Sinocence - Scar Obscura - The first thing that hits you about this album is the artwork. With artwork this good, the music contained within has a lot to live up to.

Black Country Communion - Black Country - I gave the album three spins, and by that time it was like an old friend. The songs are cleverly crafted and it goes without saying the vocals and musicianship is of the highest order. For a project that has had its problems - ou wouldn’t know it from the band’s chemistry.

The Ocean - Anthropocentric - The album is well structured and the musical themes are given space to develop in each track and some fine passages emerge. Each track segue’s into the next and gives the album a wholeness, a coherent progression.

Structures - Signals - An epic debut release from Tamworth's Structures, spread across three EPs, and one that definitely signals a great future for this post-rock/metal collaborative...

Skin - Breaking the Silence -  Skin is leaving us with another memento to their legacy in the form of this, their 4th album. It’s not an album that’s going to change the world but its sound and style is what you’d expect from the band and I can say without a doubt will please the band’s fan base immensely.

Issa - Sign of Angels -  Issa is a new name to the world of melodic rock but this Norwegian beauty has been doing the rounds in the background of the music biz for years, building up a formidable reputation and now she gets her chance to step into the limelight.

Legion - Legion -  This band seems to have come out of nowhere, with their debut album due to drop at the end of October and they are already causing enough of a stir to get a five album deal with Z Records!

Negligence - Coordinates of Confusion -  Meaty bass, machine-gun double-kick drum beats, razor-like riffs, shredding lead breaks, and vocals that range from gruff to falsetto are all here, all that thrash has always excelled at.

Taken By the Tide -  There Is No Such Thing as an Atheist in a Foxhole -  ...the EP is a battery from start to finish, the finishing riffs kicking the twitching and stunned casualty to within an inch of its life to savour its final breath. Run, Forrest. Run!

Drive, SheSaid - Dreams Will Come: The Best Of ...And More - Drive, She Said first emerged in the late 80s as a band featuring writing talents of Mark Mangold (Touch, American Tears, The Sign) and vocalist Al Fritsch. Their first, self-titled, album was a real gem of an AOR album, which sounds almost as good today, and unlike many of its contemporaries is well worth revisiting...

Love Amongst Ruin - Love Amongst Ruin - The debut album from a brand new band, but featuring some very familiar faces. Ex-Placebo drummer Steve Hewitt steps out from behind the kit, and is joined by Donald Ross Skinner amongst others...

Lost In Vegas - A State of Mind - The years of work the band have put in before knuckling down to record what is essentially their debut release (aside from the self-released 'Addiction' EP which came out in 2006) have definitely paid off...

Hail of Bullets - On Divine Winds - From stomping and lurching mid-paced death metal grooves to melodic sky-soaring lead breaks and harmonies, On Divine Winds is incendiary. War. What is it good for? Heavy bloody metal!

Joe Satriani - Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards - This is an excellent album. Satch has a unique voice, multilingual in terms of melody, harmony, timbre, style, moods, atmospheres, and whatever else one cares to mention and on Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards, he has let that voice sing, loud...

Terry Brock - Diamond Blue - It has indeed been a long wait for this album with Terry’s last solo effort “Back to Eden” emerging nine years ago...

Alter Bridge - AB III - Alter Bridge have once again delivered a colossal album of gigantic proportions; all I ask for in an album is for it to make me smile and press the repeat button… AB III has certainly accomplished that on both counts.

Citizen Charlie - Up Yours - ...Charlie is a definite star in the making, like the aforementioned Joan Jett, Courtney Love and Brijitte West she has the voice to carry the thoughts of a disaffected generation. And given the right mix of guidance and luck then Citizen Charlie will in my opinion make serious waves in this particular genre.

Awake - Bleed From You - This is an impressive master class in all things ‘Melodic’, ‘Symphonic’ and Hard Rock - a song that soars to the skies and takes us all on the ride of our lives.

Frozen Theory - Only Our Enemies Leave Roses - From the eruption of Black Country metal that's engulfing us at the moment, an ice cool bunch of lads are rising above the generic masses

First Signal - First Signal - Woody's back again, this time reviewing the debut album from what is being billed as "a new exciting Melodic Rock studio project presenting the alliance between two well known faces in the scene: Canadian singer Harry Hess (ex-HAREM SCAREM) and producer/bassist Dennis Ward (PINK CREAM 69, PLACE VENDOME, KHYMERA etc.)." Consider yourself told.

