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.

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

(546 words, 1 image, estimated 2:11 mins reading time)

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.

Bruce Dickinson: More Balls To Picasso. Album Review. full post

(511 words, 1 image, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

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.

Central Intelligence: Series Two. Audio Drama Series Review. full post

(527 words, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

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.

Shadecrown: 0. Album Review. full post

(344 words, 1 image, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)

Namazu: Ice 800. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There is something about the raw sound that gives the listener a sense of purpose, a profound delight that what they are hearing is not only from the heart, but from the soul as well, it is the guttural instinct, the call of the survivor as they swim against the tide, away from the shore, because that way they know lays the cannibals of mediocrity, and they have no intention of being served up as a second course in anyone’s dietary or audio process.

Namazu: Ice 800. E.P. Review. full post

(362 words, 1 image, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

Barry Briercliffe: The Back Of My Mind. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The guaranteed presence of Liverpool’s Barry Briercliffe is such that he will never be at the back of anyone’s mind, his upbeat musicianship, his personality, all combine to give any song he releases a special place in the hearts of those who have followed his pleasurable rise and dedication to music; and yet we never see our own ghosts that lurk and prowl, so how do we expect to understand those that haunt others, when we hear them say at The Back Of My Mind lays memories that play with my psyche, that leave me cold, that never leave me alone.

Barry Briercliffe: The Back Of My Mind. Single Review. full post

(334 words, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)

The K’s: Pretty On The Internet. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

To be relatable is half the battle in a world that is fixated with false presentation, that is obsessed with the comfortable lie, and who swoons over the view of someone who lacks originality, but has an ego that dominates the proceedings as though if they were to show their true face they would be held accountable for their desperation driven shallowness; hardly relatable, and always irrelevant.

The K’s: Pretty On The Internet. Album Review. full post

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

Sea Hags: Dead & Gone. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Previously unreleased…two words that capture the imagination of any fan of the arts, it entertains the notion that there is something more to the universe than what we may have been permitted to observe, to witness, like being offered a glimpse of a collapsing star in the heavens, there is a moment of sheer excitement of what lays undiscovered and what it may reveal to us, what it may say about our soul, about our expectations.

Sea Hags: Dead & Gone. Album Review. full post

(442 words, 1 image, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Wild Mountain Mystics: Fire & Honey. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The Appalachian Mountains hold a kind of mystery, a force of enigma that is not found anywhere else within the continuous states of America, the folklore and superstitions, the sense that there is something unworldly that gives the area its chilling respect and leaves the unwary visitor clutching at anything they hold dear as if it will offer protection, offer a guard against the legends and the creatures of myth and illusion.

Wild Mountain Mystics: Fire & Honey. Album Review. full post

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

Suzy Thompson: Suzy Sings Siebel (Volume One). Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There is always a worry for performer and listener alike when the construct of music takes its turn at presenting a tribute to a fallen hero, the passing of a legend to whom had achieved cult status of just how the performer sets the scene to make sure the music is not only appreciated but which will also serve up a truth to which the novice audiophile will be excited enough in which to delve deeper, to investigate the sound offered to them.

Suzy Thompson: Suzy Sings Siebel (Volume One). Album Review. full post

(387 words, 1 image, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)