Somewhat following suit to the most recent months, April's rotation was once again rooted in the glorious and vast rock and metal past. Being away from home for a good part of the past month, left me reaching for goodies from my expansive HiRes digital collection, vastly made of rips from my physical vinyl collection, making use of my trusted portable digital player and a set of large, open-back headphones. With one notable exception: the Eagles double vinyl reissue of their

Another month has gone by. In the most recent couple of months I've been listening to less extreme records, and even when I did seek aggressiveness, the tendency was to pick the more nuanced releases: well produced, technically apt and lyrically intelligent. Aside from surfing the high tide of new releases, and witnessing a couple of great and unique live acts, ASTERISM and SALEMS LOTT, March's most played albums were a mix bag of milestones, originals and overlooked albums.

There is no secret that my musical tastes and preferences extend far outside the metal realm. With that said, I won't waste this space to vex the readers, and hopefully potential listeners, with music that is non rock or metal tangible. February was a balancing act as far as what music I've played: lots of wonderful new heavy/power metal was auditioned, resulting in published reviews for releases by FRENZY, BOOZE CONTROL and IRON FIRE, and also for music on the darker side of

Hello 2019! After a spellbound 2018 for metal and rock music in general, we're welcoming 2019, a year that already seems to shape into yet another amazing and abundant year for our beloved music. The first month of this year, January, turned out to be a balancing act when it came to what albums I've spent most time with. Making a distinct separation from albums that I've reviewed, and spent ample amounts of time with, and albums that I listened at my own leisure. Therefore, t

I am amazed by the amount of music that I was able to go thru last month, December 2018. Besides the reviews and making the final decisions on what shaped to be a TOP 30 best albums of 2018 (and a list of 20 honorable mentions!), there was still time left to spin other records on my turntable. Funny enough, in order to keep track of what was played and when, I kept hand notes. According to these notes, these are my five most played albums in the month of December 2018: KXM Sc

BECK, BOGERT & APPICE Beck, Bogert & Appice 1973, 2016 reissue, SACD, Sony/Epic, EICP-10002 A short lived act (1972-1974), hard-rock supergroup and power trio, Beck, Bogert & Appice, as the name itself suggests, was formed by legendary musicians: guitarist Jeff Beck, bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice. All three musicians sharing vocal duties. This self-titled album was the debut and only studio album released by the extraordinary trio, and was available (at

Admittingly, after our double feature at the end of September, and during the past month, HELRUNAR’s outstanding masterpiece “Vanitas Vanitatvm” remained in heavy rotation on my turntable’s platter. Ranging from dark melancholy to intense blasts, the German’s top-notch production will satisfy any fan of doom, death or black metal. When in doubt what to play next – “Vanitas Vanitatvm” is the answer! Often and loud. Released a year ago, on October 20th 2017, NIGHT VIPER’s

At the beginning of last month, on September 8th, I had the privilege to attend HELLOWEEN’s “Pumpkins United” concert at the Hollywood Palladium. While I saw the band fronted by Andi Deris, a couple of times in the past, this was my first time witnessing the kings of speed metal in a formation which included the legendary Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen, along side Weikath, Grosskopf, Gerstner, Löble & Deris. With the show leaving a profound impression, the band’s 1987/88 “K

In what is shaping to be one hell of a year for rock/metal, perhaps the best year in the last 25 years, during the month of August 2018, I craved epic, vintage and speed. For the speed bits, I’ve turned to the intensely charged SALEMS LOTT, specifically their debut self-titled 2015 mini LP. Additionally, the follow-up to the debut album by the super talented LOVEBITES, the “Battle Against Damnation” EP, released this past June, was perfect fit to satisfy my speed metal c