A Decade Of Destruction Volume Two by Five Finger Death Punch

A Decade of Destruction, Volume 2 is the second compilation album by American heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch released October 9, 2020 on the Better Noise Music Records label. The lineup on this second compilation comprises of Ivan Moody on vocals, Zoltran Bahtory on rhythm guitar, Chris Kael and Matt Snell on bass, Charlie Engen and Jeremy Spencer on drums, and Andy James, Darrell Roberts and Jason Hook on guitars.  This seventeen track album features such great songs as Blue On Black, Sham Pain, The Pride, When The Seasons Change, and much more as well as previous released track Broken World, plus different takes on such previously released tracks such as Bad Company, Wash It All Away, and Wrong Side Of Heaven. This compilation was well compiled, written, performed, recorded and produced.  If you have the first volume of their great work, you must add this one too to your library which is available on Vinyl, CD and digital download from Amazon, Spotify and many other music retailers.  I am looking forward to them getting back on the road again and see them live.  To see their current tour schedule and more go to their official website https://fivefingerdeathpunch.com/

Songs From A Haunted Ballroom by Skids

Skids, a Scottish punk rock icon, return with a powerful new studio album that pays tribute to the band’s hometown venue, the great Kinema Ballroom in Dunfermline, Scotland called Songs From A Haunted Ballroom released June 4, 2021 on the Cleopatra Records label.  This band features Richard Jobson on vocals, Jamie Watson on guitar, bass and vocals, and Bruce Watson on guitar, bass, drums and vocals.  Joining this trio is Scott Whitley and Gil Allan on bass, James Ward on backing vocals, and Liam Saunders on keyboards.  This fourteen track album features such songs as Young Savage, Heart Of The City, Gary Gilmore’s Eyes, I Wanna Be Your Dog, The Saints Are Coming, Into The Valley and much more.  I was impressed with the performance on this album as well and great songwriting talent and a superb recording.  This album is available on colored Vinyl, CD, and digital download from Cleopatra Records and other music retailers.  To learn more about this band, go to their official website https://www.the-skids.com/

Kama Sutra by Syndone

Recently in the mail I received a CD by a band from Torino Italy called Syndone and the album is called Kama Sutra. The band consists of Nik Comoglio on keyboards, Riccardo Ruggeri on vocals and acoustic guitar, Simone Rubinato on bass, Marta Caldara on vibraphone and keyboards, Gigi Rivetti on keyboards and Eddy Franco on drums.  This album is a mixture of progressive rock, some jazz, even touches of classical in some cases.  Some of the songs reminded me of the sounds of groups like Genesis, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer and others.  This eleven track album features such tracks as It’s Only Make Believe, Carousel, Into the Kama, Sacred & Profane, Peace On Earth and much more.  I was impressed with the performance on this album, as well the creative songwriting and superb recording.  I hope to eventually get the opportunity to hear their earlier work.  Their official website is https://www.syndone.it/

1968 by Flying Circus

The band Flying Circus from the Cologne/Dusseldorf area in Germany is renowned for combining ambitious progressive rock with passionate hard rock and proves it with the release of the album 1968 released March 27, 2020 on the Fastball Music Records label.  I was honored to receive a vinyl copy of this great album which features Michael Dorp on lead and backing vocals, Michael Rick on guitar and backing vocals, Rudiger Blomer on keyboards and violin, Roger Weitz on bass and backing vocals, and Ande Roderigo on drums and backing vocals.  This ten track album features such great tracks as New York, Derry, The Hopes We Had (In 1968), Memphis, Berlin and many others.  I was quite moved with this album that features a great performance, creative songwriting, and a superb recording.  I enjoyed this album from start to finish which is available on Vinyl, CD and digital download from Fastball Music, Amazon, Spotify, Bandcamp and many other music retailers.

Still Wish You Were Here: A Tribute to Pink Floyd by Various Artists

Pink Floyd Tribute: Still Wish You Were Here is an amazing tribute to Pink Floyd’s 1975 multi-platinum masterpiece, Wish You Were Here, is brought to life once again with an all-star line-up of rock/metal royalty performing the album in it’s entirety! Includes performances by keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman, Deep Purple’s Ian Paice, Rock Hall nominee Todd Rundgren, ex-Queensrÿche vocalist Geoff Tate, guitar god Joe Satriani, Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie, spacebass super genius Bootsy Collins, The Damned’s Rat Scabies, PiL’s Jah Wobble and lots more released March 23, 2021 on the Cleopatra Records label.  This five track album features songs that we have learned to love such as Shine On You Crazy Diamond (parts 1-5), Welcome To The Machine, Have A Cigar, the title track Wish You Were Here, and a repeat of Shine on You Crazy Diamond (but parts 6-9).  These artists gave this album justice with an amazing performance and a superb recording.  If you are a Pink Floyd fan like I am, you will want to add this album to your library which is available on vinyl (which I would die to own a copy), CD and digital download from Amazon, Bandcamp, Cleopatra Records and many other music retailers.

