After a tumultuous 2019 that included support slots in Russia with Bullet For My Valentine, and some unexpected personnel changes with the loss of guitarist and vocalist, many bands would have given up the ghost and called it a day.
CATS IN SPACE – ATLANTIS Released – 27th November 2020
The brainchild of one Greg Hart and Steevi Bacon who formed the band in 2015, Cats In Space have just released their fifth album on the Harmony Factory label, through Cargo Records, titled Atlantis.
GRANGER SMITH – COUNTRY THINGS Volumes 1 & 2 BBR Music Group
Granger Smith must be one of the nicest guys I have ever met in the industry, when we met him a couple of years ago on his trip Down Under – and is clearly much more than just another country singer.
When I first saw the album cover and a few photos of Travis Tidwell, I was keen to get to hear some hard-driving rock’n’roll songs with a big gravelly voice and some loud guitars.
Fresh from the release of their self-titled EP last month, Hands Like Houses are announcing an Australian tour for early 2021. Titled the ‘Reflect’ Tour, Hands Like Houses will bring a reimagined gig experience to venues in NSW, QLD and their hometown of Canberra throughout January.
General tickets are on sale from 9am AEDT Thursday November 19 via handslikehouses.net, and fans can access pre-sale tickets via the website now. Check out all the details below.
I will never forget the day that an LP envelope arrived at the house sometime in 1980 – and in that was a plain white album cover, with a signature in the top corner, and a vinyl LP with a blank white label inside! This was one of the first run of 1,000 albums sold at gigs or mail order from the band, and it remains a prize possession today.
Diamond Head were one of foremost bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, and were lauded at the time by the likes of Metallica, who covered some of these tracks in their early sets, and released Am I Evil as a cover in 1984, and Megadeth as being important influences of their sound.
UK Blues-Rock band King King are pleased to announce the release of their fifth studio album Maverick on Friday 6th November 2020 via Channel 9 Music – King King’s new independent label. The follow-up to 2017’s Exile & Grace, this is the first album featuring the current live band, and with the new keyboard player having no little skill in arrangements, there is a clear lift in quality across the whole record.
The new album from The Casanovas was released in late August – their first release since the 2015 Terra Casanova – and 20 years after their debut single 10 Outta 10 was released to the world.
As stalwarts of the thriving Melbourne rock’n’roll scene, with influences coming equally from punk and blues as well as the more straight up classic rock bands, The Casanovas are not obviously an “Aussie-rock” band, as they have been able to meld some British and US rock influences into the mix which makes them more accessible internationally, and provides a sound that both retains the energy and rawness of the earlier records, but adds a little bit more spit and polish.
VAMBO – VAMBO DeLuxe Released 06/11/20 GOLIATH Records
The debut album from London-based classic rock band Vambo was first released in October 2019, and has been treated to a re-release with some extra tracks, including an acoustic version of one song, and a live version of one of hard rock’s classics, and is a perfect introduction to yet another exciting new band from the UK, whose material is very much grounded in the great British classic rock sounds of the 1970s and early 1980s, with their own individual take on the genre.
BROTHERS OSBORNE – Skeletons Released Oct 9th 2020 Spinefarm Records
Better known for smooth and elegant country rock, and the warm, mellow tones of TJ Osborne’s baritone voice, the new album sees the band in the studio with their full stage band for the first time, and the result is a more honest representation of the band seen live, and much more of a rock’n’roll record, full of grit and swagger.
THE CADILLAC THREE TABASCO & SWEET TEA Release Date – 23/10/20
A second album in 2020 from The Cadillac Three is a doubling of the joy spread every time this band releases any new material. This set of new songs has been dropped with less than 5 days notice, and has caused a flurry of excitement as a result.