On a pair of earlier singles, US punkers Fire Sale demonstrated a perfect blend of power and melody. By channelling the skate punk aspects of early No Use For A Name and the melodic elements of The Ataris, their material shared an instantly classic sound which seemed tailor made for lovers of 90s punk. Their contributions to this split EP with the mighty Pulley – one of the 90s more underrated melodic punk acts – are very much in the same vein, but this only suggests that Fire Sale are the kind of band that genre fans can take to heart without fear of disappointment.
Author Archives: Real Gone
Listen: Myriad Things share new track ‘Sanctuary’
When you’re working within a tight four minute “single” format, can you afford a slow build up via a gradual fade-in? Irish band Myriad Things seem to think so, and their current track ‘Sanctuary’ has already clocked up forty seconds before anything really kicks in.
HIGHWAY QUEEN – Extendead Play EP
On their 2022 long player ‘Bitter Soul’, Finnish metallers Highway Queen very much flew the flag for a traditional approach. The album’s eight songs drew influence from a mid 80s Iron Maiden, with galloping riffs and twin lead guitars, from Michael Schenker via a very European sense of bombast, and a couple of Scandinavian hard rock rock acts from more recent times, which certainly helped their shamelessly old fashioned sound retain a pleasing sense of melody. Against their often familiar sounding riffs, vocalist Virpi Kääriäinen shared a strong vocal, and despite sometimes sounding a little buried within the band’s studio arrangements – at least on the faster numbers, the Whitesnake-esque title cut allowed for more clarity – it was obvious she had the kind of talent that would carry itself well in the live setting.
Real Gone Presents: A Boston Round-Up, August 2025
Back in June 2025, when sifting through a mountain of materials for our popular Singles Bar column, we found we had a huge amount of submissions featuring bands from Boston. It sort of seemed natural to make a feature of these on their own, since that part of the US seems to be thriving when it comes to underground acts. The feature was a massive success – far bigger than we could’ve hoped for – so it seemed only right to use that as a template again, when the time felt right and there was enough new material to make it viable. This second trip to the Boston ’burbs features a couple of familiar faces, but hopefully there’ll be music and bands here that are brand new to you too. As always, we hope you find something to enjoy!
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Watch: UK rockers Paradise Sins unveil new video for ‘Bad Bad Bad’
After forming in 2022, it didn’t take Paradise Sins to attract the attention of the media outlets who still champion an “old school” brand of hard rock. By 2024, they’d received high praise for their debut EP, and the future continued to look pretty bright.