Time for one of the highlights of my year, the rather excellent SOS festival. A festival envisioned 12 years ago by Lynne Hampson of Rocksector Records as an antidote to the plethora of family un-friendly festivals around at the time. Continue reading
With a career based on stories of warfare and combat throughout the ages, it was only a matter of time until Swedish power metallers Sabaton returned to focus on one specific event in particular. Having previously dealt with different aspects of World War II on Coat of Arms in 2010 and on 2014’s Heroes (both Nuclear Blast), the band have turned their attentions this time towards World War 1 on latest offering, The Great War (Nuclear Blast).Continue reading
In an age where the line between dewy-eyed nostalgia and unashamed imitation is becoming blurred – we’re looking at you Greta Van Fleet – bands who dare to cherry pick the sum parts of their heroes and plot an original course should be praised. Glitter Wizard, whose latest full-length outing – Opera Villains (Heavy Psych Sounds) – aims to hit the high notes from its wide range of influences, are a spandex-clad bunch of psychedelia-indebted miscreants who have set out to do just that. Continue reading
With some time off due to their tour postponement earlier in the year with Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest has been preparing for their upcoming US tour. In answer to a fan question on Twitter, guitarist Richie Faulkner has stated the band will add 8-10 new songs their didn’t play on tour in 2018 and will have an all-new stage. Priest earned rave reviews for their high energy arena tours and amphitheater shows last summer with Deep Purple. The band often mixes the hits with deep cuts. The band is still touring behind 2018’s amazing Firepower (Epic) album. Continue reading
The reboot of Hellboy is coming next month and the film just released a new Redband trailer. The “R” rated film is a new take on the previous Hellboy film series and is promising a more hardcore version with more violence and realism. In addition to the fun and vibrant clip is an orchestral cover of Deep Purple all-time classic rock staple ‘Smoke On The Water’. The track originally appeared on their Machine Head (EMI/Warner Brothers) album in 1973. The track has been universally lauded as one of the most popular rock songs and having one of the most popular guitar riffs ever. The first trailer featured Billy Idol’s cover of 1050s song ‘Mony Mony’. Hellboy stars David Harbour (Stranger Things, The Newsroom), Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Daniel Dae Kim, Alistair Petrie, Sasha Lane, Thomas Haden Church, and more. Directed by Neil Marshall adapted from the classic comics series by Mike Mignola. The film releases on April 12th 2019.
The word yatra is a Himalayan term referring to a spiritual journey or pilgrimage. Locking themselves in a primitive forest cabin for a three-month creative process, it’s a term that seems pretty apt for Maryland’s Yatra, a Doom trio formed by Dana Helmuth of Blood Raven fame. Death Ritual (Grimoire Records) is the band’s debut album and is as harsh, gloomy yet stimulating as that process must have been.Continue reading
Although Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen (then still with her previous band, After Forever), and Pagan’s Mind guitarist Jorn Viggo Lofstad had never actually met before, when they played a handful of cover versions during an ‘All-Star Jam’ at Progpower USA in 2007, the two hit it off immediately. Discovering they both shared a fondness for basic, stripped down heavy rock music, the pair sat down the following year and wrote an album’s worth of music quite different to what they were both producing at the time.Continue reading
Mid-September officially sees the start of Crazy Season for album releases… But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered here at Ghost Cult with our round-up of some of this weeks and last weeks albums that may just have escaped your attention, for better or for worse…
Monster Truck just released their brand new album True Rockers via the Mascot Label Group on September 14th. We caught up with frontman Jon Harvey to hear about his favorite concert memory, opening for Deep Purple. Continue reading
