Chris Forbes

DOWNRIGHT MALICE/Mechanica Temporis (Self Released) This is a groovy nu/jump metal band and very generic. Stuff that has been done to death and then some. Brutal vocals mixed in with clean vocals are a style I can’t stand. Not thrashing metal, as I’ve read. Another run-of-the-mill band that is doing nothing different. Think a lousy […]

SKOLD/Dead God (Cleopatra Records) Apparently, this is a lost long album now seeing the light of day. It is industrial metal not far off from NIN and throws in Marilyn Manson. The music on this is heavy, groovy stuff with industrial overtones. Keyboard parts at times too. Pretty cool and is quite memorable and worth […]

Guitarist extraordinaire Jimmy Ryan is finally following up his excellent “21st Century Riffology” CD of 2017. Jimmy is an outstanding player, mixing his blues-oriented with classic rock in the vein of Wishbone Ash, which was the first thing I came to think of when listening to the opening track “Starlord.” Killer melodic, instrumental, melodic guitar […]

ELECTRIC SIX formed in 1996; from what I read and on this CD, the band was out doing cover material and approached to record a release of cover tunes. No songs were off-limits. They fooled around with a Garth Brooks tune, but they quickly dismissed it. The band’s sound is garage rock, sounding band with […]

Here’s is an atmospheric, doom, death metal band. The songs on this are pretty long, but that doesn’t matter cause they suck you in and take you along for a ride, and then the next song takes you on another ride. This isn’t just some typical, awful doom metal band that would put you to […]

JACO/Trace (Bervatim Music) This is a pop-rock band in the vein of a band like REM. Back at with their 3rd release. I am not a big fan of what I call “pop-rock,” but this was “ok” for what it was. The tunes are well crafted, with catchy numbers and excellent vocals. The Melodies will […]

JYRKI 69/American Vampire (Cleopatra Records) This is a solo album of Jyrki 69, the lead singer in The 69 Eyes. According to a bio, I was reading, the band was more glam rock until he joined, and then they went to a more gothic sound. Now I am reviewing this solo album release, and I […]

Tommy Bolin was a guitar player in Deep Purple and the James Gang and released some solo stuff before unfortunately dying a drug overdose in 1976. He has no less than over 30 releases out after his death! This release contains archival sessions that would be on his 2nd and final solo album, “Private Eyes.” […]

Some are like, who the fuck are The Outlaws. Well, The Outlaws are a Southern rock band that formed in the ’70s, and when I saw them in 1979, I was in the front row at Philadelphia Spectrum, and I saw them headlining along with Molly Hatchet and 38. Special for five friggin bucks. The […]

The band is very mellow, almost acoustic on the guitar style of the band. They do set a mood and do suck you in, and I’ll say that. The singer sings with a lot of emotion and feeling in these tunes. Each tune also has its vibe and sound, and even though this is not […]

Another long line of groovy thrash metal bands with the Pantera like vocals and then “clean or normal” are sung. Bands like this suck and just sound like any other band I would hear on “Liquid Metal” on Sirius/XM. This band sound no different than any other band on there, pretty much. I hate when […]

Bizarre, release is what we have here. I would say this is alternative rock/metal with a David Bowie-like singer. Sounds of glam, noise, punk, metal, new wave, and everything else you can imagine. You have to in with an open mind giving this a listen for sure. I would not listen to something every day, […]

I know nothing about this band except having a CD out with two covers tunes (Sweet Leaf/Black Sabbath-Blackout/Scorpions). I didn’t find it interesting or inspiring at all. The songs to me were weak and not at all memorable. I need a catchy hook or rhythm, and this had neither. It was like hearing a lousy […]

  This is a three-piece power trio and what I have here is a ten-song cd for review. The band plays rock n roll/metal with that bouncy, almost funk like edge similar to what Faith No More did years go minus the Mike Patton vocals. For one, I could not get into all that slapping […]

