Firebrand Magazine Issue 5 - February by Firebrand's Rock&Metal Express

Issue 5 - February 2013

THE GRAPEVINE - 5 For your latest news in the rock world!

“ It felt like the band had moved onto another level ”

FEATURES 04 Downloadable Content 16 Focus on Blues 26 Where Are They Now? 30 18 & Life 43 Underground Focus INTERVIEWS 10 Dave Evans 18 Adam Norsworthy 34 Danny Vaughn CD REVIEWS 08 Blaze Bayley Tommy Emmanuel and Martin Taylor 15 Dientes Great White 20 Bart Walker 21 Doug MacLeod Bare Bones Boogie Band 24 Kompendium Antonia Vai 25 Saxon 28 Edge Airless 29 Ivan Mihaljevic & Side Effects Wizz Wizzard 32 The Goddamn Electric 36 The Fuzz Drivers Circle II Circle 37 Skarlett Riot Buckcherry 38 Rage Of Angels

“ I did not expect that and it reinvigorated me and encouraged me to return to my first love - music ”

“ I'm having too good a time that I don't want it to end ”

“ It’s a far cry from living in mansions and driving Aston Martins ”

GIG LISTINGS - 42

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FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to issue five and the most exciting time of the year for most music fans. Yes, festival season is upon us again with so many great events coming up this year, it will soon be time to choose where we spend our hard earned cash, to get the best value for money and watch the bands we all want to see… tough call sometimes, and I think in a lot of ways that when we are a considering these options one thing tends to get overlooked and that is the support for local venues and the great wealth of talent that ends up playing to sometimes crowds of 40 or less in a desire to get their names out there. The average muso sweats to achieve the greatness they want for themselves delivering blistering performances and crowd pleasing moments which sadly these days get over looked mostly due to finances, the unwillingness of people who will take a chance on going to their local venue to see a band or showcase event that they don't know. The knock on effect of this is that bands find it harder to get out there, the venues have to resort to pressure tactics to increase sales or sadly as is the case with of a lot of venues these days, they are closing down. Once great established venues are going to the wall on a daily basis. This is not a new rant, something that can be seen nearly every day on social media platforms, but, it is one that should be kept open and thrown out there until people start to take notice that their lack of patronage to a venue is destroying the live music scene. Who knows one day when the financial climate changes and things start to get better this may improve, but I think the current situation is creating an apathy to change and once that gets ingrained in society, it will take an RPG up some people's rear ends to change this attitude. The true die hard music fans still attend but our numbers are dwindling compared to yesteryear and this hard core crowd alone are not enough to support the industry…people get out there and do your thing.. Help the bands make it, and show them the love and support they deserve. September sees the launch of the very first Firebrand festival event…Skyfest….the dates will be 21st and 22nd of September…more news coming soon….!

Editor In Chief Rick Palin Senior Media Consultant Donna Greene Media Editor Rachel Whiston Reviews Editor Lee Walker Reviews team Mel Delacroix Jon Seymour Graham Pritchard Si Staples Paul Nicholls Contributing Writers Doron Beit-Halahmi Chris Nelson Download Content Team Rick Palin Judith Fisher Content Download sales@fbrr2010.com Advertising Enquiries sales@fbrr2010.com Contact Telephone +44(0)1244 940961

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This Months Downloadable Content! Jason Jennings

Alain Galarneau

Jason Jennings is known to many as the bassist with Jon Oliva's Pain, and is scheduled to enter into the recording studio in early 2013 to work on a new and exciting project. We are delighted in being able to offer you the blues laden, modern day rock classic song ‘Old School’

Described as being an instrumental guitar driven hardrock guitarist inspired by the soul of a tone seeker, and hailing from Hull Québec we present for your listening pleasure Grammy nominated Alain Galarneau

For more information on Jason Jennings please check out http://www.reverbnation.com/jasonjenningsjonolivaspain Jason is represented in the UK and the USA by Rapunzel Rock Agencyhttps://www.facebook.com/RapunzelRockAgency

For more information on Alain Galarneau please check out http://www.alaingalarneau.com/

Click Here to download this content To have your band featured in our monthly downloadable content please send an email to sales@fbrr2010.com with ‘DLC Request’ as the email title.

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The Grapevine Exit State Announced As Official Patrons Of chART Children’s Hospice Arts Exit State are extremely proud to be announced as official patrons of the children's charitable organisation chart. chART's main objective is to enrich the lives of children and young people with life limiting conditions in hospices through the creative, performing and literary arts, enabling individual expression, creativity and communication. Says Suzanne Price, Treasurer and Team Leader for Music, Film and Photography at chART ‘We are totally thrilled and honoured to announce Exit State have agreed to become patrons of chART - Children's Hospice Arts. We are very excited to be working closely with the band on some incredible ventures over the next few months, one of those being an acoustic set for the children and staff of Claire House Children's Hospice in the Wirral. We would like to sincerely thank Roy Bright, Phil Ireland, Peat Hicks, Matt Harris and their manager Mark Appleton for their kindness and fantastic support’. Roy Bright adds ‘We were already proud to be recognised as official supporters of chART after being I ntroduced by Wayne Findlay of Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock and to now be appointed as official patrons is a true honour. We're so grateful to Suzanne and her colleagues that we can be involved like this. We've been working on a new acoustic set and simply cannot wait to take that into a session at Claire House which will give us a fantastic opportunity to learn more about chART and the great things the organisation does for the children and young people’. Exit State are currently putting the finishing touches to the mixing of their 3rd album, planned for release in June 2013. Fans should expect the first single to be released soon and further news on that, plus tour dates for the summer will be announced before long. Meanwhile, the band will be warming up and giving some of the new songs an airing at the following shows.... March 2nd : Birmingham, Asylum 2, March 16th : Sutton Bridge, The Gathering, March 30th : Burnley, Sanctuary

Hard Rock Hell, which runs from November 28th through December 1st in Pwllheli, Wales. Also confirmed so far are Black Star Riders (Thin Lizzy), Nazareth, Gentlemans Pistols, The Answer, Paul Dianno, Blaze Bayley, Lawnmower Deth, Chrome Molly and Crucified Barbara with many more to be announced. For updates, tickets and information visit www.hardrockhell.com. David Shankle and his band David Shankle Group (DSG) Sign to Pure Steel Records The former Manowar guitarist David Shankle, also known as ‘The Shred Demon’, has signed a worldwide deal with Pure Steel Records with his band David Shankle Group! After 6 years of silence, the new and third album from the band is to be expected in the summer / autumn 2013. David Shankle is still one of the most respected and talented guitarists in the world. David Shankle has long been one of my personal faves. For our label it's an important step to get the confidence of a well-known artist like David. The new album is a hammer - I can promise already’ says Andreas Lorenz from the label. David Shankle states: ‘I am very excited about releasing this new album in 2013, myself and the DSG band have found true metal brothers with Pure Steel Records, this has allowed us to create an epic metal record.’

SOS Festival line-up complete, with former members of AC/DC, UFO and Michael Schenker Group included Original singer and founder member of AC/DC, Dave Evans, heads up day one of SOS Festival 2013. The line-up also includes X-UFO, the band featuring former UFO members Laurence Archer, Danny Peyronel and Clive Edwards as well as Rocky Newton formerly of Michael Schenker Group. Day two is headed up by Manchester-based Babylon Fire who released their acclaimed ‘Dark Horizons’ album on Rocksector Records in November. Now in its' sixth year this 2 day indoor celebration of rock and metal takes place on 20th-21st July and boasts a unique combination of time-served stalwarts, a showcase for Rocksector Records artists as well as other emerging talent UK's Grifter Putting Finishing Touches On Material For from the UK and abroad, alongside a decent measure of New Album quality bands from the Manchester area where the event is UK-based dirty rock n' roll trio Grifter are putting the held. finishing touches on the follow up to their self-titled debut SOS has a packed programme involving 22 bands on full-length, which was released in 2011 by Ripple Music. the main stage which is now re-named the Dean Hocking Promising to deliver an album full of material that has Stage in memory of the recently deceased bass player of been described as ‘heavy as fuck,’ guitarist/vocalist Ollie Rocksector band Nightvision who was killed in a motor Stygall made the following statement about the band's accident in December, aged 23. The festival's second stage forthcoming record:"new track 'It's Not Me, It's You' just is for acoustic sessions which have proved extremely needs a few tweaks to round off some of the rougher edges popular since inception and is headed up on day one by but it's sounding tasty...it has kind of a swing blues vibe to it, power-folk trio Steel Threads and on day two by Greek albeit much heavier. We're also looking at dusting off rockers 4Bitten who are shortly to embark on an extensive ‘Woman Of Mine’ and making the definitive version of it. UK and European tour as special guests with UFO. We've always loved the song but it could do with a spruce The event builds also on its' strong reputation as a up...I have some nice ideas. Once that's done we just need to family-friendly festival with all ages welcome, embracing its' think about getting in and recording it!!!’ aforementioned mix of seasoned veterans rubbing More news on this release as it comes. In the shoulders with young emerging talent. meantime, Grifter's self-titled debut, which Planet Fuzz called Other bands welcomed to SOS this year include Exit ‘the perfect soundtrack to a night of debauchery,’ is State, Triaxis and Bull Riff Stampede, each of which has currently available via Ripple Music. Head over to made its' mark with album releases and previous festival www.ripple-music.com to order. appearances across the UK. Says festival director, Mark Grifter has recently been confirmed for this year's Appleton, ‘We aim to improve SOS each year and following

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the successes of the past two years this is quite a challenge. However, with the line-up we've assembled, we're confident we've taken another stride forward, with a range of artists with something for every fan of rock and metal, at thoroughly affordable prices.’

