LIGHT THE TORCH interview. New album, ‘You Will Be The Death Of Me’, out June 25th, 2021.
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Review – METALWINGS – ‘A Whole New World’
Symphonic Metal from Bulgaria that doesn’t sound like they’re trying to sound like they’re from Finland. Big win.
Review – HELLOWEEN – ‘Helloween’
How does a HELLOWEEN album that has the whole Pumpkins United lineup sound? Well, pretty much exactly how you would expect it to sound.
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM interview. New album, ‘Blood In The Water’ out now.
about all the important stuff. You know, stuff like Ken Mary joining
the band, recording the new album under no pressure, what would be
different if they started out today, building gazebos while listening to
Michael Bublè. Like I said, all the important stuff. And also the killer new album, ‘Blood In The Water’ of course.
BUCKCHERRY interview. New album, ‘Hellbound’ out June 25th.
I spoke with Stevie D from BUCKCHERRY,
about lockdown, songwriting, recording the new album in Nashville,
shooting video clips in UFO country, you know stuff like that.
The new album is called ‘Hellbound’ and will be out June 25th.
Check it all out below.
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Review – FLOTSAM AND JETSAM – ‘Blood In The Water’.
Thrashers FLOTSAM AND JETSAM knock it out of the park, and then burn down the park.
HELLOWEEN interview. New album out on June 18th, 2021.
I spoke with Markus from HELLOWEEN
about re-uniting with former band-mates, the Pumpkins United tour and
the new self-titled album coming out shortly featuring these members.
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TEMTRIS / SHADOW REALM / LUCIFER’S FALL gig photos.
TEMTRIS / SHADOW REALM / LUCIFER’S FALL gig photos from Enigma Bar, Adelaide – 29/05/21.
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Review – FROZEN CROWN – ‘Winterbane’
Italy’s FROZEN CROWN knock it out of the park with latest album, even if initially I didn’t think so.
Review – MYRONATH – ‘Djevelkraft’
56 minutes of dark brutality that hits you hard at the start and doesn’t let up.
Review – JORDFÄST – ‘Hädanefter’.
‘Thirty-three-minutes of cold and merciless Swedish darkness, interwoven with an audible awe for the natural forces that govern us.’ That’s what the press release said.
Review – CARMERIA – ‘Advenae’
Australia’s CARMERIA stake their claim in Symphonic Metal with new album, ‘Advenae’.
Review – HERMAN FRANK – ‘Two For A Lie’.
The ‘Heavy Metal Riff Machine’ releases his 5th solo album, and it’s a MONSTER.
Review – TEMTRIS – ‘Ritual Warfare’
The 6th album from Australia’s TEMTRIS sees them release a solid cohesive album of Aussie METAL.
Review – BURNING WITCHES – ‘The Witch Of The North’.
This band of ladies has used lockdown wisely. A full studio album in 2020, and a full studio album by the end of May in 2021. Who else has done that?
BURNING WITCHES interview. New album out May 28th. Livestream the same day.
I spoke with Lala, drummer for BURNING WITCHES
about the new album, ‘The Witch Of The North’. This will be released on
May 28th, and to celebrate, there will be a free livestream the same
day.
Check it out below.
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CARMERIA interview. Album out Friday 14th May, 2021.
I spoke with Jordan
from CARMERIA about the path
to the release of their album, which is due out this Friday, May
14th.
Check it out below.
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EPICA announce livestream for June 12th, 2021
The latest band to announce a livestream event is symphonic masters, EPICA. Read more about it
here.
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FROTH & FURY FEST – Massive Adelaide gig announcement.
FROTH & FURY FEST
gig announcement –
THIS IS HUGE.
July 31st, down at Port Adelaide.
Check all the info within.
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CALIGULA’S HORSE announce livestream for June 20th.
CALIGULA’S HORSE: LIVE AFTER LOCKDOWN
LIVE SHOW | WORLDWIDE LIVESTREAM EVENT | 20.00 AEST
SUNDAY JUNE 20 – THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE
Click for more details.
