Originally released last year on CD & vinyl, Ken Hensley’s posthumously released My Book Of Answers will get a special white & black ‘splatter’ vinyl reissue in May, on Cherry Red Records.
The album came months after Hensley’s passing, featuring 9 tracks, and cover art by Olesya Vasilieva, package design by Hugh Gilmour, and lengthy liner notes from Ken Hensley, as well as from Steve Weltman (manager & friend). Each track on this album was accompanied by a video. Stand-out cuts included “The Cold Sacrifice”, “Stand (Chase The Beast Away)”, and “Lost (My Guardian)”.
A mere 6 months following the Peter Goalby’s debut solo release (of archived recordings), Cherry Red Records will release a follow up titled I Will Come Runnin’, also recorded during the same period.
Fans who waited 30+ years to hear something new from Peter following his departure from Uriah Heep, and a solo single, can add another album consisting of 10 songs, along with the aid of Paul Hodson, Robin George, and Eddy Morton.
Peter Goalby has been extremely surprised and happy with the response & reviews to the first album. I Will Come Runnin’ will be released May 6, 2022, and can be pre-ordered at Cherry Red Records, as well as Amazon.
*A 10-track album personally overseen (from tape transfer, mastering and artwork) by the former Uriah Heep and Trapeze vocalist .
1 I Will Come Runnin’ 2 Rock ‘N’ Roll Crazy 3 A Brand New Love 4 Dancing on Water 5 Somebody’s Fool 6 It Was There All The Time 7 Waitin’ For An Angel To Call 8 There’s Always A Place In My Heart 9 Perfect Strangers 10 A Little Piece Of Heaven
British rock heavyweights Leader of Down, who are the final band of the late great Würzel (Ex Motörhead) recently announced that following the bands critically acclaimed debut album “Cascade into Chaos” in 2018, they are ready to unleash a second album entitled “The Screwtape Letters” on April 8th 2022. Mixed by long-time Motörhead producer and Grammy winner Cameron Webb and mastered at Abbey Road Studios, the album will be available worldwide through US label Cleopatra Records and will be released on all formats including a special limited edition red vinyl and CD with full color 20 page booklet, featuring 10 blockbusting tracks with titles such as “Cat’s Eye Night” and “Holloway Motel” that will take no prisoners with their own brand of heavy rock ‘n’ roll.
Leader of Down launch the first single and video from the album Hitman on 3rd March. Hitman features special guest and long-term friend, ex Iron Maiden guitarist and member of Lionheart Dennis Stratton. “It was a great pleasure to be asked to provide a solo for Hitman and having guested on stage with Leader of Down on a recent UK show it was great to be back with the boys and appear in the videoas well”
Leader of Down’s career so far has seen them headline shows across Europe as well as supporting the likes of Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons and Nitrogods receiving rave reviews for their live shows from around the world. Leader of Down will be supporting Tank on their spring UK tour before headlining the Heavy Metal Mayhem Festival in England, many more shows will follow throughout 2022 and the band have now been added to the Hard Rock Hell Festival in January 2023. The new album will see the band take a new journey as we sail out of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leader of Down are: Matt Baker – Vocals / Alex Ward – Guitar / Tim Atkinson – Bass / Daniel Akaoui – Drums
*Leader of Down’s 2018 would also feature a guest vocal appearance from the late Lemmy –
Well, this is getting less fun as the ’80s goes on, as there seems to have been less albums each year, so I’ve had to dig well beyond my own collection (thank you youtube), but I did make a few fine discoveries. Remember, this is My list – If anything’s missing, leave it in the comments!
White Wolf – Endangered Species
The 2nd album from Edmonton’s White Wolf. An awesome album of AOR/Hard Rock. “Time Waits For No One”, “Run For Your Life”, the single “She”, and a cool cover “Just Like An Arrow” by British band Magnum. A shame it’d be 2 decades before a 3rd album from these guys. Just a great album…and great cover!
