Paul Southwell

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Posts by Paul Southwell

STEVEN WILSON Live Review, 2025

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Musical leaders these days are few and far between but based English songwriter and producer Steven Wilson’s prolific contribution to the musical landscape is not just noteworthy, it is a rare example of artistic integrity. His latest studio venture as a solo artist, The Overview, is unique, and offers a wealth of sonic experiences for the dedicated listener. It is an album to experience with headphones and the themes explored here are presented as two multi-part progressive rock suites, that neatly fit onto either side of the vinyl format.

(HED) P.E. and NONPOINT Tour, February 2026

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(HED) P.E.  return to shake Australia to its very foundations and they are bringing NONPOINT with them Celebrating the 25th anniversary of their landmark album Broke, the band will deliver a full-throttle set packed with fan favourites like Bartender, Killing Time, and Feel Good;  which featured none other than Serj Tankian (System of a Down) and Morgan Lander (Kittie) on the album. Critics hailed Broke as a “magnum opus

POSSESSED (Jeff Becerra) Tour Interview, 2025 

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Possessed emerged from a time in music when a stylistic approach that embraced extreme speed and aggression was well beyond the generally accepted genre bounds of music consumption. The impact was immediate, from the young band, who arguably inadvertently launched an entire genre within metal, known as death metal. Their debut album, Seven Churches remains a landmark measuring stick within metal circles, and they were certainly noticed on various tours with Bay Area Thrash Metal bands who put a definitive stamp on a worldwide genre that continues to flourish today, in various mutations. 

BIG COUNTRY (Bruce Watson) Tour Interview, 2025 

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Scottish indie rockers Big Country have returned to Australia for a Greatest Hits tour. In 2019, they were here to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of their classic second album Steeltown which was recorded at ABBA’s Polar Studios in Stockholm and produced by Steve Lillywhite, garnering a UK number one album.  Their debut album, The Crossing, also with Lillywhite at the helm, cemented their reputation as an influential band with an undeniable 80’s Celtic Rock feel that led to two Grammy nominations and widespread airplay, alongside substantial touring. A lot has transpired since those heady days but with the current line-up treading the boards with great reviews on keeping their legacy alive, we recently caught up with founding member, and guitarist, Bruce Watson via Zoom.

JD FORTUNE ‘Plays the Best of INXS’ Tour Interview, 2025

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INXS were internationally huge, and if you ever saw them live, the reasons were self-explanatory. However, the loss of a legendary front man [Michael Hutchence] is a hard bridge to cross, yet JD Fortune rose to the challenge. Imagine stepping into the shoes of one of Australia’s biggest, and most beloved, rock exports. Then, on top of that, dealing with the endless invasions into personal freedoms that international media are so adept at ignoring. So, we were privileged to gain access to the quite stellar, Canadian vocalist JD Fortune, to explore his experiences, and to discuss the approaching tour. 

TESTAMENT New album ‘PARA BELLUM’ and music video ‘Infanticide A.I.’

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Bay Area thrash metal icons TESTAMENT return this Fall with their fourteenth studio album, Para Bellum. The album which will be released on October 10th via Nuclear Blast Records stands as both a battle cry and an observation of humanity’s uneasy alliance with its own creations. As technology accelerates and disconnection grows, Para Bellum sees TESTAMENT reflecting the modern chaos through music that’s urgent, sharp, and unflinchingly human.

DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG release single ‘Dead Man’s Hand’ from the upcoming album BABYLON

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PRE-ORDER “BABYLON” If you’ve been following the journey of BABYLON the highly anticipated debut full-length album from DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG, you already know what kind of powerhouse material this band delivers. Now, with the release of their fifth single, ‘Dead Man’s Hand’, the stakes are raised yet again. And if this is your first taste

ILL NIÑO (Dave Chavarri & Tommy Roulette) Tour Interview, 2025

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Latin American, alternative metal band Ill Niño made their mark at the time of nu-metal hitting the hard music charts. Formed by Pro-Pain drummer David Chavarri, their 2001 release Revolution Revolución made a statement of presence to the metal world, whereby the band enjoyed mainstream success, continuing that drive with subsequent release Confession, with several releases since then, with the most recent being in 2014 with Till Death, La Familia. Currently fronted by enthusiastic newcomer to the fold, Tommy Roulette, Ill Niño is finally looking to contain the solid line-up that will at last release some new music, which will also be aired in their upcoming setlists.