(8/10) Nils Patrik Johansson is a veteran when it comes to rock and metal. He’s the voice of Swedish metal powerhouse Astral Doors, showing his passion for classic rock and traditional metal since 2003. Comparisons with the legendary Ronnie James Dio have been made on regular base, which shows the talent that comes with the... Continue Reading →
CD review SPINE ‘Faith’
(7/10) Kansas City-based Spine has a new album in the pipeline, being released mid-June via Birdge 9. ‘Faith’ is the band’s second delivery and features nine new songs. The label info talks about a “full-length album” but I have to say that with 19 minutes running time we can more talk about an EP rather... Continue Reading →
CD review TNT ‘XIII’
(7/10) When it comes to me, THE TNT album is entitled ‘Knight of the New Storm’, released in 1984. It was the time of melodic metal and rock music. TNT picked-up this vibe for their sophomore longplayer and transferred it into awesome songs like ‘Ready to Leave’. Ronnie Le Tekro, Tony Harnell and Diesel Dahl... Continue Reading →
CD review SUNSTORM ‘Road to Hell’
(9/10) Sunstorm is the solo project of hard rock veteran Joe Lynn Turner. Twelve years ago it was the charismatic singer and Frontiers Music president Serafino Perugino that explored options for such an endeavor. Things turned out well with a self-titled debut hitting the shelves in 2006. What started as a project found a continuation... Continue Reading →
CD review SAXON ‘Denim and Leather’, ‘Power and the Glory’, ‘Crusader’ – re-issues
It's a lot of Saxon on Markus' Heavy Music Blog recently. The only reason for it is the fact that there's a lot of activity in the NWoBHM-legend camp. 'Thunderbolt', the newest longplayer, has seen the light of day early this year and the band's on tour, promoting the new release. This led to two... Continue Reading →
CD review Amanda Somerville’s TRILLIUM ‘Tectonic’
(8/10) Amanda Somerville is a well-known name when it comes to female-fronted rock and metal music. The American singer worked together with Kamelot, Avantasia and Epica. Next to these cooperations Somerville and Helloween’s Michael Kiske released some excellently done records with the moniker of Kiske/Somerville. So, you should have heard the great singer already earlier... Continue Reading →
CD review LUGNET ‘Begging’ 7″
(7/10) Swedish Lugnet unveiled a first 7" with a song taken from the upcoming album. 'Begging' is a classic rock song that reminds very much of bands like Deep Purple and also some Jimi Hendrix. The B-side includes with 'Cockroack' another tune that refers back to the 70's as well. It's a grooving rock song... Continue Reading →
CD review FARGO ‘Constellation’
(7/10) Cosmic constellation seems to be quite good for Fargo and their new endeavour. It was Peter ‘Frago Pedda’ Knorn, also known from bands like Victory, who wrote a book, looking back to his career as musician, producer and label manager. This retrospect included the days with Fargo in the 70’s and early 80’s and... Continue Reading →
CD review SLAPSHOT ‘Make America Hate Again’
(7/10) Looking up ‘slap shot’ in the dictionary gives you the following definition. “A very powerful, fast-moving shot of the puck on goal made with a full backswing of the stick and an extended follow-through” (www.dictionary.com/browse/slapshot). Transferring this definition to Boston-based hardcore veterans Slapshot is spot on. Slapshot’s songs are fast and extremely powerful. The... Continue Reading →
RIVERSIDE – new album and tour dates
Progressive Rock masters RIVERSIDE have just signed a new deal with longtime partners InsideOutMusic and are pleased to announce their upcoming seventh studio album “Wasteland” as well as its corresponding first European tour for October/November. RIVERSIDE checked in with the following words: “Well, we're back in the game! We're happy to tell you that our... Continue Reading →
CD review GLORIA VOLT ‘All the Way Down’
(7/10) Swiss hardrockers Gloria Volt have worked hard on their fourth album ‘All the Way Down’ and now it’s ready to be released. The band is very much into hardrock that has some boogie roots and is very much inspired by bands like AC/DC. They quintet was on the road many times, playing some headliner... Continue Reading →
CD review GHOST ‘Prequelle’
(9/10) One thing right away – if you liked Ghost up till now you will like the band even more after having listened to their new longplayer ‘Prequelle’. The fourth album, following the 2015 release ‘Meliora’, is rich in well-crafted soundscapes and catchy melodies. While other bands with a similar approach often drift away into... Continue Reading →
CD review DUEL ‘Live at the Electric Church’
(8/10) Duel is a band, hailing from Austin, Texas and that’s where this live release was recorded somewhere in time. The reason for mentioning it that way is, because no concrete date came to my ears. The show, done at The Electric Church, was a special one anyhow and I think not knowing the exact... Continue Reading →
CD review JONATHAN DAVIS ‘Black Labyrinth’
(8/10) What came a bit of leftfield last week was the new album of Korn frontman Jonathan Davis. At least I haven’t had it on my list and the more I was excited to listen to the newest delivery of the charismatic Korn-frontman. Next to all his years with Korn, Davis also has a longer... Continue Reading →
CD review JIZZY PEARL OF LOVE/HATE ‘All You Need is Soul’
(8/10) Love/Hate was a not unsuccessfully operating American sleaze metal band in the second half of the 80's and early 90'. 'Wasted in America', the sophomore album, was a bigger success and also the following 'Let's Rumble' faced a chart entry. Unfortunately the quartet couldn't maintain their successful career in times when grunge and alternative... Continue Reading →









