Tag: classic rock

FM – ‘Old Habits Die Hard’ Review

Fourteenth is definitely the charm. Old Habits Die Hard ranks as one of the best in their 40 yrs of being one of Britains finest rock bands.

In an uncertain world where we are seeing wars being fought, economies crashing and Trump still being a massive bell, its good to know that some things never change – such as an album dropping every other year from AOR and British rock stalwarts, the mighty FM.

The album has been released to coincide with their 40th anniversary (1984-2024), which is a huge milestone because there are not that many AOR/melodic rock bands around, let alone producing new music especially with any consistency. In FM’s case prolific doesn’t describe them enough. Its no good being prolific if the quality isn’t there. Thankfully FM rip up the rulebook and in ‘Old Habits Die Hard’ they have produced some of their finest work since 2010’s Metropolis.

Following 2022’s ‘Thirteen’ album, ‘Old Habits Die Hard’ was delayed slightly by keyboard player Jem Davis’ cancer diagnosis (thankfully he’s now received the all-clear) and then by the sudden passing of FM’s founding guitarist Chris Overland (Steve’s brother), which hit the band hard.

“Chris’s passing came out of the blue and it was devastating,” says Steve. To add insult to injury, close friend of the band and longtime collaborator of Jim Kirkpatrick, guitarist Bernie Marsden passed away just two days after Chris.”

The tragedies that plagued the band through the recording process only reinforced FM’s resolve and desire to make the best album that they could to represent their 40 years in the business. The new album is also a fitting tribute to Chris Overland.

On a first listen, it feels like Steve et al (sorry I went all David Coverdale for a moment there) have been Digging Up The Dirt on what used to be the standard offering back in the 80s where you could hear more than a passing influence from the likes of Toto and Bad Company in particular.

Opening song ‘Out Of The Blue’ takes the Toto AOR/West Coast vibe and its a very smooth sounding track that bands like Toto and Chicago would kill for today. I hate the term Yacht Rock, but in Overland’s case its more like Train Rock, as he is the Biff Byford of AOR who shares a passion for trains (Crosstown, Runaway, and now Midnight) which leads us to ‘Don’t Need Another Heartache’. The riff is in ACDC territory, but this song is so Bad Company, and Foreigner sounding, I had to check that they hadn’t got their mate Mick Ralphs in on the guitar solo. ‘No Easy Way Out’ digs deep into his bag of lyrics and comes up with lines that only SO can deliver without being sugar coated. It also has the FM huge hook (pat.pending). I still don’t know how FM aren’t filling stadiums with songs like these, especially with the trademarked 5 part harmonies they offer. 

I’ve seen a comment that FM are playing it safe with ‘Old Habits…’. No, they are not. I think its more early FM than reformed FM, but that doesn’t mean it has been played safe. 

‘Lost’ is one of the smoothest songs they have ever done. If it was any smoother it would be a deluge of dewdrops (look it up). ‘Black Water’ is one of my favourite tracks on the album. It’s the kind of slow burn that gets under the skin after repeated listens and makes FM stand out from the rest of the bunch, and it gives Jim Kirpatrick the reins to play his heart out. Its a fire-cracker of a song.

‘Leap Of Faith’ comes out of the traps like a stabbed rat. It’s the heaviest song on the album, and proves that FM can rock as much an anyone else, only with infinitely better vocals and harmonies, with Overland singing his arse off. Plus I’m a sucker for a bit of Hammond (B-3, not Alison). Once you see a song called ‘California’ you know what is to come. It is also the perfect companion piece to 2015’s ‘Life Is A Highway’. We are very quickly at the sharp end and ‘Blue Sky Mind’ comes from the pen of Jem Davis who wrote about his cancer diagnosis. The a cappella beginning gave me goosebumps. 

Many, many bands have reformed from the 80s, but none of them are doing it better or more consistently than FM. ‘Old Habits..’ was self produced, and it’s one of the best sounding albums of their career.

Without a shadow of a doubt, it is the best album since Metropolis. Old Habits certainly do Die Hard (with a vengeance).

Score 9/10

Tracklisting – 

Out Of The Blue

Don’t Need Another Heartache

No Easy Way Out

Lost

Whatever It Takes

Black Water

Cut Me Loose

Leap Of Faith

California

Another Day In My World

Blue Sky Mind

Romeo’s Daughter – Gig Review, Eleven, Stoke-On-Trent 15.9.23

Hot on the heels of recent album release, Slipstream, Romeo’s Daughter show why they are still a force to be reckoned with

Romeos Daughter rocked into town last night (the town being Stoke-On-Trent at the Eleven venue. I know it’s not a city but city doesn’t flow as well as town), along with Mick White’s ‘White Skies’. Unfortunately I only caught the last 2 songs from White Skies, but they went down a treat.