Stan Bush - Dream The Dream - Woody reviews the latest album from prolific one-man AOR machine Stan Bush - and endeavours to show us that he's more than just that bloke who wrote the songs for the 80s Transformers cartoon movie.

Elvenking - Red Silent Tides - Since the release of Elvenking’s 2007 fan-splitting, Folk Metalcore heap of musical nonsense “The Scythe”, all eyes have been upon the once-great Italian idols, scrutinising them wearily, hoping that they won’t fuck up as severely on their next effort.

Gov't Mule - Mulennium - Remember where you were on 31 December 1999? It’s only taken them ten years but Gov’t Mule have finally issued a three disc set of their gig that saw in the new Millennium at the Roxy Theater, Atlanta. A captivating release, it is all the more notable for the fact that founding member and bassist Allen Woody passed away just a few short months into the year 2000.

Isolysis - Condemned  - Isolysis are a metal quartet from Derbyshire. Formed in 2005 they have steadily built up a loyal fan base through their relentless gigging and ‘no compromise’ live shows. Lead by the formidable Bane, the band really came into their own with the final addition to the jigsaw - guitarist Dan Monic - who joined in 2007. This lead to the band writing and recording this, their debut album.

Y&T - Facemelter  - It would have been too much to hope for an album that reached the heights of the band’s 80s heyday, or to emulate five-star albums like ‘Earthshaker’, ‘Black Tiger’ or ‘Mean Streak’, but it’s a real pleasure to report that ‘Facemelter’ is a strong, consistently enjoyable hard rock album that more than does their illustrious legacy justice.

Mark Sweeney - All In  - Crystal Ball singer Mark Sweeney returns with his second solo album “All In” his follow up to his critically acclaimed 2007 debut album “Slow Food”.

Signify - Signify - What more can you ask from a young band who have the look, the showmanship, the talent and the knack for writing and playing a good lick? Well, a great debut album would be nice!

Police Bastard - It's Good To Hate  - With obvious punk roots that have been given a metal edge, this ep is full of visceral vocals, unfortunately, this EP accurately sums up the feeling of much of the down trodden and under privileged in society today, a nation that’s depressed and in need of serious medication.

Goodluck Jonathan - This Is Our Way Out EP - Sure-fire bet for the "Best band named after a Nigerian President" award. Their debut EP, 'This Is Our Way Out' is hailed by the band as "edgy math-Rock n Roll"...

HeKz - Orfeo EP - 'Orfeo' is the latest EP from Bedfordshire-based Trad Metal band HeKz, fresh off a performance at Bloodstock...

Melechesh - The Epigenesis - Melechesh sing primarily about Mesopotamian/Sumerian polytheistic mythology, and incorporate Middle Eastern tonalities and rhythms into their mixture of black, thrash, and death metal. Though they may not be the first to venture into such territory (Israel’s Orphaned Land spring to mind, though they remain within Judeo-Christian mythologies), they have a sound that is unique, and on their latest offering, The Epigenesis, they continue to subtly integrate into their sound traditional instruments such as yayli tanbur, Azeri Tar, baglama saz, Indian sitar and Persian santur...

Cataract - Killing the Eternal - Yep, it’s another band on the Metal Blade roster that are miffed at something and are gonna tell us all about it. Incessantly. Swiss metalcore merchants Cataract’s latest offering is upon us. One look at the album cover says it all. This is a band determined to make their mark in a scene that has its fair share of bands with the same goal...

Stone Sour - Audio Secrecy - Corey Taylor is one talented guy, there is no denying that he has been blessed with the pipes of an angel and the growl of a pissed off banshee wailing in a darkened forest. Audio Secrecy is the bands difficult third album; however nothing is difficult when Mr. Taylor and masked partner Jim Root join forces again to create what could be Audio Pornography!...

Love Commandos - Sirens - An infestious album full of exciting guitar riffs and catchy tunes that'll transport you back to those smoke filled clubs of the 90's. 17 years in the making, but well worth it!

Chris Laney - Only Come Out At Night - This was not what I expected and is far more commercial than I thought. It’s a real Melodic Rock gem that makes me want more. Its an album full of dance floor fillers with an infectious beat and old school stadium rock influences. If you like to turn it up loud and give your head a pounding, then grab your dancing shoes, grab this album and get ready to ROCK!

