All About Rock & Metal

My introduction to Treat came via ‘Dreamhunter’ back in early 1987, their effortless fusion of Scandie AOR and good-time Party Rock immediately striking a chord and forming the basis of a love affair that’s lasted nearly forty years. And, thanks to Firefest, I even got to see them a couple of times, that first gig in October 2006 being one that still stands out. 

One of the original “Big Four” Thrash bands from the early eighties, Megadeth was born when guitarist Dave Mustaine parted ways with Metallica in less than amicable circumstances. Since the ear-splitting roar of their incendiary debut, ‘Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good’ back in 1985, the band has established its own unique and instantly identifiable sound within the Thrash subgenre, a lot of that being down to the instantly recognisable tones of Mustaine. 

Without doubt, one of the most gifted bands to ever ply their trade in Rock or Metal in all its nefarious forms, Dream Theater are ostensibly “the” band responsible for inspiring the Progressive Metal scene that’s multiplied from the late eighties onwards. Since unleashing the mould-breaking ‘Images And Words’ in July 1992, they’ve gone on to craft a string of high-quality albums that have become the benchmark against which all others must be judged. Deftly combining crunchin

I thought my days of outdoor gigs were largely behind me – hey, I was there for every freezing cold, sopping wet minute of the Deep Purple reunion show at Knebworth in June 1985! – but when the opportunity to see one of the hottest “new” Melodic Rock acts currently doing the rounds play their final gig of the summer arose, it was too good a chance to miss.

What do you get if you take the shock and awe of Alice Cooper, the Goth-infused melancholy of bands like HIM or My Dying Bride, the classic Rock and Metal riffs of the seventies and eighties, and a stirring affinity for timeless melodies á la Def Leppard in their prime? The answer to that particularly vexing conundrum is Sweden’s Ghost, arguably the hottest property in any delineation of Melodic Rock right now.

The late seventies/early eighties were exciting times to be a budding metalhead here in the UK

Classic Accept have delivered in their own powerfully inimitable way; more please!

If you loved the debut, you’ll flip when you hear this... brilliant!

My love affair with then rising NWOBHM stars Saxon began more than forty years ago when a friend at school introduced me to ‘Wheels Of Steel

For a quiet little Yorkshire town seemingly in the middle of nowhere, Holmfirth certainly seems to have established itself as a regular

Dave Cockett meanders down memory lane to revisit the back catalogue of one of the most successful bands the Rock world has ever seen.