Category: Recently Added

Frank Iero And The Future Violents – ‘Heaven Is A Place, This Is A Place’ (UNFD)

Frank Iero And The Future Violents – ‘Heaven Is A Place, This Is A Place’ (UNFD)

,

With a unique sound, ‘Heaven Is A Place, This Is A Place’ will definitely be an EP to check out, especially if you have enjoyed the previous work of Frank Iero’s, in his various alternations of the band. If you aren’t familiar with how Frank likes to run this project with every new release the band has an adjustment of name. This has varied between The Cellabration, The Patience, The Patients and now The Future Violents. Despite the projects name changing with the era, the sound remains relatively consistent between each body of work, which is undeniable with the unique vocals that Frank has.  If you’ve enjoyed the last projects there’s a high chance this EP will definitely be another that is well loved and will absolutely be taken to well when live performances with audiences can become a thing again.

Read More
Kabbalah – ‘The Omen’ (Rebel Waves Records)

Kabbalah – ‘The Omen’ (Rebel Waves Records)

,

Hailing from Pamplona in northern Spain, all girl trio Kabbalah already have three EPs, ‘Kabbalah’, ‘Primitive Stone’ and ‘Revelations’, and a 2017 debut album ‘Spectral Ascent’ under their belts. Their sophomore full-length album ‘The Omen’ sees these occult rockers link up with US label Rebel Waves Records, an imprint of Ripple Music, and promises to spread Kabbalah’s witchy word even further.

Read More
Nomadic Rituals – ‘Tides’ (Cursed Monk Records)

Nomadic Rituals – ‘Tides’ (Cursed Monk Records)

,

It has to be admitted that there are times when the city of Belfast stinks. Absolutely feckin’ reeks. Walking through its now deserted streets late at night, you often cannot fail to detect the stench emanating from below your feet. It’s the aroma of the ancient sleech beds on which the city is built, and which continue to make their presence known, despite the best endeavours of modern technology to eliminate the unmistakeable odour of putrefaction and decay upon which we tread each and every day. And it is from these sleech beds that Nomadic Rituals crawled some eight years ago, bringing their own brand of putrefying sonic stench into the dark light – and have done so once more with this, their third full-length album.

Read More
John Diva And The Rockets Of Love – ‘American Amadeus’ (Steamhammer/SPV)

John Diva And The Rockets Of Love – ‘American Amadeus’ (Steamhammer/SPV)

,

One thing which characterizes hard rock and heavy metal and places it apart from other musical genres is its ability, and willingness, to look itself in the mirror, stick its tongue out and then place same very firmly in its cheek… Yes, it can take itself terribly, terribly seriously, and overly so in many cases, but when it comes down to simply having fun and taking the piss, it is unequalled. And the latest act to exemplify this able characteristic is Mr John Diva and his Rockets Of Love.

Read More
Kiwi Jr – ‘Cooler Returns’ (Sub Pop)

Kiwi Jr – ‘Cooler Returns’ (Sub Pop)

,

This album is one that stirred up some conflicting emotions in Jonny B, because on one hand it’s something that is pretty far outside of my usual listening sphere, however it is also quite similar to the kinds of bands he was listening to over a decade ago. As a result, it’s something that feels pretty alien, yet also quite familiar and he has a feeling that it may feel like that to quite a few people. The root of this is that Kiwi Jr have crafted a sound that is both upbeat and modern but heavily steeped in nostalgia that harks back to the likes of The Kinks, The Byrds and, more recently, early The Strokes and the emergent indie scene of the 00s…

Read More
VIDEO OF THE WEEK – TV PRIEST

VIDEO OF THE WEEK – TV PRIEST

, ,

There’s a saying about “new year, new start”. Well, it be only at the end of its first week, but to date 2021 certainly has not delivered the latter, with renewed, and even more stringent, lockdowns in place the length and breadth of the Über Kingdom (and beyond), with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel, despite the promises of vaccines offering some form of over-vaunted “miracle cure”. But, at least we still have music… at least for the meantime…

Read More
Frozen Soul – ‘Crypt of Ice ‘(Century Media)

Frozen Soul – ‘Crypt of Ice ‘(Century Media)

,

Well, here we are a week into 2021 and already the cracks are starting to show. Despite the glimmer of hopefulness that was the death of 2020, the New Year hasn’t been any kinder with a fresh lockdown, soaring COVID-19 cases and a goddamn civilian coup all filling the headlines just in this first week, and that’s without mentioning the tragic passing of Children of Bodom frontman Alexi Laiho. But, if there was one saving grace to the utter dumpster fire of a year that was 2020, it was the sheer quality of releases from genres across the board that promised exceptional quality regardless of style or subgenre. Gladly, Texan death metal brutes Frozen Soul are continuing this fine form with their debut, ‘Crypt of Ice’ – the first truly exciting heavy release of the new year.

Read More
Bhleg – ‘Ödhin’ (Nordvis)

Bhleg – ‘Ödhin’ (Nordvis)

,

The summer of 2019 seems like a million years ago, but J onny B still distinctly remembers picking up a split-EP to review from two bands that were relatively unknown to him at the time – Bhleg and Nechochwen. Bhleg had seriously grabbed JB’s attention with their strong Scandinavian folk music influences but, alas, only had one track on the EP which left me eager to see what more could be achieved by the Swedish duo. The wait is over though as he’s managed to get his hands on the upcoming full-length album, ‘Ödhin’, which promises to be a heavy affair…

Read More
Magnum – ‘Dance Of The Black Tattoo’ (SteamhammerSPV)

Magnum – ‘Dance Of The Black Tattoo’ (SteamhammerSPV)

,

There aren’t many British rock bands more enduring than much loved Brum pomp rockers Magnum, now fast approaching their 50th anniversary. Twenty-one studio albums down the line, they maintain a pretty prolific output that is incredibly consistent, which is impressive for a band that have been going that long. Recent albums like ‘Lost On the Road to Eternity’ and ‘The Serpent Rings’ have proved that Magnum are still very much capable of delivering an album of the highest quality. ‘Dance of the Black Tattoo’ is not, however, an album of new material, but rather a new compilation of harder hitting tracks to counter the 2017 ‘The Valley Of Tears – The Ballads’ compilation, which concentrated on the softer side of Magnum’s output.

Read More
Malcolm Galloway – ‘Wasp 76b’ (Self-Released)

Malcolm Galloway – ‘Wasp 76b’ (Self-Released)

,

Having already reviewed the Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate EP, it would have been incredibly rude of Jonny B to overlook the solo release from one of the main men, Malcolm Galloway. Now Malcolm’s solo stuff is significantly different to the creations of Hats Off, so if you come into this expecting more of the same then you will be in for quite a shock! Instead, Malcolm composes intricate pieces of minimalist/classical music for his solo releases such as this latest effort, ‘Wasp 76b’.

Read More
Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate – ‘Feeling Great’ EP (Self-Released)

Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate – ‘Feeling Great’ EP (Self-Released)

,

Rounding off what was quite a ridiculous year, Jonny B had a few stragglers to review before he could completely say sayonara to 2020. The first of these was a little EP that hit the streets at the end of the year, courtesy of Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate, who have been using some of the enforced isolation time to channel those creative juices and shape them into a release. Like the rest of Hats Off Gentlemen’s back catalogue, this common thread throughout the album is particular theme, which allows the guys the freedom to be creative with a mix of different styles and influences.

Read More
Loading