Death Angel - Relentless Retribution - Thrash revivalists take note. Death Angel are a band that are immune to the pressure to create “old school” thrash that is brutal-for-brutality’s-sake and have delivered an album that should turn a few heads. Relentless Retribution is a huge improvement over 2008’s Killing Season which was good but had something missing and didn’t quite do the band justice.

FURY UK - A Way of Life  - is UK Metal band Fury UK’s third studio album, and see’s the trio of  Chris Appleton, Luke Appleton and Martin McNee continue their own brand of hard hitting, classy and intelligent music.

Pretty Maids - Pandemonium - There are lot’s of albums out there masquerading as melodic metal, screw them; you want some TRUE melodic metal get your ears round this bad boy!

Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare - Their first album since the tragic loss of drummer The Rev, will it prove a worthy tribute?  We find out...

Liberty Lies - New Addiction - A four track EP that manages to get across in the short time allowed everything that this band is about. It has power and passion; energy and emotion, in bucket loads.

Fleshwrought - Dementia / Dyslexia - At the helm of Fleshwrought is Navene Koperweis, known for his drum duties in the deathcore merchants Animosity and with the instrumental progressive metallers Animals as Leaders. Here, he handles all of the instruments and Koperweis is clearly an accomplished multi-instrumentalist.

Pay No Respect - Moving On - “Mini album”. Now doesn’t that sound sweet? Petite, perhaps. Maybe even delicate. What could possibly be concealed beneath such an innocuous moniker? A veritable smorgasbord of dainty ditties designed to delight, I would wager. And I couldn’t be more wrong. Moving On is a beast.

New Dawn - Unite - Debut album from a young melodic rock group hoping that the band name is prophetic. Huge crunchy riffs and funky bass, no it's not Nu-metal reborn, it's New Dawn from the wilds of Staffordshire out to conquer the Midlands Metal scene and beyond

Primordial - Spirit the Earth Aflame - First released in 2000, Primordial’s third album Spirit the Earth Aflame is to be re-issued by Metal Blade in a 2-disc edition, with the second disc comprised of live tracks, early b-sides, and other rarities. As an album, it’s hard to put the experience into words as Primordial’s sound merges black metal with doom and folk and Celtic sounds into something that combines yet transcends both metal and folk.

Blood Revolt - Indoctrine - A hushed prayer – “Make my aim true and steady” – followed by three gunshots opens this album. And what follows is truly punishing in sound and, particularly, in concept. The concept behind Indoctrine is that of a man's revolt against the system and organized religion finding salvation and vengeance at the barrel of a gun.

Patchwork Grace - Play Dead EP - PG have a great knack of writing quality hook-laden, guitars slung low, three and a minute trash/pop-rock ditties that enter your subconscious and don’t let go like a rabid dog on heat. Some bands would be happy just producing ONE song of this quality. Here Patchwork Grace appear to just sweat 3 of ‘em them out for fun.

Dirty Little Rabbits - Dirty Little Rabbits - Formed in Iowa in 2007, DLR are often referred to as Shawn Crahan’s other band. Whilst its fair to say that Shawn will be best known for his work as ‘Clown’ with the metal behemoth that is Slipknot, to dismiss DLR as just another side project would be to do them a huge disservice.

Furyon - Gravitas - As debut albums go, this is right up there with the best of them. Furyon have managed to create a body of work that infuses all their influences and yet the sound is uniquely their own....

Through Her Eyes - Winter Of Ashes - A seven track mini album from this Black Country quartet, that is a brutal display of in your face Midlands Metalcore, and whilst Midlands Metalcore fans contemplate the recent demise of local favourites, Beyond Redemption and the forced hiatus of Adust, then they could fill that gap in their lives by checking out these guys

Revolting Cocks - Got Cock? - Since winding up Ministry in 2008 Al Jourgensen and friends certainly haven't started slowing down - but does the third RevCo album in less than two years deliver?

Allegaeon - Fragments of Form and Function - Metal Blade’s roster is impressive. The addition of technical progressive death outfit Allegaeon (pronounced “uh-legion”) serves to fortify the label’s reputation as one of the best in metal today.

