EFFLORESCE – COMA GHOSTS – GENERATION PROG RECORDS
I am very used to being late to the party, especially with living at the end of the world, so I have only just come across this album which was released in 2012. It was the debut album from German band Effloresce, following on from a 3-track EP and according to their...
Lee Martin “At Home” Gig Review
I have been writing gig reviews for more than 30 years, but always from notes taken at the time which act as memory joggers, so this is the first time I have ever written a full review while the concert itself is still taking place! With the current restrictions in...
Babal – The Big Everything album review – Kev Rowland
Babal - The Big Everything - Melodic Revolution RecordsReleased at the beginning of 2020, 'Frank's Lament' is the third of the EP's completing the second part of the trilogy, which will be finalized with the release of the '(I'm Just A) Spirit In A Meat Suit' later...
PSYCHOYOGI – ACCIDENT-PRONE – INDEPENDENT
One of the unexpected side benefits from my books being published is that I am being contacted from even more bands than before, and such is the case with PsychoYogi. I heard from Chris Ramsing, who wrote all the songs on this album (and also provides vocals and...
PAT TRAVERS – SWING! – PURPLE PYRAMID RECORDS
I must confess that when I saw this album and read about it, I was more than a little intrigued. Like many people my age I have been fully aware of Pat Travers and remember him from the Seventies and Eighties in particular, but that was from a blues-based hard rock...
NEON LEAVES – A ROOM FULL OF STRANGERS – FLICKNIFE RECORDS
Neon Leaves is a new name to me, although apparently this quartet have been together for some years and this their second album was released back in 2016 but has only recently come to my attention. Comprising Trevor Barras (drums, percussion, backing vocals), John...
NATIONAL WRECKING COMPANY – NATIONAL WRECKING COMPANY – HYPERSPACE RECORDS
According to the press release these guys are an extreme metal band, but if they are then they are like no other extreme band I have ever heard! What we actually have is a band firmly rooted in blues-based rock from the Seventies, with great songs and wonderful...
MASTERMIND – PROG, FUSION, METAL, LEATHER & SWEAT, LIVE! – INDEPENDENT
By the time the band recorded their 1998 studio album ‘Excelsior!’ there had been some changes in the Mastermind camp, as bassist Phil Antolino had departed (to be replaced by guest Bob Eckman) and keyboard player Jens Johansson (Stratovarius etc) had come on board....
MASTERMIND – LIVE IN TOKYO – INDEPENDENT
This was originally released in 1997 as a limited-edition CD by Cyclops, and since has been made available by Bill on Bandcamp. Recorded in Tokyo on January 23rd of that year, it was designed solely for people who were seeing the band in concert and might want to...
MAGIC PIE – FRAGMENTS OF THE 5TH ELEMENT – KARISMA RECORDS
When I hear Norwegian band Magic Pie’s debut back in 2005 I was just blown away and moaned it had kept many other albums away from my CD player as I couldn’t bring myself to take it off! They haven’t been the most prolific since then, but they are now back with their...