If you have never been to Eleven before, please do as it’s a wonderful little venue. Romeo’s Daughter have a handful of gigs in September pushing out their new album ‘Sliptream’, which is another slice of Romeo’s Daughter heaven (in the back seat). More on this soon.

Me and the fam go back a hellova long way with the RD guys, and with every single performance they have never let me down. There’s a simple reason for that. In Craig Joiner they have a wonderfully talented songwriter and excellent guitarist to boot. All the songs played at this gig have incredibly catchy hooks. Even if you haven’t heard songs from the last 3 albums, there is a bloody good chance you will be singing them on the way home in the car afterwards.

So, what did we get. In Leigh Matty RD have one of the sultriest singers in rock! A voice of pure velvet (touch), and a tight as a drum rhythm section of Andy Welsford and Steve Drennan, with the man who is the glue that holds everything together, Craig Joiner.

Opening strongly with 3 songs from the early days, it’s ‘Heaven In The Back Seat’ and ‘Velvet Tongue’ which evokes strong memories of me and the good missus her indoors seeing RD at the Royal Court in Liverpool many moons ago. The first half of the set was loaded with songs from the last 3 albums, all of which should have made RD the darlings of (Radio) 2 – ‘Bittersweet’, ‘Alive’, ‘Enemy’ and ‘Radio’, interspersed with 2 new songs, ‘Fate’, and ‘Over You’ the latter which has the heaviest riff Mr Joiner has written for RD, and is a firecracker.

In the middle of the set things got a bit surreal with one lady sauntering onto the stage wanting to tell RD how good they were (and was lucky that she wasn’t taken out by the Merch guy). This was followed up with a guy in the crowd wanting to pick a fight with anyone and finally another inebriated gig-goer wanted to give Leigh Matty one! Nice.

Anywho, the last half of songs was a bombardment of tunes taken mainly from the debut and ‘Have Mercy’ from ‘Delectable’ culminating in ‘Stay With Me Tonight’, and their most known song to hoards of rock fans who think it’s a Heart song, ‘Wild Child’. 

The Romeo’s Daughter debut album set the foundations for what was to come. They have only released 5 albums and an EP, but bloody hell, what a legacy and quality they have produced that makes them an incredible force when seen live. 

It was yet another cracking gig, apart from a couple of dickheads. Catch them in November, you’ll love it. 

Set list –

Heaven In The Back Seat

Attracted To The Animal

Velvet Tongue

Bittersweet

Fake

Radio

Alive

Enemy

Over You

Have Mercy

Tripping Out

Colour You A Smile

Inside Out

Cry Myself To Sleep Don’t Break My Heart

Encore

Stay With Me Tonight

Wild Child

Romeo’s Daughter are –

Leigh Matty

Craig Joiner

Andy Welsford

Steve Drennan

Alter Bridge – ‘Pawns & Kings’ Review

Pawns and Kings is the most complete, consistently thunderous anthemic Alter Bridge album to date

Most of my musical heroes are either dead / in their 70s/ no longer active. Very few bands formed this century get into my list. The main ones that I adore are Alter Bridge, Coheed and Cambria and Rival Sons. Not only are my heroes as mentioned, very few are ready to take the crown and become headliners at the likes of Download etc. Out of these 3, AB are in the best position for taking the next step upwards, especially now.

I have been a fan of Alter Bridge ever since I heard them on Orlando Rock Radio back in 2004. I have attended an Alter Bridge gig on every tour at least once. I think I’m up to about 18 gigs. I would like to think that I have earned the right to have an opinion on their music. Remember reader, opinions are like arseholes, everybody has one. It is my opinion that the Top 3 Alter Bridge albums are as follows….

  1. Blackbird
  2. Fortress
  3. ABIII

Alter Bridge have been making great and good albums, but nothing after Fortress has come close to breaking into my Top 3…..until now!

‘Pawns and Kings’ is the bands 7th studio album, and by Christ, is it a cracker. At just 10 songs long, the guys have literally gone straight for the jugular. Think of the best of Myles Kennedys solo work and smash it with Tremonti’s knack for a spleen-busting riff, together with the Prince Of Pound (Philips) and the testicle moving, pummelling bass of Marshall and its 10 songs of pure God and Thunder. ‘This is War’ is the best opener to an album that AB have ever done – Myles never sounded better, and there’s almost a Carmina Burana chant that will go down a storm when played live. I honestly think Tremonti has a riff for every occasion (weddings (yup), funeral (gotcha!), Bar Mitzvah (yes indeed). He has the best riffs this side of Tony Iommi’s moustache!!!

