Published June 2009

Tim "Ripper" Owens - Play My Game (SPV/Riot)

With a cavalcade of special guests and some hard rocking tunes, legendary metal vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens's first solo effort announces it's time to Play My Game.

For such a talented vocalist, Tim "Ripper" Owens has had some good breaks and some bad breaks; the good being his joining Judas Priest & Iced Earth

Devildriver - Pray For Villains (Roadrunner Records)

Mention the name Devildriver to most metal fans and you would get either a positive or negative response. However, you cannot deny their rising stature in the metal world, having turned out three solid albums previously - Devildriver, The Fury Of Our Maker's Hand and The Last Kind Words. But they come to their hardest hitting effort yet, Pray For Villains.
Release Date: 
10 Jul 2009 (All day)

As most readers would know, Devildriver is a completely different musical venture in comparison to Dez Fafara's infamous original band, Coal Chamber

Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal: on life, music, and Abnormal

Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal is a musician with a really interesting history. Working now both on his solo project Bumblefoot, as well as with Guns N' Roses, of which he's been a member since 2004. But it was about Bumblefoot's solo work that I caught up with him recently, talking about his recent release Abnormal - and his navigation away from being 'bumblefucked'.

If you read Bumblefoot's biography on his official website, which has to be one of the most detailed and perso

Firebird - Grand Union (Rise Above Records/Riot)

Got Rock? Come chill out with Carcass' guitarist Bill Steer's Firebird at their latest Grand Union...

After playing brutal death and grind metal for years, things could get a bit of the same at times.

Praying Mantis – Sanctuary (Frontiers/Riot)

No nostalgia trip here, NWOBHM originals Praying Mantis deliver a stunning rock/AOR album with no sign of flab, grey hair or walking frames.

Brother’s Chris and Tino Troy first started playing back in the early seventies (Chris on bass and Tino on guitar

Eureka – Shackleton’s Voyage (SPV/Riot)

Crikey, just when you think you’ve seen it all - I mean, pirate core, Christian black metal, Stryper’s return, Judas Priest doing gay leather cabaret - along comes Eureka’s concept album about an Antarctic Voyage across the ice!!

German multi-talented bastard Frank Bossert is the man behind this, the fourth album under the Eureka moniker. 

Blackguard - Profugus Mortis (Nuclear Blast/Riot)

These Canadians put out the image of a high school drama Swashbuckle, but sound like a young Turiasis having taken a genre slip and hocked their feeling for technical prowess... digitally.

 

OSI - Blood (Inside Out/Riot)

Prog metal supergroup OSI keep the Blood flowing, pulling in different influences and taking the listener on a musical trip.

Chances are if you are into some sort of progressive metal or rock, you have heard of OSI (Office Of Strategic Influence).

Switchblade - Invictus Infinitum (Amphead)

Delivering their best performance yet, Switchblade's Invictus Infinitum is heavy and intense. The band with this release delivers a product that is world-class, and ready to take the world by storm.

Australia's heavy metal scene is at its highest as we speak, with lots of established and upcoming bands from every state delivering songs and albums that could be put up against any of the world's

Behemoth - Ezkaton (Regain/Riot)

Combining new and old, covers and live, Behemoth's latest EP, Ezkaton, will keep their fans happy and ready for what is soon to come.

With a large back-catalogue and consistant touring under their belt, Poland's blackened death metal legends Behemoth are gaining a lot more exposure and noteriety from the heavy me