Reviews

»Broken Barricades« ranks among the classic Procol Harum studio achievements, one that still thrills today with its distinctive blend of symphonic rock, psychedelia and blues rock, which was extremely innovative for its time.

By Slovenian standards, Elevators are the definitive pinnacle of musical artistry, and Glenn Hughes would love to take them on a world tour as his backing band. He just needs to find out about them.

Another excellent achievement from Slovenj Gradec's Jazoo, a band that has taken a new, progressively measured step in developing its own character while holding on to all the sharp-witted appeal of its experimental, challenging music.

»Nu-disco« is what you could call it! Elton John figured, all by himself and damn rightly so, that the duo Pnau couldn't possibly »drop the ball« when he handed them his original studio recordings from 1970 to 1977 to rework.

The debut from a Stockholm-based indietronica duo from Sweden: it feels nostalgic yet fresh, with sharp, expressive songwriting that uses its space to pour on the melody and dreamy, cerebral atmosphere.

"True desperados, Stara šula deliver a debut album that belongs on the front doors of biker-culture shrines and nightspots! "

The authentic desperados of Stara šula deliver a debut that belongs on the facades of the temples of biker culture and nightclubs! This potent rock 'n' roll document has no shortage of liveliness and sincerity! A bomb straight between the…

Dar De Duh is an immensely therapeutic creation, made for anyone who wants art as a living form, one that tries to claim a more significant place in the universe, that looks for a more concrete meaning in humanity, and that fulfills those…

Throughout the eighties, Kansas adapted convincingly to the musical trends of the day. »In The Spirit Of Things« was thus another in a series of decent, well-balanced records from their AOR era, the kind prog rock purists…

Yet another Motorhead compilation! It's a welcome addition to the shelf for anyone who's only sort of into the band and not a hardcore addict. If nothing else, it'll help you lose your rock 'n' roll innocence, which has to happen at some…

Compared with certain masterpieces from his past, »Thing-Fish« wasn't exactly a peak of musical innovation, since the original versions of many of the album's songs had already been heard before. On the other hand, Frank's relentless habit…

»We Cruise Like Tom Does« is a manifesto for the happy marriage of garage-stripped snarl from the old punk rock school, which doesn't skimp on biting energy, and a well-measured dose of indie rock's melodic catchiness.

Almost forty-five years in the same lineup is certainly no small feat. Even if money is what holds them together, the new album is extremely welcome and very solid.

"The album grabs you by the ears right away and, in its highly durable erectile stance, doesn't let up until the end. "

This album is an absolute must for true Night Ranger fans and every other rock enthusiast who knows, among other things, Tesla's legendary release »Five Man Acoustical Jam«.

»The Window Of Life« was far from a bad album, as Pendragon once again convincingly proved their devotion to a more laid-back, ambient, melodic brand of symphonic prog rock.

»Hot Cakes« is a great fresh start that, with its cheekiness, its comedy and a newfound maturity and thoughtfulness (something new for Justin Hawkins), puts The Darkness back on their old throne as the world's rock n' roll party kings!

»Heresy And Creed« is an album that will definitely thrill Ten fans, proving the band keeps maturing like good old wine, even if it isn't quite as commanding in expression as "Stormwarning".

For a good 45 minutes, »U prvega« will make you feel like time has stopped for a moment, and that music, in its original folk essence, is a reflection of centuries of people living in harmony with nature!

With his sixth solo studio outing, "The Calling", Neal Schon, the lead guitarist of AOR heavyweights Journey, proves he's one of the most versatile, many-sided guitar masters our galaxy has produced to this day!

With »Octave« the classic The Moody Blues lineup bowed out convincingly, delivering a remarkably well-balanced album that falls only a little short of their greatest masterpieces.

In a flood of self-promotion and big boobs, the women who actually deserve a mention get left without media publicity and bigger gigs, but a few manage to break through anyway – precisely because they're so unlike the generic, factory-made…

One of the best AOR/melodic rock albums of the year.

The new Godspeed You! Black Emperor album, 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!, was worth the 10-year wait. The concept is so perfect, so carefully thought out, and at the same time so heartfelt and personal, that it simply can't be anything…

Dokken have survived once again with “Broken Bones.”

Tennant and Lowe pulled off their main goal: serving up a different kind of album. An album from under the California sun, with a different sound. An album that doesn't necessarily shove dance rhythms at the listener first and foremost, but…

»Inspiration is in the wine,« say the rosy cheeks of these lads. An agronomy handbook on planting grapevines and making wine wins you over by giving classic folk tradition a sparkling, goofy twist and recasting it in a lingo all its own.