eight dates across the UK throughout May 2013. Tickets are available to book online from www.livenation.co.uk or www.ticketmaster.co.uk Journey, one of the most popular American rock bands of all time, are responsible for creating some of the best-known songs in modern music. Over the years they Whitesnake announce ‘Made In Japan’ Live Album, DVD & have gained multiple accolades – including 19 Top 40 singles, 25 Gold and Platinum albums and single Don’t Stop Blu-ray Believin’ holding the #1 digital catalogue song in history. Frontiers Records is pleased to announce Whitesnake’s In 2011, Journey drew nearly a million fans to their highly anticipated live concert ‘Made In Japan’ will be 2011 Eclipse World Tour which included a sold-out UK leg released on Deluxe 2CD/DVD Edition, Blu-ray and DVD in the UK on Monday April 22 (U.S release is April 23). ‘Made and ranked in the Top 15 Tours of the year. In the same year the band were awarded the prestigious “Legend of Live In Japan’ captures the multi-platinum rock band’s Award” at the Billboard Touring Awards in honor of the co-headline performance at the ‘Loud Park’ festival, which band’s significant and lasting contributions to live music and took place in Japan’s Saitama Super Arena on October the touring business, and in acknowledgement of their 15th 2011. commitment to the fans and the art of performing live. Filmed on the Japanese leg of Whitesnake’s Journey’s line-up features Neal Schon (guitars, backing momentous Forevermore World Tour, in support of their vocals), Jonathan Cain (keyboards, backing vocals), Ross 2011 album of the same name, ‘Made In Japan’ is packed full of the incredible songs that continue to keep the band at Valory (bass, backing vocals), Deen Castronovo (drums, percussion, backing vocals) and Arnel Pineda (lead vocals). the very forefront of rock’n’roll. The ‘Forevermore’ songs Journey’s Neal Schon said of the tour: ‘We’re looking alone are worth the price of admission, and that’s before forward to getting back to the UK and playing our best for factoring in the hits such as Is This Love, Still Of The you all. You guys are the very best, cheers and see you soon. Night and Here I Go Again. It’s all here. This is what We will be rocking!’ Whitesnake fans, new and old, have been clamouring for. Co-headlining the 2013 UK tour are the legendary In addition to the concert recording from Loud Park Whitesnake who carry a reputation as one of the world’s Festival, “Made In Japan” features a bonus disc containing leading rock’n’roll bands. Founded and formed by Deep never-before-heard versions of tracks recorded during Purple singer David Coverdale, the band have earned soundcheck at a variety of Japanese venues on the multi-platinum albums and multiple top 10 hits worldwide, tour. Led by front man and founding member David Coverdale, ‘Made In Japan’ features the Whitesnake line-up including 2 number 1 singles with Here I Go Again and Is This Love, and more recently with Still Of The Night. of Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach on guitar, bassist Michael Bombast, bravado, talent and passion have helped ~ Devin, drummer Briian Tichy and special-guest establish Whitesnake as the perennial platinum favourite keyboardist Brian Ruedy. they have become and they’re back with a vengeance in 2013, with plans to release a live DVD ahead of the tour as Karelia to release new album ‘Golden Decadence’ well as a double album. ‘Unfinished business,’ as Coverdale French metal rockers Karelia are set to release their new says slyly. ‘We all wanted the last tour to continue as we got album ‘Golden Decadence’ in the UK on 15th April through closer to the end. After a year in the studio we're ready to Rocksector Records. The album features a guest rock on stage again. We’re coming back for more.’ performance from the legendary Scorpions Harnessing Coverdale’s blues and soul roots and guitarist Rudolph Schenker on the tracks Keep Watch On Me and The Way Across The Hills. The first single fuelled by incendiary guitarists Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach you have all the elements needed to shape the ‘Snake’s hard from the new album is entitled Vanity Label. Karelia are very special guests on Michael Schenker’s rock identity. The band will also feature the legendary Tommy Aldridge on drums and percussion. upcoming Temple of Rock/ Lovedrive reunion UK tour in Special guests Thunder will also be joining the UK April. Dates include Salisbury City Hall (April 18), Oxford o2 dates. In 2009 the band went their separate ways, only to Academy (April 19), Nottingham Rock City (April 20) and return in 2011 for a triumphant live performance at the Norwich Waterfront (April 21). Following the release of their self-produced demo and High Voltage festival in London, followed by 2 sell out Christmas shows. Thunder returned for another two sell-out shows with acts such as Kamelot, Karelia signed in 2003 Christmas shows in 2012, with the date first selling out in with Drakkar/Song-BMG and released two Usual just six hours. Now, the band has been lured back on to the Tragedy (2004) and Raise (2005). Early success was stage as special guests on the Journey and Whitesnake UK evident, especially in Japan where Burn magazine arena tour in May. ranked Usual Tragedy #4 in their metal chart. Germany, Singer Danny Bowes says: ‘We’d already discussed Russia and Brazil also embraced the band. For their third album Restless (2008), Karelia toured extensively in France possibly doing some shows in 2013, so this is perfect. It’s a great bill like they used to be back in the day. It’ll be a brilliant with the Scorpions. night out.’ Inspired especially by their experiences at the Scorpions shows, Karelia set about writing the new ‘Golden Decadence’ album by combining groove-laden industrial and Escape the fate to release new album ‘Ungrateful’ electronic riffs, melodic, catchy anthems and extremely loud Kings of underground rock, Escape The Fate have announced the release date for their 4th studio album, crunching Ungrateful on May 13th with new label home Eleven Seven guitars. Music. A deluxe version of Ungrateful will also be available on Journey ∙ Whitesnake plus special guests Thunder to May 13th and will include a DVD of the jam-packed free show tour in May the band held at The Roxy in Los Angeles on January 6th, Journey and Whitesnake, with special guests Thunder, will appear onstage together for the first time ever taking in

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along with additional bonus content. The band will be unveiling their powerful and moving new video for “Ungrateful” in early March. The video covers an important topic for the band and illustrates brutally graphic stories touching on bullying and abuse. Ungrateful is an example of the foot-to-the-throat intensity combined with soaring choruses and commanding songwriting that has set the band apart. Escape The Fate appeal to several layers of rock fans as a real band that blends classic qualities with edgy and new elements and have been categorized with the next generation of exciting rock bands. The album was co-produced by John Feldman, Monte Money and Brandon Saller (Atreyu) and mixed by Josh Wilbur. Originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, Escape The Fate features Craig Mabbitt, Monte Money, Robert Ortiz, TJ Bell and Michael Money. This release will be the bands 5th studio recording and first since 2010's self titled release. Voodoo Circle Release New Album When Alex Beyrodt (Silent Force, Sinner, Primal Fear) formed Voodoo Circle in 2009, his first and major concern was that this should be a true band, jamming and following their inspirations. Yes, it had the wonderful blues (and very English) tones of singer David Readman, the inspirations that had coloured his own guitar (the golden years when bands like Rainbow, Whitesnake and Deep Purple released their classic albums), and the bonus of keyboards, yet Voodoo Circle never shied back from comparisons, because, to do so, would have been to bring a falseness to the wonderful music that was being created. “Bringing back the Voodoo Vibes to Hard Rock” became something of a motto for the new band. And powered by the expressive vocals of Readman (Pink Cream 69), Alex and Co. quickly put down a big marker with debut album ‘Voodoo Circle’. Only to, two years later, follow this up with “Broken Heart Syndrome’, a second album that showed tremendous progression and inevitably put Voodoo Circle into the focus of Rock fans throughout Europe. A sensational chart entry in Germany (No. 64 in the album charts) was proof of the immense early popularity of the band, and Powerplay UK was heard to describe “Broken Heart Syndrome” as, ‘an album that deserved a slice of immortality.’ But, a European tour with Sinner then became the real highlight for many fans of crushing Euro-Rock, as Voodoo Circle’s music proved to be made for the live arena too, bringing the spirit of 70’s/80’s Hard Rock back to life again. It’s taken Voodoo Circle only two studio albums to establish themselves as the epitome of quality and as a band of the Classic Hard Rock genre that truly delivers, but really it’s not surprising….! This union of exceptional musicians has it all: lots of experience, the skills and the musicianship, and a passion for and sense for great hooks, so when we heard last year that Beyrodt had re-signed the band to AFM, and was looking to develop the third chapter in the story with the same line up, it was all hands on deck! And now, with ‘More Than One Way Home’ (and it’s single ‘Cry For Love’) it’s obvious that VC have enhanced their Classic Rock repertoire to the highest level transcending that international bridge that makes them relevant in the UK, Europe, Japan and the US, all at the same time. Beyrodt (known as one of the biggest Stratocaster fans on the planet) also handles the Les Paul with mastery. But, as he says,’ I just tried to give the songs just what they needed! I think this results in more variety while keeping up the Voodoo Circle trademark! A different vocal, a different guitar; they all work!’

“More Than One Way Home” definitely delivers exactly what it implies. There might always be more than one way that leads to the ultimate goal? But Voodoo Circle show master ship in every terrain: powerful riff-driven hard rockers, profound tunes affected by the bluesy timbre of Readman, and atmospheric ballads that appear natural territory for the band. All with consummate ease. Voodoo Circle embrace the wonder of Hard Rock and yet give it extra flavor. ‘More Than One Way Home’ sounds like a journey in time when good solid rock records ruled the airwaves. The creative moods of classic, yearning, bluesy Rock, mixing with an energy and vitality that also perfectly suits the demands of the year 2013. The melodic anthems, cultivated by the powerful voice of Readman, the tasteful Hammond sounds of Kresic, Sinner’s precise bass runs and Markus Kullmann’s best Bonham-esque rhythms, appear to come down right from the Olympus of Hard Rock itself but with more European shows planned this year (starting in May), it’s not going to be too long before these guys are fulfilling both expectations (live and studio) once again. The Union Postpone their tour Following our curtailed show in London last night due to Peter being taken ill with a heavy bout of flu, and the band have been regrettably forced to postpone all remaining dates of our UK tour. And have issued the following statement: ‘Taking into account medical advice and the fact that we have no wish to put on a Union show that is sub-standard in any way, we have taken the difficult decision to reschedule the shows. We will announce the new dates as soon as possible. We are extremely disappointed as the tour was proving to be our most successful to date but under the circumstances we feel we have no choice. Peter and the band would like to thank everybody for the all the messages of support received and we promise to make the re-scheduled dates as special as possible.’

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Blaze Bayley & Thomas Zwijsen 10 / 10

Russian Holiday Record Label Self Released

Released February 2013

Highlight of the album: ‘Sign Of The Cross’ Website http://www.blazebayley.net

Blaze Bayley needs no introduction. Throughout his time in the music industry he has had a long and illustrious career starting off with the mighty Wolfsbane, before having a stint in Iron Maiden and then soldiering on as a solo artist. Lately he has been busy between the reformation of the Wolfsbane and continuing on with his solo career.

With ‘Russian Holiday’ Blaze teams up once again with Belgium-based classical guitarist Thomas Zwijsen, to produce a stunning set of songs which somehow make the transition from Blaze’s normal high powered, balls out, brand of rock to a series of superbly crafted acoustic numbers. On paper this transition should not work, but somehow it does, with each song successfully capturing the raw energy and Having long been a fan of Mr Bayley’s work, back from when, as emotion that Blaze is known for and amplifying it, giving the a teenager I discovered the howling mad nutcases that are songs a whole new lease of life. Wolfsbane, and I am somewhat ashamed to say that I have never really considered the possibility of Blaze putting out an Overall ‘Russian Holiday’ will go down as one of the surprise acoustic cd until I came across this E.P. releases of the year and makes you view Blaze in a whole new light. The e.p itself features four re-arranged songs from previous Blaze albums, a fantastic re-working of the Iron Maiden song ‘Sign Of The Cross’ and a brand new song (‘Russian Holiday ‘) wrote specifically for the E.P.

Lee Walker

Tommy Emmanuel & Martin Taylor The Colonel & The Governor Record Label Mesa/

8 / 10

Released 4 March 2013

Bluemoon Recordings Highlight of the album: Lullaby Of Birdland Website

Right then, this album descended on me from above, and reading the release notes on it were rather interesting to say the least. There are only two musicians on this album, and both play acoustic guitar. Yes this is an acoustic instrumental album, but being very much a fan of guitar music in general, I figured I’d give it a listen. Obviously, this isn’t one of those albums where you’d throw the horns and shake your head, and frankly, you’d look rather silly if you did. It’s an interesting mix of classical guitar, and lots of different rhythms from the world of music. It’s an intelligent album, and as instrumental albums go, it’s very pleasant to the ears. It’s certainly different, that’s for sure. I like the fact that there is still room for maniacal shredding too. Oh yes, if these guys were amped up, they’d give the likes of Yngwie Malmsteen a run for his money. As it is

http://www.tommyemmanuel.com http://www.martintaylor.com

though, it’s strictly “amps off” so the whole album has a much more relaxed feel, even when the pace becomes frenetic. Both of these musicians are world renowned for their musical prowess, and this album gives both a chance to shine. There is a lot to be said for good classical guitar music, and it makes a nice change from the full on electric stuff that I usually listen to. This album is just so easy to listen to as well. Overall, this is a quality album, but of course it’s not going to appeal to everyone. The reason that it appeals to me personally, is because I have the deepest respect for any musician who can master their chosen instrument. Both of the musicians on this album fall into that category, and the music they make together is beautiful. Jon Seymour

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interviewed by lee walker

You have been involved with the music industry off and on since the early 70’s. How did you originally become involved with the industry? The family was always involved with music. As a child I used to see my father singing at the local town concerts and I performed myself at the local school concerts. We didn't get television until I was fifteen years old as my father wanted us to enjoy music and reading etc., so music was a big part of my growing up. I left home at sixteen after a huge fight with my father about my long hair and the rock music that I was now listening to, which was disapproved of. I was asked by a local band to join as the singer and accepted and we played top 40 songs in pubs and clubs in the small town where I lived in far north Queensland in Australia. I received great compliments on my singing and I decided to head down to the big city of Sydney to try my luck in the big time. Obviously you are well known for your connection to AC/DC. How did you become a part of the band? Whilst I was singing in Sydney's Velvet Underground (not to be confused with Lou Reed's Velvet Underground) I had heard of one of their former guitarists, Malcolm Young, who was a younger brother of George Young of The Easybeats fame, and after the band split I was visited at my Bondi home by Angus Young who had a band called Kentuckee and who had heard of me and was looking for a new singer. I had not heard of Angus but he introduced himself to me and I let him in. He had very long curly hair and was a tiny guy but very nice and polite and he played the kind of music that his band was performing. It was very heavy guitar based and did not lean too much to the vocals and I really was not that interested. A month later I answered an advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald for a rock singer with a strong voice into Free, The Rolling Stones etc. and found Malcolm Young on the other end of the line. He had heard of me too, and he told

me he and two other guys, Colin Burgess on drums (ex Masters Apprentices) and another guy, Larry Van Kriedt on bass were looking for a singer to complete the line up for a new band. He invited me over to a disused office block in Newtown, an inner suburb of Sydney, for a jam and I went over and met the guys there. Malcolm was also a tiny guy like his brother Angus but was full of life and energy and greeted me warmly. I met Colin and he was already from a band that had been one of Australia's top acts only a couple of years back. Colin was friendly with a big smile and then I met Larry who was kind of shy but was also very friendly. We jammed on some Free, Rolling Stones and some familiar Beatles songs and then jammed on a couple of 12 bar rock n roll standards. The band really cooked and we were all smiles and Malcolm said "looks like we've got a band". Everyone agreed and we all shook hands and later that night we all went out together to celebrate. Just after our first couple of rehearsals Malcolm asked us if his younger brother, Angus, could audition for us too as his band, Kentuckee had finally split. We said that it was ok and at the next rehearsal Angus showed up and jammed with us. It sounded great and we shook Angus's hand and welcomed him into the band. Now we were five members but still had no name for the band at that time.

