Hard Rock

Troubled Horse – Revolution on Repeat Review

By Huck N Roll on April 15, 2017 in 2017, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Rise Above Records, Swedish Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, 15 comments

“Informal poll: who here is getting tired of the whole “retro rock” scene? It seems everyone and their dog wants to be in a retro band — especially those pesky Scandinavians. Whether it’s the proto-metal stylings of Sweden’s Saturn or the Survivor-core of Finland’s Brother Firetribe, or a litany of other bands flying the retro-core banner these days, retro seems to be the flavor of the month. Troubled Horse looks to add their crest to the mix with Revolution on Repeat.” Isn’t a troubled horse just a unicorn?

Royal Thunder – Wick Review

By Saunders on April 5, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Hard Rock, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Rock, Spinefarm, Stoner Rock, Hard Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Rock, 35 comments

“Impressive Atlanta rockers Royal Thunder have proven their credentials in the modern rock scene on the back of a couple of solid EP’s and great albums. Debut LP CVI blindsided me with its explosive rock hooks, dynamic songwriting, and bluesy southern swagger, flooring me in such a way that I admit to being apprehensive when they returned with sophomore album Crooked Doors in 2015.” Kingly hard rock for the unwashed masses.

Saturn – Beyond Spectra Review

By GardensTale on March 27, 2017 in 2017, Heavy Metal, Proto-Metal, Reviews, Rise Above Records, Swedish Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, 33 comments

“I was raised on classic rock. My three favorite albums as a 7 year old were To You by Dutch blues rockers Brainbox, Aqualung by Jethro Tull and In Rock by Deep Purple. I heard the phrase “Aren’t you a little young for that?” so often in conversation, hearing it on the street didn’t even surprise me when someone caught me whistling “Stairway to Heaven” or wearing a Deep Purple shirt. That love laid the foundations for where I am in music today, and it never went away. But while a lot of bands these days harken back to the age of hippies and vinyl, not many of them manage to truly nail the sound. Swedish rockers Saturn are among the minority.” Rock in an old place.

Striker – Striker Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on March 3, 2017 in 2017, Canadian Metal, Cock Rock, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, 22 comments

“It’s no secret that I’m a fan of these Albertans’ sound. It’s basically the best parts of the 80s glam scene roughed up a good bit (to refer to Steven Tyler’s famous thoughts on, the dudes no longer look like ladies) by the addition of modern heavy metal party rock like Holy Grail and their ilk. Striker’s sound is similar to a well-made cheap beer like Old Style Pilsner: perfectly agreeable, easy to swallow, easy to enjoy in large quantities, even better when inebriated, and palatable to a wide range of folks.” We like beer.

Yer Metal Is Olde! Def Leppard – Hysteria

By El Cuervo on February 24, 2017 in English Metal, Hard Rock, Mercury Records, Yer Metal Is Olde, Glam Metal, Hard Rock, 134 comments

“Hysteria is hair metal reduced to a fine paste. It has the girls, the melodies, the vocal harmonies, the schmaltzy lyrics AND the chest hair. It’s produced with that pleasant 80s guitar tone which was popular, plenty of synthesized effects and is buffed to a gleaming shine. There’s crystal clear separation in the mix and it was evidently written and produced for maximum accessibility and groupy-acquisition.” Why is this happening? We aren’t sure.

Screamer – Hell Machine Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on February 23, 2017 in 2017, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, High Roller Records, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, 17 comments

“Screamer, a group of jovial Norwegian retro-rock revivalists, are putting out their third Hell Machine soon, and there’s a very particular standard by which it ought to be judged. The standard I’m referring to is Audrey Horne’s masterful Pure Heavy, far and away the best record of the retro-rock revival movement.” Mess with Audrey, you get the Horne.

Dool – Here Now, There Then Review

By El Cuervo on February 9, 2017 in 2017, Doom Metal, Dutch Metal, Hard Rock, Prophecy Productions, Reviews, Doom Metal, Hard Rock, 33 comments

“I’ve begun this year somewhat jaded. I’m not feeling the negativity in the same way as at 2016’s end but I’m disgruntled at many things. January failed to impress me musically and I selected a couple of promos for bands with which I’m unfamiliar, in the hope that I’d experience the joy of the unknown excellence. Dool’s debut album, Here Now, There Then, promised to at least be something with note-worthy subject matter: the enigmatic blurb on their website describes an exploration of the seediness of their hometown of Rotterdam through the medium of ‘dark rock.’ But my reactions to music in recent times requires quality to pique my interest.” One man’s struggle with mediocrity.

Sum 41 – 13 Voices [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]

By Diabolus in Muzaka on December 19, 2016 in 2016, Alt-Metal, Canadian Metal, Hard Rock, Hopeless Records, Punk, Reviews, Things You Might Have Missed 2016, Hard Rock, Punk, 48 comments

“Being commonly lumped in with pop-punk, Sum 41 has justifiably been ignored by the vast majority of metalheads.” And so begins Diabolus’ annual attempt at career suicide.

Rivette – In Vertigo EP Review

By Treble Yell on December 14, 2016 in 2016, Ektro Records, Finnish Metal, Hard Rock, NWOBHM, Reviews, Hard Rock, NWOBHM, 8 comments

“Physicists have long grappled with the enigma that is time travel and while jaunting to the future remains plausible, going the other way is all but an impossible dream. Pfffff, impossible to a lab coat-wearing egghead, maybe, but not to Finland’s Rivette, who have stuck two fingers up the nose of relativity with their debut EP, In Vertigo.” Up yours, Einstein!

Corona Skies – Fragments of Reality Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on November 16, 2016 in 2016, Alt-Metal, Finnish Metal, Groove Metal, Heavy Metal, Metalcore, Mighty Music, Power Metal, Reviews, Rock, Hard Rock, Pop Metal, Power Metal, Rock, 36 comments

“Having read plenty of trash masquerading as philosophy and heard plenty of nonsensical music both within and without metal, I figured I was desensitized to weird stuff. Hell, the world seems almost desensitized to weirdness; Jacques Lacan, one of the biggest dolts to ever pretend to think about stuff and write it down, posited that an erection was equal to the square root of -1 and more than zero people took him seriously.” Weird is full of surprises.