“Square One” is the new album from Purser Deverill – former Tygers of Pan Tang members guitarist Fred Purser and vocalist Jon Deverill. It was released on 14th December and the album can trace its roots back to the demos being written for the next Tygers of Pan Tang album before the band split in 1983. The Tygers connection was what drew me to this release initially, but musically it is a little different and has a big Prog Rock influence. I included the title track on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 23rd November and on the A-Z Show on 1st January.
Read more: NI ROCKS Recommends "Square One" by PURSER DEVERILL
Singer Johnny Gioeli certainly keeps himself busy. On 7th December he released his first solo album, “One Voice”, through Frontiers Music. This is his third album release of 2018, following on from Axel Rudi Pell’s “Knights Call” in March and his collaboration with Deen Castronovo, “Set the World on Fire”, in July. The single “Drive” from the album “One Voice” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 12th October.
“Devil’s Hand” is the self-titled debut album from a band that features guitarist / producer Mike Slamer and vocalist Andrew Freeman. The album was released on 7th December by Frontiers Music. So far I’ve played three tracks from the album on the Friday NI Rocks Show – the singles “Falling In” on 5th October and “We Come Alive” on 16th November and then most recently “Push Comes to Shove” on 28th December.
Read more: NI ROCKS Recommends "Devil's Hand" by DEVIL'S HAND
The release of “Necropolis” on the Rock of Angels Records (ROAR!) label on 30th November marks the return of metal band Sacrosanct, 25 years after their last album. The band was originally active between 1988 and 1994 and released three albums during that period. I was a little slow picking up on this release, but I’ll be playing a track from the album on the Friday NI Rocks Show next week.