“

Hi Dave, thank you for taking the time out for an interview.

i did not expect that and it reinvigorated me and encouraged me to return to my first love - music

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success in this area along with my violent clash with our third manager as we all suspected that he was ripping us off or spending the money recklessly well it just wasn't working for me. I left the band after my fight with the manager but it was decided that I would stay with the band until the end of the tour as we were in the middle of a national tour as our record was top five. At the end of the tour it was obvious that nothing had changed and the split was inevitable and so it was decided that I leave.

What was the band like back then? Did it undergo many line-up changes while you were a part of it? Yes, we went through three bass players and drummers and three managers by the time of my split. There was so much happening and so quickly. We played at the top night spots and clubs and soon after our debut we had signed with Alberts Record label and started recording. We did our first film clip and our first single, Can I Sit Next To You, Girl? raced up the charts and was awarded the title of best rock band single of the year and appeared on a compilation album of best songs of the year. The album was called Rock Steady on EMI Records. We were a national hit in Australia.

Were you surprised when they announced Bon Scott as your replacement? Had you come across him previously? I was surprised as he was quite a bit older than us and he was a hippie at the time which was not our style of rock. He used to hang out with us and came to our concerts when we were in Adelaide in South Australia and he saw what I was doing and the style of the band. He had been with Fraternity, a hippie band with a beard and before that The Valentines which was a glam satin flares and page boy hair cut type band so Bon was able to change his image when it suited him. He saw me with no shirt on and the rock star image so he knew what the band required.

“

As time has gone by the band have developed a reputation for being very set in their ways regarding the songs that form their live set and having a very clear focus with regards to business decisions (such as there delay in allowing there material to be used on iTunes or the stage setup/use of logo issues at the Download festival in 2010). Has this always been the case or was it something that developed over time? The band's mentor, George Young, the older brother of Malcolm and Angus and our record producer along with Harry Vanda was very strong and unrelenting in our aims and direction and were very well respected by the Australian Music Industry because of the International success of The Easybeats which George and Harry were a part of. The band therefore always had a tough business attitude.

“

With the band being relatively new, and both Angus and Malcolm being quite inexperienced compared to yourself at the time, you were often portrayed as being pivotal in developing a lot of the AC/DC stagecraft that we see today. How much did you influence the band? I had always been very theatrical with my performances and emulated singers like Robert Plant and Paul Rodgers. It was my idea to put Angus on my shoulders during our show which was then afterwards copied by Bon Scott and later by Brian Johnson. The band was energy plus form the very beginning.

there are not as many venues and gigs as there used to be and so many original bands play for door deals and receive little or no pay

Over the years the band re-recorded and released quite a few of the songs that you had previously produced with the band such as ‘Can I Sit Next To You Girl’. Was this something you expected to happen? Were you happy with the re-recorded versions? I did not expect that as they had been so popular Your leaving of AC/DC has been brought up on numerous occasions though out the years between when I performed them live with the band. I had already recorded Rock n Roll Singer, Soul Stripper, interviews, biographies and various documentaries with several differing reasons offered depending on Little Lover and was about to record our show stopper Baby Please Don't Go. Bon also changed the where you came across them. What were the lyrics to two songs that I had co written and reasons behind it? We were all comrades at first but by the time of our performed with the band, Sunset Strip and Fell in third bass player and drummer who were strangers Love and they became Show Business and Love Song for Jean or something like that. I was to me really and the infighting between the Young disappointed with that most of all but Bon was just brothers towards myself mostly because of my following orders as they say. popularity with the female fans and their lack of

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Were you surprised that they were able to continue after Bon’s tragic death? Yes as he was so popular and was so identified with the band by then.

was very enjoyable. I also went in to the advertising industry at the same time which was also very interesting and I gained valuable business and marketing experience.

After leaving AC/DC you joined the band Rabbit pretty quickly. How did you come to join up with them? A friend, the late Ted Mulry, who was a big star at the time and who I had met when I was in Velvet Underground told me that Rabbit was looking for a new singer. I had seen them and they had something special although they had not recorded at that time. I contacted them and they were very keen to come over to my place and discuss the possibility with me. After a meeting we all seemed to be on the right page and I accepted their offer.

You seemed to return to the music industry in 2000 as part of a Bon Scott tribute show marking the anniversary of his death and since then you solo career seems to have really taken off with two album releases (‘Sinner’ and ‘Judgement Day’) as well as completing extensive tours of the US, the UK and Europe. What do you attribute this resurgence to? After my performance at the Bon Scott Memorial Anniversary show I received emails from all over the world congratulating me and asking me when I would be touring their countries. I did not expect that and it reinvigorated me and encouraged me to return to my first love - music. I started touring again and writing new songs and it is because that everywhere I toured I received such a wonderful reaction from the audiences and from reviewers of my albums that I am still performing and recording.

“

Despite releasing a couple of well received albums (‘Rabbit’ and ‘Too Much Rock n Roll’) the band split up. What were the reasons behind this decision? Disco hit big around '77 with John Travolta and the Bee Gees leading the way with Saturday Night Fever etc. Half the venues decided to go disco and put in DJ's to replace the live bands. Most of the top Australian bands went broke during this time as our expenses were the same to tour but we could only get half the revenue to cover all costs. The maths just didn't add up and we split up as did so many other top acts at the time.

i have been asked that by fans and it is something for me to look into for sure.

Since your return to the music scene do you think it has changed much? Are the changes for the better? There are not as many venues and gigs as there used to be and so many original bands play for door deals and receive little or no pay. Rock music is also being ignored by most of the major labels and mainstream radio and TV that it is hard for new original bands to get a start therefore there are so many tribute bands as a lot of musicians have given up on their own music which is a tragedy really. You have backing bands in the US, Europe and the UK for when you tour these countries. Can you tell After Rabbit broke up you were a part of a couple of the Firebrand readers about these bands? As a solo artist I can travel the world and use bands and released an album as ‘Dave Evans and Thunder Down Under’ then you seemed to withdraw different musicians in different continents. The guys I from the music industry for a long time. If you don’t work with are top professionals who are usually in mind me asking, what were the reasons behind this their own bands but learn my material for their tour with me. I usually call them my Badasses i.e. The UK withdrawal and what did you get up to during this Badasses or the Aussie Badasses etc. period of your career? I decided to perform as an actor at this time and scored lead roles in a few small budget movies which

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I know that you have an upcoming UK tour later this year, as well as a festival slot headling the SOS Festival in July. Are you surprised to be returning to the UK so soon? Did you expect to be headlining the festival? No, I am not surprised. This will be my third UK tour in four years. The British love my badass brand of hard rock and I would have headlined the SOS Festival before except my UK Tour at the time did not coincide with the SOS Festival date back then.

Are there any messages that you would like to pass on to your fans? Keep it Rock and I'm looking forward to rockin' and shockin' em for a long time yet.

For more Dave Evans donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to visit: http://www.daveevansrocks.com/ Besides the live gigs, what else do you have planned for the rest of the year? Do you have any plans for a new solo album?

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget you can see Dave Evans live at SOS Festival!

I have just completed a new album with Texas rock and blues legend and former Alice Cooper guitarist, John Nitzinger and looking for a release hopefully by at least mid-year if not sooner. With a lot of your earlier releases being long out of print and difficult to obtain, are there any plans for any re-releases either individually or as part of a box set? I have been asked that by fans and it is something for me to look into for sure. Are there any up and coming bands out there you would recommend keeping an eye on right now? I don't take too much of an interest in the young talent as I am busy with my own career and the good ones will rise to the top of their own accord to make a name for themselves.

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Dientes Numbers & Stations Record Label Self Released

8 / 10

Released April 2013

Highlight of the album: ‘Nothing To Say’ Website http://www.facebook.com/DientesBand?fref=ts

Starting off with a bluesy undercurrent, Dientes seem to avoid being pigeonholed into any one specific genre.

with Dientes treading a careful line and never straying too far into any one genre, staying somewhere around the same place in the indie scene that was occupied by Suede.

Utilising elements of blues, modern jazz, stoner rock and grunge you get the feeling that ‘Numbers & Overall ‘Numbers & Stations’ is an interesting affair Stations’ is ripped straight from the 90s, being the and without any shadow of doubt I can honestly say illegitimate love child resulting of a chance encounter that fans of the true indie scene will love it. in the dark between Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Lee Walker

Throughout the album you get glimpses of highly polished skills, be it with the cheeky opening radio style burst in ‘One In A Half A Million Percent’, the blues laden bass merged with superb guitarmanship in ‘Lizzy’ or the Hawkwindesque psychedelia in ‘Shine’ Great White

9 / 10

30 Years Live from the Sunset Strip Record Label Frontiers Records

Released 22 February 2013

Highlight of the album: ’Desert Moon’

Website www.greatwhiterocks.com

Great White are a band with a long history and with 12 studio albums, 6 Live albums and quite a few compilation and tribute albums to their name they are no strangers to success. Starting way back in 1977 in LA by Jack Russell and Mark Kendall as Dante Fox with Don Costa (remember him?) and Tony Richards of WASP fame . They went on to form Great White and gained popularity during the 1980s and early 1990s. Sadly a tragedy struck when in 2003 an accident at The Station nightclub in West Warwick Rhode Island, led to the deaths of 100 people including the band's guitarist Ty Longley. Great White parted company in 2011 with Russell who then went on to form his own version of the band. The original version went on with Terry Ilous on vocal duties. It is a shame that Russell didn’t just do a new band and move on that would save a lot of hassle in the courts over the ownership of the name but they are not the first and probably won’t be the last band to go through this.

what they do and I have fond memories of seeing Great White support Whitesnake on the ‘Slide It In’ tour in Liverpool many many years ago and enjoyed what they did so it may come as no surprise that the latest offering from the lads meets with my approval .The live album ‘30 Years - Live From The Sunset Strip’ is a terrific offering and not one genuine fans should over look and includes all the old favourite’s such as ‘Rock Me’, ‘House Of Broken Love’ and ‘Mista Bone’. The album itself is a definite pleaser. I suppose in a way it is a live ‘best of’ but it is good so go out and get it and if you are a stranger to Great White then this is the ideal introduction to the band with the powerful yet seductive voice of Ilous on vocals and the talented Kendall on guitar you have a wonderful combination that should get any hardened metal fan to tap a foot or two.

Graham Pritchard

To be fair I have never been a fan of blues rock, with the exception of Gary Moore but these guys are very, very good at

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So I had the idea that Firebrand Magazine should run a regular blues section. It seemed a great idea at the time, but it would seem that as it was my idea, then it’s only fair that I should look after it. I’m not complaining of course, as I get to listen to a lot of great music. The only problem of course, is that little old me can’t review every single album that comes into Firebrand, as it would fill the magazine to bursting point. As well as the usual reviews, interviews and features in the new section, I will be giving you a run down of some of the releases that didn’t make it into the magazine, due to time, space, or indeed the time space continuum… I’ll also try to point you in the direction of future releases that we’re really excited about. There have been so many great releases in the past month or so, and some of them have made it onto Firebrand’s sister site http://www.fireflameservices.com and it’s always worth checking the site out, as new stuff is posted regularly. Think of it as an extension of the monthly publication. The first couple of albums fall into that category. Devon Allman’s new solo effort Turquoise, and an album called Forbidden Fruit from a young lady from Finland by the name of Erja Lyytinen. I knew that Devon’s album was going to be really good, and you can’t get a much better score than 10 out of 10. Erja’s album though was very surprising. It’s a contemporary blues album that really pushes the boundaries of modern blues, and puts a whole new twist on things.

