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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.

Tyfon’s Doom – Emperor’s Path (Gates Of Hell Records)

Tyfon’s Doom will probably be a new name to many. They are a Finnish one man Heavy Metal project and this is the full length debut after last year’s well received EP “Yeth Hound” (It turns out that a Yeth… Continue Reading →

Silver Wind – Legion Of The Exiled (No Remorse)

Silver Wind embrace the very essence of what helped to make Germany the go-to European Power Metal place in the late 80’s – unashamedly proud of the Teutonic legacy their brand of Power Metal proudly displays. They are of course… Continue Reading →

Witherfall – Nocturnes and Requiems (Century Media)

Witherfall are a relatively new American Metal band but with a fine pedigree. They were conceived by guitarist Jake Dreyer (Iced Earth etc), Vocalist Joseph Michael (Midnight Reign, Omery Rising, ex-White Wizzard, ex-Peppermint Creeps) and drummer Adam Sagan (ex-Circle II… Continue Reading →

Nocturnal Rites – Phoenix (AFM)

Formed back in the 90’s, Nocturnal Rites released three rather Hammerfall-esque Power Metal albums before the Millennium, but for me they really found their identity with the introduction of vocalist Jonny Lidqvist and 2000’s excellent “Afterlife”. Four more albums of… Continue Reading →

Kaipa – Children Of The Sounds (Inside Out)

Kaipa will be a familiar name to many a progressive rock fan, as they were an active and important part the Swedish progressive rock scene since their recording debut in 1976 through to their hiatus in 1982. Band founder and… Continue Reading →

Ensiferum – Two Paths (Metal Blade)

It’s often said that Ensiferum need no introduction, and it’s true. If you were having a small soiree or bijou shindig one evening, you’d just know they’d arrived. The long-boat dragged onto the front lawn is an obvious clue, as… Continue Reading →

Argus – From Fields Of Fire (Cruz Del Sur Music)

Having thoroughly enjoyed the Adruini/Balich album from earlier this year I felt happily honour-bound to cover the new release from vocalist Butch Balich’s main band Argus. With a voice as utterly and intrinsically “Metal” as Balich’s, with a band possessing… Continue Reading →

Epica – The Solace System (Nuclear Blast)

It’s bordering on bragging really isn’t it? Epica had SO many tracks for previous album “The Holographic Principal” that the unused songs get their own 6 track EP. And as the high quality of these “rejected” songs now see the… Continue Reading →

Fireforce -Annihilate The Evil (Limb Music)

With an opening track called ‘The Boys From Down Under’, it’s pretty obvious where this energetic Power Metal band hail from! Yep, Belgium. Not known for it’s Power Metal pedigree (and a fair old distance from Australia), Fireforce are certainly… Continue Reading →

Subterranean Masquerade – Vagabond (Vicisolum)

Subterranean Masquerade – expect the unexpected. There’s always something unexpected on a Subterranean Masquerade album. The band’s main line-up is normal enough as you look down the list of members – there’s of course guitarist Tomer Pink (the band’s founder),… Continue Reading →

Vinsta – Wiads (Trollmusic)

I confess that I know very little (please wait for me to finish my sentence before agreeing…) about Vinsta. It appears to be pretty much a solo project by multi-instrumentalist Christian Höll and Vinsta’s facebook page has some really great… Continue Reading →

Jack Starr’s Burning Starr – Stand Your Ground (High Roller)

I’m all for a bit self promotion – if you think you’ve just recorded a great album then that’s a fabulous thing and you should promote this. Let the world know that your album is pretty bloody good and then… Continue Reading →

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