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TEMTRIS interview. New album, ‘Ritual Warfare’, out April 30th.
I spoke to GEN
and FOX from
TEMTRIS about
the line-up change, the recording of the new album, ‘Ritual Warfare,
due for release April 30, and the tour to promote the album. Always
great to chat to them.
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Tour changes.
There’s been a couple of changes to tours. Read the full post for
more details.
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PRIMAL CREATION to release 2nd album Friday 16th April, 2021.
These guys are from Belgium. They play a riffy brand of thrash that
I really dug. Check it out.
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ELYOSE interview. New EP, ‘Persona’, out now.
I spoke with Justine Daaé from ELYOSE, about the latest EP,
‘Persona’ which came out late February. We also spoke about the
change from band to solo project, and the hard work put in as an
independent artist. Fascinating chat.
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ORDEN OGAN interview online. New album, ‘Final Days’, out now.
I spoke with Seeb Levermann
from ORDEN OGAN about many
things, including the many issues faced during the recording of the
new album, ‘Final Days’. A great chat with him, check it all out
below.
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THE IRON MAIDENS tour postponed again.
THE IRON MAIDENS have now
had to postpone their Australian tour again. Keep an eye on those
overseas tours, I have a feeling a few more will be pushed back
AGAIN. Also, if you hear something before me, please let me know.
EDIT- dates rescheduled for Feb. 2022. Check gig guide.
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WHITE VOID interview online. New album out on March 12th, 2021.
I spoke with Lars Nedland of WHITE VOID (also of BORKNEGAR and SOLEFALD)
about the WHITE VOID album being released March 12th. A great
insight into the ideas behind this band and how lockdown sped things
along while other things were on hold. Also, hear him tell a story
relating to a ‘Vodka sauna’.
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SOUTH COAST RAW gig photos.
A gig 2 weekends in a row? Hang on, what? This time it was SOUTH COAST RAW at the Port
Noarlunga Football Club.
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HIDDEN INTENT / SHATTER BRAIN / DEAD SUN photos.
Yay, we actually had a gig to go to, and we were allowed to stand.
HIDDEN INTENT and SHATTER BRAIN launched their albums,
supported by DEAD SUN.
Photos linked below.
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OF MICE AND MEN interview online. ‘Timeless’ EP out 26th February 2021.
I spoke to Aaron Pauley from OF MICE AND MEN about playing bass
and covering all vocal duties after the previous singer left and how
it seemed the most organic solution, recording remotely and the move
to SharpTone Records.
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RICKY WARWICK interview online. New solo album out now.
I spoke with Ricky Warwick,
of BLACK STAR RIDERS / THIN LIZZY / THE
ALMIGHTY, about his excellent new solo album, ‘When
Life Was Hard And Fast’. As well as chatting about that, I also
asked him about the call to join THIN LIZZY, the transition to BLACK
STAR RIDERS, and the process behind my favourite BSR song. A
fascinating chat.
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KORPIKLAANI interview online. New album out Friday 5th Feb.
I spoke once again to TUOMAS ROUNAKARI of Finnish band KORPIKLAANI about tours being cut short, empty calendars, isolation work, bodies buried in the swamp (not his doing), and the new KORPIKLAANI album, due out tomorrow (Friday 5th February). Always great to speak to him.
EPICA interview online. New album, ‘Omega’, out Feb 26th.
I spoke with SIMONE SIMONS of EPICA, about life in general, juggling family life with being one of 2 recording/touring musicians in the household, ‘70,000 Tons Of Metal’ / ‘The Little Mermaid’ memories and of the excellent upcoming EPICA album, ‘Omega’. She was awesome to chat to.
ACCEPT interview online. New album out soon.
I spoke once again to WOLF HOFFMANN of ACCEPT, this time regarding the killer new ACCEPT album, ‘Too Mean To Die’, which is due out next week. It’s the first album since long time bassist Peter Baltes left the band. I spoke to Wolf about that as well. The band has 3 guitarists now. Why? Why not? Listen to him explain what the new members have brought to the band.
