Tag Archives: melodic hard rock

Artist: H.E.A.T Album Title: Into The Great Unknown Label: earMUSIC Date of Release: 22 September 2017 When I reviewed ‘Tearing Down The Walls’, the fourth album from Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T, I suggested that it was even better than their previous effort, ‘Address The Nation’. And that was a superb album, one of my  Continue Reading »

Welcome to Part 2 of my look ahead to what’s coming in the second-half of an already strong 2017. No long intro from me today, I’m just going to dive straight in… If you missed Part 1, here’s the link: Essential rock & metal releases still to come in 2017 – Part 1 Subterranean Masquerade  Continue Reading »

Things are moving fast in the rock and metal worlds at the moment, with new music being released left, right and centre. But also, it is a busy time for those of us who are trying to keep up with the new releases that are due in 2017. Plenty of bands are now issuing confirmation  Continue Reading »

Artist: Pyogenesis Album Title: A Kingdom To Disappear Label: AFM Records Date Of Release: 24 February 2017 German metal band Pyogenesis have been around since the beginning of the 90s and, despite a prolonged hiatus between 2002 and 2015, have released seven albums in that time. The return of the Stuttgart-based quartet in 2015 with  Continue Reading »

Artist: Battle Beast Album Title: Bringer of Pain Label: Nuclear Blast Date Of Release: 17 February 2017 I come to this review as a relative Battle Beast novice. I was never offered the opportunity to review any of their previous albums whilst working with Powerplay and so, with my time limited, my only exposure to  Continue Reading »

Artist: Firewind Album Title: Immortals Label: Century Media Records Date Of Release: 20 January 2017 I really struggled in the beginning with ‘Immortals’, the eighth album from Greek melodic power metal band Firewind. They are a band with whom I am familiar and have had something of an on-off relationship over the years. Helmed by  Continue Reading »

Another day, another batch of great material that should be destined to arrive in 2017 to bathe our ear in. On the strength of all this, I don’t think there’s any danger of the recent momentum in the metal world slowing down. And isn’t that great? It gives us all something to look forward to  Continue Reading »

Welcome to day 20 of my ‘Album of the Year 2016’ top 30 countdown. I’m exactly two-thirds the way through this mammoth annual undertaking and the quality music just keeps on coming and keeps on getting better and better. To those of you who have been with me since the beginning, I thank you. To  Continue Reading »

Welcome to day 7 of my ‘Album of the Year 2016′ top 30 countdown. That’s right, that’s the first week of posts complete and I’m nearly 1/4 of the way through now. And, honestly, I’m enjoying writing this series more than any other. The sheer quality of every album mentioned here is staggering and it  Continue Reading »

Artist: Pretty Maids Album Title: Kingmaker Label: Frontiers Records Date Of Release: 4 November 2016 Melodic hard rockers Pretty Maids have been going for around 35 years or, to put it another way, nearly as long as I’ve been alive. Formed in Denmark in 1981 by vocalist Ronnie Atkins and guitarist Ken Hammer, the band  Continue Reading »