Alter Bridge have gone big and long on a few tracks, and all deliver in spades with the anthem ‘Sin After Sin’; ‘Fable of the Silent Son’ is a ‘Children of the Sea’ for the modern era, and the title track is the sister companion to Kennedy’s ‘The Ides of March’.

To be honest here, there is not an average number or plodder on the album. ‘Silver Tongue’ shows why it was picked as a single/appetite whetter for Pawns, as it combines the best AB bits rolled into one song. ‘Stay’ is where Tremonti takes the lead on vocals and is now becoming a staple to have a song from the metal crooner and correctly so. In fact he is continuing to get better with each AB/Tremonti/Sinatra album, and it is closest thing to a melodic rock song as AB will ever get. 

To follow on from a couple of earlier points, I am convinced that after half a dozen listens to Pawns & Kings that this album will probably knock ‘Blackbird’ off its coveted No.1 spot (steady on! Editor). With regards to upping the level to festival headliner, if AB don’t get the breaks after this album, I have no idea what they are supposed to do. This album is next level.

P&K is that strong, every single song on this could make it into the live set. It is the most complete, consistently thunderous, anthemic album to date and for that I have to applaud the guys as they could easily have gone for ‘okay’ but have instead set a level that in 2022 (and 2023) other bands have to meet. It will be in many a Top 5 list come the next few weeks, mine included.

9/10

Tracklisting –

This Is War

Dead Among The Living

Silver Tongue

Sin After Sin

Stay

Holiday

Fable Of The Silent Son

Season Of Promise

Last Man Standing

Pawns & Kings

NWOCR – Volume One

NWOCR – Volume 1. Exceptional talent of Classic Rock bands. Whats not to like. Buy this CD, then buy the albums from the bands you like

Whats in a name? I have never been a fan of labelling bands into pigeonholes. Steven Wilson hates being banded around as ‘Prog’ is a prime example. I’ve had some right doozies over the years appearing in a press release which I am not going give further promotion here, as some are bollux.


What I do like is ‘Rock’ music, you know…. the proper stuff, not Rock as the mainstream call it when you hear ROCK WEEK on X-Factor. I like anything from Anthrax to Zebra, ACDC to ZZ Top and shit loads in between. Theres no ‘New Wave’ really, but its how you perceive Classic Rock to be. For me, I’m a bloke of a certain age and grew up at the right time for ‘Classic Rock’ – bands such as Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Rainbow, Rush and Lizzy. When NWOBHM was termed I was about 12 and a lot of those NWOBHM bands I would today call Classic Rock – Saxon, Maiden, Diamond Head, Leppard etc. Its music played in certain style or attitude and the feeling you derive from listening to it.

That said, I totally get what the guys at NWOCR are doing, and ANYTHING that promotes great bands, and great music, whether they are new, new-ish, or been around for a few years and lumping them into one category isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

So, this is hopefully the first of NWOCRs version of ‘Now Thats What I call Music’, which back in the day ran to about 3,456,821 volumes

Across 2 CDs there are 42 of some of the finest bands you’ve heard, and haven’t heard of, but you will soon want to be stalking them across all forms of social media.

There are bands on here who for me are ahead of the curve of the rest of the bands on offer, such as Mason Hill, Scarlet Rebels, Hollowstar, These Wicked Rivers, Sons Of Liberty, Revival Black, SKAM, Collateral, Phil Campbell, Blackwater Conspiracy, and Thundermother, and its their songs that stand out for me. It could be because I have seen most of these live so far and have bought their music, so I’m partly down the road with them already and I am already a fan.

That said, out of the remainder, there’s a few new names on my list that I want to hear a lot more of – Elles Bailey who reminds me of Susan Tedeschi, Rews, and Bastette, probably because I do have a thing for female vocalists, also The New Roses and Ashen Reach.

There are only a couple of songs that don’t agree with me, but I’ll leave that up to you, the listener to decide as not everything can hit the mark 100% of the time.

As a Volume 1, this is a great starting point for all of these bands. There’s some banging music on offer, and I hope like me that once you hear some of these bands for the first time or if you’ve heard them before, that you’ll go out and support their music, buy an album and some merchandise direct from these bands, because you have all these bands jockeying for position, and it is a bloody tough time for them even before Covid set in.