Hammers of Misfortune - Back Catalogue Re-Issue - A marathon session sees Midlands Rocks Jason Guest plow through the back catalogue of the Californian Prog Rockers. All four epic albums are to be re-issued on Metal Blade Records in anticipation of a new release in 2011

Winter In Eden - The Awakening - British Symphonic Metal flag bearers release their full debut album and Paul Quinton checks to see if they can mix it with the big boys in a genre dominated by bands from mainland Europe

Voodoo Johnson - 10,000 Horses - One of the most highly anticipated albums of 2010 is finally with us! Midlands Rocks gets it grubby little hands on the first full studio release from local favourites Voodoo Johnson.

This Burning Age - A Muzzle For The Masses - This is a powerfully emotional offering, which is very personal, but as you listen to each song and read the words, you find yourself looking at it from a 1^st person perspective. Each song will have a different meaning to each individual, and this is what makes this album so special.

LA Guns - Shrinking Violet Deluxe Reissue - One of the most quintessential, Hollywood sleaze bands to come out of the 80s glam metal scene is the LA Guns. This band is steeped in US metal history with notable family lineages tracing back to Guns-n-Roses, WASP and Ratt. The press kit accompanying this reissue of Shrinking Violet ends to remind me that this version of LA Guns is the real, accept no substitutes thing...

FM – Metropolis - When FM reformed for what they thought would be a one-off show at Firefest in 2007, no one could have predicted what would happen in the next two and a half years. That initial reunion proved to be such an emotional experience for the band...

The Reasoning - Adverse Camber - Since recording their second album, ‘Dark Angel’, the Reasoning have made an obvious effort to give themselves a new direction and some fresh impetus, even so early in their career...

Zappa Plays Zappa - Reurn Of The Son Of - Dweezil Zappa brings the Zappa Plays Zappa project to the Civic Hall on July 23^rd. Ahead of what is sure to be an excellent gig, Dean Pedley takes a look at his latest live album, “Return Of The Son Of”.

Pro-Pain - Absolute Power - Garnering the respect of the underground scene since the early 90s is no easy task and so Pro-Pain’s latest, Absolute Power, has a lot to prove since the band that created it also created their own mighty reputation as metal/hardcore pioneers.

Walter Trout - Common Ground  - Walter Trout, the New Jersey born guitar maestro, was once described by legendary broadcaster ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris as “The world’s greatest rock guitarist”. His career began back in the tail end of the 60s. But it was when he supported the likes of John Lee Hooker and subsequently joined Canned Heat did his reputation as a live guitarist really gather pace.

Masterplan - Time to Be King - Time to Be King is the fourth instalment of Power Metal wizardry by the multinational music mystics “Masterplan”. For those unaware, the band features an impressive all-star metal line-up, which includes Ex-Helloween guitarist Roland Grapow and Norwegian vocal-demigod Jørn Lande.

Korzus - Discipline of Hate - ...Brazilian thrashers Korzus were there the first time around, forming way back in '83, and if Discipline of Hate is anything to go by, I'm surprised that they haven't seen the same kind of success as Sepultura...

Magnum - The Gathering (5 CD Box-set) - ...As an avid fan of the band this is indeed a mouth watering prospect, not least because neatly packaged away amongst the lavish booklets and unseen photographs are 82 - count ‘em, 82 tracks, over 5 discs. Included in this is their much lauded ‘Live’ show from London’s Hammersmith Odeon 1988 - in its entirety...

Sevendust – Cold Day Memory - "Without a doubt this is the best album Sevendust have produced in years, it simply slaps you with the subtlety of a wrecking ball while the vocals soar majestically through your concrete heart."

Whitechapel - A New Era of Corruption - "From the outset, Whitechapel’s third album is ruthless and relentless in its depiction of a forsaken and bleak world and of the degeneration of humanity into a cold, uncaring beast hell-bent on self-destruction."

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Mojo - "As any long time fan will attest, no two Petty releases are ever the same and “Mojo” finds him with one foot placed firmly in Blues territory..."

Crashdiet - Generation Wild - An album sleaze lover’s are going to shout about for a long time. A hard rocking goodie with a massive scream of a rebellious call to arms! It’s big, loud & nasty so Crank It Up and shout it out loud!...

Triad EP - Sons of Nottingham, Triad, release a 3 track EP of quality Rhythm and Blues...

John Norum - Play Yard Blues - Dave Evans takes a listen to the man from Europe's latest solo album...

Liberty Lies - New Addiction - Can the Black Countrys hardest working band transfer their high energy live set to the studio? Jason takes time to find out.