Oh, I loved reading this bio, part of it reading “Thor’s classic 80’s sound combined with modern influences”. Oh, when I saw “modern influences,” I was like, “oh lovely groove metal or some crap like that.” Thankfully, there isn’t much of that on this. The single “The Party Never Ends” is a classic metal anthem,” […]

This band is a rock n roll band with a touch of metal to them. When they play rock n roll like opener “Dirty,” I get the AC/DC vibe, and the riffs are big-time catchy, and I was nodding to it. “Stay With Me” is another strong tune with lots of strong vocals from the […]

First off, this is very, very mellow music. With that said, I enjoyed it. The songs suck you in as the music played, and the songs are just catchy for what they are, but the main thing for me was the singer Randy Pratt. What a voice he has, and he melts you with his […]

Great White was one of those bands during the whole “hair metal” era with a couple of hits (Once Bitten Twice Shy), but never really broke it big like Motley Crue or Ratt or Poison. Along with such bands as Slaughter, Trixter, Firehouse, and others, they just never had that big breakthrough. Now, why on […]

This band is a groovy style death metal band that has a sort a melodic death metal sound. Not bad music-wise, but I was not digging the groovy thrash sound in the mix at times. It came across as if Pantera went melodic death metal. The production is solid, and the band doesn’t sound like […]

Yes, this is the same Don Dokken from the band Dokken, who was semi-big in the ’80s. Don’t expect metal or rock music on this as this is an all-acoustic solo album from him. His voice sounds fantastic on this as he sings the songs with a ton of feeling and passion. The music I […]

This band features Sammy Hagar on vocals, Michael Anthony on bass, Joe Satriani on guitar, and Chad Smith on Drums. Here’s is a 13 song DVD of the band live. First off, great sound and filming. One kickass DVD. The group is up on stage, having a blast, and the songs are played tight as […]

Amazing. I was a big fan of this band all through their six albums (one a double live album) with their well-crafted pop tunes and Punky Meadows godly vocals. This band should have been huge back then, but I think the record label (Casablanca) never gave them the proper push. Well, Punky is back along […]

Good ole southern rock with some blues attached to it. Well crafted tunes and riffs with some great vocals to boot. The songs built around simple but more than competent riffing, and with the singer’s blues southern rock vocals, you have a 1, 2 punch. The production on this is also excellent, and if you […]

  This is straight forward heavy metal, 80’s like old school heavy metal with a raw sound to it, which I don’t mind at all. The songs are well-crafted metal numbers with bits of power metal added to them as well. The vocals are excellent and solid, and the singer has an aggressive voice that […]

This column this time around is about shows and how expensive they are getting. When you go see these “classic” rock bands, most play these casinos, at least they do near me, which in this case is Atlantic City, and the cost of going is over $100 per ticket. That, to me, is crazy. Most […]

Here’s a book review I did of Megaforce Records co-founder Jon Zazula called “Heavy Tales: The Metal. Music. The Madness. As Lived by Jon Zazula“. First off, I read the book in less than one day as I couldn’t put it down! It is simply amazing and is easily one of the best books I […]

A power-pop band with a bit of punkish style to them like The Clash or older Green Day. The songs on this are quite catchy, and the lead vocals of Nigel Mogg are excellent. They have that punkish vibe of the bands that were coming out of England in the ’80s as well. The production […]

  This is a 3-man jam band with lots of guitar shredding and solos and no vocals. Having the no vocals didn’t sit well with me as I don’t mind a song without them, but a whole 40-minute album of guitar mindless guitar solos and shredding didn’t make me stand up and take notice. I […]

A fascinating DVD this is. I agree with all the opinions on this. With downloads and music sales slumping, it’s more important for a band to build its brand, whether it be live shows, a super catchy logo, a VIP meet and greet, having as many social media sites/pages as possible, then going in the […]

Joe Black is a guitar player, and he kicks some ass on this release. He has a bunch of guest musicians helping out on this. The first Tune I wasn’t too keen on as it didn’t have that killer hook I was looking for, however from track # 2 onward I got what I was […]