Word on the Street: Gotthard to release new album

The news just in is that hard rockers Gotthard will be releasing a new album called Bang! The album is due for release on 4th April 2014. 

I hadn't heard of these guys until today and I have got to say after listening to their single Starlight I am very excited about their album release. I hope they come to the UK. If you would like a taste of Gotthard then here we go.

Find Gotthard on Facebook, Twitter and their official website

The Treatment - Running With The Dogs

One of Britain’s best upcoming rock bands The Treatment have made a name for themselves touring with KISS, Motely Crue and Slash. They are back with a brand new album that most certainly shows the growth of the Cambridge rockers!

Kicking off with the single I Bleed Rock And Roll is a song that I think particularly sums up The Treatment to a tee…they bleed some classic, raw rock and roll perfectly. The album from that point on just gets better with songs such as Drop Like A Stone, title track Running With The Dogs and Cloud Across The Sun; these songs contain the crucial ingredients needed for the perfect rock songs, which includes original guitar riffs/solos, excellent vocal work and melodies that will fly around in your head for hours on end.

My personal favourite tracks on the album are Emergency, Cloud Across The Sun and Unchain My World. I cannot get enough of the song Emergency; I have probably listened to that about ten times today because the fantastic harmonies in the catchy chorus just have you hooked. Cloud Across The Sun is the equivalent of Just Tell Me Why from the previous album, a brilliant track just to sway and wave your arms along to when you need a break from headbanging. Unchain My World is a beautiful acoustic ballad that really shows off the ability of vocalist Matt Jones and it’s very different to the tracks I have heard from them previously.

So from this review I’m sure you gathered that I really enjoyed this album from The Treatment. All I can end the review with is that the albums of 2014 have most certainly got off to an unbelievably cracking start and Running With The Dogs is vital evidence of that!

Click here to listen to their new album before release date Monday, I've bought my copy!

Rating:  10/10

R.I.Y.L:  Aerosmith, Jettblack and AC/DC

Stand out tracks:  Emergency, Cloud Across The Sun and Unchain My World

Be sure to catch them on their UK tour which starts Monday 3^rd Feb!

Tour dates

03/02/2014             Waterfront Studio, Norwich

04/02/2014             Rock City (Basement), Nottingham

05/02/2014             The Sugarmill, Stoke On Trent

07/02/2014             O2 Academy Islington, London

08/02/2014             Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton

09/02/2014             Academy 3, Manchester

10/02/2014             Corporation, Sheffield

11/02/2014             King Tuts, Glasgow

13/02/2014             Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff

14/02/2014             Thekla, Bristol

Find The Treatment on Facebook and Twitter

Jettblack - Raining Rock

Ever since hearing the single off this very album and after witnessing the amazing sold out launch promoting it I have been very excited to listen to the album today. Starting off with a fantastic Intro leading into the single Raining Rock it was an excitable few minutes of rock to get the album underway; along the way there has been such a fantastic collection of many different sounding tracks from the beautiful ballad Black Gold to the more grungy sounding System. The particular track that caught my eye was The Sweet and Brave; being since it started with an acoustic tune that I had never heard from Jettblack before so I was very impressed when in transformed smoothly into their stadium like sound. This album has marked the growth and development in one of Britain's freshest rock bands on the scene in the past couple of years; bringing some aspects from the 80s and adding some of the modern aspects of today. Overall a fantastic album from beginning to end; cannot wait to see them in October as part of their UK headline tour.

Tuomaslotte rating:  10/10
Stand out tracks:  Prison Of Love, Something About This Girl and The Sweet and Brave
For fans of:  Whitesnake and Bon Jovi

Find Jettblack on Facebook and Twitter

Jettblack Album Launch @ The Borderline; London 30/5/2012

An action packed, excitable evening of hard rock took over London's venue The Borderline last night in the form of the sold out album launch hosted by Wycombe rockers Jettblack.

Entering The Borderline reminded me very much of an American bar on Sunset Strip that I thought seemed the perfect layout for the night of rock and roll that was about to take place among it.

First to play last night were Brit rockers Night By Night. I loved their catchy melodies that you found yourself singing along to even if you've just heard the song. Definitely captured the essence of the almighty 80s stadium rock and combining it with the modern aspects of music we have now. I feel that they will go far; a fantastic set and a hint of what was to come next.

Some girl power hailing from Finland, one of the breeding grounds for rock and metal, was next to play. Barbe-Q-Barbies, a name that catches your attention straight away, are a five piece rock band formed by some lovely ladies who really provide some power to their music. There definitely needs to be some more bands like them out there. Be sure to check out their fantastic cover of the Sweet classic Wig Wam Bam on their Facebook page.

