Reviews
MERCURY RAIN – St Matthieu: Remastered & Reborn (Bristol Archive Records)
Few bands of their stature would think of kicking an album off with an intro sung entirely in French, or of roping in a male voice choir, but ‘St Matthieu’ showcases a band at the height of its powers. - Read More
SPARTA – No Retreat No Surrender (Suspect)
Less an album and more a call to arms, ‘No Retreat No Surrender’ is defiant, loud and proud. - Read More
WHITE WILLOW – Future Hopes (The Laser’s Edge)
In the world of progressive music where pretty much nothing is ever what it seems, White Willow remain seemingly indefinable – for starters, it’s not heavy enough for progressive metal, nor does it sit comfortably on the shelf marked progressive rock. - Read More
DAMNATIONS DAY – A World Awakens (Sensory/The Lasers Edge)
Purely as a point of reference, if you draw a Venn diagram with Evergrey, Fates Warning and Megadeth in as subsets the intersection – the part where everything overlaps – will sound something like Damnations Day. - Read More
DEVIOUS – Open (Bristol Archive Records download)
Devious were one of the Bristol bands which – the way I remember it, at least – helped the headbangin’ parts of the city hold out against fads and fashions and fly the flag for traditional hard rock. - Read More
DESOLATION ANGELS – Desolation Angels (Independent)
Following their well-received 1983 7” ‘Valhalla’ London’s Desolation Angels recorded their self-titled debut album in 1984, the year Venom headlined Hammersmith Odeon; - Read More
VARIOUS – The Bristol Heavy Rock Explosion (Bristol Archive Records)
Bristol developed a vibrant scene through the Seventies and Eighties with a host of bands that never became rich but whose impact led them to be filed under ‘inspirational’, and ‘The Bristol Heavy Rock Explosion’ does a superb job of rounding them up. - Read More
IAN TOOMEY – Masters Of Light (Independent)
In August 1980 Ian Toomey first stepped into a recording studio with Bitches Sin. Almost thirty-five years to the day later the guitarist was back in the studio once more. - Read More
ANGEL NATION – Do It Anyway (Independent)
What’s in a name? You may recall Enkelination, the Finnish band who released the ‘Tears Of Lust’ album back in 2014. - Read More