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


Doro, Jean Beauvoir, and Visions Of Atlantis Booked for Time To Rock Festival


 

Approaching an almost full 2024 lineup, “Sweden’s coziest rock festival”, Time To Rock, have just added Doro, Visions Of Atlantis, and Jean Beauvoir (Plasmatics) to their bill. With Amorphis and Amaranthe, Uriah Heep and Unleash The Archers, plus many others already announced, the event takes place next July 05th – 08th, at Knislinge, South Sweden. Read below for more.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Gatekeeper – From Western Shores


 

To be a gatekeeper in metal is generally frowned upon as elitist these days, to the point where my favorite Awenden / Feminazgul shirt has the phrase “impale the gatekeepers on spears and leave them posted alongside your path as a warning to others” on the back.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Uriah Heep – Chaos and Colour


 

With 25 studio albums under his belt after forming Uriah Heep back in 1969, Mick Box is not your average 75-year-old. While it is a travesty that Uriah Heep are left in the shadows of their contemporaries, such as Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, the consistent high-quality of Uriah Heep’s albums puts them up with the aforementioned bands.

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Uriah Heep Books 50th Anniversary Tour


Heavy Metal progenitors Uriah Heep celebrated their 50th anniversary officially in 2020, but the events of the last few years have prevented them from touring and celebrating with fans. The band has kicked off their expanded tour, which was originally announced in late. 2021 Tickets are on sale now Uriah Heep announced an extensive European tour for 2022. The tour, 50 dates across 18 countries, is the ultimate celebration of one of the most important British rock acts of all time. UK poster is belowContinue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Udo Dirkschneider – My Way


When one thinks of that classic heavy metal voice, the musings often land on the great Mr. Udo Dirkschneider. His is that voice: the sandpaper over rusted metal, the two-pack-a-day unfiltered Pal Mal smoker of the 1940s, the male version of Mama in Throw Mama From the Train; to wit, Udo Dirkschneider is sultry. So it is with delicious aplomb that Mr. Dirkschneider has graced the metal community with a new album. My Way (Atomic Fire Records) is one hour and five minutes of lovingly crafted cover toons in which that voice croons and barks and puts nails on a chalkboard through classic metal, pop, and yes, even classic standards from 1968 and 1969. I would be remiss if I did not mention forthwith that I have been enamored with Udo Dirkschneider since his Accept days and many of the songs and artists he covers are among my favourite.

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Uriah Heep Adds Two Extra UK Dates to Their Anniversary Tour


Uriah Heep announced an extensive European tour for 2022 celebrating over 50 years as a band. The tour, 61 dates across 28 countries, is the ultimate celebration of one of the most important British rock acts of all time. The band have just added two extra UK dates, in Nottingham and York, due to phenomenal demand. Tickets for Nottingham and York go onsale 10am GMTFriday 28th January 2022.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Blind Golem – A Dream Of Fantasy


There’s no talking about Blind Golem’s first full-length album without mentioning Uriah Heep. The Italians initially began as a Heep tribute band and desired to write their own music in a similar Seventies Rock style, going so far as to give the artwork that Demons and Wizards aesthetic and even getting Ken Hensley himself to record keyboards and slide guitar just months before his tragic passing. A Dream Of Fantasy (MaRaCash Records) makes for an inevitably derivative listen with that established, but it is also an undeniably infectious labor of love.

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ALBUM REVIEW: White Magician – Dealers In Divinity


Consisting entirely of musicians from the eccentric Demon Bitch with equally esoteric pseudonyms, Detroit’s White Magician settles firmly into the world of heavy Occult Rock on their first full-length album. “The Agents Of Fortune”-esque cover art is enough to indicate that any comparisons to Blue Öyster Cult are likely intentional; the band exercises a similarly freerolling attitude with an ominous undercurrent. But while Dealers Of Divinity (Cruz Del Sur Music) gambles on a well-trod formula, the group seems to have a couple of aces up their sleeves.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Butterfly – Doorways Of Time


Butterfly’s full-length debut isn’t the least bit shy about its Seventies Rock inspirations. That is made immediately apparent with the cover art contrasting Vikings and a mystical title with an innocuous band name, but the music plays out like a grab-bag of Montrose, Uriah Heep, and Budgie among others. Its free-spirited attitude is comparable to their contemporaries in Freeways and one can occasionally detect hints of otherworldly haziness in line with Tanith and Brimstone Coven.Continue reading