HEADLESS - Melt The Ice Away (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock / Melodic Rock

Label - Mighty Music

Track listing:

01 - So Much of a Bore
02 - Good Luck Resized
03 - Melt the Ice Away
04 - Frame
05 - Shortage
06 - A Senseless Roaring Machine
07 - Stillness of the Heart
08 - Gather Knowledge, Gather Wisdom
09 - When Dreams and Past Collapse

If you are new to Headless, the band fuse traditional European melodic hard rock together with some progressive elements all driven along  by the solvent twin guitar work of Cianciusi and Parente, and Goran Edman's vocals fitting like a glove.
The first thing that impress is the terrific, huge production. Then, the pretty darn good songs.
After the strong hard rocking opener 'So Much of a Bore', we have the first highlight 'Good Luck Resized', a terrific melodic hard rocker driven by a killer guitar riff and catchy verses where Goran shines. Great guitar work all over.

All the remaining tracks maintain the level of quality... and intensity.
Title track 'Melt the Ice Away' is a bluesy based mid tempo rocker with tons of melody and a more than interesting progressive touch in a melodic vein.
"Frame" could pass as a ballad, but it's more juicy than that with a really interesting arrangement and a nice Jim Matheos contribution on guitar.
"Shortage" rocks with groove and at some point reminds me Nineties Van Halen, "A Senseless Roaring Machine" has some Queensryche on it 'Stillness of the Heart' is a straight-forward hard rocker with crunchy guitars, then 'Gather Knowledge, Gather Wisdom' provides more variation with its stinging riff.
Closer 'When Dreams and Past Collapse' is one of the most commercial cuts, almost melodic hard bringing to mind Edman's past work with Brazen Abbot.
"Melt The Ice Away" rocks plenty of groove and melody via really well constructed tracks. The guitars are huge, the drum sound is excellent, and Goran Edman is the ice of the cake in yet another stellar performance.
A strong melodic hard rock record with a touch of progressive to provide variation, "Melt The Ice Away" is a highly recommended

Rating: 8/10

FOUR BY FATE - Relentless (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock / Melodic Rock

Label -

Track listing:

01 - These Times Are Hard for Lovers

02 - Moonshine

03 - Hangin' On

04 - Levee Breach

05 - It's over Now

06 - Follow Me

07 - On My Own

08 - I Give

09 - Don't Know

10 - Back In The 80's

11 - Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo

12 - Amber Waves

13 - Amber Waves (acoustic)

"Relentless" is the amazing debut CD by some kind of super-group FOUR BY FATE consisting of former Frehley's Comet men Tod Howarth & John Regan, ex- Skid Row drummer Rob Affuso, and guitarist Patrick James Gasperini (Pound).
The initial band line-up featured Howarth & Regan alongside guitarist Sean Kelly (Crash Kelly, Helix) and drummer Stet Howland (drummer for W.A.S.P.), but, following a car accident the tub thumper was replaced by Twisted Sister's AJ Pero.
With Gasperini taking the place of Kelly on guitar, the line-up seemed settled... until the untimely death of AJ Pero to the dismay of hard rock community worldwide.
The six songs featured on 'Relentless' that Pero played on are actually believed to be his last recorded works.
Affuso stepped up to the drum stool and, finally, after much heartache, Four By Fate's debut album was primed for release.
Prior to joining Frehley's Comet, John Regan toured with John Waite in 1986 - it's how he would meet his future band mate as it happens: Howarth playing keyboards for Cheap Trick on a joint tour.
So the fact that the opening track on the album is a spirited reworking of a Waite song shouldn't be that much of a surprise: just how vibrant Four By Fate make 'These Times Are Hard For Lovers', and make it the band's own in the process, is, in fact, the most surprising thing here.
What will startle, however, is the variety spread across the album.
When I listen songs such as 'Levee Breach' or 'On My Own', I hear the Eighties, but also the deep hard rock of classic bands of late Seventies with all its charm.
Alternatively, within 'Moonshine', I sometimes hear pre-poodle Whitesnake, but with more grit, gusto, and heaviness and less prominent blues, while 'I Give' lands has a Paul Stanley-like melody lines that frequent the track listing giving the latter a definite 'Carnival of Souls' feel.
When you have a track titled 'Back In The 80's', you can't be wrong. This band - and this song - has all the Eighties mojo, rocks with a melodic groove and feel-good vibe.
But ultimately, what you hear is definite righteous and rowdy hard rock. In that vein, Four By Fate covers 'Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo', you know, that one off hit by Rick Derringer. It's got all the same groove, melody, and latent blues of the original, yet sounds harder and grittier like it was rolled through churning cement mixer with the cement still in it.
The qualities you want in a (melodic) hard rock record - searing lead guitar breaks and gorgeous hooks - are all present here, it's just that Four By Fate, whose members have, unquestionably, been around the block more than a few times, aren't playing by the rules or confining themselves to subgenre cliché.
That said, the album's final track, 'Amber Waves', both in its full band and acoustic version, is melodic rock manna from heaven that will have AOR fans weeping into their perm solution.
Four By Fate's "Relentless" may well have seemingly come from nowhere, but it is surely going places.
As say the opening track, these times might be hard for lovers, but not for Rock music fans when albums as thrilling as this are being released.

