Category Archives: Album Review

Album Review : THE ROCKET DOLLS – The Art of Disconnect

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

I have had this album on regular play for about a month now thanks to our own Josie O’Toole at Rock People Management, and have found it really hard to get a suitable focus on the content of the record in order to write a coherent review.

This is the Brighton (UK) riff-lords third album in their 12-year history, and got released as a result of a successful crowd-funding campaign that initially fell over due to the Pledge crisis, and got revived through the band’s own web-store – and the album was released in May.

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Album Review : Massive Wagons – House Of Noise

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

The newest release, their fifth studio album in just over 10 years, from the Lancaster rockers Massive Wagons will be released on 17th July 2020, via Earache Records.  This is another of the NWOCR powerhouse bands who have been laying waste to the UK over the past couple of years with their incendiary brand of ludicrously catchy power-pop rock, punk metal, and the latest offering is again full of crowd-pleasing shoutalong riff-driven songs.

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Album Review : CORY MARKS – Who I Am

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

Mixing the twang of country music with the hard-hitting stomp of rock & roll, Canada’s Cory Marks makes his debut with Who I Am.  Full of autobiographical storytelling, guitar-driven anthems, drinking songs, and breakup ballads, Who I Am is rooted in the influence of his hometown in Ontario.  Whenever he wasn’t drumming along to songs by Deep Purple, Ozzy Osbourne, and Rush, he was listening to his parents’ country records, developing a deep appreciation for outlaws like Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard. 

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Album Review : Häxan – WHITE NOISE

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

A female three-piece rock band from the UK is not completely unusual, and Häxan, from Cardiff in South Wales is definitely a band to keep your eye on, already performing at venues such as Download Festival UK, touring with a diverse bunch of bands including Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons, Electric Six. The Subways and Status Quo, as well as some shows with our own Massive, they’re not just ladies, they’re rock stars ready to take the stage.

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EP Review : Wicked Smile – Delirium

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

Australian heavy rock band Wicked Smile will release their debut EP titled Delirium on July 1st.

The band is fronted by charismatic powerhouse lead vocalist Danny Cecati (ex Pegazus & Eyefear) with Stevie Janevski (The Radio Sun, ex Black Majesty) on guitars. The four song EP is produced by Paul Laine (The Defiants & Danger Danger) who also plays bass and sings backing vocals on the record, and mastered by Paul’s bandmate Bruno Ravel.

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Album Review : FM – Synchronized

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

Released May 22nd 2020 – Frontiers Records

It is always a joy to get to hear a new FM album…….from the very first listen to that first FM record Indiscreet in 1986, having been a fan of Wildlife before then, and seeing them as the ultimate AOR support band over the next couple of years, including the epic Astoria show in 1987 with White Sister as the opening act.

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Album Review : These Wicked Rivers – Eden

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

Release Date 22nd May 2020 – Rock People Records

Formed in 2014, These Wicked Rivers are a four-piece rock band from Derby in the UK, and have previously released two EPs: The Enemy and II, alongside a double A-side single Shoulda Known Better, which gained the band a first wave of critical acclaim.

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Album Review : Thirteen Stars – Finest Ramshackle Jam

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

Release Date June 19th 2020 (Off Yer Rocka Recordings)

Thirteen Stars are a Southern Rock band with a bluesy/country swing all the way from the West Coast of Cumbria.  Finest Ramshackle Jam is an album that I have found really hard to categorise – not that I really want to pigeonhole any artist – from a band than spans the whole spectrum from bluegrass through country to soul, grunge and then flat out southern rock.  The common thread running across the whole thing is the rough gruff vocal delivery of main man Hoss Thompson who founded the band back in 2009, and in fact wrote, sang and played all the instruments on the 2010 debut release!

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Album Review : RYDER’S CREED – LOST SOULS

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

The UK band’s self-titled album from the following year was widely acclaimed by critics and fans alike, so the 4-piece’s follow up Lost Souls which was released this week, is expected to make huge waves in the NWOCR scene especially, but given the slightly progressive elements here, local fans of Cog, Dead Letter Circus and Karnivool would all find plenty to get interested in.

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Album Review : Everyday Heroes – A Tale of Sin & Sorrow

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

Release Date June 5th 2020

This is a debut album to be rightly proud of – after a couple of earlier EP releases, Welsh southern blues rock band Everyday Heroes have produced A Tale of Sin & Sorrow, that is in part a concept album following the redemption pilgrimage of a young outlaw, Texas Red, as he tries to turn his life around and become a better person.  

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Album Review : Daxx & Roxane (Self-titled)

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

Self-titled album – released May 8th 2020

The second album from London-based Swiss rockers Daxx & Roxane has been at least partly crowd-funded, and is the follow up to their 2017 debut Ticket To Rock.  Produced by Colin Parkinson (ex Inglorious) and demanded to be played LOUD, this shows a development towards a more sophisticated and mature sounding record – still very much a few-frills rock album, but with a bit more polish.

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Album Review : Vega – Grit Your Teeth

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

Album Release Date 12th June 2020 (Frontiers)
VEGA have been a favourite of mine for a few years now, having picked up their first album Kiss of Life around 10 years ago, and also having known singer Nick Workman from previous band Kick.  Always melodic, with a touch of modern nu-metal edge that set them a little apart from the crowd, they have released a handful of albums now, and have played with the likes of FM, Magnum, Dan Reed Network and Skid Row, and are due to be out supporting H.E.A.T. on their UK Tour in October which will be a cracking match of hard-edged melodic rock.

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Interview/Review : BAD TOUCH – KISS THE SKY

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

Release Date –  June 19th 2020

If you remember the excitement back in 2006 when The Answer, a relatively unknown band from Northern Ireland found themselves nominated for album of the year for Rise by Classic Rock Magazine, supported Deep Purple in London, and Whitesnake and Paul Rodgers across Europe to great acclaim…..then you might get a sense of the buzz that Bad Touch are generating across the UK currently.

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Album Review : Robert Jon & The Wreck – Last Light On The Highway

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

The heavy card envelope from the UK arrived in the mailbox here in Australia and out dropped the promo copy of this much-anticipated new release from Robert Jon Burrison and his crew – The Wreck!

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EP Review : Félix Rabin – Pogboy

Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography

This is the debut release from young French blues rock guitarist Félix Rabin who has been based in London for the past 3 years developing his craft and reputation, including his first main support slot with Wishbone Ash around the UK, which then led on to his own UK club tours and summer festival shows before heading over to LA to record what has ended up as a 6-track EP with engineering from Ross Hogarth (Van Halen / Ziggy Marley / REM).

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