RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.thunderonline.com/ The awe-inspiring British rockers Thunder are on grand form on this powerful live recording from the archives, which just goes to show that these gentlemen are at their fiery best when belting it out on stage in front of a loud, appreciative audience. Recorded at First Direct Arena in Leeds…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.thunderonline.com/ The fabulous British rockers Thunder have unearthed a cracking good and highly energetic live recording dating back to late December of 2006 when they played a surprise gig at the Planet Rock Christmas party, which took place at the Islington Academy in London as the title of the release aptly…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/whatever-happened-to-slade-when-the-whole-world-went-crazee Whatever Happened to Slade? by Daryl Easlea is undoubtedly one of the most enthusiastic, warm-hearted, and passionate books on any band out there that I have come across for quite some time. This one basically reads like a love letter to not only one of the greatest yet most underrated…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://www.statusquo.co.uk/ Few acts are as cool and entertaining as UK legends Status Quo are, and their latest output is the second entry in their inspired Official Archive Series appropriately subtitled Vol. 2. Captured for posterity at the hallowed 02 Arena in London back in December 2012, this one is quite special…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://mesaverde.bandcamp.com/album/all-is-well I thoroughly enjoyed the debut offering by the eclectic Oslo-based ensemble known as MesaVerde, namely the engrossing KY album that came out in October 2022, and I was very much looking forward to this sophomore effort of theirs. In simple terms, All is Well surpasses its predecessor in every conceivable…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/white-knuckles-the-life-of-gary-moore-published-on-8th-september-2021?_pos=1&_sid=672ce29c4&_ss=r Being the huge fan and admirer of Martin Power’s epic book on Jimmy Page titled No Quarter that I am, I was naturally rather psyched and excited when a copy of White Knuckles landed on my doorstep. The role and significance of the immortal and sadly missed Gary Moore cannot…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://nightranger.com/ I am incredibly fond of Night Ranger and their (mostly) stellar musical outputs, and it is always exciting to receive one of their records for review. This latest one is rather special and a welcome addition to their discography in that it adds an extra dimension to some of their…
VENUE: ForumDATE: 16.11.2023 ORGANIZER: Bergen LivePHOTOGRAPHER: C. NepperPhotos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. American rockers Rival Sons were back at the Forum in Bergen on a dark and cold Thursday night – and what a night it was!…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.rivalsons.com/ No other outfit executes raw, vibrant hard rock quite like Rival Sons, and it is always a treat to hear and experience what these skilled Americans are up to in terms of their live activities and studio work. As to the latter, what we have here is their upcoming slice…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.statusquo.co.uk/ This nicely packaged offering by legendary British boogie rockers Status Quo is a real treat to the eyes and ears; the booklet, band pictures, and overall layout look killer, and the actual musical content kicks ass. Recorded at the well-known Heineken Hall in Amsterdam back in October of 2010, these…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: http://www.joelhoekstra.com/ The brilliant songwriter and guitarist Joel Hoekstra has not only done wonderful things for Whitesnake but also released a couple of fabulous solo records, the latest being this 12-track effort titled Crash of Life where he is joined by a stellar cast of friends and musicians, namely Vinny Appice, Tony…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: http://sheburnsred.com/ Having not yet had the pleasure of listening to the previous offering by this Scottish hard rock act, namely the debut EP named Take Back Tomorrow from 2020, I had no idea what to expect from this upcoming album by She Burns Red. What I can tell you is that…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.hollywoodvampires.com/ Recorded in Rio back in 2015 by the magnificent Hollywood Vampires, this CD/DVD is a riveting and massively entertaining experience that sees Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, Tommy Henriksen, Johnny Depp, Matt Sorum, and Duff McKagan tear through some of the best and most beloved rock songs of all time with…
VENUE: AO ArenaDATE: 08.07.2023 ORGANIZER: AEGPHOTOGRAPHER: C. NepperPhotos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. The fabulous Hollywood Vampires featuring Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, Joe Perry, and Tommy Henriksen played a rousing and utterly entertaining set at the AO Arena in…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.piledriver.eu/en/ This review of mine is way overdue as this 3 CD/DVD/Blu Ray box set by the German boogie rockers Piledriver came out in late April, so we shall keep things short and to the point here. Consisting of three gigs from the group’s Rockwall tour in 2019 and early 2020…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/schonmusic/ This mammoth 3CD/DVD set captures legendary Journey guitarist Neal Schon and his friends live on stage in San Francisco back in 2018 when they did a charity gig to raise funds for victims of the fires that had ravaged the North Bay area of the San Francisco region in late…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: http://enslaved.no/ Whereas E²⁰¹⁷ was a sore disappointment after the phenomenal In Times²⁰¹⁵, the former seemingly ending the string of top shelf material from Axioma Ethica Odini²⁰¹⁰ and Riitiir²⁰¹², Utgard²⁰²⁰ was a notable, if a partial return to form. I remarked similarly in my review of the album (5/6) where I…
VENUE: BastionenDATE: 17.06.2023 ORGANIZER: Bergen LivePHOTOGRAPHER: J. Nepper.Photos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. The awesome purveyors of atomic hard rock from California known as Dirty Honey paid the lovely city of Bergen a visit on a hot and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/MikeTrampOfficial/ Renowned Danish guitarist/vocalist Mike Tramp recently released this wicked 12-track offering via Frontiers Records, and as the title of the record signifies, this one is rather special in that it sees Tramp interpreting (or rather re-imagining, I suppose) the songs of glam metal outfit White Lion, i. e. his former…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://thezombiesmusic.bandcamp.com/ Legendary psychedelic rockers The Zombies surely need no introduction as the British outfit is something akin to a musical institution in some respects. Even after all these years Rod Argent and his skilled bandmates are still a fabulous thing to witness live on stage and a most impressive and well-oiled…