Highly Recommended.

Rating: 8/10

RIVAL SONS - Hollow Bones (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock

Label - Earache (Warner)

Track listing:

01 - Hollow Bones Pt. 1
02 - Tied Up
03 - Thundering Voices
04 - Baby Boy
05 - Pretty Face
06 - Fade Out
07 - Black Coffee
08 - Hollow Bones Pt. 2
09 - All That I Want

Although Long Beach classic rockers RIVAL SONS released their first album all the way back in 2009, Before The Fire, things really started to happen for them in 2014 with Great Western Valkyrie , an album which charted in fourteen countries around the world and saw the band appear on a wide array of prestigious television and festival appearances as well as supporting some of the biggest names in rock history. Now the band returns with their latest effort "Hollow Bones"  and have even being hand-picked recently to tour with the mighty Black Sabbath on their farewell tour for the remainder of the year.
Rival Sons appear to be able to do no wrong, and "Hollow Bones" is no exception.

Album opener and leading single “Hollow Bones Pt.1” immediately sets the tone, as Scott Holiday‘s fuzzy guitar carries through as a signature sound throughout many of these groove melody tracks. Its link with its counterpart “Hollow Bones Pt.2” later in the record syncs beautifully, like two long lost siblings reuniting.
“Tied Up” and “Thundering Voices” among others follow suit, while retaining their own unique and individual presence with subtle touches and arrangements. This is no doubt contributed not only by the band’s talents as musicians and songwriters but also by the talents of two-time Grammy winner Dave Cobb taking on producer duties once again.
Outside the obvious expectations that deliver and exceed in fine rock n’ roll, the album has some of its strongest moments when the band strips back the wall of sound.
Bassist Dave Beste and drummer Michael Miley earn serious brownie points for rhythm sections as their precision playing holds this record together and is a fierce driving force. They also know how and when to hold back; a quality in musicians equally as admirable and impressive as an epic performance.
In tracks such as “Fade Out” and in particular the haunting, Damien Rice-esque album closer “All That I Want”, these qualities bare great results as they allow enough space not only for a different style of song, but also for vocalist Jay Buchanan‘s vocal delivery to be as strong and passionate as possible. And man, does he deliver!

Soulful, funky, hard-edged, colourful, classic. That's all here in "Hollow Bones", Rival Sons' most varied production to date.

