rescuing musical virtue in distress.
There is a lot to be said for wearing your heart on your sleeve. And that goes for the sonic heart too. Perhaps even more so. Be proud of who you are and the music that you love and don't let anyone tell you any different. It's an argument that Immortalizer makes most eloquently and... Continue Reading →
I have to say, it's a fair question, especially considering the state of rock music today. It's either washed out with pop's saccharine sweetness to make it more accessible to the mainstream audience or cranked up with metal bombast and overkill as if making music was some sort of sonic dick measuring contest. What happened... Continue Reading →
Even when Beauty in Chaos opts to plough a more considered, understated and reserved furrow, there is still a certain amount of weight and intensity to be found driving the song. Orion is a case in point. It never plays the obvious rock and roll cards, no raucous riffs, no sonic sucker punches, no grungy... Continue Reading →
Timing is everything. Releasing your debut record of big, brash, old-school, classic rock anthems just as the Grunge wave crashed on the musical shore meant that even though he was signed to his hero Paul Stanley's label, Tim Steinruck had to wait a bit longer for his dream of becoming a stadium rock and roll... Continue Reading →
As the video neatly demonstrates, Blake Red is no slouch when it comes to the musical input on her records, here wielding vocals, bass, guitars and who knows whatever else for this latest single and its tale of rebirth. Rock it may be but it is rock will all of the usual baggage and cliche... Continue Reading →
You can make a fair argument for the fact that classic rock music, a bit like sharks, found its perfect form a long time ago. But the difference is that in the case of classic rock it doesn't hurt to give it a bit of a polish and brush up from time to time. (Warning,... Continue Reading →
If you can tell a lot about a person by the company that they keep, the same is equally true of musicians. And, this being the case, the company that Ron Wright keeps on this 18 track album, speaks volumes. After all, any album graced with collaborations and contributions by people who have played for... Continue Reading →
So many bands ploughing a classic rock furrow for themselves seem only to look to the past. So much so, that to the outsider at least it is a genre seemingly built on past glories, which seems only keen to repackage the halcyon days and trade on nostalgia and familiarity. But surely, the best way... Continue Reading →
Okay, let's not beat around the bush. No need to try to get clever by forcing the band into one of the myriad post-this or that-core genres that people use to sound knowledgable and hip. This is classic rock and that is all you need to know. And why not, classic rock as a style... Continue Reading →
As much as musicians of the modern age often seem in search of the next new sound, eager to fuse genres into sonic chimaeras, be the first to the new fad or fashion, sometimes you just want to stay in your comfort zones. There is nothing wrong with returning to the sounds of your youth,... Continue Reading →
We may have forgotten it somewhat these days, in the face of a tsunami of humourless alt-rock bands and earnest indie kids, but rock ’n’ roll was always music designed to usher in the good times. It was music to lose yourself in, to temporarily shield you from the cares and concerns of the outside... Continue Reading →
Rock musicians have always revelled in the image of being trouble, wild-eyed loners living in the shadows of society, mad, bad and dangerous to know. But the reality is that, more often than not, it is all really an image, a stage persona which helps promote the music. But Shortcut 2 Infinity sound like the... Continue Reading →
If you were going to place Black Note Graffiti on a musical timeline of rock’s ebbs and flows, you would place them very much in the here and now. But not because they are just part of the modern pack particularly, more because they are forging a sound which is part past musical glories and... Continue Reading →
Rock music, perhaps more than any other genre, has kept the idea of labels, demarkations and sub-genres alive even as the rest of the musical world has embraced a more post-genre attitude towards such things. But, as always, where you chose to place any band on the musical map really depends on your own individual... Continue Reading →
All this time the powers-that-be have told us that, when it came to rock music, you could either be in the classic camp or the alternative camp, the two were separate entities and never the twain shall meet, and all that. Well, Chainflower obviously never got that memo. How do I know? I just listened... Continue Reading →