Godsmack - The Oracle - Get ready for some mainstream metal at its aggressive best. Modern hardrock daddies, Godsmack, hit hard with its first album in four years.

Rock Sugar – Reimaginator - Ladies and Gentlemen prepare to be hot, sticky and sweet this summer. Get ready to be covered in sugar...Rock Sugar.

Asia - Omega - “Phoenix” divided opinion, yet I personally thought it was ok and it did have its moments, but “Omega” is a far more rounded and complete album and a definite improvement on the previous.

Sedona - Golden Valley - Sedona are a French trio and an out and out west coast AOR outfit. West coast style AOR is something of a rarity these days, so big thumbs up in the direction of the label, Avenue Of Allies, for taking risks and putting out albums in this style.

Darksite - Vicious EP - Darksite are a 4 piece rock / metal band based in Wales who are forged on the heavy riffing foundations laid by previous ‘face melters’ such as Metallica, Megadeth and Pantera. Their sound however boasts a modern twist adding elements of bands such as Five Finger Death Punch and Meshuggah.

Ajenda - Vicious Circle EP - According to the blurb, Ajenda are a power pop / rock band from Northern Ireland, who are an eclectic mix of individuals who boast a sound based on huge melodies and ‘groove-laden’ anthems... so what do they sound like on CD?

Carnypig - The Cautionary Tale of the Carnypig - John Colson immerses himself in the debut album from this Midlands-based one-man band, and emerges somewhat impressed...

4Bitten - No More Sins - The debut album from this Greek female-fronted rock outfit, currently doing the rounds of the UK's rock scene...

Philip Sayce - Innerevolution - Sayce already has a wealth of musical experience under his belt, and ‘Innerevolution’ is the culmination of all those years of hard work and dedication.

Newman - The Art of Balance - This is the 7^th proper studio album from Newman, not including the “Best Of” - Decade. You could say “The Art Of Balance” is the first album by the full Newman band...

Skyforger - Kurbads - Skyforger have been peddling their brand of Latvian Pagan Folk Metal since 1995 and opening a whole new world of  ancestral culture and themes to a bewildered metal audience with a great deal of success along the way.

Captain Horizon EP- The Captains on board but is it mutiny or full steam ahead?

Martyr De Mona - Promo EP - A tasty little titbit from this young four piece metal outfit from Dudley in the West Midlands

Enochian Theory - Evolution: Creatio Ex Nihilio - A concept album that will get us questioning our place in the universe...........

Serpentine - A Touch Of Heaven - Finally back on British soil (for how long we shall see), Woody brings us a review of the debut album from UK AOR hopes Serpentine...

Crazy Lixx - New Religion - Woody's back on the case, and stays in Sweden to bring his review of this, the second album from the curiously-named Crazy Lixx...

Snakewater - Dirty Rock 'n' Rolla - Some blues for a change, and northern British blues at that.  Paul Broome passes his verdict on the debut album from this Manchester-based three piece...

Treat - Coup de Grace - ...and after topping up his tan in South America, next stop for Woody's jet is Sweden...

Auras - New Generation - Well the clouds of volcanic ash don't seem to have grounded Woody's private AOR jet, he's back in Brazil now to bring us his review of the debut album from Auras...

Chickenfoot - Get Your Buzz On: Live DVD - Bit of a departure here, it's not a CD - it's got moving pictures with it, and Dave Evans is reviewing it...

Hard - Time Is Waiting For No One - Woody's working on his frequent flyer miles again, this time it's off to Hungary for the new album from the confidently-named Hard...

Exit State - Death of a Rock Star - J Appleby gets hold of the forthcoming debut long player from Norther rockers Exit State, and lets us know what it's all about...

Anubis - Waking the Dead - Last month saw the long awaited release of the new album from local heroes Anubis.  Tony Gaskin gets to grips with it here...

Jayce Landberg - Good Sleepless Night - More from Woody, as he checks out the new album from 'guitar virtuoso' Jayce Landberg...

Sora - Desire and Truth - Woody ventures a little out of his AOR comfort zone, to review the second solo album from Erol Sora...

Batusis - Batusis EP - Dave Evans reviews the first release from the joint project of New York Doll Sylvain Sylvain and The Dead Boys' Cheetah Chrome...

Confined Within - The World Stops Turning EP - While Woody jets off around the world on his AOR discovery mission, Jason stays much closer to home to review the debut EP from Stafford-based metallers Confined Within...

