Formed in 2010 Man With a Mission are a group which fuse rock, rap, and dance to create a distinctive and rather hyperactive sound. Or if you believe the bio on their website a part human – part wolf hybrid with superior strength and intelligence created by a guitar playing biologist Dr. Jimi Hendrix, who were imprisoned in an ice cap until global warming freed them in 2010.Continue reading
Hailing from South Africa, Son of Hawk’s self-titled, self-released debut is a visceral blast of hard rock, with the riffs of Rage Against the Machine, the energy of Clutch and the raucousness of the Dropkick Murphys. Here are twelve songs whose charms are obvious from the get-go.Continue reading
Hailing from the east of Germany, Thuringia to be precise, and purveyors of psychedelic doom are Motorowl. Their new album Atlas follows in the footsteps of their 2016 debut Om Generator (both on Century Media Records): metal with fuzzy guitars, doom-laden riffs, meandering, sometimes spacey, sometimes carnivalesque, keyboards and a thick sense of melancholy.Continue reading
Theia are a three-piece from Burton on Trent, UK, whose brand of Rock n Roll is influenced by AC/DC, Black Stone Cherry and a touch of 90s era Metallica (hey, come back!). The Ghost Light (WDFD) is the British trios third album and it continues in the same vein as the previous two; Hard Rock with big riffs, big choruses and the occasional bit of filler.Continue reading
Formed in 2006, and including members past and present of Soilwork, Arch Enemy and Spiritual Beggars, are The Night Flight Orchestra. Despite their heavy origins they are anything but, this Swedish sextet are enamoured with the sounds of the late 70’s and early 80s – so expect big riffs, huge choruses, corny lyrics and artery-clogging amounts of cheese. Continue reading
Gimme a D! Gimme an arkness! Suffolk’s finest The Darkness are back with their first live album Live at Hammersmith (Cooking Vinyl), which as the name suggests was recorded at the London Hammersmith Apollo last year, during the Pinewood Smile supporting Tour De Prance. Continue reading
Survive Sunrise (Relapse) sees the release of ASG’s sixth album, their first since Blood Drive in 2013. Recorded, mixed and mastered by longtime producer Matt Hyde, their latest offering continues the North Carolina outfit’s signature sound; a heady mix of both psychedelic and stoner rock, with strong Black Sabbath, Kyuss and Mastodon elements throughout, complete with their trademark, and rather striking, album art courtesy of Malleus (Editor’s note: a.k.a. Ufomammut), whose previous work includes Foo Fighters, The Melvins and Queens of the Stone Age.Continue reading
With a sound influenced by AC/DC, Clutch, Monster Truck, and a little Black Stone Cherry are Ryders Creed. The five-piece hailing the midlands formed last year, winning the Hard Rock Hell’s Highway to Hell Competition, and have just released their self-titled debut album on Off Ya Rocka Recordings.Continue reading
At first Death Metal but now encompassing Folk, Symphonic and Prog Rock elements, Amorphis are a multifaceted Finnish Metal group with nearly thirty years on the clock (twenty eight, but who’s counting). Following on from the driven yet melodious Heavy Metal of Under the Red Cloud is their thirteenth album Queen of Time (Nuclear Blast), along with the production skills of Jens Bogren – whose previous work includes Amon Amarth, Kreator and Opeth amongst others. This record follows the same urgent, heavy yet tuneful ethos but with a much broader scope, with synths, choirs, violins, folk and prog all adding to the mix. Continue reading
Despite what their 1980s influenced, Bay Area sound might lead you to believe, Angelus Apatrida are a modern Thrash band hailing from Spain. Recorded at their home studio in Albacete, Cabaret De La Guillotine (Century Media) is their sixth album, their debut seeing the light of day twelve years ago, and is a continuation of their sociopolitical charged Thrash awash with tasty riffs and plenty of solos.Continue reading