Party. The album that resulted, We Want Groove is a jazz funk effort that is slowly starting to grow on me. I like a good instrumental album, but it’s taken a few plays to get my head around it, due to not being something I’d go out of my way to listen to.

Looking forward, we also have releases coming up from Virgil & The Accelerators, who are releasing their DVD Live At Marshall Theatre. I was lucky There have also been releases by 3AM who’s album enough to be at the recording of the DVD, and it was a momentous occasion for both band and Long Time Coming is purely R&B in the traditional sense, not that new hip-hop kind of stuff that stole Looking forward, we also have releases coming up the initials. It’s rocking too. Also, blues titan Joe Bonamassa joined a band called Rock Candy Funk from Virgil & The Accelerators, who are releasing

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their DVD Live At Marshall Theatre. I was lucky Anyway, we here at Firebrand hope that you enjoy the new blues section, and that you find it enough to be at the recording of the DVD, and it was a momentous occasion for both band and entertaining and informative. See you next month. audience. Also, a young lady that is setting the blues scene alight at the moment, one Jo Harman is due to release her debut album. There are many people (including yours truly) that are looking forward to that one.

There’s a lot of blues out there if you look hard enough, and it’s a scene that is still very much alive. There are artists emerging all the time, and because of the stiff competition the vast majority are very good indeed. Keep an eye on Aynsley

Lister, Mitch Laddie, Paddy Maguire, Jenna Hooson, Danny Bryant and a whole host of other talent. Also of course, in May, we have one of the country’s best blues festivals to look forward to. Hebden Bridge Blues Festival will be in its third year this year, and already it’s won some major awards. If you can get there, make sure you go. This year is looking like it’s going to be another corker.

If you like blues then check out Tony Corners dedicated Blue’s show on Firebrand Rock Radio every Sunday 7-9pm (UK)

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OF Interviewed by Jon Seymour Backing Vocals) joined, along with Ben (McKeown, Bass/ Backing Vocals), and that’s the line up we have now. Have you found it difficult in the UK, as the blues scene up until quite recently has been very much underground here? The problem with the UK blues scene for a while is that it’s been stuck in a rut. It’s kind of become fossilized. If you go abroad and listen to what passes for the blues nowadays, it’s a lot more exciting. The definition of the blues is a bit looser. Over here, they’re much stricter. If it’s not twelve bars, then it’s not the blues. If it doesn’t sound like something that was recorded forty or fifty years ago, then it’s not the blues. In that respect people are very backward looking. I understand why they think like that, as they want to preserve their blues heritage, but I think that to keep something alive, you need to let it grow and develop and pass it from generation to generation. It’s great to hear people like The Black Keys or The White Stripes take the blues as an inspiration, and really change it sonically, and write their music around that. That’s what we try to do in The Mustangs. We don’t want to stick in the twelve bar rut, or write twenty minute guitar solos. We want to keep it fresh and interesting, but still stick to the whole mythology and inspiration of the blues from all those years ago. There are a lot of young people around now playing blues, like Oli Brown and Chantel McGregor who have the same sort of attitude. They’re interpreting the blues their own way. Then you have the standard bearers like Joe Bonamassa who have broken through and taken the blues to a much wider audience, and the people like him are the new Eric Clapton. At the moment the blues is in a really exciting place.

“

So Adam, shall we start right at the beginning? What’s the story behind The Mustangs? Well I got into the blues years ago, at an early age. I grew up in America and my mum’s a folk singer, and my dad is from Georgia in the Deep South, and in America, the radio wasn’t as segmented as it is here. You could hear Elvis Presley, and Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and a whole load of other great music. With my mum being a singer, and a guitar always in the house, I sort of put two and two together, picked up a guitar and copied what I was hearing on the radio. I also like the mythology of the blues and with my dad being from the Deep South, there was a kind of connection there, and it became the music that I really love. As a guitar player, I grew up listening to Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Fleetwood Mac, and they were always talking about the old blues musicians, so it kind of came full circle, and I got the whole blues connection. I was in a lot of bands through the years, but a few years ago I went to an open jam session in a pub down in Hampshire. I’d never met any of the guys before that night, but the session went really well. They asked me to come back again the next week, and someone asked what we were called. I just happened to blurt out “oh we’re The Mustangs” and the name stuck. I don’t know why it came to me, and sometimes I wish it hadn’t as it’s not very original, but that’s what we became known as. From there the band mutated and went through some lineup changes, but Derek (Kingaby) was one of the original members that was there that night, and he and I have been musical partners ever since, and that’s how it all started, from a jam session in a pub, eleven years ago down in Hampshire. We started playing locally, and the word started to get around, and suddenly we were a band that was generating a lot of buzz. I’d always been writing songs, but to start with we did a lot of blues covers, so I suggested writing our own stuff, recording it onto CD and selling it, and that became our first album Let It Roll back in 2002 I think. Then the band went through a lineup change, as a couple of the guys weren’t huge blues fans, so they went off and did their own thing, and that’s when Jon (Bartley, Drums/

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From personal experience, I’ve found the blues to be more about the feeling, than the actual music. What does the blues mean to you? I think you’re absolutely right. The music is all about trying to get the listener to feel something. You’re trying to get that across the best way you can, and induce a psychological state of mind. Attitude has a lot to do with it too. You don’t need a song to carry a particular message, they just need that certain “swagger” about them, and you get it immediately. It doesn’t have to be “twelve bar” or “woke up

this morning, and my baby was gone” to give you that. A song can have all three of those elements, or just one or the other, but you can hear that spark of inspiration that takes it back to the beginning of the blues. That’s what I think anyway, and I agree with you completely. It’s all about creating a feeling. Expressing yourself is the most important thing though, and I think the blues gives you a lot more freedom to do that. There’s a lot more room for interpretation than in other genres, and I think that’s why so many people like it. The best blues are heard when the performers stamp their own personality all over it, which is why you get so many big personalities playing the music. It doesn’t matter how hard you try to recreate something that someone else has done, it will never work as well as they made it work. You have to make it your own for it to be as good as it can be. So going back to Shaman And The Monkey, that was quite a big album for you guys. Did it change things for you as a band? Yeah, that album was sort of a breakthrough album for us in some respects. We were really happy with it, and it sounded much better than our previous records. We worked really hard trying to get the sound right, and it was a much warmer record. The reviews we got for it were fabulous, better than we could have hoped for. It felt like the band had moved onto another level. It was the record that convinced our current label that they wanted us, and they even fought to get us off our old label. The response to all of that was just very flattering, and we felt like we’d taken things into a higher gear. That’s why there was so much pressure with the new album. You don’t want to gain a lot of fans from an album, only to produce something that could lose them again, we want to try and repeat that level of success all over again.

“

So at the moment you’re working on your next album which is due out soon, can you tell us anything about that? Yeah we’re working on it now, and it’s actually due out on April 8th and will be called Speed Of Love. Its twelve tracks of original material written by me and the band, and we’re really pleased with how it’s coming along. We felt a lot more pressure this time around though, because our last album Shaman And The Monkey got some really great reviews, and it was also nominated for some great awards in the UK and Europe. This is also the first proper album with the new record label. The label released the last album, but we’d already recorded it with the label we were with before, so this is the first album that the label has been involved with from start to finish. All of that combined has really made us work hard to produce something really good. We’re just finishing the production and everything, and we can’t wait for people to hear it. It’s definitely a blues record, but with a twist, because that’s what we do. Hopefully it will appeal to our fans that just like the blues, but at the same time appeal to the people that like us because we’re not just a blues band. That’s why we keep getting invited back to festivals. We’ve usually got a place at a festival, because we break up the standard blues, and mix it up a bit, which tends to give people a respite from the bands that just play straight blues.

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So what does 2013 hold for The Mustangs? Actually this year is already pretty much booked up with shows. We’ll be doing the festival circuit, and we’ll be playing a lot of the blues clubs that we enjoy playing in so much. We’re all family men with kids etc so it’s really difficult to go out and do an extensive tour. That’s one of the great things about being in The Mustangs. We don’t let it completely take over our lives to that extent. The good thing about being around for ten or eleven years or so, is that you get booked up really far in advance. If someone came and offered us the opportunity to do a tour, we’d probably take it. We’ve got plans to go over to Holland later in the year to do some dates, and we nearly went to the US last year, but logistically you need someone with a bit of money to take care of you, as trying to fund a tour yourselves is really hard.

spread the word, and get more people to come to see us. That way we can continue to just keep playing, because in the end, that’s what really makes us happy. We get along great as a band, and the fun we have making music comes across in our live shows, which is why so many people enjoy coming to see us.

So with everything that’s happening this year, where would you like to see the next album go? Well it would be nice to get it to chart in some respect. Not necessarily a high position, but just to sell enough copies in the first few weeks to dent the top 100 or something, which isn’t totally out of the question. Obviously we’d like to see it go much higher, but you have to keep things realistic. The goal for us has always just been to make great music, and try to work our way up the billing with each album. It’s great to achieve that, as we have been slowly moving up the running order at festivals. We want to try and get as many people as we can into The Mustangs’ family, who will then

Bart Walker 9 / 10

Waiting On Daylight Record Label Ruf Records

Released 12 March 2013

Highlight of the album: ‘Girl You Bad’ Website http://www.thebartwalkerband.com

This first thing I thought when I got this CD was “who?” as this is another guy that I’d heard nothing about until now. I like discovering new things though, and occasionally something comes along that really makes me feel good. I’ve been in that situation a couple of times recently, and with this album I find myself in that position again.

the tracks though. Some of the tracks are actually quite heavy, a la ZZ Top. The thing is though, this is definitely a low down and dirty blues album. The guitar and the vocals are just plain sleazy. That’s actually what I like most about it, because it’s not clean and polished by any means. This is music straight from the back room bars that could give you three years worth of passive smoking, just by walking past the window on the street.

This is a blues album, simple as that, but it’s not a classic blues album. It’s more of a blues interpretation. There’s rocking blues, groovy blues, funky blues and many other crossovers dotted about through the album. The thing is though, no matter where it crosses to, it always This is a great album, it’s got some guts, and it’s got a lot of balls. It’ll keeps one foot planted firmly in the ground, and that’s where the blues kick your chair out from under you, and then pour your beer over your roots are. head for good measure. Vocally too, the album is very strong. Bart’s vocals are really gritty, but with a lot of soul in them too, but they The album is dotted with plenty of changes in tempo, and this keeps match the music very well. This album is most certainly worthy of the album moving along, without ever feeling laboured or boring. seeking out, as there’s a whole lot on it to enjoy, and not that much to Nothing here has been forced, and you can tell that from the way it dislike. flows. The album does tend to lean a lot more toward the rock side of

Jon Seymour

Firebrand Magazine

Doug MacLeod 9 / 10

Theres A Time Record Label Reference Recordings

Released 12 March 2013

Highlight of the album: ‘My In laws Are Outlaws’ Website http://www.doug-macleod.com

Do you remember when the blues was played on acoustic guitars? If like me, you’re far too young to remember those days, then you’ll be pleased to know that you can grab yourself a piece of that nostalgia, by picking up Doug MacLeod’s latest offering.

visited before too often. I like my music to be electrified, because I love the sound of an electric guitar, but this album is a showcase for just how beautiful a well played acoustic guitar can sound. There’s no shredding to be heard either, it’s just sublime.

This is the blues in its most basic form, laid bare, and not updated, or dragged into this century by any means. This is blues before the days of the giants of the electric guitar world, complete with bottleneck slides. You trace the origins of this album way back further than I’d care to go. It doesn’t get much purer than this, or indeed much better.

The vocals too, could have been lifted straight from an old ’78, cleaned up, and laid over the top. There’s a certain authenticity to the vocal style, and again its transports you back to a much simpler place and time. This album seemed to me like it was a trip back in time, giving me a whole lot of new memories for later on. I liked it a lot though, and you can’t say you’re a blues fan until you’ve heard the blues as it was first intended to be played, and that’s exactly what this album is all about.