United State Of Mind by Maxi Priest, Robin Trower and Livingstone Brown

Three very different UK music legends: Robin Trower, Maxi Priest and Livingstone Brown, have come together to create the United State of Mind, and their self-titled album, released on Manhaton Records on CD and Vinyl on 5 March 2021. This nine track album features Maxi Priest on vocals, Robin Trower on guitar and Livingstone Brown on bass and keyboards.  To complete this amazing sound, they brought in Chris Taggart on drums, Fergus Gerrand on percussion, Angus Moncrieff  on trumpet, James Arben on sax, Ed Rieband on trombone, Steve Morris on violin, Adrian Smith on viola, Chris Worsey on cello and Eileen Hunter on flute to create a great mix of pop, soul, rock and jazz with such great tracks such as the title track United State Of Mind, On Fire Like Zsa Zsa, Hands To The Sky, Bring It All Back To You and much more. Plus Are We Just People, has just been included on the soundtrack of a new film, just released, about Muhammad Ali, called ‘Ali’s Comeback’.  This solid album delivers a amazing performance, great songwriting and a superb recording.  This is an album, that I need to add the vinyl copy to my library.

All This Time Running by Craig Cardiff

All This Time Running is Craig Cardiff’s first release on True North Records, and his first full length studio album in 6 years and released February 4, 2021.  Previously Craig has released 21 albums and EPs independently and has found a global online audience that has streamed his songs more than 100 million times. His voice is described as “warm, scratched, sad and sleepy.  This 17-track album includes bonus tracks of some of his best-loved songs including “Dirty Old Town” that was included in the hit TV show “This Is Us” and has generated millions of spins on Spotify.  Listening to this album of eleven regular tracks and six bonus tracks I am impressed with his vocals and his way of telling a story with such songs as the title track All This Time Running, Wyoming, Greyhound, Don’t Give Up, and so much more.  I was also moved by his performance, his songwriting talent and a superb recording.  I hope one day to hear his earlier work to see his growth as a songwriter and performer.  This great album is available on CD and digital download from Amazon, Apple music, Spotify and many other retailers.  To learn more about this artist and his music, go to his official website https://www.craigcardiff.com/

Revel by Nineteen Hand Horse

What do you call a band that wears its outlaw country and classic country & western influences on its sleeve, with dashes of rock, blues, alternative, and good time bar-band thrown into the mix? That would be the Northern California based band Nineteen Hand Horse and their debut album Revel set for release on May 21, 2021.  This amazing band features Nathalie Archangel on vocals, her husband Mark Anthony Montijo on vocals and guitar, Mark “Lemonade” Monroe on vocals, harmonica and sax, Ralph Ruiz on bass, Brad Sears on vocals, guitar and banjo, Lowell Stephenson on vocals and drums, James “Jae” E Early on guitar, bass, and keyboards, Kevin Gallagher on pedal and lap steel and dobro, Ann Hebert Gilleran on fiddle, Cedric Jensen and Wes Little on drums, Wes Theolold on guitar and Brian Vandermark on vocals and acoustic guitar.  This ten track album features so many styles of music with such great tracks as Just Another Honky Tonk Night, Better Be A Goddess (Than A Lover), How About That?, Ghost Train and so much more.   I enjoyed this album from start to finish with an amazing performance featuring great vocals and harmonies, brilliant instrumental backup, creative songwriting talent and a superb recording.  I am looking forward to seeing what is next with this band.  This album is available on CD and digital download from Amazon, Spotify and many other music retailers.  To learn more about this band including future performance dates, go to their official website https://www.nineteenhandhorse.com/

I’m Dreaming by Chris St. John

After an amazing diverse and successful professional career in the field of law as a prosecutor, judge and practicing attorney Chris St. John adds another item to his resume as a singer/songwriter as he releases his debut album “I’m Dreaming,” is now available on www.chrisstjohn.com, Soundcloud and all the major services.  This fifteen track album includes 13 original songs plus a cover of “Peggy O’” and a musical score that connects two compositions and also has already spawned two singles I Called You Rose and I’d Send You My Heart.  Other notable tracks on this album are Your Baby Loves You, Dreams Are Free, The Chance I Gave You and so much more.  This album showcase Chris’s amazing songwriting talent, an amazing country storyteller voice, a brilliant performance and a superb recording.  It was quite a pleasure to have an opportunity to take a listen to this album.

Joy Machine by Circus Mind

Joy Machine is the upcoming release by Circus Mind, a New York-based rock outfit to be released on May 21, 2021 on the Joy Machine Outhouse Music Inc. Records label.  This ten track album of 70’s funk, rock, and groove features Mark Rechler on keyboards and vocals, Chris Crosby on bass, David Berg on guitar, Steve Finklestein on percussion and Dan Roth on drums features such amazing tracks as Are Your Ready, the title track Joy Machine, Errand Boy, Troubled Times, Longing Song and so much more.  I was quite moved by the performance on this album as well as great songwriting and a superb recording.  This is an album, I can listen to over and over again.  This album will be available on CD and digital download from Amazon, Apple Music and many other music retailers.