October 2020 September 4th, 2020 / Frontiers Rating: 5.0 / 5.0 Reviewer: John Haseltine Here we have the latest album, EVEN THE DEVIL BELIEVES, by none other than the mighty Stryper. Yep, I said it! Stryper is a band that does not need any introduction if you have been around…
hard rock
Brother Firetribe – Feel The Burn
Reviewed: October, 2020 Released: 2020, OMN Label Services Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Erich Listen to opening track “I Salute You” from Brother Firetribe’s fifth LP FEEL THE BURN, you would be justified in believing that you were hearing a song from the soundtrack to the 1986 film Iron Eagle. The truth…
Veonity – Sorrows
Reviewed: September, 2020 Released: 2020, Scarlet Records Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Jack Merry The fourth studio album from Scandanavian power metal outfit Veonity is an impressive beast. Setting a slighter darker and heavier tone than the band’s previous releases, Sorrows is a bold step into the future of metal that only falters a couple…
Dee Snider – For The Love Of Metal LIVE
September 2020 July 31st, 2020 / Napalm Records Rating: 5.0 / 5.0 Reviewer: John Haseltine Dee Snider needs no introduction in the world of heavy metal or hard rock. If, by now, you do not know the man himself or his contributions to hard rock/heavy metal, you need to have…
MESSIAH – Fatal Grotesque Symbols – Darken Universe
Reviewed: August 2020 Released: 2020, High Roller Records Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Jack Merry 26 years after their last studio album, extreme metallers Messiah are about to unleash the successor to their “Underground” record from 1994, entitled “Fracmont” on High Roller Records later this year. For now, however, the band are sweetening…
High Spirits – Interview with Chris Black
High Spirits – Interview with Chris Black Interview by Jack Merry 29th June 2020 www.hrrecords.de/high_roller/start.html highspiritsmetal.bandcamp.com/ business.facebook.com/highenergyrock/ Heavy metal and hard rock outfit High Spirits are set to release their fourth full-length studio album Hard To Stop on the 31st July 2020 and we got to talk with the man…
Torchlight Parade – Torchlight Parade
Reviewed: July 2020 Released: 2020, self-released Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes To say an album rocks is almost always a resounding and succinct form of praise. And Torchlight Parade’s self-titled debut certainly -does- rock. The problem is that’s more or less all it does. The band is certainly very clear…
High Spirits – Hard To Stop
Reviewed: July, 2020 Released: 2020, High Roller Records Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Jack Merry Chris Black might be the busiest musician in Chicago’s heavy metal scene. The multi-instrumentalist fronts three Chicago bands: Dawnbringer, Superchrist, and High Spirits. He’s also a former bassist for Nachtmystium and has worked with the band in both production and creative…
New Book Available Now: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Hair Metal
The spectacular story of ‘80s Hair Metal! What hidden mayhem truly lurked behind the curtain as outrageous bands such as Poison were having Nothing But a Good Time, only to find out later that Every Rose Has Its Thorn… An intoxicating chronicle detailing the sensational arc of one of the…
Pale Horseman – For Dust Thou Art
Reviewed: June 2020 Released: 2020, Independent Rating: 5/5 Reviewer: Jack Merry Chicago, Illinois has been a breeding ground for sludgy doom metal in recent years with the emergence of bands such as The Atlas Moth, Bongripper, Indian and Ledge, yet there’s another lesser-known yet equally deserving name who have been…
Horisont – Sudden Death
Reviewed: June 2020 Released: 2020, Century Media Records Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes Horisont’s last album, About Time, was an absolute belter, and ended up among the best albums of 2017 with its genuine and effective retro rock feel. So understandably, expectations are high for 2020’s follow-up, Sudden Death. It…
Mustasch – Killing it for Life
Reviewed: May 2020 Released: 2020, Tritonus Records Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes The more album reviews I write, the more I see just how big Sweden’s hard rock movement is these days. It seems like every hard rock album that makes it to me is another Swedish band. This movement…
A TRIBUTE TO THE PAST-A Very Brief And Incomplete History Of Hard Rock And Heavy Metal Tribute Albums
A TRIBUTE TO THE PAST A Very Brief And Incomplete History Of Hard Rock And Heavy Metal Tribute Albums (Version 1.1) by JP PREFACE As we hit the 50th anniversary of Heavy Metal this year (2020), as Managing Editor of Metal-Rules.com, one of my goals is to try to add…
SVEN GALI The Canadian Hard Rockin’ Metal Band Inks A Worldwide Record Deal With RFL Records & Entertainment
One of Canada’s pioneer acts of the fusion of 80s screaming Hard Rock and 90s blazing Heavy Metal, inks a record deal with the growing label, RFL Records & Entertainment. The band comments: “We are excited about being a part of the RFL family and are looking forward to delivering…
Lordi – Killection
Reviewed: March 2020 Released: 2019, AFM Records Rating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Lee Carter You know LORDI, right? Finland’s monstrous masked metallers and winners of Eurovision in 2006? The band may not quite have the collective mainstream’s consciousness to the extent that it did back when they shocked Europe’s annual musical cheese-fest,…