Honeymoon Suite – The Big Prize
The follow up to the band’s hugely successful debut from 1984. I actually prefer this album; better production [courtesy of Bruce Fairbairn] and songs, IMO. “Feel It Again”, Released February 4 [according to RPM], The Big Prize featured 4 hits – “What Does It Take”, “Bad Attitude” and “All Along You Knew” [featuring Ian Anderson].
Triumph – The Sport Of Kings
Hot off the excellent Live Stages double album, someone decided Triumph needed to come up with more mainstream pop rockers, more keyboards, and outside penned ballads! Not near their best, but contained the hits “Tears In The Rain” , “Somebody’s Out There”, and favorite “What Rules My Heart”.
Killer Dwarfs – Stand Tall
The Dwarfs 2nd album. Don’t think this [or the debut] made a dent on the charts, but they quickly gained a following with classic hard rockers like “Keep The Spirit Alive” , “Through Animal Eyes” and the title track. Cool guitar sound from Mike Hall [who later played in Carl Dixon’s band] and distinctive vocals from Russ Graham [who would later front Moxy for a few years].
Kick Axe – Rock The World
From Regina, Saskatchewan, this would be Kick Axe’s 3rd album in the ’80s, before a long break. A return to a more ‘metal’ approach than the one before, starting with the fast rockin’ title track (killer intro). It also included favorites “We Still Remember”, “Devachan”, as well as heavy cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain”.
Brighton Rock – Young, Wild and Free
The debut album from Niagara’s Brighton Rock, which had followed an EP the previous year. Featured the hits “Can’t Wait For The Night” and “We Came To Rock”, and featured favorites like the title track, “Assault Attack” and “Barricade”. (RIP Gerry McGhee)
Sacred Blade – Of The Sun + Moon
Prog-metal band from Vancouver. Cool stuff, featuring lots of heavy guitars, acoustic guitars, metal rockers like “Salem” and “In The Light Of The Moon”, to some progressive influences on the likes of “Legacy”, “Moon” . Main writer Jeff Ulmer would re-do a number of things on his next project Othyrworld in 2005. (RIP Jeff Ulmer)
Frank Marino – Full Circle
His first studio album since 1982’s excellent Juggernaut. Full Circle saw more use of keyboards, and more lighter tracks, but still some good rockers, and good tracks overall. Favorites include “Hang On”, “Breakin’ Away”, and “Imagine”.
Sword – Metalized
Quebec metal band’s debut album. I think I saw these guys open for Alice Cooper in the ’80s. A pretty solid heavy record, on Aquarius (recorded & mixed by former April Wine guitarist Gary Moffett). Includes the great opener “F.T.W.”, plus “Stoned Again”, “The End Of The Night”, and “Out of Control”. A shame these guys only released 2 studio albums.
Jon-Mikl Thor – Recruits Wild In The Street
A fun album of hard-rock / metal, with rockers and anthems like “Ragnarock”, “Warhammer”, “Who’s To Blame”, and “We Live To Rock” (w/ Aldo Nova contributing to vocals on this one). Produced by Peppi Marchello (The Good Rats), who also wrote album track “Heartbreak Choir”.
Other releases: Kim Mitchell Shakin’ Like A Human Being / Deaf Dealer Keeper Of The Flame / Tom Cochrane & Red Rider s/t
Swedish singer Rick Altzi (aka Rickard Thornberg) has recorded with a number of bands, such as At Vance, Masterplan, Gathering of Kings, and Herman Frank. This being Altzi’s first solo project, and it’s a very good set hard-rock tunes, a bit o’ metal, a bit of AOR, with Altzi’s vocals being not too far off from fellow Masterplan alumni (and Norwegian) Jorn Lande.