Highly Recommended

Rating: 10/10

The Main Grains - Don't Believe Everything You Think (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock / Punk / Rock N Roll

Label - TSB RECORDS

Track listing:

01 - Unscrewed
02 - We're Happy (Around Here)

03 - Spend Your Money

04 - Fine By You

05 - I'd Rather Be In California

06- Teenage Kicks

07 - She's A Catch

Former Wildhearts and Yo Yo's bassist Danny McCormack returns with his new project The Main Grains, accompanied by John JJ Watt on Rhythm Guitar/Vocals , Ben Marsden on Lead Guitar/Vocals  and  Ginna Rhodes on Drums/Vocals, with Danny obviously handling Bass Guitar and vocal duties. How to best describe how The Main Grains sound, well imagine if you will a slightly more polished Yo Yo's sound and you be far off.
Don't Believe Everything You think is the bands debut release, and its a pretty solid one at that. Opening with lead single, Unscrewed, the guys set their stall out from the off as they work their way through a small selection of punk tinged rock n roll tracks. Their cover of Teenage Kicks is simply brilliant! She's A Catch could easily be mistaken for a Ramones track, and well the rest of the Ep is just as good.
I don't think that The Main Grains are going to be setting the world on fire any time soon but they do deliver good solid punk flavoured rock n roll, in the way that it should be delivered!

Well Worth Checking Out

Rating: 9/10

DAN REED NETWORK - Fight Another Day (2016)

Genre - Melodic Rock / Funk Rock

Label - Frontiers Music

Track listing:

01 - Divided
02 - The Brave
03 - Infected
04 - Champion
05 - Ignition
06 - Give It Love
07 - B There With U
08 - Save The World
09 - Eye Of The Storm
10 - Reunite
11 - Heaven
12 - Sharp Turn
13 - Stand Tall

###### First things first, the following review is not my own work, but I have chosen to reproduce it here as I agree entirely with its sentiments. All credit must go to the original reviewer #######

Frontiers Music  release DAN REED NETWORK’s brand new record “Fight Another Day". The new album marks the anticipated return of one of the most infectious and gifted bands to come out in the melodic rock world in the second part of the '80s.

At the end of 2012 the band re-convened in their hometown of Portland, Oregon for a New Year celebration and the rest, as they say, is history. Appearances at Download Festival and a couple of short UK tours and – surprise surprise – the announcement of a brand new album.
It was as if they have never been away and it is the same with new album “Fight Another Day”. The key is clearly quality material and a definite zest for performance from all band members.
Whilst 1991′s ‘The Heat’ was Dan Reed Network’s most successful album it wasn’t their most consistent. This latest offering takes up the story and 25 years of silence is quickly forgotten about.

The band featured ‘Divided’ as advance single and it showcased that the magic is still there. The same applies to the whole album, with immediate appeal to anyone who enjoyed those earlier albums with the characteristic meld of funk and melodic rock and with a wider social conscience than previously - check ‘Infected’, ‘Save The World’, ‘Eye Of The Storm’.
Those who have followed Dan Reed’s parallel solo career will know that he is a great songwriter who brings gold dust to a project and nowhere is this more evident than on ‘Champion’, an utterly compelling case for buying the album.
The power chords that introduce ‘Give It Love’ recall Starship’s song Jane and underscoring yet another album highlight.

Fans will love the mix of old and new influences. Mid-tempo ‘Be There With U’ has all the charm of ‘Rainbow Child’. ‘The Brave’, ‘Reunite’ and ‘Heaven’ evidence Dan Reed’s essentially uplifting, anthemic approach with quite wonderful vocals throughout. The feel-good quotient is high on this album.
‘Sharp Turn’ combines the brilliance of Seal’s Crazy and Johnny Hates Jazz (Don’t Say It’s Love), so rooted in the late-1980s and early '90s just as it should be.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better the album closer ‘Stand Tall’ delivers a wonderful funk grind punctuated by Rob Daiker’s superb keyboard fills.

Some might say that "Fight Another Day" is more of a Dan Reed solo album, as the rest of the band do seem to be subjugated to the power of the song and vocals, with Brion James' guitar notably restrained on some tracks.
But "Fight Another Day" is a complete triumph, totally relevant, and underlining a wonderful comeback that can only go from strength to strength.
Highly Recommended

Rating: 9/10

Role Models - Forest Lawn (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock / Punk / Alternative

Label - Self Released / Pledge Music

Track listing:

