11.09.2011

Gentleman's Pistols- At her majesty's pleasure



I was a little disappointed about the retro hard rock production of 2011, but I was wrong and I only knew once I got to check out bands like Gentleman's Pistols and Gingerpig. Add Graveyard and then you'll start thinking there something going on with ''G'' this year. Well, lame remarks aside, Gentleman's pistols have one thing for sure: they get to the very G-spot for friends of retro hard rock, who want their music up tempo, with catchy hooks, great vocals, melodic leads that stick to your head, tight drums and powerful yet also colorful riffing. Man, that's music I want to party with! Not just a great retro sound, here's the real deal, fucking amazing songs!



11.08.2011

Don Airey- All out (2011)



Don Airey has a bio longer than a train and he has played with half of the people whose name means something in rock music. For almost ten years he has been playing with Deep Purple succeeding the legendary Jon Lord. In between Purple's commitments and various sessions and guest apperances he managed to come up with a smoking solo album that's hands down way better than anything Purple have done for about 20 years. Carl Sentance of Persian Risk and Krokus fame helps out with the vocals and what a great rock singer he still is! ''All out'' is a feast of hammond-driven hard rock. If you like loud 70's hard rock with progressive attitude and keyboard extravaganzas, then look no further. This is a feast of notes! Joe Bonamassa lends a helping hand on People in your head, one of the best hard rock songs you'll get to hear this year. Other highlights include Running from the shadows (70's melodic rock ala Boston), Right arm overture (7 minutes instrumental madness) and Long Road (a beautiful guitar based instrumental full of passionate playing). You rarely get such joyful albums by veterans long over their 60's. Despite age Don managed to set things right in the retro rock scene, setting the bar high for all those newcomers trying to follow the steps of 60's-70's rock giants.