Ear Music/Playground Good ole mates Tony and Ian have been doing things on the side of their day jobs in BLACK SABBATH and DEEP PURPLE before. Once in a blue moon (1983 approximately) they even hooked up in SABBATH to conceive “Born Again”, to alarming reactions. Long after that incarnation they joined forces again in…

Massacre/Sound Pollution Newcomers HELLDORADOS has an info sheet filled with nice words from artists like Ralf Scheepers and Uwe Reitenauer. And they used the same studio in Hannover as SCORPIONS, HELLOWEEN and KREATOR, and the internet campaign is in full bloom. This creates great expectations, of cause. Further on the band is described as playing…

Escape/Sound Pollution POLUTION was formed back in 1997, and have achieved two full-length albums, one in 2007, and this one now in 2012. The band originally performed covers, and have supported the likes of AC/DC, KROKUS and JOHN COGHLAN (ex. STATUS QUO). Their debut “Overheated” is described as somewhat quirky, this time they opt for…

Massacre/Sound Pollution CATAMENIA was founded back in 1995 by long-serving guitarist Riku Hopeakoski (and Mika Tönning, who left in 2003). Most of the band was replaced around 2010, apart from quite faithful bass player Miko Hepo-oja who has been in the band twice. Ten albums including this, which is a rerecorded best of, so we…

Angel Air/Border 1979 saw the release of SAXON´s self-titled debut, and the success that followed with classics like ”Wheels of Steel”, “Strong Arm of the Law”, “Denim and Leather” etc. was unmitigated. In 1986 bass player and major song contributor Steve “Dobby” Dawson was fired and the formula was starting to crack. 1995 saw Graham…

Limb Music/Sound Pollution Austrian band DRAGONY started out as THE DRAGONSLAYER PROJECT in 2007. The nucleus of guitarists Daniel Stockinger and Andreas Poppernitsch plus vocalist Siegfrid Samer was soon augmented by more musicians. Opening for bands like AXXIS, FIREWIND and SONATA ARCTICA saw them add on drummer Frederic Brunner, keyboard player Georg Lorentz and bass…

Angel Air/Border Angel Air has a way of finding old bands and musicians to cherish their legacy and new output. Nick Simper was part of DEEP PURPLE Mk 1, but was let go along with Rod Evans after the first three albums. That very period is the focus of this album. Invited by Austrian band…

Canadian band Kobra and the Lotus are releasing their new self title album in August. To whet your appetites they’ve released a new song from the album – Forever one. It’s a cracking track. It’s got some great guitar work, pounding drums, good heavy bass and of course the awesome vocals of Kobra Paige. It’s…

While Trollfest may sound like the name of a music festival, they are in fact a Norwegian ”Baltic metal” band that mix Balkan folk music with black or extreme metal, to produce a quite unique and crazy sound. The band formed in 2004 and released their debut album ”Willkommen Folk tell Drekka Fest!!” in 2005….

It’s almost four years since Doro’s last album (Fear no evil), and it won’t be long till she releases her new album later this year. To whet the appetite of fans she is releasing an EP on the 3rd August, which coincides with her performing at the legendary Wacken festival. “This is the first record…

One thing that Finnish metallers Children of Bodom are known for is their habit of including cover versions as bonus tracks on their albums, and as separate releases (the ”Skeletons in the closet” album was a full album of cover versions . These are usually songs that you wouldnt think of as being anything like…