Meansteed was the last support act of the night; they brought their ballsy hard rock music and stage prescence that was very well recieved. Their stage moves such as the guitarist on the roady's shoulders and the frontman rocking out on the table tops of the bar will definitely be remembered in years to come as a rock band. Their tunes were fantastic; lots of great guitar riffs and 80s like blew me and the rest of the crowd away.

Headliners Jettblack definitely pleased the crowd; having a sneak peek at their setlist and seeing mainly new songs I was a bit sceptical at first since I had been to live shows in the past where bands have performed solely new material that didn't go down well with the crowd. This was not the case with Jettblack however; the new material performed live was a fantastic introduction to what we are to expect from their brand new album which will be released this Jubilee weekend. The songs showcased included Prison Of Love and Sunshine, were among the songs that were showcased and performed live for the first time. They also performed material from their debut album that I am sure will be deemed classics in their discography in years to come as musicians such as Not Even Love, Get Your Hands Dirty and the anthemic Two Hot Girls. Their single Raining Rock was performed fantastically; the man Lord Zolton himself from their new video made a special guest appearance last night to introduce the new anthem as part of their encore. It was the perfect night for Jettblack last night; possibly their best show I have seen so far that I was lucky to be amongst the crowd for.

Overall a truly remarkable evening that will not be forgotten anytime soon; all the bands performed to the best that they can deliver. I'll shall be following up on the support acts in the future and I now look forward to the release of the new album from the hailing rock band of this decade....Jettblack.

Tuomaslotte rating:  10/10

Find Jettblack on Facebook and Twitter
Find Meansteed on Facebook, Twitter and their official website
Find Barbe-Q-Barbies Facebook, Twitter and their official website
Find Night by Night on Facebook, Twitter and their official website

Jettblack - Raining Rock single and video

What a fantastic day to kick off my busy day today; four piece hard rock band Jettblack released their brand new single Raining Rock. Giving the fact their debut album Get Your Hands Dirty was very successful and well received I was excited about the new release. The song starts of with the sound of Will Stapleton's distinctive husky vocals that are provided for Jettblack along with a single drum beat and a strumming guitar. You get the vibe of a stadium rock song right there. To be quite honest it did take me a while to get into the song however after hearing the spine chilling chorus and slickest guitar solo the biggest grin had spread across my face. In some parts of the song I am reminded of AC/DC's classic Thunderstruck when you hear the chants RAINING ROCK from the crowd. Overall a fantastic new single to introduce us of what's on Jettblack's upcoming album with the same name. (9.5/10) 

The video for the song has a fantastic concept that most of us can relate to; it follows along the lines of an X Factor type talent show with a twist. It is done in a dictatorship manner where a fictional judge Lord Zoltan rules Britain's airwaves since he assassinated Simon Cowell in the video. Only bands of Lord Zalton's tastes go on through to the next stage of the competition but those who don't get shot by his cronies. Jettblack manage to impress Lord Zalton however one of Lord Zalton's girls accidently sits of Lord Zalton's button to eliminate bands so Jettblack are shot down. Wasn't happy that Jettblack die at the end but I do love how the video has it's own hilarious take on how band's are now accepted into the music industry. (10/10)

Click here to view the video

For fans of AC/DC, Guns 'N Roses and Heaven's Basement

Find Jettblack on Facebook

No Closure

Well hearing about these guys from a social networking site a lot of people called Facebook I decided to download the debut album No Hero In This Hell from No Closure; who hail from Yeovil, UK. Anyways listening to the album on my iPod on a cold morning on the way to university this morning I really like the opening track right before all the songs begin to kick into action; a lot of the songs remind me of Alter Bridge as lead vocalist Dan Battye sounds like the almighty Myles Kennedy. I really like their grungy melodies that sort of give off a don't mess with us vibe. It will be great to see this band in action; hope to see them in Southampton sometime.

For fans of Alter Bridge and Creed

Tuomaslotte Rating:  TTTT

Find No Closure on Facebook and their SignMeToRoadrunnerRecords page

Van Canto - Break The Silence and New Nickelback

Well this is a first in Tuomaslotte's Music Journal history; two reviews in one post. I shall explain why; not only is Van Canto's new album out for release but today Nickelback have released two brand new tracks from their upcoming album that will be released November 21st. 

I'll first explain about acapella group's brand new album Break The Silence; it has a fantastic opening, very smooth sound that then transforms into a heavier vocals after Sly's roar. I have noticed a guest appearance from Sabaton's frontman Joakim Broden and coincidently covering the song Primo Victoria (originally by Sabaton) which I must say I love how they have made it sound like one of their own. If it isn't the front man of swedish power metal band then Sly does a great impression of his voice. One of the things I love about Van Canto is that they have a pagan sort of appearance that most of their original songs seem to reflect. Some of the songs on this album show this through songs like Black Wings Of Hate and Spelled In Waters; they both sound very different to each other but both of them remind of an enchanted forest setting and the first people.

