a truly great track that really hhighlights the entire bands talents at their best.
This album is not just a nostalgic walk down memory lane, or yet another group of aging musicians desperatly trying to re-capture long gone memories, but rather it is a strong relevant release from a group of immensly talented musicians whostill have a hell of a lot to offer the music world of today!

A very strong album well worth checking out!

rating - 9/10

Doogie White - As Yet Untitled

Genre - Hard Rock / Clasic Rock

Track listing -

01 Come Taste The Band

02 Time Machine
03 Dreams Lie Down And Die
04 Lonely
05 Land Of The Deceiver
06 Secret Jesus
07 Sea Of Emotion
08 Catz Got Yer Tongue
09 Living On The Cheap
10 Times Like These

"As Yet Untitled is the first solo album of the Scottish singer Doogie White, who halfway of the nineties became world famous as the lead vocalist of Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and who very convincingly took care of the vocals parts on the ‘Stranger In Us All’ record. After having sung for a couple of years at the side of mister Blackmore, he went on to do the vocals with another guitar hero being our Swedish ego-tripper Yngwie Malmsteen. With mister Malmsteen Doogie’s adventure lasted about six and a half years and two albums and recently he very surprisingly joined the reincarnated New Wave Of British Heavy Metal band Tank. Besides all of this over the years Doogie also recorded four (great) albums with his band/project Cornerstone, as well as albums with Tank and Empire"
 
The list of guest musicians involved in the recording of “As Yet Untitled” looks impressive:
Patrick Johansson (Yngwie), Thomas Broman (Glenn Hughes) – Drums, Derek Sherinian (Black Country Communion), Tony Carey (Rainbow) – Bass, Neil Murray (Whitesnake), Greg Smith (Ted Nugent), Paul Logue (Edens Curse) - Keyboards,Pontus Norgren (Hammerfall), Marcus Jidell (Royal Hunt), Phil Hilborne ( Queen Musical), Mick Tucker (Tank) - Guitars and Patti Russo (Meatloaf, Cher) - Guest vocals.

So with such a wide ranging array of talent we should be expecting something special, and thats exactly what we get. With a sound that falls somewhere between the classic hard rock of bands like Rainbow and Deep Purple with a contemporary edge and production, As Yet Untitled is a damn fine debut!
Ten very strong melodic yet heavy rock tracks, that show case both Doogies amazing vocal range and his songwriting abilities too. (He co-wrote every track on the album!)

 Every one of the ten songs here are excellent but stand out tracks for me have to include, opener Come Taste The Band, Dreams Lie Down And Die, Sea Of Emotion and Times Like These.
This album has been a long time coming, but it sure sounds like its been worth the wait. Lets hope we dont have to wait years for the follow up!

A Great Classic Hard Rock Album!

Rating 9/10

Kev Bayliss - The Project

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock / Indie / Alternative Rock / Modern Rock / Pop
Label - Rare Records

Track Listing:


01 – Your Heart’s Desire
02 – Quicksand
03 – Falling Down
04 – Starchaser
05 – My Sorry Cinderella
06 – One Day Older
07 – The Beholder
08 – Leave This Town
09 – Kung Fu Master
10 – All I Own
11 – Revolution
12 – Make A Difference (CD Bonus Track)

I first came across the vocal talents of Kev Bayliss in late 2009 via a cover-mounted cd with Classic Rock magazine entitled ones to watch in 2010. Upon said cd was a track by Kev's former group, Voodoo Johnson, titled Bad Habit, which immediately grabbed my attention. I quickly tracked down the two Eps that the band had put out and was blown away by tracks such as Seven years, Nowhere Inbetween and Broken. Quickly Voodoo Johnson became one of my favorite bands, with Kev joining the likes of Sean Harris (Diamond Head), Tony Martin (Black Sabbath, Empire, Cage, Giuntini Project), Glenn Hughes, and Ronnie James Dio as one of my favorite vocalists! Then after releasing a great debut album (10,000 Horses) Kev was to announce his decision to part company with Voodoo Johnson in late 2010 citing music differences as the reason. I was heartbroken, I had held high hopes for Voodoo Johnson and prayed that that was not to be the last that I would hear of Kevs amazing vocals.

Luckily, Kev quickly announced his plans to release a solo album, and now almost eleven months later, here it is in the form of The Project.
Joining Kev for this album are, Kev Bartlett (Drums), Nick Daniel (Bass / Guitars), Lucky Singh (Guitars), and former 30 Seconds To Mars Guitarist Kevin Drake. Together they have produced, in my honest opinion one of, if not the best album of 2011!
With The Project Kev has moved away from the angry heavy riff driven rock of his previous band, Voodoo Johnson, and adopted to folllow a more melodic, dare I say musically diverse direction all together.
Opening with Your Heart’s Desire, a finally crafted guitar driven pop song, with some great melodic hooks and some fine heart felt lyrics from Kev, as well as a great vocal line to boot. Next up is the lead single from the album in the form of Quicksand, a more poppy track with a distinctive indie feel to it, but once again a great song!
Falling Down follows, which in my honest opinion has to be a contender for the best song of 2011. A beautiful piece of modern guitar pop rock. A great song with an amazing vocal delivered from Kev!
Starchaser is up next, another great song, My Sorry Cinderella follows quickly, with its music box intro before exploding into great little rocking track, that I absolutely adore!
Next up is a track that fans of Kevs facebook sites should be familiar with as it’s been posted there for a while in rough acoustic demo form, One Day Older, which even in its unpolished form was amazing. Now finished and polished it just blows me away, a track that I can see myself listening to for years to come, truly outstanding, along with the equally brilliant Leave This Town which is up next. The excellent Kung Fu Master rocks things up a little again, allowing Kev to show just what a great rock vocal he can deliver. All I Own is up next, and is yet another contender for song of the year, the quality just never drops with this album!
Revolution closes out the album proper, another great song that has a great melody and some fantastic vocals along with its epic feel.

The pre order cds come with the bonus track, Make A Difference, which is another great little Gem. This album proves that Kev is not only one of the finest vocalists out there today, on a level with any of the biggest names in the business, but he is also a stunning songwriter as together with Kevin drake and Lucky Singh he has produced an album of twelve glorious tracks. A stunning and contemporary mix of pop and rock with indie sensibilities, and quite possibly my favorite album of 2011.

Although all twelve tracks are brilliant my favorites have to include, Falling Down, All I Own, One Day Older, Kung Fu Master, Revolution and Your Hearts Desire!

This album is very highly recommended!


Rating - 10/10

Website - Kev Bayliss

Lou Reed & Metallica - Lulu

Genre - Experimental

Track listing -

01. Brandenburg Gate 

02. The View 
03. Pumping Blood 
04. Mistress Dread 
05. Iced Honey
06. Cheat On Me 
07. Frustration 
08. Little Dog
09. Dragon
10. Junior Dad


Now please dont get me wrong, I love all kinds of music, I especially appreciate  when artists move out of their comfort zone and try something new and expiremental. I loved Freddie Mercurys Rock Pop Opera Cross-over album Barcelona, I love Insane Clown Posse and Twiztid with their Rap / Rock crossovers, I enjoyed Seb Bachs forays into counrty music but this, I just cant get my head around, or even see a point! I can honestly say with my hand on my heart that even the most hardcore fans of either artist are going to have trouble managing to sit all the way through this monstrousity in one sitting. Metallica have recently come out to assure fans that this is not the new Metallica record I can see why!
All that said, closing track  Junior Dad has some interesting moments, but at almost 20 minutes long you'd hope that it would.

Seriously this album is only for the completists of each artist.