01 - Radio

02 - (I Broke My Back) Disappointing You

03 - Got No Time

04 - Bullshit Corner

05 - Wanted To Be Wanted

06 - Goodbye and Hooray

07 - The Ditch

08 - Sleep Tight

09 - The Lights On Your Road

10 - I Ain't Lucky

11 - No Shame

12 - Guest List

Forest Lawn is the sophomore album from Roles Models, the alternative Punk / Rock band led by a certain Rich Rags.
The album picks up pretty much where their debut album, 2015's The Go To Guy, left off, with more sleek punk tinged rock n roll. The songs are slick and well constructed, the band as tight as a ducks arse, so to speak, and the production is just sweet.  After a quick one two three punch of Radio, Disappointing You and Got No Time, the band slow the tempo sown a little for Bullshit Corner which turns out to be a rather touching ballad, despite its title! The pace picks up again with Wanted To Be Wanted, which turns out to be a great melodic rocker of a track. Goodbye and Hooray and a bit more bite to it, whilst the band return to their melodic rock formula with The Ditch. In fact in many places Forest Lawn reminds me a lot of Soul Asylum, which is no bad thing in my opinion.
Sleep Tight is a more raucous affair, whilst the tempo slows again for The Lights On Your Road.
I Ain't Lucky is a short and sweet track that has a real rock n roll feel to it. Penultimate track, No Shame is another slice of melodic rock genius, whilst album closer Guest List, is the albums big ballad. A great way to close a very solid album!

Well Worth Checking Out

Rating: 9/10

Paul Miro - Live Undangerous (2016)

Genre - Live Acoustic

Label - Self Released / Pledge Music

Track listing:

01 - The One

02 - Nothing Left Here / Take Our Sorrows Swimming

03 - Beanman

04 - 15 / Monster

05 - Swimming In The Dowling Pool

06 - The Best Thing 

07 - Fragments

08 - True At First Light

09 - Carry On

10 - Great Place

Live Undangerous is an exclusive live release from former Apes, Pigs and Spacemen frontman Paul Miro, released as a free Pledge exclusive and available for a limited period only!
Recorded live on his tour last year with Terrorvision frontman Tony Wright this album captures Pauls performance perfectly. The sound is crystal clear, which just adds even more to the listening experience as Paul works his way through a selection of tracks that span his career, plus one live version of a track that is set to appear on his new album, Swimming In The Dowling Pool.
This is a great album, and worth pledging for alone!

Rating: 10/10

The Wildhearts - Never Outdrunk Never Outsung: PHUQ Live (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock / Punk / Alternative / Britrock

Label - Self Released / Round Records / Pledge Music

Track  listing:

Disc 1

01 - I Wanna Go Where The People Go

02 - V-Day

03 - Just In Lust

04 - Baby Strange

05 - Nita Nitro

06 - Jonesing For Jones

07 - Up Your Arse You Fucking Cunt

08 - Woah Shit You Through

09 - Cold Patootie Tango

10 - Caprice

11 - Be My Drug

12 - Naivety Play

13 - In Lily's Garden

14 - Getting It

Disc 2

01 - Don't Bout Me

02 - Weekend

03 - Stormy In The North, Karma In The South

04 - Red Light, Green Light

05 - White Lies

06 - 29 x The Pain

Now I have never been the biggest fan of live albums. The sound is usually crap or they contain so many overdubs that they cant really be classed as a live album any more, so it has to be said that I faced listening to the The Wildhearts Never Outdrunk, Never Outsung – PHUQ Live anniversary show live album with a certain amount of trepidation. I needn't have worried though as this is exactly what a live album should bloody well sound like!
Recorded in London during the PHUQ twentieth anniversary tour this is a warts 'n' all recording, featuring the album played in its entirety, together with the encores. But what makes this album special is the sound. this album sounds fantastic! The mix is perfect, thanks to the mixing talents of Dave Draper. I really can not stress just how good this album sounds, every instrument is crystal clear, (yes even CJ's guitar!), the mix captures the power and finesse of the songs and performance. This album is definitely the closest thing to actually being there!
Any fan of the band, or even Gingers solo work really should check this release out!

Definitely the best live album that will be released this year!

Very, very Highly Recommended!