A truly fantastic album; an varied collection of sound and melodies that make Van Canto stand out highly. Shame they won't be doing a UK tour anytime soon; I hope they do.

Stand Out Tracks:  Bed Of Nails, Spelled In Waters and The Seller Of Souls

Find Van Canto on Facebook, YouTube and their official website

Now Nickelback have been out of the limelight for a while; they are one of my favourite bands and when I heard about a new album from them this year I jumped in the air for joy (not literally of course). Today they released two new tracks from the album; listening to When We Stand Together and Bottom's Up for the first time I was not let down at all. When We Stand Together is a very happy go lucky song that will cheer you up when you feel like hiding from the world around you; it makes me smile. Bottom's Up shows the band's dark side; it's more rocky and grungy, sounding more like Something In Your Mouth or Never Again. One of the things I love about Nickelback is their versatile collection of songs and these two brand new songs that very different to each other prove this statement.

Here's my personal favourite out of the two; When We Stand Together.

Find Nickelback on Facebook, Twitter and their official website where you can listen to the tracks

Graces Collide - Make Your Move EP

Hello everyone; here in the UK it's bank holiday where most of us are inclined to kick back and relax, so for a bank holiday treat I am writing about an EP called Make Your Move. It's by a Brighton based hard rock four piece known as Graces Collide; sounding like a mixture between Alter Bridge and Stone Sour these guys keep the high reputation the south coast of England has for fantastic upcoming rock bands. This EP is fanatastic and hope these guys keep up the great work; maybe a gig in Southampton sometime.

For fans of Alter Bridge and Stone Sour

Also should let you know I'm moving to a new place on Thursday and won't have internet for a month at the most (or until we get broadband for the place). So you may see very little or no posts in September; makes me sad, love keeping you guys up to date with the music stuff I come across.

Find Grace's Collide on Facebook and MySpace

Slash - Slash

I absolutely adore the talented legendary Slash; I loved the riffs he played for Guns 'N Roses and Velvet Revolver. So I was very honoured to have listened to this top hatted guitarist's brand new solo album; the whole album from start to finish was incredible! I loved how Slash brought together a different array of singers from the rainbow of music genres; from Kid Rock to Black Eye Peas Fergie and produced a vast amount of different sounding songs. My personal favourites on the album are Ghost and Beautiful Dangerous; Ghost I had first heard on the game Guitar Hero and loved the epic riff. Beautiful Dangerous is such as sexy track and I love how Fergie, the singer from a hip hop group, and the legendary rock guitarist combine. It works so well; fellow rock legends Ozzy Osbourne and Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister join Slash to make great music. If you love legendary rock music then purchase this album; it is possibly a new favourite album.


Stand Out Tracks:  Ghost, Beautiful Dangerous and Doctor Alibi

Find Slash on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace and his official website

Trucker Diablo - The Devil Rhythm

I recieved a message from Irish rockers Trucker Diablo, Ricky Warick, The Answer's Cormac and Def Leppard legend Joe Elliot are fans, Ricky even provides some vocals on the song Juggernaut. There was a free MP3 file of their brand new album. I decided to give it a listen today;  have to say I was majorly impressed with the upbeat rock tunage that I was hearing and I love the fact a lot of the song titles had a very butch manly vibe. Nothing like a bit of man rock eh, haha. Their sound reminded me of Black Stone Cherry almost; I can imagine these would be great live, my personal favourite tracks were Voodoo and Big Truck since they were very catchy yet kept up the down and dirty rock vibe. Hope these guys consider coming to Southampton one day.


Stand out tracks:  Big Truck, Stand Up and Fight and Voodoo

Find Trucker Diablo on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Reverbnation

Gecko - Three Dead At Sundown

A video by this band was shared on the Facebook page for this blog yesterday; the video was from three piece hard rock bluesy band Gecko who hail from Southampton. After listening to snippets of their debut album I was impressed with their sound, this album I am writing a post about is their second album Three Dead At Sundown. I love how the entire album is opened up by an instrumental with no singing, the intro sounded very much like a part of my personal favourite Guns 'N Roses tune Welcome To The Jungle. This album sort of reminds me of a hot, sandy place like the desert. It seems sleezy blues rock is definately making a come back, this album prooves this with it's slick guitar solos and old school style tunage.

