RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.heatsweden.com/ The incredible Swedish hard rockers H.E.A.T parted ways with the amazing singer Erik Grönwall a while ago and then welcomed the return of original vocalist Kenny Leckremo, and what I can tell you about this stadium-sized juggernaut of delicious hooks titled Force Majeure is that it is the band’s finest…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/henrikhydra/ This one nearly got away from my pile of stuff to review, so before that warped brain of mine forgets completely, I should probably write a few short and concise lines about this eleven-track effort, right? Melodic rockers Hydra from Sweden are a relatively new band and also a new…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/hemesathband/ The German act named Hemesath is something quite different and hard to pigeonhole in terms of style and genre. Using such diffuse terms as alternative rock and alternative metal often blows ass simply because they tell you very little about the actual music, but in this case, I have no…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/collections/frontpage/products/god-only-knows-the-story-of-brian-wilson-the-beach-boys-and-the-california-myth This legendary and outright essential book on Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, which originally saw the light of day back in 1978, was extensively updated by author David Leaf quite recently and then published by the ever-reliable purveyors of quality literature, namely Omnibus Press. What we have here is…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.jordan-red.com/ Thanks to the good people over at Stampede Press, I got my hands on a copy of the upcoming debut offering by British hard rock/alternative metal outfit Jordan Red, and this is one album that packs a lot of punch. Loud and crunchy guitars, interesting layers and textures, superb lyrics…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/NordicUnionMusic/ I fell head over heels in love with the near-flawless Second Coming (2018) by the wicked constellation that is Nordic Union as that was a fabulous slab of melodically strong and muscular hard rock that ticked all the right boxes for me. Needless to say, I was truly excited about…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/SunstormMusic/ The previous effort by the talented hard rockers Sunstorm, more specifically Afterlife (2021), impressed me greatly and was a musically accomplished opus in every sense of the word. Enlisting Rainbow vocalist Ronnie Romero and including him in their ranks was a stroke of genius, and it fills me with joy…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.apollonrecords.no/product-page/rotvelt-human-slakt Human Slakt by the Norwegian outfit named Rotvelt is a real treat, and this analogue-sounding fireball contains energy and spark in spades. The output is primarily punk-influenced but there is something akin to harsh and unpolished indie rock that sneaks into the musical framework too, which basically means that this vigorous…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/RestlessSpiritsMusic/ What an enjoyable and cool surprise this 11-track slab of melodic hard rock is. Lords of Black multi-instrumentalist Tony Hernando is the brain and mastermind behind Restless Spirits, and the musically gifted friends of his that he has called upon to add vocals to these hook-laden and energetic compositions all…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/GenerationRadioBand/ With past and present members from such notable acts as Journey, Chicago, and Rascal Flatts in its ranks, this constellation of musicians looked quite interesting on paper. As is usually the case with these projects where skilled and prominent individuals have joined forces in order to churn out either AOR,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.bjornriis.com/ What a lovely surprise this beautifully crafted 4-track EP by the ridiculously talented Bjørn Riis (Airbag) is. It seems like only yesterday that he released the near-flawless Everything to Everyone opus, so I did not see A Fleeting Glimpse coming. Musically and stylistically speaking, these four new and sparkling compositions…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://adventure1.bandcamp.com/ The follow-up to the first part of the dark Tales of Belle musical narrative has arrived, and as with its predecessor (Part 1 is also from 2022), Part 2 is a riveting journey through brooding prog rock landscapes where the terrible deeds of the loathsome Norwegian serial killer are emphasized…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.apollonrecords.no/ The hard-hitting musical collective known as Dang!!! have returned and what a joy it is to have these ugly fuckers tell us that the world blows ass and that absolutely everything is going to hell in a handbasket. Yes, this is some wicked stuff that is anything but pretty, and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://omegashift.bandcamp.com/releases Now what we have here is something exciting and potent from the Norwegian underground. Omegashift were kind enough to mail me a digital copy of this 5-track opus of theirs entitled Doctrine of Dust about a week ago, and I have been thoroughly enjoying listening to it ever since. With…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/oledevilandthespiritchasers The title of this sophomore offering by the talented Ole Teigen and his band known as the Spirit Chasers is a most fitting one in that the musical content is gritty as fuck. It crackles with restless energy, agony, heartache, loathing, despair, evil, and generally just all the different things…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: http://www.jeffbeck.com/ Following their engaging and memorable performance at the old fortress in Bergen back in early July this year, I quickly became wildly enthusiastic about this collaboration by the two gentlemen, Jeff Beck (lead guitars and bass) and Johnny Depp (vocals, bass, and rhythm guitars). While the former is unarguably one…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://lnk.to/pyrapyra I was ridiculously excited about receiving and reviewing this suffocatingly dark and utterly bleak debut EP by the recently conceived black/death metal outfit from Italy named Pyra. The early press releases sounded most promising and enticing, but did the actual musical entity live up to my expectations and where exactly…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.frontiers.it The name of this group is a fitting and appropriate one in that the Frontiers Records project contains such musical heavyweights as Brad Gillis (Night Ranger, ex-Ozzy Osbourne) and Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Sons of Apollo) in its ranks. With the talented Renan Zonta (Electric Mob) on vocals and superb…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://journeymusic.com/ It goes without saying that yours truly ought to have reviewed such a high-profile release by a legendary outfit sooner than this, but better late than never, right? AOR rockers Journey are back with a potent and well-written record that recalls past musical triumphs while also looking to the future,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2021 BAND URL: http://forlagetmomenta.dk/nye-udgivelser/ Quite by chance I stumbled on a copy of this hugely entertaining book on the Danish hard rockers/heavy metallers Pretty Maids while vacating in Denmark, and although it was published late last year, I simply had to do a short review on the piece. The two founders and sole original…
