Author: UberAdmin

Howling Giant/Sergeant Thunderhoof – ‘Turned to Stone Chapter II’ (Ripple |Music)

Howling Giant/Sergeant Thunderhoof – ‘Turned to Stone Chapter II’ (Ripple |Music)

Posted by | Aug 7, 2020 | ,

As you have guessed from the title, ‘Turned to Stone Chapter II’, this is the second of a series of collaborative split albums devised by RIpple Music to uniquely combine bands from the underground metal scene. The first chapter featured Italians Mr Bison and Spacetrucker, of St Louis, and this time we’re treated to another transatlantic pairing of underground metal bands. Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, we have the psychedelic metallers Howling Giant who deliver a 20-minute epic for their side of the album. Then from the sleepy county of Somerset, we have the fuzzy grooves of Sergeant Thunderhoof with their 20-minute contribution to this epic piece of music.

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WoR – ‘Prisoners’ (Bungalo Records/Universal)

WoR – ‘Prisoners’ (Bungalo Records/Universal)

Posted by | Aug 6, 2020 | ,

Groove metal’s a funny thing. It’s one of those genres that seems to be in the middle of a venn diagram of multiple other genres and straddles a mix of thrash, death, hardcore and in some cases djent. WoR are someone new to my ears and I’m always down with the idea of giving new music a punt because you never know when you might find a bit of a gem hidden amongst the swathes of new music that’s around now.

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Misery Signals – ‘Ultraviolet’ (Basick Records)

Misery Signals – ‘Ultraviolet’ (Basick Records)

Posted by | Aug 6, 2020 | ,

‘Of Malice And The Magnum Heart,’ the debut album by Misery Signals, has enjoyed a dramatic reputation enhancement since its release in 2004. When it first dropped in the music world’s lap, it received decent reviews and had some moderate success, but take a look online nowadays and the general consensus is that it’s an overlooked classic. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it does indeed stand up. It’s a well-crafted record that’s stood the test of time and it’s not surprising its stature has grown. The band themselves have recognized this. In 2014 they welcomed original singer Jesse Zaraska back into the line-up and played it in full on an anniversary tour, introducing it to a lot of fans who missed out on the original run. The promise of new material has hung over them since, but it’s taken a full six years for ‘Ultraviolet’ to take shape, the band refusing to rush in and fart out a subpar legacy-breaker. It’s been a long time coming and expectations are high to say the least, so is it any good?

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Blue Öyster Cult – ‘45th Anniversary – Live In London’ (Frontiers Music)

Blue Öyster Cult – ‘45th Anniversary – Live In London’ (Frontiers Music)

Posted by | Aug 5, 2020 | ,

Since signing with Frontiers Music last year, 2020 has been quite a prolific year in terms of releases for the mighty Blue Öyster Cult. The live album and DVD of the ‘Agents Of Fortune 40th Anniversary’ came out early this year, followed by very welcome re-releases of 1998’s ‘Heaven Forbid’ and 2001’s ‘Curse Of The Hidden Mirror’, both largely overlooked BÖC gems which had become pretty hard to get hold of. So ‘45th Anniversary – Live In London’ is the fourth release on Frontiers this year, with strong hints that a brand new studio album will follow before the year is out. So there’s plenty to cheer about for BÖC fans, despite the inevitable postponement of the live shows, mostly with Deep Purple, put back to next year.

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