Reviews archive

June 2024

Filter

Year
Month

68 articles

June 30
- "Dexys feel like the greatest secret at Glasto 2024 and the perfect band for the festival." Kevin Rowland et al might have just stolen the show at Glastonbury
- "It might just be the greatest Skindred show of all time." Benji Webbe's ragga metal party boys steal Friday night at Glastonbury
- "Everyone in this field has gone feral." The Streets bring some magnificent chaos to Glastonbury's Other Stage
- Lankum provide “the best folk horror soundtrack never written” at their euphoric, highly-moving Glastonbury set
- "A reminder of just how fantastic and influential a band they are." Bloc Party's stunning Glastonbury set shows why they were always far too good for the 2000s indie landfill scene
June 29
- "Personality, charm, heart and passion in abundance." High Vis prove that UK punk rock deserves a platform at Glastonbury
- "As rip-snorting a set of Priest, Maiden and Sabbath-inspired metal as you'll get at Glastonbury." Voice of Baceprot bring the steel to Somerset's summer spectacular
- "This feels like the beginning of something very special." Kneecap's lairy, explosive pre-noon set starts Glastonbury's Saturday bill with a bang
- "One of the coolest bands to come out of the '90s." The Breeders delight fans old and new in London ahead of their Glastonbury festival appearance
- “A modern Norwegian echo of the great Kate Bush.” Aurora casts her wild, whimsical magic over Glastonbury with a faultless sunset performance
June 28
- “After almost 50 years, Hans Lundin is to be applauded for continuing to produce such rewarding music”: Kaipa’s Sommargryningsljus
- "Foo Fighters aren't just putting on a show, they're putting on the biggest rock'n'roll celebration on the planet." With a three-hour, 27 song setlist plus a hometown Geezer Butler appearance, Foo Fighters end their UK tour on an almighty high
June 27
- "It’s certain to satisfy fans and pack a punch live, but it’s not a huge leap forward." Lofty spiritualist themes and arena-bait anthems aside, Nothing More are re-treading old ground on Carnal
June 26
- "Bridear are writing their own book of heavy metal." Japan's heroes offer a unique spin on power metal with Born Again
- Sickness, soaring ticket prices and setlist changes: not even the curse of Co-Op Live can stop Pearl Jam at their chaotic but ultimately triumphant Manchester show
June 25
- “Crystal-clear stereo separation, a much fuller and warmer sound… Steven Wilson’s remaster is a huge improvement”: Jethro Tull’s Bursting Out – The Inflated Edition
- “These renditions will get pulses racing faster than the studio versions, even if not every note is perfectly in place”: Nightingale’s Nightfall Overture, remastered and extended
- “Among fair fists at the greatest ‘hits’ are extensive improvisations that repeatedly just don’t work”: Frank Zappa’s Live At The Whisky A Go Go, 1968
June 24
- “It’s not a travelogue, but there’s an expansive feel to the songs that’s redolent of broadening horizons”: Devin Townsend’s vinyl Terria reissue
- "Hot Singles In Your Area might not be short on shock tactics, but it’s the best vulgar display of power you’ll hear all year." Scene Queen's debut album is a naughty, fearless, genre-splicing knockout
- "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is a bit of a one-trick pony, but what a trick the pony can do": Is Iron Butterfly's iconic second album the most lopsided hit record ever?
June 23
- “These songs slot neatly into the catalogue – but this is a very different record from its predecessors, if only in sonic terms”: Airbag’s The Century Of The Self
- “The jollity can’t undercut the impact of the music”: Marillion’s An Hour Before It‘s Dark: Live In Port Zelande
June 22
- "As slick as Jethro Tull got": The Inflated Edition of Jethro Tull's Bursting Out finds Ian Anderson & Co. finds them in fine form
- "How have we arrived at a juncture where workers teeter towards an inequality gap reminiscent of Victorian Britain while the gilded class prosper?" Bad Breeding's Contempt is a portrait of a divided nation which deserves better
June 21
- “A sonic makeover more befitting of the inscrutable duo’s recent work”: Nordic Giants revisit their past on Origins
- "Think Maiden’s Death On The Road or Metallica’s Quebec Magnetic as opposed to Live After Death or S&M." Within Temptation reaffirm their arena-conquering status on new live album Worlds Collide Tour: Live In Amsterdam
- "Such lavish reupholstering is what genius deserves": The beautifully presented Asylum Albums 1976-1980 finds Joni Mitchell inhabiting the art department
- "A defiant joy at play, a pure love for the genre": 13 years after their last album, Kittie are back and the claws are out
- "I'm pretty sure these guys are the next biggest band in the world": If cosmic psychedelia and demon-belching vocals are your thing, Battlesnake are the best thing
June 20
- "Alcest are blackgaze’s undisputed masters, no matter how far they sometimes run." Black metal pioneers Alcest return to their roots on Les Chants De L’Aurore
June 19
- New Battlesnake album The Rise And Demise Of The Motorsteeple is proof that you can be a) heavy metal, b) silly as hell and c) really quite good
- "An all-singing, all-dancing front row seat at the most joyous show in heavy metal." Ghost's first movie Rite Here Rite Now is an instant classic
June 17