Rating - 3/10

Meat Loaf - Hell In A Handbasket

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock / Pop
Label -

Track listing -

01. All of Me

02. Fall from Grace
03. The Giving Tree
04. Mad Mad World/The Good God is a Woman and She Don’t Like Ugly (Special appearance by Chuck D)
05. Party of One
06. Live or Die
07. California Dreamin‘ (Duet with Patti Russo)
08. Another Day
09. 40 Days”
10. Our Love and Our Souls (Duet with Patti Russo)
11. Stand in the Storm” (Special guest appearances from Lil Jon, John Rich and Mark McGrath)
12. Blue Sky

Meatloaf returns with his latest offering and the follow up to last years Hang Cool teddy Bear. Now I am a huge Meatloaf fan, I always have been but here we have the same old problem with Meat's new albu as we have with many of his non Bat Out Of Hell releases, that is the lack of one Mr Jim Steinmen. Once again it feels a little too much like Meatloaf by numbers, like he is just not being pushed and stretched enough in the studio. Dont get me wrong, Hell In A Handbasket is not a bad album, its full of more than competant songs, the musicianship is excellent and Meat is in fine voice, its just that it os a little too much by the numbers and therefore a little dissappointing.

The album has a few high points, Fall From Grace, The Giving Tree and closing track Blue Sky come to mind, but its not a touch on any of the three Bat Out Of Hell albums!

Rating 6/10

Megadeth – Th1rt3en

Genre - Thrash / Metal / Hard Rock
Label - Roadrunner

Track listing -

01 – Sudden Death
02 – Public Enemy No. 1
03 – Whose Life (Is It Anyways)
04 – We The People
05 – Guns, Drugs, & Money
06 – Never Dead
07 – New World Order
08 – Fast Lane
09 – Black Swan
10 – Wrecker
11 – Millennium Of The Blind
12 – Deadly Nightshade
13 – 13

Dave Mustaine returns with his latest incarnation of the mighty Megadeth, a lineup that includes, 
Dave Mustaine (Guitars, Vocals), the returning David Ellefson (Bass), Shawn Drover (Drums) and Chris Broderick (Guitars), and by God these guys have rediscovered their form. Thirteen is the Megadeths thirteenth album and quite honestly probably their strongest since Youthanasia! Yes you read that right, dave and the crew have managed to tap into that rich vein that they plundered so well with the Countdown To Extinction and Youthanasia.

""TH1RT3EN" has several levels of meaning, which Dave Mustaine, who first picked up an axe at the age of 13, reveals, saying, "I was born on September 13th; this is my thirteenth record. It just seemed like it was the right thing to do to call it "TH1RT3EN". Mustaine is incredibly proud of the music put forth on the new recording, "This record is the culmination of my work over the 13 records I recorded. There are moments on "TH1RT3EN" that capture my every emotion, and other moments where I am releasing feelings I never knew existed! My proudest moments of my musical career are captured on "TH1RT3EN"."

In TH1RT3EN Megadeth have produced the strongest album to come from any member of the "Big Four" in years, and yes that included Anthrax's stunning comeback album Worship music!

Stand out tracks for have to include, Sudden Death, We The People, Guns Drugs & Money and the title track 13.

A stunning return to form from one of the best metal bands out there!

Rating - 10/10

Singer songwriters pay attention!

Groove Strasse Music Production is a new project set up by  Baby Scream's bass player and drummer in Berlin. Its an online studio project aimed at singer songwriters who dont have, or dont want a full band,but still want a full band sound on their songs. Baisically the singer songwriter sends them a clean aciustic track with vocals, then the studio adds the drums , bass and pianno etc. The singer songwriter maintains the copyrights to the song at all times. It sounds like a wonderful idea, and one that could help a lot of talented singer songwriters complete their songs and maybe even achieve their dreams. Its worth checking out, so if you or anyone that you know might be interested you / they can find more information over at http://www.groovestrasse.com/

Steel Panther - Balls Out

Genre - Hard Rock / Sleaze
Label -

Track listing -

01. In The Future
02. Supersonic Sex Machine
03. Just Like Tiger Woods
04. 17 Girls In A Row
05. If You Really, Really Love Me
06. It Won't Suck Itself
07. Tomorrow Night
08. Why Can't You Trust Me
09. That's What Girls Are For
10. Gold-Digging Whore
11. I Like Drugs
12. Critter
13. Let Me Cum In
14. Weenie Ride

The mighty Steel Panther return with their second album, Balls Out, and well to be honest its more of the same. These guys maybe a 'spoof' band, and their comedy appeal is their main appeal, but each and every song is very finely crafted, and the musicianship is always impecable. These guys are serious musicians, with histories in other bands behind their Steel Panther persona's but Steel Panther is a mighty beast in its own right.
The basic and simplest truth is, if you didnt like the first album, then you are not going to like this one, but on the other hand, if you enjoyed Mike Starr's quirky sexist sense of humour on the first album, then by god you're going to thoroughly enjoy this one too!
Stand out tracks for me include, Just Like Tiger Woods, If You really really Love Me, Tomorrow Night, Gold-Digging Whore, Critter and Weenie Ride.

A great album by a great band, a real breathe of fresh air!

Rating - 9/10

Hard Stuff - Boex Dementia

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock / Re-issue
Label - Angel Air Records

Track listing -

01. Roll A Rocket
02. Libel
03. Ragman
04. Spiders Web
05. Get Lost 0
06. Sick ‘N’ Tired
07. Mermany 0
08. Jumpin’ Thumpin’ (Ain’t That Somethin’)
09. Dazzle Dizzy
10. Bolex Dementia

BONUS TRACKS
11. Inside Your Life
12. (It’s) How You Do It

"HARD STUFF was a rock band formed by JOHN DU CANN and Paul Hammond from ATOMIC ROOSTER with JOHN GUSTAFSON from QUATERMASS. The band released it’s first album 'Bulletproof' to intense critical acclaim in 1972 and was working on it’s follow up when whilst touring Europe when they had a bad car accident returning from a gig at the Zoom Club, Frankfurt culminating in Du Cann and Hammond spending many weeks in hospital in Belgium.

Their second album 'Bolex Dementia' was eventually released in 1973 which was a delay of almost a year before the crucial follow up album could be heard. Then the LP cover (which was considered one of the most horrific of 1973) was deemed in some territories as unacceptable and in the USA for example a fresh cover had to be created featuring a girl?! before the album could hit the racks.
The band broke up shortly after the release of the second and final album with Du Cann and Hammond reforming Atomic Rooster (Du Cann wrote and sang lead vocal on their Hits 'Tomorrow Night' and 'Devils Answer') and Gustafson joining Roxy Music.
A classic album remastered with bonus tracks."

Another classic and lost / forgotten gem to get the Angel Air re-issues treatment. This album saw the band’s sound soften slightly, with them developing a funkier guitar sound as opposed to the heavy riffs that led their debut album. Still the standard of the song writing and musicianship was top notch giving us a great album. Unfortunately, this was to be the last release by the band, which is a pity as I feel that they still had a lot to offer judging by the quality of the songs on display here.

Again, this re-issue serves as a great reminder to those that were lucky enough to be there and witness these guys back in the early seventies, and as a great introduction to another lost classic band. Once again this re-issue comes with extensive sleeve notes written by Jeff Perkins detailing the story of this album and Hard Stuff!


Thank God for Angel Air! 


Rating - 9/10

Hardstuff - Bulletproof

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock / Reissue Label - AngelAir Records

Track listing -

01. Jay Time
02. Sinister Minister

03. No Witch At All
04. Taken Alive
05. Time Gambler
06. Millionaire
07. Monster In Paradise
08. Hobo
09. Mr Longevity-RIP
10. The Provider-Part One
BONUS TRACKS
11. Jay Time (single version)
12. The Orchestrator

"HARD STUFF was a hard rock band formed by JOHN DU CANN and Paul Hammond from ATOMIC ROOSTER with JOHN GUSTAFSON from QUATERMASS. Signed to Purple records in 1971 initially as BULLET (they had to change their name in early 1972 to HARD STUFF as there was then already in existence an American group called Bullet) Hence the name of their very first album "Bulletproof" released in June 1972

The band toured heavily across Europe (particularly Germany), often as support to DEEP PURPLE and URIAH HEEP. Their career though was curtailed by a bad car accident returning from a gig at The Zoom Club, Frankfurt in which Du Cann and Hammond were badly injured and they spent weeks in hospital in Belgium torpedoing their plans to record the much anticipated second album.
'Bulletproof' is a classic album now much sought after-remastered with bonus tracks on Angel Air."