Shylock - Rock Buster - And from Brazil Woody heads back across the Atlantic to European climes to review the latest album from German melodic rockers Shylock...

N.O.W. - Force of Nature - Time for another entry in Woody's 'World of AOR' global talent trek.  This time he's taking us all the way to Brazil, as he reviews the debut album from Alec Mendonca's N.O.W. project...

Steve Vai - Where The Wild Things Are - A live album from guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, but does it deliver the rock goods or is it just another excuse for Mr V to show off a bit?...

Blackthorn - Gossamer Witchcraft -  Bringing a whole new meaning to the term “girl power” is this power metal/classical group called Blackthorn that hail from the dark and frozen expanses of Russia...

Stage Dolls - Always -  It's AOR so it must be time to go over to Woody, for him to review this latest offering from Norway's stars of the AOR-scene Stage Dolls...

Foreigner - Can't Slow Down -  It has taken Foreigner some fifteen years to release a new studio album but in 2009 the time was right to unleash Can’t Slow Down in the US where it reached a very respectable # 29 and now a few months later we finally get to appreciate the album on this side of the Atlantic...

Path to Pedition - Departure EP - Midlands five piece Path To Perdition are intent on crushing all comers if the contents of this EP are anything to judge by. Lurking unashamedly in the murkiness of old school death metal they occasionally venture into grind and technical death metal – but not for long...

Brian Howe - Circus Bar - It’s a real shame that Brian hasn’t got a larger back catalogue, as he is a talented songwriter and has an amazing voice; a strong vocalist who I’m surprised hasn’t done more. Some of the Brain Howe era Bad Company songs are my favourites of that band’s output...

Nightvision - As The Lights Go Down - As a debut album, this is a very impressive body of work. Nightvision have managed to construct an album that acknowledges its influences, Megadeth, Metallica, Black Label Society, Black Stone Cherry and more alternative bands like Alice In Chains and Soundgarden - yet still admirably retaining its own identity...

The Fores - Unknown Destination - Here’s one for those out there that shake their fists in the air and proclaim “They don’t make music like they used to!”  Well apparently, God has answered your appeals in the form of a West Midlands outfit called The Fores...

Giant - Promise Land - I’m sure camps will remain divided on this one, and it’s true given the new look Giant line up they could have easily chosen another band name and still been successful.  Although retaining the name keeps the legacy of the band alive...

Falling Red - Shake the Faith - Every so often a band appears on the scene who quite simply make you wish you were sixteen again - Falling Red are one such band.  This Cumbrian four-piece offer up Rock n' Roll delights that make you forget for a moment that you have a day job and responsibilities...

Voodoo Six - A Little Something For You - EP - ...last year they introduced us to new vocalist Luke Purdie, and as this EP proves, all the classic hallmarks of Voodoo Six still remain intact while the band have added a few new ingredients to the pot...

Dave Evans - Judgement Day - Album - As the singer Bon Scott replaced Dave Evans in AC/DC, Evans’ place in Rock n Roll folklore was secure. So when I heard he had a new solo album out - his third, I was intrigued to see how Mr Evans had matured over the years...

Furyon - Gravitas sampler EP - If you are lucky enough to be going to see Winger when they hit the region In March and April, then I urge you to arrive early enough to check out their support band Furyon.  I was lucky enough to be sent a precursor to their soon to be released full-length album 'Gravitas'...

Delain - April Rain - This is without doubt a very well crafted body of work - very much in the vein of Within Temptation and Nightwish. And when you consider Westerholt is the brother of Within Temptation's Robert AND the album has vocal input from Nightwish’s Marco Hietala on a couple of tracks, it's no surprise that it was going to be anything less than polished...

Vincent and the Onepotts - Devils Eye - For those of you with knowledge of these types of things, a new band comprising former members of Pigfish, The Blunts and Drongo’s For Europe will be a particularly tempting proposition... and Vincent and the Onepotts are exactly that...

State of Rock - A Point of Destiny - State of Rock are a new band formed around the nucleus of ex-Frontline members Robby Boebel (Guitars) , Hutch Bauer (Bass), Rami Ali (Drums) joined with prolific and respected English singer Tony Mills (Shy/TNT)....

