American guitarist Steve Morse will be familiar to anyone who has seen one of the many recent DEEP PURPLE tours to Australia. For many musicians, Steve sets the benchmark for guitar playing skills and also has a rich history as co-founder of virtuoso guitar pushing trio DIXIE DREGS, as a respected solo artist, with incommensurately
American progressive metal band Dream Theater have endured the fickle nature of the music industry and their inner turmoil with personnel changes to remain as captivating as ever with last year’s reaffirming and highly praised self titled album. Their impeccable musicianship and focus on creating interesting music remains intact as witnessed on their most recent
American death metal band Cannibal Corpse have been blasting zombie demolishing extreme metal for many years with uncompromising precision and notable accolades from numerous sources throughout their generally consistent musical career. Heading down to Australia again for shows that promise to smash eardrums and unsettle delicate sensibilities, they will be touring in support of new
Blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa has a reputation for being prolific and touring regularly almost to the point of exhaustion. So, his latest album titled Different Shades of Blue offers all original material borne from a rare break in releasing studio material virtually annually and will no doubt crop up in the set list of his
Everybody into metal knows about the Big Four of thrash, which arguably could extend further. However, if Germany was your home turf, you may have instead opted for a different batch of bands, no doubt influenced by the American counterparts. The bands Sodom, Kreator, Destruction and Tankard constitute the Teutonic Big Four who soon enough
Innovative songwriters with a recognisable signature vocal delivery who can also produce their own material whilst achieving global success do exist. However, those who create interesting new music over several decades and remain highly influential on other newer artists across various genres whilst still embarking on a touring cycle are rather rare. Gary Numan, whose
Death Angel – Studio Frolics and Killing Tours Latest Release: The Dream Calls For Blood (Riot/Nuclear Blast) Website: www.deathangel.us/ Finally returning to Australia in support of German thrash titans Kreator, the equally road hardened and rejuvenated Bay Area thrash legends of Death Angel are showing no signs of slowing down. Guitarist and remaining founding member
Dark Tranquility + Be’Lakor + Orpheus OmegaThe Hi-Fi Bar, Moore Park, SydneySaturday the 29th of March, 2014. Since it had been eight years since European melodic death metal band Dark Tranquility had visited our shores, the turn out covered a mixture of new and old fans. Having toured the country in support of their latest
Dark Tranquility – Built to Last Latest Release: Construct (Century Media/EMI) Website: www.darktranquility.com Swedish melodic death metal is a term bandied about for years, probably as a nice category for marketing purposes. Similarly, the Gothenburg sound tag has, like any label, both aided and frustrated those at the receiving end. Dark Tranquility experienced this first
Olympic Park, HomebushSunday the 23rd of February, 2014. As the crowds rolled into the Sydney date of the Australia wide Soundwave Festival, the prior build up dramas of timetables, cancellations, additions and whines about clashes of favoured band appearances seemingly dissipated. Amongst a sea of black t-shirts and the odd pre Gwar white t-shirt, numerous