WHITESNAKE – Made In Britain/The World Record

Whitesnake Made In BritainDuring Whitesnake’s 2013 co-headlining tour with Journey, the band were sloppy.  Guitarists Reb Beach and Doug Aldrich bought a fair amount of weight to the live sound, but their constant gurning was a little embarrassing.  Not as embarrassing as the vocal performance from David Coverdale, however, who – at least during their London show – failed to hit any big notes anywhere near in tune.  During most of the ‘Forevermore’ songs he sounded like Cookie Monster, while on the squealier material (such as ‘Still of the Night’) hearing his cracked voice constantly struggling was just painful beyond belief.  Thankfully, drummer Tommy Aldridge was an absolute powerhouse performer throughout; but despite previous claims made by Phil Collins that a bad band with a good drummer would still sound good, watching this once great band falter and fumble, you’d surely have to disagree.

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KING KOBRA – King Kobra II

king-kobra-iiKing Kobra’s 2011 comeback disc turned its back completely on the brilliant AOR sounds that filled the grooves of the band’s 1985 classic ‘Thrill of a Lifetime’, preferring instead to indulge in shameless musical chest-beating and overly macho clichés.  Overall, it wasn’t as bad as 1988’s absolute stinker ‘King Kobra III’, but it represented a far cry from their best work.  Although it is their sixth release, they’ve chosen to call their 2013 outing  ‘King Kobra II’, since it clearly picks up the mantle where the self titled record ended, pairing the band’s founding members with ex-Rough Cutt vocalist Paul Shortino for more leather-based party rock anthems.

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The Queers: US tour dates – Summer/Fall 2013

Veteran punk-pop band The Queers are setting off on the road.  You can catch them at various places in the US between August and October.

All dates up to including September 1st (except Detroit) are shared with The Dwarves. All dates from September 19th are shared with Teenage Bottlerocket. The Copyrights join for all dates from 20th September.

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WITHIN THE RUINS – Elite

WithinEliteWithin The Ruins have seen many band members come and go over the years, they’ve won and lost record label support, but still, they’ve pushed forward never giving in.  Their 2010 release ‘Invade’ found the band expanding from the melodic death metal roots and expanding their sounds to include elements of extreme tech/math metal and a pinch of industrial.  The result was still uncompromising, but far more assured – even slicker (a relative term here, of course).  With this album, it seemed very much as if years of hard work had paid off and Within The Ruins had truly arrived.  If anything, this, their third full length album (and sixth release overall), improves on that…

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