The classic rock lineup of bass, drums, guitar and vocals serves up a solid conglomerate of nine tracks drenched in a generous dose of pop-flavored sound, but the debut lacks, at the outset, the elements of a recognizable artistry all its…

"This band is unbelievable! It started out as a parody, taking folk songs mostly from the Tolmin area and turning them upside down in a cheeky way, true to the authentic Tolmin folk tradition."

Born on the chest of the legacy of avant-garde alt metal fusionists and early-nineties grunge bands, Flyspoon, the alternative metal oddballs from the Celje area, use this EP to remind us just how irresistible stylistic quirks can be!

"Sin And Bones" is arguably the band's most mature and focused album, proof that they've distilled clear guidelines for their musical evolution, building on the otherwise bold predecessor "Chasing The Grail".

Better a late spring than an early autumn! A return of nostalgic sentiment, a return of legends with seasoned artistry and maturity. The new album radiates a strong team spirit, and this time pop has stepped well back from rock!

"You can feel that this lineup can reach even higher and even further in artistry."

Artist: Tame Impala Tame Impala may well be a name Pitchfork has chewed over way too much, and it puts us off at first for that very reason. Still, with their new album they've proven they deserve the title of this year's neo-psychedelic…

»Alpha Noir/Omega White« is an exceptionally refined achievement, created under the baton of the filigree perfectionism that Portuguese symphonic art-black metallers Moonspell have honed over 20 years of defiance, and it's the grandest work…

On "Bananas," the legendary hard rock veterans got another much-needed sonic facelift, one that never would have happened without Airey's arrival, no matter how strange that may seem after the departure of his famous keyboard predecessor,…

With »Sounds That Can't Be Made«, their latest studio masterpiece, Marillion have once again proven why they're one of the most revered progressive rock bands of our time, despite being criminally ignored by the commercial…

With »Storm & Grace«, Lisa Marie Presley has made her most mature and convincing studio record to date, one that shows, convincingly and with real feeling, that her musical heart belongs to the American South, something her famous…

»No.4« is more than a successful, convincing return to proper rock ground for the band! It reflects the quartet's newly rediscovered solid integrity and unity! Tide can now nurture their musical expression on this platform, relaxed and…

In the legacy of his people, Mark Knopfler has found threads that he devotedly and thoughtfully weaves into new sonic tapestries. He offers up things that weigh on his soul and that, like any true artist, he has to get out among the people.

Maturity, experience, tight-knit chemistry, a more-than-successful integration of Šuligoj on bass, the one-of-a-kind pairing of Mirko Vuksanović and Alan Jakin, and of course Marko Vuksanović's unmistakable vocal stamp all reach full…

"»Mesta železniških postaj« ranks among the finest creations of the band's long-running career, and among the finest moments in the history of Slovenian rock."

The romantic Rainbow debut is still one of the finest moments of the golden partnership between the guitar man in black and the pint-sized vocal giant. It also kicked off a triumphant but short-lived hard rock fairy tale that, sadly, ended…

Solid but unexciting, »Abandon« somehow lacked the real songwriting spark to earn a place among the classic Deep Purple albums. It did serve as a decent farewell for the legendary Jon Lord, who handed his Hammond organ over to Don Airey…

"On The 13th Day" is a superb album that should easily delight most longtime fans of this legendary band. It's packed with a good number of seriously inspired songs, while sticking to the tried-and-true Magnum sound-and-songwriting formula…

»Purpendicular« was a total rebirth for hard rock legends who'd been written off more times than anyone could count. With Morse on board, they made their best album since the mid-seventies and caught a fresh wind in their…

»The Battle Rages On«, the swan song of the Deep Purple Mark II lineup, was a surprisingly strong and consistent record as a whole, considering Blackmore and Gillan were locked in nonstop combat like two dragons.

»Slaves and Masters« was a seriously solid and utterly unique album that, for a brief moment, made Blackmore's melodic rock vision of the 'true' Deep Purple sound a reality, a logical stylistic continuation from where Rainbow…

Artist: Enslaved RIITIIR is a very, very solid album and though it is not my favorite album by them, it's definitely one of the best metal releases of the year. | RIITIIR is a very, very solid album and though it is not my favorite album by…

A whole bunch of musicians came together for tf100, among them the trio of Steven Wilson, Theo Travis and Sand Snowman. Now just picture it: Steven Wilson's voice, his guitar weaving with Sand Snowman's, complemented by Theo Travis's…

»The House of Blue Light«, which rarely gets a mention these days, was a worthy successor to its celebrated, artistically more accomplished predecessor, which puts it somewhere in the golden middle of Deep Purple's studio output.

