Limb/Riot

Red Circuit – Homeland (Limb/Riot)

While the term 'prog rock' doesn’t necessarily invoke pleasant thoughts for many of us, German band Red Circuit have taken prog, smashed it against a rock, picked up the pieces and come up with an album that revels in the power of the riff, of the song and the melody, while still dabbling in the better moments that prog can provide without ever wandering off into the “ooh aren’t I a clever chap” territory that plagues so many bands.

Led by keyboardist and producer Markus Teske and with Sri Lankan born vocalist Chity Somapala showing us just why he is revered as one of the best

Silent Memorial – Cosmic Handball (Limb/Riot)

Silent Memorial’s second album Retrospective, released earlier this year, was a solid slab of 80s hair metal/AOR disguised as prog rock, and it certainly seems to have garnered plenty of good reviews (mine included). With the success of Retrospective the band has let their first album Cosmic Handball, originally released in 1998, have its turn in the spotlight; but the lights might just be a little too bright for this slice of Euro-prog metal.

From the very start of Cosmic Handball you get the feeling that the boys from Silent Memorial feared they might not ever get into a recording studio again.

Eldritch - Livequake (Limb Music/Riot)

Italian Power Prog masters Eldritch deliver their powerful and explosive live show in the form of Livequake.

When a band puts out a live album, it can go in two ways: it can be an excellent representation of a live performance perfectly executed, or it can show some flaws in how a band projects its live p

Silent Memorial – Retrospective (Limb/Riot)

Swedish outfit that tote the line ‘prog rock’ but don’t let that or the balding heads fool you – this is basically good 80s hair metal/AOR but with a lot more maturity.

Think Steve Vai era Whitesnake or Malmsteem era Alcatrazz, hell even those good moments that Journey pulled out, or any of those good AOR bands th

Roxxcalibur - NWOBHM for Muthas (Limb/Riot)

An album to throw on, drink a six pack to and remember the fun you had when the New Wave of British Heavy Metal first kicked you in the nuts!

Where most tribute albums go wrong is having too many guest stars – vocalists and guitarists, drummers and bass players who want to add their special touch with no thought of the over all sou