The lyrics too, are packed with their own stories, sometimes even, with a little humour thrown in. I found myself being transported away on some invisible blue mist, to places I’d not

Jon Seymour

Bare Bones Boogie BAnd 9 / 10

Blue Record Label Self Release

Released 2012

Highlight of the album: ‘Love In Vain’ Website

I’d heard great things about these guys, as a few of my friends on the music circle had seen them live, and were very impressed by them, but I’d never managed to catch them myself. Needless to say, I was really pleased when this album descended and found its way to me. Blue is the follow up to the last album Red.

http://www.barebonesboogieband.com

music throughout it’s entirety. The production on the album is very minimal, and I imagine that the mixing took a similar approach. The end result is an album that’s as raw as a blue steak. What is does have in abundance though is atmosphere. You can feel everything that’s portrayed through the music, and it’s oh so good to listen to.

This album is a pure blues album, there’s no other way to describe it, but wow what a blues album it is. One thing This is well worth you checking out, although perhaps the that really stands out is Helen’s voice. She really has one blues was never meant to make you feel this good. It’s of the finest voices I’ve heard in a long time, and not just in simply a stunning album. the blues scene, I mean anywhere. The music too is extremely good, and I found it extremely hard to find fault in it. It’s simplistic in approach, and pretty much faultless in execution. It’s a really laid back album too, and you can really hear the roots of the blues in the

Jon Seymour

Firebrand Magazine

Kompendium Beneath The Waves Record Label Ritual Echo

9 / 10

Released 11 February 2013

Highlight of the album: ‘The Storm’ Website http://www.kompendium-web.com/

Concept albums seem to have become a new trend in the progressive metal scene. Unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of artists that come up with interesting enough concepts to make it all worth it. Fortunately, the newest offering by Kompendium entitled ‘Beneath The Sea’ is a concept album done right, both musically and conceptually.

As gloomy a concept as the above summary implies, the music is surprisingly uplifting sounding. The opening track on the album, ‘Exordium’ begins with pan pipes and strings, something not commonly heard on a prog metal album. Complexity and technical prowess are abound on this album, from the gentle acoustic brushes layered with soothing strings on ‘Lily’ to the eleven plus minute epic journey of “The Storm’. Steve Kompendium is the brain child of Magenta keyboardist Balsamo’s voice is perfect voice for the lead character Rob Reed, however ‘Beneath The Sea’ features a in this masterpiece, conveying McGregor’s anguish shopping list of notable artist names on the credits. with conviction. In addition to instrumental skill, vocal Among them we have Steve Hackett, Nick Barrett, skill is abound on this release as well, with mid evil Gavin Harrison and Steve Balsamo, amongst many sounding chanting by The English Chamber Choir that others. will make the listener feel as if they are in the middle of the action. The album tells the tale of a man, Connor McGregor who is stricken with grief. His wife committed suicide Kompendium has managed to create an emotionally shortly after the birth of their first child, and he feels striking and convincing conceptual masterpiece, and incredibly guilty over this. To add insult to injury, his ‘Beneath The Sea’ will hold up amongst the best of ship sinks during a fishing expedition. He is the only them. Shortly and sweetly put, this album will take you survivor, and he comes back believing that Lily, his wife on a moving journey, and if Rob Reed and Steve has reached out to him and is longing to be reunited Hackett have any desire to get a supergroup like this with him. He then takes a walk on the beach, and together again, I highly advise them to do so. doesn’t return… Doron Beit-Halahmi

Antonia Vai

8 / 10

Lovers and Prophets Record Label Self Release

Released September 2012

Highlight of the album: ‘Confessions Of Berlin’ Website

Antonia Vai is a 24-year old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Sweden. Labelled as a folk based ‘bohemian soul diva’ with songs focusing on storytelling, shaped by rhythms and unique melodies. Antonia began recording her songs in the bedroom, or in random hotel rooms along the road, and ever since, the songs started spreading and circulating on the net . Not really knowing what to expect I was fairly surprised by this offering by Swedish based songstress Antonia Vai, who’s own brand soulful singing and captivating songwriting reminds me of

http://www.antoniavai.com

Scottish folk rocker KT Tunstall, with hints of Alanis Morissette thrown in, by creating a mix of quirky, almost bohemian ballads, that set out to tell a story of ‘Lovers and Profits’ and the tribulation’s that they endure as they continue their journey to happiness producing an almost ‘concept’ style album. Overall the album shows a great deal of potential for Antonia Vai but as with all albums of this nature it will only appeal to fans of the genre. Lee Walker

Firebrand Magazine

Saxon

10 / 10

Sacrifice Record Label UDR

Released 4 March 2013

Highlight of the album: Warriors of the Road Website

With a storming new stomp in their boots and a renewed, swagger to their legendary sound, Saxon will release “Sacrifice”, on 4th March 2013 through UDR Records. Taking a sharper, re-invigorated approach to the production, on this, their 20th album, Saxon have produced 10 of their strongest, heaviest and most inspired songs for many-a-year, and a more than worthy successor to their last album ‘A Call To Arms’. Before the album was released effervescent frontman Biff Byford simply said that ‘my brief to the band was to be raw, be real and not be afraid to look back at the old classic material for inspiration’ which is exactly what they have done with this release proving that you can teach old rockers new tricks. Instrumental opening number ‘Procession’ sets the scene for this grand album with its hauntingly atmospheric tones leading the way for ‘Sacrifice’ to come shooting out of the starting blocks with its traditional bursts of screaming guitars augmenting Biffs powerful voice, which somehow manages to sound better shape now then it did all those years ago when Saxon was first starting off.

http://saxon747.com/

As the album progresses you feel like you are listening to a fully rejuvenated band as they take Biff’s instructions to heart, producing an album which embraces Saxons rich nwobhm roots deeply while making use of the latest production techniques to create tracks such as ‘Warriors of the Road’, ‘Made in Belfast’, ‘Sacrifice’ and ‘Guardians of the Tomb’ which are guaranteed to take there place in the hallowed hall of fame that will be Saxons legacy to rock music. Also included on the 2 cd options of the album are a collection of five classic Saxon tracks which have been reworked to great effect, with the simply breathtaking orchestral version of Crusader’ standing out head and shoulders above the rest and demonstrating a side to Saxon that is rarely seen and has got to be heard to be believed. Throughout the album there is not a single duff track to be found and with Saxon continuing to produce music of this calibre I think its fair to say that they have got a good few years left in them still. Lee Walker

Firebrand Magazine

where are they now?

Initially starting of life as Bandy Legs, Birmingham based Quartz signed to Jet Records in 1976 and quickly made a name for themselves, managing to grab support slots with the likes of Black Sabbath and AC/DC. The band changed their name to Quartz for their self titled 1977 debut album.

The album itself was produced by Tony Iommi and Quartz toured with Black Sabbath to support this release Queen guitarist Brian May handled guitar on the track ‘Circles’, which also featured Ozzy Osbourne on backing vocals. Sadly, this track did not appear on the album, but it was later used as the B-side to the ‘Stoking the Fires of Hell’ single. The band toured heavily during this time, playing the Reading Festival three times (1976, 1977 and 1980) and landed lucrative support slots with some of the larger hard rock band’s of the time, such as Iron Maiden, Saxon, Ian Gillan, UFO and Rush.

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Late 1979 saw Geoff Nicholls leave the band to join Black Sabbath, where he would perform Keyboard duties and song writing with them for the next 24 years.

Discography Quartz – Album - 1977 Street Fighting Lady – Single - 1977 Sugar Rain – Single – 1977 Stand Up and Fight – Album – 1980 Quarts released their second studio album ’Stand Live Quartz – Album – 1980 Up And Fight’ in 1980 (which produced the singles Nantucket Sleighride – Single – 1980 ’Stoking Up The Fires of Hell’ and ’Stand Up And Stoking Up the Fires of Hell – Single – 1980 Fight’), and their third ’Against All Odds’ in 1983, Stand Up and Fight – Single -1980 before the continued line-up changes within the band Satan's Serenade – EP – 1980 caused them to split up. Mutha’s Pride – Split EP with White Spirit – 1980 Against All Odds – Album – 1983 Tell Me Why – Single – 1983 It was during this period Malcolm Cope also joined Resurrection – Compilation Album – 1996 the ranks of Quartz members being called upon by Black Sabbath, working on pre-production demo's for Satan's Serenade - The Quartz Anthology – 2004 the 'Born Again' album. In 1994, Sabbat covered 'Satan's Serenade' on their ‘Black Up My Soul’ compilation album and in 2004 doom metal band Orodruin covered ‘Stand Up and Fight’ on their album ‘Claw Tower’. Roxxcalibur later covered 'Satan's Serenade' on their 2011 release 'Lords Of NWOBHM' album. Quartz Reformed in 2011 playing a reunion gig on 16 December 2011 at The Asylum in Birmingham, England. The line up consisted of Geoff Nicholls, Mike Hopkins, Derek Arnold, Malcolm Cope and vocalist David Garner. The reunion proved to be successful, and Quartz are currently working on new material and have already lined up a slot at Germany’s Keep It True festival later this year, where they are set to perform alongside legendary acts such as Angel Witch, Warlord, Jack Stars Burning Star and a host of other classic bands.

To have your band featured please send an email to: magazine@fbrr2010.com For more information check out: http://www.facebook.com/QuartzBackintheBand? fref=ts http://www.Quartztheband.co.uk

Quoting ‘Where Are They Now?’ As the subject title 27

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Edge 8 / 10

Heaven Knows Record Label Escape Music

Released 25 January 2013

Highlight of the album: ‘Nowhere To Hide’ Website http://www.facebook.com/EDGEBANDOFFICIAL

Debut albums come and go, and in this day and age of disposable music, it isn’t easy to stand out from the crowd, in what is becoming a crowded market place . Jonas Forss and Tobias Andersson, initially had never recorded original songs despite having many covers to their credit over the years around two years ago that changed… they actually recorded 12 songs relatively quickly but soon realised that an extra ‘something’ was needed. So, recruiting Torbjörn Brogren (Heads or Tales) and Olle Rodehn (Shadowland), Edge was complete. The resulting CD shows a range of songs with depth and variety that belies the fact that this is indeed a debut. Little Girl, the opening track is catchy, commercial and almost pop. Not that this is a bad thing in any book as it is carried off so well.

the run of the mill melodic rock pipes, once he really ‘lets rip’ he will become a firm favorite to the audience. The addition of Martina Edoff as a duet vocalist on the track ‘Get Over it’ and Tommy Denanders guitar solo on ‘How Long’ not only add to the overall cd experience but highlight that this cd is strong enough that guest appearances by artists of this stature don’t swamp the band themselves. To my ears the highlight is ‘Nowhere To Hide’ a slice of pure melodic rock genius that I cannot stop playing, either on the show or in my car... The song simply doesn’t quit. Overall a very well received debut album which does exactly what it says on the tin, well worth buying.

From start to finish the cd is polished and professional, with well constructed songs, topped by Jonas’ vocals which are not

Paul Nicholls

Airless Changes Record Label Lion Music

10 / 10 Released 14 February 2013

Highlight of the album: ‘Till The End Of Time’

Website http://www.airlessband.com/

Five years after the release of ‘Fight’ album, Airless are once again rocking on all levels, lush vocal melodies combine flawlessly with the stellar guitar work of Robert Rodrigo; all backed up by a hard working rhythm section.

of a dedicated keyboardist paying dividends, and stunning perfectly controlled vocals created a flawless American AOR sound which managers to capture the balance between all of the component parts perfectly, producing an album filled full of stunning songs with no dud tracks anywhere to be seen.

Not being overly familiar with Airless (or Spanish bands in general) my interest was peaked somewhat when I discovered the collaboration with Mr Danny With this release you get the feeling that Airless Vaughn on the title track of the album. have created there definitive album which will hopefully propel them further into the AOR Having an almost 80’s feel to it I was somewhat stratosphere. impressed as ‘Changes’ unfolded in front of me with its elaborate mix of stunning guitar work, intermixed Lee Walker with perfectly timed synthesizer’s, with the addition

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Ivan Mihaljevic & Side Effects Counterclockwise Record Label Zetafactory

8 / 10

Released January 2013

Highlight of the album: ‘Eclipse’ Website http://www.ivanmihaljevic.com/

Ivan Mihaljevic and its Side Effects return to form with a new album titled ‘Counterclockwise’ which was recorded and mixed at Attic Room à Zagreb, Croatia and contains beautiful artwork produced by Robert Butkovic.

