_{“Phase Three” is the third album to be released by German band DeVicious in three years, but the first with their new lead singer. The album was released on 8th May by Metalapolis Records. I’d posted recommendations for the bands previous two albums and the new album is equally well worth checking out. The lead-off track “Firefly” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show in February and on the NI Rocks A-Z Show in March. The track “Mysterious” was featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 1st May.}

_{“Shove It Down” is the second album from Danish band Blended Brew and it was released on 1st May by Mighty Music. The band has a very classic rock kind of sound and has been compared to modern band such as Rival Sons or Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown. They’ve been around for more than ten years now, but this is their first album release with Mighty Music. The track “Ancient Alien” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 10th April.}

_{“Synchronized”, the excellent new album from FM, was released by Frontiers Music on 22nd May. I had the opportunity to chat with one of the band’s founding members, bass player Merv Goldsworthy, via Skype on 26th May. We talked for about 30 minutes about the new album, the impact of Covid 19, FM’s tour plans and much more. You can hear that interview on the Friday NI Rocks Show for 29th May, which is now available on our MixCloud page - https://www.mixcloud.com/NIRocks/interview-with-merv-goldsworthy-from-fm-on-the-friday-ni-rocks-show-29th-may-2020/}

_{“Second Time Around” is the latest album from Mike Tramp and it was released on 1st May by Target Records. This is his twelfth solo album and the seventh in the last decade as he continues what seems to be a constant cycle of writing, recording and touring. Long may it continue! I had pre-ordered the album in red vinyl. The track “Between Good and Bad” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 27th March and “The Road” followed on 24th April.}

_{The edited Beach Bootleg of Bernie Tormé defining WinterStorm 2018 set is available from Friday 22nd of May to view for 28 days from purchase. The set was recorded at WinterStorm rock weekend in Scotland in November 2018 just a few short weeks before his tragic passing.}

_{The set was captured on multi HD cams and audio recorded from the balcony and for fans it captures the essence of a great set that took the audience from general interest to complete captivation.}

_{There are two NI Rocks Shows uploaded each week on Rock Radio NI. These are the playlists for those shows for the month of April – all of which are still available from the On Demand Player. There are tracks by around 140 different artists on the Shows this month. Playlists for March were published previously and these Shows are also available via the On Demand Player – http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/news/rrni-updates/3750-ni-rocks-playlists-for-march-2020.html}

_{This month the Friday NI Rocks Show included an interview with guitarist Gus G from Firewind and there was also a repeat of the Chris Appleton interview to mark the release of the new Absolva album. The recent interview with Olof Wikstrand from Enforcer was also repeated on the NI Rocks A-Z Show. All interviews can be found here - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews.html. There was also a special promo features/interview with Trivium on the Friday NI Rocks Show to coincide with their album release.}

_{“Crimson” is the debut album from Italian band Volturian and it was released on 24th April by Scarlet Records. The band was formed by singer Federica Lanna from Sleeping Romance and guitarist, vocalist and keyboard player Federico Mondelli from the band Frozen Crown. The press release describes the band as ‘melodic modern metal with a twist of gothic chic’. The track “Broken” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 10th April.}

_{“A Universe From Nothing” is the fifth album from Danish band Freddy and the Phantoms and it was released through Mighty Music on 24th April. The blues rock band was formed in 2010 by singer and guitarist Frederik ‘Freddy’ Schnoor. The lead-off single from the album “First Blood Universe” was first included on the Friday NI Rocks Show last August, but is included on the Show again on 1st May. The track “Freedom Is A Prison” was included on the Show in January.}

_{“Side By Side” is the fifth studio album from English band Absolva and it was released on 17th April by Rocksector Records. The band was formed by singer and guitarist Chris Appleton in 2012 following the demise of Fury UK and since then it has been almost constantly recording or touring. Chris was my guest on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 6th March and that interview and four tracks from the new album were repeated on the Show on 17th April - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/3739-ni-rocks-interview-with-chris-appleton-from-absolva.html}

_{“The Dark Delight” is the seventh studio album from Swedish band Dynazty and it was released by AFM Records on 3rd April. The band formed in 2007 and released their debut album in 2009. This is their second album since signing with AFM Records. Singer Nils Molin has also been providing vocals for Amaranthe since replacing Jake E in 2017. The first single from the new album, “Presence of Mind”, was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show back on February, followed by “Heartless Madness” and “Waterfall” in March. “Presence of Mind” was also featured in the NI Rocks A-Z Show on 14th April.}