In 2018, Croatian hard rockers Animal Drive released their debut album ‘Bite!’ on Frontiers Records. With plenty of hard rock crunch, the record drew parallels with the heavier end of Skid Row’s early output, as well as showing off more than a passing fancy with the late, great Ronnie James Dio. The record featured at least a half dozen cuts that were well worth hearing, but if anything, it was the Dio-tastic ‘Time Machine’ with its heavy but melodic riff which best demonstrated the band’s skills.
Neville Staple delivers anti-knife message in new video
Neville Staple is a man who needs no introduction. A pivotal member of the original Specials and a pivotal figure from the UK’s second wave of ska, Staple has long been considered a legend.
In 2018, the “original rude boy” released the album ‘Rude Rebels’ with his wife Sugary Staple and former bandmate Roddy Radiation, to some acclaim.
He returns with a non-album single, ‘Put Away Your Knives’, which as its title suggests is a message of warning to all regarding a rise in knife crime. Produced by Dandy Livingstone (performer of the classics ‘Reggae In Your Jeggae’ and ‘Suzanne, Beware of the Devil), the tune is structured around his own ‘A Message To You, Rudy’, as reworked by The Specials themselves in 1979.
THE KING’S PARADE – Mad EP
On their 2017 EP ‘Haze’, The King’s Parade presented a seamless blend of soft rock, blues and soul which captured their myriad of influences quite succinctly. It wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea: some chided the band for being too “easy listening”, but the release gained solid support from listeners who actually understood that not everything has to be ground breaking or edgy. There’s praise enough to be given when music is played well – whatever the style – and throughout ‘Haze’, The King’s Parade truly excelled.
Anarcho-Punk legends Crass give away free download of compilation album…for one day only
British Anarcho punk legends are set to release a remastered version of their ‘Best Before 1984’ compilation today. Before release, they have a gift for fans: the whole thing can be downloaded LEGALLY and FOR FREE, but for the next few hours only.
REAL GONE GOES OUT: KRISTIN HERSH TRIO feat. FRED ABONG – Quarterhouse, Folkestone, Kent 31/3/2019
When Kristin Hersh and Fred Abong visited Ramsgate in 2018 it almost felt like being in the presence of visiting musical royalty. The very intimate Music Hall was packed to the rafters for two nights; the attendant crowds was mostly made up of people who’d followed Kristin and Fred since the 90s – whether as members of Throwing Muses, Belly or solo artists – making those gigs truly ones to remember. It seemed unlikely that the Kent provinces would host these great musicians in such intimate settings again, but they both made a return visit – this time to the slightly larger Quarterhouse in Folkestone – almost exactly nine months on from those hot Ramsgate nights.