Artist: Battlestations In a Cold Embrace is another Battlestations album that surprises so much you'll wonder how they keep pulling it off. | In a Cold Embrace is another Battlestations album that is going to sweep you off your feet.

»Perfect Strangers« was the triumphant comeback of heavy rock legends everyone had already written off. They found their feet brilliantly in the radically changed technological and production landscape of the eighties and delivered one of…

With his second album, a deep dive into the world of Latin melos, talented Montenegrin Miloš Kardaglić proves he's one of the biggest finds in a long time for fans of classical guitar virtuosos.

"»Perfect Strangers« was a triumphant return for hard rock legends everyone had already written off. They found their feet brilliantly in the radically changed technological and production landscape of the eighties and delivered one of the…

Often overlooked, the classic »Come Taste the Band« is a worthy farewell to Deep Purple's seventies and an immensely valuable testament to Bolin's unique guitar talent, one that makes you forget Blackmore was ever gone.

"The often-overlooked classic »Come Taste the Band« is a worthy farewell to Deep Purple's seventies and an immensely valuable testament to Bolin's unique guitar talent, one that makes you forget Blackmore's absence altogether."

»Stormbringer« came flying in from a cloudy sky, came, saw and conquered, handing Deep Purple's Mark III lineup its last masterpiece, one loaded with an exceptionally juicy mix of styles.

Label: EMI RecordsRelease date: November 16, 1974Production: Deep Purple & Martin BirchAlbum length: 36.31 minGenre: Hard Rock / Heavy RockRating: 10/10 "Stormbringer" was the ninth studio effort from British heavy rock legends…

The aura of Tool, those American gods of lachrymological shutdown, has clearly crossed the ocean and taken root in Sweden, and Soen play the superstar card nicely with a stroll down the lateral byways of consciousness.

With »Battle Scars«, which will surely win them a few new prog metal fans with a broader musical palate, Galahad have made their most mature studio effort yet. They prove there's still plenty of fresh juice to squeeze out of neo…

"»Burn« was the magnum opus of the newborn Mark III lineup, which blazed with incredible fire from its very first post-birth pangs, hell-bent on showing the world a revitalized face of the legendary English heavy rock champions. For the…

»Burn« was the magnum opus of the newborn Mark III lineup, which burned with incredible fire from its very first labor pains, determined to show the world a revitalized face of the legendary English heavy rock champions.

»Who Do We Think We Are« is by far the least inspired album from the Mark II Deep Purple lineup. They fell apart in a gloomy atmosphere, a by-product of the studio slog their management forced on them and the constant Blackmore-Gillan…

" "Who Do We Think We Are" is by far the least inspired album from the Mark II lineup of Deep Purple, a band that fell apart in a gloomy atmosphere, a by-product of management-forced studio slogging and constant Blackmore-Gillan feuding,…

"'Machine Head' is the golden crown atop Deep Purple's finest studio efforts and the peak of the Mark II lineup, which created the band's most beloved classics to this day."

"Machine Head" is the golden crown atop Deep Purple's finest studio efforts and the peak of the Mark II lineup, the one that gave us their most beloved classics to this day.

"Strangeland" cements Keane's position on the British market, but anything beyond that will take a change in how they approach making music. With this album the band has clearly settled into a tried-and-tested commercial mold, even though…

"The experimental masterpiece »Fireball« is in many ways an even more interesting studio record than its famous predecessor, and it would've overshadowed it in every respect if it didn't have just one single flaw, going by the name…

Two years after the death of the gifted guitarist Kristijan Cavazza, Miladojka Youneed hit a state of total collapse. Still, the brain duo of Lovrič and Marolt manage to conjure up another outstanding, subversive pop masterpiece.

This experimentally tinged masterpiece, »Fireball«, is in many ways an even more interesting studio record than its famous predecessor, and it would overshadow it in every respect if it didn't carry one single flaw named »Anyone's…

"Deep Purple in Rock" is a timeless heavy rock masterpiece and, without a doubt, the most important studio achievement in the whole Deep Purple story. It's also one of the most important rock albums of all time. With it, Mark II began their…

»Deep Purple in Rock« is a timeless hard rock masterpiece and, without a doubt, the most important studio achievement in the entire Deep Purple story.

"Concerto for Group and Orchestra" was an incredibly ambitious project for its time, the late sixties, and it deserves a special place in rock history, because it brought two completely different musical worlds together with real…

Bloodylon points a finger at the decadence of the society we live in, with a razor-sharp sense of piss-taking, and they still manage to make their best record without sacrificing the music.