Mezzotonic - Mezzotonic EP - The debut EP from the Midlands great funk rock hopes arrives on our doormat.  But do they have the power and the songs to spearhead the great funk rock revival of 2010?  We think they may just have...

Blaze Bayley - Promise and Terror - "Promise and Terror" is Blaze Bayley's fifth studio album since going solo and I have to admit, before I sat down to listen to it, my main concern was if it could stand up to his 2008 offering "The Man Who Would Not Die" - which was a joy to behold and would be a great addition to anybody's music collection.  I needn't have worried...

Last Autumn’s Dream - A Touch Of Heaven - A Touch Of Heaven is another solid effort from Last Autumn’s Dream which is sure to please established fans as well as all fans of traditional sounding melodic rock. A Highly recommended release and a good musical start to the year!

Human Temple - Murder Of Crows - Six years after their debut release. “Insomnia”, Finnish melodic rockers Human Temple return with their follow up album, “Murder of Crows”.  Midlands Rocks' Woody gives his ears an AOR treat.

Joe Perry - Have Guitar Will Travel - This is an album I have been eagerly awaiting, the continuing public disintegration of Aerosmith has been right up there with all the best rock n’ roll gossip of recent years, and has added a ‘unique’ fascination that no publicity campaign could have dared hope to match... does the album stand up to the scrutiny?

Tara's Secret - Vertigo - "This is probably the best British Melodic Hard Rock Album that has been released in the past decade!" So states Midlands Rocks' very own AOR guru, Woody. Check out his review of TS' latest studio offering and see if you agree.

Katatonia - Night Is The New Day - Album number 8 from Swedish melodic, ambient, metal outfit, Katatonia - could it be their best breakthrough/crossover album?

Nico's Alchemy - Fundamental Darkness - All hail the man in black. Nah not the lute playing one, the Itallion stallion, new master of the stratocaster - Nico Tamburella. Dean Pedley samples the mystic arts and finds that all that glitters is indeed gold!

Black Page Turns - Nail in the Coffin - Leicester based hard-edge rockers, Black Page Turns release their latest 2-track studio offering. Dean Pedley assesses their potential to break out of the box (coffin! geddit?)

Breed77 - Insects - After something of a delay, the new album from Breed77 finally gets its release.  Tony Gaskin takes a listen to it for Midlands Rocks'...

Riot:Noise - Fight the People (EP) - Midlands Rocks' Tony Gaskin is back again, this time with the new EP from Bristolians Riot:Noise...

Zico Chain - These Birds Will Kill Us All (Single) - Midlands Rocks' Tony Gaskin takes a listen to the new 'stop-gap' single from the London rockers...

Full Scream Ahead - We Write Our Own Anthems (EP) - Midlands Rocks' Paul Broome on the debut EP from the rising Bristol-based band...

Senser - How to do Battle - Midlands Rocks' Jason gets under the skin of Senser's lastest political slab of rock...

Triaxis - Key to the Kingdom  - Midlands Rocks' Dean Pedley gives the debut album from the Welsh female-fronted classic metallers a spin or two...

Aceldama - Seduce, Deceive and Lead Astray  - Dean Pedley gets all coy as he is lead astray (see what we did?! Genius!) by the debut album of Aceldama ...

Adust - 'Question the Illogical' (EP) - Midlands Rocks' Tony Gaskin takes a listen to the second EP from Birmingham-based band Adust, the first for their new label...

Forever Never - 'Forever Never' - Midlands Rocks' Dean Pedley passes judgement on the sophomore release from the Essex metallers...

Fury UK - 'VR' - Second-album from the Manchester 3-piece metal outfit - booked to appear at next month's Hellfire Festival. Midlands Rocks' Dean Pedley gives his opinion...

Third Bullet - 'Revelations' - Midlands Rocks have a listen to the debut album from much-lauded Birmingham-based rock trio, Third Bullet - see if it blows us away...

New Generation Superstars - 'Raising The Stakes' - Midlands Rocks have been given a sneak peek at the new album from Nottingham’s New Generation Superstars’ – Raising The Stakes - out on Underdog Records on 3rd August. Midlands Rocks’ Peter Keevil gets under the skin …

Tara's Secret - album preview - Midlands Rocks has had a sneak preview of the new album by returning melodic rockers Tara's Secret and it's a belter! The as yet unnamed album is by far a more muscular creature than the UK five piece's last effort, 2006's Tomorrow The World. Read on for Ian Harvey's review...