Posted in Gig/Festival Reviews

Hellfest, Clisson Fankrike

Festen började redan i Paris fullpackade tunnelbana.

Hellfestresenärerna hade sedan länge börjat strömma in från närliggande flygplatser och ölburkarna var redan öppnade och urdruckna. Väl framme vid Montparnasse tågstation var stämningen hög av förväntan och otålighet. Fantastisk syn, att se en så annars ostörd vanlig järnvägstation fyllas med tusentals av långhåriga metalheads med ett enda mål : Clisson och Hellfest. Gemenskapen var ett faktum.

Detta års Hellefest lockade hela 40 000 besökare från hela världen. Själfallet utgjorde baguettesläktet majoriteten men kvoten verkade annars vara ganska jämn, 60 % fransmän och 40% internationella. På campingen härjade såväl svenskar som mexikanare, australienare, amerikaner och tyskar...

Posted in Gig/Festival Reviews

Blissfields clears the heavens!

Blissfields was a first for me this year so I had no idea what to expect. A number of other people had told me that it is definitely one to go to, and even though very small has some great acts and a unique atmosphere… They weren’t wrong.

Blissfield began roundabout 12 years ago and has slowly grown in to one of the most renowned small festivals in the UK. A point to mention is that it remains to be one of the only boutique festivals adamant on increasing capacity minimally to keep its intimate setting going.
With tickets being priced at around £74 for the weekend, in this kind of economic climate, you can’t disagree that Blissfields should be on your list of go-tos.

Now I’m sure I’m not the only reviewer to mention this, but the weather has been shoc...

Posted in Press Releases

EMI Label Services are proud to announce the release of Sacred Mother Tongue’s brand new EP, the monumental ‘A Light Shines…’. This is their debut release on EMI Label Services and precedes their second album, ‘Out Of The Darkness’, which will be released early next year.

‘A Light Shines…’ is a defining moment for Sacred Mother Tongue, their stake in the sand as one the most exciting bands in British metal. Opening with the powerhouse chorus and heavy-as-hell guitars of ‘Evolve/Become’ and followed by the thumping darkness of ‘Seven’, it’s instantly apparent that SMT have made a quantum leap on from their well-received debut album ‘Ruin Of Man’ in 2009, from which they reinterpret ‘A Final Idea’ as an acoustic number on this EP.

And now, Sacred Mother Tongue...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Last year, Rhapsody of Fire announced they were to split and that Alex Staropoli would continue under the Rhapsody of fire name, while Luca Turilli would be forming a band under the Rhapsody name. Rhapsody was the original name for Rhapsody of fire until legal issues forced the name change, so for Luca Turilli the new band is a return to the Rhapsody name.
The split was announced in August 2011 and Luca spent the next few months writing the debut Rhapsody album, and the results are here – and what an album it is.

Brief comments on a couple of tracks..

Title track ”Ascending to infinity” starts with plenty of guitars, and is a great power metal song...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Universal music will be releasing a limited edition Elton John box set, Classic Album Selection (1970-73), on July 9th comprising five classic Elton John albums recorded between 1970 and 1973.

The Box set contains five albums – ”Elton John”, ”Tumbleweed connection”, ”Madman across the water”, ”Honky chateau”, and ”Don’t shoot me I’m only the piano player”. These albums provided some of Eltons earliest hits and include some of his most popular songs of all time. With these albums Elton John became a massive success, particularly in the USA where he became the first artist since The Beatles to have four albums simultaneously in the Top Twenty.

”Elton John” was Elton’s second album, released in 1970 and contains the classic hit ”Your Song” which became Elton John’s first UK hit, reaching N...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Universal Music have released a new Motorhead collection – this one though isnt a best of type compilation but is instead six of the bands albums released in a box set. The albums included are the six albums originally released on Bronze records between 1979 and 1983 – Overkill, Ace of spades, No sleep till Hammersmith, Bomber, Another perfect day, Iron Fist.

First up is ”Overkill” – the band’s second album. Released in March 1979, this was a great album – and still is. Title track, ”Overkill” is still an essential part of any Motorhead live show.

”Bomber” is the next album, which was released only seven months after Overkill – an amazingly short time period given that in those seven months the album had to be written and recorded and the band will have also been out on tour to promote ...

Posted in Interviews

Rest ur askan från sitt forna doom/death metalband Slumber släppte AtomA sin debut Skylight den 30 mars i år. Lovord och positiva recensioner har avlöst varandra och för mig var det här någonting helt nytt. Musiken är en blandning av metal, post-rock och electro förenat med tusen olika känslor på en och samma gång. Bandet består av Ehsan Kalantarpour (sång/synth), Markus Hill (gitarr) och Siavosh Bigonah (bas) från Slumber, samt Oscar Borgenstam (trummor) och Christian Älvestam (kompgitarr/bakgrundssång). Eftersom jag fullkomligt förälskade mig i Skylight så stämde jag träff med Ehsan för att få höra mer om AtomA.

När föddes AtomA?
– Officiellt så började AtomA den 1 januari 2011...

Posted in Press Releases

Whilst working on their second offering to mere mortals, Stuka Squadron are horrified to learn that payment in blood is no longer acceptable…

The vampires desperately need the support of their Legionnaires and urge you to come forward…
As appreciation of the sacrifices you make, the Squadron will reward you in kind…
Pledge your soul to Stuka Squadron

http://stukasquadron.com/?page_id=300

Teaser trailer for new album: http://tinyurl.com/7kf4t3g

Posted in Press Releases

KOBRA AND THE LOTUS – the five-piece group fronted by powerful vocalist Kobra Paige – will play Bloodstock Open Air Festival (the UK’s biggest independent Metal festival) on Sunday August 12th. The band will open the Ronnie James Dio stage, the main stage at the event.

KATL – who recently guested with Judas Priest & Saxon at the Hammersmith Apollo in London – will release their self-titled album on August 6th 2012 via Spinefarm Records.
To celebrate this release, the five-piece will play a one-off, headline show at The Borderline in London on August 13th, tickets available here.

Produced by Kevin Churko (whose previous credits include both Five Finger Death Punch & Ozzy Osbourne), the 10-track album has an intentionally grand-scale dynamic, revelling in the glories of the genre ...

Posted in Press Releases

UK ROCKERS RELEASE VIDEO FOR SINGLE ‘NOTHING TO LOSE BUT OUR MINDS’ AS THEY PREPARE FOR MAJOR US ASSAULT

IN ANTICIPATION of their first visit to North America as guests on the 43-date Kiss/ Motley Crue tour, The Treatment premiere the video for third single ’Nothing To Lose But Our Minds’ – this a brand new version of the track, the original version of which can be found on the band’s debut album, ‘This Might Hurt’.
Watch the video here.

http://www.vevo.com/artist/the-treatment?source=instantsearch

Talking of their upcoming tour with Kiss & Motley Crue, The Treatment vocalist Matt Jones comments:-
“We’re proud to be representing the British rock scene in the US, cos when it comes to rockin’ music, we have a long and proud tradition in the UK...