Stand out tracks:  Back On The Road Again, Man Without A Plan and Tornado

Find Gecko on Facebook, MySpace and Reverbnation

Western Sand

This is one of the bands that will be supporting Heaven's Basement and Jettblack, there was a link to a webpage; they appear on the 'Sign me to Roadrunner Records' tab on the Roadrunner Records website. Roadrunner Records have definately signed on some of the greatest rock bands such as Slipknot, Within Temptation, Black Label Society and one of my personal favourites Nickelback. Western Sand have definately proved that Roadrunner Records still goes strong; listening to their bluesy rock sound I was higly impressed, I was singing along to the chorus of Back On The Road Again and I had only heard the chorus twice. Catchy, dirty and quality rock tunage are definately what I am looking forward to see at The Talking Heads a month today. The beginning of the song Coming For You reminded me a little bit of Born To Be Wild; I also love the husky voice from Mr Tyler Haines who sounds like Black Stone Cherry's Chris Robertson duetting with Jettblack's Will Stapleton. Cannot wait to see them live, I think they will be part of Tuomaslotte's Bands of 2011.

Find Western Sand on their official website, Facebook, MySpace, Reverbnation and Roadrunner Records 

For fans of Jettblack and Black Stone Cherry

New Black Stone Cherry song

My goodness this is just proven to be a great day for some of my favourite bands; whether it's a new video by Dommin or Poets Of The Fall's new album. This post comes in the form of Kentucky rockers Black Stone Cherry; the last I heard from them was on their UK tour back in 2009 where I saw them twice, first time when they supported Nickelback on their Dark Horse tour and a second time in Pompey when they did a headline tour. So I have been waiting a long time for some new stuff from them and tonight it was their new song White Trash Millionaire. A few seconds into the song my face immediately lit up; Chris Robertson's vocals are still very sexy and the melody is oh so amazing. I do hope they come back to the UK and if the new album sounds as good as this song I have nothing to worry about.

To listen to the song click here or on the video below

You can also find more info about Black Stone Cherry on their official website, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube

The Darkness reforming

There was a news article in The Sun newspaper this morning saying that The Darkness are reuniting. I think that is pretty damn cool; they were a good fun band, with hits such as I Believe In A Thing Called Love and One Way Ticket To Hell; I am interested to see what other fun songs they can conjure up with.

To read The Sun's article click here

I'll leave you with my favourite song by them

Lordi - Babez For Breakfast

I love Lordi so I was looking forward to listening to it but I was a little bit dissapointed this time. I thought most of the songs sounded the same with the same chord sequence and rhythm, this wasn't their best album for me. I still prefer Monster Show to this one, but there were some of the songs that made it not so bad. Rock Police was a very hard rock 80s sounding track with a keyboard solo rather than a guitar solo which I thought was awesome. Call Off The Wedding showed a side of Lordi I had never ever seen before so that was a great suprise for me too; they have never had any kind of ballad on their albums before. I like the anarchy behind Give Your Life for Rock and Roll, apparently Lordi are all Christian and them being in a rock band maybe considered a sin but they don't give a damn. I like that. Overall verdict, not their best album but then again not the worst album in the world.

Stand out tracks:  Call Off The Wedding, This Is Heavy Metal and Give Your Life for Rock and Roll

Black Label Society - Order Of The Black

I wanted to know what these guys sounded like since they'll be playing at Southampton Guildhall in February and they are from Roadrunner Records; there are some great rock bands under that label such as Black Stone Cherry, Slipknot!, Within Temptation and my personal favourites Nickelback.

The opening tracks Crazy Horse and Overlord were a great way to open this album with it's dirty grungy guitar riffs and Zakk Wylde's old school heavy metal vocal work, these songs had an Iron Madien/Rob Zombie vibe about them that I liked. The ballads of this album were very poweful too, particularly Shallow Grave where they used more piano and less guitar; sometimes it's nice to hear rock bands use acoustic instruments for their songs, it's a great thing when you want to just relax. Speaking of acoustic January and Chupacabra suprised me a great deal, particularly Chupacabra since the whole album up until then had been quite heavy with electric guitars and drums it then turns into Spanish Flamenco guitars playing. I love Spanish guitar music so this was a very nice suprise. January bought a tear to my eye with it's heartfelt lyrics and soft acoustic guitar, making it my personal favourite on the album.

After hearing this album I will be listening to their older songs to see if there is a difference in the sound.

Stand Out Tracks:  January, Overlord and God Speed Hellbound

Invisible Idols

A very good friend of mine sent me a link to a band's Facebook page so I thought I'd go check it out, I read that their influences were bands such as Whitesnake, AC/DC etc. Alot of brilliant inflences, I found their MySpace page where I could listen to their songs and I was blown away. They sounded very much like Whitesnake jamming with Van Halen, I recommend this band to fans of New Device, Heaven's Basement, Dear Superstar and all the stadium rock giants such as Guns 'N' Roses, Aerosmith, Whitesnake etc

Here's the link to their MySpace page incase you're interested

http://www.myspace.com/invisibleidols

---