It’s not been an easy few years for Napanee’s formerly self styled muthaf*ckin princess, Avril Lavigne. Her split from her husband, Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger, and more so her publicly acknowledged struggle with Lyme disease, has kept her away from the world of music for far longer than she would have wished. Whilst giving her…
Swallow The Sun’s new album, When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light is a remarkable album for many reasons. It is inspired by and was conceived in the aftermath of Swallow The Sun’s main creative force, guitarist Juha Raivio, having his partner of many years (and bandmate in Trees Of Eternity) Aleah Starbridge pass…
There’s not much that matches the feeling of discovering a new favourite song. Especially if it’s from a band or artist that you haven’t heard before. It’s a kind of swept off your feet, love at first sight kind of feeling. The kind of feeling normally reserved for Mr Darcy or the lead in a…
Texas based prog metallers Polyphia had been a band I had listened to for a while now, but after the release of their most recent album “New Levels New Devils” seeing the quartet live was on the top of my agenda, and they lived up to every expectation I had and more. Upon entering the…
The German legend that is Tobias Sammet (also of Edguy) is back with his supergroup Metal Opera, Avantasia. Two years in the making, ‘Moonglow’ gets the honour of being Avantasia’s 8th album release – not bad for something that was just supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime studio project back in 2001. Like its predecessor, ‘Ghostlights’,…
Over the last couple of years, it seems as though more and more British bands have been stepping up to bigger stages, with the likes of Architects in particular really seeming to hit their stride in recent times. Enter Shikari are another such band, having packed out arenas and topped festival bills across the country…
There is one sure fire way to tell if a gig is going to be well attended before the queues starts. Look for the touts. Listen for them. You will find these parasites at only the best selling of events, and tonight their disgusting practice is in full flow. Tickets bought for twenty pounds and…
It’s no secret that Bring Me the Horizon are no longer a metal band. Their deathcore and metalcore ‘Suicide Season’ and ‘Count Your Blessings’ days are truly over. Having been a massive fan circa Sempiternal (I still abide by the fact this was their best release), I was initially very judgemental of their drastic development….
If you like your Power Metal and have somehow managed to keep track of the Rhapsody/Rhapsody of Fire saga post-2011 split AND the multiple Rhapsody spin-offs and new members joining and members leaving one Rhapsody for the other since then, then hats off to you – cause that’s a lot of Rhapsody’s. So which Rhapsody…
January is generally pretty rubbish all things considered, everyone is on the big Christmas comedown and it tends to be pretty miserable and boring. Every now and then though something comes along and adds a little light to proceedings and in this case that would be Cancer Bats and chums who are back on these…
After years of working their way up simply by being one of the best live bands in metal, Parkway Drive now find themselves headlining arenas in the UK. It has been a long time coming and their current UK tour culminated in a sold out show at Alexandra Palace. With a stellar supporting line up this had gig of…
The North-East has quietly become a burgeoning hub of hardcore. The nascent scene is producing bands who are speedily earning their way onto coveted tours, with the likes of Loathe, God Complex and Astronoid all hailing from upper regions of Britain. Despite its infancy as a hardcore destination, the North is coming out with new…