Top albums for 2020
Let’s face it, 2020 has been a pretty shit year in a lot of ways, but for new music, it’s been pretty darned good.
I listened to more new music this year than ever before I reckon. We all had a fair bit of spare time didn’t we?
Anyhow, this is my favourite albums for 2020. I may add to it, because I’m still getting through them. I even recently discovered at least 3 that would’ve made last year’s list, had I heard them last year.
Surprisingly, as with last year, I can’t separate the first 3 for album of the year. To avoid a shit-fight (with myself) the first 3 are simply listed in the order in which I heard them. The rest are in no particular order, just as they came to mind.
Cheers.
MAJESTICA interview, New album, ‘A Christmas Carol’.
I spoke with TOMMY JOHANSSON of MAJESTICA about the new album, ‘A Christmas Carol’. Fascinating chat finding out about all the work that went into this album. Enjoy Christmas again. Press release, videos, link to the album all contained below
UPON WINGS interview online. New music coming soon.
I spoke with ANNE AUTUMN ERICKSON of U.S. symphonic band, UPON WINGS, about a great many things, formation, recording even though the members are scattered, videos filmed in the snow, new music for the Holidays, and about the new EP which will be released early next year.
SHATTERED HOURGLASS interview online. Debut album out December 8th.
I spoke with RAIDEN and CRAIG MACINTYRE from South Australian band, SHATTERED HOURGLASS about the band’s debut album, ‘Timekeeper’, due out December 8th. This band will surprise you, they surprised me when I saw them earlier this year. It’s not often you go to a gig, and the lead guitarist in a heavy band is 12 years old. Yeah, you read that right. To top it off, RAIDEN had a guitar sound like TONY IOMMI. Check it all out below, where you’ll find the interview, press release and the link to the new single on YouTube.
CADAVER interview online. New album out November 13th.
I spoke with DIRK VERBEUREN about the move from SOILWORK to MEGADETH and how he came to be involved with the rebirth of CADAVER. Great to chat with him as it always is. Check it all about below.
ELEINE interview online. New album, ‘Dancing In Hell’ out November 27th.
Okay, this is a big one. I spoke to MADELEINE and RIKARD from ELEINE about many things, their start, history, tours, Japan, and their awesome new album, ‘Dancing In Hell’, which is due out November 27th. It’s a big interview. Check it, and all the other stuff (including a pre-order link) out below.
L.A. Guns interview online. New album, ‘Renegades’, out November 13th 2020.
I spoke with STEVE RILEY about the upcoming L.A. GUNS album, Renegades’, which is due out November 13th. We spoke about the L.A. scene, ‘then and now’, and also touched on his time in W.A.S.P. Great to chat to him. Check it all out below.
Steve Hughes interview online. Eturnum album out now.
I spoke to STEVE HUGHES about many, many things. His start in the Metal scene in Sydney in the early 80s, his time in SLAUGHTER LORD, later joining MORTAL SIN, his transition to stand-up comedy and his new STEVE HUGHES ETERNUM album, ‘Alone But For The Breath Of Beasts’.
Check it all out below.
Metal United Down Under – Adelaide gig photos.
Actually had a Metal gig to go to last night. What ? A gig? I know, right? Anyway a smattering of photos can be found by clicking here.
LEAVES’ EYES interview online. New album, ‘The Last Viking’, out on October 23rd.
I spoke with ELINA and ALEX from LEAVES’ EYES about the new album, ‘The Last Viking’, and the epic saga contained within. Check it all out below.
TRUTH DECAYED interview online. EP released 23rd October
I spoke with RYNO THERON from South Africa’s TRUTH DECAYED about the formation of the band, during lockdown mind you, and the path to the upcoming EP release.
Check it all out below.
PALLBEARER interview online. New album, ‘Forgotten Days’, out October 23rd.
I spoke with BRETT CAMPBELL from PALLBEARER about the new album, ‘Forgotten Days’, due out October 23rd.
Check it all out below.