Another reissue of an otherwise lost classic album courtesy of Angel Air. Hard Stuff had a sound reminiscent of the like of Deep Purple, Elf, Led Zepplin and the like, with solid riffs and well-crafted songs with at times a little pop sensibility. A great mix and this reissue shows just why they were causing the stir that they were back in 1972. The songs have aged considerably well and display just what the band had to offer, before their career was prematurely cut short.


A great reminder for those that were lucky enough to be there in the seventies to witness this band first hand, a great introduction a great band for those who were not, like me. Once again this re-issue comes with extensive sleeve notes written by Jeff Perkins detailing the story of this album and Hard Stuff!


Well worth checking out!

Rating - 9/10











MUSICIANS
JOHN DU CANN,
JOHN GUSTAFSON,
PAUL HAMMOND

Avenge Vulture Attack - renew Ep

Genre - Rock / Punk / Alternative
Label - Independant

Track listing -

01 - Seven Dirty Bad Things
02 - Renew
03 - You Are Nothing
04 - All About You

London based female fronted rockers Avenge Vulture Attack unleash their third Ep in the form of Renew, a four track offering, giving us their potent mix of pop, punk, rock and alternative styles.

The Ep opens up with, Seven Dirty Bad Things, a seductive riff led track, packed with great melodies and harmonies, a great start to a very promising Ep!
Next up is the title track, Renew, continues in the same vein, solid riff driven tracks with a haunting yet cutting lead vocal from Ella Grace. They really have something special here with her on lead vocals!
You are nothing slows the aggression levels a little, having more of a pop edge, and yes this must be the most painful and direct way to be dumped ever! A great little song.
All About You closes out the Ep and the band have saved the best track until last. A great song that has so much going on and real sense of class about it.
Avenge Vulture Attack really are a promising young outfit, they have some great songs, and billing themselves as "The kids of the 90's meet the kids of the 00's" seems to be quite fitting. You can hear their influences (which include No Doubt, Queens Of The Stone Age and Skunk Anansie), shinning through in both their sound and their style, but they never sound like clones. They have taken the essence of these bands, mixed them together and come out, well with their own sound.
Definitely ones to watch, these guys have the potential to be huge, especially with the immensely talented Ella Grace leading the charge on lead vocals!


Website - AVA
Rating - 9/10

Voodoo Johnson - Black Powder Mother Loader

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock / Modern Rock / Blues Rock
Label - Polarian Records

Available - 17th October 2011

Track listing -

01 - Dogs Of War
02 - Swear It To The Sun
03 - United Divided
04 - The Garden
05 - Black Skies Mist.

Voodoo Johnson return with a new EP, Black Powder Mother Loader, the first release to feature new vocalist Nik Taylor-Stoakes (ex Vallenbrosa), and by god waht an EP it is!
Now I was both shocked and heart broken late last year when then Voodoo Johnson vocalist, Kevin Bayliss, announced his decision to leave the band after releasing two great Eps and a stunning debut album together, citing the old chest nut of musical difference as the reason. Now for most young bands, losing a vocalist the kalibre og Kev Bayliss, especially on the eve of a major tour supporting Europe, would have been too much to come back from, but not these guys! And thank God!!

Black Powder Mother Loader see's Voodoo Johnson move into a slightlty heavier musical direction, and the added power in the delivery really seems to suite the new material. Nik has a lower vocal register than Kev, but by God he has some pipes and a great range!.

The Ep opens with the riffing power of Dogs Of War, setting out the stall, a powerful opening track and a great sign of things to come! Next up is Swear It On The Sun, a bluesey rock track, with some great guitar work and some excellent crooning thanks to Nik! United Divided is up next, another riff driven rocker, and excellent track, this is gonna be a blast live. Next up and adding a little light to the shade on the Ep is The Garden, a beautiful little acoustic track, that showcases the softer side of Niks vocals. Rounding out the Ep is Black Skies Mist, a song written with non other that NWoBHM and Diamond Head legend Brian Tatler. Black Skies Mist was first aired back in March, as a single, but it closes out this EP perfectly, with its speed and power leaving you wanting more!
Voodoo Johnson's future, and the future of British Rock music is looking bright! These guys are still going to be huge!
I truly cant wait for these guys to release a full length album together!

Black Powder Mother Loader is released on 17th October 2011 through Polarian Records, buy it, check it out, you will not be dissappointed!
Now if only these guys would get together with Hate Gallery for a co headlining Uk tour....hmmmm


website - Voodoo Johnson
Rating - 10/10

Chickenfoot - III

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock

Track listing -

01. Last Temptation

02. Alright Alright
03. Different Devil
04. Up Next
05. Lighten Up
06. Come Closer
07. Three And a Half Letters
08. Big Foot
09. Dubai Blues
10. Something Going Wrong
11. (Hidden Bonus Track)

Chickenfoot is the SUPERGROUP band, and what a band,  featuring Sammy Hagar (Van Halen), Michael Anthony (Van Halen), guitarist Joe Satriani and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith.

Now this band environment really brings out the best in Joe's guitar work, please dont get me wrong, I love most of his solo out put, but here, working within a band environment, working withing the structure of propper songs so to speak, he really shines as a guitarist and not just the flamboyant instrumentalist. All the songs on this album are very strong, very well written, and with a line up like this it goes withoput saying extremely well performed. Sammy is in great voice too, really gelling with the music, love his singing on this album. Its hard to pick out a  stand out track with the entire album being so strong, but if I was puched I would have to go with, Last Temptaion, Different Devil, Three and a Half Letters and the Hidden bonus track, all of which are just awesome!

Van Halen's new album (with dave Lee Roth returning for vocal duties) is going to have to be something really special to beat this release!

Very Highly Reconmended!

rating 10/10

LESLIE WEST - Unusual Suspects

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic rock / Blues Rock

Track listing -
01. One More Drink For The Road (ft. Steve Lukather)

02. Mudflap Mama (ft. Slash)
03. To The Moon
04. Standing On A Higher Ground (ft. Billy F. Gibbons)
05. Third Degree (ft. Joe Bonamassa)
06. Legend
07. Nothing's Changed (ft. Zakk Wylde)
08. I Feel Fine
09. Love You Forever
10. My Gravity
11. Turn Out The Lights (ft. Slash & Zakk Wylde)
12. I Don't Know 'The Beetlejuice Song' (ft. Richard Christy) [bonus track]

"Legendary guitarist and Mountain founder Leslie West is releasing a brand new solo album entitled "Unusual Suspects" this September, his first since 2006’s 'Blue Me'."
Add Slash, Billy Gibbons, Zakk Wylde and Joe Bonamassa and TOTO singer / guitarist and legendary session musician Steve Lukather to mix and dare I say we're in for something a little special!
"Each of the songs on "Unusual Suspects" has been arranged with the guest musician in mind, which gives them another dimension. West has crafted 12 songs, ranging from the hard rocking “Nothing’s Changed” with Zakk Wylde to the awesome melodic and personal “Legend”.This album also features a couple of cover versions. One of these Leslie has cut before, Willie Dixon’s "Third Degree" which guest musician Joe Bonamassa was so impressed with first time around, he asked Leslie if he’d do it again and let him play on it. Joe also adds some vocals too, and his unmistakable guitar tone, compliments Leslie’s beautifully. The other is a take on Willie Nelson’s "Turn Out The Lights" where Slash and Zakk Wylde join in both acoustically and electrically, the result is nothing short of stunning!