Rating: 10/10

Tony Wright - Walnut Dash (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock

Label - Pledge Music / Self Released

Track listing:

01 - Music Is The Food Of Love

02 - One Size Fits All

03 - Lost Property

04 - A & E

05 - Life's Too Short

06 - Rise Up

07 - Delete Repeat

08 - Spoons And Knives

09 - The Blues

10 - Where Would I Be

11- Opposites Attract

Terrorvision front man, Tony Wright, returns with his second solo album, Walnut Dash,  the follow up to 2015's mainly acoustic affair, Thoughts and All. This time around we get a full blown electric album, and what a great album it is too!
The album opens with "Music Is The Food Of Love", which really sets the tone for the album. A great melodic anthemic rock song, as catchy as hell, and well just a bloody great song! "One Size Fits All" follows, another great melodic rock track. "Lost Property" is up next, with its great acoustic Bluesy intro that leads into another great rocker! "A&E" follows with its spaghetti western feel intro, another great song, one of my personal favourites on the album. It also has a blistering guitar solo! "Life's Too Short" is up next, with its gentle beginning, and bluesey undertones. Another great song. Next we have "Rise Up",  a song that bursts onto the scene before dropping back to an acoustic driven rocker. One of the heaviest tracks on the album despite its great tempo changes and acoustic sections. "Delete Repeat" follows, now this really is my favourite song on the album, just simply perfect. Acoustic driven with some great tempo changes and heavy sections. A follow on to "Do You Love Me" from last years Thoughts And All. Next we have "Spoons and Knives", that once again begins as an acoustic driven track, with loads of atmosphere before exploding into a great rock track! "The Blues" follows, a great song with a southern blues feel to it.. The albums penultimate song is "Where Would I Be" which is again a moody acoustic driven song. Another great song. The album closes out with "Opposites Attract", which just happens to be another of my favourite songs on the album, A great fun song.

This album is a bloody great album that should appeal to anyone who is familiar with Tony Wrights previous releases, either solo or with Terrorvision.

Very Very Highly recommended!

Rating - 10/10

Pre order the album here at:

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/tonywright2

VIOLET JANINE - Between Red And Blue (2016)

Genre - Melodic Rock

Label - Lionspride Music

Track listing:

01 - Heat Of The Highway
02 - Devil In Me
03 - Tell Me
04 - Everyday's A Fight
05 - Shut Up
06 - So Much More (feat. Tony Martin)
07 - Better This Than Nothing
08 - Story Of Your Life
09 - Down On My Knees (feat. Pontus Snibb)

###### First things first, the following review is not my own work, but I have chosen to reproduce it here as I agree entirely with its sentiments. All credit must go to the original reviewer #######

"Between Red And Blue" is the debut CD from Violet Janine, based around lead singer Janine Nyman and lead guitarist / songwriter / producer Daniel Palmquist, a guy that sure has been around the block of melodic rock.

Palmquist has contributed to AOR bands such as Find Me, Norwegian singer Issa and melodic metal band The Murder Of My Sweet among others, so it’s an experienced musician. The rest of the band consists of lead guitarist Mano Lewys, bass player Basse Blyberg (House Of Shakira) and drummer Ian Brunnberg.
Apart of the guest appearance by Tony Martin (who also co-wrote the track where he duets with Janine), there's Pontus Snibb of Bonafide on the track 'Down On My Knees' as well.

'Heat Of The Highway' kicks off the album and the title really mirrors the music – yes, this is true American “on-the-road” music. It’s a melodic hard rock song with an '80s US vibe, guitar driven with a melodic but pretty kick-ass beat and both, verses & chorus are very catchy.
'Devil In Me' is a raunchy rocker, then in 'Tell Me' we get a more melodic oriented tune with a sticky chorus and a midtempo melody where Janine's lead vocal takes the central role.
'Everyday’s A Fight' is the kind of power ballad that writers like Desmond Child and Diane Warren would sell their mothers to write, a total hit in my book.

