OVERDRIVEThe Final Nightmare Pure Rock (2014)Rating: 9/10 Blessed with an album cover that is pure gold when it comes to metal design, obscure UK rockers Overdrive – who are not to be confused with the Swedish act of the same name – have released their first opus since 2006’s Three Corners To Nowhere. It would […]
FARENHEITOrigins EP F80 (2014)Rating: 7.5/10 Farenheit (yes, it’s meant to be spelt that way!) is a French heavy rock band formed back in the early 1980s when, according to the press release, Fred A. (aka Fred Avesque, vocals / guitar), TT (aka Thierry Traup, guitar) and Michel A. (aka Michel Antoine, bass) met on the […]
THE HOLEA Monument To The End Of The World Necromance (2014)Rating: 5.5/10 The Canary Islands have never exactly been the home of thrash / death metal, but in 2010 the shadowy corners of this metropolis gave birth to a quartet of musicians who became known as The Hole. Eduardo Rodríguez (vocals / bass), Ancor Amador […]
GREGORY LYNN HALLHeaven To Earth AOR Heaven (2014)Rating: 5/10 Straight from sunny Southern California, singer and multi-instrumentalist Gregory Lynn Hall may be a name recognisable to some for his liaisons with 101 South, Heaven And Earth and Rat Sally. For this solo outing, Hall has assembled 11 tracks for an album that features guest guitar […]
BLUES PILLSBlues Pills Nuclear Blast (2014)Rating: 8.5/10 Blues Pills is an American / Swedish / French rock ’n’ roll band. In fact, one could argue that Blues Pills are the best new “classic” rock band out there. While it’s certainly an oxymoron to call a new band comprised of members that are only in the […]
ICHABOD KRANEDay Of Reckoning Pure Steel (2014)Rating: 8/10 This American heavy metal quartet is named after the fictional character from Washington Irving’s 1820 classic spook tale, The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod Krane formed in 2013 and feature ex-Halloween members guitarist Rick Craig and bassist George Neal, former Sleepy Hollow drummer Tom Wassman and current […]
JOHN GARCIA – His Bullets’ Energy Anthony Morgan August 2014 John Garcia Coachella Valley, California-based stoner rock frontman John Garcia cut his teeth in Kyuss, a tenure which lasted from 1987 until 1995 under various monikers, spawning four full-lengths; Wretch (September 1991), Blues For The Red Sun (June 1992), Welcome To Sky Valley (June 1994), […]
REAPERAn Atheist Monument Massacre (2014)Rating: 7.5/10 Since their inception in 1984, German metallers Reaper has been plagued by personnel alterations, but as a unit have still produced five solid records, including this latest release, An Atheist Monument, which marks some 30 years in the business. Founding members Daniel Zimmermann (vocals / guitar) and Matthias “Mäfju” […]
PRINCIPALITY OF HELLFire & Brimstone W.T.C. Productions (2014)Rating: 7.5/10 Clearly hell-bent on aping those great, satanically-blessed bands of the 80s, hellish trio Principality Of Hell combine the raging torment of Venom, Sodom, Bathory et al, the result being this oily ten-track pitch black platter. The Greek band consists of vocalist / bassist The Magus (Thou […]
CEMETERY FOGTowards The Gates EP Iron Bonehead (2014)Rating: 8/10 As the eerie piano trickles its way via the introduction to Cemetery Fog’s debut EP, I’m at once enthralled and excited by a release that harkens back to the days of yore when these types of bands and their albums leaked into the underground metal scene. […]
