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Saturday 25 May 2019

BEXATRON’S SINGLE ‘I’M TRASH’ FROM ALBUM ‘HEY YOU!






London based glam rock artists are announcing the release of their new single ‘Trash’, soon to be accompanied by a video produced by MHG Music Videos.

‘Trash’ is the second release from their album ‘Hey You’ which launched in November 2018 with their first single ‘Dirty Disco’ receiving both critical acclaim and national radio rotation in the UK, Canada and US.

What began as a song with love as a theme, evolved into a hard-hitting track that speaks to what many now loathe, about modern society; the challenges of daily life, relationships both good and bad and the evils of manufacturing and multinational corporations. They all find their way into the trash and leave most of us trashed.

Bexatron have built a hard-core following of dedicated fans who celebrate the mix between the 80’s rock icons and the solid dose of post punk provocation.

Well known as a ’must see’ live band, their recordings lose none of the energy that they deliver on stage and their new single, ‘Trash’ will not disappoint.

“Certain aspects of London sub-culture make it hard to disassociate yourself from the certain stereo-types that come to mind, namely – leather jackets, exhaust fumes and grit. Seemingly, there is never going to be a time where street level society will become too elite for bands that champion themselves as bridging alternative attitude with high energy fun”Music News Today


LISTEN HERE


Album Listing
  • Out of My Tree
  • Dirty Disco
  • Co Co (I Should)
  • New York Doll
  • Subway Freaks
  • Mandy Meltdown
  • Take Me Back to Jo Jo’s
  • I’m Trash
  • Love and Distortion
  • Hex Your Ex
Show Dates
  • Saturday 27th April – Two Tibes Brewing Co. London
  • Friday May 24th – The Treatment at The Underworld, Camden –
  • Saturday 1st June – Camden Rocks Festival
  • Saturday June 22nd – Aktion Music Presents, The Finsbury, London
  • Wednesday 3rd July at Mavericks, Ottawa, ON - Canada
  • Friday 5th July at Rivoli, Canada
  • Saturday 24th August Jigsaw Festival , The Camden Assembly – London
  • Saturday 9th November at Amersham Arms

Saturday 18 May 2019

Crazy Lixx - 'Forever Wild' Album Review


Swedish Hard Rock / Hair Metal band Crazy Lixx carries the torch of Rock ‘n’ Roll with pride. Formed in 2002, the band has been enthralling crowds with their unique brand of 80’s Hard Rock. Noted as one of the last standing bands of ‘The New Wave of Swedish Sleaze’, Crazy Lixx are pioneers of Sweden’s rock music scene in their own right. With over a decade of experience and several line-up changes, the band has under their belt five full-length studio albums and one live album including “New Religion” (2010), “Riot Avenue” (2012) and “Sound Of The LIVE Minority”(2016). Crazy Lixx’s most recent and fifth studio album “Ruff Justice” (2017) comprises of 10-tracks, three of which are featured soundtracks for the hit video game “Friday the 13th – The Game”. Rendering the pure nostalgia of 80’s classic horror and action themes, “Ruff Justice” packed with impressive guitar solos, memorable hooks and catchy choruses, big drums and defining riffs became an instant Hair Metal masterpiece.Influenced by Rock giants such as Kiss, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Whitesnake, Alice Cooper and Bon Jovi, the band etched their signature style. Bridging a lasting connection with old and new audiences alike, the band continues to produce energetic live performances across Europe. 

Crazy Lixx are back and believe me when I say these guys mean business, I mean it,Forever Wild is the follow up to 2017s Ruff Justice and what a follow up it is. 
 
This is an album that will have the older generation of rockers donning their double denim and ill fitting spandex once again. Forever Wild not only grabs you by the balls it squeezes them until you hit the same high notes that Danny Rexon does on a regular basis. Danny Rexon and Chris Laney have produced an album of anthemic masterpieces.  

When listening to this opus make sure that every window and door in your home is open and the volume of you music system is cranked loud enough to make your ears bleed and annoy the hell out of the neighbours, to be honest they would probably come round hammering on your door to join for  a beer because you’ve introduced them to such high quality music.

I absolutely love this album and have had it playing constantly for the last few hours and it is as close to perfect as an album can be without reaching that lofty pinnacle. I think if I had listened to this album on any other day it would have had the very rare 10/10 score, that said if you’re a fan of the 80-90’s hard rock scene get yourself online or into a record store and buy this beast, you will not regret it.

 I am giving Forever Wild a well deserved..... 

9.5/10

Review by Hollywood Vampyre

Tracklist:
  1. Wicked
  2. Break Out
  3. Silent Thunder
  4. (She's Wearing) Yesterday's Face
  5. Eagle
  6. Terminal Velocity
  7. It's You
  8. Love Don't Live Here Anymore
  9. Weekend Lover
  10. Never Die (Forever Wild)
Line-up:
Danny Rexon  vocals
Joél Cirera - drums
Jens Sjöholm  bass guitar
Chrisse Olsson - guitar
Jens Lundgren - guitar

Friday 3 May 2019

Nötorious - 'Seducer' EP Review


NOTÖRIOUS – Seducer EP

NOTÖRIOUS are located around Bergen, Norway. The bands PR bumf states that “The band was formed in the beginning of 2018 with the intention to bring back to life the classic sound of the hard rock/glam metal bands that ruled the Sunset Strip back in the early 1980s. The band is inspired by classic groups like Mötley Crüe, Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force, Europe, Scorpions, Skid Row and Poison.” I’m going to add Love Fist to that list.



Well….bloody hell! I’ve banged on about up and coming bands doing their homework if they are setting out their stall for a genre that had its heyday with the advent of MTV and was all but dead by 1991. I’m talking about hair/glam metal. Anyway, Notorious have definitely done their homework. Ok, so the sound isn’t original, but what they have done is pretty much knocked this EP out of the park. All the fore-mentioned bands are present and that in itself is great.