- "A glorious, beautiful, wonderful return: you really should have been there." The Black Dahlia Murder just put on the most vital and emotional set of Download 2024; it sucks more people weren't there to see it
- "There aren't many metal bands that can live with Machine Head." Robb Flynn's warriors remind Download Festival what they've sorely missed
- "Wes Borland still dresses like a hard rock Grace Jones and Fred Durst still holds 80,000 people in the palm of his hand." Limp Bizkit show Download why they remain metal's greatest party band
- “There is nothing cooler in this world than being a good dad.” A more mature but ever boundary-pushing Avenged Sevenfold bring Download's most challenging year to a close in style
- Fire, flapping farm animals and gender reveals: Fall Out Boy get weird at Download Festival with their career-spanning, ridiculously fun headline set
- “Download Festival headliners in the making”: While She Sleeps put on yet another metalcore masterclass in Donington
- "A supremely assured return from a band who are intent on creating something fresh, new and exciting." Kittie have completed one of modern metal's great comebacks with Fire
- "A lot more fun than Chinese Democracy": Supergroup Velvet Revolver mostly live up to the hype on Contraband
June 14
- “A richly atmospheric affair… songs that barely need recognisable word shapes to grip the heartstrings”: Eivør’s Enn
- "Seven years on from their previous album, BCC still remember what they're good at": Black Country Communion stick to a winning formula on V
- "Crushingly heavy dope-rock jams, full of menacing riffage and crazed soloing": Fu Manchu journey to the centre of your mind on The Return Of Tomorrow
- "A suitably chaotic time capsule of a magical period now bathed in extraordinary poignancy": David Bowie's Ziggy era mined for gold on Rock 'N' Roll Star
June 13
- "An unforgettable soundtrack to a tumble toward the abyss."Chicago's Rezn cut their psych-doom with shoegaze, sludge, prog and post-metal on new album Burden
June 12
- "Whether it’s scuttling, crunching, or throwing off showers of incandescent sparks, there’s a giddy, genreless joy to it all." Maverick vocalist Julie Christmas stuns on bold new album Ridiculous And Full Of Blood
- Disgusting, melodic and innovative, Ulcerate’s Cutting The Throat Of God is everything death metal should be in 2024
June 11
- "It's loud and chaotic, full of character(s), buzzing with energy, a bit sketchy, hilarious, and thrillingly alive." Kneecap's debut album Fine Art is an absolute riot
June 10
- "For 90s alt rock fans, this is the holy grail": Weezer and The Smashing Pumpkins kick off their UK tour with setlists that are a Gen-X wet dream
- "There's nothing wrong with the Cactus debut - it's just that so many other albums circa 1970 did the same things better": Cactus's first album showed they had the chops but not the songs
June 9
- “Bring Me The Horizon look and sound like megastars”: The first show of the Nex Gen era was ludicrous, meticulous and surprisingly heavy
June 8
- “Decent material, often trampled by shoehorning in flamenco motifs, fancy footwork and an over-the-top macho swagger”: Carmen’s The Albums collection
June 7
- "Sounding less like folk-metal Shamen on the bridleway to transcendence and more like Rammstein": The Hu swap beauty for bombast on Live At Glastonbury
- "A winning balance between maturity and raw, gut-punch blues": Joanne Shaw Taylor fuses blues and soul seamlessly on Heavy Soul
- "Royal Republic have now fully assimilated the power of disco and aren't afraid to use it": Royal Republic continue to party on the exuberant Lovecop
- "This is a hard album to love": Grand Slam's lack of originality tires on second album Wheel Of Fortune
- "Rock songs, power ballads, it’s a big-sounding record designed to be played to big rooms": Bon Jovi fight for their future on Forever
June 6
- "Sure, Trower sounded like Hendrix, but he certainly didn't play like him": Robin Trower's classic Bridge Of Sighs gets a lavish 50th birthday makeover
- “An impressive set documenting a group during a clamorous creative peak”: Edgar Broughton Band’s Gone Blue – The BBC Sessions
June 5
- "Quite possibly one of 2024’s finest death metal albums." Jacob Bannon's extreme metal supergroup Umbra Vitae have stuck gnarled gold with Light Of Death
- "I really believe that tonight we're going to make history": Before the giant lemons and irony, U2 put on one hell of a live show
June 4
- “Superbly-executed powerful songs with enjoyable instrumental showboating… it’s a shame they never toured”: Squackett’s A Life Within A Day reissue
- A mixture of soft, empathetic whispers and feral, unrestrained catharsis, Goat Girl's Below the Waste is the South London trio at their most liberated
- "They've gone beyond novelty value to become their own unique entity." Apocalyptica have made another stirring album of orchestral Metallica covers - and they've even made St Anger sound epic
June 3
- "Even if Tool were to play six nights a week, every week they'd still offer one of metal's most unique live experiences." Tool's 2024 setlist is a prog metal masterclass with cosmic visuals to match
- "Classic double cheeseburger rock'n'roll, its mission is to bring the party and it succeeds": Y&T sum up the early 80s rock sound on Black Tiger
June 2
- "As unvarnished and unshowy as a multi-millionaire rock star can get": Duff McKagan keeps it intimate on Tenderness Live In Los Angeles