“Mad World” is the twelfth studio album from Swiss band Shakra since they formed in 1997, and the third since the return of lead singer Mark Fox in 2015. It was released on 28th February by AFM Records. I managed to pick-up one of the orange and black marbled vinyl editions of the albumthat were limited to 100 copies! I’ve been a big fan of the band for quite a few years and I’ve featured three tracks from the new album on the Friday NI Rocks Show since mid January – “Too Much Is Not Enough”, “Turn The Light On” and “Fireline”.
“Against” is the fifth album to be released by Italian female-fronted band Secret Rule since they formed in 2014 and I’ve published recommendations for all five. The latest album was released on 21st February through Pride & Joy Music. The band have featured regularly on the NI Rocks Shows on Rock Radio NI over the past five years and the track “Purgatory” from the new album was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 24th January.
“Reflection” is the second album from Syteria, the band that features guitarist Jackie ‘Jax’ Chambers from Girlschool. It was officially released on 21st February via Cargo Records, having been released last year following a Kickstarter campaign. I spoke to Jackie about the band and the new album when she was my guest on the Friday NI Rocks Show last July – http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/3621-ni-rocks-interview-with-jackie-chambers-from-girlschool.html . The album’s title track was included on that Show and the single “Make Some Noise” was featured on the Show in January.
British band Collateral released their self-titled debut album on 21st February through Roulette Media Records. Distribution is being handled by Cargo Records and the album is also available in orange vinyl. The release of the debut album follows the release of the band’s first EP in 2018. The track “Merry Go Round” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 14th February, followed by “Promiseland” on 13th March.