Returning to hard rockin' sounds, 'Shut Up' is in your face with a fistful of attitude and fits Janine’s raspy voice like a glove. A killer track that I bet will go down like a storm live.
Next there's 'So Much More' where Tony Martin guests and duets with Janine on this bluesy ballad. Martin and Nyman work together brilliantly and the song it's big on emotion and feel. Even though the melody isn’t the usual radio friendly “don’t bore us get to the chorus” thing, the whole tune is really solid where the verses / chorus works together at making the song a stand-out track.
'Better This Than Nothing' comes with a big groove, still with some major melodic rock '80s bound on top and great guitar work. Again, this is really damn good.

'Story Of Your Life' is a midtempo ballad with some Robin Beck on it. The groove makes it a mover and the melody is quite addictive.
Violet Janine close the album with 'Down On My Knees', a great Euro melodic rocker. Singer Pontus Snibb, originally with Swedish rockers Bonafide, duets with Janine on the track and the guy does a phenomenal job. It's a killer song, he chorus is really bulls-eye and the whole tune kicks up some dust and really rocks – what a great way to end this record.

The 9 tracks on Violet Janine's "Between Red And Blue" leaves you hungry for more. But I prefer quality over quantity, and all these are really solid melodic hard rock big on catchiness.
This band has attitude, heart, soul and a big love for the music they play and they do it with all the conviction in the world. Also, all musicians are top notch and Janine is such an amazing singer with a wide range, a brilliant vibrato and a sexy raspiness which makes her one of the best female rock vocalists recently appeared.
How to sum this album and it’s music is easy - one word easy - WOW!

Very, Highly Recommended.

Rating: 9/10

Diamond Head - Diamond Head (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock / NWoBHM / Classic Rock

Label - Dissonance

Track listing:

01 - Bones
02 - Shout At The Devil
03 - Set My Soul On Fire
04 - See You Rise
05 - All The Reasons You Live
06 - Wizards Sleeve
07 - Our Time Is Now
08 - Speed
09 - Blood On My Hands
10 - Diamonds
11 - Silence

Another album that has been out a little while, released back in March,  but certainly not one that you should allow to slip under your radar is the latest release from NWoBHM legends Diamond Head. Now Diamond Head are a strange beast. When they broke onto the scene in the late seventies and early eighties they were the spear head of the then blossoming NWoBHM scene, along with Iron Maiden, Saxon and Def Leppard, but a series of poor managerial decisions led to them loosing momentum and eventually calling it a day after 1983's Canterbury album, only to briefly reunite in the early 1990's for the Death and Progress album. They once again regrouped around 2005, all be it with a new vocalist, Nick Tart, to release two more well received albums only to once again go quiet around 2009. So here we are eight years on from their last studio release, 2007's What's in Your Head with another new vocalist, Rasmus Bom Andersen, (in fact the only original member of the band is founding guitarist, Brian Tatler),  the mighty Diamond Head are back with their new and self titled album, Diamond Head.

Brian Tatler even toyed with the notion of never recording another Diamond Head album but  Brian's change of heart was inspired by the introduction of new vocalist Rasmus Bom Andersen, another great Dane who has helped transform Diamond Head's career. Ras is the perfect fit for the band. He sounds enough like original singer Sean Harris to give the new material a classic Diamond Head feel but has enough originality in his voice to make the songs his own and to make them sound fresh.

Diamond Head see's the band reconnecting with their original style and sound with so much ease, with new vocalist, Rasmus Andersen's voice being far closer to original singer Sean Harris than his predecessor Nick Tart. In fact, this new album is probably the closest sounding thing that we could ever get to the sound of a full reformation of the original line up of the band!

 First track "Bones" is a total barnstormer, Heavy Metal like it should be, after that there is no drop in quality. Special mention must be made of the two epic tracks "All the reasons you live" and "Silence", the latter in particular is a tour-de-force for Andersen. “Wizard Sleeve” is total ’70s style boogie-rock, and it’s tons of fun. My favourite track has to be  “Silence,” with its symphonic elements giving it a real “Kashmir”/”Stargazer” feel.

All I can say is welcome back Diamond Head, please stick around!

Very Highly Recommended!!!