Unusual Suspects is a stunning album, enhanced all the more by the quality of the talent guesting upon it, well worth checking out!

Rating - 10/10

Queen - Made In Heaven (2011 deluxe remaster)

Genre - Rock / Pop

Track listing -

CD1:
01 – It’s A Beautiful Day
02 – Made In Heaven
03 – Let Me Live
04 – Mother Love
05 – My Life Has Been Saved
06 – I Was Born To Love You
07 – Heaven For Everyone
08 – Too Much Love Will Kill You
09 – You Don’t Fool Me
10 – A Winter’s Tale
11 – It’s A Beautiful Day (reprise)
12 – (Yeah)
13 – (Dead)

Bonus CD2:
01 – Heaven For Everyone (Single Version)
02 – It’s A Beautiful Day (B-Side Version)
03 – My Life Has Been Saved (1989 B-Side Version)
04 – I Was Born To Love You (Vocal & Piano Version)
05 – Rock In Rio Blues (Live B-Side)
06 – A Winter’s Tale (Cosy Fireside Mix)

this album was put together by the surviving band members after Freddies death and released in 1995. It features a collection of songs that Freddie finished before he died, Mother Love, A Winters Tale, You Dont Fool Me, re-worked solo tracks, Made In Heaven, I Was Born To Love You, Heaven For Everyone, Too Much Love Will Kill You, and re-worked tracks that had never been released, Its A Beautiful day, Let Me Live, and a re-worked B-side in My life Has Been Saved.

It was a strange album to listen too for the first time know that Freddie was no longer with us. this album had a slightly heavier sound than the past few Queen releases which was probably down to freddie not being involoved in its production.

Again the remastering here is spot on, and you cant really expect too much from the bonus disc as its an album made from leftovers in the first place, but I would have liked to have seen the origianal version of Let Me Live included with its why dont you take another little piece of my heart refrain.

still a great release.

rating - 10/10

Queen - Innuendo (2011 deluxe remaster)

Genre - Rock / Pop

Track listing -

CD1:
01 – Innuendo

02 – I’m Going Slightly Mad
03 – Headlong
04 – I Can’t Live With You
05 – Don’t Try So Hard
06 – Ride The Willd Wind
07 – All God’s People
08 – These Are The Days Of Our Lives
09 – Delilah
10 – The Hitman
11 – Bijou
12 – The Show Must Go On

Bonus CD2:
01 – I Can’t Live With You (1997 Rocks Retake)
02 – Lost Opportunity (B-Side)
03 – Ride The Wild Wind (Early Version with Guide Vocal)
04 – I’m Going Slightly Mad (Mad Mix)
05 – Headlong (Embryo with Guide Vocal)

1991, This album suprised the hell out of the nation. Lead single and title track went straight in tio the UK charts at number 1, the album followed a week later, and by god what an album! Spawning another 5 hit singles, Innuendo, Im Going Slightly Mad, Headlong, These Are The days Of Our Lives (which was to be the last promo video Freddie would ever record, where he seems to say goodby to his fans!) and The Show Must Go On.

This was the best album Queen had made in years, pure majesty, Innuendo, epic, Dont try So Hard with freddies vocals so crystal clear and sharp, The Hitman, a pure rocking work out, if Freddie knew he only had months to live he intended to go out on a high, and that he did!

Again the remastering is spot on, and the bonus disc throws up a few nice suprises, such as Ride The Wild Wind (Early version) and the embryonic Headlong with Brian adding guide vocals.
I would have loved to have seen Face It Alone, Assassin, My Secret Fantasy, Self Made Man and Robbery make this release, but onve again I can but hope that the promoised Anthology set eventually gets released.

rating 10/10 

Queen - The Miracle (2011 deluxe remaster)

Genre - Rock / Pop

Track listing -

CD1:
01 – Party
02 – Khashoggi’s Ship
03 – The Miracle
04 – I Want It All
05 – The Invisible Man
06 – Breakthru
07 – Rain Must Fall
08 – Scandal
09 – My Baby Does Me
10 – Was It All Worth It

Bonus CD2:
01 – I Want It All (Single Version)
02 – The Invisible Man (Early Version with Guide Vocal, August 1988)
03 – Hang On in There (B-Side)
04 – Hijack My Heart (B-Side)
05 – Stealin’ (B-Side)
06 – Chinese Tortoure (Instrumental)
07 – The Invisible Man (12” Version)

1989, the decade was coming to a close everyone was looking back over the past 10 years and voting in polls about who were the best band, best single, best live act etc, Queen released The Miracle spawing 5 hit singles and pretty much made  clean sweep of all the polls!
5 hit singles, I Want It All, The Miracle, Breakthru, The Invisible Man and Scandal, not bad going for a 10 track album!
now this album was one of the first albums to be recorded digitally, and that left the sound feeling a lil over produced (Queen over produced, no never!) and flat. This remaster injects a lot of life into the over all sound, making the tracks sound a little closer to their demo's (which are ace by the way!) so splendid job there.
the bonus disc, hmmm well mixed feeling here, yes I am happy at what they've put out, but there is so much more from these sessions that couls have been put on this disc! They've included the 12" version of The Invisible Man but NOT the extended 12" versions of Breakthru or Scandal hmmm. They have also included the unrealeased demo of The Invisible Man, which is interested and great appreciated, but why not include the other demo's know to exist from these sessions (theses sessions were so productive at one stage they considered putting out another album or EP entitled The Alternative Miracle!)
I would have loved to have seen, A New Life Is Born, I Guess We're Falling Out, Stealin' (12 min Jam version), Affairs, the original version of Too Much Love Will Kill You with Freddie on vocals (which was recorded during these sessions!)or Grand Dame get an officail realease. Also where is My Life Has Been Saved (Original 1989 B-side)?

great release, appreciated remaster but seriously left wanting more!

Rating 9/10 (for what we get)

Queen - A Kind Of Magic (2011 deluxe remaster)

Genre - Rock / Pop

Track listing -

CD1
01 – One Vision

02 – A Kind Of Magic
03 – One Year Of Love
04 – Pain Is So Close To Pleasure
05 – Friends Will Be Friends
06 – Who Wants To Live Forever
07 – Gimme The Prize
08 – Don’t Lose Your Head
09 – Princes Of The Universe

Bonus CD2:
01 – A Kind Of Magic (Highlander Version)
02 – One Vision (Single Version)
03 – Pain Is So Close To Pleasure (Single Remix)
04 – Forever (Piano Version)
05 – A Kind Of Vision (Demo, August 1985)
06 – One Vision (Live at Wembley Stadium, July 11th 1986)
07 – Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends…


Hot on the heels of a blistering performance at 1985's Live Aid (a gig that pretty much saved the band from splitting up!) Queen entered the studio to record the soundtrack to one of my favourite films of all time, The Highlander. For some reason, although the music was used in the movie, the soundtrack album was scrapped and the songs re worked into what would be come A Kind Of Magic.
This was to prove to be one of Queens biggest selling albums and tours of all tiume, in fact the last tour to feature the late Freddie, those were magic years!
Featuring 4 huge singles in, One Vision, A Kind Of Magic, Who Wants To Live Forever and Friends Will Be Friends, this album was awesome. Again the remastering is perfect, ensuring the tracks now sound even better!
The bonus material on here is a mixed bag, its great to see the Highlander version of A Kind Of Magic getting an official release, but why not the awesome Highlander version of Princes Of THe Universe?
The demo of A Kind Of Magic is a welcome addition, but would have liked to see more material like this made available, such as the Queen demo of You Are The Only One, ohh well maybe we will get the Queen Anthology released one day (as promised back in 2000!)