Forces' or acoustic tracks that capture the imagination (‘Gilded Cage’). ‘Gift Of Life’ deals with the work claiming awareness in the face of adversity, the lack of solidarity and the disastrous state of our world and society.

The album itself falls under the ‘Concept’ theme and uses a subtle blend of blues-rock, merged with hints of progressive metal, creating a refreshing and unique sound with its layered sounds similar to Richie Kotzen or Malmsteen with the trio of musicians creating an album that is carefully planned out in advance, with bands ranging from The Police to Motörhead proving the importance of doing this, before adding the sounds which the melodies which allow the music to breathe when they are added into the mix, creating beautiful electric compositions in a pleasing pop format such as 'Driving

The main progressive piece of the album, ‘Eclipse’, is an epic ballad the similar to the best work of Dream Theater or a King Crimson and creates 12 minutes of pure happiness. As always, Ivan fulfils his key purpose in offering lush beautiful music, touching his sharp and stone arrows notes heaven, imitating the great Cathedral Saint Stephen. Ivan Mihaljevic, Cathedral electric. Mel Delacroix

Wizz Wizzard Tears From The Moon Record Label Rocksector Records

9 / 10

Released 18 March 2013

Highlight of the album: ‘Vampires In The Valley’ Website http://www.wizzard-rock.be/

Wizz Wizzard hail from Belgium and proudly wear their influences and origins on their sleeve. Formed in 2008, the brainchild of frontman Wizz, a known personality in the Belgium music scene. Wizz became a radio DJ at the tender age of 12, a pirate DJ in the early 80s who then went on to form a series of original and cover bands, as well as developing into a skilled sound engineer. Following a few twists and turns with different projects Wizz eventually formed the band Wizz Wizzard.

rock, formed by merging classic guitar work, with Wizz’s unique vocal style, creating a collection of hard rocking tracks that will please the classic rock purests and the nwobhm crowd alike. The album itself is filled with a collection of well structured, dungeons and dragons themed songs, which are reminiscent of early Dio, and also include a couple of live tracks where the Wizzard shows that he can rock it live as well as in the studio.

With a name like ‘Wizz Wizzard’ and hailing from Belgium I was somewhat apprehensive when I received the latest Throughout the album you struggle to find any faults with offering from Rocksector Records. it, and for a debut album ‘Tears From The Moon’ ticks all the right boxes and adds Wizz Wizzard to the growing list Not quite knowing what to expect I was pleasantly of bands that are forming the Second Wave. surprised with Wizz Wizzards brand of nwobhm flavoured Lee Walker

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With Chris Nelson 18 & Life is the brainchild of Firebrands Switchblade Serenade presented by me, Chris Nelson. Each month I will be bringing you an insight into what goes on in the personal lives of musicians and bands. It's 18 questions all about them, with final question telling you what they are up to at the moment and what their plans are for the next 6 months. So if you’re in a band and you want to take part, send your contact details to chrisnelson@fbrr2010.com

This months 18 & Life interview features Paul Logue, bass player and songwriter with Eden’s Curse. He's also the brainchild behind the hot new bands Code Of Silence and Lavelle. 1. What's the best band you’ve ever seen live? Tough question! I've seen so many great acts over the years, but probably the new lineup of Foreigner stick with me the most ... they were simply sensational!

Mitchell (Kiss Of The Gypsy) and Steve Harris resonated more with me than most. They were all consummate songwriters

2. Are you afraid of anything and what's your fear? Like most people .... dying! I'm having too good a time that I don't want it to end. More tea Vicar? Damn Tootin' LOL 3. If you could host a dinner party and invite any two people from history alive or dead who would you choose? Billy Connolly and my daughter Emma. We'd have a right laugh! 4. What's your favourite horror movie? England V Scotland, Euro 1996 5. Who are your heroes, the people who inspired you to get into music? When I was 15 and about to take the plunge, guys like Kip Winger, Tony

6. What's your favourite type of food/dish ? My home made Spaghetti Bolognese 7. If you could go back in time to a certain time and place in history, where would you chose, and why? Lisbon, 1967 - to see Celtic win the European Cup! 30

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8. What would you say your career highs and lows have been? Highs - opening for Dream Theater. Lows - Singers! Nuff Said ;-) 9. Do you believe in ghosts or ufo’s and have you had any experiences you can share with us? I don't believe in either

Gypsy at the Mayfair in Glasgow in Nineteen Canteen! Now my answer to # 5 makes sense lol 17. What sport do enjoy playing or watching the most? Football - real football, not NFL snoozefest

18. What are you up to at the moment 10. Your chilling at home and put on and what's your plans for the next an album by an artist someone 6 months? would not associate you with, what Currently knee deep in production would be your guilty pleasure? for the fourth Eden's Curse album, BBMak - Into Your Head - class which is due out late Summer 2013. writing and melodies! Also coordinating the last few vocalist auditions. We are down to 11. What's the most unusual place the last 2 guys. you’ve ever had sex? On top of a washing machine On the promo trail for the Code Of Silence new album - a band I wrote, 12. Favourite comedy tv show of all produced and now manage. Then in time? March we have LaValle "Dear Sanity" Bottom being released, and I have another album to play bass on which Rolf 13. What is the one thing in life you Munkes is producing ... and finally, simply cannot do without? Mr Alessandro Del Vecchio is mixing a My Daughter Emma record I recorded bass on last year for one of my favourite singers, 14. What's your favourite alcoholic which I am not allowed to talk drink? about yet. No rest for the wicked I'm a beer guy. I like Coors Light, they say LOL Cobra or Tsing Tao. I love Red Wine too - a nice Shiraz from the Southern hemisphere usually does it for me 15. What's your funniest tour bus story? Pete Newdeck absolutely gassed after our show in Nottingham enroute to Glasgow, during the Stratovarius tour, playing the entire solo to Kiss "Lick It Up" on the tip of an empty wine bottle. Hilarious and we have the whole thing on video tape!

Don’t forget you can catch up with Chris Nelson every Sunday 12-2pm on Firebrand Rock Radio

16. What was the first gig you ever went to? Winger supported by Kiss Of The 31

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The Goddamn Electric 7 / 10

Snake Bite Record Label Self Release

Released March 2013

Highlight of the album: ‘Morning Injection’ Website http://www.thegde.co.uk/

Manchester based The Goddamn Electric formed in January 2010. Taking there name from a song by Pantera the band set out on a journey to restore rock and all its glory back to what it used to be!. So far the band has lined up slots on Hammerfest, Les-fest and Scarfest Festivals as well as gaining support slots for Jettblack, and Massive Wagons, and that’s just the beginning of 2013.

some good guitarwork in places and musically are fine, but a lot of them are just missing that extra umph needed to push them over the edge taking them from being an average song to one that is memorable and stands out. You have a couple of really good songs in there that manage to avoid this such as ‘Something More’, ‘Too Dirty’ or the catchy as hell ‘Morning Injection’ which demonstrate that the band are more than capable of producing some cracking songs but Having heard the name The Goddamn Electric bounced overall the album feels slightly disappointing and does not live around quite a bit lately and having already been familiar with up to the expectations surrounding it. a couple of there tracks I was somewhat interested when I was asked if I would review their debut album ‘Snake Bite’. For a debut album the signs are there that TGE can do better and I’m hoping that with time the band manage to hit As you listen to the album you get the feeling that something the consistency and heights that they are capable of is missing slightly, it is hard to put your finger on it and achieving. pinpoint exactly what it is. Don’t get me wrong the songs Lee Walker themselves aren’t bad, they are well structured containing

Firebrand Magazine

Interviewed By

Rick Palin

Danny real pleasure to talk to you today starting out I wanted to ask you how you have seen the music industry change? What keeps you grounded as an artist and motivated? It’s a good question. On different days I would probably give you different answers, It’s a little disheartening for most of us to accept our own music is not going to make us money, It’s a far cry from living in mansions and driving Aston Martins anymore, those days are gone. So I think it’s a double edged sword, it put a lot of good people out of work and put a lot of us in compromising situations and made us look at doing things that perhaps once we would not have even considered. On the other side it did separate the men from the boys and I think those who truly do not have a choice as far as making music is concerned. The great Dr. Jon once said “ya know there is no retirement plan here.” I think that is a motivation, you can’t really stop if it’s in you and I have done, I kind of dropped out of sight for a few years here and there and its almost always due to just being disgusted with the logistics of things and the psychology. You really should have a degree in psychology if you want to be a member of a band as it can be quite insane. You know it’s quite universal trying to work out each other’s characters bit I think that also the great joy of it for me regardless of what form of music there is nothing more exciting to me than something that is an ensemble that comes together whether it be a choir of voices, a Jazz quartet or a horn section it doesn’t matter, if you get all these diverse pieces and suddenly they are all focused on one thing and making this sound and it’s a sound altogether and that to me is the greatest, I don’t know what you want to call it “a spiritual experience” or the closest thing to it.

New Orleans but you had five guys doing proper New Orleans rag time music and I was just taken away, it’s been years and years since I have been in New Orleans and it was just brilliant to hear because they got it right. Even something like my Ultimate Eagles setup, once we get that right and we’re firing on all cylinders and the harmonies are locking it’s a great experience even though it’s not our own music, something runs through you , it’s like electricity. I can quite relate to that, when a band gels together like that as an entity rather than just one person the sound that comes from it is most of the time absolutely superb, and it’s now a case of finding bands that can actually communicate on that level? Yeah and I think once again you are back to the psychology of it because what all bands suffer from as part of the teething experience of being a musician and playing in bands is sometimes the differences you go through where half the guys in the band for them playing a song is about waiting for their moment whether it be a guitar solo or a big long note by the singer ya know all that sort of thing and that’s not what it’s about at all. It’s about when all four or five of us are locked in and were delivering the goods and each person knows when to sit back and when to step up and then it’s about the presentation of the song. Everyone will think you are a great musician if you play a song well I guarantee you that.

Going back to the start of Tyketto how did all that come together? Tyketto came together, err I had done Waysted and that was sort of my big break and working with the guys from UFO and opening for Iron Maiden I kind of went You know I went out the other night and saw the New home thinking well right the telephone is going to be Orleans Jump Band, there out here in Europe and they ringing off the hook now and a few things did rear their are all Europeans and should not know a whole lot about heads but for various reasons these things didn’t

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happen. One of my more sobering stories was when after the touring I got a call from a friend who was working in this band called Skid Row that nobody had heard of but he said you’re going to want to go down and there sing for them because Bon Jovi’s backing them up, whatever they are going to do he is going to make sure they go big. I thought this was great I knew some of the guys already all coming from the same area so I just thought this is a walk in the park, They played me “18 and Life” and Youth Gone Wild and I have to be honest with you “Youth Gone Wild” was never my cup of tea, so to me in my little head (I was the rock star) in a room full of guys who were getting ready to do what I had just finished doing. So I did the audition and it went very well, everyone was very cool but I didn’t get the gig and that plagued me for a while ya know I just thought who the hell do these guys think they are…..And then I heard Sebastian (Bach) and I went…Ooooh! And it’s not because I thought he is so much better than me but was more exactly so what they needed than I was. That’s where the singer in particular has a weird brand because you can be a good singer, you can hit your notes, you can do your part, you can know how to record but if your personality does not suit the band’s music then sometimes you just don’t get the gigs for no other reason than you are just not the right guy. That was a real big lesson for me and I came away from that and said ya know what If I am going to get back out there I am just going to have to start from zero.

sudden. That was a huge one, the making of the first Tyketto album another because we were in A&M studio’s which was one of the top three studio’s on the planet and literally bumping into people like Bruce Springsteen and Phil Collins and I was like What’s going on? How did I get here? Tyketto is really good about that considering how much we succeeded or failed we did it off our own backs and every little victory is a really great and memorable one and I carry that philosophy with me in whatever I do now. If I go into a club and it’s me and an acoustic guitar and two or three hundred people show up to hear me play songs that they have taken into their hearts I mean it may sound maudlin or not but I stand by it, it’s an incredibly important part of what I do and part of my process and I don’t mind that its not three thousand people.

