Music Reviews

French rock? You don’t hear about it much but it certainly exists. One of the many bands in France working their way up is Uncut, a trio heavily rooted in the long-running traditions of American rock and blues. Their latest release Blue makes their sonic foundation bluntly, abundantly clear, especially with the opening track “Family…

While music releases have been allowed to pour out as usual over the course of this year (albeit, some have been delayed), a great deal of films have not been so lucky. It’s not just the major Hollywood films either, up until now you probably never heard of the film Iron Survivor 2, let alone…

This has been a long time coming. After six albums and 23 years with Slipknot and six albums and 28 years with Stone Sour, Corey Taylor has finally released his solo debut CMFT. You think this record would have happened sooner, and certainly Corey has talked about a solo release for quite some time. Being…

Manitoba is a highly underrated province as far as music goes. When you think of Canadian music, you’re usually thinking firstly of Toronto for its musical contributions and the presence of the major industry there, then Vancouver and Montreal to lesser degrees. How many times do you hear, in the context of the soundtrack of…

In the alternative rock and metal ecosystem, Deftones have distinguished themselves as one of the most unique and identifiable bands of the last 25 years. Over the course of their career, they’ve continuously evolved and toyed with nu metal, post-hardcore and shoegaze, now returning with their ninth album, a record dubbed equal parts alt-metal and…

Imagine the rumbling alt-rock of Royal Blood, the stonery fuzz of Queens Of The Stone Age, a few dabblings of Jack White neo-garage and numerous other influences mixed together and made louder, more chaotic and more cocksure. That’s the essence of what Winnipeg trio Ex Ømerta has concocted and perfected into what they call bastard…

Derek Sherinian has carved out a place for himself over the years as one of the most distinguished keyboardists in rock and metal, easily identifiable by his guitar-like approach to the ivories. After playing for the likes of Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Bonamassa and Steve Vai, Sherinian currently has a fitting, well-earned…

Derrick Gardner has made a distinguished name for himself over the decades as one of the finest trumpeters in North America, playing with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Harry Connick Jr, George Benson and the Count Basie Orchestra just to name a few. In 2011, he relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba where he accepted a professorial…

21 years ago, the biggest of the big four did a live album with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra entitled S&M, a record that would earn its place in metal history and go on to sell 6 million records in the United States alone. Now with S&M2 they sequel that achievement, obviously not to the…

South Africa is an underrated country as far as musical exports go, and post-grunge staples Seether are one such example. Having achieved recognition alongside other Wind-Up Records luminaries in the 2000s, Seether now find themselves eight albums in with Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum, their last one having been 2017’s Poison The Parish. In a…