Rating: 10/10

Line Up:
Brian Tatler-Lead Guitar
Eddie Moohan-Bass
Karl Wilcox-Drums
Rasmus Bom Andersen-Lead Vocals
Andy ‘abbz’ Abberly-Rhythm Guitar

CJ Wildheart - Robot

Genre - Hard Rock / Modern Rock / Alternative

Label - PledgeMusic / Self releasd / Vinyl Junkie Recordings / Devilspit Records

Track listing:

01 - The Robot

02 - Light It Up

03 - Ctrl-Alt-Delete

04 - The Box

05 - Sleep Deprivation

06 - Delirium

07 - F.U.B.A.R.

08 - No Rhyme Or reason

09 - I Got You

10 - Sasquatch

11 - Maureen (Fountains of Wayne Cover) (Japanese Bonus Track)

12 - Sick of Myself (Matthew Sweet Cover) (Japanese Bonus Track)

13 - Black Bugs (Regurgitator Cover) (Japanese Bonus Track)

Ok this album has been available for a couple of months now, (it was released back in March!) so I will keep this review short and sweet.
The Robot is the second solo album to be released by Wildhearts and former Jelly's and Honeycrack singer / guitarist CJ Wildheart. (His first solo release came out under the moniker CJ and the Satellites), the first being 2014's Mable.
The album sees CJ take a much heavier route, with the likes of F.U.B.A.R.' and 'Light it Up' highlighting a more aggressive sound. CJ adds "This is something that has happened naturally and also due to having Jason Bowld on drums. You can't help but go heavier when you have an engine like that behind your music." The Robot showcases CJ Wildheart as one of the best - and most underrated - songwriters operating in Britain today. Robot is him operating right at the top of his craft. It's a complex work, with songs that rise and swoop and deliver catchy beats "The Box", crunching power "F.U.B.A.R." and pace changes "Sasquatch" aplenty. There's not a bad track on here!
As for just how this album sound, well for anyone who is familiar with CJ's history it sounds pretty much exactly like you’d hope an album from someone with his back grund would sound. It combines  the gorgeous harmonies of Honeycrack, the bounce factor of the Jellys, the aggression and heaviness of The Wildhearts. In fact it would be fair to say that a couple of the songs here would have made fantastic additions to Wildhearts album!
Do yourselves a favour and check this album out!

Rating: 10/10

SIXX A.M. - Prayers For The Damned Vol.1 (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock / Modern Rock

Label - Eleven Seven Music (Warner)

Track listing:

01 - Rise
02 - You Have Come To The Right Place
03 - I'm Sick
04 - Prayers For The Damned
05 - Better Man
06 - Can't Stop
07 - When We Were Gods
08 - Belly Of The Beast
09 - Everything Went To Hell
10 - The Last Time (My Heart Will Hit The Ground)
11 - Rise Of The Melancholy Empire

Again this album has been out about a month or so, but again what an album it is. Now Sixx:A.M. are a strange beast for me. I found their debut, The Heroine Diaries to be okay, a few really good tracks but nothing that really held my attention. Then we had the acoustic mini album 7, which I thought was amazing. That was followed by the album that really did catch my attention, This Is Gonna Hurt, an album that really blew me away. But I then found its follow up, Modern Vintage, once again didn't really ,match up to its predecessor and struggled to hold my attention. Therefore I felt a little trepidation as I faced listening to the bands latest offering, Prayers For The Damned Vol.1, But I needn't have worried, its a cracking album, and quite possibly the most rounded and fulfilling album that the band have released to date!
Prayers For The Damned Vol.1 represents the band most complete and ambitious work. They have been together for seven years and the sound gets tighter and tighter, with the album including some of the heavier songs this band ever released, musically and lyrically, but also darn catchy rocking melodies.
There simply is not a bad track on this album! The opener "Rise", also chosen to be the first single, is an ultra cool rocker with a heavy guitar riff and a murderous groove.  The title song is a mid pace one, a tune with a kind of a sad vibe, "Belly of the Beast" has nothing to do with the Anthrax song, having the same title. Instead of, Sixx:A.M. create a song that belongs to the craziest ones on this long player. It is a dark creepy number, that is simply brilliant. "Better Man" isn't really the ballad you might expect, instead a great rocker built upon the acoustic guitars, seriously this song is huge!
"Everything Went to Hell" a mighty  rocker of a track built around a great riff. The final song on the album "The Rise of the Melancholy Empire" is an anthem of defiance, of overcoming adversity, saying ‘fuck you’ and with a promise to return.

