Introducing Mooner, a psychedelic rock group from Indonesia made up of members of The Slave, The Sigit, Sigmun and Sarasvati – all well-established bands in their homeland. Originally released in April via Bhang Records, is the re-release of their début album Tabiat this time via Outer Battery. Within it is a multitude of influences, Indian Raga and Middle Eastern touches are mixed together with psychedelic, 70s era bluesy rock resulting in a familiar yet alien sound.Continue reading
Despite their transatlantic fusion of blues, soul and rock n roll, Broken Witt Rebels are a new guitar driven band hailing from Birmingham, England. Songs from their two previous EPs (Howlin and Georgia Pine) plus a smattering of brand new material makes up their debut album Broken Witt Rebels (Snakefarm). It is a soulful yet gritty blend of the new and the old, Kings of Leon-esque arena rock; an Alabama Shakes-like vintage feel with the boozy swagger of The Cadillac Three, who they toured with this month.Continue reading
According to common knowledge, Glam Metal died in 1991, somewhere between the releases of Warrant’s Cherry Pie (CBS) and Poison’s Flesh and Blood (Capitol) to Pearl Jam’s Ten (Epic/Sony) and Nirvana’s Nevermind (Geffen). It appears this memo did not make it to Finland, as since their debut album five years ago Santa Cruz have been churning out Hard Tock straight from the pages of Skid Row and Guns n’ Roses, like their equally glammed up compatriots Reckless Love.Bad Blood Rising (M-Theory Audio) is their third album, and the continuation of their modern Glam Metal influenced rock. Continue reading
Mirror Queen’s journey continues apace with the release of their new album Verdigris (TeePee), the New York bands third record and it further hones their sound, which mixes melodic guitar leads of Thin Lizzy and the heavy approach of NWOBHM with lighter, Pink Floyd like, prog-rock flourishes. The introductory song in this short six-part compendium cranks the volume up, it is a powerful nugget of hard rock with sumptuous twin guitar flourishes and a Budgie like a sense of power and speed. Verdigris is bookended by bangers as ‘Curse the Night’ takes a similar four to the floor approach, after a doomy intro you are hit with pounding drums, pacey riffs and rather tasty solos courtesy of Morgan McDaniel and axeman cum vocalist Kenny Kreisor.Continue reading
Established in 2014, and formerly known as German Panzer until a lineup change last year, swelling their ranks from three to four, are Panzer. Hailing, as you might have guessed, from Germany they are a super-group made up of vocalist and bassist Schmier (Destruction), Stefan Schwarzmann on drums (ex-Accept), V.O Pulver on guitar (Poltergeist, GURD) and Pontus Norgren on lead guitar (Hammerfall). New record The Fatal Command is the more political follow-up to their 2014 début album Send Them All To Hell, both on Nuclear Blast, which sees them continue their heavy mixture of Thrash metal, Accept and NWOBHM. Continue reading
Melding differing types of rock and metal together are American metalheads Sons of Texas. Formed in 2013 from, as their name suggests, the lone star state SOT are vocalist Mark Morales, drummer Mike Villareal, bassist Nick Villareal, and on guitar Jon Olivarez and Jes De Hoyos. Their new album Forged by Fortitude, coming two years after their début Baptized in the Rio Grande (both Razor & Tie/Spinefarm), is a continuation of their radio-friendly hybrid of rock and metal. Continue reading
Taking their name from a Deep Purple song from the 1971 classic Fireball (Warner Bros.) are Demon Eye. Arising from North Carolina, Demon Eye started out life as a ‘70s rock covers band called Corvette Summer before transforming into a fully-fledged band in 2012. As their origins suggest, their sound is an amalgamation of 70s hard rock and metal – with Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, early Judas Priest and Iron Maiden the major influences. Their third album Prophecies and Lies (Soulseller) was produced by Corrosion of Conformity’s Mike Dean and continues down this old school path. Continue reading
Formed in 2012 from the same country that gave us The Nobel Peace, ABBA, Opeth, Europe, Ikea and Volvo are Swedish rockers Dead Lord. This hairy, denim and leather clad quartet make music of a decidedly vintage flavour, awash with 1970s classic rock influences like Thin Lizzy and AC/DC. Their third album In Ignorance We Trust – on the otherwise heavy label Century Media Records – sees them continue down this path, sweet twin guitar melodies, catchy choruses and crunching riffs recorded in analogue in the sunny climes of Madrid.Continue reading
Like Gov’t Mule’s latest album, Shaman’s Harvest new record Red Hands Black Deeds (Mascot) was worked on during the American presidential campaign of 2016 – as such there are underlying socio-political themes coursing through the record. On this, their sixth album, the Missouri rockers have taken a vintage, more organic approach to their Shinedown-esque Hard Rock resulting in a fresher, more attention grabbing sound.Continue reading
Following on from the wonderfully sinister, synth-laden Gothic overtures of last year’s Lovely Sort of Death, husband and wife outfit from North Carolina Bloody Hammers are back with The Horrific Case of Bloody Hammers (both Napalm) – a six-track EP with a delightfully kitsch 70’s B-list horror film-inspired artwork.Continue reading