The standard ‘New & Recent Releases’ part of the on-line database will usually be quite vast, so this section of the department will deal only with the titles that we feel are worthy of extra promotion and need to be brought more specifically to your attention. Again, we do this by providing you with detailed, accurate and entertaining reviews of as many good new titles as possible, and making them available to buy in our on-line store. The selection we make will be drawn from bands and individual artists that are both known and unknown and will normally be confined to quality releases. Occasionally, just to show that we don’t just say everything is good regardless, when we feel something is bad and deserves a good panning, we’ll tell you about that too and let you make your own choices, but we won’t we wasting too much time on rubbish, when there is so much good stuff to talk about.

Please note: When we feel it necessary, we will compare the music to names that you might be more familiar with. This is done just to help point you in the right direction, but usually we differentiate between the music actually sounding like that other artist or band’s work or just being influenced by it.

Some titles will be given extended reviews with much more in-depth & detailed track-by-track information.

That version can be selected by clicking the ‘more product information’ link at the base of the first review.

 ‘Featured New Release’ files will remain in the CD Services on-line shop as long as we feel necessary, or for a period that has been agreed with the musicians concerned. Average ‘up’ time will be 4–6 weeks, then reviews will be archived in a ‘Reference Library’ partition in the same department, and there they will be accessible to anyone caring to browse, until such a time as they are deleted.

With the immense track that is ‘Chore’ getting some heavy rotation on the Kerrrangg!!! TV channel, you only have to see and hear this track among the metal masses, to sit up and take notice that something refreshing in the world of ‘nu-metal’ has been unleashed, and now we have the album. So, is the track a one-off or have we genuinely got some new UK talent to rival that of Nickelback, Puddle Of Mudd, Linkin Park and the rest. Hell, yehhh!!!, this CD album is nothing short of a powder keg of brooding, explosive, dynamic, crushing and simply jaw-dropping nu-metal.

825951
Weight: 150.00 g

Click here for more product information

You don’t need to know that this group is not the 80’s prog group, but you do need to know that it is one of the finest new, up and coming UK indie-rock bands of the new decade. There aren’t half some meaty guitar chords and bass riffs throughout this album, but what makes it so darned addictive is...well, everything really. The drumming is solid, dynamic and varied, while the singer is just at the right pitch for the material - Not too upfront, not too distant but just spot on, with some superb choruses and tons of superior hooks along the way. Just witness ‘Soon’ for evidence of all this in one glorious track. But it doesn’t stop there, the bass work is positively blood curdling, while the guitar work provides searing solos and red-hot riffs a plenty. However, the real standout point is the quality of the writing – These are 15 tracks that span an hour of total enjoyment, where all you want to do is literally go on to the next, and then the next, and keep on endlessly repeating the process.

740067
Weight: 150.00 g

Click here for more product information

Those of you who weren’t around in the eighties probably won’t know about this band. Those who were around in the eighties who do know about this band will wonder how on earth they could possibly be featured as one of our leading reviews. You see, the Australian rock band that was Rose Tattoo, led by the incredible Angry Anderson, really followed on from the Faces as the ultimate in ‘good time’ rock bands – You know the sort of thing: booze, women, fights and all that stuff! They produced a couple of great albums, then kind of lost their way, rising to a peak (or falling to a trough depending on your point of view) when they were heard accompanying Kylie and Jason’s wedding on the TV show ‘Neighbours’. Oblivion loomed – and came. Shame, really, because they were great live. Well, WAKE UP!!! - THEY’RE BACK!!!

842181
Weight: 150.00 g

Click here for more product information

You’ve got to raise a smile – and indeed a glass or two – to this band. I mean, regardless of trends, fashion and the like, they’ve been at it for more years than I care to recall, yet they have never really achieved the lofty heights of mass acceptance, even among the rock fraternity, but they’ve always stuck to their guns, preferring to do what they do well, rather than trying out something that may fail – OK, not exactly the world’s most adventurous band, but sometimes playing safe can pay dividends. The fruit of that policy is immediately evident in this latest studio album, which has to be the finest one they’ve done in years. Essentially, for those who may be in the dark, they play what can best be described as a brand of 80’s-derived UK AOR with a distinctly rocky bent, a sort of heavier Foreigner, or metallic Bon Jovi. The writing is top-notch stuff, the songs being immediate, tasty, lyrically competent and satisfying, yet not overly commercial. It is hook-laden and offers long-lasting listening pleasure, with outstanding guitar work that features extraordinarily fine solos over strong riffs, occasionally embellished by extra guitar layers and/or synthesizers. The steaming rhythm section gives the lead firepower excellent foundations, while the vocalist just soars, and the whole thing is expertly produced, arranged and delivered - Quality stuff rocking away from start to finish. Certainly ‘Unfinished Business’ is their finest hour, proving that this is a band that can really still cut it, and for those willing to open their minds to a name they may have previously had a false impression of, it’s safe to say that if you want strong and powerful AOR of class and quality, then look no further than this gem of an album.

906424
Weight: 150.00 g

Having been listening to a lot of modern metal I’ve picked up on over the last few years, I have to say that a lot of it is fast; a lot of it is loud, and some even feature great songs. But, it’s like the difference between Rush and Slipknot – do you go for ultra-heavy or ultra-quality. Rush started life on a simple tip compared to what was to follow, but the song-writing playing and delivery all improved in leaps and bounds. Like Rush, this band is a trio, and this album is already at stage three – a brilliant combination of power, dynamics, good song writing and singing, with an overall delivery the likes of which you so rarely come across. The whole thing is just so expressive, not overly heavy in the metal sense, but turn it up loud and the power comes shining through. But, as I said, it’s that combination of all the factors that make a serious rock band so hot, which comes into play here, and that is why this album is such a treat, so relatively unique and so incredibly accessible and addictive. From subtleties to power, acoustic and, predominantly, electric, this is one “class A” album that I can’t stop playing – I hope you feel the same.

837451
Weight: 150.00 g

Click here for more product information

If ever there was a CD title that sent out the wrong message, it’s this one, for this album, while it may be strictly true to call them ‘demos’, contains flowing majestic tracks with a tight and cohesive sound that takes it way beyond mere demos! The electric/acoustic guitar playing is outstanding and there’s a crisp, solid rhythm section at work to keep it all true and tight. In the best AOR tradition, synthesizers are used as backdrops, plus there is a big panoramic production given to most of the 10 songs. Top all that off with high-flying vocals and great harmonies, with guest vocals from Robin Mcauley on many tracks, plus Christopher Post & Dennis Gresham, and you have what is fundamentally high quality guitar-driven, rock-solid AOR that works superbly from start to finish. It has a clarity that means you get to hear every nuance of the instrumentation, but also a vastness of sound that typifies truly excellent, harmony-filled AOR. The vocals throughout are first rate, the compositions, equally so, while the dynamics of the musicianship is incredibly impressive. Overall, this is a quality album that deserves to have a wide audience enjoying its wares.

710984
Weight: 150.00 g