When the Zombies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Rod Argent, Hugh Grundy and Colin Blunstone, stood Chris White, and rightly so. As co-producer and co-writer of Odyssey and Oracle his place in the annals of music history are of course assured, further work with Argent and his songwriting finding... Continue Reading →
It’s very easy to get this type of music wrong. This blend of classic rock drive and synth wave futurism, historical narratives and gothic drama has been done often but rarely well. For every 69 Eyes or Sabaton there are a dozen bands whose inspiration comes from Buffy The Vampire Slayer rather than Polidori’s Vampyre,... Continue Reading →
Whenever I see the term “classic rock” alarm bells ring inside of me and the reviewing pen gets all jittery. Of course some great music was made under that moniker, they wouldn’t call it classic otherwise would they? But a lot of what gets labelled such in the modern age is quite derivative, happy to... Continue Reading →
The classic rock sound and the gothic world have always made for comfortable bed fellows. Denizens of the former scene have more than a passing interest in the shadowed themes and dark romances that form the latter's hallowed ground. When you look back at the history of the gothic musical thread you find that most... Continue Reading →
Rock music might have made its name through being raw, unkempt, full of swagger and aggression but it can also be slick, built on eloquent musical lines and delivered with the sort of smooth, effortless cool that some bands could only dream of emulating. And this is the musical line that Hannan walk, a balancing... Continue Reading →
Rock music has always been a place where sub-genres have counted for a lot, in fact, far too much. More than any other area of music this fascination with labels and pigeon-holes has been an integral part of the landscape. It is the reason that such tribalism still survives, in such quarters, why classic rockers... Continue Reading →
If their new album Slammed promises “an eclectic bonanza of acoustic rock, blues, hard rock and metal tracks” then Misty Mound certainly lies towards the latter genres on that list. Well, definitely more hard rock than heavy metal and revealing in a classic sound, that perfect mix of rock and groove, funky beats and raw... Continue Reading →
Making music is often a case of taking the references and influences from the past and moulding them into a new music sonic experience for a whole new generation. The comfortable sound of what has gone before and the newness of the present blended together to head towards a new and exciting future. And that... Continue Reading →
Okay, I’m confused! So it’s an out and out classic rock sound but the subject and video sit at the extreme opposite end of the spectrum. Hang on, better read the brief properly. Right, it all makes sense now. The Jolly Pops are a band who specialise in children entertainment and I Want A Puppy... Continue Reading →
Glossing over the fact that the cover art that accompanied the single is of a man in his underwear with the word Wood emblazoned next to him at crotch level…perhaps I’m reading something a bit too childish into all of this…Shelter is a wonderfully dynamic slice of rock. A slow burning and moody piece that... Continue Reading →
As much as it is good to talk about how music moves on, evolves, finds new pastures to wander, there are times when you just want something familiar. After all, exploring exciting new fusion cuisine can be a lot of fun but sometimes you just can’t beat mom’s pot roast with all the trimmings. Honest,... Continue Reading →
Making music is often a case of taking the references and influences from the past and moulding them into a new music sonic experience for a whole new generation. The familiarity of the old and the freshness of the present blended together to head towards a new and exciting future. And that is exactly what... Continue Reading →
Previous Song of Love music I have written about has, and the band admit this to be the case, suffered from poor production to the point that whilst you could see what they were trying to do, it was difficult to really appreciate the music fully. Well, what a difference a month or so makes... Continue Reading →
Having teased us with a couple of releases from this ep, Ravenscroft now unleash the full package, and as expected it just bristles with their trademark classic rock infused sound. Over six songs it is the perfect mission statement for a band that knows its place in music history, know where they are coming from... Continue Reading →
Ravenscroft continue with their mission to keep rock music, especially that infused by its classic halcyon past, relevant to modern audiences. Not always an easy thing to do with the fickle finger of fashion constantly causing scenes to evolve and move on at an alarming rate, when the short attention span of the modern age... Continue Reading →
