2020 was a strange year for all of us – thanks COVID-19 – but for me personally from a music perspective, it was odd too. This year I was more into delving into back catalogues of older bands than I was in hearing a lot of new stuff. I don’t…
Waspman – Best of 2017
2017 has come and gone and I’m not really sure what to say. We saw the usual crop of stellar releases to get excited about for sure, but all in all I found myself pulling away from new releases a bit. In fact, it’s safe to say that I reviewed…
Annihilator – For The Demented
Reviewed: December 2017 Released: 2017, Silver Lining MusicRating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Waspman Determined Canadian everyman Jeff Waters and his good thrash ship Annihilator are back with studio album number 16 (!). Jeff’s steered the band through so many rollercoaster moments that it’s a wonder that he’s still sane…then again, maybe he’s…
L.A. Guns – The Missing Peace
Reviewed: December 2017 Released: 2017, Frontiers RecordsRating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Waspman Long-time sleaze merchants L.A. Guns have managed to continue carving out a career for themselves, even though their style of music was kicked out of the mainstream 25 years ago. Although left for a couple of albums in the late…
Eluveitie – Evocation II: Pantheon
Reviewed: October 2017 Released: 2017, Nuclear BlastRating: 4.0/5 Reviewer: Waspman Swiss folk metal group Eluveitie has been through quite the ringer lately. After the release of 2014’s ORIGINS, the band lost a bunch of members, including much-loved long-time vocalist Anna Murphy. The band understandably went quiet while they regrouped, but…
War Hammer – War Hammer
Reviewed: October 2017 Released: 2017, IndependentRating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Waspman Storming out of Illinois comes new intriguing metallians, War Hammer. That is such an obvious name for a metal band, I’m shocked that it hasn’t been used long before now (there is a similarly small Finnish band using the name too).…
Snakecharmer – Second Skin
Reviewed: September 2017 Released: 2017, Frontiers RecordsRating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Waspman Snakecharmer is one of the many branches of the Whitesnake family tree. Formed by ex-Snakes Neil Murray and Micky Moody in 2012 and featuring Adam Wakeman on keyboards, the band released a well-regarded debut in 2013 and got some shows…
Wind Rose – Stonehymn
Reviewed: September 2017 Released: 2017, Inner Wound RecordingsRating: 4.0/5 Reviewer: Waspman Leaning Tower metal, is that a thing? Probably not, but I’ve never heard of another heavy metal band from Pisa, Italy. Never mind that, we’re here to talk about STONEHYMN, the third album from up & coming metallians Wind…
Alice Cooper – Paranormal
Reviewed: September 2017 Released: 2017, earMUSICRating: 4.0/5 Reviewer: Waspman The man/myth/legend Alice Cooper is back with his astonishing 27th studio album, and this time he’s brought a whole host of friends to help him. The album features guest spots from the likes of Roger Glover, Billy Gibbons, Larry Mullen Jr.,…
Royal Hunt – 2016
Reviewed: August 2017 Released: 2017, Frontiers RecordsRating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Waspman Since releasing 2015’s fantastic DEVIL’S DOZEN record, progressive power metallers Royal Hunt have been hitting the tour trail hard, criss-crossing the world. On top of that, in celebration of their classic PARADOX album, the band released a double-live in 2016…
Primal Fear – Angels Of Mercy: Live In Germany
Reviewed: August 2017 Released: 2017, Frontiers RecordsRating: 4.0/5 Reviewer: Waspman It’s been seven years and three albums since Teutonic power metal institution Primal Fear released a live album (2010’s LIVE IN THE U.S.A.), so I guess the time is ripe for another one. Amazingly, vocalist Ralf Scheepers and bassist/vocalist Mat…
The Dead Daisies – Live & Louder
Reviewed: August 2017 Released: 2017, SPV RecordsRating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Waspman As far as hard rockin’ supergroups go, The Dead Daisies might no be the biggest, but they certainly can lay claim to being one of the best. As of 2017 they’ve released 3 kickin’ studio albums and toured the world…
The Ferrymen – The Ferrymen
Reviewed: August 2017 Released: 2017, Frontiers RecordsRating: 4.0/5 Reviewer: Waspman The fine folks at Frontiers Records are at it again, as they’ve taken three known musicians, tossed them together, and created a “supergroup”, The Ferrymen. In this case, we’ve got singer Ronnie Romero of Lords of Black and Rainbow, multi-band…
Adrenaline Rush – Soul Survivor
Reviewed: August 2017 Released: 2017, Frontiers RecordsRating: 4.0/5 Reviewer: Waspman Sweden’s Adrenaline Rush blasted out of the gates in 2014 with their self-titled debut, a set of energetic hard rocking songs that were squarely marketed around former European pop star Tave Wanning. Her image was on the cover and her…
Warrant – Louder Harder Faster
Reviewed: August 2017 Released: 2017, Frontiers RecordsRating: 4.0/5 Reviewer: Waspman Hair metal hard rockers Warrant are back again! It’s been six years since the band released their first album with ex-Lynch Mob singer Robert Mason (2011’s ROCKAHOLIC). As Celtic Bob intimates in his review of that record, Warrant have always…