Album Review

Review By: The Joker Sepultura is dying. Literally. It is the name of their farewell tour, Celebrating Life Through Death, the title of which is either the most metal phrase to ever adorn a tour bus whiteboard or the brainchild of a publicity stunt gone awry in a philosophy class. The way out of the business will be this four-track EP, recorded in ten days in Criteria Studios in Miami with Greyson Nekrutman, a twenty-three-year-old drummer who probably rocked up with some jaz

Self Release Release: 17/04/26 Review by: The Joker Score: 7.5/10 - It’s large, it’s bold, and it does sometimes trip up in its own leather pants—but at least that’s better than a bunch of bands carefully inquiring if they could rock. All they need is time and slightly less reverence for their idols, and not only will they sound like themselves but own the stage. This is an interesting one. Nobody really asked for it. No one submitted a proposal, there was no committee discus

Review by - The Joker Darklands Recordings Release: 01/05/26 Score: 7/10 (Would be eight if they'd made it six tracks and we wouldn't have been wrong to want that.) Some bands, after all these years, have lost the ability to properly fade out. This is neither a literal nor a physical question; artistically speaking, the time has come to wind down. A dignified descent into heritage status is required, where the music will live only in memory. After four decades, most groups

Melanie C, the iconic powerhouse formerly known to the world as Sporty Spice, has officially ignited the season with the release of her electrifying new album, SWEAT. With 13 glorious, high-paced tracks, the record is utterly phenomenal full of sonic energy, thoroughly crafted to be the ultimate summer album to play all night and festivals alike. Each song is pumped full of high-volume dance beats, pulsating basslines, and synth-driven rhythms designed to command the dance fl

I've spent most of two decades keeping diesels running on container ships and keeping temperamental propeller systems running in Force 9 gales, but now I'm landlocked running office administration in a logistics company, and it's slowly draining the life out of me. My office has a view over a car park. A car park. The only waves I get to look at are those people trade in for me down the corridor. The closest I get to fluid tests is refilling the coffee pot, and the most exci

RELEASE DATE - NOV 28TH There's something ironically twisted about a band called Tickles releasing music that would be like waterboarding with broken glass and birthday cake frosting. The Dordogne-born Nantes quartet of noise Machine-punk have devoted the lion's share of seven years to an observed approach of controlled chaos—two EPs into a career based on making Idles sound so elevator-music-esque—and now they've put out Sugar & Plastic Plates , a first full-length that's e

Released - Nov 14th Live records come in two different classes: the slick, ProTools-fondled untruths where every note lands like a gymnast with a good lawyer… and then whatever Live At Stonedead is pretending to be. It's like The Dead Daisies duct-taped a microphone onto a Harley's exhaust, fired it up in a room with acoustics of a storage unit, and invited two thousand people who definitely skipped leg day to call it "spiritually fulfilling." The band refers to this as "Raw

Creed: Live In San Antonio (Black Friday RSD release) is the kind of artifact you fish out of a bargain bin and buy "ironically," only to find-mid-listen, mid-smirk-your foot tapping, your soul accidentally stirring. Those bins always smell faintly of melted plastic and somebody's regrets. This record comes 25 years overdue to its own intervention-or whatever the vinyl equivalent is. An exorcism? A stern talking-to? I don't know. Recorded November 14, 1999: Creed at the Freem

At last, the Gods of Rock ‘n’ Roll have heard our prayers. Instead of silencing us, they’ve given us the much overlooked Forevermore by Whitesnake in a box so lavish it could hold the Ark of the Covenant. It includes four CDs, a Blu-ray, a hefty 60-page booklet with Coverdale sharing sweet thoughts from the page, plus a tour book and a poster large enoughto hide your ex’s memory. Unlike Metallica, who will sell you a box of beer mats and call it deluxe. Back in 2011 critics s

Bittersweet, the brand new Cassidy Paris CD came through my letter box on Tuesday. Nothing ever happens on a Tuesday, so it was somewhat of a surprise. The press release reads like a hostage note from someone who genuinely has Stockholm syndrome: "Stepping confidently into her own identity as an artist." That phrase. That's the one that has you reaching for a shot before hitting the play button, because you know exactly what's going to follow: another beautifully executed mu

Release: 7 November 2025 - Self Release I want to be excited about Luna Marble. I do, truly. They're a Manchester rock band who worked for five years between lockdowns, lineup changes, and the constant 2020s touring band farce of existing forever, to be left with a self-titled debut that's like your dad's record collection got tired, woke up, and created a Tinder profile. "Vintage grunge meets extraterrestrial sound design." This album is like a séance that involuntarily bro

Häxan, the all-female rock trio hailing from the grit and glamour of the city, are back with a vengeance and ready to shred eardrums with...

From the misty glens and windswept shores of a forgotten realm emerges “ Eluveitie ,” a Folk, Celtic death metal band whose music is as...

The earth trembled with the release of ‘March of the Gods’ which is the latest offering from veteran heavy rock outfit King Kraken....

Kickin Valentina is back with an explosive new album ‘Raw Trax, B-Sides and Bootlegs, signed to German label Mighty Music. The raw...

The Wildhearts have just signed a worldwide deal with Snakefarm/Integral, and Jim Pinder has produced the album (Bring Me The Horizon,...