So with Tyketto I just started thinking about the people I knew and what I wanted to do and got out there and got on with it. It took a year to get Tyketto to presentable form but we kind of had the plan which was basically rock n roll boot camp, we lived together, we made enough money, we rehearsed in the place we lived, so you fell out of bed had some coffee and some cereal and walked into the rehearsal room and you may spend your whole day there but if we ran out of money or suddenly bills needed paying we could go run and do some hard manual labour for a little while save up some money then back into rehearsals. We kind of did that for close to a year and we had assembled pretty much what you hear as the first album.

You are back in the UK soon aren’t you? Yes doing just a few of my own shows in April from the fourth to the tenth that all started from the invitation to play the Hard Rock Hell AOR Event in Rotherham. Was really impressed with the roster of names they came up with for that event so I am very glad to be on it as it is not a list of the usual suspects. So this will be the first time in a couple of years that I am doing solo shows with a full band sort of going through my back catalogue and that’s a sign of old age right there if you have a back catalogue and trying to pick out different and interesting stuff to play mixed in with the stuff that I know the fans are going to want to hear.

I sometimes think that the public’s view of a musician i.e. out partying late, sniffing coke off hooker bellies (Danny Laughing)etc. is sometimes a bad thing and that if they knew what it took to get an album out there there may possibly be less illegal downloading going on. Some of that is true but of course image is such a big part of it, so you don’t want to project the image of oh by the way when I’m not on tour I drive a cab or whatever it is I got to do, people don’t want to hear that, well they did not used to ..I don’t know whats happened to real rock stars I think they are all long gone.

I can imagine it must be quite overwhelming to do these small acoustic sets? Well it’s an artist’s work, it’s actually harder work for me its one of the thing’s I am only now starting to approach with confidence but when I first started doing it I was absolutely terrified just bead up with sweat and all that. You know when I am at home, I will just go and do a gig in a local pub acoustically and it is great because no one knows who I am and its relaxed and it gets my guitar playing better, I learn more about singing by doing various different types of song and things like that continually trying to improve my craft.

The album Traveller and in particular the track Badland’s Rain is one of my favourite tracks. It’s one of my favourites of my solo work as well and you can guarantee Badland’s Rain will feature in the set.

Are we going to see something new this year from you album wise? I have been involved with so many guest projects, I have done a couple of tracks with Ged Ryland’s band Rage Of Angels and a guest spot with a Spanish rock band and I am now involved with a Spanish band called Burning Kingdom so will be stepping in to be lead vocals on the new album. So hopefully this new Burning Kingdom You have had quite an extensive career up to now, what album will be out by the summer time. has been the most enjoyable moment of it for you? Well the Iron Maiden tour will always be the first thing that pops into my head going from being in a cover band playing Iron Maiden songs to actually opening for Iron Maiden in the Easter Block, Canada and America that is kind of mind boggling to be involved in that all of a

Firebrand Magazine

The Fuzz Drivers 10 / 10

The Fuzz Drivers Record Label Self Released

Released 31 January 2013

Highlight of the album: ‘Discordia Song’ Website http://thefuzzdrivers.com/

Hailing from Portugal, the rock band The Fuzz Drivers have announced the release of their self-titled debut album. The band offers a sound with a solid foundation of the blues-based classic rock of the 1960s and ‘70s, combined with southern rock. The group's debut album features strong melodies and timeless lyrics. The vocals and instrumentation are delivered with passion, energy, enthusiasm and a modern rock edge.

classic 60s blues based rock with 70s style classic rock, The Fuzz Drivers manage to create a sound similar to the hugely popular Rival Sons, with its rich mix of catchy guitar work and bluesy velvet lined vocals creating hugely infectious songs that leave you nodding along to as the sounds wash over you leaving you feeling invigorated as you loose yourself in the ‘feel good’ lyrics and carefully crafted hooks becoming totally immersed in the album.

With a name like The Fuzz Drivers (and yes I had to check that name twice!) and coming from Portugal I honestly did not know what to expect from this self titled debut album and was pleasantly surprised by what I heard when I started playing it.

Considering that this is a debut album I am shocked by the quality of it and am confident in saying that we will hear a lot more from these guys as time goes on and I would not be at all surprised if they go on to become as big as the Rival Sons.

Possessing a sound which merges the best features of

Lee Walker

Circle II Circle Seasons Will Fall Record Label earMUSIC

9 / 10

Released 25 February 2013

Highlight of the album: ‘Diamond Blade’ Website http://www.circle2circle.net/

Formed in 2001 Circle II Circle has released albums up to date, always progressing into newer and more powerful sounds. CIIC always reinvented itself throughout the years. The turning point for CIIC came in 2012 with their monumental performance of the entire Savatage album ‘The Wake of Magellan’ at Wacken Open Air in Germany. What followed was a sold out European club tour. A full European tour is to follow in 2013. Not really knowing much about Circle II Circle I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that the band is fronted by former Savatage singer Zak Stevens. Being described as ‘An American Heavy Metal Band’ does not really do C2C justice as throughout the album you experience a strange mixture of nwobhm inspired metal vocals and lyrics meeting traditional European flavoured Power Metal guitar work creating a sound which absorbs the best of both worlds, creating elements of almost symphonic metal that brings out the best in the crisp, powerful vocals of Zak Stevens as they are offset against the

deliberately controlled guitar work resulting in a style not too dissimilar to early Hammerfall. As the album progresses, this strange dynamic continues to fluctuate as the songs capture your imagination as they tread a long and winding road slowly enveloping you in a wall of atmospheric sound with ‘Diamond Blade, ‘Without A Sound’ and ‘Dreams That Never Die’ exemplifying it and setting the scene for the tempo of most of the album with the occasional a curve ball, such as ‘Sweet Despair or ‘Only Yesterday’ thrown in displaying another, gentler, softer side to the band as they enter into full on ballad mode. Overall the album itself feel’s a little long for my taste, weighing in at twelve songs, but if you are a fan of power metal you will love this album.

Lee Walker

Firebrand Magazine

Buckcherry 10 / 10

Confessions Record Label Century Media

Released 18 February 2013

Highlight of the album: ‘Sloth’ Website

http://www.buckcherry.com

So this is the new one from the loud and raucous guys with a penchant for southern grooves and some of the best lyrics in rock. Their track record is rather good actually, as they haven’t actually produced an album that I haven’t liked. That record is still unbroken, as Confessions is an absolute stormer.

a loose theme to the album. Especially with songs named after the seven deadly sins, as well as others of course. As a concept though, it really works, although I don’t think it’s a full on concept album, it’s just variations on a theme, or at least that’s the impression I get from it, you may well disagree.

Yes I will admit, it’s pretty much business as usual for the guys, as they’ve still got that trademark sound, and the same attitude in the lyrics that they’ve always had. I’m very much a believer in “if it isn’t broke, don’t try to fix it” and thankfully it seems that the Buckcherry guys adopt the same philosophy. Nope they’re not trailblazing off into new realms, but rather taking you on another trip through familiar territory. There’s no harm in that at all though, especially when these guys do it with so much style.

This album isn’t going to set the world alight by being innovative, or by bringing anything new to the world of rock, but it’s classic Buckcherry and they’re a band that can get away with making the formula work well, over and over again. This is by no means just a re-issue of the last album though, as it still has its own identity, and is well worth you spending your hard earned pennies on, because there are some bloody great tunes on here.

One thing I’ve always liked about their music though is that there’s always an element of fun about it in places. Its music that can really get behind you and sometimes it can even lift you up. Throughout this album though, it’s evident that there’s

Jon Seymour

Skarlett Riot 10 / 10

Tear Me Down Record Label Self Release

Released 25 March 2013

Highlight of the album: ‘Broken Wings’ Website http://skarlettriot.co.uk

Now those who read any of my reviews on a regular basis will know by now that I have a soft spot for a good female vocalist. I’ve been hearing great things about this band since their appearance at Bloodstock 2012, so when the opportunity to give the new album a review, naturally I jumped at the chance.

a lot actually. It’s packed full of energy, and it’s pretty relentless with its assault on your eardrums. It’s fast, hard, and precise. There are some truly great songs on here too, and I defy anyone to be infected by them. They’ll get under your skin, and have you dancing like a marionette. There are some monster sing-a-long choruses too, and I found myself singing before I knew I was doing it. You also have to keep The album is a straight ahead rock and roll album. There are reminding yourself that this is their debut full length album. no frills or gimmicks, it just lets the music do ALL of the talking. It’s a feisty album too, packed with a sassy attitude, I can honestly say that I have another female fronted band and there are some pretty heavy tracks on it too. To venture to like, but you can never have too many of those, right? This into the heavier territory, then the vocals have to be spot on. album has a classic rock sound, it’s got a great many things Thankfully Chloe’s vocals are more than up to the task. going for it and honestly I can’t find anything negative to say about it. I’ve tried to find something, but I am completely at a These guys have been on the live circuit for some time, and loss. It’s music of the highest quality, and 2013 could well be that experience comes through in the music. It’s of a very the year that Skarlett Riot achieve world domination. It’s high standard, and is easily as good as anything else out not inconceivable by any means. there right now, and a great deal better than many others. Jon Seymour You may have gathered by now, that I like this album, rather

Firebrand Magazine

Rage Of Angels 10 / 10

Dreamworld Record Label Escape Music

Released 22 February 2013

Highlight of the album: The Whole Thing Website http://rageofangels.co.uk/home.cfm

Ged Ryland was gently prodding me during the run up to the release of the Lover Under Cover cd a little while ago. The reason for the prod became clear as soon as this cd arrived on the desk …}

Vinny Burns were chatting away one day on Facebook when Ralph Santolla (Iced Earth, Decide, Obituary) messaged Ged challenging Mr Burns to a guitar duel on the album . The Result was the magnificent ‘Requiem For The Forgotten Ged took a 10 year break from the limelight to raise Soldier’ (which also features Reece and Martin Kronlud and Xander Demos). his daughter, during which time, he continued to write music. With close collaboration with Bruce Mee (the name of the band, and this is a band, was One of the stand out moments on the album is ‘The Beating Of Your Heart’ sung by a new name to me, inspired by a lyric Bruce wrote) the album really Mr David Reed Watson who came to Ged’s attention gained momentum. via a ‘Happy Birthday’ accapella audio track So ….. ..what is the sent to his girlfriend, album like? causing a ‘pardon, play If you are in any way that again’ moment. interested in A1 With help from Kane grade AOR, you have Roberts (via Bruce here the mother lode. Mee) David was 10 tracks of bundled into a unadulterated class. recording studio forthwith! Remember the name! For the most part completely Ged’s work (with contributions from Danny Vaughn and David Reed Watson lyrically) this release shows an attention to detail in its writing and recording that allows the songs to develop while the production allows the material to breathe.

We have only JUST touched on the vocal talent appearing on this CD, how’s this for a who’s who? Danny Vaughn, Matti Alfonzetti, Harry Hess, David Reed Watson, Robert Hart, Ralph Scheepers… impressed? When you can get this far into a review before listing names of this quality , surely that says you have a monster on your hands… but don’t take my word for it go out there and get a copy !