Lots of AOR-type keyboard intros, followed by heavier guitar driven rockers. The first 4-5 tracks are worth checking out alone, before things lighten up a bit. But really, no real dodgy cuts here, tho’ I think most albums should end at 10 tracks (there’s 14 here, but oh well) . Favorites include “Point Of No Return”, “Run To You”, and “Tossin’ and Turnin'”. Lots of great guest guitarists doing solos , notably Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake), Oliver Hartmann (Avantasia), and Andy LaRocque (King Diamond),
Press Release:
RICK ALTZI is an artist from Helsingborg, Sweden who started to play bass at the age of 14. He was a member in various tribute and original bands until 2004 and switched over to the microphone in 2005. His first album as vocalist saw the light of day in the year 2007 with the band AT VANCE. Since then, he has worked with a lot of outstanding musicians from bands such as Helloween, Accept, King Diamond, Pain Of Salvation, etc.. In 2020, Rick Altzi started to work on his first solo album under the moniker of ALTZI. Rick Altzi also is writing and recording with the bands Masterplan, Gathering Of Kings and Herman Frank.
In 2021, ALTZI has released a couple of successful singles and videos from the brand new album “All Eyes On Me” in advance. The full album, which will be available on CD and digitally from March 25th, 2022, now contains 10 more new songs.
Rick Altzi recorded all vocals in Outhouse Studios on the west coast of Sweden, Drums were recorded at Parental Studios in Cologne. The album is mixed by Victor Ohlsson in his studio located in Gothenburg and produced by Rick Altzi and Ulrick Lönnqvist. Thomas ”Plec” Johansson took care of the mastering at The Panic Room.
Track list: 1. Point Of No Return, 2. Crash and Fall, 3. Into The Fire, 4. Run to you, 5. Legacy, 6. You Don’t Believe In Love, 7. Strangers in the Real World, 8. Desire, 9. Hurting Kind, 10. Motherless Child, 11. Wind & the Rain, 12. Tossin’ and Turnin’, 13. Final Warning, 14. Where Dreams never Die
Line-up: Rick Altzi – Lead and backing vocals, Pete Alpenborg – Guitars, Keyboards Nalle Påhlsson – Bass guitar, Kevin Kott – Drums Ulrick Lönnqvist – Acoustic guitar, backing vocals Victor Ohlsson – Additional guitars, backing vocals Teresia Svensson – Backing vocals Kimberly Kott – Backing vocals Musicians on the song ”Into the Fire” Rick Altzi – Vocals, Magnus Berglund – Guitars, Morgan Jensen Guitars, Ken Sandin – Bass guitar, Kevin Kott – Drums
Guest solo guitarists: Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake, Cher), Matthias IA Eklund (Freak kitchen), Per Nilsson (Meshuggah), Olaf Lenk (AtVance), Oliver Hartmann (Avantasia), Morgan Jensen (Swedish Erotica), Victor Ohlsson (Gathering of Kings, Saffire), Magnus Karlsson (Freefall), Andy LaRocque (King Diamond), Magnus Berglund (Arctic Rain), Stefan Lindholm (Vindictiv), Eric Rauti (Dreamland)
BIBLE BLACK was a New York based band that featured former ELF / RAINBOW members Craig Gruber and Gary Driscoll, who after playing alongside Ronnie James Dio in the ’70s, formed their own band in the early ’80s. The band survived a few years, fronted by such singers as Jeff Fenholt (Joshua, Driver), Eric Adams (Manowar), and Joey Belladonna (Anthrax) and recorded a number of tracks with them. Keyboard player Mickey Lee Soule (also ex of Elf) was also in the band at one point, though there’s not a lot of keyboards here. This was a great heavy 2 guitar band, as evidenced by the songs here. Standouts include “Gone”, “Down On The World”, “Ain’t No Crime”, and “Deceiver”. Highly recommended as a great set of early ’80s American metal, and not just for the big name connections here. More in tune with the NWOBHM stuff happening at the time, along with ’70s Judas Priest and Dio than what was happening in the US at the time (IMO).
Press Release:
Bible Black was an East Coast American band formed by former Elf/Rainbow musicians Gary Driscoll and Craig Gruber, along with Andrew “Duck” McDonald.
The bands longest tenured singer was Jeff Fenholt, well known for his very brief stint with Tony Iommi/Black Sabbath and his work with the band Joshua.