The debut from Ljubljana's Miladojka Youneed moves the goalposts of Slovenian alternative music. After this, funk is inseparable from the psychotic end of the punk and jazz spectrum, and impurity becomes a mandatory ingredient of…

"Concerto for Group and Orchestra" was an incredibly ambitious project for its time, the late sixties, and it earns a special place in rock history, because it brought two completely different musical worlds together with real conviction.

The refreshed Gamma Ray lineup that recorded the albums »Somewhere Out In Space« and, just a year later, the excellent »Powerplant«, was in extraordinary form and bursting with creative freshness at the turn of the millennium!

"“Deep Purple” was, without a shadow of a doubt, the best record of the Mark I Deep Purple lineup. The legendary band hit its artistic peak here, with one foot already stepping toward the big stylistic shift that came right after Evans and…

»Deep Purple« was without a shadow of a doubt the best achievement of the Mark I Deep Purple lineup. This version of the legendary band hit its artistic peak and already had one foot in the big stylistic change that came right…

Artist: Battlestations The band's second studio release works as a kind of bridge to their upcoming musical expression. It's a little bridge from the early search for musical forms and the blending of countless influences into something…

"Even though the band was on a rapid creative climb, the album completely bombed commercially on British soil, while the American response was likewise below expectations. Meanwhile, the first irreconcilable differences over the band's…

»The Book of Taliesyn« marks a clear artistic step forward from the Deep Purple debut, and proves that the members of this legendary band were in constant evolutionary motion when it came to shaping a recognizable sound and…

"Deep Purple's psychedelic-tinged debut is a vivid mirror of the original Mark I lineup, a band that leapt forward with every subsequent release, and today it's especially fascinating for anyone digging into the roots of heavy metal, hard…

The psychedelic-tinged Deep Purple debut is a vivid mirror of the original Mark I lineup, a band that leaped forward with every successive release, and today it's mainly of interest to anyone digging into the roots of heavy metal, hard rock…

This outstanding debut serves up every argument for why Sweden sits at the very top of the list of the most prog-gifted countries on the planet, but the question is: "Can Renaissance Of Fools get as big as Opeth?"

Thanks to a twist of fate, the new Grave Digger are becoming the old Grave Digger again with this album. Of course, none of it would have worked if Axel Ritt hadn't plugged into the Grave Digger lineup effectively and on time. This time the…

»The Story Of Light« is a great new record that takes Steve Vai back to the peak of his expressive and creative insight. Back to the era of his albums from the nineties, in other words.

"Dark Roots of the Earth is without a doubt one of the strongest contenders for album of the year, and there's no way anything thrash-wise is topping this beast this year. Forget the Big Four (Dave Mustaine can go cry in Lars Ulrich's lap),…

Testament pulled off something incredible with Dark Roots of Earth: they topped their predecessor, The Formation of Damnation.

"Born Villain" is a mature hybrid of massive sonic terror and the rebellious rock rage of Marilyn Manson that fans of his attitude have been missing for a good while, while on the other side it deepens a sophisticated face of cunningly…

»Common Destiny« keeps Jaded Heart's quality constant. Less furious than its predecessor and better balanced, with a dose of perfectly crafted melodic hooks that feel closer again to the albums "Helluva Time" (2005) and "Sinister Mind"…

There's no shortage of brilliance on this record. The only question is: why the heck Hess and not Harem Scarem? With the release of "Living In Yeserday", the common denominators between Hess and Harem Scarem in musical terms are plentiful…

»Live At Baltimore« is a document that every true glam devotee and every believer in the magic of primal rock n' roll sensibility has to own! From the first second to the last, it's one hell of a fist of Kix dynamite, relentlessly flooding…

This release is a very welcome one for anyone who doesn't know the band yet: with freshly re-recorded hits from the golden era, it's a historical cross-section of Loverboy's career. And three brand-new songs prove that the new Loverboy are…

There's no shortage of obscure, but the only child of new wave icon Ian Dury skips his father's footsteps and wanders down his own pop-paved side roads of a stoned mind.

Nirvana from neighboring Croatia delivers a killer garage sound, production that's outstanding for a DIY effort, and music turned up to the nth power. The revolution rolls on!

"Mr. Blue Sky" is a wonderful testament to Lynne's lifelong artistry and his long-burning desire to finally record the Electric Light Orchestra classics, with the help of modern technology, the way he always wanted to hear them in their…

Threshold's most progressive album yet is a milestone that sends the band into new creative territory. Every inch a Threshold record, it still grabs you with its sense of challenge and a hefty dose of built-in experimentation!

A cross-section of the golden era of Irish quintet The Thrills serves up a sunny combo of the ever-saccharine Beach Boys on a Neil Young base. Deviations from the positive vibes are rarer than diamonds.