Monthly Archives: August 2012

Panic Room, Gig Review. Robin 2, Bilston.

Photograph by Ian D. Hall

Originally published by L.S. Media. June 20th 2011.

When people think of the state of current Progressive Rock bands that can hold their own and in some cases easily beat the established guard with a superb written lyric and subtle use of a well placed time sequence, most watchers of the genre might point to the phenomenal The Reasoning or their fellow High Voltage peers Touchstone.

However in the last few years some of the remnants of fellow Prog kings Karnataka have been quietly bidding their time, starting afresh and have delivered two top rated albums in the form of Panic Room.

Panic Room, Gig Review. Robin 2, Bilston. full post

(444 words, 1 image, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

Queen, News of the World. Album Review (2011 Remastered Edition).

Originally published by L.S. Media. June 28th 2011.

As part of the next batch of re-releases to celebrate Queen’s 40th anniversary celebrations, Universal Music have released four studio albums and the soundtrack from the film Flash Gordon.

In 1977 the band released News of the World with much expectation after the mixed reviews the band got over their previous release A Day at the Races. If there were any doubts or misconceptions about the forthcoming album during the summer of 77 then by the time the first songs hit the airwaves in the autumn of that year they were soon forgotten and omitted from people’s memories as the double A side of We Will Rock You/ We are the Champions stormed up the charts to a peak of number 2 in the British singles charts and number 4 in America.

Queen, News of the World. Album Review (2011 Remastered Edition). full post

(489 words, 1 image, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

Queen, Jazz. Album Review (2011 Re-mastered Edition).

Originally published by L.S. Media June 29th 2011.

Queen’s remarkable ability of writing and producing a new album every year showed no signs of stopping as they approached the latter end of 1978. Prolific even for the time they were nurtured in, the band had spent the last few years churning out classic albums and some great quality tunes time and time again. The year 1978 was no different, after reaching a high note, critically and commercially with News of the World, the band sought to retain the position at the top of the Rock family tree with the eclectic and all most free spirited Jazz.

Queen, Jazz. Album Review (2011 Re-mastered Edition). full post

(425 words, 1 image, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

Queen, The Game. Album Review (2011 Remastered Edition).

Originally published by L.S. Media. June 29th 2011.

The start of the 1980’s saw Queen return to recording and publishing music after what seemed an eternity for them without an album to showcase for their fans. A lot had happened in the intervening period, a change of Government, Punk icon Sid Vicious had died and disco for a short while reigned supreme in the charts and in cinemas.

Queen, The Game. Album Review (2011 Remastered Edition). full post

(448 words, 1 image, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Queen, Flash Gordon Original Soundtrack. Album Review, (2011 Re-Mastered Edition)

Originally published by L.S. Media. June 29th 2011.

After the marked success of Queen’s previous eight studio albums, it seemed quite natural for the band to be offered the prestigious chance to provide the soundtrack for the Science Fiction movie Flash Gordon. The comic book turned television and now celluloid blonde herowas finally getting the big screen treatment and was too star Sam J. Jones as the eponymous champion of the oppressed alongside British stars Brain Blessed, Timothy Dalton and the Canadian actor Melody Anderson.

Queen, Flash Gordon Original Soundtrack. Album Review, (2011 Re-Mastered Edition) full post

(391 words, 1 image, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Queen, Hot Space. Album Review, (2011 Re-mastered Edition)

Originally published by L.S. Media. June 29th 2011.

Every band, regardless of their genre, long standing or ability will eventually make the album that shows they are fallible to their fans and elevates everything else they do to another level. With Queen that album has long been considered to be the 1982 studio release Hot Space. Its arrival had long been coming with elements being heard on The Game, Jazz and the lamentable Flash Gordon. However Hot Space plumbed new depths as the band finally departed from their roots completely and delved full force into the world of disco and pop music.

Queen, Hot Space. Album Review, (2011 Re-mastered Edition) full post

(381 words, 1 image, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Queensryche, Dedicated to Chaos. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. July 4th 2011.

Dedicated to Chaos is the new album from Queensryche, always touted as one of the finest bands to come out of Seattle, and unfortunately for the best Prog Metal band in existence the album actually describes the album perfectly. Coming on the back of the highly rated, imaginative and committed album American Soldier, Dedicated to Chaos seems a very poor and stunted relation.

Queensryche, Dedicated to Chaos. Album Review. full post

(359 words, 1 image, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

Foo Fighters, Gig Review. Milton Keynes National Bowl.

Photograph by Ian D. Hall

Originally published by L.S. Media. July 2nd 2011.

As the sun descended over the top of the stage and temporarily blinded the majority of the crowd at the packed out Milton Keynes Bowl, the Foo Fighters exploded onto the stage and gave one of the great performances of the summer and indeed of the year so far.

After already thrilling the Isle of Wight festival goers a few weeks ago, there really was only one way to top what some critics called spectacular and that was by stealing your own show and adding just that little bit of sparkle to a set list that would make the audience sit up, take notice and beg for the band not to stop playing no matter what the curfew time stated.

Foo Fighters, Gig Review. Milton Keynes National Bowl. full post

(521 words, 1 image, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)

Yes, Fly From Here. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. July 5th 2011.

For the first time in 10 years, Progressive Rock pioneers Yes have delivered an album onto the British Public and the outcome is nothing short of marvellous.

Fly from Here is the band’s first studio album since the release of 2001’s Magnification and even though the personnel has once more changed, it comes across as superbly arranged and decently produced and with none of the whispers of pretension that has dogged the band over the years. Whether this is down to the influence of producer Trevor Horn, who as a former Yes member, albeit briefly, understands the point that the musicians always try to get across or the band gelling superbly and rallying round to come up with a fine album.

Yes, Fly From Here. Album Review. full post

(382 words, 1 image, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

Kaiser Chiefs, The Future is Medieval. Album Review

Originally published by L.S. Media. July 5th 2011.

The Kaiser Chiefs can never be accused of conforming or becoming stale. After the first three albums went top ten in the British charts and even did respectively well in the American market, the Yorkshire band have released their fourth album, The Future is Medieval.

The Future Is Medieval started out as one of the most unique promotional efforts in the history of recorded music. In early June the band put out over 20 tracks on their website with the offer of downloading the songs that you wanted, to create your own perfect Kaiser Chiefs compilation of new tracks, and even in these austere times the response was outstanding. On the back of that the band released a tangible copy for their fans consisting of 13 of those tracks.

Kaiser Chiefs, The Future is Medieval. Album Review full post

(314 words, 1 image, estimated 1:15 mins reading time)