“Apex” is the fourth studio album from Canadian metal band Unleash The Archers and it was released on 2nd June via Napalm Records. I’d seen the ‘death metal’ label applied to the band in the past, but that really doesn’t reflect what I’d heard from the band recently. Listening to the album I really liked what I heard – definitely more heavy metal than death metal and definitely worth checking out. I played the opening single “Cleanse The Bloodlines” on the Friday NI Rocks Show uploaded on 3rd May and “The Matriarch” on the Show uploaded on 17th May. An interview with lead singer Brittney Slayes will be featured on the Show next week along with more tracks from the album.
Read more: NI ROCKS Recommends "Apex" by UNLEASH THE ARCHERS
I first heard of the Nashville based band Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown on Twitter a few years ago and have followed them ever since. They have become more widely known of in Europe recently following their tour with AC/DC in 2016 and the current string of dates supporting Aerosmith and Guns n Roses. When the band played a show in Voodoo, Belfast on 13th June ahead of their support slot with Aerosmith in Dublin the following night, I took the opportunity to chat with Tyler Bryant and find out more about the band. You can hear what we chatted about along with some tracks from the band on the Friday NI Rocks Show that is now available via our MixCloud page -
https://www.mixcloud.com/NIRocks/tyler-bryant-interview-on-the-friday-ni-rocks-show-16th-june-2017/
“Raised on Rock” is the debut album from Swedish melodic hard rock band Stormburst. The band formed in 2014 and recorded the album earlier this year. It was released on 26th May via AOR Heaven and is well worth checking out. I’ll be featuring some tracks from the album on the Friday NI Rocks Show and NI Rocks A-Z Show over the next few weeks.
Read more: NI ROCKS Recommends "Raised on Rock" by STORMBURST
German guitarist Rolf Munkes and his band Empire released 4 albums between 2001 and 2007 with a host of musical guests. The Pride & Joy label is in the process of re-releasing all four albums – possibly ahead of something new from the band. The first album re-released on 24th February, was the debut “Hypnotica” from 2001and I played the track “Fool In Love” from that album on the Friday NI Rocks Show back in January and “Bad, Bad Boy” in February. Empire’s second album “Trading Souls” was re-released on 26th May and I featured the track “One in a Million” on the Show on 12th May.