ALBUM REVIEW: The Black Crowes – Happiness Bastards


Rock ‘N’ Roll might be a young man’s game, but it is not stopping the Robinson Brothers from again coming together on Happiness Bastards (Silver Arrow Records) to prove they still have it. If Amorica was the last album you picked up by these guys, then things have changed dramatically. If you are one of their more avid followers then you have heard their transition away from merely being a Led Zeppelin/Rolling Stones hybrid, so this album makes perfect sense.

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ALBUM REVIEW: The Gems – Phoenix


After experiencing “creative differences” as part of Thundermother, Guernica Mancini, Emlee Johansson and Mona Lindgren left and formed The Gems – a three piece Rock band, and it is fair to say that this Swedish trio’s debut Phoenix (Napalm Records) is in similar territory to their previous vehicle: sixteen tracks of no frills Classic Rock built on chunky riffs and shoutalong choruses. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Magnum – Here Comes The Rain


This review was submitted before the sad news of the passing of guitarist and band leader Tony Clarkin. Our condolences and best wishes to Tony’s family, friends, and the members of the band.

It only takes a few moments of opener “Run Into The Shadows” to be welcomed with open arms back into Magnum’s world, as the opening guitar motif intertwines with the dancing keyboards and Bob Catley’s distinctive storyteller-cum-favourite-uncle’s-croon transports us into the kingdom of madness once more, forty-six years after Catley and Tony Clarkin recorded the band’s debut album, a fantastic record that laid the groundwork for a marvellous career.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Bad Touch – Bittersweet Satisfaction


Rock ‘n Roll quintet Bad Touch, hailing from Norfolk, England, are back with their fifth album, Bittersweet Satisfaction (Marshall Records). This time round they spent half a year making the record, tempering their balls-to-the-wall rock with polished hooks and a healthy portion of soul, the end result being a more rounded, earthy Classic Rock that still has plenty of bite. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Dokken – Heaven Comes Down


There aren’t many metalheads who haven’t heard of Dokken. Whether it’s due to their huge popularity during the eighties, the constant if occasionally amusing public sniping between frontman Don Dokken and former lead guitarist George Lynch or, most likely because of “Dream Warriors,” the theme song from 1987 horror sequel A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3, Dokken’s name still stands above many.

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ALBUM REVIEW: The Struts – Pretty Vicious


 

The Struts’ new album Pretty Vicious (Big Machine Records/John Varvatos Records) starts with the strutting, tongue-in-cheek tale of hedonism “Too Good at Raising Hell” – done in their signature mix of The Darkness, Queen and the Rolling Stones.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Rival Sons – Lightbringer


 

You wait four years for a Rival Sons album and, just like buses, two come along at once. Lightbringer (Atlantic Records) is the new record from the Californian quartet, following on from companion piece Darkfighter which came out in June this year. With the everpresent Dave Cobb behind the desk, their eighth album is a compact six track offering that mixes their classic, fuzzed up Rock N Roll with atmospheric Folk and acoustic elements to great effect.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Electric Boys – Grand Explosivos


 

Swedish rockers Electric Boys had a bit of success in the late eighties and early nineties when their boisterous Funk Metal track “All Hips n’ Lips” caught the eye of MTV and their first two albums, Funk O Metal Carpet Ride and Groovus Maximus, caught the eye of the public. Things fizzled out in 1994 but they reunited fifteen years later and have been steadily releasing new material since.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats – Slaughter on First Avenue


It seems live albums are making a comeback. A slew of metal bands are releasing live albums in the coming months, perhaps in response to the ever-rising price of concerts these days. Add Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats to the list of live albums dropping this summer, though their release takes you back in time. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Greta Van Fleet – Starcatcher


 

Turn On. Tune In. Drop Out. That’s the overarching feeling with the newest Greta Van Fleet, Starcatcher (Lava/Republic Records). Starcatcher has swirling browns and oranges reminiscent of the seventies. It evokes lava lamps and black light posters. There is an earthiness to Starcatcher, a richness in tone. It’s an album that is felt as much as it is listened to. Starcatcher’s sound is as close to analog as you can get in this digital age.

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