Author: Steve Earles
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Iron Void – Excalibur
The tale of Arthur and his sword Excalibur is one of the great stories of heroism and in the world we live in now, we need such stories more than ever. Yet ‘Excalibur’ is a very human story, the characters have all the normal human virtues and vices, which is why the tale still resonates…
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Mars By 1980: The Story of Electronic Music
by David Stubbs Electronic music is everywhere now. Look at the TV series ‘Stranger Things’, for example, with its John Carpenter-inspired synth-scapes. ‘Mars By 1980’ tells the story of how music got to this point. It was a long time getting here but now the future has arrived. The book is split into four main parts: Part…
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Glenn Hughes live in Dublin, September 2018
Glenn Hughes Plays Classic Deep Purple live at the Olympia, Dublin Sunday, September 30th, 2018 I always loved the Deep Purple albums featuring the talents of Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale, on the Burn, Stormbringer and Come Taste The Band albums respectively. In recent years Coverdale revisited his Deep Purple heritage with ‘The Purple Album’ and tour, and…
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Zero Down – Larger Than Death
Minotauro Records are synonymous with quality. I have yet to listen to a release from that esteemed label and not be impressed. But even by their high standards Zero Down are truly excellent. Their songs are really catchy and strong, think classic Priest or Maiden. The production is first class and all the band members are outstanding…
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Hawkwind – Road To Utopia
Years ago, whilst writing an article on Hawkwind’s seminal Warrior At The Edge Of Time, I asked my friend Crin of Godreah Records to sum up Hawkwind in a single sentence. Godreah released a very good Hawkwind tribute compiled by Crin, so he knows the band well. He replied that Hawkwind were and are “a British…
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Kingwitch – Under The Mountain
This is an extremely impressive debut album; anyone whose taste runs from Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath through to Mastodon will find much to enjoy here. Kingwitch’s musicianship is extremely strong as is their songwriting; these are truly great songs, catchy and complex at the same time, with truly engaging lyrics. At times I was reminded…
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Throat – Bareback
There must be something in the water, or more correctly, ice, in Finland. It seems to work wonders for the creativity of Finnish bands – just look, for example, at the extraordinary output of Circle. Bareback is Throat’s second album and sees them explore new musical vistas. To their 90s-inspired noise rock they have added…
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Infrared – Saviours
“Not dead which eternal lies / But with stranger aeons even death may die.” … The words of H.P. Lovecraft referring to his Cthulu Mythos, but they could so easily apply to thrash metal, with new bands inspired by the original artists, and indeed, the original artists themselves returning. Such a band is Infrared, who are not…
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Ape Vermin – Sonic Monolith
Sonic Monolith is an impressive debut for a band that only formed last year. It’s a band that have a built in audience with their Sabbath-meets-Conan sludge metal. The album also has a concept, that of higher beings attempting to repopulate the galaxy with a new species of ape… as you do! Well, it could…
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Book reviews by Steve Earles: The Great War Illustrated 1918
Archive and Colour Photographs of WW1 By William Langford and Jack Holroyd This is the final book in this series, the last of five titles, which have to stand as one of the very best series that Pen and Sword has published – which is no mean feat. The photos and images in this book…