'Fire in the Sky' is the new album from Escape, and not. Friends of AOR will surely know the band from Black Country/West Yorkshire from earlier times. It was in the beginning of 2011 when Vince O'Regan started this melodic rock band and two albums could be launched at that time before it became quiet... Continue Reading →
JACK SLAMER released a new EP
Jack Slamer did not want to go passively through the pandemic and had therefore decided to set up a live session. No sooner said than done. The live session took place at Hardstudios and four of the songs have now been released as an EP via Nuclear Blast. 'Live at Hardstudios' is the title of... Continue Reading →
CD review MÄDHOUSE ‘Bad Habits’
L.A. has the Hollywood Boulevard, Vienna has the Kärtnerstrasse. L.A. brought bands like Ratt and Mötley Crüe up to the surface, Vienna has Mädhouse. What all of these bands have in common is the shared passion for sleaze rock and glam metal. That Mötley Crüe, Ratt, Skid Row and others have been in a league... Continue Reading →
CD review BLACKBRIAR ‘The Cause of Shipwreck’
Female-fronted symphonic metal from The Netherlands, that brings a few names on the radar. Within Temptation, Epica and the disbanded Delain are bands that you think of right away. Blackbriar is a band that is passionate about the same genre and it was at the Delain concert in the early 2020 that I heard of... Continue Reading →
CD review WHILE SHE SLEEPS ‘Sleeps Society’
Riff and scream acrobats While She Sleeps started in 2006 and shared so far four longplayer with the metalcore community. The so far latest longplayer was send from the UK to the world in 2019 and was named ‘So What?’. The reception of the longplayer was a good one with the album entering the German... Continue Reading →
CD review VREID ‘Wild North West’
Vreid rose from the ashes of Windir and it was in 2004 when the band premiered with 'Kraft'. Since then, Vreid is a regular guest on the release schedule lists with eight longplayers that have been released so far. Following a kind of three years pattern, the year of 2021 is the one for a... Continue Reading →
CD review CAPRA ‘In Transmission’
Capra is a band, 'In Transmission' is an album and opinions can differ when it comes to the music. The wild blend of metal, punk and hardcore leads to music that is massive and furious. Although the start, '[Exordium]', is rather atmospheric, hell breaks loose with 'Hollow Doll'. 'In Transmission' is not an album that... Continue Reading →
CD review OCEANS ‘We are Nøt Okay’ – EP
Oceans published their full-length debut 'The Sun and the Cold' a bit more than a year ago and to keep the momentum rolling, the guys unleash with 'We are Nøt Okay' a next EP. With four songs, things are quite lucid and to the point. Compared to the debut, that was a bit all over... Continue Reading →
CD review MISTER MISERY ‘A Brighter Side of Death’
Mister Misery is hailing from Sweden and started in February 2018. Sparked by a passion for restless souls and the creepy stories, the quartet let their debut rise out of the casket in 2019. 'Unalive' is the title of the first Mister Misery longplayer and now it's time to focus on 'A Brighter Side of... Continue Reading →
CD review RITUAL ‘Valley of the Kings’ – re-release
The band name Ritual is certainly not a unique one. There are numerous bands with this moniker and one of the earlier bands under this banner are Ritual from the UK. It was in 1973 when the band was founded, and they have been active until 1995 before the trio disbanded. Ritual from London, UK,... Continue Reading →
CD review THE FLAMING SIDEBURNS ‘Silver Flames’
The Flaming Sideburns is the brainchild of Eduardo Martinez, who moved at the end of the '80s to Finland, the home of his mother. Martinez found quickly his way into the Finnish rock scene and it was in 1995, when the official foundation of The Flaming Sideburns happened. The debut 'It's Time to Testify ...... Continue Reading →
BUCKCHERRY announce ‘Hellbound’
Buckcherry announce their 9th studio album called 'Hellbound'. The release is scheduled for June 25th and the record comes via Earache Records. The longplayer is produced by Marti Frederiksen, who also work with the band on the 'Black Butterfly' record. With 'So Hott' a first song has been unveiled today and here it is: https://youtu.be/3y9Zw6UrDYU
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY box set out now
Zakk Wylde and the Black Label Society released a box set today, that includes all twelve studio recordings on color vinyl. Also included is a 32 pages photo book, patch and bottle opener. all wrapped in into black on black collection box. A special treat is the 'The Songs Remain Not the Same II' that... Continue Reading →
CD review VIKING ‘Do or Die’ & ‘Man of Straw’ – re-releases
Thrash metal in the '80s, that was the time of a new style in metal that slowly developed and brought bands like Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, and many more to the surface. San Francisco's Bay Area was one of the cradles for this rather aggressive way in heavy metal and while some bands made it to... Continue Reading →
CD review AXEWITCH ‘Out of the Ashes into the Fire’
If you listen to metal since the early ‘80s you are aware of the fact that there was traditional heavy metal around there even before Hammerfall pushed the re-active button in the ‘90s. One of the bands that unleashed longplayers at the time was Axewitch from Linköping. The guys premiered already in 1983 with an... Continue Reading →








