Category: Album Reviews

Days Of Jupiter ‘The World Was Never Enough’ (Reigning Phoenix Music)

Days Of Jupiter ‘The World Was Never Enough’ (Reigning Phoenix Music)

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After maintaining self-imposed radio silence for something like six years, this Swedish alt-rock crew have come storming back with an album which, in Monk’s personal opinion, puts a lot more high profile genre contemporaries such as Alter Bridge in the darkest and shadiest of corners (a controversial statement in itself, given that DQ is the Uber Kingdom’s #1 Kennedy/Tremonti fan so the boss is probably getting the “all picture no sound” treatment until the next AB album comes out to try and prove him wrong).

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Havukruunu ‘Tavastland’ (Svart Records)

Havukruunu ‘Tavastland’ (Svart Records)

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Breaking a silence of four years, these Finnish black metallers return with an epic album that echoes both the bleak beauty and the eloquent elegance of the landscape which formed, gestated and inspired this equally beautifully bleak and elegantly eloquent fourth album from a band who truly know how to blend beauty, bleakness, elegance and eloquence with a rare sense of cohesive equanimity that is as entrancing as it is enervating.

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Greybeards ‘Out Of The Red’ EP – Rexius Records

Greybeards ‘Out Of The Red’ EP – Rexius Records

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Despite their rather anomalous name, this is a relatively youthful Swedish quartet whose initial storyline could echo one of one of those stupid straight-to-TV ‘B’ movies that piggybacked the success of the likes of ‘School Of Rock’, in that they are a bunch of high school friends who came together for a one-off gig but have stuck together ever since, releasing two albums and now this new five-track EP.

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Tumbleweed Dealer ‘Dark Green’ (Self-Released)

Tumbleweed Dealer ‘Dark Green’ (Self-Released)

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Jonny B will admit that sometimes all it takes for him to spark an interest in a band is a name: if it’s something with a bit of humour or a play on words then he’s going to have to check them out. So when Tumbleweed Dealer dropped on his desk, JB knew he had to give it a listen, and boy was he met with an experience! With a band name like that releasing an album called ‘Dark Green’ it’s pretty obvious what the creative force behind them may be – and if it isn’t obvious to you then may you continue to live in innocence!

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Split Dogs ‘Here To Destroy’ (Venn Records)  

Split Dogs ‘Here To Destroy’ (Venn Records)  

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Bristol punk rock ‘n’ rollers Split Dogs have one simple mission – they just want to show the world that rock ’n’ roll is alive and well. So far they’ve been doing a pretty fine job of that, spreading the word with extensive gigging across the ÜK and Europe. Now they’re set to release their incendiary new album which, simply put, is ‘Here To Destroy’.

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Confess ‘Destination Addiction’ (EVIN Productions)

Confess ‘Destination Addiction’ (EVIN Productions)

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Quite possibly taking their name from a word equally possibly screamed at them hundreds if not thousands of times over – both frontman Nikan Khosravi and DJ Arash Ilkhani were arrested by the notorious Iranian Revolutionary Guards and detained for more than almost two years, including three months in solitary confinement, on charges of blasphemy and propaganda against the state before fleeing the country and ultimately seeking political asylum in their now adopted homeland of Norway (having subsequently been sentenced to a combined total of 14 and a half years in prison, plus 74 lashes for the frontman) – this is perhaps one band no better placed to ask the question “what happens when you’ve survived things that no-one should have to?”

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The Night Flight Orchestra ‘Give Us The Moon’ (Napalm Records)

The Night Flight Orchestra ‘Give Us The Moon’ (Napalm Records)

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Before every festival that he goes to, Jonny B tries to find the time to listen to every band on the lineup to make sure he hasn’t missed any hidden gems. This really paid off before Bloodstock 2021 and JBI spent the run up to the festival hyping The Night Flight Orchestra to anyone who would listen… unfortunately they ultimately had to pull out and it wasn’t until 2022 that we got to see them at the festival but it was definitely worth the wait!

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Pentagram ‘Lightning In A Bottle’ (Heavy Psych Sounds)

Pentagram ‘Lightning In A Bottle’ (Heavy Psych Sounds)

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When it comes to doom metal, they don’t come much more legendary and influential than pioneers Pentagram. Led by the infamous Bobby Liebling, Pentagram has been around in one form or another for over fifty years now, enchanting new sets of fans as each new generation comes along. Now Liebling is back with a new line-up and some ‘Lightning In A Bottle’, the first new album from Pentagram since 2015’s ‘Curious Volume’ ten years ago.

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