Child - Blueside (2016)

CHILD is a trio of jam-obsessed first-class musicians, who met in 2012 in the rock underground of Melbourne. Between the three working class Australians Mathias (guitar/vocals), Michael (drums) and Jayden (bass), who can best be described as a blues fanatic with liquid steel as blood, grew as strong a musical band as a group of Musicians can only cultivate and nurture themselves by the unabated urge for intense jamming. It quickly became clear that songs here would not be created simply as architectural objects on the drawing board, but as a result of a deep dialogue between three conspiratorial individuals who have given their instruments speech. From this dialogue, the self-titled debut resulted in the winter of

Langfinger - Crossyears (2016)

"A kick-ass power trio is quite probably the perfect rock formation. If there aren’t that many trios around, that’s because it’s a hard thing to pull off: with just three people having to nail the rhythmic fusion of bass and drums, the wild colours of guitar and the soul-grabbing focus of the human voice, there can be no passengers aboard. Extraordinary chemistry is essential. Everyone has to be right on it, and locked in. Which is why lots of trios fail, or cop out and recruit extras. Långfinger, from the fertile rock ‘n’ roll city of Gothenburg, are masters of the art. They’ve been playing together since they were in their early teens, and their imminent third album, called ‘Crossyears’, is both the thrilling culmination of their

Captain Crimson - Remind (2016)

"The Swedish hotbed of Örebro has already produced the likes of Truckfighters, Graveyard, Witchcraft and Blues Pills. Prepare to add Captain Crimson to this exceptional tradition. Formed in 2010 by vocalist Stefan Lillhager, formerly of Blowback, Captain Crimson draws inspiration from the classic sounds of The Groundhogs, Blue Cheer, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Jethro Tull and Cactus, meeting heavy boogie head-on with a modern swagger that has carried over to their latest and third album, Remind – their first for Small Stone Records. Remind follows their 2012 debut, Dancing Madly Backwards, which led them onto their first tour that Fall. Emerging with the lineup of Lillhager singing, bassist/backing

Datura4 - Hairy Mountain (2016)

"How far is it from the west coast of Australia to the west coast of the USA ? Turns out that, musically, it’s about a five minute trip in a space-buggy powered by stardust and riff-diesel. Fremantle’s boogie-psych rockers, Datura4, have followed up last year’s excellent debut album, Demon Blues, with a very worthy offering in “Hairy Mountain”.

In a changing world of bad news – Rick Parfitt’s retirement and a Phil Collins comeback tour (the world needed neither), it’s good to know we can rely on Datura4 not to fix something which ain’t broke.

To be honest, I was holding my breath for this second release as “Demon Blues” was so damn fine but “the 4” call poppycock and piffle on that “difficult second album syndrome”. For

Witchwood - Handful Of Stars (2016)

"In 2014, from the ashes of the cult band Buttered Bacon Biscuits (BBB), were born the Witchwood which released in 2010 "From the Solitary Woods", distribuited by "Black Widow Records" and positively reviewed by many italian and foreign music magazines and websites. To support that album BBB played in many gigs around Italy, also supporting important bands like Uriah Heep, Jethro Tull, Bud Spencer Blues Explosion, etc. They also released in 2013 “A National Acrobat” cover for the Black Sabbath tribute “Hands of Doom” for Mag Music Production. After the BBB split, some members of the band, Ricky, Andy, Steve and Sam, have decided, with the entry of new member Luca Celotti on bass, to

Glitter Wizard - Hollow Earth Tour (2016)

As the group enters it's ninth year, Glitter Wizard are set to release their most ambitious album yet. Hollow Earth Tour is a concept album of sorts; chock-full of reptilian overlords, underwater fascists, and inner-earth explorers. This band of California rifflords pillage the best of vintage hard rock while keeping their laser eyes on the future, creating a unique brand of oddball psychedelia. Their onstage performance is a glammed-up force to be reckoned with and they've been taking their act on the road from the West Coast all the way to Europe.

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell - Keep It Greasy! (2016)

"There seems to be an endless horde of fresh-faced bands that proclaim to be resurrecting the spirit of rock n’ roll these days. They see themselves to grabbing the genre by the scruff of its neck and dragging it back to its supposed glory years. Yet, few bands can say they’ve lived the lifestyle quite like ADMIRAL SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVELL. These working class grease rock bastards, fuelled by speed, cheap lager and roadside fry-ups, have the scars to prove their worth. The thing is, The Shovell has never claimed to be the biggest or the best around and frankly they don’t care who is. There is no brash egotism at play here, just a rough-and-ready honesty which permeates in what these three guys do.

Asteroid - III (2016)

"Much of Asteroid‘s aptly-titled third album, III, is unassuming. It arrives via Fuzzorama Records with a photo of the band’s gear — artfully shot, but a gear photo — on the front cover, and at seven tracks/36 minutes, it’s quick, almost humble listen. That’s precisely the point. It’s been six years since the Örebro, Sweden, three-piece released II , and while they would’ve been well within their rights to turn III into some grandiose, probably hyper-produced excursion given the occasion, it also would’ve been completely out of character. Asteroid went a much more fitting way, and III benefits from that choice. 

Natural vibe, on every level. That’s what the gear shot represents.

Nightstalker - As Above So Below (2016)

"Greece’s premiere kings of all that is Stoner Rock and Psychedelia, the spectacular Nightstalker, are back with a brand new full-length album “As Above, So Below” just released via Oak Island Records. The latest album from these hard rockin’ mofos finds vocalist Argy, guitarist Tolis Motsios, bassist Andreas Lagios, and drummer Dinos Roulos doing what it is that they do best: Rocking! Their style of hard-hitting acid rock keeps one foot in the retro world while planting the other firmly in the modern age and thus the guys are standing tall in their unwavering pursuit of all that is heavy. Now well over twenty years into their legacy of fantastic vintage-vibed Rock ‘N Roll, Nightstalker have once again outdone

1000mods - Repeated Exposure To... (2016)

"With their third full-length, Repeated Exposure To…, Greece’s 1000mods affirm their place at the head of the pack of European heavy rock and roll. I mean that without qualification. Not just Greek heavy, but Europe as a whole. They were already leaders in their home country after their 2014 offering, Vultures (review here), which followed their 2012 Valley of Sand EP (discussed here), their 2011 debut LP, Super Van Vacation (review here), 2009’s Liquid Sleep EP (review here), and their first short release, Blank Reality, which came out in 2006, but a full decade later, the Chiliomodi four-piece have become bona fide masters of the form.

Released through their own Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug