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...
GENTLEMAN BASTARDS – IN THE MIDDLE EIGHT – THE HIGHLANDER COMPANY RECORDS
Bassist/songwriter/producer Bob Madsen (41Point9 etc.) was wondering what would happen if you attempted to mix Disturbed with Level 42 style bass with vocals, so brought together some friends to attempt to make that a reality. Here he has been joined by guitarists...
JELENA JOVOVIĆ – HEARTBEAT – INDEPENDENT
Jelena is a jazz singer from Serbia, who since 2002 has been a full-time lecturer at the music school ‘’ Kornelije Stankovic’’ in Belgrade. She has studied in Austria and was a lecturer at music colleges in Cape Town where she lived for four years, so she has quite a...
JUKKA IISAKKILA – CLOCKS AND CLOUDS – ECLIPSE MUSIC
If you were to search for Jukka on Google you will discover that he is he’s best known as a conductor of symphony orchestras, as well as working on crossover productions with many artists, including pop band Goldfrappe as well as guitar hero Steve Vai. However, this...
LITTLE SPARROW – WISHING TREE – INDEPENDENT
When it comes to music I have been fortunate to hear this year, then I will think of 2019 as the year of the ladies. Thanks to the wonderful Elfin Bow I have been introduced to some amazing singers from the UK scene I would never have found on my own from the other...
LOONYPARK – PERPETUAL – LYNX MUSIC
Loonypark has long been one of my favorite Polish progressive rock bands, and one with an incredibly stable line-up. This 2016 release was their fourth album, and apart from the replacement of drummer Jakub Grzeslo after 2008’s debut, ‘Egoist’, it was the same as it...
MARK WINGFIELD & GARY HUSBAND – TOR & VALE – MOONJUNE RECORDS
Even before I started listening to this album, the omens were good. Firstly, the two improvisers recorded it in its entirety on my birthday, and then we have the title. For non-Brits, tor is a hill or rocky outcrop, while a vale is a valley, so they co-exist side by...
