This Month
January 2012
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
Year Archive
Search
Login
User name:
Password:
Remember me 
View Article  KANSAS ‘Power’ MCA (1986)

KANSAS ‘Power’ MCA (1986)

‘Power’ is one of the band’s best albums in my humble opinion. This album was the first after the band reformed in 1985. They had split a couple of years earlier after a couple of albums featuring the Elefante brothers, John and Dino. This album ...   more »

View Article  Y&T ‘Down For The Count’ A&M (1985)

Y&T ‘Down For The Count’ A&M (1985)

Y&T had been going as far back as the mid-70′s and prior to this album they had released a string of well received albums including ‘Mean Steak’ and ‘Black Tiger’. Main man Dave Meniketti has a nice raw vocal amply suited to the ...   more »

View Article  XTC ‘Apple Venus – Volume 1′ Cooking Vinyl (2003)

apv1.jpg 

XTC ‘Apple Venus – Volume 1′ Cooking Vinyl (2003)

Ahhh XTC a fine band who started out in the late 70′s New Wave boom and have since spread their musical wings in any direction that takes their fancy. Sadly due to main man Andy Partridge’s stage fright problems they ...   more »

View Article  DIRTY WHITE BOY ‘Bad Reputation’ Polydor (1990)

dwb.jpg

DIRTY WHITE BOY ‘Bad Reputation’ Polydor (1990) 

Sadly Dirty White Boy only ever did this one album but boy is it a corker! Formed around ex-Guffria vocalist David Glenn Eisley and former David Bowie guitarist Earl Slick they rocked big time with plenty of slide guitar courtesy of Earl ...   more »

View Article  DISTANCE ‘Under The One Sky’ Reprise Records (1989)
the-di.jpg 

DISTANCE ‘Under The One Sky’ Reprise Records (1989)

The Distance were a natural successor to the Powerstation who featured legendary producer Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson and replacing Robert Palmer was Robert Hart. Musically this has some great funk rock numbers such as ‘Give It Up’, neat AOR rock ...   more »

View Article  TENHI – “SAIVO”
Writing about music is an activity I have undertaken with much passion and devotion over the last decade and, as it happens with every occupation outside work, it does tend to occupy much of my free time. So to answer the question, “Why bother?”, I can point to the excitement at discovering ‘new’ and interesting bands, such as that of the Finnish atmospheric metallers “Tenhi”, for example, whose fifth studio album “Saivo” is to be released by the German specialised label Prophecy Productions.   more »
View Article  BURZUM – “FROM THE DEPTHS OF DARKNESS””
The story of Varg Vikernes has been very well documented and is well known by all fans of Metal music through the years. In 2009, fifteen whole years after being first incarcerated for the murder of Mayhem’s leading man Oystein “Euronymous” Arseth, the quite recluse Norwegian decided to begin working on new material, culminating in the release of two highly acclaimed albums - “Belus” (2009-10) and “Fallen” (2010).    more »
View Article  Lionsex - Get It

Lionsex’ debut album “Get It” is an interesting one, the band have a good sleazy look but when  the vocals from Jef Leppard (seriously!!) come in they are in a lot lower key than you would expect. Musically the songs are sleazy and move along quite nicely, but the ...   more »

View Article  Dirty Passion - Different Tomorrow

In vocalist Emil Ekbladh, Sweden’s Dirty Passion have a singer with a sound that is reminiscent of the early ‘90’s albums by that better known Swedish band Europe. This is not a bad thing but it is an observation that became apparent within the first few notes of opening track ...   more »

View Article  Aesthesia - Shattered Idols

 I was tempted to write “the most authentic Guns n Roses record since “Appetite For Destruction”” but that really doesn’t do Aesthesia’s newly released second album “Shattered Idols” the justice that it deserves. Yes this album is the closest thing I have heard to Axl Rose and the classic ...   more »

View Article  Down & Dirty - Taste of Rock & Roll

As a band Chicago’s Down & Dirty have an average age of just 18 years old- yet the influences they display on new album “Taste of Rock & Roll” are bands that had their heyday long before the boys were even born, yet they have created a record that could ...   more »

View Article  Wrathchild - Stakkattakktwo

 31 years since the band was formed, and 21 years since the release of their last album, ”Delirium”, Wratchchild have released their 4th album “Stakkattakktwo”, and with vocalist Gaz Psychwrath taking the place of Rocky Shades, the band really are firing on all cylinders.

 

Wrathchild were formed ...   more »

View Article  SEKS - Harder Than You

Norway’s Seks claim they are going to save us from radio dominated by Hip Hop and pop- and whilst that may never happen, they have released a debut album that harks back to ‘80’s arena rock and it is not a bad effort either.

 

The band members may include ...   more »

View Article  HOPSCOTCH - Straight From The Heart

 German band Hopscotch have self-released album number three, “Straight From The Heart”, a blend of heavy, sleazy, punk infused rock that reminds me of The 69 Eyes before they went heavily gothic.

 

Vocalist Markus Dangel has, for the most parts, a whisky stained, sleazy growl of a voice ...   more »

View Article  Drought - Untapped

“Untapped” is the debut album from Houston’s Drought. The album is a solid piece of modern rock that will appeal to fans of Nickelback, Shinedown, and Alter Bridge etc- in particular tracks such as “Pick and Pen” and “Look At Me”.

 

Opening track “One Night Stand” is Simple Minds ...   more »

View Article  D DRIVE - 3D

The 3rd album from New York’s D Drive, “3D” is released in an interesting 3D cover- which has actually been done quite well. Now that is out of the way, let’s concentrate on the album itself, 11 tracks of solid melodic rock- catchy, sing along choruses, hooks a plenty ...   more »

View Article  RIOTGOD - Invisible Empire

The CD is just what is needed to blow those winter cobwebs away. Featuring a solid rhythm section of  Monster Magnet’s Bob Pantella and Jim Baglino, the superb guitars of Garret Sweeney and the vocal talents of Mark Sunshine, Riotgod’s second album “Invisible Empire” is worthy of a major ...   more »