A Great album well worth reaquainting yourself with!

Rating - 10/10

Queen - The Works (2011 deluxe remaster)

Genre - Rock / Pop

Track listing -

CD1:

01 – Radio Ga Ga
02 – Tear It Up
03 – It’s A Hard Life
04 – Man On The Prowl
05 – Machines (Back To Humans)
06 – I Want To Break Free
07 – Keep Passing The Open Windows
08 – Hammer To Fall
09 – Is This The World We Created …

CD2:
01 – I Go Crazy (B-Side)
02 – I Want To Break Free (Single Remix)
03 – Hammer To Fall (Headbanger’s Mix)
04 – Is This The World We Created… (Live in Rio, January 1985)
05 – Its A Hard Life (Live in Rio, January 1985)
06 – Thank God It’s Christmas (Non-Album Single)

Queen studio albums continue to get the remastering treatment, this time its 1984's release The Works. this album need no introductions, it features some of Queens biggest know singles (and most controversial!), in Radio GaGa and I Want To Break Free, plus a couple of Queens later day rockng classics such as Tear It Up and Hammer To Fall. Again the remastering brings out the best from each song, giving them all a brand new lease of life, leaving the listener to discover things that they had never noticed in the past.

the bonus tracks on CD2 are a little dissapointing, I know for a fact that there are demo's that could have been included in place of the live tracks, such as the Michael Jackson tracks, or Back To Storm or even the demo version of Keep Passing The Open Windows that has been doing the rounds in trading circles.

Still a mighty fine release non the less!

Rating - 9/10

ROBIN GEORGE'S LOVEPOWER - LovePower and Peace

Genre - Rock / Classic Rock / Blues / Soul / Pop
Label - Angel Air Records

Track listing -

01. Love Power And Peace   (lead vox Ruby Turner & Jaki Graham)
02. Seven Golden Daffodils    (lead vox Jacqui Williams & Robin George)
03. Cocoon                            (lead vox Sean Harris)
04. Pride                                (lead vox Ruby Turner) 
05. Bluesong                          (lead vox Charlie George)
06. World                              (lead vox Freya Copeland, Vix, Robin George & Arthur Brown)
07. King’s Call                      
08. Tired Eyes                        (lead vox David Byron)
09. Another Lonely Night       (lead vox Daniel Boone)
10. With A Little Help From My Friends  (lead vox Sean Harris, Jacqui Williams & Robin George)
11. Mona Lisa Smile              (lead vox Pete Goalby)
12. Wasted Time                   (lead vox John Wetton)
13. Alice                                (lead vox Robin George & Spike)
14. No Justice                        (lead vox Andy Pyke)
15. Heartline                          (lead vox Nick Tart)
16. Next to You/Don’t Turn Away (lead vox Robin George)
17. Angel Song                      (lead vox Robin George)

" This album involves no less than 50 artists making a contribution to this charity album under the production of project mastermind ROBIN GEORGE. The LovePower Band who are: Pete Haycock (The Climax Blues Band), Charlie Morgan (Elton John Band), Mel Collins (King Crimson), JacquieWilliams (Sister Sledge), Charley Charlesworth (Dangerous Music) and Robin George (Phil Lynott etc) Artwork is by the fabulous Andie Airfix.'

As the title suggests this is Robin’s Love Power and he has called on members of Uriah Heep, Trapeze, UFO, Mott The Hoople, Hanoi Rocks, Cry Baby's, King Crimson, Diamond Head, Asia, Quireboys to soul queen Jaki Graham to Ruby Turner to ViX to produce an album which is the desire of all artists participating to put something back by way of a charity album." "The Love Power project began with a conversation in the Andalucian mountain village in which Robin George now has his home. It started as a single, then grew to an EP and then as more artists recorded Robin’s songs they started contacting fellow artists/musicians and has now grown to a full album. As Robin recently said "It’s amazing a couple of weeks ago I recorded drummers Charlie Morgan in Nashville and Pete Thompson in Dallas where he was performing with Robin Trower. With 21st Century technology, geographical distance is no barrier"

Apart from the 50 musicians others who have freely dedicated their time and expertise include a choir of over 200 schoolchildren, an international women’s choir, a male rock choir, as well as photographers, journalists, art studios and record companies.
Uniquely for a charity album the entire profits from this release are being donated to three charities- BCAT, Haven House, and Compton Hospice."

 This is a great album, combining the talents of a whole host of musicians. Highlights for me include Cocoon and With A Little Help From My Friends, if for no other reason than they feature ex Diamond Head vocalist Sean harris on lead vocals, in quite possibly his first released work since being ousted from the band a few years back, awesome.
Another highlight is Bluesong where Charlie George just owns the lead vocal!
 Some tracks do sound a little dated, but what the hey, on the whole this is a great album and its raising money for some great charity's!

webisite - LovePower and Peace 
rating 9/10

Dirty Habit - Mental Execution

Genre - Hard Rock / Garage
Label - Dirty Records

Track listing -

01 - Hell
02 - Sick Of You
03 - Place To Be
04 - Down Below
05 - Alcohol
06 - Car Wreck
07 - Verge Of Insanity
08 - Daddy's Little Girl
09 - Gold Digger
10 - Make Things Right
11 - Dirty Little Habit
12 - Go Hard Or Go Home

UK 3 piece rocker's Dirty Habit, Scarlette Sin (Vocals and Bass), Dan (Guitars) and Toby (Drums)  deliver up Mental Execution an filled of raw edged attitude filled gems. Dans Guitar work is stunning throughout, Scarlette's vocals are a perfect match and the raw production suites the songs and dare I say the band perfectly.
Add some crowd noises and I think this album is a pretty close match to how the band sound live, which must be an experience with the band and songs displaying so much energy here!
Stand out tracks for me would have to include, Sick Of You, Verge Of Insanity and Daddy's Little Girl.
A very promising band, definetley one to watch in the future!

Website - Dirty Habit
Rating - 9/10

Visitor - The Need To Believe

Genre - Metal / Metalcore
Label - Copro Records / Casket Records

Track listing -

01 - Face Of Fear
02 - 428
03 - The Whispering
04 - We Are Not Alone
05 -World In Flames
06 - Relentless
07 - 9 Circles of Hell

Manchester four piece, Visitor, unleash The Need To Believe upon the poor unsuspectine world. Seven, yes only seven, tracks of blistering riffs, relentless drumming and 3 part vocals, yes three of the four guys handle vocal duties, switching between each other throughout each song. The songs are relentless, pounding you into submission, barely leaving you time to catch your breath. I love the vocals, constantly changing from old school metal, vocal harmonies and growling, great concept.
This album probably needed a softer track included, to add a little contrast, a little light to the shade so to speak, but on a whole its a good release, but be warned, it WILL LEAVE YOU EXHAUSTED!!

website - Visitor
Rating - 8.5/10

Sworn To Oath - Leave You for Dead EP

Genre - Metal
Label - Independant

Track listing -

01. Last Call
02. (Everything) Reminds Me of You
03. False Promise
04. Leave You for Dead

Uk three peice, Sworn To Oath return with their new Ep, Leave You For Dead, the follow up to last years Dont Fuck About Ep, and hell these guys just get better and better. Opening with current single, Last Call, which has an almost commercial edge to it, without losing any of the bands power and attitude, before steam rolling into  (Everything) Reminds Me Of You, with its intro pummling you into submission with a barrage of riffs. Next up is moody rocker False Promise with the grinding title track, Leave You for Dead closing out this great little Ep.
What I like about Sworn To Oath, and what sets them aside from many of their contemporarys is vocalist and bassist Tom Shaw. He has  (at times) a great melodic voice and doesnt resort to constant growling and shouting all the way through songs, a major plus point for me! Together these three guys are a solid force!

