Category Archives: Music

Blackburner, Planet Earth Attack. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Mix the industrial with a healthy dollop of some of the finest exponents of Progressive Rock, some genre crossing of dubstep and Heavy Metal and finally one of the megastars and iconic figures of Science Fiction film and television and you have the superb new Blackburner album Planet Earth Attack in all its grandiose and lavish glory.

William Shatner, the one and only Captain Kirk from television’s Star Trek,is no stranger to adding his unique tone of voice to another artist’s idea but from the start of the Skyla Talon’s produced album, with its eclectic and brutally dystopian future soundscapes, it sets the ultimate and stunning start to the aggressive and dominant music.

Blackburner, Planet Earth Attack. Album Review. full post

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

Alexx Calise, AC3. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Alexx Calise, the Californian based musician whose life is as interesting as her music is wild, enthusiastic and stunning, has released her new E.P., simply titled AC3 and as usual her dedication to her music is nothing short of outstanding.

With two solo albums behind her and to much critical acclaim and an absolute belter of a recording with Dennis Morehouse for the Sound of Cancer album Vampires in Gilroy, there could have been a lot of intense pressure on Ms. Calise to go even further than before and go off the scale.

Alexx Calise, AC3. E.P. Review. full post

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

Phil Collins, Hello I Must Be Going. 30th Anniversary Retrospective.

Like all the members of the Progressive Rock giants Genesis, Phil Collins had launched his solo career with a certain amount of music acumen and good will bestowed upon them by the group’s followers. By the time Phil released his second solo offering, Hello, I Must Be Going, he was already becoming one of the leading men in 1980’s pop/rock.

Phil’s debut album, the 1981 release of Face Value, had made sure that Phil’s popularity as the Genesis vocalist, a position he took over when Peter Gabriel left the band after the tour for The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway album, would see him reach number one at the first attempt. For his follow up album, it would be a case of more of the same with demands from the label, the fans and seemingly from the artist himself.

Phil Collins, Hello I Must Be Going. 30th Anniversary Retrospective. full post

(985 words, 1 image, estimated 3:56 mins reading time)

Stone Sour, House of Gold and Bones Part 1. Album Review.

Do you remember where you were when you heard Megadeth’s Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying or Rust in Peace, Sabbat’s Dreamweaver (Reflections of Our Yesterdays) or Skyclad’s Wayward Sons of Mother Earth for the first time? The temptation to add the latest album by Stone Sour, House of Gold and Bones Part 1, to these premium and top rated albums of the genre should not take long, all of the first listen will be enough to confirm that perhaps for the first time the band have created something intrinsically and artistically brilliant.

Stone Sour, House of Gold and Bones Part 1. Album Review. full post

(376 words, 1 image, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

Madness, Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It can be of hardly any surprise to find that the latest album from the stable of Madness doesn’t match the career defining album The Liberty of Norton Folgate released in 2009. However, this should not stop the loveable rogues of north London continue their 21st century renaissance as one of the best bands to have graced the British charts in the last 40 years.

Madness, Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da. Album Review. full post

(497 words, 1 image, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Tori Amos, Scarlett’s Walk. 10th Anniversary Retrospective.

When listening to Tori Amos it almost feels that you are joining her on a spiritual journey in which she alone knows the final destination and she will lead you blindfold past the final signpost whilst holding your heart carefully as she goes. Such is the timeless beauty of Scarlett’s Walk that it easily ranks in the top three studio releases by the enigmatic piano player.

Tori Amos, Scarlett’s Walk. 10th Anniversary Retrospective. full post

(1133 words, 1 image, estimated 4:32 mins reading time)

Black Country Communion, Afterglow. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Black Country Communion, a supergroup so good they had to give the four members a third album just to satisfy the incredible clamour and deluge from their overwhelming number of fans.

The group certainly need no introduction, the music really does speak for itself, self assured, distinctive, mind blowing and with so much depth it practically carves out a 10 foot deep trench with ease; this is what makes Black Country Communion one of the best bands of the last two decades, and they seem to have managed this in less than three years.

Black Country Communion, Afterglow. Album Review. full post

(396 words, 1 image, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

Jonny Walker, This Is Not Me. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There is an element of excitement, a shadow of lingering hopefulness that pervades the listener’s expectations when they hear a new artist for the first time. It can go disastrously wrong and the person who has invested their time and money may feel bitter about it for a while and then all things being equal move on to the next hopeful batch. There of course are the moments when an E.P. or an album just grabs them in a very unexpected and simple way, the joy of hearing something new is what makes it all worth-while.

Jonny Walker, This Is Not Me. E.P. Review. full post

(453 words, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

Steve Hackett, Genesis Revisited II. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Since Genesis last took to the stage for their 2007 tour, the most productive two members of the stalwarts and guiding lights of Progressive Rock are the two that had left the band in the days before they become the corporate behemoth of the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Peter Gabriel has been busy giving his fans new looks of his back catalogue and inspired readings of other people’s works. Steve Hackett on the other hand has produced more solo work than any other member of one of the U.K.’s favourite Prog acts; he also seems to find time to keep the work of Genesis between 1970 and 1977 very much alive on his keenly anticipated touring schedule.

Steve Hackett, Genesis Revisited II. Album Review. full post

(507 words, 1 image, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

Peter Gabriel, So. 25th Anniversary Edition Release.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

The irony will not be lost on the majority of Peter Gabriel’s fans that it is closer to the 26th anniversary of the release of his fifth studio album So than the 25th and they will also with no hesitation in their voices tell anyone that asks any type of awkward or disparaging question, that in the end it doesn’t matter. This is how Peter Gabriel does things and why he remains one of the most charismatic and unique figures in British music.

Peter Gabriel, So. 25th Anniversary Edition Release. full post

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