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Roger Waters: This Is Not A Drill – Live From Prague. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

A statement of intent is delivered by the musician even before the first note is played, and as the listener is thrust into the government’s obscene acts of apathy of the age, as the warning sound that counters the misleading valour of indifference, to feel the venom and sheer anger from a man already past an age where they might be thought of as content in their dotage, Roger Waters uses his strength, his will, to inform that, to paraphrase and tone down, if you like Pink Floyd’s music but don’t like Roger’s politics, then…leave. 

Barry Briercliffe. Gig Review. The Lomax. Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. July 16th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating * * * *

The Lomax is the stuff of legends in Liverpool, an old iconic venue that has hosted within its old walls some great gigs and some splendid musicians. When Barry Briercliffe steps on the stage, the venue which is steeped in history, is able to add yet another fine musician to the ranks, another Liverpool son who knows his stuff and isn’t afraid to dress for the occasion.

Roger Waters: The Wall. Gig Review. o2 Arena, London. (2011).

Originally published by L.S. Media. May 11th 2011.

L.S. Media Rating * * * * *

The Wall is one of those seminal albums from the last 50 years that seems to have transcended the idea of music and theatre being a separate entity. Its main writer, Roger Waters and the guys that made up one of Britain’s most loved rock bands, Pink Floyd, are so ingrained in its effect on the national psyche that it continues to sell in massive numbers and fans of the band continue to hold onto copies of their vinyl and tape even in the face of downloads.

Blush: Beauty Fades, Pain Lasts Forever. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Whilst it is most certainly well within the genre of pop, there is something decidedly Gothic within the heartbeat of the experience; upbeat and all smiles, but deep down there is a marvellous sense of hypnotic, erratic heartbreak that sums up the Singaporean indiepop band, Blush, and their new album Beauty Fades, Pain Lasts Forever.

Devon Allman: The Blues Summit. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

To live up to the family name in a certain profession is perhaps one of the hardest tasks that any person can undertake; when it comes to the arts it is a near certainty that the individual following in the enormous footsteps will be judged with a degree of unfairness that is almost intolerable, absolutely unfair, and without purpose.

The Riflebirds Of Portland: Windmills On The Moon. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

With the grandest of smiles it is a welcome to visit once more The Riflebirds but as with everything in evolution and time spent away, what has manifested in its image is, for the listener to discern and discuss, a tantalising rebirth, and an extension of the discography, and in The Riflebirds Of Portland’s album Windmills On The Moon, evolution does not disguise the sheer beauty that comes seductively, inevitably, that is continual and worshiped.

Alice Cooper: The Revenge Of Alice Cooper. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The past, as they say, is another country; and yet it can also feel like a completely different world, not only doing things differently there, but having no concept of the shared universal heritage that inherent to all species, all times, all places.

For over fifty years, time has moved on for some, for others it never truly got started, however it never once stood still, and Time has a habit of not only remembering what was once important, but manifesting itself again, repeating itself so that what humanity thought was lost appears as if ordained by the gods to return fully formed and with all the necessary adulation and praise in hand.

Bruce Dickinson: More Balls To Picasso. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

What constitutes a debut album for some, may not have the necessary sense of commitment in the eyes of others, perhaps not even for the artist themselves.

For Bruce Dickinson, riding on an extreme high with a consecutive run of seven top five studio albums with his own band mates Iron Maiden, including the latest release Fear Of The Dark which in 1992 became the group’s second U.K. number one, the opportunity to head back to his own creations in Balls To Picasso might have been one filled with slight trepidation. After all he had already proved his worth as a solo artist in the upbeat Tattooed Millionaire, so what was the issue with delving into the considerable wealth of music at his disposal in yet another immense recording.

Central Intelligence: Series Two. Audio Drama Series Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Kim Cattrall, Ed Harris, Johnny Flynn, Rob Benedict, Elena Delia, Eric Meyers, Geoffrey Arend, Laurel Lefkow, Rufus Wright, Jon Jon Briones, Armand Schultz, Philip Desmeules, Lourdes Faberes, Eric Sirakian, Tim Ahern, Yung Quang, Kerry Shale, Greg Lockett, Ian Porter, Raad Rawi, Patrick Poletti, Carlyss Peer, Walles Hamonde, Jennifer Armour, Carin Chae, Nathan Osgood, Jonathan Nyati, Flynn Avo, Valentina Arena, Marina Koem, Ferandi Yennas, Branko Tomović, Phillipe Bosher, Kelly Marie Tran, Stephen Kunken, Thaiger Mguyen.

Shadecrown: 0. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

When we step out of the shade we can either be blinded by the possibility of the unexpected, overpowering sunlight, or we can mentally prepare ourselves and place a hand up in readiness for the inevitable, for the strength of the commanding and authoritative entity that offers us life, warmth, and the belief in the potency of the universe.

It is in Shadecrown’s fourth album release, the definitive 0 is invoked,a sense of the dramatic and the influential colliding, merging, and offering a true reveal of the formidable; and as the prospect of a seismic avalanche of doom and death metal adds a melodic spice to the proceedings, so Finland’s continual dominance of the genre plays on.