Adam Barnes, Blisters. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Oxford is known for its dreaming spires, its universities that are amongst the pinnacle of world education and thinking and one of the best cities to sit and have the occasional pint in one of its numerous and edifying public houses; what it’s not that well known for is for being a hotbed of young musical talent. Occasionally though a new musician will come through and whose voice breaks down barriers and wins fans in even the most music conscious places in the U.K., it won’t be long before Adam Barnes possibly becomes the most well-known musician to come out the city.

Adam Barnes, Blisters. Album Review. full post

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

Ragz, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool.

Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Ragnhild Nordset or Ragz to her fans and friends alike has been sadly absent from the loving scrutiny of those that come along to watch her perform for 18 months.

All that was soon forgotten as the young Nordic woman with the voice of a siren and the heart of an angel stepped on stage at Leaf on Bold Street and performed as if she had never been away. It might have been a short set but to Ragz and no doubt the assembled crowd, who must have been overjoyed to witness the ‘surprise guest’ make her appearance, every moment that she was once more in the spotlight was to savour and enjoy.

Ragz, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool. full post

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

Adam Barnes, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool.

Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There is something about the dreaming spires of Oxford that can sometimes bring out the very best and noble intentions in a musician.

For the musician that hails from Liverpool, The Mersey can be a constant source of inspiration and intrigue. The way it feeds into the local psyche is nothing short of admirable, the same can be said for the city of Oxford, its river, the Isis as it is known locally may not be as world renowned but it also carries the dreams of all those that enter the city’s safety.

Adam Barnes, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool. full post

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

Megadeth, Countdown To Extiction. 20th Anniversary Edition.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Following on from the 25th Anniversary release of the Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying album by Megadeth in 2011, the band have once again decided to give new life to an album that in all honesty doesn’t need to be tinkered with but is great fun to enjoy nonetheless.  Countdown to Extinction is one of the four great albums of Megadeth’s and Dave Mustaine’s early period and alongside Peace Sells…, So Far, So Good…So What! and Rust In Peace stand out as almost impossible to age and see decrease in stature, no matter how much the ravages of time may try.

Megadeth, Countdown To Extiction. 20th Anniversary Edition. full post

(474 words, 1 image, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

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)

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Matt Breen.

Matt Breen of The Endings. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

The sound of the station announcer’s voice at Liverpool Lime Street Station booms over the crowds making their way home after a hard day’s work in the city or as they pile in to the bars and music venues dotted around arguably the most vibrant city in the North of England. In amongst the organised chaos, the serenity of having a conversation with Matt Breen of The Endings about music, the band and being on the next step of his career is an oasis of calm.

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Matt Breen. full post

(1106 words, 1 image, estimated 4:25 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)

Brian Nash, Nasher Says Relax: Inside The Band And Beyond The Pleasuredome. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The name of Frankie Goes To Hollywood still resonates down through the decades. From the band’s early days as the emerging Liverpool act to true world domination and the all too quick days that followed after the five men went their separate ways and the band was no more, every snippet of information is digested by their loyal fans.

Brian Nash, Nasher Says Relax: Inside The Band And Beyond The Pleasuredome. Book Review. full post

(467 words, 1 image, estimated 1:52 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)