HIM - Tears On Tape (Album Review)

The Finnish rockers are back again for another slice of gloomy, yet anthemic rock, deep from the inner workings of the mind of Ville Valo and company, and as you may already come to expect from a band as seasoned as this after a fifteen year career, it’s pretty good.

Written by: James Ball | Date: Monday, 29 April 2013

Whitesnake - Made In Japan (CD Album/DVD Review)

Anyone who saw the mighty 'Snake on their last world tour will no doubt raise a quizzical eyebrow at the release of this package. Critics and fans were united in the conclusion that the great David Coverdale is struggling in the live arena these days, his singing a far cry from the phenomenal roar that made him a global superstar. And yet, this cheekily named - Purple plagiarising - combo mounts a strong case for the defence. DC's voice no longer boasts the same Ozone shattering range or soulful tonality, but on the evidence of this East Asian extravaganza - recorded at the "Loud Park" festival, Japan in 2011 - he and his band still know how to deliver a rousing rock & roll spectacle. In spite of some tricks to mask those vocal shortcomings, this sizzling collection of gold plated classics and fiery newbies makes for an entertaining, if slightly flawed, addition to Whitesnake's rich back catalogue.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 26 April 2013

Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Volume 3: To See More Light (Album Review)

The saxophone is an (unfairly) oft-maligned instrument. Next time you complain about the cheesy sax solos in Bruce’s E-String Band or on any number of extremely dated eighties pop hits remember that this is the same instrument that was the main tool of some of the most innovative musicians in all history. Colin Stetson may not be at the same level as Coleman and Coltrane, but then to expect him to approach the level of extraordinary inventiveness displayed by such legends of jazz is unreasonable and unfeasible in the extreme. With ‘To See More Light’, however, Stetson has produced something that can clearly be seen as a potential classic of the contemporary avant-garde.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 26 April 2013

The Boxer Rebellion - Promises (Album Review)

Sharing their name with a rebellious uprising in China that first came into being in 1898, The Boxer Rebellion actually generate a sound far from anything their name suggests, instead creating highly polished and well produced radio friendly indie rock of an anthemic nature.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Friday, 26 April 2013

The Ocean - Pelagial (Album Review)

It’s probably fair to say that The Ocean ultimately disappointed a little with their 2010 records ‘Heliocentric’ and ‘Anthropocentric’. Whilst their previous album, 2007’s epic ‘Precambrian’ had managed to match an astonishingly ambitious concept to a thoroughly interesting and consistently listenable set of tracks, the aforementioned pair seemed to struggle a little to live up to the grandiose anti-religious ideas the band tried to present.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Wednesday, 24 April 2013

The Computers - Love Triangles Hate Squares (Album Review)

This 11-track offering brings the sound of the Exeter five piece’s debut full length ‘This is the Computers’ another two-step closer to Chuck Berry whilst rendering them almost unrecognizable from the thrashy hardcore of their 2008 EP. The Computer’s half way house between two utterly alien genres once evoked mental images of Henry Rollins mimicking John Travolta’s moves in the Pulp Fiction Jack Rabbit Slims scene.

Written by: Owen Sheppard | Date: Tuesday, 23 April 2013

Erica Nockalls - Imminent Room (Album Review)

Famous for her role within The Wonderstuff and as one half of her personal and professional partnership with Wonderstuff frontman Miles Hunt, Erica Nockalls is renowned for her expertise on the violin, having trained at the Birmingham Conservatoire; she has now chosen to step out of the background and into the limelight with her first foray into the solo field.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Monday, 22 April 2013

Rob Zombie - Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor (Album Review)

Rob Zombie's fifth solo album is a bit of a split work on first appearances. Abandoning the darkness of his previous album covers - yet keeping his face slap bang on the front - 'Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor' looks more suited to being a 70s hippy-dippy revival, vividly colourful and pop-arty. Though that element seems to reflect the rainbow exuberance of his live shows, the music remains quintessentially sinister, thankfully. 

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 22 April 2013

Sacred Mother Tongue - Out Of The Darkness (Album Review)

The history of rock music is littered with great bands who've fallen prey to 'difficult second album syndrome', following much hyped débuts with poorly conceived and received follow ups. Having sagely taken their time after 2008's 'The Ruin Of Man', Sacred Mother Tongue effortlessly dodge that bullet, unleashing a melodic metal masterpiece that welds Metallica's militaristic riffing with Alter Bridge like melodies, compelling lyrical themes and off the chart musical ability. Difficult second album? That's for pussies!

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 19 April 2013

Spiritual Beggars - Earth Blues (Album Review)

For better or for worse, classic rock and metal seem to have undergone a resurgence in popularity in recent years, especially in contrast to the declining fortunes of previously “revived” subgenres like thrash. Spiritual Beggars aren’t one of a new wave of bands paying their debts to the seventies however. Instead they are a bunch of latter day metal veterans who have also played in, amongst others, Arch Enemy and Carcass (guitarist Michael Amott), Firewind (vocalist Apollo Papathanasio) and Opeth (keyboardist Per Wiberg).

