Guy Valarino

Hailing from the Rock of Gibraltar but based in London, Guy Valarino has been hard at work for many years, slowly climbing up the ladder of success.

We'll have more on him soon but for now, just sit back and enjoy this sublime live recording for the Garden Gnome Sessions.

Loving this right now!

Going through an acoustic phase whilst at work. City and Colour are really hitting the spot!

More or less a one man show, City and Colour is fronted by Dallas Green. Dallas was previously the guitarist and vocalist of post-hardcore band, Alexisonfire.

Anyways, this is great stuff. Check it out.

Stuck in a Spider Web!

Searching the online bargain basements I stumbled across a band from the UK called Black Spiders. Full on riffage with elements of 80's rock mixed with modern day stoner rock bands these guys don't disappoint.

With a few releases to their name and some impressive tours too I'm surprised I never heard of them before. Still, now that I have.... here they are!

Check out why Mario Duplantier was voted the best...

Gojira drummer Mario Duplantier was recently voted the best metal drummer in the world on a metal specific website. The readers obviously know what they are talking about because the live and breathe this genre of music.

I guess the most impressive thing about this guy is the variety he uses. Every song is interesting on the drums. When you talk about a drummer being the driving force behind a band (especially when playing live) you just need to listen to Gojira live to understand what people mean.

Here's a super long live clip for all you Gojira lovers :)

Stop hunting in Dry Bone Valley!

Mastodon have been delivering some seriously good metal for some time now. The commercial success of 'Crack the Skye' came about thanks to hundreds (possibly thousands) of excellent reviews online thus creating a tidal wave of good vibes for this Atlanta outfit.

Their last effort 'The Hunter' is not a concept album like is predecessor but has a rich blend of speed fuelled riffs and mushroom infused psychedelia.

Ain't no Lie... New Slash album is soooo close!

'Apocalyptic Love' is the title of the new SLASH album and its only 4 weeks away!

With Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy providing vocals the album will be different to the previous effort and hopefully be the start of a long and fruitful relationship between the two. Here is the first single off the album. 'You're a Lie' has that typical Slash blues riff mixed in with some soaring vocals and of course... a lil guitar solo. Enjoy!

Halestorm ReAnimate GNR

With all the hullabaloo over GNR being inducted into the Hall of Fame and Axl not attending the ceremony it can be easy to forget why exactly they were there in the first place.

For those of you that don't know... they wrote some pretty fine songs and have influenced a generation of hard rocking bands around the world.

One of these is Halestorm, who might fall under the teen rock/pop category with their association with Glee, but, take a moment to forgive them and check out their 'ReAnimate' EP. Its cool :)

Overdry Release New Single

We like Overdry, we do. Hailing from the south of Spain, these guys are dead serious on making music thats heavy enough to make your balls shake.

Regulars in rock and metal publications across Spain they have a loyal following and surely it is only a matter of time before some one takes notice and gets these guys out on the road!

Ain't nothing wrong with Robert Randolph!

It really don't matter when it comes to Robert Randolph!

Mixing ghetto groves with LL Cool J style lyrics, blues guitars and gospel backing vocals, this tune is a must have on your itunes collection!

If you like the edgy side of Stevie Wonder mixed Street Sweepers Social Club and a pinch of Lenny Kravitz then sit down and enjoy!

Djentlemen Pay Tribute to MJ

When the King of Pop passed away it was only a matter of time before the tributes and covers hit the waves.

I think it took Djent band Periphery just over a month to drop their heavy yet supremely melodic cover of 'Black or White' on us.

If you haven't heard it then please do, its got all the dynamics that made the song one of MJ's classics and yet it delivers ferocity at vital moments making it every much a Periphery tune as a pop super hit.

Devin... Need I say more?

Devin Townsend is a modern day guitar/singer/producer legend. It's pretty simple really. This guy has produced countless songs that fall into different genres.

Apparently bi-polar, Devin appears to express his diverse emotions through his songwriting and with that we are exposed to an array of talent rarely seen in other main stream artists.

