Author: Steve Earles
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Book reviews by Steve Earles: NON-FICTION
Celtic Astrology: From The Druids to the Middle Ages Written by M.G. Boutet Foreword by David Frawley As an Irishman I am always interested in anything to do with the Celts – my interest being initially sparked by Jim Fitzpatrick’s superb Celtic artwork that has graced books, t-shirts, cards, and several fabulous album covers including…
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Heavy Metal in 2017 by Steve Earles
Ah, that most glorious time of the year for music writers – year-end season is upon us once again! 2017 was a tumultuous year, but even so, it was a damned good one for heavy metal, and Team Hellbound had a cornucopia of great albums to choose from. Here, we turn the page over to…
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Best metal of 2017: 1-5
Hellbound’s Top Metal Releases of the Year, part II Twelve Hellbound contributors named their ten favourite metal releases of 2017. Kyle Harcott tallied the entries, did the math and assigned the commentaries below. You, readers, have already had the chance to see our honourable mentions and part one of our collective ‘best of’ list: entries 10 through…
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Bruce Dickinson – What Does This Button Do?
An Autobiography As I began to read ‘What Does This Button Do?’ in order to review it, I noted that it was firmly embedded in the UK Top 10 Books… This is as it should be, as it is a most splendid read indeed! This book will obviously appeal to fans of Bruce Dickinson and…
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Book reviews by Steve Earles, November 2017
Military, Political & Social History Rebellion in the Reign of Charles II Written by Julian Whitehead Published by Pen & Sword History The Restoration is one of the most fascinating periods of history, and certainly a great favourite of mine. King Charles II (known with good reason as the Merry Monarch as is well known from…
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WarCall – Invaders
Like a black metal Motorhead or the mutant offspring of New Wave of British Heavy Metal legends Tank, WarCall really live up to their name! Indeed the comparisons with Motorhead and Tank are apt as WarCall are a strong power trio. On this, their fourth album (following ‘Demonarchy’, ‘Blood, Guts and Dirt’, and ‘III’), they show…
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Na Cruithne – Gairm An Fhiantais
Hailing from the mighty land of Galway in Ireland, Na Cruithne meld traditional Irish music with heavy metal, showing a skill and love for this music seldom seen. Often in folk metal, one element overwhelms the other, but not so here. Na Cruithne’s music is a new beast, one extremely pleasing to the ear and,…
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Akercocke – Renaissance In Extremis
When Akercocke broke up in 2012, it was a sad loss for the metal scene, for they are that rarest of beasts, an original band with a unique vision (and I loved the suits!). Thankfully, five years on,Akercocke have returned. It’s difficult to categorize their music, featuring as it does elements of black metal, death metal,…
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A Devil’s Din – One Hallucination Under God
Montreal psychedelic power trip A Devil’s Din continues to impress with this, their wittily titled third album. It is a timeless album, one with a great sense of fun and humour. Indeed, unlike so much of today’s music, it is positively positive! Multi-instrumentalist David Lines is truly a man born out of time (as the…
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Occult Paris: The Lost Magic of the Belle Epoque
Written by Tobias Churton Published by Inner Traditions Any book by Tobias Churton is a special event. His books on Aleister Crowley, particularly ‘Aleister Crowley: The Beast in Berlin’, are amongst the best books ever written on Crowley; they are essential reading for anyone interested in reading about Crowley and his life and works, and…