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Wednesday, 17 April 2013

Heights - Old Lies For Young Lives (Album Review)

Rewind two years and Heights were preparing to release their debut record, the ferocious ‘Dead Ends’, a record that propelled them near to the top of the UK hardcore scene at the first attempt. In the intervening period between that release and this, their second album, however the band has undergone a major line-up change in that former lyricist and vocalist Thomas Debaere has left the band, with former bassist Alex Monty stepping up to the frontman position.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Wednesday, 17 April 2013

House Of Love - She Paints Words In Red (Album Review)

Between the year of their formation in 1986 and their split in 1993, The House of Love built up a solid fanbase with 2 excellent albums, both eponymously named although the second of these is commonly known as ‘the butterfly album’ in reference to its striking cover art.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Tuesday, 16 April 2013

Spin Doctors - If The River Was Whiskey (Album Review)

You can be forgiven for remembering Spin Doctors as one-hit wonders, with their vastly overplayed radio friendly 1993 number 3 UK chart hit 'Two Princes' being the song in question; some may also recall the only other single to trouble the upper echelons of the singles chart, 'Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong'. 

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Tuesday, 16 April 2013

Barn Owl - V (Album Review)

It’s strange to think of Barn Owl as a guitar band but in a sense that is exactly what the duo of Evan Caminiti and Jon Porras are. The smoky soundscaping of latter day Earth and the power of Sunn O))) are the reference points that many will choose to immediately adopt but, on ‘V’, Barn Owl sound more themselves than ever before. This is a release that cements their status as one of the premier acts in the experimental music world.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Monday, 15 April 2013

Stone Sour - House Of Gold & Bones: Part 2 (Album Review)

I’ll be honest, aside from 'Get Inside' and 'Bother', both songs from over ten years ago, I’d never really bothered listening to Stone Sour before this album entered my inbox. I always knew they were good, but they just never entered my radar somehow. Now, I’m buying the entire back catalogue. That is how good this is.

Written by: James Ball | Date: Thursday, 11 April 2013

A.S - Exile (Album Review)

When you receive an album created by a duo, consisting of an Australian classically trained pianist who has conducted operas and ballets and an Algerian guitarist who cites influences as diverse as Kirk Hammett and Paco de Lucia, described in it’s press pack as a "labour of love over more than 2 years", you think it’s going to be complicated, difficult and quite likely a bit incoherent. Somehow what A.S. have managed to come up with is immediately likeable and easy to enjoy.

Written by: David Ball | Date: Monday, 08 April 2013

Hey Colossus - Cuckoo Live Life Like Cuckoo (Album Review)

London based octet (yes, octet, because eight-piece bands are the new power trios) Hey Colossus have been around for over a decade now, yet they still remain firmly shackled to the underground from whence they came. Then again, something would surely be amiss with the mainstream if the rampant prog stoner noise sludge concoction that defines ‘Cuckoo Live Life like Cuckoo’ was anything other than an underground concern. This is the sort of record that would elicit little more from most people than a bemused scratch of the head.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 05 April 2013

Tartufi - These Factory Days (Album Review)

Tartufi are one of those pop bands that aren’t a pop band. They try to fool us into thinking that they are actually somewhat obtuse loop obsessed alternative types when, in reality, they are as much in love with the pop hook as any of us. As a result, with ‘These Factory Days’, they have created an experimental rock album that is as easy to fall in love with as it to admire.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 05 April 2013

Depeche Mode - Delta Machine (Album Review)

Since 1997’s 'Songs Of Faith And Devotion', electronic giants Depeche Mode have released a steady stream of studio albums every 4 years; 2013 sees the continuation of that trend with their 13th long player, 'Delta Machine'.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Wednesday, 03 April 2013

Eric Johnson - Up Close-Another Look (Album Review)

Listening to Eric Johnson conjuring his unique cosmos of ethereal soundscapes is like having your spirit massaged by a dozen velvet gloves. Unsurprisingly, this long awaited follow up to 2005's 'In Bloom' finds the master of soul piercing guitar tones in exquisite form, showing that his ability to evoke stunning visual imagery with profound emotional resonance remains unmatched. Usually a perfectionist of Kubrickian proportions, these beguiling compositions reign in that clinical precision to produce a 'live' sounding record bristling with kinetic spontaneity. Featuring guest appearances from Steve Miller, Jimmy Vaughan, Jonny Lang and Sonny Landreth, Johnson trips the light fantastic through ambient interludes, picturesque instrumentals, spiritual ballads and more to sire an album as enchanting and awe inspiring as his classic 'Ah Via Musicom'.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 02 April 2013