I can see the TV appeal….’for every CD bought, NWOCR donates £2 to all the artists on this CD. Your £2 will keep one band member in beer for approximately 15 minutes, so please text 69627 (NWOCR) immediately’.


If you were an avid gig goer, pre-Covid, use that money to buy this CD first, and then the bands albums, you know it makes sense! And I guarantee you’ll feel a lot better for it.

Daylight Robbery – ‘The Enemy Within’ Review

After the departure of Tony Nicholl, Carleton and Murdoch have closed ranks, shared vocal duties and produced their best album to date.

When this is released in August, I can’t believe that out would have been 18 months since I saw Daylight Robbery play HRH AOR at Prestatyn. Jesus where has the time gone. Especially now that the chance of gigs as they were are now a distant thing of the past. It almost feels like the aftermath of a Zombie movie or a dystopian future. Anyway, for HRH we heard that Tony Nicholl was no longer in attendance and that no one was being brought in. Rob ‘AOR’ Evans trumped for Mark Carleton, I however edged towards Colin Murdoch and like Trading Places we placed a bet for the princely sum of one pound! Quell surprise, it was both of them, and it made for a pleasant change and a cool dynamic. Fast forward 16 months and I was very keen to hear how the new album would sound. Well, dear reader, its sounds HEAVIER which is no bad thing in my book.

‘Into The Shadow’ sounds straight out of a Scandi Noir murder thriller before it dramatically builds a tension into ‘The Enemy Within’. DR have ripped up the rule book and gone big and extravagant at every turn, throwing everything they have into it, its Rainbow and Avantasia rolled into one and it gallops along when it could plod. It’s a combination of all the good bands I like form the 70s and 80s. The right mix of yeas, searing guitars and cracking harmonies. Col and Mark share vocals on ‘Digital Preacher’, a song about the state of affairs in the US I assume, and the mix of both guys vocals adds to the sound, and I like the contrast they both bring to the song. I’m reminded of Burn era Deep Purple where Carelton’s guitar both shares centre stage and duels his solos with the organ/keyboards. Two songs in and I have to quote that great sage Mike Reno, as ‘Im loving every minute of it’. 

‘House Of Pain’ has a riff that’s straight out of 1980s Sunset Strip, and rips it up. ‘The Violence Of Lies’ goes for a big sound and it pays off. Part Queensryche, part (insert fave 80s hair metal maestro here), I’ll go for Warren De Martini. At 8 mins long it’s not dwelling and there’s enough contrast to keep you entertained. ‘Waiting For Tomorrow’ is a faster paced number. Col steps up to the mic for his first of two solo duties for the lighter, almost a ballad in ‘Alone In The Rain’ and he stands toe to toe with Mark with his vocals. Fans of Magnum and Dante Fox would like this one. It’s the closest they come to their previous album. The other song Col takes over is ‘The Time To Choose’ and again is more on the melodic side of heavy for DR. It still manages to mis it up a bit and its draws me towards Bruce Hornsby. ’Peace Of Me’ sort of left me wanting more, but the guitar solo makes up for any shortcomings I have. Finally it’s onto the rifftastic ‘Within’. Screeching synths, frenetic guitar work and pounding bass and drums is a fine way to round off any album.

All of the songs have a hefty timescale with only 3 weighing in at less than six minutes. However, none of then feel laboured when listening to them, as it could have easily gone the other way. The approach not to replace Nicholl has proven to be a worthy one. With Mark Carelton’s vocals handling the more aggressive songs, and Colin Murdochs vocals suiting the melodic numbers, so they have options aplenty and resist being too one dimensional. Throw in a hammond (which they have) and I’m a happy bunny.

DR have more than thrown the kitchen sink at The Enemy Within. Fuck, based on the size of the ambition, it’s the sink, washing machine, fridge and tumble dryer. ‘The Enemy Within’ is for people like me who grew up on the classic diet of bands like Deep Purple, Rainbow, Whitesnake, Magnum, and a bit of hair metal, to boot. 

After Tony Nicholl left I honestly thought they were fucked, but the lads have dusted themselves off, knuckled down and produced the best album of their career (so far). I hope it does well for them as they fully deserve it to. I really look forward to what’s next. If we all live long enough that is….

8/10

Daylight Robbery are

Mark Carleton – Guitars, Vocals

Colin Murdoch – Bass, Vocals

Rob Chivers – Drums

George Everleigh – Keyboards

Tracklisting

Into The Shadow

The Enemy

Digital Preacher

House of Pain 

The Violence Of Lies

Waiting For Tomorrow

Alone In The Rain

Peace Of Me

The Time To Choose

Within

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Twitter – @DAYLIGHTROBBERS