Prayers For The Damned Vol.1 is the best album Sixx:A.M. have produced to date and very, very highly recommended!

Rating: 10/10

MASSIVE WAGONS - Welcome To The World (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock

Label - Off Yer Rocka Recordings

Track listing:

01 - Nails
02 - Tokyo
03 - Welcome To The World
04 - Ratio
05 - Shit, Sweat Death,
06 - The Day We Fell
07 - Fighting Jack
08 - Jodie
09 - Aeroplane
10 - Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum

Ok so this one has been out a little while now, but hey better late than never hey? British rockers Massive Wagons return with their third album in the form of Welcome to the World, and what an album it is!

The album opens with the blistering  'Nails', which throws the listener straight into the deep end of full steam ahead fast-paced Rock ‘n’ Roll, sometimes bringing to mind Rob Zombie (vocally at least!). It’s an awesome track which doesn’t wait around for you to get comfortable, and instead demonstrates pure unadulterated attitude. Next up is the albums lead single, 'Tokyo', which has a more commercial edge to it, yet still rocks like a mutha fucker.Title track 'Welcome To The World 'is a really intriguing song, and really well-written,  with a mix of up-beat verses alongside bludgeoning riffs and mixed signal lyrics. Next up is 'Ratio', which sounds very similar to the intro to Primal Scream by Motley Crue, with its echoing drum beat and bass line opening. We then have 'Shit, Sweat, Death', which is laced with different stylings, from the Bluesy slide guitar intro that stride's into what I’d describe an adrenalin fuelled fast-paced hard rocker!

'The Day We Fell' was a really unexpected addition to the album, simply based on its incorporation of Pirate Metal (not too heavy, mind you) into their already unique style. A really great song, especially after the acoustic intro fools you into thinking that you have stumbled upon a ballad!

'Fighting Jack' follows with its squealing guitar intro, progressive guitar sequences, and finally the vocals, which follow the same arrangement as Still Of The Night by Whitesnake,

'Jodie' is up next, a great melodic rocker / ballad that really slows the albums tempo down a little allowing the listener to catch their breath a little. 'Aeroplane' follows, which really is the albums big ballad, with its great singalong chorus, a great song. the album closes out with 'Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum' which is a great fun rocking track!

Welcome to the World is a great rock album from a very promising British rock band

Very, very Highly Recommended!!!

Rating: 10/10

Jorn - Heavy Rock Radio (2016)

Genre - Hard Rock / Heavy Metal

Tack listing:

01. I Know There's Something Going On (Frida cover)
02. Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush cover)
03. Rev on the Red Line (Foreigner cover)
04. You're the Voice (John Farnham cover)
05. Live to Win (Paul Stanley cover)
06. Don't Stop Believin' (Journey cover)
07. Killer Queen (Queen cover)
08. Hotel California (Eagles cover)
09. Rainbow in the Dark (Dio cover)
10. The Final Frontier (Iron Maiden cover)
11. Stormbringer (Deep Purple cover)
12. Die Young (Black Sabbath cover) 

So Sinister Angels Realm followers, Baz has asked me to do an album review, Go easy on me guys as this is the first time ive done anything like this. What album are we looking at you may wonder. Well its the new cd from in my opinion a very underated singer Jorn Lande. The album Heavy Rock Radio is twelve tracks long and they are all covers, I know a lot of people dont like cover albums but you need to give this a listen. Jorn has picked songs that he likes and he does a stunning job with them all. His backing group do a stellar job of heavying up Jorns chosen tracks.
 All are sung with feeling and passion, the highlights being Running up that Hill and Killer Queen, Jorn brings his own twist to each track and the cover of Final Frontier by Iron Maiden is in my mind better than the original. Is this cd worth spending your hard earned cash on, I can only say yes.

(Review by Garry Weston)