ALBUM REVIEW: Sgàile – Traverse The Bealach


Sometimes an album cover can give a very descriptive sense of the music contained within. Traverse the Bealach (Avantgarde Records), the second album by multi-instrumentalist Tony Dunn (under the name Sgàile) portrays a solitary figure, gazing out over a stormy landscape.

Is danger on the horizon? Is there a treacherous journey ahead? Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Saxon – Hell, Fire and Damnation


As the old saying goes, change is the only constant, and when you’ve been around as long as NWOBHM legends Saxon, then some form of adjustment – enforced or voluntary – is usually never too far away. For the last eighteen years, the Yorkshire veterans have enjoyed their lengthiest spell ever of an unchanged line-up. This impressive run came to an end earlier this year when guitarist and co-founder Paul Quinn declared a hiatus.

Arriving from suitably prestigious stock, Quinn’s replacement (for this record) is none other than fellow NWOBHMer Brian Tatler, axeman for Midlands metal pioneers Diamond Head. Settling in with unerring ease, Tatler strikes up an instant rapport with co-guitarist Doug Scarratt, the pair going hell bent for leather on their first record together.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Bronson Arm – Bronson Arm


Having followed Learning Curve Records for a fair old while, it was exciting to see one of their number, Bronson Arm, pop up on the Ghost Cult reviews list. Other noteworthy acts from said label that are worthy of investigation include The Tunnel, Something Is Waiting and Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends, to name but a few.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Hannah Wicklund – The Prize


A singer, songwriter and multi instrumentalist from Nashville, Hannah Wicklund has just released her second album The Prize on Flatiron Recordings. It is a varied, emotionally raw and soulful record and a step away from the straight between the eyes, earthy rock of her 2018 debut, Hannah Wicklund & The Stepping Stones.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Splitknuckle – Breathing Through The Wound


Having a band named Splitknuckle evokes certain ideas even before you’ve heard the music. Violence, aggression, possibly-self-inflicted pain. Such ideas are only amplified in the title of latest album Breathing Through The Wound (Daze Records) and yes, the music within very much follows these initial impressions. 

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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: Saevus Finis – Facilis Descensus Averno


For quite some time now, but arguably in the last few years especially, Transcending Obscurity Records has been one of the most consistently excellent champions for new, exciting and often innovative extreme metal acts, both in quality and in the sheer volume of their releases. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Engulf – The Dying Planet Weeps


The Dying Planet Weeps (Everlasting Spew Records) – Engulf‘s first full-length – is the solo project of Hal Microutsicos (Blasphemous.) The opening track benefits from a dissonant throb, rather than following the course most death metal takes in pummeling you with a head-first assault. 

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CLASSIC ALBUMS REVISISTED: Life Of Agony’s “River Runs Red” Turns 30


 

Life Of Agony’s classic debut album River Runs Red was released 30 years ago today, on October 12th, 1993 via Roadrunner Records. Coming out of Brooklyn, New York and produced by Josh Silver (Type O Negative), the album shook the Hardcore and Metal world to its core with its heavy, catchy riff-heavy songs, impassioned vocals, and frank lyrics about suicide, drug addiction, ptsd, and family trauma. The band continues to tour and perform these songs around the globe, and made a sequel album, 2018’s acclaimed The Sound of Scars. Read retrospective we created for the 25th anniversary below, and jam out to some LOA today.   

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Download Festival 2023 Sells Out In Record Time, Headlined by Metallica, Slipknot, and Bring Me The Horizon


 

Download Festival 2023 has broken their own record this summer with weekend, day and camping tickets now completely sold out. Metallica, Bring Me The Horizon and Slipknot headline a remarkable year for the UK’s biggest rock festival. Download Festival’s 20th anniversary has become a double celebration, as today the festival sells out, marking 2023 as the fastest-selling year of all time. Day, weekend and camping tickets have been snapped up by fans eager to celebrate an incredible 20 years for the legendary festival. The special anniversary edition, taking place for the first time over four days on 8-11 June 2023 at Donington Park, will feature headliners Bring Me The Horizon, Slipknot and Metallica, who will perform two headline sets with no repeat songs.

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