From the opening title track, with vocals from Matti Alfonzetti, you realise that this is truly something special with the songs simply soaring from the speakers, Neil Fraser (Ten) plays a superb solo lifting In short, this is an album which shows the effect that the song ever higher. love, sweat and tears can achieve when applied to a record. Just to wet you appetite a little more, Ged Don’t be fooled though, this is no ‘pink and fluffy’ will be taking this band out on the road in 2013 with release, ‘Dreamworld’ is a rocker .. How could it be a very popular singer up front who can handle all the otherwise when not only is Mr Fraser involved but various songs with aplomb …watch this space. both Vinny Burns and Tommy Denander appear (who’s solo on ‘The Beating Of Your Heart’ will Rage Of Angels? Yes please …. Nuff Said. surprise many as Tommy rarely plays this kind of Paul Nicholls solo , trust me, its THAT special). In fact Ged and

Firebrand Magazine

4Bitten

Bon Jovi

February 26 Cardiff Coal Exchange 28 Holmfirth Picturedrome March 1 Glasgow ABC 2 Preston 53 Degrees 3 Birmingham Institute 5 London Forum

June 8 Manchester Ethiad Stadium 9 Birmingham Villa Park 12 Cardiff City Stadium 13 Sunderland Stadium Of Light July 3 Glasgow Hampden Stadium

25 London O2 Academy 27 London O2 Academy 29 Birmingham LG Arena October 1 Manchester MEN 3 Glasgow Hydro Arena

March 9 Stoke The Rigger 15 Pwllheli Hammerfest April 18 Manchester HMV Ritz 26 Ebbw Vale Odins May 4 Manchester NQ Live 18 Birmingham The Asylum June 28 Newcastle Trilliums 29 Crossford Les Fest

March 6 Norwich Waterfront 7 Oxford O2 Academy 8 London Camden Electric Ballroom 10 Cardiff Solus 11 Nottingham Rock City

March 7 Manchester NQ Live 8 Birmingham Library 9 Cardiff Bogiez 10 Bristol Fleece 11 Wrexham Central Station 12 Newcastle Cluny 13 London Highbury Garage 14 Southampton Cellar 15 Brighton Haunt 16 Milton Keynes Craufurd Arms 17 Southend Club Zinc

June 15 London Wemebley Stadium 18 Glasgow Hampden Park 20 Coventry Ricoh Arena July 23 Cardiff Millennium Stadium

Counting Crows April 19 Birmingham O2 Academy 20 Bristol Colston Hall 22 London Hammersmith Apollo 25 Manchester O2 Apollo 26 Glasgow O2 Academy

May 4 Liverpool The Lomax

H.I.M

Living Colour

April 26 London Dingwalls

March 8 London Koko

I AM I

Lordi

April 4 Ipswich The Railway 5 Plymouth White Rabbit 6 Cardiff Great Hall 2 9 Grimsby Yardbirds 10 York Fibbers 11 Manchester NQ Live 12 Leamington Assembly 13 London Islington Academy June 14-16 Donnington Park Download

May 2 Dublin Button Factory 4 Belfast Limelight 1 5 Aberdeen The Garage 6 Wakefield Warehouse 23 8 Manchester Ritz 9 Edinburgh The Picture House 10 Birmingham The Institute 11 Nottingham Rock City 12 London The Forum

Incassum March 2 Sutton Bridge The Gathering

D.A.D

Iron Savior

March 1 Wolverhampton Slade Rooms 2 London O2 Islington academy

March 15 Pwllheli Hammerfest

Jettblack/ Crashdiet Babylon Fire

Danny & Ben From Thunder

March 9 Stoke The Rigger

March 1 Leeds City Varieties Music Hall 4 Brighton Komedia

Ben Harper & Charlie Musslewhite July 16 London Shepard’s Bush Empire

Bluey Robinson March 31 Brighton The Haunt April 2 London Scala 3 Birmingham O2 Academy 5 Manchester Academy 3 7 Newcastle O2 Academy

FM March 15 Pontypridd Muni Arts Centre 16 Wolverhampton Slade Rooms 17 Glasgow King Tuts 18 Bingley Arts Centre 20 Newcastle O2 Academy2 21 Manchester O2 Academy2 22 Nuneaton Queens Hall 23 London O2 Shepard's Bush Empire

Journey, Whitesnake & Thunder May 18 Glasgow SECC 20 Sheffield Motorpoint Arena 22 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena 23 Manchester Arena 25 Nottingham Capital FM Arena 26 Cardiff Motorpoint Arena 28 Birmingham LG Arena 29 London Wembley Arena

Hanging Doll

Bruce Springsteen & The E Band

27 March Staffordshire Lucy’s Bar 9 May London Nambucca 10 May Birmingham Route 44 12 October Rocktober Festival

March 26 London Borderline 27 London O2 Shepard’s Bush Empire 28 London Hammersmith Apollo 30 London Royal Albert Hall

Halestorm

Breed77 Absolva

Joe Bonamassa

April 20 Manchester Club Alter Ego 23 Newcastle O2 Academy 24 Sheffield O2 Academy 25 Birmingham O2 Academy 26 Nottingham Rock City 27 London O2 Academy Islington 28 Southampton Joiners

To have your gig Highlighted please email sales@fbrr2010.com

For a free listing please email your gig or festival information to: With the following info: Date(s), Band Name, Venue, City (Please do not send any attachments) Sadly if any of the above information is not included we will be unable to list your event.

Fleetwood Mac September 24 London O2 Academy

Firebrand Magazine

Underground Focus

the shows

Band Name: 44FIRES

Date Formed: OCT 2010

Based In: Feltham, UK

Band Lineup: Vocals: Guitars: Bass: Drums:

Brian Small Jay Franklin Tony Hampton Aaron Beard

Influences:

Metallica, Soundgarden, COC, Rage Against The Machine, Prong, Megadeth

Describe your sounds: Political Metal

Upcoming gigs:

Metal Gods Festival May 25 2013 Out Of The Ashes Festival July 26th – 29th

Find out more at:

Main Site · www.44fires.com Facebook · www.facebook.com/44firesrock To Apply or find out more information please send an email to : submissions@fbrr2010.com With Underground Focus as the email title

Maps & Atlases February 27 Southampton Joiners 28 Birmingham Hare & Hounds March 2 Glasgow Arts School 3 Manchester The Rugby Lounge 4 Leeds Brundenell Social 5 Liverpool Kazimer 6 London Dingwalls 7 Brighton Green Door Store 8 Bristol Louisana 9 Canterbury Marlowe Theatre Studio

Mark Knopfler May 17 Glasgow SECC

18 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena 19 Liverpool Echo Arena 21 Bournemouth International Centre 22 Cardiff Motorpoint Arena 24 Birmingham LG Arena 25 Brighton The Brighton Centre 27 London Royal Albert Hall 28 London Royal Albert Hall

Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash February 28 Chislehurst Beaverwood Club March 1 Sutton Boom Boom Club 2 Fletching Trading Boundaries 3 Doncaster Blues Festival 6 Morpeth Riverside Lodge

Firebrand Magazine

8 Hessle Town Hall 13 Sheffield Greystones 14 Wolverhampton Robin 2 15 Hullbridge Touchline 16 Lowdham Village Hall 17 High Wycombe Arts 4 Everyone 20 Kinross Green Hotel 21 Edinburgh Bannermans 22 Bolton The Railway 23 St Helens The Citadel April 4 Swansea The Scene 6 Rotherham HRH Prog Festival 25 Glasgow The Ferry 26 Carlisle The Brickyard 27 Wigan Maximes 28 Norwich St Andrews Hall May 8 Milton Keynes The Stables 26 Maryport Harbour Festival June 28/29 Upper Cwmtwrch Village Hall

Rival Sons

Stereophonics

Voodoo Six

April 9 London O2 Shepard’s Bush Empire 10 Cardiff Solus 11 Birmingham Institute 13 Leeds Met University 14 Edinburgh Liquid Rooms 15 Preston 53 Degrees 16 Cambridge Junction

March 15 Leicester De Montford Hall 16 Wolverhampton Civic Hall 18 Leeds Academy 19 Southend Cliffs Pavilion 21 Cheltenham Centaur 23 Plymouth Guildhall 25 Doncaster Dome 26 Blackpool Empress Ballroom 27 Edinburgh Usher Hall

March 22 Dublin The Pint 23 Ballymena Diamond Rock Club 24 Inverness Mad Hatters 26 Glasgow King Tuts 27 Sheffield The Corporation 28 Manchester NQ Live 31 Birmingham Academy 3 April 2 Brighton The Haunt 3 Southampton The Joiners 4 Exeter The Cavern 6 Harlow The Square May 9 London The Garage

Megadeth

Serpentine

June 3 Newcastle O2 Academy 4 Glasgow O2 Academy 5 Manchester O2 Academy 6 Brixton O2 Academy

Micheal Schenker April 9 Stockton on Tees Stockton Arc 10 Aberdeen The Lemon Tree 11 Edinburgh HMV Edinburgh Picture House 12 Newcastle O2 Academy 13 Holmfirth Picturedrome 14 Warrington Parr Hall 16 Falmouth Princess Pavillion 17 Bristol O2 Academy 18 Salisbury City Hall 19 Oxford O2 Academy 20 Nottingham Rock City 21 Northwich Waterfront 31 London O2 Sheppard’s Bush Empire

Meatloaf Farewell Tour April 5 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena 7 Glasgow SECC 10 London The O2 12 Birmingham LG Arena 14 Nottingham Capital FM Arena 17 Manchester Arena19 Sheffield Motorpoint Arena 21 Cardiff Motorpoint Arena

Saxon April 18 Leamington Spa Assembly 19 Nottingham Rock City 20 Newcastle O2 Academy 21 Glasgow O2 ABC 23 Manchester HMV Ritz 24 Leeds O2 Academy 26 Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall 27 London O2 Shepard’s Bush Empire 28 Bristol O2 Academy

March 15 Pontypridd Muni Arts Centre 16 Wolverhampton Slade Rooms 17 Glasgow King Tuts 18 Bingley Arts Centre 27 Hednesford Lucy’s Bar

Skunk Anansie March 13 Cambridge Corn Exchange 14 Northwich UEA 16 Nottingham Rock City 17 Newcastle O2 Academy 18 Glasgow ABC 20 Leeds O2 Academy 21 Wolverhampton Civic Hall 22 Manchester Academy 24 Bristol O2 Academy 25 Bournemouth Dome 27 Reading Hexagon

Slash February 28 Nottingham Arena March 1 Blackpool Empress Ballroom

Sonata Arctica April 14 Nottingham Rescue Rooms 15 Manchester Club Academy 16 Birmingham HMV Institute Library 17 London The Garage

Queensryche April 18 Manchester HMV Ritz

March 26 London O2 Academy Islington 27 Birmingham O2 Academy2 27 Glasgow The Garage 30 Manchester Club Academy

Steve Winwood June 17 Cambridge Corn Exchange 19 Brighton Dome 20 London Shepard’s Bush Empire 22 Bristol Colston Hall 24 Salford Lowry 30 Margate Winter Gardens

Wednesday 13 March 6 Brighton Concorde II 7 Bristol Fleece 8 Manchester Club Academy 9 Nottingham Rock City 10 Glasgow Cathouse 11 Newcastle Northumbria Uni 12 Wolverhampton Slade Rooms 13 London O2 Academy Islington

Wilko Johnson The Black Crowes March 24 Manchester Academy 25 Birmingham O2 Academy 27 Glasgow O2 Academy 29 London Forum 30 London Forum

March 6 London Koko (Sold Out) 7 Bilston Robin 2 (Sold Out) 8 Holmfirth Picturedome (Sold Out) 9 Glasgow O2 ABC 10 London Koko

ZZ Top Training Icarus March 10 Stoke The Green Star Pub 19 Canterbury The Beer Cart Arms April 18 Canterbury Lady Luck 20 Birmingham Scruffy Murphy’s May 18 Maidenhead Hobgoblin June 8 Camden Fiddler’s Elbow August 24 Stoke Scarfest

Triaxis March 2 Sutton Bridge The Gathering 15 Pwllheli Hammerfest 23 Belgium Wizzfest May 3 Burnley Sanctuary 4 Liverpool The Lomax

June 24 London Hammersmith Apollo 25 Manchester O2 Apollo

To have your gig Highlighted please email sales@fbrr2010.com

U.F.O

Roger Waters September 14 London Wembley Stadium

Steve Harris British Lion

Status Quo March 10 Glasgow O2 Academy 12 Manchester O2 Apollo 13 Wolverhampton Civic 15 London Hammersmith Apollo 16 London Hammersmith Apollo

February 26 Cardiff The Coal Exchange 28 Holmfirth Picturedome March 1 Glasgow O2 ABC 2 Preston 53 Degrees 3 Birmingham HMV Institute 5 London HMV Forum

Firebrand Magazine

the shows

To contact the Firebrand team for anything from advertisements to reviews you can contact us on:

Album Reviews/Interview Requests submissions@fbrr2010.com Content Download sales@fbrr2010.com Advertising Enquiries sales@skyfirepr.com PR pr@fbrr2010.com Contact Telephone +44(0)1244 940961

Firebrand Magazine

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Issue 3 Including: Interviews with - Sass Jordan, The Chimpz. Reviews of - Nubian Rose, Enforcer, Eric Clapton, Silver Dirt and more...

Issue 4 Including: Interviews with - Verden Allen, Sandi Thom, Bill Tsamis. Reviews of - Hard Rock Hell 6, Deep Machine, Alice Cooper, FM, Michael Schenker and moreâ&#x20AC;Ś

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