RPWL (it stands for the names of the founding members: Rissettio, Postl, Wallner, Lang) have been among the spearhead of German progressive rock for many years. Since the late 90s, the Bavarians have been enchanting their audience with great song, atmospheric density and superb melodies. The debut album 'God Has Failed' was released at the... Continue Reading →
Review THE ANSWER ‘Sundowners’
For several years, The Answer have been one of the highlights of a revived retro rock scene whose musical roots can be traced back in the 70s. Founded in 2000, the Northern Irishmen achieved a first respectable achievement with their debut album 'Rise' and made their breakthrough with the second release 'Everyday Demon'. Besides the... Continue Reading →
Review POP EVIL ‘Skeletons’
Droning riffs, powerful energy and sometimes sugar-sweet melodies in the chorus, that is the musical direction of Pop Evil. The beginning of Pop Evil lies in the early 00s when Leigh Kakatly and Dylan Allison founded the band. However, it took quite some time for the debut album 'Lipstick on the Mirror' to find its... Continue Reading →
Review JOHN DIVA & THE ROCKETS OF LOVE ‘The Big Easy’
John Diva & The Rockets Of Love is, contrary to expectations, a German band that is dedicated to glam rock. If you listen to the songs of the band, you feel like being on a time travel to the 80s when bands like Bon Jovi, Ratt, Mötley Crüe,… had their heyday. At the same time,... Continue Reading →
Review NIGHT DEMON ‘Outsider’
Following the development of a band from the beginning is always an exciting affair, because you don't know where the journey will take them. One such band is Night Demon from Ventura, California. We go back to 2012, when the band released a self-titled EP, which was re-released in August 2013 by Shadow Kingdom Records.... Continue Reading →
Review MYSTIC CIRCLE ‘Erzdämon’
After it was quiet around Mystic Circle for a long time, A. Blackwar and Beelzebub came around the corner with a new album in 2021. Simply called 'Mystic Circle' the band returned to their black roots and released grim black metal songs that caught people's attention. Now follows with 'Erzdämon' the second strike of the... Continue Reading →
Review DEMONS DOWN ‘I Stand’
Demons Down is a new band and consists of vocalist James Robledo (Sinner's Blood) and guitarist Francesco Savino (False Memories), along with hard rock scene veterans guitarist Jimi Bell (House of Lords, Autograph), drummer Ken Mary (ex-House of Lords, Alice Cooper, Fifth Angel, etc.), and bassist Chuck Wright (Quiet Riot, bass, ex-House of Lords, etc.).... Continue Reading →
Review THE BANISHMENT ‘Machine and Bone’
The Banishment is a new project or rather a collaboration between Joe Haze and legendary guitar wizard George Lynch. If you think of the latter, melodic metal highlights like Dokken but also hard rock classics like Lnych Mob come to mind. In contrast, Haze's background is among other programming and one is curious how the... Continue Reading →
Live report KREATOR, LAMB OF GOD & MUNICIPAL WASTE, edel-optics Arena, Hamburg – March 5th, 2023
A tour, which unfortunately also had to be postponed more than once, is the one of Germany's metal institution Kreator. Originally planned for April 2020, the 'State of Unrest'-tour could not take place in 2021 and 2022 either. But now the time has come. Kreator and Lamb Of God are touring Europe and have chosen... Continue Reading →
Live report BEAST IN BLACK & FIREWIND, Gruenspan, Hamburg – March 3rd, 2023
Tonight, the more melodic variation of heavy metal is coming to Gruenspan and that this genre has its fans is shown by a sold out show. Beast In Black are in town tonight, with Firewind as their support act. At 7:00 p.m. sharp, Firewind enters the stage. The band headed by exceptional guitarist Gus G.... Continue Reading →
Review RANTANPLAN ‘Ahoi’
Hamburg's ska punk legends Rantanplan have just rocked the Markthalle as special guest of ZSK and now fans of the danceable punk variation can also access some new music. Rantanplan have with 'Ahoi' their new, already for a long time announced album at the start and of course at Markthalle some of the 15 songs... Continue Reading →
Review ENTHEOS ‘Time Will Take Us All’
Entheos started in 2015 and embarked on an adventurous journey through the world of extreme metal. The band delivered their debut album 'The Infinite Nothing' in 2016 before following it up with 'Dark Future'. After that it became more quiet about the band and when bassist Evan Brewer left the outfit in 2019 a regrouping... Continue Reading →
Review HAKEN ‘Fauna’
The first album of Haken's that I had noticed was 'The Mountain'. From that moment on I was fascinated by the sound of the Englishmen. Haken manage to combine different elements into an own and unique sound like hardly any other band. There are the musical skills of the six musicians, which is revealed in... Continue Reading →
Live report ZSK, RANTANPLAN & TYNA, Markthalle, Hamburg – February 25th, 2023
Cold and gray outside, hot and colorful inside - that's how this evening could be described. In Hamburg's Markthalle three bands will be guesting today which are dedicated to punk rock. For the German punk rock legends ZSK the show means the end of their anniversary tour and they furthermore invited local support with Rantanplan... Continue Reading →
Review ENSLAVED ‘Heimdal’
Sinister metal from Scandinavia is booming these days. First Katatonia from Sweden released their new masterpiece, followed by Finland's blackened death metal veternas Insomnium. What's missing is an album from a Norwegian band and the gap will be closed by 'Heimdal', the newest strike from Enslaved. The guys from Bergen, Norway present with 'Heimdal' their... Continue Reading →