All four tracks are great, and with the reputation that these guys are building for themselves on the live circuit you had better check them out as soon as possible!

Sworn To Oath are quite simply one of the best UK metal bands out there at the moment, and are surly desting for greatness!

website - Sworn II Oath  
Rating - 10/10

Sebastian Bach - Kicking and Screaming

Genre - Hard Rock / Heavy Metal

Track listing -
01. Kicking & Screaming

02. My Own Worst Enemy
03. TunnelVision (featuring John 5)
04. Dance On Your Grave
05. Caught In A Dream
06. As Long As I Got The Music
07. I'm Alive
08. Dirty Power
09. Live The Life
10. Dream Forever
11. One Good Reason
12. Lost In The Light
13. Wishin'


Former Skidrow vocalist Seb Bach returns with his latest offering, Kicking and Screaming, an apt title for one of rocks wildest characters.
Opening with lead single and title track, Kickind And Screaming, Seb really sets out his stall. Great riff driven songs dripping in melody. Seb seems to be in fine voice here, with his vocals showcasing his range, from subtle soft melodies, to rough growl to full on metal scream.
Now here we have 13 well written, finely crafted songs, performed by a very talented band, but to me it just seems that something is missing. please dont get me wrong, I have always loved Seb Bach, ever since back in the MTV hey day with Skidrow's 18 & Life and Youth Gone Wild, through Skidrows highest point todate with Slave To The Grind, and I loved Sebs last solo effort Angel Down, but this album is more Youth Gone Mild than Kicking and Screaming. I just cant put my finger on it, the songs are great, the band sonds great, and as I have already said, Seb is in fine voice, so maybe its the production. Everything is just a little too polished for my liking, robbing the tracks of that raw edge, that energy that was so apparent of Skidrows Slave To The Grind.
Again, please dont get me wrong, this is a fine album, with stand out tracks like, My Own Worst Enemy, As Long As I Got The Music, Dirty Power and Tunnel Vision, it just lacks a little something for me.

Rating - 8/10

The Answer - Revival

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock

Track listing -

01. Waste Your Tears

02. Use Me
03. Trouble
04. Nowhere Freeway
05. Tornado
06. Vida (I Want You)
07. Caught On The Riverbed
08. Destroy Me
09. New Day Rising
10. Can not Remember, Can not Forget
11. One More Revival
12. Lights Are Down

Irish hard rocker's, The Answer, return with their new album, Revival. Well the good news is that if you're a fan of the band then you're gonna love this album! Hell to be honest if you are a fan of Classic / Hard Rock then you are going to love this album. You've got great classic riffs, solid songs and HUGE chorus's to boot!
The band have been around long enough now to have the confidence to stretch their songwritting tallents a little too and mix the influences within the songs too, which a possitive, with some songs having a very Zepplin feel to them and some having a distinctive southern flavour too. There are out and out rockers like New day Rising, there's moody classy songs like Destroy Me, as well as great balladesque tracks like Lights Are Down and classy tracks like Caught On The Riverbed. This album really does have it all!
 
Revival is a fantastic album from a great band, a record (or should that be CD?) that really delivers!
Very Highly Reconmended!
 
Rating - 10/10

YOU LOVE HERE COZ SHE’S DEAD - YOU LOVE HERE COZ SHE’S DEAD

Genre -
Label - Glasstone Records

Track listing -
01 - Leap of Desire 1
02 - Sunday Best
03 - Mud (feat Sucker Twin)
04 - Leagacy
05 - Blinded
06 - This Is A raid
07 - Pull Out The Nails
08 - Leap Of Desire 11
09 - Nowhere To Run To
10 - Softer Cell

Brighton-based duo YOU LOVE HERE COZ SHE’S DEAD release thier debut self titled album on Glasstone Records. YOU LOVE HERE COZ SHE’S DEAD’s album release follows an iTunes featured 'Hot Picks' debut EP, singles, remixes & compilations on Kitsuné, EMI & Glasstone, andwith their music appearing on films (Teen Wolf) and TV Shows (Skins). So as you can see these guys have been showcasing their blend of elctro punk indie pop all over the place.
The album is a collection of 10 tracks (some re-worked and some brand new) that Elle & Jay felt made sense together and are a good representation of their collaborative creative efforts.

The album was entirely produced and mixed by YLHCSD and mastered at The Exchange in London by Nilesh Patel (Daft Punk / Justice / Mr.Oizo / Björk / Underworld).
This is an interesting release, a kind of cross over album, with a punk ish element, but definetly more techno / electronica based. The songs are a miss mash of electronic beast, keyboards, guitars and Elle's distotrted vocals. Not bad at all but not really my cup of tea.
Enjoyable but for me rather throw away, so please check these guys out for yourselves.




Fans or anyone interested in these guys, can DOWNLOAD ALBUM TRACK ‘LEAP OF DESIRE FOR FREE HERE: "http://soundcloud.com/%20youlovehercozshesdead/free-%20track-giveaway


Rating - 7/10 (mainly because its not to my personal taste, so please check them out for yourselves!)

POLAR FOR THE MASSES - SILENCE

Genre - rock / punk / garage / experimental / indie

Label - Black Nutria Independent Label / Cargo

Track listing -
01. Consequences 

02. Rust 
03. DIsmembered 
04. Sailing Away 
05. U.T.W.
06. The Last Man 
07. Ignorance 
08. Guilty

"This Italian trio have been a band since 2003, pursuing an essential and minimal “ice cold” approach to their music: an eclectic and unpredictable brand of post-punk that doesn't overlook the genre’s minimal approach and essence."
With a stripped down sound, and some fairly solid songs, Polar For The Masses pretty much acheive their goal with Silence. With an almost idie grunge feel  with a punk / post punk approach these guys do offer something a little different, and rather enjoyable. All the songs are pretty solid, with Sailing Away, The Last Man and Guilty really standing out to my ears. With comparisons being made to Placebo, Brian Molko, Foo Fighters and Dave Grhol the band are getting alot of relavent attention. Silence is the bands third album, and their experience shows in the tightness of the band, but I feel the production is just a little too flat for me, robbing the songs of some of their attitude and agression.
On a whole not a bad album, worth checking out, but I would love to see what the guys could come up with, by enlisting the aid of a top producer!

Website - Polar For The Masses
rating - 8/10 

Alice Cooper - Welcome 2 My Nightmare

Genre - Hard Rock / Shock rock / Glam Rock

Track listing -

01. I Am Made Of You

02. Caffeine
03. The Nightmare Returns
04. A Runaway Train
05. Last Man On Earth
06. The Congregation
07. I'll Bite Your Face Off
08. Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever
09. Ghouls Gone Wild
10. Something To Remember Me By
11. When Hell Comes Home
12. What Baby Wants
13. I Gotta Get Outta Here
14. The Underture

Recorded with longtime collaborator Bob Ezrin, who produced the original multi-platinum "Welcome To My Nightmare" album in 1975, the record picks up right where they left off, with Alice trapped in his own warped mind. "This is Alice's nightmare 35 years later," explains Alice, "Bob and I created this character and we know how to write for him. I play the part but we're not writing for me, we're writing for Alice. We kept the first 'Nightmare' album very personal to us, on this one we found more humor and we were more open. This was our world and we want to present it to the fans. The original album was my first solo album after all those huge hit records with the original band and now that nightmare is exposed, this one can be a little bit more open. The music crosses all sorts of boundaries; we went where the lyrics took us."


"There is a vast array of collaborators on the new album, including original Alice Cooper members Denis Dunaway, Michael Bruce and Neal Smith reunited on three tracks; global pop superstar Ke$ha, who affectionately calls Alice "dad"; and legendary Alice and Lou Reed guitarist Steve Hunter, who is part of Alice's current touring band and featured prominently on the first "Nightmare" album.

