In 1979 I was 16, and there is no doubt that NWOBHM was a major part of my daily listening. It was exciting and vibrant, and with bands like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Saxon, Samson, Angel Witch, Raven, Venom, Tygers of Pan Tang, Bitches Sin, Mythra, Witchfynde, and so...

Vain are probably one of those Eighties glam metal bands which many have heard of, but few have actually heard. Originally working as a producer, singer Davy Vain produced the monster debut by Death Angel, ‘The Ultra-Violence’ (still a great album to this day) before...

Apparently, the band announced that their 2022 studio album ‘Reverse Engineering’ would be their last and the 2023 tour in support of the album would be their final tour. They ended the tour with five consecutive sold out shows at London’s 100 Club, from which this...

The full title of this album is ‘British Disaster! The Battle of ’89 Live At The Astoria’, from which one might guess this is a live recording from 35 years ago when the band were promoting their third album, ‘Fabulous Disaster’. They may have lost Kirk Hammett to...

Over the years there is no doubt that Sonata Arctica have released some really powerful melodic metal albums, but it is also true they have released some which have not really been up to standard, and their last album, 2019’s ‘Talviyö’ is one of those. Given they have...

On his twelfth album as band leader, Shawn Maxwell (alto & soprano saxophones, flute) takes us back to his hometown, Joliet, Illinois. It is not a very bright and lively release, but perhaps that is because Joliet is not the brightest and most inspiring of places,...

I am not going to go over Sebastian Bach’s history, as he is quite a controversial figure in some ways, but no matter what anyone thinks about him there is no doubt he is one of the best singers around. ‘Skid Row’ is one of the finest rock debuts ever, and I was lucky...

One morning I was working through my emails and came across one from Play MPE informing me of an album by Sarah Prodan, someone I had not previously come across. I was just about to file it when the photo caught my attention, long enough for me to then read the...

Riot were a band who appeared in many ways to get more praise in the UK than they did in their home of New York, with both ‘Rock City’ and ‘Narita’ gaining lots of praise during the NWOBHM era although their sound was quite different. It was always Mark Reale’s band,...

Even before playing this album I was a little bit in love with it, as not only does it feature seven compositions by the mighty Thelonious Monk, but the album cover screams Fifties/Sixties jazz or blues and looks mighty fine. During COVID lockdown harmonica player...

Given the title, one might expect Schwartz to be leading a saxophone quartet, and in some ways, one is correct but also very wrong. Schwartz is an organist, as well as a composer and arranger, so here we have an album with his name on the front cover, but he does not...

Pathology are back with their twelfth studio album, and their third with the same line-up of Dave Astor (drums), Daniel Richardson (guitars), Richard Jackson (bass) and Obie Flett (vocals). Astor is the only person who has been there since the beginning and is also...

I must confess the reason I picked up this promo was due to the label these guys are signed to. I first came across HMR all the way back in 1981 when I bought “Sweeties” by The Handsome Beasts, soon to be followed by their album (which has one of the most disturbing...

I have been reviewing music for more than 35 years now, which means I am offered a lot of material to write about, way more than I can ever work through (unless I win the lottery or someone wants to pay me for this), so when I look at an email offering me a band I...

Over the years there have been a few bands who have seemingly shot out of nowhere with a strong tie-in with their own culture and then mixing that with metal. The first was probably Sepultura and the mighty ‘Roots’ which is still an epic album, and close to my heart...

This is the 12th studio album from Finnish folk metal band Korpiklaani, or the 15th since Jonne Järvelä started on the musical journey which has seen a few name changes and a move from pure folk into folk metal. Given that my love of folk music is probably equal to my...

King needs no introduction whatsoever, and with the ending of Slayer there was no way he was just going to sit at home and retire gracefully, but instead he has pulled together some of his mates, recorded an album and soon will be back out on the road. All those...