Hard Rock Reviews
As much as I like to call myself and this site Kevy Metal, my journey into music actually began with hard rock. Seventies and nineties hardrock – plus contemporary bands inspired by these styles – are still a significant part of what I listen to, and therefore, Album of the Week reviews on hard rock bands are published frequently. You can find all of them right here. Overlaps with my heavy metal reviews inevitably exist.
Looking for something specific, but can’t find it by browsing the reviews? Searching by artist name or release title using the search bar might bring up some Album of the Week reviews I have written before I started tagging my reviews properly.
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Album of the Week 09-2015: Soto – Inside The Vertigo
Some singers could sing the phone book over a busy tone and still move me. Jeff Scott Soto is one of those singers. His powerful voice possesses a rich dose of melody, but also an almost soulful raw edge that makes him a perfect fit for the AOR records he…
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Album of the Week 08-2015: Thunder – Wonder Days
Shortly after the release of Thunder’s second farewell record ‘Bang’, yours truly interviewed drummer Gary ‘Harry’ James for the now defunct Fury! webzine. At the time, James assured me that this time, their split would be definitive. Fast forward to 2015, when I’m holding ‘Wonder Days’ in my hands. I…
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Album of the Week 06-2015: Hyde – Faith
Many J-Rock albums, no matter how good they are, tend to be collections of singles rather than actual albums. Even those that are presented as concept records often have their tracks only very loosely connected. ‘Faith’, the third solo album by L’Arc-en-Ciel and Vamps frontman Hyde, is an exception to…
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Album of the Week 50-2014: Gov’t Mule – Dose
Now that Gov’t Mule has started releasing several recordings to celebrate their twentieth anniversary, it seems the right moment to give some attention to their discography. And although their discography does seem to confirm Gov’t Mule’s reputation as a live band, they have released quite some impressive albums. ‘Dose’ is…
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Album of the Week 39-2014: Prince & 3rdEyeGirl – PlectrumElectrum
Being a fan of Prince the musician rather than Prince the hit machine or Prince the phenomenon, ‘PlectrumElectrum’ was an album I looked forward to. Unlike most people, I was particularly fond of the guitar oriented direction of the ‘Lotusflow3r’ album and the prospect of an album made with his…
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Album of the Week 37-2014: Slash – World On Fire
Despite being promoted as Slash’s third solo record, ‘World On Fire’ is technically the second album by the band lead by him and singer Myles Kennedy. Very little bands in recent Rock history have such a tight band dynamic as Slash, Myles and The Conspirators, the Canadian rhythm section of…
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Album of the Week 36-2014: Queen – Live At The Rainbow ’74
While it’s easy to dismiss Queen for the musical identity crisis that butchered most of their eighties output, we must not forget that their carreer was bookended by a group of incredible. Being a fan of bombastic music, I can’t help being captivated by especially the part tribute to, part…
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Album of the Week 35-2014: Dir En Grey – Gauze
Dir En Grey’s debut album is the hidden gem of the Visual Kei scene. This may sound a bit weird, figuring that the Japanese quintet is probably the most popular band in the Metal scene with non-English lyrics after Rammstein, but ‘Gauze’ stands out stylistically in a discography that is…
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Album of the Week 29-2014: Judas Priest – Redeemer Of Souls
There are so many reasons why this new Judas Priest album shouldn’t work. Guitarist KK Downing retired, not willing to await how much longer the band’s farewell tours were going to take. The band members’ age is starting to take its toll, especially on Rob Halford, whose voice has been…
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