Musically, the album ranges far and wide, from trashing disco to garage punk, pop balladry to a rocking number very much in the spirit of THE ROLLING STONES. And then there's the ballad "Something To Remember Me By", described by Alice as "the prettiest song we have ever released."
Glimpses of themes from the original album are intertwined throughout, each track representing a different aspect of Alice's nightmare."

The first thing that I did before listening to this album was to give the original 1975 Welcome To My Nightmare a spin, just so that I could honestly say as to whether Welcome 2 My Nightmare stands up to its predecessor, and not to be comparing it through the eyes of nostalgia.

Welcome 2 My Nightmare, just like its predecessor has a wide range of music styles and themes going on, from the Rolling Stones influenced lead single, I’ll Bite Your Face Off, to the Beatles / Oasis themed Last Man On Earth, to the rock n roll / Ramones groove of Ghouls Gone Wild.
One thing that I have loved when listening to this album is the way that they have interwoven themes, snippets of piano or guitar refrains from the original 1975 masterpiece. All of a sudden, you hear a piano segment from Steven, or a little theme from Only Women Bleed, and all done without it sounding tacky or forced, awesome!

I love this album and I can honestly say that Welcome 2 My Nightmare is the best album Alice has released in years, and I love most of the albums that he has released in his long career!

Well worth checking out!

Website - Alice Cooper
Rating - 10/10

The Brew - The Third Floor

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock / Blues
Track listing -

01 - Sirens Of War
02 - Six Dead
03 - Reached The Sky
04 - See You once Again
05 - Master and Pupeteer
06 - The Third Floor
07 - Piper Of Greed
08 - Crimson Crsyal raindrops
09 - Hard Times
10 - Imogen Molly
11 - Let It Back

"Though often named a modern blues band, The Brew have evolved far beyond the restrictions of blues to become one of Europe's most prominent rock bands. Hailing from Grimsby (UK) the band draws inspiration from a wide range of influences, from the experimental psychedelic tunes of the '60s, to more contemporary artists on the rock scene.

The band's extensive European tours have resulted in a massive underground following, which is just beginning to break into the mainstream as their fan-base rapidly increases. Appearances across national television and radio stations in Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and Holland have confirmed the band as one of Britain’s better known musical exports."

Here we have eleven finely crafted and excellently executed songs. It would be unfair to label them simply as blues song, as they are so much more, crossing many musical boundaries, through classic and hard rock to psychedelic rock!
This multi generational trio's line up consists of Jason Barwick - Lead guitar, vocals (born in 1989), Tim Smith - Bass guitar, vocals. (Father of Kurtis.) and Kurtis Smith - Drums, vocals (born in 1988), and boy do they know how to put together a song, just check out the title track alone!


The Third Floor is a very solid album and well worth checking out!

website - The Brew
Rating - 10/10

Anthrax - Worship Music

Genre - Metal / Thrash


Track listing -

01. Worship
02. Earth On Hell
03. The Devil You Know
04. Fight 'Em Til You Can't
05. I'm Alive
06. Hymn 1
07. In The End
08. The Giant
09. Hymn 2
10. Judas Priest
11. Crawl
12. The Constant
13. Revolution Screams

Who would have thought that in 2011, Anthrax would release what could possibly be the best album of their 30-year career? That's exactly what happened with their latest, highly anticipated slab of metal, Worship Music. This is classic Anthrax at its best - fast, heavy and melodic!
With a lineup that includes, Joey Belladonna ( returning to lead vocals after a 20 year absence from an Anthrax album!), main stay and heart of the band, Scott Ian (rhythm guitar), Rob Caggiano (guitars), the mighty Charlie Benante (drums) and Frank Bello (bass), Anthrax fans were hoping for something special and boy have the band delivered!
Earth On Hell in vintage Anthrax, fast and furious, The Devil You know is Anthrax with an ACDC groove, Fight 'Em Til You Cant is another classic Anthrax track in the making!
In The End is a near seven-minute epic that pays tribute to the bands fallen friends, Dimebag Darrell Abbott and Ronnie James Dio. This is easily the most emotional and passionate song Anthrax has ever done, whilst Judas Priest has a nice NWOBHM feel to it
I'm Alive, The Giant, The Constant and Revolution Screams are just as solid as the other tracks, all four being straight ahead, in your face rockers with big melodic hooks.
As I said earlier, this is possibly the best album Anthrax has released in their 30 year career.
Highly Recommended!

website - Anthrax
Rating - 10/10

The Union - Sirens Song

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock
Label -

Track listing -

01 - Siren's Song

02 - Blame It On Tupelo
03 - Orion
04 - Obsession
05 - Make Up Your Mind
06 - The Remedy
07 - Cut The Line
08 - Burning Daylight
09 - Black Gold
10 - Time
11 - If I Could Make You Mine


Ex Thunder, leader and axe man Luke Morley (Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Vocals) and ex Winterville singer Peter Shoulder (Lead Vocals, Electric & Acoustic Guitars) return with their second album under "The Union" banner with Sirens Song, and once again, it is the perfect marriage between experience and maturity and youth and energy. Every song on this album just screams quality, and I am still amazed by Peter Shoulders ability to co write songs of this standard at his relatively young age!


From the acoustic numbers like Sirens Song, Orion, and Make Up Your Mind, to the foot stomping rockers like The Remedy, Black Gold, and Obsession, this album has it all.
For every song on this album the guitar work, both acoustic and electric, is top notch and the vocals are out of this world.

A contender for Classic Rock album of the year, I think so!

Very highly reconmended!

website - The Union
Rating - 10/10

Baby Scream - Secret Place

Genre - Rock / Pop / Powerpop
Label - Eternal Sunday

Tracklisting -

01 The Last Call
02 Hit And Run
03 Secret Place
04 Going North
05 Cold Weather Reggae
06 Bad Seed
07 Patiently
08 London Sun
09 The Atmosphere
10 Eating My Face

Baby Scream return with their Eighth studio release, hot on the tail of last year’s self titled album, with Secret Place.
"The story behind Secret Place, Baby Scream's eighth album and the first to be released by Eternal Sunday, begins when the government office Opción Música, that belongs to the City Government of Buenos Aires, announced that local indie labels could present proposals for recording an album at Estudio Urbano, a cultural centre dedicated to rock music and youth culture. The winners could use 80 hours of recording. Eternal Sunday proposed recording a new Baby Scream album (the band was releasing its homonymous album by OK! Records in the UK) and the project was accepted, so the band has to enter the studio to make a new album in two weeks."

The result is a refreshing laid back and honest album upon which composer Juan Pablo Mazzola takes us on a journey through a myriad of music styles and influences from the relaxed rocker, opening track The Last Call, through the Lennonesque Hit and Run (which is set to be released as the lead single from this album!) on through the darker themed songs like Going North. Cold Weather Reggae throws us a bit of a curve ball, but once again shows that Juan can turn his hand to writing almost any musical style that he chooses. The rest of the album continues in the same vein, relaxed laid back songs covering almost every emotion, even Eating My Face, which covers a dream where composer Juan was served his own head to eat in a restaurant!

The standard of the song writing and the musicianship on display here is as always top notch. THERE REALLY ISNT A BAD SONG ON THIS CD!
Secret Place maybe a little more laid back than some of Baby Screams previous release’s, but its still a truly stunning album, if you are a fan of Baby Screams previous releases then you will love this album, if you’ve not heard Baby Scream before, then why not? Check them out, they’re a great band producing great music!
The albums out August 15th, do yourself a favour and grab a copy!

Website – Baby Scream

Rating – 10/10

Hit And Run (single)
Faithful to the classic rock tradition followed by Baby Scream, Eternal Sunday announces the release of the single "Hit And Run" backed with "20th Century Baby". "20th Century Baby" is a song written by the legendary Marc Bolan (the leader of T-Rex) that was only released as a demo after the composer's death. Baby Scream recorded its version during the Secret Place recording sessions.

