Rough Trade Benelux

When, back in late 2009, LastDayHere's From Pieces Created was to be Graviton Music Services first release, my editor-in-chief (whom knows some of the people working at Graviton, as they used to work for the German offices of Roadrunner...and him working then at the Belgian offices, you know) had me listen to that album a couple of times during our updating sessions of the website, and I remember very distinctly declining the offer to do the review, because I felt the music was a bit too

Funny inconsistency : at this San Francisco based Alternative Rock/ Metal band's facebook page, it is mentioned in the biography that they got together in 2010...yet the page itself was already opened in September 2009! Less funny, is that I've come across very little info on the band...but I am glad to share with you what I have found!

At the time when our editor-in-chief gave me this album for review (alongside a shitload of other albums, I daresay) I kinda relaxed, feeling I was dealing with an “old friend” which I already knew from having done a review previously...and this new review would amount to doing a simple follow-up. Turns out, I was mistaken, my knowledge of the band relating to having bought one of their albums a year ago, and having come across the band in a review of Swiss band Coilguns's debut album (review posted on May ? of this year).

Stryper  reunited in 2005, and haven’t released that many albums since their reunion.  This album ‘Second coming’ also cannot really be called a new release, since it contains only two new tracks and 14 old songs, that have been re-recorded. 

The Sword is an American heavy metal band from Austin, Texs. Formed in 2003, the band is composed of vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie, and drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III. Originally signed to New York-based independent label Kernado Records, the group released its debut album Ages Of Winters, which was largely written by Cronise before the band's formation, in 2006.

I was one of the lucky when I was able to attend Y&T’s concert at the Biebob last year, where they played the complete Earthshaker record, in celebration of its thirtieth release.  I also remember to this day when that record was released.  It’s one of those records that, although dating from my youth, still regularly is played, and seems to have lost nothing of its freshness.

Paragon is a speed and power metal band from Hamburg, Germany and was founded by guitarist Martin Christian (who in many of the band's album booklets is written as Martin Wöbcke when it comes to songwriting-credits). After releasing some demo tapes and a mini-CD, they were able to release an album in 1994, the debut World Of Sin.

Upon hearing the first notes of this album, it was immediately clear that this was not an US band.  In fact these guys come form Belfast,  Northern Ireland.  This is actually their second album, and if their first was similar to this one, it must have been a good album.

Gypsyhawk is a four piece  rock and roll band that likes to party, states guitarist Andrew Packer. The band revisited the electrifying sounds of bullshit-free 70s rock, the band are a breath of fresh air compared to the endless onslaught of breakdown obsessed bands cluttering up heavy music.

This album is an album that might make some of you starting to feel a bit nostalgic about decennia that have long since passed.  With this I mean that this album seems to have its roots back in the eighties.  Just listen to the fourth song ‘Batllegrounds’, and I guess that anyone who was musically aware in the eighties, will immediately say that this song was inspired by ‘Over The Hills And Far Away’ by the late Gary Moore.