There are times when music journos feel the need to waffle on with a bit of backstory, as if you, dear reader, have just crawled out from under a rock behind the bins at the Dog & Duck.

So, it’s mid week on a slightly sunnier than usual day in mid March. Work calls, the inbox is multiplying like gremlins after midnight, and the room temperature remnants of this morning’s coffee are doing absolutely nothing to improve the situation.

Dogstar’s journey is one of rock’s most unexpectedly triumphant arcs. Formed in mid90s Los Angeles, the band began as a casual jam between Keanu Reeves and Rob Mailhouse, two friends bonding over punk, grunge, and the kind of altrock that thrives in cramped rehearsal rooms.

A single built for sunshine, stadiums, and the eternal Grohl grin

COC return with a track so heavy it should come with a medical disclaimer.

Metal Church have been flying the flag for American heavy metal since the early ’80s.  One of those rare bands who helped define the thrash/power hybrid before anyone had a name for it.

Every now and then a band drops a track that stops you mid scroll, mid sip, mid whatever you were doing, and makes you think: Oh yes… this is different. This is special. Today, that honour goes to The Hu and their brand new single, “The Real You.”

Sitting in my “studio”… which is basically a sofa in the lounge, I’m tinkering with my Jackson Soloist.  Probably one of the best guitars known to man, when suddenly… ping. My phone beeps, I jump like a startled cat and immediately wonder who dares interrupt my sacred downtime away from the day job.

Friday morning and I’ve got a spring in my step, as the universe has dropped me a little present today.  Ghost have always been known for how to turn a release day into an event, and today’s standalone drop of It’s a Sin is no exception.

Over the last 50 years, rock music, metal, hard rock, whatever label you want to slap on hair, guitars and noise, has spawned more variations than a dodgy festival burger menu.

With less than 24 hours to go until I turn another year older, Megadeth have chosen to give me an early Birthday present.  Whilst I know the rest of the world can also benefit from this release, I’ll always know that it was made just for me.

Things have been bubbling up for a while for Yorkshire quintet Catchfly, the whispers getting louder and louder.

I’m a big fan of modern Christian metal band, Skillet. They have the knack of creating colossal slabs of extremely melodic modern Hard Rock and Metal, combining crushing riffage with clever electronica, singalong choruses, well-written counterpoint and harmony vocals and a use of dynamics that is second to none.

Review by Phil Rozier for MPM I’ve been a rock and metal obsessive for over 30 years, and in that time I’ve seen it all: the theatrical devilworshipping of Ghost, the improbable rise of Baby Metal from Japan, and countless bands who’ve tried to reinvent the wheel only to end up sounding like a flat tyre. But every so often, …

Review by Paul Monkhouse for MPM Fast emerging London based quintet Tales of Perdition have an ace up their sleeves and aren’t afraid to play it as propulsive new single ‘Hold Down The Hunter’ proves. With the rest of the world seemingly trying to catch up with the latest trends or second guess what that might be, the outfit here …

I can still picture it vividly: me, sat in my bedroom in the early ’90s, Use Your Illusion I & II spinning on repeat, dreaming of stadium lights and the swagger of being a rock star.