TARJA – Rocking Heels: Live at Metal Church

RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://tarjaturunen.com/rocking-heels-live-at-metal-church/ Tarja Turunen hardly needs any introduction, and she is undoubtedly a much-loved and highly praised vocalist by fans of symphonic metal and gothic metal (and with good reason I might add as she possesses a rather unique and charismatic voice). Rocking Heels took me by surprise as it features live…

HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES – Live in Rio

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…

THE DAMNED – Darkadelic

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://www.officialdamned.com/ Legendary British punk rockers The Damned are still firing on all cylinders regardless of whether they are on stage or in the studio. Should you need an example of the latter, Darkadelic, which is their brand-new slab of energizing and superbly crafted rock, finds the band in rude form and…

STATUS QUO – Quo’ing In – The Best of the Noughties

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.statusquo.co.uk/ The legendary Status Quo have made some excellent and noteworthy recordings in the noughties as evidenced by this 3-disc set containing a nice mixture of classics, rarities, overlooked gems, and even a previously unreleased live show from 2008. This is quite the interesting release in that it displays just how…

ALICE COOPER – Live from the Astroturf

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.ear-music.net/alice-cooper-live-from-the-astroturf/ What a lovely little package this CD/Blu Ray release is! Back in 2015, the remaining original members of the Alice Cooper band reunited on a small stage in the Good Records store in Texas and played a short and concise set of songs in front of a rapturous audience. The…

H.E.A.T – Force Majeure

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…

JOE SATRIANI – The Elephants of Mars

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: Joe Satriani – home Legendary guitar-wizard Joe Satriani hardly needs any introduc­tion as such, so let us instead cut right to the chase and dis­cuss the maestro’s latest effort, i.e. the LP entitled “The Elephants of Mars”, which was actually something of a surprise to these ears in that it differs…

ONCE HUMAN – Scar Weaver

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.ear-music.net/oncehuman/ The third record by Once Human came out a couple of months and recently found its way to my pile of promo CDs, so let us briefly discuss what the US metallers have in store for us this time around. Once Human’s fiery musical cocktail consists of melodic death metal,…

MARILLION – An Hour Before It’s Dark

RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.marillion.com/ The British prog rock legends Marillion surely need no introduction, and after forty years they still manage to bring something that sounds fresh, daring, and vital to the table. This powerful new musical tour de force of theirs is a case in point, and as much as I love and…

ANNIHILATOR – Metal II

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.annihilatormetal.com/ The renowned Canadian thrash/speed/groove metal mongers Annihilator, which is masterminded by the hugely skilled Jeff Waters, were one of the groups that I grew up listening to, but I must admit that I have found quite a few of their later albums to be patchy affairs. “Metal II” is essentially…