By now you should be familiar with Holy Roar Records. If not; you need to sort that out immediately. Purveyors if all things interesting in the world of heavy music, their output is always soulful, emotionally wrought and more often than not spine snappingly heavy. Be it the barren, contemplative bearing of the soul of…
Progressive is a loaded term in music. For some it signals forward thinking, expansive music that experiments in ways barely dreamt of. For others it’s a synonym for beard stroking fretboard onanism in as many time signatures as physically possible. There are many shades of progressive in heavy music, each trying to push boundaries further…
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….
