Ave Noctum

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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.

Visions Of Atlantis – Ethera (Napalm)

Isn’t it nice to be surprised? After Visions Of Atlantis’ first two releases I rather dismissed them as Nightwish wannabes and confess that I didn’t bother listening to anything after (though I was very saddened to hear of the death… Continue Reading →

08/03/2013 0

Derdian – Limbo (SR)

‘Limbo’. Quite apt as it goes… Italy’s Symphonic Neoclassical Progressive Power Metallers (!) Derdian have spent their last 3 albums exploring the realms of their self enforced Fantasy land trilogy, limiting them lyrically and planting them firmly in the shadow… Continue Reading →

02/03/2013 0

Lordi – To Beast Or Not To Beast (AFM)

Lordi, Finland’s most outlandish Metal export return with a new CD to unleash on an unwitting public. I had actually heard an album by Lordi before their famous (or infamous) Eurovision win of 2006. I remember seeing them perform on… Continue Reading →

20/02/2013 0

Stratovarius – Nemesis (Ear Music)

There seems to come a time in many a long-standing Power Metal band (Helloween, Rage etc.) that you have a stab at “a slight change of direction”. This invariably is instigated by having new band members, buyer apathy or a… Continue Reading →

18/02/2013 0

Vanguard X Mortem – vanguardismortem (SR)

Much as it may come as a surprise to some, there was a time when having a female singer didn’t automatically denote you as ‘Gothic Metal’. Not everyone had to sound like either Nightwish, Evanescence or Lacuna Coil (it was… Continue Reading →

16/02/2013 0

Free Fall – Power and Volume (Nuclear Blast)

Sweden really does seem to be the current spiritual home of all things Retro-Rock at the moment and the latest band to emerge from that thriving scene are Free Fall. Not sure this is traditional Ave Noctum fayre as this… Continue Reading →

11/02/2013 0
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