We caught up with Rich Moss of Stone Broken for a new interview! Their new album “Revelation” just dropped via Spinefarm Records, and we discussed the arc of the bands’ entire career, changes in their music, their excitement about the return of fests and shows, their love of gaming and more! Continue reading
Bloc Party burst onto the UK music scene with their raucous debut album Silent Alarms in 2005, proving to be a unique act in the indie rock scene, with a collection of uptempo songs blending contemporary post-punk with art rock. The band immediately resonated with a new generation in a similar way that contemporaries such as Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines had, largely helped by the flamboyant personality and distinct vocal style of frontman Kele Okereke. The record went platinum in its first year as the band were championed on mainstream UK radio by the likes of Steve Lamacq and Zane Lowe, with a buzz also being created in the States where extensive touring followed.
In the new “post-covid” era I have been hearing some awesome cuts coming from all kinds of artists. It makes me wonder how many took advantage of the downtime to hone skills and really dig into some songwriting.
Formed in 2013, Stone Broken are a quartet who, despite their transatlantic sound, hail from Walsall. Revelation, on Spinefarm, is the British four piece’s third album and it is a polished slab of commercial hard rock.
Ten years and two albums on from their farewell tour the Scorpions are still going, sharing a similar confusion about farewell tours as KISS, Motley Crue and Status Quo. The second of those post retirement albums is Rock Believer (Spinefarm Records), the German rockers 19th offering of big riffed, anthemic Classic Rock.
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators have built up quite the reputation for blistering, modern Hard Rock. They are at it again with their new album 4, (Gibson Records / BMG), yep you guessed it their fourth record together and quite possibly their best. They called in the production skills of Dave Cobb, best known for Rival Sons and a whole host of Country music, and wanted to make a live rock record.
Having nailed Asking Alexandria 3.0, with last year’s vibrant See What’s On The Inside (Better Noise), the UK metalcore-turned-rock beasts are keen to capitalise on the critical and commercial success of their seventh album with a four-track EP, featuring two exclusive tracks.
Eleven albums deep and showing no signs of slowing down, alternative metal tour de force Skillet enter their twenty-sixth year of existence with Dominion (WMG / Atlantic), a collection of big rocking tunes, expertly polished and produced, which continues in their now trademark vein. We get the arena stompers, the WWE PPV-ready (or premium live event as they seem to now be known as) montage accompaniers, the saccharine reflective synth and strings ballad, and the chirpy up-tempo deeper cuts.
Fifty years into their career and Birmingham hard rockers Magnum are still pumping out the hits on this, their twenty-second full length studio release. Aside from a five-year period during the nineties when the band was put on hiatus, Magnum has been rocking for longer than some of us have been alive, churning out album after quality album like clockwork every two to three years.
Lucifer – Lucifer IV
With Lucifer releasing albums of a consistent style at a workman’s pace, it’s easy to overlook the underlying trajectory that’s been gradually in motion. There’s not much of those Occult Doom roots left on Lucifer IV (Century Media Records) as the band has seemingly completed their transformation from female-fronted Uncle Acid to what sounds like Karen Carpenter singing over KISS riffs. Fortunately, it’s hardly a drastic change as Johanna Sadonis’ sultry croon and the freerolling grooves remain as common denominators.Continue reading