2018 Black Widow Records CD 60.49 mins Alternative/Prog Rock/Metal www.alchemwebsite.com/alchemband www.facebook.com/pg/alchem.band/about/?ref My Rating 90/100 From a compositional perspective: ‘Alchem’ is one of those albums which will genuinely stretch your...

I know virtually nothing about these guys, apart from they hail from northern Sweden and I believe this is their fourth album. Going by the funky artwork I also believe there are four of them, which means the singer must also be a musician as we have keyboards,...

If one goes to percussionist Julian Gerstin’s website one will find it is subtitled Music of Africa, the Caribbean and the African Diaspora —percussion / ethnomusicology. That is a pretty good way of describing this music as while arguably it is jazz in its widest...

Palmerston North deathcore band The Rising Tide had a great 2022, touring for the first time in six years and here we are now with their latest EP which is being released in time for a quick nationwide tour which sees them playing Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington,...

Last year one of my daughters went on a travelling tour of the States with her partner, and of course one of the places they visited was New Orleans. This meant they had to visit some jazz clubs, and at one of them she was incredibly impressed by the playing of...

In 2009 Miller released his first album on the Summit label, ‘Rapture’, which featured drummer Bill Belasco and bassist Mario Suraci. Over the last ten years he and his trio have worked with his daughter, singer Rebecca DuMaine, recording with her on six albums, while...

Unless you were a teenager in the UK in the mid to late Seventies I don’t think it is possible to understand just how important UFO were to the hard rock scene. These days many metalheads don’t even know who they are, yet Steve Harris has never forgotten that Pete Way...

On February 10th 1998 UFO strode out onto the Civic Hall stage in Wolverhampton, and the set was recorded and soon made available as an album. Just before Christmas, Cleopatra Records reissued it in multiple forms (including purple vinyl) and it allows us to hear what...

Covid saw quite a few bands release streaming events as a way of keeping fans interested while no touring was taking place, as well of course hopefully generating valuable revenue for the bands. The mighty Behemoth were no different, and here we have the set recorded...

Mintzer has been conductor and arranger for WDR Big Band Cologne for six years now, relishing the opportunity to play regularly in an ensemble of 17 people, much like the touring bands of the Forties. These days most jazz musicians work in small groups, often playing...