Right from the opening riff of ‘Nötorious’ I’m salivating at the prospect of what is to come, and ho-lee-shit these Norwegian metallers do not let me down. I’ve probably got gig tees older than these guys, but they live and breathe hair metal to the core. The riff is superb, the chorus catchy, and the guitar solo from Nikki DeCato is everything you want it to be. Chris Houdini on Vocals hits all the right notes, and its rhythm section just powers it along. (I’m guessing the lads are using pseudonyms!)



‘Friday Night (Get Ready)’ is early era Mötley Crüe only with better vocals, and having Yngwie on guitar. ‘Seducer’ sounds as if The Cult had a threesome with Ratt and Dokken, and the outcome is this! ‘Have A Good Time’ is the first song that’s not as up to the standard of the others, and it’s a bit of a plodder, but that’s only because they started off so well. Final track ‘Tonight (Gonna Get It)’ is a leaf out of Vinnie Vincent’s Invasion, like ‘Boyz Are Gonna Rock’. It’s a great closer.

Considering this genre was THE ONE to beat in the 80s, lots of bands have tried, and failed to match up to the hedonistic sound of glam metal. Even bands that were the glam forerunners haven’t written songs as good as they did back in the day. I’m not saying that Nötorious have written 80s worthy anthems, but what they have done is epitomise the sound of glam metal, and as far as the last few years have gone, Notorious make for one hell of a promising career. UK festivals take notice, as Nötorious are going to level your stages, take your girlfriends, and leave you begging for mercy!



All they have to do next is come up with enough songs for an album, perfect the Scorpions pyramid, piss against the walls of The Alamo, and they are admitted to the glam rock alumni.



The production is meaty, beefy, big and (you guessed it), bouncy!



One for glam metal purists, and the V-Rock generation. Plus, any band that has umlauts in its name, gets my vote!


Score 28 out of 331/3 (or 8.5/10)
Review by Paul Chesworth

The band consists of:
Chris Hoüdini – lead vocals
Nikki DiCato – guitar/backing vocals
Andy Sweet – bass/backing vocals
Freddy Kixx – drums


Link to their music:
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQK1tnXzBf9OugOA2FRwz1g

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3tWDNG6WIlioWYh01xHWJ1?si=CsQ2ZniTTsma8ItLAs7WSQ
Facebook: @notoriousbandofficial

Wednesday 1 May 2019

Hollowstar - 'S/T' Album Review


Hollowstar – S/T

I’ve been looking forward to receiving this album for a while now. I’ve seen some clips of them appearing at a friends venue ‘dahn sarf’, The Rock Den in Hatfield. Check it out, its great.

Anyway after the clips were posted I stumped up for one of the many bundles on offer, I was (am) that confident in their ability to deliver the goods. Hollowstar cite the likes of Black Stone Cherry, Thunder and Slash as influences. They formed in 2014 in the metal hotbed town of St.Ives in Cambridgeshire. Not so much of a hot bed, more like a warming plate. 2017 saw them release their debit EP ‘Some Things Matter’. They have built a burgeoning following due to this EP and some serious graft and getting support slots with the likes of Stone Broken, Toseland, Dan Reed Network and Graham Bonnet, and many more!

Straight out of the box Hollowstar are onto something rather special. ‘Take it All’ is built around a stonking, and spine tingling riff and you’re hoping for it to punch you right between the eyes and ears, and does so by the bucketload.  It’s a big, fat sound that belies its cost I suspect. ‘Let You Down’ is a bit less powerful, bit still provides ‘oomph’ and bang for your buck. ‘Invincible’ sees the twin guitar attack of Haines and Collett in full swing, and it delivers. ‘Think Of Me’ falls into an Alter Bridge / Bad Company groove, if Paul Rodgers fronted AB! ‘Money’ is about the guitar sound more than the vocals and is very Red Sun Rising. ‘All I Gotta Say’ is getting on for its birthday, and was an excellent choice for whetting the appetite for this album. Its got a cracking chorus, and has riffs as thunderous as Thor’s Led Zep tribute band, Hammer Of The Gods!

‘Good Man Gone’ is more classic rock old school brigade, and shows their love of 70s rock when Coverdale was king, Blackmore had hair, and Keith Moon lost his no claims driving his Rolls into a swimming pool. ‘Overrated’ is built on a riff that many have used before, and Hollowstar make it work here, especially as it builds to a high-octane guitar solo. ‘Down By The Water’ is a ‘big’ song and shows off Joe Bonson’s vocals. Its quickly onto the last track ‘Sinner’, a full on track that is a perfect way to finish off the album.

I'm guessing these guys don’t have a shit load of money, so its full testament to whoever produced this, as it sounds as if its had someone like Martin Birch at the helm. Its not a long album for album sake, the lads have gone for quality over quantity. Hollowstar are one of the best new(ish) UK bands I’ve heard in quite some time. It may not be long before newer bands are citing Hollowstar as their influences.

There are a lot of wannabees currently out there, all trying to be another Rival Sons, or Led Zep, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc. These guys have the potential to be the real deal.  It's an impressive debut.  As Diamond Dave would put it, these guys have ‘Car-asma’

Catch these guys live in May, when these songs will really come to life. And before the venues sell out!

Score 27 out of 33 1/3   (8/10 for purists!)

Tracklisting
Take It All
Let You Down
Invincible
Think Of Me
Money
All I Gotta Say
Good Man Gone
Overrated
Down By The Water
Sinner

Hollowstar are
Joe Bonson – Vocals / Bass
Phil Haines – Guitar / Backing Vocals
Tom Collett – Guitar
Jack Bonson - Drums