The single will be available at every major digital store (iTunes, eMusic, Amazon, Spotify, etc.) on July 15th, 2011. (OUT NOW!)

Stone Soul Foundation - Electric Valley

Genre - Hard Rock
Label - Stone Soul Foundation (independant)


Track listing -

01. Sidewalker
02. Christian
03. Electric Valley
04. Aint No Mystery
05. Song About You
06. Window
07. Mountain of Time
08. Next Flight
09. Gonna Try
10. They Are Me
11. I Master
12. Song About You (Radio Edit)
13. I Master (Radio Edit)

"Black Sabbath, Zeppelin, and Grand Funk Railroad meets Metallica, Wolfmother, and Queens Of The Stone Age" is how Stone Soul Foundation have been described, all I can say is that Electric Valley, the third release from Stone Soul Foundation, delivers first class hard driving blues groove riff-heavy rock with the vocals to match.
Theres plenty of variation on offer here, but there is also an underlying quality that keep all the songs moving along, its no wonder that these guys were picked out by Classic Rock magazine to be amongst the ones to watch for 2011.
A great band with solid songs performed to perfection, A very solid release that captures all the right elements from the late seventies hard rock giants, mixes them up a little and releases them with a contemporary edge.

A great album, well worth checking out!

Website - Stone Soul FoundationRating - 9/10

The Itch - Spreading Like Wildfire

Genre - Hard Rock
Label - Rambo Music


Track listing -

01. Calling Me Back
02. Action
03. The Catalyst
04. Propaganda
05. No Friend Of Mine
06. Pain
07. Bring In The Wine
08. Sold My Soul
09. Mother (Acoustic)
10. If You Could See
11. Losing My Mind

The Itch hail from the south of Sweden, a country that has given the world a huge amount of talented rock bands over the past few years!
They consists of lead singer (and former Tenebre guitarist) Lukas Landerö, Magnus Wahlberg on guitar, Johan Helgesson on the drums and Tobbe Skogh on bass, and deliver an infectious blend of hard rock and blues!
from the opening track you know that you are going to enjoy the ride, with the bands sound being a in the same vein as bands like The Answer, Electric Mary, Roadstar and Heavens Basement with a few punk elements thrown in here and there.
Spreading Like Wildfire is a very infectious album, a pretty diverse album ranging from straight ahead rockers to heavy riffsters and the acoustic interlude.
Well worth checking out!
Highly recommended!

Website - The Itch
Rating - 10/10

Nightvision - Consequence Of Sin

Genre - Hard Rock / Metal / Sleaze
Label - Rocksector Records

Track listing -

01 - So Many Lies
02 - Sob Story
03 - Words Like Bullets
04 - Long Way From Home
05 - Nowhere To Hide
06 - Find Me
07 - What Makes You Bad
08 - Enter Escapism
09 - Nothing To Lose
10 - Petrol & Practise
11 - Mirrors & Smoke
12 - Post Tour Blues

"Nightvision are a four piece hard rock band from Lincolnshire, UK. They formed in 2003. Nightvision have played with bands like Diamond Head, Fozzy, The Imperial Vipers, IwasACubScout, New Generation Superstars, Sweet Seduction, Patchwork Grace, Forever Never, From Almost the End, Kid Ego, Disarm and many more. Nightvision, now signed with Manchester label, Rocksector Records released their debut album ‘As The Lights Go Down’ on 6th April 2009 followed by a series of gigs across the UK to promote the album and raise the profile of the band."

Consequence of Sin is the bands follow up album and its solid on all fronts. With this album the band have really raised their game, pushing eveything up a notch from the songs to the performancies, the band has refined their performance and it shows through in their sound as it comes together and meshes a lot better this time around. The songs are also quite a bit heavier than the previous offering, which may delight the metal fans out there! Opening track, So Many Lies is a good example of how their style has changed as it really sets the pace for some of the future songs.
There is some truly blistering guitar work on display here too, just check out the riffs on Sob Story!

Consequence Of Sin is a great album that should appeal to many rock and metal fans, its has the harder edged rhythm's that can hold their own alongside any contemporary band, the hard rock melodies and lyrics should keep the band accessable to fans of rock as opposed to metal.

I dont think that there is a bad track on this cd, and once again Nightvision along with countless other Uk bands prove that there is plenty of life in the Uk rock and metal music scene!!

Highly reconmended

Website - Nightvision
Rating - 10/10

Exit State - Black Veins

Genre - Hard Rock / Metal / Pop / Indie
Label - Rocksector records

Track listing -
01 - Enough Already
02 - In That Place
03 - Tonight Be Free
04 - Check Out The Crazy
05 - Circles
06 - Ten Years Later
07 - Stay
08 - Black Veins
09 - Wasted
10 - Out In The Rain
11 - All For You
12 - This Life

"The past 2 years has been a whirlwind for East Lancashire (UK) rockers Exit State. With a successful debut album, a tour in Finland, a video playlisted on Kerrang TV (Lost Beyond Beleif), support slots with Blaze Bayley (Iron Maiden/Wolfsbane), Dave Evans (AC/DC), The Black Mollys, Witchfynde & Black Spiders you could be forgiven for thinking the band has been around for years. However, the early success of their high octane sound has been almost immediate, not least due to their crossover appeal to rock, metal, pop, punk, indie & alternative crowds alike…."
Balck Veins is the lads second full length album, building upon the solid foundations they set with 2010's Death Of A Rockstar debut. It feels like the songs have a slightly harder edge to them this time around, yet I dont see the band loosing any of their crossover appeal. the riffs come thick and fast, the lyrics are excellent, and the melodies really shine here, making Black veins a difficult album not to like!
There is plenty of variation here too, from the riffage of the opening track, Enough Already and Check Out the Crazy, to the gentle melodies of Ten Years Later, the quirky Indie rock feel of Stay and the grinding riffs of the title track Black Veins.
All in a great album from a very promising band, whi I beleive are going to be huge.
The Guys are planning a extensive Uk tour in October to promote the album, Id suggest you get yourselves along to a show and check them out for yourselves!

Very Highly Reconmended!

website - Exit State
Rating - 10/10

formspring.me

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/bgennard

formspring.me

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/bgennard

Head Cat - Walk The Walk . . . Talk The Talk

Genre - Psychobilly / rockabilly
Label - Niji Entertainment Group



Track listing -

01. American Beat
02. Say Mama
03. I Ain't Never
04. Bad Boy
05. Shakin' All Over
06. Let It Rock
07. Something Else
08. The Eagle Flies On Friday
09. You Can't Do That
10. Trying To Get To You
11. It'll Be Me
12. Crossroads

"The Head Cat is an American rockabilly supergroup formed by vocalist Lemmy (of Motörhead), drummer Slim Jim Phantom (of The Stray Cats) and guitarist Danny B. Harvey (of Lonesome Spurs and The Rockats).
Head Cat was formed after recording the Elvis Presley tribute album Swing Cats, A Special Tribute to Elvis in 2000 to which the future band-mates all contributed. After recordings were finished they stayed at the studio and Lemmy picked up an acoustic guitar and started playing some of his old favorite songs by Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran.[1] The rest of the guys knew them all and joined in.[2] The name of the band was created by combining the names Motörhead, The Stray Cats and 13 Cats, which resulted in The Head Cat, similar to what Lemmy did in 1980 with Headgirl, a collaboration between Motörhead and Girlschool."
Walk The Walk . . . talk the Talk is the bands second album, the first one being released some eleven years ago, (although it was re released in 2006)and its a corker!
Its great hearing Lemmy sing his way through these songs, and this different style really suites him too. I'm loving every track here, not a duff track in sight.
This album is fantastic, just do yourself a favour and check it out!

Website - Head Cat
Rating - 10/10