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Author Andy Barker

I guess I got into Metal by accident at 7 years old when I was given my brother's old record player with ONE record. His mates had told him that Black Sabbath sounded just like Status Quo...he didn't agree so Black Sabbath's debut was that one record. I never looked back. Got a battered old 4 piece drumkit when I was Ten years old and by 14 I had vowed to make my fortune as a Rock Star.
The next fifteen years included a few years as the drummer in Holosade, plus stints in Company Of Wolves, Dominion, Diamond Dogs and Intense, eventually dispelling that ambition, so I ended up running a specialist Metal CD/Record/T-Shirt shop in York for 7 years. £40 grand a year in rent for a shop in York means I am now solely an online trader...
I still turn up every now and again playing drums, bass or guitar in the odd band, be it live or in the studio, because once you have been a musician...or a drummer...it's difficult to stop that creative urge.
When I write a review I remember what it was like to read a review of something I had been a creative part of. My opinion is just my opinion, and I try to be constructive. I believe that if a musician has taken the time to record his or her ideas then it has merit to someone and deserves respect. Music is all about personal taste, and if someone has taken the time to create it, the least I can do is take the time to listen.

Korpiklaani – Kulkija (Nuclear Blast)

I’m sure the band won’t take it as an insult if I state that people know what to expect from a Korpiklaani album. It’s part of their appeal, a following based around their own unique brand of Folk Metal. And… Continue Reading →

Manimal – Purgatorio (AFM)

Impressive Swedish Heavy/Power Metal band Manimal may have a bit of a silly name, but there’s nothing particularly comical about the delivery of their particular blend of high energy, no-nonsense Metal. Not for them the symphonic noodlings of Sonata Arctica… Continue Reading →

Helion Prime – Terror Of The Cybernetic Space Monster (AFM)

Californian Power Metallers Helion Prime make a welcome return with their 2nd album, and the immediate difference that anyone familiar with Helion Prime’s debut will note is that the new vocalist is sporting a beard! Unremarkable you might think, but… Continue Reading →

Halcyon Way – Bloody But Unbowed (Agonia)

American Metal band Halcyon Way have been defying categorization and side-stepping musical labels for over 10 years now and this 4th full-length offering continues to challenge critic’s carefully laid out boundaries. If Metal genres were neat wooden fences, Halcyon Way… Continue Reading →

The Nightflight Orchestra – Sometimes The World Ain’t Enough (Nuclear Blast)

Side projects are an interesting thing, especially when they are a chance for the musicians involved to explore different musical territories to the ones they are known for. Bjorn Strid is mainly known as the vocalist in Soliwork and Sharlee… Continue Reading →

BattleroaR – Codex Epicus (Cruz Del Sur)

BattleroaR (still persisting with the capital R at the end of their name so lets humour them and not spoil things eh?) don’t do anything by half. It amazes me that it’s taken them until their fifth album to get… Continue Reading →

Tad Morose – Chapter X (GMR Music)

Tad Morose weren’t in any rush to do a new album, they have their own recording studio (well, the singer does), they love playing live and can record when the mood takes – not a bad way to be! They… Continue Reading →

Primitai – The Calling (Dissonance)

Based in the UK, a country surprisingly (and disappointingly) sparse in quality Melodic Metal bands, it’s great to hear a class act like Primitai flying the flag so confidently for old Blighty. Fledgling UK Metal bands (who aren’t pummeling their… Continue Reading →

Graveyard – Peace (Nuclear Blast)

It was a dark time many months ago when Graveyard called it quits. Mr. Finger-on-the-pulse as I am, I actually didn’t find out about their decision to split until 3 months after the announcement, by which time the band had… Continue Reading →

Spiral Skies – Blues For A Dying Planet (AOP Records)

It’s been 3 years, but finally following the success of their debut EP “A Queendom To Come”, Swedish Retro-rockers Spiral Skies present their first full-length album. It was certainly well worth the wait as it is a veritable cornucopia of… Continue Reading →

Tantal – Ruin (Mazzar Records)

So this new Tantal album came my way and as I always like to do before I embark on a review, I read what the label/promotions agency have to say about the band. What instantly intrigued (and amused) me about… Continue Reading →

Estate – Mirrorland (Mighty Music)

Russian Symphonic Melodic Metal band Estate have had a bit of a re-assess in the past 4 years. “Fantasia” was a more than credible Symphonic/Melodic/Power Metal debut, relying as it did on good tunes and memorable melodies, but possibly lacking… Continue Reading →

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