The band also featured in its ranks 2 well known vocalists: Lou Marullo who later became known as the one and only Eric Adams…and Joey Belladonna who of course went on to join Anthrax.
All three vocalists recorded demos with Bible Black between the periods of 1981-1983. This cd for the first time compiles all recorded works of the band in one place.
Sadly Gary Driscoll, Craig Gruber and Jeff Fenholt have all since passed away, making this release a fitting epitaph to their time together as Bible Black.
Restored and remastered by Patrick Engel and licensed directly from the last surviving member Andrew “Duck” McDonald” we can now hear one of the great “lost bands” and a piece of Heavy Metal history.
Track list: 1. Gone, 2. Metal Man, 3. Back To Back, 4. Down On The World, 5. Ain’t No Crime, 6.Fighting The Wind 7. Back Door, 8. Paint It Black, 9. Fires Of Old, 10. You Got Me Where You Want Me, 11. Deceiver, 12. Midnight Dancer, 12. Gone (Jeff Fenholt vocals), 13. Metal Man (Jeff Fenholt vocals)
A new Focus era has arrived, bringing with it a rejuvenated passion amongst the band. In 2019 Focus released their first studio album for 6 years: Focus 11, which came complete with brand new Roger Dean artwork. The year was then spent touring from South America to Japan and everywhere in between in support of the new album.
With the dawn of 2020 came the 50th anniversary of the formation of Focus. Unfortunately, celebrations had to be put on hold due to global events. 2021 brought the 50th anniversary of Moving Waves, as well as the deluxe boxset Focus50 featuring Blu-ray and CD of the Live In Rio concert as well as a studio rerecord of all the Focus numbers.
Finally, 2022 means a return to touring in a real way, and the band are delighted to be performing again! The classics such as Hocus Pocus (which has been featured in a global ad campaign for Nike, Top Gear and feature films such as Baby Driver), Sylvia, and House Of The King will, of course, be on the bill… and of course some of the Focus numbers make an appearance!
band photo: Johnny Price
The band, consisting of Thijs van Leer (Hammond organ, flute and vocals), Pierre van der Linden (drums), Menno Gootjes (guitar), and Udo Pannekeet (bass), are delighted to get back to their fans and return to the stage to play the music they love.
The band has toured extensively in the UK and Europe, including some great festivals, and already have the below dates confirmed so far for 2022, with more to be added.
Among the Heep faithful there are 3 albums that tend to stir up the most controversy and conversation, and often one of them is cited as the band’s ‘worst’ album by many fans or rock historians. I’ve already written previously my support for Conquest and for Equator, both albums that land at the bottom of any Heep album ranking, and the 3rd in that trilogy would be 1976’s High and Mighty – the last to feature original singer & founding member David Byron. Frankly, none of these 3 land in the bottom 3 for me, in particular High and Mighty, an album I rank in the top half of the band’s catalogue.
High and Mighty came at the end of a very busy period for the band. In ’75 – the band had changed bass players, adding John Wetton in place of Gary Thain, who had been fired, and the band got down to releasing Return To Fantasy in the summer of ’75. Ken Hensley also had his 2nd solo album Eager To Please released not too far off from that. A huge world tour followed the release of that Heep album, followed by David Byron’s solo album Take No Prisoners, and a Best of Uriah Heep issued in most markets (except for North America). So, to say High and Mighty might’ve been rushed soon after is more than likely. Despite Return To Fantasy being a huge success in the UK, the band’s last few albums were selling less in North America, and with this perhaps was the motivation to ‘fire’ Gerry Bron as the new album’s producer and produce it themselves. But, where as RTF had many more band co-writes and member contributions, High and Mighty would consist of entirely Ken Hensley penned tracks, with Wetton getting 2 co-writes. Ken has stated in the past the album felt more like a solo album, and both he and Wetton noted that not much of the band were around at the time, leaving the 2 of them to take on most of the production, aided by engineer Ashley Howe.