Here is an acoustic version of 'Ih-Ah' from his futuristic pop-metal styled album 'Addicted'.

Celebrating Slash before it gets Apocalyptic!

To celebrate the upcoming release of his new album 'Apocalyptic Love' we're taking a look at some of the collaborations guitar legend Slash has done over the years.

First up is a track that was intended for Guns N Roses but ended up being a hit for Lenny Kravitz. 'Always on the Run' has a bit of a funk feel to it with the drums slightly pushing the beat and the horns adding that 70's vibe to make this song a hands down 'get up n dance' must.

GNR Hall of Famers! Where was Izzy?

GNR accepted their induction to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame the other night, but there were two noticeable absentees. Frontman Axl Rose was always going to be a no-show, but unfortunately Izzy Stradlin also declined.

Izzy, who is well known for keeping out of the spotlight, was once an integral part of the biggest rock band in the World. Since the mid-90's hes been well hidden and somehow managed to release a bucket load of albums!

Here is something from his latest effort 'Wave of Heat' (2010)

Setting Fire with Acoustic Hip-Hop

With all the fuss about Adele it was only a matter of time before a string of cover versions hit home. Doing a cover is tough, unless you're doing an exact replica, in which case.... don't bother.

These guys gave her hit song 'Set Fire to the Rain' a great twist and it's a nice one for those summer bbq's :)

Anarchistic Genius

I'll admit that when it comes to tv I tend to fall behind pretty fast and then race through a chunk of episodes to catch up. This is exactly what happened with Sons of Anarchy. Countless reviews told me to watch it and I resisted ... resisted ... and then finally gave in. About two weeks later I completed all the episodes and felt like I had just experienced a real masterpeice in script writing.

The thing that gets me with good tv shows is the music they use. If they do it right the music will send you further down that rabbit hole and have you replaying the scene over and over in your head. In this case, end of Season 3, this song came on and I was in a trance. If you've seen the show you'll know what I mean. Never in a million years could I imagine a different song being played at that point in the series.... Genius.

So, originally written by the supreme anarchist, Neil Young, here is a sombre version by Battleme.

Keeping rock simple...

Rock band from Gibraltar! Voodoo Monkey are regulars of the live scene in the British territory and the south of Spain!

Soundgarden rise with new Avengers song

It's been a long time coming but finally we get to hear a new Soundgarden track that is written post break-up. Ok, so 'Live to Rise' doesn't blow you away like so many previous efforts do but what it delivers is a fresh look into what direction the 'Knights' are headed.

Riff wise, it's sweet. Simple hook and basically classic Kim Thayill playing. Matt Cameroon of course still has the chops to play a complex beat whilst hitting home his signature sound and feel.

You will no doubt say that this song is more of an 'Audioslave' album track han a Soundgarden single but isn't it nice to see the guys are still able to produce something that sounds fresher than most of what is out there?

V3ctors making waves in South Spain

Malaga based djent metallers V3ctors are causing a bit of a fuss in the Andalucia region of Spain. Not only are they hitting all the right notes with the self-proclaimed 'brainiac metal fans' but they are also being likened to the genres two most acclaimed bands, originators Meshuggah and pretenders to the throne, Periphery.

You can catch them gigging in both Spain and Gibraltar! These guys are not to be missed and have a huge future ahead of them as long as this sub-genre isn't a fad and actually has some longevity to it!

I Like... Foxy Shazam

Daaaaaaamn! Classic Rock magazine blew me away with their 'New Avengers' cd. It had a few sort of house hold names in there already but I guess it was a case of ... there will be people out there that don't know some of these bands! Acts like The Answer, Rival Sons, Band of Skulls, were all familiar to me but the big surprise was Foxy Shazam.


With a singer that moves like Jagger, sings like Freddie and has a tache like Justin Hawkins it's hard not to appreciate that this guy is hitting all the right buttons on his way to being nothing short of a superstar. As long as the songwriting stays good and edgy I don't see why Foxy Shazam won't be headlining some big tours over the next few years.