John Wetton’s presence is felt immediately on the opening track “One Way Or Another”, in which he takes the lead vocal. A fantastic beginning to this album with the opening guitar riff coming in with a fresh new strong sound, before Wetton’s bass, then drums and organ join in. This is a standout track, and a shame it never got a proper single release. There would be no global single from this album, with this song being issued in the UK (limited), and nothing in North America. David Byron was apparently off with chicken pox at the time of recording this track, so that was the reason given for Wetton’s lead vocal. John recalled in an interview that when David did come back he went in to sing the song, part way through stopped, saying that it was fine the way it was. “Weep In Silence”, a heavy guitar driven ballad, with Hensley’s distinct guitar sound throughout and a great vocal from Byron remains a fan favorite from this album, though it was never played live. “Misty Eyes” starts out gently with Byron singing the opening lines alone before the band comes in softly with acoustic guitar, organ and drums. A good lighter pop song that would’ve made a catchy single, IMO. The first side ends with “Midnight”, the longest track on the album, and most progressive,. An often overlooked epic in the band’s catalogue, and although Wetton didn’t get a co-write on this Or on “One Way Or Another”, his performances (bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals or backing vocals) make these 2 tracks his greatest contributions to his time with the band.
Side 2 opens with the anthem “Can’t Keep A Good Band Down”, a response and dig at the band’s critics. A good upbeat rocker that would’ve (again) made for a fine single. A shame the song would never feature in the band’s live show back then or ever. Next up was the pop-rock of “Woman Of The World”; a good tune, tho’ a bit on the lighter side. Might’ve made a decent single, but like a number of tracks here it lacks an extended solo or something unique as the song merely fades out quickly after the last chorus. “Woman Of The World” would include the band’s message to Bron in the harmonies – You can stick this contract up your flue “Footprints In The Snow” is a favorite of mine on this album, co-credited to Wetton. Love the mix of acoustic and electric guitars organ, and harmonies. An underrated classic from the Byron era, IMO. From here, despite how much I love this album, I can see how critics might disagree with my enthusiasm, as the next 3 tracks drop off a bit, especially the funky keyboardy “I Can’t Stop Singing”. I never ‘got’ this song, and listening to it now, I still don’t. . tho’ it’s not bad, and David sounds convincing on the verses, but the chorus… meh…. “Make A Little Love” is a guitar blues n boogie number, featuring slide guitar. Sounds like it could’ve been a good old school jam rocker, but it ends too early, like a few tracks here, sounding rushed . This one did make it in to the live set on the High & Mighty tour, but like the rest of the album was never played again (aside from Ken resurrecting a track live with John Wetton). The album ends on a high note, but a sad one with “Confession”, with David delivering an apologetic lyric on Ken’s piano ballad. It’s an excellent, moving ballad that sits behind the band’s previous ballads “Rain” and “The Easy Road”. A shame it ends so soon.
In 1995 I interviewed John Wetton and he recalled no leftover tracks being recorded, but sure enough 2 outtakes would eventually be released. “Sunshine”, a good upbeat number; love Lee Kerslake’s intro and playing here. The other cut is the guitar heavy “Name Of The Game”. This song appeared in another version on Ken Hensley’s From Time To Time album in ’94 (an album of solo outtakes and demos), as Ken had recorded the track in the late ’70s with members of Bad Company. A great heavy riff to open this song, fantastic delivery from David and slide guitar from Ken. To me, this sounds like it wasn’t totally completed or mixed well enough, hence it’s lack of inclusion on the album, but a crying shame this wasn’t totally finished and cleaned up and included – could’ve made for a very different outcome of an album that is often brushed off as “lightweight”.
High and Mighty received a huge press bash at the time in Switzerland, where James Bond was filmed. But after that the album dropped – with no worldwide single, and little push. As the band toured the US before it’s release – with no single on the radio or record in the shops, High and Mighty was kinda doomed. The tour saw Ken Hensley leave the band and return, and David Byron fired at the end of the European tour. John Wetton had already made up his mind due to the internal conflict, and and left as well. Many fans wrote the band off after David Byron was dismissed, and the band’s profile and album sales would continue to sink in North America.
But really, I kinda love this album. I realize it may be seen as lightweight or too much of a Ken Hensley solo project by many old Heep fans, but to me it had a new fresh approach and sound following Return To Fantasy and Wonderworld. The band experimented, did something new, and High and Mighty offered up a number of tracks that would’ve made fine singles. With John Wetton having a major hand in it, it sounded much more modern in tune with UK nd Asia, and a forward step from the band’s previous albums. Heck, I even think the album cover art is pretty cool!
Released in November of ’99 Metalhead was the first SAXON album I actually got – and really liked! I vaguely remember a track from the Rock The Nations album received some radio play over here at the time (“Northern Lady” or “Waiting For The Night”), and I picked up that album in a cut-out bin not too long after. It didn’t make a huge impression on me and through a few moves the album was lost or given up (I hated packing things up, so on a few occasions parted with some records). Anyway, Saxon was not on a major label here, nor did I hear much else from them, aside from that cover of Christopher Cross’s “Ride Like The Wind”. In late ’99 I received the Metalhead CD (and bio) and put it on. The title and cover was certainly appealing to me, as a metal fan, and one looking for a great ‘new’ (old) band to discover and pick up on. Metalhead featured the founding members – Biff Byford and Paul Quinn, along with guitarist Doug Scarratt, bassist Nibbs Carter, and German drummer Fritz Randow (ex of German prog bands ELOY and EPITAPH).
From the opening build-up leading in to the title track I was expecting something big, and by the time I got to the end of the 4th song – I had to go back and re-listen! “Metalhead”, “Travelers In Time”, and especially “Conquistador” (love the acoustic intro before the band kicks in and the song takes off). These had my hooked and I listened to the first 3 songs repeatedly before I even got to the rest of the disc. And after that there’s really no duds here, this is a full-on classic metal album, with further great tracks like “All Guns Blazing” (killer intro) , “Watching You”, and epic finale “Sea Of Life”. Love the production, the big guitar sound, Biff’s distinctive voice; it all worked so well. A great album, and the follow up (w/ the same line up) made for a fine pair. Killing Ground featured another outstanding title track, as well a cool cover of King Crimson’s “In The Court Of The Crimson King”.
It has been a lengthy journey for John Sloman, once seen as a rising star, after stints with Uriah Heep and Gary Moore, along with his unique voice and wide range, his talents on multiple instruments, his songwriting, and his looks then that drew comparisons to Robert Plant. But after 1989’s Disappearances Can Be Deceptive solo album wasn’t a huge hit, not much was heard from John for years until he resumed making solo albums in 2003, mainly by himself. One thing that is evident on John’s latest creation, Two Rivers (on Red Steel Music) is that there is no one like him. John does write formatted pop-rock songs, or produce with any commercial approach in mind. There’s no simple 10 tracks of riff / verse/ chorus/ verse/ chorus/ solo/ chorus/ fadeout. What you get on John’s journey in time dealing with his childhood and past (I haven’t grasped all the lyrics, so I can’t be precise on the entire concept) is a very atmospheric, very different type of album. everything flows together nicely with John often having a few words between songs or during the intros. It makes more sense and more enjoyable listening to the whole album as opposed to picking out single songs. But, if I had to pick out highlights – the title track, “Scenes From An Old Biscuit Tin”, “Charing Cross Moon”, and “Walking Along The Taff”. Much of what is enjoyable about this album is listening to the stories John tells in the songs. Again, if you’re expecting any kind of conventional rock type album, this is not it – this is 14 storytelling tracks put to John’s unique musical approach. This is all acoustic guitars, piano, bass ,vocals [lots], choirs [all John], keyboards, etc….. no electric guitars, no big solos or riffs. Influences of Zappa, acoustic Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd.
Best listened to on headphones -with an open mind, without any ‘rock’ expectations, and enjoy the journey. Love the artwork, btw, and am told the packaging is excellent (might we see a vinyl release?) .
Red Steel plans to follow up Two Rivers with a compilation containing tracks from John’s previous solo albums to be titled Conspectus.
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Outsider Rock 